Upon the lonely road stood a solitary figure, her coat a smooth lavender, and mane a deep purple. Twilight Sparkle was alone in the dark gloom of the day's fading light as a cold wind buffeted at her sides and pulled at her mane and tail. About her the leaves rustled eerily and water trapped within the many puddles that dotted the muddy road danced and flickered in the sun's dying glow. No other motion or sound filled the chilling air as time slowly went by. Nothing but the steady sound of her breaths, each one heralding a small cloud of white vapour at the end of her muzzle. Despite the creeping darkness; the shadows pooling amidst the tree's tangled roots; and the unsettling howl of the wind; the purple alicorn stood tall, her eyes focused upon the gloomy road ahead.
She didn't think about the bitter chill, or the danger that might lurk all about her. Nor did she think about the battalion of royal guards stationed within the cover of the trees should things go wrong. That didn't mean there weren't a thousand other things spinning in her mind however, and all of those things told her that this was a bad idea.
She had to assure herself that no matter what she thought, she was doing what was necessary. That was exactly what a princess was supposed to do after all. Still, the fact she'd been asked to arrive at the edge of the forest at such a late hour alone, was not one she would take idly. Just the thought of it made it seem all the more stupid.
She was a princess of Equestria, if anything happened to her out here she dreaded to think what might happen. Then again, her title was just another reason she was here. The pony that had requested to meet with her had been very specific about it. Twilight just hoped they realised that she was one of the most powerful beings in the whole of Equestria, and even if she was foolish enough to come alone, she would be no easy target.
That thought provided a well needed boost of confidence, and Twilight straightened herself as the wind slowly died away. Without it to disturb the water, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in one of the puddles at her hooves. The tall, regal alicorn she had become was far from the pony she'd once been. She only wished the world had not changed as much as her reflection since then, but even she could not stop the slow passage of time.
Both her stern expression and ears fell a little at that thought; a lifetime lost long ago. Yet, it had all been for the good of the kingdom and it was her responsibility to live on and safeguard everything she and her friends had once fought so hard to protect. In truth, that was just another reason she was here now.
A few seconds later, something in the gathering gloom caught Twilight's attention and her head perked up; her ears standing to attention. From along the road came the sound of hoof steps in the wet mud, and the splashing of shallow water. Twilight readied herself as an equine figure emerged from the shadows. It was smaller then her, about the size of an average pony. Yet, besides its dark tail, she could make out none of its features. Its body was covered by a tattered black cloak and a similar hood was draped over its head, leaving everything but the steady puff of its breath to the imagination.
It stood there for a long moment, completely motionless as Twilight regarded it carefully, taking in every speck of detail she could. Then the figure shifted and placed a dark gray hoof forwards as it bowed.
"Your highness," it offered respectfully. It then flicked back its hood as it resumed its normal stance.
He was a dark gray coated unicorn, with coal black mane and emerald green eyes. Yet, Twilight was not so foolish as to be deceived.
"I thought this was a meeting of trust? Is there really any call for the disguise?" she asked simply, hiding her building anxiety with a mastery so fine it could have only been perfected in a lifetime as long as hers.
The stallion smiled weakly, and Twilight read an odd mixture of relief and dread in his expression. Moments later, that expression was stolen as he was consumed by a bright flash of green flame. What replaced him was far from the pony she'd just greeted.
"My sincerest apologies your highness. I did not intend to offend, I was merely taking precautions. As I am sure you are aware, not all who may have seen me are privy to the truth of this meeting," the newly revealed Changeling stated respectfully, his voice now raspy and reverberating.
Despite knowing of his true form prior to meeting him, to once again gaze upon one of his kind was something that shocked Twilight more than she'd expected; not to mention his willingness to drop his disguise. The sight of the insect like creature stole her words for a few moments, and before she could speak he reintroduced himself.
"I am Xenrus, ambassador for the great queen Scarubie."
At the changeling's reverberating words, Twilight finally collected herself and found her own voice.
"I trust you remained true to your end of the agreement then?" she asked cautiously, her words firm even as a hit of guilt jabbed at her mind.
"Yes your highness, my queen does not wish to stain our reputation further with more lies. I can assure you, it is only I who has come seeking an audience with you."
