Aspect was rather excited to wake up this morning. After his discovery last night, he’d barely slept since. He’d ducked into the bathroom for a moment to freshen up, only to find that Midnight had vanished in the meantime. Perhaps she’d gone to use another?

Then he heard it, a crash from the kitchen.

And he could practically feel the killing intent that someone was projecting. It even made him shudder for a second. He wasted no time in rushing there, to figure out what was going on and make sure no blood was shed under his roof.

What he found was Pupal backed into a corner, trying to make herself as small as possible as Midnight stood a few feet away, her ears flat against her head as her lips were drawn back in a fierce snarl, baring her sharp fangs as her wingblades glimmered in the morning light.

In the next moment, Midnight had been bat across the muzzle with a rolled-up newspaper, Aspect standing between her and the changeling with the most disapproving look on his face.

She tore the paper from his grip and tossed it. “Get back!” she snarled. “Voi avea grijă de acest monstru!!”

“The only monster here is one who would spill the blood of my granddaughter,” he retorted. “I made the first changeling. They’re all related to me. Think well before you draw your blade again.”

The thestral looked at the Changeling, now scampering between the Pegasi’s legs, shaking like a leaf.

“They cannot be trusted,” Midnight growled. “They bring ruin and death!”

Aspect adjusted his stance slightly and—

Okay, Midnight knew right now he was a pegasus. So why did it suddenly feel like a full-grown elder drake was staring her down, daring her to take one step closer?

“You would harbour that thing?” she said, not moving but meeting his glare with her own. She did not fear him yet. “They killed many of us!”

“I made three races on all of Equus,” the stallion replied. “The Phoenixes. The Griffons. The Changelings. I make no excuses for what any of them have done. But to harm one in my presence is to harm me. They are all family and kin to me. And I will not put anything before family.”

Midnight stared at the Changeling, then to Aspect… before she turned and flew from the room and out into the open sky.

“There there,” Aspect cooed to the little bug, drawing her out and hugging her close. “You’re safe now. See? I told you I wouldn’t let you come to harm.”

“S-S-She w-w-was so a-angry…” the bug whimpered. “B-But… that w-wasn’t the s-s-scary p-p-part…”

“Oh?” the stallion replied as he stroked her fin comfortingly.

“I-I-I couldn’t feel her…” she murmured. “S-She could h-hide her emotions…”

“Mmm, I’ll ask her what that’s about later,” the stallion replied as he cuddled the little bug close. “See, you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Then he heard a gasp as he saw Bon Bon edging back towards the door, “A-Aspect… W-Why is a Changeling in the house!?”

“You know, I never asked her that,” the stallion mused. “And in any case, I made the first Changeling. So really, the question you should be asking is ‘Aspect, can I help you cuddle your granddaughter?’”

“G-Granddaughter!?” Bon Bon replied with a shocked tone. “Aspect. Changeling steal love and replace others. They’re highly dangerous!”

“This little cutie?” Aspect tickled Pupal’s belly with a hoof, the little bug mare giggling cutely.

“Of course you would tame a Changeling,” Bon Bon sighed and shook her head. Well, not like she had to worry about somepony getting the jump on Aspect as she moved to the kitchen. “Hey, who broke this plate?”

“Midnight tried to hurt her,” Aspect replied in a much less empathic tone.

“Midnight did?” Bon Bon sounded more shocked at that than she did about the Changeling. “So, where is she?”

“I defended little Pupal here. The plate was broken when I got here, so I’m assuming she was going to attack a defenseless, isolated little bugpony.”

“I meant where is she now?” Bon Bon deadpanned.

“She left through the window,” the stallion pointed with a wing. “I told her I wasn’t going to put family ahead of anything, and she took it badly.”

“Okay, so why was she attacking the Changeling?” Bon Bon sighed, starting to sweep up the broken shards.

“She called her a monster, something I would like it if you all didn’t do,” Aspect replied with just a bit of steel in his voice. “They’re still family.”

“I’ve come to expect your family is as weird as they come,” Bon Bon sighed. “But don’t say you weren’t warned when one of us gets replaced…”

There was a rainbow blur in the kitchen and Aspect felt something touch his cheek, a bout of some incomprehensible words before Rainbow rocketed out the nearest window.

“...Was I meant to understand that?” the stallion asked nobody in particular.

“She said she’s off to work and she’ll see you whenever,” Bon Bon translated. She was used to Lyra’s rapid talk… and Pinkie. “So… we have a new houseguest I take it?”

“Yup,” Aspect replied as he set the changeling in the chair nearest him. “Little Pupal here already has a space up in the attic, which I wasn’t using anyways. Plus she’s done a remarkable job keeping everything up there organized.”

“She’s been in the attic the whole time?” Bon Bon blinked. Of course she has. “Well, I think you should also find Midnight. It sounds as though she’s upset about something.”

The stallion sighed as he pet the little changeling on the head. “Promise to let nothing happen to her?” he asked Bon Bon.

“I’ll admit I’m a bit unnerved,” Bon Bon nodded. “But, I’ll manage. I think I can distract her with pancakes.”

“W-What are pancakes?” Pupal asked him.

“Something you will have to taste,” the stallion teased her as he took to wing and left via the same window Middy had.

Okay, Aspect had to admit. Midnight was not an easy mare to find. She was a goddamn ghost when she wanted to be. Was she even still in Ponyville? Maybe she went back to Canterlot?

The stallion closed his eyes, and focused on...what was it Luna said they could do, so long ago? They were adept in...storm manipulation, that was it. Welp.

He pulled on the essence of Arabus in him, and sent out a magical sonar wave, looking for anypony attuned to storms.

He felt a plethora of pegasi around, and one particularly strong reaction coming from what took him a moment to realize was Rainbow Dash.

“She’s in the forest~” Pinkie hummed as she bounced past him, leaving a basket of something at his side as she pronked away.

Aspect was past questioning it. He picked up the basket, took to the air, and began his magical scrying once he was in the forest’s borders. When in doubt, trust the pink oracle.

He felt something there, coming from somepony that could manipulate the aerial arts. So… why not? He made sure he was on a direct course even as he flew above the treeline, not wanting to tangle with the creatures of the Everfree just yet.

