Jay awoke late the next morning, his mind snapping awake instantly. Of all the things he missed about being a normal living being, the grogginess was not one of them. He was happy to be able to wake up instantly with no transition. It was very useful and also stopped him from wanting to just roll over in the incredibly comfortable bed and just fall back to sleep, something he was prone to do before his infection. The man had often found himself setting four different alarms to make sure he actually woke up, simply beause he would stay up so late and sleep just as late as a result.

Putting aside the aside, he turned his head to the right and smiled lightly, seeing Luna and Celestia snuggling against each other. Another male might have felt left out, seeing his herdmates wrapped around each other with several inches between him and Luna, but he was just happy that they had each other. Jay knew, without a doubt, that they were more important to each other than he was to them, but it didn’t bother him. The virus knew that Celestia loved Luna more than she did him and that the same was true for Luna, but he expected it. After all, Jay was pretty sure they were together for years before the Nightmare Moon incident and he knew their love persisted through the banishment which showed just how powerful it was.

Maybe in a few decades or centuries, our love will be just as powerful, but I have no real complaints. It doesn’t hurt knowing how much they love each other because I know they still truly love me. In fact, it honestly makes me feel better, knowing they’ll have each other whenever I’m not around. Then Jay grinned lightly, a thought striking him. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the ‘sisters’ taboo is attractive, along with the other taboos they try out that I know of. I know now that Celestia is a somnophile so who knows what other kinks they have. It’ll be fun learning about them in the coming time.

Jay’s attention snapped back to them when they started to stir in their sleep, a clear indicator that they were waking up. Celestia fidgeted a little and Jay noticed for the first time that Luna’s wingtip was still in Celestia’s mouth, a sight that was incredibly adorable. Jay grinned when Luna tightened her grip around Celestia, hugging her more firmly. The virus waited for another minute or so before their eyes opened together, soft magenta meeting calm teal. They shared a quick smile as Celestia let go of Luna’s wing. Leaning closer together, they shared a quick yet loving kiss before moving over to him as they all sat up, repeating the same process. Jay happily returned the love, showing his affection and care for two mares that were by his side as often as they could be.

Late morning kissing aside, Jay smiled at the pair and spoke. “How’d you two sleep?”

Celestia smiled at him, replying happily. “I slept very well, though I didn’t expect to wake up with Luna’s wing in my mouth. Not unpleasant, though.”

Luna yawned widely, her clean white teeth and pink tongue flashing in his sight, the darkness caused by the heavy curtains blocking the window doing nothing to impede his vision. “It was very good! Not only did I have a wonderful dream, but I woke up feeling very relaxed. I’m sure I know why, too.”

Flashing Celestia a knowing glance which made her flush slightly, Luna continued. “Thank you for preening my wings, Celestia.”

Then she turned her attention back to him. “Did you join in on Celestia’s fun?”

Jay shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I wanted to ask you to join in on the agreement before I did anything.”

Luna nodded sagely. “Good choice. What we do can easily turn bad if somepony goes too far.”

“You mean the incest or the somnophilia?” Jay asked with a small smirk. “Because you two have some pretty big kinks.”

“And your tendrils! Don’t forget those!” Celestia added helpfully with a grin to Luna, turning the tables around as the Lunar Princess blushed slightly.

Then she collected herself and started talking, her eyes drifting shut as a faux-smug tone tinted her voice. “First, incest is perfectly acceptable when in a herd, which we are. Second, tendrils is not the only thing you may be requested to use, Jay. You’re a shapeshifter and that opens up a whole slew of options. Third, somnophilia is perfectly safe provided the right steps are taken and all parties consent, which I and Celestia do.”

“Speaking of those steps, we should probably explain them to Jay.” Celestia told her sister, who nodded in reply and dropped the fake tone after favoring him with a quick smile.

“Right. I’ll start.” Luna said right before she started explaining. “Any time Celestia wants to do something to me while I sleep, she has to ask me specifically before I fall asleep. I’ll tell her yes, no, or limit what she asked in case I don’t want to, which rarely happens. Celestia’s a minor ‘somnophile’ so she doesn’t want to do anything majorly sexual, mostly just teasing and tasting.”

“I’ve also known from the first day when Luna’s too tired to give me an actual answer that she means and will remember.” Celestia jumped in, explaining her part. “That also means that I can’t ask her while she’s drunk, dazed, or anything else that impairs her cognitive function. Though, awake drunk sex can be very fun.”

