The Erotic Life of the Smallest Changeling

Contains: micro, lore

The Shadow Changeling had faded out of existence like a ghost and the hole in the wall now led to a mysterious office Alex knew hadn't been there before. He looked back to Oleander and Bell, but neither had anything to say. The pair merely gestured with their heads for him to go. Alex gulped audibly, beat his wings, and flew through the gateway that had been provided. As soon as he emerged on the other side however, it collapsed behind him, trapping him. Alex glanced back for a moment, but quickly turned his attention to the strange room.

The floor was covered by a large fuzzy red rug emblazoned with gold in the shape of exotic plants he didn't recognize. There were a few bookshelves in the room as well as a large desk one would expect in the office of a wealthy business executive. Several paintings of green pastures and mountains filled the blank areas of the cherry red walls and hanging from a white plaster ceiling was a single curly armed chandelier which remained unlit. There were no doors into or out of the room. To Alex's left, one narrow floor to ceiling window allowed a beam of fiery orange sunlight into the space. Seated on his haunches directly within that ray of light was Nightshade himself.

He was nothing like what Alex had been expecting. No, he was much less intimidating.

He was about a head taller than Chrysalis with a very similar build. His fur was thin and not quite as black, definitely showing signs of age. While Chrysalis's wings had seemed ragged and poorly cared for, Nightshade's gigantic plum colored wings were in pristine condition, round like a butterfly's and folded neatly to his sides. A lengthy horn sprouted from his head just before a flowing mane of pure silver that rested along his shoulders. Then there were his legs, covered in polished iron leggings. Engraved in the metal were the same types of symbols Alex had seen on the Shadow Changeling earlier, but these lacked any organization and were scribbled randomly over the surface. They glowed the same eerie violet and appeared to be emitting a faint mist that quickly dissipated an inch into the open air.

To the left of the window, sitting on a small decorative table, was a lone glass goblet filled with red wine. On the right side, a slightly larger table carried a black book with yellowing, weathered pages poking out of its bindings.

Alex hovered where he was for a moment, keeping his eyes fixed on Nightshade. The God-King of the changelings was currently staring at the sunset outside. Alex decided that it would be best to land somewhere and chose the heavy desk. After touching down, he folded his wings and seated himself facing the larger changeling, who had still yet to even acknowledge his presence. Somewhere in the room, Alex could hear a clock ticking away the seconds that the two remained like that. The wait was nerve racking.

Suddenly, Nightshade's horn glowed lavender and the glass of wine at his side rose on its own. Stirring the contents for a minute, he casually brought it to his lips and took a generous sip before levitating it back to its perch. Then he cleared his throat.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked without looking back and in a voice expected from an older gentleman.

"Yes," Alex said quietly. The only real royalty he'd ever spoken to was Chrysalis, and that was made far less formal by their relationship. He was uncertain how to show respect to such a powerful individual.

"How much do you know?"

Alex worked his jaw before speaking. "You took control of The Council thousands of years ago after winning the Battle of Podzamite. You are the oldest changeling alive and you hold the future of this hive in your hooves."

One of Nightshade's ears flicked. "And I know all about you. That makes introductions unnecessary so we can get right down to business." His horn lit up again, but this time it was the book that floated into the air and hovered by his head. "Do you know what this is?"

There was some text on the cover, but it wasn't in English. There was a depiction of a crescent moon with a unicorn's head in the middle, grafted directly into the leather with glistening silver. This was clearly an expensive novel and very old, but Alex had never seen it before nor did he know what it was. He shook his head to communicate this, but quickly realized Nightshade still wasn't looking in his direction. Before he could voice in the negative however, the larger changeling proved he had eyes in the back of his head.

"This book has no true name, but is often referred to by its creator. This is the Spell Book of Nightmare Moon."

Alex was unable to completely contain his gasp. He knew of that book after all! It was how Chrysalis had brought him to this world and given him the body of a shrunken changeling.

