The Prelude, Illuminate the Shadows Book 1

by SaphireTsuki

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, Adventure, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, Changelings
Length: 41251

Her only hope was the young one would be safe here. All she could wish for was a dream. All that was needed was a single home, filled with love, and a way for their people to move forward, out of those shadows.

Thestrals. A race of pony all but forgotten in the modern age. They are, all of them, nocturnal. They live their lives in their sole territory, a forest in the middle of Equestrian Lands. They present as members of the country, their sole front-facing town, Hollow Shades, being the only point of contact with the rest of ponydom. The truth is, however, that this is the only place where loyalty to the Lost Sister has never wavered. Thus, they call themselves the Lunar Republic in secret, referring to their state as an individual city-state within the greater Equestrian country. They pay taxes, of course, but enact their own laws outside of Hollow Shades.

They also, through virtue of being such, maintain their own treaties. I am banking on this fact. If all works out, my darling daughter, you will be safe. They will honor their treaty, and raise you with love. All I ask is that you live to adulthood. For this sake, I will write you a book... lessons on our traditions, that when the time comes when you must take your crown you will be prepared. Until then, keep this book hidden and safe. Keep yourself hidden and safe.

I will always watch over you,
Queen Polaris.

This is a tale of love, family, and hope. A young royal will grow, come to understand herself and the world around her, and eventually take her place as the Queen of her own people. The story will largely be cannon compliant, however some things will be changed as I see fit.

This story is largely inspired by Law Abiding Pony's Hive series, and how exactly changelings work will in particular reflect this. Mainly I plan on copying their reproductive system and the role of the queen in the hive, however there will be differences from the biological makeup as I feel appropriate. I do have permission, and will link information where I copy wholesale, as well as make notes on where I simply adjust.

Published 2019-10-10 01:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2020-04-15 22:24:34 UTC

1 Elegy

Changelings have never been accepted among ponydom. Even when they knew we existed, we were seen with suspicion and fright, and our ability to transform was always envied. Even when we make unique disguises for the sake of infiltration it doesn’t change. Ponies fear what they don’t understand, and they will never understand Changelings. We were always meant to be two sides of the same coin, but in the end our future remained unchanged. Well, until the Princesses were in charge, that is. After they took control, we found ourselves at long last able to live alongside ponies, as part of their world, without having to hide. It didn’t last long, however. We found ourselves close allies with the thestrals, and they were loyal to the Alicorn of the night, Luna.

We should never have gotten involved in that war.

1000, Solar Era

Equestria at night was, to put it in a word, beautiful. Everything was still, save for the creatures of the night. The moon was only half full, allowing for deeper shadows, but yet had enough light to see where one was travelling. The stars continued their silent watch over the night, which held a slight chill, proof of the weatherpony’s skill as fall began to grip the land. There was a subtle wind, and of course the wisps of thin clouds that artfully frame the world, the mountain behind, the forest ahead. Almost unnoticed in the beauty of nature was a single rail line heading through the countryside a good mile or two away, silent in the night as was all else. In the shadow, almost completely hidden from sight, a single being was furiously preparing.

Without the light from the moon it would have been much more perilous. The color of her magic, used to light the area and write, would have been a dead giveaway. She worked with precision, careful to not step on any part of her work, her form only noticeable in that there was a stick in her mouth, used to carve her work, and her mane and tail, an attractive shade between red and pink. The way it fell obscured her face, which could only help given the general opinion of strangers around here, and her situation. Her work was a complex matrix, in the center a small, round object. With a long sigh, she closed the magic circle and allowed the stick to drop to the side.

At long last she could begin the spell. It was complicated, worlds beyond what mere ponies would ever think to do, but with the last of her people aiding her, she was able to do it. This spell would fulfill their promise to the thestrals, and more importantly, save a young life before it had begun. It was her last hope. It was their last hope. Her horn lit up at last, the same color as her mane and tail, a flash of color in a previously dark area, and her form was thrown into sharp relief. A pitch black torso as large as the Diarch of the night had been before she was lost, with holes through her legs. Insect wings with complex veins, fangs, and subtle coloring just under where her wings rested, and finally her slitted, reptilian pupils. They were closed for the moment, but if opened would been a gradient of, of course, red and pink... how ironic that a changeling’s eyes, mane, and magic would be the color most associated with love.

Speaking of Love, it poured into her from her drones, hidden throughout the valley. The spell could not be interrupted. Not even the deaths of her guard would be allowed to interrupt her, not this time, not when so much depended on their success. So, inch by inch, the magic swelled. First a tiny glow, little more than sparkles over the ground. They hadn’t time to prepare a more magically conductive surface, but even so she persisted. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was only at most a minute, a solid line of magic glow surrounded the round object in the center, which one could now see was an egg. It was red, with internal fluids still laying on it, hardened now, due to not having time to care for it.

The glow grew stronger, and stronger still, and at a brightness enough that it was instead casting shadows on the rock that had hidden them, she began to weave the Love that had been granted her, all of it. Every last drop. Now her children were dying, much like fleas, bit by bit and one by one. Love poured into the egg, and into the spell. It was not merely a demand for action, but a prayer as well. Silence was replaced with instruments, a song filled with a mothers love, with hope, with sorrow, and with determination. Harmonic magic, lost to ponies and even to thestrals, the only vestige of such being the Heartsong... and with her death, at long last it would be lost to the world forever.

Even so, she persisted.

With a bright light that seeped into the egg, she allowed at last her own love reserves to enter the song... to allow her own life to bleed into her child. Hoovesteps were heard, felt, an entire contingent of the guard surrounded her, but their weapons could not breach the small field, unnoticed by her, of magic between the two. It was at a point where she could only say she had won... even if they had the Alicorn Princess of the Sun with them the spell could not be interrupted. Not now. Even now building, the brightness of her magic was now so strong that even she could feel it, behind her eyelids. Unseen instruments built to a crescendo.

She felt it. The magic took hold, flying up, to the sky, beyond reach of mortals, to the stars and the moon and even, though none realized it, to harmony itself. The light abruptly faded away, and when it was finally low enough for the ponies to look.... their target was gone, the matrix no longer visible, with no damage to the surroundings. If they had thought to look, they would see a portion of the light heading deep into the forest, to Hollow Shades, where it landed in the middle of town, to reveal the Changeling Queen. Now a shadow of her former self, huddling over her vibrant, shimmering egg, she shouted in the harmonic tones of her people. “I, Queen Polaris of the Starsung Hive, have come in the name of our treaty. Grant us Sanctuary!” She said it once more, for emphasis, and then passed out.

The queen didn’t know how much later it was, but she woke to candlelight. The first thing she did was attempt to jump, but she did not have the energy to do so. The second, to frantically look around for the egg, only stopping when she saw it's blurry hue. She didn’t know if she was seeing her mane or tail, or if it was the egg itself, but she could feel the rushing of blood that said if she kept trying to look, she would only hurt herself. Then, a dark blue color of some sort entered her sight. “Queen Polaris, I see you are awake.” She couldn’t really speak right now... “Ah, yes, that would be the anesthetic. We’ve managed to stabilize your mana core but there is little we can do about your love deficiencies. Honestly, how you’ve survived so far is a mystery to me... regardless, give me a moment.” A few adjustments, and a blessedly cool sensation, her eyes finally focused. It was a Thestral, her owl-like feathers and oversized, albeit folded at her sides and appearing not to be so, wings were all the proof needed. However, more than that, she had the tufted, extremely fluffy ears, the fluffy coat, and slitted eyes characteristic of them.

She tried to speak, gurgled, and swallowed. Blessed liquid, her own saliva, and then the Thestral was putting a teacup of water, pouring it down. While she drank she checked the room she was in, it was dark, with wood construction seeming to grow out of the plant, she could tell that they were on a branch. Either she was in the outpost just above Hollow Shades, or she was in one of many different villages within Thestral territory. Her bed was soft, the finely woven cloth below and above designed for maximum comfort, and the room smelt clean. That didn’t matter to her, but her Queen’s mind filed it away, ignoring for the moment the dead silence of an empty Hivemind. She tried again, once she had swallowed enough, “Need... Paper,” She didn’t know why her throat hurt so much, but she abandoned any attempts at a full sentence, “Quill... Please.”

“Whatever for? You must rest.” The kind Thestral, ah, now details were filtering in. Blue eyes, long manestyle. She was wearing a nurses’ uniform, so she was Equestrian trained. The Queen tried to sit up, but was stopped by the nurse.

“No time.” That wouldn’t be enough. Why couldn’t she be a changeling? A quick integration to the Hive and they could talk without such effort. Bah, if she were a changeling then she would be dead... it was best not to wish for what must not be. “Daughter?”

“The egg? It’s fine. We have several guards watching over it, and are keeping it warm. It... needs to be kept warm, yes?”

“Won’t hurt.” She flashed a relieved smile, but the Queen’s expression darkened, “Quill, ink, paper.” She coughed, before forcing out, ”Please.” The woman still didn’t understand, and she was growing more worried. “Dying.” Ah, the shock that had been expected. The Thestral drew back as though struck. “Can’t feed. Protect daughter.” She was rushing out the words, but had to stop. “Lessons, knowledge. Must be passed down. No hive, no,” She was beginning to wheeze with the effort.

“You must rest!” Polaris would have sighed, but she didn't have the strength. Not only was she coughing, but her limbs felt like stone. Her sight started to spot, and around the edges shadow was visible.

She thought, as the nurse pulled the blanket up her, What a kind mare. She would make a good mo- her thought didn't even finish, the darkness closing over as though it were a curtain over the play of her life. When next her eyes opened, there was a blank book, and writing utensils. Everything she would need. It was easier to move, but she knew it wouldn’t last long. She bent over, opened the book, and began to write.

My dearest daughter, I know not what name you will be given, but mine is Polaris. I was the Queen of a Hive of Changelings, the Starsung Hive. There is much I must teach you, hopefully before you begin to mature...

Elegy, an instrumental lament with praise for the dead.

Author's Note

Well, here you go, the new and improved version of Illuminate the Shadows. I know no one read the old one, which is actually quite the blessing because this story is going to be quite a bit different. Next chapter will be the beginning of the story proper, and starting the life of our little Changeling Princess. I'm still feeling out where I'm going to go, but that's fine... this first part of the story is just the same, little Moonlight finding what path she wants to take in her life. If you're curious, yes Chrysalis is going to enter the story at some point.

There are a few parts of this chapter which I struggled to write, mainly towards the end, and I almost didn't have the entire hospital room scene until a friend from a different website helped me. While writing I listened to this video for most of it.

2 Introduction

Now, I'm sure you're curious about the home of the thestrals, the Starsea Forest. The first thing you need to understand is the sheer size of this forest. It is vast, covering the entire space between the two landmarks, Mt. Foal where my hive had lived and the Barrier Mountains, separating Equestria at large from the Northern Wastes. Though not large enough to be considered a nation unto themselves, it is most certainly large enough to be considered a micronation. They submit to the Equestrian laws, but maintain their own and, unlike other ponies, are solely nocturnal. The geography of the forest is varied, as the trees are quite a bit larger than one would assume. They rise to about a third of the height of the mountains, and sun and moonlight are able to enter the top half around the cities, but not the bottom. This is because of symbiotes called Brightblooms.

Brightbloom plants come in pairs, an upper layer which open during the day, and a lower layer which open at night. The villages and towns of the thestrals lay nestled between these two layers, which allow for farms to grow on top of the plant, and large marketplaces during the night. As they are nocturnal, this allows for very efficient home building, often using the smaller shoots of Brightbloom branches. The Brightbloom itself is a plant that attaches to the trees of the Starsea Forest, wrapping around their trunks and attaching to the trees themselves. Created through ancient changeling magic, the Brightbloom actually keeps the Starsea Forest alive, and allowed it to grow taller and farther than it normally would have, as the trees are revitalised by gathered solar and lunar magic, which increases the lifespan of the trees themselves in exchange for the nutrients and support needed to grow and stay in it's middling position. The only towns not sheltered by Brightblooms are in clearings, near rivers and lakes, or the single outsider-facing town of Hollow Shades, where the day ponies can interact with thestrals.

SE 1014

As most thestral villages, the small town of Eriazha was about the size of Ponyville. The buildings were grown out of the brightbloom leaves and branches. Compared to other towns, however, they used smaller and more flexible branches which were woven into amazingly complex works, and the older and more impressive buildings had changeling resin used to suspend the branches, and leaves, allowing for even more such structures. The citizens of the town began their night with little fanfare, nothing more than three or four leaving from small communities at a time. As the leaves began to spread, unfolding steadily and slowly, more and more of the small town woke up. Guard shifts were changed, foragers flew up to harvest from the plants that grew atop the Brightblooms, and various shops opened. The city was lit with phosphorescent vines and crystals, gathered from the forest floor.

It was in the midst of this that two ponies flew to town, landing on the closest leaf, one calm and the other out of breath. Both had the same signature features that all thestrals did, the older of the two was a stallion with brown hair, golden eyes, and a coat of dark brown with lighter spots. He had owl-like wings, which he rapidly folded, a practiced movement belying his skill at both flight and the remarkably quiet landing, even for those thestrals who looked more like Pegasi than their brethren. His cutie mark was a wing over several stars, and he wore light guard armor. Said armor was designed to look identical to the night guard armor, save instead of Princess Luna’s cutie mark, it bared the insignia of the Lunar Republic, a light blue moon surrounded by a banded halo. Though his mane was hidden under the helmet, his tail was visible in military regulation, a glossy brown so dark it was almost black. He marched his way to a building halfway into the town, up the stairs, and walked in, leaving his companion behind.

The building itself was one of the few that was made entirely from changeling resin, designed with far fewer of the flourishes of the others. He knew, of course, what it was... a garrison for the guard. He walked through the halls, turning left here and right there, the circular entry ways giving him little pause. The walls, he noted, were a deep, dark silver. In the recent Canterlot Invasion apparently the resin was green, he had seen photos but did not truly believe it until he had come here... it was true, the color of the resin did change depending on the Hive that made it. With trademark stoicism he walked his way up the stairs, regulation demanding the air be free during the night, lest an emergency message be delayed. Three flights he climbed, until at last he was on the highest level of the Barracks. Another twisting journey, and at last he knocked on the door.

He waited for thirty seconds before hearing his superior’s reply, “Enter.” One hoof moved to open the door, and he moved into the room. Said room had several crystals inside it, and opulent furniture to make it look a bit more inviting than before. Sitting in a chair behind a warm, mahogany desk imported from outside the forest was the captain of the Eriazha Guard, Night Watch. She was a mare with a silvery coat, green eyes, and blue mane and tail. Her horn, proudly positioned on her forehead, marked her as one of the few members of the other tribes who sought to stay with the Republic, and though he could not see her cutie mark, he knew it was a shield with a moon motif on it. “Silent Gaze, correct?”

Snapping to attention, he saluted her immediately. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!” A breath, “Lieutenant Silent Gaze, Special Forces. Reporting for duty, Ma’am!” She looked him over for a moment, before returning the salute.

“At ease.” He ended the salute, waiting for her to continue on. She took a few moments, organizing her work, adjusting the outfit of a few things, so on. A greenwing might have been impatient about it, but he was used to standing for hours at a time. He didn’t understand what she wanted from him, but wasn’t about to- “Lieutenant Gaze,” She paused, he nodded to her, “Do you know why a Night Corps soldier was transferred to town duty?”

“No ma’am.” He frowned slightly, but did not elaborate further.

“Do you remember guarding an egg, Lieutenant?” He nodded. That had been just before he was assigned to Night Corps, when he had still had a marefriend. “Are you aware that the egg has hatched?” Another nod. “This egg was apparently a royal changeling.” He still did not understand what that meant for him, but she didn’t give him time to voice a question. “A royal changeling which is currently in residence in this town. Your duties are not to guard the town, but to guard her.” Wrapped in her green magic, a sheaf of papers floated over to him, which he grabbed with his hoof and put away for later perusal. “Now, get going.”

“Yes ma’am.” He nodded, turning around to leave... and that was when he woke up. Like many ponies who have good dreams, he resisted opening his eyes. At least, until he heard the sound of hoofsteps on the branch, and a subtle dual-toned humming. Gold eyes opened to look upon his daughter, and with a grumble he sat up, running one hoof through his, now longer, mane before saying a tired “Good evening, Moonlight.” His daughter glanced to the side, before donning her disguise, a thestral with blue fur, a mane with two tones of blue, one lighter than the other, and blue slitted eyes. Sunset filtered through to them, as they were currently travelling over the upper branches of Brightblooms, a long winding road that was safer than travelling below. She gave him a bowl filled with various fruit and plants, which he gratefully began to eat. “Thank you, Moonlight.”

“Father, how much further until the next village?” She asked, after he had gotten about halfway through the meal. He paused, thought, and waved one wing slightly, bending it at about halfway before folding it in once more. “A half night... ok!” The two of them enjoyed their meal, before standing and beginning the long walk to the town. Their destination, the town in which young Moonlight had spent most of her life, was a place they hadn’t been to for years.

The trip itself was uneventful. Traveling on the top allowed them to see using moonlight, but it also made it a tad more dangerous. Or, would, if both lacked wings. However, as instead both possessed them and were at least somewhat able to fly, it was little more than a very minor inconvenience at worst. they did occasionally have to worry about flying magical creatures, but this close to Eriazha it was a nonissue. They continued in relative silence, the young foal enjoying herself by doing a myriad of things, such as flying ahead, flying back, gathering food, and so on. Eventually they reached the gap between two branches, and lept into flight, crossing carefully, Silent Gaze remaining below his daughter and keeping an eye out. Once they had flown over, they arrived at the folded leaves which held farms, it was the very furthest outskirts of the town.

Until he had taken her in, he had only ever flown over, or completely bypassed, the outskirts where most of the farms were located, and had had no interest in the smaller ones above the towns themselves. As such, he took the time to look them over. Each leaf was just wide enough to allow for a few small fruit and vegetable plants to grow. They couldn’t grow anything that needed a tree, like apples, for fear of them growing overlarge like the forest has. Instead, most farms were small and grew things like cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, and so on. The dirt and nutrients needed for the farms was gathered from the mountains to either side of the forest, and had been set up just before the rebellion. It was the main reason why towns remained small, they did not have the resources or space to make the larger farms needed to support large towns. He knew, though had never seen them, that usually the leaves directly over homes would be more like parks and recreational areas, some even having small pools of water when the leaf was rained on regularly. The two of them spent approximately thirty minutes in the area, stopping for a brief meal, before leaving for the town proper.

Eriazha, Silent Gaze noted, had not changed much in the last three years. There were still people flying about, more than before but it was early morning now, the buildings were much the same as they had been, and the almost sleepy mood remained the same. Having never stopped at an Inn here, the two of them did what they always did, head for the market to find someone to buy their things. It didn’t take long, a bat-winged mare with a silver mane and dark fur bought it for a modest sum, which they then used to rent a room at the inn she recommended to them. Another mare who appeared identical, save a different cutie mark, showed them to a room with a decent view of the fields. As it was pretty late the two of them asked for the meal that came with the room to be delivered to them, and stayed inside for the rest of the evening.

Once the door closed, the two of them sat down, looking outside for a moment, before Silent closed the curtains, moonlight fading from sight as crystals lit up. The two of them looked at one another, before with a flash of redish pink fire, Moonlight returned to her natural appearance. her mane was the same, save for holes where the hair naturally parted, but like all changelings she had black chitin instead of fur, fangs, and holes in her legs, though only one. She was small, her head still baby-like, and her slitted eyes were the same blue as before. Her wings were yet reddish-pink, as was the splash of color on her abdomen and back, though a tiny spattering of blue was present. She stretched her wings and limbs, “I know I have to... but it’s hard to keep my disguise up all night.”

“You can’t be found.” He nuzzled her slightly, before stretching himself, and beginning his exercises. Nothing too strenuous, mostly just stretches so he could keep limber.

“I know.” She sighed, “It’s still hard... I don’t have the magic for it.” Yet. She knew she was still growing, but she wasn’t sure how long she would, or what she would look like. She’d never seen another changeling before, after all. “Why is everypony so afraid of us?”

“it’s a long, complicated story...” Which meant he wasn’t going to tell her. The two lapsed into silence, until a knock rang on the door, which caused the two to jump into action. Moonlight, with another flash of flames, returned to her disguise. The door was opened, and in walked a thestral with their two meals balanced on her leathery wings. Silent Gaze thanked her, and she left. The door was locked, they ate their meal, and Silent Gaze took their food downstairs. Another hour passed for the two of them when he returned, spent playing a game where she tried to catch his tail, without using magic. Much like a kitten following their mother’s tail, she wasn’t particularly good at it, but it was very fun. Eventually she tired herself out, and fell asleep on top of him. Silent Gaze set her down on the bed next to him, before falling asleep himself. The two of them sent the rest of the day in their beloved Princess’ realm of dreams.

Nightfall came, Silent Gaze waking before his extremely clingy daughter. He stood, separated himself from her, and took a shower, stepping out a few minutes later to see his daughter still asleep. Without comment he took out a letter, reading it once more. He had to have the exact directions to the sender’s home. After reading and rereading the section a few times he returned the paper to his saddlebags, putting them on and waiting for his daughter to wake. She did so a few minutes later, unlike Silent Gaze’s slower waking she just sat up, looked for him, and then flashed into her disguise, jumping off of the bed with an energetic “Good evening Father!”

“Good evening, Moonlight.” The two of them stepped out of the room, making their way down to eat breakfast with the other patrons, and then stepped out into the town once more. They walked past the market, and the school, took a roundabout path around the barracks, and found their way to a quiet section of the town, with only a few buildings. They walked up to one particular door, the building much more plain and bereft of the usual decorations, and then knocked. The door opened to reveal a leather-winged mare with a dark coat and forest green hair with grey streaks in it and a pair of open books for a cutie mark.

“Yes, who is it?”

“Silent Gaze, ma’am.” Her demeanor, despite not being a military pony, was sufficient that he had to consciously keep his hoof extended in a hoof-shake, as opposed to saluting her. “This is my daughter, Moonlight. Are you Lost Script?” She sniffed, but nodded. “We received your letter.” He lowered his hoof, which she hadn’t taken, and pulled out said paper. “It said you had something to give to my daughter?”

“Yes.” She looked to Moonlight, demeanor softening just a bit. She stepped in, turning around when the two waited, “What are you waiting for, get in here. I can’t very well talk about it in the open, can I?” The pair looked to one another, but before Silent could tell her anything Moonlight walked into the home with the bravado only young foals could show.

“Moonlight!”

“What? She said we could come in.” With a tongue stuck out at him, she proceeded to follow the mare down a few halls. As soon as he joined the door closed, and he started to calculate his best choices. The interior of the home was filled with bookshelves, empty ink bottles, and scattered papers. Some of them had one language or other, and the rest had something he couldn’t even begin to understand. It was like random glyphs, and completely beyond his understanding.

