"You didn't report yesterday?" Dropped Ball was, for the first time in a while, happy. When one of the oh-so-perfect infiltrators slipped up, it meant he got to report them back to the hive. "Let me guess, too distracted banging that leggy unicorn?"

The sneer in the stallion's voice was not lost to Bright. "Oh, yes, of course I would be busy bonking that piece instead of doing my job." It was easy to be snide and uppity with Droppy, he wasn't a nice changeling. "Almost like a certain stallion who shirks out of his work every night to visit the Lonely Mare; oh, was I not meant to know about that?" Bright Flash, sometimes, enjoyed her job entirely too much. Too bad it was now her job to do her job.

"You… how…" Dropped griped internally, not wanting to give the mare the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten to him. Of course, Bright read him well enough to know that anyway. "So what do you have to report?"

Bright smiled. It wasn't what she was about to do that made her smile so widely, but that doing it was helping her queens. "Oh, what about this?" She lifted her heavily-stuffed pack up in her green magic, unbuckled the top and up-ended it before the other 'ling.

"What are you doing?" Jumping to his hooves, Dropped snarled at the stupid mare. "This junk is all over my… my…"

"Just noticed it, Droppy?" Bright drank in his shock. "From the desk of one Princess Celestia. That is this last week's correspondence. In full." It wasn't, there were some things missing, and a few extras added. "I got a new job carrying things for the Princess, but I guess you can send that letter and have me recalled to the hive. I am sure Queen Chrysalis would love to see one week of all this lovely information and then nothing more, because her best infiltrator had been recalled…"

"I really hate you." Dropped's magic was busy, he had to get this huge pile sorted and—looking at the time—the poor stallion realized he would not be going to the 'Mare tonight. "I will shred the letter, but keep this lot coming." It was dismissal, blessed dismissal for Bright. Turning, the mare walked toward the door, flashing her disguise back up to the familiar stallion. "Oh, and I think I can overlook any… time spent outside of work, if you do the same."

"I was going to say the same thing, Droppy." Bright knew he hated the name, which was why she used it. She had a slight pang, however, when she realized he might just be this way, in the same way she was. Stepping into the lovely evening twilight, Bright hoped that the stallion would feel better, with a proper pair of queens leading his hive.

"So that's our job done, right?" Nimbus was laying on her back, belly up to Celestia's sun, wings spread out to the sides to collect maximum warmth. "We have a new friend, we even have Princess Celestia on our side… something I am still confused about, but nopony listens to me."

"I listen to you, Nimbus." Careful was under an umbrella, translating notes and writing false documents. "Oh yes, this one will be perfect." The changeling worked, writing a missive from Cadance to Celestia, into a common code that Bright's associate would be able to break, that would hint that Shining was "under the weather".

The soft clank of armor heralded one of Careful's queens arriving; but then he could taste Shining getting close just as much as hear him. "Oh-" Shining froze as he saw Nimbus in a slightly compromising position. "If I am interrupting something…"

"No, just relaxing, enjoying a warmer day than we get up north." Nimbus flicked one wingtip, directing Shining's attention to her coltfriend. "Careful is hiding under the shade, something about his shell getting overheated."

"He just doesn't like the sun." Shining walked slowly over to the changeling and settled down just outside of the shadow the umbrella cast. "He could disguise as somepony else and not feel it, I bet."

Careful's mouth hung open, his queen had hit right on the money. "It… I just like the shade, okay?" He looked over at Nimbus, a pleading look on his face, only to see a bright smile on the mare; what was more surprising was she winked at him. "I can't keep anything from you, My Queen."

"Yeah." Shining had to chuckle a little at Careful's attempt to divert the conversation. "I need to talk to you, Careful." His words had immediate effect, the drone seemed to completely ignore the papers before him and turned to look at Shining closely. Taking a deep breath, Shining reached up with his hooves and, unbuckling the headdress, he lifted the horn-armor clear of his head.

