“Yes,” Celestia smoothly replies. A thought tamps down and resets her proximity alarm. It’s an annoying precaution, for how often she gets false positives, but it seems wise should anycreature resent their success in Klugetown. “The Castle of the Two Sisters.”

Rarity’s eyes sparkle like twin stars waiting to light up the sky; it’s a tad disconcerting, given their topic. “You mean those old, decrepit ruins, filled with musty rooms and cobwebs where we met Princess Luna? And found all other sorts of ancient relics?”

“The very same,” Celestia says, nodding. A sliver of a smirk spreads across her muzzle. “Though I would hesitate to refer to my Sister as such.”

“But, darling!” Rarity’s hooves shake with excitement as she waves away Celestia’s objection. “Think of all the things that need restoring! The most gorgeous of divine tapestries, magnificent works of art, and fabulous creations just rotting away! I could use them for my fall line of retro age-old classical…”

Rarity clears her throat at Celestia’s odd look. “O-of course, I would primarily be doing this for you. And Equestria. After all, I would hate for an artistic treasure trove of ancient good taste to be… dismantled by some salvage-seeking ne’er-do-wells.”

“Of course,” Celestia agrees with a good-natured smile. “I, too, would not approve of anypony taking advantage of such a disorganized state.”

“T’is quite fortunate, then,” Luna states as she struggles to her hooves, yawning her sleepiness away, “that thou art the Element of Generosity.”

“Err,” Rarity stammers before she smiles confidently, dropping to a low bow. “Yes! Yes I am. And I certainly wouldn’t want to be tempted to act against my Element.” She turns the low bow to a friendly, if perhaps harder than necessary, nuzzle to her stallion’s side. “It’s a good thing you’ll be coming along with us, yes? To help keep our priorities straight?”

The nuzzle must have triggered something in Doug because his dour demeanor shifts to a wide grin. One arm slips around Rarity’s neck and tugs her to him. A slight twist prompts her to lay down on the soft grass. “As you wish.”

“Wait,” Rarity says, slightly taken aback by Doug’s reply. “Really?” She cocks her head to better look him in the eye. “I thought you would hate going through the Everfree Forest.”

“Well, I look at it this way.” Doug raises a hand, welcoming Luna as she splays across Celestia’s open belly. Even the slight reminder of their closeness is enough to send tingles down the alicorns’ backs. “I can complain bitterly about you dragging me along, passive-aggressively question your every move, or I can man up-”

“-Mare up-” Rarity corrects.

“-Man up,” Doug repeats with a light tweak to her neck, “and enjoy the time I share with you.”

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Rarity states, haughtily looking up and away.

“Really,” Doug deadpans.

“Of course,” Rarity says, nodding. “I would hate to force you to go along with something you detest doing.”

“It’s a trap,” Celestia whispers, winking at Doug.

“Trap, trap, trap,” Luna echoes mirthfully.

Rarity turns to glare at the two alicorns, but can’t hold it with their jesting smiles.

“Mhm,” Doug grunts in agreement. He’s glad the two alicorns are getting along, not that they display many of their disagreements in front of him. He teases at the back of Rarity’s neck, helping relax the tense muscles.

“Fine,” Rarity huffs, flipping her mane petulantly. She turns to regard Celestia deferentially, with a slight hesitation in her voice. “Would we be leaving for such an expedition soon?” She steals a glance at Spoiled Rich; the pink mare manages to look cross even while waiting for the Princesses. “I do have a few things I would need to gather if that were the case.”

“Moreso testing the waters,” Celestia says. “Checking to see if everypony is on board.” She nuzzles Doug gently. “Speaking of which…”

Doug lets out an exasperated breath. “You want me to go ask Chrysalis what she thinks.”

Celestia’s smile widens. “Please? It’s not that we don’t want to go, it’s just…”

“...The place gives us the creeps,” Luna finishes brusquely as Celestia stalls. “Even with her transformation? It feels as if our preferred method of entry to her abode is firmly ensconced in a cocoon.”

