> Flitter
>  by Nyerguds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - The Pony and the Changeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Chapter One
The Pony and the Changeling


The atmosphere in Canterlot was a strange mix of nervousness and excitement. On one hoof, there was to be a royal wedding, which promised to be an event to remember for years. On the other hoof, the purple colour mixed into the sunlight was a constant reminder of the shield surrounding the city, and the threat it implied.

One pegasus pony, however, had decided not to bother with any of the excitement, and had dragged her husband along to the back of the mountain, where the shield touched the ground, to check it out up close.

"Look at that," Morning Rain said, smiling. "Can you believe one single unicorn is keeping that shield going?" She smiled at Swift Star. "Could you do something like that?"

Swift Star sighed. "Come on!" he said. "That's Shining Armor keeping that thing up! His mom is the best teleporter in all of Equestria, and his sister's not only Celestia's personal protégée, but also the bucking Element of Magic! Don't go comparing me to them! Makes a guy get horn envy, it does."

The mare laughed, and walked up to the shimmering purple barrier. "I wonder what that thing feels like," she said, holding out a mint green hoof.

"Really, dear?" Swift Star said. "I hear the guy's having a really hard time keeping it up as it is. The last thing he needs is some curious ponies going around and poking it."

Morning Rain snorted. "Horn envy, huh?" she asked, grinning.

Swift Star shot her a sharp look, but decided not to dignify that with an answer. "Come on, just leave it alone. I don't want to be responsible for letting through some kind of monster invasion."

"Aww. Do you feel uncomfortable with me poking a younger stallion's magic?" Morning Rain asked teasingly, as she pushed her hoof against the shield. Surprisingly, it went right through it.

"Hey! You gotta try this!" she said. "It feels tingly!"

The unicorn shook his head, but smiled. "All right, all right. But if the guards come and drag us away, don't say I didn't warn you."

He moved his hoof towards the shield, expecting it to react the same way it had with Morning Rain. Before he even reached it, however, purple lightning arced from the shield, burning black spots in his coat. He yelped in surprise and pulled back his hoof, his eyes wide in shock.

Morning Rain gasped. "Swift! Are you all right, dear?"

Swift Star nodded, slightly shaken. "I'm okay. It didn't hurt. It's just... freaky."

Morning Rain grabbed his hoof to look at the damage. As she watched, however, the black spots began to fade. Just a few seconds later they were gone.

"Woah," she said. "Why would it do that?"

Swift Star shook his head. "N-no idea," he said in a shaky voice. "M-maybe his magic conflicts with my own somehow?"

Morning Rain frowned, and shrugged with her wings. "Let's just go home."

When they turned around, however, they found themselves surrounded by half a dozen guardsponies who were giving them angry looks. "Citizens! Stay clear of the shield!" their captain barked. "If you wish to leave or enter the city, please do so through the designated checkpoints!"

Swift Star facehoofed, and threw his wife an annoyed look. "This is all your fault."


* * *


After more than half an hour, the two ponies were finally released from the guardhouse. The guardsponies had gone as far as fetching some of their neighbours to confirm their identities, to make absolutely sure they didn't slip in from outside; it had been a tedious and embarrassing ordeal. After bidding goodbye to their neighbours, who were luckily mostly amused by the whole thing, they decided to go out and grab a bite, before going home. There would be a city-wide party in the evening, and they were obviously going, but for now, they decided to enjoy the relative peace and quiet of the bustling city.

Donut Joe couldn't agree more. "Crazy business, that's for sure," he said with a laugh, while cleaning their table. "I'm kinda glad I'm not involved in all that; it's a frenzy. Apparently, they got the Ponyville Party doing the preparations."

"The bearers of the Elements?" Morning Rain said, smiling. "Oh, that's nice!"

Donut Joe nodded. "Pinkie Pie's a great cook, so they can't really go wrong there." He smiled. "And hey, ol' Donut Joe will probably get some late-night customers after it all dies down anyway."

Swift Star looked out the window. "Those mares do make a great team, don't they?"

"I dunno," Donut Joe said, frowning. "Last I heard, Twilight Sparkle ran out on them after accusing the bride of wanting to ruin her brother's life. I guess even the Element of Magic can be a sister-in-law from Tartarus."

Morning Rain frowned. "Oh dear. I do hope they make up. That would be a real downer at the wedding party."

"It sure would be," Donut Joe said. "Hey, you two have a son their age, don't you?"

Swift Star nodded. "Oh yes. He lives in Trotsborough. We haven't heard anything about him getting a marefriend yet, though."

Morning Rain smiled at him. "Well, if he does, let's hope he's a bit more decisive about it than you were."

Donut Joe raised an eyebrow. "This fellow left you hanging, ma'am?" he said with an amused smile.

Swift Star sighed. "It was a hard time. Didn't have a job, wasn't used to Canterlot, and things were a bit stressed between us as it were, so I just... didn't bring up marriage until all that was sorted out."

Morning Rain waved her front hooves dramatically in the air. "He left his poor pregnant girlfriend waiting!" she shouted, before nuzzling Swift Star's nose. "But it all turned out all right in the end, I guess."

"I bet you wouldn't have looked that good in a wedding dress before Blueprint was born, anyway," Swift Star said with a smile. He turned to Donut Joe. "And funnily enough, bringing a baby along when getting married is a lot more endearing to the relatives after he's born."

Donut Joe chuckled. "Learn something new about your customers every day. So, can I take your order?"

Morning Rain looked at the different donuts on the menu listing. "Raspberry jelly donut. No glazing, no sprinkles," she said.

Before Swift Star could order, however, they heard an odd rumbling. It sounded somewhat like thunder, only more... rhythmical. He frowned. "What's that sound?"

Donut Joe looked out the window, and gasped. "They were right! Something's attacking the shield!"

The two other ponies quickly joined him at the window, and saw black shapes bouncing off the top of the shield. Swift Star's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks as he realized what those creatures were.

"We have to get out!" he yelled. "Quickly!" He ran out into the street, tugging his wife along with him.

The pair had only just left Donut Joe's when the sound of shattering glass filled the sky. Swift Star looked up and saw the shield splinter into a thousand pieces. Huge shards of solid magic crashed into the ground before they had a chance to dissolve. The black shapes hovered menacingly where the shield had been.

"By Celestia! It didn't hold!" Morning Rain yelled. She looked at Swift Star, disbelief in her eyes. "The shield didn't hold!"

Swift Star didn't respond. He was looking up, terrified. He knew those black shapes. He knew them all too well.

"They shouldn't be here," he said, looking at the mare in desperation. "They can't do this, it'll upset the whole balance!"

"Swift, honey? What do you mean? You know these creatures?"

"From my travels. They're changelings," Swift Star replied. "They survive by taking the appearance of a loved one and feeding on love they are given."

The mare frowned. "But, what did you mean with balan—"

"This is not the time for a lesson in creature culture!" Swift Star yelled at her. "They're just not supposed to do this, okay? Come on. The Princess and the Elements will deal with them. Let's just get home and wait this out."

Morning Rain nodded. "Right. Sorry."

Their run was a futile exercise. The changelings swarmed in from above, and spotted the runners easily. The two were surrounded within minutes. Swift Star stopped running as he saw more of them looming ahead. Morning Rain backed up against him, both ponies sitting on their haunches.

One of the black creatures approached the pair. Its eyes were steely blue orbs, staring at them with a cold menace. It grinned hungrily, revealing sharp fangs.

Swift Star bared his teeth. "You shouldn't be here!" he hissed.

The black creature didn't respond. It glanced at the others behind them, and gave a short command in a hissed language. One by one, they were engulfed in green flames.

As the green flames disappeared, half of them were transformed into copies of the female pegasus. The other half collectively blinked, and stared dumbfoundedly at the unicorn they had failed to copy. Morning Rain noticed the same thing, and gasped.

The apparent leader of the group looked at Swift Star, confusion in its eyes. He hissed at him, too, and waited for a reply. When it didn't come, he continued in Equestrian language. "You are of the Kind!" it said with an odd buzzing voice. "Why do you not follow the Swarm? The Queen commands us."

"What queen?!" the unicorn yelled. "You're deranged! You can't just ignore the Old Ways!"

He looked back as he heard a hoofstep behind him, and noticed Morning Rain had taken a step back. She stared at him with a bewildered look in her eyes.

"You... you're one of them?" she said. She looked pale.

"Morning Rain, please," Swift Star said. "It's not like that!"

The black creature tilted his head. "You must follow the Swarm!" it buzzed on, apparently completely unable to comprehend how Swift Star could not be on their side. "Restrain her!" it yelled. "What are you doing?"

Swift Star glared at the changeling, his normally orange eyes glowing with the venomous green of his magic. "I'm keeping a promise," he said. He swiftly turned around and bucked the creature into the others. Before they had time to react, he grabbed Morning Rain in his forehooves and flew straight up, ragged insect wings appearing out of nowhere as he did.

"You're not him! Who are you!?" Morning Rain yelled, terrified.

"Someone who loves you," Swift Star replied, as he flew into one of the windows of the high palace towers.

As soon as they were inside, Morning Rain kicked the not-Swift Star in the stomach, forcing him to let go. She rolled against a wall and looked at him. "Where is he?" she yelled, anger and desperation flashing over her face. "What have you done to Swift Star?!"

Not-Swift Star glanced out the window, and saw the changelings outside closing in quickly. "Now's not the time! We have to hide!"

Morning Rain shook her head. "No..." she said, softly. "You're not tricking me. Where is the real Swift Star?"

"Oh for Celestia's sake..." he said, looking around frantically. "We don't have time for this!" He grabbed the pegasus in a glow of green magic, and pulled her after him as he ran through the corridors.

"Stop that! Let me go!" Morning Rain shrieked at him. She tried to struggle out of the field with her wings, but quickly found them strapped against her body by his magic.

"Stop what? Saving you? Hell no!" he yelled back.

One of the changelings suddenly crashed through a window and slammed into him, causing the magical field around Morning Rain to disappear. She dropped to the ground in surprise. Watching Swift Star struggle with the black creature, she was unsure what to do; running from him hardly seemed like a good option, and she had too many questions that needed answering.

Angrily, Swift Star kicked the creature in the chest and scrambled back to all fours. "Come on!" he yelled at Morning Rain. After an unsure look at the black creature, she ran after him.

As they ran, more changelings burst through the glass windows. One of them grabbed Morning Rain in its own telekinetic glow. The unicorn-shaped changeling was not about to let that happen, though. He gritted his teeth, and with a flare from his horn he pulled her free. He summoned a shield of green flames around them to keep the creatures at bay. They could hear the shrieks of pain of the changelings that tried to get closer. As he put more effort into his magic, his horn seemed to burn away, revealing a black and curved one below it, exactly like those of the creatures that were attacking them.

Morning Rain gasped. "You really are like them!"

"I'm nothing like those idiots!" he yelled as he darted around a corner, the pegasus following closely behind them.

After a few twists and turns in the Palace's corridors, the two managed to lose the chasing swarm. Swift Star opened a door and motioned Morning Rain to get inside. After casting a final glance outside, he closed the door behind them and locked it, leaving the two alone in a large darkened room.

For a moment, the two just stood there, breathing hard from exhaustion. Neither of them seemed sure what to say. Finally, not-Swift Star broke the silence.

"So what if I am?" he whispered. "Does that really matter?"

"Of course it matters!" Morning Rain replied. She lowered her voice when she heard the buzzing of wings outside the door. "You're... you're not Swift Star."

The changeling gave her a sad smile, and folded his insect wings onto his back. "That's debatable. Sure, I'm not the pony you originally fell in love with. I can't deny that. But I think I've done quite a good job filling in for him."

"What did you do to him!?" she hissed, anger flaring through her voice.

"Nothing!" the changeling replied, his voice sounding tired. He sighed, and glanced at the door. "I tried to save him. And I failed."

Morning Rain swallowed, trying to hold back her tears. "And then... you took his place?"

"Such are the Old Ways," the changeling said, averting her gaze. "We take the place of lost loved ones."

Morning Rain walked towards him, and sat down. She shook his head in disbelief. "And you've been... him, for how long?"

"You don't understand!" he said, looking up at her. "Blueprint never met his real father. That foolish journey past the ravines? The one you were so mad about? He never made it back."

"But you did," the pegasus said, softly. She blinked, trying to grasp the implications of this revelation.

The changeling nodded. "It is what we do. I asked him, as the Old Ways dictate. Love is a powerful emotion. I would keep you happy, instead of heartbroken over a lover that left on a stupid adventure and never came back. The choice, to him, was obvious. He couldn't stand to make you unhappy, not if there was any other choice."

Morning Rain stared at the floor, and shook her head. "Twenty years. You've been lying to me for twenty years."

"I've kept you happy," the changeling said, looking away uncomfortably.

"With a lie!" she yelled. "How could you do that to me?!"

"What?" He turned back towards her and glared at her. "I've turned your silly crush for a stallion you really only barely knew into a life of happiness! What do you think would've happened if I hadn't? You were pregnant, and he was dead! I married you! I helped raise our son! And now you blame me for keeping a promise to the foolish stallion that left you behind in such a state? I promised him I'd take care of you. Both of you. I promised him I'd keep you happy! And that's what I did."

Morning Rain shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "But it was still all a lie."

The changeling grasped her shoulders with his forehooves, and shook his head resolutely. "I love you, Morning Rain. And that's not a lie. He never asked me to marry you; that was all me. I've given you my vows, and they were sincere! Why do you think I waited so long? You were so angry at Swift Star for leaving on that journey that I nearly starved those first months. I only proposed to you after I fell in love with you."

She looked into his eyes, still unsure, but realizing that at least he'd been sincere. He pulled her into a hug, and sighed. "I don't know what that crazy queen out there is trying to accomplish, but love isn't something you can simply harvest. It takes love to get love. It won't be long before the only thing she's harvesting is terror." He couldn't help but smile. "And as someone who has fed on emotions his entire life, let me tell you, that stuff tastes foul."

A groan suddenly came from further in the room. The covers of a large bed the pair hadn't even noticed before were pulled away with a blue glow of magic. A sleepy, dark blue head with a wavy, sparkling blue mane and a rather large horn appeared from under them.

"Hmm? Tia?" the dark form said. She then promptly turned over, pulling the covers over her head.

The two figures stood still as statues, before very carefully stepping back to the door. The thought that the Moon Princess could help defeat the menace outside didn't even cross their minds. In fact, at that very moment, they'd forgotten all about the changeling swarm. The only things that did cross their minds were the fact they had accidentally snuck inside the bedroom of the Princess of the Night, and the fact they did not want to be caught doing that. No matter how hard the Princesses tried, centuries of scary tales on Nightmare Nights weren't erased from ponykind's memory that easily.


* * *


The pair silently walked around in the palace, only to find it eerily empty. It seemed the guards had either been captured and dragged away, or had gone into the city to help the citizens. The shattered glass, broken doors and smashed vases were telltale signs of the struggles that had taken place, but oddly, none of the changelings seemed to have stayed in the palace.

"Where should we go?" Morning Rain asked.

The changeling looked up the stairs. "The Observatory. I want to see what's happening."

Morning Rain nodded, and silently followed him up the stairs. When they reached the top, he made his way to the balcony. He looked at the chaos on the streets below, and shook his head.

Morning Rain stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at the changeling. "So..." she said, hesitantly. "If you're not Swift Star... who are you, then?"

He sighed. "I've been Swift Star for more than half of my life. Does it really matter? I'm still the same, you know. I still love broccoli, still loathe alfalfa, and I'm still good at music spells." He looked at her, pleadingly. "Please don't ask me to throw that away."

"I'm not!" she said. "If those things... are really you, then they're not Swift Star, are they?"

The changeling blinked. "I... guess not. I don't think he was much like me, at all."

"So, what is your name?" she asked, giving him a soft smile.

He frowned. It had been such a long time. He'd grown so used to being Swift Star.

"Flitter," he said. "That's the name I had." He gave her a pleading look. "Do I really need to take it back?"

She stared at the ground. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can call you Swift Star anymore." She joined him at the balcony, and looked down at the chaos below. The changeling swarm was apparently occupied by a familiar-looking team of half a dozen ponies that was slowly making their way to the Historical Archive building.

"So... where do we go from here?" she asked.

"We're getting out of here. We can't do anything to help. Princess Celestia is down there, and so are the Elements of Harmony. The only thing we can do is get caught."

"That's not what I meant!" she said. "What about us? The two of us?"

"I know what you meant," Flitter said, pulling himself away from the balcony and walking towards the other side. "And it'll have to wait. It seems those rampaging ponies have been caught. Come on, let's go before they notice us."

Morning Rain glanced at the swarm of changelings below, who were focusing their attention on the six ponies they held. She gasped, and ran after Flitter. "Those were the Bearers! They captured the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony!"

Flitter stopped. "Are you sure?"

"We saw them perform in the Hearth's Warming Eve play, remember? I know what they look like!"

