JUL 11 Saturday.

My mind is slowly pulled from a dreamless sleep, for a moment I just move the fluffy blanket on top of me a little and want to go back to sleep. But my mind just has to remember yesterday and I can't go back to sleep with all that running through my head. I'm used to waking up when I don't want to, waking up at the crack of dawn often will do that to you.

So I open my eyes and stretch out my limbs a bit, I also notice some scratching noise to my right but ignore it. The fluffy blanket on me is warm but a little heavy for my liking, so I try my best to move it with my field. "Oh you're awake, I guess you don't need your blanket anymore." I just about jump out of my skin as my head whips around to the voice.

My blurry eyes are greeted by Celestia lying right next to me, and I just kind of freeze. She has a playful smile and I follow her eyes, to see that the blanket I've been using is her outstretched wing. And for the first time in a long time I blush, but the adrenaline is now pumping.

I try to roll to my left and get out from under her wing, and I roll right off the side of the bed. The floor is carpeted so it's not too bad when I land on my back, but it's still far from pleasant. "Uggg," I elegantly voice my opinion on my current situation to the rising laughter of Celestia.

After a few moments I pick myself up and stare at Celestia, she's got a smile as she tries to muffle her laughter with a hoof. "Good morning, I hope you slept well." She says with a happy and joking tone.

I just give her a deadpan look, I'm still pretty embarrassed about what just happened, and try to figure out what the hell is happening. I take a moment to look around the room I'm in and recognize it instantly, I turn to Celestia. "Why are we in your bedroom?"

She just gives me that same smile. "Well, you were very tired last night, and my bed happens to be very comfortable." Like that explains anything. "Would you like some breakfast?" She asks while pointing to a cart that has food on it.

I'm nearly distracted by the food, I haven't eaten for a long time now, but I ignore my hunger for the moment. "Don't change the subject, I won't be bribed by food." She gives me a look that says she doesn't believe me for a second. "Ok, maybe I will. But why was I doing, THAT." I don't know how to say it without getting more embarrassed so I just look at her wings.

She just keeps smiling. "I also needed to sleep, and you looked so peaceful and I didn't want to move you, so I just slept on the other side of the bed. And apparently you decided my wing was a nice blanket, I'm flattered." At this point she's just fucking with me, and my blush threatens to come back again. :Fuck this I'm too hungry to deal with her right now:

I just give her an unamused look and grab a plate, I fill it with some food, and after a minute of inhaling waffles and hayfries I feel more alive. Once I'm done eating I just ignore what happened and ask a question. "Anything important happened while I was asleep?"

She signs another piece of paper from the stack she's going through. "Well the stallion you brought to us woke up and is in a cell under watch right now, he hasn't spoken yet. And the mares are probably still asleep." I cast a spell and check the time, it's only just past dawn.

"So what's the plan for all this?" I ask while finding my saddlebags near the bed, it seems she took them off of me at some point.

"For now I'll leave them to rest and have them eat, then start asking questions a little after that. It's best to have them calm down and acclimate some before asking them about what will most likely be personal and private problems." I nod my agreement, she has experience with this kind of thing.

"So I have a few hours before we get any answers?" She just nods.

"Essentially, I know you want an answer, and so do I, but it's best to be patient with things like this." I trust her wisdom and nod. She then points with a hoof, "There is the bathroom and shower if you need them, please make yourself comfortable." I nod my thanks again.

I don't really have much to do, so I decided to just go through as much of my morning routine as I can. I can't do my run but I can at least do my exercises, and doing something physical helps me work through my feelings about last night.

My worry for once isn't about the timeline. I'm still not sure if Celestia's caught a changeling before, but even if she didn't it was only a matter of time before she would have. So tonight was more me just speeding up what was probably already going to happen, and at least now we have some changelings who might answer our questions.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out things are only going to escalate from here, and that makes the information the mares can tell us even more valuable and impotant than it already is. After I'm done with my exercises I walk inside the bathroom and start the shower.

POV shift Celestia

I watch as Shade stops his exercises and walks into the bathroom. I don't think he really noticed me watching him, it seems he's distracted. I must say he does take rather good care of himself if he does that every day.