“For the most part, Celestia also never goes too far, such as using toys or her horn or anything. It’s not really about the sex itself for her but the ability to do as she desires while also pleasing me, but she limits that pretty drastically to avoid upsetting me, which she won’t. Celestia could grab a toy and fuck me all night and I wouldn’t mind as long as she asked me before I fell asleep.” Luna said honestly, sparking a minor blush from them both.

“It’s also agreed not to do anything that will wake Luna up. It makes it a bit more fun for me since its a challenge, but I don’t mind. Of course, that also means I can’t using any sleep-inducing herbs or spells to keep her asleep. That could end in me doing something she doesn’t want and her not being able to wake up to tell me no.” Celestia says.

“And of course, sometimes our positions switch and I play with her a bit. When that happens, the same rules apply, just in reverse. Honestly, we have a lot of fun with it. Its a rush and a challenge to pleasure your partner without waking her up at all, but we be sure to be safe about it.” Luna finished.

“With the way you’re explaining this, it sounds like you’ve had problems between you two before.” Jay commented.

Both shook their heads instantly, with Luna speaking up. “No, not really. All that was decided on the day we started this. They’re simply and there’s a few gaps but that’s because we don’t really need them. We understand each other and what we want enough to not hurt each other anymore.”

Jay only barely picked up on the saddened look on Celestia’s face and the quick glance from Luna that just screamed ‘It’s okay, I forgive you.’ For a moment, he thought something had happened with Celestia’s somnophilia in the past, then he paused as he thought about what Luna had said. A moment later and he realized that Celestia was thinking of the Nightmare Moon event. The virus’ hand came out and rested on Celestia’s side even as Luna did the same.

After a moment, the mood passed and Celestia continued. “The real reason why we have these rules made, written down, and signed by us both is in case we got caught. Most ponies wouldn’t be bothered by our relationship, even though we fear otherwise. It’s really just the nobles that would be outraged. No, most ponies would panic at my somnophilia because it dances a fine line between erotic sex and straight up rape. The rules, contract, and agreements keep it on the safe side of that line, which would help calm ponies down about it. Luna was right, we don’t need the rules at all because we understand each other, but it’s a precaution we took anyway.”

Jay nodded, understanding her point. Somnophilia really was a risky kink to indulge in because of how dangerous it could end up. If done well with someone trustworthy, it could end up fun and sexy. It’s just lucky for Celestia that she had somepony to make it work with. In any case, he really didn’t mind the idea of joining in, which he voiced out. “Sounds intriguiging. I won’t lie and say I’m not interested.”

“If you agree to sign the contract, you can join us.” Luna beamed brightly. “That means you’ll have to follow the rules, too, but I doubt that’ll be a problem.”

Jay nodded and her horn flashed, a thick sheet of paper appearing in front of her with a quill and inkwell next to it. He grabbed the quill and dipped it into the ink as he read over the paper, seeing that it what he had been told was incredibly close to literally everything in the contract. He signed it soon after with his real name, not his pony one, and they disappeared in a flash. Luna was smiling widely at him while Celestia seemed eager, making Jay realized something. Luna said she was aggressive and Celestia was submissive. Yet this kink is the opposite. Luna’s being toyed with while she’s asleep and powerless and Celestia’s the one doing it.

Jay hummed lightly at that thought before the mares gave him a curious look, prompting him to explain. “Luna, you said you were aggressive and dominate. You also said Celestia was submissive. Yet this kink is the opposite with the way it is usually.”

Celestia just smiled in understanding as Luna explained. “That’s how we usually are, Jay. With our age and experience with each other, we discovered a number of situations where the ‘status quo’ is different that usual. In normal sex, I like being on top and Celestia likes being rutted, not made love to. Yet Celestia is also a somnophile and I often have fantasies of another having their way with me, which Celestia’s happy to let me experience at times. You’ll find that our needs are ever changing with time and that there’s never a dull moment in bed with us.”

“Of course, that means there are also times that we just aren’t in a good mood at all.” Celestia added. “Sometimes, we’ll just be bitter because of something somepony said. I hope you’ll understand that we don’t mean anything negative we say.”

Jay smiled understandingly. “I understand, Sunshine. Trust me, if a noble upsets you, I won’t take anything to heart. I’ll be happy to be an ear you can vent to, both of you.”

