//------------------------------// // Old King Daedalus // Story: How to Tell Your Friends You're Dating a Changeling // by Infinite Carnage //------------------------------// The old monarch’s toothy grin could not have been wider. He had been resting on his throne, content with only the hive mind buzzing around in his skull. It was peaceful, it was quiet, it was… boring. Very, very, boring. Daedalus hated boring, but then again, that was sometimes the price you paid for peace. His lings were content inside the forest. He could sense no serious discomfort for the moment. This meant he was feeling useless today, and he hated that more than anything. His boredom did not last though, much to the changeling king’s relief. One of his guards had informed him over the hive mind that he had a changeling requesting an audience with him. Despite his age, the king nearly leapt out of his seat with joy when he heard who it was and gave the order to have him brought in. Remembering he was a king and should act like such, he rushed backed to his throne and sat down with a regained sense of authority. While trying not to look like the time he had been informed the new Daring Do book was receiving an early release. That had been a good day. His throne room was similar to the one in Canterlot, minus the windows. In their place were murals to famous changelings of the past. His father, King Ares, was one of them and alongside him was Leonardo da Hoofci, the greatest disguised changeling to come from his hive. The mural closest to him was of his late son, Icarus, the first changeling in space, and the last. His throne sat at the far end of the room, and a green carpet made of silk led from the chair to the large doors at the end. The room was lit by a great number of candles that helped add to the majestic—and slightly creepy—atmosphere. The doors gently opened, and in trotted the changeling that Daedalus had been so excited to hear from. Again, managing to keep his composure, he allowed the changeling to make it to his throne and kneel before him. “King Daedalus, it is a pleasure to see you again.” The king in question was not like most changelings. Like his fellow kings and queens, his anatomy was slightly different. Instead of four legs, he walked on two. And on the ends of his forearms were not hooves, but rather claws that were similar to a dragon. He stroked the long, flowing green beard on the end of his chin for a moment, looking over his friend to see if he was physically fine. He scratched the long green mane on his head, careful not to knock his top hat off. He only wore his crown on diplomatic missions as he hated the ghastly thing. He flicked a clawed finger upward and his subject rose up. “You may stand, my little ling. I believe we have some things to discuss, and I imagine that will be quite difficult with your face on the floor.” His voice was deep and as smooth as chocolate. The changeling before him quickly righted himself with a hint of embarrassment. “Now, shall we call you by your pony name, or your birth name?” “My birth name, please,” the changeling replied with a thick Trottingham accent. “Alright then, Toxotis, how have you been? I was expecting you two days ago.” The changeling quickly bowed before righting himself again. “Your Majesty, before we begin, I would like to inform you I have made a large love deposit to allow our magic to continue.” The king nodded in response. “I have heard the most disturbing news though, so please allow me to ask this. Is Chrysalis truly alive?” “I assume you heard this when you entered the hive mind again?” “Yes, so is the imposter still among the living?” “Sadly so. Queen Chrysalis has done more than enough to tarnish our name. First she failed the monarchy test, but became delusional and started an extremist group. Then she had the nerve to attack the capital of Equestria, with what was possibly the worse invasion attempt in the history of… forever. So bad was this attack that she and her army were defeated by the power of love. That still hasn’t sunk in yet. I mean she’s made us look like morons.” If Toxotis had an eyebrow, he would have raised it. Instead, he opted for a confused stare. “Your Majesty, shouldn’t you be more upset that she revealed our very existence to the world, and Equestria has technically declared war on our race? Actually, you don’t really seem bothered about the fact that she’s still alive.” Daedalus let out a deep chuckle that echoed throughout the room. Oh, he had been angry at first, infuriated by the fact that his race could be wiped out in an instant. But then he remembered how good he and his kind were at hiding, so he quickly got over it. Plus, his problems may well be fixed sooner rather than later. He cleared his throat and shuffled in his seat to feel more comfortable. After a thousand years he still had a tendency to slip up when it came to etiquette. “Toxotis, would you like to know something about the insane?” The changeling’s silence was more than enough for the king to continue. “Funny thing is they can only hide their insanity