Author's Notes:

Well. This was done sooner than I imagined.
Have a good read.

Parody calmly put the scribbled letter down, controlling his breaths as best as he could. He gave a single command through the hive mind, directed at the messenger before him.

“Wait for me at the mine carts.”

The changeling left through the dusty wooden door, adjusting his rucksack, and nearly tripped, seemly due to sheer fatigue. He closed the entrance, leaving Parody alone in the dusty, stale room, lit only by a candle on the desk.

At that moment, a seething rage could have overtaken him. He could have stood below a cauldron of water, and it would have boiled from his wrath alone. He knew it was worthless to bestow words of anger upon the world, so he let go of his words, and simply allowed his emotions to ravage for a moment, before cooling himself down.

The messenger had come through the fastest means changelings were capable of traveling; Teleportation, assisted by the collective mana of what was left of Carbon's platoon. He got right into the base and rushed for Parody faster than anyone he had seen before. He delivered the message, looking like he had seen a ghost. Truth was stranger than fiction, however, as he had read on through the letter.

He had known for days that it was actually a human, of all things, that had been killing his soldiers. From what he had gathered, the human was a nocturnal creature, bent on slitting the throats of his infiltrators until they were all but corpses.

What Parody couldn't figure out was what was giving his soldiers away. They were disconnected from the hive mind, so they couldn't be heard or tracked by other changelings. They aren't dropping in and out of disguises, so there shouldn't be duplicates of the same pony raising suspicion. The only way this human -this 'Kestral'- could tell where they were, is by entering the homes themselves and finding their pods! But that led to the same conclusion; How does he know where to find them, if he hadn't found the pods yet? There was no way he could scan hundreds of homes a night for their presence!

It was worrying to him, but it was nothing outside of his power to deal with. The first thing he would do was start an investigation within his own base, and try to find any traitors located within. In the meantime, he was going to reassign the remaining squads to different homes, barring certain units, and ensure that he was the only one in the base that knew the exact locations. Of course, if one of his infiltrators was a double-agent, then it could simply be solved by having all soldiers be accompanied by at least one other soldier at all times, even the Lieutenants.

It was the perfect plan, to weed out any rats. Or, at least, it was in Parody's own mind. At any rate, he had another solution to the little 'human' infestation; Termination.

He took a deep breath, and snuffed the candle, removing all light in the room. He walked to the door with his head held high, and pushed it open, revealing only more dirt, dust, and depression. He didn't bother closing the door as he pressed forward, walking along one of the many paths that were stung about on the chasm's wall.

Torches dotted the ground, and blue-green lights flashed at random through the training course that was set up against the far wall. A rail made its way up from the ground, crawling along the paths on both the far wall and the wall he was standing on. In the center was a line of mining carts, full of glistening material that he could see even from that distance.

He spread his frail wings and took flight, aiming straight for the coal engine that was on the far side of the carts.

“Cloak Platoon, roll-call at the rail-carts five minutes ago!”

A few of the dots of light started moving towards the center, until a small mass of black formed in his vision. As he came closer to the ground, he saw twenty-four of his chitin grunts form into a four-by-six grid aimed at the engine, each saluting without fail. Cloak himself was in the same stance, about two meters ahead of the front line's center.

“Cloak Platoon, reporting for duty!”

Parody landed on top of the engine, gathering the attention of every changeling around him with a massive 'clang' that rung out. He looked over to ensure he was given the proper respect, then dispelled it with his mind-voice.

“At ease.”

All hooves slammed to the ground. Those that weren't explicitly lined up at his command went back to work, most of them just dumping what goods they managed to steal into the train, or simply went back to target practice.

He looked over the soldiers before him. Each of them were identical to eachother in form, attesting to their discipline. They were some of the best, before the division from that bitch, Chrysalis. Still were, in fact. But their skills were, shamefully, seldom used. Unlike most of their brethren, those that trained under Cloak himself were created to be far more lethal than the rest of their hive. While his lust for red blood was a detriment to more subtle tasks, Cloak would not have been kept unless necessary.

And on that midnight, Cloak would get his chance to prove he was worth keeping.

