//------------------------------// // Ch. 11: Where You Least Expect Them // Story: History Reimagined // by Pun System //------------------------------//     Starlight entered the castle dining room to see a stack of pancakes at her place. “Good morning, Starlight!” called Twilight. “I hope you slept well last night. How do you feel?”     “Better,” she said as she settled into her seat.     “I think you'll like what I've got planned for today,” she said with a smile.     “What's that?” Starlight asked as she levitated her fork and knife.     “An overnight trip to the Crystal Empire!” she said, leaning forward and spreading her wings.     Starlight’s spirit lifted. “Really?”     “I figured you might feel more comfortable doing a friendship lesson with somepony you’ve known for a while. Somepony like Sunburst.”     “What would we be doing?” she asked before raising a forkful of pancakes up to her mouth.     “I think I'm going to leave that up to you this time,” Twilight said. “Don't stress it. Just spend time with him and let a friendship lesson present itself.”     “Most of the times you’ve given me a friendship lesson, it’s been more specific. How will I know what to look for?”     “Part of the reason I called you back here was so I could learn how you learned. When Rainbow Dash was studying for her Wonderbolts entrance examination, none of my traditional study methods worked for her. And when you were in the world I sent you back to, I was trying to force lessons about unity where you just weren’t seeing them.” Twilight lowered her knife to her plate. “Maybe that’s my fault, not yours.” She lifted a bite of pancake to her mouth and began to chew thoughtfully.     “No, I—don't really think it is. I did feel like I was connecting with Lightning Dust, but I wasn’t exactly prioritizing friendship.”     “It’s only natural for a mentor/student relationship to be a little flexible. When I first moved to Ponyville, Princess Celestia had me writing a friendship lesson every week! Remember last night how I mentioned that I accidentally hypnotized all of Ponyville? I—enchanted an old doll with the Want It, Need It spell and tried to get the CMC to fight over it so I could solve a friendship problem.”     Starlight nearly choked on her pancakes. She hastily swallowed as she turned to Twilight. “You? No!”     Twilight smiled. “It’s true. You’re not the only one to have her backfired hypnosis spell discovered by her mentor. My spell got so out of control that Princess Celestia had to intervene. It’s a good thing I had a observant and caring friend who sent the Princess a letter,” Twilight said as she smiled and turned her attention to Spike. Her smile only lasted a moment before being replaced with a frown. “Spike, you haven't touched your breakfast.”     Starlight turned her head to see Spike sitting with one finger on the end of his fork, the tines of the fork embedded in a stack of gemstone-topped pancakes. “I’m not hungry,” he said, leaning his head on his other claw.     “But Spike, you're always hungry,” Twilight countered. “Is something bothering you?”     “It's just—I went with you to the Crystal Empire last time. And the time before that.” He raised his eyes towards the ceiling and began counting on his fingers. “And the time before that.”     “Do you not like the Crystal Empire?” asked Starlight.     “No. It's not that.”     “Is this about what happened at the Crystal Games?” Twilight asked in a softer tone.     “It’s—probably silly to get worked up over.”     Twilight smiled. “You'll be fine, Spike. After all, it's just a friendly visit. How bad could it possibly be?” she asked with a dismissive wave of her hoof.     “I hate it when she says that,” Spike mumbled.     An armored Green Changeling entered a cell in the Canterlot dungeons and saw a Blue Changeling huddled against the far wall, a green goo coating his horn. The prisoner raised his head and shifted his forelegs as the armored changeling and one of his fellow soldiers entered father into the cell.     As the Queen entered after the armored changelings, the prisoner’s gaze shifted to her. It remained there as the guards took up posts just inside the cell door and as the Queen approached him. He cowered beneath her scowl as she set an aura around him and dragged him towards her.     “Who did you tell, you miserable grub?” Chrysalis asked, her words dripping with spite. The armored changeling watched from a distance, waiting along with Chrysalis for words which never came. “Well? I asked you a question!” she shouted as she lowered her head towards him. “What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?” She struck him across the face with the front of her hoof.     