“It was odd, I’ve never seen a book written in that language before.” Lost Script began to speak, having settled Moonlight into a seat by the side, Silent Gaze stepped into the room and stopped. More than the halls, this living room, if it could be called such, was covered floor to ceiling with books, bookshelves, and scrapped or mid-work papers. He twitched slightly at the unorganized chaos of it, “My daughter was Polaris’ nurse, you know.” A book, two, she was almost throwing them, though of course they always landed perfectly safely on this or that pile. “Right Wing, she was. It was a shame those hunters killed her. Luckily for you,” This was her first pause, where she turned to Moonlight, “She managed to give me the manuscript before they found it. It probably would have been burnt.”

“Y-you knew my mom?”

“My daughter knew your mom.” She stopped, moved a few papers away, and pulled out a professionally bound book with a stylised version of the Queen on it, “Here we are! I took the privilege of not only translating it, but having the original and translated versions printed properly.” She began the process of leaving the circle she had formed, moving slowly so as to not knock anything over. “I had the pleasure of getting to know what kind of person she was through it. I don’t know the proper language, but just in case I have a translation guide for you. It should work for most things you want to write, given how deceptively long the book was... I had to have it sent to be enchanted by the unicorns in Meria, you know. It’s much longer than it looks.” She finally was free enough she could fly, and did so, landing next to his daughter.

“W-why does it need to be translated?”

“Whatever language this is, it isn’t meant for ponies. Each glyph was a full sentence, it’s much more complicated than any language I know of. It took ten years to get this baby,” She patted it, “Ready for anypony to read. The unicorns said that it was a magic language, designed for some purpose, but they couldn’t piece anything more together about it. Either way, once they saw the author they destroyed the notes. Or, should have anyway.” She hoofed the book over to the changeling, who picked it up and held it tightly, reverently. “I call it, for lack of a better name, Katian.”

“Wait,” Silent, finally having navigated the room, stopped, and stared at the mare. His ears pinned to the sides of his head, but all he did was ask, “You said you translated this. Why?” Why would she have ever bothered opening a book if it was in trust for somepony else? It wasn’t like she was asked to do so. Moonlight began to trace the stylized art on the cover.

“I was curious, honestly. My daughter just wanted me to hold it until I could give it to you, Moonlight, but my special talent is for translation.” She smiled slightly, “I also figured I couldn’t give it to anypony without knowing who it was for. So, I tried my hoof at translating it. If the owner came before I finished, so much the better.” She gave him a considering look, before, “I wouldn’t worry. Those hunters killed my daughter looking for young Moonlight. I was never going to hoof it over to them. Nor you two.” She clapped her hooves together, “Ah, yes. I have the manuscript upstairs. Please, make yourselves at home while I get it. I’m sure you’ll want it for sentimental reasons, yes?”

With that she flew off, heading up to the second floor. Silent sat next to his daughter, looking over the book critically. He wasn’t a unicorn, so he couldn’t perform the myriad of magical scans that this required... and before the study could grow worrying, the young changeling had opened the book already. She wasn’t reading, he could tell, she was just running her hoof over the pages, feeling them. He bent down to nuzzle her, but before he could say anything their host returned.

“Now then, I kept this one locked away, safe from harm.” The thestral glided down to the two of them, pausing once she noticed the mood, her tone lowering to a more respectful one. “Here, Princess.” The book was laid down on the table in front of Moonlight. “I couldn’t read it at first, and I might have made a few mistakes, but... well, one look at the book is enough to tell.” Said book was a simple journal, it was worn, the pages clearly having been spelled multiple times to remove wet ink where mistakes were made, worn beyond it’s age. Moonlight gently lifted the cover, only for an envelop to fall out and float down. The three of them watched it before sharing a confused look. The first to speak was Silent Gaze.

“Was it...?” He looked to their host.

“No. No I did not.” Moonlight dived for the letter. Silent Gaze reached for her, only to narrowly miss as she launched into the air and opened it.

“MOONLIGHT!” The two of them engaged in a chase scene straight out of a 90's cartoon, with Moonlight flying this way and that, sometimes faking out her father, and other times almost being caught. Lost Script, utterly bewildered, watched the impromptu performance silently from her spot on the couch. What?

The show continued for several minutes, during which one could almost hear accompanying music. Laughter from Moonlight and the occasional exasperated shout from Silent rang through the home. Eventually Silent had harmlessly pinned his daughter, but It was too late. Having read at least some of the letter in between her father's dives and tackles, her laughter had slowly subsided and at last she spoke in the openly curious, innocent tone that all foals are known to use.

“Do you know any changelings? "

Introduction- The opening section of a piece of music or movement.
Eri- referring to the constellation in which the star Azha is found, the Eriandus constellation. Also known as the river constellation.
Azha- the hatching place. A star in the Eriandus constellation.

Author's Note

I am a little worried that the change in tone might disappoint you all, but this is the beginning of the tale proper. Here, at last, begins Moonlight’s journey. I did try to keep the momentum going, and not linger too long on any scene, but I wanted to highlight the relationship between Moonlight and Silent Gaze.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

3 Madrigal

Strata. Eventually you will come across this term, my daughter. You likely know by now that there are five strata to the starsea forest. From the bottom up the strata are named: Crystalla, the bottommost strata; Abyssa, the fourth strata; Lianea, the third strata; Umbria, the second strata; and the Forest Roads, the first strata. The brightblooms hang above the Forest Roads, and are sometimes called the Lunar Strata.

Each strata from the Forest Roads down is progressively more dangerous, with the exception being Crystalla. Crystalla is where we used to mine the glowing crystals and various vital materials for Alchemy. The abundance of celestial magic has had an unexpected effect on the plants, animals, and minerals of the forest. Many are more powerful, more dangerous, or have effects not found elsewhere. It is why some ponies can make a living only off of foraging from the various strata, as even the thestrals can make potions using these potent ingredients, and the small unicorn population can create various rare and powerful enchantments. It is this which allows the thestrals to hide on the rare occasions when a patrol enters the forest proper.

SE 1014
“Do you know any changelings?"

Emotions are at best an abstract concept to ponies. They may understand on a theoretical level that emotion affects things physically. Some powerful unicorns have mane and tail turn to flame when upset, some have physical changes when they are down, such as losing all of the curls in their hair. However, even with these two facts, the truth remains: to ponies, emotions are at best a metaphysical concept. To changelings, however, they were not only what a pony would think, but also physical effects as well. So it was that while the two adults broke into an argument about having a letter from changelings, Moonlight didn't even react. Not even when Silent Gaze took the letter from her hooves, and began to read it for himself.

To her, the storm of emotions was exactly that, a storm. The words they spoke were but background noise compared to the torrent she was subjected to. Silent Gaze's were the worst, she could feel the warm current of his love for her, of course, but there were harsh tones of hostility, pins and needles because it was not aimed at her, but sharp and painful all the same. His anger at the changelings, having the audacity to not even talk to them, was like standing just far enough away from a furnace not to be burnt, painful, but with no lasting harm. However, the emotion that was most painful, and aimed towards her, was by far the worry and protectiveness. Normally such were like a blanket, but at this point it was thick, almost like suffocating or drowning. His panic, another high-pitched feeling like being in the midst of a windstorm, combined to make each more sensitive to her. Alone, this would have set her to hyperventilating, but combined with Lost Script's emotions, a chilling combination of fear, anger, confusion, and any number of more subtle emotions lost under the buffett of stronger ones, combined to make her practically catatonic. She lay there, eyes glazed over, having returned to her natural form unnoticed by her guardian and host for a good ten minutes. Eventually they calmed down enough to notice her state, and with a cup of chamomile tea and much calmer heads, the two of them began to talk things out rationally, whilst Moonlight slowly returned to reality.

"One more time, let's read the letter." Lost Script, sounding much calmer than her prickly emotions would show, began. Silent Gaze nodded, gesturing for her to do so. Holding the letter in one hoof, and the cup in the other, she began to speak aloud.

"On behalf of all the Changeling Hives, Queen Alatea speaks to the Lunar Empire.

"By our combined decree you are to release the changeling royal in your care to the Royal Conclave by the 3rd month, on the 5th day, according to your pony calendar. Passage will be guaranteed during the interval and on your return trip. We permit a total of 6 guards to escort her. If you do not release her by the above date the Lunar Empire will be held in violation of their treaty with the Starsung Hive, as well as guilty of reckless endangerment of changeling royalty, and appropriate actions will be taken.

"A changeling royal should never grow to the age of twelve without the Hive Mind, and as her own mother was lost, the Empire was well aware that their duty was to turn over the foal to us before her fifth year of life. The Changeling Royals find your lack of prompt action and irresponsibility to be utterly contemptible, and will be taking such ill faith into account when considering further relations with the Empire." Silence hung in the air, for a few minutes. As before, their emotions were stirred, though less in anger and more in concern and fear. Before either of them could say anything more, however, Moonlight spoke, her cup now empty and eyes only half focused on the room around her.

"That... means I have to leave, doesn't it?" She looked to the two of them, who couldn't meet her eyes just yet. "Father, I do, don't I?" He started, but she gave him her best (not very much so) intimidating look. "If I don't that means something bad will happen to everypony, right? I don't want anypony to get hurt just because I want to stay with you." His ears, which had been drooping, snapped forward at that. She blinked, the warm solidness of his sudden resolve was not something she had expected.

"No, not you." He stood, sweeping her into a hug, snuggling her and trying to focus as much on his love as possible. It helped, a little bit. She relaxed a bit more,

"She has a point, Silent Gaze." Lost Script took a drink before continuing, "No matter what we do, we only have a short amount of time to decide. The trip will be at least 2 weeks just to get to the train, and then who knows how long to get to where the Conclave is held." That was a question, where was it held? She didn't know, and that was a problem.

"We'll talk to our Princess Luna, she will know what to do."

Moonlight tugged on his side. "Will I be able to go? Doesn't everypony hate changelings? I don't think I can keep my illusion up even while I'm asleep."

"Then we wrap you up in a cloak. Nopony will complain if I say you're sick." She frowned, but knew that he wouldn't listen while he was like this. Of course, their host didn't agree with that, and so she spoke next.

"The filly has a point. Just a cloak will not help. Shouldn't you send a letter to her first?" Lost script frowned, "At best the two of you will be arrested."

"I can get us through, I know how to get to her chambers." Silent stood and took the letter, before nudging his daughter. She stood, with a flash taking her illusion, and began to make her way through, feeling a fair bit worried about just how gung-ho her father was all of a sudden. "Thank you, Lost Script. We'll take care of the books."

A week later and the father and daughter duo were heading through the forests on the lowest, and darkest level. Even the heightened night vision of a thestral was not up to the task of piercing the darkness of the lowest strata, Crystalla. Luckily, so long as they travelled on the known roads, this wasn't much of a problem. Moonlight had returned to her natural form, and was providing light via her horn, but it was still very creepy. If one wanted to travel quickly through the forest, they either had to use the Forest Roads, and risk the monsters and animals of that upper layer, or drop quickly down to the lowest Strata and navigate the ever present darkness.

It was a precarious trip to fly all the way to the lowest strata. Each of the four above had different threats, increasingly dangerous as a pony flew further down. In a few places there were corridors down, usually at each major town, one of which was Eriazha. The two of them had paid the tax to go down one such corridor, and thus arrived at the bottom floor without incident. Unfortunately, the area they were in was between two of the trees, so they had to walk the way in the dark. Within Crystalla there was plenty of light to see, so long as you were near a tree. Crystia, the glowing crystals used for lighting above, were known to grow from below the roots of the trees, casting a subtle light on the entire area. However, the trip between two trees was oppressively dark, and though a pony could feel the ferns and grasses, without unicorn or changeling magic, or some other method of illuminating the area, one could not tell what they were. The past week had been spent hearing the sounds of dangerous creatures above, the rustling of red-pink tinged foliage, and heading towards the growing light in the distance.

This morning they had finally approached enough that her magic was allowed to fade away, and within a few hours they arrived at the first giant crystal. It was easily three times the size of the average griffon. The root behind it was one, thing, but the crystal itself was a yellowish gold, similar to pale sunlight. The two of them walked under the crystal, it having taken the shape of large grasses or fronds, and as they did a second appeared, forming a glowing cover over the two of them. Moonlight was in awe, in her short life she'd never seen anything quite like it... Moonlight's voice echoed through the crystal, taking on an almost musical quality, turning what was normally frightening into a thing of beauty, "Father, have you ever seen anything like this?"

"No. It is beautiful, but be careful. The crystals could break at any point." Case in point, they heard the echoing of something falling down, the crystals vibrating in response. The crash could have fallen near them, or all the way on the other side of the now branching pathway.

"What are they?" Moonlight's ears switched to point towards the location, but her fascination couldn't be swept aside so easily.

"They're called Crystia." Silent Gaze looked around, before stepping over to a splintered part that had fallen a while ago, now a dead grey. "Crystia store magic, Moonlight. Your ancestors used it to store love, but that is not the only kind of magic they can hold." He touched one hoof to it, slowly turning it silver, "They absorb the magic of anything that touches them, using it to grow." He removed said hoof, it began to give off the same silvery hue, almost buried under all the glow from the crystals, "These crystals absorbed Solar magic, filtered through the Brightblooms. Try to lift it in your magic."

"Right." She nodded, her horn lighting up, the stone lit up as well, though only for a moment. Moonlight frowned, before focusing more magic into it, but the more she did the deeper the crystal changed to her magic's color... not reddish-pink as her horn glowed, but a light blue between the color of the sky and moonbeams. She gave up with a gasp, if she were in disguise she would have been sweating, but instead proceeded to pant and hug her father, "I can't.. why?"

"The magic all went into the crystal. Once they break off of the main base they can only absorb it from contact with magic. Watch." She did, noting that the crystal did indeed glow... brighter than when her father had held it for a few seconds. "That's your Crystia, Moonlight." She frowned, but picked it up in her hoof, "Once it's absorbed as much magic as it can, it'll be as easy to move as anything else. At least, that's what I've heard." She nodded, picking it up with her hoof, and putting it in her saddlebags. She'd pull it out when they were out of crystal reach.

A few more hours passed, before the corridor began to open up, spreading until it almost looked like a full courtyard, in the center of which was the remains of several blue buildings. The buildings were made of the same crystal as that of the crystal above them, and the two looked one to the other before taking to the air, the buzz of insectoid wings filling the space, once more the crystal changed to make it sound more melodic than frightening. They explored the small town, Silent frowning. He didn't remember anything about a forgotten town in Crystalla, at least not near where they were.

Finding a relatively safe space in the center, Silent landed, looking about with curiosity. The crystal that used to make up walls was engraved, somehow the coloring of them was different, for those still bound to the ground and yet glowing, but the ones on the ground almost looked like they were about to shatter. Moonlight, still worried, kept to the sky while she zipped around. It didn't last for long, but when she did land, the previously almost grey ground below them began to brighten. Each step she took left a pale brightness, before fading away. "What, where is this?"

"A lost town, it seems." He noted that her steps immediately caused the ground to respond, but said nothing, only rose one eyebrow. This was worth reporting, he supposed. To the Sovereign, not to the guard. He took out their map, and circled vaguely where they should be with charcoal, before closing it. Moonlight, were she any other pony, would have been lost by now, but instead she had sat down, while her father had marked the map. She was curious, of course, but she knew better than to run off. She wasn't even able to fight off the monsters in the first strata, Forest Roads, yet. Unlike ponies, she didn't have that much magic available to her yet, aside from shapeshifting.

The two of them explored for about an hour, trying to figure out what happened more out of curiosity than any duty, but aside from the heightened reaction to Moonlight's changeling nature, all they could tell was that this was yet another ruin. A curiosity, but not something that was worth becoming overly concerned over. As they left, however, Moonlight turned to look at the building. She almost wanted to go back, and explore a bit more. Something about it spoke to her, but she didn't have time for it... not right now anyway.

Once they turned from the crystal town the trip continued largely without incident, they were taking the quickest path to Hollow Shades. It was a long trip, but they had plenty of food just laying around them, which of course they foraged some of the rarer ones for later, and the rest ate what they knew was safe to. Three weeks they spent travelling, total, and arrived a month after their initial beginning of the trip, hearing the sound of steam and a railroad. The two of them stepped over the last natural hill, and before them lay the town proper.

"We're here!" Moonlight, with a flash her disguise in place, shouted with foalish exuberance. With flaps of her wings she was in the sky, and Silent followed a scant few seconds later. The two of them glided down to the town, the first thing of note was the look of the town, rustic brick buildings, lights everywhere, smokestacks. Second, they heard the sounds of ponies going about their day, a great change from the quiet of the forest before them, followed closely by the scent of pony and nature mingling, and trees that broke just enough to see a tiny bit of the sky, thestral and pegasi filled the sky, unicorns and earth ponies through the streets. "Finally. Any longer in there and I might have gone mad from the silence!"

Silent Gaze chuckled, one hoof rising to cover his mouth, before placing it on her withers, "Let's go, little one. We've much to do before we can get on the train to Canterlot." In his mind he went over each step, from selling their findings to getting a cloak in case of changeling checks. They had no way of knowing if the ponies of Canterlot were still paranoid about them, even with how long it had been since the fiasco of the Canterlot Invasion. If there was still a problem with it, he would have to sneak them into the town at night, flying directly to their Sovereign's Night Court. He stopped himself before going much further down that road of thought, no need to borrow trouble before it was time, the two of them still had to get to the capital.

Madrigal -A contrapuntal song written for at least three voices, usually without accompaniment.

Author's Note

Just so you know: The forest is approximately 184,000 square miles, or about 476557.812 square kilometers, just over the size of the average state in the United States of America according to this website..

This chapter was later in the day because unfortunately I had a lot of school related things to do last week, and had to write everything yesterday and today. I did make it to almost 3k words, just about a hundred short, but it would an entire extra day to add another scene in, and I don't want to make you guys wait too long.

Anyway, hope you like what I've written, and enjoy the chapter!

4 Deceptive Cadence

I would love to tell you, my daughter, that the world was safe for you. Alas, I cannot. There are many dangers which lay in wait, not only for changelings, but for you as a changeling Royal. I assume that, with the overwhelming amount of thestrals around you, it is likely that you have taken the form of a thestral as your standard disguise. While, of course, we are free to take any form we like, the ease of maintaining it and strength of the illusion will change with practice, so those forms you are most practiced with will withstand more powerful magics. That is why I ask you to practice with other forms.

Changelings are unlike the other races of the world. We don't live solely on food, but on love as well. This makes us a frightening existence to the other races. Alone, that would be nothing to worry about. However, everycreature has its limit, and if enough fear is aimed towards something, they will try to destroy it. So it is that the among the ponies, the Hunters were created. The exact history of how they were created is less important than this fact: You, as a young changeling Royal, lack the ability to defend yourself from them. The oldest, strongest, and most effective defense of the changelings is our ability to disguise ourselves. The more forms we are able to freely use, the easier it will be for you to hide from them.

SE 1014

The village of Hollow Shades was, as one might expect, more busy than most of the thestral lands. As all there was a great deal of night work, but it didn't only come from thestrals. There were the hoofsteps of earth ponies and unicorns, the wing-beats of the pegasi, and the subtle tingling of unicorn magic. The town itself was made mostly of wooden buildings, many of whom were either on stilts or used the tree trunks as a wall or support, there were no complex weavings found in other towns. Additionally, torches and the warm lights preferred by day ponies were everywhere, bathing the whole town in a warm golden color. The combination of shadow and light would make it appear as though the town was in a constant state of celebrating Nightmare Night, especially with vine-inspired signs on most of the shops, which were seeing much business as ponies who were here merely for tourism went in and out to buy souvenirs. The father and daughter pair, ears pinned down, made their way through the streets heading towards the center.

"I... get why we never went here before." Moonlight winced as someone tripped, all of their things crashing down onto the street with a cacophony not dissimilar to that of a branch-fall, albeit much harsher as some of the items were made of metal. The flashes of annoyance, worry, laughter, and who knows what else made her a little dizzy, one hoof paced to her head as she tried to shake it off. A few short steps and she was pressed up against Silent, as close as she could get without tripping him up.

He placed one wing over her, "It will be ok." She nodded, letting him guide her through the town, until they reached an unassuming building in the center of town. Inside was a desk with one thestral present, it was far quieter inside when compared to on the roads. In addition, the room itself, while lacking the distinct weaving as all within this town, did have the same carvings and night motif of most thestral homes and buildings. Above the counter at the far end was a symbol of a crescent moon with a plant, a glowing purple flower known for it's potent magical properties, though neither of the two knew what those properties were. Behind the counter stood a unicorn, on his dark blue vest the same symbol as above, marking him as a member of the Enchanter's Guild.

"Why did we-?" Moonlight looked him over, noting that his bright green coat and orange mane did not match with the vest at all, and resolved not to copy his form for herself at any point. The two of them usually avoided the Guilds, trying not to catch the eye of the government proper. Silent, instead of answering, just squeezed her lightly with his wing before stepping up to the counter. She watched him with confusion obviously on her face, before hurrying after him.

"Are you here to order, or to sell?" The stallion sighed, using magic to open the book meant to record the transactions, magic the color of his eyes, a dirt brown, lighting up the page and a quill and ink as he prepared to record it. The whole action had an air of a summer intern, which his emotional aura matched, causing Moonlight to scrunch her nose at the wet cardboard feeling of his emotions. Of all of them, apathy was a close second to the feeling of hatred on her radar of 'emotions-to-avoid-at-all-costs." She was, of course, rather young to be so upset at such.

"Selling today..." He paused, looking the vest over, spotting what he needed to finish his statement, "Journeyman." That was a high rank for merely handling the counter, but then again this was Hollow Shades, where they needed to put their best hoof forward, lest the Princess be shamed. Or, so was how the government likely saw it, Silent supposed. He took out a sample of what they had, various herbs and crystals, though no monster parts today. "We have two saddlebags worth in total, an amalgamation of all of these. Each in comparable level."

The stallion's eyes opened a bit wider as he prodded them each with his hoof, lifting only specific ones in his magic, lest it taint the Wild Magic within. As he studied, his expression shifted to show more and more interest, before he set them down. "Let me get the Artisan... we do not usually get things from Crystalla in here, you understand." He did indeed, and nodded before the stallion turned to go through a door to the right.

The two of them were left alone for a few minutes, so he finally had a chance to answer his daughter. "We're here, Moonlight, because this trip is going to be much farther than any before." He nuzzled her, considering what supplies they would need. "We need to have more bits than any other time, the best way to get that is to sell to the Guild directly." She could feel the prickles that usually followed his worry, but before she could speak the stallion from before returned, followed by another much older stallion whose name was going grey.