Twilight couldn't help but see the look of honesty in his pale, blue eyes.
"I appreciate your honesty, yet you must understand that your kind's reputation is not one I can forget, especially when you request to meet at such an isolated location," Twilight responded bluntly, gesturing to the dark forest about them.
"Just another precaution to ensure your kingdom is not disturbed by my presence, I assure you." He shifted his head from side to side warily, directing his gaze into the dark trees before he turned back to Twilight. "Now, would you care to discuss what it is we both came here for?"
"Indeed, yet I can make no promises that your kind will be accepted here after all you did. And even if you are, it would take a very long time for any kind of truly peaceful co-existence between our kingdoms." She offered, recalling the exact reason they had made contact with her; and her alone.
"I understand," Xenrus said with a slow nod. "But, I can assure you that my queen means no harm to your kind as her predecessors once did. She merely seeks your aid in our time of need. She strongly believes that such a better future for us all is possible without further hostility."
Twilight's look only hardened further at that. She remembered all that the changelings had done to her kingdom, all starting centuries ago when they had manipulated her brother and poisoned her friends against her. There had been multiple other invasion attempts by other changeling queens in the decades to follow. Those were not things she could simply dismiss and she had to force herself not to shout as she responded.
"To say such a thing after all you did is a blessing, you know. I hope you are aware that not all of us are too happy that your kind still lives," she warned.
Even so, her words were cool and collected, despite having a sharp edge to them that cut through the cold air like knives.
The Changeling shifted again, then much to the princesses' surprise, he nodded slowly.
"I do not doubt that what transpired centuries ago was far from desirable, yet I thought your kind was not one to dwell on such things?" he responded, and despite his sincere tone, Twilight couldn't help but feel he was mocking her somehow.
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and she placed one hoof forward. He didn't even move an inch as the far taller alicorn drew closer to him.
"If you have the audacity to come here now and tell me that what you did was not desirable, then fine. Yet to come here and tell me that our resentment for you was unjustified is far too bold," she growled dangerously.
He cocked his head at those harsh words, then looked up at her. His eyes seemed to scan her in intricate detail, and it wasn't too much to assume he was sampling every one of her turbulent emotions in far more intimate a way then any normal pony could. Yet, before she could continue he spoke again:
"With all due respect, to assume that is what I, or any of my fellow changelings who live today, wish for is the bold assumption, your Highness. For we do not wish to carry our sins forever, we merely inherited the hatred directed towards those who wronged you before us. Now we only wish to fix that relationship to save our kind," he stated calmly.
Twilight paused, her mind unable to formulate words as it recoiled back on itself. To think she was free of wrong doings was far from the truth. A pony could not live for as long as she had and be free of such things. That fact had nearly killed her once, and the guilt still lingered. Without her friends there beside her, the many years she had endured had been those of bitter loneliness. Yet, who was this pony, not even a pony, to tell her what she'd done wrong when his kind had done so many horrible things to hers?
She had to remind herself that nothing he'd said seemed to have been directed at her personally. Yet the more his words sat in her mind, the more she began to think about the life that had died a long time ago. She remembered her friends and all they'd done together; she recalled all the good times they'd shared. Yet, she was also taken back to each painful moment when she saw them slip away. She'd been there at each funeral, every one of them a hurtful memory unrivalled by any other. She'd felt that pain right up until now, and it prevented her from ever having anything like the life she'd lost again. Because she knew she'd ultimately lose it.
Maybe if they were still with her things might have been different. She may not have made some of the harsher decisions she'd had to make, or allowed others to suffer needlessly for the good of her own kingdom. At that thought, Xenrus's words came back to mind.
What the Changelings had done centuries ago, that hadn't been him. In fact, there hadn't even been any contact with his kind since the end of the last war over a hundred years ago. Not one of his kind had wronged hers in that time; could she say she had been free of wrong doings for so long? A part of her suspected that it could all be a trap, and that idea was still very real. But, the one before her had seemingly kept to every one of his words and truly wanted to try and right the wrongs of his ancestors. He'd trusted her to do the same and had she?
