Chapter 3

After a long, almost restless night at Fluttershy's cottage, morning finally dawned. With it, came the songs of many birds that nested in the surrounding trees, a fresh set of sun rays, and the smell of pancakes that Switchback was helping Fluttershy make.

Switchback always had a blast when cooking. No matter what it may be, hay fries, cake, or in this case pancakes, Switchback enjoyed it. Cooking was almost like an art, an art that had yet to be discovered by his race, until now. The first time he saw an oven he was more than a little confused as to why a pony would need to heat food up, but once he was able to grasp the basic principles, he practically fell in love with it. He would always be the first to volunteer for helping Pinkie make cupcakes.

Meanwhile, Crawlway sat at the breakfast table looking tired and miserable. He didn't sleep much last night and the soft chair he was sitting in wasn't helping him stay awake very well. Switchback had tried to get him to drink some coffee, a special blend that he and Twilight had figured out wouldn't have negative affects on changelings, but Crawlway turned it down. He even refused to try pancakes.

"Oh come on," Switchback said. "At least try it."

Crawlway looked at the plate in front of him. "No," he said plainly. "I don't like pony food." He instead stuck to feeding off of whatever love was floating around. It was more than enough to sustain him, in fact, Fluttershy's cottage could probably feed a small family for a month.

Switchback sighed, determining that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Crawlway. Before he could sit to eat his own, his attention was caught by a knock at the door. "I'll get it," he said. "It's probably Twilight."

Sure enough, when he opened the door, Twilight was standing there waiting. What startled him though were the two guards that flanked her, one on each side. They held long spears and wore their signature armor that never failed to intimidate Switchback.

"Hi Switchback. Ready to go?" Twilight asked cheerfully.

"Uh, uh... ye-yeah," he was barely able to say as he retreated into himself at the sight of the menacing, armored soldiers. "Just uh, just give us a second."

Twilight made a confused face as Switchback talked to her. Why was he acting so jumpy? She looked at the guards. Each of them was staring Switchback down intensely, as if trying to crack him open with their gazes. She sighed. "Can you please wait in the carriage?"

Without having to be asked twice, the guards left and headed back to the large gold carriage which was parked on the other side of the small creek that ran by Fluttershy's cottage.

Twilight entered the house and was greeted by Fluttershy. "How's Crawlway doing with... you know, with his leg," Twilight asked.

"I'm not sure," Fluttershy answered. "He said he was fine when I asked earlier, but I think he seems a little depressed. That's to be expected though." She looked back at the changeling who was now sleeping with his face down on her table. He was drooling a little and Switchback was trying to wake him up. "I'm worried about him Twilight. He doesn't talk, he doesn't eat, he doesn't look up from the ground at all. I hope he'll be okay."

Twilight put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "He will Fluttershy," she assured. "You did an amazing job patching him up and now he just needs a little time to get adjusted."

"Oh, I hope you're right Twilight."

Twilight felt a little bad for Fluttershy. She knew how much it hurt her to see others in pain, whether they were ponies or not. Her thoughts were interrupted by Switchback, who was helping a limping Crawlway make his way to the door.

"Alright, Twilight," Switchback said. "I think we're ready to go."

It took awhile for Crawlway to get across the front yard, but once he was passed the small bridge out front, it was only a matter of climbing into the carriage, which didn't turn out to be to much of a problem.

The carriage was being pulled by two pegasi guards who didn't take their eyes off of their two changeling passengers for a second. There was no hostilities in any of the guards' stares, just very cautious anger. It was understandable considering all that had happened in Canterlot.

"Thanks again for your help, Fluttershy," Twilight said gratefully after climbing into the chariot. "I'll be sure to write once we get this whole situation sorted out and let you and the other girls know what's going on."

As the carriage took off, Switchback leaned over the back seat and waved goodbye to Fluttershy who returned the gesture. Until they got higher and higher and eventually Fluttershy and her home became just dots in a sea of green forest and rolling hills.

