Five Changelings In Equestria: The Five Paths

by Bucking Nonsense

Rating: everyone
Tags: Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Shining Armor, Crystal Ponies, Changelings, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 8577

Orchid Mantis, a changeling, has retired to the Crystal Empire... only to find that things aren't as peaceful as she had hoped they would be.

Orchid Mantis, a changeling, has come to the Crystal Empire, hoping to retire in peace. However, a terrible curse set by King Sombra as revenge for his defeat threatens the city, summoning monsters to raze everything to the ground... and only the power of love can stop them. The changeling, being able to tap into that power at will, has been drafted to help fight these monsters when they appear...

However, for a dedicated martial artist, defeating monsters is easy. For a changeling, raising a child is a much greater challenge. And building a meaningful relationship? Harder still...

Part of the the rebooted Cricket-verse, aka The Nonsense-Verse.

Published 2014-02-09 08:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-10 04:45:16 UTC

Trouble Brewing

"Whatcha doin'?"

Orchid Mantis opened one eye and looked at the pony addressing her. A young colt, five years old, blacked coated, white maned, and golden eyed, was staring at her intently. She supposed that it was understandable: the youngster had probably never seen a changeling meditating before.

Ah, not that she looked like a changeling right now, of course, because that would be foolish. However, given that the little crystal pony had probably never seen anypony meditate before, his curiosity was understandable. A pegasus with a white coat and a white and pink striped mane and tail sitting around with her eyes closed wasn't something the colt saw every day. Besides, meditation might not have even been invented before the Crystal Empire had vanished. She'd have to look into that later...

Clearing her throat, Orchid said, "I'm meditating."

"Oh," said the colt. After a moment, he asked, "What's meditating?"

Closing her eyes, Orchid sighed, then said, "Meditate: verb, to think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time. Which means I'm trying to concentrate, if you don't mind."

"Oh," the colt said, "Okay. Um, what are you trying to concentrate on?"

What she wanted to say was 'Not swatting your flank for being a pest', but even a changeling would know that was a rude thing to say to a colt. Besides, in all honesty, Orchid had been yearning for some sort of a distraction: since she'd relocated to the Crystal Empire, she'd been... bored. Retirement was supposed to be slightly dull, but the last few weeks had been almost painfully so...

With a sigh, she said, "Right now? I'm trying to concentrate on enjoying the sunshine."

It was a warm sunny day. As she sat on a nice flat rock in the park, she had to admit, it was a pretty nice day, all things considered. There was a nice, soft breeze blowing, the birds were...

...Wait.

The birds were silent. In fact, there wasn't a single noise like that of an animal anywhere nearby. Every creature that should have been in the park, making a low level of background noise, was absent. Something was going on. Orchid closed her eyes, and focused.

Path Of The Tiger: Detect Motion...

...Below.

Throwing out a foreleg, Orchid grabbed the young colt, then swiftly leapt to the left... just in time to evade the grasping claws of the monster that erupted from the ground where they had both been sitting just moments before. Had the colt not distracted her from her meditation, then she, at least, and possibly both of them, would have been in the monster's grasp...

The... thing was five times the height of a big pony, and four times as broad. Walking on two stumpy legs, it seemed to be composed completely of black crystal. Four upper limbs that ended with sharp-clawed hands were connected to its torso. It had no head, but instead a face on its chest. Or, well, it had two glowing spots above an opening filled with jagged crystals: eyes and a mouth, if it was alive, and not simply some sort of a construct.

Setting the colt down, Orchid said, in a very calm, collected voice, "When I give the signal, you run and get the guards."

Looking up at her, the colt asked, "What about you?"

As they watched, the monster grew four sharp spikes of crystal out of the top of its torso. The creature grasped one of those crystals in each hand, then pulled them off, giving it a set of four crude, but extremely long and dangerous, swords. The creature arched its back, and let out a roar, flames billowing out of its mouth-like opening.

"I'll keep this thing distracted, so it won't chase after you. Just hurry: I can't guarantee how long I can draw its attention. Alright?"

The little colt, to his credit, nodded bravely, and said, "Alright."

"Good," Orchid said, then, her eyes not leaving the monster, said, "Go. Now." She didn't have to tell him twice: the colt was off like a shot. At the same time, Orchid shot forward, striking the creature in the knee with a fierce kick. While it didn't do any visible damage, it did seem to infuriate the creature. The beast promptly tried to strike at her with its swords. However, the creature seemed to be ill-coordinated, and Orchid had no difficulty evading the counter-attack. In fact, the creature accidentally struck one of its blades with one of the others, jarring both crystals from its grasp. While definitely large and tough, it didn't seem very smart, or very good at fighting. That gave Orchid an idea.

Path Of The Fox: Carrot Dangling From A Thread...

Keeping just within the creature's striking range, Orchid hovered, nimbly dodging attacks from the creature's two blades while slowly moving backwards. They were soon ascending a small hill, which the creature had difficulty climbing, due to its stumpy legs. The creature seemed to be motivated only by an urge to attack anything nearby, and as long as it was focused on Orchid, she could keep it from hurting anypony, at least until her stamina ran out. However, she planned on being done with this monster well before then...

