Thread 75: Stories 46-53

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Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Fluttershy"
~~~~~
>Welcome to Not Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content does matter, but I can pick and choose my schedule! Now for our main guest...FLUTTERSHY!!!

"H-hi?"

>Now that you're hanging out with Chrysalis more, do you think Discord is going to get jealous?

"Aw, that would be sweet of him, but I think he'd understand that she's needed."

>High expectations from the Lord of Chaos.

"Is he picking on Chrysalis? I can talk to him if he does."

>Oh noooo...not yet anyway. Well, that's our show, but don't forget to catch our behind late night /pa/ special.
Fluttershy wakes up.

"...that was a little ominous."

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[Editor's note: Declared CD by readers.]
~~~

"Aahhhh, gadangit girl... ya gotta put yer hoof down on this... ya aint wantin' yer ponyfolk all upset, even if she's not a massive problem, she DID do bad things in tha' past..." But the Apple Princess stopped herself there almost immediately, she made a deal, a promise, she wasn't going to break it. "No, no girl, ya know that aint right... dangit what in tha' name o' Celestia's massive alabaster butt should ah do?"

She sat at her desk, idly twiddling a pen in her orange-hued magic while the gears turned in her head. There was a creak above her where Arana was moving, signalling she was awake, just as she'd thought of a solution too, maybe a second opinion would help in this matter?

"Hey, Arana?" She asked, craning her neck upward to view the spider-like changeling, who was currently rubbing the sleep from her eyes, while simultaneously grabbing an unfinished piece of knit-wear almost automatically.

"Heya, AJ! Mornin'!" She beamed after coming to.

Applejack raised an eyebrow momentarily. "S'afternoon, sugar," She chuckled, glancing out the window. Indeed, the sun was past it's midday peak.

"Meh, anyways, what's up?" Arana asked, polite as ever.

"Well... I figure askin' you is as good as anyone else, since ya know yer au... er, Chitania, better than most." Applejack sighed. "It's jus'... She's been at th' local library non-stop now fer a while, she's scarin' off potential visitors there, an' I'm just thinkin' on what t' do..."

"Mmkay, can see why that'd be bad..." Arana mumbled, finishing a weave before throwing it at Applejack's head, currently devoid of her signature stetson, which the Alicorn dodged, speaking again like nothing had happened.

"Basically, ah plan t' go down there an' speak t' her, be reasonable, like. Ask her iffin' she wouldn't mind movin' t' like, a separate room in th' library?" Applejack sighed and rolled her eyes. "Course ah'm expectin' she'll pitch a fuss, aint no doubt in mah mind about it, but ah think offerin' her somethin' extra might make her accept. Jus' ticks me off somethin' fierce when ah gotta keep givin' her more an' more t' get her t' do somethin' an' ah aint gettin' nothin' back..." Applejack rubbed her temples and continued on. "Shoulda come t' expect it by now, but ah' always hope a tiny bit that she opens up her better side after seein' ah don't mean her no harm. What she did is past, done, over with. Jus'... wish she'd see that."

"Huh... yeah, that does suck." Arana imparted wisely. "Well... maybe it'd work. My auntie can be real nice sometimes! If she's inna good mood. Usually that was when mumm- Sciderella hurt herself or saw her choke on summin' she was dissolv--"


"Ababababab, alright ah get'cha, ya can stop there..." Applejack quickly cut her off from bestowing anymore information about the long dead Queen before she lost her lunch to the grisly nature of Arana's dear old mothers eating habits. "Yeah... ah noticed she gets inna good mood iffin' somepony she don't like gets some misfortune landed upon 'em. ...Maybe ah can use that t' my advantage."

She mulled it over, going past recent events. It took a while to catalogue all that had happened over the past weeks.

Then it struck her.

Or rather... somepony else.

"Thanks, Arana." Applejack smiled. "Ah needed some talk t' help things along. Now, ah'm guessin' ah'd better take mah leav-"

~Plop~

Applejack sighed, feeling... something.

"What kinda weave did'ja just throw on mah noggin', girl?"

"Happy-weave!" Arana beamed, clopping her forehooves together excitedly while her extra appendages held her in place. "You were lookin' kinda glum, so..."

"Applejack gave a brief laugh. She DID actually feel better all of a sudden. "Thanks, sug."

---

The Canterlot Library appeared overhead as the Princess of Apples came out of a through-way tunnel, this district of the city was very clean, the Library was no exception, it was as white as the rest of the city, adding to the splendor. In all honesty Applejack didn't much appreciate it, it hurt her eyes on an extremely sunny day.

Still, the peaceful exterior hid the fact a Titan was within the Library.


A Titan she would need to deal with. Again.

"No turnin' back now, AJ." She muttered to herself, she adjusted her stetson and soldiered on.

The double-door entrance swung inwards with a push of her magic, she trotted through before realising she'd actually used her magic for the task. It was still strange. Glancing around, she saw the Librarian practically staring daggers in the opposite direction. Applejack turned, seeing the Titan, not causing an ounce of chaos. Just... reading. What looked like hundreds of books were stacked neatly around her and the table she was sitting at, her eyes scanning the pages of the current read she was engrossed in, not a single thing distracting her.

...Not even the mare next to her who was idly humming while making a house of books.

Sighing, she made her way over to the duo, stopping just as the mare noticed her.

"Oh, well howdy, Princess!" She smiled good-naturedly.

At least THAT snapped the Titans attention away from her book.

"Oh. It's you." Chitania scoffed. "The bitch over there said she'd 'report' me. Pff."

Off to a great start.

"Yeah... about that." Applejack groaned. "Ah'm not gonna throw ya out. Y'aint done nothin' wrong, an' ah couldn't do that even if ah wanted t'."

"Then why show up at all?" Chitania asked, eyebrow poised.

Okay... show time, girl, show her you mean business.

"Well, ah was gonna ask iffin y'all wouldn't mind, possibly movin' t' another part o' th' library?" Applejack reasoned. "On account o' th' fact nopony visits anymore cos' you scare 'em if ya so much a breath funny near 'em." She realised how that sounded, actually. "Ah aint bein' cruel, s'jus', water under th' bridge now, but ya DID destroy a lot of folks homes. Said folks live here too, gotta use th' Library jus' like you do. But they can't, cos ya scare 'em."

Before Chitania could even blink, the other mare immediately assaulted Applejack with a torrent of words.

"Hey! No! That don't fly with me, none! Who're you to say she can't be here 'cos everypony else has the problem?" She blared, her expression a mix of disgust and upset, almost hurt. "She aint been nothin' but accommodatin' to me! If everypony took the time to at least try and get to know her like ah have, maybe we wouldn't have this issue! But you don't jus' try and shove her away because the high-class don't wanna see a 'blight' upon their society! ...See a freak to SNEER at like they aint a pony. She aint no 'undesirable' whore that you can push around 'till they THINKhiding away is better than havin' to deal with everypony!"