The already-battered Blue Changeling whimpered as he reeled, then tried to scoot away from her. The Queen lifted him in her magic and pinned him against the wall. “Three dozen of my changelings injured, twice as many dead, and a blimp shot down in enemy airspace. You were caught a day before Manehattan sent a force to rescue the Wonderbolts. Who did you tell?” she asked as she began shaking him.     “N—no one!”     Chrysalis threw him to the ground and sent him rolling towards the two armored Green Changelings. His head stopped at the hooves of the first changeling, and as the guard looked down at him, he noticed a trickle of green blood running down from his mouth. The changeling’s blue eyes fluttered open and he groaned as he subtly shifted his position. The armored changeling stepped backwards as the Blue Changeling began to glow with a green aura.     “Tell me who you told, or you will suffer!”     The changeling closed his eyes and said in Hive Tongue, “Long live King Chitin.”     The first Green Changeling bowed his head subtly and closed his eyes for a brief moment.     “Chitin is dead!” Chrysalis roared. “And you will soon join him!”     Chrysalis’s aura swiftly receded until it only covered her victim's neck.     “Wait!” called the first Green Changeling. “Don't kill him! It's what he wants.”     Chrysalis whirled her head to face him, and the second Green Changeling stepped away.     “My Queen,” the first changeling said with a bow, “you're upset because of what he’s done, because of what happened. I think we all are. But if you kill him now, we can't get him to talk any more. We don't know how much information he holds.”     Chrysalis snorted as the Blue Changeling flattened his ears and whimpered again, dropping his gaze a moment later. “You’re lucky my changeling is right,” she said as she dropped the changeling. “Your days will be long and painful, I can assure you that.     “Secure him,” she said to the armored changelings.     “Yes, your Highness!” the second changeling responded as the Queen turned to leave.     “And you, Nodus,” Chrysalis said, pausing on her way out.     “Yes?” asked the changeling who had intervened.     “Thank you. I need to collect myself.”     “We’ll take it from here. He’s in good hooves.”     Chrysalis smiled weakly at him, then turned to leave the cell.     The second changeling had already begun forming a cocoon by the time Nodus approached the changeling within. “You’re a slippery one,” he said as he began circling. “But you’ll soon learn to respect our leader.” He hissed and put his face in the Blue Changeling’s face. “Our leader,” he said with a smirk.     Nodus held the pose a for a moment, watching the changeling’s expression carefully. As the other changeling finished the cocoon, Nodus moved towards the door. When the second changeling approached, Nodus shot magic at his mouth, sealing it shut with a blue goo. He magically removed the changeling’s helmet, and smacked him in the back of the head with it. He caught the changeling with a foreleg as he collapsed, then approached the cocoon.     The changeling inside the cocoon perked up when Nodus drew a knife from its sheath and cut an x into the front of the cocoon. He laid the cocoon down and helped the Blue Changeling out, then slid the Green Changeling in. He set an aura around the goo on the Blue Changeling’s horn, and used it to seal the cocoon.     “Why are you doing this?” asked the Blue Changeling.     “I know the Blue Changelings. Morph into a Green,” Nodus instructed. The ex-prisoner did as he was told. Nodus then produced a container of pink liquid from an inside pocket of his armor. “Here. Eat this.”     The changeling raised a hoof to accept the container. “But—but this is—”     “I know what it is. You have to keep your strength up.”     Nodus noticed motion out of his peripheral vision. He drew a second container of liquid love out with a hoof and removed the stopper with his teeth. “Cheers,” he said as he clinked his glass container against the other changeling’s.     “Why are you eating with the prisoner?” asked a changeling in the doorway.     “He’ll see we have love—smell it, feel it—then he’ll get hungry and join us! It was the Queen's idea.”     The changeling eyed them warily from the hall. “Close the cell door when you're done,” he said before walking on.     