Changeling Mine

by Futile Task

First published 10th of August, 2014

One mistake leads to one pony holding the fate of an entire race within her hooves.

(Set a month after the events of the season 4 finale)

Chrysalis has returned to Canterlot, but this time under a flag of truce, instead of a banner of war. She has come because her race is dying, and much to everponies surprise, the last hope for her race is in Equestria.

However, nopony is prepared for the news of who is carrying this last hope, nor the ramifications of what this last hope is likely to bring.

Rating: Rated teen for some sexual scenes and violence in later chapters.

Warning Number 1: Later chapters may contain scenes of graphic violence, viewer discretion is advised.
Warning Number 2: Despite the similar title, this is not a ponyfied version of the movie Enemy Mine.
Warning Number 3: I know Twilight is a unicorn in the cover, but she will be an alicorn in the story, just so no-one is confused.
Warning Number 4: Twilight's brother Shining Armor will me getting a major change to his character portrayal throughout the course of this fic, a change that will involve some dark undertones, which is one of the reasons for the dark tag.
Final Warning: This fic will delve deep into a fannon portrayal of changeling hive structure, hierarchy, and culture, so those who already have head cannon's behind those and are unwilling to accept or tolerate new ones should probably steer clear of this fic.

Chapter One: Return To Canterlot

Chrysalis stood nervously in front of the gates of the palace, the guards around her looking nervous as well, but they were not moving to attack her. It had been several weeks since the Crystal Empire had returned, she and the changelings that were left had begun to feel stronger, the hunger that had long been plaguing them ebbing away as the empire slowly began to return to its full glory.

There was however still a problem, for even though their madness was finally gone, they were nowhere near as strong as they used to be…and what was worse, their last queen was now sterile.

“YOU!”

“Oh no…” thought Chrysalis, “please, let it not be her.”

But, much to the changeling Queens horror, she turned to see the enraged from of Cadance, stomping toward her, only to be stopped as the guards moved to stay her.

“Move asi…”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that princess, said one of the guards. “We are under orders by Princess Luna to keep watch over Queen Chrysalis until her sister summons her, and we are also under express orders to keep you from attacking her.”

Cadance was about to speak, when suddenly Luna appeared in a flash of light, her gaze falling upon Chrysalis as she spoke. “Our sister has granted you an audience, and expects you in the throne room at once.”

“Luna this is a…”

“Stay thy tongue Cadance,” said Luna harshly, “we know you have your grievances, but Chrysalis has brought to us information which concerns all of Equestira, so you must control yourself.”

Cadance stared at her second aunt for a long moment, and then sighed, “Fine, I’m coming with you though.”

“Very well,” said Luna, before turning to the changeling queen, “follow me.”

They moved into the palace, Chrysalis keeping herself from straying too close to Cadance as they walked, knowing the young mare was close to boiling rage. Luckily for her, it didn’t take long to reach the throne room, Luna leading them inside before moving to her sister’s side, though Chrysalis had only eyes for the other pony in the room.

“Twilight,” said Cadance behind her, “what the hay are you doing here?”

“I was asked to come here by Celestia,” said Twilight as her old foal sitter came over to nuzzle her, “she said it was very important that I do so.”

“It is,” said Chrysalis, causing everypony to turn in her direction.

“But why?”

“I have been wondering that myself my student,” said Celestia calmly, letting her gaze fall upon the lone queen as she managed to tear her eyes away from Twilight. “That and many other questions, which is why I now give the floor to you Chrysalis, I just hope this is not a waste of our time.”

Chrysalis gulped, “n…no, this will not be a waste of time, for it has to do with the ecology of our world. I…I know this may be of no concern to any of you, but as of this past month…my changelings are on the verge of extinction.”

The room grew deathly cold at this bit of information, nopony wanting to speak, but finally Cadance was the one to break the silence. “What, but you’re their queen aren’t you?”

“Y…yes.”

“Then you can’t be going extinct, I know your races biology from the text books Celestia leant me, as long as the changelings have a queen then they will never go extinct.”

A sad look dawned Chrysalis’s face at that comment, “you…you are correct Princess Cadance, and while normally I would agree with you on that fact…the spell which you and Shining Armor used to expel me and my changelings from Canterlot stripped me of the ability to…to bear young…”

There were gasps all around the room, but no reaction equaled to the one that coursed through Cadance, whose hooves had leapt to her mouth in horror. Cadance herself longed to be a mother, so the idea that one of her spells had resulted in another being losing their ability to be one, it was too horrifying to comprehend.

“I…I didn’t…”

“It is alright Princess Cadance, you had no way of knowing it would happen, and neither did I. However, that is not the only reason I came here, for I have recently discovered that the last hope for my race…is here in Canterlot.”

Again silenced filled the room, the implications of the statement sinking into all of them, till finally Twilight got the nerve to speak. “You…your highness, what do you mean your last hope is here?”

Chrysalis sighed, “As you no doubt know, changeling queens are made differently than a changeling drone, being gestated inside the womb of the former queen instead of being hatched from an egg. I was carrying such an embryo inside my own womb; however it seems that during my struggle with Princess Celestia, the embryo left my womb.”

“Left,” said Twilight skeptically, “I’m sorry your highness, but from everything I know things just don’t work like that when it comes to that kind of stuff.”

“Right again Princess Twilight, except we changelings do have one beneficial quirk when it comes to a queen’s anatomy. If at any time the queen carrying a queen embryo is threatened, the subconscious mind of said queen will use its magic to teleport the embryo into the strongest magical being for its safety, which happened during my battle with you Princess Celestia.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at her, “if you are implying what I think your implying, you should know I would know if anything foreign were growing within my body.”

“I have no doubt of that,” said Chrysalis calmly, “but my embryo did not end up in you, nor in your niece Princess Cadance…which brings me to the reason I asked your newest princess to join us for this meeting.”

Everypony stared at her for a long moment, and then Twilight finally spoke, her voice shaking as she tried to come to terms with what she just said. “No…no you can’t mean…”

“Yes Twilight, you are carrying the last changeling queen inside your womb.”

Author's Notes:

The beginning to one of my new projects, one I will be focusing on quite a bit as a kind of break in between some of my other stories. If you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from my readers.

Chapter Two: A Long Discussion

“…No…no no no no…”

Chrysalis almost made a move to try and comfort the young alicorn, but she managed stay herself, though not before this action was noticed by Celestia. “Twilight,” said Chrysalis, “I know you may not want to believe it, but I checked with my own magic, and you are the one who is carrying our new queen.”

“…G…get it out, I don’t want it!”

Chrysalis had known she was going to say this, but it still hurt to hear it; however she knew she had to stay calm. “I am afraid I cannot do that, the embryo has by now already bonded with you, and has already begun to grow.”

Twilight looked like she wanted to scream at this, and it hurt Chrysalis in a lot of ways, for she knew she could do nothing to comfort her. “But…but there is magic that can help get her out without killing her right, I mean I’ve seen it done before, and your own magic did it to put it in me, so don’t you tell me it’s too late!”

“But it is,” said Chrysalis. “One, the embryo was not bound to me when it was sent into you, and as I said before, changelings work different, especially changeling queens. Twilight even now the embryo is linked to you in ways no pony child is ever linked to their parent, feeding on not only the food you eat, but the excess magic that you produce every day of your life. If we remove her now, she will not be able to get the nutrients she needs, nutrients which are unique to you, and she will die.”

“But…but can’t we…”

“I know what you’re going to ask, but no, we cannot do that. We tried before, but it always ended in failure, I am afraid the only way for that child to live…is if she stays inside you.”

Again, Twilight looked like she wanted to scream, but she managed to remain calm, Cadance walking over to her and draping a comforting wing upon her shoulder, much to the discomfort of Chrysalis.

“…I…what do you want me to do,” asked Twilight finally.

“Nothing you don’t want to do,” said Chrysalis kindly, “but I do hope you will consider…carrying the child to full term, for she is our last hope…otherwise…we all die.”

“…I…I need some time…too think about this…”

“Take all the time you need,” said Chrysalis, before watching the young mare be escorted out of the room by Cadance.

“You need to be careful,” said Celestia behind her, causing the young changeling queen to look at her in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you will have to be careful of how…affectionate you are around Twilight, as I know you will become, after all, I had to suffer the same thing with your grandmother all those years ago.”

Chrysalis had not expected Celestia to acknowledge this fact before her, but it warmed her heart to hear her say that, causing her to walk up and nuzzle her affectionately before speaking. “I remember the stories she used to tell me about my dear old “Grandma Tia,” she said, before giggling as Celestia frowned.

“Who are you calling Grandma miss, “hey long time no see, let me nearly kill you with my love filled energy beam.”

“I said I was sorry,” said Chrysalis, “I wasn’t myself when I did that.”

Celestia nodded her head, “I know, but we can talk about that later. For now I need you to heed to my warning, for you need to be careful with her.”

“And here I thought you were going to tell me not to try and pursue anything.”

Celestia gave her an amused smirk, “I’m not that stupid Chrysalis, and I know how you changelings work, mostly because your grandmother and mother still visit me from time to time.”

“They’re still alive, but…but they took the long walk several years ago when they became sterile, how did they survive?”

“Did you really think I was going to let two beings I cared about die like that?”

Chrysalis shook her head, then hugged Celestia close, before parting as she wiped a tear from her eye. “That is good; it will be wonderful to see them again. But as to what you were saying, I will broach the matter of my…affections toward her at a later date, for now my prime concern is the child growing in her womb.”

Celestia nodded at this, and then looked up along with Chrysalis as the doors opened, Cadance peeking her head in, before opening her mouth to speak. “Um…Twilight has thought it over, but she wants to talk to Chrysalis before…before making her final decision.”

Chrysalis nodded, getting up and following Cadance out of the room, falling into step beside her as she spoke.

“Are you sure there is no way to…”

“Princess Cadance I am sure…it has been tried before hundreds of times, even I tried a couple, but it never ends well. I also wish there was another way to do this, but sadly there isn’t; I just hope Twilight will agree to this.”

“Is it really that important?”

“It is, we are dead without that child.”

Cadance nodded, then grabbed the door handle to the room Twilight was currently inside of, opening it and then motioning for Chrysalis to go inside. “She wants you to speak with you alone, but if you try anything, I will kill you.”

“I have no doubt of that,” said Chrysalis, before walking inside and closing the door behind her.

Twilight looked up as the door closed, spotting the changeling queen standing before her and cringing a bit, but she knew she could not back down from this.

“Hello Twilight,” said Chrysalis.

“Hello…” said Twilight uncertainly, “I…I suppose Cadance told you I wanted to talk to you?”

“Yes she did,” said Chrysalis, “but she did not state as to why, so I figured you might enlighten me.”

Twilight nodded, “I…before I give you my answer, I need to know some things. Things about you, how you got to the point you were at which caused your attack on Equestria, and anything else you can tell me about the changelings.”

“That sounds reasonable,” said Chrysalis, before sitting down next to Twilight and getting comfortable.

“I shall begin with a brief overview of changeling history, for I know it is not well known anymore due to all that has happened these last thousand years. Long ago, the changelings used to be a thriving civilization, thriving alongside the ponies. In those days, we numbered in the thousands, and were ruled over by what we changelings call “The Thirteen Queens.”

“Thirteen Queens…but I always thought that number was unlucky?”

“In your culture it is, but in mine it is seen as a very lucky number, but we can talk about that later. As I was saying, The Thirteen Queens where at the very heart of the changeling world, six queens to bear young, six queens to guard us, and the final queen to rule us all.”

“Wait, one queen to rule…that makes absolutely no sense for a stable ruling body.”

“For you unbound ponies maybe, but in a changeling hive, all of us are connected through our hive mind, and none are more connected to each other than the hives queens. But again, that will be explained later, for now, let us get back to history. Back then, we did not rely on the ponies love for sustenance, due to the fact the energies produced by the Crystal Empire provided more than enough food for us, though in those days we often traded our goods for more…potent forms of love.

However, our problems began when the entity Discord appeared, who began wreaking havoc across Equestria. We knew if we didn’t stop him, he would eventually turn his sites on the Crystal Empire, which would ruin our food supply. But…we underestimated his power, and in the end…only one queen and a handful of drones were left, before the princesses appeared and took down the menace.”

Chrysalis looked saddened by this, and while it was still hard for Twilight to see her as anything from a monster, she lifted her hoof and put it on her shoulder in comfort, causing her to smile.

“Thank you for your concern, but this was all before my time, though it still hurts. Anyways, after that, the only queen left was my grandmother, a changeling who goes by the name of Anthra. She was able to bring up the population of changelings, but she ran into a slight snag, for while she could produce queen embryos, she could not carry them to full term. No normally, we would go out and find a willing pony to help carry the new queen to term, but due to what happened with Discord, ponies had become rather distrusting of those that were different from them. So, out of desperation, she went to princess Celestia…to ask her if she would be willing to carry the embryo.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, for she had not expected her to say this, especially considering how much she knew about her beloved mentor. “What…but she never told me this, though I doubt she would have said yes…”

Chrysalis giggled at that, “Actually she did, Princess Celestia is my second grandmother.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, “N…no bucking way, she would have told me of that, it would have been in the history books!”

“Not if said history books were destroyed during the fall of the Crystal Empire.”

That got Twilight’s attention, “I…I forgot about that, I guess a lot of history was lost during that time, but if you can, can you tell me about it.”

Chrysalis nodded, “Well, during her pregnancy with my mother, she managed to repair some of the weakened bonds that had begun to fracture between the changelings and the ponies, and for a time, it looked like things were going to return to normal. My mother was eventually born, and fifty years later, I was as well, and the changelings began to flourish again. But…but then twenty years after my birth, Sombra took over the Crystal Empire, and our food supply was cut off.”

Again Chrysalis looked hurt by this, and Twilight again tried to comfort her, actually moving up closer to her and draping a wing over her back, causing her to smile again. “Thank you, it must be hard for you to comfort me so, knowing what I’ve done.”

“Well…I know I am having problems overlooking what you have done, but that is because I never knew the reasons why beyond you simply beginning evil, but the more you talk, the more I am starting wonder behind your reasons, though I can tell we are close to those answers.”

“Indeed we are,” said Chrysalis, “so I shall continue. After the Crystal Empire disappeared, things only went from bad, to worse, for both my mother and my grandmother lost the ability to produce both drones and queen embryos, leaving me as the only queen able to produce drones, though I had to keep myself from doing that.”

“Why,” asked Twilight curiously.

“To protect you ponies, for I knew if I let the hive grow beyond one queen, the intake of love would have been too much for you ponies, and would have forced us to begin…forcing love out of them. It was a tricky business, for a long time we could not eat, we could not venture out, and then, several months ago, it finally got to the point where the starvation finally had took its toll on me, and I attacked the capital of my grandmother’s kingdom. The rest you pretty much know, I was sent away from this place and lost my ability to bear children, the Crystal Empire has returned and whipped away our madness, and you have been left with a choice. You can either choose to keep the child, and help us to rebuild our glorious civilization, or you can give it up, and doom us to extinction, but as I said before, the choice…is yours.”

Twilight said nothing for a long moment, for the weight of this new responsibility was a staggering one at that. She held the fate of an entire species in her womb, and that terrified her beyond belief. Oh sure, she could fight every manner of creature that came after her and her friends, but choosing whether or not to let a race live or die…not even Celestia had ever been faced with such a choice.

“This…this is…”

“World altering, I know,” said Chrysalis, “and I shall give you the time you need to make the decision. I shall go now, but I will be sending my grandmother in to talk to you…I am sure you have many questions for her.”

She then got up, and, much to Twilight’s surprise, she leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before walking away and leaving Twilight both confused and, though she would never admit it, a little thankful for the kind gesture. However, she would look over her own emotions later, for now, she had to go over the questions she would be asking Celestia when she arrived.

Author's Notes:

Big chapter on some of the Changeling culture, but nowhere near the amount I have waiting to be revealed in later chapters. Also, yes, Celestia is Chrysalis's grandmother, but more will be revealed about that in the next chapter, I promise. Till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Three: Love is Blind

“How did you ever handle it?”

Celestia looked up from the comfy she was drinking, looking over at Cadance as the young mare came up beside her.

“Handle what?”

“……how did you handle carrying that thing?”

“Ah, you are wondering how I handled my daughter Pupa.”

The look the look that came over Cadance’s face then caused Celestia to frown, “and I am also wagering from your expression that you are wondering how I could see her as my daughter.”

“…Ye…yes, I have a hard time seeing it, I mean…their changelings!”

“And they are a beautiful race Cadance, and I cannot believe you would allow your mind to be so poisoned against that truth.”

“But that was over a thousand years ago,” said Cadance, “they’ve changed Celestia, they have become monsters and if you would just…”

“Cadance,” said Luna behind her, “we cannot believe you would speak this way, we thought Celestia taught you better.”

“But…but they….”

“Cadance,” said Celestia softly, “I understand you anger over this, but with the Crystal Empire back the changelings have a chance to redeem themselves, and besides, eventually you ponies will want to trade with them once again.”

“WHAT!”

Celestia sighed, and then twitched, her eyes flashing green for a moment before she turned towards Luna. “Luna, take care of this, I must go.”

“Celestia what just…” started Cadance, only to stop as Celestia left the room, turning to Luna with a questioning gaze. "What was that…why did her eyes…”

“I expect Chrysalis was contacting her, for Celestia has long been connected to the hive mind.”

Cadance actually looked sickened, and Luna knew where her mind was taking her. “Before you vocalize that thought, Celestia would never let her personal feelings for her daughter Pupa or her lover Anthra get in the way of protecting her ponies, and after the attack she spent days going over every one of her memories to make sure she had not missed anything, to make sure she had not heard anything from the hive, which she had not, for in their starved state, the hive had shut her out.”

Cadance continued to look sickened, causing Luna to growl, “Cadance whether you like it or not, your crystal ponies will someday soon come to you asking to let the changelings back into their empire.”

“But why?”

“Because Changelings and Crystal Ponies share a symbiotic relationship, for before the empire was built, Crystal ponies were the ones who provided food for the changelings. Crystal Ponies are as you know fountains of love, and due to this, they can supply infinite amounts of love without repercussions. Also, Crystal ponies are immune to changeling coercion magic, and have an innate sense of when that magic is being used by rogue changelings. On the other half of the coin, in exchange for their love, Changelings grant Crystal ponies the ability to manipulate crystal, and can also grant unique abilities to any others who willingly give their love, how else do you think Celestia was able to move the moon?”

Cadance’s eyes widened, “what…you don’t mean, but that doesn’t make any sense, Twilight was able to move the sun and moon and she…”

“She is the alicorn of magic, and because of that she has a knowing far beyond even ours. It was through the combined efforts of Pupa and Anthra that Celestia was able to call upon the magic to move the moon, and it was changelings years before them who made it so that the unicorns of old could move both the sun and moon before we were allowed to take up our stations. Changelings are more important to the working of the world then you will ever know if you remain blinded so, and they will continue to be so if Twilight agrees to carry the child, so you must learn to accept them.”

Luna then got up, heading for the door before stopping as Cadance spoke up.

“Would you have…have carried it?”

“Without question,” said Luna, “and I would have considered it the highest of honors. Now, I suggest that you return to the Crystal Empire and clear your head, for until you do, you will only be a hindrance here.”

She then turned and left, leaving Cadance alone with her thought, and a hope that the young alicorn would see the darkness that had grown in her heart…before it was too late.

Author's Notes:

More development is coming, so as always if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Four: The Final Talk

Twilight looked up as Celestia walked into the room, smiling for the first time since this whole mess had started as she got up to hug the older mare. “Princess, I’m glad you came.”

Celestia hugged her back; glad her student was starting to recover, before parting and giving her a soft smile. “Of course I came Twilight, you are very dear to me, and I hope you can always trust me to help you in matters like these, no matter how strange they may get.”

Twilight giggled at that, until she remembered all the questions that she had been preparing for Celestia, and immediately she stopped laughing, which caused her mentor to give her a knowing look.

“I suppose you have some questions for me, no doubt relating to what Chrysalis has told you.”

“Yes,” said Twilight, “especially seeing as how she told me you gave birth to her mother.”

Celestia nodded, “I figured she would, after all with things being the way they are, there is no longer reason to hide that connection, so what do you wish to know?”

Twilight sighed, “…I need to know what it was like for you, why you did it in the first place…and anything you can tell me on how this might…affect me.”

Celestia nodded, “very well, I shall try to be as thorough as possible. I shall begin first with why I did it, for I had many reasons. But the main one, the one that was most important, was that I knew the child would be immortal.”

Twilight cocked her head to the side, causing Celestia to sigh before speaking. “Twilight, I know you remember what I told you about the odds that an alicorn child could be born, and how astronomical they are. Even if I were to get pregnant, those odds would still be the same, resulting in me bearing a mortal child. I have had many children in my lifetime Twilight, all mortal…all dead, and after the last one I could not bear to have one again…knowing they would die.”

Celestia closed her eyes then; tears gracing her cheeks as the older mare repressed a sob, for the memories were always there, waiting to torment her. “When…when Anthra came to me and asked me to carry her child, I was overjoyed, for it meant I would have a child which would be able to follow me down the vast stretches of time, and into the future. It was a selfish reason I know, but it was one I would make again in a heartbeat. As to what it was like…it was like any pregnancy, though with some…minor differences, which lead into your last question.”

Celestia draped a wing across Twilight’s back, pulling her close as she began to speak again. “There will be many strange changes as you go through the pregnancy, many of which will be very frightening the first time you…experience them. The first change will be that you will be able to ingest love, which your child will need to grow healthy and strong. The second change will be to you mind, for while your child grows, you will be connected to the hive mind, and that connection will remain, for the rest of your days.”

“Wait, are you saying you are connected to the changeling’s hive mind?”

“Yes, and before you ask, I never sensed anything from them, for they had shut me out of the mind to keep me in the dark. Now, this change will be intense at first, for you will have full access to the hive mind, but as the child grows it will ebb away, till the only time you will hear the song…is when one of them directly contacts you.”

“S…song?”

Celestia smiled at that, “it’s the only way I, or anypony who has ever been connected to the hive mind, for it sounds like a massive choir. Even when you are speaking to one individual out of the entire hive, the rest of the voices sing to you, calming you as you expose yourself to them. It’s a…rewarding experience, but it is also trying at times, but we can talk about that another time. The final change you must be aware of is also to your mind, for all changelings are empathic and your child, if you choose to keep it, will impart this ability to you, which will allow you to sense the emotions of others on a level not even your normal magic can do.”

“Like you,” said Twilight.

“Like me,” said Celestia, “it makes it very easy to be a negotiator when you know the mood of those you are negotiating with, even when they do not know it themselves.”

“I see,” said Twilight, “then I just have one more question. Should I keep the child, what am I to do about the other changelings, especially Chrysalis?”

“Ah,” said Celestia, “I had not thought of that, but I do have a suggestion.”

“I’m all ears,” said Twilight.

“I would suggest you move them to Ponyville, for if the changelings are to be a prosperous race again, they need to start fresh in a place which accepts all who arrive there.”

“That would be reasonable, but I don’t know how that would work, I mean I guess I could construct some housing for them…”

Celestia began to laugh at that, causing Twilight to cock her head in confusion before the princess managed to calm down. “I am sorry Twilight, but you should know that changelings do not live in buildings, they live underground.”

“Really?”

“Yes, for they prefer to be surrounded by the earth, for it reminds them of where they came from.”

“And…where would you suggest they build their new hive, assuming that I carry the child.”

“Where do you think it should go?”

Twilight remained silent for a long moment, going over all the possible locations that could hold such a hive. Sweet Apple Acres was out; no way the apple trees could survive such a burrowing in among their roots. Anywhere else in Ponyville was also probably out, for the citizenry was still on edge after the attack by Tirek. So, the only logical place in her mind would be…

“Under the palace,” said Twilight.

“What?”

Twilight turned to her, “the changelings are going to want to protect me right, if I accept the child. If they want to protect me, they will need to build the hive close to me, so the most logical place to build the hive would be underneath my new palace. Its roots are indestructible, and through magic I can move them so that they do not interfere with any tunnels that might be built underneath. In addition, having the hive underneath the palace creates a readymade defense force that can defend not only the palace, but Ponyville as well.”

“Ah, a wise move, I honestly would never have thought of that.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to, after all your palace isn’t a giant crystal tree.”

Celestia chuckled at that, “no, no it is not. However, this does lead me to one thing I need to warn you about, should you accept to carry the child.”

“What’s that?”

Celestia sighed, “if you accept the child, you need to be prepared for Chrysalis to become very affectionate of you over the course of your pregnancy, and also after the child is born. The same thing happened to me over a thousand years ago with Anthra, and while yes, I was initially weirded out by her, but eventually, I grew to rely on her, and even love her. I know that may seem odd to you, but Chrysalis will be looking to you for affection, and strength, I only ask that, if you feel you cannot accept that affection, that you let my granddaughter down gently.”

“Um…ok,” said Twilight, “though I don’t know if I will ever be comfortable with…eh, her affections, as you say.”

“That is understandable, now…I believe you owe my granddaughter an answer, if you are ready to give it.”

“…I think I am now, do you know where she is?”

“In my room, on the balcony from which I raise the sun each day; waiting for your answer.”

“Then I better get going,” said Twilight, getting up and heading for the door, before turning back and smiling at Celestia. “Wish me luck, ok?”

“I will Twilight, now go.”

Twilight nodded, and then left, leaving Celestia alone…till an old familiar chuckle filled the room.

“You know she is going to say yes right,” said Discord, appearing in the room and sitting down upon the floor.

“Of course I do, and I know it will be for the right reasons.”

Again Discord chuckled, “of course they will be, but are you sure your ponies are ready for what the changelings will give to them, after all, it was the reason I tried to wipe them out after they attacked me. They give your ponies the deep magic, something I have long thought only beings like you and I should have access to.”

“And I already thought I made my views clear on the matter,” said Celestia coldly. “Ponies need the deep magic, despite what you might think, and you did them a disservice by taking the deep magic away from them.”

“Well,” said Discord calmly, “if by disservice you mean making sure they could not stand against me, then yes, I probably was. Just remember this, 40 years from now when your student stands before you with thirteen queens behind her back, her wings spread wide and banners of war flying, I will not help you, no matter how much you beg.”

With that he vanished, but Celestia only smiled, sighing as she felt another familiar presence appear by her side and an odd whispering noise filled the air, before laughing as she got up with the presence to leave. “Your right Anthra, he never could understand the beauty of your race, but I am sure this will finally make him see, after all, friendship is magic.”

Author's Notes:

A little more development here, but like I have been saying before, a lot of things are going to be explained in the chapter after next, I promise. As always though if you have any questions or comments please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Five: The First Step Is Taken

Twilight walked toward the door which lead to Celestia’s balcony, moving to open the door before stopping, hearing an odd whispering coming from the room. She hesitated for a moment, then opened the door a crack, peaking inside to get a look.

She was met by the sight of…she couldn’t really describe it, for it looked like the area around Chrysalis was…shimmering, and the whispering had gotten louder, though she could still not make out what was being said.

“I know this is important, but I am not stupid enough to try and force her into this, even with our existence at stake.”

The whispering started again, getting more pointed as the shimmering seemed to…react to her reply, looking more static and, if anything, angry.

“Will you stop holding that over my head mother,” said Chrysalis angrily, “I was starving, and I didn’t know that Grandma Tia would help me, nor that she was preparing for the crystal empire’s return. If I had known, I would have…”

She suddenly stopped, and whipped her head around, spotting Twilight as her eyes widened, before composing herself as the shimmering disappeared from the balcony. “Sorry Twilight, I was have a discussion with my mother, for she feared that I might try and force you into this, if you were not to accept.”

“And would you,” asked Twilight, walking onto the balcony as the changeling queen frowned.

“No, I would not,” said Chrysalis coldly. “If you say no, I will leave here and return to the wastes, to die in peace with the rest of my kind, it’s the least I can do for them…and for you.”

Twilight stood there a long moment, then sat down beside the changeling, keeping her gaze in front of her as she spoke. “Well you won’t have to go to such extremes, for I have decided to keep the child.”

“…R…Really?”

Twilight nodded, “but if we are to do this, I have some conditions that will need to be met.”

Chrysalis nodded, “of course, I expected no less.”

“One, this child is mine, no matter who gave it to me, and I will raise it as mine. Two, this child will be raised as both a pony and as a changeling, to help unite both our races more closely. Three, I will require all knowledge that you have, including any books or scrolls you might have. And finally, you will present yourself before the court of Canterlot, to answer for the crimes you have committed against our kind.”

Chrysalis nodded again, “those are reasonable terms, and I was already planning on presenting myself before your courts, for while my actions were not entirely my own, I still caused a lot of damage to your ponies, and I am sorry for that. So…when do you want to get this started, after all I assume we will need to go over where my changelings are going to stay.”

“I actually have a suggestion for that,” said Twilight, much to the queen’s surprise.

“Go on.”

“I know you will want to be close to me so that you can protect the child, and I also know from what Celestia has told me that you prefer to live underground, saying you love being surrounded by the earth. What I would suggest is that you create your new hive underneath my palace in Ponyville, that way you can be close to me, and your changelings can begin mingling peacefully with ponies again.”

Chrysalis pondered it a moment, then smile, leaning over to nuzzle Twilight before being pushed away, looking a bit hurt but knowing the reason. “I’m sorry, I know that was probably too forward, I just wanted to show you that I thought it was a good idea.”

“You could have just told me,” said Twilight, before her demeanor softened as she looked up at the changeling queen. “Look, I know you want to get…close to me and all, but I still have reservations about you after what you did to my brother and foal sitter, and it is going to take me a long time to get over that, though I do hope we can be friends.”

Chrysalis looked mildly hurt by this, but nodded all the same, before turning to leave as the sun began to set, only to stop when Twilight called her back.

“One more thing Chrysalis, you said you were talking to your mother earlier, but all I saw was this…well, shimmer effect surrounding you, that wasn’t her was it.”

“It was,” said Chrysalis simply, “but I am afraid the what and the how will have to be left in mystery for a while. Till then, I have already sent a message to my changelings that they are to meet you outside Ponyville, and I have two of my most trusted waiting outside your palace with all the information on my species you requested, so I think it is best you go and meet them as soon as possible.”

“What about you?”

“Me,” said Chrysalis with a chuckle, “I will be fulfilling the last part of our agreement, so till next we meet, I bid thee goodbye.”

With that Chrysalis bowed, before turning back around and leaving the room, leaving Twilight standing on the balcony alone before she to left, spreading her wings and taking off in the direction of Ponyville, ready and willing to meet its soon to be citizens with open forelegs.

Author's Notes:

I know this chapter was kinda small, and didn't add that much accept for Twilight deciding to keep the child, but the next chapter will be pretty big, and will be split into two parts. The first part will begin Twilight's crazy study into the nature of the changelings and how they work in this world as well as her meeting with and helping the last of the changelings to settle in, and the second part will be focusing on Chrysalis and her up coming trial. As always guys, if you guys have any questions or comments, pleas feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Six: To Know Thine Own, Part One

Twilight glided slowly to the edge of the Everfree, for she had seen movement in the trees that she knew were not made beyond the normal inhabitants. When she landed, the movement with the forest stilled, and then a single changeling walked out, looking scared but presenting herself before her as she began to speak.

“My name is Node, and I speak for my people. We were told by our queen to meet you at the edge of this wood, and to turn ourselves over to you for leadership, as is our way.”

Twilight nodded, and then looked up as the others changelings began to exit the forest, all of them looking to her for guidance as she cleared her throat to speak.

“I know you must all be frightened, afraid that the ponies of this place will attack you if you enter. But know as long as you remain under my care, no harm of any kind will come to you. I have taken on the major responsibility of carrying your new queen within me, and through that act, I have taken up the charge of caring for all of you, so all I ask is that you trust in me, and in the good hearts the ponies of this town all carry.”

She then turned, “now if you will all follow me, I shall take you to where we will be building your new hive.”

The changelings nodded, and then started following her as she began moving. As they were moving, Twilight took that chance to count the changelings that were left, but finished soon after, as they weren’t that many left.

“I count only forty-eight changelings here,” thought Twilight with worry, “and if I add in the two Chrysalis said were waiting for me at the palace, and exclude the queens…that means there are only fifty changelings left in the entire world.”

