//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18: To The Ends of Equestria 
// Story: It Takes a Village to Reform a Changeling 
// by MattTOB 
//------------------------------//


It Takes a Village to Reform a Changeling

Chapter 18: To the Ends of Equestria






It was done.

Mandy had just spent the last 5 days working 12 hours a day, in an effort to finish his sentence as soon as possible.

And now, he'd done it. 1,000 total hours of 'community service' had been completed.

As soon as Celestia sent the official decree, he and AJ boarded the first train south. Mandy sent another scroll to Thorax, detailing where to meet up and establishing a codephrase (to make sure another Changeling couldn't try and impersonate Thorax).

He was finally about to see his brother again.





They arrived in Appaloosa by noon, and with directions from some buffalo (who seemed to know Applejack), they crossed the mountains. It took 2 days of travel (despite Mandy's offers to give her a ride, Applejack insisted that she walked), but they finally stood on the edge of the Badlands. In the distance, they could see the black spire that was the Hive.

"Woah..." Applejack marvelled at the sight. "It's like nothin' Ah ever seen!"

But Mandy wasn't interested in the view; he was scanning the landscape, looking for any sign of his brother.

Finally, he noticed a dark creature hiding behind a rock. "Red?" Mandy asked, prompting for the codephrase.

The bug poked his head out. "I prefer burgundy!" he answered excitedly, leaving his hiding spot and bounding forward to give his brother a hug. "I'm so glad you're here, Mandy! You look so different!"

"It's great to see you, too," Mandy chuckled.

Thorax blinked. "You missed me?"

"Well, duh; you're my brother."

Mandy then turned towards Applejack. "Thorax, I'd like to introduce you to Applejack. Applejack, meet Thorax."

"Howdy," AJ tipped her hat.

Thorax stared, his mouth agape. "Y-you're one of the ponies!"

She blinked. "Well, yeah, o' course Ah'm a pony."

Thorax shook his head. "No, I mean you're one of the six I saw in Canterlot!"

"Oh, right," she chuckled.

Thorax practically skipped towards her. "Oh, this is so exciting; I never thought I'd meet you! I have so many questions: What's your favorite color? How do you like your eggs cooked? What're your hobbies? What–"

Mandy stuffed a hoof into Thorax's mouth. "Calm down, Thorax. I know you're eager and all, but right now, we gotta start heading back to Ponyville before they realize you're gone."

Thorax forced Mandy's hoof out of his mouth. "Ponyville? Is that where you've been?"

Mandy nodded, slightly blushing. "It's a long story. I'll tell it to you while we walk."

Thorax nodded, and they began to retrace their path back towards Equestria.





During their hike, Mandy filled Thorax in on everything that'd happened, from his crash landing in Ponyville to his capture and sentencing, and his new relationships with the ponies. Thorax's face brightened as the story went along; it was everything he'd ever dreamed of!

Then Mandy told him of his relationship with Applejack.

"Wait, wait," Thorax paused, "So you're telling me that the two of you are dating?"

Applejack took Mandy's hoof in her own. "Yessir."

Thorax gasped, then hugged his brother. "I'm so happy for you!" he congratulated.

Mandy chuckled. "Thanks, bro."

Suddenly, Thorax stood upright. "Wait, how're you doing that?"

Mandy and AJ both blinked. "Doing what?"

"You're making your own love!" Thorax clarified. "Changelings aren't supposed to be able to do that!"

"Am I? I can't tell." Mandy tried to sense his own emotional aura, but couldn't.

Instead, he accidentally sensed Thorax's emotions.

He gasped. "Thorax, you're starving!"

He chuckled weakly. "Yeah, that's kinda normal now. Ever since the Canterlot Invasion, we've been burning through our reserves just waiting for Queen Chrysalis to do something. I don't have much, but it's enough."

Mandy frowned. "In the words of Rarity,–" (he transformed into Rarity at this) "– That simply won't do at all, darling!"

AJ chuckled at the impression; Thorax blinked in confusion, recognizing the form but not knowing her personally.

Mandy shifted back, then lit his horn with his burgundy magic. A trail of pink fog came out of it, and Thorax graciously accepted it, devouring it quickly.