A pegasus mare, two changelings, a princess, and four royal guards. Very interesting. Where had they just left for? Why were they being escorted by soldiers? Who was this other changeling? What was his association with the injured one they had followed? It did not matter. He would pay dearly for taking the side of the enemy.

Who was this pegasus mare? From the looks of it, she had helped and treated the injured one. She too would pay. They would all pay. Their queen should be praised for the order she was bringing them, even if it did cost just a few drops of blood here and there. And yet these changelings not only took the side of the weak, feeble, and unworthy, but now they were conspiring with ponies. Oh they would pay. Yes the price will be heavy. And they would start with this pony friend of theirs.

The carriage flew through the air as fast as the pegasi guards could carry it. Thanks to several different enchantments, they were able to carry it through the sky with relative ease. They still had to be careful though. Pulling a carriage was much different than flying solo. They had to be more gentle, more precise, more controlled than they already were. These two guards did their jobs well.

Twilight, Switchback, and the two other guards sat comfortably in the carriage with no worries at all. At the same time, Crawlway sat leaning against the side of the carriage, lingering halfway between consciousness and the sleep he coveted. At the moment, that was all he wanted. To sleep. One of the guards was explaining something about their destination, but he couldn't make out his voice. He still had a throbbing headache and every muscle in his body ached under his hard black exoskeleton.

"We'll be landing at the medical wing landing pad," the guard explained. Princess Celestia will be there to meet you personally."

"Medical wing?" Switchback asked. "I didn't know the castle had medical wing."

The guard didn't offer a reply, instead staring at Switchback awkwardly for a moment before regaining his composure. "Yes, it's uh- for diplomats and um- other important ponies." He was put a little off by how casually Switchback spoke to him. He turned away towards Twilight again. "Dr. Timely Manner, one of the top ponies in the medical field will be waiting to take the VIP into his care as well."

The rest of the ride went by with relative ease, for Twilight at least. Crawlway was still trying to fall asleep, which was very hard. Switchback was thinking thoroughly over everything that was going to be happening over the next few days. He was going to be in Canterlot. "Alright Switchback. It's just the capital of the country," he thought to himself nervously. "The hive has tried to invade it once and failed, so don't provoke the locals and keep your disguise on at all times and you'll be fine. You'll be fine. Just fine. Just... fine." He began to sweat uncontrollably.

When the actual city, and not just the palace of Canterlot came into view, Switchback could see that there were a lot of ponies walking the streets. There were also a lot of buildings. The whole place had a very vibrant architectural style, but it did little to make Switchback more at ease. By now, he had changed into the red unicorn that Ponyville had known him as for most of his time there, but Crawlway was still too weak to use his magic. With his injuries, it could be days, maybe even weeks before he would be able to change again. This worried Switchback. He hoped for Crawlway's sake that this landing zone was somewhere secluded, where nopony would see them.

Celestia stood in a darkened room that was no bigger than a small bedroom. It didn't even look like it was a part of a royal palace. More like a unmaintained storage room. She was going over a few pictures on a table, each taken at different times and places, but each was very similar. They were all very grim and disturbing. She was glad that she had developed a strong stomach over her years. Literally having the chance to taste every food ever created has that affect on somepony.

Each picture was of a changeling, but none of them were living. Each body was mangled, twisted, or just plain torn to shreds as if by angry timberwolves. One of which actually was torn apart by angry timberwolves. She pitied that one. The fear and pain it must have gone through before... She looked away from the pictures, not wanting to think about that one anymore.

"If this is bothering you," a stallion to her left began. "We can always do this tomorrow."

"No," Celestia said. "We must not delay any longer. The fate of an entire species hangs in the balance."

"If you say so." He went back to examining the photos. This earth pony was a soldier, a part of Equestria's military, but he didn't wear anything that would make that known. Instead of armor, he wore a rough cargo jacket and a side bag that looked worn and tattered as a result of extended use. He also wore a backwards cap that covered his short mane and a pair of overly tinted high quality sunglasses sat just above his eyes. There was no kind of insignias on his apparel though. No patches, no engraved buttons, not a single clue as to him being a guard or soldier. He didn't even carry a visible weapon.

