//------------------------------// // Sublimation // Story: Body And Mind // by Starman Ghost //------------------------------// It didn't take long for Pincer to adjust to his new cell. It was more or less identical to the old one, with the exception that it had a solid metal front wall in place of bars and a thick, exterior door that could close over the normal barred one. Thankfully, the Royal Guard had not seen fit to completely seal him from the world by shutting the heavier door. He lay staring at the wall long after he'd collapsed onto the bed. The future of The Hive and of his fellow changelings was being written each passing second. There would come a point, and he had no way of knowing when, that someone would come to his cell and tell him something or take him somewhere that would tell him whether his worst fears had come true. In a way, it seemed almost improper to fall asleep while waiting for something so important. Despite this, he found himself jolted from a light sleep by a hoof banging on the wall of his cell. It was Vigilant Watcher. "We got 'em," she said, peering through the door. "About a hundred and fifty ponies. Also took in a good couple dozen spies." Pincer sat up and took a moment to digest this. Going by the numbers, the attack had been a massive success for Equestria. That much was good, he told himself. Maybe this would be over quickly. "What about casualties?" he asked, lifting a hoof. "How many dead? On both sides?" "Can't tell you," Watcher said, shaking her head. "We won't know for a few days, at least." Pincer glanced between the walls of his cell. "Anyway," Watcher continued, a trace of a smile appearing on her face, "we didn't just grab the ponies while we were down there. We got the big prize." "What was that?" Pincer asked. She didn't have time to answer before his eyes went wide. "You actually..." Watcher nodded. "Chrysalis is in a special cell, awaiting judgment by Princess Celestia." Suddenly the cold stone beneath him became strangely vivid to Pincer. He scuffed at the ground with a hoof. "I guess that's really it then," he said, more to himself than to Watcher. "Oh, you think so?" Watcher asked. "Yeah. No cocoons, no queen, no spies. You... you did well." Pincer's gaze drifted. "Looks like we're in Celestia's hooves." "You'll be fine," Watcher said with a tinge of impatience. Pincer looked at Watcher. "Has she said, anything, then? What's going to happen to me, or us, now?" Watcher shook her head. "Haven't heard a thing." She tapped her chin with her hoof. "By the way, you know a changeling named Antenna?" "Antenna? Is she here?" Watcher flicked her tail and glanced down the corridor. "She is, but she doesn't seem very happy with you." Pincer looked down at his hooves. "I take it she's a friend of yours?" Watcher said a bit more softly. "She is. Or at least, she was." For a few moments, there was a heavy silence save for the crackling of the wall torches. "She's in the infirmary right now," Watcher said. "The infirmary!" Pincer dropped — nearly leaped — off of the bed. "How's she doing? Is it serious?" "Broken wing," Watcher said. "You'd know better than I would how serious that is, but they've got her in recovery now." Pincer relaxed. Broken wings were treatable in The Hive, and he knew firsthoof that Equestria's medical services were better than The Hive's. "Okay. Thanks. Would it... be possible to see her?" Watcher raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?" "It's because of me she's there, isn't it? Even if I didn't want it to happen, isn't it only fair I answer to her?" "I don't think she's gonna listen to you." Pincer stomped a hoof. "Not your problem. If she hates me now, I have to accept that. But I've got to face the consequences of what I've done." Watcher gave him a brief sideways look, but there was a flicker of understanding on her face before she spoke. "Alright. I suppose I can't really blame you. It sounds like you two were pretty close. I'll ask them." He thanked her, and she left. Only a few minutes had passed before she returned with a pegasus guard stallion. "Doctors said she could have visitors, and she said she wanted to see you," she said, lowering her horn to unlock his cell door. "I'll just say that if I were you, I wouldn't get close enough for her to bite." Compared to when he'd been wheeled out so many months ago, the infirmary was unrecognizable. It was like a maze, with rows of beds and tables packed into blocks with edges marked by curtains. From the occasional glance Pincer caught in narrow gaps between sheets, every bed was occupied by a changeling. A cacophony of hisses and curses, directed at unseen doctors and nurses, filled the air. Guilt began to well up inside him, and he hadn't crossed half the length of the room before being overcome with an urge to gallop out of the infirmary. Thankfully, Watcher soon stopped outside a side room and gestured him in "Doctors moved her here before they'd let you visit her," she whispered. "Don't want the others getting more testy than they already are." Pincer nodded and went through the doorway, and Watcher