“So their plan was to be captured and then replace the army in the desert?” Cadence asked.
Shining Armor nodded from his comfortable position on Cadence’s stomach. What with debriefing and processing and other guard duties, this was their first real conversation in almost three days, and he was enjoying this immensely. “It would appear so, from what Bruch told us. Had Bruch not come of his own free will, she would have sent somepony to ‘warn’ us.”
Cadence stared off into space in horror. “That might have worked flawlessly… How do you know they won't still try it?”
“Bruch said that the queen's plan died with her. After that last attempt, not many changelings were keen on attacking Canterlot again, anyway. Especially with how weak they all were. That part wasn’t entirely acting. I can't count how many dead changelings there were. Some were little, too. Like, changeling foals or something.” He shivered. Enemies of the state or no, that was just wrong.
“I haven’t seen any around,” Cadence said, hesitantly looking around as though half-expecting that she might see a changeling pop out from inside her wardrobe. “Are they all in the dungeons?” She paused. “Do they even have dungeons here?”
Shining grinned. “Yeah, but they’re small and not really well-kept. There wasn’t nearly enough room for all of them, so we stuck them all in the crystal caverns under the castle. I’ve got multiple guards posted round-the-clock on all the known entrances and on patrol with rotating passwords in case the bugs try to replace a guard; but as far as we can tell, they’ve been pretty peaceful.” He exhaled through his nose. “For now, anyway.”
Cadence shuddered and buried her head even deeper into his mane. She still had nightmares about that place. “That's good, because that could have been disastrous.”
“Could’ve been, but Chrysalis got greedy and took a chance and lashed out at Twilight.” Shining grinned. “And you know what tends to happen to things that try and hurt Twilight. Remember her fifth birthday?”
Cadence grimaced. “It was supposed to be a little prank!” she said, one hoof drifting back to her side as if remembering an old scar. Which, incidentally, she was.
“Yeah, but filly Twily didn't know that at the time.”
“Where is Twilight, anyway?” Cadence looked around, as if hoping Twilight would also appear somehow.
“Hospital wing. We found her unconscious in this big room next to the dead queen, down the hall from the two guards who were following her. They’re fine, aside from a few cuts and bruises, but she hasn’t woken up yet.”
Cadence couldn’t help but wonder why he was here cuddling with her and not there with his sister. “So why are yo-?”
Shining cut her off. “The room is cramped so we have to take turns watching her, and it's not my turn.” His voice was bitter. It was readily apparent that this visitor rotation thing had not been his idea, and he clearly wanted to be there by his sister's side the whole time.
“How many ponies are there?" Cadence asked. “I thought it was just her five friends and Spike.”
“And mom and dad,” Shining added, “yeah. But they aren't the only ones in the room.”
* * *
They say that the first sense to recover is hearing, and that's true. Maybe it is a vestigial instinct, letting ponies know that if there is a predator still around, continuing to play dead might be a viable option.
Twilight, however, had no intention of playing dead; so when her hearing returned and she heard voices, she decided that she was among friends. Painfully, she opened her eyes and looked over to the left, from whence she had heard the most noise.
To her astonishment, it was a changeling's unblinking blue eyes that met with hers.
Twilight let out a perfectly understandable and perfectly princessy yelp of surprise.
“So sorry, your majesty,” the changeling said, bowing his head and taking a step back in respect.
“Twilight!”
She turned to see Rarity standing there on her left, looking elated. She turned to the door and called, “She's awake!”
Instantly, the remainder of her friends piled into the tiny room. They couldn't have appeared faster even if they had teleported. Twilight couldn’t restrain a smile at seeing their worried faces. “Hey, girls!” she said, lifting a foreleg so Spike could give her the hug he obviously wanted to. “It’s great to see all of you!”
Her friends neared hesitantly, not wanting to rush her. Most did, that is. Pinkie Pie, however, hopped right up on her bed. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re awake!! You’ve been out for almost a whole week and we kindof thought you’d never wake up again and we’re so happy you did and I would have loved to throw you a party but my concealed weapons permit expired and so I couldn’t bring my party cannon but I managed to sneak in a cupcake or two for you but then I ate them and the doctor-”
“I think she gets it, Pinkie,” Applejack said, laying a restraining hoof on her shoulder. Pinkie good-naturedly hopped down off the bed, but she still wore a huge smile. Spike looked around sheepishly and jumped down too.
