it is shortly after the Canterlot Wedding, and Queen Chrysalis has come home with her trusted high-general and a few other changelings. waiting for them are Chrysalis's two children. Staghorn, her son, may not be king yet, but he has an idea. Pe
Staghorn is Chrysalis's second youngest child (don't let that description fool you, he has a wife and two kids about the same age as Applebloom) and is next in line for the throne. he is as smart as a whip and he has a big heart. so it's no surprise that when his mother comes home, he has a plan. a crazy, insane Plan. But is Peace really an option?
"...King Metamorphosis looked out across the field at the opposing army. He turned to his companions, Lord Rex of the Diamond Dogs and Chief Strong Back of the Buffalo. Together, they turned to their forces, a combined army of the three races."
" 'Today, we fight for the freedom of our tribes!' began the changeling. 'No longer shall we suffer at the hands of Tirek! while the Elements fight him to the north, we shall fight his forces here! Now we shall...' "
The door opened and Staghorn looked up from his book. There was his mother, Queen Chrysalis, battered, beaten, and bruised.
"I take it the invasion went poorly?" he began.
His mother gave a small, light-hearted chuckle. "You have no idea. But how was it here, Staghorn?"
It was at that moment, High-General Double came behind the queen. Like Staghorn and Chrysalis, she was a Royal changeling, almost as tall as the queen, and with eyes that had definitive pupils. Staghorn smiled and brushed against her, enjoying the feel of her bristly black coat. She spoke.
"It's good to see you, Stag. Did our kids behave?"
"Yes, although your daughter is quite the talker. She drove her brother crazy while you were gone."
Double chuckled. "We agreed that on weekends, Silkworm was your daughter."
The prince laughed. Then his mother coughed. He turned back to her.
"Repairs have been made to the castle, though I'm afraid a rust monster got into the armory. We managed to chase it out before it could cause too much damage, though. Now then, the invasion?"
his mother sighed. "We were defeated when that Meinu princess and her Rokudenashi groom blasted us with a magic shield of love."
Staghorn considered this, ignoring the two curse words in Ancient Changeling (Modern Neighponese) that his mother had said. "They must have overloaded your systems. A changeling's body can only absorb so much love."
"You knew this would happen, didn't you?"
"Well, King Carapace tried it once 1,000 years ago, and the same thing happened. And should you really use those words? wasn't Cadence your friend?"
Chrysalis hung her head in shame briefly before regaining her composure. "Well then, my son, what do you suggest?"
Her son smiled. "Mother, when I was serving in Boardor, I met a minotaur by the name of John Caverns. He was a technological genius who owned a combustable lemon farm, based on the principle 'when life gives you lemons, you use them to burn down life's house.' I think he meant 'work with what is available.' And I intend to do just that." ...
"Peace? After what your Queen attempted?"
Celestia was not only shocked by the idea, but by the fact that the changeling before her had managed to get to the throne room to suggest it to her personally.
"It's not as if we're asking for forgiveness, it's just that my mother is confused. Certain... circumstances occured, and she went temporarily insane."
Celestia eyed the changeling prince.
"Sister, perhaps thou should not be quick to condemn an entire race for the actions of one individual. Remember, his kind was much help during the time of Tirek's rule."
Celestia looked at Luna, remembering full well the incident. She, Luna, and the other original bearers had only managed to get to the dark lord's castle because of help from the changelings.
And then there was the fact that Chrysalis was once a trusted ally...
"Very well," she sighed. "Let me see the treaty." ...
A castle flying through the sky was a sight to behold, even if it was only a small one. it was lifted by a glow, as if every changeling in the swarm was lifting it.
Which they were.
Queen Chrysalis looked around, before spotting a large field, beyond which lay Sweet Apple Acres. "There!" she cried.
Staghorn looked at her choice of land. "Well... it is outside their property."
"That's good enough for me!" ...
Below, Applejack looked up when she heard a loud THUD!
Looking around, she saw the castle that had appeared beyond the farm. She could only say one thing.
"What in 'tarnation?" ...
The Ground Team instantly went to work setting the foundation of the castle, while Chrysalis and Staghorn surveyed the lay of the land. It was then that they saw an orange earth pony mare in a Stetson come charging towards them, leading a group of five other mares: a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane, a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane, a white unicorn with an expertly coiffed purple mane, a pink earth pony, and a lavender unicorn. Strangely, Stag also noticed a young Draco drakus rex (more commonly known as the Purple King Drake) with them.
They stared at each other for a minute, and Staghorn realized that his mother had fled into the safety of the castle. It looked like he was in charge of being the welcoming committee.
"Hello, I..."
His legs were yanked out from underneath him by a rope that had been expertly thrown by the orange mare, who preceded to hog-tie me. Staghorn recognized a triple-hooved barrel hitch, invented by an earth pony by the name of Rope Trick. This mare knew her knots.
"Listen up! Ya got three seconds ta start explainin' 'afore ah make ya answer!"
He smiled. "You must be Applejack."
She looked surprised. "How..."
Staghorn changed into his alternate female form, a grey unicorn mare with a dark mane and a scroll cutie mark. He/she slipped out of the knot, turned into his male disguise (the same as the female, only, you know, male) and calmly sat down in front of the group. "I assume you all will feel more at ease talking to somepony who looks like a pony, even though, genetically speaking, we are close cousins." He smiled gently.
"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" the purple mare asked in a voice that was calmly holding back a flood of anger.
At that point, the young dragon burped up his ignatus magika (the magic fire all dragons are capable of producing), revealing a scroll.
"That, Miss... Twilight, I believe? That should explain everything."
Twilight opened the scroll.
My faithful student Twilight Sparkle, I have sent you this letter to tell you news that you may find shocking. My sister and I have signed a treaty with the changelings in order to maintain peace. In return, they have been granted permission to settle anywhere they choose outside Ponyville's borders. I want you and your friends to keep an eye on them. -Princess Celestia
It had only been a few weeks since the treaty had been signed and an official proclamation had been announced, and now there were changelings doing odd jobs around Ponyville. There was some tension, of course, but Staghorn wasn't thinking about that at the minute. He looked down at the two forms wrapped around his forelegs. His and Double's foals, Mandible and Silkworm.
His son tried reasoning. "Perhaps we can work this out? I'll do extra chores for a month!"
Silkworm took a more direct approach. "I don't want to go! I don't know anypony there! Please Daddy no!"
You would think that he was dragging them to Tartarus from how they went on.
Staghorn sighed. "It's just school. You'll be fine, just try to make friends, and pay attention to Ms. Cheerilee. I'll be back to pick you up when school is over."
"But Daddy...," Silkworm was crying. Her father put his head down next to her. He began singing. It was a song his mother had sang to him, and her mother had sang to her, going back generations. It usually calmed foals down quick.
Come stop your crying, it'll be alright Just take my hoof, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you, I will be here, don't you cry,
She smiled at "I will be here," when her father put his hoof carefully to her chest. She sniffled. "Okay, Daddy, I'll try." Staghorn smiled. "That's all I want."
He watched them go off.
"I never expected to see that from a changeling."
Staghorn turned at the sound of the voice.
Standing behind him was a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and... unique eyes.
He decided to introduce himself.
"Hello," he began. "My name is Prince Staghorn, though Staghorn or 'Stag' is fine."
The mare eyed him, or attempted to, anyway. "Ditzy. Ditzy Doo."
It was at that moment that Stag's stomach rumbled. He grinned sheepishly.
"Well, Miss Doo, I hate to be a bother, but do you happen to know where I can find something to eat?"
"Don't you guys eat love?"
"First, we actually feed on all positive emotions, but we need regular food as well."
Ditzy smiled. "Well, in that case, I'll get you something to eat. Follow me!"
The prince smiled. He had made his first friend in Ponyville.
Twilight was not happy. Even after seven weeks, tensions were still strained between the residents of Ponyville and their new neighbors.
It didn’t help that the changelings were so secretive. Every question about changeling life was met with a quick change of subject. They were also very… observant.
On a scientific level, Twilight was fascinated by the changeling’s ability to notice and memorize everypony’s little unconscious movements. She also found it highly annoying.
“That prince thinks he’s so smart,” she mumbled. She began mimicking Staghorn’s voice. “‘Oh, Twilight, your tail moved an eighth of an inch to the left! Are you upset?’ Can you believe him, Spike?”
Spike looked up from his bowl of gems. “Well, Twilight, he was being honest. Maybe you should give him a chance. After all, somepony who gives me an Earth Emerald this big can’t be that bad.” He held up the gem in question, which wasn’t easy, as it was nearly the size of his head.
Twilight rolled her eyes and returned to reading the scroll in front of her.
The scroll was an exact copy of the peace treaty that had been signed seven weeks earlier. Twilight continued to read.
Terms of Peace 1.)Changelings and ponies may not harm each other except in self-defense.
2.)Ponies may not refuse to let a changeling into their place of business if they wish to purchase an item or are seeking employment.
3.)The changelings may not move their main settlement anywhere within Ponyville’s borders, but individual changelings shall be allowed to own their own homes within the town’s limits.
4.)Changelings may not take the form of a pre-existing pony without said pony’s consent.
5.)Changelings are allowed to use disguises of their own making, but all changelings must wear a green necklace when not in their natural form.
Twilight continued to read until she reached the bottom.
99.) While changelings are allowed to feed on ambient positive energy, they may not take it from a pony by force.
100.) All changelings going to Canterlot must have written consent from the Princesses and must have an escort with them at all times.
Any infractions of these terms shall result in immediate detainment followed by a trial.
Twilight sighed. The treaty was sound and foolproof.
Looking out the window, she remembered the reactions of the townsfolk when they had received the news.
… Seven Weeks Ago…
All of Ponyville’s citizens had gathered in the town square, and there was a lot of talk, especially concerning the fact that not only were two pegasus day guards and two noctral night guards (naturally wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes), but also the fact that the both princesses were present, accompanied by a strange grey-coated unicorn colt with a scroll cutie mark and a green necklace.
At the back of the audience was a small group of ponies, all of whom were fairly famous around town, or at the very least, well-known: Bonbon, Lyra, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Ditzy Doo, and Doctor Whooves.
“Who’s that with the princesses?” Bonbon asked Lyra.
Before Lyra could answer, Vinyl interrupted her. “Don’t know, but he’s kinda’ cute, don’t you think so, Tavi?”
The cellist sighed. “I assure you, Vinyl, I have no opinion on the subject.”
Lyra gave a confused look at Vinyl. “I thought you were dating that other DJ.”
“You mean Neon Lights? Yeah, but I like to keep my options open. You see, Lyra, the thing about romance is…”
“SHHH!!!” Ditzy interrupted. “The Princess is about to say something!”
Vinyl promptly shut up, and the group listened.
Celestia cleared her throat. “Citizens of Ponyville,” she began, “I imagine most of you saw the flying castle yesterday and have many questions, so I shall be frank with you. My sister and I have signed a peace treaty to ensure the safety of all Equestria.” A low murmuring spread through the crowd. Celestia turned towards the unidentified unicorn colt, and nodded her head.
The Doctor spoke to his group of friends, who were now gossiping as to what Celestia had meant by “peace treaty.”
“Ladies, I believe that unicorn isn’t a unicorn,” he said, carefully forming the words around the long, blinking metallic object in his mouth.
“Um, Doctor? I’m pretty sure that’s a…” Vinyl stopped talking as the unicorn accompanying the princesses suddenly burst into green flames.
In the momentary silence that took place after the changeling had appeared, Octavia gave a wry smile to her cousin.
“Still think he’s ‘cute’?”
For once, Vinyl was speechless.
In times of crisis such as this, a single pony or a small group of ponies will usually attempt to defend themselves from a threat. However, in a large group, they tended to do one thing.
The citizens of Ponyville (save for a group of ponies at the back of the crowd) panicked, running about in confusion, with one mare screaming at the top of her lungs “The horror! The horror!” before falling over in a dead faint.
… The Present…
Twilight sighed. The Princesses had calmed everyone down eventually, and afterwards, the Mayor had posted the new laws where everyone could see. They were still on a bulletin board outside the town hall, but the citizens were still having a hard time adjusting. Twilight looked out the window to see a unicorn mare with an electric blue mane and wearing a pair of goggles walk by. Behind her, holding a box of records in a protective cocoon of magic, was a small worker changeling mare.
Most of them were having a hard time adjusting, Twilight corrected herself.
Across Equestria, all the radios were turned to one station, in anticipation of a famous radio broadcast.
“Good Morning Equestria! It’s 7 a.m., and you know what that means! This is K-Colt, and you’re listening to the Vinyl Scratch! I’m the Martyr of Metal herself, DJ-PON3!”
“And I’m Octavia, the only one with any manners in this station."
There was a fart sound.
“Vinyl!”
“Not me this time, Tavi. That, ladies and gentlecolts was our new changeling master of sound effects, Wubsy! That’s right, I’ve got a changeling working in the studio! I don’t see what the big deal is about these guys. If they want peace, why don’t we give it to them? Am I right, Wubsy?
“You bet, Vinyl!”
“My faithful listeners, these guys are our friends, and the sooner we accept that, the happier everypony is! Now let’s hear some calls! Just dial 4, and we’ll be standing by to answer!”
Had Vinyl known the importance her statement would foreshadow, she probably would have bet Octavia the deed to the house that it would come true.
… OUTSIDE RAINBOW DASH'S HOUSE…
“…Are you sure this is the right place?”
“Yes, I’m sure! Quit asking! Do you know anypony else who lives in a house made of clouds?”
“Flit, all of Cloudsdale is made out of clouds.”
“Shut up, Fly! I wasn’t talking to you!”
“If you don’t want me to comment, then maybe you shouldn’t say such stupid things.”
“G…girls?”
“If we weren’t sisters, Fly, I’d break that face of yours!”
“G…girls?”
“It wouldn’t matter; I’d still be the pretty one, and I’d still be more outgoing than you.”
“G…girls?”
“’Pretty’ my hoof! If you’re so ‘pretty,’ then how come nearly everypony we’ve tried talking to has avoided us? And you can’t be ‘outgoing’ here! That means you’ve been blabbing about our lives! Our secrets! We aren’t allowed to do that*!”
