Chapter 4: Hearts, Hooves, Honesty and...Huh?
Twilight Sparkle inhaled the beautiful spring day through her nostrils and savored the scent of manicured grass and blossoming flowers. It was hard for her to decide whether she liked spring or summer better, but on a glorious morning like this she almost had to say spring. Everything was fresh and new and bright and, as Pinkie Pie would say, 'gave her an incredible case of the smiles!'. Twilight chuckled at the voice of Pinkie in her head as she entered the park. The dirt trail took her to the base of a hill where, upon the summit, her friends were already waiting.
Twilight looked up at her best friends and smiled on the outside and on the inside. She'd been in Ponyville for two years now, and every day had been wonderful. Even on her worst days, such as when she was going nuts over being tardy with her report, she couldn't deny being happy when her friends were around.
"Yay Twilights here!" Pinkie's voice chimed down from above. Twilight looked up and saw Pinkie Pie up in the tree. She jumped down from the upper branches and landed on Twilight, pulling her down to the ground in a tight hug. Twilight laughed for a second, but then the hug constricted her windpipe and she had to struggle to break the deadly grip. Once she could breath again she found herself at the center of a group hug, but unlike Pinkie's hug, the united hooves of her friends were soft and gentle. Even Pinkie Pie was able to get into the spirit of the hug and Twilight basked in the warmth of her friends.
The rest of the morning passed with laughter and games. Applejack and Rainbow Dash tossed a Frisbee around while Pinkie Pie asked Fluttershy a dozen and a half questions per second about something she perceived as wrong with her pet alligator, Gummy, and Fluttershy was trying to calm her down from the overreaction, but to no avail.
When it was time for lunch everyone returned to the red and white checker-patterned quilt that Rarity and Twilight had been setting up. The food, brought by everyone, was laid out and everyone sat down to enjoy themselves. Rarity was the first to end the flurry of small conversations with a group topic.
"Well now everyone, I'm just curious and in no way trying to pry, but with tomorrow being Hearts and Hooves Day I simply must know if any of my best friends have a special somepony they've made plans with."
Everyone glanced around the circle that they sat in, but only for a moment. Applejack was the first to speak up.
"Well shucks ah can't say ah've had much time this year fer ehny flirtin' er nothin' of the sort. Between applebuckin', zapapple harvestin', those Flim Flam nits-"
"Aaaaaand that time you ran away to join the circus!" Pinkie Pie chimed in.
"Ah didn't join no circus Pinkie," Applejack said, "Ah went to a rodeo and was too ashamed tah come home." Her cheeks noticeably reddened and her eyes averted to the ground as she recalled that particular episode in her life. Fluttershy reached out a comforting hoof and patted Applejack on the back.
"That's what you get for being such a busy-body" Rainbow Dash said with a grin.
"Ooooh! Does that mean you're going out on Hearts and Hooves Day?" Pinkie Pie asked, beaming.
"Well..." Rainbow Dash began, deflating, "Not exactly. After pulling off two Sonic Rainbooms in the last few months and winning the Best Flier contest, no stallion has had the bits to approach me, let alone ask me out."
"Waaaiiitttt," Pinkie said, "What about when Snowflake asked you out after that-" She was silenced by a cyan hoof in her mouth.
"He was talking about something completely different and it had nothing to do with dating or going to see a Wonderbolts show or anything like that."
"Uh-huh," Rarity said, cocking a knowing eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. "Well darling, if it makes you feel any better, I have yet to have a suitable suitor seek my hoof. Only the occasional boorish ruffian that I wouldn't even consider consorting with."
"That doesn't sound very generous of you," Twilight said with a smirk. Everyone giggled but for Rarity. She just rolled her eyes then examined one of her well manicured hooves.
"Even generosity has its limits. A diamond can only shine so much no matter how much others may wish for it to, after all." There was another round of laughter at Rarity's less than convincing analogy. Unfortunately for Pinkie Pie, she giggled longer and a bit louder than the rest of the group, so all eyes went to her for the next response.