It was a sobering thought, and it led to other dark thoughts as well. Shining had told her many times in some of his letters that he had been sending out raiding bands of loyal guards to hunt down scattered changelings, and had been slowly picking them off in large numbers bit by bit. If his letters were true, then Shining had helped to reduce them to this point, which made her all the more determined to bring them back from the brink of this precipice.

She knew there would be many trials, and sadly one of them was fast drawing upon her, for many of the citizenry of Ponyville were coming out of their homes, all of them looking to Twilight as some of them began to speak.

“Princess, what is going on…?”

“…what are those things doing here?”

“Are we under attack?”

Twilight raised her hoof to silence her ponies, waiting for them all to quiet down before speaking. “Citizens of Ponyville, I come to you today under the weight of a new and heavy responsibility. We have recently been made aware that the attack on Canterlot by the changeling army was an act of desperation, brought on by insanity driven by hunger. Due to this, they cannot be held responsible for their actions, but through a combination of both starvation and pony retaliation, the changelings behind me are the last of their kind.”

This brought out several shocked gasps from the crowd, but some did not looked convinced, one even moving forward with an angry glare. “If that is true, then why are they still alive, we should finish them off right here and…”

He stopped suddenly when Twilight slammed her hoof down, her gaze turning upon the speaker as she spoke again. “You will not speak such words in front of me again Mister Rich, and none of you will take action against these poor souls as long as they stay here. The changelings are under my protection, and any action are taken against them will be seen as a threat to an endangered species and will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. This is my word, and as such is without contestation, so you will quietly return to your businesses, and leave these beings in peace.”

For a long moment nopony moved, but then with a grumble ponies started to move away, most heading back to what they were doing, but some stopping to whisper some kind words to some of the changelings. After they were all dispersed, Twilight and the changelings began to move, but soon that had to stop, for Twilight’s friends were approaching them, glares adorning their faces and their rainbow powers activated.

“Girls…”

“Twilight,” said Applejack, “why the hay are yah leading that group of creatures tah the palace, those things are the enemy.”

“They are not the enemy Applejack,” said Twilight simply, much to the girl’s surprise.

“But…but darling,” said Rarity, “those things attacked Canterlot; they hurt both your teacher and your foal sitter, why are you saying they are not the enemy.”

“Because as we are speaking their queen is standing before the court of Canterlot, to answer for the crimes she committed due to unknown factors.”

“What do you mean unknown factors,” said Rainbow sternly, “what could have happened to make you lead around forty eight changelings like they were pets?”

Twilight wanted to scold Dash for her harsh words, but instead she sighed, waving her wing over to her as she spoke again. “Come closer Dash, and you will see what I mean.”

Dash looked hesitant for a moment, but then she moved closer, Twilight indicating that she should look at one of the changelings. The moment she did, she met the changeling’s eyes, and immediately she backed away in shock. “Her eyes…”

“…are normal,” said Twilight simply, “and if you will look over her body, you will notice that the holes are gone, and that they have developed manes and tails. The reason they have changed so is because the crystal empires effect has been nourishing them, feeding them love and allowing them to become what they once were. And before you ask, the reason why they attacked Canterlot was because they had been starving, and due to that they cannot be held accountable for their actions.”

“And…and do you have a reason for bringing them hear,” asked Fluttershy, “um…if you don’t mind my asking of course.”

“Not at all Fluttershy,” said Twilight calmly, and to answer your question, I brought them hear so that they could be protected, for these forty eight changelings behind me, plus two which are waiting for me in the palace…are the last of their kind.”

The girls immediately gasped, Fluttershy actually walking up to one of the changelings and hugging her, whispering an apology to her as the changeling thanked her. She then turned to Twilight, the other girls all gathering around her as she spoke.

“Is…is there anything we can do to help?”

Twilight nodded, “you can help me get them to the palace safely, and then I will need you girls to wait for me in the dining hall…for I have something important I need to tell you all after I get all of the changelings settled.”

The girls all nodded, not even questioning now why they needed to keep the changelings safe, and instead forming a protective perimeter around the group as they finished there trek to the palace, waiting outside till all the changelings were in before walking inside themselves, Twilight pulling Rarity aside as the changelings all shuffled about.

“Rarity, if you don’t mind, I need you to make keep Spike in the dining hall till I come and see you girls, for with how he has been changing this past month I don’t think it would be a good idea for him to come upon them so suddenly.”

“I understand dear,” said Rarity with a knowing smile, “you just get these darlings settled, I’ll keep him occupied.”

Twilight thanked her, and then got the changelings attention as Rarity walked away, leading them all down into the cellar of the palace and then stopping. “Ok, all of you need to stand back for a moment, I got a pretty good idea of what I am doing, but I would rather be safe than sorry ok.”

They all nodded, then backed up as Twilight lit up her horn, watching as she used her magic to form a new arch way which led smack dab into a blank dirt wall.

“Ok, I have created an entrance for your hive, the rest will be up to you…I hope it helps.”

“It will queen mother,” said one of the changelings softly, catching Twilight off guard with the title but staying her as she opened her mouth to ask a question. “It is a title we give to all those who carry our queens, but the information on all that is held up above, guarded by the two waiting for you in the throne room.”

Twilight nodded, and then nuzzled the changeling’s cheek before leaving the room, the changelings looking at the stairs for a long moment before they once again began moving, for they had a lot of work to do.

Twilight reached the throne room with little difficulty, her eyes scanning over the room for any sign of those who waited for her, but there was nopony there. “Um…hello, is anypony there?”

The moment the question had left her lips, what had looked like solid pillars next to her throne suddenly rippled, and two feline like shapes leaped off of them, landing upon the ground and shaking themselves as they returned to their normal color.

At once Twilight knew they were changelings, for their chitinous hides and insect like wings made it quite easy to trace their origins, but they were not like the drones she had seen before. For one, their forelegs ended not in hooves, but in razor sharp claws, and their bodies were more feline like, making them look like predators.

Both the creatures walked up to her, each of them moving close and sniffing her a little, before smiling as they sat down, one of them opening her mouth to speak. “Hello queen mother, we are honored to meet you, and we are glad to see you are well.”

“Um…thank you,” said Twilight, “but…who and what are you.”

Both the strange creatures looked confused for a moment, then they giggled in unison, before the other one spoke up. “We are sorry queen mother, for we forgot that much of what ponies know about us was lost when the empire vanished, and we know our appearance must seem strange to you. Our names are Terror and Razor, and we are called chameleons, for we have the mimic the color of the surface we are hiding upon.”

“I see,” said Twilight, “and I assume you have the information Chrysalis promised to provide?”

They both nodded, Terror getting up and moving back to the throne as Razor continued to speak. “We have brought all the information you will need to learn of us and our species, especially any all the information concerning your upcoming pregnancy.”

“That’s good,” said Twilight, watching as Terror came back with a large chest in her magical grip, the changeling setting it down before stepping back as Twilight opened it, marveling at what was inside.

“Everything about us is in there,” said Terror with a smile, “contained within crystals, and a few books written by the few ponies who lived with us in the hive, we hope they are to your satisfaction.”

“They are,” said Twilight with a smile, before using her magic to send the chest to her room, where she would study the contents later. “But for now, I have another engagement in another part of the palace, though I think it would be a good idea if you both joined me to help smooth things over with the others, especially Spike.”

The changelings both nodded, and then they moved to either side of the princess, and then they left the throne room.

“Are you sure she is ok?”

“Yes I am sure Spike,” said Rarity, “she is perfectly fine; you have nothing to worry about.”

“But…but all those changelings, what was she doing with them?”

“She has her reasons spike,” said Rarity softly, patting the dragon on the shoulder before sitting back down, and glaring at him when he remained standing. “Of for heaven’s sake darling its ok, I promise she will explain everything when she gets here, just sit down.”

Spike grumbled but complied, sitting down next to her before laying his head down on the table, his recent growth spurt having made him about the size of a large stallion, which had been a shock to everypony when he had woken up like that five days after Tirek’s attack. Celestia had theorized that spike had changed in order to better protect Twilight and the others from threats, and most of them agreed, especially after they had found out he had increased in strength, and his fire and scales had become stronger.

Suddenly the door to the dining room opened, everypony in the room looking up before gasping as Twilight walked in, flanked on either side by two strange looking changelings.

“Whoa,” said Rainbow as she flew over to investigate the two, “what the heck are these two, they look awesome.”

“Apparently they are changelings as well, an offshoot from the drones called a chameleon, but that’s all I know so far. Now um…could you please return to your seat Dash, I really need to speak with you about something.”

“Sure thing Twi,” said Rainbow with a nod, before returning to her seat as Spike growled at the two changelings.

“You have a dragon,” said one of the changelings calmly, looking at spike with its blue eyes while the other went over to Fluttershy to get a better look at her.

“Yes she does,” said Spike menacingly, only to look over as the other changeling seemed to chitter in joy as she snuggled up to Fluttershy.

“Oh she is so cute, can we keep her Terror, please?”

Terror simply grumbled, walking over to her and pulling her away from the timid mare before scolding her as Twilight cleared her throat. “Spike, I am going to need you to calm down about this ok, I know you are probably freaked out…”

“Of course I’m freaked out,” said Spike aggressively, “you come walking into the place with a bunch of changelings, and you expect me to be calm about it?!”

“I know Spike, but those changelings are the last of their kind, how would you feel if you were the last of yours and somepony was wondering why you were being protected?”

Spike looked stunned by that, lowering his head in shame as he mumbled an apology, before Pinkie Pie bounced over to Twilight and sat down. “So what’s this important thing you need to talk about, because if it’s to tell us you’re pregnant I already knew about that?”

The room immediately stopped, everypony looking at Twilight before finally Rarity spoke up, “Darling…is this true?”

Twilight nodded, and immediately everypony started congratulating her and asking who the father was, till Twilight lifted her hoof up to stay them. “Girls, I didn’t even know about this…till the meeting up at Canterlot where Chrysalis told me I was pregnant…with her child.”

“WHAT,” shouted Rainbow, “how the hell is that possible?”

“I’m still wondering that myself,” said Twilight with a grin, “but from what I was told, changeling queens have the ability to carry embryos inside them without them growing, and in times of stress these embryos are transported into the strongest magical being that can protect them till they can be recovered.”

Everypony stared at her like she had gone mad, and then Fluttershy spoke up, looking skeptical as all hell. “Um…not that I don’t believe you Twilight, but that sounds like something out of a really bad science fiction novel.”

Twilight sighed, “I know it does, but it’s the truth, I scanned myself before getting here to confirm it all…and it’s like she said…I’m pregnant…with a changeling queen.”

Again everypony stared at her, but this time it was with looks of concern, Applejack getting up to drape a foreleg over her shoulder, “you ok sugar cube?”

“No,” said Twilight, “I mean yes, I am excited to be a mother…but I never wanted it to be like this…and I can’t give up the child…not now.”

“But why not darling,” said Rarity, “I…I mean there are procedures that could help remove her safely right.”

“But the queen mother is in her second month of carrying,” said Razor to Rarity, “the new queen has already begun taking her nutrients from her mother, which makes it far too late to remove her without…the child perishing.”

A few gasped, and Applejack looked over toward Twilight, “is…is this true sugar cube?”

Twilight nodded, “yes, I checked that as well…if I remove the child now, she will die because she won’t be able to survive due to needing things from me. Plus…there is also the fact that she is the last hope for their kind, for Chrysalis was rendered incapable of bearing any young, queen or otherwise.”

That got everyponies attention, Fluttershy clutching her mouth in her hooves as the others looked concerned. “Wait a moment,” said Rainbow, “are you telling us that Cadance’s love blast that made all the changelings go away made Chrysalis un…unable to have any more kids?”

Rainbow looked genuinely concerned by this, and when Twilight nodded her head, she fell flat on her rump, looking between her legs as she tried to speak again. “That’s…that’s just sick…I can’t believe her magic could do that, it’s not right.”

“I know it’s not, but with how Chrysalis’s system was compromised due to her starvation, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Everypony nodded, and then Pinkie looked at Twilight with a questioning gaze. “So what about the ones downstairs, are they uh…can they no longer make babies.”

“Um,” said Twilight, “I’m not sure, I’m not even sure if they can have children.”

“We can have children,” said Terror from the corner of the room, “but we can only produce drones, which is what allowed us to keep our numbers the same through the years.”

“I see,” said Twilight with a smile. “Well girls, with this out of the way, I have some matters to attend to in my room, but if they are ok with it, I am sure these two will be willing to answer any questions you might have about their species.”

All the girls nodded, and then Twilight smiled once again, leaving the girls as they began to mingle with the two new occupants, and praying this would be a good start towards a bright future for their race…and hers, for she knew if things could not work out here…they would never work anywhere.

Author's Notes:

Big Chapter here, and its actually going to be a lot longer then I first thought, as the section concerning Chrysalis in court will be in the chapter after next. Next chapter will finally be pealing back the veil behind some of the many mysteries I have left you all, and hopefully it will answer many of your questions about the changelings in this universe in general. Till then guys, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

P.S. Yes, if any of you guys were wondering, Fluttershy is going to end up getting propositioned by those two chameleons, but not yet.

Chapter Seven: To Know Thine Own, Part Two

Twilight tried to make herself comfortable on her bed, for she was shaking all over due to the wealth of knowledge that lay before her. The chest was large, filled with dozens of crystals, and many tomes which smelled of old times long forgotten, scents which made her want to sing, but she was able to control herself.

For now, she had a particular subject she wanted to get information on, specifically relating to the anatomy of changelings queens. Luckily her search was not too hard, for many of the crystals were labeled in japony, which allowed for several words to be fit on small surfaces, and she quickly found one pertaining to changeling queens.

However, when she activated the crystal, she was not ready for the pony who appeared before her, for it was the spitting image of the great Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest mage of Equestria.

“This is Starswirl Stargazer, here with another recording for her Royal Highness Princess Platinum. I hope you appreciate this princess, because it practically cost me my horn to be able to study one of their queens in detail, for they are very guarded about their queens…anatomy.”

“Like all changelings, their queens are all female, but also like regular changelings, they carry with them the genitive organs of the male gender, so they are capable of breeding with both sexes…”

Twilight stopped the recording, blushing profusely as she tried to quite the many thoughts racing through her head. Part of her brain, the part that was connected to her hormones and her lower regions, was coming up with some very perverse ideas regarding changeling anatomy. However, the louder part of her brain, the one governed by science and reason, saw many possibilities this presented, but she would go over them later, and instead returned to the recording.

“…and producing children with other races. However, unlike regular changelings, changeling queens are only capable of producing other queens when breeding with other races. Changeling queens can only produce drones through the use of a large embryotic sack, which I am displaying beside me.”

His horn lit up, the image of a queen with a large embryotic sack coming from between her hind legs and expanding behind her, the sack being nearly four times the queens size.

“This embryotic sack is capable of producing one hundred drone eggs per month, allowing them to produce up to twelve hundred changeling drones every year. However when it comes to producing new queens for the hive, the new queen is usually grown inside the womb of one of the older queens.”

“Now from my research, I have actually found that there is a separate pouch located above the womb which allows for the carrying of multiple unfertilized queen embryos, allowing for…”

Twilight stopped the recording once again, her eyes widened in realization as the facts dawned on her. This was how Chrysalis was able to carry the child with her in such without it being bonded to her; she must have been carrying the embryo in this pouch. But…it still didn’t explain how that embryo had ended up in her, though hopefully Starswirl would have the answers.

“…the queens to carry unfertilized eggs till a new queen is required. I have also discovered through my studies that in periods of high stress and extreme danger, a subconscious instinct with the changeling queen will use there reserve magic to transport it into the closest non hostile entity, though it seems to target those females with exceptionally powerful magic.”

“I know this must seem farfetched, but I was allowed to test this many times, and each time I put the queen who allowed this study under duress, the embryo in her carrying pouch would teleport into the womb of my student Clover, despite the fact that Pansy and Smart Cookie were also in the room, for it targeted her magic. However, it did not teleport into her when I had her putting the queen under duress, instead putting it into Smart Cookie, who has stronger magic then Pansy in regards of shear power.”

“If a queen embryo is teleported within a new host, any queen has up to a month to retrieve it and return it to its carrying pouch, otherwise the embryo will merge with the womb of its new mother, and pregnancy will begin. I will be remaining longer to study more about this new race, and hopefully we will soon be able to open better trade negotiations with them, till then, this is your faithful servant Starswirl Stargazer, sighing off.”

The recording ended, and Twilight sat there baffled, for this was beyond anything she had ever expected. It now made sense why she was pregnant, and why the embryo had ended up in her, instead of anypony else that had been in the room.

However, she now had a new problem which was troubling her. Chrysalis had stated when they had met that her race was dying, but Terror had said during their meeting that regular changelings could breed, which didn’t make any sense.

She began browsing once again through the crystals and books, quickly finding a new recording by Clover the Clever, activating it and being presented with the image of Clover the Clever, who much to her shock looked almost exactly like her save for her eyes.

“This is Clover the Clever reporting on my findings pertaining to the importance of changeling queens in changeling society. As my teacher Starswirl no doubt reported, regular changelings are able to reproduce with other ponies or with themselves and produce young, so a lot of ponies have started to wonder what the queens provide that makes them puts them so high in changeling society.”

“Many changelings were not willing to talk to be about why the queens are so important, but finally I was able to get the answer from a willing source, one of the queens themselves. As it turns out, the queens are not only the ruling body of the changeling hive, they are also the physical manifestations of the changeling hive mind…”

Twilight stopped the recording; her eyes widened in shock at Clovers words. The physical embodiment of the hive mind, it seemed hard to believe, for she couldn’t think of any being capable of this feat. After the first changeling invasion, scientists had discovered the fact that the changelings were connected by a hive mind, and those that had touch it for long periods had gone mad from the mental backwash alone. If what Clover was saying was true, then the mind of a changeling queen had to be something built for that kind of mental stress, so with that thought she started the recording again.

“…Without the changeling queens, regular changelings would have no sense of self, and would basically be mindless automatons functioning only to feed and procreate. However, this is not a one sided relationship, for the changeling queens need the other changelings as much as the changelings need them. As I know from my own studies, the brain of a changeling queen is one of the most complex ever encountered in our world, rivaling the mind power of even the oldest of dragons. Despite this though, they still cannot survive the mental stress which comes from being the embodiment of the hive.”

“From what the queen I talked to was able to tell me, it is like being born with thousands of voices inside your head, all of them wishing to be free and all of them vying for control. When queens are younger, they are able to handle this mental stress due to not having any concrete sense of self. But as they get older, and they begin to form their own voice, the mental pressure from the other voices begins to take its toll. This is the reason why Changeling Queens are able to produce so many drones in such a short time, for each drone that is born takes control of one of these voices, giving it a body with which to walk the world in.”

“This connection between a queen and her drones results in a constant exchange of information, for when a changeling dies, the voice given to them by the queen returns to her, allowing her to absorb all their experiences and memories before releasing them back into the hive mind to await a new vessel. This is why the death of any queen is so tragic for a hive, for when the queen dies, the voices have nowhere to return to when they to die, and everything that they are and were is lost to the hive, never to be recovered.”

“Now a changeling queen can survive such mental strain for a long period, but it is not recommended, as it can lead to severe mental degradation. This degradation can take many years to accumulate, but from what the queen I was talking to said the maximum a queen can go before the degradation begins to take physical toll is one thousand years, then the queen in question will begin to…”

Twilight didn’t wait for her to finish, instead bolting from her bed, her horn ablaze as she wrote a letter to the princess as fast as she could, bursting into the room that the girls were in and turning toward Spike.

“Spike, I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia now!”

Author's Notes:

Pretty in depth chapter this one, and hopefully some important questions have been answered with it. Due to the ending, I know you will all probably be pretty eager to know what will be happening to Chrysalis, but sadly the next chapter is going to be an Interlude chapter, one which will be focusing on Cadance after she returns home and tells Shining what is transpiring back in Equestria. As always guys, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Eight: Darkened Armor

Cadance made her way slowly back to the palace of the Crystal Empire, part of her relieved to be home…but another part of her dreading what was soon to come. She knew when she got home, she would have to tell Shining Armor that his baby sister Twilight Sparkle was pregnant with a changeling queen, and she knew once she did that he would fly into a rage.

Ever since the events of the wedding, Shining Armor had become obsessed with the hunting and extermination of the changeling race, using methods which she knew would get him punished severely back in Equestria…but she had turned a blind eye to it all.

She knew why she had done it of course, for she had felt the same sting Shining had, if only to a smaller degree. After all, they had left her to rot in a cave below Canterlot, and had tried to steal her soon to be husband and use him to get into Equestria to feed.

But now…now she knew about what she herself had done to Chrysalis, and now knew her race was close to dying due in part to Shining’s efforts. What was worse, she would soon have to confront him about it all now, for with the changelings becoming a protected species…Shining could possibly end up in trouble with the crown.

So distracted had she been with her thoughts, she didn’t even notice the fact that she had made it into the palace, but when she did, she simply shook her head and made it strait for Shining’s office. But as she walked, she spotted one of the crystal ponies talking with one another, and she thought about what Luna had said.

“Changelings and Crystal Ponies share a symbiotic relationship,” Luna had said, but Cadance was still unsure, but she knew her answers were on hoof.

She walked over to the ponies, giggling a bit as they bowed, before sitting down so that she could speak. “Hello my little ponies, would you mind answering some questions for me?”

The two ponies nodded, “thank you. I…I have heard an interesting rumor surrounding your race and the changelings, one I would like to get cleared up right away…if possible.”

Both the ponies visibly got wary, but one of them nodded, “Wha…what is this rumor that you heard my lady?”

“I heard that you and the changelings share a symbiotic relationship between one another, and that you are the reason changelings did not turn on normal ponies before your disappearance over a thousand years ago, and I want to know if this is true or not.”

“…it…it is true,” said one of them, keeping his eyes averted from her as he spoke.

“I see, and I take it by the way you are averting your eyes you know that the changelings have come back to Equestria.”

“Your highness it wasn’t their…”

Cadance shook her head, keeping the young mare from speaking as she herself spoke up. “I know what you want to say, but I am still having a hard time accepting that fact, especially seeing as how I have to try and convince my husband of the same thing.”

The faces of the two ponies in front of her immediately darkened; which made her concerned as she spoke once again. “My ponies; whatever is the matter?”

“It’s…” started one of them, “…it’s nothing against you your highness, but the guards have been spreading some rather…frightening rumors about your husband concerning our…our cousins….”

“Cousins,” asked Cadance in shock.

The crystal pony nodded, “It’s how we prefer to think of them, for our races coexisted with one another long before the three tribes appeared in Equestria, and we were deeply saddened to find out that they not only had gone feral in our absence, but are now nearly extinct…mostly because you turned a blind eye to what your husband did to them.”

Cadance wanted to argue, but in the end she sighed, nodding her head in shame. “I know that now, which is why I want you to tell the captain of the crystal guard to send a group of his best troops to Ponyville to guard Twilight’s new castle, for I have a feeling when I tell Shining the changelings are being kept in Ponyville, he will try and attack them.”

“The changelings are in Ponyville,” asked the mare, looking extremely hopeful.

“Yes they are, and they need to be protected, so please, get this word to the guard, and tell them to hurry.”

The two ponies nodded, then took off down the hall, Cadance standing there for a long while before turning and resuming her walk toward her husband’s office, her heart heavy and her mind full of dread for what was to come.

Cadance reached Shining’s office after what seemed like forever, knocking on the door and walking in when she was invited in, her husband getting up from his desk and coming over to hug her, only to back away after a little bit and staring into her eyes.

“Cady what’s wrong, you look like you have the wait of the world on your shoulders?”

Cadance sighed, “Sh…Shiny, I have something I need to tell you…something that concerns Twilight.”

Shining’s demeanor immediately shifted, “wha…what do you mean, there hasn’t been another attack has there?”

Cadance shook her head, before indicating they should sit down, getting comfortable with Shining before speaking again. “No Shiny there has not been another attack, and hopefully there won’t be another one for a long while. The reason I say it concerns Twilight is…well…she is pregnant…”

Shining looked at her in shock for a moment, then his face split into a wide grin, “really, she’s pregnant?”

When Cadance nodded, Shining started hopping up and down in a circle around her, yelling the word yes repeatedly as he moved about, till finally stopping and turning toward his wife. “This is great news Cady, my little sister is going be a mom! Ok, I need to know, who is the father, is it somepony I know?”

Cadance gulped, “y…yes, it…it is somepony you know, though not in a good way…”

Shining’s face immediately fell, “wha…what do you mean, who is the father?”

“…Ch…Chrysalis is the father…”

Immediately the room seemed to grow cold, and Shining’s eyes disappeared as a shadow fell over them, till he finally breathed out one word, “What?”

Cadance gulped again, “She…she came to Canterlot yesterday, to tell us that she had…had accidentally gotten Twilight pregnant with a changeling queen, which she asked Twilight to continue carrying…which she agreed to…”

“No…I won’t believe this, Twilight would never agree to help that monster, she tried to turn us into slaves.”

“Only because they were starving, and that’s only because they have been without the love of the crystal empire for the last thousand years.”

Shining looked shocked, but before he could respond Cadance pressed on. “Shining, I know you are not going to want to believe this, but Luna explained to me crystal ponies and the changelings are symbiotically linked together, which is why the changelings started going feral after the crystal empire vanished a thousand years ago?”

“That’s a load of minotaur shit and you know it Cadance, the crystal ponies could never help them, never…”

“Then tell me this Shiny,” said Cadance, “what is woven into the light which comes from the crystal empire?”

“What…Candace that has nothing to do with…”

“It has everything to do with this,” snapped Cadance, “now I’m asking you Prince Shining Armor of the house Evening Star to tell me what magic is woven into the light of the crystal empire!”

Shining looked frightened, for he had rarely seen his wife this angry before, even concerning topics related to the changelings. But after a moment’s pause, he finally found his voice, and was able to speak, if only in a whisper.

“It’s…its love; the magic woven into the light is the magic of love.”

“Correct,” said Cadance, “and what pray tell do changelings feed on?”

“…L…love…”

Cadance nodded, “Yes Shining, love. Shining, I know you feel wronged by them and…”

“Wronged by them,” shot shining, getting up and beginning to pace as his wife watched. “Of course I feel wronged, they attacked us Cadance. No matter if they were starving or not, they still chose to attack our nation and used me and you to get in close, and they still need to pay for it.”

“And they will pay for it Shining, but the right way, not with bloodshed.”

“What are you…?”

“Don’t,” snapped Cadance, her face growing dark as she turned her face away from her husband. “I have turned a blind eye to what you have been doing because I was angry to Shining, but I can’t any more, especially in light of what your sister sent me.”

When Shining gave her a puzzled look, she pulled a scroll out from her neck guard, handing it to him and waiting as he read. As his eyes scanned over each word, Cadance could see him growing angrier and angrier, till finally he looked up with barely contained rage.

“I don’t believe this, I don’t bucking believe this…Twily, my LSBFF has used her position as princess to not only make the changelings a protected species, but she also used it to pardon Chrysalis of all her crimes, saying that due to losing her ability to breed and the fact that she came willing to sufferer punishment for her people means that she herself has suffered enough!”

“Shining…”

“…And it gets worse! She has taken the changelings into her own palace, and plans on moving Chrysalis into the palace on a later date; this has to be some sort of…”

“ENOUGH!”

The shock that crashed over Shining was like none he had ever experienced, for he had never seen his wife this angry before. Oh sure they had fought, and she had of course yelled a few times, but she had never, ever, used the royal canterlot voice on him, so it was with stunned silence that he sat before her as she started speaking again.

“Look Shining Armor, I know you are angry at them, I was to for a time. And I also know what you have been doing behind my back when it comes to the changelings, but I can no longer do that because of this. So I am putting my hoof down, I forbid you from visiting Twilight’s new palace until I deem you safe enough to be around the changelings.”

“WHAT!”

“You heard me,” said Cadance, but Shining could tell she wasn’t finished. “Furthermore, you are to call back all the troops you have been using to hunt down the changelings so that they can be disbanded, I will not have ponies who would willingly kill foals…”

“Those weren’t foals Cadence they were…”

“SILENCE!” Cadance roared again, causing Shining to cower as she calmed down to speak again. “As I was saying, I will not allow such ponies to server in the crystal guard, nor any guard for that matter. And Finally, once they are disbanded, they are to report to Canterlot for disciplinary hearings in regards to what they have done, as ordered by Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“……and what of me, what am I to do after all this?”

“I have already told you,” said Cadance, you are to keep yourself away from the Castle of Friendship until I deem you safe enough to be around the changelings. It could have been worse, but lucky for you your sister decided to be lenient, and pardoned you for your involvement in these incidents.”

Shining stood there for a long moment, all of what Cadance circling in around in his head, till he got stuck on one sentence in particular. “Twily is being lenient…no, she would never be lenient in matters like this, not when it comes to enforcing rules. What if…what if she is being lenient because everypony but her has been brainwashed by Chrysalis, and she needs me to save her!”

Shining smiled then, nodding to Cadance before speaking. “I understand Cady…and I’ll go now and recall my troops, which shouldn’t be long.”

Cadance looked surprised at first, and then sighed in relief, nuzzling her husband as she spoke to him. “Good, I’ll see you at dinner then, love you Shiny.”

“Love you to Cady,” said shining pleasantly, watching her go till the doors closed behind her, and then teleporting to where the leader of his raiders was living, causing the stallion to jump from his chair as he appeared.

“Your highness, what are you…”

“Shh,” said Shining, quickly moving around the room as he cast several silencing and sound proofing spells, before stopping in front of the commander and giving him a serious look. “Ok I have to be quick, the changelings have managed a sneak attack on Equestria and have somehow managed to brainwash the princesses into believing they want peace.”

The commander’s eyes widened, but Shining signaled that he should not speak. “Look I know, I didn’t think they could pull this off either, but there is hope. Twilight has managed to keep from getting brainwashed, but she is being held captive by changelings in her own palace, which means we have to assume that the elements and probably many of the citizens of Ponyville are under their spell as well.”

“What do you need me to do,” asked the commander, looking hopeful.

“I need you to gather the raiders and meet me at the edge of the empire, then were going to commander a train and make our way to Ponyville as soon as possible.”

“But my lord; wont that put some civilians in danger.”

“This is war Steel Shank,” said Shining harshly, “and besides, any train that is heading for Ponyville is probably sending ponies there so they can be used as food, so we will be doing them a favor in the long run. Now get moving; we haven’t a moment to lose!”

The commander saluted and then left, leaving shining to exit the room teleport, one thought rushing through his mind as he appeared in his room in the barracks.

“I’m coming for you Twily!”

Author's Notes:

Well this was a heavy chapter to do, but its finally done...whew. Anyways, Shining Armor is slowly spiraling down a dark road, and soon he will make a move on Ponyville, which will lead to an unwanted confrontation later down the road. Next chapter we will be heading back to Canterlot to see the trial of Chrysalis, and also get a gauge on how far along Chrysalis is in her mental degradation. Till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I always love hearing from my readers.

Chapter Nine: Broken Mind

“Mommy why are the ponies trying to hurt us, I don’t understand?”

“I don’t know little one, just stay behind me, I’ll keep you…”

Chrysalis shook her head violently to shake the memories, her head pounding from the mental stress the hive mind was putting her under. “Just a little longer,” she thought, “I just need a little more time.”

“All rise for the honorable judge Felt Tip.”

Chrysalis rose to her hooves along with the rest of the room, waiting for the elderly mare to take her seat between Celestia and Luna before sitting down again, and then waiting for her to speak.

“This court has gathered to address the crimes of one Chrysalis, Queen of the changeling hive, who attacked us two months ago during the wedding of our beloved Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, will the defendant please stand.”

Chrysalis once again rose to her hooves, “your honor.”

“RUN ELDER BERRY RUN, I’LL HOLD THEM OFF, JUST RUN…!”

“…have something you wish to say to the court, before charges are levied against you?”

“Yes I do,” said Chrysalis, thanking the stars that she was able to read lips as she suppressed the voices in her head. “I want it known that my changelings should not be held accountable for their actions during the wedding of Princess Cadenza, I am the only one who should be held accountable for those events.”

“And why do you believe that should be the case?”

“Because they were starving, and because of that they became completely devoid of free will and choice, thus making it easy for me to take over their minds using the hive mind. I believe the best way I could put it is if a pony like you were to make somepony due something under the influence of drugs.”

The judge looked baffled, “and are you saying that your changelings would not have gone along with your attack had they not been starving.”