The stallion looked down at his watch. Digital, waterproof, shock and heat resistant, and very comfortable. It even had a built in Geiger counter and self destruct code, although the latter wasn't really necessary. He smiled a little at the time. "I think it's time for you to get to the medical wing. These VIPs that you're so confident in will be arriving any moment now. Unless of course they got mauled on the street by an angry mob."

Celestia gave him an unamused look. "That's not funny. The north really wasn't good to you was it?"

"Snow, snow, more snow, some rocky terrain, and a big angry bear," he answered. "Also, you should definitely invest in a few bear pelt coats. They are super good at keeping you warm. Also, if you're going to go yanking me from land of crazy zebra war lords to killer winter wonderland land like that, you have to at least let me run my mouth a little."

Celestia sighed. "Fair enough."

"Of course it is. Now how about I give you an escort?"

Celestia was very happy to see the carriage touch down. She had not seen Twilight in a long time and it would be good to talk to her while Dr. Timely Manner, who now stood to her left, cared for the changeling until he was well enough to give them the information that they needed, especially after last night. She hadn't slept since waking up to raise the sun the prior morning, which was really taking it's toll, even though it didn't show on the alicorn. Luna actually had to do raise the sun this morning so that Celestia could get the work she needed to get done finished. She spent the entire last night going over photographic and biological evidence. Evidence that suggested that something big was happening in the changeling hive. Something on the level of extinction.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight said with excitement as she exited the golden carriage. "It's good to see you again."

"As it is to see you Princess Twilight," Celestia answered. "I hope you didn't have any trouble getting here."

While Twilight talked to the sun princess, Switchback helped Crawlway climb out of the carriage with the help of the guards who had escorted them. There was already a group of armor clad ponies, who wore special patches on their armor with red medical crosses waiting with a stretcher. When Crawlway was finally laying on it, the ponies began to carry him off slowly toward a large set of open doors. They were followed by several doctors.

"You're the other one, aren't you?" a voice asked Switchback from behind, catching him slightly off guard.

Switchback turned to see a cream colored unicorn with a white mane. He wore a suit vest and a pair of rectangular reading glasses from which his green eyes stared in curiosity. "Um what?" Switchback asked hesitantly.

"Oh, please forgive me," the unicorn apologized. "Where are my manners? My name is Dr. Timely Manner. I was told that there would be two changelings arriving and so far I've only observed one. You're the only other pony who got off the carriage so I assume you are him." He held out his hoof in a welcoming gesture.

Switchback returned it. "Um, uh... yeah. I am a changeling," he replied as he realized that he had his disguise on. "Sorry, but is it alright if I don't change until we get out of the open." He looked around nervously, surveying the skies for passing pegasi. "I don't really feel comfortable here."

"Of course," Dr. Timely assured. We can talk more once you're settled."

Switchback followed the doctor a short ways to a large over sized door that lead into the castle. Twilight and Celestia were discussing something about Crawlway, who was now unconscious on the stretcher. The doctors had given him something for pain that also apparently made you drowsy.

Celestia sighed in grief as she looked over the broken changeling. He looked young, frail, almost innocent. This was all her fault wasn't it? She looked over to see Switchback approach. "Hello, my little changeling."

"Um... hello Princess," Switchback said somewhat uneasily. He hadn't seen either Celestia or Luna since he first met them at the wedding, so it still felt a little weird talking to a ruler of the country that he was technically the enemy of. "How are you?"

"I'm am well," Celestia lied. "There is much for us discuss and not much time. We are going to need your help."

"My help?" Switchback questioned. This was the moment that he had been fearing. It was the moment that he would find out what was expected of him. He was about to be given a responsibility of dire importance and that alone scared him.

"Yes," Celestia confirmed. "Please, come. We can discuss this somewhere more private."

The small party made it's way down the halls of the castle and eventually split as Crawlway was wheeled into a room where he could receive any treatment that they were unable to give him at Fluttershy's cottage. There was a lot of tension in the air. Switchback could feel it. Something really big was happening and stress levels were very high for Celestia. That was very strange. When he first met her, she was almost unreadable, but now, it was as if she wore her heart on her sleeve.

