"Are you sure it'll work?" Lilac paused, going over her mental checklist. She couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. Especially considering that her future as Protectress depended on this going smoothly.
Her technician, Phasren, looked away from the machinery he was inspecting. "I assure you boss, everythin' is ready. We've run the tests flawlessly several times now."
Lilac gazed through the one-way window to the ponies in the interrogation room. It had taken several years and more dead spies than she would admit, but she had finally apprehended the leaders of the organization that had been causing her so much trouble.
Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon, leaders of the Equestrian Liberation Front.
Lilac could see that they were talking with each other, though at the moment she couldn't hear what they were discussing. An escape strategy, perhaps? Maybe on how to kill her, despite being stripped of weapons and their magic suspended?
She shook her head. No, Lilac reminded herself, they couldn't hurt her... at least, not physically.
Then why did she feel so scared of them?
"Boss," chirped Phasren, "We're all set. Though... are you sure this is a good idea? We can always just shoot them."
Lilac sighed, "No, Phasren. Killing them would make things worse. I need to prove that I'm better than who they think I am."
Phasren shrugged, "If you say so. Still, I don't get why you're havin' us broadcast this. What if they say somethin' to stir up the rest of their resistance?"
"They won't." Lilac lied. She knew that they would, but it was absolutely critical that their conversation was unedited. The entirety of Manehatten, Equestria, and maybe even the Hegemony depended on it.
No pressure, she reminded herself.
Phasren scratched his chin, then rested his hoof next to a green button on the machine. "All right. Whenever you're ready."
Lilac looked over herself one last to time. Her mane was brushed, her suit was sharp, and she couldn't have been more terrified.
"Go live." she said.
The sky blue unicorn was indignant. "Trixie still thinks that we should not have asked for help."
The purple unicorn had her face in her hooves, carrying a look of exasperation. "I told you, Trixie. We NEEDED more ponies, our numbers were getting too low. We just... screwed up by not checking for a spy that time."
Trixie scoffed, "Starlight, we had plenty of ponies. Trixie could have assisted them with operations herself, and-"
The doorknob turned, cracking open. Inside walked a well-groomed changeling carrying a clipboard, who began walking over to a chair opposite of the two ponies.
"YOU! TRIXIE DEMANDS THAT YOU RELEASE HER AND STARLIGHT!" screamed Trixie, pulling against the cuffs loosely restraining her.
Starlight eyed the changeling carefully, trying to figure out why Lilac, the very changeling they had spent years trying to usurp, demonize, and kill, was now taking a seat in front of them.
Lilac ignored Trixie's outburst, instead adjusting her suit as she sat down. She cleared her throat and began, "My name is Lilac, Protectress of Manehatten. I am recording this conversation. Please state your names and occupations for the record.
Starlight kept her gaze fixated on Lilac. "Starlight Glimmer, E.L.F. Duumvirate."
Trixie nearly shouted her demand at Lilac again, but Starlight rested a calming hoof on her before she could stand up. "Fine. Trixie will play along for now. Trixie's name is Trixie Lulamoon, best friend to Starlight and also leader of the E.L.F."
Lilac rested her hooves on the table between them, "Thank you. I'm glad that we can finally talk after all this time. It's taken a lot of effort, but-"
"We won't break, you know," interjected Starlight, still facing Lilac with a cold expression, "if you're planning on getting us to turn our backs on everything we've worked for, on the MILLIONS of ponies that still believe in a free Equestria, then you can just shoot us now."
Lilac tried to keep her voice calm, "I assure you, that's-"
"TRIXIE ALSO CONCURS... Aside from the shooting part. Trixie would prefer to die peacefully at an old age."
"I'm just here to talk," Lilac assured, "In fact, it's my hope that we can learn some things about each other.
Starlight scoffed at her. "We already know everything there is to know about you. You 're-educate' ponies who don't agree with you, and those who resist just disappear. You're a tyrant who only cares about ensuring that you stay in power, and will say anything to keep those brainwashed sycophants of yours groveling at your hooves."
