> Traveler's Exile
>  by Niaeruzu
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And here we go,” the changeling mumbled to himself as he lowered the little black box he was holding onto the cart. He then took a coil of rope and carefully wrapped it around the box and the cart, securing it in place with some simple, but sturdy knots.

“We’re almost set,” he said, turning around. About ten other changelings were there, standing side by side in a line, on a clearing just outside a forest. Some of them were wearily blinking and sniffling, but the others were all awake, despite it being early morning, though the rather thick fog covering the land might be getting to them.

“Cool, #5,” one of the changelings, a lanky female, said. “Let’s get this over with, quickly.”

#5 loudly cleared his throat. “This operation is of the highest importance. I will not accept such a casual tone from any of you.”

The lanky female scowled. “Yes, sir,” she sneered.

“That’s better,” #5 said. “We’ll go over this one last time, so listen up!” He paced back in forth in front of the line of changelings. “You have been chosen by Queen Chrysalis herself for this.” He paused briefly. “For whatever reason,” he mumbled as he walked over to the box. “And this,” he said as he opened the box, “is our charge.”

Inside the box was a shining sapphire, placed in the exact middle of the box, resting on red velvet pillows. #5 closed the box and opened it again. Now, it contained a glittering emerald.

“None other than the Evershifting Stone,” he said. “I hope I don’t have to explain to you dung beetles what that is.”

“Our most precious artifact and the source of the Queen’s power!” one rather dim-looking changeling in line said, raising his hoof and waving it about like he was in a pony classroom.

#5 stared at him for a few seconds, then covered his face with a hoof. “...Yes. Yes it is.” He made a mental note to never leave anything up to these other changelings. Ever. “Since this isn’t just any normal operation, I expect you all to be as alert as possible.”

“But it’s just a walk through the woods from one hive to the next,” the lanky female said. “What could go wrong?”

“Everything,” #5 said. “For example, there wasn’t supposed to be any fog today, according to the weather forecasts for the region. Who knows, maybe some ponies are planning an ambush?”

“Yeah, yeah,” the female said. “But this whole thing is top secret. If any pony knows about this, I’m eating my own legs. Plus, you’re an elite. Even if ponies do show up, you can handle them!”

“That might be true,” #5 said, “but even I can’t take on a squad of their guards.” Though he did defeat a single one of them, once. Which wasn’t easy, at all. “Now stop speculating. The more you talk about ‘if’ and ‘but’, the more likely it is that everything will go wrong.” He scowled. “And don’t make me say ‘I told you so.’”

He double-checked the rope that was holding the box down. It was tied down securely enough that you’d have to rip apart the rope or the cart itself to take the box, so there was no chance of losing it. “Alright!” he barked, turning back to the other changelings. “You pull the cart, you two stick close to it,” he said, pointing at three changelings at random. “The rest of you, spread out and form a wide circle around the cart. Stay hidden.”

As soon as every changeling had taken his or her position, he triple-checked the box. Good, still secure. “Move out!” he shouted, taking his own position at the back of the cart.

The group headed into the forest, keeping a consistent pace. That is, if you considered briefly stopping every five minutes to be consistent. Every sound #5 heard, every single movement he saw made him shout for the group to stop and investigate, only to find out that the source of said sound or movement was something like a squirrel or a small bird.

And every single time, #5 would snort and order the group to continue. One of the other changelings mumbled something about being paranoid, which was ridiculous. He wasn’t being paranoid, he was being cautious. You never know when something is going to jump out, after all.

The fog had him on edge. It wasn’t supposed to be there. Either it was some kind of last-minute weather emergency, or ponies had put it in place for an ambush. #5 assumed it was the latter. He had to prepare for the worst, since none of the other changelings seemed to take this seriously enough.

He wasn’t one to question the Queen’s motives, but he really had to wonder why she picked these changelings to assist him. Some of them weren’t even soldiers, for crying out loud! Then again, it only served to point out how immensely she trusted her own elite, a small squad of changelings #5 proudly counted himself among. She must’ve figured he didn’t need much backup.

“Uh, sir,” one of the changelings said, walking up to him. “I’m honoured that I was chosen for this mission and all, being only a hive construction worker, but...” He hesitated for a few seconds. “Why did the Queen order this mission?”

“How should I know?” #5 sneered. “I’m an elite. I don’t question, I just do. It doesn’t matter what she orders or why she does it. We’re her servants, and we do as we’re told.”

The other changeling mumbled a short “Oh,” then went back to his position, leaving #5 to his thoughts again. As far as he knew, Queen Chrysalis simply felt the Stone wasn’t safe at her side anymore, and wanted it moved to a more secure location. Though #5 really couldn’t think of any location safer than right next to the queen.

Regardless, he couldn’t go back and start asking questions. That would only serve to annoy the Queen, and she already had a lot on her mind. Changelings had started disappearing, following some rumours about being able to live freely among ponies. Absolute insanity. #5 didn’t care about the changelings who vanished because of it. If those changelings really believed something that ridiculous, the hive could do without them.

After about one and a half hours of walking, #5 could finally ease up a little. The wind had picked up, blowing some of the fog away. It was much easier to see through the forest now, to #5’s relief, but he couldn’t let his guard down yet. He wasn’t finished with this job yet. No need to jinx the operation even more.

“Hey, the fog’s clearing!” the changeling pulling the cart said. “The rest of the trip will be easy!”

#5 slapped himself in the face with a hoof. He wasn’t fond of other changelings, even by changeling standards, but this group was pushing it. Hopefully, his next assignment would be a solo thing.

“Keep your eyes open,” he said. “We’re not done yet. Anything could happen, and if I hear someling else say something about ‘easy’, then I’ll—” Suddenly, something slammed into his side, knocking him over. With a smack, his head hit the ground.

Stars spread over his vision, and it took #5 a while to get his bearings. Standing over him was a white pegasus pony stallion clad in golden armour, with a blue crest and tail. The pony’s mane and tail could’ve been the same colour, but as far as #5 knew, those were tucked away under his armour. The pony stared at him with blue eyes, watching his every move, but didn’t do anything else.

#5 looked around as best he could. The other changelings were down on the ground as well, identical guards standing over them, though there were also unicorns and earth ponies. The cart had been turned on its side, with the changeling who had been pulling it struggling in the harness, trying to get out.

To make matters worse, one of the royal guards, an earth pony, reared up and bucked the cart, violently shattering the flimsy wood. The ropes holding the box containing the Evershifting Stone down came loose, and the box clattered onto the ground.

#5 barely managed to choke down a gasp. He turned back to the pony standing over him. While pegasi were fast, they weren’t exactly heavy, and that was an easily exploitable trait. Green flames whirled around #5’s lower body, changing his hind legs into the far stronger, brown-furred legs of a kangaroo. He quickly put his newly-acquired feet on the pony’s stomach and pushed, kicking him off.

#5 scrambled to his hooves, turning his legs back to normal in the process, and jumped towards the box, landing on the ground with a thud and sliding towards his objective. He stood up again and picked up the box.

“S-Stop him!” the pegasus guard shouted, and before #5 could react, he was bowled over again. This time, it was an earth pony, and this stallion was smart enough to hold #5 in place by putting a hoof on his chest.

“Let go!” #5 growled, struggling to get free. No matter how much he squirmed, he couldn’t even get the guard to budge.

The guard turned his head, silently beckoning another pony with a nod. A few seconds later, another pony stood over #5, this one a unicorn. Without a word, he lowered his horn and touched #5’s head while casting some kind of spell.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but...” #5’s words trailed off. His eyelids suddenly felt very, very heavy. His whole body felt heavy. He tried shaking off the feeling, but any movement only served to make him more drowsy. More sleepy. “The queen will... the queen...”

Before he could even finish his sentence, #5 fell asleep.





#5 kicked as hard as he could, hopefully striking one of the pony guards.

However, he didn’t hit anything, and rolled sideways instead, falling off whatever he was lying on with a surprised shout. He hit the ground for a third time, although this ground was far different from before.

In fact, as #5 stood up, he recognized the ground. It was a bit hard to see in the dim, green light, but this was the uneven, rocky floor of a changeling hive. The room was pretty small, having a single alcove in the wall for sleeping and one torch, burning with green flames.

With a yawn, #5 stretched out. How long had he been asleep? Long enough to be hauled all the way back to the hive, at least. Must’ve been a pretty hefty sleeping spell.

Sleeping spell. Bah. Those stupid, pacifistic ponies couldn’t even resolve a conflict in a decent way. What happened to a good old-fashioned beating? Not that #5 wanted to receive one, but still. He expected at least a little bit of professionalism from the ponies who were trying to steal the Evershifting Stone.

The Stone! #5 frantically looked around, but the box was nowhere to be found. “Where is it, where is it?” he mumbled. It couldn’t have been stolen. It just couldn’t! Who knew what the Queen would do if she found out? #5 ran out of the room to continue his search, but as soon as he set one hoof outside, he was stopped by another changeling, who put a hoof on his chest.

“Get out of my way,” #5 said. “I don’t have time for this.” He pushed the other changeling’s hoof away and headed out.

“The Queen wants to see you,” the changeling said, causing #5 to freeze up.

Uh-oh.

“Why?” #5 asked, even though he already knew the answer.

The other changeling shrugged. “Dunno. But you shouldn’t keep Her Highness waiting.” He turned around and beckoned for #5 to follow.

#5 hesitated for a moment, then decided to head to the throne room. Silently, he followed the other changeling. He didn’t know where in the hive he was at the moment, as he’d never seen rooms as small as the one he’d just been in. The main hive was pretty big, and most of it was featureless, so someling getting lost wasn’t unheard of.

A few minutes later, they reached the throne room. It was a fairly large chamber, with rather minimal decorations. Large torches hung from the walls and ceiling, bathing the whole chamber in green light. In the middle of the room was the queen’s throne, which was made from the same stone as the rest of the chamber. It wasn’t as fancy as anything ponies made, but it didn’t have to be. Queen Chrysalis herself, sitting on her throne, was already impressive enough.

#5 swallowed a lump and stepped in front of her. He gave the deepest bow he could. “You wanted to see me, Your Highness?”

The Queen lounged on her throne. She was as magnificent as ever, standing twice as tall as any other changeling, her carapace a beautiful, bright green. She idly played with her dark blue mane as she glared at #5 with her green, serpentine eyes. It was the kind of glare that was so intense, #5 felt he would be better off on the other side of the world. But only very, very slightly better off.

Both of them were silent for a while. “Your Highness?” #5 repeated.

“Report,” Queen Chrysalis spat.

#5 took a deep breath. “The assignment...” He stared at the Queen for a while, trying to find a way to bring the news in the best way possible. “We failed,” he said. There was no ‘best’ way to bring this news.

“There were unforeseen weather issues. A thick fog covered our entire route. We were ambushed by ponies. Royal guards. They...” He paused again, and swallowed a lump in his throat. “They stole the Stone. We all failed you.”

“Saying you failed is an understatement,” the Queen said. “Do you realize the consequences?” She stood up and walked towards #5. “Do you understand what this means? My most precious artifact, and you lost it!”

#5 took a few steps back. “B-But the—”

“Silence!” Queen Chrysalis shouted, the sound echoing through the hive. “You were the leader of this operation! I thought one of my elite could be trusted with this!”

“I’m sorry! I-I can get it back!” #5 pleaded. “Just give me another chance!”

Queen Chrysalis snorted and went back to her throne. “I have been the queen of changelings for a long time. I have never seen one of you fail this badly, and you should be punished.” She sat down on her throne and sighed. “Though you are one of my valuable elite. It’d be a shame to... get rid of you. Permanently.”

“They were royal guards,” #5 said. “They answer to the princesses. I’ll find them, and I’ll retrieve the Stone.”

“Ah, yes,” Queen Chrysalis said. “And I suppose once you’ve left the hive, you’ll turn tail and run, never to return?”

“O-Of course not, Your Highness,” #5 said. Though the thought had crossed his mind. It just didn’t seem like a very good thought. A life on the run didn’t seem very appealing, especially because it’d be spent on the run from the changeling queen. If #5 did that and ended up captured, there was no telling what her reaction would be. This was already bad enough as it was.

“Well now, I’d almost call that noble,” Queen Chrysalis said. “Or plain stupid, if you’re trying to trick me. No, I need to make sure you get the Stone back, even if it’s the last thing you do.” She rubbed a hoof over her chin for a few seconds. “Ah. Of course. Exile.”

“What?!” #5 shouted. “Exile?!”

“Yes. Exile,” Queen Chrysalis said. “I believe you’re familiar with the concept. And I’ll even throw in a little extra insurance.” She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. “I’ll have my servants watching your every move. If you even so much as think about abandoning me, I will know. And then, I’ll come for you. Personally.”

#5 nearly choked. His jaw flapped up and down, but he couldn’t get a single word out. Exile? On such harsh terms, too?

“Well then. Let’s get you started as soon as possible.” Queen Chrysalis stood up. “Advisor!” she shouted.

The changeling who had escorted #5 earlier stepped forward. “Yes, Your Highness?” he asked, giving an exaggerated bow.

#5 raised an eyebrow. This was her advisor? This was Her Highness, Queen Chrysalis’ most trusted servant, who occasionally assisted her with important decisions? Who was basically her right hoof? He looked like... Just like any other changeling, really. Average height, average build, average everything. #5 had at least expected something a little bit more impressive, like a scar or two.

“I have decided to exile him. Go get the required things,” Queen Chrysalis said.

The advisor gave another equally over-the-top bow. “As you wish.” He flew out of the room, and not a minute later, he returned, holding a dusty, white box in his hooves. He set it down in front of #5 and opened it.

Inside was one of the worst things a changeling could imagine. It was hideous, it was horrible, and worst of all, it was completely white. It was no more than a long, white piece of cloth, but any changeling could tell you this was the last thing they ever wanted to see.

The advisor removed the cloth from the box, sticking out his tongue in disgust. “The Garb of Shame,” he said. “I’ve never touched this before. There’s a first time for everything, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel clean again.”

With a sigh, #5 allowed the advisor to wrap the cloth around his upper body. It made him feel dirty. #5 hated the colour white, just like every other changeling. The reason behind it was long, complicated, absolutely disgusting, and something #5 didn’t like thinking about. Being forced to wear this was already major punishment on its own.

“Aaand... Done!” the advisor said, taking a step back. “I think you know the deal. It’s magically attached to you until the Queen permits you to take it off, but at least you can move it around. Plus, it’s always visible, whether you’re disguised or not.” He took a critical look at #5 and nodded. “But hey, at least it looks good on you!”

“Shut up,” #5 growled. “When I get the Stone back, I’ll show you who looks good in white.”

“Whoa, hey, no need for threats now,” the advisor said, stepping closer to #5. “That won’t earn you any approval points,” he whispered, subtly nudging a hoof in the Queen’s direction. “If you know what I mean.”