After a moment of silence, I hear the running water from the shower. I look at the last form that requires my attention and sign off on it, once it's done I place it all to the side and relax with some tea.

It's been a mess of a night, and I now have much more work to do. I chuckle a little at that fact, every time I see Shade new work always seems to follow him. Not that I mind, he's done nothing but good for so many. I let my mind wander to my thoughts on Shade.

The memory of what he told me last night brings a frown to my face. I don't judge him for his actions, like I told him, he went above and beyond what most ponies could or would have in the same situation. But that doesn't make the worry I have for my friend lessen, and the way he acted felt not quite truthful with me.

Shade has always kept secrets from me, but he normally doesn't lie about them existing. He tells me that he doesn't want to talk about a secret and then I leave it be. But last night was different, it felt more like he was deliberately hiding things that he didn't need to.

I'm lost in my thoughts as I hear the shower stop, I should probably say something about it.

POV shift Shade

I let the water fall off of me and step out of the shower. Now that I'm more awake I'm starting to reflect more on last night. I remember telling Celestia about what happened, and I didn't really act the best, I know I'm going to make a report with more detail but I still left things out that I shouldn't have.

And it feels like shit to do that to a friend. I sigh while drying my body off, I need to fix this. I've come to very much care for Celestia and I can't just leave this as is, even if that would be easier. I get out of the bathroom and just walk over to her, I lay down on my back on the bed and just go for it. "I think I messed up, sorry."

I'm not looking at her but she shifts on the bed. I'm nervous and I know I'm not going to enjoy this, but I need to do it. There is an agonizingly long moment of silence before she speaks. "I can guess about what you're referring to, but I think it's best if you just say what you wish to." Her voice is kind as always.

I still don't look at her and just stare at the ceiling. "It's something you've seen before, I keep secrets, a lot of secrets." I take a deep breath. "I started keeping secrets and lying after I started making spells, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

I try my best to explain without lying, but some things I'll still need to lie about, fuck this sucks. "I wanted my quiet life and to help the world at the same time. And I was doing that, and all was well until it wasn't." I see Celestia move so I can see her face from the side, she just has that same kind of small smile.

"At some point, I started to hide things I didn't need to, my paranoia didn't help either. And it's something I've tried to work on, but it still comes out and I hide things I shouldn't." I flip myself upright and look at her face to face. "Last night I was tired and pretty done with the day, and that story lacked details that I should have included."

I pause and she's about to say something but I cut her off. "I need to really state how much I do this. Even right now I've been trying my best to not lie and it's not easy. I just... I don't know anymore. I want to tell the truth, but I can't stop, and I can't say why." After that final admission, I struggle to form the right words to continue and just go silent.

After a moment I see her smile, always the kind smile. "I have many questions, but you clearly aren't ready to answer them. But regardless of that, I forgive you for last night. Thank you for being honest with me." How the hell does this mare turn this into her thanking me?

"I don't have an easy answer for you, but if you think you can't tell me then don't. As much as I'd like you to tell me one day, you aren't ready for that. And that's ok, it's ok to not be ready." She says with the same damned smile that makes me feel ok.

I just sit there for a minute, not thinking much and just blankly staring. We stay like that for a few minutes before I finally find my voice again, trying to force myself to reveal something. "Do you remember the Floating spell?" Before I can even try to stop myself I ask a question, and she nods. "It's a good example of all this. You definitely noticed the odd way I acted and me sending you the full spell later."

She keeps her soft smile. "Yes, and I remember the question you asked me. I was going to ask you about it at our next meeting."

I let out a soft chuckle. "Ya, you are good at catching things like that. I got so caught up in what bad the spell could do that I didn't see the good. But your advice struck true, and I was able to force myself to send the spell to you, even if my fear argued against it the whole time, and yes I'm leaving things out in this explanation. UgA, I can't even tell the full truth with that." I say getting mad at myself as I talk.