"This is the single largest collection of black magic in existence," Nightshade continued. "Nightmare Moon herself filled these pages with power, so it is not just a list of spells. Using this stored energy, any changeling or pony would be capable of some rather impressive feats. Eventually that magic will be used up and this tome will become like any other book, unfortunately."

Alex remained silent.

Nightshade lowered the tome back to its resting place before his voice returned with a hint of frustration to it. "I have heard so many stories regarding this manuscript and I had dreamed of the day I might possess it, that I might read it for myself. So imagine my pleasure when I found Chrysalis had somehow gotten ahold of it. But now that I have it, I am left with a question that I cannot find the answer to no matter how much I look. That question being: how can you exist?"

Alex tilted his head slightly at that. "I'm sorry sir, I don't understand. Chrysalis only told me that she used Nightmare Moon's book to take me from my world and give me this body. That's as much as I know."

"I heard the same story from her mouth too," he huffed. "But I have looked through these aged pages numerous times and... that explanation doesn't make any sense."

Alex only knew the basics of magic. Even with that amulet Oleander had gotten him, he still hadn't learned much beyond transforming, levitation, love absorption, and a dab of invisibility. He had no idea what dark magic entailed and he had no idea what the limits were. So he opted to remain silent so as not to embarrass himself or anger Nightshade.

"I can't figure out how you can be standing here in my presence with that body and with that mind and all it took was that fool of a queen and this book. I read and I scan, but I can't find the answer. Do you even comprehend my plight?" he asked unexpectedly.

"No sir, I don't. I know very little about magic."

He grumbled, but still refused to look in Alex's direction. "Other worlds are not beyond reach, especially for a determined spell caster with knowledge of the dark arts. This book would make ripping a hole into another realm child's play in fact." He took a deep breath. "What I don't understand is that body. You can't have that form."

"Is a shrink spell not possible?"

Nightshade's head half turned in his direction and Alex finally got a glimpse of his face. His muzzle was long and narrow, two short straight fangs hanging over his bottom lip. His wide violet eyes were sunk deep in their sockets as they stared back at him. "A shrink spell is easy, but you and Chrysalis have both been fooled. You are not simply a shrunken Whistle Changeling."

Whistle Changeling? Alex wondered. He assumed that must be the changelings of Chrysalis's hive. "But if I'm not just shrunk, what am I?"

Nightshade's brow lowered, he sighed and turned back to the window. "Chrysalis tried to simply construct your body on a minuscule scale. Your natural form would literally have been that of a Whistle Changeling only smaller, which would have eliminated the need to shrink you after bringing you to this world. That was her intention. However, Chrysalis was not--and still isn't--familiar with the realm of shadows. She lost control of the spell without even realizing it."

"But if I'm not a...Whistle Changeling, then what am I?" Alex asked again, eagerly.

"You are a Firefly Changeling," he said slowly.

Alex sat back and blinked several times. "What's that?"

"A species that has been extinct since I was a scrub," Nightshade replied, barely above a whisper.

"Oh," was all Alex could manage to say. If Nightshade was thousands of years old, that would mean the Firefly Changelings had been gone for a long time. "What's the difference between a Firefly and a Whistle Changeling?"

"Size, primarily. But Fireflies also have a deep inner magic reserve. Did you notice how that amulet you had felt weird? Like it had a heartbeat of its own?"

Alex did recall that. "Yes, it felt... wrong."

Nightshade nodded. "Amulets are supposed to sync to the wielders own magic reserves, but Fireflies are born with a biological amulet. They can store HUGE quantities of love... if they know how to direct it to their inner stores. An experienced Firefly is also a living magic amplifier. Part of the reason they are now extinct."

Alex could feel his jaw dropping. "So I'm really not a Whistle Changeling."

"In other words, I can't allow Chrysalis to send you home."

"What!?" Alex shouted, shock instantly destroying his sense of amazement.

Nightshade did not respond immediately. Instead, he sat quietly, gazing out at the setting sun while that annoying clock ticked on. He levitated the glass of wine to his lips and took a sip before he resumed. "Do you know why I did what I did all those millennia ago?"