"Show me the materials." Silent glanced at the vest, the supervisor? He had not expected to draw him out. Obediently Silent Gaze gestured to the counter, "All of them." One eyebrow rose, but he gestured to Moonlight and the two of them began the half-hour long process of placing each one down in its category safely. Once everything was in place, the artisan looked each product over with his critical eye, before magicing over a bag full of bits. "This is our offer," It opened slightly, revealing an amount of bits on the lower end of middling pricing for everything. It was, frankly, lowballing the prices. Silent, and Moonlight, knew as such, so her father began to count it out to find out exactly how much they were behind.

It irked him, they were being deprived of about half of what they should get for these herbs, however he just nodded. Moonlight, about to say something, was stopped with him scooping up the herbs, "Then we will be on our way." He didn't let her get a word in edgewise, starting the process of using his wing to drag her out of the building, at which point he finally answered the sputtering changeling's question. "It's enough, we just have to get on the train ride." Much of the things he wanted to buy would have to be forgone, but they had the bits for the three leg train ride at least.

"Father, they cheated us. Right?" He nodded, "Then why didn't we negoiate?" She frowned, her muzzle scrunching, "Negomiate. Negoshiate."

"Negotiate," Silent Gaze corrected, chuckling slightly as she just continued on. It wasn't exactly unusual for her to get irritated, but this was the first time he'd seen this strong of a reaction in public. Usually she waited until they were behind doors, and she could wield her magic freely. The way she frustratedly tried to make her point clear without it reminded him of his younger sister, before she had left for Equestria at large.

"Right, that!" She stomped one hoof, "It wouldn't have hurt, right? They cheated us!"

"This is not like other towns." He gestured one hoof towards a mother and daughter earth pony pair, "We can't afford to make a scene here." He glanced down the road, and saw somepony out of the corner of his eye. Suspicion, normally enough to get his daughter to quiet down, colored his thoughts. She, however, was far too busy being angry at the unicorns from the Guildhall to listen.

"Why not?" She flapped her wings, hovering in front of Silent and gesturing wildly. "It's just a town, they're just ponies, and those unicorns were wrong!" The two of them turned around the corner, the train station was now directly in front of them, not that she saw it. "We earned those bits!"

"Moonlight."

"It was so hard picking them, and then we had to carry them, and not to mention that if we hadn't been in the town we would have had to avoid all sorts of monsters to get-" There was that person again, as they were about to enter the train station. He had to get her attention.

"Moonlight!" She stopped at his sudden shout, landing on all fours.

"Yes?" Her eyes were wide, and she looked around. That was his 'duck, now!' voice, he only used it when there was something dangerous around. Seeing nothing herself that would set him off, she tilted her head.

"We're here." They were in fact, directly in front of the door. "We should get something to eat before we go, though. How about a Hayburger?" And like that her attention was diverted. The two of them had a wonderful meal in the mid-station cafeteria, during which he kept an eye on the pegasus colt who was following the two of them. Once said colt walked off, probably to report to whomever he was working for, the two of them got their tickets and entered the train.

Moonlight, still carrying her fries, was too busy enjoying the novel experience of being on the train to question it when Silent left the room, telling her to keep the door locked unless she felt his aura behind the door. Leaving her to enjoy herself, he found the nearest guardspony, "Guardspony," He began, "I need you to remove a pony with this cutie mark," A piece of paper he'd doodled the mark in question on was hoofed over, "And a black coat with dark blue and silver mane and tail. He's been following us, and I worry that he's trying to kidnap my daughter..."

"Why would he do that, sir?" The white-coated guard's eyebrow rose, clearly conveying his lack of interest.

"I used to be a thestral guard, sir, and I'm worried he works for one of the criminals I captured..." For good measure, he tilted his ears, lowered his gaze, and scuffed the floor. The picture of worry, he hoped, was projected. He kept up the act for a good while, before looking back at him, "Please? Even if you just keep an eye on him..." The guardspony looked to the side, but his partner just shrugged. Now, the coup de grace, Silent wobbled his lower lip and teared his eyes...

"Alright, fine! I got it, we'll find him and set some guards near his compartment, OK?"

"Thank you so much...!" And when the first guardspony left to do so, his partner sighed and placed one hoof to his forehead. Silent walked off, while the guardspony who remained at the station just groaned.

"I can't believe that Stalwart was so easily played..."

Silent Gaze returned to their compartment, Moonlight obediently opening the door so he could come in. The blinds on the window were down, and she was in her natural form. The train cabin itself was cheap, just a few cots, a window with a seat in it, and a table for their meals. Sitting on the table was her Crystia, now glowing a deep blue-silver, bright in the dark room. Moonlights horn was alight, her focus on the crystal as she attempted to fill it, as much as possible. Around it lay the cloth she usually wrapped it in, so she could lift it in her magic when not charging it. It was two hours before dawn by this point, so he closed and locked the door. She turned, the glow on her horn fading after she wrapped the crystal once more, revealing the painted pastel colors of the train car, without the fading the Crystia's light seemed to cause. "You're back!"

He moved over to her, setting his saddle bags under the cot across from hers, "Lock the door." She did, "Now then Moonlight... I know it's a bit early, but we do have a few hours until the train leaves." Her ears drooped, "We should get a few hours of sleep. The train ride to Canterlot is two days, so if we sleep a little early we should be awake when we arrive. We can explore the town for a bit before meeting with the Sovereign?" There they went rising, her eyes dilating to the size of dinner plates on her head.

"Really?" He smiled, noting how she adjusted her posture to look as cute as possible.

"Really. But you have to sleep early both days, ok? We need daylight to look at the various things they have in town." She nodded her head vigorously, curling up on her cot immediately. This was the best. Trip. Ever! She had to hurry to sleep, or the two of them would never have fun on the town! She needed to have fun with her father, who knows what's going to happen... after all, ponies don't like changelings.

Silent chuckled before pulling the blanket up over her, tucking his daughter in for the night, placing a kiss on her forehead. I won't leave you alone, little one. With the love only a parent can give, he made his way to his own cot, "Sweet dreams, little one." His eyes closed, and the two of them passed the next several hours in silence, without change. At approximately noon Silent woke, seeing that Moonlight was still asleep he only took out the map of Equestria to look over and plan their route. He knew generally where the changeling lands were, but there was no rail line to them, so he spent the next two hours planning the trip.

He didn't want to take it, but if the Sovereign said they would, he would most certainly ensure that they were prepared for it. There wasn't any money for supplies, at least not after the day of fun he promised, so he had to pick a road through plains or forests, where there would be enough plant matter for the two of them. The next two hours passed in silence, him writing notes on a spare piece of paper, until Moonlight woke. "M'rnin..." She muttered, rubbing her eyes with one hoof, before flying over to him.

He nuzzled her, but didn't break his hold on quill or paper, turning back to it as she began the process of feeding on his love. "Good morning sweetie." A few more scribbles, notes on this or that, and he draped his wing over her. That was good. He folded it up, placing it on the table and gave her a full hug. "Now, I know you like looking like me, honey, but could you try looking like a unicorn?"

"Why?" A yawn, she was feeling much more awake after that hug, indeed. "Thestrals aren't that rare, right?"

"Canterlot, from what I've heard, is the home of unicorns." He squeezed her withers, before setting his hooves down. "It'll attract less attention if it looks like a
pegasus and his unicorn daughter are going around town."

"You're a thestral though, daddy."

"Ah, but day ponies only see the bat-winged of us as thestrals. To them, I just look like an extra fluffy pegasus." Her ears drooped and she frowned.

"That's stupid." Even so, she obediently lit her horn, and changed first her coat to a lighter shade of blue than her disguise, then her mane to look roughly the same as before, holes no more. Her Legs were next, holes disappeared, replaced with whole counterparts, and then her tail. The hardest part was not making wings, as it was habit, and straightening her horn before adding the telltale spiral of all unicorns. This was done with flame coating each part as they changed. Once that was done, she lifted the window, watching her reflection as she removed the glow and rounded her pupils, until at last she looked the same as the unicorns from the store, albeit much smaller. She turned around, checking each part, before sitting down just as they left the shadow of the forest, stepping into wide open plains and harsh sunlight.

Queen Chrysalis, unknown to young Moonlight, had once called Equestria the land with the most love she had ever seen. It was, indeed, such. Upon leaving the forest floor, Moonlight's attention was caught by two things: First, the beauty of the plains before her. Yes, they were covered in the snow of winter, but the gently rolling hills, the shapes of trees in the distance, and the railroad proper heading between two massive mountains, was enough to surprise her. More so, however, was the tiny mountain that they appeared to be heading towards. She couldn't see it clearly, but she could feel it, the second thing that caught her attention.

Emanating from that direction was a gigantic aura of positivity. Love, friendship, hope, care... as though there was some sort of embodiment of it present. She knew, of course, of the Crystal Empire, and while she might have thought it was such, it was not so. For it also came from the ground, in a lesser amount. She didn't even need to feed from her father, at this point. She was being fed simply by being within this space. If it was such, why would any changeling ever endanger it? Even she could tell that it was emanating from some living being, though she knew not who. "Equestria is amazing."

Silent looked at her in surprise, she'd never shown any interest in the world outside of Starsea Forest before. "I'll get us some breakfast. Don't let anyone in." She nodded, still staring at the world beyond the window, as he stepped out to get them something to eat, which would turn out to be a platter of various flower sandwiches.

Two days passed and the train circled around the mountain, allowing for an overview of much of the country. To the south, forests that transform into jungle, to the west, ocean and beaches beyond the forest proper, to the west, land that is difficult to properly describe in it's variance, and to the north... wastelands and mountains. The train slowed as it began to circle the top, until it stopped in Canterlot station. The spires, painted in spirals, and almost victorian buildings framed either side of the road outside, bricked streets adding a fair bit of sound as each step echoed. The two of them, in the midst of noon, stood under the bright sun, entirely unprepared for the cold of winter. Snow capped roof, terrace, and road, disguising some of the color and bleaching the whole area, and cold caused mist to form from their breaths.

"This is Canterlot?" Wreaths on storefronts, Hearthswarming lights, and carols painted the whole town in holiday cheer, but there was still an air of dignity to the town. It was much like Starhaven, Silent Gaze mused. Just as self-important, just as elaborate, and just as well defended. There was a Royal Guard on each corner, some pegasi, some earth ponies, and some unicorns. "A fitting town for the Sovereign." To have been cared for by the Sun Alicorn for the past thousand years, it had to be. Our Sovereign must feel safe here.

Taking note of the cold, and Moonlight's lack of focus on it as she stared about with eyes wide in wonder, he began to steer her towards the nearest clothing store. Maybe a matching set of scarves and boots would do? She was young enough, it should keep her attention for a bit, until he could figure out where children would like to go.

Deceptive cadence -A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.

Author's Note

Now then, at long last we leave the Starsea Forest and enter Equestria proper. What wonders and fears await our changeling Royal? After all, stallion and mare alike fear the bug-horses... right? Or, will the events of seasons past have eliminated the fear of them? Tirek was, after all, a much more dangerous foe.

5 Exposition

Alicorns, my daughter, are quite powerful. Unlike normal ponies, each embodies the aspects of their respective magic. Indeed, Alicorn magic is among the most potent and difficult to control of all. Unicorns can only use some spells related to their talents, usually, but Alicorns may wield all magic if given enough training. They can stand upon the clouds, or bend nature to their will, and of course, they can craft the most powerful of spells. It is said that they are of divine origin, though none have proof of such any longer. All that is known of them, is that they are born.

Yes, an Alicorn may, as you might have heard, be born originally as some other form of pony. Perhaps they were a pegasus, or an earth pony, but regardless of how they began their destiny is always and eternally pointing towards their growth into an Alicorn. Alicorns are immortal, so no matter how old they are as a normal pony, once they discover and reach a certain level of mastery over their Alicorn magic they will transform into an Alicorn in their prime. The growth of an Alicorn is directly related to their individual power, however individual power is not the only form of magic an Alicorn can embody. Even a Queen who has gorged herself on the love of another can only match an Alicorn when their magic is limited, such as one that is inherently powerful.

Harmony magic, after all, was first wielded by the ancient Alicorns.

SE 1015

Nopony expected to find the princesses to spend their days and nights buried in paperwork. Even if those who thought about some of their duties had some idea what it was like to rule a nation, they still would have assumed that most of the paperwork would be handled by others. Indeed, aside from functions, public appearances, and the occasional holding of court, Princess Celestia spent the majority of her time hunched over her desk, going over the mountains of paperwork that made up the inner workings of the nation. Her office, all gold and pastels, was quiet and organized.

Her sister, Princess Luna, had it no better. Whilst she was not beholden to the land of Equestria, she had been being sent more and more resources from the Lunar Empire, as they so called themselves. This had, of course, greatly surprised Celestia. She had known that the thestrals were isolationist, but the more information she saw her sister going through when not dreamwalking, the more she was faced with the realization that she had had what was essentially a small protectorate for a thousand years... and had never once so much as visited the heart of their land. The hostility they had held for thousands of years towards her little ponies finally made sense, even if it had been more passive-aggressive than openly so. So it was that the white-coated, rainbow maned, and extremely tall older sister of the Diarchs was only mildly startled when her younger sister ran into the room.

"Sister, thou must see this!" Celestia looked up to see her sister, coat dark as night and mane like the starry sky, with her horn alight and a missive in magic. Carefully Celestia moved her work to their places in the many different shelves and holding cabinets along one wall, the silence of the room only broken by the crackling of her fireplace and the sounds of things being put tidily away. After that, a chair was retrieved from it's spot in the corner, and another cup of tea prepared for the two of them. Her last one had gone cold, so now was as good a time as any to set a new one.

"Please, take a seat." She gestured with one hoof at the now present seat, which Luna sat in. "Now, what is bothering you? You're certainly up very early."

"We had woken to peruse materials sent by Our Empire," Her muzzle scrunched slightly in a grimace, "We never expected such to cross Our lips, We must apologize to thee for Our citizen's failure to integrate, following Our-" A pause, and then she waved a hoof before correcting herself, "My banishment."

"Luna," Celestia began, her tone the same motherly one she used when comforting her student: calm, measured, and with a hint of gentle chiding, "You know you are not responsible for them going into hiding."

"We are-" Again she stopped herself, taking a calming breath, "That is not the point, sister." After taking a sip of the tea, and noting that it was not to her taste, she continued. "I have found some information that I want you to look through." With the hum of magic she placed the papers on the desk, which Celestia proceeded to read.

"A magic source of this power..." Celestia hummed, "I understand. Luna, would you undertake this project?" Said sister straightened, if it were even possible, swallowing her sip of tea quickly.

"Sister?"

"You found it, Luna." A motherly, or in this case sisterly, smile spread across Celestia's face, "It is only fair that you are given any credit for the research." She cut off Luna's attempted complaint, "Leave the matter of permission to me, and focus only on discovering what this source is. There is, of course, the chance that it is a threat... but even then, knowing about it beforehoove will only help."

Luna took a calming breath, "Very well, sister." Her face carefully emotionless she stepped out of her sister's office, and began to craft a plan in her mind. First, she would have to find researchers, and guards for them. This meant, of course, that she would have to speak directly with those who had found it, and thus visit the Starsea Forest. She stepped into the throne room after a moment, taking her seat at the Lunar Throne. She prepared for another night with only a few petitioners. She had no idea just how this meeting would change the Equestrian world view.

A scant few hours before, Moonlight and Silent Gaze had arrived. It was indeed only a short time before the two had to go to the castle, but not before they made their way to the city and had done a few things. First, gathering of goods. The two noticed the occasional bright, colorful butterfly-pony, but neither of them associated such with the reformed changelings. In the first place, they were highly different from what Moonlight had read from her mother regarding their species. There was no telltale sense of a voice, though as a changeling without a Hive it might simply be she did not know what to look for, and they were radiating love towards everyone. She, as a good changeling, drew some of their love whenever near. If they were giving it out, why not? More importantly, however, they were going about without any sort of disguise.

Clearly they were not changelings. The Hunters, her mother claimed, would have sought them out if they were. Mother knew everything about changelings, so they must be something else, though she didn't know what. She wasn't about to ask, either. Curious she may be, but she was not stupid... this was not the Empire, this was Equestria.

The town itself was marvelous, all spires and each building seemed to be a strange mix of regal and... something else she did not have the word for. (Plant-like?) There were many spires, as she had noticed earlier, but there was also a lot of glass, and each house the two of them saw had a fireplace inside it. A fireplace! Weren't they scared of their home catching fire? And some of them were so big! Though her father had no clue where to go to have fun, Moonlight was enjoying having her idea of what a town was shattered so completely, to the point where she didn't even mind- were those curtains outside the building? How cool! "Father, look! Those curtains are on the outside of the building!"

"Now I'm sure-" He turned to their destination, stopping mid sentence. "Actually, you're right... I don't understand da- Canterlot ponies." The two of them, with no further preamble, stepped into the store, to be met with a salespony with a pale yellow coat and stylish light green mane.

"Welcome to Rarity's Canterlot Boutique!" The two winced, not expecting such a bright welcome. "Oh, a thestral. I haven't seen one of you in here before..."

"How did-"

"I know you were a thestral? Why it's all in the feathers." The unicorn's horn lit up in magic the same warm brown color as their eyes, dragging over several different pieces, "Pegasi have feathers like a hawk or dove, not an owl. Yours are also much larger. I was hired just a month ago, you see, before then I had been apprenticed to a-"

"We don't need fancy-"

"Ah, but you aren't here to listen to me prattle on." He, for Moonlight could now tell that he was a stallion, as he... well, marehandled her Father with practiced movements. "You are here to meet with the Princess, yes?" Several options were put back on the rack, leaving only the simplest. "Yes, for you, just a simple coat and scarf. Wouldn't want to hide your natural mane." With that he released the much bemused Silent Gaze, who wobbled slightly, before shaking his head. "I can't imagine why you would have left the Empire, but it must be important!"

"S-sir?" Moonlight could tell he was nice enough, at least, so she tried to interrupt.

"Ah, what a darling filly you are!" She winced, his enthusiasm was so... sweet and bubbly. Before he could get started, she raised her voice a bit louder, like Silent had taught her.

"We just need something warm." Sure, she'd love to wear some of these pretty dresses, but... they didn't have the gold for it, right? She glanced at Silent, hoping to see approval in his eyes.

"Ah, of course!" He blinked, but inwardly waved off the admonition, "Well then, this way to the winter section!" Why wasn't it in front? It was winter right now, right? "Though I still think we should get you something for that meeting with the Princess! You're in luck, it's Night Court day, you know? I think that both should..." Father and daughter shared a bemused look as the salespony continued to ramble while fitting them with a set of boots, scarves, and earmuffs each. Silent in dark colors and Moonlight in white to offset the blue. Moonlight, while waiting for Silent to come out, continued to look at the various dresses from her seat. She was watching over the saddlebags. It was a very important job that only she could do!

Silent came out, another package in his mouth, and put said package in his saddlebags. "Good job, Moonlight." She beamed at the praise, and the two of them, wearing their purchases and payment made, left to head directly to the castle. Approximately halfway through the lowering of the sun began, both stopping where they could watch it set. Under the Starsea Forest they could rarely see the sky clearly without flying above the treeline, so it was rare that anypony, let alone wanderers, would be able to see the setting of the Sun and rising of the Moon. Once the last light of dusk had faded Silent and Moonlight, shivering still from the cold of a mountain in winter, moved on, Silent gently prodding the changeling princess to move forwards, as opposed to staring at the emerging stars. The two would have plenty of time to do that when they moved out of civilisation, to the wild weather outside of Equestria's land.

In but a few hours they arrived at the castle, made their request to enter the Night Court, and were told to wait in an opulent room with several couches to one side, a vase in each corner, and several pots of Lavender. The room did have several other ponies, mostly nobles who wore the arrogant expression of those who are so certain that they have the upper hand. On the other side of the room, the entrance to the hall in front of the Throne Room, stood two thestral guards. There was no avoiding them, though as a unicorn Silent Gaze doubted they would think that Moonlight was the same Changeling Royal they had lost track of so long ago.

The two waited for about an hour, watching as several pairs of petitioners entered, and then left. Some on their own four hooves, some held aloft in wing, and a few more with expressions of anger, disgust, and only a few of triumph. Moonlight had already gone through the gambit of excited, nervous, panicky, and tired, and had settled on somewhere between nausea and curiosity. Silent Gaze had spent the time pretending to preen his wings, but instead watching over his daughter and the guards, whom had not even the slightest hint of recognition in their eyes.

"Silent Gaze and Moonlight." Their names called, both of them got to their hooves, Moonlight scrabbling in youthful nerves and Silent Gaze with the poise of a trained professional. The thestral guard who looked them over huffed, "The Sovereign must truly be bored, to meet with you..." Ah, wonderful, Silent thought, This one has already written the two of us off. We might yet get away with this... especially if the rumors of our Sovereign's backlog are accurate.

They walked into the Throne Room, each hoofstep echoing in the largely empty room. Once they had crossed three quarters of the room, Silent bowed himself, wings placed so they bent touching the ground, which Moonlight copied, minus the wings of course. "Sovereign," he began, slipping into the practiced tones of a guardspony, "I am Silent Gaze, and this is my daughter: Moonlight." He slid into silence, while Moonlight, shaking slightly, opened one eye just enough to look upon the starry-maned form of the Alicorn of the Night.

"Stand, Silent Gaze and Moonlight. My supplicants need not fear, so long as they are honest." The two did, "Approach the dias." Both walked towards the steps, but remained off of them, neither placing a hoof beyond the guards. Luna nodded, regality seeming to pour out of her. Moonlight, for her part, found her shaking subsiding. This pony held deep love for her subjects, it was actually quite awe inspiring, and if she had not been taught to keep herself hidden, she might have blurted something out to that effect. Luna, seeing this, rolled her eyes before finishing, "What needst th- you this night?"

"My Sovereign, there is... something that you must know. I have brought a letter intended for you." He pulled out the letter, pausing each time the guards showed any sign of aggression, only continuing once Luna signalled them to stand down. Once the letter was placed in sight, he bowed once more whilst Luna lit her horn, and summoned the paper to her. This letter, the same that had been found within the manuscript written by Queen Polaris, was read by the Princess. Slowly her aura changed, from calm and deep love to... well, concern and anger.

"The Lunar Empire... I was not informed of such a treaty."

"It was not finalized completely until the last of the rebellion was quelled, Sovereign."

"And the changeling Princess in question?" Silet paused, but before he could say anything himself Moonlight pushed herself to stand. She took a few steps forward, before half-bowing in what she had read was a greeting from one royal to another, one hoof held daintily up.

"My-" She paused, took a breath, "Princess Luna of Equestria, Sovereign of the Lunar Empire, and Alicorn of the Night, I, Princess Moonlight, greet you." With a slow dance of fire, steady, almost as though it were liquid over her body, danced upward to reveal her true form, the horn and wings last to reveal themselves. "It is a pleasure to meet one such as yourself." The words, practiced though they were, were still quite awkward in her mouth. She sounded exactly like a child using words they did not fully understand.