They spent a few more minutes walking down the hall in silence before coming across a set of double doors. They weren't oversized castle doors though. They were just standard sized doors. The room beyond them wasn't all that special either. In the center was a long wood finish table. There were several padded chairs surrounding it. This room looked nothing like the royal court that Switchback had expected. It all looked like a normal conference room, not different from one a company would use to discuss stocks and shares or whatever it was that pony businesses discussed.

When they entered, there were already several ponies waiting for them. Princess Cadence, a royal guard officer that Switchback did not recognize, and Shining Armor all sat at the table patiently. Shining Armor specifically scared Switchback at the moment. He was wearing his full set of Captain's armor, minus the helmet. Just the way he looked made Switchback nervous. This was Canterlot, Shining Armor's home turf. He decided that he would stay with somepony at all times.

Before any introductions could be made, the stallion with the rough apparel jumped up into a chair, causing it to spin, before finally resting his rear hooves up on the table and leaning back to make himself comfortable. "Alright, let's get this show on the road," he said. "I've got some sleep to catch up on."

The other guard frowned. "Who invited this guy?" he asked seeming quite annoyed.

"He has very valuable information to share," Celestia assured the irritated officer. "Agent Chaser will not cause any interruptions. Will you now?"

Chaser rolled his eyes and sat up in his chair normally. "Like I said. Sleep. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back to it."

Twilight noticed that Celestia had called Chaser 'agent.' Whatever it was that they were going to be discussing must have been big. She had a few ideas of what was going to happen, but she would have to wait to see if she was correct. In the meantime she went ahead and took a seat next to Shining Armor, acting as a buffer between him and Switchback.

Celestia too took a seat at the head of the table and gathered everypony's attention to begin their meeting. "Before we begin," Celestia began. "I'd like to introduce Captain Rampart of the Canterlot Royal Guard and Spook Agent Rogue Chaser of the Equestrian Covert Operations Bureau.

Captain Rampart gave a firm salute. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I look forward to serving."

Agent Chaser gave what could barely be considered a wave. "Hey."

"Now that introductions are out of the way, Agent. Would you like to open by presenting the evidence that you've collected over the past months?"

"Gladly," Chaser replied to Celestia happily as he pulled a large file out from under his over coat. He opened it up and passed out small stacks of pictures to everypony. "Here's the situation. Five months ago, these little bastards started showing up dead along our northern border and just outside the crystal mountains," he explained, referring to the mutilated changeling bodies that each photo displayed.

Switchback felt his stomach turn upside down and he started to turn a little pale. He opted out of viewing each photo, letting them pass by him so he didn't have to look. Chaser noticed this.

"I know it's pretty nasty huh? Autopsy reports confirm that the bodies were fresh at the time of their discovery, each only being a few days passed expiration. The most interesting part is that they weren't killed by ponies. Tests say that the wounds matched up with those that are left by changeling style swords and fangs, which means that they were killed by their own kind."

"And this lead you to believe that some kind of conflict was taking place?" Cadence asked, already knowing what was happening.

"Precisely," Chaser answered. "The only problem was that we didn't know diddly squat about what was actually happening. I was then dispatched and deployed to go investigate. After a few weeks of finding dead and wounded changelings, I managed to triangulate where the hive might have been located and eventually found what I believe to be an entrance."

Chaser pulled another photo out of his portfolio and had it passed around the room. In the photo was a large cave, dug into the side of a mountain. There were large pillars that reached from the floor to the roof made from where massive stalagmites and stalactites had connected. The architectural style was almost none existent, instead favoring to let nature take its course with little assistance. There was also large amounts of green webbing hanging from the ceiling and linked between much smaller stalagmites and stalactites.

