The king of the Changeling Kingdom, Thorax, stood at his throne facing a sea of Changelings in assembly for his address.
"My fellow Changelings," he began. "We have a great opportunity placed before us. In an effort to establish diplomatic relations between our kingdom and the ponies of Equestria, we have been asked to attend a Crystalling in the Crystal Empire!"
The audience of Changelings erupted with a gleeful cheer that they were on the precipice of building bridges with the kingdom of Equestria. Ever since their reformation, the Changeling Kingdom has been looking for any opportunity it could find to work together with their neighbors and build a strong relationship between their two empires.
"A group of you will accompany me to the Crystal Empire, where it is hoped that our ability to spread love will energize the Crystal Heart to an unprecedented level," Thorax explained. "We will be meeting with Princess Cadance and Princess Twilight Sparkle to bring about a new era of cooperation and friendship between our kingdoms. This is a great day for Changelings everywhere and I am proud to be making this journey with all of you at my side."
The audience once again broke into a joyful chorus once Thorax had completed his speech. However, from a distance, an unknown figure was also watching the speech. As Thorax concluded, the mysterious individual licked her lips with her long tongue and slinked away before she was seen by anyone in attendance.
A little while later, Thorax was walking the halls of the Changeling hive along with two other Changeling guards.
"I'm so excited for this," he told them. "We have been making such good progress since Chrysalis was dethroned. The ponies of Equestria have been very understanding and this new diplomatic visit will bring even more opportunities to collaborate with it."
He broke rank with his guard detail and continued down the halls by himself. However, unbeknownst to Thorax, a pair of green eyes was closely following him down the halls from the shadows of the ceiling...
Theme song goes here
Twilight Sparkle was cleaning the throne room of her castle with her loyal assistant, the young dragon Spike. Spike was sweeping the floor while Twilight polished the large crystal table in the center. They were quietly working when the large doors that led into the throne room opened and Twilight's protege, Starlight Glimmer, entered.
"Hi, Starlight, what's up?" Twilight asked, looking over her shoulder and seeing the lavender unicorn standing behind her.
Levitating in front of Starlight was an envelope. "I just got this from the mail pony," she explained. "It's addressed to you."
Twilight took possession of the envelope and opened it using her magic. She unfurled the letter within and began to read. "It's from the Crystal Empire," she summarized aloud. "Princess Cadance is inviting me to attend a diplomatic session with the leader of the Changeling Kingdom, Thorax, and a delegation of Changelings. There's going to be a Crystalling and Cadance wants to use the power of the Changelings' love to energize the Crystal Heart to new levels."
"Sounds pretty important," Spike chimed in.
"Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom have wanted to arrange a diplomatic summit ever since Thorax took the throne," Twilight said. "This is a great step forward for both of our kingdoms. I would be happy to attend. Starlight, would you like to accompany me?"
Starlight nodded. "I'd love to see Sunburst again. What about you, Spike?" she asked.
Spike thought for a brief moment before shaking his head. "Nah. I like to space out my visits to the Crystal Empire, gotta keep my celebrity mystique up!" recalling the level of treatment he gets whenever he visits the Crystal Empire as a local hero. He flashed a cheesy grin at the two ponies. Starlight and Twilight both giggled at Spike's self-aggrandizement.
A train pulled into the Crystal Empire train station and slowed to a halt. The doors opened and Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer exited. Waiting on the platform was a blue-eyed, white unicorn pony with a blue mane. It was Twilight's older brother, Shining Armor. "Twily!" he said, seeing the two ponies disembarking from the train.
"Shiny!" Twilight said in response to her pet name. She ran over to her brother and gave him a big hug.
"Hello, Starlight," another voice from nearby said. It was an orange pony with a reddish mane and beard. On his nose he wore a pair of glasses and over his shoulders he had on a blue cloak with stars.
"Hi, Sunburst," Starlight responded. She also gave him a hug. "How are things going?"
"Great," he said. "We've got a busy weekend ahead of us. Because of the importance of this event, I've been asked to serve as the Crystaller for the Crystalling on behalf of the Empire."
"Everything's going to be awesome," Shining Armor said. "We're really looking forward to having the Changeling Kingdom in attendance. Once the Crystalling ceremony takes place, they're going to add their energy to the Crystal Heart and we will be able to power it up more than ever before. It's going to mark a new era of diplomacy in Equestrian history."
"I'm glad you asked me to come," Twilight said as they started to make their way off the train platform. "Have they already arrived?"
"They should be here soon," Shining explained. "I've got the royal guards ready to meet them at the castle. Cadance is waiting there."
The four ponies made their way through the streets of the Crystal Empire towards the castle at the center, past the large statue of "Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious" that recognized Spike's feats.
"We're planning a royal dinner tonight in honor of our guests," Sunburst told Starlight. "Hopefully they like what we've prepared."
"The Crystalling is set for tomorrow," Shining said. "We've spread the news throughout the Empire in order to get as many ponies to attend. We want to see the full potential of the Crystal Heart realized."
