Pound My Pumpkin

1. Too Good to be True

She lay on the bed, curled around herself as tears poured from her eyes, blood and other fluids leaking from her hindquarters. She shivered and shook as the stallion stepped away, eminently satisfied. He was saying something, but she did not hear. All she knew was the pain, and her unsatisfied hunger. And then the voice came.

'How dare he? How DARE he? Make him PAY!'

Turning, she obeyed the dark voice, lunging for his throat. Her shape dissolved in green fire, and her teeth sank briefly into his neck. Screaming, he leaped back.

"You...you monster!" he cried in fear, trying to struggle away.

Her eyes glowed with her fury. His blood on her teeth glowed with the ancient magic. With his blood, he would never escape her, and she had all the time in the world. She reared up, placing her forehooves against his chest. Smirking, she returned to him the words he had inflicted her with when this began. "Don't worry," she whispered, the Queen loud in her voice. "This will be fun. Now brace yourself, and don't scream...too much." As her horn glowed, she opened her mouth and began to inhale.

His scream was not nearly long enough as she slowly sucked every trace of emotional energy and life force from him, giving her the strength to leave this place behind. Turning, she left the lifeless husk behind, and headed into the wilderness.

As her instincts faded and her consciousness reasserted dominance, her hoofsteps began to falter. She knew not what would haunt her worse, what had been done to her...or what she had done in return. Turning, she curled up under a nearby bush, and resumed the form she had worn for the stallion.

And then, curled up tight, as the cold moon shone its light upon her and the unwinking stars watched impassively, she broke down and wept.

Yaazi shook slowly as she awoke from the nightmare/memory. The pain of her past weighed heavily on her, and she doubted if she would ever be free of it. However, after last night, she genuinely believed she had a chance to recover now, to heal, to grow. Maybe, just maybe, the gods were smiling on her, and she would at last be allowed to move on.

She felt something hard pressing into her side. 'Move your hoof, Pound,' she thought into their new connection, not wanting to wake fully yet. There was no response. He was probably still out cold. She shifted herself away from the hardness, and felt something sharp against her neck. 'Pumpkin, careful with your horn.'

There was still no response. She shifted uncomfortably as a cold breeze brushed her horn. "Who left the window open?" she muttered as she opened her eyes. She then stared in shock.

She lay not on a soft bed but on hard ground. A rock pressed against her side as a branch scraped against her neck. She stared up at leaves and branches, and down at the chitin of her exoskeleton...and a featureless rock that hung on a piece of string around her neck. She shot to her hooves, not wanting to believe.

She stared in the window of Sugar Cube Corner, seeing Pound and Pumpkin frolicking together. 'No...' she thought deep inside. 'Don't...don't let it all have been another shadow on the wall!' As she felt her heart beginning to fall to pieces, she slammed her hooves against the window and cried out, "NO!"

Pumpkin spun to the window, then screamed in fear. Pound leapt between his sister and Yaazi, snarling protectively.

Yaazi backed up, her heart breaking anew at the sight of their rejection of her. She heard another scream and spun. Other ponies had seen her, and there were screams and panic as they fled a monster. Others rushed forward to attack. Turning, she tried to run, only to feel something strike her in the back of her head as the world went black.

When she came to, she was in a cell of some sort. She could see the walls, floor, and cell bars were all energized with magic of some sort. Whoever had her wasn't going to let her go anywhere.

"It's about time you woke up, Changeling," a cold voice spat.

Yaazi turned and came face to face with the Princess of the Sun herself. "C-Celestia..." she whispered, afraid.

"So you know me," Celestia said coldly. "And you speak. Unusual on both counts for a drone. Assuming that's what you are." Her ice cold stare burned into Yaazi's mind, filling her with fear. "You are going to answer some questions. How well you answer will determine your fate."

"Why are you doing this?" Yaazi demanded in fear. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "You ask me to explain my policy regarding my people's predators, those who see us as a source of food? Civilization has not eliminated the laws of nature, merely made them simpler to correct." She leaned forward. "Besides, how else should I react to a dangerous creature stalking my fellow Princess and faithful student?"

"What?" Yaazi asked, confused. "I don't understand..."

"From what I have determined, you have been in Ponyville for several years. What are you planning? Where is your swarm? What orders has your Queen given you?" Celestia's glare was pitiless, drilling into Yaazi's mind like a spear of ice.

Yaazi shivered. She couldn't say anything. She couldn't say the swarm was all gone. Even if she was believed, with how the Sun Princess was acting that would just lead to her summary execution to eliminate the last of a dangerous race of predators. And she didn't have the energy to come up with a believable lie...and she feared what would be done to her if she was caught in a lie. "Please...just let me go..."

Celestia glowered down at her. "That's not going to happen." Her horn glowed with a golden light.

The magic in the cell responded, glowing brightly. Yaazi screamed in agony as the magic lanced into her. After a time, the magic faded, and Yaazi collapsed to the floor, choked sobs shaking her frame. "Pound..." she whispered in desperation.

Celestia stared at her with a raised eyebrow. She turned to the side. "The Changeling you captured seems to think you're going to help it. Any idea why?"

Yaazi lifted her head, staring in disbelief. Standing amongst a group of Royal Guards were Pound and Pumpkin. Pound stared at her with barely concealed contempt. "Not a clue," he spat. "No way I'd help a monster like that, trying to hurt my sister."

Pumpkin hid behind Pound in fear. "Keep it away!" she cried.

Staring, Yaazi felt her last hope fade. She closed her eyes, just wanting it all to end.

"Tears won't help you now, Changeling!" Celestia said coldly. "Only answers. Now talk."

