"So, do you understand your mission?"
Several weeks earlier...
Ling nodded, then gave the commander a salute. The two sat upon a cloud high above the city of Canterlot. The invasion was set to begin within an hour. The commander had pulled Ling away from the main invasion force, indicating a special mission for her.
Ling was crushing big time for Mole Cricket. It wasn't just because she thought he was an incredibly handsome changeling (Although she thought that he most certainly was). It wasn't just because he was strong, or smart, or brave, or anything like that, either (Although he certainly was. If you were to look up the definition of the perfect changeling, you'd see a picture of Mole Cricket, with a lion in a sleeper hold, with things exploding in the background). It was because...
...Well, it was because he was the first changeling that Ling had ever met that treated her like she was... normal. He didn't give the whole 'oh, you're mute and have no magic, that's terrible, let me do everything for you forever' routine. He didn't mock her, either to her face or behind her back, about her disabilities. He was the first changeling to treat Ling as though she was just as capable as any other changeling in the swarm.
As the Commander had promised, he had given her a workload equal to that of any other changeling her age, and she'd been made to undergo rigorous training with several other changelings when he'd not had an immediate need for her services. And... when she'd proven more than up to the task, he'd praised her on exceeding his expectations, and gave her more responsibilities. Not even Ling's sister, the queen, had treated Ling like that. Even now, Chrysalis treated Ling as if she was some fragile thing: Like the young changeling was some frail flower that might break under a light breeze... when the truth was that she was anything but.
Cricket nodded, then said, "Good. Map out the entire city, and keep track of troop movements over the course of the invasion. You have a bird's eye view up here. Once the majority of the work is done, I'll send up somebuggy to collect you. I want you to try and keep track of any place where large numbers of soldiers and civilians gather when things turn in our favor. I also want your opinion on the best places to..." The commander abruptly paused. After a moment, Cricket sighed, then said, "I'm repeating myself. I apologize. It's just..." Another pause, then, "Can you keep a secret?"
Ling nodded, then crossed her heart.
The commander looked down at the city, then said, "There is no possible way that we can achieve a long-term victory here." At Ling's shocked expression, the commander sighed again, then said, "We lack the numbers. The Equestrian army outnumbers our entire species three to one, and that's just one branch of their military force. This country's total population exceeds our own more than a hundred times over. Even if that was not so, we lack the numbers necessary to hold this much territory for any amount of time."
"We lack the training. While even a youth like yourself can count herself an experienced combat veteran by their standards, the average soldier in the Equestrian army is better trained, better disciplined, and better equipped than any save for the very best of ours."
"We lack the logistics. Many of us have only a few weeks of love left, and many of us are going to be burning love in order to make sure we survive today's encounter. Even if we win today's battle, we'll be hurting for love, with who knows how many enemy soldiers on the way."
With another long, weary sigh, the commander said, "And since day one, I have tried to make this clear to your sister. When she wouldn't be dissuaded from attempting to invade Equestria, I tried to convince her that a cautious, long term approach would be needed. When she wouldn't accept that, I tried to convince her to let me have full control of the strategy and tactics for the course of the battle. Instead, ninety percent of our battle plan involves banging our collective heads against a force field in the hopes that it will give out before we do. That is not exaggeration, that is the actual plan. When I requested that we have multiple points of infiltration, rather than just the queen herself, she stated that just herself was more than enough, in spite of past experience having proven herself the world's worst actress. She would not allow any sort of contingency plans in case of a failure. Worse, she wouldn't even let Goliath take part in the vanguard, even though he, himself, would be more than a match for the troops stationed within. Instead, he's part of the reserves outside of the city, and cannot be summoned, save on the queen's orders."
Shaking his head in disgust, Cricket said, "I'd almost swear that she is intentionally trying to destroy the changeling species as we know it. This entire invasion is going to be a spectacular failure, the likes of which we have never experienced in the history of our species... and I'll be the one blamed for it. I've known that such a fiasco was inevitable. That," the commander said, "is why, if, and when, this entire farce blows up in our faces, I want you to go down there, and turn yourself over to the authorities..."
-----------------------
Now...
"So," Silver Lance said, his expression incredulous, "you were out there, in front of the headquarters of the Royal Guard, because you were expecting to be captured?"
