Chapter 2 - The New Princess Report

It's a bright and beautiful morning in Ponyville.  The moon put to sleep by the princess, and the sun freshly risen by the other princess.  The grass was green and the roads were swept clean.  Tumbler had woken up extra early to finish his jobs early so he'd have more time to visit his friend in the hospital.  Tumbler looked around outside and smiled at the sunlight.  All in all, it seemed like a nice uneventful morning in Ponyville.  Tumbler just had a feeling that it was going to be a great day.

Tumbler visited his new friend in the hospital.  He had the usual chit-chat with Asouva, talking a little bit more about changeling society, while he told Asouva about how things were in pony society.  Asouva was surprised to find that the sun and moon were actually controlled, instead of just naturally cycling.

Tumbler called for Nurse Wintergreen to ask if they had any books on the legend of Nightmare Moon.  The nurse said she would have to look, but if not, Tumbler could always go to the library.

“Oh, don't trouble yourself, I'll go the library.” Tumbler told the nurse.

“It's no trouble,” the nurse offered, but Tumbler was insistent.

It was early afternoon still, Tumbler having spent all morning at the hospital talking to Asouva.  He walked over to the library on the other side of town.  It was an uneventful trip, just the usual hellos with the shopkeepers.  Tumbler wanted to keep the news of his friend hush hush for now, especially with how some might react.

Tumbler was surprised that he hadn't heard about what had gone on at the castle during the wedding.  That sort of thing just doesn't escape the public eye easily.  No point in worrying about it now.  He arrived at the library without incident and knocked on the door.  A familiar lavendar unicorn answered.

“Hello, how can I help you?” Twilight greeted Tumbler with a warm smile.

Tumbler could stare at that smile all day.  The longer he did though, the bigger his own smile got.  Twilight and her friends just had that quality about them.  He shook his head to clear his thoughts and remind himself why he came to the library.

“I wanted to check out a book about the legend of Nightmare Moon,” he explained.  “Also, I wanted to know if you had any books on insects.”

“I didn't know you were interested in history,” Twilight remarked.  “This is great!  Even though Nightmare Moon is no more, it's still a big part of our history, and we would be doing a disservice to our youth to keep it secret.”

“Um, Twilight, I'm at least a few years older than you are,” Tumbler responded, “And it's for a friend of mine in the hospital.”

“Is it anyone I know?” a concerned Twilight asked.  “Is it Rainbow Dash again?”  Her voice got considerably more snarky on the second question.

Tumbler laughed at the question.  “Rainbow Dash, yeah, with all the crazy flying she does, I'm surprised she doesn't end up in there more often.”  He composed himself and continued, “It's a new friend I met in the Everfree Forest.  He's the coolest looking guy I've ever seen!”

Twilight was intrigued by this cool-looking pony.  “I'd like to meet him, are you headed back that way now?”  Her horn glowed purple as she levitated the requested books into a saddle bag, which was then levitated onto her back.

“Yes, yes I am,” Tumbler replied.

“Excellent!  Let's go then!”

The two of them headed off to the hospital.  Along the way, Tumbler could've sworn he spotted some movement out of the corner of his eye, but was never able to catch much more than a pink blur.  He had his suspicions of course.  The Pink One, as Tumbler liked to refer to her as, was pretty terrible at sneaky stealth operations.  She was quick though, Tumbler had to give her that much.

Once at the hospital, Nurse Wintergreen greeted the both of them and provided an update on Asouva.  “His exoskeleton was cracked before, but it seems to be healing up nicely.”

“Exoskeleton?” Twilight asked.  Up to now, she had assumed the new friend was another pony, or maybe even a zebra.  It didn't even occur to her that “new friend” could be something else entirely, like something insect-like...

“Yes, exoskeleton, you know, like a beetle, or a roach.” the nurse replied.

Tumbler started getting nervous at this point, more and more with each step they took closer to Asouva's room.  A thought suddenly hit him.  This was the prize student at Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, who had been sent to Ponyville specifically to oversee the millenial of the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville.  Twilight and her friends did leave town for a whole week around the time Asouva said the attack had gone on... then it hit him.  Twilight was there.  She knows about the changelings, because she dealt with them directly.  And she is not going to be happy about this.

