[Blazing's Entry]
I used to think Canterlot had the best guards in Equestria but that was before I saw what competence of a real army is like. I guess the mirror world really did teach me something. I don't want to be too hard on 'my' group of recruits but whatever they try to show me seems too inadequate. I'll have to ask somepony up the ranks to hire experienced soldiers to show the newbies what real combat is like.
I began to think about it after Chokey asked me what I would do in case there was another place where the mirror world and this one could connect again. I didn't have an answer but things couldn't be that bad, or could they? I mean Scream shouldn't be supporting Sombra anymore unless both Void and I missed something really crucial. Sombra himself should be severely weakened or maybe dead after he lost his connection with corrupted Crystal Heart and even if he recovered then his influence on the mind of ponies in mirror Equestria should be gone.
On top of that, mirror Twilight wasn't discovered as a traitor and should be supporting other Elements in their efforts to take away Sombra's control. I don't want to underestimate the crystal king because he was smart enough to have conquered the world once already but things are looking up.
Perhaps it might be a good idea to let things go for a while. I have a marefriend now (a real one, not a fetish-y one or one overdosed on changeling venom or mind controlled by Nightmare Moon and prepared to have eggs laid in her) and I should try to make her happy. I have a chance here to get back some sort of life and while there will doubtlessly be hiccups I should follow the road I worked so hard to get (or be given by random series of circumstances).
First things first, as the wise ones would say. I have to somehow persuade the princesses that ten changelings who know nothing other than that ponies make a good eating are absolutely fine to keep around.
That might require a stroke of luck.
[End Entry]
The group of Nightmares who bow when I enter the Canterlot castle throne room makes me smile. They are sitting in front of the throne, talking to one another while the noticeably bigger group of guards surrounding them reeks of nervousness and worry. To be honest, I'm worried as well but the sapphire blue eyes of my daughter which almost seem to glow and her shushing the other Nightmares give me hope that these guys really aren't just some feral abominations.
The guards make way for the four princesses, me and Chokey who refused to leave my side. She thinks I don't know it was because she hates paperwork and this looked way more interesting. To be frank, I don't care about the reason as long as she's here.
For few moments, the hoofsteps and the clicking of my steel claws on the stone floor are the only sounds in the huge hall and then princess Celestia speaks up.
"Who is your leader?" she asks my daughter, the only changeling who doesn't look like a bigger changeling drone.
Their eyes dart between me and and my daughter who keeps looking at me apprehensively. I point at her.
"I am," she says, turning to Celestia.
"Alright. How shall I call you?"
"Eeerm, changelings?"
"I meant you."
"Changeling?" her look asks me silently for help.
"The princess wants to know your name," I take my place by her side and put a hoof on her shoulder. Touching the chitin of another changeling feels weird, maybe because I've done it only few times before.
"Name? The thing ponies have assigned?"
I grin.
"Names aren't assigned but given to ponies by their... parents," I drift off, suddenly seeing the problem.
"We've never needed them. We know who each one of us is. Is it bad?" she asks and the worried eyes of ten creatures capable of wiping out the entire combat force of the castle make me scratch my head.
"Why don't ya name your little thing?" interrupts Chokey and I've never been happier that the princesses aren't too keen on schedule and protocol.
"I don't think I can some up with ten names on the spot."
"Well then how about naming just the young queen? We might need to distinguish between her and Chrysalis and calling her the queen of Nightmares might put ponies off when talking about her."
Big Blueeyes?
No.
Sharpteeth Neckbiter?
What?
Brainsucker Longtongue?
You could at least try to be helpful.
What about a family name then?
Not a bad idea. Dad's gonna kill me if he somehow finds out that he's got a changeling in the family.
Point being?
Nothing. Let's do it.
"Eeeh. I could give you a name then. Are you okay with it?" I ask the horrible evil and terrifying queen of Nightmares. Ehm yeah, totally so. Not the smaller and incredibly cute queen Chrysalis who is looking at me like a filly getting a birthday present.
She nods so fast I'm worried she might get a neck cramp. I order my two brain cells to rub together and start a fire.
"Sooo. Since you led your guys through time and space and took good care of them apparently I will call you Guiding Light, young one," I borrow an expression from Void's vocabulary.
Guiding Light seems to be processing it for a while and then turns to Celestia.
"My name is Guiding Light and I lead the rest of what everypony in my world used to call Nightmare changelings or Nightmares for short."