When they finally reached the top, Orchid saw the feature that she had remembered spotting earlier: the hill had one side that was a sheer drop. Not a tall one, really, no taller than the young colt she was just speaking with moments ago. However, with this creature's stumpy limbs...

Path Of The Spider: Watch Out For That First Step...

Orchid dodged the creature's latest wild swing, then zipped through an opening, placing herself behind the creature. As the creature spun to try and keep up, it unbalanced itself. The changeling reached out one hoof, and pushed as hard as she could, burning love to bolster her strength.

The creature tottered, tried to swing a leg back to steady itself, only to have that leg go over the mini-cliff, causing the monster to lose its balance completely. It fell on its back, and began rolling down the hill. While not very steep, the hill was enough of a decline that, with the monster's mass and momentum, it resulted in a long tumble down. The monster ended up on its back, and, thrashing, struggled to stand... and could not. The creature was too ill-coordinated, and its body too poorly made, for it to be able to regain its feet.

The creature seemed to reach the same conclusion that Orchid did, and responded by doing something surprising: it sank into the ground, until it was out of her sight, then rose back up again, righted and ready to fight again. Great, so not only could it sprout swords, it could swim in the ground as if it was water. If the creature had not been so stupid, it would be a serious threat with powers like those...

The creature held up its four arms, and the hands at the end shifted, and vanished. The beast's upper limbs were now stumps, with an empty tube down the middle. Almost like some sort of cannon. Uh oh...

Path Of The Mountain: This Is Going To Hurt...

She shed her disguise in favor of an optical illusion on her carapace that bent light around her, rendering her nearly invisible. She folded her wings back behind her body, and lifted her forelegs up to cover her vulnerable eyes and closed her mouth, taking care to be certain that none of her leg holes were matched against one another. She got everything set just in time, as the salvo of energy beams struck her a split second afterwards. The force of the impacts stung, but her camouflaged carapace bent the majority of the light and heat away from her body, leaving what remained at a bearable level. Instead of being baked to a crisp, she was just toasted lightly.

Great, if it can do something like that, its a much more serious threat than before. She'd have to take it out, or somepony would certainly get hurt. She'd come to the Crystal Empire in the hopes of leaving this kind of life behind her...

She sighed, then steeled herself. The creature had not followed up its attack, and moving her limbs, she saw that it was standing there, the light in its eyes dimmed. Apparently it had to recharge briefly after an attack like that. If she wanted to take this creature down, there was no better time.

Orchid zipped forward, then perched on top of the creature's body. The beast was moving slowly now, but there was no telling how long this would last. She'd have to strike quickly, before it regained its previous speed and strength. She raised a single hoof...

Path Of The Dragon: Hametsu.

...Then brought the hoof down with a solid strike that left her hoofprint carved on the monster's body. The creature stopped moving instantly, as if a switch had been flipped. She lightly leapt down from the creature, then put a disguise on. Well, she tried to, anyways: the damage caused by the energy blasts seemed to have left her temporarily unable to disguise herself...

Uh oh.

And of course, at that moment, the guards arrived, along with the little colt, tagging along behind them. However, she was surprised to see they weren't interested in her right now. They were staring in surprise at the construct that she had just been fighting. With a rumble, the thing chose that moment to begin falling apart. In less than a minute afterwards, it was reduced to rubble.

"Wow," the little colt said. That sentiment was echoed by the assembled guards as well. True, it wasn't something you saw every day.

The little colt turned towards the changeling, and asked, "Are you the lady I was speaking with earlier?"

Orchid nodded, and said, "Yeah." It was kind of sweet for him to ask that: Orchid didn't get called a lady very often.

The colt abruptly hugged Orchid, and said, "I'm so glad you're alright. I was worried..."

Now that was really sweet of him to say...

"Ahem."

Orchid turned and came face to face with Sir Shining Armor. The knight was in full combat armor, which would have been bad enough, right now, but the fact that she was undisguised made matters worse. She really didn't want another fight on her hooves...

"Miss," the knight said, "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me. We need to talk." Strangely, the stallion didn't seem angry, or even upset about her presence here. In fact, he was smiling, which, in a way, was kind of unsettling: folks generally don't smile when they see an undisguised changeling. They usually grab the nearest thing that they can lift, and throw it. The terminology he used was also a little odd: he made it seem like she might have a choice.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Am I under arrest?"

Shining Armor shook his head, and said, "Miss, as far as I know, it's not actually against the law to be a changeling. As long as you don't have somepony tied up in your basement, or anything like that, I don't have any reason to arrest you. You, ah, don't, do you?"

Orchid shook her head. She'd not needed to "feed" like that since she'd relocated here. Love was in the air, everywhere she looked around, and she could freely absorb all that she needed, whenever she needed. It was part of the reason she had chosen to finally retire here...