shut the door behind him. As he entered the room, Clean Bill was leaving, and she sidestepped him on her way out. He'd barely had time to register it before she was gone, and he was left alone in the room with Antenna, bound to an operating table. She was baring her fangs at him with such sheer hatred that he felt a lump in his throat. "Traitor," she whispered, voice dripping with venom. "Antenna, please, I need you to listen." "This is your fault," Antenna said, leaning within her restraints to give him a clearer view of her wing. "Why, Pincer? Why did you side with them?" "Because Chrysalis was lying. Celestia wants to help us." "Help?" Antenna shouted. "Are you out of your mind? Changelings are dead. I was almost one of them, and so was Scarab. We've lost all our food. They've taken Queen Chrysalis." She looked away. "It's all over." "Scarab?" Pincer leaned forward. "He's alive? Where is he?" "Supposedly, he's in surgery," Antenna said. "But when he gets out, if he gets out, he'll have nothing to say to you. Those ponies you sided with split his headplate. You should have a look, so you'll see what you let them do." Pincer shuddered. Such injuries were often permanently disfiguring. He swallowed. "But, but they had to! They were rescuing their people! They're not going to fight us anymore. They're going to help us rebuild, and find new ways to get love." "They told you that? And you believed them?" Pincer nodded. "They aren't what we've been told they are. They've shown that to me." "How could you be so damned stupid?" Antenna looked at him in disgust. "They've been waiting for this chance for hundreds of years. They're going to kill us all." "If that's true, then why are you here?" Pincer asked. "Why'd they take you here and treat your wing instead of killing you when they had the chance?" Antenna glanced at her bent, bandaged wing. "I don't know. I don't have a clue what they're planning. It doesn't matter, though. You still sold us out. You've ruined all our lives!" "Antenna, please. I know this is hard, but there's a new life ahead. A better life. I've seen it for myself, and there's a better way. One without beatings, or abuse. We won't have to worry about being sent to Cluster Thirty-Two anymore, and you won't get left to bleed with huge pieces of your plates cut off when you get sick or hurt." "Lovely." Antenna spat. "Good to know that's working out for you. Too bad some of us are too dead to enjoy it. And where do you get off thinking the rest of us wanted it?" "I didn't want to force it on you," Pincer said. He looked squarely at Antenna. "But the ponies we captured didn't have a choice either." "How can you put them on the same level as us?" "They're not that different from us, Antenna, and they're not out to get us. Why shouldn't I put them on our level? Because they're not changelings? If they felt the same way about us, we'd all be dead." Antenna scowled and jerked her head away. "I was right. You're a traitor. Now get out." Pincer grimaced, but almost immediately took a step forward. "Why am I wrong?" he barked. "Can you tell me that? Can you give me one good reason?" "Just get out," Antenna hissed. "If you can't even explain—" "Get out!" Shaking his head, Pincer slowly walked away. He felt more alone than ever now. Vigilant Watcher, who had been waiting outside with the other guard, gave him a glance of apparent pity. He wasn't sure if she'd heard the shouting, but he had the feeling his face told all. She looked like she wanted to say something, but no words seemed to come to her. He fell back into line, and both remained silent as he walked with her back to his cell. "All right," Watcher said as she shut the door behind Pincer. "Anything else you need before we head off?" Pincer tapped at the ground. He thought of Antenna, and of Nurse Clean Bill, and of how Antenna had treated him, and of how Nurse Clean Bill had treated him. "I need you to look into one of the nurses," he said. "Clean Bill. I think she might be mistreating patients." Watcher raised an eyebrow. "You do? Why?" Pincer looked Watcher in the eyes. "Because she did it to me. I can't prove it, but I don't expect you to punish her for that. I just don't want it happening to anyone else." "I'll pass it along, then," Watcher said. "Sorry they put you through that, though." "Wasn't your fault," Pincer said. "I should've said something. I misjudged you. Most of you, anyway." She smiled briefly before saying goodbye. Moments after she disappeared from view, loneliness crept up on Pincer and seized him. He began pacing in a circle. It didn't seem that Antenna could ever forgive him. Even though he hadn't seen Scarab's face, he doubted he could ever look him in the eyes again. The connections he had formed with some of the ponies, connections that had grown stronger than he'd ever believed, now suddenly seemed feeble in light of what he'd lost. Pincer was jolted by the sound of hooves rapping on stone. In a slow, weary motion, he stopped and turned his head to look through the cell door. He found it odd that a guard would be in such a hurry to see him. The