“I can’t believe it.” Twilight slumped, more than a little stunned at what she had been told. She wasn’t sure that anything could’ve topped finding out that her coltfriend had encountered a changeling prior to the invasion, but now… “A colonel in the Royal Guard? Committing acts of treason?”
“Don’t forget him being a pegasus supremacist.” Quiver dourly noted.
“That too. I mean, I know ponies like that exist, but being willing to commit crimes against the crown…” The young alicorn sighed. “What prompts a pony to go that far?”
“That’s a question we might never know the answer to, and it’s probably better that we don’t.” Sunrunner frowned. “Still, as much as we like to ignore it, despite how far we’ve come, there’s still a subtle undercurrent of tension between the tribes.”
“And it wouldn’t take much to tear us apart.” Flash’s expression was as dour as his fellow Guardspony. “I hope we never see something like that in our lifetime.”
“Still, how does a pony like that get that high up the ladder in the Royal Guard?” Twilight looked to the two and pleaded, “Surely someone would’ve noticed something.”
“Ponies like that are pretty good at covering things up, Twilight.” Quiver glumly elaborated, “And others likely covered for him where he fell short. Not every pony is like your brother and gets where they are on their own merits.” He opted to turn discussion back to more pleasant topics. “So, did the rest of the night go okay?”
Sunrunner brightened. “Actually, yes.”
-
Sunrunner and Silver Bullet found themselves keeping silent vigil over their former superior, both with the full expectation of spending most of the evening with nothing to do beyond hope that he failed any potential escape attempts. Neither was looking forward to what would be involved once he was turned in.
“Mind if I join the two of you for a bit?” Sunrunner turned as Clypeus approached. “Adrenaline’s still acting up, so I’m having trouble sleeping.”
A familiar laugh reached their ears from another direction as Aziza approached with spear at hoof. “If only I had that excuse to ask.”
The two Guardsponies briefly shared a look before Silver answered. “He can stay no problem. All I ask from you is that you don’t give us an ‘I told you so’.”
The zebra mare smiled. “I think you’ve earned a reprieve from that.” She took a seat beside the stallion, while Clypeus joined Sunrunner. “Though I hope you don’t decide to try and dissuade me from my earlier arguments.”
Silver shook his head. “Hard to do that when you’re right. The only issue I had was the way you were making them.” The stallion sighed and admitted, “You’re right. Most ponies don’t pay much mind to what’s beyond our borders. Most don’t even pay much mind to what’s beyond their city limits most of the time, and that’s a shame. It’s a dark, cruel world out there. I got a taste of it when I was a foal. Grew up in a small village on the northern border, and one year, we had us a problem.”
“Blizzard?”
“Worse. Caribou.” The stallion growled. “There are gangs of them scattered across the northern reaches. Every once in a while, someone ends up in charge of them and decides to lead them on raids on Equestrian territories. Raids that tend to include pillaging and plundering and everything that goes with it. My village happened to be the next one on their hitlist.” He sighed. “We were too small to even be on the map, let alone have anything beyond a local sheriff and deputy. The best we could do if trouble came was hope for help from the outside. Thankfully, it came.” He looked the zebra in the eye and explained, “Princess Celestia herself. I saw her fight off twenty of those thugs with my own eyes. When the leader took a hostage, my own mother, and made it very clear what he was going to do to her, the Princess didn’t hesitate.” He idly turned to Clypeus and wondered aloud, “Makes me wonder why she didn’t do the same thing to your leadership.”
The changeling shrugged. “Riddle for the ages.”
Silver Bullet huffed, then turned back to Aziza. “Anyway, I didn’t want to be helpless like that again. And I didn’t want other ponies to feel helpless, like I did.” He gestured to the bound and gagged Stormfront and noted, “He probably saw something about that in my record and thought he and I were two of a kind.”
“It is a good thing for you and the rest of us that he was wrong.” Aziza smiled. “Your mother should be proud.” She glanced at Sunrunner and admitted, “Both of your mothers. Taking a moral stand is often easier said than done.”
The flame-haired mare grinned. “They get easier every time.” She then frowned and asked, “So was the belligerent tone necessary? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame you for being angry with us, but the open hostility didn’t do you any favors.”
“No, it didn’t.” She managed a sardonic laugh as she admitted, “The princess won’t be letting this go any time soon.”
“But she will let it go.” She gave Silver Bullet a surprised expression as he explained, “Belligerent or not, you’re dedicated, loyal, honest, and not afraid to admit when you’re wrong. That counts for a great deal, at least by me.”
Sunrunner grinned at her comrade’s words, and caught the sound of a contented sigh from the changeling at her side. “Can’t help but soak it in, huh?”
