“Now, Twilight, I hope this isn’t another one of your tests to check if the artifact works. I only have so many of those, and I was drinking tea with the ruler of the Griffon K–”
The shield broke into tiny shards, and one beam from the changelings struck the teacup the princess held in her hoof. Small amounts of whatever liquid it held splashed onto her royal dress.
“That was my official going-out dress, and now it’s stained!” The air began to sizzle as immeasurable amounts of heat began to emerge from the alicorn; had anypony so much as touched her in this state, the pony would have been burnt to a crisp.
And then Princess Celestia spotted the changelings.
Her anger soared ever higher as her eyes focused on the soldier at the front.
“YOU SHALL REGRET YOUR ACTIONS!” An immense beam of what could only be described as solar rays cut through the first wave of changelings, burning their wings almost instantly. Around ten changelings dropped to the ground with a thud, and some previously hidden changelings on the ground quickly exposed themselves to send the injured back to base.
The remainder of the squad landed in front of the princess, petrified with fright at how the situation had turned out. One of the braver changelings shot a magical beam at the alicorn, who expertly reflected the beam back to its creator, vaporizing him on the spot. Princess Celestia slowly walked up to the changeling in gray armor (obviously the leader, the princess reasoned) and stared him down with a glare that could have killed him in an instant if the alicorn so wanted.
“BOO!”
The armored changeling leaped in fright, landed on its flank and rapidly scrambled to get away from the dangerous pony. The rest of the squad following shortly after.
“Well, glad to see that’s taken care of.” The princess looked over at the green-and-black bundle that lay next to Twilight. “And I see you’ve even caught a live one.”
“P-p-princess, c-can you please b-break those ropes?”
“Hmm?”
Princess Celestia looked over at Sweetie Belle, who had mustered enough courage to talk to their savior. It was clear, though, that the presence of one of the rulers of Equestria was making her tremble.
“He’s a friend,” Twilight explained to the princess. “He saved the Crusaders, and I believe he was also fighting the other changelings.”
“I understand, of course.” Celestia pointed her horn at the ropes, which easily dissolved in a flash. “And you don’t have to be afraid of me, little one,” the princess remarked to Sweetie Belle, “I’m your friend.”
Sweetie Belle simply nodded, but she was clearly still a bit uncomfortable at being in the presence of royalty.
“Here, let’s get everypony back to Canterlot. We can heal Rarity and Fluttershy once we’re at the castle.”
The princess’s horn glowed brightly, the light growing until it encompassed everypony. One second, they were staring at the wreckage that used to be the crusaders’ clubhouse; the next, they were gazing upon the massive entrance of the castle as two elite royal guards greeting them upon their arrival.
As everypony entered, they couldn’t stop themselves from appreciating how large and intricately detailed the interior was: the scene captivated them no matter how many times they entered the castle.
“Guards, could you take these two to the infirmary, please, and have them meet up with me here when they awaken?”
“As you command, Princess,” the guard to the right responded, earning a chuckle from the alicorn.
“You know, you don’t have to be so formal all the time.”
“As you wish, Princess… I-I mean, sure thing.” The guard called in a couple others to help transport Fluttershy and Rarity as Celestia talked to the rest of the group.
“Okay, now, is anypony else hurt?” All the ponies shook their heads. Spike sported a small bump on his head but refused any medical treatment, wanting only to stay with Rarity as she recuperated.
“Why, of course. Just go through that door on tell the guards I sent you to stay with Rarity.”
“Now, then, let’s move on to business,” the princess continued. “I need to talk to the changeling… alone, if you don’t mind.” Celestia touched her horn to the changeling’s chest, and suddenly a small golden aura enshrouded the foal as the healing spell worked its charm. “Everypony can stay here for a while. Feel free to ask the guards for food or anything else.”
With that, the princess and the changeling foal disappeared in a flash, leaving Sweetie Belle a bit preoccupied about what the princess wanted with Silver.
Silver opened his eyes in fright, attempting to remember what had happened.
Okay, so I was fighting the changelings, and then one of them held me in a magic bind, and then…
That was when the foal noticed that he was still bound tight, but not by ropes of green; this time, golden strands surrounded him, attaching him to a not-so-comfortable chair. All around him was a bright light messing with his eyesight as his eyes tried to adjust to the new setting.
In an instant, a tall alicorn materialized in front.
“My name is Celestia, in case you didn’t know, but I am pretty sure that the Hive would have already informed you of that.”
Celestia? The alicorn that Chrysalis defeated?
“I’m going to ask you a series of questions, and you are going to answer them truthfully.” The princess positioned herself at a hoof’s length from the changeling’s face.
“Question 1: Why are you here? What is your objective?”
Silver Flame tried to look away from the alicorn’s gaze, but the penetrating stare was simply too much.
“I… I escaped from the Hive, and I was looking for a place to hide.”
“Lies!” All of a sudden, the binds around the changeling’s torso tightened, leaving the changeling with a lack of air for just a second. “All you changelings care about is the Hive, no matter what happens to yourself or anypony else!”
The princess leaned a little closer, a flame present in each of her eyes. “Question 2: What is Chrysalis’s plan? Where and when is she going to strike next?”