Yaazi opened her eyes, staring. Carefully, she lifted her foreleg, staring at Celestia through the holes, and placed her hoof against her chitinous cheek. She felt the dampness, and pulled her hoof away to stare at the dampness. "Changelings can't cry," she said calmly, turning to stare at Celestia. "We don't have tear ducts."

She fired a blast of green magic straight at Celestia. It punched right through the magic on the cell and pierced Celestia through the chest. A look of shock crossed the Sun Princess' face before her body burst into light.

The Royal Guards began to lunge forward, but Yaazi ignored them. "These tears aren't real...which means I'm not real here...which means none of this is." Reaching forward, she grabbed one guard by his horn and swung him, using him as a bludgeon against the entire squadron, sending them falling like ninepins. "It's not real." She stepped forward, right through the bars.

Pound lunged forward. "I won't let you hurt-"

"You're not real," Yaazi said sadly, a beam of her magic taking him right in his heart. The flow of her tears multiplied as his broken body fell.

"Pound!" Pumpkin cried out, rushing to Pound's side.

Yaazi's spell took the unicorn through her right eye. "You're not real," she whispered, her voice broken.

She turned, gathering her strength. "It's not real!" she screamed, releasing a wave of green fire. The cell, the Guards, the bodies, the castle...all washed away in the blazing light. She fell down against the plain white ground, crying with the pain of the false visions. Hearing hoofsteps, she spun, readying her magic.

A blue alicorn she didn't know raised a hoof. "Peace, child. I bring you no harm. I am here to help."

Yaazi stared in disbelief. "Who...who are you?"

The alicorn smiled, warmth in her expression that had been absent in the dream vision of Celestia. "I am Luna, Princess of the Night...and Guardian of Dreams."

Yaazi blinked. "So...this is a dream? It...it isn't real?"

Luna shook her head. "Neigh. It is a dream, a product of your fears and-" She paused, noticing she had suddenly become dressed in a strange purple jesters outfit. "...I take it you have practice in lucid dreaming?" she asked, amused.

Yaazi managed a small smile. "Little bit," she mumbled.

Luna smiled, dispelling the attire. Then she blinked. "I know you," she said suddenly.

Yaazi backed up, afraid. How could Luna know her?

"I have seen your dreams many times. Your nightmares, they bring you agony so loud the night echoes with it. Many times I have attempted to approach you in the realm of dreams, but each time you have fled from me..." Luna looked down at the nonexistent ground, a sorrowful expression on her face. "And I can give no aid to one who won't accept it..."

Yaazi looked up. "You...want to help me?"

"But of course!" Luna said, smiling. "You are one of my subjects. Were you not, I would not feel your dream, or be able to enter it. Though I cannot banish the nightmare until you welcome me in." She glanced around. "Then again, you seem to have handled banishing this nightmare fine on your own," she replied, respect in her voice.

Yaazi shook her head, trying to make sense of this. "But...I'm a Changeling!"

Luna looked at her, tilting her head. "And?"

Yaazi could only stare, not understanding how Luna could be so calm about this.

Luna smiled. "Before I became Nightmare Moon, when Celestia and I ruled together more than 1000 years ago, the Changelings were our allies. They walked through our lands freely, and ponies lived in Harmony with them. I was quite shocked to discover that they had become our bitter enemies in the time I was gone. Celestia still has not told me why, or what could have pushed them to such dire straits as to attempt an assault on Canterlot." Luna frowned briefly as she struggled with these thoughts, then smiled as she turned back to Yaazi. "Even so, that is neither here nor there at the moment. I am here to aid you."

Yaazi blinked up at Luna. "But...I don't..." She shook her head, confused.

"Where's that noise coming from?" a male voice echoed through the dreamscape. "I was about to pull a Sonic Rainboom."

"My soufflé!" a female voice yelled in distress from another direction.

Yaazi shot to her hooves. She knew those voices. "Pound? Pumpkin?"

There was the sudden sound of running hooves. Two figures suddenly arrived out of the mist at the edge of vision. "Yaazi?" the twins asked in shock.

Yaazi threw herself at Pound, hugging him tight, relieved beyond words that she could feel him in her mind again, that she could tell that - despite it being a dream - this was real. Within moments, Pumpkin was also at her side.

Luna watched in surprise. "I was not expecting to see the two of you here," she said to the twins.

Pumpkin looked up. "Princess Luna?" she asked, surprised. She looked around. "Wait...this is a dream? Are we sharing a dream?"

Pound looked quite confused. "How's that possible?"

Luna looked carefully at the three of them, lost in thought. "...in ancient days, Changelings and ponies occasionally formed especially strong bonds, and the ponies were considered honorary members of the hive. Those ponies described a rather disconcerting sensation of hearing thousands of voices in their minds where there had only been one. I believe that in such cases, a direct link was made between the mind of the pony and the overmind of the Changeling hive. ...with no other Changelings for Yaazi to contact, it’s possible that when you welcomed her, a strong bond was formed...and she linked herself to the two of you in desperation." She smiled. "It could be that link now allows you to share, not only thoughts, but dreams as well." Walking forward, she wrapped her wings comfortingly around the three of them. "I will do what I can for you, Yaazi, but my powers are limited. Pound, Pumpkin, may I ask you to be there for her when I cannot?"

Pound smiled. "Of course," he said calmly, nuzzling Yaazi, his wing wrapped around her.

Pumpkin grinned. "We already have been," she said happily to Luna. "Your lessons were quite helpful." Pound and Yaazi both turned bright red.

Luna stepped back, suppressing her own blush. "More than I needed to know," she whispered quietly. She took to the air, turning back briefly to see the three young adults curled up around each other, and smiled before fading back into the dream scape, seeing to her other duties.