“Soldiers.” He said in the hive mind. Not a one moved. He couldn't even see them breathing. “As some of you have known, the threat in Ponyville has wiped Copy and his platoon off the map.” He let it sink in for a few seconds, still seeing no reactions. “Your new assignment will not be to replace them.” At least one of the soldiers tilted his head in confusion, but the rest stood rigid. “Your assignment from now, until it is complete, is to remove the threat that ended them; A human.” He felt a tingle of fear from one -no, two- soldiers. “He has made his way to Canterlot, and has destroyed Carbon's group down to Carbon himself, and a single squad.”

“Your job is to do whatever is necessary to stop that human in his tracks. Slit his throat, trap him in a cage, or push him off a cliff; I don't care. I just want him stopped. Can you do that?”

“Sir, Yes, Sir!” They all stomped a hoof once.

“Good! I have faith that you shall not fail your task!” He gestured to the carts behind him, full of gold, along with one further back, full of metallic, blue armor. “Your exact instructions are as follows: First, you will deliver one cart of bits to each of the lieutenants that are stationed within Canterlot. You will ensure that the gold is used to hire third parties to guard the perimeter of their new stations. Cloak will assign your own stations himself. Reveal these locations to no one outside of your platoon. Second, you will also deliver armor to each of the lieutenants; They will divide it from there. There is enough armor for your platoon as well.”

“Third, once those tasks are completed, you will be spending every waking moment trying to end this human. How that is done, I will defer to Cloak. Those are your instructions. In one hour, you will meet here to start your mission. In that time, I expect you to prepare yourself, pack any items you call your own, or relax while you can. Questions?”

Not a single soldier made an attempt to ask anything. “Dismissed.” He said, lifting off with steady beat of his wings. He directed some thoughts at Cloak, grabbing his attention.

“Cloak. See me in my office. We need to discuss details.”

Kestral had a good, long while to think things over, as he approached Silver's home.

It was his emotions, mostly, that he was concerned about. Even then, he could almost feel them crawling in the back of his head, ready to pop out and deprive him of his practiced emotional neutrality. He certainly wasn't perfect at keeping a clear head, but he knew he was far better than how he felt at that moment. Worry, of course, was what he was feeling at the time, walking down the cobblestone road.

It wasn't just his fear and his anger alone that was affected. Other emotions crept in as he walked, occasionally taking over, even if only for a second. Depression kicked in whenever he saw a stray cat or dog, quickly followed by severe confusion and curiosity when it occurred to him that there was somehow both a sentient, and a non-sentient version of each species, and made him wonder where others drew the line. He got deathly anxious when a guard walked in his direction, but the whole time he had managed to keep himself from breaking down.

In his mind, there was only one question; Why was this happening?

He had decided that, since it most likely had something to do with the changelings, it would have been best if he went to Chrysalis for help. Jasmine was good with medicine, yes, but Chrysalis knew more about changelings than anyone else. He knew she was his best option, so he chose to visit her later that night. If he didn't die of a heart attack first, that was.

If he could just get into the castle, he would have probably been fine. But that was another thing to worry about, after he warned Silver.

He entered the alley behind the general shop, and checked for any onlookers. Once he knew he was clear, he changed into his thieving clothes.

BANG

Kestral jumped out of his skin, and ducked behind a nearby trashcan. He used his magic to slow his heart rate down quickly, then peeked out from cover to see what it was.

It was just an old mare taking out the trash, probably having slammed the top of a bin.

“Damn, that's scary.” He said.

He shook it off, trying to control his emotions again. He did that best by focusing on his objective. Help your friends, Kestral. You need to get that done.

He took a deep breath, slowly stepping out from behind the bin, and looked over the back side of the three-story general shop. He spotted a window that was cracked open, so he walked over to it, and pulled out his flatbar. He stuck it into the crack, and pressed down, opening the window without any great deal of force.

A wave of happiness came over him as he smiled. It was nice, for things to be somewhat easy for once. His sudden positive emotion changed just as quickly into determination for the completion of his task. Kestral put away his tool, and hopped into the opening, casually closing the window once he was in. He removed his boots once he was inside.

