//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Pandora's Box // by Zombificus //------------------------------// -Pandora’s Box- -Epilogue(s)- ---------------------------------------------//Welcome to Ponyville\\--------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ONE-WEEK-LATER-------------------------------------------------------- The lights were too bright, the music was too loud and the punch was dangerously alcoholic but despite it all, Penumbra found herself enjoying the party. In the week she had spent in Ponyville, the townsponies’ lack of trust and tendency to overreact had resulted in a fair few incidents – perhaps the most memorable one involving the Cutie Mark Crusaders, an overprotective Big McIntosh and a fire axe. Somehow, though, she had managed to make it through the last seven days without any serious injuries to find herself at a party – a party held for her, of all ponies. Her drink lay barely touched to one side; she’d only sipped it a few times since she’d been given it almost an hour ago. Changelings and alcohol do not mix well, the effects are many times what they’d be on a regular pony and, anyway, it’s never really a good idea to get a shape shifter drunk. The few sips she had taken were the changeling equivalent of a pint of beer, so she was understandably reluctant to drink more of it. Pinkie, on the other hoof, was drinking an entire barrel of the Apple family cider to the excited cheers of the crowd she’d attracted. Setting the now empty barrel down, Pinkie belched loudly and blue flame burst from her ears, nose and mouth, scorching the beard off a nearby stallion, who was in too good a mood to care. Penumbra pondered how much they’d had to drink and briefly prayed that there were no foals at the party. The one thing worse than changelings and alcohol is children and alcohol, after all. Looking around absent-mindedly, she spotted Rainbow Dash and Applejack struggling to stand while singing some old sailors’ drinking song. Chuckling to herself, she shook her head and continued to scan the room. There was the mailmare Derpy Hooves, breakdancing to the music blasting out of two huge speakers that had somehow made their way into the building despite being larger than the doorway. Looking back to her left, Penumbra could see that Fluttershy had joined Rainbow and Applejack in their drinking song, adding some rather… interesting lyrics to the song in her drunken stupor, which the trio had advanced to its 42nd verse, 39 more than the original three. Looking around for Rarity, she quickly spotted her trying to chat up two ponies simultaneously. Despite the fashionista having stated that she was only interested in stallions, both these ponies were mares. Either Rarity had been lying or she was too drunk to tell which gender they were. Penumbra sincerely hoped it was the former; otherwise the whole town might get a rude awakening when her friend remembered the night’s events. Looking around for Twilight, who seemed to have disappeared, she was surprised to spot her only a short distance away. Her lavender friend stopped in front of her, and from the blush to her cheeks and the unbalanced way she had wandered over here, Penumbra gathered she was rather drunk. “Heey, Penumbraaa! Come dance with me” ‘Yep’, Thought Penumbra, ‘she’s totally drunk’. Twilight would never say something like that if she was sober. “But I can’t dance” Twilight giggled. “Neither can I!” She laughed again and wobbled slightly on her feet. “Isn’t it brilliant? It’s like an experiment, only with music – and alcohol!” “I don’t know, Twilight…” “Aw, come on, Penny, it’ll be like SCIENCE! – No, even better - DRUNK SCIENCE!” Penumbra only had a few seconds to ponder on what Twilight had just called her before the drunk librarian employed her back-up plan. She’d had no idea Twilight could make herself look that cute. “Damn it, Twi, that isn’t fair” The cute gaze intensified. “For the last time, I’m NOT dancing, no matter how cute you make yourself look” Twilight looked right into her eyes, and suddenly it was all too much for the changeling. With a sigh, she gave in. “Fine, I’ll dance, just stop looking at me like that “ Downing her neglected glass of punch and shuddering, she followed her friend out onto the dance floor, one last thought on her mind: ‘I’m going to really regret this in the morning’ -------------------------------------------------//Ponies and Alcohol\\------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------ONE-WEEK-LATER---------------------------------------------------------- Shining Armour had realised quite quickly that his promise to buy the entire Lunar Guard drinks was a rather bad idea. Unfortunately for his bank balance, he was also a stallion of his word. Presently he found himself outside the ancient wood and stone building proudly signposted ‘Moonshine & Hop’s’, though he needed no sign to tell him where he was. The tavern was infamous as a stronghold for the isolationist bat-ponies, one of the only places where they gathered in real numbers and socialised – and certainly not somewhere ordinary ponies often visited. But the bat-ponies were why he was here. Shifting awkwardly on his hooves, he glanced up at the skies, scanning them for a glimpse of his fellow captain, to no avail. The sound of a throat being cleared to his left snapped him out of his search. She was standing right beside him, having arrived there without him noticing and not having bothered to tell him, until now – typical. “Waiting for somepony, are we? I wonder where they could be…” “Are you done, Captain?” “Pfft… ‘Captain’, really Shining? You’re not going to call me by my first name but you’re buying my entire force drinks?” “Fine… Aegis, let’s just go get drunk already” “Now we’re talking!” The pair strode through the age-worn oak doorway as equals, pausing as they entered to listen in on the conversation going on between the bartender and one Lunar Guard, his helmet resting on the stool next to him. “Hey, Midnight? The Night Fury’s an interesting one; a tad bitter but hoppy and full of flavour, p’rhaps you’d like to try it?” “I’d love to, but the rent these days means I have to keep my spending real low. I’ll just have the ale again, Hop.” “Actually, soldier,” interjected Shining, “go treat yourself - get that Night Fury, on me” All eyes in the room fixed on him. “What did you say?” said the astonished bat-pony. “I said, have the Night Fury, on me. I’m buying the whole Lunar Guard a drink anyway so you may as well treat yourself.” “You’re doing what?” The stallion’s jaw hung slightly open in shock. At this point Polaris stepped in to his rescue, though not without poking fun as she did so. “He’s buying us all drinks, a show of gratitude for me hauling his fat ass back to the land of the living last week, so enjoy yourselves, soldiers!” After the initial air of dumbstruck disbelief faded from the room, a steadily increasing applause replaced it, accompanied by the occasional triumphant cheers. Despite this overwhelming atmosphere of joy, Shining ground his teeth grimly. ‘Cadance is going to kill me’ “Cheer up, Shining,” chirped Polaris as she slid a frothing beer his way, “and drink up, you miserable old sod!” The first beer served only to numb the nagging feeling that his fiancée would be extremely displeased at the apparent alcoholic binge on what, fifty? Sixty? Maybe even seventy pints of various poisons of Lunar Guard preference with a mystery mare he’d never told her about. Explaining all this would be an absolute joy. The second beer helped numb the stallion’s horror at so much alcohol being purchased by his companions and the third seemingly only numbed his tongue. He didn’t bother counting how many followed, but given the pickaxe-through-brain hangover the following morning, Shining supposed it had been quite a lot of alcohol. All in all, it had been a