//------------------------------//
// Words with a Changeling 
// Story: A Touch of Chaos 
// by Written Out 
//------------------------------//

"So... um... what is this all about?"

Twilight remained silent as she considered Fluttershy, or rather, the changeling pretending to be Fluttershy. Her hooves tapped together, the quiet tap seeming  to echo like a gunshot as the silence stretched painfully on. The very idea that the shy pegasus shaking like a leaf in front of her had been replaced with a changeling was hard for her to consider; and yet, considering it was exactly what she was forced to do.

"Um... Twilight?"

She didn't want to mistrust one of her closest friends. That was why she had called Fluttershy out here to where it was just the two of them. If Zecora was right, and Twilight didn't think she was wrong, then she didn't want the rest of the group to know that one of their number had been stolen away without any of them realizing it. Everypony was feeling fragile enough as it was.

"Twilight?"

She felt like ice cold water was running through her veins instead of blood. An inexplicable calmness had descended over her, and she tapped her hooves together one last time before peering over them at the yellow pegasus. "Fluttershy," she said, her voice level and without emotion. "Do you know why I asked you out here?"

"Um, no, sorry." Fluttershy meekly bowed her head forward, allowing her mane to fall over her face. "Should I?"

Feeling the urge to click her tongue in annoyance as Fluttershy's expression was hidden behind a pink curtain that prevented her from reading it, Twilight decided to instead try a different tactic. She smiled as broadly as she could. She could feel her cheeks twitching and was certain the smile looked painfully fake, but there was nothing she could do about that. "I was just wondering how you were doing. It must have been scary, being attacked by those changelings like that." Come on, come on, fall for it...

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Fluttershy weakly protested, weakly scuffing her hooves in the soft dirt. "They were just following their instincts after all."

Twilight hurriedly suppressed her feelings of satisfaction - if Fluttershy was a changeling, she'd be able to sense Twilight's emotions - and instead stared at Fluttershy in disbelief. "Fluttershy, they tried to burn you alive. How can you possibly defend them after that?"

"I... well..." Fluttershy seemed to shrink in on herself a little more, shying away from the look Twilight was giving her. "I just think that we should try to understand them a little more. Maybe it was just a warning to us to not interfere with them? I mean, why else would they go through all the effort to kidnap me only to run away at the end?"

Why indeed? Twilight loudly cleared her throat. "Hey Fluttershy? Mind if I ask you a question?" Seeing Fluttershy nod in permission, Twilight decided it was time to cut straight to the chase. Avoiding the topic clearly wasn't going to work. "Fluttershy, are you a changeling?"

Fluttershy cocked her head. "Huh?"

"Just answer the question." Twilight adopted her stoniest expression, giving Fluttershy the firmest near-glare she could. She didn't realize it, but her face was an almost perfect replica of her mentor's expression when she was dealing with some of the more foolish nobles in Canterlot's court. Years of watching Princess Celestia had imprinted themselves on the young unicorn and the recent trials she had been going through were starting to change and define her.

A squeak of fear escaped Fluttershy's mouth, and Twilight swore she could have heard the faintest hint of a buzz in it. It was almost completely imperceptible, and she would have missed it had she not been carefully listening for it. "Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-"

"Fluttershy." Twilight's glare intensified, cutting off Fluttershy's desperate stutters. "Answer me." 

"N-No!" Fluttershy slowly backed away, trying to get space between herself and Twilight. "Of course not! I- Do you want me to tell you how I got my cutie mark? Would that make you believe me?"

Twilight matched every step Fluttershy took with one of her own, never allowing the terrified mare to slip away. "Oh, I don't doubt you could. But so what? We've already seen the changelings know more than they should. Go ahead, tell me how you fell from Cloudsdale onto a swarm of butterflies when Dash performed the Sonic Rainboom. Or maybe you'd like to talk about how you fell in love with the ground instead. Go ahead. Impress me."

"Twi-Twilight," Fluttershy gasped out, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "What are you saying? Y-You're scaring me." Her rump bumped into a tree, completely stopping her retreat short. She looked back to see what she had run into, and when she looked forward, Twilight had completely closed the distance between them.