He entered a generic-looking room, with shelves upon shelves of.....things. He didn't see very well with only the moonlight to give him sight, which brought a bout of confusion. He pressed through though, scanning for any sign of life, before coming to terms with the fact that there was certainly no one on ground floor. He stalked through the aisles, until he spotted a register up front, and headed towards it. Behind the counter was a door, so he went to it, and tested the handle.

The handle gave way, so he opened the door to see a wide set of stairs. He steadily climbed them, seeing a light come through at the top. Once at the top, he saw the light was coming from an open walkway. He stayed near the wall, and looked into the room.

It was a living room, with crystal lights on the ceiling arranged into a circle. There were a few reclining chairs and a couch, one of which was occupied by Stock, who was reading a book. There was a hint of a kitchen tucked just out of his view, and he saw a decently- full bookshelf on the back wall. Kestral took a deep breath, tried to find the most realistic smile he could find, and stepped forwards, making his presence known.

The first thing that happened was that Stock spotted him. It took a full second before he took a second look, and nearly jumped out of his skin. He dropped the book, though his reading glasses managed to stay stuck to his face. He backed up to the wall quickly, trying to much as much distance between him and Kestral.

“G-g-g-girls! There's a human in our house!” He wailed.

In an instant, Bell poked her head out from the kitchen walkway, and spotted Kestral. Her face snapped into a look of concentration, and rushed out to Stock, doing some kind of roll on the ground on her way. She took a defensive stance between the stallion and the human, and stood rigid. Silver, meanwhile, had stuck her head out from the kitchen, and stayed there, with only enough exposure to see what was going on, with the rest of her body hidden behind a wall of safety.

Kestral cracked a smile. It was amusing, to say the least.

“You ponies are just so cute, you know that?” He said, trying not to sound condescending.

“What do you want?” Bell asked in a flat tone. She was completely fixed in seriousness, as if Kestral was holding a sword out, ready to duel. While the man himself was relatively relaxed. A part of him tried to grab hold of his emotions, though it didn't work completely. He took a step closer, before she spoke again. “Don't come any closer. I'm not going to let you hurt my family.”

He took a step back, trying to respect the distance. His amusement disappeared, and was replaced by a stuttering nervousness. “S-sorry.” He scratched his head. “I'm just... I'm here to warn you.”

“Warn us about what?” She asked, not taking her eyes off him.

“Do you know the 'Stormwall's?” He asked, his emotion changing to a more determined state.

“....yes....” Bell said slowly. “What about them?”

“About an hour ago...” He began to explain. “...I rid them of their changeling problem. But not before one of their changelings spoke of making a 'visit' to Silver.”

At that, Silver gasped quietly, and ducked her head behind the wall for a moment. Stock looked over in her direction worriedly, but Bell ignored it, and continued with Kestral.

“And why should I trust you're telling the truth?” She asked.

He managed to keep up his control over his emotions, at least for a few moments, while he tried to wrap up his conversation. “Because, when I leave here, in just a minute, I will have taken absolutely nothing from you, except enough time to speak with you. I will have gained nothing, but the satisfaction of knowing that you are aware enough to protect yourselves.” He adopted a more serious look, as he began to step back into the stairway. “I'm warning you now: Keep an eye out for anyone that tries to get you alone. Cause there are a lot worse things in the world than a human.”

Once he was out of sight, he teleported to the ground floor, and made his way to the window. He put his boots back on, opened the window, and made his way out.

Once he was outside, in the dark, again, Kestral took a deep breath, and looked up to the sky.

He smiled a content smile. “Well... that went pretty well. At least they didn't scream and run. I hope they actually heed that warning.”

He looked up to the massive castle, and took a deep breath. “Alright. Let's go find Chrysalis.”

Kestral walked through the halls, paranoia leading every step of the way.

The guards had nearly tripled since his last visit, most definitely due to his 'prank'. They filled the halls, scanning for any possible threat to security, with at least one guard on every door. Some of them stared at him, only making his anxiety worse. A small part of him helped alleviate the negative feelings, due to the fact that none of them seemed to recognize him from the night his went through Celestia's room. That, or none of them were allowed to leave their post. Either way, his presence didn't seem to be any special concern.

He went up to a guard that stood rigid in the center, with a purple band reaching across his cobalt armor, giving him an air of importance.

