The Erotic Life of the Smallest Changeling

Contains: micro, story

Alex gasped from exertion and a moment later the thin book landed on the desk with a light thump. He was sweating profusely and his head ached. Magic practice today consisted of him trying to levitate heavier and heavier objects for three seconds at a time. Needless to say, the power he'd displayed so far was pathetic. Oleander continued to assure him he was doing great though.

"I think that's enough for now. Why don't we take a break and get some grub, huh?"

"That huff feels like huff a great huff idea," Alex strained to say through his lungs' demands for air.

Oleander chuckled, "would you like a lift?"

Alex snorted. "Yes please."

Oleander snickered again as he levitated Alex onto his head and ferried him to Chrysalis's kitchen where he gave pause, his expression darkening. Apple sat at the table, toying with a single blueberry. She rolled it back and forth across the smooth surface with a depressed look on her muzzle and didn't even acknowledge Oleander as he entered the room. The veteran changeling sighed and put Alex down on the table far away from Apple. He had almost forgotten she was here after he and Alex started training. He wished it could've stayed that way.

"So what are you in the mood for?" Oleander questioned Alex.

"Uh... blueberries?" he suggested. It was the only food that came to mind as he watched the poor helpless fruit on the other side of the room endure a never ending torture.

One of Apple's ears flick at this, but she did not react otherwise. Oleander nodded once and went to the fridge to grab his buddy a few of the blue edible spheres. Now that he and Apple were in the same room, Oleander couldn't stop thinking about what Alex had done for them. It was noble of him to step in like that, and maybe a little crazy, but he'd save Oleander's hide from Scrub-Scrub duty. He was eternally in Alex's debt for that. But it was the other half of the arrangement Alex had suggested that threw Oleander off. Apple could still participate in the invasion if she was able to work with him and watch Alex as a team. Oleander wasn't sure what Alex had been thinking, yet the deal seemed fair. If they didn't fight she could take part in the invasion and he wouldn't die doing the worst job the Hive had to offer.

"There you go, all the berries you could ever eat!" Oleander cheered as he put the small plate down. "Now we feast."

Alex was able to catch the tiniest of peeks from Apple as he climbed onto the plate and grabbed one of the basketball sized berries. Gently, he poked a hole in its cold skin with his fangs and began to suck its insides out like a vampire. Oleander levitated a few into his maw and chomped down, mashing them effortlessly into paste.

Apple finally sighed and looked up, her eyes dull and lifeless. "I don't like this anymore then you do Oleander," she began.

"Who said I don't like it?" he challenged, a hint of venom in his words.

"It's obvious, Oleander. Neither of us wants to be around the other," she asserted with more volume.

"It's the Queen's orders."

Apple winced at that, retracting her head slightly. "Can we... not be around each other then?"

"Fine by me," he stated dryly.

"But we both have to watch Alex," she mentioned suddenly.

"Not at the same time," he countered calmly.

Apple grunted. "Buck you!" She threw the blueberry she'd been playing with in her mouth and crushed it loudly. "Just leave me alone then," she ordered as she stormed away from the table, hooves practically cracking the stone floor.

"She's mad," Oleander said after a few seconds.

"I never would have guessed," Alex mused.

Oleander popped a few more blueberries in his mouth and chewed them thoroughly in the awkward silence that followed. Neither he nor Alex knew what to talk about now.

...

"What is Scrub-Scrub duty?" Alex queried.

"That's complicated," Oleander admitted with a disgusted scrunch of his nose.

"Is it worse than dying?" Alex joked.

"Maybe," Oleander retorted, absolutely serious.

"Wow, that's pretty bad. What do you do?"

Oleander rubbed his head with a hoof while he thought how best to explain it. "There are three meanings to Scrub, Alex. The first kind is used for cleaning the Hive."

"Actually scrubbing something."

"The second kind are Scrubs. Newly hatched changelings until they're about 10 months old. Until that point they also need constant care."

Alex's simple mind tried to put the two meanings together and quickly came to a ridiculous conclusion. "You scrub the walls of the Hive with Scrubs?"

Oleander stared down at Alex for several seconds before he burst into laughter. "NO! That's just stupid!"

Alex's ears pinned back in embarrassment. "Then what is Scrub-Scrub duty?"

Oleander wheezed out his final chuckle and cleared his throat. His serious face returned and he answered the question as straight forward as he could. "Scrubbing the Scrubs."

"You bathe the younger changelings?" Alex asked with confusion. "That doesn't sound so bad."

