Sally had been half right. The goop was made by odd-looking slugs and the properties of the slime depended on just what fungus you fed them. The thought of it was horrible, but not as horrible as the feel of the one oozing around her knee.

"How does this help?" The thing took some encouraging, Sharp draping harvested fungus over the goop it had already left.

"You don't trust me?" The changeling flashed fangs at her.

"No, not yet."

The thing was being led around her leg, but the fungus Sharp Mind used was a different one now. "But you trust my queen?"

"I trust both of you to act according to your nature. I expect her to honor her word, I expect you would too, until you disprove that. But- Ugh, this feels disgusting." A green glow surrounded the slug and lifted it away.

"Don't touch it, that outer layer will harden up a lot." Sharp wrapped her magic around the goop now and squeezed pressure down on it.

Sally bit her lip and tensed, there was more than a little pain there. When the magic aura around her leg faded, however, the goop looked hard. "Can I…"

Sharp grinned. "Go ahead, see how it feels." Sally poked it, it felt like hard plastic. Looked horrible still.

Carefully moving, she got her good leg under her and lifted up to a standing position. Then she started putting weight on the leg. The pain was still there, but it had been sore even when she had her leg-splint. She put more on and took a step. The goop rolled in the casing, squeezing and gripping to her legs in odd ways. But it held her weight.

"Good now?" Sharp walked beside the woman who crouched down, stood, shifted to stand on one leg.

"How strong is this stuff? It still hurts, but it takes my weight…"

"Your leg bones will probably break before it does." Sharp reached out with her magic and pushed the human. Sally stumbled, cursing, but even when she got up from a short roll she was grinning. "See?"

"I do and… thank you." Sally walked over and offered her hand to the changeling. Lifting a hoof, Sharp Mind set it carefully in the offered hand. Sally had a moment to really examine the limb, holes and all. "Do those hurt?"

"My hoof?" Sharp looked a little confused. "Oh, the holes. No, it is how we are."

"Okay, I trust you more now, despite the shove."

Sharp flashed fangs. "It proved my point."

"It did, how do I get it off, to clean under?" Sally's question seemed to make Sharp tilt her head, looking confused. Sally knew just what that meant. "It doesn't come off, does it?"

"Like your collar. Once that fungus is used, it never breaks."

Sally thought about it. So she would wear both for the rest of her life? Both gifts, both marking her.

"You take it well. You didn't know the collar would never come off, did you?" Sharp began walking, leading the way out to the more common hive areas.

"I didn't. Why did she put it on me?"

"To remind you, of course. Even if you get away from the hive, you will remember her lessons." Sharp had a destination in mind, it seemed, the pair approaching a side passage that had very little light. Sally's new knee-brace had the same soft glow as her collar, giving her illumination to see by, at least enough to not walk into things. "Here, the first recruits I had in mind are in here."

Sally raised an eyebrow in the gloom as she was led into a chamber that looked much like the one she had slept in. There were five changelings in there, although she couldn't tell if they were drones or… whatever Sharp was.

Sally wore no grin, the pain from her leg was a constant, but then she was used to that. She had been marching their little group of seven around, barking commands to any who lost the beat of their march. She remembered an old sergeant doing this and she knew the question she had asked would come eventually.

It was the seventh trip around the whole hive. Sally got a better understanding of the place. Sharp was the directing force, Sally had a fair idea the changeling knew exactly what was going on. A small part of her was surprised to find that she liked the mare. Damn that Stockholm… although was it even that now, considering she had thrown her lot in with them.

"Why are we doing this?" Sally felt an almost real pleasure at the question. It was one of the changelings Sharp had chosen based on their smarts. The rest, it seemed, were more happy to follow orders. Both were good traits.

"We are moving. Our commander here," Sharp gestured to Sally with a hoof, without missing a step… somehow, "knows the value of a group moving as one."

Sally nodded with a half smile. "Every morning and every evening, we will march at least once around the hive like this." That got a groan from more than one changeling. "Can't handle keeping up with a cripple?" Sally's knee had been a bone of contention among more than one of the trainees. She had even heard barely quiet conversation where they had used that word.

Each and every one of them stood a little taller at that. "I will keep up."

Sharp's smile matched Sally's own.

Lunch had been short and, for Sally, a little odd. The group gathered around pods, each one holding a small lapine form. She could feel as the changelings reached out to the pod, felt as their bodies drained the energy being given by the creatures within. She ate an apple, and then a second.

"Why do we follow food?" One of the recruits, one of those chosen for their strength rather than their minds.

Sally got up, tossing the two cores she had been picking at aside. "Lesson time. No magic, no eating. Just come at me if you think I am weak."

The changeling who had spoken up looked to Sharp who snarled at them. "She is in command, you do what she says or stay in line."

Sally felt strengthened by the words. The cat-caller looked between Sharp and Sally, face turning into a snarl as they charged at the latter.

Leg sweeps were out, Sally knew that with four on the floor, so to speak, she wasn't going to trip them. She ducked their charge and slipped to the side. Her knee screamed at her as she brought her weight back on it, but she quickly shifted it all forward and drove her fist into the side of her opponent.

The hiss from them, as all the air was driven from a lung, was the warning Sally got as it leaped at her again. She ducked forward and kicked up with her good leg. The changeling overshot and landed on their back hard.

