Princess Luna sat in her room atop her bed, idly sipping a cup of evening coffee. At this time, she really needed the extra boost of energy as a pick-me-up before she raised the moon to make way for the night. The night before, Nightmare Night, had been the funnest night of her life thus far. This year's festivities had been even better than last year's celebration, which had caused the Lunar Princess to stay up later into the morning than she had originally intended.
"Ponyville always seems to throw the best parties. I'll have to remember that the next time another holiday comes up." Luna mused to herself. Taking another sip of her coffee, she remembered back to the fun night she had with Rowan, and her newest, though unlikely, friends: The changelings Rosa, Quicksilver, Duke, and Violet. She had spent the majority of the night gleefully learning more about each of them and their personalities. Even though they had been raised as pure changelings, they were still as lively as anypony in Equestria.
Quicksilver had the demeanor of a cheerful pegasus, and could apparently fly as quick as a skilled one. He was almost carefree, and was easily amused, as his experience with the spider toss game had revealed. Luna chuckled a bit as she realized his reaction when introduced to the concept of fun was similar to her own last year.
Violet, on the other hoof, was more snide than the others. She always had a hint of sarcasm around her, but she did not give off an opposing presence when around friends. Though she did not enjoy flying like Quicksilver did, she did express an interest in Shadow magic more than the other two.
And Duke, the calm and collected stallion, Luna found was a born leader. He took challenges, though they were just games, seriously, and thought out every step as he went. And on one occasion, used his calm personality and reason to break up a small bickering between Quicksilver and Violet. He seemed to be the older brother of those two rather than just the former leader of their group.
Princess Luna recounted again how her actual meeting of Rosa had been. Smiling to herself, Luna recalled how cheerful Rosa had been to finally have friends around her for once. The former changeling princess was loving, and had shown that she'd give her own life to save those of others. It almost reminded Luna of the personality required from an Equestrian princess. Hay, maybe Rosa could even be proclaimed as Equestrian royalty, one day. But that didn't seem very likely, since she was already taking a liking to a new, normal life as a civilian in Ponyville... "Though somepony ought to tell her there's nothing normal about living in Ponyville." Luna joked to herself.
Suddenly, a knock came from Luna's door, breaking her out of her thoughts. Bringing herself back to the present, she called out, "Who goes there?"
A guard, one of the ones that had been standing guard outside, opened the door a crack and poked his head inside, "Your Highness, a messenger is here with a letter for you."
A messenger? The Lunar Princess questioned, I thought I told the mail carriers I wanted my mail brought to me after I have risen the moon... Unless this means this is an urgent message. She cleared her throat, "Show them in."
"Yes, princess." The guard withdrew his head and opened the door wider, allowing a messenger earth pony to enter the princess' room. Luna quickly took note that she had not seen him before around the castle, and that he carried a single, sealed scroll in his mouth: a letter. But as she looked at the messenger, she noticed that he lacked a postal service uniform, which was enough to for Luna to raise an eyebrow at. Something was different about this message, no doubt about it.
"Close the door." Luna ordered, once the messenger was inside the room.
The guards outside her door were hesitant at first, seeing as they didn't want to risk leaving a stranger in a room alone with the princess. But they reluctantly complied, figuring the princess knew better, "Yes, Princess."
Once the door clicked shut, Luna stood up from her bed and approached the messenger, "You have a letter for me?"
Simply nodding, the earth pony let go of the letter as Luna's magic took ahold of it. Levitating the letter to her eye level, she unrolled it and read,
Your royal Highness, Princess Luna,
To begin, allow me to apologize. I am most sorry for the troubles that have befallen your country for the past few months concerning the changelings. However, to add to the apology, I intend to rid Equestria of the changeling hive that is skirting your borders. If you wish to assist me in this endeavor, then come to edge if your borders, the area closest to the badlands, just past Mt. Mahoganeigh. Please be sure to arrive at exactly noon tomorrow. And please bring Rowan and the other changelings that are now inhabiting Ponyville.
Sincerely,
King Carapace, Overlord of the Changeling Empire-P.S. If you are concerned for your student's and the changelings' safety, then feel free to bring as many soldiers you wish, your Celestial sister, or even the Elements of Harmony. If this becomes the case, I would advise discretion. If our enemies are alerted of your soldiers nearby, this operation I have set forth will fail and the hive will never withdraw peacefully. And I assure you, my only intentions are for peace between Equestria and the changelings.
Luna's eyes were wide as she finished the last of the letter. King Carapace? How did...
She glanced towards the messenger, frowning slightly, "Prove to me that you are truly the king's messenger."
Nodding solemnly, the earth pony suddenly burst into green flames, revealing a small, changeling drone. But this one wore a black chest plate, adorned with a green stylized seal on its front, depicting a changeling flame.
