S3 CH 1. Changelings
Twilight lightly hummed when she trotted down the steps into the dungeon, a small smile on her lips and weighed down with pens and paper. Once she trotted off the last step, she took a quick look around. “Ah, you’re awake,” she said happily.
Chrysalis, the ruler of the changelings glanced over, her eyes narrowing. “Ah. You. The annoying little bard. What do I owe for this visit? Have you come to gloat?” she asked.
The earth pony shook her head. She glanced over to the nearby cell, where Tirek was sleeping. She then glanced back to the changeling. “No. I thought you might use some company.”
The queen snorted, rolling her eyes. “Right. Company. Gloat it is, then.”
“… No? I well… okay. I want more than just company.”
“Here it is...”
“I’d like to ask you some things.”
“… Wouldn’t your ruler be far better at it?” Chrysalis asked bitterly.
Twilight sighed and move in front of the cell. Almost instantly the queen tried to lunge, though it was an effort in futility. With the chains on the changeling, she didn’t even make it off her cot without falling to the ground, having to crawl back into it once she realized there was no way she could reach the bard with any kind of speed. Once the changeling was nestled back on her cot, Twilight spoke up. “Not really, no. The fact of the matter is, we know next to nothing about you changelings.”
There was another soft snort.
“What you want, what you do. Your desires. Hopes, dreams. You’re a borderline entire empire. A whole world of different, well, ponies than us.”
“We’re not ponies.”
“You’re living, breathing creatures. Frankly, we need to learn about you.”
Chrysalis snorted again, shaking her head. “You are wasting my time, pony. I have no desire to speak to any of you. Let alone the object of my demise. Why would you think for a moment I desire to speak with you?”
“Because I want to help you.”
The ruler paused, her look of anger shifting to one of complete disbelief. “Ex… cuse me?”
“I want. To help you,” Twilight repeated, slower this time. “I see no reason why ponies and changelings can’t exist together. I mean, we have wereponies, vampire ponies, shades, zebras, donkeys… I mean, there are so many different species and creatures out here, so many that are just… different from us. But over time, we can learn and grow.” She smiled up at the ruler.
Chrysalis stared at her for a long, long time. Finally, she spoke again. “You are a fool. Nothing more. Nothing less. Do you truly think we would believe such… tripe? That we would believe you to be… trustworthy?”
“Maybe not, but--”
“No, little pony,” the ruler said, rising to her full height, despite the chains. “We will tell you nothing, willingly. Do you think yourself trustworth? After what your ruler has done, after what we have seen her do?” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You speak of helping us. Of accepting us. But I have seen how your kind truly deal with threats. Your ruler.”
Twilight froze, staring up at the changeling. Slowly, she gulped. “… What… do you mean?”
“Your ruler… your queen. Nightmare Moon. Do you think I relented easily? Do you think I sold out my subjects to her? That I gave away the secret of my throne? My greatest weapon against her?” she asked, barring her fangs. “Can you even begin to imagine what Nightmare Moon did to me? Did to my subjects? To my changelings?”
The earth pony stared, a new horror creeping inside her. Slowly, she gulped. “What… what did she do?”
“Oh, you wish to know… You wish to find out what happened to my subjects? What she did to me? To us?” the ruler asked, a cruel, wicked smile forming on her lips. “Her power is quite… intense, little pony. The pain she inflicted...” She slowly lifted a hoof up, staring through one of the holes. “The pain I suffered… the pain my changelings suffered...” she whispered, her eyes slowly closed. “No. I didn’t give her that information. But my subjects are loyal. She used me as bait. They heed the words of their queen. At the sounds of my screams, they came to me. They tried to aid me. They fell to her. And they were not nearly so strong as I. She took from them information I never would have given. Our weapons. Our plans. And now… now they are trapped. They were foals, they should have abandoned me. Left me to die. Left me to my fate. But my hive is now destroyed. All that I have worked for, in tatters. Because of you.”
