Going Home

Going Home

By Paladin

>You are sitting on a stool at a bar.  It is late at night on a weekday.  You are brown colored earth pony with a tan mane, a cutie mark of a wooden wagon on your flank.  You are drunk.  A unicorn stallion setting a few stools down from you peruses through a newspaper.
>“Hhmm… I almost forgot what today was…”  The unicorn says as he turns to you.
>“Hey buddy, did you know it has been 5 years since the changeling attack on Canterlot?”
>You slowly turn to him.
“Yeah… I know…” You say as you look at the half empty glass of cider in front of you.
>“They almost had us that day, but after 5 years of war, now we’ve got ‘em on the run!  Our mares and stallions of the royal guard really know how to stick it to ‘em, don’t they?”
“Yeah…”
>You begin to think of her, your wife, seeing her stand proudly in her royal guard armor.   Her dark blue coat and jet black mane. Smiling at you with a bit of a smirk as she stared longingly at you with her beautiful green eyes.
>“I still remember where I was when the barrier fell, I remember that whole day like it was yesterday.  I was at work, as soon as the drones started falling from the sky we all ran for it.  I hid in a dumpster until the barrier came back up, I’ve never been so scared in my life.  How about you?”
>You look back at him.
“I… don’t remember…”
>“What? Everyone remembers where they were they barrier fell.  Even ponies who didn’t live in Canterlot!”
>You let out a sigh.
“Yeah… yeah… I remember.”
>You pause for a second and then take a large gulp of cider.
“I was working... hauling goods across the city… and then the barrier fell.  The drones started falling from the sky.  The first thing I thought of was my wife, I was just a few blocks from where her patrol was stationed, so I just ran there as fast as I could.  It was chaos, drones falling on the street left and right, ponies screaming… and I finally reached her patrol.  There were a few dead changelings and guard ponies scattered across the ground.  There had just been a fight.  I saw a couple of changelings still standing… they were feeding on somepony.  I walked over… and I saw her… it was my wife… she was still alive, screaming while they were ripping her apart with their fangs and devouring her insides…”
>“Oh shit!  Listen, I’m sorry, you don’t have to continue.”  The unicorn at the bar awkwardly says.
“I lost it, I started yelling and running at them.  They heard me coming and flew out of the way.  I stood over my wife and started yelling at them as they flew above me.  And then she spoke to me, ‘Mack… Run...  Mack… Go…’   I stopped yelling and then just fell down to my knees next to her, I held her in my hooves, and I just broke down…”
>“What about the changelings?”  The unicorn asks.
“I watched one of them charge their horn and point it right at me… it was gonna strike… but then… it just stopped.  Its horn went back to normal.  They just hovered there, watching me.”
>“What?”  The unicorn exclaimed “They didn’t kill you?  But they're all a bunch of mindless killing machines!”
“After awhile they just looked at each other and then they just flew away.  I then stayed with my wife until the barrier came back up.  I put my wife in a wagon and ran her as fast as I could to Canterlot General Hospital.  The doctors did the best they could, but after a few days her wounds proved fatal…”
>You finish your cider and then stand up from your bar stool.
>“Shit… I’m sorry I brought all this up and made you remember all of this.”  The unicorn says apologetically.
“It’s alright… I couldn’t forget about all of this on the anniversary of the attack... even if I drank all the cider in this bar.”
>You walk out the door of the bar and proceed to walk along the dark deserted streets.  The brisk fall air feels cold against your fur.  You probably should have brought a coat.  You only had a few blocks to walk to get to your apartment, but after a few minutes your bladder begins to pain.
“Fuck me…”  You say to yourself.
>You forgot to take a piss before you left the bar, and after all of the ciders you had you feel like your bladder was going to explode.  You are not sure if you can hold it until you make it back to your apartment.  You pass by a dumpster in a dark alley.  You look over your shoulder and see there is not a pony in sight.  You proceed behind the dumpster in the dark alley and begin to relieve yourself.
“Ahhh…”  You say as your urine trickles down the side of the brick wall and forms a pool below.
>You continue to urinate for what seems like an eternity.
“Whoa there!”   You say to yourself as you move your hoof out of the way as the urine pool grows larger.
>“Well look what we got here.”  A voice calls out to you from the street.
>You turn your head, it is two guard ponies pulling a patrol wagon.
“SHIT!” You say to yourself as you crouch down instinctively behind the dumpster.  You accidentally step in your own urine.  “FUCK!” You curse again.
>The guard ponies detach from the wagon.  One is a older white colored unicorn.  The other younger gray colored pegasus.
>“Unless you want to make things difficult, I suggest you show your fucking face!”  The older guard pony says as he grips his spear.
>You slowly raise your head from behind the dumpster.
>“Well look who we have here!  Mack!  Again…  Stepping up your game tonight I see?  Going for both a public urination and public intoxication?”  The unicorn says mockingly.
>You let out a sigh.  You are far too drunk to try to talk your way out of this one, but you try anyway.
“Sorry… don’t suppose you could let me off with a warning this time?”
>“Ain’t happening Mack, you know the drill.”
“But I’m just a few blocks away from my apartment, I can be out of your mane in just a few minutes…”
>“Shut the fuck up and get in the wagon, you're going to the drunk tank.”
“Fuuuckkkk!” You say as your head swoops down.
>You shamefully walk towards the wagon.  Your hooves leave urine soaked hoof prints on the ground as you walk out of the alley.   The older guard pony grabs a pair of cuffs, but then notices your urine soaked hooves.
>“Ahhh… yuck!”  The older guard pony yells in disgust.  “Rookie, cuff this guy.”
>“Fuck that!”  The younger guard quickly yells back.
>“Fuck it… just get in the wagon Mack.”  The unicorn says.
>You walk to the wagon without any cuffs on, although at this point you would prefer being cuffed over being covered in urine.  The younger guard pony opens the door to the back of the wagon.  You look inside and then turn your gaze to the face of the young guard pony holding the door.  He stares at you, a small amount of pity in his eyes as he scans your tired face.  He then jerks his head towards the wagon, motioning you to get inside.  You sigh and climb inside, you plop down on metal bench.  The metal door slams shut behind you.  You can hear the guard ponies strapping themselves to the wagon.  Within a few seconds the cart is moving again.  You look out the iron bar windows as the cart whizzes by your apartment on the way to the station.  You were so close to being home.
>The cart continues to roll along for a few minutes, you continue looking out the back window of the wagon.  You begin to nod off but then something in the distance catches your eye.  You suddenly see a heavily armored pegasus fly overhead.  The pegasus quickly flies over the wagon and out of your view.  You hear a large clang of metal as the pegasus lands in the street in front of the wagon.  The wagon quickly comes to a stop.  You listen through the bars as the guards speak with the pegasus.
>“An exterminator… but they are only called in when there are changelings…”  The younger voice of the guard pony says nervously.
>“Brothers!”  The exterminator bellows in a deep booming stallion’s voice.  “Have you seen any suspicious looking ponies on the streets tonight?”
>“No.”  The older unicorn responds.  “Just the usual drunks.”  He lifts his hoof and gives the wagon a loud kick.  You are startled and jump in your seat as he does so.
>“Be wary brothers… there are changelings roaming the streets this night.  An hour ago a small band of changelings stormed one of our secure holding facilities to release one of their kin.  They will be trying escape the city.  Watch the alleys for suspicious characters… but be careful… the changeling menace is deceptive and knows no mercy.  The evil scum will lunge for your throats the first chance it gets!”
>The younger guard nervously gulps.
>“Thank you for the warning comrade.” The older unicorn says.  “We shall tread carefully tonight.”
>“That would be wise brother, I must continue my search.”
>The exterminator swoops off into the air.  You watch him fly overhead and disappeared behind a set of buildings.
>The wagon moves forward.
>“Y-you really think there’s changelings out here?”  The younger pegasus asks nervously.
>“Stop your worrying rookie… I haven't seen a changeling in Canterlot since the attack.  I bet that exterminator was just bull shitting us.  Damm special forces bastards thinking they are so much better than us regular guards.”
>“Yeah... you're probably right... he was probably just messing with us...”
>The cart rolls on for a few more minutes.  You continue watching through the bars of the wagon.  The wagon begins to roll through a dimly lit street.
>“Hold it.”  The unicorn says to the pegasus as the cart rolls to a stop.  “I think we got another drunk in that alley.”
>You attempt to look out of the bars but you can’t see much.  You hear the two guards detach from the wagon.
>“Alright who’s over there, show yourself!”  The unicorn yells.
>...
>“I said you better fucking show yourself!  If I have to come over there you're gonna regret it!”
>…
>“Did you see that?  There’s somepony over there!”  The young guard calls out.
>“Yeah… I saw it.”
>“Light it up.”  The young guard says to the unicorn.
>A few seconds pass as the unicorn struggles to cast a light spell with his horn.  You anxiously look through the bars towards the dark street, listening carefully.  A light illuminates the dark street from the side of the wagon.
>“HOLY SHIT!”
>“CHANGELINGS!”
>“HISSSS!”
>“GET BACK!”