“G…girls?”
“What is it Flap? Spit it out!”
“Um… should I knock now?”
… Rainbow Dash looked up from her book when she heard the knocking.
“What is it now?” she muttered to herself, setting down the book (Daring Do and the Orphan Foals) and heading towards the front door. She stopped before she opened it, and looked back to where she had been sitting, noticing the book was out in the open where whoever was at the door could see it. She quickly rushed back to the book, taking it up to her room (nearly crashing into Tank) and stuffing it under her pillow. She enjoyed the series, but she still had a reputation to uphold. She made her way back to the door and opened it.
Standing there were three nearly-identical pegasi mares, each with a dull yellow coat and green eyes. The one on the left had a blonde mane identical to Ditzy’s and a thundercloud cutie mark. The mare in the center (who was wearing a stylish saddlebag) had her green mane in styled into a braid, and had a mirror and brush cutie mark. The final mare, who was attempting to shelter herself behind the other two, had a simple short brown mane and a flower cutie mark. The left mare spoke first.
“You Rainbow Dash?” she asked, looking at a piece of paper. Her tone made it obvious that she had a short temper. Rainbow Dash didn’t like it. “Yeah, you got a problem with…,” she trailed off as she noticed the paper was being held in an aura of green magic**. She also noticed the green necklaces the three mares wore. Her brain took a second to place the pieces together and come to an obvious conclusion: Changelings had come to her house on her day off. Wonderful.
“What do you bugs want?” The mare on the left bristled, turning into her true form. “WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BUG, YOU NO-GOOD PIECE OF-!” She was cut off when the mare with the braid placed her hoof over the changeling’s mouth. She turned to Dash and attempted a strained smile.
“Forgive my sister. Allow me to introduce my sisters and I. My name is Fly. The mare behind me is my sister Flap, and this bundle of rage is my other sister, Flit. I’ll cut to the chase. We have purchased a home in Cloudsdale at an amazingly low price***, and we are seeking employment. I have managed to draw up a resume, and…”
Rainbow’s mind drifted off. The changeling’s voice… Rainbow had finally found something more boring than one of Twilight’s lectures. It was getting hard to stay awake. She shook her head and spoke. “Anyway, why are you here?” she said, a bit harshly.
Fly stopped talking and glared at the cyan pegasus. “We asked around, and a nice pegasus stallion recommended we find you, which I found odd, considering you don’t actually run a business of any sort, not to mention the fact that, while you do have a job, you don’t actually really work at it, constantly going off on unofficial breaks to sleep on clouds, coming in late, running off during your bathroom breaks…”
“Which stallion?” Rainbow interrupted before she could become too sleepy. How did this mare know so much about her? “He said he was from Los Pegasus. He was kind of lanky, pale, red mane, wearing a Wonderbolts hoodie? Sound familiar?” “It’s a long story. Anyway, how do you know so much about me? Am I so awesome that even changelings are fans?” She struck a heroic pose.
“No, we were spying on Ponyville months before the Wedding.”
Rainbow deflated. “Oh. Well, sorry, I can’t help you.”
Fly cocked her head to the side and flicked her left ear. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to,” Rainbow replied before starting to close the door.
“Please, you have to,” said a quiet voice, almost like Fluttershy’s. Rainbow stopped.
Flap looked at her with tears in her eyes. “I…if you a…are such a b…big hero, than you h…h…have to help us.” She was on the verge of crying her eyes out.
Rainbow sighed. “Fine, I’ll help you.”
Flap gave a small smile.
“But only because I don’t want you guys around here any longer than you have to be.”
Flit, her disguise restored, snorted. “The feeling’s mutual, Crashy.”
Rainbow glared at Flit. She hoped she could get rid of her first.
…
“How did I get stuck with you?” Rainbow asked Flit about three hours later.
“Pfft, because those other jobs were lame, the bosses were lame, my sisters are lame, and you’re lame,” Flit replied with a wry smile.
That was the last straw. Rainbow had had enough of this changeling (who sounded a lot like Gilda). She had done nothing but berate Dash the entire time they had been together. Her sisters hadn’t been that hard to get rid of****, but Flit was aggressive enough that she couldn’t be trusted to do a job without flying into a rage. And she blamed Dash for everything. The cyan pegasus had had enough. She turned and blocked the changeling’s path.
“Why are you targeting me? Out of all the ponies in Equestria, why me?"
“Because my head still hurts.”
“What!?!”
“Oh, you don’t remember? The wedding? That yellow pegasus?”
Rainbows eyes widened.
… NINE WEEKS AGO… CANTERLOT…
Fluttershy had barely managed to trick the three changelings who had taken on her appearance. Carefully turning, she ran into four very angry looking Rainbow Dashes. She cowered as the four pegasi raised themselves on their hind legs, preparing to strike…
…only to have the real Rainbow Dash reveal herself by kicking the snot out of the three doppelgangers who had taken on her appearance.
…
THE PRESENT... CLOUDSDALE...
“That was you?”
“Yeah, and we fought exactly five times during the battle, and I’m still sore, so forgive me if I’m not exactly courteous to you.”
Rainbow considered this new information. Then she spoke.
“Those were some good moves.”
Flit blinked. “What?”
“That fighting. Listen, kid, you aren’t cut out for a run-of-the-mill job, but now that I know who I’m dealing with, I have an idea…”
…
The white pegasus stallion looked at Rainbow Dash. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Come on, Bulk! She’s good! I’ve seen her in action!”
The over-muscled pegasus looked over Flit.
“I’ll tell you what; I go against her, and if she manages to pin me, I’ll agree to it.”
Rainbow smiled. “Deal.”
Both participants entered the ring. Bulk Biceps smiled.
“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re a chick.”
Flit transformed into her changeling self and bared her fangs in a grin. “I think you’ll find that this chick has quite a sharp set of talons. You know what? I’ll give you the first move.”
“YEEEAAAH!” Bulk screamed. Then he charged.
Flit reared on her hind legs and held her position, holding her hooves out before her. The stallion rammed into her…
…only to be lifted by Flit’s hooves, swung over her head, and thrown on his back. Flit pounced on top of him, managing to last three seconds.
Bulk stood up, looking at Flit, then Rainbow Dash, then Flit again. He grinned and held out a hoof.
“Welcome to the Cloudsdale Crushers.”
Flit smiled and bumped the proffered hoof. She then turned to Rainbow, still smiling.
“Thanks, Crashy.”
“No problem, kid.”
As Rainbow flew away from Cloudsdale’s Fight Club, she smiled to herself.
“Maybe changelings aren’t so bad after all,” she said as she flew into the sunset.
Meanwhile, below her, a pink earth pony headed for Sweet Apple Acres, dragging behind her a suspicious covered wagon.
It was Wednesday, just before sunrise, and everypony was still asleep.
Well, almost everypony.
Fluttershy walked carefully through the streets of the town, a specific destination in mind. But she was not alone. Behind her, like a figure from a nightmare, was a worker changeling stallion with bright orange eyes (no discernible pupils, like other workers), and a particularly sharp-looking set of fangs.
He was a Bruiser, a specific type of worker that specialized in demolition. What that translated into was a changeling who had the same build as Big Macintosh, but was about a foot taller. The ferocious appearance was ruined by the white bunny on his back. He thumped the changeling on the head with his foot.
Fluttershy turned around. “Now Angel,” she began, “be nice to Thud. You owe it to him after all the help he’s been giving us, what with feeding the other animals, taking care of that poor ferret with the broken leg, and saving you from those Timberwolves. Say you’re sorry.”
Angel harrumphed and turned his head away.
“Angel…”
The rabbit remained steadfast.
“Angel, please…”
The rabbit continued to ignore her. Thud cowered, lowering himself down, covering his eyes, and shaking.
Fluttershy STARED at Angel. Angel froze, and then immediately patted the big changeling on the head. The trio moved onwards.
Thud had come to Fluttershy after his pet rat had received a broken ankle earlier in the week. He had wandered around for hours until a purplish earth pony mare with several berries and grapes for a cutie mark had suggested Fluttershy, pointing the way to her house. After some initial hesitation from Fluttershy, (Thud knew he was scary-looking), her love for small animals overcame her fear of Giant Sharp-toothed changelings (though she now knew that changelings used those fangs to pierce the rinds of a particularly tough species of melon).
Since putting the tiny cast on the rodent, Thud had seen it as his solemn duty to repay Fluttershy, no matter what. The thing was, Thud had repaid her enough for 100 kind deeds, and still insisted that he was in her debt, proclaiming it as part of his code of honor. Fluttershy considered it a sweet thought, but still…
She stopped outside the only house with the lights on. Reaching up, she knocked three times.
Bonbon opened the door and yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. On her back, her pet falcon, Quicksilver, ruffled his feathers. “Is it Wednesday already?” Bonbon asked in her “annoyed” voice.
Fluttershy cringed a little bit at the nasally question. “Um… y… yes. Though, I guess I can come back later, if you want.”
Bonbon sighed and switched to her natural voice, which sounded a little bit like her cousin Cloudchaser’s. “No, it’s fine. Come in, and bring your…,” she looked over Thud’s massive frame, “friend, with you.”
“Oh, thank you, Bonbon. Most ponies are scared of Thud.”
“Eh, he can’t be that bad.”
The truth was, since the Wedding, a rumor had spread that Bonbon might be a changeling. It was nonsense, of course, and hardly anypony actually believed it, but still, it was enough that she sympathized with them. It wasn’t her fault she could moderate her voice excellently (She had spent a brief time in Manehattan as a ventriloquist), but let them think what they would.
Fluttershy, Thud, and Angel went up the stairs to Lyra’s large, loft-like room. It was decorated all over with blurry photos, newspaper clippings, and sketches. Her massive bookshelf was filled with novels and publications along the lines of A Complete Guide to Dinosaurs and Proto-Dragons, or The Pony’s Guide to the Primates of the World. Sleeping in a basket near her bed was Lyra’s pet, Shift, a white-faced capuchin from the jungles of Tapiri. In the center of the room was a group of three ponies: Featherweight, Cloudchaser, and Ditzy’s daughter Sparkler. Standing at a podium in front of them was Lyra. She turned to the group who had just walked in.
“Fluttershy! Glad you could make it! Who’s your friend?”
The other three ponies looked at the changeling suspiciously, but said nothing. Fluttershy smiled nervously and explained her situation in a voice which grew smaller with every passing second. Lyra looked at Thud again.
“Hmmm… well…, I guess he can stay,” she finally conceded. “It’s nice to meet you, Thud. I’m Lyra, that’s Sparkler, this is Cloudchaser, and the little guy is Featherweight. And together with Fluttershy, we are…” she rose on her hind legs and struck a pose, “The Equestrian Cryptid Research Foundation! We dedicate our lives to finding those creatures who everyone says don’t exist, whether they be Yahoos or Smiledogs, and no pony can stop us from succeeding in our goal!”
Sparkler rolled her eyes. “Can I finish my story now?”
Lyra blinked and dropped onto all fours, blushing. “Right… um, you were saying, Sparkler?”
Sparkler sighed and opened her saddlebag. “As I was saying,” she began, “My aunt Daring recently returned from a small expedition to the more mountainous areas of Stirrope, and she bought this from a salespony in a small store.” She pulled out the cast of a large footprint, its price tag adorned with one word: Yahoo.
Lyra immediately began looking it over. “Sparkler, this is amazing! It’s flawless, it’s stupendous, it’s…”
“It,” interrupted a deep voice, “is a fake.”
The assembled ponies looked at Thud.
“And how do you know that?” asked Sparkler.
“May I see the proffered item?” Thud asked.
Sparkler gave him the footprint. Thud took a breath, and then began.
“If you look at the arch of the foot, you will notice a small pattern. Now yahoos, as primates, would naturally have a series of dermal ridges along the bottoms of their feet and the palms of their hands. The impressions on this footprint, however, reveal a series of small octagonal scales. Furthermore, notice how the three middle toes are the same length and clearly have claws, whereas the two outer toes have hairline cracks, implying that they were added at a later date. Lastly, the footprint itself is too big for the five-foot tall hairy semi-sapient species of bipedal primate we call a yahoo. This is the doctored print of the synapsid reptile species Jotun frigus, more commonly known as the frost troll or jotun.”
Lyra looked at the changeling, then at the footprint. She went over to her bookshelf and picked out her copy of The Search for the Mystery Ape; an in-depth study of the Yahoo. Turning to a certain page, she compared the print to the image in the book. She looked up.
“He’s right!” She looked at Thud. Walking up to the massive changeling, she looked into his eyes.
She smiled. “I have a feeling we’ll get along just fine.”
Thud smiled in return. “Indeed. Perhaps I have repaid my debt to Madame Fluttershy, and I should seek out further, more profitable employment. Are there any job openings for an educator?”
Lyra considered. “Perhaps, but you may need to wait for a while.”
“Excellent. Now then, may I continue to watch the meeting? It seems to be on a very interesting subject…”
Outside, the sun began to rise on what would promise to be a new day for changelings and ponies alike.
“It’s smaller on the outside,” Staghorn commented upon entering the blue box of Ponyville’s resident Time Turner. “I’m guessing it’s something of a temporal rift, folding space so that it can contain more, like a bag of holding?”
Doctor Whooves stared at the prince in amazement. “Wow, right the first time! The only pony to figure it out that fast was Ditzy! How did you guess?”
“My great-grandpa Thromnumbular was a powerful witch. He enchanted certain parts of the castle with a spell similar to this.”
“Fascinating! Do you think I could meet him?”
“He’s been dead for 30 years.”
Doctor Whooves was shocked. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t…”
“Later today.”
“What?”
“You can meet him later today. He found a way to become a lich, but he bungled the spell, so now he’s just a ruby-eyed changeling skull until he grants nine wishes.”
“What?”
Stag smiled. “It’s complicated, but I’m sure he can tell you all about it.”
The changeling turned and walked out the door of the Temporal Auditor’s Random Displacement Integration Ship, a gift from Princess Celestia which allowed the Doctor to travel between past and present-day Equestria.
A pink mare with a purple-and-white-swirled mane, a propeller beanie, and a cutie mark of a ball and a screw came down out of the sky.