Somehow, he found the words he needed to speak, in spite of his anxiety. “Excuse me, good sir.” He grabbed the attention of lone stallion in a room full of female guards.

The stallion snapped his head towards Kestral, his full attention on him. “Can I help you?” He asked, obviously thrilled to do anything but stare at the stone floor, or correct the stances of the guards that appeared to have only just woken up.

“Hi!” He said, trying to sound enthusiastic, though his tone may have been too flat. “I was wondering if Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, was holding a press conference to answer some questions, regarding the advancement of her race.”

He shook his head. “She's in a meeting with Princess Celestia at this time. If you wish to speak with her, you must wait until the meeting is adjourned for the day.”

Kestral nodded. “That's fine. I'll just... uh.” He paused. “I'll wait for her in the gardens, then. She still goes through the gardens every night.... right?”

The guard raised an eyebrow, giving Kestral more fuel for his anxiety. “She's walking through there just about all the time, actually. But if you're just wanting questions answered, go ahead and wait for her there.” He put his vision back on the door, focusing on all that enter.

“Really? Thanks. I'll go right there.” He said. He tried to wave off the soldier as he made an about face, but he spoke to Kestral.

“Before you go.” Kestral stopped, listening. “You should know. She's surprisingly sensitive about the deaths around the city..... Oh, and her guards won't let you near her unless she approaches you first. Attempted assassination and all that.”

“O- Oh... that's depressing. In such a nice city like this?” He said openly, as he walked away.

“You'd be surprised, in this city. A lot of things can happen.”

Silence fell on them both as Kestral walked towards the entrance again. He exited the building. As he did, one of the guards on the inside of the doors flashed him with a bolt of harmless energy. He flinched greatly at it, but put himself together once he realized it was just one of those 'scanning' spells that he had heard about. It was just some magic that looked for changelings in the 'traditional' way.

He continued onward, heading down the stairs, then towards the gap in the hedge that led to the gardens. He entered, taking a deep breath as he did, and began to stroll through the moonlight. He loosened the leash on his emotions, and he dared feel... content, almost. He was under the starry sky, on a cool night, with not much left to do until Chrysalis showed up.

He kept walking, curious and jovial attitudes taking turns taking over. He kept in mind, though, of the guards that passed him. He noticed a steady increase in guards as he approached the location of Discord's statue. First, it seemed to be a shift from the regular two-pony groups to three-pony groups, then it was the frequency of the guards, until he came close enough to Discord's statue to see it, where a line of guards sectioned off the area.

Curiosity attained full control, and he approached one of the guards slowly.

“Halt.” She proclaimed. “No entrance to civilians.” She barely gave a look in his direction.

He tilted his head a little. “Uh, may I ask why?” He asked. “Someone didn't get hurt, did they?”

Her stoic stature did not waver, and she responded as naturally as one breathed. “There was a magical anomaly that occurred withing the area. We're still investigating.”

“Okay.” Kestral just nodded, and promptly turned around, walking right back down the . Right around Discord's statue. What a load of crap. He thought. They're just waiting for their number one human to show up.

He shook his head, and headed down a path that seemed seldom used. It led to a statue of what looked like a pegasus stallion and a bat pony mare twisting around, as to look like they were holding eachother in a loose embrace. Empathy caused him to have ooey-gooey feelings within him, as if his heart was melting.

He tried to clear his head as best he could, and looked around, seeing no guards around him. With the area clear, he took out his cloth compass and tapped it a few times, then waited a moment.

Discord's voice spoke to his ear, sounding like his cheerful self. “Well hellooooooo Kestral.” He said. “What is it that you could possibly need this time, hmm? More spells?”

“Not right now.” Kestral said, trying to stay somewhat quiet, just in case a guard was near. “I was wondering if you could send a message to Chrysalis on my behalf.”

“Eugh.” He said, sounding disgusted. “That whore? I'd rather not. I might catch a bug.”

Kestral snickered a little, making a necklace appear as he did. “What about a fee?” He asked.

“Sure!” He replied. He snatched the necklace away, leaving just an open hand. “But why would you want to contact her?”

He coughed, scratching his neck. “Well, uh.... a changeling tried to seduce me, with magic I think, and it's kinda fucking up my emotional self-control....”