"No, I don't," Alex said, irritated that Nightshade was changing the subject without answering his question.

The goblet landed gracefully back on its stand and Nightshade licked his lips before continuing. "Because the Feudal Era cost us changelings so much. While I was growing up, hives were being annihilated one after the other. So many were dead and there wasn't a real reason for it. I didn't feel like anyone wanted those dark days to end but me. So I made an oath to bring peace no matter what the cost was. As soon as I saw an opportunity to end the fighting I was going to take it."

Nightshade stopped speaking for a few seconds, prompting Alex to throw his two cents in. "I'm sorry, but I don't see what any of that has to do with me."

"I am not a god," Nightshade said suddenly, making Alex blink in confusion. "I have done many things others could only ever dream of. I have witnessed wars, disasters, and plagues. I caused some, I ended others... but there is one thing not even the most skilled dark magician can do: bring back the dead. Only a god can do that, and because I cannot, I am no god."

Alex scratched his head while he tried to figure out what Nightshade was saying. It seemed like some kind of philosophical gibberish to him.

"To end the wars I had to wage one myself, and in doing so, destroyed two hives with these very hooves." As he spoke, he raised his armor clad legs to his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Alex dared to say. Nightshade seemed to ignore him.

"Somehow, Chrysalis recreated the Firefly Changelings in you and now I have an opportunity to restore a piece of what my kind have lost."

"Wait," Alex felt his eyes widen. "Are you saying you want to use me to bring back a dead hive?"

Nightshade took a deep breath. "Chrysalis did something by accident that I was never able to do in my wildest fantasies. I will not let this opportunity slip by. You cannot be allowed to return home."

Alex felt his throat tighten. It couldn't be. Sure he had had his doubts about whether he should really go home or not, but it had always been his choice. Now, this want-to-be god was taking the choice away from him and holding him prisoner! "Y-you can't do that! Chrysalis promised to send me home."

"Hm?" Nightshade's ears perked and he turned his head towards Alex.

"You can't hold me here like a criminal, I've done nothing wrong."

"A promise?" Nightshade murmured quietly.

"I get that making up for actions in the past is important to you and all, but it's not fair to me right now."

"Chrysalis made you a promise?" Nightshade asked again, this time with more force, before he stood up.

Alex suddenly felt like he had crossed the line. Until now, Nightshade had been seated and busying himself looking out that window, but now he was on his hooves and looking right at him. "Yes," Alex squeaked, fear halting his whining.

Nightshade appeared to be in deep thought. "A promise," he echoed. "A promise..." He turned back and sat at the window, his eyes boring into the sun on the horizon.

Alex was confused. What did he say?

The clock kept ticking in the background as Nightshade stared at nothing. Alex was afraid to speak now, so the room remained silent. A minute passed.

"Would you like to speak with her?" Nightshade asked abruptly.

"Who?"

"Chrysalis."

Alex hadn't seen her in a while and he wasn't sure what good talking to her now would do. Regardless, he nodded.

There was a flash of violet and Alex vanished from the room, leaving the king of changelings alone. The wine glass floated in front of him, but he did not drink from it. Instead, he moved it away so that it blocked his view of the sun. Or rather so the sun's rays had to pass through the red liquid first.

"Do I serve the future or do I serve the past?" he asked himself. "Do I help my people or do I honor a promise?" He sighed. "What a mess."

Alex waited for the spots to clear from his vision and for his head to stop spinning before he tried to figure out where he was. He knew Nightshade had just teleported him.

This new place had the curved cave walls he was familiar with as well as a smooth dusty floor. There were some glowing green crystals hanging from the ceiling that cast everything in an emerald shade and the wooden surface Alex was now sitting on had clearly seen many years of use. To his left was an empty hospital bed with slick sheets and an over-sized pillow. To his right was another bed, but Chrysalis was currently occupying this one.

Alex gasped at the sight. She looked terrible.

A thin cotton blanket covered only up to her midsection, leaving the multitude of bandages around her barrel visible. A hard plaster cast encased her right arm to the elbow and there was a patch over her right eye. Across her form were numerous bald spots where her fur had been burned away.

