//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14: The Royal Road 
// Story: Recherche 
// by Crescent Pulsar 
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Rarity rushed into the main hall of Twilight Sparkle's castle and failed to register Spike's presence as she dashed by him, who stopped in mid-greeting and looked both confused and disappointed before he went back to sweeping the floor. Marshall waited patiently while she looked for the owner of the castle, which started with the library. When she found the library lacking her quarry, she made her next destination the princess' bedroom, which also turned out to be unoccupied.

After checking what Marshall thought might be a throne room, with the brief look that he had been afforded of it, he suggested, "Maybe she went out somewhere."

Whether Rarity acknowledged his words or not, she checked a few more places before she returned to the main hall, with the intent of leaving the castle. Fortunately, she spotted Twilight Sparkle when she got there, the saddlebag that she was wearing giving her an idea of where she had been. She appeared to be having a conversation with Spike, who noticed her and remarked, "Oh, there she is."

Rarity rushed over to join them, but she was so out of breath from all of the running around that she had been doing that she could only get a single word out between each intake of breath as she huskily exclaimed, "Changelings...! Ponyville...! Worst...! Possible...! Thing...!"

Twilight Sparkle looked at her with a nonplussed expression on her face, partly because she had just returned from a seemingly-ordinary town and knew that Rarity could be over-dramatic about things on occasion. "Say what, now?"

Marshall chose that moment to lower himself to the floor and cut off his magic, so he could take advantage of Rarity's winded state. "Well, I kinda ended up having a conversation with Chrysalis."

"...You did?" Twilight Sparkle replied, who seemed torn between disbelief and worry. Pointing toward Rarity, she added, "Is that why...?"

With a shake of his head, Marshall said, "I didn't get a chance to tell her what we talked about."

Since Rarity was short on breath, she gave a look that asked, "Can you blame me," to Twilight Sparkle when said pony returned her attention to her. So, it was with a serious expression on her face that Twilight Sparkle glanced between Rarity and Marshall and stated, "Okay, as worried as I am about Chrysalis being here, I'd like to know what happened before deciding anything."

Before she could suggest going to the dining room to sit, for Rarity's sake, Spike — who had run off unnoticed — pushed a chaise longue beside the mare in question and announced, "Here's a couch, Rarity!"

"Thank you... darling," Rarity breathlessly replied, who planted a kiss on the young dragon's forehead before throwing herself upon the chaise longue in a somewhat melodramatic fashion.

Due to Marshall being distracted by the sight of Spike being turned into a figurative pile of mush by Rarity's gesture, he was a little startled when Twilight Sparkle spoke again, asking him to tell her what his conversation with Chrysalis had been about. "Uh... Well, I should probably start by saying that speaking to me hadn't been her original plan."

With that said, he began relating what he had to Rarity before addressing the most relevant portion of his conversation with Chrysalis, which was everything save what he had learned about the changelings before he had parted ways with her, since it wasn't pertinent enough. Soon after he had started, Twilight Sparkle asked him to recount as many details about his encounter as he could remember, in the hope that she could build a clearer picture of the situation beyond mere words. However, even with the additional context, she still ended up pacing back and forth with indecision once he could think of nothing else to say about the incident.

Eventually, after a span of silence that was only occupied by the sound of Twilight Sparkle's hoofsteps, Rarity propped herself up on one foreleg and spoke up with a measure of exasperation, saying, "Really, what is there to think about? Who's to say that they won't just turn around and attack us once we've fed them enough?"

Twilight Sparkle stopped pacing and worrying her lip as she turned to gaze at Rarity. "I know. We saw how much power Chrysalis gained from my brother alone." Switching gears, she added, "But, even with that much feeding, my brother was relatively unharmed. That, and she had every opportunity to," she paused, her expression being soured by the idea that she was about to convey, "dispose of Cadence, but hadn't." Her gaze shifted toward Marshall, even as he began to wonder about the event being referred to. "While that doesn't mean that I can trust Chrysalis, between that and knowing that changelings need to feed on love to survive, I don't think we should dismiss the possibility of reaching a peaceful resolution with her."

"And just how, precisely, would we go about accomplishing that?" Rarity posed the question that couldn't be left unaddressed.

No one had an answer for it, so a silence fell upon them until Spike raised a claw, with the equivalent of its index finger pointing skyward, and eagerly suggested, "Why don't we feed them until they're stuffed? I know when I eat a lot, I don't want to move or do anything." He wilted under the gazes of Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, who looked at him as if they were expecting him to be serious, even though — unbeknownst to them — he was. "No, huh..."

While Marshall hadn't taken Spike's suggestion seriously either, something about it had made him pause and dwell on it. When he realized what it was, he was almost too embarrassed to mention it, since the idea seemed kind of naive. However, considering his current company and what he knew about the world thus far, as well as — to a lesser extent — not having to worry about anyone who might make fun of him for a perceived relinquishment of masculinity, he was able to suppress his irrational feelings on the matter and share what was on his mind.

"I think Spike was on the right track," he began, due to the young dragon's look of disappointment stirring up some sympathy for him.

"I was?" Spike responded with mild surprise.