“Advisor,” Queen Chrysalis sneered. “Enough chatting. Escort the exile outside.”

The advisor turned around and bowed. “Naturally, Your Highness.” He turned back again and walked out of the throne room. “Follow me.”

#5 went after the advisor, glancing at the Queen over his shoulder. Her intense, vicious glare made him shiver, so he decided to look ahead instead. Not that it made him feel any better. Exile was better than any kind of painful punishment, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to it. Sure, he’d been alone for long stretches of time, but all of those times were a set length. But exile? It was a do or don’t thing. And if he couldn’t do it, he could kiss his holes goodbye.

After a few minutes of silent walking, they reached the hive’s exit, a rock-laden path leading to a small forest. “Well, good luck!” the advisor said, ushering #5 outside. “And show those white pill bugs who’s boss, okay?”

Showing those ponies who’s the boss was definitely on #5’s list, all right. But... “Hold on,” he said, turning towards the advisor. “I never said those royal guards were white.”

The advisor tilted his head. “Huh? Aren’t all royal guards white?”

“No,” #5 said, narrowing his eyes. “A lot of them, but not all. How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess,” the advisor said, shrugging. “No need to start pointing hooves. If I really was involved, would I make such a stupid, obvious mistake? I’m the queen’s advisor. Give me at least some credit.”

#5 bared his teeth and growled. He wasn’t angry at the advisor, but more at himself. Not even the dumbest changeling would make a mistake like that. What was he even thinking?

“Besides, I know better than to taunt an elite,” the advisor continued. “I mean, you’re one of the best! I’m sure Her Highness didn’t exactly enjoy kicking you out. You’re pretty valuable, after all.”

#5 answered with a frustrated snort.

“Well, look on the bright side. I don’t know what it is, but it oughta be there somewhere. I, on the other hoof, will see you later,” the advisor said, turning back to the hive. “With the Stone, hopefully.” He casually strolled back in, leaving #5 alone.

He took a few moments to gather his thoughts. The situation was quite simple: he was alone, he had to retrieve his race’s most important artifact, and the only thing standing between him was... Well, anywhere between a few royal guards to the entire Equestrian government.

Joy.

The Garb of Shame wasn’t going to make it any easier on him. He tried taking on a few random disguises, from a simple pony to several different animals, but every time, he felt the Garb’s fabric on him. Sure, other changelings could easily spot him with it, but it made him stick out like a sore thumb among ponies.

#5 carefully unwrapped the Garb. It came off without any problems, until the very last bit. As soon as he tried pulling it off, it stubbornly stuck to his skin. No matter how hard he tried, the obnoxious piece of white cloth just wouldn’t let go.

It wasn’t surprising, but still frustrating. He’d just have to deal with this some other way. After wrapping the cloth around his neck a few times, he left the end dangling just out of reach of the ground. It’d have to function as an improvised scarf for now. At least it made a lot more sense for him to walk around with a white scarf, instead of being wrapped in cloth like he had just escaped from the loony bin.

After checking his surroundings, checking his newly acquired scarf, and checking his surrounding again, #5 realized he was stalling for time. He didn’t know why. Maybe he subconsciously hoped the Queen would come outside and forgave him.

#5 sighed. No, that’d never happen. There was only one way he’d ever be allowed back in, and that was if he retrieved the Evershifting Stone. He turned away from the hive, and started on his long trek to the Equestrian capital, Canterlot.

With a snort, he had to admit the advisor was right concerning one thing. There was a bright side to this.

At least he got that solo assignment he wanted.

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

#5 sighed in relief as the train pulled into the station. Finally, Canterlot.

It had taken him quite a while to get there. First, he had to walk all the way to a town with a train station, and from there, he lied and cheated his way into a free train ticket. Currently, he was disguised as a cream-coloured unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail, brown eyes, and a fairly generic horseshoe as cutie mark. He was still wearing the Garb of Shame like a scarf, though he’d taken extra care to mask every other trace of his being a changeling.

His stomach loudly protested as he stepped out of the train. He hadn’t consumed any love lately, and it’d be quite hard to get any feeding done while he was on his mission. That would prove problematic, but it had to be solved later.

First order of business was to find a lead. Well, a better lead than ‘royal guards did it’, because that doesn’t tell a changeling a whole lot. Anything regarding the Evershifting Stone was top secret, so there had to be a leak somewhere. A spy, or a mole.

However, as #5 left the train station, squeezing past some ponies, he forgot all about that for a few moments. The streets of Canterlot looked nothing like he had imagined.

Sure, it had the large, white-and-golden buildings. Of course it was brimming with ponies, from everyday families to fancy higher-ups. What #5 hadn’t expected was the sheer number of changelings walking around.

There weren’t that many of them, but it was blatantly obvious, as these changelings didn’t even have a disguise! Every single one of them looked a little bit different, with some changelings having recoloured their tails, eyes or carapace, while some wore accessories, or even having wildly coloured and styled manes and tails. But they were undeniably changelings, even a pony could tell.

So why were these changelings walking around and talking to ponies like it was the most normal thing in Equestria? From what #5 could hear, the conversations were… incredibly boring. Subjects ranged from things like the weather to some kind of nonsensical rumour.

#5 blinked a few times. “Am I going crazy?” he mumbled. He shook his head and quickly blinked a few times again, but the changelings remained. Either this was all some big, hunger-induced delusion, or the rumours were true.

Both options made #5’s stomach churn. The first one because, well, he was hungry, and the second one because it made absolutely no sense whatsoever to him. “It… How…?” he muttered to himself. Changelings. Ponies. That combination should not be possible. Had these ponies somehow forgotten about the Canterlot invasion? Didn’t these changelings need the ponies as prey, to steal their love?

It made his brain hurt. Obviously, standing around wasn’t going to give him any answers, but this new information did open up a new possibility: whoever had come up with this, whoever was in charge, probably had something to do with the theft.

As he headed towards the castle, #5 snorted. If he were to change back into a changeling right now, noling would make note of it, even though he was wearing a white scarf. Maybe he’d get a few raised eyebrows, but nothing more. Though if he did that, someling might recognize that he was wearing the Garb of Shame, and right now, every changeling in the city was a suspect.

With every step he took, the air smelled sweeter and sweeter. It wasn’t very surprising, seeing as Canterlot was filled with ponies who loved each other, but #5 had never smelled such a strong scent. He didn’t know where he was headed, but the scent seemed to be especially strong in that direction.

#5’s stomach protested once again. He was hungry, and the sweet scents weren’t making it easy for him to ignore his hunger pangs. If he didn’t take some time off his mission soon, to get some love, he’d starve.

After a few minutes, he reached the marketplace. The smell was incredibly strong here, almost overpowering, and it made #5 drool. Still, he couldn’t ignore his mission. Or maybe he could, for just a couple of seconds.

An especially powerful scent, or rather, collection of scents, came from a small stand. It was a rather simple, wooden stand, with a white and pink tent set up to cover it. There was a chalkboard saying ‘Sweetheart’s Sweet Hearts: 24 bits for one’ stuck to the side, and displayed across the stand were a large number of hoof-sized, heart-shaped crystals, all in various shades of red, some even with differently-coloured hues or splotches. The owner was nowhere in sight.

#5 paused for a while to take a look. These were emergency rations, pieces of crystallized love, which provided enough energy for a changeling to feel full for at least a day. Not every changeling knew how to make them, and they were pretty rare at the hive. You had to work hard for a month or two, sometimes three, before you could even consider asking for one.

According to a quick count, there were well over thirty crystals on the stand. And with such prices, the owner wasn’t likely to make a living. Sure, they were expensive, but not nearly expensive enough to make up for their rarity.

The odd thing was, #5 had never seen such a diverse selection of crystals. Each one had a different smell, something he’d never even imagined. Whoever made these must not be very good at crystallization magic. Still, it was crystallized love, something #5 really needed right now.

He looked left and right. There didn’t seem to be any ponies or changelings looking at him. The owner of the stand wasn’t in sight either. It was almost criminally easy to just steal a crystal. It wasn’t like the Queen would reprimand him for this, as these changelings didn’t even belong to her. He checked his surroundings again, then reached out for one of the crystals.

“Hi!” came a voice from the stand, causing #5 to jump backwards and yelp.

A female changeling with an obscenely pink, slightly curly mane popped up from behind the stand. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there! I was setting up some stuff. My name is Sweetheart, how can I help you?” She sounded unusually upbeat, for a changeling. In fact, if it weren’t for the characteristic buzz in her voice, she sounded just like any other pony.

#5 took a few heavy breaths, staring at the changeling. Sweetheart? Wasn’t she supposed to have a number, not a name? Canterlot was making less and less sense with every step. “Uh, I…” he said, realizing he was staring. “I was just looking at your…” He glanced at the crystals. “Wares.”

“Nice, aren’t they? Being a pony, you can’t smell them, but I assure you, these are the sweetest of the sweet!” Sweetheart said. “I’ve got many flavours, like strawberry, banana, chocolate, and a whole lot of more complex ones. D’you want one?”

Multiple flavours? #5 stared at the crystals for a while. He wasn’t aware they came in more than one flavour.

“And what’s more,” Sweetheart said, “they’re made of a hundred percent pure love, and since you’re a pony, it’s got absolutely zero calories! They’re perfect as snacks, or as candy for kids!”

Snacks? Candy?! “But you only have a few of these,” #5 said. “Surely, you need these for your own kind.”

Sweetheart raised an eyebrow. “Only a few? You kiddin’? I got loads of boxes of the things.” She reached under the stand and pulled out a rather hefty-looking box, showing it to #5 before putting it back. “My whole stand is full of these, and I got more at home.”

#5 sighed. “Well, I don’t have any money. I can’t afford any.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Sweetheart said, sliding one of the crystals in his direction. “Here, it’s on the house!”

Free? Well, #5 wasn’t one to complain about that. He quickly swiped the crystal and put it in his mouth. It was very sweet, but not as sweet as he’d thought. It also had a few small differences from the crystallized love back in the hive, but he couldn’t tell exactly what they were. Though that didn’t really matter, as free food was good food, and it’s practically impossible to mess these up anyway. “Aren’t they really expensive?”

“What? Nah,” Sweetheart said. She looked at her sign. “Oh, whoops. Forgot to finish it again.” She took the chalkboard down, then grabbed a piece of chalk and added a word. “There, that should do it.” She put the sign up again. Now, it read ‘Sweetheart’s Sweet Hearts: 24 bits for one box’.

“So how many are in one box?” #5 asked. “Two?” It couldn’t be more than that. Twelve bits would be ridiculously cheap for these. There were a lot of crystals in this one stand, but it was likely that it was the only place in the whole city that sold them. She’d have to keep the prices high to make sure changelings did their jobs. If they even had any, being in a pony city.

“No,” Sweetheart said. “I can’t keep up with the competition with those prices. One box has twelve hearts.”

#5 gasped, swallowing his crystal in the process. Two bits for one piece of love crystal? Competition? How much crystallized love did they even have in this city?!

“You alright, mister?” Sweetheart asked. “My prices aren’t that bad, are they?” She leaned over her stand, giving #5 a concerned look. She then briefly glanced over her own shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I can’t get ‘em any cheaper than that.”

“I, uh… I… Never mind,” #5 said. It took him a few seconds to realize that he had accidentally swallowed his meal. Just when he was enjoying the taste so much, too. At least it still had the required energy for him to keep going for a while. “So, changelings, huh.” He cleared his throat. “What’re you all doing here? Where’s your queen?”

“Oh, we don’t follow Queen Chrysalis anymore,” Sweetheart said. “But the boss should be in the castle, like always.”

“Your… boss?” #5 raised an eyebrow. It made sense for them to have a leader, but this leader being at the castle was a surprise. Intriguing, to say the least.

“Yeah, the ambassador!” Sweetheart said. “He’s the best. He’s super smart and super nice. He knows everything about…” She paused for a moment. “A lot of stuff!”

“Oookay,” #5 said, turning away. “I’ve got to go now.”

“Have a nice day, mister… Uh…” Sweetheart tapped a hoof on her chin a few times. “I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“Me?” #5 asked. “I’m just a traveler.” No need to give out false info to ponies or changelings he wasn’t planning on meeting again. He didn’t have time for nice conversations, he had to get to the castle.

“Okay, have a nice day, Mister Traveler!” Sweetheart said, waving at #5. From the tone of her voice, it was really difficult to tell whether she was being sarcastic or genuinely thought it was his name.

#5 rolled his eyes. Great. If this kept up, he’d be stuck with a really stupid name for his disguise. He just hoped his charade wouldn’t get more complicated than this.





Not much later, #5 reached the castle. As expected, it was an enormous building, coloured white and gold, just like the city. The castle was very well-kept, the floor being so shiny you could use it for your morning routine, if you had one. Any pony would call it beautiful. But since #5 wasn’t a pony, he wasn’t fond of it. Why did they have to make everything white? Couldn’t they go with a more stylish black? At least that would look somewhat appealing.

Not that he’d be there for very long, anyway. It was easy to get inside the castle, as it was open to visitors, so he only had to find this ambassador pony. At least, he assumed it was a pony. If there really was a changeling ambassador, it should’ve been known in the hive.

But how, exactly, was #5 going to find this ambassador? The castle was big. Really, really big. Plus, most of it was off-limits to tourists. He’d have to ask, probably at a reception of some kind, but that presented another problem of its own: he would need to come up with a very good reason to meet with the ambassador as soon as possible, and the required credentials to go with it, completely fake of course.

No, it was probably better to find some dimwit who could lead him there without asking any questions. At least one of those had to be around here somewhere. #5 decided to skulk in a corner of what he assumed was the lobby, keeping a close eye on every single pony who happened to pass by.

Almost all of them were well-dressed, classy nobles. Snooty, annoying, monocle-wearing nobles. The kind that would ignore #5 if he went up to them, so he let them pass, even if the condescending looks made him want to set up slightly elaborate schemes to embarrass them. Now was simply not the time to have fun.

One particular pony, a rather large, white unicorn stallion with a blonde mane and tail, wearing a fancy suit gave #5 a look of absolute disgust and disdain. He mumbled something under his breath as well, and judging from the tone of his voice, it couldn’t have been a compliment. #5 made a mental note to return to Canterlot after he was done to wipe the smug look off this pony’s face.

After a while, a changeling passed by. He wasn’t particularly impressive: he was rather scrawny, and the only thing on him was a large, grey cloak, with a black sun where a pony’s cutie mark would normally be. The cloak seemed rather heavy and dragged on the ground a little. The changeling didn’t seem to mind, as he was so lost in thought that he nearly bumped into several ponies.

Deciding that this changeling would have to suffice, #5 went up to him. “Hey, I need you to tell me something. It’s urgent.”

