“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. I told you that I’d come and visit.”

The new alicorn-human hybrid girl slowly opened her eyes. As planned, the first thing that she saw was me. Selene smile softly. “Rex?” I nodded. “Where… am I? What’s going on? Why is my throat so dry?”

“You’re in the hospital. It’s a long story that I really don’t have time to explain, nor do I know all of the details. Here’s the really short version: you changed and got super powers.”

“Cool!” She interrupted.

“However, the doctors used medicine to force you to sleep so that you wouldn’t hurt yourself, but that caused a much bigger problem. I came here to rescue you so that you can help us fix that problem, but we have to escape,” I rapidly explained.

Mirage called out from where she was maintaining the defensive spells, “Five minutes, king, after that, I’m going to be useless in a fight. Ten, and I run the risk of dropping dead.”

To Mirage, I said, “Noted. Give me five, at least.” Then, turning again to Selene, I said, “I can’t explain more now. We have to leave now. Do you think you can walk, or do we have to carry you?”

“I… Ugh… Help me up,” she said. I used my magic to help her sit up, mostly to test if there would be any issue with using it on her. Since it caused neither of us problems, I assumed that it would be safe to use. Eventually, I managed to stand her up on her feet… hooves. “Why do I feel so funny?” Selene asked, wobbling back and forth as she spoke.

“You just woke up from anesthesia and your body has changed; I know that second feeling well,” I explained. “Come on, we have to hurry.”

I turned to my subordinates. To them, I said, “You know what to do. Eraser, on my signal, drop the shield and take over the ‘Notice-Me-Not’ spell from Mirage, half power. Mirage, go ahead and drop the memory spell now. Be ready for the minor ‘Notice-Me-Not’ on Selene.”

Mirage sighed in relief when she freed herself from the burden of sustaining the incredibly taxing spell combination. She declared, “I never want to do that again.” Though her load had been significantly lightened, Mirage could not release the second spell just yet; she continued to power the Notice-Me-Not, despite running low on magic.

Meanwhile, I then contacted the runners, including the two guards outside, <<Assume your forms and phase through the walls on my signal. Be casting the ‘Want-It, Need-It spell’ on yourselves as soon as you make it through. Remember your route and don’t be seen by one another.>>

“I hate that spell. The emotion is nasty tasting,” Ginny muttered under her breath.

“Slagteri, take Selene’s form and get in bed. Remember to create a pathway for the IV drip so that you are not being dosed with the anesthesia. Taruke, hook him up to the machines, quickly!” I ordered, to which they hastily complied. “Oh, one last thing,” I amended, “guards, swap your chitin to a color that matches the hallway. I don’t want to be seen until it’s too late for them.”

Once everything was in place, I scooped up the unwillingly transformed girl and placed her across my shoulders in a fireman’s carry. <<Alright, Go!>>

On my signal, the guards at the door transformed into greyhounds and sprinted in opposite directions; paws alight with magic, they cast the ‘Want-It, Need-It’ on themselves as they ran. After transforming and casting the spell on themselves, two other changelings left the room. One sank through the floor and one rose through the ceiling; the green fire rings vanished behind them. Eraser dropped her shield and took up a weakened version of the ‘Notice-Me-Not’ from Mirage. The latter transformed into a small beetle and landed on my head. A green aura extended from the insect to Selene, making it hard for our eyes to focus on her.

Then, the exhausted Eraser finally dropped the Notice-Me-Not. As we shifted our chitin to the cream color of the hall way, we silently counted down from thirty to give the runners enough time to cause chaos. Hopefully, by the time we hit zero, most of the people in the hospital would be chasing the speedy animals down stairs.

The four changelings guarding me, Eraser, Selene, and Mirage had moved their mouths to the palms of their dominant hands; from each, a single, envenomed fang protrude out and transformed into a bladed weapon. As the countdown approached zero, their makeshift swords alit with green flames, the traditional Changeling Impact Spell. From outside, possibly as a result of the Want-It, Need-It spell, we heard humans scream and fire gunshots throughout the hospital. Thankfully, none of my changelings were hit. Though I was nervous for them, I had to focus on the task at hand. As one last precaution, I closed Selene’s eyes and held them shut with my magic. “Sorry, but this is for your own good.”

Ever so slowly, I counted down to the moment when my group would leave. Finally, my count reached zero. Bolting from the room, we sprinted down the hallway, arranged so that the four guards surrounded the two running changelings and two passengers. A nurse, who was unlucky enough to avoid the initial chaos, stepped out into the hall. Before I could worry about our discovery, she met her end at the point of Nick’s sword.