“No they would not; in fact they would have deposed me and waited till I could breed a replacement queen, before ending my responsibilities as focal point for the hive mind and branding me outcast.”

The judge looked surprised, and then leaned back to talk to the princesses, but chrysalis was unable to make out what they were saying do to another memory surfacing within her mind as her head began pounding.

“Just little bit longer Chitter, were almost to the Crystal Empire, just please hold on a little…”

It ebbed quickly, ebbing off in time for Chrysalis to see the judge nodding to the princesses before leaning forward to speak.

“Very well, let the record show that the defendant has taken full responsibility for the actions of her subjects, and that they are not to be held accountable for said actions due to being under mental coercion by their queen.”

She heard the court secretary jotting down the notes, and once again her head began pounding as another memory plagued her.

“PLEASE STOP, WE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU, WERE JUST REFUGIES FROM THE BADLANDS SEEKING SHELTER, WE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ATTACK ON CANTERLOT! PLEASE! STOP!"

“Bring forth the char…”

“THEY WERE JUST FOALS, YOU FUCKING MURDERES, THEY WERE JUST FOALS!”

“…Chrysalis, you are charged with kidnapping and impersonating one of Equestria’s royals, controlling the minds of several ponies, attacking…”

“Don’t look children, it will be over soon, just…just keep your eyes closed and don’t look…”

It finally became too much for her to try and repress, and with a flash green light and the sound of splintering bone, she began to fall, and the last thing she saw was Celestia leaping toward her with a letter clutched in her magical grasp, screaming her name as she fell into darkness.

Author's Notes:

Very short I know, but honestly I had no more ideas for this part of the story. Next up, the confrontation between Shining's forces and Castle Twilight will begin, and we will learn of the fate of our dear changeling queen. As always, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, you all know I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Ten: Letting Go

Chrysalis’s mind slowly rose from the deep darkness it had fallen into, her eyes clearing and revealing to her that she was in a hospital room, wrapped in clean linen sheets and, from what she could see, several bloody bandages surrounding her horn.

“Ye nearly died ye ken,” said a voice near her bed, and before she could even speak, she was immediately surrounded by a shimmering field, one which began to sooth some of the aches in her body.

“You have always been a stubborn wee lassie,” chided her mother, “but this is going too far, ye know ye canno’ suppress the voices my wee bairn, it only leads to more pain.”

“I know that mother,” said Chrysalis with a groan, “but I could not handle the memories of their last moments, you know what has been happening to them of late.”

“I do ken,” said her mother, “but repressing their memories only speeds up the mental degradation of the hive mind my bairn, and ye have reached the point of no return, which means its time…”

“NO!” cried Chrysalis, who tried to get out of her bed, only to be pinned down by her mother’s magic.

“Chrysalis plea…”

“YOU CANNOT MAKE ME DO IT!” roared Chrysalis, struggling against her mother’s hold as she tried to escape. “YOU CANNOT MAKE ME KILL THEM, NOT WHEN WE ARE SO CLOSE!”

“So close to wha’,” asked her mother in exasperation, “Even when the child is born she will have a hive mind o’ her own, one with its own voices which will be unwilling to share their mother with ye. I ken ye have fought hard to keep your children alive my wee bairn, but there time has come and gone…so ye must let them go.”

Chrysalis began to sob, tugging at the magic holding her, but now there was barely any force behind her tugs. She knew her mother was right, but she still didn’t want to, for it meant giving up what made her important to the hive.

“What about my remaining children,” asked Chrysalis in between sobs, “…wha…what will happen to them?”

“They will grow old and die, as all things do, but when they die, they will no’ return to ye, they will instead take the next step on the great journey…to the great beyond.”

Chrysalis simply stared at her a long moment, then nodded her head with a final sigh, closing her eyes and falling within herself. After a long while, she found the core of the hive mind, nestled deep within her consciousness.

She took it gently within her hooves, and then, like a great ball of yarn, she began to unravel it, crying as she did so.

On the outside, the shimmering field that was her mother’s current form watched as her daughter’s form began to glow, and then watched as her mouth opened, and thousands of lights began to flood from her body, passing through her mother before disappearing with little cries of joy.

When it was finally over, Chrysalis opened her eyes, tears falling from them as she looked into the shimmering mist which was her mother and spoke. “So…so what happens now, I assume the court has made it decision on what to do with me.”

“Yes they have,” said the mist, “but luckily for ye, your fainting spell seems to have swayed the court in your favor, for they have decided to clear ye o’ all charges.”

“What, but why?”

The mist chuckled at that, “well ye see, when ye passed out from the pain ye were in, the voices of your hive started speaking through ye, and wha’ they said caused many in the court room to change their minds about ye, saying it must have been madness which drove ye to attack them.”

“I…I see,” said Chrysalis, still trying to keep from simply balling due to the lack of the familiar song she was so used to hearing in the back of her mind. “Is…is there any other news…anything about Twilight?”

“We have had news,” said the mist, “but it is no’ something ye should be hearing right now…”

“Why,” said Chrysalis, starting to look concerned, “what is happening that you do not want to tell me?”

The mist seemed to hesitate, and then it sighed, before finally working up the nerve to speak. “It seems that news of wha’ is going on here has reached the ears of the young prince o’ the Crystal Empire, and he has moved a force o’ raiders to attack the town o’ Ponyville, which is now under siege by him and his raiders.”

Chrysalis immediately sat up in her bed, her eyes wide as panic began to set in. “What…when did this happen?!”

“Shortly after ye passed out…and it has continued for a full day, for nopony has been able to get past the mighty barrier that has been erected there, no' even the princesses.”

Chrysalis stared for a long moment, and then got out of bed, her horn beginning to glow as she conjured armor from thin air.

“And where do ye think ye are going?”

“I am going to help Twilight mother, I will not leave her in the hands of her brother when he is so determined to slaughter us…who knows what he might do.”

With that she took wing and left out a window, leaving her mother to sigh as she began solidifying her form. “I guess this confrontation was inevitable…let’s just hope ye see the true cause of this problem…before it be too late for the good stallion.”

Author's Notes:

Another Short chapter I know, but the next chapter is going to be really big, so I felt I could get away with it. Anyways, Chrysalis free's herself from the responsibility of being a true queen, and then sets of to go aid Twilight in her new struggle. Next chapter we will be arriving at the battle of Ponyville, where siblings will clash and the true worth of the changelings will be revealed and tested. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Also, if you guys are wondering as to the way Chrysalis's mother speaks, she has a heavy accent due to living for many a year on the Shetland Islands, so she speaks differently then say, her daughter.

Chapter Eleven: Misguided Siege, Part One

They skies over Ponyville were filled with smoke as fires raged, the sources of the fires being several homes which had been put to the torch by errant magic. When Shining and his raiders had exited the train onto the Ponyville platform, the first thing he had done was cast mighty shield spell, weaving into it wards which would repel all who tried to teleport in, including the princesses.

This however had caused problems with his men, for they knew that it would alert the changelings that they were coming. He had simply told them that there was no need for the element of surprise, that there enemy most likely already knew they were coming, but would be too weak to pose any real threat.

However, half way into the town, they had not run into the ragged changeling band they had been expecting. No, instead they had been met by a large group of Crystal soldiers, for unbeknownst to them, the group Cadance sent had arrived early, and had been waiting for their arrival ever since.

Despite this though, Shining and his raiders had been pushing the defenders back, but as soon as they had reached the outer boundaries of the palace, all hell broke loose. The ground had opened up, and then a massive wall of crystals had shot out, which the crystal soldiers had literally melted into as Shining and his guard stared in shock, before pulling back as the defenders retaliated from the wall.

Now Shining was staring at the new barrier, wondering how the hell the changelings had managed to do this, for he didn’t believe for a second that the warriors he was facing were crystal soldiers, even though his own troupes believed otherwise.

“Sir, one of our pegasus scouts managed to fly over and get a look at the palace, and it seems you were correct about the elements, they seem to be in league with the changeling survivors.”

“What of Twilight,” asked Shining.

“She watches from the balcony of what we assume to be her room,” said the guard, “but she has so far not participated in the conflict, likely due to her not being under their sway.”

“Good, let’s keep it that way for now, I don’t want her hurt. Now, what can you tell me about this wall we are which is blocking our way?”

“As far as we can tell it is made of the same crystal in the empire, but it is radiating massive amounts of magical energy, making it so that we can’t teleport behind it.”

“Can it be damaged?”

“We're trying,” said the guard, “but all our efforts have proven futile so far, it seems highly resistant to both physical and magical damage.”

“And what about dark magic,” asked Shining as he kept his gaze to the wall.

“Sir?”

Shining turned his gaze to the guard, “I said what about dark magic, have you tried that yet?”

“No sir, but why would we, its forbidden?”

“Cause this is war soldier,” said Shining in cold clarity, “and in war we have to use every weapon in our arsenal to achieve victory, no matter the costs it might exact. Now, begin ordering the troops to use dark magic on the wall.”

The guard made to protest, only to have Shining cut him off, “You will do as I say Captain, now move it!”

The guard hastened to obey, but as he left he couldn’t help but look back and take notice the green lines which had shown themselves when shining had shouted, which looked like they had spread since the last time the captain had spotted them.

“It’s getting worse,” he thought, but finally he looked away, hoping that when this was all over, the prince would finally let himself be tended to.

On the other side of the wall, the crystal guards began to shiver in fear as they saw the unicorn raiders beginning to charge up some dark spells, one of them turning and yelling the news to the elements, who were busy conversing with the leader of the crystal ponies and the current speaker for the changelings.

“Dark Magic,” said Rarity with concern, “that can’t be, Twilight’s brother would never condone such a thing.”

“This is so not cool,” Rainbow said in agreement, before turning to the crystal guard. “Ok, how long can these walls stand against dark magic?”

“Not long,” said the guard, “for as aww inspiring as the dark crystals Sombra conjured were, they are quite brittle, due to the fact that they are filled with hate and sadness.”

“It will not matter,” said the changeling leader, “we just need something to keep them from attacking the wall. Now tell me,” she said, staring at both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, “which one of you is good at manipulating the weather.”

Immediately Rainbow’s hoof shot up, and so the changeling turned to her, giving her a serious look before speaking. “Ok Rainbow Dash, before we do this, I must warn you of the dangers…”

“Can the chit chat,” said Rainbow, “we got no time if we want to keep them from killing you guys.”

The changeling hesitated for a moment, and then finally nodded, “Very well, just don’t complain to me later when the consequences come and bite you on your ass.”

Rainbow made to retort, only to stop as the changelings horn glowed, causing her to suddenly feel as though a dam had been released within her mind, her eyes turning opaque as she began to rise into the sky.

The guards had just let loose with the first volley of dark bolts when the wind began to swirl, dark clouds begging to form overhead as rain began to poor down, soon to be followed by lightening. They would have assumed it had just been some random storm which had blown in from the Everfree, but they discarded that theory due to the shield their prince had erected to keep out interfering forces, plus there was the fact that the bolts of lightning were not random, but were striking in front of and sometimes outright hitting their fellow raiders, yet not a single bolt touched the enemy on the other side of the wall.

Shining immediately went to the town hall nearby, climbing up to the tower and using a pair of binoculars to get a bead on the castle, immediately spotting the glowing form of Rainbow Dash, who he could tell was under the influence of an enemy changeling, which caused him to growl.

His next move he executed without any thought, leaping off the top of town hall and opening up a shadow gate with dark magic, his momentum flinging him out the other side to slam into Rainbow Dash’s back, allowing him to stab a recently transformed hoof easily through the back of her chest and through her heart.

“NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”

Twilight stood frozen in shock as she watched Rainbow Dash and her brother fall to the ground, part of the recently constructed wall shattering as Shining touched ground, unaware of the danger which was rising within his sister.

“Shining hurt Rainbow…” thought Twilight, her main and tail beginning to light on fire as she roared in rage, blasting the raiders as they tried to enter the wall with ice before leaping to the ground and blasting her brother away from Rainbow.

She began to stalk around her brother as he got up, keeping herself in front of Rainbow as the others moved to grab her, hoping she was ok. As her brother got up however, she growled once more, summoning a sword from thin air and pointing it at the prone stallion. “Stay where you are Shining Armor!”

At once Shining looked up, a smile stretching across his face when he saw her. “Twily, you’re ok…”

“I said stay where you are Shining,” growled Twilight, Shining looking confused till he finally noticed the sword she had leveled at him, and his raiders frozen in ice.

“Twilight…what did you do?”

“I protected my ponies,” said Twilight without blinking an eye, “all of them!”

“…No…no you can’t mean that, Twilight Cadance got your letter, I know you were being held captive…I came to save you…”

“And what it my letter indicated that I needed saving Shining?”

“You said I was to be given leniency for what I had done, and I know you better then then, you would never spare me at the cost of following the rules, never.”

Twilight looked at him for a moment, and then sighed, her sword lowering as she spoke to him. “Shining, the reason I forced the courts to be lenient with you was because I didn’t want Cadance left alone during this time, and I also knew that if I let your imprisonment, many of the nobles would take their support away from helping the changelings, as I have been asking them to do.”

Shining stared in disbelief, and then something in his mind snapped, his confused look turning into a glare as he conjured his own sword. “You can’t be my Twily, for she would never help the changelings in a million years, NEVER!”

He then charged, his sword clashing against Twilight’s only to get pushed back as Twilight lifted up her head and smashed her chin against his face, causing him to reel as blood flew from his nose. “Come on Shining, you taught me to counter moves like that during summer break, you really expect me to get caught off guard by such…”

“SHUT UP!” he roared, rolling back onto his hooves as he sent his sword in an upward arc, nearly catching Twilight on the chin as she dodged out of the way. He changed the shape of his weapon, the blade growing till it became a claymore, and they he swung again, breaking Twilight’s sword in two, only to have his sword broken as she conjured up a massive axe.

Shining roared, the two halves of his broken sword forming into black serrated claws, his eyes glowing green with rage as his horn glowed with an evil black fire. He slashed at Twilight with a growl, tearing out chunks of her axe and causing her to abandon it, forming a shield which got shredded, before Twilight got hit by a savage back hand to the face.

She was sent flying, but when she got up, a voice sounded in her head, “Twilight?”

“Chrysalis,” thought Twilight, dodging another strike as she focused her thoughts on the changeling queen, “Where are you?"

“Above you,” said the changeling queen, “but from what I can see things do not look good, you will not be able to last long against him.”

“He’s not acting rationally, I think I can…”

“No you can’t,” said Chrysalis, “maybe you could before, but with the foal in your belly his magic will have greater effect on you.”

“What do you…Whoa,” cried Twilight, leaping out of the way of another attack before sending a blast of magic at him, which he blocked.

“We changelings are highly susceptible to emotions, and we become weaker in the presence of dark magic, due to it being filled with hate, which will affect you as well due to you child.”

“Then I’ll just activate my harmony magic and…”

“No,” said Chrysalis, “that would kill the foal due to too much magic exposure.”

“Then what do you suggest I do?”

“…Lend your magic to me.”

Twilight’s thoughts paused as she dodged another attack, which prompted Chrysalis to keep speaking. “Twilight, I can stop Shining, but to do that I need you to lend me your magic, if only for a little while.”

Twilight hesitated, and then formed a barrier around herself, sighing as Shining struck it before closing her eyes and opening herself the Chrysalis.

Then, in the skies outside Shining’s shield, a massive burst of light erupted from a single point, followed by Chrysalis busting through the shield to land, her body alight with harmonic magic.

To Be Continued……

Author's Notes:

The battle begins, but it is far from over. Stay tuned for part two of Misguided Siege, and as always, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on buy, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Twelve: Celestial of The Changelings

Shining stared in disbelief at Chrysalis, his eyes not wanting to accept what he saw before him. The markings that had appeared on Twilight when she had become one with the element of magic now covered Chrysalis’s body, mimicking Twilight’s markings to the slightest detail, down to the streaks in her hair.

“You…you stole my sister's…”

“We stole nothing,” said Chrysalis, her voice carrying the echo of Twilights as she glared at him. “We have simply borrowed her power, so that we may help you.”

“Help me,” spat Shining, “you don’t want to help me; you just want to enslave me, again!”

“We never wanted to enslave you Shining Armor,” said Chrysalis, “and we are sorry for what we did to you. But we were starving, and were not in control of our actions when we…”

“Do you really think I am going to buy that bullshit?” spat Shining, shooting out a dark magic blast which was deftly blocked, which made him growl.

“We don’t expect you to believe our words,” said Chrysalis plainly, “But from what we know of what Twilight has shown us, this is not you…so we shall help you, whether you want it or not.”

Shining made to blast her again, but before he could, Chrysalis spread her wings wide, rainbow light blasting from her form and washing over the stallion, rendering him unconscious.

After he fell, Chrysalis dispelled her magic, letting Twilights magic leave her with a slight sigh of relief as she turned to see said alicorn getting up. “Check him, I’ll go see if I can help your friend not slip away from us.”

Twilight nodded, running past Chrysalis as she moved over to where the others where crowding around Rainbow, ignoring the shouts as the crystal guard began thawing out the raiders one by one and locking them in irons.

When she finally got a good look at Rainbow, she had to lift a hoof to keep herself from gasping in despair. There was a gaping hole in Rainbow’s chest, blood oozing from it slowly as her damaged heart kept on pumping. The only thing keeping her alive was a green glow radiating around the wound, which was being caused by the changeling who Chrysalis had asked to be the voice of the hive.

“Teacher,” she said, wrapping the weakened drone in her forelegs and nuzzling her, “why does it always have to be you?”

“Because I am a stubborn ass…” said Teacher with a cough, before turning away from Chrysalis to look at Rainbow. "…She’s dying.”

“I know…but so are you,” said Chrysalis, before sighing as she petted the changelings mane. "You know what needs to be done…right?”

The changeling nodded, “Of course…do you really think I would…would shirk the responsibility owed to those we…we open to our power. Just…just please don’t cry for me mother, you have shed enough tear for us already.”

“I shall try my child,” said Chrysalis before kissing her between the eyes, “now go, join your sisters in paradise…”

Teacher nodded, and then closed her eyes, breathing out her last breath in a slow, determined manner. When at last the breath left her body; Chrysalis watched as the life left her child’s body, watching it float over to Rainbow’s gaping wound and merging with it, erasing it from existence.

When she finally managed to look up, she was greeted with the horror struck faces of Twilight’s friends, all of them looking at the changeling with tears in their eyes, till one of them finally spoke, “She…did she just…?”

“Chrysalis,” said a voice behind them, causing the former queen to look up, seeing Twilight looking at her with concern as she held her brother in her forelegs.

Chrysalis got up, passing the body of her now dead child into the care of Twilight’s friends, walking over to her and sitting down, before looking at Shining and seeing what had caused Twilight’s concern.

“What is…?”

“Let me see it child.”

Both Chrysalis and Twilight looked up, and Twilight had to suppress a gasp, for the being standing behind her was like none she had ever seen. The being was certainly a changeling, for like all changelings, her belly was segmented and covered in a kind of transparent carapace, and wings were hidden underneath two protective coverings which kept them safe. However, the rest of her body was covered in a very shaggy white coat, complimenting her flowing pink main and tail quite well.

But what shocked Twilight most was her eyes, for they looked exactly like Celestia’s, which meant she could only be one being.

“Mother,” cried Chrysalis, getting up and walking over to hug her, only to start giggling when she made contact with the mare’s coat. “By Equi’ mother, did you forget to shed your winter coat?”

“Neigh my sweet bairn,” said the large changeling, “but your grandmother and I have been living in the polar region for these past few years, and so we have ha’ to keep our winter coats.”

The furred changeling then looked past her daughter to Twilight, smiling at her before speaking in a calm voice. “And ye young one must be Twilight Sparkle, ruler of this fair town.”

“Ye…yes,” said Twilight, still in shock over the being before her.

“My name is Celestine, daughter o’ Celestia an’ former queen o’ the changelings. If ye can give me your permission, I would like to see if I can help your brother.”

Twilight hesitated for a moment, and then nodded her head, allowing the large pony to sit down next to her and examine her brother.

Celestine examined Shining closely, not finding anything till she saw his eyes, and immediately she lifted her head and glared at Chrysalis. “Daughter, will ye please come here?”

She approached cautiously, standing next to her mother and looking down to see what had caused her to glare, and looking horrified.

“Tell me my bairn,” said Celestine coldly, “what methods did ye use on the prince to make him believe ye were his betrothed?”

“I…mother I wasn’t myself when…”

“What method did ye use!?”

“C…compulsion…I used compulsion on him…”

The moment the words had left her mouth Celestine’s face became livid, the larger changeling getting up and beginning to pace as she fumed. “Compulsion! By Equi’ ye daft little…do ye realize wha’ kind o’ trouble ye could have been in if we had been a full coven o’ queens?”

The word coven caught Twilight’s attention, for she had never heard that word used to reference anything besides the earth pony witches of the Shetland Islands, and to hear it now used in conjunction with the changeling queens got her really curious, but she managed to stave it, knowing answers would most likely come later.

“I know what would have happened mother, but I was starving and saw no other way to get what I needed, for he didn’t believe that I was Cadance.”

“That be no excuse my bairn, compulsion is dangerous to ponies and ye ken it.”

“Dangerous?”

Celestine looked at Twilight a moment, smiling the same way Celestia would when she had realized she had not told Twilight something important. “I be sorry Twilight, I shall try and explain as best I can. Our form of compulsion, unlike the magical version I know you unicorns can use, is a special kind of poison which is excreted from our lips. Over a short period of time, and I mean short, it is not dangerous. But over a long period, as in days, it builds up in a ponies system and can cause…dangerous side effects.”

“Dangerous…you mean he could…could die?”

“No nothing like that,” said Celestine, knowing where Twilights mind was going and stopping her before she reached that conclusion. “However, it does cause a pony to lose certain inhibitions, making them act upon certain thoughts that they would otherwise grudgingly ignore.”

Twilight stared at her a moment, then looked down at Shining, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling gently, till she finally opened her mouth to speak. “Will…will you be able to help him?”

Celestine nodded, “O’ course, but it will take some time. For now though, ye have your own kingdom to be looking after, so ye best get to it.”

It had been two hours since the battle had finally been stopped, and everypony was setting about the task of assessing the damage that had been done to their home. The raiders had all been finally thawed out, and were now being guarded by a combination of Changeling drones and Crystal guard, who had used their regained abilities to encase the unicorns horns in crystal, as well as binding the pegasi’s wings so they couldn’t get away.

In regards to Rainbow, she had recently woken up, and much to the surprise of all her friends, had become extremely distraught upon the sight of Teacher lying dead nearby. She had wrapped up the changeling in her wings, and then without saying anything she grabbed the changeling and flew into the sky, leaving a trail of tears behind.

Chrysalis had kept the others from chasing her, saying that she would need to be alone for a time, so that she could grieve. When asked why, Chrysalis equated it to when a unicorn mage lost their familiar, which immediately humbled both Twilight and Rarity, who explained to the others to simply imagine if they had lost their own foal.

Now everypony was getting to work trying to repair everything, but for once in Twilights life, she did not feel optimistic about what they had to do. Many of the spells Shining’s raiders had sent against the wall had been reflected, getting flung into the surrounding buildings and causing massive damage, resulting in many buildings being beyond normal repair, and in some cases even magical repair.

Oddly though, Chrysalis’s mother didn’t look concerned, and when asked why, she simply smiled. “This can be easily fixed, but firs’ I need to ask, be there any breezies left in this land?”

Twilight nodded, revealing that there was a group of breezies had taken up residence in the forest, which caused Celestine to smile, before she lifted her head and began to whistle, the sound carrying out beyond the town, till she finally stopped as a swarm of breezies surrounded her.

“Hello little ones,” said Celestine sweetly, giggling a bit as the breezies flew around her and occasionally nuzzled her, all of them knowing what she was due to tales that had been passed down through the ages. “I can assume you know what I called you here for?”

They all nodded, causing her to smile, “Then link with me little ones, and let us show these ponies the lost art of tree forging.”

The breezies all giggled happily, and then glowed brightly, linking with the old changeling before zooming off as they began to sing.

As they flew over the ruins of Ponyville they began flinging seeds onto the ground as their voices filled the air. When they flew back, they moved to where the seeds had spread, and, much to the surprise of everypony watching, caused them to begin to grow at a rapid pace.

As the ponies watched, the breezies began to make the now forming trees take shape, forming them into houses similar to the one Twilight had lived in before it got destroyed, but with unique differences that set them apart from the old library.

“Holy hayseed…” said Applejack, watching with the others as all the damaged homes were replaced with literal tree houses as the breezies continued to sing, before gasping in shock when the breezies moved to the center of town, and caused a massive tree to spring from where the old town hall once stood, before flying back to rest within Celestine’s fur.

“I…” started Twilight, “…how is this possible?”

“All will be explained in time young one, but for now I think it is best ye get your people settled in their new homes, for I expect today’s events will have scared them greatly.”

Twilight hesitated at this, and then nodded her head, gathering the citizens and then leading them to their new homes, many of the residents staring in wonder at their new homes, especially Rarity, who found that the tree which made her new home magically produced silk for her use. “This….this is amazing, I never knew breezies could do things like this, this is extraordinary.”

She wasn’t the only one who found their house was fitted to their needs, and after a quick magical scan, Twilight found out why. Her palace had spread long roots under the entire town of Ponyville, and contained a great deal of knowledge from its ruler, Twilight herself. During her scan, she had seen that the roots of the tree houses had merged with the roots of her great palace, and her palace had imparted knowledge to each of the trees, tailoring them to each citizens needs so that they would feel right at home.

It was simply…magical, and it had cost them nothing, all because of the being who was now resting outside in the open grass, her body wrapped protectively around the breezies who had come to her call, which made Twilight wonder. If with changeling magic breezies could form such great structures like her old tree home of old, and the crystal ponies could erect various structures on command, as well as pegasi gaining an even higher mastery over the weather…what could the other races do?

“I’m sure I’ll get my answers later,” she thought, “for now though I need some sleep…something tells me tomorrow is not going to go horribly.”

Author's Notes:

Warning! This will contain spoilers to the above chapter, so those who skipped ahead kindly do not read further!

I know it probably not what you guys were expecting, but I didn't want to have this battle be two drawn out, plus he did kinda stab Rainbow through the heart and then duke it out with Twily, so I felt justified in cutting this fight short for more important matters. Second, I hope you wont find the changeling pulling a perma E.T. death to keep Rainbow Dash from dying too contrived, but I hope I pulled it off well. And just to cover all bases, yes, in this fic changelings naturally grow shaggy coats, which becomes especially shaggy in winter climates, and I promise it will be covered in a later chapter, just not the next one.

Now for the big news, for I am not going to lie guys, the next chapter is going to be heavy, for Celestia will be arriving in the next chapter on serious business with the ponies involved. Till then guys, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

(Also one more thing, yes we will go into the whole changeling link thing, but once again, probably not till after the bombshell chapter which is coming up.)

Chapter Thirteen: Important Discussions

Twilight woke up to the sound of shouting coming from her kitchen, yawning loudly as she got up and made her way out of her room. When she reached the kitchen and opened the doors, it was to find her recently appointed head cook, De’ Grand Spatula, arguing with a large and imposing changeling who was holding a several cooking utensils in her magic.

“…In all my life I have never been so insulted, and by a changeling no less. I don’t care if we are supposed to treat you nicely now, if you don’t get out of my kitchen right now I will throw you out!”

The changeling snorted, “With what I have seen you planning for the Queen Mother’s breakfast, I would rather feast on hate then leave her in your care!”

“There you go with that dam title again, I get that she is carrying your new queen, but that does not…”

“And as I told you, because she is carrying our new queen she will have new dietary requirements that you will not…!”

“Enough,” commanded Twilight, causing both the mares to jump as they turned toward her.

“Your Highness…”

“Queen Mother…”

“Quiet,” Twilight said softly, waiting a bit before speaking again. “Look, De’ Grand, I know you have been my head cook for a while now, but because of the eh…” she paused, turning to the changeling with a nervous look. “Um, what do you call your young at this stage of growth?”

“Larva, or larvae if one is lucky enough to be blessed with multiple.”

“I see, thank you miss…”

“Fickle Habits Queen Mother,” she said, “But you may simply call me Fickle.”

“I see,” said Twilight, before turning to her cook. “Now as I was saying, because of the larva growing inside of me, I will have different requirements when it comes to what I need to eat, requirements you won’t know about or more importantly know how to prepare. So until the…larva is born, I think it best that this changeling here begin preparing my meals, and then you can begin cooking for me again.”

“But your highness Princess Celestia is coming today, don’t you think you should have a normal cook to prepare some food before she arrives?”

Twilight shook her head, “I’m sure whatever Fickle can whip up will be fine, so just run along and head to one of the local restaurants, I am sure one of them is going to need help after what we’ve been through.”

De’ Grand huffed but nodded, leaving the kitchen as Twilight turned to her new cook, looking her over appraisingly. “So, you can cook?”

Fickle nodded, “I was once chef to the duchess of prance herself, before I was forced to head to Equestria in order to help in the invasion, as all of us were. It wasn’t exactly the best job for a creature who feeds on love, but we changelings could adapt, and I got nice and fat off of all the envy my fellow cooks felt due to my ability. Now if you would Queen Mother, I would like it if you could leave the kitchen, I have a lot of work to do and I can’t do it all with you in here, but I promise food will be done soon.”

Twilight nodded, and then left the kitchen, heading to the dining hall and sitting down, before a cough caused her to look up.

“Hello Twilight,” said Celestia pleasantly, Twilight’s mind finally registering what her cook had said earlier as the site of her former mentor caused her eyes to widen a bit.

“Princess…wha…why didn’t you send a letter to tell me you were coming, I could have prepared for your arrival.”

“I meant to,” said Celestia with a sigh, “but after talking with your sister in law Cadance, I felt it would be better if I just showed up.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, only to have Celestia place a hoof over her mouth. “We’ll save that discussion for later, but for now, I would like to know how…”

Celestia suddenly stopped as her eyes drifted to the door again, for standing in the doorway was Celestine, who had the look of a lost foal who had finally found her mother.

“Pupa!”

“Mother!”

Twilight watched as the two beings ran to each other, both of them crying as they hugged, for it had been a long time since they had last seen each other.

“Oh my little Pupa, it has been too long, where have you been.”

“I’ve been around mother,” said Celestine through sobs, “and I be sorry I didn’t contact ye sooner, I just felt that it would be better if I stayed close to my daughter in this troubling time.”

Celestia nodded, backing up a bit to get a better look at Celestine, before brushing a hoof through her pink mane. “I know my child, but a mother can’t help but worry, especially one who worries about you the way I do my little Pupa.”

This time Celestine rolled her eyes, “mother stop, that is my hatchling name, and I have told ye repeatedly I prefer to go by my chosen name, for ye know I chose it to honor ye.”

“I know that daughter,” said Celestia sweetly, “but I am afraid us old ponies tend to permanently name their children, and no matter what name you name yourself, I will always refer to you as my little Pupa.”

Celestine grumbled, then relented, nuzzling her mother before accompanying her to the dining table as the doors to the kitchen opened and Fickle walked in, the changeling walking over to place a tray in the middle of the table. “Breakfast is served your majesties,” she said, before taking her leave as Twilight lifted up the tray’s lid.

“My word,” said Celestia as she spotted all the different dishes, “it has been a while since I’ve seen any of these dishes.”

“You’ve seen these before,” asked Twilight, only to facehoof as she suddenly remembered. “Of course you’ve seen these before, you carried a changeling to.”

Celestia giggled at that, then grabbed one of the dishes and served herself up one of the strange dish, before seeing Twilight staring at them oddly and smiling. “Would you like me to explain to you what these dishes are, and more importantly, what they are for?”

Twilight nodded, so Celestia began to explain, falling into teacher mode very easily as she lifted the dishes one at a time. “This-” said Celestia as she lifted the first dish, which held several green orbs which glowed a bit, causing Twilight to shy away. “-is called Sercial, which is made from a special kind of ooze produced in changeling caves. The substance contains vast amounts of protein, which all changelings need, but as they are equine like creatures, they themselves cannot ingest meat. Thus we have these little morsels, which while they do containing high amounts of protein, they can be eaten and digested as if they were plant matter.”

She set it down, and then picked up the second dish, one which looked like a mass of dead purple tendrils. “This repulsive looking dish is called Sleptar, and it is a special kind of plant which is grown from Changeling hive space…”

“Wait a minute,” said Twilight, “hive what?”