“Can you help but soak in sunlight?”
“Nope.” She then turned to the changeling at her side. “So, five hundred years. You’re still pretty spry.”
Clypeus shrugged. “It’s a mixed blessing.” He sighed. “You look like you have questions.”
Sunrunner managed an apologetic smile. “That obvious, huh? You don’t have to answer any.”
“Maybe not, but I’d like to. I’ve spent so long hiding in one guise or another, it’d be nice to reacquaint myself with…well, myself. Fire away.”
The mare considered her first question, and decided to go with something light. “I didn’t poison you with that jerky, did I?”
The changeling laughed. “No. I still take in the odd bit of food, but I don’t turn it into nutrients. Some of it ended up being turned into that goop I used on your commanding officer. Kinda surprised it was that quick, though. What was that stuff exactly?”
“Turkey jerky.” Clypeus looked at her in shock, and she explained, “Mare’s gotta get protein out in the field somehow.” He nodded his agreement, and she moved on to another question. “You said that you were at Trot, though. What was the context?”
“Willing participant, unfortunately.” Clypeus gestured to his head and explained, “We changelings have a sort of empathic hive-mind. We can’t read one another’s thoughts, but we can sense one another, or direct one another to particular places provided we have a strong enough signal, and if one changeling’s will is strong enough, they can dominate others and influence their emotions. Especially if they happened to have imprinted on a changeling from birth. And Queen Chrysalis has imprinted on every changeling since the first generation.” He sighed glumly and admitted, “Trot was her latest target. We attacked, they beat us off, we attacked again, they summoned help, Princess Celestia arrived and blasted the queen with enough raw energy to scar her ever since. We all got knocked out as a result of the mental feedback. Next thing I knew afterwards, I woke up in a volcano with the rest of the force sent to attack Trot.” He raised a hoof as if to emphasize the holes and explained, “Chrysalis warped all of us physically afterwards, so that we could always remember the defeat. They’ve never gone away. I doubt they ever will.”
“Obviously you got out, though.”
“A dragon eventually came along, and Chrysalis was able to distract him enough to allow us to escape. There were complications, and I was blamed for them. It’s only because of sheer dumb luck that I didn’t end up back in the volcano, or worse.” He sighed. “Been on my own ever since. Isolated from the rest of the hive, I only had myself for company, and I was forced to consider things on my own. Eventually, I came to a very disheartening conclusion.” He turned to her and explained, “I’m a parasite. Me, the rest of my kind, we’re all parasites. Little better than mosquitoes or ticks or something else that feeds on another creature just to survive. We hardly even have a culture. Everything we do is dedicated towards the will and goals of one creature alone, and I think you can guess who.”
“Mother of the stinking millennium.”
“Surrogate mother at least. Chrysalis has never once had a child.” At Sunrunner’s surprise, he asked, “How do you think changelings reproduce? Trust me, it’s not like how ponies do it.”
“Well, I never really considered it. I’m just hoping it doesn’t involve turning ponies into more changelings.”
“Turning…?” Clypeus gagged in disgust. “Ew! That’s sick! No! We don’t do that! I don’t even want to think about how that could work!” He shook his head. “No, it’s simpler than that. Bit more tragic, too. A male changeling and a female changeling mate, usually after harvesting a sufficient amount of love. After a while, the female lays eggs, and the eggs hatch into little baby changelings. The babies spend a while as little grubs, eventually spin cocoons, then emerge as nymphs and grow from there. Don’t know how many eggs to a batch, but by the time I came along, our numbers were big enough that only about half the population needed to breed at a time to increase our numbers. And as you can probably figure, we’re practically immortal, barring illness, injury, or severe trauma.”
“Well how is it that Equestria isn’t swarming with changelings by now, if you breed that much?”
“Easy. For changelings, sex literally kills. The male puts so much effort into impregnating the female that his heart tends to go out, and the female puts so much effort into carrying and then laying eggs that she dies. Those who don’t likely get killed by Chrysalis so she doesn’t have anyone to compete with for the affections of the grubs.”
“And neither you nor her have had children, so assuming you can maintain a steady diet and don’t have a really bad day, you’ll stick around for a while.”
“Pretty much.”
Sunrunner frowned, then sadly noted, “Your people deserve better.”
“Yes, we do, but I doubt any of them will realize that. And I’m in no position to tell them. I go back to the hive, I’ll probably go right back to being under Chrysalis’s thrall, same as the rest. And that’s assuming it hasn’t moved since I left it. Five hundred years is a long time.” A curious look now formed on Clypeus’s face as he asked, “So I guess you heard about Trot in school?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t taught until I reached the Academy. I found out about Trot and Timbucktu when I was a filly. Had a friend growing up who was a history buff.” She sighed. “Haven’t seen him in years.”
