The cool, gentle breeze of an autumn night wafted through the holes in my wings as I scaled the building, my limbs magically adhering to the concrete of the building. My carapace had been shifted to match the color and texture of the building so that it would take a sharp eye to spot me. Yet no one in the relatively empty streets below noticed me; humans rarely look up, and even then, who would be looking for a camouflaged figure sixteen stories above them?

When I reached the roof, I was greeted with the sight of over ninety changelings, all un-disguised, chatting quietly to one another. One of my earlier converts had been the owner of this apartment building. I had decided that I needed a base of operations – a physical hive, so to speak – and chose this place. With the recent economic upturn causing many people to move out to the suburbs, cheap apartments like this had stood under populated. As the first of several willing converts, the landlord agreed to invite changelings to live here at a discounted rate. After his conversion, I had started going to homeless shelters for recruits. After their conversion, they could either get a job with me or look for a job elsewhere, but I would pay for their first three months rent in here. Afterword, they were expected to pay me back with money or in love contributions. At the same time, I offered this deal to any of the changeling children that hatched.

The collective effect was that this apartment building became the center of Atlanta’s changeling population and had been affectionately dubbed ‘The Bee Hive.’ On the flip-side, the passive draining of emotion by the densely packed changeling population had rendered a square block area around the building almost uninhabitable by humans; even a mildly happy thought could leave a person feeling exhausted, while having sex anywhere within the building itself would almost guarantee that you would not be going to work the next day. Never having had a dense group of changelings live together for a prolonged time in an urban area, Chrysalis had never noticed such an effect; I was greatly thrilled to discover that we had such a defense mechanism.

The end result was that ninety-seven undisguised changelings can gather together on the roof of the tallest building within several blocks without fear of being troubled by nosy human neighbors. The compulsion that had brought us up here seemed to have no desire to release us, despite my urgency to deal with the Selene situation, and so we waited. I sat down next to Nick, who was lying on his back and watching the third quarter moon. Klika, who had followed me up, sat down on my other side.

Refusing to be idle while I was entrapped by the compulsion, I called out to our resident computer bug, who was currently saved (sleeping) within a porno on a smut website. <<Activate, Change.lng.>>

A second later, it responded, <<//Change.ling: I have activated. Your command, Master?//>>

I replied, <<Search for a one-way airline tickets from Atlanta to Phoenix, Arizona, for some time between six and twenty-four hours from now. If you can, bring the price down on their servers, else search for the lowest priced ticket.>>

<<//Change.lng: Understood. One moment, Master,//>> the living program said over his hive connection and then went silent.

Nick, who had remained silent since my arrival, finally spoke, “You OK, man? You gave us all quite the scare with those tremors. Most of us were all already outside when they started getting really strong, and those that had succumbed to whatever this thing is couldn’t make themselves walk inside to check on you. Klika fought the longest of anyone, but now she’s up here, too.”

I told him that I felt fine and passed on the memory of that dream to both him and Klika. My daughter said, “Do you really think that she’s going to be like you?”

“Dang, I hope not,” I answered. I lay down on the roof and closed my eyes. “I was fine with gods being fictional or living in a parallel world, but not real. Even if Selene only inherits the power of a goddess without the full immortality thing, she’s still a big spanner in the works.”

<<//Change.lng: Master,//>> it interrupted, <<//I have results.//>>

“One second, guys. The program just called. Let me deal with this real quick,” I told the two closest members of my hive. <<Which is the soonest? What can be done about the price?>>

<<//Changeling: Flight 3431 departs at 10:45, which is in 8 hours, 32 minutes, and 21.3 seconds. I have gained access to the code that controls the billing for the transactions, so I can set any price greater than $0.00. Your command, Master?//>>

I thought for a second before answering, <<Buy a ticket for that flight at 10% of the original cost and print them out. However, make the transaction from a non-changeling computer. Use the ‘Louis Cypher’ identity. Afterword, confirm completion with me and return to inactive state. Affirmative?>>

<<//Change.lng: Affirmative, Master,//>> it answered before heading off to do its assigned task.

I explained my plan to Klika and Nick, who I wanted to join me on my trip. They would shrink down and ride as a pair of insects in my hair. My daughter was excited about the impromptu trip, while my brother in all but blood – which was questionable due to his conversion – simply nodded in agreement.

Over the next two hours, I shared my memory of the dream with the entire hive, which in turn started debating over certain aspects. The primary issue was if the compulsion, which by now had lured every changeling outside, was somehow related to our recent tremors. The current opinion was that this was a side-effect of basically what amounted to Luna and Selene bashing their way into the control center of the hive mind.

