Another "What if?" scenario story. What would have happened if Thorax hadn't been catapulted away from Canterlot by Cadance and Shining's shield?
Another story presenting a "What if?" scenario.
The changeling invasion has been repelled by Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor's shield spell. Every changeling that attacked Canterlot has been blasted out of the city...
...except for one.
Special Thanks to TheOwtcast for proofreading this story. Please check out their work if you haven't already.
Made the Popular list 8/1/2023! Featured 8/1/2023!
An attempt to invade the pony city of Canterlot by an army of large insect-like equine creatures had been repelled, the army blasted out of the city by a wave of pink energy that comprised a shield spell fueled by the alicorn princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her unicorn husband Shining Armor. For any pony that was still outside during the horrible events, they were treated to the screams of these creatures as they were sent flying into the far off horizon, where all hoped they would never be seen again.
However, if one were to train their ears at that moment, one would hear what sounded like the buzzing of a large fly. Were they to inspect closer, they would uncover a rather unsettling fact:
The wave of energy that sent the invading army out of the city...
...had missed one.
The lone creature, whom ponies would learn was called a changeling, was hovering in mid-air a good distance above the city. His forelegs were covering his face, and he could be heard whimpering. His eyes were screwed shut, and he had attempted to make himself as small as possible.
In a way, his efforts had succeeded and he had avoided grievous injury, but now he was alone and left behind in what his kind would now consider enemy territory.
Whatever happened to him would likely not be good.
"Look over there!" a voice shouted.
The call caused the changeling to open his eyes and look around. He was still in Canterlot. Whatever the large pink wave had done had somehow spared him.
As he looked around, he saw the damage that had been done. There were craters in the streets where other changelings had rocketed in. Several roofs and windows had been blasted out. Lamp posts had been knocked to the ground, some blown down by spells judging by the scorch marks near their bases.
And among all this chaos was a pony pointing directly at him.
A pony wearing the golden armor of the EUP guard.
"There's one of the attackers!" the pony shouted. "Get it!"
The changeling became quite nervous and began to look for a place it could hide. Even just a dark alleyway where it could change its form to mimic a cat or a small mouse would be enough, and it could slink away unnoticed.
It never got the chance to find one. As soon as it began looking, it heard heavy wingbeats. Looking back, it found itself quickly surrounded by pegasus pony guards.
"Don't move!" one guard shouted at the changeling, a spear held firmly in his hooves. The other guards also sported spears, and they were all pointed at him.
The changeling did the only thing he could possibly do in that situation.
"I surrender!" he said to the guards, his hooves falling limp beneath him.
Twilight Sparkle and all the other ponies in the wedding chapel looked around at the aftermath of Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor's shield spell. The resinous slime that had been holding several ponies in place was gone, and Princess Celestia, once a prisoner inside of a large green cocoon, was now free, though covered in some remaining bits of the offending slime.
"Princess!" Shining Armor said as he went to inspect Celestia.
The white alicorn coughed up some of the green slime that found its way into her throat, and began breathing again.
"Are you okay?" the stallion asked her. "Should I get you medical assistance?"
Celestia coughed some more and then spat out the remaining bits of slime in her muzzle. "I'll be fine," she told Shining Armor. "Was the invasion stopped?"
"It was," Shining Armor confirmed. "Princess Cadance and I sent them flying with a renewed shield spell."
Celestia nodded. "Good," she responded. "I want all available guards to do a sweep of this city and check everypony to ensure they are okay. Once out citizens are taken care of, I will be arranging a task force to hunt these creatures down and bring them to justice!"
Shining Armor nodded. "Yes, your highness," he said with a bow. "I shall see to it immediately."
As the princess and unicorn spoke, six mares were having their own conversation.
"I'm mighty sorry for not listenin' to ya, Twi," Applejack said with her head hung low. "I just figured the odd behavior was Princess Cadance bein' nerved up about her weddin'."
"Me too," Pinkie added, her mane less poofy but not quite flat like if the mare were well and truly depressed.
"Same here," Rainbow added, sporting her own look of shame.
Rarity and Fluttershy didn't say anything but did nod in agreement.
Twilight let out a sigh. "It's okay, girls-"
"No, it ain't okay," Applejack cut back in. "None of us took yer word and we dang near got taken over by giant bug ponies. Y'all was tryin' ta raise an alarm and we acted like ya was the colt that cried timberwolf."
"We're sorry, Twilight," Fluttershy said in her soft and gentle voice. "Please forgive us."
"Oh, girls," Twilight said to the group, "I've already forgiven you. None of you knew what Princess Cadance is actually like, so you all made reasonable assumptions about her behavior based on what was happening in that moment."
"It still wasn't right," Rainbow Dash retorted. "You tried to warn us and we didn't listen."
Twilight wanted to tell her it was okay, but she eventually gave up. Her friends felt bad about doubting her, and would be feeling guilty for some time to come. She eventually decided to drop it and instead focused her attention on more constructive pursuits.
"Let's talk about this later," Twilight told her friends. "Right now, there's ponies who need help, and we're more than capable of lending a hoof to them."
The five mares looked at each other and nodded. Their feeling guilty for doubting their friend could wait; ponies were in need of aid, and they could provide it.
However, just as they were preparing to split up and offer their assistance, a pegasus guard came flying into the chapel and landed right before Celestia.
"Your highness," the guard said with a bow, "I was sent here to give you news."
Celestia looked at the guard. "What news do you have?"
"The shield spell wasn't totally effective," the guard told her. "We have one of those creatures in custody."
The changeling had complied willingly, but was still treated rather roughly as he was brought into the castle. He was prodded with spears and had ropes tossed around him, led into this building like he was cattle in a griffin market being led to a slaughterhouse. His head hung low as the guards pulled him along, more than a few times nearly pulling him off his hooves.
As they went, he wondered if a part of him didn't deserve this. He hadn't wanted to be involved in the invasion, but he had been forced to come anyways. Not coming would've meant a punishment far worse than anything the ponies could ever dream to inflict upon him.
He let out a sigh as he was brought to a room and pushed inside. The sudden motion caused him to trip and fall muzzle first into the floor. One of the guards that led him there then slammed the door shut and locked it, trapping the changeling inside.
Getting back to his hooves, the changeling took a look at his surroundings and quickly deduced that he was in some kind of interrogation chamber. There was a table with two chairs on each side of it, as well as a light hanging down from the ceiling. Sitting on the table were a pair of microphones that had wires that fed into a hole in the wall. The thin layer of dust told the changeling that the room had not been used for some time.
Seeing as he had nothing to do whatsoever, the changeling chose the chair furthest from the door and sat down. Truthfully, he could've picked the other chair if he wanted, but something told him that this was the chair he was supposed to sit in. He shivered a bit as his flanks met the cold metal, and wished that there had been at least some kind of cushion there.
Once sat down, the changeling was forced to wait. He did whatever he could to pass the time, but the room gave him limited options in that regard. He felt like he'd been sitting there for hours before the sound of the door unlocking caught his attention.
Looking over at the door, the changeling saw another guard pony enter. He had on his armor, but his helmet had been removed. He was a unicorn, and he carried a piece of parchment, quill and ink pot in his magic.
"I'm here to ask you a few questions," the unicorn began as he took his seat, "and it's in your best interests to answer them truthfully, understand?"
The changeling nodded.
"Speak!" the unicorn guard barked out. "Do. You. Understand?"
"I understand."
"Good" the unicorn said as he dipped his quill in ink and prepared to write. "First, for the record, state your name."
"Thorax."
"Your age?"
"Twenty-ish?"
"Twenty-ish?" the guard parroted, then scowled. "Explain."
"I don't really have an actual birthday. We're hatched from eggs, and I don't know the exact day and year I was hatched, so twenty is about as accurate a guess as I can give you."
The guard glared at him for a few minutes but then scribbled the information next to Thorax's name.
"Why did your kind invade our city?"
"Desperation."
"Really?" the guard said with a snort. "Desperate for what?"
"Food."
The guard looked at him again with a scowl. "What kind of food?"
"Emotions. We sustain ourselves on the emotional energy of other creatures, specifically that from love. The wedding was supposed to create so much love it would sustain us and then some."
The guard didn't show it, but Thorax could feel the rage bubbling up in him. "You mean to tell me that you feed on the love of other creatures as a kind of food?" the guard asked, his anger not well concealed.
"The energy tied to it, but yes. I wish we didn't."
The guard didn't say anything else for a moment, but going off the emotions that he was radiating, it was so he could calm himself down. Once he had done so, he continued the interrogation. "At the wedding, there was a large female with what looked like a crown on her head. Who was she?"
"That was Queen Chrysalis. She's the ruler of our hive."
"Queen," the guard snorted. "So you all follow her?"
"Mostly."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Most changelings go along with whatever she tells them to do. I didn't exactly conform like what's expected of other drones."
"You talked about a hive earlier. Where is it?"
"It's in the badlands south of Dodge Junction. Nopony goes there."
The guard looks at him with a smug grin. "Well, some ponies will certainly want to go there now, won't they?"
"I'd advise against that."
The guard's face goes from smug grin to irked scowl. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"The hive is protected in a few different ways. There's constant patrols for intruders, and the hive is enchanted to constantly shift and change so intruders can't find their way around, and there's an anti-magic field that prevents any creature besides changelings from using their magic."
The guard calmed down a bit and continued writing down the information.
"One last question. How can I trust that everything you've just told me is the truth and not lies to send us on a wild goose chase?"
Thorax looked a bit nervous but gave his answer. "I don't have any other changelings to vouch for the information about me, but you could head to the badlands and walk around with your horn lit until it fizzles out. The hive looks like a big spiky mountain full of holes."
The guard leered at Thorax for a moment but then gathered up his things. "Don't try to leave this room," he warned the changeling. "The guard outside is under orders to blast you into nothing but dust if you attempt an escape."
Thorax gulped as the guard turned and left the room, leaving Thorax to his thoughts. Besides what was going to happen to him, the changeling had only one other question on his mind.
"Why didn't I get blasted away from the city with the others?"
Shining Armor paced back and forth in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. Sitting on the throne was Princess Celestia, who was now clean of the slime she'd been encased in, her face frowning in worry. Beside her was her sister Princess Luna, who despite her stoic facade, was just as concerned as her sister.
Off to Celestia's other side was Princess Cadance. Shortly after she and the rest of the ponies found out about the changeling being captured, hoofmaidens had taken her to a private bathroom and made the princess look more presentable. As she stood beside her two aunts, she had a stoic appearance that masked a flurry of emotions that were all fighting for control of her attention at that moment.
Sitting in front of the pacing stallion was his sister Twilight. The lavender unicorn was lost in thought, likely asking similar questions to herself that her brother was asking himself. Around her were her five friends, who shared different expressions.
There was an uncomfortable silence, and Princess Celestia decided to break it.
"Captain Armor, would you please stop pacing?"
The unicorn stallion stopped and looked at the princess. Before he could answer her, she gave him a warm smile and an utterance of "Thank you."
Though the stallion had stopped moving, the air was still tense. Everypony was waiting to hear back from the interrogator.
"Princess," Twilight spoke up, "I couldn't help but notice that Princess Cadance had a good idea of what the creatures who attacked the city were, but I never even heard of them before, not even in books about mythological creatures. Why is that?"
Celestia's attention turned to her student, and she blushed a bit in embarrassment. "Well," she reluctantly began, "that's because changelings have been neither seen nor heard from for centuries. They were few in number to begin with, and I had thought they had gone extinct. Of course, we found out how wrong I was earlier today."
"That still doesn't explain how Cadance knew," Twilight pointed out.
"True," Celestia conceded. "Since Cadance is recognized as the Alicorn of Love, I provided her with all the materials that we have related to love in any way, and the changelings' existence and need to feed upon love is part of the material."
"But why was I never allowed to learn about them?" Twilight asked.
"There were a few reasons," Celestia responded, "some of which I now see were wrong in hindsight. First is the fact that I had wanted you to come out of your shell and make friends. At the time, you were practically a shut-in, and every nudge that I tried to give you to go out and find friends of your own wasn't working. If I had given you the information on changelings, you would've researched them until there were no documents left in the world about them. I even feared that you would try to replicate their magic, be it to try and master their shapeshifting, or worse, try to draw love out of a pony."
Twilight didn't say anything or react. In reality, it was the truth. Even now, she was thinking to herself how to copy their disguising magic and either find a way to detect one while it was disguised or to enable a unicorn to turn the tables on them by changing their appearance into one of the many drones that attacked Canterlot.
"Besides that," Celestia continued, "I believed the changelings had gone extinct, so I didn't see them as being any kind of significant threat. My giving Cadance the materials related to them was to teach her of them in case I ended up being wrong."
"I certainly hope you'll give me the opportunity to research the changelings now in light of these recent events?" Twilight said, a hopeful tone to her voice.
"I believe that may be for the best," Luna chimed in. "We were nearly taken over by those fiends. I wish that I had been present at the wedding. That monstrous queen would have been no match for the both of us together, dear sister."
Celestia nodded. "I believe so too," she agreed. "Were we together, she would have stood no chance in besting us."
Luna nodded in agreement. "The next time that we have a royal wedding, I fully intend to be present, and not be asleep in a bed with orders given not to disturb me for any reason."
"That was nopony's fault," Celestia responded to her sister. "Those guards did as they were instructed, and they answered the call to arms when the attack began in earnest."
"Were I not asleep, I could have answered the same call," Luna countered.
"Pardon me, yer highnesses," Applejack interrupted,"but ah don't think this bickerin's getting anypony anywhere. Nopony was expectin' what happened today."
"Which is why we need to prepare should it happen again!" Luna barked at the earth pony, a bit upset that she had been interrupted by one of her subjects.
Fortunately for everypony, the interrogator walked through the door carrying his parchment, rather quickly defusing the situation. Shining turned to him as he approached.
"What have you found out?" he asked the interrogator.
The unicorn guard gave a salute to his superior, who returned it quickly. "The prisoner answered all questions asked with no hesitation or reluctance whatsoever, but we don't have any way to verify if the answers given are truthful or not."
"Then tells us what answers you were given," Shining Armor told the guard.
The guard read off the answers he had on the parchment. "The prisoner identifies himself by the name Thorax. Tone of voice indicates the prisoner is a male, and he gives his age at approximately twenty years."
"Approximately?" Shining Armor questioned.
"Yes sir," the guard confirmed. "According to him, their kind don't celebrate birthdays, or as he claimed, egg-hatching days; he informed me that their kind are hatched from eggs."
"That's interesting," Twilight mused. "They appear to have many traits in common with us, as well as many other mammalian species, so I had figured that their reproduction would've been the same male-female copulation followed by the implantation of the resulting embryo into the endometrium as in many other placental mammals with and a gestation period comparable to ponies, but it seems their insectile traits preclude them from that method of procreation."
The guard stared at Twilight for a few seconds before shaking his head and continuing. "He also told us that the changeling hive is located in the badlands south of the town of Dodge Junction."
"Terrific!" Shining Armor exclaimed while slapping his hooves together. "We'll arrange a raiding party and-"
"I wouldn't advise that just yet, sir," the guard interrupted. "He also said that there's regular patrols and an anti-magic field that prevents any non-changeling magic from functioning."
Shining Armor growled. "Is there any way to confirm this information?"
"In the immediate? No. The first thing we could do is send a reconnaissance team to observe the area, which will take time to organize," the interrogator answered. "Outside of that, we could inform our post in Dodge Junction to interview the ponies there and ask in any of them experienced anything like what I just described. If this anti-magic field is as powerful as the prisoner says, I would think the earth ponies there would notice it. Either method will take some time.”
Shining Armor hummed as he thought over the information. "Then we'll have to investigate this information further and confirm it. Did he mention anything else?"
"The only other information I got is that the inside of the hive has some sort of enchantment to cause it to change shape and form constantly. I can't be certain, but I think it may be related to the anti-magic field. My idea is that the anti-magic field may not actually cancel out magic as the prisoner claimed, but simply absorbs the magical energy to use as fuel for the enchantment, and thereby making the magic too weak to support the spell being cast."
“That sounds plausible,” Twilight commented.
Shining Armor grit his teeth. "It will have to be looked into," he told the guard as he took the parchment from him. "Your assistance in the matter is appreciated greatly by myself and the princesses. You are dismissed, and tell your superior I'm taking you off your normal duty roster and having you placed on the survey detail to assess the damage done to the city."
The guard saluted firmly. "Yes sir!"
Shining Armor returned the salute and the guard left. The captain then turned and faced Celestia.
"It is good that this captured changeling has been cooperative thus far," Celestia commented.
"If he isn't feeding us lies," Shining added with bitterness in his voice. "I'll have to have the prisoner moved to a cell in the dungeon before this evening."
"Shouldn't that interrogator have done that before coming here?" Luna asked Shining Armor.
"I instructed him to leave the prisoner under guard after he finished his initial interrogation" Shining explained. "I would like to interview this changeling myself."
Celestia looked at her captain rather sternly. "Not without my sister or myself you won't."
Shining looked at Celestia in surprise. "Your highness?"
The solar princess rose from her throne and stepped down from the dais. "I don't need to be able to sense emotions to tell how much animosity you have towards the changelings," Celestia told Shining Armor. "It's understandable, after what has transpired today, and what you have endured for who knows how long, but that prisoner is our only chance of finding the changelings and possibly putting an end to their horrific ways once and for all. I will not risk him being alone with you where you could claim that he attempted to attack and you had to react, potentially with lethal force."
Shining wanted to retort, but he realized that he had no ground to stand on. While he was responsible for the guard and the safety of all ponies in Equestria, he still answered to the princesses. "Of course, your highness," he said in defeat.
"Very good," Celestia said to the unicorn, then turned to her sister. "Now, I believe we may benefit greatly from interviewing this changeling ourselves."
Luna gave a nod. "I would think if this changeling was smart, it wouldn't do anything foolish."
"Princess Celestia," Twilight called out, catching the attention of the princess. "Would it be possible for me to join in this questioning as well?"
Celestia thought over the request for a moment but shook her head. "My sister and I would like to interview this changeling by ourselves first. Some of the information that we may obtain could be rather sensitive, and we would like it to stay known only to ourselves and those few ponies in the royal guard who are allowed to know things of such a sensitive nature."
Twilight deflated at the princess's response and hung her head, but the princess used her hoof and lifted the unicorn's muzzle to look at her.
"I do not wish to see you disappointed," Celestia continued, "so I will arrange for you to be able to interview this changeling with a guard liaison and proper clearance at a later time and date."
While not particularly thrilled that she couldn't sit in on the interview the royal sisters were about to conduct, the lavender mare did smile at the princess's consolation. "Of course," she said, "but I'd like to take Applejack with me as well for that. I think she would be able to help me while I conducted my own interview."
"I will have to get her clearance as well, but I believe that will be okay," Celestia told Twilight.
"Thank you," Twilight responded with a bow.
Celestia smiled at her student, then turned to her sister. "Shall we?"
Thorax the changeling had been left in the interrogation room for some time with nothing more than his thoughts. He knew without using any of his changeling senses that the guards were still outside the door and would act if he even so much as wiggled the knob. He didn't dare pace around either, as one side of the room had a large mirror, which Thorax knew was probably a one-way glass window, and likely hid a guard from his sight so they could observe him without him knowing.
So, he passed the time by going over the events from earlier in the day.
He had been part of the invasion force waiting outside the large pink shield that protected the city from attack. Their orders had been to wait until they received a signal from the queen, at which point they would begin attacking; their queen had said she would drain the pony casting the spell and have it weak enough to break through when she gave the signal.
Once it had been given, every drone slammed their body against the shield, and the collective effort eventually succeeded, shattering the shield like glass. With the shield gone, drones began diving into the streets, their bodies encased in protective magic which made them look like green comets rocketing to the ground.
While other drones participated in the attack quite readily, Thorax wanted to avoid it altogether. In fact, he didn't even want to attack anypony in the first place. From the day he hatched, he was nearly the complete opposite of his kind, only having the same appearance and practically insatiable need to feed on the love of others. Where others had no compunctions of draining victims to a state of complete apathy, he had reservations, and those reservations often made him the target of much bullying and abuse.
After the shield broke, he flew down into the city and did his best to avoid any fighting and stayed out of the way of other drones, afraid he'd be drawn into acts of violence he'd sooner stay out of. His hivemates, however, were more than content with their violent actions. Damaging property, rounding up royal guards and other ponies in slime, and even engaging in some rather ridiculous tomfoolery. On one street, he swore he saw one drone taking pictures with a camera of another drone modeling sun hats.
As he watched the violence unfold, he felt terrible inside. None of these ponies deserved what was happening to them; they were simply going about their normal everyday lives. They certainly hadn't wanted what should've been a cause for celebration to become the ringing of a proverbial dinner bell that signaled them out as being a main course for some sick and twisted buffet.
As Thorax tried to look away, he then saw something that made his eyes go wide. In one of the areas of the city, six mares were facing off against a large group of drones. The drones were using the most common tactic a changeling could use in deceiving ponies: shapeshifting. Flashes of green fire replaced changelings with duplicates of the six mares.
Despite confusing some of these ponies in the beginning, the trick didn't work for long. Soon enough, a massive fight broke out, and quite surprisingly, the ponies came out on top.
Thorax watched the fight in amazement. The six mares all worked with one another to fight back the swarming changelings. The heavy hitters of the group, a blue pegasus, a lavender unicorn and an orange earth pony wiped the proverbial floor with drone after drone, combining physical attacks with magic burst in an orchestration of skill and teamwork.
A pink earth pony in the group had managed to distract one drone, apparently egging him on to mimic her friends, with the drone obliging for one reason or another; he may have been absorbing love from her as he did so. After a moment or so, the mare said something and proceeded to blast him and several other drones away with a party cannon seemingly produced from nowhere.
Even the least violent of them, a yellow pegasus and a white unicorn, resorted to their own methods, with the unicorn poking drones in the flank with a large hat pin and the pegasus using her own trickery by mimicking the communication of the other drones, often times throwing them off before they could realize the deception.
The altercation and its outcome had awed Thorax so much that he only barely noticed when the six mares were ambushed upon entering a building, but much to his surprise, the drones led the six mares back to the wedding chapel. No doubt the queen was engorging herself on the groom, and possibly the princesses as well. Thorax had to grimace at the idea of those ponies being sucked dry of all their love; he knew first-hoof what it was like to be drained and would not wish it on anypony.
Believing that the queen had already won, Thorax had decided to investigate the city. He had checked out a few landmarks of interest, and was hovering in place while he decided what to see next, when he heard something rushing towards him from the chapel. Looking back that way, he saw a wall of pink energy rushing at him, and he cried out as he raised his hooves and tucked up his hindlegs in an effort to protect his body as much as possible.
And then it had passed him, and shortly after, the guards took him prisoner.
