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// CHAPTER 22 (AKA: It’s all about the towns) 
// Story: A thing or two about changelings and their habits saga 
// by Young discord 
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It had been hours since Pacifica or Monty had seen the railroad tracks and right now, they were treading through a Savannah in a warm afternoon light and since there was not a pony in the line of sight, they could finally transform back to their old changeling selves.
“Where are we now?” Asked Monty for the Nth time
Pacifica opened up the map and took a few moments for the compass to sync in with the map to tell her where they were.
Pacifica pointed a few centimeters further down than she did 40 minutes ago but to Monty, it was still in the middle of nowhere.
“Jeez! We haven’t moved at all! Are you sure we’re going the right way?”
“…”
Pacifica gave him an angry look.
“I’m hungry”
Pacifica Presented the fields around them, barren from any sentient being.
“But I’m really hungry!”
“So am I, don’t complain”
“Come ooonnnn…”
Monty’s nagging was getting on Pacifica’s nerves.
She opened the map angrily yet again to see the closest settlement.
Of course, the only one for miles had to be the other way, didn’t it?
Monty also looked at the map
“Oh! Let’s go there!”
“No, we have priorities, we keep on going that way, we’ll eat tomorrow when we get there”
Monty just about had it, he was hungry and hunger wasn’t something a city changeling was used to, for his entire life he lived in one of equestria’s most populated cities, whenever he wanted to eat, he just ate, there was always food… always, even in his own room.
“No! We’re going to that town! Give me that!”
Monty ripped the map and compass out of Pacifica’s grasp
Pacifica wasn’t OK with that, Monty was an idiot, hunger they can deal with but what they can’t deal with was another attack by ponies if they’re found out.
Pacifica jumped at Monty who wasn’t prepared for that.
“What’re you doing? Get off!”
The two were shuffling, fighting over the map and compass just as they were fighting over the bed.
Pacifica this time prevailed.
“Priorities” Said Pacifica, already on her way.
It was either follow Pacifica or go alone.
Monty didn’t like being alone, he was just a colt.
Maybe bargaining would help.
“Come on Pacifica, don’t you want to eat?”
“…”
“Aren’t you hungry too? We’ve been walking for aaages!”
“…”
“I can already imagine what it’s like in that town, that mild mixture of slow-pace life… hmmm, I’d like a bite of that… what’s your favourite emotion Pacifica?”
Pacifica’s tummy growled.
She stopped
She sighed in anger
She turned around without a word.
“W-wait, so we’re going?”
“…”
“Pacifica?”
“…”
“Hello, Equestria to Pacifica…”
She turned dangerously close to Monty and looked straight at him
“This time, it’s on you!”
She resumed her quest.
Monty smiled.
“OK, if something goes wrong, then we’ll call it even for that time in the shop”
Pacifica sighed once again and gave out a short rageful scream into the air, is this what everypony’s relatives are like? 





Princess Celestia decided to give Mark a visit, he had been ruthlessly working on that machine of his in the past day or two, and if he becomes ill because of the stress he won’t be able to do anything.
Celestia scanned her bedroom, there was nopony to be seen.
The princess turned towards a large oil painting hanged above her bed, depicting Equestria’s landscape bathed with a sun, high up in the sky.
Celestia focused her alicorn magic on the painting.
Everything in the landscape suddenly began to move as if one were watching a sped-up video, ponies were zipping from left to right, crops were being rapidly cut down and the sun swam steadily across the sky until it set and night took over glazing the painting in dark blue hues, a few houses lit up from within.
The bed’s front posts came off and began to move towards the middle of the room in an upright position and then finally, stopped.
Celestia zapped the space in between bedposts, causing a rip between this world and her secret dungeon.
The Princess crossed into her world, and fixed the rip behind her.
Nopony could get through now from either way unless they know what the exact magical frequency for this world is.
“Ah! Princess Celestia, just who I wanted to see! The blueprints are finally ready and-”
“I hope that you have been resting Mark”
“Well, not yet, I had to double check if everything checks out with the blueprints, all we need to do now is build it, I just need to have the parts made and-“
“-and you can take a break while you wait for the parts to be delivered”
“Well… yes, but the parts have to be very precise and-“
“I’ll have my finest blacksmiths in Canterlot forge them”
Mark deflated his tension
“Oh, thank you Princess Celestia, really”
“I should be the one thanking you Mark, if this machine will indeed put this age old conflict between changelings and ponykind at rest, you will have my endless gratitude”
Mark blushed with pride
“Well, I’m only doing what’s best for everypony… how is Queen Chrysalis doing?”
“She is fine, we have managed to maintain a... professional relationship despite recent events, she also accepted our offer of helping to find and suppress the changeling extremist group”
“I think that's a great idea, we have to show ponykind that we’re not all savage beasts and show my kind that we can still make this work… especially with this thing”
Mark pointed at his blueprints
“How does that machine work?”
“In simple terms, it synthesizes artificial emotions to feed my kind, it produces small amounts but it’s a significant step towards the future”
“I understand that changelings will be unable to feed of this alone then”
“No, but it will take some weight off the shoulder from your subjects and it will appease my kind’s impatient ones to give us more time to develop this into a more efficiently working model.”
“I hope you are right Mark, with the most recent events unfolding we cannot afford to take things in our stride”
“Yes, that assault had-”
“I’m afraid, that’s not the event I have in mind”
“What do you mean?”
Mark could taste what was coming next, he knew that Celestia felt sorry, but he didn’t know what for.
“I’m sorry Mark, but one of my royal guards informed me about what had just happened in Maretropolis”
That’s where Pacifica was!
“There has been a break out of changeling masses onto the street, the whole city is in disarray right now, there are strategic discussions taking place at my palace as we speak”
Mark began to hyperventilate; this explains the attack that Mark recently felt, the only family member that he got along with, his most precious filly was in danger!
“Mark! Calm down!”
Mark couldn’t hear Celestia through his consciousness that was fading
Mark’s fatigued and stressed body slammed onto the floor.





