Pony Tails

by Bluecatcinema

Meanwhile...

A week had passed since the defeat of Queen Chrysalis, and the reformation of the Changelings, and things had quickly slipped back to normal in Ponyville, almost like it had never even happened. Twilight and her friends had gone back to their regular routines without a problem. All except for Starlight Glimmer.

Starlight found herself still thinking back to the experience: The journey, the fear, the trepidation, the near-defeat, the last-minute turnaround that led to victory... Then there was the time spent at the Sunset Festival, reconnecting with the ponies of her former village and relaxing with her new friends. It was such an amazing adventure, it was hard to believe things were back to normal again.

'I don't know how Twilight and the others do it.' She thought as she lay awake in bed one night. 'They've saved Equestria time and again, but they can always slip back into their normal lives without a problem. Guess you could chalk that up to experience...'

The following morning, after Twilight and Spike had departed for Canterlot on royal business, Starlight busied herself in the library, hoping some light reading would help her get her mind back on the norm.

Just as Starlight was getting into a good book on transfiguration, there was a knock at the castle's front doors.

'Who could that be?' Starlight wondered, as she placed the book and headed to the front doors. 'Maybe Rainbow's back from Wonderbolt practice early, or Pinkie's brought over some cupcakes...'

Starlight opened the door, and saw Sunburst.

"Sunburst!" She smiled.

"Hello, Starlight." Sunburst beamed.

"Hi." Starlight hugged her oldest friend. "So, what's with the surprise visit?"

"Well, Princess Cadance is taking Flurry Heart to see her grandparents over in Canterlot today." Sunburst revealed. "So Shining Armor let me have the day off, and I decided to drop by. May I come in?"

"Just one thing first." The smile slid off Starlight's face, as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "When we all worked together to repair the Crystal Heart, what spell did you give me to cast?"

"Somnambula's Weather Abduration, of course." Sunburst declared.

"Exactly right." Starlight's smile returned. "Come on in."

Starlight made their way to the castle study.

"Sorry about that." Starlight apologized. "Just had to make sure you weren't one of the Changelings still loyal to Chrysalis. The ones posing as Twilight and others managed to get away, but you never know..."

"I don't blame you." Sunburst shrugged. "You can't be too careful."

"That reminds me." Starlight mused. "Thorax told me you sent him to get help."

"That's right." Sunburst nodded.

"So you figured out that Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart had been replaced by Changelings?" Starlight asked. "How?"

"Well, it's not like I realized straight away." Sunburst chuckled. "What happened was..."

Days ago...

Sunburst was walking down the corridors of the Crystal Castle, having just arrived for the morning, when he encountered Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart.

"Good morning." He smiled at them.

"Good morning, Sunburst." Shining Armor nodded.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" Cadance put on a cheery face.

"It certainly is." Sunburst declared. He knelt down to look at Flurry Heart. "And how's my favorite little one?"

"Bah-bah?" Flurry Heart gurgled flatly.

Flurry Heart's apparent lack of enthusiasm struck a chord with Sunburst. Normally, she was overjoyed to have Sunburst near her. But at the moment, she seemed less than happy to see him.

"...That's odd." Sunburst frowned.

"What is?" Shining Armor asked.

"Usually, Flurry Heart is thrilled to see her Crystaller." Sunburst mused. "I at least hear a giggle out of her. Is she okay?"

"She, ah... had a hard time sleeping last night." Cadance remarked. "I'm sure she'll be herself again soon." She threw a quick glare Flurry Heart's way. "If she knows what's good for her." She added under her breath.

Flurry Heart cringed. As she did, her eyes briefly gleamed a light blue.

'What the...?' Sunburst frowned. 'That's odd...'

Sunburst didn't know what he had seen, but he was sure he had seen it. But with nothing to go on, he had to let it slip... for the moment.

"I suppose that makes sense." He shrugged.

"We're going out for a quick stroll around the Empire." Shining Armor declared. "We'll be back soon. Let us know if anything comes up."

"I will, your highness." Sunburst nodded.

As the royal family departed, Sunburst adjusted his glasses. He had been in the company of the royal family for quite some time, and though they seemed to be as friendly as always, there was something odd about their mannerisms that he couldn't quite put his hoof on.

"Something's not quite right here..." He mused. "But what?"

Sunburst spent some time ruminating on the matter. He stepped out onto the courtyard, hoping the fresh air would help him think. It was then that Thorax approached him.

"Hello, Thorax." He smiled. "How's your day been?"