Celestine cleared her throat to explain, “Well ye see Twilight, when we changelings begin building our nests, the queens, as well as the drones if there are any secrete this special kind of mucus, which grows over every surface of the changeling cave, even around the cave entrance. This hive space provides many benefits to our species, but the most noteworthy of these features is it is what allows us to grow the food we need for physical nourishment, like this plant.”

Celestia nodded, “exactly, now as I was saying, this plant is very important for you, because it will be one of the only things you will be able to eat during the later stages of pregnancy.”

“What, but why?”

“Because pony food is poisonous to young changelings till they reach maturity, though the changelings only found this out after they began trade with the crystal ponies. Now you are only in the second month of carrying, so your foal’s digestive system hasn’t fully developed yet, but it will be better if we get you used to eating this food now, so that way when her digestive system is fully developed, the only nutrients she will be ingesting are the nutrients provided by this food.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, then pointed to the last food item on the table, which glowed bright pink and was in a dish shaped like a heart.

“Oh that,” said Celestia with a smile, “that dish the changelings call ambrosia, or, if you would prefer its more common name, solidified love.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock, “Solidified love…but…but…”

Both the elder mares giggled, and then Celestine spoke up. “When love is in abundance, as it always is when the crystal heart is at work, we changelings are able to condense love into a solid form, which allows others to enjoy it. When our empire was thriving, it was one of our most traded commodities, for while yes it is a food, for the others species who would ingest it, it turned out to be one of the most potent aphrodisiacs in existence, and it still is.”

Celestine noticed the look on Twilight’s face, and quickly continued speaking. “Ye need no’ worry yourself Twilight, this batch has been carefully prepared, and will most likely only make ye a bit more frisky then ye normally would be, but I would recommend ye stay away from anypony ye have…affections for, for it would prove very trying. Still this substance is needed for your child’s growth, for all changelings need love.”

Twilight nodded again, and then they all began to dig in, Celestia showing her how to eat it before beginning to eat her own dish, though Twilight noticed she was avoiding the love. Upon her curious glance Celestia explained, “My mate Anthra has moved into the castle now that news of your new law has been spread, and it has been a long time since we last…well, mated, so I want to make it a memorable experience.”

Twilight blushed at this, still getting used to the idea that Celestia had a sex drive, so instead she decided to talk to Celestine instead, but before she could, Celestia spoke to her instead. “Now back to the subject I wanted to talk about earlier, what has happened to the town, for I distinctly remember the town not being made entirely from trees.”

“That would be my fault mother,” said Celestine, “I acquired the help of some breezies to help rebuild the town…I hope ye will no’ think I overstepped my bounds.”

“You did nothing of the sort my child,” said Celestia with a smile, “and it gladdens my heart to know such magic’s are at work in the world again…so much was lost when your mother’s empire was destroyed.”

“Mothers empire?” thought Twilight, trying to remember what she had been told about Anthra, and realizing she knew very little about the Celestia’s ancient mate. But before she could ponder anything further, she took a bite of love, and immediately her mind filled with sensations of utter content and bliss, causing her to sigh as she savored the unique…experience the food brought her.

They finished their meal quickly, and then Celestia stood up, looking to Twilight before speaking. “Well now that we got food out of the way, I need to talk with you about something Twilight, something very important. Now,” she said, looking toward Celestine as she spoke, “where is Chrysalis?”

“Down in the caves negotiating with the breezies, after our exchange of power they want to make sure they have access to it whenever they wish.”

“Then why don’t you join her, for what I have to speak with Twilight about concerns her…well concerns her actions of late, and I would rather it be as comfortable as possible.”

The changeling nodded and then teleported away, leaving Twilight and Celestia as they left the dining hall, both of them making their way to the grand throne room till Celestia finally cleared her throat to speak. “Twilight, while I do commend you for what you have been doing of late, a certain series of actions has forced me to…well to take some words more seriously than I have been.”

“What do you mean?”

Celestia stopped in front of Twilight’s throne, sighing a bit before continuing to speak. “Twilight, do you remember how my sister acted around you when you first became princess?”

“Of course, she always looked like she never really trusted me, though I never got why.”

Celestia sighed once more, “Luna felt I made you a princess too early, for she felt you still had much to learn and that those lessons should have been done before you were shouldered with our kind of responsibility, but I felt differently. I thought that you were ready then to take on the responsibility of being a princess, and felt that any lessons which you may need could be taught to you on the job…”

She then finally looked up at Twilight, the look on her face one of such sadness Twilight was rendered speechless, allowing the older mare to speak. “However…the events of these past few days have made me realize my sister may have been right, and that maybe I rushed you into your ascension too early so that I could have another princess to help us.”

“But what events are you talking about,” said Twilight, though in the back of her mind she had a suspicion she knew what Celestia was talking about.

“I’m talking about your actions in regards to your brothers actions towards the changelings, which not only lead to the loss of thousands of lives, but it also resulted in the destruction of your town and assault on one of your fellow elements. You and Cadance both knew Shining Armor was mercilessly killing changelings with a rouge group of guards, and instead of stopping him and alerting me of these transgressions; you go behind my back and pardon him of his crimes and confine him to the Castle, which lead to him escaping and attack Ponyville, Rainbow Dash, and then finally you.”

Celestia waited for the information to sink into Twilight’s head, and then continued. “Your response to your brothers actions not only constitutes a grouse negligence in regards to the safety of your own kingdom but your allies, your pardoning your brother for his earlier crimes constitutes a grouse abuse of power, one which cannot be excused.”

“But…but princess he wasn’t himself, he was…”

“Luna wasn’t herself when she tried to kill me and usher in the eternal night,” said Celesita simply, “but I did not let my feelings cloud my mind and stop me from doing what needed to be done, and neither should you have. Because you let your emotions toward your brother cloud your judgment, your town was destroyed and you nearly lost the lives of both your friend Rainbow Dash and the changelings you took into your care.”

Celestia let silence hang between them for a long while, letting Twilight gauge the gravity of her situation. Then, after a few minutes had passed them by, Twilight finally spoke up, “So…what are we going to do?”

Celestia sighed, “I am afraid we have only one option left to us, and it is one which I wish I didn’t have to use. Effective immediately, you will no longer have any say on matters which could affect the safety of our nations, including your own, without first consulting with me or Luna. This restriction will not be lifted till Luna feels you are ready for the responsibility, and if you ever thought I was a hard taskmaster, you will find Luna far stricter then me. To that end, you will require somepony to be by you that can act as my voice till you can handle your responsibilities properly, so I will be sending my personal advisor to you.”

“And…and my other princess duties?”

“They will remain yours, though even those will have to be done under the supervision of my aid. I know it won’t be easy, after all you have been acting independently for a while now, but this is for the best.”

Celestia then got up, walking over to Twilight and lifting her head with a wing, for the mare had lowered her head in shame. “Twilight, while I am disappointed, I will be available to help you, for I do believe you have what it takes to be a princess, but you still have much to learn before you are truly ready.”

“I…I understand princess,” said Twilight, smiling for the first time since their conversation began, moving closer to hug her mentor and receive a hug in return. “Um…about what I need to learn, are you going to be the one teaching me these things?”

Celestia chuckled and shook her head, “I am afraid not Twilight, for my sister feels that seeing as how I rushed ahead your ascension, I shouldn’t be the one to teach you these things, for she fears I might try to rush those lessons as well…which I must sadly say I would be sorely tempted to at this point. Instead, she will be your teacher, and I expect you to behave for her the same you did for me when you were my student.”

Twilight nodded again, then hugged the princess, who hugged her back in comfort before finally backing away, smiling as she looked out one of the windows. “Well I should be going, I still have to get all the paper work sorted out for my aids transfer, and then I have a date with a very beautiful mare.”

With that she vanished, leaving Twilight to sigh as she got up from where she was sitting, knowing she herself had something she needed to take care of.

Author's Notes:

I know I said Shining would be dealt with this chapter, but I decided to post pone that confrontation till next chapter, as it will be a very heart wrenching scene. Anyways, lot got explained this chapter, though I do admit I didn't cover everything I wanted to, but more will be covered in later chapters, just be patient. As always guys, I hope you enjoyed the story, and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by.

P.S.
Oh and one more thing, yes we will eventually get to go into the changeling hive, but not yet, maybe in a few more chapters once things smooth over.

Chapter Fourteen: Consequences of A Lone Monarch

Celestia alighted upon the balcony of her royal chambers, breathing out a sigh as she walked inside and felt a familiar presence somewhere deeper within. “Anthra?” she called, “where are you my dear?”

“In the baths love,” said a voice from further in the room, a voice which sounded like smooth silk to the old alicorns ears.

When she made it into the bathroom, she was immediately greeted by the site of her mate, the large and imposing mare resting comfortably in the tub as she scrubbed her own fur. “Would you like to join me my love, it has been forever I think since I last was able to wash you.”

Celestia nodded in simple assent, removing her regalia and then entering the bath, moving with her mate till she was seated comfortably in her lap, groaning as the larger mare began to work some soap into her coat.

“Your muscles are all knots again love, you know you don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore, so why do you keep insisting on the attempt?”

“Because I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I lost that responsibility,” said Celestia honestly, groaning a bit as Antra hit a particularly dense group of knots. “I have grown so used to its weight; it has become part of me.”

“But it is not part of you,” said Anthra, “you are a mare, a mare who is in need of a good long break.”

“Maybe your right…” said Celestia thoughtfully, only to shake her head after a moment as she sighed. “But I can’t, there is still so much to do…”

Anthra stared at her a moment, then sighed, “That’s no excuse and you know it love. After all, you have your sister back, that young love goddess is now running the Crystal Empire, and you even have this new princess to take care of things.”

“She is so young though,” said Celestia, which caused her mate to arch an eyebrow.

“Young she may be, yet I have seen her handle more in her twenty years then most do in their entire lifetime, which brings me to a question I have long been dreading to ask. You are one of the most powerful creatures I have ever seen on this planet my love, and that is saying something considering how many ages I have lived on this planet. However, ever since this young mare has entered your life, you have been relegating tasks to her that no mortal should ever have to face. Facing Discord, fighting Sombra, and even confronting you own sister, all of these and more you have pushed onto her, when you could easily have handled all of them.”

“I had my reasons…”

“Well you better tell me of them then, because otherwise I will have to remain in ignorance of what you do.”

Celestia seemed to hesitate a moment, and then she spoke in a soft whisper. “Its…it’s complicated…”

“You can tell me anything love,” said Anthra, “you know that.”

Celestia hesitated, and then nodded her head, getting up out of the water before turning around. “There’s…there’s something I need to show you, but I need you to stay calm till…till I am done explaining.”

Anthra nodded her head, then grimaced as Celestia was suddenly bathed in light, blinding her a moment till it faded. When she was able to see her mate again, she had to suppress a scream, for her mate had changed drastically from the mare she had once known.

Heavy dark bags lay under her once bright eyes, and her coat, once bright as the day which she heralded, had darkened to a near light gray, making her look extremely old. Her mane and tail now hung limply from her body, its rich color darkened with streaks of silver, adding to her other aged features. Her wings to had also changed, the feathers looking molted and unkempt, and as if to add insult to injury, her once majestic horn showed many a sign of damage, its tip blackened from obvious signs of backfired spells.

“Love…what has…”

“I overestimated my own abilities,” said Celestia, her voice sounding tired as she smiled at her mate. “A thousand years of doing the duty of two alicorns, as well as feeding both my mate and my child the necessary love they needed to live, has taken a greater toll on my body then I thought it would, and the only thing that has kept me from perishing outright is my connection to the sun.”

“But why did you not say anything, we could have helped you, we could have…”

“Could have what love,” said Celestia, “starved yourself so that I would have a little more energy…No, I would never let you do that to yourself. I have done what I did because it was necessary, and it is still necessary, so I shall endure as I have always done, till I can’t endure any longer.”

“…No.”

Celestia stared at her mate as she got out of the water; the larger mare moving over to her and staring down at her, for she was easily a head taller than her mate, if not more. “I shall not stand by while you waste away like this, not after the centuries I spent alone waiting for one such as you to appear. You are going to show your sister what has happened to you, for if you are willing to hide this from me, I know you would be willing to hide this from her. After you show her what has happened to you, you will then take a leave of absence to recover your lost strength, where upon you will surrender yourself to my care till I deem you to be fully restored, am I clear!”

Celestia nodded her head quickly, feeling like a small foal who was being scolded by her mother, though knowing better about why her mate was doing what she was doing. “I…I guess you’ll want me to go now then?”

Anthra nodded, and then cast her magic, drying them both off before sending her mare out the door, sighing as it closed before turning back to the room at large. “Hm, now what to prepare for dinner?”

Luna waited patiently on the balcony where she and Celestia moved their charges, having received a letter telling her to wait there. She was a bit annoyed by the letter, for it had arrived when she was in the middle of talking to Twilight Sparkle, for the young mare was proving a difficult one to deal with when it came to following her orders, especially seeing as how her first order had been to bind her own brother.

She understood why she was resistant to her command, after all the bonds between siblings were strong, especially those between a brother and a sister. But those bonds could be cut, and Twilight needed to learn that even her own blood could betray her…as Luna herself had betrayed her sister, long ago.

She was brought out of her dark thoughts by the sound of a pony clearing their throat behind her, smiling in recognition but not turning around as she spoke. “I hope this was important sister, I was hoping to get started on Twilight’s lessons today, for she has a lot to learn.”

“It’s very important dear sister,” said Celestia behind her, her voice sounding so tired it sounded like she would pass out any moment.

This caused Luna to become concerned, so she finally turned, her eyes widening in shock as she got sight of her sister. “Celestia, dear sister what has happened to you, you look so…so…”

“Old?” asked Celestia with a sad grin, her wrinkled face showing more mirth in it then the mask she had been wearing since her sister had been banished. “I suppose I do dear sister, and as to what has happened to me, well…I guess you finally get to say I told you so.”

“What do you…?”

“You remember the day after you were returned to me, when you kept hounding for the answer as to how I could have survived a thousand years moving your moon unscathed.”

“I remember yes, and I also remember I…I never really believed you when you said you were fine.”

Celestia nodded, “well you were right to believe that, for I didn’t escape unscathed. As you can see, the magic of both the sun and the moon has worn on me, sapping at my strength and hampering the anti-aging effects all alicorns live with, causing me to slowly age. I have used many an illusion to mask this, but my mate says it’s…it’s time I take a break, but I don’t think I…”

“Sister stop!” said Luna, causing her sister to pause as she continued. “I know that ever since Mother and Father left us you have felt that you needed to take on all the responsibilities they left behind, but you need to let it go, you are not the only alicorn in the kingdom sister. I am just as capable of ruling the kingdom as you, even more so now, due to the fact that my strength is still at its most potent. As your fellow princess, I am enacting the right of substitution, which requires you surrender all your duties and responsibilities to me till such time as you are fit to have them returned.”

Celestia looked at her a moment, and then smiled brightly, walking over to her sister and hugging her as tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you sister mine, it means a lot to me that you are willing to do this, an awful lot.”

Luna nodded, then back up, smiling at her sister as she spoke. “We better get to work on what needs to be done; after all, it takes a lot of paperwork for either of us to have a vacation. But first, let’s get that disguise back on; we can’t have our dear ponies seeing you in such a state, not till its time.”

Twilight and the element bearers stood on the great balcony overlooking Canterlot city, their presence there being a request of Twilight’s former mentor Celestia, who apparently had something very important to announce to the ponies of Equestria.

After waiting a few minutes, the princesses finally appeared, Luna dressed in her regalia as always, and Celestia, much to the shock of her former student, had left her own regalia behind.

“Citizens of Equestria, I know you must be all wondering why it is I have called you all here for, as well as to the reason why I do not wear my regalia this day. The reason for both are one in the same, for as of today, I am temporarily stepping down as co-ruler for Equestria.”

Many of the citizens began to cry out, only to stop when she lifted a hoof for silence. “I know this must come as a shock to you all, but I have my reasons for doing so, reasons I have been hiding from all of you for over a thousand years. I know my words will never convince you of my need for this…departure, so I shall simply show you why.”

There was a bright flash of life, and then everypony gasped, for instead of their regal sovereign, they were greeted with the sight of an old and worn out looking alicorn.

“As you can now see,” said Celestia, her voice sounding tired like she had not slept in days. “The thousand years I ruled alone have taken far greater a toll then I was willing to tell you, but fear not, for I can recover. However, to recover from this, I must relinquish my responsibilities, so by the right of substitution, I now pass all my responsibilities over to my sister Luna, who will act as sole ruler of the land till I return.”

She then backed away from the edge of the balcony, allowing her sister to begin swaying the crowd, heading over to where her former student stood shock still, unable to find a voice.

“You know Twilight you could give Discord a run for his money in being statuesque.”

“Princess…wha…what’s…”

Celestia stayed her with a smile, “nothing that you could have fixed my dear student, though I know you would have tried. If you do seek to help however, then I would ask if I and my mate could stay at your castle for a time, for Luna believes it would be good for me to spend my rest away from the castle…away from the temptation of duty.”

Twilight stared dumbly at her for a long moment, then nodded her head, the princess leaning down to nuzzle her in gratitude before taking off, leaving them all in silence till Pinkie burst out.

“OMG, I’m going to have to throw a “hope you enjoy your get well vacation” party for Celestia, quick, end the chapter NOW!!!”

*Roll Credits*

Author's Notes:

Here we are with the next chapter, where in we find out the true reason Celestia has been pitting her student and the elements against the various enemies of the land. Next chapter we will be rewinding the clock a bit, taking a peak into the first confrontation Twilight and Luna have as student and teacher, as well as Twilight's confrontation with Shining armor, before heading back to present day to see how the young mare is dealing with the fact her mentor has been hiding such a big secret all these years.

As always guys I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, you all know I love hearing from you guys.

(P.S. A description of Anthra will be coming later, but for now I'll let your minds wonder as to what she might look like.)

Chapter Fifteen: A Truly Painful Night

Twilight was waiting in her throne room, her mind going over several responses to use when her impending guest arrived, for she was extremely mad at her at the moment. Princess Luna had just sent her a letter, which said because Shining Armor was a class five unicorn; he was too dangerous to move without his magic being binding, rending him magic-less. As if the idea of her brother no longer being able to perform magic wasn’t bad enough, Luna had said it was her job to bind him, seeing as how she was one of the ones who let him run loose.

Twilight had of course sent a letter back saying she refused to do such a thing, after all he was her brother, so she would have problems using such spells against him. Luna had sent back a reply very quickly, saying that she would be arriving shortly to discuss the issue in person, so now Twilight waited.

She luckily didn’t have to wait long, for Luna appeared in her throne room, stars shimmering around her as her teleportation spell ended and she leveled a glare at Twilight. “You have some nerve young Twilight, considering the words you chose to add in your letter, I would have thought that Celestia would have taught you better.”

“She did, but she also taught me to treat the bonds I hold dear sacred, and to never besmirch those bonds with acts of utter treachery like you are suggesting I do.”

Luna looked at her a moment, then sighed heavily, “Is that really what you think I am asking you to do?”

“Of course it is,” snapped Twilight, “Binding a unicorn's magic is in essence stripping them of everything that makes them who they are. For you to ask me to do this to him is like asking me to cut off his horn, and that is something I would never do, no matter what he did.”

“Then tell me my student,” said Luna as she moved closer, putting great emphasis on her last two words as she stopped right in front of the young alicorn. “Would you consider what my sister did to me over a thousand years ago a betrayal as well?”

Twilight sputtered, “What, of course I don’t, she was only doing…”

“…What was necessary to protect the kingdom,” finished Luna, “and I agree, for it was at the time. Now however you are faced with a similar choice, and yet you refuse to do what is necessary to protect your ponies.”

“Because this isn’t the same,” said Twilight defiantly.

“Isn’t it?” asked Luna, “I was consumed by my jealousy which poisoned my mind, and I sot to plunge the entire nation into eternal darkness because of it. Your brother had his inhibitions removed by a powerful poison, which caused him to kill innocent creatures, including foals, and endanger the lives of two kingdoms, yours and mine. He has shown himself to be a legitimate threat to Equestria as a hole, but when you were presented with this fact, you ignored it and pardoned him, forcing us into this situation. His magic must be bound, and you as the one who spared him must be the one to do it.”

“But why?” asked Twilight, “why does it have to be me that binds his magic, why can’t it be you…or Celestia?”

“Because Twilight,” said Luna, “the public of Equestria knows it was you who pardoned your brother for his earlier crimes, which has not gone over well with them. They view your rule as compromised, for this act has made it seem that you will turn a blind eye to what those you care about do, even when the commit such heinous acts. If either I or my sister bind him, it will seem like we are covering up your mistakes, as well as our failing in choosing a new princess to help us rule. However if you bind him, it will show those who doubt you that while you may extend kindness to those who you care about, you will not hesitate to punish those who abuse such kindness swiftly and justly.”

Twilight made to comment, only to pause as a scroll appeared in front of Luna, the lunar mare grabbing it in her magic and reading it, only to grumble as she turned to leave. “I am sorry my student, but it seems I will have to leave, for my sister has requested my presence in the palace. However, I will shall return tomorrow, and when I do, his magic better be bound, or I shall bind it myself, and then let the ponies know how unwilling you were to act, good day.”

Later that afternoon, Twilight found herself flying around the outskirts of Ponyville, as she often did these days whenever her mind was troubled. Rainbow dash had been the first one to suggest it to her, for the mare had noticed how stressed she was since her coronation, telling her that a good fly always calmed down the nerves of any pegasi.

Twilight had been skeptical at first, but after flying around town for a bit, she found that all her worries just melted away, calmed by the air flowing around her.

As she flew, she spotted a familiar shape lying upon a cloud, flying over to land and then greet her friend, “Hey Rainbow.”

Rainbow lifted her head off the cloud, the obvious sign of tears etched on her face as her puffy read eyes stared up at her friend, “Hello Twilight.”

Twilight plopped down next to her friend, lifting a wing invitingly and smiling when Rainbow nestled herself underneath it, before speaking again. “How are you feeling Rainbow?”

“Tired,” said the spectrum manned mare, “…and mad…”

“Why?”

“Cause I messed up,” said Rainbow, her head lying on the cloud as she kept talking. “I took what that…what Teacher was offering without listening to her warnings, and it cost me…it cost me more then you could ever imagine.”

Twilight stared down at her friend for a moment, her mind wondering what she should do now. She really wanted to figure out what to do about Shining, but she also saw that her friend needed her now, so with a heavy sigh she spoke. “Well believe it or not, I do have an idea what you’re going through.”

Rainbow snorted, “Twilight, I know you’re a princess now, but that doesn’t mean you have to come off all sage like to make me feel better.”

Twilight simply shook her head, “I’m not acting sage like to make you feel better Dash, I’m saying I have gone through a similar loss as you, for I was bonded to a creature much like you were bonded to Teacher when I was really young.”

Rainbow gave her a confused look, which prompted Twilight to continue. “I know that must be confusing to hear, but before I explain, I want to ask you a question. Out of all the unicorns you have ever met, how many have you ever seen that own pets?”

Rainbow thought about it for a moment, her face becoming puzzled as she realized one simple fact. “Barely any now that I think about it, hell in Ponyville pretty much you and Rarity are the only ones I see with pets, even Lyra doesn’t have one.”

Twilight nodded, “that’s because we…well unicorns can’t really take on pets the same way other ponies can, for it comes with a lot of responsibilities normal ponies don’t have to deal with.”

“Like what?” said Rainbow.

“Well,” began Twilight, “when we unicorns take on a pet, we…impart a bit of our magic onto them, giving them a part of ourselves and in exchange receiving a part of them as well. Because of this, these…familiars as they are called, take on certain aspects which we deny ourselves, and thus become better able to help…”

“Whoa whoa wait a minute,” said Rainbow, “what do you mean take on certain aspects?”

Twilight grinned at that, “Rainbow, have you ever noticed how much Rarity pampers and spoils Opalescence, while rarely doing the same to herself?”

“Well yeah,” said Rainbow, “but I always thought that was normal for ponies who owned cats.”

Twilight giggled at that, “Actually no Rainbow, normal cat owners don’t treat their pets like that. You see Rarity herself wants to be spoiled and pampered like that, but being the element of generosity, she denies herself that on a regular basis, except for special occasions. Instead she projects those aspects of herself on Opal, which is not the most effective use of a familiar, but it does work.”

Twilight sighed then, “As for me, I have had three familiars in my life, two of which you know, and one you never met. That familiar was my first, a little ferret I called Mister Tibs, a silly name I know, but back then he was my oldest friend. I…I was about five when I found him, which isn’t the normal age for a unicorn to start seeking a familiar, but my parents could never deny me stuff I wanted, so I was allowed to keep him.”

“However, around my sixth birthday, the filly who lived next door found out I had a familiar, and she became extremely jealous of me, for she had been begging her parents for months, and to see me with one made her extremely upset. I…I usually let Mister Tibs out at night so that he could eat, and…and when I did, that filly was waiting, and she…she…”

Twilight couldn’t finish, but she didn’t need to, Rainbow giving her a comforting nuzzle before speaking. “She killed him…didn’t she?”

Twilight nodded, “yes, she did, and because of that I had to be rushed to the hospital due to magical damage.”

“Wait really, from your familiar dying?”

Twilight nodded again, “Yes Rainbow, and before you ask, when unicorns are young, they don’t have the mental fortitude to…to protect ourselves when a bond is made. This means that any kind of harm suffered by either party effects the other. This is one of the reasons unicorns aren’t usually allowed to own familiars so young. Because of this, I…I nearly died.”

Rainbows eyes widened, but Twilight continued, knowing she needed to speak. “I lucked out and lived, but the filly got severally punished for what she did, for killing a mages familiar is considered one of the highest crimes among unicorns. That is how I know what you’re feeling Rainbow, because I went through a similar experience when I was young, and it has stayed with me to this day.”

“Dam,” said Rainbow, looking at her friend with a newfound respect, then she laid her head down on the cloud again, watching as Twilight looking up at the sky before speaking again. “Hey Twilight, I…I know this is probably the last thing you want to be thinking about right now, but um…what are you planning to do about your brother?”

Twilight tensed at that question, of course Rainbow would have to ask just the question she was trying to avoid. “I…I don’t really know Rainbow, I mean Luna came by earlier and told me what I needed to do, but I…I really don’t want to do that to my own brother.”

“Do what?”

Twilight sighed, “Luna wants me to…to bind my brother’s magic.”

Rainbows eyes widened in shock at that, “really, she…she suggested you do that to your own brother?”

Twilight nodded, “yeah, but Rainbow, you react as though you know about it, and I was always told that only unicorns know about this…particular form of punishment.”

Rainbow looked hesitant, and then she sighed, looking away from Twilight as she spoke. “Guess I got a bit of a confession to make, I know about because my older sister had to have her magic bound.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, causing Rainbow to laugh as she spoke. “Yeah I know, Rainbow Dash has an older sister she never talked about, well that’s because I…I don’t like talking about her, because of what happened to her.”

“What happened?” asked Twilight.

Rainbow hesitated for a moment, then sighed, knowing that she could trust Twilight with what she was about to tell her. “My sister was a unicorn, a rare occurrence when both your parents are pegasi, and as such not many ponies expected her to have any magical talent. But as it turned out, she turned out to be the rarest of unicorn breeds, a class six.”

Twilight gasped in amazement, “A class six, but that’s the most powerful of unicorn breeds, just below the level of alicorns, your parents must have been excited.”

“We all were,” said Rainbow, “at least…at least till she had her surge, then everything went to Tartarus.”

Twilight looked confused for a moment, thinking about everything she knew about surges. Then something clicked in her mind, her eyes becoming sympathetic as she looked down at her friend. “She…she lost her mind, didn’t she?”

Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, the surge drove her crazy. She…she became violent, lashed out at every pony around her, even our parents. I was the only one who could keep her calm, but we all knew it could never work, so in the end we sent a letter to the princess to inform her that her new student had suffered a mental break, and would need to…need to be sent away elsewhere.”

At this point, Rainbow was sobbing, Twilight using her wing to rub her side to help calm her, allowing her to speak further. “She…she showed up personally, telling us she was sorry for what happened to her, and that if she could, she would make her better. Then she bound my sisters magic herself, and then escorted her to the Canterlot Insane Asylum, where she remains to this day.”

Twilight gave her a gentle squeeze in sympathy, “I’m sorry Rainbow, that must have been hard on you, and I hope they can figure out how to help her…someday.”

Rainbow nodded, and then remained silent for a moment, building up her courage before speaking up. “Twilight, I…I know you are probably not going to like me suggesting this, but I think it might be for the best if you bound your brother’s magic.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock at that, “What…Rainbow why would you say that, he’s my brother!”

“I know that Twi, but…but he isn’t right in the head right now, mostly because of that spell Chrysalis used on him. I know we didn’t really get to see him all that much, but I got a good feeling about the guy during our brief encounters, and the guy we have locked up right now is nothing like him, for Shining would never do what he did. That…that makes him dangerous Twi, and until he gets better, he needs to be made safe, so that nopony else gets hurt.”

Twilight paused, letting her friends words sink in as she turned to look back at the sky. As much as she loved her brother, Rainbow did bring up a valid point, one she couldn’t ignore. With his inhibitions gone, there was nothing holding Shining Armor back from using his magic to attack anypony he thought was in league with the changelings, whether they be civilian or not. There was also the fact that with him being a class five, he could cause some extreme collateral damage if he loosed the full brunt of his magic upon his targets, and something told Twilight that the only reason he hadn’t during the attack was because he hadn’t wanted to hurt her, and she knew now that last inhibition was probably cracked.

Twilight sighed, “You’re probably right Rainbow, I just…I just need to talk to my brother, just to be sure.”

Rainbow nodded, and then watched her friend fly off, laying back fully in the cloud and falling asleep, hoping that the morrow would bring a better day for her.

Twilight landed on the ground in front of the jail, the guards stationed their bowing to her as she walked in, letting her inside before closing the door and returning to their stations.

Once she made it inside, she was greeted by the sheriff, who informed her that Shining was refusing to eat anything brought to him by others, and asked her to bring him some food.

She did, and when she entered the room which held his cell, she was greeted by an enthusiastic Shining Armor.

“Twily!” said Shining, “I’m glad you’re here. Have you brought any food, I’m starving?”

Twilight nodded, passing him the food and watching him wolf it down, before he lifted his head with another smile and spoke. “Ok, so what’s our plan to get out of here?”

Twilight raised a quizzical eyebrow, causing Shining to speak more. “Twily, I know you did what you did because Chrysalis stole your powers, so you had to play as her puppet. Now I know with your powers are probably still in Chrysalis’s hooves, but if we work together I think…”

“Captain Armor, I am not here to break you out of here.”

Shining looked confused, “What…but Twilight you don’t need to pretend anymore, if you can just let me out we can.”

“I said no Captain Armor,” said Twilight again, causing him to look even more confused.

“Tw…Twily, why do you keep calling that, I’m your brother.”

“In this instance you are not my brother Captain Armor,” said Twilight coldly, “for you have committed acts against both my kingdom and the kingdom of Princess Celestia, as well as the crime of attempted genocide of the changeling species. In doing so, you have not only wronged me and your former princesses, but your actions would have given us a pretty good case to lay siege to the crystal empire if it had not been for other underlying factors.”

She began pacing, her gaze never leaving Shining as she spoke to him. “You also attacked two bearers of the power of the tree of harmony, and made an attempt on the life of not one, but two ruling monarchs, one of which was under my protection!”

She then stopped, her glare softening finally as she spoke, her voice finally showing some mercy to the confused and hurt stallion. “But, because you were under magical influence, these crimes cannot be held fully against you. However, due to this magic still lingering inside you, the princesses…and myself; have deemed that you are too much of a danger to the ponies around you in your current state. So, after considering all the options, I…I am only left with one course of action.”

With that, she summoned a bag to her side, a bag with a particular symbol which Shining recognized instantly.

“Do you know what this, Captain armor?”

“That…that’s a bag of silver…but why…?”

Twilight nodded, “good, and do you know its primary purpose?”

Shining thought about it for a long moment, then his eyes widened in horror as he began to back away, “No…Twily you can’t…!”

“I’m sorry Captain Armor,” said Twilight somberly, a single tear sliding down her face as she spoke. “I know this is the last thing you want, but for the good of Equestria as a whole, I…I must bind your magic.”