Hm, I suppose that proves it. Luna muttered, conjuring a piece of parchment and a quill, After I write this reply to this 'King Carapace', I'll need to send a letter to Ponyville. They'll need to prepare for the trip to the Equestrian border.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, in the far outskirts of the badlands, in the deepest chamber of the changeling hive, Chrysalis sat on her stone throne, scowling fiercely. Before her stood her proclaimed heir, Vironect, who had just barely come back from his pitifully failed attempt at retrieving Naractia. He had not only failed at finding and ending her treasonous daughter, but he had managed to lose three other changelings to Naractia's service in the process.
Chrysalis' wings buzzed furiously, concealing the bitter growl in her throat She glared at Vironect with a look that could've killed a stallion if it had been possible.
"Vironect, I cannot express my irritation towards your failure any more than it'd take to have you destroyed right now! Do you have any idea how this disgraceful loss reflects on our hive?" The fuming queen ground a hoof into her stone throne, "The ponies of Equestria have all accepted four traitors into their society, all because they were able to stand against a swarm of changelings. This has made our power seem weak in the eyes of those filthy hoof scrapers, and it was all because you fled out of cowardice in the face of a battle. Why should I have proclaimed you as my heir if you cannot obey orders?!!"
Vironect squirmed slightly as the queen's booming voice echoed through the changeling caverns. He didn't dare try to cover his ears with his hooves. Such an action would make him look even more spineless than before and, in turn, make him seem more disposable by the queen.
The proclaimed heir cleared his throat and looked up at Chrysalis with a straight face, "My queen, not all of Equestria has accepted the traitors. In fact nopony outside Ponyville knows of these changelings and what they've done."
"Silence!" Chrysalis barked, causing Vironect to flinch slightly. The queen's buzzing wings slowed to a stop, and her expression softened, though it was barely noticeable, "The only reason why I have not killed you yet is because of one reason, and one reason alone: I still need you for a simple task."
Chrysalis craned her neck behind herself to grab something, and looked back towards Vironect with a piece of parchment in her maw. She then opened her mouth and let the paper float down to Vironect, who caught it in his telekinetic grip.
"Read it." Chrysalis ordered.
Nodding, "Yes, my queen." Vironect looked at the paper to see that it was actually a letter:
Changeling Queen Chrysalis,
My agents within your hive have supplied me with information that you have banished your own daughter, Naractia, from your swarm, and replaced her position of heir with a changeling called Vironect. I assume this action was only for treasonous reasons from your daughter, and I approve of your decision to execute her. Such is the law of the changelings. However, I have written this message as soon as I heard that Naractia, as well as three other traitors, escaped capture and have sought shelter in Equestria. This will not do at all.
So, I propose a small proposition to you and Vironect both.
Come to the edge of the Equestrian border located closest to your hive. Though, I must I ask that you both come alone. There's no doubt that Naractia and the traitors will give away your hive's position if they have not already done so. Leading your army out to meet me will only attract unwanted attention towards your position. But do not fear, for the empire's own changeling force has already been situated in our rendezvous point. If all goes well, your army will join the action later.
Once you join me, we will sweep the ponies of Equestria away in one fell swoop, and along with them, the traitors will be ours.
Be sure to arrive promptly at my position at high noon tomorrow. Do not keep me waiting, Chrysalis. You have already failed me before, and for your sake, I wish you won't repeat failure.
King Carapace,
Overlord of the Changeling Empire
Vironect looked up from the letter back at Chrysalis, shocked by the Overlord's sudden contact. However, Chrysalis, having read the letter beforehand, wore a smug grin on her face.
"Our cavalry has arrived. King Carapace wishes to wipe out Equestria and Naractia, and I'll be more than happy to oblige." Her grin quickly transformed into a scowl towards Vironect, "This will be your chance to redeem yourself. We will meet Lord Carapace as he has requested, and you will obey his every order. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to slit your throat."
Vironect paused at the queen's threat, before bowing to her in submission, "Yes, my queen."
"Prepare yourself, Vironect. We leave for Equestria's border at dawn."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile in Ponyville, a small group of friends were heading back home to retire for the night... Well, the only place that had to call home for the moment.
Quicksilver was the first to burst into Rowan's house, flying into the living room at top speed. A few moments, Violet, Duke, Rosa, and Rowan followed behind.
As they walked in, they found Quicksilver lounging on the front room's couch, a smirk on his pegasus face. He was currently disguised in a form of his own, as were the other changelings, each one related to their names they had chosen for themselves. Quicksilver was sporting the look of a silver colored pegasus, with a blue mane and tail. His cutie mark was a simple, silver feather.
Quicksilver gave the others a smug look as he sat on the couch, proclaiming loudly, "First!"
Violet, disguised as a violet unicorn with a dark purple mane, her cutie mark being a green fire that resembled changeling magic, gave Quicksilver an annoyed look, "We weren't racing here, Silver." She muttered as she took a seat as well.
Duke, a black unicorn with a dark purple mane, his cutie mark being a sword and shield in a crossed pattern, just sighed as he watched the two changelings start to bicker with each other, "I swear, I don't know how they managed to get along back at the hive. I'm actually surprised Violet hasn't ripped Quicksilver's throat out yet. What do you think, Princess?"