The disguised Blue Changeling sighed. “What now?”     “Eat. We’ll fly to train station. There's an army leaving for Las Pegasus,” he replied.     “But if the army is going to Las Pegasus, then—”     “They’ll either stop to establish a forward base or they’ll take over one of the nearby towns. We can make our escape along the way.”     The changeling eyed the contents of the vial, swishing them around a few times, then pulled off the stopper and emptied the substance into his mouth, clearly hating every moment of it. He swallowed, squinted one eye shut, stuck out his tongue, and shuddered. “That was disgusting.”     “Ready?” asked Nodus.     “Ready.”      Beneath the Crystal Castle, Princess Cadance approached Twilight Sparkle. “Sunshine, sunshine—” Twilight joined in for the second line. “—ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Cadance sighed in relief and embraced Twilight.     “It's ok, everypony,” Shining Armor announced. “It's her.”     “Of course it’s her!” said Starlight as she approached Sunburst. “What’s this all about?”     “A changeling’s been spotted nearby,” he replied.     “A changeling?” blurted Twilight.     “That’s not good,” said Spike.     “No, it’s not,” Cadance agreed.     Starlight was unfazed. “Blue or Green?”     “Uh, more black, actually,” Sunburst said.     Starlight stared blankly for a moment before the realization set in. “Right. Alternate version of history.” She raised one hoof and crossed it over her other front leg. “What I meant to say was, it's one of Chrysalis’s changelings, right?”     “After Chrysalis took my place at our wedding and invaded Canterlot with her army of minions—”     Here we go, Starlight thought as she forced an expression of concern and curiosity onto her face.     “—we’re not taking any chances.”     “Changelings feed off love, and ever since Flurry Heart’s Crystalling, the Empire has been filled with more love than anywhere in Equestria.” He turned his attention to Flurry. “It’s possible they’ve come for the baby.”     “That’s why we posted the extra guards,” said Shining Armor. “And why we’re—”     “—checking everypony’s identity,” Twilight finished.     “I’m sorry for all of this,” Cadance apologized. “Flurry Heart’s really been looking forward to seeing you!”     Flurry Heart squealed as Twilight approached. “Oh, she’s gotten so big! Starlight and I will do whatever we can to help protect her!”     “To be honest, having you here is already a big relief,” Cadance said, a tired but genuine smile on her lips.     Shining Armor whispered something to Princess Cadance. Her eyes grew a little wider for a moment before she regained her composure and nodded. “Starlight Glimmer, come with me.”     Starlight turned her body to face Cadance as she walked past her. “Is—something wrong?”     Cadance froze mid-stride, one hoof still in the air. She began again after a pause. “You’ve never stayed in the castle before, have you?” She turned her head a little farther, revealing a smile. “Please, let me show you to your room.”     Cadance began walking again, and Starlight cast Twilight a glance. She nodded back, so Starlight trotted after the Princess. Cadance opened the door on one of the spire’s legs, revealing a staircase. She and Starlight ascended in silence. Once they reached the landing at the top, Cadance turned to face Starlight. “How do you know about the Blue Changelings?”     Starlight felt her ears flatten. “Am I in trouble?”     “That depends on your answer,” she said. Her face was a perfect mask, disclosing no emotion, no clues as to what the right answer might be.     “Well, as you might already know, I tinkered with one of Star Swirl’s time travel spells and I—”     How many more ponies am I going to have to explain this to?     “—I nearly caused a bunch of bad timelines to happen. Except, I guess I did cause a bunch of bad timelines to happen. So, Twilight is making me fix them all. I’ve been working in a timeline where the Blue Changelings are helping to overthrow Chrysalis. After she overthrew Celestia and Luna.”     A few seconds passed in silence as Cadance shifted her weight among her hooves. “You can ask Princess Twilight,” Starlight added. “She’ll say the same thing.”     After a pause, Cadance gave her reply. “You’ve come across information which in our timeline is confidential, Starlight. Do not mention the Blue Changelings here again.”     Starlight felt her gut wretch. Yup. I’m in trouble.     “Yes, Princess. I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” she said, each sentence in rapid succession. “Does this mean the Blue Changelings are still active in this world?”     “I cannot answer that. Do not ask about the Blue Changelings again.”     Just shut your mouth, Starlight. “Yes, Princess.”     Starlight felt her heart pounding in her chest; she heard it in her ears. She kept her ears flat and dropped her gaze from the Princess. Then she heard Cadance step closer. She watched from the corner of her eye as she moved alongside her, then wrapped a wing around her barrel. “Now,” Cadance began in a lighter tone, “I was showing you to your room…”     “Lead the way!” Starlight said, still feeling a little shaken. Cadance withdrew her wing and began walking down the hall. Only once she had taken a few strides did Starlight move to follow her.     “Any questions about the alchemic horns?” asked a major, the commanding officer of Timberwolf Company. None of the soldiers seated on the ground before him answered. “Great. Get with your squad and come get your gear,” he said, gesturing to the wooden crates beside him. “Congratulations or good luck, depending on whether you feel like a trailblazer or a guinea pig.”     Bon Bon watched on with Rainbow Dash as the troops approached the first box and pried off the wooden lid. “So what's the plan?” asked Rainbow.     “Between the five of us, there should be enough ponies to instruct the soldiers,” said the major. Bon Bon glanced past him to Sunburst and Starlight, who were overseeing the distribution of the alchemic horns. “We’ll each have three squads—twenty-seven soldiers, nine of each race. There will be one unicorn to each pegasus and earth pony pair.”     “Which squads do you want us to take?” asked Rainbow.     “If you'll take First through Third squads, and if Bon Bon will take Fourth through Sixth, then I'll divide Seventh through Fifteenth between myself and the others,” he said as he gestured towards Starlight and Sunburst.     “Sounds good,” replied Rainbow. “Squads One, Two, and Three, come with me!” she called as she backed up a short distance.     “Four, Five, and Six, over here!” Bon Bon called as she trotted off in a different direction. Soon, she had three columns of troops before her. Each block of nine soldiers represented one squad—three unicorns in the front, three earth ponies in the middle, three pegasi in the back. Six in each squad now wore alchemic horns on their heads.     “You’ll notice I’m not a unicorn. I’m an earth pony.” It wasn’t a lie. At least, not exactly. She could be many things. She could be anything. Right now, she was an earth pony. “As such, I won’t be able to answer all of your questions. Unicorns, that’s where you come in. There’s one of me and eighteen non-unicorns. I can give out some general pointers. But your squadmates are going to look primarily to you to instruct them.     “I don’t know exactly what they told you all in basic, but I assume they emphasized total discipline of body, mind, and emotions at every stage of your training. That discipline is crucial to manipulating magic because unicorn magic is an extension of your emotions, at least in my understanding of it. You’ll also need to utilize your willpower in order to manipulate magic.     “Now, let’s break into trios, one of each race per trio. Unicorns, instruct the others. Pegasi, earth ponies, your goal is to each levitate one object by the end of this session. I’ll be available to instruct you as needed.”     The ponies did just as they were asked, quickly dispersing throughout the area. Bon Bon walked among them as the unicorns each instructed their respective pegasus and earth pony.     One pony in particular caught her eye. Her mane—at least what she could see of it under the helmet—was styled neatly in accordance with regulation. A quick glance at the mare’s flank was to no avail in identification; her cutie mark was hidden by her uniform. But what really caught her eye was the mint color of the mare’s coat and the two-tone light mint of her mane.     Bon Bon’s heart fluttered. She tried to ignore the feelings welling up inside her, but she just had to know the mare’s identity. She couldn’t possibly be… She’s in Timberwolf Company. Timberwolf starts with T, and Pinkamena got put in Ursa, which is a U. She shouldn’t be here. Unless… Unless she joined before Pinkamena—before Ursa was formed.     Bon Bon approached the mare. She hesitated a moment before calling her name. “L—Lyra?”     The mare turned and looked at her, a look of confusion in her big pink eyes. She looked behind her, then back at Bon Bon. “Lyra, ma’am?”     