> The Ginger Changeling King
>  by TTV_KingPhoenixEmbers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: On the Road to Peace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter One


On the Road to Peace





News of the changeling had spread through the royal guard ranks like wildfire, especially since this one had been hiding among their ranks. To think that one of them had survived the Anti-Changeling blast that Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had cast was both frightening and upsetting. If one had been able to stay behind unharmed, then logic dictated that there must be other changelings that had done the same.

Princess Celestia knew quite well that if such news was released to the public, there would be an enormous amount of panic. So, in agreement with her sister, she and her Royal Guards had decided to keep this information classified while they interrogated the changeling. Rather frustratingly, the infiltrator had been discovered shortly after she had received a letter from a changeling king that requested permission to meet for peace talks. Having always been one to prefer peace and harmony over war and chaos, she had agreed immediately.

It was rather unfortunate that this changeling had been found among her sister’s Night Guard the night before. The king had sent word that he was to arrive in Canterlot later today. It would not do to have him find out that they were keeping another changeling prisoner; it would not be a very good start to a meeting that was meant to begin an era of peace between them. 

At the moment, Celestia simply hoped that she could make it through day court without losing her temper to many nobles and their pointless complaints. They were making her day much harder than it needed to be, and it only made her wish that the changeling hadn’t been found, just so she wouldn’t feel so stressed about keeping her guest from finding out.

“Auntie?” Cadence called softly to Celestia, interrupting her thoughts and returning her to the real world. “Are you alright?”

Celestia shook her head free of her worries, smiling serenely to her niece. “I am fine, merely lost in thought. Send in the next petitioner.”

“At once, your highness.” Bowing momentarily, a guard near the front of the room stepped out into the hall, calling for the next pony in line.

The stallion that stepped through the portal was tall, abnormally so. If she were to stand next to him, he would easily reach her shoulder in height. There were very few ponies that were lucky enough to be born with the genes to grow so much. He stopped several hooflengths from the base of her throne, bowing politely. His long and flowing red mane overshadowed his navy blue eyes as he did so.

“Good afternoon, Princess,” he greeted. Celestia noted that his tone was completely neutral, unlike many other petitioners. “I am Phoenix Embers.”

“Good afternoon, Phoenix. You may rise.”

Phoenix straightened from his kneeling position. Celestia noticed that he moved with a grace that belied his body size, when many stallions of that height would have been stumbling about awkwardly as they tripped over their own hooves. As he looked her in the eye, she also noticed a level of determination that was rare among the many ponies that made their requests here.

“Please state your petition to the court.”

“I request the immediate release of the changeling Mirror Vanity from your dungeons.”

Celestia felt a shiver travel from her neck to the dock of her tail. “I am afraid there is no such --”

“Do not lie to me, Princess. I know for a fact that you are holding Mirror Vanity prisoner.”

Celestia felt her brow crease, even as she fought to keep her expression neutral. Glancing around her, she noticed that the many guards of the room had also tensed, as had Shining Armor and Cadence. Celestia looked to the guards near the door, and motioned for them to close it. Once the large marble doors had been shut, she took a moment to cast a soundproofing spell upon the room to prevent any eavesdroppers from listening in.

Standing and slowly stepping down from her throne, Celestia remained silent until she was directly in front of the stallion. Several guards, Shining Armor among them, followed her closely, their bodies tense and ready to detain Phoenix Embers if it became necessary. And throughout it all, the only thing that Phoenix Embers had done was sit on his haunches and begin to examine his hoof as he waited patiently for Celestia to speak again. 

“How do you know that I have a changeling in my dungeons?” She demanded of him. As she spoke, Phoenix finally put down his hoof to look her in the eye again. “That information is classified.”

Phoenix’s eyebrow rose. “It is? Well if I had known that, I might have been more tactful... on second thought, no I wouldn’t.”

Celestia’s frown deepened, and she took one step closer. “Answer my question.”

“Very well.” Phoenix rolled his eyes, standing calmly, completely ignoring the way several guards lowered their spears at him in warning. “I was told that Mirror had been captured, and I came to have her released.”

“Told?” Shining interjected, frowning as deeply as Princess Celestia was. “But we’ve been monitoring the mail carefully just to make sure that no news of this got out! So the only way you could’ve been told is if --”

“That’s right,” Phoenix interrupted, calmly confirming the suspicions of the ponies in the room. “Mirror herself was the one to tell me, and she told me through the hive mind.”

As he spoke, blue flames began to sweep upwards from his hooves, quickly turning his cream fur into black chitin that shined in the candle light. In mere moments, the cream-colored unicorn had turned into a rather tall changeling, one that stood at the same height as Celestia herself -- and wore a small, modest crown atop his head. Two gray insectoid wings buzzed slightly, as he took a moment to run a hoof through his surprisingly long red mane.

He hummed to himself as he inspected his mane. “It’s been quite sometime since I’ve used that disguise, but I think I transitioned back pretty well.” 

He didn’t even glance at the way every single guard in the room was now pointing their spears directly at him, nor did he flinch at how close they were. Once he seemed satisfied that he had changed into his natural form without missing anything, he straightened his stance and stood tall. Celestia realized belatedly that he was a full head taller than she, forcing her to look into those navy blue eyes of his.

“I am King Phoenix, and I hail from the hive Soothing Embers.” 

Phoenix’s voice filled the hall, despite the fact that he spoke no louder than he had been speaking earlier. Celestia felt another shiver travel down her spine. This was the very same king that had requested the peace meeting, and he was here far earlier than she had anticipated.

“And I demand the immediate release of Mirror Vanity.”

> Chapter Two: Making Acquaintances
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2


Making Acquaintances


Princess Celestia sighed. This was not how she had planned to meet with her guest to discuss trade routes between their kingdoms. She turned to the sergeant that currently pointed his lit horn at King Phoenix.

“Sergeant, send word outside that I have an urgent meeting that I must attend to immediately. Let them know that Day Court is closed.”

“...Yes, your highness.”

The sergeant very carefully dismissed his prepared spell, and moved to do as he had been ordered. Celestia sighed once more, turning back to King Phoenix.

“I was not expecting you to arrive this early,” she commented.

Phoenix lowered his head, “My apologies for not warning you sooner, but when I had learned that Mirror had been wrongly imprisoned, I could not wait any longer.”

“Wrongly imprisoned?” Celestia asked, frowning deeply. “Your changeling infiltrated the Night Guard, and --”

“Infiltrate?” Phoenix bristled. “Mirror Vanity did not infiltrate the Night Guard.”

Shining Armor scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous; everypony knows that changelings kidnap ponies and take their place! Infiltrating is all you changelings do!”

Phoenix stepped forward, ignoring the way the guards followed his movements with the tips of their spears, and leaned down to stare Shining Armor in the eye, his anger at this accusation displayed quite clearly on his face. “And just where did you learn that lie?”

“Chrysalis made it quite obvious when she and her hive --”

“Well I’m not her, now am I?” Phoenix straightened, still glaring down at the captain. “Neither I nor any member of my hive is guilty of her misdeeds. You would do well to not accuse us of them in the future.”

“Oh? And what of the love she was stealing from her victims?” Cadence sneered. “Your changeling has fooled a royal guard and a newborn into believing she cares for them!”

Phoenix rolled his eyes. “Let me guess: you have him, and the newborn, being checked for any mind-altering magic, correct?”

Celestia nodded hesitantly. She wasn’t quite sure she trusted this stallion yet, so she opted to not mention the stallion’s name. “The stallion and foal that Mirror Vanity has been fooling are being treated as we speak.”

“Tell me, how much did they object?”

Celestia frowned, unsure of where this line of questioning was going. “They... were not pleased. I had no choice but to escort them by force myself.”

“Which, I assure you, was a waste of your time. There is nothing to treat. Neither the stallion nor the child have been harmed in any way.”

Cadence snorted. “Horsefeathers!”

“Cadence!” Celestia snapped. “Whether you like it or not, King Phoenix is our guest!”

Phoenix gestured mildly to the spears still pointed at him. “Odd way to greet a guest, then.”

Celestia stamped down a blush. How could she possibly have forgotten to order her guards to stand down? “My apologies. Guards, stand down.”

Shining Armor’s attention snapped to her. “Princess, I cannot in good conscience --”

“That was an order, captain. He’s right, this is an improper way to greet a guest.”

Shining Armor stared at his commander in chief for several moments. Celestia was just beginning to think that he would disobey her, when at last, his jaw tightened and he signaled for the guards to do as she commanded. Slowly, and certainly just as reluctant as their captain, they stepped away and pulled away their spears.

“Thank you,” Phoenix said politely. “May we also take this to a room more appropriate for discussing peace between us?”

Celestia nodded. “Of course. There is a smaller room just near here, but I am going to have to ask that we go through the side hallways, so that others are not frightened or surprised by your... appearance.”

“Understandable. May I assume that Princess Cadence and Captain Armor will be joining us?”

“They will be, yes. Your request for peace talks is the very reason I requested that they be here.”