She teleported within the cell, walking across the familiar runes which kept her brothers magic in check, and slowly moving close to him before using her magic to render him still. He was still able to talk, and while he pleaded for her to stop, she slowly opened the little drawstring bag and emptied the silver dust into the air, letting it collect into a thick cloud, before moving the cloud over shining’s head and beginning to work.

Binding a unicorn’s magic was a dangerous task; one wrong move, and the silver that the Twilight was manipulating could be irreversibly merged with Shining’s horn forever, making it so that he would never be able to cast a single spell again. The key to binding was that the silver needed to be layered within the groove of a unicorn’s horn, and infuse it with the proper spells so that, when the time was right, Twilight would be able to simply touch it with her magic and it would dissolve, returning her brothers magic to her.

As for why the binding ritual itself called for silver and not any other metal, the reason was quite simple. Silver negated any and all magic near it, thus it was the perfect metal to help bind a unicorns magic, for it rendered a unicorn’s horn inert while it was in place.

After only an hour of work, Twilight finally pulled away from her brother, trying not to stare at the look of abject horror etched across his face and instead focusing on his horn, looking at how she had done. Like the books had told her, the silver now lining her brothers horn had taken on the color of her coat, and as if to add insult to injury, bellow the base of his horn was a miniature replica of her cutie mark, which marked her as the only one who would ever be able to break the binding spell.

Finally, she could look no longer, turning her face away as she choked out an apology. “I…I’m sorry Shinny, but…but this needed to be done…I…I hope you can forgive me one day, till then…goodbye…”

And with that she left, leaving behind nothing but strangled sobs and a trail of tears, all the while Shining stood still, his mind unable to accept what had happened just now, even though another part, a part that had long been silent, simply stated one sentence.

“…maybe…maybe I was…”

Author's Notes:

Note: This Chapter happens around the same time as the last, next chapter will be set in a few days after though I promise.

Well, looks like Twilight isn't the only one who has a habit for hiding family members from her friends, though in this case hopefully I did well. A lot went down in this chapter, from ritual magical binding, to an on familiars. As always, I hope you guys like the chapter, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them on by, I would love to hear them.

Another Note: I may come back and change up how the scene where Twilight confronts Shining, in all honesty, I got tired of being stuck on this chapter and whipped this up out of nowhere, so it most likely isn't my best work, hopefully the next few chapters will be far better.

Chapter Sixteen: Painful and Mysterious Revelations

It had been several days since Celestia’s announcement that she was stepping down for a while, and several days since Luna’s full and complete takeover of her duties, much to the younger princess’s delight. Since then, Celestia and her mate Anthra had been living in Twilight’s palace, happily enjoying her rest in her mates company.

However, while Twilight was extremely happy that Celestia was staying with her, it did come with one major down side, one she had not expected.

Celestia and her lover Anthra were fucking loud.

Twilight kind of got it; after all, they had not been able to just enjoy each other’s company for a long time. However, she had neither expected, nor did she approve of the volume that those two expressed themselves when they would make love.

“You have to admit though,” said a voice in Twilight’s head as she paced back and forth, “it is kinda funny considering the situation you now find yourself in.”

She grudgingly admitted her inner voice was right, looking over to see both Celestia and her mate Anthra sitting on her couch, awaiting a firm scolding.

The humor of the moment driven home by the mare sitting next to Celestia, who was easily taller than her by at least a head; if not more. She was covered in thick black fur, and her main and tail were the color of fine red silk, accentuated her blue eyes quite nicely, as well as the blue chitinous sections which covered her belly and wings.

“Ok,” said Twilight as she fell into lecture mode, “While I am happy you both are going to be staying with me, it seems we need to set some ground rules so that we have no more…incidents…during your stay. Now I can understand that you both might be needy after such a long separation, but that does not excuse the common curtesy of keeping it in the bedroom, let alone making sure said bedroom is soundproofed, for I have no doubt your last outburst reached all the way to Appleloosa, maybe even farther.”

Both mares blushed, which caused Twilight to smirk. “I get it, really I do, but you have to be more careful in the future. Spike is still a young dragon, and while he is much older then he used to be, I still have yet to give him the talk, though I will be doing that in the future considering the questions he has been asking. You also have to be careful because I am going to be having a baby sometime in the future, and I don’t want you traumatizing her with your…activities.”

Again they both blush, and again Twilight grinned, for she had to admit, this felt good. The reason for this feeling was that after she had gave the go ahead for Celestia to live with her, Luna had pulled her aside, telling her that she needed to use this instance as another step in her training as a princess. She said as an alicorn, you inevitably have to play host to a leader who is either outcast, taking a break, or retired, and sometimes you have to house them in your own palace.

That being said, sometimes said leader would still have habits they would fall back on, and it was the job of the ruler they were staying with to keep them from falling back on those habits, and in the case of Celestia…she had many habits as a ruler which needed to be curtailed. Thus, Twilight had to assert herself as the ruler of this castle, and thus she needed to set ground rules whenever Celestia started getting out of hoof.

“Never thought it be over something like this though,” thought Twilight wryly, only to shake her head as she looked at her former mentor. “So as punishment for disturbing my studies, you Celestia will be confined to your quarters for the remainder of the day, so that you can get some much needed rest. As for you Anthra, you will be staying with me to help me with my studies on your species, that way I can make sure all Celestia does for the day is rest.”

“But Twilight…”

“Furthermore,” said Twilight quickly, keeping her mentor from sending counter arguments. “I am go to be assigning one of my changeling guards to keeping an eye on you, to make sure you are not trying to return to your duties, as Anthra informed me you have been trying of late.”

Celestia glared at her mate, “Anthra, why did you tell her?”

“Because love, you do tend to get obsessed with the affairs of state, which is why I was being so…distracting and insisting, but I concede that maybe I was a bit too intense. So, I shall leave with Twilight, for I do think I can reveal to her many things about my race which simple texts could never reveal.”

They both left, leaving Celestia alone, who signed as she looked around her room before speaking. “Great, now what the hell am I going to do?”

“So Twilight, what do you wish to ask.”

Both Twilight and Anthra were sitting in Twilight’s personal study, a room filled with many books and other equipment necessary for Twilight’s pursuits. Currently, Twilight was making them both tea, which she found kinda odd, for Anthra took the same tea that Celestia always did.

“You know doubt noticed me and my mate share the same taste in tea?”

“And they apparently also share the ability to read minds,” thought Twilight, before moving back to the table and serving the tea. “Actually yes I was; it just struck me as odd that you would like the exact same tea as my old teacher.”

“It should not be so surprising,” said Anthra with a kind smile. “After all, it was I who got Celestia into tea, for she originally hated it.”

Twilight scoffed as she raised a skeptical eyebrow, “Now that I find hard to believe.”

“Often the greatest truths are the hardest to believe,” said Anthra with the air of age, “Or so my long life has taught me.”

Twilight nodded, “which leads me to my first question, how old are you?”

Anthra took time to sip at her tea, letting time sit for a while before speaking. “That is a question I had honestly hoped we could save for a much later date, for the answer to it…carries with it a kind of gravity which I did not wish to reveal at this time.”

Twilight made to speak, only to find Anthra’s hoof against her muzzle, the soft texture of her frog tickling Twilight’s nose as the changeling spoke instead. “That is not saying I will not answer, I just want you to be aware that this answer will be a heavy one.”

She removed her hoof, and then smiled sweetly before speaking once more. “To tell you the truth Twilight, I have no idea how old I am, for I was the first changeling ever to exist, and lost count of my around the same time ponies started building the first civilizations.”

Twilight could practically feel her jaw hit the floor at this revelation, “You…you’re the first changeling, how!?”

Anthra chuckled, getting a little more comfortable before continuing with her answer. “Well a lot of changeling legends may claim one creation myth or another, as you know doubt have found out during your studies, but they all agree on one thing. We can genetically trace our roots back to a creature which hailed from Tartarus, a creature you ponies dub a Succubus. There are many legends on how we…came to be created, but only one ever came close to the truth.”

That got Twilight’s attention, “and which legend was that?”

“Well,” started Anthra, “the legend goes that after the ponies drove the succubi back down into the depths of Tartarus, a young mare stumbled upon one of their eggs out in the woods. It had been abandoned by its mother, left to die unless it was found by another. But this mare was kind and caring toward all living things, and so she used her magic, and took the egg within herself. The legend then states that the egg changed within her, changing into the first changeling queen, aka me.”

Anthra took another sip of tea, and then set it down, smiling a bit as she let her mind drift down her memories. “That one almost got everything right, except for one crucial fact, the mare behind the legend.”

“Really, does that mean she was somepony more important than the legends say?”

“Indeed, for my mother was the one who created our entire world.”

She let the information sink in, then watched with amusement as the younger mares eyes widened in utter shock. “Wait, you’re saying your mother is…?”

“Faust,” stated Anthra matter of factly, “she indeed was, how very perceptive of you.”

“But why,” asked Twilight in exasperation, “I mean she had to have known what kind of egg she was taking into herself.”

“Of course she did,” said Anthra plainly, “but my mother was always carrying to a fault, and would not let me die so early in life despite what I may…have become.”

They both sat in silence for a long moment after that, the younger due to the many questions circling through her mind, and the older thinking back to the days of her youth. Eventually though the silence was broken, broken by Twilight clearing her throat as she looked at the much older mare, “Um, would it be ok if I asked more questions?”

“Of course my dear,” Said Anthra sweetly, “what would you like to know?”

Luna landed upon the balcony of her sister’s new room, finding her older sister lazing about the room, which brought a smile to her face. “Well sister, it’s good to see you are taking your vacation seriously.”

“Not for lack of trying,” said Celestia with a tired grin, pointing toward the doorway where Luna could see Spikes tail disappearing. “Twilight told Spike to make sure I don’t do any government work, and it is driving me fucking mad!”

“Oh, what exactly is he doing?”

Celestia snorted, “He conducted a thorough search of my room and sent all the government books I snuck out back to Canterlot, and he cut me off from all forms of magical communication, save for you, Twilight, and Cadance.”

Luna chuckled, “That is good, I was worried that Twilight would not be able to do as I asked.”

Celestia leveled a glare at her, “So you’re the one behind Twilight keeping me away from my work?”

“Of course,” said Luna simply, “after all you did tell me I had to teach her how to be a princess.”

“And how does my student keeping me from my duties factor into her learning how to be a princess?”

“Law three hundred and seven, sub section three, when housing banished, retired, or visiting dignitaries, you must do all to make sure they have a relaxing experience within your walls, and that includes making sure they do not engage in affairs of state under your care.”

Celestia thought about it a moment, then shook her head, “I knew that law would come back to bite me in the ass.”

Luna gave her a toothy grin, and then sat down, waiting a moment before speaking again. “So, what do you think Anthra is telling Twilight?”

“Oh she’s probably telling her about Faust, you know how she likes to get that fact out of the way once she’s asked how old she is, and Twilight has no doubt asked how old she is.”

Luna nodded, “Let’s just hope she doesn’t give her too much information, after all even I had my information limit when it came to your mate’s past.”

“Um…Anthra, can I ask you something um...more personal?”

The changeling turned to look at the young alicorn, sipping her tea a bit before speaking. “Of course, I have nothing to hide from you.”

“Well,” started Twilight, “I was wondering, whenever I…I mention the pony known as Clover the Clever you seem to…well you seem to cringe, and I was wondering why that was.”

For a long time, Anthra simply remained silent; the question Twilight had asked hanging in the air till she finally sighed in defeat. “That is complicated, but I guess you should know, as it is unlikely you have never heard of her. I took her into my confidence long ago, and even let her court my firstborn, who had fallen for her. But Clover…she ended up betraying me, for when I called upon my daughters to help me in my battle with Discord…my firstborn never answered my call.”

Twilight could see the pain etched in the older mares face, but she kept silent, knowing that Anthra wasn’t finished. “I discovered later, after I had settled in to my new life with Celestia; that Clover had absconded with my daughter into parts unknown on the eve of battle, preventing us from using our full power against Discord, and I have not seen either of them since that day.”

Twilight got up, patting her on the back and giving her a small wing hug. “I’m sorry, I had no idea…did you ever find out why?”

Anthra shook her head, “no, and I care not to, for they are most likely dead and gone.”

She sighed once more, and then turned away from the younger mare, looking out the window before speaking. “Twilight, what is your relationship with my granddaughter?”

Twilight spat out the tea she was drinking, staring toward the changeling as she spluttered out a response, “what do you mean by that?”

“I wanted to know how close you are to her, and if you have been having certain thoughts about her in recent times.”

Twilight simply stared at her, and then turned away, blushing a bit as she spoke. “Well…well yes, but I…”

“I see,” said Anthra with a knowing grin, “just as I thought, she has already imprinted on you.”

Twilight looked even more confused, but before she could speak Anthra stayed her, smiling sweetly before speaking. “It is nothing to worry about Twilight, it is something that happens to those who are granted the privilege of carrying one of the queens, though if you wouldn’t mind telling me, how far along have these thoughts about her progressed?”

Twilight blushed harder, keeping her face turned away till finally she squeaked out an answer, “pre…pretty far.”

“Touching?”

Twilight nodded.

“Kissing?”

Twilight nodded again.

“More?”

Twilight hesitated a bit, and then nodded once more.

“I see,” said Anthra, “…you should tell her you know.”

“I…I can’t,” said Twilight hesitantly.

“And why is that?”

“BECAUSE OF WHAT SHE DID TO ME!” yelled Twilight as she sprang to her hooves, beginning to pace around the room as she kept on speaking. “She turned everypony I loved, every single pony I cared about against me! I know it wasn’t really her fault, but now I got all these feelings burning inside of me for her, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”

Anthra quickly got up, her large wings stretching forth and wrapping Twilight up, pulling her into a hug and nuzzling her gently. “I understand, Celestia and I had similar problems, but we overcame them. And as for Chrysalis, you should not worry, she is a beautiful mare, and deserves to be loved like any other.”

“But how can I love her,” Twilight choked out, “I…I have held this resentment for her for so long, how am I supposed to let that go and love her like a mare?”

“You will find away,” said Anthra simply, “just as love does.”

Anthra then got up, turning to leave before speaking, “I shall be going now, for you have a lot to think about, and it is best thought of in private. When you are ready once more, I will be available for more questions, but till then, think long on what I said, and if you are still in doubt, look to your friends for the answer.”

She then left the room, leaving Twilight to ponder, and to hopefully work out her new found feelings for the mare sharing her new responsibility.

Author's Notes:

Few, that was a long chapter to write, and the next one will probably be even longer, what with Twilight confronting her feelings over the former changeling queen, as well as how her friends are going to react to this news when she goes asking for advice. Anyways, this chapter cover a lot, and before anybody gripes about it, both Faust being Anthra's mother and the incident with Clover the Clever were planned all the way back since chapter two, so this is not spur of the moment filler, and likely Faust will only ever get mentioned in this fic, for I have no plans of her ever showing up, ever.

As always, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, you all know I love hearing from you guys

Chapter Seventeen: A Dose of Needed Resolution

Twilight glided slowly through the air toward Fluttershy’s cottage, her mind abuzz with what Anthra had forced her to accept. She was falling for Chrysalis, and she had no idea what to do about it, for how was she supposed to be able to love a mare she had despised for so long.

Now yes, it could be said that her opinion of the mare had changed over the time she had been spending with her, but there had always been that lingering doubt, that tiny bit of her that screamed that this was all some sort of very, very elaborate ploy by the changeling queen to hurt her once more.

She gritted her teethe angrily, wondering why such things always had to happen to her. First becoming Celestia’s student, then battle Nightmare Moon, then Discord, then Chrysalis, then Sombra, and finally fucking Tirek. And of course things couldn’t just settle down after that, no no she had to find out she was pregnant with a changeling queen, given to her by her worst enemy!

She landed on the little bridge which led to Fluttershy’s house, looking up just in time to see Chrysalis walking out of the door, and then one of her own chameleon guards peeked her head out the door, smiling at the queen before bidding her good day and heading back into the house.

She began walking again, her teeth grinding a bit more as she approached the changeling queen, who had spotted her and was now walking toward her with a warm smile. “Why Twilight, it’s lovely to see you…”

“What are you doing here?” asked Twilight angrily, her voice dripping with cold as she glared at the queen.

“Um…” said Chrysalis uncertainly, “I was here talking to Fluttershy. She had some questions regarding…well regarding something important, but she asked me not to tell.”

“I see,” said Twilight, “and you’re sure that’s all you were doing, you weren’t like, planting certain emotions within her head were you.”

That got a glare from Chrysalis, “I would never do that to somepony.”

“Oh really, then I suppose what you did to me was just a happy accident hm?”

Chrysalis looked confused for a moment, and then it suddenly hit her, “She told you?”

“Yeah she did,” said Twilight venomously, “which begs the question of why you decided to withhold that information.”

“I was afraid to tell you.”

“And why was that?” said Twilight venomously, “could it be that you were worried I would find out you were trying to brain wash me!”

“I wasn’t trying to brain wash you!” said Chrysalis, “it was an accident.”

“Oh sure, and what you did to my brother was also an accident yes?”

“You know it was,” said Chrysalis, “unless you think this entire thing was some overly elaborate ploy to get behind enemy lines?”

“Well I wouldn’t put it past you,” spat Twilight.

“Oh that is rich,” said Chrysalis snidely, “and I suppose you think I managed to round up two other queens out of the blue, kill off the majority of my own children, and somehow brainwash Princess Celestia and Luna into thinking I was related to them.”

“It’s possible.”

Chrysalis laughed, actually laughed, “well now, I can finally see why you pardoned your brother after finding out he was murdering my children, for only a raving fool could come up with something so…”

She was interrupted by a burst of Twilight’s magic hitting her in the face, causing her to growl as she glared at the young alicorn, “Try that again.”

Twilight did, but Chrysalis acted fast, dispelling her blast and then disappearing, reappearing next to her and grabbing her by the back of the neck, before lifting her up and throwing her into the trees beyond.

Twilight picked herself up, only to find Chrysalis had appeared right in front of her, causing her to leap out of the way just in time to avoid a vicious backhoof.

Chrysalis didn’t wait for Twilight to land back on her hooves, instead opting to cast a rune, which went off right when Twilight touched ground, flinging Twilight back into the air. Twilight managed to write herself, watching as Chrysalis flung herself at her before blasting her with a ray of magic, which Chrysalis dispelled before her eyes glowed, causing the trees around them to begin attacking Twilight.

Twilight cast a dispel enchantment of her own, causing the trees to become still again, but didn’t attack again, instead looking at Chrysalis before speaking. “Why?”

Chrysalis looked confused, so Twilight continued. “None of those attacks were aimed to harm me, just keep me off my hooves and distracted, and I want to know why?”

“Because I wanted you to calm down and think for a moment, because I was pretty sure you weren’t thinking at all earlier.”

“Of course I wasn’t, I was angry at you because I found out you were fucking brainwashing me to love you!”

“IMPRINTING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LOVE!!!”

Twilight stared at her in shock, “what, but then why do I keep feeling these urges for you, it’s like I’m being driven to love you.”

Chrysalis shook her head, “but you are not, otherwise you would not be feeling this rage toward me, that’s not how love magic works.”

“And how would you know anything about love magic?”

Chrysalis smirked, “I feed on it every day, and thus take in the understanding of it.”

Twilight hesitated a moment, then sighed in defeat, sitting down as she stared at the changeling queen. “Ok, but if this isn’t love I am feeling, then what is it?”

“Quite simply,” said Chrysalis with another smirk, “you are lusting for me.”

Twilight looked confused, so Chrysalis went to explain. “Imprinting, as we changelings call it, is something we believe is a leftover ability the first changeling retained when she was changed from succubus into a changeling. It as an instinctual ability, one which we suspect was used by them to make their prey more susceptible to their power.”

Twilight looked even more confused, “Ok I get that, but that still doesn't explain why didn’t you tell me, for you must have noticed how I was beginning to feel towards you.”

“I did indeed,” said Chrysalis, “but the reason why I didn’t tell you was…well…it was because I was embarrassed.”

Twilight lifted a skeptical eyebrow, which prompted Chrysalis to speak. “You must understand, every changeling from birth is taught to repress this ability, to keep in check to make sure we don’t cause those around us to begin lusting for us willy-nilly. It takes a lot of self-control to keep it this power in check, and for a changeling, especially a queen, to let it slip for even a moment, is considered and looked upon by others as a mark of shame, and I am sorry it had to be you who was the target of my first slip up.”

Chrysalis then moved forward, her horn lighting up and encompassing Twilight’s head before she could react, the changeling closing her eyes for a moment before ending the spell. “There, the imprint should be removed now, and once more I am sorry.”

Chrysalis then turned and began to leave, leaving a very confused and less lusting Twilight. And as the mare watched her go, she couldn’t help but smiled a bit, before bursting out into giggles which caused the changeling to turn back in confusion. “And what may I ask is so funny?”

“Its…” started Twilight, “it’s nothing, you just remind me of me when I would think I disappointed the princess.”

Chrysalis looked surprised, but then that surprise turned to shock when Twilight moved up and planted a kiss on her cheek, before pulling back and smirking a bit. “Don’t get me wrong, you still have a long way to go before you can gain my trust, but I am willing to give you a chance for our daughter’s sake.”

Chrysalis stared for a moment, and then nodded, watching as Twilight teleported away before turning to head back to the castle, only to stop as she heard something rustle in the bushes nearby.

She turned toward it, only to freeze in dread as it began to emerge from the foliage. First to show was a paw the size of a pony’s body, its large claws digging into the ground as the rest of the creature emerged. It was built like a dragon, and was easily three times her size, but it was covered from head to foot in thick chitin armor, and from its horse like head, eight eyes stared down at Chrysalis as it opened its mouth and spoke.

“My…queen…”

Author's Notes:

Not much to say, as always hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and stay tuned for the next one its likely to be a duzzy.

Chapter Eighteen: Visitors (Part One)

Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes. Not a few moments ago, she left Chrysalis in the forest to clear her head a bit, and not a moment later Chrysalis had appeared in her palace, brining with her a monster of a changeling like nothing she had ever seen.

It was built like a dragon, except it had six legs, eight eyes, and its wings were folder upon its back, providing it extra protection there. It had no lips, instead its teeth were exposed, all of them sharp which indicated they were made primarily for tearing into flesh.

The most disturbing thing about it though was its belly, which was swollen almost to the point of hindering the creatures movement, and which also was drawing the most concern from the changelings which were huddling around it. According to her new changeling advisor, the changeling before them was known as a praetorian, a changeling bred for protecting and transporting nymphs while their care takers or sires were away, and from what she said; this one was carrying many of them within its carrying pouch, and that they were in danger.

“Couldn’t we just cut her open?” asked one changeling called Siphon, her blue eyes scanning the pouch tentatively as another shook her head.

“No, that could damage the nymphs,” said the other changeling, who was named Wild. “We need a way to open her pouch without harming them, but with her barely holding onto consciousness, that is unlikely at best.”

Twilight tore her gaze away from the two debating changelings, turning instead to Chrysalis, who had the beasts head cradled in her lap, its breaths shallow as she spoke to it. “Canis, where have you been, I thought you dead?”

“You…you told us to protect,” said Canis, one of its middle paws rubbing its distended belly as it struggled to speak further. “So…so we protected…though we couldn’t save all of them…”

“You saved as many as you could, that is more than enough.”

“I am Praetorian,” said Canis simply, “it is never enough…”

Twilight looked on a bit more, then moved forward, moving till she was standing in front of Chrysalis before sitting down, coming into the sight of the praetorian.

The moment she entered her site her eyes widened, Canis reaching out a paw to her and placing it upon her chest. “You are queen mother, are you not?”

Twilight nodded, which made Canis smile, “then you can help me…please come closer.”

Curious, Twilight did as asked, moving so that she right beside it before it spoke once more. “Tou…touch your horn to my pouch…that…that should cause it to open, at least I think.”

“What do you mean, how would that work?”

“With the hive mind gone, none of my…sisters, nor my mother can connect with my mind and force my body to do what is required. But larvae growing inside you, the one connected to your magic, might be able to, if even by accident.”

Twilight nodded at that, then placed her horn to the changelings belly, watching in amazement as it glowed with magenta light before the sides opened up to reveal what was inside.

Crammed closely together inside Canis’s pouch were no less than thirty changeling nymphs, all of them shivering due to lack of popper temperature control, and some of them even beginning to cry as fresh air filled their lungs.

The changelings surrounding Canis leapt into action, grabbing the nymphs and spiriting them away down into the hive below the castle, to tend to them as only they knew best. When all was said and done, only two nymphs were left, which Canis pulled out of her pouch, allowing it to close and then shrink to its regular proportions. “Mothers that feels so much better.”

Twilight watched as she began cleaning the nymphs, and then got her attention so she could talk. “So, I’m just curious, how long have you been carrying these nymphs?”

“For over two weeks, which is the longest any Praetorian has gone carrying and nurturing nymphs. It’s risky, especially if you take on more than you can handle, as I did, for I have nowhere near the capacity to hold as many as I was.”

“I see, said Twilight, “but…now I’m curious. One of your fellow changelings gave me the cliff notes on what you are, but I was wondering if you could explain in more detail.”

The changeling nodded, using her middle paws to move the nymphs to her teats allowing them to suckle as she got comfortable. “Well, as you no doubt know, all changelings start out as Nymphs, and then progress to the drone stage when they reach maturity. After this, and if the changelings wish it, they can choose to become more…diverse versions of our species to better assist the hive. I chose to become a Praetorian, for they serve as protects of our invaluable young, and as such those seeking to become Praetorian are put through many vigorous tests.”

“If one is selected, they are reshaped, and then tasked with three sacred duties. The first is to care for and watch over the unclaimed nymphs birthed by the queen, making sure they are protected and cared for till they can be claimed by responsible caretakers. The second task is to care for nymphs who were sired by other changelings that are either orphaned, or whose parents are out in the field, ensuring that all nymphs are cared for on regular bases. And finally, the last task of all Praetorians is to move all nymphs to a safe location in the event that the hive comes under attack, as such, it is quite normal for a hive to have enough Praetorians to carry all the hives young to safety.”

Twilight looked surprised, for it meant that the changelings as a whole were a lot more complex than anypony had ever thought, something she kept discovering with each and every new bit of information gained on them.

“The queen wishes to speak with you by the way,” said Canis, causing Twilight to be jerked from her thoughts.”

“Huh, oh, what about?”

“I don’t know,” said Canis simply, “I could just tell by her body language she wanted to speak with you about something.”

Twilight hesitated for a moment, and then got up, moving out of the room and making her way down to the lower levels.

“Whoa…they certainly do work fast; this is nowhere near what I expected.”

Twilight was standing in the entrance hall of the changeling hive, and she was honestly surprised at what she saw. She had honestly expected something more…organic, with pulsating walls and bone like columns holding up the ceiling.

Instead, what she was presented with was something like out of one of her all-time favorite Sci-Fi books, Wrath of Kaa. Grass was growing everywhere, along with various plants and fungi, including the ones Twilight was expected to eat. Along the ceiling, crystals of various sizes and shapes could be seen, glowing bright pink, which indicated they were filled with love magic.

“And this is only the main hall,” thought Twilight in awe, “who knows what other rooms lie beyond.”

She quickly got a changelings attention, finding out Chrysalis was deep down browsing in the recently completed librarium. She made her way down, finding Chrysalis rather quickly and tapping her on the shoulder before speaking. “Hey, Canis said you had something you wanted to talk to me about, care to share?”

Chrysalis looked puzzled for a moment, and then smiled, “That lovely little changeling of mine, she could always read me best out of all of them. As to your question, after our little spat, and after tending to Canis for a bit, I decided to look through some of the newspapers and gossip magazines my changelings have gathered from Ponyville, and…and what I have found is rather troubling.”

Seeing Twilight’s confused look, she passed the current paper she was reading, Twilight grabbing it gingerly in her magic before beginning to read the first article.

The Equestrian Guard has suffered a heavy blow to both popularity and moral, after the shocking atrocities committed by Prince Shining Armor and his subordinates came to light.

“We had no idea we had let such an unstable soldier into our ranks,” comment former captain of the guard Broken Shield. “If we had known, we would have never let him into the guard.”

Many of the citizens are now calling for the excommunication of Shining Armor from the Crystal Empire to face charges for his crimes, despite a few rumors that he was not…

Twilight could read no more, throwing the article away before picking up another, but that proved to contain about the same as the last. In fact, the next ten or so articles and magazines proved to contain the same, if not worse, kind of articles, one even saying that Shining Armor had been killing the changelings to create a undead army that could disguise itself at will.

“How could the princess let this happen,” said Twilight as she let the last article drop from her magic.

“I am not sure, but it does lead me to a question I have wanted to ask you since I started reading these. Do you know any nobles who hold any sway over the equestrian media, because if you do, I would like to meet with them to see if we can fix this problem?”

Twilight thought about it a moment, then nodded her head, “I know of a few, and they should be willing to meet with you, I’ll arrange for them to be brought here tomorrow for a meeting.”

Chrysalis smiled at that, “thank you, I just hope I we can fix this entire mess. In the meantime, my mother has sent me a letter telling me Shining is progressing well in his treatment, and has asked if he could see you.”

“Really?” asked Twilight, receiving a nod and thinking about it for a moment. “Well, if she says he’s improved, I guess I better head over to the crystal empire. That will allow you to meet with these nobles alone, though if you need anything; get Spike to send me a letter straight away.”

Chrysalis nodded, but just as Twilight was turning to leave when a changeling burst into the room, heaving great breaths as it leaned against the door as it tried to calm down.

“Ruined Wish, what’s the matter?” asked Chrysalis.

“Her relatives are here,” said the changeling in fear, shaking from head to hoof as she kept trying to calm herself.

“Wait, mom and dad are here?” asked Twilight, moving over to the frightened changeling as it took in a breath.

“Grandparents to,” said Ruined, “and what smelled like your mother’s sister and her daughters as well.”

“Trixie’s here to,” said Twilight, drawing a confused look from Chrysalis as she explained. “She sent me a letter telling me we were related, and the reason for all her show boating was because her mother kept going on about her “perfect little niece,” which drover her crazy.”

“I see,” said Chrysalis, “well…I guess we will have to go up and talk to them then, after all…they should be told about your condition.”

Twilight nodded, but as they started making their way to the entrance of the hive, she couldn’t help but think one simple thought. “Oh man, my parents are going to kill me.”

Chapter Nineteen: Visitors (Part Two)

Twilight and Chrysalis made their way out of the hive and into the main room, heading toward the greeting room where Twilight was immediately tackled by a frantic Trixie.

“We came as soon as we got the news,” Trixie said as she hugged Twilight, “we just can’t believe our dear cousin Shining would do something like this.”

“Neither can we,” said Twilight’s mother, both of them looking concerned as Twilight managed to extract herself from her crying cousin.

“Well, I have an explanation for that, but I can assure you Shining didn’t do any of those things of his own free will, but before I explain, let’s head into the lounge.”

Everypony nodded, and then made their way into the nearby lounge; Chrysalis following slowly behind as a few glares were shot her way.

When they entered the lounge, everypony took a seat, but before Twilight could speak up she was interrupted by her grandfather. “Now dear, I ken ye probably have many things to tell us, but first I need to ask, who’s the father?”

The room seemed to freeze for a moment, and then Twilight’s mother turned to her. “Twilight, what the hell is grandpa…”

“I’m pregnant,” said Twilight instantly.

It took a few seconds, but then the room exploded into questions, till finally Night Light stood up to calm everypony down. “Everypony calm down a moment, now Twilight, what do you mean you are pregnant?”

Twilight sighed, “I found out recently that I was pregnant, two months pregnant in fact, and the reason I haven’t told any of you was cause…well, I’ve been busy, and because well…Chrysalis is the father of my foal.”

The silence in the room was defining, and then the entirety of Twilight’s family rounded on Chrysalis, who raised her hooves up to block any incoming assault. “I didn’t touch her I swear!”

“Then how is she pregnant!” growled Twilight’s father, his horn glowing menacingly as he stared at her.

“It’s…complicated,” said Chrysalis.

“Then start explaining before I decide to blast you.”

She immediately leapt into explaining, “Well…during the invasion of Canterlot, I…I was carrying an egg with me, inside a special carrying pouch all queens have. During my fight with Celestia, I…I accidentally teleported said egg within Twilight, and by the time my mind cleared up enough to realize what I had done, two months had passed, so it was too late to remove the egg from Twilight.”