In typical Pinkie fashion, the ever cheerful pony gave them all a big smile as she answered the global question. "I don't have time for a special somepony this year because I'm helping out the Cake family in the bakery. We have so many orders for hearts and hooves cupcakes, pies, lollipops, mints, heart-shaped candies with little words on them, sweet-" this time it was Applejack that silenced her by holding her mouth shut with one of her hooves. Pinkie pie continued to mumble behind her friend's hoof fora few more seconds before stopping. When Applejack released her mouth, Pinkie was smiling as though she hadn't just been forcefully muted.
"What about you Twilight?" Pinkie asked. Everyone looked at Twilight and the purple mare blushed a little.
"Oh, well, I really hadn't thought about it. I can't imagine anyone in Ponyville wanting to be my special somepony because...well...nobody in Ponyville knows me well enough and I really don't know any of them well enough to really like them. Except for you five, of course." She added with a smile. Unlike Pinkie Pie's previous smile, this one was more from the warm depths of her heart rather than the rapid heights of joy. Five pony faces returned the very same smile.
I don't need a special somepony Twilight thought, I've got all of the love I need from my friends.
Everyone had gone back to eating and it was a few minutes of silence- save for the sound of chewing, slurping, burping and Rarity giving Rainbow Dash a hard time about saying 'Excuse me' after burping- before Applejack lifted her head and looked to Fluttershy.
"Aw I'm sorreh sugarcube" she said, getting everyone else's attention with the remark, "We completely forgot yer turn. Do ya got aneh plans fer Hearts'n'Hooves day?" Everyone stopped eating and looked at Fluttershy patiently. As was typical, the yellow unicorn had blushed and retreated partway into her mane. Unlike prior conversations or instances of being put on the spot, she didn't shy away completely. She was doing quite well, but only because it was her friends who surrounded her. More than her friends, really. Fluttershy had strong feelings for all of them, and that was what caused her the moment of embarrassment as she spoke.
"Oh, well, um, I really haven't had the chance to ask anypony and nopony would ask me when there are still five fantastic mares like you all available." Four of her five friends gave her a nervous smile, as though both flattered by her suggestion but also put in an uncomfortable position by it. Twilight, however, gave her a much more appealing smile.
"Aww," she said, reaching a hoof out to pat one of Fluttershy's. "Fluttershy, I'd be honored if you would be my special somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day." She hadn't quite thought about the aftermath of what such a comment would be before she said it. All she knew was that Fluttershy was being adorable again and Twilight wanted to show her just how special and amazing she was. Unfortunately, the only reply she got was silent looks ranging from flattery to shock to horror to disgust.
Fluttershy's cheeks had gone as pink as her mane and she retreated fully behind her hair now, The others, meanwhile, looked at Twilight as though she were a changeling.
"Uhm, Twi," Applejack started, "Y'all know that 'round these parts Hearts'n'Hooves is a Stallion-Mare sorta thang."
"What?" Twilight asked, rather surprised by the comment, "But...you all know I'm not into stallions." She had told her friends of her sexual orientation a few months after getting to know them all. Applejack had commented on how complete honesty was the best policy among friends and Twilight had shared that part of herself with everyone so that there would be no misscommunications in the future.
"Thas not the point ahm tryin' ter make" Applejack said, her cheeks getting as rosey as the apples on her flank, "Its more fer Fluttershy's sake is what ahm sayin'"
"What she means, dear," Rarity cut in, giving Applejack an eyeroll as the orange mare looked flustered, unable to articulate her thoughts as well as the fashionista. "Is that while all of Ponyville may know of your...orientation...its different for poor Fluttershy here." She patted Fluttershy on the back sypathetically. "You're Twilight Sparkle, remember? Student of Princess Celestia, Element of Magic, Savior of Luna, Vanquisher of Nightmare Moon, Harbinger of Harmony, Destroyer of Discord, Master of the Ursa Minor. You're a hero, acelebrity" Rarity giggled excitedly after saying that word, having not thought of herself as being friends with a celebrity before."