“Concealed weapons permit?” one changeling muttered to the changeling next to him.
His neighbor shrugged and said “Mm-mm-mmm,” to the cadence of 'I don't know'.
This conversation was ignored. “I'm so happy to see all of you,” Twilight said. “Even you, Pinkie.”
Pinkie grinned widely.
Twilight looked around and her eyes fell on the group of changelings. Some stood on the ground, some stood on the wall, and a few even remained on the ceiling. All stood quietly and respectfully, heads bowed, as if waiting for her to speak.
“What's with the changelings?” Twilight asked, looking back at her friends. “And why aren't you freaking out that they're here?” Subconsciously, she brought a hoof up to the evidence of the last contact she’d had with the changelings, the bite Chrysalis had given her. To her surprise, her flesh felt smooth, without even a scar or bumps. No indication remained of the bite she’d received. She frowned, but dropped her hoof and looked to her friends for their answer.
Rainbow snorted. “They've been floating around since they brought you back. It's weird. And they seem to really like Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie Pie looked up from patting a changeling on the head and winked. The changeling had his ears back and his forked tongue lolling out of his mouth, looking a bit like a happy puppy. Twilight wasn’t sure how to take this, and so she nodded hesitantly.
Spike nodded. “The guards freaked out at first and tried to take them back down, but they kept showing up and finally they gave up. They've been fairly peaceful. I think.”
“Pinkie tried throwing them a little party,” Rainbow Dash added. “They don't seem to like cupcakes, but they like her jokes. Even the one where a pegasus, the princess, and a griffon walk into a bar.”
Twilight nodded hesitantly. “Ok, but that doesn’t really explain why they’re here, though.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “They just wouldn't leave. They seem to love you or something.”
“I know I do,” one of the changelings spoke up, causing Twilight to raise an eyebrow and shift away ever so slightly. Another changeling gave him a look and cuffed the speaker upside the head, and the first managed to look somewhat sheepish.
“And they’re always spouting things off in that gibberish language of theirs,” Rainbow added, crossing her forelegs in annoyance.
The first changeling frowned and crossed his forelegs defiantly right back. “It is not gibberish,” he protested.
“Whatever it is,” Twilight said, trying to regain control of the room, “I'm just glad to be back.”
“If I may interrupt the reunion?”
All looked up and saw Celestia standing in the doorway. The ponies all bowed. The changelings, however, did not.
If Celestia was offended, she didn’t show it. “I would like a word with Twilight in private, if that's all right?”
“Oh, of course,” Rarity said politely, and the rest quickly agreed and followed her out.
The changelings didn't move.
Celestia's eyes narrowed.
That simple action was enough; the changelings scattered in a flurry of chitin and fluttering wings.
There in the empty room, there was a brief moment of silence before Celestia spoke. “Do you realize what you've done?” she asked quietly. “By sparing the changelings, you've put yourself in a dangerous position. Former enemies, staying nearby? There is a whole new world of problems with changelings here now. Already paranoia is rising, and some nobles are proposing legislation to expel all changelings from Canterlot. It might have been a better choice to have destroyed them all.”
Twilight looked up, meeting the solar princess in the eye. “Better choice? Yes, maybe. But it would not have been the just choice, and so it was no choice at all.”
Celestia continued looking at her for a moment… before her eyes softened and her mouth curled into a smile. “And that, Twilight Sparkle, is how I knew you were ready to fulfill your destiny.”
“Wha-?”
She leaned in and gave Twilight a gentle nuzzle. “Let the chips fall as they may. You made the right choice, and I am proud of you, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight smiled. “Thank you, your highness.” She flinched as she realized she wasn’t supposed to call Celestia that anymore, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Speaking of which, it seems that the changelings have subjected themselves to you. You saw how they wouldn't leave you alone in here. No less than thirty who were hiding as spies in the castle revealed themselves and have asked to come under your judgement. They’re currently waiting in the dungeons.”
