Jachs stumbled as the ceiling above him shook, with sporadic gunfire ringing overhead as the battle for Canterlot continued. “How ironic,” he thought, “that history repeats itself yet again.”
“Come on, we have to hurry,” his second-in-command, Oberstleutnent Alcippe said. “The city won’t last much longer.” Nodding, Jachs focused back on running as his friends followed close behind.
How did it come to this? Jachs could still clearly remember the days when it was just him and the gang in Canterlot, working to make the Pax Chrysalia a better place. Marsillio was so close to making artificial Love as potent as real Love, Finicus was just getting ponies onto his executive board, and he himself had just proposed to Alcippe.
Then Captain Dieter was assassinated in Severyana, Manehattan exploded into chaos and Tartarus broke loose. Even as he descended deeper into the crystal caves beneath the capital, Jachs could still hear ELF soldiers yelling as they fought the garrison for control of the city. Pieces of crystal fell from the ceiling as muffled explosions rang throughout the caverns.
“How… much farther… is she?” Finicus wheezed out as they rounded another corner. Jachs took a quick look around to see the wealthy industrialist, usually so composed and cheerful looking tired and being supported by Marsillio. Jachs couldn’t blame him; he probably wasn’t used to being kept up all night from the artillery barrages.
“Not much farther,” Marsillio told him. The surgeon-general wasn’t looking much better than Finicus was, with bags over his eyes as well. All four of them had stayed up last night debating and planning out what to do, along with pouring over maps of the underground cave system in preparation for this. “Just around here.”
Turning the corner, the caves opened up into a massive cavern, one Jachs knew very well even though he had only been here once before. Workbenches and notes were still strewn around the giant mass of metal in the center, from where the purple light emanated and lit the entire room. Alcippe, Marsillio and himself had already seen this once before, but he heard Finicus give a sharp gasp at the sight of the massive cocoon.
“We don’t have much time. Marsillio, hurry and get this thing open.” Nodding at him, the changeling pulled out his glasses as he reached the machinery. After a few seconds of looking over the console, he pushed one of the many buttons on it.
Purple smoke billowed out as the cocoon as metal folded and shifted at hidden seams, allowing them to look inside. There, restrained to a metal slab laid the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. It seemed that nothing had changed since they had last visited her; her mane and tail had fallen out even more and the probe in her horn continued to drain her magic. Jachs’ face turned into a frown at the sight as Finicus stepped back, shocked by the condition the alicorn was in.
“She looks horrible!” he exclaimed. “What have the Queen’s Guard been doing to her?”
Marsillio’s trained eyes looked over the pony as he spoke. “They’ve drained her of Love non-stop ever since they captured her. Twilight told us last time we visited that they had been barely feeding her, and it looks like that hasn’t changed.”
Jachs lightly shook the Princess, getting her to wake up. Feebly turning her head, her bloodshot eyes looked up at the changeling officer.
“I… recognize you. Jachs, right?” He nodded. “I didn’t expect you to come back.”
“We couldn’t just leave you here,” Marsillio remarked as he pushed another button, retracting the probe from her horn. A third one unlatched the restraints holding her in place, with Jachs and Alcippe catching her before she hit the ground. “Finicus, can you get some food and water?”
Shaking himself out of his stupor, his horn glowed and levitated out a daisy sandwich and a water bottle. “Hello, I’m Finicus Vesali, CEO of Main Hive Industries,” he said as he handed them both to Twilight. “I’m friends with Generalmajor Jachs.”
The Princess tried to take the sandwich in her magic, but quickly fizzled out, still too weak to cast any spells. Instead, she used her hooves to take a drink before slowly starting on the sandwich. “It’s nice to meet you, Finicus,” she said between bites. “Being honest, I didn’t expect to ever see any of you again, much less you all freeing me. Won’t you get in trouble?”
“There’s no one left to get us in trouble, Princess Twilight,” Jachs replied somberly. “The Pax Chrysalia is falling, and the Equestrian Liberation Front led by Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon are right on our doorstep.”
Twilight’s expression brightened at the mention of the two unicorns. “Wait, then why are you all here?”
Alcippe put a hoof on her shoulder, causing Twilight to look at her. “We’re here to get you out of here, Princess, and make sure you get safely back to your friends. We may be on different sides, but no pony or ‘ling deserves what you’ve been through. You deserve better.”
The alicorn nodded, giving a small smile before finishing her sandwich.
After she was done, Marsillo offered her a hoof and helped her up. “We have to move, Twilight. It’s not safe in the caves with the fighting going on, and if any remaining Queen’s Guard come to get you we’ll all be in trouble.”
Twilight nodded, taking a first shaky step forward. As soon as she did, though, a bright flash of teal light appeared in front of them, revealing a pink unicorn. Jachs immediately recognized her from the reports he had read over the past few days; it was the leader of the ELF, Starlight Glimmer.
“Twilight!” She looked shocked for a moment at the state the alicorn was in before turning her attention to the changelings around her. “How could you?!” Her horn lit with magic, ready to cast a spell that Jachs could only assume would give the four of them some horrific death. In the state all of them were in, they were in no shape to resist.
“Starlight, wait!” Twilight cried out, reaching out with one hoof to stop her. “They weren’t the ones who did this!”
The aura around her horn abruptly cut out, and she looked at Twilight with a surprised expression. “Then what are they doing here?”
“We came down to rescue Princess Twilight,” Jachs explained to her. “The Queen’s Guard has been using this machine for years to drain the Princess of all her Love.” Slowly, he brought up a hoof to point at himself. “I’m Generalmajor Jachs. This is Oberstleutnant Alcippe, Generaloberstabsarzt Marsillio, and Finicus Vesali.”
“I’m Starlight Glimmer,” the mare said, awkwardly rubbing her neck with a hoof. “Sorry about almost killing you, but we’ve all been really worried about her for a while now. I found some notes saying Twilight was here in the caves, and well… I thought you were the ones doing this to her.”
A long silence followed as the changelings and ponies stared at each other, until Twilight finally walked across to Starlight. After giving the unicorn a tentative hug, she turned back to Jachs. “Thank you. All of you,” Twilight said, looking at all of them. “I told you that I expected all of you to do your best at spreading a bit of harmony wherever you go, and I can tell that you all listened.”
“I’m glad to hear we didn’t let you down, Princess,” Jachs responded. “Good luck.”
After nodding to Jachs, and then to Starlight, the two ponies disappeared in another flash of teal light.
“So… what now?” Finicus looked expectantly at Jachs, as if waiting for instructions.
Slowly and methodically, Jachs pulled out a single book from a saddlebag. It was an easily recognizable one, purple with the front having a horseshoe featuring six gems. The other three changelings gasped at it.
“Jachs, that isn’t…”
“Twilight’s Journal of Friendship?” He nodded at Alcippe. “Second Wind gave it to me after we took the Seeds of Truth. Since we have plenty of time before the ELF comes down here, I was thinking… maybe we could give it a read?”
The other three looked at each other before nodding. Clearing off one of the many tables around the cavern, the changelings took seats before Jachs opened the book and turned to the first page.
“Dear diary. This is the first official entry of the Journal of Friendship being entered by Twilight Sparkle…”
Author's Note
Just a little one-shot I made for the world of Equestria at War. I didn't have any proofreaders for this, so any fixes or suggestions are welcome!
Extension coming soon!
One year later...
Finicus Vesali couldn't help but smile at his own work as he applied the finishing touches to his piece. It was no masterpiece, that was for sure, but the paintings were finally starting to look less like a mess and more like Ponyville. It was remarkable how much he had improved in watercolors since when the changeling had started a month ago.
As Finicus sat back to contemplate, he couldn't help but look back at how foolish he had been all that time ago. He didn't need money, a cutie mark or even some stunning revelation to find out what to do in life. It was completely up to him on what he wanted to do and be. He chose to be Finicus Vesali, watercolor enthusiast.
That wasn't to say, of course, that he wasn't still also CEO of Main Hive Industries. The Equestrian Liberation Front had confiscated everything Equestrian that the company had taken after the first Great war had ended, most notably the factories and the Canterlot Archives. That, he had expected. What he hadn't expected was to retain his position as CEO MHI as well as the vast majority of what he had owned in the Hives. In fact, he had even been allowed to buy a factory in Canterlot, perfectly legally this time, and make it one of the first joint changeling-factories in the world. Finicus even had a few ponies on his executive board, and the changelings on it were much more aligned with his wishes then the original ones had been.
It was a bit ironic, in a twisted sort of way. He had done his best working with the Heer to help them win the Great War to try and feel something in life, but only after they had lost did MHI give him any sort of fulfillment. Sometimes he even got letters personally addressed to him from his workers, which he kept in his personal drawer next to a bottle of cognac.
After letting out a deep and contented sigh, Finicus packed up all his art supplies into a suitcase and slowly walked down back into Ponyville.
Maybe he would stop by Sweet Apple Acres, he always did love their cider.
"Alright, lets see how this test goes. Remember, our benchmark is forty-six percent, so anything above that is a success. The results should be coming in any minute now."
Marsillio and the rest of the science team waited with bated breath as the machine slowly began printing out readings. Just as he had expected over a year ago, progress on artificial Love eventually plateaued and research began grounding to a halt, especially once the second war began. When the ELF took Canterlot, he had expected all the research to be shut down, permanently.
So imagine his surprise when he learned that not only would he be allowed to continue his research in Canterlot with his equipment, but that the new Equestrian government would be funding it, as well as delegating some of the brightest pony scientists on Equus to aid in its endeavors. Princess Twilight Sparkle herself had even offered and donated Love to the project once she had learned that an alicorn's Love was vastly more powerful and potent than any other.
But even without the synthetic Love, Marsillio could already see the beginnings of a symbiotic relationship blooming in the new Equestria. Changelings no longer took Love from ponies, they received it willingly. All it took from some was a simple request, a few kind words, and nothing more.
Not to say that everything was going perfectly, of course. There was still anti-changeling resentment all over Equestria, with the wars and occupation still embedded in the minds of many. But with Marsillio's old manifesto being used as the guidelines for future pony-changeling relationship, the future for both was indeed looking bright.
"Marsillio! Marsillio, look!" The words snapped the changeling back to attention as one of his oldest friends, Spectrograph hurried up to him with the results. "Fifty-one percent comparable! We're over halfway there!"
The sounds of cheering could be heard from the entire team, ponies and changelings alike as Marsillio himself read the results one more time just to be sure. Back when this project first began, he had feared that it would take decades, maybe even a lifetime to produce anything close to real Love. But now, with a full team and cooperation among races, the vision he had only seen in his dreams was finally starting to come true.
And as the sounds of celebration echoed around him, Marsillio gave a small smile.
Alcippe dropped her bags by the front door as she entered her house, finally being able to relax after a long day of work. The cadets had been particularly rowdy today, and she had spent a large part of the day just trying to keep them in line and paying attention to what she was saying. It was definitely different from the times she was teaching Heer officers.
Reflecting on it, the fact that she got a job so similar to the one she had before Canterlot had fallen had been a true stroke of luck. Finicus was able to keep his position, after all, and Marsillio continued his work under a different employer, but herself and Jachs couldn't exactly just sign back up into the army. Especially when the enemy would have been fellow changelings.
After the war, however, she had received an offer to become a teacher in the officer schools. Jachs has urged her to accept it, so Alcippe bought a house in Canterlot with help from Finicus and did what she knew best; teach. Granted, the ponies were much different from changelings, and the curriculum differed slightly from what she had been taught, but the core tenants were still there; respect, discipline and loyalty. Despite all the trouble is put her through sometimes, it was a job Alcippe thoroughly enjoyed.
Moving to the table, the changeling began sorting through the mail from today. Bill, bill, work, junk, and a letter from Jachs. Setting the others aside, she opened the last one and folded open the piece of paper inside.
Alcippe,
I don't know what these years of suffering would have been without you at my side. You had turned a position of immense responsibility into something I could genuinely enjoy. Through anything and everything, from the early days of torment to our 'adventures' in the cave, you've been with me.
And I'd like to ask you to stay with me for a lot longer then that.
From, Jachs.
Alcippe put down the letter, a tear starting to form in one of her eyes. It really had been a long time since they had first met, hadn't it? They had stood together for countless years, side by side, no matter what happened. She already knew what Jachs was asking.
And Alcippe already knew her answer.
Jachs sat down in the office on the side of the desk opposite from the teal pegasi mare, wondering what this could possibly be. The letter he had received had been suspiciously vague; nothing more then to meet at this office in the Canterlot Palace and the offer of a job. The pony finished signing a form before looking up at Jachs.
"I've heard a lot about you, Generalmajor Jachs. Former governor of the Canterlot Commissariat, leader of the Das 96 'Canterlonian'... you even got personally pardoned by both Starlight Glimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle during the trial of you and three other changelings. Quite a track record you have."
His eyes narrowed. "How do you know so much about me?"
The pegasi put her hooves together on the desk, leaning forward. "I keep tabs on all the important changelings in Equestria, Generalmajor. Though, I suppose you've lost that rank in the Heer by now. The reason I asked you to come, Jachs, is because I wanted to offer you a job as an administrator here in Canterlot."
"Me? An administrator?"
Nodding, the mare opened a folder on her desk. "I've done a lot of research into you, especially into your time as governor. And I have to say, I'm impressed. You would have done a fine job in Manehattan on the Ost-Kommando."
Jachs got off the chair and put his hooves on the table. "Alright, who are you really?" he asked, eyes focused on the pair across from him. "You obviously aren't just some bureaucrat for Equestria."
The light-blue pegasus shrugged. "To ponies, they know me as Lily Merrimare. You, however, would most likely know me by a different name." In a ring of blue fire, the pony was gone, replaced by a female changeling. "Lilac, former Lady Protectress of Manehattan."
Jachs' jaw dropped. Lilac was supposed to be dead! All reports said she was caught in the blast when the Crystaller Building blew up during the initial ELF uprising! So how was she here?
The drone smirked. "I bet you're wondering how I'm still alive, much less working for Equestria now, aren't you? Well, when the Equestrian Liberation Front ruined my dreams for the Protectorate, I wasn't going down with my ship. So I jumped right before Chrysalis found out, put on a disguise and fled to Hollow Shades." The smile faded, replaced with a light sigh. "I wasn't planning to get so high in the administration, only to work as a low-level bureaucrat to keep off suspicion. But apparently I was too good at my job because Starlight Glimmer noticed me and had me work in the head offices. So now I'm here, hiring changelings like you.
Blinking, Jachs quickly wore off from the temporary shock. "So where do I fit in all of this? Why me in particular?"
Now Lilac was frowning. "I'm no fool, Jachs. Eventually the ponies will find out about me. And when they do, I'll be lucky if I just lose my job, what with how widespread hatred of me is out there." Her voice took on a more somber tone. "It seems they really do think of me as nothing more than a tyrant..."
"...Lilac?"
Her eyes refocused. "Right, apologies. When that time comes, I'll need character witnesses, changelings I can trust to back me up. I saw your record, read in the newspaper how you saved the Princess herself. I know you had good intentions, and I think you know I did too."
"Well I-" Jachs' words fumbled. "I'll need more time to think about this at the very least. Thank you for the job offer."
After a few moments, Lilac nodded, her eyes betraying just a hint of disappointment. Standing, she quickly donned her pony disguise again before slowly opening the office door. "I do hope you think about my offer, Jachs. It would be a shame to waste talent like you. If you ever make up your mind, you're always welcome."
Then, Lilac closed the door behind her, leaving the former Generalmajor alone.