As time progressed, however, the debates grew quieter as a sense of anticipation descended upon the hive. Wings buzzed anxiously and clawed chitin feet clicked against the roof as my people paced. The city around us continued on, unaware of the tension we felt. Despite this noise, rarely did anyone talk. If they did, it was never more than the quietest of whispers. Everyone was waiting for something, even if none of us knew for what.

Our answer came in the form of panic; the hive was struck by a powerful wave of magic, flavored with the greasy, nasty taste of pure terror. The magic itself, which could only be detected by changelings, felt foreign and far too powerful to be anything of changeling origin. But it did not strike the entire hive all at once; some of the changelings that had flown to other states or countries felt it earlier or later. The only thing I could tell for sure was that it covered most of the continental USA and came from west of where I stood.

A split second after I personally was hit by the magic, brilliant cobalt blue light could be seen on the western horizon. It rose quickly into the sky, forming a glowing line that ascended into the heavens. Thirty seconds after its initial appearance, the light reached the third quarter moon. Instantly, the moon shone forty times as bright. Night was illuminated like day. The moon surged in brightness again, releasing a ring of light in the process, and then dimmed down to twice as bright as normal, but now as a full moon. The ring of light slowly spread outward across the sky. Everywhere it went the stars, previously hidden by the city’s glow and the atmosphere, gleamed like countless jewels in the night.

In under an hour, the night sky had transformed completely. Another surprise came when several changelings noticed that the stars were flowing across the sky. They moved and swirled and danced in intricate patterns. I decided right then that the sky I was watching could not possibly be real; at the distances most of those stars would be from earth, any movement observable to the naked eye would mean that the star was moving thousands of times faster than the speed of light.

I groaned. Three guesses as to who just revealed magic to the world, and the first two do not count.

I strode through the busy Atlanta airport, walking briskly to my departure gate. My face was that of a 27 year old man with a goatee that I called Louis Cypher. A single backpack was all I had brought; there was no need for clothing when I could make it out of my skin on a whim, even if it did nothing to keep me warm. In the bag, Nick, Klika, and ten other changelings from my Silencer Division hid; each wore the form of a small brown beetle and rested within a plastic terrarium. Change.lng had uploaded himself to the cell phone network, ready to be deployed should I need him; through the hive connection, he would serve as my cell phone, since I had elected to leave mine at home for this mission.

Already, I had seen six people with “end of the world” signs. People all around us were extremely nervous, and rightfully so. It seems that our resident incarnation of the night was distracted, for the moon ad yet to set. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be an issue. Now, it seemed that the night was fighting the day; the east half of the sky is blue, the other is black and filled with stars.

Luckily, my flight was not delayed in spite of the bizarre sky. Upon boarding the plane after having my retina scanned by security, I realized something. <<Hey, Nick, isn’t this the first time we’ve been on a plane since the terrorist incident two years ago?>> I asked over our mental connection.

He replied, <<So it is. You never did explain why you collapsed then, or why those men appeared.>>

<<Really?>> I replied, <<It must have slipped my mind. I had just become a changeling, after all.>>

<<Wait, that was when you changed? I’d always thought that you had been a changeling since before you first showed me your power to send things to Chrysalis.>>

<<Nope, it had just been a week or so between that and when I changed you. Were you ever upset about that?>> I sat down in my window seat, placing my bag full of changelings down at my feet. A little boy, no older than eight, sat down in the aisle seat next to me, his parents in the seats across the aisle.

<<Actually, not that I can think of, no. It’s funny, that would be the kind of thing I should be really mad about, but I wasn’t really bothered,>> he said. <<Still, I think everything turned out better for me than if you hadn’t changed me. This is the life! Hey, do you think you could take our box out of the bag? It’s boring here in the dark.>>

Chuckling, I told him that I would once we took off. Meanwhile, the kid next to me was staring at me. I looked over at him, and he starred harder. A minute later, he was still staring at me, but had decided that poking me was also a valid pass-time. I sighed, “Look, kid, stop touching me. Also, it’s rude to stare. What do you want?”

“You’re scary looking,” he said, bluntly.

“Good, I try,” I said. Then, to stay in character, I added, “It’s so I don’t have to talk to snot-nosed brats like you.” Really, I have nothing against the kid. I’m just tired; it’s been a long day already. Besides, this is just my ‘do not disturb face’ and I’ve got to play the part.

The kid, however, did not like the idea of being insulted. “MOM! He called me a snot-nosed brat! Yell at him for being mean!”