Even after reviewing all that had happened, Thorax could still not think of a reason why that wave of energy that struck his hivemates and sent them flying wherever had spared him. What made him so special that the energy simply ignored him, as though he were nothing more than a tree in the wind?
Before he could ponder his thoughts any further, the door to the room opened, and...
Thorax nearly made a mess in his chair. It was both Princesses! The sight of the two rulers put the changeling into a state of borderline panic.
"You are Thorax, correct?" the white alicorn asked.
"I-I am!" Thorax squeaked out, not wanting to anger a pony with near as much raw power as the queen had likely had during the wedding ceremony.
"I also trust that you know who we are?" her younger sister asked as well.
"I do!" Thorax again answered, nerves clear in his body.
"You may calm down," the older princess told Thorax. "If we had wished you destroyed, we would have simply told our guards to do so. We would simply like to talk to you."
Thorax did his best to calm down, but his nerves had him all twisted up inside. The white alicorn let out a sigh and raised up her hoof. "Please do as I do," she instructed Thorax.
Thorax, not wanting to upset the alicorn, raised his own hoof up.
"Breathe in" she told him as she brought her hoof to her chest.
Thorax repeated her actions, taking a deep breath in and bringing his own hoof towards his chest.
"Now let it out slowly," she said as her hoof moved away.
Thorax did the same.
"Good," the alicorn said with a smile. "Now, repeat," she told him, repeating the actions, with the changeling copying the motion.
After a few repetitions of this, Thorax eventually calmed down. He was still nervous, but he had better control of himself.
"Now that you are a bit calmer," the white alicorn continued, "We would like to ask you a few questions."
"Okay," Thorax replied, his voice not as nervous and speaking not as fast as before.
"Good," the princess said with a smile. "Now, I am Celestia, the alicorn of the sun and one of the two rulers of Equestria. This is my sister Luna. She is the alicorn of the moon and dream realm, and she is the other ruler."
Luna gave a simple nod to Thorax.
"As for our questions," Celestia continued, "we were curious as to how you escaped the effects of my captain's shield. Do you know why you seem to be the only one of your kind that wasn't sent flying away when it struck you?"
"I honestly don't know," Thorax answered. "I saw it coming towards me and slamming into the other drones, but when it got to me, it just... let me pass through it, or something."
Celestia looked at him with a stern expression. "Surely you aren't lying to my sister and I?" she inferred.
Thorax immediately began panicking. "N-N-No, your highness!" he blurted out as he went prostrate on the table before him. "I-I-I honestly d-don't know!"
Celestia looked at her sister, who looked at the changeling with the same stern glare.
"Perhaps we should put him to sleep and I investigate his dreams?" Luna suggested.
The white spots that seem to serve as the changeling's pupils shrank as he immediately backed away, falling out of the chair he was sitting in and backing up against a wall. The sound of the chair hitting the floor caused a guard standing outside to rush in with a spear at the ready.
"Hold your position!" Celestia barked out, causing the guard to freeze. "The prisoner has done nothing hostile to us."
The guard looked at the princess for a moment before he moved his spear away and bowed, then turned and exited the room. Thorax remained in the corner, looking terrified at Celestia and Luna, but not looking directly at them.
Luna leaned close to Celestia and whispered to her "Sister, do you suppose this is an act?"
Celestia considered the changeling for a moment before answering. "I don't believe so. He got away from you like you were a bomb about to explode, and he looks terrified of being in the same room as us."
Luna considered the cowering changeling again. "It could be a farce; their kind have always been experts at deception."
Celestia kept looking at Thorax. "I am not certain. This is certainly the first time I've seen one acting so docile. It's almost as if there is something wrong with him."
"Besides the fact he's a changeling?" Luna asked snidely.
"No. He acts like he has not one mean bone in his body. I don't know if you can recall, but whenever we've taken a prisoner of their kind before, it always ended with some form of violence, usually with a guard being drained or one being hypnotized into allowing the drone to escape. This one hasn't attempted anything of that sort."
"Yet. He has only been in our custody for a short time."
Celestia had to concede that point; changelings were experts at manipulation and trickery. She decided to continue with the questioning. "Why did you surrender to our guards so readily?"
Thorax was still quivering. Luna growled in frustration.
"SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO!" she commanded in the Royal Canterlot Voice, which caused her own sister to pin her ears against her head.
The changeling's response came in the form of a puddle forming underneath him as he whimpered. Seeing the incident caused Luna to stand down a bit.
Celestia let out a sigh as she used her magic to lift the changeling back into his chair, but as soon as he felt himself being lifted up, he began screaming and flailing. The guard burst in the room again, spear at the ready.
Sensing that the interrogation would go nowhere, the alicorn cast a sleeping spell on the changeling, knocking him out cold. She then turned to her guard with orders.
"I want this prisoner placed in the special holding cells. Have somepony come and clean this mess, and have another pony clean him before he is put into the cell. You will observe the cleaning in case wakes up and decides to attack."
The guard nodded. "It will be done, your highness."
Celestia gave a nod in return and left, her sister following closely behind.
"What happened just now?" Luna asked her sister. "I've never seen a changeling wet themselves when facing us before."
Celestia sighed. "I don't believe this particular changeling is anything like the others we've encountered before. I am tempted to allow my student to interview him in my stead. He appears to be quite afraid of the both of us."
"And with good reason. Shall I investigate his dreams now that he is unconscious?"
"No," Celestia answered, confusing her sister. "If he is as afraid of us as he has shown, you could possibly give him a heart attack in his sleep and kill him. I think the best course of action may be to allow somepony else to conduct any further interviews. I think Twilight may be a good choice for that."
"But what about our own interrogator?"
"He has done his job, but I fear only having guards question him will cause him to clam up more. Perhaps allowing a pony with a much less threatening demeanor would get a more positive response. He will still be watched by a guard as this is happening, of course, but the question is: will it be for Twilight's benefit, or his?"
Luna thought over what her sister had just said and began to laugh rather hardly. "'Tis very true," Luna said between laughs. "In fact, too true!"
The royal sisters both left for the throne room, having a good laugh as they exited the dungeons.
The ponies left in the throne room spent a portion of the time discussing the events of the day and their future plans. Shining Armor was asked what he would do when he returned from his honeymoon, but he didn't give a clear answer. Most ponies were certain of one thing: the stallion would want justice for what had been done to him. More than likely, once it was confirmed that the changelings were in the badlands, he lead a military campaign against them.
That thought had worried Princess Cadance greatly. She knew that any campaign against the changelings could quickly evolve into a war, and that would keep her husband away from her, and depending on the outcome of situations, could take him from her altogether. She hoped that the situation could be resolved diplomatically; she imagined the changelings wouldn't be too happy with their queen after the events of the day.
Eventually, all thoughts about the attack were set aside as the conversation was turned towards the upcoming nuptials. Cadance told Twilight and her friends that Shining and her had reviewed everything and decided that most of the changes that needed to be done were minor, and that the couple could be married the following day.
Twillight and her friends cheered at the news, happy that the wedding would be resumed so quickly. The lavender unicorn gave her brother a hug and told him how proud she was. This caused the stallion to blush a bit, not used to receiving praise from his younger sibling.
Applejack offered to bring some of the food she had made for the reception dinner so everypony could eat, but Cadance insisted that they wait for Celestia and Luna to return. "I imagine they're both just as famished as we are," she reasoned.
The princesses returned a few moments later, and everypony bowed to them.
"Please rise, my little ponies," Celestia told the group, who all stood back up.
"Princess Celestia," Shining addresses the princess, "did you discover any new information?"
"Unfortunately, no. We tried to begin with a few simple questions, but the changeling was so nervous, he nearly broke out into a panic. I did manage to calm him down with a breathing exercise, and we were able to get him to give at least one answer, but when we questioned him on his truthfulness, he did finally start panicking. He fell from his chair and backed himself into a corner. I tried to take a calmer approach with him, but my sister's patience grew thin and she barked at the changeling in the Royal Canterlot Voice."
Celestia then frowned. "The changeling was so terrified at that moment that he soiled himself."
Luna blushed a bit in embarrassment from her sister describing the last event.
"Oh, dear!" Fluttershy whimpered, feeling a bit of concern for the prisoner.
Captain Shining Armor, however, smiled ever-so-slightly at hearing that.
"I attempted to get him to calm down again and place him back in his seat," Celestia continued, "but he became fitful when I tried to levitate him. Ultimately, I had to cast a sleeping spell on him and ordered that he be taken to the dungeon for the time being. We have special cells for holding prisoners like changelings down there."
"Special cells?" Twilight asked, her curiosity piqued.
"They're made for very powerful creatures," Celestia explained, "or ones with unique magic, such as the changelings. The cells have sconces made with the purest quartz crystals we could find, mined directly from the frozen north. The enchantments placed upon them hold stronger than any other gem in existence, and can go for nearly three thousand years before needing to be recharged."
"As for their purpose, the enchantments prevent any magic whatsoever from being used in those cells, even our own. The only way around it is to have a quartz crystal with the correct nullifying enchantment, which is known to only Princess Luna and myself."
"Interesting," Twilight commented as she wrote down the information on a scroll. However, a golden aura suddenly took the scroll from her and set it aflame.
"I'm sorry, Twilight," Celestia frowned at her pupil, "but with the changelings still at large, I don't want to take any chances. If they get a hold of that information, they could try to use it against us."
Twilight looked at the ashen remains of her scroll sadly, but turned to her teacher and bowed. "I understand."
"Getting back to the topic at hoof," Luna said to the group, "my sister and I were only able to confirm that the prisoner has no idea why the shield spell that Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor cast spared him from harm while it sent every remaining changeling from the city like they had been shot from a catapult."
Everypony took in the information they had just learned. This lone changeling had somehow avoided being sent rocketing towards the horizon. He had surrendered without so much as a fight, and when interrogated by the princesses, essentially broke down and soiled himself.
"Which is why I believe my sister and I should refrain from interviewing this changeling for the time being," Celestia concluded.
Luna nodded in agreement. "We shall appoint another pony to ask questions in our stead."
Shining Armor stepped forward. "I volunteer to conduct the next interview."
Celestia looked at him with a frown. "Again, Captain Armor, I will not allow you to interview the prisoner."
Shining grit his teeth but didn't say anything.
"As we have said before, you have been too affected by the events from earlier today, and the prolonged attack against you that has been going on for who knows how long. I will not risk the life of this prisoner because you wish to interrogate them yourself. If we do agree to you conducting an interview, then it will be under our direct supervision, but since our presence appears to frighten the prisoner into a state of being unable to answer any of our questions, that interview will not be for quite some time yet."
Shining Armor did his best to keep himself calm. In truth, he wanted to lash out at both princesses for refusing him the opportunity to personally question this changeling. He knew that if he was given the opportunity, he could get this Thorax to sing like a canary, but since the princesses had forbidden him, he would have to hope that the pony who was selected to give the next interview could get the desired information from him.
"I understand your highnesses," Shining said with a bow, "but who will you choose to question this prisoner next?"
Luna decided to answer the captain now. "We have discussed the matter, and feel that Twilight's suggestion earlier of allowing her and Miss Applejack to interview the prisoner fits this new requirement quite well."
The concealed anger that Shining had was brought forth with the princess's declaration. "WHAT?!"
Celestia looked sternly at the captain. "Are you raising your voice to my sister?"
The unicorn suddenly realized what he had done and backed away, head bowed and tailed tucked between his legs. "N-No, your highness."
Luna continued speaking, "We believe both Twilight and Applejack are the two ponies that can best help in this matter. Of course, they will need clearance to access the holding cells where the prisoner is kept, and it will take until at least tomorrow morning before all the paperwork is completed and properly notarized."
Shining grit his teeth. "Your highnesses, I must voice my disagreement on this matter. I don't feel comfortable with the idea of my little sister being allowed to go down in that dungeon to be left alone with that... thing."
Celestia's frown grew a bit sterner. "Your sister and Miss Applejack will not be alone, captain. We have guards down there who will keep watch to ensure that nothing happens to them. Combined with the enchantments in place and the charmed crystals we will provide them, those two will be as safe as we can possibly make them."
Shining went to protest, but Luna called his attention to her. "I would make peace with this decision if I were you, captain. Your current behavior could be taken as a sign of insubordination, and we could choose to demote you from your current role. Both you and I know the hard work and dedication you put into it, and I admit truthfully that it would pain me greatly to have to put such a black mark on your exemplary record of service."
The stallion, having no other means of protest he could voice, dipped his head in defeat. "Of course, your highness."
Celestia smiled. "Now that that matter is settled, what say we have some food and go to bed? All of today's events have built up a sizable appetite in me."
Everypony nodded in agreement as they followed the princesses out. Shining Armor lingered behind for a few moments, reflecting on all that just happened and frowning.
I'm the captain of the royal guard, he thought to himself,My job is to protect the princesses and ponies of Equestria from harm, but how can I do that with the princesses preventing me from doing my job? They refuse me the right to interview this prisoner when I know I can get him to start talking! It's almost like...
Shining Armor grew nervous and fearful as he considered the thought.
What if... they don't trust me to do my job anymore?
The stallion thought on this for a moment before shaking his head.
Of course they still trust you, he decided. If they didn't, they would've named a new captain, and Luna wouldn't have threatened me with a demotion if I had already been demoted.
Trying to put any more negative thoughts out of his head, the unicorn hurried to catch up to the party making their way to dinner.
Thorax bolted up from his sleeping position. Confused, he looked around to see if he was still in the interrogation room, but found he was somewhere else. Looking around, he saw iron bars that had small spots of rust on them, heavy walls made of stone, one of which had a plank bed attached to it, and a sink and toilet set off near one corner. After the brief inspection, the changeling realized that they had moved him to a prison cell in the castle dungeon.
"The princesses used a sleep spell on me," he realized, "and the guards must've brought me here afterwards."
Calming down for a second, Thorax thought about what had happened to him since he was taken in by the guards, and came to the conclusion that, sooner or later, they would punish him somehow for his part in the invasion. Fearing how far they would go, the changeling decided that he didn't want to find out what they would do and began thinking about escaping.
First, he checked to see if there were any guards watching, which a quick look outside the cell told him they weren't. Next, he tried one of the more cliche methods of escape he had heard about: checking if the door to the cell was locked.
A bit of pressure against the door confirmed that it was indeed locked. "No break-outs on account of incompetent guards," Thorax thought.
Next, he examined the area around him again, thinking he could shapeshift into something that would fit through the bars of the cell. A glance around showed several mice scurrying about.
"Perfect," Thorax thought as he focused his magic on a transformation spell...
...only to have it fizzle out.
"Huh?"
Confused, Thorax tried again, but the spell wouldn't take. He tried once more without success, but this time noticed something on the wall glowing. It looked like a light sconce, but it didn't stay on for long. Looking at it more closely, the changeling thought it resembled some kind of crystal. With a thought occurring to him, Thorax tried a simple light spell that pretty much every magic user in the world knew, but found that spell was ineffective as well.
This time, though, the light sconce lit up briefly before dimming to darkness again.
"It's an anti-magic enchantment," Thorax realized, his hopes of escape dashed once again. His only options now would be to try and force past any guards that would visit his cell, or try to dig his way out with nothing but his own hole-filled hooves. Regardless of which one he would've chosen, both were equally as ineffective.
Resigned to whatever fate had in store for him, Thorax took a spot on the plank bed and laid down, deciding to conserve his energy and perhaps get a little bit more rest.
Around two hours passed before Thorax saw a guard come to his cell. The pony was wearing the usual royal guard armor and was carrying a set of keys... in his magic. Thorax was confused by this, as all the magic he had attempted to use was canceled out by the sconces on the walls. The only explanation that he could come up with was that the armor the guard wore must've been enchanted to allow them to use magic in this dungeon.
The key went into the lock and the door was opened. Thorax had the thought to quickly rush the guard and knock them down while he would attempt to get away, but the guard brought up a spear as he entered the cell.
"AGAINST THE FAR WALL!" he commanded, his voice booming out so loud it echoed off of the walls of the dungeon.
Thorax complied immediately, putting himself as flat against the stone as he could.
The guard watched him as he stood in place with the spear. "Bring it in," he called out to another pony, who came in with a plate of bread and a metal cup filled with water. They set it down on the wooden bed and quickly left the cell, which told the handicapped changeling that they were quite afraid at that moment.
Well, that makes two of us he thought as he watched the guard back up and close the door, locking it with the keys and disappearing from sight.
Thorax got up and appraised the food in front of him. He frowned; these ponies either didn't know or didn't care about changeling needs. Changelings sustained themselves from the energy of emotions other creatures felt, and preferred to feed on love.
They did, however, need water, just like any other creature did. Thorax took the cup and drank slowly, figuring that the guard wouldn't grant him another cup until his next approved "meal time". He took his time, making each sip count, but also wanting to gag a bit at the flavor of the water; the hive was built over a natural springhead and didn't have the metallic taste this water had.
Finishing the cup and placing it off to the side, Thorax considered the bread again. He was unsure if he could actually eat it; he had never tried to consume solid food before. He did know changelings were able to do so when disguised, but the food they ate was processed into the resin that was used in construction of the hive and capturing prey.
Thorax shuddered at the thought, having been made to go on hunts where poor, innocent creatures were trapped and then drained of all the love they had. Sometimes, a pony, curious about the strange lack of magic in the area around the hive, would wander too close and be taken prisoner, wrapped in a cocoon and drained slowly so the hive could have a more "reliable" source of love.
Pushing the negative aside, Thorax picked up a slice of the bread and took a bite from it. Immediately, he spat it out. It had a very bland taste to it and he could feel some sort of powder sticking to his tongue. He was pretty sure that even a pony wouldn't want to eat it.
He placed the piece he'd bitten into back onto the plate and chose to ignore it. His stomach, however, reminded him of his needs rather quickly. He clutched his barrel as he felt the familiar pangs he'd felt his whole life. In truth, it was what every changeling felt their entire lives, and often why they had no compunction about causing the harm they did in pursuit of their next meal.
Thorax hammered his hoof into the stone, doing his best to fight back his protesting stomach. His actions caught the attention of the guard, who came over and glared at Thorax. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked rather curtly.
"Fighting off my hunger!" Thorax answered.
"Fight it off with the bread! That's what it's for!"
"Can't... eat it. Won't... nourish."
The guard didn't say anything but snorted. As he turned around and walked away, Thorax heard him comment under his breath "I didn't think it was that bad", clearly meaning the food that had been provided.
After a few minutes, Thorax was able to fight off the worst of the hunger pangs. They were still there, as they had always been, but they decided not to torture the changeling like they had a moment ago. The guards came back a few moments later and Thorax had the thought of attacking and draining them both, but shook them from his head for two different reasons.
First, he didn't want to cause any creature harm, even these two guards. They were only doing their jobs, after all.
Second, Thorax needed his magic to even attempt what he had thought of doing, and this dungeon made it impossible for his magic to work.
The first guard ordered him against the wall while the second took the plate, actually taking one of the uneaten pieces and consuming it for himself.
"What are you doing?!" the first one asked.
The second shrugged. "No sense letting it go to waste."
"You have no idea if he put poison or something on there!" the first scolded. "For all we know, they probably got a way to clone themselves by making ponies eat some of that weird slime!"
"If that's the case," the second guard retorted, "then we best keep an eye on Princess Celestia, since she actually did consume some of that slime."
The two guards walked away, carrying on their argument in regards to eating the unfinished portions of a prisoner's meal. Thorax returned to the wooden plank and laid down, deciding to try and get some more sleep.
*CLANG!*
Thorax jolted awake and quickly looked around. He was still inside the cell, but a guard was now standing outside, a spear held in his magic grip.
"Got some ponies that want to see you," the guard said to Thorax, then turned to address somepony out of the changeling's view. "Hooves to yourselves, and don't pass him anything."
"I won't," a mare's voice answered.
"I ain't doin' nothin' like that either," a second mare added; she sounded like she was from Dodge Junction, or someplace close by.
"Very well," the guard said. "There's two chairs set out for you two."
"Two chairs?" Thorax thought as his attention went from the ponies to his other surroundings. Sure enough, two chairs had been set out in front of his cell, a white line about a pony's length away from the cell bars painted onto the floor.
"Thank you," the first female voice said, to which the guard nodded and stepped off to one side, adopting a stance that looked like he was meant to be stationed at that exact spot. With the guard out of the way, the two mares stepped into view, allowing Thorax to see who it was that was visiting him.
As soon as his eyes fell on them, they went as wide as saucers.
The first mare was a unicorn, a lavender purple color, with a dark blue mane and tail that had magenta and pink streaks in it. Her violet eyes looked full of life and curiosity.
The second mare was an earth pony, and had her straw-blonde mane and tail tied back with red hair ribbons. She wore a stetson-style hat with a portion cut out in the front and had freckles showing through her orange coat. Her emerald eyes were staring at him warily.
Almost immediately, he recognized who they were, and without thinking, he blurted out "It's you."
The two mares were caught off guard, wondering how this changeling was familiar to them.
"You know us?" the orange earth pony asked, a suspicious tone in her voice. "How exactly do ya know us?"
Realizing he had spoken out loud without intending to, Thorax immediately tried to walk back what he said. "I... I don't know you per se," he said nervously, "b-but I saw you earlier, or was it yesterday?"
The lavender unicorn stepped in to ask her own question. "It's yesterday, and where did you see us?"
"You were, uh, fighting drones in the streets."
The unicorn looked suspiciously at Thorax, then turned to the earth pony. "Is he telling the truth, AJ?"
AJ looked him up and down before answering the unicorn's question. "I think he is, Twi, but maybe he figured out how to beat whatever spell is on this place."
Twi looked Thorax over herself before she decided the answer was good enough. "How about we sit down now?" she offered her friend, who nodded, and the two took a seat in front of the changeling's cell.
"Now, I'd like to ask you some questions," Twi began. "I expect complete honesty from you; if you're lying, my friend here will know, understand?"
Thorax looked at AJ, who stared back at him, before he gave an unsure response. "...okay?"
"Good, now, first question," Twi said as she produced a quill and parchment from thin air. "What's your name?"
Thorax blinked, wondering where this unicorn came from and why she was allowed down here. Surely she had to know his name already, so maybe she was some kind of test to check if he was lying or not?
"It's Thorax," he finally answered.
The unicorn wrote down the info. "Now, why were you in Canterlot?" she asked next.
"I was ordered to by my queen. I... can't exactly disobey her."
"Why can't you disobey her?"
"Well..." Thorax began but paused. How could he sugarcoat what he was about to say next? Was there a way to do it?
"Let's just say the changelings that disobey or disappoint her too much... aren't around anymore."
Both Twi and AJ shuddered a bit, getting the message but also not expecting such an answer.
"Unfortunately, I don't think he's lyin' about that," AJ told Twi, as if to remove any doubt of the implication being truthful or not.