Twilight stared, her mouth falling open. “M-me?”
“Yes, you. Had you not returned, little pony. I would have dethroned your ruler. I would have laid claim to these lands. I would have created a new home, not just for myself, but for my hive. Instead, now, I live here. In chains. Bound, unable to do something as simple as alter my form. My subjects? Destroyed. Likely torn apart or--”
“In Tartarus,” Twilight said softly.
“Excuse me?”
“The changelings are now in Tartarus. They have been locked away, there.”
Chrysalis snorted. “I see. It is no matter, then. I imagine some of them have escaped. But in the end, there is no hope for them. Without me, without their queen, they will perish.”
“They don’t have to,” Twilight whispered. “You invaded us. And you failed. But that doesn’t have to be the end. The story doesn’t have to end here. It’s still possible we can work together. Ponies and changelings don’t have to be enemies, we can--”
“Pathetic,” the ruler said, rolling her eyes. “You truly are as obnoxious as Tirek has said. I have no desire for your aid. I have no desire to speak to you or--”
“I’m the only hope your people have,” Twilight interrupted.
“… Excuse me?”
“I am the only hope your people have. You said it yourself. You have no more weapons to use against her, do you? Is there a way to overpower her, to defeat her? Especially as you are now?” she asked, motioning a hoof towards the chains and eliciting another glare from the creature. “And nopony else is going to help you. Because they don’t know you. They’re SCARED of you. The only thing they know about changelings is that you tried to capture and kill some of us. That many ponies were kidnapped and replaced. That some of you are STILL out there, somewhere. Could be anywhere. Ponies don’t know who to trust as much now because of the fear that YOU put into their hearts.”
“Good, it--”
“It is a vengeance of a sorts. But it also means that nopony else will likely be coming to your aid. Even if they could, Nightmare Moon is unlikely to allow them. I, however, am offering you help. I WANT to help you. I don’t want your secrets of magic, how to fight, your weapons, any of that. What I want is to know who you are. WHAT you are. I want to know your story. I want to be able to tell ponies what it truly is you are. To help ponies understand. And maybe, eventually, we can find a middle ground where we can all stand side by side.”
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes on her, before turning away from her. “I will not speak with you. I desire nothing to do with you, or your lies.”
Twilight sighed, shaking her head. “They’re not lies. I just want to ask you some questions, to get to know what the changelings are. What you want. Why you’re here.”
The changeling didn’t answer.
“Chrysalis?”
“...”
“… Fine. We’ll talk again soon. I’ll find out what I can, but I WILL be back to talk with you,” she said, before turning to leave. She saw Tirek, sitting up in his bed and eyeing her, a look of amusement on his face. “Oh, did I wake you? I’m sorry.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I just find all of this… humorous. You are quite the persistent one, Twilight.”
She nodded and trotted over, grinning up at him. “It’s an earth pony trait. Unicorns get magic, pegasi get flight. Us earth ponies? We get hard headedness,” she joked. “Is everything good? Well… as good as it can be?”
“It is fine. Tell me, little pony. How did you get that prattling windbag to shut up? You seem quite talented at it.”
“I just asked her about herself...” Twilight mumbled.
The centaur snickered. “Truly you are fortunate, then. It is not often one sticks their hand… hoof into the mouth of a manticore and gets to pull it back.”
The earth pony rolled her eyes. “I’m sure she’s not that bad.” She heard the changeling give a short hmph.
“You know not of what you speak,” he warned with a light chuckle. “Although, changeling. You have no idea of what forces you have brought on. It is far, far easier to just answer her questions. For this little earth pony will not relent until you yield.” There was another hmph from the other cell. “I expect this will all be a tale of great amusement to me in the end...” Then, slowly, he lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Twilight chuckled and gave a shrug. “You make me sound far more impressive than I am, Tirek. All I do is ask questions and want to know more. Anypony could do that.”