He groaned in response. "You have no idea how much... like Tartarus that job is. Can you imagine having a hundred newborns endlessly crying and fighting you to get out of the tub? Or can you imagine trying to make sure that not one of the clueless infants drowns or freezes to death in the cold water that funnels down through the Hive? You have to be on alert for their 'accidents' and their goo spitting. You're locked in a room with the little monsters for hours and hours on end and if you leave, it's treason."

"I thought you loved kids."

"I do. I love teaching kids, not caring for them."

"What about me," Alex put a hoof to his chest.

"You're small, but you're hardly a child. You also saved me from Scrub-Scrub duty, so I owe you big."

"As long as you can keep Apple in check, I think we're even."

"Speaking of which, why did you do it?"

Alex was caught off guard by the question. "Do what?"

"Agree to spend time with Apple, I thought you were afr--hated her," he corrected himself, not wishing to offend Alex.

"Well... uh," Alex thought for a moment. "I didn't feel like it was fair."

Oleander tilted his head and narrowed his good eye. "What do you mean? She started the fight."

"It was fair in that sense, but you have to look at the big picture. She just wants to serve Chrysalis as much as she can and you're--" he had to think for a moment "--getting in her way."

Oleander frowned as he pondered that for himself.

"She is trying to be the best servant she can be, but you're making it harder for her. So I don't think it'd be fair if she lost her chance to be in the invasion if all she's trying to do is be good."

Oleander's eyes lit up with understanding. "Apple just wants to 'be good', huh?" He sighed. "I see, but you still don't trust her?"

"Err, not really. No. But I don't want to ruin her life. I'm only going to be here a few more days."

Oleander nodded. "Personally, I'd have just let her rot."

The two fell into silence again until Alex finished his snack. Once he was done, the two went back to the study and Alex got back to work practicing his magic. Oleander was genuinely impressed with his progress.

Apple stared at herself in the mirror. Here she was, in Chrysalis's bathroom, the day after she had fought Oleander and risked losing her chance at being involved in the war at Canterlot. If Alex hadn't stepped in and convinced Chrysalis to give her another chance she probably would have taken her own life. She just couldn't see the value in existing if she couldn't make her queen happy. If Apple couldn't do good for the Hive, she didn't deserve to live. It was that simple.

She ran a hoof through her ruined mane and chewed on her lip. She owed Alex, but at the same time, he made her sick. Everything that was happening was his fault. He held her fate in his hooves. It was made even more obvious because Oleander was here too. Alex was a clever little changeling, she'd give him that. The question then became how to get payback.

A memory popped into her head as she replayed her previous adventure with Alex. She let a crooked smile grace her face. She knew what to do and she knew how to do it. Alex would pay and she would profit. Best of all, Alex wouldn't tell a soul once the deed was done.

Apple left a few minutes ago, leaving Oleander and Alex to wait for Chrysalis's return in the living room. Oleander was reading a book about some adventurer named Daring Do and Alex was getting close to falling asleep on the coffee table. He hadn't felt this tired since he tried out for track and thought he could run the mile in the same amount of time as those who'd been doing it for four years. Alex did feel a little nervous despite his exhaustion though. He had no idea how Chrysalis would react coming home after the first day of their experiment. She might not like the idea that one of his two caretakers took off. Alex couldn't believe he was actually wishing Apple had stayed.

The black iron doors swung open, the illusion spell that hid them long gone. As Chrysalis marched into the room she eyed Oleander with an unreadable expression. Then she spied Alex on the coffee table. Then she tried to find Apple, but gave a narrow-eyed frown when she was nowhere to be seen.

"She left moments ago, your majesty," Oleander explained quickly.

Chrysalis snorted. "Did she say anything?"

"No ma'am, she did not say where she was going."

"I meant throughout the day, did she say or do anything?" she reiterated more aggressively.

"No," Oleander replied stiffly.

Chrysalis relaxed and took another last look around. "You may leave now."

Oleander bowed and made for the exit, but Chrysalis stopped him before he could open the door.

"For what it's worth, Oleander, your fighting skills have not deteriorated."

He smiled proudly at that and puffed out his chest just a little bit. "Of course not, my Queen. A good soldier never stops training." Then he left.

Chrysalis turned back to Alex who was ready to collapse. "You did a lot of work today?"

"Magic practice," he answered.

She seemed unsure of what to do after that and Alex was starting to notice a running theme. No one seemed to know what to do next after recent events had made everyone uncomfortable. It was kind of amusing in a sad way.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day off," Chrysalis suggested. "Tomorrow will be our last day together until after I return with an empire under my power."