pony that skidded to a stop in front of his cell wasn't a guard at all. It was Twilight Sparkle, eyes wide with worry. Even if Pincer hadn't been caught completely off-guard by her appearance and the affection she once again radiated, he wouldn't have known what to say. As it was, he stared at her as though trying to determine if he were hallucinating the fretting, pacing figure before him. "Pincer! I'm so sorry! I was so mad when you told me the secret, I didn't think about how hard it was for you to do that in the first place. And I got a letter from Celestia where she said how well the rescue mission had gone and how much you'd helped them, and..." She took a breath and lowered her head. "I've been a terrible friend." Silence hung in the air. Twilight was giving Pincer a look that seemed almost pleading. After a few moments, she turned round and began to walk away slowly and dejectedly. "Hey, wait," Pincer said. To his relief, Twilight stopped. She looked at him over her shoulder. "Thanks for coming back," he said. Twilight gasped and then smiled, her eyes sparkling. She trotted back to Pincer's cell and touched the bars. "Thanks for having me back," she said. For a moment they just looked at each other, and Pincer began smiling himself. "So, have you been okay down here?" Twilight asked. "Have you still been getting time around town?" She leaned forward. "Did you read any new books?" Pincer told her what had happened to him while she was gone: how he was fed by Celestia's love, how he'd been confined to the castle but allowed to freely use the library, when he'd been moved to solitary confinement, and finally his confrontation with Antenna. "That's awful!" Twilight said. "Not that I'd expect Antenna to come around overnight, but it sounds like you two used to be so close." "It wasn't pleasant," Pincer said. "I'm just glad you got here when you did." "So am I." Twilight looked about, then frowned. "Though now that I'm here, there's not much we can actually do. I mean, I hardly think Celestia's going to let you visit town at a time like this." Pincer shook his head. "Come to think of it, should you have left Ponyville so suddenly? Your friends, the other element bearers, do they know you're here?" "I left a note at the library. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they came here later. I'd expect Celestia would want them here to help convince the other changelings to, well, change their ways." Pincer flicked his tail. "Speaking of Princess Celestia, next time you see her, could you ask her about taking this off?" He touched the ring on his horn. Twilight nodded. "Sure! In fact, I was kind of wondering about that myself. I've never gotten a good chance to study a changeling transformation up-close." She put a hoof over her mouth. "I'd only do it if you let me, of course." "I wouldn't mind." Pincer grinned. "In fact, I could show you some impressions. How'd you like to meet yourself?" "I'd love to see them! I'll ask Celestia now, actually, assuming she's not too busy." They exchanged goodbyes. Pincer felt the warmth of her love fade away as she left, but he was smiling nonetheless. After all, he knew that she, and it, would be back soon. What he had not expected was that, when Twilight returned a while later, Vigilant Watcher would be with her. "Princess Celestia actually wants to talk to you right now," Twilight said as Watcher began to unlock the cell. "She didn't tell me what it was about, though." They soon reached the throne room. As the guards swung open the doors, Twilight gave Pincer a reassuring smile. Taking a breath, he stepped into the now-familiar room and stood before Celestia. "Now, Pincer, you wish to have your suppression ring removed?" she began, her tone light. Pincer nodded. "If that's possible now." Celestia gazed at his horn. "Yes, I think the time has come." Her horn began to glow. "You've certainly proven yourself trustworthy," she said in a lower tone. The tip of Pincer's horn tingled, and with a small tug, the ring came off. Celestia sent it sailing towards her in an arc, and lowered it to the arm of her throne, where it landed with a clink. Pincer tapped his horn. "Thank you," he said simply. Celestia nodded. "I'm sure you'll also be glad to hear that, as of tomorrow, you will be released from your cell. By then, we'll have all of the captured prisoners settled and will be ready to begin preparing them for peaceful coexistence with Equestria and the other nations." Pincer tapped a hoof against the carpet. "I'm glad you trust me. What am I to do for shelter now, then? Have you chosen somewhere else for me to stay, or should I work my way into Canterlot society?" Celestia chuckled lightly. "I'm not going to throw you out to fend for yourself." She frowned. "However, I do think that your continued presence here would, unfortunately, make things more difficult to us. The other changelings still believe you to be a traitor, I'm afraid." "You're right. I already spoke with one of them earlier. She was a childhood friend, but she wouldn't even listen to me." Pincer's head lowered almost unnoticeably. "Don't