Landing near the fringes of Whitetail Woods, he eventually found his thestral mare as she stood in the center of a clearing, her eyes closed. And he meant ‘stood’. She was up on one hind leg, the other folded over it as her forelegs were crossed over her chest as she breathed in and out. Was she meditating? He decided to just sit and wait, setting the basket next to him as he mentally prepared himself to tell a story to her.

“I know you are there,” she said slowly and carefully. Her tone even, stoic. “Stop sneaking around. You are terrible at it.”

“I’m not sneaking,” the stallion said as he sat there. “I’m just waiting. I have a bit of a story to tell you, so that you can understand why I defended her so viciously.”

She lowered herself back down onto all fours… and a nearby tree fell into several dozen neatly sliced pieces.

“Speak your piece,” she said, turning to look at him.

“What do you know about Phoenixes?” the stallion asked her.

She paused, trying to find the words. Equestrian was a bitch of a language. “Fire birds. Immortal. What of them?”

“Every time they are reborn in flame, they have a choice. They can choose to be born again,” Aspect said, pausing for effect. “They can also choose to set a fire that will never die so that they might.”

“What is your point?” Midnight replied.

“I am the father of their entire race, so I have a Phoenix form,” Aspect illuminated. “And it never occurred to me to use that option...until I lost my daughters. Until I nearly pulled my sword out on Luna to preserve the world.”

Midnight frowned. “I still do not understand. What does this have to do with that creature in your home?”

“The thing I did after I lost Luna? I fought Grogar, yes. Then I thought my job done. So I went to the forest where the Phoenixes were born...assumed my form. Pumped all of my power into it. Every last scrap of age and wisdom into it. And as I felt the form unravel, the fires consume me, I willed myself to die. Because I thought I had no more reason to exist here, with no family to go back to.”

“You still had the Sun Princess no?” Midnight commented. “And it failed, given you are here.”

“Yes, I am bound to the sword,” Aspect nodded once. “And the sword is bound to me. So it worked...after a fashion. The tree I perched in? It’s still burning to this day. But I came to right next to the sword. And it took me...ages to decipher why I was still alive. Why I wasn’t permitted to die. Because, remember...we didn’t know if Luna could come back. And I couldn’t look at Celly without seeing her on that night, pulling out the elements on her own sister. I truly, truly felt alone.” He held a hoof up to his heart. “Family...it’s the one thing that keeps me grounded. Keeps me here. Keeps me...from trying to die again.”

Midnight looked at him for a long time. “So, you do not wish for me to attack the bug?”

“Because after I got over being depressed? I made Chrysalis. I made the first one. Every little bug thereafter is my grandchild. They’re family, which is more precious to me than a hoard is to a dragon,” the stallion explained.

“So, it is fine that they kill mine?” Midnight said just as plainly as she had been speaking the whole time.

“I tried to get her to get in contact with Chrysalis, so that I could bring her in, talk to her, figure out why she and hers aren’t walking in the light...they cut her out of whatever it was they used to talk to each other,” Aspect illuminated. “She’s alone. She’s scared. And all she’s been doing for the past goodness-knows-how-long is sitting in our attic, organizing the belongings of whoever owned that house last.”

Midnight took a step forward. “They killed my sister Christopher.” She took another step forward. “Doar atacat-o și a lăsat-o să moară pe stradă.” Her eyes narrowed. “I am honorbound to return that.”

“Sins a race commit against you should not be returned to the wrong targets,” Aspect warned her. “If we all thought like that, I could treat every pony poorly for their little civil war against Celestia. Or for what Celestia did, destroying knowledge wholesale to ‘tame’ the pony races. But I keep my anger in check. I reserve it for the right targets. I promise you this, for what they have done to you, when Chrysalis answers for what she has done to earn her race the reputation of monsters? I will allow you time with her to get the answers you seek.”

“By right… I should kill one of theirs,” she said and aimed the tip of her sword at his chest. “Family for family. Eye for an eye.”

“An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,” the stallion warned her. “I am not saying forgive. I am not saying forget. I am saying find a way to strike back at her that does not perpetuate the endless cycle of violence. After all...how would she hear about what you’d done? The changeling has no link to her anymore. They cut it, remember?”

“The bug is not her only family,” she commented, the tip of her blade poking his chest.

“I can only die to my sword, and even that is iffy,” the stallion replied. “After all, it brought me back from death once. Someone else would have to be bound to it for a wielder of it to be permitted to die.”

She stared into his eyes for the longest time. Even in the calm rage, her eyes were stunningly beautiful. And slowly, her blade withdrew.

“Your mate draws her sword on you, and you lecture her?” she commented as she sheathed the weapons. “You are crazy.”

“Hey, it worked,” Aspect smirked at her. “Besides, getting wounded still hurts like a motherbucker. Alicorn regeneration or not. Now I want a promise from you before you go back into that house.”

“Do not hurt the murderous bug?” she guessed.

“Okay, A), she hasn’t hurt anyone, replaced anyone. And B), I want you to promise me one simple thing. That the next time you threaten a changeling, you threaten Chrysalis. You get the information out of her about who killed your sister, so that you can hunt them down yourself. And you look into her eyes as you do so, when she realizes what you’re about to do. You just might find her staring at something she considers a monster. Because really...it’s all a matter of perspective.”

Midnight let out a small breath. “I shall consider it. But I raised my blade to you. To my mate… by thestral rights, I should take my life…” her blade started to unsheath.

“And leave the world poorer for it?” the stallion commented. “Tradition is a guide for the wise, but a rule for fools. Sometimes you have to know when to follow it, and know when to cast it aside so you can walk a wiser path. If you can decipher the meaning behind every tradition, there’s nothing stopping you from setting a few of your own in place.”

“You should hate me,” she said. “I threatened you… your family.”

“Eh, flashes in the pan, nothing more than a little spark,” Aspect waved it off. “It was more anger than anything else. You didn’t know what you were doing, why it matters so much to me. I reserve my hate.”

“That kindness might be your end,” she sighed and sheathed her blades. “It was still misconduct, so I must tell this to the Sun Princess… I will likely be disciplined.”

“We’ll tell it to her,” Aspect countered. “I’ll write a letter. You can add whatever you like to it, and then I’ll send it to her.”

“I will likely have to leave the house for a while,” she said slowly as she started walking out of the forest. It was nice and peaceful out here. Not a soul in sight for miles.

“As long as you promise to come back,” the stallion replied, drawing close and draping a wing over her back.