Luna nuzzled him once again, then rolled out of bed as she stretched out in a rather attractive pose. “I suppose we should clean up and get started with our day. Jay, you’re returning to the Estate today, aren’t you?”

The virus nodded. “I am. I’m hoping to be home around noon so I can talk with the Elements, then Chrysalis when she returns. I’m still not quite certain if she’s returning today or not, though she should be.”

“Are you looking forward to her return?” Celestia asked, getting out of the bed as well.

“Of course I am.” Jay said simply. “It may have only been a week but a lot has happened. I definitely want to talk to her about us.”

“Do you think she’ll be upset?” Luna asked him curiously, though she was sure she knew the answer.

“No, I don’t. I think she’ll be rather happy since she wanted us together. Chrysalis will be even happier at the prospect of spending nights together like a family.” Jay replied with a small smile.

“I agree.” Luna said with Celestia nodding her agreement. “You do realize we slept for at least sixteen hours because we were together, right? The only reason we didn’t wake up sooner is because my sister and I are capable of moving our charges from our dreams.”

“Guess we really wore you out, didn’t we?” Jay asked with a smirk to her. She nodded with a likewise grin before she turned around and flicked her tail, giving him a quick view of matted fur.

“Yes, you did. Now I need to go clean myself up. Would you two care to join me?” Luna asked as she started walking into her bathroom. Celestia immediately started to follow and Jay stood up out of bed, moving along with them into the bathroom. The virus was sure that the smug smirk on Luna’s muzzle was from the idea that a quick glance under her tail and a question got two immortals to follow her into a bathroom, but he didn’t mind.

Gene stepped through the front door of the Peace Estate and looked around. He didn’t see Night Shine, Iron Wall, or Soaring Fury, but he did see a familiar blue Guard on a couch reading a book. The virus walked into the living room and she looked up, likely hearing his hoofsteps. She immediately stood up and saluted him, which both amused and annoyed him. “Sir!”

“At ease, Private Spear.” He said simply. She nodded and dropped the salute right before he continued talking. “You know the formalities are unnecessary when you aren’t on duty.”

“I know, sir, but it doesn’t feel right. I suppose it’s due to the training we go through in Canterlot.” Lightning explained.

He nodded his understanding, then broached the topic he had approached her for. “I wanted to commend you for assisting in holding back the Timberwolves and Ursirium that came from the Everfree. I saw you and the others fighting with Princess Celestia’s reinforcements.”

To his surprise, a light blush spread on her face. “Thank you, sir, but we just did what we were supposed to do. Iron Wall was the one who suggested it, but it wasn’t until he pointed out that none of our charges were actually in the Estate that we got moving.”

“Willingness to help your fellow Guards while also dedicated to your original posting.” Gene said, which made her smile slightly. “It makes me wonder why you’re only a private.”

Lightning just shrugged. “I’m rather new to the Guard, we all are, so nothing has really happened to earn a promotion. I know that one of the higher ranks that came with the Princess put in a good word for us all, so something might happen soon.”

Then she hesitated as a thought struck her, a clear question on her mind. “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, where were you during the battle?”

“I was the creature that killed the two Ursirium.” He said simply, making her mouth fall open in shock. “Due to my nature, I can shift into other forms. That’s one of my combat forms.”

“Sweet Celestia…” Lightning breathed out. “Why are we guarding you if you can become that?”

“You’re not.” Gene replied. “You’re guarding Snow and any other guests we have. Speaking of guests, the Elements of Harmony should be here around noon. Please let them in and lead them to the second floor.”

“Yes, sir.” The Unicorn said with a nod.

Gene returned the nod and turned, heading upstairs to wait for the others. He wasn’t too worried about how the Elements would react to the news. In a worse case scenario, they would try to attack him or spread the news to the Guards. In the first event, he would be entirely unaffected by their hits. In the second, he had the support of most of the Guard and the Princesses. Walking into the bedroom, he quickly glanced around. After seeing that nothing was changed and that Chrysalis wasn’t back, he turned around and exited the private section of the second floor, locking the door behind him. Sitting down on a small couch, he waited patiently for his guests. If he had to guess, he had about an hour wait before they would arrive, which wasn’t all that long to him.