As the enchanted, poisoned blade entered the nurse’s abdomen, it simultaneously did two things. First, the fang-sword enabled my brother to rapidly drain the nurse of her life force, killing her near instantly. Second, the enchantment redirected all of the kinetic energy of the strike into the corpse, propelling her off of the blade. The only noise made in that whole exchange was the sound of her head banging against the wall.

As we ran, Nick took the energy he had gathered and split it among Mirage and Eraser; the two exhausted changelings were thankful for the relief. A left turn, twenty yards, then a right, and we entered the stairwell. Six pairs of wings buzzed as we shot up the hollow center to the roof level. Slamming open the rooftop exit, I broadcast our position to the runners.

On the streets below, I could see the mob forming as they lured the humans away. My unasked question about the gunshots was answered a moment later; they were shooting at each other in their attempts to catch the speeding dogs for themselves. I grimaced and vowed never to use that spell outside of an emergency ever again.

Setting Selene down, I released the magic on her eyes, letting her see again. “Selene, look at me. We’re going to have to fly to get away from the bad people, Ok?”

“Ok, wait. How? See, I can’t fly,” she said.

“Yes, you can. You have wings,” I said, touching her blue feathers in the process. “Just hold them outstretched and glide; I’ll do all the flapping for you.” Tentatively, she extended her new appendages, testing how they felt. “Good, Let’s go!”

The five other changelings that could fly at the time leaped into the sky. I enveloped her in my magic and leaped as well, towing her along. Once we got moving, it was easy to keep her up; she provided the lift while I provided the thrust. All it took to steer her was a gentle nudge with my magic and she flew wherever I wanted her. Ordering the retreat of my runners, I turned towards the airport. After gaining altitude, I put on as much speed as I could.

The runners below canceled the spell on themselves and, in their pursuers’ sudden moment of relative stillness, they transformed into hawks. Quickly, they caught up to the rest of us. We, eleven changelings and one alicorn, flew to where my daughter was waiting. Once I was absolutely sure that we were a safe distance away, I informed Slagteri, who was still back in the room, that he was free to break character.

Slagteri was mad. No, he was downright furious with Taruke for making him do this. Worse his nose itched and he could not move to scratch it. That would defeat the purpose of pretending to be an unconscious alicorn.

Around him, he could here shouting and gunfire; since he had felt none of his companions die, he could only hope that the humans were shooting each other to pieces.

There were hurried footsteps by his door, then a shout of, “The radiation room door is open!” The footsteps entered the room and Slagteri could hear them gasp. Though he could not see with his eyes closed, he could vaguely sense the sources of the horrified emotions move to where the dead bodies were stacked. A few seconds later, he could hear the beeping of the heart rate monitor resume and a sigh of relief from the doctors. “Vitals are stable. Everything seems fine with the patient,”

“Doctor, why would they kill Jasmine but leave little Selene alone?”

“I don’t know,” the doctor replied.

At that moment, Slagteri’s eyes snapped open as he received the command from his King. “Because,” the impostor said, “We already took her.” Instantly, the two were lifted by their necks from the floor, choking them. The false Selene sat up and freed himself from the equipment. Changing to match the doctor’s form, he said, “I think I have an open heart surgery planned. Prepare the operating room.” The door to the room slammed shut. “Scalpel.” A six inch long blade of light formed at his finger tips. “Anesthesia? Nope!” Slagteri plunged the blade into the chest of the helpless woman, cutting through her ribs like a hot knife through warm butter.

When he was satisfied, he ripped away the sternum of the screaming woman, exposing her beating heart. He transformed his hand and plunged his claw into her chest, crushing her heart. The woman, now freed from his magical grip, collapsed gracelessly into a heap on the floor.

Slagteri turned to the doctor, who was still suffocating as he dangled by his neck. Sniffing his emotional aura, the monster of a changeling realized something. “You loved her, didn’t you?” Releasing the doctor, he raced forwards to catch the man. As he moved, the changeling’s form shifted to match the woman as she was only moments ago. “You love me, don’t you?” Slagteri said in a perfect imitation of her voice.

“Rebecca…” the doctor said hoarsely.

“I’m here, my love,” Slagteri said, before plunging his fangs into his neck and stealing every last drop of love.

