Ever wondered why changelings have both horns and wings, just like alicorns?
A year after Princess Twilight's coronation, a guard interrupts a conversation between her, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. "Changelings! Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings are right outside Canterlot!" "Really? What are they doing?" "Um...they're...they're just waiting...politely..." "Well, then. Please tell them that I will be with them shortly." "What?!"
Of Changelings and Alicorns: in which Twilight learns something new.
Chapters that look like ***chapter name*** have been edited since they were first published. I would advise, if you haven't read the new versions, you should do so.
Character list may change as the story goes on.
Currently marked as "On Hiatus" because of school and writer's block.
Twilight, Celestia, and Luna were having a discussion. It was about taxes, so it was certainly pretty boring. But since Twilight had had some ideas that might make the system more efficient, they were all making an effort to stay awake and try to discuss her plan.
"So I was thinking, if we -" Twilight was interrupted by the door slamming open.
"Princesses! Princesses!" A guard raced in, panting slightly from his dash through the halls.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"Changelings! Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings are right outside Canterlot!"
"What?!" Twilight shouted. Hadn't they defeated the Changelings the last time they came? Why were they coming back? Were they trying to invade again?
Luna, in contrast, was perfectly calm. Of course she was, she hadn't been there at the wedding...She turned to the guard. "Yes? What are they doing?"
The guard coughed. "They're...the changelings are...they're just, um, waiting...politely...outside the city...But...But the citizens are terrified! Also, they're Changelings! CHANGELINGS!"
Celestia smiled at the guard. "Let them know that we will come to meet them very soon."
Eyes wide, the pegasus nodded. He turned and raced away to give his message to the Changelings.
"WHAT?!" Twilight couldn't believe it. Celestia was treating what was probably another invasion like it was nothing! The Changelings were probably being polite as some sort of trick! "Why did you - do you - why?! What?!"
Celestia chuckled. "I believe there are some things that you have yet to learn about Alicorns, Twilight." Glancing at Luna, she grinned knowingly.
"...like what?"
"I think it would be better to show you rather than tell you, especially since a demonstration will be so soon." Celestia stood up. "Twilight, Luna and I are going to go meet the Changelings now. I would appreciate it if you would come, but if you don't want to, that's fine."
Twilight nodded fervently. "Of course!" If the Changelings had anything to do with the thing about Alicorns that she didn't know, she wanted to know.
Celestia grinned. "Excellent!"
As the three trotted down the hallways and through the city, Twilight couldn't help asking Celestia about what she had said. Several times. Well...maybe a bit more than several.
"Celestia?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"What do I not know about Alicorns?"
"For the fiftieth time, Twilight, couldst thou just be patient and wait to see it thyself?!" Luna exclaimed in frustration.
"...Okay, fine..."
"Ah, here we are."
Celestia, Luna and Twilight were at the front gate. Just outside Canterlot were at least two thousand Changelings. Each one's chitin, as opposed to their normal gleaming black, was now a pale grey, slightly yellow hue that definitely did not shine in the sunlight piercing through the clouds. They didn't seem very comfortable with the physical reminder of their invasion and defeat looming directly in front of them - either that, or they were uncomfortable in their own skin. Standing at their front was Queen Chrysalis, chitin as pale as the rest, who was fidgeting nervously.
Eyes widening, Twilight gasped. "That's a lot of Changelings!"
"Yes, it is,” Celestia agreed, taking in the bustling sea of pale insectoids before them. “When they invaded, only Queen Chrysalis and the soldiers came. However, these are all of the Changelings from their hive."
Twilight continued to gape at the overwhelming crowd, her jaw slackened in awe. "Why are they all here?"
With a beneficent smile and a wave of her wing, Celestia gestured across the field, causing the changelings to grow quiet and their queen at the forefront to stand a little straighter, as if coming to attention before a superior military officer. “Do you see how their carapaces are pale instead of black as they were when they invaded?”
"The Changelings invaded?" Luna interjected with a frown.
