Shortly after leaving the meeting room, Cicada met back up with Spike.
“Cicada! How did your meeting with the princesses go?”
“It went great! In fact I’m going to be getting a place to stay in Canterlot until I can figure out how to go back home. But first I think I need to find the girls again.”
“Oh, yeah! They arrived here a little bit ago. They decided to wait in the garden while you were in your meeting.”
“Good. I hope Twilight can help me find the house I’m going to be staying in. Celestia told me it was near where she lived before moving to Ponyville.”
“Maybe I could help too.” Spike told her. “I would know too since I lived with her.”
“That would be great!” Cicada exclaimed. “Come on. Let’s find them so I we can go and find it.”
It didn’t take long to meet back up with Twilight and her friends. After explaining to them what had gone on in the meeting, the queen went off with the group to find her temporary home. Twilight was able to get her most of the way to where she was going to live, but Spike actually stopped taking a wrong turn at one point.
“So this is where you’re going to be staying.” Twilight said, as much to herself as to Cicada.
“It looks like a nice place.” Fluttershy commented. “There’s even a small area for a window garden.” She added, pointing to a planter just outside one window on the second floor.
“It seems like it’s a little bigger than what I need.” Cicada commented. “What do you think Lila? Lila?”
Cicada looked around and realised her phoenix wasn’t with her.
“Do you guys know where she went after I left for my meeting with the princesses?”
“Ooo!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I saw her fly off after you and Spike, but she may have gotten lost after that.”
“Oh no! What if she can’t find me again?!” Cicada panicked. “She could be lost in this Equestria forever! She might never be able to get back home with me! Nymph will be devastated!”
“So? It’s just a bird.” Rainbow commented before quickly slapping a hoof over her mouth.
Cicada glared at her before Applejack got her attention.
“We tried tah get this one tah stop speaking badly about you, but apparently she’s still havin’ a bit of trouble.”
“Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter. Besides she actually makes this place feel more like home. And Lila is not just a bird.” the queen retorted to Rainbow Dash. “She used to be my mom’s and she told me that as long as Lila’s by my side, nothing too serious can happen to me. And yes, I do believe that.” She finished before the pegasus could say anything back.
“I think if she needs to, she’ll be able to find you again.” Fluttershy said, trying to comfort Cicada.
The changeling frowned. “I guess, but we keep seeming to get separated and I don’t like it.”
“Well, why don’t you stop thinking about that and go inside.” Pinkie suggested. “Don’t you want it to look nice inside once you do find her?”
Cicada agreed and headed toward the door. It was just a little too small and her horn hit the top of the frame. She bent her head down an inch or two and entered into the main room. From what Cicada could tell, the room seemed like some sort of recreation room or gathering room. Connected to it was a room that was slightly smaller. The chandelier type lights in there suggested a dining room. The fact was proven more after seeing that it was next to a kitchen and pantry room.
After taking a quick look at all the rooms on the ground floor again, the queen went up the stairs to look at the rooms there. On that floor there were rooms for three bedrooms, a bathroom, and even an extra room for an office.
Cicada came back downstairs where the girls were looking around. “I was right that it seemed big. There are three bedrooms upstairs.”
“Does that mean we can have a sleep over?” Pinkie asked. “Ooo! Or maybe if you figure out how to get back to your home and also how to come back here again, you and your sister can live in here together!”
“First I want to focus on actually getting furniture in this house.” Cicada pointed out.
“Well, If you wish, you could come with each of us to find what you need for your temporary home.” Rarity suggested.
“I guess that can work. Who should I go with first?”
“Ooo! Ooo! Pick me! PICK ME!” Pinkie yelled out.
“Okay fine let’s go.” The changeling agreed.
“I call finding all of the kitchen stuff!” The pink mare said before dragging Cicada away to go shopping.
“So ah guess we just wait ‘til the two of them come back?” Applejack asked to nopony in particular.
“I guess so.” Fluttershy answered.
It didn’t take long for Pinkie to find a store that sold kitchen appliances. Inside were enough stoves and refrigerators to fit hundreds of styles of houses. For each style, there was also a matching set of other appliances.
“So, what kind of kitchen do you want? Do you want something with lots of hearts? Or how about one that looks like it’s made of clouds? Or what about one that is made with clouds! You can touch clouds, right?”
Cicada had barely known this Pinkie for a day and already she was getting annoyed by her.
“Look, I don’t need anything too fancy. I’m only going to be staying in that house until I figure out a way back home. And I’m not sure if I’ll ever find a way back. I don’t want to get anything fancy if I’m barely going to use it.”
“Oh come on!” Pinkie whined. “You still should have something nice. Liiiike… we could get something in your favorite colors.”
Cicada thought for a second before answering. “Well, I guess we cou-”
“Great! So what colors do you like?” Blue? Pink? Chartreuse?” Pinkie asked, somehow dragging them to a stove for each color almost instantly.
