When They Found Us

by Zephyrus Scary

Rating: teen
Tags: Random, Princess Celestia, Sad, Main 6, Changelings, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Pinkie Pie
Length: 24627

Pinkie is Us, but We were found, and now Our only option is to run...

Pinkamena "Pinkie" Diane Pie is Us. In crazy brilliance, We made Pinkie so strange that We would never be suspected, and it worked until the very end. An end that came about, not because We failed, but because of inescapable circumstance.

Now, We must run.

We do not want to think about what they will do to Us if they catch Us.

Published 2012-11-25 22:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-09 22:52:02 UTC

When They Found Us

When They Found Us

Zephyrus Scary

It was my turn to play as “Pinkie” on that day when it happened, and even though none of Us blames me, i often wonder that there had to be a better way. Always, my musing starts at that one specific second in the late morning, as i was just pulling out the last morning batch of muffins and setting them to cool so they would be ready for lunch. I hummed as i worked, for that is part of the persona of Pinkie We designed; in the Mind, the rest of Us created a backdrop of music.

Then, the start of it all: a call to me from the Us watching the outside of Sugarcube Corner, and the singing stopped. Twilight Sparkle was approaching, of all things, the kitchen door—not the front! “-Why?-” We wondered, but there was no time for Us to ponder an answer. I zipped forward and opened the door just when the unicorn reached the doorstep. “Hey Twi!” i greeted with an energetic wave and toothy smile. Twilight only looked confused for barely half a second, and just as i felt her love begin to flow into Us—me—Pinkie—i could almost feel her dismissal of Us somehow knowing she was approaching the kitchen door. Of course, she didn’t know it was Us; she thought We were only i. Only Pinkie Pie.

For those precious few seconds as i turned back to finish my work and allowed Twilight to enter and close the door behind herself, We did not think We had any need to worry; there was no indication that We were in danger; none of Us could see that catastrophe was approaching. Looking back on it now, it seems such horrible irony that We, masters of disguise and surprise, could be snuck up upon by any danger hiding behind Twilight’s idle smile, but then, Twilight did not know—not yet—that the news she brought was a call to the gallows for Us.

“Sorry if I’m bothering you, keeping you from your-.” Twilight begins, always polite. Yes, polite… to those who she does not perceive as an enemy—We were not her enemy! No, but We knew she would think of Us that way if she knew the truth, especially after what had happened in Canterlot. Unfortunately, it had become easy for Us to forget those things that nearly ruined Pinkie—and Us; so many things had nearly revealed Us as Our Mother and Brothers and Sisters had their way with the city. Of course We knew, as all mortal things do, that Our luck would eventually run out, but at that moment We were blissfully unaware that it was so close.

“Silly filly, you’re one of my Bestest Best Best Friends Forever! Of course you’re not bothering me!” It was easy to grin that too-wide grin, then; if only i had known what i know now… i probably would have jumped out the window and ran for the relative safety of the Everfree Forest. And from there? Nothing would have changed, probably; maybe i wouldn’t have ran into-… but i’m getting ahead of Ourselves.

“Right. ‘Of course…’” Twilight sounded like she was trying hard not to roll her eyes. Of course We know that just being a best friend doesn’t mean one cannot bother each other, but do you think Pinkie would know or even entertain that thought? “Anyway,” Twilight shook her head, “don’t freak out about throwing a party or something, but Princess Celestia is coming to Ponyville-.” Just then, i knew she was trying hard to keep any of her fury from showing on her face, and that was when the first tinge of fear went through Us. “-and it’s not just a visit; it’s… Changelings.”

Our Mind went completely quiet with paralysis, even i, as Pinkie, went ice-still for a moment, and i’m still amazed that We were not found out right then and there, but i can only guess that Twilight harbored no suspicion towards any of the Bearers. Fair enough as even We did not understand why We had not been thrown out with Our Mother and Brothers and Sisters, but that was not the reason she did not suspect Us, as We found out when she took my silence as an invitation to continue.

“Apparently, some Changelings in Canterlot weren’t affected by my brother's shield—probably because of his hasty spellwork,” she added in an undertone. “It’s been bothering me for a while, but after Princess Celestia decided I was ready to start studying Blood Magic a couple weeks ago, the solution came to me! Anyway, since the spell has been perfected, we’re going to sweep Equestria city-by-city, starting with Ponyville. The Princess wants us, with the Elements of Harmony, to be there just in case of trouble, alongside a few guards my brother chose. I’m going to cast the spell during a town meeting that will be called at around one this afternoon, to which everypony is obliged to go, so… don’t tell anyone what’s really going to happen at town hall, okay?”

By the end of Twilight’s speech, i was dully astonished that i was still breathing and blinking; i thought that surely my very heart must have stopped beating from the venomous fear that it was now pumping though itself along with the rest of my body. A mental slap from one of Us through the Mind helped me say, “I Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony,” but i was capable of nothing more. It satisfied Twilight, though, and she left with a happy hum that clashed against the horrors building in Our Mind. “-escape!-” “-run!-” “-abandon!-” “-flee!-” We could see no other choice: if We wanted to survive, “Pinkie Pie” would have to “die.” We would have to leave Ponyville and bide Our time until it was safe for Us to construct a new identity with which to integrate with ponies and absorb their abundant love again—no doubt was within any one of Us that hard times were coming; that We would once again experience the Hunger which We had left the Hive to escape. The youngest of Us actually proposed going back to Queen Chrysalis, but sending over the Mind visions of what She would do to Us quieted him.

Even though i had been literally scared out of my wits, and only managed to actually start my escape with the support i received through the Mind, i began to realize how easy this would truly be. Who would question Pinkie Pie: Friend to All of Ponyville? Who would stop me and demand an explanation? To ask where i was going, and why? It should have been so simple. All i had to do was walk into the Everfree Forest; someone was sure to see me—i had no need to wait until i was sure i had a witness—and when Pinkie did not return, the ponies would (so easily) draw the conclusion that Pinkie Pie must have fallen to the many dangers there.

We felt a bit bad about it, for surely Our “death” would upset many for quite a while, and they would just as likely risk their lives searching the forest, first in hopes of saving Pinkie’s life, then in hopes of recovering her body and getting revenge on whatever might have killed her. Yes, revenge. Unfortunately, Changelings know a lot about revenge, and other sapient species’ propensity for it, even ponies, but that’s another story… a long string of stories. Anyway, at that moment, what other choice did We have? Would you expect Us to wait to be inevitably found out when Twilight cast her spell? “Pinkie” was going to die either way; We might as well save Ourselves, and if We remained in the Everfree Forest as We waited, perhaps We could keep too many ponies from dying themselves as they looked for Pinkie Pie, as unnecessary as-, and i are getting ahead out myselves again—We and Ourselves. Sometimes, in the Mind, it’s hard to tell from whom such random, off-point thoughts come from…

Just as We were thinking it wouldn’t happen, though, i ran—literally, ran—into a pony who did, indeed, ask, “Oh, Pinkam-kie Pie, where are you headed to in such a… distracted hurry?” Of course She struggled with Our disguise’s name, torn between being so used to addressing ponies by their full names and the familiarity She shares with few beyond Her Sister and the Bearers: Princess Celestia. Instantly, as my mind went blank with renewed fears, Our Mind went into overdrive as the others of Us tried to hastily pull together a plan to help me get away as quickly as possible. After all, when one of the Princesses asks one of Her ponies—or who She thinks is one of Her ponies—a question, that pony responds.

Getting back to Pinkie’s hooves from where i had fallen on the dusty road (thankfully, so i thought at the time, i hadn’t knocked Princess Celestia down), i gave what i’m sure was the most unconvincing smile that had ever and will ever be, if it hadn’t been on Pinkie’s face. I knew that i should answer soon, so i grab wildly at the thoughts flashing through the Mind. “Gummy!” i shout out like an overeager filly trying to answer the teacher’s question before anyone else can even raise their hoof. “-is…-n’t feeling well!” i go on after a moment, and i give thanks to Our ingenuity in Pinkie’s crazy design, for it’s only “her” that saves me from suspicion. “So i was…” i take way too long in trying to come up with some excuse to get Princess Celestia away from me. “-medicine-” “-herbs-” “-Zecora!-” We suggest to me. “Going to Zecora’s to see if she had a potion for… his… chickenpox!”

Princess Celestia may be called an expert in hiding Her emotions, but not in Her eyes and not from Changelings, and even though She’s not in the Mind, i could still hear the question She never voiced: “Alligators get chickenpox?” i-. We Ourselves don’t know, but it didn’t matter, because She didn’t ask, She only said, “Ah, if you want to get to Zecora’s, allow her time to find you a potion, and give Gummy his medicine before the afternoon, then I won’t hold you up any longer,” then She smiled serenely down at m- at Pinkie Pie. I waited for a moment, then, looking back into Her eyes, smiling, and committing Her face to memory; how We wished that She would look at Us like that, but i knew better: to ponies, the Mind made Us “the same.” They thought it impossible that We can both be individuals and have what they called a “hivemind;” it’s always one or the other with ponies, never “both.” Never a compromise, and if you have one hint of the “bad” attribute, everything that is “good” is wiped away. Ignored.