And Celestia's response to this was to pick me up and full-on embrace me. "It's ok, it's ok." I don't cry, but I just embrace her and try to feel better for a moment. But I pull away after that moment and move back a little. "You don't seem ready to answer my questions, so don't force yourself to."

"But I should, doing this doesn't help anypony. Lying more won't fix anything." I try to argue back. If I keep lying like this it could ruin the life I've made.

In response, she gets a little more firm. "And doing it right now is hurting you. So listen to me." she moves my head so I have eye contact with her again. "My curiosity will never be worth your well-being. So let go, if you can't answer me, then don't."

I stare at her eyes for a moment. My mind is running at a sprint and my thoughts are everywhere, but eventually, only one thing comes out of my mouth. "Thank you, I can never say how much it means that you're willing to just not ask," I say with genuine relief.

She just keeps that magic damned smile. "I did promise you I'd be patient didn't I?" I just give a hollow chuckle in response. "Now how about we leave this for now, we can talk more some other time. We already have enough to deal with right now." I can tell she's changing the subject for me, and I'm silently thankful.

"Well then, how are you going to go about this?" I ask while getting off the bed. I try to cheer up but that will take a while.

"I believe WE have two mares waiting to talk." She says while gathering the paperwork she completed earlier.

I'm confused by that. "We?"

She gives me yet another smile. "Yes WE, those mares are probably very nervous and you have probably built some small amount of trust with them by helping them get here, so you might make them more comfortable with your presence." I can tell that's a flimsy reason to bring me with her.

So I voice just that. "Are you sure? I'm not trained for this kind of thing." I ask a little unsure, my fuck up is still fresh in my mind so I'm reluctant to involve myself even more. But my curiosity is tempting me to just say yes.

She nods. "Yes you're not trained, but we aren't here to interrogate them. They requested an audience with me and a chance to explain their situation while asking for help. And that's what I'm going to let them do, now are you coming or not?" It's obvious she's trying to cheer me up by satisfying my curiosity, but damn it if it's not working.

So after a moment, I nod my agreement. As we near the bedroom doors Entropy flies down from somewhere and lands on me. Where has she been? I shrug it off and start following Celestia as Entropy merges into my shadow. As we walk through the hallways I think about the changelings and what answers we will find.

But as I think about Changelings I realize a potential problem. I've been wearing my necklace since yesterday, which means those Changelings could notice how unnaturally calm I appear. And they could also notice during our meeting that I'm not giving off much emotion.

And if I take the necklace off it could cause the same problem in reverse, they would notice how much more emotion I have. And that traps me in a hard spot, no matter what I do Celestia could find out about the necklace and its emotional shield.

And that will raise the obvious question, how did I know to make such a thing without knowing about the Changelings? And now once again I can see myself walking into another web of lies if I keep this secret. I go back and forth but after a moment I steel my mind.

It's a no-win situation, if I tell her about it she might ignore her promise, or be hurt that I would hide something so important. And if I keep this a secret and it ever comes out it would be worse, especially because this spell could save lives in what's to come.

After a moment I take out my notebook and start drawing while we walk, Celestia sees this but doesn't ask. This will see the light of day no matter what I do, but if I'm the one to reveal it then maybe she'll keep her promise.

This could go horribly bad, but I trust my friend to hold her promise, I just hope I'm right. I write out both the improved illusion detection spell and the emotional shield spell, along with instructions and descriptions for both. Once I'm done I rip both pages out and just hold them for a moment.

"Celestia." She turns to me as we walk. "I'm going to give you something, and you will have questions about it. And I won't be answering them. Even if you demand answers and throw away your promise, I will never answer those questions, even if it ends any friendship we have." She seems very shocked by how serious I am, and seems concerned at my last words.

She's silent as I pass the torn pages to her. "I have no intention of breaking that promise, no matter what questions I want answers to." She looks over the papers and seems happy with the first spell, but confused about the second spell.

I don't look at her as she reads it. "Even if it puts ponies' lives at risk?" I almost stop myself from asking that but do anyway.

She stops looking at the papers and again looks shocked at how serious I am, and goes quiet. After a moment she answers me, "Yes, I will keep my promise even then. But I doubt it will ever come to that."