Luna, for her part, was stunned. Here, before her very eyes, was a young nymph that claimed to be a royal. The only proof of such were her slitted eyes, and disguise magic strong enough to fool the wards around the castle. Yet, even so, Luna could not deny her claim, if only out of ignorance. The guards reacted instantly to the presence of an unreformed changeling, holding spears at the ready aimed at her. It would be easy, Luna knew, to let the sudden and irrational dislike of the child take over, but the flash of unguarded fear at the spears, and yet steady determination which kept Moonlight from taking even one step back, reminded Luna of a younger her.

So, willfully shoving aside her concern for the moment, she ordered with the force of a leader, "Stand down, Night Guard." Both looked at her, then each other, and returned to their resting positions, yet Moonlight's posture never faltered. Luna stood, walking down the steps to be even with Moonlight, who in her natural form barely came up to Luna's knees. She looked from Moonlight, to the now crouched for action Silent Gaze, and spoke to him, "Silent Gaze. You claimed this changeling as your daughter. Why is this so?"

"That is because she is, Sovereign." Her stern expression remained, even as Moonlight dropped one hoof and looked Luna in the eyes, to which the older princess merely glanced. "I adopted Moonlight three years ago, both of us have travelled Starsea Forest since. In this time she has not once sought to harm anypony else, she is a child, and should not be punished for another Queen's actions."

"And the letter?"

This was just getting ridiculous, why was she ignoring Moonlight? With a stomp of her right forehoof Moonlight caught the Princess' attention, "This letter was placed within an object held for me, we sought your counsel as soon as we were given it." There was a hint of accusation, Luna was being quite rude at the moment!

"I was not speaking to you, Princess Moonlight." Moonlight flinched, curling in and meeping at this point. OK, maybe trying to hold her own was... rude. "Ah... I see, you have not been taught decorum." Moonlight, sensing the out, shook her head violently. "Very well then. Silent Gaze, what is it that you wish from U- me?"

"My Sovereign, I... wish to accompany my daughter. Even if she must go to this... Royal Conclave, she is my daughter." He didn't know what Luna's decision would be, of course, but... surely she would not deny him this? Luna stared at him for a moment, before finally speaking.

"Night Guard, give these two a room and send a message to King Thorax." The two froze, staring at her in concern. She turned to Moonlight, "The third month on the fifth day... you have a month. Prove to me that your Hive, when established, will not be a threat to Equestria."

Moonlight straightened, meeting the Princess' gaze straight on. "I will."

Luna nodded, "Night Court is closed. Call my sister, we have a delegation to prepare." She began to stalk to her room, only to stop mid-step, "And send a message to Friendship Castle. We need our best ambassadors on hoof for this mission." Six guards did not mean only six ponies... not if another group of dignitaries were included. Or, so Luna hoped would fly with the queens.

"My Sovereign," one of the guards began, leading Luna to glance at him. "It.. it is midnight. Princess Celestia is asleep."

"Oh, right. Uhm, tell the Royal Guard to set up a meeting first thing in the morning."

Exposition -The first section of a movement written in sonata form, introducing the melodies and themes.

Author's Note

This chapter was posted quite late, especially compared to previous ones. It took me a while to figure out how exactly to have Moonlight and Silent Gaze go through Canterlot in Winter, but I hope you all enjoyed the chapter regardless.

6 Overture

Changelings are a unique species. We appear to be insectoid ponies, with the ability to transform and mimic the magic of each. Our wings and hooves have holes in them, and our horns are either sharp or twisted, or both in the case of Queens. For all the ponies would think, we were threats of an Old-One bent, and no one is entirely sure how we were born, same as any of the other races. Some claim we are descended to fallen Alicorns, others that we were created, but regardless of the truth of our origin, we exist. We feed off of love, the love of ponies towards another in all forms. It's necessary for us to survive, there is some dietary need met by feeding off of it, and without we go under the same malnutrition as ponies, with the addition that no matter how much physical food we eat, we never feel full. This is called The Hunger.

There are three main classes of changeling. The drones make up all the male and female members of a Hive who are not Royals, of which there are at least two and always less than ten. Royals are subdivided into two groupings, Queens and Princes. Queens are the rulers of the Hive, and have an extended nymphood. Princes support the Queen, serving as Consort or managers of the Hive. The specifics I leave to the Queens when you return to the Hivelands, but suffice to say there is no such thing as a King of the Hive, all Queens will one day rule a Hive, but not all Princes are Consorts.

SE 1015

Moonlight and Silent Gaze had been given a room on par with those from Saddle Arabia, though not that exact one. There were shelves with books, a balcony to the left, and a large bathroom the likes of which Moonlight had never seen to the right. In front of the entrance was a giant window, framing the bed in the center, a giant one large enough to almost be the floor of a tent. Despite having spent almost the entire month travelling between this room and one of many conference rooms, Moonlight still had to fight the urge to dive onto the bed and bounce for hours on end. It helped that this was the morning she met with the dignitaries for her final evaluation. If she failed to win them over, she would be sent forth without her father. Or, at least that's what she thought they meant...

She shook herself, donning the unicorn disguise she had used for the past month, a flicker of blue within some of the flames, before stepping out into the hall. She made her way through the building, nodding to guards as she passed. She had no time to mess with them today... she knew that she would be stepping in mid-meeting, that was the plan. Hopefully the Princesses wouldn't mind that she was in disguise, she didn't want to risk the guards attacking her in panic at seeing a changeling in the middle of the palace. She paused outside the door, hoping that she wouldn't have to wait for too long to enter.

About a half hour later a guard signalled her to enter, just as Princess Luna was finishing her perfunctory explanation, "...is why we have chosen you. The bearers shall act as the escort, and Princess Twilight and Spike as the ambassadors of Equestria, whilst I shall act as Envoy of the Lunar Empire."

"Our goal, to reiterate, is to transfer the treaty to Equestria as a whole, rather than just the Protectorate Lunar Empire?" the Beacon asked, Moonlight paused halfway through the room, winced and turned her head to silently gag. The Beacon had been in the castle for about a week, and it had been increasingly difficult not to feed off of it without permission. It wasn't love... or, at least not like she had felt from her father, but it was, though she didn't know the word herself, overwhelming. She could feel it wherever she was, and had been very much aware of it's approach, and only now could she see what it was... which she did.

The beacon was a purple Alicorn, just a few inches taller than the ponies to either side of her. She had a cutie mark of a purple and white starburst, with several stars surrounding it, and her wings- folded carefully at her side- were larger than one would expect, even peaking over her back just slightly. Her horn, a beautiful spiral, was just starting to sharpen at the tip, lengthening bit by bit. Her mane and tail were almost a navy purple, with one each of magenta and purple streaks through the middle. Moonlight recognized her, not through meeting the Beacon, but rather through descriptions she had received in previous lessons. The Princess of Friendship, Spirit of Magic, Alicorn of Magic, Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville.

Then, those beside her: a cyan pegasus with rainbow mane; orange earth pony with blonde mane; pink earth pony; white-coated unicorn with purple hair; and a yellow pegasus with pink hair, must be her friends, the other Spirits of Harmony. There was another out of her sight, she could barely make out the radiating love of the strange creatures that were called changelings, yet she did not think they were... changelings did not have the ability to radiate love. She had tried!

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. Tis our- my hope that we can trust the young Princess." With this, Moonlight shook her head, with a flash of flame she returned to her natural form once more. She... it would be bad to show up in disguise. She was asking a favor, even if she didn't want to leave the forest, she had already come this far! Luna glanced in her direction, causing Moonlight to nervously jump forward a few steps, remembering that she was supposed to actually be moving.

Right, Princess Luna was trying to be dramatic.

How was she supposed to... oh, that was it! With a nervous clearing of her throat, she spoke, "I-I," A cough, and then she was already being looked at by the ponies, who had turned to face her when she had spoken, causing her to gulp. "I guess that introductions are in order." She inwardly winced, not able to remember right that moment the right words to use when in a formal situation. "I am Princess Moonlight, it is nice to meet you." She knew she got that wrong somewhere! "Am I late, Princess Luna?"

Moonlight knew that she wasn't, but this at least she remembered. Make her entrance as dramatic as possible, play off of false familiarity, give the one called Rainbow Dash no reason to react aggressively. So, she expected Princess Luna to do something similar to what she did next. "Not at all, We," Luna paused, frowning slightly, before resuming her open, friendly facade. "I was just about to call for you. These are my friends, and your escort and co-travelling dignitaries, Princess Twilight Sparkle will lead the diplomatic party, alongside myself and Spike," She paused to allow the two of them to offer silent waves by way of greetings, "Your guard will consist of Applejack,"

Another pause, during which said pony offered Moonlight a hoof, which she took and shook, actually ending up being shook, "Mighty fine to meet you, Ah'm Applejack as yeh just heard," Moonlight just let out a vaguely polite sound, having been set down, and putting a hoof to her forehead.

"Pinkie Pie,"

The blur of pink and joy wasn't even intelligible to Moonlight. She said something about new friends, parties. She even danced around, or jumped... Moonlight shook her head, after which she could finally think properly. Now, at last, she could hear what the Pink Joy was saying, "... and then we'll have marshmallows. Oh, do you like chocolate? I know I do! Is it some sort of Changeling delicacy? It's physical love, right? No, wait that's the Crystal Heart!" The what? "I'll have to ask Cadence, maybe she-"

"Enough, Laughter." A blue magic field covered Pinkie's mouth, which Pinkie continued to talk through, despite the muffled sounds coming out of it. "To Princess Twilight's right is Rarity." Moonlight would feel sick from the maelstrom of reactionary emotions if she weren't still mostly emotion-blinded by the Beacon's mere presence. Which Moonlight still felt was odd, Princess Twilight Sparkle was not the Alicorn of Love... yet she still radiated something close enough to it that Moonlight almost felt bloated just by being next to it.

"A pleasure, dear." This time there was no hoofshake, for which Moonlight was thankful. Also, the disgust felt like several windbytes ruffling her thestral disguise's feathers, and was quite unpleasant, even if it was so muted in comparison as to only be at most an afternote. She was fairly certain that her natural form was cute, so that was uncalled for!

"The pleasure," Pleasure... she'd have to look up that word later. "Is mine."

"Fluttershy," Luna gestured to the pegasus who had somehow hidden behind both her mane and the Princess, "Is right here." Moonlight... couldn't hear what the pegasus said. She was a bit young for her hearing to have improved enough to do so, though she wasn't quite sure how long it would take to develop that. She had been basically just growing larger for her whole life, not really developing past her baby stage. Luna sighed, and then pointed with her right forehoof to something directly above. "The pegasus above is Rainbow Dash, We hath ordered her not to attack thee."

"Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash." Moonlight tried to initiate the conversation herself, but said pony only folded her forelimbs and turned her head to the side, as though it were the typical scene of a stubborn mare. Moonlight waited, but sighed when in the end the mare refused to even acknowledge her. At least there wasn't any attacking done, so that... was a good sign. OK then... she moved around them, "Then the final member of our party must be you," She pointed to the not-changeling now standing in front of her, to whom she curtseyed.

The not-changeling radiated love, sufficient that even she could feel it piercing the overwhelming presence of the Princess of Friendship. He was tall, almost as tall as or taller than Luna, from her perspective it was hard to tell. His coat was green, with purple eyes and insect-like wings. There was a red beetle-like carapice on him, red and green respectively, and white stone-like protrusions on his neck. Below said protrusions the green faded into orange, which appeared to continue under the green caraprice that had the red on his back, and atop his head were two stag-like orange horns.

"Ah, yes. I'm Thorax," A cough from Princess Luna, "R-right, King Thorax of the Badlands Hive. Nice to meet you, Princess Moonlight." The, the Badlands Hive? She blinked in surprise, he was... a King of the Changelings? He wasn't a changeling though! In her childlike naivete she actually said as much.

"But, King Thorax... you're not a changeling!" Everyone turned to stare at me, at which point I coughed. "Uhm, I mean... I tried the whole... giving love thing and it didn't work. Changelings can't do that."

"All of my changelings share love." I curled inward a bit, especially as Rainbow was starting to scoot forwards. "We're just as much changelings as you are."

"M-maybe you are a different kind?" I whispered it, my voice going high pitched and hard to hear. "L-like the... the thestrals and pegasi?" Before anypony could do anything, however, Luna clapped her hooves together.

"That is not the focus of our meeting. Yes, King Thorax will be joining us in the trip, he is a King of a Hive, so just as you must be presented, so must he." Luna frowned, "We had thought that the conclave was lost in the last thousand years, else We would have sent him to the last one." We? She paused, "Now, We must return you to the Conclave, Moonlight, per the Lunar Empire's treaty. However, we can assign Silent Gaze as a personal guard/liason, which We shall do. He will be the sixth member of the protective party." With two Alicorns, there was no need for guards, but it was best to be safe. Or, so it had been explained to her.

"I get to stay with-" She coughed, looked to the side, and buzzed her wings slightly, "I mean, thank you Princess Luna." If she could blush, she would be.

"Now then, our trip will start taking the Royal Train, through Ponyville and the Dapperfall Forest, all the way to Discord's Swamp, where we will disembark and begin the two-month trek through swampland to the Uncharted Wastes, there is an undocumented fort within which we shall wait for our guides, who shall take us to the Conclave via portal. This way their secrecy is maintained, and we have a relatively safe path to the-"

"Safe? Discord's Swamp is called that because it's not safe!" Oh, Rainbow's voice was kind of tomboyish. "There's creatures we've never heard of there! It's where Wonderbolts go for combat training, and it has more chaotic weather than any other country besides the Everfree Forest! We're taking a baby changeling there?"

"I'm eleven, not a baby!" Moonlight pouted, just like any child, and was about to argue only to stop when Princess Luna raised one hoof.

"I know you are worried, but that is why I called you six, with Twilight and myself most creatures will likely not attack, Fluttershy can calm those who are alarmed by our presence, Rarity is resourceful, Pinkie Pie is licensed for heavy artillery, and Applejack and you are strong enough to protect her or aid in destroying the creatures which may object to our presence."

"I don't like it. Even if she is an unreformed changeling," Rainbow humphed before flying to place a wing protectively over Moonlight. Who was... quite confused, especially as she could feel the warring gentle warmth of what she assumed was maternal instinct warring with... she didn't understand the unpleasant mix of emotions that made up the second half of Rainbow's emotional state. An emotional state that could only be felt once this close thanks to Twilight's own. "She's still a kid, you know."

"I do, Rainbow." That... was a question. What exactly convinced the Princess to trust Moonlight? Said changeling had no idea herself, so she could only assume it had to do with those dreams she could only vaguely remember... but she did not want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Right, then when are we leaving."

"Right now." Wait... what?

Overture -Introduction to an opera or other large musical work.

Author's Note

I suppose my goal of uploading every Wednesday morning is no more, afternoon to evening is my current goal for the last few chapters. Also, for the next two weeks my writing will be much slower as I work on a paper for class, I don't know yet if I'll still get the next chapter on next Wednesday or not.

That said, I hope you enjoyed the first introduction of the Friendship Council, and Thorax. Who will only have a minor role and will be forgotten once they arrive and finish the Conclave. At least, for a while. He is a good window into how the Badlands Hive work, of course, but this is Moonlight's tale, about her creating her own Hive, one that has nothing to do with the Rainbow-lings. I do have a plan for what they are, though, because as I've had Moonlight say repeatedly: In this universe, they are not changelings. They are something different, a thing that was thought lost. This is my first separation from things-that-could-have-happened-in-cannon.

Also, sorry that this chapter is shorter. I was going to include part of the train ride, but ran out of time with how many times I had to rewrite the meeting scene. It was difficult to find the series of events I felt worked.

7 Overture (Part 2)

There will come times in your life where you will want to run. You may feel as though the whole world is against you. My beloved daughter, in those times you will be faced with a difficult choice. You can run away, as a queen your life is the greatest priority, or you may choose to take the chance and fight it through. Sometimes we have no choice but to do so, but it is never an easy choice... I have but one piece of advice for you in these times: do not make your choice on fear alone, but rather for the good of yourself and your hive's future.

Do that and I will always be proud.

SE 1015

Moonlight stood in front of the wall-mounted mirror, adjusting her unicorn-disguised mane. She then, on doing so, huffed and shifted back to her original form. This repeated for another five times before she let out a frustrated scream. Why, just why couldn't she decide whether she wanted to go as herself or in her disguise. They all knew she was a changeling, even the guards who had been kind to her before knew now! It wasn't like disguising herself would make anything better, but she still had the irrational desire to hide her identity. It didn't help that over the last few days spent on this opulent train she had come to know just how hated her kind were. Even with the all-encompassing power of Twilight's emotions, it couldn't keep her from the physical sensation of the emotions of the guards, their distrust was goopy to the point of distraction, and the distrust served to make the nonexistent hairs of her coat rise in response.

She shook her head, letting the disguise dissolve one last time. Enough, Moonlight. A steadying breath and she looked herself in the eye, blowing a bit of her mane to the side, before lifting, shakily, a brush to it. You've spent enough time hiding. If you don't step out now, when are you? There's only three days left on the train, and you have to get where you can at least walk around with them. With her changeling magic, less reliable due to her lack of practice using it for more than making a light, she brushed the errant strands of her mane back into place.

One more critical look over herself, and she hoofed it to the door. She raised one hoof to knock, before thinking better of it and opening the door herself. Her ear flicked, she recognized the two guards on the other side, and then strode out with confidence feigned more than felt. Her wings shuddered in preparation to rise, but she forced them to stay in place, and greeted them, "Sleetshine, Star Struck, thank you for standing guard." The two barely acknowledged her, though a bit of surprise did ring through. She walked across the path to the next car, making her way down, greeting the guards as she went, and holding in a whimper as each met her with hostility in their hearts. She knew it would hurt, of course, but not quite so much. Even back then, she hadn't been the one hated, it had just been a dark ambivalence towards her. This was like having a dozen blades pointed at you, wherever you were or however you moved. Still, it was almost breakfast, for the ponies, and she was going to try to make friends this time. Or, at least, make things not so painful.

Standing in front of the breakfast car, she raised a hoof, lowered it, and once more began warring with herself. Or, would have at least, but instead she whipped her tail to one side and opened the door, noting that this car had a lower level of rocking, and soundproofing, as the door closing led the room to sound almost entirely silent, the rocking of the train little more than a tiny hint of sound on the end of a pony's ears. In return, however, she could hear the sounds of the girls, or rather, two of them, talking.

"...and then we'll all be the best of friends, and she won't have to hide and we can all have a happy ever after! Wouldn't that be great?" Oh, thank goodness that Moonlight had only come in at the end of the Pink- of Pinkie Pie's ramble. She couldn't quite hear how the second responded, but that didn't matter, "Of course it's that easy!" As Pinkie basically spelled out what she said anyway. "Come on, Fluttershy, you know as well as I do that Dashie is just being a meany pants, she'll come- oh, come on in already!"

Moonlight flinched, before stepping into the room. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eaves-" She never got to finish her sentence, as the bundle of joy that was Pinkie Pie swept her up into a hug, nearly cracking her caraprice, and set her down between the two ponies.

"Come on in, eat! Oh, do you need love? How do you feed off of love? What's it taste like? Oh, can you tell me what my emotions taste like? What's it like being a baby changeling?" Fluttershy said something, still too quietly for Moonlight to hear, though Pinkie Gasped. With a capital G. "Oh my gosh, you're right Fluttershy, I am crowding her!" Once more Moonlight was engulfed in a hug, "I just wanted to make her feel welcome..."

"T-thank you." Moonlight's own voice was quiet, she was busy being surprised by the sincerity behind that statement to give more than a whisper. Someone, anyone, actually didn't hate her for being a changeling, praise to the Moon! She coughed, darting her eyes around in search for a conversation topic, only to blink. Oh, right. She had been asked a question. They were somewhere in that giant torrent of words. With a mental rewind, Moonlight managed to pick out one question... "Uhm, to answer your earlier question," She blinked, as Pinkie was suddenly wearing glasses with a pencil and notebook in hoof and mouth respectively, "I'm 11, almost 12. I think it's the same as any pony childhood? Not counting having to hide what I am. S-sorry for not being very interesting..."

"But, uhm," That... was not Pinkie. "That is, if you don't mind me saying," Oh, it was getting louder. Moonlight turned her attention to the pony to her right, Fluttershy, "You don't look like an 11 year old pony. You, uhm, look like a large baby." Moonlight blinked. Fluttershy blinked. This continued for a few seconds. "S-sorry."

"Ah, no. I'm... just surprised you aren't scared of me anymore." She felt Pinkie vibrating in preparation for something improbable, but continued, "Uhm, I don't know why I never changed beyond getting a bit bigger. Sorry, I... uhm, I can try to send a letter with the answer when I learn why?"

"You would? I would just love to learn all about the various creatures in the Changeling homeland! They must be-" Moonlight was slightly bemused by the surge of enthusiasm, and was about to make the promise to begin letter sharing, only to stop on feeling the same pins-on-needles of distrust aimed her way, her ears pinned down as she focused on the door on the other side, through which Applejack entered.

"U-uhm... g-good morning?" Applejack stared at her, causing the Changeling Princess to curl in on herself, before the earth pony slowly walked to an empty chair and sat down. This was more what she had expected, but... but she couldn't run. If she ran now, who knows how things would go during the Conclave? She inwardly shook her head, no. Not now. One more try... "D-did you sleep well?"

"Eyup," Applejack replied. That... was that. She couldn't think of how to continue the conversation, but she didn't want to give up.

"Uhm... I wonder what's for breakfast?"

"Why're you askin' me? Ah don't know."

"R-right." She... was just going to be quiet now. Now staring at the table, she almost... or rather, couldn't miss the entrance of the next person. This one had a... sickening mix of negative and positive emotions, including a mix of disgust and curiosity that would have been fascinating if it didn't make her sick to her stomach. She knew this one, at least. It was Rarity. She was the only one that was simultaneously willing to give Moonlight a chance and disgusted by her physical appearance. "Good morning, Miss Rarity."

"Yes, good morning Princess Moonlight." Right behind her Twilight and Rainbow entered, followed by Princess Luna and King Thorax in short order. Moonlight, feeling raw from the mix of emotions aimed towards her, let Pinkie and the others take over the greetings, only nodding or waving a hoof half-heartedly. After about five minutes of people coming in, finally Luna joined them, looking entirely tired. Moonlight, despite having been raised thestral, had the advantage of Changeling physiology, with relative ease she could change her sleep schedule.

Luna could not.

Luna, Princess of the Night, Regent of the Moon, and Ruler of the (soon to be defunct) Lunar Empire, had baggy eyes, a messy mane, and a bathrobe and slippers on. She was drinking heavily from a large mug of coffee, and even the stars within her mane appeared to be sluggish. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the clearly exhausted Diarch, no one quite sure what to say to her. Finally, after taking her seat at the end of the table, she looked up to see everyone looking at her. "What?"

Author's Note

A short, light chapter. I was going to do a full chapter, but I got sick monday and had a pretty high fever last night, so I couldn't work on it. Instead, here's what I was going to put on the last chapter.