>You frighteningly shiver on your cold metal seat as you hear the commotion occurring outside.  You can hear spells being cast back and forth and small explosive bursts of magic.  You try look outside the back window to see what is going on, but all of the action is out of view.  All you can see is flashes of green magic followed by flashes of blue magic.  You suddenly hear a large angry yell of what sounds like the younger guard pony charging down the alley.  This is followed by a high pitched squeal, the likes of which you have never heard before.  You are fairly certain it was not a pony who made the squeal.  The squeal is followed by an excruciating painful yell from a young guard pony.
>“OH SHIT!”  The older guard pony yell out.
>You hear the hoof steps of the unicorn as he runs back to the wagon.  The street lights up in green as multiple bursts of magic fly through the air.  You hear the impact of the spells as they hit the guard pony.  The pony slams against the side of the wagon.  The wagon shakes back and forth, but remains intact.  The light being given off by the unicorn's horn goes black and the street is once again covered in darkness.  There is a few seconds of silence followed by a few muffled hoofsteps.  Three flashes of green momentarily light up the street.  You begin to hear voices of what sounds like ponies.
>“Quick, hide the bodies!  Char them so they can’t be identified.”
>You here the unicorn's body slide against the ground as it is dragged into the dark alley.  Next a prolonged green light illuminates the alley.  The smell of burnt fur fills your nostrils.
>“How is she?”
>“She’s hurt… bad!”
>“SHIT!”
>“What are we gonna do?”
>“Uh… fuck… we can’t leave her behind!”
>“More will be coming soon, we can’t wait here!”
>“The wagon!  Grab her and put her in the wagon!  We can use it to escape!”
>You can hear multiple hoofsteps walking along on the side of the wagon.  You continue to hide in the corner of the wagon, trying to blend in with the dark metal insides.  You see the two guard ponies that were pulling the cart only minutes ago, obviously changelings in disguise.  The third changeling is disguised as an earth pony royal guard.  The unicorn guard is carrying some large black figure over its shoulder.  The young pegasus places his hoof on the door and gives it a pull.  You heart jumps in fear.
>*Clank* *Clank*
>“Shit! It’s locked.”  The pegasus yells.
>“Quick check the guard’s body for a key… and hurry!”  The unicorn quickly says.
>You hear one of the guard ponies run into the alley.  The unicorn with the burden on his shoulders lays the black figure on the ground.  It is a changeling is bleeding severely.
>“Just hold on, we're gonna get you out of here my Queen…”
>The black figure raises a bloodied hoof to the face of the guard pony.
>“…just go… leave me… I’m not gonna make it-”
>“We will do no such thing!”
>“I command you to-”
>“I got it!” You hear the pegasus call out.
>“Great, now hurry!”
>You hear the guard pony scrambling to the back of the wagon.  You hear him slide the key into the lock.  As he begins to open the door you dart to the end of the wagon and grab one of the window bars.  You quickly pull the door closed.  The surprised guard pony jumps back.
>“Shit!  There’s a pony in there!”  The pegasus says.
>“We don’t have time for this!” The earth pony guard yells with anger in his voice.
>The earth pony begins to pummel upon your hoof that is holding the door shut.
>“Let go!”  The earth pony yells.
>Your hoof begins to bleed, but you continue to hold.
>“Stop!  Everyone grab the bars and pull on three!”  The unicorn commands.
>The other two guard ponies grab onto the bars.
>“One.. two…”
>“Shit they’re here!”
>You see a heavily armored pegasus flying off in the distance.
>“Proceed with contingency plan delta.”  The unicorn quickly says.
>“He’ll blow our cover!”  The earth pony yells.
>“NO! We can make this work!”
>“Fuck this!”  The earth pony guard darts off into a dark alley and disappears.
>“COWARD!”  The unicorn yells as he watches the pony run away.
>“Captain, what are we gonna do?”  The pegasus asks with fear in his voice.
>“Grab a spear… and give me those manacles.”
>The guard pony grabs a spear and a pair of manacles from the front of the wagon.
>“Quickly place them on the Queen.”
>The guard pony pauses and then fastens the manacles upon the bleeding changeling.
>“Please forgive me my Queen.”  The pegasus softly says.
>“Here they come, let me do the talking.”  The unicorn says.
>Seven heavily armored pegasi land surrounding the patrol wagon.  The pony with one silver bar on its shoulder yells commands.
>“EXTERMINATORS, WEAPONS READY!”  She booms in a strong voice.
>The pegasi raise their spears and point them at the two guard ponies.
>“Lieutenant Blood Wing!”  The unicorn guard pony yells out.
>Both of the guard ponies salute.
>“We have captured two of the changeling scum, this one here on the ground and the one in the wagon.  A third escaped down that alley.”
>The guard pony points in the opposite direction from which the deserter ran.
>“Another patrol arrived before us… but they didn’t make it.”  He points to the alley along the side of the wagon.  “We caught the changelings trying to cover their tracks and we were able to get the drop on them.”
>The  Lieutenant continues to stare at the guard ponies through the metal visors in her helmet.
“HE’S LYING!” You yell at the top of your lungs.  “THEY’RE ALL CHANGELINGS!”
>The unicorn slams on the iron bars of the wagon with his spear.
>“That’s enough out of you, fucking cockroach!”  The unicorn looks back at the Lieutenant.  “I am Sergent Cold Water from the 13th precinct.  This is my partner Wind Walker, recently transferred from Cloudsdale.”
>The Lieutenant turns her head to look at the other guard pony.
>“Cloudsdale huh,  I come from there too…” The Lieutenant says, carefully watching the guard pony’s next response.  “What do you think of Major Sunshine?”
>The guard pony pauses for a second… then responds.
>“She’s a fucking asshole.”
>“Ha… yeah she is…”  The Lieutenant laughs.
“DON'T LISTEN TO THEM, THEY’RE CHANGELINGS!” You yell from the wagon.
>“I told you to shut up!” The unicorn guard pony yells at you.
>“What are your orders Lieutenant?” One of the exterminators asks the mare.
>“Restrain all of them, bring them back to HQ for processing, there we’ll be able to find out who’s telling the truth and who’s lying.  Place manacles on all of them, use the patrol wagon to transport them.  Half the squad will search the area for changelings, the other half shall escort the wagon encase more changelings show up and attempt an ambush.”
>“Understood Lieutenant.  What of the confirmed changeling, shall we eliminate it now?”
>“No… we shall interrogate the creature first.”
>“Of course, you heard her, restrain them!”
>The exterminators swarm the two guard ponies and the wounded changeling, quickly placing them in irons.  An exterminator opens the door of the wagon and sees you there.
“Listen here tin can, I ain’t no changeling!”
>“Do not resist!”  The exterminator slams your with his metal gauntlet.  You collapse onto the floor.
“FUCK!”  You cry out in pain, the taste of blood fills your mouth.
>The exterminator harshly places you in manacles and then exits the wagon.  You slowly get back on all fours.  The two guard ponies climb into the back of the wagon.  An exterminator forcefully throws the wounded changeling into the back of the wagon.  She yells out in pain.
“You can’t leave me in here with them, they’re gonna fucking kill me!”
>The exterminator slams the door shut.  You dart to the corner of the wagon, getting as far away from the changelings as possible.  The wounded changeling continues to lay spread out on the floor of the wagon. The two guard ponies look at you cowering in the corner and then look back at each other.  The wounded changeling lets out a whimper and both of the guards look down sullenly at the mare.  The wagon begins to move.  Making sure that they are out of view of the exterminators, both guard ponies both get onto the ground and begin to treat the wounded changeling the best they could.  Without medical supplies however there wasn't much they could do.  The pegasus mutters something quietly, but the unicorn quickly signals him to be quite, pointing to the exterminators pulling the wagon on the other side of the steel wall.  The horn on the unicorn guard begins to flicker and a green bubble barrier encircles the inside of the wagon. The guard ponies begin to speak quietly to each other.  You listen closely and can just barely make out what they are saying.
>“It's a silence spell... we may now speak safely.”  The unicorn says.
>“What are we going to do about…”  The pegasus nods to you in the corner.
>“If we hurt him then they will know for sure that we a changelings… just ignore him… what's he gonna do, exposes us twice…”
>“But it sure would be nice to die with a full stomach when they torture us all to death.”  The pegasus says licking its lips with a devious smile on its face.
>You tense up, your heart beats faster.
>“How can you think about food at a time like this?  Last night you just fed off of the love from that lonely stallion from the bar!  You shouldn’t have to feed again for weeks!”
>“I’m just fuckin with him Liz.”
>“That's enough, leave the civilian alone.”
>“Alright…”
>You let out a sigh of relief as your heart rate begins to return to normal.  You look down at the wounded changeling lying on the ground.  The changeling looks different from the other changeling drones you've seen in the past.  A blue mane dropped down from the creature's head, instead of the traditional solid blue eyes, this changeling had much more developed green eyes.  Its horn also differed slightly, being much more jagged.  Her size was also a little larger than a typical drone, although not by much.
>The creature cringes in pain.  You look into her tear filled green eyes.  Her green eyes remind you of another mare who had green eyes.  Memories begin to flicker in your mind about somepony you once cared about.  The other two guard ponies begin to talk again.
>“I hope you have a plan Liz… still think you are going to be able to talk yourself out of this one?”
>“Quiet Winston… it's not over yet, but if we lose focus then it might as well be.”