"And Trixie knows that you have ruined countless families! EVERYPONY in Manehatten has lost somepony they know because of YOU!" Trixie added with fervor.
Lilac bit her tongue. She was expecting hostility, but between Starlight's disciplined fury and Trixie's emotional outburst, she was finding herself questioning her own sanity by even attempting to talk to them at all.
After a moment's pause, Lilac continued. "Do you know what Chrysalis told me to do when she put me in charge of Manehatten? Actually, don't answer that. She wanted me to subjugate you. She wanted me to place your head under my hoof and declare Changeling Supremacy as the natural order of things. She wanted me to ruthlessly kill anypony who even so much as second guessed the perfection of her Hegemony."
Starlight slowly clapped her hooves together in jest. "Congratulations, you're slightly less awful than Chrysalis. Wow, what a metric to measure yourself by."
"But I knew that ponies would never accept subjugation," Lilac continued, ignoring Starlight's scathing remark, "they're strong, and as long as they have hope, their will to fight can never be crushed. I admire that about them, and upon my first day in office I realized what I had to do."
Trixie broke into a fit of laughter, "You admire ponies? You expect us to believe that?"
"Yes, I do. The ponies of Equestria have great potential, along with my respect, and-"
"That's a load of bull, and you know it!" yelled Trixie.
Lilac struggled with what to say. She had hoped that if she was reasonable with them, that they would respond in kind, but...
Starlight sensed the unease in Lilac and capitalized on it, "You're no better than Chrysalis. You just do a better job of pretending to be."
Lilac froze. This a mistake. This was a horrible, horrible mistake. She had convinced herself that if she could talk to them, that they could work things out, but it seems she was wrong. She couldn't even stand up and leave, since their conversation was being broadcast all over Manehatten. It would be a political disaster, way worse than anything she had dealt with before. Why did I decide that was a good idea?!? She screamed internally.
Because, she thought, I wanted to show them all that I wasn't Chrysalis.
Lilac took several deep breaths to calm herself, "Look. I'll be straight with you. I have had one goal ever since I started running things here: To get ponies and changelings to coexist peacefully."
"By brainwashing ponies and rewriting history to make them hate Celestia." spoke Starlight, still facing Lilac with her calculated expression.
"I did not brainwash ANYPONY!" Lilac raised her voice at Starlight, then settled back into her chair. "And as far as rewriting history... That... that was a mistake." She gulped as she spoke that last word. Her censorship bureau was going to tear their manes out, but she had to come clean with Starlight and Trixie if she had any hope of this meeting accomplishing what she had wanted. "Celestia was a wonderful ruler who loved and cared for all of Equestria. She just wasn't... good enough, I suppose."
Lilac thought back to when she had first proposed this meeting to her subordinates within her spy network, MO-oPS. Every one of them told her it was a stupid idea, and that she was better off just quietly executing them. She had refused, stating that resolving things publicly and peacefully would accomplish her goal of getting rid of the resistance once and for all. Thankfully she had had the foresight to not inform Starlight and Trixie that it would be broadcast to ponies all over Manehatten.
Oh how naïve she had been. It was too late to go back now. Lilac looked down at her clipboard full of talking points, then threw it aside. It hit the ground with a loud clang, hurting her ears slightly. "I sometimes wish that I could talk to her, to ask her for advice on how to make ponies like me, but she's gone now. I'm trying my best, but..." her eyes began to water, "It's just hard. Not a day goes by where I wish that things could have been different, where we didn't have to fight so much, but... I just want changelings and ponies to be friends, is that so much to ask?"
Trixie spoke with disgust in her voice. "Drop the act, missy. You only want us to stop resisting."
Lilac was on the verge of full blown crying at this point. "It's not an act! I'm being honest, I want to be your friend. I want to be everypony's friend. Everyling's friend too. I want us to stop arguing and to stop fighting and for all this political crap to just STOP!" Her voice cracked, "The Equestria of old isn't coming back, but that doesn't mean that we can't try to make a better future for us all!"