It's my turn to look shocked at the conviction she has in her tone. "Thank you." I say quietly to her as we near a doorway. :I just hope that's true:

We stop at the door and Celestia puts on a face that shows nothing but royal authority, the kind of face only a millennium-old ruler could make. I put on my mask of calm and entered the room after Celestia. The room is simple, two beds, and a single large table.

Along with two nervous mares who bow to Celestia as she enters the room. Celestia speaks with a firm but not hostile authority, "You may rise." She points to me with a hoof. "He has informed me of what happened last night, and that you have come here to speak to me and seek my help with something."

The unicorn mare nods. "Yes, Your Majesty." Her tone is short and overly formal.

Celestia nods and sits next to the table. "Then what have you come here to ask of me?." Celestia is being neutral with them for the most part.

"I believe we should start by simply showing you, Your Majesty." Celestia nods after a moment but keeps silent.

The mare looks at her companion, both look extremely nervous now. Then they nod to each other, and a second later two small flashes of green flame consume both of them. :Are they starting with this? Well, they definitely know how to get her attention:

I've seen a changeling before, but that was at night and in the snow. This time I'm greeted by two changelings in a well-lit room, and I can't help but show a little surprise at their appearance. I can see that even Celestia's mask nearly slips off, but she keeps her expression under control.

The former unicorn has a completely black carapace, with light green eyes. Their wings are interesting, they have a see-through appearance but also have a tinted color that's the same as their eyes. I look at the former pegasus and see that she's still roughly the same size, she has yellowish-green eyes and the same color seems to also apply to her wings. She looks smaller than her companion but doesn't seem to be different in overall body shape, is she younger or just small?

Celestia stares them down for a long few moments. "What are your names? What are you? And why are you here for my help?" Celestia is blunt and to the point, seems this did end up becoming somewhat of an interrogation after all. Not that I blame her for wanting answers.

The very blunt questions do not help with the changeling's nervousness, but the former unicorn answers quickly. "My fake name is Dusty Bowl, and my real name is Cricket. Your majesty." She adds that last part a second later.

The pegasus seems more nervous than their companion, but answers right after. "M-my fake name is Cherry Blossom, and my real name is Cicada. Your majesty" She stammers at the start but finishes quickly.

I'm confused about the fake name part, I know they would have fake names, but why say it like that? After her companion speaks Cricket continues. "We are changelings, and we have come to ask for your protection and help."

Celestia doesn't say anything for a moment as she takes in their appearance. "What is a changeling? And protection from what?" Celestia is fully serious but still is calm and neutral with them.

Cricket seems too hesitant to answer her for a moment. "Changelings are a race that's lived in secret with ponies for as long as anyone can remember. We either live in a hive with many changelings, or in small families of a dozen or so that live with ponies their whole lives."

"As you saw we can take on the appearance of any pony, and also members of other races, but that's harder to do. We live about as long as ponies and we are similar in a lot of ways." I think she's trying to seem relatable, not the worst idea.

Celestia narrows her eyes a little but doesn't interrupt so Cricket continues. "Changelings are normally referred to as a Hive Changeling or a Hiveless Changeling. The small groups live with ponies to feed and aren't allowed by our laws to make themselves known to ponies, I'm breaking the law by even being here."

Celestia's face might as well be a brick wall with how little it shows beyond her narrowed eyes. "What do you mean by feed?" Seems she caught that, not that I'm surprised. I can feel the panic in me rising as I know she's connected the spell to all of this pretty quickly.

Her words make the changelings very on edge, they're about to say they feed off of ponies, so I understand her fear. "Ch-Changelings eat emotions, normally we can live just fine by absorbing the emotions given off from ponies living their lives while we live with and around them."

I can see Celestia's eye twitch over to me for a second, she's definitely made the connection. :Please keep your promise: "And does this harm ponies in any way?" Celestia's tone is about as expressive as her face right now.

The changeling shakily nods a little. "Yes and no." She stops but Celestia doesn't say anything and just stares, so after a tense moment Cricket continues. "Changelings have three ways we can feed, we can simply walk through a city and collect emotional energy that is a byproduct of ponies just living their lives, that harms nopony, they don't even notice it."