"Okay," Twi said as she continued writing. "How did you beat the shield spell?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I don't. One moment, I'm just hovering above the city, and then this huge wall of pink energy comes barreling towards me and I try to protect myself from the worst of the impact. Then a few seconds go by and I realize I'm okay and it must've passed through me."
"But how? It catapulted every changeling away from the city as far as we know. Why did it spare you?"
"I don't know why it just let me be, but it did. Now, here I am in the dungeon waiting for the princesses to do... whatever with me."
"I don't believe they would kill you. It wouldn't make sense to get rid of you when you could be a wealth of information for us."
"You mean like military knowledge? I was a low-level drone; a tunnel digger. If I had my magic, I could've dug my way out of here by now, probably."
"Ya need magic to dig?" AJ asked him.
"Kind of?" he said with uncertainty. "There's drones who are tasked with enchanting the new tunnels so that they shift and change like the rest of the hive. I don't need magic to do my job, but it does help to change my hoof into a shovel so I can dig faster."
"So you can change specific parts of your body?" Twi asked, sounding a bit excited.
"I can," Thorax confirmed. "I can't give a demonstration because of the enchantment on this place, but I could make myself look like a draconequus if I really wanted to and had enough energy. I couldn't keep that shape for more than a few minutes at the longest though."
"Fascinating," the unicorn said as she scribbled the information down.
"So y'all need energy to do your transformin' stuff?" the earth pony inquired. "Where do ya get the energy then?"
Thorax let out a sigh. "The love we take from other creatures."
Both Twi and AJ looked at each other with uneasy expressions. "What do you mean by the love you take?" Twi asked.
Thorax again took a breath as he prepared to explain what he meant. "I don't know much about magic theory, but I do know a few basic principles. You know how magic is tied to the emotions of every creature?"
Twi nodded. "Spells gain strength from our emotions, so the more strongly we feel a specific emotion, the more powerful that kind of spell is."
"Yes, well, those emotions that fuel magic are sort of like stored-up energy, or at least, thinking of it that way always made sense to me. Changelings don't seem to have the ability to generate that energy from their own emotions, so we have to take it from... other sources."
"Ya mean other creatures that have emotions?" AJ inferred.
"Yeah. Like Twi said, the stronger the emotion, the more energy it has, and the more we can draw from it. Some strong emotions, however, aren't good for changelings to try and take. Anger, for example, is by far one of the strongest emotions there is, but it's sorta like that chemical stuff ponies use to make tunnels in mountains."
"You mean nitroglycerin?" Twi suggested.
"Yes, that stuff. Anger is so strong and volatile that it can cause harm to us if we try to take even just a little bit of it. Love, however, is just as strong and much less volatile, so it's a better choice, and the feeling we get from having it makes our constant hunger for energy subside, even if just briefly."
Twi scribbled the information down quickly, as though she were a mare possessed. "So you guys take the energy from emotions of other creatures? Could that energy be restored to them? You know, given back?"
"I don't think a drone has ever tried that, but maybe it could work that way?"
Twi went back to scribbling down his answers, excited by this new bit of information. AJ took advantage of the opportunity and asked her own question. "How come yer bein' so forthcomin' with all this information?"
Thorax frowned a bit and looked down towards the ground. "I don't know. I guess I just feel like not cooperating is gonna get me much worse treatment than I've already received."
Twi finished writing and looked at AJ. "Has he been telling us the truth?"
"He seems to be, Twi, but I still can't be one hundred percent with this magic charm stuff goin' on."
Twi let out a huff as she rolled up her parchment. "Well, we'll just have to trust that he has been telling us the truth."
The two mares stood up and prepared to leave, but were stopped by Thorax calling out to them. They stopped and turned to look at him. The guard had also approached, a spear ready to be launched in Thorax's direction.
The changeling faltered a bit, but resolved himself. "May I please know your names?"
The two ponies looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged.
"My name's Twilight Sparkle."
"I'm Applejack."
Thorax sat back and smiled as much as he dared to. "Thank you."
The two ponies were a bit creeped out because of the fangs protruding from the changeling's muzzle, but tried not to show it. They wordlessly left the dungeon as the guard kept a keen eye on Thorax.
The changeling's positive mood deflated a little upon seeing the guard's behavior, but he was happy to have had some kind of positive interaction with ponies. He decided to lay down on the wooden slab, resting and conserving what little energy he had left.
Back in the throne room, the three princesses, royal guard captain and four remaining mares were waiting for the return of Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. In that time, the betrothed princess and captain had finalized all of the preparations before they were to be wed that afternoon.
Rarity had made all the necessary alterations so Cadance's wedding gown would be perfect. Only a final fitting was needed to ensure everything was well and truly in place.
Applejack had called in a favor to everypony she knew and would have all fresh ingredients to produce the best reception dinner the gilded city had seen in years.
Rainbow Dash was going to practice her flying skills so she could perform the sonic rainboom that had been intended for the royal couple's matrimonial kiss.
Fluttershy would attend to her bird choir to make sure they gave a top-level performance.
Pinkie would make sure that the reception party went off without a hitch.
And as Shining Armor had originally intended, his sister would be by his side as best mare.
Of course, all of this was on hold at the moment as everypony waited for the absent Applejack and Twilight to return from questioning the prisoner being held in the special dungeon.
"I certainly hope nothing happened to them down in that dreadful place," Rarity commented.
"I'm sure they are fine," Princess Celestia responded. "That dungeon is as foolproof as we can make it. Even Discord could not circumvent its anti-magic hold."
Everypony looked at the royal sisters with shock.
"Discord?!" Rarity shouts rather loudly.
Celestia nodded.
"Then why didn't you put him there before?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "We could've avoided his escape!"
"Because Discord does not need his magic to cause a pony harm," Princess Luna pointed out. "With nothing more than his voice and mind, he has driven many a pony to madness."
"And moving his statue to that dungeon would do no good either," Celestia added. "The dungeon's enchantment would revert him to his normal form and leave everypony near him vulnerable to his sick and twisted will."
The remaining four element bearers all shuddered; they remembered the chaos spirit and his vile game that nearly destroyed their friendships for good.
"Getting back to my point," Luna continued, "both young Twilight and Applejack should be fine, so long as they followed the rules of the dungeon."
"We did," Twilight announced as she and Applejack reentered the throne room.
"So how did the talk with the bug go?" Rainbow asked as she approached her two friends.
"It was... interesting," Twilight told the blue pegasus. "Apparently, he recognized the two of us from seeing our fight with all of those changelings outside the vault where the Elements are kept."
Rainbow looked at the unicorn in surprise. "He watched us fighting?"
"Yeah," Applejack confirmed, "and the story he gave yesterday is pretty much the same one he gave us. I couldn't say fer sure he was lyin' on account of that enchantment thingy, but it didn't seem like it to me."
Shining Armor huffed. "So we're no closer to knowing for sure if what that thing is saying is the truth or not."
Princess Celestia chimed in. "I do believe it was. You were wearing the gems with the counter-enchantment?"
Twilight and Applejack both nodded.
"Then you two should have been able to use your magic abilities," Celestia concluded, "even those that are tied to your Elements."
"We still can't be sure," Shining Armor protested, then faced Celestia. "Please, your highness, let me perform an interrogation on him."
Princess Celestia shook her head. "Captain, as I've said before, you are a direct victim of the queen, and this matter is one you are too personally invested in. I fear you may do something rash in the heat of the moment and leave us with no leads other than what this changeling has given us so far."
Shining Armor grit his teeth and prepared to protest, but Princess Luna stopped him.
"Captain Armor," she said with an authoritative voice, "I may have been away for a millennium, but I know the current royal guard protocols by heart, and on matters of a guard having been directly and personally affected by the actions of a prisoner, that guard is not permitted to have any contact with said prisoner until such a time as an authority above the said guard has given permission to do so."
"As it stands Captain Armor, we are the authority above you, and this talk of permitting you to interrogate this prisoner will cease now. If you bring this matter up again, we will have you put on suspension and stationed as far away from Canterlot as we possibly can."
Shining was at a loss for words. "Princess?" he said weakly.
Celestia bowed her head. "My sister is right, captain. We cannot ensure the prisoner's safety if you are to be left alone with him. Even if you do something that could be considered an act of self-defense, it could be viewed legally as an act of revenge because of what has happened to you. I stand with my sister on this matter, and in order to ensure nothing becomes of this, as much as it pains me to do so, my sister and I are hereby issuing a superseding order."
That remark made Shining go wide-eyed. "A superseding order!?"
"Yes, captain," Luna responded. "A superseding order."
A quill and parchment popped into existence and Princess Luna began to speak, the quill scrawling down the princess's dictation.
"It is to be known to all guards that Captain Shining Armor is not permitted to have any unsupervised contact with the changeling prisoner known as Thorax. Any attempt to do so without approval from or under direct supervision of a pony of authority above him will result in his immediate detainment and suspension, and any attempt after that will result in his outright dismissal with unfavorable letter."
Shining Armor watched in shock as the quill finished writing and the parchment rolled into a scroll and popped out of existence.
"That is being copied and sent to every guard stationed here in Canterlot," Princess Luna informed Shining Armor. "As it says, if you attempt to approach the changeling in that dungeon and you aren't supervised by us or have our permission, you will be detained and suspended, and if you try to do it again after that, we will dismiss you with unfavorable letter, and you know how difficult it is for ponies that are dismissed that way to obtain employment for themselves."
The stallion was at a loss for words. He sputtered repeatedly for several moments before he eventually gave up. With his head hanging low, he turned and left the throne room.
Princess Cadance, concerned, called out to him. "Where are you going?"
"Since I can do nothing else," he answered, "I'm going to prepare for our wedding." He quickly disappeared from view as the throne room doors closed behind him.
Cadance turned and faced her aunts. "I don't think that was a wise decision," she told them.
"We know that he does not like it, Cadance," Celestia replied, "but he was a personal victim of the changeling queen. For who knows how long, Shining was fed on and weakened by her. As I understood it from Twilight, he had become so weak that he wasn't able to recast his shield spell, and had to rely mostly on your energy to expel the changelings from the city, save the one who was somehow spared by the spell for reasons we do not know at this moment in time."
"Cadance," Luna then said to her niece, "you are the Alicorn of Love, and know much about that subject, but I fear you may not know as much about stallions as my sister and I do. You see, over many years, both my sister and I have had consorts; ponies we loved greatly and they loved us in return, and they have been both mare and stallion."
The admittance by Luna surprised many in the throne room, especially Twilight; she had never realized that her idol and teacher was bisexual, or possibly pansexual.
Luna continued speaking. "One thing we have learned about stallions over the course of our life is that when it comes to ones like your soon-to-be husband, they have an innate desire and personal feelings of responsibility for the safety of the ponies they care about most."
"Shining Armor received his cutie mark for his proficiency in shield spells, which is a testament to his strong desire to protect those things he cares about. For you, he will be a husband that stands between whatever danger comes to threaten you, and should you two bear a foal, he will guard both you and that foal with his very life."
Cadance couldn't help but smile and feel quite warm inside. She had always known such things, but hearing another pony say it aloud made it better somehow.
Princess Luna's face then hardened into a very serious expression. "Because of the attack on him by the changeling queen, he feels that he was inadequate in his protection of you, and in his abilities to perform the duties of his position. Because of that, and a stallion's seemingly natural disposition to hide such feelings in a futile attempt to project their inner strength, he will bottle up these feelings inside himself, and allow them to eat away at him, and if left untreated, can cause him to begin developing very unhealthy emotional habits, if he does not eventually turn abusive.
Luna then frowned at Cadance. "We could tell him that he hasn't failed, and that the things that happened to him were unavoidable, but he will not see it that way. Even with you being there for him and giving him reassurance, his mind will interpret it as pity, and stallions such as that do not take kindly to pity; it reinforces the idea of them being inferior in their self-assigned role as protector."
The alicorn's expression then hardened again. "The only course of action that will satisfy his wounded ego is vengeance and vindication. He wants to make the things that caused his failure to suffer as he does now, and because of this, he will not stop until he has satisfied that need for vengeance."
Twilight looked incensed at the insinuation. "That sounds nothing like my brother!"
Luna looked to Twilight with the same serious expression. "Has your brother ever had anything such as this happen to him before?"
Twilight went to retort, but stopped herself. The truth was, nothing like what happened to her brother had ever happened to anypony she knew.
"I know that it may not seem like it, but your brother is suffering," Luna told Twilight. "You can't tell because his wounds are inside himself, and he is covering them so that you cannot see them."
"My sister is right," Celestia told the ponies. "Captain Shining Armor has been greatly hurt by the changeling queen, and in ways that aren't immediately visible. He wants to see her pay for her actions, and we intend to see that happen as well, but to do that, we will need as much information as we can get, and the prisoner we have in custody now is our best chance at obtaining that information. For his own good, and for the best possible chance at a successful campaign to find the changelings and their queen, we need to ensure the safety of the prisoner, which means keeping the captain from being alone with them."
Twilight took in everything that both Princess Celestia and Luna have told her and nodded. "I understand," she told the two monarchs.
"But what can I do to help my husband?" Cadance asked.
Celestia sighed. "For now, prepare for your wedding. Do what you can to take his mind off of yesterday. Give him the love and affection he deserves from you, and be as patient with him as you can. He needs understanding, not pandering."
Cadance gave her aunts a nod. "I understand," she said, then turned to Rarity. "Shall we go double-check my dress to see that all the fittings are correct?"
Rarity bowed to the princess. "It would be an honor" the unicorn replied, and the two exited the throne room together.
"Pardon me, yer highnesses," Applejack addressed the two remaining princesses, "but I wanna go down to the kitchens and check that the ingredients are here so I can get started on all the vittles I gotta put together for the reception dinner."
Celestia nodded to the farm pony. "Of course, Applejack. You may go. Please inform the chefs that they are to take your directions as if they came from me."
Applejack nodded and left. Rainbow then bowed to the two princesses.
"I'd like to go practice my stunts for the wedding now."
Celestia nodded to her. "Please, tell Captain Spitfire and the other members of the Wonderbolts to permit you use of their facility here in Canterlot. Perhaps they may even allow you to join in on one of their practice."
The suggestion made Rainbow light up brighter than a Hearth's Warming Tree, and the pegasus nearly blasted straight through the throne room doors on her way out.
"I'm gonna go help Applejack!" Pinkie announced as she zipped out of the throne room, not bothering to wait for the princesses to dismiss her.
After chuckling a bit at the pink pony's antics, Celestia turned to Twilight. "Now, I would like to discuss what information you've gathered from the changeling earlier."
Twilight nodded to her mentor. "Of course, but I unfortunately didn't get much more than what the first pony and you and your sister had gotten yesterday."
"What you've obtained is fine. I intend to allow you to interview this Thorax as many times as is necessary until we have all the information that we need or can get from him."
Twilight smiled as she and Celestia headed to the side of the throne room, where a door led to a private study.
Luna went to follow but was stopped by a soft voice calling out her name. She turned to see the pink-maned pegasus looking at her a bit sheepishly.
"Yes, Ms. Fluttershy?" Luna asked the timid mare.
"I..." Fluttershy began but paused. After taking a few breaths, she looked back at the princess with a serious expression.
Thorax had been asleep when he heard something slam against the bars of his cell. Springing awake and looking around, he saw the same two guards from earlier with a fresh plate of bread and another tin cup of water. As before, Thorax got off to one side while the guard pony placed the items into his cell, the other holding him at spearpoint to make sure he didn't try to attack either of them. Once the food was delivered, the two exited his cell and stood off to the side, watching him intently.
The changeling examined the food, noting it didn't look much different than the first batch he'd been brought. Ignoring the water for the moment, he decided to give the food a try once again. While the dough was a little bit better in terms of quality, he still didn't find it very appetizing. Worse yet, it caused his stomach to protest again.
"Don't tell me this food actually makes you sick?" the guard said aloud, not actually expecting Thorax to answer.
"I can't eat it."
The guard just glared at Thorax. "There's starving ponies that wouldn't be so quick to complain about getting that!"
"I can't eat physical food. I need love. It's all my body will accept or be able to use."
"Well, tough break!" the guard said as he whacked the bars of the cell in a taunt. "I heard what having that done to a pony is like, so you can forget having one of us offer ourselves up like a hot lunch! We wouldn't do it for a manticore, and we sure as hay won't do it for you!"
Thorax ignored the pony as he tried to quiet his protesting stomach again. The effort was gargantuan, but eventually the organ acquiesced. He opted to consume the water, and set the empty cup back down next to the plate of bread.
As before, the one guard pinned him back with the spear while the other took the plate of bread and left. Thorax didn't like the idea of not eating the bread, but he simply couldn't sustain himself on it. He was a changeling, and like it or not, love was what nourished him.
With nothing else to do, Thorax chose to lie down on the cot in an effort to conserve his dwindling energy.
Thorax groggily woke up again, licking his mouth and wishing he could be granted a second cup of water. He thought about making an attempt to ask for one, but he paused as he realized that something had awoken him. He took a whiff of the air and caught the scent of a pony, and not one of the guards, but looking towards where the two from earlier had been showed none there, but a single chair had been set out.
"Strange," Thorax thought to himself. "The guards certainly wouldn't care if they disturbed me sleeping."
"Um, excuse me?"
Thorax jumped a bit at the exceptionally soft voice that just spoke to him. He then heard a soft "EEP!", followed by some shuffling. He looked around to find the source of the voice but didn't immediately see anything out of place...
...until he saw a long pink tail poking out from just behind a wall and twitching.
"Hello?" he cautiously called out to the pony trying to hide.
The tail jumped a bit, but then tucked behind the wall the rest of the pony was behind. A moment later, and half a yellow face with pink mane and cyan eye poked out.
"H... Hello," the incredibly soft voice greeted again.
Now that he had time to focus on it, Thorax had to admit to himself that he liked this pony's voice. It was a very nice contrast to the harsh ones he'd heard for the majority of his life.
"Who are you?" he asked the timid pony.
The pony stood in the same spot, shaking a bit, but soon resolved their fearfulness. Stepping out, they revealed themselves to be a pegasus mare. Her soft pink mane was hiding the second one of her cyan eyes from view. Her wings looked freshly preened and very soft. Adorning her flanks were a trio of pink and blue butterflies. If he hadn't known better, he would've sworn this pony was a model or a starlet of some kind.
Taken with her appearance, and repeating what he had done with the two mares earlier, Thorax spoke without thinking. "It's another one."
The pegasus flinched and hid herself again. Thorax put a hoof to his face, chastising himself mentally for startling her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
The mare didn't step out again right away. Instead she called out to him. "You said another one. What did you mean?"
"I saw you yesterday. You were with that purple unicorn and orange earth pony and three others. You were fighting with the other changelings."
The pegasus mare, cowered behind her mane, peeked an eye out at him. "Y-You saw me?"
"Yeah. You weren't exactly fighting, but you fooled some drones into thinking you were one of them and avoided being attacked."
"But you saw me?"
Thorax elected just to nod, noticing the mare still trembling a bit. "I'm Thorax," he offered, hoping his introduction might calm her down.
The pegasus did begin to calm some, but she still trembled a bit. "I-I'm Fluttershy."
Thorax smiled. Her name fit her so well, and she looked as though her wings would simply let her float through the air like a swimmer in the ocean. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy flinched again, but didn't try to hide herself. Thorax frowned, cursing the dungeon for removing his ability to disguise; he only needed to conceal his fangs so he wouldn't look as threatening as he did currently.
"You don't happen to know why the guards didn't wake me up when you came in by chance, would you?"
Fluttershy was still fidgeting, not looking directly at him. "I asked them not to."
One of the guards must've had a soft spot for her, Thorax thought. That's the only reason I can think that they would honor her request.
Thorax glanced at Fluttershy for a few moments and saw the mare was still shaking. Realizing that this was likely to continue through this whole interview, Thorax let out a defeated breath.
"I'm sorry if I'm scaring you. I haven't met many ponies before."
"You haven't?"
"No. Before the attempt to invade by my queen, the only ponies I ever saw were ones that other infiltrators had abducted and brought back to the hive."
Once again, Thorax seemed to say the wrong thing, as Fluttershy again hid behind her mane.
Dang it! I'm scaring her without even trying! Thorax thought to himself. Maybe I should take a different approach and try asking her a question?
"What are you doing here in Canterlot?" Thorax asked, hoping to start up a conversation less likely to leave the mare shivering in fear.
Fluttershy heard the question and was a tad nervous as to how she should answer. "I'm, uh, here for the wedding," she answered.
Thorax winced a bit. This could go poorly, he mused.
"Are you part of the wedding party?"
"N-Not really. I was asked to bring my bird choir and perform here."
"Bird choir?" Thorax asked, actually curious about how such a thing could exist; most birds avoided other creatures.
"I know some birds who are really good at singing songs," Fluttershy explained, "so I've organized them into a choir where they perform in front of ponies."
"How did you manage that? Most of the birds I've ever seen run away as soon as you get close."
"It's my special talent. I can communicate with animals like ponies can talk to each other. That's how I can convince them to put on the shows they do."
The thought of a choir of songbirds sounded interesting to Thorax, and again he felt a bit enamored by the mare before him. "I'd love to see that sometime," he told her.
"Well, maybe I can get the princesses to let me bring them down here," she offered. "O-Of course, I don't think the birds would like the lack of sunlight down here. It would make them sleepy."
"Yeah, can't say I'm much of a fan of that either."
The two creatures sat silent for a moment, then Fluttershy decided to ask a question.
"What did you do? I mean, what was your job back in... wherever your home is?"
Thorax sighed. "The changeling hive, or kingdom, if you want to call it that. I was assigned to dig tunnels to expand the hive underground. If I had my magic, I could change my forelegs into the tools that I use to make tunnels each day."
"Do you use other tools besides your hooves?"
"Sometimes. I remember one time where another drone had brought back some dynamite from an infiltration mission and used it to expand one of the tunnels. It certainly did the job, but that changeling was told never to dynamite in the hive again."
Thorax chuckled at the memory. Fluttershy chuckled a little bit as well, but Thorax couldn't tell if it was a genuine and heartfelt response, or just a nervous chuckle.
"Umm..."
"Yeah?" Thorax asked, hoping it would encourage her to answer.
"Why... Why do you need to feed on love?"
Her question was one that Thorax had never really thought about before, but it was one he only ever had one answer for.
"I just do. It's like how things like manticores and bears need to eat meat to survive."
"But don't you and the other changelings see it hurts everypony else?"
"We do, but almost all of us don't care. When you're always starving, you tend to lose any sense of right and wrong. It just boils down to 'you do it or you starve to death'."
Fluttershy winced a bit at his wording. In truth, she had never considered the possibility of a creature needing to do something horrible to survive, but then again, she never really thought about what Harry did before or after coming to her cottage for tea time.
"That's sad," she remarked.
"It is. I wish it didn't have to be that way."