Phoenix nodded his understanding. He looked about himself, enjoying the decoration of the halls around him. He chose to remain silent during the walk, however; there was no need to make the guards more uncomfortable than they already were. He was rather disappointed when they arrived at their destination. It was clearly a meeting room, because there was a small round table with several seat cushions. Princess Celestia gestured for Phoenix to take a seat as she did the same. He thanked her politely before taking the one across from her. Phoenix took note of the way Princess Cadence and Shining Armor sat near Celestia, both of them watching him warily. The guards standing around the room were just as tense.

Phoenix decided to begin the meeting. “If I may, Princess, I would like to request that Mirror Vanity and the two ponies she has been accused of harming be brought here. I can prove that she is innocent.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “And how do you plan to do that?”

“You are currently trying to cure them of mind-altering magic, yes? If you were to remove Mirror’s ability to cast magic altogether, and bring them all here after the other two have been ‘cured’ --” Phoenix made sure to use his hooves to make air quotes -- “and while Mirror is restrained, watch the reactions of the other two. Princess Cadence, you are capable of sensing the love between two ponies, yes?”

Cadence frowned. “I am. What of it?”

“Well, if you were to use your love-sense while watching their reactions, I assure you that you would be quite surprised. Does this seem like a fair idea, Princess Celestia?”

Celestia nodded, but she held a rather inquisitive look on her face. “I am alright with that, but I must say, King Phoenix... you’ve clearly put a lot of thought and effort into our meeting. But as soon as you got word of Mirror being held prisoner, your priorities changed. From my experience with Chrysalis, it begs the question: would you really be willing to risk so much for the sake of a single changeling, when it would have been far easier to have continued on with the peace treaty as normal?”

Phoenix smiled serenely at Celestia. “Princess, I am more than willing to risk everything for the sake of a single changeling.”

Celestia looked the king in the eye for several moments, trying to read him and see if he was hiding anything. Once she was satisfied, she nodded and turned to the sergeant in the room. She ordered for him to bring Mirror Vanity here, and to ensure that her magical ability was suppressed and that she was properly restrained. He was also to bring her solar guard and the newborn here as well. Celestia had gotten a message from the doctors saying that they had been cleared of all mind-altering magical effects.

Silence reigned as ruler in the time it took for Celestia’s Solar Guards escorted. Celestia took the time to arrange her thoughts. At the moment, she was rather unsure of what to make of her guest at the moment. All she knew so far was that he desired peace between their nations, and he valued his subjects very highly.

So far, King Phoenix Embers didn’t seem to be much of a threat to Equestria. As a matter of fact, if this demonstration of his turned out how he claimed, Celestia saw no reason to decline his request.

Celestia’s attention was caught when the door finally opened. A feminine changeling, her mane and tail looking exactly the same as her king’s. She spotted Phoenix, who nodded calmly, smiling serenely. The drone nodded in return, shuffling along behind the guards that surrounded her. Her four legs were chained close together, and her horn held a ring that Phoenix recognized.

“A magical reflector to rebound any magic she casts back upon herself? That’s a powerful tool to use on a single changeling.”

Shining Armor snorted. “A single changeling is dangerous enough to yield that kind of precaution.”

Phoenix rolled his eyes. He was about to say more, but that was when the changeling’s supposed victims had finally arrive. A stallion, with his close cut mane and tail, was clearly a Royal Guard. Upon his back, secure in a saddlebag rider, was a small, sleepy foal.

Glancing around the room, his eyes found the one thing he’d been missing the past several hours.

“Mirror!” Without a single thought, he galloped straight for his wife.

Shining Armor wouldn’t have any of it. “Stop right there, Sergeant Steelfury. You have not been given permission to approach the prisoner.”

Steelfury froze in his tracks at his CO’s command. He turned his head slowly to glare at Shining.

“I may not have permission to approach the prisoner,” Steelfury sneered. “But I don’t need permission to approach my wife.”

“Your wife?” Shining scoffed. “That is a changeling. It was never your wife.”

Steelfury turned fully towards his commanding officer. Rage filled his face. “Say that about her again. I dare you.”

“Why are you so defensive about the changeling? It has impersonated and imprisoned your wife!”

“Because it was this changeling that I married!” Steelfury snapped. “I knew she was a changeling long before you even knew they existed!”

Cadence couldn’t believe her ears. “But... but if you knew, then why would you --”

“I would think that would be obvious, princess.” Steelfury spat. “I married her because I love her. You can sense it. Is it so hard to believe that a pony can love a changeling?”

Shining Armor did not appreciate his subordinate talking to his wife like that. “Watch your mouth, Sergeant, or --”

“Or what? You’ll demote me?” Steelfury growled, getting close to Shining’s face. “You’ve already tried to tear my family apart. What are you going to do next? Ruin my job? You really think you can do any worse than you already ha--”

“Uuwwaaaaaah!”

The entirety of the room jumped at the sudden crying. Steelfury turned immediately to the foal at his side, gently pulling the little colt from his carrier. Holding the foal close, he glanced at Mirror Vanity. She very clearly wanted to come help, but with the guards around her and the chains restraining her hooves, there was little she could do.

“Shh... it’s alright, little one, it’s alright...” Steelfury cooed to his child. “It’s alright, my little Starlight. It’s alright...”

It was no use. Starlight immediately cried once more, bringing a ringing to the ears of the ponies in the room. Steelfury had a very strong feeling that he wouldn’t be able to get his son to calm down without Mirror’s help, but with her restrained as she was, there wasn’t much else he could do.

Then he felt a hoof gently fall on his shoulder, and looked up to see King Phoenix.

The king gestured politely to the wailing child. “May I...?”

Steelfury glanced from his little Star to the king, and then to his wife. Mirror nodded slightly. Sighing, Steelfury gently handed over the foal to King Phoenix. The old changeling gently began to rock Starlight, softly whistling an old tune that Mirror Vanity immediately recognized from her own foalhood.

The melody of the song flowed throughout the room, bringing a sense of calm over the ponies there. The crying foal’s attention was caught by it, and Starlight slowly started to calm down. Soon enough, the young child had ceased his wailing, and had fallen back to sleep. It was at this point that Phoenix Embers returned the child to Steelfury.

“I hope you do not mind, but I did a small scan of little Star,” Phoenix began to explain. Steelfury looked towards the king. “From what I can tell, it seems that your son has inherited some of my little Mirror’s empathic abilities. He doesn’t yet know how to control it, so I suspect he may have picked up on the anger you and Captain Shining Armor were giving off in your argument. That is most likely what upset Starlight.”

Steelfury nodded. “Mirri and I suspected he might have inherited that from her. He’s had some other points where he’s picked up on our emotions... but thank you for confirming it.”

King Phoenix nodded, and turned to Celestia. “May I assume that what you have witnessed is enough proof for my changeling’s innocence?” 

Celestia, remaining silent since the moment Mirror had arrived, took another several moments of thought to reach her decision. Then...

“Yes. I agree that your changeling is innocent. Guards, release her.”

Shining turned to his princess. “Princess, you can’t be serious!”

“I am, Captain. Allow me to explain.” Celestia took a deep breath. “She could have been trying to fight her way out this entire time, and yet she has restrained herself. Not to mention Sergeant Steelfury and his child have been cleansed of any mild altering magics that may have been placed upon them, and yet he still shows a deep love and devotion to her. Clearly, he is telling the truth. Therefore, I am ordering the release of the changeling Mirror Vanity from our custody.”

The guards surrounding Mirror nodded to their princess, and slowly unlocked the chains from their prisoner. When the magic reflector was removed at last, the changeling’s first reaction was to engulf her husband and foal in a powerful hug. King Phoenix smiled at the reunion, glad this trouble had been resolved at last. He turned to Princess Celestia.

“Thank you, Princess.” Phoenix began. “Now, may we begin discussing the peace treaty?”

Celestia smiled, as her guest returned to his seat. She summoned a quill and roll of parchment from her chambers. “Let us begin.”

> Chapter Three: A Work in Progress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Three


Peace: A Work in Progress








“I have been meaning to ask, King Phoenix,” Celestia began, as she and her guests dined between discussions. She stopped when she noticed her guest raise a hoof.

“Please, drop the whole ‘king’ thing,” Phoenix Embers requested.

Celestia gave him a mildly bemused smile. “It’s only polite.”

“You aren’t one of my changelings, it’s not necessary,” he insisted.

“Very well. As I was saying, Phoenix, I have been meaning to ask: why do you appear so different from Queen Chrysalis?”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“Well, my niece brought it up, but your chitin -- that is the correct word, isn’t it?” Celestia continued when her guest nodded as he sipped his drink. “Yours looks... healthier. Shinier.”

Phoenix paused in levitating his cup of tea, staring at its dark contents for a time. After several moments of silence, he sighed and set it down, looking his host in the eyes. Phoenix glanced at Princess Cadence and her husband for a moment.

