Twilight and the Spartan Stallion 2

Part 6: Head Rubs

“…and then I said to him, ‘villian! I have done thy mother!’” Spartan laughed uproariously while his two travelling companions snickered a bit. With no mares around, the trio had been trading dirty jokes and stories as males were wont to do. “Ahh, good times. He broke my jaw shortly afterward, but it was worth it.” Spartan said fondly, shaking his head. “He became my second in command five years later, if you would believe it!” The helmed pony turned to smile at his two friends.

“Ahh, that was a good one.” Mr. Cake shook his head with a smirk. The three of them were travelling through the wastelands, headed ever southward, and were currently in a canyon. Its shade protected them from the heat of the sun, and they were able to relax a bit as they went. It was a smooth, river-carved sort of canyon and they could see many different-colored layers of rock. Here and there, a black hole would pok-mark the , but they checked a few only to find them empty. Changeling hives, they reasoned, would be deep and complex tunnel systems.

What they did not, expect, however, was to be approached directly by somepony. At the mouth of the canyon, when they reached the far end, they met a trio of mares. All three stallions stopped to stare, dumbfounded. There was a large oasis perhaps a hundred yards from the canyon’s exit, and they were not hard to spot. As the group approached, they saw three mares of orange, red, and yellow playing in the waters. “Oh my, look! Travellers!” One of them stopped to point. The warrior, the baker, and the farmer stopped a short distance away.

“They’re not a mirage are they?” Mr. Cake asked, tugging at his bowtie a little. “Maybe we’ve been out in the heat too long…” he mumbled in an insecure way.

“Nope.” Big Mac said, unable to unglue his eyes.

The three mares were gorgeous, shapely, and had very, very short tails. They must’ve hacked off at least half the normal length of their tails, leaving everything underneath exposed. It was hard for all three red-blooded males not to look (married or not). They splashed about, lining up on the water’s edge to wave at them. “Welcome to the Badlands Oasis, boys!” one of them called.

“Er…” Spartan didn’t quite know what to make of them.

“I bet they’re changelings!” Mr. Cake blurted, pointing at them accusingly.

“Nope, sorry!” one of the three giggled. “We’re just the local watch. This is the only source of water and greenery for miles around, so we stay here to keep the peace!” the orange mare rose up out of the waters with a glorious toss of her mane. The flying water droplets cast a rainbow into the air, making all three stallions gulp rather nervously. “My name is Oh Range.” She said, stepping close to eye up Big Mac. On her flank was a sliced orange. “Ranged combat and… aerial tricks,” she winked. “Are my specialty.” Big Mac blushed when she touched him, not used to such forward flirting. She opened her wings in a display of interest for him. His eyes leapt to her feathers before he could stop them.

Mr. Cake was not buying it. They were not in Equestria anymore, there wouldn't be a watch out here. Spartan was uncertain. “Hooves off, you… you hussy!” Mr. Cake stomped angrily. “The two of us might be married, but you’re not sinking your claws into Big Macintosh either!” he came forward, trying to be brave and shunt her off of his friend.

The yellow mare came out of the water, shaking out her mane and flipping her tail a bit. “Ahm Lemon Drop.” She said in a southern accent, coming over and putting her larger hoof over Mr. Cake’s and pulling him away. A tingly sort of feeling filled the knobby-knee’d stallion right away, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “Nice to meet’cha. I’m what’choo’d call the tank of the group, ah suppose. Earth pony and all.” She rolled her eyes, turning and flicking her feather-duster of a tail at him. It was not nearly long enough to cover everything. “Ah bet y’all are super-tired, travelling out here.” She winked at him, and the tingling feeling got more and more profound on Mr. Cake. He shuddered, but seemed entranced by her.

The unicorn of the trio approached Spartan, her mane hanging in lovely tangles all around her head. It half-hid her lovely face. As red as his cape-scarf, she approached him and smiled seductively. “Maybe you three can stay here for the evening? This is, technically, a guard post. We’ve got fresh water and supplies, and could use the company.” She cocked her head with a wider smile, batting her eyelashes at him. The spell of seduction washed over Spartan Shield, then dripped off him like oil. The sun had soaked into his fur, and his solar pony heritage protected him. He was NOT amused. He knew magic when he saw it, earth pony or not. “Come, take off your armor, I’m sure a nice refreshing dip would—!”

CLANK!

He shield-slapped her so hard she tumbled ass-over-tea-kettle into the water with a yelp. A flash of neon-green magic flared deep in the water. “Trust not in mares.” Spartan quoted the oracle’s prophecy with a growl. Lemon Drop and Oh Range’s eyes turned bright green and they hissssed like angry cockroaches. Big Mac and Mr. Cake jittered back, startled. The third mare exploded from the water, no longer red as a cherry but black as night. She landed hard, folding her gossamer wings. “Save thy threats, strange creatures!” Spartan pulled his spear from his holster, setting his helm firmly on his head. Two more flashes of disguise magic went off and the three mares became three changeling drones. “An obvious trap!” the warrior stallion snapped.

