Rarity’s head hit the floor with a muffled thud. Her hap-hazard eyes glazed over, mouth hanging open to let a trail of saliva roll out of the corner of her mouth. After a few moments, her limp body levitated onto a couch lined in red velvet. A small towelette settled under her mouth to catch the fluid leaving her mouth. Eventually, a blanket settled over her figure, concealing her unintentionally uncouth posture. A lock of the white streak in her mane settled onto the pale blue blanket. The first of her snoring broke the silence that had settled in the Boutique.

“I probably should’ve told you in a little less detail, huh Rarity?” Twilight Sparkle rested her hoof on the unicorn’s sleeping figure. It had been a hard decision, but hearing it from Chrysalis would have been worse. Just imagining the scene of them talking about dress designs, even potentially working on them, and then that bombshell. “I’m just glad you’re not stupid enough to accept such a completely insane offer. If anything, I’ll gladly vote for her if she won’t go ahead with that plan in particular.”

Ovipositing. She had taken the time to look it up the very moment she recovered from the mental image and returned home. There was very little scientific documentation on the matter; in fact, most of her information came from a very private section of the library that even Spike wasn’t allowed near. Rainbow Dash suspected that such a section existed, but had no way of gaining access to the books hidden within. With a shake of her head, the thoughts about that dark secret dissipated, allowing her to refocus on Chrysalis’ proposal.

A chair pulled up for her to sit down on. With her front hooves free, Twilight assumed a more thoughtful position, mimicking a rather famous statue in the process. “Inserting eggs into another pony. It sounds like something right out of a weird horror movie, with tentacles that grab ponies’ faces.” Her eyes widened at the very thought. Admittedly, that wasn’t actually such a bad idea, but horror wasn’t really in her expertise of writing. “But this is real, and it’s not laying into their stomachs either. It’s really more like, a weird form of pregnancy.” She shuddered at the thought of Chrysalis squeezing eggs into her rear end. Or using something even worse to help the process along. The look of disgust on her face continued to grow. “I really need to burn that private section of books. It’s putting bad ideas in my head.”

Of course, she now faced the problem of how everypony else would react. Even if she tried to tone it down as much as possible, the simple fact of the matter was that Chrysalis planned to make a huge public sensation out of one of the most taboo things in Equestria. Fluttershy especially didn’t deserve exposure to such awful ideas. “On the other hoof, I bet Rainbow Dash would gladly watch it as it happens.” She flexed her wings. Telling her wasn’t necessarily such a bad idea. If she was grossed out by the idea, then Twilight had nothing to worry about. And if it caught her interest, it would help a great deal to have another pony by her side when facing Applejack and Fluttershy. One pony remained...

The entire Boutique leaned away from the doorway as a huge gale of pink blew right through. Twilight recovered her crown from the wall it had been impaled into, while Pinkie Pie jumped onto the couch beside Rarity. “Twilight Twilight! Can you believe just how much fun the Changelings are when they’re not trying to invade Equestria to suck up all our love and leave us as empty bags of grey mushy mush mash?” Twilight blinked. Of course, Pinkie was the only pony who could find fun in anything. Probably even ovipositing...

“Yes, I can imagine just how much fun you can have with a pony that can change appearance!” Twilight forced a grin to conceal her growing horror. It was so obvious now, Pinkie Pie wouldn’t know any better than to refuse Chrysalis’ offer when presented. Her hooves began clapping together as her stress levels rose. Somehow, she had to stop her good friend from taking up an awful offer. “Say, Rarity mentioned something about an annual Sweets and Treats festival in Canterlot. Wanna go with her to it?” Pinkie Pie had taken to styling her springy mane into a rough imitation of Rarity’s curls. When she looked at Twilight, her smile began to fade away. Oh no, she suspects I’m just saying that to get her out of Ponyville for the next week at least.