“Well... the appearance of my chitin is directly related to the amount of love that my hive and I are able to sustain ourselves on. Just as a pony’s coat is healthier the better they eat.”

Celestia frowned. “Just how much love does your hive have to allow for your chitin, as well as Mirror Vanity’s, to look so healthy?”

Phoenix snorted as he took a sip of his tea. “A lot.”

Cadence wasn’t satisfied. “How much, specifically?”

Phoenix rolled his eyes. “Specifically? Fine. If this entire castle were to be made into a love-container, we would need to build another five or six castles.”

Mirror piped up from where she was snuggling her husband and cooing at her son, “I think it’d be more like ten.”

Phoenix chuckled, “That would be including the second layer of storage.”

“Two entire layers of storage?!” Shining Armor roared. “Just what have you been -- I want an entire list of all your collectors!”

“No,” Phoenix replied calmly.

Shining growled, “I’m not going to let you keep fooling ponies like this! I want that list!”

Phoenix looked the captain in the eye, looking almost bored. “Alright, then I want an entire list of all your undercover agents.”

“What? No! That’s ridiculous! Why would I give you --”

“Exactly my point, Captain.” The king paused long enough to finish his tea. “To give you an entire list of my hive’s collectors is stupid and ridiculous, and won’t be happening. I refuse to allow you and your soldiers the ability to pick out and pick on my changelings just because you don’t like them.”

Shining grit his teeth. He could feel his blood beginning to boil from the way this bug was dismissing his fears.

“Besides,” Phoenix continued, smirking slightly. “The list is way too long. I don’t feel like writing that many names.”

Now that stopped Shining Armor in his tracks. “Wait, you don’t want to write a list of your collectors because you’re too lazy?!”

Mirror giggled. “Sounds like him!”

“Shush, Mirror,” Phoenix grinned to her.

“Make me!”

“Hmm... nah, that sounds like effort.”

Mirror giggled at the silly look her king made, shaking her head and turning her attention to the dumbfounded captain. “Cap, you’ll find that Ol’ King Nixxy here loves to do nothing.”

“But you came all this way to discuss peace,” Celestia pointed out.

“I mentioned why when I first got here: you had Mirror in custody. Not to mention peace is important to me. There are a few things that I’m willing to actually work for.”

Celestia nodded. “Working for peace is something that I can respect, and I can certainly understand not wishing to give up an entire list of all your hidden changelings.”

Steelfury snorted. He blushed when he noticed that he had everypony’s attention from that. “Well, they would have to actually be hidden first...”

Phoenix rolled his eyes. “That’s true.”  He began to explain when he saw everypony’s confused looks. “My collectors, once they’ve settled and found themselves a small group of friends that they can well and truly trust, they reveal their changeling nature.”

“What? Why?!” Cadence cried, leaping to her hooves.

“Because it’s tradition from a standing order I made a long time ago,” Phoenix explained. “It’s also why my hive has so much love in storage.”

Celestia leaned forward, “Please, explain.”

Phoenix took a few moments to straighten out his thoughts before he responded. “Well, the reason is because of how love collecting works. When a changeling is disguised, the love he or she collects is directed at the disguise. In my hive, there’s a strict policy and standing order to make an original design when integrating with your ponies, since we don’t do the whole kidnap and replacing thing. It’s just easier for both of our societies that way." Celestia nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, the love is directed at the disguise. While the disguise and the changeling are technically one and the same, the love they collect doesn’t distinguish it like that. It would be like... Mirror, help me out here.”

Mirror rolled her eyes, “Cap, it would be like you dressing as Captain Nighty and then trying to wear her armor. You might be able to convince everypony else that you’re Captain Nighty, but you can’t convince the armor, since it was made specifically for her.”

Shining Armor nodded slowly. “Okay, that kinda makes sense. So the love your changelings collect is directed toward the disguise, and since it accepts the disguise as somepony different, they’re basically ‘stealing’ it from themselves?”

Phoenix nodded. “More or less. So when they find a small group of ponies that they trust enough, they set up a private meeting with their pony friends, and reveal themselves. I’ve found that, considering how much you ponies admire the ideal of friendship, just about every single time the ponies accept my changeling.”

Celestia’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Which means that the love they collect from then on is being given freely.”

“Exactly.” Phoenix nodded, smiling and glad somepony understood. “Not only that, but the love they collect from then on is far more potent. Almost three times as much. Steelfury alone here can, in a single day, give Mirror enough love to last over a year. I’ve had to directly tell my collectors, on numerous occasions, to stop sending love back to the hive. We’re currently expanding our love storage.” He gave a sideways glance and smirk towards Mirror. “Unfortunately, giving that order sometimes --”

Mirror blushed as she realized where he was going with this. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

“-- has the side effect of making --”

"Don't you even think about finishing that --"

“--  some of my darling changelings --”

Mirror leapt to her hooves, her magic wrapping around her seat cushion. "I'm warning you!"

“-- a little...” Phoenix grinned to his subject smugly as he paused for dramatic effect, “...fat.”

Not a second later, Mirror Vanity’s seat cushion was smacking King Phoenix over the head, making him laugh as he allowed her to get away with it. Steelfury chuckled, their son giggling at the look on his mother’s face. He let his wife get away with it for a bit, before he gently wrapped a hoof around her, and held her close. Mirror stuck her tongue out one last time at Phoenix, before finally sitting down in her husband’s embrace.

Celestia found herself chuckling. The way they interacted reminded her of the way she and her sister used to, when they were much younger. She glanced over at Mirror, and grew curious. 

"Phoenix, I have to ask," Celestia began. "How can you tell if a changeling has gained weight?"

Phoenix chuckled good-naturedly. "Well, like ponies, changelings gain a slight... paunch, if you will, right around the midsection. The most obvious one, especially among my hive, is that the holes in our legs start to close."

"Doesn't that make it difficult for you to fly? I mean, your chitin can't be very light."

"You'd be correct; most changelings' chitin is very similar to armor, and can be quite heavy. But, with the sheer amount of love my hive has and with how healthy our chitin is, it's lighter and more durable than, say, Chrysalis' hive. But the fat cell deposits can still weigh us down quite a bit."

“Kind of like how cake can create a lot of fat cell deposits, princess,” Mirror teased Celestia, smirking.

Celestia pouted. “I am not fat!”

Phoenix chuckled. “Well, that aside, Princess, it is getting late. Perhaps we could continue this discussion in the morning, after we have all had a good rest?” He glanced sideways towards Shining Armor and Cadence. “It may even help some of your ponies become more accustomed to our natural forms.”

Celestia took a moment to look around the room at her guards, and found that despite her guest’s polite behaviour, they were unable to look past the fact that he was a changeling, it seemed. 

Before she could say anything, however, Phoenix smirked to Mirror and Steelfury. “Although I doubt those two will be getting much sleep.”

Mirror gave Phoenix a blank stare. “You try having a newborn and see how much sleep you get.”

Steelfury was staring off into the distance. “Oh precious sleep, come back to me.”

Celestia chuckled, standing. “Very well. Allow me to escort you to your guest room. Do you have any guards with you?”

Phoenix smirked, “Technically, yes. They’ll meet us at the room, Princess.”

Shining frowned, displeased with the fact that the king was still hiding information, but he bit back his comment, as did his wife. The guards in the room surrounded the group as they travelled through the open halls, giving a sense of security and comfort to the maids and other workers of the castle, as they spotted the changelings. They were mostly silent, with the exception of Steelfury and Mirror Vanity talking to their child as they walked. The little colt was very happy to once again be with his mother, cooing and nuzzling her from where she held him in the crook of her foreleg as they walked.

Despite her initial suspicion towards Mirror, Cadence found herself smiling at the way she treated her son. It was obvious how deeply and honestly she loved both her son and her husband, especially to her magical senses. Shining Armor noticed the expression on his wife’s face, and made a mental note to talk to her about it later. As the little entourage turned the corner, Shining Armor ran muzzle-first into Celestia’s backside when she stopped all of a sudden. Phoenix chuckled at the look on her face.

“Princess, what is it? Who’s --” Shining started to question his commander-in-chief, stepping around her to see who it was that the king had brought as part of his guards. He froze as well and felt his own jaw drop at who he saw.

Standing on either side of the guest room’s door were two earth ponies, both of whom looked rather old, and close to retiring. Despite their appearances, Shining Armor knew very well that they were actually quite powerful.

It took several moments of trying to gather her wits for Celestia to speak again. “Winter Day? Summer Nights?!” She turned to Phoenix. “They are your guards?!”

Phoenix chuckled good-naturedly, as he walked towards the two of them, both of whom bowed momentarily. The two, at a seemingly silent instruction from their king, moved away from the door. They stopped several feet from Princess Celestia, bowing politely before slowly revealing their changeling nature.

“Good evening, Princess,” the female said politely. “Reserve Guard Summer Nights at your service, ma’am.”

“Reserve Guard Winter Day reporting as well, ma’am.”

Captain Shining Armor stepped forward, clearly confused. “Wait, wait, you’re here as guards for your king? But you’re Solar Guards!”