Celestia opened her mouth, at a loss for words for a moment. "Oh, right. It happened during Cadance's wedding; you were indisposed at the time." She giggled self-consciously. “I guess we never did get around to telling you. Sorry, sister. They only did it because they weren’t ready, you know, like we did. Now that they look like this, I know they are ready, and they shouldn’t do it again.”
Twilight rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I still don't understand. Ready for what?!”
"You will understand, Twilight. Don't worry," Celestia chuckled, stepping through the front gate to an ashamed-looking Queen Chrysalis.
"Chrysalis?"
"I'm sorry! I was impatient, I wanted it to happen now, I didn't want to wait...Please don't not let us change because you're mad at us!"
Celestia smiled warmly. "Don't worry. I understand."
"You do?" Not believing what she was hearing, Chrysalis stared hopefully at Celestia.
Luna grinned. "Of course! Did you think I have never done something like that? I remember when Celestia and I weren't quite ready yet...I think it's happened to every one of us."
"What are you talking about?" Twilight was completely confused.
"Well, except for Twilight here. She was an unusual case," Celestia added.
"What?"
Chrysalis frowned. "Wasn't she the one who ruined my wedding? I really don't remember her having wings."
"YOUR wedding?!"
Celestia chuckled. "You're right. Actually, she used to be a unicorn."
"How did she...Is that even possible?" Chrysalis asked, surprised.
"Could you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?"
"Like I said," Celestia replied, "Twilight was a special case. But she isn't the reason you and your hive have come to Canterlot, is she?"
"No, she isn't. Can we get to the caverns now?"
"You mean the place where you trapped me?" Twilight asked.
"Of course. We should take the outside entrance - I'm sure we've shocked the citizens enough as it is without having their former invaders actually going into the city."
Celestia strode to a particular large bush and lifted it with her magic to reveal a hidden trapdoor. She motioned to Chrysalis, who hesitantly walked over and placed her hole-filled hoof in a circular indentation near the door. In response to her action, it swung open, and her eyes lit up in excitement.
"All Changelings in here!" Luna called.
Celestia, Luna, and Twilight got out of the way of the Changelings, including Chrysalis, who were stampeding into the now-open trapdoor. Luna chuckled. "So impatient..."
Twilight stamped a hoof in frustration. "What is going on?!"
Celestia smiled. "You'll see. Soon. Follow me!" Striding down the stone stairs, she led the way down through the secret entrance, Luna and Twilight trailing behind her.
Twilight and the other two alicorns stood on a ledge above the thousands of sleeping Changelings, all of whom had fallen into a deep sleep on the hard, crystalline floor. Stamping her hoof on the ground, Twilight decided now was as good a time as any to press for answers. "Could somepony please tell me what's going on?!" Grinning slyly, Luna nudged her sister. "Celestia?" "Yes?" Luna cocked an eyebrow suggestively. "There are Changelings..." "Yes? What about them?" "I know 'twas not me, and it couldn't have been in any case since I was stuck on the moon, so it must have been thee..." Luna let the implication hang in the air between them. Celestia's eyes widened, as did Luna's evil grin. "Celestia?" Luna asked devilishly. "...Yes?" Celestia bit her lip, knowing what her sister was about to ask. "Who was he?" Turning away, Celestia blushed bright red. "WHY DOES EVERYPONY REFUSE TO TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?!" Twilight yelled in frustration. Luna grinned. "Well, when an Alicorn and a pony love each other ve - mmph!" She was interrupted by a golden-shod hoof. "No," Celestia insisted. "You are NOT going into detail." Luna's ears drooped. "Fine..." Twilight frowned, disappointed at the lack of an answer. "Okay...Well, what happens now?" Celestia turned to her former student. "Now? We give the Changelings love." "What?" Twilight asked, continuing to be dumbfounded by her mentor’s evasiveness. "How? Why?" "They need it for this part of the process," Celestia explained. Twilight swore that her mane was beginning to smoke. "What process?" "The changing," Celestia said, as if that were all that needed to be said. Sparks were beginning to form in Twilight’s mane, and she was sure it would burst into flame any moment. "What is the changing?" "Thou shalt see," replied Luna smugly. "Ugh. Fine," Twilight conceded, her head hanging low in defeat. "How do we give them love?" "It's like a spell," Celestia directed. "Close