The mare was sniffling a bit upon ending her rather heated speech.

Applejack felt very dumb in that moment for not realising. Being told you're not wanted, along with being told you needed to move away from the 'normal' ponies because you were different?

Just like a homeless pony? Or a prostitute?

Yeah, putting it like that makes it sound fucking awful.

Good job, Applejack.

"...Dangit, yer right." Applejack sighed. "Look... uh... hm. I ...don't know yer name."

"M-my name...?" The mare asked, perplexed. "It's... Sweet Note..."

Huh. Sounds like she never gets asked that a lot, Applejack thought. Then again it would make sense, nopony really asks what a prostitutes name is... poor girl. Applejack would certainly empathise with the mare as to her stance on 'Please go away so we don't have to look at you or deal with you.' She'd help this mare, same as she needed to help the common ponyfolk that needed her right now.

"Well, Sweet Note, ah got a job t' do. I understand ya aint happy with mah suggestion, an' nopony is sayin' yer t' be locked away from th' world 'cos it don't like ya none." Applejack sighed, wondering how to go about this. "It really is jus' a simple case o' 'Other ponies need t' use this here Library', an' until they understand Chitania aint gonna harm them because she HAS t' obey th' law, as me an' her made a deal an' promise, then she'd be best in her own room."

Before Sweet Note could cut in with a rebuttal, Applejack continued on a tad more forcefully.

"Now ah'm NOT sayin' it's 'cos we hate her, an' ah'm NOT sayin' she should be away from everypony 'cos they want her gone. Ah'm sayin' this from a neutral ground o' th' fact that both parties, bein'her or you two, and being th' everyday ponies, that both need to meet on equal hooving. Ah would appreciate it, iffin' ya wouldn't mind doin' yer studyin' in a private area where nopony will bother ya. It benefits you, Chitania--" She pointed to the Titan, who was listening. "--And it aint got nothin' to do with th' fact ya used t' be... a mare o' passion, Sweet Note." She said, looking back at the mare. "Ah promise ah'm being a hundred percent honest with ya. It's only so everypony is happy. Chitania gets her privacy, nopony will bother her from her books, an' th' other ponies can feel safe enterin' th' Library."

The room was silent for a few seconds.

They ticked by like minutes, to Applejack. It was the Titan who broke the silence.

"I don't give a fuck." She yawned. "Why should I put myself away like you say, for ponies who I give no fucks about? She makes a good point too." She idly pointed a hoof in Sweet Notes direction.

Okay then.

Sweet Note might JUST be on board... but Chitania... Applejack wouldneed to resort to, well... upsetting Chrysalis.

It was likely unavoidable, but hopefully Chrysalis wouldn't find out she had told Chitania the information she would divulge.

If she did, well... she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

"Chitania." Applejack began, almost chipper in her tone of voice.

The Changeling Queen's eyes snapped to the Princesses own at the unusually happy sound. It made her cautious.

"...Yes?" She answered, looking for a sort of trick.

"Have you been, uh, catching up, on... recent events?" Applejack almost smiled, shifting the stetson on her head causally.

"...No. I've been in this Library reading for weeks. ...Why are you asking?" She was so paranoid, it seemed to Applejack.

"So you weren't aware the changelings had moved to the Crystal Empire?" Applejack innocently informed.

Applejack had to admit she was impressed with how Chitania hid the flare of her nostrils, and the fire that suddenly blazed within her eyes. It was almost unnoticeable, especially to those that hadn't been looking for such signs. She grated out a sentence. "No. I was not aware. Pray tell me why this occurred?"

Come on...

"Well... me an' Chrysalis? We er, had a bit of a 'heated' debate." Applejack mused onward. "Y'see we got t' arguin' 'bout protectin' our own, an' ah found out she'd sent one o' her own to kill one o' my own, so we got t'... fightin'. Now... what came over me, was a fightin' spirit ah get... ah was mighty fierce, an' mighty powerful. Ah... punched her so hard ah broke her shoulder, all but destroyed th' chitin."

Come on...

"It weren't mah intention, but... fer whatever reason, she got th' hell outta Canterlot an' took th' rest of her hive with her." Applejack smiled then on purpose. "Ah don't wanna say ah worried her, but, ah'm certain she thought twice 'bout messin' with mah own."

While not entirely true, the little story she'd spun was true in a sense. She DID break Chrysalis's shoulder, and Chrysalis DID move to the Empire. She'd of course changed that Chrysalis had only jumped in the way to save Seven, and Applejack had only accidentally harnessed so much power without realising she could. She just needed Chitania to believe her.

Come oooonn...

Chitania... grinned.

Yes! Got her!

"See... There was commotion from that Librarian over there that Chrysalis had been hurt in some way, but I didn't believe it." Chitania laughed. "The news of them leaving is new, but, you broke her shoulder? While not even a scratch in comparison to what I could do to the bitch, it's... good. Ha."

Alright, maybe she'll now--

"But don't think that means I'll get out of here, Princess." Chitania purred.

Shit... here she thought it was going well.

"While it... tickles me, that you injured the 'Queen Bitch', it doesn't mean I'll give you what you want." Chitania looked contemplative. "Hm... I don't give a fuck as I've said. But... Note here... she seemed quite AGAINST being moved." She repeated the mares name to herself, as if to test it. Applejack was confused, it was as if Chitania hadn't asked for the name. ...But then again, why would she? Chitania continued. "I'll tell you what, Ms. Goody-Two-Horse-Shoes: You want to help your ponies, and I wouldn't be... adverse to never being bothered by strangers. It does grate when a child cries because I happened to look at them... Hm. If you can convince her to say yes, then I'll fuck off into a private room. If she says no, then YOUcan fuck off and not bother me at all, EVER, about me being in the Library twenty-four-seven. That idiot behind the counter can get fucked. I can put up with annoying ponies and still have my privacy because nopony'll come here."

Shit... well, this might be easier.

Applejack laid her eyes onto Sweet Note. Who seemed shocked at the fact it was her decision.

"Please, Sweet Note." Applejack asked kindly. "S'like ah said, like ah promise ya: It aint 'cos nopony don't like ya none or hates ya; they jus' wanna feel safe usin' th' Library. It aint you that's gotta be 'hidden', an' Chitania aint locked in th' room like it's a prison or nothin', she can come an go as she pleases."

"S'jus' when she visits." Applejack assured. "Goin' t' a private room allows everyone t' do what they need t', an' everypony wins."

"Plus, I will fucking kill myself if I have to put up with anymore of her shit!" The Librarian unhelpfully threw her two bits in.

"Would ya kindly shut yet yap?" Applejack growled at her. "Ah'm trying t' help ya here!"