"But Fluttershy is just as great." Twilight said, "She's the Element of Kindness, the..erm...tamer of the Manticore, the Stare Master, the Dragon Intimidator, Photo Finish's Finest Feature," She tapped her chin trying to remember more events that would warrant a title.
"But Fluttershy is a local," Rarity said, "Different things are expected of her. I mean no offense dear Twilight, but you are from Canterlot, and everyone knows that Canterlot is...different. Amazing, extravagant, and glorious, but different."
"Fluttershy is from Cloudsdale." Twilight countered.
"Yes, but she has lived here in Ponyville most of her life. She has the Ponyville charm and the Ponyville history. If people were to suspect or even think that she was a lesbian, why, she would be shunned."
"That seems a little harsh." Rainbow Dash said, "Sure in school that might have happened, but now everyone's grown up. No one's gonna pick on her."
"Very true, I may have exaggerated a little." Rarity said, "But people would talk. Gossip and the like. And certainly people would treat her differently."
"Ahm sorry y'all, but I gotta go" Applejack said. She'd been silent while Rarity spoke but now she seemed rather antsy. She was up and galloping away before anyone could ask if she was alright, or even say goodbye.
Applejack just needed to get away from them for a moment. Seeing Twilight ask Fluttershy to be her special somepony...it caused feelings in Applejack that she hadn't felt in a long time. The last time she'd felt this torn up she'd run off to Dodge Junction to try and clear her head, and before that she'd run to Manehatten to live with her aunt and uncle.
Why don't ah like the idea of Twilight 'n Fluttershy bein' together? she thought to herself.
Mares munchin mares ain't natural. Granny Smith's voice entered her mind, A mares meant ta be wit' a stallion. Two mares can't 'ave a foal, and choosin' to waste their lives like tha' oughta be acrime.
Applejack shook her head and felt something stinging in her eyes. She stopped running for a moment and wiped her hoof across her face. Tears? Why in tarnashin' was she crying. She shook her head and stomped her hoof.
Naw Granny. Sorreh, but if Twilight wants Fluttershy to be 'er special someponeh then she has evereh raght to want it. If Fluttershy decides to be Twilight's special someponeh, then by all means they 'ave the raght to be happeh. She gritted her teeth and shook her head. Thinking in opposition to her grandma was causing even more discomfort. Now it felt like Big Mac had just applebucked her in the chest.
The raght to be happeh...the raght to be happeh... Images of Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy danced around her head as she thought of this.
Everyone watched Applejack gallop away. She wasn't the only one who suddenly didn't want to be at the picnic anymore. After a moment of unanimous confused silence, Rarity cleared her throat and looked at everyone. "Well, this must certainly seem like terrible timing, but I, too, must depart. I have a big order to work on. Fancypants is throwing a party and everyone in Canterlot it seems wants one of my dresses.
She flashed everyone a smile while backing away, turning only when her friends had vanished over the crest of the hill. Her smile faltered as she began walking back into town. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
The moment Twilight had asked Fluttershy to be her special somepony Rarity instantly felt jealous. If Twilight could ask someone, then why couldn't Rarity? If someone could ask Fluttershy, then why couldn't someone ask Rarity? She thought about who she would ask, but Twilight's words only came back to haunt her. The only ponies I really know are my friends. And they're the only ones I could even consider spending a whole day with. she shook her head and focused. Dresses! She suddenly had a craving to go work on her dresses.
Bright yellows and pinks, amethysts, orange and blue ribbon, oh they're going to be so magnificent! she thought happily.
Rainbow Dash didn't make a scene as she left. While everyone watched Rarity back away, she simply took off into the sky. She didn't have anything in particular to do, but she was feeling restless. Very restless. She'd been on the ground too long and eaten too many calories. Yeah, that was it. She just needed to get flying again. Speed, sky, freedom!