As they approached the castle, they Shining Armor looked towards the sky and saw some distant figures coming in from above. "Look, they're here!" he said, pointing his hoof towards the incoming shapes. The other three ponies looked in the direction of Shining's hoof and saw the shapes getting closer. There were approximately ten pony-like creatures flying down towards the party. As they drew closer to the ground, their colors came into view; a mix of teal, green, and blue-skinned quadrapeds with horns and transparent wings, their leader also bearing a large set of antlers in addition to his horn. They slowed their descent with their wings as Shining Armor's royal guard took their position to greet the outsiders.
"Thorax!" Twilight said, cheerfully. "You made it!" She and Shining Armor both bowed in respect before the group's leader.
"Yes, it was a smooth flight here, Princess" Thorax replied. He returned Shining Armor and Twilight's bow and his entourage followed his lead along with Starlight and Sunburst.
"Thorax, Twilight, Changeling representatives," a new voice coming from the direction of the castle broke in. "I see you all made it here safely." Everyone looked back and saw a pink alicorn pony with a curly mane being escorted by two royal guards making her way to the gathering.
"Princess Cadance," Thorax said, respectfully. He began to bow again but she held up her hoof and stopped him.
"That won't be necessary, you and your subjects are guests of the Crystal Empire," Cadance said. "There is no need for formalities here. Let's go inside the castle and get acquainted."
Thorax, Twilight, Sunburst, Starlight, and the other Changelings followed Cadance and her security detail into the castle. Shining Armor dismissed the royal guard, having successfully performed their duties of greeting the Changeling delegation.
Behind the large group, one of the Changelings lagged behind the rest. He looked around apprehensively before running ahead to catch up with the others.
"So, Thorax, how have things been in the Changeling Kingdom?" Cadance asked the Changeling leader as they strolled through the crystalline halls of the castle.
"We've come a long way as a society," Thorax replied. "Our population is much happier now that we no longer have to thirst for love constantly. We're starting to build out the hive and become more self-sufficient. Once we've established diplomacy between us and Equestria, we hope to bring our mission to spread love beyond the Changeling Kingdom."
"Well you couldn't have found a better place to start than here in the Crystal Empire," Cadance said. "Love is one of the most powerful forces here and it's all thanks to this..."
She led the group into a large chamber. On the floor was the image of six-pointed star and four spears crossing through the center. At the center of the star, a pointed spire was sticking up from the floor and another spire from the ceiling descending directly above it. Between the two points a large crystal in the shape of a heart appeared to be serenely floating, spinning slowly.
"The Crystal Heart," Cadance said directing the party's attention to the heart. "The life and soul of the Crystal Empire. It is powered by the will and emotion of the inhabitants of the Empire and provides light not just here in the Empire but across Equestria. A Crystalling provides the Empire with an opportunity to re-strengthen the Heart and, now, with the power the Changelings bring, we hope to see a light like never before shine through the Empire and beyond. Are you up to helping us, Thorax?"
"It would be my honor, Princess..." Thorax said, with a smile.
"Excellent, then tomorrow will be a new chapter in the Empire's history," Cadance concluded. "But for now let's just enjoy each other's company. We can convene in the dining hall where the royal chefs have prepared us a grand dinner."
The ponies and the Changelings all made their way to the dining hall where they took seats around the lavish and long dining table. The Changelings all sat together, opposite the ponies, and Thorax and Twilight sat at the head near Cadance. After everyone had been seated, a team of waiters entered the hall in unison and began to leave plates of gourmet vegetables in front of all the guests. Thorax looked down at his meal and the corners of his mouth began to curl as his face twisted into a somewhat uncomfortable frown. Twilight noticed as she was sitting across from the Changeling leader.
"Thorax, is everything okay?" she asked.
"Uh...uh...everything's fine," Thorax said uneasily. "I'm just...um...not used to pony food, I guess."
"Oh, Twilight, don't pressure him," Cadance said, reassuringly. "I wasn't sure what Changelings eat besides love so I tried to find something neutral for all of us. If he isn't comfortable eating it then that's fine."
Twilight cocked her head slightly then glanced further down the table. She observed the other Changelings at the table and they all seemed to be indulging in the food without issue. She looked back at Thorax, who was still struggling with the food in front of him and gave him a puzzled look.
"What Cadance said made sense," Starlight Glimmer said to Twilight Sparkle later that night when they were together in the room they shared in the castle. "We don't know a lot about Changelings, not least of which what they like to eat."
"But the other Changelings seemed to eat the food without any problems," Twilight countered. "Why couldn't Thorax?"
"Some ponies just aren't up for trying new things," Starlight said. She let out a yawn before continuing. "You're overthinking this."
"I...I guess you're right," Twilight responded, trying to calm herself down. "It's nothing." She pulled the cord on the nearby lamp and turned off the lights in the room. "Good night, Starlight," she said to her friend as she wiggled under the covers of her bed.
"Good night, Twilight," Starlight said, doing the same.
As they both drifted off to sleep, outside their window, a lone Changeling watched over them. He shook his head before flying away into the night...