"...What if it didn't have to?"
Thorax, who had looked away feeling a bit ashamed, looked back at Fluttershy with surprise. "What do you mean?"
"What if there was a way for you to get love without hurting anypony?"
Thorax thought about what Fluttershy had suggested for a moment. "I can't speak for the rest of the changelings, but if there was a way to get the love I need without hurting others, I'd gladly take it."
Fluttershy smiled and stood up from her chair. "Thank you for talking with me, Thorax. If the princesses will let me, I'll come back and talk with you again."
Thorax smiled back. "I would like that."
Unlike the last few times, Fluttershy didn't flinch upon seeing his fangs. After giving a small hum as agreement, she turned and went to leave.
"Umm," Thorax called out to her, causing her to stop and look at him. "Could you see if maybe they'll bring me some more water? I am kinda thirsty."
Fluttershy smiled. "I'd be more than happy to."
She turned back and headed towards the guards. Thorax laid back down on his cot and thought about the mare he'd just spoken to. He thought of her soft-looking yellow coat, her silky-smooth mane and tail, her soft and gentle voice, and then he thought of her eyes. He hadn't realize it before, but her eyes had a similar color to his own, if perhaps off by a few shades.
He spent the rest of the afternoon thinking of the mare, and imagining what it would be like to spend time with her doing different things.
Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle sat in the private study adjacent to the throne room. The unicorn had just told the princess everything she had learned from Thorax, which the princess compared against notes taken by the interrogator as well as what little there was from her and her sister's own brief interview.
Unfortunately, there was little to nothing that could be used to help plan an attack outright, but learning about the feeding habits and needs of changelings was a small consolation at least.
"I never could figure out how the feeding process worked before," Celestia admitted as she reviewed her student's notes. "There have been theories, but without willing subjects on both sides of this issue, there's been no real way to test any of them."
Twilight frowned. "Given the recent events, I don't think we'll be getting many volunteers any time soon."
Celestia frowned a bit herself. "Yes, I suppose that's true, and I most certainly can't order anypony to subject themselves to a draining for the purposes of research. One feeding wouldn't be enough to garner much information, and I can't imagine a willing pony allowing it to be done more than once once they had been subjected to it. It's not a pleasant experience from what those unfortunate souls have told me."
Twilight nodded. She had yet to go see any of the affected ponies, but she had a feeling they wouldn't even want to be in the same room as a changeling after what happened at the wedding. "This will still need to be researched, though. As long as the whereabouts of the rest of the changelings is unknown, we can't presume they won't come back. There could very well be another attack at some point in the future, and knowing how to combat it would benefit us greatly."
Celestia let out a breath. "For the moment, this needs to be put aside. Princess Cadance and your brother would like to resume their wedding. Once they have been formally wed and on their way to their honeymoon, I will revisit this topic with the remaining high ranks of the royal guard and what researchers are willing to study this topic."
"Right now, I think you should be with your brother," she concluded with a smile. "He will need his best mare by his side."
Twilight bowed to her mentor. "Then I will go join him," she told the princess as she rose and left the study.
Princess Luna was going through her wardrobe in search of her formal attire. Though it had been crafted before her banishment, Celestia made sure to keep it in pristine condition for when Luna returned. The gown was set with a smattering of sapphires, diamonds and amber gems, all working in sync to create a night sky against the black and navy blue materials.
Once it had been found, Luna set the article aside and looked into a nearby mirror. Despite being an alicorn and having a near-eternal youthfulness to her form, the lunar princess could see the age of time plain as day on her face. Feelings of regret began to resurface as she thought of time lost in banishment that could've been spent with her sister, but she pushed them back down again.
"The past is in the past, and nothing can change that," she reminded herself. "I am here now, and Tia and I can be sisters again. We must make the most of our time together from here on out."
A gentle knock sounded outside the princess's door.
"Who calls upon me?" she asked, loud enough to be heard through the door.
"Miss Fluttershy wishes to speak with you, your highness," the voice of a guard called through the door.
Luna smiled a little. The pegasus had requested she be allowed to visit Thorax herself, a request the princess granted with a fast-tracked approval of security clearance for the young mare. She felt certain that Fluttershy was here to tell her what she had learned.
"Very well. I permit her entry."
The doors opened a moment later and the yellow pegasus mare entered the private chambers.
"What have you to say about your visit to our prisoner?" Luna asked her.
"Umm..." Fluttershy hesitated.
Princess Luna closed her eyes and hummed, sensing the mare's nervousness. Striding over to a pair of chairs with a table between, she took a seat and gestured to the other. "Please join us and have a seat here."
Fluttershy bowed. "Thank you, your highness," she responded as she walked over to the chair and sat down.
"Now, please tell me what happened during your visit with the changeling."
Fluttershy fidgeted for a moment, but calmed herself as she gave the princess a recap of her recent visit to the royal dungeons.
"Well, he recognized me like how he recognized Twilight and Applejack. I was really nervous, and I think he knew it was because of him. He acted... kind of disappointed."
"Interesting," Luna responded as she examined her dress, noticing no stray threads or missing gems on it.
"I also overheard him speaking with the guards briefly. According to him, changelings can't digest normal food. They can only survive on love, and love they get from other creatures."
"Yes, that is a well known fact to us at this point," Luna said as she continued inspecting her gown.
"He, um..." Fluttershy trailed off, causing the princess to stop looking at her dress and look at her.
"He what?" Luna prodded, a fair bit curious.
"Well, he didn't sound too happy about hurting ponies to keep himself fed."
Luna closed her eyes and nodded. "Dear Fluttershy, you are a compassionate soul. Harmony has chosen well its bearer for the Element of Kindness."
She then opened her eyes and adopted a more serious expression. "However, I fear that your kindness may be wasted on this changeling."
"Princess?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"We have lived for thousands of years, and in that time we have crossed paths with changelings on more than one occasion. In all those encounters, there have been things that remained constant. One of those is the fact that the changeling's hunger for love knows practically no limit, and in their futile quest to quell that hunger, they will resort to whatever trickery and deception they can use to feed on a pony or other creature."
Fluttershy was a little disheartened to hear such an accusation being levied at the changeling in the dungeons.
Surprisingly, though, Luna let out a breath. "Though as much as what I have just said is true, so is it true that he will not survive if he does not have love to sustain himself. It is a conundrum with no easy answer."
Fluttershy fidgeted in place for a moment before she asked Luna a question.
"Princess, you've had changeling prisoners in the past, right?"
Luna nodded.
"How did you care for them then?"
Luna looked away, guilt clear on her face. "The last time we held changelings as prisoners, it was a time that was much more lawless than it is now. We often held prisoners of many kinds, and often had no way to keep them all separated. In fact, and as much as I regret saying this, we often had to give changeling prisoners cellmates."
Fluttershy blanched as she realized what the princess was implying. "Y-You mean...?"
Luna nodded. "The changelings often drained other prisoners."
The pegasus nearly fainted in her chair. To hear that the princesses allowed such a thing, even in times older than some of her oldest ancestors, was a bit much to take in.
"Before you go thinking too ill of us," Luna continued, "you must understand that our decisions were a product of the times in which they occurred. Equestria was a fledgling nation, and it had many enemies, some of which attempted to assassinate my sister and me. Trust us when we say that when a creature threatens your life, you tend not to carry a very favorable view of them, much less have a great deal of concern for what horrible fate may befall them."
"I wish that things were different then, dear Fluttershy, but my sister and I were forced to do things that proved the strength of our rule and our country to our enemies. Sometimes, fate doesn't allow you to do things the way you want to."
Fluttershy listened to what Princess Luna told her. Her view of the lunar princess had changed a bit, but she also saw the regret in her eyes, and knew what she said about doing things differently was true.
"I don't blame you, your highness. Like you said, you had to do what you had to do, and sometimes, it wasn't pleasant, but I don't think that Thorax should starve when there's a possibility that we can help him. That's why I wanted to ask you if I could try to help him."
Princess Luna looked at Fluttershy after she said that. "In what way do you mean to help him?"
"Well..." Fluttershy began, but paused. Did she dare tell the princess her idea?
"Please be forthcoming with whatever plan you wish to enact," Luna told the demure pegasus beside her.
Fluttershy winced a bit but resolved herself again. "I think willingly sharing my love with him will help him."
Almost immediately, Princess Luna shook her head. "Nay. There have been ponies who have tried to make a peace with the changelings in such a way, but those ponies ended up in hospitals and so drained that even being with their loved ones could do nothing to help them."
"I'm sorry, miss Fluttershy, but I cannot allow you to do that. It is for your own safety. Now, please don't pursue the matter further. I do not wish to see you hurt."
Fluttershy went to protest, but stopped when she saw the princess's look. Though it was only a simple look of disappointment, it also served as a warning. "I won't, your highness."
"Very good. Now, if you would please excuse me, I need to prepare for the wedding. I suggest you do the same."
Fluttershy looked back towards the princess as she entered an adjacent room. As she did, the guard opened the door she had come in through and ushered her out.
Walking down the hall to her suite in the castle, Fluttershy had a determined expression on her face.
"I can't just let him starve," she said to herself as she went to prepare for the real royal wedding.
Twilight sat on a bed in her brother's chambers in the castle. He had been given the room shortly after he was named captain of the royal guard and had made it his own. It was similar to many of the other rooms in the castle, but the decorations inside his were geared more towards a member of the royal guard than the average pony.
Among the items on display in the room were: a minotaur's crossbow, a zebra mask decorated in tribal war paint, a set of unicorn guard armor from before the banishment of Princess Luna that was decorated with crescent moons, some scales shed by various dragons the guard had had to contend with over the years, and a feather alleged to have come from the pegasus warrior Commander Hurricane.
Besides the decorations, there was a dresser, free-standing mirror, a wardrobe, an armor rack with Shining's armor, a door leading to a private bathroom, and another door that led to a private office, where the stallion planned the training routines for recruits and patrol shifts for the guards watching the castle.
Standing in front of the mirror, Shining Armor prepared himself for his wedding. He was wearing the same red uniform he'd worn the day before; it had been cleaned and pressed by the castle tailor that night. Making sure the epaulets were fastened and sitting correctly and that the medals on his barrel were shining brightly, the stallion then turned to his sister with a smile. "How do I look?"
"Very nice," Twilight answered. "It looks a lot like you're ready to marry the mare of your life."
Shining chuckled. "Yeah, the real one this time."
Twilight frowned at the comment. Before she could respond, her brother looked her in the eyes, his expression turning a bit sad.
"Twily, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you before. I should've realized that... that horrid insect was not acting like Cadance when you said so, and..."
Shining paused, which confused Twilight for a moment, until she heard his breath hitching and saw him fighting back sobs.
"I'm... I'm sorry I told you not to come to the wedding!"
With the last statement, the stallion ran to his sister and wrapped her in his hooves, his head buried in her withers to try and silence his sobbing.
Twilight wrapped her own hooves around him and started rubbing his back in an effort to comfort him.
"Everypony was distracted by the wedding," Twilight pointed out. "Even Princess Celestia didn't notice or listen when I tried to say something was wrong. My friends didn't give me the benefit of the doubt either; they kept dismissing it as pre-wedding jitters. It did start to feel like I was going crazy with nopony believing me."
"I am so sorry that we did that we doubted you," Shining said with a shaky voice.
"Shiny, it wasn't-"
"But it was! We didn't believe you when we should have and nearly paid the price for it, me especially. How can you forgive me so easily for that?"
Twilight looked at her brother and smiled back at him. "You're my BBBFF, and I'm your LSBFF, and nothing will come between us, especially some giant bug with an ego as big as her appetite for love and power."
There was a moment of silence between the two siblings. Shining regarded his sister for a moment, but then smiled and wiped away his tears.
"You're the best little sister a stallion could ask for."
Twilight smiled at the praise, but frowned as she saw her brother's mood deflate and turn a bit sad again.
"I just wish I could interrogate that changeling myself," he said, his tone sounding a tad bitter. "I know what the princesses said about my being directly affected by them, but darn it, I deserve to get some answers!"
Shining's complaint was punctuated by his hoof stomping hard into the floor. Twilight winced, afraid that he had possibly broken some of the marble tiles that made up the floor.
"Perhaps I could talk to Princess Celestia about letting you join her if she interrogates him again?"
Shining scoffed at the suggestion. "I doubt they'd change their mind, and I also have doubts that they themselves would go back down there to question the prisoner again. Most of the reason they went down there in the first place was to put some fear into him so that he would be more pliable in terms of giving up information."
"That doesn't sound like Princess Celestia and Luna."
"Believe it or not, it is, or it used to be. Back during the times before Discord, and Equestria was a fledgling kingdom, and there was a lot of strife. You know all that stuff from school, but what you don't know is that the princesses often had a much more personal touch when it came to enemy prisoners and interrogations. More often than not, they would step into a cell and demand prisoners answer their questions, and put on displays of their power to convince them to be more forthcoming with those answers."
"I never knew that," Twilight said with a bit of surprise in her voice.
"The princesses haven't had to do anything like that for some time. In fact, I think Princess Celestia became more cordial to prisoners after Princess Luna was banished, so nopony or creature alive has ever had to bear witness to that. She also likely had those records restricted so it wouldn't become public knowledge and potentially cause difficulty in establishing diplomatic relations, which is why I hope I can trust you not to go talking to anypony about this?"
"I won't. I kind of doubt anypony would believe me anyway."
"Thanks for that," Shining said with a smile. "Now, let's go and get you ready."
Twilight nodded and stood up, but then paused.
"Shiny, can I ask you about something quick?"
The stallion looked at his sister for a moment and nodded.
"When you and Cadance made that shield yesterday to get rid of the changelings, what kind of a shield was it?"
Shining just shrugged his withers. "It was a fairly basic one. In fact, it's the same shield spell taught to new recruits in training."
"Okay. Now, you know that your emotions and intent have a lot to do with the outcome of spells, but what were you feeling and thinking in that moment when you were casting that shield?"
Shining Armor thought about it for a moment, putting his hoof to his chin, before he answered her question.
"Mainly that I just wanted to get every last one of those evil things out of this city. As for emotions, it was what love I had left for the ponies of Canterlot, the princesses, my family, and Cadance."
"Alright. That's all I wanted to know, but would you mind if I went and talked to Cadance real quick? It'll only take a second, and I'll meet you in my room once I'm finished."
"Okay. Just don't let her talk your ears off. You know how she can get sometimes."
"I know, Shining," Twilight said with a smile as she trotted out of her brother's bedroom. The stallion let out a sigh as he gave himself a look-over again in the mirror. Once satisfied, he smiled at his reflection and made his way to his sister's chambers.
Cadance was also standing in front of a mirror, a gorgeous white gown adorning her figure. A set of sewing implements flitted through the air in blue magic, courtesy of the unicorn dressmaker responsible for the article adorning her form.
The alicorn winced as she was grazed by a pin.
"My apologies," the unicorn said to her as she moved a piece of fabric into position.
"It's okay. Do we have much more to go?"
"We're just about finished. I only need to get these last parts into place, and then we have to sort out your veil. If that evil queen can be given credit for doing one good thing, then it is the fact she was able to copy your body so well that I did not need to remeasure you."
"Well, I should hope she doesn't stand in for anypony's dress fittings in the future."
"True, darling, but I can't help but think of the possibilities. A creature that can look like anypony, even going so far as to match their sizes perfectly? They would make a great deal of money and have rather successful careers. Why, I do think they could put the modeling industry out of business."
"Well, one thing is for certain: they already have the 'being nearly starved to death' part of modeling down."
Rarity frowned at the princess's criticism of models as she continued with the pinning and sewing. As she did so, Twilight entered the room.
"Twili-ouch!"
Cadance shifted her body in the excitement of seeing Twilight, making one of the pins holding some fabric in place jab her in the side.
"Please, hold still, your highness," Rarity told the alicorn as she continued stitching a portion of the dress.
"Hello, Cadance," Twilight answered. "How's the dress fitting going?"
"It's going well, though I could do without all the pins poking me."
"Oh, if you get things from Rarity regularly, you get used to that."
"The dress is beautiful, but I'm not sure how many dresses and outfits I'll actually need from here on out."
"Blasphemy!" Rarity called out in mock offense. "A mare cannot have too many dresses as part of her wardrobe!"
"Not all of us have the closet space and rolling racks that you do, Rarity," Twilight teased her friend, earning another huff of mock indignation from the seamstress before she returned to her work.
"How is Shining?" Cadance asked Twilight.
"He's doing... okay, I guess?" Twilight answered. "I was with him while he got dressed, and he apologized to me for telling me I wasn't allowed at the wedding before."
Cadance frowned. "I get the feeling he's going to be blaming himself for that for quite a while."
"Yeah, he doesn't let go of things like that too easily. Of course, we've never had too many spats growing up, so there haven't been too many opportunities for things like that to happen."
"You should be grateful for that. Some ponies don't get along with their families. There's even some that refuse to speak to them for one reason or another. It's very sad, really."
"I don't intend to let anything like that happen between myself and my brother. We've been through thick and thin growing up. We'll get through all of this too."
"That's good to hear."
"Sorry to interrupt," Rarity chimed in, "but I believe I have the wedding dress finished. Tell me what you think of it, your highness."
Cadance shimmied her hips a bit, then walked in a loop around the room.
"It fits nicely," she told Rarity, then looked in the mirror with a smile. "It looks very lovely as well."
"As long as my customer is happy with the final product, so am I," Rarity said with a smile.
Twilight cleared her throat and looked at Cadance. "I don't mean to distract from the moment, but I wanted to ask you a question or two."
"Of course. What did you want to ask me?"
"Well, it's about the shield spell you and Shiny cast yesterday. I know you dumped most of the power into it, but I just wanted to know what kind of shield spell you used."
"It was the shield spell Shining taught me. He said it was one the royal guard recruits were taught in their training. Simple, but very powerful with the right caster."
"But what about your intent? When you cast the spell, what were your feelings?"
"Well, I thought of all the ponies that were in danger and the love and care I had for their well-being. As far as intent, I simply wanted to protect everypony I cared about and cast those evil changelings out of Equestria, or at least as far as I could send them."
Twilight deflated a bit, hoping that the princess's response would give her a bit more of an idea as to what had happened to allow a single changeling to slip through the shield. "Thanks, Cadance. I think I'll have to talk with Princess Celestia, then. I guess for now, I'll go get ready for the wedding."
"Please wait for me, Twilight," Rarity called out to her friend as she gathered the remaining tools and materials she was using. "I need to check your dress's fit as well."
Twilight fidgeted a bit, not exactly a fan of Rarity's dress fittings and all of the pins and sewing needles involved. "I don't think that's necessary, Rarity. I tried it on yesterday and it fit just fine."
Rarity gave her friend a stern look. "Please, darling, you said that before we even came to Canterlot. I've yet to see you in it."
"Please take my word on this, Rarity. I tried on the dress and it fits."
"Humor me, Twilight. At least let me see you put it on and have you trot around a little to make sure."
Twilight attempted to protest her friend's insistence, but she eventually gave in. Knowing the mare like she did, she wouldn't put it past her to do the alterations that may or may not be required right there in the chapel as Celestia conducted the wedding. "Okay, Rarity. You can watch me try it on."
Rarity smiled. "Thank you, Twilight, and I promise it will be just to look and see that it's really okay."
Twilight was already regretting her decision as she walked out of Cadance's suite with the fashionista towards her own room.
Applejack was hard at work in the castle kitchens, cutting up some vegetables with a knife. A unicorn chef standing nearby watched her with both wonderment and concern.
"Ma'am," the chef spoke, "I think it would be best if I did that cutting. I am far less likely to cut my hoof than you are."
"I'm fine," Applejack answered rather curtly to the unicorn. "I done sliced my hoof enough times doin' this as a filly ta know not ta cut mahself as a grown mare."
The mare was a bit miffed by the earth pony's response. "I was only offering you my assistance."
"And ya can offer it by doin' what I ask of ya and when I ask ya ta do it. Leave this cuttin' ta me and go git a pot ready. A good spoonful of oil in the bottom oughta do."
Grumbling, the unicorn turned and went to get a pot. "A stew pot, is it?"
"Hay no!" Applejack yelled at the mare. "All this is gettin' sweated and added to another dish! A sauce pan oughta do."
"Well, you said you wanted a pot. Why not say you wanted a sauce pan?"
"Cuz if y'all was readin' the recipe I put out on that counter there, y'all woulda seen what I was makin' and what pans it said ta use."
"For the umpteenth time, I, nor any other pony who works in these kitchens, can not read that Celestia-forsaken chicken scratch!"
"Hey!" Applejack faced the mare with a scowl. "I'll have ya know that Rhoda is a dang fine scribe fer a chicken!"
The unicorn blinked. "Please tell me you were joking when you said that just now."
Applejack turned back to her cutting. "Just get a darn saucepan and put a little oil in it."
The mare grumbled as she did what was asked, reminding herself that Celestia, for whatever insane reason, had given this earth pony run of the kitchen. She just had to live with it for the time being.
As Applejack continued cutting vegetables, Pinkie made her way into the kitchen. "Hiya Jackie!" she called to her friend.
"Heya Pinkie. What are ya doin' in here?"
"Getting ready for the reception dinner, silly!"
"But the reception dinner's after the weddin'. I'm the one takin' care of it, and I got all the food goin' now, so what are y'all doin' down here in the kitchens?"
"Because I need to make the cake!"
"...But you already made the cake."
"No, silly! The real cake that both Captain Shining Armor AND Princess Cadance want."
Pinkie then produced a scroll and unfurled it onto a clear counter. Applejack looked at the scroll with the cake design, and then looked over at a second scroll that had been pinned up and was displaying a design that the changeling queen had decided on.
"Pinkie, they both look the same ta me. How is this new cake gonna be any different than the one we already got?"
"Because it's gonna have the flower decorations and flavors that the real Princess Cadance wants, and not the ones that mean old queen wanted."
Applejack was going to try and make her point again, but gave up arguing as she watched her friend gather up a set of mixing bowls, sack of flour, a dozen or so eggs and a few other ingredients and set about whipping up a new wedding cake.
"So, Jackie, what do you think the princesses are gonna do with that Thorax guy?"
Applejack looked over at her friend, who was mixing ingredients with a whisk using her tail as she was leaned over a recipe book reading. She shook her head at the antics of the pink pony, reminding herself how Twilight had nearly driven herself insane from trying to understand her.
"I dunno. After what that queen and them others did, I'd think most ponies would want him punished."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Those things near took over the city, and who knows when they would've stopped. Can ya imagine one of them things burstin' into Sugarcube Corner and tryin' ta make off with the Cakes?"
Pinkie stopped and thought on the idea for a moment, then a smile screwed onto her face and she stopped stirring batter and started rolling in laughter.
"What's so dang funny?" Applejack asked the pink mare.