for so long till it’s revealed to the entire world. The other thing about the insane is that they mess up, a lot. It doesn’t matter how concrete a plan is, they always find some way to let their own madness ruin it for them. So it’s only a matter of time before good old Chrysi messes up again, and this time finds her head is no longer attached to her neck. By the way, those ponies you sent here, I assume they were your doing?” “… How did…?” “I know things, Toxotis. Let’s leave it at that. They were a lovely bunch of ponies, not sure about that one with the razor sharp teeth and that invisible one, but a lovely bunch all the same. It was nice to see Mimic again as well…” “Your Majesty, what if we are discovered?” Toxotis almost panicked when he even considered the concept. The king narrowed his eyes which made his subject cower slightly. The rare moments when he allowed his mere presence to become disturbingly powerful was a sight to behold. There was one thing Daedalus hated: being interrupted. However, he was a merciful soul. “I will forgive that interruption. We have become close, you and I, over the last couple of months. You with your calculating and uptight attitude, me with my fatherly and carefree nature. I like to think I’ve taught you a few things. But don’t you dare interrupt me again. Next time, I won’t be so forgiving.” Toxotis was losing the feeling in his hooves, and his knees went weak. He forced himself to swallow the large lump that had built in his throat as he gazed up in terror at his master. Many could easily forget who they were talking to when they met Daedalus because of his likeable nature. But this was the changeling that had defied Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. This was the changeling that had driven out a race of hairless apes and claimed the forest as his own. This was the only living being who has been able to tame this damnable area and bend it to his will. Arguably, this was one of the greatest kings, let alone changelings, who ever lived. And Toxotis had just pissed him off. He desperately searched for the courage to voice an apology, and thankfully did. “I-I’m s-s-so sorry, your Maj…” “BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The changeling’s eyes snapped open towards his king, who was in a hysterical fit of laughter. The monarch was clutching his stomach in an attempt to prevent the pains he was receiving from laughing so much, but it was in vain. Tear droplets were forming in his eyes and his neck craned backwards as the laughter continued. All the while, Toxotis was putting two and two together, and realised he had been tricked. Again. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” he muttered under his breath, “I can’t believe I fell for that act again…” “You should have seen your face!” Daedalus managed to get out through his uncontrollable laughter. He was able to take a deep breath and calm himself down slightly, but couldn’t stop the smirk from remaining on his face. “I’m sorry,” he said insincerely. “It’s just you fall for that every time, EVERY TIME! I’ve missed you, Toxotis, I really have.” He snorted once or twice before his laughter finally began to die down. “As for your other question,” the old ruler continued through the ending of a chuckle, “They won’t find us. Trust me on this. Even the royal guard doesn’t explore the Everfree, so we’re safe. Even if they did, they would only become lost in this grand maze. This forest has always been kind to us, and the hive mind always guides us home. Anyway, since you’ve come all this way, do you have any more questions?” The changeling shook his head, but he was still trying to process all the new information. He hoped his majesty wasn’t going to ask a question that required a lot of brain power. “In that case, how have things been for you? Has your noble quest for redemption borne any fruit by chance?” Oh goodness, I’m going to have to tell him, Toxotis nervously thought. “Well… I’ve only had a few new cases as of late. My mentor, Sherclop, has been kind enough to send me a few he couldn’t be bothered with, but business has been a little slow, I must admit. Despite the chaos Ponyville regularly receives, there’s not much call for a detective.” “… While I believe you, I get this feeling you’re not telling me everything. Am I wrong?” Toxotis knew that wasn’t going to work, but it was worth a shot. He sighed heavily and gazed up at his leader. He bit his lip for a moment, allowing the small ounce of pain to act as a reprimand for his own actions. “You are correct, King Daedalus. May I ask how you knew?” “I didn’t need to use the hive mind, especially since you’ve cut off access to what it is. You can trust me, Toxotis. Did you do something bad?” “No, it’s not like that. I’ll be blunt with you. I… have found myself… in a relationship.” Toxotis didn’t have time to react as he was swept into a bone crunching hug. The king let out a hearty chuckle as he wrapped his friend in his arms and picked him up from the ground. They spun around for about two minutes and all the while,Toxotis