Winter nodded. “We are reserve Solar Guards, Captain. This allows us the time to serve both our king, and our princess.”

Celestia frowned. “But how can you possibly be loyal to the both of us? What if you have to choose between either of us?”

Winter smiled gently. “Because we have pledged to be your Solar Guards. We are only my king’s guards for as long as he is visiting Canterlot.”

Phoenix smiled, “Which is pretty much just this once. If you’d like, you can assign other guards. They are yours to command, after all, princess.”

Celestia noted that the two changelings were still bowing to her, awaiting her command. “No, it’s alright, but I will be posting two others as guards.”

“Understood, ma’am.” Winter and Summer both stood and saluted at once, before returning to their posts. 

Phoenix nodded to the two of them, before turning to Celestia. “Good night, Princess. I look forward to continuing our peace talks in the morning.”

Celestia inclined her head politely. “Good night, King Phoenix.”

The king stepped past the two elderly guards, shutting the door soon after. Celestia made a mental note to question Summer Nights and Winter Day in the morning, and to ensure that their loyalty was, as they claimed, to her. She would also have to make sure Captain Shining Armor was present then.

Celestia assigned two of the guards currently present to guard her guest’s quarters, and to report to her in the morning about their behaviour. Shortly after, she lowered her sun, wrote a checklist of what she was to do tomorrow, and sent a short letter to her sister about the day’s happenings. It would not do to have Lulu find out about the changelings and to attack them without provocation. As an after thought, Celestia attached a copy of the peace talk’s minutes for her sister to look over and for them to discuss in the morning.

As soon as that was finished, Celestia sighed tiredly, removed her regalia, and slowly laid down on her bed. It took very little time for her to enter the land of dreams...

> Chaper Four: When the Sun is Too Bright
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Four


When the Sun is Too Bright



Phoenix groaned pitifully as the sun peeked up over the horizon, shining through the window and straight onto his face. Clenching his eyes shut, he called upon his magic to draw the curtains shut before sighing happily as the bright light stopped bothering him. Naturally, that was when somepony knocked on the door, before entering his room and quietly shutting the door behind them.

“Dad?” Phoenix recognized the voice, it was Mirror Vanity. “It’s time to get up.”

Phoenix groaned once more, pulling the bed sheets over his head. “Go ‘way.”

He could practically hear Mirror rolling her eyes. "Can't do that, boss. You're the one who told me to wake you up."

"I take it back. Lemme sleep in."

"You also told me to not allow that."

Phoenix finally peeled the sheets off his head, just enough to glare at Mirror through a half-open eye. "I did not."

"No, you didn't, but I'm still not letting you go back to sleep."

Phoenix ignored her, instead choosing to bury his head under his pillow, and pulling the sheets back over his head. "It's too early..."

Mirror sighed, shaking her head. "I know it is, but you need to get up and meet Celestia for breakfast. You did promise her."

Her king didn't move for nearly a minute, and she wondered if she was going to have to wake him up again. She knew from personal experience that doing so was a very dangerous practice and should only be done in an emergency.

But Phoenix stirred before she had to, peeling the silk sheets off his head and giving the ceiling an annoyed glare. Mirror winced at the familiar expression.

"I'll be there in a bit." Phoenix grunted, as he slowly got out of bed. "Just let me freshen up."

"Alright, I'll let the princess know." Mirror started towards the large doors, but paused for a moment. 

Phoenix stopped stretching when he noticed her staring. "...what?"

Mirror finally snapped out of her stupor long enough to wrap her king in an ursa bear hug. "It's so good to see you again."

Phoenix smiled, hugging her in return. "It's good to see you too." He held his changeling close for a moment, soaking up his love for her, before gently letting go. "Go get some coffee. Little Star must've kept you and Steel up late."

Mirror giggled, smiling to Phoenix as she opened the door. "I'll be sure to save you some coffee, but if you take too long I’ll drink it all."

Phoenix chuckled to himself as Mirror saw herself out of the room. He took a few moments to simply gather his thoughts, letting the crisp morning air wake him before entering the bathroom for a few moments. The silly place was far fancier than any he’d seen back at his hive, but given that this city was the cultural and political center of Equestria, he wasn’t all that surprised. 

Although Phoenix did think that the sheer amount of gold was a bit overwhelming.

A scant few minutes later, Phoenix stepped out of the guest room, and smiled to the two guards still standing there.

“Good morning, Winter Day, Summer Night.”

Winter smiled as he bowed to his king. “Good morning, my king.” He gave his king an amused look. “Did you torment Mirror when she tried to wake you?”

Phoenix chuckled. “Just a little.” He glanced at the two night guards across from them. “Gonna introduce me to your friends?”

Summer chuckled. “The mare on the left is Sunset Comet, and the stallion is Moonlit Flight.”

Phoenix bowed his head to them politely, to which they merely nodded in reply. “Shall we head to breakfast? Mirror promised to save coffee for me, as long as I’m not late, otherwise she’s gonna drink it all.”

Summer chuckled again, as she took the lead. “Smart filly. The kitchen’s this way.”

The other three guards followed, the two night guards taking the back of the little parade with Winter Day walking alongside and chatting calmly with his king. It wasn’t until they passed a cowering maid that Phoenix finally noticed they weren’t taking any of the back passages. 

“Summer, are you sure we should be out in the open hallways like this?” he commented, doing his best to not seem intimidating to any of the castle staff, none of whom seemed able to look him in the eye.

Summer Nights froze in place. “Uh...”

Winter slapped a hoof into his face. “You didn’t even consider the back passages did you?”

Despite being on duty, the two night guards chuckled to themselves. Sunset chirped up, “Summer’s been like that as long as I’ve known her, and it’s too late now, so we might as well keep going.”

Phoenix gave the two of them an amused look. “Aren’t on-duty guards supposed to not talk?”

Moonlit smacked Sunset’s side, earning himself a dark glare. He just rolled his eyes. “He’s right, Sunset, we’re technically not supposed to talk... but it is too late now. Especially since we’re already here.”

Phoenix noticed the open doors, and the voices coming from inside. He recognized a few of them, and held up a hoof as he frowned at some of the words.

“You just left him there?!”

“I’m not gonna just stand there and watch as he uses the bathroom! That’s just wrong on so many levels!”

“How do I know he’s not just plotting something?!”

Phoenix heaved a sigh, recognizing those other voices as Princess Cadence and her husband. He was about to march in there when an idea struck. Summer Nights and Winter Day weren’t sure they liked the look on their king’s face. The two night guards weren’t all that sure as to what it meant, but from the way their fellow guards were acting, it was the kind of trouble that their mistress would very much approve of...

“Just what has it that’s got you so bloody paranoid?” Mirror snarled at Captain Armor. “You’ve been an ass to me and my husband ever since you found out I was a changeling!”

“Well that’s just it, isn’t it?!” he snarled. “The last time I trusted a changeling, Canterlot paid the price!”

The changeling king raised an eyebrow at the words that were coming out of Mirror. He decided to remain silent as he entered the dining room, successfully keeping his presence hidden from the ponies arguing at the table, and grabbed a mug of fresh coffee.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow as he sipped his coffee, glancing over at the two elder princesses. Neither of them said a word, both of them were smirking at the way the king was so calm about the ranting going on. He didn’t even seem to be flinching at the way the only other four ponies at the table were shouting at each other.

Luna timed her intervention perfectly. “So how was your rest, King Phoenix?”

Mirror Vanity, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence froze at those words. The three of them slowly turned their heads to see the king calmly sipping the last of his coffee. Mirror’s eye twitched.

“It was a very nice rest, Princess Luna.” Phoenix complimented politely. “You have some very nice beds and suites in the castle. Though... I must admit it took me some time to get used to how soft that bed was.”

Luna gave a chuckle. “Yes, I must admit that I had a difficult time adjusting to the luxuries that ponies these days have as well, the beds being one of them.”

“Must’ve been much more difficult for you,” Phoenix commented. He paused for a moment. “No offense.”

Luna shrugged. “None taken.”

Phoenix gave her a glance, but put the cup down and let the topic drop. “Good morning.”

Mirror glared at her king. “How long have you been there?”

He smirked, “Long enough to finish my first cup of coffee.” Phoenix gave Mirror an innocent look. “When did you learn all those nasty words?”

“...I’m gonna throw a book at you this time.”

“Is it gonna have all those nasty words? Is that where you learned them?”

“Shut. Up.”

Phoenix chuckled as he snagged a slice of toast from the platter on the table, smothering it in grape jam. “No need to get so upset, I’m only kidding. How was your lack of sleep? Or did Star finally give you a break?”

Steelfury sighed, closing his eyes and laying his head on the table. “No such luck. It was my turn to stay up for him. I didn’t get a wink of sleep. I’m just glad one of the serviceponies in the castle is watching him right now to give us a break.”

Luna grimaced. “I’ll have an extra nice dream set aside for you.”

“Mmm... Princess, a full night’s sleep will suffice.”