good night of simple alcoholic fun. What would be less simple – and far less fun – would be explaining it to Cadance. ----------------------------------------------------//Married at Last\\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ONE-MONTH-LATER-------------------------------------------------------- In the end, Shining and Cadance didn’t really feel they needed the month to get reacquainted. It was clear to both of them after a day or so that even after all they’d been through that fateful day their love for each other hadn’t been damaged or diluted in any way. If anything, their love was stronger now than it had been before. Despite this, the soon-to-be-wed couple were glad for their month’s respite from the world. They had spent their time relaxing in each other’s company and Celestia and Luna had prevented them being bothered by any official matters that weren’t of the utmost importance, so they had been free to relax for a while. The wedding had all been planned before, so it was simply a case of rebooking everything to a new date a month later, which wasn’t any trouble since it was a royal wedding with the backing of both royal sisters behind it. The month had gone quickly, and it was now the day of the wedding. Shining was nervous. He had thought that he would be less worried this time, however, real life had other plans for him. ‘Stay calm’ He told himself. It didn’t help. Taking a deep breath, he checked his uniform one last time, and, satisfied it was as close to pristine as it was likely to get, began to walk down the aisle towards his fiancée. Cadance was feeling pretty good; she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous but this lingering fear was drowned out by an overwhelming feeling that everything would go fine. Actually, she was feeling almost impatient, where was Shining? She spotted him making his way towards her and smiled at him. The nervous look on his face lessened somewhat and he smiled back, albeit rather shakily. Soon they both stood side by side, looking up at the tall white form of Princess Celestia as she smiled at them. Shining noticed that her wing was draped round one of the Guard, a unicorn stallion with a grey coat and amber eyes. His mane, dark blue with almost metallic golden streaks, was styled back from the top of his helmet’s crest in a wavy style unlike the typical straight mane of most guards. Shining knew the stallion, he’d been a part of his personal team on many occasions, before he’d been assigned to internal security, rather than the external work Shining did on the palace battlements. Bright Streak - that was his name. He noticed the way Bright looked at the princess, he knew the look well. It was exactly how he looked at Cadance: loving, proud and still amazed she’d said yes. A tap on his shoulder from Twilight – who’d spent the last minute or so scowling at ponies who’d given her changeling friend nasty looks – broke him out of his thoughts, seconds later the princess began to speak. “Princess Cadance, though you were not born as such, you have truly earned both your name and your title, through not just the events of that fateful day one month ago but also through your collective time in Canterlot. You have shown us all a great deal about love and how it can be a shining beacon in times of need.” Celestia turned – smiling - to Shining Armour, continuing her speech. “Captain Shining Armour, of the Canterlot Royal Guard, throughout your time as a member of the Guard, you have proven yourself time and time again. Looking at you now, it is hard to believe it has only been three years since you enlisted. You have done so much for us, and I hope that you will continue to do so in the years to come.” She looked with an expression of pride at the young couple before her. “Princess Cadance, Shining Armour, It is an honour to enact this ceremony of your union, I am proud of you both more than words can say. Spike - the rings, please.” “Gladly” Stepping forward, the dragon gracefully presented the rings and Celestia picked them up and slid them over the couple’s horns. She beamed down at them and concluded the ceremony. “I now proudly pronounce you mare and colt… Shining Armour, you may kiss the bride.” And he did. -------------------------------------------------------//The Date\\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LATER-THAT-DAY----------------------------------------------------------- Corporal Bright Streak was shuffling nervously from one hoof to the other outside Celestia’s chambers. He’d been there for at least ten minutes and so far he hadn’t managed to pluck up the courage to even knock on the door. If he was honest, he was more scared of what could go wrong at dinner tonight than he was of the entire Changeling Army he and the rest of the Guard had faced earlier. He briefly considered going back to his quarters in the barracks but it was quite obvious to the young soldier that he had no option but to proceed – he was, if you’ll pardon the pun, royally screwed. Bright was scared to go in, in case this was just a cruel joke, or he messed up and got himself fired – or worse, or that he would spend the whole time without even trying to catch her attention in a non-platonic way, as he had with every other mare. If he couldn’t even pluck up the courage to ask a simple farm-pony on a date, what chance did he have of starting any sort of relationship with a PRINCESS? He raised a hoof as if to knock, but didn’t, his hoof instead hovering inches from the handle. He stood there; frozen with indecision until a softly amused voice came from the pony standing, unnoticed, beside him. “Nervous? Don’t worry, she won’t bite.” Princess Luna smiled gently at him, acting as if she hadn’t seen his failed attempts to will himself to open the door. He was thankful for that, it seemed as if the younger royal sister was trying to help him, rather than laugh at him as he would have expected. Gulping, he nodded and raised his hoof to knock, one last bit of hesitation stopping him from finishing the simple act. He looked expectantly at the night princess, and she smiled encouragingly again. “Go ahead” Steeling himself, he knocked on the door smartly, as his parents had brought him up to do. The door swung inwards after a second and he was greeted by the familiar face of his princess. Her face betrayed a hint of nervousness and giddy excitement in the second before she regained her regal composure. It was long enough for him to notice. ‘Was she…nervous I wasn’t going to turn up?’ He wondered to himself as she smiled almost shyly at him and led him to the dining hall the princesses used. Situated between each princesses’ wing of the palace, it was accessible from both princesses’ private chambers, as well as from a servants’ entrance and one in the hallway between each sister’s side of the building. Bright Streak was slightly confused as to why the princess hadn’t simply sent him through that entrance. Putting it from his mind, he smiled, he was glad she’d chosen to bring him through her quarters, it made it seem more natural and less like he was an outsider walking in on a world he could never hope to be a part of. Spotting his smile, Luna spoke up again. “Enjoying yourself?” She asked, though not as if she found the thought funny. Moving closer to him and lowering her voice so that her sister wouldn’t hear, she continued. “You know, she never usually sends guests through her quarters, most of the time they just go through the main entrance back in that hallway” Winking conspiratorially at him with a smile, she added “…she must really like you to bring you through here” Again, Bright was confused. ‘What did she mean by that?’ he thought, mind awhirl. ‘She couldn’t possibly have meant… no, she couldn’t have…could she?’ He carried on walking, absent-mindedly wondering what his friends in the Guard would think about him not turning up for dinner. He doubted they’d believe him if he told them the truth. Ahead, Princess Celestia passed through a set of doors into the royal banquet hall. Turning to wait for Bright and Luna, who had dropped behind, she held the door open with a hoof, chuckling slightly as they hurried to catch up. Dropping back into step beside Celestia, the nervous guard sighed with relief as they passed the huge, intricately decorated banquet table that filled the main room and entered an adjoined room via an ornate white and gold archway in favour of the much more modest dinner table beyond. Celestia took the seat at the table’s far end and gestured for him to join her at the seat to her immediate right. It occurred to Bright Streak as he sat down that this was likely where the royal sisters usually ate. The table’s mahogany surface was smooth and worn, the wood was chipped and some of the golden inlay had worn away in stark contrast to the near-pristine condition of the table they’d left behind them, which was unnecessarily large for just two ponies, regal as the princesses were. Luna sat opposite him, the ghost of a smirk touching her lips as she looked at her sister, then him, then back again. He frowned at her in confusion and she gave him a look of mock innocence, before the slight smirk returned. Before he could ponder the younger princess’s motives, however, delicious smelling food arrived at the hoof of the head chef and he soon forgot his worries in the edible array of delights. Further putting his fears to rest, the chef didn’t seem to question his presence at the table, merely commenting that his manners were far better than she would have expected from one of the Guard before returning to her kitchen. The meal consisted of surprisingly ordinary foods, but although there was nothing particularly exotic about any of the dishes the chef served they had clearly been cooked by the very best. Bright Streak supposed it wasn’t that surprising, now that he thought about it, if he was a prince, he wouldn’t want bizarre foreign foods every day, he’d want the food he liked and was used to, cooked to the highest possible standards. Celestia and Luna clearly felt the same way about their food, yet another thing that had surprised him but seemed perfectly normal when he thought about it. The second course came and Luna, as she had done with the starter, finished way ahead of them. She seemed to be in a hurry, but if the mildly confused look on Celestia’s face was anything to go by then the princess didn’t know what her sister was in such a hurry for either. The main course arrived and as he ate, Bright watched the younger sister. He had been right, she was rushing, not just a naturally fast eater. There was look in her eyes that seemed to indicate her hurry, along with a mischievous glint. That glint, along with her half-smirk, made Bright nervous. The younger princess was up to something, and he got the feeling it would be at his or Celestia’s expense. He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion and she once again gave him the momentary look of mock innocence before moving as if to wipe her mouth. The sound of her snigger, expertly hidden as it was, didn’t escape his ears. She was definitely up to something and he was powerless to stop it. He didn’t like feeling powerless, and the feeling somehow dulled the excellent food he was eating. His brow creased in worry, Bright Streak looked over at Celestia, in the brief second their eyes met both could see their own worry mirrored in the other’s eyes. They both knew Luna was up to something and both somehow communicated the same thing – ‘I got your back’. Luna finished her food and pushed her plate away with a finality that made both of them tense up. “Well...” She said in a voice that signalled trouble. “…I’m full, no pudding for me tonight.” She got up, walked away back through the arch and was mere steps from the door when her next few words threw the shit at full force into the fan. “I’ll just leave you two looooovebirds to it.” With a wicked smirk, she stepped back and vanished into the darkness. Both reacted at the same time, in completely different ways. Bright shrank into himself in fear; Celestia seemed to grow twice her size in her fury. He paled to almost the same white as her coat, she blushed furiously and glared after her sister. He muttered unintelligible strings of apologies, while Celestia simply slumped forwards onto the table and groaned with despair. Her eyes closed and Bright realised he could quite easily sneak away now and escape whatever backlash Luna’s comment would trigger. But something in the dejected way Celestia lay, something in her shallow, shaky breathing, something in the way she’d stayed silent all this time stopped him. Now knowing that there was no immediate threat from Celestia, he filled back out into himself and sat upright again. Looking over to the princess, he felt his own embarrassment and panic slip away and be replaced with pity. Even though he knew her state was probably because she found the thought of being with him abhorrent, he couldn’t help feel sorry for her. Her mane had fallen all over her face and, on impulse; Bright used a hoof to gently ease her ethereal locks back into place in her normal style. As an afterthought, he straightened her crown on her head before sitting back in his chair and waiting patiently. It was a while before she finally opened her eyes again, the embarrassed flush still remaining on her cheeks, albeit less noticeable. “I thought you’d gone…” She sounded slightly surprised. “…Thanks -for staying with me, I mean” “No problem, Princess.” He said with a smile. “Please, call me Celestia… I gather you’d prefer for me to call you ‘Bright’ or ‘Streak? Corporal is rather formal for a dinner guest, don’t you think?” He nodded and a silence fell once again over the room. While searching his mind for something to say, he was suddenly struck by the memory of his old drill instructor, Death Wish. What was it the old horror had said? ‘Sometimes, you horrible pieces of maggot excrement, you have to use INITIATIVE to get the job done!’ Initiative! With these words in mind, Bright picked up the open bottle of wine from the table and offered it to Celestia. She grinned and took the bottle from him before upending it and drinking the contents in huge gulps. After five or so gulps, she offered the bottle to her companion, who, after a moment’s hesitation, took a few large swigs, finishing off all but a third of the bottle. “I would have thought you’d be more embarrassed about this, all things considered” “I was, but I was more scared than anything. When I saw you like you were I sort of forgot about it” “I’m guessing that wasn’t just because of my devilish good looks” “Erm…well, no, not exactly. I… I don’t like to see you unhappy.” “And why is that?” “You’re the princess, we look up to you. You take care of us, so when you’re unhappy I can’t help wanting to return the favour, repay all you’ve done for me.” Celestia snorted at that. “That’s complete bullshit and you know it, Bright Streak. You pull your own weight, there isn’t much I have done for you, I mean, sure I raise the sun every day but that’s hardly noteworthy to a young stallion like yourself” Bright blushed red and stared in shame at the table in front of him. He had tried to trick her and she had caught him out, fair and square. THAT he had no problem with other having made a fool of himself. The problem is that he now had to explain his feelings for her. And brave as his time in the Guard had made him, this was the most terrifying obstacle he’d ever had to face. Nopony had trained him for this! “As Princess of Equestria, I command you to tell me” Ordered Celestia. She hated to force him like this, without giving him the chance to be the strong-willed stallion he’d shown himself to be, but