Discarding the aged corpse, the monster stood and walked towards the door. Just before opening it, he burned away every trace of blood from his guise. Satisfied, he exited the room. As he walked unmolested through the building, he fumed over his King’s orders. Since his word was law, anything the King chose to enforce could not be violated. And since there was no one stopping him and no one alive who knew that he was a changeling; Slagteri could not raise his hand against the humans.

Upon exiting the building, though he was still in plain sight, the mad changeling burst into emerald flames. The hawk that flew away was just a tad more vicious looking than normal. What Slagteri did not notice were the red eyes that watched him go before vanishing into the shadows.

The group flew in circles around the airport, looking for a place to land. Eventually, we settled for a spot on the roof of the parking garage. All of the changelings accompanying me positioned themselves directly above the spot, dropping straight down at very high speeds. At the last second before they hit the ground, the emerald flames of the impact spell enveloped them. Each plowed into the concrete, unharmed but leaving behind a small crater.

After a moment to assess whether or not they had been seen, they gave me the all-clear to begin assisting Selene in her descent. Since her wings could not provide thrust yet, nor could she cushion herself with magic, I had to aid Selene in landing. We looped around the building a couple of times while descending before entering a steep dive at the opposite end of the building. About twenty feet above the concrete, our path turned horizontal. I used my magic to flare her wings so that they would catch as much wind as possible, but even then, it was a struggle to slow both myself and her to a safe speed.

I touched down with a small stumble, but did not fall. Selene, I kept suspended with my magic. Gently, I lowered her down to the surface. “THAT WAS SO COOL!” she said, now that we could hear ourselves without the rush of the wind or buzz of our wings in our ears. The changelings around us all smiled at her enthusiasm while they burned their wings away.

“I’m glad you thought so,” I replied in all honesty. Motioning for the people in the parking lot to follow me, I started to head towards the elevator.

“Hey, what’s up with the sky? Why do I look like this? What’s going on?” she asked her rapid-fire questions.

“Well, that’s a long story,” I said. Signaling the exhausted Mirage, who was still a beetle hiding in my hair, I had her drop the ‘Notice-Me-Not’ and put up an illusion on Selene to hide her wings. I then passed her a portion of my love reserves so that she could maintain the spell, much to her relief. To Selene, I said, “I’ll fill you in on all the minor details while we are on the airplane flying to where I live when I come to Earth,” I explained, still sticking to the lie, that I had come from a ‘fairy world,’ that I told her in the dream. “For now, I’ll tell you this. The moon now needs someone to push it around the sky. That someone is you.”

“Me? How can I move the moon! See, I’m just a kid!” she blurted out.

Patting her on the back, I chuckled, “Ah, but not anymore. You’re an Alicorn like Princess Luna now. As for how, I’m not entirely sure. I don’t even know if your magic works the same way as mine. You’ll have to ask her yourself for that.”

I pressed the elevator button, the door opening only a moment later. As we entered, Selene asked, “How do I ask Princess Luna something? I don’t feel sleepy, so I can’t go to bed.”

“Have you really not noticed it yet? You should be able to hear her in your head. I hear my friend all the time. Just think the words, but imagine pushing them out of your head and wanting Princess Luna to hear you. Go on, give it a shot. Say hello, then tell her how to talk back to you, OK?”

Selene nodded and then scrunched up her face in concentration. After a moment’s silence, her expression turned to one of happiness. “She was surprised to hear me,” Selene said. “Princess Luna didn’t know we could do that.”

The elevator dinged and the door opened. “Very good,” I told her as our group exited the elevator. “Now, do you remember how the sky looked outside? I want you to focus on that memory and make Luna see it. Then, I want you to ask her how to move the moon. Also, tell her that the sky has been frozen that way since this morning and that we don’t have anyone to move the sun, either. Got it?”

Selene shouted, “GOT IT!” before she scrunched up her face again. We continued walking to, and eventually in, the airport ticketing area in silence.

I suddenly felt very awkward. Leaning over to Nick, I whispered, “Is this what it’s like for a human to be around us while we’re having silent conversations? Now it seems really weird to not hear what someone is thinking.”

“Ha ha ha! Yep,” Nick replied, “that would probably be really annoying to others. Hey, if she comes to live with us, I bet you $100 that she complains about how our conversations are missing pieces within two months.”

“Ha! You’re on!” I replied to my best-friend-slash-adopted-brother.