Chrysalis's uncovered eye drifted open and her head lazily creaked to regard Alex. Her emerald eye was so tired, so defeated. Her chest inflated several times before she bothered to speak.

"What are you doing here?" she asked weakly.

Alex only now realized his mouth had been hanging open. He quickly closed it and cleared his throat. After thinking for another few seconds, he began to speak, nervously.

"Nightshade sent me. I... I wanted to talk to you."

Chrysalis's lid slipped down over her good eye. "About... sending you home?"

Alex licked his lips. "Kind of."

"Alex," she began monotone, "I can't." Chrysalis grunted as she pulled herself upwards on the bed so that her back was supported by the pillow. "Lord Nightshade is taking everything from me."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, already knowing part of it.

Chrysalis glared at the far wall. "The Council is going to vote in a few hours, but Lord Nightshade's proposal WILL pass and this hive will be torn apart."

"Torn apart?!" Alex's ears flew up. That sounded serious.

"I will be imprisoned," she continued, "and my hive will be moved to the mountains and put under the direction of Milkweed. Meanwhile, Firethorn will get our territory and our home." She sighed with exhaustion. "It's over Alex, there is nothing this... former queen can offer you."

"It's not over yet, there's still a chance The Council will turn it down," he tried to assure her.

Chrysalis looked down at Alex with a dead expression. "Firethorn has longed to see this hive destroyed since he came to power and Milkweed is too much of a coward to ever dare oppose Lord Nightshade. I obviously don't have a vote and Nightshade isn't going to reject his own proposal. So you tell me how there is hope?"

Alex couldn't find words for his mouth to utter.

"And on top of all that, Lord Nightshade doesn't believe I should be allowed to wield one of the most powerful magic artifacts in the world, the Spell Book of Nightmare Moon. Without it, I can't send you home."

"Nightshade was talking to me about that earlier, actually. There's more to it than that."

Chrysalis looked curious.

"He told me that the dark magic you used to created my body was not fully under your control. He said that something went wrong and you weren't experienced enough with dark magic to notice."

Chrysalis growled, her spellcrafting abilities insulted. "What is that supposed to mean? You're here, aren't you?"

"Yes," Alex said while stepping back. He hadn't meant to offend Chrysalis. "But, apparently, I'm not a Whistle Changeling."

Chrysalis blinked. "Yes you are, that's how I made you."

"I'm a Firefly Changeling. A species that is naturally this size."

Chrysalis's breath escaped her. "That's not possible," she gaped. "The Fireflies have been extinct for... ever."

Alex nodded. "Nightshade thinks I'm the key to bringing them back. The real reason he doesn't want me to go home is so he can study me and maybe restore the species."

Chrysalis looked away with grit teeth. "He didn't tell me this."

Alex didn't feel the need to say anything else. So the two sat in silence for several minutes.

...

...

...

"I'm sorry..."

Alex's ears perked. "What?"

"I'm sorry, Alex. None of this was supposed to happen."

Alex bit his lip again. "I'm sorry too."

Chrysalis shook her head. "I took you from your home, stole everything from you, now everything is being taken from me." She paused. "I don't like the feeling."

Alex swallowed a sad giggle. This wasn't the time for laughing. "It's okay. You promised to send me home. It's not your fault Nightshade is in the way."

"I was supposed to be victorious!" she snapped. "I was supposed to be unstoppable. I was going to end this age of changeling cowardice and become a God-Queen, like Nightshade. But now he is standing over me, looking down on me like I'm a child who's utterly failed his expectations. I can't even fulfill a simple promise."

There was something about the way she said 'promise' that made Alex curious. "Was our deal really that important to you?"

Chrysalis sighed, remembering that Alex wasn't born into changeling society. "To changelings, Alex, a promise is a sacred thing. Especially to us royals, failing to honor a promise is almost like... I'm not sure there is a way to put it into words. It's just... a promise is special to our kind. Promises have been made by us and to us in the past and they have altered the course of our existence. The simplest of agreements, when honored, have made hives and burned them down."