Marshall proceeded to direct his attention to Rarity, who he figured would be the most likely to understand and accept his idea. "Perhaps some generosity is what the changelings need. For all that we know, taking is all they've ever known, so maybe we should try giving them some love willingly and see how they react to it."

He could tell that Rarity wasn't wholly convinced, and didn't appreciate his underhanded approach all that much, but she grudgingly said, "I'll admit that there's some merit to the idea, but who would be able to express genuine love toward them?"

Once it was clear that no one had an answer to that, Twilight Sparkle opted to address another pressing issue. "I also can't imagine how we're going to feed all of the changelings, whether we can convince enough ponies to feed them or not."

"...I might have an answer for that," Marshall offered with a lack of confidence, now that his idea was actually going to be scrutinized to see if it would be feasible or not.

"What is it?" Twilight Sparkle prompted, in reaction to his uncertainty.

"Well," Marshall awkwardly began, due to feeling self-conscious about what he had to offer, "I was thinking that their shape-shifting ability would be really useful for acting in films. And, um... Since I'm assuming that ponies might not like the idea of being around changelings, at least at first, this should limit direct exposure to them."

Rarity hummed thoughtfully as she considered his idea from the angle that she was most familiar with. "Yes, I do suppose that they would be well-suited for that sort of profession... But, I imagine that there will be an issue with coming up with material, creating sets, and finding — as well as building — venues to show their films."

"How will the changelings be fed, exactly?" Twilight Sparkle wondered, as she mulled over the idea. "Will a clerk ask for love instead of tickets? Or would an usher do that after the film is over?"

Marshall shrugged his shoulders, since he was at a loss on that front. "I honestly don't know, but that would require a lot of changelings to be at the cinemas, since they can't project love like ponies can."

"They can't?" Came Twilight Sparkle's rhetorical response. Then something occurred to her, which inspired her to stare at Marshall questioningly and add, "Hold on... How do you know that?"

Marshall rubbed the back of his head and replied, "Oh, well, I asked if there was anything that I needed to know about changelings before I left, to help me figure out a way to help them." Realizing how that sounded a bit too late, he hastily elaborated, "Without it being at anyone's expense, of course!"

After accepting his answer, Twilight Sparkle rubbed her chin and looked askance in thought. "I see. That means they can't share love among themselves, whether they feel it or take it from someone else..." Her expression turned sympathetic. "Without being able to distribute their food, it must take an amazing amount of restraint to make sure that every changeling is fed without arousing any suspicions about their presence."

"Which is assuming that Chrysalis was being honest," Rarity pointed out.

Twilight Sparkle nodded her head in agreement. "That's true, although — in this case — I think she is."

With a skeptical expression on her face, Rarity inquired, "How can you tell?"

"Do you remember when she... overpowered Princess Celestia?" Twilight Sparkle asked in turn, the memory still poignant enough to make it somewhat difficult to speak about.

"Of course," Rarity replied evenly. "I doubt I'll ever forget it."

"Chrysalis was genuinely surprised that she had enough power to do that," Twilight Sparkle revealed. "If what she told Recherché was true, about how difficult it is for changelings to find enough love to survive on, then it would make sense for her to be unaware of how much power she can attain from feeding on it, which is something that she should have a lot of experience with."

While Rarity acknowledged that Twilight Sparkle could be right about her conjecture, Marshall stood by silently, wondering where things would go. He had figured that the situation would probably be much bigger than him from the start, and that Chrysalis could have committed deeds of a reprehensible nature, but he couldn't have guessed that attacking one of the princesses had been among her exploits, in addition to feeding on the brother of another. There had also been something done to a "Cadence," whoever they happened to be.

After Twilight Sparkle contemplated the matter a bit further, she got the discussion back on track by saying, "Anyway, aside from feeding changelings directly at the cinemas, I have to wonder if our projected feelings can reach them, either through the characters they play as or the film itself. If they can, then this idea might just be perfect."

"And if they can't?" Rarity asked, since someone had to.

Twilight Sparkle frowned thoughtfully. "Well, even if the whole idea doesn't work out, I'm confident that we can come up with a solution."

"Um," Marshall diffidently spoke up, in order to get the others' attention. "I still don't know much about how magic works, but talking about projecting an emotion reminded me of how electricity is being distributed to the town from the dam, and how Spike delivers letters, so I was wondering if anything like that could be applied here."

Twilight Sparkle blinked her eyes owlishly in response to her thought processes being introduced to what was being suggested, and her mind quickly considered the relevant spells that she could remember offhand. After a few seconds of pondering, her thoughtful expression transitioned to one of realization, which was quickly replaced by delight as she offered Marshall a smile and said, "Now that you mention it, I think I know exactly what would allow the changelings to have the convenience of distributing love among themselves."

Rarity chose that time to leave the comfort of the chaise longue and spoke with a tone that suggested that she still had some reservations about the whole thing. "I take it that we're going to give the changelings a chance, then?"

After considering her reply for a moment, Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "I don't think that's a decision that we should make on our own. That, and the fact of the matter is that we have no reason to trust Chrysalis, so it would be more prudent to have the other princesses involved regardless of what is decided."

Turning her attention to Spike, she passed her saddlebag over to him and said, "Spike, can you please retrieve a quill and some parchment? I'll be waiting for you on the balcony."