your eyes and imagine a stream of love flowing from you to them. Imagine it however you like; when you don't know what it looks like yet, I found it easiest to imagine floating hearts." Twilight dubiously did as Celestia told her. "Can I open my eyes now?" "Of course. It's not actually necessary, but closing your eyes helps you focus." Twilight opened her eyes to see a ribbon of reddish-pink magic flowing from her horn. It split into many ribbons further along its length; each ribbon ended at a changeling's horn. Soon, two more sets of reddish-pink ribbons joined hers, and each awakening changeling was now connected to a stream of love. "Do you remember when you asked why the Changelings were so pale?" Celestia breathed. "Yes," Twilight whispered. "Have you ever seen a lizard or snake about to shed?" "Yes, their scales are a lot paler,” Twilight responded. Her head jerked, as if something had just struck her. “Wait, are you saying the Changelings are going to shed?" "Exactly,” Celestia affirmed, winking at her student. This gave Twilight pause. "Well, why do we need to give them love?" "They need it," Celestia said matter-of-factly. "Otherwise, they'll shed, but it will be very painful, and they will still be Changelings when it's over." Twilight gasped. "So the Changelings are going to become something else?" "Yes," Celestia said, excitement plain upon her features. "Look, it's starting! Watch, because you won't get another chance to for who knows how long!" Before their eyes, a tear appeared in the chitin of one Changeling. He turned his head, the ribbon still attached to his horn, and began gently ripping off the pale grey shell with his teeth. Underneath it... Fur. Bright orange fur. Twilight couldn't believe it. The changeling continued to tear his chitin off himself, revealing a feathered wing that had been hidden underneath the armor. An orange hoof, still hole-ridden. A white mane and tail, also with holes. An orange horn. A flank, with the clear absence of a cutie mark. A - wait. He had wings...and a horn? An orange, blank-flanked Alicorn, filled with holes, stood shakily in a pile of discarded grey chitin. Now, the fact that the Changelings were getting fur seemed entirely insignificant. Twilight turned slowly to her mentor, her mind whirling with the implications of what she was about to ask. "Celestia?" "Yes, Twilight?" Celestia gave her student a motherly look of patience as she entertained Twilight’s curiosity. Twilight considered her words carefully for a moment before asking, "Are all the Changelings going to turn into Alicorns?" "Yes, Twilight." Celestia chuckled. "I'm glad you figured that out." "WHAT?!" Over two thousand Alicorns in Equestria?! Twilight couldn't believe it! Celestia smiled. "Don't worry. Equestria isn't going to be filled with Alicorns from now until eternity. If that were going to be the case, it would have already happened. You see, most of the former Changelings are actually mortal." "Most?" Twilight cocked her head to the side. "Yes,” Celestia said. “Most, but not all. Now keep watching." Twilight turned her gaze back to the Changelings. More and more were discarding their chitin in favor of brightly-colored fur...Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to one Changeling in particular: Queen Chrysalis. Her body slid slowly and luxuriantly out of the chitinous shell, and she stretched each limb as it emerged as if she were just waking up from a particularly satisfying nap. She ran one such newly emerged pale blue foreleg across her cheek, biting her lip and rolling her eyes back as she felt the texture of her new fur. When her new mane and tail burst through, they still looked as if they were made of a teal, gossamer material, but were thicker and seemed to flow in an invisible current. Finally, she finished peeling off her chitin and stood up, towering over the rest of her newly metamorphosed kin. Looking down on them, Celestia smiled gently. "And thus the race of Changeling has vanished from Equestria." She ended her spell, followed shortly by Luna and Twilight. Luna grinned. "At least until another Alicorn -" Once again, she was interrupted by a golden horseshoe. Twilight glanced at Chrysalis again. "Celestia? You said that most of these Alicorns would be mortal..." Celestia looked down at her student, a bemused expression on her face. "Yes, and...?" Twilight took in the sight of the majestic blue Alicorn in the midst of her subjects, her mane and tail floating in some ethereal current, unlike that of any of the other former Changelings. "Is Chrysalis the exception?" Celestia nodded silently. "But why will she be immortal, and not any of the others?" Twilight