Due to a few requests, I have decided to upload this story on this site too. For those of you who have not read this before, below is how the story got created.

Note: This story was created as a prompt from the RD Random Shipping Game. The game required you to roll a dice and depending on the number, you would write a 100-500 word ship with a corresponding character. I got number 13 which was a male Changeling. The rest of the story after this prologue is a continuation from the game. I hope you enjoy.

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"Hey, you awake?"

Rainbow grumbled in annoyance as her eyes fluttered open. Her eyelids still felt heavy, but her natural stubbornness pushed her to open them and face the new day. Next to her was a black figure with a satisfied grin on his face. Rainbow poked out her tongue at him and tried to roll the other way.

"Ugh, five more minutes, alright? Don't changelings get tired?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing about ponies. Judging by last night's performance, you rarely do." She lightly punched him in the foreleg. But this only caused the changeling's smile to grow wider. "Anyway, this has been most enjoyable, but I must depart."

Dash's eyes flew open as she quickly shot up from her bed. The changeling made his way towards the window, but took a moment to stretch his limbs out first. Rainbow wasn't completely sure what had come over her, but she knew if he left, it would be the worst possible thing.

Great, now I'm thinking like Rarity, she thought to herself.

"You're leaving today?" She couldn't hide her disappointment from the changeling.

For years, she had dealt with the gossip and rumours about her being gay. Many colts back at flight school were intimidated by a mare who was stronger than them. So to bring her down, they started spreading rumours about her sexuality. They never really stopped, even when she went to Ponyville.

Even her best friend, Fluttershy, had thought she was for several years before realising Rainbow's real preference. As you might imagine, finding a coltfriend was pretty tough when everypony thought you preferred the same sex. So on Saturday nights, she would often find herself drinking her sorrows away, hoping that she would get lucky.

Then she met him.

"I'm sorry, Dash. Kind Daedalus is expecting me to return with love, and I can't disappoint the hive."

Her eyes pointed downwards.

Left again, she bitterly thought. Well I don't need him! I can go on my own like I always do. Who needs a...

She felt a pair of black lips make contact with hers for just a brief second, before letting go. She shook her head, stunned at the suddenness of the kiss. Then, when her mind caught up with reality, a rosy red covered her cyan cheeks.

"As I said, I must go back to the hive. However, although I have no orders to come back here, I would like to. I... have grown very fond of you. If that is alright with you."

OMYGOSHOMGOSHOMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH

"Uh, sure. I'm sure I can put you in my schedule," she said as coolly as she could muster. She could only barely contain the untold amounts of glee she had rising in her.

"I am glad. I will see you soon... my love."

With that, the bug-like being flew through the window, leaving the multicoloured pegasus to gaze at him as he flew off.

Then she realised something.

How the buck am I going to tell the girls that I'm dating a changeling?

Rarity was overjoyed today. It usually wouldn't take a lot to bring her into a good mood. A creative spark, a visit from a friend, gaining a new client, even the smallest bit of luck would make her absolutely giddy with happiness.

Today, Rarity was gaining her newfound joy by simply having all her friends in her shop. Minus Rainbow Dash, but the pegasus assured her the other day that she would be there as soon as she could.

Since the boutique was being renovated, she had led them all to the only room she deemed suitable for her closest friends: her inspiration room, after it had been tidied up a bit. It only took her a moment to teleport a table, several chairs, and a tray of tea and cakes, and her room had become a makeshift gossip chamber. Sadly, Rarity had severely cut down on taking part in gossip since the Gabby Gums incident, but the less said about that, the better. At least Sweetie had learnt her lesson.

She was happy though at how marvellous the room looked with a bit of added furniture and the sun beaming through the window. The odd unfinished dress surrounding the room and the occasional piece of fabric still on the floor didn't harm the charming effect in her eyes.

What she found quite interesting though, was why they had all been called together. Ever since she had known Rainbow, not once had she seen a single interest in romance from the athletic mare. However, she had noticed that Rainbow had all the signs of a mare who was head over hooves in love with somepony else. It was as if the pegasus was walking on air, literally. To make things even more obvious, the mare herself had randomly approached Rarity with some questions about 'how to tell if somepony liked you.' Rarity had respected Rainbow's privacy, and played along when Dash said that she was just curious about it in case she had to deal with the odd stalker fan in the future.

Rarity looked up at the clock to find it was two minutes to two, and Rainbow had yet to appear to her own requested gathering. Rarity decided to take this moment to satisfy her own curiosity.

She and her friends were sitting around the oval shaped table, all sipping their cups of tea. Applejack was relaxing for once in her life, lounging in her chair with her trademark Stetson covering her eyes. Fluttershy was keeping herself to herself as usual, only occasionally joining in on the conversation. Pinkie, much to the others' surprise, was rather quiet. Rarity assumed this was because she was too busy enjoying the cake. Finally, there was Twilight, who was the main source of conversation. That was the mare Rarity wanted to talk to.

"Oh Twilight dear," her voice chimed throughout the room. Twilight's head turned to Rarity expectantly. "I was wondering if you could sate my curiosity."

"Of course, Rarity. I would be happy to help," Twilight replied with a genuine smile. The small exchange between the two mares had garnered the attention of Applejack and Fluttershy. Pinkie was still too busy eating her cake.

"Well, I was wondering if Rainbow Dash had checked any different books out lately. What I mean by that is has she been browsing any different genres than she normally would?"

Twilight's face scrunched up in thought. She didn't think about the unusual nature of the question itself, as she was more focused on answering it, just like she would if she were taking a test.

"Actually, when she came back with the latest Daring Do book, she asked if I had any romance books." Applejack adjusted her Stetson so the hat was no longer covering her eyes.

"RD, readin' a romance story? Ya sure about that, sugarcube?"

"Yes, I found it rather odd myself. She told me that when she got to the part where Daring falls in love with a writer, she became curious and wanted to try a pure romance novel."

Only Rarity was able to read between the lines of Dash's actions. She felt an odd sense of pride in her athletic friend. Perhaps it was the fact that Rainbow had never really shown interest in pursuing a relationship before, and it seemed like she was maturing in a sense.

Those nasty rumours spread about her were probably the cause of her reluctance in finding love, Rarity mused to herself. This was something she had been musing over for sometime now. What brutes! How dare they spread outright lies about a lady's sexuality!

The thought made her think back to when she had tried to set up Dash with Roseluck, only to be told by Dash she didn't like mares that way. On top of that, Roseluck didn't either. She's had her eyes on Big Mac for some time. Rarity had to give both mares numerous apologies till she felt the embarrassment wear off.

"Um… excuse me, Rarity."

A tiny, squeaky voice invaded the white mare's ears, and caused her train of thought to come to a complete halt. Fluttershy had somehow managed to quietly move her chair next to Rarity's. Rarity was used to Fluttershy unintentionally sneaking up at her, but Fluttershy seemed more conflicted than she usually did.

"Yes, darling. Whatever is the matter?"

Fluttershy took a quick sip of her tea to calm herself. She knew what this was all about. She had a feeling Rarity knew too. She just wanted to be certain.

"Rarity, I think I know why Rainbow wanted us to come today."

"You do?"

"Two days ago, I saw her coming out of the Everfree with… another pony. He was a stallion, but I didn't get a very good luck at him. She was nuzzling him a lot though, so I think they were together."

"You mean as a couple, darling?" Rarity had joined in with her own hushed voice.

"I think so. Oh, I hope Rainbow isn't mad at me for snooping. I was just…" Rarity raised a hoof in front of her friend to silence her. She would not allow Fluttershy to worry herself over nothing like she did so often.

"Fluttershy, you did absolutely nothing wrong. Tell me, did you just happen to be close by when you saw them? You didn't actively look for Rainbow, did you?"

"Oh goodness no. If I had, I would have gone to her house. I would never follow her without her knowledge." Rarity smiled warmly at her friend.

"You see? Darling, you have nothing to worry about. You didn't do anything wrong at all. And you were correct. I did have a suspicion of what this was all about. But how did you know that?"

Fluttershy began to hide behind her long mane. This was something she often did when she felt pressured or nervous about talking. It was why she would never consider cutting it. The elongated pink hair acted as her last line of defence in awkward social situations.

"Well, when we talk at the spa, you usually have this twinkle in your eye when you know something others don't. And since you don't gossip any more, I see that twinkle an awful lot. I just thought you might know."

Before Rarity could think over the fact she apparently had a 'twinkle', a knock at the door caught everypony's attention. Rarity's eyes drifted to the window, where she found it was still closed. Rainbow very rarely used the door, unless she was arriving with others, so she assumed it must have been a client, or perhaps another fabric delivery.

She took another sip of her tea, savouring the milky taste of the brew, before gently placing the cup and saucer on the oval table.

"If you would excuse me, everypony, I believe that must be a client. If Rainbow arrives, tell her to continue without me."

"Ya can take yer time, Rare," assured Applejack. "RD probably won't be here for a while yet."

Pinkie, for the first time in the conversation, put down the cake and joined in. "Yeah, Dashie's always late! Not for my parties though, she's never late for my parties because she always likes my parties. But there was that one party we had for Octavia when she hooked up with the Doctor, and she was late for that because she knocked herself out when she hit her head on her kitchen table when doing a balancing trick in her house. Hey, don't you think the Doctor is a silly name? When I first asked who he was, he said he was the Doctor. Then I asked, Doctor who? But he just laughed and said, just the Doctor. He's super smart though, just like Twilight, so I thought he would like to ask her out, but then Tavi asked him out first and he said yes and she was super-duper happy. Oh wait, I just called her Tavi. I think only Vinyl is allowed to—"

Rarity had stopped listening when Pinkie began talking about the Doctor. She abandoned the rest of her friends to suffer through a Pinkie rant and descended down the staircase to investigate the knocking on her front door.

Some scaffolding was still up from the renovations, but the entrance leading into the shop was generally tidy. Rarity had insisted on this so none of her clients would be put off from entering the building. Luckily, few of her 'friends' from Canterlot had paid a visit since the renovations began. Only Fancy Pants and his wife, and they were some of the least judgemental 'friends' she had made in the capital city.

The knocking continued.

"Just a minute, darling. I'll be there in a moment."

The knocking sounded urgent, so Rarity assumed whoever it was, was in a rush. She had no intention of making the pony at the door wait, so she quickened her pace and arrived at the door at a brisk speed. She cleared her throat and opened the door with her usual dramatic flair. With a tossed mane, and her best posh voice, she swung the door open with a greeting.

"Welcome to Carousel Bout—"

Rarity stopped mid-sentence when she noticed exactly who she was addressing. It was the chromatic-maned pegasus mare herself, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow's usual bravado and confidence was missing, and in its place was a meekness that was normally saved for Fluttershy. She was shyly rubbing a hoof along the back of her head, and avoiding eye contact with her friend.

"O-oh, hey, Rare. What's up?" Rarity had barely shaken off the surprise of seeing her friend acting like this when she replied.

"Rainbow Dash? Are you alright?" Rarity was beginning to become worried. The last time she saw her anywhere close to this was when she was preparing for the Best Young Flier's competition.

"I-I'm good, I guess. Is everypony else here?" Rainbow still had yet to look at Rarity directly.

"Rainbow, are you sure you're alright? Has something happened?"

Rainbow finally looked up, and her eyes were filled with worry. Rainbow also looked very tired, as if she had been up all night. When the Element of Loyalty had visited the other day, and asked if they could meet at Rarity's the next day, she seemed perfectly fine. Rarity decided to take a chance and confront the athletic mare with what she knew.

"Rainbow, I know why you called us here today."

"YOU DO!?"

Any sign of how tired Rainbow Dash was miraculously disappeared in that moment. Her head snapped forward and she jumped up in the air and remained up there with the use of her wings. Rarity had gone this far, so she decided to go all the way.

"Yes, I know about your coltfriend. That's why you called us here, to tell us the news, yes?" A wave of relief fell over Rainbow as she wiped some sweat off her brow.

She doesn't know, she thought. Well, she kinda knows. Only half of it I guess. I'd better get this over with. She gently floated down so she could address Rarity properly.

"Yeah, you got me, Rare," she nervously chuckled. Rarity smiled when she noticed that Rainbow had cheered up slightly. "But uh, there's a little bit more to it. So we should probably get this over with."

---

"So, what's all this about, RD?" Applejack asked curiously. "Ya look more nervous than the time Ah caught Apple Bloom with 'er hoof in the cookie jar."

The meek nature that Rainbow Dash had displayed before was returning the more her friends continued to stare at her. The awesome persona she had built for herself over the years was more fragile than she would like to have thought. She had gratefully accepted the cup of tea, and at first, was making idle chat with her friends like she usually did. However, Twilight continued to press on about why they had been brought here. Her natural curiosity had gotten the better of her. Because of this, Dash could no longer change the subject, and would have to face the music. Or rather, the judgement of her closest friends.

In one single motion, Rainbow swallowed her courage, and began to speak.

"So, thanks for coming, guys. It means a lot to me. I guess I had better tell you guys what's going on." Pinkie's eyes practically bulged out of her head as she got right in Rainbow Dash's face.

"Oh my gosh, are you sick? No wait, you look nervous. Oh my gosh, my ear flop, twitchy eye and hoof itch means one of my friends was going to reveal a massive secret to us! ARE YOU PREGNANT!? BABY SHOWER TIME!"

The walls of the boutique nearly came down as Pinkie Pie shouted the last line. Fluttershy dropped her tea cup in shock while Applejack's jaw nearly came unhinged at the thought. Rainbow saw the looks she was getting, especially around her belly, and was going to have none of it.

"What!? No, I am not pregnant!" A large sigh of relief escaped her friend's mouths and they began to get comfy again. "I'm… seeing somepony."

The mood shifted back to surprise, but this was more of a nice surprise, opposed to the sheer shock and horror of Pinkie's sudden outburst. Speaking of which, Pinkie, who was still directly in front of Dash, started to giggle to herself.

"Silly Dashie," she managed to get out through her laugh, "I'm seeing somepony too."

Everypony in the room was suddenly blown back by Pinkie's announcement. Eyes darted towards her as the pink mare began to hop in front of each of her friends.

"Pinkie? You're seeing somepony as well? For how long?" inquired Twilight. Pinkie waved a hoof nonchalantly.

"All the time. I see all the ponies coming into the shop, I see Mr and Mrs Cake, and I'm seeing all of you guys right now." Twilight had to use all of her strength to resist facehoofing when she realised what Pinkie meant.

"Pinkie, do you mean you're looking at us?"

"Yeah, that's what Dashie said."

Applejack shook her head. "Actually, sugarcube, Dash meant she's dating a fella. Am Ah right?" Dash nodded in agreement.

Pinkie suddenly came to a halt in mid-air and just stayed there for a moment. Twilight would be freaking out about how Pinkie just casually broke the laws of physics for months after, but it was as if a light bulb had been switched on inside Pinkie's head. She craned her head towards Dash, blinked several times, and then suddenly launched herself at her rainbow-haired friend and wrapped her in a gigantic hug. The sheer glee on Pinkie Pie's face would be hard for anypony throughout time to match.

"Dashie! I'm so happy for you! We have to throw you a party! A 'Dash is finally getting herself some' party! And everypony in town will come and—"

A hoof shoved in Pinkie's mouth was the only thing that would stop her at that point. Dash had managed to wriggle a foreleg out and stop the party mare's tirade before she went too far. Dash's previous fear was gone, and in its place was annoyance.

"Pinkie, nopony wants to go to a party just because I got laid. And where did you get the idea I wasn't getting it before?"

Rarity avoided eye contact.

With Pinkie finally calming down, the rest of the girls decided that congratulations were in order, and delivered them with relief and sincerity. Many of them were glad that Dash had finally shaken off the romantic chip on her shoulder. Before things went too far though, the sound of Rarity clearing her throat gained everypony's attention.

"Now, congratulations, Rainbow, but you haven't told us a thing about the stallion in question. Please elaborate for us. Who is the devilish rogue who has won your heart?"

I forgot how much Rare likes to ham it up, Rainbow thought to herself. The anxiety and the fear had returned, leaving Dash's cyan coat to turn as white as a ghost. Her throat began to feel as dry as sandpaper, and she reached for her tea as a desperate remedy. As she chugged the boiling-hot liquid down her throat, her friends returned to their seats, all equally hungry to know who Rainbow was talking about.

Rainbow nearly slammed the small teacup on the saucer, but managed to restrain herself at the last moment and gently lowered it. She cleared her throat which only helped slightly with her voice as it came out raspier than usual.

"Well… um… I can't… tell you his… name," she said as she smiled nervously. She was met with confused stares from her friends.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking… why not?" asked Fluttershy. Her voice was barely audible, but strangely seemed far more confident than Rainbow's. Rainbow desperately shook her head to clear it and her normal tone of voice briefly returned.

"I need to tell you guys some… things about him first. I need to know if you're cool."

Again, more confused stares.

"Why the hay wouldn't we be cool with ya dating, RD?" asked Applejack.

"By any chance, did this pony do anything bad? Has he done jail time for example?" Inquired Twilight, who seemed more curious than confused.

Once again, Pinkie jumped into the middle of the room. "Oh! Was he a robber? Did he have a getaway cart and everything? Did he have a tommy gun?" To avoid the inevitable barrage of questions, Dash waved her hooves around.

"Nah, he did some bad stuff, but he's done some good stuff too. I guess you could say he helps stop bad guys."

"Wait, is he a superhero? Like Batmare, Iron Pony, Captain Equestria, Blue Lantern, Dr Fate, Spider-Mane, Flash, Gravity Queen…?"

"No, no, no. Pinkie! He isn't a superhero like those ones up in Manehattan or Maretropolis. He's a regular dude… sort of. He isn't a pony." Rarity scoffed at this.

"Oh please, Rainbow. You shouldn't be embarrassed. Interspecies relationships are nothing new. Why, just the other week I had the pleasure of gaining a wolf client from up north. And I say, if he had been sticking around, I would have…"

"That's not the point!" Rainbow shouted all of a sudden, shocking her friends. They remained silent as Dash buried her head in her hooves.

Oh sweet Celestia, I just need to get this over with. They'll figure it out eventually. Twi is way too smart to not figure it out at some point. Rainbow let out an exasperated sigh and lifted her head from her hooves. She was tired. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink last night, as the thoughts of what she would do today had been constant inside her mind.