The changeling stopped and looked at him for a second. “Urgent?” He raised an eyebrow. “What’s the matter?”

“I need to find the changeling ambassador’s office,” #5 said. “Where is it?”

The changeling looked at him for a few seconds again. “Uh, okay. You can follow me.” As he continued walking, he said, “It might take a few minutes. I’ve been here for a while, but I still get lost sometimes.”

#5 followed after the changeling, choosing to remain silent. Though he was very busy rolling his eyes. Yeah, the hive hadn’t really lost any important changelings when this one decided to leave. And it was one less mouth to feed, so it was more of a win.

The trip took them a few minutes, and the whole time, #5 couldn’t stop noticing just how… strange this changeling was. He walked around with a slight spring in his step, and every time they passed a window, he’d glance outside, looking at some part of the city, and smile. When #5 looked outside, he couldn’t see anything even remotely worth smiling at.  There were only the white and golden buildings, and the ponies and changelings walking around between them.

Eventually, they reached a set of double doors, flanked by two changeling guards. Unlike the sets of blue and green armour worn by changelings from the hive, these were wearing silver sets. They looked a lot less intimidating as well, mainly because they smiled and nodded at #5 and his escort, even going so far as to open the doors for them.

The room they went into was fairly impressive: large, high, and the tall windows provided an grand view of the city. It was almost completely empty, save for a desk, two chairs, two small bookcases filled with books and various pieces of junk, and a suspiciously unused coat rack, for some reason. There was a glass cage behind the desk, but #5 couldn’t see what was inside.

The changeling went up to one of the chairs and pulled it in front of the desk, motioning for #5 to sit. “Sorry for the mess. Have a seat! I’d offer you one of the luxury pillows, but there aren’t any here.” He then went to the other chair, put it on the other side of the desk, but didn’t sit down yet. He took a few books and papers out from under his cloak and haphazardly stuffed them between the other junk in the bookcases. “So, how can I help you?” he said, sitting down in the chair he put up earlier.

#5 obliged and sat down. “I need to find the changeling ambassador. Where is he, or she?”

“You’re looking right at ‘em!” the changeling said. “I’m Suncloak. Or I guess it’s His Excellency, Ambassador Suncloak of Equestria, blah blah blah. I prefer Suncloak.”

#5 stared at this… Suncloak character, his jaws slowly parting in a gaping chasm of utter surprise. This scrawny, dimwitted excuse for a changeling was their ambassador? This was their great, intelligent leader? Had the entire Equestrian government gone mad?!

“Uh, are you okay?” Suncloak tilted his head a little. “I can get you a glass of water, if you like. My assistant has a week off, but I’m sure I can find my way around the castle without going in circles.”

“No, no, I’m fine,” #5 said. “I just expected…” He held one hoof above his head. “Somepony taller.”

Suncloak gave him a deadpan look. “Yeah, I get that surprisingly often. You spend a lot of time at the castle, and suddenly they all expect you to be some sort of giant. But anyway, how can I help you?”

“Oh, right,” #5 said. “I had some questions, regarding changelings. What are you doing here, in Canterlot?”

“We live here,” Suncloak said. “Simple as that. Instead of being parasites and stealing love, we’re living together with ponies, earning love by being friends with them.” He stood up and went to the glass cage, opening it. “Excuse me for a second.”

A white moth with bright green wings flew out of its confinement. It darted around the room for a little bit, then settled on #5’s horn. “Hey, get off!” he protested.

“Sorry about that,” Suncloak said, narrowing his eyes. “Hey, Emerald, leave him alone. It’s not polite to perch on strangers’ horns.”

The moth gave a little shrug of annoyance, then flew straight back into its cage.

“Guess you’re lucky,” Suncloak said, closing the cage. “She doesn’t like ponies, so she usually has a good reason for even getting close to someling.”

“Fantastic,” #5 said. Woohoo. He already felt like a bonafide insect whisperer. “I didn’t know that this many changelings were living together with ponies.”

Suncloak sat down again. “That’s odd.” He raised an eyebrow. “There are changelings all over Equestria, from small towns to large cities.”

“I’m from a very tiny town, very far to the south,” #5 said. “So tiny, it doesn’t appear on most maps. There aren’t any changelings there. I decided to leave and become a traveler.”

“Right,” Suncloak said, slowly nodding. “So why did you need me, exactly?”

“I just wanted to ask those questions,” #5 said. “I’ll be out of here as soon as possible. I can find my own way back.” He stood up and headed for the door. This would be the perfect opportunity to snoop around the castle, see what he could find.

“I’m afraid not, Traveler,” Suncloak said. “Sit down and drop the disguise.”

#5 paused and turned around. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said as calmly as possible. How did this ladybug see through his disguise? He’d done everything he could to mask his identity!

“Of course you do,” Suncloak said. He pointed at Emerald’s cage. “Remember how I said she doesn’t like ponies? She won’t go near them. Ever. What she does like, is every single changeling who comes in here. Regardless of how they look.”

#5 growled. Foiled by a moth. He had to admit, that came out of left field. “Okay, great. You got me.” He changed back to his usual changeling form and sat down again. “What now?”

Suncloak stared at #5’s white scarf and raised an eyebrow. “Is that… the Garb of Shame? You’re an exile?”

“None of your business,” #5 sneered, baring his teeth.

“It is,” Suncloak said. “About a year ago, Queen Chrysalis very clearly threatened me and every changeling living in Equestria. She wouldn’t go through the hassle of exiling someling now, so she must have a very good reason.” He scowled. “And whatever that reason is, it’s probably not in Equestria’s best interests.”

#5 frowned. This Suncloak character was more clever than he looked. Not that it meant all that much. “Like I said, it’s none of your business.” He stood up again. “I’ll be leaving.”

Suncloak stood up as well. “We can do this two ways. Either you walk out of here, and I send the guards after you. If I mention you’re an agent of Queen Chrysalis, and that you’re here on her orders, they’ll go the extra mile to catch you, and either throw you out or lock you up. Or you just tell me why you’re here, and I promise I’ll do the best I can to help you.”

#5 stared at Suncloak. Being chased by guards certainly wouldn’t make his mission any easier. Canterlot was crawling with them, and being on the run would complicate things. And there was no reason to trust the ambassador to stick by his words, what with him being a changeling. “Those are both horrible options.” He snorted. “Either I get chased, or I explain everything and I get chased anyway. You’re a changeling, and one who’s against the Queen at that. Why should I trust anything you say?”

Suncloak sighed. “That’s not how I work anymore. Sure, I don’t like Her Highness, but I don’t want her as an enemy. If it’s possible, I want to help. Honest.”

“Honest?” #5 snorted. “What are you, a pony?”

“Yeah, sometimes I think and talk like one,” Suncloak said. He smiled and shrugged. “You’d be surprised, living here can do some weird things to you.” With a slight grimace, he added, “Some pretty painful things too.”

“That’s nice. But I’m still not telling you anything,” #5 said. Regardless of how stupid Suncloak was, he was still one of the prime suspects. Unless he could somehow prove he was so phenomenally insane he couldn’t possibly be involved.

Suncloak tapped a hoof on his chin a few times. “Why don’t I show you around?” He walked to the door and opened it. “I’ll show you how much we differ from changelings back at the hive, and what we’ve accomplished. I’ll show you we can be trusted, as strange as that may sound.”

“Sure,” #5 said. It’d be a completely useless activity, but at least it would give him some time to think and plan his next move. Plus, he could gain some more information.

“Then let me show you the magic of friendship,” Suncloak said. As he stepped outside, he paused for a second. “That sounded a lot more impressive in my head,” he said as he continued walking.

#5 rolled his eyes and followed. Admittedly, he was kind of eager to hear how such an… interesting changeling became an ambassador.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I guess it’s still same old, same old back at the hive?” Suncloak asked, leading #5 through the castle.

#5 shrugged. “Nothing’s changed. The Queen likes having control over everything.”

“We put a lot of work into making Equestria a good place to live for changelings,” Suncloak said. “Though not all ponies are that fond of us yet. But I’m sure it’ll fade over time.”

#5 rolled his eyes. Judging from what he’d seen, ponies were already far too friendly with changelings. “You’re comfortable enough to address yourself with the royal ‘we’.”

Suncloak paused and raised an eyebrow. “No, when I say ‘we’, I mean every changeling and pony living in Equestria. The only reason I can get stuff done is because of them.” He continued walking. “It’s complicated politics stuff. Very different from getting anything done in the hive. Same amount of backstabbing jerks, though!”

“You have enemies? Really now?” #5 asked. “Who would’ve guessed.”

“It’s not as bad as I make it sound,” Suncloak said as he continued walking. “There are only a few ponies who aren’t happy with us. Most ponies are either happy to make new friends, or they simply don’t care as long as we behave. Which is why I’m here.”

“I was wondering about that,” #5 said. “What’s your role as ambassador?”

“It’s pretty broad,” Suncloak said. “I’m basically the highest changeling official in the government, which means I get to decide a lot of important things. Laws and such. I also help newcomers when I can, make sure they’re comfortable.”

“I’m sure they appreciate your…” #5 paused for a second, thinking of the right word, “capable hooves.”

Suncloak chuckled. “I do the best I can. Really, I’m just a volunteer, but I guess I’m pretty good at—” A slight misstep made it impossible for him to finish that sentence, as he apparently had not seen the flight of stairs leading down right in front of him. The cloaked changeling tumbled down the steps, creating a huge noise, slamming face-first into a wall a second later.

“Right. Good at what?” #5 said, walking down the stairs like any normal changeling would.

“Huh wuh,” Suncloak said. His fangs had pierced the wall, punching holes in the plaster and keeping his mouth wide open. With a fierce tug, he managed to get loose. “Never mind. By the way, that has never happened to me before. I swear.” He hastily continued, walking down another flight of stairs and into the next hall.

#5 inspected the wall Suncloak had slammed into. There were a lot of small, circle-shaped spots that were coloured a slightly lighter shade of white. In fact, they looked suspiciously like fang marks that had been covered up. #5 rolled his eyes and followed Suncloak again.

“You’d think an ambassador would have a slightly more appropriate name,” #5 said. “Or, you know, a number and an occupation, like a changeling is supposed to have.”

“Well, I used to be royal guard #37,” Suncloak said. “But then I was banished. I just kinda stumbled into this name. Long story. All other changelings take more pony-like names to make it easier for their friends.”

“I don’t suppose you have some kind of list with all names and former numbers?” #5 asked. Something like that would be incredibly helpful for his mission.

“Yep, I do!” Suncloak said. “For security reasons, mostly. Gotta make sure the Queen doesn’t plant any spies.”

Huh. At least that sort of explained why the hive knew so little about the situation in Canterlot. On top of that, the Queen was very tight-lipped about the information as well. “So I guess you’ll want to know my name and occupation as well?” #5 asked.

“Yep!” Suncloak said. “Nothing personal. Like I said, security reasons.”

“None of your business,” #5 sneered.

“Then I’ll keep calling you Traveler,” Suncloak said.

#5 groaned. Well then, it seemed like he was stuck with that name. Traveler. Bah.

A few minutes later, they reached the front door of the castle. Or rather, front doors, seeing as it was an absolutely massive set of double doors. Suncloak stopped in front of them and turned to #5. Or Traveler, whatever his name was at this point.

“Anyway,” Suncloak said, dramatically clearing his throat. “I’d like to formally welcome you to the capital city of Equestria, home to about a hundred changelings…” He pushed against one of the doors with his shoulder, but it wouldn’t budge. “I said, home to about a hundred changelings,” Suncloak repeated, throwing his full weight onto the door. “Geez, this is heavier than I thought.”

After a few seconds of throwing his weight against the door and grumbling about something, a small part of the large door suddenly swung outward, sending Suncloak tumbling to the ground. A pony guard standing outside stared at the collapsed ambassador in surprise. “You okay, sir?”

“...Canterlot,” Suncloak mumbled, then stood up. He gave a little flourish and gestured at the city. “Tadaah?”

“Very impressive,” Traveler deadpanned. “A hundred changelings, you say?”

Suncloak nodded. “Well, there’s a bunch more right now for construction purposes. I’ll show you later.” He headed for the city, motioning for Traveler to follow. “Come on. The first thing I want to show you isn’t far from here.”

As he followed Suncloak, Traveler mulled over his new name. As far as names went, it was dumb, but not too much so. It could’ve been worse, like Suncloak. And he supposed his white scarf could be the thing that made him stand out. After all, in a city where every changeling had something unique, it would be fairly strange to have a changeling without something unique. So everything worked out nicely. Nicely, not considering the fact he was wearing a stupid, white scarf.

“So which came first?” Traveler asked. “The cloak or the name?”

Suncloak looked at his cloak for a second. “Oh, this? Like I said, long story. I had a cloak, and then I didn’t have a cloak for a while, and then my friends gave me this one.”

Traveler raised an eyebrow. “Your friends have weird tastes.” Seriously, black on grey? How dull could it get?

“Weird taste? The tuxedo and top hat combination I have to wear for formal events is weird taste,” Suncloak said. “Pony etiquette can get really complicated sometimes.”

Huh. A changeling in a tuxedo. Now that Traveler would like to see, if only because it’d be embarrassing for said changeling. “So, where are you taking me?”

“Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” Suncloak said. “You’ll see why in a minute.”

A few minutes later, they reached an enormous building. In front of it was a large sign saying ‘Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns’, as expected, but there was a little post-it note attached to the side, small enough that Traveler had to read it up close. The note said ‘+ changelings’.

Traveler raised an eyebrow. “There are gifted changelings?”

“Right now, there’s only one,” Suncloak said. “But he’s really smart. Can you believe Queen Chrysalis had him working in hive maintenance?”

“You do what the Queen tells you to,” Traveler said, giving a shrug. That was just the way changelings lived. Or how they were supposed to live, at any rate. “So what’s he supposed to do here, follow classes?”

“Not at all,” Suncloak said, heading inside. “He does research on changeling magic. Really complicated stuff.”

That made Traveler raise an eyebrow. Research? There were a lot of things changelings didn’t understand about the limits of their own magic, but he never thought it was necessary. Neither did the Queen, because there weren’t all that many changeling researchers. And based on how fast their work was going, Traveler always thought they spent their hours making paper airplanes or something like that.

The inside of the school was filled with very intellectual-looking ponies. Most of them were wearing really boring, dorky outfits, like thick-rimmed glasses and argyle turtlenecks. Ew. Maybe if Traveler didn’t make eye contact with them, they wouldn’t see him.

Several moments later, the two of them entered a fairly small room. The place was a mess, papers scattered criss-cross over a desk, several bookcases, chairs, everything. In the middle of the chaos stood a changeling wearing an elaborate set of goggles, intently focusing his magic on an apple. The apple shook for a second, then violently exploded, splattering the changeling’s goggles with apple guts.