"Good," the knight said, then continued, "But we do need to discuss what you're doing here, and what that thing was. You're free to say no, but I, and Princess Cadance, would appreciate it if you came with us of your own free will. There's a lot going on right now that you need to be told if you plan on staying in the Crystal Empire."

After a moment, Orchid nodded, then said, "Lead the way."

King Sombra was, without a doubt, one of the most evil ponies who ever lived. He was also a meticulous planner. He'd had a plan in place for every possible outcome, up to and including his own defeat...

"So," Orchid said, her tone clearly showing her shock at hearing this, "Sombra put a spell on the city that would destroy it if he was ever defeated?" That was... well, that was honestly just being petty.

Orchid, Shining Armor, and the colt (he'd introduced himself as Lance) were now speaking in an interview room in the Royal Guard Headquarters building located near the Crystal Palace. Stark and empty save for a table and three chairs, it was the best place to talk without interruption or eavesdroppers.

Shining Armor nodded. "Yes. However, that spell was suppressed by the Crystal Heart when he was defeated. Had the princesses just destroyed the wizard out of hoof a thousand years ago, the city would have been destroyed then and there, and if the heart had not been returned at the time of his defeat, we'd be up to our necks in things like the construct you defeated earlier. However, suppressed is not the same as destroyed."

Right. It made sense, in a way: if the Crystal Heart instantly destroyed all dark magic in its vicinity at all times, then Sombra would never have been able to get close enough to steal it. Its power likely waxed and waned, and when it did wane...

"So, why hasn't somepony done something to destroy the spell?"

Both Orchid and Shining Armor looked over at Lance. It was a good question, and one Orchid would have asked herself. However, she had a sneaking suspicion as to why...

Shining Armor, smiling, said, "Well, it's not a single big spell, but instead dozens of them, seeded all across the city. They're bonded, as near as we can tell, to small crystals filled with dark magic, buried all across the city. We've had guards working around the clock, working discreetly to remove these 'seeds' and destroy them, but it's slow going: we have to work in secret, since, if word gets out about this..."

Orchid could see the general shape of it. "There would be a panic," she guessed, "And ponies would begin to despair. And if the the Crystal Ponies start to despair..."

The knight nodded, and finished, "The Crystal Heart would lose its strength, and all of those seeds would sprout at once. At current estimates, we've found more than half of them, and with any luck, we'll have them all cleared out before Winter Startup. As for the ones that have sprouted, that one you fought today was only the third that we know of."

The changeling cocked her head to one side, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "And you're wanting my help in taking out any more of these 'seeds' if they sprout?"

"Exactly," the knight said, nodding. "The first one was able to be destroyed almost instantly, but only because my wife was there, and struck it immediately with a spell: it collapsed without any problem, so we underestimated how serious a threat they could be. The second, however, sprouted while she was on the other side of the city, and by the time she arrived, a number of guards were injured trying to stop it. These... things, they are very resilient, and seem to only be harmed by the power of love."

Chuckling, Orchid Mantis said, "And as a love-eating bug monster, I suppose that I count?"

Chuckling a bit himself, Shining Armor nodded. "Precisely. I'm currently aware of only three other changelings in Equestria. One of them is a mute child with no magical power of her own. The second was a nursemaid for young hatchlings, and while she is, by all descriptions, a right terror if you're a bogeymane, she isn't a trained fighter. The third is here, in the hospital. He's in traction, unable to move more than one foreleg. He'll be like that for weeks yet, and afterwards will have weeks of physical therapy before he'd be anything approaching battle ready. While he's made it known to me that he'd certainly be willing to help, we're hoping to have this entire mess taken care of well before he makes a full recovery."

Orchid thought to herself for a moment. She had left the hive a year before the Canterlot incident, and had since moved from town to town, looking for a place to put down roots. However, when she'd finally found someplace to stay, where she could live in peace and quiet... she'd found it to be insanely boring. She was forty now, and she was starting to feel her age. However, she'd spent much of her life either fighting or training herself in the martial arts style that she had created, The Five Paths, so it turned out that, deep down, she just didn't feel right, sitting around gathering dust. She needed something to do with herself...

"So," Shining Armor said, "I'm asking if you'll help us in keeping the peace here in the Crystal Empire until the crisis is resolved."

"Wow..." said Lance, "You'll be like a superhero!"

Orchid laughed at that. Kids. What can you do?

Shining Armor laughed as well, and said, "That's not a bad way of putting it, really. We'll have to give you a secret identity, so that nopony will find your presence here suspicious or threatening. I think Lance might be able to help with that: since the city's return, we've been trying to find somepony to look after him, but there are only so many ponies out there looking to adopt at any given time, and just about everypony who could has already adopted a little colt of filly. A pegasus coming here to be his foster parent would make for a pretty good cover for you."

Orchid looked down at the colt, and asked, surprised, "You're an orphan?"

After a moment, Lance nodded, glumly, saying, "Yes. My mommy and daddy were part of the resistance against Sombra. When he caught them and the others, he decided the best way to be rid of them was to sell them to slavers, who took them across the sea." With a bit of a smile, he said, "He didn't count on my dad, Dashing Rogue, picking the lock on his chains, leading a mutiny, taking over the ship, and sailing back to Equestria. But, by the time dad got back..."