The centaur merely chuckled, waving her off. “If you so please, I require more rest, little pony. I fully expect I will be given quite the show when you return. Do feel free to wake me when you do, proper entertainment can be so rare these days. You should prepare.”
The earth pony blinked, then her eyes widened. “Oh! Of course!” she said, before turning and galloping off, up the stairs. “I should go and see if I can find anything in the library!”
Tirek opened an eye to watch her go, before rolling it. Oh, foalish changeling. The queen had no idea of what forces she had brought on herself. You could only push back against an unstoppable object for so long before it would wear on you through sheer persistence.
Far better to put that object to use for you, without it ever knowing.
------
Slowly, inch by inch, the librarian made his way towards the great Tyrant Tosser, Dragon Destroyer and Changeling Crusher. As others knew her, Twilight Glow. A pony who had not only flung the great Nightmare Moon, but also was pivotal in stopping the dragon assault on the trains and was rumored to have defeated both the changeling queen and her army, with nothing more than determination and a spear. Truly, she was a pony to be feared.
Most ponies thought she was just a mere writer, another earth pony. But the librarians knew. They whispered in hushed tones of her power. Of how she had tamed a baby dragon. How she alone could face the great Nightmare Moon. How even Tirek himself had yielded to her, surrendered to her.
Most of all, she was humble. They had all read her books, they never even mentioned her own great feats of power. Of might. Of bravery. Were it not for those who had witnessed it, who spread the word, even they would have fallen into the foalish belief that she was just a ‘mere’ earth pony. While few did know, words had passed amongst the librarians of her deeds.
But he knew better. To incur her wrath was foalish. But to serve a pony of such nobility? Of such courage? Truly, it was an honor. He gulped and slowly moved the reports in front of the legendary mare. “H-here you go, miss,” he said, his voice filled with awe.
“Oh, thank you,” Twilight said with a small smile. She then blinked a few times, staring at him in confusion when he dashed off. She hoped she didn’t offend him. She then pulled over the reports, humming and flipping them open. “Now, let’s see...” she mumbled.
The small stack of reports was all the information they had on the changelings lands, the reports filed by the group that had infiltrated and destroyed the throne of Chrysalis. She flipped open the report and started reading the names out loud to herself.
“Captain Lavender Petal, Lieutenant Smooth Tongue, Private Red Heart, Private Bouncing Breeze, Private Coldstone, Private Gilda. So, you six have--”
The words locked in her throat and she quickly glanced back up at the last name again.
“Gilda?!” Twilight had to go over the reports again and again to be sure, but there was no doubt about it. That was the Gilda she knew. What in the WORLD was she doing going on missions for Equestria? More importantly, why didn’t she know?
Okay, she supposed Gilda WAS Rainbow’s friend. And she hadn’t really talked much about her in a while. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested.
Then again, she supposed it was Gilda’s business, not hers. But she’d still have liked to have known that this was going on. The reports, unfortunately, were distressingly brief. It talked about a few encounters with monsters, a fight with a hydra (which she was certain was exaggerated. She very much doubted that a pegasus had ridden a hydra of all things into a cliff. It was a HYDRA), and a few other bits and pieces. But most of it was just so vague.
The only report that was fully useful to her was Lavender’s, but all it had was very methodical, precise information on what they encountered and ran into. None of the reports seemed to have ANY information on what the changelings were like. What they did. Why they did it. It was all about the journey, but not what they were like. Ugh. She couldn’t help feeling more and more frustrated the longer she spent reading them.
She needed to speak to them directly. Which, unfortunately, brought yet ANOTHER hitch to her plan. Apparently the whole lot of them were stationed out in the Badlands. How was she possibly going to get there to ask them? She supposed she could request them to come to Canterlot. But she imagined Gilda wouldn’t be too keen on that idea.
But she also needed information on the changelings. These ponies and griffon had been closest to them. She needed to talk with them. Somehow. It wasn’t as if there were any other changelings she could talk to.