Alex recalled the way Nightshade had seemed shocked when he mentioned Chrysalis's promise. Was this why? Did it matter? Chrysalis took another moment to ponder before coming up with a better explanation.

"Changelings have always been creatures of deception. Even before we removed ourselves from history, we could assume the forms of others and travel completely unseen. We needed a way to trust each other, so we wouldn't step on each other's hooves. When the Feudal Age began, changelings abused their powers beyond measure. So when the fighting ended, our kind had an intimate experience with the insanity that occurs if we can't at least trust our fellow changelings. We are taught from birth that we hurt each other a lot more by lying than we ever could by fighting.

"An agreement to or from a Royal Changeling is even more sacred. We are beings that can live for thousands of years. A promise with one of us could potentially be in effect for a multitude of generations. Who knows how much damage or profit something like that could bring."

"Which is why I've come to a decision," a deep voice came from the doorway. Both Alex and Chrysalis jumped and turned to the owner.

It was Lord Nightshade.

"Chrysalis, I am willing to give you the Spell Book of Nightmare Moon only until Alex is returned home."

"B-but I thought you said you needed me to bring back the Firefly Changelings?" Alex blurted.

"I do," Nightshade replied, his features sagging. "But your agreement is more important," he swallowed.

"I am still too injured to safely complete the ritual," Chrysalis asserted. "You must give me a few weeks to heal first."

Nightshade rapidly became suspicious. "Trying to buy your hive more time? I will not risk a war with you when there is the coming struggle with the ponies to prepare for."

"How do you expect me to complete such a complex spell in this state?" she hissed back.

"You'll find a way," he stated calmly.

"Permission to speak?" Alex spoke up from the blue.

Nightshade eyed him. "What is it?"

"I would like to make a proposal of my own."

Nightshade and Chrysalis looked at each other one last time before turning to regard him. "What are you talking about?"

"I would like... to make... a deal, Nightshade," Alex said, mustering the last of his courage for what he was about to say.

Chrysalis didn't know if she should tell him to be quiet or dare to hope he knew what he was doing. Nightshade's face went through various emotions before settling on curiosity. "I'm listening."

"Chrysalis is removed from power and Milkweed looks over the hive until a new queen is... available. Your hive supplies this one with love until it gets back on its hooves and... I stay so you can bring back the Firefly Changelings."

A feather falling to floor would have sounded like thunder with how quiet it was in that small cave room.

"What about the ponies?" Nightshade said pointedly. "Alex, there is a war on the horizon."

"Ponies and changelings fought before and you were able to convince them changelings didn't exist. You did. Just do it again," Alex challenged.

"Chrysalis has committed a serious crime, am I supposed to just forget about that?" he said, anger just starting to simmer. This young non-changeling was pushing him.

"I agree that Chrysalis should no longer be queen, but I'm giving up my passage home so you can bring back the Firefly Changelings." Alex shook his head at that, a jumble of thoughts coursing through his head. "Please, you can't blame her for what she did. I'll take the punishment!"

"She should have come to me for help, not--"

"The other hives are afraid of you!" Alex shouted, making both royal changelings in the room flinch in surprise at his volume. "They see you as some kind of monster. A distant phantom tyrant just waiting for an excuse to drop in and ruin their lives."

Nightshade was taken off guard by that. "That is nonsense. I saved my people from--"

"Every changeling I've met describes you as a heartless king without a conscious," Alex cut him off. "You blame this hive for its act of desperation, but they had no choice. They would have gone to you for help... if they actually saw you as an ally. How can you stand there and call them fools when you don't even know how your subjects see you?"

Everything Alex had seen, heard, and learned had just come pouring out. How Chrysalis chose to live like her people, how Oleander had described Nightshade, and how he was supposed to be ruler over all changelings yet didn't even know they were scared of him. Alex just couldn't stop himself from turning it all around on Nightshade. Alex could tell he had snapped... and he liked it. He felt powerful. He had Nightshade in a state of shock that would have made a lot of changelings... well, shocked.