something in his voice and in his eyes hinted at deeper feelings for her, and she had to know if they were the same as hers for him. She’d apologise later, no matter his answer. In his head, Bright used every piece of foul language he knew, and some that he’d just come up with to lament the current situation. This order from the princess squashed Bright’s already dwindling hopes of getting out of it without telling her how he felt. He was stuck. He’d tried lying to her once already, so now he would have to tell her the truth, no matter the consequences. Bright took a deep breath, braced himself and then, after a few moments frozen in fear, he told her. “I don’t like to see you unhappy because… because I love you. I-I have for years, I can’t explain why o-or how come I haven’t gotten over it, I just do.” She smiled, and it was unlike all the other times he’d seen her smile. For the first time, he was seeing her truly happy, her eyes shoe with joy like the sun she raised and her smile lit up his heart like nothing he’d ever felt before. “I love you too, Bright… I love you too.” And she wasn’t exaggerating. Somehow, her feelings of friendliness towards the stallion, and her more recent admiration of him had magnified and multiplied over the evening to become something she’d never felt before in her thousand year long life. Love. She was in love, and it felt BRILLIANT. They looked, transfixed into each other’s eyes for a while, before Bright Streak took the initiative to kiss her. And she kissed back. And it was bliss. ---------------------------------------------//Daring is as Daring does\\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ONE-MONTH-LATER--------------------------------------------------------- Chrysalis had not stayed with her former hive following their exit from Canterlot. Following the failed invasion of the city, they had quickly decided that she was not who they wanted in charge and had promptly chosen a new queen. Following her ascension to power, the newly crowned Queen Cocoon had made it rather clear that Chrysalis wasn’t particularly welcome there and had ordered her to leave. Not that it mattered. She had her own plans, and they were incompatible with life in the hive. She’d been reading, you see, and though she knew that Daring Do was fiction, she couldn’t help but wish she were real. And then she had realised, she could be real, and it would merely take one spell, one that came to her as easily as breathing, to do it. Her days as queen were over; she wasn’t that changeling any more in mind as well as position. No longer did she want to invade and infiltrate, no longer did she desire power or companionship. No, all she wanted now was to be somepony else. She wouldn’t take somepony else’s place – she didn’t want to lead their boring lives – instead she would bring a character to life, literally bring them to life. It was all that she wanted now. She would become Daring Do. Chrysalis’s horn lit up one last time – she’d been using it less and less recently, a dwindling use that ended with this, the most important spell she’d ever cast – and a green glow settled over her body. Daring Do stepped back from the mirror. She didn’t miss her horn, or her chitin with its holes that all too easily clogged up with dirt, or even her old insect wings. Smiling at her reflection, she shrugged on her shirt, buttoning it up by hoof – which, she noted, felt far more satisfying than using magic – and donned her trademark hat. One last look in the mirror told her that she was looking exactly how she should. A slightly taller-than-average pegasus, with an athletic build and attentive pink eyes. She had a multi-toned dark grey mane that spilled out from the bottom of her khaki hat down over her similarly coloured shirt, covering the sandy yellow of her coat. She pulled out her collection of books and read through them one last time, committing them to her photographic memory. She would leave them behind when she left, they had served their purpose and it might seem a little self-obsessed if she were found carrying books about herself. The locations and treasures in the books were fictional, but each one was based on a real place and a real artefact. First stop: the library. It took her hours to find everything she was looking for, and by the time she’d checked and double-checked everything, marked each and every possible location on her map and decided on a first destination it was late. The librarian was ill and so the new assistant, a young mare who wasn’t much of a bookworm but had a talent with organising things, was in charge of the library for the day. She had never read much, and as a result didn’t recognise Daring from any of the books written about her, which suited the adventurer just fine. It was only until after the athletic pegasus with a bizarre taste in clothing had left that she frowned and swore to one of the other librarygoers – an old stallion who’d been a regular for years - that she’d seen the mare before. He said he also recognised her from somewhere, he couldn’t remember where, though, and it remained a mystery. Meanwhile, Daring had already set up her hammock in between two sturdy trees and was slipping into sleep, staring out at the starry sky and pondering the life she’d left behind. She decided that this life was the only one that mattered, she was Daring Do: treasure hunter, hero and adventurer, at your service. And inside her head, there was a satisfying feeling of security, of a lock being shut with a reassuring finality on her old life of selfish greed and power play. Chrysalis – now Daring Do – had no intentions of changing into any other form, but if she did try, she would find herself unable to do so. But that didn’t matter, because she had no reason to want to change. She was where she wanted to be in life – Daring Do, soon to rediscover the ruins of the ancient Palace Of The Alicorns lost millennia before and recover its lost Amulets for the good of Equestria. And with that thought in her mind, and a smile on her lips, she gratefully fell asleep. Daring woke early, and quickly stowed her hammock back into her rucksack, before hefting it onto her back and tossing her hat skilfully onto her head. She walked out into the warm glow of the rising sun and looked out upon the world becoming steadily more visible in the soft orange light of sunrise; this was the perfect time to leave. Taking one last look at her map of Equestria and her compass, she took one last look at the town she was about to leave and promptly jogged… ran…FLEW out into the new day. Out into adventure. ---------------------------------------------------//Homecoming\\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ONE-MONTH-LATER--------------------------------------------------------- All in all, Merry felt he couldn’t have chosen a better time to be on leave if he’d picked it himself. He and his division had been scheduled for leave a month after the incident - after the day’s panic and hysteria and the following monotonous cleanup operation, it was the perfect time for a holiday. They’d been exceptionally lucky, all leave more than five days before theirs had been cancelled, rescheduled or otherwise shortened and for a later date. As he stepped out of the chariot with fellow Ponyville residents and squadmates: twins Scrutiny and Audit, the squad’s veteran Melancholia and their eager to prove recruit Boot Polish, he took a second to take in the sights and sounds of his hometown. As he looked out upon the familiar streets, he couldn’t help smiling. He chuckled to himself; it was exactly as he remembered it. “Happy to be home?” Melancholia was standing beside him, in her eyes he could see that she felt the same as he did whenever she was home: simply glad to be back, content to take a slow pace and take in the sights without any need to rush. It was satisfaction