“I see,” said Night Light, “and I can assume you are also behind our son’s behavior as well?”

“Y…yes, but that was an accident on my part, due to my starved mind.”

“Explain.”

She sighed, “Well, during my time impersonating Cadance, I had to use a…spell on your son, because even though I looked like Cadance, there were certain behaviors I couldn’t hide about myself which made him start to think I wasn’t Cadance.”

“Well my boy is smart, I should know, I taught him a thing or two,” said Night Light, before receiving a whack on the head by his wife. “I’m sorry, please continue.”

“Anyways, the magic I used is…forbidden by our kind, due to the fact that it leaves behind a magical poison which…makes ponies act upon certain thoughts or desires that they normally would not act on, and thus it caused Shining Armor to start…well start hunting my kind rather viciously, to the point where he attacked Twilight, thinking that she was under my control.”

Night Light nodded a bit, “I see, I hope you are doing something to fix all this, cause if this gets enough out of hoof ponies will start demanding that Cadance divorce him.”

“Their already demanding that, but I’m sure it won’t come to that,” said Twilight. “Chrysalis’s mother is already working on fixing Shining, and Chrysalis was getting ready to meet with ponies who hold influence over the news.”

“Ah, that’s good,” said Night Light.

After that everypony remained silent for a moment, and then Twilight Velvet turned toward her sister and spoke, “This is all your fault Andromeda.”

“And how is this my fault,” said Andromeda scathingly.

“Because of that damn fortune of yours,” said Velvet.

“Hey, all I said was that your children would know lives filled with responsibility, fantasy, and the bizarre. I never once said that your son would end up mind fucked by a starvation-crazed changeling, nor that my favorite niece would end up carrying a changeling queen in her belly…which leads me to ask, her birth won’t be messy will it?”

Chrysalis cringed, “Oh please, tell me you don’t believe in those stupid rumors that say changeling young burst forth from the chest of those we impregnate.”

“Well…maybe a little…hehe…”

Chrysalis facehooved, “heavens above, no, that is not how our young are born, they are born from eggs, or are born through natural birth in some cases.”

Andromeda sighed in relief, as did the rest of Twilight’s family, and then Velvet got a determined look as she got up. “Well dear, while the rest of the family catches up with Twilight, you and I need to have a talk.”

Chrysalis found herself in the palace kitchen with Twilight’s mother, the older mare taking instructions from the changeling cook as she mixed several different plants together into separate dishes, her magic a blur of color as she finally spoke.

“So, what are your intentions for my daughter?”

Chrysalis gulped at that question, beads of sweat sliding down her brow as she tried to form a response, “Well…you see I…”

“Cause if you don’t have any, I just don’t know what I might do to you,” said Velvet icily, the knife she was holding coming down with a menacing chop as it sliced one of the vegetables in half.

Chrysalis gulped again, “Well, I am interested in your daughter, but she has so far spurred my advances, do to my actions in the past.”

“I see,” said Velvet, “well that is understandable; after all you did cause my dear son a lot of hardship. But the fact of the matter is you got my daughter pregnant, and I expect you to take responsibility, especially seeing as how this child will be half changeling.”

Chrysalis nodded, “I know that, but it won’t be easy, after all I…I really know nothing about her that could help me woo her.”

Velvet smiled, “Well, that’s why I am going to help you. Cause that is your foal as well, and I can tell you will be a good match for my daughter despite what you have done, so I am going to tell you what I know about her, for what pony knows a filly better than her mother.”

“Oh these are the most adorable things I have ever seen!”

Twilight and the rest of her family were in the nursery section of the hive, Andromeda fawning over one of the nymphs which was being fed by Canis, who was acting as nurse mother for them.

“Where are their back legs though,” asked Night Light in concern, looking over one he was holding as she slept peacefully in his forelegs.

“Our back legs don’t start developing until we become one year old,” said Canis, “and they do not fully develop till we are three years old.”

“Hm, curious adaptation,” said Night Light, “any particular reason for this evolutionary path?”

“I’m sure Starswirl or Clover have it documented in one of the books or crystals the changelings gave me, and before you ask-“ said Twilight, feeling her father’s presence materialize by her side, “-they're in a chest in my room; one of the changelings can take you.”

Night Light nodded then left, causing Andromeda to giggle and Twilight to turn and look at her. “You definitely get your thirst for knowledge from your father, it’s no wonder the princess made him the grand librarian.”

“You sound almost envious of his position.”

Andromeda sighed, “Twilight, I know you will never get it…well, maybe you will after you outlive me, but my position as arch mage comes with many duties and responsibilities, and it also means I am going to live for a very long time, which I do not look forward to.”

“I can understand that,” said Twilight, “oh, Aunty Andromeda, can you do me a favor.”

“What is it dear?”

“Well-” started Twilight, “-I need to head to the Crystal Empire, because Shining wants to see me, could you tell Mom and Dad that I had to go, but I promise I’ll be back to talk with them more…as I assume you guys are planning to stay a while.”

Andromeda nodded her head, “I will, but before you go, make sure to talk to your cousin Sunset, for she said she had some urgent maters to discuss with you.”

Twilight sighed at that, “I figured; it’s never anything that can wait when it comes to the princess’s advisor.”

Twilight arrived at her throne room’s grand balcony, finding Sunset standing at the edge, her overly long mane draped over her back, almost reaching the base of her tail. When she stepped onto the balcony, Sunset turned around, smiling at Twilight as her right eye glowed as if by its own light, while her left eye was covered up by her mane.

Twilight knew the reason for this, for long ago, a beast of the Everfree had managed to get a nasty swipe on the left side of her face while she was protecting her sister Trixie, resulting in her losing her left eye. Instead of allowing mages to repair the damage, Sunset had said she liked it, for it was a constant reminder that even their peaceful world was still dark and full of terrors from time to time.

“Hello Princess Sparkle,” said Sunset simply.

“Sunset,” said Twilight with a laugh, “I thought we made a pact that no matter what positions we ever got, we would never call each other by our titles.”

Sunset hesitated for a moment, and then chuckled a bit, walking over and giving Twilight a hug, which caused her to snort with laughter as she got a face full of her mane. “Princesses Sunset will you ever trim your darn mane, I swear it gets wilder every time I see it.”

“You know I can’t do that,” said Sunset simply, “I gave my word to my master that I would never cut my mane or tail again, for you know it’s important for my magic.”

“I know, it’s just crazy, but anyways, what did you need to talk to me about?”

Sunset sighed, “Well as you know, with Celestia out of commission, I am essentially on extended vacation, fully paid of course. However, my princess’s last orders were to begin your training in the fine art of being a princess, and I intend to carry out that order till my princess returns to her throne.”

“I see,” said Twilight, “well what took you so long getting here, I honestly expected you hear a while ago.”

Sunsets smile turned downcast, “well…mom has been having visions again…bad ones.”

That got Twilight concerned, “about what, does it have to do with us…or the princesses?”

“She doesn’t know, all she sees is a dark cloud spreading over the land of Equestria, and two great purple eyes glowing from amidst the darkness, a voice cackling menacingly as the cloud surrounds Ponyville…before enclosing it completely.”

Twilight stood there a long moment, then sighed deeply, “I hate your mother’s visions.”

“I do too,” said Sunset simply, “then again, none of our family was destined to be normal.”

“All save for Trixie.”

That got a snort from Sunset, “Hardly, apparently Luna got to see a demonstration of Trixie’s talents, and said it was the perfect skill set for something Luna has wanted to bring back for a while, and took Trixie under her wing to train her as a shadow mage, didn’t you notice she was wearing a black cloak again?”

Twilight thought about it for a moment, and then sighed in defeat. “Well that does it, none of us will ever escape the family motto, “We of House Star shall ever be bound to Magic.”

Sunset laughed at that, then walked over and nuzzled Twilight, “So, anything else you need to talk to me about?”

“No that…oh wait, do you think you can teleport me to the Crystal Empire, I still haven’t mastered long distance teleportation and I know you know it by heart.”

Sunset nodded, then lit up her horn, her mane and tail lighting up as well as they began to billow around her, before a blinding flash sent Twilight on her way. When she was gone, Sunset smiled once more, then turned to head down to make sure her sister and mother weren't causing the changelings too much trouble. “I also better get Mom away from those nymphs, a few more hours with those and she’ll have foal fever again, and that’s all we need, another foal on the way.”

Author's Notes:

Not really much to say about this chapter, other then its a three parter. Next chapter will have some new interactions between Shining and Twilight, as well as a confrontation between Chrysalis and Night Light, for while Velvet may approve somewhat of Chrysalis getting together with Twilight, Night Light sure wont. And as for the rest of the family, they will be staying around as well, as they will be integral characters to the story as well, so till then, I hope you guys all enjoyed, and please remember if you have any questions or comments feel free to drop them on by, I always love hearing from you guys.

(A quick side note, the Sunset Shimmer in this universe never left Equestria, nor did Celestia have any grand designs for her becoming a princess. As for her hair being so dam long and her being Trixie's sister, I have always had the headcannon that those two were sisters, and as for the mane bit she was trained by a very superstitious unicorn in the ways of magic, which is why she has not cut her mane or tail in so long.)

(Oh, one more side note, if nobody got it from earlier, Andromeda is a fortune teller and a seer, on top of being the Arch Mage of Canterlot.)

Chapter Twenty: A Dark Truth

Chrysalis sat nervously in the meeting room as she waited for the ponies Twilight had sent for, wishing that Twilight could be there to help her through this but understanding why she had to leave when she did.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening, and got up to greet the two ponies who entered the room. “Fancy Pants, Prince Blueblood, it’s good to finally meat you.”

“And it is good to meet you your highness,” said Fancy, noting the look that appeared on the changelings face and becoming confused, “is something wrong?”

“No, nothing is wrong,” said Chrysalis, “it’s just that I am no longer a royal, I gave up that title to save what was left of my children.”

“A very noble sacrifice,” said Blueblood, much to Chrysalis’s surprise.

“I did not expect that from you Prince Blueblood.”

“Most don’t,” said Blueblood with a smirk, “but I have changed a lot. After all, your guards leaving your “sorry ass” to go help ponies more deserving kind of makes you rethink how you have been living life. But enough about me, we’re here because you need our help.”

“Yes, yes I do,” said Chrysalis, inviting them to sit and then sitting down herself.

“So,” said Fancy, “we were made to understand that our visit today was to discuss some disagreements you seem to have with the news about the incident with Shining Armor am I correct.”

“Yes,” said Chrysalis, “mainly I wish to correct what ponies have come to regard as the truth behind the incident.”

“What more needs to be said,” said Blueblood. “The Prince-Consort was found guilty of slaughtering innocent souls as well assaulting a well beloved town, not to mention his attack on you and Princess Twilight.”

“But none of that was his fault, it was mine.”

Both stallions looked surprised at this, and then Fancy cleared his throat to speak, “Explain.”

So Chrysalis did, explaining everything from her insanity and how it had affected her, to the poison which had ravaged Shining Armor’s mind and caused him to do such horrible things. When she was finished, both stallions looked shocked stiff, till finally Blueblood spoke up.

“That…that definitely changes some things, but are you sure this is what you want told. After all, there are still many ponies around Equestria that do not think it wise to be bringing changelings into our midst, and this could potentially give them ammunition with which they could turn the ponies against you.”

“It is a risk we will have to take,” said Chrysalis, “for Shining should not have to pay for something he had no control over, especially when I am working so hard to make sure he will be well again.”

“Very well then,” said Blueblood, getting up along with Fancy and bowing once more to Chrysalis. “We will do what we can to repair this, just don’t get your hopes up to much, ponies are looking for somepony to blame right now for all the wrong that has been exposed of late, and they won’t let this go lightly.”

Chrysalis nodded, then bid them fare well, silently praying that what they said wouldn’t come to pass.

On the balcony of the Crystal palace, Cadance watched as a bright flash of light appeared over the city, watching carefully as her sister in law Twilight Sparkle glided down to her before giving her a hug in greeting. “Hey Ladybug.”

“Hey Cadance,” said Twilight, “How are you doing?”

“Well enough,” said Cadance, letting go of Twilight and beginning to lead her inside. “Though I am still having a hard time getting used to the presence of that…of Celestine, especially seeing as how she looks so much like her…like Celestia…”

“You’re still having problems accepting them, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am,” said Cadance, “Twilight I don’t care how much you sympathize with them, it’s just…it’s going to take me a long while to get used to the idea of changelings being a good thing for the kingdom.”

“I can understand that,” said Twilight, “but I think if you see Ponyville now, you’ll see why they will be a good thing for the kingdom.”

“What happening to Ponyville?”

Twilight explained what had happened to the town, how because of all the arrant spells flung by Shining’s raiders, the town had been left in ruins, but thanks to the help of Celestine, they had been able to rebuild in a with little effort thanks to her magic.

“So…the entire town now is made of trees?”

“Yep,” said Twilight sweetly, “and it looks absolutely amazing, I never knew that such magic was possible.”

Cadance didn’t speak, but as they walked, her conscious couldn’t help but voice its opinion. “You know you are only holding onto this because you are angry about what happened to both Shining and Twilight. And now look, Twilight is as happy as can be, and Shining is being fixed by Chrysalis’s mother, you don’t exactly have much left to hold against them do you.”

“I know…but…”

“No more buts, this is happening whether we want it to or not, so let’s just accept it, and hopefully benefit from it.”

They hadn’t gotten far into the palace when Cadance excused herself, saying that she needed to take care of some court matters, but that a guard would take Twilight the rest of the way. When she reached her destination, she was surprised to see that the guard had led her to a guest room, the guard knocking at the door before hearing a clicking sound from behind and opening it, gesturing Twilight in.

When she made it inside, she saw Celestine sitting comfortably on a large couch, sipping at tea and reading a large black covered book, her eyes gazing from behind a pair of horn rimmed glasses.

“Celestine,” said Twilight, causing the mare to look up.

“Ah Twilight,” said the large changeling, the mare putting her book down and taking off her glasses before speaking again. “I just got done with Shining’s latest treatment, and was leaving him alone for a bit to let his head clear.”

“How is he doing?”

“Better than most,” said Celestine, “he is responding really well to treatment, which is better than I hoped for considering his use of dark magic, but he comes from a good magical bloodline, so there is hope he won’t need to be in treatment for too long.”

“That’s good…can I see him?”

“Not yet,” said Celestine, “first we need to talk.”

She gestured to the couch in front of her, waiting till Twilight was sitting before speaking again. “Before you talk to him, there are a few things you must know. When you enter there, the room must remain dark, for this treatment makes him extremely light sensitive, even the light from your horn will irritate his skin and hurt his eyes, even possibly blind him. Also, he will look a bit…different, but you must remain calm, for the changes to his body will fade with time. And one more thing, you must be aware that he remembers nothing since before Chrysalis injected the venom into him.”

“What!” yelled Twilight, “but that was before the wedding announcement, how can he have lost so much memory!?”

“Because all of it was tainted,” said Celestine, “I tried my best to recover what I could, but the rest I had to remove because the poison had seeped its magic into them, so they had to go. Now he does remember that he is married to Cadance, and he remembers that you are an alicorn now, and that the Crystal Empire has returned, but beyond that he remembers nothing, which has helped a bit.”

“How so?”

“Well he didn’t attack me for one; he was just extremely cautious of me when he came out of his stupor due to not knowing me or what I was. Also he doesn’t remember you binding his magic, but I have told him it was bound for good reasons and he has had time to think of it. However, he is starting to ask questions, and I am not really the pony to give him the answers, but I stress that you don’t give him too much information, not yet anyway.”

“Ok,” said Twilight, “I assume he’s through that door?”

Celestine nodded, and then watched as Twilight walked over and went inside the dark room, hoping the young mare was ready for what lay beyond.

Author's Notes:

I am so angry with myself that I was literally two paragraphs away from finishing this, but that's life, anyways, hope you enjoyed it.

Chapter Twenty One: A Darkness Arises

“My lady?”

A head rose from a massive skeleton it was resting upon, the figures violet pupiless eyes glowing bright as she stared down at the pony who addressed her, her wings fluttering a bit as she began to speak. “What is it, son of my flesh?”

“We…we have word from the mainland my lady, it appears a daughter of your flesh has…has taken changelings into her care, and is doing what she can to see that they recover.”

“I see,” said the mare, sighing a bit before looking toward the map of Equestria which hung on her wall. “Anything else, son of my flesh?”

“Yes my lady,” said the stallion, “it seems that the daughter of your flesh is also with foal, a changeling queen if what we heard is true.”

“Interesting,” said the mare, “very well, you may depart.”

The stallion nodded and left, leaving the mare to her lonesome as she summoned up an orb, the orb showing the image of a crib with a tiny foal inside, the sight bringing tears to her eyes as she spoke to it. “You have made mama so proud, and soon I will return to you, my darling little star.”

When Twilight entered the darkened room, she was quick to close the door, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness before opening her mouth to speak. “Shining…you in here?”

“Twiliy…”

Twilight moved toward the voice, coming to a stop near a bed and finally getting her first good look at Shining since she had bound his magic.

His eyes had turned a sickly green color, and his veins were now visible, pulsing green in the darkness and making his now darkened coat stand out. His mane and tail were in shambles, and he was now sporting a thick beard and mustache.

“You look like shit,” said Twilight.

“And you look like an alicorn,” said Shining in a hoarse voice, moving a bit in bed to get a good look at her, his eyes showing evident surprise. “It’s so hard to believe, I mean…I remembered that you became one, but I didn’t really…”

He trailed off, falling silent as he looked toward the closed window, his eyes looking wantonly at it as he spoke again. “Twilight…can you tell me what happened to me, I…the one who was tending to me says she can’t tell me anything, only you can.”

“How much do you want to know?”

“As much as you can tell me.”

Twilight sighed, and then moved to sit next to the bed, getting comfortable before speaking. “How much do you remember from after the wedding announcement you made to the ponies of Canterlot?”

“Not much,” said Shining, “I…I remember that Cadance had started to act kinda funny a week after our announcement, and the last thing I remember was her horn lighting up, but it wasn’t her normal color, and then…only bits and pieces.”

“How oddly was she acting?”

“Every time she would start flirting with me, she would get this…this Shetland accent to her voice, which made no sense, she’s never been to the Shetland Island’s.”

“I see, well the reason why she was acting so strange is because shortly after your announcement, she was replaced by a changeling queen known as Chrysalis, and the reason you cant remember anything after her horn began to glow is because she hit you with a powerful changeling spell known as compulsion, which has some…well some really bad side effects if left in the body for a long time.”

“What kind?” asked Shining.

Twilight sighed, “When left in the body for a long amount of time, the spell transforms into a poison which removes a ponies inhibitions, as it did you. When it did…you did some awful things Shining, which forced me to bind your magic.”

Shining didn’t speak for a long moment, Twilight watching as he seemed to struggle with something, before finally he looked up at her with a look of fear in his eyes. “What did I do?”

“…You nearly committed genocide.”

Shining looked like he was going to be sick, and then after a moment he charged toward the trash can in the room, throwing up into it before looking back at her with concern in his eyes. “H…how…why…?”

“Because the changelings had wronged you,” said Twilight, “and because of the poison, you…you acted on thoughts you normally wouldn’t…but luckily I was able to stop you in time…well with a little help from Chrysalis.”

For a long moment, there was silence, neither one of them saying anything for a long moment, and then shining went over and leaned himself against Twilight, crying hard as the young mare wrapped her wings around him, holding him as he cried his pain away.

“Beloved, wake up.”

The dark figure watched as something stirred in the darkness of a great cave, a smile stretched on her face as she saw the something begin to move closer to her.

“Come on beloved, you can do it, I know it’s hard, but I need you.”

From the darkness, a shaggy furred hoof stepped forth, and then another, and then a great shaggy head came forth, looking strained but smiling all the same.

The dark figure knew how much strain she was under, for she was fat with many foals, many new soldiers for her growing army. But she needed her, for she needed a pair of eyes and ears within her star’s growing kingdom, for she needed to know how many changelings were left on the mainland.

“What is it you would ask of me…beloved?”

The dark figure kneeled down, pulling the large Changeling into her embrace before whispering into her ear. “My dear Nashandra, I need you to do something for me, I need eyes in the kingdom of my birth, many eyes.”

“In…infultrators would be best, they have no scent, unable to be detected as false.”

“I know,” said the dark figure, “select your finest, have them undergo the change, then send them to the oldest son of my flesh, he will lead them from there.”

“And…and when they reach their destination…?”

I will give them instructions on what to do, don’t worry, now sleep, we shall speak again soon.”

Nashandra nodded, then lowered her head onto the ground, falling fast asleep as the dark figure departed the cave, a smile on her face and a bounce in her step.

“Finally…after so long…I can begin my journey home.”

Author's Notes:

I'm going to be spoiling you guys this month, so expect more chapters for Changeling Mine in the future. As for this chapter, this is where the major plot is going to start developing, and this dark figure is going to become a central character in later chapters. Don't worry though, we will be seeing more of Twilight and her changelings journey, so don't you fret, just expect more of the Dark Figure as well (yes that is going to be what she is called for the time being).

Also a word of warning, The next chapter is going to be our first time skip. I have been hemming and hawing about it for the past week, and decided it was time, so be prepared to be several mouths in the future. And as always, if you guys have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them down below, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Twenty Two: The Pieces Are Moving

3 Months Later.

Chrysalis paced around nervously in hallway within her new hive, pacing outside a room which was designed to better facilitate changelings who wished to undergo the change and make themselves into something other than a drone.

Currently, three of her children were in there, going through the process of changing themselves into hatchery mothers, for with all the nymphs now back within their hive, it would simply be too much to ask Canis to care for them all.

Not that their haven’t been volunteers, for when she had confided to Twilight her predicament, Andromeda had immediately volunteered herself to take care of all the nymphs, despite not having the necessary means to do so.

So she had decided, she needed hatchery mothers, and so she had selected three of her children, and now she was waiting for them to come out of their cocoons.

As she walked by for an uncountable amount of time, a drone walked out, her shaggy dark fur dragging across the ground as she looked to her mother with a smile. “They’re ready for you mother.”

Chrysalis made her way inside, smiling brightly when she saw the three new hatchery mothers standing before here. They had long serpentine bodies, covered in fur and looking sort of like giant caterpillars. They had many hooves, but there first four legs ended in bug like claws, allowing for griping.

“We are ready to serve mother.”

“Coil, Yew, Fuzzball, my darlings, I am so proud of you.”

They all coiled around her, hugging her close and giggling a bit, before departing and making their way out as another changeling walked in.

“Mother, the swarm has finally hatched from its cocoon, but Twilight Sparkle is preventing us from examining her because of her curiosity.”

“I’ll take care of it,” said Chrysalis with a grin, moving out of the room and making her way to where she knew the swarm was, hoping Twilight wasn’t being to nosy.

Twilight stared at the many small creatures hovering before her, many of them blinking at her while a few giggled and still a few more gazed around the room as they waited to be inspected.

“How is this possible, I mean do you exist with one mind or…or something else?”

“Oh we could tell you,” said one.

“But we tend to get a bit crass when explaining things,” said a second.

“Rude, so rude,” said a third.

“And my we say dear,” said a fourth, “you are filling out quite nicely, such a delicious…”

“COLONY!!!”

The swarm cringed as they and Twilight looked toward the doorway, seeing Chrysalis standing there with an angry look on her face as she starred at the little changelings.

“Colony Alpha what have I told you about flirting with ponies, you know it never gets you anywhere.”

“Sorry mum,” said the little changeling, giving a sheepish grin as the rest of the swarm shot him glares.

“I’m sorry about that Twilight, Colony used to be a hoof full even before the change, and now…”

“But it doesn’t make sense,” said Twilight, looking at the swarm of tiny changelings as she spoke, “I mean they all act as if they are individuals.”

“That’s because they are,” said Chrysalis, causing a look of confusion to appear on Twilight’s face as she chuckled. “Colony was blessed with what we call the fracture, what you call multiple personality disorder. In you ponies it is a very harmful affliction of the mind, but in changelings it is something manageable, for it allows us to make these little darlings, known as the swarm.”

“The Swarm?” asked Twilight in confusion, looking at the mass of little changelings while listening to the former queens words.

Yes, the swarm. They are an ingenious group of little ones, each swarmling taking on one of the original hosts distinct personalities, which of course have their own names along with their original name. Some go by designations or numbers, like this swarm here; others have their own distinct names, and are led by the swarmling who keeps the original hosts name. This way, all those little voices are no longer trapped within one mind, and because of their size, they are able to go into areas we cannot, and in the case of this swarm, they will be going to live with the breezies as a thank you for helping to restore Ponyville.”

“I see,” said Twilight, watching as the little swarmlings nuzzled up to their mother before flying off towards parts unknown, before grumbling as Chrysalis began to look her over.

“Hm, still looking a bit thin for my liking,” said Chrysalis.

“Oh god’s not you to,” said Twilight with a growl, trying to pull away as the changeling Queen moved closer. “First the cook, then Mom, then Aunty Andromeda, and now you, how could this get any worse.”

“Um…hello?”

Twilight looked toward the doorway, and then nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the giant caterpillar looking changeling standing there. “What the heck is that!?”

“That,” said Chrysalis with a smirk, “is your personal hatchery mother; she will be making sure you are taking care of yourself.”

“Ug!” said Twilight, beginning to leave the room as the queen and the hatchery mother followed behind her. “Look Chrysalis I am doing fine, I don’t need some nursery maid looking after me.”

“And I say you do,” said Chrysalis with a glare, “or do I have to bring Celestia in on this?”

That got Twilight to stop, the young mare shooting her a look before speaking, “you wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” said Chrysalis with an evil smirk, giggling a bit due to Twilight’s defeated look.

“Fine, but that means no cuddles tonight.”

Chrysalis’s face immediately blanched, for she had just gotten Twilight comfortable with cuddling with her, if only as friends. It was a mile stone for the changeling queen, for it gave her hope that Twilight might someday return her affections fully.

“If that is the sacrifice I have to make to make sure you are well fed, then so be it. Now, I believe you had some books you wanted to look at, and in the meantime, I must depart for Canterlot.”

“Canterlot,” said Twilight in surprise, “why do you need to go there?”

Chrysalis hesitated a moment, and then spoke, looking like she didn’t want to. “Not here, meet me in your tower alone, well talk then.”

Moments later, Twilight and Chrysalis found themselves in Twilight’s tower, Twilight getting comfortable before speaking to Chrysalis with a questioning look. “Ok Chrysalis, what’s going on?”

“…Luna thinks more of my changelings may have survived your brother’s sweeps…”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock, and then she moved closer to the changeling, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder before speaking. “Why does she think this?”

“Apparently ponies have been sighting changelings skirting the outskirts of settlements, avoiding contact with anything that tries to engage them, and if this is true, I need to help her coordinate efforts to recover them and bring them home.”

Twilight nodded her head in agreement, “Then you best be going, and don’t worry, I’ll look after the rest while you’re gone.”

“I know,” said Chrysalis with a smile, “just promise me you will take care of yourself as well ok?”

“I promise,” said Twilight.

Chrysalis hesitated a moment, the darted forward quickly and pecked her on the cheek, vanishing in a puff of magic as Twilight spluttered in annoyance.

“So, how go our efforts to get Chrysalis away from her beloved?”

The unicorn nearly jumped out of her coat at the sound of that voice, turning to see the dark figure of her Lady standing behind her, her curved horn shining like crystal in the moonlight, and her wings fluttering a bit due to the cold.

“They have finally born fruit my lady,” said the mare, smiling a bit as she spoke to her beloved ruler. “Ponies have finally brought rumors to the ear of the little dame Luna, and she has requested the help of Chrysalis to help see if the rumors hold truth.

“Excellent,” said the dark figure, “then would you be a dear and fetch me my fastest pegasus if you please.”

The mare nodded excitedly, running off and leaving the dark figure to her lonesome, though soon the sound of wings could be heard, and the dark figure turned to see a large and beefy pegasus land before her.

“You called my lady,” said the pegasus, her voice sounding so deep it could rival a dragons.

“I need you to take a message to the countess of the Shetland Islands, tell her she is to take the infiltrators I gave her two weeks ago and present them personally to her highness Princess Twilight Sparkle as a gift, as we discussed.”

“Your will be done my lady,” said the pegasus, before taking off and leaving her once more by her lonesome, not hearing the chuckle which escaped her lips as she left the room herself.

“All the pieces are coming together, and soon…check mate.”

Author's Notes:

Yep, we jumped three months ahead, but don't worry, we'll be staying here a while, got a lot planned for this section of the story. As always, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Twenty Three: Intrusion

“Your afternoon meal is ready queen mother.”

Twilight groaned as she looked up from the chest of changeling information she was looking through, looking toward Fuzzball as the giant caterpillar looking changeling brought her another serving off food. ‘But Fuzzball, I just ate lunch a little bit ago, can’t this wait till dinner?”

“Tut tut,” said the changeling, placing the food down on the table before placing one of her hands on Twilight’s showing midsection, smiling a bit before speaking. “If my instincts are correct, you got a brood mother growing inside you, and they need a lot of food and love in their early stages of life, or do you want to experience the joys of teat feeding for a second time in your life?”

Twilight blanched, which caused the changeling to smile, “I thought not, now I am going to leave a bit to check on the nursery and my two sisters, and when I get back I expect that food to be gone, or I will follow through with my threat. And trust me, I will know if you have eaten it or not.”

The changeling then scuttled off, leaving Twilight to sigh heavily before she grabbed the food and took it back to her couch, beginning to eat as she pulled a book she had wanted to read and flipping it to the relevant chapter, grabbing another piece of food as she began to read.

Of all the anomalies that exist within the changeling hive, none are more peculiar then changeling hatchery mothers. Unlike most changelings, these are the only changelings that do not require love to survive, instead they eat many different foods, which gets converted into love within their bodies.”

“Well, that explains why she smelled so good,” said Twilight out loud, remembering the enticing aroma of love filling the air earlier, something she had started being able to detect more and more lately. It was one of the many changes that Celestia had warned her about, but she had never told her it would be so embarrassing. Several times, when she had been around certain couples, she had begun sniffing the air due to their intoxicating aroma. But the most embarrassing thing that had happened to her was when Cadance had visited, for she had started to drool do how freaking good she smelled.

“Stupid biological changes,” said Twilight, before returning to her book with a grin.

Now most would ask; why don’t all changelings exist in this state, for in times of crises this would mean that they would never need to worry about food. The reason for this is as simple as it is complex, for unknown to many, these changeling hatchery mothers may actually be some of the most dangerous of their kind.

If this love they generate is not fed to others and remains in their bodies, it begins to age, and when it ages, it starts taking on harmful effects which can adversely affect ponies. Its effects mimic to the most minute detail the effects of the dreaded Want It Need It spell, which as all practitioners know is one of the most dangerous spells ever created do to the mass hysteria it creates among large groups of ponies, let alone one singular pony.

Due to this, only a few hatchery mothers are ever made within a hive, and they rarely leave the nursery, but a rare few are selected to care for newly born changeling queens, especially if a brood mother is born.”

That word again, first Chrysalis a few weeks ago, which had started this whole food craze, then Fuzzball, and now this book. Deciding curiosity needed to be sated; she set down the book and went over to the chest again.

However, before she could start digging in deep, a knock came at her door, Twilight looking up to see one of her servants peeking her head in and speaking to her. “Princess, Rarity is here about your lunch with the girls?”

“Tell her I’ll be down in a second,” said Twilight, sighing a bit before closing the chest and heading out.

Twilight smiled as she sipped her tea, looking toward her friends as they all sat down; till she noticed one was missing. “Hey, where’s Fluttershy?”

The rest of the girls giggled, and then Rarity spoke. “She’s on a date with those two changeling guards who Chrysalis assigned to watch you; I think she has taken quite a fancy to them.”

“So that’s where they have been disappearing to,” said Twilight with a grumble, “god its like everypony is getting changeling fever.”

“What do you mean by that darling?”

Twilight looked embarrassed, but it was Rainbow who spoke for her. “Well, a few days ago me and Twilight were walking through the halls of the castle talking about changeling bonds, and…well, we accidently caught Twilight’s grandpa making out with several changelings disguised as the female members of the Wonderbolts.”

“Golly,” said Applejack with a smirk, “that must have been embarrassing.”