Clypeus laughed. “There’s that unrequited love again. Keep that up, and I might slip into a coma.” He stood up. “Anyway, I’ve kept you from your duties long enough. I have to sleep too, after all.”
Sunrunner smiled as the changeling made his way to a tent to rest. “You’ve earned it, Clypeus. Rest well.” She noticed the other two guards watching her, and she quirked an eyebrow. “What? I can’t be polite?”
-
Quiver sighed in relief. “Well, call me glad that changeling reproduction isn’t like anything out of a horror movie.”
“And call me glad that I knew you growing up, or we would’ve had a problem back there.” Sunrunner gently rubbed her coltfriend’s head with a wingtip. “Well, more of a problem.” She turned to Twilight. “And something tells me you aren’t unhappy to hear about that either.”
“No, I’m not.” Twilight was beaming as she admitted, “I was worried for a while that aside from Chrysalis, changelings didn’t have a will of their own. Assuming Clypeus wasn’t just putting on an act, then that means there’s a chance for real change among them.”
Flash looked less optimistic than his marefriend. “There’s still one big obstacle in the way of that, Twilight, and you and I both know that.” He frowned and added, “Well, two. Assuming the whole force of changelings wasn’t sent against Canterlot, we don’t know where the rest of the hive is. And even if we did, we don’t know how much hold Chrysalis has on them. It’s still better than nothing, of course, but…”
“I know.” Twilight sighed, then prompted the story onwards. “So what happened next?”
“Well, we got to the next town the next day, but the trains were shut down because of the Summer Sun Celebration. Clypeus parted ways and vanished to parts unknown, and we didn’t get to Canterlot until well after all the excitement you had in Ponyville was finished.” Sunrunner sighed. “And as you can probably guess, things didn’t go all that well for us.”
-
As their train rolled into the hub station outside Canterlot, the group of young officers exited the train car with their prisoner in tow. The improvised gag provided by Clypeus had long since broken off and been replaced with a sturdier muzzle, and Stormfront found himself clamped in irons. Awaiting them as they emerged was a contingent of experience Royal Guardsponies, one blue-maned stallion at the head. “Colonel Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. Here to accept transfer of the prisoner.”
“Second Lieutenant Silver Bullet, sir.” The young pegasus passed off the chains, then accepted and signed the requisite paperwork. “Thank you, sir.”
The colonel nodded, a glimmer of approval clear in his eyes, then turned his attention to the bound Stormfront as he and his party led the captured stallion away.
That business addressed, the recruits turned their attention back to their original mission. Prince Blueblood and the party from Farasi emerged from the train car, and the four escorted them from one train to another, which led directly into the city’s core and thus closer to the castle itself.
All around them, the city was buzzing with news and activity. Each of the four knew what the reason behind that excitement was, as they’d received word on the train about the recent paradigm shift in Equestrian history and politics. Sunrunner did her best to mask it, but she got a little satisfaction in knowing that a friend had seen this coming long in advance. Not very much, of course, in light of what had come with said paradigm shift, but still.
Their ride continued in silence, and the party quickly reached Canterlot proper and departed their train. With Sunrunner and Silver Bullet in front and Pixie Dust and Flash Sentry in the rear, the group made their way through the palace, their Farasian counterparts standing between them and covering the flanks of the princess. As one, the group made its way through the palace and into the foyer of the throne room.
“Announcing the arrival of Prince Blueblood and the diplomatic party from the Kingdom of Farasi!” Fanfare heralded their arrival, and the group entered the throne room proper. Despite having been there in the past, Sunrunner did her best to restrain her glee at seeing it again. Some things never really went away, after all.
“Princess Celestia.” The prince greeted his aunt with a bow as she approached, and she bowed to him in return.
“Prince Blueblood.” The prince and the Equestrian guards stepped aside, and Celestia approached the guest party before bowing herself. “Princess Horaia. Welcome to Canterlot. I understand that you had a rough journey here, and I apologize for the trouble you experienced.”
“Your apologies are appreciated, Princess Celestia.” Horaia cast her gaze over the gathered ponies who had accompanied her on her journey. “I am pleased to say that your provided escort performed its duties admirably, especially in light of the unforeseen circumstances that they experienced. They impressed me in particular both with their dedication to their duty as well as their moral choices.” What praise was in her tone vanished as she amended, “However, I insist that the talks between us regarding a strengthening of relations between our two nations be cancelled.”