asked. "I didn't even know that Alicorns could be mortal." Celestia smiled warmly at her former student. "I'll explain everything soon." Still marveling at her new fur, Chrysalis trotted over to them. "I - I - wow. I'm an Alicorn!" Her voice no longer had the soft, buzzing undertone it had once had. Luna grinned. "What didst thou expect?" The new Alicorn shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know. But...wow." Celestia nodded. "I remember vividly how it felt...It's not really something you can forget, is it?" Chrysalis smiled. "I don't think I'll ever be able to forget this." "Trust me, you won't." Something clicked inside Twilight's brain. "Celestia, you were a Changeling?! Was Luna one, too?!" Luna snickered. "We weren't Changelings, Twilight. We were Bugs." "bu...what?" Twilight wasn't sure she had heard right. Celestia sighed in exasperation. "Will you ever stop pestering me about that, Luna? Okay, so I used to have almost no imagination. So I thought we looked like insects. It's been millennia!" Chrysalis giggled. "Bugs? At least my name was somewhat creative!" Luna snorted. "Changelings. Right. Thou simply namedest them after some ability that you all had." "Well, it's better than Bugs!" Celestia coughed, changing the subject before the discussion devolved into an argument about which name was stupider. "So. Chrysalis." The Alicorn turned at the sound of her name. "Yes?" Suddenly, her mane, tail, and face fell. Wide-eyed, she stroked her mane, flat once more. "W-what happened? Was there a - a mistake or something? D-did I do something wrong?" she worriedly stammered. Luna shook her head gently, a soft, sympathetic smile on her muzzle. "Do not worry, my niece. Thou hath done nothing wrong. It has happened to each of us: myself, my sister, your cousin, and now thee. Tis normal. The love spell that completed thy transformation also gave thee much more power than thou wouldst normally have, although if thou didst not notice it, t'would be understandable; thou hadst focused on thy other changes, I am sure." "Maybe," Chrysalis admitted sheepishly. "But then, why don't I still have that power? It's not like I've used any spells since that point so far." Luna rolled her eyes. "Hast thou not noticed how thou hast fewer holes than before, and that those that remain are smaller?" "...Oh." Chrysalis coughed awkwardly. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed as she recalled something else her aunt mentioned. "Please, don't talk about my cousin," she hissed, spitting the final word. Luna frowned. "What dost thou have against my daughter?" "You have a daughter?" Twilight interjected. Chrysalis ignored Twilight's question. "...Trust me. We don't get along, and I doubt we ever will." Luna sighed. "Fine; I shan't pursue the matter further, though I do hope you two can make amends at some point." "Luna has a daughter?" Twilight asked Celestia, bewildered. Celestia stifled a chuckle. "Did you think Cadence was our sister?" Twilight blinked. "...Oh. That makes sense. Why didn't I think of that?" Shrugging, Celestia smiled wryly. "To tell the truth, few ponies wish to see Alicorns as anything less than godly. Therefore, even after I clearly had a niece - and Luna, even more clearly, had a daughter - nopony really believed it. They couldn't. Everypony simply thought that Luna had adopted, or some similar nonsense. Even now, nearly nopony seems to be able to wrap their head around the concept." Twilight simply nodded thoughtfully, her question answered. After a short lull in the Alicorns' conversations, Luna shifted her hooves, glancing once more at her niece. "Chrysalis...does the conflict between thee and Cadence have anything to do with her wedding?" "I thought you said you were going to drop the subject," Chrysalis growled roughly. Luna scowled. "Thou couldst at least be polite." Chrysalis looked away, turning from her aunt's gaze. "We'll talk about this later. Maybe. If ever." With that, the conversation relapsed back into silence. This time, it was interrupted by a cough; all eyes immediately fell on the culprit: Princess Celestia. "Now that you'll be a Princess, I'm assuming you'll want to change your name?" Celestia attempted, in an effort to break through the nearly tangible awkwardness filling the room. Chrysalis blinked, surprised by the question. "Of course! I mean, I don't think Chrysalis fits anymore, and besides, the ponies of Canterlot might have a bad reaction to a Princess Chrysalis. Bad memories and all." She bit her lip. "My name should have to do with my talent, right?" "Exactly," Celestia confirmed. Chrysalis frowned. "Well, is it a problem that I don't know what it is?"
