• Published 21st Sep 2014
  • 2,353 Views, 128 Comments

The Changelings Have a King - Jade Ring



An old enemy's thirst for vengeance gives rise to a new threat...and kick-starts a chain of events that will change Equestria forever.

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Chapter 1: The Scroll

Years Later

"To meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Professor Crescendo clapped his hooves together in approval as the last note rang about the one room school-house's walls and faded away to nothingness. “Well done, Amber Waves. Well done indeed.”

The filly smiled as she bowed deeply. “Thank you, professor.”

“Hmm?”

“I, uh, mean… thank you, magister.”

Crescendo smiled. “You’re quite welcome.” He checked the clock on the school-house’s wall. “I think that’s enough for today. Unless Miss Cheerilee has anything for you?”

Cheerilee looked up from the assignments she was grading and offered a smile of her own. “Nothing from me. You sang very well today, Amber Waves.”

"Thank you, Miss Cheerilee."

Crescendo nodded at pointed at the door. “That's all then. See you next week.” After the filly had skipped merrily out the door, Crescendo shook his head and smiled at Ponyville’s school-teacher. “I don’t know why you allow me to teach in here. Amber Waves has a lovely singing voice, but surely you must get tired of hearing the same musical exercises over and over again.”

Cheerilee shrugged. “It’s nice having music to pass the time, even if it's just exercises. And I’m thrilled to finally share this school with another teacher for once.”

Crescendo peered down at the papers scattered across her desk. “Ah, Algebra. Need some help?”

Cheerilee waved him off. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll manage.” Her eyes crossed at a particularly ridiculous answer to a relatively simple problem and she sighed. “On second thought, maybe I could use a little help for once.” She started as the papers levitated and stacked themselves neatly in mid-air.

Crescendo winked, his horn lit with magic. “To the park, then. I always grade better in the fresh air.”

Cheerilee laughed and set about gathering her things.

“Judging by that girlish giggle, I do hope we’re not interrupting anything.”

The two teachers turned to find Rarity standing in the doorway, Spike by her side. “Off to play teacher’s pet, Crescendo?” the dragon waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Crescendo and Cheerilee glanced at each other and looked away hurriedly. “Nothing of the sort.” Crescendo huffed. “Just two teachers going to grade some papers... at the park.”

Rarity stuck her tongue out. “If that’s your idea of a first date…”

“Rarity.” Spike tapped her shoulder. “We came here for a reason.”

Rarity nodded and, giving one last smirk at the still blushing instructors, levitated a slightly burned scroll from her saddlebag. “This arrived for you a few minutes ago, courtesy of Dragon Breath Deliveries.”

“It’s not for Princess Twilight?”

Spike shook his head. “Princess Celestia’s letters have a certain taste. This one tastes like one of Twilight’s portable transportation spells she gave out to a few ponies for Hearth’s Warming. Somepony sent this to you, and I must’ve gotten caught in the transfer.”

"Portable transportation spells, eh?" Crescendo smiled as his magic plucked the scroll from the air. “I think I know who that’s from!”

“We figured as much, especially when we saw it was written in ancient unicorn.”

Crescendo unrolled the paper and read it as best he could. “Most of its been burned away. What remains… this is an old dialect. And it’s coded.” His eyes flashed with recognition. “Luckily, I recognize this code. Oh, Daring; what did you find…?” He froze as he reached a phrase on the paper.

“Darling, are you alright?”

Crescendo looked at her, his smile gone. “Is Princess Twilight at home?”

The dragon and the unicorn nodded.

“Good.” He looked back at Cheerilee, now packed and ready to go. “Do you mind if we take a quick detour?”

She shrugged. “Why not?”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////

Applejack had known from the beginning where she would find her marefriend. She liked to pretend she didn’t, went through the motions of looking elsewhere. She checked the clouds where she might be napping. She sent Flitter to check out her apartment in Cloudsdale.

But, no; she was right where she always was on the second day of April these past couple years.

She snorted in irritation as she entered the bar on the first floor of the Ponyville Hotel and spied Rainbow Dash putting down another shot of hard cider and motioning for a refill.

Once the glass was full again, she raised it in the face of the very drunk earth pony sitting next to her. “What’sh this one to?”

Caramel hiccupped and held his own glass in unsteady hooves. “What wash the last one to?”

“Abshent friends.”

“Ah.” He burped loudly. “Then… to the forgotten.”

“The forgotten.” Rainbow Dash repeated. The two ponies drained their glasses and motioned for another round.

“I think you’ve had enough, sugarcube.”

Without turning from the bar, Dash grinned an inebriated grin. "There'sh my sexy little apple-tart. Took you long enough to find me. Join ush for a round?"

"I said; I think you've had enough."

Rainbow Dash turned and glared at the mare she loved. “I’ll be the judge of that. Eshpecially today.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and tapped the cyan Pegasus on her chest.

The effect was immediate. Dash wobbled left, right, backwards, and finally tumbled forwards onto the waiting back of the farmer. “That’sh cheating…” Dash slurred.

Applejack ignored her and looked instead to her cousin. “And you. Do ya really think yer wife would want you here? Why aintcha out in Appleoosa?”

“Got time off.” Caramel muttered, sipping his refilled drink. He fiddled with a book of matches bearing the logo of the hotel. "Shtill in mournin.'"

Applejack shook her head and looked to the barkeep. “Send him my way when he falls over, Tap. I’ll put him in the guest room again.” Just like last year, she thought.