Again, a silence loomed. Sweet Note looked as though she was thinking.

Chitania was once again engrossed in her book.

The Librarian was staring intently at the small cream-white mare hopefully.

"...Ah suppose ah'd rather make everypony happy." She sighed, she really looked like she wanted to say no. "Princess... d'ya absolutely promise me ya aint gonna go against this? If Chitty'll study her books in a private room, then will ya promise nopony'll bother her, like she wants, an' nopony'll... be mean, t' her, or me? Ah aint fond of the Librarians attitude to us, the things she says 'bout us."

What?

"Jus' what's she been sayin', sugar?" Applejack asked softly.
"Well, she's been saying right nasty things about Chitty. That she's a evil bug monster, she's useless, nopony cares for her-- Which aint true! 'Cos ah do. --But... other than that, it was just, ya know, that ah'm a whore an' ponies like me shouldn't be 'round here, although it was her friends sayin' that for the most part, ya know?"

She paused. "It's just, that stuff, it aint nice. An' we don't need it. If ya really are tryin' to help both parties, then can ya promise that'll be sorted?"

Applejack frowned.

"Ya have mah word on it, Sweet Note. Ah promise ya." She turned to the Librarian. "You an' me? We're havin' a word soon."

Chitania looked up from her book.

"So that's a yes, then?" She said, glancing at Sweet Note. Who nodded, a smile upon her lips after the promise was made, and at the Librarians look of fear, no doubt. Chitania was certainly pleased the Librarian was going to get a verbal beat-down for being such a cow. "Well... alright then, fuck it. Guess I'm getting some decent privacy."

Applejack smiled as Chitania easily grabbed a few books, leaving the many, many books she'd already read for the Librarian to sort out. She made to leave to go to a separate room, Sweet Note nodded to the Apple Princess with a small thankyou of her own, and followed the Titan as she exited.

"Thankyou kindly, you two! Ah mean it!" And then she turned around. "Now... about that word ah was talkin' 'bout: You an' me are gonna have a nice chat about bein' nice t' others."

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~~~~~~

“I don't know, where would I even look?”

To anyone else, he would appear to be talking to air, to nothing but a wisp of steam hovering next to his side. To him, and only him, there was something much more.

A child.

A child of ethereal nature, hovering in the air.

“I dunno, laddeh, but yeh need ta' figure out a way ta' find the lass and soon, otherwise yer' gonna be nothin' but bug haggas in a bag.”

A tired breath became visible in the air, pouring from him like mist on in the morning.

“I know, child. But I do not know where I might find her, she has been roaming Canterlot for far too long.”

“Maybe the lass has business.”

“That's the problem... she is the only one who might stifle mine Queen's wrath, and yet I spy not a hair of Princess Twilight.”

“Could always go ta' the other one. Orangy, ya' know?”

He flinched, as much from shame as embarrassment.

“Ah... I fear that mine previous actions have... dissuaded her from the idea that I might yet deserve salvation. She seems the vindictive type, and mayhaps in mine previous stances with her, mine colors shown... less brightly.”

“You messed it up, eh?”

“...Perhaps a little.”

“Ain't ya' got any others ta' look out for ya'?”

“Yes... but I dare not call them, not yet. Not until I have something to put between me and her majesties wrath. Something with a bit more power than-”

“Than the blue one?”

“...Yes. Despite her more... abrasive nature, Trixie is not as hostile as she may seem, and would likely attempt to help me, but-”

“But what, buggy!?”

His heart grew as cold as the flakes of ice that fell upon his magically disguised skin. Even now, he had to double check to ensure that his magic has held, finding that indeed it had.

Despite it all, there they all were, three sets of eyes that looked upon him in equal measures of relief, and annoyance.

“...no...”

“There you are! We've been looking high and low for days! Days!”

“Do you have any idea how worried we were? I should geld you like a yapping snapping cur!”

“What she said!”

All of them rushed him to embrace him, no doubt what would have become a heartwarming reunion that would have warmed his very soul.

If not for the blur of black that suddenly appeared, the weight that pressed into his side, the way the world became a whoosh of color and brick, and the jolt of pain that surged through him as he landed, hard. Only the distant cries of “NINEY!” told him he had not been knocked unconcious.

“Found you.”

The cold, icy breath on his face was a stark contrast to the fevered, hot look of anticipation from the changeling standing above him, a mere two steps away.

Needless to say, though he knew naught but a wall of stone lie behind him, he began to backpeddle.

“Figured they'd lead me to you eventually.”

He gulped down bile and fear, ones that only exponentially grew as he felt brick touch his back. The end of the alleyway had split off into a T section, in which he now resided at the top, yet he felt the possibly exits to the left and the right might as well be laid with landminds for all the good they did him.

“C-come now, Seven, can we not speak as fellow hivemates? Surely we have reached the point where these needless moments of brutality are not necessary.”

“You're right, needless moments are not needed...”

The air left him as a foreleg drove straight into his gut, stealing the very breath from his lungs.

“This, however, is very needed, you fucking traitor Flake.”

A blow to the cheek to start, then another to the skull, another to the shoulder, another to the chest, all designed to make it painful to get up, painful to run. Painful to live. Yet, he made no move to finish him, not yet.

No, the moment he appeared sufficiently stunned, the assaulter turned around, and reached out both hooves in waiting, just in time for a red ball of light to connect between them. The grin never left his face as he slowly closed his grip shut, fizzling out the light and culling it away.

“Fireworks, really?”

“HRMPH!”

The blue unicorn dashed forwards, her cape billowing in the wind dramatically as magic swirled around her horn as she called with an unmatched egotistical pride.

“Pitiful fool! You now stand in the presence of the GREAT and POWERFUL TRIXIE! Kneel, mortal, or I shall smite you!”

His look only grew more amused.

“Very well! Feel the might of my WONDEROUS and GRAND magic!”

Another round of fireworks, each one glowing and hot, soared towards him like a buckshot of pure magic.

In the next second, he was a blur.

He caught them all.

Every one.

Dashing this way and that as he grasped every single light in his hooves, and mashed them all together into a giant glowing mess.

They all tried to explode, to shine brightly to all around, but were snuffed out in their prime. Like a candle, gone away.

“Big balls of light... smart, trying to attract help? Well, I'd say that failed. Any other tricks, little missy? Or is the show over already?”

“...NGH!”

He didn't know what he had expected next, really. A magical blast, perhaps fire, perhaps a smokescreen, perhaps even a bolt of pure power meant to blow him apart.

Somehow, in all his many failures, what followed next would, undoubtedly, be the thing he was most embarrassed about in his whole life.

When she literally did nothing more than grab hold of a tiny piece of cloth errantly strewn on the ground, and tugged it forwards. His foreleg fell away, and his cheek hit the ground hard as he failed to catch himself.

