*

It was dark. Night had fallen upon the castle, and I was sure now that I was the only one left. I was the last one to be hunted. As I entered a room on the South side of the castle, I strained to listen for any signs of... Them.

My heart was beating so hard and fast that it was almost impossible to hear anything else. My eyes were heavy with sleep deprivation and my body was physically fatigued.

Suddenly, I heard a sound from the vents. It sounded like claws against the sheet metal, and the sound was getting closer. My heart was in my throat. With a stifled gasp, I took my only option available and crawled under a desk.

I held my breath, listening, and hoping to remain undetected. To my discomfort, it had grown quiet, too quiet...

Kkrabang!

I flinched and nearly screamed out in surprise, as the vent cover that had been on the roof fell to the ground. Mangled and broken. My heart was racing. My twitching ears listened on, as the sound of something big crawled out of the vent. Breathing suddenly became difficult. Desperation forced me to move as far back under the desk as I could.

A thud on the carpet floor demanded my attention. Black armored legs had dropped down in front of my desk. Slowly and fluidly they passed by me. To my surprise, a shallow gasp made its way out of my mouth. Immediately my coat stood on end and I cursed myself internally for my stupidity.

It stopped as if to listen. Silence was all that could be heard. Moments felt like minutes and I soon found myself struggling to hold my breath. Thankfully after thirty seconds had passed the figure began moving away to other rooms. I heard the door open. There was a pause, then the door creaked as it came close to closing.

When I could no longer hear the footsteps being taken I took the opportunity to gasp for some precious air. My lungs burned and my chest was sore from all the close encounters. Taking a chance, I moved as silently as I could; checking to see if the area was clear.

The room was empty. So getting up, I tried to flee from the other side of the room. When I opened the door I saw my exit blocked by a small figure down the hall. It hadn't noticed me. Quickly I shut the door and cursed myself as the click of the door broke the silence.

Running back to my previous hiding spot I tried to get a hold of my endless shivering. I peeked my head out just in time to see the door began to swing open. That was about the time my heart tried to leap out of my chest.

I winced in pain as I watched a small figure enter the room. It looked around the room hungrily as it searched out its prey. Every couple of seconds, I noticed it'd sniff the air. Hoping I hadn't been seen or sensed, I crawled back into my poor hiding spot. I had backed my way up against the wall. I was cornered.

Then that's when I heard it, the little thumping of hooves, they got louder and quicker. I was dead, I was certain of it. The figure rounded the corner. A smile growing ever wider as she flashed a toothy grin.

“Ah, Facehugger!” I yelped, hopelessly trying to get away from the little brat. But being backed against the wall I watched helplessly as Penilia lunged at me.

She latched onto my head and yelled out, “I got her!” in a proud manner. This got the attention of the others and I soon heard movement making its way over to us.

I was all in the shakes as I crawled out from under the desk. The little nymph decided to take this chance to get a free ride on top of my head. She clung to my horn like a joystick and I could feel her legs wrap around the back of my neck. When it came to those arriving, Adorilin was the first, then Tia, Luna, and eventually all the other participants of our little game were all there.

“I got her.” The small changeling announced again this time playing with my hair. I couldn't see her but I was sure she had that little expression of hers, a goofy face with a proud smile. She tended to show that when she was furiously happy with herself. I couldn't help but chuckle at her antics.

Stepping forward, Luna addressed the nymph. “Yes indeed you did little one, and we are all thankful that after these six whole days we can finally rest from this game of Hide and Seek that my mother so suggested.”

When she said this I heard a little giggle from the small child on my head, and a blush of embarrassment flushed over me. I suggested the game, but I had no idea how long it would take. Feeling awkward I decided to try changing the subject.

“So is anybody else hungry?” I asked, and everyone nodded their heads eagerly.

It was about to nine O'clock earth time, and as a group, we had decided getting cleaned up before dinner would be a good idea. So each of us returned to our own rooms. I entered my bedroom and shut the door behind me. From my window, I could see the moon taking its proper place in the sky.

"I guess our little game had bigger side effects than I had thought."

I walked over to ‘my’ ensuite. It was a nice washroom with wood paneling. Its door was hidden in the wall and I wished it had at least a doorknob on the outside. About a month ago I had invited Cadence over for lunch, she accepted. While we were talking, she leaned against the wall and fell through the doorway. I felt so bad... I couldn't stop laughing.

Anyways, I stepped into the washroom and as I did I took a moment to look in the mirror. We had grown quite a bit over the past few months. If I had to guess I'd say we would be catching up to Cadence in height fairly soon. For me that only meant two things, one, I'm getting taller, and two, Cadence still owed me ten bits damn it.

Stepping into the shower, or I guess it was more like a sauna, I let Faust take control. Several minutes passed, and the only sound heard was that of running water. I was enjoying that sound. Suddenly though, Lauren spoke up, and she seemed a little irritated.