"Strange." Thorax mused. "I ran into the royal family a while ago, and they seemed kind of..."

"Off?" Sunburst finished. "I've noticed that myself."

"Shining Armor seemed as nice as ever, but Princess Cadance..." Thorax frowned. "She was a little... blunt. Almost like she couldn't stand to be near me all of a sudden. I've never heard her use that kind of tone before. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were-"

"Changelings?" Sunburst posited.

"Well, yes." Thorax nodded. "But that wouldn't be possible. I think I'd know if more of my kind were nearby."

"Really?" Sunburst mused. "Just for argument's sake, are there any 'tells'? Anything that might give a Changeling away?"

"Well, if a disguised Changeling is feeling scared or nervous, sometimes their true eye color shows... but only for a second." Thorax declared.

"Oh no..." Sunburst frowned. "I saw something like that with Flurry Heart. Her eyes gleamed an icy blue for a second."

"They did?!" Thorax gaped. "Oh dear... oh no... They're here... They're here!"

"Now, let's not jump to any conclusions." Sunburst tried to stay calm. "We need to be certain here. For all we know, only Flurry Heart has been replaced. We have to be sure..."

Sunburst saw the royal family coming back to the castle.

"Follow my lead." He whispered to Thorax, pulling him around a corner.

Once the royal family entered the castle, Sunburst and Thorax followed, making sure to stay out of sight. The three possible Changelings headed up to the throne room.

"We have some... important business to attend to." "Shining Armor" told the Captain of the guard. "We are not to be disturbed."

"Of course, your highness." The Captain nodded.

Sunburst and Thorax hid themselves as the Guards walked past. They then tiptoed over to the throne room's door, Sunburst easing one open just enough for him and Thorax to peek inside.

Within the throne room, "Shining Armor" and "Cadance" transformed into Changelings, one being older looking and wizened, while the other looked tough and battle-hardened, bearing several scars. "Flurry Heart" changed into a smaller Changeling, flying free of the carrier.

"Oh, finally." The smaller one cringed. "I was getting a cramp in there."

"Quiet, you fool." The battle-hardened one hissed.

"That's enough of that." The older one declared. "In fact, I'd say this is cause for joy. Our disguises seem to have fooled everypony here."

"Including the traitor." The scarred Changeling smirked.

"Obviously, he's spent too much time around ponies." The smaller one added. "Can't even recognize his own kind any more..."

"Which is all the better for us." The older one smiled. "Queen Chrysalis's plan is going off without a hitch. Soon, the other Princesses will be taken captive, and all the love meant for them will be taken by us..."

Sunburst and Thorax moved away from the door, horrified.

"This is even worse than I thought!" Thorax whispered. "We need to warn the others, fast!"

"Not we, you." Sunburst corrected him.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Thorax trembled.

"You can fly, remember?" Sunburst pointed out. "You can make better time than this wingless Unicorn. Besides, if we both just up and vanish, it will rouse suspicion."

"I guess that makes sense." Thorax admitted.

"Head to Ponyville." Sunburst instructed. "It's closer to here than Canterlot. Get to Starlight, Princess Twilight, and their friends. We're going to need their help. I'll try and play along over here for as long as I can."

"Okay." Thorax nodded his head firmly. "Good luck."

"And to you as well, my friend." Sunburst returned the favor.

Thorax rushed away, wasting no time in his mission. Meanwhile, Sunburst glanced back at the throne room doors.

"Something tells me we're all going to need all the luck we can get..." He mused.

The present...

"Wow." Starlight smiled. "That was pretty heroic of you, staying behind like that."

"Oh, not really." Sunburst blushed. "I just did what had to be done. Somepony had to stay behind and keep an eye on things, and the Changelings would no doubt trust the royal Crystaller. Besides, I wouldn't have been much use on a perilous rescue mission... Seriously, what could I have done, thrown books at the enemy?"

"Don't sell yourself short." Starlight told him. "I didn't think I'd be any help without my magic, but somehow, I managed to help pull off a win."

"I know." Sunburst nodded. "Shining Armor and Princess Cadance filled me in on what happened. How you led the rescue team to save them all, and succeeded. My oldest friend, a hero. I always knew you had greatness in you, Starlight."

"I don't know about 'hero'." Starlight blushed herself. "To quote a friend, 'I just did what had to be done'. Anyway, I'd say Thorax played a bigger role in the victory than I did."

"I heard about his... ascension." Sunburst admitted. "When I sent Thorax to get help, I never imagined things would turn out like that. Now he's the new Changeling King."

