Change was slow, at first. After the defeat of Queen Lilith, Leviathan was quickly requested by the Changelings to take her place and lead the hive, but the prince wasn’t eager to return to his old home. Not after he’d made peace with his friends and agreed to start a life with Irradiance.

At the stallion’s urging, however, Leviathan did make the trip back to the hive to reintroduce himself to his citizens, promising to either return or introduce Irradiance as a fellow leader. It was a sweet gesture and Irradiance didn’t doubt him for a second.

After being checked out of the hospital, Irradiance was met with hundreds of ponies welcoming him back to Canterlot. He’d been doubtful, but it seemed to truly be the case that, after his disappearance, memorials were made in his honor. After leaving the medical facility, Irradiance visited the statue made in his honor, the plaque, the memorial bench, and the hundreds of flowers that were dropped at his basically-grave every day. All sorts of ponies he’d never met before welcomed him to the city, gifting him bits, food, and even miscellaneous toys, apologizing that he’d been run out and didn’t get to enjoy a proper childhood!

Hibiscus automatically graduated from the academy with honors, as Celestia’s school faculty were absolutely in awe that not one, but two of their students had been part of the defeat of one of the most dangerous Changeling Hives of all time, and that both had returned safely. The pink Unicorn earned her own memorial plaque, which was placed right beside Irradiance’s in the center of the school’s courtyard.

Cobalt, training to be a Wonderbolt, was gifted a custom uniform. Though he was a bit of an airhead, he was an honorable recruit and the team of talented flyers would be foolish not to promote him. True to his promise, Cobalt followed Irradiance around for a long while, performing at his request and defending him against any ponies that lashed out, angered at either the stallion’s appearance or his magical gift.

Marigold, not used to pony living, was slow to allow herself socialization. She familiarized herself with the ancient hero, Fluttershy, living in her cottage once the news of her distant relation to Mage Meadowbrook made it out to the public. She was quickly a topic of discussion, given gifts, and even offered a portrait because of her fame in genetics. As she began to enter society to get ingredients for potions or to study what plants were native to the region, the mare became friendly with a lot of her neighbors and several store ponies, feeling more and more comfortable in her hobbies as she remained in the town.

Though she did return back to the Dragonlands after Irradiance was safe and welcome in his city once more, Amber wasn’t about to skip out on visits. She made sure to check in with the ponies as often as possible, delivering information about Leviathan as he took on his new role of King of the Changelings (Irradiance was teased at the release of this knowledge. Not only was he a hero, he was royalty now! What curse did everyone else have to get to turn into a king?) and returning messages from the four ponies back to the stallion.

No longer residing in the forest, Irradiance was offered a home in Canterlot Castle after a month of living with Hibiscus.

“What?” He responded to the guards, who had arrived mid-coffee date with Cobalt, Hibiscus, and Marigold. It was a weekly thing they’d decided to do, getting coffee together. They were all busy readjusting after the fame they’d all gained in their short trip in the forest (though it felt infinite when they had lived it).

“Her Majesty requests that you move into the Canterlot Castle, Irradiance, sir!” A white Pegasus repeated, head held high as he addressed the Unicorn stallion.

“Do I have to move in, like, now?” Irradiance asked, still sipping his espresso.

“Can we move in, too?” Cobalt asked, nearly tipping Marigold’s drink on the table. The Pegasi shook their heads.

“Princess Twilight requests that only Irradiance move into the castle formally, however, she did specify that his friends are free to come and go as they wish. His partner is also welcome to permanently reside in the castle,” The second Pegasus answered. Cobalt pouted.

“Ugh, boyfriend privileges,” The blue Pegasus rolled his eyes and the two mares laughed at the reaction.

“Your moving to the Canterlot Castle has already been prepared, Irradiance. Things have been prepared and your forest abode has been investigated to ensure your new home is to your liking and a familiar scenery,” The first Pegasus explained. Irradiance marveled at the preparation. It was clear this had been in the cards for a while but the announcement was still unexpected!

“Uh, okay!” Irradiance said, finishing his espresso. “We’ll get things moving, then! Thank you!”

The four ponies made their way to Hibiscus’ home, unloading the small amount of items that Irradiance owned, packing three boxes, and making their way outside, where a carriage was already waiting.

“Her Majesty insisted we escort you,” A Unicorn spoke from the front of the carriage, as another pony opened the door for the four ponies, welcoming them inside.

“By Celestia, Irradiance!” Marigold exclaimed, excitedly making her way into the golden carriage, “I wish I had defeated Queen Lilith so I could get this treatment!”

The stallion laughed, “By all means, take it! All this special treatment is driving me crazy!”

“Really?” Cobalt asked, baffled by the statement, “I’d be in heaven with all this happening! I’m practically still training to be a Wonderbolt, but the most I’ve gotten in special treatment was that title!”