"Oh, is that so? Am I scaring you?" Twilight asked. Her hoof came up and pressed against Fluttershy's chin, forcing the terrified mare to look into her eyes. Twilight's eyes were harder than steel, and her gaze was colder than ice. "Got you. My friends would never be scared of me. Now. Tell me who you are."

Fluttershy gaped at Twilight. Her mouth moved without noise for several seconds, soundlessly opening and closing like a dazed fish. Green fire suddenly covered her entire body and a changeling suddenly burst out of the inferno, flying for the canopy in a frantic attempt to escape the terrifying unicorn.

Twilight's horn lit up for the first time since she had awoken, and the entire forest suddenly seemed to come to life. Vines and branches wriggled before launching themselves at the fleeing changeling and the pony-like parasite was almost instantly overwhelmed by the flora. His legs, wings, and horn all restrained , he could do nothing but watch the terrifying unicorn approach, looking for all the world like a demon from Tartarus with her eyes glowing and her mane shimmering in an ethereal breeze.

"I tried to be reasonable," Twilight said as the branches tightened and started to choke her victim, "but that time has passed. You will tell me what you've done with my friend."





"Get up."

Poke.

"Please get up."

Pokepokepokepoke.

"Pretty please?"

Jab.

"Alright, that's enough of this nonsense."

Green light filled one of the bedrooms of Canterlot Castle as Fallen Roses started channeling magic, the feminine changeling's twisted horn wrapped in the same coloured glow as the bed before her. With a simple application of levitation, she picked up the bed and flipped it. There was a loud thud as something heavy fell to the ground, taking the covers with it. Everything was still for several seconds before a single terrified blue eye poked out from under the blanket pile.

"Don't give me that look," Fallen Roses chided as she leaned the bed against a nearby wall. "You were the one who was refusing to act like a grown mare." The pile shuddered and the eyeball vanished once more. Fallen Roses facehooved. "This is one of the mares the Queen is worried about? I've seen newly hatched changelings with more of a spine." A breathy laugh escaped her nose. "And we don't even have an endoskeleton."

There was a slight movement from the heap before a yellow nose poked out. "R...really? But then, how can you walk around like that? Wouldn't your body collapse under its own weight?" The voice quivered with fear, but there was a faint trace of curiosity just beneath the terror. 

This curiosity did not go unnoticed by Fallen Roses, and she cocked her head at the prone pony. "That's right, you're an animal specialist, aren't you? You're probably filled with questions about how we work." The pile nodded up and down as the covers were pulled a little farther back. Fallen Roses leaned down, giving the most disarming smile she could, which was only slightly ruined by the sharp pair of fangs she possessed. "Well, feel free to ask any question you like. Don't worry. We don't mean you any harm."

The covers slid even farther back, and Fluttershy's entire head came into view. "Then why did you foalnap me?" she asked quietly.

Fallen Roses took a step back, giving her pony prisoner a little more space. "That's simple. The Elements of Harmony need all six of you to work. So long as you're a captive, we don't need to worry about that."

Fluttershy flinched away at the mention of the word 'captive'. "What are you going to do to me?" He voice quivered with unshed emotion and she sounded like she was about to burst into tears. "Why are you doing this?"

"I've been assigned as your watchdog, so to speak," Fallen Roses answered cheerfully. "Basically, so long as I'm with you, there's no particular limitations on where you can go. If I'm busy, I'll just find you a different guard. As for your second question..." she hesitated before shrugging her shoulders. "Well, that's something you'd be better off asking the queen."

The covers now completely off her body, Fluttershy gave the changeling before her an odd look. "Why are you so... um..."

"Beautiful? Stunning? Gorgeous? A picture-perfect paragon of the pinnacle of prettiness and perfection?"

"I was going to say friendly." Despite herself, amusement entered Fluttershy's voice. With every suggestion the changeling had made, she had struck a different pose, looking for all the world like she was posing for a photoshoot. "You're... not what I had expected."