"Hahaha!" Pinkie continued on for another few seconds. "I just... thought of... a changeling... trying to carry off... Mrs. Cake!"
The pink mare went into hysterics again. The country pony wasn't amused.
"Pinkie, that ain't a nice thing ta be suggestin' about yer boss," Applejack told her friend.
"But it's funny!" Pinkie answered through a giggle fit.
"Pinkie, how would y'all feel if somepony thought it'd be funny ta imagine you gettin' hauled off by a changelin'?"
"...I'd still laugh my flank off! HAHAHA!"
The pink mare kept laughing as Applejack rolled her eyes and kept up with her work. Eventually, Pinkie's laughter died down, and she became surprisingly serious.
"I don't think he should be punished."
Applejack looked at her friend with surprise. "Y'all know what them things did, right?"
"Of course, Jackie. I was there too."
"So ya know they can't just let 'im walk outta here all free and clear like. Even if he didn't do anythin', ponies is gonna wanna hurt him just because he looks like one of them that was doin' awful stuff."
"And that's wrong too! So what if he looks a little scary? Does that make him a criminal?"
"No, Pinkie, it don't, but that don't mean other ponies will see it like that. In fact, I'd wager a barrel of apple cider from our next harvest that if that changeling walked out into the streets right now, he'd get a whoopin' so quick that his eyes would keep spinnin' long after his flank stopped glowin' red from all the hoofs kickin' it."
Pinkie pouted as she stopped mixing up the cake batter; it had been more than ready a few minutes ago. Applejack saw her expression and let out a sigh.
"Next time we see the princesses, I'll ask 'em if ya can come down with me ta go see 'im. I think I remember 'em sayin' about givin' all of us that special clearance thing. Besides, maybe ya can get some info outta that critter nopony else can. Maybe that helps keep him from gettin' roughed up so bad?"
"Okay!"the party pony replied with a smile as she poured batter into a large round pan. The country mare finished up her work and set about gettin' her ingredients ready for the dish she was working on.
The unicorn chef watching them simply shook her head and walked off into a pantry.
"How in the hay did these crazy mares get picked to be the ultimate defenders for all harmony?"
Fluttershy sat in her suite tending to her birds as she prepared them for their performance at the wedding in a little while. The songbirds were arranged on two tiers, with those having higher-pitched calls on the rear-upper tier and the ones with lower tones on the front-bottom tier. They were all singing along to the tune of "Here Comes The Bride". After finishing, the pegasus commended her birds.
"Good job, everyone. You're all going to sound amazing when we finally get to have the wedding."
The birds all chirped in response, happy to be receiving praise.
Fluttershy smiled, but then frowned. "If only I knew how I could help Thorax," she said to herself. Her brain had been trying to come up with ideas as to how she could help, but nothing was coming to mind that could help in the here and now.
According to Princess Luna, ponies who tried to help were taken advantage of and drained to the point of becoming unfeeling, and warned her against pursuing an avenue for which to offer assistance to the changeling. But she couldn't let him suffer with starvation either. It seemed that no matter what way Fluttershy looked at the problem, there wasn't a good solution.
Then, in the midst of all the worries and ideas, a thought popped into her head.
"The library!" she exclaimed. "Maybe there's something there that can help me help Thorax!"
With her goal in mind, she dismissed her bird friends and told them to meet her at the wedding chapel in a few hours, then took off from her balcony and flew to the large domed building that was the Canterlot Public Library. Landing on the steps outside, Fluttershy went through the doors and straight to the librarian.
"Excuse me?"
The librarian, an older mare with a graying mane, turned to face the new patron. "Yes, miss?"
"Would you please tell me where any books you have on the subject of potion-crafting might be?"
The librarian put a hoof to her chin as she thought, then pointed a few moments later. "Go down that way and then turn left. All of the potion-crafting literature is there on those shelves."
"Thank you," Fluttershy replied as she trotted the way the older mare said to go. As she turned left, she saw a pony standing in front of some shelves reading a book.
Only, they weren't a pony. In fact, they actually looked a bit familiar to the pegasus.
"Zecora?"
In front of her was a zebra with a set of golden rings around their neck and some jewelry on their ears. The zebra's ear turned her way and the zebra's head turned to face Fluttershy. As soon as she their face, Fluttershy turned beet red; the zebra she thought was Zecora was actually a stallion.
"O-Oh! I-I'm so sorry!" she quickly apologized. "I thought you were a zebra I knew from back home."
"'Tis fine," the zebra replied. "Confused for many a zebra am I."
"Um, what is your name?"
"My name is Zorro, my fair maiden, and perhaps I can help your worried mind be unladen?"
Fluttershy fidgeted in place, her usual shyness popping up at being around somepony she didn't know, but quickly disappeared as she remembered her purpose for coming to the library. "Do you know how to craft potions?"
"Of course I do. Compared to I, there's none who can make a better brew."
"Do you... know how to make... love potions?"
The zebra was caught off guard just a bit. This pony was looking to make love potions?
"I'm sorry, miss, but that's something I will not do. If you want this young colt's love, then he must love you for you."
Fluttershy blushed and became defensive. "N-No, not like that! What I meant was..."
She paused for a moment, which caused the zebra to raise a brow.
"Is there a potion I can brew that will let me give a pony love in a physical way?"
"I... am confused," the zebra admitted, breaking his loose pattern of rhyming.
"Well..." Fluttershy began but trailed off. "One of my friends... they were attacked yesterday, and the doctors said they're not well because of what the changelings did; something about they stole love from them. When they let me see them, they didn't look any kind of good at all, and... I want to help them get better. Do you know if there's any way I can do that?"
The zebra placed a hoof to his chin in thought. "I had about the same idea as you, which is why I am here. There may be something, but there is no guarantee. Fortunately, all of the required ingredients can be found here in Canterlot, so a batch can be made in order to test us this idea of yours."
Fluttershy drew circles in the floor with her hoof. "Could you help me? I really don't wanna mess this up."
The zebra smiled as he settled back into rhyming. "Of course, my dear. You should have no fear. By the end of the day, or at worst, tomorrow, you will have a finished potion made by the one and only Zorro!"
Twilight and Rarity had just left Cadance's quarters and were heading back to Twilight's own room. As the two walked side by side, they held a conversation.
"I still don't quite understand what you are stressing over, darling," Rarity said to Twilight.
"I just don't understand it!" Twilight shot back. "I talked to Cadance and Shining and nothing about what they did regarding that spell was out of the ordinary. They both used the same spellwork and cast it with the same intent, but somehow that one changeling was spared from being sent flying like a pebble flung from a slingshot!"
"Perhaps you should give this little conundrum of yours a break? After all, your brother and the princess are going to be married very soon, and I don't think it would do any good to be fretting over this matter during the ceremony."
"I know! It's just... I wish I could make sense of it."
"Maybe it has something to do with the Elements?"
Twilight looked at Rarity. "We haven't used the Elements since Discord. What do you mean?"
"Well," Rarity began as she rolled her hoof in the air, "perhaps the Elements somehow knew that we would need one of these creatures to help us stop another attack of theirs in the future, so they turned on and spared one to allow us to question it for the information we need to do so?"
Twilight deadpanned at her friend, who responded with a huff of indignation.
"I was only trying to offer you some help, darling!"
Twilight let out a sigh. "I know, Rarity, and I'm sorry. This whole thing with the changelings and the shield spell not totally working has me a bit frazzled."
"Like I said, it might just be best to forget it for the moment and focus on your brother's wedding."
Again, Twilight sighed. "You're right. I need to focus on that. Besides, we're almost to the room anyways."
The two turned a corner and saw a pair of guards standing outside Twilight's room.
"What's going on?" she asked them.
"The captain ordered us to keep watch of your room until he returned," one answered. "He said he needed to go back to his office for something."
"But we were just there a little bit ago. What could he have forgotten that was so important?"
"I'm not sure," the second answered, "but he was muttering something about a 'good luck charm' and kept looking at the ends of his sleeves."
Twilight brought a hoof to her face as she realized what it was. "Of course! My dad's lucky cufflinks! He gave them to Shining at his graduation from guard training and Shining wanted to wear them for the wedding."
"Shouldn't they have been with his shirt?" Rarity questioned.
"He took them off and put them back into their case," Twilight explained. "He didn't want them getting lost when the tailor pressed his clothes for today."
The first guard cleared his throat. "He said he would be back in a moment and you could walk to the chapel together."
Twilight nodded to the guards. "Thank you for telling me. You may return to your post."
"This is our post, ma'am," the second guard informed her. "The captain said to stand watch here until he returned."
Twilight wanted to protest again, but thought the better of it. "Very well then. Please permit us entry."
"What was your favorite doll as a foal?"
The guard's question caught Twilight off guard. "Excuse me?"
"The captain is concerned about changelings still being here in the city. Since the shield spell earlier missed one for sure, he's working under the impression that more were missed as well. He wants us to conduct a test to make sure anypony coming into your room is who they say they are. To that end, he gave us some personal information that only those close to Miss Twilight would know."
"Do I really have to do this?"
"I'm afraid so, ma'am. Captain's instructions."
Twilight let out a huff. "Fine. His name was Smartypants."
With the correct answer given, the guards moved away from the door and allowed Twilight inside. Rarity followed after answering her own question, apparently having to do with the Prince Blueblood incident at the Grand Galloping Gala.
"Remind me to tell your brother thank you for reminding me of that horrible stallion," Rarity told Twilight with a heavy amount of sarcasm.
"Your date was bad enough," Twilight countered. "I just had to confess to the identity of the doll I enchanted that made practically all of Ponyville nearly kill each other because I started panicking about a friendship report that I didn't actually need to send!"
Twilight took a breath and looked at her friend apologetically. "Sorry. Didn't mean to go off like that. Anyways, I'm sure he didn't mean to remind you of that night. He's just trying to be safe after everything that's happened."
"Well, he could've given them a different question for me to answer. I am more than just the mare who gave that royal pain the tongue-lashing he deserved."
"Well, he may not know as much about you as I or the other girls do, so he only went with information he knew to be accurate."
Rarity huffed as she trudged over to a wardrobe. "Well, that knowledge is pretty well known, so I think he should consider getting to know all of us a bit more personally so he has better information for this question and answer system he's come up with.
Rarity then turned around and presented Twilight with her gown for the wedding. "But enough about that. We're here now, so let's see you put this dress on so I can make sure that everything fits correctly."
Twilight let out her own breath, knowing that the fashionista would not be satisfied with the fit, even if Twilight herself was.
"Very well. Let me see it to put it on."
Rarity presented the gown to Twilight. Her blue magical aura was replaced with Twilight's magenta-colored aura. Twilight then guided her head and front hooves through the garment and made sure that it fell on her back as was intended.
"Satisfied?" she asked Rarity, but was dreading the mare's response.
"Well, Twilight," Rarity began, "You are correct that the dress fits you as intended. However, you didn't quite lay it across your back correctly. May I?"
Twilight gave a nod and Rarity began fiddling with how the garment was set across her back. Knowing Rarity would be taking her time to make sure everything looked as good as possible, Twilight closed her eyes and thought back to the conversations that she had with Cadance and her brother.
"...the same shield spell taught to new recruits..." Shining had told her.
"...It was the shield spell Shining taught me. He said it was one the royal guard recruits were taught in their training..." Cadance had answered.
"...just wanted to get every last one of those evil things out of this city..."
"...I simply wanted those evil changelings cast out of Equestria..."
"...same shield spell taught to new recruits..."
"...He said it was one the royal guard recruits were taught in their training..."
"...wanted to get every last one of those evil things..."
"...wanted those evil changelings..."
"...evil things..."
"...evil changelings..."
"...evil..."
"...evil..."
"EVIL"
Twilight gasped as her eyes shot open.
"I admit that I am prone to overly dramatic displays, darling, but please don't be so dramatic yourself," Rarity chastised. "I'm not even using any pins or sewing needles for this."
"Not that, Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed as she stepped away from her friend. "Tell Shining I'll be back as soon as I can. I need to speak to Princess Celestia about something right now!"
Rarity made to protest, but Twilight was already out the door. "The nerve of that mare!" she cried out as she sat down in a chair and crossed her forehooves over her barrel in a sign of frustration. "She could've at least waited until I was finished."
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were preparing for the wedding in a shared chamber. Princess Luna was wearing the dress she'd had when speaking with Fluttershy earlier. Celestia was now wearing a white dress that vaguely resembled a toga, with gold trim accenting various parts of it. Hoofmaidens were preparing their manes, ensuring that they were as smooth and flowing as could be.
Luna gave her sister a look out of the corner of her eye, a guilty expression crossing her face. A bit earlier, she had confessed to granting the yellow pegasus clearance to interview the changeling in their custody. "Sister, I do hope you'll forgive me for permitting Miss Fluttershy to visit with our prisoner?"
Celestia sighed. "While I would have preferred to have decided on that matter together, I was planning on granting all of them that privilege. With any luck, Fluttershy will get our prisoner to open up and give us the information that we need to plan a campaign to capture the queen and bring her to justice for her crimes."
Luna frowned a bit. "I am grateful to hear your agreement, but I fear what Miss Fluttershy may do in regards to the changeling and his, shall we say, special dietary needs? She may do something rash and put herself in danger."
"I fear that as well. Being the element of kindness, she simply cannot stand by and allow any creature to suffer, and most certainly not if she can do something to help end that suffering."
"I understand her desire to assist and aid in the elimination of suffering, but there are times when one goes too far with it. The changelings feed on our emotions, and one of the strongest emotions a pony can feel, and they have lived their lives resorting to deceit and trickery in an effort to satisfy their insatiable appetite. You should know this better than anyone, Tia."
Celestia let out a sigh. "I do, sister. In the time after your banishment, I have dealt with them on different occasions. The attack on Timbucktu and the siege at the city of Trot stand out as two significant examples. They are a resourceful lot, and have no qualms whatsoever about resorting to lies and deception as tactics."
"Still, I am of the opinion that their problems are a result of their leadership."
"You mean the tyrant that has control over them?" Luna inquired.
Celestia gave her sister a look of annoyance, but again sighed. "Yes, I suppose that is the word which I should refer to her by."
Before anything else was said, the doors to the room opened and in galloped Twilight, a pair of guards following close behind her.
"Stop there!" one called out. "You have not been permitted entry!"
Upon seeing her pupil, Celestia raised her hoof to stop her guards. "Return to your post. I grant my student permission to enter."
"But, your highness?" the guard protested. "We haven't-"
"I said, return to your post," the princess repeated more sternly.
The guard, not wanting to upset the princess more than he had, bowed and left, his counterpart doing the same.
"Twilight," Celestia addressed the unicorn, "I understand that you may be excited to tell me something, but please let the guards do their jobs instead of rushing in here without permission. Your brother instituted the measures he did for a reason, and I happen to agree with him on that matter."
Twilight bowed to Celestia. "My apologies for that, but I think I may have figured out how the changeling managed to survive the shield."
"You have?" Celestia asked, intrigue clear in her voice. "Please, elaborate for us."
"Well," Twilight began nervously, "I can't say with one hundred percent certainty that this is how he did it, but a simple test could prove my theory. All I need is for you to move the changeling from the anti-magic dungeon and back to the interview room."
Luna looked at Twilight with concern. "You want us to... take him out of the special dungeon?"
"Yes," Twilight confirmed. "My theory involves magic and the emotions behind it, and I need to have him out of the anti-magic dungeon in order to test it."
Celestia and Luna both looked at Twilight, and then each other, then Celestia back to Twilight.
"What is this test that you have in mind?"
Shining Armor had returned to his sister's room, but was redirected by the two guards to head to the observation room in the dungeon. He reached the door to the observation room and went to open the door but paused. He looked at the door to the actual interview room he would be watching, and decided to take a look inside.
Upon opening the door, the captain saw a series of large metal boxes with flashing lights, switches and gauges, as well as special antennas with crystals inserted into their bases.
"In here with us, Shining," came the voice of his sister, who the stallion turned to see poking her head out of the observation room, a hoof beckoning him in. "The changeling is still in the anti-magic dungeon and you're not allowed to interview him without the princesses."
Shining closed the interview room door and walked over to his sister. "What's going on, Twilight?" he asked her as he stepped inside the observation room, then stopped as he saw Cadance in the room, her wedding gown on and fitting snug to her form.
"Twilight," he scolded, "you know I can't see Cadance before we get to the altar! It goes against tradition!" he admonished his sister.
"I think it's a bit late for that now, Shining," Twilight answered as she fiddled with some equipment she'd set up on a table in front of the one-way glass.
Shining shook his head. "Please tell me what's going on."
Twilight finished her tinkering and faced him. "I had an idea as to how that changeling got through the shield you and Cadance set up, but I need to measure some things to see if I'm right, or at least heading in the right direction if I'm not. I have some equipment set up in the next room for measuring different aspects of spells, and all I need you to do is to repeat the shield spell you and Cadance cast yesterday. It doesn't need to be as big as that one, but it does need to be the same spell and have the same emotions and intent behind it."
"You want me and Cadance to recast the shield spell?"
Twilight nodded. "Like I said, I set up equipment designed to measure different aspects of spells, and to prove my idea about what happened yesterday, I need to examine the spell and the different aspects of it."
Shining looked to Cadance. "Is that what she told you?"
"More or less," Cadance confirmed. "She said we just have to cast the same spell, with the same emotions and intent, that we used yesterday, and she's going to take some measurements."
"But Twilight said she wanted us to have the same intent with our spell," Shining pointed out. "I mean, wasn't our intention to drive them out of Canterlot altogether? That intent is what determines the size of the shield, besides the raw magic poured into it."
"I only need to measure the spell for a few moments," Twilight clarified. "The machines I'm using can print read-outs with all the necessary information. You only need to cast the spell for a few seconds or so. After that, you can dispel it and head to the wedding chapel. Princess Celestia and I can review the data while you two head off to the reception."
Shining and Cadance looked at each other for a moment before they shrugged. "Okay, Twily," Shining agreed. "If you think this will help find the answer."
"Great!" Twilight exclaimed with her forehooves clopping together. "Now, just wait here until I give you the signal, then you can get started with the spell. I need to go and fine-tune the equipment and make sure everything is set up how it needs to be."
With that, Twilight stepped outside and waited by the interview room door. As she waited, she thought about the implications of what her theory being correct would mean.
Before she could get too invested in the idea, a group of guards approached. In the center of the group was the changeling prisoner. He had been fitted with bindings and a ring placed on his horn to inhibit his magic.
"Here is the prisoner, as was requested," a guard at the front said to Twilight.
"Very good. Please take him into the interrogation chamber and have him sit down."
The guard led Thorax into the room and chained his hooves to the table. The changeling complied, not entirely sure what was going on, but also not wanting to give anypony a reason to start treating him more roughly.
"You may be dismissed for now," Twilight told the guard. "With his inhibitors in place, I will be safe from any magical attacks he may attempt. I will not need a pony escort into that room, so you may stand guard outside while I conduct the questioning."
The guard was about to protest, but held his tongue. His instructions had come directly from both princesses, and they'd told him to bring the prisoner to this unicorn and obey whatever instructions she gave him after that until she returned the prisoner to their custody. "Yes, ma'am."
Twilight gave him a nod. "Give those instructions to the other guards as well, and inform them that I am not to be disturbed until I have completed my task here."
The guard gave a nod and a salute, then left to rejoin the others. The door shut behind him, leaving Twilight and Thorax relatively alone in the room.
"I'm going to be conducting an experiment now in hopes to figure out what happened yesterday," Twilight explained to Thorax. "I will be monitoring you during the experiment using these machines. All I need you to do is sit there in that chair and try not to move a whole lot."
"Umm, okay?" Thorax replied, feeling a bit uneasy at the moment.
The purple unicorn said nothing further to Thorax. She turned and pressed a button attached to a microphone.
"I'm all set in here," she spoke into the device. "You can begin whenever you're ready."
Twilight let off of the microphone and went over to a machine and began fiddling with some knobs.
"I thought you said you were ready?" Thorax said, sounding a bit confused.
"Just a last-second adjustment," she told him. "Please remain still while I perform the experiment."
Thorax didn't say anything in response. He tried to sit still, but was finding it a bit difficult. He had no idea what this experiment was, but it gave him a bad feeling deep down inside.
Meanwhile in the observation room, Shining and Cadance both faced each other.
"Are you ready?" Shining asked Cadance.
Cadance nodded in response. "Are you?"
Shining nodded in return.
"Just remember what Twilight said," Cadance added. "The same spell, with the same emotion and intent."
"Right," Shining agreed, then closed his eyes as his horn lit up in magic.
Cadance closed her own eyes and lit her own horn. The two then joined their horn tips together, the magic energy pooling on the tip. Both ponies thought back to what they were feeling and what they wanted to accomplish with their spell, forming the beginnings of what would be a shield spell meant to be used as a weapon against a parasitic opponent.
Back in the interrogation room, Twilight's equipment began collecting information about the shield spell the unicorn and alicorn were casting. Twilight looked over the information being printed out onto parchment, but she really wasn't that interested in the data. Her interest was in what would happen when that shield came into contact with the prisoner sitting in the chair of the interrogation chamber.
Thorax, however, was becoming more nervous. Even with his magic cut off, his other senses still worked fine, and he could hear a humming sound that ponies, and changelings, for that matter, associated with magic being used.
"Um, what are they doing over there?" he asked Twilight, worry clear in his voice.
"Please avoid speaking," Twilight shot back. "This equipment is delicate and I need to make sure everything is recorded accurately."
Thorax said nothing further, but was much more nervous than before. He could hear that very distinct hum from the other room get progressively louder, and he realized he wouldn't be able to escape it if it ended up being cast into this room and at him.
Shining and Cadance, having built up the appropriate level of energy, opened their eyes and looked at each other. The blue-maned stallion smiled widely, enamored by the beauty of his soon-to-be wife. The pink alicorn returned the smile, finding her stallion very attractive in his red uniform jacket.
With no words between them, they leaned in closer and kissed, releasing the shield spell in the process.
Thorax felt the sudden rush of energy coming towards him, and just as he did before, tucked his legs in to protect himself. Twilight watched with bated breath as the pink wall approached the changeling in a mere second.
The moment the energy touched the changeling, her theory had been proven correct.
Instead of pushing back against Thorax and forcing him against the wall, it phased through him, like a sort of osmosis. In but one second of time, the changeling went from being outside the shield to inside it. She did a quick check of her measurements, and just as she had asked, the spell was identical to the one her brother and Cadance had cast yesterday.
Twilight walked over to the microphone and pushed the button. "I have what I need. You can dispel the shield now."
There was no auditory response. Instead, the pink shield flashed out of existence, and the machines that had been measuring the shield went back to their baselines.
Twilight turned to Thorax. "I want you to stay here for the time being," she told him. "I'm going to go inform the princesses about my findings. I'm sure they'll want to talk to you after I tell them about everything I have."