Ling nodded, then, placing her hoof on her necklace, said, "Yes. The commander said that, while Equestrians weren't as weak as the Queen claimed, they were, on the whole, soft-hearted. They certainly wouldn't allow a child to be harmed, and since I'm only twelve, I count as one. He wanted..." She paused, seeming to try and remember the exact words, "Equestria to see that we weren't all like that. During the invasion, you saw us at our worst. He wanted you to have a chance to see us at our best. To see that... to see that we weren't monsters. At least... not all of us."
With a rueful expression, she continued, stating, "Worst case scenario, I might have ended up in a dungeon cell, but if I did, you'd still be required to feed me: Prisoners aren't allowed to starve. He promised to come and get me if it turned out I was being mistreated." Looking a little bit ashamed, she admitted, "And I didn't tell you my real name because, well, I didn't know how much you all knew. If you knew, after hearing my name, that I was the queen's sister, then there was no telling what might happen. I spent a lot of time and effort trying to keep from being a burden to my sister. Becoming a hostage would ruin all of that. By the time I understood that I was in no danger, even if I told you who and what I really was, the name had kind of stuck. 'Sides, growing up, I've heard that nickname more times than I've heard my real name, Queen's sister or not."
Looking back, Silver could see now that the name that she'd given was nothing like that of other changelings: Most changelings had names matching those of insects, although aristocrats tended towards the scientific names, rather than the common. Ling, on the other hoof...
'Ling' was just 'Changeling', minus the 'Change'.
"Which is a pity," her mother, ex-Queen Monarch (She insisted that they call her Mona. Much less formal. After all, they were all practically family now), said, frowning, "since I've always felt that 'Nymph' is such a lovely name."
Nymph promptly hugged her mother, smiling. It had been years since they'd last seen one another, and it was clear that they had a great deal of catching up to do.
The three sat, watching as Celestia and Luna worked on removing the 'stars' from the downed Canis Major. The princesses were taking no chances with a repeat of today's incident: They would completely de-power the celestial beast, and send the stars back to their rightful place in the night sky... leaving the fiend a mere mortal. Silver supposed that would be more than sufficient punishment for his actions.
Silver cleared his throat, then asked, "And why are you here, Mona? Rather than with the swarm, I mean."
Sighing, the former queen said, "Ultimately, I'm here because I tried to change things. I could see, better than anybuggy else, that things could not remain as they are. Our numbers may have been slowly growing, but the amount of love we'd been getting never did. It wasn't until I investigated the matter personally that I discovered that the most powerful members of the aristocracy had been taking an ever-increasing cut out of the spoils of every successful incursion. If the love had been distributed evenly, then by now, the changeling race would have sufficient supplies to keep us going for centuries, potentially millennia. Instead, the commoners, and the lower-level aristocracy, barely have enough love to get by between invasions."
Ling looked absolutely stunned by this revelation, but Silver just nodded. "Sounds about right. Celestia and Luna had crunched some numbers, based on reports of changeling invasions in other kingdoms over the last ten years. They reached the same conclusion: Either you were burning love like mad, or somebuggy was hording it in secret."
Mona nodded, then said, "However, even with indisputable evidence in my possession, I couldn't do anything about it directly: I barely had enough power to go hoof to hoof with one of the patriarchs of the high houses. I would never be able to break all of them down by force on my own. I tried, instead, to arrange a plan of peaceful cohabitation with other races."
"When the aristocracy learned of it, they went ballistic. To fully integrate into another kingdom would mean that they would lose their status as de facto rulers of our species: They would be bound to the same laws and regulations as any other member of our race. The higher aristocracy is so divorced from reality that they would willingly run our species into the ground to preserve their own absolute authority over others: They viewed my position as nothing more than a figurehead with no real power, which was why they tolerated my continued existence. They cared not a whit for the rest of our kind. I threatened to reveal all of this information to the common changelings, along with several other secrets long kept from them. It would incite them to rise against the higher aristocracy. A civil war, no matter how violent, would be better than the extinction of our race due to the insanity of a small number of individuals. But then..."
Silver Lance took a wild guess, and said, "They threatened your daughters?"