“Wouldn’t have been so embarrassing if Rainbow hadn’t popped a wing boner at the sight of them.”

That got the girls in fits of laughter, Rainbow blushing as she shot out a retort, “What, it was hot, and it didn’t help that he said I could join.”

“Thank god you ignored him,” said Twilight, “though really it is not his fault, him and his darn pegasus fetish.”

“Mama, hungy!”

Rolling her eyes, she looked down at her growing belly before speaking, “Honey, I just ate a little while ago, aren’t you full?”

“Hungy NOW!”

“Fine fine,” said Twilight, concentrating with her horn before summoning up a big batch of solidified love, beginning to eat it before looking up and seeing the confused looks on her friends faces. “What?”

“Um, who were you talking to,” asked Pinkie, looking a bit weirded out as the rest of the girls nodded at her question.

“Um, my daughter why?”

“But sugarcube,” said Applejack, “She’s still in your belly, how can you be talking to her?”

“Cause of my link to her hive mind.”

The girls looked even more confused, so Twilight decided to explain. “Look girls, both Chrysalis and Celestia explained to me that this might happen, and just go with it, for it helps her learn how to communicate through the hive mind, and will help her prepare when she gets old enough to have little drones of her own.”

“I…I see,” said Rarity, looking to the others and receiving nods before turning back to Twilight. “Speaking of Chrysalis, we have been…wanting to talk to you about her.”

Twilight gave her a look, so Rarity continued. “Look darling, I know that because of the foal you want to keep her around to help care for her, as well as care for the changelings, but don’t you think you are letting her um…get a bit too comfortable around you?”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“Well for one,” said Rainbow, “I saw her cuddling with you in bed a few nights ago, what the hell is that about?”

“Come on Dash,” said Twilight, “I would do that with anypony I consider a friend, even you girls.”

“OK,” said Pinkie uncertainly, “then what about all those nuzzles she gives you, I mean she gives you a lot.”

“So do you girls, and the princesses, I mean come on, were ponies, and nuzzles happen all the time.”

“Yeah, but that don’t explain all that time you’ve been spending with her neither, I mean for Faust sake you’ve even paid her a compliment or to.”

“And again, I pay compliments to all my friends, especially friends who are showing real improvement and a willingness to make up for the misdeeds they have done. Honestly I don’t know…”

“Mama…tummy hurts…”

Twilight’s eyes widened at that, causing her to look down, wondering what was wrong, until she took a sniff of the air out of maternal instinct.

The emotions of her friends were all over the place, and because of that, her foal was reacting to it in a bad way, a very bad way.

“I…I’m sorry girls, I have to go…I’ll explain later.”

And then she was gone, leaving the girls all looking worried as they looked out the window toward the castle, hoping Twilight was ok.

Twilight breathed in deep as she tried to keep the world from spinning, cursing herself for forgetting that she wasn’t supposed to be teleporting while pregnant.

After the world stabilized, she looked back down at her belly, giving a smile before speaking. “Sorry about that honey, feeling better?”

“Better,” said the foal inside her mind, “Mama, why were they mad at you?”

“Oh they weren’t angry honey,” said Twilight sweetly, “they were just worried, and they don’t like how I have been hanging out with your other mother lately. I’ll tell you what though, when I’m done with this book, we’ll have Cadance come down for a visit, would you like that?”

“Aunty Cady yummy!!!”

“Yes she is isn’t she,” said Twilight, before moving toward the chest, before stopping as a knock came to the door. “Enter.”

A changeling poked there head in, smiling when she saw the princess before speaking. “The Countess of the Shetland Islands has arrived to hold audience with you, to speak with you on a matter concerning…well concerning us.”

“Has this been cleared with Advisor Shimmer?”

“Yes, and she is waiting in the throne room with your family.”

“My family?”

“She said it was required,” said the Changeling.

“I see,” said Twilight, “tell them I’ll be down soon.”

“Presenting her esteemed excellence, the Countess of The Shetland Islands, Starlight Glimmer!”

Twilight fidgeted in her throne as the great doors opened, watching as a light violet mare walked into the room before turning to Sunset and speaking. “Are you sure my family needs to be here Sunset.”

“Its protocol when meeting delegates from the Shetland Islands,” said Sunset, “they will respect you more if you are surrounded by family for your first meeting with them, for family is power to them, so this will show you have a lot of power.”

Twilight grumbled at that, hating the games of politics but sitting up straight regardless, looking toward the Countess before speaking to her. “Welcome Countess Starlight, you honor me with your presence this day, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“It is I who is honored, oh most noble of alicorns,” said Starlight, bowing low to the ground before rising back to her hooves and speak. “I have been keeping an eye on you ever since I heard about your noble efforts in regards to the changelings, and I must say it is with a gladdened heart that I was allowed to gaze upon one who would save the Shetlands greatest protectors.”

“Protectors?” asked Twilight in surprise, “I don’t understand, could you explain?”

“Of course, of most humble of rulers,” said Starlight. “Over a thousand years ago, the Shetland Islands were threatened by creatures known as Will of The Wisp, who were stealing our foals and devouring their souls. When all other methods failed, it was the changelings who saved us from the menace, putting the Wisps to the torch and then helping us to rebuild.”

“And, in honor of your noble efforts, I would like to off your this gift, to show you that not all ponies are mindless barbarians in regards to such noble creatures.”

As if waiting for that word, several cloaked figures appeared behind her, standing fifty strong and causing the guards to shout in alarm and start going for their weapons.

“Please,” said Starlight, “be still noble guards, I mean no harm to your princess.”

“Then explain the meaning of this incursion,” said Sunset hostile, her mane and tail beginning to glow as she herself stepped forward, ready to unleash hell to protect her cousin.

“Well,” said Starlight as she walked up to one of the figures and pulled back their hood, “how else do you expect one to transport fifty changelings without causing a ruckus?”

Twilight and the rest of her family looked on in awe, for standing next to the Countess was a changeling, or at least, Twilight assumed it was a changeling. However before she could examine it further there was a feral hiss behind her, and Twilight jumped in surprise as her hatchery mother jumped down in front of her and growled at the changeling’s before them.

“ABOMINATIONS!!!” roared Fuzzball, the claws of her front four legs digging into the floor as she barred her teeth at the Countess, “You dare insinuate that our mother would birth such vile things!?”

“But sister,” said the unhooded changeling, Twilight staring in shock due to its voice sounding distinctly male, which didn’t fit. “Our mother…”

“Don’t!” roared Fuzzball savagely, “don’t you dare call her that, we are not related, and Chrysalis is not your mother.”

“But we are sister,” said one of the cloaked figures, removing his hood and stepping forward, though keeping his distance as he spoke. “You must remember sister, mother was not herself, and when she made us, she was deeply mad with hunger, you cannot blame her.”

Silence reigned in the room, till finally Twilight spoke up, looking at the countess as she did so. “Where did you find them?”

“They were found on the shores of Equestria by one of our naval ships, all of them injured and surrounded by dead ponies and changelings, and from what we can guess they were trying to guard the dead from being pilfered, for we found evidence that the ponies were butchering these changelings for…well for parts.”

Twilight wanted to throw up, but she stayed strong, sitting strait before looking to the first unhooded changeling and addressing him. “I am sorry you were unable to protect your sisters, but if you could tell me, what is your name, and what kind of changeling are you?”

“I would be honored queen mother,” said the changeling. “My name is Scale, and I and my brothers behind me are what the changelings call infiltrators, though because of our past we are mostly known as abominations.”

“Why?”

“That is too complex to explain now, but I am sure you could find the information, if mother kept any.”

“She did,” said Twilight, before turning back to the countess and speaking to her. “Thank you for bringing them her Countess Starlight, Chrysalis will be thrilled to know that more of her children survived. Now, is there anything else you wished to discuss with me?”

“No your highness,” said Starlight, “I shall be taking my leave, but don’t worry, we shall see each other again.”

And with that the countess left, leaving the changeling’s in the princess’s care, nopony noticing the glance she cast at Twilight’s mother and father before she left.

“I was so scared!”

It was hours after the Infiltrators had been left in Twilight’s care, and now Starlight was clutched within the forelegs of her Lady, crying her eyes out as the dark figure brushed her hoof through the young mare’s mane.

“It is alright my darling Starlight,” said the dark figure soothingly, continuing to pet her as she tried to sooth the mare’s fears. “Anypony would be afraid in that kind of situation; after all you didn’t know how they would react.”

“That’s not why I was afraid.”

The dark figure looked down at her, “Oh, then why were you so afraid?”

“Because they were there…my parents were there, standing at the princess’s side…”

The dark figure’s eyes softened then, and she tightened her hug a bit as she soothed the poor mare. “Oh my dear sweet Starlight, I am so sorry, I had completely forgotten you parents were staying in her castle now, can you ever forgive my negligence?”

The mare sniffled, shaking in the dark figures grip as she spoke, “It was not your fault my lady, and though it was under those circumstances, I was happy to see them, they…they look well.”

“…And what of my star, did she look well?”

Starlight looked up, smiling a bit as she wiped tears from her eyes. “She is doing wonderfully my lady, she looks so much like you, and she even has a stripe through her mane like you do.”

“I see, and how does her pregnancy fare?”

“Oh she is coming along well my lady,” said Starlight with a smile, “though she looks a bit on the thin side, though hopefully that hatchery mother I saw in the throne room will help fatten her up, she will need it if what I sensed is true.”

“And what did you sense?” asked the dark figure.

“I sensed she was carrying a brood mother inside her my lady.”

The dark figures eyes widened, and then she smiled, brushing the young mare’s mane one more time before speaking. “You did good Starlight, I suggest you go get some rest, we shall talk more in the morning.”

“Yes my lady,” said the mare, leaving out the door and leaving the dark figure alone in her room, a brooding look falling over her face as she looked out the window into the darkness beyond.

“Soon my star, soon mommy will see you again…but not yet. First, I need just a little more information, then I shall take back what is ours my star, what should have always been ours!”

Author's Notes:

Wow, A lot went down this chapter, my hands just couldn't stop typing once I started. Anyways guys don't worry, you will be finding out what Infiltrators are next chapter, and why Fuzzball was so hostile toward them, as well as what a brood mother is. Till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Twenty Four: A Move Too Soon

“We demand to see the princess at once!”

The changeling guard looked at the massive gathering in front of her, gulping a bit as she turned to face an angry looking mare who had addressed her. “Madam, I am afraid the princess is busy at the moment getting some citizens settled into their new home.”

“I don’t care,” said the mare, “my name is Ides of March, and I have come here on behalf of the sons, daughters, wives, and husbands of the guards who were lead under false pretenses by Shining Armor, and have been imprisoned for aiding him despite many of them saying they had no idea that he was committing genocide.”

Immediately the changelings attitude changed, a glare forming on her face as she growled at the mare. “Those ponies committed atrocities against my people, and it was only thanks to Queen Mother Twilight that we will survive, so I think it would be best if our Queen Mother doesn’t have to deal with those who would spread their legs for such monsters!”

The mare looked livid, but before she could lash out, the door’s to the castle of friendship opened, and Twilight walked out looking concerned. “Neptune, what seems to be the problem here?”

Before the changeling could speak, Ides moved up and spoke. “Your highness, I and the mares and stallions behind me are here to beg you for the release of our husbands and wives who were under your brother’s command, for they do not deserve to be imprisoned for what they have done.”

“They committed crimes against the crown,” said Twilight, “they followed my brother’s orders even though they were wrong, and they need to be punished.”

“But your brother’s sentence was lightened because his mind was under the effects of a deadly poison,” said the mare, “shouldn’t that also apply to those under his command?”

“It would if they had also been affected by the poison,” said Twilight, “but unlike my brother they had full control of their faculties, and they chose to kill them anyway, even the little ones.”

“But they were following orders given by a commander of the Equestrian military, against an enemy which, until the events three months prior, were considered parasitic lifeforms who preyed on those with love with no regard for diplomacy. Surely princess, with these facts present, you can show them the same mercy you showed your brother.”

Twilight hesitated for a long moment, weighing her options carefully before speaking up. “I cannot promise anything, for as you know, while I still hold my title, my powers as princess are limited due my past mistakes. However, I promise I will take this before Princess Luna, and maybe if she is willing she may spare you family members from their fate.”

The mare didn’t seem to like the answer, but instead of grumbling, she bowed her head and then turned to leave. Twilight waited till the group was gone, then sighed, walking back inside before looking to one of the changeling guards.

“Um, could you be so kind as to…” she started, only for a sharp pain to shoot through her head, her vision beginning to blur before she passed out, her guards screaming in alarm as the world went black.

Deep within the bowls her tower, the dark figures eyes shot wide open, her horn tingling as she felt a thrumming coming from below.

“No…No no no he mustn’t, it isn’t time!”

She leaped from her bed in alarm, racing out of her tower into the bowls of her grand estate, ignoring the various shocked nobles and changelings she ran past. When she reached her destination, she called up a bit of magic, using it on the door to unlock it before racing down into the dark room to the bed which held the room’s sole occupant.

In the middle of the bed, his mane and tail in shambles, and his shaggy coat mussed from bad sleep, was a large male alicorn, his horn glowing bright yellow as he tried to get out of bed.

“KIIR!?” he roared, his voice shaking the room as he slowly tried to get out of bed. “KIIR KOLOS LOS HI!?”

“Dii Sil, Dii Sil stop,” said the dark figure, running up and attempting to calm him as he struggled against her.

“KOLOS LOS REK!?” roared the stallion, turning to her as he stayed his struggles, his horn still glowing bright.

“She is not here, you know that, we sent her away so she could recover what was lost to us, don’t you remember Dii Sil?”

The stallion looked confused for a moment, and then his eyes cleared, causing him to nuzzle her apologetically as he spoke. “Kosis dii peyt, zu’u…zu’u sizaan dii…dii…”

“Shh Dii Sil,” said the dark figure, “I know, I know. Now please, end your spell, she is not ready to know of you yet.”

The stallion nodded, ending his spell before grimacing as he looked to her. “Rek aal kos ko tahrovin, dii zul aal lost drun ek hahdrim wah…ved?”

The dark figure had to think for a moment, for with the language her first love was forced to speak in, he sometimes had to search for terms to get his point across. But once she finally got it, her face blanched, “you mean you caused her fall unconscious!?”

He nodded, causing her to spring from the bed and sprint for the door, before running back and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “I will be back soon, just…just promise me you will get some rest, have been working too hard lately.”

“Zu’u fen dii peyt,” said the stallion, before shooing her out of the room.

Once out the door, she called upon her magic, using it to sense where her star was before teleporting away, hoping her plans were not ruined.

When she arrived in a hidden nook within Twilight’s bedroom, she immediately tensed, for she could sense Celestia and Luna there, as well as another presence, one she knew would not tolerate her presence.

“What could have done this to her?”

“Something strong, and well versed in mind magic,” said Luna, “and it is beyond my skill to meddle with safely.”

“Do you think you could do anything my love,” she heard Celestia say.

“I don’t know,” said a voice, one the dark figure recognizing it as Anthra, “but I may be able to trace the source, for something about it feels…familiar.”

No, that would not do, for she could not have the princesses knowing that…he was alive, for they would demand to see him. So, realizing that she would have to salvage her plans on the fly, she teleported to the door leading into the room before pushing the door open and speaking. “That won’t be necessary Anthra.”

The two princesses, Chrysalis, and Anthra turned around, Anthra hissing and moving to protect Chrysalis, while Luna and Celestia looked on with shock as she walked in.

“Hello Celestia, Luna, it…it’s been some time, hasn’t it?”

Celestia stared for a moment longer, and then she spoke, her voice shaking a great deal as the words slipped from her lips. “Au…aunty Clover…”

Author's Notes:

And with that, the big bomb shell hath been dropped. As always, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

P.S.
Oh, and if you guys want to know what the one stallion is saying, here is a link to help you translate the words, though for you Skyrim fans, you should recognize the language if you've hung out with a certain wise lizard long enough.

For those having problems with the Translator, here is the translated words.

"KIIR!"
"CHILD!"

“KIIR KOLOS LOS HI!?”
"CHILD WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Dii Sil"
"My Soul"

“KOLOS LOS REK!?”
"WHERE IS SHE!?" In this case, Los translates to is instead of are.

“Kosis dii peyt, zu’u…zu’u sizaan dii…dii…”
"Apologies My Flower, I...I lost my...my..."

"Rek aal kos ko tahrovin, dii zul aal lost drun ek hahdrim wah…ved?”
"She may be in danger, my voice may have caused her mind to...blacken?"

Hope this helps.

Chapter Twenty Five: A Hurtful Truth

“H…How…”

“How am I alive?” said Clover with a smirk, “well as you can see, I’m not a silly little unicorn anymore, I found a way to ascend, no thanks to you.”

Luna took a step forward, causing Clover to back away, which caused Luna to look hurt.

“I…” started Clover, “I am sorry Luna, but none of you were the ones I came to see, I came to help my daughter.”

Everypony looked confused for a moment, till suddenly Celestia looked toward Twilight and then back at Clover. “No…you can’t mean…that’s not possible.”

“I am afraid it is, and I am in no mood to explain how, so if you will just let me near her…”

A feral hiss escaped Anthra, her fur standing on end as she bared her teeth at the alicorn, her wings spread wide and her legs held in a defensive stance as she spoke. “You will not go anywhere near her vile temptress, I don’t care what claim you…”

Anthra suddenly stopped as she was picked up in Clovers magic, and before the other three could move, she trapped them all in magic bubbles, sighing a bit as she walked toward Twilight’s bed. “What about what I said made you think I was in the mood to sit around and wait, now if you will kindly wait, I have a something I need to fix.”

She moved to the bed, leaning down next to it and then lighting up her horn, her dark blue magic washing over Twilight as she began to hum a little toon, Twilight beginning to stir till finally she opened her eyes, turning to look at Clover who smiled at her.

“Hello my darling, it is good to see you after so long being apart.”

“Who…who are you?” asked Twilight, her eyes a bit blurry as the mare before her chuckled.

“Sweetheart, even after all these years, I thought you would recognize the voice of your own mother.”

Twilight’s eyes bulged at that, causing the mare to come into focus, as well as the trapped princesses and two changeling queens. “What are you doing to the princesses!?”

Clover sighed, “My darling they were not going to let me near you, and I needed to fix what your fa…what was done to you by my mate. If I did not, his voice would have driven you mad, for you are not ready for its touch.”

“Don’t call me that, I’m not your…you’re not my mother!”

Clover simply smirked, pulling a thin blade out from under her wing and picking herself, and then Twilight, Twilight hissing in pain as Clover conjured up a strange looking bubble and put a drop of hers and Twilight’s blood inside. “Now Twilight, I’m sure a mare of your learning will know what this spell is.”

“Yes I do, but it won’t prove anything, other than you are not my mother.”

Clover smirked, and then activated the key part of the spell, the two droplets beginning to merge together as the magic began its work. From what Twilight had red about the spell, if it worked, the blood would merge together and begin to glow with rainbow light, showing that the two were relate, while turning dark if they were not. So it was much to Twilight’s shock when the blood merged and began to glow, showing that Clover was at least related to her.

“This…this can’t be possible!”

“I’m afraid it is,” said Clover simply, walking up to the young mare and placing a wing upon her back. “I…I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but I am your mother Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight finally looked away from the spell, looking at the mare before speaking up, “Who are you?”

“I am Clover the Clever, alicorn of knowledge and fate, and last surviving founder of Equestria.”

Twilight stared slack jawed, and then jumped when a resounding crack sounded through the room, Clover looking to see Anthra doing her best to break through the bubble she was trapped in.

“Seriously Anthra,” said Clover with a smirk, “I am trying to have a meaningful moment with my daughter, surely you can understand…”

“Let her go.”

Clover looked at Twilight in confusion, “You see the way she is snarling at my right, do you really think it is wise to release her?”

“If you really are my mother, and if you…if you really want to form some sort of relationship with me, then you will let her and the others go.”

Clover stood there a moment, and then sighed, ending her spell and readying herself as Anthra fell to the floor.

However, much to her relief, Anthra simply snarled in anger, exiting the room with Chrysalis following closely behind, while the two princesses simply stood there as Clover looked to them.

“Well, I suppose you all have some questions, maybe we should…retire to some place better suited, and with some chairs.”

Twilight’s mind was in turmoil as she sat in one the living rooms many comfy chairs, thoughts weaving in and out as she tried to process the fact that she, in some way, was related to Clover the Clever.

When they were all seated, Clover made a clicking sound in her throat, and much to Twilight’s surprise, one of her guards walked over, looking a little shocked as she spoke to the alicorn. “Um, yes miss, what do you want?”

“Could you please go and locate Twilight Velvet and Nightlight and bring them here please, for I need to have words with them.”

The changeling hesitated, looking to Twilight for help, which caused her to nod and allowed her to leave.

“So, while we wait for me, I assume you two have some questions regarding…well me.”

Luna nodded, “of course we do, for the last we remember seeing of you you were an old mare, and…and now you’re…you’re an alicorn, how can this be possible?”

“With much effort, and old magic, magic I was only able to access thanks to…well, I would rather not say for now. Suffice it to say I managed to figure out how to ascend without the need for risky rituals or long drawn out spells.”

“And where have you been,” asked Celestia, her eyes looking pleadingly at the mare, which caused Twilight some confusion.

“I am afraid I can’t say at the moment, too much of what I have worked on would be jeopardized if you…came snooping about.”

“So you admit your hiding something.”

“Actually I am hiding someone,” said Clover, “Twilight’s father to be exact, after all who knows how the world would react if they heard such a thing as a male alicorn exists.”

Celestia and Luna both looked shocked by this, but before they could respond, the doors opened and Nightlight and Velvet walked in, only to stop as they saw the mare sitting near Twilight.

“Ah, just the two ponies I wanted to…”

“YOU!” yelled Velvet, walking up to the mare and slapping her across the face, before grabbing her by the scruff of her neck as she spoke. “Where is she, where is the daughter you stole from me!”

“…M…mom?”

Velvet froze then, turning to see Twilight staring at her in horror.

“Tw…Twilight I…”

“You knew,” said Twilight, her voice carrying a bight to it as she began to glare at her mother. “You knew I wasn’t yours this entire time, and you didn’t tell me, why!?”

“Twilight…we wanted to tell you, we really did, but…”

“But, but what!?”

Clover cleared her throat, causing attention to be brought back to her as she spoke up. “I am afraid that is my doing, for they caught me in…well in the act of leaving with their daughter. I was forced to place a geas upon them, to prevent them from telling anypony about your true origins, as well as keeping the fact that I…took their real child away from them.”

“…Why…why would you do that?” asked Twilight, “I’m your daughter, didn’t…didn’t you want to take care of me?”

“Of course I did,” said Clover, “but you couldn’t stay with us…your destiny lay within Canterlot, and I couldn’t risk staying with you in disguise, for…for they would have sensed me and found me out. However, now that you know, and if you will allow it, I would like the chance to come visit you…and get to know you if I can.”

She saw that Twilight wasn’t ready to speak yet, so she then turned to Velvet, who was still glaring at her. “As for you Miss Velvet, I am sorry that I forced you to suffer through having your child stolen, no mother should ever have to experience that pain. As compensation, I will be sending for your daughter to come here and spend time with you, and hopefully you can begin connecting with her as well.”

With that said, she got up, and began walking to the door, only to be stopped as Celestia rose to her hooves. “Where are you going?”

“I am returning home, I have said all I need to say, Twilight needs time to think of her answer, and I am expected back home.”

“But you can’t leave!”

That got an eyebrow raise from clover, “And why not?”

“Because you just revealed that there is a living male alicorn,” said Luna as she stood next to her sister, “he may be the first of his kind, and no matter what you say, we need to meet him and learn about him.”

“…No.”

“Clover…”

“I SAID NO!” yelled Clover, causing everypony to jump, “It has taken me a thousand years to even get him comfortable with my presence, and I will not see you destroy what progress he has made just so you can study him!”

“Be that as it may,” said Celestia, “we at least a way to confirm that he exists, and until you agree to at least that, we cannot let you leave.”

That got a smirk, “and what makes you think you can keep me here?”

“Well I know I can’t,” said Celestia with her own smirk, “But you never could withstand Luna’s mind magic, and something tells me that hasn’t changed.”

Clover looked from her to Luna, gulping as she realized how problematic this situation was. Sure, her beloved had done her best to train her to better defend herself against mind magic, but she was only adept enough to defend herself against low level practitioners, and even before her disappearance, Luna had known every back door and loophole mind magic was capable of, to the point that if she so desired, she could probably get Clover to believe she was a rubber chicken lost in Saddle Arabia.

So with a sigh, she spoke, “Very well, but only if you agree to my terms.”

“Name them.”

“First,” said Clover, “I want Princess Cadenza summoned here, for she is the only one I will allow into my home.”

“Very well,” said Celestia.

“Second, when she gets here, she must agree to be placed under a geas.”

That got a look from Luna, “what sort of geas?”

“One that will make sure she can only tell you about the male alicorn, who he is, and that he indeed exists, while making sure she can’t tell you about my home, where it is, or about the ponies I have living there.”

“That seems a bit extreme Clover,” said Luna.

“Those are my terms,” said Clover, “agree to them, or we are done here.”

The two princesses hesitated, and then Celestia leaned to whisper into Luna’s ear, Luna listening intently before nodding her head and speaking to Clover, “Very well Clover, we agree to your terms, and shall send for Cadance at one, how may we reach you when she arrives.”

“Seeing as how I am going to have to wait for her arrival, I shall wait here, I’ll just have one of my daughters changelings arrange a guest room for me.”

She then turned to look at Twilight, her horn lighting as a crystal floated out of her mane to lie in front of Twilight’s hooves, the mare looking up in surprise at her as Clover spoke. “When you are ready to give me your answer, just whisper my name into the crystal, and I shall come to you.”

With that she turned and left, leaving them alone as Nightlight and Velvet looked to Twilight with concern, ignoring the two princesses as the huddled and whispered silently.

“Honey,” said Nightlight as Twilight stared down at the crystal before her hooves, “are you going to be ok?”

“I…I don’t know…” said Twilight, not looking away from the crystal as she spoke. “It’s just…how am I supposed to cope with this, I mean Clover the Clever is my mother, that’s not just something you can accept!”

“I…” stated Nightlight, only to stop as he turned to his wife, looking pleadingly toward her. Getting the message, moved up beside Twilight and placed a comforting hoof on her before speaking.

“Honey, while we can’t begin to understand what this must be like, me and Nightlight want you to know that we still see you as our daughter, no matter how you came into our lives. And…despite what she has done, I think…I think you should at least try and give her a chance.”

“…Like you will your daughter...?”

That got a flinch from Velvet, but she nodded all the same. “Yes Twilight, we will, but can you blame us…I mean, I still see you as my daughter Twilight, but I have…I have always hoped that one day I would find her.”

Twilight nodded at that, then turned and hugged them both, holding them tight as she spoke, “no matter what, you’re still my parents…even…even if things do end up going well with…with her…”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Nightlight.

They all looked up then when the heard a throat clear behind them, and saw Luna standing behind them alone, as Celestia was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Celestia,” asked Twilight.

“She had to retire, for this experience has worn on her a great deal,” said Luna. “As for me, I must be going as well, for we still have the changeling rumors to look into.”

“I think I need to rest as well,” said Twilight, “this…this has just been too much…”

“I understand,” said Luna, “and fear not, we shall insure you receive a dreamless sleep once you pass within our realm.”

With that, Luna vanished in a flash of light, leaving behind a shaken but stronger family.

“I just hope their bonds can survive…whatever the hell this situation is we have found ourselves in.”

Author's Notes:

Before any one panics, I know some information was left unanswered, but don't worry next chapter will hopefully fill in those blanks, till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter Twenty Six: Moves Within Moves

Clover rested upon a silk covered bed, her magic having made it so after she had kindly accepted the changeling’s assurances that this was one of the best guest rooms in the castle. It wasn’t anything against what the castle had to offer, but nothing really compared to the kind of comfort and opulence she had grown accustomed to over the years, though hopefully that would be remedied in the near future.

Her head turned toward the sound of the door opening, and the moment she saw who was standing in the doorway, she turned back to the window she was looking out of, sipping her blood whine a bit before speaking. “I know you would show up sooner or later Anthra, what do you want?”

“Just one thing,” said Anthra with a cold hiss, “where is my Nashandra?”

Clover giggled as she turned to look at the former changeling ruler, smirking gloatingly before speaking. “You really think I would tell you that, you would just take her away from me.”

“It would be for her own good,” said Anthra coldly, “I don’t know how it is possible Clover, but you are just…you twisted her, you made her into something she was not.”

“No,” said Clover just as coldly, “I simply gave her the ability to reach her fullest potential, it’s not my fault the fruit of knowledge is sometimes poisonous.”

“Some knowledge is forbidden and should remain so,” said Anthra, “you had no right to awaken her mind to such…possibilities within herself.”

“All knowledge should be shared and learned, regardless of the dangers it may present.”

Anthra stared at her for a moment, and then sighed, “very well, but answer me this…is she doing ok?”

“Very well actually,” said Clover, “but she has been moping about a bit lately, she’s still sad that she can’t make any more little ones, you remember how she loved them so.”

That got a hurt look from Anthra, “I see…that is a shame, I was hoping that maybe we could begin growing our numbers again.”

“Well sadly that won’t be happening any time soon,” said Clover, before taking another sip of her whine, “anything else?”

“If you harm so much as a hair on that ponies head, I swear I will kill you.”

Clover smirked, “dully noted,” she said, before sighing in relief as the changeling left the room. Moments later, the sound of teleportation filled the room, and Clover turned to see Starlight standing in the room looking a bit shaken.

“Ah good you’re here,” said Clover, “and just in time to if I am right, if you leave the hall you should intercept your parents on their way to their rooms, which should prove a nice distraction for them.”

“Are…are you sure I am ready,” asked Starlight, looking nervous as she looked toward the door.

“You are as ready as you can be,” said Clover with a smile, “now go…be with your real family.”

Starlight nodded, and then left out the door, but not before Clover cast a quick spell insuring that she would be able to see how events unfolded through her student’s eyes.

*

Starlight Glimmer ran into Nightlight and Velvet in the middle of the hall, all three staring at each other in shock till, much to Starlight’s surprise, Velvet surged forward and pulled her into a fierce hug.

“It’s you…it’s really you!”

Starlight hesitated, and then hugged her back, beginning to cry as Nightlight joined in the hug, crying long and hard till finally they all calmed down, Starlight whipping her eyes before speaking to them. “Do…do you mind if I walk with you, so we can talk?”

They both nodded, and began walking, Starlight keeping pace with them as Velvet spoke up next.

“So…how long have you been duchess of the Shetland Island’s?”

“For ten years now,” said Starlight, “I…I was groomed for the position by my lady since I was five years of age, for she said my destiny lay in the Isles.”

“And was it your destiny to be taken from us?” asked Nightlight with a bite to his voice.

Starlight flinched, but tried to calm her father. “Please father, try not to think ill of my lady, it’s not her fault, she just…she saw no other way, she didn’t know you had had me when she…when she went to leave you with her daughter.”

“She didn’t know,” said Velvet, sounding surprised.

“No she didn’t,” said Starlight, “from what she said, she was horrified when she saw me laying in a crib, for she had just planned on leaving her in your bed with you…she didn’t expect to find a crib next to your bed.”

“But she had to have known, we had been trying for years to have another child, and when she was born we announced it to the world, how could she not have known?”

“She...she kept herself cut off from most of what she called sensles dribble and rumors, all she knew about you that she trusted was that you both were trying for another child, but had so far been unsuccessful. When she saw me their, she...she panicked, and not knowing what else to do, she took me out of the crib, and placed Twilight there instead.”

“But why,” asked Nightlight, “she could have just left her there, why did she feel the need to take you?”

“...Cause I was useful to her...”

That got both parents looking worried, but before they could speak up, they reached the door to their room, Nightlight opening it up and letting them inside before closing it behind them.

*

“Grandmother, do you really have to...”

“Hush child, I need to concentrate.”

Chrysalis growled as she watched her grandmother work, recognizing each spell and its purpose, which made her worry.

Finally Anthra finished, and then turned to Chrysalis before speaking, “Nashandra is alive and she is producing infiltrators again.”

Chrysalis's eyes widened in shock, “She...she is, but...but that mean...”