“!rotcoD ,iH,” Screwball exclaimed happily. “?gniog ti s’woH”
“Screwball, please talk normally. I’ve just been given a headache.”
“Sorry. What’s up?”
“A lot of confusing things. I have research to do.” Rearing on his back legs, he pointed a forehoof dramatically into town. “TO THE LIBRARY!”
Then he was off.
Screwball shrugged and just giggled at the sheer CHAOS of it all. She decided to go visit her dad, the propeller on her beanie spinning, carrying her in the direction of Canterlot.
...
Pinkie had been up all night pulling the covered wagon. It was hard work, but she could be as strong as Applejack when she needed.
As if to prove this point to an unknown observer, she stopped in front of a large rock that was directly between her and her goal. Unhitching herself from the wagon, she turned and kicked the rock with the strength that could only come from a fillyhood of being raised on a rock farm. The boulder shattered into many tiny bits. She turned her head and gave a smile that said “See?” though why she did this was unknown, as there was nothing around besides her, the grass, the trees, and the crickets. She hitched herself back up to the wagon and continued pulling towards the large castle beyond Sweet Apple Acres.
...
Pinkie looked at the massive castle. On closer inspection, she realized that it honestly more resembled a complex of different interconnected buildings rather than a single dwelling. It was a feat of engineering that could honestly only compare to Canterlot itself.
Pinkie walked inside. She had spent the past couple weeks watching the changelings, observing them, learning their daily patterns, and even managing to pick up the meanings of certain words that made up that weird language of theirs, namely Happy, fun, and celebration. How did she find the time to do all this? That itself was part of the mystery that was Pinkie Pie.
No changelings confronted her. That didn’t surprise her, as she knew most of the changelings were either out doing various jobs in Ponyville and Cloudsdale, attempting to find a job, were taking care of jobs in other areas of the castle, or were simply out enjoying the beautiful weather.
She passed a building with three words: 死のアリーナ. Pinkie couldn’t claim to be able to read changeling, but her itchy spine told her there was something in there she did NOT want to meet. She hurried past. A worker changeling came down and confronted her.
“What are you doing here?” The question was genuine, as while ponies were allowed to visit the castle, it was an uncommon occurrence, meaning this was the first time it had happened.
Pinkie smiled. “Hi! I remember you!”
The changeling, Mirror, stood shocked as she suddenly remembered the mare in front of her.
...
NINE WEEKS AGO… CANTERLOT…
Mirror growled at the pink earth pony in front of her, changing into the pony’s five other friends in quick succession. The mare simply smiled ad jumped up and down.
“Do me! Do me!” she giggled.
Mirror rolled her eyes and changed into an exact duplicate of the earth pony.
There was a moment of silence.
“Eh, I’ve seen better,” the mare said before grabbing her purple unicorn friend and using her magic to blast Mirror.
…
THE PRESENT… THE CHANGELING CASTLE…
“Listen, I’m really sorry that it took this long to greet you but it’s just that I’ve been so busy trying to find out what you all like and planning something this big takes so much time to prepare and I just wanted to make sure that this turns out perfectly and I’m sorry for blasting you with Twilight’s magic…” Pinkie took a long breath. “Where’s the ballroom?”
Mirror stared, trying to make sense of what she had heard. She was pretty sure she had heard an apology in there somewhere. She pointed to a large building labeled 王宮.
“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie hopped off.
Mirror stood confused in the street.
...
In the library of the main castle was a single changeling, the eldest child of Queen Chrysalis. Her name was Hope, and she was the most beautiful changeling in the castle, for she was a Goldmane, a changeling with a long golden mane and tail, amber-colored eyes, and wings which were tinted a soft yellow. She sighed and checked her list, looking over the shelves.
“Sometimes I wish I could have some time off. It’s not like I don’t want to be Mom’s advisor, but it just gets so boring sometimes! Stag gets to go off and mingle, and I…,” she stopped, pulling out two books and rotating them so the spines were facing the right way, “…get stuck doing filing duty. It’s not that I want to be a queen, but I expected more…,” her thought was cut off as there was a loud, squeaky BOOM! that came from the direction of…
“THE BALLROOM!” Hope screamed, her mane becoming disheveled, several hairs sticking out. She flew down the myriad hallways and staircases, stopping in front of a picture of her grandmother Thorax in the Hall of Rulers, pulling down a torch, opening a secret entrance, and continuing down the passageway at breakneck speed.
...
Pinkie blinked. She had managed to cover most of the ballroom walls in cake batter. Looking at her party cannon, she suddenly giggled.
“Silly me, that was the wrong cannon!”
She pulled the “correct” cannon out of her wagon, deciding the walls would just be an extra surprise. She took aim…
…Just as a secret passage opened, revealing the form of Hope. The changeling mare looked around the ballroom, her eyes landing on Pinkie, who had stopped herself from firing at the last second. Pinkie smiled nervously.
“Umm… surprise?”
Hope shook with unrequited anger.
“Do you know how long it took me to make sure this room would be ready for the Great Meeting in three days?” she began. “Your Princesses will be attending, along with the leaders of the five Great Swarms, and that Princess Cadance. This entire ballroom cost over FOUR MILLION YEN to build, and YOU HAVE MANAGED TO RUIN OVER 38 HOURS WORTH OF WORK WITH CAKE BATTER! DO YOU PONIES EVER THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES YOUR ACTIONS WILL HAVE!?!”
There was a deflating noise and a small sniffle. Hope’s eyes widened at the sudden transformation that had come over the pink earth pony. Her anger fell with a speed equal to the deflation of Pinkie's mane Hope's anger dissipated. Happiness flowing out from that mare was one of most depressing sights she had ever seen.
“I… I’m sorry… I didn’t…,”
Pinkie turned away. Hope then had a brilliant idea. She dashed off to her room.
...
Pinkie looked up when she heard the sound of a tambourine. Standing before her was Hope, dressed in a green bandana, several bangles around her front legs, and holding a beautiful silver tambourine with her magic. She smiled.
“I used to sing this song to my brother whenever he was sad. Let’s see if I still remember it…”
She began striking the instrument against her flank. Then, she began to sing:
“When you’re rife with devastation, There’s no other explanation, You’re a toymaker’s creation Trapped inside a crystal ball! And whichever way he tilts it, Know that we must be resilient, They can never break our spirits As we sing this silly song!”
She began to hop around, her bangles clicking together. Pinkie began to smile. Hope continued.
“Sometimes I just want to be silly Hop around like I’m still a filly, But I have to work and sort the files, But it’s worth it just to see some smiles. And though my legs are full of holes, I dance around with the little foals, And though my memories are blurred, And names are obscured, I still know the words to this song!”
Pinkie had recovered and was dancing as Hope fluttered above her, and both began to sing, Pinkie somehow knowing the words:
“When you’ve bungled all your bangles, And your good mood’s left to dangle, Listen to the jingle-jangle Of this silver tambourine! ‘Cause these chords are hypnotizing, And the whole world’s harmonizing..”
Pinkie cut in and finished the song.
“Well now that I’ve stopped my crying, Let’s go set up the Party!”
Hope looked at her.
“Is that what this is about?”
“Yeah! I always welcome everypony to Ponyville, and since there were so many of you I needed a lot of time to prepare, making cakes and games and invitations, and I wanted a way to also say I’m sorry for beating you guys up at the wedding and it takes time to plan a party that big and mph mph mph!”
Hope had covered Pinkie’s mouth. She quickly changed into a white unicorn mare (resembling Fleur di Lis) with an electric blue mane and a book cutie mark. She smiled.
“I’ll help you, but I think we should get to know each other first. My name’s Hope.”
Pinkie smiled. “I’m Pinkie Pie. It’s sooooo good to meet you!”
Hope smiled. “Well, it’s nice to meet you too. Now let’s get this party ready! You know, my mother was a lot like you when I was younger…”
The two continued a steady banter as they began to set up the decorations.
Three captains of the Royal Guard kept an eye on their “guest,” a pegasus mare with a grey coat, a red mane, two crossed swords for a cutie mark, and a green necklace. She had introduced herself as High-General Double, royal consort to the changeling prince, and had come to Canterlot wishing to see the troops. She had filled out the proper paperwork, and was now stuck with three of the best soldiers in Equestria.
Barricade, the captain of the Pegasus Guard, (and, ironically, Fluttershy’s mom) had to concede that these changelings might not be so bad. After all, if her daughter had managed to make friends with one…
The giant yellow-and-pink pegasus mare turned to her companions. “She seems alright,” she whispered.
Night Shade, the noctral captain of the Night Guard, flicked a bat-like ear. “Perhaps,” she said slowly. “But we cannot forget that ‘alright’ or not, these changelings still attacked Canterlot. Harbinger, what are your thoughts on the subject?”
The Earth Pony captain smiled. “Need I remind you of how we reacted when you thestrals and night unicorns came out of hiding?” He smiled wryly.
Night Shade blushed. When Princess Luna had returned, hundreds of noctrals and nocticorns had come down from their mountain homes to serve the Night Princess. It had taken the “normal” ponies a while to get used to them. She adjusted her sunglasses.
“Be that as it may, my fellow followers of the Night Princess did not attempt to take over Equestria.”
“That was not the original plan.”
The three captains looked at the changeling/pegasus, who was looking at the troops training in the courtyard.
“The Queen was actually invited. She and Cadence are old friends. However, our queen fell prey to Emotion Sickness.”
“Emotion Sickness?” Barricade asked. “Are you serious?”
“Quite. You see, we changelings subsist on a steady diet of the same food as you ponies, mixed with various positive emotions. However, feeding on one specific positive emotion alone causes a psychological reaction known as ‘Emotion Sickness,’ which causes symptoms similar to megalomania. The queen feeding on Shining Armor’s pure love was a simple mistake which messed with her brain, causing temporary insanity, similar to what you might experience from smoking Dragon Weed or drinking Manticore Cactus juice for a prolonged period of time.”
Night Shade cocked her head, lowering her sunglasses and raising an eyebrow. “So she was high on power?”
Double looked back at the batpony. “I think ‘drunk’ may be a better word, but yes.”
She looked back over the troops. “Captain Barricade, forgive me if I’m mistaken, but should those two troops be lazing around like that?”
Barricade looked at the two pegasi Double had pointed out. They had hidden themselves behind a castle rampart, and appeared to be looking at a magazine of some sort.
Barricade spread her massive wingspan, and took off. A few seconds later, the pegasi soldiers and the magazine were deposited in front of the captains and the High-General. Double looked at the magazine cover. Her face flushed a bright red, and the offending text burst into green flames.
Barricade turned to her fellow captains. “So how should we deal with them this time?”
Harbinger smiled. “I think we should let the High-General decide,” he said, looking at Double.
Double considered. “Is this their first offense?”
Barricade snorted. “Hardly. I’ve caught these two doing the same thing three times!”
“May I hazard a guess that they are too valuable to be court-marshaled?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Thirty weeks’ worth of labor, perhaps sorting the tomes in the library, or maybe cleaning the streets every night. Something menial and far below the task of a soldier.”
Barricade smiled. “Couldn’t have put it better myself.”
At that moment, a purple balloon wafted in on the breeze. Upon bumping into Double’s forehead, it burst into a cloud of confetti and a single card. Double picked it up with her magic and read.
IT’S A PARTY!!! FOOD! GAMES! FUN! COME TO THE CHANGELING’S CASTLE TONIGHT AT 5:00!
Night Shade looked over the card. “Well, it’s about time. I was wondering when you guys would get your Welcome Party.” Double looked over the card again.
“Welcome Party?”
As the three captains explained, nopony noticed the blue unicorn stallion who stopped to sneer at the stained-glass picture of Celestia.
"Soon," he said. "Soon Equestria shall have its rightful ruler."
...
PONYVILLE…
Twilight eyed the changeling prince in her library.
“Drunk on love? Are you serious?”
Staghorn smiled. “Yes. And now that I’ve explained this fully and succeeded in having you listen, I believe an ‘I’m sorry for my mother brainwashing your brother’ gift is in order.” He took a carefully wrapped present out of his saddlebag and gave it to Twilight.
Twilight cautiously opened it. It was a book labeled A History of the Changelings. She looked over it. It was very thick, but looked relatively new.
“It’s a revised copy, re-written to include the invasion attempt and the signing of the peace treaty,” Stag explained.
Twilight looked at the changeling. “Um… Thank you.”
At that moment, a balloon with a small green reptile attached to it came through the door. Staghorn instantly took notice.
“My word! An actual Pygmy Emerald Alligator! There are only 50 thousand of these reptiles left in the wild! Interesting fact is that these things don’t get their teeth until… why does it have a card in its mouth?”
Twilight took the card from Gummy’s mouth and looked over it.
“What is it?” Stag asked.
Twilight looked up. For the first time in seven weeks, she smiled at a changeling.
“It’s an invitation to your welcome party.”
...
Octavia was struggling. She had an important meeting in a week with her Uncle Fancy Pants in Canterlot, and before she actually could go, she needed to practice her table manners.
“Hey ‘Tavi! What’s up!?!”
Octavia nearly jumped out of her seat.
“Darn it, Vinyl! Can’t you see that I’m trying to prepare for meeting our uncle?”
Vinyl looked at the table set.
“Dinner plate with salad or soup bowl on it goes in the middle, salad, dinner, and dessert forks on the left side in that order. Knife and small soup spoons go on the right side. Bread plate with butter knife on top left of dinner plate, followed by water, wine, and liquor glasses in that order. Napkin placement depends on your preference.”
Octavia looked at her cousin.
“Y at-il un problème?” Vinyl asked in perfect Chevallan.
Octavia almost said something, when a balloon came in through the window, somehow did a triple loop-de-loop, and popped, depositing a card.
Vinyl picked it up.
VINYL!!! OCTI!!! WE NEED MUSIC!!! IT’S TWO PARTIES!!! PLEASE COME! IT’S AT THE CHANGELING’S CASTLE!!! Signed, Pinkie Pie.
The two musicians looked at each other.
They dashed to their rooms, Vinyl to grab her records and equipment, Octavia to get her cello and to call the rest of her ensemble.
...
A grey earth pony mare with a red mane and three flowers for a cutie mark looked at the card. She looked up at the pony she shared her home with, a green earth pony mare with a shamrock cutie mark.