Blueblood looked at the visiting dignitary as though she had sprouted a second head, and was about to sputter a protest before a raised hoof from his aunt stopped him. “I assume this is in part due to the actions of Stormfront?”
“In part, but also due to your actions.” As Blueblood continued to sputter in shock, Horaia continued, “My people still speak of Equestria. Some of my citizens have even come to live among yours, though what met them when they arrived I do not know. The stories, however, made clear the existence of both the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of the Night almost eleven hundred years previous. When my siblings and I received your offer of a strengthening of relations between our nations through our mutual allies in Minossus, we were intrigued to learn that your name was the same as that of the Princess of the Sun, and assumed that you were her descendant.” Her eyes narrowed. “Obviously, we were wrong.”
To her credit, Celestia managed a diplomatic smile. “Well, a mare obviously doesn’t like to discuss her age.”
“And this was compounded by the events that occurred during this visit, and the return of the Princess of the Night. Your sister, Princess Luna.” Horaia’s tone was clearly unamused as she continued, “The fact that this came as a surprise to the general population changes what could simply have been an incorrect but reasonable assumption on our part into the territory of a lie of omission. My learning of the legends surrounding Nightmare Moon moved us further into that territory, and leads to some unpleasant questions.”
The smile became far more clearly forced as Celestia stood.
“The first is whether you were aware of your sister’s impending return when you scheduled our talks. Based on the evidence, I suspect that you were. The second is whether you made any sort of preparations for her return, and a way to stop your transformed sister from causing damage. As we are having this conversation, the answer is self-evident. The third, and I ask that you forgive my crudeness…but what in the Maker’s name were you thinking?” The fact that her tone didn’t shift was both impressive and frightening. “You knew of an impending danger, and not only was your population kept in ignorance, but you invited representatives of a foreign power into your territory, thus putting them in danger as well. The fact that the danger was stopped before it could get very far is inconsequential in light of the fact that said danger was present in the first place. That is irresponsible and reckless, and one of your age and experience should know better.” She took a breath, likely to calm herself, then continued. “And that ignores the fact that a senior member of your own military participated in a plot to undermine these very talks. Were it not for your behavior, I would be inclined to continue simply to ensure that his actions were in vain, but as things stand now, things are clear.” She briefly turned to Sunrunner, with some regret in her eyes, before she turned back to Celestia. “Farasi is ready for stronger ties with Equestria. But Equestria is not ready for stronger ties with Farasi.”
The smile faltered. “Then, will you be ending relations entirely between our nations?”
“No. Our relationship will remain unchanged. Even if I knew where to find all of my people in your nation, I suspect that most if not all have found places within local communities, and I will not tear them away from said communities. And while I do not think that today is that day, I do believe that a stronger link between our nations will come. But before that happens, things must change here.”
Celestia managed a slight nod. “How soon shall you depart?”
“As soon as arrangements can be made. For the time being, I hope that you will at least extend us your hospitality.”
The smile returned. “That we shall.”
“Thank you. And I wish to extend my regards to your sister. Perhaps I may yet see her before my departure.”
“One can only hope.”
Horaia nodded, then turned. She and her party departed in silence, and Sunrunner couldn’t help but feel a sense of failure. She knew intellectually that she was not at fault, of course, but nonetheless, it still felt as though a chance had been lost for some time to come.
“All guards, dismissed.” Before they could move, Celestia amended herself. “Second Lieutenant Sunrunner, please remain.” Sunrunner did as she was instructed as the rest of the guards left, and stood at attention as Celestia approached her. “I read your mission report, Lieutenant, and I agree with Princess Horaia’s views on the matter. You did indeed act in a professional manner, and your decisions were both morally sound and within orders and regulations. You have nothing to be concerned about, or ashamed of.”
“Permission to speak frankly?” At Celestia’s nod, Sunrunner removed her helmet and looked the princess in the eye. How much of the guilt she saw was her own reflected back at her, and how much was Celestia’s own, she couldn’t tell. “As relieved as I am by your stance on the matter, I’m still concerned that this will be a black mark for both myself and my comrades. We succeeded in getting the diplomatic party to Canterlot, yes, but the talks…”
“Were not your responsibility.”
“No, but to an outsider looking in…”
“If they were in any way sensible, they would see where the fault truly stood. With my actions, and mine alone.” She turned regretful as she admitted, “This is not my first time making a mistake, as you well know.” Sunrunner opted not to respond to that remark, and Celestia continued, “Don’t take blame that isn’t yours. Leave it for those of us who truly deserve it, and take comfort in the fact that neither you nor your comrades did no wrong.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”
“You’re very welcome. Dismissed.” Sunrunner replaced her helmet, and departed as Celestia turned to her nephew. “Now then nephew, perhaps you’d be willing to give me and your Aunt Luna your account of what happened.”