“Well then,” he said, sliding the goggles onto his forehead. “That was actually pretty predictable. Perhaps if I used a banana...”

Suncloak, who somehow managed to get most of the apple sprayed onto him, loudly cleared his throat. “Goggles, what in the hive are you doing?” he said as he wiped most of the apple from his face.

Goggles looked around for a moment, confused, until he saw Suncloak and Traveler. “Oh, hey boss!” he said, running over to them. “What’re you doing here? Showing someling around?”

“You could say that,” Suncloak said. “But what are you doing?” He gestured at the scattered remains of the apple. “And for the last time, stop calling me boss.”

“Oh, you know,” Goggles said. “Science-y stuff. I wanted to test a hypothesis.” He paused for a second before adding, “Also, I like blowing up fruit.”

“That’s okay,” Suncloak said. “So what’s this hypothesis thing you’re testing?”

Goggles suddenly gave a very awkward grin. “Well, uh, it’s the theory that, uh… I think… I should have it around here somewhere.”

“You lost your papers somewhere again, didn’t you?” Suncloak rolled his eyes.

“It’s not my fault they made this school like a labyrinth!” Goggles blurted. “I’ll ask my friends to help me find it! I just… kinda got distracted.”

Suncloak put a hoof on Goggles’ shoulder. “It’s okay. Just make sure you get your stuff together, alright?” He put his hoof back down again and gestured at Traveler. “Now, this here is Traveler. Maybe you can tell him about some of the things you’ve done here?”

Goggles turned to Traveler. “Some things I’ve done here, huh? Well, I usually just hang around with my friends. I also do research here, but I haven’t been doing it for very long. Long enough to find out that trying to replicate a unicorn’s telekinesis as a changeling just blows stuff up.” He paused for a second. “Which is actually both funny and interesting.”

Traveler stared at him, switching between a frown and raising his eyebrows every other second. “Your name is Goggles?”

“Yep!” Goggles said, puffing his chest up in pride. “I had a pretty hard time deciding on a name, so my friends gave me one. Because I like these so much!” He pointed at the goggles on his forehead.

“How creative,” Traveler said.

“So, do you see what I mean yet?” Suncloak asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

“I think I’m getting an idea.” Though Traveler didn’t know if it was the idea Suncloak intended.

“Okay, thanks for your time, Goggles,” Suncloak said. “You just keep doing whatever it is you do.”

“Aye-aye, boss!” Goggles said, giving a salute and flipping his namesake onto his eyes again.

Suncloak turned and motioned for Traveler to follow back down the hallways, grumbling something under his breath.

Traveler followed yet again. “Why do these changelings keep calling—” A very loud bang back the way they came, followed by a shout of “Bananas are awesome!” interrupted him. “Why do they keep calling you boss?”

Suncloak sighed. “I have no idea. I think they just do it because it annoys me.”

“It annoys you?” Traveler raised an eyebrow. “But they’re calling you their leader. How can that possibly annoy you?”

“Because it’s not true,” Suncloak said. “I’m not their leader, or their boss, or whatever. I just make a couple of decisions to try and make their lives a bit better.”

“Doesn’t that basically make you their leader?” Traveler asked. “You’re the highest changeling official in Equestria, you said it yourself.”

Suncloak shrugged. “It just doesn’t feel that way.”

It wasn’t until they left the school that Suncloak spoke up again. “So, do you want to tell me why you’re here yet?”

“No,” Traveler said. “That was strange and all, but I’m not sure yet.” That, and he hadn’t thought of anything substantial yet. So far, he’d been too busy being surprised at these thoroughly weird changelings.

“Let’s try this again, then,” Suncloak said, heading out again. “I’ll show you another school.”

Traveler raised an eyebrow and followed. “A school? Again?”

“Yep!” Suncloak said, another big smile on his face. “Canterlot Elementary. It’s only a few blocks from here.”

Elementary school? Traveler frowned. That didn’t sound good, not at all. Elementary school would be full of pony foals. Considering the current situation in Canterlot, maybe even a few changeling nymphs. Eugh. He was generally okay with nymphs, as long as they stayed very far away from him.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Suncloak said. “It’s not nearly as bad as it sounds.”

“Fine,” Traveler said. After all, if the changelings at this next school acted as strangely as the ones he’d met before, then maybe this would be a pleasant surprise.

For some reason, he was really doubting that.

A couple of blocks further, the two reached their next destination. Like Suncloak said, it was another school, though this one was far smaller. It also had a sign, displaying the name of the school, Canterlot Elementary, in colourful, big letters. Through the windows, Traveler could see classes filled with foals and their teachers, though he couldn’t see any changelings. There was a large playground out in front of the building, but there currently weren’t any ponies or changelings playing.

The inside of the school was a perfect example of the average elementary school: happy colours, happy drawings, happy everything. Which made Traveler feel really, really uncomfortable. He’d assumed that such a large amount of happiness in one place was impossible.

“This’ll probably surprise you,” Suncloak said, leading Traveler all the way to the back of the school. Once there, he pointed at a door, leading to a room that hadn’t been visible from outside. There were a few tall, narrow windows right next to the door, which Suncloak took a peek through. “Here, look at this,” he said, beckoning Traveler over.

It took some maneuvering, but Traveler managed to see through the window and into the class. The inside was as colourful as the rest of the building, though the classroom was a bit more empty than Traveler had anticipated. The little school tables had been pushed to the sides of the room, neatly put away against the walls and the windows.

In the middle of the room was a semicircle of both pony foals and a couple of changeling nymphs. All of them were completely silent, enthralled by the adult changeling in front of them. A female with a short, red mane and tail, kept completely straight. She was reading from a book, though Traveler couldn’t make out what she was saying.

Suncloak squinted. “I really hope she isn’t telling them what I think she is.”

“Telling them what?” The only thing Traveler could see in the book was a picture of a pony dressed as a knight, accompanied by a pony and a foal clothed in rags.

“Uh, never mind.” Suncloak cleared his throat. “Anyway, as you can see, this is a class with both ponies and changelings, and the teacher is even a changeling! So far, this is only a test phase, but it’s going really well. Both the foals and the nymphs are having a great time.” He puffed up his chest in pride. “I know, because I made a survey.”

Traveler rolled his eyes. Asking a couple of questions to kids wasn’t something to boast about. “Is that it?”

“Yeah.” Suncloak took a step back. “Made up your mind yet?”

Traveler shook his head. He was starting to become less and less sure about the threat Suncloak posed, as he couldn’t possibly be sane. Right? Maybe. It was getting somewhat confusing.

Suddenly, the classroom’s door opened, and the red-maned changeling stuck her head out. “Can I help you with something?” she said, looking at Traveler. When she saw Suncloak, her face lit up. “Hey, boss! What’re you doing here today?”

“Just showing someling around,” Suncloak said. “His name’s Traveler.”

“Neat. My name’s Shining Nova,” the changeling said, turning to Traveler. “Keeping the ambassador off his work, are you?”

“I guess,” Traveler said. Not that he could think of any important work Suncloak would have to do.

“It’s not like that,” Suncloak said, subtly nodding at Traveler’s scarf. “But I’ll get out of your holes. We have one last stop to visit.”

“Then I’ll see you later,” Shining Nova said. “You go do your important ambassador stuff.” She briefly looked back in her classroom. “I should go back to work. But before that…” She stepped out of the classroom, gave Suncloak a peck on the cheek, then quickly went back inside again and closed the door behind her.

“Right, moving on,” Suncloak said, hastily turning around and leaving.

Traveler stared at the door in surprise for a few seconds. “Did she just…?” He quickly caught up to Suncloak. “Did she just kiss you?!”

“Yes,” Suncloak said, blushing fiercely through his scowl. “She knows I hate that.”

“Is she crazy?!” Traveler hissed. “She gave you love! Why would she do that?”

Suncloak sighed. “It’s like I’ve been trying to show you. The two of us, we’re friends. And she has many, many more friends, each one of them giving her love every single day. I bet those kids in the classroom are giving her love as well.”

“So? That’s no reason to start giving it away!” Traveler couldn’t even believe he was having this conversation. This was common knowledge to changelings! You don’t give away love unless you’re crazy!

“It kind of is,” Suncloak said. “The average changeling living in Equestria gets so much love, they either have to give a lot of it away, or restrict their feeding. A couple of months ago, we had a bit of a problem where changelings got really sick. Turns out a changeling can only consume so much love in a day.”

Traveler blinked a few times in surprise. He had no idea the changelings living around here were doing so well for themselves. He himself would’ve been tempted to live here just to try it out, if the general behaviour and way of life of these changelings wasn’t so profoundly stupid.

After a little while, the two of them were outside again, with Suncloak leading Traveler back to the castle. “So, what was she giving you back there?” Traveler said after about a minute of walking. “Was that the standard love love, or friendship love?”

Suncloak smirked. “None of your business.”

Figures. “Anyway, you said there was one last stop to visit?” Traveler asked. With this last bit of information, he actually had a pretty good idea of what he was going to do, but he was still interested in this next location. Whatever it was, it’d probably surprise him in some way.

“Yep,” Suncloak said. “We can get there from multiple places in the city, but the easiest entrance is near the castle. I’d tell you what it is, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

Traveler raised an eyebrow. That couldn’t mean anything good. Suncloak had been very forthcoming with his earlier destinations, which were already incredibly strange. Whatever they were heading to now had to be the strangest thing possible. Traveler couldn’t even imagine what it might be, considering that Canterlot had already been unimaginably weird to him.

When they reached the castle, Suncloak didn’t go inside, but circled around, eventually reaching a rather small building that was built into the mountainside. On the inside, the building was very simple, looking more like an old, dusty mine entrance. In fact, looking at some of the rather dated maps on the walls, it actually was an old mine entrance. Though there were many new-looking boxes standing near the mine shaft, so maybe it wasn’t that old.

“The entrance doesn’t look like much yet, but we’re working on it,” Suncloak said, making his way towards the mineshaft. “It’s down here.”

What could there possibly be inside this mineshaft, aside from the obvious? As far as Traveler knew, this was where Queen Chrysalis had sent two ponies during the royal wedding, to make sure they didn’t interfere. Though it turned out that wasn’t a very effective way of dealing with them.

Oddly enough, the walls of the mine were lined with torches. Changeling torches, seeing as they burned with green flames. It reminded Traveler of changeling hives. In fact, the only difference this mine had with a changeling hive was that the floor was perfectly smooth, as opposed to the hive’s uneven surfaces. And it didn’t have any changelings living in it.

A little bit into the mine, there were working ponies. Miners? No, they didn’t look like it. Sure, they wore hard hats and fluorescent orange jackets, but it seemed more like they were construction workers, as they had a lot more tools with them than just pickaxes.

“So, you’re just showing me a mine?” Traveler asked. He took another look at the torches and the construction workers. “A weird mine?”

“Not a mine,” Suncloak said. “This is still only the entrance. Or the entry hall, I suppose. We’re still working on it. Walls and ceiling need to be a bit more smooth. We’ll reach the main hall any second now.”

A few moments and a couple of corners later, Traveler could see a large cave chamber ahead. Purple and green lights shone from within, likely from the gems and torches inside said room. As soon as the two of them reached it, Suncloak stepped aside and motioned for Traveler to step inside.

The chamber made Traveler’s jaw drop. It was absolutely massive, filled with green torches and purple gems and strangely, a lot of construction gear. Enormous scaffolds were set up against the walls, populated by ponies and changelings, all of them digging and building. Any places that were out of reach were handled by pegasi and more changelings. Altogether, there must’ve been more than fifty changelings in the cave, who were in turn vastly outnumbered by ponies.

“What in the hive is this?!” Traveler exclaimed.

“Well, you said it yourself,” Suncloak said. “It’s a hive. Well, it’s going to be one.”

Traveler whirled around, facing Suncloak. “Are you crazy?! You’re building a hive, here?”

“Oh, relax,” Suncloak said, dismissively waving a hoof. “All requests and plans went through the appropriate channels. It’s been approved by the princesses themselves!”

“They just let you do that?” Traveler couldn’t believe it: the princesses might be just as crazy as all other ponies combined.

“The princesses are surprisingly pro-changeling,” Suncloak said. “A couple of ponies complained, but when you call it a changeling district and change the plans to match the design of Canterlot a little, most of them don’t mind anymore.”

Traveler turned around again. A hive. In Canterlot. He shook his head to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, but alas, the hive was still there. Even though it was still under construction, it already had a higher level of craftsmanship than any other hive, with smooth walls and carefully constructed roads. Though normal hives weren’t this pretty mainly because changelings didn’t care about that sort of thing. But still, a hive in Canterlot. In a short time, these changelings had accomplished something others could only dream of!

“That was the last thing I wanted to show you,” Suncloak said. “Can you see just how different life here is, compared to the old changeling hives?”

Traveler slowly nodded, turning back to Suncloak again.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do yet? Suncloak asked.

Traveler nodded again. “The way I see it, there’s two options. Either you guys are far too well off here to be involved in why I’m here, or you’re simply too crazy to be involved. I don’t know which one yet. Bottom line is, I don’t think you have anything to do with it.”

He briefly looked back at the currently being built hive. No, these changelings didn’t have any reason to steal the Evershifting Stone. What could they possibly accomplish by doing that? There was no malice directed at the Queen here, no jealousy, just a bunch of changelings living in their own, ridiculous way. Or they just weren’t sane enough to steal the Stone. “I’ll cooperate with you. But this place isn’t private enough.”

Suncloak grin was absolutely ecstatic. “Sure! We’ll talk in my office.”
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A little while later, Traveler and Suncloak were in the latter’s office again, sitting in the same seats as before.

“I’ll make one thing clear,” Traveler said, “and it’s that I’m only doing this out of necessity. You’re insane, and I don’t want to work with you, but you’re forcing me.”

Suncloak nodded. “Seeing as you probably want to get out of exile, I can understand that. So, who are you?”

“I’m #5,” Traveler said. “Of Her Majesty’s personal elite.”

Suncloak let out a sharp whistle. “Whoa. Her Highness must’ve had a very good reason to exile you. What’d you do to deserve that?”

“You should know all about this next part,” Traveler sneered. “During a mission I was in charge of, the Evershifting Stone itself was stolen.”

“What?!” Suncloak’s eyes went wide and he reeled back in surprise, nearly falling out of his chair. “How did that happen?! Why are you here?! Who did it? You don’t think I did it, do you?”

Traveler narrowed his eyes. “You’re a suspect. The Stone was stolen by ponies. Royal guards to be precise.”

Suncloak, still reeling, opened his mouth to say something, though it seemed like he reconsidered. “Wait, that doesn’t make any sense,” he said after a few seconds. “Nothing changed about the rules regarding the Stone. Not a single pony should be aware of it.”

“Right,” Traveler said. A flimsy excuse, if any.