"What? You're not disappointed, are you?" An amused quirk of the lips creased Fallen Roses' mouth. "Sorry if you were hoping for a big scary monster. I'm just me." She suddenly smacked herself in the forehead with one of her hole-filled hooves, the sound of chitin against chitin making Fluttershy jump. "Where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Fallen Roses. I'm the head of the Changeling Nurturers. Essentially, I'm a glorified babysitter. I also serve as one of Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis' top advisors, and I'm apparently her go-to for guarding important prisoners." She extended the same hoof she had smacked herself with towards Fluttershy. "A pleasure to meet you."

Fluttershy stared down at the offered hoof like it was a lobster claw being brandished in her direction. Slowly, very slowly, she reached out to touch it. "Hi," she muttered without making eye contact.

"Right. Well, if that's all, then-" She tried to pull her hoof back, but was pulled up short by the pegasus’ surprisingly strong grip.

Fluttershy lifted Fallen Roses' leg, staring at the holed appendage with undisguised curiosity and wonder. "Amazing," she muttered, awe suffusing her voice. "This carapace is just so amazing. I had thought it was like a beetle's, but it's just so very different. It's not as hard as I expected, and it's surprisingly warm too. These holes, too..." She happened to glance up at the bemused changeling, and her face went pure red before she dived back underneath the covers with an "Eep."

Fallen Roses stared in incomprehension at the space Fluttershy had just occupied for several seconds before bursting out into laughter. "Oh my goodness, you're just too adorable. Tell you what, I'll answer any question you have and then we'll go see Chrysalis, alright?"

"Chrysalis?" Fluttershy asked, her face still flushed red. "Who's that?"

"Didn't I say already?" Fallen Roses asked with a slight frown. "That's the name of our Queen. I've already let her know you're awake. She's expecting you."





"Your friend is fine!" Last Breath proclaimed, his voice hoarse with fear. He struggled weakly in the entrapping branches before going limp. "She's been taken to Canterlot!"

"And?" Twilight asked darkly. Much of her anger had subsided at hearing Fluttershy was fine, but there was still the matter of the changeling before her. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because..." Last Breath drew in a shuddering breath. There's no way she's going to believe this. "Because we don't want to hurt you."

The sarcastic laugh told him he had read her correctly "Don't want to hurt us? That's rich. What do you call what you're doing, then? Taking over Canterlot, overthrowing the Royal Sisters, foalnapping and replacing friends and loved ones." Her mane crackled with her rage as a hint of madness entered her voice. "How could that possibly not hurt us?" 

"We don't have a choice," Last Breath gasped out. "You think we like it? Always forced to watch other species' happiness while knowing it's something we can never be part of it? A species with a face of nightmares that has to feed off love to survive? It's no wonder Queen Chrysalis believes something evil created us."

"Don't try to play the victim," Twilight spat. "You feed off us for your own selfish gain, nothing more than a pitiful parasite! You entire race causes pain and suffering anywhere you go! You don't belong in Equestria, and you never will! You don't belong anywhere, and you never will! You're just a blight, an insect! And you deserve to be exterminated like one! Nopony will ever accept you, especially after what you've done!"

Green flames washed across Last Breath's entire body, the branches constricting him turning into ash at the withering heat before he dropped to the ground. He was still completely terrified, but something in him had awoken at what she had said. It wasn't a feeling, nor even a memory; it was more like a hint of a memory, and the more he tried to reach for it, the more it faded away. There was something lost that could never be regained. He felt like he should know it, but there was nothing there. Even still, he could still feel it. He could still feel a strong pair of arms pressing against his chitin, holding him as he closed his eyes one final time.

Sleep well, my friend.

"You take that back," he warned her. He still wanted nothing more than to flee like a coward, but whatever was burning inside refused to let him do so. Even though he felt like a great weight was pressing against him from all sides because of the sheer magical energy rolling off the unicorn in front of him, even though the air felt thick and heavy and every move he made felt like he was swimming through molasses, he refused to back down. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Twilight scoffed. Her eyes were still shining and her mane continued to shimmer, but at least her horn had stopped glowing. "I just speak the truth. We're going to take back Canterlot and we will defeat you again. Only this time, we're not going to show you any mercy. We'll exterminate every single one of you!"