was feeling more and more queasy, until Daedalus put him down and almost broke out into a jig. However, he forgot how to do one, so he settled for the hokey pokey. Toxotis just stared as the idol of thousands broke out into a foals’ dance. He wasn’t really sure what to do with himself as his king got to the part where his right leg was in, so he just continued to watch, and made a mental note to delete this from his brain forever. Thankfully, after five minutes of dancing, the old king managed to control himself and approached his friend with the biggest smile Toxotis ever saw him wear. “Finally! Well done my friend. I was wondering if you’d ever try and settle down. This is a pony, I’m assuming?” Toxotis somehow found the means to pick his jaw off the floor and reconnect it to his head. “Uh, yeah, she is.” “Excellent, we should have a party. It will be a ‘Toxotis is finally getting himself some’ party and…” “Your Majesty, I doubt anyling would come to a party just because I got laid.” “Oh, so you haven’t done her yet. Saving her for marriage, eh?” It took all the strength the changeling had to not facehoof. The sheer absurdity of this moment had made him forget all his worries. His body relaxed and his tension began to subside. The feeling of relief wouldn’t last long though. “So, who’s the lucky mare?” “Oh, uh, well, it’s a weather manager.” “Interesting, that would make her a pegasus. And what’s her name?” “Her name?” “Yes, what’s her name? Time seemed to stop for a moment as the detective analysed the situation. There was no escape. There were no more chances to dodge the question without Daedalus becoming suspicious. There was only one option left for Toxotis. He would simply have to confess. “Your Majesty, her name is Rainbow Dash. But you and I know her as the Element of Loyalty.” Her name and description hadn’t completely registered at first for Daedalus. But when it did, Toxotis swore the king’s left eye twitched. The leader’s smile began to falter. The lines that curved up to make a smile began to lower until it became a large frown. His eyes were unreadable, but his entire posture had become significantly tenser. He closed the gap between himself and his subject with one long stride till he was towering over him. “Toxotis,” he uncharacteristically growled. “We need to have a serious talk about your taste in partner.” Twilight Sparkle was a good pony. You wouldn’t find many who would claim the unicorn was malicious or ignorant. If anything, Twilight always sought to understand and think rationally about nearly every scenario she found herself in. When it came to heat-of-the-moment decisions though, Twilight had a tendency to panic, and when one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria panics, you might find yourself on the receiving end of the mare’s crazed state. Still, Twilight was a good pony. At least she liked to think so. Just moments ago, Twilight had fired an overpowered spell that hit the forehead of one of her best friends, Rainbow Dash. The mare in question was left sprawled out on the floor, losing consciousness. For a moment, nopony dared to utter a word. Rarity was on the floor too. However, she had overdramatically fainted, and immediately brought herself back to her hooves. Applejack stood up from her chair, but remained slack-jawed as Rainbow Dash continued to lose consciousness. Fluttershy had gotten up from her hiding spot and quickly flew over to her best friend to comfort her. She wrapped her foreleg under Rainbow’s head and waved a free hoof over Dash’s face. There was no response. Pinkie remained quiet, not saying a word. Applejack blinked several times before slapping a hoof over her face, still in disbelief at what she saw. Then she asked, “What the heck did ya do ta her, Twi?” As her face contorted into anger, she found herself in debate on what course of action she should take. She had to think rationally, but what Twilight had done was beyond shocking to Applejack. “She’s being controlled. I have to remove the spell on her!” Twilight shouted, unable to control herself at this point. Everything was going wrong. She didn’t mean to knock out Rainbow, she had simply overcast the spell and had left her friend drifting in and out of consciousness. Fluttershy’s eyes scanned over Dash’s body. As her hoof gently wandered over Rainbow’s body, she could see there were no visible signs of damage, not even on her forehead, but her eyes were glazing over. Fluttershy wasn’t exactly sure what kind of spell Twilight had cast, but she didn’t want to take any chances. “No… Rainbow, are you alright?” she asked as she tried to shake her friend conscious again. Her attempt was in vain though. “Goodness, I think she’s out cold,” Rarity spoke softly, still slightly dazed from fainting moments ago. In her confusion, she had forgotten what this whole thing had been about. A free hoof covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. “… Rainbow…” Fluttershy squeaked out one last time before Rainbow Dash entered dreamland. Tiny tear droplets began to form in Fluttershy’s