“Um, Twilight, he might not be recovered enough to receive visitors...” Tumbler stammered and trailed off.

“Oh don't be silly, the nurse said he's healing just fine,” she said as she smiled.  Then they entered Asouva's room at the hospital.

Tumbler nervously smiled and waved.  “Hi Asouva.”

Asouva looked up and was pleased to see Tumbler had come back.  His look had changed to one of shock and fright as he saw the mare he had brought with him.  Several thoughts flashed through his mind, like maybe it had been a trap all along, and Tumbler was a much more skilled interrogator than he gave him credit for.

Twilight had entered the room with a smile on her face, but as soon as she saw Asouva, her jaw hit the floor.  Immediately thoughts started to flash through her mind.  What's a changeling doing here in Ponyville?  Is there another attack in progress?  Why are we using our resources to help the enemy?  Why aren't the guards here?  SPIKE!!!

Twilight was speechless.  She started to back away slowly, unable to form any words.  Tumbler broke the ice.

“I know, his appearance initially left me speechless as well,” Tumbler said jokingly, acknowledging Twilight's silence, but sounding more obviously nervous than anything.  “But, he was hurt when I found him, so I picked him up and brought him here.  He looks pretty awesome though, doesn't he?”

Twilight nodded slowly in agreement, not taking her eyes off the changeling.  She was still wide-eyed from shock.  Meanwhile, the changeling's eyes started to widen incredibly.  You didn't have to be a wild animal to smell the fear bubbling up in the room.

Tumbler looked back and forth between the two nervously, feeling the tension become palpable.  He finally decided to cut it with the proverbial knife.  “Alright, no one is here to hurt anyone!”

Both Twilight and Asouva look at Tumbler, a little bit shocked at the outburst from the normally easy-going pony.  Tumbler's breathing was very deliberate.

Twilight spoke first.  “Tumbler!  Why didn't you tell me you were harboring a war criminal!?”

Asouva spoke next, “Tumbler!  So this is your trick!?  Gain my trust then turn me over to the authorities!?”

They both started talking at the same time.  Pretty soon, all the words just started to blend together until Tumbler couldn't stand it anymore.  “Enough!  I'm half-tempted to let you two duke it out here and now!”  His breathing became even more intense as his frustration grew.  “Asouva, you're at a disadvantage for two reasons.  One, you're in a hospital bed, and two, Twilight is the prized pupil of the princess herself.”

Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but smile at number two.  She had always taken pride in her studies and magical aptitude.  Her horn started to glow a little, almost instinctively.

Tumbler then turned to Twilight.  “But you Twilight, are at a much more serious disadvantage.  You have to get through me.”  Tumbler grinned.  “I can't match you for magic, at all really...” his voice trailed off a little bit, but his confidence picked up awfully quick afterwards, “But I can take you down faster than you can say 'Abracadabra'.”

It was Asouva's turn to smile a little, but Tumbler's display was more relieving than amusing.  He felt safe enough to close his eyes and try to calm down.

Twilight eyed Tumbler carefully.  Was he actually going to side with  the changeling over another pony?  More importantly, was he actually going to make good on his threat.  He seemed very confident that he could, and there was very little distance to clear before he'd have her.  There really wouldn't be any time to get a spell off.  Her horn stopped glowing.  “Alright, Tumbler.  You win.  But I must let the princess know about this.”

“If you feel you need to,” Tumbler replied, not breaking eye contact.  He was full on angry at this point, enough to have made the threat in the first place.

“Oh!  Before I go, that book you wanted to borrow,” Twilight remembered.  Her horn glowed as the saddle bag was lifted off her back and onto Tumbler's.  “Remember to have it back at the library before the deadline.”

Twilight turned and left the hospital in a hurry, galloping at full speed back to the library.  She didn't stop for anything, or anypony.  Once at the library, she immediately called out for her number one assistant.  “SPIKE!!!”