“What do you think, Three Leaf?”
Three Leaf considered. “Well, I guess we could go. I mean, we’ve been living here since before the wedding. Maybe we could at least drop in on the party.”
Mitta nodded, and then sneezed, briefly turning into a desiccated red pony corpse with a black mane and glowing yellow eyes. She put her disguise back together quickly.
“Careful, Mitta,” a voice said. Mitta looked up to see the ghost of a grey earth pony mare with a blonde mane and a magnifying glass cutie mark. “You know Applebloom’s family and her sister’s friends are the only ones who know about yours and Three Leaf’s ‘condition,’ and you know why you can’t go back to Sunny Town if you get discovered,” Ruby finished.
“Are you suggesting we don’t go?” Three Leaf asked.
“No, just that you be really careful.”
The two zombies nodded and rushed off to get some last-minute dresses.
...
THE CHANGELING CASTLE…
Seven changelings sat in a semicircle overlooking the arena in the building labeled 死のアリーナ: Shi no arīna, the Arena of Death (Originally it was called Settō yori mo haruka ni akka shi, shinkokuna hanzai de yūzai to sorera o ōkina kemono to tatakawa sa rete iru basho- literally, “place in which those found guilty of serious crimes much worse than thievery are pitted against a large beast.”)
Six of the changelings wore dark robes. The seventh changeling in the middle was raised on a pedestal, mostly due to the fact that he was less a changeling, and more of a changeling skull with rubies for eyes. This was Staghorn’s Great-Grandfather, Thromnombular the Lich. He looked to the other members of the council, and then looked down at the armored changeling in the arena. He opened his jaws and spoke in a deep voice.
“Carbon, former captain of the guard, you have by your own admition been sentenced as guilty of the crime of high treason against our Queen and my beloved granddaughter. As such, you shall be sentenced to fight for your life. Take up your sword.”
Carbon took up the sword. He looked up at the skull and sneered.
Thromnombular screeched.
“RELEASE BLACK AZOG!”
A door opened, and a blood-chilling screech was heard.
Carbon never stood a chance, and his screams echoed through the arena.
In a balcony across from the jury, Chrysalis watched with cold indifference.
*
“I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did against the beast,” Chrysalis commented to the hovering skull that was her grandfather.
“Indeed, he truly was a warrior. It is too bad he preferred to die rather than serve you. Still, when one does try to cut off his Queen’s head, what else can be done?”
A balloon flew through the air, depositing itself in front of the pair and popping, releasing a card. Chrysalis picked it up and read it.
“ ‘All guests come to the main foyer, and from there you can go to the fancy party or the par-tay?’”
Two cloaked figures stood overlooking the changeling castle.
The shorter of the two looked up at his companion, and raised himself on his back hooves, carefully removing an ebony violin from the case he carried. “Shall we attack now, mistress?”
“Hush, Näcken. We shall wait until the ritual is completed after the pony’s silly little Winter Wrap-Up. Then, and only then, in the dark of the Night Everlasting, shall we make our move.”
The tall figure removed her hood, revealing a Royal changeling mare who resembled a younger version of Chrysalis, save for the fact that her mane and eyes were deep red and her coat was a brilliant white. Her crown was forged Mithril, inlaid with rubies.
“This is no longer my own petty grudge. The ponies and changelings grow closer with each passing day. They could pose a threat. After the ritual, we attack,” her red eyes flashed turquoise, “For Equestria’s True Queen.”
Näcken bowed, stowing away his violin. “It is as you say, Princess Nattfjäril.”
The two albino changelings flew off to receive further instructions from their master.
...
THE CHANGELING CASTLE… Chrysalis looked around.
Before her was a large get-together of both ponies and changelings. Chrysalis could hear two types of music. To her left, from the ballroom, was the sound of… Chrysalis couldn’t quite describe it, but it was LOUD.
To her right, however, was the sound of music that sounded more at home at a gala.
“HI CHRYSSIE!”
Chrysalis and her grandfather backed up at the sudden appearance of Pinkie. Chrysalis straightened her crown, and then confronted the mare. “Pinkie, was it? Care to explain all this?”
Pinkie began, suddenly remembering Chrysalis’s comments about her choice of decorations during the wedding. “Well…”
“It was my idea, mother,” Hope explained, coming behind Chrysalis. “I…”
“You misunderstand me,” Chrysalis interrupted. “You appear to have forgotten that the amount of streamers decorating the party in question must be directly proportional to the number of items being served at the snack bar.” Chrysalis gave a genuine smile.
Hope and Pinkie looked astonished.
“What? Hope, I told you I was quite the party animal when I was your age. Grandpa, could you get item 548? And then why don’t you get some rest?”
The skull sighed. A pentacle suddenly formed below him. There was a flash of light, and suddenly, the pentacle and skull were replaced by a large black cannon. Pinkie gasped.
“NO WAY!!! AN ACTUAL VINTAGE JOYMASTER 500 PARTY CANNON!?! THERE WERE ONLY FOUR EVER MADE!!!”
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Care to take it for a spin?”
...
Several hours later, the party had died down. Pinkie was happy that her plan to both greet the changelings and simultaneously show the citizens of Ponyville that the changelings weren’t so bad had worked. Tension was still there, but it was lessened by the fun times that were had at the party. They had stayed separate at the start of the party, but had begun mingling as it went on, with Chrysalis even deciding to issue a proclamation removing the vow of silence on the worker changelings. Tours of the castle were given, conversations were had, and games were played.
The sun had almost set by now, and the partygoers had reduced in numbers by about three quarters. At one table, the six Bearers of the Elements were discussing their new neighbors.
“You know, these guys aren’t so bad,” Rainbow Dash said, taking a gulp of her drink.
“Ah gotta agree with ya’ there, Dash,” Applejack replied. “Though ah wonder what they’re puttin’ in this apple cider.”
“It’s Reindeer Lichen,” Twilight replied. “It’s a small plant only found far up north in places like Tarandoland. It tastes disgusting, and believe me, I know. I wonder how they managed to make this work?”
“Crush the lichen with the apple grinder, then crush the apples with the lichen juice-covered grinder,” Staghorn said, going past the table blindfolded, with a paper tail in his mouth.
The six ponies looked as the blindfolded prince as he walked past in an attempt to pin the tail on a poster with a picture of a donkey on it.
“He certainly is unique, isn’t he?” said a voice. The ponies turned around to see Night Shade, the Captain of the Night Guard who they had met (briefly) after Twilight and her friends had defeated Chrysalis.
“I’m here to…,” she looked at an important-looking document, “‘Observe the changelings in order to make sure peace is contained.’ That’s officially, anyway.” She leaned down.
“But between you and me,” she whispered, “I’m actually here to have a good time and see if the princesses are able to enjoy a changeling party.” She winked and nodded her head towards a pair of pegasus mares, one white with a pink mane and a flame cutie mark, the other blue with a crescent moon cutie mark. The white pegasus winked at Twilight.
“Is that…,” Twilight began, only to be cut off by the noctral guard.
“SHHHH! They’re incognito right now! I’m just here to tell you that if you’ve got a report, just give it to me, and I’ll get it to Celestia as soon as possible.”
Twilight looked around. Spike was dancing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Staghorn’s foals. The purple unicorn began to walk towards the group, briefly wondering exactly how good a mother she would make. She shook the thought away. That probably would not happen for a long time.
She managed to get Spike away from the group and have him take a letter.
Dear Princess Celestia, These past seven weeks have been a true test of our willingness to forgive. Truly friendship comes in the most interesting of forms and from the most surprising of places. I see now that we must not judge based on our own grudges, but instead accept the proffered hoof. Who knows what bonds may be forged from there? Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.
When Twilight was finished, she gave the document to the waiting thestral mare, who gladly accepted it.
…
Soon, the only ponies left in the castle were the six bearers, Ditzy, Night Shade, and Zecora.
A changeling blew on a large horn which had been shaped to look like the maw of a roaring draconic beast. Immediately, several changeling workers with purple eyes and no wings began cleaning. Applejack immediately took notice of the way they got the decorations near the ceiling down: Well-placed kicks dislodged the decorations, and the changelings expertly caught them in baskets they carried on their backs, not even missing the tiniest bit of confetti.
“Magnificent, aren’t they?” said a voice. Applejack turned to find a male changeling of the same type as the ones cleaning, calmly chewing on a piece of straw. He spoke again.
“Bruisers may be the strongest, and longfangs the best at tunnelin’. Vanishers make good bodyguards, and ya can’t complain ‘bout the versatility of a common worker. But if ya want good, honest work done, there’s no beating us grounders. Sure, we can’t fly, but that don’t mean we’re useless! All that means ta me is that ah gotta work twice as hard as any other changeling. Ah’m sorry, ah don’t believe we’ve been prop’rly introduced, Miss…?”
“Applejack.”
“Well, Miss Applejack, you just call me Boll Weevil. Ah know, it’s not a real good name, but it’s the one my Ma Weevil gave me, and ah’m proud ta have it. Now, if’n you’ll excuse me, ah’ve got some work ta do.” He turned to the other grounders.
“All right Weevils!” he shouted. “Let’s clean this mess!”
...
LATER… MIDNIGHT…
“Well, Mom? What did you think?”
Chrysalis looked at Staghorn and smiled.
“Maybe this peace thing was a good idea. I’m proud of you, son.”
Staghorn smiled in return, and then helped Double gather up Silkworm and Mandible. The royal family said their goodnights, and soon, all was silent in both Ponyville and the changeling castle.
The moon shone upon the beginnings of a new page in Equestria’s history.
Vinyl poured the hot cocoa into her mug and took a cautious sip. It was perfect for the season. She looked out the window at the pristine white snow that had covered Ponyville.
Octavia was upstairs carefully wrapping Vinyl’s presents, an accordion and a dijeridu, to replace the ones Vinyl had broken only a few months before. She put the bows on the two wrapped presents, and then went downstairs.
She had only reached the bottom step when there was a knock at the door. Octavia opened it to find a familiar yellow mare with a blue mane and a straw hat. Across her back was the musician’s trademark fiddle. Octavia smiled at her sister.
“Fiddle! I’m so glad you could come! We’ve prepared everything in the guest room for your stay.”
Country Fiddle smiled. “Thanks, ‘Tavi. I’ll just be stayin’ fer tonight, though. I got a big show up near Fillydelphia, and I just wanted ta stop and say hi ta my sister and my favorite cousin. Oh yeah, that reminds me, these are from Mom and Dad.”
Fiddle took two carefully wrapped presents from out of her saddlebag. One was an elongated box, the perfect size for a new cello bow. The other was circular, about the size of a stack of new music records.
“Hey Fiddlesticks! What’s Up!?!”
Fiddle smiled at her cousin. “Hi Vinyl. Did you save any of that cocoa fer me?”
“You bet! Now let’s get inside. It’s cold out here! Oh, Octavia, Fiddle?”
“Yes, Vinyl?” the two mares asked.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve”
The three mares went inside and shut the door behind them.
...
Hearth’s Warming. A time to celebrate kinship and the closeness of friends. Relations between the ponies and changelings had dramatically improved, though there were always those who were leery of the shape-shifting equines. However, for most of the ponies, the changelings were now simply a part of life. The Cloudsdale Crushers had yet to lose a match since Flit had joined their team, thanks to her knowing a Zebrican fighting style known as the “dance of death,” Cheerilee could safely take a sick day because of Thud’s eagerness to teach, and the Mayor’s office had honestly never been better organized, thanks to Fly’s impeccable filing skills. However, today, all seemed quiet. It was as if all the changelings had sheltered themselves in their homes to defend themselves against something horrible.
Which was appropriate, because they had.
...
Pinkie jumped excitedly, the tassles on her blue and white hat bouncing with each hop her legs (clad in matching blue-and-white socks) took. Behind her, Twilight walked at a normal pace. They were heading towards the Changeling Castle.
“How do you think they celebrate Hearth’s Warming, Twilight?”
Twilight looked at her bouncing friend as they approached the castle.
“Apparently by hanging branches from the windows.”
Pinkie looked at the castle. Each window of the town-like castle complex had a changeling hovering near it, carefully hanging holly branches in front of them so they formed a sort of cage over the windows. Other changelings were spreading salt on the windows as well, and a few were carrying baskets full of Yen and Quids. One of the black, featureless coins dropped near Twilight, who picked it up for further inspection.
“Salutations, Miss Twilight, Miss Pinkamena. A lovely Hearth’s Warming Eve, is it not?”
The two ponies turned to find themselves staring up at Thud. The Bruiser smiled.
“Hi Thud!” said Pinkie. “How’s the teaching going?”
Thud smiled even more. “Madame Cheerilee seems to have finally become comfortable with the idea of me being left unattended around the foals. Those three known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders show some promise in the academic arts, if they would only apply themselves a little more. But, then again, I am only a substitute, so perhaps it is not my place to judge.”
“You are wondering about the Holly, salt, and coins. That is an interesting story, and I believe the queen will be telling the little ones soon, if you would like to listen.”
The two ponies looked at each other. They began following Thud to the Main Castle, and from there to the Foyer.
*
Chrysalis sat in her throne. In front of her sat a crowd of changeling foals, mostly workers, though a few royal youngsters stood out among the others. To Chrysalis’s left was Staghorn. To her right was Hope. Both of them were dressed in green capes with white trim, and both wore their small black crowns. There was something about the capes which suggested that they were Rarity’s work. However, they both paled in comparison to their mother’s cloak.
It too was one of Rarity’s works, yards of red silk with a white trim which had black spots to imitate the fur of a snow leopard. It was fastened at the front with a magnificent gold clasp, and Chrysalis had traded out her normal crown for one made of silver, with diamonds sparkling around the rim.
However, the most surprising thing, in Twilight’s opinion, were the three very familiar diamond dogs who stood among the crowds of adult changelings. Before she could point the three odd guests out, Chrysalis spoke.
“I am glad you all could be here, and I understand the reasons for those who could not. It is now Hearth’s Warming Eve, a time to remember our history, and the history of Equestria. I shall tell you the two tales, so we may be reminded of the bonds we share, as well as our fears of this night. Listen, as I tell you first the story of the Three Armies, and of the Peace we forged so long ago…”
Pinkie firmly sat down, while Twilight found herself listening with rapt attention as Chrysalis’s voice gave life to the story.