-
Twilight shook her head in disappointment. “Celestia never told me about any of that. I mean, I’m not surprised, but…” She sighed sadly. “It doesn’t matter that there wasn’t a change one way or another, Stormfront still got what he wanted. No positive change in the relationship between Equestria and Farasi.”
Quiver frowned. “Sadly, the bad guy tends to win far more often in real life than he should.” The stallion knew that sad truth all too well.
“If it’s any consolation, he didn’t get to enjoy his victory.” Flash frowned as he explained, “Stormfront was found dead in his cell before he even had his first pre-trial hearing. No firm word on how he died, but the accepted theory is suicide.” He noticed Quiver’s raised eyebrow and added, “I didn’t say that I accepted it.”
“Smart stallion. As much as I support Occam’s Razor, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be paranoid.” Quiver brightened as he added, “Regardless, your careers haven’t suffered too badly.”
“We did expose a plot, after all.” Sunrunner grinned. “Prince Blueblood was apparently impressed enough with us to request the four of us for his security detail, and it was spun hard enough that the brass accepted it as a punishment detail. Probably saved us from getting kicked somewhere unpleasant and forgotten.” The grin grew as she added, “And it put us in a position where we could do some good later on.”
-
Protection detail for a member of the royal family was not a bad assignment in Sunrunner’s estimation, though like any bit of work in the Royal Guard, it came with its ups and downs. The downs often meant finding herself in the presence of ponies and other creatures who tended to treat her and her fellows more like hired help than security, especially when Prince Blueblood attended some social gathering in a major city. Be it Canterlot, Manehattan or San Fransiscolt, at least one individual high up in the local hierarchy would ask her to clean up a bit of trash or fetch them a drink. Half the time a member of the actual waitstaff would oblige instead, but the other half…
The ups, however, involved travel. Sunrunner had seen more of Equestria in her months on this assignment than she expected most members of the Guard saw in their entire lifetimes, which likely said something, and had of course met the odd non-pony creature, even ones who weren’t equines. Her travels as part of the detail now found her in Spur Antonia, a city on Equestria’s southern frontier near the border with Maretonia, for yet another bit of diplomacy.
The visiting diplomat in question lifted a glass of wine in her dexterous paw and took in the beverage’s aroma with delight. “And you said this vintage was of griffon origin, Prince Blueblood?”
“Indeed, Princess Chloe. One of their best years in my estimation.”
“Good or not, griffon wines are difficult to obtain back home.” The Abyssinian lowered her glass. “Though rather popular. Griffon and cat cuisine isn’t that dissimilar, after all. Should these trade talks prove successful, it could lead to better business for Equestrian buyers and sellers of all sorts.”
“And for Abyssinian traders as well, seeing as Equestria has quite a few markets of its own.”
Sunrunner restrained herself. She’d gotten pretty good at doing so, thanks mostly to a great deal of practice. Blueblood tended to dance around political issues rather than go at them directly. It seemed to work, but she wished that he would simply cut to the chase and be done with it for once.
A knock sounded at the door to the dining hall, and a raised paw from the cat princess saw it opened and a pony step inside clad in the uniform of a hotel buscolt. “My apologies for disturbing the proceedings, but I’ve an urgent message.”
The prince sat up with surprise. “Of what sort?”
“The message isn’t for you, sir. The message is for Lieutenants Sunrunner or Flash Sentry.”
That surprised all the ponies present, but Blueblood was swift to recover. “Very well, both are present.” He nodded to the pair. “You are dismissed to receive your message, Lieutenants.”
Both responded with a nod, and the two followed the pony out of the dining hall and into the halls of the hotel that hosted the conference. He led them into a storage area, then closed the door behind him before he turned to face them. “Nice to see meeting me didn’t damage your careers too much.” In a flash of green light, the pony before them was revealed to be a familiar changeling. “Surprise.”
“Clypeus!” Sunrunner let out a surprised laugh. “No, we’re doing okay enough.”
“How’d you find us?” Flash wondered aloud.
“A little bit of old-fashioned talent and a lot of luck, but I can’t give you the details. Don’t have the time.” His tone of urgency discouraged further questioning as he turned to Sunrunner and asked, “You remember what I told you about that hive-mind we have? How one changeling can sense others close to them?” At her nod, he explained, “Well, I’ve been hiding out a lot in central Equestria over the last few months. One benefit of Princess Luna’s return is that there’s a lot of excess love to go around, and that’s ignoring what you get at sporting events and the like.”