Spike was busy organizing some shelves and dusting.  The sudden calling of his name startled him, which in turn startled his pet phoenix Peewee, who had been sitting on his shoulder as he worked.  Some books got knocked over.  Peewee fell to the floor, but landed on his feet, unhurt.  Overall not a library-collapsing event, but he'll have to redo some of the shelving work he had been doing earlier in the day.

“What is it Twilight?” Spike asked, concerned at the considerable alarm in her voice.  He bent over to pick Peewee back up off the floor and placed him back on his shoulder.

“I need you to take a letter to the princess immediately!” she commanded.

Spike raced over to his desk to get his quill and parchment.  “Ready!” he exclaimed, holding quill and parchment up.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight began, as her letters typically did.  “We are on the precipice of disaster.”

Spike wrote everything down as quickly as he could, while Twilight continued.  “For you see, a changeling has been discovered here in Ponyville.  Something must be done to make sure that a repeat of the attack on Canterlot is avoided.  I await your quick response.

“Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle”

“That letter sounds awfully familiar,” Spike remarked.

“Send it,” Twilight sternly replied.

Spike knew that arguing was pointless, and did as he was told.  “I'm gonna go back to cleaning and reshelving,” Spike said.  He was certainly concerned about everyone's safety, but the previous threats had been by very powerful beings.  This was one changeling.

After Spike had finished up his chores, there was a knock on the library door.  “I'll get it,” Spike called.  “You should take a break from reading, or take a nap, or something.”

Spike opened the door.  It was Tumbler.  He had made his way over to the library at a more leisurely pace to give himself time to cool off.  “I'd like to speak to Miss Sparkle, please.”

“Twilight?” It was Spike's turn to call towards the back for her.  “It's Tumbler, he wants to talk to you.”

Twilight sighed heavily before trotting down the stairs.  “The deadline for returning the books isn't for another two weeks.”

“I left the book with Asouva so he could read it,” he explained.  “Twilight, I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier, I was out of line earlier.  I shouldn't have threatened you like I did.”

Twilight was surprised, but pleased.  “I'm sorry too, I may have overreacted a bit as well,” she conceded, “But it's still something that I felt I needed to let the princess know about.  Considering that national security may be at stake.”

Tumbler raised a hoof and shook his head, “No no, you're right.  Because of that whole attack on Canterlot during the wedding, it's a legitimate concern.”

Twilight was taken aback.  “How did you...” she started, but then realized, he'd been chatting with Asouva the whole time, it only made sense he would've learned about it from him.  She invited him into the library so she could tell him about the Royal Decree where no one else could listen in.

Twilight began her story.  “The princess decreed that no word of the attack on Canterlot by the changelings would reach the public ear.  She did not want everypony to become paranoid and stop showing the love and friendship that Equestria is known for, what ultimately brought the changelings here in the first place.”

Tumbler thought about what Twilight had said, and it made a lot of sense.  After all, when you're dealing with not one but an entire race of creatures that can make themselves look like anypony, loved ones, family members, even the royalty, as was the changeling queen's case, there was definitely a cause for concern.  That level of paranoia where you could accuse anyone of being a changeling was certainly not something Princess Celestia or Luna would have wanted for their people.  However, recalling what Twilight had told him earlier about the legend of Nightmare Moon, it seems like this would rank up there as being an important part of history.  He had decided to bring this to Twilight's attention.

“Twilight, what about the legend of Nightmare Moon?  You said hiding the truth from everypony would be bad.  Isn't this the same thing?” Tumbler asked.

Since Twilight was there at the royal decree, she was already prepared with the explanation.  “There's a difference between history of a people and the potential genocide of another people, especially once accusations are thrown around and innocent ponies are forced to suffer.”

It made sense, but something still bugged Tumbler.  He would have to let it go for now though, as since it was already evening, he would have to start getting ready for bed.  All contemplation on the matter was interrupted, however, from a loud belch in the next room over.

Spike came running into the room with Twilight and Tumbler with a letter in hand.  “Twilight!  It's from... it's from the princess!”

Spike began to read the letter aloud, “To my faithful student...”