"I was pretty surprised myself." Starlight admitted. "When I told Thorax to actually give Chrysalis the love inside him, I just thought it would be too much for her to handle, and that maybe it would even weaken her enough to stop her. I never imagined it would generate that kind of transformation. But I'm glad it did. Because that was just what we needed to turn the tide. All the other Changelings followed his example, and just like that, we'd won."

"And a win for your team meant a win for all Equestria." Sunburst smiled. "I was there when the real Shining Armor and Princess Cadance arrived to oust the imposters..."

Days ago...

Sunburst was in the throne room, not far from the imposters. He had not informed the guards, for fear that they too were disguised Changelings. As tense as the situation was, he was keeping a remarkably cool head.

"I must admit, it's been pretty quiet lately." "Shining Armor" sighed.

"It has, your highness." The Captain of the Guard agreed. "Barely anything's going on lately..."

"Has anypony seen Thorax?" One Guard asked. "I normally see him around in the morning, but there's been no sign of him."

"I haven't seen him either." The Captain frowned.

"That's odd." "Shining Armor" frowned.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be seeing him again soon enough." Sunburst declared.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, revealing the real Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart.

"Guards!" Shining Armor announced. "Arrest those three!" He pointed at the fraudulent trio. "We are the real royal family, and they are Changeling imposters!"

"What the...?" The Captain gasped.

"No, they're the imposters!" "Cadance" pointed back. "We're real!"

"We can prove who's real." Shining Armor declared. "Guards, do you remember Flurry Heart's Crystalling? How I was so exhausted and panicked, I accidentally put your helmets on backwards?"

The Guards froze, remembering that instance.

"And surely you remember how I was the first of us to accept Thorax into our community?" Cadance urged. "He is a far better Changeling than those three!"

"Is it really you?" Sunburst went over to inspect them... only to have Flurry Heart gleefully fly up and hug him, giggling happily. "Yes, it's you." He smiled widely.

"So those three are imposters!" The Captain yelled, as the Guards pointed their spears at the trio.

"So much for the plan..." "Flurry Heart" growled, leaping out of the carrier and changing into his true form. "At least I don't have to stay in that stupid thing any more..."

As the other two returned to their true forms, the Guards advanced upon them.

"You won't get me without a fight!" The scarred one roared.

"I'd prefer not to fight, actually..." The smaller Changeling quivered.

"Look, maybe we can talk this out." The older Changeling calmly told the angry ponies. "I know we've caused you some... inconvenience, but surely we can reach a consensus here?"

"You should have thought about that before you helped imprison us." Shining declared angrily.

"Now you're going to pay the price for that crime." Cadance added.

"We were just following orders." The old Changeling insisted. "You can't blame us for that, can you?"

"I think you'll find we can." The Captain glared.

“...Okay, then all of you can just go straight to Tartarus.” The elder Changeling growled, as he then lit up his horn and blasted a hole in the side of the room. “Let’s go!”

"Stop them!" The Captain yelled, leading his troops forward.

By the time the guards reached the hole in the wall, the Changelings had already flown off into the distance.

"Shall we pursue them?" The Captain asked.

"No, let them go." Shining Armor declared.

"But your highness-" Another Guard started.

"Trust me." Shining Armor smiled. "The Changelings aren't a threat any more."

"How do you mean, your highness?" Sunburst asked. "And... where's Thorax?" He realized with a spark of fear that his friend was absent. "Is he okay?"

"Thorax is just fine." Cadance assured him. "Better than fine, in fact."

"He is?" Sunburst asked. "What exactly happened out there?"

"It's quite a story." Shining Armor grinned. "Wait until you hear it..."

The present...

"Right after that, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance shared the details of Chrysalis's defeat, and of the Changelings' mass reformation." Sunburst concluded his tale. "It made for quite the compelling story."

"You don't have to tell me." Starlight smirked. "I lived it, remember?"

"It all seems so incredible, though." Sunburst declared. "In mere moments, you and Thorax turned a hostile race into a peaceful species."

"Yeah." Starlight smiled. "It's funny, really. When Twilight first took me on as her student, she told me I'd gain the power to make Equestria a better place. I never thought it would happen so soon, though..."

"And I never thought I'd become a royal Crystaller." Sunburst chuckled. "Things rarely work out the way we think they will."

"No kidding." Starlight smirked. "I once thought it was mission to spread 'equality' across Equestria. I was so determined to make myself seem like some great and wise visionary, I even cut my bangs short and started talking like I was older than I really was. Looking back, it all seems completely ridiculous."