Twilight found some humor in this. “You guide the sun, Luna guides the moon, and I guide the changelings. Something’s not quite right here.”
Celestia laughed. "Be that as it may, they do seem to want to follow you. We can make it official with a public fealty ceremony if you'd like."
Twilight nodded. "I think I would," she said. "It will show that I'm taking the lead and cleaning up my own mess. I started this, I should be the one to end it."
“Then rest well, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia smiled, gently stroking her mane. “It's scheduled in two days' time.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You knew that’s what I’d choose?”
Celestia smiled. “I’ve known you for a while, Twilight,” she said simply as she turned to leave. “I’ll let you get some rest.”
"Celestia spoke. “Do you reawhat you've done?"
Think you were going for realize what you've done but got distracted.
6848145
wow I have been really bad at this latelyWait... How are the changelings speaking pony if they're in changeling form?
Also, just so you know...
Umm... What??????
6848238
Are they, though?
'realize what'. Fix'd.
6848252
Well, yeah. They were clearly speaking pony. Though, why did Rainbiw Dash say they were speaking gibberish? That I don't get...
Wait...
TWILIGHT CAN UNDERSTAND THEM?????????
That's one of those "what " moments you really have to read twice and can then only laugh over.
Well, on the plus side, she doesn't have to produce an additional celestial body to rule over. I can only imagine how painful that would be to push out.
6848252 You might want to put ([][]) Brackets, or some other form of ID to let the less observant readers catch on to little tricks, like how the changelings are understood by Twilight, but to everyone else they are speaking Gibberish.
Another!
6848399
It'll probably be explicitly stated in the next chapter or two anyway, so I think it's more fun as a little easter egg for people to pick up on by themselves until then.
No indications of mutations or morphing.
...yet. You know, I expected Twilight to ask Celestia to put her into quarantine at the end of the chapter. Well, maybe we'll get that in the future.
6848341 Behold... The Princess of Uranus!
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/9/27/436199__safe_twilight+sparkle_princess+celestia_artist-colon-wollap_uranus.jpeg
6848577
Duty.
...
...
6848580 I think it's funny. On thw other hand I have a decadental sence of humor, so there's that.
6848602
It's funny in that chuckle-groan kind of sense, which I was trying to express there.
I love how she appears to understand the Changelings but nopony else does...
6848614 You did.
6848399 Unless that was the intention. To be revealed obviously later.
I like the little hint you dropped there, I can't wait till Twilight realizes it. Also surprises she's not questioning why they are following her.
Celestia knows more than she lets on, the classy troll!
Nice touch, keeping the hospital scene solely Twilight's point of view.
Adding to her own tongue-in-cheek comment, it was pretty funny scene overall.
The Crystal mines would make a decent temporary hive, but I doubt the Canterlot elite would appreciate their perceived enemies having such close proximity to the castle....
Keep going! ;)
Sorry the fact that Twilight isn't questioning that the changelings are right there bugs me. She has been out since being bitten so she should be more panicked.
Prank gone wrong! Princess gets scarred! Royal Guard called!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
Ah, your short, teasing chapters! How I hate you for them, but how I love your words. Curse you...
I'm surprised that the changelings don't like Fluttershy as much as Pinkie Pie, though.
6848558
Considering that she can understand the changelings, I'm guessing that she's already transformed, but subconsciously assumed her original form.
6848643
Same here. I hope she doesn't figure it out too quickly--a scene with her ignorantly responding to the changelings in front of everypony would be much more interesting.
6849131
There was earlier a mention of a hive mind, and the changelings apparently all immediately recognized her as queen as soon as Chrysalis died. I don't think she's really "touched" the hive mind yet, but she could just be unconsciously at ease with the presence of changelings.
6851033
I desperately want to know what happened now.