Thorax didn't respond. He sat with all of his legs tucked up against himself, whimpering in fear. It made Twilight feel guilty about what she had done, but if the princesses and everypony else believed all that she had to tell them, it would more than make up for all the trouble this changeling had been put through so far.
Princesses Celestia and Luna were waiting in the throne room, both now dressed in their ceremonial garments, their manes and tails styled perfectly. Joining them were the Element Bearers, with the exception of Fluttershy and Twilight, all in their own dresses, as well as Shining Armor and Cadance. The bride and groom both looked a bit annoyed.
"I hope that Twilight will be here soon," Cadance remarked as she examined a nearby clock on a wall.
"She will be," Celestia told her niece. "Twilight told me that she may have found an answer to the question of why that lone changeling managed to get past your shield spell yesterday, but needed to conduct an experiment to be sure."
"And we did conduct that test," Shining pointed out, "so there really shouldn't be a reason why she isn't here now."
Celestia had considered telling him that Twilight had indeed found the answer to the question, but her student wanted to tell everypony at the same time and asked for her not to tell anypony yet, and to call everypony to the throne room as soon as she could.
"Please try to be patient," Cadance asked her soon-to-be husband. "I have a feeling that Twilight did find the answer and we're all going to have a tiny bit of closure regarding this whole invasion fiasco."
Shining Armor let out a heavy breath. "I am a bit annoyed that our wedding has been delayed yet again, but if we can get some ironclad and concrete answers regarding that matter, then I'm willing to wait just a tiny bit longer."
Another minute passed before a guard entered the throne room and announced Twilight's arrival.
"Twilight," Celestia greeted her student, "what news do you have for us?"
Twilight approached the dais and bowed to Celestia and Luna. "I believe that I have found the definitive answer as to how the changeling managed to get through the shield Cadance and Shining cast yesterday."
"I am glad to hear that, Twilight. Now, please tell us what you've found out."
Twilight cleared her throat as she prepared to explain the experiment and the result's implications.
"Well, I interviewed Cadance and Shining Armor about the spell they used. Specifically, I asked what kind of spell it was and what their intent was behind it. Both told me that the spell was the same spell taught to unicorn recruits in the royal guard, and that their intent was to expel the evil changelings from Canterlot."
"After some thinking, a possible solution came to me, but in order for me to be sure that the idea was sound, I needed to test it. I set up special equipment in the interrogation room of the dungeon and then asked Cadance and Shining Armor to join me down in the observation room adjacent to the interrogation room."
"For the experiment, I asked them to recast the shield spell they used yesterday against the changelings. I wanted everything about the spell to be the same as before, including the emotions they felt and their intent behind casting it."
"As they prepared to cast the spell, I went into the interrogation room and triple-checked all the instruments to make sure that they were calibrated properly, and I also brought in the most vital tool in testing my theory."
"The most vital tool?" Shining questioned.
Twilight nodded. "Let me show it to you."
She turned to the doors she had come in through and called out to a pony outside them.
"Bring it in!"
The throne room doors opened, and a squad of guards came into the throne room. In the center of the squad of guards was the changeling, wearing hoof bindings and a suppression ring on his horn.
Almost immediately, Shining Armor and Cadance glared at him, crouching into fighting stances.
Celestia and Luna both looked at each other and then to Twilight.
"Was this the reason you...?" Celestia asked, making a gesture with her hoof.
"It was. You see, Shining and Cadance, I had to lie to the both of you a bit. Most of the equipment you saw through the glass was just old experimental equipment that I used to use while studying here in the castle. It only served one purpose during the experiment: it prevented you from seeing Thorax."
"And why didn't you want us seeing him?" Shining asked, an edge to his voice.
"Because if you had seen Thorax, it would've affected your spell. The emotions would've been more potent and your intent would've likely changed to wanting to expel Thorax instead of evil changelings. I needed you to be unaware of Thorax so that I could test my theory."
"And what was this theory?" Cadance then asked.
Twilight stepped beside Thorax before answering Cadance's question. "You both said that you cast the spell with intent to expel all of the evil changelings from Canterlot, and according to the readouts from the few machines I was actually using, you did exactly that."
"Yes, we did," Shining affirmed, "and our efforts clearly failed if this Thorax is still here!"
"No, Shining" Twilight countered, "That spell worked exactly as intended."
Shining Armor looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean, worked as intended?"
"Exactly that. The shield spell expelled every evil changeling from the city..."
Twilight then turned to Thorax and gave him a smile.
"...and left the only one that isn't behind."
All the ponies gasped at the insinuation Twilight had made.
"Twilight, are you telling us that this changeling was spared because he isn't evil?" Celestia asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yes, I am. He hasn't tried to attack anypony, has made no efforts to escape, has answered all of our questions with no hesitation, and as I explained moments ago, was spared by Cadance and Shining's spell."
There was silence for a few moments. Most ponies were processing this new and very surprising information. Shining was gritting his teeth, trying to form a rebuttal of some sort but coming up short. Eventually, Princess Celestia broke the silence.
"Twilight, I do agree that your theory and supporting experiment seems sound, but you are a mare of science. In order for your findings to be considered completely sound, another pony must perform the same experiment you did and achieve the same results."
"Which is why I would like to ask you to recast Cadance and Shining's shield spell now," Twilight asked Celestia.
Again, the ponies gasped. Celestia considered it for a moment.
"You are certain that the result will be the same?"
"Yes, I am. Just use the same shield spell Cadance and Shining used, with the same intent to be to remove evil changelings from the area of effect, and if my theory holds water as I believe it to and have seen proven once before, Thorax should pass directly through your shield."
Twilight produced some papers and presented them to Celestia. The alicorn took them and read them over. Once finished, she looked back at her expectant student.
"Very well," Celestia closed her eyes and focused her magic, a small ball of yellowish white light forming at the end of her horn.
Thorax saw this and began whimpering. He was unsure if Celestia would actually cast the same shield spell, or one meant to eliminate him then and there. Unfortunately, with the suppression ring and the hoof bindings, he had no way to escape the wrath of the sun princess, if she chose to exterminate him now. All he could hope for was that he wouldn't make another mess like he had before.
Once her preparations were complete, Celestia opened her eyes and released the spell, a sphere of yellow energy expanding out from the tip of her horn. Thorax flinched and tucked his hooves in in a futile attempt to protect himself from the wall of energy.
Everypony watched as the princess's shield approached the changeling with bated breath, and then dropped their jaws as he phased through it completely.
Twilight, however, was grinning, happy to be proven correct to pretty much all the naysayers in the room.
Celestia dispelled the shield and the yellow energy was gone in a flash. Everypony in the room then looked from her, to the cowering changeling, and then back to the princess. None of them said anything for a few moments, then Princess Luna spoke.
"Well, sister?"
Celestia looked at Thorax in thought, then to her pupil, and then let out a sigh.
"What Twilight has told us is the truth. I have cast the spell as she has described it to me, and the results speak for themselves. If Thorax were indeed evil, the shield would have pushed him away as it did with the others of his kind."
"Surely you don't believe this?" Shining Armor protested. "There has to be some kind of problem with the spell."
"Captain Armor," Celestia addressed the stallion tersely, "there is nothing wrong with the shield spell. It is the very same you and every other guard before and after your time in training has learned since my sister and I personally crafted it more than two thousand years ago. The only thing that changes with that spell is the intent of the caster and the emotions they feel at the time. If your intent was to banish evil from the city and spare all who are good, then the fact that this changeling was spared should be more than enough proof that your sister is correct."
Shining sputtered as he tried to come up with a counterargument, but was stopped as a hoof rested on his withers.
"Shiny," Cadance said to her fiance, "I know that what happened to you because of the changeling queen was horrible. Even what she did to me was reprehensible beyond words, but can you really judge the whole based on the acts of a few?"
"What are you talking about, Cady?" Shining asked in disbelief.
"I don't think every changeling is evil, or at least not inherently evil; perhaps they're just misguided and don't know any better. In fact, the changelings that came to the city may only be a small part of the whole. Perhaps what we saw were the ones who agreed with the queen's plan."
Shining wanted to protest Cadance's argument, but it was sound. He couldn't say for certain that he'd seen every changeling in existence, and because of that, he couldn't say definitively that all of them were evil. With no way to counter her suggestion, the stallion conceded on one point.
"Okay, perhaps Thorax here isn't evil, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he's probably drained a pony of love at some point in the past."
Nopony could really argue against the point Shining had just made. Despite the claims about Thorax not being evil, there was no denying the plausibility that he had done what was suggested.
"That might be," Twilight conceded to her brother, "but is it that much different than a manticore going after a pony to eat it, or a dragon for that matter?"
Shining looked at his sister with shock. "How could you suggest something like that!? What would Spike think?"
"I'm not talking about Spike. I'm talking about a dragon. Sure, Spike may be a dragon, but he's been raised by ponies his whole life. He wouldn't think of harming any of us. But there are other dragons that would have no such qualms about doing something like that. My point is this: would eating a pony automatically make the dragon evil?"
"Yes, it would!" Shining declared. "Evil is the intention of causing harm!"
"I agree, but only to an extent. I believe actual evil is the deliberate causing of harm that one takes enjoyment from doing. We could call a dragon eating a pony evil, but is it really evil if the dragon was on the verge of starvation and it was the only opportunity to eat it could get?"
Shining was about to protest, but Twilight cut him off.
"Is it evil if a pony steals an apple from a street vendor because they can't afford to feed themselves? What about if a pony kills a timberwolf in the Everfree Forest? Are they evil for killing that creature when it was trying to take their life beforehoof?"
"Okay!" Shining conceded in defeat. "Maybe his feeding in the past wasn't exactly evil, but I still don't think it's right if he did it."
"How can you say it's not right that he's doing what he needs to so that he can survive?!"
"Umm, excuse me?"
The sudden voice in the room caught everypony's attention, and all eyes turned to the changeling bound in restraints.
"I've never wanted to cause anypony harm. I-If I offered an apology, would that help any?"
Shining wanted to verbally accost the changeling, his building frustrations recognizing a convenient outlet set before them, but a golden aura on his muzzle stopped him.
"I cannot blame a living thing, pony or otherwise, for doing what is necessary for them to remain alive, even the more morally reprehensible actions," Celestia told Thorax. "With that said, I don't think an apology will be a cure-all for the animosity at the current moment, but it could be a starting point for us to move past it."
Thorax gave a nod and gulped. "M-May I step forward?"
Celestia gave a nod, and then gave one to her guards; a wordless order to allow him to step forward.
The guards in front looked to each other for a moment, but then bowed to the princesses and stepped aside, allowing Thorax to move forward. The changeling did so, one cautious step after the next, until he was near the base of the dais Celestia's throne sat upon.
Taking a few deep breaths, Thorax prepared to speak.
"I... Um, I'm sorry to anypony I've ever hurt. I never meant to do it, and I hope they can forgive me."
Thorax then turned and looked at both Shining and Cadance.
"I'm sorry about what happened with your wedding. I don't know what our queen was thinking, but I wish she had thought of something better than what she did."
Nopony said anything for a moment. Thorax hung his head low, unsure if his apologies would be accepted or not. After a few moments more, a voice did finally break the silence.
"You claimed to have seen Miss Twilight and her friends yesterday, correct?"
Thorax looked up at the princesses, finding both of them looking at him expectantly.
"I... I did."
"And this was in one of the circular common areas, wasn't it?"
The pony asking the questions was the lunar princess.
"If that's what those things are called."
"And you claimed to have been moved by their fight against the other changelings?"
"I was. I've never seen such cooperation before. The way they took care not to hurt each other and helping one another when they got into trouble. The other drones would never think to do that."
Luna considered Thorax for a moment before whispering something into Celestia's ear. Celestia considered it for a moment, then whispered something back to her sister. Luna thought over what had been whispered to her, then nodded and whispered back to her sister, who nodded in agreement before facing the changeling again.
"In light of the recent revelations presented by my student and what has been shown to me by conducting the very same tests myself and achieving the same result, I can say without doubt that you carry no desire to cause malice to my subjects."
"However, your need to feed on love from other creatures still makes you a danger in some capacity to them. With all of this in mind, my sister and I would like to extend an offer to you."
Both Thorax and Shining Armor looked at the princesses with open mouths. Neither of them believed what they had just heard.
"By now, you're quite familiar with Twilight and how eager she is to learn new things," Celestia continued. "Since much of your kind is unknown to us, and you are our best source for this information at the moment, I give you this simple offer: answer my student's questions about your kind, and I will permit to stay with her in her library in the town of Ponyville."
"There will be security considerations, of course. I will have a garrison of guards stationed there to keep watch of you, and you won't be allowed to go anywhere by yourself."
"To show this isn't a one-sided arrangement, I will add something to sweeten the deal, as it were. If the information you provide us is both sound and aids us in protecting innocent ponies and creatures from being harmed by your queen and any of the other changelings, I will consider granting you a full citizenship in Equestria after a year's time."
"My student will also do what she can to assist with your dietary needs, and possibly find an alternative that is a better option than what is currently available to you now."
"That is my offer to you. If you decline it, then you go back to being a prisoner. If you accept it and try to double-cross us, then you will receive a much worse punishment than just being a prisoner."
"So, in summary, I am willing to let you stay with my student, and possibly become a full Equestrian citizen, in exchange for all the information you can give us that will help us to defend ourselves from your kind. Thorax, do you accept this offer I am making to you?"
Everypony was quiet as they waited to hear Thorax's answer. If the changeling understood correctly, the princesses would allow him to live in Equestria, under the supervision of the unicorn Twilight Sparkle, in exchange for providing information that would help ponies defend themselves from changelings. In addition to that, she would also have Twilight research a means to sustain himself that wouldn't cause harm to other ponies. And to sweeten the deal further, the princess would consider making him a full citizen of Equestria after a year.
All he had to do was commit what amounted to treason against his own kind.
As he considered the consequences of the decision, he thought back to how he had been treated in the hive. It wasn't all terrible, but being bullied for so many years, and even incurring the queen's wrath a few times, happened far more often than any feel-good moments he could even try to think of.
Besides, the twenty-four hours or so he had been in pony custody were nowhere near the worst thing he'd ever experienced. How bad could living with a pony for a year actually be?
With his mind made up, Thorax gave a firm nod. "I accept."
Celestia smiled warmly, as did Luna. "Then we shall make it official."
Conjuring a quill and parchment, the princess drafted the offer and signed her name. She then passed it to Luna, who signed as well.
"Would you please come forward, Twilight?" she asked her student, who eagerly complied. She presented Twilight with the parchment and quill. "Please sign this line here."
Twilight took the quill and signed on the line marked "Custodian", as indicated by the princess. Once done, she gave the quill back to Celestia.
"Very good," Celestia remarked as she reviewed the document she'd created. "Now, I would like somepony to volunteer to sign as a witness to this agreement.
Pinkie's hoof began to very eagerly wave around in the air, the mare making an ooh-ooh noise not too dissimilar from a monkey.
Celestia laughed. "Okay, Miss Pie. Please come forward."
Pinkie practically teleported in front Celestia and signed with a quite large and very pink quill she'd seemingly produced from thin air.
"Now, if you would step forward, Thorax."
The changeling began to step forward, but stopped when he saw Princess Luna's horn glow, then heard a metallic clinking on the floor beneath him. Looking down, he saw that the bindings around his legs had fallen off.
Princess Luna's magic faded, and she gave the changeling a smile.
"There will be no more need of those. Please come and sign the agreement."
Thorax did as requested, coming up to the floating parchment and taking the quill, signing his name in well-practiced cursive.
"You have remarkable penmanship," Celestia commented with a smile.
"Thank you. If there was anything I could do well in the hive, it was write things down."
"Your highness," one of the guards at the rear of the throne room suddenly interrupted.
"What is it, guard?"
"Miss Fluttershy has returned, and, she has a guest with her."
Everypony looked at one another with confusion. While the timid pegasus was known to socialize from time to time, it was quite rare for her to make a new friend without the company of her other close friends.
"Permit her and her guest entry," Celestia told the guard, who saluted and opened the door behind him.
Fluttershy entered the throne room. The timid yellow pegasus looked around and saw her friends, the future husband and wife, and the princesses, all looking at her expectantly. The attention caused her to shrink down and hide her eyes behind her mane, hoping that she would not be seen.
The attention directed at her was then turned to the new pony to enter the room. Everypony had the same thought upon seeing the newcomer, but Twilight beat them to the punch in regards to voicing it.
"Zecora?"
The zebra rolled his eyes and let out a huff. "While some of my features could be viewed as feminine, certain traits are definitively masculine."
Everypony blinked, but Celestia let out a chuckle. "I must apologize for my student. She and her friends know another zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest near the town of Ponyville, and they simply thought you were her."
"An honest mistake I can forgive," the stallion said with a wave of his hoof. "Now, I believe you were discussing matters most sensitive?"
As he said this, Zorro then took notice of the one creature in the room that was not a pony.
"Is there something amiss, or do I see a changeling in our midst?"
"Nothing is amiss," Luna chimed in, "and yes, this is a changeling. He was spared by the shield that Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadance cast yesterday.. After several rounds of questioning and an experiment conducted by Miss Twilight Sparkle, we have determined this changeling is not evil, and poses no significant threat to us. In fact, we have just drafted and signed an agreement that will permit him residence in Equestria in return for his cooperation in preparing defensive measures against his kind."
The zebra took a moment to process everything before responding. "That is good news, I must admit. Hopefully it establishes a good precedent."
"We hope so as well," Celestia agreed.
"Umm, princesses?"
Celestia and Luna turned their attention to Fluttershy, who looked more nervous and timid than usual.
"Yes, Miss Fluttershy?" Luna asked, though was fairly certain of what she was about to be told.
"Umm..." the pegasus began before pausing and looking away. "I know you said you didn't want me to try and-"
"Find a solution to Thorax needing to feed on love?" Luna finished in an accusatory tone, causing Fluttershy to flinch as though she believed she was about to be struck. "I cannot say I am surprised, but I also cannot say I'm not disappointed."
Fluttershy whimpered at the light scolding. Luna let out a breath.
"At least tell us that you may have been fruitful in your endeavors."
Fluttershy gave a shaky nod and stepped forward towards Thorax, stopping a short distance away and reaching into the saddlebags on her back. From them, she produced a flask with a dark blue liquid inside. Uncorking the flask, she held it to her mouth and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she opened her mouth and breathed into the flask, causing the liquid inside to change colors from blue to pink, and also making it glow.
She pulled the flask from her mouth and offered it to Thorax. "Please drink it slowly," she told him.
Confused, Thorax took the flask from her and looked at it. He then took a sniff and began to salivate. Regaining as much composure as he could, he put the bottle to his mouth and drank as slowly as he could. Within nearly a minute, the contents had been drunk, and Thorax looked quite relieved, and then puzzled as he looked at the mare. "What was that?" he asked her.
"That was a potion that Zorro here showed me how to make. It was made to heal anypony who was attacked by a changeling and drained of love. All a pony has to do is mix the ingredients until it gets that blue color, then they hold the bottle to their mouth and think of something that they love with all their heart, then when they breathe into the bottle, their love is drawn out, concentrated, and then cultivated until it makes the potion turn pink and start glowing. It's given to the victim to help restore their own love, but Zorro and I are almost certain it will sustain you in place of needing to drain love from a pony or other creature. Of course, judging by your reaction, I'd say we have found an ideal solution."
Thorax looked at Fluttershy for a few moments, then smiled wide, a tear forming in the corner of each eye. "Thank you."
Shining watched what was transpiring in front of him, a conflict raging inside.
On one hoof, here was one of the creatures responsible for the attempted invasion of the city yesterday, in a vulnerable enough position that he could easily obtain satisfaction for his ruined wedding day if he chose to do so. On the other hoof, the creature had withstood the shield he and Princess Cadance had cast twice and the same shield when Princess Celestia had done the same only a few minutes ago.
A wing on his withers made Shining turn away and look at what pegasus was trying to get his attention. His gaze was met by his wife-to-be.
"I can see and feel the conflict inside you Shining. I'd wager that that changeling over there might feel it too, or at least he could if he didn't have his magic restrained."
Shining averted his gaze. "You know what happened yesterday, and what happened to you and me the week leading up to the wedding."
"I do, but I also know what I've seen today, and what I've seen was a creature that is choosing to cooperate with us, and fearful of what we may do to him. In truth, if what Princess Celestia told us yesterday is true, then I am surprised he didn't make another mess on the floor when she cast that shield spell before."
Shining let out a sigh. "I saw his reactions too. Hay, I even heard the apology. It's just... It's gonna take time for me to learn to trust him, especially if he's been left in Twily's care."
"You're worried for her because you're her older brother and are supposed to be worried about her."
Shining nodded.
"From all we've heard, this changeling seems to have something of a respect for Twilight, or at least a level of admiration," Cadance continued. "I believe Celestia chose her because she thinks Thorax will cooperate with her more fully than any other pony, and she also said she would consider making him a full citizen after a year, so she must believe he is trustworthy if she's giving him such a generous offer."
Shining considered her points before letting out another sigh. "I don't like it, but I suppose I'll have to give him some benefit of the doubt, for now. If he actually wants my trust, then he'll have to earn it."
"That's fair. I don't think he would expect any more than that. In truth, I don't think he expected any trust at all."
Shining nodded in agreement and turned his attention back to the changeling, who had Fluttershy wrapped up in a tight bear hug.
"Thank you so much!" he kept telling her over and over. "You didn't have to do that for me, but you did! Thank you!"
"You're... welcome," Fluttershy forced out, Thorax's grip being a bit tighter than she was normally comfortable with.
The hugging went on for a few more seconds before a magenta aura separated the pony and changeling. Thorax wondered what unicorn was keeping him from sharing his appreciation with the wonderful yellow pony, but started shaking like a leaf as he recognized the stallion the queen had been feeding on for a week or longer.
Shining approached Thorax, his aura keeping the changeling in place, until they were less than a pony length from each other.
Princess Celestia was about to protest her captain's actions, but Luna stopped her with a hoof.
"I believe he wishes to say something to Thorax, and only to Thorax," Luna told her sister. "A stallion-to-stallion talk, as it were."
"But he may still choose to cause him harm!"
"Then we, as well as a great many other ponies, will stop him if necessary."
Celestia didn't say anything further. She turned her attention back to the two males. She saw Thorax's shaking, and a bit of sympathy was sent the changeling's way.
A full minute passed with nothing but silence in the throne room. Thorax was still caught in Shining's magic, but he didn't dare show or voice any fear. Eventually, Shining let out a breath and spoke.
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are showing you a great deal of trust," he began, "and my duty is to support their decision in whatever manner I am instructed to, and their decision is to allow you to stay with Twilight in Ponyville."
Shining leaned in closer. "Twilight is my little sister, and as her older brother, it is my duty to make her as safe as I possibly can. I will not let anypony try to harm her. If need be, I will drag them to the gates of Tartarus and pull us both in if it means she will stay out of danger."