He smacked his lips. "That's the most I've eaten in months! Thank you so much, Mandy!"

Mandy wiped his brow. "No problem."

AJ smiled proudly at her bugfriend, hugging him. "That was so kind o' ya!"

He blushed. "Anytime."





Eventually, they reached the mountains that separated the Badlands from Equestria. Mandy took the lead as they wove their way through the pass, and they made good ground, but the sun eventually set, and they were forced to camp in a small cave.

Applejack gathered some dead branches, and Mandy lit a fire with his magic, while Thorax prepared a temporary cocoon for him to sleep in.

Once everything was prepared, Applejack unpacked some of her rations (a salad with some apple slices) and happily ate, while Mandy and Thorax talked.

"So, what do you you think?" Mandy gestured to his body.

Thorax tapped his chin as he took everything in. "Honestly, you kinda remind me of licorice."

Mandy huffed. "That bad, huh?"

He quickly backpedaled, "N-n-no, I meant it in a good way! I like licorice!"

Mandy blushed. "Oh, I see."

"Remind me how you came to look like that?"

"Well, according to what Twilight can figure out, it happened when I shared my love with my friends. Although, the events leading up to it, I'd rather not remember," he added, shuddering at the memory.

Thorax looked off in thought. "So, do you think it'd happen if I shared love?"

Mandy blinked. "I suppose... Are you suggesting –?"

Mandy was cut off suddenly when Thorax shot forward and hugged him.

"Thank you for coming back for me," he said gratefully.

A moment passed.

Then two.

AJ looked up from her salad and said, "Ah don't think it worked."

Thorax broke off the hug, but before he could say something, the ground began to shake.

"Uhh... Thorax?" Mandy asked as a rumbling noise approached, "Did you, perchance, check the area for predators?"

Thorax swallowed a lump in his throat. "Oops."

Then the Maulwurf struck.





Dread Maulwurf

Scientific Name: Talpa Ferum

This large beast is known for eating plants of all shapes and sizes, though sometimes, they will eat meat. Their large claws are perfect for digging, and their giant teeth are great for defending itself. They have been observed to especially enjoy apples.





The Maulwurf burst out of the ground with an ear-splitting screech, searching for the smell that had lured it here:

Applejack's salad and apple slices.

Mandy jumped up. "Applejack, give it the salad!"

She responded quickly, tossing the salad at the Maulwurf.

Unfortunately, it directly hit the beast's eye, angering it.

The beast swiped its claws at the farmpony, who barely dodged in time. "Ah think Ah made it worse!"

Mandy quickly transformed into a Bugbear and shot forward, intercepting a slice of its claws. He yelped in pain as he was head-butted by the animal, but pushed back against it.

"Mandy!" Thorax shouted in concern, rooted to the spot out of fear.

The Maulwurf lunged forward, snagging one of Bugbear-Mandy's arms with its teeth. He screamed as the pain became too much to handle, forcing him out of his transformation.

Applejack quickly covered for the injured bug, drawing the beast's attention and giving it the runaround.

Finally, Thorax managed to snap out of his catatonic state, and he rushed forward to help AJ.

Mandy clutched at his foreleg, which was bleeding profusely from his injury. His horn shimmered, and he shot off a burst of magical fire at the creature, catching it on the side of the face.

But due to the Maulwurf's thick hide, the blast only made it stumble. It turned its attention to Mandy, who was realizing how big of a mistake he'd just made, and it charged forward.

AJ tried to reattract its attention, but it was too focused now. Thorax tried to force it to stop, but he wasn't strong enough. The Maulwurf plowed unfettered towards Mandy in a blind rage.

Suddenly, Mandy realized what he had to do:

He jumped to the side, letting the Maulwurf careen straight into the wall of the cave.

The entire enclosure shook at the impact, loosening some stalactites and causing them to fall. Luckily, one of them hit the Maulwurf in the head, causing it to dig into the ground to retreat.

Unluckily, another slashed Mandy in the side as he tried to dodge it.

As soon as the cave settled back down, Thorax and Applejack rushed forward to help their injured friend.

There was a large gash where the rock had hit, and it, along with his leg, were both oozing blood.