Starlight glared at Lilac intensely, "Ponies and Changelings can NEVER truly be friends."
Lilac's heart was aching, but she recalled something important. A trump card, maybe. She pulled herself together enough to look Starlight in the eyes and say, "What would Twilight Sparkle say if she were here?"
Starlight's expression faltered, if but for a moment. "How dare you bring up Twilight? She's gone too, all thanks to your precious Hegemony's warmongering!"
"What would she say?" repeated Lilac, pleading both with herself and with Starlight.
There was a brief moment of silence. Starlight's focus had cracked, and Lilac knew it.
Trixie mused, "Trixie was not fond of Twilight, but she was very good at her job. And her job was getting ponies to get along with other ponies!"
Lilac kept her attention on Starlight, "Almost, Trixie. There were other accounts of her getting ponies to become friends with zebras, buffalo, yaks, and so on. What makes you think that ponies and changelings can't become friends too?
"You drain the love out of ponies. No other species in the world does anything like that. You're parasites, all of you." spoke Starlight with conviction.
Lilac's aching heart suddenly filled with sorrow at Starlight's words. "Look outside! There are ponies and changelings that work together all across Manehatten! They consider each other friends! Sure there were a lot of problems in the beginning, but the changelings and ponies of Manehatten like each other now! Why won't you accept that?!?
Trixie looked between Lilac and Starlight. She didn't want to admit it, but Lilac did have a point. Starlight was another story however; she could tell that if Starlight wasn't magically restrained, she would have killed Lilac then and there. Trixie thought about what to say, and decided that silence was her answer for now.
Starlight's voice raised as well, "The only reason they get along is because of our love rubbing off on them. Without it, you're nothing but soulless husks looking for a meal."
"You couldn't be more wrong," Lilac spoke with newfound conviction. She felt something peculiar warming up inside her, though she didn't know what. She stood up and pointed a hoof at Starlight, "You're hanging onto a false notion that changelings are inherently evil. That's just wrong. Deep down, every changeling wants to be loved. The specific reasons why may vary, but for me it's the same reason that you have: Because love makes life worth living. It just so happens that for changelings, Love is also life."
Starlight's horn glowed, stressing against her magical inhibitor. Her cold, calculated expression was gone, now replaced by a seething rage. She ground her teeth harder with every passing second.
Lilac feared that the inhibitor might break, but the warmth inside her washed away her fear. "You don't understand anything at all about love, Starlight. I came here because I wanted to prove to you that I truly cared about ponies and changelings. That I love them as Celestia loved her little ponies. But you don't get that." Lilac felt her emotions spill over into her words. She didn't care what the repercussions were at this point, she just wanted Starlight to change.
"How dare you compare yourself to Celestia!" screeched Starlight, struggling against her restraints. The aura around her horn hissed, and the inhibitor around it began to crack.
Deep inside Lilac's mind she knew that she should flee immediately, but she couldn't stop now. Her body was consumed by the warmth swelling up inside her heart, whatever it was.
The door to the interrogation room swung open as one of her personal guards pointed a rifle at Starlight. "Protectress," he said, "It's time to go."
Lilac magically shoved him away with an intense power she didn't know she had. "No! I have to finish this!" She telekinetically slammed the door shut and continued her emotional tirade. "Starlight! I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself! Changelings can love too, but only if you let them! Growing up I didn't believe that, but in my time as Protectress I have seen so many acts of kindness between changelings and ponies that I couldn't call it anything but love. You may not call it that, they may not call it that, but it is. Love isn't something that only some can have and others can't. Everycreature is capable of loving one another, regardless of race! It's more universal than you give it credit for! Changelings don't just take love, we can give it as well! And you know what?"
*CRACK*
Starlight screamed as her inhibitor finally shattered, freeing her horn. Her face, twisted with fury, immediately faced down Lilac. Without hesitation, she channeled a powerful laser and fired it at at the changeling in front of her.
"I love you, too!"