Big Mac growled, stomping his front hooves in silent threat. Mr. Cake looked back and forth. “Uhm… uhm…” he fished into his saddlebags, trying to find something to threaten them with. “Ah-HAH!” he drew out a cooking whisk, which jangled when he waved it at them. “Come at me!” he said ‘bravely’.

“Skreeee!” The first changeling dove over Mr. Cake and the poor stallion screamed like a mare as he went down hard. Spartan and Big Mac charged into the fray and suddenly it was a melee!

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Queen Chrysalis was startled when she came to the prisoner’s quarters. One of her pet behemoths was scrunched halfway through the door because of his girth, lying limply on the ground as though dead. She rushed to him, fearful Twilight Sparkle had slain him and escaped. But, the hive queen found two more behemoths standing there as though nothing were happening. Those two were her guards, so… what was this third one doing here? She frowned a bit, leaning over him to look for injuries. He didn’t seem dead, he was… purring? That was the sound one of her throne room behemoth’s made when she favored him with head rubs. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Chrysalis ignited her horn and teleported inside since the many-legged changeling was blocking the door entirely.

“Bah-bah-BAH-bah-bah-bah-bahhhh-bah-bah!” Twilight Sparkle’s foal was standing atop the behemoth’s head, rubbing animatedly back and forth. The behemoth’s face was one of drunken, exhaustive bliss. His massive wings fluttered now and then, and the constant growly-hum of a purr was like a loud kitten. “Bah-bah-BAH-bah?” the foal asked, rubbing back and forth before sitting on its great head and tapping her front hooves on its forehead carapace plate . “Bah-BAH BAH BAH bah bah!” she said. She seemed to have quite a bit to say, and the giant changeling was perfectly content to lay there with her on its head.

“RRrrrrRRRRrrrrRRRRrrrr…” the behemoth purred audibly with each breathe, eyes blissfully closed. The big, goofy smile was one of a lap dog finally receiving the love it had always wanted. Head rubs. He was finally, FINALLY getting head rubs. From one so tiny, too!

Queen Chrysalis saw a sour-faced Twilight Sparkle sitting in the nest of blankets in one corner, reading. Her piercing gaze rose to the Queen’s when she entered. “What is—?!” Chrysalis started to demand.

“I don’t know.” Twilight said.

“How did—?!”

“No idea.” The purple mare grumbled.

“But she’s just—!”

“And he’s just lying there.” Twilight agreed at a deadpan. “There’ll be no living with her father after this.” She sighed, turning the page with mild disinterest. After the foal had conquered the behemoth, she’d seemed content to use it as a jungle gym. Then, when she learned it made fun noises when you rubbed its head, the nameless child had been up there for hours babbling with it. What she was saying, there was no telling, but she certainly had a lot to say.

The Queen considered her options for a time, watching the tiny foal atop the giant creature. How bizarre! She wondered what had possessed the behemoth to come to the prisoner’s chambers, much less why the other two had let him stick his head in— but nothing bad appeared to have happened. “Hrm.” She said in a troubled way, eyeing them both uncertainly. She grumbled. “If she puts a scratch on this beautiful creature, its coming out of her backside, Twilight Sparkle.” She threatened, turning to go.

“If my week-old foal puts a scratch in him and you come after her for it, she’ll be the least of your worries.” Twilight said sharply. Queen Chrysalis stopped and turned, baring her fangs and hissing. Twilight startled, but didn’t budge. “Take him away if you like, they’re just playing together.” The momma bear in the purple mare’s instincts was rearing its ugly head. “But touch my foal, and I’ll stop you.” said Twilight, gently closing the book and rising from the nest. There was an icy silence. The queen had not heard such a direct threat in over ten centuries. Setting the dusty tomb aside, Twilight crossed the room slowly and stood before her. “What’s coming for you now is bad enough, but you don’t wanna see me mad, either.” She said, setting her mouth in a neutral line.

“Dare you threaten the hive queen of the Changeling Empire?!” Chrysalis demanded angrily.

“No threats, just promises.” said the new mother, scowling.

Deciding that Twilight really did expect to be rescued, the massive changeling Queen decided to prod her pride for information. “…what’s coming, huhm? What’s so scary you think it could pierce the defenses of my entire hive to snatch you away from me?” she folded her wings gracefully, putting up a prideful smirk. “Who could Celestia possibly send that could frighten millions of changelings into submission?” her fangs were showing in her grin.