Suddenly, the light streaming in through the airport windows began to rapidly shift. Shadows shrank and then stretched the other way. The sunlight changed to an orange, then a red, before going out completely. The crowds around us were so focused on the fact that full night had just fallen in a matter of seconds that they did not notice the little girl with glowing blue hands.

“Well, it seems that Luna came through,” Nick said as I looked over to Selene. On her face, there was a flash of light before two crescent moons appeared, one on each cheek. The moons were surrounded by splotches of inky black in a way analogous to Luna’s cutie mark. However, they quickly faded back to normal skin tone under the power of the illusion coating the girl.

“Well Selene, It looks like you got your cutie mark. Congratulations are in order, I think,” I said. “I hear that the ponies often throw a party for that achievement.”

“COOL!” she cheered. “Hey, what’s a cutie mark?”

“Ask Luna,” Nick said before I could respond. “And hey, at least you got yours on your face; there are worse cheeks to get them on. Or better, depending on how you like showing it off.” I slugged Nick in the shoulder, nearly causing his form to waver. “HEY! What was that for?”

“There are children present. I would think that you would keep that sort of thing to yourself,” I retorted.

“Yes, and your daughter has been shagging men practically her whole life. She’s two, might I add,” Nick said.

Rolling my eyes, I responded mentally so that our young guest would not hear us, <<Yes, and Klika is a CHANGELING. Like all other changelings, her entire childhood lasted all of a week. Sex-ed was day four, and by day seven, she was both physically and mentally as mature as either of us. If sex wasn’t a viable food source, then there would be no way that I’d let her do that kind of thing. Selene, however, is an innocent child. I will not have her corrupted. Nor will I allow any pedophilia in my hive.>>

<<Hey, what are you looking at me for?>> Nick asked. <<Little girls aren’t my thing! I’d much rather have a little boy.>>

Even though I knew that he was joking, sent him a mental image of pinning him down with stakes through his holes, then castrating him and shoving broken glass down his vagina. He winced. <<Ouch. Hey, I didn’t know you were into BDSM. Harder! Harder! Cut me to pieces, master!>>

<<Bastard.>> I sighed and stopped talking to him; with no new ammunition, Nick quit teasing me. “Let’s just go find Klika,” I said, this time aloud.

Klika turned out to be waiting for us in the food court. She handed me the tickets, cash to the other changelings so that they could get something solid in their empty stomachs, and a sandwich and dresses to Selene. As she did this, I relayed our location to Slagteri so that he could find us easily and passed my memories of the escape to Klika. Klika relayed her memories back to me. “Selene, this is my daughter, Klika. Klika, would you take her and help her get out of that hospital gown and into some proper clothing?” Reaching up, I lifted the beetle that was Mirage out of my red hair and set her in Klika’s brown curls. “Girls, go with Klika and get changed for the trip home,” I ordered the female disguised changelings, wanting them to go and transform so that they could ride on Klika. “Men, come with me.” I turned and headed to the men’s room for the same reason.

I saw Slagteri approaching us and motioned for him to join me. Minutes later, we re-emerged. I carried six changelings in my hair and Klika had five. I really had to struggle to not scratch my head, as I could feel them move around as they compensated for my movement. Selene looked uncomfortable with the bag on her back that protected her wings from discovery.

To Mirage, I asked, <<Will the illusion hold up to a retina scan?>>

<<I doubt it. It’s not that good. Hell, I don’t even know if cameras can even see through it. The ponies that wrote the spell didn’t have a clue as to how it worked; it just did,>> she told me.

<<Dang. That would be the kind of stuff to learn before we need to know it. Well, It’s too late now. I’ll get Change.lng to let her through at the gate. For security, I think we’ll need a Notice-Me-Not. It’ll get her by the people, but I have no idea if it will hold against cameras,>> I said. Then, to myself, I thought, ‘Well, another project for R&D.’

Klika spoke up at this point, <<Daddy, the flight’s in thirty minutes. Let’s get moving.>>

Despite being awake for nearly twenty-four hours by this point, I could not sleep on the plane. Selene had entered a sort of trance as she conversed with the Equestrian Night Princess. I had not yet managed to give her the full story, but could not bring myself to rouse her from her trance. Nick and I talked for a while before he brought up an important point that I had overlooked in my haste. <<Where are we going to put her? She can’t come to the Bee Hive; she’ll get sick.>>

<<Oh, didn’t think about that… I’ll take her to one of my hidey-holes. We’ll be fine there,>> I replied.

