Immediately after Chrysalis’s invasion was repulsed, the Royal Guard scoured Canterlot for any remaining changelings. Fortunately, any unicorn guard with an aptitude for illusion magic was trained in how to see through magical disguises, so there were enough guards who could detect changelings to put one in every squad. It was no small effort to be constantly looking through illusions, not to mention rude, but it was only prudent to be careful after what had happened. The entire Guard did their best to steel themselves for the possibility that any stragglers from the invasion would fight to the death; many of them had never seen real combat before that day. But they needn’t have bothered with all the preparation.
Shining Armor’s shield spell turned out to have eliminated the changeling threat quite thoroughly. Not a single changeling had been missed as it blasted outwards, and not a single pony had suffered more than a mildly unpleasant tingling sensation. Not a single invader remained in any position to continue fighting. In most cases this was because they had been thrown far beyond the borders of Equestria, leaving nothing more than a few dents where they bounced off roofs and walls. Some changelings, however, had gotten into various buildings, and the results were not pretty. If you know the right places to look, you can still find a couple faint stains where the changeling blood never quite came out, though I dearly hope you cannot find anypony willing to direct you to those mementos.
But I’m making it sound more gruesome than it actually was with my unwillingness to give details. Many of the changelings left in the city were found unconscious, rather than dead, and even the corpses were in no cases as squashed as I seem to have implied. In accordance with long-standing procedures (even if those procedures rarely came up), all the injured received equal medical treatment, regardless of whether they were friend or foe. Most of the changelings were beyond the help of doctors who had never even heard of their species before, but in the end seven were saved, as much by luck as by skill. Once they were stable, they were moved to the dungeons to await the Princesses’ decision of what to do with them.
A rectangle of torchlight appeared as Luna entered the cell block, and then disappeared as the door closed. Since they had woken up, the changelings had only seen light when doctors came through to check on them. Nopony had entered their corner of the dungeon for any other reason for however long they had been down here. But now something was clearly happening.
Luna lit her horn with a faint blue glow and surveyed the prisoners. They were in poor condition to say the least. Only one had both wings intact, and three changelings had lost one of them completely. The one with two good wings was missing its right hind leg from just above the hock and had casts on the other three legs. Three others had two broken legs (in all cases on the same side as whichever wing was more seriously damaged), and one more had only one broken leg. All of them had clear cracks running through their chitinous shells showing precisely where they had been slammed into walls by Shining’s shield.
“We’ll never talk!” one of the changelings rasped. “We’d sooner die.”
Luna looked at it with interest. One of the purposes of leaving them to stew for a few days was to allow them to choose a leader, which would make dealing with them simpler for everypony. Apparently this was it, so she approached to get a good look and memorize its appearance.
It responded by standing up (taking advantage of its four functional legs), pressing itself up against the bars, and glaring daggers. Its right ear was bent back against its skull, its left wing was missing its tip, and there were five roughly equally spaced cracks radiating from a point just behind the joint where its missing right wing should have attached. Other than its injuries, though, it was completely indistinguishable from any other changeling.
“Don’t think you’ll trade us for anything, either. The Hive does not need us back.”
Luna stared disinterestedly until it blinked. “What makes you think We want anything? What could you possibly offer Us?”
“Why else would you keep us alive? You just want us desperate to find some way to appease you. I’m not going to fall for such a basic trick.”
“Equestria is not some barbaric wasteland. We shall not simply leave you to die, whether or not you have anything to offer. Believe it or do not; it matters not to Us what you think. Either way We hope you enjoy the dark.” She extinguished her horn and headed for the door, navigating by memory.
“Wait!” another changeling croaked out behind her. Luna smiled, then composed herself before relighting her horn and turning back towards the prisoners. “We will need love to feed us or we will starve,” the changeling continued.
“Very well. Volunteers will be found to feed you. Do not betray their generosity by attempting to harm them.” She turned away again and left. As she closed the door, the cell block was returned to pitch blackness.
Celestia was waiting around the corner. “How did it go?”
Luna sagged as she allowed some of her regal attitude to drop. “It has been a long time since I last dealt with prisoners of war, but I think it went well. I showed no inclination to provide them with anything more than the bare necessities of survival, and if they do not currently believe I want nothing from them, they soon will.”
“Are you sure you have this under control? You haven’t even been back for a year, and—”
“‘Tia,” Luna cut her sister off. “I am as much princess of Equestria as you are. Do you doubt my competence?”
“No, sorry. I’m just being an overprotective sister again. I completely believe in you.”
“Then do not worry about the changelings. If they can be made useful and trustworthy, I will put them to work.”
The next day, several guards came down to offer their love, along with a few others to ensure the feeding did not get out of hoof. Nopony had forgotten the damage changelings had done, but there were few in the Guard who would go so far as to wish a slow death from hunger upon even their worst enemies, so it had not been too hard to find volunteers.
It wasn’t a perfect operation, of course. The leader refused to eat, and earned itself the moniker “Stinkeye” by spending the entire time apparently trying to discover latent psychic powers to make everypony drop dead. Two more (“Flipper” for indecision, and “Scratchy” because the cracks in its exoskeleton audibly rub as it breathes) followed suit after some glaring, each of them having fed briefly but clearly not nearly enough. The one with the missing leg, who was labeled “Tripod” once it showed it had no intention of remaining civil if induced to interact with anypony, attempted to take control of the guard who was feeding it. Another guard had to intervene, though he was able to do so quickly enough that the effects wore off after a few minutes.
The remaining changelings, on the other hoof, were smart enough to not bite the hoof that feeds them. The one who had first broken solidarity to ask for food was even downright obsequious, and was dubbed “Buddy.” “Scar” was more reserved, and “Gabby” refused to talk at all, but they were both well behaved, at least.
And so things continued for over a month. Tripod was missing every other feeding for bad behavior for a while, and Stinkeye very nearly died before giving in and accepting love, but eventually they were all convinced in one way or another to follow Buddy’s example enough for feedings to become largely routine. A few friendships even began to develop between prisoners and guards.
Stockholm syndrome is wonderful thing, is it not?
At the same time, Luna was learning all about her unwilling guests. If they were ever to contribute to Equestria, it would not do for them to be biological and psychological mysteries. Much of the data being collected on changeling physiology was irrelevant to her, but she did take great interest in what was learned about changeling feeding. Encouragingly, there did not seem to be any ill effects on those providing love from feeding in moderation. She was also closely monitoring their mental states by spying on their dreams every night. It left little time for protecting her subjects from nightmares, but Equestria had managed without her for a thousand years. It would survive a few more bad dreams. It would have to; the population had grown far beyond her ability to monitor all their dreams in her absence.
That was, in fact, the thought on Luna’s mind as she returned to the dungeons. The changelings looked up in surprise as she came through the door into their area; unscheduled visits from anypony at all were quite rare. There were torches on the wall now, but otherwise the cell block was remarkably unchanged.
“We hear that you have been getting along well with Our guards. We are pleased. How would you like a chance to earn your freedom?”
“And just what would we need to do?” Stinkeye asked.
“We need more than one of Us, and you may be a convenient solution. What do you know about dreams?”
And that is the beginning of how Luna acquired a team of changelings to impersonate her so she could deal with multiple nightmares at the same time. But it’s getting late now; I can’t tell you more tonight. Perhaps you can come back tomorrow to hear what happened next. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll see one of the Lunas in your dreams, and you can just ask her directly.
Author's Note
So this is the first story I've ever marked as incomplete. Whether I finish it is going to depend strongly on whether people are interested in seeing it finished. Keep that in mind when you comment.