“My husband.” Twilight said with a sly smile. “Trust me, that’s all that’s needed. And when he gets here—”

“He won’t.” Queen Chrysalis snapped.

“When he GETS here,” Twilight pressed. “You won’t know what hit you.” There was something unsettling in the purple mare’s confidence. No quiver of doubt, no eyes flicking back and forth that said she was fibbing. She really believed what she was saying. There was another silence as mother and queen checked on the behemoth and foal.

The giant changeling was now upside down like a long-bellied centipede, foal crawling around on his belly. She stopped to suck on her hoof for a while, and he stayed perfectly still so she wouldn’t fall off. When she got bored of that, she crawled up his face, using his fangs for hoof-holds, and settled atop his head again. The behemoth purrrrrrred. Chrysalis and Twilight groaned as one.

“I half-expected you to say Shining Armor, or perhaps the Elements of Harmony.” Chrysalis said, rolling her eyes. “But just one pony? Pfft. Insulting.” She strode away, igniting her horn and teleporting out. She left the behemoth to play with the foal and keep her happy.

“They watched me so closely, waiting to snatch me,” Twilight sighed with a knowing smile. “It’s too bad they didn’t study Spartan Shield.”

=----=----=-----=-----=

Spartan was holding a battered, broken Changeling’s shoulder with one hoof, and punching it repeatedly in the face with the other. Crack! Crack! Crack! “I’ll ask thee again! Where hath my wife and foal been taken?!” he bellowed. “Tell me now!”

Mr. Cake and Big Mac quietly tended to the campfire. The other two changelings had been tied up, and Spartan had been ruthlessly beating their leader into submission for over an hour. The hard carapace wasn’t much help against his sheer muscle. Now and then the two stallion’s would flinch at a particularly powerful blow. They watched its head lol about in a drunken way. They weren’t sure the drone was even coherent anymore, but now and then it would mumble something only Spartan could hear— then get beaten for it even more.

“Even a compass direction would do.” Spartan paced back and forth after reclining his prisoner on a slanted rock. He nursed a few bruises and bite-marks up and down his powerful legs, but he was still full of solar energy from travelling in a hot desert for so long. He could go on for ages like this. “Any indication and I would spare your miserable life.”

The changeling flipped forms, taking on the shape of a helpless and beautiful mare. “Please let me go.” She whimpered, tears going down her cheeks. “I-I-I don’t know anything!”

“Lies! Deciet! She would’ve been taken this way, it is the quickest route south by the lay of the land!” The soldier turned, back-hoofing her so hard she fell sideways to the ground. The disguise vanished, revealing the androgynous changeling drone again. He righted it, back onto his little interrogation platform. “I’ve met only three of your kind and I hate you ALL, will you stand in my way until your body gives out?!” he roared.

Mr. Cake shivered as he watched Spartan rage, trying to focus on the dinner he was making. It was a simple sort of vegetable soup. He’d brought a few staple foods, some ingredients, and a tiny spice box for seasonings. He wasn’t much of a warrior, but he was an excellent chef. Even the barest ingredients could be coaxed into something tasty. After a while, he had a salty broth mixed with vegetables and light pepper powders. He looked over at the two changelings they’d tied up, watching their friend get tortured. Sidling over to where they sat, he tried to give a friendly smile. Maybe some good-cop bad-cop would work? They stared at him with a mix of disgust and nervousness. He leaned, offering them a taste of what he’d been making. They sniff-sniffed curiously. What was that? It smelled good. When one of them hunched to get a closer sniff, Mr. Cake tipped the wooden-spoon into its muzzle so it could get a taste.

The result was instantaneous. The changeling screeched in mortal pain, frothing at the mouth and writhing like its insides were on fire. White, frothy gunk rose out of its throat and its eyes rolled into its head. It died moments later, and went limp. Mr. Cake recoiled with a shriek of horror, his spoon falling. He’d just murdered that changeling! “Ooh-h-h-h my gods!” he cried. Big Mac stood, startled and gaping. The smaller stallion rushed to the nearby thicket, vomiting violently. “Oh gods what have I d – BLLUHHHRGHHH!?” Spattering sounds of sick going everywhere were audible. Then weeping.

“You monsters!” the other bound changeling gasped in horror. “You fed him SALT?! How could you?! That’s deadly to a changeling, our insides can’t take it!”

“No, you fool!” the leader cried from under Spartan’s grinding hoof. “You’ve killed us all!”

Spartan’s eyes got a sudden, mad gleam in them. “S-salt, thou says?” he said, a terrifying smile rising over his face. Changeling blood already spattered his hooves, but he wouldn’t mind a bit more. “That’s an awful weakness thou has!” he went to Mr. Cake’s spice box while the stallion was away, getting the salt shaker. Big Mac quickly rose, going to stop him. “Do not try to stop me, beautiful Macintosh.” Spartan said in a low voice. “I bested thee once in mortal combat, I can do it again. One side!” he said, jabbing his chest with an angry hoof.