>“I don’t think she’s gonna make it... we can’t go back without her... Queen Chrysalis will have us disemboweled and feed to the hive!”
>“We can still do this-”
>“And just how the fuck are we gonna do that?!  We’re headed to the belly of the fucking beast right now!”
>“We’re doing good so far… we’ll just gain their trust and once they let their guard down we’ll slip out with the Queen, just like at the prison.”
>“The prison didn’t have a squad of battle hardened exterminators!  I bet each of those fucking ponies has killed at least a dozen changelings!  That bastard Carl probably had the right idea... I’m surprised you didn’t rat him out to the exterminators”
>“Because I don’t kill needlessly.  I haven't had to kill to feed in years.  I kill only when the mission calls for it.  Remember, we’re not wild beasts, despite what the ponies might think of us.”
>Both of the guards look over at you and stare at you for a moment.
>Something grabs your lower hoof.  You look down and see the wounded changeling clinging onto you.
“SHIT!  GET THE FUCK OFF ME!”  You yell as you kick her hoof away from you.
>She cowers into the fetal position.  Both of the guard ponies stand up.
>“You lay one more hoof on the Queen and I swear... this mission be dammed... I’ll kill you where you stand.”
“She was gonna bite me!  You fucking carnivores!  Feeding of the flesh of living beings, why can’t you just eat fucking grass!”
>The guard ponies pause for a second.
>“...We can’t.”  Liz replies.
“Bullshit, everything can eat grass!”
>“I tried eating grass once, when I young.”  Winston says.  “A disease had struck the hogs in our village, most were tainted and had to be slaughtered.  My younger brother and I didn’t have anything to eat for weeks, so we decided to try eating grass.  Everyone told us not to eat it... but we were so hungry.  Besides, all the other animals eat it, how bad can it be?...  Within a few hours both of us had become overcome with sickness.  I was able to vomit a lot of it up… but my younger brother… he… he started convulsing and foaming from the mouth.  He died a few hours later.  When word of what happened spread through the village, the elders came to our house and took his body.  After that… they… they… stripped every piece fat and protein from his body… and distributed it evenly to each changeling in the village, including myself.  I didn’t want to eat it… but… I had no choice… I was so hungry...”
>You stare at the guard pony, horrified by his story.
>“Under Queen Amber has never harmed a living creature in her entire life, she is a pacifist.”  Liz states. “She hates violence so much she volunteered to become a diplomat to normalize relations between Equestria and the Changeling Hive.  Queen Chrysalis wasn’t going to let her go, she knew it would be dangerous, but her daughter insisted.  And as soon she got here you monsters imprisoned her!”
“WHAT?!  That doesn’t sound like something Celestia or Luna would do!”
>“Well then Celestia and Luna better watch their back.  I know for a fact that Under Queen Amber made it to the royal palace.  I was part of her original escort.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
>“I’m saying there are ponies out there who likely squashed the diplomatic envoy before it could reach the princesses…”
“Who the fuck would do that?”
>“Generals, war profiteers, somepony with a grudge... we don’t know for certain… but we have our suspicions…”
>You look down at the quivering changeling on the ground.
“So what was she doing then?”
>“She was try to feed… off your love.”
“What!?”
>“Come on, she's a changeling!  Why are all you ponies so stupid!”  Winston yells.
>“You really don’t know much about us, do you?”  Liz asks.
“No… they basically just tells us to hate and fear you…”
>“That’s what I figured…”  Liz lets out a sigh. “Changelings can feed in two ways, through protein… or by the love given off by a pony.  We don't have to kill to feed, as a matter of fact all of us prefer to feed off of love.  It's much easier, enjoyable, and far less disturbing.  Although love for changelings can be a little hard to come by these days...”
>Liz points down to the wounded changeling.
>“Direct contact is the most effect way of absorbing the emotion.  By feeding… she was trying to alleviate some of the pain she is in…”
“Really?”
>“Yeah… even I can feel the love radiating off you all the way from over here.  I don't know why you are giving off you much love at a time like this... are you some sick bastard who likes to see us suffer?”
“What?  No!  It’s... just that, she reminds me of somepony...”
>You look at the quivering changeling on the floor of the wagon.  Her eyes are closed tightly, tears are pouring down her cheeks.  You could tell she was in a considerable amount of pain.  You can’t help but feel sorry for the creature.  You are not sure if you believe what Liz told you was true, if the changeling on the ground was really a queen or not, but seeing her in so much pain reminded you of somepony dear to you… your wife.  You remember her on the hospital bed, in tremendous amounts of pain.  You sat next her, holding her hoof in yours…
>You slowly extend your hoof to the quivering changeling on the ground.  The guard ponies watch what you a doing, eyes glued on your every move.  Eyes closed, the injured changeling cannot see your hoof coming.  You slowly place it on her shoulder, she jumps in fear.
“It’s ok! It’s ok… here… just take it.”
>The quivering changeling looks at you hoof and then turns its gaze to your eyes.  She slowly extends her hoof to yours and then grabs it gently.  A few seconds pass, the changeling firms her grip on your leg.  She attempts to move her body closer.  She brings herself up but then quickly jolts back down in pain.
“Hold on… don’t hurt yourself… I’ll move closer to you.”
>You slide along the bench so that you leg is closer to the changeling.  Your leg is just a few inches away from the long sharp fangs that are protruding from her mouth, you begin to have second thoughts.  She quickly latches onto you lower leg with both of her front hooves.  She moves her head closer to you leg.  You cringe in fear as her teeth approach you and tense up.  She notices your fear, pauses for a moment, but continues to move her head forward.  You continue to watch… she then nuzzles the side of her head against you leg.  You let out a sigh of relief.
>“…thank…you…”  The bleeding changeling lets out a quick whimper.
>You can feel her dark hard chitin begin to warm up as she clings on to you.  Her teary green eyes begin to relax a little bit as the pain from her stab wound lessens slightly.  The guards continue to watch your actions, speechless.
>“…Your hoof… it smells like-“
“PISS! Sorry about that!  Here, hold on…”
>You slide off the metal bench to the floor.  You sit on the ground directly next to the changeling.  You gently move the changeling so that she is lying across your lap.  She nuzzles the side of her face into your stomach, you slowly place your front hooves around her.  The guard ponies stare at you in awe.
>“You are giving her your love… voluntarily?”  Liz asks  “Pony, why are you helping her?  We already told you we wouldn’t harm you?”
“…I couldn’t watch her suffer anymore.”
>“I’ve never heard of a pony doing that before… especially for a changeling in their true form…pony, what is your name?”
“Mack.”
>“Mack, for what you just did, you have my thanks… You probably just saved Queen Amber’s life.”
>“Not that it makes a difference,” Winston exclaims, “There are going to torture her to death as soon as we reach the guard headquarters.”
>“Wait, Queen Amber, are you strong enough to transform.”  Liz asks.
>“…I’m not sure…”  The mare weakly says.
>“Transform into the guard I’m am currently, I will transform into a changeling and take your place.”
>“…No.”
>“You must!  You know what those exterminators do to captured changelings!”
>“…I’m in no shape… to pull that off… and I will not allow… one of my subjects… to be tortured instead of me.”
>Liz lets out a sigh.
>“Fine... we’ll stick with the original plan.  They will likely spit all of us up when we reach the station.  Winston and I will continue to pretend to be guard ponies until we either gain their trust or have an opportunity to escape.  We will then regroup, steal another wagon, and then sneak the Queen out of the city.”
>“Liz… this plan… it isn’t going to work…
>“Winston we-”
>“There is too many of them!  They are going to have their best unicorn interrogators there.   They will be able to tell we are changelings in a matter of minutes…”
>“Do you have a better idea?”
>“No… but I do know one way we can stop the Queen from being tortured… we… we can kill her right now…”
>Amber’s head jolts up from your lap.  There is a long pause.  Liz looks at Winston and then back at the Amber, contemplating what to do.  You begin to feel Amber shivering in fear.  You attempt to comfort her by pulling her closer to you.
>“They already tortured and interrogated you the first time you were captured... didn’t they.”  Liz asks.
>Amber remains silent, continuing to shiver in your lap as her eyes stare off blankly into space.
>“They… They… were experimenting on me… I… I was… the first queen they ever captured…”
>You hear her voice wavering as she recalls being subject to tremendous amounts of pain.  You all pause for a moment in sorrow at what horrors she must have gone through.
>“Queen Amber...”  Liz says solemnly “it’s your call, what will you have us do…”
>The mare pauses… she gazes in Liz’s eyes for a few seconds before turning her gaze to the ground.
>“…Liz.. I...I want you to-”
>The wagon screeches to a halt.  Liz quickly ends her silence spell just as an exterminator pulls open the door.
>“OUT!”  The exterminator yells, spear pointing at Liz.
>Liz jumps out of the wagon, followed by Winston.  The Amber continues to lay upon your lap, her worried eyes look up to yours.
>“OUT WITH YOU FILTH!”
>An exterminator grabs her by the back legs and violently pulls her out of the wagon and onto the street.  She yells out in pain.
“YOU MOTHER FUCKER!”  You yell at the exterminator.
>“SILENCE CHANGELING SCUM!”  The exterminator climbs into the wagon and backhands you with his gauntlet.  You are knocked unconscious.