...
MANY THOUSAND YEARS AGO…
It had been many years since his family had been taken across the sea to this country. And now, he was ready to free it
Metamorphosis turned away from the forces he now led. To his right, the diamond dog king, Rex, tightened his grip on his mace. To his left, Strong Back, the white buffalo chieftan, pawed the ground. On the buffalo’s massive shoulders perched a phoenix-like bird with dark purple and blue plumage, and lightening-like markings around her eyes; Storm, Strong Back’s pet thunderbird.
Metamorphosis spoke to his companions.
“You two have stuck beside me since the day my clan was imprisoned by Tirek’s forces. Now, we shall provide one last fight so that the Elements may stop him forever.”
Strong Back snorted, watching as the Elements made their way to the castle with his Farsight. They were a simple band. A buffalo, who held Honesty. An armored earth pony pyromancer, Generosity. Another earth pony, one with an hourglass cutie mark, Loyalty. An earth pony lich, a skeleton in a dark robe, Laughter. A tall, stately elk, Kindness. And finally, two teenage alicorns, one pure white, the other midnight blue, sharing the element of Magic. Strong Back muttered a prayer to whatever spirits were listening that they would be safe.
Rex growled. “Tirek’s trolls come. I smell their stinking hides. They outnumber us by many.”
Metamorphosis grinned. “Then we shall fight them by standing on their heads.”
The Grundles came over the hills. It was as Rex had said. The primate-like reptiles outnumbered the combined forces of the three armies roughly a hundred to one. Metamorphosis grinned even wider. He unsheathed his long admantine sword. He turned to the armies.
“I hope you all are hungry,” he shouted. “For tonight, we dine in TARTARUS!!!”
The armies cheered, and as one, they rushed the enemy.
*
Screams abounded as spears, swords, horns, claws, and fangs tore through skin. Rex heaved up his club and brought it down with all his might, smashing in the skull of a grundle, sending cranial fragments flying with enough force to pierce the chests and hearts of enemies standing close enough. The fallen grundle let out a wet gurgle as its own blood and grey matter formed a grotesque halo around its ruined skull. Rex spit upon the body.
“Rrrgagahk grahk karshaak gruffik krrarkahk.” he growled. “May even maggots refuse to feast upon your corpse.” He then continued onward.
Not far away, Metamorphosis pulled his blade out of a grundle’s skull, and expertly slashed another across the stomach with his horn, the troll’s intestines spilling across the ground. The changeling had a look of glee on his face, and his eyes were bloodshot. The Battle-Madness had overtaken him, and though he would never hurt his allies, he frightened the enemy with his insane laugh alone. He would pass it down his bloodline if he lived through this, but he did not think about this fact as he bit into a grundle’s neck, tearing out the throat. He spat it out, and laughed like a stallion possessed.
A flash of light illuminated the battlefield as Storm summoned lightning to aid her companion. In between strikes, Strong Back charged the archers who would shoot the thunderbird, goring them on his sharp horns or mashing them into a bloody pulp beneath his hooves. The battle went on until the sun set.
*
The battle had been won. The grundles retreated when a large rainbow disk had lit the sky. The Elements had defeated Tirek, who was now powerless. Equestria was free.
However, Metamorphosis was in mourning. Rex removed his helm and howled his sorrow to the night sky, while the thunderbird perched on Metamorphosis’s back wept bitter tears. Before them was the bloodstained body of Strong Back.
A young buffalo bull wept beside them. This was Strong Back’s son, Sagegrass, who was now chief. He stood.
“My father told me of his promise to the both of you, and I cannot fulfill it by crying over his passing.”
The other leaders nodded. Rex took out a scroll and a quill. Carefully, he dipped it in one of his wounds. “For honor,” he spoke, writing his name down. He passed it to Sagegrass.
Sagegrass dipped the quill into one of his father’s wounds. “For sacrifice,” he intoned, signing his and his father’s names. He passed the parchment to Metamorphosis, who took it in his magic and dipped it into a cut on his side, which still bled bright red.
“For loyalty among friends.” He put his signature down. The three spoke the last words together.
“In blood, we sign this treaty, ensuring our alliance, our loyalty, and our friendships shall never die!”
...
Chrysalis finished the first story, and Twilight could only gape. Such a tale of bloodshed and sorrow could not be good for the foals. Yet, a small noise started, and quickly grew in volume.
The sound was the buzzing of wings, the changeling equivalent of a cheer.
A small movement attracted Twilight’s attention. Sitting on a perch near the throne was a female thunderbird. Twilight looked at Thud.
She gestured at the bird. “Is that…?”
“Either the original or one of her line. Sagegrass gave Storm, a sacred animal to the buffalo, to Metamorphosis as a sign of trust. I do not know if thunderbirds are the same as their phoenix relatives, but I do know that the thunderbird is always female, and is always named Storm. But now Chrysalis is beginning the second story, so we should be silent.”
"But what about the holly branches and the salt?"
"Patience, all will be explained in the next story."
Twilight turned her head back towards the throne, her curiosity grabbing hold of her as she waited to hear more.
“The next tale is that of the hero Snow Flea, Brother of Queen Orchid, Metamorphosis’s wife. However, Snow Flea was not a hero yet…”
...
MANY THOUSAND YEARS AGO…
“Snow Flea! I must talk you out of this!”
Queen Orchid was frantically attempting to catch up to her brother, who was trudging through the snow towards the Everfree, with nothing more than a saddlebag containing some water, a few loaves of bread, and a dagger. Her long mane blew in the wind, and her delicate features had arranged themselves in an expression that indicated that this was not the first time this had happened.
“Stop, you idiot! You can’t do this!”
Snow Flea turned to look at his sister, never slowing his pace.
“You forget, little sister, that while you may be queen, I still have seniority over you, and as such, only my brother-in-law can stop me.”
It was at that moment that Metamorphosis and his constant avian companion Storm appeared.
Metamorphosis had aged into a handsome changeling stallion of forty, and now had a medium-length beard. His mane contained a few grey strands, yet he still looked similar to the rebel leader who had led three armies against Tirek’s grundles when he was only eighteen. He had since risen as the first true leader of the changelings of the New World, organizing five other leaders as the rulers of the “Great Swarms,” of which he and his line would always be considered “High Royals” in addition to their royal connections in Neighpon. His crown of Mithril glinted in the sunlight which shone through the clouds, and his sword rested in its scabbard. He now looked at Snow Flea with authority befitting his status.
“And what, may I ask, is it I should be stopping you from doing?”
Snow Flea began to answer, but Orchid cut in.
“He wants to wander off into the forest to chase an urban legend! He thinks he’ll find something that can take care of the assassins who want to try and kill you! He’s actually going to try and find a Kryyshhshh egg! I told him it was foolish, and that you would never agree to it!”
Metamorphosis looked at Snow Flea.
“Orchid is right. I cannot agree to this…”
“See? I told you!” said Orchid.
“…Without giving you the proper seal of my approval,” the king finished.
*
The Everfree has always been dangerous.
What most do not realize about the Everfree, however, is the fact that it is actually divided into one hundred and fifty different sections, including the Web Wood (home to the giant, sentient Kumo spiders), the Briar Thicket (from whence none have ever returned), the Slender Groves (constantly foggy, easy to get lost in), The Subterranean Forest (a large expanse of forest in an underground cave system), and the Happy Vale (home to the more-or-less normal settlements of Sunny Town and Gloomy Town.)
Here, ponies were affected in strange ways if they did not escape or were simply eaten by predators. Strange things could happen, as spirits were common in this day and age.
A pony faced with starvation in the Briar Thicket could change into a cannibalistic Wendigo (not to be confused with the Windigos of the classic Hearth’s Warming tale), becoming feral, their front hooves becoming sharp, and their cutie marks becoming faded.
A pony who was overcome with despair in the section known as the Garden could run the risk of becoming an aggressive beast known as a Rake (or Tokoroth in the Changeling language), their fur turning grey, becoming bipedal, four sharp claws protruding from what was once their front hooves.
A pony giving in to the dark whispers of the Shadow Woods would sprout a pair of blood red antlers, becoming a bloodthirsty creature known as a hippocerf, who killed for pleasure.
Those trapped in the caves of the Subterranean Forest would invert their bodies, arching so that their backs faced the ground, losing all their hair, skin growing over their eyes, teeth sharpening, and cutie marks disappearing, becoming Watchers.
The inhabitants of Happy Vale would run in fear as the Cutie Pox spread through Gloomy Town, killing the inhabitants before bringing them back as undead creatures known as Ensembles. The inhabitants of Sunny Town would pass the fear of the “curse marks” to their descendants, but their fate is a story for another day…
However, the biggest “Change” would happen to a pony with deep feelings of hatred, jealousy, and vengeance. Dark magic would infuse them, distorting their proportions, making them grow a horn or a set of wings as was necessary, turning them into a dark alicorn with cat-like eyes: a Nightmare.
*
Snow Flea had entered the forest knowing full well the danger. However, as a changeling, he only needed to worry about the various dangerous flora and fauna, as well as catching “Shift Fever,” a disease which caused the changeling affected to undergo a strange and nonsensical transformation, with certain individuals sprouting purple feathers, and others changing shape every time they sneezed. It was fatal unless cured within forty-eight hours.
Not that that was on Snow Flea’s mind at the minute as he dodged the large, club-like branch that smashed into the ground where he had been standing a mere second before.
He had been traveling north to the Shadow Woods, on the border between Equestria and the Crystal Empire, for over a week now. It was a harsh place, especially in winter. The only trees which grew here were various evergreens, including the ironwood, and carnivorous trees such as the bloodoak and the six-eyed Ya Te Veo. And then there was the tree Snow Flea was fighting. Tall and sturdy, with dark brown bark, the twisted tree raised another bludgeon-like branch to strike.
Snow Flea had run into a Batter Tree, also known as a Bludgeoning Birch, a Mauling Maple, a Whomping Willow, or Kryypshaksyy (Squashing tree).
He braced for the blow which would have finished him, only to hear the sound of a violin softly playing.
Hey! Come derry dol! Hop along, my hearties! Changelings! Ponies! Lost ones all! We are fond of parties! Now let the fun begin! Let us sing together! Old Fool Willow, Get ye gone! Lest Dread Queen Mab turn ye to heather!
The singer was a pony with sharp fangs and red eyes. Vampire-bitten.
The tree ceased its attack, stiffening. Snow Flea got up and looked at the Vampony. It was once an earth pony stallion with a brown coat and a treble clef cutie mark. He was holding a violin in his front hooves. He smiled, showing his fangs. “Greetings, Shape-Changer! From where didst thou come?”
Snow Flea was thankfully smart enough to know one never gives that kind of information to a Lost One, as all cursed ponies are known. Instead, he spoke thus:
“My brother is King, yet I am no prince, North I travelled, I know not whence, I hop in snow, that frozen rain And my sister thinks I am insane!
The Vampony smiled. “Thou seeks the egg of a Beast. Thou art a changeling, the brother of the King, Metamorphosis, by his sister’s marriage to him. And I believe thy name is Snow Flea?”
Snow Flea’s jaw dropped. The bloodsucker smiled. “The Queen’s been expecting thee. FOLLOW.
Snow flea had to obey.
*
They arrived hours later at a large clearing. Snow Flea recoiled in horror.
There were Lost Ones all around the clearing. Hanging from trees like obscene spiders, Watchers hissed at him, staring at him eyelessly. Rakes peered from behind trees, scraping their claws. A single Nightmare peered from the shadows, her cat-like eyes gleaming.
Overlooking it all were two royally-dressed equines.
One was a female unicorn… or she had been. Her dark green coat contrasted against the white of the snow-covered forest, her robe obscured her cutie mark, and her tall iron crown was perched in between two massive blood red antlers. This was Queen Mab, the Hippocerf Matriarch, Ruler of the Lost Ones of the Everfree, save for the Nightmares.
Beside her was seated a terrifying figure. It was a windigo, as described in the ponies’ Hearth’s Warming tale, but bigger, bearded, glowing red, and dressed in dark armor, his helm only showing his burning yellow eyes. This was Red Rimefrost, the Ice King, ruler of the windigos. Surrounding him was his elite guard; thirty ash-grey, undead wendigos with red eyes: Draugrs.
Queen Mab looked over the changeling. She smiled cruelly. “We welcome thee, traveler, to our home. It is as we have told the Cold One, thou may stay here. However, unlike the Red King, thou art never allowed to leave.”
Snow Flea began to think quickly. “What of my trial by song? If I win, I go free and get the Beast egg I came for.”
The Queen raised an eyebrow. “And if thou should lose? What shall I get in return?”
Snow Flea knew he had her curiosity now. She had forgotten the Royal “we.”
“Then I will be your slave to do whatever you please.”
The two monarchs smiled, and brought forth their best players. Mab’s Vampony servant, Brown Tom, went first, and the Lost Ones danced to the rhythm. Though not necessary, he began to sing:
“Circle and circle, Rhythm and rhythm, Time is a tangle, ringle-rangle, Life is a puzzle, Life is a riddle, From any angle, ringle-rangle, Ringle this! Rangle that! Like the others! Ringle is this way, rangle’s the opposite! If you’ve seen ringle, you’ve seen rangle too! Dance you Lost Ones, a-one and a-two now! Ringle-Rangle! Ringle-Rangle! Ringle-rangle-dangle-doo!”
He played until he could no longer. He smiled at Snow Flea. Snow Flea took the instrument.
Words could not describe it. It was the feeling of the beauty of a single moment in time one could wish to hang on to forever. A lamb opening its eyes for the first time. The song of the wind blowing through the leaves. The first time a foal said “mama.”
Some of the Lost Ones wept, remembering their past lives. However, Red Rimefrost and his windigos remained impassive.
Skeeves, said the king in a voice like a blizzard, show this fool how a true musician plays.
Skeeves came forward. He was a Krampus, a type of goat, but built like a minotaur, bipedal, with clever fingers. He began playing.
Snow Flea joined in, but he could not keep up with the Krampus’s fiddle. He conceded defeat.