“AH HAH! YOU NOW FACE THE WRATH OF THE MIGHTY AND ALL POWERFUL TRIXIE!”

The forelegs, and hind legs, that began jumping up and down on his head stung a little, sure, any blow to the head hurts a little, but honestly it was his pride that hurt the most as she danced around on his head. He didn't know how he was going to move past this one, personally. It was going to haunt him forever.

“NOW YOU WILL BOW BEFORE THE MIGHT OF THE SPLENDOROUS SPECTACULAR TRI-”

He silenced the pony on his head, but no socks to the jaw could silence the hurt in his heart.

Strangely, she, like that feeling, did not stay down.

“SO! You still wish to fight-EEP!”

She could dodge, he would give her that, dodge like nobody should be able to, considering. Some odd mixture of flails and scrambling limbs made her hard to put down.

But dodge she did, for a bit at least.

Just long enough to give her hope, before he pinned her by the throat.

“GLK!... The Great and Powerful Trixie would like to give you this opportunity to surrender, and would like you to know that she will think no less of you if you choose to do so, understandably.”

This, he thought, was going to feel good.

“Poof.”

On second thought, no. The sudden powder like substance that crossed his face did not feel good at all.

“You poor soul, so devoted to your cause. Never once did you think to give pause. Now I fear your time of battles have come to a close. For you see dear changeling, you are locked in my prose."

Somewhere, in the haze of it all, her voice sounded as if it came from all around him, yet nowhere at all.

“I use this mostly for treating the wounds and ills. I must say, it's much much easier than pills. But for you I gave quite the strong dose to your head. Be thankful, I wasn't sure you would not come out dead.”

Colors, wonderful colors, swirled all around him. Inside of him, through him, beyond him.

"Yet."

And then came the blows to the head.

“You have hurt one I find myself quite attached to in this life. You do nothing but bring death and strife. Why you chose this? Your reasons are your own. But my vengeance is swift, and if you do not believe it shall be shown!”

She was was stronger than she looked, and there were still those colors.

"THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE! SHALL FINSIH THE JOB!”

Bingo.

The voice had been loud enough to pierce through the veil, just loud enough to point him in the right direction.

“TRIXIE NO-”

Just loud enough that he could unload everything he needed to right from his horn.

The energy burned off much in his system, as he expected it to, so when the colors faded away, instead replaced with the sight of a zebra and unicorn unconscious from his laser blast, he wasn't too surprised.

“NOOOO!”

He was surprised when he was suddenly tackled, though.

“NO! STAY AWAY FROM THEM! Leave them be! It's me you want! Take me instead!”

“Okay.”

“NO WAIT I TAKE IT BA-”

There was something therapeutic about punching him in the face, over and over. That smug, arrogant face just being caved in one blow after another after another. It was soothing. Relaxing, even, to kick him when he was on the ground.

“P-please...”

“This is your punishment, Flake.”

“I-I-”

“Have been feeding Thirty Two for just, so long. Feeding a known regicidal traitor... oohh, you had to know that was a bad call.”

He flinched, as much from terror as from pain.

“How'd you see this ending?... Ah, nevermind. You went against her orders in a bad way, Twenty Nine. You didn't just keep him alive... little bottles of wine? Really? Fuck, I wish I had bottles of wine.”

He picked him up by the fin on his head, grinning all the while.

“Finally... I'm going to see a mission through to the end.”

He picked him up, and prepared to deliver the body to Chrysalis herself. She would, at long, long last... be proud of him again.

“YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY CUZ!”


The sting in his side was more of annoyance than pain, by far. It felt as if someone had tossed a rock right into his side at a painful velocity, but other than that he felt no remaining sting to the ache in the place he had been stuck. No, if anything, he felt a sting to his pride more than anything else that he had ever allowed such a small, unfocused little thing to slip past his defenses.

“Come on, you wanna mess with somebody!? You can mess with me-hey!”

He hadn't even tried, just snapped his hoof out, hooked one of his many holes into the crook of the short one's horn, and picked him up like an errant turnip. He dangled there, forelegs flailing about in a pitched attempt to land even the most cursory of blows, but unable to so much as reach the infiltrator's nose.

A quick jab proved ineffective, he found. The little bug was as hard as a stone.

“YEAH! WHAT NOW!? YOU GONNA TRY SOMETHING!? TRY SOMETHING I DARE YOU! BRING IT! BRING IT OOOOOON!”

“...You have a lot of love, little Flake...”

An almost wicked smile crossed his lips, and Fifty Six's eyes began to bulge out as he felt a familiar tingling in his head. Not a familiar feeling by any stretch, but a feeling he knew all too well. The feeling of having his love sapped right out of him.

“I think I'll take it for my own.”

“N-NO! Hey! Lemme go! Lemme-NOT FAIR! YOU LEAVE MY CUZ ALONE! I'LL BEAT YOU TILL YOU CAN'T SEE STRAIGHT! I'LL SICK MOONS ON YOU! NOT MOM'S GONNA BITE YOUR HEAD OFF! YOU WON'T KNOW WHat hit... you... you won't...”

His eyes struggled with all his might to stay open, to stay awake and aware, but he couldn't help it. Soon enough, the haze grew too thick, and with one stray bolt from his horn the elder changeling put him to sleep.

“...N-not-mom's gonna... gonna kick... your... a.......”

At last, he was still.

“...I don't know why she likes you so much.”

He had no shortage of contempt for the little flake, one who would so brazenly disregard his Queen and her orders, and the errant thought of permanently rewriting the little thing's mind to be more obedient certainly crossed his head.

CLINK!

That was not the only thing that crossed his head.

Only the other thing was quite obviously made of metal.

The world was a haze through the stinging on his temple, only a moment before yet again another strike came down.

CLINK!
CLINK!
CLINKCLINKCLINKCLINKCLINKCLINKCLINK
TONK!

His hoof had finally, far too late to stop most of the blows, snapped up and caught the pipe, stopping the blows in their tracks.

“How dare you.”

A blow to the chest this time, from a foreleg lashed quickly.

“How dare you!”

To the head, to the side, to the leg.

“HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY COUSIN-”

And that was enough of that.

Perhaps it had been the love drained by that bundle so small, perhaps it had been because of his rage and humiliation, but all he knows is that one blow held all of the love he had stored in himself, and it had connected, and sent him clear to the opposite wall. With one blow, he had been knocked away... but not put down. Even now, he was struggling to try to get back up.

“...L-little shit.”

Even with all his love, he felt the pain, he felt the sting and the ache, he felt the dizziness.

“...You're gonna die.”

He knew he should save it for his Queen, really, but he had had enough. This was it, the final moment, the time to put any hesitation or failures to rest. This was it.