Rosa brought up the rear while Rowan closed the front door behind him. Rosa, taking up her regular unicorn disguise, simply smiled at her friend, "Duke, you know you don't have to call me 'Princess' every time you address me. I am trying to live a normal pony life now." She gave a sidelong look towards Quicksilver and Violet, the former currently blowing a raspberry at the latter, "As for those two, I think we all just need some sleep. After all, we did stay up all night during Nightmare Night yesterday."
As if on que, a yawn escaped Rowan's mouth, "Yeah, I could go for a quick rest." He glanced around at his living room, which wasn't quite suitable for four changelings to sleep in. "Although, I'm not sure where you guys are gonna sleep. Two of you can take the couches, I only have one bed upstairs, as well as a reclining chair in the study by Shade's bed. Unfortunately, I don't really have much in the way of extra pillows or blankets, and it looks like somebody may have to sleep on the floor tonight."
Quicksilver quickly booted Violet off their couch with a hoof and stretched out on top of it, "I call the couch!"
Violet glared daggers at him while rubbing the sore spot where she had been kicked, "Careful how you treat your siblings, Silver. After all, I know where you sleep now."
The pegasus/changeling smiled sheepishly, making Duke laugh from the side, "Violet can have the other couch. I can sleep on the rug tonight." He gave Rowan a glance, "And don't worry about pillows or blankets for us. We've been sleeping in a cold, dank hive for our whole lives. Even a carpeted floor to sleep on is a big step up from that."
Rowan nodded as he watched Duke lay down on a rug between the two couches, "Okay, I guess that works." He glanced towards Rosa, "But where are you gonna sleep, Rosa?"
"I can sleep in the study. After all, the only bed in the house is yours." Rosa replied.
Rowan quickly shook his head at that, "No, you don't have to sleep there. You can have the bed. I need to do a few things in the study anyways before I fall asleep."
Rosa blinked in surprise at the generous offer. But she then smiled, not wanting to argue with their host, "Okay. Thank you." She looked towards the others, "I'm going to bed now. I'll see you all in the morning."
Rowan, and the other changelings all replied 'goodnight' in their own ways as Rosa made her way upstairs to the bedroom. But as Rowan watched her go, he couldn't help but smile. As he thought back on the past, he couldn't believe that he had taken four changelings into his home. Heck, they were all his friends now. But Rosa had been Rowan's first, unlikely friend, and they had only gotten closer in friendship during the past few days.
Shaking himself out of his brief moment of thought, Rowan bid the other changelings goodnight and headed up to the study. Of course, once there, he immediately fell asleep on the recliner, seeing as he didn't actually need to do anything before sleeping. He had just needed an excuse to give the banished changeling princess a better night's sleep than a recliner could provide.
Meanwhile, after Rowan had gone upstairs, the three changelings there gave each other quick glances. As they realized they were all thinking the same thing, a smile began to form on each of their faces.
Duke chuckled a bit, "I guess we all felt it. Rowan's been leaking tiny bits of love all day, hasn't he?"
Violet nodded, "Yes, and it appears that it only happens whenever he looks at Princess Rosa."
Quicksilver had to cover his mouth to suppress some laughter, "I think somepony's growing a crush for a certain changeling."
Duke and Violet gave him a blank stare, "'Crush'?"
"It's pony slang." Quicksilver explained, "It usually means when someone is admiring someone from afar until they actually begin loving them."
"And you know this, how?" Violet asked.
"Pinkie Pie informed me on tons of slang words when we visited Sugarcube Corner today." His eyes suddenly popped open, "Oh, and word to the wise, don't ever ask her what a cherry-changa is. She will ramble off after that for an hour at the least."
"Duly noted." Duke chuckled again, "But I do hope this small attraction Rowan has for the Princess blossoms forth into something more."
"Why do you say so? Do you only say it because Rowan would feed Princess Rosa even more love and make her power grow past even Chrysalis'?" Violet guessed.
Duke shook his head, still smiling, "Because it'd make her happy. Like we saw during our first invasion attempt, not everything has to do with power. And seeing as Rowan was the Princess' first real friend, I think she'd be overjoyed if they ever came into that relationship with each other."
Quicksilver nodded in agreement, "True that."
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
All three changeling heads turned towards the front door, where the knocking emanated from.
Duke raised an eyebrow, "I wonder who that could be. I doubt anybody in this town would be up at this late hour."
"Well, only way to find out." Quicksilver hopped off his couch and flapped over to the door. He swung the portal ajar, only to find a stout purple and green dragon standing behind the door.
Quicksilver blinked in surprise, "Oh, hey Spike." He gave the little dragon a hoof bump in greeting, "What are you doing here?"
Spike yawned tiredly, no doubt from the late hour, "Nothing much, Silver. I just got an urgent letter for you from Princess Luna." He held out a sealed scroll, which Quicksilver took in hoof, "It woke me up right as I fell asleep."
Quicksilver nodded, "Thanks, dude. Now go home and get some sleep. I'll see you later."