The hour or so passed quickly enough, his powerful hearing soon picking up the sounds of hoofsteps from the lower floor. From the sounds of it, all six mares were present as he expected. The virus could hear Lightning escorting them to the staircase, then leaving the building to do her business. Moments later, he watched as the Elements of Harmony walked up the stairs and into the living room, soon taking seats around him. His gaze drifted across them, taking in their moods. Twilight was nervous and Pinkie was serious, though both of those were expected as they already knew the truth about him. Applejack seemed angry while Rarity was intrigued. Fluttershy, as he expected, looked nervous and slightly afraid while Rainbow looked upset, which was better than Applejack’s anger.

Twilight and Pinkie both chose to sit on the couch with him but the other four decided to keep some distance between them, which he didn’t blame them for. Gene sat up and looked at the four, waiting for one of them to say something. The group was quiet for a time, none of the mares wanting to be the one to break the silence. Eyes drifted all over the room, though none of the four looked directly at the virus. Applejack, to his curiosity, spent the time glaring at the ground for some reason or another, which Gene decided to comment on.

“I suppose I’ll be the first to speak.” Gene started neutrally. “You seem quite angry, Applejack, more so than one would expect at finding out I’m not a pony. I’m going to guess that it’s because I lied about who I was, which goes against your Element.”

“No.” She replied tersely. The farm mare didn’t say anything else until she looked up, her eyes noticing the patient look he was giving her with a raised brow. Her frown didn’t fade but she did speak, this time more than a single word. “Its because you’re a Changeling.”

“First, that’s specist.” Gene said, making her scoff. “Second, I’m not a Changeling.”

“You aren’t a pony.” Applejack pointed out.

“There’s more species in existence than just Changelings and ponies.” He countered, making her frown deepen. “In any case, I’m an Evolved.”

“‘Evolved?’ So you think you’re better than every other species?” Applejack asked, her tone edged with hostility. Gene ignored the hinted insult, not taking the bait, though he noted that her accent was nearly nonexistent when she was upset or angry.

“No, I didn’t name my species, nor did any member of my species. We were named by the ones who created us, who believed our physiology was better than theirs, not our morals or our personalities.” Gene said. “They were right. An Evolved is physically far better than a human, but with our power comes the increased likelyhood of it being abused.”

“Prove it.” Applejack said. When he gave her a curious look, she continued. “Prove you aren’t just a creative Changeling.”

With a shrug and a maelstrom of black tendrils, he shifted into his default form. Shifting his position to better match his altered body, he continued staring at her neutrally. Idly, he noted the stares he was receiving from the other three mares, though they seemed happy enough to just watch and listen as he spoke with Applejack. “Proof enough?”

She stared into his eyes, trying to see any form of deceit or trickery, though she failed to find anything, not just what she was looking for. Applejack noticed that and decided to comment on it. “Something’s not right about you. I don’t see anything in your eyes.”

“Because nothing is there.” He replied cooly. “I’m not really alive.”

“Like a zombie?” Rainbow Dash asked, interrupting the two.

“Like a rock.” Jay replied. “I wasn’t alive in the first place, so I’m not undead. I’m a class all to my own.”

“How can something have no emotions without being a heartless, evil monster?” Applejack challenged, making Twilight stare at her, agast. Pinkie almost spoke but he waved her off, though he flashed her a thankful smile. It was good to know that she would defend him if the need arose.

“My emotions come from within my soul, according to Princess Cadence. As such, they aren’t within my body which makes them unable to be seen by somepony without special abilities.” Jay retorted, keeping his voice neutral. He did it to avoid aggravating her, though it seemed to do so anyway. After a moment, her irritation burned out and she sighed, pulling her hat a little lower.

“At least you ain’t a Changeling.” She mumbled under her breath, though he heard it clearly.

“What do you have against Changelings?” Jay challenged in return.

That got a rise out of her, making her look up at him and she answered his question simply. “They’re monsters.”

“Explain.” Jay said.

“They just are.”

“Strike three for being specist. Nothing ‘just is.’ There’s a reason behind everything, even if few know it.” The virus retorted.

“They feed off of love!” Applejack exclaimed, starting to become aggrivated with his entire flat voice.

“You feed off of plants and I feed off of anything. Does that make us monsters?” Jay asked.

“That’s different. We need it to survive and it doesn’t hurt anything!” Applejack replied.

“Strike four. Strike five and you’re out of the Expedition Point.” Jay said, hoping to get her to think before she spoke. “When you eat an apple, you had to take it off of a tree. That killed the apple. Plants are alive, even if they aren’t sentient or sapient. Even then, if Changelings didn’t have to take love by trickery, they wouldn’t be starving to death. If they weren’t starving to death, they wouldn’t need to drain ponies to a dangerous level. If they didn’t need to drain ponies to a dangerous level, nopony would get hurt.”