She shot past the clouds and flew up as far as her wings could carry her. When it started getting too cold she did a flip then tightly spiraled her way back down, heading for Cloudsdale. She needed to race someone, anyone. Well, not Fluttershy. Racing Fluttershy was never fun. Whenever Rainbow Dash wanted to do anything other than race, Fluttershy was her go-to-girl, but for a race she needed someone with speed, not someone who was just awesome to hang out with.
While distracting herself with a roster in her head of the fastest pegasai in Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash completely failed to notice the incoming collision. With a loud crack of two high speed bodies flying together, Rainbow Dash and a Wonderbolt collided in mid-air and fell a few dozen feet onto a large cloud below. Three more Wonderbolts flew down and landed with them, one of them helping their comrade back to his feet while the other two helped Rainbow Dash.
"Ouch!"Rainbow dash said as she rubbed her head at the point of impact. "Why don't you watch where you're-" She began before she recognized the four other pegasai. Even with their distinctive coverall uniforms on, she knew who was who from the hours and days she'd spent fawning over their trading cards.
Soarin, Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Rapidfire! Soarin was rubbing his head and giving her an appologetic look. "Ohmygoshohmygosh!" Rainbow Dash began to ramble out her typical chant upon gaining such close proximity to her heroes, but Spitfire's hoof shot out and pinned her mouth shut. Dash suddenly felt a pang of guilt for all the times she'd done that to Pinkie Pie. Having it done to her felt rather rotten.
"Chill out Rainbow Dash" Spitfire said in such a cool manner that Rainbow couldn't help but calm down. She let Rainbow Dash control her own mouth again before she continued. "Kinda strange how often we've been running into you lately."
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash said, trying to find something to say but currently at a complete lack for words, "I'm so sorry, I was just, like, distracted and all and I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing."
"Is that a fact?" Fleetfoot asked with a smirk. When Rainbow Dash blushed and looked down, ashamed, she chuckled. "Hey I'm not saying its a bad thing. I'm just rather surprised. For someone who wasn't paying attention to herself, you were pulling off some pretty sick moves. Did you know you did a spiraling corkscrew into a barrel roll without breaking your glide?"
Rainbow Dash perked up a bit. That was one of her signature moves. She'd done it so many times that she knew she could do it in her sleep, so doing it without paying attention came as no big deal.
"Oh I did? Yeah, that's just one of my signature moves." she said, rubbing her hoof against her pelt in an attempt to mimic Rarity's poise.
"Well it was bad-ass!" Soarin said excitedly. "Hey would you mind teaching it to us?" This caught Rainbow Dash off guard. The Wonderbolts wanted her to teachthem something?
"Wait, you want me to teach you something?" Rainbow Dash voiced her shock.
"Well, yeah," Rapidfire said, his voice clipped and his words coming out almost too fast for Rainbow to follow. Spitfire shook her head and repeated what Rapidfire said at a more audible pace.
"You're the best flier we've ever seen. You won the Young Flier contest, you kicked a dragon, you saved three of our lives and your friend's life, you did a Sonic Rainboom not once, but three times, you were chosen over us to perform at the Royal Wedding, you're one of the Elements of Harmony and you stopped Nightmare Moon and Discord. Heck, we should be the ones fawning over you." Of course, Spitfire was too cool to fangirl in public.
Rainbow Dash's cheeks were as red as the red streak in her mane and she had a look of utter shock. The Wonderbolts were fans of her!? She shook her head for a moment then smiled excitedly. "Sure! I'll teach you guys a thing or two!"
By the time the remaining three ponies noticed that Rainbow Dash had ditched them the mood was noticeably less tense, but also less jovial. Pinkie Pie looked from Fluttershy to Twilight Sparkle. Twilight's ears were drooped as the burden of being the one who drove everyone to leave weighed heavily on her. Pinkie patted her shoulder and gave her a smile, letting her know that she had no issues what-so-ever with Twilight.