She resisted the urge to allow her eyes to wander to the darkness amidst the trees; to the armed guard ponies she knew were hiding just out of sight. Had he done the same? Was there a swarm of Changelings hiding in the shadows? Surely her guards would have informed her if there were. In that small moment of weakness, Twilight's mind resorted to all she could think of, and she made little effort to change her argument despite its growing flaws.
"It still fails to resolve you of what happened," she stated, her voice braking slightly.
Xenrus's tattered, black ears perked up and he shook his head.
"I do not disagree, and I do not blame you for mistrusting us. Yet, we only ask that you try and see past that," he asked, and Twilight couldn't help but sense he was trying hard not to beg.
"My queen thought you of all would be the most open to listen to us. From what we have seen, you do not so blindly fight to protect only your own subjects like Celestia, nor do you seek to prove yourself to her with the destruction of all your kingdom's enemies like Luna. My queen trusted you to be the more reasonable."
Once again, Twilight's mind met an emotional wall. What would she have done if she were here with her friends? Would they have all been so eager to dismiss his plea because of what he was? She knew that was not what the elements they had once represented stood for, and she knew they'd have all lived up to those ideals even now. Regardless, her mind was still locked in a state of uncertainty, and in the midst of the turmoil it still resorted to her original resentment.
"If you mean she trusted me to be the most naive then she was sadly mistaken," she snapped, desperate trying to keep her other emotions in check.
"That is not what I said, nor do I believe it is the truth. The fact that you call yourself the princess of friendship is most likely why she made such assumptions. Should I tell her that such things are wrong?" he responded.
"No," Twilight blurted uncontrollably.
She could feel her thoughts race as the ideals she held to closely began to seep away like water in her hooves. He was right - she was the princess of friendship. No matter what she'd done she would always be the kind, caring, loving pony she'd always been. Yet, where were the limits of that benevolence? Did it only extend to ponies as the changeling implied, or was his queen right to think she would be the one to see more than just the years of hatred.
Twilight took a deep breath, collected herself once more and stood tall. There was no doubt in her mind that his magic was telling him of her true feelings. Why else wouldn't he have ran at the slightest hint of anger in the eyes of a dangerous alicorn? Yet, that didn't stop him from being right about her. After such a long time trying to avoid the world through fear that she might lose it as she had done with her friends, she finally had the chance to live up to what they'd all stood for again.
"No, you should not. You should tell her she was right," she stated simply, and a genuinely glad smile appeared on the changeling’s fanged muzzle.
As much as she knew that this could be a trap, she hoped it wasn't for more than just the safety of her kingdom in that moment. He actually looked happy, like a pony who'd just been given hope in the darkest of nights and could start to see the light again.
"Tell her to arrange another meeting, and if we can do so face to face on terms such as tonight's then all the better," Twilight offered, falling back into the formal tone and stature she commonly used when addressing foreign dignitaries or nobility.
Xenrus nodded once, before falling into another respectful bow.
"Thank you, your majesty. I will see she is well informed," he stated, hope radiating in his voice.
Then he began back down the road and with a flash of green fire he was gone. The moment he vanished, the forest fell silent again and Twilight looked back down into the puddle at her hooves. She didn't know why, but her reflection looked different. It looked heavier and worn, as if the weight of the centuries were finally catching up with her again. Was she really the princess of friendship? Did she deserve that title after all she'd done?
"Your Majesty?" came the gruff voice of one of her guards from behind her.
She turned and in the same moment the wind scattered her reflection in the water as it once again began to blow amidst the trees.
"Are you alright?" The golden armoured stallion asked with concern.
Twilight took one last glance into the night, but she saw no signs of any other changelings that might have accompanied Xenrus. She knew that too could just be another trick. But if it wasn't, what did that say about her?
She sighed as she looked back to the guard. She knew she wasn't alright, a pony like her could never be as content as she'd been a lifetime ago; not with all the wrongs she could do, or had done. But sometimes life offered the opportunity to something more and be what everypony thought she was. She could be the first to do what truly felt like the right thing.
"Yes thank you, I'm fine," she told the guard kindly, hiding the lie in her tone with the grace she'd perfected over the many centuries of her long life.
"What are your orders, your Highness?" the guard added.
Twilight smiled softly. "We are to return to the castle, there is a lot of work to be done."