After that encounter, i almost, almost flew to the Everfree Forest, but i wasn’t going to risk that just then, not when i was so close, then i could fly. There were no more interruptions; We can only suppose i had a look on Pinkie Pie’s face that told everyone that i wasn’t to be bothered. Reaching the path that led into the forest, i finally slowed, then actually stopped at the point just before where the strangeness of the Everfree Forest turned the otherwise bright, sunny day into a shadowy, dusk-like darkness with little-to-no transition. I looked up into the branches and their thick cover of leaves, from where We were likely to see Ponyville from a distance for those times ahead that i was not out scrounging love from whatever sources We deemed safe for a minute or two. Then, i turned back to Ponyville, and saw the ponies milling about their peaceful lives that We had been a part of just a few minutes ago. Peace… if only We could be afforded such a luxury, but such was the lot for Our species: always suspected, never trusted, but it’s not like We could really blame anyone, especially ponies, considering what happened in Canterlot.

Yet, We yearned to stay, and not merely because We did not want to lose the great amount of food sources We had managed to gather with Pinkie Pie, but also because We honestly loved them back. Considering how dangerous Our way of life is, the ponies of Ponyville had brought smiles to Us as We worked to get them to love Pinkie Pie, and not simply because that love fed Us; in time, after We no longer had to work at getting ponies to love Pinkie, We came to see how, in getting another pony to smile, the smile was it’s own reward.

Now it was gone. Ponyville, and We, would never be the same.

I stepped under the canopy, still looking back at Ponyville to catch glimpses of the wonderful ponies that lived there (paying no mind to their hatred of Our kind, for they did not fully understand Us) until a bend in the path took me out of their line of sight. You may think it rather stupid to step into that forest without watching where i was going, but the Mind assured it was safe, so with a sigh, i then stepped off the path, dropped the Pinkie Pie disguise, and weaved between bushes and trees until i came upon a small clearing where i joined the circle where the rest of Us were waiting for me. All eight of Us stood still for a moment, the Mind in a rare state of quiet—sometimes, when i look back on that moment, i like to think We were giving “Pinkie Pie” a moment of silence for her death, but i know that We were only stunned by the irreversible consequences of what had just taken place. Yes, We had known what was going to happen as soon as Twilight had said the word “Changelings” back in Sugarcube Corner, but in the panic of Our escape, the facts had not sunk in until that moment. We had spent so long as Pinkie Pie, after all—over a decade, at that point—and now it was over, just like that. Not even a goodbye to a single pony; it couldn’t be risked. We hadn’t thought of leaving a note, but even if We had tried to explain why We had to leave in some kind of good bye letter, nopony would have believed it, and it was too late by then, anyway; We couldn’t risk going back.

At once, We all flew forward and hugged. You may think it strange, and think the Mind provides an intimacy that no other creature could experience without a very specialized mind-linking spell, but We had learned so much from ponies and their physical intimacy. You probably won’t be so surprised to hear that there was no such thing as physical intimacy back at the Hive. It was not as if We and Our Mother and Brothers and Sisters did not care for one another; comforting through the Mind is as common and easy as hugging is for ponies, and the gesture is filled with care and love, but once We experienced the physical intimacy of ponies, We found something about the Mind strangely lacking in some ethereal thing that hugs and other such pony gestures contained. We have wondered if perhaps it is this lacked “thing” which has resulted in Our Mother’s and the Hive’s general lack of empathy towards Our food, at least maybe partially, but without even understanding what hugs provided, how could We, or anyone, know?

Hours later, We separated from the hug, and a question floated through the Mind: “-what now?-” None of Us answered. We truly did not know. As i said, We had spent so long as Pinkie Pie, We had by then mostly forgotten the techniques We had used before, when We were with the Hive. We knew We had to stay out of sight from Zecora and anyone who came into the forest, but how? We had become so used to being able to spring out of Our hiding spot in Pinkie’s many random, physics-breaking ways, that Our skills had deteriorated. And what were We to do in the meantime? If ever one of Us got too bored, it was easy to arrange a switch through the Mind, and it had not been uncommon for all eight of Us to play Pinkie for at least a couple minutes each every day (though the the role of “main actress” was taken in turns, day-by-day).

In the end, it was not Us who decided what to do when We found out We had spent far too much time in that clearing so close to the edge of the Everfree Forest—too close. No, what decided Our fate then is exactly what We were fearing: Twilight and Princess Celestia’s voices came from the path.

“-can’t have, since I asked Zecora to come into town today to be tested with everyone else, but… as soon as she reached the hut, she should have seen Zecora wasn’t home and come right back into town… Ohhh, I feel like I’m missing something, and for once I really hope I did, because otherwise Pinkie is out here alone and probably hurt or trapped or-!” She sounded horribly worried about Pinkie Pie, which would have made Us feel even worse if We were not so worried about Ourselves, and though We tried to suppress it, it is true that Changelings subconsciously buzz their wings when anxious or angry.

“-or perhaps, my dear student,” Princess Celestia interrupted gracefully, “She simply thought that Zecora was out gathering ingredients, decided to wait until she returned, and lost track of the time.” If We had been in any state to, We would have taken this examination of Our constructed personality as criticism, for Pinkie would not have simply waited around—Something that Twilight, in Our place, spotted as a snag in the Princess’s supposition.

“Yes, waiting… in a hut filled with herbs and potions that do who-knows-what if mixed inappropriately… Some of those potions probably unfinished and could make a pony horribly sick in-!” Twilight was interrupted by something yet unknown to Ourselves, but it was revealed soon enough when Twilight had calmed enough to speak relatively normally. “What was that again, Fluttershy?”

The Mind was suddenly filled with thoughts again. “-Fluttershy?-” “-i thought it was just Twilight and the Princess!-” “-are the rest of the Bearers here, too?-” “-does it matter? We need to run!-” But We didn’t run, We flew, and as We took off, deeper into the forest, i chanced a look back, and saw that We had fled not a moment too soon, as Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack jumped out of the foliage and into the clearing, not breaking stride as they ran after Us, Princess Celestia galloping gracefully behind them.

But there was only six of them. “-split up-” i suggested, and We divided, first into four groups of two, tricking them into thinking We would split no further, so that they thought it would be safe for they themselves to split up without losing Us—it worked, and i and another one of Us got Princess Celestia chasing Us by herself. Further along, We split again, and through the Mind We all heard Rainbow Dash and the Princess curse at the necessity of losing one to continue the chase—Princess Celestia, to my luck, continued chasing me, so i was left to wishing that, whatever may happen, the other whom i had helped escape by distracting the Princess would continue to survive.

That’s how i started out, anyway, when i saw that it was i the Princess decided to continue chasing, but as powerful as both Princesses are, neither of them had spent a decade absorbing power from the love of an entire town’s worth of ponies. Even as i weaved through branches that Princess Celestia thoughtlessly cut away with spell after spell, i found that my speed, agility, and endurance somehow held out to the point where i almost lost Her by diving into a chasm that was halfway to becoming a small canyon.

I realized my mistake as soon as Princess Celestia, in awe-inspiring power and grace, glided after me and the spells that once cut a path for Her were being aimed at me now that there were no trees and bushes to block Her line of sight! I weaved as much as i could, but that only helped Her begin to gain up on me again, and though i used the remains of rockslides to cover me as often as i ran across them, they were too little in number to, by themselves, save me. When i noticed a shadow of a cave, i thought i might, might find some way to lose the Princess in there, and in a way, i did, but not by going into the cave.

When one of the Princesses spells exploded against a rock just outside the cave, a great, annoyed roar followed, and just as i came upon the cave, intending to turn and dive into it, instead a manticore leapt out and with a powerful swipe, knocked me into the opposite wall, where i fell in a heap, one of my wings broken and twitching in pain.

I couldn’t afford to pay any attention to that, however; if i was not to survive, i was determined to at least buy as much time as possible, so jumped to my legs, ignoring the pain, and glanced between the two threats. The manticore looked mildly wary, possibly because i had so quickly gotten to my hooves and stood so resolutely after such a blow, and Princess Celestia skidded to a halt in a way that would have been comical had i been in another mindset, and jumped behind a boulder. I can only guess that She must have thought She could watch, preserve Her energy, and, if i managed to defeat the manticore, She would be able to take me down easily: a pretty much ironclad strategy, unfortunately for me, but as i said, i was still determined to buy the rest of Us time, if nothing else.

Turning back to the manticore, however, i fleetingly wondered whether fleeing would be the better option. Fight or flee. I could still run, even though my wing was broken, but what if the chasm ended with a cliff that would trap me, instead of a slope up which i could run? As the manticore and i squared and circled each other, i wavered between the two options until a third suddenly burst forth, not from the Mind, but memory: kindness.

We had been Pinkie Pie for more than a decade, long before the return of Nightmare Moon, and that fateful night We would be chosen; even the youngest of Us, who had joined Us barely a year before the day when the found Us, knew what had happened thanks to the Mind. Just show a little kindness, i tried to work myself up for the inevitable moment, but as i stood hoof to toe with a growling manticore, of course there was the thought in the back of my head, and in the Mind, “-are you sure will it work?-”

What i wasn’t sure of, though, was that i would be able to survive—that i would be able to defeat both a manticore and an alicorn, alone, one after the other. So, i did the only thing that provided the only glimmer of hope, no matter how faint: i relaxed, slumped, sat down, and thought to myself, I’m a Changeling! This is what i was born to do! If i can get ponies to like me, i should be able to do the same with a manticore! After all, it’s not angry with me because of what i am; i don’t need a disguise, just good intentions. As i gave myself this prep talk, i could feel the confusion build in both the manticore and Princess Celestia.

