Chapter: 13

by Chapter 13

[We Will Live On] Part: 1-4

“Can everypony please take a seat so the council can commence?” the speaker of the house announced, his voice deep and gruff, easily distinguishable from the common banter that filled the Canterlot Castle meeting room. He was a large, slightly heavyset stallion with a bright gold mane and a dark grey coat. He spoke with precision and class, reflective of his high standing lineage—the same one that had allowed him to be elected to such high a position.

The room that had been abuzz with idol chatter soon died down to a quiet whisper, all those in attendance quietly shuffled to their assigned positions around the large table that sat in the middle of the room. The room itself wasn’t overly complicated—standard decorations and designs that could be found all around the castle were present. However, it still was unique, with paintings of well established family crests hung all around the room; a large round table that lay in the dead center of the room with plush chairs lining its circumference.

Nobles, generals, and other members of the Equestrian Elite were amongst those in attendance; along with several other ponies who held high standing in the Equestrian government. Among them -- currently sat in front of the large, stain glass window that depicted her own crest -- sat princess Celestia. The princess sat patiently, her hooves gingerly crossed in front of he. She carefully watched over all others in attendance, waiting for the meeting to truly commence.

“All in attendance, members of the Equestrian Elite, we are currently meeting to discuss action and reaction to our recent invasion attempt,” the speaker called out from his seat, addressing all. “Those who wish to speak may now have the floor.”

The table instantly erupted in a cacophony of voices: all trying to talk over each other; all molding together in a singular garbled shout; all drowned out by the rest.

Except for one.

“My little ponies, may we please discuss in relative peace? This is a big issue we are addressing, and I expect you all to treat it as such,” Celestia spoke with a calm, even tone.

Her voice breached through the chaos, reaching clearly to the ears of all who attended. The room soon returned to silence, with some muttering quiet apologies.

“Much better.” The solar princess nodded. “I know most of you are still shaken up by the incident, and I wish we could put this off until later, but an action must be taken. The sooner, the better.”

A single, elderly stallion stood up upon the princess finishing, his golden armor clinking slightly. The stallion in question was General Crossed Swords, a hardened military veteran who had earned his title through his deeds when he served in the Equestrian Army.

“Princess, if I may speak?” the greying stallion ask. Celestia nodded. “I believe that the best course of action will be swift, brutal retaliation. These… these monsters attacked us unprovoked—without reason. If they are so bold as to attack our capital city, I can only fear what they may have in store later.”

“I concur with the General,” a noble spoke up, standing from his chair. “We must mobilize our armies and squash these vile creatures like the bugs they are!”  

The room erupted once again. Nobles, dignitaries, and military personnel either shouted their support, or remained silent.

“Order! We will have order!” the speaker boomed through the cheers, the room descended into relative silence soon after.

“With all due respect,” began another noble, “we don’t have the means to amass an army so quickly. Equestria has been in peace for over a thousand years. It would take months to mobilize an assault the simile of what you are proposing.”

The aged general stood up again. “While we have few in numbers: the guard and standing forces at our disposal are well trained and more than capable of ending this once and forall.”

“‘Well trained?’” a noble scoffed. “Our city was nearly seized within an hour with your ‘well trained’ forces on high alert!”

A younger officer snarled at the noble. “We are not to blame for this! Our commanding officer was incapacitated under their leader’s spell, while our dear princess was…” He choked on his next words. “D-defeated. The resulting chaos caused our entire army to fall into disarray. We were swarmed during this hour of weakness and they took advantage of the discourse to overpower us.”

Another officer stood up, his uniform showing his superior rank. “I agree with Officer Stall—under these odds we never stood a chance. However, now that we know what our enemy is, and the shape-shifting power they control, we will not be taken by surprise again.”

Both officers nodded to each other in agreement, then both returned to their seats. Crossed stood up once again and slammed his hoof into the table. “What they lack in power they made up for with tactic; utilizing stealth and sheer volume to almost take down a greater opponent. But this is exactly why we must act now! Like us, their army currently lays fractured, their queen either dead or crippled by our Captain’s magical pulse. If we wait, if we delay, they could reform and mount another strike that we may not be so lucky to repel.”

Nobles and dignitaries erupted in both cheers and jeers. Many agreed with the General, arguing that a swift retaliation was the only available option to end the threat and secure safety. Others believed that attacking would start a full scale war, only plunging the Kingdom into more strife.

Celestia watched from her position at the end of the table, carefully listening and taking in all suggestion that were argued around the court. She pondered each and every one of them, thinking them through in great detail. But, one thing stuck out in her mind, an absence of a certain point: Mercy. She had known about the Changelings for countless years, their presence more then known to her. They were a reclusive race, preferring to remain in the shadows and away from conflict. She did not know where exactly the species resided, only able to pinpoint their origin to somewhere in the Equestrian Badlands.

Actually, that was not completely true. Long ago, Changelings had posed even more of a treat then they did now. Their skill in stealth allowing them to infiltrate entire cities, draining them dry of their emotions then moving to the next. This lasted for many years, but eventually died down to the point where they faded from Equestrian culture completely, their presence only known through story and myth.

And to her.

She shook her head, pushing away her tangential thoughts. Their history was a subject for later, something she would recount in detail at a later date. With her focus returned, the princess’s thoughts soon lead her to not how to respond, but to contemplate the why. What had caused this quiet race to emerge from the shadows?

Her thoughts were broken as the doors to the room burst open, shifting both her and the rest of the room’s attention from the issue at hoof to the unwanted intrusion. A large pegasus stallion strutted into the room—his armor dented, body showing fresh marks of combat. Two smaller, less built guards stood on either side of him, their forms just as worse for wear.

One of the nobles stood up. “How dare you barge into a Council meaning?! Do you not have any respect for your betters?!”

The pegasus turned his gaze to the offending stallion, snorting loudly. “I am here to report to General Crossed Swords and to him alone,” he commanded, his tone so fierce that it caused the outbursting noble to instantly sit back down, turning away to hide his fear.

The General stood up at the mention of his name, and cleared his throat. “Commander Blood Wing, what news do you bring to warren this kind of interruption?”

“I apologize, General,” Blood Wing spoke, showing his respect for the aged veteran. “I came to inform you that we were successful in tracking down a few of the bugs that had been expelled during the attack. After some ‘coercing’ we were able to weed out the location of their hive and also gained a plausible location of their Queen’s landing site. I have already taken the liberty to have dispatched team assembled and at the ready, pending your command,” the colossal Pegasus spoke, then adding, “I would also like to add that it appears that most, if not all, of their grunts were not able to survive the impact—we have yet to find one alive. Those who we have been able to capture have been commanders or high ranking officers in their army; a seemingly special breed of changeling that is tougher, more resilient than the mass of the swarm.”

The room erupted in murmurs again, and the Speaker was soon to regain control of the situation. “Quiet!” he called out, pounding his hoof into the table. He turned his attention to the intruding pegasus. “Thank you, Commander, for your prompt relay of this development.”

The pegasus nodded, gave a quick bow to Celestia, then exited, motioning with a quick gesture for the guards by his sides to follow.

Once the doors closed behind them, all attention was returned to the Speaker. He cleared his throat. “The council with take note of these developments, and take them into account as we converse.”

Crossed slammed his hoof into the table. “See?! Now is the time to strike! The mass of the attack was from drone, who we were just informed are all dead. Their defense is weak, their chain of command crippled, now is the time to strike! We may never get a chance like this again; it is now or never.”

The Speaker turned to both Officers in attendance, who nodded in agreement at the General’s point. With all branches of the military in agreement, the decision could now be voted upon. “All who vote in favor of an immediate counter invasion, speak now.”

The room erupted in shouts of agreement, everypony shouting in unison. Well, except for one. The absence of a certain voice caused confusion amounts those in attendance, all turning towards the offender.

Celestia remained quiet at the end of the table, her face impassive, her regal mask stronger than usual.

The Speaker of the Court spoke up. “Princess… Did you not hear the decision?”

The white Alicorn remained silent for a moment, before sighing and shaking her head. “Yes, I have, and I did not voice my approval because I do not,” she spoke simply.

The entire course muttered at this, confused by her decision. Crossed was the first to speak up. “Princess, if I may be so blunt, but why do you not agree with this decision? I believe the council deserves the right to know why their princess disagrees with an issue that is besides you unanimous?”

Celestia sighed, nodding. “I believe that we should not make a decision until we know of the reason for attack. What provoked their sudden aggression?”

Crossed rolled his eyes. “Princess, I do not wish any disrespect, but does that really matter? They assaulted our home, or capital, and caused the tragic death of many of our citizens, as well as our noble guard. I will be honest when I say I don't care about the why! Any creature who thinks they can attack my home, my country, must know that I will not take it sitting down. This must serve as an example for all that wish to cause us harm, let their aggression be the end of who would wish us harm!” He cried out, smashing his armored hoof into the table.

The court erupted in cheers and stomps of agreement, voicing their approval of the General’s plan. As the frenzy started to die down, the Speaker spoke again, “All in favor?”

All cheered once again, and then turned to Celestia. The alicorn princess remained in quiet contemplation, reviewing the situation over and over again. Finally, with a hesitant sigh, the diarc softly nodded her head…

        The cool night breeze blew threw the silky hair of Drone 9836-12, a smile gracing his blackened muzzle. His body was relaxed, his mind at ease, boredom already setting him in a state of peace. The drone took a deep breath, taking in the soft scent of the night air. He was small for a drone, but he had never let that bother him… much. The soldier exhaled, opening his eyes and peering out into the vast wasteland that surrounded the hive. He enjoyed being outside, the stale air from inside the hive being replaced by fresh, clean air, and the feeling of the cool running down his black chitin and flowing through his holled hooves. It gave him the feeling of being free, being more than just one of the many who stood guard around the hive’s outer perimeter. He had liked the job at first, the feeling of serving the Queen for the better of the hive, but it soon became dull, repetitive, all meaning of honor floating away as the hours past by uneventful, his only source of joy was the feeling of the fresh air, and what little it brought.

        A gentle tap on his shoulder made Drone 9836-12 jump in surprise, his calmed trance broken, and nearly fell from the large cliff that was his sentry perch. Quick to recover, the drone first made sure to regain his footing, then turning to see who had, so rudely, frightened him. The slight hint of anger that had appeared on his features softened immediately upon noticing who it was. “Hey, 7345-10,” he spoke, his voice raspy, like most of the other drones. His lips curling into a small smile as realization struck him. “Here to take over my shift, already?”

        The other drone chuckled slightly, shaking his head. “No, you still have a few more hours,” he said as he sat next to the other drone. “I figured I’d keep you company in the meantime, as I have nothing better to do.”

        The smile remained on Drone 9836-12’s face as he sat down next to the other drone. After having stared at the vast, dead wasteland that surrounded the hive for hours on end, he enjoy having company. “Thanks,” he muttered, then returned his gaze towards the emptiness of the surrounding land.

ZAP!