“I… have nowhere else to go,” she replied softly. He came to realise that beyond her name and profession, he didn’t know a damned thing about her.

“Midnight, you can always stay with me, you know that, right?” the stallion asked her. “You’re always welcome in my home. Just as long as you don’t try to kill anyone I love.”

“We… will see,” she replied. “Now… I will apologise to that bu--- filly of yours.”

“Her name is Pupal, and she loves belly rubs,” the stallion offered.

“Well… if I am to quell my hatred of them, I might as well start small,” Midnight replied. “For what it is worth. I… am sorry for what I did. I expect no forgiveness.”

“See? The first step is admitting you were wrong,” the stallion replied cheekily. “She’s really just a scared little filly when you get to know her. I’ve promised her she’ll be safe in my home.”

“I said I will protect you,” Midnight sighed. “I will just… get used to her.”

“That’s the idea,” the stallion praised her as they began walking back to his house. “By now, she should be having Bon Bon’s pancakes.”

Then Midnight’s traitorous stomach gave a loud grumble.

“...Like you probably want to be doing,” the stallion pointed out. “I’ll give you permission to dart off, if your first stop is the bedroom, where you’ll take those blades off.”

“I… require time,” she said. “So I shall walk.” Then her stomach rumbled again, much to her annoyance.

“Mmm, you say that,” the stallion teased her as they kept on walking. “I wonder if she’ll leave any pancakes behind…”

There was a cloud of dust… and the mare was just gone. Holy hell she was fast. She might even make Dash sweat a bit in a race.

“Breakfast...the meal everypony can bond over,” the stallion chuckled as he took to the air to follow after.

When he got back, he didn’t see Midnight in the room, but Bon Bon had mentioned that Pupal had freaked out, so the thestral had taken her meal and retreated to the bedroom.

Welp, desperate times. The stallion went to the bedroom to find Midnight, to make sure she was all right...after kissing Pupal on the forehead to reassure her, of course. The Changeling giggled as he did, batting at his face with a hoof to shoo him away from further tickles. He acceded to her wishes...this time.

“Midnight?” the stallion called as he opened the bedroom door. “You in here?”

His sudden entrance apparently startled the mare, as he walked in, she spilt some maple syrup on herself. “Ei bine, asta e doar o mare” she muttered.

The stallion chuckled as he pulled her foreleg out, before slowly starting to lick her clean. The mare blinked as she looked at the stallion licking the syrup from her coat.

“So,” Aspect said between licks. “Pupal said something about you being able to hide your emotions. I think that’s why she’s scared of you.”

“It is part of my training,” she commented as she blushed a little. “I can control my body right down to the pace of my heartbeat.” She put his hoof on her chest and for a second or three. Her heart stopped, before beating again.

“Well isn’t that interesting,” the stallion mused as he kept licking her clean—

Oh that bastard was cheating with a thestral tongue!

“In any case, if you could try to feel something when you’re around the little one, it’d probably help her not be scared around you,” Aspect pointed out.

“I apologise,” she said, ‘accidentally’ spilling more syrup on her leg. “It was a reflex. I will… try to curb that.”

What training did she have to do to make that kind of control a reflex?

“Hmm,” the stallion hummed as he kept licking her clean. Bonnie made great syrup. “Remember, we’re all trying to get along here. I’d rather not wake up to there being a conflict again. Because if I have to choose…”

“Yes… I understand,” she said quietly, looking away from him.

“It’s your job to make sure I don’t have to, understand?” Aspect paused in his licking to sit closer to the mare and peck her on the nose. He smelled like syrup as the mare nodded slowly. She felt awful right now. Perhaps… she should return home to Canterlot for the time being…

Then Aspect wrapped her up in a hug.

“I want everypony here,” he whispered. “I want a large family to come back to. I don’t want to lose any of you.”

“I… should not have joined… I should have left you in that room that night…” Midnight murmured.

“Perhaps it was a little hasty,” the stallion mused. “But I don’t regret it. I want you, Midnight. Will you have me?”

“I…” the mare paused. Did she? Could she get involved with all this? If something happened, could she afford to take a side? “I… do not know…”

The stallion gently kissed her on the lips, chastely, just to remind her that he cared for her.

“I am… I am not like Bon Bon,” she said. “I am not sweet, or kind. I am a guard. Somepony, trained to take out those that normal ones cannot.” She sighed. “Harmony… is something I cannot create. Only break.”

“Dear, I know about bumping the monsters in the night,” the stallion chuckled. “And you should try talking with Bon Bon about your jobs one day. I think the only peaceful one in the group is Dash, and even she kicked a dragon in the snout.”

“You do not understand,” she sighed. “I… I sing and break things.” And to prove her point, music started to filter in from everywhere. It took Aspect a good moment of two to realise.

She could control a Heart Song… Ponies could do odd things. Physics and the body’s natural limits often made as much sense as Discord during a song.

“Believe me, I know,” Aspect replied as he reached out a hoof, twisted something intangible, and…

The song cut off.

“I’m connected to Harmony just like you,” he said. “Some of my greatest fights had music playing in the background, empowering me to fight on when the odds seemed hopeless. I’m connected to the field that enables Heartsong in much the same means. I can trigger it at will…” His hoof booped her muzzle. “Or stop you from breaking things with it.”

He could negate her ability? Oh… that could be bad. She was supposed to…

She shook her head to clear it and nodded. “I… do not wish to go but—”

“Midnight, let me send the letter first,” the stallion said. “Let’s see what my daughter says before you go anywhere, hmm?”

Midnight paused and nodded. “A-Alright.” She didn't trust that Changeling, not just yet. But she did trust Christopher, so she would heed his words for now. Still… Celestia was not going to be amused that she drew her blades against him.

Aspect hummed as he went over to his saddlebags and began writing out a missive to his daughter.

Dear Celly,

It’s your father, and we have a tiny situation here. One of Chrysalis’ daughters showed up, so naturally I took the poor thing in, especially when trying to get in touch with Chryssy ended up with them cutting her out of their group. She’s all alone and helpless, so I’m keeping her.

The situation arose when Middy didn’t take too kindly to there being a Changeling in the house. To the point where she tried to kill the poor dear. Apparently Chryssy’s been a bad girl these past few years, if she’s been killing thestrals or other ponies. The bat was all set to go ‘eye for an eye’ on me, until I talked her down out of it.