"Look, he isn't a pony, wolf, griffon, minotaur or whatever. He's…"

Just say it.

"He's…"

Just say it.

"He's…"

JUST BUCKING SAY IT, YOU COWARD!

"He's a changeling…"

The silence that followed was the most nerve-racking that Rainbow had ever experienced in her entire life. Nopony dared to make a sudden movement in the tense atmosphere at first, but eventually they began to move very gingerly. Applejack shook her head slightly, Fluttershy had moved so she was hiding behind her chair, Rarity could only blink a couple of times, Pinkie had stayed frozen solid with an unnerving smile on her face, and finally, Twilight was rubbing her ears to make sure her hearing was working properly.

Twilight was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry Rainbow, but I think I might have misheard you. Did you say were dating a changeling?" She said the last word with extra emphasis.

"… I did, Twi. I'm dating a changeling."

Rarity fainted. Applejack's jaw hit the floor. Fluttershy curled up into a ball. Pinkie continued to stay still. But Twilight fired one single bolt of magic directly at Rainbow's forehead.

The suddenness of the magic spell, and the fact that Rainbow had highly doubted an attack, caught her completely off guard. She fell backwards off her chair and the back of her skull smacked against the wooden floor. She could hear distant voices around her.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"She's being controlled. I have to remove the spell on her!"

"No… Rainbow, are you alright?"

"Goodness, I think she's out cold…"

"… Rainbow…"

A blackness began to take her vision. Because of a mixture of fatigue, stress, and pain, Rainbow made no attempt to stop it. She allowed herself to drift off into dreamland. There, she would be happy. The last thing her mind was able to pick up was the single drop of wet fluid coming from her eye.

My eye's leaking again, she lied to herself. Heh, it always seems to do that lately.

---

So yeah, I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow at some point but I hope you like what you read. I've always been a bit of a fan of the more unusual ships, but one's where you can make a genuine connection. I owe this entire story from that writing game, and the success it's received on fimfiction. As of writing this, it has gained 1238 likes and 1893 favourites. I don't expect much here, but you never know, right? I do love reading positive comments and one's with constructive criticism so I hope to hear some from you guys too.

The old monarch's toothy grin could not have been wider. He had been resting on his throne, content with only the hive mind buzzing around in his skull. It was peaceful, it was quiet, it was… boring. Very, very, boring. Daedalus hated boring, but then again, that was sometimes the price you paid for peace. His lings were content inside the forest. He could sense no serious discomfort for the moment. This meant he was feeling useless today, and he hated that more than anything.

His boredom did not last though, much to the changeling king's relief. One of his guards had informed him over the hive mind that he had a changeling requesting an audience with him. Despite his age, the king nearly leapt out of his seat with joy when he heard who it was and gave the order to have him brought in. Remembering he was a king and should act like such, he rushed backed to his throne and sat down with a regained sense of authority. While trying not to look like the time he had been informed the new Daring Do book was receiving an early release.

That had been a good day.

His throne room was similar to the one in Canterlot, minus the windows. In their place were murals to famous changelings of the past. His father, King Ares, was one of them and alongside him was Leonardo da Hoofci, the greatest disguised changeling to come from his hive. The mural closest to him was of his late son, Icarus, the first changeling in space, and the last. His throne sat at the far end of the room, and a green carpet made of silk led from the chair to the large doors at the end. The room was lit by a great number of candles that helped add to the majestic—and slightly creepy—atmosphere.

The doors gently opened, and in trotted the changeling that Daedalus had been so excited to hear from. Again, managing to keep his composure, he allowed the changeling to make it to his throne and kneel before him.

"King Daedalus, it is a pleasure to see you again."

The king in question was not like most changelings. Like his fellow kings and queens, his anatomy was slightly different. Instead of four legs, he walked on two. And on the ends of his forearms were not hooves, but rather claws that were similar to a dragon. He stroked the long, flowing green beard on the end of his chin for a moment, looking over his friend to see if he was physically fine. He scratched the long green mane on his head, careful not to knock his top hat off. He only wore his crown on diplomatic missions as he hated the ghastly thing. He flicked a clawed finger upward and his subject rose up.

"You may stand, my little ling. I believe we have some things to discuss, and I imagine that will be quite difficult with your face on the floor." His voice was deep and as smooth as chocolate. The changeling before him quickly righted himself with a hint of embarrassment. "Now, shall we call you by your pony name, or your birth name?"

"My birth name, please," the changeling replied with a thick Trottingham accent.

"Alright then, Toxotis, how have you been? I was expecting you two days ago." The changeling quickly bowed before righting himself again.

"Your majesty, before we begin, I would like to inform you I have made a large love deposit to allow our magic to continue." The king nodded in response.

"I have heard the most disturbing news though, so please allow me to ask this. Is Chrysalis truly alive?"

"I assume you heard this when you entered the hive mind again?"

"Yes, so is the imposter still among the living?"

"Sadly so. Queen Chrysalis has done more than enough to tarnish our name. First she failed the monarchy test, but became delusional and started an extremist group. Then she had the nerve to attack the capital of Equestria, with what was possibly the worse invasion attempt in the history of… forever. So bad was this attack that she and her army were defeated by the power of love. That still hasn't sunk in yet. I mean she's made us look like morons."

If Toxotis had an eyebrow, he would have raised it. Instead, he opted for a confused stare.

"Your majesty, shouldn't you be more upset that she revealed our very existence to the world, and Equestria has technically declared war on our race? Actually, you don't really seem bothered about the fact that she's still alive."

Daedalus let out a deep chuckle that echoed throughout the room. Oh, he had been angry at first, infuriated by the fact that his race could be wiped out in an instant. But then he remembered how good he and his kind were at hiding, so he quickly got over it. Plus, his problems may well be fixed sooner rather than later. He cleared his throat and shuffled in his seat to feel more comfortable. After a thousand years he still had a tendency to slip up when it came to etiquette.

"Toxotis, would you like to know something about the insane?"

The changeling's silence was more than enough for the king to continue.

"Funny thing is they can only hide their insanity for so long till it's revealed to the entire world. The other thing about the insane is that they mess up, a lot. It doesn't matter how concrete a plan is, they always find some way to let their own madness ruin it for them. So it's only a matter of time before good old Chrysi messes up again, and this time finds her head is no longer attached to her neck. By the way, those ponies you sent here, I assume they were your doing?"

"… How did…?"

"I know things, Toxotis. Let's leave it at that. They were a lovely bunch of ponies, not sure about that one with the razor sharp teeth and that invisible one, but a lovely bunch all the same. It was nice to see Mimic again as well…"

"Your majesty, what if we are discovered?" Toxotis almost panicked when he even considered the concept. The king narrowed his eyes which made his subject cower slightly. The rare moments when he allowed his mere presence to become disturbingly powerful was a sight to behold. There was one thing Daedalus hated: being interrupted.

However, he was a merciful soul.

"I will forgive that interruption. We have become close, you and I, over the last couple of months. You with your calculating and uptight attitude, me with my fatherly and carefree nature. I like to think I've taught you a few things. But don't you dare interrupt me again. Next time, I won't be so forgiving."

Toxotis was losing the feeling in his hooves, and his knees went weak. He forced himself to swallow the large lump that had built in his throat as he gazed up in terror at his master. Many could easily forget who they were talking to when they met Daedalus because of his likeable nature. But this was the changeling that had defied Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. This was the changeling that had driven out a race of hairless apes and claimed the forest as his own. This was the only living being who has been able to tame this damnable area and bend it to his will. Arguably, this was one of the greatest kings, let alone changelings, who ever lived. And Toxotis had just pissed him off. He desperately searched for the courage to voice an apology, and thankfully did.

"I-I'm s-s-so sorry your maj…"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The changeling's eyes snapped open towards his king, who was in a hysterical fit of laughter. The monarch was clutching his stomach in an attempt to prevent the pains he was receiving from laughing so much, but it was in vain. Tear droplets were forming in his eyes and his neck craned backwards as the laughter continued. All the while, Toxotis was putting two and two together, and realised he had been tricked. Again.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath, "I can't believe I fell for that act again…"

"You should have seen your face!" Daedalus managed to get out through his uncontrollable laughter. He was able to take a deep breath and calm himself down slightly, but couldn't stop the smirk from remaining on his face. "I'm sorry," he said insincerely. "It's just you fall for that every time, EVERY TIME! I've missed you, Toxotis, I really have." He snorted once or twice before his laughter finally began to die down.

"As for your other question," the old ruler continued through the ending of a chuckle, "They won't find us. Trust me on this. Even the royal guard doesn't explore the Everfree, so we're safe. Even if they did, they would only become lost in this grand maze. This forest has always been kind to us, and the hive mind always guides us home. Anyway, since you've come all this way, do you have any more questions?"

The changeling shook his head, but he was still trying to process all the new information. He hoped his majesty wasn't going to ask a question that required a lot of brain power.

"In that case, how have things been for you? Has your noble quest for redemption borne any fruit by chance?"

Oh goodness, I'm going to have to tell him, Toxotis nervously thought. "Well… I've only had a few new cases as of late. My mentor, Sherclop, has been kind enough to send me a few he couldn't be bothered with, but business has been a little slow, I must admit. Despite the chaos Ponyville regularly receives, there's not much call for a detective."

"… While I believe you, I get this feeling you're not telling me everything. Am I wrong?"

Toxotis knew that wasn't going to work, but it was worth a shot. He sighed heavily and gazed up at his leader. He bit his lip for a moment, allowing the small ounce of pain to act as a reprimand for his own actions.

"You are correct, King Daedalus. May I ask how you knew?"

"I didn't need to use the hive mind, especially since you've cut off access to what it is. You can trust me, Toxotis. Did you do something bad?"

"No, it's not like that. I'll be blunt with you. I… have found myself… in a relationship."

Toxotis didn't have time to react as he was swept into a bone crunching hug. The king let out a hearty chuckle as he wrapped his friend in his arms and picked him up from the ground. They spun around for about two minutes and all the while, Toxotis was feeling more and more queasy, until Daedalus put him down and almost broke out into a jig. However, he forgot how to do one, so he settled for the hokey pokey.

Toxotis just stared as the idol of thousands broke out into a foals' dance. He wasn't really sure what to do with himself as his king got to the part where his right leg was in, so he just continued to watch, and made a mental note to delete this from his brain forever. Thankfully, after five minutes of dancing, the old king managed to control himself and approached his friend with the biggest smile Toxotis ever saw him wear.

"Finally! Well done my friend. I was wondering if you'd ever try and settle down. This is a pony, I'm assuming?"

Toxotis somehow found the means to pick his jaw off the floor and reconnect it to his head. "Uh, yeah, she is."

"Excellent, we should have a party. It will be a 'Toxotis is finally getting himself some' party and…"

"Your majesty, I doubt anyling would come to a party just because I got laid."

"Oh, so you haven't done her yet. Saving her for marriage, eh?"

It took all the strength the changeling had to not facehoof. The sheer absurdity of this moment had made him forget all his worries. His body relaxed and his tension began to subside. The feeling of relief wouldn't last long though.

"So, who's the lucky mare?"

"Oh, uh, well, it's a weather manager."

"Interesting, that would make her a pegasus. And what's her name?"

"Her name?"

"Yes, what's her name?

Time seemed to stop for a moment as the detective analysed the situation. There was no escape. There were no more chances to dodge the question without Daedalus becoming suspicious. There was only one option left for Toxotis. He would simply have to confess.

"Your majesty, her name is Rainbow Dash. But you and I know her as the Element of Loyalty."

Her name and description hadn't completely registered at first for Daedalus. But when it did, Toxotis swore the king's left eye twitched. The leader's smile began to falter. The lines that curved up to make a smile began to lower until it became a large frown. His eyes were unreadable, but his entire posture had become significantly tenser. He closed the gap between himself and his subject with one long stride till he was towering over him.

"Toxotis," he uncharacteristically growled. "We need to have a serious talk about your taste in partner."

---

Twilight Sparkle was a good pony.

You wouldn't find many who would claim the unicorn was malicious or ignorant. If anything, Twilight always sought to understand and think rationally about nearly every scenario she found herself in. When it came to heat-of-the-moment decisions though, Twilight had a tendency to panic, and when one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria panics, you might find yourself on the receiving end of the mare's crazed state.

Still, Twilight was a good pony. At least she liked to think so.

Just moments ago, Twilight had fired an overpowered spell that hit the forehead of one of her best friends, Rainbow Dash. The mare in question was left sprawled out on the floor, losing consciousness. For a moment, nopony dared to utter a word. Rarity was on the floor too. However, she had overdramatically fainted, and immediately brought herself back to her hooves.

Applejack stood up from her chair, but remained slack-jawed as Rainbow Dash continued to lose consciousness. Fluttershy had gotten up from her hiding spot and quickly flew over to her best friend to comfort her. She wrapped her foreleg under Rainbow's head and waved a free hoof over Dash's face. There was no response. Pinkie remained quiet, not saying a word.

Applejack blinked several times before slapping a hoof over her face, still in disbelief at what she saw. Then she asked, "What the heck did ya do ta her, Twi?" As her face contorted into anger, she found herself in debate on what course of action she should take. She had to think rationally, but what Twilight had done was beyond shocking to Applejack.

"She's being controlled. I have to remove the spell on her!" Twilight shouted, unable to control herself at this point. Everything was going wrong. She didn't mean to knock out Rainbow, she had simply overcast the spell and had left her friend drifting in and out of consciousness.

Fluttershy's eyes scanned over Dash's body. As her hoof gently wandered over Rainbow's body, she could see there were no visible signs of damage, not even on her forehead, but her eyes were glazing over. Fluttershy wasn't exactly sure what kind of spell Twilight had cast, but she didn't want to take any chances. "No… Rainbow, are you alright?" she asked as she tried to shake her friend conscious again. Her attempt was in vain though.

"Goodness, I think she's out cold," Rarity spoke softly, still slightly dazed from fainting moments ago. In her confusion, she had forgotten what this whole thing had been about. A free hoof covered her mouth to stifle a gasp.

"… Rainbow…" Fluttershy squeaked out one last time before Rainbow Dash entered dreamland. Tiny tear droplets began to form in Fluttershy's eyes.

With Dash out cold, all eyes turned towards Twilight Sparkle, whose brain was going haywire. Sweat began to leak from her forehead, her breathing became harsher and more panicked, but the stares directed towards her were only making things worse. Twilight had completely forgotten why she had cast her spell on Rainbow Dash in the first place. Instead, she was panicking over what to do next.

Fluttershy was in the process of making sure Dash was comfortable, when a purple aura snatched Rainbow away and towards Twilight. Twilight looked over Rainbow herself, first checking if she was fine. As she suspected, Rainbow was only unconscious. But then her panicking began to grow worse as different scenarios played out inside her mind.

How long will she be out for? she first thought. This thought would snowball out of control. What if she suffers ill effects from the power of the blast? What if she doesn't wake up for longer than she should? What if she's in a coma? What if she does wake up, but doesn't remember us because it affected her brain? It would be entirely my fault!

The stares from her friends caught her attention again. With a bit of focus, she could make out the hidden message behind each glare. Fluttershy, who had been looking worriedly at Dash in her condition, now looked upon Twilight with fear. Whether it was because she didn't know what Twilight would do next, or because she was afraid of Twilight herself was unknown. Applejack had an angry, venomous glare directed at her friend. Rarity just seemed unsure of what to do and Pinkie… just looked depressed. The purple mare could just make out Pinkie muttering to herself.

"… I thought this was supposed to be a rom-com…"

The pressure had gotten to her. And just like a kettle, she was about to explode.

"I CAN FIX THIS!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Before any of her friends could react, both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were gone in a flash of light.

---

Twilight reappeared in her library with Rainbow Dash in tow. Most would have taken Rainbow to a hospital at this point, but Twilight wasn't thinking clearly again. She was determined to fix this herself and also make sure that Dash would be alright. She needed Spike though. Her little brother would be essential in taking care of Rainbow.

"Spike! Are you here!?" She had told the young dragon to stay at the library to do his chores and look after the tree while she was out. Despite the fact that Spike had been invited to hear Dash's confession also, his chores had backed up so much that he had to miss it in order to catch up. Her ears stood to attention, trying to make out even the tiniest sound.

"Oh, Twilight, you're back," came a response from above. That was definitely Spike. Twilight let out a sigh of relief and trotted upstairs, making sure Rainbow was still in her magical grip. As she made her way up through, Spike's voice became slightly panicked. "Oh… Ugh, by the way, that cold I had. Um, the aftermath just sort of happened." Twilight was confused as to what he meant until she reached the top and found several burnt books spread out on the floor.

An event such as this would have normally led to Twilight suffering a nervous breakdown, followed by several hours of crying, desperate attempts to fix them which normally didn't work, more crying, ice cream with the girls, and finally ordering replacements for the destroyed books. Luckily for Spike, who looked ready to jump out the window, Twilight had something bigger to worry about. She just had to hope one of those burnt books wasn't the one she needed.

"Spike, do we have that book on mind spells? Specifically volume two?"

Spike stared blankly at Twilight for a moment, occasionally blinking as the realisation dawned on him that he wasn't in trouble. Spike was smart enough to know that there was something really important going on.

"Yeah, it's downstairs, I think."

"Could you get it, please?" Twilight levitated Dash up the stairs, stopping Spike dead in his tracks as he gazed at the unconscious form of his pegasus friend.

"Twilight, what hap—"

"Not now, Spike! Get the book!" she snapped at him.

Spike sprinted off down the stairs and Twilight floated Rainbow onto her bed. She groaned in frustration as she placed Dash in the recovery position to be safe, and waited patiently for Spike to return. Twilight hoped that she would have a moment to herself to try to calm down. However, Spike had been quicker than she thought he would be and before she knew it, he had joined her back upstairs with the book in hand. She noted that he must have been concerned for Dash.

"Here you go, Twilight," Spike said while nearly out of breath. Twilight didn't give her usual thank you. Instead, she snatched the book away with her magic.

"Alright, Spike, I need you to look after Rainbow while I check through this book. She should be fine, but I just need to be sure, so keep her monitored. Can you do that for me?" Twilight received a salute from her adopted brother, who went to work on checking over Dash. She smiled to herself. She always did that when she had the chance to witness those moments where Spike acted like the mature drake he was. But she didn't have time to think about that; she had to look over the spell.