Flitter ran back to the balcony, and peered down at the six ponies dragged along with the mass of black changelings.

He shook his head. "We can't help them. We're just two ponies."

"You could help them, couldn't you? If you change back, you'll look just li—"

"NO!" he yelled, cutting her off. She looked at him, startled.

"I can't change back into a pony that doesn't live any more!" he yelled, desperation in his eyes. "Don't you understand?"

"You... you'd be stuck in your... normal form?"

"Don't call it that," he said. Focusing his attention on his wings and horn, he restored his complete Swift Star form. "I need to be close to a pony to take his form. Once I change back to my full changeling form, Swift Star will be gone forever."

"But... you'd still be you," she said, hesitantly.

"Look at them!" he said, desperately. "Do you really want me to look like that?"

"At least you'd be yourself," she said. "I don't mind."

"But I do!" he yelled. "Don't you see?! Changelings are now enemies of Equestria! Could you imagine me walking around here in Canterlot, after all this, looking like one of them? They'd get the torches and pitchforks! I need to be Swift Star to be with you!"

Morning Rain shook her head. "If they win, it won't matter anyway!"

Flitter shuddered. "If they win... that crazy Queen probably won't even bother keeping day and night going. It'd be Nightmare Moon all over again."

His eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at Morning Rain.

"Luna," she said. "She's our only chance!"

Flitter groaned. "We should've woken her up right away." He turned around to walk back towards the staircase.

An odd feeling stopped him. He felt a shiver crawl up his spine, and looked back over the balcony. Morning Rain's ears perked up, and she looked at him. She clearly felt it too.

"What is that?!" she asked, walking over to the railing. She noticed a bright light shining out of the wedding hall.

He tilted his head. "It's love," he said, slightly confused. Then, he frowned. "But it's channelled... into a spell."

His eyes widened as he saw the purple sphere expand from where the white glow had been. "Oh no."

He backpedalled away from the balcony, spread his changeling wings once again, and flew away from the oncoming shield. 

"Flitter? What are you doing?" Morning Rain said, looking at the fleeing form. Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation as the shield flowed through her body, and remembered the effect it had had on him that morning. She gasped.

"Flitter!" she yelled, flying after him as he desperately tried to stay out of the shield's reach.

The shield blasted outwards like a giant purple glass wall, taking all changelings with it. Despite Flitter's best efforts, there was no way he could stay ahead of it. As the shield smashed into him, he felt his pony form burn away in purple flame. He desperately looked at his hooves as the last glimpses of yellow coat disappeared, making way for the dreaded shiny black of his changeling form.

As the last traces of purple flame vanished, the realization hit him. All his fears had come true. There was no way back; Swift Star was gone, forever.

Feeling utterly defeated, he folded his wings against his body, and let the shield blast him away. It was all over, anyway. He'd never be Swift Star again. He'd fulfilled his promise to the best of his ability, but after this, there was no point in struggling on. As he looked at the ground approaching him with deadly speed, he noticed that, ironically, he was going to end up in the same ravines where Swift Star died.

And now, he'd die there again.


"Don't you dare leave me!" a voice came from behind him. A blur of pink and mint green shot over the ground into the ravine, collided with him, and shot back up.


* * *


A pony and a changeling were lying on the dusty rock floor next to the ravine. Both of them were utterly exhausted, thoroughly shaken, and glad to be alive.

"Flitter?" the pegasus asked.

"Yes, Morning Rain?" the changeling replied, in an odd, buzzing voice.

"Where do we go from here?"

Flitter smiled, got up, and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. His big icy blue eyes looked into her purple ones.

"Wherever we want, my love."
> Chapter 2 - The Good and the Bad Times
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Chapter Two
The Good and the Bad Times


The black insectoid creature buzzed quietly through the forest, when a strong scent reached his senses. It wasn't a real scent, in fact, but a feeling. A strong outburst of emotions typical for the nearing end of a sapient life.

Despair. Shame. Regret. So much regret, it could only come from one source... love.

He sped up towards the origin of the emotions, out of the forest, into the ravine below. It didn't take him long to locate the colourful pony; it was a bright yellow unicorn with a green mane. The only reason he wasn't dead already was that he got stuck on a tree growing out of the side of the ravine. From the wound on his side, though, it was clear he had already collided with the ravine wall. Looking higher up, the changeling could see a thin red smear indicating where it happened.

The changeling hesitated. The unicorn was despairing, yes, and definitely in mortal danger, but with proper care, he could probably be saved. The Old Ways had many methods of getting positive emotions from sapient beings. Love was powerful, but even gratitude from a sapient being was better than the primitive emotions of the nearby wildlife he'd been soaking up ever since he left the Hive.

Green flames swept over the black creature. He reappeared from the flames looking exactly like the wounded unicorn, his translucent insect wings still buzzing on his back.

"Move not," he said, having picked up a rudimentary understanding of the pony's speech from its mind. "I help."

The unicorn's eyes widened as he noticed the flying copy of himself, but he could only nod. The traveller knew that the forests held all kinds of strange magical creatures, from petrifying cockatrices to translucent star beasts. A being that mimicked his shape wasn't such a big step from there.

The changeling grabbed the pony with his forehooves, flew them both out of the ravine, and gently laid him down on the solid rock floor. He looked at the prone form, a mix of curiosity and concern in his eyes.

"I am Flitter," he said. "I do not know well pony-form. Are you hurt bad?"

The unicorn looked at the long cut on his flank. It looked bad, but he knew it was not the real problem. He could taste the blood in his mouth, and felt the pain in his lungs. He had internal injuries far worse than the cut.

"I need to get... to a doctor," he wheezed. "Can you help me, Flitter?"

Flitter nodded. "Pony-home you need. Pony that know pony-form, to nurse pony. Yes. I bring you to pony-home."

The flood of gratitude was like a breath of fresh air to the changeling. Sapient creatures had such peculiar reactions. He wanted more. He needed more. He would help this creature.


* * *


Hours had passed, and the sun had gone down. The two advanced slowly, the unicorn leaning against his mirror image. Flitter's wings had faded into the flawless pony-illusion.

Swift Star collapsed, for the fifth time. Flitter looked at him, worried.

"You hurt more. I can see. Pony-home is still far?"

Swift Star nodded. He tried to get back onto his hooves, but failed. Finally, he let out a frustrated sigh, that promptly turned into another bloody coughing fit.

"Do you think I'll make it?" he asked his companion.

"You weaken. I think no," Flitter said. "You need rest, but maybe not see day." He looked frustrated at his failure. "I do best I can."

The unicorn smiled at him, flooding Flitter with another nourishing wave of gratitude. "You've done your best," Swift Star said. "Don't blame yourself. You tried, at least. There was nopony else out there to help me."

Flitter looked at the dying unicorn. "I can feel. Your regret. Much regret. You leave other behind. Other you love."

Swift Star nodded weakly. "I should never have left her." He stared up to the starry night sky. "Too late for regrets now, I guess."

"I help," the changeling said. "I have pony-shape. She needs not suffer."

The unicorn frowned. "You're... a trickster." He sighed. "I see now. All this time, all this help. You just want to take my place."

Flitter shook his head. "I do best I can. Try save you. Fail. Not trick. But, she stay happy. What she do when you gone? Think of your fate with no end, despair when find out. Is what you wish?"

The unicorn shook his head. "No! But you would trick her!"

"You love. She loves. I need love. Food, for me. Love can not be stolen. Your love is my love, as long as she wants it. Care for her."

Swift Star coughed again, blood splattering on the ground as he did. Suddenly, he put his hoof around the changeling's neck and pulled his head up to Flitter's ear. "She's pregnant! I can't have you trick her and then leave her when she needs you most! Promise me, trickster," he all but growled in the changeling's ear. "Promise me you'll take care of them. Both of them. They need me. You will be there for them as long as they need you, even if she doesn't want you to!"

The wounded unicorn released his grip, and fell back on the ground with a hard thud. He breathed heavily, and glared at the changeling. Flitter winced. He hadn't expected this passion. This self-destructive behaviour. He understood, now, why the Old Ways said that Love could be dangerous. It was addictive. He had tasted this passion, and it intrigued him. He needed it.

"I will," he said, fully realizing he was ignoring the warnings of the Old Ways. "I promise. I take care of them. Not as long as she wants me. As long as they need me."

The dying stallion relaxed. "Then tell me... Flitter. What do I do now?"

The changeling's horn glowed green. "Open mind to me. Show me, way to her. Show me, love for her. Show me past, how you speak, memory, all of you. I care for her. For both. I promise."


~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Morning Rain stared into the camp fire. "I see," she said.

"I was so young, then," Flitter said, finishing his tale. "So inexperienced with pony emotions. I stayed with him to the end. Buried him, even."

"But.. he did love me, then?" she asked. "He was planning on returning?"

The changeling shrugged. "He loved you, sure... but, who knows? Maybe he just tricked the trickster. Even with the information I got from his mind, I have no idea where he even came from. He only gave me exactly what he wanted me to know. And back then, I didn't even realize."

She frowned, and looked at him. "Wait, that means... all those months after your return... you acting so odd and cold..."

Flitter nodded. "I can only emulate what I pick up. As far as I know, Swift Star had no way to deal with your anger. I was improvising, and I really wasn't good at it."

Morning Rain smiled. "But you stayed. It's honestly more than I expected him to do, after that ravine trip." She leaned against him. "For what it's worth... looking back at all of it, I'm sorry for taking it all out on you."

"Well, I survived," Flitter said, smiling back at her. "Barely. Blueprint pretty much saved my life. Babies are amazing. The smallest amount of affection gives a flood of love in return."

She smiled. "Yes, seeing you with him... that was special. I didn't really think Swift Star would have it in him, to be a father. You spent every free minute you had with little Blue."

"I didn't have much choice. You weren't giving me affection, and I had no idea how to get you to give me any, either."

"Well, acting as a responsible father solved that nicely," Morning Rain said, nuzzling him softly. "That got you right back in my favour."

She sat upright on her haunches and looked at him. "It seems odd though," she remarked. "For a species that survives on emotions, you knew so little about them."

Flitter grinned. "We're a race of emotional feeders, not psychologists. Eating hay doesn't make you a botanist, does it?"

Morning Rain blinked. "Fair point."

She looked at the night sky, and the fireworks of the wedding coming from Canterlot. She could've sworn she saw a sonic rainboom.

"So, all cheesiness aside..." she said. "Where do we go from here?"

Flitter laughed. It was an odd, hissing sound. He shook his head. "Not a fricking clue."

"Well, I guess we can forget about going to the wedding party," Morning Rain said, still looking at the city in the distance.

"The shield's gone," Flitter said. "We could try."

Morning Rain turned to Flitter, and smiled. "And shake up the royal wedding again?" She shook her head. "Let's not. Those two deserve some happiness, at least. Besides, they won't let you in looking like that."

Flitter sighed. "Maybe if I wear a tuxedo."

Morning Rain laughed. "Changelings, masters of disguise!"

She looked back to the city, and sighed. "We're really not going back there, are we?" she said. "That feels so weird."

Flitter nodded. Somehow, he had the feeling there was something very important about what she'd said, but he couldn't quite figure it out. He had to agree though.

It felt really weird.
> Chapter 3 - The Birds and the Bees
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Chapter Three
The Birds and the Bees


"Flitter?" Morning Rain asked.

"Yes, Morning Rain?" Flitter replied.

"Where are we going?"

Flitter stopped, and blinked. That morning, after some brief deliberation, they had decided to go to Trotsborough, where their son lived. But somewhere along the way they seemed to have deviated from that path. The odd thing was, he hadn't even noticed. Something was just driving him on.

He peered in the direction they were going in, and noticed thunderclouds in the distance. He looked at Morning Rain.

"That's the Everfree Forest, isn't it?" he said, somewhat perplexed.

"Wild, untamed... it sure looks like it," Morning Rain said. "So, can you please tell me why we seem to be going towards it?"

Flitter clenched his jaw. "My... hive is there. It's pulling me. Somehow." Now he realized it, he could actually feel the pull. An instinctual part of him, driving him home.

"Your hive?" Morning Rain said. "Is this some sort of home sickness?"

Flitter shook his head. "No. I guess it's normal. After reverting to his own form, a changeling is expected to return, and deliver the collected love."

"Eh, Flitter honey, you are a changeling. What's with the guessing?"

Flitter shook his head. "You have to understand, Swift Star was the first person I replaced! This is all new to me!"

"So wait, this love... you actually store it?" she said, frowning. "I thought you just lived on it."

Flitter shook his head. "To you, emotions are like tasting food. You taste them while eating the food, and then they're gone. To get the same taste again, you need more of the same food. To us... it is the food. The more we consume, the more we have. Any excess gets stored."

Morning Rain raised an eyebrow. "Like body fat?"

Flitter gave her a flat look. "Not the comparison I'd use, but, I guess it's an accurate one."

"Wow. After all these years, you must be one pudgy little changeling!" Morning Rain said, sounding somewhat impressed.

"...yes, yes I am," Flitter said, wishing he'd still have eyes he could roll. He missed having a pony body.

"So, how does that sort of thing normally work, then? You already told me you could survive on the primitive emotions of woodland creatures. Probably not comfortably, but still, it was enough. So, what's with the collecting, then? Why would the hive need—"

Her eyes widened as the realization hit her. She stared at Flitter. "It's reproduction, isn't it?"

That was the moment when Morning Rain found out that changelings can, in fact, blush.

"Let me get this straight," Morning Rain said, trying very hard not to laugh. "We've been married for twenty years, during which you've gotten very comfortable with the specifics of pony reproduction."

Flitter lowered his head, but said nothing.

"But the first mention of changeling reproduction has you blushing like a teenager?"

The changeling nodded quietly, which elicited another snort of laughter from the pegasus mare.

She walked up and nuzzled him. "So, how does it work, then? Is it much different from what we ponies do?"

"Um, well, not much, I guess," Flitter said, the red glow still lighting up his black face. "There's just an extra factor involved. Changeling eggs, even fertilized, don't develop unless they get stored love from the Queen. The transfer of love from the drones to the Queen is a rather... intimate affair. Or so I've been told. Apparently it strengthens the bond of the hive. I've never actually seen it."

Morning Rain frowned. "And... that's what you're going back for? An intimate affair with your Queen?"

"I don't know!" Flitter said, sounding desperate. "I don't know any of this. But this drive, this instinct to go back... it's overpowering. I can't ignore it. I'm carrying twenty years of stored love inside me! I imagine most changelings only manage a month or two on one trip! It's like a weight, a force, pulling me to the hive."

"So, what, you hope to deposit that, and then just get out?" Morning Rain said. She sounded somewhat concerned. "They might not let you return."

Flitter looked at her. "I'm not going in without you. Old Ways be damned. If I'm going there, I want you with me at all times."

"Even during that... intimate affair with the Queen?" she asked.

"Especially then!" he replied, sounding rather distressed. "This stuff freaks me out!"

She nuzzled him affectionately. "Don't worry, love. We'll figure it out."


* * *


The Everfree Forest was a scary place, for ponies. Plants growing, animals thriving, clouds moving, all by themselves. Some said it was the work of Discord. Some said it was a remnant of dark battle magic used by Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. Others said ponies had simply tamed everything else, and this was just the collection of all the stuff they couldn't tame.

Either way, the forest was magnificent, both threatening and teeming with life. Flitter had no trouble fitting in. He was part of this forest. Part of the wild and scary side. He noticed that his insect wings made him much more maneuverable than Morning Rain's, since he could much more easily hover in place. But he waited for her. He would never leave her behind.

It was late in the evening when they finally reached a cave entrance, guarded by two changelings. They looked rather baffled to see the pair. Confused, they looked at each other, and then at Flitter. They said something in a buzzing language Morning Rain didn't understand. She threw him a questioning look.

"Hive speak. The one in the city actually tried it too, but I didn't understand his dialect." He turned to the changeling, and buzzed something back at him. The two looked even more confused now, but seemed to want to stop Flitter from getting through.

Unimpressed, Flitter buzzed something really short. The two changelings looked at him in amazement, and moved aside, letting both of them through. Flitter grinned.

"What'd you say to them?" Morning Rain asked.

Flitter smiled at her. "Twenty years. I don't know if they keep records, but I must've broken them anyway."

Morning Rain laughed, her voice echoing through the tunnels of the hive.

The hive looked nothing like what she'd expected. After the way the changelings had restrained ponies on the Canterlot streets, she thought it'd be a green glowy place filled with slime. Instead, it was quite dry, with the floor of the cave overgrown with a red mossy substance. Paper-like hexagonal structures stretched out in the caves, some of the hexagons closed off and filled with something yellow that emitted a warm glow. Tunnels going up and down were as frequent as those that stayed horizontal; the obvious advantage of a flying species.

When Flitter touched down on the moss-covered ground, Morning Rain followed his example. The moss felt dry on top, but damp when her hoof sank slightly into it. It was a pleasant cool feeling. She suspected the moss was used to store the hive's water.