Mirror slumped, exhaustion filling her to the bones. “Ugh. My turn tonight.”

Phoenix smiled as he swallowed his toast. “Don’t worry about Star tonight, Mirror.”

“Why not?”

The king took several moments to figure out how to word his thoughts. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, I would like to extend a formal invitation to my hive.”

There wasn’t a single pony in the room who didn’t stare at him like he’d lost his mind. Celestia was the first to recover.

“May I ask why?”

“The reasons are actually fairly simple: I’d like you to see our lifestyle.” Phoenix turned to look Shining Armor in the eye, glancing at Cadence a few times. “You as well, Captain, Princess Cadence. You need to see, straight at the source, that my hive and I are nothing like Chrysalis and her drones. Maybe then you can learn to at least tolerate us.”

Celestia looked down at her partially eaten salad, making a mental note to get herself some cake considering this difficult decision she was about to make. Then, with a heavy sigh, she nodded.

“I can see the benefits of seeing your hive with my own eyes, but I will not force anypony else to join.”

Phoenix nodded. “That’s only fair. I wouldn’t ask you to force anyone into going. That’d defeat the purpose of inviting you, anyway.”

Luna gave him a curious look after some thought. “Where is your hive anyway? At least the general location?”

Phoenix gave a smirk. “You might not like this, Captain.”

Shining Armor felt a shiver go down his spine. “What do you... where is it based?”

Mirror gave a nervous glance to her king, scooting closer to her husband nervously.

Phoenix’s smirk grew. “Are you sure you want to know? You won’t like what you hear, I guarantee it.”

Shining growled. “Where. Is. Your. Hive?”

There was silence for several long, tense minutes.

“My hive is located under Ghastly Gorge.”

> Chapter Five: Travel Plans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Five


Wherein Travel Plans Are Made


There was an almost stifling silence. Mirror Vanity closed her eyes at her king’s blunt answer, unsure as to how he became king with such a lack of subtlety. Steelfury took the momentary calm to cover his ears with his hooves.

“Ghastly Gorge,” Shining Armor stated calmly. Far too calmly for Mirror to feel comfortable. “Your hive sits below Ghastly Gorge.”

Mirror and Steelfury glanced at each other, as the other guards in the room did the same. It was never, ever good when the Day Guard Captain was quiet like that. Especially when his eye was twitching like that.

"The same Ghastly Gorge that is only minutes away from Ponyville."

Phoenix took another sip of his coffee. "Is there another one that I don't know about?"

Cadence growled. “You have been minutes away from Ponyville, the home of not only the Elements of Harmony, but my sister-in-law, and you come here asking for peace?!”

“It’s also home to a very good bakery,” Phoenix commented idly. He paused as a thought occurred to him. “Which reminds me, I have an order of cupcakes to pick up...”

“Wait, you’ve actually been to Ponyville?!”

“Duh. I was there when it was founded."

Now that caught the attention of the ponies, and made them glance at each other for a moment. Cadence decided to take the proverbial leap of faith as the king took a bite of his toast.

“You... were there when it was founded?”

Phoenix nodded, taking a moment to swallow. “I’m not a nymph, Princess Cadence. I’m much older than I look; I was there at the groundbreaking ceremony of Ponyville.”

Celestia found herself frowning as she recalled that moment as well. It had been quite sometime ago, perhaps about two hundred years. She couldn’t quite remember the face of every pony that had been there, but she was certain that there hadn’t been a changeling there, especially not one of the royal caste. Celestia was about to ask where he’d been at the time, but Luna beat her to the punch.

“If I may ask, Phoenix, approximately how old are you?”

“Why, Princess Luna, asking somepony you hardly know for their age?” Phoenix grinned to Luna, making her roll her eyes. “If you must know, I’m a little over two thousand years old. So not that much older than you.”

Shining choked on his coffee for several moments, his wife rubbing his back as he fought to swallow the black nectar. “You’re over two thousand years old?!”

“That’s right, captain. So I’m not as young as you seem to think.”

“And what about your hive?” Luna asked. “How old is your hive?”

Phoenix took a moment to think. It wasn’t very often that he was asked such a question, after all. “My hive is approximately fifteen hundred years old. And before you ask, yes, it has been beneath the Ghastly Gorge the entire time that it has existed.”

Celestia was keeping a close eye on her guest as he answered the questions he’d been asked. Looking him in the eye, she was mildly pleased to notice that he didn’t look away once, even as she searched for even the smallest hint of deception. It took some time, but at last she was satisfied that King Phoenix was telling the truth and nodded to him.

“Very well, I accept the invitation to visit your hive.” Celestia smiled. “I look forward to seeing your hive. Did you have a specific date and time?”

“Well, if you would be able to, I was hoping to take the train to Ponyville later today.”

Luna and Celestia looked at each other. After only a moment of silent conversation, the two of them nodded.

“That can be arranged, King Phoenix,” Luna smiled to him. “It will take some time to prepare our leave, however. The soonest would about noon.”

Phoenix nodded. “Take your time, there is no rush.” With a final sip of his coffee, Phoenix placed his cup down and stood. “If I may, would it be permissible for me to browse your library? It has been some time since I had the pleasure of reading some pony works.”

Celestia paused, but nodded. “I am alright with you browsing our library, but I must ask that you disguise yourself. Some of my ponies are not quite... ready for your presence to be revealed.”

“Fair enough.” King Phoenix had to focus for only a second in order for blue flames to coat his body, before flickering away to reveal his tall, cream-colored disguise. 

Luna finished drinking her tea, and stood as well. “I’ll show you the way, Phoenix. I need to head there for some studies myself.”

“I am curious, what are you studying, sister?” Celestia asked.

“I overheard a pair of my guards having a conversation, and one of their comments intrigued me, so I’m going to go research a few laws regarding it.”

“I see. I wish you luck on finding whatever you are looking for, sister.”

“Thank you, sis.” Luna smiled to her sister. “Shall we meet at the castle entrance at noon?” After Celestia nodded, Luna turned and headed out the door. “Come along, King Phoenix. I must make as much progress as I can before we leave for Ponyville.”

Phoenix followed closely behind. The ponies staying at breakfast for a bit longer could already hear them begin to talk. The instant the door closed, Cadence turned to her aunt.

“Auntie, why did you agree to go with him so quickly? How did you know he was telling the truth? I mean, he’s a changeling! Lying is in his nature!”

Celestia took the time to refill her cup and sip her tea before responding. “Because he has no reason to lie. King Phoenix came all this way in order to free a single changeling from our custody, and in the process, has proven that several of his subjects have been living among us with no ill intent towards us.”

Shining frowned. “Several? I only recall him proving Winter Day and Summer Nights as such.” His line of thought continued unspoken. ‘Even if he obviously wasn’t telling the truth then.’

“Because according to Luna, an entire squad of her night guards approached her during her night court and removed their disguises.”

Mirror blinked in surprise. “Really? They did?”

“Really, really,” Celestia confirmed. “She showed me the memory of it happening. They all swore their allegiance to her as well.”

Shining’s eyes narrowed. “In what way did they swear their allegiance?”

“Through a blood and magic oath.”

Cadence’s jaw dropped, as did Shining’s. The Alicorn of Love was the first to recover.

“Wait, wait, wait -- how can that be? Can’t you only do those separately?”

Shining shook his head. “No, there’s one oath of that kind, and it’s taught only to royal guards. It’s usually reserved for times of extreme emergencies, such as war, when loyalty can be questioned. We didn’t do it after the first changeling invasion because we thought that all of them had been blown out of Canterlot.”

“Well what’s the difference between this oath and others?” Cadence asked, looking from her husband to her aunt.

There were several moments of silence between them, and it was Mirror who responded.

“Because when you use this oath to swear your allegiance to somepony, it’s for life. If you go against your oath.... You die.”

Cadance stared in horror at Mirror. “Y-you die? How?!”

Celestia shook her head. “It’s not something that should be discussed in detail over breakfast in short, the oath ties a portion of your magic to your physical heart as a part of the binding, which is why the blood is necessary. The rest of the oath uses your magic to tie your allegiance to whoever you swear it to.”

Cadence swallowed dryly. “I... I see. So by doing that, they’ve proven that they’re not here to cause trouble.”

Celestia nodded, and finished drinking her tea. Shortly after, she put her cup down and stood.

“It’s about time that I head to court anyway. I might as well get through all the appointments I have today as quickly as I can. Better to be ready by noon for the trip.”

“Good day, auntie.”

As soon as Celestia was out of the room, Mirror and Steelfury glanced at each other. A solid minute of awkward silence passed.

“So!” Steelfury exclaimed, in an attempt to end the silence. “Um... I suppose Mirror and I should... go check in on Starlight!”

Mirror glanced at her husband, and nods rapidly in agreement. “Yes! I do believe that, um, it’s time to relieve the foalsitter!” 

Cadance frowned. “But, you don’t have a foalsitter.”