“We should all be grateful!” Hibiscus interrupted the conversation at hand, “We survived the Changeling Queen Lilith and now we know the new king! We’re some of the luckiest ponies in Equestria! We shouldn’t be comparing ourselves, we should all be glad everyone’s here and happy!”

The carriage slowly pulled up to the castle, where the door was once again opened for the ponies within, their boxes taken by a Unicorn guard so no one had to carry things as they walked in to meet the princess.

“Hey, handsome,” A guard spoke up from behind the carriage door.

“Taken,” Irradiance scoffed, mouth twisting up as he rejected the guard without looking.

“Woah! Hey!” The guard quickly ran in front of Irradiance, halting him in his tracks. “Way to welcome me back!”

Irradiance’s mouth fell open as he saw who it was: a green pegasus with a deeper green mane, and bright blue eyes, dressed in golden guard armor, “Leviathan!” The pair erupted into laughter as they embraced, Leviathan pressing kisses across the Unicorn’s face before their friends very loudly began coughing at the public display of affection.

“Very sweet, but can we get going?” Hibiscus spoke up, “Princess Twilight requested to meet us!”

“Oh!” Leviathan released the other stallion, composing himself as he allowed the group to continue walking up the steps into the castle. “Sorry! Let’s go!”

The five creatures all made their way within the large white building, marveling at the structure they were inside. At the end of the long red carpet, a violet Alicorn with a sparkling, indigo mane sat on a golden throne. Once they were right before the princess, the ponies all bowed, lowering themselves onto one foreleg.

“Oh, no!” Twilight spoke clearly, addressing her subjects with ease, “Please don’t bow! I’m just like you all, just… with a title,” She was awkward but graceful. “Please stand.”

The five ponies all stood back up, sharing glances as they all stared up at their leader, unsure who should speak first.

“I knew all the royalty stuff would be too formal,” The Alicorn rolled her eyes, walking down from her throne to stand closer to the ponies before her. “Sorry, I called you all here because I wanted to thank you for the defeat of Queen Lilith and to congratulate King Leviathan here on his takeover of the Changeling Hive. I’ve been told that your citizens have all been reformed, as well?”

Leviathan nodded, still in his green pony form, “After my transformation, all of my subjects realized that they, too, were able to create some form of magic on their own, whether through feeling a spark of love or by doing something they truly enjoyed. The hive is full of artists and lovers, now. It’s really amazing!”

Twilight giggled, happy to hear the positive news from the Red Hive, “Excellent! And please, know that the red Changelings are free to attend my university or any other location throughout Equestria. I’m sure King Thorax will be pleased to know another hive has joined Equestria’s royal alliance!” Twilight turned her gaze toward the three ponies behind both Irradiance and Leviathan, smiling appreciatively, “And you three! I want you to know how grateful both I and former Princess Celestia are that you helped return the lost student back to Canterlot. Irradiance was truly a testament to his generation when he attended Celestia’s academy!”

Hibiscus smiled up at the princess, “I know! I was aware of him throughout my studies and I recognized him when we met in the forest!”

Twilight hummed, “You are always welcome here in the castle. In fact, I would love to take you up as a professor at my university once you’ve completed all the training you believe you need at the academy!” Hibiscus gasped at the offer.

“Really?” The pink Unicorn was met with a nod from the princess. “Oh, thank you, Your Majesty!”

“Oh, you can all call me Twilight,” She waved off the title. “Now, Irradiance,” Twilight turned her attention to the purple stallion.

“Yes, Y– uh, Twilight?” The princess laughed at the attempt not to use a title.

“You remind me of myself, did you know that?” Irradiance shook his head, “In fact, all of you remind me of myself and my friends! Six ponies– er, creatures, all working together to defeat evil?” Twilight smiled as she looked upon the five ponies present, “It’s admirable. Irradiance, I’d like to offer you the choice to live within the castle and train as my next student.”

Gasps were heard from the four ponies surrounding Irradiance, who was in awe himself, staring up at Princess Twilight with wide eyes and an open mouth.

“Now, you don’t have to accept the offer right now,” Twilight continued, laughing at the responses of those before her, “In fact, if you see fit, you can outright decline my offer, I won’t be offended. But I do want you on my staff, at the very least. You’re a powerful Unicorn and it would be terrible to let you slip between my hooves.”

“Thank you, Twilight!” Irradiance thanked eagerly, looking around at his friends with a giant smile on his face.

“You can let me know tomorrow at the earliest if you’d like to be my student. For now, I want you to make yourself comfortable in the castle. If you need me, I’ll be upstairs in the observatory.” Twilight gestured for Leviathan to escort the group to Irradiance’s room.

“Why do you know where we’re going?” Marigold asked as she followed the green Pegasus up the stairs to their destination.

“I’m getting a weird sense of deja vu here,” Cobalt murmured as he followed. A few laughs came over the group.