Yes, i am a Changeling. How many times had i seen Fluttershy’s kindness in action? All i needed to do was copy her techniques, so i thought. I pulled myself back into a standing position, and the manticore tensed, as i predicted, but not as much as it had been before. Encouraged, i walked slowly, nonchalant as possible, up to the manticore. “-be completely without chalant-” came a sudden thought over the Mind, and i inexplicably giggled (multiplying Princess Celestia’s confusion), even as the manticore raised a paw and extended its claws in warning. “-you got this-” came another thought, and indeed i did, as i raised one of my hooves to meet the paw, and began to pet it. Slowly, i worked my way up the leg to the beast’s neck, which i then hugged with one foreleg as i pet its rough mane with the other. Soon enough, it began to purr and stood, apparently intent on carrying me into its home, but remember what i said about entering the cave?

With the manticore’s back turned to Princess Celestia, and therefore i capable of seeing Her from my position on the neck, She stepped out from behind the boulder, horn ready, and fired a bolt of destructive energy. It did nothing more than singe the littlest bit of fur on the manticore’s mane just above my head, and though We will never know whether She missed on purpose—i doubt She will ever tell a single soul—the manticore did not care. What it did think, i can only guess: it may have thought that i had been acting as a diversion so Princess Celestia could attack. All i really know, based on the sudden pain, coupled with blurred vision followed by darkness, is that it saw me as an enemy again.

After what felt like an hour, though i know was only a second or two, the manticore stepped off of my head, and i turned to see the thing that i was sure had sealed my fate: no, not Princess Celestia: the manticore’s scorpion-like tail, its tip punched into my side. Of course i hadn’t felt it; manticore venom is the most powerful anesthetic and paralytic known, and the tip of the tail, where the sac is, was as large as my head. My brain seemed convinced, though, that it could feel the venom being pumped into me, even as i knew the truth, though even i must admit that it seemed impossible i could not feel it, for i saw cracks appear in my chitin as my body was literally inflated with the amount of venom pumped into me.

When the manticore finally jerked its tail out of me, i could “feel” the paralysis beginning to creep up my neck, though the monstrous venom left my lungs and heart working, so i turned, with the last of my strength, to look at Princess Celestia. The manticore had gotten a similar idea, swiveling on its agile feet to face its other opponent, but the Princess disappeared with a flash. The manticore turned around swiftly, looking around and even up at the top of the two cliffs that surrounded us, but by the fact i had seen no second flash that would have signaled Her reappearance, i knew She had left me to my fate. My fate… it felt so strange that just that morning—just hours ago—my only worry had been getting the muffins done in time for lunch…

Then the manticore turned back to me, and-… What happened next… i do not quite know how to describe it, and i never dared share it over the Mind, so i cannot and will not ask for help… How could i possibly convey with words how it feels to hear a manticore bite through my chitin completely painlessly, and tear one of my hindlegs off? To try to describe the sound of the crunch of my shell between its impossibly sharp teeth, and the horrific wet sounds as it bit into my hip and slurped at my insides… is unthinkable. The painlessness and helplessness of it all was more complete than any other situation i can imagine; i couldn’t twitch even one of my remaining hooves, and my entire neck was by then paralyzed, so even if my horn was not also rendered useless by the venom, i couldn’t aim. All i could do was listen to myself being eaten by the manticore—i had even cut myself off from the Mind so i could not, even inadvertently, transfer the sensations of my torture to the rest of Us.

That was the only time in my life i had not had others’ thoughts, and-… … … I know that some of you think hearing voices that are not your own in your mind makes one insane; it’s the opposite for Changelings. Without the Mind to ground me, i began having impossible thoughts and visions for the future, and the fact that i was going to die being eaten was lost behind plans for a future that no longer existed for me. Dimly, with what felt like the last of my sanity, i realized my insane visions were not going to allow me the final pleasure of watching my life flash before me—my last thoughts were going to be of living alone with a manticore sex slave, and not of one of the many moments with the ponies of Ponyville that i cherished most dearly, but even if i had had the reason to remember i could reconnect to the Mind, i wouldn’t have… Still, i would never wish such a thing on any creature. Living is hard enough; death should be as comfortable as it can be made to be…

If i had not been so foolish, i would have known that the rest of Us had already thrown off their pursuers and were planning a rescue. As the manticore swallowed another bit of me (how that muted gulping sounded so loud to my ears), i heard a buzzing that quickly grew in volume. I saw nothing but a few flashes of the green light of Changeling magic, then a spurt of the manticore’s red blood sprayed the ground, followed by a great tremor in the ground when it’s heavy body nearly fell on me. When the green light came again, moving the body away into the cave, a great force suddenly fell upon my thoughts. I resisted, but not for long—i was too weak—and the Mind was forced upon me, driving away the visions, but their remnants, like shadows in the corner of the eye, would have left me shivering if my body had been able.

You can probably reason for yourself that i was not rescued to save my life, only to recover my body and keep me comfortable as i bled to death. The other seven of Us stepped around into my frozen vision, hardly looking like they had just escaped being captured and executed and had killed a manticore—Our chitin is rather durable. Through the Mind, i received the Final Gift—a tradition of Changelings, in which the Mind is completely saturated with memories of happy times—as all of Us began to cry, and i could feel their want to hug me, but they were scared of hurting me further, so they settled with holding on to each other.

However, We had let down Our guard too soon; The rest of Us had spent too much energy on killing the manticore. Why had none of Us realized that Princess Celestia would check to make sure i had, indeed, been eaten? It’s easy to ask that question now, out of the heat of the moment… There was a flash of brilliant, momentarily blinding light, but We didn’t need to see to know that Princess Celestia had regathered the other Bearers and now had Us surrounded; Twilight and the Princess were on opposite sides—“-smart-” We thought, “-spreading out the two most magically capable ones-”. I would have added my voice to the cries of alarm and wails of despair that rose from the rest of Us, but though i was still yet breathing, i could not control it, so the only sign from me was an involuntary increase in my breathing rate.

The rest of Us didn’t care any more; it was over for Us anyway, after all, so they huddled up against me and pulled me into the hug, and i vaguely felt the loss of some pressure between my insides as a little bit of me fell out of the hole in my side. None of Us even tried to raise some kind of defense as i saw, thought the Mind with another one of Our’s eyes, Celestia step forward, always so gracefully, with Her head held high, but Her horn lowered guardedly. She needn’t have bothered.

The Mind then became so filled with memories of the life We had shared with the other Bearers—all the good and bad—it was almost dizzying; it felt like We were trying to squeeze a whole life’s worth of memories into one second. Of course, We also should have realized that We wouldn’t be killed right there—not until We had been interrogated. “What,” the Princess’s voice was filled with such a fury that was only ever directed towards those few things She hated. Yes, hated. “-have you done with Pinkie Pie?”

As soon as She spoke that first syllable, the question had been expected by Us, but We had no thought as to how to answer. What could We say? Were We to tell the truth and have it dismissed a lie? If We were to lie, then in what way? Could any of Us be able to bring Ourself to say, “Dead. We killed her”? We considered simply remaining silent, but i pressed that that would only be worse for the rest of Us in the long run, but that didn’t help Us come up with anything to say, so We said the only thing of which We could think, in a way.

“Dead,” the youngest of Us said, looking up. “You killed her.” For a moment—just a millisecond, but it felt like it lasted for the life of the universe—Princess Celestia looked like She had just been told Her Sister had turned again into Nightmare Moon; We could practically see Her frantically searching Her mind for any act She had taken that might have led to the death of one of Her ponies, no matter how farfetched the chain of events. We don’t know how the other Bearers reacted, because the youngest of Us was focused solely on the Princess, and the rest of Us, minus me, had turned to stare at the youngest. Yes, in a way it was the truth: We had been forced to abandon the persona that was “Pinkie Pie,” “killing” her, but it was no better—it would be no more believed—than the truth of who Pinkie had actually been.

“Princess-?”
“Did it just say-!”
“Oh my!”
“What-…?”
“Don’t. Use. Her. Voice.” Applejack spoke above her friends; her words not shouted, but her tone instantly made them quiet. The rest of Us looked between each other, “-how can We possibly answer without?-”

“Sorry,” the youngest went on, again without Us “but-what-voice-are-We-to-use?” the youngest continued quickly, when Applejack opened her mouth to admonish the use of Pinkie’s voice. At the Earth pony’s confused blink, We anticipated her next question, and cut her off. “We—Changelings—have no voice to call Our own, so… who’s voice are We to copy?” It was an honest question; if they were uncomfortable with Our use of Pinkie’s voice, as much as We thought of it as “Our voice,” We would use any other they designated.

Applejack took a moment to mull this over, and looked between each of the other Bearers before turning back to the youngest of Us and growling in frustration before simply shaking her head jerkily—We took it to mean it didn’t matter, and We were more or less right.

In the meantime, it seemed that Princess Celestia had regained Her wits, and asked, “What do you mean, ‘I killed her?’” Her voice was even, as smooth as steel.

“Obviously, they’re lyin’,” Applejack said, but her voice was notably weaker than before, and she was looking to the side, not at anyone, and We could tell that everyone knew she, Honesty, wasn’t completely sure about that.