“I-I don’t know! I had only just started my f-f-first mission, and n-none of my s-superiors told m-m-me of an–”
The coils tightened again, this time squishing his appendages together quite uncomfortably.
“Silence! I know that there’s a plan to take over Ponyville! The information came from a changeling general himself!”
By now Celestia had stepped back, almost as if she were preparing to cast a spell at any given moment.
“Question 3: What were you planning to do with the crusaders?”
“Th-They found m-me crying and invited m-me to their club. I b-b-became their f-friend and–”
The princess’s horn began to glow, the coils surrounding the changeling foal glowing, soft sizzling arising from them as the binds burned the changeling's skin ever so slightly. Celestia’s anger reached dangerous levels as she spoke to him again.
“Stop lying! You changelings can’t feel love or friendship! All you do is feed off of it, destroying it as you gorge yourselves in its warmth!”
The colt’s eyes had started to water. His thoughts wandered off to the times he had spent with the crusaders, the way he had helped Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle escape…
Sweetie Belle…
I WOULD NEVER FEED OFF THAT LOVE, NOR THAT FRIENDSHIP!
Whatever hold fear had taken on his mind was broken in an instant, his rage increasing exponentially, a greenish aura rising from every hole in his body.
“YOU DO NOT KNOW ME! YOU DO NOT KNOW THE PAIN THAT I HAVE GONE THROUGH, NOR THE FEELING OF FRIENDSHIP THAT I RECEIVED FROM THOSE THREE FILLIES!”
Celestia, surprised at the outburst, lowered her spell on the coils. Astonishingly, his binds began to weaken as he shouted, his green aura counteracting the golden until the ropes shattered. The changeling looked directly at Celestia with an unwavering gaze.
“DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH, EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE HAD TO SUFFER? THEN HERE!!!”
Out of nowhere, the changeling summoned up a small ball of energy and threw it at the princess’s horn. A bright green flash blinded them both, if only for a moment.
The princess was at a loss of words as she watched his spell’s effect: every memory the changeling had accumulated throughout his life was playing out in her mind, every situation, every emotion. The fear, the loneliness, the hope, and the anger: everything played through her mind in a blink of an eye.
The changeling could only sit back down, exhausted as his power faded.
The air grew still, and the anger once present in the princess simmered down…
And tears began to take its place as every moment played over and over in her mind.
“I… am so sorry, Silver. I let my hatred of changelings cloud my judgment and overpower me.” Princess Celestia rapidly started a healing spell, fixing up the slight burns the binds had left as well as any remaining bruises he had received from the incidents in the clubhouse. “Can you ever forgive me?”
The changeling simply looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze, though finally he mumbled an apology at the princess for having gotten out of control. The tension throughout the room was palpable, but Celestia would not settle for such a result, still riddled with guilt at having judged him for his appearance.
“I… I am sorry for your father, Silver. I know how hard you tried to save him, looking for the correct incantation and the potion.” The princess slowly sat down next to the foal, placing a wing over him in a motherly fashion. The foal tried to inch away, but her wings felt so soft, so comfortable… so safe.
“Still, the spell you had found was incomplete. If you had cast it on your father, he would have become a pony for only a couple days, later deteriorating into dust.” The princess hugged the foal closer to her as she spoke, the warmth she emanated making him feel protected, loved even.
“However, in my… travels… I have come across the full, correct spell that you can use. It’s in the Canterlot Archives, and I would gladly cast it on you so you can become a true pony and live as one of us here. I bet Sweetie Belle would be pleased to hear that.”
Sweetie Belle!
“Don’t worry,” Celestia remarked after spotting the worry in Silver’s expression. “She’s unharmed, thanks to you. Now, I must warn you, the difficulty of this spell is not just in executing it, but the changeling also needs to have certain… tethers to this world, something that anchors the soul to the world of the living so the body change can work. It will be a difficult task, and there is a high chance that you could die in the process… though with your traits, the chance of the spell working is a bit higher.”
Silver Flame simply stared at her in confusion, not quite understanding what she meant by his “traits.”
“See,” the princess continued, “You are a foal of a changeling and a pony. Although you may look completely like a changeling, you have the heart of a pony, and a courageous heart at that.
“I know that there is no excuse for what I have put you through, but please let me make it up to you by helping you fulfill your dream to completely disconnect from the Hive. Would you like to go through with this? I can give you as much time to think about it as you need.”
The chance of a new life, starting from scratch, no longer tied to the Hive and the rest of the changelings
The chance to stay with my friends…
The chance to stay with Sweetie Belle.
But how do I know I can trust this alicorn princess, one who has done so much harm to me?
That one question resonated in his mind, slowly fading into nothingness as he melted into the hug, somehow understanding exactly how sorry she felt about her past actions.
“I do not need more time to think,” Silver replied. “I would like to become a pony.”
I do this for Sweetie Belle… and for me as well.
I can finally be a free creature… a free pony.
“Then let us tell the others at once.” Celestia hugged the foal even tighter, the changeling returning the favor as drop after drop of salty tears fell from her eyes.
“I truly am sorry, Silver.” Another blinding flash later, the two had disappeared from the interrogation room.