She trotted over to her work desk and laid the tome on the table. She didn't even need to look at the index as she knew exactly what page the spell was on. The spell was very practical for those in the military and special agency groups. It was multipurpose in the sense it could remove both hypnotic suggestions and full on mind control. That Twilight knew, but earlier was the first time she had ever tried it on a pony, and in her panicked state, she overpowered the spell. Now she was looking for any side effects. Her brain took in every word as she carefully scanned over the page. Every note, every minute detail was of the utmost importance and finally she came to the section she needed.

It is important to note that this spell is rather easy to overpower. We would advise several practice tests before trying the spell out on a living subject. However, apart from perhaps a slight concussion depending on the impact of the blast, an overpowered shot should not cause any lasting damage. At most a pony may receive temporary memory loss, but it will have the same effect as a safely cast spell. The pony the spell is cast upon will have all hypnotic suggestions removed from their mind. If there was no mind control present at the time the spell was cast, they should suffer no ill effects.

Finally, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The worry and fear that was haunting her mind began to melt away and a tiny smile embraced her lips. Rainbow would be fine. She almost felt like hopping around the library in happiness, but decided against it until she knew if Rainbow was completely out of the woods. I'll have to make sure Rainbow hasn't suffered any memory loss, she mused to herself as she closed the book. What a day! Ever since Rainbow told us about her new coltfriend…

Twilight froze on the spot.

What felt like hours ago, but in reality was only several minutes, began to play back in her head. Going to the boutique, Rainbow's announcement and a sense of sincere happiness for her friend. Then Dash's second announcement, and a shot of confusion, then anger, then worry. She wasn't mad at Rainbow, she was mad at whoever this new coltfriend of Dash's was.

Her muscles tensed and her breathing became harsher as she thought over exactly what Rainbow had told her about him. In the end, Dash had only specified a gender, and that this changeling was most likely living in, or close by, Ponyville. She didn't have a name, an occupation, a coat colour or anything that could help identify this probable imposter. She wasn't too worried about that though; she could get any information she required from Dash once she awoke. With that knowledge safely tucked away in her brain, Twilight could relax.

Until the library door swung open.

"TWI!" cried out a Southern voice from the doorway, "ya'd best get yer flank down here right this second!" Judging by the sounds of multiple hoofsteps, she came to the conclusion that her friends had arrived, and they sounded very upset. Before she could do anything, the sound of tiny steps running down the stairs reached her ears.

She intercepted her brother by teleporting just in front of him at the foot of the stairs. He came screeching to a halt just before he crashed into Twilight. She pointed her hoof upstairs. "I'll take care of this, Spike. You keep monitoring Dash for me." Spike nodded and ran back upstairs.

Twilight craned her neck towards the door to see her friends walking themselves in. Since she did live in a public library, the door was never locked during opening hours. Twilight grimaced when her eyes met Applejack's. Her other friends were avoiding eye contact for the moment, realising that AJ and Twi were about to go at it, or rather, Applejack was moments away from laying the verbal smackdown on her friend.

"Twi, what have ya done with RD?" she simply asked, trying in vain to calm herself down.

"She's upstairs, resting," replied Twilight.

"That's not what Ah meant! What did ya do ta Rainbow Dash?"

"… Oh, uh, I simply cast a spell that would clear Dash's mind of all hypnotic suggestions and manipulation."

"And was this here spell meant ta knock out mah best friend?!"

"…"

"Ah didn't think so. What in the hay is wrong with you, Twilight?!"

Her friends were staring at her again. This time though, Twilight refused to panic like she did before. She took a deep breath before addressing Applejack. "Do you remember what Rainbow Dash told us? She claims to be dating a changeling. Something has happened to Rainbow, and it must be some sort of mind manipulation. You all remember how vocal she was about her dislike for the changelings after the wedding, right?"

Fluttershy gently raised a hoof to catch her friend's attention. "Yes, we were all very upset and scared after the wedding. Many ponies say and do things when they're upset that they don't necessarily mean. Maybe Rainbow moved on."

"Yeah, I bet this changeling is a nice changeling," said Pinkie who was hopping around her fellow elements. "That means I can still throw my 'congrats on becoming a super cute couple' party, right?"

Twilight let out an annoyed grunt. "Girls, focus. Fluttershy, I understand what you're saying, but changelings are manipulators, and Rainbow isn't known for letting go of grudges. She's way too prideful for that. And no, Pinkie, there is going to be no party." Pinkie's lip began to quiver as Rarity cleared her throat, garnering everypony's attention.

"Twilight, please explain to us why our poor friend is lying unconscious upstairs."

"I… overpowered the spell. I've had very little practice actually casting it. I'm sorry." As Twilight spoke, she lowered her head in shame.

"Don't apologise to me, darling. Apologise to Rainbow once she wakes up."

Twilight nodded eagerly, still wearing a frown. "Yes, she should be fine. The worst thing that could happen is Rainbow could have temporary memory loss…" Fluttershy's gasp interrupted Twilight's explanation. Shy, in a rare moment of speed, shot upstairs to check on Rainbow. From the corner of her eye, Twilight could see steam coming from Applejack's nostrils. "… but it is very unlikely that anything's wrong with Dash." She smiled sheepishly. A desperate attempt to show innocence was her next plan, but then Rarity said something that caught her attention.

"Twilight, have you possibly considered that you may have not thought this through?"

Twilight looked puzzled. Going through the mental checklist in her head provided herself with no faults in her logic. "Rarity, Rainbow Dash told us she's dating a changeling. She must have obviously been given some kind of mind control spell or drug."

"But darling, that's the problem. I won't claim I'm some sort of expert on mind control magic, but if Dash was being manipulated, why would she outright tell us she was in a relationship with this changeling character? If the changeling is meant to be controlling her, wouldn't the manipulator make sure Dash never told us about their relationship in the first place?"

Twilight really wanted to argue with her, but logic had prevailed. She considered what her friend said. Normally, mind manipulation spells would prevent the pony under control from thinking for themselves. They were essentially a living puppet. From what her brother had told her after his wedding, he said that Chrysalis had made him believe that she was Cadence. But from what she read, she could have also given him the subconscious order not to reveal her identity. It was similar to hypnosis in a sense.

With that reasoning, Rainbow would have been given the same order to not reveal this changeling's identity. Logic, her best friend, was leading her down the right path. It wasn't a conclusion she especially liked, but it was the truth, something her friend Applejack held to a very high standard and would definitely appreciate once Dash could explain for herself. There was a small possibility that the changeling had simply never given the order to reveal his identity, but this was very unlikely considering how often changelings hid in pony society. The conclusion was simple. Rainbow genuinely had feelings for this changeling

This in itself only raised more intrigue for the unicorn. Of all the ponies Twilight knew, Rainbow was one of the most stubborn. The only one more stubborn than her was AJ, and that was quite a statement in and of itself. After the invasion attempt, Rainbow had been particularly vocal about her distrust for the race. She went on a tirade in front of the townsfolk about the freaky bugs that they should all be keeping an eye out for. Twilight also had a personal vendetta against them, but she wouldn't allow any past experiences to cloud her mind again. All she knew was that Rainbow was going to be very mad when she woke up.

"Ah know that look." Twilight left her train of thought to stare at Applejack. "Ya've jus' figured something out, haven't ya, Twi?" Applejack was a little more relaxed now. Instead of anger, her eyes were filled with concern. "What's wrong, sugarcube?"

"It seems impossible, but it must be true…" muttered Twilight.

Pinkie had managed to overhear. "What's impossible? I like doing the impossible! It's super funny to see ponies look at me like I just destroyed reality for them! I remember the time Twilight did that, too! She got so mad she set herself on fire—" A purple hoof shoved in Pinkie's mouth stopped the tirade.

"The facts simply don't lie," continued Twilight. "Thinking over what Rarity said, I believe she's absolutely right. How could I have been so stupid!? A changeling would have told Dash not to reveal his identity. That must mean she did it of her own accord. If she did that on her own, then it's most likely that she was never brainwashed in the first place. She's dating this changeling because she wants to."

At that moment, the sound of a pony clearing her throat came from the top of the staircase. When Twilight and company looked up, they found Rainbow standing at the top, looking down directly at Twilight.

---

Since I'm here, you may have noticed Daedalus talking about Mimic and a few other characters. They are from another story I've written on Fimfiction called "The League of Extraordinary Ponies." I will be uploading that here as well at some point. I hope you liked this chapter and please review and tell me what you like so far. Have a nice day.

A horde of black figures walked under a green glow as they began their busy schedules. The sunshine falling from the sky could not reach this place, but the hive knew when it was time to sleep and when it was time to rise by instinct alone. Survivors, they would often call themselves. They hid, they planned, they worked together, but above all else they were survivors. The hive always came first. They did not eat the love here, but instead they allowed the love given from others to fuel their abilities and community. Each changeling had one being to thank for where they lived now: King Daedalus.

All eyes turned towards the king making his way through the hive. Daedalus was strolling along the street, flanked by two guards and Toxotis. This was not an uncommon occurrence as Daedalus would often delight in taking a stroll amongst his own kind, yet he had long ago accepted the fact that he would never be seen as an equal amongst them. The point was driven home every time they all began to bow to him. He raised his claw to signal them to rise, something that had become second nature to him over the years.

Daedalus stroked his beard as he turned his head in different directions. His eyes scanned from street to street, trying to decide where to go. He often wondered if ponies would be surprised at how the hive looked, considering it greatly resembled a city. There were structures filled with housing arrangements that closely resembled skyscrapers. Streets had been carved to direct the masses of lings walking them each day, going about their business for their families and the hive. Above them all was the dome that covered the city and blocked out the sun. In its place was green nectar that illuminated the darkness. Enough of it had been placed on the ceiling in specific places that it shone down on the city below. Despite how large the hive was, the Everfree kept them hidden. While most kings and queens opted for caves and caverns to build their homes, the forest acted as the perfect place to settle down once it had been tamed. It was not his original choice to settle down here of all places, but he couldn't deny that fate had dealt him a good hand.

"I think I'll have some tea today," Daedalus muttered to himself. He took the closest right while Toxotis and the guards did their best to follow. The crowds never got a chance to form as Daedalus sent a request through the hive mind to be left alone. All the changelings around him continued on with their business, but couldn't help but take the occasional glance.

A tiny little café, one that Daedalus often visited, was in his sights. The owner of the establishment was immediately updated on who was approaching and quickly set to work on making a fresh pot of tea specifically for the king. Daedalus walked up to a little table just outside and gently sat down so he wouldn't break the chair. He had a history of forgetting he was much larger than most of his kind. With a simple pointed finger, he motioned for Toxotis to join him at the table. "Guards, I want you to leave us. I wish to speak to my friend alone." The order was much sterner than usual, but the guards made no objections and left.

"Y-Your Majesty. May I—" Toxotis was silenced by a single finger to his lips. Daedalus wanted his cup of tea first before any conversation began. He could have asked for one at the palace, but he wanted to be as relaxed as possible before the inevitable conversation he was about to have. Being in the presence of so many of his subjects would hopefully prevent him from going into a rage. Unfortunately for Toxotis, there weren't many changelings about at the time. There was only the café owner, and a few other customers inside who were trying to look like they weren't staring at the king, and spectacularly failing. One or two changelings would occasionally walk past them, but due to the previous request, many didn't even look in the direction of the king out of fear of reprisal. They were essentially alone.

"I've ordered for you. I hope you don't mind," Daedalus casually spoke as he removed his hat and placed it on the table. At that moment, the owner arrived with two cups of tea and gave them one each. The owner quickly bowed and left, leaving the two alone again. Daedalus took a quick sip from his cup and gave off a happy hum of pleasure. "Ah, with a hint of honey. This is my daughter's favourite, you know?"

"I was not aware," replied Toxotis. "I've only met her once or twice."

"I imagine so. Despite being a celebrity now, she still likes to keep herself to herself." The conversation fell back into silence as both changelings took another sip of their tea. "We could just keep drinking like this. I would like that. The two of us just catching up as friends would. Sadly though, from what you've told me, that cannot be an option."

I had a feeling you'd say that, Toxotis thought glumly.

"The last security threat we had to this hive was over six hundred years ago. Ever since then we have flourished with prosperity and peace. Being the eldest living monarch amongst my fellow kings and queens, I have garnered myself some measurement of respect from them over the years. At least, I would like to think so." The king took one more sip before getting to the point at hoof. "But now, after six hundred years, your relationship has opened up the biggest threat we've had in a long time."

"Please, let me ex—"

"YOU CAN EXPLAIN IN A MOMENT!" Daedalus closed his eyes in frustration and bit his tongue to keep himself quiet. His voice had been so loud that half the hive had heard the king explode in anger, but to what it actually was about they were clueless. He requested another cup of tea and the owner wasted no time in bringing it to him. Daedalus took another sip and waited for Toxotis to crawl out from under the table. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted. However, before we continue I must ask you this. Have you told Rainbow what you really are?"

"… Yes, she knows I'm a changeling."

"So tell me, then. Why could this be a risk to the hive? I mean, you're a smart changeling, I'm sure you can explain it to me." Toxotis gently lowered his cup and forced down a gulp as the gears in his head began to turn.

"Well… if Rainbow were to tell her friends and they reacted badly, they would likely inform the princesses of what was going on. Especially considering one of them is the personal student of Celestia, and the sister of a pony who had been brainwashed by a changeling over a period of at least three months. Since the princesses have declared war on our entire race, they would eventually find the hive located in the Everfree and destroy it and us."

"Granted that is the worst-case scenario but generally spot on." Daedalus rolled his shoulders and let out a long sigh. "So tell me this. Of all the mares in the world, why did you have to fall for the Element of Loyalty? I mean granted, she's hot, but—"

"SHE'S MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!" The outburst caught Daedalus off guard. He picked up his cane defensively, only to realise it was Toxotis he was talking to. Meanwhile, Toxotis was coming to the realisation that he had just barked at his ruler and put a hoof in his mouth. Daedalus put down his cane and put his claws up defensively.

"You're very protective of your marefriend, aren't you?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"I-uh, what I… I'm so…"

"It's alright," he assured, "I'm not mad at you for snapping at me. Honestly, It showed me how you really feel for her. Why don't you drink some more tea and try to calm down? I think I could do with that as well."

Toxotis didn't need any more convincing. He graciously found solace in his cup and chugged it down till there was nothing left. Thinking of happy thoughts and fond memories helped to relax him slightly. Working his first case, meeting his mentor, finally talking to Rainbow, for a moment all his worries and fears had been dispelled. Daedelus just looked on and tried to rethink his position on the matter. He knew just from how the conversation had gone that Toxotis had not asked Rainbow not to reveal he was a changeling to her friends. It was a foolish move, but love could often make a changeling do stupid things. He theorised that Toxotis didn't want to seem too suspicious to Rainbow, but how he had revealed his identity to her and how she accepted it was a mystery to him.

"I've been in love myself, y'know," muttered the king, just loud enough for Toxotis to hear him. "I'm thinking about pursuing another again, actually. Strong mare, I've had a thing for them judging by my last wife. I've had many lovers, though. Many changelings, but I've been with a griffon and one or two ponies. What I've learned from that is love can be found in the most unlikely of places. I will tell you this now to put you out of your misery. I will not force you to end your relationship…"

"Oh, thank you, sir. I promise I'll…"

"… However, you must do one thing." Toxotis eagerly nodded, Toxotis nodded, not even caring what it was he had to do. He was merely relieved that Dash could still be his. "I want you to convince her to not reveal your identity, or our location to the rest of them." He put a clawed hand on his friend's shoulder and looked straight into his eyes. "I know it may be tough, but this is how it has to be for now. Perhaps one day you can tell them, but the wedding was too soon and fear and paranoia still run rampant in many."

"I understand. My life is yours, after all."

"Well, let's not get too dramatic with this. I mean it's been what? A couple of months now since you came to me all bloody and beaten." Daedalus could remember that day very well. He had been sitting in his throne as usual, when a group of guards brought to him a changeling from Chrysalis' invasion. They had not bothered to check his wounds or take him to a medic; they had thrown him at the clawed feet of Daedalus to receive immediate judgement for his crimes.

"I remember all too well. They found me on the edge of the Everfree, that's how far back I was thrown by…"

"… The power of love," Daedalus finished with a smirk. He pinched himself to keep himself from falling into another laughing fit while Toxotis gave him a deadpan look.

"Yeah… seems kind of silly when you say it out loud."

"The power of love is a mysterious thing. It can make a grown mare weep, and another mare sing…"

"If you start singing that song I will personally lead a revolution against you… Your Highness." Now it was Toxotis who was laughing, and the king wearing a look that simply said "I am not amused."

"I thought you liked my singing voice," Daedalus said darkly. His pouty look, though, was enough for Toxotis to tell the king was merely joking again.

"Correction, you think your singing voice is good when you're drunk. If you're singing some Flank Sinatra when you're sober, you are a wonderful singer, You Highness. However, when you're drunk is another story entirely. Besides which, I believe we're getting off topic." Toxotis got up from his seat and straightened his trusty fedora on his head. "You wish to know the whole story of how Dash and I got together, yes?"

"That could be helpful I suppose. I mean, it certainly couldn't hurt to know the full story."

"Then I give you permission to look into my memories." Royalty were much more powerful than the usual drones that inhabited the hive. One thing they could do with the hive mind was look into the memories of another. It was limited of course. They couldn't force their way in, and the changeling would have to let them in willingly first. They also had to be in close proximity, so it wasn't performed often. Only when important information had to be given and it was too dangerous to speak aloud. It also cut down time as a whole flurry of information would be in Daedalus' mind in a matter of moments.

"Are you sure, Toxotis? I will see everything you know about your time with her. Even the more… intimate moments you've both shared."

"I know. Perhaps it will put you at ease, though. Besides, I sure you won't see anything you haven't done yourself." Toxotis trotted straight up to the king, who was suppressing a chuckle. Toxotis presented his head by taking off his hat. "I can assure you I've never told her where the hive is and this will confirm it. I'm ready."