enough for both of them to be home. “Yeah. It’s good to be back.” He’d always felt a kinship to the old mare. While she was aging and rugged and he still young and optimistic, they were more similar than first appearances might suggest. They were both aware of this and would often come to the other for advice: her experience helped him decide on a course of action and his youthful mind could see paths she’d never have considered. They said a lot without actually speaking much, and that was fine with them. “Going to see your sister?” “Yeah. You got any plans for today?” “I just thought I’d wander around town. Not much to do around here anymore” “You could come in for tea if you’d like. Derpy would like to meet you.” “I’d be honoured to” They walked the rest of the way to Derpy’s house in silence. All that needed be said had been and as ponies of few words they were comfortable in the silence that fell. It wasn’t far to the house, which was partly an ordinary, smaller than average house and partly a haphazard construction of clouds. Despite its shabby, unstable appearance the house had its own sort of charm and Melancholia merely nodded in appreciation at the building as Merry knocked on the door. There was a loud crashing and a muffled “oof” from within the building, then the sound of hoofsteps approaching the door. The sound stopped, and the crack of the door darkened considerably, as if whoever was in there was peering through the gap between door and frame. Then a key was turned in the lock, the door opened and a grey and yellow blur flew out and straight into Merry. The blur’s name was Derpy Hooves and she was very happy to see her big brother. Derpy disentangled herself from her grinning brother and began to enthusiastically recount everything she’d done that day, which included cooking muffins, fighting off ‘spies’ with a frying pan and looking after their niece, Dinky amongst many other things. Merry shared an amused look with Melancholia; he’d told her a while back about his sister’s rather unique personality so she’d been prepared for something like this. “It sounds like you’ve had quite the day. Say, do you mind if we come in?” “Of course!” Derpy led them inside and cleared some of the clutter from the chairs so that they could sit down before moving over to the sink and filling the kettle. “Would you like some…um…erm…Tea? Yeah, tea, that’s it. Would you like some tea, miss…um…I’m sorry, I must have forgotten your name” “It’s alright, Miss Hooves, I haven’t told you my name yet. It’s Melancholia; I work with your brother back in Canterlot. And yes, tea would be lovely.” “You can call me Derpy if you like. That’s my name, Derpy Hooves! I forget sometimes but if I think hard enough I remember again. That usually works for everything!” She finished enthusiastically with a wide, happy smile plastered across her face, a face which happened to be disregarding which way up everything else was as she flew upside down, seemingly without noticing that she was doing so. Without righting herself, she poured the kettle until she’d filled the teapot then expertly dropped the teabags in and put the lid on for it to brew. Twirling across the room, she cartwheeled haphazardly into an armchair before righting herself and, after screwing her face up in concentration, stopped flapping her wings. “What was it like in Canterlot with all the changelings? I bet it was really exciting!” “I suppose it was, Derpy, I suppose it was” “Called it!” She giggled. “So what happened? Were they all a bunch of big meanies?” Melancholia looked on as the pair got up to speed with the events that each had missed. She didn’t really mind. She knew from past experience how good it was to simply talk about what you’d done when you came back home after a long stint away. It had been a long time since she’d had somepony to talk to like Merry had in his sister, watching them was a melancholy experience. She realised with wry amusement that she was, in a way, living up to her name. Every bit of joy she found was tainted by the bittersweet of things she no longer had. And she found she no longer really minded. The tea was ready and Derpy poured it, before putting the four cups on a tray and carrying it across on the top of her head. Melancholia chuckled. “That mare defies all logic” “That she does. It’s why we love her so much”, said Merry fondly. Lowering herself to the floor so that the tray was level with the table they were sat around, Derpy flapped her wings lightly and the tray was blown by the weak breeze she’d created onto the table. The mare then bounced up, taking to the air and flying a few paces backwards before landing again and calling Dinky in from the other room. “Dinky! You’ve got a cup of tea in here if you want it” Merry and Derpy’s sister, Dainty Hooves, now spent almost all her day at work; her shifts had been extended so that she had to get up several hours earlier and left work far later than she used to. All this meant that hiring a foalsitter had become more and more expensive until Derpy had , being the kind mare she was, offered to take care of Dainty’s daughter while she was away at work. It had worked out surprisingly well and the young filly enjoyed her time with her aunt. So it was with enthusiasm to rival Derpy’s own that she bounded into the room, skidding to a halt just in time to avoid knocking over the table. “Hi Uncle Merry! It’s so so so good you’re back. I NEVER get to see you. Ooh, hello miss. Are you here for tea as well? You’re one of the Guard aren’t you? Ooooh, you work in the Experimental Technology Division of the EMIA like Uncle Merry, I can tell from your insignia.” The talkative little filly stopped speaking and seemed proud of her knowledge of both the inner divisions of the Guard and of the word ‘insignia’. “Yes, yes I do, little one. I see you are quite knowledgeable for a filly your age. I’m impressed. My name is Melancholia, what’s yours?” Though she already knew Dinky’s name, she thought it would be nice for the little filly to introduce herself. She was genuinely impressed that the filly knew so much, it seemed to be a Hooves family trait to be exceptional. “I’m Dinky. Dinky Hooves. My mummy’s Dainty Hooves, but she’s busy at work now so Auntie Derpy takes care of me.” She said brightly and Melancholia couldn’t help but smile. There was something infectious about the filly’s good mood that couldn’t help cheer the old mare up. She’d been through a lot in her time but this; this was what they fought for. This was Equestria: a bright-eyed filly with an unending enthusiasm and an unquenchable desire to learn and make herself better. An innocent mind that saw the best in everypony yet knew more than you’d expect from one so young. “You know you’ve been dealing with changelings up in Canterlot?” Derpy had now rejoined the conversation and was stroking her chin as if she had a beard. “There’s been a changeling around here; she turned up around…um…a month ago” “What!?” Merry almost dropped his tea in shock. Regaining his composure, he thought hard for a while. How could a changeling have escaped their attention and made it all the way here? Unless… “Derpy, what did this changeling look like?” There was a long pause as Derpy tried to remember the changeling’s appearance. “It was like a normal changeling, only it looked like there was something wrong with her. Her chest was all pointy and she was thin in weird places. Her eyes were blue, bright blue, like her mane and her wings. Funny, I thought most of them were more…uh…cyan, yeah, that’s the word.” Merry relaxed a little, if this changeling was who he thought it was then there was no cause for alarm. “Did this changeling have a name?” He asked. “Yeah! I didn’t know if changelings had names but this one did so they must have names. Unless she’s weird and she’s the only one but she didn’t seem weird so they must have