despair yet," Celestia said softly. "You were not so different from her once, and it took far more than a single conversation before you saw things in a new way." "I just hope the others finally will, too." "As do I," Celestia said. "For now, however, I'm afraid you must return to your cell again. I wish I could release you now and allow you to visit town, but right now, things are too chaotic. If a prisoner escaped, they might be mistaken for you." "I understand the need. I'm worried about the possibility of the opposite happening, too, though. Even the ponies that have grown used to me know that the others are still a threat, and I don't know if they could tell me apart from them by looking." "I don't think that will be a problem," Celestia said. "Ponies would be expecting an escaped changeling to either be wearing a magic-nullifying ring or disguising themselves. Canterlot is well aware of who you are, and they should remain calm as long as there's no reason to believe the changeling they see is not you. But, things don't always go as we plan. Just to be safe, I'll be informing the Royal Guard officers stationed in the city that they can expect you to be around, and how to identify you. That will make things easier for everyone. Of course, you now have the option to assume the form of a pony before going out, if you feel that is safest." Pincer looked at the ring on the throne, then at the steely-faced guards, then at Celestia. "I won't," he said. "Right now, I'm the only drone who can show what we can be. I can't do that if I'm hiding." "And I'm sure you'll do a fine job," Celestia said. Pincer felt himself swell with pride, but a question occurred to him. "One of your guards mentioned that you have Queen Chrysalis held captive," he said. "Can you tell me what you plan to do with her?" Celestia frowned. "She's going to be in jail for a very long time. Things will be much easier if we can convince her to transfer queenship to a female drone who would be more receptive to us, though." Pincer nodded and straightened his posture. "If you can convince her. And once the rest start to accept you, finding a suitable queen won't be too difficult. And once you do, most of us would follow her to the ends of the Earth." "I think so, too," Celestia said. "Now, I must coordinate efforts to begin feeding and rehabilitating the other changelings, so you are dismissed. Twilight will be busy helping me with the same soon, but I'm sure she'll still be able to spend some time with you. Farewell, Pincer. I wish you the best." Pincer left the throne room. Twilight had been talking to Vigilant Watcher outside, and when she looked at him, her face lit up. "Oh, they finally took your ring off! That means you're free now, right?" Twilight said. Pincer touched his horn again. "You sound more excited than I am," he said, chuckling. "I've still got to stay in the cell a bit longer, though." "One more day," said Watcher. "But I think you can handle that." She gave a hint of a smile. "Seems hard to believe," Pincer said. He looked at Twilight. "Anyway, now that you're here, do you want to..." Twilight gave an apologetic look. "Sorry, but I've got some preparations I need to make today. Celestia told me to expect my friends — my other friends — here soon. I'm going to get some notes on the situation in order for them. I should have some time tomorrow, though." With that, they parted ways, and Watcher led Pincer back to his cell. He resolved to spend the rest of the day reading a book on the history of the Equestria-Gryphus War, but anticipation kept making his mind wander. He ended up taking long, supervised walks around some of the less busy areas of the castle — the indoor garden, the royal archives, various out-of-the-way corridors — before lunch, after lunch, and after dinner. Paying no heed to the presence of guards, strolling among imperious marble columns and fat rose bushes and shelves packed with books, he lost himself in thoughts of Twilight, of his fellow changelings, and of the future. Pincer slept until breakfast the following morning. "You're free now," the Guard unicorn towing the tray said as he opened the door. "From now on, this stays unlocked and you can leave at any time." Pincer thanked the guard, ate his breakfast, and promptly went to sleep again. He awoke to the sound of Twilight banging a hoof against the bars of the cell door, looking at him in anticipation. "You must have been tired," she said, smiling, as Pincer slid out of bed. "Anyway, how would you feel about lunch with my friends from Ponyville today? They'll be arriving by train soon, so I thought we could meet them at the platform." "You mean the other Element bearers?" Pincer asked, giving Twilight a sideways look. "What have you told them about me? They might not be as accepting of a loose changeling as you are. Will they even be expecting me?" "Well..." Twilight brought a hoof up to her mouth. "There wasn't really time to tell them anything. By the time it occurred to me, I was already in a hurry to get back here and apologize to you. If you want, though, you can wait