Whoa, wait... This kid's dad was Dashing Rogue, (GENTLECOLT ADVENTURER!)? THE Dashing Rogue? The stallion who had spent most of his lifetime plunging headlong into unexplored territory just because he thought there might be some adventure there? The stallion who had helped map out over a third of the known world in his lifetime? Orchid had spent her childhood reading about the daring pony and his borderline-insane adventures across the globe...

Lance sniffled, then continued, sadly, "...But by the time he got back, Sombra had already cast the Time Skip spell, sending the city, and everypony in it, forward a thousand years..." Lance looked about ready to cry.

Orchid sighed, then put a hoof on top of the colt's head, and said, "Alright, listen very carefully: Don't cry. I can't stand the sight of anyone crying, for any reason. I can't cry: my eyes aren't made for shedding tears, and believe me, I've had plenty of times when I wished that I could. I'll agree to this whole insane business, and I'll even agree to be your foster parent, but you have to promise me, you won't be sad anymore. Deal?" The changeling extended a hoof.

The colt wiped his eyes, then put on a grin. He took Orchid's hoof and shook it. "Deal."

The changeling turned back towards Shining Armor and said, "Well then, you've got yourself a 'superhero'. When can I start?"

The Perils Of Being A Single Parent

"Are you Orchid?"

Orchid Mantis, currently sporting her disguise of a pegasus with a white coat and a white and pink striped mane and tail, turned towards whoever had just questioned her, a denial on her lips. Just in time, she stopped herself: old habits died hard, and she was still unused to using her real name in public, as odd as that may sound. Still, even if she hadn't stopped herself, she would have stopped in her proverbial tracks, due to the fact that the one questioning her was a guard.

Shining Armor had, upon her agreeing to assist in dealing with any of Sombra's constructs that appeared, required that she take all possible steps to conceal her true nature from the populace at large. While the Crystal Ponies didn't have any prejudices against changelings in general, her 'unique' appearance made her a potential risk: fear could spark a momentary flicker in the power of the Crystal Heart, and that could result in one of Sombra's constructs awakening.

"Yes," Orchid said, putting a slight smile on her face. "I'm Orchid. How may I assist you today, officer?" She felt she pulled that off rather well: more a a fighter than an actor, she'd always had trouble keeping herself 'in-character'...

Still, some of her nervousness must have leaked. The guard, a slightly purplish crystal pegasus said, "It's nothing major. I was asked to come fetch you and bring you to the school as soon as possible."

Orchid's eyes widened in surprise. The fact that it was 'nothing major' meant that it wasn't part of her new 'job', but that could only mean one thing. She asked, with worry she didn't have to fake, "Did something happen to Lance?"

The guard, seeming slightly embarrassed, said, "Well, he got into a fight at school, so the teacher wanted to have a word with you."

Orchid tilted her head to one side, and asked, "Well, if it was something that simple, why would somepony have sent a guard to find me?"

The guard blushed, then sighed, and with a roll of his eyes, said, "Because the one he got in a fight with was my son."

One hour earlier...

"You stink!"

"Well, you're ugly, and at least I can bathe!"

Lance and Charger had never gotten along. It was difficult to say why: some ponies just rub each other the wrong way, but every time they crossed paths they ended up getting into an argument. Today in the playground, it seemed like it would just be a repeat of the usual.

Charger wasn't ugly, but he was sensitive about his appearance. With a pure white coat, blonde mane and tail, and big blue eyes, the crystal pegasus would probably be quite handsome when he finished growing. And the fact that he was big for his age (already he was twice Lance's height and weight, and showed no signs of stopping) made him somepony you didn't want to get into a fight with, but thus far, the arguments between him and Lance had stayed just that: shouting matches that ended when one or the other ran off in disgust, or in tears.

...Today was the day that changed.

Charger, an angry scowl on his face, said, "Well, my dad can beat up your dad!" That wouldn't be hard, since, were Lance's father still around, he'd be a thousand years old. That insult had always sent Lance running off crying in the past.

... But not this time. Instead, Lance grinned and said, "Yeah? Well my foster mom can beat up your dad."

That was when Charger belted Lance in the face.

The two were now sitting on opposite sides of the hall, glaring at one another with sufficient anger that, if a fly were to cross between the two, it should, by all rights, burst into flames. Charger was perfectly fine, save for a little bruising around the hooves. Lance, on the other hoof, was sporting an impressive shiner, as well as a few other bruises he'd be feeling tomorrow...

Orchid, and Cloud Cutter, Charger's father, were now in conference with the teacher, trying to determine what the best course of action would be.

"Up until now," Daisy Chain, the young mare who taught at the school, began, "I'd been willing to let the two of them off with a warning: they might have argued a bit loudly, from time to time, but that often happens between two colts. I'd give them a warning, or even a lecture, but as long as it didn't come to blows, I was willing to leave it at that. However, what happened today is not something I am willing to tolerate. Something needs to be done, and done now."