“-could this-?-”

The youngest of Us stared passively at Applejack for a moment, expecting her to continue, but that she did not. “You were going to expose her, and hunt her. Kill her, so she had no choice but to disappear forever. Now, she’s going to die; very soon, We expect.” I frowned with the rest of Us at the youngest of Us saying such things with such obvious implications. Applejack didn’t move from looking off to the side, but Rainbow Dash finally landed from hovering over Us—obviously to catch Us if We had it in Us to even attempt to flee again—with her head tilted.

Princess Celestia glared at the youngest of Us for a moment, who didn’t waver even as the Princess’s eyes ever so slowly narrowed. In time, She began to step forward again, and the rest of Us huddled closer, pulling me in, and they whimpered, while my jaw slacked open so i drooled onto one of Us as my fang scraped against chitin. From this viewpoint, i saw Princess Celestia walking around the huddle to me, whereupon She lowered Her horn to my torn open side, and with another flash of sun-bright magic, i was healed completely. My leg was back, along with my missing insides, my wing was made flightworthy, and my chitin was whole again where it had been broken from my body being inflated by the injection of venom, and of the venom itself, its effects had been wiped away: i could move again, and the first thing i did, ignoring the fact i was still covered with my own green blood, was join the hug with the rest of Us.

The Princess then stepped back and, with Her voice as emotionless as before, ordered, “Make your case.”

We all blinked somewhat dumbly at this, until We realized what She truly must have planned: She was going to break down what She thought of as Our lies until We said what She wanted to hear. “-no- -We’re not going to fall into that trap- -She’s giving Us a chance- -We might as well try to use it to Our benefit than Her’s-” i encourage, but how could We do what i had said? I closed my eyes and tuned out—not blocked off—the Mind, and… eventually, i cried out with anxious enthusiasm, “Pinkie Sense!”

I paid no attention to anyone else, even as the Mind was filled with questions, i didn’t bother responding, as i was about the answer out loud. Swiveling around, i pointed to Twilight Sparkle with a hoof, who took what We imagine was an involuntary step back. “Remember when you were trying to study Our ‘Pinkie Sense,’ and what happened after you gave up trying to study Pinkie with the machines in the library basement?” She opened her mouth, but i quickly went on before she could ruin my proof. “As you and ‘Pinkie’ were walking up the stairs, Spike slammed the door open and squished you between the door and wall!” That made Twilight blush at the embarrassing memory, and pull her head back, showing she was surprised i knew that, because, “The only ones who would know that happened, is you, Spike, and Pinkie. I’m guessing, by that blush, you didn’t tell anyone, and maybe even asked Spike never to mention it, so We’re the only… three who should know that irrelevant-to-Pinkie detail.”

Twilight bit her lip, and Princess Celestia gave me a small frown—We had one point, but it wasn’t enough. “-there has to be more- -more events that no one witnessed, and none of the Bearers would talk about, and no Changeling would think of asking about-” “The surprise party,” i said, turning to Rainbow Dash next, and for her part, she only pulled her body back without moving her hooves, in a way as if she were trying to walk against a strong wind. “When you came to Pinkie to try to get her to come to the surprise party that the five of you put together for her, you came across a Pinkie throwing a party with a bag of flour, bucket of turnips, pile of rocks, and fluff of lint… and when you tried to push her out the door, she sat, hard, down on your head.”

When i finished, Twilight giggled at what “Pinkie” had done, but silenced herself quickly, and Rainbow Dash… didn’t look convinced. “Wait…” she eventually said. “If that was, uh, one of you, why did you get all mopey and… depressed?” As Rainbow asked this, the youngest of Us knew where she was headed, and slowly pulled out of the hug to drop on all fours, and promptly began to shuffle awkwardly.

“That was… bad luck? It was my first day, and when… everything that happened on that day… happened, i worried that i had somehow messed up, and cut myself off from the Mind…”

“Which is a very bad thing for a Changeling to do,” another one of Us jumped in to explain. “Being alone… left completely and only to One’s own thoughts, literally drives a Changeling crazy.” “-are you trying to make them more efficient Changeling-torturers!-” “-ponies never do anything that doesn’t benefit themselves in some way- -even if they could find a way to break the Mind, a sane prisoner is safer and a better source of intel-” “-if your so sure, why don’t you offer to help them figure out a spell to break the Mind?!-” “-quiet!-“

Trying to ignore the argument, i glanced at Princess Celestia to see what She thought, and with Her eyebrows raised, i imagined She thought the “separating from the Mind, which means going insane” seemed a little to convenient. Really, how could She take Us at Our word about Changeling mental health when She didn’t believe We were Pinkie Pie? “-more- -something else- -something that requires as little explanation as possible…-” “Mare Do Well!” i shouted; it seemed so obvious and simple, now: “No one knows it was the Bearers who were Mare Do Well, so no one but we know ‘Pinkie’ used Our ‘Pinkie Sense’ to save the construction workers! And… We are absolutely certain none you ever talked about that particular detail!” Of course, We were less than certain, far less than what i had said, but it was the only thing i could think of that was airtight—i’d considered things like Discord and the Poison Joke, but they had holes that would be quick and easy to be point out.

It seemed as though i was right, for Princess Celestia looked around for an explanation. “-even She doesn’t know-” We all watched, wings buzzing, as the other Bearers looked between themselves, and if We didn’t know better, We would have thought they had a Mind of their own. This time, it didn’t feel very long before all five turned to Princess Celestia and nodded, smiling. “-that… did it?-” “-it did-” “it did!-” “-is it over?-”

We turned to the Princess, but the answer came from behind, and We all jumped when Rainbow Dash crashed into Us, but it was only a tackle-hug. “So,” Twilight said from over Rainbow Dash’s shoulder when We turned around into the hug, “This is what the ‘Pinkie Sense’ really is, isn’t it? All of you together, and the hivemind-?” Twilight was starting to approach Us, and We were going to correct her about the hivemind, but Princess Celestia spoke first.

“Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash,” Her voice was as cold as before, and when We turned around, We saw that She had regained Her glare; She didn’t look away from Us as She continued to address Twilight. “This only proves that they had been Pinkie Pie since… this Mare Do Well incident, no more than that.” Twilight stopped midstep, and Rainbow Dash quickly pulled away, looking unsure, and you might think it was good that she hadn’t gone all the way back to angry, but it didn’t matter, truly. How were We to prove that We had always been Pinkie Pie? We had, perhaps, been a little bit too thorough in making sure Pinkie existed everywhere she was supposed to, even on paper—Our plans to make sure We weren’t suspected had instead turned on Us, and now trapped Us instead. We couldn’t think of a single way We might even begin to prove Pinkie hadn’t existed before We came along, but they were waiting, impatient. Neither could We think of any way to admit that We didn’t have proof, so We, as one, simply bowed Our heads and began to cry silently. We knew it wasn’t over. They weren’t going to just abandon their Pinkie Pie like that; We would be interrogated until We starved, were “accidentally” killed, or told them something they could believe. We couldn’t… do anything, and it was then the helplessness that i had felt before permeated though all of Us and the Mind went blank—We had already performed the Final Gift for each other just minutes ago, remember.

“I-…” It was Twilight that finally broke the silence, but with nothing more than that one syllable. Not one of Us bothered to look up at her. What would be the point? What did it matter what she said or did? Captured and before Princess Celestia, We realized that We should have never gotten Our hopes up; from the second She had teleported the other Bearers around Us in a barricade, Our fate had been written in something far stronger and more resilient than stone. The only thing We did was shiver and cry and occasionally shift, trying to keep as close together as possible, for there was no doubt in any of Us that We would be split up after what We had said about Changelings being alone—they didn’t trust Us, but that would keep them from trying anything to get to the truth of a Bearer’s fate.

“Ah-… I-…” Twilight sounded like she was really bracing herself for something, and We could only imagine it being anything but kind towards Us, so We only squeezed together even tighter, in turn bracing Ourselves. Twilight took a moment to breathe deeply a few times, and from their silence, We guessed that the others were content to give her that time—We did not mind this silent moment Ourselves; anything that got Us more time together, physically, was welcome. Finally: “I…” and for a second it seemed as if she wasn’t going to be able to finish yet again, but she did, “… believe them.”

We expected Princess Celestia to ask the obvious question, but it was Rarity who got there first. “I’m sorry, but what do you mean, you ‘believe’ them? These things can’t be trusted!” And still We didn’t bother looking up; We knew it was all just uninformed mortal-squabbling to Princess Celestia. Ignorable.

“I trust them, because Mare Do Well happened before my brother’s wedding. She stood by- They stood by us… and fought against their own kind! And I never noticed a break in Pinkie’s character, like I did with Cadance, not even the tiniest change… Then there’s the little things: small hints, like how Pinkie is desperate to be friends with everyone in town, but is kind of… awkward or outright clueless about certain social things. Then there’s all the stuff that Pinkie does that can’t be explained, but while Earth pony magic is well-studied, we know practically nothing, really, about Changeling magic.” As she speaks, she grows more confident and finishes by putting a hoof on one of Our shoulders, but We daren’t believe that such a feeble argument could sway Princess Celestia. It was just “belief” and “trust” and a couple bits of disconnected, circumstantial observations! We do not know what the other Bearers were thinking, for they did not move to support either Twilight or Princess Celestia.

