The Assignment
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
In light of the recent events during the Royal Wedding, I am tasking you to research the origins of the Changeling Race. Enclosed in this letter are two tickets to Canterlot for you and Spike, When you arrive I will grant you access to the restricted section of the Canterlot Archives, where you will begin your task.
The Solar Diarch of Equestria,
Princess Celestia
{~~~~~~~~}
Twilight Sparkle sighed as she re-read the letter from the Princess. ‘I wonder why the Princess wants to learn how those insects came to be, I mean who in their right mind would even consider those bugs to even remotely qualify as a race, they steal love for Celestia’s sake!’
‘But who are you to argue the Princess’ desire to learn more about Changelings? And I thought you would enjoy a good research project.’
‘But those things brainwashed my brother and replaced Cadence!’
‘Are you seriously going to let personal prejudice interfere with a good study session?’
‘Yes! ...I mean no! …Maybe? Actually, why am I even arguing with myself? I know I am going to have to do this project anyways, so I may as well make the best of it, regardless of how I feel about the subject matter.’
“You okay there Twi’?”
“Yes Spike, I just had a small little argument with myself over this new assignment, but then I realized how silly my argument was.”
“Whatever you say Twi’, just remember that you can’t live off of reading, and no trying to invent a spell that will let you do that.”
“Pshh, living off of reading, I am definitely not going to try that again.”
"Whatever you say Twi', whatever you say…"
{~~~~~~~~}
Not long after arriving at Canterlot and being escorted by an unsurprisingly indifferent Royal Guard to the castle, Twilight and Spike are greeted by Princess Celestia and head towards the Royal Archives.
"Princess, can you explain why you want me to research the Changeling menace?"
"Twilight, just because changelings are shapeshifters that feed on emotion doesn't make them a 'menace'," - Celestia pauses to chuckle - "I can name several nobles that are more 'menacing' than a changeling."
"How can you think that they are not monsters, they have fangs and feed on love for Celestia sakes- OhI'mSorryPrincess! PleaseDon'tBanishMe?!"
Celestia starts to laugh.
"Oh Twilight…" - Celestia looks at the unicorn cowering in fear - "For... well… erm… me... sakes, how could you of all ponies think that I would banish somepony for saying my name, even if it was used in such a way?"
"Sorry Princess, I guess I just tend to overreact when I am afraid I made you upset."
"That is silly, but back to the original conversation, I want to know more about changelings because they were obviously not as they are now, and I would like to see if there is any way to, for lack of a better term, remind them of what they once were, and maybe even bring peace with them."
"But Princess, what if… well… um… I actually can't think of a reason to argue when you put it like that…"
"Oh Twilight, I miss having you around, these conversations are always so… enjoyable. Maybe we could arrange a weekly meeting where we get together for tea or something. I seem to recall that Rarity and Fluttershy go to the spa every week, maybe we could do something like that?"
"Um… I think I would like that very much Princess, but aren't you busy with the Royal Court and all of your other duties?"
"If Lulu can go out in disguise and party every tuesday night, I think I can spare a few hours each week to visit you. And please, when it is just us and our friends, call me 'Celestia' or 'Tia', as Lulu likes to call me."
"Okay then Pri- I mean… err… uh... Tia?"
{~~~~~~~~}
Celestia and Twilight arrive at the Royal Archives. The princess informs the guard that Twilight is granted full access to the restricted section and StarSwirl wing, as well as any other section she might need to access.
After what seemed like hours of digging, the lavender unicorn finds an obscure reference to a journal written by StarSwirl the Bearded in a section of a book that speculates the feeding habits of changelings. After locating said journal, Twilight dives in…
I actually discovered one! Posing as a librarian's assistant in the lower districts. It was surprising really, I happened to see the library when I was taking a stroll, and I decided to go in and see if they had anything that might be of use in my research. Upon entering said library, I was greeted by a dark grey unicorn with a bright green mane and tail. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald, and when she saw me, I could swear to Celestia's sweet fetlocks that her eyes literally grew wider than dinner plates. I asked her if she had anything about naturally occurring transformation magics, particularly latent magical divergence transformation. Her reaction was, how should I say, fearful, as only one species can harness that kind of magics.
I immediately cast an magi-energy buffer spell on her, to prevent her from casting anything to try and get away from me. After she tried, and failed, to teleport away I simply told her "There is only one race that would react as you did to my question, and I want you to know, I mean you and your species no harm". She immediately calmed down and dropped her disguise.
"Was my disguise that transparent to you, oh great StarSwirl Lulamoon? I hope you know, even though your family is all but royalty in my culture, I am still quite upset that you exposed me; now I have to return to the hive for reassignment."
"Do not fret, I will not disclose your secret with anypony, you have my word as Archmage of Canterlot."
"You are willing to withhold information from your Princess about my identity?"
"Yes ma'am, you may be of a different race that is feared by many, but I am a stallion of honour, and will not go back on my word unless absolutely necessary, and even then, I will hesitate as long as I possibly can."
"Thank you oh wise one, but I must ask, why are you trying to find information about my species?"
"Well you see, miss… uh… may I simply call you 'Miss Masque', as to not disclose any information about you in my journal. As I was saying, I am trying to discover why your race feeds as they do. The subject has been full of speculation and outlandish theories, and I simply want to set the record straight. After all, each of your species does share some blood with my ancestors."
"I will permit you to call me 'Miss Masque', as it seems to be only fitting, a race that hides behind the mask of others to survive in plain sight. And I find it noble of you to clear the air of the horribly inaccurate yarns that your colleagues are spinning. And from one Lulamoon to another, I think it is only fitting that our family should look out for one another."
"Hey Twi', you have been re-reading that same passage for the last two hours, is everything okay?"
"Sorry Spike, I was simply shocked, by several things actually…"
"I don't even want to think about what it is that shocked you, when that nasty changeling queen revealed itself, you were not even a little surprised."
"Well, I have been reading this journal written by a StarSwirl Lulamoon, who was apparently the Archmage of Canterlot. The only 'StarSwirl' I know of who was the Archmage is StarSwirl the Bearded, but how can somepony so influential to the world of magics be related to Trixie?"
"Is that it? That isn't too surprising. I mean look at their fashion sense, their outfits were practically identical."
"You think that is the most shocking part? Wait until you hear this. Apparently the changelings originated from an ancient ancestor of the Lulamoon family, and consider said family to almost be considered royalty."
"Whoa! So you say the changelings are related to Trixie?"
"Yes Spike, but the question is, should we have Trixie assist with this project?"
"What? How is that the question?
"How would you like it if somepony you knew of was delving into your ancestry without your knowledge, and didn't tell you that they found something shocking?"
"I see your point, but do we really have to get her involved in this?"
"Yes Spike! It is the right thing to do, no matter how much we dislike her."
"Okay then…"