She got to her hooves and started trotting away, holding her head high. She’d talk to Nightmare Moon. Convince her, somehow, to let her go there. Alone. It was just the Badlands, how hard could it be?
------
“You’re an idiot. And I say that, knowing you’re one of the smartest ponies I know,” Moondancer said flatly.
“B-but, I mean, if I just… I’m sure I can convince her to--”
“It’s the BADLANDS,” Moondancer said firmly. “Well, on the edge of it. It’s one of the most dangerous places in Equestria. It’s the place the dragons will most likely invade from, when they do,” she said, stomping a hoof down. “Why do you even want to GO there?”
“Err… well… there’s a group down there. One of the… err...”
“Yes?”
“On one of the border towns. A group run by Captain Lavender Pearl?”
Moondancer blinked a few times. “Wait, the group that went to destroy the throne? Why do you want to speak with them? I’m not sure you’ll get much from them. They never even came back to Canterlot after the mission, they went back on duty. Whatever happened, they probably aren’t going to talk much about it aside from what’s in their reports.”
“I need information on the changelings. They’ve been the closest to them. I thought they’d be my best bet. It’s there or Tartarus to speak to a changeling directly. And ummmmm...”
The unicorn sighed. “Yeah. There’s absolutely no way you’d be able to get there without Nightmare Moon by your side. And she would never...” She gave a sigh and rubbed her forehead. Finally, she shook her head. “Are you sure you can’t just… get Chrysalis to talk?”
“If I could, I would. But I know nothing about them. These ponies have been there, though. If anypony can give me information on them...”
“… And you really think it’s for the best?”
“I… don’t know. M-maybe?” Twilight said with a shrug. “I mean… they’re a fairly unique species. Their magic is...”
“Different than ours, I know,” Moondancer mumbled. “I… can’t deny, I’m curious too. They can do magic that ponies just can’t.”
The earth pony nodded. “Their transformation magic is beyond what even the most powerful pony could do. We could learn so, so much from them. But...”
“But you want to save them too, right?” Moondancer asked, flatly. “I swear. See, this is why you get put into comas.”
“One time. It happened once. And I was hardly trying to save anypony. I was just trying to stop Chrysalis.”
“You are always trying to save everypony,” the unicorn said, before shaking her head. She tapped on the floor for a moment, closing her eyes. Finally, she opened them. “Okay, then. Here’s what we’re going to do.”
“You… mean you’ll help?”
“Yes, unfortunately. Despite my better judgment. We’re going to have to lie, though. About why we’re going. It’ll require a bit of finagling. A bit of… trickery. But...”
“Wait, we?”
“You don’t really think I’m letting you do this alone, do you?” she asked with a cocked eye.
“But… you’ll be in a lot of danger if you come, you’ll be--”
“We’re friends,” Moondancer said before giving the other mare a light bump of her hip. “Now, where are those ponies stationed at?”
“Honeymooner’s Creek.”
“… You’re kidding.”
“No…?”
“Well, buck. Fine. We’re going to have to perform one of the greatest feats of manipulation we’ve ever done.”
“… What?”
“We’re going to have to make a place like a place near the Badlands sound boring and safe, while finding something only it is known for. And make sure Nightmare Moon DOESN’T want to come to a place called Honeymooner’s with us. Come on. We have a presentation to make.”
------
Nightmare Moon stared at images projected on the wall by Moondancer’s horn. She thought she had known torture. Boredom. Torment. A thousand years on the moon. And yet, somehow this felt worse. She didn’t truly understand what a ‘magic point’ presentation was, but she felt she should outlaw them after what had been… two hours? No, three. Maybe ten. Days? Either way, time seemed to slow to a crawl while Twilight droned on.
“Now, as shown on image forty-nine,” Twilight said, moments before Moondancer’s horn flickered and a new image appeared. “The golden dust slug is possibly useful due to a--”
“ENOUGH!” Nightmare Moon roared, her horn glowing before the lights of the chamber flickered on. Moondancer’s horn turned, mercifully, off.