Looking back at Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie's someone-wants-a-moment-alone-with-someone-else sense caused her left eye to wink a couple of times. She looked up at the sun, it having just passed its zenith, and rubbed her chin to put on a show of thought. "I'm super duper sorry but I actually do gotta go. Hearts and Hooves Day snacks won't bake themselves!" She gave her friends a nervous smile. It was true, she did need to leave, but not at the moment. She could have spent some more time with them, but she knew that Fluttershy had something to say to Twilight.
"That's fine Pinkie," Twilight said, her ears up a little more while giving Pinkie Pie an understanding smile. "Go ahead, I can clean up here."
Pinkie Pie nodded vaguely, looked at Fluttershy and then Twilight one more time before pulling them both into a super duper sorry hug. "I'll see you two later!" she said, smiling again before bouncing away.
Despite smiling on the outside, Pinkie Pie was more than simply sad on the inside. Fluttershy was supposed to be Pinkie's special somepony. And Twilight as well. All of her friends were supposed to be her special somepony. She knew her Pinkie sense well, and whenever her friends were close it pulled her to them. Hopping away was always hard and painful, but that was why she forced the joy out to the surface. It was the only way she could leave.
The trip back to Sugarcube Corner was long and bitter. Pinkie smiled and waved to and greeted everypony she met along the way, but once she was inside and certain that the Cakes were still out she ran up to her room.
Locking the door, she crawled into her bed as the tears began to fall. Her smile was gone and her mane deflated. Sobs shook her body and gasps constricted her throat as she hugged one of her pillows to her chest. She burried her face in the pink fabric and let out a long, low wail of misery.
Pinkie Pie couldn't understand why she was so upset at Twilight and Fluttershy being special someponies for each other and yet, at the same time, so happy. When Twilight asked Fluttershy to be her special somepony Pinkie Pie instantly felt like she was being ripped in half.
On the one hand, it was perhaps one of the best things she had heard in months, or even years! Two of her friends falling in love? It was so super terrific that she wanted to sing and dance and throw a party! But at the same time it terrified and depressed her. Why didn't they want to be her special somepony? She wanted to be theirs! She thought she was. That tingle she felt around her friends...she always thought that that was what it felt like to have a special somepony.
But despite what her thoughts and feelings were, she was eternally alone. Sure, she could throw a party and be surrounded by friends and people who loved her. Sure, she was flirted with on a weekly basis- guaranteed at least once at any of her parties- but it never came from them. It never came from the five ponies she loved most.
Applejack had run off. Rarity had excused herself. Rainbow Dash had flown away without a word. And now Pinkie Pie had bounced away. Twilight was sort of glad everyone had to leave despite feeling like it was her stupid suggestion that had caused the initial discomfort. She closed her eyes to focus, and when her horn started to glow with magic and the picnic began to slowly clean itself up Twilight opened her eyes again to look at Fluttershy. With everyone else gone the yellow mare was starting to re-emerge from her mane.
"I'm sorry about that Fluttershy." Twilight said. Fluttershy squeaked something but Twilight didn't hear it. "I should have just kept myself to myself instead of putting you on the spot like that in front of all of our friends." She inhaled a deep breath and sighed, her eyes lazily following some of the paper plates and scraps of food as they entered a floating trash back.
"Yes" Fluttershy said, somewhat softly.
"Exactly," Twilight said, "It wasn't anyone's fault but my own."
"No," Fluttershy said, a little louder. "I mean yes...to before." Twilight blinked and looked back at Fluttershy. The pegasus's face was fully emerged from the pink hair now. Her eyes were glistening with tears but her lips were curled into a nervous smile.
"Yes?" Twilight asked, wanting to verify before jumping to a conclusion. If Fluttershy was saying 'yes' to her request to be special someponies, then the butterflies in her stomach made so much more sense.
"Yes," Fluttershy said, "I...I'll...I want to be your special somepony." Her cheeks went to a darker shade of red and she began to fiddle her hooves in the grass nervously.