Discord snickered. “I can only imagine what kind of position you were in.”

Kestral became red-faced, not that it mattered. “H-hey, it didn't happen like that!” He huffed. “That pun sucks, anyways.”

“Oh, I'm sure it was a platonic death.” He said. Kestral could just hear the smile on his face. “But did they see it coming?”

“I hate you.” His warm face felt a small amount of sweat form, and he felt lie he wanted to take off the mask.

“You hate me now.” He said back. “But we still need eachother. And soon enough, you'll love me for all those spells I let you have.”

“You mean you make me buy?” Kestral corrected.

“To-ma-to, to-mo-to.”

“Just tell Chrysalis I’m waiting right here for her, or a lackey of hers.”

“Oh, pishaw.” Discord said casually. “I'll get her for you, but only because you're so cute when you're embarrassed.”

Kestral grumbled in silence, waiting for either Discord to say something worthwhile, or for some other telepath to suddenly pop into his mind. He sighed, once again trying to reconcile the two forces that were playing tug-o-war with his emotions. Only a moment later, Discord's voice came back, sounding exasperated, of all things.

“Your mistress has sent one of her flies to meet you here.”

“She's not my mistress.”

“In any case, I will be taking my leave. Their coarse voices just fill me with loathing.”

“Wait, really?” He asked. “You don't like talking to changelings, just because their voices are annoying to you?”

“Yes.” He said flatly, then picked up some happiness in his tone.“Now, if you don't mind, I’m going to go check on my little mercenary. I heard he's having a sodium deficiency!”

And with that, Discord left Kestral to his own devices.

He waited only two minutes, but in that time, Kestral had changed his clothing from his disguise to his more personal accouterments, and ducked behind the statue of the lovers, waiting for one of the armored changeling guards to show up.

To his surprise, it appeared to be a bat pony that landed at the entrance. Kestral flicked on his magic, and saw the pony become inflamed with green aura. Once he realized it was Chrysalis' changeling, he made his presence known by stepping out from behind the statue. The changeling approached, but didn't dispel the disguise.

“Salutations, human.” The changeling said with a generic, female voice. “I'm here as a proxy to her glorious majesty, Queen Chrysalis. If you wait just a moment, you may speak with her majesty more directly.”

Kestral tilted his head in confusion. “Okay.”

He stayed silent, just observing the being. He sat down on the base of the statue, waiting for something to happen. A minute later, the eyes of the disguise turned from a typical pony's eyes to something more reptile-like. They became slitted, and, though it was difficult to see in mere moonlight, they became shaded with green. The changeling's head bent up straight, like it was trying to get higher, and a smile crept onto its lips. Half-lidded eyes met his own, and the repossessed body approached him, laying down at his side.

“Well, hello Kestral.” The voice of Chrysalis seemed to echo through the vocal cords of the changeling. “I was told you requested my presence. What is it that you could need?”

He became distracted, still processing what he saw. “You're possessing her.”

“Him.” She corrected. “All changelings that aren't a queen are automatically male.” She took a deep breath, like she was taking in some loving scent. It was quite awkward for him, however, as she did it right against his torso. “Of course, I suppose they do technically change genders when they disguise.”

He shook his head. “I just can't believe they let you do that.”

“Oooohhh.” She flicked a hoof. “Nearly all of my children are accepting of it. Some even find it a privilege to be so intimate with me.” She sighed, laying her head down on his thigh, tilted so he could see an eye staring up at him. “But enough foreplay. I can only pretend I’m in my real body meditating for so long. What is it that you need?”

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “A changeling tried to seduce me, and I think magic was involved, because I'm losing control of my emotions rather quickly.”

She gasped quietly, and smiled gleefully. “Really? So, if I were to, say, get you 'excited', you wouldn't have the self control to say no?” She put out a hoof, and began tenderly rubbing his chest.

Frustration built up in him, more than anything, and he slowly removed her hoof. “I didn't deny six horny insects just to be bedded by a seventh.”