"Exterminate?" Last Breath's wings buzzed loudly for a second before he tackled Twilight. The pair of them rolled for a few seconds before ending with him pinning her to the ground. They matched each other glare for glare, neither backing down in the slightest. A single drop of green saliva fell from Last Breath's short, stubby fangs onto the ground beside Twilight's head, where it started to bubble and hiss. "I despise you," Last Breath growled out, his buzzing voice low and threatening. "You, above all others. If I could kill you right now, I would. Damn the consequences, I would give it all up for a chance at your throat."

"Try it," Twilight warned. Her eyes flared brightly, illuminating the changeling above her in pure white light. "I don't know why you hate me, and I really don't care. If you try to hurt me or my friends, you are my enemy."

"That's all you ever think about!" Last Breath snarled. His wings started to vibrate with his rage and a high-pitched whine filled the air, forcing him to shout to be heard over it. "Black and white! Right and wrong! With you or against you! You ponies really can't think about anyone other than yourselves! That kind of thinking is exactly what's nearly destroyed us! You choose to ignore the suffering of others, just so long as you and yours can live in peace! You're no different than Celestia!"

"Be quiet!" The white glow in Twilight's eyes vanished, releasing her own natural violet colour, which glared up at him brimming with fury and rage. "Don't you dare talk badly of Celestia, you-!"

"And why not?!" he screamed down at her. "What has she ever done for us? She only cares about her little ponies! The rest of the world can burn as far as she cares!"

"That's not true!" Twilight's muzzle was only inches away from his. "She loves everypony  in the world!"

"Every pony! She abandoned us to die! You all did! You have no idea what it's like! Watching your friends starve to death and knowing there's nothing you can do for them! Having them stare at you, begging for help, and knowing all you can do is be there for them! Knowing it's only a matter of time until the same thing happens to you! Watching-" He choked up at that, and whatever else he was going to say died before he could say it. For several long, meaningful seconds, he stared blankly at a point beyond Twilight's shoulder, locked in his own sorrowful memories. The seconds stretched into minutes before he finally spoke in a defeated, heavy voice. "And I... blame you for it. Congratulations, Miss Sparkle. You have completely killed me and everyone I have ever known, everyone I have ever loved. I hope they throw a parade in your honor, oh great conquering Hero of Equestria. Hail to the great savior. May you find the pain you have delivered in such ignorant bliss one day return to you, just as you deserve."

 Twilight watched in quiet surprise, her anger forgotten, as he stepped off her and took several steps away before heavily sitting down. "Do what you want," he said with his back to her, his voice bitter and heavy with emotion. "I don't care anymore."

She stood on unsteady legs, watching him for any hint of a changeling trick. Emotions whirled through her mind in an uncontrolled whirlpool, leaving her feeling dazed and confused.

He took Fluttershy away from me... Away from all of us!

He looks so hurt... What would Fluttershy do if she were here?

He's a changeling... He can only cause pain and suffering anywhere he goes.

Can't we talk it out? Surely there has to be a solution?

He's no different from his Queen! Destroy him!

He's caused so much pain already. If you let him go, he'll only cause more.

How much more are you willing to let them take away from you?

But it sounds like he's lost so much...

So what? He's taken so much as well.

He will only continue to take unless I do something!

He's nothing more than a parasite!

But he's just trying to live...

So long as the changelings continue to feed off us, we can never live in peace!

I have to destroy him! All of them! That's the only way to end all this!

Twilight took a single step, followed by another and another. Her legs felt heavy, like they had been replaced  with logs, and dragged against the ground with every step. Every movement was stiff and unnaturally, as if her body was a poorly-fitting costume. Sparks flew out from her cracked horn before the glow went out. Every step she took brought her closer and closer to him, to his unresisting, turned back.

I'll do it. I'll kill him.

Faint memories started to play out in her mind. The memories played out in a whirlwind of overlapping images and sounds, each playing out for only a few seconds before vanishing, leaving behind a confusing tangle of disjointed feelings.