Curious blue eyes, ranging in tones from steely dark to sky blue, looked out from the hexagonal structures as the pair made its way through the hive. A number of changelings excitedly buzzed around Flitter, seemingly asking him questions, and occasionally changing into Morning Rain's form. From the tone of Flitter's replies, Morning Rain could hear he was mostly shooing them away. Morning Rain felt rather weird when the transformed changelings started making excited sounds with her own voice.

"I didn't even say anything. How do they have my voice?" she whispered to Flitter.

He just smiled. "It's part of your form," he said. "We get it from your aura; the magical energy radiated by all living things. It's more than just your looks."

Morning Rain looked back at the flying copies of herself, and sighed. "Is it still far? This is kinda unnerving."

"No, it should be just up ahead," he said. Morning Rain saw that had to be taken rather literally; the tunnel went straight up.


* * *


The room they entered was not much different from any others they'd seen, except maybe for the fact it was much more sober. It didn't have any of the hexagonal structures Morning Rain had determined to be changeling dwellings, and was illuminated by just a pair of smaller light-emitting ones.

The figure sitting in the room, however, was nothing less than majestic. The changeling Queen was about as large as Celestia, with an odd chaotically curved horn, and multiple pairs of wings. She had an old look in her vibrant green eyes, but her body looked fit and strong. She eyed the pair with the curious kind look of a grandmother watching her grandfoals play.

"Flitter!" she said, her voice clear and without accent, but with the same odd buzzing undertone Flitter's voice had. "You have been gone for a long time."

"Queen Morphosai," Flitter said, bowing his head. "I have, indeed. And I don't intend to stay long."

The Queen curiously raised an eyebrow. "You are positively brimming with energy. I suspect the pony you brought with you is the cause?" She didn't wait for an answer, and turned to Morning Rain. "Yes... the bond did not break, when the form did. Most curious." She looked back to Flitter. "You are even supplying yourself, now."

Flitter shook his head. "I'm not. You can't produce love purely for yourself. It only works when we're together."

The Queen smiled. "And yet you store it, after radiating it to her. Most efficient." She once again turned to Morning Rain. "Hello, pony. My name is Morphosai, and I am Queen and Mother of this Hive. What is your name?"

"Uh... Morning Rain," the pegasus said, rather baffled. The Queen had a way of smoothly shifting between her actions that didn't permit others to say or do anything unless she wanted them to.

"Morning Rain," the Queen said immediately. "You have cared for my little Flitter for quite a long time." She smirked. "What does the future hold for you two, hmm?"

Again, she didn't wait for a reply. She shifted her attention back to Flitter, and briefly touched his horn with her own. Her eyes widened, and started to glow brightly. "So much... you must really want to keep her."

Flitter pulled his horn back in surprise, and glanced at Morning Rain. He was blushing.

The Queen laughed with an odd dual timbre. "Ah, so grown up, yet so inexperienced." She touched his horn again, this time keeping her eyes almost completely closed. A brilliant white light shone through the remaining slits. Flitter was blushing and breathing heavily. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only half a minute, the Queen pulled her horn back, closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled. Flitter staggered back.

The Queen nuzzled him affectionately, and gave him a seductive look. "Will you do the honour of fathering your love's children?" she asked.

Flitter stared at the Queen, slack-jawed. "No!" he yelled. He looked at Morning Rain, only to see her as baffled as himself. He quickly flew over to the dazed mare, and held her firmly in his hooves, looking for support.

The Queen sat down, a confused look on her face. "No?" She quickly recovered, and went back to her old smooth self. "Very well, some other male will provide. Why this odd reaction?"

With the situation defused, and Flitter at her side, Morning Rain snapped out her stupor. "Us ponies are, um, monogamous," she said. "Flitter gave me his vows. It kinda means I'm his one and only mate."

"Yes," the Queen said. "But he is a changeling. He made those vows in his changed form." Despite the remark on their 'unbroken bond', the Queen seemed to find it more than obvious that any promise made in a disguise was completely irrelevant.

"I still meant every word of it," Flitter said with a defiant look in his eyes. "My promise to her was completely my own."

The Queen seemed genuinely surprised about that. "You gave me your love storage, while you have a mate? I do not understand!"

Neither did Flitter. "Excuse me?"

"Only excess should be given to me," the Queen said. "Do you not want to father children, at all?"

"She's a pony. I thought ponies and changelings couldn't... uh, mix?"

"Only in disguise," the Queen said. "But changeling seed can bear no fruit without added love. You had twenty years of it."

Morning Rain looked at Flitter. "Did she just say we can have children? The two of us?"

Flitter blinked. "I think so. Though, I have no idea how to feed stored love to an unborn child. I thought it was the Queen's task."

"Any pair can do so," the Queen said. "The Hive has more females with eggs than just me."

"A half-pony, half-changeling," Morning Rain mused. "What would that even be like?"

The Queen smiled at them. "Who knows? Maybe a changeling with a real pony form. Maybe, a pony like any normal one. Or a changeling like any normal one. Maybe, something else." She looked at Flitter. "You have given me all your storage, though. You need some back, to make it work."

Morning Rain and Flitter shared an amused look, before looking back to the Queen.

"We'll make more," Flitter said, smiling. "Consider it a farewell gift."

"Plenty more where that came from," Morning Rain added, mimicking his smile. "Just give us a few months."

The Queen nodded. "I see. Yes... it will not take you long to gather enough." She walked out of the rather plain looking throne room, motioning the two to follow her into one of the dark tunnels behind it. Morning Rain immediately felt the atmosphere was more moist here. As they went deeper inside, the darkness was replaced by a fluorescent green glow shining through slimy membranes that sealed off sections of the walls. This part of the hive looked exactly like Morning Rain had imagined it.

"This is the eggs chamber," the Queen said in a hushed tone. The walls seemed to absorb all sound. "I will show you, Flitter, how to channel love." She eyed Morning Rain's abdomen curiously. "Though I cannot tell if the process will be entirely identical, with a pony."

She swiftly moved towards one of the membranes. A dull glow emanated from it. She turned to Flitter. "Can you feel it?" she asked.

Flitter nodded. "Yes. Developing life." He frowned. "It needs nourishment."

The Queen gave him a look a proud teacher would give to her prized pupil. "You already know what to do. It is in your nature." She nodded towards the membrane. "Try feeding it. You should still have some left." She glanced at Morning Rain, and smiled. "And you will not starve any time soon anyway."

Flitter nodded, and moved his horn towards the membrane. To his surprise, the center of the mucous-looking membrane was actually hard as glass, and his horn ticked against it.

Queen Morphosai had been right. There was nothing to learn. The larva on the other side asked, and he gave. It was a simple, natural thing, like a mother breastfeeding a foal. The energy streamed from his horn into the membrane, and on to the larva beyond it.

As he pulled his horn back, he frowned. He felt as if something was missing. It didn't take him long to figure out what it was. There was no feedback. Unlike baby Blueprint all those years ago, the changeling larva didn't respond with a flow of grateful emotions telling him he'd done something right. He realized this was perfectly normal for a changeling, but it still felt odd, to care for something without building up a bond with it.

"Did it work right?" Morphosai asked Flitter, pulling him out of his musings. She looked slightly concerned.

"Oh!" Flitter responded, nodding fiercely. "Yes, it worked just fine."

"Something is bothering you, though," the Queen said, eyeing him curiously.

Flitter glanced at the membrane. "It's just odd, realizing I started like that, a completely emotionless being. Pony foals give such immense amounts of affection from the very moment they are born."

"They need much more intensive care, though," Morning Rain said. "These little ones seem perfectly content all alone in their little cocoons." She tilted her head and looked at the membrane. "How old are they when they come out?"

"Thirty months," Morphosai replied. "Two and a half years. After that, they mingle with the Hive, make their own home in it, learn the Old Ways, and are sent off to collect."

Morning Rain frowned and looked at Flitter. "Wait... Swift Star was your first form. How old are you, then?"

Flitter gave her an amused smile. "This is the point where you find out you slept with a five-year-old, yes. In your defence, though, I was a fully grown adult changeling by then."

Morning Rain looked at him, completely baffled. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She blinked, and closed her mouth.

Flitter looked at her with a mix of amusement and concern. "Well, you asked," he said.

Morning Rain rubbed her temple with a hoof, and sighed. "Yes... I did." She looked at Queen Morphosai. "Can we, uh, go now?" she asked.

"Of course," Morphosai said, nodding gently. She led the pair out of the eggs chamber, back into the room where they'd met her.

"I wonder, though," she said, smoothly turning towards Flitter. "What made you release your form, after twenty years? I have a feeling it was not voluntarily. Your instincts would not have brought you here if you had another place to call Home."

Flitter shook his head. "Indeed, it wasn't. A changeling Queen invaded Canterlot, and was apparently determined to forcibly contain everyone inside it. I was cast out by a powerful shield spell the ponies used as counterattack. It destroyed my form."

Morphosai's eyes widened. "Another changeling Queen, revealing our race as enemies to all Ponykind? That is terrible news!"

Flitter shook his head. "I don't even understand their point. Surely you can't harvest love by inspiring terror first?"

The Queen looked at him, a pained expression on her face. "Actually," she said, "there is a way. It is against all ancient rules, and against common sense itself, but a desperate Queen may attempt it." She paused, clearly not comfortable with the subject. "It is called the Dreamstate."

Flitter frowned. "What is it, then?"

"Us changelings have the power to affect the minds of other beings," the Queen said, probably mostly as clarification to Morning Rain. "The Dreamstate is that same ability, used on an entire population. They are put to sleep, with their dreams linked together, and continue their lives in that dream while serving as food source for the Hive."

"That... sounds quite merciful, all things considered," Morning Rain said.

The Queen shook her head, and sighed. "It is a desperate move. A dead end. Sleeping ponies can be kept alive, but will not bear children. The ponies in the dream will never see another pony that is not linked to them, and even in the dream they can never have children, for even a changeling Queen cannot convincingly play the roles of several fake ponies."

She looked at Morning Rain, sadness in her eyes. "It is anything but merciful, for either side. Those inside the dream will eventually see the flaws in the illusion, and as they realize they are trapped in a fake world, they will slowly go mad. Love turns to terror, and while the Queen remains in a trance to keep the Dreamstate going, her people starve, and as they die or flee they leave the trapped ponies to starve as well."

"That's horrible!" Morning Rain cried out, staggering back. She leaned against Flitter for support.

The Queen nodded. "Indeed. And even now that is averted, unicorns all over Equestria will start performing disguise-piercing spells. That mad Queen's actions have endangered us all."

She gave the two guests a serious look. "I must warn my little changelings that they will be hunted. It is fortunate you have given me this immense power. I will need your gift to call out to all of them, and it may keep us all alive for months to come."

She glanced at the tunnel from which they'd first entered the chamber, and then looked back at them. "What will you do now, though?" She looked at Flitter. "You cannot go back to where you are hunted."

"Oh, I will," Flitter said. "I need to see my son."

"Your son?" the Queen said, clearly confused.

"I raised him," Flitter said, a look of determination on his face. "That makes him my son."

The Queen frowned, but let the subject slide. She nodded. "You both must stay the night, though. The Everfree is a dangerous place after the sun has set, even for a changeling. After twenty years, I doubt your home is still here, but there should still be some available."

Flitter gave a concerned look to Morning Rain. "The longer we stay, the more chance the news from Canterlot has spread to Trotsborough."

Morning Rain shook her head. "It must have been in the papers this morning anyway. Everypony was expecting an article about the wedding. They all know already."

"Do you feel... okay, sleeping here?" he asked, hesitantly.

Morning Rain smiled. "Why not? You've lived my way for twenty years... let's see what your way is like."


* * *


Morning Rain woke up with an annoying buzzing sound. It took her a moment to realize that it was not inside her head, but coming from outside the paper-like construction they'd spent the night in. Despite its lightness it was very sturdy, but it was decidedly not sound-proof. Sticking her sleepy head out of the hexagonal entrance, she saw at least two dozen changelings excitedly hanging around the place, either landed on top or below their borrowed dwelling, or hovering in front of the entrance. Like the previous day, several of them took Morning Rain's form when they spotted her. They all gave her happy copies of her own best smile.

"What on earth are they all doing?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

She heard a chuckle behind her. "They're feeding, of course," Flitter said, walking up to her and affectionately nuzzling her neck. "Even I'm capable of generating love. This place is soaked in it."

Morning Rain blushed as she thought back to the previous night. The Queen's extraction of Flitter's stored love had left the changeling quite a bit more excited than he'd shown them back there, and the warm earth tones of their appointed dwelling had turned out to create a very intimate atmosphere. The news that they could actually have children together probably helped a bit too.

"Soaked. Right." She gave him an uncomfortable look. "It's a bit weird to know they feed on our intimacy."

"Don't worry. I'm still storing plenty for our little project," Flitter said with a grin. "But you have to understand, emotions are much like scents... no matter how much of the scent you take in, those around you will still smell it as well."

Unsurprisingly, reminding Morning Rain of the fact the place reeked of their night of passion did nothing to diminish her blush.
> Chapter 4 - The Son and the Father
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Chapter Four
The Son and the Father


"So," Morning Rain said. "Five years? Seriously?"

Flitter sighed. "Yes. I was five years old when I met you. Stop thinking of me in terms of pony age, please."

The two were making their way through the Everfree Forest, trying to find signs of pony civilization to orientate themselves. While Flitter had had no trouble finding his hive, the same could not be said about finding the way back. The pair was hovering through the trees, going roughly in the direction they thought Trotsborough should be.

Morning Rain shook her head. "Still. I'm nearing forty, and you're only twenty-five! You're closer to Blueprint's age than to mine."

"Does it bother you that much?" Flitter asked.

"Well, no," Morning Rain replied. "It's just... weird thinking about it."

Flitter chuckled. "Then don't."

Morning Rain shrugged, and looked ahead. It seemed they were finally getting out of the Everfree Forest.

"So... where are we?" Flitter asked.

She looked around, and spotted apple trees in the distance. "That's Sweet Apple Acres. We came out just beyond Ponyville."

Flitter smiled. "Great! If we travel along the edge of the forest we should find the road to Trotsborough."


* * *


"What do we do now?" Flitter asked.

They couldn't have chosen a worse day to visit the little town of Trotsborough. Market day. The only day of the week when everypony was on the streets all afternoon, rather than most of them doing their variety of indoors jobs. The pair was looking down at the village from a nearby hill, with Flitter somewhat hiding behind a convenient tree.

"You could change," Morning Rain said, rolling her eyes.

"In a town like this?" Flitter sighed, and shook his head. "No, no, see, first of all, that'd mean I'd inevitably be copying somepony that everypony else here probably knows. Secondly, they'd see said somepony walking around with a mare he's normally unassociated with. I would prefer visiting my son without starting any town-wide scandals or other unnecessary drama."

"So... change into me?" she said.

Flitter blinked. "...what?"

"You can change into a mare, no?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"That'd make it easier! Then there'd just be two of me."

Flitter shook his head. "Look, not even touching on the subject of how uncomfortable it'd feel to become you... last I checked, you don't have a twin sister."

"No, listen... I'll fly to the other side of town, and make sure nopony sees me. You go in from here, I go in from there, we both pretend to be me, and we both make our way to Blueprint's place. If we're fast enough, nopony will even notice we were on the market at the same time."

Flitter groaned. "This has disaster written all over it, you know. Some ponies here might remember us from previous visits. What do I do when they talk to me?"

Morning Rain smirked. "Make some small talk and go on? Are you saying that, after twenty years of marriage, you won't be able to impersonate me?"

"Oh, very well," Flitter said. He looked her in the eyes. "For the record... I hate this plan."

"Noted. But I don't see you coming up with a better one."

"Right, right," Flitter said, dejected.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Well?" Morning Rain asked, tilting her head. "Any time, now."

"Rainy, sweetie... you have no idea how uncomfortable this makes me feel. I've never even been a mare before."

"Again, noted," she said with a smirk. "Now change already, we don't have all day."

Flitter sighed, and a torrent of green flames engulfed his body. When the green inferno faded, a pink-maned minty green pegasus mare was standing in his place.

"Oh, wow," Morning Rain said. "You're like the twin sister I never had!"

The second Morning Rain's eye twitched. "...you have no idea how uncomfortable this is."


* * *


Matters of comfort aside, the trip through the town went rather smoothly. Flitter had waited about twenty minutes to give Morning Rain the chance to get to the other side, so they'd at least end up at Blueprint's house around the same time, and then mingled into the busy market. As luck had it, their son's house was right in the middle of town.

"Morning Rain!" Flitter heard a voice behind him. "Is that you? It's been ages!"

Flitter suppressed a groan, and looked at the young mare. At least he knew who it was. "Hi, Sunshine!" he said cheerfully, with Morning Rain's voice. "I'm just here to visit my son."

The mare nodded. "Yes, I gathered that," she said with a friendly smile. "Did you hear about that dreadful business in Canterlot?"