>…

>A wave of electricity strikes your body and you are overcome with pain.
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”  You cry out.
>“Again.” A feminine voice says.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
>The pain is horrifying.
>“We know you are a changeling, make this easy on yourself and show us your true self.”
“I’m… not… a changeling…” you say, wheezing in pain between each breath.
>“Again.”
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH…”
>You pass out.

>...

>A terrible smell fills your nostrils and you are jolted back awake.  You are now sitting chained to a chair at a table with a single bright light above you.  A large mirror fills most of the wall to your left.  At the other end of the table lies a mare smoking a cigarette.  She looks at you silently for a second, takes a deep breath from her cigarette and blows the smoke across the table towards your face.
“Who the fuck are you?”  You angrily say as the smoke dissipates from your view.
>“I am inquisitor Star Light.  Please watch your language and understand that I will be the one asking the questions around here.”
“I want a fucking lawyer.”
>“Ha!”  Star Light laughs to herself.  “I bet you do.”
“Listen, my name is Mack, I’m a pony!  I have rights!”
>“Royal decree 56:  All those suspected of being a changeling are refused normal rights granted to ponies of Equestria, including but not limited to the right to an attorney, the right to a fair trial, etc.  Enhanced integration techniques are approved for gathering information from all suspect changelings.”
“For fucks sake…”
>“Please!  Watch your language!  Now listen Mack… if that is you real name… I am about to cast a truth spell on you, if you attempt to lie or withhold information, the result will be extremely painful… and perhaps fatal.  Do you understand?”
“Yeah bitch I understand, let's get this over with so I can go home.”
>She slaps you across the face with her magic.
>“What a filthy mouth you have!  I will not tolerate such vulgarity in my presence!”
>Blood begins to trickle down you lips.  You continue to stare at her with a fiery rage in your eyes.
>“Now where were we… oh yes.”
>The mare begins to charge her horn.  She casts one of the most complicated spells you have ever seen.  Your body is suspended in a magical aura.
>“What is your name?”
“My name is Mack, I’m not a changeling, I’m a pony with rights!  Now get me the fuck out of here!”
>The mare pauses for a second.
>“Alright, I had a feeling you were a pony… no changeling can sustain five rounds of shock treatment without reverting back to their true form.  We've tested that... extensively...”
“Get… me… out of here… NOW!”
>“No.”
“What?!”
>“Royal decree 57:  All ponies suspected of being changeling spies or sympathizers are refused normal rights granted to ponies of Equestria, including but not limited to-”
“ENOUGH! I am not a spy!”
>“Why were you in the patrol wagon.”
“I was under arrest for public intoxication and public urination.  The guard ponies were in the middle of taking me to the drunk tank.  Can you not smell the booze on my breath… and the urine on my hooves?”
>“Hmm…”
>The mare takes another deep breath from her cigarette.
>“An exterminator told us you were embracing a changeling in the patrol wagon, is that true”
“…yes.”
>“Did the other changelings force you to help their wounded companion?”
“...no.”
>She coughs while breathing in from her cigarette.
>“WHAT!  No pony in their right mind would do this, especially a pony from Canterlot... on the five year anniversary of the attack no less.  Explain yourself!”
“…she was pain… I was trying to help her.”
>“Why did you want to help her?”
“I… I guess I couldn’t bear to watch her suffer...”
>You feel a slight amount of pain in your head and cringe.
>“You’re not telling me something!  Why else did you help her?”
“She reminded me of somepony…”
>“Who did she remind you of?”
“That’s none of your fucking business-”
>A severe jolt of pain strikes your head.  It feels as if a red hot knife is slowly going into your skull.
“AAAAAHHHHHHH”
>“Answer the question Mack, who did she remind you of?”
>You pant excessively, sweat drips down your face, tears fill your eyes.
“Breeze Glider, my wife… lying on a hospital bed… after the attack on Canterlot 5 years ago…”
>“Wait… WHAT! So you’re saying you were trying to help save a changeling… even though a changeling killed your wife!”
“…yes.”
>“Mack, your actions do not make sense, you’re lying to me aren’t you… you cracked my spell!”
“No… I’m not lying… I didn’t crack your spell... for fucks sake, I’m just an earth pony who pulls carts for a living.”
>“Why would you do something so stupid!  Did you not love your wife.”
“OF COURSE I LOVED HER!  I think about her everyday… I miss her so fucking much…”
>“Then why did you help that changeling?  How could you become a changeling sympathizer after what you’ve been through?”
“She was dying and helpless, just like my wife was.  After seeing her lying on the ground of the wagon I felt sorry for her.  I didn’t want her to die like Breeze Glider did.  That dying changeling on the ground was not the one who killed my wife.  I guess I forgave her for what her race did 5 years ago…”
>“So you admit to being a changeling sympathizer?”
“If showing mercy to a dying conscience being makes me a changeling sympathizer, then YES, I am a changeling sympathizer.  I guess I’m not sadistic as the rest of you mother fuckers!  If you’re gonna kill me or lock me up for the rest of my life, fine, so be it!  There’s my confession Inquisitor!  Are you happy?  Did you get what you fucking wanted!”
>“Enough!”
>Star Light watches your tear filled face as she takes in another long breath from her cigarette.  As she exhales the smoke from her nostrils she uses her magic to take the cigarette from her mouth and place it into the ashtray on the table.  She slowly twists it into the ceramic tray until it is extinguished.
>“Guards!”
>A door slams open on the other side of the room.  Two heavily armored exterminators enter the room.
>“…this pony just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time… unchain him.”
>“Yes inquisitor Star Light!  One of the terminators pulls out a key and release you from your manacles.”
>“You are free to go Mack.”
>You look at your newly freed hooves and then back to Star Light.  She looks back at you with a slight scowl.  She leans in closer to speak with you.  The aroma of cigarette smoke heavily ingrained in her fur.
>“I’ll have you know, the only reason I’m letting you walk is on behalf of the actions of Breeze Glider.  We were in basic training together...  Her patrol died valiantly protecting Equestria that day.  You should feel ashamed for what you did, helping those scum.  You disgrace not only Equestria with you actions, but also your wife.  Now get out of here before I change my mind.”
>You stare at her angry face for a second and then begin to walk towards the door, your head hanging low.
>“Bring in the first changeling, the wounded one.”
>The exterminator begins to rush out the door but it is blocked by Lieutenant Blood Wing.
>“Inquisitor Star Light, Captain Shining Armor is here, he has requested that the changelings be transferred immediately to a secure location.”
>“What?” Star Light exclaims in surprise.  “Let me speak with him.”
>“I figured you would be a bit surprised, you have my apologies Inquisitor Star Light.”  Shining Armor walks into the room.  “However, this incident is a matter of national security.  The changelings must be sent to a top secret facility for processing.”
>“But we haven't even started the interrogation-”
>“This is a very sensitive matter, I need all ponies involved in tonight's events to not disclose any information to anypony, is that understood.”
>“Oh…”  Star Light’s composure changes significantly. “Yes Captain, I fully understand.”
>Shining Armor looks at you.
>“And who is this?”
>“Him… his name is Mack, he is just a civilian who got caught up in all of this, I just finished with him.”
>How could he not recognize me, you think to yourself.  You and Shining Armor both went to the Canterlot Academy together.
>Shining Armor looks you up and down.
>“Citizen, Mack is it?  “
>How could he not know my name.  It has been years since you have seen him, but you knew each other.  You sat next to each other for four years in band.  You both played in the flugelhorn section together.
>“It is a matter of national security that tonight's events be kept a secret.  No one can hear about this, friends, family, wife, no one!  Failure to do so will result in treason charges being brought up against you. Do you understand?”
>You shudder when he mentions your wife, but then it dawns on you, Shining Armor was at your wife’s funeral.  He handed you an Equestrian flag which was draped over her coffin.  There is no way he would say something like that.  There's no way-  Then it dawns on you.  You are currently not talking to Shining Armor.  You are talking to a changeling.  Somehow Liz’s plan worked.  She was going to escape with Queen Amber.
>“Mack! Do you understand!”  The Shining Armor shouts angrily at you as you come to this realization.
>Your mind spins, should you expose their plot.  These changelings killed a handful of your fellow ponies tonight.  However, they did have their reasons.  If they were telling the truth that is... they were spies, lying is what they do.  What if they were just lying to get you to save their Queen.  What if she wasn’t even a Queen but just another changeling spy in disguise...
“Y-Yeah… I understand.”
>But if Amber really was an Under Queen, the daughter of Queen Chrysalis herself, her death (or continued torture...) would mean more fighting between Equestria and the Changelings.  More death.  Memories of you wife dying in your hooves flash in your mind, as well as memories of Amber.
>“Good.”  Shining Armor  say and begins to turn towards the door.
“Under one condition.”  You say sharply.
>Shining Armor turns back around to face you.
>“You are in no position to be making demands Mack, if you do not comply I will see to it that you spend of the rest of your days in a prison cell.”
“Just hear me out…”
>You slowly approach the Shining Armor and whisper faintly into his ear.
“I know for a fact that Princess Luna visits Canterlot General Hospital every Thursday evening to provide encouragement and support for injured ponies.  That’s today!  She goes with little to no security detail.  If Queen Amber still wants to complete her peace envoy then that will probably be her best chance.  Now punch me in the face as hard as you can and act like I said something lewd about Princess Cadence.”
>Shining Armor pauses for a second, a surprised look strikes his face.
>Fear grips your mind. Oh no, you think to yourself, what if Shining Armor just forgot about you, what if this is the real-
>SLAM.
>Shining Armor forcefully strikes you across the face with his hoof.  You fall flat on to the ground.
>“HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT MY WIFE!  JUST BECAUSE SHE IS THE PRINCESS OF LOVE DOESN’T MEAN SHE WOULD PARTAKE IN THOSE DESPICABLE ACTS WITH YOU!”
>Stunned for a few seconds, your fear is replace with painfully reassurance.  This was indeed an imposter like you had thought.
“Shit…” you say as you spit up some blood. “Can’t blame a stallion for trying.”
You begin to laugh on the floor. Shining Armor points to the Lieutenant.
>“Get this fool out of this building.  And get those changelings into the transport vehicle at once, I’ve had quite enough bull shit for one day!”
>“YES SIR!”  The mare yells.
>Lieutenant Blood Wing grabs you and throws you over her shoulder.  She proceeds to fly you up several flights of stairs, down a long hallway, and past several dozen guard ponies.  She opens up the main door of the government building.  She flies down a flight of stone stairs and tosses you off her shoulders onto the sidewalk.  The sun is just beginning to rise over the horizon.  Lieutenant Blood Wing lifts her visor from her helmet.  Her face is covered with yellow fur and several battle scars.  In an imposing voice, she speaks to you.
>“Well Mack, you somehow survived all of this.  I don’t know if you are either the luckiest mother fucker I ever met or the stupidest...”
>You get back on all fours and grab your sore jaw with your hoof.
“Yeah… I know… hey can lend me a couple bits so I can get a bus back home?”
>Lieutenant Blood Wing rolls her eyes.
>“Well I guess I do owe you after locking you in that patrol wagon with a bunch of changelings… fine here you go.”
>She tosses you two bits.
“Thanks.”
>“But you better not spend this on booze alchy!”
“Nah… I think I am gonna lay off the sauce for awhile, I don’t think I can handle another repeat of last night.”
>“Probably a wise move Mack, now you better disappear before Shining Armor *makes* you disappear.”
“Yeah… alright…”
>You walk down the street begin your journey back home.

>...

>You finally get home and immediately collapse onto your bed.  You pass out almost immediately.  After about 45 minutes your alarm clock begins to wail.  It’s time for you to get up for work.
“Fuuucckkk…”
>You slam your hoof against the alarm clock and go back to sleep.  A few hours later you wake up in a cold sweat.  Fear and restlessness about last night strike your mind.  What if the changelings didn’t escape?  What if the Royal Guard change their mind and decide to come after you.  What if that story about Queen Amber was nothing but lies and you just put Princess Luna at risk.  After a few more minutes of lying in bed, you decide you better show up to work so your boss doesn’t fire you.  After getting cussed out by your boss for showing up several hours late, you proceed to haul wagons for the rest of the day.  You have to stay late to make up the time you missed.  By the time you get back home it is nighttime.  You stumble into your apartment, tired from lack of sleep and hauling heavy loads around the city all day.  Your stomach aches, but you are to exhausted to cook anything.  You collapse onto your bed.  Memories of Amber begin to flood your mind.

>...