The two of them slammed back their tea, gently set the tea cups down, and headed towards the door as fast as they could. Noticing the way they had left in a hurry, Shining sighed. He suggested to his wife that they head back to their room and prepare for a trip to Ponyville, something Cadence agreed with wholeheartedly.

‘If anything, this pointless trip will prove that king’s guilt,’ Shining mused. ‘And I’ll get to see my L.S.B.F.F. in the process.’

The preparations for travel didn’t actually take all that long. The closing of day court was fairly swift and, although Celestia was certain she would hear no end of it from the nobles later, she was able to walk away headache-free. She had no doubt that her headaches would return with a vengeance when she returned, but for now she was happy to walk out unscathed. When Celestia reached the castle entrance, she found the rest of the little entourage waiting for her. Luna and Phoenix seemed to be deep in conversation, while Shining and Cadance, and Mirror and Steelfury, were ignoring each other rather awkwardly. Celestia noted that both Phoenix and Mirror, thankfully, had the state of mind to be in disguise.

“Are we all ready?” Celestia asked, noting with some amusement that Luna and Phoenix jumped in surprise.

Luna spun around, attempting -- and failing -- to not appear like she’d been snuck up on. “Sister, we did not -- I mean, I did not... oh shut up.” It was at this point that Luna had just given up while her sister laughed.

Phoenix chuckled to himself, and it was at this point that Celestia noted that he was still disguised.

“Shall we leave then, Princess?” he asked.

“Yes, we shall.”

Shining noticed the lack of guards. “Um, princess?”

“Are you wondering where my personal guards are, captain?” Celestia guessed. She continued when he nodded. “There are three guards here. That will be enough for this trip.”

Shining frowned. He wanted to disagree, especially considering the fact that none of them were properly equipped, but he could tell from the look on her face that there was no point in trying to argue. He sighed.

“Alright. Cadence and I are ready, princess.”

Celestia beamed. “Excellent! Then let’s head over to the train station, I have already reserved seats.”

Luna gave her sister a displeased look. “Please tell me we are not using that garish royal train.”

Celestia giggled and remained silent, choosing to simply lead the way. Luna groaned and followed, deciding to ignore Phoenix’s chuckle at her misery. Luna was just thankful that they weren’t going to be stuck in that ugly thing for too long...
> Chapter Six: Tours
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Six


Wherein Ponyville is Visited


The train ride was awkwardly silent. It was a mix of nobody wanting to say anything, and nobody knowing what to say in general. Luna watched as King Phoenix seemed to be meditating, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. His disguised horn was glowing very faintly, and he seemed to be very focused on something. Noticing that Mirror was cooing happily at Star as her husband held him, and especially noticing the way Shining was glaring at King Phoenix, Luna decided to step away from where she had been nursing a cup of tea on the royal train car’s table.

“Excuse me,” she said softly, sitting next to Mirror. It was far easier to commune with a calm mother, rather than an angry Shining Armor.

Mirror looked up at her princess, and bowed. “What can I do for you, princess?” Mirror had to pause and kiss her son’s forehead to get him to stop whining for her attention. It worked long enough for Steelfury to take over.

“I have a few questions regarding your king, and your position as a night guard.”

Mirror swallowed a bit, but nodded. “What would you like to know, princess?”

“Assuming that we -- my sister and I -- find that your hive is as peaceable towards us as your king claims, and that you do make for a trustworthy ally of Equestria, would you return to your position as a member of my guard?”

“Yes,” Mirror answered instantly.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I have sworn my life to you, and I plan to keep that promise.”

“And what of your king’s opinion?”

Mirror smiled. “He’s the one who suggested that I become one of your guards in the first place.”

At this, Luna blinked, glancing towards King Phoenix with a look of mild surprise on her face. “Really? He did? Why?”

“Because ever since you came back, the night sky became so much better. I’ve... always had a bit of a preference for the night, even as a nymph. So when you came back and put out a general request for guards to call your own... well, my king came to see me and suggested it. I’ve been a member of your guard since, and I always will be.”

Luna felt pride swell in her heart at Mirror’s devotion to her, even in the face of so much doubt from so many ponies around her. Rather than let her pride show, Luna kept her face calm and strict as she glanced towards King Phoenix again.

“As for my other question, Mirror... what exactly is your king doing right now?”

Mirror smiled. “He’s speaking with the hive mind, having them prepare for our arrival.” She giggled for a second. “He wishes for you to know that he can hear everything you’re saying, and that he would like to remind you that no matter how much you try to hide your pride, we’re changelings. We can sense it.”

Luna blushed a bit at her momentary lapse of attention to detail. “I... see.”

“It’s alright, princess. Not very many ponies know the intricacies of our abilities.”

“Well, I thank you for answering my questions.”

“Have I satisfied your curiosity, princess?”

Luna opted to ignore Mirror’s cheeky smirk. “For the time being, yes. I will have questions later, no doubt.”

“Feel free to ask whenever you wish,” Mirror paused long enough to bow. “Mistress.”

Luna smiled and bowed in return, before heading on back to sit with her sister. Celestia gave her a questioning look, and Luna leaned in to whisper what she had learned. Celestia nodded in return, deciding to continue keeping an eye on King Phoenix. As she went to sip her tea, Celestia glanced at the way Shining Armor had yet to take his eyes off the king. It took some time, but Shining finally noticed that his princess was watching him, and sighed slightly. Celestia waved him over with a wing, and after he whispered to his wife for a second, he obliged.

Once he’d seated next to her, Celestia spoke. “Is something the matter, Shining?”

Shining snorted. “Everything and nothing, princess. I know that King Phoenix has not given any reason for it, but I don’t trust him.”

“Your wedding?”

He nodded, his ears pinning back for a moment. “I just can’t trust him, princess, no matter what he may say or do. I know we have spells now specifically designed to take down changelings, and I know that King Phoenix has done his best to try and placate my fears, but... he’s still a changeling, and I can’t trust them.”

Celestia nodded in understanding. Glancing around, Celestia noticed that King Phoenix seemed to not be paying attention to them. Cadance was glancing their way every so often, although Starlight seemed to be able to hold her attention far better. Mirror and Steelfury were focused entirely on their colt, especially enjoying the way he laughed at Cadance’s cooing. Seemed that no matter who the parents, Cadance was easily distracted by cute foals.

Returning her attention to her worried captain, Celestia had one more question. “Do you have any other concerns?”

Shining frowned slightly, then nodded. “I do, princess; but I want to save it for when we’re about to disembark. It... has to do with the way we’re going to be trying to get my sis and her friends to trust the king.”

Celestia nodded in understanding. “That time may come sooner than you think, Shining. Look, Ponyville is in sight, and the train is beginning to slow.”

Shining blinked, and glancing out the window near the table proved the princess right. As if on cue, there was a soft chime through the royal car, followed by a voice.

“Your Majesties and guests, we are arriving at Ponyville Station. Please gather your belongings and prepare to depart. Thank you for riding with us today, and have a nice day.”

With a soft click, the voice ended. Not a minute later, there was the unmistakable squealing of metal tracks and metal wheels being forced to slow down. It took another minute or so for the train to slowly glide into its proper position in front of the station, before coming to a gentle stop. As the ponies stood and stretched, with Mirror and Steelfury making sure their foal was ready, Shining stepped up to King Phoenix. The king had taken a few extra moments to move out of his meditation, ceasing his time in the hive mind. Phoenix raised an eyebrow at the emotions he was sensing from Shining Armor, as well as the determined look on his face.

“Is there something I can do for you, captain?”

Shining took a deep breath. “I would like you to go through Ponyville undisguised as you lead us to your hive.”

The other ponies and changeling in the train car had varied reactions, ranging from moderate surprise to outright shock. For Mirror, that shock quickly shifted to anger.

“Captain Armor, who do you --”

Phoenix held a hoof up, silencing her easily. Despite his own bewilderment, he had enough state of mind to speak. “May I ask as to why, captain?”

“I still don’t believe or trust you,” Shining began. “But if you truly want peace between your hive and Equestria, then sooner or later, your changelings will be able to wander our streets undisguised... I want you to be the first. Prove to me that you mean it.” 

Phoenix looked Shining in the eye for a time, before nodding and releasing his disguise. “Very well, I accept your terms, captain. Are you satisfied?”

Shining nodded, and rejoined his wife. Cadance whispered to him for a moment, before Celestia caught their attention as she opened the door to the train car. The solar diarch had the sense to forewarn her student and her friends about their impending visit, along with the fact that they would have guests with them. Celestia had also seen fit to tell said guests that they should expect a small welcoming party that would no doubt include all six Bearers of Harmony.

Of course, no matter how much warning everypony may have had, Twilight Sparkle and her friends still only saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna step out of the royal train car -- and bowing respectfully, of course -- and they were followed by...

Rainbow Dash, being the fastest pony alive, was the first to react. “Princesses! Behind you!” The princesses didn’t even have time to react before there was a rather solid thud behind them followed by a grunt.

Phoenix looked up from where Rainbow had floored him. “Was that really necessary, Miss Dash?”