8 Clef

The nation of Equestria is, comparatively speaking, young. It has existed for a mere thousand years, in a land that was once under the control of the ancient Alicorns. I will not go into detail of the history of Equestria, no doubt in recent years much of what is known will be completely rewritten as truths kept under wraps are revealed, but I will be teaching you about it's predecessor, the land of the Alicorns. Though they controlled the entirety of the land ruled by Equestria now, they did not populate it.

Much like we changelings, they served as a protective force, however they had no needs from, nor desires from, the creatures beneath their thumb, and thus let them do essentially whatever they wanted. Alicorns, you see, need nothing from the world at large but the knowledge of new magic. Alicorns may be born, and they may Ascend to their nature, but they are all chosen by the First and Greatest of their number, the Alicorn of Fate. None today remember her, for the Alicorn of Memory wiped her from our knowledge, for unknown reasons. Regardless, many of the ruins throughout the world are from their era, created by them or by their followers. Magics long lost are only known of due to these ruins, and each possesses some clue to the reason why the Alicorns were lost... clues which it is doubtful if either of the Princesses themselves know.

SE 1015

It had taken about an hour for everypony to eat breakfast, and just as long for princess Luna to fully wake up. Moonlight, knowing that she couldn't afford to put it off any longer, two days was already too long, made her way to the second half of the train, alongside the Princesses Twilight and Luna. The three of them moved in silence, though for Moonlight it was more like she was silent and they were blasting emotions. Off course there was the overwhelming emotions of Princess Twilight: a sucking mix of kind, curious, distrustful, and excited, but there was also the constant tap tap tappity tap tap of Luna's nerves.

Part of her wondered why Princess Twilight had such powerful emotions, but the rest of her was too busy being nervous about the meeting that was slowly but surely approaching, and what exactly she would have to do. The only thing she could do, however, to prepare was to attend the "Princess Lessons" that Luna had taken over during the trip. Her wings, still undisguised, buzzed off and on from her nerves, causing her to float for a few steps every so often. Even when she tried to suppress it, noticing the wincing of the two Princesses in front of her, it continued.

After what felt like an eternity, the three of them entered a compartment that was clearly modular, though she didn't know that word herself. Unlike the rest of the train, this car wasn't in the familiar pastel, but rather a dark blue, on the inside at least. The curtains were closed on windows, and floating near the center of the cabin itself lay a crystal glowing in the silver of moonlight, though bright enough that none of them were lacking any color. Instead of walls blocking off the two sides, there were several different tables and cushions, and to one side was a chalkboard. Luna walked over to it, gesturing to the two of them to take a seat at the table directly in front of it, "Until now I have had my seneschal teach you basic etiquette, Princess Moonlight. Your progress has been startling, but for the rest of our trip we shall have to meet for a very different series of lessons, hence why I have brought you here, Twilight Sparkle."

Curiosity blasted the changeling, as well as her excitement. She had, over time, grown more used to the power within Princess Twilight's emotions, hence her ability to sense the emotions of others, but it was still enough to stun her when the princess was excited or angry, but she managed to shake it off eventually, shaking her head once their attention was drawn from her. She managed to catch the latter half of Luna's response, "... not know where they are, but they seem at least somewhat different from Queen Chrysalis. We should be able to negotiate with them, as the Empire did before."

"And this Lunar Empire, it's in the Starsea Forest?"

"Yes, they are my thestrals, largely. I admit the forest was not so large as it is now, and I have yet to visit, being kept busy in Canterlot, but I do wish to do so." Luna paused, took a breath, and then continued, "Now that we have given our guest a chance to recover, it is time to proceed to the lesson itself. I will begin with explaining what the Royal Conclave is, as I imagine that none have explained it to either of you." She assumed such mainly due to the letter, but either way she would have to explain it for Twilight's sake.

Princess Luna lifted one chalk stick in her magic, drawing a basic structure, "For the sake of Twilight Sparkle, would you like to explain how the Hive is structured, Princess Moonlight? I assume you know at least so much." Moonlight nodded, allowing the princess to draw the pyramid, with a crown atop, scepters in the middle, and below various tools.

"There are three groups,"

"Classes," Twilight interrupted, to which Moonlight nodded with the sharp speed of someone who was nervous. The wing buzzing was back again.

"There are three classes of changeling: Queens, Princes, and Drones." She paused, wondering how to word it. The book was not very detailed on this bit of information, but... "Uhm, drones are mares and stallions who serve the Hive in var- var-... a lot of ways." She swallowed, willing her voice to even out, instead of splitting into two entirely different tones, and then continued, "Princes are stallion Royals, they never run a Hive, but they help and are Consorts." They were staring at her. Well, they were supposed to, but they were staring at her! "There are no Kings, all leaders are Queens." She frowned, "I don't know why yet... but all Hives are ruled by mare Royals. My mom wrote that "All Queens will one day rule a Hive, but not all Princes are Consorts." I don't get why, but she said that the Queens would explain it to me."

Luna nodded, "And what do these Princes do?"

"They, uhm, they help run the Hive." More buzzing, "I'm sorry, I don't know anything else." Luna nodded, and she zipped back to her seat, settling down in her spot with her dual-toned voice humming as well. It was so much more nerve wracking to stand in front of them than she had thought it would be. Luna, giving a moment for her to compose herself, continued the explanation herself.

"As stated, there are no Kings of the Changelings, save for Thorax." Moonlight's ear flicked, they still called him that, "It appears we never learnt the reason for this, but it it is at least not a social structure." Luna flicked her tail to one side, "Regardless, the Conclave consists of only Queens. King Thorax will be the first, and sole, King within their Halls. If they will even meet with him." There was another pause, and finally Twilight asked a question herself.

"Why would they not want to meet with the first of their number to be a male ruler?"

"Because, according to all of my research this past month, they consider the Conclave to be a sacred space for the planning of the future of the changeling race. Only mares may enter, you see. Even the guards must all be female within the building proper, and the stallions are to stand outside. It is unclear if this is a physical or magical defense, however. Not even their Consorts may enter." Twilight blinked, opened her mouth, "We know not why this is so, Twilight Sparkle."

What about Father, then? Moonlight held her tongue, not asking this question for fear of the answer, but instead asked something completely different: "S-so, what is the Conclave? You said it's to decide the future of all changelings?" Luna and Twilight blinked, as she had been quietly freaking out, but Luna took it in stride.

"The Royal Conclave is a bi-decadal truce between all Hives. Any wars between them, any contentions or isolationist practices," What were those? "Are to be swept aside for the sake of meeting. Some call it a council, others a Summit, but the summons are always under the title "Royal Conclave." Everypony can only bring so many guards as the organizer allows, marked in the Summons. This refers to those guards allowed inside of the building, however, not those stationed outside." So many big words... she'd have to ask Father about them. "Each Hive's Queen must come, alongside any princesses she cares for, and they are to introduce each princess upon reaching a certain age. I assume this must be six, given the letter sent to us."

"Fascinating." Well, yes, Moonlight knew that Princess Twilight was very much fascinated by the words stated. Not only was she radiating it in tidal waves, but the princess was leaning forward, eyes big and magic frantically scribbling away at a notebook that had appeared from... somewhere. "Is this like the Summits we sometimes have with Saddle Arabia and others? We meet with foreign nations to decide or negotiate."

"Not quite." Moonlight wanted those notes... well, no, she didn't. She just needed them. This was going to be a lot of information, she knew it. Luna continued, erasing the former structure and instead placing a large circle with several crowns, "The Conclave serves as a forum. For all intents and purposes, the Hives are each their own country. I don't understand the complex political situation, they have been extremely tight lipped so far, but the point is that each can run their Hive and territory as they wish." Each crown got it's own little circle, "However, Hives can, like any nation, form connections. When two or more Hives grow close enough, they may share territory or work towards each other's ends, forming factions that We believe are called An-Bale."

Twilight tasted the word, first mouthing it and then saying it aloud, noting the differences from traditional Equish. In the first place, even with just this one word, she could sense the musical quality behind it. "What does it mean?"

"I do not know." The Diarch sighed, "Nor, apparently, do my thestrals." Moonlight tilted her head, "To continue, each faction can suggest items for the docket, a limit of three per faction. Individual Queens are limited to one item on the docket, and if an item is suggested in different lists, it is granted a higher level of priority." Next to the circle she drew a list of possible topics, with different diagonal strikes to mark how many they had, and arrows to show how they would go up or down in priority. "The exact method of suggestions, what is allowed to be suggested, and how they debate such is unknown to us, but Queen Polaris was, for a changeling, forthcoming with the Empire."

"My... my Mother?" The surprise in her voice was enough to stop Luna mid-stroke, "Did you know her, Princess Luna?" She wanted to know more about her mother, of course, and was almost vibrating with hope.

"I did." Cue Moonlight falling over. "I was not aware that she was your mother, however. Only that you were the heir to her Hive."

"Y-yes, I don't know why, but I was given to the Lunar Empire as an egg." Another scribble, one of many, Moonlight only just saw that it had to do with changelings being born in eggs, but that wasn't the point! "Could you tell me about her? Please?" She raised her front hooves up in a pleading motion, her eyes seeming to grow larger and more doggy-like. "I hardly know anything about her, you see. I would be so," There was a better word for this! "Happy to learn more about her!"

The other two's ears had dropped down, before they looked one to another. Luna nodded, "Certainly, when we have time. It would be... nice to speak of my friend." Friend? Stars were practically dancing in Moonlight's eyes, but Luna looked to the side, "Not now, though. We have much to cover, and not long to use the board to do so!"

"Ok..." Moonlight's ears drooped this time, causing her to look down, only for the purple wing of Twilight Sparkle to land over her, squeezing gently in a hug. The sympathy rolling off of the Alicorn settled warmly around Moonlight, doubling the internal warmth brought to her. Luna gave her a few moments to compose herself, not that she was crying, before continuing on.

"Once more returning to the topic at hoof, we are not on this docket," outside of the list she drew a moon and star, circling it as she spoke, "Thus we might not be able to meet with them immediately. Luckily we do have an in to the meeting itself," within the list she drew a small crown, with a question mark next to it. "We do not know when exactly within the Conclave we are placed, but Princess Moonlight's summons was fairly severe. We can assume that it is enough that if we ask to enter with her we will be allowed, and of course at worst one of us can act as her sixth guard." She drew an arrow from the star and moon to the crown, "This will place us effectively in the same spot on the docket as Moonlight, who must be introduced to the Conclave as a whole.

"Our duty then is to wait for the organizer, a role who's designation, duties, and requirements we do not know, to recognize our presence. Likely they will decide what is to be done with Moonlight at this time, we shall have to accept the slight." Luna sighed, "Due to their isolationist nature, the changelings rarely deign to negotiate with anyone, the only reason we managed to make the negotiation we did in the Empire was because of Polaris. She spoke on Our behalf, convincing the Queens to take us seriously and consider Our proposals. At the time We were working on integrating the Lunar Empire into Equestria, before the Rebellion, so they had hoped for a new feeding ground, or at least safe haven for the Princesses. I never learned what happened to Polaris' ruler-school plans..." She drifted off in consideration, before shaking and focusing back on the situation. "Twilight, I wish for you to enter as her guard. If we must send one of the former Bearers back to stand with the Night Guard, I will leave who up to you... but We should be able to enter regardless."

"Understood." Twilight nodded, "What about Princess Moonlight, though? You said they would have to decide what to do with her?"

"All Changeling Queens must go through the Aulla Noes, a type of trial to prove her worth as a leader in the Hive. I do not know the age when they do such, but it is highly unlikely to be right when we arrive with her in tow... however, Princess Moonlight, it is my understanding that it is the current Queen's duty to ensure that her daughters are ready for their trial. As such, likely you will be, temporarily or otherwise, adopted into a Hive to undergo a crash course of some sort." Luna gave her an appropriately sympathetic look, and she found herself undergoing the curious sensation of being scrutinized in every square inch of her body by one pony, and given emotional hugs by the other. Yes, Twilight Sparkle's sympathy was still there, but she was also, as the only changeling in the room, the focus of a great deal of said ponies curiosity. Though, she felt it get 'shelved' so to speak as her emotions settled to be more... she wasn't quite sure. Focused?

"Ah, so they are liable to send her into some manner of foster care. Then they recognize us?" Twilight walked up, erasing the diagrams, setting up a brief list of what they had gone over. Which meant, of course, that it covered half of the board and only left the other half open for further notes. "Then we we first need to get them to recognize us as representatives of another country."

"Exactly. We do not have a Queen to speak on our behalf this time, so it is up to our own abilities."

Moonlight, recognizing that this was no longer a discussion for her, and that she was hungry, waved a hoof to get Luna's attention. After pantomiming her intention to go and get food for them, Luna nodded and she left. This... was a lot of information. She wished she had a notebook to take notes in herself, now. Heck, why did she leave her saddlebags in the room... she'd have to get that and wait out their discussion. After finding some napkins or something to write on.

Clef- In sheet music, a symbol at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.

Author's Note

Now then... this is the first time that the spoken language of the changelings is brought up. Given the use of music terms for chapter names and my recent falling in love with it, I have decided that the Ar Tonelico series' language of Hymnnos would be fitting, not only because of how compact of a language it actually can be but also because of its emphasis on using both music and the literal translation of the word to express emotion, which is to a Changeling the most important part of any language.

This was not the original plan, I found it while looking for music to write to somewhere around chapter three, and have been listening to songs from the series almost nonstop ever since. It's actually really motivating to listen to it. My original plan was to make a series of terms that were unique to the Equish (english) termed language found in chapter 3, including a bonus chapter of translations. As it is I will make a glossary of terms found in the series, at the very least because Hymmnos is fairly old for a fictional language, and was never mainstream in the US. Not to mention, even if I linked the database of Hymmnos terms it would be difficult to translate what I wrote due to the fact that the language is extremely interpretive.

For example: An-Bale, the term for factions, is a compound word of An and Bale: An meaning together, combined, or with; and Bale meaning Sphere. Due to Hymmnos' nature as an extremely self-centered language, meant more for expressing emotions than conversation (though the latter is more than possible with practice,) I had to come up with a workaround. I use Bale's Sphere as more of a 'territory' or 'influence', so the members of an An-Bale influence together, or with each other.

Look forward to a bonus chapter on them, by the way. It will be up (probably) before next Wednesday.

An-Bale

On the Changeling An-Bale

An-Bale are a fair bit less antagonistic than our own political factions. The Queen is motivated entirely by their role as leader of the Hive, Warrior-Queen, and Protector of their territory and all the creatures within it, even non-changelings. Thus, an An-Bale is less of an armistice, political agreement, or diplomatic term, and more a declaration to share territory... in other words, something along the lines of ancient oaths to be Blood Siblings among chiefs of tribes or otherwise. The members of the An-Bale can be as numerous as possible, but they are far more important than just a promise of aid, it is a declaration to put forth as much effort for your people as for the people of the fellow members.

The only group among us that is even close are the former Bearers of the Elements. Frankly, pony kind will never truly understand it, if only because of our lack of the ability to sense emotions. There are no lies in an An-Bale, and there is no threat of betrayal or falling out. If a Queen wants to leave the An-Bale, she can, but while it might lead to hurt feelings the other Queens would understand and reconciliation would be, barring a great betrayal that only the likes of Chrysalis would perform, swift, if not painless.

This is because of the exact role that the changelings naturally perform. They are not damaging as commonly considered, though they are in fact a kind of parasite. Each Hive has different levels of involvement with their Host race, but only rarely do they devolve to actual parasitism, as Chrysalis. Instead, they are at worst Communalist, where they merely feed on love and neither help nor harm their Hosts, but in most situations they are actually Mutualistic, generally serving as protection for races too weak or pacifistic to defend themselves. In fact, they are responsible for driving away the Wendigos in their own region, using the gathered love ruthlessly against them, driving out a threat to their Hives as a whole. This was done in a unanimous decision by the Conclave, in one of the rare emergency meetings, the entire race acting as one gigantic An-Bale for the sake of the entire continent.

Coincidentally, this is also when the term was first used. Originally there was no term for factions, but at one point in their history a dangerous event occurred. One Queen, knowing exactly what was necessary, sought the aid of the others. It was, to our knowledge, not an easy path, but in doing so she grew from her youth to adulthood, and stood before the Queens as an equal well before she had enough support to bring it to a vote. The exact details are hidden from us ponies, but in a fit of magic equal to that of the Alicorns, she bound their magic together, using the combined might of every Queen to fight back this ancient threat, winning peace. The event came to be called The An-Bale, and Queen Artista was given an honorary title.

Over time the term came to be applied first to all of their heros, and eventually to the factions themselves. However, An-Bale remains a solemn oath, one far greater than Equestria understands, and one which serves the singular purpose of protecting the Hives. It could be considered a sign that two Queens are closer than sisters... but even then, we only scratch the surface of their understanding of the term.

This humble one has begun to wonder if we ever will fully understand them...

Author's Note

Instead of a full chapter, have this mini-codex entry. I am working on an extra long chapter for next Wednesday, Christmas. Until then, I have to work on school work mostly, so I thought a short post like this would be a fitting compromise. I hope you like this window into Changeling culture!

9 Carol

The ponies have their winter celebrations, and we have ours. The ponies call theirs Hearthswarming, celebrating the day when the three tribes established peace and drove the Wendigos from their new homeland, Equestria. We changelings celebrate a holiday called Afezeria Fhauri. In it we celebrate the blessings granted to us by nature, for unlike the ponies we do not control the weather. Oh, we could, it would be simple enough to do if we transformed into pegasi, but instead we celebrate the way that the world works. Our typical celebration consists of lighting candles about the hive, held aloft by only a few threads of silk, or on alcoves.

The celebration lasts from the moment we begin lighting the candles until the dregs of the last one melt, during which we feast, sing, dance, and exchange presents. Decorations and traditions are up to each Hive, with some decorating the trees and others making a show of wearing red fur coats in front of the nymphs. The last candle is watched over by the Queen, and if it does not blow out until the last of the wax is melted, then the Hive is said to be in for a prosperous year. As opposed to the end of the year, this celebration is held in the middle of Winter, equidistant between Spring and Fall.

SE 1015
That night everyone was present in the breakfast car, though the train had stopped for it's last refuel before their destination. They still had three to four days to go, but from this point on there were no more towns to stop in, and the train would run mostly by magic. Moonlight, unaware of this, just thought they were going to put extra cars on. Though they did have one more for more guards that was not the case, however. The dining car had several tables full, with the Bearers nearest their side of the train speaking about the trip, recent exploits, and generally reminiscing about different adventures that this one reminded them of. Luna and her guard sat on a table to the left of them, speaking on what Silent Gaze assumed was security given their body language. To the left of her, placing his table closest to his own car was King Thorax, and his relatively small contingent of reformed changeling guards. Silent Gaze had no idea what they were talking about, but it looked to be lessening the tension on the changelings' part.

He and Moonlight, however, had picked a table in the middle of the car, sitting down with their plates held carefully in Moonlight's reddish-pink magic. She set it down on the table, visibly straining to keep it from just dropping. Once that was done the two sat down, allowing for the young princess and her Father to proceed to eat. Both began to eat their meal, fresh salad with still steaming garlic bread and a smattering of various vegetables, especially garbanzo beans, which Moonlight had wanted to try ever since reading about them a year ago.

Father and daughter ate in silence for a few minutes, until both were about halfway finished with the food, at which point Silent asked her a question. "What was it like?"

She looked up, meeting his eyes, before swallowing her bite. "It was great! I learned so much about the Conclave... thing. Did you know that they have all sorts of procedures for how to make a treaty? Like you have to give each other a gift of equal value at the start, apparently, to establish trust or-" His eyes continued to stare at her, so she swallowed. "Uhm, It's been so-so." He raised an eyebrow, and she looked down, playing with the plate before continuing, "Uhm, the princesses are being very accomodating. Miss Applejack, however, is open with her distrust. It's still better than Miss Rarity, though, she's," Moonlight paused, looking for the right way to word it, "I'm happy she's trying to hide it but... she finds me disgusting, to be honest." Her ears drooped, "At least some of them don't hate me." She would probably have continued, but instead he gave her a wing hug, nuzzling her behind the oversized wing.

"You're a good kid. They'll see." She doubted she'd ever win over all of them, but she soaked up all of the love and let his certainty fill the space between them, forming to her senses a barrier between her and the knives of the others' emotions. The two, after they ate, returned to their car to stretch, and allow her to practice away from prying eyes. They went to sleep a few hours later, sharing a bed like when they were travelling the forest.

A few days later, and they were approaching the untamed forests of the Western Expanse. Moonlight knew that this was the last day of train travel, and thus was packing the last of her and her father's things. After practicing for the majority of the time on the train, she had mostly gotten the hang of her changeling magic, a feat that had been considered by the unicorns to be astounding progress. She found, however, that the trick was in not focusing on the actual control of the magic, but just visualizing what she wanted it to do, just like her disguises. Then again, she'd not tried to cast actual magic, just lift things and move them. Anything else and she was worried that she would cause an accident, what with having only herself to teach magic.

"I'll do the weapons," Her father said, stepping into the room calmly. "Go look at the observation car, I think you'll like this scene. It's something we'd never see in the forest." Moonlight turned to him, looking between what she was doing and Silent Gaze, before nodding and bolting out to the hall, the object she was holding, a few bits of cloth and some of their camp-making tools, thudding to the ground as she broke into flight, zipping down the halls. He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. That was his Moonlight... but for now he had to finish packing. With a shrug he stretched his wings before getting to work.

The observation car was simply furnished. Instead of lights or furniture, there was just an extremely soft carpet across the entire thing, and there were no walls in it. The entire care was covered in enchanted Everglass, a special kind of glass made of the finest sand gathered from deep inside Mt. Canterlot, far below the crystal caverns. It was melted using Celestia's own Solar Flames, shaped using Luna's Moonbeams, and enchanted by the best Lunar Empire guild members, making it far stronger than the average glass, allowing for some bending without losing its shape, and protection from shattering or discoloration by heat or cold. In fact, she could put her hoof directly on the glass in the middle of the Frozen North and never feel even the slightest chill from the window itself. Yet, there was a subtle current, as the runes allowed the air within and without to circulate without need for ventilation.

It was a lost art, requiring at least two master craftsmares, both of which had an awe inspiring amount of control over their respective magics, and yet all but the knowledge that it was amazingly expensive and fancy was lost on the changeling who sat down within the pink-carpeted room. She was focused mostly on the rapidly passing snow-covered hills, looking this way and that for exactly what Silent had said was so amazing, only to see snow falling down, landing on the car, and then, without melting even slightly, dropping down. Not only that, but every once in a while one would be magnified by the glass car, so you could actually, were you fast enough, draw the snowflakes with your own hoof, or take a picture and have a record of some of the supposedly hoof-made snowflakes recorded.