Cloud Cutter nodded in agreement, and Orchid nodded absently herself. This was a bit of a problem: less than one day as Lance's foster parent, and she already had to deal with a serious issue. Admittedly, changeling hatchlings would scrap all the time, but with a hardened exoskeleton, even a solid blow would do no real harm. Still, it was recognized that too much fighting between two changelings was bad, especially in the long-term...

"So, I asked the two of you over so we could work out what we could do to nip this in the bud, before it becomes much more serious," the teacher continued.

Orchid thought back to her days in the swarm. There was a strategy that her last lieutenant liked to use when he ended up with two changelings that seemed prone to this kind of behavior. A smile came to her face as the idea formed in her head.

"Well," Orchid said, after a moment, "I might have an idea..."

As the teacher and the guard listened, their eyes first widened in surprise, then they both began to smile, nodding in understanding. There was a certain elegance to it...

"So," Orchid said to the two colts, a few minutes later, "Mister Cloud Cutter and I were talking, and we decided that the best punishment we could come up with was to have you both help clean up the house this weekend."

Lance's jaw dropped: he knew exactly how big the house in question was, and how much cleaning it would require. In the weeks since Sombra's defeat, and the colt's sitting around in an orphanage, his family home, well, mansion, really, had sat empty... and gotten quite dirty and dusty. Yes, maids and butlers could be hired, but it still took a surprising amount of time to get the practically palatial estate back into order, even with a dozen ponies to help. There were rooms where the dust came up to Lance's belly...

Charger, seeing Lance's expression, realized that this might not be a good thing.

Orchid, meanwhile, was smiling inside. It was an old trick. You take two individuals who get into any sort of a fight whenever they meet, and punish them with the worst thing they can imagine... Being forced to spend time with the one they got into a fight with, and be forced to work together for an extended period. Worse, since somepony would be watching them closely the entire time, they couldn't get into another fight without getting into even more trouble.

This would have one of two end results: either, after spending time with each other, they'd start to become friends... or they'd get so sick of one another that they'd actively avoid each other in order to keep from getting punished again. Win/Win.

Cloud Cutter looked down at his son, and said, "I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in you, son. I was certain that I raised you better than this." The colt lowered his head, ashamed. While not quite in the script, Orchid couldn't argue with that: It was very clear that, of the two, Charger had been the one to do most of the damage. Depending upon how you looked at it, this could easily be considered bullying...

The colt, in a weak voice, said, "But dad, he said that his mom could beat you up..."

Both Cloud Cutter and Orchid raised an eyebrow at that. After a moment, Cloud Cutter, chuckled, and said, while rolling his eyes. "Son, do you really think I'd care if she could?"

Charger looked at the ground, now thoroughly ashamed.

Orchid chuckled, then asked Lance, semi-jokingly, "You really think I could take him?"

Lance nodded his head vigorously.

Orchid turned to look out Cloud Cutter, and gave an appraising look. After a few seconds, she asked the pegasus, "Would you mind making a muscle for me?"

The guard raised an eyebrow questioningly, but complied. Orchid gave the muscle in question a quick poke, then asked, an eyebrow raised in surprise, "Do you work out?"

Cloud Cutter chuckled, then nodded and said, "Three times a week."

Orchid gave the pegasus a longer look. He had a few inches in height on her, some surprisingly good muscle tone, in spite of being her age, and he outweighed her by at least forty pounds, most of it muscle. After a moment, she reached a decision.

Turning to Lance, she said, "I probably could take him, but only if I was willing to cheat. And I wouldn't want to have to do it twice."

Cloud Cutter gave the mare an appraising look of his own. A combat veteran, having done two tours in the Equestrian Army before Sombra, and having enlisted in the local guard after the end of his military career, he'd earned an eye for being able to size up another pony: a skill that had saved his life more than once. This mare, Orchid, was in surprisingly good shape for her age. In fact, he'd seen professional gymnasts and acrobats with less tone in their muscles. He'd noticed that she seemed to move with a very fluid grace when she walked... the kind of grace that came from regular intensive, and extensive, exercise. Just his type...

After a moment, he shook his head, trying to clear his head. He was single now, a widower (well before Sombra), but he was getting a bit too long in the tooth for that kind of thinking.

...Still, he couldn't help but wonder if she was seeing anypony.

Later on, Orchid was walking home, Lance on her back. The colt had developed a slight limp, so she'd decided to give him a lift. She'd have to give him half a dozen ice packs when they got home, given the overall extent of the damage done.

With a weary sigh, Orchid said, "I'm a bit surprised at you, Lance. I mean, getting into an argument with somepony literally twice your size isn't very smart."

Abashed, the colt said, "I know..."

With a roll of her eyes, Orchid said, "Well, I suppose I'll have to at least teach you a few things, so I don't end up having to carry you home if this happens again." Colts will be colts, after all.

Lance's ears perked up at that...

"I mean," Orchid said, "I guess I can at least teach you how to block a punch, or maybe just how to dodge one. After all, I don't want you coming home, looking like a raccoon."