You know nothing about how loss can forever scar your soul.

I am proud of you. I know Equestria is in good hooves.

I simply can’t understand why you would want to be friends...

You did well to show mercy to one you fought.

He helped Twilight, right? I'm sure that means he wants to be our friend now!

You think you can stop my vengeance?

Is the vaunted Element of Magic herself refusing to make friends with someone? Is the power of your so-called Harmony really that weak?

She was close enough to touch him now, and her hooves stretched towards him in that awkward, uncomfortable manner she had adopted. As she reached for him, one final memory played out before her. There were no words in this memory, only a feeling. She felt the fingers of that strange creature from the Everfree running through her mane after she had released him. That thing that she and her friends had fought so hard against, which she had then released. If she had tried a little harder to befriend him from the beginning, maybe she could have avoided all this conflict in the first place?

The changeling didn't react in the slightest as Twilight's hooves wrapped themselves around his neck.





Last Breath stiffened when Twilight's forelegs reached all the way around his neck, connecting just beneath his throat. Her stomach squashed his diaphanous wings against his back and her chin rested gently against his shoulder. Of all the possible outcomes he had been expecting, a hug was not one of them.

"I'm sorry," Twilight said into his ear. Her voice was quiet but clear, lacking any sense of doubt or uncertainty. The anger and rage from before had completely vanished, scattered like so much dust in the wind. "It's been hard for you, too, hasn't it? I've only been seeing my own troubles, my own problems. But... that's not all there is to it. You have hurt us. And, intentionally or not, we have hurt you."

He turned his head to look at her. His large multifaceted eyes stared at her, and she could see herself reflected many times over in those alien orbs. Despite the vast differences between them, there was still something in them that spoke to her. Deep, deep within him, she could feel that he really was no different than her. "What- what are you saying?" he asked, confusion suffusing his voice.

"I'm sorry," Twilight repeated, letting her body rest completely against his smooth carapace. "I'm sorry for what I did, even if I didn't know what happened to you. I'm sorry for not knowing what happened. I'm sorry for pushing you so far, so that you felt this was the only choice you had. I'm sorry for everything. And... one more thing." She leaned her head against his, brushing his cheek with her own. "I forgive you."

Last Breath remained silent as he stared down at his hooves. He could feel her emotions, and he wasn't sure what they meant. She didn't trust him, and maybe she never would. But despite that, despite everything, she was still willing to try. "I..." He gave a choked, bitter laugh. "Do you really think it's that easy? That you can just say 'sorry' and everything'll be fixed?"

She shook her head, his head moving along with hers because of its proximity. "No, I know it won't be easy. Too much has happened already." A sad sigh escaped her. "But I feel like worse is going to happen soon if I don't do something to stop. I don't want to miss this opportunity and be left wondering what could have happened if I didn't at least try to end the fighting."

"You mean that Discord character you were talking about." It wasn't a question and Twilight didn't even bother nodding. "Is he really as diabolical as you made him sound? It's just a little hard to believe."

"Yeah, that's Discord." A frown creased Twilight's otherwise placid expression. "I still don't know what he's trying to accomplish, but whatever it is, I intend to leave him disappointed. Princess Celestia thinks he's trying to make himself immune to the Elements of Harmony, but Zecora gave me some books that make me think he's trying to make himself more powerful through all this conflict, and he said that he just wants to watch as Equestria falls apart."

"What do you think?"

Twilight thought long and hard about it, balancing everything that she knew with her own intuition. Finally, she slowly shook her head. "I don't think it's any of those. No matter which possibility I consider, there's just too many loose ends. Nightmare Moon, the humans, you guys, my friend's sisters, and all those pieces he showed me. Whatever he's trying to do, there has to be an easier way."

Last Breath glanced behind him at the unicorn resting on his back. Her face was scrunched up, and he could tell she was feeling pensive and thoughtful. She seemed to have completely forgotten that she was lying on the back of something that saw her as a food source. Or at the very least, she no longer saw him as a threat. Could she mean it? he wondered, watching her without her being aware of it. Does she really believe that we can coexist?