>A week passes by, you have had several nightmares about changelings and the night of the incident.  Luna was in several of your nightmares.  You begin to wonder if it was really her or not, but you have no way to tell for sure.  One night, after a long day of pulling carts, you hear a knock on your door.  You look through the peephole, an orange colored unicorn mare stands outside, it is no pony you recognize.  You open the door.
“Can I help you?”
>“Hi Mack,”  the pony says quietly, looking over your shoulder to make sure no one else is inside.  “It’s Amber, can I please come inside?”
>Your heart skips a beat.
“Uh... yeah come on in.”
>Amber walks inside and you close the door behind her.  Amber takes a look around your apartment making sure that there is no one else there.  She uses her magic to lock the door.
“So... you're not here to tie up loose ends... are you?”
>“No Mack, far from it.”
>She turns around and looks you sternly in the eyes.
“Good…” you let out a sigh of relief. “So how did you manage to escape?  Did Liz and Winston withstand the shock treatments?”
>“No... Liz was exposed after the second shock.  Winston was exposed after the first...  We were there when they kept shocking you... again and again... I'm sorry you had to go through that.”
>Thinking about the pain from the shock treatments makes your body shiver.
“So then how did you escape... it was that other changeling wasn't it?”
>“Yes, it was Carl...  He may have acted cowardly at the wagon, but he redeemed himself through his actions at the Royal Guard Headquarters.  With his deception, and a little help from a few griffon mercenaries, we were able to escape our Royal Guard escorts.”
“Glad to hear you got out ok.  So I take it my message got through to you?”
>“We were halfway across the city before Carl told us what happened between you and him.  How did you see through his disguise?”
“Shining Armor knew me back in high school, your agent failed to recognize me properly.”
>“Oh... I see...  After Carl told me about the chance to meet directly with Princess Luna, I had us turn the wagon around back to downtown Canterlot.  After telling this to the Captain… and seeing the look on her face… I thought for sure she wasn’t going to not allow us to turn back.  Liz’s orders from Queen Chrysalis overrule orders from myself after all... but luckily she understood the importance of this opportunity…”
“I understand Liz’s hesitation.  Deciding to turn back… that was very brave of you… of all of you…”
>“We all understood that this was larger than ourselves…  We arrived at the hospital... and it was a near disaster.  The hospital was only a few blocks from the Royal Guard Headquarters.  I was still not able to transform.  Liz and them had to smuggle me in by placing me on a stretcher with a blanket over me while pretending to be hospital staff.  After about an hour of wandering around the hospital we finally tracked down Princess Luna.  She was reading a story to a filly undergoing cancer treatment.  When I got out of the stretcher to make myself known, the filly screamed and Princess Luna nearly blasted me into oblivion on the spot.”
“Holy shit!  You just popped up without any warning?”
>“...I wasn’t in my best mindset after all the blood loss…  Luckily, upon seeing the gaping wound on my chest, Princess Luna showed a little restraint and heard me out.  I told her everything, about the failed peace envoy, how I was sent to a secret exterminator prison, how they… did… terrible... things to me…”
>Amber pauses for a second, and then continues.
>“I told her of all of the events of last night as well.  I told her about you too Mack… and how if a pony like you has the love and mercy to save a dying changeling like myself, then perhaps peace between Equestria and the Changeling Hive was a real possibility.  After I had my say, Princess Luna had us all detained by her personal Lunar Guard while she said she would look into the matter personally.  Liz was about ready to fight to the death when they attempted to detain us, but I commanded her to stand down… I had a feeling Princess Luna would be true to her word… and luckily I was correct.”
“I knew she’d help you!  Princess Luna unfortunately is not as highly regarded as her sister, but if you ever get the chance to meet her you realize that she has a good heart…”
>“Indeed she does…  After a few days of investigating, Princess Luna confirmed that the my peace envoy was squashed before it could be officially recognized.  She apologized and announced that she would immediately begin brokering a peace treaty.  We spent the last few days negotiating the details.  The peace treaty is expected be announced publicly in the next day or two after I return to the Hive.  This long conflict between our nations which has claimed countless lives will soon come to an end.”
“That's great!  ...but who did it?  Who squashed the peace envoy?”
>“Luna would not say... but she told me that those responsible would be dealt with accordingly.”
>Amber pauses for a second.
>“However… Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor were not present at the peace talks and have not been seen publicly for the past several days.  Their involvement with my capture all but certain...  Please keep that a secret, I have respect for Princess Luna, she reminds me of my mother...  I'm sure she will have a fitting punishment for the both of them.”
“Shit… the cover up went all the way to the top… Well thanks for telling me about all this, I'm glad it all ended out working out for the best.  This past week has been pretty stressful for me, it is nice finally being able to have some closure.”
>Queen Amber pauses for a few seconds and then changes her demeanor.
>“Telling you all of this is only one of the reasons I came here…”
>Queen Amber takes a few steps closer to you.
>“I *personally* wanted to thank you for your actions on behalf of the Changeling Hive.  We are in your debt Mack, and I would very much like to reward you for your help in this matter.”
>You attempt to play coy.
“You don't have to pay me back for anything... I did what I thought was right, I was not expecting anything in return.  Peace with the changelings is more than enough of a reward for me…”
>“Surely there must be some way I can repay you for your trouble...”
>A sly smile begins to form on Amber’s face.
“Well… I mean… maybe we could work something out...”
>You take a step towards Amber your faces are now directly in front of each other, noses just barely touching.  Amber slowly moves her lips towards yours.  Your lips meet, you extend a hoof around her shoulder and bring her body in closer to yours.  Your tongues intertwine, Amber playfully darts her tongue in and around yours.  She warps her two front hooves around you and holds you firmly.  After a good stretch of time, your lips detach.
>You look into her blissful and satisfied eyes.
“I think somebody’s hungry…” You say humorously.
>Amber lets out a giggle.
>“This is your fault you know… you gave me a taste of this in that patrol wagon.”
“Well then… I suppose instead of giving you just another taste, this time I’ll give you the full meal… how does that sound?”
>Amber gives you another sly look and places her hoof against your face.
>“I’d like that… very much…”
>You tenderly grab her hoof with yours and begin to walk to your bed.
“Follow me...”
>Amber walks alongside you to your bed.  She sees a photo of you and your wife on your nightstand.  She stops and lets go of your hoof.
>“Mack, you know that since I’m a changeling, I can take any form you may desire, would this form be better?”
>There is a green flash of light and Amber takes the form of a dark blue pegasus mare with a jet black mane.  She takes on the form of your deceased wife, every detail as perfect as you remember.
>A wave of sadness and anger overcomes you.
“NO!  STOP THAT!  FUCKING STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!”
>Amber quickly changes into her changeling self.  Fear and confusion resonate in her voice.
>“Mack… I’m sorry… I-”
“Just… stop…”
>You sit down upon your bed.  Memories of your dying wife flood your mind.  Your heart is beating fast.  You take a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.  Amber continues to stare at you unsure what to do or say.
>“I’ll leave.”
>Amber slowly turns around and begins to walk towards the door, her head hanging low.
>You watch her as she puts her hoof on the door handle.
“Amber... don’t go.”
>She pauses.
“Breeze Glider died during the invasion... she meant a lot to me.  There’s no way I could…”
>Amber turns around to face you.
>“I’m sorry Mack… I didn’t know…”
>Tears begin to fill her eyes.
“Amber… it's alright… please don’t cry.”
>Seeing her sad, and still being emotionally overwhelmed from seeing your dead wife in the flesh, causes you to cry as well.  You stand up from the bed and begin to approach her.  At first she hesitates, but then she moves towards you.  Together you meet in each other's embrace.  You cling to each other for a few moments in silence.
>“Mack, I’m going back to the hive, after what happened I will likely never be able to return to Equestria… before I leave... I just wanted to… have one last time to remember you by… there’s been so much pain and suffering… I just wanted a pleasant memory from this ordeal...”
“I’d still like that as well Amber…”
>Amber pauses, and then looks directly into your eyes.
>“What form should I take, should I be the unicorn again?”
“No…”
>“Then what shall I become?”
>You look at her green watery eyes… you move in and kiss her upon her lips.  She jumps, but then relaxes.  Your tongue moves into her mouth.  You slide against her sharp fangs with your tongue, but you feel no fear.  Her thin and slender forked tongue intertwines with yours.  You place your hoof around her hard black chitin.  Amber begins moving her hooves up and down your side.  Your member begins to tingle within its sheath as she moves her hooves down towards your stomach.  Your lips detach.  You smile and look at her green eyes.
“Amber, I like you just like this.”
>“Really?”
>Her eyes light up in surprise.
“Yeah… and now about that meal I promised you...”
>You take her hoof and walk with her back to your bed.  As you both near the bed she propels herself into the air with her wings and gently lands on the bed on her back.  She opens her legs to you, showing her vulva.  She looks at you seductively.
“Let's start with an appetizer, shall we…”
>You get onto your knees along the side of the bed and place a hoof on either side of Amber’s flanks.  You pull Amber towards you, her marehood directly in front of your lips.  Upon closer inspection you can see where the hard chitin ends the soft tissue of her vulva begins.  All in all, she is not too different from a regular mare.  You move your mouth in closer and begin to gently lick her lips.
>“Oohhh...”  Amber moans.
>You continue to glide your tongue gently up and down her folds.  After several passes you slowly move closer and closer to her clit.  You can hear Amber’s breath becoming heavy.   You slide your tongue over her clit and you feel her shudder.  You move downwards back down to her lips, and begin to press your tongue into her pussy.
>“Oohhh… Mack….”
>You proceed to move you tongue in and out, moving more quickly and aggressively than before.  Amber leans forward and places her front hooves behind your mane.  You pull your tongue out and proceed back to her clit.  Her hooves firmly attach to the back of your neck as you begin to focus solely upon her clit.  She inhales deeply with each breath.  You clamp down firmly upon her flanks with your hooves.  You continue to encircle her clit faster and faster...
>“OOOOHHHHH YES! YES!”
>You feel her body shake, you continue to relentlessly lick upon her clit.  After a few seconds her whole body tenses up... and then relaxes…  You move your head away from her slit and look at her face.  The mare’s face is in a state of bliss.  She looks down at you with a satisfied grin.
>“Mack… that was amazing…”
>You look back at her with a sultry gaze.
“Still hungry?”  You say as you get into the bed and climb on top of her.
>“Yes… but now it's time for me to take over…”
>Amber grabs ahold of you with her hooves and rolls you over onto your back.  You lock lips and your tongues once again intertwine, but Amber quickly detaches.  Her tongue still extended, she slowly moves downwards across your body.  Her tongue slides down your neck until it reaches your chest.  You begin to feel your cock emerge from its sheath.  Amber slides her chitin hooves up and down your stomach as her tongue continues to slide towards your sheath.  Just as she is about to reach your sheath she stops and lifts her head.  She looks you in the eyes with a teasing gaze and a smile upon her face.  You simile and bite your lower lip in anticipation.  She then slides her long slender tongue up and down your sheath.
“Ooooo…” You shiver.
>She continues to lick up and down as your cock quickly begins to fully emerge.  Noticing your member is now becoming more erect, Amber begins to lick up and down your shaft.  Immense waves of pleasure overtake your body.
>Amber slides your large cock into her mouth.  She begins to slide it in and out, in and out… her lips forming a tight seal around your shaft.  You then feel Amber’s long slender tongue wrap itself around your shaft while it is inside her mouth.
“OoooOooohh….”
>She does not let go, she instead attempts to wrap her tongue around your a shaft second time…
“Wow.... Amber...That feels amazing.”
>She slowly unravels her tongue and pulls away.
>“Ha… you think that feels good… how about this…”
>Amber lifts her front right hoof from the bed.  You gaze upon her hole-filled front leg as she moves it over your stomach.  One hole near the bottom of her hoof is just about the same size as-
“OOOOH”
>Amber slides your cock into the hole in her hoof.  She then gazes at you with a devious look upon her face and gives you a wink.  She returns her attention back down at your cock and begins to extend her tongue from her mouth.  She wraps her long slender tongue around your cock, wrapping it once around the top of your head and once at the base of your head.  Your head tingles with sensation as she begins to twist her tongue around the tip of your cock.  She begins to move her hoof up and down your shaft as she maintains a firm grip with her to tongue.  Amber's saliva allows your cock to easily glide up and down the chitin of her hoof.  Immense waves of pleasure began to overtake you.  You are not sure how much longer you will last with Amber’s merciless fellatio.
“Amber…I…”
>She immediately stops.  She slowly begins to unwrap her tongue from your cock.  She then slowly lifts her hoof off your cock.  Your head makes a small popping noise as it leaves the hole of her hoof.
“Wow... if I would have known you could have done that I would have done more than just hold you back in the patrol wagon.”
>“Hahaha… Mack…”  Amber says with a smile.
>You grab her sides and quickly roll her over onto her back.  Your hard cock stands fully erect over the mare.  She looks upon your cock in anticipation.  You bend down and slide the head of your cock up and down the lips of her vagina.  Amber continues to watch, bracing herself for your girth. You graze the tip of your head over her clit and she lets out a moan.
“Ready for the main course?”
>“YES!” Amber yells out.
>You slowly slide you head into her marehood.  She lets out a gasp.  You slowly begin to move in deeper, then slowly pull back.   Her vagina feels very tight against your cock, even more tight compared to pony.  You push in further and further until you bottom out.
>“Ahh!”  Amber lets out a yelp as a sharp feeling of pain and pleasure strike her.
>You pull back and then proceed forward again.  After a few slow pumps you build up a steady rhythm.  Amber’s vagina begins to drip with fluid.
>“Oh… Mack… Oh…” Amber moans.
>She pulls your body in closer as you continue to pump away.  The fur of your belly rubs against her chitin stomach, you feel a warm radiance being given off by her.  Your nose nuzzles against hers as you look longingly into each other's eyes.  Your lips lock, you kiss each other as you continue to fuck her, increasing your pace.  Her tongue encircles your tongue and glides back and forth.  You continue to stare into her beautiful green eyes.   You feel her hooves increase their grip upon your back.  The pleasure is almost you much for you, you will not last much longer.  You detach your lips from Amber and speak as you begin to pound her at an increased pace.
“I’m about to cum....”
>“Give it to me Mack!”
“Are you-”
>“YES!”
>She lets out a moan as you bottom out again inside of her.  Your increased pace has caught up with you, you are almost there.  You feel Amber pull her hips closer into yours.  Her vagina increases its grip upon you cock.  The increased tightness is too much for you to handle.
“Aahh!… AAAAHHhhh!… AAAHHHhhhh!”
>“OOHHHHHhhhh...YES... YES!”
>You unleash a load of cum into her pussy.  You continue to thrust your cock in and out of her.  Doing so causes the cum to drip out.  You are breathing heavy now and continue to thrust at a much slower pace, exhaustion and strain are beginning to overtake you.  After one final thrust you fall limp onto Amber.  Her hooves caress you as you regain your breath.  After a few moments of regaining your composure you notice that Amber is shivering beneath you. You quickly slide from being on top of her to her side.
“Amber! Are you ok?!”
>She slowly turns her head to look at you, still shaking.
>“Y-yeah… I’ve n-never felt better…” She says softly with a small smile.
“Why are shaking?”
>“I’ve n-never taken in so much love before... Absorbing love while in my true f-form allows me to take in much m-more compared to begin transformed.  It’s a little ....o-overwhelming.  But I assure you… I am f-fine.”
“Do you need to get off of you?  Should I leave?”
>“No… p-please stay…”
“Alright...”
>You wrap your hooves around her and attempt to help Amber through her shivering.  A few minutes pass by as you continue to embrace her in your hooves.  Her shivering begins to lessen.
“Doing better?”
>“Yeah…  I should be fine in just a few more minutes.”
“So… do you have room for seconds?”  You say with a grin.
>She chuckles
>“I don’t think so… that creampie for dessert really filled me up...”
>You both let out a snicker.
“I don’t think I got it in me either… that was pretty intense.”
>“Yes it was… thank you Mack… thank you for everything.”
>You look longingly into her eyes.
“You need to leave now, don’t you…”
>“Yes… my place is with the hive…”
“I’ll miss you”
>“I’ll miss you too Mack”
>Amber firmly hugs you, her hooves tightly wrapping around your body.  She holds you tightly for a long while before loosening her grip.
>She rubs her nose against yours.  Her shivering is almost completely gone.  You continue to hold her in your hooves, savoring the last few moments you will have with her before she leaves.  You look again into her beautiful green eyes.  She softly smiles at you, and you smile back.  For once in a long while, you are finally at peace.