No one said anything for a moment, and when Princess Celestia spoke, She sounded wary, more so wary than We imagined She could ever sound. “So… you trust these Changelings? You believe that there had never been a pony by the name of Pinkamena Diane Pie, and that she was, instead, invented by these Changelings?” Out of the corner of one of Our eyes, We saw Twilight nod even before the Princess finished Her questions. “I see… Then it appears that, after so long, I must once again take the direct approach to your lessons.”

“Huh?” Twilight exclaimed, with not a little fear, and you might think it comforting that she was scared on Our behalf, but how were We to feel, sure that Princess Celestia was going to kill Us, even after Twilight had decided to believe that We were Pinkie? After all, if she had still thought of Us as her enemy, at least Our death would bring her no grief, and when Pinkie was never seen again, she could blame Pinkie’s death on Us, comforting herself with the idea that We had been adequately punished for Our crime… but no, now the Princess was going to make a demonstration of Us—of what Changelings really were.

“Changelings,” Princess Celestia said as She walked up to Us, and when none of Us looked up, She forced Us to turn to Her with Her magic; Her eyes roved over Us before settling on me. “I have for you all a spell of Blood Magic.” Twilight gasped, fearful, yet incapable of completely hiding her excitement. “It can seal an agreement between two creatures. You will tell us what happened to Pinkie Pie, and I will let you go. If one of us breaks the Blood Promise, that one dies.” Her horn lit without waiting for a response, and a magic blade sliced against Her shoulder; then removing Her shoe, She brought one of Her forehooves up to the cut and a drop of what We tentatively call blood, for what ever it was was impossible to see as it shimmered like the Sun reflected in gently rippling water, dribbled onto the underside of Her hoof. Another spell, and the cut was healed; then She held out Her hoof as if for a hoofshake, and stared pointedly at my own hooves, which were still soaked, along with most of the rest of me, with my blood.

Do you think i had a choice? No, but i had a plan, so i stepped away from the rest of Us without too much fear, and lifted my hoof to meet Hers; still, i couldn’t suppress the shivers that ran through me at the thought of me, a Changeling, touching Princess Celestia, and without a disguise! Another spell, taking slightly longer to cast, and which caused the Princess’s horn to appear soaked with red blood, but only appear, and only for a moment, and i realized our hooves seemed glued together as my shivering caused Her leg to shake in perfect synchrony.

“Now, we state the conditions of our agreement,” Princess Celestia looked over at Twilight, sounding as if this was all happening in a classroom. “The caster goes first,” She further elaborated as She turned back to me. “I make this promise that shall be bound to my blood: I will allow you and your fellow Changelings here to go free, never to be hunted again until after you steal another’s identity, if you fulfill your end of this Blood Promise. So I swear, under penalty of death. Now, state your end of the promise, starting and finishing the same way I did.”

There was no visual indication of anything happening, but when She finished Her end of the Promise, i felt a pulse of something against the hoof connect to Her, and the only way We can think to describe it is that it felt as if the blood vessels of Her body were fighting to intertwine with mine. “I make this Promise… that shall be bound to my blood: i will reveal the true fate of the pony Pinkamena ‘Pinkie’ Diane Pie as soon as i finish this Blood Promise… So i swear, under penalty of death.” I gasp when i feel something in my hoof, as if… something had grown beyond the normal boundaries of my body and had become part of something not-me. Then… i wait. Wait for the Blood Promise to strike me down.

… but nothing happens; as the seconds tick on, everyone else slowly comes to realize that i was not dead, even though i clearly broke the Promise as i worded it. There was nothing left to do; i felt the spell release, and the “thing” retreat back into my own body, so i set my hoof down, and frowned, staring straight into Princess Celestia’s wide, bewildered eyes. “Very clever, thinking you could get me to say something without actually binding yourself to any promise ‘under penalty of death,’ Princess Celestia.”

The Princess didn’t lower Her hoof, but instead brought it up and stared at the now-smeared Sun-bright “blood” which had become mixed with green; noticing this, i glanced down at the bottom of my own hoof, and squinted at the streaks of shimmering stuff there and in the dirt where i had put my hoof, then i returned to the huddle of the rest of Us before turning back to the Princess, who was still staring at Her hoof. i hoped that She was beginning to see the implications, considering what ponies believed about Our Mind; that if one of Us had refused to say anything under penalty of death, so too would We all. Again, We expected the Princess to speak, but that was not what happened.

“Wait. What… does this mean?” Twilight sounded confused at first, but quickly her voice grew frantic. “I felt it. I felt the power behind the Blood Magic! You couldn’t have faked that! Changeling!” she turned to me, then. “The Princess wasn’t faking! She definitely cast some kind of Blood Magic spell! -but… what? -and why?” Of course… We should have suspected this, for indeed i felt some power connect my hoof to hers, but the question remained of what exactly that was. Everyone turned back to the Princess who, in the meantime, had turned away and stepped silently out of the circle; She had left the one shoe off, leaving hoofprints behind Her of mixed green and shining blood.

“I did not lie about the spell I cast; that was the Blood Promise, but…” Princess Celestia let out a shaky sigh and turned to Us with one eye, which was not narrowed with anything even vaguely hateful. “There is only one reason that spell would fail to kill upon being broken: at least one of the conditions in one or both Promises is impossible to fulfill.” Twilight tilted her head, but only for a moment; she looked like she had come to a realization as the Princess continued. “Going over the Promises we just made, I can think of only condition that would be impossible: ‘the-.’”

“‘-pony Pinkamena ‘Pinkie’ Diane Pie.’ ‘Pony.’” Twilight finished for her mentor, who turned her head to face away again. “That would be impossible… if there was no pony with that name… which means-.” She started shivering, but not with coldness or fear, and she was smiling at Us; she also seemed incapable of going on, but she didn’t really need to. “Wait. Again. My brother’s spell-. Why it failed on you and the other Changelings… wasn’t because of his spellwork, but because the spell wasn’t Blood Magic in the first place! -and! -it was powered with love! Which-!” Twilight finally noticed how everyone was staring in confusion, and she settled back sheepishly. “What I mean, is that the Changelings who hadn’t affected by the spell aren’t our enemies!”

Rainbow Dash didn’t crash into Us this time, but instead We, grinning Our best Pinkie grins, all transformed at the same time in a great green bonfire of magic before launching Our now-Pinkie-ified selves at the five friends We had lost and regained in the same day. Or rather, five of Us took one friend each while three of Us, including me, simply hugged each other in tearful gratefulness. Still, though, Rainbow Dash looked up from her hug after a little while, and seeing the seven other Pinkies around, said, “You know, guys… if we found out yesterday that Pinkie is actually eight Pinkies, without the whole Changeling thing, I wouldn’t have thought anything was out of the ordinary.” And given the laughing from everyone else, We think it’s safe to say that all the others agreed.

All except one, anyway.

I broke away from the hug, assuring though the Mind that i was fine, and moved towards where Princess Celestia was still turned away from the reunion. Her head was down, Her eyes were closed, and at the corners of those eyes, shimmering tears—literally shimmering, like Her blood—had collected. I paused just a foot or two away, wondering whether this was truly a good idea, but then, why would it not be? When was hugging someone who was crying ever a bad idea? So it was that easy to take those last few steps and make Princess Celestia gasp in shock when i wrapped my forehooves around the nonbloodied foreleg.

“Hey! You know what this calls for?” one of Us who did not have a Bearer to hug now had Changeling wings on Pinkie’s back, and was buzzing above everyone, pointing down at them. At the call, Princess Celestia had turned at last, me still attached to Her leg.

However, We didn’t get to answer Ourself, for just then Princess Celestia lifted the forehoof that i wasn’t clinging to, and pointed straight up; a movement that caught everyone’s attention.

“Peace!”

But yes, of course a party was still thrown. Many, actually.

“-and that’s how you were made!”

When I Found Peace

When They Found Us

Zephyrus Scary

~~Epilogue:~~

~~Optional Extended Ending:~~

Part Two:

When I Found Peace

What? You want to know what happened to Us afterwards? … Well, it’s not very exciting.

-or interesting.

-or important.

-or ANYTHING that makes a good story.

-but if you’re insistent, i’ll tell you what happened.

Don’t say it like that!

If We’re telling the story, We’re ALL helping!

-but i started this story! It’ll be confusing if We switch narrators now!

You’ve had enough time in the spotlight! Give someone else a chance!

All i’m just saying is that they’re not used to thinking of Us as both a collective and individuals, so-.

-so this is the perfect opportunity!

Sometimes i can’t believe i share my Mind with you! You have no sense for storytell-.

I’ll teach you ‘sense’!

THUMP

Hisssssss

Wait!

Bzzz

Grrr… bark! bark bark!

You-!

CRASH

Krrrrik-k-kii!

Oh, dear…

CRACK-smack… FLUMP-thu-thump-SMASH

What under Celestia’s Sun is-?! You two STOOOOOOOOOOP!

…

Ah… … … Miss Sparkle-…

… When did you get back?

We thought you-MPH!

…

… … … …

Now, thanks to you two, this classroom is a disaster area! … Urgh… I suppose I have no choice but to finish today’s lesson tomorrow. Class dismissed…

shuffleshuffleshuffleshuffle…

Okay, We’ll just-.