His sight shimmered, and for a moment, he didn't see her any more. Instead of the purple unicorn, a pegasus lay on his back, a wide smile splitting her face. The vision faded, and Twilight Sparkle slid back into sight. He blinked several times, banishing the last traces of the apparition before giving Twilight a considering look. If she really meant what she said... If it was even slightly possible... "Yeah. I'll try it."

"Huh?" Twilight blinked dumbly, knocked out of her consideration. "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "If you really want to try and get the changelings and the ponies to put aside their differences, I'll go along with you. Might be entertaining if nothing else."

Twilight's expression went through a series of emotions from confusion, uncertainty, dawning realization, and, eventually, elation. "You mean it?" she squealed happily, hugging him even tighter. "That's just great! I just need to talk to your Queen, and-"

He coughed loudly, grabbing her attention. "That might be harder than you think. Queen Chrysalis really hates you for what you did during the invasion."

"Well, yeah, but..." Twilight's ears lay flat against her head. "I still want to try."

Last Breath sighed. "If you still want to try it, I won't stop you, but there's something you should know first." Seeing he had her full attention, he gestured in the direction of the distant Canterlot. "She hates you for what you did, but that's not the only reason she hates you. She hates everyone. Ponies, zebras, gryphons, minotaurs; it makes no difference to her."

"How can she have so much hate?" Twilight asked in a hushed whisper. "How could you possibly follow somepony like that?"

"Why do you obey Princess Celestia?" Last Breath asked rhetorically. "We follow her because we're loyal to her. She may hate everyone else, but she loves us, just as we love her in return. Why she hates everything though… that's a bit of a story. I don't know all the details, but it begins about twenty years ago, before Chrysalis became queen..."





"We've got some time, so I might as well tell you about the Queen. Queen Chrysalis inherited her title from our previous ruler, Queen Free Form." Fluttershy and Fallen Roses walked side-by-side through Canterlot Castle in the direction of the throne room. Fluttershy had considered fleeing, but when her guard pointed out that she wouldn't be able to get away from something capable of reading her emotions, the pegasus had been forced to give up and go along quietly. The fact that the changeling had known that Fluttershy was considering escape simply from feeling the animal caretaker's emotions made it clear that she meant what she said. Fluttershy's cage might be gilded, but it was a cage nonetheless.
 
"Does that mean Chrysalis was a princess?" Fluttershy asked in response to her guard's words. If escape was impossible, than she would take the chance to learn everything she could about the changelings. She knew that Twilight and her friends would realize what had happened and would come to rescue her. She chose to believe in them, and when they came to save her, she would be able to give them all the information they could use.
 
If Fallen Roses knew what Fluttershy was thinking, her friendly, feminine voice didn't show it. "Nope. Unlike you ponies or the gryphons, changelings don't have anything like a royal family. The first queen devised a system where the ruler chooses two changelings from the hive that they believe could serve the hive well. The two changelings always have very different ideas and views, and compete against each other even as they both learn about leadership. Whichever candidate impresses the King or Queen most will then become the next ruler when they pass on."
 
"And... what happens to the one who doesn't win?" Fluttershy asked in a quailing voice. Her mind was imagining all sorts of scenarios where the loser was fed to the newly crowned ruler in order to increase their strength.
 
Fallen Roses' mocking laughter made it clear that she knew exactly what Fluttershy was thinking. "Oh, nothing like that. We're not animals, after all. The changeling that doesn't become the leader then serves as an advisor. That's why it's always important for them to have opposing viewpoints. In fact, the two who are competing now were the ones who planned out your foalnapping. I'm looking forward to seeing how that affects their contest in the future."
 
Fluttershy wasn't sure how to respond to that last piece of information, so she decided to move on from it. "You certainly know a lot about it."
 
"Oh, it's common knowledge," Fallen Roses said easily. "Also, I was the one who competed against Chrysalis, but we're getting off track." Before Fluttershy could ask anything more about that casually-dropped piece of information, Fallen Roses quickly steered the conversation away. "Chrysalis was always different. As the only changeling who grew up outside of the hive, Queen Free Form decided that she would be best for dealing with the rest of the world."
 
