The princesses were nice enough to not only allow us to stay in the castle, but get this, they actually gave us a room, not a cell, an honest to god room, with a bed and everything! Am I too excited about that? I don't really know what the protocol is in that regard...
"Dad? Not that I don't appreciate the extra hugs...but could you please set us down?" Mirror pleaded, dramatically gasping for breath as I squeezed her.
"I came so close to loosing you two..." I said, hesitantly releasing Alicia and Mirror from their prison.
"It's not like we're gonna get kidnapped or anything..." Alicia said politely "...we're with you..."
"Still..."
"Dad, we're in Canterlot, with a buncha guards, and the princesses, what could go wrong?" Mirror asked, moving to lay on the bed.
"Chrysalis' attack?" I suggested.
Mirror flinched.
"...right...sorry..." I said.
"It's alright...do you think mom's okay?"
"What? You're married?" Alicia asked, her ears perking up as she floated over to sit next to Mirror.
"No, Mirror was hatched in Chrysalis' hive, though I'm not involved with Chrysalis herself"
"So...Chrysalis is her mom?" she asked.
"Yes" I replied.
"Oh"
'You said it...' I thought.
"Um, daddy?" Mirror said.
"Yes?" I asked, flopping onto the bed, forcing both of them to bounce a bit.
"What about the others? In Ponyville?"
'...'
"..."
I shot up, and quickly exited the room. I ducked back in and pointed to the two fillies on the bed.
"Stay here, and watch each other, don't leave the room until I come back" I said, dashing back into the hall.
'Some responsible father you are...'
I was stopped, however, by the guards stationed at our room.
"W-Where do you think you're going?" one asked, attempting to keep the fear out of his voice.
"I need to go and talk to one of the princesses" I said "It's important"
"Just how important?" the other asked.
"It's about my hive...I just need to see one of them..."
"No" one of the guards snorted.
"What? Why?!"
"Because you don't deserve to even be in her highness' presence" the same one said.
"I already have been" I said, rolling my eyes.
"Consider yourself lucky then"
"Stronghold, stop it" the other guard said "I'll escort him to Ponyville, and you can stay here"
'Stronghold' snorted in response as the guard and I turned and walked down the hall.
"He always that...um...brash?" I asked, glancing down to the guard.
"Strong's a bit...blatant...towards other species, especially towards changelings, y'know, because of the attack- no offense"
"None taken," I replied "but why was he taken into the Royal Guard, if he's like that?"
"What he does on his own time is his business," the guard said "but he's one of the best, and he doesn't let his own views on the world effect his work"
"So, he's really not that bad?"
"If you get to know him"
"What about his...tendencies?"
"Most of us pretend to not let it bother us"
"Oh...but...all ponies don't tolerate that stuff, do they?"
"Celestia no!" he laughed "The princesses especially"
"Ah"
"So, when we get to the train station, I'll get our tickets, and-"
"Actually," I interrupted "I was thinking we'd take the quick way down"
His jaw hit the floor as the portal opened.
"Shall we?"
He nodded shakily.
"Here we are" I said, stepping out of the portal, Slashwing (the guard) following.
"So you've lived here for, how long, exactly?" Slash asked.
"I used to live here," I replied "ever since Princess Luna's return"
"That long? And you were never caught?"
"A few close calls"
"Did anypony else know? About the real you, I mean"
"A friendly zebra that lives out in the forest, and that was about it"
He nodded as we both left the room, and walked through the entrance to the hive.
"Hello?" I called, searching for any signs of life among the underground halls "Stasis? Hacker? Anypony?"
"This place gives me the creeps..." Slash said, shivering beneath his armor.
I continued my search of the hive, growing more and more frantic with each passing second. What if they'd been caught? What if the hive had been ransacked? What if- I shook my head, worrying about what-ifs will only cause me to panic more...just...breathe...
"H-Highness? Is that you?" came the voice of Stasis.
"Wha- where have you been?"
"In hiding"
"Down here?"
"Yes, where else?"
"Oh...well, I have something to tell all of you...where are the others?"
"Right back here..." he said, shooting a nervous glance to Slash.
"He's alright," I reassured "none of the Guard know where the hive is"
'That's technically not a lie...'
He nodded, still hesistant, as he led us through the hive.
We soon found the small group of changelings, bunkered in a small cavern. They let out shouts of joy as soon as I entered the room, cheering, even. As I explained what had happened at the wedding, I came to realize just how much it meant to them that I was there, they depended on me, that was how the hive worked.
"What do we do now, highness?" Hacker asked, the other changelings making their concerns known.
I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose...better get this over with...
"We're going to be in Canterlot until further notice" I said.
Their jaws fell open, their expressions shocked and confused.
"WHY?!?!?!" they all cried at once.
"Because I've been confined to the castle, I thought since I was so far from Ponyville, I thought you'd want to come with me"
One by one, the changelings agreed, showing the faith they had in me by deciding to come with me. It's not like I was going to leave them behind anyway, I was a changeling (well, half-changeling, but that's splitting hairs), and I had to look out for them- that's why they came to me, right? To have a home? I guess right now...as long as we're all together...it doesn't matter where we live...