“It’s not…” Doug stares off into the distance for a moment. It’s obvious he agrees with Luna and has as little desire to do this as to go with them to the castle. “Okay, okay. It’s exactly that bad.” He grunts, his teeth clenching. “At least it gives me a chance to see the ‘lings.”

“That’s the spirit of Laughter I so love!” Celestia fondly kisses Doug just before he gets up. “I look forward to seeing you tonight.”

Rarity matches her kiss to the other side. “And I as well. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a client to attend to.”

“Be sure to tell me all about it,” Doug says with a parting rub to Rarity’s cheek, helping wipe the scowl off her muzzle.

“Oh, I shall,” Rarity states darkly. “Every, last, micromanaged detail.”

Doug says goodbye to Celestia and Luna with quick nuzzles, then jogs to Chrysalis’s lair. He briefly considers going back for his boots, but the years of working at Sweet Apple Acres have toughened up his feet and it isn’t that far.

It’s tough, for all his bravado with the mares, to force himself to go toward the foreboding woods. Gnarled branches and twisting shadows guard the hidden entrance along the southern edge of Sweet Apple Acres. He squeezes through a gap in the goop-coated walls, entering the shaded grove. A dozen hoof-sized grubs of various pastel shades charge around, burning off excess energy by running, flying, and making each other hit themselves.

“Hey!” Thorax greets with a friendly wave. The orange-horned changeling doesn’t move from his spot perched on top of one of the three barrows, instead keeping an eye on everyling.

“Hey, Thorax,” Doug greets, standing back as a pack buzzes past him. “Been busy watching these grubs?”

“Yup,” he replies, dipping down for a quick nod. “I thought about coming to the farm, but these guys needed watching. And I didn’t think the ponies would appreciate a ravenous horde rampaging around.”

“Hey, I get it.” Doug picks his way through the crowd, only having to dodge back once. “Applejack doesn’t care for her trees getting picked clean unless it’s her.” He joins him watching the grubs race around. “How are they doing?”

“Great!” Thorax smiles broadly. “Chryssy, err, Chrysalis came by, gave everygrub a bite. Dropped off a few more eggs, so I’ll need to rotate them pretty soon. So did Ocellus, for that matter.” He looks Doug square in the eyes. “She tried with you?”

“Um,” Doug says, caught off guard by his forthrightness about an intimate question. “Yes.” He has a pretty good guess which of the scampering youngsters are his: the two that match the arctic blue changeling, currently digging a burrow in the ground. He’s glad they aren’t the ones bullying or being bullied. He points at them. “Those two, right?”

“Those are your oldest, yup.” Thorax motions to the barrow under him. “Chryssy is feeding the others down below.”

“Feeding?” Doug asks curiously. “How does that work? Do they still need love energy?”

“Need?” Thorax shakes his head. “Not since our metamorphosis.” He spreads his violet wings, a sharp contrast to his lime green body, then tucks them back under his fuchsia elytra. “It sometimes feels weird, not having that hunger all the time. Not that I miss it.” He chortles to himself, shaking his head.

“Me neither,” Doug adds. “Getting drained was… not pleasant, to say the least. Necessary, at the time, but not pleasant.”

“Err,” Thorax says with a bit of trepidation, rubbing a hoof along the back of his neck. “Thanks. For, you know, doing that. And taking a chance on us.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking us for doing the right thing,” Doug says with a slight roll of his eyes. “Though it is nice to hear.”

Thorax gives a telling glance downward. “Yeah.”

Doug follows his glance, noting the barrow it is directed at, only to spot one of his light blue ‘lings creeping up on him, the other close behind. Sharpened edges glint whenever a stray ray of light flashes across their chitin, spikier and slightly bulkier than the others. “Hey there, little guy,” he greets the softball-sized critter, the other closer to a baseball. He squats down, holding out a hand, palm up.