“Well, I do like purple and green…”
With that Pinkie zoomed off into the store. In a few moments, she reappeared behind Cicada, scaring her.
“So they have plum and emerald, or lavender and spring green! Which do you want?”
When the queen recovered from her shock she asked Pinkie to repeat the question. Cicada eventually chose the second choice, which followed by her being dragged all over the store to look and all the various appliances that went along with the color choice Cicada made.
Eventually, the two of them finished up in the store, and left with a stove, refrigerator, blender, plates, silverware, pots, glasses, and even a set of kitchen knives.
“Maybe we should have gotten more than that.” Pinkie said as they left. “I mean, you need more stuff than that if you want to make a cake.”
“I think we were pushing it what we got that blender thing. I mean, I don’t think I really need something like that.”
“Oh don’t be silly!” Pinkie replied. “Once you’ve had a smoothie you be glad we got it. Now come on! We need to get everything back to your house so then you can go out with everypony else!”
After getting back with Pinkie, Cicada started to furnish the kitchen before she was dragged out by Applejack to get furniture for the dining room, followed by Rarity for the bedrooms, Fluttershy for the office, and even with Rainbowdash for the family room after being persuaded.
“Alright! I think this will work for your home!” Twilight said as the last items were put in their places. “Anything else that’s left to do?”
“Well, Celestia told me that the library you used to live in was nearby and I might be able to use it. Though she did also say a friend of yours was staying there now.”
“Oh! That would be Moon Dancer. I gave it to her as an apology for not being the best of friends back when I lived there. Just remember you might want to get your disguise on before we get there, she might possibly panic if she suddenly sees a changeling.”
Cicada nodded her head, but before she could disguise herself as Fireworks, she was startled by a voice she didn’t recognise.
“Oh, how sweet! Have you decided to help reform another villain? Let me guess, next you’re going to bring the old stair lover back to make him nice too.”
Cicada whipped her head around to see one of the oddest creatures she’d ever witnessed before. I looked like someone had jumbled together at least ten animals together to make just one.
Twilight sighed. “Hello Discord. Mind telling us why you came to find us?”
“Oh I heard sunbutt herself say that you girls were helping a changeling queen and I wanted to see if you were trying to reform Chryssi. I also found this little guy flying around and wondered if any of you knew who it was.”
Discord pulled a very large bird cage from out of his ear. Inside was Lila, who upon seeing Cicada, tried desperately to get out. Almost immediately after that, the changeling charged a spell to blast at Discord.
“Now, something tells me you still need to work on her friendship skills.” Discord said as he wet his claws and put out Cicada’s horn like it was a small candle flame.
“Can you just let Lila out of there!” The queen slightly growled.
That caught Discord’s attention. “Oh, so this bird is yours. Well, you should work on keeping track of her.”
Fluttershy walked up to the draconequus. “Discord, can you please just give Lila back to her? She’s only been here two days and she’s already had it rough.”
He rolled his eyes before saying “Oh fine.” to which he raised up the birdcage in his hands… and proceeded to crush it.
Cicada’s eyes almost bulged as she watched the cage crumple in front of her. As it was crushed into a ball, a few blue feathers flew from the remains. To make it even worse, Discord threw it in the air, and when it came back down, he was dressed as a baseball player and hit the metal ball over the buildings with a foot long.
The queen felt like she was about to tackle Discord before he reached into her mane and brought out Lila unscathed. “Oh my Faust! I thought he killed you! You don’t know how worried I was! I mean, I know phoenixes can regenerate from their ashes, but after something like that, I wasn’t sure.”
“What? No applause for my performance?”
“You scared me half to death!” Cicada yelled at him. “Who exactly are you anyway?”
This time, Twilight was shocked. “Wait, you don’t know Discord? Or even someone like him?”
“No, I don’t. If I did, I probably wouldn’t have freaked out there.”
“Well why would you have gone and asked her a question like that?” Discord asked the alicorn. “Since I mistook her as Chryssi, why would you think we already knew each other?
“That’s because Cicada’s from another version of Equestria! One where changelings are good and ponies are bad.” Pinkie explained. “If she doesn’t know you, there might not be a you where she’s from. Wouldn’t that be sad?”
“I don’t think so.” Cicada answered, but it does mean that something different in my Equestria’s history must have made it so he doesn’t exist or something. Can we just get to meeting Moon Dancer so I can start to find out what?”
Discord started to float before making a couch out of pink clouds to lay down in. “Fine, I’ll go so you can do what you need to. Just know that I might come in to visit you.”
“Wonderful.” Cicada said sarcastically as he and his couch poofed away. “Remind me to find a way to keep him away from me.”
“Ah don’t think ya can.” Applejack told her. “Ya just have ta deal with him when he does decide ta show up.”
“Great… Let’s just go.” Cicada finished, before following Twilight and Spike again toward Moon Dancer’s.