names…It started with a ‘P’ I think…Pen…Penny?...Pencil?...Penultimate?... no, not that, it was something like that though…I…just…can’t…remember!” “Was it Penumbra?” Derpy’s face lit up and she nodded furiously. “Yes! That’s it, Penumbra!” It was as Merry had thought: the redeemed changeling, Twilight Sparkle’s friend, was here in Ponyville. There was nothing to fear from this changeling, and nothing to fear from anything for the moment. With the changeling fears put to rest, the rest of the evening assed fairly quickly. Melancholia ended up staying for another few cups of tea, and then tea itself at the insistence of little Dinky. They talked about a lot of things, Derpy was excited about the royal wedding and they discussed the intricacies of the different types of wedding available for almost an hour. It was a surprisingly interesting conversation, and as the night wore on Melancholia discovered that Derpy, who initially seemed forgetful and dim-witted, was actually an expert on all manner of subjects. She felt at home with the family. She’d lost her own children when her husband had walked out on her years ago and she had felt out of place amongst happy families ever since. Yet here she felt relaxed, like she belonged. Merry had come home to family and, in a way, perhaps Melancholia had too. The thought made her smile. There was, perhaps, hope for her old bones after all. ------------------------------------------------------//Starbright\\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LATER-THAT-EVENING------------------------------------------------------- “Ready?” Luna and Iridesca were stood on one of the palace’s many balconies, looking out upon the approaching sunset. Celestia’s sun began to dip below the horizon and Luna’s moon began to rise. Above them, parts of the black night sky became visible. “Yes. I’m ready.” Iridesca looked up at the slowly growing black canvas that was the sky and started to cast her stars upwards into the heavens. First it was merely a few small specks of light her and there, then those first specks were joined by larger and brighter spots of light. Soon she had the hang of the magic and was weaving more and more complex and beautiful patterns into the sky. She was silent as she worked, no words could describe what she was feeling. She was doing something she was destined to do, and it felt amazing. Then, quietly at first, she began to sing. It was a song without words, but, as songs without words often do, it carried more emotion than simple words could ever hope to convey. As the moon rose into the sky, accompanied by Iridesca’s blanket of stars, Luna too began to sing to her own melody. Her deeper, older voice completed the music Iridesca had been weaving, and all around Canterlot ponies began to join in, some humming, some singing as they had done, some played along with their instruments. The city of Canterlot was alive with the joy of night and Luna cried tears of joy. All her life she’d been waiting for this, somepony to share the night with and for everypony to appreciate her nightly work. And now, in one night she had both. Celestia and Bright Streak joined them on the balcony and joined in as Luna had done. They sang a song of love, interlaced with Luna’s song of joy and Iridesca’s song of hope out into the night. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the edge of the city, Twilight and Penumbra turned to watch the stars spread out across the sky, lighting up the hearts of the city as it went. It was a truly beautiful sight. As the carriage pulled away into the night, the faint hint of a tune found its way into their ears. Smiling, the pair of friends looked out at the stars until, miles away and hours later, they fell asleep in each other’s hooves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Somewhere below and to the east of the city, Pod looked out into the lights of the city she had just left, then away into the spreading mass of stars. One bright star stood out from the rest, leading the rest out eastwards over the mountains and valleys. She would follow it as the stars did. Soon, soon, she would be with her sister again. Soon, soon, she would be home. As she moved off, she began to hum the faint tune of the singing echoing out from the city behind her. It gave her the strength and confidence to carry on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Five friends got off the train and walked back into their hometown. It didn’t feel the same without Twilight, who would be flying back later. The group split off towards their respective homes, feeling lethargic and more than a little under-the-weather as they trudged home. Applejack hung her hat up and made her way to bed. It had been a long day, and she was glad to get her sleep at last. But something stopped her just as she was about to close her eyes. Some impulse made her look out upon the night sky. She wasn’t sure why, but the sight stripped away the stress and pain she’d felt. She fell asleep with a smile on her face and worries gone from her mind. Rarity unlocked the door to the Carousel Boutique and paused to look at the way the light from the moon and stars shone through the gems on her many dresses, illuminating parts of the room like soft spotlights of yellow and orange, purple and pink, green and blue and brilliant amber. She stayed up half the night watching the stars and the beams of light they created. By the time she did go to sleep, her mind was full of inspiration. Tomorrow would be a busy but rewarding day for the Carousel Boutique. Pinkie had wandered through the streets, transfixed by the stars. She’d bumped into a lot of things doing this, but she thought it was worth it. She eventually wandered her way into Sugarcube Corner and headed off to bed. Mr Cake, hearing her snores, braced himself for another night of Pinkie’s destructive sleepwalking. He waited with bated breath for the sounds of smashing plates and shattering glass, but it never came. Slowly, he tiptoed into her room to find her sleeping soundly for the first night since she had started living in the house. Smiling and wiping his brow in relief, he happily headed back to bed . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow prepared to take off towards her cloud house, but paused when she saw the bright new night sky twinkling into life above. A quiet voice called from behind her, and she turned. “Rainbow…would you stay with me tonight…um, if that’s alright with you. I don’t want to be alone…” Taking one last look at her cloud house above, her eyes one again locked onto the bright stars above and she shook her head lightly. Turning back to her shy friend, she smiled. “Of course I will. That’s what friends are for, right?” She draped a comforting wing round her shy yellow friend. “Thank you so much, Rainbow” Rainbow had to hold back a chuckle at Fluttershy’s adorable voice. “Don’t mention it, ‘Shy.” She said. “No, seriously, don’t, ponies might think we’re …y’know…together.” She regretted it the moment she said it, everything about that sentence had been wrong in the worst possible way. Fluttershy had tensed up, she couldn’t tell in the moonlight but she was probably crying. “Sorry, ‘Shy. I didn’t mean that. Screw what ponies think, I like you. Like…um…erm…Ah, buck it, I like you, Shy, more than anypony else. Even AJ has nothing on you.” There was a long silence after that. Just as Rainbow began to curse her big mouth, Fluttershy finally spoke up. “Do you…do you mean that?” She sounded hopeful, which Dash took as a sign that maybe she hadn’t screwed up, not yet, at least. “Yeah. I mean that more than I’ve ever meant anything in my life. Ever.” Rainbow winced as she said it, she could just tell that she had said the wrong thing, she should have played it cool, she should have- “E-even what you said about getting into the Wonderbolts n-no matter what?” Fluttershy interrupted her train-wreck of thoughts. She still sounded hopeful. Dash let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t messed up. “Yeah, even that.” As Fluttershy wrapped her own wing round Rainbow’s back and leaned closer, the blue pegasus looked up at the stars and said ‘thanks’. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The changeling army looked up from their campfires at the bright sky over Equestria. They took it as a sign that they had reached their new home. Cocoon’s eyes reflected the hope she had seen in the stars as she began to lay out the plans for their new hive. Yes, this was the place. Overhead, the expanse of stars seemed to have slowed. Above them, like a jewel caught in the sky, was a bright star that had led the way here, in the wasteland to the east of Equestria. Little did they know, it was still leading a long-lost changeling home, home to her sister and her friend. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in Canterlot, Iridesca headed to bed. That night had been the best of her life, and she had the feeling the next ones would only get better and better. She was where she was supposed to be. She was home -----------------------------------------------------//The Return\\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ONE-MONTH-LATER---------------------------------------------------------- It had taken her a long time, and a lot of effort, but Pod was finally within sight of the hive’s new location in the wasteland between Equestria and the Dragon Kingdoms. Pod took a nostalgic comfort from her name; it had been far too long since she’d used it and now she used it any chance she got, even whispering it to herself at night while trying to get to sleep. There had been a time when she had disliked the name, when she had thought the designation ‘Ten-Delta-Sixteen’ was cool and edgy and that a common as muck name like Pod wouldn’t be cool enough for the best spy in the hive. What a joke that had turned out to be, true, she’d managed to stay undercover for 4 years without anypony suspecting but that freak Penumbra had taken her out way too easily. Laughably so, for the ‘fight’ if you could call it that, had lasted a mere thirty seconds or so. No magic had been used, Pod’s opponent had barely hit hard at all but three punches later and she’d been on the ground begging for her to stop. Then had come the imprisonment. Fourteen years is a long time for somepony to be on their own, a very long time for a mere teenager to be isolated in the cold and the dark. She’d spent nearly half her life in that cell, feeding on the love of ponies above that occasionally found its way through the rock to her little corner of hell. It had done some very nasty things to her mind. She didn’t want to be a spy any more, all she wanted to be was ordinary, bland Pod living her ordinary, bland life and doing wonderfully ordinary, comfortably bland things all day, every day. After what she’d been through in that cell, she wanted no more of that faux-exciting world of lies. It had hurt her in a lot of ways and she had had enough. No alarms and no surprises, please. The hive had been busy and in the time it had taken her to catch up they had built most of their new home, the interiors were Spartan and there was no running water as of yet but for the most part it was liveable. The guard at the entrance nearest to her called her over. “Did you get lost? I thought the last of us got here last week. Never mind, can you state your name and designation? Just a formality, then you can be on your way.” “Pod, designation Ten-Delta-Sixteen, reporting back from Canterlot following the failure of Operation Followup.” “Ok, Pod, just let me check that through with the overseer. I have to check anything related to military operations through with him.” The sentry turned to the command post and called for his overseer, a wizened old soldier by the name of Carapace. The old stallion took his time getting over to her, not out for any rudeness or hard-feelings towards her but because of his rather painful-looking leg wound. This wound caused him to limp rather spectacularly. “This had better be worth it, Stoneback. Do you have any idea how painful this wound is?” “You see, sir, I’ve got a mare here who says she’s part of Operation Followup” “Ah. You’d better let me handle this one.” “Miss, your name, please.” “Pod” “Your designation?” “Ten-Delta-Sixteen” “And you say you’re part of Operation Followup? If this is a joke, I’ll tell you now that it isn’t funny.” “This is no joke, sir.” “So, you are Pod, designation Ten-Delta-Sixteen, infiltrator for Operation Followup, and also dead for fourteen years? Suuure, I believe you.” Carapace’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Not dead, sir, missing in action.” “Oh, is that so?” “Yes. You can check my hoof; it still has the perma-tattoo.” “What, so you can knock me out when I’m occupied? No way. You’re coming with me.” “Oh for buck’s sake, if you’re so paranoid that I’ll try something, why not get Stoneback over there to check the tattoo.” “He doesn’t know what to look for. You are coming with me if I have to drag you there” “Then you check the damn thing while he holds me in a body lock spell, or have you forgotten everything in the fourteen years I was locked in that cell?” “How dare y-“, he was cut off as Stoneback stepped in to her defence. “Boss, she’s right, I could hold her in a body lock spell. It would only take a minute and you wouldn’t have to walk as far on that leg.” At the mention of his injury, the old soldier considered the idea and grudgingly accepted that it could work. “If this goes wrong, it’s your job on the line, sentry.” As Carapace leaned down to get a closer look at her hoof, Stoneback cast the spell, rolling his eyes at his superior’s paranoia. Had she been able to move, she would have smiled, or said ‘thanks’. She didn’t, though, because she couldn’t. The still-paranoid overseer checked the markings permanently scarred on the chitin of her hoof and stepped back in shock. As he got clear, Stoneback dropped the spell. “You were telling the truth after all. Who would have thought…? I’m sorry about all that unpleasantness, Miss Pod. I’ll go take you to the queen now; she’ll want to see you.” “With respect, I’d rather see my family first, they think I’m dead.” “Oh, right, you don’t know. Our new queen is your sister, Cocoon.” “Cocoon, queen?” “Yeah, she’s been doing quite a good job of it, too.” Stoneback broke in during the lull in conversation. “Sir, I could take her to the queen if you like. It’d be a shame to make your injury worse by walking all that way. Stay here, have a cup of tea, you won’t have to worry about a thing” “Very well. You go with Stoneback now; your sister will want to see you ASAP” Pod followed the young sentry down the hive’s long corridors and couldn’t help feeling she’d seen him somewhere before. And then she remembered. “You were the colt who lived in the compartment across from us, aren’t you?” The words left her mouth before she realised she was speaking them, not thinking them. “Yeah…” Stoneback seemed suddenly shy. “I didn’t think you remembered.” “Of course I remembered. You were the only one around my age! Honestly, which do you think was more memorable, those old farts talking about how everything’s gone to Tartarus or you, talking about things I cared about?” “You never seemed to care, most of the time it was as if I didn’t exist at all. You’d just stare off into the distance, and I’d keep talking because I thought you might still be listening.” “Sorry. I used to do that to everypony, it wasn’t just you. I liked to stare at some random point and try to imagine what ponies are telling me instead of just listening. I tried to picture it, y’know? Only problem was, ponies would stop talking because they didn’t think I was listening.” Stoneback