Rainbow flinched back, realizing that the changeling was little more than winded. “How did you do that?! I hit you at full speed!”

“I’m a lot tougher than you expected.” Phoenix very gently put a hoof on Dash’s chest, making her friends tense.

Applejack didn’t take too kindly to it. “Get yer hooves offa her, ya filthy changeling!”

Phoenix ignored her as he gently moved the still-stunned Dash off him, and stood up, brushing himself off. The girls watched in shock as the cracks that Dash had created very rapidly sealed. “That’s kind of impossible, considering that she tackled me, Miss Applejack.”

Twilight looked incredulously at her mentor in between glaring at the large king. “Princess, why is there a royal changeling behind you?!”

Celestia took a deep breath. She should have planned for this, the welcoming and all, to help mitigate the hostility that even she could sense as clear as day. It didn’t help that she hadn’t been forewarned of Shining’s challenge to King Phoenix.

“My faithful student,” she made sure to emphasize that to try and convince her student to trust her in this. “Do you recall the letter I told you about a changeling hive requesting a meeting for peace talks?”

Twilight nodded, frowning mildly before making the connection. “Wait, you mean that he’s...?!”

“That would indeed be me, Miss Sparkle,” Phoenix confirmed offhandedly. “Are you alright, Miss Dash? I know my chitin can be rather tough.”

Rainbow shook herself out of it, and hovered back over to her friends. “Pfft, you’re nothing. I’ve hit harder things and been fine.”

Phoenix nodded, then bowed to the Bearers. “Greetings, Bearers, I am King Phoenix Embers. I apologize for the surprise, I had not intended to frighten you. But it was a request of Captain Armor, and I obliged.”

“Captain Armor?” Twilight parroted. “My brother’s here?”

Shining stepped out of the train car. “I’m here. Sorry sis, I was waiting to see how he was going to react.”

Phoenix chose to ignore him and the way Cadance went right over to Twilight and began their greeting dance. Instead he turned to where Mirror and Steelfury were holding Star together and nervously eyeing the door. While the Bearers caught up with Luna and Cadance on what had been going on the past few days, Celestia’s attention was caught by King Phoenix. She watched as he didn’t even say anything, he simply stood there waiting.

Even so, Mirror slowly approached the door, her ears pinned back and her grip on her son tight, with her husband close to her side. Even at this distance, Celestia could see how tense Steelfury was; how ready he was to protect his wife. 

The group’s voices slowed as they were noticed. 

Rarity frowned at them. She was about to scold them for stealing a foal, but was promptly interrupted by Pinkie Pie hopping over. While Pinkie had not been all that pleased about the changelings appearing again, she could tell they were innocent of the Canterlot Invasion. Plus that foal was just so cute!

“Awwww!” Pinkie cooed, leaning down to grin at Star. He smiled back. “He’s so cuuuuute!”

Mirror couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, Miss Pie.”

“Pinkie’s just fine! Miss Pie is my mom and my sister and my other sister!”

Star giggled at Pinkie’s enthusiasm, making her coo again. “What’s his name? And his birthday?”

“This is Starlight,” Mirror said, smiling wider as Star reached for Pinkie. Letting her take him, Steelfury and Mirror both grinned as Star was immediately captivated by Pinkie’s mane. “And he was born only a few months ago.”

Pinkie nodded, making a mental note to have a party for him in her mental “Super Important Party Notes” folder. 

“But, Princess...” Twilight finally said. While she was happy to see that the new couple was approved by Pinkie Pie—as big of an approval as any—she still had her questions. “Why did you bring them here, anyway?”

Celestia moved to answer, but Phoenix beat her to it. “If I may, Miss Sparkle.” He wisely ignored the way Twilight tensed when Phoenix stepped closer. “We came here in order to give everypony here a tour of my hive. If you and your friends wish, you are free to join us.”

Rarity frowned, finally speaking. “And why would we do that?”

“Because I am hoping that bringing you all on a tour of my hive will put to rest your fears of my changelings.”

The girls glanced at each other in confusion. Rarity continued when none of them asked the question on their minds. “Why would we be afraid of your changelings? I can see clear as day that you have no relation to Chrysalis’ hive.”

Phoenix’s answer consisted of merely nodding his head in Fluttershy’s direction. The girls looked over, and Rarity had to fight back a wince at how her point was so easily disproven. Fluttershy was currently hiding under one of the train station’s benches, her hooves covering her eyes and her entire body shivering.

“That would be why, Miss Rarity,” Phoenix commented calmly. “I will admit that I am sad that you fear us so, Miss Fluttershy, but if you do not wish to join us, you do not have to. Otherwise, if we are ready...?”

“Well...” Twilight began, glancing at Fluttershy. “I don’t want to go without Fluttershy. She’s my best friend.”

Fluttershy removed a hoof from her eyes and smiled to Twilight. Her voice was soft, but strong enough to faintly reach Phoenix’s ears. “I... as long as I have my friends...”

Phoenix nodded. “Shall we, then?”

The girls looked at each other and nodded. Applejack stepped forward, however. “I’m still gonna keep an eye on ya. Ah still don’ trust ya.”

Phoenix shrugged. “Fair enough. Follow me, I’ll take you to my hive.”

At last, the large group of ponies and changelings headed on through Ponyville. The various ponies in town were ecstatic to see their princesses, but without fail, as soon as they spotted the two changelings, they would tense up and either move to cower behind whatever cover was nearby, or flee back into whatever building was closest.

Phoenix did his best to ignore it, but his ears still pinned back every time. Each time a little longer than the last. Thankfully, Twilight took the time halfway through to interrupt his thoughts.

“So, umm... King Phoenix? You said we were going to visit your hive... where is it located?”

“If you don’t mind, Miss Sparkle, I would like to leave that as a surprise.”

“Er, well... okay.”

The rest of the trip was traveled mostly in silence, most of which was rather awkward. There were a few moments of Pinkie giggling at the silly faces of Star, and especially enjoying how ticklish Star was. It was as they arrived that the girls all froze.

“Wait.” Twilight began, her eye twitching. “Your hive is below Ghastly Gorge?!”

Phoenix nodded, already leading the way down into the gorge. “And it’s well protected as a result. And before you say it --” he paused to look at how Applejack was about to complain about this -- “my hive’s been here for 1,300 years longer than Ponyville has existed.”

Applejack snapped her jaw shut with a click at those words, but she still appeared rather sour about not being told beforehoof. As they continued down into the gorge, Rainbow froze.

“Wait!” She cried, noticing the large holes in the walls of the gorge. “The Gorge Eels!”

Phoenix smirked at that, going towards one of said holes. Changeling king or not, Rainbow had no desire in seeing someone get eaten by one of those eels. She cried out a warning again, and was about to knock him out of the way, when she paused at how calmly the eel left its dwelling. It slithered out, growling slightly at Phoenix, before starting to almost purr when he started to scratch it under the chin.

Rainbow, along with most of her friends, kinda froze and gaped. “Uh. What? How?”

Phoenix chuckled. “They can be dangerous, yes, but not when you know their secret spots. This one likes it right here, under the chin.”

Fluttershy’s eyes sparkled at the idea, and she zipped forward in a blur. “Aww! May I, King Phoenix?”

He chuckled again. “Of course you can, Miss Fluttershy. This is Kendra. Her favorite scratching spot is right in the center of her chin, right here.”

Fluttershy listened intently, scratching right at the indicated spot. Kendra promptly purred like a little kitten, leaning in to it.

Rainbow just hovered in place, gaping. “Buh... wha...?”

Phoenix grinned. “They’re part of why I picked Ghastly Gorge as the place above my hive. We have a mutual agreement. They help guard my hive, and we take care of them.”

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “Mutually beneficial. You get natural guards, they get free food and plenty of care.” Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at Kendra’s cooing and purring. “King Phoenix, can you teach me?”

“I could, but I don’t actually know all that much. I have a few changelings that specialize in taking care of them, I can introduce you.”

“Oh yes please!” Fluttershy exclaimed. In her excitement, she found herself hugging Phoenix and no longer scratching Kendra. Kendra whined at this, causing Fluttershy to squeak and apologize, before returning to her previous action.

Phoenix just rolled his eyes. “You’re being spoiled, Kendra.”

Kendra gave Phoenix a half-hearted glare.

Celestia stepped forward. “Aside from the eels providing protection, where exactly is the entrance?”

Fluttershy sighed, knowing that they were going to be moving on. She quietly cooed to Kendra, causing the eel to nuzzle her for a moment, before retreating into her home. Phoenix stepped forward, carefully using his magic to part the thorned vines as he guided the little group towards the giant pile of rocks in the back area of the gorge.

“The entrance is right here. Originally the boulders weren’t here, but thanks to Miss Dash—” Rainbow blushed slightly at the reminder of her pet race “—the rock slide provided even more protection. Who in their right mind is going to bother a potentially precarious pile of boulders?”

Even Shining had to agree with that. “It certainly does provide quite a few defensive options.”