Both of the colt's eyebrows raised, surprised.

"Bear in mind," she continued, looking back at the colt, "This won't be a license to get into fights: I just don't like the idea of having to cart you around just because somepony took a swing at you and you didn't think to duck. A few lessons in self defense should fix that. And a few lessons in self-discipline should help keep you from getting into any more fights, I think."

The colt nodded in understanding.

More importantly, she added silently, with monsters like the one she fought yesterday likely to sprout at a moment's notice, Orchid would sleep better at night knowing that Lance would at least know how to duck and run effectively. The kid, she'd come to realize, wasn't in very good shape: part of it might have been the aftermath of Sombra's tyranny, or perhaps depression caused by the loss of his parents due to Sombra's Time Skip spell, but he was rail thin, and generally unhealthy looking. She could barely notice his weight on her back. She'd spent the day at the library, looking into recipes that were considered 'nourishing' for a colt his age, but that wouldn't be enough: some healthy exercise would put some muscle on his bones, and hopefully make the colt feel better about himself...

"So, Lance," Orchid said, as they reached the front gates to the palatial estate that was the colt's family home, "I'll teach you what I can. But you'll have to promise, if it seems like you might get into an argument like that one again, you'll immediately back off. No more fighting. Deal?"

Lance grinned, nodded, and said, "Deal."

Questions, Answers, And Upgrades

"Why do you trust me?"

Shining Armor's ears twitched as Orchid asked the question. He supposed that he would have had to answer that question in detail, sooner or later, but he wished, honestly, that he didn't have to answer it now...

The two were walking down a hallway in the guard headquarters building. Something had just come in from Canterlot, something that should come in handy against the ever-present threat that King Sombra's vengeance posed to the Crystal Empire. He'd just made an off-hoofed comment about her being one of the few he could trust with this item, when she asked her question. Shiny sighed, then turned towards the changeling.

Orchid was wearing the same pink and white look she had taken to for the last few days. Shining Armor had to admit, for somebuggy past forty years old, not to mention a changeling, she was surprisingly attractive. While he was a married stallion, he had to admit that if she were twenty years younger, or maybe just ten, and if he was still single, he wasn't too proud to admit that he might have asked her out. As it was, there were more than a few members of the guard who had made inquiries about whether or not she was single, and some of them were half her age...

Considering the changeling's question, Shining Armor said, "There's a lot of reasons why I trust you. Tell you what: I'll tell you one of the reasons, if you'll answer a few questions I've wanted to ask you. Deal?"

"Deal," Orchid said, a half-smile on her face. "What do you want know?"

As they continued walking down the hallway, Shining Armor asked, "How did you defeat that construct? I know it wasn't 'just' the power of love: I saw the hoofmark on the top of that thing's body. Most ponies would have broken their hoof doing that, but you weren't even limping. In fact, you were barely even breathing hard."

Chuckling, Orchid said, "I spent more than twenty-five years learning how to fight. The first five years of that was a solo tour of the southern kingdoms, spying on every dojo, salle d'arms, training hall, and boot camp I could find. I sat in on lessons being given by some of the famous, and sometimes notorious, warriors that those lands had to offer. I spent the better part of three years in a monastery, studying the techniques that the monks there used as a form of meditation. I could go on for days about everything I learned, but the end result is, I rarely have to hit something twice. As for exactly how I defeated the construct? I used a technique I picked up in Nippon: Hametsu. The word means 'Ruin'. It's something I only break out when I absolutely have to destroy something in one blow."

Shining Armor nodded, and, as they began to descend a few steps, said, "Fair enough. The first reason why I trust you is because, when that thing first attacked, Lance told me that you grabbed hold of him, and pulled him out of the way. You also sent him to get help while you ran interference. You put the safety of a child you'd just met ahead of your own: It's a shame to say that not every pony would have done that, let alone a member of another species." Clearing his throat, he continued, asking, "Second question: Why did you come to the Crystal Empire? I know you were able to get in on a train, before the travel restrictions were enforced, but this place is pretty out of the way. What led you here?"

Orchid's expression turned somber as she said, "I left the swarm a year before Canterlot. I was getting on in years, and I was getting fed up with how the new Queen was running things. I've seen many things, more of the world than most ponies could imagine exists. I've even had a couple of eggs, although who knows what may have become of them, since commoners don't get to raise their own kids. It was past time to retire, so one day, I just left. I wandered around, taking in the sights. When I heard that the fabled city had returned, I thought to myself, 'How wonderful would it be to spend to spend the rest of my days in a place that beautiful?' I jumped about the first train north and came here."

Shiny chuckled, and said, "I thought so. The second reason I trust you is, just after the invasion of Canterlot, a changeling named Ling was found, looking for love. She's a wellspring of info about the hive, including notable figures like yourself. Ling had nothing but good things to say about you. I've come to learn just how great a judge of character that little lady can be." As the two finished descending the steps, they came to a steel door, practically a vault, with a ridiculous number of locks upon it. Shining Armor pulled out a keyring, and began the lengthy process of opening the door.

