Well here we go again fellas!

I've been stewing over just how to write this chapter for some time now. It's certainly going to be a very important one so I needed to get it just right. Still I know that this will likely be a turning point for some people, and I'm okay with that.

Let the most controversial chapter…

Begin!

Parlave Oum

(Part One)

Richard Pov

Lights flashed before my eyes, visions of people and Ponies, Changelings and Alicorns.

I could see them all, I could see…a woman, a familiar woman.

"Emily?"

My sister smiles at me and shakes her head, her hair growing out, becoming longer, it's colour darkening from a rich brown into a glossy black.

"Live. Your. Life." Each word was met with a soft poke on my chest, and a smile on her face. "And make sure when you wake up to give this to Chrissy."

Give what to Chrissy?

Light poured out from me, flying towards something, someone.

It reached them, reached…her, and then…

I knew no more.

…

…

…

Something smelled really good.

As in really, really good. I couldn't put a word to what it smelled like exactly, but whatever it was filled my senses until I could smell nothing but.

And as I said, it smelled really good.

Someone had their arm wrapped around me, I could feel it, feel them holding my stomach, pulling me closer to them. They were warm, soft, pleasant to the touch.

I smiled in my half asleep daze and reached down to grab their hand, entwining my fingers with theirs as I-

'Wait what.'

My eyes snapped open and I looked down at the offending appendage, not believing what my eyes were showing me as I realized that I was indeed holding another hand.

"Chrissy…?"

I slowly moved the hand off of me and turned around, my eyes widening by the second as I took in the person beside me.

The person who most certainly was not Chrissy.

Not the one I knew.

She felt almost wrong to my Changeling senses. Alien, as if there was something hiding just beneath the skin. And yet as I looked at her face and ignored those senses, she come across as rather pretty, cute even.

She had a small nose, almost button-like. Her lips were curved into a lazy smile and her hair was black, a very dark black at that and yet somewhat glossy in the dim light of the hive. As my eyes trailed down her svelte body, I took in her curves and toned stomach, noticing a slight definition of abs upon it.

It took me a moment to realize that I hadn't taken note of her breasts, but as I looked at what was admittedly a rather boastful couple of puppies, I realized that they didn't really do a whole lot for my libido.

Well, they made my dick tingle a bit, but it certainly wasn't standing at attention.

I wondered why.

'There are more important questions here, Richard. Like why the hell is there a woman here?'

Before I could think on what to do, the woman opened her shockingly green eyes and looked at me, a dreamy smile on her face as she giggled at my admittedly bewildered expression.

"Come back to bed Richard," she said, smile widening as I all but choked on nothing. "Hey, what's the matter baby?"

I opened my mouth and closed it, realization coming over me none too gently as I finally shook off the morning dew.

"Is that you, Chrissy?" I asked, wincing as she frowned at me sadly.

"Oh Richie," she whispered, making to get up. "I told you last night sweetie, it's me. This is real, you-"

Whatever else she was going to say was interrupted as she fell onto her stomach, a soft grunt escaping her mouth as she looked down at herself, evidently confused.

Then she looked at her hands.

"THE FUCK?!" she cried, pushing herself up and falling onto her back as she tried and failed to stand on all fours. "What's going on?! This isn't a transformation, I haven't transformed, what's…"

I rushed over and held her shoulders before she could hurt herself, Chrissy's frightened face and accompanying emotions doing nothing to settle her down, or me for that matter.

"Richard, what's going on?" she asked, breathing frantically as she looked down at her body. "I'm not transformed. I'm…this is me, but I'm me! What's happened to me?!"

"I don't know!" I replied, trying my best not to panic with her. "You said something about a True Form a little while ago, maybe this is it?"

She shook her head. "It can't be, I was supposed to come with you when you saw your sister again to get it. But I didn't, I never acquired what I needed to create it. This isn't possible."

"And yet it is!"

The both of us flinched as Naerx's voice boomed behind me, causing me to spin around.

The Changeling in question was grinning as she took in Chrissy's body, her eyes roaming up and down in a rather clinical way.

"Not bad, Chrysalis," she praised, amusement heavy in her tone. "You've transformed correctly, I can't sense or see a single fault on your True Form."