eyes. With Dash out cold, all eyes turned towards Twilight Sparkle, whose brain was going haywire. Sweat began to leak from her forehead, her breathing became harsher and more panicked, but the stares directed towards her were only making things worse. Twilight had completely forgotten why she had cast her spell on Rainbow Dash in the first place. Instead, she was panicking over what to do next. Fluttershy was in the process of making sure Dash was comfortable, when a purple aura snatched Rainbow away and towards Twilight. Twilight looked over Rainbow herself, first checking if she was fine. As she suspected, Rainbow was only unconscious. But then her panicking began to grow worse as different scenarios played out inside her mind. How long will she be out for? she first thought. This thought would snowball out of control. What if she suffers ill effects from the power of the blast? What if she doesn’t wake up for longer than she should? What if she’s in a coma? What if she does wake up, but doesn’t remember us because it affected her brain? It would be entirely my fault! The stares from her friends caught her attention again. With a bit of focus, she could make out the hidden message behind each glare. Fluttershy, who had been looking worriedly at Dash in her condition, now looked upon Twilight with fear. Whether it was because she didn’t know what Twilight would do next, or because she was afraid of Twilight herself was unknown. Applejack had an angry, venomous glare directed at her friend. Rarity just seemed unsure of what to do and Pinkie… just looked depressed. The purple mare could just make out Pinkie muttering to herself. “… I thought this was supposed to be a rom-com…” The pressure had gotten to her. And just like a kettle, she was about to explode. “I CAN FIX THIS!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. Before any of her friends could react, both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were gone in a flash of light. Twilight reappeared in her library with Rainbow Dash in tow. Most would have taken Rainbow to a hospital at this point, but Twilight wasn’t thinking clearly again. She was determined to fix this herself and also make sure that Dash would be alright. She needed Spike though. Her little brother would be essential in taking care of Rainbow. “Spike! Are you here!?” She had told the young dragon to stay at the library to do his chores and look after the tree while she was out. Despite the fact that Spike had been invited to hear Dash’s confession also, his chores had backed up so much that he had to miss it in order to catch up. Her ears stood to attention, trying to make out even the tiniest sound. “Oh, Twilight, you’re back,” came a response from above. That was definitely Spike. Twilight let out a sigh of relief and trotted upstairs, making sure Rainbow was still in her magical grip. As she made her way up though, Spike’s voice became slightly panicked. “Oh… Ugh, by the way, that cold I had. Um, the aftermath just sort of happened.” Twilight was confused as to what he meant until she reached the top and found several burnt books spread out on the floor. An event such as this would have normally led to Twilight suffering a nervous breakdown, followed by several hours of crying, desperate attempts to fix them which normally didn’t work, more crying, ice cream with the girls, and finally ordering replacements for the destroyed books. Luckily for Spike, who looked ready to jump out the window, Twilight had something bigger to worry about. She just had to hope one of those burnt books wasn’t the one she needed. “Spike, do we have that book on mind spells? Specifically volume two?” Spike stared blankly at Twilight for a moment, occasionally blinking as the realisation dawned on him that he wasn’t in trouble. Spike was smart enough to know that there was something really important going on. “Yeah, it’s downstairs, I think.” “Could you get it, please?” Twilight levitated Dash up the stairs, stopping Spike dead in his tracks as he gazed at the unconscious form of his pegasus friend. “Twilight, what hap—” “Not now, Spike! Get the book!” she snapped at him. Spike sprinted off down the stairs and Twilight floated Rainbow onto her bed. She groaned in frustration as she placed Dash in the recovery position to be safe, and waited patiently for Spike to return. Twilight hoped that she would have a moment to herself to try to calm down. However, Spike had been quicker than she thought he would be and before she knew it, he had joined her back upstairs with the book in hand. She noted that he must have been concerned for Dash. “Here you go, Twilight,” Spike said while nearly out of breath. Twilight didn’t give her usual thank you. Instead, she snatched the book away with her magic. “Alright, Spike, I need you to look after Rainbow while I check through this book. She should be fine, but I just need to be sure, so keep her monitored. Can you do that for me?” Twilight received a salute from her adopted brother, who went to work on checking over Dash. She smiled to herself. She always