Daedalus let out a heavy sigh before weakly nodding. It had been a very long time since he had last performed this trick, and it wasn't a completely pleasant experience, even at the best of times. He got on one knee in front of his friend and placed a clawed hand on either side of Toxotis head. Daedalus closed his eyes and linked himself completely to the hive mind. He lost himself for a moment; the rush of information overwhelmed him, but he quickly regained control. He took another deep breath as he slowly joined his consciousness with Toxotis. Sudden impulses like a craving for jammy dodgers and a love of the rainbow sparked in the king's brain, but he shrugged them off as side effects.

"Toxotis, I want you to visualise a pathway. The path will begin with how this all started, meaning what led you to meeting Rainbow, and the path will finish when you began your trek here today. I will do the rest from there," assured Daedalus.

Toxotis knew exactly where this all started. It started with a little bit of help from an unlikely friend.

"Thank you for everything, Question. It has been a pleasure." The blue pegasus nodded to the disguised changeling. Question Mark in turn shook the hoof of his newfound friend.

"Before you and your company leave, Carnage, I want you to do me a favour." Carnage eyed Question suspiciously, but made no argument. "When your mission is over, I think you should pay a visit to your mother." Carnage felt a sudden desire to argue, but Question Mark wouldn't allow it. "I know your feelings for her, but since you're immortal, do you really think you can avoid her till the end of time? I made a grave mistake by allowing anger and hate to eat away at me. That was what convinced me to side with Chrysalis. Please, I don't want you to lose yourself also. You have to at least find some resolution."

Carnage looked over to where his team was standing. They seemed just out of earshot, but the topic itself often troubled him when others could hear. He stretched his wings out, desperately trying to find a counterargument, but came up with none. Question Mark smiled to himself, knowing that Carnage was always a stallion of his word.

"Alright, I will on one condition. You have to ask that Rainbow Dash out," Carnage proposed with a smirk. Question's eyes went as wide as dinner plates and he suddenly felt his throat dry up. "We both know you like her, you've said so yourself. So let's come to an agreement. I swear to face my mother, if you swear to confess your attraction to the Element of Loyalty. Deal?"

"… Deal!"

Daedalus couldn't help but smile to himself as the memories continued to flow into him and spin their grand old tale.

---

The only thing that prevented Rainbow Dash from flying forward and smacking Twilight in the face was a single thought that kept repeating over and over inside her head. Twilight was her friend. She kept glaring though, as Twilight continued to cower at the sight of Rainbow. It was almost laughable that arguably the most powerful unicorn alive today was trying to hide from a mere pegasus. Rainbow wasn't just a pegasus though, she was the Element of Loyalty.

She knew how important and how complicated true loyalty was. Ponies often thought it was as simple as sticking by your loved ones and supporting them. To follow them to wherever they may go. The reality was that sometimes it required you to simply say no. To tell a pony you love that they've gone or are going to go too far. To let them down easy, and on rare occasions, to hurt them to help them. Loyalty was far more complicated than most ever considered, and it wasn't until you found yourself in one of those situations did you begin to truly understand what loyalty really was. Looking out for your friends, and sometimes making the hard decisions for them.

Twilight had struck her, and ordinarily, Rainbow would have retaliated. She was her friend though, and although a good smack might do Twilight some good, it would have likely only served to antagonise both mares. Rainbow began to fly down to her friends while Pinkie had pulled out a bag of popcorn from seemingly nowhere.

"Sugarcube, what are ya doin'?" asked Applejack.

"If Twi and Dashie are gonna fight, then I'm gonna be ready." She then put on a T-shirt that simply said "Team Dashie!" The dot above the I was a heart. "Go, Dashie, go!"

"Honestly, darling, the last thing we should be doing is taking sid—" Rarity stopped when she noticed Fluttershy was also wearing a shirt labelled with "Team Dashie!" on the front. "Really, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow.

Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane. "Pinkie put it on me," she said quietly. "… Also, I like the design." Rarity would have rolled her eyes, but the inevitable confrontation drew her attention back along with the rest of the mares'. Spike was too busy helping himself to Pinkie's popcorn.

Twilight and Rainbow were snout to snout now as the unicorn's eyes began to falter again. She struggled to look at Rainbow directly, hoping that she could crawl up into a hole and simply die there. Rainbow wouldn't have that though, and used her right hoof to bring Twilight eye level again. Applejack was at the ready to break up the fight any second, and Rarity was regretting not bringing her fainting couch with her. Rainbow took one last breath of air, and let out a short sigh.

"Why'd ya do it, Twi?" The question was much simpler than Twilight expected. In fact, a question was the last thing she suspected. Angry words and possible slaps had been much more likely in her mind. Due to the suddenness, she fumbled for an answer, but Pinkie was more than happy to answer as she jumped up in the air and waved a hoof fanatically.

"Oh, I know, I know! You we're telling us that you were having super-hot make-out sessions with a changeling, and Twilight got all xenophobic on your flank and zapped your head," Pinkie said with an innocent grin. Both Rainbow and Twilight had gone red in the face. One of them from embarrassment, and the other from anger.

"I am not xenophobic, Pinkie!" shouted Twilight. "I made a heat-of-the-moment decision based upon the information known about the changeling race. I will acknowledge that it may have not been the wisest course of action in hindsight, but I… I was scared, okay? I was scared."

Something about that last sentence made Rainbow's nostrils flare, and she found her voice rising. "Scared!? What the heck do you have to be scared of?"

"I was scared for you. I thought I'd lost you!" Twilight shot back, forcing down a sob in the process. "Changelings have shown themselves as nothing but manipulative and deceptive. They steal love, for goodness' sake! Knowing what they did to my brother and the months of psychiatric tests he still has to go through, I couldn't bear the idea of that happening to you as well."

Applejack had seen enough and forced herself between the two mares. "Both of y'all lay off now," she said with a firm stomp. "I won't see you two go at it for no good reason. We need answers."

"Thank you, Applejack," agreed Rarity. "Twilight, you must apologise straight away for what you did to Rainbow."

There was a short pause. Not because Twilight didn't want to say she was sorry, but simply because she wished to compose herself for what would come next. "Rainbow, I am so sorry. I overcharged my mind-clearing spell and you got hurt because of it. For that, I hope you can forgive me," she said with sincerity. Before Rainbow could accept, Twilight continued. "However, we need to settle this business over your affiliation with an enemy of Equestria. I've got an idea though. You'll lead us and the guard to the changeling, and I will speak to Celestia on your behalf so you won't…"

"Buck off, Twilight." Twilight's eyes opened wide. Rainbow didn't shout, her words didn't need volume as she simply told her friend to… well… get lost, as it were. Rarity would have fainted, but even she thought that would be overdoing it today.

"I-I beg your pardon!?" cried Twilight.

"You heard me, buck off! You don't know anything Twi. I bet you still think he manipulated me somehow, don't ya? That he wooed me and seduced me or some crap like that. Well, I want you to listen and listen good. I CAME ON TO HIM!"

That time, Rarity did faint. Fluttershy and Pinkie looked ready to burst into glee, while Applejack looked more confused than the time Apple Bloom came home with a cart that transformed into a robot and asked if she could keep it. That had been a weird day. Meanwhile, Twilight was screaming internally. Her brain and sanity were in tatters, and then she fell onto her rump in defeat. Her friend had willingly started a romantic relationship with a changeling. Twilight was questioning if it was all her fault, like Rainbow was punishing her for something.

"Um, can I say something?" Due to the deathly silence that had followed Rainbow's outburst, Fluttershy's quiet voice could be clearly heard. All eyes turned towards her, Twilight's desperately searching for answers to this insanity. "Maybe Rainbow should explain to us how she met this changeling. This might help clear any confusion, and then we can all make a fair and balanced decision on what to do next."

The logic was very sound, and it was refreshing to Twilight to hear a sane opinion on the matter. Twilight's brain overload prevented her from replying though, she didn't even put up a fight when she felt herself get dragged onto a seat. When reality had caught up to her, she found herself sitting on a stool between four of her friends. Rainbow Dash had been placed just in front of them by Pinkie. In an effort to get everypony more relaxed, Pinkie had brought more popcorn to share. Spike grumbled about not getting a seat, when Pinkie exploded with enthusiasm.

"Alright, story time! C'mon, Dashie, I'm so excited to throw you that 'super cute couple' party!" Rainbow Dash sighed at the sight of her friends (most of which were fully conscious) and saw no real reason to delay the inevitable.

"Okay, this all started four weeks ago. One Saturday night at the bar…"

---

So now we will find out how these two unlikely lovers ended up together. Will it be awesome? Will it romantic? Will Daedalus start singing? Find out next chapter. I just want to say that thins chapter would have never been done this quickly if not for all your support and love for this story. On a side note, I'm giving Equestria Daily a shot after a few recommendations. Wish me luck. And another thank you to my editors.

- Infinite

Also, I have good news. I'm now uploading the League of Extraordinary Ponies. The story that you're reading now, is a spin-off from that story. You don't need to read it, but if you like this story, I think you'll like that one too. So head on over to my profile page and the story should be in the list.

All around him, there was only white. Daedalus crept on the transparent surface, carefully making sure he was heading in the right direction. If he squinted, he could barely make out very light grey objects moving around the nexus of information. Numbers, letters, and unreadable symbols spun around each other in an infinite circle that seemed to have no end. They fell forward into the infinite abyss before the changeling king. Daedalus was definitely on the right track though; he could feel it in his old bones.

"Huh, the first monarch who did this must have crapped himself when he found this place," he said aloud. Daedalus often talked to himself; when a guard overheard him and asked why he did this, he always replied, "I don't like listening to silence. It never has anything interesting to say."

Daedalus wasn't simply in Toxotis' mind. He was in an endless realm of boredom and unlimited excitement, all at the same time. It was a place where one could see the darkest secrets and most joyful moments of any being that had ever lived. This was the full reach of the hive mind. Of course, someone would need a pathway to find anything in this place. That was why Daedalus needed Toxotis to let him in, otherwise he'd never find his way to what he needed to see. The pathway Toxotis had provided was crude, but it would have to do. In truth, Daedalus hadn't expected much, but he would've liked a pathway he could see. The hive mind was so much more expansive than anyling or anypony would ever be able to fathom. Although it was widely believed that only changelings were connected to what they called the hive mind, in reality, every living thing had a connection to it. Most, though, never realised it, or were never able to use it. The hive mind was a pocket universe created by thoughts, ideas, hopes, fears and dreams.

The changeling race had evolved with the hive mind and had gained the ability to use it to their advantage. While all changelings could communicate without vocalization, it was commonly used in places of business, rather than everyday life. Of course, there were military advantages to this as well; however changelings had always been more equipped for stealth and espionage than battle. A changeling's magic was commonly weaker than a unicorn's, but an influx of love could increase their magical potency. Daedalus had theorised that Celestia, a being more powerful than himself and his entire hive, had only been beaten by the element of surprise and the amount of love inside Chrysalis back at the Canterlot invasion. Otherwise, Chrysalis would have been splattered like a bug, literally. Daedalus focused back on the path ahead.

"Now it would appear that he's leading me to his very first meeting with Rainbow. By the gods, I love and hate this place." He looked around the area again, a hint of wonder in his eyes. "With this, I could even see into the memories of those long passed,I would just need a descendant. I'd better not see any assassins again, or I swear I'll…" Daedalus went quiet when he spotted a door at the end of the path.

It was wooden, with a brass knob. In big bold letters, 'The Bar' was written on the top of the door. With no other exit in sight, Daedalus approached the small wooden door and looked for any other details the might aid him. He came to the conclusion that this must be where he was supposed to go. So without further ado, Daedalus turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. He was then surrounded by a blinding light as he stepped through.

---

The light disappeared as quickly as it came, and Daedalus found himself in a place he had not been to in a very long time: a bar. It was small in size, and very rustic, but Daedalus was quite big, so he attributed it to the fact that it was built for creatures much smaller than him. There were very few patrons in the building, and the bartender seemed content with cleaning glasses until a new order came. The floor and the bar table were made of wood, but the seating was made of specially developed cloud so that any type of pony could sit on them.

The full extent of what the hive mind could create was before the king. Toxotis wasn't in the room yet, and knowing what he was like, this was certainly a onetime visit. All of this had been created so perfectly because of everypony present that day. From the squeaky floorboards, to the clinking of glasses, and even the music playing on the broken down jukebox, the room had been recreated thanks to the subconscious memories of everypony who had visited that day. That was the potential of the hive mind. The other ponies didn't even know they were recreating this memory, but they were, as their subconscious was happily feeding the info required to the catalyst, Toxotis. Daedalus couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate what he was seeing. His eyes drifted off to one of the mares sitting alone on a barstool. Her rainbow mane and healthy physique were eye-catching, so it confused the king greatly as to why she was alone.

It then struck him who she was, Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty herself. He let off a cheeky whistle as he took a peek at her flank. "You've done well for yourself, Toxotis," he muttered to himself. There was a perverse pleasure in knowing that these were only memories. What was annoying to the king, was that he couldn't interact or mess with anything, but the upside was that he could go anywhere and do whatever he wanted within reason. He tested this by walking through a departing patron like a ghost, but the pony didn't even react, as Daedalus was nothing but an observer. Looking at the time, Daedalus noted it was close to midnight, and began to wonder what brought Rainbow Dash there so late. She seemed very depressed. She wore a large frown and occasionally took a gulp of her hard cider.

Daedalus would have taken a seat next to her, but he would have just fallen through it. He found a pang of sympathy go out to her, as he could tell she was very lonely, a feeling he sometimes felt from wives. However, something else began to catch his attention. The rusty old jukebox across the room started to change its song, and a new harmony began to lightly fill the sombre atmosphere. Daedalus recognised it almost immediately.

"Wait, that song…"

Uptown mare;

She's been living in her uptown world.

I bet she's never had a backstreet guy;

I bet her mama never told her why.

"I LOVE THIS SONG!" Before he knew it, the King was moving his feet to the music.

And when she knows what she wants from her type;

And when she wakes up and makes up her mind.

"She'll see I'm not so tough, just because, I'm in love with an uptown mare." Daedalus had totally forgotten why he was here. The sweet call of music had taken him over and nothing could stop him from shaking his stuff. His feet moved in all directions as he spun around in time to the beat. Having perfected river dance, tap dancing and, most recently, breakdancing, the king was no slouch when it came to showing his moves. Daedalus lamented the fact that nopony could appreciate his talent. He looked at his side, wondering what his cutie mark would have been. Something in dance, he thought. Daedalus froze when he saw somepony else enter the bar, or rather, someling.

Toxotis, or as he was known in his pony form, Question Mark, gingerly walked inside the bar. His shifty eyes and cautious steps were a sign that he was suspicious, or entering an unknown environment, and Daedalus would put money on it being the latter. Question looked over to where Rainbow was sitting, but Rainbow was too absorbed in her cider to take notice of the stallion. Question looked over his surroundings again, and noted the bathroom doors to the side. He quickly made his way over, with Daedalus in following behind.

Question Mark practically leapt in, while Daedalus casually walked through the door. The bathroom had seen better days. The pristine white had been edged away, and in its place were browns and greens and other colours that Daedalus could only shudder to guess their origins. Random graffiti marked the walls. Poorly written jokes probably thought up during a drunken stupor, fake phone numbers asking ponies if they 'wanted a good time' and sheer vulgarities were plastered everywhere. Question was at one of the sinks, using the (hopefully) clean water to wash his face and try to rid himself of his panic.

Daedalus wished he could place a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder, and tell him that he could do it. Alas, these were only memories, and he would have to watch his friend go through this alone. Question finished washing his face, and through his harsh breathing, looked at himself in the mirror. Staring back at him was a stallion with a 'snow white' coat, and a mane that was as black as coal. His cutie mark was a magnifying glass, and his irises were emerald green. His coat was such a contrast that he often stuck out, much like the mare of his affections' mane. His small crush had grown to near obsession now, and because he made a promise, he would have to go out there and at least talk to her. He made sure his fedora was on straight, and was now regretting not bringing a tie.

Maybe it was a bit too much, he thought. Still, I looked nice with a tie. Maybe she'll think I'm… no, she seems to be the more carefree type. The tie would make me look like a stiff. Or maybe… UGH! He shook his head and turned the tap on again, splashing more water on his muzzle. He let out a large sigh as he turned the faucet off and took one more look into the mirror. Why does she have to be so beautiful? Why a pony of all creatures!?

He had first seen her on his first day coming to town, a couple of days after Daedalus commanded him to seek his redemption by helping those he had wronged. He couldn't face Canterlot or Trottingham again, so he chose Ponyville. That way he could be caught easier. At the time, there was a part of him that wanted to crawl up into a hole and die, to end his miserable existence. Also, it was close to his hive, so he could always deliver his report to Daedalus easily. On the way to town though, he spied a rainbow-maned pegasus flying over an empty field. It was only for a few seconds, but his brain couldn't help but register her beauty. Of course, the moment passed, and Question totally forgot about her until his welcome party.

Ponyville tradition dictated that when a new pony moved to the town, Pinkie would throw them a welcoming party. Question had put up little fight in the matter, and saw it as a way to help him blend in more with the townsfolk, so he allowed it to continue. He introduced himself to the town and explained his occupation as a private detective. What kept catching his eye at the party though was her. Rainbow Dash. He recognized her then as the Element of Loyalty. They talked for a very short time, but in that time he could tell she was a fun, if not boisterous, mare. She had big dreams, and the means to obtain them if the stories were to be believed. From that point on, he was smitten.

After that day, he never spoke to her again. Work kept him preoccupied, and as time passed, he became a friendly face around town. After a year of turmoil, in only a few short months, he had finally found some semblance of peace. For some reason, though, she refused to leave his thoughts. As the days passed, more and more often he'd spot her soaring through the air, or among her friends. Question had made a point to keep his distance from the Elements, but something kept drawing him to Dash. Finally, after a talk with Carnage, he promised he would at least talk to her. He didn't really know what to expect, he just hoped he wouldn't make a complete fool of himself tonight. For the tiniest moment, he let his disguise drop, revealing his changeling form. As quickly as it appeared, he changed back and walked out of the bathroom, with Daedalus following closely.

Dash was still drinking alone, not paying attention to anypony else in the room. This relieved Question slightly as he made his approach, ignoring the other drunk patrons in the bleak bar. Daedalus put everything out of his mind; despite the jukebox playing "Shoot to Thrill," he refused to ignore his friend's story. He knew Question could do it, he already had, but something made him doubt this would be the usual romance story. Question reached a stool next to Rainbow Dash and took a seat.