"By the queen's larvae…" Careful got to his hooves and stepped forward. It apparently hadn't been gradual, where Shining's horn was concerned. "It was pristine just yesterday, when did it…" He reached up a hoof, carefully, gently touching the jagged black horn. "It's perfect."

"It looks like a changeling horn, a queen changeling horn." Shining was so used to being poked and prodded by now that he actually leaned forward for Careful to inspect it. "It is also sensitive…" Shining jumped a little as Careful's hoof touched his horn again. "Like really sensitive!"

"Can you use it, My Queen?" Careful wasn't actually trying to rib Shining now, seeing this proof the stallion was really becoming a queen inspired all sorts of behavior in him, not the least was awe. "Can you do your normal magic?"

"I haven't dared…" It hit Shining as funny that he, Captain of the Guard, had been scared of magic. It was his birthright. "How do I do it? Do I need to eat love?"

"Just try doing normal unicorn stuff first." Careful looked around and pulled out the book he had been reading before he started work. "Try to lift this."

It was simple, easy. Shining had been lifting things all his life. Pink light flared on the black horn, Shining felt it just like always. Reaching out to the book, he lifted it. "Does this mean I am not going to be drinking emotions?"

Careful shrugged. "It could be you have a limited reserve of unicorn magic left, and using it will use it up soon." As soon as the 'ling said it he had to reach out with his own magic, to grab the book that plummeted without Shining holding it. "If that does happen, maybe you will start to feed on love. It isn't so bad, My Queen."

Shining struggled not to hyperventilate. "But then I will be-" He halted when he saw Careful's face. The changeling wasn't calling him "My Queen" to annoy him, Shining saw there was true, real devotion in him and a little voice inside Shining Armor, oddly loud and sounding like his parade-ground voice, chimed up. Don't you dare say that, he believes in you. You are turning into a changeling? So what, what is wrong with changelings?

Waiting to hear how Shining would finish his panicked words, Careful was surprised when two big, white forelegs wrapped around him and pulled him into a hug. "My Queen?" As he asked, so did Careful get squeezed tighter. "My Queen, it will be alright. Queen Cadance will be at your side, I won't leave either. Your magic might change, or it might not."

"I am turning into a changeling, Careful." Shining Armor felt at that giant pit inside himself where all the emotions about this that he couldn't handle had been stuffed. The pit was full. "I… I kept seeing it as a curse, as something bad. You must hate me for that."

"My Queen, you were terrified, bugg-butt did something terrible to you," Careful saw Shining's face crack in that moment, the name for Chrysalis always had gotten him to smile in the past, "but that was her mistake. I promise, being a 'ling isn't all bad, some of it is a little fun."

"Fun?" Shining blinked at the last word his… What is Careful Steps to me? "Tell me what will be fun." He made a point of settling back and pulling Careful into the sunlight.

"Being able to be whatever you want, whoever you want." Careful flashed with light, becoming a copy of Nimbus. "Like this."

The voice, so like her own, got Nimbus' attention and she looked over at her clone. "Next time I have a flight assessment, you are flying it." She grinned.

Careful stuck out her tongue at the real Nimbus. "Then there is the love. If you start feeding on it, I bet you will find a new appreciation for Queen Cadance." The superfluous Nimbus flashed with green, becoming a clone of Cadance. "You will learn how friendship tastes, as it grows and becomes all the more sweet." The false princess lifted her snout a little, grinning. "And even just seeing what you know is not your wife, you glow, to a changeling." His magic flashed again and Careful was back to his black-carapaced self.

"Fun or not, it is happening to me. What should I feel when my… when I need to start eating love?" Looking out over the city from the castle parapet, Shining tried to reach for the feelings he felt toward the drone. A little jealousy, he is smarter than I am, but he looks up to me so much. I have to take care of him, protect him. Shining blinked a little, his thoughts had occupied him while Careful had replied. "Sorry, I got distracted."

Careful blinked at Shining. "It is okay. I would be distracted if I was turned into a pony and I couldn't stop it or turn back. What I was saying was, you will feel hungry, really hungry. You could eat a full meal, two even, and all it would do is take the edge off for a while. You don't have to worry."