This was the time when he pulled out his classic green blade, and ended this.

“You're so gonna die.”

“I don't think so.”

The groan was as loud as it was theatrical. The mayor who strut between him and the prone changeling was unmoved by either.

“M-marey! Move! MOVE!”

“No.”

“Move, or die. You are interfering in changeling affairs, and we both know you're no match for me.”

“Match for you? Don't be absurd, I'm a politician. We're fatass, lazy louts, the lot of us. I don't fight.”

“Oh? And what are you planning to do?”

“As I said, I'm a politician... we delegate to higher authorities.”

The hum was the first warning.

Then came the strange mist all around.

Then they rose, one by one, ghouls of white and misty form. From the ground they slithered up as if birthed from an unholy ether.

Each one the size of a child.

And they all looked to him.

“G-... get away.”

They surrounded him, from every angle they came.

“Get away!”

The children did not attack, even as he swiped and swung.

“Get away! GET AWAY!”

They looked to him with their cold, dead eyes and asked... “Why?”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

“Do thou sees what thine actions have caused? Does thou know of what you have brought forth?”

Her voice was a whisper, ringing loudly in his head. A distraction, it had all been a distraction, and it had worked like a charm.

“Thou wished pain to he who doth not deserve it... thou wished their pride fulfilled with the blood of another... monster.”

As one, the children chanted.

“Monster.”

“N-no!”

“Monster.”

“It's my duty!”

“Monster.”

“Get out of my head!”

“MONSTER!”

“GET OUT OF MY HEEEEEEAD!”

A changeling's mental powers are, normally, unrivaled, unbeatable.

But all power comes with a cost.

Steam whisped from his ears as the invading force was driven out, leaving his mind clean and free once more.

Free enough that he could look upon the one who stood next to the mayor, and know fear.

“Oh, shit...”

Princess Luna looked to him with no shortage of contempt, and no lacking of power from her horn.

“Ooooohhhh... s-shit.”

He was a premier, top infiltrator, one of the very best in the field... but there was no possible way he stood a chance against an alicorn, none, ZERO.

“Uh... uh...”

“We should smite thee.”

He wanted to stay strong, really he did, but in the face of her glare, he could do nothing but place on a disguise of one with a stoic face, and hope she bought it.

She didn't.

Unfortunately, he had vastly underestimated the power it took to drive out an Alicorn from his mind, and vastly overestimated how much remained in his body.

That disguise was the straw that broke the camels back, and he fell forwards. Unconscious in a second. At last, the infiltrator was defeated.

In the silence, all breathed a sigh of relief, and Luna turned to the prone, still injured changeling.

“You... you saved me...”

She smiled to him, genuine and proud.

“No, she didn't.”

But it was not meant to last.

He was pulled away before he could so much as blink, before any could react. No magic or hooves could grab him in time before he was pulled far from them, and into an inferno of green fire that had formed from the ether.

“Twenty Niiiine. You never call, you never write, I was worried about you! Whatever have you been up to?”

He squealed like a stuck pig as she suddenly slammed her hoof down on his head, grinning from ear to ear in a malicious smirk.

“Nothing... unfortunate, I hope?”

“CHRYSALIS!”

The Luna princess stepped forwards, horn already blazing with power in warning. The changeling Queen regarded it as if it were nothing more than a candle.

“Princess Luna, you are interfering in my royal duty to deal with a facilitator of a known regicidal traitor. I must say, this is doing nothing for broaching peace between our nations.”

“RELEASE HIM AT ONCE!”

She cackled, proud and loud.

“Such demands! And however will you enforce them?”

Hate, pure hate shown through her eyes as she narrowed into a glare unrivaled in all the world.


“As I thought. Your sister was no match for me back when my power was weaker still than I am now. At your very best, you stand no chance of so much as scratching me, and I assure you I will respond in kind to any hostile and unprovoked attacks.”

“UNPROVOKED!?”

“Yes. For you see, this is my subject, legally and officially, and he is in my custody. See? In my custody.”

“You are on our land!”

“Harboring a fugitive?! Whatever will the press think? How galling of you, Luna! This is clearly a sign of a much more serious international incident, one which I must respond to if I am to keep my populace safe... unless of course you allow me to act as I see fit, in which case I take it as an unfortunate placement of him on your land, and harbor no ill will.”

She snarled, actually snarled at her, and made one more step forwards.

But she did not act.

“Good, now...”

Idly, her gaze curled backwards, to the still prone body of a much younger changeling. The instant she saw Luna go tense, she let out a long cackle.

“Oh please, he didn't know and even if he did, he's a minor. I'm just ensuring he rests as I deal with...”

The snarl gave way to a louder, more intense growl.

“You would take the one he treasures from him? His family? You would strip that away from him...”

For a moment, she faltered.

But it was just a moment.

“This is his own fault, and how Fifty Six feels about this has no bearing on what has to be done.”

“He means so much to him...”

Her smile, never once, faltered.

“He will get over it, in time. Now, are you planning to make a move? Must we do this now? Or will you let me be?”

She wanted to move, more than anything in the world she wanted to attack... but she knew that the Queen spoke the damned truth, and that she would be no match for her in combat. Her only hope would be to call the guards... and throw away their lives by the dozens. All for one life...

“Good. Now, as for you...”


The changeling in her grasp twisted, screamed, flailed and cried, a pitiful sight with a pitiful look.

“P-please, your majesty! Mercy!”

“Mercy? You wish for mercy from me...”

“AHH!”

Her hoof scraped into his skull as the pressure intensified, and she dared the other royal to make a move. To her credit, Luna did not.

“You know, you little whelp, when I heard that you had been sent down there, to Ponyville, I was livid. That Applejack would give that job to you, of all of them you, you who deserved this chance the least, to send you away all without my permission... well, it infuriated me. It made me see red, just for a moment. But you know, as the days wore on and you remained, building a life, a home, so many things... I began to feel a touch of almost... proud of you for that. Almost, so close, to being proud.”

“Y-you... you left me for dead- AHH!”

Her smile grew wicked as she silenced him.

“Oh, come off it. I thought you had been struck by a blow of your own making, and when I knew you were alive I sent Forty Two to ensure your life still remained. You were not left for dead... though you were all but forgotten, due to how little they all cared. And that... is no fault of any but your own.”

She pressed down on his head with only a touch of glee, just a touch.

“In this short time before you pay for the crimes of charging one who would wish me dead on the very love I granted you to survive, I must know. Whyever did you do it? A bit of rebellion? Striking back at all my perceived 'slights' against you? Perhaps hedging your bets for a more proper attack? What could ever have brought you to do something so utterly, completely stupid?”

Venomous, malicious fangs neared his ears, and she whispered to him.

“Why did you do it?”