"Did you not hear me before?" Chrissy snapped, glaring at Naerx as she tried and failed to get up. "Oh for fuck's sake, why can't I get up?"

"Because it isn't a typical transformation, and certainly not one you've done before," Naerx answered, watching with a smirk as I carefully helped Chrissy into a somewhat awkward sitting position. "They're just masks with instructions, you already know how they work when you take in their essence. But with a True Form…oh no, you need to work that out for yourself."

Chrissy opened her mouth only to close it and look down, her hands touching her legs and moving up onto her stomach.

"I don't understand," she said quietly, looking up at Naerx. "I never obtained this form, I never met Richard's sister. How do I have it?"

Naerx smiled and nodded at me. "He gave it to you."

Chrissy blinked before looking at me. "You gave me this, Richie?"

"Me?" I asked, bewildered. "How would I give you that?"

"I sensed the potential for transformation leave you and enter her," Naerx said, catching our attention again. "Indeed it was rather fascinating to watch her slowly change form, though admittedly a little grotesque."

"Grotesque in what way?"

I didn't think it was possible for a ghost to turn green, but I swear that she did.

"Well if you must know, I got the honour of watching her new form break out of her body like it was a cocoon," Naerx explained quickly. "Not exactly what I thought would happen when you obtained it, but I guess I was due a surprise at some point."

I swallowed something foul tasting and looked down at the mossy bed, the closer look rewarding my poor stomach with bits of broken chitin and…

'Well that's not entirely pleasant.'

"Chrissy, I don't want to upset you," I began, grimacing as I looked on the other side of the bed. "But your…um…"

"What?" she asked, turning slowly and peering in the same direction. Her eyes widened as her pale complexion quickly became tinged with much the same colour as Naerx had sported. "Oh that's disgusting."

"I don't know how I didn't wake up," I muttered. "But I'm really glad I was asleep."

"You're glad?" she asked, disbelief heavy in her tone. "I'm the one it was happening to! Imagine if I woke up halfway through that."

"You wouldn't have," Naerx interrupted. "Neither of you would've, I kept you both asleep. Didn't think you'd like waking up to…uh, that."

On the other side of the bed were not only more bits of broken chitin, but a rather familiar horn, a lot of teeth and a couple of rather bloody green eyes.

Chrissy looked back at Naerx with a rather ill expression on her face. "Am I…is that going to happen every time I transform into this?"

Naerx, having somewhat regained her composure, chuckled nervously but shook her head.

"No," she replied. "The first transformation is always something like that, though not usually so grotesque." She chuckled again but stopped and swallowed at Chrissy's icy glare, a guilty smile on her face as she continued.

"Your magic didn't know what it was and as such didn't allow the transformation to occur swiftly, so as to understand it. But now that you've transformed, your magic knows what it is and what goes where. The next time you transform into this, it'll feel as natural as all the others."

"I hope so," Chrissy grumbled, looking at the remnants of herself on her floor and frowning. "I don't know how to use my magic like this. Naerx can you get rid of all of that?"

"All of you, you mean?" Naerx quipped, grinning at the heated glare Chrissy shot her. "It's no trouble at all."

She looked at me and smiled slightly.

"This might feel uncomfortable."

Before I could move, Naerx flew right at me, into me and then…she was standing back where she was before. Chrissy was holding my suddenly shaky body as best she could, concern pouring off of her and into me as I sensed it.

The bits of what once was Chrissy were gone.

"Sorry," Naerx said, smiling sheepishly. "I had to use one of you and she's new, so…well, you were a safer pick."

"You could've told me before you decided to possess me," I snapped, rubbing my head as a headache began to come on. "Ugh, I feel rough."

"I'm not certain I'm supposed to do that to Kings," Naerx admitted, grinning as she faded away.

"You think?"

"Richard."

Chrissy's voice brought my attention onto her immediately, all annoyance forgotten as nervous emotions began to trickle into me.

From her.

"What's wrong?" I asked, admittedly still uncertain what to do as I took her hands into my own.

She opened her mouth for a moment but then closed it, her rather delicate looking eyebrows forming a frown as she looked at me.

"This body," she began, the words leaving her slowly. "This transformation, this form…it's still me."