The Ice King smirked. Come, my vassal. You belong to me now.
Snow Flea smirked in return. “If you will remember, I said I would be the Queen’s servant if I lost, not yours.”
Queen Mab fell over laughing, while Red Rimefrost shook with anger. With a howl, he and his court arose. Snow Flea grabbed the egg from Mab and ran, the Draugrs and the Krampus on his tail. In a last-ditch effort, he threw his supply of salt behind him, then ran into a grove of holly. He turned… to see the ash-grey windigo warriors tossing their heads about and howling.
“Tis the holly and salt what’s stopped them,” said a voice. Snow Flea whirled around and found Skeeves had grabbed him. “Don’t worry thy petty head, thou wilt go free, but thou must know this; the King has been cheated, and he shall seek his vengeance on thy kin each year. Now, thou hast been a most naughty visitor, and must be punished!”
The Krampus held up several long Birch wood switches. He smiled gleefully, flames dancing in his red eyes.
*
Snow Flea found himself outside the castle. Orchid confronted him, as did Metamorphosis.
He told his tale, and when he had finished, the King made the following proclamation:
“Every Hearth’s Warming, we shall put branches of holly over the windows and sprinkle salt on the sills and doorways to prevent the Draugrs from harming us. We shall also leave our quids scattered through the castle to thank the Krampus who let my brother-in-law escape.”
As this was said, Snow Flea rubbed his flank repeatedly. Orchid looked at him.
“Are you alright?”
Snow Flea smiled. “Yes, but take this word of advice…”
“Which is?”
“Birch branches really sting.”
...
THE PRESENT… THE CHANGELING CASTLE…
Chrysalis finished the second story. All those who had gathered cheered, waking up Storm, who looked around, irritated at being so rudely awakened.
Now that Chrysalis had finished, the festivities could commence.
It was almost midnight. Twilight and Pinkie had left hours ago, and most of the changelings had partied out. The three diamond dogs had somehow ended up on the chandelier (with Rover in a stereotypical lampshade hat), and Staghorn was passed out on a pile of empty Dr. Whoover Golden cans. Hope was in a similar situation near the tub of cider, and Chrysalis was between them. Double sighed, shaking her head. They acted regal when they needed to, but if it was a party with alcohol, the three usually managed to pass out after several hours. Stag was a good husband, as well as a good father, but he could get carried away sometimes. At least he wasn’t as bad as Chrysalis. Double smiled, remembering the story Stag had told her about dragging his unconscious mother by her tail from Neighagra Falls to Appleoosa. She also remembered the revenge she had taken on him. Chuckling, Double looked to her left. There was a worker changeling with red eyes and wings that identified him as a Vanisher, a changeling capable of becoming invisible. This was Trace, the royal bodyguard. He was covered in scars, the most prominent ones being from his “initiation” to the honor of royal bodyguard. Like all the bodyguards, he was a gelding, so as not to be distracted in the line of duty. This was only required for bodyguards, not military officers like Double or Commander Shifter. Double winked at Trace.
“I take my husband, you take the queen?”
Trace nodded, grabbing the queen in his magic aura. Double placed Staghorn on her back. He mumbled.
“I love you, Double. I… *hic*… I know I don’t say it much, bu… *hic*… but it’s true. You and *hic* the kids are the world to me. You… *hic*… you remember the night we made that happen, right?” His eyebrows wriggled suggestively.
Double blushed a bright red. “All right, Stag, You’re drunk. Let’s get you up to the bed.”
“Oh, *hic* I see where this is going…,” Stag laughed before passing out. Double sighed.
“Sometimes you’re such an idiot.” She smiled and kissed him gently. “But I love you too.”
Staghorn snored softly in reply.
…
PONYVILLE…
Lyra looked out the window over the pristine snow. It was a full moon, and the snow was gleaming. She sighed.
Using a spell, she carefully changed the shape of her front hooves. Soon, she had a pair of well-developed hands. She had studied this spell as part of her research. Twilight knew the essentials of the Morphic Spell, but she had never actually practiced it. Lyra, given her interest in primates, had used it to figure out how hands worked. Now, she did it in her spare time, but only when she was sure no creature besides Shift was around. Now she turned to her lyre. Carefully picking it up, she played a serene song. The notes and her voice wafted out into the chill winter air.
The wind came down from the mountains cold, And like a tide it roared and rolled, The branches moaned, the forest groaned, The leaves were laid upon the mould.
It passed the lonely mountain bare, It swept above the dragon’s lair, There black and dark lay boulders stark And flying smoke was in the air.
It left the world and took its flight Over the sea of Luna’s Night Her moon set sail upon the gale, Her stars were fanned to leaping light.
She knew it was merely a revised version, but she found the full song to be too long. She smiled. She put her hooves back to their proper shape, and went to her bed. Outside her window, an ash-grey shape moved past.
*
Skaar looked at the castle. He was a young Krampus, barely sixteen, and this was his first year visiting the changelings. He tightened his grip on the reins of his sleigh. Taking out his whip, he gave it a sharp crack. The seven Tundra Timberwolves shook the snow out of their pine-needle fur, and then took off, pulling the sleigh behind them. Behind the sleigh, the thirty Draugrs of Red Rimefrost’s elite guard rushed, silent as a northern wind.
The Draugrs could not cross the thresh holds of the doors, nor could they enter the windows. What they could do was some “house-riding.”
They jumped on the roofs and ran around screeching. The noise did not disturb the citizens of Ponyville, who were too far away to hear.
Skarr, however, simply got out of his sled, jumped to the top of the main building, checked his map of the secret passageways, walked up to the chimney, jumped straight up, performed a triple flip in midair, and did a perfect swan dive into the chimney.
…
SWEET APPLE ACRES…
Applejack looked up at the strange noise coming from the direction of the changeling castle. She grumbled. It was midnight, and there was a noise like… like…
“Now, don’t go foolin’ yerself, Applejack,” she muttered to herself. “That play’s just gettin’ ta you is all.”
She sighed. This holiday brought up mixed feelings for Applejack. She remembered the early years; Dad giving her presents, mom sitting on the couch and bouncing Applebloom on her knee, and Granny Smith making her special Hearth’s Warming apple pie.
Then the Chimera came.
*
10 YEARS AGO…
Applejack looked at the tree. Turning around, the little orange blank-flanked filly bucked the tree as hard as she could. Only a few apples fell, but she smiled nonetheless. Not far away, Granny was watching Applebloom, with Winona’s help. Mac was over near the forest, helping Mom and Dad.
That was when the roar shook the fields.
It was pure pandemonium. She heard Mom yelling to Mac to get her inside. There was fire, and a huge monster that looked like a Manticore, but with a head like a tiger with big fangs, a snake for a tail, a goat head coming out of its left shoulder, goat back legs, and something more intelligent than pure animal instinct in its eyes. She was frozen in fear as Mac scooped her up.
The three Apple children and their grandmother hunkered down in the cellar. They heard the screaming and roaring, as well as the sounds of hooves hitting flesh and breaking bone. When it was quiet, they all came out. There was the Chimera’s body, covered in hoof-shaped bruises and farm supplies. The family plow was wedged in its head, and various hoes, shovels, and scythes stuck out of its body. However, near the grove lay two still bodies.
Applejack screamed for three whole minutes, and then cried for an entire week, then just spent a month without saying a single word. When she came back from Manehattan, she took her dad’s hat, and simply put it on. She spoke three words.
“Ah’m ready now.”
*
Applejack sighed. She was only really scared of two critters: Chimeras (for obvious reasons), and Windigos. The screams of the Windigos… sounded like her mother’s death screams.
Applejack looked up at the sky. The screams had stopped now, but a small tear rolled down her cheek.
Two shooting stars appeared in the sky, as they always did when AJ was sad. She sniffled and wiped the tear away with a smile. Why was she moping? It was Hearth’s Warming, and her parents would have wanted her happy.
She smiled, and went back to sleep.
…
Skaar moved through the ducts used to cycle the cool air from the caverns into the castle, looking through the vents. First, a room with two royal changeling foals. Not what he was looking for. Next, he came to the room where he was informed the prince and his wife slept. He peeked through the vent, and then turned away, his face flushed red. That certainly was one way to celebrate the holidays. He continued onward.
He came to Chrysalis’s room after a several hours. Smiling, he burst through the wall. Chrysalis woke up and saw as the young Krampus waved his hand behind him, putting the bricks back into place. He turned to her.
“Attacking Canterlot, eh? Naughty Chryssie, ye should’ve known better than ta do a stupid thing like that!” He raised the Birch switches.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Chrysalis rubbed her flank in pain. Skaar smiled and took some still-burning coals from a special sack and placed them on Chrysalis’s windowsill. Then he was gone.
The sun rose on what promised to be a Happy Hearth’s Warming day.
Were any pony to ask a changeling about their family history, the changeling would most likely grin and begin a long spiel tracing their ancestors all the way back to the time of Metamorphosis, and most changelings were surprised when a pony could only name recent family members and one or two more famous relatives. A good example of this was a conversation between Twilight, Octavia, and Staghorn two months before Hearth’s Warming, when Stag had listed his ancestor’s exploits, only for Twilight to say, rather embarrassed, “My great great great grandfather invented… a way for two ponies to not worry about foals when they had… relations.”
Of course, some ponies had family members a little more important than the inventor of a small disposable bag of plastic, such as Octavia’s grandfather Harbinger, captain of the earth pony Royal Guard. One such mare was currently in the Everfree, where she would see an important event.
…
Bellatrix Lulamoon woke up in her wagon. Something… odd had woken her up, like a sort of strange sound that wasn’t really there. Trixie looked around the interior of her home, her eyes briefly resting on an ornate chest. Rising from her bed, she walked over to it.
This was the only thing that had survived the Ursa minor destroying her first cart, and that was only because she had hidden it away in a safe place before entering Ponyville. She opened it, and looked at what lay within.
Trixie’s magic was an anomaly for her family. It wasn’t because she was a unicorn (actually, most of her family was made up of unicorns, and she was actually related to Starswirl the Bearded on her father’s side). No, she was an anomaly for a different reason. She took her mother’s gift to her out of the box. It was a medallion with an image of the crescent moon upon it. She put it on, and recited a small phrase:
“Under the moon I stand to fight, To root out evil through sheer might. Magic and steel, swords that bite By Luna’s will, and Dark of Night!”
The medallion burst into a full covering of silvery armor, which perfectly molded to the contours of Trixie’s body. The transformation ended with the materialization of two slender swords.
Her mother’s line was a lineage of brave unicorn warriors who carried the armor of the Lunar Champion. The medallion was passed from mother to daughter through generations. Trixie knew as many military tactics as Octavia, who could tell anypony who messed with her all three hundred fifty-six ways a cello and its bow could be used as a deadly weapon before proceeding to use fifty-six different fighting styles to incapacitate them. Trixie was actually quite skilled in swordplay, and knew all thirty-six pressure points on a pony’s body. Had she had her armor, she might actually have stood a chance at incapacitating the star bear cub (Trixie did not believe in killing except as a last resort.)
Now she was known far and wide as a huge humiliation. Her mother had understood, of course, and she simply told Trixie to look towards the bright side of things. Of course, it had been a mixed message due to her mother’s usual greeting ritual of engaging her in a sword fight. Trixie almost never put the armor on anymore.
Now Trixie had donned the armor because her battle instinct was tingling. There was something evil in the forest tonight, and she wanted to feel prepared. She carefully slunk out of the wagon, moving towards the sound of voices. Trixie listened intently.
“Tomorrow night, we shall claim what is ours, my subjects. When the True Queen of Equestria rises, we shall go forth and wrench the crown from the current queen’s undeserving head! Her son is not to be touched! I want to kill him myself. We shall wait for our Brother to enact the ritual, and then he shall help us to receive that which was taken from us! For Equestria’s True Queen, and for the Night Eternal!”
Trixie backed away, unseen. She wasn’t sure what the feminine voice had been talking about, but it hadn’t sounded good. She couldn’t stand up against the masses behind the cheer that had accompanied the end of the speech.
She wisely chose to hide. Over the horizon, the sun rose on the last day of winter.
Staghorn turned to see Hope. Ditzy peeked out from the cloud they had been moving.
“Come on, Hope,” Stag reasoned. “Everypony else was singing it.”
“When we started. TWELVE. HOURS. AGO.”
Ditzy sighed. So this was the result of article 458 of the Peace Treaty, which dictated that the changelings help with the annual Winter Wrap-Up. She smiled and shook her head. They were helpful to some extent, most of them on the weather team, with a few farmers and even fewer working with the animals, and the Winter Wrap-Up was nearly over, and in record time!
There was a scream of fear from near the reservoir. Hope and Stag’s eyes widened. Staghorn’s smile disappeared, and he whispered one word.
“Double…”
Rainbow Dash would have been proud of the speeds the two changelings and the wall-eyed pegasus reached.
…
Double ran along the side of the reservoir, eventually hovering over the edge.
“Double!”
The High-General whipped her head around at the sound of her husband’s voice.
“What happened?”
“Mandible fell into the water!”
Stag’s pupils shrank. Changelings, with a few exceptions, could not swim for obvious reasons (the holes in their legs), and the water was still too cold for anything short of an arctic mammal or a penguin to dive in there and not catch hypothermia. In addition, the sudden shock would keep his son from changing into a pony. He would drown if somepony did not save him.
Stag had already begun to change when a flash of grey dove into the water.
Staghorn’s eyes widened. “Ditzy, NO! It’s too cold for you to survive!”
By now, a sizable crowd had gathered, and they all gasped as the end of Ditzy’s tail disappeared. Trace came up and looked at his prince.
“Sir… should I go in?”
“You can’t. You don’t have any forms to withstand that cold. All we can do is wait.” He said the words in an irritated tone, the tone of a father angry at the thought of losing one of his children.
“But…”
“I AM YOUR PRINCE! YOU CANNOT GO IN THERE! THE WATER IS TOO COLD FOR YOU TO SURVIVE!”
It hurt him to say those words, but that was the truth.
…
Rainbow stood up after about two minutes. “That’s it! I’m going in!”
Stag was quite out of it after trying to stop her from diving in several times already.