There was icy silence. Both of them coiled in case the other decided to spring. “…Y’all think Twah-light would approve’uh this? Torturin’ ‘em?” The scarlet stallion spoke a rare sentence, startling Spartan into hesitation. His deep, syrupy voice was a rare treat for the warrior's ears, and he savored it despite himself. They stared at each other, farmer and warrior.

Spartan looked at the salt shaker in his hoof, then up at Big Macintosh. His expression hardened. He shouldered past him. Big Mac deflated, his eyes softening. Was there no end to Spartan’s cruelty? He couldn’t pretend to understand what the poor guy was going through, but there were certain lines that didn’t get crossed. “Lucky for thou, beautiful Macintosh is powerful enough to stay my hoof.” The sentence made Big Mac look over, ears perking. Spartan was kneeling beside his prisoner, and had balanced the salt shaker on the changeling’s forehead. Big Mac had expected him to pop the lid and pour it down his victim’s throat, but no, this was different. “But that does not mean thou shalt live through this encounter, changeling.” The soldier leaned over his prisoner. “Answer truthfully this next question, and freedom is thine.” He promised.

“And my fellow hiveling?” the prisoner said, eyes turning towards the other prisoner. “I won’t leave him behind!”

“Loyalty to one’s comrades is a pony trait I’m surprised you share.” Spartan said. “Listen carefully, and we shalt see what fate has in store.” He wiggled the salt shaker a little, not lifting it from where it rested between the changeling’s eyes. “Or, we will see how many grains may work their way through your carapace.” He smiled cruelly. The changeling gulped and began to sweat bullets.

“Wh-what’s the question?”

“Who is STUPID enough to steal the companion and foal of the last Spartan Stallion?” Spartan Shield asked. “Name my enemy!” he demanded.

“Q-Queen Chrysalis leads all changelings. She’s our hive mother!” the changeling didn’t hesitate, thinking it was common knowledge. Spartan recognized the name from Twilight’s notes.

Spartan leaned, snapping the ropes that bound his prisoner. “Then go.” He said with a scowl. “Go and tell your 'Chrysalis' that Spartan Stallions,” he gestured to Big Mac and the still-hidden Mr. Cake, “Come for Twilight Sparkle and her foal.”

“Sp-spartan Stallions?” the hiveling struggled to his hooves and quickly rushed to free his living comrade. While they struggled to right themselves, Spartan looked on with a cruel gaze. He knew the face of the enemy, and now he could name the enemy leader as well.

“We art legend, monster, tell her to look us up.” Spartan said. “Now flee.” He commanded. They didn’t need telling twice, turning and skittering away into darkness. They galloped wildly, fearful of the warrior’s wrath. The moonlight shone strong enough to let them be seen fleeing for some time before the shadows of the canyon would claim them. Odd that they would flee north, but the caves of the canyon would probably be a good temporary shelter. Big Mac turned to go and see if Mr. Cake was okay. Spartan Shield took advantage.

“It takes but one mouth to deliver a message.” He whispered darkly, lifting his spear as the two changelings fled for their lives. He cocked his arm back-- and threw.

=------=-----=-----=-----=

Two alicorns had seen the whole thing via a scrying pool. "Just as cruel as in the olden days." Celestia murmured. Luna looked at her sister with a quiet, frightened expression. Good did not mean kind, and they both knew it but-- Luna wondered what sort of monster she'd helped her sister loose on the Changeling Empire. The night time alicorn looked over to see the sun Princess writing a quick and scratchy note on golden leaflet paper. With a burst of magic she encased it three times over into a special canister. Turning, Celestia leaned out into the hallway from the bedroom. "Pardon." she said, putting on a motherly smile.

"Yes, your Majesty?" said the squire.

"Send this to the Cloudsdale bomber squad, please. No stops." Celestia gingerly pushed the secret message into the guard's saddlebag. He saluted her somberly. This was the second top secret royal message in just a week. Those were always very serious and had to be given to the swiftest of messengers.

"Yes, ma'am." The guard bowed, then galloped away.

"What art thou doing now, sister?" Luna said warily.

"Flooding a desert." said Celestia with a tinkling chuckle. Her voice was only a little less gentle than normal. Luna shivered, and got out of her way as the white alicorn walked calmly back to the scrying pool to observe. She'd not slept in far too long, Luna knew, but she didn't have the courage to voice it. It wasn't often that one saw the Sun Princess truly wrathful. Twas the quiet wraths that were to be feared the most. The subtle, cruel chessmaster Celestia was rearing her mighty head.

End of Part 6