did that when she had the chance to witness those moments where Spike acted like the mature drake he was. But she didn’t have time to think about that; she had to look over the spell. She trotted over to her work desk and laid the tome on the table. She didn’t even need to look at the index as she knew exactly what page the spell was on. The spell was very practical for those in the military and special agency groups. It was multipurpose in the sense it could remove both hypnotic suggestions and full on mind control. That Twilight knew, but earlier was the first time she had ever tried it on a pony, and in her panicked state, she overpowered the spell. Now she was looking for any side effects. Her brain took in every word as she carefully scanned over the page. Every note, every minute detail was of the utmost importance and finally she came to the section she needed. It is important to note that this spell is rather easy to overpower. We would advise several practice tests before trying the spell out on a living subject. However, apart from perhaps a slight concussion depending on the impact of the blast, an overpowered shot should not cause any lasting damage. At most a pony may receive temporary memory loss, but it will have the same effect as a safely cast spell. The pony the spell is cast upon will have all hypnotic suggestions removed from their mind. If there was no mind control present at the time the spell was cast, they should suffer no ill effects. Finally, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The worry and fear that was haunting her mind began to melt away and a tiny smile embraced her lips. Rainbow would be fine. She almost felt like hopping around the library in happiness, but decided against it until she knew if Rainbow was completely out of the woods. I’ll have to make sure Rainbow hasn’t suffered any memory loss, she mused to herself as she closed the book. What a day! Ever since Rainbow told us about her new coltfriend… Twilight froze on the spot. What felt like hours ago, but in reality was only several minutes, began to play back in her head. Going to the boutique, Rainbow’s announcement and a sense of sincere happiness for her friend. Then Dash’s second announcement, and a shot of confusion, then anger, then worry. She wasn’t mad at Rainbow, she was mad at whoever this new coltfriend of Dash’s was. Her muscles tensed and her breathing became harsher as she thought over exactly what Rainbow had told her about him. In the end, Dash had only specified a gender, and that this changeling was most likely living in, or close by, Ponyville. She didn’t have a name, an occupation, a coat colour or anything that could help identify this probable imposter. She wasn’t too worried about that though; she could get any information she required from Dash once she awoke. With that knowledge safely tucked away in her brain, Twilight could relax. Until the library door swung open. “TWI!” cried out a Southern voice from the doorway, “ya’d best get yer flank down here right this second!” Judging by the sounds of multiple hoofsteps, she came to the conclusion that her friends had arrived, and they sounded very upset. Before she could do anything, the sound of tiny steps running down the stairs reached her ears. She intercepted her brother by teleporting just in front of him at the foot of the stairs. He came screeching to a halt just before he crashed into Twilight. She pointed her hoof upstairs. “I’ll take care of this, Spike. You keep monitoring Dash for me.” Spike nodded and ran back upstairs. Twilight craned her neck towards the door to see her friends walking themselves in. Since she did live in a public library, the door was never locked during opening hours. Twilight grimaced when her eyes met Applejack’s. Her other friends were avoiding eye contact for the moment, realising that AJ and Twi were about to go at it, or rather, Applejack was moments away from laying the verbal smackdown on her friend. “Twi, what have ya done with RD?” she simply asked, trying in vain to calm herself down. “She’s upstairs, resting,” replied Twilight. “That’s not what Ah meant! What did ya do ta Rainbow Dash?” “… Oh, uh, I simply cast a spell that would clear Dash’s mind of all hypnotic suggestions and manipulation.” “And was this here spell meant ta knock out mah best friend?!” “…” “Ah didn’t think so. What in the hay is wrong with you, Twilight?!” Her friends were staring at her again. This time though, Twilight refused to panic like she did before. She took a deep breath before addressing Applejack. “Do you remember what Rainbow Dash told us? She claims to be dating a changeling. Something has happened to Rainbow, and it must be some sort of mind manipulation. You all remember how vocal she was about her dislike for the changelings after the wedding, right?” Fluttershy gently raised a hoof to catch her friend’s attention. “Yes, we were all very upset and scared after the wedding. Many ponies say and do things when they’re upset that they don’t necessarily mean. Maybe Rainbow moved on.” “Yeah, I bet this