The woman, miffed that I had insulted her child, screeched, “Don’t insult my child! Who do you think you are to be insulting my precious Charlie?”

I closed my eyes and face-palmed. “He was poking me. Besides, I didn’t insult your child; I insulted all children,” I said.

“Jerk. Apologize, now,” she said, sternly. Her kid, in full view of his mother, slugged me. It did not hurt in the slightest, but it still pissed me off.

I opened my eyes, which were now a bright shade of red. “I’m really, really, not in the mood,” I practically growled, my now gravelly voice dropping half an octave lower than really should have been possible. The effect was immediate; the woman backed off and the boy seemed to shrink in his seat. Satisfied, I relaxed, my eyes fading without flame back to their original brown. “Good. Now leave me alone,” I said in a once-again normal voice.

Half an hour into the six-hour flight, I brought the terrarium out of my back pack and set it on the tray table. It seemed that while they were hidden, my traveling companions had decided to make themselves look nice. When they emerged, they were beautiful insects as opposed to the brown beetles they had been upon entering the bag. Nick, in particular, had turned into a jewel beetle, while Klika had turned into a glasswing butterfly.

Apparently, Charlie could not keep his hands to himself very long. He reached over and started loudly tapping on the terrarium, much to the displeasure of those inside. I smacked his hand away. “They don’t like that,” I said. Then, deciding to mess with the kid, I said, “Those are wish-granting bugs.” Seeing that I had his attention, I continued, “Yes, they have the power to grant any wish you desire, because they are really smart and magical. However, if they don’t like you, then they will sting you, inject their venom, and you will die a very painful death.” I made my teeth just a tad sharper before smiling at him. Opening the lid, I lifted Nick out and placed him on the tray table. “Now, I’m going to close my eyes and take a nap. Perhaps, while I’m sleeping, if you are a good boy, you’ll get a wish. If you are a bad boy, goodbye~” I ended in a sing-song voice as I closed my eyes.

Nick, getting the idea, grew a stinger on his underside. He slowly walked across the tray table and, with a couple flaps of his wings, landed on the boy’s shoulder. He threateningly brushed the bare skin next to the boy’s collar with his stinger. “Please get him off me,” the scared boy said.

I grinned maliciously. “But he wouldn’t like that. Then I would be a bad boy for doing something mean and he would sting me. He’ll get off when he wants to get off, faster if you stay very still and very quiet.” One of Nick’s antenna lit up as he cast a numbing spell on a tiny area of the boy’s skin. When finished a moment later, Nick stung, injecting enough standard changeling venom into the boy to paralyze him and make him hallucinate of pleasant things for the next ten hours. “Oops, he didn’t like you,” I said a minute later, knowing full well that he could hear me, even if he could not respond. “And, I lied. It won’t kill you. But you will think it’s magic~”

I returned Nick from the poisoned boy’s shoulder to the box. I reached over and shut the boy's eyes with my fingers; now it looked like he was sleeping. Smiling, I closed my eyes while hoping to get a few hour of good rest to make up for last night. My changelings snacked on the happy thoughts coming from that child. Throughout the flight, Change.lng uploaded news regarding the moon incident to the hive mind.

Midway through our flight, Change.lng brought some information to my attention. <<//Change.lng: Master, you need to hear this,//>> the program said over our hive connection. It then started streaming video feed from one of the major news networks over our connection.

"...more on this unnatural phenomenon," the reporter said. "It seems that the sky simultaneously appears the same at every point on Earth. Rather than exactly half of the planet receiving daylight at a time from a single common point, the sun is visible across the entire planet for anyone looking east. Anyone who looks west sees night time, making it entirely possible that two people can look at the same point in the sky and see entirely separate things. Quite the paradox, if you ask me."

<<//Change.lng: Master, the entire day/night cycle has been disrupted. Conclusion: Selene must be found quickly.//>>

<<Thank you for informing me of this,>> I told my program.

Upon our plane landing in Phoenix, I carried the twelve changelings to an area out of sight. While passing on instructions, I looked around for security cameras; seeing none, I gave the all clear. Twelve insects emerged from the box and, with a rush of emerald flames, thirteen black hawks took to the skies. The only evidence that I even had been there was an abandoned back-pack and an empty terrarium.

Our first stop was not the orphanage; local news had reported that it had burnt down from the beam of light that had originated from within. Most of the children had survived, but had been permanently blinded by the light. The only one to escape without being in critical condition was the cause herself. Her last reported location was in the hospital, where she was being kept while she was unconscious. There had been no report of what had happened to her afterword.