She was quite absorbed in them for a while, but snapped back to reality on hearing the hoofsteps of someone else. She turned, only to see Princess Luna. Moonlight, not wanting to risk being rude, scrambled to her hooves, only for the princess to wave her off, "Sit. We desire to join thee, not to drive thee from thine peace." Moonlight paused, mid adjustment, and fell over. She felt the Princess' magic grip her, setting her back into a straight position, which she immediately adjusted so she was sitting on the floor.

"P-princess?"

"We promised thee to share tales of Our past with thine mother. The time passed faster than We thought it would, and thus We must take this moment. Did not thine father speak of this?" She shook her head, surprise clear in her gaze. Luna sighed, "Really? That is... strange. Still, thou mayst consider it Our gift to thee. Alas, We lack the time for all the things We did with thine mother, but... We can speak of our first meeting."

"That's great, but, uhm... what is with the... "mayst" and such words?" Luna coughed, looking to the side with a blush.

"We... I slip into my original tongue, from time to time. Please, do not mind it, you need only remember that 'thou' and 'thine' are similar to 'you' and 'yours.'" Moonlight nodded, "Now, settle down, young one. I am going to speak of a night over a thousand years ago, where a single Alicorn ran from a fight with a sister just as foolish, only to find another who was lonely...."

It was the middle of the night, and none but the Alicorn of the Night was found. Luna was yet young, flying down to the forest below. She was far from the castle, having lost sight of her destination when she used the teleportation array. It was not fair, her sister was always so perfect, nopony dared to scoff at her occasionally overhot day, yet when Luna was off on the phase of the moon, she was the one who was bad! T'was not her fault that the moon was harder to control, that it was so much less consistent, nor that the stars were so unruly at times.

Where was she? This forest, it was dark. Nopony could live in it, could they? She landed smoothly, taking several composed steps forwards so as to not let the momentum fade, and flapped her wings once or twice to clear the ground near her, folding the wings with but a thought. The forest, she noted, beyond merely being dark was thick, even a few steps past where she landed the brush rubbed against her legs, and even her starry mane and tail had to find a way through the brambles and bushes. She heard the cries of owls, wolves, and the subtle sounds of the deep forest, her ears pricking this way and that. There was no sign of anypony, and she found herself alone.

T'was a perfect haven.

With a shake of her mane she made her way forward, looking for a clearing or stream, somewhere she could stretch her legs. Eventually, she crossed from around a bend, seeing the breathtaking view of a valley covered in trees, and saw somepony framed by the light of her moon. Curiosity struck, Luna began to walk over, calling out to the pony, "Greetings. Tis a fine night, no?"

Immediately the ears of the other figure perked, swiveling, and then the figure's head swiveled to face her, revealing a black coat and red mane and eyes, with holes inside. "Mayst I know why thou art here?" She was calm, catching sight of a horn, and then wings, ah. Her guest was an Alicorn.

"We hath sought solace. Luck hath brought Us hence, however. Mayst We ask thy name?" Luna, now approaching, noted holes in the figure's hoofs, and paused. "Thou art injured, doth thou require assistance?" Healing magic was not her forte, unfortunately, but she knew enough to wrap wounds. Ack, but she had no bandages, nor cloth to use. Would a conjuration suffice?

"I am not injured, Pony. My name is Polaris." She stood, spreading her wings, holed and insectoid, "You, however, are."

"Wait, Princess Luna?" The princess paused in her description of events, "Didn't ponies always hate changelings?"

"Nay, twas not so." Luna spread one wing, brushing it against Moonlight's back in an affectionate way. "Tis such that I never knew of her kind. There had been but rumors, myths at times in places where once they had fed, but no more. She was the first changeling I met, I knew not enough to fear. It helps that I was always a curious pony, though."

Luna bounded forward, irritation at her sister forgotten. This pony, why she was not a pony at all! "Thine coat? What hath happened to it? Thou art bald!" The changeling blinked, unable to answer the question, "Nay, tis not that which We wish to ask. Thy horn, tis twisted! These wings, they appear as those of an insect! Mayst We ask, if thou are not injured, why doth thou have holes upon thine hoofs? " She was answered with a laugh, one hoof smoothly rising to hold the stranger, nay Polaris', chest.

"You... you art strange, young pony. Most of your kind, when they see us, they flee." Tears formed at her rose eyes, which Luna now saw were slitted, and were wiped with one hole riddled hoof. "Aye, tis a miracle most strange. Tell me, what is your name? I am most curious."

Luna paused, before standing straighter than she had been before. "I am Princess Luna, of Equestria." Ah, no, she had forgotten the Royal Canterlot Voice!

"I see! Then thou are the same as I?" Polaris buzzed her wings before continuing, "I am Princess Polaris, heir to the Starsung Hive, and I have always been curious about the ponies!"

"That... seems a little idealistic?" Moonlight frowned up at the Alicorn, "Mother... the meeting between the two of you must have been worse than that."

"Oh it was, there were arguments, of course, but the first time we met was special." Luna hummed for a moment, "Let me tell you something, little princess." Luna placed a hoof on the glass. "Some friendships are hard, they come with struggle, or after the arguments have been won, lost, or continued for far too long. Some, however, are far simpler... sometimes two ponies simply click, and they become friends for life. It is the belief of my sister and I that such friendships come from Harmony, for none should live without friends... but they may not know how to become such."

"What does that have to do with Mother and you?" Her eyebrow rose in question, wings buzzing as a result.

"Your mother and I clicked, you see." Her tail flicked to one side, a sound like crackling heard from it, "We argued after, but that introduction was, to us, all needed to form a lasting friendship. One which may have cost your people peace, but that is a tale for another time."

Moonlight lowered her gaze to the hills passing them, focusing on one flake or another as she thought. Then, "Will... will you tell me more?"

"Of course, little princess. Nopony should know so little of their family..."

Carol- A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.

Author's Note

Da da da da! I wish to introduce everyone to our kind editor, EverfreePony!

The chapter came out a bit shorter, but in exchange I will be able to work on editing my older chapters, and once we've caught up the further chapters should be of higher quality. So, look for EverfreePony's credit on older chapters, for the finished versions of each!

I may end up making my updates every two weeks as opposed to every week, eventually. It will depend on how long it takes me to write for the two of us to edit the new chapters.

11 Grave

A Queen's duty is to protect. You might not understand now, but when you find your own host species you will. Changelings are symbiotes, we serve at the need of those who give us the love we need, and we do so with as much or as little secrecy as needed. Our magic is naturally predisposed towards illusion, biomancy, and emotional magic. We are not, usually, physically strong or talented at combat magic. What we do have, however, is the ability to sense things that other races can't. It is a gift, but it is present in different amounts and forms amongst each of us, much like magical strength for unicorns, or flight for pegasi.

As you grow older, this drive will take hold. The desire to protect, to rule, and to improve are all tied together for us. This growth will, most likely, coincide with changes that you cannot explain. For me, I grew more skilled at flight, my mother found magic coming to her easier. This is but the first of changes which will happen, and no changeling is entirely certain how or why these talents occur before the others. When they do, however, pay attention. It will likely be your first trial.

SE 1015

Moonlight woke to find that everything was, for lack of a better word, sharper. The first sign was her ability to smell, where before she had been used to the subtle scents of winter, now she found the sharp mint of plants, and the sweaty scent of the other ponies. Next, when she stood, eyes opening, she was hit with the change of suddenly having everything she saw in sharp relief, certainly much clearer than before, though thankfully not quite to the level where she was seeing individual hairs. In addition, the subtle changes of the blanket falling off of her carapace as she stood, and the sounds of the guards outside talking, quietly, to themselves. She could not hear what they said, but where before it would be muffled, now there were distinct, if unclear, clicks of consonants and whooshes of vowels. Everything about her senses, for no apparent reason, was sharper and clearer than before, and noticeably so.

She left the tent slowly, the first few steps on the almost frozen grass of the base of the mountain causing her to jump, and she would have shot into the air were she not suddenly aware of exactly how the buzzing of her wings felt against her. In the entire two weeks they had made their way painstakingly through the swampland, to the base of the mountain range they would travel on the side of, she had never had even an inkling that she would suddenly and without warning become so... overly sensitive to the world. The first useful, and even calming, effect of this was the fact that she could hear hoofsteps. Well, more than just hear them, she could hear the changes in them. She knew exactly which guard was which, not only by emotional profile, but also now by the unique gait of their walk, and the same with the other ponies in the group. For example, Fluttershy, who she could now hear (if not understand) from across the meadow, moved with such light hoofsteps that the only sign she was moving was the rustling of the grass underhoof. How did Moonlight know that without practice? She wasn't sure, but it probably had to do with a combination of things that she was too young to properly bring together into one explanation. She just did.

More than a little unnerved by the change, she looked around, noting that despite the clearness she could see things, everything outside of their little meadow shifted and shimmered just slightly, as though there was a thin layer of gas surrounding them, or some sort of transparent cloth. Her wings buzzed once more, just a few seconds, before settling across her back. She made her way to Fluttershy, worried that something was going to go wrong and she would somehow be responsible. For the moment, she didn't want to talk, just stand near somepony that wasn't going to pester her, knowingly or not. Sidling up to the mare, she settled down to graze.

Fluttershy looked her over, but with her signature kindness, simply accepted her presence with no visible reaction. The two ate in a comfortable silence, until Rainbow Dash flew over to the two of them, Moonlight shaking the observations out of her mind, "Hey, Flutters. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Rainbow Dash." Moonlight heard her voice clearly just now, for the first time. It was a nice voice, light with a high pitch, but without the squeaking that might make it annoying to hear. Maybe she sang, because even when it was low in volume, it was still melodic and easy to listen to. Moonlight could easily imagine somepony falling asleep to a lullaby sung by her, at least, "W-why? Did something happen?"

"Nah, but the guards say we should be careful. There were weird hoofmarks in the grass, apparently." Moonlight's ears moved forward at that, and she made a mental note to keep an eye out for anything weird. "I just wanted to warn you. Now, I'm going to practice. The Princess says there's an hour before we leave, and I need to stretch my wings." With only a crouch and spread of her wings Rainbow Dash was in the sky, a trail of rainbow colored aftereffect left behind her as she performed jaw dropping action after jaw dropping action. Moonlight, attention caught, watched in fascination, noting that after a certain height even Rainbow Dash was covered in the slight gossamer shimmer.

Silent Gaze, looking behind him for a moment to see his daughter watching with fascination inwardly snorted. Of course Rainbow Dash, who even after this short period of time he knew was a showboater, would take the chance to flit about above their heads. He did wish his daughter would take the chance to get lessons from her, but knew there was probably some reason for her not doing so, and thus kept his tongue. He thought he saw one of the guards out of the corner of his eye, and turned to face it, but nothing was there. Shrugging it off he turned back to the swamp he was to keep an eye on. The bridge across it was still half rotted, and fog was starting to rise from the swamp, quickly. He thought it was too quickly, actually, but did not call an alarm. It wasn't like there was anyone near them, nopony was watching them or anything, there was nopony for days. They weren't even near the fort.

After the impromptu grazing session everypony set up in formation, albeit a bit looser. No longer were they kept together from the forests, after all. For the rest of their trip they were to travel along the bases of mountains, balanced between the swamp to one side, and the slow rise up the sides of the mountains to the other. There weren't many ways to get lost at this point.

Moonlight watched warily as everypony stepped out of the clear bubble, one by one each of them, in a matter of a few steps, grew out of focus. It was like a veil of water that was just slightly uneven, enough to see, but not to obstruct movement or sight. When she stepped through the bubble, her eyesight wobbled slightly, before settling to the same as before... only, everything around her had this sheen to it, even the ground. At this moment the fog finally reached the shore, covering the entire space, and Moonlight turned quickly on seeing somepony to her side.

All she saw of them were red eyes.

"Moonlight," Applejack called, her voice twanging with the country accent normal for her, "Hurry up. You're fallin' behind." What... what was that? It was gone now, but there was somepony just in the corner of her eye, just now. Applejack walked over to her, "Come on Moonlight, we're goin."

"Right." She looked around, keeping a sweeping gaze around them, but joined the rest of the group. The group headed off, Twilight Sparkle holding the map in her magic and directing them. Everypony knew they were supposed to follow the mountain, and so they did, even while the fog grew thicker. By midday it was so thick that they couldn't see around them for more than a few feet.

"Twilight," Rarity began, shaking one mud-covered hoof in an attempt to get it off, "You are quite certain that this is the correct direction?"

"Yes, I know we're going the right way. This is where the map leads." She gestured with a wing, "See? Right above us is the Cliffs of Marshmane," It swept to the side in the general direction of the mountain, "You can tell by their distinctive shape, with rings arou-" She looked up from the map, to see the swampland surrounding them. "What. But, we didn't turn...?"

"We must have," Luna walked over to Twilight, taking the map in her hooves, "Though I'm not sure how far we've gone. Guards!" Two of them flew to her, the others maintaining their vigil, "We have strayed from course, can you clear the fog?" They nodded, "Go in pairs. Never alone."

"Threes." Twilight cut in, "Go in threes, a pair could be split up, but with threes it should be safer." They nodded, going to grab a third before flying up, and out of the groups sight. Twilight took a deep breath, "We should stop moving. If we can't see, we're just going to get more lost." Luna nodded, and all of them huddled around the cart.

A half hour later, the guards still hadn't returned.

Grave -Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.

Author's Note

I don't know how suspenseful this came out, but enjoy the mini horror flick. If anyone knows mythology, you might be able to tell what I'm using for the antagonist this time.

12 Drone

The trip from the newly established Equestria and the changeling homeland is a perilous one. Usually once you are a full Queen, you establish a permanent portal from your Hive to the center of changeling territory. I did not use it because the portal was no longer valid. The death of a Queen destroys her personal portals, between Hive and Conclave,or between Hive and Hive. It is required of any heirs or new Queens to travel to the Conclave on their own two hooves. It is a vital tradition.

"Why?" You may ask. The answer to the question is... we're not entirely certain. The trip from wherever you considered home, be it in a Hive or in some form of foster care, has some effect on us. We, regardless of age, mature on the trip. Even if it is uneventful, the trip itself helps us to grow and change. For myself, despite it taking three months to travel across the continent, it was enough time to process my grief. I spent much of the trip crying, but when I entered the more dangerous areas, I found myself growing into my role as Protector-Queen, not only emotionally but also magically and physically. I hope that your pilgrimage is less eventful.

SE 1015

Another hour passed before anything particular happened. In that time the fog thickened even further, causing them all to huddle in a small bubble around the cart with their things. Walking about felt wet, and the occasional branch from a tree seemed to hover over them currently had Fluttershy hiding behind Applejack, shaking from tail to hoof. The water lapping on the sides of the swamp, sounds of animals outside of where they can see, and wind were the only sounds heard from outside of the group. If one of their number began moving out of what, to Moonlight, was a visible circle of influence for even a second, they found themselves blinded and easily distracted, only returning to the camp when one of their number, usually Moonlight herself, found some way of physically leading them back to the camp.

Rainbow was being entertained by a game with Pinkie Pie, this was the second time someone had tagged out, but at least this time she was having fun with her distraction from the current ban on flight. Rarity was alternating between helping with the distraction game and herding the distracted changeling princess into the center of the group. Moonlight, for no apparent reason to the rest of the group, would occasionally see somepony with red eyes just outside of the camp. Every time she tried to walk over and try to bring them in, however, she was brought back to the center of camp and would lose sight of them.

Twilight Sparkle walked up to Princess Luna. "There doesn't seem to be even a dent in the fog," her horn lit up in a purple hue, as she tried to push some of it aside, "I've been trying to move it myself in various ways, but nothing seems to affect the fog. It feels," she paused, moving one forehoof in a circle, looking for the right word, "Slippery. It's just not natural."

"Natural, to ponies, means controllable," Luna replied. She did eye the fog, though, "I agree with you, however. There is something almost artificial about this fog." She flapped her wings, causing a particularly thick wisp of the fog cloud to swirl. "These are too resistant to change, it is as though something has reinforced the clouds." Her horn lit up in a light blue aura, scanning the clouds here and there, "I can find no response suggesting that it is based on magic, however. I have tested several times. Have you?"

Twilight shook her head, "No. I've tried Hoofshore's Scanner, the Maerian Method, and even medical scans, but nothing comes up. Or, at least, nothing I can understand." She cast a scanning spell as an example, but the fog did not react. "My magic seems to just slide over it, as though it were some sort of anti-magic field. That's not possible, though. Only a few substances have that sort of characteristic, and none have ever been found in clouds." Luna frowned, before her own horn lit up.

Unicorn magic, and even Alicorn magic to an extent, usually was calm, with smooth waves from the base to the tip. This, however, was not so... it was pale, almost completely transparent, but lacked the smooth nature. Instead her magic stabbed out from her horn at random intervals, raising and lowering without any visible clue as to why. Her eyes closed as she focused on the spell, though unlike Twilight, she did not sweat from the effort of the spell. No, this was not a difficult spell, but rather an old one. the magic shot out, spreading rapidly enough that Thorax looked up from what appeared to be some form of hoof-crafting to see it fill the space. It hovered for few seconds before returning as rapidly as it left to her horn. she did not share the result, but Luna no longer looked bored, her gaze intent on one of many wisps of fog.

The two pegasi guards flew above the forest, "Where does the fog end?" One of them asked, looking to his partner. After getting no answer, he stopped flapping up, "Hey, come on man. We're guards. We don't prank each other." With a few strong beats of his winds, he unknowingly echoed his Princess, with the same result. "What? That's not..." He shook his head, and then dove, thinking maybe the person got lost. "Feli! We need to clear the sky, where are you?" He saw a figure flying in the distance, and shot off in search of them, "Hey!"

He flapped his wings, banking to the right, left, and flying up, following this figure that somehow was never close enough to get a clear idea of who, or what they were, but he was convinced that it was his partner. He continued to follow this figure until he was hopelessly lost, unable to even remember the number of turns needed to return to camp. By this point he was too tired to continue flying at such a high speed, and decided, while panting, to land on the ground. At this point he finally saw the figure up close, but... why was everything so blurry? He wasn't that tired...

"Come, Twilight Sparkle," Luna spoke, her eyes on Moonlight, who was again walking towards the edge of the camp, "Let us ask what the eyes of an illusionist have seen."

"Where did that come from?" They had been working on every scanning spell they could think of, and when that did not work then they moved on to trying various ways to get the fog to react to their spells. At last, Luna had made her suggestion, but Twilight didn't understand. How could a foal, even a changeling, understand enough complicated magic to be able to break through the absolute impossibility of a force of nature that did not bend to a pony? The fog was acting as though it were a cloud from the Everfree Forest, or perhaps worse. At least it was, if prohibitively difficult, possible to affect them, but this fog was impervious even to Twilight's Failsafe Spell. That had worked on the insanity of Discord!

"Changelings are not ponies, Twilight Sparkle."

"That's obvious, they're an entirely different species. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Though the fog has thickened, she still has no trouble checking on each of us, and always stops just shy of where everypony gets lost." Twilight blinked, that was true. Sure, they were constantly bringing her back to the center of camp, but she never showed any signs of acting like she was going to go into the swampland alone, unlike some of the guard.

"When she does, it's always to bring one of the guards back too..." Luna nodded.

"I suspect that in her eyes, something we do not see is present." She rose to her hooves, turning to bein the walk to her.

"Or... maybe she doesn't see something we do?" Twilight, now interested, rose to hers as well and followed Luna over to the changeling princess. Moonlight herself appeared to be staring into the distance, or, as she saw when Luna and herself had approached close enough, something directly outside of the makeshift camp. "Princess Moonlight?"

The changeling looked to the two of them, taking several steps away from the perimeter, "Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna? What do you need?"

A fair question, so she took a moment to think, before replying "What are you looking at?" It was what was the most interesting to her at the moment. She could understand if there were an animal, but it was impossible to see anything through the fog, wasn't it? Wait, why aren't I sure? It is impossible to see. There's nothing but impregnable fog beyond this point. Moonlight, for her part, frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean? There's somepony watching us." At Twilight and Luna's surprised expressions, she took a tentative step towards them, "W-wait, can't you see them? They're right there," She gestured to the fog, "Right in front of me. They've been circling us since this morning. I swear they've been muttering things, it's just too quiet for me to pick up. Which is weird, I should be able to hear it... it's not like they're quieter than Fluttershy."

"Describe them, Princess Moonlight," Luna knelt down to get close to her eye level, "There may be something you see that we don't."

"That makes no sense. I'm just a kid." Still, she could see how serious the princesses were, so she took a breath, "Ok. Uhm, they're tall. Almost as tall as Princess Twilight, I think? No, taller. Uhm," She flew up, placing a hoof somewhere between the height of Twilight and Luna, "They're about this tall, with white-grey fur. I think. They're kind of blurry, like they're not quite there?" Curse her lack of vocabulary! If she were just two years older, she probably could have explained it completely! "I can't tell if they're on two or four hooves, but they have wings, and red eyes that kind of glow."

"Kind of glow?"

"Can you take their form, Moonlight?" Also kneeling down, Twilight decided to take the initiative. Just hearing the description wasn't getting them very far. "You can make other disguises, right? Or is that something adults can do but foals can't?"

"No," Moonlight shook her head, "I can do it. I think. I don't know if I can get the blurry part right, but I'll do what I can." Her horn lit up, this time fluctuating between her own magical color of a pale, silvery blue, and her mother's gradient from red to pink, first wrapping herself in light so she didn't make them sick. She didn't know if it would, but it was better to be careful, right? Her Father had always said so. When she was next clearly visible, she was a miniature version of the pony she saw beyond the fog.

The first thing that Luna and Twilight noticed was the fur, or was it a lack of fur? Or was it a robe? It seemed to shift with each blink of their eyes, a dull grey that was only just visible with all of the fog around them. After they had adjusted to what they assumed was a result of Moonlight not understanding what she was looking at, their eyes were drawn to different parts of the creature. Luna noted the twin horns atop it's head, horns which at first looked like just one, but seemed to split into two right after. Or, were they twisted around one another? Or were they on entirely different parts of the creature's head? Trying to figure this out was starting to give her a migraine. Either way, the fog seemed to twist around the horn, horns, helix, whatever it was with an almost intricate understanding. Luna could almost follow one wisp around the horn, even while it changed. Which was impossible, horns don't change like that. Did Moonlight really not see it clearly, or was this what the creature's horn truly looked to be?