"There wasn't any kind of posted guard or lookouts. After setting up camp, I observed a few changelings leaving and entering along with one skirmish that broke out. Besides that there wasn't much activity. After getting called back here, I was informed that our newest princess along with our friends from the Crystal Empire might be able to provide further intel thanks to their recent encounter." He looked to Twilight, Cadence, and Shining Armor. "Would any of you care to explain that? How about you Captain Armor? I'm sure you can give us all a good report of the situation."

Shining Armor rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually... I wasn't really paying attention," he reluctantly admitted.

Chaser raised an eyebrow. "Okay then. Moving on to somepony who actually does their job. Princesses? Do either one of you care to share what you've found out?"

"Actually I think I might be able to help out with this part," Switchback said, catching everypony's attention. "I don't mean to suggest that the princesses don't know what they're talking about, it's just that I think I might be able to give some more useful background info. I really don't mean any disrespect, honest."

Everypony gave him a bit of a weird look, wondering why he thought they would think he was being disrespectful. What they didn't know, was that Chrysalis more than likely would have had him executed for suggesting that he was more well informed than royalty. Sure he was friends with Twilight and sort of knew Cadence, but every now and then his changeling cultural habits would show.

Agent Chaser dismissed this as just a strange changeling thing. He put his hooves together and leaned in closer. "Alright my insectoid friend, shoot."

"Um... okay. Where do I start?"

"How about you start at the beginning," Princess Celestia suggested. "What was happening at the hive right before you left?"

Switchback sighed nervously as he tried to recall everything that had happened to him and what he knew of the past situation. Then he began to explain everything he remembered about the hive he once called home.

Dr. Timely looked over his unconscious patient in amazement. Changelings truly were an interesting species and he couldn't wait to discover more about them. Whoever had performed Crawlway's amputation and cleaned his wounds had done so with great precision and a skillful hoof. The cut was very clean, and based on the overall condition of the inner tissue, he could tell that they managed to prevent large amounts of blood loss and keep the wound clean to prevent infection. That was the real killer. The operator could do everything right, but the second this kind of injury got infected, it was game over.

The doctor and the several nurses that assisted him had unwrapped Crawlway's stub to make extra sure that everything had been done correctly and that there would be no complications. There weren't, and they were easily able to set out on their primary goal of bringing him to the medical wing. Their primary goal other than getting him well enough to talk to Celestia that is.

Having time to inspect Crawlway's wounds also allowed for analysis of his anatomy, more specifically how his muscles and exoskeleton all fit together. This wasn't for their own benefit though. Dr. Timely was absolutely fascinated by Crawlway and wanted to learn as much he could from him, but he knew that the creature needed him now more than ever, which is exactly why he was inspecting the tissue underneath the hard exoskeleton.

Dr. Timely had a plan. He had been working on prosthetic limbs and how to improve them almost his entire life as a personal project of sorts when he was not studying the unexplored depths of science or passing on his knowledge to the next great generation of pioneers at the university that he most often found himself in.

He had several models of prosthetic legs that would work just fine for the situation, that is if Crawlway was a normal pony, but he wasn't. Crawlway was a changeling which meant that so many variables were changed. He needed to get a good idea of how a changeling's muscular systems worked before he could even begin repurposing existing leg models, making modifications to prototypes, or even drawing up new designs for entirely new models. There was much work to do, but thankfully, he would not be doing it alone.

There were several highly trained nurses assisting in the research project that at the moment was being kept secret. Celestia had even allowed for some of the most promising students from Canterlot University's medical programs to join Dr. Timely. That was one thing he loved about his job. Science to him was like a form of art. Whether it be medical practices, quantum physics, or something that tried to unravel the mysteries of the arcane world, all science was art. Each discovery was a brush stroke that helped paint a clearer picture of the world on a canvas that was their reality. And he got to pass this knowledge down to the future generations. That was an art of its own as well.

Dr. Timely pulled himself from his thoughts and focused back on the changeling that was still sleeping before him. There was still work to do. And he was a long way from being through. All in all, he couldn't have asked for a better way to spend his next few weeks.

Celestia thought hard about everything she had just been told, while Agent Chaser finished scribbling down notes on a now full notepad.

"So these husklands that you mentioned," Chaser began. "Do you actually have any experience with them, or are you just going off what Crawlway told you?"