“THOU KNOWS DAMN WELL!”


She reeled back, never once loosening her grasp upon his head as he began to choke, tears openly and plainly pouring from his eyes.

“Kill me, burn me, take my head from mine shoulders, but do not claim thou does not know exactly why I had to! You know damn well why I couldn't walk away! You know damn well why...”

He clenched his eyes shut, as if to shut out all of what had been.

“You know what I would see...”

But her response was one of curiosity, not hate.

“...No, I wouldn't.”

She lowered her head down, and their horns at last were joined.

“Show me.”

~~~~~~~

Dead trees.

A sickly swamp.

A disgusting muck beneath his hooves.

“UUUUGGGHHHHNNGNNNN!”

This was the worst possible place for someone like him. No amount of disguise magic would ever make him feel clean again.

“How disgusting! Of course mine unworthy kin would find themselves in a place such as this! Ugh, what sickening slop to hide themselves in, and if I had half a mind I would turn to find a new hive of more regal stature!”

Had anyone else been there, even one of the more thick individuals would have been able to call bullshit. He was skinny, haggard looking and tired, right now he would gladly cuddly up with a rabid dragon if he could persuade it not to bite him.

But soon this would all be gone, he contented himself. He had tracked this hive as only a changeling could, following trails that would have been invisible to the most dedicated of pony trackers, yet to him were plain as day. Trails like this were becoming less common, but more frequent, if that made any sense. Fewer Queens were leaving trails like this, but those who did left them far more lavishly. A common tactic back in the old days to find one or two stragglers, but now it seemed almost... desperate.

Oh well, no time to dwell upon such matters! He had at last come to where they were to be gathered. So deep into this swamp, he needed not even bother with his disguise, the mere idea any sentient thing was around would be a cause for laughter, should he decide to lowering himself to laughing at the commoners. No, he could proudly stand as he was, changeling to the bone, and trot out into the hidden area!

“Mine kin! I have found thee after a trail most perilous! Hark, take me to thine Queen so that I may... so that I may...”

The sight that laid before him made him want to vomit.

Changelings. So few changelings.

All of them on the ground.

All of them... so still.

Not a wound among them, not a scratch. It had not been an attack that had felled them.

So heavy was his heart at the sight, it nearly leapt from his chest when he felt something touch his leg. He pounced to the side, ready to fight with all the flailing ability he could muster, but instead found himself face to face with a much thinner, hollower face.

“B-by... by the hivemind...”

For a moment, a brief, hesitating moment, he looked at the felled one who had shifted slightly to look at him. That brief moment of hesitation was all it took for the other to grow still. That moment was all it took for him to see, no, to feel as the light dimmed in his eyes.

The horror that gripped him in that moment was unlike any other, and instantly the fallen one was cradled in his grasp.

“N-NO! NO NO NO! Wait! I have love! Take it! Don't... don't...”

But it was too late. But a moment too late, but too late all the same. The other absorbed not a drop of what he tried to send.

Logically, he knew that if a changeling was that far gone, the time to return him back to the living had long since past and would take far, far more than he had in his reserves to accomplish, but none of this logic mattered in the face of the chilling sight that fell from his shaking hooves.

“...H-hello?”

His voice started as but a whisper, but slowly, it grew.

“Hello? Hello!? HELLO!? Brothers! I have reserves to give! Speak out! Tap against something! Make a noise! Move! Do anything at all, something I beg of you! Give a sign you live! Give a sign and I will come to you! HELLO!? DOES ANY STILL BREATH!? PLEASE, SPEAK! SPEAK!... Speak...”

He found not a one. No matter who he poked or prodded, all were the same.

Even... her.

The Queen of this hive, no doubt, but one who he did not recognize. Unsurprising, his former Queen was not one of the more sociable, but it still chilled him with what he saw. She had been the last to fall, obviously, draining every single one of them until only she remained, and when that had run out...

She had been the last one standing, and then the last of love had faded away. Burned away in an attack?Perhaps they were just so low they could not sustain her? He could not say. All he knew was that she was all that remained at the end. Her... and silence.

“...Alone again....”

But that silence did not last.

A single twig snapping, a single crickle of wood breaking free, and his heart practically sang. He raced to the thornbush from which the sound had come, and there, nestled near invisibly in it's branches, was a tiny black shape. A tiny shape bound by the twisted bindings of the thorns, one which he was quick to tear away. The little thing looked rough, to put it mildly, but he had no hesitation this time before he reached out to it.

“Come to me, little brother-”

As if that word was toxic to his ears, the tiny little thing began shrieking and snapping, eyes wild and rabid. Had it's mouth not been so dry, it would have been foaming with the fervent rage on it's mouth. So terrified by the snapping little monstrosity, he almost reared back. Only the sight of what had befell him earlier stifled his hesitation.

Violently, the little creature latched onto his foreleg, and sank his twin fangs into the chitin. Even still, he did not pull away, not until he felt the little one begin the telltale draining to come.

“There you are little... cousin?”

Two wide eyes lost their rage, fading away like mist in the morning to reveal a fountain of confusion underneath.

“Yes, that's it little... cousin. I have some to spare, you may have it.”

The drain was slow, cautious, and the little thing remained poised to run at any moment. But as time past and his chitin grew thicker, darker with color and stronger in form, that stance relaxed, and relaxed, until at last he could pull the little one free from his trappings in the thorns, and hold him.

Curious, confused eyes of the elder looked all around, and noticed something was amiss.

“...Where are the other grubs?”

There was just this one, just this one singular youngster in all the hive he could see. He could not find a single other even close to this age range.

This made no sense. If he was here, there should be an entire new hive remaining. Even if it had been dwindled to one, it would have been the princess of the hive who remained, not a common drone. He wasn't even an infiltrator or a soldier, just a common drone...

But there was no sign of them, not a one. None but the little, tiny, malnourished thing that drained him like a vampire, even though it was totally unnecessary as contact was enough.

Only when he began to feel the first touches of dizziness did he at last pull the little one away. The little one was weak, but content for now. Content to merely look up to him with wide curious eyes that fluttered with the need to stay awake.

“Cccco...cooousin?”

He put on a brave, comforting smile, and shifted him ever so slightly to block the little one's sight.

“...Come, rest, and.... let me deal with this...”

He set the grub down not far from where he had began, and turned him away, tucking him in softly into a brush of soft leaves to let him get his rest. Only when the changeling was still did he turn back to the matter that needed addressed.

He burned them.

He burned them all.

He burned every body, destroyed every track, eradicated every trace. Not a lick of it remained.

Oh sure, he made sure to check, double check, and steel himself should the opportunity to save another return and allow him to react without hesitation, but it was all for naught.

Be it a drone to the Queen herself, he burned them all.

When he finished, at last, there was nothing left to see. Nothing left in the plain where there had been so many of his race, nothing left to tell any soul alive. None should know but his family in the hivemind.

Only when the moon hung high in the sky did he finish, and leave nothing to remain.

Only when the moon was high did he gently move the tiny little bundle onto his back, and begin his travel away.

“C-c...ccoooousin?”

The makings of a tired, weary smile began to cross his lips.

“Yes, I am your dear cousin, Sixty Nine.... I know! Is it not the most clever of names thou has ever heard?”

The wide eyed, blank stare said it all.

“...Perhaps thou will understand when thou sees the greatness of royal plot!”

“P-p...plot?”

“Yes! That supple flesh is verily my favorite of any royal, with which my conquests are known throughout the land!... Or they would be, if we weren't forced by the damned ones above our stature to be silent. Three of them, little cousin! I have been with three, and I can tell no one! Oh the woe! The misery of it all!”

It was a weak, high pitched giggle that rang though the night, but to the elder it might have been the most wonderful sound in the world.

The rest of time became a blur. It lasted a year, perhaps just a touch longer than that, as he and the little one traveled the world, searching for more of his kin. It worried him that he found so many dead ends, Queen's trails vanishing abruptly with no sign they had ever been. So many times they searched, only stopping at towns so that he could 'refill' with some maiden far, far beneath his stature, but desperate times called for, occasionally, settling for a businessmare who owned a decently sized abode.

Truly, it was the darkest of times.

All the while the little one rarely talked, rarely spoke to him. One word, maybe two, was all he got from him. Which suited him just fine, he preferred to do all of the talking anyway, and he loved it.

It wasn't until that fateful summer day so very long after, that he found the trail. The trail that would at last lead him to....