“You have to believe me!” Suncloak said. “I have no reason to steal the Queen’s—” He let out a startled gasp. “Oh no! Who knows what she’ll do if she thinks I stole it!” He jumped out of his chair and started pacing around. “But this is impossible! Are you sure they were royal guards?”

“Definitely,” Traveler said. “I don’t recall any changeling scents on them, and one of them put me to sleep with a sleep spell. I don’t know any changelings who can do that.”

Suncloak’s pacing became more and more frantic. “Okay, okay, just gotta figure this out. Some ponies must’ve found out about the Stone, somehow. But the only way they could’ve found out is…” He paused, his eyes becoming even wider.

Traveler raised an eyebrow. He’d only seen someling panic this badly when they were absolutely sure they had incurred the wrath of Queen Chrysalis. Which, considering the situation, was a very good description.

Suncloak suddenly bolted to one of the bookcases and pulled out a rather hefty binder, then smacked it on the desk in front of Traveler. “Read this, see if you can find anyling who was involved in your mission!” he blurted, speeding towards the door. “Stay here! I have everything under control, I just need to… Uh, I need to water my lobsters!”

Suncloak quickly went through the door, slamming it shut. “Make sure he doesn’t leave,” he told the two changeling guards. “I need to go see the princesses.” Without waiting for a reaction, he went into the castle halls again, making his way towards the throne room at full speed.

After a few minutes of sprinting, Suncloak burst through the doors leading to the throne room, skidding to a halt in front of the princesses, who were currently talking to some very official-looking, monocle-wearing pony.  “I…” Suncloak gasped for air. “I think I need to work on my condition.”

Princess Celestia didn’t seem phased by his sudden entry at all. The tall, white alicorn simply sat in her throne, her pink, green and blue coloured mane and tail lazily drifting in a nonexistent wind. “What seems to be the matter, Ambassador?” Like always, she sounded gentle and patient, though that did nothing to calm Suncloak down.

“Big emergency!” he shouted, flailing his front hooves about. “Everything going wrong! Bad stuff happening! Need to talk to you!” He looked around the lavishly decorated room, spotting the multitude of pony guards and the lone official, who was sputtering something about ‘great injustices’ under his breath. “Um, in private,” Suncloak added.

Princess Luna tapped a hoof on her chin. While she wasn’t as tall as her sister, her dark blue colours and star-filled mane were more than enough to make her look equally imposing. “You know, if the supply closet is out of toilet pa—”

“This isn’t about that again!” Suncloak shouted. “That was only one time! This is serious! Really bad news serious!”

The two princesses looked at each other and both raised an eyebrow. “Very well,” Princess Celestia said, turning to their earlier guest. “I’m sorry, sir. We’ll have to continue our chat some other time.” She turned to the room at large. “Guards, I’m going to have to ask you to leave as well, for the time being.”

A few moments later, the room was empty, save for the princesses and Suncloak. “Now, what is it you had to tell us, Suncloak?” Princess Celestia said.

Suncloak sat down and twiddled his hooves. “Well, um, this is a little bit complicated, and I probably should have mentioned it earlier.” He paused for a moment. “Have you ever heard of the Evershifting Stone?”

“I don’t think I have,” Princess Luna said, glancing at her sister.

“Neither have I,” Princess Celestia said. “What is it?”

“It’s the most powerful changeling artifact there is,” Suncloak said. “It’s to changelings what the Elements of Harmony are to ponies, I guess.”

“Why only bring this up now?” Princess Luna asked.

“Well, all changelings are kind of expressly forbidden to talk about it.” Suncloak cowered a little bit. “The Queen put big punishments on it. I didn’t tell any ponies about it, nor did I change any of the rules surrounding it, because I don’t really want to find out what the Queen would do if you knew.”

“That’s understandable,” Princess Celestia said, giving a warm smile.

Suncloak took a deep breath and sighed. “The Stone is what makes Queen Chrysalis a queen. Without it, she’d be just like any other changeling. But with it, she’s powerful, immortal, and rules over all changelings by right of ownership.”

“Interesting. What, exactly, is this Stone?” Princess Luna asked.

“Noling really knows,” Suncloak said, shrugging. “It’s really weird. Every time you look away, something about it changes. That’s why it’s called the Evershifting Stone. We don’t know what it is or where it came from, just that it’s there, and that it’s really powerful.”

“Nothing?” Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. “No records, no research?”

“Changelings don’t really do either of those,” Suncloak said. “Besides, research is pretty much useless. The Stone changes all the time, and it’s completely random. Noling can agree on its past, either. Everyling has a different story, almost like the Stone keeps changing its own history. But that’s impossible.” He paused for a moment. “I think.”

“But why tell us now?” Princess Luna asked. “Did something happen to it?”

“Um, yes.” Suncloak stood up and took a step back. “There’s a changeling in my office, an exile. He’s one of Her Highness’ elite, and he’s here because it was stolen.” He took another couple of steps backwards. “By your royal guards.”

“What?” Princess Luna traded looks with her sister. “That’s not possible.”

“Oh thank goodness!” Suncloak blurted out, quickly clasping a hoof over his mouth. “Sorry,” he hissed after a second. “It’s just…” He put his hoof down again and started pacing around. “Not a single pony should know the Stone exists. On top of that, it was stolen during a mission, and considering the Queen keeps anything regarding the Stone top secret, not a single changeling living here could’ve known about it.”

His pacing became faster and faster, more and more frantic. “There’s no reason any pony should know about it, let alone any royal guard. But right now, I’m the most likely suspect, and I bet Queen Chrysalis will take any excuse to force all changelings to serve her again! I should’ve told you but I didn’t and I’m so sorry and everything I’ve done will—”

“Suncloak!” Princess Luna shouted, magically amplifying her voice and scaring the living daylights out of the panicked ambassador. “Calm down and take a deep breath.”

Suncloak stared at her for a few seconds, his heart stuck in his throat. “B-But I…” The following glare coming from the Princess of the Night made him carefully consider his next words. “O-Okay.” He took a deep breath, and miraculously, it made him feel a little bit better, though not by much.

“Good,” Princess Luna said, switching over to her warmest smile. “Panicking like that isn’t very becoming of an ambassador, now is it?”

Suncloak meekly nodded.

“Since this is changeling business, what do you suggest we do?” Princess Celestia asked.

After a few seconds of silence, Suncloak looked around. “You’re asking me?” He raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself.

“Of course,” Princess Celestia said. “You’re the one who’s the most knowledgeable about this.”

“Oh.” Suncloak tapped a hoof on his chin. “Okay… The Stone is pretty much useless to ponies, so we don’t have to worry about that. Though someling needs to have told those guards, or whoever they were, about the Stone.”

“Could they wish to use its power for something?” Princess Luna asked.

“I think so,” Suncloak said. “But not for long. The Stone operates under very strange rules. The only one who has access to its powers permanently is the Queen herself. Any other changeling can use it, but only for a short while. Half an hour, tops, I think. Could be shorter.”

“Maybe Queen Chrysalis herself is involved,” Princess Celestia said.

“No way. If she was involved, she wouldn’t exile one of her own elites,” Suncloak said. “Those guys are good. Really, really good. I’m absolutely sure she’s serious about this.”

The three of them remained silent for a while. “Then… which options remain?” Princess Luna said.

“I don’t know,” Suncloak said. “But one thing’s for sure: there’s someling, with some kind of scheme. A big scheme. They wanted to lure Chrysalis to the city, seeing as the Stone was stolen by royal guards. Or look-alikes. And I don’t think they counted on us finding out about the theft.”

Suncloak rubbed a hoof over his head for a second. “I think we should let the exile, Traveler, continue his search. Send someling with him to accompany him, make sure he doesn’t do something he’ll regret. Or something I’ll regret. I’ll help him as much as I can, while pretending nothing bad’s happening. Don’t do anything that might scare the Stone’s thief into using it.”

“We wouldn’t want the equivalent of Queen Chrysalis running rampant through the city, even if it’s only for half an hour,” Princess Celestia said. “You’re right. Subtlety would be our best bet. Any word of this getting out to the public wouldn’t create a favourable situation.”

“Alright. Ambassador, inform the exile of our plans,” Princess Luna said. “We’ll find a suitable escort for him.”

Suncloak bowed. “Of course, Your Highnesses. Right away.” He left the throne room at a slightly faster pace than was appropriate, heading back to his office.





A couple of hours later, Traveler found himself in the castle’s lobby again, as requested by Suncloak. His search through the changeling register had been completely useless, as none of them had anything to do with the Stone’s move. After that, Suncloak had returned and told Traveler his plan. Which he didn’t like one bit, not at all.

But he had no other choice. It was either go along with the Equestrian government, or get locked up. Though walking around the city with an escort wouldn’t be much different anyway.

Speaking of said escort, they were late. Suncloak had said that it wouldn’t take long to assign a guard to escort Traveler, and considering a few hours had passed, this meant that said guard had to be incredibly lazy.

With a sigh, Traveler looked at his scarf. The Garb of Shame. Stupid thing. If it wasn’t for this, he might as well have been out in the city already, looking for clues without any guard watching his every step. If it wasn’t stuck to his skin, Traveler would’ve burned it already.

But no, fate had decided something different. Fate wanted him to walk around a Canterlot that might as well have been an entirely different universe, with changelings being friends with ponies, changelings being friends with changelings, and generally having no idea at all of how the world was supposed to work. And on top of that, fate wanted him to spend way more time around these ponies and changelings than was necessary.

Hardly a suitable job for one of Her Highness’ favoured elite. He was one of the best of the best! He shouldn’t be mucking about with this nonsense! He was above this! The Queen only reserved the hardest missions for ones such as him. Whether it was a high-profile infiltration mission in some faraway country, or a long stakeout in some inhospitable location, Traveler could deal with it.

But in the end, all he could do about it was complain and grumble. While it wasn’t the way he had intended, this was the only way he’d find the Evershifting Stone right now.

A unicorn guard, a stallion, approached Traveler, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Excuse me. Are you Traveler?” he asked. Like the guards that had assaulted the changeling convoy, this one had a white coat, blue eyes, and wore gold armour with a blue crest and tail, hiding the pony’s mane, tail and cutie mark underneath.

Traveler nodded. “You’re my escort?”

The guard nodded and smiled. “Yep! The name’s Bravery. I’ll be keeping an eye on you while you’re in the city.” He held out his hoof in a friendly greeting.

“Really? Any particular reason?” Traveler glared at his supposed escort.

Bravery put his hoof down and shrugged. “Not really! I like helping ponies, and changelings I guess, so I volunteered!”

Traveler snorted. Right. It’s never that simple.

“We should go,” Bravery said. “It’s getting late, and from what I can tell, you’ve been busy all day.”

“Finally, someling with a sensible idea,” Traveler said. “I suppose the ambassador, or one of the princesses supplied you with some information on where to start looking?”

Bravery raised an eyebrow. “Uh, no. They told me some stuff, like what the thing you’re looking for is, but not more than that. I was hoping to form a plan first thing in the morning.”

“Morning?!” Traveler exclaimed. “Then what am I supposed to do for the night? Walk around aimlessly?”

“I was actually hoping to get some sleep,” Bravery said. “My house isn’t far from here, and there’s a guest room where you can get some rest, too.”

“No way,” Traveler said. “I’m willing to do a lot of things, but I’m not going to sleep in the same house as one of my suspects.”

“Oh, right.” Bravery tapped a hoof on his chin. “I was told your Stone thingie was stolen by royal guards. What’d they look like?”

“The exact same as you,” Traveler sneered.

“Well, that doesn’t help at all,” Bravery said, lifting his helmet with his magic. As he did, his eyes turned green and his coat a few shades darker. It also revealed a scruffy orange and yellow mane. “Some of our sets of armour are enchanted. You know, for official events where all guards need to look uniform.” He put his helmet back on again, disguising his features again. “It could’ve been any guard. Plus, a bunch of sets have gone missing a while back.”

“So, you’re saying any pony could be the thief?” Traveler asked. “Amazing! Just great!” He threw his hooves up in the air. “That means I’m back to square one!”

“Not entirely,” Bravery said. “At least it’s likely the same thief was responsible for both.”

“And do you know who that is?” Traveler asked. “Any clues, hints, whatever?”

Bravery sighed. “No, nothing. Not even any signs of break-in.”

Traveler growled. “Some help you are.”

“I’m sorry,” Bravery said. “Let’s just go to my house, okay? Get some sleep, and we can start the investigation properly first thing in the morning.”

“Do I even have any choice? If I choose not to, and go look around on my own, you’ll just report me to the princesses,” Traveler said.

Bravery shrugged. “I guess I’d have to. No offense, but I’d just be doing my job.”

Traveler sighed. “Fine. Lead the way.”

Bravery set off, with Traveler following suit. It was starting to feel like this following thing was going to be a regular occurrence. Just as well, because Traveler didn’t even know the city all that well. And even though he didn’t like to admit it, he was feeling tired. Sleep would probably do him well.

Like Bravery said, his house wasn’t far from the castle. It was fairly well-hidden, in a secluded, quiet part of the city. Once there, Bravery pointed at the front door of the comparatively bland house. “There it is. Not all that big, but big enough for me and my wife. And the neighbourhood’s pretty calm, too!”

“You have a wife?” Traveler asked.

Bravery nodded. “Yep! I could tell you how amazing she is for hours and hours, but I think I’ll just let her speak for herself.” He opened the door and stepped inside. “Honey, I’m home!”

As Traveler stepped inside, he noticed that Bravery’s house was remarkably… boring. It was just like any other pony house, with boring floors, boring walls, a boring ceiling, boring everything. There were pictures of friends and family strewn throughout the hallway.

The living room the hallway lead to was pretty much the same, as was the kitchen. Though there was a rather tall, slender pegasus mare with a gold-yellow coat, a long, light green mane and tail, matching eyes, and a dress for a cutie mark setting a dinner table in the kitchen. As soon as she saw Bravery, she walked over and kissed him. “Welcome home, honey,” she said, glancing over to Traveler, her face lighting up in the process. “Ah! You must be our guest.”

“Yep!” Bravery said. “Glitter, this is Traveler. Traveler, this is Glitter, my wife.”

“Yeah, okay,” Traveler said. “I was told I could get some sleep. Where’s the guest room?”

“It’s ready and made upstairs,” Glitter said. “But I actually wanted to invite you eat dinner with us!”

“Oh. That’s…” Surprising, to say the least. But even though Traveler just wanted to start his investigation as soon as possible, he had to wait until morning. So he might as well take these ponies up on their offer of free, tasty food. “Sure, a few bites won't hurt.”

“Great!” Glitter said, a wide smile on her face. “Let me just finish setting the table, and you two can take a seat.”