>…

>You hear the faint sound of shouting coming from the street in front of your apartment.  You pay no mind to it and continue holding Amber in your embrace.  It has been several minutes since her last shiver, she will likely be leaving any minute now that she is almost completely recovered.  A few flashes of light occur on the street outside and briefly light up your apartment through the window.  You begin to wonder what is going on out there.  Amber notices the light as well.  You both turn your gaze to the window and stare outside from your bed.  All you can see from your angle is the starry night sky.  There is no more shouting, the street has instead become eerily silent...
>The sound of multiple hoofsteps running down the hallway towards your apartment distracts you from your gaze.  The steps stop at your door.  The doorknobs turns, but the deadbolt stops the door from opening.  Within a split second a green field of magic coming from the other side of the door flips the deadbolt into the unlocked position and the door swings open.  Two changelings charge inside.
>“EXTERMINATORS!   We've been betrayed!”  Liz yells.
>“They have us surrounded!”  Winston adds.
>“What?!”  Amber asks in disbelief.
>Both you and the queen quickly disengage from each other's embrace and leave from the bed.
>“They came out of nowhere while we were waiting by the street.  They killed Carl!”  Liz says, as Winston watches the hallway.
>“What of the Lunar guard escort?”  Amber asks.
>“The exterminators detained them.  We need to get you out of here immediately!”
“You can use the back entrance!” You say quickly.
>“No, the ground floor is swarming with them, we will need to attempt an aerial escape.”
“You can use the window.  Here, let me open it-”
>You turn around and begin to move towards the window
>“NO STOP!  GET AWAY FROM THE WINDOW!”  Liz shouts.
>Looking out the window you see a heavily armored exterminator flying full speed at you.  You quickly fall flat to the ground and narrowly dodge out of the way as the exterminator crashes through the glass window, spear just barely missing you.  The exterminator lands forcefully next to your bed, he quickly pulls back his spear and thrusts it towards you.
>“DIE TRAITOR!” The exterminator yells.
>“NO!”  Amber yells.
>Queen Amber's green magic pulls the spear from the hooves of the exterminator.  The exterminator realizing that he has been disarmed, pulls a dagger from his belt.  Liz and Winston together let out two green bolts of magical energy from their horns.  Both bolts strike the exterminator, sending him hurling through the air back out the window from where he came.
>“QUEEN, TO THE ROOF, NOW!”  Liz yells.
>You and Amber quickly run out of the room and into the hallway.  Just as you exit the room two more exterminators fly in through the window of your apartment.  You quickly slam the door shut and pull it tightly closed with your hooves.
“Get her out of here!  I'll hold the door!”
>Winston walks to your side and his horn begins to glow.  His magic firmly braces the door closed, much more secure than you possibly could.
>“No... I'll take this one…”  Winston says in a low voice, knowing that his time has finally come.  “Get her to the roof... go!”
>You nod and quickly run with Liz and Amber down the hallway.  You can hear pounding as the exterminators attempt to break through the door being held shut by the changeling.  Winston is quickly lost from your view as you move up the stairwell.  You run up multiple flights of stairs before reaching the roof door.  You open the roof door just a tad and take a look outside.
“It's clear.” You tell Liz and Amber.
>“Be careful…” Liz says cautiously.  “Considering how organized this ambush was I'd say there is a trap waiting for us the second we walk out of that door.  Amber, our target will be safehouse bravo, I will provide support, do not stop flying no matter what, once you get there have agent Lucas get you back to the hive immediately!  Understood?”
>“...yes.”  Amber says in solemn voice.
>You fully open the door and take a few steps outside, scouting the area.  Liz and Amber watch you from the doorway.  You look above, all you can see is the starry night sky.  The cold fall wind sends a chill down your spine.  The wind dies down.  A familiar scent fills your nostrils, the scent of a pony who had been smoking.
“WATCH OUT, THE INQUISITOR-”
>A bolt of electricity materializes out of thin air and striking your side.  You fall to the ground, paralyzed.
>“NOW!”  A familiar mare's voice yells out.
>A dozen exterminators fly up from below the roof and encircle the three of you.
>“Mack!”  Amber yells out as she quickly runs to your side.  Liz hastily follows, while watching in fear as the exterminators begin close in.
>“WE SURRENDER.” Liz yells out.  “DO WHAT YOU WILL TO ME... BUT DO NOT HARM UNDER QUEEN AMBER.  IF YOU DO QUEEN CHRYSALIS WILL SEND EVERY LAST DRONE IN THE HIVE HERE TO AVENGE HER!”
>“We are not afraid of your hive.”  The familiar mare's voice speaks from nothingness.  “Your pathetic army of emaciated soldiers...  Equestria has defeated them once and will do it again!”
>The form of a mare materializes out of thin air.  It is Inquisitor Star Light.
>“Why are you doing this.”  Amber cries out, “We were so close to a peace treaty!”
>“You can not fool me with your lies!  All you creatures do is lie!  Once we let our guard down you changelings will be there to devour us!”
>“NO!” Amber yells, “This conflict has been detrimental to our hive and must end!”
>“It will end... once every last one of you abominations is purged from existence!”
>Two exterminators carrying a bloodied Winston enter the doorway leading to the roof.
>“My Queen... there were too many-”
>“SILANCE!”  one of the exterminators yells as he throws Winston's body onto the ground.
.“What shall we do with this one Inquisitor Star Light?”  The exterminator yells out.
>“Kill it!”
>“Gladly!”  The terminator yells.
>“NO, PLEASE!” Amber yells.
>Winston continues to glare at Amber with longing eyes as the exterminator raises his armored hoof above his head.
>“...look away Amber…” Winston softly speaks.
>The exterminators hoof crashes down upon Winston's head, easily smashing it.  Blood  pours out Winston's crushed skull.
>“NOOOOO!”  Amber yells out in horror.
>Several of the flying exterminators descend upon the roof and land encircling the three of you.  Their spears are pointing directly at you, each one ready to strike.  Liz turns to Amber and speaks.
>“My Queen, you have no choice, you must fight!”
>“No... I will not... I took a vow…”
>“You just feed of the Mack's love, you are fully charged, you can take them.  If Queen Chrysalis was able to defeat Celestia, you should be able to defeat these ponies-”
>“NO... I will not fit the stereotype the world has of us as being mindless killing machines.  Through my actions I intend to change the way the changelings are viewed.  If that means I must die.... then so be it…”
>“You can stop, your charade isn't fooling anypony.”  Star Light mockingly responds.
>Liz charges her horn, preparing for one final strike, her eyes staring at Star Light.  Star Light's horn begins to shine brightly as well.  Several exterminators begin to approach Liz with their spears, but Star Light calls out to them.
>“NO!  This one is mine.  It's been too long since I've tested my skills in combat.”
>Both the changeling’s and pony’s eyes are deadlocked, waiting for the other to cast a spell.
>“Stand down Liz…”  Amber says to Liz with a sigh.
>“I have my orders...  I will protect you till death…”
>Tears fill Amber's eyes as she speaks to Liz.
>“It's over Liz... enough ponies have died because I decided to come here... please... just stand down…”
>Liz continues to stare angrily into Star Light’s eyes.
>“Do your worst monster…” Star Light taunts.
>Liz continues to look in the direction of Star Light.  Behind the mare lies the Canterlot skyline, with the royal palace standing tall above all other buildings.  Something in the distance catches Liz's eye.
>“How many of my kind have you killed inquisitor?”  Liz ask.
>“Ha!  I have personally slain 34 of you vile creatures... soon to be 35 in a few more seconds.”
>“You say that with pride in your voice?”
>“Of course!  Each one of you I kill makes the world a better place.  It is our mission, right exterminators!”
>“HOORAH!”  All of the exterminators yell in unison.
>“I have killed several of your kind as well... but I've never felt any joy in it.  I did it to complete a mission or stay alive.  Like the Queen, I wish we could live in a world where we didn't have to kill each other…”
>“Enough stalling you coward!”
>“Ha... coward?... alright then…”
>Liz looks over Star Light's shoulder once again, the image is coming more into view.  Liz slowly allows the magic to fade from her horn.
>“What are you doing!”
>“I'm ready to pay for all of the ponies I have killed.  Do your worst... monster... ha..hahaha-”
>ZAP
>Star Light strikes Liz with a bolt of electricity, sending her flying to the other side of the roof.  Liz slams against brick wall containing the doorway to the stairwell.  Amber turns her head away in grief, while you continue to lay paralyzed on the ground.  Liz slowly raises her head from the ground, blood dripping from her face.
>“You call that *cough* a hit... ha... hahaha...hahaha...”
>“A changeling with a death wish, if only all of your kind could be like you. Fear not changeling, one more should finish you off.  Star Light’s horn begins to glow.”
>“Tell... the princess... that *cough* the stars look lovely tonight…”
>“What?”  Star Light proclaims.
>“Ha...  hahaha *cough* *cough*”  Liz continues to laugh as she points in the air behind Star Light.
>A chariot pulled by two bat ponies flies through the air towards the roof.  The chariot is accompanied by two squads of bat ponies  flying along either side of the chariot.
>“Quick, exterminators, slay them!”  Star Light yells.
>Just as the exterminators raise their spears into the air to strike Amber and yourself, a large lightning bolt hits the roof and blasts the exterminators back.
>“HALT!”  Luna roars. “Lay down your weapons immediately.”
>“MAINTAIN ARMS!”  An exterminator mare yells out.  The exterminators nervous look back and forth between each other and Luna.  The exterminator who yelled the command comes forward to meet Luna midair.  It is Lieutenant Blood Wing.
>“You dare defy my order Lieutenant Blood Wing...?”
>“Princess Luna, this is a matter of national security falling under the jurisdiction of the exterminators, pull back your forces at once.”
>“Did you forget your place knave!”
>“NO, it is my duty as an exterminator to protect Equestria from the changeling threat.  This includes both external threats... and internal threats.”  Lieutenant Blood Wing raises her spear to Princess Luna.  “On account of your recent actions of being willing to negotiate with the changeling menace, I have no choice but to arrest you on charges of treason.”
>“WHAT?!”  Luna says, appalled.
>“We have long suspected you of being an ally to the changelings, ever since you *conveniently* were away on official business the day Canterlot fell to the changeling horde.  We know of your secret plans to share rulership of Equestria with Queen Chrysalis after Celestia was deposed.  If it wasn't for the righteous actions of Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, we would all be changeling livestock or slaves to Nightmare Moon.”
>A fire burns in Luna's eyes.