"That's just what Crawlway said," Switchback answered. "I haven't been back to the hive since Chrysalis began enforcing marshal law."

"Then we will need to speak with Crawlway once the doctors are done with him," Celestia said. "We must find a way to open a line of communication with Queen Cicadia if we hope to save your hive."

Switchback perked up suddenly. "You mean, you want to help?"

"Yes," Celestia replied. "It is my belief that saving your hive will help to create a lasting peace. Some would see your hive's situation as an opportunity to stamp them out once and for all." She shook her head disapprovingly. "I will not allow such a thing to happen. Genocide is not a crime I wish for Equestria to have on its hooves, nor is it the answer to our problems. Instead, I wish for us to extend a hoof in friendship."

"With further information from Crawlway, we'll be able to formulate a plan that will allow us to do just that," Chaser added. "It's just a matter of waiting for him to wake up."

"Hold on," Shining Armor demanded. "Princess, with all do respect, you do realize that we are referring to a race that just straight up attacked our capital. They could have tried to be friendly. We didn't even know they existed. But no, they just decided to invade us instead. Switchback could be a plant, and for all we know, Crawlway is too!"

Chaser let out a little laugh. "You're kidding right? That has to be the most preposterous claim I've ever heard. So you're saying that a covert changeling operative has been living in close proximity of an alicorn princess for several years without making a move? Plausible, but do you really think that if another operative was sent out that they would rip his leg off?"

"Crawlway could have acquired those injuries in any way," Armor argued. "Whose to say that he didn't get attacked by a bear on his way to his mission?"

"Right, because a creature with wings is really going to walk all the way from the Crystal Mountains to Ponyville. Last time I checked, the only flying bear was being held in a government containment facility."

"Enough," Princess Celestia demanded in a firm tone. "Nothing will get accomplished if we argue amongst ourselves."

Chaser leaned back into his chair. "You got it princess."

"Captain Rampart," Celestia continued. "Begin assembling a team and remain on standby for further orders."

"Yes your highness," Rampart said as he gave a firm salute.

"As for rest of you, you are dismissed. We will meet again tonight once I have consulted my sister on the matter."

Agent Chaser was out of his chair and heading toward the door before Celestia could even finish her sentence. Like he had stated before, he very much wanted to catch up on all the sleep he had missed out on, which was something Switchback thought wouldn't be a bad idea for him to participate in as well. He hadn't slept well the last night. All he was able to think about was the hive that he had abandoned.

Meanwhile, Cadence was trying her best to talk to her husband about everything that was happening. "Come on honey. I know you're angry and you still have the nightmares from Chrysalis being in your head, but you need to let that anger go."

"I'm not angry anymore Cadi," Shining Armor insisted. "I just... just get these bad vibes. That's all. I cant shake the feeling like this is all leading up to something really bad."

"You worry too much," Cadence said. "Everything is going to be fine."

"Cadence is right," Twilight assured. "We'll get this whole changeling thing sorted out and then everything will go back to normal... I hope."

Shining Armor huffed loudly. "I still don't like this. Not one bit."

Captain Rampart watched as everypony vacated the meeting room. He knew what was coming. This was merely the calm before the storm. He just hoped that Princess Twilight was correct. The last thing Equestria needed was a full scale war with the changelings. Sure they were weak now, but a war with them would still bring losses. War always did. The only thing that had kept it from happening earlier on was the famine that Switchback had described in great detail.

He began to go over a list of ponies in his head, making mental notes of those best suited for a diplomatic job. Good, strong warriors, but not too aggressive or overly offensive. He wasn't one hundred percent sold on the idea of establishing contact with the changeling hive, but he would follow the wisdom of Princess Celestia. He checked off several more names from his mental list and then headed for the door.

Author's Note

Finally. After set back after set back and rewrite after rewrite, I finally got this chapter done. I am so sorry it took that long. I hope this is everything you guys hoped for and maybe even more. Anyways, thanks a ton for everyone's support and patience. Stay awesome you guys.