"Y-yeah... we were right in the middle of it all. Scary stuff. Good thing Shining Armor kicked them all out, huh?" he said, keeping up his best smile. "We left just after all that."

"Oh!" the mare said. "Is Swift Star here too?"

Flitter mentally kicked himself. Stupid!

"Oh, no," he said. "He made a detour through Ponyville. We were, um..." Improvise, dammit! "...planning a surprise for Blueprint, and he decided to see if Pinkie Pie was there, to maybe get some help with that. I doubt it, since all the Element Bearers were at the wedding, but hey, you know Swift Star, he can be so stubborn."


* * *


Meanwhile, at the other end of the town, Morning Rain found herself in a similar situation.

"Oh no, Swift's fine. He just wouldn't miss the wedding."

"So, ya came here all by yasself?" the brown earth pony stallion said. He looked impressed. "Surely all dose changelin's will be comin' down somewhere! I wouldn't dare goin' out dere alone right now!"

Morning Rain looked pretty uncomfortable. The stallion was apparently a good friend of Blueprint here, but she didn't really know him. She remembered he helped Blue with moving his stuff into his new house, but that was about it. "Hehe, oh, that's no problem. I haven't seen a single one!"

"Dat's de point, Mornin' Rain, ya don't see 'em! Ya jes' see ponies that could be 'em!"

"Oh, no need to get paranoid, now," she said. She needed to cut this conversation short, and she had a fairly good idea on how to handle that. "With that attitude, you could accuse anyone of being a changeling just because you haven't seen them in a while."

The stallion blinked. "Oh!" he shouted. "Ah din' mean ta imply anythin'! Ah'm sorry, Mornin'."

"Well, I really need to go see Blueprint now."

"I'll walk along!" the stallion said, smiling.

Morning Rain raised an eyebrow. "I know where my own son lives, you know." She nodded at a piece of paper hanging out of the guy's saddlebag. "You better finish your shopping list, before the stalls close. I have some... rather serious news for Blueprint, okay? It's a pretty private affair."

"Oh. Right, I see," the stallion said, nodding gravely. "Best o' luck, ma'am."

Morning Rain gave him a polite nod, and slipped away.


* * *


Flitter made it to the house first. He cursed inwardly. He had no idea what to say to his son, even less so when disguised as Morning Rain. Nonetheless, there wasn't much choice. He had to get off the street before Morning Rain arrived as well.

He knocked on the door, unconsciously holding his breath. Being a changeling, he felt his son's mild curiosity radiating through the door long before he opened it.

Blueprint opened the door, and his face lit up. "Mom!" he said. "What a wonderful surprise! I thought you'd be at the wedding party now!"

"Oh, no, it's f-far too busy there," Flitter said, walking inside and closing the door behind him. "All the party noise and such. So we decided to come here!" He noticed he was rambling, but couldn't help it.

Blueprint gave 'her' a concerned look. "Are you okay?" He didn't seem to have noticed Flitter slipped up again by saying 'we'.

Flitter sighed. "Don't ask. Stressful journey." At least the last part, he added mentally.

A knock on the door made him freeze up. This was the moment he'd dreaded. Before Blueprint could react, he opened the door, and, after confirming it was indeed Morning Rain who had knocked, he quickly pulled her inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

Blueprint looked at the two identical copies of his mom, and blinked.

"Please stay calm!" Flitter pretty much yelled at him. He glanced at Morning Rain. "Oh Goddesses, this must look so weird."

Blueprint slowly walked back. "You guys are changelings. I read about you in the newspaper. The Canterlot—"

Morning Rain shook her head. "Please, it's not that simple."

Flitter sighed. "I told you. Disaster. All over it."

Morning Rain shot him an angry look. "Well we got here, didn't we?" she shouted. "I didn't see you come up with anything better!"

"We could at least have waited until the market closed up!" Flitter threw back.

"Why thank you!" Morning Rain growled back. "That suggestion would've been useful half an hour ago."

"You're always running into things," Flitter said, sighing. "It's hardly your rump on the line. If it's all the same to you, I really don't want to get chased out of town with torches and pitchforks."

Blueprint stopped walking back, and frowned. The conversation had taken an awfully familiar turn.

"This isn't even a farmer's village!" Morning Rain said, rolling her eyes. "I doubt anyone here has a pitchfork."

"Agh, you're doing it again! Stop arguing about useless details instead of admitting you're wrong!"

Blueprint looked at Flitter, a baffled look on his face. "...dad?" The two arguing Morning Rains had completely stopped paying attention to him, though.

"I'm not!" the real Morning Rain said. "You shouldn't generalise all country villages! Really! You act as if Haytail is the only country village you've ever s—"

Morning Rain stopped, and blinked, as she realized Flitter really never had seen any other country villages besides the one they'd lived in back then. He had no memories of Swift Star's travels, and he'd rarely ever left Canterlot since they moved there.

"Oh. Right," she said. "It is."

The next thing she realized was that she'd completely forgotten about Blueprint, who appeared to be looking at them with a familiar bored look on his face.

"This is why I moved out, you know," Blueprint said flatly. "Now can you two please explain to me why my dad looks like a mare?"

Flitter and Morning Rain exchanged a worried look, before turning back to Blueprint.

"Right," Flitter said. "Long story short, that business in Canterlot messed up our lives quite seriously. I am, indeed, a changeling, and I'd been living in Canterlot for twenty years without any problems. And now, I lost my form."

He looked at Morning Rain, sighed, and finally transformed back. As the green flames faded, Flitter was once again in his black changeling form.

Blueprint frowned. "This isn't just some elaborate prank with a Starswirl-degree transformation spell, is it?"

"As if I would ever be able to cast those," Flitter muttered.

Morning Rain shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. Your dad's a changeling, Blue."

As the information started to sink in, Blueprint's eyes widened. "B-but how..."

Flitter looked at him. "Basically, some irresponsible idiot knocked up your mom and then got himself killed in the wilds, and I've been filling in for him ever since."

"Nothing really changes, you know," Morning Rain said. "He's still your dad."

"Well, except, not biologically," Flitter added.

Somehow, Blueprint seemed to take it all in quite easily, probably because he'd already recognized his dad despite his transformed state. He rubbed his forehead with a hoof.

"So, wait," he said. "You're not Swift Star, then."

Flitter shook his head. "No. He died before you were born. You never actually met him."

"So, what's your real name, then?"

Flitter looked at him nervously. "Uh, it's... Flitter."

"That's a mare's name," Blueprint pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well," Flitter grumbled, "I had it for quite some years before I knew that. I'll have you know it's a perfectly masculine changeling name."

Blueprint sighed. "This is so unfair, you know," he said, looking at his father's new appearance. "That means I'm the only one of us without wings."

"That's what bothers you most about this?" Flitter asked.

"Well," Blueprint said, "not much I can do about it, right? There's no way anyone could impersonate my parents' arguing style that well, anyway."

"Right. Well. Your mom seriously freaked out, is all," Flitter said. "I'm just a little... underwhelmed."

Morning Rain rolled her eyes. "In my defense, we were being chased by an army of changelings at the time."

The conversation was interrupted by loud knocking on the front door.

"Blueprint!" a rumbling voice came from the other side of the door. "Ya got changelin's in yer house!"

"Discord's beard!" Morning Rain cursed. "They figured it out?"

"Ugh." Flitter said. "They must've compared notes. I kinda panicked out there."

Blueprint looked at them. "Go through the garden!" he hissed. "I'll keep him busy."

The pair nodded, and ran out the back door, and through Blueprint's garden. When they walked out, Flitter glanced at the considerable crowd that had gathered in front of the house.

"What'd I tell you?" he said to Morning Rain. "Pitchforks."

"Just get running!" she hissed to him, and ran on. Flitter followed her closely.

"Hey, they're back here!" someone yelled. Morning Rain promptly upgraded her cursing to contain certain private parts of Discord's anatomy, making Flitter raise an eyebrow at her language.

"In here!" she barked, pulling Flitter into a shady alley. They saw the majority of the mob rush past them. They were indeed carrying pitchforks, and, despite the fact it was far from evening, torches.

Unfortunately, the back of the mob was slower, and more attentive to detail. "Here, in the alley!" somepony yelled. Flitter and Morning Rain heard the noise behind them increase as the whole mob squeezed itself into the narrow street.

The alley gave way to a larger road, one side of which was already blocked by ponies who had been slightly smarter and had foreseen where they would come out. Morning Rain bit into Flitter's hoof and pulled him along to the other side.

"STOP!" Flitter yelled. He yanked his forehoof loose from Morning Rain's grip, and stopped in the middle of the road. He turned to Morning Rain. "This has gone on long enough."

The mob approached him carefully, suddenly looking quite confused. They had planned to just chase him out of the village, but with that plan suddenly failing, they really had no idea what to do next.

Flitter walked towards the nearest pony in the mob, an earth pony mare with a pitchfork in her mouth.

"What?" Flitter asked.

The mare blinked, tried to say something, and decided the best course of action was to spit out her pitchfork first. "Um," she said, "you're a changeling. Right?"

Flitter once again wished he had eyes that could roll. "How nice of you to notice. What do you want from me?"

The mare looked at the ponies around her. They gave her encouraging nods, but didn't say a word.

"To... chase you out of town?" the mare said with a very uncomfortable grin.

Flitter pointed at the road behind him. "That's the road to Saddlebright, isn't it?"

The mare blinked, and tilted her head to look past him to the rest of the road. "Uh, yeah. I guess."

"So, basically, you're not just chasing me out of town, you're chasing me into the next town. Now, do you think the people of Saddlebright will appreciate you chasing a changeling into their town?"

The mare's uncomfortable grin changed to an expression of overall discomfort. "No?"

"So, pray tell," Flitter said, "why are you chasing me?"

"Because... you're a changeling?"

Flitter gave the mare a contemptuous look. "Yes, I'm a changeling. Congratulations, you want a prize for being perceptive? Now stop this whole nonsense, and just escort me to the guardhouse already. That seems like a far better option than this sorry excuse for a mob."

"We don't have a guardhouse," one of the ponies in the crowd remarked.

"Yeah. Hardly any crime here. Everypony knows each other," another said.

"Guardhouses are for, like, cities," said yet another.

"Augh!" Flitter yelled in frustration. "What does a pony have to do around these parts to get himself arrested?"

"Um... you're not a pony," the mare at the front remarked.

"Thank you! I hadn't noticed!" Flitter said, glaring daggers at her. "Where did you get that pitchfork anyway?"

"What?" she said, taken off guard by the sudden change of subject. "I- I work at the transport company. We use it to unload bays of hail... uh, bales of hay, I mean."

Flitter looked back at Morning Rain. "Well, that's one mystery solved," he said to her.

"Beg yer pardon," the brown stallion that Morning Rain met at the market said, "but why'd ya want ta be arrested?"

Flitter gave him a dry look. "Beg your pardon, but what are you all chasing me for? Apparently, I've done something wrong, and thus I would prefer the Equestrian High Court to determine exactly what I'm guilty of, and what my sentence is."

"Right," the stallion said. "Um, apparently ya did impersonate 'er," he said, pointing at Morning Rain.

"That was her idea!" he said, exasperated. "And I told her it was a terrible one!"

The stallion looked at Morning Rain. "Really?"

"Oh yes. Really terrible," Flitter deadpanned.

Morning Rain sighed, and walked towards Flitter. "Well, I didn't want to cause an uproar. It seemed better than just walking in here."

"You attacked Canterlot, though," another voice piped up.

"No, I didn't," Flitter said with a bored expression.

"No, he didn't," Morning Rain confirmed. "He was with me all day. The only thing he attacked were some of those invading changelings."

"That was clearly self-defense, though," Flitter said.

"Oh yes. They attacked us first," Morning Rain said, nodding in agreement.

"I didn't look like this, of course," Flitter said to the crowd of ponies. "Some of you may know me as Swift Star." He looked at Morning Rain. "I'm getting really tired of explaining all this. This is, what, the fourth time?"

"Well, Morphosai didn't need much explaining," Morning Rain remarked.

"True, true," Flitter mused. "Third time, then. Still, I'm done explaining."

"So..." the mare at the front said. "Now what?"

"Now," Blueprint's voice came from the back of the crowd, "you stop pestering my dad, and they both stay with me for the night."

The crowd quickly parted to let the blue unicorn through.

"Sounds good to everypony?" Blueprint asked in a stern voice.

The crowd, which was somehow no longer a mob, seemed to have lost all its driving force, and some agreeing voices were heard. As the three went back to Blueprint's house, the townponies slowly dispersed.

"So," Blueprint asked, as they walked back to the house. "What are you going to do?"

"This circus has gone on long enough," Flitter said. "I was serious, you know. If I don't do anything, it'll be like this in every town. No, first thing in the morning, I'm finding myself a guardhouse, and turning myself over to the authorities. Let the Court deal with me. It's the only way to clear this up once and for all."

Blueprint shook his head. "There really aren't any towns with guardhouses around, you know. The only thing remotely close... well, no. Probably a bad idea."

"What?" Flitter asked. "Just tell me."

"Well... Ponyville. Everypony knows Twilight Sparkle's in close contact with the Princess. She should be back from the wedding by now."

Flitter stopped and blinked. That was a court a bit higher than he'd aimed for.

"Oh, what the hay, why not," he said, and walked on.
> Chapter 5 - The Scholar and the Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Chapter Five
The Scholar and the Beast


As Flitter and Morning Rain walked into Ponyville, it became increasingly obvious that simply walking into the town without any disguise was a far better choice than any hare-brained scheme they could've come up with. They got a lot of odd looks, but nopony seemed to go looking for torches and/or pitchforks.

Of course, they were well aware that Ponyville had been a bit of a weirdness magnet over the course of the last few years. Most likely, the inhabitants had simply seen stranger things.

Like the strange pink thing that was currently blocking their path, and was giving them a look of intense internal conflict.

The pair looked at Pinkie Pie and waited, wondering what on earth she wanted.

"Yes?" Flitter finally asked.

Pinkie rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Can I... give you a welcome party?" she said, an unsure look on her face. "I've never given a welcome party for a changeling before." She suddenly frowned. "But maybe changelings don't like welcome parties. Or, maybe you don't want everypony to know you're here. No wait, that's silly. You're a changeling. Then you'd be, uh, changed. Right?"

Morning Rain and Flitter both blinked.

"So... can I?" she said with a big pleading grin.

Morning Rain gave her a friendly smile. "Please don't. We're really just passing through."

Pinkie deflated a bit. "Oh. All right." She immediately perked up again, and suddenly her grin was right in Flitter's face. "Hey! Change into me!"

Flitter recoiled in a mix of surprise and dread. "No. Just... no."

"Aw," Pinkie said, a sad look on her face. Again, she perked up right away. "So, where are you going?"

Flitter looked at the pink party pony. "We're actually looking for Twilight Sparkle. We're hoping she can help us with something."

Pinkie stared at him intently, "Mmhmm," she said, nodding gravely. Somehow, she'd conjured up a monocle and a bubble-blowing pipe. "Let me guess. You can't transform. A grave affliction indeed, for a changeling! Yes, Doctor Sparkle will help you, she's the most powerful wizard in the village!"

Flitter rubbed his forehead with a hoof. "No, I can transform perfectly well."

"Then why didn't youuu?!" Pinkie moaned at him right away, giving him a really sad look.

Morning Rain decided this silliness had gone on for quite long enough. "Look, Pinkie, he has an issue with changing genders. That's all. Now, we really need to speak to Twilight."

"Oh," Pinkie said. "Right, that makes sense, I guess. Changing genders must be rather odd." She pointed at the tree-shaped house behind her. "Twilight lives right there!"

Morning Rain smiled at her, and nodded. "We know."

The pink obstruction finally let them pass, muttering something about wondering what it'd feel like to be a stallion, and throwing a curious glance between her own hind legs. Flitter shuddered as they walked on to the library tree.


* * *


Twilight Sparkle looked up from her book as she heard a knock on the door. "Spike, can you open that?" she asked her number one assistant.

The baby dragon gave her a mock salute. "I sure can!" he said.

A moment later, Twilight heard a terrified shriek, and saw a blur of purple and green dive past her and rush up the stairs. "They're back!" Spike yelled, before disappearing into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him, and locking it with an audible click.

"Hello, you must be Spike," Flitter said to the empty air. "What an honour to meet the number one assistant of Celestia's prized pupil." He looked at Twilight Sparkle, who was sitting a bit further in the library. "That's what I wanted to say to him, anyway." He looked up at the stairs where the young dragon disappeared. "Also, not very nice of him to lock the door behind him."

"You're a..." Twilight started. Flitter cut her off.

"Oh come on," he said. "Of all the ponies, I didn't expect you to do the whole 'stating the obvious' thing. It's getting old."

Twilight blinked. "Right. Sorry."

Morning Rain appeared in the doorway next to Flitter, and looked at him. "I told you I should've gone in first." She looked at Twilight. "Can we come in?"