"On it!" Spike dutifully declared, before hurrying to put the saddlebag away and acquire the aforementioned items.

Shortly after Twilight Sparkle began to lead Rarity and Marshall to their destination, the former of the two inquired, "Why are we going to the balcony?"

Twilight Sparkle looked over her shoulder and established eye contact with Rarity before she replied, saying, "It's hardly ideal, but I want to keep an eye on the town, in case Chrysalis tries to pull something while we're preoccupied."

A few steps later, Marshall could no longer contain his curiosity. "So, uh... It seems like you guys have a past with Chrysalis. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"She had the nerve to interrupt a royal wedding," Rarity unhappily recalled.

Twilight Sparkle looked at her with half-lidded eyes and dryly added, "Only because she wanted to conquer Equestria."

"That, too," Rarity breezily acknowledged.

From there, they proceeded to tell Marshall about their experiences with Chrysalis and the changelings in more detail. As interesting as it was, though, he kept himself focused and listened carefully, since he had gotten himself involved with the subject matter and what he knew about the changelings was still limited. While he didn't find out too much more about them, he did learn that Cadence was another alicorn princess, and Twilight Sparkle's former foalsitter. She now ruled a place called the Crystal Empire, alongside Twilight Sparkle's older brother, Shining Armor.

When they made it to the balcony, Twilight Sparkle raised the front of her body over its lip and rested on it with her forelegs crossed. Rarity followed her example, and a second later Marshall — after briefly wondering if he should do the same — joined them. They proceeded to watch over Ponyville in silence while a light breeze stirred the fringes of their hair, whispered past their ears, and carried a pleasant scent to their noses. The relaxing atmosphere made Marshall forget about the situation for a moment, and wish that he could find a place like Ponyville to live, back on his own world.

"Yeah," Twilight Sparkle agreed, sighing fondly. "I really love this place."

It took Marshall a second to realize that he had expressed his thoughts aloud. When he did, he felt embarrassed and turned his head away from the others, so they couldn't see his face. After a moment passed in silence, he snuck a peek to see what was going on and saw that their attention was still on the town, not him. However, while Twilight Sparkle looked upon it with a soft smile, Rarity's expression was hard to discern. Without meaning to, he got a sense of what she was feeling, but he couldn't make heads or tails of that either.

Before he could really think about it, Spike jogged onto the scene with quill and parchment in claw and declared, "I'm ready, Twilight!"

While Twilight Sparkle lowered herself from the balcony's lip and focused on dictating an overly-detailed letter to Princess Celestia, Marshall began to shift his attention between her, Spike, Rarity and Ponyville, split between wanting to be aware of what the letter's contents would be, curiosity over what Rarity's thoughts may have been as she maintained a steadfast vigil, and keeping an eye on the town himself. Once he gave up on trying to figure out what was up with Rarity, and decided that it wouldn't be a good time or place to ask about it, he chose to follow Rarity's example while sparing enough of his attention to comprehend what Twilight Sparkle was saying.

After the letter was sent, it was just a matter of waiting for a response. He wondered how long it would take since Celestia would have to share the message with her sister, Luna, before forwarding the letter itself to Cadence and Shining Armor, then wait for a response from them before Twilight Sparkle would hear back from her. Hopefully, whatever the reply would end up being, it would lead to a peaceful resolution with the changelings.

He turned to look over at Twilight Sparkle when he noticed her returning to her spot on the lip of the balcony out of the corner of his eye. Although he wasn't feeling too anxious about the situation, enough of it must have been evident on his face: because she turned apologetic after their gazes happened to meet and said, "I'm sorry that you ended up getting involved in something like this."

"Don't worry about it," Marshall tried to dismiss her concern as casually as possible, and turned his head away to prevent the expression on his face from having a chance of belying his words. "Besides, if this didn't happen, who knows what the changelings would have done in the future, right?"

Grudgingly, Twilight Sparkle hummed in agreement before she turned her gaze to Ponyville and began to ponder the possibilities. At least, that's what Marshall assumed she was doing, based on the expression that was on her face. He couldn't help thinking about it himself, considering what could be accomplished by a race that had a special talent for concealing their presence. Shape-shifting made it possible for them to observe their target covertly, to learn their habits, daily routines and secrets, then use what they learned when the opportunity presented itself — whatever that happened to be. If they were well-informed, had the element of surprise, and chose the battlefield, what couldn't they do with an adequate plan and numbers?

The idea was kind of scary to think about, so he tried to occupy his mind with something else. He didn't have much success with that, however, since his thoughts almost immediately drifted toward Chrysalis. If not for having his human body to return to, he probably would have dreaded ever seeing her again — not that he would ever admit that to anyone. As things stood, he still felt hesitant to do it, partly because he wasn't sure if he would be able to project love toward anyone, much less the queen of the changelings. At first, he had been inspired to mention the idea to help get Rarity on board with giving the changelings a chance, since it otherwise sounded like something that would only work in a cartoon aimed toward young children, but now he was beginning to feel as if that idea actually had to be realized to avoid a conflict.