Silence followed.

Question knew this wasn't a good sign, but the bartender's approach gave him reason to speak. "Whisky, please." The bartender nodded and got to work on a drink. Silence fell again until the drink was placed in front of Question, and the bartender returned to cleaning glasses. He cleared his throat, gently catching Rainbow's attention. She turned an eye to him, sizing up the smallish stallion that she didn't recognise at first glance. When Rainbow didn't say anything, Question decided to break the ice. "H-hello there," he said nervously.

"What do you want?" Dash asked, not used to strangers approaching her while she was drinking. A new song began to play, and Daedalus found his foot instinctively step to the beat.

To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day.

Hardly spoke to folks around him, didn't have too much to say.

No one dared to ask his business, no one dared to make a slip;

For the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip.

Big iron on his hip.

"I-I'm so-sorry. You probably don't remember me, but we've met before. My name is Question Mark."

Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and in a flash, she remembered. "Oh, yeah. You're that detective who moved here a while back. What's up?" she said, a bit friendlier.

"Oh… um, I'm fine I suppose, just thought I'd have a drink."

"Bad memories, huh?" Question was taken aback by this, but he assumed she was speaking from experience. He shuffled in his seat, trying to think of a response.

"I suppose you could say that. It will be the anniversary of a… well, dark part of my life I suppose you could say, very soon. That's not why I came to talk to you though." He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a little parched. He avoided taking a drink of his whisky, though; he could be a bit of a lightweight when it came to alcohol. "I was wondering why a mare such as yourself is sitting here drinking alone?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Question instantly regretted saying them. Rainbow's face morphed into a venomous glare that cut straight through the stallion. Daedalus made an 'eep'-like sound as he took a few steps backwards, waiting to see what would happen next. "What do you mean, "a mare like me"?"

"Oh—uh, well I…" Knowing he may be on the verge of having his flank kicked, Question opted for honesty. "I mean… a mare as beautiful as you. I just thought it was odd that you were on your own is all."

The harsh gaze Rainbow wore immediately softened when she realised he wasn't joking. Then her cheeks began to feel a little hotter. She looked forward, avoiding eye contact as she mumbled, "You serious?"

"Of course, I don't lie."

"How do I believe that?"

"I'm a detective, I always seek the truth."

"That's an egghead job."

"Egghead?"

"Yeah, egghead. For super smart ponies. Being a detective sounds boring."

"I can assure you, it isn't. It certainly isn't easy. Why on earth do you think it's boring?"

"Duh, it means thinking all the time and just looking at crime scenes. You don't actually catch the bad guy." Dash's embarrassment had melted away, and the two ponies had flowed into a natural conversation.

"When you say catch the criminal, if you mean me physically apprehending criminals, then I have done that as well."

"Really!? That's kind of cool, I guess. Have you caught any killers?"

"… Yes, but I take little pride in throwing anypony in prison. One in particular was… well…"

"Yeah, go on." Question now had Rainbow Dash's full attention, but despite that, he was afraid the subject matter wasn't exactly romantic. Despite this, he had no reason not to tell her, so he fully turned towards her and told her a story.

"A while back, I was working in Trottingham. The son of this rich bureaucrat was murdered, and his dad wanted to help the police track down the ponies that killed his only son. I accepted of course, and went straight to work. That was the case where I almost let the killers go."

Rainbow Dash nearly spat out her drink, while Daedalus had to do a double take to see if he had heard correctly. "You never told me that," the king said aloud, almost expecting a response. Dash looked at Question as if he was insane; looking over him properly, she could tell he was a neat stallion, and looked quite handsome too, especially with his hat. She wasn't thinking about that though, she was wondering what would make him almost let murderers get away with their crime.

"But you're a detective. Why would you let them get away with it?"

"I met this blue stallion recently; you might have met him in fact, as he left only the other day, but he told me once that there is no black and white, only many shades of grey. Do you know what I mean?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, nodding weakly. "Course I do. I mean, who wouldn't?"

"… You have no idea what that means, do you?"

Rainbow folded her forelegs and pouted. "Alright smartass, what does it mean?"

"Well, basically, it means there really is no basic form of good and evil. That ponies' motivations are far more complicated than that. Like if somepony gives to charity, are they doing it because they want to help others? Or are they doing it just to feel better about themselves? When somepony mugs another, are they doing it to be malicious and greedy? Or are they so desperate to feed their family that they'll do anything to make sure they're well-fed? Honestly, I used to buy into the whole good and evil thing, but this case and my mentor kind of opened my eyes."

"I guess I kinda get what you're saying," Dash said while staring into her mug. "I mean, Nightmare Moon just wanted ponies to appreciate what she did, she wasn't a bad pony. Heck, the princess is like my friend now. But I gotta know, what happened with your case?" Daedalus chuckled a little when he realised how entranced Dash was with the story. He was curious himself though, so he made a point to stand as close as possible, almost walking through the pair.

"I won't bore you with the details," Question said, "but the trail led me to this flower shop. It was run by this mare with her two sons and her daughter. I discovered after some interviews and putting the evidence together, specifically hoof prints on the murder weapons, that the two brothers were the killers. Their motive, though, was the thing that got me."

"You mean, why they did it?"

"Yes, their sister had an encounter with the murder victim. In short, she was raped by him."

"Whu—" Dash's jaw nearly hit the floor when Question spoke his last line. She was thankful she wasn't drinking her cider at the time. How blunt he had been about this told her he had experienced stuff like that before. It had almost become routine to Question, hearing depressing talks of sons and daughters cruelly taken from their families, innocence stolen away, and the worst of ponykind in general.

"She attempted to press charges, but the case was doomed from the start. The mother had paid off the jury for an easy innocent verdict, despite the compelling evidence. The father seemed to truly believe his son was innocent, despite his son's less than clean record. In any event, the rapist was found innocent."

"How do you know all that?" Dash took the words right out of Daedalus' mouth. The king could only wonder why Question had never told him this before.

"When I came to the conclusion of who murdered him, I wanted to back up the motivation before telling anypony. I looked through his files, and incidentally, a friend gave me something she told me I should see. They were bank transactions from his mother to multiple different ponies days before the trial. All of those ponies were on the jury for the rape case. It pretty much guaranteed that the son did it, giving a definitive motive to the brothers. Then I realised something… all I had to do was contaminate the hoof prints, and the case would have never stood in court. They would have a motive, but no hard evidence."

"Y-you nearly did that?"

"… I did, didn't I? Just a heat-of-the-moment thing, I suppose. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, as they say. I thought I had learned that lesson that day, but I guess I still had more growing up to do." Rainbow cocked an eyebrow, and Question realised he was rambling. "Th-the point is I didn't do it. Murder is murder, no matter the justification. The family was distraught and the brothers got a long sentence, just narrowly missing life imprisonment. It wasn't easy looking at the mother after that."

Rainbow let out a large sigh. "I thought I had problems. Mine don't seem as big of a deal now. I guess being a detective isn't as boring as I thought."

"Well, I imagine being a detective pales in comparison to being the Element of Loyalty."

Dash puffed out her chest slightly and made an exaggerated pose. "Yeah, ya got that right. Discord, Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, they ain't got nothing on me. But my problems don't have anything to do with that. It's 'cause… wait, why the heck am I telling you all this?"

Question paused for a moment, before flashing her a smile. "Maybe it feels good to get it off your chest. Is it something you've dealt with for a long time?"

"Yeah, I have actually. It's just… it's… everypony thinks I'm gay."

"I think I heard a song about that."

"That's it? You're not going to ask if it's true?"

"I'm guessing that isn't the case, considering how upset you seem to be about these rumors." Rainbow nodded. "Well, since I told you a story, you might as well tell me one." Dash shrugged and began.

"It started after I did the sonic rainboom for the first time. You hear about that?"

"Who hasn't? When you did it in front of all the press the second time, all of Equestria and beyond were talking about it. I would have made you a Wonderbolt on the spot." Dash blushed again and instinctively turned away. She was confused as to why praise from this stallion was making her blush so much. Normally it just fed her ego, but here, she felt funny inside. Daedalus noticed the red cheeks and cracked a knowing smile.

"Uh, anyway, these jerks at the school got really jealous and started making up crap about me. The rumor that got around was that I was into mares and well… it just never really went away. I still get ponies saying stuff like that about me. Not mean stuff, they just assume I am."

"I guess that would be rather frustrating," cut in Question. "But was it all out of jealousy?"

"They always see the rainbow mane, and when they find out I'm athletic, they immediately guess that I like mares."

Question sat there for a moment, gazing into his whisky before gulping it down. This action was so sudden that Rainbow was caught off guard when he slammed it back down. "Typical, really. The whole stereotype of athletic mares being gay was started because males feel their masculinity is threatened by somepony who can fight back. They can't handle somepony as tough as them, and would rather have a lover with a softer touch. It's subconscious really, but it's there. They call strong mares gay as a way of satisfying themselves and knocking down the women that threaten them. It's commonly how most stereotypes are started. It's not your fault of course, but I chalk it up to being beaten by a mare. They were scared of you, Rainbow. They felt inferior, they felt like crap, so like most bullies, they try to put down others to make themselves feel better."

Rainbow just stared at him wide-eyed. She took another swig of her drink while thinking of what to say. "… Did you get all that just from my story?"

"If what you told me is true, then yes. It's the most logical theory anyway. I mean… you're very beautiful, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before a stallion asks you out."

Again, Rainbow blushed. "Well, uh, that's not likely since I've lived here a while now, and still no date. I don't think anypony will."

"… I will."

"What?" Dash's neck snapped towards Question, as he looked as serious as possible.

"Um, sorry, I'm not very good at this. Will you go on a date with me?"

"YES!" Daedalus screamed in victory. "Get in there, Question. You, my friend, are about to get yourself some pu—"

"Are you bucking with me?"

"… Or maybe you're not. That was a bit of a misfire apparently."

Rainbow was eyeing Question over again, but this time with added ferocity and suspicion. Question could feel beads of sweat start to leak from his forehead, confused as to what he had done wrong. Everypony else in the bar was too hammered to notice, but this didn't make the detective feel any better. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Is it pity you're giving me?" she pressed. "Or did you just think it would be funny to mess with me a little?"

"What? No! I'm being serious. Look, I'll be blunt. I like you. I think you're beautiful and I've wanted to talk to you for the longest time, but I haven't had the courage until tonight. I just spent ten minutes in the bathroom trying to work up the nerve to even speak to you. So, will you go out with me?"

"…"

"…"

"… Okay." Both Daedalus and Question let out a sigh of relief when that word left Rainbow's mouth. Rainbow's face was still stern though, and she kept her eyes locked on Question. "There's this place a friend of mine likes. This is the deal. If you're serious, then meet me there at seven exactly. If you're even a second late, I'm taking off, got that?"

"Yes, ma'am," Question said, giving her a salute that he quickly put down. His cheeks went slightly red.

"Good, it's called the Grassy Knoll. Y'know it?"

"Yes, I've passed it a few times."

"Good, see ya tomorrow then." Dash didn't wait for a response as she took off and zoomed out of the bar, waking up a sleeping patron in the process. Question was left sitting there, but slowly, a relieved smile crossed his face as he ordered a celebratory drink. Daedalus then heard a small sound from outside. Curious, he stepped through the wall to find Rainbow Dash on the other side, hopping about like a madmare. All the while, she kept chanting the same words.

"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!"

She then took off upwards as Daedalus broke out into joyous laughter. His deep chuckle would have been heard by all, if it were not a memory gone by. Then, without warning, Daedalus was surrounded by a bright light and everything before him disappeared.

---

I put links to the songs used in the lyrics.

So, a good number of you might be able to guess what was the inspiration for how the hive mind works. Although the main plot for Assassin's Creed has always been a bit dodgy, I love the concept for the animus. Persona 4 also played a part in this though. A alternate realm where all the memories of those whoever lived reside, and the changelings are the only ones who can use it. This way, we can follow both Question's and Rainbow's perspective without having to cut back to rainbow telling the story to her friends. I may still do that to gauge reactions, but nothing more.

I had a little trouble writing their first encounter, and I tried to keep Rainbow in character. Do let me know if I succeeded. From this point onwards, we will be following their relationship over four weeks until the present day. I now know how this story will end too which is nice. For those who don't know, I was originally doing this as an experiment and it has expanded into something much bigger than I could have predicted. I didn't really have a full plot set up until a month ago. Relax though, I promise you wont be disappointed.

One more thing, were close to 2000 favourites and I am totally ready for the celebration ;) I hope you enjoy the early Christmas present. Happy holidays to everyone.

- Infinite

Colour returned to the world, shapes morphed into everyday objects, and before he knew it, Daedalus was in a new place and time. The white, blinding light signified to Daedalus that he had moved ahead through the memories. Making sure he had his bearings before walking around, Daedalus stretched his muscles and rubbed his eyes. He could hear a pop in his old joints, and once he was satisfied he could move freely, he took in his new surroundings. Daedalus briefly paused when he noticed how odd it was that he felt the need to stretch inside his own head, but then he shrugged and moved forward.

He was inside the first floor of a house. He noticed two comfy-looking chairs and assumed that he was in the living room. Apart from a few pieces of furniture, and the likelihood the pony living here had the essentials, the house looked barren. No pictures of family, no mementos, no artwork or anything to liven up the place and make it feel like a home. The walls were a dull brown, but the roof was a contrasting white. Daedalus furrowed his brow and stepped into another room.

"This place needs a mare's touch," he muttered. Daedalus was now in the kitchen, and judging by the large table, it also acted as the dining room. There was a stove, a fridge, counters, drawers; in fact it was just your everyday kitchen. The room was white and shiny, showing that the place had been cleaned only recently. Great care had been taken, as Daedalus couldn't see a speck of dirt anywhere on the floor.

Entering the next room, the king found what looked like an empty space. Nothing was in there at all, but the room led to a hallway with a set of stairs and the front door. Either somepony had moved in only recently, or somepony didn't own many things. It was rather depressing and very boring to Daedalus. If there was one thing Daedalus hated, it was boring. Seeing nothing else to do, Daedalus ascended the staircase to the next floor. Along the hallway were several locked doors. At the far end he could hear a few shuffling sounds and somepony cursing under their breath. Before the king could enter, though, his eyes locked onto the door just several feet from the end of the hall. Something was different about it. The colour for one, as this door was pure black, while the others were the same dull brown.

Stepping through the door, Daedalus was greeted by a surprising mess. Perhaps a better description would be organised chaos, as despite the stacks of folders and general clutter, everything seemed to make sense. Looking closely, the folders were all related cases, and the papers seemed to be centred around a trashcan near the corner of the room. It was all still a mess that seemed completely out of place with the rest of the house, but there were enough clues in the room to give Daedalus an idea of who lived here. This was definitely the home of Question Mark.

At a guess, Daedalus assumed that Question retreated in here to work on cases, and perhaps to help focus and clear his mind. This was not unheard of with artists, but it was odd to Daedalus that Question would willingly work in these conditions, and in a very small room that could be mistaken for a broom cupboard. Question had regaled the king with many of his past cases he received from Sherclop and other clients. Most had happy endings, but a select few bothered Question greatly, and he was unable to let go of one in particular.

This was evident from the large board across the room.

It was somewhat surreal for the king to see it before him, the case that broke Question Mark. They had talked about it at length, both acknowledging the fact that the investigation's aftermath pushed Question over the edge and led him to joining Chrysalis in her attempted takeover of Canterlot. There had been other factors of course. Losing faith in ponykind had been a steady process. Being a detective was the thing Question was born to do in Daedalus' opinion, but everything Question had seen in his line of work had steadily affected him. This only became worse and worse until he met the Ripper.

Daedalus approached the board slowly, dreading how much was there. It was worse than he thought. Various newspaper clippings of interviews, suspects, and general reports on the victims were pinned onto the board. There were pictures of crime scenes and mutilated bodies. A normal ling would have retched at the sight, but instead, Daedalus shook his head sadly. Various pieces of multi-coloured string connected it all together. It would only make sense to Question himself.

"Why can't you just let this go?" The king found himself asking the obvious question. Of course it was a distressing time for the young changeling, but in Daedalus' mind, this was something that should have been put to bed by now. It would sound cold to some, but living for over a thousand years taught Daedalus that holding on to bad memories was never healthy. A part of Daedalus wanted to smash up the board, but he had to remind himself none of this was real. Besides which, this was Question's responsibility to deal with; the king could only give a guiding hand. He made a mental note to talk to Question about this in the future, but for now, the king left the offending room and re-approached the muffled sounds.

He marched straight through the door and was greeted by another curse. Daedalus stood there, amused to find Question Mark fretting over ties. He was currently wearing a bright, flowery one that hurt the king's eyes. It reminded him of the time he met one of the Doctor's many incarnations. A green stallion who wore the most dreadful coat ever created.

"Maybe she would like this one," Question muttered. "I mean, she has a very colourful mane and this is certainly colourful… but her colours are beautiful. This is a damned train wreck!" Question ripped the tie from his neck and chucked it at the nearest wall. He dropped his pony disguise and was in his chitin form. He made an near inaudible clicking sound common to changelings when they were frustrated or angry.

Looking around, Daedalus realised he was in Question's bedroom. Unlike the rest of the house, the walls were a nice red and the roof was black. The bedroom was actually quite nice, and felt very comfortable. Daedalus assumed Question spent most of his time here when he wasn't in his case room.

Question flopped onto his bed and grumbled, tired of being so worried. He had spent all night in glee, overjoyed that Rainbow Dash had agreed to a date. Sadly, worry soon followed. What should he wear? How should he treat Dash? What if he messed up? These questions spun around in his head constantly, no answer in sight. Question had swapped one group of problems for another, and he didn't know what was worse. The fact that he was falling for a pony? Or blowing his chances to be with her?

A loud knock came from the front door that caught both changelings' attention. Instinctively, Question changed back into his pony form. He grabbed his hat and straightened it in a nearby mirror.

Tell me that isn't Dash, he begged in his own head. Why would she be here now? It's still morning for crying out loud. He hurried out of the bedroom with Daedalus following behind, but Question paused half way down the stairs. Wait a minute. I was supposed to meet her at the restaurant.