“Are you just saying that to get me out of Ponyville for the next week at least?” Twilight’s smile grew into a terrified grin. Sweat poured down the back of her neck. Her very eyes themselves began to sweat as Pinkie leaned in with her piercing stare. As her hoof moved up to Twilight’s neck, and the tension grew thicker than Applejack’s accent, her face split in half. “Just kidding! I’ll gladly go with Rarity to the Sweets and Treats festival!” The beaming smile of white that took up over half of her pink face practically relit the darkened room. It threw Twilight off her chair. “Well, can’t stay to chat, I’ve got a festival which is missing one thing. Me!” Pinkie grabbed Rarity by the hoof and pulled her onto her own back. With that, she vanished again in an equally powerful gale.

The princess stood there for a few moments in a blinking frenzy. “How does she even do that?” Her head began to grow tight, the usual pain associated with trying to make sense of Pinkie Pie. “Never mind, time to go see if Rainbow Dash has a new kink.” Another stretch of her wings reminded her of just how much neglect they had suffered during the entire Changeling ordeal so far. Feathers fell all around as she used a burst of magic to preen herself without spending hours in futile attempts. “You know what; I might as well get her to teach me again while she talks about her latest stupid clop story. At least that’ll make the conversation somewhat productive.” For once, she expressed her thoughts verbally without a hint of sarcasm.

*

Every single window had been boarded up in record time. Shelves and chairs blocked the doorway. Cushions stuffed up the chimney prevented access from that way. Angel ran up to pat Fluttershy on the head as she lay back on her longue, breathing heavily from exhaustion. “Thank you Angel. Now run along to the escape hatch I left open. You’ll be safer away from here, in the forest. Okay?” Angel shook his head and sat down on her chest. His absolute loyalty to her brought a great deal of relief to Fluttershy. “Oh, thank you again. I promise that I’ll keep you safe. Even if the Changelings take over Ponyville, we’ll be alright.”

A bright flash of white magic filled the entire room. Fluttershy found herself looking away, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness caused by boarding up every window and door. Moments after the burst of magic ended, the candles in the room lit up. It gave Fluttershy a chance to adjust to the softer light, and get a good look at the tall pony that had just appeared in her home. “Oh... my...” She looked very much like Queen Chrysalis, if not a little younger. That and her mane was of the purest white. It was an odd contrast to her dark body.

“Oh, my apologies dear pegasus. I was told to come here, though it seems I have the wrong address.” She was about to leave when Fluttershy stood up. The changeling’s voice was so soft, so unlike anything that she had heard from them before. “Have I caused you any inconvenience? I’m sure I can make restitutions if I have.” Angel watched as Fluttershy looked at the floor while her hoof swung idly. Something about this particular changeling had caught her attention.

“No, it’s no inconvenience. It’s just... I’ve never met a changeling who was so nice to me from the start. And with all of the others in town, I was frightened at first.” In the candlelight, the taller pony’s white mane took on a very soft glow of gold. Fluttershy worked up the courage to lift her head upwards, looking at the solemn faced changeling directly. “But if I may ask, if it’s not too much of a bother, who are you?”

The changeling looked to the nearest candle in a silent gaze. “I am Princess Pierinae. My hive lies on the border of Equestria, barely a hundred changelings walk its tunnels.” Her eyes returned to Fluttershy’s, wide with awe. “I do not know the full extent of why my kindred have arrived here, but you have my personal assurance that they will do nothing wrong in any way.” With her magic, a few of the boards dislodged from the windows, settling into a neat pile. “And may I ask what your given name is? Dear pegasus is hardly a name you deserve to be called by.”

Fluttershy poked at the carpet with her hoof. “Fluttershy. But, you can call me what you like. You’re a Princess after all, changeling or otherwise.” More boards were removed from the windows and placed in a pile. After a few seconds, the sound of clattering wood stopped. Almost at the exact same time she looked up, a hoof rested on her shoulder. “May I also ask... Why are you taking the boards down? I thought you would be offended that I tried to hide from other changelings...”