HOLD IT! You two-! uh… Whichever two of you were wrestling just now are going to clean this!

Wha-!? -but i was going to… finish Our… story…

… Can’t the other seven tell it just as well?

Six of Us can…

Oh! Right; I almost forgot. So what’s the problem, exactly?

It’s about… consistency! You know how Changelings’ Minds work, and i narrated at least 98% of the story so far! I just needed a little help with… the you-know-what parts…

Then I guess you’ll just have to trust the others can do the rest justice, won’t you?

… Fine. All that’s left is an epilogue, anyway, and i wasn’t planning on saying anything about what happened afterward, so i haven’t thought about what to say…

‘Afterward’? Weren’t you-? Oooh!… You mean-

Alright, is everyone here? We wouldn’t want anyone to miss out—this is the real ending!

With Princess Celestia’s declaration, We grabbed Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack and carried them up to the top of the cliff; from there We all began making Our way back to Ponyville. You might ask why Princess Celestia didn’t teleport Us, but She later admitted She hadn’t thought of it Herself because She was, as She put it, “distracted” (along with everypony else, notably Twilight), but We would say something more like… “distressed,” and We didn’t need to be connected to Her or anypony’s mind to know why. None of Us were keen to bring up the topic She was surely stewing Herself in, though, not even the Bearers… except, of course, for one you know quite well.

“Princess…” Twilight finally broke the silence that might have very well been a powerful spell that only she could break. All of Us, some flying—buzzing—over the procession, instantly turned to her and frantically shook Our heads, begging her not to ask the question We could similarly hear so plainly in her mind, even though that was just as literally impossible. “What happened… in Canterlot?” Everyone froze, and those Us who had been flying all but dropped to the ground as We all lowered Our heads and eyes; of course the topic was unavoidable—it had to be addressed sometime, if the bodies of those innocent Changelings were to be handled properly honorably.

The Princess sighed as She walked forward a few steps before turning around and looking between the eight of Us; i somewhat idly thought She looked as if She was about to give some announcement. Instead, She came back to Us, hugged one of Us to Her chest, which the rest of Us took as an invitation to hug Her, then She choked out, “I’m… sorry. I have-… I forgot something… so important that I am ashamed to admit I could ever overlook it, no matter what that Changeling Queen, or anything, did to Canterlot.” Again, We all but truly felt the question burning in Twilight’s mind, and again We were we’re sure We knew the answer before Princess Celestia answered it without being asked. “Love Magic—spells powered by love—is the exact opposite of Blood Magic. Blood works with absolutes and binaries of the physical world and ignores the emotional, while Love Magic vacillates to account for morality and the emotions of not just the caster, but its targets all while ignoring the physical reality of the situation. Naturally, Blood would fill the ‘hole’ we perceived in the spell powered by Love that Shining Armor used.”

Behind Us, We could barely hear a whispered, “Love… Magic?” from who else but Twilight? -and from inside her little cocoon of Changelings, Princess Celestia heard her.

“Yes… the last time I saw a pony wield Love in her magic was four hundred years ago, and I’ve only seen such a thing four times, including Shining Armor and Cadance’s spell, in my entire, considerably long life.” As she spoke, We finally released Her and settled back, curious about the use of the Changeling’s Inheritance among ponies.

… We don’t expect you to understand how Changelings deal with death, because-… Changelings’ Minds, in a way, will always be “imprinted” with pieces of every Changeling’s personality and opinions and thoughts who ever lived as part of that Mind—We knew and know that somewhere, those Changelings “live on” in not simply just memories, but in Minds in a much more real way than ponies ever can live on. It was because of this We were not fully concerned with grieving besides appearance’s sake… Say what you will, but then We were Changelings only just unveiled without meeting hostilities—something that was still very new to Us—and with a peace agreement yet to be made official. We were not yet acclimated to being Ourself in front of ponies and accepted as Ourself… We were not yet adapted to living without needing to protect Ourself with lies and deceit. We knew and know how you ponies view death, though, and We were frightened that if the Princess or the Bearers saw something they thought was too horrid to look past-… It was not too late for Princess Celestia to take back Her declaration of peace—no one would know; you all know now She didn’t, of course, but at that moment this remained in Our Mind until… well, We’ll get to that.

When We moved away from Her, though, She looked at each eight of Us, taking a moment to not so much stare at each one, but to study Us- to see who We were… because She cared and cares about Us. “Love Magic-… I must admit to you, all of you, but especially Twilight, that I have suppressed information about the use of Love in spellcasting even more than Blood Magic.” She heaved a great sigh and slumped, but in a way that suggested She was grateful to finally be letting out such a secret. “I have… feared it from the very first instance I saw it and Cadance and Shining Armor… and the Changeling Queen should show you why—its power surpasses even the most powerful class of magic most unicorns know: Blood Magic, which I have always kept regulated with utmost care. My only comfort was that it appeared ponies could not wield this magic under usual circumstances, but now?…” She smirked before looking back at Us, “Now, I have declared peace with a species not only capable and knowledgeable in this magic, but who use it on a daily basis.”

Yes, there was fear, unmistakable, in Her eyes; I know it must be hard to believe, but that’s only because you don’t know what Love Magic is truly capable of—Celestia understood and understands, but She was at the same time willing to look past Her fear. At that moment, i think that it was Her recognizing the fact that We did not choose to wield such a thing, that instead We had simply been born with that innate ability, and that We could no more be blamed for it than a pegasus can be blamed for being able to fly and manipulate the weather. A lot of the time i see how you ponies take it for granted, but for Changelings-… How Celestia’s understanding and strive to understand know no bounds, and Her… need to make “corrections” wherever She finds some fault in Herself—while blaming Herself—is something that feels (as meaningless as this will probably sound to your pony ears) beyond “usual love.” -something not exactly what you ponies might call “unconditional,” but instead… boundless and tireless.

“Princess Celestia-” one of Us began, but couldn’t go on, so another picked up on Our thoughts “-We can-” “-change-” “-stop-” “-what We-.”

“No.” The Princess interrupted Our staggered suggestions. “Don’t make any apologies or compromises. If I am-.” This time interrupting Herself, She shakes her head, then looked at each of Us before going on. “Since I am doing this, I’m doing it right: I’m making peace with who you are, not who I want you to be.” At this point She closed Her eyes and murmured to Herself something at a volume i’m sure ponies can’t hear, but Changelings can, “I have to make it right…” She opened Her eyes before saying at a normal volume again, so all can hear, “I’m just going to have to get over my fears, is all.” Of course, being who She is, Princess Celestia put on a show that would fool all but a Changeling… -and Princess Luna, i suppose.

One short argument in Our Mind later, We decided that this had to be headed off; We wanted—not needed; it was purely for Her sake—Princess Celestia to understand how We, as Changelings, viewed and view Her actions. “Princess, you don’t have to-…” We had to search the Mind for some way to describe Her desire, and settled on, “-repent for what you did in Canterlot to those Changelings.” We let the word hang a bit on Our voice, but it was soon interrupted by none other than me. “Ah! That reminds Us!” i cried out, and everypony along with all of the rest of Us turned to stare incredulously at me. “-or… maybe it just reminds me?… Anyway,” i pushed on, “i wanted to ask… what has been done?… -to them?… -those Changelings?” Now that the topic was broached, We- (…! fine) i found it easy to ask about.

Celestia (at least…) didn’t look too much into my general lack of… apparent sorrow, and answered quite quickly. “I suppose it will be better to prepare you for-. Well, the… bodies,” She and everypony else winced at the word, “have been moved to a secure facility… for study.” Princes Celestia grimaced again, but a bracing look from all eight of Us, along with some nods, kept Her from falling back into self-depreciation. “There, all twenty-three are-... have been-.”

“Wait… a minute,” i said in hardly more than a whisper, unsure, but Princess Celestia stopped all the same, as if She had been listening hard for some excuse to stop talking. “Did you just say ‘twenty-three’? As in ‘almost two not-baker’s dozen’?” Despite the subject, Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop herself from snickering behind her hoof in the background (when Rarity glared at her, though, she had enough decency to look ashamed), and Celestia glanced at her before nodding to me. “-and you said ‘all twenty-three’? As in ‘all of the ones you found in Canterlot’?”

Another nod, but before i could go on again, Twilight interjected, “Pinkie! What are you getting at? Just-…” She shivered, and i recalled with some shame how uncomfortable such a topic was and is for ponies. “Just, whatever it is, get to it already. Please…?”

I frowned at myself—at what i did—but instead of obeying her request, i stepped forward and hugged her for a moment; she latched onto me gratefully and whispered a thanks before i pulled away slowly, letting her decide if she was ready to let go. Only after that did i speak. “What i was getting at is that twenty-three is not all of them. -not all of the Changelings in Canterlot… as far as We know, anyway.” Suddenly, confusion breaks out all around Us, demanding something of which We had some idea. “We mean… let’s see, if We don’t count the Changelings We’re certain were working with Chrysalis… the last time We were in Canterlot was the wedding, so… at that time there was more than one-hundred Changelings in Canterlot not allied with Chrysalis.” “Although… i guess some might’ve left after the failed invasion, and then… most, if not all, probably fled out of the city after the… capture of those twenty-three.” “Most likely.”