What drew Twilight's eyes, however, was it's posture. It was standing on it's hind hooves, despite the presence of two absolutely normal forehooves on it's entirely normal, if covered in a constantly changing coat of what she would call fur for simplicity's sake, forelegs. This led her to also note that it was neither male nor female, and stood on it's hind legs almost as tall as Luna, just as Moonlight had earlier suggested. Her attention was drawn to the fog around it. Where was her mane and tail? Moonlight surely would not have missed such a vital detail. Luna, having also started to look Moonlight's transformed head, looking for her mane, noticed at the same time exactly what Moonlight did. There was, in fact, a mane and tail. It was, however, frighteningly long.... so long as to have blended into the fog. No, it didn't blend with the fog. The creature's mane and tail were the fog. It swirled in an unfelt wind, tangling around both the horn(s) of the creature, and the the rest of it hung all around them. It took but a moment for both of them to pale, as the implications of this train of thought became quite clear. Then, they made the mistake of looking into Moonlight's eyes. Or, rather where the eyes should have been on the creature. Twilight turned and puked into the shore, while Luna found herself staring deeply into the eyes of a creature that, by all her knowledge, should have been impossible for her to comprehend, let alone see so clearly.

Moonlight's eyes were no longer in their proper place. No, it was as though her entire head had been split into two. Her muzzle and mouth were still in their proper place, but the rest of her face looked as though someone had seen a corpse and performed horrendously amateurish plastic surgery. The flesh twisted to accommodate the two vertical eyes, a bright red the color of freshly spilled blood, and one, no, both of the ears had found their way to the same half of the face both eyes were placed. It was made worse by the innocent, helpful look in them, so opposite of the creature's true appearance. Even were this flawed in some way, it was enough for Luna to recognize from tales told what they were facing. She raised one hoof to her mouth, holding in her own gag reflex as she closed her eyes.

"Is this a good enough idea of what they look like? I couldn't tell if they were a mare or stallion, so I went for androgynous." Twilight nodded, before turning away and puking.

"You may return to your normal form," Even Luna sounded somewhat queasy. It was no surprise to her, however. She knew of this creature, having heard of it from Queen Polaris, "In fact, please do so. Ponies were not meant to know the creature's true form."

"What," Twilight swallowed down another amount of upchuck, "What was that... thing."

"I do not know the name, but I have heard of them, from Queen Polaris." Luna herself only looked once more after Moonlight returned to her natural form, "This is dangerous. No one is to leave the group, for any reason."

"Why?"

"It preys on the lost."

Drone -Dull, monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.

Author's Note

So, first thing first. The description. In my first draft of it, it was one paragraph, and drastically worse. I rewrote it to make it at least less dry, but I don't know if Luna and Twilight's reaction comes across as earned.

Second: I do in fact have an actual name for the creature, but it has been slightly reworked to fit the world of Equestria. So far no one has guessed what it is, which does not surprise me. I didn't even know about it until I went looking for what creature would typify the danger of Discord's Swamp.

Third: I was originally going to finish this arc this chapter, but I like the way that this has split up. I hope you guys enjoy the mini-horror story, it's coming to a close.

And Fourth: The first part of Moonlight's story is approaching it's end. Be prepared, because the Conclave is going to be on you before you realize it.

Finally, thank you to Everfree Pony as always for supporting my lazy bum and helping me to edit this story.
EDIT: Sorry folks, I forgot I still had that strikethrough portion in there. It's gone now, enjoy the flow of the story.

13 Fermata

The Swamp that has come to be known has Discord's Swamp among the ponies is large. It is our thought that it was not naturally formed, as it has existed for as long as we have, yet not changed. In our history we have seen ecosystems change, forests to deserts and deserts to mountains, yet the swamp has always been present. There are many threats within it, sufficient to serve as a barrier between Equestria and the rest of the world. They think that the world consists of the Old Country, Equestria, and the Dragon Lands, but the threats they faced within those places were, comparatively, weak. Ponies need fear only those creatures which are capable of being fought against. The swamp is their only window into the world we live in.

Within the swamp are creatures without a physical form, ones which can kill while you do nothing, those that can only be destroyed using fire, and those capable of turning the entirety of your environment against you. One of these creatures is the bunyip, which dwells within the swampwater. Bunyips, like many of the threats we face, act in isolation. Their primary focus is on not having anyling touch the water of it's home, if you approach it will warn first with flung mud, but as one approaches it becomes increasingly aggressive. The Bunyip is animalistic, but there are some creatures within the swamp which are intelligent. The best policy with those creatures is to avoid them, but if you cannot... several of them have some sort of enhancer. Rather than fight the creature, destroy that. It will drive the creature away, though only temporarily.

SE 1015
Once Luna and Twilight were done evacuating their intestines, everyone was sitting in a circle, right next to the cart. Even the guards. "Everypony is present, yes?" Twilight spoke first, looking about the group. She avoided looking at Moonlight, a cold wave of emotion coming from her. Twilight quickly ran down the line of guards, noting the three who were lost, and then rolled up her scroll. "Right then. We have identified what is happening."

"It's a super cool monster, right?" Rainbow shot up in the air, stopping when Applejack, as per the norm, gripped her tail. She looked down, frowning, before letting out a sigh, "I know, I know. No flying." She then dropped down, stretching her wings once she was back on the floor, "But I'm right, aren't I? Twilight?"

"Err, actually I don't know what it is. Princess Luna does." Twilight ducked her head, gesturing with one wing to the Princess. Luna, sitting to her left, nodded and straightened even further than she normally did.

"Indeed, Rainbow, it is a "super cool monster" of a sort." She paused to allow the cyan pegasus to hoofpump, waiting just long enough for a short victory dance. Though her expression remained calm, in her eyes and emotions there was some joy. Once she had considered it long enough to wait, she cleared her throat, "Now then, To answer the question, we are facing an Ijiraq."

"ijiraq?" Applejack let go of Rainbow's tail just long enough to ask, grabbing the still dancing pegasus as fast as possible. "Rainbow!"

"Yes." On seeing their blank expressions, Luna coughed nervously, "Ah, right. It is, or was even at the time of our youth, an old mare's tale." Twilight giggled, "I am aware of the irony, yes. An Ijiraq is an ancient being. According to the elders among ponies a thousand years ago, Ijiraq were ponies who travelled too far from civilisation. They transformed upon entering the realm between life and death. According to an old friend of mine," Moonlight at this point looked directly at Luna, but held her tongue. That had to be her mother, right? "They are creatures of fog and ice. They feed off of the energies of those who enter their territory, trapping them in an impenetrable field, where each attempt to leave the area only serves to further mislead the victim."

Though Luna was not trying to be frightening, her serious voice was perfect for telling ghost stories. Even Rainbow had stopped trying to escape, only flapping her wings enough to stay off the ground. Fluttershy was the first to speak, though her voice trembled in response to her fear. "W-what do we do?" She asked, forcing her wings away from her light blue eyes. "We n-need to get out of here, but we're already lost. I-is there some way out of this?"

Luna shook her head, "That I do not know, I'm afraid." Without even a moment's hesitation, she stood up. "The legends say that you can escape it's territory either through following strict, obvious paths closely or by convincing it to release you. However, it has shown no interest in us, save for watching us. Is this not so, Princess Moonlight?" Everypony's eyes followed the line from Luna's to where she was looking, the young princess.

With a startled yelp, she scrambled to her hooves, "Who, me?"

"You are the only one who has seen the creature."

"O-oh, right." She gulped, before turning to the rest of the group. Right then. "T-the creature has been watching us. Uhm, since we left camp basically." She ignored the gasps and murmuring that broke out, "I, uh, didn't know what it was of course. I thought somepony was following us because they had gotten lost or something." This was nerve wracking, her eyes darted from one pony to the next, until she saw Silent Gaze watching her. Unlike the others, he wasn't murmuring about the conversation, and he wasn't focusing on positive or negative aspects, he was just waiting patiently for her to finish. She took a breath before continuing. "A-as I was saying, the Ijiraq has been watching us. It hasn't tried to enter the, the perimeter I think was the right word. I... see things differently from everypony else."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie, taking the initiative, asked this question after somehow appearing next to the changeling princess. "Oh! I know, are you seeing a giant bubble of air around us that's like, super clear and then the rest of the world is covered in a superthick fog, but it's still light enough that you could get around and not have anything to worry about?"

"Y-yes...?" That was surprisingly accurate from someone who didn't have the ability to read minds. "How did you know?"

"I'm seeing the same thing, silly!" What? "Well, it's not seeing so much as I can tell where it is and I can tell that we're approximately like, at a ninety degree angle from where we were supposed to go, but surprisingly we didn't go that far we went in circles a lot and-"

"Pinkie?" Twilight sounded, and felt, as surprised as Moonlight was. "Are... are you able to tell where we are?"

"Well, of course I can silly. The rocks around here are pretty rare, especially for a swamp. Probably because of the mountain? I noticed each one has a different kind and-OH I should tell Maud about this place! She'd love it!" Twilight shook her head, before sighing. Right, that was it. Pinkie would be Pinkie no matter what. A small smile danced on her lips before she returned to their job.

"So if we can get back to where we started, would the two of you be able to lead us?" Pinkie started nodding her head vigorously, while Moonlight thought for a moment.

"If I have directions," Moonlight began, "I can probably get us out of here. It's just, I wouldn't be able to stop anypony getting lost at that point. M-maybe if we had rope and could tie everypony to each other?" No one answered that there was any, "I'm guessing that's a no. Then, we're going to have to stick very close. Nopony wander off, I don't think we'll be able to find you." The group, after figuring out the rest of the logistics, gathered around the cart and began to move.

Following Pinkie's directions they moved back to the base of the mountain where they had made camp the night before. It honestly took less time than they would have thought, about half the time spent to get where they had been. Moonlight, not in charge for the moment, had kept an eye out for the Ijiraq. She was pleasantly surprised that it was not present, at least for the moment. The bad news was that the already thick fog thickened further, to the point where Moonlight's field of vision was starting to be impacted as well. The next part of their trip would be much slower.

Moonlight and Twilight took to the skies, Twilight with the map and Moonlight, listening to Twilight's directions, directing them. This time they did not enter the swamp, but Moonlight had to focus more on navigating for them, and less on the area. The guards attempted to compensate for this, but without the ability to see what they were guarding against, there were several times where they had to stop a partner from following a random shadowy figure. Each time Moonlight would call a halt, waiting until the affected pony would have their wits about themself once again.

Now there was no doubt that this fog was artificial. It was too late in the day, with the sun probably directly overhead, for there to not be any sign of the fog fading away. Instead, it was still thickening, now so thick that outside of their bubble of space, all was grey cloud. They had slowed so much that their progress was negligible, and Moonlight could no longer trust herself. Their goal, at this point, was to follow the mountain out of the Ijiraq's territory. None of them knew how long it would take, but there was little more that they could do.

"Twilight, darling," Rarity trotted over to her friend, "There is truly nothing we can do about this fog?" Twilight shook her head.

"No," Another branch from a tree they could only just see. She ducked her head, alongside Rarity, "It's magic resistant. I don't think even Rainbow's Sonic Rainboom could disperse it. There must be an amplifier somewhere, no creature would have this kind of effect without one. But we've no means of even analyzing the fog, let alone telling where the amplifier would be."

"An amplifier?" She had heard of them, of course, but had no idea what they were made of. The group stopped, having done so once an hour to allow everypony to rest. It had been very draining just to keep walking through the fog, so several of their number dropped down to sit right away. Even the guards were drooping a bit. "I've not heard of those."

"Amplifiers are objects that can hold magic arrays for later activation." Oh goodie, a lecture. "They can be made from a variety of materials, including wood and cloth, though what material it is would depend on how powerful it was. For something like this, it would have to be very high quality, maybe a large magically-conductive mineral? I'm sure Maud would know if there were one." They both knew that, after all she had known of a crystal that could store cutie marks. Somehow. "It would have to be rare, at best a unique type of crystal. Diamond wouldn't work, but mythril might? Though Mythril isn't suitable for weather manipulation or illusion."

Moonlight, taking a break, was once more playing with her crystal. At her age she only had so much magic she could freely use, and so she had been working only with what she could do without draining her love reserves. As it was still daytime and they might be attacked at any time, however, she was just playing with it. Moving it about so it would catch the light, at least as much as was possible in the fog. Rarity, seeing her playing with it with her hooves, gestured over to the young changeling, "Would a crystal like that work?"

Twilight tilted her head, "I'm not sure. Let me check." It would be easy to just send a scanning spell over to the crystal, or would if it were a simple spell. It was not. Instead, Twilight walked over to Moonlight, asking once close enough, "Moonlight, do you mind if I scan your crystal?"

"Why?"

"Well, we were wondering if it might be close to the type of crystal that's probably the cause of the fog." Moonlight looked at her with a blank expression.

"This is a crystal from the Starsea Forest... there shouldn't be any around here." She knew that it had supposedly been a trade item, but the creatures around here didn't trade with anypony, did they? Still... "If you want to see it you can, I guess?" He held it out to the Alicorn. "Uhm, it absorbs magic though, so it might be hard to... uh, scan you said?"

"Thank you." Twilight lit her horn, slowly wrapping her magic around the crystal. The lightly blue crystal turned purple on the very edges, but the magic was drawn back out as the Princess began crafting her spell. She closed her eyes, a purple disc appearing on one side of the crystal. The disk slowly moved from that side to the other, then from the top to the bottom of it, and it was set back down in Moonlight's hoof. Twilight's eyes opened, "I'll go and look into the results."

"Ok. I hope it helped." Twilight nodded, returning to Rarity.

"How was it?" Rarity asked, leaning in to talk conspiratorially.

"It's not Moonlight's crystal." Rarity gave her a 'well I never said it was hers, just that it might be like hers' look. Twilight rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh, before continuing. "Yes, her crystal could be turned into an amplifier, so if you want to look for another one like it we could try. But the crystal itself has nothing to do with the fog. It's not splitting out magic, and it isn't resistant to being held or scanned like the fog is."

"Well then," Rarity's horn lit up in her light blue colored magic, "I had best find out if it's nearby." She adjusted the spell, not for gems in general but first for one within a short distance of them, which honed in on the crystal in Moonlight's hooves. Once she had the, for lack of a better term, frequency of the crystal, she made note of it, and then adjusted the spell. "Right, it'll take quite a bit more magic than I alone could use. Would you be a dear and cast the spell with me?" Twilight nodde.

The two sat next to one another, Twilight touching her horn to Rarity's for just long enough the matrix could be shared. A few adjustments, an accounting for Neighman's Law of Metaphysics, and the two of them had a workable two-pony spell. No longer bound to Rarity's cutie mark, the margin of error would be larger, but in exchange they could widen the area of effect by quite a bit. "Ready, Rarity?" A nod from the white unicorn. "On three. One, two, three" Two strings of magic, one blue and one purple, extended from their horns. They met and twisted just above the two of them, forming a ball of deep blue magic. It swirled in front of them for a bit, before exploding outward. The two maintained their concentration, magical auras still around their horns, until the shockwave returned.

"Amazing," Rarity, facing a headache from the information, placed a hoof to her head. "I've never had so much information at once. Is this how it always is when you scan things?"

"I don't do it very often, but not usually, no." Twilight shook her head, already going over the information. She stood, her tail snapping behind her in triumph. "Yes, I know largely where it is. Rainbow and I will go and destroy it. Rarity, you stay with the group."

"Of course, but will you be safe with only Rainbow?"

"We'll have to be." Twilight looked at the group, frowning slightly. "I can't afford to bring anypony else. The Ijiraq has been content to watch us so far, but if we go for it's amplifier, that might not be true anymore. Everypony possible has to be present to fight it off. I trust Princess Luna, but the only one able to see it is Moonlight... and she's only one filly." Rarity frowned as well.

"Quite."

Fermata -To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.

Author's Note

I confess: I have no idea how to write for Pinkie. This chapter was a challenge to write. I got two chapters into the arc before I realized that I had no way of defeating it yet... well, here we are. I have a way out of the situation, but it'll be two weeks before the conclusion is up.

In the meantime, enjoy the chapter!

Ar Sphilar

Ar Sphilar is a language unique to the Changeling species. Unlike other languages, it is not solely linguistic, nor is it divorced from the magic of it's people. It appears to be distinctly tied to this magic, specifically the form of magic called the Hive Link. The discussion regarding their telepathy, or perhaps shared memory would be a better term, is best saved for a more in depth study later. What we must note is that the Hive Link allows for more in depth communication than any purely linguistic language could, and this is only compounded by the changeling's empathic abilities as well.

Ar Sphilar, when translated, means "The Heart," or, perhaps, "The Mind," or maybe even "The Soul." In truth, it means all of these things, and can refer to any one specifically. There are several layers of this language, the most common is Ar Sphilar as "The Mind," which is to say that which is spoken with another species. This form uses a base emotion, taken from one of their various understandings, and uses that as the base emotion for the language. For example, when referring to one's An Bale they might say "E-That is a matter for the An Bale". The E refers to a specific emotional state, though which is somewhat subjective and intuitive, and forming the emotional base for the rest of the sentence. It is worth noting that often changelings, when not used to species not under their wing, will even continue to use these complex prefixes even when speaking Equish or some other language that is not their own.

"The Heart" is spoken with other changelings, and generally serves much as a more nuanced and clearer version of the prefixes. These are generally called Emotion Words, they form the base of true Ar Sphilar. In "The Heart" the Emotion Words are spoken first, providing a detailed idea of how the changeling is feeling about the sentence in particular, or situation in general. The rest of the language is a far bit more complex, including a confusing ordering system where the object of a sentence is always last. It is entirely in the first person, each statement having the speaker as the origin and referring to the speaker as a given, and it's tense is in the eternal. That is to say, there is no past, present, or moment... each verb, adverb, and adjective are treated as though they have always been, and will always be.

"The Soul" appears to be a mix of a more complex version of "The Heart" and "The Mind," it could be termed, according to them, as being along a class line. It is spoken solely within one's own Hive Link. The Queen's version of "The Soul" is closer to "The Mind" with dizzying complexity and nuance, while the drones and other royals appear to use some form of compacted, highly emotive version of "The Heart." To them it is as intelligible as Equish, and they often have no trouble translating what is said within to Equish, even if the emotive transmission is diminished. No pony will ever hear this language, especially as the conversation is largely instinctive.

It may be beyond anypony's ability to understand the complexities of the Changeling's language, but it is clear by this very brief overview that the expression of the core emotion somepony wishes to convey is at the core of it's conventions. It is truly fascinating...

Excerpt from "An Overview of the Languages of Equis"

Author's Note

First things first for the language: I changed the name, partially because how I'm going to use it is different than how it would be were I actually skilled in Hymmnos. Instead, I'm going to follow the guidelines established here, mostly.

A few notes:

Ar Sphilar is literally translated as "The (one and only) Mind/Heart/Soul."

"The Mind" is based on Ar Ciela's vowel usage, but vastly simplified.

"The Heart" is based on Hymmnos proper, though I will only rarely write whole sentences, instead using "Emotion Words" as emphasis when necessary, and Hymmnos terms randomly. I'll always include the proper translation (as I'm using the word) in the Author's Notes.

"The Soul" is where New Pastalle Testament and Ar Ciela proper go, Queens speak the emotively superior Ar Ciela, while drones speak in New Pastalle Testament. I will not be writing these out, however. For all intents and purposes, telepathic conversation will be in English.

14 Duet

Ponies are not merely stallions in distress. Changelings, when faced with danger, will either overpower or manipulate our way around danger. Ponies, however, will work around it. There is an impressive level of diversity with them, some are more than capable of overpowering their foes, and others of outhinking them. The most common methods for dealing with dangers by ponies, however, is to combine strengths. Despite their individual differences ponies have, over all, a disparaging difference in power from other races they meet. Pegasi may be faster than a gryphon, but a gryphon has claws and a sharp beak to go along with their wings, allowing them to act as a beast of prey.

What all ponies have which other races do not, however, is an almost instinctual need to help one another. This "herd mentality" is similar to that of our Hive Mind, but instead of being built around magic and a genetic need to help the Queen, theirs is largely societal. As all prey animals, they have a propensity for sticking together, but no pony has a genetic requirement to do so. This is shown clearly by their history, for they once warred, one against the other. Yet, they show the greatest potential for overcoming difficulty and wielding magic when they work together. The Elements of Harmony are an example, but one need only look at the wars that have been waged over the past thousand years for proof.

No civilization has ever managed to overcome the ponies when they work as one. I imagine this shall remain true, even far into the future. Learn from this, my daughter.

SE 1015

Rarity and Twilight split off from the group after giving a brief explanation to Princess Luna. Rarity, to convince said Princess, claimed that the Princess' regalia would be simple enough to lock onto after they break the enchantment. While Moonlight and Pinkie led everypony through the mist, Twilight and Rarity dove into the mists, moving swiftly in the hopes that it would prevent the disorientation of the spell. They continued for a while, pausing every few minutes to recast the spell, before they eventually reached a point where no matter how much they travelled, they were always stopping at exactly the same distance from the magic crystal.

"Twilight, I swear we've passed this exact swath of... muck at least five times in the past hour." At this point the white unicorn had given up on shaking off the mud from her frocks, though she still shook her head to dry out her mane periodically. With a few more steps she was beside her friend, "Please tell me you have figured out what is jamming our magic."

"I... it's not so much jammed so much as, I think, we're still being mislead." She stopped moving, using her magic to lift a stick and start writing down calculations. It began with a diagram of their path, and then analysis, and by about halfway through Twilight had begun to mutter alongside them. This time, there were no arcane terms thrown around, instead it was all geographical, and then... "Ok, so I think... we're going to try it this way. This should be the last defense of the magic source." That made sense, it wasn't a physically dangerous creature, after all, but rather something that drained the... energy? No, now wasn't the time for semantics, Twilight! "Follow me!"

"That's what I've been doing, darling." Rarity laughed quietly before taking off after Twilight. The two of them resumed their frantic movements, but no longer were they moving in what, to them, felt to be a single line. Instead, Twilight took turns here and there, making sharp 90 degree turns at what Rarity assumed were carefully calculated moments, before at last they seemed to pass through what appeared to be a solid wall of fog. The other side was covered in a dome, but unlike the caravan... it was completely devoid of fog, save for a few streams seeming to come out of the ground in the center, each spreading just outside the dome.

The two stepped carefully further into the dome, noting that the grass under their hooves was dead, and the tree branches reaching in as well. Rarity noticed that her legs were shaking, and carefully adjusted her posture to hide this fact. The two reached the centerpoint of the streams of fog, though it was flowing too fast for them to see the source.

"Right," Twilight began, "How to destroy this thing."

"Could we overload it somehow?"

"Maybe, if I had time to study it. I have a bad feeling about this place, though. We shouldn't stay here for long." She didn't want to try to overload it without study, the backlash could be disastrous, depending on how much magic was being used. Rarity, seeing Twilight enter her magic calculation mode again, looked around for any handy tools. "I wonder if the placement has something to do with the magical array? It's frustrating that I can't see it..."

Ah, there was one! She trotted over to a boulder, poking and prodding it. She was no expert, not like Pinkie or Maud, but this seemed to be a very... rocky rock. It was large, she tried to lift it with her magic, and yes it was heavy. It looked like Tom. Yes, this would do nicely. It would either destroy the array, knock one of the gems off, or at least cover up the source of the fog. So, she dragged it over, and after nudging Twilight out of the way, lifted the boulder up, and tossed it onto the center of the streams.