"Exactly," Mona said, and changeling or not, she looked close to tears. "The obligations of my title were clear: I should have pressed on, regardless of the threats, and set things right. However, I had already lost their father, not too long before. As a mother..." With a long sigh, she continued, saying, "Rather than risk the lives of my two daughters, I abdicated the throne, after extracting a promise from the leaders of the cabal that they would leave my children unharmed. I turned over my crown to my eldest daughter, said my goodbyes, and left."
"I'm seeing that you've done pretty well in getting by," Silver observed, an eyebrow raised.
"I left the swarm with a sizable amount of love," Mona admitted, with a half-smile. "Enough to last me the natural life of a changeling, provided I use it wisely. I had plans that I wished to set in motion, once I was out and about in the wide world, but would need a good deal of time to do so." Looking down at her daughter, she said, "It was always my intention to return, once I could set things right."
Celestia and Luna returned, clearly exhausted from their work. The Canis Major was diminishing in size now, shrinking down to a diamond dog, as the stars within his body, one by one, were ejected, and sent flying into the night sky. "Sirius will spend the night in a dungeon cell," Celestia said, stifling a yawn, "In the morning, we shall hold a brief trial, and make his exile from Equestria official." Giving a meaningful look to Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omega, she continued, "I'll also need to have a talk with those four, but that can wait until their hearing has returned. That will take most of a day, by all accounts"
The four diamond dogs were in pretty bad shape. While Ling's dog whistle had been directed at Sirius, the other canines had gotten a pretty strong taste themselves. The doctors now on the scene were certain that their loss of hearing was only partial, and temporary, but in the meantime, the princesses were hoofing the bill for a stay at the hospital. There was apparently a great deal more going on with those dogs than meets the eye...
"So, we'll be busy for most of the day tomorrow," Luna said, picking up where Celestia left off. "While we will certainly need to debrief all of you, that can wait until the evening. Besides, there are a number of medals that are to be given to anyone who saves the life of a princess, let alone both at once. We'll need a little bit of time to have them commissioned before we can present them to you officially, Princess Nymph."
Nymph bowed, smiling, then placed her hoof on her necklace. "The two of you have been good to me. I'm glad I had the chance to return the favor."
"In the meantime," Mona said, smiling, "if it's no imposition, I would like to get to know the kind ponies who've treated my daughter so well."
------------------------------
"From the bottom of my heart, I thank you both," Mona said, an hour later, as the four sat around the dinner table. While the two changelings couldn't truly sustain themselves on pony food, they did, unlike most changelings, have a sense of taste. It's funny how Silver had not realized something was off about that: he'd just figured that 'Ling' was being polite, eating food that she couldn't really taste. "When I saw my daughter in the newspaper, while I was staying in Apple Loosa, I was gravely concerned for her well being. While it seemed unlikely that her adoption was any sort of a deception, the fact that her presence here had become public knowledge was a risky proposition. My elder daughter has doted on Nymph since practically the day she was born. If one of the patriarchs of the high houses ever got their hooves on her, it's likely they'd use the current situation to make a play for absolute dominion of the swarm. I left specifically because I didn't want something like that to happen."
Platinum Print smiled, and said, "I can understand that. So, you came down here to make sure that she would be safe."
Smiling, the former queen said, "Precisely. I am sorry to say that, at this point in time, I am unable to safely look after my own daughter. There are too many things happening at once, and not all of them are things that I can safely discuss here." For a moment, she looked distracted, then continued, saying, "But having seen the lengths to which you have gone to in order to save my daughter, and after seeing how well she was able to protect those around her, I am confident that I am leaving her in the best possible hooves."
Silver Lance and Platinum Print smiled brightly at the compliment, and Nymph pulled all of them together into a big group hug.
-----------------------
"I am surprised to see you having gotten wrapped up in a mess like this, Alpha."
Celestia and Luna stood in a room in Canterlot General Hospital. Having finished the brief trial to make the banishment of Sirius official, the two princesses had moved on to their next major item for the day...
Beta, Delta, and Omega were fast asleep, still recovering from yesterday's excitement. Alpha, on the other hoof, or paw, was up and ready for this interview.
The diamond dog sighed, then said, "I definitely didn't intend for anything like this to happen, Celestia. Things just... got away from me."
Luna sighed, then said, "If you were in the city limits, you should have just come to us directly. You know we're always happy to help, especially with all of this business with Rex."