        Drone 9836-12 jumped at the sudden sound, which was accompanied by a blinding light. When the light faded, and his eyes readjusted, Drone 9836-12 gaped in horror at the sudden appearance of a large, burning hole that sat in the middle of the chest of his friend. The drone, in turn, stared at his wound with fear, then nothing as he slumped to the ground, unmoving. Drone 9836-12 scrambled to his hooves, and over to his fallen brother. It only took a moment for him to confirm that he was dead, then he began to run back towards the hive, intent on warning to other changelings. He didn’t make it far, as a twin, burning hole erupted in his chest. He fell to his knees, and stared at his wound just as his friend had. Then, he was gone...

Chrysalis walked into the large throne room of the hive, her steps echoing with the amazing acoustics of the room. The hive was located in a large cave; caverns and tunnels branching out in all directions. The walls of this section of the hive had been carved by many great changeling artisans who had changed the bare stone walls into depictions of beauty. Carvings of the past queens lined the walls, each with a nameplate below them. The roof consisted of many root-like carvings, all branching out from the large throne that sat in the middle of the room. The throne was a marvel in itself, being made from a rare gemstone that could capture and store the magical essence of love for eventual use. It also held a second purpose, showing the prosperity of the hive. The more energy the throne stored within its crystal architecture, the brighter it shined. Currently, the throne was almost completely dark, flickering only occasionally. The Queen stopped in front of the throne, letting her shoulders fall as she released a loud sigh, the throne that was once a reminder of power, now only showing the slow death of her hive.

That large changeling shook her head, a sad frown plastered on her muzzle. The sound of hoof steps clopping against the floor resumed once again as the changeling queen made her way past her thrown, heading down one of the many hallways that branched off the center cavern. The path that lead to her living quarters. As the distance between her and the grand doors of her personal chamber became smaller, the sounds of laughter slowly began to grow. Her downturn expression curled upwards into a smile, her sadness momentarily forgotten by the soft cheers of joy. She soon made it to the chamber’s threshold, saluting the changeling drones that guarded the door. Their expressions were that of stone, their bodies mimicking statues as their only movements were to salute back. With a gentle push of her magic, the large doors opened with a slight creek. A large bed, bookshelves, and a large desk filled most of the room marked the only material items that were held in magically lit room beyond. It was simple, with a simple aura about it. It did not shine with the glamor that was usually came with royalty, but held a [Stopped here]

, who was laughing and playing with one of the royal servants. The servant stopped playing with the pupa when Chrysalis had stepped in, and gave the queen a polite bow. Chrysalis smiled and waved for the servant to leave. The servant complied with a quick nod of her head before exiting. Chrysalis then turned her attention to the little pupa in the middle of the room.

"It seems that my daughter has been enjoying herself, have you not?" Chrysalis spoke, using a gentle and caring tone that she reserved only for her daughter. Her voice sounded like many voices mashed together at once, and it was just that. Her voice was a mash between all of the changelings in her hive. The greater the numbers of the hive, the more menacing her voice got. But, she could still tone it down at times.

The little changeling filly looked up at the towering queen and beamed, her smile running from ear to ear. "Mommy!" she squeaked, jumping up to hug the queen.

Chrysalis smiled and hugged back, nuzzling her head into her pupa's mane. "It is good to see you, Aurora. Your laughter and happiness warms my heart," she said through the embrace.

Aurora was small, her legs stumpy and her horn was still developing. Though, even with this, her magic was far more developed that expected for a changeling her age. Her mane was a mixture of red and orange and her eyes practically glowed a light pink. The little pupa was also more mature and intelligent for her age, but she still acted and played the part of a happy-go-lucky child. Because of her stumpy legs, Aurora only managed to wrap her hooves around one of the the Queen's front hooves. Aurora looked up at her mother, her eyes filled with childhood joy. "Momma, wanna play?!" she asked, hoping that her mother would agree. As of late, the small changeling had been seeing less and less of her mother, and when she did she was usually really tired and grumpy. But not today!

Chrysalis looked at her daughter, staring into her puppy dog eyes. The queen sighed before chuckling slightly. "Alright, my daughter, I shall play with you," she said threw her chuckles, and her heart soared at her daughter practically jumped with glee.

Aurora ran around her mother a few times, before taking a running jump, aiming for her mother's back. She didn't make it, only managing to jump half way up her mother's height. Before she hit the ground, however, she felt her body tingle slightly as she was grasp on her mother's aura, and lifted up into her mother back. Chrysalis released her magic from her filly, feeling her weight on he back.

The Changeling filly shuffled forwards, and gripped her mother's mane with her hooves. "Giddy up, momma!!!" Aurora giggled, slightly kicking her hind hooves into her mother's caripus. Chrysalis, in turn, laughed and reared up slightly, before beginning to run around the room.

Chrysalis played with her daughter for what seemed like hours, the laughter of mother and daughter filled the room and neighboring halls. Chrysalis always loved playing with her daughter, as it gave her a release from her duties of being Queen, and allowing her to forget her troubles, at least for a little while. But, her fun ended seemingly instantly from a single remark from her daughter.

"Momma?"

"Yes, Aurora?"

"I've been really hungry lately..."

Chrysalis' heart shattered from that remark, her playful smile instantly fell to a sad frown. Aurora saw this, and instantly ran to her mother and hugged her leg

"I'm sorry, momma!" the little changeling cried, "I didn't mean to make you upset!" Aurora buried her head into her mother's leg and began to cry. Not soon after, she felt her mother shift before feeling her mother's front hooves pick her up and cradled her in her arms.

The changeling queen rocked her daughter in her hooves, whispering soft, motherly coos to her daughter. It had pained Chrysalis to see her own daughter suffer from her failure to provide enough love for the hive. She had tried to give her daughter extra love to feed on, but there was only so much extra she could spare, even going as far as giving her daughter some of her own share. Chrysalis frowned, but almost immediately a soft smile perked up onto her lips. "Don't worry, love. Momma has an idea to stop your tummy from rumbling," chrysalis said, tickling Aurora's stomach, eliciting giggles from the little pupa.

"I love you, mommy."

Insectoid screams echoed throughout the great walls of the hive—some of fear, and others of pain. The Royal Guard had penetrated the protective walls of the hive, and were making their way deeper and deeper into the hive. As they went, most of the guards captured any changelings that didn't attack. Those who did, were silenced without prejudice. But some of the guard were still angered by the Changeling’s assault on canterlot, and simply killed every Changeling they saw, regardless if they posed a threat. Magic blasts and changeling defenses echoed throughout the halls, along with more screams of pain.

Most of the drones that had stayed behind were all set-up in the throne room, and guarded the entrance to Chrysalis’ room. In said room, a young pupa hid behind changeling servant, shaking uncontrollably. The servant frowned and tried to remain calm, reassuring the young filly. But the screams of battle outside the large doors made that all but impossible.

Suddenly, the doors of the queen's quarters sprang open, and battle-worn equestrian guards swarmed into the room. The servant put up a defensive position over the young pupa, ready to defend her to her last breath. The guards charged, their horns coated in their own respective magic glow. The servant's eyes glowed as a blast of magic shot from her horn and pushed the guards toppling back. The guards soon got back up to their feet and each shot blazing-hot plaza bolts from their horns. The servant tried to put up a shield, but the guards blasts shot right through it. The servant choked, a large hole now stood in the center of her chest.

She collapsed onto the floor, blood pouring out from her wound and out of her mouth. She coughed a few times, her green changeling blood shooting out of her mouth as she did. She managed to choke out ‘Run’ to Aurora, who was huddled not far behind the falling servant.

Aurora looked at the dying changeling in front of her with horror. She managed to get her legs to do as instructed, and began running towards the only safe place she could think of: Her secret hiding place.

The guards notice the pupa and readied their spells, aiming at the young changeling. But their concentration fell when they heard choked out laughing coming from the fallen changeling. They all looked to her, and eyes widened as they saw the servant was holding several magical grenades with the pins out. The servant smiled and choked out, "Fuck you."

The room exploded in a blast of magical energy, vaporizing the guards and mortally wounded changeling. When the dust settled, there wasn't much left of the once grand queen's chamber. Everything not made of rock, metal, or jewel had been turned to ash, and everything else was stained with a black tint. The royal guards that had went to investigate the explosion collected the broken and dented armor of their fallen comrades, and left. Soon, the hive was completely silent, the only noise coming from the last of the royal guards that were leaving the destroyed hive.

Thousands of years of Changeling history was destroyed in a matter of hours. The hive sat in ruin, it's walls cracked by the guards attack, artwork and carvings lay destroyed by their plasma blasts, and thousands of Changeling's lay dead on the floor. The hallways of the hive were covered in green blood, with only a small amount of red in contrast. Some of the Changelings that lay dead had died fighting, using whatever spells they knew to fight back, protecting their home. While most died running away or cowering in fear...

Celestia paced in her office, trotting from one side to the other. Her mind was a nervous wreck, and her mane was even worse. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. It had been over two months since the Changeling attack on Canterlot, and the solar goddess still couldn’t get it out of her head. She had let her subjects down. She had let them all down. She hadn’t been strong enough to protect her citizens when they needed her, and that fact had been wearing away that the princess for the past two months. But that was not what troubled the celestial alicorn right now. No, what was troubling the princess right now came in the form of a letter on her desk. As Celestia continued to pace, she was unaware of the door to her study opening and a midnight-blue alicorn trot in.

        Luna’s eyes followed her sister with great sadness. She could see the pain Celestia’s eyes, and the strain in her form. From knowing her sister for so long, and the almost magical bond they both shared, Luna could all but sense the internal hurt of her sister. She had not seen her sister this upset in a long while. Slowly, Luna trotted up to her sister and wrapped her hooves around her neck. Celestia shuddered at the contact, but upon noticing that it was her sister who embraced her, she hugged back. The pair remained in the embrace for several more minutes, before they both pulled back. Celestia used a hoof to wipe away the beginning signs of moisture in her eyes, and motioned her sister over to the fireplace with a hoof. Luna nodded, and trotted besides her sister to the enchanted harth that softly crackled.

They both sat down and Celestia let out a long sigh. “Sorry that you had to see me like this, sister,” Celestia began, looking almost ashamed.

Luna just gave her a comforting smile and put a hoof on her shoulder. “‘Tis okay, dear sister,” Luna began with a smile. “But we dost wish to know the cause of thy upset. Is this still grief from the assault of our capital?”

“No, Lulu. Though that does still pain me, that is not it.” Celestia levitated the letter from her desk and over to her sister. Luna gripped it in her own magic and read.

Luna finished reading, and then gave her sister a questionable look. “Why does this bother you, ‘Tia? It is great news!”

Celestia frowned. “No, no it is not good news, dear sister,” Celestia began aloud, then whispered it again to herself, “That is the not good news.”

“But it says that the changelings are no more — the assault was successful! We are free from future troubles from them!” Luna said with a cheery smile, which fell when she noticed her sister’s expression.