>“How... dare... you…”
>“Surrender now and you will stand a fair trial, if not we will use force-”
>Luna's horn flickers with magic, a spark of blue flame rushes forth.  The blue flame flies through the air towards Lieutenant Blood Wing.  The flame enters through her heavy set of armor and ignites her mane and fur.  Large plumes of blue flame jut out from among the breaks in Blood Wing’s armor.  The other exterminators watch in fear, unsure what they should do.  She lets out a horrifying scream as the fire quickly chars her body.  She quickly tries to take off her armor and combat the blaze, but the flames cover her eyes and make doing so nearly impossible.  She continues to fly until her feathers too are consumed by the blaze.  She falls from the air onto the street below, her screams finally ceasing after she hits the ground.  Luna lets out a deep sigh...
>“Exterminators!  As your late commander said... surrender now and you will stand a fair trial, if not we will use force…”
>Her horn began to flicker again.  The exterminators look at one another and then quickly drop their spears to the ground.
>“Lieutenant Moon Blade, have your squad escort the exterminators back to their barracks.”
>“Yes Princess!”
>Half of the bat ponies escorting Luna round up the exterminators and begin to fly them back to their barracks.  Luna lands upon the roof.  No longer feeling the paralysis of Star Light’s spell, you get back up on your hooves.
>Luna address Amber in a formal voice.
>“My apologies Princess Amber, I-”
“Wait!”  You yell as you come to a realization. “Inquisitor Star Light, she went invisible again, Amber watch out!”
>“FOR EQUESTRIA!”  Star Light yells.
>A bright flash appears out of nowhere from the far side of the roof.  Princess Amber cringes in fear.
>Luna turns her head and strikes at the flash with a bolt of lightning.  A mare cries out in pain.  Star Light becomes visible and falls to the ground. The blinding bright light continues to rise into the air.  Queen Amber slowly opens her eyes, realizing she is unharmed.
>“What sort of spell is this?”  Amber asks confusingly.
>“It's... some sort of signal flare...”  Luna responds puzzled.
>“It's a last *cough* resort spell, exterminators always... have a backup *cough cough* plan.”
>Luna lifts the dying mare with her magic, her eyes showing anger and death.
>“We shall only ask once... Tell Us what you just did...”
>“hahaha *cough*... I never thought I would be the one who would be interrogated... you will find out in a few seconds Luna.  Luckily Princess Cadence and Shining Armor still remain loyal to Equestria.  They will save Canterlot again from the changeling scourge... ha... hahaha.”
>“Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, what...”
>A bright flash of light erupts from the royal palace.
>“The barrier spell!  Queen Amber!”  Luna runs towards Amber as a pink barrier quickly expands across over all of Canterlot.  Luna quickly casts a blue spherical shield around the changeling Queen.  Amber turns around to see Liz lying on the ground against a brick wall.
>“LIZ!  LUNA... PLEASE SAVE HER!”
>Luna focuses solely on maintaining the shield to cover Queen Amber, and Amber's plea falls upon deaf ears.  Amber pounds upon the blue barrier as she watches Liz sitting upon the roof.
>“No... not again... no please... not like this…”
>Liz says with tears running down her face as the barrier approaches.  Painful memories of being repulsed by the barrier from years past flash before her mind.  Liz watches the barrier quickly approach her while she is completely paralyzed in fear.  Realizing what is about to occur, you attempt to run towards Liz and help her anyway you can, but by the time you take your second step the pink barrier quickly passes over the roof.  Luna's blue shield stands firm, protecting Queen Amber from the barrier.  The barrier continues on to the far side of the roof where Liz lies in fear against the brick wall of the building.  In a second the barrier slams Liz against the brick wall.  You hear the crunch as Liz's exoskeleton is quickly broken against the brick wall.  The barrier continues forward, all that is left of Liz is a bloody smear and the twisted remains of disfigured organs.  The site almost makes you vomit.
>“NOOOOOO!” Amber cries out.
>She drops to her knees and lets out several long mournful wails.
>“WHY?!”
>“Why?"  Star Light replies.  "To rid Canterlot once again of you *cough* vile scum.  Just imagine… that crushing noise of your friend over there, that just happened to all of your changeling spies in Canterlot.  Sleeping in their beds *cough* unaware, the barrier spell splattered them against the wall.  Like a pony's hoof smashing a cockroach on the sidewalk!  I can’t think of a more appropriate end for you despicable insects!”
>“There were refugees!  Hundreds of changeling refugees living in Canterlot!  They weren't spies or soldiers… they were civilians!  They just came here so they wouldn’t starve to death!  They had no part in this pointless war… they were just trying to survive!”
>“ha...ha...*cough* ha... That will be the fate of all of you vile-”
>SNAP
>Luna uses her magic to break the neck of Star Light, permanently silencing her.  She casts her body aside.
>“This.... is... all my fault…”  Amber says, tears pouring down her cheeks.
>You walk over to Amber and hold her in your hooves, trying to comfort her the best you can.
>“Under Queen Amber..."  Luna speaks.  "On behalf of Equestria, We are sincerely sorry for the actions of our subjects...  We will see to it personally that Shining Armor and Princess Cadence pay for their infractions...  She should never have become ascended to alicorn status...  We will have her striped of her royal title, even if We have to rip the wings off her Ourself…”
>Amber continues to wail as you hold her in your hooves.  Seeing her in so much despair causes you to tear up as well.
>“Despite the actions of these renegades, Equestria still wants peace with the Changeling Hive.  We do not want this incident to ruin your mission...  As a gesture of goodwill, We would like to offer immediate food relief to the Changeling Hive... We will arrange for shipments of hogs and poultry to be transported at once…”
>Amber slowly raises her head...
>“Yes... *sniff*  the treaty must *sniff* not fail... not after all this…”
>“Captain Orion!”
>A bat pony approaches Luna from behind.
>“Yes Princess!”
>“You and your squad are to escort Queen Amber directly to the Changeling Hive.  Fly her using Our royal chariot.  We will fly with you as far as the barrier and pierce a hole so that the Queen can get through.  After that We need to return to the royal palace... We have some *business* to take care of.  Should anypony try to stop you, kill them immediately, stop for nothing!”
>“Yes my Princess, we will not fail you!”
>Luna diverts her gaze to you.
>“Mack…”
“I'm not leaving her until she's safe.”
>Amber turns her face towards you as you say this.
>“We figured as much... We've seen your dreams... you are pure of heart and you have Equestria's best intentions in mind.  We are appointing you as an official equestrian diplomat, you are to reside at the Changeling Hive until further notice and assist with the peace treaty efforts.  We will eventually establish a proper embassy at the Changeling Hive, you will receive more instructions in the days to come.”
>Luna turns her gaze to the charred corpse of Inquisitor Star Light.
>“There will be more holdouts who do not desire peace with the changelings, your life will be in danger if you choose to stay in Equestria... it may be several years before it is safe enough for you to return.”
“I understand, it will be an honor to represent Equestria.”
>“Thank you, now let us make haste, please get inside my chariot.”
>Amber slowly walks with you to the chariot, her head hanging low.  The two of you climb into the chariot and the bat ponies lift off in flight.  You look over your shoulder at the Canterlot skyline.  The tall white spires and towers reaching upwards into the sky.  You realize, this may be the last time you ever see Canterlot.  You turn your head to the changeling clinging on to your shoulder and gaze at her green tear-filled eyes.  She stares off into the distance, undoubtedly longing to return home.  She turns to look at you.  You stare into eachothers eyes for a few moments and then together both look forward.  You arrive at the barrier and your chariot stops.  Luna looks at the barrier.
>“Hmm...love magic… this will be tough, but We should be able to make a hole large enough for you to escape.”
>Luna takes in a deep breath and begins to charge her horn.  After several seconds of charging small bolts of electricity fly from her horn and eyes.  She then lets loose a loud bolt of lightning from her horn.  The bolt strikes the barrier, but the barrier stands firm and absorbs the impact.
>“Drats!”  Luna yells in dismay.  “Queen Amber, We are afraid that We must smuggle you out of Canterlot via tunnel.  We will escort you-”
>“Hold on.”  Amber interrupts.
>She extends her insect wings and flies out of the chariot.  She hovers mid air next to Luna and stares at the wall.  She takes in a breath and exhales.  There is a tired and sad look upon her face as her horn begins to glow with a bright green.  She lowers her gloomy face downward, pointing her horn directly at the barrier.  You, Luna, and the rest of the Lunar Guards watch as Amber’s horn glows brighter and brighter.  Suddenly she lets loose, and a huge green burst of magic comes forth from her horn.  There is a deafening roar as the blast erupts, you and all the other ponies feel the shockwave from the magical blast, you’ve never seen anything so powerful before.  The green beam forcefully hits the barrier and easily punches a hole right through.  The beam of magic continues past the barrier and off into the horizon.  The impact from the beam causes the surrounding barrier to crack.  Amber halts the beam and lifts her head to survey what she had done.  The cracks continue to spread and the barrier begins to crumble.  Amber turns and slowly flies towards the chariot, head down, face still showing dismay, while the entire barrier continues to crack and crumble.
>For the second time in five years, the magical pink barrier rained down upon the streets of Canterlot.  You look to the streets and see scared ponies running for cover.  You faintly hear the screams of ponies thinking that Canterlot is under siege.  Amber softly lands in the chariot next to you, continuing to hold her head down.  You, Luna, and the Lunar Guards stare at her in awe.
>You hear the guard ponies nervously talk amongst themselves.
>“The barrier, she took it down with one go!”
>“She’s more powerful than Princess Luna!”
>“She could have easily taken on those exterminators!”
>“Quite!” Luna hesitantly yells to her guards.
>A few seconds pass before Amber speaks.
>“Take me home.”
>“Yes… Guards… take Queen Amber back to the Changeling Hive at once.”  Luna says, a hint of fear in her voice.
>The guards pause for a second and then move forward.
>A few moments pass by as you fly across the night sky.  The cold wind passes over both of you.  You see Amber begin to shiver.  You slowly move towards her and carefully place you front hoof over her, attempting to comfort her with your body heat.  She raises her head and looks at you with her green eyes.
“Everything is going to be ok Amber."  You say to her gently.
>“Thank you Mack… Thank you…”

