“I'll tell you what, they're energetic this session for sure. It really motivates me to get up and go to work every morning.”
“Maybe it just seems like they're more energetic now because you aren't trying to cram history into their heads at eight in the morning!”
The two professors shared a good-natured chuckle, the older, salt-and-pepper gray stallion shaking his head.
“You know, Astra, I think most of the students would be quick to agree with you.”
“I never understood how you could be so energetic in the morning in the first place, Cooke.”
“I do it for them! Somepony has to teach them to get up in the morning.”
“Or maybe you're just getting older, hmm?”
Cooke scoffed, rolling his eyes.
“I've always been a morning-pony, Astra. You know that. I'd still be teaching the morning classes if somepony hadn't left all the afternoon slots open this semester.”
It was Astra's turn to roll her eyes, smirking. With her dark, almost black navy-blue coat and bright cyan eyes, she often had the appearance of a shadow with eyes, even in good lighting conditions – and it made her expressions with her eyes even more noticeable.
“I'm sure yours was so long ago that you can't remember, but marriage is a big deal, Cooke.”
“Oh, come on. My wife and I got married, and we were back to work a couple of days later!”
Privately, Astra fretted about why her marriage had required such a leave-of-absence. She hadn't even been sure that she would be able to return at all.
Not that she'd say anything to that effect, of course.
“Well, of course you two were.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
Astra stifled a giggle.
“Who wouldn't get bored of you in a couple of days?”
Cooke rolled his eyes and chuckled.
“Alright, good one. Seriously, though, Astra... I'm glad you will be coming back soon. It hasn't been the same without you around here.”
“... Thanks, Cooke. A lot has changed for me in the past year and a half... I'll be glad to get some normalcy back.”
“Normalcy, huh? Not sure I'd say that's what you should expect. Things have been crazy around Canterlot, lately! The university is no exception.”
“You mean because of the exchange treaty?”
Cooke nodded, with a small frown.
“It's on everypony's mind. Students ask me what it means, from a historical perspective, every day.”
“What do you tell them?”
Cooke shrugged, pursing his lips.
“There isn't much to say. It's fairly unprecedented. While there are certainly instances of nations coming together culturally after a war, changelings are a bit different, you know? And usually, cultural merger happens after one side or another in a war is a clear victor. The way things were resolved between Equestria and Hive Chrysalis was a bit... odd. I'm still not even sure how Celestia got them to come to the table.”
Astra shrugged, chuckling nervously.
“I guess she works in mysterious ways, sometimes.”
Cooke grumbled, shaking his head.
“She's certainly being mysterious right now, that's for sure. Why would she trust the hive at all? She's been asked repeatedly, but her responses always come back around to it being the right thing to do. I get that, but, come on. This was a nation that invaded us, who live off of the love of others, stolen from them... their entire history, their entire culture is based around that idea. We can't expect them to change that overnight – it just doesn't work like that.”
Astra stared into her tea cup for a while, considering.
“Astra? Is everything alright?”
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about what you said. Playing devil's advocate, here... why doesn't it work like that?”
Cooke quirked an eyebrow, a grin forming. Astra found herself returning it, despite herself. Cooke was always fun to debate with, no matter the subject.
“Well, now, Astra... can you cite a single example of a culture that changed on a dime in response to something like this? Often, treaties initially fail because-”
“The treaty of the three pony tribes, the founding of Equestria.”
Cooke leaned back in his chair, sipping his tea, that devilish grin growing deeper.
“That's a good point, though there are several things to consider, there. Most historians point to the leaders of the pony tribes as being responsible for stirring up the hostilities between them – with those leaders effectively deposed, the societies were free to get along properly. There was also the threat of destruction looming over their heads.”
“We also see it on an individual level, though! I mean, just – think about Princess Luna, for instance!”
“I think the involvement of the Elements of Harmony sort of muddies that issue.”
“Discord, then!”
Cooke shrugged, putting on an exaggerated air of indifference.
“An individual case does not necessarily model a whole society. Besides... Discord has slipped up a few times, just as I'm saying the hive is sure to do. The difference is that the changelings won't slip up in a noticeable way – there will be holdouts who see us ponies as nothing but food, who will seek to undermine our society. That's their equivalent of going back to their 'old ways' – sabotage and deception. The difference is that we're actively facilitating it!”
Astra found herself frowning, not liking where this was going.
“So... what about the three-tribes scenario, then? I mean, Equestria is much larger than the hive. There's sort of a similar threat of-”
“Oh, yes, sure, that's fine – but we'd have to assume that the individual changelings want peace, then, and it's just their leader who is causing all the problems.”
“Is that so unreasonable to think?”
“No, but you see, that's the whole problem! We don't know. We don't know who motivated the attack. Some of the students and faculty think it's all Chrysalis – that she's some kind of power-hungry dictator, and the changelings are basically slaves, eager to escape her.”
“That's... not what I've heard.”