“Luna, things have changed since you’ve been gone. We do not simply destroy all those who wrong us and provide peace through fear. Yes, the threat is now gone. But at what price? Sister… do you know what we...I, just did?” Celestia asked, her eyes threatening tears.

Luna tilted her head slightly, racking her brain for a logical answer. “We eliminated a threat?” she asked with uncertainty, not sure if it was the answer her sister was expecting.

Celestia’s face instantly turned that of rage; her sad frown shifting to a scowl. “Genocide!” she screamed, standing up and staring, with burning eyes, at her sister. Luna backed up at the outburst, scooting away from her sister, but Celestia stalked her sister, not allowing the gap between them to grow more than a few hoofs away. “We just singled hoofidly ended an entire race! No, I just ended an entire race.” Celestia would've continued her rant, if she hadn't seen the look of terror on her sister's face as she stood over her. The princess of the sun shakily stepped away from her sister, and took a deep breath. She'd hoped that moment would have been enough to quell the anger that continued to rise within her, but in reality, it didn't very little. Celestia took another deep breath, and continued. “Do you know what bothers me more, sister? Do you know what pains my heart the most right now?”

Luna shook her head.

“It is that that I am the only pony this seems to bother,” Celestia choked out. A few tears managed to escape, and rolled down her muzzle.

Luna looked shocked at her sister, not expecting the outburst. “But why would it bother them? The changelings attacked us, brought us harm, and we got our revenge. Plus, it is just changelings. Why would it bother them?”

The solar alicorn’s eyes lit up like the sun. “Because it is wrong! That is why! I try, day-in and day-out, to try to preach love to our citizens. I tried to preach to them tolerance and understanding.” Her eyes began to tear up. “When I had the meeting to decide our counter-actions of the invasion, every single member voted to kill. Every single suggested action was just a different way to kill. Even in my rage, I suggested less harsh actions.” Celestia began to let tears fall freely down her face. “It is my fault because I wasn’t as good of a leader to convince them otherwise.”

        “But why not force them to do otherwise?” Luna asked. I remember a time when we did not have to suffer the stupidity of fools. 

        Celestia just bowed her head. “Because I am not a goddess, Luna. I am not a tyrant. I am merely a protector of our land. The greatest gift that I can give to my subjects is the right of free will, even if it means watching them make terrible, terrible mistakes.” With that said, Celestia threw herself at her sister and began to cry into her chest.

Luna winced a little at the sudden embrace, but soon hugged back, running a hoof threw her sisters celestial mane. As Celestia's tears continued to fall, Luna continued to run her hoof threw her sister’s mane, whispering soothing comforts into her ear. Luna had never seen her sister this upset; she had never seen her sister completely break down in tears. Luna had never had to be the strong one... But she would be damned if she would let that be an excuse for not being there for her.
         

It had taken hours, but the princess of the sun had managed to pull herself together. She had cried in her sister’s shoulder, and then remained in Luna’s embrace until she felt stable enough to get ready for her day. Luna had offered to stay, but Celestia insisted that she was fine. Celestia knew that she had to remain strong for her citizens, making sure to not show her weakness in front of them. She was the figurehead for her entire nation, being anything other than strong would severely crush Equestria's reputation with other nations.

With a warm bath and some excessive mane brushing, Celestia had managed to get her physical state almost as presentable as her mental state. It took a minor spell to get rid of the redness in her eyes from all her crying to finish it off. Smiling into her mirror, Celestia, metaphorically, donned her regal mask and trotted out of her study.

As she trotted, Celestia gave a regal wave and smile to any staff she encountered on her way to the royal court, and their happy smiles and wave back greatly helped brighten her spirits. She trotted through the courtroom door with an actual genuine smile on her face.

The court room was large, easily three times as large as her personal study. The walls were painted white, and had large windows that allowed the sun to gaze in. The ceiling was also white, but had a large window who's metal rebar was shaped into a rearing alicorn. Celestia remembered how that particular window had been designed so that the sun shone on her throne, that sat in the back of the room, at exactly noon. On the floor was a large mural of the solar crest: a white alicorn rearing in front of the sun. The the sides of the room had benches that anyone who attended the royal court could sit.

Celestia trotted up to her throne and took a seat, and snuggled into it's soft, velvet material. Celestia had hoof picked the material that composed her throne, and never regretted her decision. Even after it's many years of service, her throne was still as soft and comfortable as the first time she had sat in it. With a semi-sincere smile, Celestia took a deep breath and announced: “The day court is now in session!”

With those words spoken, the mob of pony's that had been meandering the court room slowly shifted into an orderly line. Those who held standing in the court took their places along the walls of the room. Celestia designed this system so that she'd personally hear out each pony that came to voice their complaints, propose something of governmental value, or simply shown up to end a petty dispute. After hearing them out, she would either personally resolve the matter, or send the pony to one of her representatives that would...

Celestia had never, in her many years of reign, had ever had such an... emotionally challenging day at court. Even the assassination attempts that she's had during day court hailed in comparison to today. But unlike those occasions, she felt like it was all of her pony's that held a knife to her heart. For some reason, her vision seemed to be clear of her clouded, perfect view of her ponies. And instead, she saw them for who they really were: Monsters.

Almost all of the attendants at today's court had congratulated her on the extinguishment of the changelings, or asked about the process of such efforts, depending on their level of ignorance to the issue. The others that showed up, however... Such selfish issues.

Everypony was arguing about petty issues; yelling about stuff that only the greedy would pay notice. Celestia had to hold herself back from yelling about how stupid and immature everypony was acting. All this time she thought that her nation was the epidemic of harmony and compassion, but the past few months have been slowly chipping away at her picture, revealing the truth in the canvas.

Celestia had to excuse herself early from court, much to the displeasure of those  attending, and decided to get something off of her chest. There was something that she had to do, whether she liked it or not...

        Celestia’s hooves clip-clopped on the ground as she walked threw the lower layers of the castle. Her face remained neutral; not showing any emotion. Her composure was rehearsed, and didn’t seem to be any different than the way she normally walked. This particular level of the castle was reserved for the Royal guard and anything that went along with the equestrian military. When the castle was build, Celestia and Luna both agreed to have the military below and out of the common pony’s view. It wasn’t that it was secret, more of that it housed some aspects that the princess didn’t wish for their citizens to notice.

        When she stopped, she stood in front of one of those aspects: the prison. Although there was a "normal" prison located above in the city, it was used for common criminals. This one, that resided deep within the mountain, was used for the more dangerous of captives. Celestia gave the pair of guards that stood sentry besides the large metal door curt a nod. The guards saluted in return, both turning and using the key that hung around their necks to unlock both sides of the door. The guards then swung the door wide, allowing Celestia to trott in.

        The area behind the doors was filled with cells, about a dozen guards patrolled the metal grated of said cells. Celestia ignored them, however, already knowing their rounds by heart. She also didn’t pay attention to the creatures inside of these cells, her gaze and focus set on a reinforced door that stood at the end of the hall. The princess quickly made her way to the door, before sticking her horn into the specialty lock. There was a soft “click” and the door slowly opened. Celestia trotted inside, and shut the door behind her with her magic.

        A single light hung in the middle of the small room infront of her. At the far edge of the room was a slightly large cell than those in the main jail, but, instead of metal bars, this cell had dark pink bolts of magic where the metal bars would be. The magic beams let out a soft hum, supplying the air with a slight scent of ozone. The inside of the cell, however, didn't vary practically at all from the other ones, having the basic components needed, such as a bed, sink, toilet, and small table. There was only once prisoner in this cell, who curently had her gaze set at the opposite wall of the cell.

The hooves of the prisoner were shackled together, a single chain connection the cuffs on their front hooves to the ones around their back hooves. The prisoner's crooked horn had a large, metal ring around it, strange glowing arcane glyphs running around it's circumference. The prisoner either didn’t noticed Celestia's arrival, or didn’t care enough to react—continueing to face the bare wall, a blank and emotionless expression on their face. Celestia, on the other hoof, looked upon the prisoner with the same expression she’d walked in with.

The solar mare loudly cleared her throat, now grabbing attention of the prisoner, who responded by slowly turning their head to face the princess and immediately scowled, her wings making a menacing chirp.

Celestia didn’t react to the display, instead speaking with a clear, even tone. “Hello, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis hissed in response, not even wanting to speak.

The princess shook her head, expecting the response. “I wish for this conversation to be as civilized as possible; I have all day to wait for you to oblige my wishes,” she spoke with the same, even tone.

The Queen scowled, but did not hiss.

Celestia took this as a sign of agreement. “Good,” she began. “Now, I first wish to know how you are doing?”

Chrysalis scoffed. “How am I doing? Seriously, you have to ask that?” Celestia nodded, while the Queen chuckled halfheartedly. “Fine. I am having a fine stay in your little five-star accommodation, your highnessssss,” she said, hissing the last syllable like a venomous snake.

Celestia did not laugh, she did not smile, she simply kept the same, neutral expression. “I see... that is good to know.” The princess sat down on the floor just feet from the magic bars, shifting slightly until she was comfy. Celestia then returned her focus to the changeling, before continueing. “I hear you gave my guards quite a hard time bringing you here.”

Chrysalis laughed, her chains rattling. “Those guards were pathetic! I took down ten of them even while I was injured from the blast.”

Celestia finally smiled. “And yet, here you sit—my ‘pathetic’ guards being the ones to bring you here.” Celestia hadn’t known how Chrysalis would react to the quibb, but she definitely didn’t expect her to smile.

Chrysalis continued to smile at her captor as she spoke. “I may be here,” she began, “but not all of your guards are here as well.”  Celestia’s left eye twitched ever so slightly. Chrysalis’ smile grew wider, noticing the small movement on the princess' stonic expression. “How many was it, again? I think it was five. Oh, and I don’t think that pegasus shall be flying any time soon.” Chrysalis’ kept her grin as Celestia’s face turned into a scowl.

The now angered solar mare glared at the changeling queen, who kept on smiling back. “You caused six deaths, thirteen mildly wounded, and three critically wounded,” Celestia spat. “And I am still surprised that my guards let you live after that.”

“Like you, I am very hard to kill. Although, from the beating I got from those guards who brought me here, I don’t think that fact was intentional,” Chrysalis spoke, her face now turning back to only a slight grin.

Celestia took a deep breath, before speaking. “Whatever the reason, you are now in my custody, and I shall deal with you accordingly,” Celestia spoke with a now calm voice. “But I am not here to discuss the details of your capture. I am here to personally inform you of a recent development.”

“Oh? Do tell?” the queen said with fake curiosity.

Celestia took another deep breath. “After your attack upon our capital... it was decided that the best course of action was to launch an immediate counterattack upon your hive.” The captured queen’s eyes went wide, her expression changing to one of shock. “The goal of this counter attack was to capture all remaining changelings…” Celestia paused for a second, regretting the next words. “Lethal force... was allowed for any resistance.”

Chrysalis’ mouth hung open, her body shaking slightly.

“The attack was carried out a few hours ago. It was a success,” Celestia finished. Her expression remained neutral, though she held back her sadness.