Traveler took one of the chairs and sat down, while Bravery took off his armour, revealing a cutie mark of a side view of a lion’s head, and sat diagonally across from him. In absolutely no time at all, Glitter had put down an enormous number of things on the table: plates, bowls, cutlery, and most importantly, salads, loaves of bread, and even two pots of soup.

“Take whatever you want,” Glitter said, sitting down next to her husband, which placed her directly across from Traveler. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just got a little bit of everything.”

Traveler stared at the huge amount of food on the table. “I… see. You two sure eat a lot.” And they weren’t too bad at staying in shape, either. It was to be expected of a royal guard, but Traveler had no idea how Glitter could stay so slender. Maybe she exercised a lot. Or maybe she just drank a lot of prune juice.

Bravery chuckled. “Oh, no. I sent a message ahead so Glitter had enough time to prepare. But like every single time we have guests over, she’s coddling you. Told you she was great!”

Glitter grinned and elbowed her husband in the side. “Were you bragging about me again?”

“Hey, I can’t help it!” Bravery held his hooves up in mock defeat. “It’s not my fault I married you!” After a pause, he added, “Well, I guess I could blame my rugged good looks and roguish charm.”

Traveler rolled his eyes as he took a chunk of bread. The incredibly sweet scent coming from the two ponies in front of him was overpowering anything coming from the food. It’d be nauseating if it wasn’t so appetizing.

Glitter giggled. “Well, enough about me. Can you tell me something about yourself, Traveler?”

Traveler paused in between bites. “Me?”

“Of course!” Glitter said. “You know, what kind of job you have, or your hobbies, or something like that.”

Traveler raised an eyebrow. “I’m one of Her Majesty’s elite. I take on the most dangerous tasks she has in store. That’s it.”

“Really?” Glitter said, serving herself a bowl of soup. “No hobbies, or friends you have fun with?”

“Changelings aren’t supposed to have friends,” Traveler said. “I didn’t do anything besides my job. That’s what the Queen demands.”

“Oh.” Glitter gave Bravery a very awkward glance.

“At least, um… That scarf looks good on you,” Bravery said. “That’s something.”

Traveler grumbled. Stupid scarf. The fact that it apparently looked good on him was just adding insult to injury. He pushed his chair back and stood up. “I’m going to bed.”

“Of course,” Glitter said. “You must be tired from your long day. Come on, I’ll show you where your room is.” She stood up and led Traveler to a staircase in the back of the house, leading up. Once upstairs, she showed him a rather simple room containing just a bed, a closet and a wall-mounted mirror. There was a window, but the curtains were drawn. “It’s a little bit bare, but you’ll be okay, right?”

“Of course,” Traveler said, heading inside the room as quickly as possible and shutting the door behind him.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

Traveler took a moment to look at himself in the mirror, though his scarf only reminded him of things he didn’t want to think about. The faster he was done in this city, the better. He couldn’t stand all this mushy stuff ponies were so fond of.

Though there was one advantage to this: at least sleeping in a bed was better than sleeping in the streets. And it looked pretty comfortable, too. As Traveler tested the bed with one hoof, he scrapped that last observation. It felt really comfortable.

No, he couldn’t sleep just yet. Some planning was needed. Like what locations he wanted to check out tomorrow, and who were his most likely suspects.

On the other hoof, his bed did feel really comfortable. A quick nap wouldn’t hurt. He’d just close his eyes for a few minutes, clear his mind. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

Traveler slipped under the sheets. Normally, he’d never be envious of ponies, but beds sure did beat the tough rocks of the changeling hives. It was the only luxury he’d ever consider importing, though it’d probably turn some changelings into outright slackers. Not Traveler, though. He was a light sleeper, and usually took short naps.

Though this time, he fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A gentle knocking on the door roused Traveler from his sleep. “Hey, Traveler,” came Bravery’s voice. “It’s time to get going.”

“Jus’ five more minutes,” Traveler mumbled, pulling the blankets up a little. Going out could wait a couple of minutes. Besides, that wouldn’t be until morning anyway.

Wait, if they weren’t going to go investigate until morning, why was Bravery waking Traveler up? It could only mean… Traveler’s eyes went wide and he jumped out of bed, rushing towards the door and swinging it open. “What time is it?!”

Bravery took a surprised step back. Traveler hadn’t noticed it before, but the guard looked a lot less impressive without his armour. It probably had to do with his messy mane. “Uh, it’s about nine in the morning.”

“Nine in the morning?!” Traveler shouted. “But I—” He glanced back at the bed. “I only closed my eyes for a few minutes.” He glared at the bed. It really was too comfortable for it’s own good. Traveler would have to put it out of its very comfy misery soon, if only because it ruined his plans he hadn’t made yet.

“You must’ve been more tired than I thought,” Bravery said. “Did you sleep well?”

Traveler looked at Bravery, then glanced at the bed for a second. “Yes,” he grumbled. “Yes I did.”

“Great! We’re all set to go,” Bravery said, heading down the stairs.

Traveler followed after him. “Wait, why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

“I tried,” Bravery said. “So did Glitter. You didn’t react to anything.”

Traveler felt his cheeks heat up a little. Some elite he was, sleeping through wake-up calls. “So, we can go now? You don’t have to put on your armour, or eat breakfast, or something?”

“Nope!” Bravery said. He had reached the front door, and even though he had his telekinetic grip on it, he hadn’t opened it yet. “Me and Glitter already ate before you woke up. And I don’t have to wear my armour because I have to be all incognito and stuff.”

“Ah. Don’t let on you’re a royal guard, to keep things subtle.” A sensible strategy. If Traveler had a clearly visible royal guard traveling with him, it might cause the Stone’s thief to do something hasty. That could be disastrous, so this was a much better solution.

“I dunno,” Bravery said. “These were just orders.” He pushed open the door. “But hey, let’s get started, okay?” He motioned for Traveler to go ahead.

Traveler rolled his eyes and stepped outside. He was giving Bravery too much credit. “Enough talking, let’s get searching.” On a whim, he decided to go right. Had to start somewhere.

“Whoa, hey,” Bravery said, running up to Traveler and stopping him. “Do you even know where to start?”

“No,” Traveler admitted. “Do you?”

Bravery took a step back. “Uh, not exactly. Well, probably in one of the seedier districts of the city.”

“Then that’s where we’re going,” Traveler said. “Er…” He looked around. “Wherever it is. Lead the way.”

Bravery nodded. “The further you get away from the castle, the more… questionable the ponies get. This way.” He set off into town, with Traveler trailing behind. “I guess we’ll start near the far edge of the city.”

“Questionable, huh?” Traveler said. “I didn’t know ponies could do anything besides be nice to each other all the time.”

“Oh, far from it. Though from what I’ve heard, we’re nowhere near as bad as changelings.” Bravery chuckled. “I mean, the ones still serving Queen Chrysalis. Changelings here tend to be a bit weird, but helpful.”

Traveler snorted. “Helpful? That doesn’t sound like any changeling I know.”

“You’d be surprised!” Bravery said. “Changelings are excellent at construction. The speed of an earth pony, combined with the mobility of a pegasus. And that sticky goop you guys can spit out is pretty useful as well.”

That made sense, at least. Changelings could create a new hive at high speed, blasting pieces of rock away with magic, and keeping everything from collapsing by sticking it together. “What else are they fit to do?” Traveler asked.

“Uh, lemme see…” Bravery paused, staring up at the sky for a second. “Acting, security, fashion, baking… A lot of stuff, really.”

Traveler stopped and stared at Bravery. “Okay, I can imagine acting and security, but fashion? Baking?”

“Fashion isn’t that out there, is it?” Bravery continued walking. “One changeling can be any model imaginable, so they can make every style work. As for baking, I think it has something to do with you guys not needing food, so you’re better at focusing on making stuff taste great.”

“That… That sounds really useless,” Traveler said. “Shouldn’t they be doing other things? Things that aren’t useless?” He quickly caught up with Bravery. “You know, like military positions?”

Bravery shrugged. “No need. Everypony can do whatever they want in Equestria, as long as they make sure they don’t break any laws. Changelings are included in that.”

Do whatever you want? That sounded like a recipe for disaster. Traveler didn’t want to imagine what the hive would look like if changelings could do whatever they wanted there. “Anyway, enough chatting. We’ve got a thief to catch.”

“Yes,” Bravery said. “Is there anything I need to look out for? I know those guards were disguised, but what about that Stone thingie?”

“That’d be difficult,” Traveler said. “The Stone constantly changes. The only way you’ll be able to recognize is it by testing every single gem in the city to see if any of them contains an enormous amount of power.”

“Oh. So, nothing?” Bravery scratched himself on the head. “Then how are we going to find it?”

“It was being transported in a black box, padded with red velvet cushions,” Traveler said. “It might be somewhere in the city.”

“A black box with red velvet cushions?” Bravery raised an eyebrow. “I thought changelings didn’t have luxurious stuff like that. We’ll have to ask around if somepony’s seen it.”

“Ask around? We can’t involve more ponies in this!” Traveler said. This really didn’t need to be more convoluted than it already was. Why was secrecy so hard for these ponies?!

“Like it or not, that’s the best way to find stuff. Most ponies will be glad to help,” Bravery said.

Traveler rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I wonder how long it’ll take to find—” he started, before something heavy bumped into him, causing him to wobble a few steps to the side. “Ow.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” a feminine voice sounded. Right next to Traveler stood an orange pegasus mare, with a dark blue mane and tail, light blue eyes, and a cutie mark of a sun, shining brightly through a circle of clouds. She looked a bit dazed, probably from just slamming into the changeling’s side. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Traveler said.

“You okay, miss?” Bravery asked.

The mare nodded. “Yeah, it was just a bump. I guess it was kind of literally bumping into each other, huh?” She giggled. “Anyway, I’m really sorry. Anything I can do to make it up?”

“Nah.” Traveler turned to leave. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, sure. See you, miss!” Bravery quickly took the lead again. When he and Traveler were out of the mare’s earshot, he said, “See? Glad to help.”

“Bet you ten bits that wasn’t a coincidence,” Traveler grumbled. “I’m leaving nothing up to chance.”

Bravery rolled his eyes and mumbled something. “Well, we’ve got to find information somewhere. We need somepony who can help us.”

Suddenly, the orange mare popped up in front of Traveler. “Hey, you need help? Why didn’t you say so?”

Traveler took a step back in surprise. “Wait, how did you…” He looked over his shoulder. “How’d you catch up to us that fast?”

The pegasus flapped her wings. “Duh.”

Oh. Right. “Well, I don’t need your help,” Traveler said. “So just go away and leave me to my job.” He continued on his way, pushing the mare to the side as he went.

“Uh, sorry, miss,” Bravery said. “We’re in a bit of a hurry.” He quickly caught up to Traveler, leaving the mare behind once again. “That was kinda rude, you know.”

Traveler paused and turned to Bravery. “Look, I don’t know if this has gotten through yet, but I’m not here to be nice. I’m here on a mission, and way too many ponies have already gotten involved in this!”

He paced left and right. He really felt like bucking something right now. Maybe the silvery trash can at the side of the street. “I don’t care about your pleasantries, or whatever! I just need to find what I’m looking for, get my normal life back, and that’s it!”

The orange mare’s head popped out of the trash can, balancing the lid on her head. “You’re looking for something? I can help! Please?”

“NO!” Traveler shouted, slamming the lid back down and pushing the mare back into the trash can. “Get lost!”

Traveler stared at the trash can for a while, panting heavily. After blinking a few times, he managed to compose himself. “Anyway. I just need to find that black box,” he said, turning back to Bravery and the orange mare. “And then— Aaah!” He jumped back in surprise.

“You!” He pointed at the orange mare. “How’d you—” He turned back to the trash can, then back to the mare. “How’d you get out?”

The mare shrugged. “I just got out. You know, hop, and I’m out.”

“B-But…” Traveler lifted the trash can's lid. Nothing inside, except for some random garbage. “I was looking at it the whole time! I didn’t see you come out at all!”

The mare shrugged again. “Not the whole time, apparently.”

Traveler looked at the mare, who was entirely clean, then inside the trash can. “But how..?” There had to be some sort of secret passage in there, but he couldn’t see it. He leaned in further. It had to be there somewhere!

“Uh, Traveler, what’re you doing?” Bravery asked.

“You saw that!” Traveler said, now hanging half inside the trash can, inspecting its insides. “She had to get out somehow!”

Bravery sighed. “So, miss. Maybe you can help us. I’m Bravery, and he’s Traveler.”

“Nice to meet you! My name is Summer Gale,” the mare said, giving a courteous bow. “How can I help you?”

“We’re looking for a black box,” Bravery said. “It’s got red pillows inside, and a gem.”

“A black box, huh?” Summer tapped a hoof on her chin. “I think I saw a black box with red pillows in it earlier, but I dunno about a gem.”

“Hey, would you look at that!” Bravery said. “Hey, Traveler, I think we’ve got ourselves a lead!”

“We what?!” Traveler shouted, only his hind legs sticking out of the trash can. “You know, I think she used some kind of elaborate contraption to get out of there! She’s already gone, right?”

Bravery sighed again. “Where’d you see it?”

“At the edge of town,” Summer said. “Somepony was selling it near the harbour.”

“Great! Could you lead us there?” Bravery asked.
“Of course!” Summer said. “Gotta make up for rudely bumping into your friend somehow.”

“Awesome!” Bravery said. “Let’s g—”

A loud crashing interrupted him, caused by the trash can tipping over and spilling some trash into the street. It rolled back and forth as Traveler tried to get out, but to no avail. After a little while, it stopped moving. Traveler remained silent.

Bravery and Summer glanced at each other. “Er…”

A soft grumbling came from the trash can. “Help.”





The Canterlot harbour is not like your usual harbour. The main reason being the complete absence of water, which wasn’t all that odd, considering Canterlot was built into the side of a mountain.  Not that this did anything to deter ships: instead of boats, the harbour was filled with countless airships, from small cargo ships to massive cruise liners. Around these ships, many ponies loitered about, like tourists, dock workers and the occasional sailor.

“So, where’s this vendor?” Traveler asked.

“Uh…” Summer looked around the harbour. “He should be around here somewhere. Err… Ah!” She pointed at a small, shabby shed. “There it is!”

Without hesitating, Traveler barged in. The shed itself was quite boring. No signs or anything, and the inside was mostly filled with random junk. There was a counter with a gray earth pony stallion behind it. His mane and tail were a silvery white and his eyes were red, with an ugly-looking scar over the left one. “You!” Traveler said, pointing at the vendor. “I heard you got a black box around here. Give it to me.”

The vendor raised an eyebrow. “What, to you? No. Besides, I already sold it.”

“Then tell me who you sold it to,” Traveler said. “In case you couldn’t tell, it’s important.”

“Don’t care,” the vendor said. “Can’t tell you anything. Client confidentiality.”