“True.” She admitted. But asserted her hoof to his hand, trying to hold it. “You denied the first six because they wanted to kill you.... or because they weren't good enough.” She got up and straddled his lap awkwardly, bumping his nose with her own. “But you know.... you call us 'insects' -which I don't find very offensive, to be honest- but you don't say it with any venom.” She moved around, almost like she meant to kiss his neck. “If I didn't know any better.... I'd say you actually cared about us.” She cooed.

He found some amusement in her words, and even more in her attempt to seduce him, bringing a great smile to his face. He put his hands under her forelegs, and moved her right back to the spot she was previously sitting. The pitiful look on her face only made him chuckle. “I do care, to be honest.” He paused, and his smile faded, but he didn't continue on that line of thinking. Instead, he thought of something to distract himself. “Hey, since I’m already thinking about it; Why are changelings so obsessed with sex, anyways?”

She rolled her eyes and replaced her self pity with a smile. “You mean, aside from it being a source of love?” She asked. Chrysalis adopted a wide grin. “It's like candy to us. I mean, sure, physically speaking, everyone enjoys it, but.... we're able to enjoy it in different ways than other beings. It's like... filling a hole in your life, that you never realized you had. For a moment, it makes us feel like we've accomplished something truly wonderful, something we never thought ourselves capable of doing.”

She laid down on her back and put her head against his lap, staring up into his eyes. “It just.... we find ourselves almost believing we really were that pony, or griffin or who else. It makes it feel like we just created a great bond with someone. A real bond. As if we could shed our skin and walk into a new life, one full of wonder and happiness. It just.... It makes it all feel real.”

“And when they orgasm, ooohhhh....” She quivered. “We just feel so full. Regardless of who we do it with, that finish just feels like the greatest thing in the world. When I find such a great stallion -oh, like that Shining Armour- I just ride him like to tomorrow.” She closed her eyes, talking away. “Ones like him just fill me with hot, delicious, salty seed, pumping over and over until there's nothing left to give. Oh, but my favorites are mares that just had a child. I'd just go to them as their herd stallion, and empty everything I had into them. When they were too tired from me, then I'd tend to their poor, swollen teats, and nurse them with my mouth, gently drinking the liquid love from them.”

Okay..... He thought. I had absolutely no idea that the queen of dick-riding would be opening up like this to me.

He tried to keep his battling emotions in check as he looked down at her face, a contented, yet lusty, smile being the main feature. He wasn't sure what to do, so he simply listened, and idly scratched behind her ear, to which she responded by kicking a leg, and leaning in. “Well, I’m sorry to give you such a tease. But I’m sure you can find someone else to fulfill that role.”

She pouted, opened her eyes, and quivered her lip as he brought his hand away. “Can I please, just.... can I know what your love tastes like? Just once...?”

He chuckled at her, and shook his head. “No. Sorry, but I don't do pity sex.” He ruffled her mane. “If you really want me that bad.... you're going to have to accept that I’m your forbidden fruit.” He chuckled again.

She scowled. “Really, I don't understand how you're able to resist me like this.” She said, then stuck her chest out pridefully. “I can turn into anything you want! Fulfill any desire! Why do you choose to stay a virgin?”She looked at him curiously.

Kestral shrugged. “What can I say, Chrysalis? I'm still waiting for the right one.”

She sighed. “Ho, hum. I guess I can't argue with that.” She said. “Just, tell me when you do find the right one, okay? I wish to have copious amounts of intercourse with you.”

Her horn hummed for a moment, giving Kestral a very slight tingling sensation, before long his inner war of emotion stopped, and he felt like he was in control again.

“By the way. How did you get into a position for one of them to seduce you, anyways? I thought you just stabbed your way everywhere.”

“Very carefully.” He said, refusing to elaborate. “But, while we're on the subject, I'd like to ask. Is the spell you just did permanent, or would I have to come back later?”

“It removes the effects, nothing more. So you're good until a changeling releases magical pheromones on you again.” She said. “Now, about your payment....” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Still not going to involve sex. Or anything sex related.”

Again, she rolled her eyes. “I know that, by now. But if you ever want a really big favor from me, you're going to have to pay me 'in full.'” She patted the spot on her stomach that wasn't covered by the golden armor. “Right now, I want some belly rubs.”