Of course, Middy feels that she’s messed up, when really, it’s nothing to me. She’s hardly the first to draw blades on me, and she won’t be the last. Unlike the others, she realizes she’s goofed, so I’m of a mind to be lenient. But she wouldn’t let the day pass without sending you some sort of notification, so, this letter.

Be kind, Celly. Anything you say, she’ll do. And I still care for the bat.

Love,
Balanced Aspect

Looking over the letter once, twice, and nodding to himself, the stallion briefly took on his dragon form and sent the letter off via dragonfire. The two ponies watched the wisp of magically imbued ash fly through the air, disappearing in the distance as it wound its way to Canterlot and Celly’s side.

And it took a moment, before a reply flashed in front of him, the sight of Celestia’s seal making Midnight tense up a bit. Aspect nodded and turned back into his pegasus self, before breaking the scroll open and reading it.

‘Dearest Father.

That bit of news was not one I was expecting. And yes… it is unfortunate. But reports of Changelings killing a target is not unheard of. I too have tried many times to contact Chrysalis to no avail.

As to the matter of Midnight attacking that Changeling, then you.

I was more surprised to hear you're still in one piece--

Midnight offered him a shrug and a slight blush.

--Regardless, she is a guard and drawing a weapon against a citizen of Equestria unprovoked is a serious offense. At the very least, she would face disciplinary action. At worst… expulsion from the guard and extradition back to Roamania.’

And now Midnight was starting to breathe a little heavier. Aspect walked over and hugged her a little, before continuing to read.

‘However…’ He could almost hear the exasperated sigh in her words. ‘She is somepony you care about and I know you. If she was sent back, you'd go after her and I'd be left to clean up the bloody ashes you'd leave in your wake.’

“See, even my daughter knows me,” the stallion teased the mare. “I’m not just going to let you go, Middy.”

‘So her punishment is as such. I am assigning her as your guard. She can responsible for your messes. That should be a suitable punishment for anypony really~’

“Told you you’d be mine eventually,” Aspect chuckled as he nibbled lightly on Midnight’s ear.

“Why do I feel that this will be a punishment?” the bat quipped.

‘Good luck keeping her reigned in. And try not to knock her up.

Your loving (and extremely tired) daughter.

Sol Celestia.’

“You know, she only said ‘try not to’,” the stallion pointed out. “She didn’t explicitly say not to.”

“No.” Midnight beeped his nose.

“What, afraid you wouldn’t be able to keep up with me if I knocked you up?” the stallion quipped. “Or is the mighty thestral scared this old warhorse might outperform her if she grew fat?”

“I could defeat you easily,” she scoffed. “Stallion is no problem for me.”

A part of him wanted to call her out, challenge her…

The more sane part of him demanded he sit in front of her and simply ask her a question. “So what is?”

She tilted her head cutely, blinking those emerald eyes. “Elaborate.”

“What is holding you back from ever saying yes to me?” the stallion elaborated.

Midnight nodded. “Ah. Well… I, would not make a good mother.”

“...Is that it?” the stallion asked. “Written Script had those same fears. She turned out to be the best mother to the Princesses...with a little help. A lot of being a parent is common sense, with a healthy dose of protectiveness and fear for their safety mixed in. And you are an excellent guard.”

“Also, we are not wed,” she replied. “Thestrali law dictates we cannot conceive outside of that pact.”

“I notice two glaring issues with that argument,” the stallion pointed out. “The first is that, quite simply, we are not in Roamania. As evidenced by the fact that Bon Bon is pregnant outside of marriage.”

Then she used one of his tricks. Precise wording.

“I said Thestrali law. Not Roamanian,” she poked his chest.

“Ah, so for you it’s as ingrained as flight is,” the stallion noted aloud.

Midnight nodded. “And while I may have as many mates as I like. Those that wish to marry me. They must pass the Trial.”

“And what Trial is that?” Aspect had to ask.

“Singular combat. You. Bon Bon and Rainbow Dash must defeat me. Or I you should I request the marriage.”

“Hmm,” Aspect hummed as he thought about it. “Am I right in thinking that if I were to defeat you, I’d be the leader of the herd, whereas if you defeated me, it’d be your role?”

“You would be lead stallion regardless,” she nodded. “But if I defeated Bon Bon. I take Lead Mare.”

“Is there any restrictions on what sort of combat it can be?” Aspect asked.

“Natural abilities, non-lethal combat,” she nodded. “Also… should you do this. Anyone wishing to join after must do the same.”

“Hmm…” the stallion’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Very well then. Midnight Song, I challenge you to a test of endurance as your trial. I will use all of my forms against you, and your job is to last through them all.”

Midnight blushed and shook her head. “It must be combat. As fun as your idea would be.”

“It is, sexual combat,” the stallion replied with a chuckle. “You have to last through all of my forms without cumming once. Five minutes each form. And I have to do the same. Whoever cums first loses, and I have a lot of compatible forms for ponies. You never said it couldn’t involve sex.”

“You are impossible,” Midnight sighed. “So, you would make my parents watch us have sex?”

Aspect paused.

“You...never said anything about the parents,” he pointed out.

“Oh, I'm sure they won't mind,” Midnight purred, enjoying Aspect sweat. “But they must be witness to the fight, as you are joining the clan.” She leaned closer. “I think mother would like to see the virility of her new son~♡”

“You know what, using the Gale King against you would probably be a safer bet,” the stallion mused. “At least then if I lost, it’d be because you were more skilled at combat than I was.”

“This will be fun,” Midnight purred. “That aside…” She straddled him. “I still accept your other challenge.”

“Oh? What was that about witnesses?” the stallion asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Right here, right now,” she murred and nibbled his neck. “This is just for fun.”

Then the moment was shattered by the door bursting open and Pupal running in, trying to hide under Aspects wings.

“H-H-Help m-me,” she stuttered. “I-I-I can't eat anymore!”

“Now where did my little cuddle bug go,” Twinkle hummed as she poked her head in.

“She ran down the hall,” Aspect provided.

Twinkle nodded and trotted down the hall, calling out Pupal’s name.

“Thanks,” the nymph smiled. “S-She’s been huggin me a-all day.”

“See?” Aspect chuckled. “Not everypony is afraid of you.”

Pupal nodded and turned to come muzzle to muzzle with Midnight Song. Aspect swore her chitin turned several shades lighter.