He felt something gently being placed over his left foreleg, just above the hoof, and saw an identical limb covering his when he glanced down. When he looked toward its owner, Rarity offered him a reassuring smile that said, "Everything will be okay." Touched by the gesture, he returned her smile and gave her foreleg a squeeze in gratitude.

After that, he was able to pass the time by watching the activities of Ponyville. It wasn't something that he normally did, but — then again — it wasn't like he'd had much in the way of opportunities to find a place that was worth observing before coming to this world. While it wasn't quite like his habit of setting some time aside for the sole purpose of listening to music, it did have a bit of a cleansing effect, although he attributed most of that to his current company.

He wasn't sure how long it was before their quiet observation of Ponyville was interrupted, but it came in the form of a flash of light that was accompanied by a strange — yet familiar — bang sound that had a muffled quality to it. When he looked over his shoulder to investigate its source, he was shocked by who he assumed was now standing in the middle of the balcony: Princess Celestia. However, it wasn't her presence that shocked him, but seeing certain aspects of her appearance, whose descriptions hadn't done them any justice. Her multi-hued hair in particular, which undulated gently in a breeze that was separate from the one that played with his own hair, was simply magical. That, along with her stature, regal bearing and regalia, made for a stunning figure.

It was the first time, he realized, that he found a pony from this world attractive. Not in the sense that he might want to pursue an intimate relationship, or saw other ponies as being unattractive by comparison: it was simply in a way that he could distinctly appreciate. Above all else, though, there was a gentleness about Celestia's countenance that tantalized a part of himself that was malnourished, and had been for a long time.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight Sparkle and Rarity simultaneously exclaimed, with a measure of surprise. While Twilight Sparkle trotted up to the aforementioned princess casually, where she was joined by Spike, Rarity prostrated herself before her.

When it finally occurred to Marshall that he was staring like an idiot, he scrambled away from the balcony's lip and joined Rarity, doing his best to imitate her pose. It felt kind of odd to do it so readily, considering how he had been born and raised in a democracy, but he was in a different world and country, and Celestia had yet to give him any reason to find such an act objectionable. Besides which, unlike with the ever casual, modest and down-to-earth Twilight Sparkle, Celestia not only looked like a princess, but commanded an aura of one as well.

"Why did you come here?" Twilight Sparkle asked of Celestia, since she didn't know what her presence meant. "Will the others be arriving, too?"

Celestia shook her head faintly, and Marshall's ears perked up on their own when he heard her speak for the first time, as she addressed the second question first. "Luna will be assuming some of my responsibilities until I return, and Cadence does not wish to teleport while she is with foal. However, while she and Shining Armor have their concerns, they have placed their faith in our judgement." She spared Marshall a glance, who had followed Rarity's example again and stood upright once more. "And I am here because I wish to speak with Chrysalis in person, should we choose to negotiate a peaceful resolution."

Twilight Sparkle wanted to feel more secure in her answer when she replied to Celestia's unspoken question, so she looked around to see if anyone had anything to say. When, "It's your call," pretty much summed up what was silently conveyed to her, she looked back up at Celestia and resolutely said, "I think it's worth giving it a try. If things don't work out, at least we can say that we did that much."

With a soft smile and a single nod of her head, Celestia replied, "I agree." Turning her gaze toward Marshall, whose body went rigid under her scrutiny, she casually asked, "Recherché, did Chrysalis provide you with a means of contacting her?"

After taking a calming breath, which was aided by the relaxed way that Celestia conducted herself, Marshall said, "Um, yeah. She said that she would leave someone in the house where we had, er... met."

Turning to address Twilight Sparkle, Rarity asked, "Shall we go and assemble the others, then?"

Before Twilight Sparkle could reply, Celestia interjected, "That won't be necessary."

"It won't?" Twilight Sparkle voiced her confusion.

Celestia shook her head. "We risk sending the wrong message if we seek Chrysalis out with strength in numbers. For this undertaking, we should only allow the bare minimum to go: Recherché, who is the contact that they would be expecting; and myself, as the emissary." She focused on Marshall once more and conveyed her willingness to respect whatever his decision may be on the matter with her facial expression. "That is: if you are willing, of course."

Marshall would have been willing even without Celestia's deference toward his wishes, since he had already planned on contacting Chrysalis should he ever come up with a good way to help her, so he simply nodded his head. Ultimately, he just hoped that he wasn't putting too much faith in his ability to return to his real body whenever circumstances inspired the need.

With evident concern on her face, Rarity asked, "Are you sure, dear?"

"I'll be fine," Marshall tried to reassure her.

Seeing that Twilight Sparkle appeared to be concerned by the arrangement as well, and appeared ready to express it, Celestia spoke up and said, "I understand your concern, but it must be done this way if we want our intentions to be both apparent and sincere."

While Twilight Sparkle respected Celestia more than enough to trust her judgement, she cared about her more, so it was with resignation that she chose to ask, "But what if something goes wrong?"

Celestia lowered her head so she could respond to Twilight Sparkle in a conspiratorial fashion, yet didn't speak so quietly that no one else would be able to hear her when she blithely said, "As it turns out, I have very dependable friends."