Chrysalis could scarcely find the strength to breath, let alone speak. So she lay there, just waiting to see what happened.

...

...

...

"The Whistling Hive feared me?" Nightshade asked quietly.

"They still do."

"And you are willing to stay so that the Firefly Hive can be rebuilt, if I spare them?"

Alex blinked once before answering as seriously and confidently as he could. "Yes."

Nightshade stood there for a long time, only his breathing and his wandering eyes to keep Alex and Chrysalis busy. Finally, the ancient changeling reached a decision. "Then so be it." He inhaled deeply, puffed out his chest, and began his declaration.

"I, God-King Nightshade, ruler over the changeling race and The Council, hereby strip Chrysalis of her royal title and privileges. Her hive will be under the direct authority of King Milkweed until a new ruler has been hatched and raised to such point that they can effectively assume control of the Hive and its daily functions. In which time, there will be a restructuring of the nobility and a complete review of the events leading up to the--commonly known as--Canterlot Invasion.

"In addition, my own hive--the Shadow Hive--will provide regular monthly shipments of love energy to reduce the effects of the famine currently plaguing the Whistling Changelings. You, Alex, shall remain here in the Whistling Hive and subject yourself to a routine of physical examination with the goal of restoring the Firefly Changelings. I also see fit to decree that the entire Council shall now meet on a monthly schedule with reports on the status of each hive being read to the collective, to prevent future incidents.

"Lastly, Operation Silent Songbird is now in effect for the first time in over 4,000 years and will remain so until such time as I decide we have been sufficiently removed from common pony knowledge.

"So decrees I, God-King Nightshade Zephyrus Balli Gratian, 3rd king of the Shadow Hive and 1st lord of The Council."

"Doesn't The Council need to approve of something like that?" Alex asked, currently awed by what he had just achieved.

"Normally, yes, but I may make radical decisions if I... feel like it. Now if you'll excuse me, I am very tired." The next thing Alex and Chrysalis knew, Nightshade was pacing out into the hall.

Chrysalis's eyes fell to the sheets. She could already feel something welling up inside her. "Did you... did you really do that for me?"

Alex looked up at her and grinned shyly. "Not just for you, but for the Hive."

"Why?"

"Are you kidding?" Alex blanched. "They don't deserve to be punished for... for... for wanting to live. This hive was going under and you took your kind and did what was only natural: you fought."

"No," Chrysalis shook her head. "Lord Nightshade was going to let you go home, but you gave it up. Why?" She seemed utterly baffled. "Our problems weren't yours. You'd never see us again."

"Oleander told me I can never go home, and in a way, I think he was right. On earth, a man can only amount to so much, there's only so much he can achieve in his short lifetime. But here," Alex's gaze turned to the doorway where Nightshade had retreated with his tail practically tucked between his legs, "I have a chance to do what no one else has ever done. I am the key to bringing back an entire civilization and I had the leverage to tell a... to tell a GOD what he was going to do!" He looked back at Chrysalis with a proud grin. "This is where I belong and there's no way I'm going to turn my back on all the changelings who would be suffering if I had just run off."

Chrysalis now knew what was welling up inside her. Tears. She would no longer be queen, but her people would go on and she would be around to see it. Who knows, maybe Nightshade would even allow her to become a noble in the years to come.

"Thank you, Alex."

"You're welcome, Queen Chrysalis." She smiled sadly at the use of her title. "Did you catch it though?"

"What?" A single tear had escaped her defenses and was now rolling down her cheek.

"Nightshade said I'd stay here... with you," he explained, his grin growing.

Chrysalis choked on a laugh.

Now alone in the hall, the God-King Nightshade marched with sagging shoulders. "That little brat," he chuckled softly. "A common Firefly using a promise with a royal to bend me to his will? Well played Alex, well played."

He stopped walking and sighed. "I think it's about time I retire myself. 5,000 years is too old for politics. But you, Alex, you will certainly make a fine king once your hive is reborn."

The End