Once airborne, navigating to our destination was child’s play; Change.lng functioned as our GPS by using maps from the internet. Sheer usefulness of our computer bug aside, we arrived at the hospital within twenty minutes. Perched upon the palm trees and street lights on the hospital grounds, the thirteen of us considered our options. It was 3:32 pm here, and the moon had yet to set, leaving the sky in the same impossible twilight that it had been in all day. In the parking lot, military vehicles and police cars were parked. From the southern end of the building, we could feel a large reserve of pulsing, barely-contained magic, yet it lacked any distinct emotional flavor.

<<Well,>> Nick said, <<I think it’s safe to assume that Moony’s here. You think that they are keeping her sedated?>>

Ginny, who had accompanied us as head of the Silencers, said, <<That is quite likely. It would explain why the moon has not set and why this magic field is without emotion. According to the hive memory, Chrysalis once explained that she had kept Luna sedated during the battle of Canterlot and that it caused the moon to fail to rise. Goddess or not, they are still vulnerable to physical influence.>>

<<Which brings us to our main objective: to observe and protect Selene,>> I said, glancing to each of the other twelve false birds. <<Should the need arise, we may also have to kidnap her for our safety. Selene being a ward of the state is just one more string the government has to influence her; she has no legal guardians to come to her aid.>>

The bird Klika posed as ruffled her feathers. <<So, how are we going to do this? Just waltz right in there? Or do you have something else in mind?>>

<<Let’s see… first, we need to find her and determine her status. I was thinking using the ‘fly on the wall’ method first. We also have Ginny’s ‘Nurse Ratched’ gambit, should she feel up to it,>> I said.

<<Of course, you idiot,>> Ginny said. <<I’ve never failed in any role I’ve played, and this is one of the easiest roles that I have ever done.>>

<<I wonder why,>> one of her subordinates said. Even in bird form, Ginny’s glare was enough to cow him into silence.

<<Well… Anyway, we’ll just have to play it by ear once we are inside,>> I explained. <<Ready? Let’s go.>>

We took off from our respective perches and convened on the roof of the building from which we could most strongly sense the pulse of the magic. Once on the roof, we shrunk down to minuscule insects and began sinking through the material of the building. Flying through the hallways, we tracked down our target by her magical signature; this would have been impossible if we were in the magic-saturated environment of Equestria. As it was, Selene stood out like a beacon to our senses.

Down three floors and two hallways, we eventually reached a door that was guarded by two soldiers in radiation suits. Other soldiers stood in the hallway while scientists and doctors scurried up and down the hallway, also in radiation suits and often entering and exiting the room in question. We slipped in past the thick, lead-lined door, almost unnoticed by any of the humans. The one woman who did see us just shot us a disgusted look, one of hatred for vermin rather than changelings, but did nothing more.

Selene herself was an interesting sight. She had grown a foot and a half in height compared to her dream-self, and her skin was covered in a grey-blue coat of fur. While her hair still looked like normal hair rather than Luna’s Night sky mane, it had changed to be a very light azure. Two feathered wings protruded from under her hospital gown. Since she was not currently covered by a blanket, we could see that her legs had changed into the large, dexterous hooves of a pony from the other world. Like us, Selene was hornless, unlike our counterparts. Her fingers were enveloped in the same cobalt aura that Luna possessed, pulsing in time with the beep of a heart monitor and the squeal of another machine.

Closer investigation revealed the second noise-making device to be a Geiger counter, which was monitoring the glow on her hands. <<HA! Called it!>> Nick suddenly cheered.

<<What are you talking about?>> I asked him.

<<The day before you had changed me, I lied to Catherine when I started suspecting you of hurting her. I told her that magic might not be safe to be around. Guess what? It’s radioactive!>>

<<Good, now I have another reason to torture you if you use magic on a human,>> Ginny said. Every changeling in the room shuddered.

<<Not now, Ginny,>> I said. <<So, here’s the plan…>>

Author's Notes:

*Ding* Have a chapter. Oh, and for those people who paid attention, CONTINUITY! (Ahem, sorry. I was channeling a bit of MLP-Silver-Quill there.)

Longest chapter yet at exactly 4K words!

Selene has dramatically transformed! Woo! Now, how are they going to get her out? Oh and just for reference, MLP:FiM Season 3 has not happened yet, but the sky here on Earth is the same sky as S4 E1&2.

Oh, who are Louis Cypher and Nurse Ratched? Everyone who guesses right gets a gold star!