Marshall watched as the expression on Twilight Sparkle's face turned comical, due to being unable to settle between two responses: a bashful smile, from the compliment, and an unhappy pout, since her question hadn't been answered with enough seriousness. Had the circumstances been different, he might have chuckled or made a lighthearted comment about it. Aside from that, Celestia's response had given him some insight regarding her character, which helped him to feel more relaxed in her presence.

After Celestia raised her head, she regarded Marshall and casually asked, "Now, then: are you ready, Recherché?"

"As I'll ever be," Marshall calmly replied, which took a little effort.

Celestia proceeded to lead the group back into the castle proper, inviting Marshall to walk beside her as they headed toward the main entrance. Shortly thereafter, once she adjusted her pace to his, it was with an apologetic tone that she stated, "I regret that we could not meet under better circumstances."

Between the good things outweighing the bad, and having plenty of experience with accepting the bad with the good, Marshall could honestly say, "It'd be strange if everything was perfect, anyway."

"I suppose it would," came Celestia's lighthearted response, as she gazed down at Marshall with a smile. "Have you enjoyed your time here otherwise?"

Marshall spared a moment to look up at Celestia, instead of where he was going. "I was overwhelmed at first," he glanced at Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Spike out of the corner of his eye, who were paying attention to their conversation while they followed along, "but, yeah, it's been pretty enjoyable. I'm already sure that I'm going to miss coming here."

Celestia simply acknowledged Marshall's answer with a hum, partly so as not to undermine his feelings with any of the self-satisfaction that she felt, but mostly because she wanted to use his answer as a springboard to another question that she had on her mind. "I've heard that your species is one with many nations. If you don't mind me asking: does that division play any role in how you feel about your experience with Equestria thus far?"

It took Marshall a few seconds to figure out that she was referring to the root cause of the aforementioned division, which would inspire more than the creation of invisible borders between groups of people. Considering the seriousness of the subject, he decided to be honest, partly because Celestia seemed like someone that he could trust. "...Maybe a little?" He paused, furrowed his brow, and thought about his answer some more before he continued. "I mean, not many people would agree that the state of things are all that great, but we generally get used to it. So, for the most part, it's getting to experience new things that I like the most; especially the things that don't seem to be possible in my universe." He looked over his shoulder and smiled self-consciously at Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, since he didn't normally express what he was about to in such a direct manner, or in person, that often. "The company isn't all that bad, either. Honestly, I'll probably enjoy that aspect more once the novelty of everything else has worn off."

Celestia chuckled good-naturedly as the aforementioned company that Marshall had been referring to returned his smile, due — in no small part — to Twilight Sparkle's smile being accompanied by a slight blush. "I appreciate your candidness, Recherché." With the niceties out of the way, she became more somber and returned her attention to the situation at hand. "Now, what do any of you know about love?"

Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Marshall glanced searchingly between each other, wondering if anyone knew the desired response. It seemed like a question that would have an easy answer, but that was unlikely to be the case — given the circumstances — if Celestia had to ask. Due to their reticence, the most naive of the group, Spike, didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity to answer. "It's when you like someone a lot, right?"

"That is one way that love is expressed, yes," Celestia replied, with a slight dip of her head.

Twilight Sparkle was the first to catch the hint, who enthusiastically said, "You can also love someone platonically!"

"That's right," Celestia acknowledged.

"Inanimate objects can be loved as well," Rarity confidently stated.

"Yes, they can," Celestia agreed.

When Marshall couldn't immediately think of anything to follow up their answers with, everyone sans Celestia looked at him expectantly, hoping that he had thought of something that they hadn't. All that served to do was make him uncomfortable, which wasn't all that conducive toward critical thinking. "W-what? Is there anything else?"

Celestia smiled with amusement, and seized the others' attention when she said, "There are many things to know about love. In terms of where it can be directed, for instance, there is still yourself and the abstract." She gave her audience a moment to absorb that before she continued. "Beyond that, love can be selfless or selfish, shallow or deep, fleeting or timeless, spontaneous or deliberate, healthy or unhealthy."

Her smile faded as her gaze swept across the group, making sure that she caught everyone's attention in case her prior words had proved too distracting for what she had to say next. "If we plan to establish and sustain a relationship with the changelings, it will be important to understand the boundaries and intricacies of love, as well as discover what kind love they can partake of. Should the worst-case scenario come to pass, that knowledge may also prove vital in our defense against them."

"However," she continued, "in the case that we come to an accord with Chrysalis, it will take some time for the changelings to establish themselves in Equestria in an official capacity, so it will be vital to find those willing and capable of donating love to them until they can provide for themselves." She made eye contact with Twilight Sparkle before she finished, asking, "Can I count on you to organize a relief group that can rise to the task?"

"O-of course!" Twilight Sparkle readily responded, who tried her best to hide the doubt that came as an afterthought with the conviction that she had for living up to Celestia's expectations. "It'll be no problem at all!"

Celestia smiled with approval. "I'm glad to hear that."

The rest of the group's trip to the main entrance was spent in silence, mostly due to their thoughts being occupied by the present situation and what awaited them in the future. Upon reaching their destination, some parting words were exchanged before Celestia and Marshall broke away from the group and continued onward, toward the house that was closest to Twilight Sparkle's castle.