Spike wearily nodded and began trudging back home while Quicksilver turned back to the other changelings.
"A letter from Princess Luna?" Duke wondered aloud, "Let me see." His horn lit in green mist, and the letter in Quicksilver's mouth floated out in front of Duke, opening up as it traveled.
Duke's eyes scanned over the letter as he read it silently to himself, while Violet and Quicksilver exchanged curious looks with each other, before looking back to Duke, eager to hear what the Princess had sent. They suddenly felt a pang of worry as Duke's eyes widened as he read the letter, almost as if they were to pop out of his eye sockets. His jaw dropped, and the letter drifted to the floor as his magic lost hold, due to lack of focus.
"Duke?" Violet asked, "Are you alright?"
Duke shook his head, "Wake up Rowan and Princess Rosa. They need to see this right now."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Celestia's sun rose higher in the sky of the mid morning day. The time was almost noon, and six specific ponies teleported outside the ridges of Mt. Mahoganeigh.
Rowan, Rosa, Duke, Quicksilver, and Violet all stumbled under their hooves as Princess Luna's teleportation spell warped them near their destination.
Duke held his stomach as a wave of nausea hit him, "Ugh... I guess there's a reason why changelings weren't meant to teleport."
Luna giggled sheepishly at him and the rest of the disoriented changelings, "I apologize. But you all are doing surprisingly well. Most ponies vomit the first time they teleport."
Violet groaned sarcastically, "Can't imagine why."
Rowan only groaned, both from his spinning vision and Violet's comment, "Ugh, no Harry Potter references, please."
"What does a hairy potter have to do with being nauseous?" Violet asked, incredulously.
"Oh, nevermind."
*Blargh!*
Rosa winced as she witnessed the splattering mess, "Um, I guess Quicksilver couldn't hold his breakfast."
"Sorry, Princess!" Quicksilver quickly apologized... before spewing vomit again onto the ground, "Aw, man! There goes my carrots from this morning... Wait, when in my life did I ever eat carrots?!"
"That's truly a mystery we've never been able to figure out." Luna replied, quite seriously, "But if everyone has regained their bearings, we must move on. King Carapace is awaiting us."
"Yes, Princess Lu- hrk~ *Blargh!*"
Rowan grimaced, "Dude, Quicksilver, how much did you eat this morning?"
The changeling smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "Um... probably a bit more than I should have. Oh, and we're also out of bananas now."
As Rowan groaned about the loss of his favorite food, the group traveled away from the mountains of Equestria, towards the nation's border. They were currently moving uphill, when suddenly,
Luna pointed a hoof towards the horizon of the hill they were travelling upon, "Look up ahead."
On the top of the hill stood a single, equine figure. From his body structure and size matched that of Chrysalis', but more masculine. Over his body, he wore a set of black armor, adorned by the same green symbol on the chest plate; green changeling fire: The symbol of the Changeling Empire.
The changelings in their group stared in awe at the lone changeling, each of them knowing just who it was from his vast fame throughout their native land, "King Carapace."
Luna continued onwards towards the changeling king, motioning for the others to follow her, "Come, we must meet him at once."
_______________________________________________________________
Queen Chrysalis and Vironect lighted down on the ground, maintaining as much stealth as possible. They were nearing the Equestrian border, and the last thing they needed was to be spotted by somepony in the air.
They walked for a ways, up until they reached the border of Equestria itself. But once there, they spotted someone in the distance, a long figure standing atop a hill.
"King Carapace." Chrysalis breathed in satisfaction, "Finally, we are getting somewhere." She turned and barked at her proclaimed heir, "Come, Vironect. We mustn't keep the king waiting."
The two changelings began making their trek up the hill towards King Carapace, anxiously anticipating what he could possibly wa-
... Chrysalis thought she saw something coming over the hill as well... Was that a horn she saw?
_______________________________________________________________
"Wait, is that...?" Luna grimaced as she saw another figure walking up the other side of the hill. She scowled as she recognized the newcomer, "Chrysalis."
Chrysalis glared back likewise, "Nightmare."
Vironect spat at the other group with hate, more focused towards Rosa and Rowan than anyone else, "What are you vermin doing here?" His horn began glowing green with magic threateningly.
"Us? What are you doing here?" Quicksilver shot back, putting his hooves up in a fighting position while the rest of his friends did likewise with their magic.
With a look twisted in fury, Chrysalis glowered at King Carapce where he stood, "Lord Carapace, why are these traitors here as well? Where is your army you promised me?!"
"What are you trying to accomplish? You set up this meeting intentionally like this, didn't you?" Luna asked the changeling king.
"Enough!"
King Carapace's horn suddenly glowed black with magic, before a pulse of magic shot out from the tip of it. The pulse traveled like shock wave until it passed over everyone present. As it did, to everyone's surprise, every horn lit with magic dimmed down to nothingness and green flames sprouted around Rosa, Duke, Violet, and Quicksilver as their disguises fell.
Everyone looked towards King Carapace in shock and awe.