“But I still have seventy-six images to--”
“Dear heavens seventy-six?!”
“Of course. I haven’t even gotten to the uses of the slug’s slime in ice cream--”
“CEASE!” the alicorn said, raising a hoof quickly. “If it is this… deeply… important to you two, you may go. You have one week, after which, we will expect you to return to our side. Are we clear?”
Twilight nodded. “Of course. If you’d like, we could write a detailed report on our--”
“No! No. That is quite alright. No,” the ruler said emphatically, shaking her head. “Moondancer, we trust you will take all necessary precautions.”
“Of course, your highness. If we manage to find out enough, perhaps we could take you to--”
“You are dismissed!” the ruler said quickly, before vanishing in a flash of magic.
Twilight blinked a few times, cocking her head to the side. “Wow… you were right.”
Moondancer nodded, then paused. “Of course. It’s a very effective tactic. Granted...”
“What?”
“I kinda wanna go through the rest of the presentation. The golden dust slug is really quite fascinating, and it was so much fun to make...”
“I know, right? Wanna finish it up before we leave?” Twilight asked excitedly.
“Yay!” Moondancer’s horn flashed and once again the lights went out, before she projected the small image back on the wall.
“Now, it is possibly useful due to...”
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NEEEERDS. That is all.
Gonna be honest here, I’d forgotten about Gilda.
Also, lol. In the hooves of Twilight and Moondancer, presentations become the greatest weapon known to ponykind.
poor NMM...none should be forced thru that kind of torture..
Yeah...I totally forgot Gilda was in this story. Boring NMM to death with a Powerpoint presentation was absolutely hilarious though.
YAAAAAAAAAY NEW CHAPTER BEFORE A FULL MONTH HAS PASSED :D:D:D
Oh my word those two are SUCH NERDS I freaking LOVE IT XD
Really interested to find out just what Tirek's plans are. And I really love how Twilight's destiny of friendship is coming out in her study and desire to save ponies, and in her efforts to understand other races. I feel like Twilight Glow has the advantage over Twilight Sparkle of having NOT been Celestia's personal student and thus not been put on such a pedestal that may have kept her more isolated. She's just a normal pony, and it seems to have helped her more quickly learn how to relate to other people.
9725751
So is Sunset's return was an attempt to seize power for herself, using Twilight's trust as a way to do so?
Yay! Season 3 has begin with the nerds going on a road trip!
With a place that has "Honeymooner's" in the name, I'm still expecting this is going to end up with a misunderstanding of someponies (Moondancer and Twilight Glow) being a couple.
Although, I don't think Moondancer would actually mind...
9727269
Moondancer and Twilight staying great friends together is possibly the best possible thing to happen as a result of this iteration of Equestria.
Even through bonding over arcane versions of Powerpoint presentations.
I really should have refreshed the last chapter before commenting, I didn't see there was a new one!! Nerd road trip ahead!! Woo! I shall eagerly await new chapter each Friday now. ^.^
She forgot to try asking Nightie to torture her a teeny-tiny bit
Hahahaha, that ending was so DEVIOUS. Can't wait until next week to read more! :D
While you studied the blade, I mastered the art of the slideshow. My pointer sharper than any sword, images of the highest quality, and the sources credited in the works cited. All 94 of them. Scared yet?
On a side note, SEASON 3 IS ON LETS GOOOOOOO
Lol, those two are so adorkable.
9729316
Chrysalis needs to hear all about the golden dust slug. She should get the extended lecture...
9727329
Truly they should be a part of the banned weapons list...
9727357
Exactly. There's cruel, there's unusual, then there's that.
9727374
Twilight is learning a ton, though she has a while to go still.
9727398
Pooooooossibly.
9727410
The funnest trip of all!
9727486
Shipping?! In MY story?! ... Maybe. >:3c
9727955
When you combine the full might of two total nerds, they cannot be stopped...