<<What hidey-holes?>> he asked.

<<I have apartments all over the city that I let changelings use as emergency places to sleep or hide.>>

Nick replied, <<Ok, why is this the first time I’m hearing about this? When did you even buy them? And, is there anything else you’d like to pull out of your ass while we’re at it?>>

<<What?>> I replied, <<did you think I just sat on my throne all day, looking awesome? Nope. I keep myself busy.>>

<<If ‘throne’ means the couch where we play video games, then yes, I did think you sat around on your throne all day,>> Nick sarcastically commented. I did not justify that comment with a response.

Author's Notes:

*Ding* Have a chapter.

This one is it. I finally decided to up the rating to mature. Maybe it was the gory murder scene, but who knows. At least little Selene is safe and the day/night cycle has been restored. (As long as Selene moves the moon, the sun will do its own thing, for now.)

Oh, I bet you forgot that the changelings are a one-gender race. They only address each other as he or she based on personal preference. Also, it's my belief
that a specie that can have sex for breakfast also has a mechanism to prevent unwanted pregnancies. I once heard a documentary about sex on NPR *shudder.* Disgusting, real-world trivia that I learned on that show: Turns out, female ducks, of all things, have a false vagina that they can 'redirect' the male into in the event that he is raping her.

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At the end there, I had to do my first honest-to-god ass-pull to address the housing problem (sorry). Selene cannot live in the Bee Hive; it would critically exhaust her. So, the apartments came out of nowhere to solve that problem. I had Nick lampshade that to soften the blow, so to speak.

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I finally have editors now! Yay! Thanks, Alternate Madness and Doctor_N.

Alternate Madness note:

When editing this, I had the mission impossible theme going on constantly. Up until things got Brutal. Then I just Had a strong urge to watch some Metalocalypse.

NEVER THE LESS! See ya guys next time, I gotta go back in time and Cup Check Star Swirl the Bearded for being a know it all.

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I have a trio of blog posts on my head-canon concerning this story. You should check them out. They are really detailed, but not necessary to enjoy this story.

On Changeling Crime and Punishment
Modern Changeling Combat
A Note on Changeling Psychology

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Trivia Time!

-- A large group of changelings living together produces a zone that is uninhabitable by other sentient races. Entering the center of the changeling caverns would kill most creatures in under two hours. The miners that have crossed over are far enough away and shielded by enough rock that they are protected from the brunt of it.

-- At the time of the start of this story (mid-Season 2 of MLP, Earth year 2029), there were several deities living on Equa, most of which were not ponies. For example, the earth (element, not planet) god is a wolf-like diamond dog, the sea god is a kraken, and Tartarus is inside a pocket universe contained within the stomach of a large, sleeping dragon god (Cerberus is its pet).

-- In the year 2025, war broke out between the nations of the Middle East. Due to the use of nuclear weapons, biological, and chemical warfare, most of the area has been declared "unsuitable for long-term habitation" for the next 25 years, minimum.

-- A religious cult, named Экзорцизм греха (Exorcism of Sin, at least according to Google Translate) appeared in eastern Europe in the year 2024, founded on the principle that they need to scare the evil out of humanity. Due to a very charismatic leader (who actually is trying to help in his own misguided way, and not just extorting his followers for money), the terrorist group rapidly gained followers. The leader has plans to use the sky-freezing event as justification to aid recruitment.

-- In 2031, the USA has 51 states; Texas seceded from the Union, Puerto Rico joined, and southern Oregon/Northern California seceded from their respective states and combined to form the state of Jefferson.

-- Earthling wings provide lift in an upright position, while Earth-pegasi/alicorn/griffin wings work in a prone (face-down) position. The closest vehicle analogy to their flight styles is changeling = jet pack and pegasi/alicorn/griffin = airplane. Due to their body size and shape, fliers from Earth cannot maneuver as well as their Equa counterparts.

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Stats time!

Changeling population: 325 (259 converted, 64 hatched, 1 permanent digital)
Changeling owned businesses: 6
Funds: $54.9 million cash + $131.3 million raw materials + $60.2 million in businesses. (Total wealth: $246.4 million, or $0.76 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)

Changeling properties:
-The Bee Hive (low-cost housing, south side of Atlanta)
-The Eye of the Beholder (bar/night club, near Atlantic Station)
-The Ore Mine
-Individual houses/apartments of the converts
-Hidey-Hole apartments.

(Edited 3/22/2014)