Duke's jaw dropped, like most everyone else, "Did he just... cancel out our magic?"
Out of everyone, Rowan was even more shocked, "I-I know that spell. That's the Shadow Scourge!"
Violet raised an eyebrow, "And you knew that, how?"
"I found it in the Liber Tenebrarum, but the spell itself is too complicated for me to use. The whole structure of it took up three pages!"
"And yet, the king can use it?" Quicksilver whistled, impressed, "Wow, that's powerful."
King Carapace chuckled at that, "Yes, thank you for that." His expression immediately turned sour, "However, I did not bring both parties here to quarrel and brawl, though there will be enough of that later. Now, do any of you know why I have brought all of you here?"
Realization came to Chrysalis' face, and she hissed venomously at Carapace, "You fooled me, didn't you? Your army isn't here. You were never planning on invading Equestria alongside my hive, were you?"
"That all depends on the outcome of this encounter." Carapace replied cryptically.
Luna gave a look of a concern, "Carapace, in your letter, you stated that you would help drive Chrysalis' hive away from Equestria. What is this talk of helping them conquer my country?"
Carapace sighed, as if he were annoyed, "I request that all of you be silent whilst I explain."
Though there were a few defiant mutters under a few ponies breaths, everyone remained silent, and Carapace continued,
"As you know, we as changelings are very proud and strongheaded, though we are very stubborn as well. As the high king of the changelings, it is my duty to make sure these traits don't get the better of my subjects as a whole. However, the persistence of Queen Chrysalis' hive has come to my attention."
He turned towards the changeling queen, "Chrysalis, you have tried time and time again to invade Equestria, but have failed with every attempt. I'm sorry to say, your hive has no chance at taking control of the country at this point in time. Any more efforts from your hive alone will only waste resources and the valuable lives of our drones."
Though her pride was itching to retaliate, Chrysalis bit her tongue at the comment and remained silent.
Carapace then turned to Princess Luna, "To make sure there isn't anymore loss for the changelings, I hoped to move Chrysalis' hive away from Equestria. But given Chrysalis' stubbornness, my efforts would have been in vain. Her hive wouldn't have moved, and they would've attacked Equestria again and again, only to be defeated every time. I am keeping to my word, and I am going to help Equestria get rid of these changelings.
"However, there is only one way that can be done."
Carapace looked down at everyone present, "Another common trait among changelings is our affinity for our own rules. No matter how stubborn we are, we will back down from anything if our laws require it. We have one law which can rightfully decide whether the changeling hive stays or goes away. It is called, 'The Champion's Duel'.
"If there is ever a contention between two parties, they must both choose one champion, more specifically, their strongest champion, to fight to the death." Rosa recited, though shuddering slightly as she did, "The winner of the fight will then require the other party to comply to their wants."
Carapace nodded, "That's correct, Princess Naractia... Oh, yes, that's right, you call yourself Rosa these days." He glanced back towards Princess Luna and Queen Chrysalis, "As you can most likely guess, I intend to use The Champion's Duel to settle the matter of whether Chrysalis' hive leaves Equestria. You must choose your strongest champion to fight to the death. If Luna's champion defeats the changeling's champion, then the hive will come back to the Empire with me. But should the opposite happen, the hive will stay and I will personally aid them in conquering Equestria."
Luna raised an eyebrow, "That's not very cheery. I thought you were against the changeling hive attempting to conquer my country."
Carapace nodded, "Yes, I am. Between you and me, I believe both changelings and ponies would benefit greatly if we were to establish peaceful relations."
"Phht, as if!" Chrysalis sneered from the side.
Giving the changeling queen a sidelong scowl, Carapace continued conversing with Luna, "You see, there is more love in Equestria than any other place we have come across. But with the prospect of being invaded and enslaved, the level of love in ponies would drastically decrease, and we'd end up with less in the long run if the changelings were to conquer Equestria."
Rowan could only cringe as he listened to the whole conversation, "Yikes, and he talks about taking over a nation right in the face of its ruler, as if it's a casual thing."
Meanwhile, Luna nodded to Carapace, "Very well then. The fate of Equestria will be represented by a single pony in The Champions Duel." She smiled softly, "And I do hope when the hive leaves our borders, we would gladly establish relations between the changelings. It would be a nice change from having to worry about a spontaneous raid every month." As she finished, the lunar princess glared at Chrysalis, who only glared back.
Queen Chrysalis growled in annoyance, "King Carapace, may I remind you that The Champion's Duel is a changeling law, which only applies to changelings?"
Carapace nodded nonchalantly, "Yes, Chrysalis. The law was created for changelings, but if you haven't noticed," He pointed an armor clad hoof towards Luna's group, "The majority of them are changelings. The law still applies to them, even with that technicality."
Quicksilver gave a laugh from where he stood, "Why's she concerned about technicalities? You afraid you'll lose?"
"Quiet, you little welp, before I come over there and tear out your throat with my teeth!" Chrysalis snapped, causing Quicksilver's bravado to instantly disappear as he took cover behind Violet.
