//------------------------------//
// Slightly Less Awkward 
// Story: Your Fangs Are Showing 
// by Bucking Nonsense 
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"So, you're telling me... you were inside of the Crystal Empire... from the day it first came back?"
Mole Cricket nodded, reflecting, as he did so, that things had turned out much better than expected.  He'd expected to wake up with his brains liquified, scrambled, on fire, or just something else horrible, and possibly not brain-related but still awful.  Instead, he'd found himself, while in his default form, he was bandaged, sitting in a comfortable seat, and facing both the princess and Fluttershy... who had Miss Cuddlewumpus in her lap, and was feeding the little bunny carrots.  He tried very hard not to smile at how adorable that was.
Still, being grilled by a pony who would reduce you to ashes with her brain was... uncomfortable, to say the least.
"Exactly, your highness.  Upon our defeat at Canterlot, the swarm was scattered.  Many were sent south, into the badlands, but many others were scattered on the winds, relative to their position to the center of the forcefield.  At least, that's what it looked like, from what I could see at the time.  I was in the northern part of the city, having been charged with ensuring that, now that you and your friends were captured, nopony tried to take the Elements Of Harmony to you.  I did not make it there, and was hit by the forcefield in midair.  Upon the release of the spell, I would likely have frozen solid in the Crystal Mountains, had fate not taken a hand, plopping me down in the city just as it had returned."  
Most would not have realized it, but the Crystal Empire had returned at the exact moment the massive love sphere of doom (and how many times in your life will you ever get to hear that sentence?) had been unleashed.  The two events were likely related.  It was not until weeks later that anypony realized that the city had returned, due simply to the isolated nature of the realm.
The princess' eyes narrowed, seeming a bit angry, as she said, "So, you were just cooling your hooves when King Sombra was pounding away, trying to break in?  While my brother and his wife were struggling to keep the city from falling to him?"
"Not so much cooling my hooves," Mole said, his eyes narrowing in response, his tone icy, "as I was struggling with the aftermath of being tossed miles upon miles through the air, then slamming into the side of a building.  If I had not been conscious enough to disguise myself before I was found by the locals, I might not have received the care I had.  As it was, I was in traction until the return of the Crystal Heart, at which point there was enough love pouring into me all day and night that I could start healing myself a bit faster.  It was still a lengthy recovery."
The princess nodded, acknowledging the retort, her temper gone as quickly as it had come.  "Fair enough.  But... why did you stay?  Once you recovered, you could have gone anywhere in Equestria."
Mole Cricket gave the princess a long look, then said, "Your highness, let me ask you a serious question: If you had spent your entire life struggling for every meal you ever ate, then suddenly found yourself in an orchard of apples, with nopony to stop you from plucking and eating as many as you liked, whenever you liked, would you ever want to leave?"
Twilight Sparkle nodded, acknowledging the point.  Then Fluttershy asked, "But at some point, you would want to return to your own kind, right?"
Cricket smiled wistfully, then said, "I might, yes, at least for a visit, but not while the current queen was still in charge."  At Twilight's stunned look, he smiled, and said, "Your highness, you've met our queen.  I've had to live with her.  While I respect her, I don't like her, for a variety of reasons.  If she suddenly had access to an endless supply of power, what do you think she would do with it?"
Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy thought on that for a moment, then both of their mouths dropped open simultaneously, looked at each other in dismay, then looked back at Cricket, who smirked, and said, "Exactly.  She'd set out to conquer everything, everywhere, forever, with an army of changeling super-soldiers who could do everything I just did while trying to escape the city, and more.  I imagine that, rather than letting that happen, somepony would have the bright idea of breaking the Heart, rather than letting it fall into the wrong hooves.  At that point, everybuggy finds themselves right back where we started, minus the one known source of limitless sustenance we have ever found."
Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Every-'buggy'?"
As Fluttershy giggled at that, Cricket blushed a little, and said, "Well you ponies have 'Everypony', so why can't we have 'Everybuggy'?"
Twilight Sparkle gave the changeling her first genuine smile since the train ride began.  That was progress, at least.  "Fair enough.  So, you weren't planning on telling any'buggy' about the Heart until there was some'buggy' in charge who would act a lot more responsibly with access to that sort of power?"
Cricket nodded and said, "Exactly."  He was glad to see she understood his position.
Twilight Sparkle looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded and said, "I'll buy that, but I'm afraid that, at least for the time being, you aren't going anywhere near the Crystal Empire again.  Sorry."
Cricket had expected that much.  Leaving him in a city with a relic that made him 'Supermane' would have been foolish, at least until they were certain that he wasn't going to start using that power to hurt others...
"But I don't see that being a problem for you," the princess continued, "since, by your own admission, you've absorbed enough love to keep you full for several lifetimes."
Cricket nodded, and asked, "So... what happens next?"
Fluttershy turned and whispered something in Twilight's ear, and after a moment, the princess nodded and said, "Well, given that you've been in a position where you could easily have made a menace of yourself... and chose not to, I think I can sweet talk the other princesses into letting you stay in Equestria indefinitely.  There will probably be a list of conditions as long as you are tall, but I think something can be worked out.  If you behave yourself, you might even earn yourself full citizenship."
Citizenship.  Now there was a prize worth having.  In a society where material goods were worthless (Money can't buy me love, after all), immaterial goods, often called by changelings "distinctions",  were considered priceless.  For example, something as simple as a name was incredibly valuable: most changelings were just given a number as identification, until they had proven themselves worthy of something more.  Cricket had, through hard work, effort, and a willingness to go above and beyond what was asked of him, not only earned his name (first AND last, thank you), but a rank (the highest one a commoner could ever hope to attain), and even a nickname!  Earning citizenship in a foreign land would give Mole a distinction no other changeling in history could claim...
Cricket smiled, and said, "I'd certainly be interested, your highness, although I imagine that you'll have a hard time finding someplace willing to accept a changeling... unless you already have someplace in mind..."  Probably someplace close at hoof.  Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer... so you can crush them the second they step out of line....
"Well," Fluttershy said, blushing a little, and abruptly derailing Cricket's pessimistic train of thought through the power of cuteness, "I'm sure I could find you someplace to stay in Ponyville."  Suddenly, the mare's blushing turned nearly incandescent, as she added, "Um, that is... if you don't mind."
Cricket smiled, and said, "I would be delighted."