“Ha ha!” Leviathan laughed drily, “If you weren’t aware, I was once a royal guard here. Just because I’m a king now doesn’t mean I don’t still know the floor layout of my old station!” Irradiance gave his partner a pointed look and Leviathan deflated, ears pressed against his head, “Okay, also I asked Twilight if I could show you all around.”

The five ponies finally arrived at a set of double doors, lined with gold and made of frosted glass. Leviathan pushed the doors open gently, allowing the rest of the group to look at the gorgeous interior of the room.

There was a large queen-sized bed with a white canopy overhead, a pair of stained glass doors that opened to a large balcony on the far side of the room, and a corner that had shelves upon shelves of ingredients, a picturesque replica of Irradiance’s old home in the forest. It was a tasteful way of paying homage to his old cottage while allowing the Unicorn a wonderful new home.

“Oh, wow,” Hibiscus was looking around with wide eyes and an open mouth. “You have to let me stay with you one night!”

“No way!” Leviathan countered, “I get dibs on all the nights here! A queen-sized bed?”

“Room for king-sized lovemaking,” Cobalt commented, resulting in flushed faces from the other two stallions and loud laughs from the mares present.

“Okay! That’s enough visiting!” Irradiance shooed his friends out of the room, moving them with his magic and scooting them out the doors, “I’ll talk to you all later!”

“Have fun with your bed!” Cobalt chimed, resulting in more laughter. Irradiance rolled his eyes, closing the doors on his friends and turning around to the green Pegasus.

“Absolutely insufferable,” Irradiance groaned.

“I’ve missed you,” Leviathan said, transforming into his Changeling form. Irradiance was still amazed at the color change he’d gone through with his transformation. The shift from red to purple on his thorax was enchanting if Irradiance had anything to say about it.

“I’ve missed you, too,” The purple Unicorn pressed their muzzles together, horns tapping in an affectionate gesture. “What’s it like leading the hive?” Leviathan groaned.

“It’s exhausting. Abbadon is working toward redemption, but he’s still steadfast in believing I’ve betrayed the real leader.”

“The one trapped in stone?” Leviathan nodded.

“That’s the one. I wanted to surprise you when I got here so I used the Emerald disguise again. It worked a little too well,” Leviathan thought back to the Unicorn’s arrival at the castle. “At least I know you’d never choose anyone else over me.”

“How could I?” Irradiance scoffed at the idea, “Who else fell in love with me despite all odds, actually learning love was a real emotion in the process?” Leviathan flushed red. Irradiance just smiled wider. “I’d never fall for anyone else,” He pressed a kiss to the Changeling's cheek and walked out to the balcony.

Leviathan joined him, looking out at Canterlot, watching ponies walk around on the ground below.

“What’s next?” The Changeling asked, “Still want to search for a cure?” Irradiance shook his head.

“No, I don’t think I need a cure anymore,” Irradiance sat down as he looked out, “I want to become Twilight’s student and see what I can accomplish here. She said we reminded her of her old friends, right? Maybe there’s a deeper connection there. Maybe there are more Element Trees to be discovered!”

“Maybe there is!” Leviathan chuckled as he listened to the stallion ramble on. “It’ll be tough juggling a hive and visiting you guys, but I want to stay friends with all of you and go on more adventures, battling more evil!”

“Fighting more Changeling Queens?” Leviathan was silent.

“Maybe not battling more evil… but adventures are fun, right?” Irradiance nodded happily.

“Later, though. Now, I just want to be here with you. It’s been over a month since I saw you last!” Irradiance threw his arms around the Changeling, embracing him in a tight hug.

“Should we try out the bed?” Leviathan joked, resulting in pink cheeks from Irradiance.

“Ugh, you can’t be making these jokes every night,” Irradiance waved off the joke with a hoof, still smiling. He was happy to see how far he’d come. From leaving Canterlot as a colt to living alone in the Everfree Forest for a decade, to finally making friends that he’d grown to truly adore? Irradiance couldn’t be happier. He couldn’t wait to see what would come next.

(Deep in the Everfree Forest, an Element Tree began to glow.)

Author's Note

i wrote this book in like, what. two weeks? idk. its summer and I'm literally enrolled to be an aerospace engineering major in the fall and that's hilarious??? I'm literally a brony about to make bank on engineering and I'm writing a self insert fanfiction at the age of 20 bc i finally know how to write. also, there's another book i apparently tried to write when i was like 12 called "A Sparkling Destiny." isn't that wild that i created this story 8 years later and wound up using almost the same name? entirely different plot though. i hope anyone who read this all the way through enjoyed it!! PLEASE give me criticism if i need it! I'm open to editors since i wrote and posted this all in one breath basically. Grammarly was my friend :) ok goodbye until the sequel i hope i actually write!!!!!