Again, We wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t believe Us if We tried to describe how baffled the Princess looked, doing nothing but blinking in little bursts until, “You mean… there’s more than eighty Changelings still in Canterlot?”

We shook Our heads. “Not likely.” “Not anymore.” “Probably zero, now.” “All of them’d’ve moved out by now, i’d bet.” “Maybe some of them to Ponyville, even?”

Twilight Sparkle shook herself out of her own stupor at that last statement. “Wouldn’t you know?” We all only gave her a blank look, wondering what she’s talking about. “-know?- -know what?-” “-didn’t i just say i would bet on it?-” “-i think she’s talking about Ponyville-” Twilight confirmed that last thought. “Wouldn’t you know if any Changelings moved to Ponyville?” she elaborated with a somewhat “deadened” tone hinting at exasperation—or something like it—with having to elaborate.

It’s Our turn to look confused. “Uh… no?” “Why would We?” More confusion all around, so one of Us eventually ventured a guess at what might be blocking them from understanding. “It’s not like they’re part of Our Mind, or any of the seven Minds in Ponyville.” “-ah, right- -they still don’t understand how Minds work-” “-yet-”

Still, this didn’t seem to help much, for then they looked between themselves before Twilight turned back to Us with a hoof scratching her temple and a look in her eyes that suggested she thought We missed something obvious. “Seven…? -but there are-…” She raised an eyebrow looking on expectantly “-‘there are’ what?-” “is she saying what i think!?-” “that she knows of other Minds?- -i wonder-” “-but that doesn’t make sense-” “…-eight of you.”

One of Us began laughing while the rest of Us put a hoof over Our faces, some holding in chuckles with varying success. “Yes, there are eight of Us, and We make up one Mind. There are six other Minds in Ponyville.” “Technically seven-” “-but most don’t count her-” “-and i think she wouldn’t want to be counted…” “-if she could understand.”

Princess Celestia lowered her head very slowly then, drawing the attention of everypony else, then lifted one hoof in imitation of the position seven of Us had just been in. “There are more Changelings in Canterlot… There are more Changelings in Ponyville… I’m guessing there are more Changelings in Equestria than the currently highest estimate from my best parasitologists that there is one Changeling for thirty to thirty-five ponies. Ri-?”

The Princess didn’t get to actually ask her question, as this time all eight of Us burst into laughter, i having to actually throw myself onto another to keep from falling. “Sor-Sorry, Princess!” one of Us managed after a while. “It-It’s more like one to fifteen. -nearly one to ten in the less densely populated places.” Astonishment replaced their confusion; in the absence of any response, We kept talking. “As for Canterlot, as We said, there are probably no more there, actually, getting it to sit at an even zero percent—truly unheard of…”

We trailed off at how this sobered up the mood almost instantly, with Princess Celestia again moving in that slow way that seems befitting of a wise immortal. “This… is one strange day. I started it out with a Changeling hunt, and now I feel like I must… correct the fact that the Changeling population of Canterlot has fled… because of what I-.”

“Princess! Stop!” We all shouted at once, then decided to do one thing We’ve never done before: take Our united approach one step further—shock Her into submission by all speaking at once. -perfectly at once, in a way ponies, without a Mind, can only almost do. “You’re perfect. What you’ve done isn’t, but that’s not who you are. As Changelings, We know this; We see, everyday, ponies doing things they never would have done under other circumstances. We, Ourself, don’t like to lie, but We have to to survive. You, Princess Celestia, don’t like killing, but you had to.”

Roughly, She jerked Her head away from Us and looked to the ground, then everyone gasped as Her hair turned to something i don’t think anypony has seen for uncountable years: it slowly lost its magical sheen, its colors disappeared and blended into yellow, and finally when this transformation was complete, it fell limp. She then seemed for a moment to be shrinking in on Herself until everyone realized with a second gasp that She was shrinking until She became barely a head taller than a mortal pony. When She finally spoke, Her voice was horrible, with anger and sorrow fighting for recognition. “I. Didn’t. Have. To. Do… That!”

That voice… even We can’t imitate it, and We hope that no one—no pony or Changeling or anything—has to hear such a emotionally torn- wrecked thing again. It took Us a long moment to gather Our courage to speak again, during which time even Twilight did nothing more than stare worriedly at Princess Celestia. “Yes, you did. There was no other choice from where you were—what you understood… and thought you understood. There was no way you could see that even though they had a Mind, they were still individuals; to you they were mindless beyond base instinct, and you had no reason to look further into this. With nothing about their minds worthy of study, the only thing left was their bodies, and for that… you spared them the suffering of being cut open while they were still alive, even though We know you knew that would have given you more information than if they were dead. You were merciful.”

Vivisection or murder? It’s an extremely fine line, easily frayed and broken, that separates the two, making one worse than the other—i- none of Us would be surprised if you were divided on the matter; both are horrible, but each case is surrounded by circumstance. In this instance, We do believe Princess Celestia chose the lesser of two evils, and that She did not think that what She was doing was evil. As We told Her then, “We don’t think you would ever do evil knowingly, Princess Celestia. Why you did this is simple: Equestria and all the ponies who live here. You did it for them- to protect from what you perceived as a threat.” Princess Celestia was not and is not evil… and She’s not infallible, either. This is amongst her largest mistakes, but it couldn’t have gone any other way given what She knew and thought and felt… If She had kept them alive, they would have suffered, but survived, and almost certainly been released after this development, but Princess Celestia did not think of such a thing as possible even in the most remote ways—instead, from Her perspective, they would have only suffered endlessly… at least until everything useful had been ripped from their bodies, and the only left to do would have been to get rid of them. We don’t know how better We can put this, and We feel that perhaps We haven’t convinced all of you, so the only thing We can ask now is for you to trust Us and Princess Celestia, and believe She does nothing out of malice, but mere ignorance that She, even as She is immortal, cannot avoid always.

“How-?” Princess Celestia continued to face partially away from Us and to the ground, what face We might have seen was hidden by Her mane. “How can you say such things? How can you excuse what I’ve done?” Slowly, then, She began to breathe deeper and deeper, and more and more rapidly; sensing that She was not yet finished speaking, We only watched Her and waited, even though Our trepidation grew with Her frantic breathing. Finally, it happened almost like an explosion: She jerked Her head back around to face Us, revealing a face so stained with tears She wouldn’t have looked much different if it had been raining. “How can you forgive me!?”

“Because you asked for it.” Simple and true, but Princess Celestia turned disbelieving, almost scoffing, but We were undeterred and stepped forward until one of Us was close enough to touch Her. “Not with your voice, but with… this.” With that, We put a hoof to Her chest and smiled at the shocked recognition on Her face. “As Changelings, We know these things. We feel them as surely as you feel the wind: invisible, but present, real, and powerful… (sometimes). We can feel, as if was Ourself, how much you’re hurting because of this, Princess. Punishing yourself—hurting like this—isn’t the way to repent for anything; it cannot help you or Us or anyone.”

The Princess let out a long, struggling sigh before She reached up with one forehoof, then the other, to wipe Her face (Her hooves come easily out of her shoes since they don’t fit with Her having shrunk). “Thank you… I really needed to hear that… from you, and only you.” With a weak smile She began to grow back to Her normal proportions, and Her hair changed back to the mane you all know. She pulled Us back into another hug that i don’t think anyone would have minded lasting forever, but soon enough a… sound, loud but muffled, as if of something huge but far off, made Us all startle, and the Princess pulled away. “Perhaps this could wait until we are out of here, hm?” With nods all around, We began trotting again, if a bit faster than before, and with the mood of all considerably lifted as well.

Except for two notable exceptions: Rarity, who kept glancing at one of Us and making disgusted faces and tiny uncomfortable sounds, and Fluttershy, who had taken to staring intently into Our eyes in turn while wearing a deep, concerned frown. Eventually, We all stopped, exasperated and confused: their acceptance had been something We hadn’t dared ever hoped for, so something like this was not a surprise, yet there was no hatred or even animosity coming off of either ponies. The others took a short moment to realize We had stopped, and looked back at Us to find Us all leveling our eyes on Rarity… Well, they didn’t know how to tell where a Changeling is looking yet, so actually Rarity made a little embarrassed noise when she realized why We must have stopped, which attracted the attention of the others. “Rarity, is something wrong?”

Rarity pulled further into herself when the stares from everypony turned slightly accusatory—some “less slightly” than others—and made a number of hesitant vocalizations before managing a sensical sentence. “No, there’s nothing ‘wrong’ per se… It’s just-… just… why-are-you-covered-in-blood?!” She points a quivering hoof towards one of Us, and We all looked over, bewildered for about half a second until half of Us (including the one covered in blood) grinned sheepishly and the others burst into hysterical laughter.

“Ah? Oh! Uhm, i hadn’t even noticed… that was still there. It was actually from… ah…” We looked pleadingly toward Princess Celestia, hoping for some sign about what to say, with significant glances towards Fluttershy.

“-from the manti- from the fight with the manticore.” The Princess finished for Us, Her face now that old serene mask again; everypony else jumped into various states of shock. “-‘fight’?- -that wasn’t much of a fight so much as-” “-please!-” “-don’t- -just leave it alone-”

“A manticore did that?” Fluttershy asks with more concern than shock. “Oh! That was why you weren’t moving?! The manticore’s venom…” Everyone was looking at her now, but she didn’t seem to notice. “-but, if that’s the case, it… looked like, well, you had been… partially eaten.” She squeaked out the last two words, but afterwards her voice regains its soft strength. “-but then why did it leave its, uhm, meal—manticores rarely do that—and where did it go? That ravine seemed a little narrow for a manticore to fly in, and there was only-.”