"I'm telling you this because the princesses' decree goes against my duty as an older brother, because my service to the crown supersedes what attachments I have to my family. I have to allow her to keep watch over you so she can fulfill her own obligations to the princesses, and all I can do to offer protection is have a more robust detachment of guards transferred to her home to assist in keeping watch of you, which I plan to do as soon as possible."
Shining leaned in a little closer yet, and his voice dropped down to a whisper. "I give you this one warning, Thorax. If I hear that you have caused harm to my sister, or any of her friends, I will hunt you down. It might cost me my career, and even my freedom, but it will have been worth it if it means the one who hurt my sister will never do such a thing again."
Thorax looked at the pony as though he were sprouting the head of a hydra from his shoulder.
"So, don't do anything to make me doubt the princess's decision. Keep being cooperative and help us to protect ourselves better from your kind, and treat this opportunity you've been given with the respect it deserves. If you do all of that, then maybe a day will come where I can show you the trust you desire. I admit that your queen has stained my opinion of your kind, and that I do not think much of you and what you've said at this moment, but I'm not incapable of change."
"Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
Thorax nodded. "Don't screw this up or it's my flank."
Shining had to concede a smile to that. "I don't think I could have said it any better."
Satisfied, the unicorn turned and walked away, releasing Thorax from his magic in the process. The changeling let out a breath he had been holding, hoping he hadn't done anything to make the castle maids think even less of him than they already did.
With the drama concluded, Celestia cleared her throat. "Well, now that we have things in order, I believe we were about to have ourselves a wedding."
That Evening...
Cadance and Shining Armor were officially husband and wife. Ponies cheered in the streets as their carriage was led from the chapel on a lap through the city that ended back at the castle and a large reception dinner. Applejack and the chefs of the royal kitchens pulled out all the stops, making dishes that would have made everypony from the poorest pauper to the most hoity-toity noble salivate in anticipation.
Of course, there were the usual things done at receptions. Princess Cadance tossed her bouquet, which was caught by three mares that promptly began fighting over it, with no clear winner among the three. Then there was the garter toss, which had Shining slingshot the article of clothing into a crowd of guards, with an orange pegasus coming out of the pile with it in his teeth. Lastly, the two newlyweds cut the cake, and promptly smashed some into each other's muzzles.
As the night went on, merriment was abundant, and on a balcony just above the reception, a single changeling was sitting. He'd been allowed to feed on the excess created by the jovial mood and the reception. He took in all of the energy and felt the torturous hunger he'd had his whole life diminish. By the time the ponies decided the spectacle had gone on for long enough and began to head home, the hunger felt like a distant memory, and he questioned whether or not this was the being full sensation he'd been teased with his whole life.
"It probably would've been better if you could've been down there in the thick of things, huh?"
Thorax turned and looked behind him. Standing there was Twilight, who had removed the ornate gown she had been wearing.
"Yeah, it would've been better," he admitted to her.
There was silence for a few moments before Twilight spoke again.
"I want to thank you for choosing to cooperate with us. I know it had to have been scary for you, being separated from the other changelings and being taken prisoner."
"It was, but, I'm kind of glad it did."
"What do you mean?"
"My whole life, I've been as different from the average changeling as you can get. I'm not aggressive at all, and I can't even defend myself properly. I don't like having to drain love from other creatures, especially now since Fluttershy and that Zorro stallion found that potion for me. Even more so, I never had a real purpose in the hive. The only job I could fill was to dig tunnels to expand the hive, and even then, that's such basic work that even a half-grown nymph can perform that duty."
"I wasn't really a popular changeling back in the hive. I got bullied a lot and told I was useless by pretty much all the other changelings. Honestly, there's times I question why I wasn't disposed of instead of being made into a tunnel digger."
"When you say disposed..."
"It's exactly what it sounds like."
Twilight grimaced. "That's horrible."
"You get used to it, sort of. It just becomes a fact of life. The rule is you must be useful to the hive, and if you aren't, you're a burden, and all burdens are eliminated."
"Well, I'm glad you weren't eliminated."
"So am I, and with the offer from the princesses, I have a chance at a new and better life than what I had before."
Twilight smiled at his optimistic outlook. "Your new life will definitely be better than your old one, Thorax."
"I know. I just wish I could go back to the hive and thank Pharynx for looking out for me as much as he did."
"Who's Pharynx?"
"I guess you could think of him as an older brother. We were laid in the same clutch, and he hatched before me. He's a really tough changeling, even by changeling standards. The queen even considers him to be one of the best leaders of our army."
Twilight conjured a quill and parchment, writing down this information.
"If it hadn't been for him," Thorax continued, "I probably would've been eliminated long ago."
Twilight stopped writing and looked at Thorax. "What do you mean?"
"Pharynx and your brother actually have something in common - a desire to protect their younger siblings. Pharynx doesn't really need to do it that much for the others of our clutch; they can protect themselves just fine. Like I said, I can't fight or defend myself, so he often stepped in to protect me."
Thorax shivered a little as he recalled some of the worst of the bullying.
"Other nymphs would gang up on me whenever they thought I was alone. They'd make fun of me because I made some figurines that looked like ponies and played with them, trying to imagine what the ponies in Equestria were really like. They'd hit me and kick me. Worse than that even, there have been a few times where they'd hold me down and drain me of love just like they would a pony or other creature."
Twilight went wide-eyed. "Changelings will feed on other changelings?"
"Usually, no. Most of the time, it's done as a punishment by the queen. I guess they thought they were punishing me for being weak or something."
"What does it feel like to be drained?"
The question caused Thorax to go from a somewhat saddened state to being nearly completely morose.
"It's horrible! It feels like something is ripping out a piece of your soul and there's nothing thing you can do to stop it, and all the while, you lose your energy and feel like a hoof socked you in the gut hard enough to knock the wind out of you. I wouldn't want to experience something like that ever again, and I sure don't want to subject some innocent creature to it either."
Twilight had to grimace at what Thorax described to her. "It's no wonder the shield spell spared you. You seem to have a conscience where the other changelings don't."
Thorax sighed. "I don't think it's because they don't have a conscience. Maybe they just don't know what they're doing, or they're so consumed by the need satisfy their hunger that it makes them look past the pain they're causing, or they've just been desensitized to all of it, like how a doctor gets desensitized to seeing all sorts of horrible stuff because they see it almost all the time."
"That is a valid point, but you've lived in the same conditions as them, and possibly even worse, yet you still don't wish to be like them. I can't tell what it is, but there is something special about you."
Thorax thought about what Twilight had told him, looking thoughtfully, but then he smirked a tad and started chuckling softly.
"What's so funny?" Twilight asked him.
"The irony of all this. The queen told us friendship was for the weak, and following her orders would give us a bounty of love enough to fill every changeling in the hive. Now, she and the rest of the hive have been cast out of the city, and I was spared, and all because I wanted to try a more peaceful way. The only changeling to give friendship a chance, and I'm the one reaping the benefits."
"I'm not sure if I would quite word it that way, at least not around other ponies. I know I'm still taking time getting used to the idea that you're essentially leeching energy from me to sustain yourself. It's still sort of alien to me, like letting a mosquito feed off my blood."
"I know it will take time for everypony to adjust, but Fluttershy and that zebra made that potion for me, and he showed her how to make it herself, so I don't really need to feed ambiently like that anymore."
"Ambiently?"
"Changelings can obtain love in a few different ways. There's the really horrible draining like I described before, but there is also ambient feeding, which is we put ourselves in a love-rich environment, like a popular restaurant for a date night, and just absorb the love the comes off of couples naturally, like a lizard soaking up warmth from a rock out in the sun."
"That sounds much simpler than draining a pony. How come you guys just don't feed yourself like that?"
"Because as much as that would help sustain us overall, the energy absorbed isn't enough to support the hive. Draining, unfortunately, takes more love and is more beneficial for us overall, even if it's far more unpleasant for the creature being drained."
Twilight scribbled away on her parchment, learning so much about changelings in a small amount of time.
"Do you think there's a method to getting the necessary love that might convince your hive to do something else besides draining ponies?"
"Maybe, but I doubt it. The other changelings are loyal to the queen and obey her without question. She's the one you'd have to convince, and I doubt she'd even humor any argument you'd try and make."
Twilight frowned, but then smiled slightly. "Well, you don't worry about her anymore. You can live in Ponyville for as long as you want to, or go anywhere you want to, at least if Princess Celestia grants you your citizenship next year."
"I hope she does. Canterlot is beautiful, but I want to see what else Equestria has to offer, and hopefully becoming a citizen means I'll get to see it all someday."
"Well, even if you don't get it, my friends and I can take you on a tour of Equestria so you can see it anyway," Twilight promised, "but for now, we should all get some sleep. We'll be heading back to Ponyville and getting you settled in. I'm gonna have to talk to somepony about getting an extra bed, possibly two."
Thorax blinked for a few moments before he realized what she meant. "You don't need to burden yourself on my account, Twilight. All I had in the hive was a sleeping burrow with some dried-up leaves, so I can make do just fine with a sofa, or even just a rug on the floor."
"Nonsense. I won't have a friend sleep on the floor when I can just as easily get a bed for them."
Thorax's eyes went wide. "Did you say...?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes, Thorax, I said friend."
Thorax eyes teared up as he smiled at the purple unicorn. "Can I... hug you?"
"Friends don't really need to ask each other that, Thorax," Twilight told him as she embraced him in a hug.
The action caught him off guard, but soon enough, he leaned into her embrace and wrapped his hooves around her as well.
They stayed together like that for a moment, until Thorax suddenly let out a loud belch.
Separating, the changeling looked away in embarrassment. "Um, sorry."
"It's okay. I imagine that means you've nearly had your fill?"
Thorax nodded. "It's amazing to not actually be starving. This is gonna take some getting used to."
Twilight frowned. "Are you still not full?"
"I'm pretty close," he admitted. "Right now, I guess it's about how it would feel if you wanted a small snack."
"I'm pretty sure Zorro and Fluttershy have enough ingredients to make another vial of that potion. I could ask them to make some for you if you want."
Thorax shook his head. "I should be good. Besides, I think if I had too much, I would start to get greedy, and I don't want to go doing that after all of the courtesy you and the princesses showed me."
Twilight nodded to him in return. "That might be for the best. My assistant Spike, who's a dragon, went on a greed-fueled rampage not too long ago. He nearly destroyed the town before my friend Rarity was finally able to talk some sense into him. I wouldn't want a repeat of something like that with you."
"I don't think I would destroy a town, but I don't think I want to find out, either."
"That sounds like a good idea."
Twilight then let out a yawn and wiped a hoof across her eyes. "We should all get to bed. You're gonna be heading back with us to Ponyville and I'm gonna have to write ahead and tell the mayor to prepare the town. Unfortunately, Ponyville has been known to get a little jumpy around ponies that are just a bit different from them."
Thorax frowned. "I'm sure some of them will feel it's justified once they learn about what happened."
Twilight frowned as well. "The newspapers have probably already informed them, so I'm sure they've already formed some opinions, if they haven't already made an 'emergency angry mob' stockpile of torches and pitchforks."
She then placed a hoof on Thorax's withers. "Things will be okay, Thorax. My friends and I will make sure nopony tries to hurt you, and we can show them together that all you want is to live peacefully. It might take time, but we will get everypony used to you."
Thorax looked back up at Twilight and gave her a smile. "Thank you again, for everything."
Thorax sat in the librarian's chair of the Golden Oaks Library reading over a book. It was the latest in the Daring Do book series, one which Rainbow Dash had put him onto shortly after he arrived in Ponyville and got settled in.
Thinking of that time led to him reflecting on everything that had happened since his arrival.
His introduction to Ponyville by Twilight and her friends was met with, at best, mixed reactions. Plenty of ponies held a grudge against changelings for what had happened at Princess Cadance's wedding, and Thorax admitting his involvement and showing remorse didn't affect what most thought about him very much.
Over time, his presence in the library helped his image, and ponies in town became more accepting of him.
A big boost to his reputation came not long after he had moved into the library with Twilight. A letter from the princess informed the purple unicorn and her friends that the Crystal Empire, a kingdom that had vanished around the time of Princess Luna's banishment to the moon, had now returned, and Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were sent to help the citizens and allow Cadance to take her place as its ruler; according to Princess Celestia, Cadance was a descendant of the empire's last monarch, Princess Amore.
Twilight and her friends, as well as Spike and Thorax, all traveled to the empire to assist in protecting its citizens, where they encountered and did battle with a tyrant named King Sombra, who planned on enslaving the crystal ponies and taking over the world.
Thorax's encounter with the evil pony had him shivering in fear, but being around the Crystal Ponies and being showered in their love and affection had given him the strength and confidence needed to help save them. His actions had even won him the trust and friendship of Shining Armor and Cadance, who invited him to join them in the Crystal Empire, where they knew he would receive so much love from the crystal ponies that he would never need to feed again.
As tempting as their offer was, Thorax had turned it down. The reason for that was simple: he had found a pony who was more than willing to give him the love he needed and desired so much.
Thorax shook the thoughts from his head as he heard the bell for the front door jingle. He looked up from his book and immediately recognized the pony who had just walked in, smiling widely at them as he stepped out from behind the desk.
"It's so great to see you, Shy," he said to the yellow pegasus as he approached her and gave her a hug.
"It's great seeing you too, Thorax," Fluttershy replied, returning his hug and nuzzling at his cheek.
Thorax drank in her affections, delighting in how strong they were for him.
Thinking back to when they had first met each other in that dungeon always brought a smile to his face, recalling how scared she had been and his efforts to engage her in polite conversation. Once he had come back to Ponyville, he did all he could to spend time with her, even going so far as to ask Princess Celestia permission to be in her custody when not able to be watched by Twilight. With Celestia's agreement, he often found himself at her cottage tending to her animal friends.
They had become very close in that time. In fact, they were so close that Thorax had been thinking of asking her to be his official special somepony, but he always got cold hooves and would back out before he could take the plunge. He was fairly certain she wouldn't refuse him, but he didn't want to ask her in a way that made her feel like she was being put on the spot and couldn't say anything but yes; he wanted her to actually say yes because she wanted to, and not have it come from some feeling of obligation.
"How has working the library been?" Fluttershy asked him.
"It's been boring," Thorax answered, "but in this town, boring is a pretty good thing."
The yellow mare chuckled. "I can agree with that. Do you know if the pony who checked out that book about bunny-rearing has-"
Before she could finish, Thorax used his magic and produced the item in question.
"Oh, good. I was afraid they wouldn't return it soon enough."
"Do you really think there's anything in there that'll help them?" Thorax asked, a slight frown on his muzzle.
"It's the only place I know to look," Fluttershy told him. "If this doesn't help Angel and his new bunny friend, I don't know what will."
"Well, hopefully him getting a bunny friend will help mellow him out."
Fluttershy swatted Thorax with a hoof and giggled. "You're horrible."
"Maybe, but you can't tell me that he doesn't get a little unbearable from time to time."
"Yeah, he can be a bit of a pain, but it's part of his charm."
Thorax chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could call it that."
Fluttershy chuckled as well, and then took the book and placed it into her saddlebags.
"Say, do you maybe want to get a bite of dinner later?" Thorax asked Fluttershy.
"Dinner?" Fluttershy responded with confusion. "I thought you didn't eat regular food?"
"Oh, I can chew and swallow it just fine. I just can't get nourishment from it, aside from maybe processing out water out of it and converting it to resin. I just want to spend some time with you and talk. It's been a little while since we've done that."
Fluttershy thought over his proposal for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "Sure. Where do you wanna go out to eat at?"
"Actually," Thorax started nervously, "I was kind of hoping you'd come join me here tonight."
Fluttershy looked at him with confusion, then realization crossed her face and she smiled widely. "You've been practicing with Spike, haven't you?"
"I have," Thorax confirmed with a chuckle.
"Then I'll be here tonight," she declared with a smile. "What time?"
"How about seven? It'll give me enough time to prepare everything and close up the library for the day."
"Then seven o'clock it is. I'll see you then."
"You too."
Fluttershy then left out the main door, the little bell chiming on her way out.
Thorax sighed as he thought of the wonderful meal he intended to prepare for her that night.
"I swear, the love you have for her is more sickeningly sweet than Pinkie's cupcakes."
Thorax's good mood was diminished greatly by the voice of his somewhat new housemate.
"If you can't stand it, then don't hang around for it, Kevin."
Thorax turned to face the creature in question. Like Thorax, Kevin was a changeling, and was a part of Queen Chrysalis's hive. He had turned up during Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda's wedding, and was confronted by not only the royal guards, but nearly everypony in Ponyville once they realized the foals attending the wedding hadn't been trying to pull some sort of prank.
After being taken into custody and questioned, he told his interrogators to speak with Cranky and Matilda. When questioned, the couple revealed that Cranky had known Kevin for some time, and had actually given him medical care in the immediate aftermath of the Canterlot invasion.
Cranky had found him in his vegetable garden only a few hours after the shield that rocketed the changelings away was cast. Matilda had encountered him a few months later, and Cranky had sworn her to secrecy not to tell anypony about him, as Kevin's time with Cranky had convinced him that there might have actually been something to making friends and not immediately sucking all the love out of the first pony he saw.
With assurance from Cranky and Matilda, as well as a promise from Thorax to help his fellow changeling, Twilight and Mayor Mare made an agreement for Kevin; he could live peacefully in Ponyville so long as he didn't cause anypony harm and helped defend it from any threats, even if they were from Chrysalis and the other changelings. If he refused, then he would be arrested and taken to Canterlot to stand and face judgment before the princesses.
Given those choices, the changeling was willing to be cooperative.
"Oh, come off it!" Kevin spat back as he buzzed down to Thorax from the upstairs part of the library. "You're sweet on that mare and you wouldn't mind showing her a new and more fun way for her to feed you."
Thorax blushed a good bit at that remark. "D-Don't go saying that! You don't know who could hear!"
Kevin chuckled. "No offense, Raxy, but your crush on Flutterbutt is an open secret across the whole town."
Thorax flinched a little. "So what? I don't care if everypony knows I like her. That doesn't mean I just want to... well, you know."
"Play a round of churn her butter?"
Thorax glared at Kevin with an evident blush on his cheeks. "You know, I'd actually started to forget what it was like to be picked on before you went and got caught at Cranky's wedding."
Kevin laughed at that remark. "You have me there. I guess being caught there makes changelings oh-for-two as far as weddings go."
"Well, let's not go for third time's the charm, okay? And don't forget to sort out the return books like I asked you to. Princess Twilight gave you a break because I vouched for you. Please don't ruin my new life for your own amusement."
Kevin didn't say anything further. He just chuckled as he buzzed over to a box marked "late night returns" and started sifting through them.
Thorax let out a sigh as he returned to reading. Eventually, his thoughts again returned to what had happened since coming to Ponyville, and his referring to Twilight by her new title reminded him of the attack by the centaur Tirek.
He did help Twilight with her spell to become an alicorn, but he was an even greater help against Tirek, the magic-sucking bane of Equestria. In fact, by using his shapeshifting, Thorax averted disaster by causing Tirek to fire a massive blast towards some unoccupied mountains instead of his original target, the Golden Oaks Library. His distraction also allowed Twilight to discover a way to beat him, unlocking a chest that the alicorn had received after she and her friends surrendered their elements to the Tree of Harmony, gifting them with new powers to defeat the centaur and drive him back to Tartarus, as well as giving Twilight her own castle just a bit outside of town.
Since then, the only major things of note were the new Friendship map, a large table in the new castle that showed nearly the whole of the world, and would direct selected ponies to travel to places where problems arose between the friendships of other creatures. Thorax could never quite wrap his head around how something such as a problem between friends could have such a profound impact on the world at large, but he had since learned not to question it. After all, Rainbow and Pinkie's trip to Griffinstone had helped the floundering empire begin to recover, and all without the help of the Idol of Boreas.
The bell for the front door of the library chimed again, and Thorax was greeted to the sight of another friend. "Hey, Starlight."
The unicorn looked over and smiled. "Hey, Thorax. How's the library today?"
"Boring, but you know that's the best way it can be around here."
Starlight chuckled. "Yeah. Something exciting seems to always mean a monster rampaging down the streets, or a pony has gotten a hold of some dark magic artifact they weren't supposed to have."
Thorax chuckled in response. "Yeah, that it does."
The changeling reminisced in his mind the time he'd met the mare. Twilight had mentioned her after returning from the first-ever friendship map mission, but he got to meet her for the first time when they were surprised by her in the friendship castle. She had used a time travel spell created by Starswirl to go back in time and alter history several times in quick succession, specifically by preventing Rainbow Dash from achieving her first Sonic Rainboom, an event which led to the other Element bearers finding their cutie marks and creating a special connection between them.
With each change in history, various villains had achieved success where they'd previously failed. Tirek had consumed all the magic in the world, Nightmare Moon had defeated Celestia and cast an eternal night, and perhaps worst of all, Queen Chrysalis had invaded Canterlot and succeeded, leading to her army scouring Equestria in search of what ponies she hadn't captured.
Thorax shivered at the memories of ponies keeping him at spearpoint, ready to kill him if he so much as flinched. Fortunately, a changeling attack had permitted him, Spike and Twilight to escape, and after a few more jumps through altered timelines, Twilight had confronted Starlight as to why she had done what she had done, and the mare had shown her. Once the secret had been let out, Twilight had convinced her that she needed to give friendship another chance, and Starlight had accepted, letting history play out as it had originally and restoring the present and future to what it had been before.
Since then, Twilight had taken on Starlight as a student, teaching her lessons in friendship she had learned the hard way.
"I'm actually here on a sort of business," Starlight said to Thorax, breaking his train of thoughts.
"Really? What kind of business?"
"Well, one for you and one for Twilight. Since she's not here at the moment and you are, we'll take care of your business first."
Thorax looked at Starlight with puzzlement. What business did he have with her?
Starlight then moved to the side, allowing three mares standing behind her to come inside. As soon as he saw them, Thorax's eyes went wide.
The three mares were none other than Minuette, Lyra Heartstrings, and Twinkleshine. These mares were the bridesmaids the queen had mesmerized into being her guards for Princess Cadance. Thorax had encountered them several times before, but most of the time, they tried to avoid him, and he could always sense very negative feelings from them.
Now, though, the changeling sensed feelings more in line with... remorse?
"Well?" Starlight addressed the group, trying to sound encouraging. "Who's gonna be the pony to do it?"
The mares looked at each other before Minuette bit the proverbial wooden spoon. Stepping forward, she looked Thorax straight in the eyes.
"We've been talking to Twilight," she began, "and we all told her about how we felt in regards to... you and living here in Ponyville."
She paused to gauge his reaction. When he didn't react, she continued.
"She explained to us about what happened immediately after Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor's spell, and how afraid you were then."