6853414 yes im aware why they follow her, but im chalking up why Twilight isn't question it to the fat she just woke from a coma or that what ever made her her a queen did something to make her not see anything odd about it.
also not trying ti sound rude, I couldn't really figure out a way to say it that didn't sound a touch rude
6853414 My thoughts are that she already changed her magic to changeling one. Now her brain is in the phisical transformation and the rest of her body will slowly follow as te brain and magic will influence evrything else at once. The question is if the transformation will begin deep inside [like the bones] and crawl through the tissues to take the skin as the last layer of expansion or is the skin going to transform as soon as evrything else. It's important because it will indicate how soon will evrypony discover the truth.
I wonder how well the changelings are actually confined? If they originally kept removing the changelings, but more showed up to stay with her... it looks like it wasn't that hard for them to bypass their guards. That they haven't done anything despite that might be a point in their favor should Twilight have to argue in their defense.
6853511
Well, you start questioning things because you find something unusual about it, right? So if she has a vague, largely unformed connection to the hive mind, it's possible that waking up to find changelings feels as natural as waking up next to Spike.
I mean, she absolutely does not react to finding the changelings. She acknowledges that they're there, but she doesn't even seem curious about them. There has to be something there. Even when she was startled at the beginning, it only sounded like she was surprised to open her eyes to find somebuggy staring at her only a short distance away (which I think is a pretty universal reaction to that sort of thing).
6855353
she did question why they were there and then received an explanation.
it's why im chalking up farthing questions to her being in a coma and just waking up so her mind isn't fully alert.
6855374
Forgot about that part.
You'd think she would be more paranoid over the spell Chrysalis cast b4 she died.
6857890 It's clearly a conversion spell...Chryssie chose Twilight as her successor.
Ok, I get that Celestia knows Twilight enough to know she would want to lead the changelings or whatever, but Twilight was in a coma and Celestia scheduled the public ceremony before Twilight woke up, and only two days afterwards as well. How did she know when Twilight would wake up from a coma?
6995592
…that's actually a very valid question, for which I have no good answer.
i love how twi doesn't notice that she can understand them
6995652
For this I would like to use a mix between my normal reaction whenever I get caught out while DMing.
"Yeah, that is weird"
6995652 i know! MAGIC!! :P
7218757
Never have so few words inspired so much fear
6995652 I think i do.
Celestia was hoping Twilight would wake up a fair while before the event.
Just like the Solar Princess hoped Twilight and co. could wield the Elements, despite never having met five of the six before.
Or how she hoped her making Spike violently ill by forcefully sending so many letters would snap Twilight out of her Discorded state.
Or how she hoped Twilight and co. could stand up to Sombra, and stop a devastating war from occurring.
Or how she hoped Tirek would either never find Twilight (which she idiotically sabotaged her own plan by not destroying the 'Princess Twilight' stained glass window...), or that Twilight wouldn't give all the alicorn magic to Tirek.
if Twilight had woken up one or two days later than she actually did in this fanfic, that would kind of ruin the ceremony, and increase racial tensions.
If Twilight and co. couldn't wield the Elements, then Nightmare Moon would've easily beaten them, leading to a deadly sisterly duel.
If Discord had sent the defeated Twilight elsewhere, she wouldn't have seen the mountain of copied Friendship reports, and Chaos would have won.
If Twilight and Spike hadn't been able to deliver the Crystal Heart (YOU GOT A CRYSTAL HEART!, that alternate future Twilight and Spike saw during Starlight's temporal mayhem might've just been canon.
If Twilight had fallen to Tirek, and she didn't receive the final Crystal Box key...that'd have been the end of pony magic, and thus pony civilisation.
That's all Celestia's really been shown to do in the show - hope things don't go utterly pear-shaped.
Either that, or Celestia's a psychic, and foresaw Twilight would wake up that very moment.
8022681 That is logic.
Pinkie logic it may be, but logic none the less
8022681
Celestia is a damn future teller and that's final
8022681
There was a Dresden Files cross that had a great explanation. She has Intellectus, meaning Celestia knows the answer to any question she thinks to ask. She could still be caught by surprise by simply not thinking about a possibility.
I'm worried about the bite, I don't think it was venomous, and I think there's a reason why there following Twilight for a reason, it could be instincts, instincts that Twilight is to be the new Queen.
Is that Chrysalis's end goal? To make Twilight the new Queen of the Changelings or did she have something else in mind?