at Molto's while I get them. I'll explain things to them on the way there." "And you're sure they'll trust you? I mean, Rainbow Dash doesn't really seem like the type to get all the answers before she acts," said Pincer. Twilight chuckled. "Oh, Rainbow Dash isn't going to jump you in public or anything. She'll probably be a bit standoffish at first, but she'll get used to you." "If you're sure," Pincer said. "Molto's, then?" "That sounds great! Let's go." They separated before Pincer reached the restaurant. It was a warm, sunny day in Canterlot, and despite recent events, the steady, purposeful flow of the city continued as it always had. It was his first time out in the city alone, and perhaps it was because that made him feel more vulnerable, but it seemed as though he were getting more suspicious looks and ponies were keeping their distance from him more than last time. Better they kept their distance than got close enough to attack him, he supposed. "Oh my gosh! There he is!" Pincer jerked his head in the direction of the noise, prepared to run, but he realized it didn't sound accusing or threatening. It sounded almost eager. As he turned around, he saw Twilight and her friends: Pinkie Pie, the one who'd called out and who was hopping with an ear-to-ear grin; Rainbow Dash, flying over the others' heads, looking at him appraisingly; Fluttershy, seeming as though she were forcing herself to keep walking towards him; Rarity, staring wide-eyed; and Applejack, trailing steadily behind the others. Pinkie Pie galloped towards him, oblivious to the look of dismay on Twilight's face. As she got close, Pincer sidestepped by reflex, convinced she was going to crash into him. She didn't; she kicked to a halt so close their noses almost touched. "Hi, Pincer! It's great to meet you! Well, I guess I might've met you during the wedding, but it's not like we had a chance to talk to each other. Sorry if I hurt you while that was going on, but I won't hurt you again because now we're gonna be friends! Oh, I've never been friends with a changeling before! Can you change into me? I saw a bunch of them do that, but none of them got it right. And one of them was right in front of me! Can you believe that? Right in front of me!" Pinkie took a breath, leaned forward, and grinned the widest grin Pincer had ever seen. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see passing ponies slowing down or stopping to stare at them. In spite of it, he smiled. He'd never seen someone radiate so much love for someone they'd just met, and it washed over him like a warm bath. "It's nice to meet you, too, Pinkie Pie." He looked past her shoulder at the other four, whose faces were colored by varying degrees of doubt. "I think we should get in there and get a table before we talk, though," he said a bit more loudly. "I must agree," said Rarity, trotting toward them, casting fretful glances at the staring bystanders as she went. "Quickly, please. This is turning into a scene." "Come on then, everyone," Twilight said. They went in, Pinkie Pie surging ahead of the others and Rainbow Dash landing by Pincer. "I've got some questions for you, mister, and you'd better be ready as soon as your butt hits that chair," she said. Pincer gave her the mildest look he could manage. They seated themselves at a circular table, with Rainbow Dash sitting directly across from Pincer. She used the opportunity to leer at him over her hooves, which she had pressed together. "So what made you decide to switch sides, anyway?" she asked after their orders had been taken. "It's long and complicated." "Give me the short version, then." Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together. "Well..." Pincer gestured to Twilight, who was sitting to his right. "It was mostly because of her, really. Our queen lied to us. She said you hated us all and wanted to kill us. Twilight proved otherwise." Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight. "How'd you get him to do that?" Twilight grinned sheepishly. "You know, just being a friend to him. I think that was all he really needed. And it ended up, well, with me feeding him love." "Didn't that hurt you?" Fluttershy asked, drawing attention away from Rainbow's poorly suppressed giggle. "I mean, it's good that you did it, but I remember how awful your brother looked from Chrysalis draining him all the time." "Yeah, it can wear me out," Twilight said. "Especially the first time it happened, when he was starving. But this is a lot different from what Chrysalis was doing. Pincer's much more careful now. He just takes as much as he needs rather than trying to drain enough to fight Princess Celestia." "It's still weird," said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, you changed, but you're still, like..." She waved a hoof. "You've still gotta sap energy from us." She gestured to the others. "Like we're still prey. I'm not anyone's prey!" "But we'll die if we don't," Pincer said more loudly than he'd intended. "Can't you figure something else out?