“Okay, whatever you do,” Aspect intoned for both of them. “No. Sudden. Movements. Got it?”

Midnight looked at the bug and then raised a hoof. Pupal flinched and squeezed her eyes shut…

Until she realized that Midnight was petting her head?

“Christopher is correct,” she said quietly. “You are not to blame. I… am sorry Little One.”

“Progress,” the stallion nodded and kissed the both of them on the head.

“I can see you,” Pupal blinked, sensing the mare emotions. They were muted, but they were there. She also sensed one and looked at Aspect. “Were you about to have sex? I sense a lot of Lust here.”

“Helping you takes precedence over fun,” the stallion commented. “I’ll have a word with Twinkle about your diet.”

“I also eat food,” she nodded. “Hey Grandpa? What's sex like?”

Midnight now wore a sharkish grin.

“Midnight, no,” Aspect warned her.

“I said nothing,” Midnight mused. “Should I call the pink princess?”

“That’s worse than whatever else you had planned and you know it,” the stallion deadpanned.

Pupal just tilted her head.

“Well the moment is gone,” Midnight shrugged. “Come. Let us find the others and discuss things.”

“Eh, fair enough,” the stallion said as he kissed Midnight on the lips, before picking Pupal up and settling her on her back. “I expect to hear a date from you as to when we’re doing that official challenge of yours,” the stallion said to Midnight, beeping her snout.

“As soon as you propose,” she beeped him back and then left him alone in the room with Pupal.

“Is the scary bat pony gonna b-b-be my g-grandma?” Pupal asked.

“Maybe, possibly even today, if I can manage it,” the stallion replied. “But she’s my guard now. Which means she’ll not do anything I don’t tell her to. Plus, she got a lesson in not blaming another for somepony else’s mistakes.”

“Oooh,” Pupla nodded and then blinked, her ears perking up as her tongue flicked out, tasting the air. “Huh… there it is again.”

“In any case, if you’re staying with me, then you’re going to have to go through all the steps as well,” Aspect said as he began walking through the house. “How old are you?”

“Huh?” she blinked and tilted her head back and forth. “I-In p-pony years?”

“That is the most commonly used system, yes,” the stallion nodded

“T-Then I am th-th-thiiir…” She stomped a hoof. “One and t-three.”

“Thirteen,” Aspect supplied. “So here, you still have to go to school. And you’ll also need a medical checkup.”

“I a-am healthy,” she nodded. “C-Changeling do n-not get s-s-sick.”

“Then it won’t hurt to make sure,” Aspect countered. “Besides, if you’re healthy now, then it’d be good to get a baseline for any future treatments.”

“L-Like i s-said, we can’t… m’not good at e-e-explaining it,” she said. She hopped off of his back. “I-I need to find that n-now.” She started walking off, heading in the direction of Realm’s room.

“Where are you going, little bug?” the stallion asked as he followed after her.

“S-Something is m-making my head itchy…” she mumbled as she sniffed the air, her tongue flicking out again as she picked up the pace, now running straight for Realm’s bedroom.

“Just keep in mind, I have a lot of weird guests,” the stallion pointed out as he easily kept pace with her. Her horn lit up a sparkling emerald green as she opened the door to Realm’s room and looked around.

“Mmm...g’way, it’s too early,” a sleepy Realm called from his bed. He then felt a weight over him, and the feeling of somepony staring at him.

When his eyes opened, he saw blue, pupiless eyes, chitin as black as night and two white fangs looking down at him from above.

“The Tartarus?” the young colt muttered as he batted her away. “G’way Nightmare, I’m tryin’ ta sleep.”

“Are you t-the one m-makin’ my head s-s-scritchy,” the Changeling blinked.

“Realm, meet Pupal,” the pegasus introduced. “She’s a Changeling. Pupal, Realm is currently a Muse, on his way to becoming the Alicorn of Art.”

“R-Realm…” she blinked as she flittered back, sitting on the end of his bed as she stared at him.

“Wha’s going on?” the young pinto alicorn asked as he sat up.

“Oh, just introducing you to your niece,” the pegasus said with a shit-eating grin.

“N-Niece…?” Pupal tilted her head. “Unca Realm?”

“...Wha’?” the alicorn blinked as he looked at the little bug. “Who…”

“Oh, you’ll meet her one day,” the stallion brushed aside. “But she was drawn to you like a moth to a flame for some reason.”

And for the first time, he got a deadpan stare from the little Changeling. “D-Did you j-just make a b-b-bug pun?”

“Go on, deny that you ran straight here,” the stallion chuckled.

She suddenly transformed into an exact replica of him. “That’s rather mean,” he heard in his own voice. “I don’t make bird puns around you pegasi.”

“It’s all in good fun, because if we can’t laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at?” the stallion pointed out. “We all know we don’t mean anything mean by it.”

Then she shifted into a copy of Realm. “So, why does my uncle make my head all itchy? It’s kind of uncomfortable.”

“He’s using a suppression spell,” Aspect explained. “If he were to let loose his true nature, it’d end with everyone being inspired constantly, until their bodies failed.”

“Ahh,” RealmPupal nodded and shifted back to her natural state. “T-That’s w-w-why. Okay…”

“Yeah, I learned my lesson once my magic came in,” the alicorn replied before yawning. “No more unbound me. I guess I could look into a spell that makes less...noise?”

“Mhm…” she nodded and smiled. “T-Thank you U-Unca Realm.”

“You do realize, neither of you are my biological kids,” the stallion said as he turned to leave them alone.

“D-Does that mean I-I can harvest l-l-love from h-him?” she asked aloud.

“Um...what?” the colt asked. “What are you talking about?”

“W-We Changeling’s eat l-love,” she nodded. “I-I-Is one r-reason I hided h-here.”

“Oh...yeah, dad is pretty loving,” the colt nodded.

“Mhm, mostly lust though,” she giggled. “I-I get some from a-almost e-everyone here.”

“Everyone?” Realm asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Mhm,” she nodded again. “It’s n-not much, cause I-I can’t g-get it directly… b-but it was e-enough.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” the colt replied, rubbing the back of his head. “Dad’s...a young pervert trapped in an old body.”

“I n-noticed,” she smiled and then looked at him. “S-So are y-you~”

“I’m only technically old,” the colt replied, waving a wing. “I’m still the right age biologically to be what I am.”