nodded and as they continued, he tried his best not to mess up. He’d had a crush on her for as long as he had known her. It might have been because she was the only filly who’d liked to be with him, or maybe because when she did talk, she was funny and smart, and with quite the collection of swear words. As a young colt, it was impossible NOT to fall in love with her. He was still in love with her. “Hey, Stone? Why didn’t you say something at the sentry point? If you knew it was me, why didn’t you say hi?” “I didn’t think you’d remember me. And besides, if Carapace catches me talking to mares he taunts me about it for weeks. He says… he says some very hurtful things.” “Like what?” “Like how I’m just wasting my time with them because no mare in her right mind would date me. Or how any nice things they say to me are just because they pity me. He says a lot of things. None of them are nice. And it’s not as if I had much confidence to begin with. What he said…it’s got to me, I don’t have the guts to ask anypony on a date….all I can do now is hope that some mare is crazy enough to want me.” “Carapace is an asshole. Don’t let him get to you… Hey, could you wait outside for me when I go talk to my sister?” “Sure. Why?” “Because you were the only friend I had back then, and you’re the only one I’ve got now. And if you ask me, that’s all I need.” Stone grinned, and Pod barged against him lightly. “Hey, don’t go getting too full of yourself. I can demote you to ‘friendly acquaintance’ if you want.” “No, I’m fine as the not-too-full-of-himself friend, thanks.” Despite his words, he only stayed straight-faced for a few seconds before he broke out into a smirk again. Ahead, the corridor widened and to the right there was an already-grand archway with scaffolding up around it which changeling builders and painters scampered up and down. Beyond it was a vast room which looked like the throne room back at the old hive. “Hey, is this it?” “Yeah, this is it. I’ll wait for you out here.” Without her newly regained friend by her side, Pod suddenly felt a lot more nervous than she had before. She missed him when he wasn’t there far more noticeably than she remembered she had back as a filly. These thoughts were pushed from her mind when she saw her sister; fourteen years older than she had been and far more mature, but she knew it was her as soon as she saw her. “Cocoon!” One of her guards turned and looked at Pod disapprovingly. “You should address the Queen by her full title, worker.” She opened her mouth to continue expressing her disapproval but was cut off when Cocoon spoke for the first time. “Relax, Deathwatch, she’s my sister.” Cocoon looked her in the eye and smiled. “Hello, Pod” “Hello Cocoon… or do I have to call you queen now?” The last part was accompanied with a meaningful look at Deathwatch, who scowled but said nothing. “Not unless you want to, big sis. It’s been a long time…we thought you were dead, I almost believed it.” “Oh, ye of little faith. You know it would take more than a bunch of ponies to take me down.” She laughed, but her heart wasn’t in it. Cocoon saw that she’d been through a lot from the look in her eyes, confirmed it through her half-hearted laugh and through the tear threatening to roll down her sister’s face. Cocoon stepped towards her sister, worry etched onto her face. “What did they do to you?” Pod said nothing, she just burst into tears. Taking the role her sister had often played when she was young, Cocoon wrapped her hooves around her in an embrace and let Pod’s tears run down her shoulder. After a while the tears stopped and her elder sister simply sobbed into her shoulder, and after another long while even that stopped. Pod pulled away, wiping her eyes. Her yellow eyes were now red around the edges and tears still lingered on her cheeks. “Thanks, sis.” She choked. “I…think I’m going to go now” And with that she left. Out in the hallway, she looked all around but Stoneback was nowhere to be seen. For some reason she felt angry, she felt really mad. She felt betrayed. She didn’t know why she felt so strongly about this, she knew only that her heart was telling her that he should be here. Wiping an angry tear from her eye, she muttered something about colts being unreliable and started to move away, feeling sick. “Pod!” Stone’s voice came from behind her. She whirled round, her heart leaping at the sound of his voice. Again, she didn’t know why her feelings were so strong, or why she didn’t feel more annoyed at his little disappearing act. “Pod, what’s wrong? You’re crying.” “I was…just… thinking about the time I was gone…I… I was locked in a cell for fourteen years, Stone, I didn’t see anypony the whole time, and when I came out here you weren’t there…I thought you’d left me - I thought I was alone again!” With her last few words she broke into tears once more and Stone instinctively hugged her. “It’s okay…it’s okay” He soothed, stroking her mane. Yellow was an unusual mane colour for a changeling, but her thought it suited her. It was one of many things he loved about her. One thing he didn’t love was seeing her upset. “I would never leave you. I was just showing one of the newer arrivals where they were trying to find. I’m so sorry; I should have stayed here and waited. Please stop crying, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She broke away and looked into his eyes. She knew how she felt about him now, maybe he felt the same way. Maybe. She could always use a spell to find out, but that would be an unfaithful way to do things. She would chance it, then. Was now the right time? Did she really want to do this? She realised that he had been talking and she’d been staring into his eyes the whole time, he must feel creeped out by that, if not by the staring then by her bizarre eye colour. “Sorry, what was that?” “I-I was just wondering if you had anywhere else you needed to go. I’d like to spend more time with you -if you’re not busy, that is.” She was still indecisive about whether to tell him when she saw a familiar limping stallion coming towards them. That made up her mind. “I have to go find the guard building and resign… but that can wait.” She raised a hoof to his cheek, smiling. Carapace was almost beside them now. “What are you doing?” Stone asked. “Being crazy enough to want you” She said, and just as Carapace was upon them, she kissed her foalhood friend full on the lips. After a terrifying second he kissed back and she relaxed. A pair of changelings on sentry duty just up the hallway saw this and smirked at Carapace as he gawped. “Carapace has been telling him for years he wouldn’t get somepony… and then he goes and gets the queen’s sister! I didn’t know he had it in him.” She turned to her coltfriend and partner and whispered her idea into his ears. Mirroring what Stone and Pod had done seconds before, they waited until the grumpy old soldier was right beside them before kissing full on the lips. Another couple further ahead picked up on this and followed their lead, and as Carapace tried furiously to limp out of there, the hive’s many couples, both known and secret, began to kiss. Back in the throne room, Deathwatch and Cocoon stood laughing at the spectacle. As Stone and Pod broke apart, so did the couples lining the corridor and the rest of the hive heading up and down the corridor stopped to applaud them. For the first time in living memory, the changeling hive was self-sufficient from the love of its individual members for one another. And for the first time in living memory, the race of shapeshifting misfits was truly happy. Well, perhaps with the exception of a certain Overseer Carapace. But for once, nopony cared what he thought. They were happy, and that’s all that mattered for the moment. -------------------------------------------------------------END------------------------------------------------------------------