"We can also drain a pony of emotion, this doesn't do much on the low end but can cause harm if done too much. It's not done often because it's noticeable and not often necessary." She goes silent for a moment. "And the final method is only used by hives, that's to take a pony and keep them to drain emotion from them repeatedly."

Cricket quickly explains that last one and watches Celestia's face with clear nervousness. But Celestia just keeps that same stony look. "And is that last option done often?" The same stone-cold tone for her.

The changeling quickly shakes her head. "No, you need a safe place to even do it and those that do always keep it as an absolute last resort. It's, well, it's not illegal but drawing unwanted attention is illegal so this is something only a hive would do while smaller groups simply can't risk it."

Celestia just keeps the same flat stony tone and face as she continues. "And how many hives are there?"

"Two, but it might be one soon, thankfully." I'm not sure she realized what she was saying before it came out.

"And why is that?"

Cricket looks even more apprehensive. "I don't know everything, but." She seems to struggle to voice her words. "There are a few things I'd need to explain first, Your Majesty." Celestia just coldly nods for her to continue. "Changelings are mostly all the same, some smaller, some bigger, and a few different colors. But we also have queens."

"Changeling queens are stronger, bigger, and as far as I know they don't age. Normal changelings can only have one child at a time with each other, while queens can have many relatively quickly, which combined with their power makes them the only changelings that create hives."

"But queens are very rarely born, sometimes not for hundreds of years, because of this and their agelessness they can rule for a long time. They normally just rule their hives while demanding some form of food tax from the smaller groups, in exchange they use the large number of changelings under them to help keep us secret from ponies and enforce our laws. But it mostly hooves off beyond that."

Wow, that's a lot of information, and it implies a lot of things. "But problems happen when there is more than one queen at the same time." Didn't she say there were two right now? I don't like where this is going. "Changeling queens can form entire hives, but with more than one hive it becomes difficult to collect enough food for both of them, and the taxes on small groups could be doubled when they both demand the same thing."

"So that normally leads to wars in between the hives for control. And that's what we've come to ask for protection from a war in between the two current hives." :Oh, well, fuck. That is not good in so many ways:

Celestia still has that stony face, but even with it, I can see some concern in her eyes. "Tell me everything you know about this conflict." Celestia's not even bothering to ask questions anymore.

Cricket nods curtly. "I don't know much, but I know some. Before this all started Queen Cascadia ruled as the only hive, and she's been ruling since long before I was born, but I'm not sure how long specifically. I was born in her hive, but luckily I was able to leave when things started to get bad."

"A new queen started her rise a decade ago and formed a new hive, her name is Queen Chrysalis. And around five years ago Queen Cascadia declared war on her." I find it interesting that she says Chrysalis's name with a mostly neutral tone but seems to practically spit out Queen Cascadia's name as if it's a curse.

"At first things weren't too bad, Queen Cascadia was a strict but decent queen. But as she started losing the war she changed, food was getting rationed and she got more and more strict with us." The changeling seems to fold in on themselves a little as they speak.

"Then she started going mad. It was small things at first, a changeling tried to defect to the other hive and was imprisoned, and then another, and another. As it got worse and more tiring to leave, and as we kept losing the war she... She just started killing any who tried to leave and then." She's cut off by a hoof from Celestia.

Celestia turns to me with, well, not a bad look but I can see that this is all a lot to take in even for her. She gives me a tiny smile and looks concerned. "I don't think you're needed here, please send the report later. And get some rest at home." I can tell she doesn't want to be so formal with me but we're in front of those two.

I can easily guess she's concerned about a colt hearing all of this, and to be fair this is taking a dark turn. I don't hold the situation against her and just give a professional nod, I stand up and give her a quick bow before walking out of the room. As the door closes behind me I feel my thoughts running wild, but one thought stays in the front of my mind. :Please keep your promise:

Author's Note

Thanks for reading.

This site decided I didn't save the chapter before editing it to check for errors and instead posted the raw version. So sorry for any confusion.