"What? Why not?" Shining lifted one hoof up, putting the horn-cover back on. "Why wouldn't I need to worry?"

"Because you have me." Cadance, Princess of Love, wife of Shining Armor, stepped out onto the parapet. "Am I correct?"

"It will be a hard time, when you first start to feel it." Careful nodded up, beaming at his queen. "Because I promise you, when you first feel that constant rushing wave of happiness, you will be as insensible as Bright Flash was. Your love is potent stuff, do you think changelings in the hive can waste love energy on all this?" Careful gestured to the work he had been doing.

Cadance walked up beside her husband and leaned into him. "Is it really that bad in the hive?" Curling one big wing around Shining's back, she pulled the armor-covered stallion against her.

"Depends how useful you are. Because they have so little love, the changelings who need it most are given it, the rest get just enough to survive. The whole reason for the attack was to get more." Careful slid away, back under his umbrella. "Where to now, My Queens?"

"We are going to go spend a little more time here, but you and Nimbus will head home." Cadance grinned, leaning in to kiss Shining's cheek. "You will, however, be disguised as Shining."

Careful almost jumped so high as to hit the umbrella above him. "I'm what?" He put some ledgers down so he wouldn't throw them if his queen surprised him again. "What do you mean, going as Shining?

"You will take the spare suit of armor, make a point of doing something very public, and taking it off. When we get there, come to the station to 'greet your wife', and you can swap places." Cadance lifted a little book up, reading the odd little chicken-scratching words inside. "You will be okay as Shining?"

"Of course I will." Careful grinned and pushed at his magic. Green fire boiled around him and a moment later a pristine white stallion stood where he had been. "How do I look?"

Cadance's jaw nearly hit the floor. Careful was a perfect clone of her husband, just before all the changeling-changes started. She pressed her snout in against her real husband's mane and inhaled deeply. It brought relaxation and calm to her confused thoughts. "I like my Shiny better."

Barely able to hear the words his wife had said, Shining Armor looked between the perfect version of him and his own body. "But I am-"

"Mine." Cadance hugged tighter, squeezing Shining with forelegs and wings. "I married you, Shining Armor. We asked him to look like you, but Careful is not you." A warm feeling poured through Shining, he would have liked to have thought he was tasting his wife's love, but he knew what it was. It was his own love and devotion.

"Oh well I can bet Bright is going to be feeling distracted about now." Careful let his "Shining" disguise down and relaxed into the sea of love that, had he not grown used to it, would be washing him away. "Nimbus?" The pegasus mare had seemed to have blindsided Careful, he tried blinking to clear his vision but everything seemed to be swimming. "I don't think I quite have thish worked out… good…"

"You forget how we met? Come on, let's get you to bed. I have a big day tomorrow, after all." Nimbus leaned down and got her head and shoulder under one of Careful's forelegs and began leading him back inside. "Uh, Your Highness?" She wasn't even sure if she had their attention. "If you could, well, bring his notes in? I could leave you in peace then." A pink wing waved at her and Nimbus left the royal couple to themselves. Inside, she carried her coltfriend along the hall and to their bedroom.

Author's Notes:

An odd mix of changeling and unicorn stepped out onto the stage. "Uh, hi." Shining Armor sat down and looked out into the crowd. "So I guess you all know about the," he waved a hoof at his body, "thing going on. Still not sure on it, but I know two things; Cady is not going to leave me, and I have too many ponies and 'lings depending on me. You want a question answered, okay."

A little canine trotted out, a card held in one of its two heads. Shining took the card and glared at the green wolf, who slinked off. "Okay, I bet this is important I-" Shining read the card, and started turning red himself. More and more blush built until he dropped the card. "E-E-Eggs? I... no!" Shaking his head, the stallion galloped for the side of the stage, the card fluttering in the air behind him.

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So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and I they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, I They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! I They will pick one question per chapter.

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