"I wouldn't know about that." Sunburst admitted. "But at least you managed to make Equestria better anyway."

"Well, after almost ruining it with my little time travel revenge scheme, I'd say I broke even." Starlight joked. "But that's enough dwelling on the past. Celestia knows I've done enough of that."

"...You know, when I sent Thorax to get help, I couldn't help but fear the worst." Sunburst admitted. "I was afraid you had been taken and replaced by the Changelings yourself."

"Nah. Lucky for me, Chrysalis didn't think I was 'worth replacing'." Starlight snorted.

"How wrong she was." Sunburst chuckled. "And we both know what that little oversight cost her."

"Yeah." Starlight sighed. "She lost her subjects, her title, and her home. She lost everything..."

"You're not saying you feel sorry for her?" Sunburst frowned.

"I am." Starlight nodded. "I was once in that exact same position. And I know better than most what happens when you become fixated on revenge..."

"Speaking of which... aren't you worried Chrysalis will try to make good on her vow of vengeance?" Sunburst asked.

"A little." Starlight admitted. "But even with the few Changelings still loyal to her, it wouldn't be smart for her to try to attack me here. I have my friends to help me, and there's nothing holding my magic back any more."

"I hope you're right." Sunburst smiled. "I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you."

"Thanks, Sunburst." Starlight blushed. "But to be honest, a part of me is hoping Chrysalis and I will cross paths again... if only so I can convince her to mend her ways."

"We can only hope things turn out that way." Sunburst mused. "But for now, I daresay the Changeling kingdom is in good hooves with its new King. Though I am going to miss Thorax being at the Crystal Empire... and I know I'm not the only pony who thinks that way."

"I guess you could call that the price of victory." Starlight shrugged. "But at least Thorax managed to help his hive, like he wanted to. Another goal achieved earlier than imagined..."

"I'm sure Thorax will make a fine King." Sunburst smiled. "The Changelings couldn't be in better hooves."

"I don't think anypony will be disputing that." Starlight grinned. "Hey, are you thirsty? I could whip up some tea, and if you're hungry, I think we have some cupcakes in the fridge."

"That would be great." Sunburst nodded.

Starlight fetched the tea and cupcakes, and the two old friends greatly enjoyed their repast.

Not long after, the front doors opened, as Twilight and Spike returned from their trip to Canterlot.

"Starlight, we're back!" Twilight called, entering the study. "I thought I'd find you here."

"Good afternoon, Princess." Sunburst smiled.

"Oh, hello, Sunburst." Twilight smiled back. "How are things back at the Crystal Empire?"

"Couldn't be better." Sunburst declared.

"Sunburst was just telling me about how he and Thorax figured out the Changelings had replaced Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Flurry Heart." Starlight declared. "Pretty smart, if you ask me. I was suspicious myself at first, but I needed a little dream spoiler from Princess Luna before I realized what was happening."

"We just got lucky." Sunburst said humbly.

"In my experience, a little luck can go a long way." Twilight smiled.

"If you hadn't sent Thorax to get help, we would have all been doomed." Starlight declared. "Now that I think about it, you helped save Equestria too. Congratulations, hero."

"Well, that's kind of stretching it." Sunburst blushed again. "If anypony was a hero, it was you, Starlight. Taking charge, facing the Changeling hive head-on to save Equestria... That's true heroism right there."

"I couldn't agree more." Twilight smiled.

"Well, when you put it like that..." Starlight blushed herself.

"It's getting late." Sunburst noted. "I really should be getting back to the Crystal Empire."

"See you soon... hero." Starlight hugged him.

"You too... hero." Sunburst chuckled.

They both traveled to the front doors together. As Starlight waved Sunburst off, she reflected on the events of the day. Her mind was no longer so occupied with her great adventure. It seemed talking about it with Sunburst and hearing of his own exploits had made it easier for her to finally ease off on her "adventure buzz" and focus on what was coming tomorrow. She still had her friendship studies after all, and intended to give them her full attention.

'Finally, a return to normalcy.' She smiled. 'Or as normal as things get in Equestria...'

Comments

[i_am_the_jam]

Ugh, TWO alicorns and a unicorn AND the Royal Guard let three changelings escape? What's the deal here?

[Sky Blazer]

I had thought it peculiar that Sunburst hadn't been replaced, and by this I guess that explains why.

7732826 A criminal may somehow escape arrest, and later return. Just one of those things.