"I... guess?" Twilight said. "Who are you people?"

"My name is Morning Rain," Morning Rain said, "and this is my husband, Flitter." They walked into the library, and closed the door behind them.

"Flitter?" Twilight repeated. "That's a mare's name."

"Agh!" Flitter yelled. He looked at her, exasperated. "Not for changelings!"

Twilight gave him an uncomfortable look. "Um, okay. I'll take your word for it."

"Anyway," Flitter continued. "I've recently been chased around with torches and pitchforks, and that was a rather unsettling experience. Since they never bothered actually arresting me for anything, I've decided to seek out legal channels myself, to sort this madness out once and for all."

Twilight frowned. "Go on."

"I want to turn myself in, and prove my innocence in court," Flitter continued. "The only problem is that not a single village around here actually has a guard house."

"Innocence?" Twilight said. "Um... what about the whole invasion?"

"Do you honestly think I'd come here for help if I was involved in that?" Flitter asked. "The only thing I might be guilty of is twenty years of impersonating a pony who got himself killed despite my best efforts. And I'm willing to take my chances on that charge."

Twilight shook her head, and frowned. "So why did you remove your disguise, anyway?"

"I didn't ask for any of this!" Flitter said. "One moment I was having a snack and a chat at Donut Joe's, the next I was blown out of Canterlot by your brother's shield, and was stripped of the form I'd held for the past twenty years." He frowned, and realized how that sounded. "Not that I, uh, blame him for saving everypony."

"And... you can't change back?" Twilight asked.

"Changeling disguises copy a pony's aura," Flitter said. "Rather hard to do with somepony who's been dead for twenty years."

Twilight nodded, as she finally got a clear look on the whole situation. "So, what do you need me for?" she asked. She walked around Flitter, throwing curious glances at the way the changeling was built. "Mind you, it's fascinating to see a changeling who isn't trying to buck my face in, and I'd love to take a closer look. Those wing structures look incredibly interes..." A glare from Morning Rain made her stop. "Right, never mind that! So anyway, why me?"

"Well," Flitter said, "I hoped you could report local changeling activity to the Princess."

"To... get you arrested," Twilight said, clearly not convinced that was in any way a good idea.

"I just want my life back. And I can't do that unless everypony knows I'm not the enemy."

Twilight shook her head. "I really don't think that's the way to handle this." She looked at her guests. "But it's probably better if you two tell me the full story first. Acting on incomplete information tends to cause embarrassing misunderstandings and ridiculous situations."

Morning Rain raised an eyebrow. "That sounded like it came from experience."

Twilight smiled softly. "You have no idea."

"Actually," Flitter remarked, "we met Pinkie Pie on the way. I got a fairly good idea."

Twilight laughed. "I can imagine." She floated up a notebook and a pen. "Anyway, your story."


* * *


Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow. "So wait. Does that mean there's a changeling hive in the Everfree Forest?"

Flitter and Morning Rain shared an uncomfortable look. They'd tried to keep all mentions of Flitter's hive out of the story, but the clever unicorn needed surprisingly little information to figure it out.

"Um, yeah," Flitter said, sheepishly. "We just visited the place, actually."

Twilight nodded, and scribbled some more in her notebook. "And they follow these... Old Ways?" she asked, without looking up.

"I learned them there," Flitter said. "You don't seem too concerned about having a changeling hive right next to the village."

Twilight shrugged, and looked up from her notes. "It's not like we don't know the Everfree is full of dangerous beasts anyway. I actually expected the invading changelings to come from there, but some more thorough research showed that they most likely came from the Badlands."

"Oh?" Morning Rain asked. "How do you figure?"

"Cadance and Shining's eviction spell was made up in the spur of the moment, and I kinda feared it just threw them out of Canterlot, spreading them all over Equestria. So I asked them about it. It turned out the spell's purpose was to 'throw all changelings back where they came from'. That just made it a matter of gathering some eye witness reports and doing some simple ballistics."

Flitter blinked. "So that's why I was blown back to that accursed ravine."

Twilight nodded. "That seems likely, yes. It was the point where you decided to join pony society, after all."

"So..." Morning Rain asked. "Now what?"

"That hive," Twilight said. "I'm curious. What did you do there?"

"Um... changeling stuff," Flitter said. "Well, family stuff. Somewhat. Not really important right now."

He exchanged a quick look with Morning Rain. "The Hive Queen is afraid her changelings will be hunted, though. There must be a lot like me, leading pony lives without causing any harm."

"Wait..." Morning Rain said. She turned to Flitter. "If ponies know about Twilight's findings, that'll never happen. If everypony knows they're all thrown back to the Badlands, they won't go looking for them." She turned to Twilight. "Please tell me you told somepony about that."

Twilight gave them an unsure look. "Uhh... I only finished the calculations this morning. I spent most of yesterday helping to clean up after my brother's wedding party."

Flitter looked rather glum at the mention of the wedding party. He still hadn't quite gotten over the fact he missed what would surely be the event of the year.

Realizing what he was thinking, Morning Rain gave him a dry look. "Focus, Flitter," she said. "There'll be more weddings."

"But—" Flitter started.

"Impending doom for your entire hive?" she cut him off. "I'd think that's slightly more important than petty jealousy over a missed wedding party."

"Bah," the changeling grumbled. "I should've let Pinkie throw me that welcome party after all."

"You know," Twilight said, "that might not even be such a bad idea. I mean, to introduce you to everypony, and get all misunderstandings out of the way."

"Yeah, but we kind of live, uh, lived, in Canterlot," Flitter said.

"Don't tell Pinkie that!" Twilight said, looking somewhat worried. "She'd take it as a challenge! And she just got a taste of a city-wide party, too."

Flitter nodded. "Yeah, okay. Give the poor city a chance to recover."

Twilight shook her head. "I'm more worried she'd invite the whole city over."

Morning Rain gave them both an annoyed look. "Can we go back to the whole impending doom topic now?" she asked.

"Yes, yes," Twilight said. "I'll, uh, contact the newspapers, make sure the facts get published." She frowned. "Hmm... how about you let them interview you? That might—"

Twilight never managed to finish her sentence. The next moment, the door of the library was blown inwards by a pair of powerful hooves. Five royal unicorn guards swarmed into the room.

"There's one! Contain it!" their captain yelled, nodding at Flitter. "And check the others!" The three were quickly subdued, and the unicorn guards performed a spell on the two ponies.

"Clear," the guard holding down Twilight Sparkle said.

"This one too," said the one that had subdued Morning Rain.

The captain stepped forward, and nodded to the two guards, who let go of the ponies. "My apologies, miss Sparkle," he said to Twilight. "We had to be sure. Your assistant sent an emergency message to Princess Celestia about a new changeling threat."

Flitter, still held down by two guards, once again sorely missed the ability to roll his eyes. "Yes, because I'm oh so dangerous," he grumbled.

"Silence!" the captain yelled at him. He looked back at Twilight, but noticed her glaring angrily up the stairs.

"SPIKE!" she yelled. "Get your scaly tail down here this instant!"

"A-are they gone?" the baby dragon's voice came weakly from the bedroom.

Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "If you mean the royal guards, then no, but I was just about to send them away."

"Excuse me?" the captain said, looking somewhat confused. "The Princess is waiting outside!"

Twilight Sparkle gave him a baffled look, which was quickly mimicked by her two guests. "She's here?"

As if on cue, the majestic winged unicorn walked into the library. "Yes I am," she said, smiling. She looked at Flitter, who was still being held against the ground by the two guards. "Ah, there we have Spike's changeling threat."

"Ah, my nefarious plan to impersonate myself has been thwarted," Flitter said sarcastically. "Whatever shall I do?"

"Flitter!" Morning Rain yelled, horrified. "Don't make light of the situation!"

To their surprise, the Princess laughed softly. "There don't seem to be any changelings out in the village, so I suspected Spike might have been overreacting." She looked at the guards holding Flitter down. "Well, he may not have been the only one that overreacted. Let go of him, please."

The guards nodded, and stepped aside, leaving Flitter sprawled onto the floor.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Could you... help him up?"

The guards gave her an embarrassed grin, and helped the changeling onto his hooves.

"So," she said, giving the changeling a curious look. "Your name is Flitter?"

Flitter nodded nervously. "Yes, your highness."

Her voice took a more serious tone. "I take it you're not affiliated with the changelings that invaded my capital city?"

"Oh, no, your highness," Flitter said. "I was just having a snack and a drink with my wife when they attacked."

Morning Rain walked to Flitter's side, and smiled meekly. "That'd be me. Morning Rain. Uh, nice to meet you, your Highness."

Flitter gave Morning Rain a sad smile. "I'm really going to have to explain all this yet again, aren't I?"

"Well, Twilight took notes, but... yeah. I'm afraid so," Morning Rain said.

"Fifth time in four days... sheesh."

Before Flitter could start his fifth repeat of the story, though, they were interrupted by a creaking door. Spike had finally come out of the bedroom, and started making his way down the stairs.

"Um, hi, Princess," he said. Twilight shot him an angry look.

"Spike," Celestia said. "I believe you owe someone an apology. It's not nice to send the Royal Guard after Twilight's guests."

"Oh," Spike said, dejected. He looked at Twilight. "Um... sorry."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Not me," she said, and waved a hoof towards Flitter and Morning Rain. "Them!"

"But he's a changeling!" Spike yelled back, dramatically sticking out both his arms towards Flitter.

"So I've heard, yes," Flitter said dryly. "Several times in the past few days, in fact."

"Well, you're a dragon," Morning Rain retorted.

"Ahem," Celestia said softly, looking at Spike. Despite the fact her interruption had been barely audible, the room immediately fell into complete silence.

The baby dragon suddenly realized he'd been arguing over something Celestia had asked him, and blushed in embarrassment. "Oh," he said, and he looked at Flitter. "I'm sorry?"

"That's okay," Flitter said. "This was kind of my Plan A anyway. We just hoped to find a Plan B to switch to."

"You wanted to be caught by the Royal Guard?" Spike asked, a look of incredulity on his face.

"Yeah. Well, or maybe throw a party," Flitter said. "Or do interviews with some newspapers. We hadn't quite figured it out yet."

A royal guard suddenly stormed into the library. "Your majesty!" he yelled, visibly distressed. "An army of changelings has come out of the forest right next to our encampment!"

"Oh, by all the demons in Tartarus," Flitter groaned.

Princess Celestia's face hardened, and she gave Flitter a glare. "What do you know of this?"

Flitter glanced at his purple host. "Twilight?" he said, looking rather intimidated by the angry Princess. "This would be a wonderful time for you to share that little tidbit of information you discovered this morning!"

Twilight's head shot up. "Oh! Right! Um, his hive is kinda in there. And they're not the ones that attacked Canterlot."

Celestia gave her a pensive look. "I see." She gave a short nod towards the guard. "Lead the way." She turned her head to the assembled ponies, the changeling and the baby dragon. "All of you, follow us. Twilight, please tell me everything."

Twilight nodded. "Just a moment. I made notes." She grabbed the notebook with Flitter's story in her telekinetic glow.

"That will suffice," Celestia said, taking the notes in her own magical glow and walking out of the library.

Flitter gasped as he took in the sight outside of the Ponyville Library. Royal guards were patrolling everywhere, and suddenly he realized Celestia's remark about overreacting hadn't been about the rough guards, but about herself. She had brought an entire army into the village.

One of the guards approached the Princess. "Your majesty. We gathered the rest of the Element Bearers. I thought it prudent to send them straight to the camp."

Celestia glanced away from Twilight's notes to give the guard an approving nod. "Good thinking," she said. "Let's go."

As they walked out of the village, Flitter saw the tents set up by the Royal Guard on the plains between the village and the Everfree Forest. Coming even closer, he noticed the black shapes fluttering around the forest itself. He frowned. Clearly, they weren't concealing themselves.

His eyes widened as the full scope of the situation hit him.

"Oh no," he said, looking at Morning Rain. "This is all about me."
> Chapter 6 - The Princess and the Queen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Chapter Six
The Princess and the Queen


Princess Celestia immediately stopped and turned. "About you?" she asked, sharply. "How so?"

Flitter froze. The Princess had been pleasant and understanding in the Library, but the news about the changeling army had changed her demeanor completely. She was quite scary when she was serious.

"Um, you see..." he said, hesitantly. "We visited the Hive, and told the Queen about the events in Canterlot. She was rather upset about it."

"She didn't want him to leave," Morning Rain explained. "She said it was too dangerous out here, if changelings are seen as enemies."

The Princess frowned. "And now there's an army at her doorstep. She must think you betrayed her."

Flitter nodded. "Or at least, got the information tortured out of us."

Celestia looked baffled. "Tortured? I would never..."

"Oh, I know!" Flitter said hastily. "But she doesn't, you see."

Twilight Sparkle looked at Celestia. "Surely this can all be solved by making the Guards leave?"

Celestia shook her head. "It's not that simple, Twilight. The presence of the Hive there is an issue, no matter how we look at it. I won't lie to my ponies to protect these creatures, nor do I have any reason to."

She glanced at Twilight's notes, which still floated beside her. "Well, they might not mean us harm... but even so, they're scared, and might lash out. Simply breaking up the encampment won't solve that... not now we know they're here. It'll probably just serve to make them suspicious about why they'd leave. For all they know, the Royal Guard might just be regrouping with a larger force to do something else, like surrounding the whole forest. Making them paranoid won't do us much good right now."

"The forest is far too large for that," Twilight said. She looked at the Princess, whose face didn't reveal any emotion. "Right?" she added, hesitantly.

"This is just the Royal Guard," Celestia said. "It's not even a tenth of the full Equestrian Guard. Luna is waiting in Canterlot, ready to move in the full force if necessary. If the situation called for it, we could destroy them all within a day."

Twilight, Morning Rain and Flitter all gave her a horrified look. "You... wouldn't, would you?" Morning Rain asked.

The Princess gave them a sad smile. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Without saying another word, she turned back to the road and walked on, reading on in Twilight's notes.

The others quickly followed behind her, realizing fully well that yes, she would. She wouldn't allow any outside force to hurt her little ponies.


* * *


A short walk later, the group reached the camp. The rest of Twilight's friends had already gathered there.

"Oh, Twilight!" Fluttershy said, running towards them. She skidded to a halt when she noticed the changeling. "Oh," she said, simply, apparently completely unsure what to make of to Flitter's presence.

Rainbow Dash had no such problem. "Haha! You captured one! Go Princess!"

The Princess gave a nearby guard captain a stern look. "Captain Steel Sword. I hope you followed my instructions strictly?"

The unicorn stood to attention. "Yes, Princess! We managed to do the identity check without upsetting Fluttershy."

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. "And the rabbit?"

"Unharmed, Princess." Steel Sword slumped down a bit. "I wish I could say the same about the poor fellow who ran into him."

Celestia smirked. "I did warn you to let Fluttershy handle him."

"But... Princess, she really didn't look the type to—"

Celestia raised a hoof to cut him off. "No permanent damage, I hope?"

"The doctor said he'll need a few days to recover. I've never seen anything like—"

Celestia shook her head. "He brought it upon himself." She looked at the forest. "So what's happening, Captain?"

Steel Sword looked at the edge of the forest. "More changelings seem to be appearing all the time. At first, it was one large group, but now, more and more seem to trickle in."

"She's called everyone back," Flitter said.

Steel Sword frowned when the one Rainbow Dash so brashly identified as a prisoner cut into the conversation. He glanced at the Princess, who just seemed to take the changeling's statement with a pensive look. He wisely decided to follow her example.

"The Queen?" Celestia asked.

Flitter nodded. "I gave her twenty years of love, you see," he continued. "Everything I'd gathered during my marriage. She said she'd use it to call her people back, and wait it all out. You forced her hoof."

"What?" Twilight Sparkle said, looking slightly pale. "That must be hundreds of times stronger than what the one in Canterlot had!"

The Princess gave the two a concerned look. "That's... distressing news. I had no idea the situation was that delicate. She could take on the entire Royal Guard with that amount of power."

Flitter blinked. He had never even considered the possibility that Morphosai would use that power for attacking ponies. It would go against everything the Old Way stood for. Then again, so did the Hive's current show of force.

Celestia looked at the forest in the distance. "We need to send a diplomat to meet her."

"Can't say I didn't see that coming," Flitter said. "Right. I'll go calm her down."

"No, not you," Celestia said. She looked at Morning Rain, and smiled. "You."

Flitter and Morning Rain briefly looked each other in the eyes, before giving Celestia a baffled look.

"Her?" Flitter blurted out.

"Me?" Morning Rain asked, at exactly the same time.

"You have met this Queen, haven't you?" Celestia asked Morning Rain.

"W-well, yes," Morning Rain stammered, "b-but she just seemed to see me as, well, Flitter's convenient permanent food source, or something."

"Why not me?" Flitter insisted.

"I don't want to risk separating you two. That's why she's going alone, while you stay here."

The whole group, including the Captain, gave her a confused frown.