"This was your ace fighter?" She addressed Sharp Mind, pointing at the changeling who hadn't actually worked out how he had ended up in the dirt and seeing stars. "He is strong, I can feel that, but he throws his weight into everything."

"You can fix him?" Sharp didn't spare a look for the defeated changeling.

"Of course I can fix him, so long as he will learn what I teach." The head of the changeling lifted at this and looked to her.

"Then you try. If he doesn't work out here then he will become a worker." Sharp gave a deep chittering sigh, as if it was a loss, but one she didn't really mind.

"Teach me… I hate having to carry things…" The changeling had walked up to Sally again, this time more sheepishly than before. "How did you do all that? It was like trying to fight water…"

"What is your name?" Sally had that feeling, it was like holding a raw ball of clay, of looking at it and imagining the bowl it would become.

"Hard Head."

Sally grinned in a way that the changeling stallion found oddly nice. "Then, Hard Head, I will first teach your body how to move properly. That starts with walking."

Another changeling rushed up, moving in beside Hard. "I am called Strong Back, I want to learn this too!"

She was sweating, more than a little. Sally had shown the two changelings that movement was the key to fighting and not their raw power. Hard and Strong were sparring now, tumbling away from attacks more often than striking a blow. They had picked it up quickly.

"And this is Sweet Bite." Sally looked at the mare in front of her. Sharp had chosen this pony for a reason but she was damned if she knew why. They had neither the size of the two brawlers, nor the magic that some others displayed.

"And what is your tri-" Sally didn't get any further. The changeling's eyes seemed to glow and the rest of the world felt less interesting. Sally wasn't one for girls, and certainly not for ponies, but right then she was so very deeply in love with the mare.

"Sweet, be gentle." Sharp's voice was barely a buzz in the huuman's ears. Unimportant.

When the changeling she desired reached out with her physical and mental fangs, Sally put herself in forward, closing her eyes as she felt both bite down. She was more gentle than any other changeling had ever been and Sally trembled in pleasure as she felt the mare sip ever so gently.

The love faded, gone, lost. For a split second Sally whimpered at the loss of something so perfect. Then she realized she had a changeling gently mouthing at her throat. She was on her back and had bared her neck for the creature.

"You are… wow…" Sweet Bite leaned back, licking her throat once. The touch sent a tingle of pleasure through Sally that was, she hoped, the last remnant of the mare's power. "You can make people desire you?"

"She can force anything to love her." Sharp sounded a little hesitant. "Even a changeling." Sally's eyes spotted the slightest blush there. She looked up at the creature that had stolen her will by lying to her heart.

"You have my fear, respect and…" Sally was searching for the odd emotions she felt.

"You can't shake it, not all of it. I damn near killed her when I found out what she had been doing. Fangs saw the power in those eyes and had me spare her." Sharp explained what was likely a hard subject for her, considering the way Sweet looked at her.

"You still feel me? After all this time?" Sweet sounded way more innocent than any pony with that kind of ability should.

"Damn it Sweet you know I can't help it." Sharp was blushing a storm and Sally could see there was way more to this story, partly now her story, if her lingering feelings for the changeling empath was any sign.

"How many can you affect at once?" Sally got her legs under her, crouching and fighting the urge to reach out and tend to the changeling's mane.

She stopped looking adorable and affected confusion. "Oh, uh, about two or three changelings…"

"Think you could improve on that? Do we have any prisoners… from other hives or this one, to test on? Maybe those rabbit things?" Sally couldn't believe herself, she was slipping into their way of thinking.

"Some." Sharp sounded surprised.

"Then I want you to be able to affect six by the end of the week." Sally grinned and did reach out now. It felt nice to rub her ears, to offer comfort to Sweet. Sally knew it was her power causing these feelings. It didn't stop it from feeling good.

"I will regret this, I am sure. But how do you fight, with your magic?" Sally had the last two changelings in front of her.

"Lassos of magic can snare." One of them began to explain their tricks. "They are more reliable than direct attacks. If you know the subject is weak of will or defense, you can force yourself into their head and issue direct commands."

"I know both of those. Both are good and effective. Anything else?" Sally was trying to think how to work their attacks, what might be the most usable for their range, into what she wanted.

"Direct." The other changeling grinned. "My name. Direct. I hate those spells. So boring."

The first one lifted a hoof up to their head and clopped it against their temple. "Direct is a stupid changeling grub that can-"

Sally cut in. "Direct, what do you prefer? If it doesn't do anything lingering, or deadly, feel free to show on me." This was her own way of training. She could probably easily deal with another changeling's physical attacks, but she wanted to get better at handling their magic. Sweet's particular power was never going to be something she could defend against.

The changeling looked delighted, sticking his tongue out at the other. His horn lit and suddenly Sally's legs and arms seemed to lose all strength and she fell. A soft green glow was coming from where each limb met her body. She focused her will and thought first of that spot where it tingled, then just past it. She got her hands to move after some work. "Good, this is excellent. Even if it just slows a target, you give the others time to neutralize them."

Direct's horn blinked dark and Sally could move normally again. "I have more!"

The human braced herself, not knowing what was coming next.

Author's Notes:

She has a motley crew, the cream and the misfits all thrown together by Sharp. Can Sally do something with her new squad?