Of Changelings and Alicorns by kyttypony Chapter Three: Crusaders
Chrysalis shuffled her hooves a bit, embarrassed. "W-was I supposed to know what it was already? I'm sorry..." "Wait, did you say that Chrysalis hasn't discovered her special talent yet?" said Apple Bloom, poking her head out of Celestia's mane. "Yes, Apple Bloom," Twilight sighed. "She hasn't." Wait. What? Twilight spun to face the filly. "Apple Bloom?! How - What - Who - What are you doing here?!" "Pinkie was showing us how to Pink," said Scootaloo. "What - Scootaloo?! How did you -" She was interrupted before she could finish. "Whenever Pinkie Pie does something that doesn't make sense, everyone just says 'It's Pinkie Pie' and that explains it, somehow," said Sweetie Belle. "So I mentioned that, when we were talking, and then Apple Bloom was like 'Maybe we could get our cutie marks in Pinkie Pie!' -" "Sweetie Belle, I'm going to ignore that the three of you just appeared out of nowhere and tell you that that doesn't even make sen-" "And then we were all like -" Sweetie Belle continued, ignoring what Twilight was attempting to say. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PINKIE PIE, YAY!" the three fillies shouted in unison. One of Chrysalis' widening eyes twitched. "What." "Trust me, just don't ask," muttered Twilight. "Sometimes, it just makes it worse..." "And then we got Pinkie Pie to teach us how to Pinkie Pie!" Luna glanced at Celestia, appalled at her sister. She had sent her own student to live in the same town as not only Pinkie Pie, but these three? Pinkie Pie alone was bad enough, but these fillies...And now they were learning how to do what Pinkie Pie did?! "I think you three are really close to being masters at Pinkie Pieing," grinned Pinkie Pie. "Of course, you'll never be as good as me, but you're getting close!" She took a bite of a cupcake, then disappeared back into Celestia's ethereal mane. Celestia nervously raised a hoof to run it through her mane, searching for any more hair intruders. In doing so, she displaced the Crusaders, as well as Pinkie Pie, Cheerilee, and all the colts and fillies in Cheerilee's class. "Hey!" Diamond Tiara whined. "You knocked me onto the ground! Crystal is hard, you know!" She clapped a mortified hoof over her mouth as she realized just who she was talking to. "What were all of you doing in my mane?!" Celestia cried. Unsure that she had gotten everything out the first time, she ran a hoof through her mane again. A single, half-eaten cupcake bounced out, much to her horror. Using her magic, she split her mane apart enough times that she was sure nothing could be hiding in one of the strands. Relaxing, she let go of her mane, and it flowed back into its normal floating self. Cheerilee bit her lip. "I-I'm sorry, Princess. The Crusaders, as well as most of the class, convinced me to let them take a 'field trip' of sorts, so that they could all learn Pinkie Pie's tricks. B-but I swear, when I agreed to it, I had no idea that we would end up in your mane. If I had only known beforehand, I would never have..." She trailed off. Shoving aside her paranoid thoughts that she hadn't gotten rid of everything in her mane - she had just checked very thoroughly and there was no reason to think there was anything left - Celestia smiled at the teacher. "Don't worry. It's fine. Like you said, you had no way of knowing that this would happen." Her eyes narrowing, she shot a glance at Pinkie Pie. Cheerilee was innocent in the matter, but she wasn't so sure about a certain pink Element bearer... The certain pink Element bearer who was the target of Celestia's suspicions seemed entirely clueless to the fact. "Hi Princess Celestia! Oh and Princess Luna too! Oh and hi Twilight! What'cha doing? Oh, is this the place that you said that that meanie Changeling queen trapped you in? Why are you in here? Did you get trapped again? Oh no if you got trapped then so did Celestia and Luna and this other Alicorn, and oh no someone trapped four Alicorns, they must be REALLY powerful! Was it Discord? I bet it was Discord! I bet he was just pretending