The knight, as he worked, asked, "Alright, here's my last question for now: What are your plans for the future?"

Orchid shrugged, then said, "I don't have any. I basically went into early retirement a year ago, and have just been going with the flow since then." At Shining Armor's startled look, Orchid said, "Don't worry: I'm not going pack up to leave you high and dry: I promised to help you take care of the constructs, and I've legally adopted Lance, to boot. I'm here for the long haul. In all honesty, I spent too long not doing anything: It feels good to be useful."

Shining Armor nodded, and turned the last key in the lock. "Good to hear," he said, grinning. "The third reason I trust you is because you agreed to take in Lance. No one had to convince you to do it, or force you, or really even ask you. You just heard he had lost his parents, and you decided to take him in."

As the door swung open, Shiny said, "You know about the Canterlot invasion. Given everything that's happened, I suppose anypony would forgive me for having a bad opinion when it comes to changelings. However, a long time ago, well before you or I were born, six ponies were trapped in a cave, and were only able to survive because they were able to look past their differences, bury their old grudges, and start building a new future together. That was how Equestria was born... and that is the only way that Equestria can continue to move forward."

Orchid chuckled, then said, "Nice speech. If I'd heard someone give it about twenty years ago, I'd have packed up and moved here well before now." Clearing her throat, she nodded, and said, "Now, why don't you show me what's so important that you needed to drag me down here?"

Inside of the vault, there were rows and rows of shelves on the walls. Some of those shelves had locked boxes. Some of them were practically safes. Others were just simple cardboard. In the middle of the vault, there was a table, upon which was a briefcase. It wasn't very impressive looking, but you know what they say about books and covers.

"Before I show you this, let me ask you a question," Shining Armor said, a smile playing on his face. "What do you think of the armor that the average guard wears?"

An odd question, but after a moment, Orchid answered, "Honestly, it's rather antiquated, from what I've seen. I could think of at least a dozen ways it could be improved, just off the top of my head. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was ceremonial, rather than practical."

The knight chuckled, and said, "I asked another changeling that question, and he said something similar. He spotted eighteen possible improvements, including a chinstrap to keep the helmet from being removed. And you know what? It is ceremonial armor. It's the same armor that was worn one thousand years ago by the Equestrian Guard. There's a multitude of reasons why the armor formally worn by guards on duty hasn't changed, but the simplest one is this: if a suit of real, top of the line, fully-functional combat armor fell into the wrong hooves, it could be used to cause a lot of damage... which is why it is only deployed in a time of war, or in a case of national emergency. Such as now."

Opening the briefcase, Shining Armor revealed what appeared to be a simple-looking locket. Nothing seemed special at first glance, but Orchid felt a tingle run down her spine. It might look normal, but there was magic in that thing.

...Very, very strong magic.

"This," Shining Armor said, "Is the latest model of combat armor. As you've probably already guessed, it's magical in nature, and concealed inside of this locket when not in use. If you place it around your neck, and then activate it, you'll be covered head to hoof in a magical suit of armor in less than five seconds. Wearing this, you'll be able to shrug off damage that would floor ten ponies, and it will also give you a great deal more defense against energy blasts like the one you described during the previous battle." With a shrug, Shiny admitted, "The full version of this armor has capabilities that would also drastically increase your physical strength and speed, but I've been informed that a changeling is able to do that normally, as long as they have love energy to power that effect. Likewise, the offensive weaponry normally intended to go with this has also been disabled. This version is intended to give you protection, since you already have sufficient combat skill. Besides, the suite of weapons that this particular version normally comes with is a little... extreme. We need you to save the city without leveling it to the ground in the process."

Orchid looked at the locket, and said, "So, you trust me, but not enough to give me access to weapons of mass destruction." Chuckling, she said, "Good call. I don't know if I'd trust myself with that level of firepower." Being able to level a city? Orchid suddenly realized why Equestria was so peaceful: would you want to mess with a nation that could field even just ten soldiers with that level of hardware? If this was mass-produced, there could be hundreds of these out there...

The knight chuckled, and said, "Well, that's one way of putting it. Mind you, when we requested this little beauty, Celestia and Luna both thought that it might be better to give it to a pony, with the weapons and boosters equipped. However, it takes about six weeks of training before a pony would be considered competent to use this in battle, and we're uncertain of the effectiveness of conventional weapons against those things. It's possible that the full version of this armor would be just as ineffective as everything else has been. Meanwhile, we have you, already trained in hoof-to-hoof combat, and have already demonstrated the ability to take on one of those things without that kind of firepower. This should be more than enough to keep you safe, if and when another one of those things shows up."

Orchid walked over to the locket, put it on, and asked, "Well, let's give it a quick test run, then. How do I turn it on?"

Shining Armor said, "You place a hoof over it, and then say a codeword to turn it on. Right now, it's set to activate with the word, "Activate". You can change the codeword pretty easily once it's on. I recommend that, if you do, you use a word that you'll remember, but won't come up in normal conversation. An accidental activation could end up raising a lot of questions from the locals that we can't risk answering right now."