"Rarity!" The boulder completely covered the amplifier, the stream of fog snuffed like a candle.

"We can't let that... thing, whatever it is that's hunting us, find us now can we?" Twilight slapped one forehoof to her forehead. "Now then," They both noticed that the fog was already starting to lighten, sunlight visible through the center. "We must dismantle this amplifier permanently, mustn't we? It would not do for the," She paused, oh, right it was called, "Ijiraq to find us before we do so."

"You're right, but you really shouldn't have done that. What if it exploded?"

"If it was going to explode, you would have set up a barrier first thing." Well, that was true, but Twilight really thought that Rarity was missing the point. She shook her head, lifting the boulder in her own magic, noting that what appeared to be the main part was completely smashed. She gulped, yes, that could easily have gone very wrong. Rarity usually wasn't this reckless, what had happened? Ah, but now was not the time to think about that... now she had to destroy the rest of the arcane formulas so it would take complete recalculation in order to use it again.

A few hours later the two of them found Princess Luna and the others. It had become a beautiful afternoon.

Duet: A piece of music written for two vocalists or instrumentalists.

Author's Note

In true pony fashion, the two solved the problem honestly pretty easy. The Ijiraq is still out there, but the fog is gone at least! Also, the image of Rarity ignoring Twilight and instead using her pent up aggression (towards Tom) to toss a rock onto the amplifier just seems funny to me.

Next chapter: The start of the Conclave arc!

(Partial edits credited to Tael Spinner pointing out a few things that could use improvement. Thank you!)

As always, thanks go to Everfree Pony for helping me to edit this story, even if it is at a snail's pace. Due to myself.

15 Finale

Portals. Araus-Lof in Ar Sphilar. These are tools used for long distance travel. Changelings prefer to use portals for travel from place to place, but a portal can only be created where one has been before. It is more stable than teleportation, using the ground or floor beneath the caster in order to ground the spell, lessening the burden on the caster. Unlike teleportation, however, the space a portal can transport is set.

There are two different kinds of portals, the first are free portals, created by a castor in the moment. Such portals can only ever transport one or two creatures at a time, but are otherwise the most flexible. They need no outside components, and are just a spell. The second are permanent portals, created using a variety of materials. These can be subdivided into fixed and free, but generally speaking at least one edge of the portal must be anchored to one single location, must be activated from an anchored point, and must be regularly charged with magic to remain functional.

SE 1015

"Watch your steps, please," the first to break the hours long silence was one of the guard, trotting in front. He pointed with one foreleg, "There are stones strewn around." Princess Luna had been growing antsy, what had happened to the fort? They should have, to her knowledge, reached it already. The wall, a wonder of construction for the time using carefully cut stones to eliminate the need for any sort of silt between and allowing for relatively easy repair, was missing. Or, so she thought, until the guard had said that. On looking around closer, she realized that they were actually standing in the remains of said wall. To her left was a crumbled watchtower, just barely visible underneath the foliage of the mountain forest they were trekking through.

This forest was the third, and final, leg of their journey. The Fort, formerly known as Fort Saddleback, was named such for it's position right between two mountains, as though it were sitting on the back of a pony. The forest itself had not changed much, even as winter had begun to thaw for them. The snow was melting slowly, the leaves of the trees, mostly evergreens such as pine trees, dropped down from time to time. Her sister's Sun warmed the forest, so despite the ice of the snow it was plenty warm for the ponies themselves. It had been slow going, the path that had been so carefully cared for a thousand years ago had been all but swallowed, leaving only an animal trail that they likely would have missed were it not for Fluttershy's talents.

Less than ten minutes later, they came across a wood wall, one with vines growing upon it. "Tell me, has this fort not been kept up?" Luna asked the guards. She and her sister had been in agreement that expanding in this direction would be a good goal...

"We have tried. However, as you have seen in our trip, there are many dangers." The guard didn't salute, too busy ducking under a branch at the moment. "Only the best are sent here, and since supplies are hard to get over here, they mostly are expected to handle themselves. After your return, the Solar Guard were given charge of the fort, if I'm remembering correctly, my Sovereign." He moved carefully, leading the train to the gate. "We can only afford to send one set of supplies every few months, and usually suffer heavy losses. Just the three we lost earlier was, to put it mildly, a miracle." Twilight grimaced, not wanting to think about the guards that they had never managed to find, even after dispelling the fog field.

A second guard walked up to the gate, and the two of them called out to the guards within. After a short discussion, and introduction of those present, they were let into the fort proper. Within the wooden walls, which one could now see were almost completely ivy-covered on the sides, were three main sections. To their right was a training ground, and to the left a small field which was, at the moment, empty. Like Equestria, Winter had been wrapped up, so there was no snow in the center, but the sides had snow from where the plants had built it up dropped some. Directly in front of them lay the fort itself, an impressive hodge-podge of stone bones, wooden scaffolding here and there, and vines holding it all together. The group was led inside by a silent Solar Guard, white coated and green eyed, in full armor.

Upon entering the building the wooden scaffolding was lost, replaced instead by the remarkably intact stone interior, with only the outer walls having some parts supported by wood. The guard moved towards someone in armor similar to that of a captain. A short discussion later and he bowed to Princesses Luna and Twilight, and by proximity the rest of the bearers and train. "Your Highnesses," he, nay she for her voice was feminine, began, "Lieutenant Snowshoe, at your service. How might Fort Saddleback serve?"

The princesses shared a look, before Twilight began speaking. "At ease, soldier." The Lieutenant stood, "We need a place to rest and store our things, while we prepare for a diplomatic meeting. You needn't give us any special treatment beyond that."

"Yes Your Highness." She looked over the group, thinking on how many store rooms would have to be cleared out, before pausing on seeing the undisguised child changeling. "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Highness, but are you aware of the changeling in your midst?" It wasn't the first time that undisguised, unchanged changelings had gone through the fort, though the rest of the guard was never present, so she was not too alarmed, but... To her knowledge, the Princesses had never had good interactions, save for King Thorax, whom she noted was also part of the party. For a king he really has a weak presence, doesn't he?

"We are well aware of her presence." This time Luna spoke, taking a step forward to subtly draw attention to her, allowing the changeling princess who had been gaping at the fort wide-eyed (she had never seen such artificial constructs with so little plants!) to scoot behind Silent Gaze. Pure curiosity or not, she wasn't comfortable having that level of scrutiny on her, even if she had started to get used to it on the trip. "Indeed, this diplomatic trip has to do with her presence." A part of her considered keeping it quiet, but she dismissed that thought out of hoof. No, she would not play the cryptic like her sister. "We are present partially to return young Princess Moonlight," The guard gulped, another princess! "To her people as per a treaty with the Thestrals."

"I see." She looked to the side, before asking, "Err, why here, Your Highness? If I may ask."

Luna liked this solar guard, and so let out a small chuckle, "This fort used to double as the main embassy to the changelings. I was close friends with one of the Queens, you see, and she allowed for us to meet at this location with their council. Within a few days we will be escorted to their council. Ah, coincidentally, I must ask... what day is it?"

"W-what day, Your Highness?" That was a strange question, but it was worth asking. They must have lost track in the trip over,"It is March second."

"I see..." That meant they only needed the one day. It had taken longer than expected to arrive here. "We will be travelling tomorrow, in most likelihood." It was likely the changelings already knew they were there." A few seconds of thought, "Prepare semi-permanent rooms for the platoon with us. It is uncertain how long we shall be in changeling lands."

"Yes, Princess." Well, there were some beds that had just opened up... "If you will excuse me," She turned to the one who had brought them up. "Grasshoof! Prepare..." One last double check, "Two rooms in the barracks, two guest rooms, and four suites! Get as much help as you think you need, the forest has been quiet lately so we should be fine for an hour or two." Grasshoof saluted before trotting off. Returning to the Princess, "Our facilities are humble, but please make yourselves at home."

The next day, at breakfast, in the middle of the large room which doubled as the mess hall, a green ring appeared on the floor. It glowed brightly for a few moments, before flames shot up around it, spreading inward quickly. Thirty seconds later, the flames died down, returning to their position at the edge of the ring, banking to the point where they were mere flickers above the ground. In the center of the ring stood several changelings, four standard drones and two of middling height. The drones appeared to be soldiers, with spears sitting on their backs between extended wings, while the two tall ones looked to be older versions of Moonlight, each just a few inches taller than the average pony, with slitted eyes and long manes. Both wore the same outfit, a simple mantle made of large flower petals in different colors, matching their coloring.

The one to the right had a silver straight, fluffy mane with vines and flower buds in it. She spoke first, her echoing voice was carefully measured to minimise discomfort, sounding more like a quiet chorus than anything else, "Greetings. I am Princess Iasien, of the Springsky Hive. u, This," She gestured to the second princess, her coloring was a deep purple bordering on navy, with her mane in a light braid. "Is Princess Lyuma of the Duskshade Hive. We have arrived to collect the Moonsong Hive's Princess, and her party on behalf of the Royal Conclave. My apologies for interrupting your meals."

The guards had, before she so calmly spoke, been scrambling to grab weapons, but went no further than grabbing them before Princess Luna stood, her food held in her magic, and asked... "May we finish our meals before we proceed, or is time of the essence?"

"e, It was our mistake. Please, finish your meals." Lyuma's voice was not so well tuned, closer to what Queen Chrysalis had felt, but without her mocking tone.

"Thank you." Well, Pinkie hadn't stopped eating, but Luna didn't know when that was going to end and she would attempt to make friends with all six of the new ponies she had just met. It was likely only a matter of time. With a simple gesture, the guards who had finished eating hurried off to get the last of their things. Luna took the time to carefully finish her food, and partially to buy time asked, "My sister and I, that is to say the Diarchs of Equestria, would like to renegotiate my thestral's treaty with your conclave. Would you be willing to help us find an ally to introduce our goals."

"You are Princess Luna, of the Lunar Empire, yes?" A nod from Luna and Iasien smiled, "My mother has shown some concern for the treatment of our little Maen, if she can attest to your sincerity, we would be glad to reintroduce you to the conclave. I make no promises as to the results, however."

"M-maen?"

"I am referring to the young princess changeling we are here to collect." She gestured towards Moonlight, "It is a pleasure to meet you, heir to Moonsong Hive." Moonlight hurried to swallow and return the greeting, only to start coughing and have her father pat her gently on her back. Iasien hid a laugh behind one hoof, before turning towards King Thorax. "Our information suggests that you are the current leader of the Badlands Hive, correct? King Thorax, did you call yourself."

"A-ah, yes. I would like to introduce myself to the rest of the Hives." Hives he hadn't known of.

"Very well. I'll see what we can do."

"Araus-Lof...?" What did- oh, she supposed that that was actually quite understandable.

"Ah, yes. Why don't we run the calculations?" She paused, her magic about to grab a few of the empty tables, "May we use more space? The portal will not be large enough for your group at this rate."

"Yes, please do so." In less than an hour there were bags, not many, just a suitcase a person, and the entire nine pony party stood in the center of a far larger ring of flames. The changelings stood outside. Luna, having done this several times before, felt much calmer than the rest of the group. Moonlight, however, was extremely restless. She had never been so close to actual other changelings before. There was a strange buzzing in her mind, and she wanted to think about it more because it didn't feel bad, it felt kind of right. She couldn't think about that right now, though.

The flames rose, and when they lowered... there was nothing. Not even scorch marks, the stone was completely unharmed. They were off, to the land of the changelings.

Finale -Movement or passage that concludes the musical composition.

Author's Note

Finale. This is the end of the pony arc. Yes, I will be addressing the needs of the ponies that have travelled, but no longer is this a tale of Equestria. Now, it is the tale of Moonlight in the changeling lands. First sign of this, I'm changing my chapter naming convention. Now, I'll be using terms in Hymmnos for the chapter names, so it'll be fun to find the right word!

As always, thanks go to my editor: The wonderfully patient Everfree Pony.

Translation Notes:
Iasien- morning dew.
Lyuma- Star or planet.
Araus-Lof, literally change place. The term for portals in Ar Sphilar.

10 March

My first year as a Queen was quite trying. It is tradition for a Queen who has fully matured to leave their home Hive and search for their own hosts. This can be as simple as finding or negotiating for territory, and then leaving the space open to any sentient being to join and live, as within changeling territory itself, or it can be as difficult as establishing a Hive where none have heard of the changelings, and either overtly or secretly integrating with your new Hosts. Only once you have fully integrated with them and have a fully built Hive are you considered a fully-fledged Queen, and it is only while building your own Hive that you are allowed to not attend a Royal Conclave. You are, however, required to send at least two drones to them with a message, as proof that you are still alive. There are traditional gifts given to a new Queen upon her first Conclave, but that is information for later.

As I stated, my first year was difficult. I had no luck in convincing even those who I had intended to join an An-Bale with to share territory with me, partially due to a famine that the Host races were currently facing. There had, not even a few decades ago, been an unusual series of extremely cold winters, and Equiss had not completely recovered yet. Prepared, with love reserves sufficient for a small scouting party and myself, I was about to take flight and leave the Hive, when I received word that my mother had been killed by a dragon. I, a young queen of just three decades, was now the leader of a Hive that had stood for centuries.

As was required, I immediately began preparations for the trip across the land bridge, towards the Royal Conclave. I also, sorrow filling me, began preparations for both driving away the dragon, and my mother's funeral. The thestrals would, I knew, be saddened as we were. She had been the first to interact with them. Nevertheless, our trip took a long time, for beyond the forest is the swamps, and beyond that... well, the ponies have a way to travel, so you need not worry about it yet.

SE 1014

The train had entered the Forest proper not long ago, only the night before. It was the last stretch of the train, and as Celesta's sun rose to midday, each of them disembarked at the furthest West point of the railroad tracks. Each held a small amount of luggage, and the rest of their supplies was being put on a cart just a short distance away. The forest was nowhere near as dark as the Starsea Forest, even at the Beightbloom level, instead it was just think enough to cover the sky. If any of the winged members wanted to, they had but to fly in a straight line to break this canopy and see cloud and sun. It was warm, for winter. There was snow, but it was midway melted already, the branches trapping heat sufficient to see stave off the cold, many a scarf or hat was placed back on it's bag or case already and the guards looked to be uncomfortable in their winter gear.

Princess Luna and Silent Gaze were keeping an eye on the woods, alongside several of the guard. All was quiet, though not overly so. Unlike the fantastical creatures of thestral lands, there were no creatures altered by concentrated magic, but the occasional sounds of a snow rabbit or the tinkling of a bird landing on an icicle leaden branch was enough to show that the place was alive.

Twilight knew that there were fantastical creatures around, though she had no idea where they might be. There was the Ice Phoenix, not a true immortal bird but one that was made of ice and went dormant until nature brought back the cold of winter, and it's magic. They were, with pony weather control, quickly becoming extinct, but forests like this were their favorite habitats. Another, White Furryes, were a fair bit more worrying, as in large enough bunches they could cause artificial blizzards. She was, at the moment, sitting under a tree which had one just a branch above her, reading a book on winter magical creatures.

The rest of the girls were busy with hanging around or making preparations for the trip. Moonlight, hovering down from the train, was hovering her small amount of luggage with her. She landed and glanced around, trying to decide whether to go, before the not-changeling King, Thorax, waved her over. With a single deep breath, she headed over.

"Hi," he began, "We haven't had a chance to talk yet. My name is Thorax, nice to meet you."

She flicked her tail, so now was going to be when they did this. In the middle of a potentially terrifying forest. "I am Princess Moonlight," how did it go? Oh, right. "The pleasure is mine. How may this Princess be of," right, which word to use, "Assistance?"

"Oh no," how strange, his voice didn't harmonize like hers. "I-I don't need anything, I just wanted to talk with you! I didn't know that there were any other Hive's, you see. I've only know my own."

Did he want to ask about other Hives? "Princess Luna would know more than I, for I have only heard they existed, not lived or even talked to another changeling." Not had she ever expected to, but now she knew it would have always been a matter of time.

"Well, surely you have a question or two about ours?" Their conversation was interrupted by the train starting again, with the blow of it's whistle and hissing of pistons, Moonlight turned to it and coughed, the smoke blowing in their direction as it sped off towards the next station. Once the air was free King Thorax spoke once more. "O-oh, it looks like we're ready to move." Indeed, their things were all on the cart, with several guards standing in formation around it, and everyone getting into groups.

They had talked it over on the train ride, and so Moonlight and the other royals settled into the middle of the group. The guards stood, save those guarding the luggage, in a circle around the ponies, with two pegasi and thestrals each flying above and around the group in shifts, serving as reconnaissance. In the back of the train was the luggage, in front of which the Princesses and King Thorax walked, and in front of them were Applejack and the others.

At first, the trip was easy. The forest was uneven, but not especially difficult to travel. The problem, as far as King Thorax would be concerned, was that despite the relative ease of travel, they still had to be quiet in case of dangerous creatures. Silent Gaze, standing with the rest of the guard due to his training as one of them, was unable to even hold a silent conversation with his daughter, let alone anypony else whispering.

In this manner the afternoon passed until the sun began to set, at which point they set up camp. It was a simple setup, with the luggage set in the middle and tarps set around it, poles used to hold them up, and a small hole on one side where the fire would be set. The guards would take shifts guarding the night, mostly Thestrals, who used small clouds they gathered from the sky to create posts for themselves. The meal was a simple vegetable soup, nothing too tasty, with dessert provided by Pinkie Pie herself.

The next day came, and again they travelled with hardly any conversation, everypony being tired from the day before. The further they walked in the forest, the harder that the trip became. The trees thickened, their roots rising above the ground in complex ways, forcing the ground to become even more uneven, and more branches started to grow low enough to obstruct the ponies. The animals which had at first avoided them no longer did so, birds and prey animals would approach, only to flee when anypony other than Fluttershy tried to interact with them, and the predators began to keep tabs on them, following the slow, cumbersome creatures.

That night they were safe, and the next, but by that point snow had begun to fall again, making the trip even more difficult as they had to don boots, scarves, and so on. By the fifth night they were moving slowly, and came to rely on pegasus sight to guide them in the right direction. By the sixth they would walk through part of the night, and everypony was no longer able to consider conversation. On the eighth night they stopped, there was a snowstorm and they needed to rest, and by the tenth day they were out of the forest. The first to show her happiness was Rainbow Dash, who immediately took off into the sky with wings spread wide, shouting in joy.

The swamplands were relatively sparse, more a giant clearing with trees on the occasional solid bed of land, forming an uneven lattice around the lands. There were small woods, here and there, visible in the distance. There were several ponds, most frozen over and having mounds of snow over them, and a few hills. There were a few mountains with glaciers even further away, only noticeable by the pale grey and white marking the land itself. The ground, wet in summer, was even at this moment frozen to the point where it would hurt bare hooves, but they had switched to wearing boots long ago. Grass, overly present and covering each bit of the ground, was frozen solid, and those stretches where it had been lost were covered in moss. Winter plants grew on the sides, and the sky was temporarily clear, a high pale blue broken only by the light of the Sun. There was, through the road and continuing far beyond their view, a half-visible road, almost completely swallowed by nature.

The dignitary party was travelling through the only relatively safe road in the swamplands, cutting a winding road around the nests and territories of the worst magical creatures. The majority of the trip would continue through, until it turned to the base of an unnamed mountain halfway to the land bridge. On the road they would have to worry about mystic snakes, Minko Birds, and the occasional swamp shifter, formless creatures which tried to trap pony and animal alike below the water, where their magic would become it's meal. Luckily it was winter, so most of the swamp threats were hibernating, trapped underneath the frozen swamps, but in exchange they had to be weary of blizzards and the occasional mythical creature, like the Ijiraq or Qiqirn.

To ward them off, the cart holding their things was also filled with wood, as much as possible, which would be dried by the pegasi, and the watches were doubled. Given the swamps were easy to see across recon was abandoned, as one of the worst threats was isolation. Either they would end up lost, or one of the many threats would capture the small party, and given the danger of monsters in the swamplands, they could not afford even one loss. The only sounds were the howling of wind, the falling of snow and ice from branches, the branches moving in the wind, and the sounds of the forest behind them. The plan was to reach the first campsite before night, for no longer could they afford to travel at night, there were many dangerous creatures that could and would eat anypony foolish enough to cross them. It was in this perilous land that they would have to travel, for nearly two months, before they were safe once more. There was no more time for squabbles or distrust, their only allies were each other.

Let the journey begin.

March -A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.

Author's Note

Until now everything has gone smoothly. Even when I mentioned threats, they never came up. Part of that was because I have no confidence that I can write a combat scene with any level of convincing.... but no longer. The party is currently in the most dangerous space they have been. No more is there an established level of safety, there are no more guards, and it's not just a forest.

Rainbow was not kidding when she said there were dangerous creatures in Discord's Swamp. If you're knowledgeable about winter mythology, you might notice the two I named at the end. I'm currently doing research on exactly what kinds of mythic creatures exist in winter... but all of them, without fail, are deadly. This will not be an easy trip, there is no civilisation to protect them now. Hopefully I can do these mythological creatures justice!

On a different note: I offer my thanks to Everfree Pony, who is helping me to edit the earlier chapters at the moment. I'll make sure to tell everyone when we have the edited versions of previous chapters up, either in a blog or in the author's notes on the new chapters.

Royal Conclave

The changeling's class society is enforced by genetics, with the Queens, leaders and masters of the Hive, able to make whatever changes they wish to their children. However, in terms of government, each Hive is entirely different. One Hive may be run like a monarchy, and another like a democracy, but all serve under the Queen of each Hive, their decisions are final.

The Royal Conclave, then, is a meeting of the various Queens. It may play out similar to a summit in Equestria, or it may act more like a research presentation, depending on who is organizing it. The parties organizing a Conclave are An Bale, or individual Queens of a sufficiently large Hive. During the year they host the Conclave, they are to prepare the Conclave Hive, an empty palace, with food, amenities, and a list of guests. They decide which non-changeling governments may have representatives, if any.

It is only within this Royal Conclave that the decisions made affect multiple Hives. Under the Royal Conclave heirs are claimed, trials are announced, and new Hives are accepted into the fold. Alliances between a Hive and another species can be done individually, but are not considered valid by other Hives until they are brought forth for consideration by the Conclave. If one were to name the Conclave as a type of religion for the changeling species, it would be a Federation. Just as the decisions made by a Queen are absolute in her hive, so too are the decisions by the Conclave to all Hives.

This is the stage onto which the Princesses Moonlight, Twilight, and Luna must step.

Author's Note

The Royal Conclave, next stage of our lovely little drama. I'm considering whether to end this fic here, opening a new one and renaming to make Illuminate the Shadows a series, to mark this as book one like Rites of Ascension, or to simply continue on until the first major time skip and have that be the end of the book.

So, I ask you for some help. Dear readers, which would you prefer?

Thanks as always to Everfree Pony, for helping me to edit. Chapter 1 is almost finished!