“And you’ve been sensing other changelings.”
Clypeus nodded at Flash’s summation. “And in growing numbers in communities and cities near Canterlot. Ponyville, Cloudsdale, places like that. And there’s an impression among them, a sense of something coming on the horizon. I felt that same impression before the attack on Trot five centuries ago. Chrysalis is planning something, and it can’t be good for Equestria.”
“But what…” It dawned on the two guards at the same time as Flash joined Sunrunner in realizing Chrysalis’ target out loud. “The Royal Wedding.”
Clypeus was briefly confused before Flash Sentry explained, “It hasn’t been announced to the public yet, but early preparations are starting for a wedding between Colonel Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess Celestia’s niece.”
The changeling frowned. “And Chrysalis would take advantage of something like that to slip in and attack.” He shifted back to his earlier guise and explained, “You have to warn them. I can’t risk revealing myself, just in case a changeling has infiltrated Canterlot and I’m reclaimed by the hive.”
“Wait, how do we know they haven’t already reclaimed you?” Annoyed expressions went his way, and Flash admitted, “Yeah, I know, stupid idea to tip off the enemy that you’re going to attack, but still.”
“Honestly, I’ve got no clue how they haven’t noticed me. I’m good at keeping my head down, but no one’s that good at going unnoticed.” He glanced between the pair and asked, “Still, can you really take the risk that I’m lying?”
Sunrunner shook her head. “No, we can’t. Thank you for the warning.”
The disguised changeling flashed a hopeful smile. “Just don’t waste it, huh?” He then opened the door behind him and led the pair back out.
They parted ways, and the pair returned to the dining hall. “Reporting back on duty, sir.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
As the pair reclaimed their posts, Princess Chloe gave them approving looks. “You have a very efficient security detail, Prince Blueblood.”
“Thank you. I’m honored to have met them on very unique circumstances. A prior diplomatic mission, though one that wasn’t quite as successful as this thanks to an incident regarding a changeling…”
“Please, don’t elaborate.” The princess’s voice took on a growl as she recounted, “Changelings are more than familiar to my people. My ancestor Queen Katrina bested them when they invaded our capitol two centuries ago.” Claws extended from the tips of the digits on her raised right paw as she added, “They learned to leave us in peace as a result.”
The prince gulped. “Indeed, I’ll spare you the details.”
-
“So it was thanks to the two of you that we were warned about the changeling invasion?” Twilight showed an awestruck smile as she looked upon her two friends. “Wow.”
“And all thanks to you doing the right thing.” Quiver beamed at his marefriend.
Sunrunner blushed slightly, then bowed her head. “Well, the warning was nice, but it didn’t do us nearly as much good as it could have.” She turned to Twilight. “You and your friends weren’t the only ones who were busy that day.”
-
Much to the surprise of his security detail, Prince Blueblood had opted against taking part in anything regarding the upcoming Royal Wedding. His excuse was exhaustion from his royal duties, but Sunrunner and many others quietly suspected that he simply wanted to keep himself out of harms way given the increased presence of Royal Guard troops in Canterlot.
Given the fact that Sunrunner and Flash Sentry had jointly requested a direct audience with Princess Celestia through Blueblood to inform her of what Clypeus had told them, however, neither were surprised by his actions, but opted to keep that fact to themselves. Neither had managed to speak to her about it directly, but had been assured that their intel would make its way up the chain of command along proper channels. Both of them, as well as most of the prince’s security detail, had been temporarily reassigned to the Canterlot Royal Guard divisions, while Blueblood himself had opted to hunker down inside his chambers, doors locked and windows barred, and wait out the oncoming storm with provisions and his teddy bear. Warning had been made, however, so the belief was that they would be ready for whatever came.
Sunrunner stifled a curse as the magical shield surrounding Canterlot literally shattered above their heads. As changelings rained down from above, Sunrunner declared, “Keep the civilians safe! Take out as many of the attackers as you can! Lethal force is authorized! Go!”
She doubted that anypony present would listen to the word of a lowly second lieutenant, but hopefully at least one of the NCOs would actually acknowledge her orders and act accordingly. Assuming, of course, they actually heard her. Mass communication appeared to be rather low on the list of priorities for a soldier’s equipment at this point.
Here's hoping the bean counters would reconsider.
Rather than take to the air to fight the changelings directly, Sunrunner opted to catch them by surprise as they struck the ground. Fortunately, several of her comrades followed in her example, and many changelings were quickly downed. One hissed underneath her hooves, and it took everything she had to fight back her memories of how Clypeus described their conditions and do her job as a soldier.