"I'm not sure the Queen would let you go a second time, Flitter," Celestia explained. "Especially after you managed to get the whole Royal Guard after you. But she has no attachment to Morning Rain, nor any reason to keep her from you."

"Except for the whole potential betrayal thing," Flitter muttered.

"I'm sure she can clear that up," Celestia said. "Besides, I can hardly send the Queen one of her own subjects as ambassador for ponykind."

Morning Rain nervously looked at Celestia. "But what should I say? She's quite intimidating!"

Princess Celestia smiled at her. "Just tell her this is all a misunderstanding, and that I want to talk to her personally. Explain the whole situation if you need to; I'm not planning on keeping any secrets."

"Uh, excuse me, Princess," Steel Sword asked, "but what exactly is the situation?"

"They're not enemies, Captain," Celestia said. "They're just defending their territory."

"With all due respect, your majesty, this is Equestrian territory, and they're changelings!" Steel Sword said, straightening his chest.

Flitter groaned. "Is everypony going to keep saying that as if it's a real argument?"

"I'm a dragon!" Spike piped up, trying to be helpful.

Celestia didn't say anything. She tilted her head slightly, and looked at Steel Sword expectingly.

The captain slumped down. "Oh. Sorry."

"As I was saying," Celestia said, "they're not the enemy, and if what Flitter has told Twilight is true, they probably bear us no ill will." She looked at the forest. "Besides, I haven't laid any particular claim on this place for about a thousand years. I should hardly be surprised someone else did."

"So, wait," Steel Sword asked, glancing at Flitter. "Is the changeling male or female?"


* * *


After successfully performing her first act as diplomat, which was apparently preventing Flitter from starting the whole war right away by throttling Captain Steel Sword, Morning Rain nervously walked out into the No Pony's Land that had spontaneously been formed between the Everfree Forest and the Royal Guard.

"Don't worry," Flitter called after her. "They'll remember you."

Hundreds of blue eyes watched her every move as she walked closer to the forest. More and more of the changelings started hissing as she came too close to their territory.

She briefly considered glancing back, but decided against it. She was on their territory now, and any inattentiveness could be seen as weakness.

Be strong, she thought as she walked on. Finally, she reached the path leading into the Everfree Forest. She didn't have Flitter to guide her this time, though, and had no way to know where Queen Morphosai was. She had hoped the changelings would bring her there, but all they seemed to do was hiss.

As Morning Rain walked deeper into the forest, she noticed a change in the atmosphere around her. A few chittering voices seemed to break through the suffocating blanket of angry hissing. More and more seemed to join the excited babble, leaving the few hissing ones to fade out in confusion.

Suddenly, about half a dozen copies of herself popped out of the bushes, and greeted her with her own best smile.

Morning Rain let out a relieved sigh as the copies started excitedly pushing and pulling her in one direction. Flitter had been right; they remembered her. They'd seen her in their hive, they had read her aura and mimicked her form, and had even tasted her emotions. They hadn't forgotten about her.

"Come!" one of them said in her voice, apparently having picked up the basics of pony speech from her mind. "Come to Mother!"

Morning Rain nodded, and followed them. 'Mother' seemed like an odd word for the Queen, but she remembered Morphosai referring to herself as "Queen and Mother" of the Hive. Flitter never used the word to refer to her, though. Morning Rain could see why, especially after that... intimate affair. The very thought of mating with one you call a Mother felt pretty wrong to ponies.

They found the changeling Queen sitting in a tree, peering through the canopy at the army of pony guards. She gracefully flew down, her insect wings buzzing loudly as she descended. She looked at the copies around Morning Rain.

"My changelings seem to like you," she said, without looking at her guest. The Queen's voice sounded oddly distant, and Morning Rain could see that below her usual smooth demeanor, she was nervous. Morning Rain looked at the majestic figure, unsure what to say.

Morphosai let out a tired sigh, and turned towards her. "So. One little pony, coming here all alone. They took him, did they not? They took him, and now they are coming for the rest of us. But why are you here?"

"Your Highness," Morning Rain said. "It's not like that. It's all one big misunderstan—"

"Why is he not here, then?" Morphosai cut her off. The Queen's voice sounded stressed.

Morning Rain was starting to lose what little courage she had. "The Princess thought it would be better if I went," she said, fully realizing that that would do nothing to alleviate Morphosai's fears.

"Did he tell them about us? Did you tell them about us?"

"No!" Morning Rain cried out. "We didn't tell them anything about the Hive! Well, Twilight figured it out on her own, but—"

"But what?" Morphosai asked immediately, her face moving right in front of Morning's in a fluid, almost snakelike movement. "There is an army right outside the forest! What 'but' could change that fact?"

"She wasn't even surprised about it," Morning Rain said, trying her best to keep her voice steady. "To us ponies, the Everfree stands for everything wild, untamed, and dangerous."

"That still changes nothing," Morphosai said, bitterness in her voice.

"Your Highness, if you would let me finish, it changes everything!" Morning Rain yelled in desperation. Morphosai blinked, clearly not used to being called out on her way to keep control of a conversation. She sighed, and gave Morning Rain a short nod.

"Twilight Sparkle is the Princess' personal protégée," Morning Rain said, finally regaining some of her courage. "And she didn't just figure out where you are, she also found out where the invading hive came from. They know it wasn't you, and Flitter told her about your Old Ways. Nopony still sees you as an enemy. The Princess even wants to talk with you."

"Explain the army, then," Morphosai said, coldly.

"The Princess didn't know what Twilight Sparkle found out," Morning Rain said. "Somepony overreacted and alerted the Princess when Flitter showed up, she overreacted and sent her guards, and then you overreacted and sent out your hive."

A look of doubt broke through Morphosai's facade of control. "But... why are they still there, then?"

"Well... one of the reasons is Flitter's gift," Morning Rain said. "You may not be an enemy, but you're definitely dangerous. You have far more power than that invading Queen had. They're afraid that you could do the same as her, and actually succeed. That's what the Princess wants to talk about."

Morphosai's eyes widened. Like Flitter, she hadn't even considered that particular application of her power. She looked at Morning Rain, and this time it wasn't the look of a majestic Queen, or even the kind grandmotherly look she had in the Hive. She just looked old, and tired. "That power was his gift to the Hive. Power he got from you... from being with you. I would not use it to hurt ponies." She slowly shook her head. "It goes against everything the Old Ways stand for."

Morning Rain gave her a nervous smile. "That may be part of the problem, actually. The way I see it, your Old Ways are mostly meant to prevent ponies from realizing there are changelings. But everypony knows about them now."

Morphosai nodded. "You are right. This changes a lot. I will go with you, to meet your Princess."

Morning Rain frowned. "You'd just... come out there? To her army?"

The changeling Queen smirked, suddenly looking completely like her old smooth regal self again. "The gift Flitter brought me apparently puts me at a huge advantage. It would be unfair to ask her to come meet me here."


* * *


"She's coming out!" Steel Sword shouted. Flitter immediately flew a bit higher to look over the guards, and saw Morning Rain emerge from the forest, followed by...

Another Morning Rain. And another, and another. The guard captain blinked. "Um. Never mind. I think."

Flitter landed next to him and smiled. "She's in there all right. Can't miss her. She's the only one not grinning like she just opened her Hearth's Warming Eve presents."

The real Morning Rain waved a hoof. She looked tired, but relieved. Behind her, the majestic figure of Queen Morphosai walked out of the woods. She gave a short buzzing command to the Morning Rain copies, which made them all promptly move back into the woods.

Princess Celestia gave the captain a short nod. Steel Sword nodded back, and stepped forward to perform the identity spell on Morning Rain. Flitter considered telling him not to bother, but he knew they'd ignore him and do it anyway.

Steel Sword performed the spell, and gave a short nod at the Princess to confirm the result. Morning Rain ran towards Flitter, and hugged him.

"Everything all right?" Flitter asked.

"That depends on them, I guess," Morning Rain said, looking at the two royals, now looking eye to eye.

"We have much to discuss," Morphosai said to Celestia. She looked around to the army of Royal Guards. "But I would prefer somewhere more... private."

Celestia nodded. "Very well," she said. She pointed a wing at a nearby tent set up by the Royal Guard. "Will that do?"

Morphosai nodded. "Yes, it will."

Flitter and Morning Rain looked at the two rulers as they walked into the tent.

"Do you think they'll work it out?" Flitter asked.

"How would I know?" Morning Rain said. "Morphosai is one of the most unfathomable persons I've ever met."

"She looked like she had some ideas to get out of this mess, though," Flitter said.

"Well, she didn't share them, if that's what you're asking."

Twilight joined the conversation. "It's diamond cut diamond with these two, it seems," she said. "Celestia can be quite cunning underneath her friendly appearance."

"Yeah. That makes two of them," Flitter said. He glanced at Twilight's friends, who were standing a bit further, looking quite unsure whether to join the conversation or not. "I suppose you told them the short version?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah." She glanced back at them. "It feels kinda wrong, though, knowing we're kept ready here as, well, a weapon."

"Well, at least they're talking," Morning Rain said. "I doubt we'll need the Elements for anything at this point."

"Yo," Rainbow Dash said, hovering above them. She looked at Flitter. "So, you're not a prisoner, then?"

"At this point, I honestly have no idea," Flitter said with a smirk.

"Oh my gosh!" Morning Rain said. "You did that sonic rainboom at the wedding, didn't you?"

Flitter rubbed his forehead with a hoof. "Seriously? Royals off to discuss the future of both our races, and then you notice Rainbow Dash is here?"

Morning Rain smiled. "Shush you," she said. "I went along to your Queen. Now it's my turn."

"That doesn't even..." Flitter started, before shaking his head. "Ah, forget it."

"Are you really a weather pony?" Morning Rain asked.

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash replied. "Head weather manager of Ponyville!"

"Wow... a whole village! I just oversee the waterfalls in Canterlot."

Having found common ground, Morning Rain and Rainbow Dash started excitingly comparing notes on air humidity, cloud management, air speed velocity of local and foreign birds, and the specifics of sonic rainbooms, leaving Flitter bored out of his mind, and Twilight in an uncomfortable silence.

"Ugh. Weather pony talk," Flitter said to Twilight. "She can go on about that for hours." He looked at the tent. "I wonder what they're talking about."

Suddenly, Celestia's voice rang over the encampment, immediately stopping any and all conversations.

"You want what?!" she yelled.

Flitter winced. "Well, that doesn't sound good."

Morning Rain looked back to Flitter. "What do you suppose she wants?" she asked.

"Clearly something Celestia never expected."

Twilight looked at the tent, a pensive look on her face. "Still... it must be reasonable enough that her asking upsets the Princess."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Flitter said, pointing a hoof at the tent. The tent flaps were pulled aside with a glow of golden magic, and the Princess walked out, a tired look on her face.

"Go tell your people about this, Morphosai," she said to the changeling Queen following behind her. "We will continue this tomorrow."

Morphosai smiled somewhat smugly as she walked out of the tent. "I shall," she said. "Take good care of them." She gave a friendly nod to Flitter and Morning Rain, and flew into the forest.

Whatever the two royals had discussed in the tent, Celestia was clearly annoyed at the outcome.

"Captain Steel Sword!" she called out. The unicorn immediately galloped towards her.

"Your majesty?"

"Break up the camp. Send them all back, and tell my sister the situation is... handled." She clenched her teeth as she said the last word. "Keep a guard of four here, and leave the tent we used for the negotiations. I'll stay in the village for the night." The captain gave a short nod, and started barking orders to the guards.

Celestia walked towards Twilight and her friends. "Let's go to Sugarcube Corner," she said, with a tired look on her face. "I could really use some cake."


* * *


A while later, all of them were comfortably seated around a big table in the back room of Sugarcube Corner, each with some sort of pastry treat in front of them. Twilight had managed to talk Pinkie out of a "successful negotiations party". Judging from Celestia's mood, nopony was even sure how successful it had really been.

"So, what happened?" Twilight finally asked Celestia.

The Princess slumped down in a most un-princess-like fashion, and let her head rest on the table next to her plate of cake. "She gave me her hive," she said, nearly grumbling.

Flitter did a double take. "She what?" he yelled.

Celestia took a bite from her cake, chewed it thoroughly, and swallowed. "She gave me her hive," she repeated, this time sounding more mellow. "Her only condition was that she could stay as local regent."

Understanding dawned on Flitter's face. "Oooh!" To the others' surprise, he burst out laughing. "Haha! She gave you the hive! Of course!"

Morning Rain gave the Princess a baffled look. "So wait... you just annexed it? I don't think that's how negotiations like these should go!"

Twilight groaned as she realized what Flitter already had. "Oh. Of course. «Take good care of them» indeed. She wasn't just talking about Flitter and Morning Rain."

Celestia nodded, and regained some of her regal composure. "Congratulations, Flitter. You, and all your kin in the forest, are now officially Equestrian citizens."

Flitter grinned, and looked at Morning Rain. "Since the Old Ways were made obsolete, Queen Morphosai just found another way to keep her people alive." He looked at Celestia. "After all, it's the Princess' job to take care of her citizens. The hive's food supply and happiness are her problem now."

Celestia gave him a sad smile, and nodded. "She claimed that the Hive being in Equestrian territory would make them either illegal settlers, or Equestrian citizens."

"Ouch," Twilight said. "The 'illegal settlers' option would pretty much be a declaration of war."

"Indeed," Celestia said. "So it was either that, or bluntly telling a fellow sapient being, with good intentions and of equal intelligence, that she and all of her race were 'monsters'."

Twilight nodded, a pensive look on her face. "Check and mate," she said. The cupcake in front of her on the table was still untouched.

"That's going to be quite a change, for both the Hive and the ponies," Morning Rain said.

Flitter smiled to his wife. "Change is what we do best, you know."

Pinkie stuck out her tongue at him. "No it's not! You wouldn't even change into me!"

"I'm... not a particularly good example," Flitter admitted. "All things considered, I don't think too much will change for me, though."

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, don't be too sure about that," she said. "Your hive is a mountain of problems for me, and I need someone who can easily see both sides of these problems."

As Flitter's face fell, she calmly levitated up another piece of her cake, and ate it.

A smile crept around her mouth. "After all, as you said... this is all about you."
> Epilogue 1 - Helping Hooves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Epilogue 1
Helping Hooves


The earth pony mare nervously stared at her hooves as she stood in front of the big door. She glanced up at the name plate. The name on it was known throughout Equestria. It was the name of the one that had started it all; the one that was coordinating all of it now. She smiled nervously at the prospect of actually meeting the person behind the famous name.

Finally, she mustered the courage to knock on the door.

"Yes, come in," a voice said. It was hard to hear whether it was male or female, but she knew that wasn't unusual. Everyone knew he was male, anyway.

She opened the door, and walked in. "Uh... hello. My name is—"

"Fog Lantern," Flitter said. The changeling was sitting behind a big wooden desk filled with papers and folders. "I've been waiting for you."

"...y-you have?" the yellow mare said, an uncomfortable look on her face. "I-I'm not late, am I?"

Flitter gave her a gentle smile. "I mean, I've been waiting for you to finally knock on the door. You were out there for, what, five minutes?"

Fog Lantern blinked. "Oh. You can... sense that. Right."

"There's no need to be nervous," Flitter said, "I heard you've done great work with the Health Care Volunteering Project. You're even a Form Sharing volunteer, right?"

Fog Lantern nodded. "Yes, Mr. Flitter."

"Just Flitter will do," Flitter replied. "How many?"

"Fourteen," she said.

"Well, thank you for that. There aren't many ponies who are comfortable sharing their form with changelings, and it's not like our employees are in any way expected to volunteer. So, how is the Health Care Project working out? I've heard some really positive things."

Fog Lantern pulled a folder out of her saddlebags with her mouth, put it on his desk and opened it. "It's an amazing success!" she said, forgetting her initial shyness. "There are over four hundred changelings working as volunteers in hospitals and homes for the elderly. Most in pony forms, though all of them wear name tags with their own names, just like the medical staff. Most ponies quickly get over the fact they're changelings."

"How's their training going?" Flitter asked.

Fog Lantern sifted through the pages and picked out one at the back. "The emotional development sessions aren't quite enough to prepare them, but a few weeks in the field seems to do the job. They still get taught the Old Ways, mostly as historical perspective, though I heard it contains quite some useful information."

"You don't know the Old Ways?"

Fog Lantern gave him an unsure look. "Ah, well, just the basics, really. They mostly get taught in chittertalk, for the young ones. I picked up some of the language over the last weeks, but hardly enough to follow the lessons."

Flitter nodded. "I should really get those translated and written down. They would make it a load easier for our ponies to get into their mindset." He sighed, and looked at the papers the mare had put in front of him. "So much work, so little time."

He looked up at her. "Still, I'm glad it's working out. Rainy will be thrilled; it was her idea, after all."

"Rainy? Oh. Morning Rain. Your wife."

"Heh. Everypony really knows all about us, don't they..." Flitter muttered, still smiling.