Bon Bon’s heart sank. “You—Sorry. You look like somepony I know,” she said with a sigh. “It’s nothing.”     As she turned to walk away, she felt her cheeks flush—not a part of her disguise, but a genuine expression. She soon remembered that she had just reminded her squads about emotional discipline, and then she began to feel guilty and out of place.     To ease her conscience, Bon Bon cast a glance at the other squads, and she quickly singled out Rainbow Dash. She was sure it was her this time. When she looked on her, she somehow felt better. She reflexively took a deep breath, and she became faintly aware of the love pooled inside her. She hadn’t had this much love since she was last with Lyra. Though, something still felt missing inside her. Rainbow loved her, and she loved Rainbow, yet she couldn’t help feeling as if she was holding back—as if retaining feelings for Lyra was getting in the way of accepting love from Rainbow Dash. And while ponies didn’t need love to survive like changelings did, she knew Rainbow liked being with her. Ponies loved to love, and Bon Bon was quickly becoming something of an expert at getting Rainbow to express her love.     Rainbow finished with her conversation, then turned to walk away. Then, Bon Bon saw her pause and look around. Eventually, she turned and looked straight at her. For a moment, Bon Bon fought to keep her breathing under control as Rainbow stared at her. She watched as she shifted uneasily and lowered her chin just a bit. Bon Bon felt the tension—the desire, the distance—and she wished they were somewhere more private so they could talk.     Rainbow’s ears pricked and she turned her attention away. A subtle shift in Bon Bon’s gaze brought into focus a pegasus who was asking her a question about his alchemic horn.     Bon Bon sighed and resumed walking among her squads, but not before making a mental note to talk with Rainbow at a later time.     A hundred questions raced through Starlight’s mind as she sat in the Crystal Empire library, an open book held aloft in her magic. What happens if there really is a Green Changeling in the Crystal Empire? What if we capture it? Will the guards interrogate it? Or worse? Maybe I could get help. Maybe Bon Bon? But is Bon Bon a changeling in this timeline? What if when I delayed the Rainboom, I affected her becoming a changeling? What if—     “How’s it going?”     “Wha—!” Starlight dropped the book she was holding. Twilight sat opposite her, wearing a smile that quickly disappeared.     “I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize how hard you were concentrating.”     Starlight looked down at the open book she had dropped onto the table. “I think I found something that might work as part of a protection spell for Flurry Heart.” She turned the book around and slid it across the table towards Twilight. “Combining dissimulato confractus with a regular shield spell would strip away any changeling disguise on contact.”     “Great! Now when the changelings arrive, we’ll be ready!”     “Changelings? Plural? I thought they only saw one.”     “Where there’s one changeling, there’s probably more. Like, a lot more.”     “Twilight?” Starlight asked nervously. “I feel like I have to ask this before I go casting spells on all my problems again: How do we know the changelings here in this world are beyond hope? Who’s to say they aren’t potential Blue Changelings like back in the other timeline? Bon Bon got a few to flip sides during the raid at Cloudsdale.”     Twilight looked all around the library before giving her answer in a hushed tone. “Honestly, I don’t know. But I do know that I’m really not supposed to talk about the Blue Changelings here. It could get us in a lot of trouble.”     “Yeah, I figured.” She rose and headed for the door, re-reading the spell one last time as she walked.     At the door of the library, Starlight sighed. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I just can't get this idea out of my head. What if all this is actually a friendship problem? We don’t know anything about this changeling until we capture it and ask it some questions.”     Twilight beamed. “Starlight! You recognized a potential friendship problem all on your own! I'm so proud of you!” Twilight hugged her for a moment, then returned to all fours just as suddenly. “Still, it's only a potential friendship problem. I’ll be honest; I can't get the thought out of the back of my mind either. But the only time changelings have ever appeared in this world, they've been bent on taking away everything we hold dear. We can't afford to let our guard down. We can’t give into these doubts and second-guess ourselves.”     “I—guess that makes sense,” Starlight said, even though she felt her ears swivel to face behind her. “Between the two of us, I'd rather capture the changeling myself and, for its own protection, not let it out of my sight.”     “But if there really is more than one changeling, and if they try to come between me and my niece—”     “I understand. If it comes to a fight, you can protect Flurry Heart, and I'll deal with the changelings.”     “I’ll do whatever I have to,” Twilight said. “These aren't the changelings you're familiar with.”     Starlight watched as Twilight opened the door and began to leave. You do what you have to; I'll do what I have to. Starlight followed Twilight out the door.     “I guess we can start by taking this book back to Princess Cadance and casting the spell on Flurry Heart.” Starlight folded the corner of the page, closed the book, and started levitating it towards her saddlebags.     “Starlight! What are you doing?”     “What? We need this book.”     “You folded! The corner! Here, use a bookmark instead. I have extra.”     Starlight raised an eyebrow as Twilight levitated a bookmark towards her. “Do you always carry bookmarks with you?”     “Always. Well, unless I’m in the shower. But sometimes I read a book while I’m taking a bath!”     “Okay! That’s—great!” Starlight felt her cheeks grow warm. She buried her gaze in the book as she unfolded the corner and inserted the bookmark. “Let's just—get back to the castle without talking any more about baths.”     If the soldiers under Imperial Topaz’s command had any private fears or excitement about the arrival of the carriage in Las Pegasus, they hid such feelings from their faces. Topaz walked between two columns of crystal regulars, their helmets hiding their expressions. How she envied the fragile sense of security that came from having one’s face veiled. How it would make this reunion so much easier.     Next, she passed the soldiers who were more nearly her equals: the other officers. These were individuals of rank and significance. Such rank was not given lightly; thus it signified these ponies’ dedication to their cause, their country, and most importantly, their king. None of these soldiers required the helms their underlings wore. They had made their own choice. Their allegiance was to the king alone.          When she was very near the carriage, she stopped and waited for their visitor to disembark. After a lifetime of service to the Prince who was now King, it was second nature for her to stand at attention. Yet when she looked at the carriage, all black with green markings, and with the King’s red emblem on the door, she couldn’t help but feel just a little smaller and weaker as she stood. Her eyes darted from one side of the door to the other, as if wondering which way it would open, both anticipating and dreading that moment.     Finally, the door swung open and a pair of honor guards stepped out, taking up posts on either side of the door immediately thereafter. Then, a figure wearing a hooded cloak stepped forward and began walking towards the command center—towards Topaz. She covered the distance between them relatively swiftly with long, confident, and powerful strides.     Topaz couldn’t bear the silence any longer. “High Acolyte Trixie,” she began as she turned to walk with her. “We weren’t expecting you. What brings you out to Las Pegasus?”     “You already know why, Governor,” she said, not even offering Topaz the courtesy of a glance in her direction.     “Acolyte,” she ventured, “have you forgotten your former lieutenant?”     Trixie abruptly came to a stop; Topaz stopped with her. Trixie slowly turned to face her, her red eyes almost glowing beneath her hood, even while the rest of her face was under the shadow if it. “No. I have not forgotten. I have not forgotten your failure.”     “F—failure? We captured one who wielded an Element. We ensured the Mayor was not lost to the enemy. We—”     “—I!” Trixie said as she leaned forward and placed a hoof on her chest. “While you evacuated our command center, I fought the battle. With a little more support from you, we might have won!” Trixie snorted and started walking again. “That is why I am here. To ensure you do not fail again. The prisoner—Where are you keeping him?”     “We had him moved to the command post at your request.”     “Good. I will begin the interrogation immediately.” Trixie then lowered her tone, as if in contemplation. “A changeling caught operating in a city Chrysalis has previously had her eye on… That can only mean increased enemy activity in the city. I want to know why.”     “Do you have any theories as of yet?” she asked as Trixie magically opened the front door to their makeshift command post.     “That’s why I’m here. To interrogate the prisoner.” For a few strides, the pair walked on in silence. “How did you catch the changeling?”     “He was impersonating one of my officers. We found a discrepancy when she was seen two places at once. I ordered her apprehension, and we identified the changeling by separating and questioning them. His actions were unclear, but he appeared to be conducting espionage. We found no evidence; only a pile of ashes in one of my officer’s desk drawers.”     Trixie’s eyes dropped as a pensive expression appeared on her face. The pair rounded a corner, approaching a door guarded by two ponies wielding halberds. “Here he is,” Imperial announced.     Trixie drew a torch out of her cloak. Her horn glowed purple, then black, and the torch lit with a black flame. Imperial halted, her eyes fixated on the tongues of black fire rising from the torch. “What is that?”     “Fire so hot, it burns black. It’s appropriately named Dark Fire.” Trixie opened the door. “The interrogation will begin immediately. This shouldn’t take long.” She entered the room and locked the door behind her.     Starlight watched as Spike and a lanky crystal pony with a dull teal coat walked past the throne room doors. “Spike!” Princess Cadance called.     Spike and the young stallion who was with him approached the foot of the throne. “Twilight told me you were off with a friend,” Cadance said as she descended from her throne.     Spike laughed nervously in response, and the crystal pony bit his lip.     “And any friend of Spike the Brave and Glorious is a friend of mine.” She stepped aside and gestured towards Flurry Heart.     As Spike’s friend approached, Flurry Heart squealed in delight and reached up for him. Starlight couldn’t help but smile. “Oooh, she’s sooo beautiful!” said the pony. “There’s so much l—love around her!” The young stallion began backpedaling. His eyes began to glow faintly. “I—I—” Green flames raced across his form, revealing his true form—he was the changeling. He hissed and growled, baring his fangs and wagging his tongue as he continued to back away.     Starlight’s jaw dropped. He walked right in! We didn’t even notice!     Wish I would have brought some of that paint from the other world, she added as an afterthought.     “I—I’m so—ssssorry!” he hissed. “I ca—can’t sssstop!”     Twilight stepped forward, prompting Starlight to do the same. Starlight readied herself to cast a shield spell, though she hadn’t yet decided who to cast it on.     “Spike, get away from the changeling!”     “Wait! No! You don’t understand!”     Too late. Twilight’s aura enveloped him, and he floated away from the changeling.     “This changeling replaced your friend to get close to the baby!” Sunburst blurted. “What other explanation could there be?”     The words rang in Starlight’s mind. But so did Twilight’s words from back at the library. This isn’t the time to second-guess yourself. These aren’t the changelings from the other world.     I will not harm this changeling, she replied to her doubts. When he makes his move for Flurry Heart, I’ll cast a spell to trap him in crystal.     Spike hesitated before giving Sunburst his answer. “I… I don't know.”     The changeling’s eyes widened and his posture slackened, and then he turned to flee. Starlight even thought she heard him whimper. He was out the door before Starlight could even light her horn.     As she was processing what just happened, the guards rushed past her. “After him! Don’t let the changeling escape!”     “I hope your friend is ok,” Cadance said.     “Yeah,” Spike mumbled. “Me too.”     Starlight moved to follow, but Cadance called her back. “Stay here, Starlight. You're one of two ponies who has the protection spell for Flurry Heart. That may have been just a distraction for a full-scale attack.”     “What are we going to do after we capture this one?” she asked.     “Let's focus on capturing it first,” she replied. “Once it's safely locked away, we'll plan our next move.” The Princess’s tone was firm and authoritative. Starlight saw little hope that the changeling would be looked upon favorably.     