“Prince! Water! Cold!” he shouted, worried now beyond coherent sentences.
It was at that point that Ditzy burst from the water, Mandible’s scruff delicately clutched in her jaws.
“Mandible!” Double ran to her foal. Her horn glowed green, and then pink with collected love. It was transferred to her child, where it disappeared. Mandible coughed, and then opened his red cat-like eyes. “Mommy?”
Double embraced her foal in a hug. Stag, for his part, looked at Ditzy.
“How?”
Ditzy looked around. “Umm… just Genetics, I guess.”
The assembled ponies and changelings gave her odd looks, but they all just seemed to accept her answer. The foal was safe, so who really cared? Ditzy would get an award tomorrow, and life would return to normal. Double, Staghorn, Mandible, and even Chrysalis thanked Ditzy, and the crowd moved on until only a single yellow pegasus with a greyscale mane stood with Ditzy. Daring Do gave her sister a knowing look.
“So, they don’t know about Mom yet?”
Ditzy looked away.
…
30 YEARS AGO… LOS PEGASUS…
Ditzy laughed as her family went down to the river. She was a filly of 10, still blank-flanked, and she and her 9 year old sister Daring were just starting to become interested in their father’s line of work: he was a pegasus archeologist of the treasure-hunting kind, like Fillyana Stones in the movies. Their mother was a mechanic, as shown by her cutie mark of two crossed wrenches.
Between the pair’s jobs, they could not spend much quality time with their daughters, so outings like this were treasured.
Ditzy splashed into the river. It covered her head, but she was possibly the best at swimming in her class. She moved her body in an up-and-down motion like her mother had taught her. She popped her head above the surface.
“Mommy, come in! The water’s real nice today!”
Sea Breeze smiled. She carefully slid her blue body out from the mechanical back legs she had made for herself, and dragged her dolphin-like tail over the bank and into the water.
Sea Breeze was a hippocampus, a sea pony. She had met Ditzy’s father ten years ago during one of his adventures. It had been love at first sight. Within a day, she had created a functioning pair of mechanical back legs so she could move on land. After a few months, they had gotten married, and eventually had Ditzy, and one year later, Daring. While both foals were pegasi, Daring took more after her father, and Ditzy had inherited a beautiful singing voice and a proficiency for swimming, special hairs for insulation, and waterproof oils on her wings from her mother.
Mother and daughter swam together in the river.
…
THE PRESENT… PONYVILLE…
Ditzy looked at her sister. “So how is she?”
Daring smiled. “She sent you a card.”
The explorer looked through her bag, and brought out a small card. It was from Saddle Arabia.
Ditzy, I wish you were here! You would love it, I’m sure! The coast is beautiful, and the ponies here are very nice, as are the horses. Are my granddaughters doing alright? I miss you all dearly. I know your father would have loved to meet Dinky. I hope I can see you all again soon! Love, Mom.
Ditzy smiled. It really was a good start to Spring.
“A new student?” Staghorn asked. His foals, just now home from another day at school, nodded in excitement.
It had now been some time since the reservoir incident, and things were beginning to return to normal. Staghorn found himself interested in the news his children had after the humdrum of everyday activity.
Silkworm smiled. “Yeah, Daddy! She’s real nice! Her name’s Nyx! We didn’t get a chance to talk to her, but she’s really smart! She told the class she was Miss Twilight’s half-cousin or something!”
That’s odd, Staghorn thought. Mother said Twilight’s parents didn’t have any brothers or sisters.
He shrugged. Twilight was allowed to keep secrets, and who was he to judge? So long as his kids were making friends, what could go wrong?
…
Months passed, and soon it was summer. Changeling and pony relations continued to grow less unsure, and more trusting. The Princesses had met with the other Great Changeling Swarm leaders. It had been… Interesting.
…
TWO MONTHS AGO… CANTERLOT…
As always, the first to arrive had been Queen Ovi. She had traveled from the area near Appleoosa where she had made her home. Her pink shell gleamed in the sunlight, and she smiled a good-natured smile, ignoring the guards watching her every move.
The second to arrive was King Refractor, of the Manehattan Swarm, a proud blue-shelled stallion in a fedora (with the design of a crown sewn on) and a pinstripe suit. He looked about, wary should anypony attempt to “whack” him off when he had no weapons.
Then there came Locust, of the Los Pegasus Swarm. She looked like a slightly smaller version of Chrysalis, save for her Emerald green shell. She was the youngest of the rulers, yet she cast an imperious glare about the throne room, as though thinking how much better it would look under her supervision.
Finally, there came Hornet, Staghorn and Hope’s father and Chrysalis’s ex-husband. He was the official “leader” of the changelings who were not part of any swarm, his shell a deep brown, as all outcasts and loners had. He nodded to Chrysalis as he passed her, a sort of calm understanding in his eyes. Chrysalis returned the nod.
The leaders stood in a semicircle before the Princesses, looking at the alicorns with varying degrees of respect.
Celestia looked over them.
"Is this all?"
Chrysalis shook her head. "Ambrosia, Myxine, Miasma and Myrrh are occupied, and Calliphora is currently outside the country."
Celestia nodded. "Very well."
The meeting could begin.
*
“NO! I will not move my Swarm further out from the city! We have worked too hard to establish ourselves there!”
Refractor held up his hoof. “My dear Locust, we have come here on this, the anniversary of my eldest daughter’s wedding, and I would remind you that we are guests of her allies.”
Locust hung her head, glaring at the older changeling
The Don of the Manehattan Swarm looked to Celestia. “Now, Princess, perhaps we can come to a compromise.” He took a breath. “We have read the treaty, and you have my full support over it, but we must discuss the particulars.”
An Earth pony scribe named Pen Stroke opened his mouth in protest, but he was silenced when Celestia merely flicked an ear in his direction.
“Particulars such as…?”
The atmosphere could not have been more fitting of a black and white mafia picture unless there was a trombone playing in the background.
“You send a letter to me, asking me to come to a place I do not know, to meet a pair of rulers who I have no quarrel with. Tell me this. My swarm has lived comfortably running the Alicorn Inn at the center of Manehattan. We take only what we need, and use the bits we collect to make sure our guests are as comfortable as possible. Why now must we leave on the part of the foolishness of my eldest daughter?”
There was a clamor. Discussions were heated, and eventually, it was decided that the Swarms already established in the area they called their home would not be forced to move, but in exchange, must follow all other parts of the treaty.
The Don had nodded, and after approval from his daughter, High Queen Chrysalis, the rest signed the treaty.
*
PRESENT DAY…
Staghorn smiled as he remembered the meeting. He had been present, watching from the sidelines. It had been… awkward seeing his father again after fifteen years. Shrugging off the feeling, his mind turned to another topic that had been irritating him.
Staghorn had still somehow not met Nyx face-to-face, though he had seen her in the school play she and her class had performed. She was a pretty good little actress, and she had looked so much like Nightmare Moon…
…no, that was crazy, she couldn’t be Nightmare Moon. There had been a distinct love for Twilight emanating from her. The real Nightmare Moon would not have had those feelings. It was impossible. Besides, she couldn’t be any older than his kids.
It was night now, and he was traveling home in his unicorn form. He looked up at the moon…
The mare stared back down at him.
Stag’s eyes widened, and he began running as fast as he could.
…
BA-WOOOOOOOOO!
The changeling’s siren was being blown. This in itself was unusual, as the siren had not made a noise for the past fifty years.
Those changelings who had not within hearing distance of the siren needed to only look up to the night sky to see enough reason to fly to the castle, the Mare on the Moon looking down upon them.
All who lived away from the castle flew from their homes, back to their original home. Soon, several hundred changelings had gathered in the courtyard. Chrysalis looked over them.
“My faithful subjects, I am sure you have noticed the shadow on the moon. I will not lie to you; I received a message from an anonymous source earlier. Nightmare Moon has returned and overthrown the princesses. As such, we shall enact Plan 338.”
Some of the collected changelings gasped. Plan 338? That defense had not been used in over 500 years, long before any of them were even born. The Queen must feel as though they were in serious danger.
Double stepped forward. The soldiers saluted as their High-General came to a stop in front of them.
“Well? You heard the queen, Move! Alpha Squadron, you take the first quadrant, Beta, you take the second, Gamma, Delta, you continue in that order, now MOVE OUT!!!”
The eighty-odd changelings making up the four squads took to the air and began to bombard the castle with a powerful spell.
Within twenty minutes, the castle was invisible, as if it had never existed.
…
From the Everfree, two pairs of red eyes watched as the changelings made their castle vanish.
“Shall we attack now, your majesty?”
“No. the monsters in the forest will grow restless in time. When they attack, we attack.”
The changelings of Queen Chrysalis had lived in silence for nearly two weeks, during which the sun did not rise. Staghorn had spent five days in his room, drinking and piecing the puzzle together, only to keep coming to the same conclusion: Nyx had been Nightmare Moon. He mulled over the thought. That was when Trace burst into his room.
“Sire…,” the bodyguard panted.
“Yes, Trace, what is it?”
“The sun… it’s rising!”
Stag’s eyebrow raised questioningly. Then he turned back to his work, taking a small drink from his can of Dr. Whoover.
“It doesn’t mean anything. Nightmare has probably just realized that the country she rules over cannot live in a state of eternal night. But still, this is somewhat promising. Perhaps in time she will even release Celestia and Luna. HA! What am I thinking? That’ll never happen.”
Trace was worried. When the prince was depressed, it was as if he was a different changeling altogether. He was colder, more serious, and more likely to take to drink. He was still kind to his friends and family, but his mind entered into a state that most of the other changelings labeled “The Dark Place.”
Trace decided to do something.
“Sir, perhaps…,”
“Trace, if you so much as SUGGEST I cut back on the drinks, I will sic Double on you.”
Trace shut his mouth. Stag took another drink.
“Life is a cruel mistress, Trace. She just asks us to give, only occasionally giving back. We are but dust motes to be scattered on the wind, only our names and deeds remembered. Have we truly done anything to deserve even that much?”
Trace was silent as his prince chuckled mirthfully.
“No creature is a saint. When you get down to it, we changelings are only here as free changelings because we killed thousands in the war for our freedom. Do you truly know what it feels like to have a sword run through you, feeling the cold, foreign metal enter your body? They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die. Imagine it, Trace, as you feel the blade, slowed down, piercing you from the moment of your birth until you are screaming in your brain for it to finally end. Then, the blade finally pierces your heart, and Lady Death wraps you in her soft wings. You feel her soft kiss, her horn touches your forehead. She swings the scythe, and your body is now just meat to be buried and fed upon by the worms. That is what our enemies felt all those thousands of years ago. Years of pain, followed by the sweet kiss of Death. It seems a poetic description, does it not?”
Trace was still silent.
“In the end,” Staghorn continued, “are we not all sinners? We have all committed murder, but we do not acknowledge it. How many times have you stepped on an insect, Trace? How many times have you pulled a tick from your skin and burned it? If the insects and other arthropods were to become intelligent enough to have a concept of revenge, then they could wipe our entire species out in a week. But we continue to simply kill them without thought.” Staghorn took another drink.
“Even Fluttershy is no saint. Can you imagine the horror you would feel if you were suddenly torn from your home, to be killed and fed to another? But Fluttershy must do this in order to feed the carnivorous animals and the birds she keeps. A few fish must die so the ferrets and raccoons may live. But what of the worms? They are kept alive when they are fed to the birds. Birds do not break up their food before they swallow it, and worms do have nervous systems, so they feel it as the stomach acid eats into their bodies. Does Fluttershy think about this? Does she have nightmares of the fish’s eyes as they look up at her, showing her reflection as she raises the club, asking ‘Why? What have I done to deserve this?’ Kindness cannot exist without the necessary cruelty we all carry inside, and that pegasus is a good example.”
Stag sighed, taking another drink before throwing the can into a pile with its brothers.
“No creature is a saint,” he repeated, “and Lady Death is the only certainty we can count on. She does not judge us for our actions, as she is indifferent to them. She ends life, so what reason has she to care how we lived ours? As I said before, we are all dust motes in the wind.”
He sighed. “Just dust motes in the wind.”
Trace backed out of the room, shutting the door. He met Double down the hallway. The High-General looked concerned.
“How is he doing?”
“He’s gone further in than he ever has before into the Dark Place. I’m worried about him.”
Double nodded. She walked up the corridor and into hers and Stag’s room. Double looked at her husband.
“Do you remember when we got married? That speech you wrote?”
Stag said nothing, still looking at his desk. Double recited.
“You said, ‘You are the most beautiful mare I will ever know. You are the sun and the moon to me, and I would drain the sea or move mountains simply if you asked. You are the reason I wake up each morning, for when I see your fair face at dawn, I feel a sense of hope, for I know I can face whatever ugliness the day gives me, simply because I have seen such radiant beauty. I see you in my dreams, for who else could banish the terrors of the night with their smile alone? You are the rock I cling to in the raging sea, the binding which keeps my home from falling to pieces, the dam which holds back the flood of my sorrow. You are my everything, and I shall willingly give my life for you.’ Do you remember, Stag?”
Stag smiled genuinely. “Yes. And do you remember what you said?”
Double chuckled. “I said ‘You big idiot. I love you too.’ And then we kissed, and we were married.”
Stag smiled and looked at his wife. “And the only time I was ever as happy was when you had our foals. You were just as eloquent back then. I believe your exact words to Silkworm were ‘Get out of there already, or you’ll hold the record for being the youngest child to ever be grounded.’”
Double laughed. “It worked, didn’t it?”
Stag joined her in laughing. “Remember what the nurse said? ‘I’ve never seen a foal come out that fast before!’ It says something about your abilities as a mother when your kids start listening to you before they’ve even come out.”
The couple sighed. Double looked at Stag.
“Feel better?”
Stag smiled. “Always, just knowing you’re around.”
Stag, Vinyl, Octavia, and Wubzy put their water glasses together, celebrating the recent news that Nightmare Moon (Nyx?) had stepped down and disbanded the Children of Nightmare. As such, Stag had invited two members of his circle of pony friends to come to the castle (which was visible once again) in order to celebrate with a live broadcast of The Vinyl Scratch. After a session of getting Chrysalis to calm down (“It’s just for fun, Mom! She didn’t mean it!”), the resulting after party had died down. There had been no alcohol, so Staghorn had simply drunk water, much to his chagrin. “It’s not a real party without booze,” he mumbled, “But I suppose I may have been overdoing it the past couple of weeks.”