Lilac became engulfed in a bright light as she spoke, blinding all who were watching. Starlight's scream continued as she magnified her already impressive magical power, intending to leave nothing left of Lilac but cinders. On and on her horn burned, its aura growing, eventually coalescing into a white hot beam of magical heat pointed at Lilac.
Trixie had covered her eyes, partially because it was so bright, and partially because she wasn't very fond of seeing ponies, or in this case, changelings die.
Soon, the light began to fade, and Trixie peeked through her hooves. Her jaw dropped as she beheld what she saw.
Lilac was floating, an intense magical barrier surrounding her. Her eyes were closed, and a purple aura swirled around her. It seemed to have repelled Starlight's magic with ease, something which Trixie had thought impossible. Changeling magic isn't supposed to be that strong, she thought.
Starlight's anger shifted to confusion as she realized that Lilac was not only alive, but encased in a strange magical glow. "What...?" She was dumbfounded. How did Lilac survive that? How?!?
Lilac slowly opened her eyes, looking directly at the pony who just tried to kill her. Her tear-strewn face formed a slight smile. "Starlight..." she spoke softly, her emotions much calmer than moments ago, "I told you, Love is universal."
The purple aura surrounding Lilac became more tangible, encompassing her entire being. It swirled around her, covering every last part of her body. Seconds later, it slowed to a stop. The aura seemed to harden into a cocoon.
Trixie raised a hoof, her mouth agape, then lowered it. "Trixie is very confused." she stated simply.
Starlight's brain was racking itself multiple times over. This was impossible. This was several layers of impossible stacked on top of each other. Changelings can't do that! Their magic simply didn't work like that! Yet here in front of her, something that she'd never seen nor thought possible was occurring.
Light poured from the top of the magical cocoon as a hoof broke through it. The hoof was not covered in holes, nor was it the black chitin changelings are known for, but instead it was a deep, dark blue. Another hoof reached up through the same hole in the cocoon and slowly pushed it apart. Soon emerged a strange, serene creature. Translucent wings covered its back, and its deep blue torso complimented the similarly colored antlers now atop its head. The purple carapace on its back reflected the singular light source above. A set of three pale blue bulbs decorated its lower neck, glowing softly. It opened its eyes, slowly looking around the room and then at itself. A pile of clothing remained on the ground next to it.
"That's strange." spoke the creature, sounding tranquil, yet well-spoken. A strange calmness seemed to radiate off of it.
Trixie decided her time to speak was now. "Are you... Lilac?"
The creature in front of the two ponies smiled. "Yes, I suppose I am."
Starlight had pulled enough of herself together to ask a simple question, "What... happened?"
Lilac turned her head to Starlight, keeping her soft smile. "I don't know, honestly. I feel different, but still the same, I guess?"
Starlight stood up on all fours. She was trying to still be mad, but... in the face of something so extraordinary, her entire perspective on Lilac was turned upside-down. She pointed at her, trying not to choke, "B-But you should have died! I... I threw everything I had at you!"
Lilac considered that for a moment. Yes, by all accounts, she should have died. Yet here she was. How? She had no idea. Maybe Starlight's magic interacted with her somehow...? No. It was something else. Something extraordinary, never before seen nor heard of. She looked at her deep blue hoof, now free of holes. She recalled what she had said to Starlight moments ago. I love you, too. Maybe that was the key?
Trixie added on to Starlight's exclamation, so awed that she forgot to speak in the third person. "I have never seen any creature survive a magical blast like that! How did you do it?"
"I don't know how," said Lilac, "but what I do know is this: If that's not proof that I'm not evil, I don't know what is."
The door creaked open again. It was her personal guard, this time without his rifle. "Protectress? Is that you?"
Lilac smiled at her guard, "Yes. Could you make sure the equipment isn't damaged, please?"
"Of course." said the guard. He left, closing the door again.
"What equipment?" piped Trixie.
Lilac turned back to the two ponies, "I'll tell you later. First, I'd like to apologize for being so harsh to you both. I know we've had a lot of conflicts over the years, but it's time to move on. Can you forgive me?"