9728897
Honestly, I wanna post more. It is so hard not to devolve into a writing flurry for them. XD
9729316
Torture? Twilight? Nooooo!
9730042
Twilight and Moondancer's power point abilities are truly unstoppable...
9730750
Noooo, that'd serve no purpose. However... An extended lecture on changelings and all Twilight learns about them.... wellllll...
9731225
tho this would fit perfectly with why 'the nights stars' version of NMM shudders at the thought of scholars.. xD
9731258
Night stars?
9730155
agreed, more like lemon hearts and the gang in return of nmm. they included twilight, despite her preferring studying.
9731225
Is the relationship between Sci-Twi and her Crystal Prep peers in your story slightly better than in canon?
9731263 https://www.fimfiction.net/story/417791/the-nights-stars
9731275
Not particularly, no. They tolerate her and will, a little, involve her in things. But it's definitely more because they know she's Principal Cinch's star pupil than any actual like for her. This is actually quite a bit prior to the original introduction of her in canon and, well... While they will sometimes involve her in things, they're very, very rarely actually looking out for her or involving her as a friend so much as a 'extra body' etc.
Granted, things have been... changed... a bit now. Glow's interference and all that drastically change OH MY GOSH NOW I WANT TO WRITE THAT STORY GAHHHHH YOU PEOPLE WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?!!!!
9731374
I don't know. In the movie, my impression is that everyone COMPLETELY ignored Sci-Twi when they weren't bullying her for being a teacher's pet. Her application to Everton was largely born from her lack of any real connections to CPA
But If she was invited to these "outings" enough times, she could eventually start forming relationships with her classmates. Maybe it is bit optimistic, but when you spend enough time with someone, you do eventually find you have a lot in common.
I'm sorry for the pain we have caused you. PLEASE FORGIVE US!
But I would honestly love for you to write that story...if you have time, of course.
9731396
*Adds it to the list.* Okay, so I've got more Trixie and Zecora stuff, Vampire, Gilda and *hidden*, Gilda and *hidden* and badland mooners, Human Twilight, were ponies, shadowbolts, Daring Do, Moondancer's friends, Shining and Cadence, dragons... ... ... ... ... Welp. If nothing else, at least I won't run out of fanfiction to write anytime soon. Oh my gosh I swear... It wouldn't be so bad if this world wasn't so much fun to write in and expand on. Though, I have been loving how many people have been enjoying it, so as problems go it's a good one to have.
9731412
You could write short side stories to let out your creative energies.
9731417
Twilight Glow started as a short story. XD If I don't focus on the stories I have now, I'll keep writing more and more stories and never get any of these ones done. :x
9731225
Awww, not even a tiiiiiiiny torture?
media1.tenor.com/images/b76c327440da98aab2cce3e31397adf6/tenor.gif?itemid=14460857
Although, they're already starving Chrysalis and her changelings, so in a couple of weeks nothing additional may be necessary.
9731488
Yeah... It's uhhh... Not... exactly enjoyable for the changelings right now.
You added more gilda. I am eternally grateful.
Behold, the only pony that can get Nightmare Moon's obedience by ... Threatening a Dissertation!
Landasy Reality: Angel's Escape is not available in dead tree format...
So... I am not totally deformed in the head for enjoying making PowerPoint presentations in college?
11037145
Unfortunately no, it's usually a lot of work to get the books to publish physically, due to trying to get the covers to print/work right. They tend to be far more expensive on top of it and have almost no sale, so I end up rarely converting them.
And no, nothing wrong with enjoying giving power point presentations. Unless you force people to sit through them. Then you are just cruel. :P
Even Tirek knows just how effective Scharff's interrogation method that Twilight accidentally invented, and she herself doesn't even know that she had invented one of the most powerful and effective method of the field.
Truly, I'd never believe that I'd say this, but even a literal Nazi interrogator knows that Friendship is Magic, and this AU Twilight is following his footsteps.