Sunrunner soon lost count of the number of changelings she had slain, and she decided that was hardly a bad thing. Her wing blades and armor were soon stained with what she assumed was their blood, and she hoped that with more and more of them falling, more and more would be drawn to her and her comrades and away from civilians.
One almost caught her from behind, but a crossbow bolt to the cranium followed by a brief explosion put paid to its efforts. Sunrunner turned to the source as a familiar group of ponies joined her. “Two Face.”
“Warbler.” Sour Sweet fired off another couple rounds as Silver Bullet charged down two more changelings. “Guess the wedding’s delayed.”
“Guess it is.” Sunrunner bucked an oncoming attacker right into the path of a magic bolt from Sunny Flare. “We got a rough estimate on their numbers?”
“Ten thousand or so is my guess, and not all of them have made landfall.” Indigo Zap sliced through a changeling’s neck with one wing blade even as she kicked away another. “Anypony want to take a stab at who screwed the pooch on this one?”
“Save it, Zips!” Sunrunner quietly fumed that they’d likely never find out, for whatever reason. “We’ve got a job to do! Thin the swarm as much as you can, and keep their attention on us! Rut, maybe we’ll actually beat these guys off without a Deux Ex Machina saving our plots!”
Flash forced a changeling down before stabbing it with a wing blade. “Tempting fate there, Warbler!”
A griffon among them tore through a changeling’s throat with his claws. “Probably why she said ‘maybe’!”
The fighting continued as the guards held their ground. The bodies of dead changelings soon piled up around them to the point that some were shoved aside, but the swarm clearly wasn’t letting up as Sugarcoat reported, “They’re still coming.”
“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed!” With her crossbow now freshly reloaded, Sour fired off three more bolts as changelings continued to swarm around them. She didn’t even bother to look back at the bespectacled mare fighting alongside her as she did away with sarcasm and shouted, “What was your first clue?!”
That retort was the last that Sour would make before they were finally overwhelmed. Perhaps they’d simply thinned out some of the less intelligent changelings, or the survivors had cottoned on to long-distance attacks, but the sharpshooter soon found her weapon blown from her hooves by a mess of changeling goo. Other projectiles soon followed and pinned down Lemon Zest and Garrett, with one mass of goo congealed around Sunny Flare’s horn and thus taking her out of the fight.
Sunrunner soon found herself among the last ones standing, with changelings circling all around. Many were hissing or snarling, whether from hunger or rage she didn’t know and didn’t care to guess. Maybe she and the other guards would become food for them, maybe they’d just kill them outright. It didn’t matter much either way.
But she wouldn’t make it easy for them.
Just as the hoard pounced upon them, however, a loud cry of anger and disbelief sounded from the direction of the castle. The changelings barely acknowledged the screams of their queen as Chrysalis was ejected from the city by a growing shield of light rose light before they joined her, the bindings that they had created fading in their wake.
As she watched the changeling horde disappear into the southern sky, Sunrunner helped Lemon Zest back to her hooves and sighed. “So much for not needing that Deus Ex Machina. Alright ponies, let’s make sure there aren’t any stragglers!”
-
“Thankfully, it didn’t look like there were. A few odd strays probably got loose and scattered across the south of Equestria, but most…” Flash turned to Twilight. “Well, you know what happened to them.”
“I do.” Twilight turned to Quiver and explained, “Chrysalis regrouped, took advantage of the Secretariat Comet and tried to take my magic for her own. Now she and the changeling forces she had available to her are trapped in the castle they claimed for themselves on Equestria’s southern border and watched around the clock. They won’t be getting out anytime soon.”
Quiver refrained from pointing out that Twilight was tempting fate, then turned to Sunrunner and asked, “Anyway, there we are?”
“Yep. There we are.” Sunrunner managed an exhausted smile as she continued, “We were decorated for our part in the defense of Canterlot, and thanks to us having the dumb luck to hold out the longest, Flash and I got first pick when new assignments came in. We ended up being among the first Guardponies asked to take up posts in the Crystal Empire.”
Flash smirked. “Which she turned down.”
“Worked out okay in the end.”
“Yeah, but you do that too many times, and you’ll get the boot before you get your next promotion.”
Sunrunner smirked. “Then I won’t do it again.” The smirk faded as she added, “In any case, I’m still stationed in Canterlot as part of the palace guard, just not as part of Prince Blueblood’s security detail. Maybe it’s not the ideal assignment, but I’m happy with it.” She turned her attention to Twilight and admitted, “Still, a small part of me does wish that I had taken the post in the Crystal Empire. If I had been there, maybe I could’ve stopped Shims from stealing your Element of Harmony.”