After nearly a half hour of shouting, bumping, and screaming, the room Imperial Topaz was standing just outside of fell eerily silent. When at last the door burst open, Trixie emerged wearing a barely-veiled look of shock and concern and began walking down the hall. A quick peek into the room revealed scorch marks on the walls and floor, black crystals growing out of the walls and ceiling, and in the midst of it all, a crying changeling in the fetal position. “What did you find out, Acolyte?” asked Imperial Topaz as she closed the door and moved to follow.     “You’re going to need more troops. I will deliver my report to the King. I’m going to need living quarters for at least a week.     Imperial froze. “You’re—staying here?”     “Yes. And one other thing,” Trixie paused and turned her head just enough to see over her shoulder. “I want a second set of living quarters arranged for the King. See to it.”     Imperial felt her gut wretch. The King and his acolyte here? Together? I need—more troops? She stared dumbfounded at Trixie until she had rounded the corner. Then, she turned and went the opposite direction.     Cadance’s court stood in stunned silence. Spike had not only found the changeling and convinced him to return, but he had actually defended him. But more stunning than all the rest was his claim that the changeling was his friend.     Starlight felt so many things all at once. She felt a little surprised that she had been right, while at the same time feeling vindicated for the same reason, yet she also felt guilty that she hadn’t done more.     It wasn’t Starlight who moved first, but Twilight. She approached the crystal guards, and they parted for her, filling the space again after she had stepped through. “Spike, I’m so proud of you,” she began.     “You are?”     “Of course!” she replied, giving him a quick hug. “You’re a celebrity here in the Crystal Empire, and you just risked all of it for a friend. I can’t imagine anything more brave than that.”     Twilight turned and faced the rest of the ponies. “As the Princess of Friendship, I try to set an example for all of Equestria. But today, it was Spike who taught me that a new friend can come from anywhere. I guess everypony still has something to learn about friendship—even me. And if Spike says Thorax is his friend, then he’s my friend too.” Twilight turned back to Thorax and extended her hoof.     Thorax readily accepted. “Thank you!” he said before wiping a tear from his eye.     “On behalf of the Crystal Empire,” Cadance declared, “I would like to extend my hoof in friendship, and I’m sure all my subjects are willing to do the same.”     The crystal guards cheered, and Starlight found herself cheering with them.     “Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Thorax,” said Shining Armor. “I’m sorry we never took the time to get to know you. Maybe we can change that now.”     Seeing the Empire’s staunchest defender finally accept the changeling brought a smile to both Starlight’s and Thorax’s faces. “That’d be so amazing!” Thorax said. “I want to know all about friendship, and maybe one day I can take that knowledge back to the Crystal Kingdom. If my kind learned how to create love from one another, maybe they wouldn’t have to take it from others!”     Starlight raised a hoof to her chin. But… changelings have always been symbiotes. Even the Blue Changelings are. Is what he described even possible?     She didn’t have long to think. “To Spike the Brave and Glorious!” shouted a guard. The guards began cheering anew, but this time Starlight walked over towards Twilight.     “I’m sorry it took me so long to learn how to recognize friendship problems,” Starlight said. “I see now that prioritizing friendship opens up options we might not have even known were there. Like Spike’s friendship with Thorax, for instance.”     “And I’m sorry I called you back,” Twilight replied as she drew Starlight into an embrace. “It’s just—I worry about you sometimes. I get nervous when I see an apparent lack of progress and not very much communication.” Twilight stepped back, but kept a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder. “I only want you to succeed.”     “I know. I promise I’ll do better about communicating with you.”     The changeling approached Starlight undisguised. “So, you said your name was—Thorax?”     “Yup! That’s me.” Thorax stuck his hoof out expectantly.     “I’m Starlight Glimmer,” she said, accepting the hoofshake. “I can’t wait to get to know you.”