He raised an eyebrow, but complied, giving her a good mix of scratches and rubbing on the stomach. She lulled her head some, enjoying the feeling. “Do you mind going a little further down?” She asked. He complied, and she reacted happily. “Oh! That's the spot.” She kicked her leg every few seconds.

He gave her some time to enjoy herself, before he tried to continue conversation. “So, would there be any way to, say, prevent me from being manipulated by a changeling's pheromones?”

“Of course I have ways. In fact, I have two.” She said. “Go a little bit lower....Oh, that feels great.”

“Two ways?” He asked. “And what would those be?” He took care to notice how dangerously close she was trying to lead his hand.

“Well, the first way is to simply be a changeling, but I think you'll have a difficult time with that one.” She explained. “The second way would be to create a protective artifact. Luckily for you, I'm one of the few in existence that know how to do that. Even luckier, there is only one ingredient you need to retrieve.”

“Well, that's great.” He said. “What's the ingredient?”

“Oh, nothing you can't handle.” She said. “You just need to find me a clean-cut changeling horn.”

“Oh, that's......what?” He looked at her curiously. “You're totally fine with me just.... going off and chopping off changeling bits?” He asked, perplexed.

She rolled her eyes a third time, although with far less amusement then the previous two. “You're not suddenly having a moral crisis, are you?” She asked. “It's fine. The ponies might freak out because of the dismemberment, but we changelings really don't mind it. Most of my children don't believe defiling a body changes anything about one's afterlife, anyway.”

“Okay, then....” He said carefully.

“Besides. I want to try something when you bring one back.” She said. "Do you mind going side to side a bit?"

“Try what? And no, I know what your trying to get me to rub against."

“Damn.” She waved a hoof. “Try to connect you to the hive, like that one time you just popped in.”

“I guess it would make it easier to talk to you...” He surmised. “Anyways, I better go. Burning moonlight and all that.” He stopped scratching her belly, and motioned to get up, but Chrysalis threw more of the possessed body over his lap.

“Ah ah ah~” She said. “First, I want to talk about your payment for this.”

He looked down at her expectantly. “Go on.”

“I want...” She pondered for a moment. “...a full body massage. And you have to be naked, doing it.”

He almost laughed at her ambition. “Yeah, no. I'll do it shirtless. And I’m not massaging any genitalia, if that's what you're trying to do.”

She gave him a frustrated look. “You're such a prude.” She said.

“I'm not really a prude.” He said. “I just think that teasing you is enjoyable. And, has it crossed your mind that maybe I’m not wanting sex, because I have other things I could be doing?” He said.

She flicked a curious look up to him. “Or... because there's already a certain someone catching your eye~” She said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Kestral stayed silent for a moment, then casually moved her from his lap. He stood up. “I'll see you later tonight. I need to go get that changeling horn. Bye, love.”

As he walked away, he heard her call out to him. “Just tell me when your find her! Or him! We can make it a three way!”

Suddenly, a rustling in the hedge made him stop. He snapped his body to face it, and pulled out his machete, ready to take on whatever jumped out at him. He realized he may have just needed to run away, if it was a guard, but if it was a surprise attack from the hostile changelings, he wasn't going to back down.

Chrysalis made the possessed body pull a sword out from the sheath on her side, and got into a defensive stance, saying nothing. She edged closer to him, but they both had eyes on the rustling.

In a heartbeat a small quadruped, a little smaller than the average pony, hopped out of the bushes, and landed on its back. It kicked its legs around a bit, before it managed to roll over and get on its paws. He recognized that shape, and stood still, waiting for it to attack. He became surprised when the wolf did not attack, but instead, Chrysalis sheathed her weapon.

“What are you doing?” He asked flatly. “That's a woodwolf, it'll rip your guard's throat out!”

“Timberwolf.” She corrected. “And, no he won't. I don't sense any hostility coming from him.”

“Terminology aside, what are you talking about?” He asked, slowly lowering his blade, but not taking his eyes off the wolf.

She walked to the wolf, explaining as she did. “I live on love, Kestral. I can feel anyone's emotions that I want.” She patted the wolf on his head, cooing. “Well, you're just a little pup, aren't you? Aren't you?” She half-snuggled the wolf.

The animal ignored her, though, and walked towards Kestral.