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We aren't your food!" "There are eight thousand of us! What else can we do?" Pincer looked pleadingly at Twilight. "Maybe you should've thought about that before you built your whole life around kidnapping!" "Now hold on," Applejack said. "Twilight, you said that you gave love to Pincer, and you didn't come out any worse for it?" Twilight nodded. "After some food and rest, I was fine." "And Pincer, I'm gonna assume there's nothing stopping a changeling from cooking?" "No, why?" Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash. "Then how about if a pony gave a changeling love, and the changeling got some food for the pony? Then they'd be feeding each other. In different ways, but it sounds fair to me." "And surely there are other ways they could help, too," Rarity said. "No one gets by without depending on others." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess that makes sense." "I think it's a great idea," Fluttershy said. "The things changelings need are just a bit different from what we're used to." "But..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Fine. You want to go for it, then go for it." "Great! Now that that's out of the way, can you transform for us? Pretty please?" Pinkie Pie asked. Pincer glanced at Twilight, who was smiling encouragingly. "I'd love to see it," she said. "You don't have to make a spectacle if you don't want to, but wouldn't you like to do it again after all this time?" Pincer looked at the ponies. The ponies looked back. "I suppose I can," he said. "What should I change into?" "Ooh! Me!" Pinkie Pie said. Looking around the table again, Pincer saw the others leaning forward. "Do give it a try, please," Rarity said. Pincer nodded, closed his eyes, and pooled energy at the tip of his horn. He was bathed in a green flash, and when it faded, he was Pinkie Pie. "Well? How'd I do?" he said, the words coming at a high and unfamiliar pitch. "I mean, I've never really done Pinkie before, so I might've gotten a couple of the details wrong." Rarity's eyes were wide. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. Pinkie Pie started to grin. Without thinking about it, Pincer hopped, planting his back legs on his seat. "Wait, wait, wait..." He craned his neck over at Pinkie Pie, pretending to scrutinize her. "Oh my gosh! It's me! I'm sitting at a table eating lunch with me! I never thought about what it'd be like to meet myself! But then, I guess I already know myself. Except this isn't me-me, it's another me! Which..." He looked at his hoof, then at Pinkie Pie. "...isn't me!" Pinkie Pie burst into laughter. Rainbow Dash did likewise, and the other ponies present chuckled. Then, Pinkie hopped up onto her chair, mimicking Pincer's posture. "Oh, you think you can go around saying you're just like me, huh?" she said in mock indignation. "Why, I bet you've never planned a party in your life!" "Yeah?" Pincer said. "I could throw these ponies the best party they've ever seen!" "There's no way you could do that, 'cause they've already seen my parties!" Noticing that they were drawing stares from nearby tables, Pincer slumped and let his head drop. "Okay... you've got me there," he said in faux resignment. He channeled his magic and again was wrapped in green flame, returning to his original form. He grinned. The ponies chuckled, and Pinkie Pie started to grin herself. "Yeah, definitely better than that other guy." They were interrupted by the arrival of a unicorn waiter, who levitated their plates to them. "So, Pincer, what about those wings of yours?" Rainbow Dash asked, not bothering to swallow her enormous bite of spaghetti first. "I saw changelings flying, and no offense, but I'll bet I could fly circles around you guys. Are you any better at it than them?" Pincer took a modest spoonful of his own vegetable soup before answering. "Well, our carapaces make us heavier than pegasi. Slower, harder to turn. Flying's more of a secondary thing for us." "I guess that makes sense," said Rainbow Dash. "But I'm asking about you. How do you stack up compared to them?" Pincer looked down at his soup, which he drank from. "I'm a poor flier," he said, wiping his snout, "but you're not my superior, and you don't have any business judging me for it." Rainbow Dash let out a noise somewhere between a sigh and a groan. "Fine, I was just asking," she said, turning her attention to her food. The other ponies exchanged looks. "So, Pincer, you have any family at home?" Applejack asked after a stiff silence. "Of sorts," he said. He told them about The Hive's pods and clusters, and about his pod, and Antenna and Scarab. "You mean you all have to sleep in holes in the wall, in dull, black chambers that all look the same?" asked Rarity, looking vaguely ill, letting her lettuce-laden fork float high in the air. Pincer nodded. "It never bothered me. It just felt right." "Oh no, dear," Rarity said, "that's just unacceptable. Why, as soon as it's safe for ponies to come to The Hive, I simply have to do something to liven it up! They'll thank me, I'm sure." "They won't," Pincer said. "Well, I'd imagine some of them will. We're not all the same. The sleeping