“That the infiltrators that Starlight said were yours are actually hers, which means we are being spied upon.”

Chrysalis was inclined to agree, and she also figured she knew who it was, “But why would Clover want to spy on Twilight's castle.”

“If what Clover said is true, then she may want to keep an eye on those who are near her daughter, but that isn't the only thing we have to worry about. Those reports of changelings are most likely hers as well, which means you need to be careful. Clover is planning something, something big, so we need to be ready.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Let your changelings know of this, that way they can keep a better eye on Twilight and the Infiltrators, meanwhile you must continue following those leads.”

“But Grandmother I cant just...”

“You must,” said d Anthra, startling her with her urgency. “We can't let Clover know we are on to her, not if we want to properly prepare.”

“Then what will you be doing?”

“...I will stay here and continue to help my mate, but as soon as your mother is done healing Shining Armor, I will have her come to watch over Twilight for you, you know how good she is at protecting others. As for Twilight...we will keep her in the dark about what we know, though hopefully if things play out well, she may be able to give us vital information on Clover's dealings.”

“We can only hope,” said Chrysalis, “just...just be careful grandmother, I don't want to lose you again.”

“I will my child, just be sure to be careful as well.”

She then watched Chrysalis leave, sighing a bit before looking out her window, wondering if things would play out good for them in the end.

Author's Notes:

Finally, this is done, now onto the next chapter!

Chapter Twenty Seven: A Dark Most Foul

Clover sighed as she closed the mirror which she had been using to spy on Starlight, the meeting between her prized pupil and her real parents making the mare feel old for the first time in a thousand years.

She remembered finding Starlight there, the foal that shouldn't have been, the foal that had ruined all of her plans, and the foal who turned her whole world upside down.

When she had touch her, her inner eye had opened, revealing to her the foals future, and where she needed to be. Of course, she would be tied into prophecy, and of course that meant she would have to take her, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt her all the more, especially when her parents had show up, forcing her to act the way she did.

“So much harm was done that day...both to the child....and to her mother.....”

She was startled out of her memories by a calm knocking on the door, Clover opening it with magic to find Twilight standing there, the mare looking a little startled as Clover gestured to her with a wing.

“It's good to see you my daughter, I had honestly expected to have to wait longer before seeing you.”

“My....my parents said I should try to get to know you, seeing as they are in the process of getting to know their....their real daughter.”

“....I am sorry my baby, I wish their could have been another way....I just...things had to happen this way.”

Twilight's eyes darkened at that, the mare beginning to shake as she looked toward Clover and spoke. “Had to happen, what do you mean it had to happen, what possible reason could you have had that warranted you leaving me with ponies YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!”

Clover sighed, then gestured to her flank, Twilight seeing a cutie mark the likes of which she had never seen before, a all seeing eye upon a book which was surrounded by a mass of tendrils.

“My talent, as well as my title as an alicorn is Fate and Knowledge. When I gained this talent, my mind was flooded with all the knowledge of our world, old and new alike, and it still gets filled occasionally as new knowledge is discovered. As for the Fate aspect of my talent, anypony I touch I can glean their future, all possible futures, which can be very very tiring sometimes.”

“When...when I was giving birth to you, I was flooded with all your possible futures, and during that time, I...I made a choice. I began sorting through them, trying to pick out the best one which I felt would give you the brightest future. And this one, the one we are living right now, was the best one I could find, for it was the only one who gave you control over magic itself, which allowed you to claim your birthright as the element of magic.”

“Then why didn't you just reveal to the princesses that you were alive, why didn't you stay and raise me yourself?”

“Because it would ruin everything,” said Clover, “I have been in hiding because I cannot trust my nieces to help me in the endeavor I am preparing to combat, they would only get in the way. There is something bad coming, something I can't tell you about now, but I have to prepare for, because when it gets here neither you, your friends nor the princesses will be able to stand against it.”

“.....what do you mean something is coming?”

Clover cursed, “I told you I can't tell you about it, but I will have it handled....”

“NO!” yelled Twilight, her voice booming as she advanced on Clover. “You are going to tell me of this threat to Equestria or I swear, by all that is holy in Equestria I will never speak to you again as long as I live, and I'm an alicorn now, so you think carefully before you speak again.”

Clover stood there for a long while, then sighed in exasperation before glaring at her and speaking. “You may one day regret pushing this issue my daughter, but I will tell you, for I do not wish to be separated from you any longer. The foe I am preparing to face is named Grogar, an old and powerful entity from our world's past that attempted long ago to take over Equestria. The Princesses, even with the power of the elements, nearly died when he tried to usurp Equestria from them, and he has only grown more powerful since he was banished from our lands. I have a plan in the works, but if the princesses found out they would try and interfere, hell they're going to try interfering anyway when they find out who your father is.”

“And who is my father?”

“That I can't tell you, you will just have to wait till Cadance returns from my home to learn who he is...though I can tell you this, you definitely get your thirst for knowledge from him.”

“No, that's not good enough...I'll be coming....”

“NO!!!”

The castle shook with the force of Clover's yell, Twilight stumbling a bit as the larger mare moved toward her and spoke. “That place would kill the baby growing in your womb my child, for your fathers magic is running wild there, and it would kill your baby regardless of what kind of protections you put in place or the blood that runs through her veins. You must wait till he...he is ready to see you...till then you must trust that Cadance will tell you who he is.”

Twilight hesitated, then sighed, deciding that that was a battle she did not want to fight. “Very well, then let me ask my next question. Was I born an alicorn?”

Clover didn't even hesitate, “no my daughter, you were not born an alicorn, you were born a unicorn. It was one of the other reasons I had to take you away, for your father was greatly upset by this, and he tried to....well, he tried to fix you.”

“Fix me?”

“Yes,” said Clover, “but I could not let him do that, for it would have killed you, but he was not in his right mind at the time, much like he wasn't in his right mind when he attempted to speak to you through your mind.”

“You mean when he rendered me unconscious.”

Clover nodded, “He forgot that we had sent you away, and when he was unable to find you he began to panic, so he tried to reach you the easiest way he knew how, forgetting that you were not yet ready to hear his voice. Tell me child, do you....remember anything he said?”

Twilight shook her head, “All I can remember was a lot of loud shouting in an old draconian dialect, but it was too loud, and to garbled to make anything of it.”

“I see,” said Clover, but before she could say more the door behind them opened, and a changeling walked in, looking a bit scared as it spoke.

“Lady Clover, Princess Cadance has arrived, and she wishes to head off at once.”

“I see, tell her I will meet her at the castle door shortly, I first have to say goodbye to my daughter.”

The Changeling left, leaving Clover to turn to Twilight and speak. “I will be back soon, for I will need to speak with Celestia and Luna once Cadance speaks to them, but after that I would like to speak with you more, if you wish it.”

“We'll see,” said Twilight.

Clover nodded, and then she teleported away, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts, till she too left, leaving to speak with Celestia about what she had learned.

*

“Take it easy Celestia, calm, steady breaths, like I'm doing.”

Twilight couldn't believe her eyes, for the sight before her was too ridicules and frightening to contemplate. She had arrived in the chambers Celestia and Anthra now shared, and she had begun telling them what Clover had told her, but the moment Grogar's name had come up Celestia had flown into a panic attack, hyperventilating and struggling to breath as Antrha tried to calm her down.

It took her a while, but finally she managed to get Celestia breathing normally, Anthra keeping her under a wing as she looked to Twilight and spoke. “Twilight, are you sure this is the name you heard, are you sure she said Grogar?”

Twilight nodded, “yes, she seemed pretty sure about it herself, but....but how can this not have been mentioned in the history books.”

“Because we whipped his name from all historical record,” Said Celestia, slipping into the royal we due to her agitated nerves. “We tracked down every entity who had ever seen him and whipped their memories, we found every monument and statue dedicated to him and tore them down, and we burned every single book that even mentioned his name.....we did horrible things to make sure no one would remember him, especially our little ponies!”

Twilight dawned a look of horror, but it seemed Celestia wasn't finished speaking.

“When Luna found out, she....she flew into a rage, attacking me and visiting upon us pain she felt equal to the damage she believed we caused to the world, left us broken and bloodied, and then she urinated upon us for good measure.”

“It still angers me that you allowed that to happen,” said Anthra.

“It was her right,” said Celestia, “I did horrible things, all to hurt him, to remove his power.....but now he's coming back....”

“Be still beloved,” said Anthra, “he cannot hurt you!”

“He can and he will,” said Celestia, “we nearly died during that last encounter, mine sister and I. We cannot live through that again.....we cannot....”

Before she could go further, Anthra decided enough was enough, placing her under a powerful sleep spell and moving her to the bed before glaring at Twilight and speaking. “You should leave now Twilight, you will do no good here.”

Twilight hesitated a moment, then vanished, leaving Anthra alone with her mate, the former queen thanking the gods above and bellow that she had left then, allowing her face to fall as she looked back at Celestia with worry.

For no matter how much she would reassure her in the future, if Grogar was truly returning, then there was truly no hope....for any of them.

Author's Notes:

Whew, done.....now onto the next chapter.

Chapter Twenty Eight: Shattered Chess Board - Part One

A deep, bellowing laugh echoed across the barren landscape that composed the central ring of Tartarus, many of the denizens there cowering in fear, and a few looking to the throne which was composed of the skulls of Tartarus's former rulers.

Chained to it were Sombra and the recently defeated Tirek, and atop the throne was their master, Grogar, who was looking through a magic mirror at the surface world above.

“Tis good to know that we have left such a lasting memory upon the Sun, hm....how we long to taste of her moist flesh once again, wouldn't you agree my pupil?”

The growl that escaped Sombra's mouth caused Grogar to frown, the goat back hoofing the stallion so that he went flying into the air, before his chain snapped taunt and caused him to choke as he fell to the ground.

“You will do well to curb your rebellious behavior Sombra, after all, Tirek has already submitted himself to us, haven't you old man.”

Tirek's vacant eyes looked toward Grogar, before he let out a weak little rasp, for he had yet to regrow his vocal cords from their last encounter.

Taking a deep breath, Sombra got to his hooves before turning and glaring at Grogar. “You can do whatever you want to me, but I will not serve you again, not after what you did to my people!!!”

Grogar laughed at that, “Then we shall do whatever we want to you, but you will serve us one way or another, after all, when all is said and done, we will rule the world....and all shall bow to us.”

Then, with another laugh, his horns lit up, Sombra gurgling as he felt his lungs begin to compress inside his chest. “Now, let us see how much pain you can endure this time around.”

*

Twilight woke up gasping.

It had been a fitful night for sleeping for the young ruler, from the cramps she was experiencing to the bad dreams about her....real mother, all of it was getting to her in the worst way possible.

Looking toward her window, she saw that the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, so she decided to get up with it. Groaning, she rolled out of bed, managing to escape from Chrysalis, who had once again snuck into her bed to snuggle with her.

It wasn't really a problem, when she thought about it, for Chrysalis's fur was softer then silk, so she made a very comfortable bed fellow.

Not that she was romantically involved with her, for Chrysalis; in a move that had surprised even her, had actually sat down with her to talk, telling her that she would be stalling in her romantic pursuits in light of what was going on, which Twilight had to admit was rather nice of her.

Now she was on her way to Celestia's chambers again, for she wanted to talk with her, though she hoped this conversation would go better than the last one.

However, as she reached the door to Celestia's chambers, she felt a presence appear behind her, before a deep, soothing voice spoke up from behind her. “Hi lost bok ful pogaas, dii mon.”

*

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE LEFT!!!”

Cadance cringed at the volume of Clover's Royal Canterlot Voice, the alicorn staring daggers down at the guard before her who had just told her the news.

“It's as I said my lady,” said the mare nervously, “The lord came out of his room looking fitter then he has in years, said he was going out to meet someone special, and then vanished.”

Clover glared at the guard a little bit more, then let out a deep angered sigh before looking to Cadance and speaking, “Cadance, how are you with long distance teleportation?”

“Normally good,” said Cadance, “but the doctors recently told me that I should keep it to short range teleportation, on account of the...the foal.”

Clover looked surprised for a moment, and then growled, before gesturing for her to follow. “You should have told me before we left, no matter, we shall simply have to use my personal dragon to get us there, she can cover the distance in the time we need.”

*

Twilight was completely and utterly speechless, for what she had found standing behind her defied all logic and reason.

For, standing before her was Starswirl the Bearded, but not the unicorn, no...he was an Alicorn.

“Kiir, dreh hi mindol til los aan golt mu aal tinvaak?”

“Uh...I'm sorry, I...I don't understand you,” said Twilight.

Starswirl looked confused for a moment, then facehoofed, before stamping his hoof upon the ground face as he spoke. “Ruth, zu'u fod lost dahmaan hi dreh ni tinvaak ol dovah dreh, mu bolog krosis.”

Then, before Twilight could react, he leaned forward and touched his horn to hers, a brief flash passing between them before he pulled back and spoke once more. “Can you understand me now?”

“I...yes, I can now, what did you...”

“I cast a spell which allows you to understand me,” said Starswirl, “not that complex, but to my earlier question, is there someplace we can talk?”

Twilight nodded, leading him away from Celestia's chambers and to the map room, Twilight taking a seat as Starswirl gazed at the map a bit before looking over at her and smiling. “You no doubt have questions?”

Twilight nodded, “Why are you here?”

“I came because my mind is finally clear after thousands of years of madness, and so I set out to find you.”

“Why...”

“Because I am your father Twilight.”

There was a long moment of silence, and then...

“What...”

“I am your father,” said Starswirl, smiling as he said it.

“H...how...”

“Well I know you have met your mother, so you should be able to put two and two together on that one.”

“But why...how...you were her teacher, she was your student...and the age gap...plus there is the fact that you’re an alicorn...I just.”

“I know,” said Starswirl, “it's a lot to take in, but if you will allow me, I would like to tell you of how me and your...how me and Clover came to be the way we are.”

Twilight hesitated for a long moment, and then nodded, causing Starswirl to smile before he spoke once again.

“As you know Twilight, a lot of history was lost after Discord took over Equestria, and as such, many things about the time of the three tribes were either lost to history or heavily altered due to the memories of the ones telling the tales being rather spotty. For instance, did you know that Clover the Clever and Princess Platinum were in fact sisters?”

“What?” said Twilight, “but that's not how the history books tell it.”

“As I said,” said Starswirl, “much was lost, though it may have also been due to some changing the story for other reasons, for royal families back during that time had some...dark practices, and Platinum's family was no exception.”

“What sort of practices?”

“Like that fact that every child after the first born became a slave to the first born, to be used as they saw fit.”

Twilight blanched at that, allowing Starswirl to continue uninterrupted. “It was quite a barbaric practice, and only made worse in Clovers case when she attained her talent. When she gained it, Platinum suddenly had a treasure trove of knowledge at her disposal, as well as a mare who could divine the future of anypony she touched, well...almost everypony.”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“Well you see Twilight, there a few select ponies that when Clover touches them, she cannot see into any of their possible futures, she simply comes up blank. Of those select few, I was one, and Princess Platinum was another, and she did not take this news well.”

“When she found out that Clover could not divine her future, Platinum decided she had no use for the mare, and decided to sell her in an actuation, and as you can imagine many ponies showed up to purchase such a rare prize.”

“That's simply barbaric!”

“Indeed it is,” said Starswirl, “which is why I freed her after I purchased her.”

Twilight, who at this point had conjured up some juice for herself to drink, spat it out as she stared at the stallion in disbelief. “You WHAT!!!”

“I bought her,” said Starswirl with a smirk, “walked right into Platinum's action haul and bought her sister, paid an outrageous sum of money too, after all I didn't want anyone betting against me.”

“So you are telling me,” said Twilight, a note of anger in her voice as she spoke. “That you, Starswirl the fucking Bearded, one of the most noble ponies ever written about in our history, bought one of Equestria's founders as a slave!”

“The money was clean,” said Starswirl, “and I freed her once we got to my mansion home, after all it wouldn't have been good for my future wife to be a slave, even my reputation wouldn't have survived that.”

Twilight was near livid at this news, “You bought her so she could be your wife, what kind of twisted stallion are you!”

“Please,” said Starswirl, giving her a disgruntled look as he spoke. “I only bought her so she could be my apprentice, after all she had an extraordinary talent, and a gift for magic, so I bought her rather than let her be grabbed by some scumbag noble who would do nothing but abuse her gift and fill her belly full of foals. It was only later, after she expressed interest in me, that I started pursuing her as a wife.”

“She expressed interest?” asked Twilight, “pardon me for um...finding that hard to believe.”

“Because of the age gap correct?” asked Starswirl, receiving a nod and chuckling. “Well for one, it was common practice back in the day for a student to marry their master, for often they were the pony who they formed the greatest bonds with during their life. And as to the age gap, when I bought Clover I was already over four hundred years old, so I think it is fair to say there would have been an age gap no matter who I chose to pursue romantically.”

“Four hundred...but...but ponies only live to be one hundred, how did you...”

Starswirl lifted up a hoof then, letting a crystal attached to a chain drop down, one which Twilight focused on with a look of shock and horror.

“That's...”

“A philosophers stone,” said Starswirl, “but before you make any accusations, I did not use the normal method to make this one, I instead used a safe, less well known method.”

“But Philosopher stones require pony souls!” said Twilight, “what method could be safer if that is still the main ingredient.”

“Well it has to do with the types of souls you use,” said Starswirl, conjuring himself a drink before speaking further. “Now most wizards wanting to make a stone tend to be on their last legs, and thus don't care what kind of soul they use so they will simply take it from anypony. However, if you take corrupted souls, like those found on a battlefield, then the philosopher stone created actually behaves a lot differently than your standard Philosopher stone.”

“How so?”

“Well, in a standard philosopher stone, the souls trapped within exist in agony till they are released, but in the case of a philosopher stone composed of corrupted souls, the stone purifies them as it uses their soul energy, till they are released to pass peacefully into the afterlife.”

“...You will understand if I want to verify this?”

“I have many notes on the subject I would be willing to lend you, but for now let me continue with my story if you will.”

With a nod from Twilight, Starswirl continued. “Anyways, we spent many lovely years together, but when I gave her a stone after our wedding, many of the ponies began making preparations for her to take over the throne from Platinum...till the unthinkable happened.”

“What?”

“Platinum gave birth...to two alicorn foals.”

Twilight's eyes widened in shock, but before she could continue Starswirl continued. “The day of Celestia and Luna's birth, Platinum was hailed as the mother of Alicorns, and her position on the throne was made ironclad, and to top it all off her children were crowned the eternal rulers of Equestria, with Platinum holding the throne in trust till they were ready to rule.”

Sighing, he took another sip of his wine, before going on further. “As you no doubt know by now, ponies and changelings have existed for many years together, and by the point Celestia and Luna took the throne, Clover and I had created a good rapport with one of Anthra's daughters, known as Nashandra. She was deeply fascinated with both of us, and was one who often spurred on some of Clover's more...well out there experiments, and so one day she postulated a theory...one which Clover became obsessed with.”

“And what was that?”

“Well,” said Starswirl, “it appears that Nashandra had done some digging, and apparently the night of Celestia and Luna's...conception, Platinum's mate, one Chancellor Puddinghead, for he was male, not female as many of the legends say. Anyways, according Platinum he had seemed drunk that night, but in fact he had been infused with insane amounts of unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony magic by an unknown source, magic that went from him into his mate. This magic made Platinum insanely powerful for the entirety of her pregnancy, to the point she was able to wield the sun and moon by herself, but this magic left her when Celestia and Luna were born, being split instead among the two of them.”

“So Nashandra thought, if an alicorn could be born in such a way, maybe one could be made by other means. So we all began to work, Clover and Nashandra working on their version on the project, while I decided to pursue my own research into possibly becoming an alicorn, though I am glad to see that you were able to complete what I had left abandoned so long ago.”

Blushing, Twilight giggled a bit. “Well...it was no big deal really.”

“But it is,” said Starswirl, “when I abandoned that project, it was because I thought it was a waste of effort when there could possibly be a better solution, I could not see what I was missing. But anyways, when Clover figured out a way to make us into alicorns, we decided to do so in seclusion, unfortunately we timed it rather poorly, as by the time we emerged from the slumber brought on by our change, Discord had already been turned to stone, and Equestria had been changed.”

Falling silent then, Starswirl looked down at his wine glass, staying silent for a long moment till Twilight caught his attention. “Um...if you don't mind me asking, my...Clover told me that she had to keep me away from you, said something about you trying to fix me when I was little, what did she mean by that?”

Sighing, the old stallion gave her a sorrowful look before speaking. “It is actually connected to why I am speaking in ancient draconic instead of equestrian, for you see, many years after we became alicorns, I found a book of dragon magic, the Draconian Xarxes, which I am sure you have heard about.”

Twilight's widened in utter shock, “The...the Draconian Xarxes, that book is said to contain all the knowledge on dragon magic, and is said to grand the reader total understanding and mastery of said magic.”

“Both are correct,” said Starswirl, “but what none of the legends speak of is that the ancient tome was cursed, driving mad the mind of any reader who was not a dragon. This madness was not permanent, and came with lucid periods, and it was during a particularly long one that we conceived you. However, when you were born, the madness returned, and in my maddened state, I decided that I had to try and fix you, as you were not born an alicorn as we had both hopped.”

Sighing again, he looked up toward the ceiling, speaking as a look of hurt crossed his face. “Clover still bears the scars from having to subdue me, and when I woke next, you were gone, though part of me always knew where you were.”

“I...I see,” said Twilight, before jumping as Clover teleported into the room, the mare looking livid as she stared down Starswirl before speaking.

“You insufferable hedge wizard, what the fuck were you thinking!”

Author's Notes:

That bit about Starswirl buying Clover was taken from the Ancient Magus Bride, a cool anime in my opinionated opinion.

Few, that was a lot to dump on you guys, but as this is a two part chapter, there is still more to come, anyways guys, if you guys have any questions or comments feel free to drop them down in the comments section below, I always love hearing from you guys.

Translations in case anyone was wondering.
“Hi lost bok ful pogaas, dii mon.”
“You have aged so much my daughter.”

“Kiir, dreh hi mindol til los aan golt mu aal tinvaak?”
“Child, do you think there is a place we may speak?”

“Ruth, zu'u fod lost dahmaan hi dreh ni tinvaak ol dovah dreh, mu bolog krosis.”
“Damn, I should have remembered, you do not speak as dragons do, we beg apologies.”

Noted this is a rough translation, but I hope it helps.

Dovahkiin!

Chapter Twenty Nine: The Shattered Chess Board - Part Two

“All my planning, all the time I spent getting ready for Grogar’s return, and you throw it all away for what, so that you could meet your daughter early! Do you delight in tormenting me, do you delight in smashing all my meticulously thought out plans into ruble!?”

Twilight watched as Starswirl smirked, before chuckling as he spoke. “My dear sweet flour, while your plans may have worked against normal minds, Grogar is near equal to you beloved, and thus he will be able to tear them apart easier then I have. If we are to defeat him, we must consolidate our forces, not scheme in the dark.”

He then turned to Twilight, but before he could speak, Luna’s voice suddenly sounded thorough the loud enough to be heard all the way from Canterlot.

“HOW DARE YOU SET HOOF WITHIN OUR REALM YOU VILE SNAKE!!!”

Starswirl turned in the direction of the sound, a look of concern on his face. “I know of only one creature that could drive Luna to such fear, but if we are lucky I am wrong, gather close to me, and I will take us there.”

Clover immediately came to his side, but Twilight hesitated, causing him to look sympathetically towards her. “Twilight, I promise you have nothing to fear from me, but we need to move quickly if the creature I fear is in Canterlot.”

Realizing he was right, Twilight moved up next to him, then closed her eyes as she felt him teleport them all.

*

Luna was still seeing red when Twilight, Starswirl, Clover, Celestia, Anthra and Celestine appeared in the throne room, all of them gasping when they saw the creature standing in front of Equestria’s throne.

He was as tall as an alicorn, and while he was slenderly built, they could clearly see muscle hidden under his dark blue fur. He was wearing a necklace upon which hung a golden bell, and his two horns gently curved in on themselves, enhancing his face along with his glowing yellow eyes.

“Ah good, you are all here.”

“What are you doing here Grogar!” growled Starswirl, causing Luna, Celestia, Anthra and Celestine to jump at the sound of his voice.

“Starswirl old friend,” said the giant goat, smiling as he sat down. “It is good to see that the madness has left you. As for why I am here, I have recently returned to my homeland, and have been re-instated as its ruler. As such, I wish to make sure my transition back into ruling over my people goes as smoothly as possible, thus, I come here under the white flag of truce in order to beg you, the noble rulers of Equestria, to not besiege my kingdom.”

“If you think we’ll let you subjugate the goats again you are poorly mistaken Grogar,” said Luna.

“Oh really, and are you willing to go to war over it?”

That stilled Luna, however Celestia stepped in her place to speak, though she was shaking as she spoke. “And what assurances do we have that you will not declare war on us?”

“By offering a gift,” said Grogar with a smile, before his horns lit and a pony appeared before them, one he floated to the steps before the throne before setting it down.

The moment they got a better look Twilight realized that it was Sombra, but he was not as she had known him. Gone was his curved red horn, gone were the flowing black mane and tail, and once he opened his eyes, she could see that they no longer were tainted by dark magic, instead his eyes were normal, if a deep shade of red when it came to the irises.

Luna looked the most shocked by this, which caused Grogar to smirk, “I offer you Luna’s former student, whole and free from the magic which plagued him, and in exchange all I ask that no hostilities between our nations be formed.”

Celestia stepped forward, “And if we refuse.”

“I take Sombra with me as a prisoner of war, and you all know how the goats treat their prisoners.”

Silence held for a long moment, till finally Luna’s horn lit up, her magic picking up Sombra and floating him over to her before she spoke. “We agree to your terms.”

“Luna…”

“This is my decision Celestia,” said Luna sternly, “you are on leave from you duties…therefore I am the one who rules here, and I see this as the best option we have.”

“I am glad we agree,” said Grogar, “but with that said, I best get back to my kingdom, I will be sure to send a delegate with the necessary paperwork in a matter of days, so be ready for their arrival.”

And with that he vanished in a blinding flash of light, leaving everyone there in shock, till suddenly Luna turned around and slapped Starswirl across the face.

“Luna what the…”

“So you live, and you never once thought to tell either myself or Celestia!” yelled Luna as she started poking him in the chest.

“You can blame her for most of it,” said Starswirl as he pointed to Clover, who glared daggers at him.

“Oh so I’m to blame, you agreed with me when I suggested that it would be best to hide our presence from them!”

“I only agreed because at the time I felt it would be best for them to learn to stand on their own, and if the madness hadn't hit when it did I would have revealed myself to them sooner.”

Clover looked like she wanted to argue further, only to be stopped as Luna spoke. “Enough, this is not the time or place for this. Celestia, get back to Twilight’s castle and return to your rest, you are still not fit to return to rule yet.”

“But…”

“Just do what I said,” said Luna, before turning to Starswirl and Clover. “You two will stay in Canterlot for the foreseeable future, as your arrival is a boon during this trying time.”

“I’m sorry but…” started Clover, only to be stopped as Starswirl leveled a glare at her before turning to Luna and speaking.

“I would be honored to help you in this trying time dear niece, as would my wife, after all it will allow me to stay close to get to know my daughter better.”

Nodding her head, Luna finally turned her head to Twilight. “Twilight, while I know it would be your normal inclination to gather your friends together to figure out how to combat this foe, Grogar is a being beyond even the elements power.”

“I understand Princess,” said Twilight, “but…I wasn’t going to anyway due to…well due to my child.”

Luna’s expression softened at that, “Yes, that is a concern as well. Now all of you go, I would like to be alone with my former student.”

Slowly, everyone teleported out of the throne room, till all that was left was Luna and Sombra. She then picked him up, looking to one of the guards who had been standing shock still, before speaking to him and causing him to start. “I will be in my chambers for the rest of the day, inform that staff that I am not to be disturbed.”

“As you wish Princess,” said the guard.

Luna then teleported to her chambers, leaving Sombra in her bed and prepping tea, returning just as his eyes opened one more as he looked about.

“Where am I?”

“In my chambers in Canterlot Castle,” said Luna, causing Sombra to look at her.

“Teacher…wait, did you say Canterlot Castle, I thought it was still under construction?”

Luna’s face softened a bit, the mare setting down the tea before passing him a cup and speaking. “What is the last thing you remember my student?”

Sombra took a sip of tea, and then he spoke. “I was looking through the crystal archives, looking for tomes on magic, when I came across this strange tome. I remember taking the tome from the shelf and opening it…and then nothing.”

“…That was over a thousand years ago my student.”

Sombra’s eyes widened in shock, but Luna quickly dove into explanations before he could speak, sparing no detail over what had transpired over the last thousand plus years.

When it was over, Sombra had a pensive look on his face, before he looked to his former teacher and spoke. “My teacher, if all this is true, how do you know I am not a plant by Grogar to spy on you.”

“I have already thought of that,” said Luna, “I have been running scans upon you the entire time we have been speaking, and I have found no spells save for the remnants of dark magic and the remnants of a memory eraser spell, so I feel safe in assuming that you are no spy.”

Sombra breathed out a sigh of relief at that, and then yawned, before laying his head down on the pillows of Luna’s bed. “I am sorry teacher, but I suddenly feel very tired.”

“I know,” said Luna, “for I may or may not have slipped a little something into your tea, for my scans showed that you are not fully rested, and I will need you to be bright eyed for the morrow.”

“Sneaky mare,” said Sombra, before yawning once more and falling fast asleep, leaving Luna to watch over him as he slept soundly.

*

Twilight returned to Her castle and leaned against a nearby wall, taking in a deep breath before concentrating on her daughter.

“Hey little one, I’m sorry if that was really scary, are you doing ok?”

“I otay,” she heard in her head, “but I hungy.”

Smiling a bit, Twilight headed for the kitchen, before stopping as she saw Clover in the kitchen holding a cake in her magic.

“…are you planning on eating all of that?”

Clover hesitated a moment, and then sighed, “yes if you must know, Celestia isn’t the only one with a massive sweet tooth.”

“…Did prince…did my aunt Platinum have a sweet tooth too?”

Clover hesitated for a moment, before realizing what this was, and smiled before setting the cake on a table and speaking. “She did actually, and your aunt would often eat though the castles cake stores in a mater of days, much to the head cooks constant anger.”

Twilight smiled at that, “Do you think you could grab the ambrosia out of the fridge as well?”

Nodding her head, Clover opened the fridge before setting it down on the table for Twilight, who began to dig in before stopping as Clover spoke once more. “I…I am sorry for leaving you the way I did…it was not fair of me…”

“…no it was not,” said Twilight, “do you know what its like to find out that the majority of your life was a lie.”

“No I don’t,” said Clover, “I honestly thought that what I was doing was best for you…but I should have kept you despite the risks.”

“…Could you show me?”

Clover looked confused, so Twilight clarified, “Could you show me what you saw to make you leave me with the ponies who became my mom and dad.”

Clover dawned a look of concern, “It may be unsettling, for some of the futures I saw were quite…disturbing.”

“…If you want a chance to become part of my life, this is the price I ask.”

Clover hesitated for a moment, before she walked over and placed her horn to Twilight’s, and suddenly her mind was flooded with images.

Before her eyes were the lives she could have lived if she had not been raised by Velvet and Nightlight, and many she saw horrified her. The majority of the ended due to Nightmare Moon taking over, while others showed discord being loosed on the land. Only a few she saw ended well up to this point, but the one that was the brightest, the one that offered both her and the world the best chance, was the one she was living now.

When the visions ended, Twilight saw that Clover was crying, and suddenly realized that she had been crying as well.

“Like I said, this was the best one I saw out of all of them, for this not only insured you had a good life, but it also insured that Equestria and the world as a whole would prosper.”

For a long moment, Twilight just stated at her, but eventually she sighed before speaking. “Seeing that, I can sort of understand why you did what you did, but you still should have looked for some other way to get this outcome…I can’t promise anything, but if you put through the effort, We may one day have a decent relationship, but I will be the one who decides if you are putting enough effort in.”

She then took the ambrosia and left, leaving Clover alone with her cake, which she looked at before sighing and putting it back into the fridge.

“I hope I can please you my daughter.”

Author's Notes:

And thus Changeling Mine comes to an end, stay tuned for the sequel Bridging Canyons, and till next time guys if you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them on by, I always love hearing from you guys.