“Except for this spot right here, Captain,” Phoenix said. He promptly shoved a hoof through one of the boulders -- with no sounds or reaction from said rock. “This spot is an illusion. Immobile boulders don’t make sound, so a silent image is all that’s needed, making it also very simple to make and maintain.”

Twilight blinked. “That’s... actually brilliant.”

“Thank you, Miss Sparkle.” Phoenix removed his hoof from the illusion. “Alright, so we’re going to be going through here. It’s going to be spiralling downward for quite a while before we reach the actual hive, and you’re going to need to stay close to myself and Mirror.”

Cadence frowned in confusion. “Why?”

“Because the entire path down is filled with more lethal traps than I can count.”

The ponies started. Phoenix held up a hoof to stall anything they had to say.

“It was necessary to protect my hive. We have been under attack numerous times from various sources, for reasons that I don’t want to go into. So to protect ourselves, we set up the traps. The only way to safely deactivate them is to be a part of my hive, or to be in the presence of someone from my hive. If you aren’t with one of us, then they’ll go off. So please, stay near.”

The group of ponies glanced at each other, a few of them swallowing. Fluttershy felt herself shrinking down again, but the promise of being able to learn about the eels from one of Phoenix’s changelings helped her calm down enough. Mirror took the rear of the group while her king took the front, and they all filed in. The tunnel itself was surprisingly well lit, clean, and well taken care of.

Even so, the ponies all shivered at the strong magic that washed over them.

Phoenix gave them all an apologetic look. “Sorry, everypony, but it’s gonna be like that the entire way down.”

The ponies once again had a shared look of uncertainty, and the group settled into an uncomfortable silence.

“King Phoenix,” Celestia finally began to say after several minutes. “What... if I may, what do your traps do? How are they lethal?”

“I don’t know,” Phoenix answered immediately.

Shining frowned. “How can you not know about your own traps?”

There was a shrug. “I didn’t make them.”

Cadance blinked in confusion. “So? Can’t you use your hive mind to access any memories about them?”

“No. Any changeling that works on the traps have a specific portion of the hive mind that even I can’t access. After the traps are updated, cleaned, or any other kind of maintenance, all of those memories are put onto paperwork, hidden somewhere in the hive that I don’t know about, and then purged from the hive mind.”

“But why would you go through such lengths to keep knowledge of your own traps from you?”

“Just in case someone forces their way into the hive mind. Can’t be too careful.”

Cadance gasped at that. “There are ponies who would do that?!”

Phoenix said nothing, but it was enough of an answer. The awkward silence returned with a vengeance, but then Phoenix seemed to smile as the tunnel widened.

“Everypony,” he began, smiling to them as he stopped at the edge of a large hill crest. “Welcome to my hive, Smoldering Embers.”

Mirror came forward to stand next to her king, whispering to him while the rest of the ponies stood in awe. Before them sat an enormous, sprawling hive, positively buzzing with activity. At the foot of the hill stood a large wall and a glowing gate. There were several red-maned changelings standing guard at the gate. Even at this distance, Shining could see that they were all well armed and armored, covered hoof to head in well-polished chitin-like armor and wielding a variety of weapons.

Behind the gate sat miles of streets and buildings. Up above the hive sat large crystals of varying colors embedded in the ceiling, carefully filtering light in from somewhere far above the cavern. The various lights reflected off all the water flowing throughout the hive. There were several dozen artificial rivers flowing through the hive, sourced by the large waterfall that roared behind the large castle at the far end of the cavern. The castle itself was large, nearly reaching the cavern ceiling with its main spire. There were a few other spires attached to the main portion, and they flowed beautifully, especially with the waterfall as a backdrop.

Phoenix was dragged out of his whispered talk with Mirror when he noticed Rarity suddenly holding a notepad and a stick of graphite. He chuckled, getting her attention.

“Getting dress ideas just from one look at my hive, Miss Rarity?”

Rarity coughed once, sending her notepad back to where it had been on her desk. “Well, it’s a very well designed, er, hive.” As she spoke, her eyes regained the same spark they’d held as she did her sketches. “The way the waterfall frames your castle, the crystal lights, the water -- oohh, it’s just so beautiful!”

Phoenix smiled. “Thank you, Miss Rarity. I’ll be sure to pass your compliments to the architects. In the meantime, shall we? I have an appointment at my castle, and it is one that I would loathe to miss. It will also give you a closer look at my hive’s design, Miss Rarity, so if you wish to summon your notepad back...”

Rarity didn’t even hesitate to do so, her eyes practically shining with all the possible dress designs she could make. Chuckling again at her enthusiasm, Phoenix restarted the tour, leading the way down the hill. The group of ponies followed. Phoenix could faintly hear Princess Celestia and Luna whispering to each other, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. The guards at the gate to his hive merely nodded to their king, a gesture he returned. They did the same for Mirror and Steelfury, but they were also more than willing to smile and wave to Star. Little Star giggled at the way one of the guards took the time to make a face.

Shining noticed, and after the gate was closed, he spoke up. “King Phoenix, are all your guards that relaxed?”

“You mean with the waving and silly faces? Sometimes.”

Shining frowned. “That doesn’t seem all that professional.”

Phoenix shrugged. “Different ponies have different standards of professionalism. For Star, that standard is a smile, wave, and a goofy face.” He smiled to Star. “Keeps the foals relaxed around the guards, too.”

Shining opened his mouth to respond, but then paused as he thought about it. Then he leaned in to whisper to Cadance. As they walked along, Phoenix was more than happy to point out the various buildings, mentioning on the side that they were going down the main road and would be going through the market. As soon as they entered the market, however, Phoenix was promptly run into by a small changeling.

“...Oopsie,” it said quietly. The voice instantly identified it as female.

Looking closer, the ponies noticed a small bag of candies being held tightly in the changeling’s magic.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow at the little filly. Her face flushed, but that quickly vanished when a larger, male, changeling came running over and she ran behind Cadance.

“Give that back,” he growled, skidding to a stop. “It’s not yours.”

The little filly peeked out from behind Cadance, scowling slightly. “But I paids fer it!”

“With money that isn’t yours!”

“Was too! Momma and Dadda gave me that money!”

Right as the adult was about to say something else, Phoenix held up a hoof. The two of them stopped fighting, the adult giving a bow to his king.

“My king, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there!” The adult paused. “And with guests.” He bowed to the princesses as well. “I apologize, that was unbecoming of me.”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “Yes it was. You know very well that you can sense her honesty.”

The adult paused for a moment, frowning, before sighing. “I honestly did not sense it. It’s been a long day, and that somehow escaped me.” He turned to the filly, smiling gently. “I am sorry, little one.”

She stepped out from behind Cadance, smiling back. “‘Is okay.”

The adult nodded, bowed to his king and the princesses once more, then turned around and headed back to his candy stand. The little filly looked up at Cadance to thank her for being a reliable hiding spot, and promptly gasped.

“Yer Pwincess, umm... ummm...” she scrunched up her face trying to think.

“Cadance,” Phoenix supplied, trying his best to keep from laughing.

“Yeah! Pwincess Cadance!” she cried out. “Mah favowite! I’m Snow!”

Cadance blinked. “I’m... your favorite?”

“Yeah! Yer so pwetty!” Snow bounced around Cadance for a bit, her candy bag following her the entire time. “I wanna be a, uh... umm...”

“Crystal Guard?” Shining offered.

“Yeah! A cwy... cry... that! A that!”

Cadance smiled at the filly’s enthusiasm. “And why’s that? Why would you want to be my guard?”

Snow gave Cadance a look that might as well have called her silly. “I said that. It’s cuz yer pwetty. Pwetty pwincess needs protecting!”

Cadance couldn’t think of a way to argue with that logic. Not that anything she would have said would have dissuaded Snow’s logic, considering how old she must have been. Instead, Cadance put a hoof on the little one’s head, causing her to stop and look up with a wide smile.

“Work hard enough and you certainly can be,” Cadance told her.

Snow nodded fast enough to worry Cadance that her head might snap off. A moment later though, the little filly hugged Cadance tightly, and then ran off, most likely to home with news of meeting her hero and to treat herself to her bag of candy.

“Well done, Princess,” Phoenix complimented. “You’ll make for a wonderful mother.”

“Thank you, King -- wait.” Confusion crossed Cadance’s face. “What do you mean by that last part?”

Now Phoenix was confused. “What do you think I mean?”

“I’m not a mother yet.”

“Not yet, no, but it’s not gonna be much longer, right?”

Everypony froze and stared at Phoenix. He blinked as he realized what that meant. “You... did know that you were pregnant, right?”

Shining’s legs collapsed under him and he sat down hard. Cadance shook her head, trying to not do the same as her husband. “No... I mean, we’ve been trying but we didn’t... oh gosh...”

There was an awkward silence for a bit, before Phoenix gave them a bit of an awkward smile. “Well, uh... congrats! You’re pregnant!”

Cadance sat down next to her husband, as the two of them tried to let that news sink in.