Chrysalis closer her mouth, then opened it again; no words coming out. She just stared blankly at Celestia, unable to respond. Then, she scowled, her face turned to that of complete rage. Her glossy wings began to frantically buzz together and she hissed deadly at Celestia, jumping closer to the magic beams, not caring about her restraints. “Those changelings were innocent! They had nothing to do with my actions!” she screamed, her wings buzzing louder. Then, her eyes went wide with concern as a thought popped into her head. “Where is my daugher? What have you done with her?!”

This time, it was Celestia whose eyes went wide. “D-Daughter?” she stammered, “I did not know you had a daughter.”

Chrysalis almost lunged at the beams, but managed to restrain herself. “Where is my daughter?!” she screamed again.

“I don’t know!” Celestia blurted out. “I was not told of any young changelings being captured...in fact, the amount of changelings that were captured was quite low.”

Chrysalis jumped at the bars, desperately trying to grab Celestia. Her eyes were filled with tears as she screamed, “You murderer! You killed my Daughter!!!!”

Celestia was well out of Chrysalis’ reach, but that still didn’t stop the changeling from trying. The solar princess stared blankly at Chrysalis, not knowing how to react.

Chrysalis’ body burned as it continued to make contact with the magical bars, the queen not even reacting to the pain. The room slowly began to fill with the smell of her burning flesh. “Monster! You fucking monster!”

Celestia backed up, her faced filled with both shock and sadness. She quickly turned around and left the room. All the same time, she heard Chrysalis’ voice continue to scream the word: ‘Monster’.

Celestia closed the door behind her and quickly made her way out of the prison, not looking at any of the guards. She banged the large double doors with a hoof and the guards at the other side opened it. Celestia looked at the guards for a second, just the briefest of moments, before walking past them. She trotted slowly down the hall and heard the double-doors shut.

Both guards used their respective key to seal the door to the prison. They both returned to their positions on either side of the door. As they watched their Princess trott out of sight, one of the guards turned to the other and asked, “Was it just me… or was Celestia... crying?”

Far away from the Celestia and Canterlot, Aurora, the tiny changeling princess, slowly emerged from sleep’s grasp. The first thing that became known to her was the horrible smell. It permeated the air and stank horribly, making her physically wince awake. Aurora blinked, thinking (and praying) she had only experienced a terrible nightmare—that what had happened yesterday, was only a bad dream. But as the smell continued to penetrate her nostrils, and she noticed where she currently lay, that was seeming less and less a possibility. Slowly, Aurora rolled onto her hooves and began to squeeze back through the entrance to her secret hiding place (which was a small, eroded cavern behind the Queen’s bedroom). But to her surprise, there was something blocking her path. With all of her strength, she pushed at the barrier, which eventually gave. As she began squeeze through the tiny opening she had created, she quickly realized that the blockage was broken bits of heavy, charred stone and mortar. Deciding to not focus on her realization, Aurora squeezed her body even more and made her way through the entrance.

        Stepping out, the young changeling almost fainted in complete shock at what she saw. The living quarters she had grown up in, spent her entire childhood in...her mom’s room, was completely destroyed. If it weren’t for the fact that this room was the only one connected to her hiding-spot, she wouldn’t have even been able to recognise it. Every piece of furniture was just… gone, and in their place were piles of ash. Random bits of metal and jewel were sprawled around the room, some sticking out of the ash, and some even embedded into the walls. Rocks that had fallen free from the ceiling were also laid around the room, making the once grand bedchamber look like nothing more than a simple cave. The whole room smelt of ozone and ash, along with whatever the horrible stench was that still filled the air. Aurora slowly trotted into the room, leaving hoofprints in the ash. She stopped, mouth agape, when she saw the shadowy outline of a changeling imprinted into the floor. The outlying would've remained unnoticed, if not for small, royal pendant that each of the royal servants wore in the center of the outline.

Aurora’s eyes began to water as she collapsed onto the scorched outline of the servant.

"Run!"

She could almost hear the servant say as blood poured from her mouth. That image replayed in the little changeling’s mind over and over again as she cried and shaked. It seemed like hours before she could collect herself enough to get onto her hooves. She picked up the blackened pendant and put it’s once silver chain around her neck. With one more sniffle, she walked out of the blown-back doors of the room.

The hallway greeted to the sight of dozens of dead changelings sprawled down the hallway. Each of them held marks of plasma damage, sword marks, or another battle wound. Their green blood leaked from the wounds, and was coating the floor of the hall almost completely green. The walls of the hall held many scorch marks and large cracks. Aurora looked on in disgust, her heart falling at the sight of her fellow Changelings. She walked forward, her hooves sticking slightly in the almost dry blood. She held back the bile that threatened to escape her throat.

The small changeling moved as fast as she could out of the hallway of death, the smell of the dead slowly filling the air. As she exited the hall, she skidded to a halt as she gazed into the throne room. The once grand carvings of the past queens were defiled and destroyed. Some showl damage of magical grenade damage, and others were simply destroyed due to countless plasma bolts. More dead lay on the ground, but not half as much that lay in the hall she had just passed. It was now she noticed the blood that covered her hooves, and she finally couldn’t hold back the bile in her throat.

She heaved as her stomach rejected its contents onto the floor. She continued to heave until nothing else would come back out. Even then, she dry-heaved until her throat hurt. She wiped her mouth with her shoulder and shook as she stared at her hooves. She was young, but she was smart enough to know what happened. In a state of panic, she did the only thing she could think of: scream for her mother.

“Momma!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, the throne room echoing her small cry. “I need you, Momma! Please! I need you!” She shook, curling up into a ball.

Everywhere she looked there was death. She couldn't sense her mother. She felt so alone. In her desperation, she tried to connect to the hive mind. Being young and her brain not being developed enough to handle the hive mind, she had been forbidden to connecting to it until she was more mature, as connecting now could possibly cause permanent psychological damage. But she didn’t care about that now, she needed to know she wasn’t alone, she needed to know what happened, and, most importantly, she needed her mother.

Aurora’s horn developed in a sickly green glow as she tried to connect to the mental link that all changeling’s shared. She did not need to be taught how to do this, as it was an instinct. She could feel herself connect and prepared herself for the surge of voices. But she heard none. No voices called out. Not voiced talked. There was just…silence. Aurora began to panic and mentally screamed out, “Momma!” She waited for a response, but not came. The silence cut into her like a knife, tearing apart her heart and soul.

She disconnected from the hive mind and began to bawl her eyes out again, shaking like crazy. She felt so alone, scared, and helpless. Her glossy wings chirped unintentionally as the pupa wept. Her sad song of her loss echoed throughout the entire hive, resonating off the walls, reaching every corner of the once densely populated hive.

The young princesses song continued, it's depressing tone continuing until Aurora could collect herself enough to stop crying. She turned onto her side and sniffles, wiping her eyes as best she could with her shoulder. The soft sounds of chirping still echo throughout the cavern… but Aurora couldn't feel her wings buzzing. The young princess's ears flicked up, scoping out for the source of the foreign sound. She sat up, her head rotating back to check on her wings. They were, in fact, flat against her back. Aurora looked at her wings curiously for a second… then her eyes went wide.

She scrambled to her hooves, running around in circles. Her ears perked up, and after some guessing and exploration, she finally though that she found the direction of the chirping. On tiny legs, the hopeful princess ran down one of the branching hallways, her once tired eyes now filled with hope.

The sound got louder as she seemed to get closer, but also softer, as if its origin was growing weaker. She ran faster, her hooves scrambling as she followed the sound. Finally, the young princess skidded to a stop in the middle of a large, circular room. The walls of this room were much like that of the rest of the hive, cracked and damaged from the previous slaughter. The sound resonated deep within Aurora’s ears, the source having to come from this room.

The pupa let out a chirp of her own, and soon after its twin that had let her here stopped as well. The young princess began to panic as the silence continued… Until she heard a soft, weak call, “Help…”

The pupa’s eyes went wide, her head turning from side to side, before falling upon a fallen chunk of cave wall. She let out another chirp.

“H-help…” The voice called out again.

Aurora’s hooves scrambled to find purchase as jetted towards the chunk of wall, jumping on top of it and scampering up and over it. As she jumped down and onto the other side, the little changeling let out a squeak of excitement as she peered into the eyes of another, alive changeling.

A mid-aged female drone lay on her side, a small puddle of green blood pooled underneath her. A large chunk of the toppled wall lay on top of her, covering her hind legs and most of her midsection, but her eyes shined with hope as she looked upon the young changeling.

“Hey, little one,” the Drone spoke, her voice soft and caring, but also forced. “What is your name?”

Aurora let out a squeal, jumping up and down with excitement.

The drone chuckled, a smile forming on her lips at the adorable display. She turned and frowned at the chunk of earth that pinned her down. “I don't supposed you could help me, could you?”

Aurora was unsure, looking at the rocks that covered her new friend, but she nodded anyways, wanting to at least try. The young princess closed her eyes, focusing her magic in the rock entrapping her new friend. Her horn glowed, the rock soon after shined with the same hue. Sweat poured down her forehead as she concentrated as hard as she could, and soon the rock slowly began to lift.

The female's eyes went wide at this, beyond surprised that the pupa was actually lifting her stone prison, but knocked herself out of her stupor, and began to scramble to try and get free. Inch by inch, the stone rose, and soon it was high enough for the drone to scramble out from underneath, crawling out just in time as the young princess couldn't hold it anymore, her magic dissipating as she feel tired on the floor, the rock slamming back down with a loud crash.

The now freed drone panted, laying down and relishing in her freedom, before trying to get up onto her hooves. Shakily, she got up, her back hooves hurting, but definitely not broken. She then turned to the tired pupa, who was panting on her side.

“Wow… You are one strong Pupa,” the drone muttered, limping over to the tired changeling, plopping down next to her. She then began to run her holed hoof through her tiny saviors mane. Aurora purred, shuffling closer.

The drone smiled. “Well, little one, it seems that I owe you my life,” she began, before tilting her head. “I wonder who’s child you are. I don't remember having you in any of my classes.”

The drone was actually the hive’s school teacher, Soft Wing, the room that the two now lay being her classroom. She looked down at the small pupa that purred in her lap, a frown soon forming on her lips as the situation soon began to kick in. She turned her gaze up to her once grand classroom, now crumbled and destroyed. The memory of how her world changed forever was burned into her memory. The screams, the cries of pain, the shouts of anger all could still be heard in the depths of her mind. She shuddered, pushing those memories away while she took care of the pupa in her hooves. She needed to be strong for this child, be an anchor for her forever changed world. There would always be time to cry later.

Soft Wing tried to connect to the hive mind, and again found it again to be empty. That meant one of two things: that the queen was dead, or unable to maintain the connection. She disconnected, sending a soft prayer to her queen, then returned her connection to the child in her hooves.

“Hey, little one?” she spoke softly, gently nudging her awake with her muzzle. “Can you tell me your name?”

Aurora yawned, letting out a soft squeak as she stretched her back, looking up expectantly at her new friend. “I am Aurora!” she giggled expectantly, then frowned. “Have you seen momma?”