“(You know, it has been almost four months since we got here Alex. Maybe it be an idea to learn how to wash.)” She said.

This outburst was a little bit of a surprise to me, and I would have apologized properly or something different, but her irritated state began mixing with my own emotions. Feeling that way, I responded. “Hey, it's your body, not mine.”

As soon as the words left or mouth I felt regret, and a new emotion emerged from my co-pilot, anger. I was not unfamiliar with her sudden sparks of wrath but I still didn't like being the direction she was aiming those flames.

“(You really can't keep on using me as a get out of jail free card. I won't always be there to help you out.)” I could feel her gaze hardening as she said this, and to be honest it still freaked me out.

“Okay, okay, I get it. But it's still weird...” I tried to keep my words to a minimum in hopes of not triggering the pony. It took a few minutes, but eventually, she calmed down, and we got out of the shower.

Now came the cool part, I watched as Lauren’s horn began to glow and then suddenly the water was flung off of us like an explosion. The ancient mare smirked. She liked that one, and I could see why. In an instant, we were dry, clean, and ready to go.

Stepping out of the ensuite, I suddenly found myself flung back into control. I stumbled in surprise and nearly kissed the floor. “Hey warn me next time!” I hissed, to which I just heard chuckling. Rolling my eyes I left for dinner.

I got to the main dining hall after about ten minutes of walking. Seriously? Why was breakfast, lunch, and dinner so damn far from our bedrooms? Whatever the case, it was a stupid design choice.

I took a seat near the end of the table and watched as those who participated in our event flowed in. From the least to the greatest. Ponies and changelings. Something I had recently not thought possible. Just a few months ago ponies would scream bloody murder if somepony was acting odd. Now looking at them, it was like a large family had gotten together.

After all, when Shining and Cadence got back from their honeymoon; I made the decision to announce that I'd taken in some refugees of the Changeling swarm, and have employed them as staff. The ponies were horrified. When I asked the Changelings to return to their original form, the looks from those around had Lauren laughing so loud I couldn't hear anything else. There was an anxious feeling in the air during the following days. Some left, but the majority decided to stay.

Things began to simmer down after a month or so. The ponies began to realize that nothing had changed except for about ten appearances, but other than that, nothing. Their curiosity took hold, and one after another began to reopen the doors of friendship to those they had previously closed off. Now there's peace in the castle. Yes, many still harbored hurt feelings and an untrusting attitude, but for the most part, a family had been formed.

I felt a tap on my side as I thought about these past few months. It brought me back into reality, and looking down to my side I saw the little rascal was giving me the biggest puppy dog eyes I ever did see. Smiling, I grabbed her up and placed her on my lap. She seemed happy, but soon she was wiggling and fighting to get free. Confused, I let her go and she darted up to my head. She was almost purring as she played with my mane. Those who saw the event found themselves smiling, as did I. She was just too damn cute for her own good.

Celestia made her way to a small stage at the end of the hall. Standing tall she announced. “My little ponies I am glad to announce that the big game is over!” The crowd erupted into a stomping of hooves and cries of joy. One was actually crying, and her makeup was smudging all over the place.

I let out a small laugh as Faust mentally banged her head against the wall.

Looking up from my seat I noticed Celestia patiently waiting. I had thought she was done, but once the crowd had calmed down she continued on. “It is also my great pleasure to announce the champion who ended the game, Penilia.”

Again roars of cheering and stomping filled the room and I held the nymph up like something you'd see in the Lion King. She giggled and laughed as I did so. Then Luna shot up and slammed her hoof on the table. “Surely something so noble deserves a reward!”

Tia only smiled at her sister's statement, but the crowd immediately became a chanting mob. “Re-ward, re-ward re-ward!” They stomped, all while looking at me.

I was beginning to feel my nerves rise up and my fear of attention slowly loomed on me like a blanket drifting down from above. Feeling myself growing anxious I called out to my co-pilot. Hey Lauren, want to do the honors? I asked, but there was no response. I was going to ask again, but I felt a gentle smile stretch across my lips. Realizing this I nearly yelped when I realized she had already taken over.

“What do you want Penilia?” The ancient mare asked.

The nymph looked down at us, confusion and fascination twinkling in her eye. She could see it, the change between Lauren and I. But instead of voicing that, she gave a chirp and squeaked.

“I want to go to school.”

Alright I know. There's two things you're probably going to say.
One: It's about **** time!
And two: Why is this chapter so short?
Now there's no need to say them.

Anyways, the reason why this chapter is short is because I've been attending university since September, and have been short for time. It wasn't until I got sick a week or two ago that I came back on here. So, I'm glad to be back and I hope to continue updating as soon as possible.