Another knock reminded Question what he was meant to do. Without another thought he opened the door to find two friendly faces. Cloudchaser and Flitter were two of the first ponies to meet Question Mark when he came to Ponyville. As part of an act made by Mayor Mare one year ago, all pegasi who lived in Ponyville were given the offer of being part-time members of the weather team for a small allowance. Of course, one had to be trained to handle lightning, snow, and other extreme conditions, so it only required part-time members to help move large shipments of clouds.

Question Mark had agreed, seeing it as a step forward in his path for atonement. He was called up and paired with Cloudchaser and Flitter, two full-time members of the weather team, to assist in moving a subsection of clouds while the rest of the team focused on another. The three of them had become interesting friends, and at Cloudchaser's insistence, Question found himself telling more and more about his life to the pair—that is, what he was able to tell without revealing too much about who he really was.

"There you are," chirped Cloudchaser happily. She had a large smile on her face, but she was breathing heavily.

"Oh, hello, you two. You both seem out of breath," Question commented, looking both mares over and then noticing beads of sweat form on their heads.

"I was—I mean WE were worried about you. You were meant to meet us at the park, remember?"

Question looked at them blankly, before his eyes opened wide in realisation. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. We were supposed to meet up for brunch today, weren't we?"

They both nodded. "'Fraid we already ate," cut in Flitter. "You're never late, so we were just a little concerned. You look like crap if I'm honest."

Daedalus took a good look at Question and noticed the stallion had bags under his eyes. His mane was a mess, and he looked like he was going to freak out any second. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little stressed."

"Can I help!?" Cloudchaser shouted excitedly. She shoved a hoof into her mouth as her cheeks went a tiny shade of red. "I mean, would you like to talk about it? It might make you feel better."

"Sure, you two could actually help me. Take a seat on the couch, would you like anything to drink?"

"I'd like some coffee, black," answered Flitter. "Make sure you get some for yourself, you look like you need it."

Question chuckled lightly as he headed for the kitchen. Daedalus stayed with the sisters as they sat on the couch. He couldn't help but grin wildly to see that his friend had been successful in making friends of his own. Some pretty cute friends for that matter… bah, get that out of your head. Focus Daedalus, focus! the king scolded himself. He already knew who they were as Question brought the pair of them up between talks, especially when it came to life in Ponyville.

"Sweet Celestia, just ask him out already."

The king nearly did a three-sixty when he heard those words. He found Flitter whispering to her sister. Her eyebrows were arched in annoyance as she looked at Cloudchaser. The other mare refused to meet her gaze and looked away.

"I-I-I know, alright. I was going to wait a little longer, okay?" Flitter rolled her eyes and resisted facehoofing.

"We both know he's as dense as a rock when it comes to flirting, and don't get me started on your technique."

"I thought stallions like it when a mare brushes her tail on their face."

"Yeah, their face, not their eye."

"It was an accident. I said I was sorry."

"I know, but at this point you've got to be direct with him."

Daedalus looked on in sheer disbelief. The fact he was hearing this made him question his sanity. Question Mark wasn't a bad looking stallion, but every time they had talked, Question would tell Daedalus that mares had never really taken an interest in him. Looking back, Daedalus realised how obvious it was just from the conversation at the doorway that this Cloudchaser had a thing for the detective. He stroked his beard, wondering whether Question had really just never realised this, and if Flitter was the first mare to show an interest in Question Mark.

"Question has some game. Too bad he has no intuition to play," muttered Daedalus.

"I-I-I was going to invite him to a picnic tomorrow," blurted out Cloudchaser. Her sister raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Oh yeah? Fastest way to a stallion's heart is through their stomach as mom would say. Sounds like a good chance to confess one's feelings?" Flitter teased. Before Cloudchaser could respond, Question Mark returned with two cups of coffee.

"Here you go, Flitter. Black, as you requested," said the changeling as he handed her the coffee.

Flitter took a sip of the dark liquid and said, "Mhm, black, just the way I like my mares."

Question paused upon that comment. Does she like changelings then? What in Tartarus does that even mean? Realising applying logic would be pointless, and since Cloudchaser didn't seem perturbed, he seated himself between the two sisters and took a swig of his coffee. He could feel the rejuvenating effects of the liquid course through him, and despite its powerful taste, a tiny, relaxed smile reached Question's lips.

"So what's bothering you then?" asked Cloudchaser. Question had almost forgotten she was here.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Well, I could give the generic answer of 'life.' Knowing you two though, you mares wouldn't be satisfied with that answer. Basically, I guess you could say I'm nervous about something."

The sisters exchanged an annoyed look before turning back to Question. "You're being very vague there, Question. Give it to us straight," said Fitter.

"Fine. Last night… I asked Rainbow Dash out on a date."

The only sound that could be heard was the ticking of a clock mounted on a nearby wall.

Everypony had gone silent upon Question's admission. It was like if somepony had suddenly died, but nopony wanted to acknowledge it. Question found himself gazing into the depths of his coffee, waiting for one of the sisters to respond. Flitter was casting a cautious glance towards her sister, but Cloudchaser didn't look back. She was looking straight forward, with a few noticeable twitches to her left eye. Cloudchaser opened her mouth, trying to find the right words to say, and then it suddenly struck her.

"Wait, Dash is gay." Both Question and Flitter looked over to Cloudchaser who had a relieved smile on her face. "Since she's gay, that means she said no, right? I'm so sor—" before she could continue her mock condolences, Flitter interrupted her sister.

"She isn't gay, Cloud."

A look of terror crossed Cloudchaser's face. "Wh-what do you mean? I thought she was. How do you know she isn't?"

"'Cause I asked her out a while back and she turned me down." Question gave Flitter a sceptical look. "What? It's true. We work with her all the time and she's pretty hot, so I thought I'd try my luck. She let me down gently and told me she only liked stallions, gave me the whole story too."

"So what did she say?" asked Cloudchaser desperately. Question was confused as to Cloudchaser's change of demeanour, but he opted to just answer.

"Well… she said yes."

Instead of being greeted with happy smiles, Question was only facing worried faces. One sister looked worried for the other, while Cloudchaser had great difficulty trying to hide her sadness at the news. Question was very confused by the reaction. He assumed they would be happy, if not a little surprised. It was evidently a slow morning for the detective as he was unable to put two and two together.

"Is something the matter? I thought you'd be happy for me."

"Uh… well you see—" Flitter wasn't able to finish her sentence because a hoof covered her mouth.

"Oh! We are happy!" assured Cloudchaser. Her grin was wide and borderline psychotic. Question scootched up the couch away from her. "We were just thinking, you see. You and Dash will be… great together."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, I know so." For a moment the smile broke, but Cloudchaser forced it back in position. Flitter looked on, dreading what was happening inside her sister's head. "Hey, I've got somewhere to be. Is it alright if I head off, Question?"

"Sure, I'll see you later."

The pegasus picked herself off the couch and trotted out of the room. When Question and Flitter heard the front door close, the detective turned to the other sister. "Well that was odd. Is she alright or…? What the heck is that!?"

A loud thumping sound began to resonate from the left wall. Question nearly spit his coffee from sudden noise, while Flitter stood up and headed for the door.

"I'll be back in a sec," she called.

While this was all going on, Daedalus stood up and walked straight through the wall to find the source of the sound. He found Cloudchaser banging her head against the outside wall. The king sighed at the display. He put a clawed hand over his face, massaging his eyeballs in the process. He couldn't do anything to stop her in his position, so he settled for not looking. Cloudchaser didn't hold back on her self-punishment either, repeatedly smacking her skull against wood. Luckily for everypony, Flitter rounded the corner and grabbed her sister.

"What the heck are you doing?" she asked, visibly upset. Upon hearing Flitter's arrival, Daedalus removed his hand. The passion in Flitter's voice was out of sisterly concern; something Daedalus had never experienced himself. Being an only child was odd for a changeling, but all the other eggs produced by his mother were destroyed in a flooding accident. Only his survived. Some called it destiny, Daedalus said it was sheer dumb luck. He had never known what it was like to have a sibling, he would like to think he would be a good brother.

"What does it look like? I'm punishing myself for being a stupid coward," Cloudchaser surmised, not meeting her sister's gaze.

"Well first off, if you're going to do that, try not doing it while the stallion your nuts for is on the other side of the wall." When Cloudchaser didn't respond, Flitter rolled her eyes and continued. "And second, stop! You're better than this and I'm not gonna stand idle while you hurt yourself like that."

Again, Cloudchaser didn't respond, apart from a few sniffles. Flitter sighed and brought her sister into a hug. "What am I going to do with you?"

Daedalus looked on in fascination as the pair had their forelegs wrapped around each other. He stroked his long beard, trying to picture what it was like. When you're siblings, does a hug feel even better? Bah, my thoughts are running away from me again.

"He's gonna want your advice," Cloudchaser said in her sister's legs.

"What do you mean?" Flitter replied.

"I don't think he knows what to do with a date, that's why he said we could help. You should get back there," said the other sister, rubbing at her eyes.

"Well, uh, what do you want me to tell him? Like, maybe give him bad advice so—"

"NO!" Flitter jumped back at her sister's outburst. "Look, he's an idiot, but a nice idiot. He deserves to be happy, alright. Make sure his date goes well by trying to help. Please, for me?"

"… For you. But are you going to be okay?" Flitter asked, wrapping a foreleg over her sister and pulling her in again for a mini hug.

"I don't know yet," Cloudchaser said honestly. "I feel kind of down right now."

"Really? I couldn't tell. I thought self-harming was something you did all the time." Both sisters let out a small chuckle. Despite the slightly morbid joke, the king found himself smiling at the display. "Tell you what. You go home, run a nice hot bath, and when I get back we'll have a mare's night in. I'll get some of the others and we'll eat ice cream and complain about stupid mares and stallions all night. Sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds like fun." A smile, genuine smile, found its way to Cloudchaser's lips. "You better get back in now. I'll see you later." Flitter reluctantly let go of her sister.

"Alright, but you keep your head from all walls apart from the cloud ones, you hear?" Cloudchaser nodded and Flitter headed back inside. The pegasus stood outside for a moment, allowing the smile to drop. She was unsure of what to do now, but knew she should head back home upon her sister's advice. She spread her wings and picked herself up off the ground, flying to the porcelain sanctuary known as the tub.

Daedalus kept his eyes on her until she was out of sight, disappearing behind the clouds. He pondered what Cloudchaser would have done without her sister by her side. He had survived a thousand years without a brother or sister, but maybe it all would have been easier with one, ready to help pick him up when he fell. Again, he pushed the thoughts from his mind as mere distractions, but distractions were worth getting lost into, eh? Before he could head inside to rejoin Question, the scenery began to disappear again, and the king found himself being taken to a new place.

---

The first thing Daedalus saw when he reappeared was a rainbow. He was looking straight down at the multi-coloured mane of Rainbow Dash. That is until she walked straight through the king. Daedalus looked around to see if he could spot Question Mark anywhere, but he was nowhere in sight. It was still daytime as well, so Daedalus assumed he was now following Rainbow Dash instead. Looking up, the sun was at its highest point, signifying that only half the day had gone by.

Rainbow Dash held her head up high as she approached the shop of her friend, Rarity. Although she appeared calm on the outside, she was a wreck on the inside. At first it had all been so wonderful for the pegasus. She was so excited for what her date would entail that she had trouble getting to sleep, but then doubt struck. Familiar taunting began to ring in her ears, failed dates and pathetic pranks kept turning up in her dreams. All these things caused doubt to appear in the young mare's mind.

Did Question really like her?

It would seem silly to anypony else, but Rainbow Dash was far more insecure than most ever realised. When her confidence was smashed, her other side was laid bare for all to see, and Rainbow refused to allow that to happen this time; she would not allow a repeat of the best young flyers competition. After spending most of the morning unable to concentrate on performing simple tricks, Dash decided to seek help from one of her few friends who might know enough about love to help her understand if the detective was being serious, Rarity.

The fashionista had never hidden the fact that she was looking for her prince charming. This usually induced many eye rolls from her friends when she went on a tirade on how to find Mr Right. Despite the less than stellar results, Rarity may be Rainbow's only hope for finding some much needed confidence. Rainbow entertained the idea of going to Fluttershy, but she dismissed the idea when she remembered how shy Fluttershy was. Seeking confidence from somepony who had to pump themselves up just so they could leave the house didn't seem very practical.

Rainbow was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice she was right outside Rarity's boutique until she collided snout first with the door. Daedalus stifled a chuckle while strolling through the town. Being closer to the centre of town, Daedalus watched as the ponies went about their busy lives. The market seemed like the busiest place with the exchanges of food and other essentials for tiny gold pieces. There was no need for this in the hive. Everyling was given a decent amount of love to fuel their magic and keep them alive at the beginning of each week, while food was more of a leisure item. Most changelings could go without love for two whole months, but the consequence was their magic would become weaker and weaker the less they had some. By the second month, they would begin exhibiting signs of starvation, and with no love it would only be a matter of time.

Noticing that Dash had stopped cursing and massaging her sore muzzle, the king followed her as she entered the shop. Inside, Daedalus thought he had entered a meeting with his fellow kings and queens, his least favourite place to be. Everything was far too fancy and frilly for his liking. The colours blended nicely together, but there was a sort of uptight attitude that hung in the air like a bad smell. Daedalus then noticed the odd pieces of scaffolding inside which contrasted with the overall vibe of the shop. It appeared it was in its beginning stages of some sort of renovation.

"Who is it?" chimed a beautiful voice from upstairs. Dash had been pacing the floor at the time, unsure of how to discuss the matter with Rarity. She didn't want to tell her about the date, she simply wanted to know a few things. If this was a disaster, telling the town gossip she was dating would only lead to questions that Dash simply didn't want to answer. She would have to be subtle, something Dash wasn't very good at.

"It's me Rare," Dash called back.

"Just a moment darling, I'll be with you momentarily." Rainbow found herself staring at her hooves, suddenly noticing how dirty they were.

Whoa, these things are chipped and everything. Don't even know how I got mud there. Maybe I should get them cleaned at the spa- Dash suddenly snapped out of her temporary insanity. What the heck am I talking about. Stupid brain. I wanna get laid but I don't wanna get all girly to do it.

Daedalus was watching Dash examine her hooves with a coked eyebrow. Huh, she should really clean those things or something. I don't even know how she got mud there. While suddenly feeling the need to check his own claws, Rarity began to descend the staircase.

"Darling you could not have appeared at a better time. This shop has been an absolute nightmare." Rarity put a hoof to her forehead and swung her head dramatically. Resisting the urge to facehoof, Rainbow assumed Rarity was referring to the scaffolding.

"Didn't you already refurbish the shop a little while ago? That was when the Doc was in town."

"You are correct dear. Sadly the last job I had was rather shoddy. Most of the workers moved onto making the cyber tower during the invasion. The poor dears were so shaken I couldn't possibly ask them to continue so I allowed them to return home. The downside of course was that it was all a patch job at best." Rarity reached the bottom and let out a tired sigh. "But you haven't come here to listen to me complain, how have you been dear? You very rarely pay me a visit at the boutique."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Dash said while rubbing a hoof along the back of her head. She made a mental note to try and visit Rarity more often. "I'm good and all, but I need your advice."

"Advice? On what darling?"

"Just… stuff in general." Rainbow put on her most convincing smile, the irony being was it only succeeded in making her look guilty of something. Rarity placed a hoof on her chin as she squinted at the pegasus. That's when a devious smile reached Rarity's lips.

"I would love to help you Rainbow, but I have a tiny problem. My stands were destroyed by some falling debris, you see, and the replacements I ordered haven't arrived yet. If only there was somepony about with a natural athletic, slim body that could model these dresses while I work on them."

"Generous, yet clever and dangerous. My kind of mare," chuckled Daedalus. Dash tilted her head downwards and sighed loudly.

"Alright, you win."

Rarity clapped her hooves together and dragged Rainbow upstairs to her inspiration room.

---

"If Gilda could see me now, I'd never hear the end of it- HEY! Watch it!"

Rarity quickly retracted the needle. "Well if you would stop moving around then you wouldn't end up as a pin cushion, as you so crudely put it. Honestly darling, is it so hard to simply stand still for a moment or two?"

The dress Rainbow was wearing was a bright purple that clashed heavily with the mare wearing it. Rarity had to remind herself that this was a custom order, and certainly not made for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow grunted but said nothing else on the matter. Meanwhile, King Daedalus was in hysterics. The sight was something truly glorious to behold. The great and mighty Element of Loyalty was reduced to modelling, all because a changeling that asked her out. Daedalus also found it amusing that two ponies who were so different could be such good friends. Despite the annoyance they both shared, he could tell it wasn't mean spirited.

At the same time, Daedalus couldn't help but notice some surprising similarities between the two ponies. When the elements had been assigned to actual ponies many years ago, he had done his best to gather information on them, a sort of know your enemy motive, but Daedalus was also simply curious about who they could be. Both mares were clearly passionate about what they did. Dash aimed to be recognised as the greatest flier in all of Equestria, while Rarity wanted to be seen as the greatest fashion designer in the world. Which brought up another similarity between the two; they both constantly sought the recognition of others. They wanted everypony to know how great they were. They had great skills in their respective crafts, large amounts of confidence that was hard to shake, large amounts of stamina, and when they were doing what they did best, their happiness shot up all the way to eleven. Neither of them probably even realised how alike they were.

"Well they'd make a much better ship than TwiDash at the very least," muttered the king with an amused smile. During Daedalus' observations, Rarity was regaling Rainbow Dash with a story about her trip to meet up with Fleur, the wife of Fancy Pants.

"… I mean she seemed quite unsure if she could adopt a filly so unlike her, let alone an entirely different species. But she has really warmed up to that little Bat Pony. Oh wait, what's the PC term for their kind? Oh that's right, thestrals. They have such a fascinating culture, some ponies when they join Luna's guard actually decided to become one, I mean can you imagine? Their colours are so dark yet so rich it's like…"

Rainbow was only half listening to her friend. Not that what Rarity was saying wasn't interesting. Dash had to confess she was a little curious herself about the thestrals, but she was still trying to figure out how to approach her predicament to Rarity. Part of her just wanted to tell her about the date, but then she knew what that would lead too. There was no way Rarity would be able to keep her mouth closed on the matter, and once her other friends found out, then she'd never hear the end of it. She would rather know if she had something concrete with Question before telling anypony that they were dating.