Soft Wing bit her lip, sucking in a nervous breath. “I… I don’t believe so, Aurora. Can you tell me your mother’s name?”

She giggled. “Oh, silly me! My momma is Chryssie! She said she was gonna go and fix things and… and then she didn’t come back.” She dipped her head. “Then the bad ponies came and… and then Nanny told me to run and…” Tears began to run down the little changeling’s face as she looked up at the teacher. “Why is everyling dead?”

 The teacher froze, staring down in shock at the pupa, no, princess in her hooves. She had known that Queen Chrysalis had a daughter, but she had not known her name. Chrysalis had kept her pretty locked away, highly protected and isolated. This had probably been the reason why she had never had her in her class. But, that was not the only thing that shocked her. She stammered to try and think of a censored version of what happened, but came up with nothing.

Aurora watched as her friend seemed to contemplate an answer, and stood up to look as authorative as her mother. “I know that I am young, but mommy says that I am mature for my age. She said to make sure that everyling tells me exactly the truth, because… because, ‘one cannot rule under a throne of ignorance.’”

Soft Wings sighs, shaking her head. “Yes, your mother is right, my princess. We… I don’t know what happened. For some reason the ponies attacked and… and they hurt a lot of us. I don’t know why, but I do know that there is not a lot of us left.”

The tiny princess frowns. “Does that mean that mommy is gone?”

The teacher shakes her head. “I don’t know, princess… I don’t know.”

Aurora lets a few tears fall, and snuggles into her new friends lap, who immediately returns the hug, holding her close and protectively. “Don’t worry, child… everything will be… alright…”

The two had stayed there for a while, the teacher holding back her fear and sorrow to allow the tiny princess in her lap to let out hers. After all of the tears had been shed, and the princess could not cry anymore, and had been able to compose herself, Soft Wing had decided to search the hive and see if anyling else had survived. The teacher did not want to bring the young changeling along, wanting to keep her as far away from the death as possible, but also did not want to leave her alone, nor did she want to be alone. She was stuck between two horrible alternatives, and had finally given in to bring her princess along.

The two trotted through the destroyed hallways of their hive, Aurora resting on the teacher’s back and chirping her wings periodically, hoping to hear a response. Room by room they traveled, finding only death and destruction. More than once the two had to stop to deal with the situation at hoof, holding back waves of nausea or fits of tears. It was a lot to take in, to search for life within these dead hallways. Aurora took it well, far better than anyling her age should be able to, while Soft Wing… well, she held it all back to deal at a later time.

Finally, after almost giving up hope, they hear a sound that made their body’s fill with hope. A soft, desperate chirp sounded through the halls, responding to the princesses desperate call. With renewed purpose, the teacher and princess ran towards the direction of the cry for help, and eventually found its source.

A bloody soldier drone limped forwards, his body scarred and slightly charred, once glistening armor stained with shadowy marks of battle. He stared back at the two other changelings in front of him, a soft smile gracing his broken body. “Are you two alright?” he asked, his voice gruff and forced, his attempts in hiding his pain useless as it all could be heard through his voice.  He took a step forwards, before his hooves buckled underneath him and he fell onto his side, hissing out a cry of pain.

Soft Wing gasped at the soldier, placing Aurora on the ground besides her as she ran forwards. “On my Hive, you are hurt!” She cried, looking over the soldiers wounds. She then turned to Aurora. “Princess, can you run back to the infirmary that we passed a little while back and grab one of the first aid kits?”

The tiny changeling nodded, turning around and running as fast as she could towards her destination.

The soldier coughed, turning his head towards the teacher. “Did you just say… princess?” he spoke in shock, before breaking out into another fit of coughs.

Soft Wing glided to the falling guardian’s side, taking out his battle scarred armor. “Yes, our Queen’s daughter survived the… attack, it seems.” She shakes her head. “Poor child is too young to be dealing with this.”

“Yes, but it is good to know that she did. It gives me hope for our survival.”

Soft Wing shakes her head again, finally removing the soldier's helmet and begun doing as much fist aid that she could. She was a teacher, and had been trained to be able to handle most injuries. Not to this extent, but enough to make a difference. “But what did happen? Why did the ponies attack us? Speaking of which, how did they know where we were?”

“They attacked us because we attacked them,” he spoke, his words losing confidence. “You know that our hive was dying, right?”

The teacher nodded, her face filled with sadness. She and all of the rest of the hive knew that. She nodded. “So… she attacked the ponies to save us?”

The soldier nodded. “That is what they said in the briefing, at least. I was supposed to go and join the assault, but was eventually assigned to remain here in case… well, this happened.” His gaze fell, fear and terror filling his face. “They were better than us. Stronger than us. They came quick and fast, assaulting like a force I have never seen before. I tried to fight back, like everyling else, but… they were too strong.”

Sounds of tiny hooves clattering along the hallway signaled the return of their young princess. The teacher turning her head, and could not help but chuckle at the sight of Aurora carrying an oversized medical bag in her muzzle. The princess spat it out at the teacher’s hooves. “I found it!”

Soft Wing smiled and rubbed the Pupa’s mane with a hoof. “Good job, my princess,” she spoke, before opening the bag and using it’s contents to properly treat the wounded soldier.

Aurora smiled at being helpful, and trotted over to face the soldier. Her smile faded as she saw how rough he looked, his body covered in scars and wounds. “Does it hurt?” she asks.

The soldier smiles at the young changeling. “A little, but I’ll be fine.”

Aurora smiled a little bit. “What is your name?”

“Drone 924-343.”

She giggled. “No, not that, your real name.”

The soldier cocks an eyebrow. “That is my real name. All soldier drones are named like such.”

Aurora frowns. “That’s not a good name.” She pauses to think. “I think I’ll call you… Strong.”

He tilts his head. “Why Strong?”

She smiles. “Because! Only someling strong could even walk as hurt as you were.”

He smiles at the compliment, but then frowns. “I appreciate the compliment, princess, but I don’t think I deserve such an honor. If I was stronger than I could’ve saved more…”

“More?!” the teacher cries out, stopping her work. “Do you mean that there are more?”

He nods. “Yes. I was sent out to try and find more survivors. The rest are held up in Chamber: C.”

“How many?” the teacher asks, her eyes practically gleaming at the revelation.

        “About a dozen or so when I left. A few soldiers that survived and the General. The rest are just normal changelings that were lucky enough to either hide or just survive.”

        “After we get you patched up we are heading there. If anything it’ll make me feel better that we aren’t the only ones left.”

After Soft Wing had binded up Strong well enough that he could be transported, the tree changelings embarked on their journey to meet up with what remained of the hive. Soft Wing helped Strong along, letting him lean on her for support, while Aurora trotted along besides the two, medical bag held between her teeth. It wasn’t that much of a walk to Chamber: C, which was actually a currently unused part of the hive that had been abandoned due to lack of resources. It was originally supposed to be a grand expansion to the already enormous hive, but due to the Hunger, the project had to be abandoned.

As the tree approached the large hallway to the unfinished section, they were stopped by a single sentry that stood in front of the entrance. He was pretty banged up, showing that he had not survived the attack unscathed, but not as bad as Strong. The drone instantly recognized Strong, and rushed over to aid his fellow soldier, taking his weight from the teacher and helping him into the chamber. Aurora followed close after the teacher, not being used to new changelings.

The hallway lead to a large open room, the walls roughly carved with unfinished stonework. About a dozen changelings lay around the chamber in varying condition. Some looked like they had barely suffered a scratch, while others were missing limbs. A few soldiers were amongst the worst of the injured, and those who weren’t were currently tending to whoever needed aid, which was everyling. The three followed as the sentry that was guarding the opening lead Strong to the makeshift infirmary, which was a pile of blankets and scattered medical supplies. The sentry helped Strong onto one of these piles, before turning to Soft Wing and Aurora.

“Okay, you two. Follow me so we can have you check in with the General. He’ll be wanting to know that you’ve arrived,” the changeling said, turning around and motioning for the duo to follow.

The two complied, following the sentry to the General. General Ghost Step was the hive’s highest ranked general, second only to the Queen herself. He was slightly smaller than the average changeling, contrary to his skill and status. He had a light blue mane, and was easily distinguished by the large scar that ran over his left eye. The changeling in question currently stood in the middle of the cavern, trying to direct the survivors and keep some sense of order.

The sentry walked up to him, making his presence known before saluting the General. “General, we have two new survivors.”

The general turned to the sentry, saluting back. The sentry nodded, turning away and trotting back to resume his duty. Ghost Step trotted up too the two, and smiled when he noticed Aurora. “It is good to know that you survived, dear princess. I was beginning to fear the worst.”

Aurora smiled and waved to the general. “Hi, uncle Ghosty!”

The hardened general let out a quick laugh, shaking his head. “You truly are the definition of innocence, Princess.” He then turns to Soft Wing. “I believe it was you who found our dear princess?”

She shakes her head. “No, it was her who found me. If not for her then I’d probably still be stuck under a pile of wall.”

The general shakes his head. “The exact reason why I am sending so many to go out and try and rescue. Who knows how many are trapped like how you were, hoping for rescue.”

“Uncle, is momma okay?”

“I don’t know, little one. But, I do know that she would be proud of you for how brave you have been.” He pats her head, then sighs. “Aurora… I need you to do something for me?”

The little princess tilts her head. “What, uncle?”

“I… I need you to try to restart the hivemind. Only one of the royalty can start and continue the connection. I need you to try and do this so that we can try and contact all who are still with us. Please, Aurora, I need you to try.”

The young changeling stands up tall, puffing out her chest. “I can do it! Momma taught me how! She told me to wait until I was older, but I am older so it’s okay!”

The little changeling’s horn lit up as she started the spell, the dim light slowly growing as she continued to cast. Soon, the spell cast, and Aurora’s mind was instantly filled with cries of pain, fear, and sorrow. The little princess put her hooves to her hears, falling to her belly.

Celestia sat on her throne. It was one she knew she had earned, growing and maintaining a kingdom of safety and harmony. Yes, there had been a few hiccups along the way, problems that she felt that she could have solved differently, altered the outcome for the better. But, the past was always the past. Those who live as long as she has know this best.

The mare let out a sigh, her issue of the day still plaguing her mind. Yes, she did not agree with her ponies methods, but the end result did end in the safety of her ponies. Does the end justify the means? Was the culling of countless worth enough to secure safety without a doubt? She had thought long and hard on this issue, spend many a night pondering her stance on the dilemma. It was one she felt that she didn't truly have an answer for. And, when she couldn't find an answer for a problem, she would find somepony who could. And that somepony should be arriving any minute now, given her need for punctuality.

The goddess of the sun looked up and gauged the time on the throne room’s clock. She did not need to, as her sense of time was practically perfect, as was needed to make sure the sun rose at the right time every day, but it was still a habit that she felt herself being drawn into.