“Or failing that, gone with Twilight to retrieve it.” Quiver frowned as he admitted, “I’ve wondered about that, Twilight. Why did Princess Celestia send you to the human world with so little preparation? Spike dashed off after you on his own, and I can understand her not wanting your friends to go with given they had counterparts on the other side and she knew about it, but why not just give you more information? Could’ve saved you some time if you took the fake crown with you, gone to the princess’s counterpart and explained what was going on.”
Twilight managed a small nod. “It would have, I agree, but Sunset would’ve still been terrorizing Canterlot High if I’d just swapped the crowns and called it a day.”
“I’m not saying you should’ve just left her causing trouble. That would’ve been immoral. I’m just saying that the Princess could’ve saved you and everyone else a little trouble.” Quiver sighed and leaned back into his seat. “Speaking of little trouble, this was a good meal.”
“A little rich for my taste, though.” Flash raised a hoof. “No offense to Chef Ramshead or the staff, of course. It’s good, but a bit expensive for my pay grade.”
The young princess shook her head. “I don’t think he’ll be too hurt.” She then noticed the thoughtful expression on Quiver’s face. “Something’s bugging you.”
“Yeah.” The stallion turned to Flash. “You said that Stormfront was found dead in his cell before he could go to trial. Presumed suicide.”
“I didn’t say that I thought it really was a suicide.”
“No, and I’m glad that you’re not. I’m just saying that it’s an interesting thing that it happened.” Quiver waved a hoof as he mused, “Granted, Stormfront could’ve killed himself out of spite, but still, it makes one wonder.”
Sunrunner laid a wingtip on her coltfriend’s shoulder. “And something tells me we’ll probably never find out one way or another. And if we do, we might not enjoy it.”
-
He had been alone in his cell for longer than he had liked. Stormfront did not object to that. This was a temporary thing, after all, and he would be getting out, sooner rather than later. After all, he had fulfilled his part of the bargain, and his associates weren’t going to leave him high and dry.
A heavy creak signalled the door to his cell block being opened, and hoofsteps sounded as he raised his head to his guest. “Well done, soldier.” Stormfront didn’t like the tone of voice that he heard, and liked the pony he saw even less as he came into view. Said pony was a unicorn stallion with a bishop chess piece for a cutie mark, his mane cut short and a smirk that practically oozed slime on his face as he looked the colonel in the eye. “Mission accomplished.”
Stormfront could immediately tell that he was being played with, but didn’t find himself in the mood. “I fulfilled my end of the bargain. The treaty’s been called off. Equestria and Farasi won’t be strengthening ties.”
“True, true, and…yes, true. Good grasp of the obvious there.” The smirk grew even worse as he admitted, “The trouble is, you didn’t think things through.”
What brief surprise was on his face turned to outrage as Stormfront screamed, “We had a deal!”
“And where in that deal did it say we’d let you out?”
“You damned bone-headed…!” It was then that Stormfront suddenly found himself unable to speak, as breathing suddenly became far more difficult.
“What was that?” As the stallion before him continued to choke, the unicorn laughed. “I guess something you ate didn’t agree with you.”
Stormfront found himself even more enraged, but could do little about it beyond gasp for air. It felt like his throat was tightening, and his first instinct was that magic was involved. It always was with… with…
“Damnedest thing, Stormfront. You look at me with contempt just because I’ve got a horn, and yet, you were more than happy to work with me and mine to further your own goals. Don’t let more mongrels in, or whatever you like to think, so they don’t work with the ones already here. Trouble is, the ponies I work with? We aren’t opposed to Equestria and Farasi forming stronger diplomatic ties. We just want it happening when the time is right.” As the stallion before him continued to gag and choke, he continued, “It’s going to happen, just not for while yet. Exactly when is still up in the air, mind you, but the day’s coming. You, though? You’re not in the picture. You’re not part of the plan, and you never were. And you put yourself in the perfect position to be tossed aside. Thrown away. Forgotten, before you could cause problems for us in the future. You’re not the only bigot out there, soldier. Not even the only one inclined towards violence. But there’s a chance that ponies might be willing to follow your orders, and that’s a problem.” He saw the life start to go out of the stallion’s eyes and declared, “And I’m here to make sure that problem is solved.”
Stormfront’s struggle ended, and he slumped to the ground, dead as a doornail.
The unicorn turned and departed. So far as the world would know, Stormfront would have died in prison from natural causes. Most wouldn’t care, and those who did wouldn’t mourn him. At least, not for very long. That was a soldier’s job, after all – they were meant to die for somepony else’s cause.
And Stormfront had died for the cause of himself and his associates. Harmony was to be maintained.