Applejack grabbed a first-aid kit from her saddlebag and began to work. "It'll be alright, Mandy; Ah'll fix ya up.

"Oh, Mandy!" Thorax profusely apologized, "I'm so so SO sorry! If only I'd checked for predators, none of this would've happened!"

Mandy coughed weakly. "It's okay; we all make... mistakes..."

Then he lost consciousness.

Thorax began to panic, fearing the worst. "Oh, no no no no NO! DON'T DIE ON ME!"

Out of desperation, Thorax lit his horn and began siphoning just about every ounce of strength he had into a healing spell. Applejack marvelled as the wounds closed themselves up, only leaving behind scars.

Once it'd finished, Thorax collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

AJ gasped. "Oh no, not you too! Thorax!"

Thorax's jaw flexed as he fed on Applejack's concern. "I'm okay. Thanks for the concern," he mumbled as he staggered back to his hooves.

Then he regarded Mandy. "Will he be alright?"

AJ nodded. "It may've been a brash move, but that healin' spell really worked wonders."

Thorax looked down at his brother with sympathy, unaware that his wings were slowly beginning to cloud up.





It was a few hours before Mandy awoke. They were still in the cave, though Applejack and Thorax had fallen asleep at some point.

Mandy looked down at his injuries, surprised to find only scars remaining. He then looked at his brother, whose wings were now crystalline (like Mandy's had been between his molt and his transformation), and smiled.





As soon as dawn broke, the group resumed their travel, now more wary of predators. They only stopped to take a rest in an apple orchard in Appaloosa, making it back to Ponyville just before dusk.

Thorax stepped off the train, marvelling at the town that lay in front of him. "Woah, it looks even better than I could've ever imagined!"

Mandy and AJ followed behind him. "Glad ya like it, sugarcube," the farmpony smiled.

"I just hope that I don't mess this up," he worried.

Mandy retorted, "I was introduced to this place by crashing into Town Hall; you can't do much worse than that."

Thorax nodded, though he was still unsure of himself.

As they departed the train station, ponies began to see them (due to the late hour, it wasn't as many as normal, but it was still quite a few). Most looked surprised at the presence of a second Changeling in town, though whether or not their reactions were positive or negative had yet to be determined.

Mandy cleared his throat, then addressed the growing crowd of onlookers. "Citizens of Ponyville, Applejack and I would like to introduce you to my brother, Thorax. He fled the Changeling Hive to come live in Equestria peacefully."

Mandy nudged Thorax forward, who let out a weak "H-hello..."

The crowd's reaction was mixed; some waved to the new arrival, then continued to go about their business; others walked forward to talk to him, eager to learn about him; and a few just rolled their eyes grumpily and kept walking, obviously not pleased by the arrival, but not in the mood to do anything about it.

Thorax began to talk with those who came up to him, while Mandy and Applejack watched, grins plastered on their faces.

Eventually, the ponies had to leave, and the conversations ended. Thorax ran back to Mandy and AJ. "You'll never believe this; three ponies said they'd like to be my friends!"

Mandy patted his brother's shoulder. "See, what'd I tell you? Equestria's the friendliest place on the planet!"

The bug replied by hugging his brother.

AJ chuckled. "Now c'mon, ya bes' be gettin' to Twilight's Library."

They broke off the hug. "Good night, Applejack," Mandy waved goodbye.

"G'night, Mandy," she replied.

With that, they parted ways.





Queen Chrysalis sat in her throne, mulling everything over in her head. The failure in Canterlot, the Changeling who'd been caught and given sanctuary afterwards...

...and ESPECIALLY that doll he'd received...

Her thoughts were interrupted when a drone rushed in, carrying a large rock that'd been vaguely carved in the shape of a Changeling.

"Your Highness," he saluted, "Drone #T50-R4X has been discovered to be missing. This sculpture was found in his sleeping chambers, no doubt intended to serve as a decoy."

Chrysalis eyed the statue.

Then, channeling all her pent up anger, she wordlessly shot a magical bolt at it, smashing it to dust.

The drone hesitantly asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

She turned to face him, stared for a moment with cold eyes, then uttered one command:

"Bring me Pharynx."