Dash looked at the dresses on the rack and realised they had already been through four of them, and she still hadn't even attempted to ask Rarity for her advice. She sucked in some air, nearly causing Rarity to prick her again, and just decided to wing it.

"Hey, Rarity. Can we talk about why I came here?"

"Of course dear. You seem very quiet actually, is everything alright?"

Well, I made it this far, might as well go all the way with it, Dash thought. "You see Rare, I've got to ask you a question."

"Yes, go on darling, I'm all ears," Rarity replied while continuing with her needle work.

"Well uh, how do… uh…"

"Darling, you can trust me. Anything you ask me will be in the strictest confidence."

"… How do you tell if somepony likes you…? OW!"

Caught off guard, Rarity accidently stabbed Dash again. She quickly pulled the needle out but couldn't stop the tiny pool of blood beginning to form. As a quick as a flash, Rarity jumped into action and levitated a nearby first aid kit, opened it, and placed a tiny plaster on Rainbow's injury. The blood didn't have a chance to trickle down Dash's body.

"I am so sorry Rainbow Dash. I have no idea what came over me." Dash barely felt the pain as she was more shocked by Rarity's swiftness in the matter.

"Why'd you have a random first aid kit lying about?"

"Injuries, darling. Sweetie is staying with our parents because bits of plaster and mortar occasionally break off and fall. I can't leave, of course, as I need to work, so I keep these around in case of an injury."

"But, you moved so fast?"

"Of course dear. There's no time to faint when one of my friends are injured. Although I must confess, that blood has left me a little woozy. I think we're done for the day." Rarity levitated a couch behind her and gracefully fell upon it. A tiny smile crept onto Dash's face, and a small well of pride in Rarity formed in her stomach. "Now, what was it you asked me darling? How do you tell if somepony likes you?"

"Uh, yeah, that." Rainbow gulped.

"What an odd question dear. By any chance, is there somepony that's caught your-?"

"No."

"Are you—"

"Yes."

"Okay then," Rarity said, slightly deflated by Rainbow's bluntness. "If I may ask then, why do you wish to know? It isn't like you to show any interest in romance."

Daedalus would be lying if he said he wasn't getting curious also. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn, bringing Daedalus to the edge of his seat, metaphorically speaking. I wish I could sit down. How does one get tired standing up inside their own head? The king glumly thought.

"Well, because of weirdos and stuff," Dash tried to casually remark, but it came off as more of a mumble.

"You'll have to be more specific."

"Like, you go all over Equestria, right? I heard your folks used to take you travelling when you were younger."

"Yes, they did."

"Well, I bet you met some weird ponies right? And when you go to fashion shows and stuff or whatever you do, how do you know when somepony hits on you they actually like you? Or they're trying to get something from you?"

Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin as her face scrunched up in thought. She sat up, trying to decipher Rainbow's incredibly jumbled question, then realisation struck her. "Are you asking me how I can tell if somepony likes me for me, or for less than civilised reasons?"

"Sort of, yeah." Rainbow sighed in relief, seeing as she had Rarity on the track she wanted her to follow. "So nopony is trying to jump in the sack with you and you never see them again."

"AH! Now I see. You never told me why you wish to know, though."

"Well… if I become a Wonderbolt, I'll be super famous and stuff—"

"Darling, you're already 'super' famous as you put it. We've saved Equestria several times."

"Yeah, but I mean as a celebrity. Plus I'll be travelling all over the place. Everypony will want a piece of this, I mean, who could blame them." Rainbow's usual cockiness had returned, much to the amusement of Rarity, who giggled. "I need to know if they actually like me for me, or just because they want my flank. Also, try and sort out who's serious and who's a… prankster."

Rarity stood up from her seat and motioned for Dash to take off her dress. Despite her grumbling, as the process always felt awkward for Dash, it was quick, with Rarity floating the dress onto a stand.

"Darling, I'm afraid that there's little help I can give you on the first matter," Rarity replied, turning to Dash again.

"What do you mean?" Dash asked, masking her disappointment.

"When it comes to a gentlestallion's intentions, they can be easily guessed on the date itself, especially the first one. It is hard to tell who's serious just by them asking you out. Say if they were nervous, that is more of a telling sign. It shows that they had to dig into their reserves of courage to ask you in the first, thus showing commitment, and thus showing how much they admire you. Whether that be for your looks, abilities, or personality; it is hard to tell."

Dash looked back to the night before, trying to remember how Question had acted around her. The conversation had been interesting to say the least. Not the kind of subjects you would bring up around a mare you liked, but perhaps that showed how nervous Question was. She also remembered how long it took for him to actually ask her out, trying to sway the conversation to the right moment. The more Dash thought about it, the more she was certain that Question had been serious in his intentions.

"It would be harder to tell if they were confident of course, so that is why you would have to rely on the date itself. Saying yes or no depending, of course."

"Okay, cool. What else?"

"Secondly, there are two things I can tell you. One, do not, and I mean do NOT, sleep with him on the first date. You will have to forgive me darling as I sometimes—" Rarity gently cleared her throat, "forget these rules, but I know from experience that it is a bad move."

Rainbow smiled coyly but nodded her head. "Sure, I ain't no tramp."

"Language, dear," Rarity scolded. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"What, is the word tramp too hardcore for you, Miss Fabulous?"

Rarity ignored her. "The second thing is also important. Of course your date will treat you well, at least I hope he would, but make a note of how he treats other ponies."

"Other ponies?"

"Oh yes dear," Rarity said with a knowing smile. "It's easy for somepony to treat the one they're trying to please or impress well, but everypony else is another matter. That is when their true self comes out for all to see. Say if you went to a restaurant and the waiter accidentally spills something on them, their reaction is good way of gauging their character."

"Oh, I like you, I like you a lot. If only you were one of my spies," Daedalus whispered, more out of instinct than anything else.

"Hey, I think I get you now. If he like explodes and stuff and gets pissed off for no reason, then he's a jerk. If he's all cool about it and just shrugs it off, then he's awesome."

"Yes, I suppose you have the gist of it. It's refreshing to see you think—"

"Yeah that's all good, Rare, but I need to get out of here. Thanks for everything!" Dash jumped to the nearest window and pulled it open.

"But be careful not to turn the date—" Dash flew out the window into the open sky. "-into an interrogation." Rarity slumped onto the floor while she dreaded what Dash would do with her advice. "Oh well, she said she would only need this when she becomes a Wonderbolt. No need to worry about that now." While Rarity returned to her completed dresses with a content smile, Daedalus kept staring at the open window. Speculation was forming in his mind as to Dash's motives here.

"She was obviously worried about the date as well, but she seemed worried as to Question's motivations. That poor mare, what caused her to have such doubt? I swear those two are made for each other. Pair of dummies worrying over nothing." Daedalus was cut off from his pondering for a third time by a bright white light. "Oh, this is going to get annoying quick. I swear if the next memory isn't that date I'll—" The white light consumed the king and the world vanished once more.

---

So here we are, after two months and three rewrites, this is the chapter. Some of you might be wondering why the date wasn't included? Well to be honest, it looks like the date scene is going to be roughly 4000 words and I thought the first date deserved to be it's own chapter. Also, you guys have waited long enough for an update at this point so I decided that this was enough. I'm trying to avoid make the chapters too big. Unlike "the League of Extraordinary Ponies", I felt like this is more of a casual story and shorter chapters would fit better, but we'll see as we move ahead. I've also reigned Daedalus back a bit in this chapter. He's an important character, but I don't want to risk him taking over the story.

I have one question for you all though. If I was to make a King Daedalus spin-off story, would you read it? A lot of you seem to like him and he's one of my favourite characters to write about. I have a few ideas on what I could do: His early years and how he became king, his first meeting with Question Mark, or perhaps a story set after the events of this one? Let me know i a review.

The hive mind was truly a wonderful, yet terrible place; It is connected to all living things, yet only one race could understand and use it. Even then, only their monarchs could use the hive mind to its full potential. Daedalus once described it as a living thing. The hive mind witnessed all and stored it in its infinite web of memories. When Daedalus had asked the entity to show him the relationship between Dash and Question, the hive mind had taken him to only specific points, even showing things from Dash's perspective as well. That was why he was able to stand alongside Dash and see what she saw.

As Daedalus reappeared once more, he was greeted by the night sky above him. He was now in the deserted market, with barely a soul walking around the town. One of the few still walking around at this hour – or rather flying – was Rainbow Dash. She landed next to the king without the usual fanfare and let out a sigh.

Despite feeling significantly more confident about the date as a whole, Rainbow couldn't help but feel slightly anxious about the whole thing. She had picked a casual restaurant – partially because she couldn't stand the stuffy atmosphere of more uptight establishments – but a more relaxed setting allowed her to be herself without risk of upsetting anypony. She told herself that if her date didn't like her for who she was, then screw him. Dash began to trot forwards and Daedalus followed closely behind.

"Okay, keep it cool Dash, you've totally got this," she muttered to herself.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, my dear," Daedalus responded, knowing full well Dash was unable to hear him. "You might jinx your chances for tonight."

"I mean, heck, what could go wrong, right?"

"… Famous last words, my pegasus friend." Daedalus looked up at the moon for a moment, reminiscing on events long past. "Sweet Lulu, give this mare strength. Oh, and make sure the date goes well please? Thanks hun." Daedalus winked at the white orb in the sky. "Gods, I miss that flank." Before he could allow himself to get distracted again, he looked down at Dash.

"Okay, what time is it?" Rainbow cocked her head around till she met a clock face, reading that it was ten to seven. "Alright, I'll wait till five past, and if he doesn't show his face, I'm taking off. He'd better not stand me up—"

Dash stopped in her tracks when she was several meters away from the restaurant, and waiting outside was Question Mark, who was wearing a black tie and fedora. He was pacing just outside of the entrance, keeping his wings tightly wrapped around himself for warmth. Rainbow's confidence quickly evaporated as she stood still, completely frozen in place. Question was too busy being nervous to notice that his date had arrived.

"Goodness me, if this keeps up, we're in for a long night," Daedalus sighed. He glanced at Dash again and smiled. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go get him, tiger." Almost as if she could hear him, Dash trotted forwards once more. Question heard the approaching hoofsteps and faced his date for the evening. He gulped and met her half-way.

"Good evening, Miss Dash," Question said politely whilst making sure his hat was on straight.

"Hey, and drop the whole 'Miss' thing. It's either Rainbow or Dash to you, buster." Dash hoped it would come off as playful; instead, it came out as an order.

"O-o-oh, right. Sorry."

Silence descended like a bad smell. Daedalus huffed in annoyance but resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.

"So… do you want to head inside now?" Question asked, hoping to break the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

The pair hurried inside to be greeted by a restaurant at the beginning of dinner service. Dash had already booked a table earlier that morning, and both of them were led to their seats by a waiter. Silence returned as the pair was left to scan the menu. Daedalus grunted as he looked at all the comfortable chairs in the room. He chose to sit on the floor right next to the table. Due to his size, he was eye level with both Dash and Question, who were both hiding their faces behind the menus.

The world zoned out for a moment as Question looked over his menu. He took a deep breath, mustering his courage again. He told himself that getting here was the hard part, so now it was his chance to find out more about the stuntmare. The worst-case scenario was that they could at least be friends if this turned into a disaster… hopefully, but the detective wanted more than that. Normally, he would plan this all out, but he was so inexperienced in the field of dating that he had no clue of what to expect. Flitter had told him to simply be polite, don't talk too much about himself unless he was asked, and even then, avoid bragging, and not to come off as creepy. Question wasn't sure if he had ever come off as creepy in his entire life, but that was the least of his troubles.

Meanwhile, Dash could barely make out the sounds of families arguing, the clattering of cutlery, and the chugging of beverages as she focused intently on the options presented to her. She didn't even really know what half of the things on the menu were, but they all sounded pretty good to her. Dash's stomach had temporarily taken over her brain, but she snapped back to reality as she heard her date place down his menu.

Her 'date'. Why was that word so foreign, yet so fulfilling to her? Dash knew the answer of course, but questioning herself had become routine since yesterday evening. Dash had a game plan for the evening though, she had to gauge who her date was early on. She knew he was a detective, an experienced one despite barely being in his mid-twenties. He had been living in Ponyville for a short time now, moving in shortly after everypony came back from the Canterlot wedding. That wasn't enough, though, so she decided to delve deeper.

Daedalus was listening in on a foal whining about how his peas and mashed potatoes were touching, and wondering what on Equis was the problem, when he saw Dash place down her menu and open her mouth to speak. He leaned in closer and listened to every word.

"So, who are your folks?"

Question had just been in the process of thinking of something to say to get the ball rolling, when Rainbow beat him to the punch. He paused for a moment, figuring out how best to answer. Both of his parents had been changelings, but he was actually born in Trottingham while they were taking a short vacation in the city. Ten eggs were laid in their hotel room, but he was the only one to survive. The mess had been cleaned up and hidden away by several changeling agents and the three of them had swiftly moved back to the hive.

"Oh, um, my mother was called Gaia, and my father was called Aegeus."

"Weird names for ponies…"

Daedalus visibly cringed when he saw Question forget to give his parents pony names, a common mistake made by lings taking their first steps into pony society. A bead of sweat trickled down the forehead of the detective before he replied, "They were from up north."

"… Oh."

"What do you mean oh!?" Daedalus shouted. "How in Tartarus did you buy that? Wait, why am I complaining?" The king rested his head in his hands as the questions continued.

"How long have you been a detective?"

"I started training under Professor Lantern when I was little younger than eighteen. So roughly about six years now."

"I thought you said you were trained by Sherclop."

"Ah, well, not quite. I met professor Lantern when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. He was an archaeologist who viewed most challenges in life as a visual puzzle. On the side, he would do detective work, and after seeing him in action, I felt inspired to follow in his hoofsteps. I asked him if he could teach me and I spent roughly a year with him in Trottingham. He only taught me the basics though, and sent me to meet with Sherclop to learn more advanced techniques."

"So you left him on his own."

"Certainly not. About a week before I left, he came home with a young colt who he told me was his new apprentice. He wanted to make him into a proper gentlestallion. Anyway, for the next five years I was in school or accompanying Sherclop and his assistant."

"... What's with the hat?"

"I like fedoras. I know it's a cliché, but sue me, I've always liked them."

"Ties too?"

"Work attire, but it's become routine for me, even if they sometimes feel like a noose around my neck."

Dash paused for a bit as she chewed her lip. She squinted at the pegasus opposite her, who felt slightly awkward being under the spotlight for a change. Dash wanted to catch him up, forgetting that she was on a date.

"Alright then, what do you know about me?"

"Well, I know you're friends with Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike—"

"AH HA! How did YOU know they were my friends!?" Dash asked, nearly shooting out of her seat in the process. Her smug smirk would not last long.

"Well, you guys are the Elements of Harmony. I think a requirement to use them is for you guys to be friends."

"… Oh." Dash slumped back into her chair, slightly deflated. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide and she sat back up, pointing a hoof in Question's face. "But how did you know who they were in the first place!?"

Both Daedalus and Question gazed at the hoof dumbly for several seconds, before the detective gently guided it back down to the table with a free hoof. He cleared his throat and put on a serious, almost condescending voice. "First of all, you're all national heroes; I'd be surprised if somepony didn't know who you were. It would be like a random pedestrian turning down a Princess's request because he didn't know who she was," he explained. "Secondly, we all live in the same town. And last, but certainly not least, I have met all of you at one point or another. Rarity made this hat for me, I visited Fluttershy when I was considering getting a pet for myself, I go to Twilight's library to take books out where I've met both her and Spike, I buy my apples from Applejack and Big Mac, and Pinkie Pie put together my welcome to Ponyville party. Which, if you recall, you all attended."

Dash's jaw nearly hit the table as Daedalus had an overwhelming desire to high five Question Mark. A smug grin was now spread over the detective's face, but he soon corrected himself to an innocent smile.

"I see you're trying to play detective."

"Play detective?" Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Allow me to deduce. Since we sat down at this table, I must confess that this has come off as more of an interrogation, rather than a date. I realise now that your questions mean you're checking if I am what I claim, a detective. Some of your questions have not been on that topic, so I further deduce that – if you do not mind me saying – you are a bit worried."

"I'm not sure if that's a zing moment, but you certainly did sound smart saying all that stuff, my old friend." Daedalus stretched out a bit, eager to see how this would all play out.

"You're worried about getting hurt, aren't you?"

Just at that moment, the waiter arrived.

"Excuse me, are you two ready to order?" Both Rainbow and Question switched their attention to the waiter. As the waiter was standing right in Daedalus' invisible body, the king decided to distract himself by looking over the restaurant. It had a very homey, relaxed atmosphere despite the rush of the waiters serving everyone and the din coming from the kitchen. The light colour of the walls and the floral arrangements helped complete the place. The waiter soon departed with orders in hoof, leaving the ponies with nothing to do other than either stare at each other awkwardly, or talk. Dash chose the latter.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said through a sigh, "I'm just not used to this stuff. When you asked me out yesterday, I was pretty pumped for this, and you were pretty cute—"

"—You think I'm cute?" Question asked rather tactlessly.

"Uhh… yeah," Dash said through rose tinted cheeks. "You'd better not tell anypony I said that, though." She glared at Question as he put his hoofs up defensively.

"Hey, easy there. I swear on my honour, madam. I just never thought you'd like cute things."

"Better than a hot guy who's as dumb as a sack of bricks."

"Any examples?"

"Do you know who Soarin is?"

"The Wonderbolt?"

"Nice guy, great looker, but super gullible. I don't know, I make fun of Twi for being an egghead, but dumb ponies seem to be a real 'turn off' for me."

"How dumb do they have to be?" Question Mark asked, fully engaged in the conversation.

"I'm not picky or nothing, but I was talking to him at the gala, and he thought apples grew underground like potatoes." The only thing that beat Question Mark's undignified snort was King Daedalus' 'full blown', hysterical laughter. If he had been present that day, his deep, booming voice would have shaken the entire room. Question Mark managed to compose himself, but could not rid himself of his grin.

"Ah, so they have to be especially dumb, then."

"Yeah, and trust me, sports ponies tend to have less brains and more muscle. I should know, I'm kind of one of them."