Cooke shrugged, a goofy grin forming. He really enjoyed these kinds of discussions, getting into speculation about history in motion.
“There's a ton of theories going around the university. Some people here think all the changelings are actually a hive-mind, so it's just one big, psychically-linked entity, rather than individuals.”
Astra rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I'd heard that one, but there's a lot of evidence against it. I even heard someone suggest that the changelings are actually all puppets, and Chrysalis is some kind of crazy fallen Equestrian Princess from a thousand years ago, manipulating them with magic to make them seem more lifelike.”
Cooke frowned down into his tea cup.
“I've heard some ponies say that that was a popular theory about how Luna spent her time on the moon. It's a popular bit of storytelling about any leader-figure who is isolated from Equestria; we have trouble imagining being alone, so we theorize about what a powerful pony might do in those circumstances. Although... I have to wonder at why the changelings are so similar to ponies, and that's why that theory has been making the rounds. It explains the physical similarities.”
“But unless the changelings have invented some kind of magic that is totally undetectable to Equestria's finest magic-users, there's no way it's true.”
Cooke smirked.
“Well, of course. I wasn't saying it was – just that most of these crazy theories have a reason for existing. There's also a theory that's sort of an inversion of those – that Chrysalis is actually an innocent bystander, and was given no choice but to invade by her warlike, savage subjects.”
Astra lightly gasped, appalled.
“Who would spread rumors about an entire civilization like that?!”
Cooke carried on, oblivious to Astra's emotional state.
“It wouldn't be the first time a society seemed to unilaterally support warlike behavior, would it? It's not so unreasonable. But you're right that it's just grasping at straws – ponies are only doing so because that's all we have, right now. We know that there's some source of malice in Hive Chrysalis – someone decided that invading Equestria, stealing the love and energy of all the ponies here and conquering the country would be a good way to spend a few months of their time. It's hard to believe that it was just Chrysalis, or that it was just her subjects – such things usually happen as an accord between both. And until we understand why, we can't trust them – simple as that.”
Cooke nodded in satisfaction with his own summation, sipping his tea. Astra fidgeted nervously, glancing around a little, before leaning forward slightly.
“But, what if it's just that they didn't know of any alternative? Like... if the changelings had always been told peace was impossible, wouldn't it make sense-”
Cooke shook his head, cutting her off with a wave of his hoof and a comment.
“That's the ideal scenario, yes, but how likely is it? That in the history of an entire civilization, nopony ever stopped and said, 'hey, maybe war isn't the only way to interact with our neighbors'? That's even more far-fetched than the other theories, when you think about it.”
“But we have examples of historical societies that had strong cultural institutions to perpetuate that kind of thinking!”
“Sure, sure, but those societies are generally also primitive, surrounded by other societies that also engage in warfare constantly – there's a lack of exposure to peace as a concept. Changelings infiltrate peaceful societies and see peace at work. It's not like they don't understand us – they actively use our peaceful inclinations against us. Just imagining what kind of a person would do something like that...”
Cooke shook his head, grimacing at the table. Astra flinched slightly.
“I... I suppose we just have to trust the Princesses on this one.”
“I trust the Princess, but I also know she can make mistakes. Actually, some of the faculty and nobles have formed a group protesting this cultural exchange, and suggesting that we demand additional concessions from Chrysalis if we're going to really engage in diplomacy with them.”
“Oh... oh, I'd heard about that, I think. You – you're a member?”
“One of the founders, actually. I'd actually appreciate it if you came to our next meeting. We're trying to get unilateral faculty support; so far, the lack of a unified response from Canterlot University has been one of the things keeping more nobles from throwing in with us.”
“I... I'll think about it. I really need to swing by the office and get my new rotation, so I'll see you later, Cooke.”
Cooke nodded, pulling some papers out of his bag to grade. Being a prominent and popular member of the faculty, as well as a mid-ranking noble, he had a lot of connections. Though Celestia had said that her decisions on this topic were, unless some new development arose, final, he was confident that he could drum up the sort of support necessary to make her rethink her position – or at least reveal more of her reasoning for making her decisions. He smirked at the first paper from his latest essay test: a piece supporting the exchange program. As usual, Cooke would point out any flaws in reasoning, though he was confident it would get a high grade overall, given the author; he idly wondered whether there would be a solid paper for the exact opposite viewpoint in the same stack. He thrived on such diversity of opinion.
Such idle thoughts distracted him from noticing Astra's jittery posture or lack of coordination as she excused herself from the table. As she left the university, she ran through what she would say to her wife, Stargazer, when she got home. It was clear that announcing Starry’s true nature as a changeling was going to cause even more trouble at work than either of them had anticipated.
Author's Note
If you're wondering where the rest of the story is, click here for a breakdown of the stories in this fic's continuity.
If you want to get off Mr. SoloBrony's Wild Ride and get on a different one, click over here for something a little less changeling-focused.