Quicksilver peered around Violet, the latter of them being very annoyed by being used as a body shield. Quicksilver shuddered, "Geez, I'm not even one of her subjects anymore, and that queen still scares the living hell out of me."
"Enough of this banter." Carapace barked, pounding a hoof into the dirt to silence everyone, "It's time to begin The Champion's Duel." He glanced at both Princess and Queen in the group, "And to save time, I took the liberty of choosing your strongest, eligible champions already. I believe you won't disagree at how strong they are when I call upon them."
Before anyone could react to that sudden revelation, Carapace shouted, "Vironect, step forth. You shall be the champion of the Chrysalis Hive."
The heir stepped forwards, a sneer on his face, "Yes, my lord. I'll gladly kill off any of these traitors if it will destroy the rest of Equestria as well."
Carapace then turned towards the Equestrian group, "Rowan, step forth. You shall be the champion of Equestria."
Chrysalis gaped at King Carapace, “What? That pitiful foal is not a changeling! He cannot participate in the duel!”
My thoughts exactly. Rowan thought to himself. He meant no disrespect towards Luna’s decision to join in the duel, or King Carapace’s choosing him, but this was putting a lot of pressure on him.
The fate of Equestria rests on me defeating Vironect… no, killing Vironect in battle? Rowan shuddered to himself, I’ve never killed anyone before, and though I’ve fought the changelings before, it wasn’t to save the entire country!
But you have come close to doing so. Another part of his mind reminded him.
Rowan grimaced as he reflected back to his time inside Chrysalis’ hive. When the queen had destroyed the Liber Tenebrarum, almost destroying his only hope at returning home, he had wanted to kill her… and if it weren’t for Twilight or the others who restrained him, he might have anyway.
While Rowan was lost in his thoughts, Chrysalis carried on in complaints, “If it’s a pony you’ve chosen for Equestria’s champion, we will not participate! We shall conquer Eq-“
“Silence, Chrysalis!” King Carapace snapped, “The reason why I chose Rowan as Equestria’s champion is because he is a changeling!”
…
Silence fell across the hillside.
"What? No, I'm not!" Rowan shouted, "I'm a pony-"
"But you used to be a human, didn't you?" Carapace countered.
Rowan cut himself short, feeling his heart skip a beat. Nopony except himself knew what a human was... but apparently he was wrong. "How did you know that?"
Carapace only ignored the question, as if Rowan had never asked it, "Do you know how a pony is turned into a changeling?" Rowan remained silent, "A pony becomes a changeling when all the love in them is drained from their form, leaving behind a parasitic husk that will seek to reclaim even the tiniest bit of the love it lost. For every changeling, love is our power. Love is our magic."
Rowan shook his head, "Are you saying that I have no love inside me? I woke up in Equestria as a pony, not a changeling, so that can't be possible."
Carapace nodded in disagreement, "Back in your world, Rowan, did you have a family who loved you?"
Rowan nodded, to which Carapace continued, "Back in your world, you fed off the limitless amounts of love that your family provided. And since you were a human then, the love inside you had no outlet, so it built up over the years. You had so much love inside you, that of which changelings could only dream of.
"But when you came to Equestria, all that love could not be contained in a changeling form, like it could in a human form, so it began depleting itself slowly in the way it could only do subconsciously. You came into Equestria as a changeling, but the depleting love came out as a disguise of a pony."
Carapace pointed to Rowan, "Your appearance is only a disguise, that of which you never knew of. The amount of love from your home world was so great that it kept up your disguise indefinitely."
Princess Luna then stepped in, "This is a rather bold theory. But how could Rowan be a changeling? We have many wards and spells used to detect changelings, but Rowan was never revealed to be changeling through their use.
Carapace gave the princess a sidelong look, "With enough love, even the strongest of detection spells can overlook a changeling."
Chrysalis only barked her disagreement, "Bah, this is ridiculous! Lord Carapace, do you not realize how far fetched of a story this is?"
Carapace glared at her, "Why say that, Chrysalis, when all evidence points towards this? Rowan is the only Equestrian that can wield Shadow Magic, Changeling Magic. That in of itself is impossible, unless Rowan really is a changeling."
Rosa looked towards Rowan with wondering eyes, "Rowan? Is that true?"
Rowan shifted his gaze around, until he noticed that everyone now had their eyes on him... though the problem was that right now, even he wasn't sure of himself.
Carapace does make a good point... but is it really true? He looked down at his hooves, his gray fur running over them, Am I really not what I thought I was?
Sensing his uncertainty, Carapace spoke to him, “Rowan, there is only one way for all of us to learn the truth. You must seek out the constant flow of magic in yourself, the one that is holding your disguise in place. You haven’t noticed it because it is so small, but it is there. Once you find it, you must close it off.”
Rowan paused for a moment before nodding. He had once before done something sort of like this while training with magic, but he wasn’t sure if he would find this ‘small magic flow’. He closed his eyes and used his magic to search through his body.