Few of the guards gasp and grip their weapons tighter but princess Celestia seems calm, princess Twilight isn't even trying to hide her curiosity, princess Cadence is smiling and it's only princess Luna who looks nervous for obvious reasons. She might be socially inept but her intelligence and quick thinking could never be questioned.
Celestia just nods.
"Before I decide where I stand in matters concerning you and your companions I want to know what your goal here in Equestria is."
Guiding Light looks at me and I understand her concern. I have no doubts that Nightmares were enemies to the entire world and that the story will get out because the guards around us will talk eventually.
"Don't hide a single detail," I tell her.
So the story begins. My involvement in their creation, the conquest of the world and finally the demise of everything.
"-and since I was one born from the first clutch of Nightmares I had the opportunity to examine ponies on my own while helping apprentice Trixie. She taught me to read and use some magic which I needed to work out the travelling spell. Every jump hurt a lot because the spell wasn't made for us but we had my dad's blood flowing in us so despite some drawbacks the spell worked, we just needed to rest and feed after each jump."
"Which is where my concerns come in," interrupts Celestia, "Your feeding threatens my dear subjects."
When the ensuing silence keeps stretching it's obvious neither of the sides have an idea how to solve this. Time to take a wild guess.
"Princess Luna, can you help in this case?" I ask.
"What do you mean?"
"I know this will sound weird but when I was jumping through dimensions there were times when I had to do something for you or princess Twilight and you let me feed on prisoners. There are only few changelings here and it might be possible for them to sustain themselves on ambient worries of ponies walking around but in case that doesn't work is there a possibility for their feeding from prisoners if they promise not to cause damage?"
"We still don't know whether we can trust either you or them."
"Oh," I deflate.
"May I propose an experiment?" asks Twilight.
"Of course, my faithful student," Celestia looks at her curiously.
"They are still changelings, princess, which means there might be a possibility of them feeding, or at least sustaining themselves, on love. To explore that possibility I'd like to send one of them with princess Cadence to the Crystal Empire if she agrees-"
Cadence nods immediately.
"-Then I'd like to keep one of them as my research assistant in Ponyville. With the Elements around he should pose no threat and I might find out something useful. That might also answer the question of being able to feed on ambient fear because ponies would inevitably be afraid of him at first. Finally I think it might be a good idea to let one of them pair up with somepony from Royal Guard. That might show us how ponies would react during close encounters and maybe help us because I heard the Nightmares are excellent fighters."
"I agree," begins Celestia, "but I have several demands. Queen Guiding Light will stay here in Canterlot castle for the time being. She will also have sessions with my sister about the whole Nightmare Moon problem. Next - I want one of your changelings by my side as well. Last thing but the most important - your subjects will obey any and all requests from their caretakers. Do you agree with my terms, queen Guiding Light?"
For some reason, all gazes lock on me instead of her. Oh great, hers locks on me as well.
"Just don't harm them. They've been through a lot and it seems they are deciding to take their chance at being good. Without anypony teaching them to," I comment.
"Some things are in the blood," Chokey slaps my backside.
"I agree," nods Guiding Light and I run my hoof through her mane.
"Good," nods Celestia to acknowledge the agreement and then turns to me and Chokey, "Princess Cadence wanted to see the two of you and since we've come to some understanding here I won't keep you here more than necessary. Don't worry about your family, mister Light, we will just ask some questions before Twilight here tries to hook one of them up to her machines and find out EVERYTHING about them. You are free to leave."
We exit the throne room with me feeling much better. I'm glad none of the princesses wanted to deal with the possible threat outright. Speaking of princesses...
"What did you want from us, princess?" asks Chokey.
"You might not know it but there are changelings in the Crystal Empire who are members of the Crystal Guard and upstanding members of society. I had them tell stories about how they survived the invasion and it turned out-"
"-that a lot of them were just drafted and forced to obey the queen. Yes, we know. We helped princess Luna save a lot of them after the attack on Canterlot," I finish her thought.
"Exactly. That's why I vouched for an attempt to save your group. I need something from both of now though. You know I can't sense lies like Luna can but I want you to be straight with me. It's personal but very important."
"Okay."
"I want to know your every reason for killing Blazing Light from this Equestria. I need to know everything and most of all I need miss Darkness here to know everything. Then I need to know her reasons for forgiving you, in case she can still do that after you tell us everything."
"But why?"
"I'd like to have a perspective of what my husband might feel when I tell him something."
"What?"
"That I want him to forgive queen Chrysalis and offer her peace between changeling swarm and Equestria."