Once they were out of earshot of the others, Celestia asked, "Recherché, do you believe yourself capable of projecting a form of love toward Chrysalis?"

Marshall turned his attention away from Rarity, who was watching him from the open doorway with a worried expression on her face, and looked up at Celestia. "Well," he temporized, so he could think about it for a second before deciding on, "I don't know, but I can try."

Celestia accepted his answer with a nod of her head and remained silent for the remainder of their short journey. In the meantime, Marshall had to actively stop himself from looking at her, lest he ended up staring. She was just so... fascinating in general, which included how she had an air about her that made her feel approachable yet unreal at the same time. He'd had similar but weaker feelings in the past, but never toward another sapient being, and he didn't know what to do about it. With that being the case, all that he could think of to do — at that moment — was to put the matter aside for later and focus on what lay ahead of him.

It wasn't long before they were standing in front of the house, and it was with the faintest bit of hesitation that Marshall knocked on the front door. Celestia noticed it, however, and regarded him with concern as she inquired, "Are you alright?"

The attention was a bit too much for Marshall, primarily because of who it was coming from, so he returned his attention to the front door and evasively said, "I'm just not used to doing stuff like this."

Before she could reply to him, whether she would have or not, the door opened, revealing the old mare that he had seen earlier. The changeling's attention quickly shifted to the imposing figure that was Celestia, and its eyes widened even as its body noticeably stiffened.

Taking advantage of the fact that the changeling hadn't bolted, Celestia took the initiative and gently requested, "I wish to have a parley with your queen."

The changeling relaxed a bit, but it still took a while for it to gather enough of its wits to speak, but not to the extent that they maintained the manner of speech that had been employed with their disguise before. "Um... Meet me at the back door."

Without warning, the changeling shut the door in their faces. Marshall looked over at Celestia so he could take his cue from her, considering who she was in light of what had just happened. Other than being a little surprised, she seemed to take how she had been treated in stride and simply gestured for him to follow her as she began to walk around the house. As he joined her, his appraisal of her rose further, which made it a bit more difficult to avert his attention from her.

As they made their way to the back door, around the side that made them visible from Twilight Sparkle's castle, they were unaware of the activity occurring above them. From the upper half of the chimney, on the side that was facing away from other dwellings and gathering places of the town, a couple of bricks began to signal a message to a spotter by alternating their colors between white and their usual color.

The back door opened a few seconds after they reached it, and out stepped a male pegasus with a green coat, blue hair and teal eyes. Understanding what the changeling's change in form meant, Celestia turned to Marshall and said, "It appears that our meeting place is some distance away. How well did your lesson in flight go?"

Marshall perked up with excitement at what was being suggested, not really caring — for the moment — how informed she was about his activities, or how he enthusiastically responded with, "Really well!"

Celestia chuckled at his reaction before readying him for the spell that would give him wings. Unlike Twilight Sparkle's spell, however, he was lifted from the ground and the magic streamers coiled around his entire body rather than focusing on his sides. While it was a little nerve-wracking, he figured that he had no real reason to worry, so he kept himself calm and waited for the spell to finish its work.

Once the spell had run its course and he felt the ground beneath his hooves again, he looked over his shoulder to see the results. What he saw was unexpected and caused him to pause for a few seconds before he gave his new wings a tentative flap. The wings in question were translucent butterfly wings, save that they lacked veins. With the exception of the tails on the hind wings, where each bore a splotch of dark purple, the other colors, including the specks of white that were sprinkled about, were light and soft, which seemed better suited to the translucent nature of the wings. Overall, though, he could sum their appearance up with one word: girly.

When he finally pulled his focus away from his new wings, he noticed that the changeling was staring at them intently. However, when the changeling became aware of his attention, along with Celestia's, he shied away and prepared to take flight before awkwardly instructing, "Follow me."

They took to the air after the changeling, although Celestia paused long enough to make sure that Marshall wasn't having any trouble. While the butterfly wings didn't work in quite the same way as the avian variety, Marshall had little trouble feeling them out and making the adjustments needed for basic flight operations. Once the aforementioned adjustments were made, he assumed the position of a wingman to Celestia as they followed the changeling, due more to seeing the formation so often rather than thinking about the reasoning behind it.

The changeling took them to the foot of a mountain that Marshall figured was close enough to Canterlot to be within its shadow. Waiting for them between a forest and river was Chrysalis, watching their arrival with an air of confidence and arrogance. It occurred to him that it seemed kind of odd how quickly Chrysalis had been ready to receive them, regardless of the location, but he figured that Celestia knew better about such things and she didn't seem to be concerned about it.

Once they were all on the ground, with their guide standing beside Chrysalis, Celestia opened with, "I appreciate your willingness to meet with us on such short notice."

"Then I hope you won't mind getting to the point instead of wasting any more of my time with pretense," Chrysalis replied in a no-nonsense manner. "What do you want?"

If Celestia had been affected by that response, she didn't show it and maintained her civility. "Peace."

Chrysalis scoffed. "Peace? Forget it."

"...What?" Celestia replied, who was genuinely taken aback.

"You heard me," came Chrysalis' terse response.