“How do you know that?” Applejack questioned suspiciously.

“Because of what I am, it is simple enough to gain memories from another being. I’ve seen the memories of Changelings and almost every Hive in the world is slowly starving to death from a lack of love.” He answered simply, not entirely lying.

“‘Every’ Hive?” The Earth pony asked softly.

“There is more than one Hive of Changelings, just as there is more than one country in the world. I’m somewhat familiar with a couple Hives and know how to tell members of different Hives apart.”

“Changelings with solid green eyes and markings made of green paint...What Hive are they from?” Applejack asked suddenly.

“I’ve never seen any like that personally, but if I had to guess, I’d say Emerald Hive.” Jay explained.

“The Changelings that attacked Canterlot?”

“Sapphire.”

“The ones that live in Equestria?”

“Sapphire and Ruby, that I know of. I know there are more, but I don’t know which ones. Even as it is, I can’t find the two Hives I know of.” Jay said. “Why are you interested?”

“It was Changelings from Emerald Hive that attacked my family’s farm years ago.” Applejack answered slowly, despair and anger tinting her voice. “My ma and pa didn’t make it out of the attack.”

Jay frowned lightly, understanding her point. Emerald Changelings had attacked her farm and either taken her parents or outright killed them, which would definitely explain her general hatred of the Changeling species, even if it was misguided. Jay knew that hatred and revenge weren’t the most reasonable of emotions, so he didn’t fault her too much for her anger.

The virus almost jumped, hearing a soft voice whispering from behind the locked door. “Jay, it’s Chrysalis. I have an idea. I want to disguise myself as a Changeling drone and speak to her. I know the fate of Emerald Hive and I’m hoping it will calm her down knowing that the rest of the Changelings didn’t agree with their methods.”

Jay thought it over at moment, barely noticing as Applejack’s friends surrounded her and pulled her into a massive, warm hug after they finally learned what had happened to her parents. He did have to give her props for being able to talk about it without breaking down, raging, or otherwise freaking out. After a moment, he made his decision. “Applejack, I can introduce you to someone who can tell you what happened to the Emerald Hive, if you want.”

“A Changeling, right?” Applejack asked, looking up at him. After a moment, he nodded and she continued. “Go ahead.”

Jay stood and walked over to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open slightly to look through the crack. It wasn’t Chrysalis that greeted his sight but rather a normal, smaller Changeling with the blue eyes of the Sapphire Hive. She flashed him a quick smile, which he returned before allowing the door to open the rest of the way. When she walked out, every mare in the room tensed up. Jay cleared his throat loudly, giving them all a pointed glare, and they relaxed. Jay walked across the room and took a seat on the couch again with Chrysalis taking a seat next to him. Pinkie sat on the other side of him, already knowing who the Changeling was. Twilight sat in a smaller chair next to Pinkie, though she was staring at the Changeling, the Canterlot Invasion likely still fresh on her mind.

Applejack wasn’t quite glaring at her but she didn’t look happy. She still seemed to have enough sense about her to realize that Chrysalis wasn’t from the same Hive as the ones who attacked her farm, but that only went so far. Rainbow was prepared to fight but a glance from Pinkie stopped her. Rarity and Fluttershy, while unnerved, were doing their best to not stare at the chitinous mare, which he commended them for. After a moment, Chrysalis spoke. “My name’s Chitin, and I just want to tell you what happened to Emerald Hive. I don’t want to spark a fight or hurt anypony.”

Chitin? Really, Chrysalis? Chitin? Ugh, very well. Jay thought to himself.

After a moment, Applejack spoke. “What Hive are you from?”

“Sapphire Hive.”

“The one that attacked Equestria.” Twilight said accusingly.

Hesitantly, Chitin nodded. “My Queen had no choice.”

“How? She could have just asked for help!” Twilight shouted.

“You think we didn’t consider that?” Chitin replied. Jay started to listen closely to what she was saying, hoping to learn why she had attacked Equestria. “We were starving and dying because ponies were finding our gatherers everywhere they were and murdering them-”

“Executing them!”

“It’s not an execution if they didn’t have a trial!” Chitin countered angrily. “Most gatherers weren’t even allowed to speak at all, forced silent by muzzles and ropes.”