to be all nice and stuff and then he GOT you and I bet we'll have to use the Elements of Harmony on him again and then he'll be a statue again oh I wonder what it's like to be a statue that would be weird probably and OH MY GOSH THERE'S AN ALICORN THAT'S NOT CELESTIA OR LUNA OR CADENCE OR TWILIGHT WHO IS IT?" Twilight coughed. "Um...Pinkie...We were kinda in the middle of something here. Besides, shouldn't you keep teaching Cheerilee's students about, um...Pinkie Pieing?" "Good idea, Twilight! Tell me about it later, 'kay?" Pinkie prepared to dive back into Celestia's mane, but the sun princess had other ideas. "NO!" she shouted, backing up as far and fast as she could until she hit a crystalline wall. Slowly, still pressed against the wall, her heaving chest began to slow to a more normal rate of breathing as she silently berated herself for her reaction. She took a deep breath. "Pinkie Pie, I would prefer it if you would not use my mane for transportation, please." "Okay, then! Follow me, class!" Pinkie called cheerfully, diving into Luna's mane and causing the startled Princess to stiffen as Cheerilee and her students hesitantly obeyed their guest teacher. Luna frowned after they left, absentmindedly running a hoof through her own mane. "I can see why thou dost not like it, sister." Chrysalis shuddered. "That pony isn't so much a pony as she is a...a...there aren't even words to describe her. Perhaps she's Slendermane's nice and friendly sister." Twilight shrugged. "She's strange, sure, but she's not so bad once you get to know her." Apple Bloom leapt to her feet; she and the other Crusaders hadn't left with Pinkie and the others. "Soooooo anyways, Chrysalis doesn't have her cutie mark and we thought maybe we could ask her if she wanted to be a Crusader with us! Because since she's a mare and not just a filly and ESPECIALLY since she's an Alicorn too it's extra important that she gets one as soon as possi - OH MY GOSH!" she squeaked. As everypony who hadn't left by way of Luna's mane (i.e. those who had already been there, plus the Crusaders) turned to see just what was so exciting, Scootaloo gasped. "None of them have their cutie marks!" Halting the Crusaders' trains of thought before they could enter the station, Twilight put a hoof down firmly. "No. You are not bringing the ranks of the Cutie Mark Crusaders into the thousands." "Awww..." the fillies grumbled, before swiveling as one to face Chrysalis with huge grins on their faces. "Our point still stands!" Sweetie Belle declared. "You wanna be a Crusader?" "...I'll think about it," Chrysalis said carefully, before pulling the other adults into a huddled, whispering conference. "What are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" she asked. "They're a club. Well, more like club-shaped havoc," Twilight replied, grimacing. "They attempt to get their cutie marks in everything but what their talents actually are. Also, at least half of their attempts generally end in tree sap. Somehow. In Ponyville, you try not to think about some things too much, like Pinkie Pie." "Why not?" "Once, I tried to figure out how Pinkie Pie worked. It didn't end well. In general, some things are just better off left alone." "Ohh...kay. But how do you know what their talents are if they don't themselves?" "It's a bit obvious. Well, to everyone except them, that is." "What are they?" "If you do end up joining them, I'd prefer "I won't, don't worry." "Chrysalis," interjected Celestia, "I'm not sure if you should join them. From how Twilight described them, I'm worried that being part of the Crusaders won't exactly help your bad reputation." Luna grinned. "I think it would be fun! Go ahead." "Twilight? What do you think?" Twilight shrugged. "I can't decide this for you, but I think you might end up being a calming influence on them." Chrysalis nodded. "Thanks for helping me on this, all of you." Straightening, she turned to face the Crusaders. "I accept your offer to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders," she said formally, then grinned. "Maybe I'll get my Cutie Mark in tree sap."