Pierinae smiled. It was one of the sweetest, most genuine smiles that Fluttershy had ever seen. “My dear Fluttershy, I have heard and seen far worse insults against my kind. And I do not blame you for being apprehensive; I too fear the great gathering. An escort party that is larger than my own hive is something I cannot help but feel daunted by.” She turned her attention to replacing the furniture that had been moved in front of the doorway. Fluttershy could only stand there, dazed.

A changeling princess that understands exactly how I feel? In just a few seconds, the doorway had been cleared. Every single item of furniture was back in the exact place she had moved it from. By the time she recovered from her moment of wonder, Pierinae was just about to leave the threshold of her home. “Wait. Could I also ask why you are here? I was there when Queen Chrysalis arrived, and then I fainted out of fear.”

There was a soft laugh. The sort of laugh that Fluttershy was convinced mirrored her own. “Dear Fluttershy... That would be my mother.” With that, Princess Pierinae departed, taking great care as she crossed the tiny bridge over Fluttershy’s pond. The pony herself could only watch from the doorway as what could literally be a changeling version of herself walked away without a hint of arrogance. How could such a sweet soul be the daughter of a pony who wanted to take over Equestria?

“Wait!” Fluttershy had already done the usual chores before boarding up every window. There was nothing to stop her from simply accompanying the Princess back into Ponyville. She would feel much safer returning in her presence than all by herself. Pierinae had stopped by the mailbox by then. She waited long enough for Fluttershy to catch up at her own pace. The pegasus took a nervous breath. “Would it be alright with you if I walked with you to Ponyville? I’d feel a lot safer that way.”

Again, she was captivated by the smile above her. So unlike Chrysalis’ arrogant attitude, so unlike any other changeling. “Of course Fluttershy. It would please me to have the company too in fact. I am as much of a stranger to Ponyville, as you are to my own kind.” The two began to walk. Fluttershy was caught up in the moment, astounded by the pure insight Pierinae seemed to possess. She understood her situation perfectly. And more importantly, she knew exactly how to put into words the very reasons Fluttershy had been afraid of leaving her home, simple as they were.

There was a few minutes of silence between them. While Pierinae’s white mane floated just above the ground, the longer lock of Fluttershy’s pink flow bounced with every step. For the moment, both were content to let the moment of peace be. They continued on the path towards Ponyville as such. From the trees beside the road, a white butterfly fluttered out from hiding, coming to land on Pierinae’s nose. Both ponies stopped, Fluttershy recalling something at that moment.

“Oh, now I remember. Twilight gave me a book on butterflies, Pierinae is the name of white Pieridaes.” It suited the Princess quite well. Her mane and back were almost pure white, with the transparent gloss that all changelings with hair had. And it did match up with what she had come to learn about them being insect-like. At that moment, Fluttershy found herself looking back at her flank. Three butterflies. Pink, but butterflies all the same.

There was a laugh as Pierinae watched the butterfly walk from her nose to her uplifted hoof. “I was lucky in that sense. It is quite rare for changeling Princesses to be named after a butterfly family. More often than not, it is a far less pleasant insect that we are known by.” She lowered her hoof to give Fluttershy a much closer look at the tiny occupant. It wave at her with its antennae. The simple notion washed away every single bit of fear and apprehension in her mind.

As if sensing that, the butterfly took off to re-join a group of others as they departed the forest. “Perhaps that isn’t something you would like to hear about. There is much that I could teach you about my kind, far more pleasant things than many would realize I assure you.” Fluttershy watched as the butterfly re-joined its friends. For a moment, she could only wonder if a similar thing was happening right in front of her. Fate could very well have sent Pierinae to her at just the right time, to alleviate her fears about the changelings.

“Yes, please. I may not be a fast learner, but I’d definitely like to get to know you... I mean changelings better.” Her little gaff brought on a blush, one that was dispelled with another heart-warming laugh. As the two resumed their walk, she couldn’t help noticing that Pierinae walked a little closer to her than before.

“Well, I may only be fifty years old, quite young for a changeling mind you, but I think I know enough to say that you have nothing to be afraid of. Even though my mother may be a little forward at times, she is still a good pony at heart.”

Author's Note

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierinae