My Name is Chrysalisby hauntu4everChaptersTo Save a RaceA Pair of AlicornsDiscussionsTo Save a RaceMy name is Chrysalis, and I am the Queen of a dying race. For centuries, my race has lived among the various races that inhabit this world. We do this without their knowledge, for they do not accept us. Indeed, it would not be incorrect to say they hate us. It is not completely unjustified, I must admit; we do, after all, feed on them. But for the most part, our feeding is harmless. We simply crave their affection. Let me explain a bit more. Those who belong to my race are known as changelings, for, though we have a specific form, we do not always use it. We have the ability to morph into any creature we choose. Because we require affection to survive, but are outcast by all other races, we use this ability to take a form that will allow us to be near them and gain their love. Thus is our means of survival. And now our way of life is being threatened. This has always come as a shock to me. After centuries of honing our skills, it is rare that a changeling is ever discovered, and so those who believe us to be more than an old mare’s tale know too little to ever be considered a threat. So, the only way we could truly be threatened is by taking away our food and starving us. I am not a creature of emotion, but I have spent enough time among those who are to recognize this as disturbing. We thrive on love and affection. To starve us is to take that away from all creatures. The creature that would do this must be something truly vile, with a burning hatred for all things. He is known as Discord, and a stranger creature I have not known. He calls himself a draconequus, though I do not believe that name truly represents his form. His limbs are all mismatched - bear’s paw and eagle’s talon, dragon’s claw and goat’s hoof, deer’s horn and a horn I have never seen before - and his body is of two creatures, as well: a goat and . . . I do not know what. His serpentine shape makes it harder to place everything as it truly is. He has taken over the rule of this world, if what he does can be called ruling. He demolished the Great Court five decades ago, near as I can tell, and nothing has made any sense since. Day turns to night and back again within the span of an hour, and then I do not see the moon for nearly a full day. The ground is checkered. Buildings float upside down, and those still on the ground could fall over from a sneeze at ten paces. Worst of all, no pony stays in the same place for more than a few days. Discord makes sure of that. They fall asleep and wake up miles away from anything they know, everything they love. When this happens over and over again for decades, it makes sense how most all ponies have come to withdraw into themselves. My changelings have been hard-pressed to find any food at all, and the hive's population has dwindled alarmingly. But I will not let my race die. The last of the changelings even now search for a way to bring about the end of Discord’s reign. I hope that they find something soon, or I fear for my race - and indeed, for all the races. * * * “My Queen, I have news,” the changeling before me said. I looked up from my plans, noting him. He was a soldier drone. They were generally of a kind, and this one was little different. His only defining characteristic was the greenish tint to his eye that signified a younger member of our race. Young enough to have been born in Discord's time. I returned to studying the maps. “Impart it to us, then,” I commanded. Many of my changelings were seeking anomalies - places Discord had failed to touch often, places that had become close-knit communities where we could feed for a time and maybe even somehow utilize to stop Discord. Some were seeking artifacts and ruins I suspected would be able to provide us with aid. Others were simply keeping an eye on Discord, looking for a weakness that could be exploited. I suspected this changeling was of the first group, which was of the most immediate importance. Discord was not thorough, but a group large enough to be called a community in the first place was worth noting. He seemed to have a sense for these things, much like my own emotion sense– “I have found a pair of alicorns.” The sentence stopped my thoughts cold. I looked back up in surprise. “Alicorns? Thou art certain?” This was most fortunate news indeed! I had not met an alicorn since - possibly since the end of the First Age. They were the only equinoid creatures aside from myself to have both wings and a horn, and they were astoundingly powerful. The last pair had moved the sun and the moon across the sky singlehandedly for centuries before giving the power to the unicorn sect of the Great Court and departing the land. The return of the alicorns would be a great boon, not just for my own plans, but also for the land itself and all the races that inhabited it. “Yes my Queen,” the soldier said. “They live alone, in a secluded forest to the west. I would not have even looked there, had the forest not been as it was. The ground is . . . different, and the trees are all the same color! I have never seen anything like it.” And now I was intrigued as well. While there were small groups of ponies, even some villages, that Discord overlooked, his abstract changes covered everything. I had not gazed upon normal, uncheckered earth in far too long. To see every tree firmly rooted in the ground . . . it would be fantastic! I must see this for myself, I decided. I stood, stretching limbs that had not moved in hours. “Come,” I said. “Take us to this forest.” The changeling looked startled it was too much of a risk for me to leave the homeland often, lest I get caught in one of Discord’s schemes and be unable to find my way back, leaving the hive leaderless. This, I judged, was worth that risk. I walked down the halls of the hive with a spring in my step. Things were just beginning to look up. I knew the folly of letting my hopes get too high, but I suspected that this was the breakthrough I needed to defeat Discord. I could allow them to rise a little. * * * The journey to the forest was, as always, fraught with worry. We changed forms to a pair of pegasi to avoid the attention of the other races, but it was simply not possible to intend to avoid Discord. Either he noticed you, or he didn’t. I counted myself fortunate that he had not noticed us this time. This journey was simply too important to be waylaid by his antics, for lack of a better word. Of course, it was equally impossible to avoid all his . . . work. We almost flew headlong into a cotton candy storm front, but we managed to skirt it without getting caught in the sticky substance. Once we were past that, we didn’t have to deal with much else in the air, but there was still a fair share of odd things to see. Dancing bears, trees racing past us, a flock of birds doing stunts, a sleeping pegasus being thrown through the air. . . . If there was one thing to be said for Discord, it was that he was creative. As we flew, I quizzed my companion on the alicorns, and their home. What they looked like, what they were doing, anything that came to my mind. The changeling said he had seen them caring for animals, tending to the forest, talking and playing with each other. Simple things, none of which hinted that they even knew of the world outside theirs. It was like they lived inside a bubble, a world separate from Discord and his magic. The forest, too, was just as amazing. Everything the changeling had said was true: the checkered ground stopped abruptly at the tree-line, giving way to grass. Beautiful, healthy, normal green grass, the likes of which I had not seen since Discord had come to power. The leaves on the trees were the same color, and making me aware - blissfully, joyously aware - that it was currently summer. The trees were huge, decades-old behemoths, standing straight and tall, almost like a wall. I could only stare up at them in wonder - sure, Discord had big trees in his realm, but they were always pink, or orange with gray leaves, or some other weird coloration. These trees were brown and green, a perfectly normal color scheme. And the smells - ahh, the smells. For once, it didn’t smell like cotton candy. It smelled like pine and oak, and damp foliage. It was, in every way, a perfectly normal forest. It had been too long. Abruptly, the sun fell below the horizon and the moon rose, bringing me back to reality. I sighed, then turned to the changeling, who was looking at me in confusion. He was not old enough to know how wondrous this find was. “We thank thee for your help, but we would like to continue on alone from here.” The changeling nodded and sat down. “I shall await thine return, my Queen.” I acknowledged this with a nod. “Thou shalt be rewarded for this discovery.” Then I stepped over the threshold of the grass. And stopped, staring in shock all over again. It was daytime. Outside, in Discord’s world, it was night, but here the sun still shone. I stared at the sky in wonder. Could it be? “My Queen!” I was interrupted from my wonder by the changeling crashing into me from behind. I turned and stared at him. He shrank back from my gaze. “I’m . . . sorry, my Queen. Bu-but you disappeared! I couldn’t see you!” I frowned at this. Perhaps another enchantment on the forest? But that could be worried about later. “Put thine mind to rest. We are still here. Instead, look at the sky. What do you see?” The changeling looked upward and gasped. He ran back outside the border, and then back in. Then, certain of what he was seeing, he sat down, shocked. “H-how . . . ?” “Didst thou know of this?” I asked. “N-no,” he replied, forgetting to address me properly in his wonder. “I entered in daytime, and I left in daytime. I just assumed it to be a long day.” I shook my head in wonder. “This is how it is supposed to be.” The changeling glanced at me as I continued. “Before Discord, the sun and moon moved in a set cycle. A few hours of sun, and a few hours of moon. They moved slowly across the sky, too, rather than just dropping. Ah, to see a sunset again . . . !” The changeling blinked, no doubt trying to imagine the idea. “A set daytime and nighttime? Slow movement?” After a pause, he simply shook his head. “I cannot imagine it. Er, my Queen,” he added hastily when I gave him a look. “Then stay inside this forest. And if we do not return by nightfall, count thyself lucky. No creature has seen a sunset in decades.” With that, I continued further into the forest. It was even more wonderful on the inside. The barrier that protected this place and repelled Discord’s enchantments, it also seemed to hide the wildlife, which explained why the changeling had lost sight of me when I crossed the barrier. I passed bluebirds and robins chirping happily in the trees; serpents slithered away through the underbrush; and once I even thought I saw a deer bounding through the trees some distance away. Such wild beauty I had not seen in too long a time. I also noted that I had reverted to my changeling self. The soldier had mentioned this, that the enchantments on the forest prevented both our abilities to morph and to sense the emotions of others. For whatever reason, it did not affect our sense of the bonds between other creatures, and I could still use most other spells, but that was little comfort. I approached what I suspected was the center of the forest much more carefully, feeling strangely naked without my ability to transform. I could only hope that the alicorns were not too hostile at my appearance. The supposed center of the forest was a large clearing, dominated by a larger castle, which should have been perfectly visible from above the treetops. It was simply built, plain gray stone with a wooden main door. I wondered how a pair of alicorns could bear to live alone in such a large building. I hesitated at the edge of the clearing. Seeing my true form made most ponies run in fear, or simply attack me. It was a hard lesson I had learned over the years. I still had to try, though. For the sake of the changeling race. Just as I was about to step forward, however, I heard a voice behind me. A Pair of Alicorns“Hello,” a mare’s voice called brightly from behind me. I turned to find a dark blue alicorn staring at me curiously. “Greetings,” I responded, a little stiffly. She seemed to take this as an invitation of sorts and approached me. “What are you?” she asked in awe, peering at me. She was surprisingly fearless, considering that I was in my true form. Not wanting to push my luck, I decided to forsake the Queen’s We for the moment. “My name is Chrysalis. I’m a changeling.” I was starting to get a little uncomfortable with her examination, but I held my ground. It gave me a chance to examine her in return. She was slender, rather small for what amounted to a young adult. Her mane and tail were both sky-blue, a lighter version of her dark coat. Her wings fluttered a little as she moved, as if she were eager to be in the air again. “A changeling? What’s that?” I started to respond, but she interrupted me, poking at one of the holes in my legs. “Why do you have all these holes in you? Did you get attacked by something?” She then moved up to my wings. “Ooh, these are pretty.” Her bubbly energy started to get to me, and I felt myself begin to relax. “No,” I said with a little laugh, “I didn’t get attacked. I was born with them.” That stopped her. She looked at me in surprise. “Really?” I nodded. “That’s weird.” I tensed, but she kept talking, oblivious to my worries. “How come I’ve never seen you before? I know every creature in the forest. Or at least I thought I did. Tia keeps saying that’s not possible, but I didn’t believe her. I mean, the forest’s not that big.” She paused, frowning as if she had remembered something. “Oh, by the way, my name is Luna.” I blinked at the torrent. It had been a long time since I had met a pony who talked this much, or this quickly. One comment in particular caught my attention. “Tia?” “Oh, you don’t know Tia? You’re really strange. She keeps telling me that every creature knows her, but of course, that’s not possible, because how can every creature know you if you don’t know every creature? But anyways, Tia – Celestia is her real name - is my sister. Come on, I’ll take you to her.” The alicorn spread her wings and launched herself into the air, only stopping when she realized I wasn’t following. “You coming?” I shook myself - that had happened too fast for my liking - then took flight after her. Luna began giggling as she watched my wings buzz into motion.“You’re like a bee!” I frowned at her, but either she didn’t notice or she didn’t care. Instead, she turned and began to fly through the trees. I caught up with her quickly. She was moving at a faster pace than I was accustomed to, but it wasn’t hard to adjust to. “You don’t live in the castle?” I asked. Luna giggled. “Oh, no. It’s just too big for the two of us to live in alone. Besides-” she leaned in conspiratorially and continued in a whisper “-Tia thinks it’s scary at night.” Then she flew back again. “But I don’t see why. Everything is more fun at night!” Laughing, she did a little pirouette in the air. “So we live out here instead. How about you? Where do you live?” “Oh, around,” I said airily, not willing to explain without both alicorns present. “Around where?” Luna asked immediately, swerving to avoid a tree. “Do you live on the mountain? Or maybe under it? We found a cave a couple weeks ago that led pretty deep, but Tia got scared, so we had to go back out.” The alicorn giggled. “She’s so jumpy sometimes! Oh, look, we’re here.” I snapped back to reality as we entered a clearing. Inside it was a small wooden building, really little more than a hut, that we approached. There was a hole in the roof from which smoke was billowing, and a delicious smell permeated the air. Luna flew straight to the building, calling for her sister. I followed at a more sedate pace, giving myself a moment to regroup from the alicorn's energy. Even without the comfort of my emotional senses, I could tell that she was a good pony – she was just a little exhausting, as well. It saddened me that I would have to take that away. “Tia, you have to see what I found!” Luna’s voice wafted out from the open doorway, shaking me out of my enraptured state. “I would love to, Lulu,” a voice, much calmer than Luna's, replied, “but I have to watch the stew. Remember the last time I left it untended to see something you found?” “Oh, yeah . . . ,” Luna replied, sounding abashed. It didn’t last long, though. “That’s ok! She can just come in!” Her head poked out of the doorway and found me. “Come on, Chrysalis!” Here goes, I thought. It was an earthy single room inside, lit mainly by the fire that blazed on one side. A rug on the floor covered the bare ground, and a pile of cushions likely stolen from the castle sitting on the far side served as a bed. A kettle sitting atop the fire was the cause of the smoke and the smell. “Now, Lulu, we’ve talked about you bringing animals into. . . .” Standing by the kettle was the speaker. She was quite a bit taller than her sister, though with the same slender build. Her coat was an unblemished white, and her mane and tail were the color of one of Discord’s cotton candy clouds. She was holding a spoon in her magical grip with one end in the kettle, though it had stopped stirring. She was staring at me with an expression of surprise - and shock. I tensed immediately, my mind throwing up all the fears that had not yet come to pass - that she was afraid of me, that I could not succeed, that my hive would die out without the love to feed them - “What happened to your horn?” I stared in surprise as Tia leaned forward to look at the holes in my horn. “That must really hurt - and your legs, too! How are you even still standing? We need to get you some bandages!” I eyed her with a sense of bemusement. She was not afraid of me. In fact, she was concerned for me. I had never been cared for in my changeling form. Ahh, if only this forest did not block my senses. . . . I recovered quickly, though. “Oh, no, it’s ok. I was born with these; they’re not wounds.” The alicorn eyed them, doubtful. I lifted up one leg to give her a closer look. “See? No blood.” She gave the holes another moment of intense scrutiny, but once she had assured herself of the truth of my words, the doubt gave way to curiosity. She gasped. “That’s so strange! How does it feel? Can you feel them?” Abruptly, she remembered herself. “Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Celestia Everfree. And you are?” I opened my mouth to respond, but Luna cut in. “She’s Chrysalis. Didn’t you hear me calling her?” Celestia rolled her eyes. “I was going to give her a chance to say so!” The younger alicorn shrugged unapologetically. Frowning, Celestia turned back to me. “I’m sorry about that. Luna is . . . easily excited.” “I’m right here!” The alicorn in question objected. I smiled. “It’s perfectly fine. I haven’t seen anybody act like this in years. It’s . . . refreshing.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna stick her tongue out at her sister, who responded in kind. I chuckled. “Yes, my name is Chrysalis, and. . . .” I hesitated again. A pony like these two, one that actually cared for my race, was a rare find indeed, and I was unwilling to lose it now that I had found it. But I could not ignore my duty. The fate of my race rested in the balance. “And I have come here from beyond your forest because I need your help.” Author's Note Hello, not dead over here! Reviving this thing because screw hiatuses and I'm bored. Chapter 3 is open in another window, and I'll get it out as soon as I can. Hopefully not with another multi-month wait in between - I'd like to finish this story eventually! Special thanks to Key Strix for edits, and for getting me back on track with this thing! DiscussionsWe were seated in the middle of the hut, each with a cushion to sit on and a bowl of stew in front of us. Despite Luna's excitement at hearing where I was from, Celestia had insisted on eating the stew before hearing my tale. I didn't mind this, as the stew was delicious. I didn't need food to survive, but that didn't stop me from having a second helping. Luna was finished first. With the speed at which she had been eating, I wasn’t surprised. The dark alicorn had been shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could, clearly eager to be done with the meal so I could begin my tale. Celestia ate more calmly, and while her manners were by no means perfect, she did a decent job of seeming refined. “So,” Celestia said once we were all finished eating. It was all she got out before Luna, who had been fidgeting impatiently while we finished our own meals, cut in. “What’s it like outside the forest?" she demanded, leaning forward. "Are there other creatures like you? Or us? I bet there are villages filled with creatures out there!" At this point, she was practically bouncing in excitement, despite still being seated. Celestia gave her sister a stern look, but it was clear to me that she was just as interested. I smiled at them. “Yes, there are villages out there. Some are even big enough that thou cannot call them villages anymore - towns, maybe, or even some cities, and every one as full as thine imaginations could make it.” Both alicorns gaped in wonder at that. I chuckled - just wait until they actually saw their first city! They would be - dismayed. Cities nowadays were barely even habitable. Trying to shake off the gloomy thoughts, I changed the subject: “and what about in here? I haven’t been inside the forest for more than an hour, and I can already tell that it’s a lot different than outside.” “It’s boring in here,” Luna replied quickly, “no fun at all! Not like how it sounds outside! Tell us about that some more!” “Luna!” Celestia admonished. “Whaaaat?” the younger filly whined. “We can’t just ask Chrysalis to tell us about her life without telling her something in return! It’s rude!” Luna frowned at this. “But it’s just so boring here! Nothing ever happens! I want to hear about adventure, about action and epic battles! You know, the kind of thing that never happens in the forest.” “When you’ve had as much of adventure as I have,” I replied, “this kind of thing - living alone in a giant forest with one other pony for company - seems like a paradise.” Luna began to look unsure. Celestia noticed it and went in for the finishing blow: “besides, don’t tell me you don’t at least have fun in here. Just think of your animal friends. I’m sure you’ve had some good times with them.” The darker alicorn looked between the two of us before finally slumping back on her pillow in defeat. “Fine!” I gave her a comforting smile and offered one hoof. “Tell you what: we’ll trade. I’ll tell you two something in exchange for something you can tell me.” That seemed to brighten her spirits considerably. She reached out and shook my hoof. “Alright.” I smiled, and we all settled back into a long conversation. Despite Luna’s arguments that their life here was boring, she was easily the most into telling the stories, often jumping up excitedly and acting out the best parts in midair. Celestia, as I was discovering she was with most everything, was calmer, simply telling the story to the best of her knowledge. Luna spent her sister’s tales miming falling asleep, or making the motions that Celestia wasn’t. At least, until Celestia got annoyed. Then she just sat down and listened. I, for my part, kept them interested with simple tales of cities and the many ponies I’d fed off - without mentioning the feeding, of course. In fact, I tried to avoid the subject of changelings entirely. However nicely they had acted so far, I doubted it would last long once they knew the whole truth. Of course, I couldn’t avoid the subject entirely, especially once Celestia realized that I was trying to. She was perceptive to have noticed that. Once the inevitable questioning came, I knew I’d have to be careful around her. Thankfully, her lack of knowledge kept her from asking things I wouldn’t have answered. I did end up telling them our power, though, following an explanation about why my horns and legs have holes in them.. “Changelings have the ability to change into any other creature.” Luna and Celestia both gasped at this, but not in fear - actually in excitement. “Wow!” Luna said, eyes sparkling. “Can you change into me? Or change into Celestia! Please?” I smiled and shook my head. “Unfortunately, the magic in this forest prevents me from changing. I am limited to normal unicorn magic here.” “Aww....” “I will show you someday,” I promised. Luna seemed appeased by that. Eventually, the conversation got around to the reason I was here. By then, it was just about sunset. With a quick glow of her horn, Celestia piled a few logs on the cookfire and lit it so that we weren’t sitting in darkness. “So what made you come here?” she asked as she did so. “Yeah, what do you need our help for?” Luna questioned, sitting up from where she had been slumping on her pillow. I sighed. “Where to start?” I asked aloud. There was much that needed fixing, and much I had to explain. After a moment’s deliberation, I decided to start with the basics. “Doth thou know what makes thee different from other ponies?” Both alicorns shook their heads. “It is the presence of both wings on thine back and a horn on thine head,” I answered. “Very, very few ponies will have both - normally, it is one or the other, or even none at all. But thou hath both, and that makes you special.” “How?” Celestia asked. “They’re just wings and a horn. I’d imagine that it would be special to both be able to fly and use magic, but beyond that. . . .” “True,” I replied. “It is not so much what they can do as it is what they represent. An alicorn, as you are called, is gifted with great strength. The last pair was able to move the sun and moon on their own. Unfortunately, they departed this world almost two centuries ago. Thou may very well be the only alicorns in the world right now.” Luna and Celestia sat, mouths agape, at the power they had within them. “Move the sun and moon?” Celestia echoed. Luna glanced upwards, as if she could catch a glimpse of the moon through the hut’s roof. “Yes,” I affirmed with a nod. “And as such, it is fortunate I have found you. The outside world is in dire need of somepony to return them - and everything else - to a semblance of order.” With that, I launched into explaining the situation outside - how Discord had taken control of the world from the Great Court, and how chaos had reigned since then; how whole cities had been emptied or overcrowded with a complete lack of balance; of the strange horrors and phenomena that now roamed the world; and finally, how he had wormed his way into the heart of all creatures and begun to destroy the love therein. When I was finished, Celestia was speechless with horror. Luna, on the other hand, was quick to voice her anger. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get him!” She jumped up and raised her front hooves in a combative position. “We’re alicorns! He won’t even stand a chance!” I shook my head. “I hath seen his power. Thou may be alicorns, but thou art untrained. Discord has been at this work for fifty years now, and there is no telling how long he has been alive. Thou couldst not win in a fight against him. Not right now.” “Oh.” Luna floated back down to her seat, a frown creasing her features. “Then how do we beat him?” I smiled. Luna did not doubt that we would; she just didn’t know how yet. Unfortunately, neither did I. “I am afraid I do not know. Discord is a powerful creature. I am expending all of mine race’s might on finding a way to defeat him, but there is little to go on. If there is one thing he was thorough in, it was making sure he would never be defeated.” “But there has to be something, right?” Celestia asked. “We will find it if there is,” I replied neutrally. Celestia nodded, accepting the answer. “Luna and I can help. We don’t go in the castle often-” Luna snickered at that, earning a glare from her sister “-but it has plenty of books and scrolls. Maybe one of them has the answer.” I nodded. “That would be most appreciated. I will return as often as I can to see if thou hast found anything.” “You’re not staying?” Luna asked, as Celestia frowned. I smiled sadly. “I run a country. I cannot just leave all my duties behind. I must return and direct the search as I can.” Luna pouted, but Celestia nodded thoughtfully. At least she understood. “Will you at least stay the night?” I hesitated. While I did need to return, the world outside did not have steady days and nights to measure time from. I could very well have been gone for days already in the few hours I had been in the forest. Surely a few more would not be too much of a worry. I nodded. “Alright. But I must go and find the changeling who accompanied me here. I will not have him stay alone at the edge of the forest all night.” “Ooh, you brought a friend?” Luna asked excitedly, springing out of her seat. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Let’s go find him!” With that, she shot out of the tent. I watched her take off, chuckling. “She does have so much energy.” I turned to Celestia, who was watching me, her expression unreadable. What is she thinking?, I wondered. “We will be back soon - it’s not terribly far,” I said. Celestia just nodded. As I turned to leave, however, she spoke up. “Chrysalis.” I turned to look at her again. “This world outside the forest sounds like a dangerous place.” She spoke carefully, weighing each word before saying it. “It is not so dangerous as it sounds,” I replied. “Discord, despite having brought complete chaos to the world, does not do as much harm to ponies as it would seem, at least not physically. His greatest crimes all center around the destruction of civilization and society.” Celestia nodded. “Then you can promise that my sister and I will be safe out there?” I nodded. “While you are under my protection, no harm will come to you.” She held my gaze for a moment before responding. In the flickering firelight, I saw a spark in her eyes. She wouldn’t forgive me if I broke that promise, I knew. “Alright. Thank you.” I smiled and left to find Luna and my changeling soldier. That conversation confused me, though. If Celestia and Luna weren’t hermits, if I could think of any reason that she would be so careful with her words, then it would only be the final straw. Celestia’s comments were eerily similar to the political intrigue of the pre-Discord era. It was an untrained thing, and she was clearly inexperienced, but the spark was there. And that meant that she suspected something, possibly the secret of my race. Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst, I thought as I caught up to Luna. These two alicorns seemed nice enough, but there had to be a limit to their kindness. The changeling food source of the love of ponies was certain to be it, not to mention the way that we harvested it. Even if it wasn’t, I needed their help too much to risk it. No, I would have to keep the subject of changeling food away from the alicorns. Fortunately, there was an upside to Celestia’s natural perception and apparent skill with subtlety. I hadn’t stretched my political muscles in a good 50 years. I began to grin as we flew to the edge of the forest. At least it would be fun.
To Save a RaceMy name is Chrysalis, and I am the Queen of a dying race. For centuries, my race has lived among the various races that inhabit this world. We do this without their knowledge, for they do not accept us. Indeed, it would not be incorrect to say they hate us. It is not completely unjustified, I must admit; we do, after all, feed on them. But for the most part, our feeding is harmless. We simply crave their affection. Let me explain a bit more. Those who belong to my race are known as changelings, for, though we have a specific form, we do not always use it. We have the ability to morph into any creature we choose. Because we require affection to survive, but are outcast by all other races, we use this ability to take a form that will allow us to be near them and gain their love. Thus is our means of survival. And now our way of life is being threatened. This has always come as a shock to me. After centuries of honing our skills, it is rare that a changeling is ever discovered, and so those who believe us to be more than an old mare’s tale know too little to ever be considered a threat. So, the only way we could truly be threatened is by taking away our food and starving us. I am not a creature of emotion, but I have spent enough time among those who are to recognize this as disturbing. We thrive on love and affection. To starve us is to take that away from all creatures. The creature that would do this must be something truly vile, with a burning hatred for all things. He is known as Discord, and a stranger creature I have not known. He calls himself a draconequus, though I do not believe that name truly represents his form. His limbs are all mismatched - bear’s paw and eagle’s talon, dragon’s claw and goat’s hoof, deer’s horn and a horn I have never seen before - and his body is of two creatures, as well: a goat and . . . I do not know what. His serpentine shape makes it harder to place everything as it truly is. He has taken over the rule of this world, if what he does can be called ruling. He demolished the Great Court five decades ago, near as I can tell, and nothing has made any sense since. Day turns to night and back again within the span of an hour, and then I do not see the moon for nearly a full day. The ground is checkered. Buildings float upside down, and those still on the ground could fall over from a sneeze at ten paces. Worst of all, no pony stays in the same place for more than a few days. Discord makes sure of that. They fall asleep and wake up miles away from anything they know, everything they love. When this happens over and over again for decades, it makes sense how most all ponies have come to withdraw into themselves. My changelings have been hard-pressed to find any food at all, and the hive's population has dwindled alarmingly. But I will not let my race die. The last of the changelings even now search for a way to bring about the end of Discord’s reign. I hope that they find something soon, or I fear for my race - and indeed, for all the races. * * * “My Queen, I have news,” the changeling before me said. I looked up from my plans, noting him. He was a soldier drone. They were generally of a kind, and this one was little different. His only defining characteristic was the greenish tint to his eye that signified a younger member of our race. Young enough to have been born in Discord's time. I returned to studying the maps. “Impart it to us, then,” I commanded. Many of my changelings were seeking anomalies - places Discord had failed to touch often, places that had become close-knit communities where we could feed for a time and maybe even somehow utilize to stop Discord. Some were seeking artifacts and ruins I suspected would be able to provide us with aid. Others were simply keeping an eye on Discord, looking for a weakness that could be exploited. I suspected this changeling was of the first group, which was of the most immediate importance. Discord was not thorough, but a group large enough to be called a community in the first place was worth noting. He seemed to have a sense for these things, much like my own emotion sense– “I have found a pair of alicorns.” The sentence stopped my thoughts cold. I looked back up in surprise. “Alicorns? Thou art certain?” This was most fortunate news indeed! I had not met an alicorn since - possibly since the end of the First Age. They were the only equinoid creatures aside from myself to have both wings and a horn, and they were astoundingly powerful. The last pair had moved the sun and the moon across the sky singlehandedly for centuries before giving the power to the unicorn sect of the Great Court and departing the land. The return of the alicorns would be a great boon, not just for my own plans, but also for the land itself and all the races that inhabited it. “Yes my Queen,” the soldier said. “They live alone, in a secluded forest to the west. I would not have even looked there, had the forest not been as it was. The ground is . . . different, and the trees are all the same color! I have never seen anything like it.” And now I was intrigued as well. While there were small groups of ponies, even some villages, that Discord overlooked, his abstract changes covered everything. I had not gazed upon normal, uncheckered earth in far too long. To see every tree firmly rooted in the ground . . . it would be fantastic! I must see this for myself, I decided. I stood, stretching limbs that had not moved in hours. “Come,” I said. “Take us to this forest.” The changeling looked startled it was too much of a risk for me to leave the homeland often, lest I get caught in one of Discord’s schemes and be unable to find my way back, leaving the hive leaderless. This, I judged, was worth that risk. I walked down the halls of the hive with a spring in my step. Things were just beginning to look up. I knew the folly of letting my hopes get too high, but I suspected that this was the breakthrough I needed to defeat Discord. I could allow them to rise a little. * * * The journey to the forest was, as always, fraught with worry. We changed forms to a pair of pegasi to avoid the attention of the other races, but it was simply not possible to intend to avoid Discord. Either he noticed you, or he didn’t. I counted myself fortunate that he had not noticed us this time. This journey was simply too important to be waylaid by his antics, for lack of a better word. Of course, it was equally impossible to avoid all his . . . work. We almost flew headlong into a cotton candy storm front, but we managed to skirt it without getting caught in the sticky substance. Once we were past that, we didn’t have to deal with much else in the air, but there was still a fair share of odd things to see. Dancing bears, trees racing past us, a flock of birds doing stunts, a sleeping pegasus being thrown through the air. . . . If there was one thing to be said for Discord, it was that he was creative. As we flew, I quizzed my companion on the alicorns, and their home. What they looked like, what they were doing, anything that came to my mind. The changeling said he had seen them caring for animals, tending to the forest, talking and playing with each other. Simple things, none of which hinted that they even knew of the world outside theirs. It was like they lived inside a bubble, a world separate from Discord and his magic. The forest, too, was just as amazing. Everything the changeling had said was true: the checkered ground stopped abruptly at the tree-line, giving way to grass. Beautiful, healthy, normal green grass, the likes of which I had not seen since Discord had come to power. The leaves on the trees were the same color, and making me aware - blissfully, joyously aware - that it was currently summer. The trees were huge, decades-old behemoths, standing straight and tall, almost like a wall. I could only stare up at them in wonder - sure, Discord had big trees in his realm, but they were always pink, or orange with gray leaves, or some other weird coloration. These trees were brown and green, a perfectly normal color scheme. And the smells - ahh, the smells. For once, it didn’t smell like cotton candy. It smelled like pine and oak, and damp foliage. It was, in every way, a perfectly normal forest. It had been too long. Abruptly, the sun fell below the horizon and the moon rose, bringing me back to reality. I sighed, then turned to the changeling, who was looking at me in confusion. He was not old enough to know how wondrous this find was. “We thank thee for your help, but we would like to continue on alone from here.” The changeling nodded and sat down. “I shall await thine return, my Queen.” I acknowledged this with a nod. “Thou shalt be rewarded for this discovery.” Then I stepped over the threshold of the grass. And stopped, staring in shock all over again. It was daytime. Outside, in Discord’s world, it was night, but here the sun still shone. I stared at the sky in wonder. Could it be? “My Queen!” I was interrupted from my wonder by the changeling crashing into me from behind. I turned and stared at him. He shrank back from my gaze. “I’m . . . sorry, my Queen. Bu-but you disappeared! I couldn’t see you!” I frowned at this. Perhaps another enchantment on the forest? But that could be worried about later. “Put thine mind to rest. We are still here. Instead, look at the sky. What do you see?” The changeling looked upward and gasped. He ran back outside the border, and then back in. Then, certain of what he was seeing, he sat down, shocked. “H-how . . . ?” “Didst thou know of this?” I asked. “N-no,” he replied, forgetting to address me properly in his wonder. “I entered in daytime, and I left in daytime. I just assumed it to be a long day.” I shook my head in wonder. “This is how it is supposed to be.” The changeling glanced at me as I continued. “Before Discord, the sun and moon moved in a set cycle. A few hours of sun, and a few hours of moon. They moved slowly across the sky, too, rather than just dropping. Ah, to see a sunset again . . . !” The changeling blinked, no doubt trying to imagine the idea. “A set daytime and nighttime? Slow movement?” After a pause, he simply shook his head. “I cannot imagine it. Er, my Queen,” he added hastily when I gave him a look. “Then stay inside this forest. And if we do not return by nightfall, count thyself lucky. No creature has seen a sunset in decades.” With that, I continued further into the forest. It was even more wonderful on the inside. The barrier that protected this place and repelled Discord’s enchantments, it also seemed to hide the wildlife, which explained why the changeling had lost sight of me when I crossed the barrier. I passed bluebirds and robins chirping happily in the trees; serpents slithered away through the underbrush; and once I even thought I saw a deer bounding through the trees some distance away. Such wild beauty I had not seen in too long a time. I also noted that I had reverted to my changeling self. The soldier had mentioned this, that the enchantments on the forest prevented both our abilities to morph and to sense the emotions of others. For whatever reason, it did not affect our sense of the bonds between other creatures, and I could still use most other spells, but that was little comfort. I approached what I suspected was the center of the forest much more carefully, feeling strangely naked without my ability to transform. I could only hope that the alicorns were not too hostile at my appearance. The supposed center of the forest was a large clearing, dominated by a larger castle, which should have been perfectly visible from above the treetops. It was simply built, plain gray stone with a wooden main door. I wondered how a pair of alicorns could bear to live alone in such a large building. I hesitated at the edge of the clearing. Seeing my true form made most ponies run in fear, or simply attack me. It was a hard lesson I had learned over the years. I still had to try, though. For the sake of the changeling race. Just as I was about to step forward, however, I heard a voice behind me.
A Pair of Alicorns“Hello,” a mare’s voice called brightly from behind me. I turned to find a dark blue alicorn staring at me curiously. “Greetings,” I responded, a little stiffly. She seemed to take this as an invitation of sorts and approached me. “What are you?” she asked in awe, peering at me. She was surprisingly fearless, considering that I was in my true form. Not wanting to push my luck, I decided to forsake the Queen’s We for the moment. “My name is Chrysalis. I’m a changeling.” I was starting to get a little uncomfortable with her examination, but I held my ground. It gave me a chance to examine her in return. She was slender, rather small for what amounted to a young adult. Her mane and tail were both sky-blue, a lighter version of her dark coat. Her wings fluttered a little as she moved, as if she were eager to be in the air again. “A changeling? What’s that?” I started to respond, but she interrupted me, poking at one of the holes in my legs. “Why do you have all these holes in you? Did you get attacked by something?” She then moved up to my wings. “Ooh, these are pretty.” Her bubbly energy started to get to me, and I felt myself begin to relax. “No,” I said with a little laugh, “I didn’t get attacked. I was born with them.” That stopped her. She looked at me in surprise. “Really?” I nodded. “That’s weird.” I tensed, but she kept talking, oblivious to my worries. “How come I’ve never seen you before? I know every creature in the forest. Or at least I thought I did. Tia keeps saying that’s not possible, but I didn’t believe her. I mean, the forest’s not that big.” She paused, frowning as if she had remembered something. “Oh, by the way, my name is Luna.” I blinked at the torrent. It had been a long time since I had met a pony who talked this much, or this quickly. One comment in particular caught my attention. “Tia?” “Oh, you don’t know Tia? You’re really strange. She keeps telling me that every creature knows her, but of course, that’s not possible, because how can every creature know you if you don’t know every creature? But anyways, Tia – Celestia is her real name - is my sister. Come on, I’ll take you to her.” The alicorn spread her wings and launched herself into the air, only stopping when she realized I wasn’t following. “You coming?” I shook myself - that had happened too fast for my liking - then took flight after her. Luna began giggling as she watched my wings buzz into motion.“You’re like a bee!” I frowned at her, but either she didn’t notice or she didn’t care. Instead, she turned and began to fly through the trees. I caught up with her quickly. She was moving at a faster pace than I was accustomed to, but it wasn’t hard to adjust to. “You don’t live in the castle?” I asked. Luna giggled. “Oh, no. It’s just too big for the two of us to live in alone. Besides-” she leaned in conspiratorially and continued in a whisper “-Tia thinks it’s scary at night.” Then she flew back again. “But I don’t see why. Everything is more fun at night!” Laughing, she did a little pirouette in the air. “So we live out here instead. How about you? Where do you live?” “Oh, around,” I said airily, not willing to explain without both alicorns present. “Around where?” Luna asked immediately, swerving to avoid a tree. “Do you live on the mountain? Or maybe under it? We found a cave a couple weeks ago that led pretty deep, but Tia got scared, so we had to go back out.” The alicorn giggled. “She’s so jumpy sometimes! Oh, look, we’re here.” I snapped back to reality as we entered a clearing. Inside it was a small wooden building, really little more than a hut, that we approached. There was a hole in the roof from which smoke was billowing, and a delicious smell permeated the air. Luna flew straight to the building, calling for her sister. I followed at a more sedate pace, giving myself a moment to regroup from the alicorn's energy. Even without the comfort of my emotional senses, I could tell that she was a good pony – she was just a little exhausting, as well. It saddened me that I would have to take that away. “Tia, you have to see what I found!” Luna’s voice wafted out from the open doorway, shaking me out of my enraptured state. “I would love to, Lulu,” a voice, much calmer than Luna's, replied, “but I have to watch the stew. Remember the last time I left it untended to see something you found?” “Oh, yeah . . . ,” Luna replied, sounding abashed. It didn’t last long, though. “That’s ok! She can just come in!” Her head poked out of the doorway and found me. “Come on, Chrysalis!” Here goes, I thought. It was an earthy single room inside, lit mainly by the fire that blazed on one side. A rug on the floor covered the bare ground, and a pile of cushions likely stolen from the castle sitting on the far side served as a bed. A kettle sitting atop the fire was the cause of the smoke and the smell. “Now, Lulu, we’ve talked about you bringing animals into. . . .” Standing by the kettle was the speaker. She was quite a bit taller than her sister, though with the same slender build. Her coat was an unblemished white, and her mane and tail were the color of one of Discord’s cotton candy clouds. She was holding a spoon in her magical grip with one end in the kettle, though it had stopped stirring. She was staring at me with an expression of surprise - and shock. I tensed immediately, my mind throwing up all the fears that had not yet come to pass - that she was afraid of me, that I could not succeed, that my hive would die out without the love to feed them - “What happened to your horn?” I stared in surprise as Tia leaned forward to look at the holes in my horn. “That must really hurt - and your legs, too! How are you even still standing? We need to get you some bandages!” I eyed her with a sense of bemusement. She was not afraid of me. In fact, she was concerned for me. I had never been cared for in my changeling form. Ahh, if only this forest did not block my senses. . . . I recovered quickly, though. “Oh, no, it’s ok. I was born with these; they’re not wounds.” The alicorn eyed them, doubtful. I lifted up one leg to give her a closer look. “See? No blood.” She gave the holes another moment of intense scrutiny, but once she had assured herself of the truth of my words, the doubt gave way to curiosity. She gasped. “That’s so strange! How does it feel? Can you feel them?” Abruptly, she remembered herself. “Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Celestia Everfree. And you are?” I opened my mouth to respond, but Luna cut in. “She’s Chrysalis. Didn’t you hear me calling her?” Celestia rolled her eyes. “I was going to give her a chance to say so!” The younger alicorn shrugged unapologetically. Frowning, Celestia turned back to me. “I’m sorry about that. Luna is . . . easily excited.” “I’m right here!” The alicorn in question objected. I smiled. “It’s perfectly fine. I haven’t seen anybody act like this in years. It’s . . . refreshing.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna stick her tongue out at her sister, who responded in kind. I chuckled. “Yes, my name is Chrysalis, and. . . .” I hesitated again. A pony like these two, one that actually cared for my race, was a rare find indeed, and I was unwilling to lose it now that I had found it. But I could not ignore my duty. The fate of my race rested in the balance. “And I have come here from beyond your forest because I need your help.” Author's Note Hello, not dead over here! Reviving this thing because screw hiatuses and I'm bored. Chapter 3 is open in another window, and I'll get it out as soon as I can. Hopefully not with another multi-month wait in between - I'd like to finish this story eventually! Special thanks to Key Strix for edits, and for getting me back on track with this thing!
DiscussionsWe were seated in the middle of the hut, each with a cushion to sit on and a bowl of stew in front of us. Despite Luna's excitement at hearing where I was from, Celestia had insisted on eating the stew before hearing my tale. I didn't mind this, as the stew was delicious. I didn't need food to survive, but that didn't stop me from having a second helping. Luna was finished first. With the speed at which she had been eating, I wasn’t surprised. The dark alicorn had been shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could, clearly eager to be done with the meal so I could begin my tale. Celestia ate more calmly, and while her manners were by no means perfect, she did a decent job of seeming refined. “So,” Celestia said once we were all finished eating. It was all she got out before Luna, who had been fidgeting impatiently while we finished our own meals, cut in. “What’s it like outside the forest?" she demanded, leaning forward. "Are there other creatures like you? Or us? I bet there are villages filled with creatures out there!" At this point, she was practically bouncing in excitement, despite still being seated. Celestia gave her sister a stern look, but it was clear to me that she was just as interested. I smiled at them. “Yes, there are villages out there. Some are even big enough that thou cannot call them villages anymore - towns, maybe, or even some cities, and every one as full as thine imaginations could make it.” Both alicorns gaped in wonder at that. I chuckled - just wait until they actually saw their first city! They would be - dismayed. Cities nowadays were barely even habitable. Trying to shake off the gloomy thoughts, I changed the subject: “and what about in here? I haven’t been inside the forest for more than an hour, and I can already tell that it’s a lot different than outside.” “It’s boring in here,” Luna replied quickly, “no fun at all! Not like how it sounds outside! Tell us about that some more!” “Luna!” Celestia admonished. “Whaaaat?” the younger filly whined. “We can’t just ask Chrysalis to tell us about her life without telling her something in return! It’s rude!” Luna frowned at this. “But it’s just so boring here! Nothing ever happens! I want to hear about adventure, about action and epic battles! You know, the kind of thing that never happens in the forest.” “When you’ve had as much of adventure as I have,” I replied, “this kind of thing - living alone in a giant forest with one other pony for company - seems like a paradise.” Luna began to look unsure. Celestia noticed it and went in for the finishing blow: “besides, don’t tell me you don’t at least have fun in here. Just think of your animal friends. I’m sure you’ve had some good times with them.” The darker alicorn looked between the two of us before finally slumping back on her pillow in defeat. “Fine!” I gave her a comforting smile and offered one hoof. “Tell you what: we’ll trade. I’ll tell you two something in exchange for something you can tell me.” That seemed to brighten her spirits considerably. She reached out and shook my hoof. “Alright.” I smiled, and we all settled back into a long conversation. Despite Luna’s arguments that their life here was boring, she was easily the most into telling the stories, often jumping up excitedly and acting out the best parts in midair. Celestia, as I was discovering she was with most everything, was calmer, simply telling the story to the best of her knowledge. Luna spent her sister’s tales miming falling asleep, or making the motions that Celestia wasn’t. At least, until Celestia got annoyed. Then she just sat down and listened. I, for my part, kept them interested with simple tales of cities and the many ponies I’d fed off - without mentioning the feeding, of course. In fact, I tried to avoid the subject of changelings entirely. However nicely they had acted so far, I doubted it would last long once they knew the whole truth. Of course, I couldn’t avoid the subject entirely, especially once Celestia realized that I was trying to. She was perceptive to have noticed that. Once the inevitable questioning came, I knew I’d have to be careful around her. Thankfully, her lack of knowledge kept her from asking things I wouldn’t have answered. I did end up telling them our power, though, following an explanation about why my horns and legs have holes in them.. “Changelings have the ability to change into any other creature.” Luna and Celestia both gasped at this, but not in fear - actually in excitement. “Wow!” Luna said, eyes sparkling. “Can you change into me? Or change into Celestia! Please?” I smiled and shook my head. “Unfortunately, the magic in this forest prevents me from changing. I am limited to normal unicorn magic here.” “Aww....” “I will show you someday,” I promised. Luna seemed appeased by that. Eventually, the conversation got around to the reason I was here. By then, it was just about sunset. With a quick glow of her horn, Celestia piled a few logs on the cookfire and lit it so that we weren’t sitting in darkness. “So what made you come here?” she asked as she did so. “Yeah, what do you need our help for?” Luna questioned, sitting up from where she had been slumping on her pillow. I sighed. “Where to start?” I asked aloud. There was much that needed fixing, and much I had to explain. After a moment’s deliberation, I decided to start with the basics. “Doth thou know what makes thee different from other ponies?” Both alicorns shook their heads. “It is the presence of both wings on thine back and a horn on thine head,” I answered. “Very, very few ponies will have both - normally, it is one or the other, or even none at all. But thou hath both, and that makes you special.” “How?” Celestia asked. “They’re just wings and a horn. I’d imagine that it would be special to both be able to fly and use magic, but beyond that. . . .” “True,” I replied. “It is not so much what they can do as it is what they represent. An alicorn, as you are called, is gifted with great strength. The last pair was able to move the sun and moon on their own. Unfortunately, they departed this world almost two centuries ago. Thou may very well be the only alicorns in the world right now.” Luna and Celestia sat, mouths agape, at the power they had within them. “Move the sun and moon?” Celestia echoed. Luna glanced upwards, as if she could catch a glimpse of the moon through the hut’s roof. “Yes,” I affirmed with a nod. “And as such, it is fortunate I have found you. The outside world is in dire need of somepony to return them - and everything else - to a semblance of order.” With that, I launched into explaining the situation outside - how Discord had taken control of the world from the Great Court, and how chaos had reigned since then; how whole cities had been emptied or overcrowded with a complete lack of balance; of the strange horrors and phenomena that now roamed the world; and finally, how he had wormed his way into the heart of all creatures and begun to destroy the love therein. When I was finished, Celestia was speechless with horror. Luna, on the other hand, was quick to voice her anger. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get him!” She jumped up and raised her front hooves in a combative position. “We’re alicorns! He won’t even stand a chance!” I shook my head. “I hath seen his power. Thou may be alicorns, but thou art untrained. Discord has been at this work for fifty years now, and there is no telling how long he has been alive. Thou couldst not win in a fight against him. Not right now.” “Oh.” Luna floated back down to her seat, a frown creasing her features. “Then how do we beat him?” I smiled. Luna did not doubt that we would; she just didn’t know how yet. Unfortunately, neither did I. “I am afraid I do not know. Discord is a powerful creature. I am expending all of mine race’s might on finding a way to defeat him, but there is little to go on. If there is one thing he was thorough in, it was making sure he would never be defeated.” “But there has to be something, right?” Celestia asked. “We will find it if there is,” I replied neutrally. Celestia nodded, accepting the answer. “Luna and I can help. We don’t go in the castle often-” Luna snickered at that, earning a glare from her sister “-but it has plenty of books and scrolls. Maybe one of them has the answer.” I nodded. “That would be most appreciated. I will return as often as I can to see if thou hast found anything.” “You’re not staying?” Luna asked, as Celestia frowned. I smiled sadly. “I run a country. I cannot just leave all my duties behind. I must return and direct the search as I can.” Luna pouted, but Celestia nodded thoughtfully. At least she understood. “Will you at least stay the night?” I hesitated. While I did need to return, the world outside did not have steady days and nights to measure time from. I could very well have been gone for days already in the few hours I had been in the forest. Surely a few more would not be too much of a worry. I nodded. “Alright. But I must go and find the changeling who accompanied me here. I will not have him stay alone at the edge of the forest all night.” “Ooh, you brought a friend?” Luna asked excitedly, springing out of her seat. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Let’s go find him!” With that, she shot out of the tent. I watched her take off, chuckling. “She does have so much energy.” I turned to Celestia, who was watching me, her expression unreadable. What is she thinking?, I wondered. “We will be back soon - it’s not terribly far,” I said. Celestia just nodded. As I turned to leave, however, she spoke up. “Chrysalis.” I turned to look at her again. “This world outside the forest sounds like a dangerous place.” She spoke carefully, weighing each word before saying it. “It is not so dangerous as it sounds,” I replied. “Discord, despite having brought complete chaos to the world, does not do as much harm to ponies as it would seem, at least not physically. His greatest crimes all center around the destruction of civilization and society.” Celestia nodded. “Then you can promise that my sister and I will be safe out there?” I nodded. “While you are under my protection, no harm will come to you.” She held my gaze for a moment before responding. In the flickering firelight, I saw a spark in her eyes. She wouldn’t forgive me if I broke that promise, I knew. “Alright. Thank you.” I smiled and left to find Luna and my changeling soldier. That conversation confused me, though. If Celestia and Luna weren’t hermits, if I could think of any reason that she would be so careful with her words, then it would only be the final straw. Celestia’s comments were eerily similar to the political intrigue of the pre-Discord era. It was an untrained thing, and she was clearly inexperienced, but the spark was there. And that meant that she suspected something, possibly the secret of my race. Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst, I thought as I caught up to Luna. These two alicorns seemed nice enough, but there had to be a limit to their kindness. The changeling food source of the love of ponies was certain to be it, not to mention the way that we harvested it. Even if it wasn’t, I needed their help too much to risk it. No, I would have to keep the subject of changeling food away from the alicorns. Fortunately, there was an upside to Celestia’s natural perception and apparent skill with subtlety. I hadn’t stretched my political muscles in a good 50 years. I began to grin as we flew to the edge of the forest. At least it would be fun.