She fidgeted with her hooves for a moment, and actually looked back at the two other mares, who gave her nods that seemed to be an encouragement for her to keep speaking.
"Okay, so the point is... we wanted to apologize for how we've been treating you. It wasn't right, and you didn't do anything to deserve it. You were allowed to come here and try to live a life like us ponies do, and in doing that, you've actually been a huge help to a lot of ponies. Hay, Mr. and Mrs. Cake seem to ask you to watch Pound and Pumpkin even more than Pinkie lately."
That would explain why I seem to be on Pinkie's bad side, Thorax thought to himself.
"Anyway, we feel bad for how badly we've acted towards you, and... we wanted to make a gesture of good will towards you."
Minuette looked back at the other two mares and gave a nod. Seemingly as one, each produced a vial with a dark blue fluid inside. Each mare uncorked their vial and raised it to their mouths. They then closed their eyes and let out a breath into their bottles, causing the liquid inside them to turn from blue to pink and making it glow ever-so-slightly. Once finished, they re-corked the vials and presented them to Thorax.
"We gave Zecora the ingredients and she whipped these up for us," Lyra chimed in. "Princess Twilight told us about what Fluttershy and some zebra stallion did for you back during the wedding. She said this was probably a good way for us to make a peace offering."
Thorax gave a small smile. "I understand how you all felt since the attack by my hive. Being controlled by the queen is never fun, and I'm honestly surprised she didn't drain you of everything and leave you in the caves."
The mares winced at that suggestion, but didn't say anything.
"You didn't need to do this. Really, you could've simply offered an apology and it would've been more than enough. Since you did go to the trouble, I thank you, and I do accept your apology. Hopefully going forward, we can at least be a little more polite to each other, and maybe try being friends?"
The mares all looked to each other with uncertainty.
"I don't know about being friends," Twinkleshine chimed in, "but I don't have a problem offering a friendly hello the next time I see you out."
"Neither do I," Minuette added.
"Same here," Lyra added as well.
"I can't really ask for more than that," Thorax conceded. "So, I guess, see you around sometime?"
Each mare smiled and nodded. "See you around, Thorax," Minuette replied, and with their business concluded, the three mares left to resume their day.
"Twilight's been talking to all the ponies here in Ponyville who were at the wedding," Starlight explained, moving over to the librarian's desk where Thorax was standing. "Those three really have come a long way. I'm just glad they seem to finally have gotten over the worst of their feelings."
"Yeah," Thorax agreed. "I had the feeling they might try to do something rather cruel and foolish at some point."
"They were, in all honesty, but Twilight talked them out of it."
"I'm glad she did," Thorax responded, but then remembered something. "You said you had business with Twilight?"
"I do, but like I said, I need to wait for her to come here. In truth, my business with her has a lot to do with you and Kevin."
"My ears started ringing," the changeling shouted from the upstairs of the library. "Somepony talking about me?"
"Ha Ha, Kevin," Starlight chimed back. "How about getting your hole-filled flank down here?"
Without further comment, Kevin buzzed his way down to ground level.
"Doin' good, Miss Friendship Student?"
"About the same as you, Mister Friendship Student."
"Oh, Ha ha!" Kevin shot back, his snake-like tongue teasing the mare in front of him. "So funny I forgot to laugh."
"Yeah. Just like how you forgot to do that friendship assignment Twilight gave you."
"No, she di-"
Kevin's eyes went wide and he hissed.
"Dang it! I knew something slipped my mind!"
The changeling buzzed back upstairs, leaving a giggling Starlight behind.
"You really shouldn't tease him like that," Thorax cautioned.
"He'll be fine," Starlight assured him. "Besides, the assignment was just to think of a pony that you have the strongest bond with and write a few paragraphs about them and your friendship. You know he only has a few to choose from."
"He does have more friends than just a few. I mean, Dragon Lord Ember seemed to enjoy his company the last time she visited, and he and Rainbow Dash are always spending time together."
"Oh, please. They're always racing or sparring one another, and any talking they do is always trash talking at one another."
"I know. They're practically lovebirds already," Thorax said with a chuckle, which made Starlight laugh as well.
"Yeah, I suppose they are," she forced out between giggles.
"Did I miss something funny?" came the voice of Twilight as she entered the library, the bell for the door chiming as she pushed it open.
"Just poking some fun at Kevin," Thorax answered. "Starlight was actually here looking for you."
"Well then, I guess it's a good thing I showed up when I did and didn't keep her waiting."
Starlight smiled at Twilight. "Well, it wasn't exactly me you were keeping waiting, Twilight."
Twilight chuckled. "Yes, I suppose that's true."
Thorax looked at both mares with confusion. "Umm, Twilight, did I miss something?"
"No, you didn't, but we have some news that we think both you and Kevin are gonna wanna hear right now." The princess then looked upstairs and shouted for the other changeling to join them.
Kevin came buzzing down with a paper in his hooves. "Here's that assignment you gave me, Twilight."
"Thank you, Kevin, but you didn't need to have this done so quickly."
"I don't like procrastinating. Never have and never will."
"Well, I can appreciate punctuality as well, but this wasn't the reason I called you down here."
Kevin looked confused. "It wasn't?"
Twilight shook her head. "We have some big news we wanted to share with the both of you. Why don't we all sit down?"
Everypony and changeling agreed and took seats in the middle of the library.
"Now, what we're telling you right now is really sensitive information," Twilight told them, "so I need to make sure that the library is secure." She then cast a spell and the whole building seemed to grow a shade darker. The front door to the library also clicked loudly, indicating that it had just been locked.
"Now," Twilight continued, "as you both know, we've been talking to you about your hive and ways for us to defend ourselves against other changelings. It has been a great help from both of you, but as of today, we no longer have a need for that."
Thorax and Kevin both looked at each other with confusion. Thorax turned back to Twilight. "What do you mean?"
"Princess Celestia sent us a letter," Starlight explained, presenting a scroll with a royal seal stamped onto it, a clean break through the icon of two alicorns circling a globe. "In the letter, she told us about a group of changelings that showed up in Dodge Junction, without disguises."
The confused looks turned to shock upon hearing what amounted to suicide in the changeling hive.
"Okay," Kevin said with a bit of a chuckle in his voice. "I can appreciate a good joke every now and again, but this one is a bit too rich. You're actually telling us that there were changelings who came to a pony town without disguises? If that's actually true, what were they there for?"
"According to them, they said that coup took place in the hive. The group that came to Dodge Junction were representatives for the new leaders of the hive."
Kevin laughed heartily at that statement. "Yeah, Queen Chrysalis would certainly take that lying down! Ha ha ha!"
"Well, that's the thing, Kevin," Twilight chimed in. "When the coup was over, Queen Chrysalis was... permanently deposed."
"Permanently deposed?" Thorax parroted in confusion. "That would mean...?"
The alicorn gave a nod and her magic produced an item wrapped in cloth from inside her saddlebags. Removing it from the cloth, both Thorax and Kevin went wide-eyed, their mouths hanging agape.
Inside was a black crown with turquoise gemstones tipping each point on it. Both changelings knew whose crown this was, and moreover, knew that the only way any creature would've gotten it from this particular individual would be to kill her.
"So she's... gone." Thorax said plainly.
Both Twilight and Starlight nodded. "She was mobbed during the attack on the throne room. The guards for her quarters stood aside and allowed it to happen."
"Her guards!?" Kevin questioned. "Sorry, but I'm having a hard time with that one. The queen's guards are trained from hatching to guard her with their lives. I doubt they just stood aside and allowed her to be attacked like that."
"There were a couple that did try to defend her," Starlight admitted to Kevin, "but from what we were told, the guards stood aside once they had learned what she had been keeping secret from all of them."
"What secret?"
"A changeling had discovered a hidden archive in the hive, and upon investigating, found a journal that the queen had been keeping in there. Aside from her plans, which included a full scale secret invasion of Equestria, she also described secrets she had kept from every changeling since what was practically the dawn of your kind."
"But what are these secrets?"
Starlight looked at Kevin and Thorax with pity before she dropped the proverbial bomb. "Apparently, there is a way for changelings to be permanently rid of their hunger for love."
"She knew there was a way for us to not go hungry!?" Kevin shouted in surprise.
"She did, and she kept it from every changeling. Going from all of the entries, she'd been doing it for the past several centuries, even going so far as to eliminate any changelings that figure it out for themselves."
"Centuries?!" Kevin repeated, sounding incredulous. "You mean to tell me that Queen Chrysalis has been keeping secret the way to end our perpetual hunger for love for centuries?!"
"That's pretty much what it looks like," Twilight told him. "We called everything into question, but they answered all of it with complete honesty. Their delegation was appointed to seek peace with Equestria and the rest of the world at large."
"So, there was a journal that contained all of her secrets, including one about ending our hunger, and a random changeling just happened to find it?" Thorax questioned.
"It wasn't exactly random. You see, after the failed invasion during the royal wedding, Queen Chrysalis did all she could to pick up the pieces. She organized searches to find as many drones as she could and get them back to the hive. Once there, she berated them for the failure, even though practically all the blame could be placed upon her withers."
"A lot of changelings weren't happy with that, but they didn't voice their opinions, for reasons I'm sure you both already know."
Kevin and Thorax both nodded at that assessment.
"Well, over the years, she elected to build up her army again, gathering love as discreetly as she could and having as much reconnaissance as was feasible. Over time, other changelings started to become restless."
"I'm sure that wasn't a new development for either of you, right?" Starlight asked the two changelings. "There was probably unspoken dissent within the ranks before Canterlot."
Kevin confirmed her thoughts. "We never dared air our grievances aloud; that's a surefire way to get your head chopped off."
"Yes, well," Twilight continued, "About a month ago, the opposition was so great that the hive as a whole had actually started to consider deposing her and installing a new ruler, but the idea got momentum when that changeling discovered the diary. After that, the other changelings confronted her almost immediately."
"They stormed the throne room and captured her and what guards were still loyal to her."
Twilight began to look uncomfortable before she told the last part.
"According to the delegation, once the queen was subdued, she was..."
"She was subdued and what?" Kevin prodded.
Twilight let out a breath before she answered, "She was drained to death."
Both Kevin and Thorax flinched upon hearing that. The queen had often done that to drones herself; it was her favorite method of elimination.
"After she was deposed, her loyal guards were imprisoned in cocoons, an there was a bit of an argument over leadership for a few days, but eventually, one was chosen to lead, and they organized a committee to run the hive from here on out."
"Who was chosen to be the leader?" Thorax inquired.
"Actually, the one who was chosen was your elder broodmate."
Thorax's eyes went wide. "Pharynx?"
Twilight nodded. "Once it was decided he would be the leader, he picked a few changelings from different parts of the hive to make a council. Tunnel diggers, guards, nursery hive caretakers; basically a changeling from every important part of the hive."
"This council convened and quickly came to agree on a few things," Starlight took over. "First, they realized the queen had kept the secret of curing the hunger for love from them because it made them rely on her for finding the sustenance they needed to survive. By keeping all of you starved all the time, you were all naturally more aggressive and also more willing to go along with her more diabolical plans.
"With the discovery of the secret and removal of the queen, Pharynx and this council decided to make some major changes. The first thing they did was freed all the captive ponies and almost all of the other creatures and gave them full apologies, as well as a promise to escort them back here to Equestria or whichever kingdom or nation they had come from."
"Almost all of the other creatures?" Kevin repeated.
"Apparently, they had some dragons, and they weren't too keen on letting them out in the hive where they could roast changelings alive."
Kevin shivered in place. "Yeah, that makes sense."
"Dragons are grumpy most of time anyhow," Thorax pointed out. "I'd hate to think what one would do if they were told they had been held prisoner for many years and had their love siphoned off of them like they were some kind of cow."
"That's why they asked us if we could help them return the other creatures to their homes and with issuing apologies," Twilight told them. "In addition to secrets, Queen Chrysalis kept more than a few trophies. There's a vault where she kept a huge collection of bits, Abyssinian kuffs, yak coins, gems and rare artifacts from many different archaeological digs she'd snuck into over the centuries."
"Of course, we're getting a bit off topic with this. The major point is the changelings are freeing captured creatures and returning them to their homes. As for any that died while being held by them, they said they're going to offer a large sum of the hoard Queen Chrysalis kept as a restitution for the deaths of ponies and other creatures. Besides that issue, the council has said that they intend to start making amends for past wrongdoings and establishing a lasting peace."
"Of course, they never kept track of which changelings abducted which ponies or other creatures, and it makes no sense to arrest and imprison an entire race, so we're going to be working with a lot of other nations in an effort to work out some kind of agreement that is satisfactory to all groups."
"Yeah, that sounds like it's going to be complicated," Kevin said upon hearing all of the information.
"So, the changelings... overthrew Chrysalis, my older broodmate is now the leader of the hive, and he is using a council to try and right some of the wrongs we as a species have done to others," Thorax summarized. "Are you just telling us this because of Pharynx, or is there something more?"
"It's a little of both, to be honest," Twilight answered. "Princess Celestia will be announcing the change of leadership among the changelings and the desire for their kind to turn over a new leaf, and that's gonna have all kinds of ramifications for you down the road. However, I told you about this because Pharynx and the changeling council will be coming here to see you."
Thorax was a bit shocked. "They are?"
"Yes. You see, Pharynx only just found out recently that you survived Canterlot; Queen Chrysalis had eliminated any reports of you being alive and threatened the changelings who saw you from speaking about it. Pharynx had been under the impression that you had been killed and the queen was using that to fuel a bloodlust that would motivate him to help eliminate the princesses, myself, and my brother. After finding out that not only you survived the shield spell, but have also been living among ponies for all this time and thriving, he made it a point that he wanted to see you."
"Besides that, the changeling council would like to speak to both of you about your lives since integrating with ponies," Starlight added.
Twilight then addressed Kevin. "She actually told the hive you died too. Her cover story was the same as Thorax - you didn't survive Canterlot."
Kevin looked rather offended to hear that. "I was a loyal subject of hers for years, and she makes me as good as dead just because I didn't make it back to the hive on my own. I guess that shows what kind of a leader she really was."
"Well, she's not in power anymore, and I don't imagine she'll be able to reclaim her throne anytime soon, unless-"
The alicorn chuckled. "Yeah, probably for the best."
"So when are Pharynx and these other changelings showing up?" Thorax asked Twilight.
Before Twilight could answer, a knock came from the main door of the library.
"Now, apparently," she answered as she used her magic to unlock and open the door. Both Thorax and Kevin were taken by surprise as six changelings walked into the library.
Or at least, they looked mostly like changelings.
While they still had black chitin covering their body, there were several major differences. First, there were no holes in their hooves or their wings, which shimmered in the light. The carapaces on their backs were different colors. Lastly, their eyes had changed to ones like Queen Chrysalis had, except each had an iris that matched their carapace.
Stepping forward was a changeling with a purple carapace and purple eyes. He was male, as indicated by his larger frame and square muzzle. Sitting atop his head was a plain silver crown with some rubies decorating the center of each point. Finishing off his look was a green sash that had CHANGELING KINGDOM stitched into it.
The changeling looked past Starlight and Twilight and set his eyes on Thorax. "Brother," he said in disbelief.
"Pharynx," Thorax answered, and began walking up to the changeling. Pharynx moved to meet him, and the two paused their movement with just a bit more than a pony's length between them.
"It's been a long time," Thorax told Pharynx.
"Yes, it has."
"I missed you, brother."
Thorax moved to give Pharynx a hug, but the older changeling suprised everyone when he struck Thorax hard on the muzzle and knocked him to the ground.
"That's for making me think you were dead!" Pharynx scolded. "I had a funeral for you as far away from the hive as I could get! I went for weeks avoiding as much contact with the queen as possible so she didn't sense me grieving!"
Thorax rubbed his muzzle with his hoof. "I'm sorry-"
"Can it!" Pharynx spat back, using his magic to lift Thorax up and onto his hooves. Once he was stable, Pharynx moved forward and wrapped his younger brother in a hug.
"I have missed you, and now that you're here, I don't intend to let you go again."
Thorax could suddenly feel something trickle down his withers, and an immense wave of love flow into him from Pharynx. He couldn't believe the latter; sharing love was said to be suicide by the queen.
But then again, the queen's motives and her lies had been outed, and everyling in the hive knew now just how full of it she had been.
Thorax wrapped his hooves around his brother, and decided to return the favor, sharing his love back with Pharynx. He closed his eyes as he poured all he could into the other changeling.
Twilight and Starlight watched as the brothers hugged, a smile on their faces. Soon enough, the smiles turned to looks of shock and surprise as Thorax began to glow brighter and brighter. When it could support itself no more, the light from Thorax exploded, blinding everypony and everyling that had the misfortune of staring right at the two brothers when it happened.
After a few more seconds, the light dimmed and died out. Where Thorax the hole-filled changeling once stood, Thorax the whole changeling was now. His carapace and eyes were a brilliant turquoise, and his eyes changed to have the same slitted pupils as his brother and the other changelings had.
"Congratulations, Thorax," Pharynx said with a smile. "You figured it out all on your own."
"Hold up!" Kevin shouted. "Just what the hay happened?"
Pharynx looked at Kevin. "Thorax shared the love he had for me, and he's changed into our new form." He then looked back at his brother and asked him, "Does anything feel different?"
Thorax looked over his new from for a few seconds before he realized that there was something significantly different. "It's gone!"
Kevin looked at Thorax with confusion. "What's gone?"
"The hunger! It's gone! I don't feel that constant gnawing pain in my gut anymore!"
Pharynx smiled. "And you never will again, except for when you actually are hungry, but that's the good news for you and everyling else. We can sustain ourselves on normal food now. No more draining other creatures of love."
"Yeah," one of the council changelings said stepping forward. It was a female, as noted by the gentler appearance she had. Her carapace was quite unique among the group. Not only was it a very vibrant red, but it also had pink spots on it that mimicked a ladybug's shell pattern. "This transformation we've undergone has brought forth a need for improvements to the hive, especially in regards to our nourishment. We're working with the ponies to plant farms, learn how to cook things, preparing items for long-term storage and much more!"
"Not only that," another changeling stepped forward, "but we also need to establish what things we might have in the badlands that would be of value to other nations and participate in trade. The hive has the queen's hoard, but that will only last us so long, and we're cataloging things so that we can return items with significant cultural relevance to other creatures, and that will diminish it by a good bit once all is said and done."
Pharynx called the attention of everyone back to him. "All of this is important, and it's why I've come for you, brother. You've spent more time among ponies than any of us, and we want you to come back with us and help the hive transition. I want you to come back, and I want you to help us build our new future, together. What do you say?"
Thorax couldn't believe it. His elder broodmate had not only referred to him by the title of brother, but was inviting him back to the hive to help build a new future for it?
"What happened to all the bullying and teasing you all used to give me for being so different? In fact, I can't ever remember you being this nice to me before."
The changelings standing there winced a bit and looked away. Pharynx let out a sigh and looked at Thorax apologetically.
"I've changed a lot, Thorax, and that's not some joke to try and make you laugh. After we found out Chrysalis's secret, we were furious, and after we changed, we were unsure of ourselves. All we knew is we wanted to change for the better, all of us."
"I'm not the general of the hive's army anymore. When I metamorphosed, I thought of you, and how I would make the future you wanted to see, and... I thought about how I treated you as a nymph."
Pharynx put a hoof on Thorax's withers.
"Thorax, I'm sorry for how I treated you growing up. You're not weak; you just have a different kind of strength. I was just too much of a fool to realize it back then."
"We were all foolish," another changeling added. "The queen had us all brainwashed to believe what you were and how you acted was a weakness. That was wrong of us, and I can't tell you enough how sorry I am for how I acted. How all of us have acted towards you."
The changelings all nodded in agreement. Some even muttered their own apologies to Thorax.
"So, brother," Pharynx spoke again, "will you consider coming back to the hive and making it the place you've always wanted to live?"
Thorax thought over what Pharynx had asked him. Before he gave his answer, a flash of light came from behind him. Everyone turned to look, and when the light died down, there was Kevin, no longer with holes in his body and with a carapace and eyes colored the same arctic blue they had been before, except his eyes now had slitted pupils.
"Wow, you really aren't hungry after going through all of this," he commented as he examined his new form.
"While I'm glad you have decided to embrace our new ways, Kevin," Pharynx said with annoyance, "could you have at least waited until Thorax gave us his answer?"
Kevin became sheepish when he saw the expression on Pharynx's face. "Sorry."
Pharynx shook his head as he turned back to Thorax.
"I've thought about it," Thorax told him, "and I would be happy to come back, but I only want to come back long enough to help the hive transition to your new leadership."
Pharynx looked at him with confusion. "You don't want to come back for good?"
Thorax gave Pharynx a sad smile. "After the invasion, these ponies took me in and showed me a great deal of trust. I came back here with Twilight after a few days and her friends all helped me to make friends with ponies and show them that I wanted to live peacefully with them. In that time since, I became the new librarian, helped Twilight defeat a giant centaur that was gonna destroy the town and take all the magic everypony had, and I've even found somepony I would like to get to know even better than I already do."
"I have a whole life here now, Pharynx, and I don't want to leave it behind."
Pharynx heard Thorax's arguments and nodded. "Yes, that would be unfair to ask you to leave that all behind. I'll tell you what: make your way back to the hive whenever you're ready, and you can even bring this pony with you. I'm sure that a great many Equestrians are going to be curious about our hive and will want to see it for themselves."
"I'm sure they will," Thorax replied with a smile. "Thank you, brother."
The two changelings then moved in and gave each other a hug. They held it for a few moments before eventually separating.
"Well, we've done what we came here to do," Pharynx told the changeling council, then looked to his brother. "Twilight will be hosting us for dinner this evening. I hope you can make it for that."
Thorax looked at Pharynx with a bit of guilt in his expression. "I did actually make plans with somepony for this evening, but perhaps I can talk with them and see if they want to come, if you don't mind having them."
Pharynx chuckled. "It's Princess Twilight you'd have to ask, but I'd like to meet this, how do you say it, special somepony?"
"Uh, yeah," Thorax confirmed with embarrassment, "That."
Pharynx chuckled, as did the other changelings and the ponies. Once the laughing died down, Twilight cleared her throat to get Pharynx's attention.
"I think it's best we head over to the castle now. I want to give you all the books you'll need, and I believe you agreed to answer some of my questions?"
Thorax laughed pretty hard. "Oh, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, brother!"
Pharynx cocked an eye ridge. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Let's just say," Thorax answered between breaths, "that by the time you're even halfway done, you're going to wish you were back in training with Antenna doing drills."
The other changelings laughed at the memory, but Pharynx looked at Thorax with confusion, and then at Twilight with a bit of fear. The alicorn was gathering up several rolls of parchment and quills she planned on writing with.
"By the Mother Tree, what have I gotten myself into?"