Vinyl laughed. “Yeah, from what that red-eyed bodyguard of yours said, you’re not much fun after 60 beers.”
“Hey, it’s not that I’m not fun, it’s that I’m unfairly honest! There’s a distinct difference!”
The two glared at each other, and then burst out laughing. Octavia cleared her throat.
“Well, Prince Staghorn, this has been lovely, but I think we should be heading…”
“YOUR HIGHNESS!”
The group turned as Trace burst through the doors.
“Yes, Trace?”
“The fauna of the Everfree are attacking Ponyville!”
“What!?!” Staghorn shot up. “Ready the troops! We need to…”
“Sire… there are other issues…”
Stag glared at the gelded changeling. “Such as…?”
“Your sister wishes to see you and your mother.”
“Tell Hope that this can wait!”
“Your other sister.”
Stag’s eyes widened. He turned to Octavia and Vinyl.
“Stay here.”
…
Stag came into the throne room.
In front of his mother stood a changeling queen who was an exact likeness of Chrysalis, save for one detail: the mare was albino. She turned her head to smile at Staghorn. It was the smile of a predator.
“Hello, brother dearest. Miss me?”
Chrysalis stood. “Moth, what are you doing here?”
“My name is Nattfjäril,” the mare said with a snarl.
Stag raised a hoof to his chin. “Doesn’t that mean Night Butterfly in Poatsi?”
The albino glared at him. “I never liked you.”
Staghorn bared his teeth. “You made that obvious when you tried to murder me when I was five.”
Nattfjäril smiled. “Of course. How else could I guarantee that I would inherit the throne?”
Chrysalis shook with rage. “I banished you, and you have the gall to return here? This is grounds for execution!”
The albino turned to her mother. “Ah, but here is the thing. Your castle is currently surrounded by an army of well-trained albino changeling warriors. Help is not coming, as the ponies are dealing with monsters at the minute, and even with that traitorous queen helping them, they do not have the time or the experience to help you. The Children’s dream may have fallen apart, but I could still be queen of all Equestria. Since the Princesses are… indisposed, and since Nightmare Moon turned out to be such a disappointment, there is only one group of royals standing in my way.”
She laughed and flew out the nearest window, presumably the same one through which she had entered. Chrysalis turned to her son.
“Get Double to ready the troops. Now.”
…
SEVERAL MINUTES LATER…
Several warriors were lined on the parapets and ramparts of the castle. The Air Squads were hovering in attack formation, while the ground troops organized and formed rank. All those too young or otherwise unsuited for battle had retreated to the catacombs.
In a secret chamber, Double, Chrysalis, Staghorn, and Hope stood in front of a small, ancient changeling mare in an emerald-green cloak. She chanted as she carefully washed six blades. Another changeling in a dull green cloak slowly beat a massive drum.
The mystic carefully placed the blades in front of each changeling: twin katanas for Stag, a pair of fan blades for Hope, a claymore for Double, and a scythe for Chrysalis. She then took out a small bowl filled with green clay, and carefully daubed designs on the faces of the royal family, still reciting her mantra.
The mystic fell silent, and from the folds of her cloak took out a Hrrishyx a changeling ceremonial knife with a curvy obsidian blade and an ironwood handle decorated with ancient runes, and carefully cut three strands of hair from each mane. She took the twelve hairs and threw them onto a fire. She turned back to the four changelings, and carefully put their armor into place. When she had finished, she produced a black flower. It was a Black Morrigan, a species which was poisonous to most creatures except changelings. It was used as food, decoration, and as a part of the changeling’s most important rituals, such as the rite of purification that royals took before going into battle. The mystic took the flower and delicately removed five petals, giving one to each changeling before eating the fifth one herself.
“Go in peace, and may your enemies find equal peace in the afterlife. May Lady Death be kind if she finds you, and may her kiss be as soft as the feathers of her wings.”
The four fully armored changelings stood, sheathing their swords. They nodded to the mystic, and walked out. The acolyte brought her hoof down one final time on the drum, and the room was completely silent.
…
“Vinyl, what are you doing?”
Octavia watched as her cousin carefully worked on the portable speaker she had insisted on bringing. Stag had told them moments ago that the castle was under siege, and though Octavia had wanted to take his advice and head down to the catacombs, Vinyl insisted on staying put and working on the equipment. Vinyl turned to her cousin.
“I am trying to get ready to kick some flank, and you’re going to help me.”
“What?”
“You heard me, ‘Tavi. We’re going to help them, so I suggest you get your plot in gear and use that military training your grandpa gave you.”
“But Grandpa Harbinger never actually expected me to…”
“Tavi, these are our friends.”
Octavia looked unsure. “Fine,” she finally conceded. “But if we live, you’re doing the dishes for a year.”
Vinyl smiled. “It’s a deal.”
…
Nattfjäril looked at the castle. Around her, a swarm of albino changelings stood or hovered, ready for battle. She cast a glance at her general.
In Ponyville, a black alicorn mare was fighting off several monsters at once. She had accomplished this by splitting her body into several copies and spreading them throughout the town. She was unaware of a different sort of battle that was taking place beyond Sweet Apple Acres.
…
Chrysalis cleanly swiped a blade through an albino soldier’s throat before twirling around and slicing open the body of another. She was a terrifying sight, her heavy armor, hooded cloak, and mask making her appear as though the White Changeling had selected a shinigami of his to reap the souls of the enemy army.
By now, her armor was stained red with blood, but she could not relent. Her subjects, as well as the citizens of Equestria, relied on her holding back this tide. She sliced her scythe across the belly of a leaping albino, spilling the attacker’s intestines, which she used to strangle another who came at her with a raised sword. She sighed as she looked across the battlefield. Her own army had taken several casualties, and they were simply holding the albinos back. Shaking her head, she blasted an attacker with a beam of magic, and then ran him through with her horn.
…
Stag wore an expression of serene calm, his eyes bloodshot. He had inherited the Battle Rage from his ancestor, Metamorphosis, and it had turned him into a different stallion. Double looked down at her husband.
“I’m glad the kids can’t see him like this.” She turned to address the Air Squadron she led.
“We’ve got hostiles incoming! Buzz, you and your group attack from the left, Flicker, you and your group take the right! Reflect, you take the space above them, Tracker, you go below! I’ll take the front! We’re using Shifter’s First Maneuver!”
“But ma’am! That’s…”
“The oldest trick in the book,” Double finished with a smile. “Which is precisely why they will never expect it.”
The group split, their ranks forming a box. The albino’s eyes widened in surprise as they found themselves surrounded, small sticky spheres attached to their coats. Double’s team scattered, and the bombs went off, creating a spray of blood, organs, and body parts, which fell onto the field below as a macabre rain.
*
Nacken looked through his binoculars.
“Hayseed bombs!?! They have HAYSEED BOMBS!?!”
Hayseed bombs were a recent development in military technology, small but powerful explosives that could be stuck to nearly any surface. How Chrysalis had managed to get her hooves on several was a mystery that she didn’t ever bother to elaborate on when asked.
Not that it really mattered, as the air squads continued to create the gory precipitation.
…
A squad of no less than twenty albinos had invaded the castle, searching for the armory. These were Nattfjäril’s trained spies, the best of the best. They had entered with no incidents, and had been careful not to be seen. They turned the corner…
“I have come to eat apples and drop the bass,” said the white unicorn mare with the electric blue mane. She stood behind a large speaker. She smiled, looking over her shades, “and I’m all out of apples.”
She pushed the red button, and the speaker unfolded, revealing an array of no less than seven speakers, which proceeded to blast the intruders with dubstep with enough force that the closest albinos began bleeding from their ears, and the rest were sent crashing into the stone wall. The six spies who were not seriously injured or dead fled, turning through several hallways, only to find a grey earth pony in a pink bowtie. She carefully cracked her neck and grinned, pulling out the kind of bow one uses to play a cello.
“My turn.”
The screams of the spies echoed through the castle.
…
Hope “meeped” every single time she killed an albino. During the battle, she only had one thought.
Darn it! I’m an advisor, not an assassin! I’m supposed to sort books, file forms, and keep my brother from making a stupid decision, not maim, rip, and tear apart an enemy army!
She closed her eyes and “meeped” again as her blades sliced another attacker.
…
I am my swords. They are but an extension of my body. We are one, drinking from the blood of our enemies as we slice through them. There is no future, there is no past. There is only the NOW, all else is irrelevant... I don't want to do this...
These were Staghorn’s thoughts, repeated over and over in his mind as he cleaved a bloody swathe through the albinos. Heads went flying, entrails spilled, blood soaked the ground, and Stag wore an expression of semi-determined focus the entire time.
No one noticed the tears.
…
Thromnombular looked across the battle scene. Turning to the six robed changelings who acted with him as the Council of Seven, the skull nodded. The youngest nodded in return, and began turning the winch which led to the arena. The winch which would free Black Azog.
The five other changelings raised the war horns and blew, creating a horrendous sound. Black Azog screeched in return, her voice matching that of the horns. She emerged from the tunnel.
She was a massive beast, twenty feet long from the tip of her snout to the end of her long tail. Her rubbery skin was midnight black in color, with glowing white flowing lines crossing her body. Her eyes glowed yellow, and her ears were placed on the end of a pair of long stalks. Her four limbs were more like flippers, each equipped with four small claws.
She was the beast who had hatched from the egg which Snow Flea had won from Queen Mab many centuries ago. She had grown with the smell of the Swarm in her nostrils, and had learned that they were friends unless thrown into her pit. She had also learned recently that pony was not to be eaten. Now she smelled unfamiliar scents, those of unfamiliar changelings. PREY.
She roared, and charged, moving quickly for a beast of her size, crushing albino soldiers under her weight as well as shearing their bodies to pieces with her teeth. Magic blasted at her seemed to be absorbed into her. The lines on her body glowed, and she blasted lightning out of her mouth, frying the enemy, whose surviving numbers decided then that it would be safer to take their chances in close combat with the beast. Though these warriors died, the numbers of wounds on the beast were growing.
…
Nattfjäril looked over the chaos of the battle with a smile. She sang to herself.
“It’s a world of hate, it’s a world of tears, It’s a world of lies, it’s a world of fears, All your hopes, all your dreams, Ripped apart at the seams, It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad world!”
“Yes,” said a voice behind her. “It most certainly is.”
The albino queen whipped around, drawing her swords. Facing her was a unicorn mare in lunar armor, her helmet covering her face.
Nattfjäril cocked her head slightly. “And you are…?”
The mare might have been smiling. “Nopony special. Just… a showmare.” Smoke bombs went off, clouding the area. Nattfjäril cursed herself for her foolishness at leaving herself so undefended. However, it was then that Näcken chose to act. Leaping over the head of his queen, the changeling wielded a strange weapon: a violin that had been modified to act as an axe. He engaged the mare in combat, matching her blow for blow.
The albino queen smiled, laughing…
…Just as a sword sliced through her neck.
Stag breathed heavily. He looked at the decapitated body of the thing that had been his sister, blood pouring from the neck.
His body trembled, tears streaming from his eyes, and he screamed a cry of pure sorrow to the sky.
The fighting stopped, and the albinos dropped their weapons and scattered in various directions.
Chrysalis’s changelings had won, and the mysterious mare vanished into the forest.
…
The bodies were burned, as was tradition, and Nattfjäril’s head was cleaned of flesh and placed in the catacombs with the other members of the royal family.
The sun rose on a clean field, only slightly tinged red from the dried blood, but the flies would have that cleaned before the day was through.
Queen Chrysalis looked across the table at the Solar Princess.
“I believe we have done enough to allow at least a few revisions to our contract.”
Celestia’s gaze remained stoic. She had heard the tale of the Swarm’s fight against the albino changelings, and now here she was entertaining their queen, who said they had provided Equestria with a great service.
“Chrysalis,” she began, “you described to me in detail of this battle which supposedly took place, and now you demand that we change a few terms of the contract we both signed. However, is there any actual proof that what you have said is true? Forgive me, but you are a master of deception. How am I to know this is not an elaborate ruse?”
Chrysalis smiled, and clapped her forehooves together. Two changeling attendants came in.
“Pearl? Geode? Did you bring our guest?”
The two mares smiled and nodded, heaving a bound albino soldier onto the table. The stallion thrashed and writhed, the anti-magic brace around his neck preventing him from grabbing any weapons. Chrysalis smiled.
“Now, can we at least agree on removing this bit about the necklaces and the invitation/escort procedure for visiting Canterlot?”
Celestia debated with herself. True, this soldier did give some credibility to Chrysalis’s claims, but was it enough to warrant what she asked? Celestia spent a good five minutes mulling it over. She sighed.
“Agreed, but do not abuse this privilege.”
Chrysalis smiled genuinely. “Of course.”
The changelings had officially earned their place as citizens of Equestria.
***
THE PONYVILLE LIBRARY…
Stag walked through the door. Twilight looked up from her book, as did the alicorn filly beside her. Nyx, upon catching sight of the changeling prince, sought to strategically place her mother between them. Twilight smiled.
“Nyx, this is Staghorn, Silkworm and Mandible’s father, remember? I said he would be coming over today?”
Nyx grinned sheepishly. “Oh, right. Um, Mr. Staghorn? I’m very sorry about… you know…”
The Prince looked at her. “Nyx, you have nothing to apologize for. You realized you didn’t want what everypony said you did, and you proved all those who said you could only be Nightmare Moon wrong. You apologized the day that you realized that by raising the sun. do you understand what I am saying?”
Nyx stared at the changeling. “Mandible and Silkworm were right. You do talk a lot.”
Stag burst into laughter. “Ah, youth. Twilight, you’re lucky to have this one.”
Twilight smiled and nuzzled her daughter. “I wouldn’t have her any other way.”
Across Ponyville, changelings and ponies mingled. It was true, there were a few who were still uneasy around one or the other, but peace is never easy to obtain. However, it was a start, and that was what mattered.