“T-This house is weird,” she giggled as she looked around. “What p-pretty paintings.”

“They’re...not just paintings,” the colt replied.

“Huh?” the little nymph blinked as she looked around and stood up, her black carapace shining in the morning light. “W-What then?”

“They’re Pictomancy portraits,” the colt replied. “They’re paint and magic come to life.”

“W-Wow…” she looked at them. “You’re n-never lonely huh…” She cast her gaze down. “M-Must be nice…”

“Not as nice as you think,” Realm replied. “They’re...trapped in the world of paint. They’re bound to their portraits. I may have made a portal to where they can walk into the real world, but...they can’t get wet. They can’t get damaged, otherwise, they’ll die. They’re...much more fragile than you or me. Everything I do...I do to give them a modicum of the freedom I have.”

“S-Sounds tough,” Pupal nodded. “I… I could n-never do a-anything r-right. I was… I was supposed to d-do a mission. I-I failed.” She morphed into a familiar purple unicorn. “I was supposed to spy on this mare here for the Queen. But I got the wrong house and got distracted here. Now they cut me off from the Hive. I can’t hear them anymore. My… my own family threw me away. Because I’m useless.” Oh… oh not the sad face, not while looking like her.

“So pick your new family,” Realm replied easily. “I lost my family. Manticores took my whole village and left me alone. But Aspect...father, he saved me. It doesn’t have to be an ending. You just have to pick yourself up, see that you’ve been offered a raw deal, and choose to make a better one out of it. I would never have learned Pictomancy or the Gale King if Aspect hadn’t taken me in as his adopted son. I’d never have lasted a thousand years in a Pictomancy portrait and survived to become the Alicorn of Art if it weren’t for his boundless compassion.”

“I guess…” TwiPupal sighed. “But… ponies are scared of us. You should hear some of the stories. Not even monsters sound as bad.”

“I’m not scared of you,” the colt pointed out. “You’re actually rather adorable in your normal form.”

She blushed as she reverted back, hiding under the covers of the bed. “N-No I’m n-n-not…” she mumbled.

Realm just dove under the covers and trapped the little bug in a hug, and she could feel the genuine care he had for her as he held her close. After a second, he felt her hole-pocked hooves hug him back. And in the darkness of under the blanket, he could make out faint wisps of green light exit his form and enter hers.

“There you go, come on,” the colt said as he pulled her back, up to the head of the bed, and cuddled her close once they exited the sheets. “We should still have a few minutes before anypony comes to wake me up.”

“T-To do what?” she asked him, snuggling closer.

“To just do whatever we want,” the colt replied as he lay there with her.

“Do you l-like the p-purple p-pony?” she asked him. “I-I sensed something w-when I t-transformed.”

“It’s...complicated,” the colt sighed. “I care about her well-being. I’m her friend...but I can’t be anything more. I’m not old enough for her, so I told her to find someone she can be with now rather than wait for me for six years. I would rather she be happy than pass up on somepony that can fill that hole.”

Then with a flash of green flames, he found himself in the warm hooves of Twilight, one keeping him close while the other pet his head softly. And he had to try very hard to remember that this wasn’t the real Twilight.

“Pupal...it wouldn’t feel right,” he eventually said. “Just...be you.” Of course, by then, five minutes had gone by. She felt so soft and warm, her heartbeat in his ear as she hugged him.

“But you like this,” she argued in Twilight’s voice.

“That doesn’t make it right,” the colt argued. “It’s something I can’t have for real. It wouldn’t be healthy for me to enjoy this. I can’t have Twilight.”

“I’m a Changeling. It’s what we do,” she said, her eyes flashing blue. “I can be her for you.”

“...You have no idea how tempting that is,” the colt muttered. “But...no. I shouldn’t. I have to be stronger than that. I’m her knight, her protector. I can’t just...give in to temptation.”

“But you love her,” TwiPupal said, her lips very close to his own now. He could feel her breath on his muzzle. “Why should you go without…”

“Because a colt isn’t allowed to be with a mare,” the colt replied. “I’m not mature enough to have a mare as a marefriend just yet. It’s the law.”

“Rules are made to be broken,” the mare breathed, inching closer. His love was just so… intoxicating~

Realm took a deep breath and shook his head. “No. I’m not doing this. I’m not going to give in.”

“Is that what you really think?” she said, her lips on his neck.

“It isn’t about what I want, it’s about what’s right,” Realm firmly replied.

Then she kissed him.

Realm enjoyed it for all of one second before he pushed back, breaking the kiss and shaking his head. “No, no, no! Stop tempting me!”

She blinked, shaking her head as she cancelled the transformation. “I… w-what…. W-what happened…?” She remembered snuggling and then… that buzzing in her head.

“You...turned into Twilight to try and seduce me,” the colt replied, not sure what was going on.

“T-That i-itchiness…” she murmured. “I’m… I’m so sorry I…” She’d let her instincts rule her.

“Just promise me you won’t try again in her form,” Realm said as he pulled her close again. “I want to get to know you.”

“M-me?” she asked him, fighting down those urges again.

“Yeah, I mean, you’re pretty adorable as you are,” the colt replied. “So, where’d you come from?”

She blinked. Nopony wanted to know about her before. “W-Well… I was h-hatched in the Hive.” she said after a few moments. “O-One of T-Three Thousand.”

“Sheesh, so I’m an uncle to two thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine more?” Realm joked. “Talk about a big family tree.”

“Mm,” she shook her head. “T-there’s lots more. L-Like a m-million times more.”

“Oh boy, you go to sleep for a thousand years and all your relatives crawl out of the woodwork,” the colt teased.

“...The Hive isn’t made of wood,” she replied back with a small nod. “S-Stone and Changeling sap.”

“...You really need to learn about jokes,” Realm sighed.

“It was a joke?” she blinked again. “O-Oh. S-Sorry.”

“It’s fine, we’ll work on it later,” the colt replied with a wave of a wing. “So what else is there to know about you?”

“I’m n-not v-very good at my j-job,’ she giggled weakly. “A-And Missus Bat Pony is s-super s-s-scary.”

“Middy’s fun when you get to know her,” Realm replied. “And if you had been good at your job, would we have ever met?”

“N-No…” she said. “Y-You’d be trapped in a p-pod while I s-stole your l-love.”