Shining Armour knew that he might have to deal with Queen Chrysalis again one day but he never thought that it would be under such circumstances, in one room.
On the same side.
With Cadence keeping an eye on both of them.
This was awkward for everypony but Cadence wouldn’t have it any other way, as soon as she heard from her husband that he was ordered by aunt Celestia to work with that anorexic bitch of a Queen, she had to come with him and no super-secret army tactical meeting thingy crap is going to get in her way from protecting their marriage
“We should mobilise our main troops around the main cities” stated Shining
Celestia chuckled
“Is there a problem?” Cadence practically growled words at this point.
“You would be wasting your time my dear-“
“Don’t call me dear” whipped Cadence.
“It might stand to reason that changeling rebels and extremists would target the most densely populated areas but they will target the small villages”
“And how would you know that?” continued Cadence.
“I’m a queen my dear-“
“I said don’t call me that!”
The Queen continued to ignore the Princess.
“Back in the day, I focused on teaching my subjects advanced war and survival strategies, going after a large city might yield a greater food supply in general, but it is far too great a risk to take, especially in the state that most of us are currently in”
The Queen stabbed the married couple with a stare.
“Smaller towns are easier to take over and generally easier to control, you need an army to invade a city, but you only need a group to take over a small town, the few citizens can easily be impersonated by just as many changelings so no outsider would notice the change, not to mention that its easier… to store the food source”
“We’re not a food source; you’d know that if you’d stop treating us like one” Cadence hissed back
“I do what’s best for my subjects, if you would treat us with any sort of dignity we wouldn’t be here in the first place”
This was now becoming a personal grudge match between two mares.
“Humph! You sure take the high road for somepony who just invades straight away instead of finding a mutually beneficial solution!”
“Oh, but I have… but I see that your precious aunt hasn’t told you about that yet, has she?”
“Don’t put this on Aunt Celestia!”
“Oh, but I’m not, I’m simply stating facts, is it not true that I had come to the Princess in good spirits? Is it not true that I offered a truce? Is it not true that she declined?”
“I see that you try to deceive with not only your looks, Chrysalis”
“I’m not here to convince you of anything, if you want to hear the truth then you can always get it straight from the horse’s mouth if you want, I’m not going to excuse myself from what I did, I am not ashamed of it, it was what I had to do to save my kind and now, this is what I have to do”
Queen Chrysalis began to tower over the ponies; her patience ran out a while ago, it’s high time that somepony told this damn filly about the reality of things.
“Grow up and start living up to your title, princess! You have a responsibility that comes with that name, so you either do what you’re supposed to or go back to being a children’s toy horse Mi Amore Cadenza!”
That hit Cadence pretty hard and Shining Armour stepped in to protect her.
“Chrysalis, stop”
Cadence covered her wet face from everypony in the room and tried to exit but was intercepted by the Queen who blocked her exit.
“You don’t get to leave, you can’t crack and your bad decisions will stay with you for the rest of your life, that is the role of a princess, Celestia never taught you that because she is too kind but somepony has to tell you this whether you like it or not”
“Let me go!”
The queen sighed, Celestia will owe her one for the future.
“You are here, because there is a conflict between changelings and Ponykind… I am ready to protect your ponies from my changelings, but are you ready to protect my changelings from your ponies? Are you ready to take the full responsibility of your actions? Are you ready to be hated by your very own subjects that you tried to protect from themselves?”
Cadence looked up on the queen and saw her in a new light, perhaps it was the tears or maybe she was just in a weird mood today but Chrysalis suddenly didn’t seem to be as an abstract evil she always was.
Cadance for her first time had a good look at Chrysalis, she began to notice that the Queen was of flesh and bone, a scratch here, a small scar there and even a wrinkle or two, if she’d get to the nitty-gritty of things she had to admit (as much as she didn’t want to) that probably Cadence herself would most likely make the same decisions as Chrysalis has if she had to in order to protect her kind.
Cadence’s sobbing slowly subsided.
Chrysalis was right, we all have to bite the bullet sometimes and occasionally even take one and being a Princess was all about that.
The Princess looked at the Queen with newfound respect and silently, filled with a new determination, nodded at the queen, who, full with understanding, nodded back.





Pacifica looked ahead, now the town was considerably closer, they could make out individual buildings with a few ponies flying here and there.
Monty couldn’t handle his excitement
“Come on!”
“Wait!”
Pacifica was far too weak to run after him but she did anyway, it was just an extra mile anyway
Pacifica looked ahead to a standing Monty who she finally reached
“Wh… what… is… it… Monty?”
Pacifica could barely get the words through her panting
“…”
The filly enhaled to finally get some words out
“Monty?”
Pacifica looked at where Monty looked, at the town.
Changelings
Changelings everywhere.