Marshall looked between Celestia and Chrysalis, trying to comprehend the situation. He had figured that there would be some negotiation, at the very least, rather than an immediate rejection. Now he felt even more removed from his element than before, and it made him wonder if he could do anything to salvage things, or if he should even try. While his time in Equestria was limited, and thus wouldn't affect him once he was gone, he didn't like the idea of his new friends getting into a conflict with the changelings, even though they seemed capable of taking care of themselves.

After Celestia held Chrysalis' resolute gaze for a time, the expression on her face transitioned to one that reflected how she felt inside: sad and tired, but ready for whatever she would have to deal with in the future. "I see," she quietly said, before turning her attention to Marshall. "Let us return, Recherché."

When she took to the air, Marshall hesitated with indecision before doing the same, opting to follow her lead rather than look like an idiot by staying put and trying to think of a solution on the spot. However, shortly after they began to fly away, they heard Chrysalis shout, "Wait!"

Upon turning around to see why Chrysalis would call out to them as they were in the process of leaving, she was briefly consumed in a familiar green flame and assumed the same form as the changeling standing beside her. Then both changelings flew up to them so the one that had been posing as Chrysalis could tell them, "Follow us if you want to see our queen."

Celestia did so with obvious relief. Marshall, on the other hand, wasn't exactly sure about what had just happened, so he kept up with her and asked, "Was that some kind of test?"

"Yes," Celestia replied, as she turned to regard him. "As good as their intelligence network appears to be, they weren't willing to take any chances until they had a better idea of our intentions."

Marshall supposed that made enough sense, although he had to wonder if it was fair to be the only party jumping through hoops, especially — as Celestia managed to notice — if the changelings were already keeping tabs on them. He didn't wonder for long, however, because of the shame that he felt when he thought back on how unprepared and useless he had just been, even considering the fact that the situation had unfolded so quickly. He didn't even want to imagine what might have happened if they had been dealing with the real Chrysalis, or her actual feelings on the matter. So, instead, he began to think of what he could do to help their meeting with the authentic queen of the changelings, especially if she really wasn't in favor of having a peaceful relationship with Equestria. In particular, he tried to figure out how he could convey love toward Chrysalis, since he figured that Celestia wouldn't have brought it up for no reason. Unfortunately, on top of his ignorance on how to do it, he wasn't the type of person who expressed much from that part of the emotional spectrum.

The changelings guided them toward another mountain, this one not even half of the width of the other yet similar in height. There wasn't much to observe along the way, but they were eventually able to see two cities on the horizon, to the left of their destination: the closest one had a railroad track heading toward it and appeared to be modern by human standards, while the other could barely be made out beyond a forest, between only being able to see the taller buildings and being a different shade of blue than the background.

Soon they were flying over the forest at the base of the mountain, and not long after that they descended through a hole in the canopy. Within the clearing that they landed in was a single building, a wooden table with benches, and several changelings, who were either standing about, sitting at the table, or guarding the doorless entrance of the building. Said building was of a simple construction, consisting of mortarless walls made of large, stone bricks, and wooden planks that functioned as a roof.

Of course, by the time that they had landed, they drew the eye of every changeling present. Marshall did his best to ignore it as their guides gestured for him and Celestia to enter the building, along with the more intimidating guards as they passed them by, who — unlike the others — wore armor. The inside of the building was dimly illuminated by the light that entered through the doorway, which was just enough to make out barely more than Chrysalis' eyes in the gloom, who stood at the back of the room, where it was darkest. Nothing else seemed to be inside, and he could still feel the relatively soft ground beneath his hooves, instead of a foundation or floor for the building.

Chrysalis chuckled as she turned her amused, half-lidded gaze away from Marshall's wings and toward Celestia. "When I humored our little friend here, I was prepared to delay my plans if he revealed my presence, or execute them if he kept silent long enough, but this?" Celestia and Marshall saw the white of her teeth show in the dark, making evident the predatory nature of her smile. "Making yourself appear brave to your subjects by going into the enemy's den, when — in reality — you fear me so much that you've come to beg for mercy, knowing that I'll defeat you again otherwise."

Celestia was stoic as she returned Chrysalis' smile with a hard stare. "That you are able to do anything now is because of my mercy."

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Chrysalis sneered. "Your kingdom was practically within my grasp after I neutralized what I thought to be my only obstacles. Don't think that I will make the same mistake twice."

Marshall watched the exchange anxiously, with wide eyes, his vision having adjusted enough to the dark to make out Chrysalis' body, who began to slowly step to the side in a stalking manner. He didn't like where things were going at all, but didn't know what he could say to improve the situation, and the pounding of blood in his ears wasn't helping his concentration. So, he closed his eyes and focused with all of his might, hoping that love would somehow make a difference. Hopefully The Beatles were right about love being the only thing that one needed — in this situation, at least.

Celestia shook her head sadly. "You didn't find it odd that a shield was erected against an unspecified threat? Or notice that it just so happened to repel changelings alone?" That caused Chrysalis to pause, though her thoughts weren't betrayed beyond that. "I was well aware of your activities. The shield was there to dissuade you, because until then you had co-existed with my little ponies without disrupting their lives, but had become more bold over time. Even without the benefit of the doubt, I never would have thought that you would have reached so high, and accomplished it in a way that I had been so sure was an impossibility."