~~~~

“...Me.”

He choked down a sob, a cry, as she released the grip on his head ever so slightly.

“I... I could not let it happen again. To see the life fade... do you understand what this means? To die like that is a worse fate than can ever be put to words. To feel the pain, the weakness, the anguish, and to know the whole time that all along... it was because no one ever really loved you. You would fade away with the last thought on your mind that you are unloved... I could not see those eyes again, and I would, every night, every damned night, if I did not...”

A weight lodged it's way in her chest, digging in deep, strong, beating with every thump of her heart.

“Chrysalis...”

The sounds of the voice of the mare of the night was softer than she expected, more even than she had foreseen, and far more curious than she ever should have been.

“Are thou so cold... that you would slay him for something like this? Are thou so desperate to be seen as strong that you would cast aside his life for such a slight?”

The breath that left her held no warmth, so cold it could not even be seen in the chill of the winter.

“In days long past, we looked to those who would give mercy to the imprisoned not as monsters, but as kindness incarnate. Ones who would look to those who had been cast below, away from the world, and shown them mercy, and that there still may yet be a world that will accept them.”

“But he was never meant to be accepted, he was meant to stay.”

“And stay down there he did!”

There, at last, a bit of fire, a wisp of a smoke like substance escaping from her lips.

“He sought not to free whom had been imprisoned, he sought not to let him loose unto the world and used him for his own means! You wish strength? You wish obedience? You wish for monsters! You wish for a populace who would turn their back on their kin and let them shrivel into nothing, die cold and alone, and all because they garnered your spite... you wish for monsters who have no heart, and would turn away from those who sought to bring them comfort in their darkest days, even if it risked none but themselves! We could never... I could never do something so heartless.”

The stars atop her mane began to swirl, taking shape and form and changing within the light. Power radiated off her, yet it did not move the Queen in the slightest.

“I speak to you, Chrysalis! I speak not to the Queen, I speak not to the leader of all changelings, but to the mare before me, and nothing else! I speak to you not as a princess, but as Luna! There is no royalty here, there is no political power to be gained! I ask you, as you are, if you decided now that he should face your wrath! What is in your heart, Chrysalis?”

The power had swirled the cold, a wisp of wind of icy teal around her in a halestorm of frost and chill. Through it all, Chrysalis was ever unmoving, ever solid. She held her grip upon his head, and never once moved.

Slowly, she began to press down, and he squirmed in pain.


What little hope had flickered in Luna's eyes began to die.

“...You fool.”

Fangs showed in the light, pearly blades that sprang from her mouth.

“I cannot look to this as I would were I any other. I am no other. I am no changeling drone. I am a Queen, a Queen I was born and a Queen I shall die. I act in what is best for my Hive's survival, and that shall always be key.”

“...But what do you wish?”

She asked so calmly, so sincerely, that Chrysalis could answer no other way. She could only answer to her as one would if they were drunk or drugged.

With the antithesis of a changeling.

Honesty.

“...If I were not a Queen, and never shall I be... I would hate him for doing something so foolish, for letting a weak desire and squeamishness decide his actions, rather than what is best for his Hive as a whole. Perhaps it was his need for someone who actually listened to him, perhaps it was just pitiful guts, but regardless he let weakness pull his strings like the wicked puppetmaster it is... weakness that could have spelled harm, should he be let out. Weakness that did nearly spell harm for Seventy Seven. I hate him for it.”

Gradually, near imperceptibly to the naked eye, she relaxed her pressure on his head, and let him breath again.

A power wafted through the air, as sudden as it was striking, and she felt the world distort around her, and all the world. As if connected by the very threads of fate themselves, Luna now knew that only two may as well have existed in this whole world. Herself... and Chrysalis.

“...But I would not want him dead.”

That moment, right there, had much hidden away. It was a statement as bland as the walls around them, a token phrase, nothing more. But beneath it, Luna could see it. Something, hidden just beneath the surface, something she could not read or understand.

But sometimes, she conceded, just knowing something is there at all is all that is needed.

In a moment, the strange distortion fell away, and Luna realized it had all happened so quickly that to the rest of the world, it appeared as if Chrysalis had merely paused for a breath.

“But hate is not what drives my actions. This is duty, nothing more. This is the duty to ensure that no others follow in his hoofsteps. No others shall defy my word.”

The changeling below her began kicking, flailing about in a panic as the emerald blade began to form, and Luna felt despair began to well inside of her.

“Had his crime not been so heinous, had his defiance not been so brazen, I may have let him live. But I am Queen Chrysalis, and I-”

“Need what's best for your hive!”

Both royals started, shocked by the words that had come from neither of them, but yet another source in the scuffle.

Or rather, one of the original sources.

“And what you're doing right now? Not in the best interest of your continued species, no ma'am!”

The fakest, most strained smile she had ever seen graced Chrysalis's vision, held by none other than the mayor of ponyville herself as she moved in front of her.

“...Do explain.”

She spoke to her as one would a slow child, yet Mayor Mare took it in stride.

“Well, your highness, your Grace, you see, he's my assistant, and-”

“I'm well aware of his stature, I stated as such earlier, what I'm not aware of is why you are wasting my time.”

