Black Clouds & Silver Lining

by Lucky Seven

Truth & Reconciliation Suite

Black Clouds & Silver Lining

Truth & Reconciliation Suite

Written by HarimeNui777

Regal, yet modest. That was how Tenna viewed the interior of Canterlot Castle, a place she had been called to over a week ago. It was only now that she could make the trip, finally having gotten a break from moving into her new home. She had made plenty of friends during her time in Ponyville, but this was the biggest challenge she had faced. The first changeling to enter Canterlot since… that day.

It was both an honor and a curse. Some ponies had openly welcomed her, but most of the citizens of Canterlot had taunted her upon her arrival, and it was only with the help of Celestia’s royal guard that she had made it to the castle unharmed. Even now, they surrounded her almost entirely as she walked through the castle and towards the throne room. On the way there, she couldn’t help but look at all the pictures around her. Murals of past battles won by Equestria. Indeed, it seemed as if the kingdom would never fall.

She was jerked from her thoughts, though, as two large doors in front of her were opened by the guards. As she passed through them, the lead guard spoke up. “Princess, she’s here, just as you requested.”

“Thank you, you may go,” came a very regal, yet welcoming voice. Tenna couldn’t yet see the source of it, but it was obviously Princess Celestia. She had never seen the princess in person, not even a picture of her. As the guards around her began to leave the room, she finally saw the Sun Princess for the first time. Surprisingly, it didn’t overwhelm her. Apart from her size, she looked almost like any other pony Tenna had met. Well, aside from the fact that she had wings and a horn. Big ones, at that.

“Do I have something on my face?” The question broke Tenna out of her staring session, and she blushed.

“S-sorry, I’ve just never seen you before.”

“Do you know why I’ve called you here?” Celestia asked, to which Tenna shook her head. She had no clue, only a letter from Twilight telling her to go to Canterlot as soon as she could and meet the princess. “Well, we have very important matters to discuss. As you know, you’re the first changeling to stop hoof in Canterlot in almost three years.”

“I-I know. The ponies out there weren’t very… welcoming.”

“I’m sure you understand why, though,” Celestia said, to which Tenna nodded. “Your kind has caused much pain for ponies for as long as I’ve been alive. Do you have any idea how long that is?”

“I… have no idea. Twilight told me you’re immortal, but she never told me how old you are. I guess she didn’t know,” Tenna guessed, to which Celestia nodded.

“I myself can hardly remember when I came into this world. Discord is the only one that does, but he won’t say,” Celestia explained before getting to the topic at hand. “Here’s the deal. My sister and I are very happy that you’ve found a place that’s accepting of you. However, we think it would be best if you leave. At least, for the time being.”

At that, Tenna felt heartbroken. She had lived in Ponyville for almost a year, so what caused them to suddenly want her gone? As if reading her mind, Celestia answered her question.

“It’s not that we want you to. You have to.”

“But… why?” Tenna was curious now. Were there threats against her, or even worse, against Equestria for letting her stay?

“A couple of months after your arrival in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle sent me a letter. She had done some research with you, does that sound familiar?”

“She wanted me to change in front of her,” Tenna recalled, Celestia nodding in response.

“That research was commanded by my sister and I. We wanted to see what made changelings tick, in case they ever decided to attack again.” At this point, Tenna was about to speak up, but Celestia rose her hoof up, beckoning for her to remain silent. “However, during this research, Twilight found out something… interesting about you.”

“Huh?”

“Haven’t you ever wondered why you look so different from other changelings, Tenna? Why you have a gender?”

“No,” Tenna shook her head, “My mom just told me I was special when I asked.”

“She wasn’t wrong, Tenna. Most changelings have no gender, no hair, and a much less jagged horn than your own. There’s only one kind of changeling that possesses those three traits.”

Tenna simply waited for Celestia to continue, remaining quiet the whole time. The only noise to be heard was her breathing, which had a very slight buzz to it.

“A queen.”

“A QUEEN?!” Tenna yelled out, her breathing suddenly becoming much heavier. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN I’M A QUEEN?!”

“Tenna, please stay calm, and I promise to explain.”

Doing her best to listen to the princess, Tenna’s breathing began to calm down a bit, but not much. “Just tell me!”

“Very well, but I can’t promise what I’m going to say won’t upset you. The truth is this. You were never ‘banished’, as your ‘parents’ claimed.” Celestia supposed she could tell Tenna about the ones she knew as her mother and father, but that could wait until another time. “You were left for dead.”

“Wh...what? I was left for d-dead?” Tenna was shocked. How could Celestia even know what had happened, and why wait until now to tell her? Once again, it seemed that her mind has been read.

“Discord is the one who informed us of this. When he was imprisoned, he could see and hear all of Equestria through his mind,” she quickly explained before continuing the story. “You see, when you were born, some of Chrysalis’ more… radical followers were worried that you would attempt to steal her throne. In an effort to keep that from happening, you were thrown out of the hive as a pupa.”

“How did I… survive?” Tenna asked, now more curious than shocked.

“You were found by two changelings who had also been thrown out of the hive. They took you in, introduced you to their ‘son’, and welcomed you as part of the family.”

“So… they weren’t my real parents?”

“They were as close to parents as you can be without being related by blood,” Celestia complimented them, making Tenna smile slightly. “If not for them, you surely would have perished. They did their best to care for you, and for that, they have our eternal thanks.”

“But… what’s so important about me? Even if I am a queen, I’m nothing special.”

“Not yet,” Celestia stating, causing Tenna to raise an eyebrow. “But someone has agreed to teach you everything you need to know about ruling a nation and unlocking your full potential as a queen.”

“W-who?”

“Hello!” a new voice yelled out, causing Tenna to turn around and look at the source. “You must be Tenna.”

“A-and you’re…” Tenna had seen pictures of him before, heard all of the stories about him.

“Discord. Hello, Queen Tenna, I’m going to be your teacher.”

Author's Note:

So we've finally reached the end of this story, setting it up for a sequel that will be released as soon as I finish the first 'book' of it, if you will. That, and get set to apply for my new college, where I'll be majoring in Creative Writing for Fine Arts, in which I will be getting a Masters.

So yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed the story, and I hope you're still around when I release the sequel~

Comments

[Luna Secret Stallion]

Whoa didn't see that one coming. I mean the Discord thing not the queen thing.

[Listener]

Whelp. I certainly didn't see that one coming. Nicely done~

I eagerly await the next book~

[Morphy]

Discord? Really? I was half expecting Chrysalis to step out and cheerfully wave a hoof...

My first reaction is to say this will not end well for anyone. But if he's truly reformed then maybe... just maybe he will actually teach her how to be a Queen. I also fully expect her to gain a rather playfully precocious trait from Discord. The Princesses will no doubt keep tabs on her progress, even if it's merely indication that she's still alive.

Still, two changeling queens? Sounds like a recipe for civil war to me and ponies stuck squarely in the middle of what could be rather messy.

[Ice Star]

I'd certainly like to see more of Tenna in that much-mentioned second book. She's a little cutie and Discord as a teacher promises to be interesting.