Suddenly, the door to the throne room opened, and in trotted a familiar purple unicorn with her faithful dragon missing from her side, per her request. Celestia observed her student, inwardly chuckling at the large, bulky saddlebag full of books that hung at her side. Oh, Twilight, some things will never change.

Twilight trotted up to her mentor and bowed, giving her respects. “I came as soon as I could, Princess! So, what do you need me to do? Are we under attack? Did another ancient demon escape?!”

Celestia chuckled, waving down her student. “No, no, Twilight. Nothing of the sort,” she said in her motherly tone as she stepped down from her throne, nuzzling her student.

The purple unicorn nuzzled back, opening her saddlebag and levitating out several books, most likely deemed unrelated by the unicorn in question. “Oh, okay… Then, what is it?”

Celestia sighed, sitting next to her student. “I do not need to have you and your friends go on a quest, or anything of the sort. All I require is an answer to a question that has been on my mind for quite some time.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Oh… okay? What is the question?”

The solar princess let out another sign. “Does the end justify the means? If you accomplish a task that needs to be done, does it truly matter how you do it?”

Twilight opened her mouth, but soon shut it. The unicorn seemed to travel deep in thought. “Well, I guess I can't really answer that without proper context. I mean, wouldn't it be unique for each situation?”

The princess nodded. “Yes, this is true.” She thought for a second. “Well, how about this: is it better to eliminate a threat at the source, or simply leave it be, and hope it doesn't grow back.”

This time, the unicorn seemed more confident in her answer. “Well, I guess it would be better to get rid of the problem at the source, rather than waiting for it to come back.” She tilted her head. “What is this all about, anyways?”

Celestia bit her lip, contemplating telling her student what had transpired, and the moral dilemma that followed. Finally, she gave in. “Well, I guess you are trustworthy enough to admit this. A few months ago we launched a counterattack at the changeling hive, capturing all we could and cutting down all those who resisted. This was deemed the best course of action, as our safety is the number one priority.”

Twilight nodded, taking in the information. “So… I’m guessing you don't agree with this course of action?”

Celestia nodded. “I love my ponies more than life itself, but I also love all species that wander this land, even those who wish us harm. Changelings have been a… pest, in the past, but were never bold enough to be considered a threat. I feel that is is my fault for not being more prepared for this. I believe that something must have happened to warrant this kind of action from them.” She shook her head. “I am glad and relieved that the threat is gone, but–”

“You don't agree with the cost,” Twilight finishes, and Celestia nods in agreement.

“I have made hard decisions in the past, Twilight. Decisions with consequences that I hated, but felt they were necessary. Other times, I have run into the same issue that I face now. It never gets easier, Twilight, and this is the dilemma that all rulers will eventually face. I am not a god. I am merely a guide to help my ponies through life. I am not a dictator, and will give them the gift of free will, but sometimes that comes at great moral cost. I have tried to shield you away from my role in government, separate you from the hard decisions that I have to make as a leader, but now I think you're old enough to finally get a glimpse of what it is I do.”

Twilight smiles, eager at the prospect of learning more from her believed mentor, but frowned when said mentor’s question filled her mind. “I… I don’t know what to say.” And she truely didn’t. The invasion was still fresh in her mind as well, and soon the image of her beloved princess being beaten by… by her came to mind. She scowled. “After what they did to my friend… after what they did to my friends… after what they did to my brother. I think they deserve what they got.”

Celestia frowned. “ I was overruled by the conceal, all except me voting with that exact same mindset. Weather it was made from that mindset, or just fear, it was the decision that was made, and the one carried out. The changeling race now sits in our dungeon or in the grave…”

The purple unicorn notices the sad look that appears on her mentors face, and her anger begins to subside. “I… I cannot forgive them for what they did, or for what they tried to do. They tried to hurt ponies that I care deeply about, and I think they should be punished.” She lets out a sigh. “But… if I look past my anger… then I get what you are saying. We should have waited and thought out the issue before responding, and not let hate cloud our judgement, like I did now…”

“A decision made on hate almost always ends with regret, Twilight. Anger is a powerful thing, a force that I have seen corrupt so many. I do not think of you less for you answer, I am merely saddened that I could not convince the others on the council of this.”

Twilight looks down, her head held low. “So… what are you doing to do now?”

The princess shrugs. “Nothing. There is nothing I can do. The decision has been made, the hive has been raided, and their queen now sits in chains. There is nothing I can do, now.”

“Then… then why did you call me here? Why did you summon me here to ask my questions about something you cannot change?” The unicorn asks, clearly confused.

The solar princess chuckles, shaking her head. “I guess I just needed a second opinion to make sure that I wasn't crazy. I may be a princess, but I still need to make sure that I am leading in the right direction every once in awhile. Believe me, I am far from perfect.”

Twilight chuckles. “Well, you could have fooled me. You are a good leader, and a fair one.”

I wish that was true, Twilight. Celestia smiles and nuzzles her student. “Thank you, Twilight.” She stands up from her seat besides her student. “But, let us not dwell any further on the issue. I did tell you that I thought you were ready to start learning about politics, did I not?”

The unicorn beams, the prospect of both spending time with her mentor and learning filling her with joy. “Yes!”

Celestia chuckles, wrapping a wing around her student. “I love the enthusiasm. Now, how would you feel about joining me in court?”

“Are you an idiot?!” Soft Wing hissed at the General, her wings flared and her fangs showing. “You had her establish a hive mind?! You know that could have killed her!”

The General didn’t respond to the teachers threats, standing stock still and listening carefully. He had faced far worse then the drone that stood in front of him. He nodded. “Yes, I did. I knew the risk, and I wish I didn’t need to to have been done, but we need to have some sort of connection between us. We have changelings still trapped out there, I can hear their cried for help now, and we can now rescue them, or at least give them comfort in their final moments.” He shook his head. “I knew she could do it. She is stronger than a even a princess her age should be. I have seen her prove it again and again. I wouldn’t have done it if the reward wasn’t worth the risk.”

The teacher continued her death stare at the changeling, before sighing and lowering her stance. “Okay, I guess that makes sense.” She lowers her head. “I’m sorry, I guess it was just my teacher instincts kicking in.”

The general smiled, putting an armored hoof on her shoulder. “Do not apologize, I would have thought less of you if you didn’t react this way. And is the exact reason why I am putting you in charge of her care.”

Soft Wing’s eyes shot open wide. “Me? You want me to take care of a princess?”

“No, I want you to take care of a child. She may be a princess, but she is still young. She needs something constant right now, someone who can give her care. I am a soldier, I know death more than I know children. You were a teacher, correct?”

Soft Wing nods. “Yes, head teacher of the south wing.”

“Then that makes you more qualified to take care of a child than anyling else here. I have hardened soldiers who are currently bawling their eyes out because of what
has happened, changelings who I thought I could count no matter what. But, they have broken, given up. But you… you still remain strong. Instead of laying down and weeping for what you have lost, you stay strong enough to challenge me, a general, over the welfare of a child who isn’t even yours. If that doesn’t sound like someling I can count on to take care of child, then I don’t know what to think.”

Soft Wing opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. The teacher falls to her haunches, taking a moment to contemplate the general’s words. “Okay, I’ll do it,” she says, her gaze returning to the general. “And thank you… your words mean a lot.”

He nods, motioning over to the area he had left the sleeping princess, before trotting off. Soft Wing takes a moment to compose herself, taking in all that had been said, before trotting over towards her new charge. Aurora was currently tucked into a bundle of salvaged blankets, tucked into a currently unused corner of the cavern, far away from the wounded. She lay in her cocoon of warmth, snoring slightly. The teacher let out a soft smile, laying down next to to the young princess, who immediately shuffled closer to the new source of warmth.

Soft Wing smiled, resting her next to that of her princess, closing her eyes to get some much needed sleep.

The general slowly paced around the cavern, watching and directing over the remaining changelings. There were about two dozen changelings currently in the cavern, excluding himself and the princess, with about another dozen or so still crying out through the newly established hive mind. Three dozen. Thirty three changelings remained out of a hive of three thousand. The cavern was currently divided into three sections, the first and largest being the infirmary, a second dedicated to gathering salvaged material from the hive, and the third was for sleeping and whatever you could consider recreational use.

He trotted over to the infirmary, his ancient armor softly clinking with each step. Once he approached, he scanned the pile of wounded changelings for one in particular, and sound found her tending to a changeling who was currently missing a front hoof. He trotted over to her, making sure to not disturb her work. “Nurse Scar Heart, could you spare a moment?”

The nurse mumbled something, her attention currently set on stitching the stump of what was left of the unconscious changeling below her. After a few more knots, the nurse cut the thread with her teeth, and placed her needle besides her. She turns to face the General, a somber look on her face. “Yeah, I can. What do you need?”

The general nods, motioning to the rows of changelings laid out on makeshift cots. “What’s the situation?”

She shakes her head. “Not good. Several more deaths since you last checked up on me, and I was only able to save one from the last batch the scouts brought in, the rest were too far gone...”

He nods. “At least you were able to save one.”

She shakes her head. “It’s just that I’m only one changeling, I can’t attend to everyling at once! I manage to stitch up one, only to have another to die of my inaction. It’s… it’s just…” She sighs. “I don’t have time for this, I have patients to attend too,” she says as she pushes past the general.

He watches her trott past, then shakes his head. He felt horrible for asking so much out of so few. He had only a hoof ful of changeling who were well enough to do anything, and about half of them were still working off their grief, too worked up to be of use to anyling. He respected all that had remained strong, currently doing all they could. So much had changed so fast, so much blood had been spilled, so many lives had been lost.

The hardened general shook his head once again, finding himself pushing back the situation and feeling farther and farther back each time. He knew that he could repress the memories for so long before they came flooding out like water from a broken dam. Deciding that all was going as well as it could, the general made his way towards a little area that he had claimed as his own, shrugging off his armor, and laying down onto his makeshift cot.

He knew that sleep would not come, too much was clouding his mind to let that happen. No, his goal wasn’t for sleep, but simply a rest, a few moments of peace before he had to jump back into the world. His mind wanded once again about the recent past, and this time he didn’t hold back, letting lose all of the emotions and memories that filled his mind like a cancer.

His mind wandered first to the attack. The original attack. His memories as fluid as if it had just happened…

Ghost hovered just outside of the grand shield of pink magic that surrounded his target, watching as the drones under his command rammed their bodies into the magical obstruction. He knew that his Queen’s plan would soon fall into full swing, the shield would be down soon and he would lead the charge to secure the city. He was on edge about the plan, know fully well how that they normally stood no match for the ponies and their army, but he also knew what was at stake, and used that as fuel to drive him forwards.

He watched as the bubble finally fell, and charged with the rest to encompass the city. Changeling were not as powerful as ponies on their own. They were hive creatures, relying on numbers rather than might. As he touched the ground, he watched as the Equestrian guard began their defense, surprised by the influx of unknown enemy. Changelings had lost most of their remembrance by the ponies, and planned to use that to their advantage. Ghost Step sprang into action, leading the charge and combatting the first guard he encountered. Like his name implied, the general moved like a ghost, his movements quick and almost ethereal, the guard barely charging his spell before the pointed spike of Ghost’s morphed hoof jabbed straight into his chest. The pony gargled, falling limp as the general pulled out his morphed blade.