Tapper gave a little salute before continuing his important work of wiping the counter.

Satisfied, Applejack hefted Rainbow Dash’s dead-weight onto a stronger part of her back and started outside.

"See you next year, Cara... Cara... Callumbear!" Dash called back as they exited the building. She recoiled from the sunlight and hid her face in Applejack’s fur. “When doesh this day stop sucking sho much?”

“When you to let her go.”

“She wash my besht friend. Hard to let that go, honey.”

"I lost my parents, but I learned to let them go. I lost Granny Smith, and I learned to let her go.It's hard, but it's what we have to do so we can keep livin.'"

"It's not fair..." Dash pouted.

Applejack sighed and headed down the road to Sweet Apple Acres. “Yer right, it's not. But it's life." She paused and stretched back to give her love a nuzzle. "We all miss Pinkie Pie, darlin.' Every one of us. But she wouldn’t want us to mourn her forever, would she?” A thought occurred to her. “Do ya recall what her tombstone says?”

Dash frowned. “Yes… but can we go by there anyway?”

"Will it make ya feel better?"

"Maybe."

With a small nod, Applejack adjusted her path for one that would lead them to Ponyville Cemetery. "That's all I can ask for, sugarcube. That's all I can ask for."

////////////////////////////////////////////////

“This isn’t a small thing you’re asking for, Fluttershy.” Princess Twilight Sparkle sipped her tea and looked seriously at the technical matriarch of the Apple Family. “Even if I was willing to perform the spell, it could easily backfire and kill you.”

Fluttershy Apple flinched at the idea. “I know, Twilight, I know. But I’m desperate. You know Macintosh has always wanted a big family…”

“Has he said anything?”

"Said anything about what?"

"About you not getting pregnant again."

“Well, no…”

“And has he ever previously implied anything negative about the idea of you not being able to have more foals ever again?”

“We don’t talk about it…”

Twilight held up a hoof. “I'll rephrase then. Does Mac really seem like the kind of stallion who would leave you just because another mare was more fertile?”

“Fertility isn’t the issue.” Fluttershy’s bold tone surprised even her. “It’s me. This keeps happening because of me. It was my body that gave birth to Scarlet too early, It was my body that... that lost the second foal…”

“You know that wasn’t your fault…”

“It was my fault!” Fluttershy’s body was shaking. “I wasn’t strong enough for Scarlet, for… for…” the Pegasus finally became overwhelmed and collapsed, sobbing into the cloth of Twilight’s dinner table.

Twilight set down her tea and came to her friend’s side. “Its okay, Fluttershy. It’s okay. I’ll… I’ll try and figure something out.”

Fluttershy looked at her with tear-stained eyes. “You’ll cast the spell?”

Twilight hesitated. The spell that Fluttershy spoke of was ancient, dating back to the old unicorn tribes. Its intended purpose was to ensure that only unicorns were born in the tribe, so magic was used to strengthen the potential mother’s body in preparation for the follow-up spell; magical genetic manipulation.

Results had always been… mixed.

“I need to talk to Princess Celestia about it. Maybe there’s something else we could do.” She said finally.

Fluttershy grasped her in a tight bear hug. “Thank you, Twilight. Thank you so much.”

Twilight smiled and pushed her friend away. “Until I find out, don’t mention this to anypony. Not even Mac.”

“Ahem.”

Startled, the two ponies found Crescendo and Cheerilee looking in from the window.

“Uh… how much of that did you hear?”

Crescendo put on a disinterested expression. “Nothing at all of interest. You, Cheerilee?”

A look passed over the teacher’s face that looked something like triumph before she too shook her head. “Nothing at all.”

Fluttershy exhaled in relief and made for the door. “I’d better go. Applebloom loves Scarlet dearly, but even she can only handle her for so long.”

After the pegasus had taken wing, Cheerilee looked at Crescendo. “Rain check on those papers? I need to go talk to somepony. I just remembered and it's very important.”

Crescendo nodded.

Minutes passed and soon the alicorn and the unicorn were alone in Twilight’s kitchen. “Tea?”

“No thank you.” Crescendo held the burned scroll aloft. “I came because of this, your majesty.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Just use my name, Crescendo. We’re all friends here.”

Crescendo tried to chuckle but found he couldn’t remember how to. “Twilight, then. Twilight, you must get this to Princess Celestia at once.”

Twilight took the scroll and examined it. “Why?”

Crescendo looked down and was not surprised in the least to find that his back legs were trembling. “I believe that you are holding the last secret of Starswirl the Bearded.” He stared at the scroll with terror in his heart. “You are aware of the twin prophecies of Clover the Clever, I assume?"

Twilight thought back to her lessons with Brother Veritas in the Archives of Truth, deep in Canterlot Castle's depths. "If I remember correctly, the first was during the winter that nearly wiped out the three tribes. She prophesied the arrival of Celestia and Luna. The other was on her death-bed, and concerned a great war."

"Quite correct, but it was long rumored that Clover the Clever made one final prophecy, uttered with her last breath. Only Starswirl heard it.”

Twilight nodded. “I’ve heard the legends. If this is the prophecy, why are you so frightened by it?”

Crescendo steadied himself and looked straight into Twilight’s eyes. “From what I can read on that paper, Twilight, it would seem that Clover used her last breath to warn us all of what will signal the beginning of the end.”

“The end of what?”

“Of everything.”