“Yeah, see, that’s a thing ponies probably wouldn’t like if you mentioned,” the colt deadpanned. “Why would you need to steal anything dad would give you for free anyways?”

“C-Cause… I didn’t know him…” she replied. “All ponies… t-they hate u-us.”

“Dad doesn’t, I don’t,” Realm pointed out. “And I’m sure if you spent time around ponies, letting them get to know you, they’d be fine with you too.”

“I’Il doubt that…” she murmured. “This place… it’s different. Y-You haven’t s-seen what p-ponies do to us outside.”

“You’re trapped in a circle here,” the colt pointed out. “You think they’ll do something terrible if they see you, so you don’t even try. Yet you can’t survive if you don’t form a bond with somepony. Which you’re afraid of. If you don’t take a step outside your circular reasoning there, you’ll likely starve, even with dad’s help.”

“T-That’s why we disguise o-ourselves,” she nodded.

“The ponies here are kind and welcoming,” the colt replied. “If you give them a chance, you won’t regret it, I promise.”

“I-I’ll hold you to that,” she said. His hoof ran over her chitin, surprised at how warm it felt. It wasn’t completely solid, like it had just a little give to it.

“See? Isn’t it better to just be yourself?” he asked.

“I-I guess,” she said, her cheeks getting a cute green tint to them. Aww, was she blushing now?

“And better yet, no awkwardness,” the colt sighed as he cuddled her.

‘For now maybe,’ she breathed sharply. “I um… s-sorry for… k-kissing you.”

“You pulled out of it, it’s fine,” the colt replied with a wave of his wing. “I was more upset by the form than the action.”

“H-Huh?” she blinked. This was… new to her. Did he not like the purple one like that after all.

“Yeah...it hurts, but I can’t have Twilight. So it’s better to not be tempted,” the colt sighed.

“O-Okay then,” she nodded. “I can use a different form.”

“Your normal form is fine,” the colt replied, hugging her closer with his hoof.

So she took that as a cue to kiss him again, more wisps of light absorbing into her form.

“...You do that a lot, don’t you?” the colt observed as he held her there.

“Your love is tasty,” she replied after breaking the chaste kiss. “Kinda like chocolate~”

“Careful, you can get addicted to chocolate,” the colt teased.

So she leaned in again… just as Aspect came in to fetch the pair for take two of breakfast.

“Welp, just come down in time to eat,” the stallion said as he turned around and left them to it.

Realm blushed as he looked away. “Ahehe...we should...probably get going…”

“Oh, but I have my b-breakfast here,” she said, holding him closer.

“I need to go eat,” the colt pointed out.

“Aww… o-okay,” she said as she went to release her hug.

“I never said you couldn’t come with,” the colt pointed out as he finally got out of bed. Then he felt a weight on his back as she rode him like a horse from his dad’s stories.

“Giddyup Realmy,” she smiled.

“And suddenly you’re clingy,” the colt chuckled as he walked through the halls towards the dining room. All his joints felt stiff and he eyes heavy as he walked though. Maybe he needed some coffee…

The table was lively enough, and Midnight and Pupal only stared at each other for five minutes before they resumed their tasks.

“So… seems you made a friend,” Bon Bon giggled to Realm as she noted the Changeling almost literally attached to his hip.

“Yes, well, she’s cute compared to the things that roamed the Everfree a thousand years ago,” the colt replied as he had a cup of coffee.

“So I see,” Bon Bon chuckled. Aspect had given everypony else the rundown of her by now. And Bon Bon figured the small Changeling was alright. It would take a special kind of stupid to try something in this house.

“So… you seemed to have fun last night,” Twinkle brought up. “I’ll be moving rooms if that’s okay. Fun as that was, I actually need sleep.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Aspect replied sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “You know me and directions. I thought I was putting you on the far side of the house.”

“Of course you were,” Twinkle shook her head and sighed. “How on earth do you last for that long?”

“Can we not talk about this?” Bon Bon blushed profusely.

“Training,” Aspect replied solemnly. “From the three mares that put up with me.”

“Sounds like a rough life,” Twinkle snarked. “Poor stallion.”

“He cheats,” Midnight nodded. “Else I alone would be too much for him.”

“Of course I cheat, why wouldn’t I cheat?” Aspect retorted. “Else I wouldn’t be able to handle one, let alone three as talented as you.”

Well two, Rainbow wasn’t here. Midnight just winked at him while Bon Bon turned her attentions back to the stovetop.

“Unbelieveable,” Twinkle shook her head. “Heartthrob would have a heart attack if she saw you now. You and Written never getting together drove her nuts.”

“Yes, well, some things just weren’t meant to be,” the stallion pointed out.

“She was taken far before her time,” Twinkle sighed softly. “And myself… I wish I could have had a larger family. To even know I had some heirs aside from Clover. Knowing her, she never had any foals of her own…”

“You should see one particular mare in town then,” Aspect chuckled. “She’s a dead ringer for Clover, except for the cutie mark. I think it’s safe to say her blood lives on in the Sparkle clan.”

Twinkle blinked slowly… before walking to a painting. “Clover! Get your purple butt over here!”

There was a moment or two of silence, before Clover showed up in the painting. “Yes Grandma?” she asked.

“You didn’t tell me about any foals young filly!” she scolded her. “Am I a great to however many times a Grandmother or not?”

“Ah, I mean…” the painting blushed, somehow. “There was a particularly charming stallion after Aspect folded the Big Brother ponies back into ponykind as a whole. He...may have spent a few nights in my room while we were getting them all situated…”

“I thought I raised you better,” Twinkle shook her head. “Ah well, so where is the great relation of mine anyway?”

“Well,” Aspect interjected. “Twilight Sparkle lives in Ponyville these days, and her mother is also here to help me teach Sorcery to the foals. They live in a library in a tree.”

“A library…” Twinkle looked at Clover with a sly smirk. “Yup, they’re your descendants alright.”

“I can’t help that Starswirl practically lived in one,” the painted mare sighed. “Or that he still does.”

“It’s both functional and educational,” the grumpy pone called out from somewhere within the library. “And you never complained you little upstart.”

“No, I did, you just didn’t listen with your muzzle stuffed in a new book,” the mare called out.

“Not my problem.”

“Hmm, so no sexy student/teacher action?” Twinkle teased her poor granddaughter. The mare sputtered and waved her forehooves in the air.