Twilight swallowed nervously but couldn't prevent the excited smile. With a tummy of fluttering creatures, however, she wanted to make absolutely certain. "I...I'm touched, Fluttershy," Twilight said, "But you don't have to if you really don't want to. I mean...I know how much you bend over backwards to try to please everypony, but-" A gentle hoof touched her lips and Twilight stopped speaking. Fluttershy was smiling with more confidence now and her watery eyes stared deeply into Twilight's.
"I really really want to," She said. "I...well...I'm attracted to mares also. And, um, not stallions." She looked down again, her left hoof digging slightly into the grass from her nerves.
Twilight's jaw was agape at the revelation. "What? Really? But...you never said anything." She was trying to avoid accusing Fluttershy of being dishonest when Twilight had come out and admitted it to all of her friends at once, but the thought did enter her mind.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Fluttershy said, giving Twilight one of her normal apologetic expressions, "But its just that I never really had a reason to tell anypony. I mean, no body ever expressed an interest in me before now, and I could never have asked any of you to be my special somepony. I'm far too nervous to do anything that bold." She looked up through her long bangs and smiled at Twilight again, "But since you asked...yes. I would love to be your special somepony Twilight."
Twilight Sparkle felt a little choked up at all of this. It was all so sudden and she wasn't entirely sure what to do. She bit on her lower lip for a moment before her expression changed to one of surprise. Fluttershy had leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Twilight's horn flashed and the bag of garbage exploded, sending bits of food all over the hilltop, and more than a bit onto Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Oh my," Fluttershy said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't think-"
"No, no, its fine" Twilight said, a somewhat dreamy expression crossing her face. She concentrated again and the garbage began to float off of Fluttershy. Once the two mares were as clean as she could get them Twilight leaned in and nuzzled her cheek against Fluttershy's. "It was a great kiss" she said softly into Fluttershy's ear. After a few seconds, Twilight backed away but looked as happy as a Pinkie Pie at a party.
Fluttershy felt simply amazing, having shared that little bit of a lot of herself. She smiled back at Twilight and wondered what to do next. Having never been romantically involved with anyone, she was unsure of what should come after agreeing to be someone's special somepony.
"So," Twilight started.
"Um," Fluttershy.
"How about I come to your place tomorrow morning." Twilight suggested. "We can figure out what to do from there. Spend the whole day together."
"That sounds lovely," Fluttershy said, her wings flapping a little in excitement. "Um, should we meet before or after breakfast?"
"Hmm, before," Twilight answered after a moment of tapping her hoof on her chin. "We can go out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
"Okay," Fluttershy said. "Do you need my help cleaning?" she asked, looking around at the mess she had caused when she kissed Twilight. The purple mare looked around and shook her head.
"No, I can handle it all easily enough." Twilight said. She was too giddy at the moment to really care about the mess though. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yeah, see you." Fluttershy said before turning around and flying off slowly and gracefully. Twilight watched her fly, her heart fluttering along with Fluttershy's wings. She turned her focus back to the mess and started to clean it up in earnest. She needed to spend the rest of the say coming up with a plan for her date tomorrow.
A gust of wind picked up as Twilight was cleaning. It was brief and it did little, save to pick up a single leaf. That leaf, having fallen only moments ago, was swept off to the south, floating along on the breeze. It drifted up over Ponyville, past Rarity's Boutique and over Sweet Apple Acres. It moved out across the Everfree Forest and beyond. Mountains passed beneath the leaf as the wind joined with greater forces of nature.
The sun set and the cool air of the night dropped down, sending the leaf lower onto the far side of the mountains where the grass grew thick and tall and trees were few and far between. As the dawn came and the air began to heat, warm updrafts kept the leaf afloat some more. It floated over a village of straw and mud huts, passing low enough for a few young Zebra to jump and try to catch it. They missed and it continued on well outside of the village limits. Further and further it went until another village moved beneath it.
This village was less carefree than the one further west. This village had fires in some of its huts, the others utterly destroyed. There were Zebra corpses littering the ground, mostly adults but a few children as well. Dozens of distinctly non-zebra creatures patrolled the ruins while a handful of the native striped horses were herded into the center of the village by the tips of polished spears.