Jay put a hand on her shoulder and she calmed a little, breathing out in one long exhale. “Anyway, we were starving. With how much love we had stored and how much we were gathering, our Queen guessed we would have six to eight months left before we were completely out of love. Most other Hives had only a few months more or less than us, putting almost all of us in the same position. If our Queen had gone to Equestria and asked for help, it would have taken a month just to convince them to meet with her, two more to hash out the treaty which would have likely resulted in Changelings getting neglected as second-class citizens with far fewer rights, and maybe twenty to thirty years for Changelings to be mostly accepted in Equestria. All in all, it would take a century or so for most of Equestria to fully accept us. By that point, how many Changelings would be left?”

“I-I don’t know.” Twilight stammered out.

“Maybe the two or three dozen Changelings who found ponies that had no problems with them.” Chitin said softly. “An entire species reduced to a population that could fit in a single inn. We had no choice.”

“But what was the point of the Invasion? It only set your kind back even further and hurt any future efforts!” Twilight shouted, the others resigned to listening to the conversation, even Applejack.

“The Invasion wasn’t even planned.” Chitin said simply, catching his attention. “Our Queen wanted to infiltrate the wedding, absorb enough love to carry us over for a decade, return to the Hive, and begin the negotiations.”

“What changed?” Twilight asked, her soft voice making him realize that she thought she knew the answer.

“She was caught.” Chitin said, staring directly at Twilight. “Queen Chrysalis was caught enacting the plan and had to go with the Plan B, the Invasion. She couldn’t just escape because that would doom our kind to an inevitable extinction. She couldn’t surrender because she would be murdered for impersonating royalty. Her only option was to take the love we needed, even if it was something we didn’t want to do.”

Before Twilight could say anything more, Applejack starting speaking loudly. “So, what happened to Emerald Hive?”

“When the Hives began to deteriorate, different methods were formed to gather the love we needed. Most agreed to the idea of gatherers, Changelings trained to take just enough love to maximize production without leaving any noticeable effect. Others sent Changelings to brothels so they could gather love and lust that way. A few nefarious Hives took the most evil route they could.” Chitin explained.

“Emerald Hive.” Applejack stated, making the Changeling nod.

“Emerald Hive, Topaz Hive, and Opal Hive formed an ‘alliance of evil,’ if you will. They began to drain ponies entirely, gathering a massive amount of love but also killing ponies outright. At worst, other Hives make a pony sick, which nopony attributes to a Changeling. At best, those three Hives left dead ponies behind.”

“But how come nopony knew about the split?” Twilight asked.

“Because most Hives worked in such a way that nopony would ever find out about it. A mild sickness her and there doesn’t get ponies thinking about Changelings. A dead pony with no love in them does. So while three Hives were out killing ponies, twelve others were feeding themselves without being discovered beyond the rare gatherer being found. Those three Hives, the only time a Changeling ever made it to the newspapers, made all of Equestria think Changelings murdered for fun, so even the kind ones were held to the same crimes.”

“W-what?” Fluttershy asked softly, her voice quiet and nervous.

“Imagine a Changeling. She lived happily and quietly in a small town in the middle of nowhere. She had two close friends, both of them knowing she was a Changeling. She was kind, helped out the town as much as she could, and never took more love than what she was given. She loved foals, loved helping them, and did volunteer work wherever she could.” Chitin said suddenly. Jay became aware of what she was doing, part of this imaginary Changeling being based off of herself.

“She sounds nice.” Pinkie said, also understanding a point.

“Now imagine a Changeling from Emerald Hive. He and several others attacked an innocent farm. They didn’t need more love; they had enough for a decade, but they wanted more anyway. So they attacked the farmponies and killed two of them by draining them. Then they run away, leaving behind a grandmother and three children on a burning farm.” Chitin continued, making Applejack nod and frown.

“A few months later, both Changelings are caught. One by the Royal Guard who had spent weeks chasing him down only to finally arrest him in some out of the way town for multiple accounts of assault, vandilism, arsonry, and murder. The other is caught by accident, a Town Guard stumbling into a house illegally when she was telling the truth to a third friend. She’s arrested for being a Changeling. Both are dragged into the Town Square, side by side. For one, everypony is cheering. For the other, three ponies are crying. Both of them are hanged that day and almost nopony cares.” Chitin finished.

The room was silent for a moment, her point striking the mares hard. They couldn’t even argue because that was exactly what would happen and probably something that had happened. After a moment of silence with understanding dawning on a number of faces, Chitin continued. “We couldn’t do anything to reveal ourselves. Even if an entire Hive had peacefully walked up the Canterlot, they would all have be killed for being Changelings. No, the only thing we could do was band together against the three Hives.”