But to his surprise, he did find something, just a thin trickle of magic. Rowan wondered why he had not noticed it before, since it was his magic being used. Perhaps, if Carapace was right about this trickle of magic, he must have just gotten used to it after more than a month of its constant flow.
Biting his lip, both in concentration and reluctance, Rowan forced the flow of magic within him to cease. As soon as he did, green flames suddenly engulfed him. They were changeling flames, and from what he could tell… they hadn’t come from anyone else.
The sudden flames subsided, leaving a wide eyed Rowan. But when he glanced around, he noticed that everyone else, Princess Luna, the changelings, Chrysalis, and even Vironect, were staring at him with similar expressions.
Rowan looked down at himself and felt his stomach jump to his throat. His gray fur was no longer there, and his legs resembled black Swiss cheese, covered in a hard shelling. His eyes wandered over the rest of himself, to find that the rest of himself had changed as well.
His mane and tail were still there, colored in dark crimson, but both were ragged and filled with holes; both felt more solid than regular hair as well. His back was covered by a solid, red shell, topped by two clear, insect wings. His teeth had warped into sharp fangs, two of which protruded out of his mouth. His horn had turned black, and now curved upwards like a knife.
He was a changeling, and by feeling himself, Rowan knew this wasn’t any sort of an illusion.
This was real.
Carapace gave a half sneer to Chrysalis, “Are you satisfied now, Chrysalis?”
The changeling gave an unamused look, “Hmph, fine. Vironect will fight Rowan in the Champion’s Duel. I have no doubt that Vironect will destroy him though.” She said with a wicked grin towards the newly found changeling.
Meanwhile, the other party was still reacting to Rowan’s transformation.
Quicksilver chuckled as he fiddled with the wings on Rowan’s back, “Wow, even though you’ve never flown on these a day in your life, they’re in prime condition! I’ll have to race you when we get back to Ponyville so we know how good they are.”
Rowan didn’t mind him fiddling with his wings, because his mind was currently trying to wrap itself around what had happened,
All this time, I’ve been a changeling? The shadow magic, the changeling attacks… no normal pony would have anything to do with that. But I wasn’t even a pony! How would everypony react when they found my pony self was just a disguise… He scratched his head, though he noticed he could barely feel it through the his thick carapace. Wait… I didn’t even know about it, so I can’t really be blamed for that…
Duke promptly stopped Quicksilver from pulling on Rowan’s wings, “Silver, focus please.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.”
Rosa looked at Rowan incredulously, “I- Did you know about this?”
Rowan shook his head, “No, I-I didn’t! I’m just as surprised as you all are.” He grimaced somewhat, “But it does explain how I always attract trouble from other changelings.”
Rosa’s expression drooped as she saw Rowan’s unsure look. But like any friend, she decided to try and cheer him up. Rosa smiled, “Well, if it’s any consolation, you look kind of cute as a changeling.”
Rowan blinked in surprise, “Wait, what?”
Rosa giggled a bit, bringing a smile to Rowan’s face.
Rowan chuckled, “Um, thanks, I guess.”
Princess Luna cleared her throat, catching the attention of everyone in their group, “Yes, I’m sure we are all quite surprised by this turn of events, but there is another task at hoof.” She gestured towards Vironect, who stood by Carapace as he readied to fight, “Rowan? Are you prepared to face Vironect in a duel?”
Rowan gave himself another once over, “Hm… Yeah, I think so. Sure I have a few new things on me, but I can still fight like before.”
Luna nodded, “Very well, my student. It appears your destiny awaits you.”
Hesitantly, Rowan stepped forwards, so he was standing hoof to hoof with Vironect, with Carapace standing between them.
Rowan took a deep breath as he readied himself, I guess this is how it’ll end, just me and Vironect, fighting to the death. If I win, the hive will leave for good. But if I loose… Rowan bent himself down to ready stance, his black horn pulsating with black magic, … all of Equestria will fall. I can’t let that happen.
Carapace glanced between Rowan and Vironect, “You know the rules. This is a fight to the death. You all know what will happen if either of you win or lose. Are you both ready?”
Rowan nodded.
Vironect sneered, “Yes, my lord.” He grinned maliciously at his opponent, “I’m going to enjoy running my horn through your heart.”
Carapace flew up in the air, as to get out of the line of fire, “Then I, King Carapace, as the overseer of this duel between Chrysalis’ Changeling Hive and Equestria, I declare this duel will begin in 3…
“2…
“1…
Rowan’s and Vironect’s wings flared in anticipation, their horns alight with magic.
“Begin!”
Both changelings instantly charged each other, with no intent of showing mercy.
__________________________________________________________________
Thump Thump Thump
“Hello? Hello? Um… Is this thing on?”
…
“Ah, yes, good. Now we’re ready.
“Hello, everypony, changeling, dragon, and whatever race you belong to. Hay, if I’m lucky, you might even be human, but I seriously doubt this will reach all the way back to Earth. My name is Rowan, and I am recording this message to anyone who wants to listen.