Chrysalis released a derisive snort. "So, what, you underestimated me, and now you expect me to be concerned about you taking me seriously?"

"Imagine," Celestia evenly began, with a clear undercurrent of minacity, "the spell that I had taught to my former captain of the royal guard, made available to the public. It has been adjusted to burst outward, in the same manner that ejected you from Canterlot, and its widespread use is mandated by royal decree. Imagine never being able to keep your hooks in any Equestrian community ever again, when the spell is used in response to the slightest suspicion of a changeling's presence."

Her body rigid and eyes narrowed, Chrysalis hissed, "You spoke of mercy, yet you would go so far as to cast us into a famine?"

"If I must," Celestia calmly stated.

Both leaders silently stared into the other's eyes for a long moment before Chrysalis deliberately asked, "Let's assume that I'm willing to abandon my current plans for another arrangement. What are you offering?"

Relaxing somewhat, Celestia said, "Integration into Equestrian society and securing an ample supply of food, with the support of the government. If you hold land outside of Equestria, you will retain the right to keep it as its sovereign ruler. However, I'm willing to grant you some land within our borders in addition to that, and you will be recognized as having the same authority there as you would in your native land, so long as it isn't abused."

Chrysalis regarded Celestia with suspicion. "That sounds a lot more accommodating than I'd expect from someone who doesn't consider me a threat. What's the catch?"

"Aside from friendship?" Came Celestia's rhetorical response, before simply adding, "Nothing."

Becoming angry, Chrysalis growled, "Do you take me for a fool? Nobody would go so far out of their way for friendship, especially with a history like ours between them."

Celestia was quiet for a moment, her eyes closed as she contemplated her answer, before she reopened them and softly said, "I simply don't wish to see the past repeat itself. My sister once felt that she wasn't receiving enough love, especially compared to myself. Her need for it became so great that she came to think of me as her main obstacle, and in doing so she gave into her resentment, turning into a monster." After a short pause to read Chrysalis' expression, who had noticeably calmed down, she continued. "So, I desire a future where you receive the love you need, and all involved benefit from it."

Rather than make any remark regarding Celestia's sister, Chrysalis wisely chose another, more relevant and sensible topic to launch her argument from. "And how, exactly, do you plan to feed us all? I imagine that you won't accept it if your ponies are fed on without their consent or knowledge, and I highly doubt that they would willing—"

Marshall opened his eyes to see if his latest attempt at projecting love had worked. It hadn't been easy, between focusing on that and listening to what was being said at the same time, but he thought that he had managed it well enough. Considering how Chrysalis had paused abruptly and stared at him with a modicum of surprise when he had focused on a mix of thoughts that inspired sympathy and empathy, with said thoughts producing more the former than the latter, he could only assume that he had succeeded.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Celestia regarding him with a warm, approving smile before turning her attention to Chrysalis and closing her eyes. A few seconds later, the changeling queen's body jolted as if physically struck, and he caught a glimpse of her face before she hastily whirled around to hide it from them. What he saw was rather mixed and hard to discern, but he was pretty certain that he had seen confusion there, at the very least. Another distinguishable emotion seemed to be fear, but he wasn't sure if that was the case, considering the strength of Chrysalis's character up until that point.

As soon as she had her back facing them, she desperately shouted, "Disperse and leave the area!"

Following her order, the world around Celestia and Marshall became alight with green flames, which startled them both. In the wake of the flames, much to their surprise, remained changelings, who quickly scattered to the four winds, leaving them alone with Chrysalis. Marshall squinted against the sunlight as he looked around, and not only did he not see any changelings in the clearing, but the table and benches had vanished along with the house.

Before they could fully digest the fact that changelings could become inanimate objects, and everything that could imply, Chrysalis began to speak in a tightly-controlled manner. "I will bring one-hundred changelings to that eyesore of a castle tomorrow afternoon. If you can feed all of them adequately enough, as they are, I will listen to your proposal in more detail."

Then, without warning, she took to the air and quickly disappeared behind the canopy. Not knowing what to make of that, Marshall turned to Celestia and asked, "Was that... good?"

With her attention still focused on where Chrysalis had gone, Celestia said, "Yes. She's giving herself some time to think. It's not much progress, but it's a start." She looked down at Marshall and regarded him with a smile. "Good timing, by the way."

Marshall looked away bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks. It took a few attempts, though."

Celestia acknowledged his modest answer with a nod of her head. "Let's head back, Recherché. We have several worried friends to bring relief to, and I imagine that we have much in the way of work ahead of us as well."

With that said, they proceeded to fly back to Ponyville. Along the way, after Marshall was able to put recent events out of his mind for the time being, he felt bold enough to ask Celestia a question before the opportunity was lost. "Princess Celestia?" Once he had her attention, he inquired, "Can you really move the sun?"

"I can," Celestia casually claimed. "Is that not how the cycle of day and night works where you are from?"

Marshall shook his head. "Everything moves on its own."

After a moment of contemplation, Celestia smiled slightly and looked at Marshall with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I usually don't allow deviations under normal circumstances, but I'm willing to make an exception. Look toward the horizon at sunset, and you'll get your answer after the sun dips below it."