"But-"
 
"I'm getting to that," Fallen Roses interrupted with a put-upon huff. "Patience. You want to know about us, I'm telling you about us. Now, first off, you should know that all changelings are born by encapsulating a member of another species in a special pod and which then has an egg inserted into it. The donor is kept asleep and unaware of what is going on around them, and the changeling grows by draining love from them. Eventually, after several weeks, we become large and strong enough to break free of the egg." Fallen Roses was cut off by a tiny squeak from her audience, and she rolled her eyes before giving the pegasus a look that spoke of rapidly-dwindling patience. "What?"
 
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but what happens to the donor, er, I mean the captives?" There was slightly more confidence in Fluttershy's voice as the conversation shifted to something she felt more comfortable talking about. "Is this just simple parasitism, or are you more like parasitoids?"
 
"Parasitoids?" Fallen Roses repeated, only half listening to the question. "Can't say I know what those are."
 
There was a pause as Fluttershy took in a deep breath before speaking in a fast, rambling, and excited manner that would have better suited a certain pink friend of hers. "Oh, that's simple. Parasitoids are fascinating creatures that are like parasites in a lot of ways. However, unlike most parasites, parasitoids will often sterilize or kill their host. In fact, what you said reminds me of a species of wasp that I've read about. Apparently the wasps lay their eggs in the bodies of caterpillars and when the eggs hatch, the babies eat their way out. I've never met any wasps like that, but someday I'd really like to."
 
The slightly freaked out changeling gave the obviously insane pegasus a wary look before taking a large step away. "Uh huh... Right, that, I, um... Let's get back on track." And I will be very careful about asking you to clarify things in the future. "To answer your question, the donors are usually watched carefully and cared for by several nurturers, who are responsible for our young. Once the hatching has finished, the donor will usually have their memories wiped and be returned home."
 
"Oh."
 
Desperately trying not to notice how disappointed the nature lover sounded, Fallen Roses gave a loud cough. "Well, we try to keep our presence secret, so that, yeah... Hang on." She stopped as they walked past a pair of changeling guards standing at attention in the corridor in front of a large pair of doors. "Good afternoon, or whatever time it is. Has there been any trouble?"
 
One of the guards stepped forward and gave her a sharp salute. His eyes were mostly blue, but a hint of green was starting to appear deep down. "No trouble to report." When he spoke, his voice was almost impossible to make out, barely discernible beneath a heavy buzz. Fluttershy was starting to think of that buzz as a sort of changeling accent, and listened quietly to what was being said.
 
"Good." Fallen Roses sharply nodded her head before looking over at Fluttershy. "Do you know what's beyond these doors?" she asked. Before Fluttershy could respond, Fallen Roses answered her own rhetorical question. "Nevermind, it's not important if you do or not. The Canterlot dungeons lie beyond here. If you're not careful about what you say to the queen, you might be spending a long time here."
 
"Why would you show me this?" Fluttershy squeaked, giving the large doors a fearful look.
 
Fallen Roses shrugged. "Just giving you fair warning. Personally, I'd rather you didn't end up here, and-" She stopped talking as a loud crash echoed down the hallway, the floors and hallways shuddering all around them as if the entire castle had just been struck by an earthquake.
 
Fluttershy immediately dropped to the ground, throwing her hooves over her head. "Wh-wh-wh-what was that?"
 
"I'm not sure." Fallen Roses perked her ears up and listened as the last remaining vibrations ceased. After a few seconds, she picked up a faint sound. The noise started small, but built and strengthened even as she listened. Her tongue gave an annoyed click. "Oh, for goodness' sake! They're at it again! Come on, we better stop them before they hurt themselves."
 
Fluttershy peeked out from under shivering hooves to watch as her guard sprinted away, leaving her behind. "Um... hello?" she asked uncertainly. There was no response and she stood up after a few seconds. "Should I do something?" She was about to just turn and leave, when she happened to spot the two changeling guards watching her with their blank blue eyes. She recoiled in fright before sprinting after Fallen Roses.