Alpha, former sovereign of the diamond dogs, shook his head sadly, and said, "I didn't want you to poke your noses into this if I could help it. As angry as I am that Rex managed to use my son's disability as a means of leveraging off of the throne, I felt I had nodoggy to blame but myself. I'd known of the laws and traditions that would cause a handicapped child to be banished, and I'd always felt that they were wrong. However, there are far too many traditionalists in the pack, and it would have taken a good deal of time and effort to make the changes needed. So, instead of taking care of it right away, I kept putting it off... until suddenly, my son and only heir was found to be born mute. At that point, when I tried to change the laws needed, it made it look as though I was only doing it because my son was mute. Rex, the sneak, forced the issue, and demanded that I banish my son. When I refused, he forced me to abdicate, in the place of my younger brother. When Rex demanded that my brother banish me and my family, Beta refused, of course. That forced him to abdicate as well, and since Rex was my chancellor, that made him next in line."
Shaking her head sadly, Celestia said, "The diamond dogs are suffering greatly under Rex's reign, and attempts have already been made to overthrow him, Alpha. We would be more than happy to support you in reclaiming your throne. It will take some time to make the necessary arrangements. In the meantime," Celestia paused, then smiled, glancing over at Omega, "I think it would be best if you take your son over to the Shadowfax Institute when he recovers. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
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Sirius was trudging along the road, on his way towards Baltimare, the closest port city to Canterlot. Banishment. That was just great. Not only was he mortal now, but he was now officially kicked out of the country, with a magical compulsion on him to make certain that he left with all possible speed, and never returned. Not that he had any plans to do so, mind you. One thousand years of planning, and he'd failed utterly. All of his stars were gone now. He should have just taken the diamond and run, but nooooo, he had to have his 'brilliant' revenge...
"Hey there, Rover, what's shaking?"
Rolling his eyes, the former Canis Major turned to see Duo, leaning against a tree, munching on a fish. She had a cart beside her, packed with what appeared to be what was left of her shop.
Duo, her duplicate mimicking her actions, giggled, then said, "I heard about what happened last night. Bit of a surprise, hearing that you did all of that. Escalated quickly, then ended abruptly."
Sighing and rolling his eyes, Sirius said, "I really don't want to talk about it."
With a stereo shrug, the displacer beast said, "Fair enough. Can't say I blame you. You know," she added, winking, "my offer still stands. I was planning on taking ship and sailing to Pantera. See about settling down back in the old country, if you know what I mean. Care to come with?"
...Well, it wasn't like he had any other plans now.
"Sure."
-----------------------
...And there was much rejoicing, as the old saying goes.
The throne room was filled to capacity, with ponies from all over the city, and even the country, here to see history in the making. After all, how often do you get to see the princesses give even one medal to a changeling? Let alone this many?
Nymph bowed low, her expression neutral, as the two princesses began reciting the various awards, merits, and medals that the changeling had earned just by whistling at a big dog. Apparently, saving the princesses was a pretty big deal. They'd placed thirty medals around her neck before she'd lost count, and they kept going on, and on, and on...
Luna wrapped things up, formally decreeing, "...and finally, it is our honor to bestow upon you the Platinum Moon and Platinum Sun, for the act of saving my sister and myself in our moment of greatest need." Smiling brightly, she added, "Know that you have earned our eternal gratitude, and the gratitude of all of Equestria."
Celestia, smiling radiantly herself, said, "Now, please rise, Nymph."
Nymph remained where she was. After a moment, Celestia raised an eyebrow, and, clearing her throat, said, "You may rise now, Nymph."
Struggling to find her necklace under the medals that the princesses had spent the better part of an hour draping around her slender neck, Nymph finally succeeded, then said, "Your majesties, I am truly honored by your praise and gratitude. I certainly do appreciate all of the awards, and the medals, and, well, everything, and I don't want to give offense. But, um..." It's strange to say, but the little mute changeling was at a loss for words.
Smiling, Luna asked, "You can't lift your head, can you?"
Nymph struggled to try and raise her head, but could barely keep her head elevated. With a thump, her face hit the ground. Her flank, as often happens in such a situation, was now in midair, her hind legs pedaling, trying to regain her balance. Finally, she admitted defeat, and said, "Yes, I'm afraid so. A little help, please?"
...And there was much laughter.