The changeling nodded, then placed a hoof over the locket. "Activate."

What followed next was... odd. She felt a tingle run across her body, starting with the locket, and flowing outwards. In less than five seconds, she felt as though her entire body was coated by something. A helmet had formed over her head, as well. The front seemed to be some sort of glass, allowing her to see out of it. Icons appeared on the glass, each one labeled. "Okay, now I need a mirror, I think. I need to see how this looks."

Shining Armor chuckled, and said, "I'll have one brought in. Turn it off for now." After a second, seeing that the changeling hadn't moved, the unicorn chuckled, and said, "Right, sorry. You put your hoof on the locket and say 'deactivate'."

Turning off the armor, Orchid Mantis was clearly grinning excitedly when the helmet came off. She had to admit, this did feel pretty cool. "And you might want to go ahead and get Lance. I'm almost certain that he'll want to see this."

Shiny laughed aloud, and said, "Sure. School's letting out about now. I'll have a guard bring him over."

Twenty minutes later, Orchid, now with Lance watching, activated the armor, and looked in the mirror that was brought it. "It's impressive," Orchid said, turning this way and that. A shell of dark gray metal covered her from head to hoof. It was scaled, with each individual plate less than an inch in size, and with almost no visible gap between. Clever: too thin to allow passage for any sort of blade, and if any of the scales were knocked off, there wouldn't be a large gap in her defenses. The helmet was a single piece, though, and the glass that was transparent on the inside was opaque on the outside: Nopony would be able to see her face through this, so she could go out and about in this without a disguise underneath. It had even been adapted to her wings, so she could fly without any problems.

Lance exclaimed, "It's awesome!"

Chuckling, Shiny said, "Yes, it definitely is."

"The color scheme is a little dull," Orchid said, stretching a bit. This stuff felt practically like a second skin: whoever made this stuff definitely knew their business...

"There are ways to change that," the unicorn said, grinning. "There should be an icon in the upper-right corner that says 'Customize'. You can use that to change the password, the color scheme, and about fifty other options. There's a switch in front of your mouth: use your tongue to move it around and fiddle with the controls."

As she worked the controls, Orchid asked, between flicks of the switch, "You've used one of these before?"

Shining Armor, his expression serious, admitted, "A couple of times, yes. Equestria is peaceful, for the most part, but we still have the occasional threat that calls for this level of firepower."

Orchid adjusted the color to a pure white, with pink at the hooves and helmet, and said, "That's better. So, with this kind of equipment available, I have to wonder how there can still be dangerous monsters in Equestria."

With an eloquent shrug, the unicorn said, "Well, it's not really my department, but what I've always been told was that, no matter how dangerous a monster is, as long as it doesn't make itself a menace to ponykind, it has as much of a right to live as any other creature. Most 'dangerous' monsters tend to keep to places that aren't habitable by ponies. If they start making trouble outside of their habitat, the first response is relocation, rather than destruction. Of course, that's for the types of creatures that aren't capable of rational thought. If a creature CAN think, and chooses to be a menace to others, then the guard steps in to deal with it."

It made sense to Orchid, she supposed: You don't get to choose the way you're born, and while most living creatures out there are herbivores, or at least omnivores, there were obligate carnivores out there as well: A creature that had to eat meat, daily, and literally lacked the equipment to eat anything else. Orchid could relate to that kind of problem: it's no fun having to eat something that begs you not to, and while she only ate emotions, forced love draining wasn't a pleasant experience for most creatures. The changeling idly wondered how well ponies would fare if, whenever they bit into an apple, the fruit started screaming...

Just then, there was a loud sound, of hoofsteps outside the vault, and a moment later, Cloud Cutter burst in. "Shining Armor, sir! There's been a sighting!" After a moment, the pony seemed to notice the young colt, as well as the armored changeling.

...Well, that was one way of letting him in on the secret.

"Don't just stand there, soldier," Shining Armor said, his expression serious. "Report!"

Cloud Cutter, brought back to the situation at hoof, said, "In the park, right where the last one was spotted. And there have been confirmed sightings of at least two of them, possibly more. So far, they seem to be examining the remains of the one that was destroyed last week, but we don't know how long they'll stay put."

Shining Armor sighed, and said, "Great. And my wife is too busy with the preparations to meet Ms. Harshwhinny today, so we can't rely on her for this one." Turning to the changeling, the knight asked, "Alright, Orchid, are you up for a test drive?"

With a laugh, Orchid said, "Sure. I could use a good workout."

Meanwhile, at the park, one of the constructs was examining the remains of its fallen counterpart. After a moment, it reached down and pulled out a shard of crystal from the wreckage. The crystal was pitch black, but seemed to glow with a bright red light. The construct pushed the crystal into a spot on what would be considered the forehead portion of it's face. The object sank in with no resistance, as if the construct's body was liquid, instead of solid. After a moment, the construct spoke.

"UPGRADE IN PROGRESS."