arrangements aren't really my problem with how Chrysalis does things, though." "That Scarab fellow sounds pretty decent," said Applejack. "Maybe he won't be too hard to talk some sense into." "About treating changelings better, yes. He always saw ponies as prey, though." "Oh yeah?" said Rainbow Dash, an edge to her voice. "We just kicked his queen's butt. Is he gonna sit there and tell me we're just prey after that?" Pincer shrugged. "He won't change his mind right away. I should know. I didn't." Applejack whistled. "Sounds like we got our work cut out for us." "But it's a great opportunity," Twilight said. "If we can pull this off, we can do something wonderful, something that's never been done before." "But it sounds like there are so many of them," Fluttershy said, biting her lip. "What if we don't get to them all in time?" "That won't happen." The others looked at Pincer when he said it. He looked at Twilight. "You saved me before anyone even knew it could be done. We aren't incompatible with ponies, even if we've spent our whole lives acting like we are. I'm the proof. We just have to make the others see." "Yeah!" Pinkie Pie said, having just swallowed a very large bite of a very large cookie. "If they hate us 'cause they think we'll do horrible things to them, but then we'll be super friends to them, we'll prove them wrong! And I'm just the pony to do it!" They all laughed, though Pincer's was muted. He found himself imagining how his podmates would react to such a thing. Or Commander Formic, for that matter. When, if ever, would they come around? Soon they'd finished their meals, and six hooves counted out bits to pay — Twilight, as usual, covered Pincer's. "Hopefully now that I'm free, I'll be able to start earning money myself again," he told her as they left the restaurant, going towards the castle. "I'm not quite sure what to do with the extra I make, though. Normally I'd send it back to The Hive, but that's not really an option right now. And besides, I've got this fear in the back of my mind. What if they just store it up to use it against Equestria? I'm not sure who I should be giving it to." "You don't have to give it to anyone if you don't want to," Twilight said. "Except whatever Equestria collects in taxes." "I suppose I could spend it on..." Pincer's gaze drifted towards the sparse clouds. "Books, maybe? Trips to the theater? Just using money however I want seems strange." "I'm sure you'll figure something out," said Twilight. "If you're really not sure, you can always just give it to charity." They stopped at the castle entrance, and the six ponies looked at Pincer. "We're going to talk to Princess Celestia now and see how we can help," Twilight said. "Are you going to come with us?" Pincer waved a hoof. "Celestia — Princess Celestia — doesn't think there's anything else I can do right now. Trying to get some sort of work is probably the best plan, really. Anything that gets ponies used to us. Maybe I should try to join an actors' group now." "Well, I do wish you the best of luck," Rarity said. "I'm sure you'll do a fine job of it. I suppose you've always been an actor of a sort, after all." The others nodded in agreement. Pincer smiled. "Thank you. I'll do my best." And with that, they parted ways. The next few weeks began with a massive undertaking that Pincer mostly learned of second-hoof from Twilight. The Element Bearers, the Princesses, psychologists and therapists from across the land, and anyone else who was willing came to the castle to try and form a connection with the changelings. It was difficult going. Just as Pincer had, many of the changelings shut them out completely. Others would pretend to agree with them just long enough to lower their guard so that they could escape. These attempts, thankfully, all failed. Gradually, though, through a combination of patient negotiation and reasoning, kind treatment receptive to their needs, and feeding by those that could manage it, the first few prisoners began to open up to conversation with the ponies. Not long after that, the first changelings began to trickle into downtown Canterlot, taking cautious and Guard-supervised steps into a world that they might one day walk freely in. Twilight seemed pleased at the progress, but there was an undercurrent of worry in her voice. Dozens of changelings were showing signs of acceptance, but there were thousands of them, and by all estimates, the first starvation deaths would occur in less than two months. "A lot of them remind me of you when you first came here," she told him one night at his cell, a month into the effort. Her ears drooped. "They don't just hate us, they've lost all hope, too." "I was afraid they might," Pincer said quietly, eyes not leaving her. "There's nothing left for them to fight for. Equestria's already got what it wants, and they can't change that. They shouldn't be doing this. Most of us would die for The Hive, but they're not helping The Hive if they die for nothing." "Twilight, do you think I was being naive?" He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" "Thinking I could make