"Is she really... pregnant?" Fog Lantern asked. She wasn't usually into this kind of gossip, but this rumour was a really tenacious one, both amongst ponies and changelings.

Flitter raised an eyebrow. "Ahh, that would be telling," he said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but that's private."

"There are a few more out there in your situation, you know," Fog Lantern remarked.

"Yeah, I know," Flitter said, smirking.

"If it really is possible, as Counsellor Morphosai says, it would really help them out to know."

"As I said, I know," Flitter said. "As in, I know them, I've met them, and they will be, or were, the first to know. And just like me, they won't say a thing. Mind you, some of those are still holding on to their pony forms, which, as Counsellor Morphosai also said, prevents conception."

Fog Lantern blinked. "Oh. Right. Well, uh, good luck with that, then, however it goes."

Flitter gave her a curt smile. "Thank you. Did you have anything more in that report?"

"Oh!" Fog Lantern said, nodding. "Yes, we have documented the overall interaction between the cared people and their changeling caretakers. There were a few incidents of old ponies screaming and yelling at the few brave ones that didn't go in pony form, but most of the meetings were quite peaceful. The changelings said they usually got enough positive emotions to feed themselves and their near relatives."

Flitter nodded. "They make themselves useful, and can feed their families with it. That's what it's all about, after all; working better than the Teamwork Project."

"Oh, Teamwork wasn't that bad," Fog Lantern said. "It got changelings a reputation of being hard-working people. It did wonders for the public view!"

"Yeah well... colleagues aren't appreciated on a personal enough level, it seems," Flitter said, remembering the failed project. "The involved changelings still rely heavily on the Counsellor's reserves, and we all know those won't last much longer."

"Still," Fog Lantern said, "I doubt we'd have been able to pull off Health Care Volunteering without it. Oh, and Teamwork may not have to rely on the reserves for too long. We've noticed some kind of, well, economy springing up between the two groups."

"Wait, you mean a trade in emotion energy?"

Fog Lantern nodded. "Health Care Volunteering is, after all, volunteering. Project Teamwork gave some changelings a taste of Equestrian lifestyle, and they're quite liking it, but the volunteers aren't earning any bits. A few of them seem to have figured out they can sell their surplus to Project Teamwork changelings that want some extra, usually so they don't have to wait for the reserve requests in order to start a family."

"That's good news," Flitter said. "It could make my job a load easier in the long run." He briefly looked over the other pages detailing the overall progress of the project, and spotted a peculiar detail on one of them.

"Unconfirmed identities?" He looked up at Fog Lantern. "What's that all about?"

Fog Lantern gave him an uncomfortable look. "Well, I'm still looking into that, actually... but apparently, there were more changelings in the Program than we could identify."

"How so?"

"We honestly don't know," Fog Lantern said. "It just seemed like a clerical error at first, but when we investigated the hospital, the changeling caretakers from the program described a pony-form changeling we couldn't match to the Form Sharing data."

Flitter frowned. "Where was this? Close to the Badlands?"

"Yes. Dodge City Hospital. You don't think it could be the attackers?"

Flitter shook his head. "I don't know. But I had expected to hear more of them after the invasion. For all we know, they've fallen apart after that, and they're all starving. It's my job to see things from both sides, you know."

Fog Lantern rolled her eyes. "There's just as much chance they're perfectly all right, and are simply abusing our own system."

"I know," Flitter said. "Still, as long as they're blending in, they should be relatively harmless. They'll have to be, if they want to keep using our system." He smiled. "Either way, it should be interesting to meet some of them. If you manage to make contact, please let me know right away." His head suddenly shot up. "Oh! And if you do, ask them if they know the Ways of the Royals."

Fog Lantern raised an eyebrow. "Of the Royals?" she asked.

Flitter nodded. "I've been talking about our history with Counsellor Morphosai. We call them the Old Ways, but traditionally, they were apparently meant as guidelines for new queens to survive outside a colony. Other hives might not recognize our term for it."

He looked at some of his own notes lying on the desk. "I'm just wondering if we'll have any common ground, really. The subject of contact with other hives has been keeping me busy for a while now. The Princesses are somewhat worried about the fact they found no traces of the invaders' hive in the Badlands."

"I see," Fog Lantern said. "Well, at this point, we're not sure if they'll even return. But if they do, I'll alert you right away."

"Thanks." Flitter floated up the papers with his magic, and put them all back into the folder. "Well, that'll be all for now. I'm glad I got to meet you, Fog Lantern; this has been incredibly useful. I'll go over the finer details later, and I'll take care of bringing it to the Board and the Princesses."

"The Princesses will be reading my report? Oh my gosh!" She suddenly looked back to Flitter, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "Oh. Uh. Pardon my enthusiasm."

Flitter smiled. "I like your enthusiasm. We can definitely use more enthusiastic people here. Not that I personally need it; I'm quite well-fed."

Fog Lantern snickered; she was well accustomed with changeling humour by now. "Well," she said, walking towards the door, "consider it a gift for the baby, then." She gave him a friendly nod, walked out of the office, and closed the door behind her.
> Epilogue 2 - Junebug
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Epilogue 2
Junebug


"Hello! We're back, missus Rain!" a chorus of three identical voices yelled. One of the three had actually said "mom", rather than "missus Rain", but it was impossible to see which of the three identical-looking fillies had done that. All three were pink-haired unicorns with a white coat, and no cutie mark.

Morning Rain sighed and shook her head, but couldn't help smiling at the trio standing in front of the door. "Glad you had fun. I hope you didn't mess with too many ponies' heads this time."

The three immediately gave her the awkward grins of children trying to look innocent. Morning Rain decided she really didn't want to know. If they'd done anything wrong, it'd probably be the twins' parents hearing about it anyway, since all three looked like them.

"Right," she said, "now transform back already, supper's just about ready."

"Just about? Then we still got a few minutes, right?" the left filly piped up.

The right one nodded gravely. "Yes." She looked at Morning Rain. "Can we play for a few more minutes then? Here in the garden?"

"Oh yes, please?" the middle one added herself to the chorus.

Morning Rain gave all three of them a stern look. "Junebug, don't make me get your dad to pick you out."

The right filly gasped, and looked at the other two. "He can do that?"

The middle filly nodded gravely. "Oh yeah. Family, that's how he can tell, remember?"

The left one frowned. "Huh, really? I don't remember that."

"She told us about that yesterday!" the middle one said to the left one. "Because he's a changeling, and she's a kinda-changeling, and he's her dad."

"Oh yeah," the left one said, still sounding rather unconvinced.

Morning Rain groaned, and put a hoof on her forehead. "Look, fillies you've had your fun, but we really have to eat now." She put her hoof down and smiled. "I made asparagus soup."

"Yay!" two of the fillies said. The one standing on the left put on a sour face.

Morning Rain grinned, and looked at the sour-faced filly. "So, you're Sparkleheart." She turned back to the other two. "And one of you two is my daughter."

The two remaining fillies gave Sparkleheart a disappointed look. "Aww, look what you've done, Spark," one of them said, "now she's figuring it out."

"And one of you two..." Morning Rain said with a sly grin, "really hates oatmeal."

Unsurprisingly, the two fillies in front of her kept completely straight faces. They weren't going to make it that easy, especially after all the trouble they'd gone through.

A black figure appeared behind Morning Rain, and gave 'Sparkleheart' a questioning look. The filly quietly slipped into the doorway and walked towards Flitter.

"Hey dad!" she whispered, morphing into to a pinkish purple pegasus with a blue mane. The only indication that she wasn't a normal pony was a small black knob on her forehead, where a unicorn's horn would be.

"Are you messing with your poor mother's head again?" the changeling asked softly, grinning widely.

Junebug looked at her mom, who was still standing in the doorway, peering intently at the neighbours' twin daughters. 

She grinned, and winked at the two fillies. The twins kept their own eyes firmly on Morning Rain, to prevent spoiling the game.

"She'll figure it out," she said softly, and she made her way to the dinner table. She loved asparagus soup.



~ THE END ~

> Bonus 1 - Flitter (Original one-shot)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Bonus One
Flitter (Original one-shot)


The sound of shattering glass filled the sky. The giant purple shield surrounding Canterlot crumbled, its huge shards of solid magic crashing into the ground before they had a chance to dissolve.

"Swift Star!" the green pegasus mare yelled. "We have to go! Come on!"

The unicorn she was addressing didn't respond. He was looking up, terrified. He knew those black shapes. He knew them all too well.

"They shouldn't be here," he said, looking at the mare in desperation. "They can't do this, it'll upset the whole balance!"

"Swift, honey? What do you mean? You know these creatures?"

Swift Star nodded, and started running. "Let's go."


* * *


Their run was a futile exercise. The black creatures swarmed in from above, and spotted the runners easily. Within minutes, the two were surrounded.

One of the black creatures approached the pair, a wicked grin on its face.

Swift Star bared his teeth. "You shouldn't be here!" he yelled.

The black creature didn't respond. It glanced at the others behind them, and nodded. One by one, they were engulfed in green flames, half of them transforming into copies of the female pegasus.

The other half collectively blinked, and stared at the unicorn they had failed to copy.

"What are these things?" Morning Rain asked, terrified.

"Changelings," Swift Star replied. "They survive by taking the appearance of a loved one and feeding on love they are given."

The mare's eyes widened. "What? But..."

One of the creatures that had failed to transform walked towards the pair. "What are you doing?" it said, in a hissing voice. "The Queen commands us. Why do you disobey her?"

"I know no queen!" the unicorn yelled. "You're deranged! You can't just destroy the Old Ways!"

He looked back as he heard a hoofstep behind him, and noticed Morning Rain had taken a step back. She stared at him with a bewildered look in her eyes.

"You... you're one of them?" she said. She looked pale.

"Morning Rain, please," Swift Star said. "It's not like that!"

"Where is he?" she said, anger and desperation flashing over her face. "What have you done to him?!"

The black creature tilted his head. "Contain her!" it hissed. "What are you doing?"

Swift Star threw him an angry look, his normally orange eyes flaring with a violent green. "I'm keeping a promise," he said. He swiftly turned around, and bucked the creature into the others. Before they had time to react, he grabbed the green mare in his forehooves and flew straight up, insectoid wings appearing out of nowhere as he did.

"Who are you!?" Morning Rain yelled, terrified.

"Someone who loves you," Swift Star replied, as he flew into one of the windows of the high palace towers.


* * *


"What are you doing?!" Morning Rain yelled at the not-Swift Star.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm saving you!" he yelled back. He pulled her through the corridors with his magic, desperately trying to avoid the swarming black creatures. As he became more frantic, his horn changed, turning black and curved like those of the creatures that were chasing them.

"But you're like them!" she said.

Swift Star opened a door to his right and quickly slipped into it, floating the mare behind him. Swiftly but silently he closed the door behind them and locked it, leaving the two alone in a large obscured room. He gently lowered Morning Rain to the ground, and released her from his magic grip.

"So what if I am?" he whispered. "Does that really matter?"

"Of course it matters!" she replied. She lowered her voice as she heard the buzzing of wings outside the door. "You're... you're not Swift Star."

The unicorn-shaped changeling smiled, and folded his insect wings onto his back. "That's debatable. Sure, I'm not the pony you fell in love with. I can't deny that. But I think I've done quite a good job filling in for him."

"What did you do to him!?" she said, anger flaring through her voice.

"I tried to save him," the changeling replied. "And I failed."

Morning Rain frowned. "And then... you took his place?"

"Such are the Old Ways. We take the place of lost loved ones."

Morning Rain walked towards him, and sat down. "And you've been... him, for how long?"

"You had only just met him. That foolish journey past the ravines. He never made it back."

"But you did."

The changeling nodded. "It is what we do. I asked him, as the Old Ways dictate. Love is a powerful emotion. I would keep you happy, instead of heartbroken over a lover that left on a foolish journey and never came back. The choice, to him, was obvious. He couldn't stand to make you unhappy, not if there was any other choice."

Morning Rain stared at the floor, and shook her head. "Twenty years. You've been lying to me for twenty years."

"I've kept you happy," the changeling said, looking away uncomfortably.

"With a lie!" she said. "How could you do that to me?!"

"What?" He turned back towards her and glared at her. "I've turned your silly crush for a stallion you really only barely knew into a life of happiness! I married you! And now you blame me for keeping a promise to that stallion. I promised him I'd take care of you. I promised him I'd keep you happy! And that's what I did."

Morning Rain sighed. "But it was still all a lie."

"I love you. And that's not a lie. He never asked me to marry you; that was all me. I don't know what that crazy queen out there is trying to accomplish, but love isn't something you can simply harvest. It takes love to get love. The only thing she's harvesting is terror. And as someone who has fed on emotions his entire life, let me tell you, that stuff tastes foul."

A groan suddenly came from further in the room. A sleepy head with rather large horn appeared from under the covers.

"Hmm? Tia?" the dark form said. She then promptly turned over, pulling the covers over her head.

The two figures stood still as statues, before very carefully stepping back to the door. The thought that the Moon Princess could help defeat the menace outside didn't even cross their minds. In fact, at that very moment, they'd forgotten all about the changeling swarm. The only things they knew, at that moment, were the fact they had accidentally snuck inside the bedroom of the Princess of the Night, and the fact they did not want to be caught doing that.


* * *


Silently, they made their way up to the Royal Observatory. Like much of the Palace, it was empty, and the changeling swarm had long checked it out and left it behind. The unicorn-shaped changeling looked down at the chaos on the streets below, and shook his head.

Morning Rain looked at him, thinking over the words he'd said to her. "So... who are you, then?"

He sighed. "I've been Swift Star for more than half of my life. Does it really matter? I'm still the same, you know. I still love broccoli, still loathe alfalfa, and I'm still good at music spells. Please don't ask me to throw that away."

"I'm not!" she said, defensively. "If those things... are really you, then they're not Swift Star, are they?"

The changeling blinked. "I... guess not."

"So, what is your name?" she asked.

He frowned. It had been such a long time. He'd grown so used to being Swift Star.

"Flitter," he said. "That's the name I had." He gave her a pleading look. "Do I really need to take it back?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I can't keep calling you Swift Star." She joined him at the balcony, and looked down at the chaos below. The changeling swarm was apparently occupied by a team of half a dozen ponies that seemed to plough through everything in their way.

"So... where do we go from here?" she asked.

"We're getting out of here. We can't do anything to help. Princess Celestia is down there, and so are the Elements of Harmony. The only thing we can do is get caught."

"That's not what I meant!" she said. "What about us? The two of us?"

"I know what you meant," Flitter said, pulling himself away from the balcony and walking towards the other side. "And it'll have to wait. It seems our rampaging ponies have been caught. Come on, let's go before they notice us."

Morning Rain glanced at the swarm of changelings below, who were focusing their attention on the six ponies they held. She gasped, and ran after Flitter. "Those were the Elements! They captured the Elements!"

Flitter stopped. "Are you sure?"

"We saw them perform the Heart Warming Eve play, remember?"

Flitter ran back to the balcony overlooking the city, and peered down at the six equine forms dragged along with the mass of black changelings.

He shook his head. "We can't help them. We're just two ponies."

"You could help them, couldn't you? If you change back, you'll look just li—"

"NO!" he yelled, cutting her off. She threw him a confused look.

"I can't change into a pony that doesn't live any more!" he yelled. "Don't you understand?"

"You... you'd be stuck in your normal form?"

"Don't call it that," he said, focusing his attention on his wings and horn, and restoring his complete Swift Star form. "Once I change back to my Changeling form, Swift Star will be gone forever."

"I don't mind," she said, hesitantly. "I don't care what you look like."

"But I do!" he yelled. "Don't you see?! These changelings have made themselves enemies of Equestria! I can't be one of them! I need to be Swift Star to be with you!"

Morning Rain sighed. "If their queen wins, it won't matter anyway. Wasn't that what you said? It'll upset the balance?"

Flitter groaned, and nodded. "If this mad Queen actually manages to defeat Celestia, the balance of Night and Day will be disrupted. Whoever she is, she obviously hasn't thought that far ahead. Already they're terrorizing ponies to feed on their love. Soon, nothing but terror will remain in their hearts. By the time she notices what she's done, her power won't even be enough to keep the solar cycle going. And then, it's all going to Tartarus."

"We have to go back and wake up Luna," Morning Rain said. "She's their only chance!"

Flitter nodded. "Yes. Let's do that."

An odd feeling stopped him, though. He felt a shiver crawl up his spine, and looked back over the balcony. Morning Rain clearly felt it too; her ears perked up, and she looked at him.

"What is that?!" she asked, looking at the bright light shining out of the wedding hall.

"Love," he said. Then, he frowned. "But it's channelled... into a spell."

His eyes widened as he saw the purple sphere expand from where the white glow had been. "Oh no."

He backpedalled away from the balcony, spread his insectoid wings once again, and flew away from the oncoming shield. Morning Rain followed him without hesitation.