I blinked but nodded. "I know."

She smiled quickly and shook her head, continuing. "No, you don't know. I'm still me underneath this form, I'm still Changeling. But I'm also this whenever I want to be…need to be, for however long I wish."

Confused, I nodded again. "I know hun, what are you getting at?"

"Sorry," she said. "I'm trying to explain in a way that won't hurt you."

I chuckled and pulled her close, enjoying her little gasp as her skin touched mine.

"Just say it hun, I'll try my best not to be offended."

She laughed lightly and nuzzled my nose, an action that while pleasant before, was obviously easier to do against me without a muzzle.

'I think I still prefer the other one though.'

"Okay," she said, mostly to herself I think. "What I'm trying to say, is that I'm only using this form. I don't know for certain if you prefer this look but…I don't want to stay like it forever."

I smiled and kissed her small nose, enjoying the way she scrunched it. "That's fine with me hun. I love you for you, whatever you look like."

She seemed to relax immediately. "Oh good. I was worried for a second that you'd prefer this to me, my normal form I mean."

"I love you whatever you look like," I repeated, looking her right in the eyes.

A smile grew on her face at my words, happy emotions filling me up as they seemed to sink in.

"Okay," she whispered, a startled noise leaving her as I gave her butt a quick squeeze.

"And for the record," I said, grinning at her slowly reddening cheeks. "I still find your buggy arse more sexy than this one."

"Oh really?" she purred, leaning forward and kissing me…only to stop halfway through it and glare as I began to laugh. "Oi, what are you laughing at?"

"It's l-like you're trying to eat my face," I gasped, trying my best to communicate without laughing.

She made this infinity more difficult when she went for a repeat.

"Stop, stop!" I giggled in what was absolutely a very manly man way. "Look, you need to move against my lips, not eat my mouth."

"Well it's not my fault," she grumbled, pouting. "I don't know how this mouth works yet."

"We could practice."

"You sound like a teenager."

"Well excuse me Grandma, not all of us are a couple centuries old you know."

"Grandma?!"

"No don't hit me, I bruise easily!"

She lowered her hand and smirked, proud of her apparent victory. I rolled my eyes and pulled her onto my lap, the mare squeaking as she quickly wrapped her arms around me.

"Don't drop me!" she yelped, clinging to me tightly.

I chuckled and pulled her even closer, admiring her almost luminous green orbs as they began to lid amorously.

"I never will, love," I murmured, grinning crookedly before leaning in and kissing her.

Rather than letting her take the lead as I often did, I took control instead, gently forcing her lips to move slowly with mine. They were soft and sweet…literally sweet, I could taste something upon them.

It was like…sugar.

"You taste as nice as you smell," I said lowly, chest rumbling. "I really like it."

"Yeah?" she said quietly, her breath becoming a light pant.

"Mhmm."

She grinned…and then blinked, strange emotion beginning to emanate from her.

"Wait, what do you mean smell?" she asked quickly. "What do I smell like?"

"What, I don't know, nice," I replied, somewhat lost in the now ruined moment.

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry baby, I know we were getting somewhere there, but I need to know what you mean by smell. What do I smell like?"

"I told you," I said, chuckling. "You smell nice."

Chrissy frowned and bit her lip, a rather adorable look for her I have to admit.

"Okay I'm asking the wrong question," she said. "What do you feel when you smell me?"

I opened my mouth but she interrupted me. "Just humour me love, please."

I scratched my cheek, confused at what she was asking but complied, closed my eyes and breathed in her scent.

A lot of it.

It took a moment, a few more moments even.

But then it happened.

"…you smell…I feel like I want to protect you…to keep you close and keep the both of you-"

I opened my eyes and gasped, looking at her.

Right at her.

But not her face.

Chrissy followed my eyes and looked down, a small smile beginning to worm its way onto her face as she touched her stomach.

The place where the oh so nice scent was coming very strongly from.

The scent that was screaming at every instinct I had to protect, to keep close, to keep safe.

"I see," she whispered, a full grin upon her face. "I didn't think it'd happen without my complete control. I wanted to make sure that this was what you wanted before allowing your seed to take."