He kept his blade between the wolf and himself, standing rigid once the wolf stopped. It was breathing calmly up until this point, but once it sat on its hindquarters, it began coughing uncontrollably.

“COUGH COUGH COUGH COUCOUCOUGH”

Kestral moved his foot as the dog hacked up something onto the ground. The wolf recovered, and nudged the object towards him with its nose. He slowly crouched down, and took a closer look at the object. He grabbed it, and scraped the spit and mucus off onto his boot. He stood up, taking attention off the wolf, and looked at the object in the moonlight.

“Holy shit.” He said, looking at it.

“What?” Chrysalis asked, idly petting the pup. “What is it?”

He turned over the brass metal, looking at the way it was fragmented, and felt down the jagged side. Friggen wrecked, though. It had to have been set off outside of my gun. I really hope this is the only one I dropped. “It's a bullet casing, is what it is.” He said. He looked down at the dog, and admired him for a second. “As sharp as it is, it's a miracle it didn't slice him up from the inside.”

“Timberwolves eat sharp things often.” She remarked. “But what's a 'bullet casing'?”

Maybe their stomachs are made of wood, too. “Oh. It's just ammunition I use to kill changelings from a distance.” He said idly. He put the casing in his rift, and crouched down, getting eye level with the dog. He looked into his eyes, and saw that one of them was lazy, just drifting off into the horizon. “I didn't think I left any lying around, though. You did a good job bringing this to me.” He slowly stuck his hand out to the wolf, who sniffed it and gave a lick, before he leaned in and scratched behind the ears. After a second, he noticed the leather band that went around his neck.

He grabbed the bronze tag on the front, and read it aloud.

“Moon-moon?” He asked to the air, disgusted. “That's a terrible name.” He pointed at the wolf. “Your new name is Lunacy.”

“Bark!” Lunacy barked in agreement.

Kestral put a hand on the wolf's snout. “Shh.” He said. “I don't want you drawing attention to me, okay?” The dog only tilted his head, so he continued. “Thanks for bringing this to me. I'll see you around.” He put away his blade, and motioned to walk away, but stopped when Chrysalis called to him.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“Uh. Out of here?” He raised his eyebrow.

“And what about Lunacy?” She asked, offended. “You just named him, and now you're going to abandon him? What kind of person does that?”

“Me, actually.” He pointed at the wolf. “He has a tag. Tag means owner, owner means sad person that misses his pet.” He waved his hand. “If he was looking for me for, like, a week, he can find his way back to his master.”

“You people are just.... argh.” She muttered, then cleared her throat. “If he was loyal to his master, do you think he would have left to find you?”

“I...uh. Maybe he just wanted to return my bullet.” He said, turning to the wolf. “Hey. Thank you. Now go back to your master.” The wolf didn't move, but instead, whined a little, as if he became sad. “Damn.”

“See?” She asked. “I'm telling you he likes you.”

“That's fine if he likes me.” Kestral said. “But I can't have him following me everywhere. He'll be a beacon to my location if anyone catches on.” He gestured to her. “You obviously like him. Why don't you take him?”

“Well, he managed to get in here without causing panic. But, you know what?” She asked. “I think I will. I'll take care of this little pup, and I’ll teach him how to get around without being seen, so you can care for him.”

“Uh huh.” He said. “And what if I don't want to take care of him?”

She took on a look of surprise, then anger. “I am offended.” She said, hugging the poor dog tightly. “You may not understand this yet, but regardless of who's involved, it's a terrible thing to not return unearned loyalty.” She snuggled the dog, who struggled against her.

He just nodded, getting more anxious to just leave. “Okay, fine.” He said. “You take care of Lunacy if you want. I'm going to get a horn.” He said.

“Fine. But I want to talk about this when you get back.” She said.

The words pierced his ears like sharp ice. Dammit. I'm getting in trouble left and right with these people. Next thing i know, Luna's going to tell me 'we need to talk'.

He shook his head as he made his way through the garden. He quickly changed back into his disguise, once he was out of view of Chrysalis's proxy. After all, he didn't feel compelled to let her know of his role as Hunter.

So, with a location already in his mind, that he was sure had at least one changeling body, he set off. Back to the Stormwall's.