"Flitter!" she yelled, flying after him as he tried to get out of the shield's reach.

Unfortunately, the expanding shield didn't stop where the old one had been. It blasted on, pushing all changelings with it. His own speed prevented Flitter from getting blasted away as violently as the others, but still, the shield reached him, and as the purple wall smashed into him he felt his pony form scorch away in purple flame. He looked at his hooves in pure desperation as the last glimpse of yellow coat disappeared, making way for the dreaded black of his original form.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Swift Star was gone, forever.

He stopped struggling, and allowed the shield to blast him away. It was all over. As he looked at the ground approaching him with deadly speed, he noticed that, ironically, he was going to end up in the same ravines where Swift Star died.

And now, he'd die there again.

"Don't you dare leave me!" a voice came from behind him. A green blur shot over the ground into the ravine, collided with him, and shot back up.


* * *


A pony and a changeling were lying on the dusty rock next to the ravine. Both of them were utterly exhausted, thoroughly shaken, and glad to be alive.

"Flitter?" the green pegasus asked.

"Yes, Morning Rain?" the changeling replied.

"Where do we go from here?"

Flitter smiled, got up, and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. His big icy blue eyes looked into her purple ones.

"Wherever we want, my love."
> Bonus 2 - Fatherhood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Bonus Two
Fatherhood


The changeling looked at the foal much like a space explorer would look at an alien life form. He resisted the urge to prod it.

The tiny blue unicorn was lying in a hospital bed, next to his mother. The pegasus mare was fast asleep, though, completely exhausted from the labours of foalbirth. The changeling was more than thankful for this. He realized all too well that the deal he had made three months earlier hadn't been a good one. The dying stallion whose place he took had well and thoroughly screwed him over. All love in this relationship was constantly being poisoned by underlying currents of silent resentment, and with his limited understanding of pony relations, the changeling only now started to realize why.

But he had promised he'd look after them. And even if the mare would continue to silently despise him, the foal was quite a different matter.

Flitter realized, though, that he knew nothing about foals. The small blue thing was looking at him with wide open eyes, radiating an emotion that felt oddly like, well, hunger. Or rather, the changeling equivalent of hunger. The foal had nudged its mother and found her unresponsive, and had instinctively turned to the other occupant in the room, looking for the affection it needed.

Flitter felt an odd kinship with the tiny being. Both had been denied the affection of the mare lying in the hospital bed. Though he realized all too well that the foal, unlike him, would readily receive all the loving care it needed once she was awake again.

He reached out with the telekinetic magic that came so easily with Swift Star's aura information, and plucked the foal off the bed. He sat down on the floor and gently put the tiny thing down between his forelegs. The foal looked at him as all foals look at the world; trying to make sense of the brand new colourful shapes around them. Its disproportionately large orange eyes looked at the disguised changeling, whose eyes, mimicking the foal's biological father, were exactly the same colour.

Apparently satisfied with what it saw, it snuggled its head into its surrogate father's forelegs, and promptly fell asleep.

Flitter stared at the foal, utterly shocked at what he just experienced. He would never have imagined such strong emotions coming from such a young and underdeveloped being.

His eyes softened, and he smiled, gently stroking the tiny thing's blue coat with a hoof. Even asleep, the foal reacted with an affectionate nudge towards the caring appendage, and a whole new flood of radiated happiness.

Flitter felt revived. After months of neglect, these raw untainted emotions of pure love for a parent were exactly what he'd needed.

He nodded slowly. "You and I, little one, we'll get along just fine."
> Bonus 3 - Scraps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Bonus Three
Scraps




SCRAP: ROYALS AND OUTLAWS (working title of chapter 5)
[Scene: "The Scholar and the Beast", after Flitter asked Twilight Sparkle to inform the Princess about him. Note that in this early version, Spike fled to the kitchen. This was changed because I didn't think he'd be able to send a letter from there without being noticed... or would even find a quill and parchment there.]


Twilight shook her head. "It's not about the trial, is it? It's about the newspapers."

Flitter nodded. "I figured a changeling going through Equestrian legal channels should get some media attention, yes."

Twilight looked at the changeling and his wife, and nodded. "Very well. I'll help you." She looked at the kitchen. "Spike!"

"I'm not coming out!" Spike yelled back."You can't make me!"

Twilight Sparkle smirked, and her horn lit up. "Yes I can," she said, as she dragged him into the living room in a glow of purple magic. "Now say hello to Flitter and Morning Rain."

The baby dragon, still hanging in the purple glow, looked at the two guests and tilted his head.

"So, um... which is which?"






DELETED SCENE: EQUESTRIAN COURT
[Set right after the previous piece. In this version, Spike didn't send his own message to the Princess, and Flitter's original plan continued. Once again thanks to Ember/Tango for saving us from this, because it mostly looks like a retelling of chapter 1 and 2, which would probably have continued with a retelling of chapter 3 and 4, and I honestly had no idea where I was going with it.]


"State your name for the Court."

"Flitter."

"That is not the name you used when you lived and worked here in Canterlot, though, is it?"

"No, it isn't."

"What was that name?"

"Swift Star."

"Tell the court, please, how you came to use that name."

It had been two weeks since they'd visited Twilight Sparkle, and a lot had happened. He'd been formally arrested and put in a rather comfortable jail cell, where he got frequent visits from both his family and the press.

By now, all of Equestria had heard of the case. Flitter was just glad to get it all over with, so he was more than happy that his trial had finally started. The identity of the judge had been quite a surprise, though, and the reason the court room was bathed in revered silence, despite the crowd the case had attracted.

He looked at Princess Celestia, and nodded. "Certainly, your highness. Twenty years ago, I came across a pony who had fallen into a ravine. He had severe internal injuries. I tried to help him by getting him back to society, but he didn't make it. We made a deal, which allowed me to use his identity."

Celestia gave him an inquisitive look. "What was that deal?"

"I was allowed to use his identity and form, and in exchange, I would care for Morning Rain and her child, for as long as they needed it."

"Are such deals normal, amongst your people?"

Flitter nodded. "Yes, and no. The deal is usually to stay until the love fades, and the relationship breaks. The reasoning is that a breakup is a lot easier to deal with than the death of a loved one at the prime of a relationship. Swift Star forced in a quite unexpected element."

"So, it is usual to seek out dying ponies, then?"

"It is in our nature. We feed on love. Some may indeed let them die for their own purpose, but we have learned that gratitude may be just as nourishing. Many careless travellers have been saved by my people, with as only deal that they don't tell anyone about us."

Celestia nodded. "The formal charge you requested to be set against you was 'collaboration in the changeling invasion of Canterlot'. Were you involved in that?"

"Involved? Well, everypony in Canterlot was involved. But I have no affiliation whatsoever with that hive, or their Queen. I don't even know who they were."

"Tell me, then. Where do you come from?"

"I was born in Equestria, your highness. I hail from the Everfree Forest."

A murmur rose from the crowd. They didn't seem to like the idea that there was a changeling nest right in the heart of Equestria.

Celestia smiled. "It has been a thousand years since I claimed any real ownership of that place. It doesn't surprise me in the least that someone else claimed it. So, who is your Queen?"

Flitter blinked. "Uh... you are."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I never claimed that title, out of respect for my sister. But, are you saying you accept my authority above that of your Hive?"

"I've lived amongst ponies far longer than I've been with my own kind. I consider myself quite naturalized."

"How old are you, exactly?"

In the front row of the audience, a certain minty green mare's eye suddenly twitched.

"Twenty-five years old, your highness. Twenty of these were spent amongst ponies, first in the village of Hayseed, and later here."

"So, on the matter of that charge. You, still disguised as Swift Star, were questioned by the Royal Guard that morning, after you were spotted too close to the shield. What were you doing, there?"

Flitter sighed. "That was Morning Rain's idea. I never wanted to get anywhere close to that thing."

"How do we know she was not under your mind control spell? We've seen what the invading changeling queen did to Shining Armor."

Flitter raised an eyebrow. "I've never managed to do any full mind control spells. Honestly, I kinda suck at magic. I know a spell to influence ponies' decisions, but after nearly twenty years of marriage she's quite immune to that. None of the changeling spells I heard of were ever meant to be used in a long lasting relationship."

"Very well," Celestia addressed the crowd. "I will now call in the first requested witness, and let Donut Joe describe his version of the events. The Court has made sure no witnesses are in any way influenced by any spells."

The yellow stallion got up from his seat, and nervously walked to the front of the court room. "Um. Hi. Your highness."

Celestia gave him a kind smile. "State your name for the Court."

"I'm Donut Joe."

"You saw Swift Star that day, didn't you? What impression did he give?"

"A bit stressed, I guess, but that's not so unusual for him. He seemed a bit annoyed at the missus for the whole shield thing, though."

"And, when the changelings attacked?"

"He panicked before any of us really realized what was going on. One look at those changelings and he rushed out, screaming about having to get out, even before the shield broke. He dragged the missus with him when he did."

"So, he certainly didn't seem like he was expecting it?"

"Oh, absolutely not."






SCRAP: READING ROYAL
[Scene: "The Scholar and the Beast", final version with the princess present, just after Spike's apology and Flitter remarking that getting him arrested had been the original plan anyway. This was scrapped because it seemed more natural to only make Celestia decide to read the notes after realizing there was a need to get up to speed quickly.]


"But... why?" Spike asked.

Morning Rain snorted. "Look on the bright side," she said to Flitter. "He saved you the sixth repeat."

"He could just read the notes!" Flitter said, pointing at the spot where Twilight had left them.

He blinked, and stopped pointing at the empty table. "Uh... where are the..."

"Shh," Celestia said, giving him a slightly amused smile. Twilight's notebook was floating in front of her, in a glow of yellow magic. "I'm reading."






DELETED SCENE: ROYAL NEGOTIATIONS
[Scene: "The Princess and the Queen", after Morphosai emerged from the forest. The original scene of the negotiations between Celestia and Morphosai had Morning Rain and Flitter present in the tent, and the Elements weren't all at the Everfree. I changed this for comedic impact of the revelation, and to integrate the Mane Six more naturally in the scene before it. I tried putting the Mane Six in this scene at one point, but in the end I just scrapped it altogether. Side note: the working title of Chapter 6 was "Wild, Untamed, and Dangerous."]


"We have much to discuss," Morphosai said to Celestia. She looked around to the army of Royal Guards. "But I would prefer somewhere more... private."

Celestia nodded. "Very well," she said. She pointed a wing at a nearby tent set up by the Royal Guard. "Will that do?"

Morphosai nodded. "Yes. I have one condition, though."

"So do I," Celestia said. "Let's hear it."

"I want Flitter and Morning Rain to be present."

Celestia smiled. "It seems my request will be no problem, then. I wanted to ask the same thing." She looked at Morning Rain and Flitter. "Come along, then."

The two nodded, and followed the two royals into the tent.

"I've been reading up on Twilight Sparkle's notes," Celestia said, once all four were inside the tent. "They were fascinating. I never imagined such a coexistence, let alone the fact it already existed."

She sat down on one of the pillows on the floor, and motioned to the others to do the same. "Well, it's hardly an honest coexistence, but given your nature, it's certainly progressive."

"And now, even that is threatened," Morphosai said.

"Let's not rush into things," Celestia said, smiling softly. "We haven't been properly introduced. I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria."

The changeling Queen frowned. "Co-ruler? Why, then, are you a Princess, and not a Queen?"

"I've never taken the title, out of respect for my sister, and she has done the same."

Morphosai nodded. "I see. I am Morphosai, Queen and Mother of the changeling hive residing in the Everfree Forest. I believe this is technically part of your kingdom?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. "It has been nearly a thousand years since I claimed ownership of the place. To be honest, I'm not surprised someone else claimed it."

"I never claimed the Everfree Forest, Princess," Morphosai said. "Even to us... even to me..." She glanced at Morning Rain. "...it is wild, untamed, and dangerous." She gave Celestia a sly grin. "It is technically part of Equestria though, is it not?"

The Princess frowned. "I suppose it is, yes. What's your point?"

"That would make my people one of two things. Illegal settlers... or Equestrian citizens."

Celestia's eyes widened. "You want to be considered citizens of Equestria?"

"I want what is best for my Hive," Morphosai said. "Which is probably not to be seen as illegal settlers."

"You could just be seen as wild, untamed, and dangerous," Celestia suggested.

"As beasts? Wild animals?" Morphosai narrowed her eyes. "Monsters?"

Celestia shook her head. "You do realize that becoming part of Equestria would mean a full unconditional surrender to the kingdom's standing laws, right?"

Morphosai smirked. "That seems far preferable to the status of 'monster'."

Celestia looked at Morning Rain and Flitter. "What do you think about this?" she asked.

Morning Rain shrugged with her wings. "That Iron Will minotaur guy that's been touring around lately, doesn't he have the Equestrian nationality?"

Flitter nodded. "I believe so. And anything that ensures I can move back to Canterlot is okay for me."

Celestia rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "That's just one person!" she said. "There would be loads of problems to work out. We can't just tell the ponies that you are part of the kingdom. Especially not after the invasion at the wedding. And then there's the food problem to sort out. I can hardly order my little ponies to like your kind!"

Morphosai gave her a wide grin. "I am always at your disposal to assist you with the task of sorting that out," she said. "As local regent, it is the least I can do."

"You are seriously giving me control over your hive," Celestia said flatly.

"Yes," Morphosai replied.

"What if I refuse?"

"You would still have to explain to your citizens why there is a changeling hive in the middle of your territory," Morphosai said. "There are plenty of witnesses to the fact; you made sure of that. I doubt their loyalty to you is so absolute that you could order every one of them to never speak a word of it." Morphosai looked at Celestia, as if asking for confirmation on her assumption. The pony princess sighed, and gave a short nod.

"Our races will still meet, and there will still be conflicts," Morphosai continued. "The only difference would be that you would not have authority over both sides in these conflicts."

"Still, it would be an enormous change for both our peoples," Celestia said.

"Why Princess," Morphosai said, "is changing not what we do best?"

Celestia closed her eyes, and bowed her head. "Well played, Queen Morphosai. You have truly bested me."

The Princess looked at Morning Rain and Flitter. "I guess you two can go now," she said. "I would like to ask your opinions as we work this out further, but for now, take your leave." She looked at the changelings floating around the forest. "I think my local regent needs to inform my new citizens of their changed legal status."

"Oh," she said, as the three walked out, "and ask Rainbow Dash to tell Pinkie Pie I could really use some cake right now."
> Bonus 4 - Not the Very Model of a Changeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Flitter

Bonus Four
Not the Very Model of a Changeling


(Obviously sung to the magnificent Major-General's Song ;)

I'm not the very model of a changeling, that I do admit
I've studied pony habits from the mundane to the intimate
And though that seems quite obvious to turn into a benefit
Instead of stealing love I found it necessary to commit

The Hive I've left for twenty years, I know, it's inconsiderate
I've gotten all that love and simply didn't do a thing with it
But here aside my lovely wife I know I'm happy as can be
I've never quite regarded that position a monopoly

Now don't you dare claim that I have been living quite the easy life
A pony needs a job to take care of a family and wife
As changeling I'm not average, indeed I'm quite the opposite
I'm not the very model of a changeling, that I do admit



But then came the invasion, and my life got turned into a mess
When I saw changelings out the window, well, I panicked, I confess
To make it worse my wife did not take revelations rationally
Giving me not much choice but to reveal it all eventually

And when that crazy queen and all her cronies had been blown away
That shield had further side effects and to my infinite dismay
Besides the fact it gave me a spectacularly mighty shove
It tore away the form that I had held so long and come to love

Well I gave up, I thought "that's it", there wasn't much left living for
The life I'd built up carefully was not an option anymore
And so I folded up my wings and I gave into my despair
When I was whisked away from danger and I found my wife was there



We travelled well away from there not quite so certain what to do
We felt the need to meet our son, so he at least would know this too
Since though I was of course not his real father, biologically
The fact that I had raised him made it quite so, psychologically

Instead, I was drawn to my Hive and we met with Queen Morphosai
And then in an insane attempt to stay out of the public eye
My wife suggested that I should change, of all ponies, into her
So as the day drew to an end, a whole mob's wrath we did incur

When we went into Ponyville I just walked in au naturel
But being used to Pinkie Pie they obviously took it well
Then things got quickly out of hoof, with armies straight from Canterlot
I must admit, we stumbled in, we really hadn't planned a lot



I'm not the very model of a changeling, that I do admit
And when it comes to ponies, well, I do still have to learn a bit
But luckily, Queen Morphosai, as odd as she's tenacious
Still had an ace to play, yes, a suggestion quite audacious

And so she gave Celestia an offer she could not refuse
With one swift move the situation skilfully she did diffuse
Now I am here behind a desk, and manage matters of import
I must admit, it beats Plan A, in which I would appear in court

Somehow I find myself back here at home aside my lovely wife
And once again enjoy the luxuries that come with pony life
Under the local rulers here, both Luna and Celestia
I am the very model of a changeling in Equestria