One by one, the ponies fell by his hoof. He watched the life drain from their eyes, before turning around and attacking another one. He was not invincible, taking more than his fair share of hits from skilled or just lucky guards, but they did little to stop him. He did not hate ponies, nor did he love them. He treated them like anything he had ever fought before, like a barrier that needed to be broken down.

Ghost and the rest of the changeling army continued the assault, following the queen’s last order before she had gone dark. Slowly, the army approached the gates of Canterlot Castle. The queen had told her hive to kill as little civilians as possible, as a dead pony produced no love, no food. He took this into account, and avoided challenging anypony that was deemed a treat. Many fought back, many died, and many ran away screaming.

Suddenly, the world flashed in a blast of pink magic, the general’s body became weightless as he was thrown back by a wall of incoming magic. He tried to fight it, but was caught far too off guard, and was hit by far too much force. His vision faded to black once he felt himself finally hit the ground.

When he came too, his whole body ached. Bones felt broken beneath his chitin, and everything hurt to move. Weakly, he cast a healing spell to stop any internal bleeding, and used the rest of his stored mana to heal his bones as best as he could. Forced healing was a painful, brutal process, and very few could concentrate long enough through the pain to keep the spell going, or even stay conscious. Ghost was one of those few who could, his tolerance to pain tested again and again over the years. But, even so, it hurt enough to make him scream out in pain, feeling as his bones inside of him shift and right themselves. He kept this up until his mana reserves ran dry, and he didn’t have enough magic to keep up the spell. He lay there, panting, his body forced back together.

Eventually, the pain subsided enough that he could return to his hooves, and he did so, albeit slowly. He took a wobbly step, barely able to support himself as he trotted forwards. He had landed at the edge of the badlands that the changelings called home, the scarred earth crunching under his every step. As he walked, his scarred and torn wings chirping roughly, echoing out a call as he tried to locate anyling else who had survived.

After a while of searching, he found a few, but their was no hope for them. The impact had been too much for most, either lucky enough to die on impact, or from slowly bleeding out. He prayed for each of them, soldiers who had followed their queen into battle, under his command. His mind was still fuzzy, and his body was still injured from the impact, only healed enough for him to move freely.

After hours of wandering aimlessly through the badlands and only finding craters that contained his dead brethren, he finally gave up, deciding that it would be best to return to the hive and consult his queen about the failure. His failure.

It would take him a week to get back to the hive in his current condition, his wings too shredded to fly, and his mana supply too weak to cast any form of teleportation spell. He tried to connect to the hive mind, but found that he was unable too. This worried him, and his fear and horror only rose when he finally made it home…

The general shook, knocking himself out of his mind. He could not remember what came next, the memory still to painful to recounter. He sat up onto his hooves, leaning his back onto a nearby stone. He felt rage fill his body at the sparing memories of the slaughter he had witnessed when he finally returned to the hive, both aimed at himself for not being there to stop it, and by the ponies who had caused it.

He had cursed the pony name, originally vowing to slay the entire pony race, but his rage soon subsided, his inability to act on his anger allowing him time to think through the situation, and see it from a different point of view. If the roles had been reversed, and the ponies had been the ones to attack his hive, his home, he knew that he would have done the same, perhaps worse. After all that had happened, after everything was said and done, he truly didn’t know who to blame. He was a soldier, all he knew was how to fight, and how to kill. He wasn’t meant to think of the why, only the how. The concept never filling his mind until now.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. All the general knew for certain was that he had to stay strong and help rebuild the hive, insuring that the queen's daughter, young Aurora, could eventually have the opportunity to lead over this broken race, and bring them up from their shattered state. But, he also knew that there was one other thing that he needed to do. He knew that the ponies would have taken prisoners, and hopefully his queen would be amongst them. Though he did not blame the ponies, he still hated them. Every time he heard a cry of pain in the hive mind, his hate grew more.  He owed it to all the fallen to do his best to free them. After he had helped as much as he could with the aftermath, he knew where he was going to go.

For his family and queen, he would return to Canterlot.

Strong groaned, turning again on his makeshift cot. He had been treated a while ago by the attending nurse Scar Heart, and had been told that his injuries were no longer life threatening, but that only fixed one of the issues. The soldier had been confined to bed rest, as part of his required treatment, and he hated it. He wanted to get back out there, saving his fellow Changelings and do whatever he could, not remain confined to a bed, unable to do anything but be a burden.

The hardened changeling sighed, once again turning on his cot. What was his use when he couldn't do anything? What was his purpose when he could hear those calling for help from the hive mind, but be unable to do anything. He felt cheated, like the nurse had taken away part of him with her order. He knew it was for the best, but it still bugged him, none the less.

But, another thought stuck in his mind, a name muttered by the mouth of a young changeling. Strong. Did he truly deserve such a name? A name that ‘symbolized’ his fight and drive? He didn't know. He wanted too deserve it, certainly, but still felt that he was unbefitting. Still, even with the moral aspect out of play, having a name seemed to mean a lot more than he could ever think before. All he had been known by all his life was by his designation that had been given to him at birth. This… this made him feel special. Different. He wasn't just another drone on the line. No, he had a title. Not general, or commander, or anything like that.

Just a name.

What a funny thing to mean so much. He inwardly laughed at the idea. It didn't make much sense to him logistically, but that didn't matter. It gave him a sense of purpose, replacing his existing one that had slowly begun to slip once he saw the first reminders of his dead brothers and sisters.

Death.

He shuttered, his smile curling down as the though was brought back to the surface of his mind. He had seen death before, either when he and his brothers fought against a dragon or manticore that threatened the hive, or anything else, for that matter. The concept was already accepted in his mind, an eventuality that he could not avoid nor outrun. But seeing all of this death, of those who days before he may had passed by in the hall, or shared a meal with, or even fought alongside, meant something different to him. It was a sadness unlike anything else, an immense loss that cut a piece out of his soul, and was taken down with the lives those who were lost. He felt like he failed, that maybe if he had fought harder, sooner, stronger, then more would be alive.

He shook his head, curling up closer into the blankets, his head sinking in deeper into the straw pillow. Emotions that he had held back whilst dealing with the situation as it came were finally getting their chance to be processed, and left him feeling drained, even more then when half of his blood lay at his hooves. Physical pain, he could manage, but emotional pain was a completely new concept.

Weather for better or worse, Strong was broken from his trance by a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to face its origin. He smiled at the site in front of him, using his fleeting strength to push himself up and onto his haunches. “Good to see you, Soft Wing,” the soldier spoke, his voice forced, but still strong.

Soft Wing smiled back. “Good to see you too, Strong.”  The teacher leaned forwards, revealing the little pupa that sat on her back, and allowing said pupa go jump off and onto the ground below. The small princess smiled, gleaming up at the soldier in front of her.

“Hello, Strong~!” The pupa cheered in a sing-song tone. “Good to see you looking better! You were all covered in boo-boos earlier.”

Strong smiled, running his hoof softly through the pupa’s mane. He turned and looked back at his scarred and bandaged body, before returning his attention back to his company. “I can thank you for that, little one.”

Aurora gleams, smiling and trotting around, her attention finally distracted by, well... whatever it was, Strong couldn't notice it. He let out a light chuckle, shaking his head in a playful manner. “Thank you for bringing her here, Soft, her, well… her smile heals me more than any other medicine.”

The teacher shakes her head. “Don't thank me, thank her. She was the one who wanted to visit you. Or, she put it, her ‘boo-booed’ friend, which I guessed was you.”

He couldn't help but smile wider.

Soft chuckled herself, shaking her head. “But, that is not the only reason why I am visiting you,” she begins, turning her gaze back to him. “The general has put me in charge of Aurora’s care, and although I know I can do it myself, I wanted to know if you wanted to assist? I know she seems innocent now, and I hope it stays, but who knows if she'll wake up tomorrow and everything'll just hit her at once? Helping her if that happens will need more than just me, and I will also need someling to also help me protect her, to keep her safe.”

Strong nodded, the question not needing any though. “Yes, I will assist you. It would be my pleasure.” And it truly would be.

The teacher beamed, nodding happily. “Great! Now, get some rest. You can't take care of a child when you can't even take care of yourself, now can you?”

Strong rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah… Fine,” he mumbled as he slowly layer back down.

He didn't know if he had earned his name yet, but he did know one thing: that he would be strong for her, for Aurora.

Twilight nervously trotted down the lower caverns of Canterlot Castle. Her eyes shot fearfully from side to side, her ears upright and at attention on her head. She was not supposed to be here. Her day with the princess had been wonderful, and she had learned a lot during her her court session with the princess. But, even through her joy, one thing had still stuck out in her mind, a thought that had plagued her mind since the moment it had first appeared there, and that though was what had driven her to sneak her way undetected into the belly of Canterlot Castle. She had been here before, her mentor bringing her down her during several occasions for either spell practice or other means. But, she had warned Twilight to stay away from the dark secret that was stored here, the same secret that housed all that Equestria wished to remain hidden.

After several fear filled minutes of trotting, following a path from sheer memory that she had once read in a book, her destination came into view. Two large doors sat at the end of the darkened hallway, twin sentries guarding at either side. Twilight sucked in a breath, quietly sticking the shadowed corners of the hallway. Once she got as close as she could to the door as she dared, the purple unicorn took a deep breath, muffling out a spell. Only a flicker of light shone before her horn was surrounded in a darkened mist, the gas absorbing all light that was near. Twilight looked up, her muzzle beading sweat as she stared at the two sentries, hoping that they had not noticed the flicker. She quietly let out a breath as she saw no reaction from the two, both remaining at their post, eyes wandering as their bored minds tried to grasp something to entertain it, and she was lucky it wasn't her.

Step one was almost complete, and that was just the easy part. Twilight knew that breaking into the subdermal prison was a risk, and a challenge on its own. But, she had a plan, one crafted from years of book work and extended study of the castle and all of its defenses. One of her lessons from her teacher had been about security and defense magic, and the princess commonly used Canterlot’s own as real life examples of their capabilities. As a result, Twilight knew every single spell that went into guarding Canterlot’s most dangerous criminals, along with every way to get around them. Getting past the external guards was the easy part, the large door being more of a rouse then a defense.

The outer wall was lead line, able to deflect most forms out outside magic trying to intrude into the inside, while a hidden rune circle lay buried within the wall itself, as an extra line of defense. But, there was always a failsafe, a hidden entrance if the main doorway was ever blocked or compromised. The first one was located on the wall just outside the door, only being able to open if the correct magical signature was detected. She knew how to mimic this signature, but getting too it was proving tricky, as the guards were still at alert.