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I actually nearly passed out twice while writing this chapter. I don't know why. 16 hours and an Ok night's sleep later and I still feel weird. Which, coincidentally, is the exact amount of time this chapter takes for the characters.

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This is the closest thing I can find for what I imagine the Earthlings look like:

Just take away the horn on their heads. Rex, in his true form, stands 8'6" (2.59 m) tall.
Also, don't google "Anthro changeling" unless you want to see a lot of NSFW/clop.

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Quick facts that are true in this story, but relatively unknown to the characters within (AKA, my insane head-canon):

-- Harmony magic (the default for unicorns, alicorns, and changelings) isn't actually radioactive or dangerous. However, just the active use of magic (read: glowing body parts) sets off Geiger counters. Someone as powerful as Luna or Celestia would display a reading of 16000 counts-per minute (CPM) for basic magic, which increases with output (radiation dose of one chest x-ray every hour). An average unicorn will read 6000-8000 CPM, while Twilight averages 10000-12000 CPM. Changelings will average 5000-7000 CPM, but have almost no maximum so long as they have the magic to power such a rapid output. Therefore, a Geiger counter can be used to measure magical control (lower count while levitating a 1 lb. object means greater control/efficiency while higher indicates greater power & strength). If the radiation was real, any magic over 100 CPM on a Geiger counter would be considered dangerous.

-- Dark Magic (Sombra's default) has a corrupting influence on the mind, causing neurodegenerative diseases and a whole slew of mental issues with prolonged use. Sombra was nearly reduced to a simple beast by his magic.

-- Chaos magic IS actually radioactive. Harmony magic will clean it away to prevent future damage, but any damage passively inflicted will remain. Changelings, as creations of Chaos magic, are especially vulnerable to damage or further modification by Chaos. The few hours that Discord was free in S2 E1&2 raised the Equestrian lifetime cancer rate by 4% for every creature alive at the time and reduced the pony fertility rate by 7%.

-- The sky seen on Equa (and now Earth) is false. It is a magical 4D structure that simultaneously appears identical to everyone who views it. More will be revealed on this subject later. (This is my reason why Luna didn't just move to the other side of the world. If she did, she could "push away" the moon and be the day-bringer there. Literally, on a normal Equestrian day, either the entire world is day or entirely night. This is also why Nightmare Moon could get away with just Night Eternal rather than both night eternal here and day eternal on the other side of the world; there is no "other side" for Celestia to be on.)

-- Luna and Selene are the only Gatekeepers that are detectable by other Gatekeepers before their connection is 100% complete, due to the fact that they sent out tremors into the dream world which resonated with the existing Gate.

-- One Gatekeeper cannot go through another Gatekeeper's portal or be transported by another Gatekeeper.

-- Gatekeepers that have physically touched have a vague sense of which direction the other one is. This does not account for distance or the curvature of the Earth (Selene in China + Rex in North America = points downwards). It also fades with time, unless re-strengthened by more contact.

-- The violence and degree of a Gatekeeper's transformation is dependent upon the difference in magic levels. The greater the difference, the more violent the lesser member's change is. The stronger member may not even notice their change.

-- Both Gatekeepers, and any magically connected individuals, will change during the formation of a bond. (Chrysalis, and by extension the changelings, developed a taste for meat and the ability to extract the faint traces of residual life force in it from Rex. I won't tell what happened to Luna just yet.)

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If you haven't figured it out yet, the Gatekeepers are a major thing. There will be more.

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Stats time!

Changeling population: 325 (259 converted, 64 hatched, 1 digital.)
Changeling owned businesses: 6
Funds: $52.6 million cash + $128.9 million raw materials + $60.1 million in businesses. (Total wealth: $241.6 million, or $0.74 million per changeling.)

Changeling divisions:
-Finances (those who make money for the hive)
-Love collectors (those who make love for the hive)
-Research & Development (those who make toys for the hive)
-Silencers (those who make you shut up about the hive)
-Infiltrators (those who infest other organizations for the hive)
-Saboteurs (those who break things for the hive, subdivision of infiltrators)
-Trappers (those who hunt for the hive, aid the king in catching people alone so that they can be converted. Most are also Silencers.)
-Soldiers & Assassins (those who kill for the hive, not yet established)

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Anyone else notice that my Authors notes keep getting longer and longer? I really want you guys and girls to have access to this information, but it would be too long and boring to deliver this exposition. Do you guys even read this stuff? Post a silly word in the comments if you do. Let's confuse the shit out of everyone else. =3