“Grandma, don’t be so silly!” she protested. “He’s as old as you are! That would just be weird!”

“Aww, but Heartthrob’s books make it sound so sexy,” Twinkle giggled. “Come on dear, don’t lie now~”

“I’m not lying, I never felt attracted to Starswirl! Daft old codger wouldn’t know what a female wanted if he walked into a plot!”

“What was that?” Starswirl yelled out.

“True, he was even more oblivious than Christopher,” Twinkle giggled. “Well, I guess I shall have to go and meet this little descendent for myself then.”

“She’s more obsessed with teacher than with her ancestors, though,” the painted mare replied, sighing softly. “Hardly an hour goes by without her muzzle in some sort of book.”

“H’oh, so the apple never fell far from the tree?” Twinkle nodded. “And who was it that practically begged that old fuddy duddy to teach her the arcane ways eh?”

Clover had the good grace to blush and look away at that.

“I’m going to question how a painting blushes later,” Twinkle replied and looked at Realm. ‘Knowing him, he just remembered how adorable it was when you did~”

“What, you thought I wasn’t going to give them as much realism as possible?” the colt asked.

“Mhm, I’m sure that’s what it was,” Twinkle chuckled as she turned back to the table. Aspect noted she’d changed her manestyle. Her tail done up in a tight bun and her mane was curled up and not too dissimilar to how Bon Bon wore hers.

“Well, just be careful if you’re going out there,” the stallion warned her. “Your talent’s pretty rare these days, and ponies have definitely changed in the past millennium or so. My advice is to watch and observe before acting. Plus, your magic is probably still recovering.”

“Yes, no wish-granting for the time being,” Twinkle rolled her eyes and snorted. “Honestly Christopher. You needn’t bother with the obvious. I’m not a filly.”

“Sometimes it feels like that’s all I’m surrounded by,” the stallion snorted as he rolled his neck, popping it and sighing in satisfaction. “There we go. Okay, so...what to do today. Oh, duh. Midnight, want me to get that official challenge out of the way?”

“You are saying you wish to propose here and now?” Midnight asked, causing a rather impressive spittake by Bon Bon. The earth pony spluttered and coughed, thumping her chest with a hoof.

“W-What was that?” she gasped, getting her breath back. “P-Proposal? Proposal for what!?”

“Apparently Midnight’s rite of marriage is gated by a rite of combat,” the stallion explained. “So I figured I’d get that out of the way today. It’d be a good lesson to the Wonderbolts, as I’m going to be using the Gale King against her. If I bring my full might to bear, it shouldn’t take me long.”

Bon Bon raised a hoof… then lowered it as she looked between the two ponies. “M-Marriage…”

“Yes,” Midnight nodded. “He has proposed as such to me.”

“J-Just you huh…” Bon Bon said slowly as Twinkle facehooved.

“Christopher you idiot,” she muttered.

“I’m not saying I’m going to marry Midnight right off the bat,” the stallion sighed. “But this is something I apparently have to do if I ever want to marry her. And it’s something everypony is going to have to do if they want in afterwards. I figured I would at least start it, okay? It’s not like I’ll have to wrestle Bonnie if I propose to her afterwards, or beat Dash in a race to earn the privilege.”

He could almost feel the facehoof of just about every mare in the house sans Bon Bon.

“Christopher, follow me,” Twinkle said as she got up and left the room. That earned a quizzical look from the stallion, but he got up and did as such. He hadn’t said anything...wrong, right?

In the living room. He found her waiting, as well as a few of the painted ponies. Written, Clover, Pansy and Hurricane in particular.

“Okay, now I’ll make this quick,” Twinkle said. “What do you suppose you just did wrong dear Christopher?”

“...I honestly don’t know,” the stallion replied. “It’s a fight to prove who’s going to be wearing the metaphorical pants in the relationship should we choose to get married. I’m not just going to run off and marry Midnight first. I’m going to get my fight out of the way, suggest to Bonnie and Dash that they get their fights out of the way, and look into the latest pony customs so that I can actually plan a wedding properly. Because I need to marry Bon Bon at least, so that her mother won’t kill me for her having a Kirin out of wedlock. And I’m not letting go of the others either.”

“Logical,” Twinkle nodded. “But that’s where you failed. Look Chris. Love isn’t logical, nor is the heart. You just proposed to one mare of your herd. To the others, you look like your favouring that Thestral over them…”

“...Ah, yeah...okay, so, I tell Bon Bon I’m not going to marry Midnight right away, more like...clear the hurdle in the way of that? And then tell her it’s all part of my dastardly plan to be able to marry them all at once?”

Twinkle turned and thunked her head against the wall. “Dear Creator… just… Written help please? I just… I can’t.”

Written chuckled. “Now you see what I had to deal with,” she mused. “Look Aspect, you’re still making the promise of marriage to just one mare. Propose to all of them if you want to fix this.”

“...You know, you could have just said that to me, Twinkle,” the stallion groused. “I mean...I could do that. I could look through my jewelry box for some appropriate pieces for the others, or maybe even make something for them. I think Realm has another Spectra Heart, it’d work well for Dash. Then I’d just need something that matches Bon Bon’s colors…”

“Twinkle, I’m counting on you,” Written said with a smile.

“Good luck… you’re gonna need it,” Hurricane mused.

“I hate all of you so much,” Twinkle groaned. “Okay Christopher. We’re going shopping. Get your bags and meet me outside. I’m going to convince your mares to not skin you alive in the meantime. You’re immortal, so that is a very real threat for you.”

“Hey, we haven’t even looked in my jewelry box yet!” the stallion replied. “I’m sure I’ve got all sorts of old pieces in there that could be useful! Plus the ONLY thing that would really work for Dash is something made of Spectra. Her mane literally is rainbow colored. Tell me that’s not a match.”

“Then get that and we’ll use it,” Twinkle said. “But we’re getting something new for them, not your dusty old relics. They’re already marrying one after all.”

Aspect snorted, before walking off towards the stairs to the basement, where he kept all the Spectra crystals. It was only a few minutes later that he was instead going upstairs, to where his saddlebags were, slipping a few crystals into one side before slipping them on. After which, he walked to the front door and sighed.

Apparently he’d been roped into another adventure today.

Author's Notes:

Open mouth, insert hoof, Aspect.

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