things better for everybody. Thinking I wouldn't be dooming my friends and family by helping Equestria. Thinking things could be any other way for changelings." Twilight shook her head. "Pincer, it's not your fault—" Pincer stomped his hoof. "As changelings, we're all responsible for each other. Just because I don't like their — our — queen or what we've done doesn't change that. Don't try to absolve me of this. Right or wrong, the consequences are mine to live with." Twilight looked at Pincer piteously. After a few moments of heavy silence, she walked towards him and raised a hoof, as if to touch his shoulder. "We're not out of time yet," she said. "The best in Equestria have all come together to work on this. And I'm sure the other changelings will come to understand the difference between dying for The Hive and dying for nothing. I think that, even after what they've been through, they still want to live. And we want them to live, too. Princess Celestia thinks that can happen, and I think we can agree, Celestia is anything but naive." Pincer glanced down at her hoof. Before he could talk himself out of it, he brought up his own front hooves and wrapped them around it. "I hope you're right," he said. Twilight, despite her look of surprise, didn't draw away. One week later, the golden glow of Princess Celestia's horn enveloped the thick, polished iron doors at the end of the dungeon hallway. They swung open, revealing a steep, descending staircase inside a claustrophobic, circular stone chamber. In the chamber, at the bottom of the stairs, chains binding her legs and three separate suppression rings clamped onto her horn, was Queen Chrysalis. She slowly craned her neck to look at Celestia, managing a scowl. "Are you going to let it go yet?" Celestia asked coldly. "I've found a candidate." "Never," Chrysalis said with equal chill. "Your reign needs to end," Celestia said, shaking her head. "The only place you will lead your subjects now is to their destruction. They need another queen, one who will better serve them." "No one you would accept would be a better queen than me!" Chrysalis shouted. "Changelings are predators. We sneak. We attack. We take. It's what we are. It's what we always have been. You may have beaten me, Celestia, but I won't give you the satisfaction of making me be the one to give up our ways. I won't be remembered as the queen who surrendered everything we were to you." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "And how do you think you'll be remembered if you refuse?" Chrysalis simply stared. "Changelings will survive as a race whether you act or not," Celestia continued. "We already have enough starting to accept our friendship to ensure that happens. Especially," she said in a voice dripping with disgust, "from Cluster Thirty-Two. As a matter of fact, that's where the drone I would like you to pass queenship to is from. She was, as you might have anticipated, quite receptive to the idea of a life where she wouldn't be abused and disposable. "While I assure you I'll do my best to save as many changelings as possible whatever happens, the fact remains that without your help, I can't see more than a few hundred surviving. But they will survive, Chrysalis, and they will do so because they were the most receptive to us. If all of your most loyal followers die because they didn't accept help, then those most willing to carry on the traditional ways of life, and those who have the most favorable view of you, will be gone. The survivors will be those who reject you and your ways. They will remember the pain of seeing their loved ones die, they will know you could have stopped it but did nothing, and they will harbor an anger and resentment towards you and your way of life that they will pass onto their children for generations. Their society will become, I imagine, completely unrecognizable. "But if you crown a new queen, most of the drones will follow her. I will not allow her to carry things on exactly as you did, no. As she matures into full queenhood, I will make sure she commits to the changes that will allow your kind to peacefully coexist with us, and that the abuses towards the lower-ranking drones are done away with. But The Hive will survive. The disciplined and orderly social structure will survive. It will be used to different ends, but it will emerge far more intact than if you refuse." Celestia spread her wings. "The choice is yours, Chrysalis. Will you be remembered as the one who saved the changeling civilization, or the one who destroyed it?" There was a wild fury in Chrysalis' eyes, and she was baring every inch of her dagger-sharp fangs. She looked as if she would like nothing more than to rip free of her bonds through sheer force of will and obliterate Celestia. Celestia, for her part, suppressed a smile. "You damn smug prissy princess. If I had my way, I would drain every last one of those precious ponies of yours to a lifeless husk right in front of you. She spat. "But I guess I don't have a choice. If that's how things have to be, then bring me the drone. I'll make her the new queen."