“Every other Hive in Equestria joined together and wiped Emerald, Topaz, and Opal Hives out of existence. With thousands dead but those three Hives gone, we had to wait. We had to wait for the anger and hatred to lessen before we could reveal ourselves. We just had to last another decade, then we would be able to tell the world.” Chitin said, her voice hitching as she sobbed once, a tear rolling down her muzzle. Jay instantly reached over and grabbed her, pulling her against him in a gentle hug but it didn’t stop her from talking. “That’s what we kept telling ourselves. We just had to wait. Even as our food stores ran low, even as the elderly and the young grew sick and died from starvation, we kept telling ourselves ‘just a few more years.’ ‘Just a few more years until everything will be okay.’”

Another sob wracked her body and Applejack slowly came over, gently hugging Chitin. Pinkie instantly joined, followed by Fluttershy. “That time never came… we just kept starving until we were a tenth of our old population. Nopony cared, nopony cares.”

Rarity, Rainbow, and Twilight soon joined the hug, their caution about him and her thrown out and forgotten as they listened to Chitin. Even Jay felt his eyes water, hearing and seeing the emotion she felt, knowing just how much it hurt her to say this, just how much the memories hurt. Nothing she had done had solved their problem. Nothing any of the other Queens had done had solved their problem, either. Nopony wanted to help them, they just wanted the Changelings gone.

“We had to do something, or we would all just die…” Chitin said softly. Then her gaze drifted up, her teary eyes locking onto his. “But then Jay saved me.”

The virus saw Twilight with a thoughtful look on her face, likely starting to connect dots that she had noticed. Jay doubted she would realize that Chitin was really Chrysalis, but she might realize that Chitin was Snow. Coming revelations aside, Rainbow suddenly whispered. “Wait, who’s Jay?”

“Gene.” Pinkie replied, also whispering. “That’s his real name. Jay Fontenot. Gene Splice is the name for the pony form he made.”

“I would be dead if it wasn’t for him. I owe him so much and yet he doesn’t ask anything from me. No, all he wants from me is my love. That’s something I’m happy to give him, and he’s so kind as to give me his own.” Chitin said softly, gently nuzzling his neck.

Twilight’s eyes went wide at that. “Snow?”

With a sheepish grin toward her, Chitin was engulfed in green fire that was neither hot nor uncomfortable. When it faded, a familiar white Pegasus was leaning against him, nervously looking around at the mares that were still holding onto her. “Y-yeah…”

Applejack broke the silence before it could even form with an interested tone. “Well, aren’t you a romance of secrets?”

“No secrets from each other.” Jay said, his arm dropping down to wrap around Snow as she turned back into Chitin. “Though two were revealed today when I only expected one.”

Everypony went back to their seats, though Twilight was clearly more comfortable around Chitin than she had been previously. A thought struck him as he considered telling Twilight who Chitin really was but he shoved it aside, knowing it was her decision, not his. In any case, he was happy that Chitin was receiving a lot of smiles all around, even from Applejack. He leaned down and purposely stage whispered into her ear. “Maybe things are looking up for you, Chitin.”

“Until I’m found.” She replied with the same whisper, realizing what he was doing.

“Oh please, I can keep you safe. Worse case scenario, I just ask the Princesses to leave you alone.” Jay replied. “I’m not letting you get hurt, even if we have to vanish overnight.”

Although the mini conversation had been an act to show the mares that even Changelings had feelings and worries, what he had told her was entirely true. He would make Gene disappear overnight as he and Chrysalis vanished from Ponyville. Idly, he thought about how this would only make the true reveal of Chrysalis even harder in the future, but he would deal with that when it came. Thoughts aside, he quickly noticed when Applejack placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

“You ain’t one of the Changelings that killed my family. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to ask me. You aren’t bad, despite my own doubts about most of the Changelings. If Pinkie trusts you and Jay likes you, I’m willing to give you a chance.”

“Thank you.” Chitin said honestly, gently nuzzling her hoof. “That means a lot to me.”

Bright smiles all around made Jay feel happy, even if things didn’t go quite as he expected. These mares showed that it was possible for Changelings to be accepted, even if it wouldn’t be easy or quick. It would take time but he hoped that Equestria would eventually be home to the Changelings as well.