“First off, you should know that I’m a changeling. I have been living in Ponyville for eight years now, and I even have my own family here… Of course, it wasn’t always that way.
“Back before I came to Equestria, I was actually born as a human. I lived on Earth in the human world for about 16 years. By now, everything that happened after that is an urban legend across the country, and as well as common knowledge among my friends.
“Eight years ago from today, I was taken from my home on Earth and dropped into Equestria, taking the form of an inhabitant of this world; I became a changeling. Left with nothing, I had to try and find a way back home to Earth. Of course, I know a lot of humans who would’ve loved to stay in Equestria if they were in my hooves. But not me; I knew I didn’t belong here.
“The next month after that was probably contained the most adventures I will ever have in my life time. Like I said, just about everypony knows them, but nopony really knows why it was me who got caught up in those events. It has taken a few years, but I have finally worked out the answer as to why I came to Equestria in the first place.
“Near the end of my adventures, King Carapace called a Champion’s Duel between Vironect, Chyrsalis’ champion, and myself, to settle the problem of the hive outside Equestria… Well… I won, but I’ve never been proud of what I did to Vironect, even if he did indeed deserve it.
“Having won the duel, King Carapace forced the changeling hive to immerse back into the whole of the Changeling Empire. But after that, something occurred to me… King Carapace acted like he had known every single detail of how the duel would work out, as if he had planned it all out himself. After thinking about it for quite some time, I realized that something was off, something that I had overseen.
“So, I travelled to the empire with Rosa, to ask King Carapace how he had known to come invoke the Champion’s Duel law for Equestria. But when I asked, I got an answer that I never expected.
“After all this time, it had been Carapace who brought me to Equestria.
“Needless to say, it was very shocking to me and Rosa. King Carapace then explained that I was the main piece of his plan to rid Equestria of Chyrsalis’ hive, so that the empire could form peaceful connections and benefit even more than they could’ve by conquering the country. After all, love is one thing changelings need the most, and Equestria has an abundance of it.
“Back before Carapace brought me here, he had heard about the hive’s failed attempt to take Canterlot. He knew Chrysalis would try to attack again, since most changelings are inherently stubborn (Just ask my family; they’re a prime example of that), so he put a plan into action.
“He planned to use the Champion’s Duel to evict the hive, but first he needed a powerful changeling to fight for Equestria. He knew it would look bad for the empire if he sent one of his own, and the hive wouldn’t agree with that, so he needed an entirely new changeling to defend Equestria.
“That’s where I came in. The amount of love I had been exposed to in the 16 years of my existence made me a prime candidate to be the champion Carapace needed. All of that love accumulated into changeling magic so strong that even I couldn’t contain. Heh, when I came to Equestria, that power leaked a bit, and for the first month I was here, I thought I had been turned from a human to a unicorn who could use changeling magic.
“Anyways, Carapace, after summoning me from the human world, waited a month for me to grow accustomed to my new skills, before bringing the duel into play.
“His explanation certainly opened my eyes on a few things, but I still dread what he said next. He told me the summoning spell he had used on me was a ‘one-way’ only spell. There was no way for him to send me back.
“… sigh… Even after all these years, I still miss my old home. But hey, the changeling threat is gone from Equestria, so that’s all that matters, even if I do still hold a slight grudge against Carapace.
“Anyways, I’m proud to say that I now consider Ponyville as my permanent home. And as the longer I stayed there with the other changelings, the more ponies became comfortable with us. Up to the point where Celestia began trading love from Equestria to the changeling empire. From what I can tell, the empire is doing far better off now, so much that they aren’t using quite as many parasitic means for obtaining love.
“Plus, dozens of changelings from the empire have moved into Equestria, into almost every town and city (except Canterlot. After all this time, all those nobles are still terrified of us).
“And as for me, well, I’m still providing my research on Shadow Magic, like before. Though now they’re paying me extra since there’s a higher demand in it, changeling empire relations and all. Plus, I’m still the Element of Courage. The Elements of Harmony require at least 6 bearers to activate them, and since there’s now seven, I’m sort of like a reserve element of harmony. So that gets me military privileges when I want them.
“As for my regular life, Ponyville is just as crazy as it was eight years ago, heck maybe even better. I married when I turned 19, to the most beautiful changeling in Ponyville: Rosa. Gah, that princess’ face when I proposed was priceless. Heh heh…
“Right now, we live in a new house, with two little foals, and we all lived happily ever after, yada yada yada. All that jazz…
“Yes, I know my human world is still out there. I haven’t turned my back on it, but I can’t turn my back on everything I have here either. I’m still looking for a way back to the human world, though I haven’t turned up with anything. But when I do, maybe I’ll stop back and visit my parents, my friends, my brother Lyle, but then I’m coming back here to Equestria. Earth might be the place where I was born, but now I’m an adult, and my home is with my family here.
“Until I can visit Earth again, then I guess I’ll just be a new friend in Ponyville.
“Take care! See ya later.
“This has been Rowan Anderson, signing off.”