“Look, termite,” Traveler said, inching closer to the vendor. “I don’t have time to chat with you. Just give me that info and I’ll be gone.”

The vendor grinned. “Or else?”

“Or else I’ll give you a matching scar, but over a different cavity,” Traveler growled. “Up to you.”

The vendor snorted. “Try me.”

“Why you…” Traveler started, rearing up. Halfway through the motion, he felt a force stopping him, keeping him in place. Upon closer inspection, his hooves were covered in a light blue aura.

“Stop it, Traveler,” Bravery said. “You’re scaring him.”

Though the vendor’s expression portrayed nothing more than annoyance, Traveler relented. “Okay, okay, let me go.”

Bravery tugged on Traveler, pulling him away from the vendor, then let go. “If you keep this up, I’ll have to turn you in regardless.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want,” Traveler said. “But not before I get what I’m looking for.”

“You don’t have to be so fussy about it,” Summer said. “Let me handle this.” She went up to the vendor, chatting with him under her breath, soft enough that Traveler couldn’t overhear what they were saying.

“Right. I doubt this’ll get me anywhere,” Traveler said, staring at the vendor.

“You have to calm down, Traveler,” Bravery said. “You won’t get anything done acting like this.”

“I’ll get things done regardless of method,” Traveler sneered. “I’m one of Her Majesty’s elite. I’d like to think I know what I’m doing.”

“That’s not how it works around here,” Bravery said. “You can’t act like you’re the only pony, or changeling, in the world.”

“It’s how I work, okay?” Traveler said. “If you don’t like that, just do your job as fast as possible so I can act like that somewhere else.” He continued staring at the vendor. Maybe there was some kind of ledger in the store, or something containing the information of his clients. Traveler just had to find out where.

Throughout his conversation with Summer, the vendor didn’t let anything on. He spoke too softly for Traveler to hear, and Summer didn’t provide any cues. If this continued, Traveler might be forced to resort to a bit more legally questionable actions.

After a while, Summer thanked the vendor and went back to Traveler and Bravery. “I’ve got what we need!” she said. “He sold the box to some artsy type, who requested the box to be sent to a warehouse a few blocks away.”

Traveler stared at her, wide-eyed. “How in the hive did you manage to get him to tell you that?”

Summer shrugged. “I asked nicely.”

“See?” Bravery said.

“Impossible,” Traveler said. “You must’ve used some kind of persuasion method.”

“Uh…” Summer scratched herself on the head with a hoof. “Does saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ count as persuasion?”

“Wh… But I… How?!” Traveler tried going over it again and again in his head, but it simply didn’t make sense. After a while, he decided to just give up. This whole concept was beyond him, for now. “Look, let’s just go to that warehouse, okay?”

“Yeah, I know where it is. Follow me!” Summer said, heading outside.

Bravery followed after her, but Traveler lingered in the store for a second. The vendor quickly slipped away, to a room behind the counter. How was it possible to nicely ask a pony like that for information, and have him comply? Thinking about it made Traveler’s head hurt. He knew ponies were soft, but this was a new low. However, the enigma that was the regular pony’s mind would have to wait, as Traveler quickly headed outside.

Like Summer said, their next location was only a few streets away, so the trip wasn’t long. The warehouse the box was supposedly delivered to was pretty small. Pretty dirty, too, as it was all run down. The windows were dusty and cracked, the paint on the wall peeled off in places, and the door was secured with only a rusty old padlock. There was a sign hanging on the door.

“Huh,” Summer said, walking up to the sign. “Opening times? That’s weird. Must be some kinda super exclusive warehouse!”

Traveler rolled his eyes. More like super terrible warehouse. “Let’s just get inside.”

“Can’t,” Summer said. “Look.” She pointed at the sign. Listed on it were the opening times of the warehouse, like she said. Fairly normal times, with it being closed on Fridays and weekends.

“So?” Traveler said. “This isn’t a problem.”

“It kinda is,” Bravery said. “It’s Friday, so the place is closed for the next three days.” He leaned in closer to the sign, thoroughly scanning it. “I don’t see any contact information here, either. Maybe we can ask that salespony?”

“No, he told me I couldn’t get back to him to ask more questions,” Summer said. “Something about having had enough threats for the day and closing shop early.”

“Not important,” Traveler said. “Entry is easy. The windows aren’t secured, so I can get in through one of those, grab the box, and get out. Easier than taking a love crystal from a nymph.”

“No, Traveler.” Bravery frowned. “You can’t do that. It’s—”

“—against the law, and you can’t let me do that,” Traveler finished, scowling. “Right. Is that really so bad, considering the importance of what we’re looking for here?”

“Regardless, I can’t let you do that,” Bravery said. “I can’t just forfeit my job.”

“Then do you have any other suggestions?” Traveler asked. “Wait around and see? Go follow one of those other leads we don’t have?!”

Bravery took a step back. “I… don’t know.” He gave a stern frown. “I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is.”

“Oh, oh! I know!” Summer excitedly said, flying up behind Traveler. “We can do this!” She put her hooves on the corners of the changeling’s mouth, pulling them up.

“Whah ih thih?” Traveler asked. This was hurting his mouth.

“Well, you’ve got a bit of trouble talking to ponies,” Summer said. “You need to be a bit nicer!”

Traveler frowned. “I hon’h hee—”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Bravery said. “If you want to get around normally in the city, you’ll have to treat ponies with a little bit more respect.”

“Yeah!” Summer said. “So no more frownies, and more smilies!” She took her hooves off Traveler’s mouth, and instead used them to push up his eyebrows, removing his frowns. This also caused the corners of his mouth to dip down again, which Summer decided also needed keeping up, so she alternated between the two. Eventually, she decided to stick one hoof on Traveler’s forehead, and another on one corner of his mouth.

“It’ll be worth it, I promise,” Bravery said. “Ponies will let a lot more slide if you’re nice, and the princesses might give you some more leeway as well.”

“Leeway?” Traveler repeated. “That’d be… useful.” Maybe he could somehow prove he didn’t need a foalsitter. Make it so he could get rid of Bravery, walk around the city on his own again. That’d certainly open up new possibilities. Or rather, old ones that had previously become unavailable. “Alright, let’s do it.”

“Woohoo!” Summer let go of Traveler, flying up and making a loop-dee-loop. “Now, I don’t mean to brag,” she said, landing again, “but I’m the nicest of nice. It’s even my special talent!” She all but shoved her rear in Traveler’s face, causing him to take a step back. “See? I can make anypony’s day the brightest ever!”

“...And?” Traveler asked.

“So I can teach you!” Summer whirled around again. “And totally for free, too. That’s just how nice I am,” she said with a smirk.

Traveler glanced at Bravery, who merely gave a confused shrug. “Uh, sure. Show me,” Traveler said. “Teach me how I can be nice.”

Ugh. That might just have been the second dumbest thing he’d ever heard, along with the dumbest thing he ever heard himself say. Regardless, it was necessary. And besides, how hard could being nice be?
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Being nice is very, very easy,” Summer said, leading Traveler and Bravery through the streets of Canterlot. “But before we start, I want to see how good you are.” She grabbed Traveler and turned him to face Bravery. “Show me!”

Traveler raised an eyebrow. “I don’t get it. Show you what?”

“Show me how nice you can be,” Summer said. “Ask Bravery how he’s doing, and about his day.”

“This is ridiculous,” Traveler grumbled. But if ridiculous was going to give him freedom, then ridiculous it was. Rolling his eyes, he deadpanned, “How’re you doing, Bravery? How’s your day? There. I—” A sudden, sharp pain on his muzzle interrupted him. “Ow!”

Summer spat out the ruler she was holding in her mouth. “Wrong!”

“What was that for?!” Traveler complained, rubbing his sore muzzle. “And where’d you get that ruler?”

“I keep one on hoof, just in case,” Summer said. “But that’s not the point. You didn’t even let poor Bravery answer! And you could’ve been a bit more enthusiastic.”

“Yeah, Traveler.” Bravery smirked. “You really hurt my feelings.”

Traveler narrowed his eyes at the guard. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Bravery shrugged. “Telling you that isn’t part of my job description.”

“Now, now, Bravery,” Summer said. “Be nice to Traveler. He needs a good role model.”

“What? Why me?” Bravery sputtered.

Summer picked her ruler up again and glared at the royal guard.

“Okay ma’am,” Bravery meekly said, cowering ever so slightly.

“Now then, Traveler.” Summer stowed her ruler in her tail. “To be nice, you have to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. You have to let ponies talk, say what they want, and most importantly, you have to be interested.”

Traveler stared at her. “I think you’re going a bit too fast here. Do what now?”

“Better idea,” Summer said. She fetched a little bag out of her tail and gave it to Traveler. “We’re almost at the market. Once we’re there, you can use this money to buy something. When you do that, try to be as nice as possible to the salespony, okay?”

Traveler slowly nodded. “Alright, but… How do I do that?”

“I’ll tell you once we’re there,” Summer said, walking towards the market.

“Come on,” Bravery said, following after Summer with Traveler in tow. “All the other changelings can do it, so I’m pretty sure you can, too.”

“I’m absolutely sure,” Traveler said. “That is, if I don’t decide it’s stupid and quit at some point.”

“I’m sure you’ll find it’s worth it,” Bravery said, chuckling.

A couple of seconds later, the trio found themselves in the marketplace. It was pretty much the way Traveler remembered it: crowded, filled with many, many different stalls and ponies, and the sweet scent of Sweetheart’s stand filled the air. Even though Traveler wasn’t hungry, the smell made him crave love crystals.

“There,” Summer said, pointing at a simple fruit stand. “You should try that stand. I know the owner, she’s very nice.”

“Okay,” Traveler said. “So what do I do?”

“Ask her for a box of cherries,” Summer said. “Be courteous. Let her speak when she wants to, say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, and don’t forget to smile!” She gave Traveler a push towards the stand. “Now just go try it out!”

“O-Okay,” Traveler said, taking the last few steps himself. The stand was simple enough, made up of a little counter with various fruits on top, and a drab, green tent standing over it.

Behind the counter was a bluish-green unicorn mare with an orange mane and tail and brown eyes, wearing a cream-coloured apron. “Hello, sir! How may I help you?”

“Uh, one box of cherries,” Traveler said. “Please?” He thought for a second, before remembering to add a smile. He did so, curling up the corners of his mouth the best he could.

The salespony took a step back, a look of horror on her face. “Uh, okay, one second.” She hastily turned around and grabbed a box of cherries, throwing it on the counter. “That’ll be three bits.” For some odd reason, she still held her distance.

Traveler raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure this wasn’t how salesponies were supposed to act, but okay. He took three bits out of Summer’s bag and put them on the counter. “Tha—”

“We appreciate your patronage, now please move along as there are other waiting customers!” the salespony said, cutting Traveler off.

Traveler looked around. There wasn’t even anyling there, let alone customers. The stall was absolutely deserted aside from himself and the salespony. “Err, okay,” he said, dropping his smile. While he wanted to argue with the mare, it probably wasn’t the nicest thing to do. He took the bag of bits in his mouth, and the box of cherries in his hooves, and flew back to Bravery and Summer.

“So, how’d it go?” Bravery asked. “She looked at you kinda weird.”

Traveler gave the bag and box to Summer. “I don’t know,” he said. “I was just doing what Summer told me and she became scared.”

“Okay, so… When exactly did she become scared?” Summer asked.

“When I smiled,” Traveler said. “Like this.” He flashed the other two the exact same smile he gave the salespony.

Bravery reared up in surprise and took a step back. “Holy moly, that’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen!”

“Please stop doing that!” Summer kept her eyes shut tight, waving a hoof in Traveler’s direction. “It’s awful!”

“Uh… Wow.” Traveler quickly dropped the smile, returning to his usual scowl. “So, don’t do that again.”

“Yes. Please,” Bravery said, gasping for air. “Never do that again.”

“It’s that bad?” Traveler asked. “It can’t possibly be that bad.” He searched for the nearest reflective surface. On the other side of the street was a shop with tall windows, which would suffice. Traveler went over and put on his smile, looking at his reflection.

He had to quickly look away, as his reflection looked like a monstrous abomination, straight out of Tartarus, with wicked, curled lips, a horrible grin and eyes that pierced one’s very soul, obliterating it piece by piece. It was, without a doubt, the most horrifying thing Traveler had ever seen.

“See?” Summer asked. “You know, I think it’d be nicer of you if you didn’t smile at ponies.”

“Oh come on, it’s not that…” Traveler trailed off, carefully considering what he just saw. “Okay, it is pretty bad,” he said, turning back to Bravery and Summer. “What now?”

“We’ll try it without smiling,” Summer said. “Just your language. You did say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, right?”

Traveler nodded. “Well, I tried thanking her, but she cut me off before I could. Which, strangely enough, isn’t very nice, is it?”

“No,” Summer said, “but you did show her the scariest thing ever.”

“I guess you’re right,” Traveler said. “So, what now?”

“Let’s try this again,” Summer said, “but this time, without smiling, okay?” She looked around the market for a moment, pointing at a pink and white stand after a while. “How about that one over there?”

Traveler shrugged. “Might as well try,” he said, accepting Summer’s bag of bits again. As he walked towards the little stand, he thought it looked quite familiar, but he couldn’t say why.

A few moments later, it was abundantly clear, as the stand’s owner popped up from under the counter: a changeling with a messy, pink mane. “Hi there!” Sweetheart said, waving at Traveler. “Can I help you with—”

As she noticed Traveler’s scarf, she trailed off and grimaced. “Oh, ouch. Sorry.”

Traveler stared at her for a moment, then looked at his scarf. “What, this?” he said, absent-mindedly touching it. “You know, noling noticed it before.”

“Really?” Sweetheart asked. “That’s awful. You okay?”

“As okay as I can be right now, I guess,” Traveler said. “Thanks.” As soon as the word left his mouth, he looked at Sweetheart, eyes wide. “Uh, I mean, I… It’s—”

Sweetheart giggled. “Don’t worry. Being treated nicely sometimes makes you say weird stuff.” She ducked behind her counter, reappearing a moment later and sliding a love crystal towards Traveler. “Here, you can have this.”

Traveler looked at the bag of bits he was holding in one hoof. “Actually, I wanted to buy a box,” he said. “Er, please.”

“Coming right up, sir!” Sweetheart said, quickly diving under the counter again.

After a few moments of hesitation, Traveler spoke up. “Hey, tell me something. Why do you live here?”

Sweetheart popped back up. “Why do I live here?” She looked up for a moment, tapping a hoof on her chin. “Because my house is here.”

“No, I mean, why did you decide to live in Equestria, instead of the hive?” Traveler asked.

“Oh!” Sweetheart said. “At first, I was just checking out the rumours. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live with a free lifetime supply of love within hoof’s reach?”

Traveler shrugged. He had to admit, that would entice many changelings, himself included.