"I wouldn't say that. You've come off as rather intelligent in our previous conversations."

"Yeah, try telling that to AJ. Besides which, I think Soarin had the hots for Applejack anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it wasn't just her apple pies he was drooling over at the gala."

The pair smiled at each other as Daedalus was finally able to control himself as tiny droplets of water formed in his eyes, but before the silence could settle in, Question extended a hoof across the table. "Listen, why don't we start this date again? It's nice to meet you, Miss Dash." Instead of shaking, Dash bumped his hoof.

"Okay, cool. What's up, Question?"

---

As the first course arrived, the date began to go swimmingly. The pair flowed into natural conversation. They had started with some personal background, Question explaining he was born in Trottingham and raised by his mother and father until they passed away several years back. Daedalus noted that Question had told the truth, while simply neglecting to mention they were both changelings; technically, he never lied to Dash. Rainbow Dash had a similar story; apart from the unhappy side of her school life, she had plenty of friends and loving parents while living in Cloudsdale, the same place where Daedalus' daughter had been raised. Although her mother had passed on, her father was still around, badgering young Dash for grandchildren and pushing her to follow her dreams at the same time, which sent very confusing messages.

The pair continued to tell life stories, Dash had been brave enough to tell the whole truth of the Best Young Flier's competition, which elicited a chuckle from Question and uproarious laughs from the king. However, Dash noted Question praising her for her courage and ability. Although praise from anypony else would have fed Dash's expansive ego, Question's praise caused her cheeks to flash pink, something the pegasus hated and begrudgingly loved. Question followed – upon Dash's insistence – with one of the more interesting cases he had to deal with.

"… So the sleeping dart activated when Black Key would play a certain sheet of music on his piano. The thief then walked straight into the apartment and stole the vase."

"How'd you catch him then?"

"When I figured out the thief was was robbing famous musicians who lived in the area, the vase that Black Key owned was far too big of a prize for the thief to simply ignore; it was only a matter of when. I acquired the help of a journalist by the name of Lens Turner. She set up a camera and we caught the thief in the act. You can figure out the rest. Lens Turner was very nice, a bit of a recluse, and she had this thing for blue boxes and aliens, but nice all the same."

"Heh, when you hang out with Pinkie all the time, alien talk doesn't even come into the same league of weird."

"I suppose," Question muttered, looking into his wine glass. "Still, with those metal men stomping around Canterlot not too long ago, extraterrestrial talk isn't exactly considered crazy anymore. We're in a changing world, Dash. These past few years have presented more threats to world security than in the last six hundred years."

Dash dumbly nodded, not fully understanding what he was telling her. She noted how Question had a tendency to go on quiet monologues to himself, shutting out the rest of the world as he spoke. Question looked at her, noting her confused expression. "Don't worry about it, Dash. I'm simply rambling to myself."

"It's cool," Dash assured while nonchalantly waving her hoof. "I hang with Twilight, so I'm used to getting confused by long speeches."

"From the few conversations I've had with her, she comes off as the lecturing type. Very astute, though. I can see why she's a prodigy."

"Ugh, but the lectures are a killer though. I feel like my brain is about to melt when she pulls out her blackboard. She has that thing on standby so she can pull it out whenever. Kind of makes me feel dumb."

"Hey! You are anything but dumb."

"Now you're just trying to flatter me."

"No, I've met dumb. You are not dumb, not even close. So you're on a basic reading level, so you're not amazing at math, most ponies aren't. The way you condition yourself and look after yourself is more than enough to tell me you're quite smart. You just don't realise it."

There it was again, the pink tinge that covered her cheeks. Every time Question saw it, it sent his heart aflutter. She was too darn cute for her own good, in his opinion. Dash hated how he so easily complimented her and made it seem genuine. Ponies praised her all the time, but none of them for being smart. Dash actually believed he was telling her the truth, but that scared her for some reason. Something about him being so convincing confused her greatly. Did she really like him after knowing him for only a short time? Or was his silver tongue that convincing?

"Before you ask," he said, "I know you enjoy reading from your love of the Daring Do books."

"Pfft, even I could have figured that out. Do you read them?" Question nodded. "What book are you on?" Dash asked excitedly, happy to see they had something else in common.

"As best I recall, I had just finished—"

As Question Mark began to explain, Rainbow's left eye drifted off towards the waitress who passed her. At that moment – what felt like some sort of divine intervention – Rainbow Dash spied the waitress set down an order for a waiting family. The order was very large, especially for starters, and Dash was certain the waitress wasn't able to deliver the entire first course and would require a second trip. This would normally be a small and minor detail that her keen eyes would skip over and back to her date, yet when she noticed the waitress place a bowl of hot, piping soup in front of the youngest daughter, the pegasus got an idea. A horrible, ingenious and downright diabolical idea. Discord would have been proud that night.

"Excuse me miss," asked the mother of the family, "where is my colt's soup?"

"I'm terribly sorry, I have to make a second trip. I'll be back in a moment," replied the waitress.

Dash, by her own admittance (unless she was challenged of course) would acknowledge she wasn't the most clever pony around. She had street smarts, she could cook, knew more than enough about fitness and even understood her own limitations when it came to training. She only pushed past her limit when she deemed necessary. Yet, to her at least, all the pieces fell into place for what she felt was a genius test. She recalled her conversation with Rarity earlier.

"The second thing is also important. Of course your date will treat you well, at least I hope he would, but make a note of how he treats other ponies."

"Other ponies?"

"Oh yes, dear. It's easy for somepony to treat the one they're trying to please or impress well, but everypony else is another matter. That is when their true self comes out for all to see. Say if you went to a restaurant and the waiter accidentally spills something on them, their reaction is good way of gauging their character."

Meanwhile, Daedalus noticed Dash's attention slipping from her date. He followed her line of sight which was locked onto the waitress serving the family. He scratched his head in confusion and turned to Question, who hadn't noticed his date seemingly losing interest.

"I thought she wasn't into mares," mumbled Daedalus. "She seems to be checking her flank out or something like that." Daedalus squinted; trying to figure what had caught her attention, but drew a complete blank. Dash continued to keep an eye on the waitress as she walked through Daedalus, who shivered slightly, and past Dash again. This only confused the king more. Dash listened for the kitchen doors to close.

"Am I boring you?"

"Wha-what?" Dash found her date looking at her in concern. His question hadn't been accusatory, in fact he looked more sad than anything. "If I am boring you, I'm terribly sorry—"

"No, sorry, I just kind of got distracted is all," Dash said with a small laugh. "I think you're kind of cool actually."

"Y-you do?" Question asked, stunned that things were suddenly going so well.

"Yeah, I mean you're a pretty nice guy, but I thought you might be a little boring, but you've seen some pretty cool things," Dash said sincerely.

"I don't think cool would be the exact word I would use. I know I said I wouldn't go into anything quite as vulgar as last time, but I've seen some of the worst the world has to offer in my line of work. Like you yourself must have seen as an Element of Harmony."

"Well, I don't know about that. I mean you deal with murders and stuff, I can't really remember anypony who died during any of my adventures… actually, I don't think anypony has." The statement itself dumbfounded Rainbow, surprised that things had gone so smoothly, at least in the sense of physical injury.

"Wow, I envy you there. I have to wait for somepony to die before I can help. Sometimes it's simple thefts, not always though."

"Don't they have guards to handle stuff like that? Why can't they solve who did it?"

"Most of the time they do, but occasionally they require help from a specialist. I guess that's what you could call me. Technically, I'm a consultant detective like my mentor, but I generally specialize in all fields. If a murder is simply too difficult to solve or I'm nearby, I'll be called in—"

Dash had become so absorbed in Question's explanation that she almost missed the sound of the kitchen door opening again. Dash tensed up slightly, her brain telling her that a choice would have to be made. Go for it, or leave it. She wasn't sure what had taken the waitress so long to get the order, but it had given the pegasus enough time to start regretting even considering the test. This whole time, Question had been nothing but a gentlestallion to her. He was interesting, nice, cute, and although he didn't seem very strong or athletic, Dash was surprised how little that bothered her.

Then doubt struck again.

Rarity's words rang in her ears once more. Don't just observe how your date treats you, notice how he treats other ponies. This was the only chance she would have to test this before things progressed further. As Question continued, Dash gently edged her hind leg out below the tablecloth. When the waitress was in position, she would stick it out a little further and this would cause her to trip and spill the soup on Question.

Wait, what the heck am I doing? Dash quickly retracted her leg as she realised what she was about to do. She was about to burn a stallion with piping hot soup as part of an experiment. Crap, this is some stupid idea that Twi would come up with. Not me. Am I that messed up in the head? She looked at Question again who had stopped speaking and took a bite of his meal. He looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"You alright?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, just spaced out a bit."

"I know the feeling," he responded with a laugh. Dash began to calm herself, giggling at Question's thick Trottingham accent, another thing she liked about him. "Hey, Dash?"

The waitress was about to pass Dash when she asked, "Yeah?"

"I know I'm meant to ask at the end of the date, but, would you like to go out again sometime?"

A great man once said that there are no such things as coincidences, as the universe is rarely that lazy. After multiple attempts at trying to separate his peas and mash, the little colt across the room became so frustrated he flung a chunk of the mash across the room. While his mother began scolding him for throwing food around, only Daedalus noticed the piece of white mash heading straight for the spot he was sitting. Before he could move out of the way, he remembered it wouldn't hit him anyway as it passed straight through him.

Of course, the waitress wasn't so lucky.

Her hoof slipped as soon as it made contact with the potato, and the bowl she was holding flew forward from the momentum. Both Dash and Daedalus instinctively caught on to where it was headed, and unthinkingly, Daedalus reached up for the bowl. It fell through his hand, and the bowl's contents made contact with Question Mark's lap.

Question's eyes nearly popped out as the steaming liquid slapped onto his lower region. His face scrunched up as the pain immediately registered in his brain. Instead of a scream of pain, he let out a small whine as he tried desperately not to explode. Dash could only stare in shock, while Daedalus could almost feel the pain Question was going through. The king kept his legs together, unable to look away. The rest of the restaurant had joined in on looking at the scene before them. The waitress had begun apologizing, hoping to keep her job and avoid a lawsuit.

All the while, Question Mark was frozen in place until he took a quick intake of breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, but opened them sharply when he said, "If you'd excuse me, Dash," he said through the pain, "I'm just going to clean up."

The detective picked himself up from his seat and hobbled over to the little colts' room, trying to block out the burning pain he felt. As the bathroom doors clicked shut, the room took a collective breath, and continued on with their meals. Dash hadn't taken her eyes off Question's seat the whole time. She looked down at her food, losing her appetite. The cogs in her head began to turn.

Wow, that must have stung, she thought, wrinkling her snout as she tried to imagine how it must have felt. He still didn't explode though. He was cool about the whole thing. Guilt crept up on Dash when she remembered that she was nearly the cause of his pain. She wanted to do that to him at one point. King Daedalus wiped his brow and let out a sigh.

"Well, I suppose that could've gone worse—"

"AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream of pain was loud enough that it silenced the restaurant again. No other sound came from the porcelain room, so everyone returned to eating, if not even quieter. Dash found herself playing with her hooves, waiting for Question to return. After five minutes, no pony left the room, making Dash even more anxious. Daedalus had stayed with Rainbow, leaving Question to his business, but even he was getting slightly worried at this point.

Finally, Dash could take no more. She stood up from her seat, gaining a few looks from the diners, but she ignored them. She hesitated for a second before entering the stallions' room, pushing forwards past her embarrassment. Daedalus wasted no time in following.

The 'medium sized' bathroom had the typical stalls that one would expect to find in a place like this, but Dash was focused on the sinks where Question was resting. He turned his head, brightening up when he saw Dash looking at him in concern, but then his smile turned upside down as he turned his head away in shame. Feeling awkward, Dash slowly approached before Question spoke.

"I'm sorry about that."

Dash cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry? What the heck are you sorry about?"

"About the scene I caused… also the scream. I'm guessing you all heard that." Question Mark turned the tap on and began washing his hooves with cold water. They weren't dirty, or sore, he just needed to keep his mind off his embarrassment.

"But you did nothing wrong!" Dash immediately argued. "It was that waitress who spilled that crap on you!"

"Well, if we're pointing hooves, or fingers, it was the bratty foal a couple of tables—" Daedalus was interrupted by Dash.

"I don't get it, why should YOU be sorry?"

"Because I should have moved out of the way!" Question shouted as he punched the wall. Dash took a step back, shocked to see Question's sudden outburst. Daedalus kept quiet, used to seeing Question like this.

"Please, keep yourself calm, my friend. There is no need to—" Daedalus was cut off again as the scene continued.

"Do you have any idea how many things in my life have come flying towards me? Bullets, knives, heavy objects, but I just sat there and stared at that bowl of soup as it fell right on top of me." He paused as he turned the tap off and wiped his hooves with a paper towel. "I've been in here for so long because I can't bear to go out there. I messed up, but I can't afford to mess up, not even in little things anymore. No more mistakes, I've made enough mistakes to last a lifetime. I have… I've got…"

A choked sob resonated throughout the bathroom before the detective aggressively cleared his throat, hurting it in the process, like he swallowed a nail. Dash looked on, seeing for herself who Question Mark really was. He was damaged, just like her. He pushed himself constantly, just like her. He sought perfection in what he did, just like her. Their motivations were likely different, but she didn't care. She slowly trotted next to him and rested a wing on his back. He flinched on contact, but eased in as Dash's wing wrapped around him.

"You hurt?"

"… No. Only very minor burns. The yell was me suppressing the pain and finally letting it out. I'll be fine by the morning."

"This is rich, me of all ponies saying this, but don't beat yourself up over making a mistake. Being an egghead is an important job, but nopony expects you to be perfect."

"They do, actually." Question turned to look at her, pushing the wing off his back. "You can't afford to make a mistake in my line of work. One poorly handled piece of evidence, a failed autopsy, any mistake can lead to a murderer walking free, or the conviction of the wrong suspect. Justice is a cruel mistress, always working with you as much as she's working against you."

"I guess I know the feeling," Dash added, looking at the floor.

"You do?"

"When I'm at the tryouts or performing, I can't make mistakes. Making mistakes brings the show down. Making mistakes lets the whole team down. Making mistakes makes me look bad. What kind of Wonderbolt messes up their routine in the middle of a show? A Wonderbolt who doesn't deserve the title." Both looked into each other's eyes for a moment; that was all it took to get them to smile.

"I'm sorry for ruining our date," Question spoke softly, despite his smile.

"Nah, I already told ya, it wasn't your fault." Dash lightly punched Question in the foreleg. "Oh, and yes."

Question furrowed his brow before asking, "Yes, what?"

"What you were asking earlier. Yeah, I'll go on another date with you."

Daedalus punched the air while Question's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"A-a-are you serious? Even after how this went?"

"Hey, it was fun till the burning thing. Besides, I like you," Dash mumbled awkwardly. "Don't tell anypony about me saying anything mushy though." Question stood there astounded, working his jaw for something to say.

"… We should probably get out of the stallions' room."

---

Moments later, Rainbow Dash and Question Mark found themselves walking towards the detective's residence. They had quickly paid for the meal, Dash insisting she pay for her share, and headed off home. Along the way, the pair had flowed into natural conversation about their shared likes and dislikes.

"Okay, favourite ice cream?" Dash asked as she kept her wing wrapped around Question.

"Um… I'm gonna have to say… raspberry ripple." Question had his wing wrapped around Dash. Rainbow said she wanted to keep warm, but Question suspected there was an ulterior motive, one he enjoyed sharing.

"Nice choice, but I always liked strawberry."

"Okay, my turn. What's your favourite Daring Do book?"

"Griffon's Goblet, all the way."

"I like The Zebra's Coil, personally. Love the mystery element—"

"Nah, I bet you like her romance with that zebra," Dash cut in with a cheeky grin.

"Yes… well I suppose that's quite good also. Anyway, your turn."

"Okay, who's your favourite Wonderbo—"

"Spitfire." Dash blinked several times in surprise.

"Well that was quick. She's mine too."

"Well, why shouldn't she be? She's everypony's favourite. That tight costume reveals so much," Question finished with his own cheeky smile. He received an elbow for his trouble, but his hearty laugh made it clear it was worth it.

Daedalus followed on, quietly amused at the back and forth between the two. He felt warm inside, seeing his friend so happy and content for once in his life. "She's good for him," he muttered. "I wish them many happy years. Hopefully nopony ever has to know about this." Daedalus looked up to the moon once more. "And Lulu, you don't go running your mouth my dear. I know how loud you can be," he said with a snicker.

"So Question, what's your flying style?" Dash asked curiously.

"I don't really have one, I just kind of fly. I'm not a very strong flyer."

Rainbow stopped, causing Question to stop as well.

"Y-you can't fly?"

"No, I can fly, just not that great. I can barely make it to Cloudsdale from here if I'm honest. Plus, I grew up on the ground. Despite the population of Trottingham mostly consisting of pegasi, I just never felt the need to fly that much. By the way, we're here."

Dash had been so engrossed in their conversation she hadn't realised that they'd made it to Question's home. Huh, so this is where he lives, she thought to herself. Dash's eyes opened wide as she had an idea.

"Hey, you free tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then tomorrow, I'll take you to flying practice with me. That cool?"

"Sure, I like spending time with you."

Despite the cool night air, her face felt warm. She brushed her mane backwards and cleared her throat. "So, I'll see you tomorrow then." Without thinking, Dash pecked Question on the cheek. "Goodnight!" She sped off into the night sky.

Question stood there, rubbing his cheek. He could still feel the place where Dash's lips met his fur. He gave a contented smile and headed towards his front door. All the while, Daedalus was surrounded by a white light once more, and the world around transitioned anew.

---

There we have it, another chapter done.

When going into this, I wanted to capture that awkward first date vibe. There's a quote I'm reminded of: "At the beginning and the end of love is when the two lovers are most embarrassed to be beside one another." This has been a rather busy time for me lately so I thank you all for being so patient with me. I'm still in a very busy period, but once I have my paperwork all sorted out, I should have more free time. From there, it's simply about motivation. Next chapter, expect to see Dash and Question's relationship begin to truly take form. One thing I will say, is Question is about to find out how tough Dash really is. See you next time everyone.

- Infinite