I merely stared at her, not sure what to say.

I knew this was going to happen, we'd both agreed on it.

And yet…

"I thought we'd have to…you know, do it again with you like this," I said, fumbling over my words.

"Not quite love," she giggled, so very happy as she smiled at me, I could feel it more than I could see it. "Your seed has been stored within me for months and as a Queen I have far greater control on when it begins…usually anyway. It must have begun once the transformation was complete, I was asleep so..." She shrugged.

"W-When." I stopped and cleared my suddenly rather dry throat. "When is it…I mean…how long until you give…"

"Not long at all," she replied, smiling at me in a way I had never seen her do so before. "I can birth hundreds of eggs in three days, and in this form I am still half Changeling. It will be very swift."

She paused and looked at me curiously. "How long does it usually take for Humans?"

"Nine months usually," I croaked, her words beginning to sink in.

She smiled and touched her stomach lightly, an almost dream-like expression on her face.

"Our child will feed on our love, it will grow quickly, very quickly," she explained, her voice taking on a soft tone as she shimmied closer. "We pass down our knowledge through the hive mind, our child will learn from it while within."

"It'll be walking and talking when it pops out?" I squeaked, ignoring her loud laughter.

"No love," she said, shaking her head. "It will simply learn how to do so quicker then…let's say a foal would."

"How do you know?" I asked. "I mean, aren't we the first to have…like this?"

"There have been hybrid children before," she said, uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Not every child survived the birth, the combined races simply weren't compatible. But those who did grew quickly, a baby into a child in but a year."

"Are you sure that we're compatible?" I asked quickly, worry forming in the pit of my stomach.

She smiled gently and nodded, reaching out a stroke my face. "I knew that we were compatible when I found you in that tavern two years ago."

Her hand left my cheek and took my own, gently placing it upon her flat stomach.

"Close your eyes," she whispered.

I did so, closing them, the feeling of her stomach becoming more pronounced as I did so.

"Feel," she urged, tone soft, loving. "Not as a Human, but as a King."

The block that had been all but impossible to breech had been chipped away by Luna's meddling. I hated that repulsive mare with everything I had, but in that moment I could've thanked her.

For as I ignored the feel of my hand, choosing to focus instead on the feel of my own power.

I felt it.

I felt it within her, small, just beginning.

I could feel the speed of which it would begin to grow, the amount of love it would need in order to do so.

A brief noise, a low flash beneath my eyelids.

I could feel…

My eyes opened to meet hers, the Chrissy who had unveiled herself to me all that time ago, looking deep into my eyes with nothing but love.

I couldn't stop the smile.

"We're having a baby," I whispered.

Her own smile widened, the mare all but trembling with joy as she nodded.

"We're having a baby."

She leaned in and eagerly accepted my lips, our kiss something more than one of passion or love.

It was something new.

Chrissy Pov

It had happened.

It wasn't my choice to happen so soon, but it had still happened.

And I was never going to complain, not ever, not when my beloved mate was looking at me with such love in his eyes, such emotion in his heart.

We were having a baby, his baby…

I loved that man with everything I was.

"Richie, let's-"

The moment was ruined completely as the two of us clutched our heads, a voice booming within the entire hive.

"PARLAVE OUM!

The words seemed to reverberate throughout my entire body, and no matter how hard I pressed my ears down, I couldn't block them out. The walls shook, the floor rumbled and all I could do was squint as an immense wave of something hit me like a buffalo, forcing me to stay still and hold my hooves around my stomach.

I hadn't felt such instinct in so long, but everything in me was screaming danger.

I had to protect-

But then it all stopped, the noise, the shaking, everything stopped.

"Oh, fuck me." Richards voice was barely audible with the ringing in my ears, but I still managed to hear his pained tone. "What was...wait, what am I...CHRISSY?!"

His sudden shock sent a rush of adrenaline through my body, and I was moving before I could think to do so.

Richard was walking towards the entrance to the catacombs, but the look on his face as he was obviously struggling not to do so made it very clear that it wasn't by choice.

"Hold on, Richie. I'm com-WOAH!" My words were cut short as I too found myself being forced to walk to the entrance, no amount of struggling allowing me to stop in any way. "What is this? Naerx!"