The End

Epilogue

>You sit alone in a small dark cave.  Two changeling drones stand at the entrance, looking alert.  The flag of Equestria hangs on the wall behind you.  You sit at a desk which is covered various documents: passports, VISAs, and such.  A drone carrying several documents walks to the front of the cave.
>“HALT!”  One of the changeling guards yells.
>The drone hesitantly comes to a stop.
>“Passport!”
>The drone hands his passport to the guard.  The guard carefully looks at it and gives it back.
>“You may proceed.”
>The drone enters your office, nervously looking around.
“How can I help you Mr…”
>“Its Peter…”
“Peter, what do you need?”
>“I’m here to to get approval for a 5 year relocation to Equestria.”
>“Alright, please have a seat over there and hand me your paperwork.”
>The changeling does as you ask, you begin to look over his papers.
“Do you have employment lined up?”
>“Y-yes…  I’ll be working at a brothel.  I can’t wait for the chance to feed off love for the first time…”
>Changelings now find wide employment opportunities as escorts and prostitutes across Equestria.  Suggested by Queen Chrysalis as a way to provide food for her subjects, the idea was first denied.  However, due to crippling debt from constant years of funding the war effort, the Equestrian leadership saw this opportunity as a way to capitalize through heavy taxation.
“Where will you be working?  Do you have lodging setup?”
>“I will be working in Canterlot.  Yes, I’ll be staying with my brother.”
>The image of Canterlot, your hometown, floods your mind.  The tall white spires and towers looming over the horizon.  It's been awhile since you’ve seen the horizon, you don’t get out of the underground hive very often.  Queen Chrysalis’ constant security detail makes it difficult to get much private time.
“Canterlot... excellent... I’m sure you’ll love it there.  You read the Canterlot Traveling Guide, right?”
>“Uh… yeah…”
>He is a terrible liar.  Letting out a sigh, you open up a drawer on your desk and pull out a guide.
“Make sure you read this, understand?”
>“Yeah...sure…”
>You hold the book out to him.  He goes to grab it with his hoof.  He pulls the book, but you do not let go.  He looks up from the book to your gaze.
“Peter, most ponies in Equestria are pretty accepting towards changelings now.  But even though it's been four years since the peace treaty has been signed, there are still some holdouts. Ex-Royal Guards… known as Exterminators... especially.  The Royal Guard has been doing a fantastic job on cracking down against changeling hate crimes, but you should still avoid walking the streets late at night.  If you sense trouble, get out of there immediately, understand?”
>“Uh… Yeah… I understand…”
“Good…”
>After the Changeling Massacre four years ago, the ponies of Canterlot were appalled when having to deal with the deaths of hundreds of changeling refugees across the city.  Although it was not known that the disguised refugees were actually changelings, most had been accepted and legitimately loved by their fellow ponies of Canterlot.  Their death, although tragic, drastically changed public opinion towards changelings, as well as distrust in the government.  Caving to public outcry, as well as the recommendations from her sister, Princess Celestia disbanded the Exterminators.
>Peter attempts to pull the book, but you continue to hold.
“Also, most importantly, avoid contact with crystal ponies, and under no circumstances travel to the Crystal Empire.  Do I make myself clear?”
>Yeah… I know about all that...
“Alright.”
>You let him take the book from your hoof.
>Princess Luna was not able to punish Princess Cadence for the Changeling Massacre at Canterlot, Princess Celestia would not allow it.  A battle almost broke out among all three alicorns, but Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped in as a mediator and was able to calm things down.  Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor ended up being sent into exile to the Crystal Empire.  The Crystal Empire continues to remain part of Equestria, but distrust between that territory and the rest of Equestria continues to grow.  Changelings are not allowed in the Crystal Empire, and traveling there could prove fatal.
>You take one final look through his paperwork.
“Alright Peter, everything appears to be in order.  Enjoy your stay in Equestria.”
>“Great!  Thanks buddy!”
>The drone takes the documents from your hoof and leaves your office.  You look at the clock, it is almost 5:00 pm.  You begin to tidy up your papers when a small filly changeling runs past the guards and into your office
>“DADDY!”  The filly yells.
“Hey there kiddo.”
>You say as you get up from your desk and grab her in your hooves.
“How was school?”
>“Gooood…”
“So what did you learn today…”
>“Uh…”
“That’s alright… so where’s mommy?”
>The filly looks over her shoulder.  You lift your head.
>At the front of the cave you see Amber standing tall, a smile upon her face as she looks lovingly down at you and her daughter.  The chitin of her chest has a slight disfiguration to it, but you look past that up to her charming green eyes.
“There she is… How was the royal court today honey?”
>“Food reserves are at a record high, the hive is not at war with anyone, and my mother didn’t kill anyone today… It was a great day!”
>You let out a laugh.
“That's great honey…”
>You gather your things and begin to walk out the door.  You stomach begins to growl in hunger.
>“Sounds like somepony is pretty hungry…” Amber says.
“Yeah… I had a small lunch today.”
>“Hmm… I could really go for a good meal too…”  Amber says giving you a sultry gaze followed by a wink.
>You smile back at her and nuzzle your face against hers.
“Let's go home Amber…”