Starlight was breathing heavily. Despite everything that had occurred in front of her very eyes, she couldn't help but worry that this was still some elaborate ploy to get the E.L.F. to give up. Yet... there was no denying that impossible as it may seem, Lilac had... done something to herself, somehow. Starlight felt it, too. When she had blasted Lilac, she felt an overwhelming sense of acceptance, a sense of...
Of Love.
Starlight fell down. It all made sense now. All those horrible things she had said to Lilac, about all changelings, she now realized were wrong. Twilight would have been ashamed of her. Starlight began crying, not only because she was a horrible pony, but also because she came very close to killing the one changeling that could change her view on the world.
"I'm sorry, Lilac!" Starlight bawled, "I'm so sorry! I was wrong, I can't... I can't express how much I messed up... how much I hurt you! I... I..." she trailed off, sniffling.
Lilac walked around the table to Starlight, stopping in front of her. She magically withdrew a key from her uniform on the ground, and brought it over to unlock Starlight and Trixie's restraints.
Lilac pulled up Starlight and embraced her. "I forgive you. Can you forgive me, too?"
Starlight returned the hug, still sobbing, "Yes... I forgive you too."
Phasren was in the Production Control Room, making sure that there were no issues with the broadcast. He along with a few coworkers had stared in disbelief at the monitors as the events in the interrogation room unfolded. To say they were shocked would be a gross understatement. Noling had ever seen anything like this before! This wasn't something anyling, anywhere had even heard of. He knew of a faraway island nation of so-called harmonious changelings, but they still just looked like any other 'ling!
He watched over the video multiple times, focusing on Lilac as the bright light encompassed her. When he first saw it, he feared the worst, but now he was trying to puzzle out whether or not Starlight did something to her.
"Hey Phasren, did the broadcast work?" spoke Lilac from behind him.
Phasren jumped in his seat. "Ah jeez! You scared me there!"
Lilac smirked, "Come on, do I really look that scary now?"
"Honestly, yes. And also yes, the broadcast went flawlessly. Every citizen in Manehatten was able to watch that, assumin' they weren't doin' anything else at the time." said Phasren proudly.
Lilac nodded, pleased that the cameras didn't malfunction. "That's good. And their reactions?"
"Reports are still comin' in, but most folks 'round Manehatten are amazed. They wanna know what happened to you. And quite frankly, I wanna know too. Tell me boss, did you plan this from the beginning'? Did you know that this would happen?"
Lilac shook her head, "No Phasren. I thought I was going to have a short chat with the E.L.F. leaders and walk out of there with them coming to terms with how things are now. I didn't know any of this would happen."
Phasren whistled, "Wowee. So you're ah, what, a fancy lookin' queen now?"
Lilac again shook her head, "I don't think so, but at this point, that's not really for me to decide. I'll be what the citizens of Manehatten want me to be." She paused for a moment, realizing that she had almost forgotten something. "Is the recording intact?"
"Yep," Phasren nodded, "All good! Gonna make copies of it soon though."
"As soon as you're able, send a copy back home to Vesalipolis, please."
"Right away, boss." saluted Phasren, before heading off to make the necessary copies.
Lilac pondered for a moment. Initially, she had planned to only send some copies to Chrysalis to gloat on how to deal with local resistance, but upon considering how things had turned out...
"Phasren?" She asked him just before he left the room.
He turned around, "What is it, boss?"
"Send it to the entire Hegemony. I want every living creature on Equus to know what happened today."
He saluted once more, "You got it, boss."
Lilac stood alone in the Production Control Room, overseeing the entirety of television broadcasts across Manehatten. News outlets were reporting on her transformation, some speculating that she was a new goddess akin to Celestia. She'd have to correct them, of course, but for now... she'd let them have their fun. She glanced at a reporter detailing how the love tax inflicted upon ponies was at an all time low, and she smiled.
Soon, there wouldn't be a love tax at all. Ponies and Changelings would willingly share love with each other, and Lilac's vision of her little slice of Equestria would finally be complete.
Love is a strange thing, after all.