She freezes, twinkles of bright gray whirling through pure-blue eyes.

“It’s okay.” Doug slows down, gently bringing his hand to the ground. “I won’t hurt you.”

The larger one creeps forward barely an inch, her nostrils raising slightly, tiny teeth flashing as her red tongue pokes out, only for the smaller one to brush past her and pounce on Doug’s exposed toe.

“Hey!” Doug exclaims, not expecting her to zip around his hand and knee like that. He jolts backward, startling the adventurous changeling. He chuckles as she immediately regains her courage and gnaws at his calluses and toenail. “Those aren’t food!”

“You’re quite lucky she didn’t aim higher,” Thorax points out, managing to sound concerned even as he smiles. “Lena, Iria, behave!”

“I guess I’ll wear my pants and boots next time,” Doug dryly remarks as he extracts the little biter. He winces as she clamps down on his thumb, an adorable if painful sight that wraps four spindly legs around him. “Do they not feed you enough around here?” He grins to himself as he again peels the voracious grub away from any exposed flesh. “I guess we’ll have to change that!”

“Pun intended?” Thorax asks, perking up. The rest of the ‘lings have stopped whatever it is they are doing to observe. “Because they’d love that! Especially because...”

“Because what?” Doug says, glancing at Thorax.

In the brief time his attention is diverted his two ‘lings take the opportunity to go on the attack, simultaneously assaulting hand and foot with tiny claws.

“Hey!” Doug shouts, temper flaring. He nearly lashes out, barely able to stop himself from stomping the larger one into the ground. He gently sets his foot back down, strips Lena from his hand and holds her like a crab, barbed legs searching for any purchase but not finding any. Iria takes a little more effort to peel away, leaving thin lines of red, wings buzzing against his palm. “No! That hurts!”

The two deflate at his admonishment, limp limbs dangling as their heads hang.

“Hey,” Doug coos, changing tack at seeing their downcast expressions. “It’s okay. I just don’t have tough skin like you and your sisters. It’s not hard like your chitin!” He lightly squeezes their backs, the stiff material offering a fair amount of give.

He lets go, the two contrite changelings rolling to their legs in his palms. They tentatively get to their hooves, unsure at first and hesitant to put too much pressure on any particular spot.

“That’s much better,” Doug praises, fingers wrapping for a gentle hug. He beams as they return it, even if a few edges jab into him. When Lena exposes wide rows of tiny fangs, though, he swiftly shakes his head and rebukes her with a quick, “No, Lena. That’s not for biting.” He ignores her pout. “Yes, I know I’m delicious. That doesn’t mean you can bite me.”

“Aww,” Thorax teases from above. His tongue flicks out, tasting the air, no doubt getting a whiff of the extra iron.

“That goes for you, too,” Doug states, smiling. “What can we do instead?” He tosses Iria a foot into the air, enjoying her squeal of delight and how bright colors spin in her otherwise solid eyes. “You like that, huh?”

Iridescent magenta wings flare out, buzz for a split second to lift Iria into the air, then snap back inside. She plops back down into Doug’s hand and lifts her hooves in air, chittering happily.

“Uh oh,” Thorax cautions.

“What?” Doug asks, inspecting the tiny changeling. She doesn’t seem too distraught, except that he isn’t tossing her. “Worried about her falling?”

“Nah, they’re like little birds. They weigh so little they can fall from the ceiling and be fine. It’s only once they’re bigger that you have to worry about midairs.” Thorax points at the rest of the horde; they advance, a multicolored tide, in a manner that would be most menacing if their hooves weren’t held in the air. “You should be worried about them.”

“Well,” Doug smirks. “Two can play at that game.” He launches Lena and Iria into the air just before the tide slams into him, and soon miniature changelings are catapulted in every direction, buzzing with delight as they careen about.

Next Chapter: Ch. 71 - Healthy Mind, Part Three Estimated time remaining: 20 Hours, 43 Minutes