“It's just, he needs to live.”

“...You had better give a reason to me, and quickly.”

The mare pulled on her neck band, already soaked with sweat, and began to speak quickly, and desperately. Yet, true to political form, very little made it through.

“I'm a politician, Queen Chrysalis, I know what it means and how you need to look. So... I'll make a deal with you.”

“Oh? And what could you possibly offer me to spare his life?”

She gestured, and the Queen tilted her head downwards, closely in, and allowed the much smaller one to whisper into her ear.

Her face went through a gauntlet of emotions. The start was disbelief and a bit of annoyance, gradual her eyelids spread just a touch as time went on, then narrowed into an almost mocking look, before freezing, growing distant as lights danced behind her eyes, and then it hit her.

Her eyes began darting around as thoughts filled her brain, firing off like pistons in her mind. A single ebony hoof rose up, idly flicking at the bottom of her lip. Her breath grew short, her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and the barest hints of a smile began to form.

It was culled soon enough, replaced instead with stern, haunting eyes, but all had seen it. All knew.

“...And you think you can pull that off? Really?”

“I've pulled off harder. If not, I guess we're back to square one, aren't we?”

“Hmmmm... and you'd do this, for him?”

A hesitation, she noted. There was a hesitation there, something that paused her for only a moment.

“Yes.”

And then was gone.

Again, Chrysalis's eyes began to dart around, and her mind whirred so fast they could practically hear the bolts of electricity traveling across the inside of her cranium as she pondered at lightning speed.

“Little one, I must say, they had it all wrong about you... you are an excellent politician.”

To the relief of all gathered there, the hoof lifted from the stunned changeling's head. Quickly, the Mayor moved forwards to pull him away, clenched tightly in an embrace. It was not long before she was joined at her side by her two companions. The Queen's wings flared, and a feral smile crossed her face.

“Very well... this is worth it for the chance. You have offered me a very rare opportunity, little pony, one which I would be remiss in tossing away due to the idiocy of my subject. Much as I am loath to admit it, Twenty Nine, you are worth keeping around only for this opportunity if nothing else.”

The Queen's wild, excited eyes cut over to the princess, who stood stock still confusion.


Anonymous Fri 08 May 2015 08:33:36 No.22961205 Report
Quoted By: >>22961227
>>22961197

“It seems your wish has been granted, Princess Luna! Oh, and do keep this little skirmish under wraps, wouldn't you? He is quite lucky that the only one to detect his activities was dear Seven, I can explain away the others so they do not slit his throat in his bed... unless you feel the need to bring this up with dear, dear Princess Applejack, that is. Should that blabbermouth be brought into the matter, it will not be long before the truth spreads like wildfire. And oh... what a tragedy that would be. Twenty Nine, felled by the loyal changelings who seek only my health, it brings a tear to my eye.”

Gone was any hate, or fear, or disgust. No, in Luna's eyes, there remained only confusion for being so far out of the loop, and just a touch of understanding.

With a booming cackle, the flames began to surround Chrysalis, and Seven as well.

“Good luck, little pony! If nothing else, this will be quite the entertainment to see! What an opportunity, what a show! Good luck to you! I shall keep your betrayal under wraps, for now. But do beware, as we have established... there is no where you can run... and no one can protect you. Use this opportunity well... it will be your last.”

And just like that, the flames carried her away.

Leaving only steam of melted snow, embers of flame... and a lot of confusion from a particular changeling.

“...Sooo... what was that all about?”

The mayor let out a sad, tired breath, looking to him with a mixture of relief and sadness.

Slowly, she brought her lips to his ear, and whispered to him.

Luna could not hear the words, nor would she pay them any mind in the face of the strange new things she had learned of the changeling Queen, and even that was secondary to the need to go to the side of the felled young one. Still, she had yet to deduce what, exactly, was struck with the changeling.

Though a part of her knew that, whatever it was, indeed... was going to be a show worth seeing.

“....I HAVE TO *WHAT*!?”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NComake

>"Applejack"
"Sweet Note"
'Luna'
"'56'"

--

"AH FINALLY GOT A NAME, YEAH!"

>"Yeah, ya did. Although it weren't canon. An' we still gotta sort this Chitania problem."

"Plplplplp! NAMED!"

>"Real mature..."

'You know, 56, we feel as if thou in for some trouble.'

'"What makes ya say that, moons?"

'Well... come here, and we will show thee, hm?'

"'Wait, I thought ya meant with Not-mom an-- Oh! Hey, ya snuggling me awful close, aint'cha?"'

>"HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, NOO!!" Y'ALL TAKE THAT T' TH' AFTA DARK, YA HEAR?"

'Verily, we wish not too, we wish not to attempt such debauchery upon 56, but alas, we are not in control. Now 56? Bend thine-self over.'

'"Oh snickerdoodles..."'

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NCOmake
>Rainbow Dash
"SA"
~~~

>Snoooore.... phhewwww.... snoooore.... phewww... snrk! Hah, mrrrhm... aaah?

>...is it snowing?

>...

>...OH FUCK, I FORGOT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO THAT WINTER THING!

>...I am sure Shining Armor won't mind a few more snowclouds over his empire. Right? Right?

~~~~

Across the country, the CE's protective dome slowly disappears beneath the snow.

~~~~

>Rrrrrriiiiight...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Omake
>Aj
~~~~~~

>.... Ah' fee like ah'm missin' something'....

*Trixie, zecora, mayor made, 56 and Luna all run past*

>...its probably nothing'.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC-follow up

>AJ
~~~~~

Sunset runs past. Moments later, the library explodes and Variolus and Chitania in Titan form start wrestling off the nearby cliff.

>Yeah, everythin's jus' fine.

Celestia takes flight, lasers are flying everywhere, Changeligns start appearing with automatic weapons and shoot infusion-crooks.

"Juuuuuuuus' fine.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non-canon Pinkie Preview
>Pinkie
~~~~
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOKbzkGIgA

>Can you see it, /pa/ls? The world is ever-changing around us and everypony is trying to keep up! The Changelings get gun-fu training, Sunset Shimmer learns how to become a mistress of disguises and Princess Luna can apparently breath ice! Also, Winter is here! Can we please have some snowball fights? Please, please, pleeeeeaase?

>NEXT TIME! Chrysalis returns home after a long day of being the top-bitch, Applejack realizes her she's becoming like Celestia and promptly jumps the balcony, OO7 is sent on a 'very important mission in foreign lands', Spitfire learns how to literally spit fire at her recruits and Cadance fixes everypony's problems together with Rarity by singing a 'It'll be okay' medley song that lasts four hours!

>See you next time, in Thread 76!: Ice, Ice, Baby! And oh, plenty of shiver-inducing fanservice!

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