The ghostly apparition appeared besides me, floating at the same pace with ease as her eyes watched, wide and shocked.

"Parlave Oum," she said quietly, anger quickly taking root as she hissed. "After all Celestia has done, she DARES to call Parlave Oum!"

"Not to ruin your moment, but what the fuck is Parlave Oum?!" Richard shouted, holding onto the wall for dear life only for his hands to snap to his side. "The fuck is going on?!"

"It's old magic," Naerx explained, her frown getting deeper, angrier by the second. "It was what ended the war."

"Fascinating, but what is it doing to us?" he snapped, still struggling. "Gruhhh, COME ON!"

"It forced the opposing leaders of the war to meet in a Pax Dome."

At both mine and Richard's confused expression, she began to elaborate. "It's literally a dome of magic, but it contains within it Sacred Ground. No one can harm another within it and all magic is neutralized so they meet as equals."

"What?!" I hissed, quickly realizing why she was so angry. "After all she and her Ponies have done to us, they dare ask for diplomacy now?!"

"No fucking chance!" Richard chimed in, fury etched on his face.

"In case you both haven't noticed, neither of you have a choice," Naerx deadpanned, gesturing to both of us. "Neither will they mind you. The both of you will walk until you reach the dome."

"And where the fuck is that?" Richard asked, suddenly quite nervous.

"Halfway," Naerx replied, frowning. "Both sides meet halfway. The last time this was used, it took both sides days to reach the dome. You aren't as unfortunate, it'll likely take a couple of hours."

She paused. "Stop struggling, both of you. You can't fight against it no matter how strong you are, you'll just make it harder on yourselves."

I looked at Richard and nodded, my heart aching as I sensed a flicker of fear, his eyes looking at my stomach with trepidation.

"Can't we just escape when we get there?" he asked. "Enter the dome and then teleport or something?"

Naerx shook her head. "No, that's why I'm so angry. Neither can leave until an agreement is formed."

"Why haven't they used this earlier?" I asked. "If this is so powerful, then why didn't they use this months ago?"

"Because it's dangerous," she admitted, her frown deepening. "To summon the old magic you need to be pure of heart. The last time they used it, Luna sacrificed a colt of twelve years with soul magic."

Richard sneered and shook his head, a wave of disgust forcing me to lower my feelers for a moment.

"Of course she did," he muttered, bitter and angry. "Wish I could kill her again."

"Luna's dead. Maybe Celestia grew desperate enough to do something similar," Naerx guessed. "Either way there's no way out until an agreement is reached."

"But we can't!" he snapped, anger and fear beginning to come from him in waves. "Chrissy, our baby! They can't do this to us now!"

"I'm sorry Richard," Naerx said, frowning as she looked at me, or more aptly my stomach. "But they can and they have. There's nothing I can do to stop it, it's beyond me."

Her words hit me like stone.

I couldn't stop.

Neither of us could.

We were both going to be dragged to her, to Celestia who would NOT show any mercy after the death of her sister.

"But I won't be able to switch forms," I whispered, breathing becoming more and more unsteady as fear became more prevalent. "I-I have to switch forms to feed the baby."

"What if you switch now?" Richard asked, ducking down as we began to near the entrance to the hive.

I shook my head frantically. "I can't love! As long as I'm in my natural body, the baby can't be harmed, it's not in that one."

"How does that even work?"

"You want me to explain it now!" I shouted, regretting it immediately as he flinched.

I wanted more than anything to go to him, to nuzzle him, to apologize.

'Wait…'

"Naerx," I said, getting her attention. "You said it neutralizes magic?" I asked, fear really beginning to settle as Naerx nodded. "But…but I need magic to feed, we both do. If I can't feed then that means I can't use stored love either!"

Richard's look of horror said it for the both us.

If we couldn't share our love with the other…if I couldn't even access the vast amounts I had stored within me…

"Please no," I whimpered, trying with all I had to stop myself from moving. But whatever magic had a hold on me didn't seem to care.

It didn't care that I wouldn't be able to feed.

It didn't care that I wasn't the only one who needed it.

It didn't care that if we stayed in that dome for too long…

Our baby would starve.

To Be Continued In Part Two