changeling is a nice changeling,” said Pinkie who was hopping around her fellow elements. “That means I can still throw my ‘congrats on becoming a super cute couple’ party, right?” Twilight let out an annoyed grunt. “Girls, focus. Fluttershy, I understand what you’re saying, but changelings are manipulators, and Rainbow isn’t known for letting go of grudges. She’s way too prideful for that. And no, Pinkie, there is going to be no party.” Pinkie’s lip began to quiver as Rarity cleared her throat, garnering everypony’s attention. “Twilight, please explain to us why our poor friend is lying unconscious upstairs.” “I… overpowered the spell. I’ve had very little practice actually casting it. I’m sorry.” As Twilight spoke, she lowered her head in shame. “Don’t apologise to me, darling. Apologise to Rainbow once she wakes up.” Twilight nodded eagerly, still wearing a frown. “Yes, she should be fine. The worst thing that could happen is Rainbow could have temporary memory loss…” Fluttershy’s gasp interrupted Twilight’s explanation. Shy, in a rare moment of speed, shot upstairs to check on Rainbow. From the corner of her eye, Twilight could see steam coming from Applejack’s nostrils. “… but it is very unlikely that anything’s wrong with Dash.” She smiled sheepishly. A desperate attempt to show innocence was her next plan, but then Rarity said something that caught her attention. “Twilight, have you possibly considered that you may have not thought this through?” Twilight looked puzzled. Going through the mental checklist in her head provided herself with no faults in her logic. “Rarity, Rainbow Dash told us she’s dating a changeling. She must have obviously been given some kind of mind control spell or drug.” “But darling, that’s the problem. I won’t claim I’m some sort of expert on mind control magic, but if Dash was being manipulated, why would she outright tell us she was in a relationship with this changeling character? If the changeling is meant to be controlling her, wouldn’t the manipulator make sure Dash never told us about their relationship in the first place?” Twilight really wanted to argue with her, but logic had prevailed. She considered what her friend said. Normally, mind manipulation spells would prevent the pony under control from thinking for themselves. They were essentially a living puppet. From what her brother had told her after his wedding, he said that Chrysalis had made him believe that she was Cadence. But from what she read, she could have also given him the subconscious order not to reveal her identity. It was similar to hypnosis in a sense. With that reasoning, Rainbow would have been given the same order to not reveal this changeling’s identity. Logic, her best friend, was leading her down the right path. It wasn’t a conclusion she especially liked, but it was the truth, something her friend Applejack held to a very high standard and would definitely appreciate once Dash could explain for herself. There was a small possibility that the changeling had simply never given the order to reveal his identity, but this was very unlikely considering how often changelings hid in pony society. The conclusion was simple. Rainbow genuinely had feelings for this changeling This in itself only raised more intrigue for the unicorn. Of all the ponies Twilight knew, Rainbow was one of the most stubborn. The only one more stubborn than her was AJ, and that was quite a statement in and of itself. After the invasion attempt, Rainbow had been particularly vocal about her distrust for the race. She went on a tirade in front of the townsfolk about the freaky bugs that they should all be keeping an eye out for. Twilight also had a personal vendetta against them, but she wouldn’t allow any past experiences to cloud her mind again. All she knew was that Rainbow was going to be very mad when she woke up. “Ah know that look.” Twilight left her train of thought to stare at Applejack. “Ya’ve jus’ figured something out, haven’t ya, Twi?” Applejack was a little more relaxed now. Instead of anger, her eyes were filled with concern. “What’s wrong, sugarcube?” “It seems impossible, but it must be true…” muttered Twilight. Pinkie had managed to overhear. “What’s impossible? I like doing the impossible! It’s super funny to see ponies look at me like I just destroyed reality for them! I remember the time Twilight did that, too! She got so mad she set herself on fire—” A purple hoof shoved in Pinkie’s mouth stopped the tirade. “The facts simply don’t lie,” continued Twilight. “Thinking over what Rarity said, I believe she’s absolutely right. How could I have been so stupid!? A changeling would have told Dash not to reveal his identity. That must mean she did it of her own accord. If she did that on her own, then it’s most likely that she was never brainwashed in the first place. She’s dating this changeling because she wants to.” At that moment, the sound of a pony clearing her throat came from the top of the staircase. When Twilight and company looked up, they found Rainbow standing at the top, looking down directly at Twilight.