“Anyway, that’s why I decided to come here and take a look,” Sweetheart continued, “and I actually made some pony friends, and from one thing came another. After a while, the all-you-can-eat buffet doesn’t really matter anymore.”

“How so?” Traveler asked, raising an eyebrow. As far as he knew, feeding was the most important thing to any changeling. After being a good servant to Queen Chrysalis, that is.

Sweetheart raised a hoof, ready to answer, but she quickly withdrew it, instead pensively tapping her chin with it. “Hm. Never really thought about that. It’s kinda complicated, too.”

“Complicated?” Traveler repeated. “How?”

“After hanging around ponies for a while, I just felt… different,” Sweetheart said. “Yeah, that’s it. Different.”

Traveler gave her a deadpan look. “Yeah, I got that you guys are different, all right.”

Sweetheart giggled. “No, not like that. The way of life here is just much more different. Instead of doing and saying as you’re told, which is best in the hive, it’s better to do and say like you feel is best.”

“So, you mean, not thinking like a changeling?” Traveler said, raising an eyebrow. He was doing his best to understand what Sweetheart was saying, but this was really confusing.

“No, no,” Sweetheart said, before pausing for a second. “Well, yes. A little. I still think like a changeling, but I do what I want to do, not what I’m told to do. More freedom, and a better life to boot. I do have to find out a whole lot of confusing stuff by myself.”

Traveler gave her a blank stare. “You’ve lost me. How can not being guided by Queen Chrysalis improve your life? She always strives to give everyling the best lives possible.”

Sweetheart shrugged. “I dunno. All I know is, living among ponies is different, but I prefer it above living in the hive, to be honest. So far, I’ve just been going with the flow. Maybe I can give you a better answer some other time.”

“Maybe,” Traveler said, a wry smile crossing over his face. “But then I’d have to come talk to you again.”

Sweetheart gave a huge grin. “Hey, that sounds like a good idea! Come back tomorrow, and I promise I’ll be able to tell you what you need, okay?”

Traveler stared at her. That wasn’t exactly the answer he had expected. He briefly glanced back at Bravery and Summer. Maybe going along with this would help him be ‘nice’, or at least being viewed as such.

“Are they your friends?” Sweetheart said, nodding in the direction of Bravery and Summer. “I’m sure they’re nice.”

Traveler briefly looked back at Bravery and Summer again. Were they? It didn’t feel like it. “I’m… not sure,” he said, turning back to Sweetheart. “So far, they do seem to have… not entirely bad intentions. Or at least, that’s what they want me to think, I think.”

Sweetheart giggled again. “Don’t be so suspicious! They don’t have anything to hide from you. And if they do, it’s probably some weird secret about being really scared of confetti or something.”

Traveler raised an eyebrow at her. “That’s… awfully specific.”

“Uh, I know a stallion,” Sweetheart said, giving a huge, fake grin. “Yup. A pony stallion has that. I definitely heard it somewhere.” She paused, the grin slowly disappearing from her face. “Don’t judge me, okay?”

Traveler opened his mouth to retort, but reconsidered as he did so. Normally, going with changeling standards, he’d tell her she’s ridiculous, a terrible excuse for a changeling, and definitely not worth being around. But on the other hoof… “You know, I’ve seen some weird stuff lately. I’ll just pretend you didn’t say anything.”

Sweetheart let out a sigh of relief. “Great. You know what?” She reached under the counter and set a box of crystal hearts in front of Traveler. “This one’s on the house as well, because you’re such a cool changeling.”

Traveler stared at the box, then at the sack of bits in his hoof, and then at Sweetheart. “That’s… very generous of you. Thanks.” He stared at the box again and narrowed his eyes. Maybe a little bit too generous.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Sweetheart said, “but no, I’m just doing this because I like you, okay? No ulterior motives or complicated schemes or anything.” She pushed the box towards Traveler. “Take it!”

Traveler gave her one last suspicious look. “Well, okay…” He switched the sack of bits to his mouth and grabbed the box. Seeing as talking to Sweetheart any further would only accomplish dropping what he was holding right now, Traveler just nodded in her direction.

“No problem!” Sweetheart said, waving at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

The only thing keeping Traveler from giving a weary sigh was the bag of bits in his mouth.

“Oh, by the way, you never gave me your name,” Sweetheart said.

Traveler rolled his eyes. Figures. He took the bag of bits out of his mouth, now awkwardly juggling his hooves between holding two things and attempting to keep his balance. “They call me Traveler.”

“Huh, that’s weird,” Sweetheart said. “I called a pony that yesterday. Oh well. My name’s—”

“Sweetheart,” Traveler finished. “I know. It’s on your sign and everything.”

“Oh, right,” Sweetheart said, giggling. She leaned over the counter and looked up. “Hey, wait, I forgot to put it up today!”

Traveler looked up. She was right, the sign was missing. “I, uh… I walked past your stand yesterday, when you didn’t forget it.”

“Ah, that explains,” Sweetheart said. “Though I don’t think I’d have missed you walking around, with such a… noticeable scarf.”

“Maybe you were looking the other way,” Traveler said. “Because I definitely didn’t talk to you, I just passed by.” Yes, that’s correct. Amazing save there. If this kept up, Traveler wasn’t going to keep his job as an elite, and would probably be demoted to hive janitor, or something. “I’ll get going now,” he said, quickly putting the bag of bits back in his mouth and hurrying towards Bravery and Summer.

“Hey there, champ!” Summer said as soon as the awkward changeling approached. “Looks like that went much better, huh?”

Traveler quickly gave both the bag and the box to Summer, who somehow managed to store both away in her tail. “Yeah, it did. How can you tell?”

“It’s pretty obvious,” Bravery said. “Because of this.” He pointed at his own mouth. “And also this,” he said, pointing at his forehead.

Traveler raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Bravery sighed and rolled his eyes. “You know, for an elite, you’re surprisingly slow on the uptake.” He grabbed Traveler and shoved him in front of the same window he checked his reflection in earlier.

“This is…” Traveler said. In contrast to his earlier reflection, which had made him looking an abominable, horrifying monstrosity, this one was a lot more pleasant. His frown was gone, for starters. On top of that, the corners of his mouth were angled slightly upward, showing a little bit of his teeth. A soft, pleasant smile. Sadly, it quickly faded, giving way for a look of confusion. “Weird,” Traveler finished.

“But it looks pretty good, right?” Summer said, gingerly flying above him. “Much better than a frowny face.”

“I don’t know,” Traveler said. He tried putting on a frown again, like usual, but that turned out to be surprisingly hard. His mind kept wandering to his conversation with Sweetheart, trying to find out what made him smile like this, which in turn made the smile reappear on his face. “I guess it’s not too bad.”

“Yay! See?” Summer said, making loops and corkscrews while whooping with joy. “I knew you’d like it! You’ll fit in in no time at all!”

“There’s more?” Traveler’s mouth fell open. “I thought this was it!”

“Well, no,” Summer said. “There’s a whole lot of other things, such as…” She paused, hanging completely still in the air, only flapping her wings. “Uh…” Her legs and head drooped. “I dunno.” Her mood made another one-eighty, as she quickly perked up. “I just need some time to come up with the rest of our lesson plan!”

“It better not take too long,” Traveler said, scowling. “I’m on a tight schedule here.”

“Now, now,” Bravery said. “Be nice to her.” He added a big grin. “And no more frowning.”

Traveler groaned. “Fine, fine.” He lifted his eyebrows a little and raised the corners of his mouth, although it now looked more like a particularly pained grimace. “Happy now?”

Bravery shrugged. “Eh, that’ll do for now.”

“Let’s just call it quits for today. You made a lot of progress, Traveler!” Summer said. “I’m proud of you.”

“Proud?” Traveler parroted. “That’s a strange choice of words.”

Summer flew to eye level and raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Why?” She briefly looked at Bravery. “Proud is good, right?”

“A bit exaggerated maybe, but it’s fine,” Bravery said. “I just think our changeling pal isn’t used to it.”

“No,” Traveler said. “No, I’m not. It sounds weird. And it makes me feel weird, too.”

“Well,” Summer said, looking back at Traveler. “Weird is also good.”

Traveler mulled it over for a while. ‘Weird’ was really the only way he could describe it. An entirely new feeling, but it was sort of pleasant. Though it was also confusing and somewhat unsettling, but that was likely because of the newness of the experience.

He sighed. Maybe he was overthinking everything. What was it Sweetheart had said earlier? Go with the flow, or something like that. Seeing as stubbornly resisting was currently getting him nowhere, it seemed like a good idea for Traveler to take that advice to heart. Just a little, though. He couldn’t risk getting all sentimental.

“You know, that reminds me,” Bravery said. “I think it’s something changelings often say when they’ve been in Equestria for a little while. ‘Friendship is weird.’ Don’t know where they got it from, though.”

“So you’re saying that this feeling is friendship?” Traveler shivered. To think that he, of all changelings, would become this sappy!

“Yeah!” Summer said. “Don’t you like it?”

“Of course n—” Traveler started, but something made him reconsider. A nagging little feeling, somewhere in his chest. Rationally speaking, the feeling of friendship was utterly useless. Nothing could be gained out of it, other than wasted time. And Traveler wasn’t very fond of that. On the other hoof, it did feel nice. And when was the last time he felt genuinely good? He couldn’t even remember. Ultimately, only a dissatisfied grumble left his throat. “I don’t know.”

“Well, that’s better than a ‘no’,” Bravery said. “But hey, it takes every changeling some time to adapt.”

Traveler shrugged. This was all getting too confusing. Taking a little break from being paranoid and going with the flow definitely sounded like a good idea right now. “Whatever. So, what’s on the schedule for tomorrow? Going back to the market would be convenient, because I have to meet Sweetheart again.”

“Oooh, you’ve got a date?” Summer said, her eyes suddenly growing to enormous size. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” She swept Traveler up in a gigantic hug. “This is so amazing!” She suddenly dropped Traveler, gasping. “You need to get her a present! How else can you be the perfect nice gentlecolt?” She took a quick glance at Traveler again. “Err, gentleling. What do you guys call it?”

Traveler picked himself up from the ground, grumbling while wiping the dust from his body. “How should I know? And it’s not a date like that. She was just offering to explain to me why she’s living here. She couldn’t right now, so I’m heading back tomorrow.”

“So what you’re saying is, you have a gal-pal,” Bravery said, grinning. “Don’t worry, buddy. Your secret’s safe with me. Nopony’s gonna know the big bad elite has a soft spot.”

Traveler groaned. “Yes. Fine. If I admit, can we get a move on?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bravery said, chuckling. “I’m just kidding. We’ll go back here tomorrow. Let’s just look at it as part of your lessons in niceness.”

“It kind of is, isn’t it?” Summer said, landing on the ground. She pensively tapped a hoof on her chin. “Talking to her already helped a lot, maybe you’ll make another step forward, Traveler.”

“Maybe,” Traveler said. He was more looking forward to finally hearing some reason as to why changelings would stay in Equestria, though. He felt like Sweetheart could give him a satisfying answer, though he didn’t know why.

“Traveler, we should go back home,” Bravery said. “It’s getting late, and I don’t want Glitter scolding me because I’m late for dinner.” After a second or two, he muttered, “Again.”

“Sure.” Traveler nodded. Not like there was anything left to do on the market. “I suppose dinner would be… fine.”

“I should be getting home, too,” Summer said. “I got a lot of things left to do! Water the dishes, wash the plants, stuff like that. Err…” She became lost in thought for a moment. “I think I have those two mixed up. I never water the dishes before I wash the plants.”

Bravery gave an awkward grin. “Sure, you go do that, we’ll head back home. We’ll meet up here tomorrow afternoon, okay?”

“Yes, sir!” Summer said, giving a salute, followed by a giggle. “Bye Bravery! Bye Traveler!” She quickly jumped up and took off, heading towards a different part of the city.

Bravery watched her for a few seconds, until she disappeared behind the various buildings of the city. “She sure is odd.”

“Tell me about it,” Traveler said. “I sometimes can’t make up my mind about who’s crazier. Ponies, or the changelings living with them.”

“We’re all equally crazy,” Bravery said, heading off towards his home.

Traveler quickly followed after him. So far, Bravery was right. The boundary between crazy ponies and crazy changelings was getting more and more vague. The only thing he hadn’t seen yet was a pony acting like a changeling.

After a few moments, Bravery suddenly stopped and turned to Traveler. “Okay, stop. You’re not going to address this at all?”

“Address what?” Traveler said, raising an eyebrow.

“This morning, you were furious,” Bravery said. “Grumpy, short fuse, aggressive, that kind of stuff. But now, you’re completely different!”

Traveler raised his other eyebrow. “I am?” Both of his eyebrows jointly went down, forming a frown. “You’ve got to be wrong. I didn’t change anything.”

“Yeah, you did,” Bravery said. “After you talked to Sweatheart, or whatever her name is, you suddenly mellowed out. What did she say to you?”

Traveler growled. “There’s nothing different about me, okay? And her name’s Sweetheart!”

“Aha!” Bravery said, prodding Traveler’s muzzle with a hoof. “I thought you didn’t like changelings having names?”

Traveler took a step back, confused. “Well, that’s… Yeah, but I… I have my reasons, okay? She just said… That she was sorry.”

Now, it was Bravery’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Sorry? For what?”

Traveler looked down, glumly raising his scarf. “This. She was the first to notice this.”

“Oh, that thing,” Bravery said. “It’s the symbol of your exile, right? That’s gotta feel terrible.”

Traveler nodded, but didn’t look up. “Worst thing in my life. Her just noticing it, and not pitying me felt… liberating. Like this dumb piece of cloth wasn’t there, for just a short moment.”

Bravery sighed, then went over to Traveler and put a hoof on his shoulder. “I don’t understand it completely, and I can’t even imagine how painful it must be to be exiled, but for what it’s worth, you’ve got my support.”

Traveler slowly looked up at Bravery. He was expecting many things, but not this. A rough dismissal at least, even a scolding would’ve been fine, but this surprised him. “Thanks, Bravery. And I’m sorry for the way I acted. I’ve always stuck to the rules of the hive whenever I was there, so I think I can obey pony laws for as long as I’m here.”

“You’re getting along just fine, given the whole exile thing,” Bravery said. “Deep down, you’re pretty okay. There are ponies out there who are worse than you.”

Traveler snorted. “Really? I doubt that.”

Bravery sighed. “Oh, you wouldn’t believe it. Some nobles…” His voice trailed off, ending in a low growl. “But enough about that. We should get home.”

“Of course,” Traveler said. “Lead the way.”

As the two of them continued, Traveler couldn’t help but remember one thing, if only for a very short time. He was taking these lessons in being nice so he could get rid of Bravery sometime soon. But against all expectations, that didn’t seem like such an admirable goal anymore.