Twilight stood stock still just outside of the grasp of the torches that burned over the prison’s entrance, her mind racing to find a solution to her issue. Finally, a thought drifted into her mind, and she readies a quick spell. A soft, haunting melody soon filled the hallway, both guards standing at attention from the unknown tune. They listened, and their eyes began to get heavy. Soon, both found themselves drawn into sleeps grasp, falling to their sides and onto the ground below.

The unicorn wasted no time, dashing from the cover of darkness and into the light, her horn glowing beneath its misty camouflage as she expelled the correct signature, a hole in the wall soon appearing in the brick in front of her, and she dashed inside, the brick reforming behind her. It wouldn't be long until the guards awoken, the tune was a soft melody that was sung by Sirens from Dark Sea. Twilight had read about their song and it's sleeping effects, causing those who heard it to fall into a dream like state, awakening soon after with no recollection of what had happened. She hoped that they would raise no alarm when they did.

The cavern snakes it's way behind the main walls, leading to a hidden entrance into the middle of the prison. Twilight cast an invisibility spell, bending and refracting the light around her to hide her presence. Once the spell was cast, she activated the second panel and climbed into the prison. Once again, she had to act fast, following a precise pattern that would avoid triggering any magical pressure plates, and avoiding the revealing lights that hung above, their special glow rendering all known invisibility spells useless under direct sight. Inch by inch, stride by stride, the unicorn made it closer to her destination. More than once had she had to stand completely still to avoid being spotted by a nearby patrol, her heart racing even as their hoof steps faded into the distance. It was only a hundred or so yards from her entrance she had snuck into to her destination, but the walk could have easily been miles, each step feeling like a thousand.

Finally, after a heart pounding trek, Twilight found herself standing outside of the grand doors of the high security prisoner storage, the enchanted lock that sat on the door the last challenge Twilight had to face before she could get to where she wanted. The lock was custom made, only able to be unlocked by one of the princesses herself. Well, almost the only way. Like all things that Celestia designed, there was always a back door. The solar princess always built hidden openings or solutions, fail safes, as she called them, to open any lock that she used. This one, however, this one required something special. With a quick puff of magic, Twilight levitated a small key that she had hung around her neck before she had started her journey. It was a whim, actually, the only part of the plan that she didn't know for certain would work. She put the key up to the lock and held it there, and for a minute, nothing happened.

Twilight was about to cry, scream out that all of her hard work had been for naught, but the lock suddenly started to glow, turning as the door slowly opened. After snapping out of her stupor, Twilight dashed inside, and closed the door behind her. She caught her breath, panting slightly as she could feel her heart finally stop to relax. When felt that she could breath, Twilight dropped her invisibility shield, also dropping her light countering spell that coated her horn. Her gaze turned up, and she looked upon the plasma bars that held back but one prisoner. Twilight stepped forwards, getting as close to the bars as she dared, and bravely looked beyond.

Queen Chrysalis lay motionless on her cot, her body tightly bound and her horn nulled by the inhibitor ring that wrapped around its base. She seemed to be sleeping, her chest rising and falling with a steady rhythm. Twilight casted one more spell, the magic surging from her horn and coating every floor and wall, it's purpose to block all sound from escaping, much like the one she had used to hide her magical glow. The unicorn took a deep breath, trying to psych herself up for what she was going to do, but stopped as a voice interrupted her concentration.

“Come to gloat, have you?” Hissed a voice from within the cell.

Twilight nervously trailed her gaze up, her eyes soon locking with those of the changeling who was once sleeping soundly, but had now raised her head to gazed in her direction.

“I am a light sleeper, you know. Even with my magic limited I can still sense your presence,” she continued, rising to her hooves and gingerly trotting towards the plasma bars.

Twilight took a step back, noticing the only slightly healed marks of plasma damage that coated the Queens front side, proving that she was not afraid of pain to get closer to those beyond the bars grasp. The unicorn nervously cleared her throat, speaking up with as much confidence as she could muster. “Queen Chrysalis, I am here to interrogate you and learn of your methods of how you infiltrated our kingdom.” It was a practiced lie, one that she had gone over again and again in her head.

The queen let out a quick chuckle. “My my, seems somepony isn't supposed to be here,”
she hissed, her voice bitter-sweet.

Twilight balked. “W-what?! How did you–”

“–how did I know? Easy,” the queen began. “You lie about your true purpose here, you unease tells shows that more than just me  frightens you. So, the only logical conclusion is that you snuck in here, intent on questioning me yourself.”

“B-but, how did you–”

“Again, simple,” the Queen interrupted again. “Your kind has already sent their best to gather what that can out of me, their methods far worse than anything a scared little unicorn could outmatch.” She shook her head, shuddering at the remembrance of such tactics. “Their attempts were futile, however. I will not break. I will never break.”

Twilight blinked, before shaking away her shock. “Okay… Well, then I guess I should get right to the point, then.”

“Yes, you should.”

“I want to know why,” Twilight asked.

Chrysalis sighed, shaking her head. “Before, I would have laughed at your request.” She sighs again. “But, I have little to lose now, so I feel that I shall humor you. How much do you know about my kind?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not a lot. Most recorded information is based on myths, and hold no historical accuracy.”

“Ah, as I expected, but there is always truth to every myth,” she chided. “But, I guess I shall have to elaborate. Changelings have evolved to live in the harshest of environments: a land without mana.”

“Wait, what?”

Chrysalis growled at being interrupted, staring down the unicorn. “Yessss, a land without mana. Ponies like you can simply absorb it from the air around you, while we do not have such a luxury. We must feed our mana from emotion. Love, in particular. We gather this energy and convert it into mana, fueling our magic and life force. We are… we were currently in a famine, our reserves running dangerously low. I guess the famine ended when there was noling left to feed." She sighs, shaking her head sadly. "But, I digress. I attacked to simply replenish those reserves.”

Twilight scoffed. “You could have asked, and we could have worked out a peaceful solution!”

Chrysalis laughed, letting out an evil chuckle that chilled the unicorn to the bone. “Negotiation? You really think your government would allow us to feed upon its citizens willingly, draining you of your energy to feed ours?" She let out a chuckle. "I didn't think of you that much of an idiot, Unicorn.”

Twilight went to rebuttal, but found she had no argument.

The Queen nodded. “Exactly.”

There was silence, the room filling with an awkward pause.

“Tell me more about this famine,” Twilight spoke up, curious to learn more.

“Well, it isn't a true famine. We do not feed on love as much as we recharge from it. Our need to eat is not filled from this, as we do need proper food to digest and function. No, this emotion only drives away the Hunger.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Hunger?”

“A disease that a changeling gets when they do not have enough mana, nor love to replenish it. It is a horrible, horrible fate. Those who suffer from the Hunger feel immense pain, their souls slowly eaten away as they have no magic to keep it in place.”

“What a horrible way to die…”

Chrysalis shook her head. “The Hunger cannot kill on its own. The one affected will become weak, every moment they live filled with pain… Death usually comes by their own hoof, or from one who cares and is strong enough to end their suffering.” The queen bows her head, her memory flooded with the hundreds of times she had seen this happen, and given her children this mercy.

Twilight remained silent, contemplating her words. “So… you did this for them?”

The large changeling snorts. “You ignorant fool. You truly believed that we would face a superior enemy for the single purpose of being ‘evil’? Did you think us so bold to attempt such a thing for any other reason but our survival?” She scowls. “You mock me with your question, pony. You remind me that I was bested by an idiot!”

“Hey!” Twilight scowled. “I merely protected my home!”

“And I mine!" Chrysalis screamed back. "Neither of us hold the moral high ground, here. I did what I needed for my family, and you yours. I do not blame you, Unicorn. Believe it or not, but I respect your power, and your actions.” Her gaze then shifts to that of hate, her wings flaring and her fangs gleaming. “But that does not mean that I do not wish to end you where you stand. I yearn for the day when I will be free and destroy all ponies, taking away your kind as you have done to me. I will kill everypony you care about, everypony you hold dear. I will not stop until death flames my body, too which I will welcome as I drag down as many of you as I can with me. But I will leave your princess to live, allowing her the curse of living with the feeling of regret and sorrow of having her precious family murdered right in front of her.”

Twilight takes a step back, her heart racing in her chest at the creature in front of her.

“You and your kind have taken everything from me… and I will find a way to find to return the favor, Twilight Sparkle! You killed my daughter, so I will find a way to kill you!”

The unicorn had no words as she was frozen with fear, her heart racing. Suddenly the door to the cell opened, and Twilight turned only to shrink more as she saw a very angry looking Celestia trot inside. The Alicorn locked eyes with Twilight, and she could practically feel the full rage of the sun burn down on her. She shrunk down further, and Celestia soon turned her gaze to the Queen.

“This unofficial meeting is over,” she commanded, staring down the Queen.

Chrysalis chuckled. “Well, seems someone needs to keep track of their pets better,” she hissed, smiling wickedly.

Celestia seemed unphased. “She will be punished according to the rules that she has broken, while you are already paying for yours.”

“And what about you, princess? What about the sins you have committed? How much punishment will you be suffering?”

Celestia's eye twitched. “I deal with my mistakes in my own way, Queen. A way that doesn't involve you.”

The large changeling growled. “Does the deaths you caused truly mean nothing in your mind?!”

“They do! And I mourn for all who have been denied their proper time to leave us, but I can ask you the same.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Don't play that with me. I know loss, more than you can ever comprehend! You do not have the moral high ground because you have not suffered as I have!”

“Suffering does not justify your actions!” The Alicorn shot back.

“Nor does it forbade them. I feel not guilt for what I did other than for not succeeding. If I am a monster, then so be it. I do not care which side I reside on, dark or light, I only care about my subjects, and what is best for them.” She smiles. “And you will know my pain when I eventually kill that unicorn over there.” She points to Twilight, who cowered even farther into the corner.

Celestia steps in between the two, blocking the queen's view of her student. “You will leave her out of this,” she warned, her temper flaring as her power began to surge.

“Oh? Oh?! You want me to leave her out of this?! Then how about my family? Huh?! Did you give them that option?!” Chrysalis snapped, stomping back and forth along her cell, chains rattling as her eyes remained dead set on Celestia.

“I regret the action that was taken, but it was not my decision to make.”

The Queen rolled her eyes. “Celestia, you stupid creature! How do you not know the first rule about ruling: everything's your fault.”

Celestia’s eye twitched, and she briefly held eye contact before turning in an angry huff, coaxing twilight forwards with a less than gentle hoof as the two vacated the chamber.

“You can't hide from the truth, Celestia! You are as much of a monster as I am!” Chrysalis cried out, before being muffled by the closing of the cell door.

Twilight looked up at her mentor, but shrunk away when she noticed the look of anger that still radiated from the solar Princess. It warranted no question.

“You will return to your old chambers and stay the night, Twilight. We will discuss your punishment after I raise the sun tomorrow,” Celestia said, not bothering to give her student eye contact.

Twilight nodded somberly. “Yes… Princess.”

“You have breached my trust, and used a key that I entrusted to you to completely disobey my wishes,” she shook her head. “I really did think better of you, Twilight.”

Twilight didn't respond, her gaze stuck on the floor below her...