The invaders of the village were various shades of grey and brown, ranging from a sandy tan to an almost black. Their bodies were reminiscent of lions, but their manes weren't thick manes of fur. Instead they seemed more like a shiny fabric, or a very soft metal. They were multicolored as well, varying in primary tones and secondary lines. Their faces were almost lion-esque, but oddly not, and they had features that had never before been seen these parts of the world*. Some of them sported massive wings that seemed almost ill proportioned to their bodies. They all had matching marks on their flanks of a beetle-like creature in various poses, colors and degrees of realistic appearance. Some looked like the beetle was actually standing on their flank, while others seemed to be carved into the skin as though carved into stone.
The invaders were Sphinxes, coming from the south. They were spreading their territory and had been at war with the Zebra Tribes for centuries. Their new Empress, however, had taken the war to a whole new level and now the wild creatures of the prairies were no match for the relentless expansion of the Rising Sun Empire.
The Empress herself was here in the village. From the information she had been obtaining over the last few years, this was the last true warrior tribe that remained in the lands. The rest had all been falling before her army systematically, and the few villages remaining between her and the Mare Mountains. Beyond them lay unexplored and unknown territory. The Rising Sun had no unexplored lands, however, and everything that the dawn touched would be claimed by Empress Dune Sea. It was only a matter of time.
One of her guards came up to her and snapped a crisp salute. "What is it?" Dune Sea asked, her voice a seductive purr of power and polish. She knew the various requirements of leadership, and she knew she had to present herself at all times as a being above the normal hodge-podge over which she ruled.
"Empress, we have been finding several intruders among our soldiers." the guard said.
"Indeed?" Dune Sea questioned, cocking one of her dark eyebrows, "And how do these striped aboriginals infiltrate our highly polished and refined warriors?"
"It isn't the Zebras, my Lady," the Guard said, "The creatures are insect-like, and they cast an illusion about themselves to take on the appearance of our men. The ones they have pretended to be are thus far unaccounted for.
"Illusion spells?" Dune Sea asked, now giving the guard more of her attention. her dark eyes narrowed skeptically. "Interesting..." she looked off into the distance, deep in thought. "I take it that you have one of these spellcrafters in custody?"
"Yes ma'am," the guard said, gesturing with his spear towards one of the non-destroyed huts. Dune Sea eyed the guard a moment longer and then proceeded ahead of the sphinx. She stepped inside of the dark hut without hesitation, but the moment her guard followed she spun around and swiped her claws across his face. The guard went down and rolled across the ground, colliding into the wall.
Dune Sea's eyes glowed with a malevolent red light and the spear that had been in the guard's paw was surrounded in a matching red glow. It floated up into the air, re-oriented itself, then pierced the guard through the neck. There was a flash of green light and the sphinx corpse was gone, replaced instead by a black, insectoid creature. Or the corpse of one, at least.
She approached it and leaned low to examine it. "Fascinating," she said once more before removing the spear. The body of the creature was then lifted by her magic and brought outside into the sunlight. The Empress approached the circle of surviving Zebras and dropped the body of her assassin on the ground before them.
"Identify this creature." she commanded. One of them gave her a defiant look and one of the Sphinx guards gave him a wound in his flank that would eventually lead to death, but until he bled out he would be suffering that wound, and it would take a while.
A female jumped to his defense and stood between the injured zebra and the guards. She glared at Dune Sea but gave her the answer she was seeking.
"Changeling, is the word that comes from our mouth. They invaded from the north, before you came from the south."
The sphinx looked down at the dead 'Changeling' and pondered for a moment. "Thank you," she said in a courteous enough manner. Turning her head towards one of the huts, her eyes flashed red for a moment and then she turned to walk away. Out of the hut came several young zebras; the children of the village. Their eyes were glowing red and they had vicious expressions. Upon their flanks, where their tribal tattoos had once been, were now various images of scarabs. The adult zebras recognized their children and backed away in horror as the guards handed spears to the young zebras. The children of the village took the spears and moved towards their surviving parents.