“Fluttershy-…” We interrupted, quiet but enough to get her attention, yet We had no idea what to say, never mind how to begin, so We did nothing but look between myselves and bite Our lips.

“I forced them to kill it.” Still, the Princess put on a face, even if this one was more grim, it never showed Her true feelings. As could only be expected, Fluttershy started to tear up, and We all looked away with shame.

“Princess…” Some of Us try to intervene, but Princess Celestia shook Her head.

“No, I am responsible for this as well. I chased… that one into the canyon, where the manticore apparently lived, and it was aggravated by our sudden appearance. I hid while it faced off with… Pinkie, who used, if I remember your story correctly, your tactics, Fluttershy, in dealing with the manticore that attacked you as you went to retrieve the Elements on Nightmare Moon’s return.”

Fluttershy then looked over at the bloodied one with a faint smile of pride, but soon enough turned back to the Princess with a confused frown, “Then why did it have to be k-?” She choked on the word. “Why, Princess?”

“The manticore-… It-… You were right. -about me,” Princess Celestia said to Us. “I do not hurt or kill needlessly. I did not wish to harm the manticore, but it was hugging what I only thought of at the time as ‘a Changeling’ to its chest, and time was of the essence in capturing the rest of you: I was not about to wait for the manticore to release the Changeling to attack again. So I… did the first thing I thought of and provoked it, hoping it would once again think of the Changeling it was hugging as its enemy, and it did, so I flew away and… left it to do what manticores do. When the other seven converged on it, they would have had no choice but to kill it if they wanted to save the eighth from being eaten—which I am glad they did.” Princess Celestia then looked straight at Fluttershy, begging with Her eyes. “So… that is my fault.”

Fluttershy stared into the Princess’s eyes for a moment, then turn to the ground thoughtfully, before finally turning to the bloodied one of Us and speaking in Our general direction. “No, it wasn’t, Princess. With everything that happened… I can’t see any outcome where the manticore lives, either… I think-. It’s horrible, but true… As soon as you ran into it, the manticore didn’t stand a chance, no matter what you decided to do.” Fluttershy then nuzzled Princess Celestia’s leg. “It… hurts, but I understand.”

“Fluttershy-…” Princess Celestia leaned down on Her considerable neck to nuzzle the back of Fluttershy’s head. “-thank you.”

“-but…” Fluttershy went on, pulling away and turning to Us now, and We had the impression We were about to hear what had been disturbing Fluttershy before this issue with the manticore. “There’s something else I don’t understand… yet, and it’s been bothering me since-…” We wave Our forehooves to invite her to go on, trying to look “receptive” to their questions. “It’s just… how could you all not be bothered by the deaths of those Changelings in Canterlot?”

Applejack perked up, looking as if she had also been bothered but only now that the question had been asked did she understand herself exactly what it was. “Tha’s right!” She looked almost angry, but there was nothing in her emotions to suggest she felt the same way her expression went. “There’s still twenty-three dead now, even if the most of ‘em got away! How can ya’all dismiss so easy that them’s innocent lives’re been lost!”

We’ve already explained to you how Changelings think when confronted with death, which is more or less as We then explained then. “It is…” “—death is—” “different for Changelings. That is, We experience- think of it differently.” “It’s the fact that Changelings must be part of a Mind, and each Mind is a conglomeration of the Changelings that are part of it.” “So, even after a Changeling dies, it leaves a significant part of itself behind in all the Minds of which it was ever a part.” “It’s not that We are unconcerned or dismissive…” “-but that Changelings don’t really die like ponies do, as Changelings leave significant parts of theirselves behind that are more than just memories.” We intended to leave it at that, but one of Us-… i decided to give them full disclosure—it was only fair exchange for what Princess Celestia had offered, i thought. “That… and death in the hive is experienced… much more often than with ponies. Because of the queen’s plan to build an army that would swamp Equestria with pure numbers, she’d stretched the limits of the hive’s ability to gather love and feed everyone, so now only one out of four nymphs are expected to survive outside their nymphhood…”

I’d wanted to say more, but a rough shove and message through the Mind from another one of Us made me realize that I’d turned Fluttershy into a shivering mess and the rest were looking very uncomfortable. “Th-… That’s- That’s… hor-…-rible!”

I flinched and bit my lip. “Fluttershy-! I’m sorry! I just…” None of Us could think of what to say to reverse what i had inadvertently done.

“-It’s just another fact of Changeling life… and all the fault of that queen-.” Princess Celestia had subtly narrowed Her eyes when she mentioned the queen, but She didn’t understand, which We decided We had to correct at that very instant.

“Not entirely, Princess… The quality of life in the hive, even before that, was not very comfortable… there were still periods where We had to endure hunger as We waited for the gatherers to return, and such times were not rare by any definition. the queen’s plan merely aggravated the problem, but at the same time it was a plan to eventually eliminate the very same problem.” Princess Celestia was taken by surprise at that, before humming thoughtfully as Fluttershy rushed forward and took one of Us between her forehooves—We just let her cry herself out onto Our wither while the other came forward to hug Us in sympathy. Everyone else had pulled away by the time Fluttershy’s sobs turned to heaving, and then were shuffling awkwardly, but as quietly as possible, when she her heaves slowed down enough that she felt like she could finally let go and stand without falling over from grief.

Rarity, standing back a bit during this whole exchange and slightly perturbed that the topic had drifted, waited an appropriate amount of time after Fluttershy and We pull apart (which is to say, as you who know Rarity might not believe, “instantly”) before bring up what had started the whole discussion in the first place. “Yes, yes, and now that-… -out of the way-… I’m sorry, but can we do something about that?” she asked with another polite point at the bloodied one of Us. To be completely fair, though, We know it’s pretty much impossible for most ponies to tell Us apart. (-for some reas-ow!)

“Does anypony know if there’s any water around here?” We asked, split between looking at the most hopeful ponies: Twilight and Princess Celestia.

“Just make sure it ain’t that crazy copyin’ puddle, whatever it wus called.” Applejack half play-warned with a smirking grin prompting Us to share a good laugh with her as We go back to making Our way out, some of Us choosing to fly again; Twilight and the Princess had both shrugged when prompted about sources of water again.

“About that Mirror Pool, though…” Twilight started, and i saw the gleam of knowledge-hunting in her eye. “Now that we know, well, that there are eight of you… what really happened with that? There were more than eight Pinkies bouncing around, and I sent all but one into the Pool…” Then she stopped, and her eyes dulled and shrank with fear. “I didn’t hit any Changelings, did I?!”

“No! No…” We quickly relieve her worry, allowing her to sigh with a smile as a wave of chuckles run though Us, instantly alerting to everypony that, indeed, We knew something they didn’t. “Well… to start, everything (except the copy-returning spell, of course) that you read in that book on the Mirror Pool—or, to be more accurate, Mirror Pools—was a lie. The Pools are remnants of a piece of ancient Changeling magic, and they will only work for Changelings-” “-and Mirror Pool copies, apparently, though We didn’t know that…”

Two simultaneous sounds of disappoint greet this news. Rainbow Dash groaned and shook her head, and the second came from Princess Celestia before She said, “What a pity: only Changelings…” Everypony stopped to stare at their ruler for showing any wish to use such a thing as the Mirror Pools, but an instant later the sound of many ruffling feathered wings behind them drew their (plus the Princess’s) attention to no less than five Changeling-copies of Princess Celestia (including regalia), all grinning in a way better fitting Pinkie Pie, which caused Twilight, in a tiny moment of panic, to look between the huddle of Changelings, some still settling their wings (having transformed in midair), to the real-Princess beside her, who looked on wide-eye in surprise, but smiling with amusement, too.

“Myself… dear myself,” one of Us started in a perfect copy of Her voice, “if you ever want time off-” “-or to play a little prank-” “-all myself has to do is ask one of Her other selves to step forward!” “Yes… We’re sure the love your ponies have for their Princess is plentiful and quite delicious.” One of the Princess-copies began to lick “her” lips, but stopped- in fact, We all grew stiff when Princess Celestia suddenly lost both the surprise and amusement and in their place was… something serious. “S-Sorry!” “We didn’t mean-!”

“Don’t worry…” She cut over our sputtered apologies with not a hint of rage. “I am not angry about that… implication—and I would not be completely opposed to it, once ponies have adjusted to having Changelings around—but something else you said bothers me: ‘their Princess’.” This only earned raised eyebrows from all of Us. “Do you not… think of me as your Princess?”

“Well-…” “Ah-…” “No…?” We mumbled, shuffling Our hooves uncomfortably; We could feel something from Princess Celestia that set Us on edge; whether it did that because We simply had never encountered such a feeling before, or it was something innate in that feeling, We cannot say, for We have not felt it ever again. “We mean…” “The thing is-” “-We’re not your ponies, so-.” “We’d like to be! It’s just… not… uhm…” The last speaker trailed off, and it was easy to see why: Princess Celestia was starting to cry again.

“I don’t care!” She leapt forward, pulling as many of Her copies—along with a couple untransformed Changelings—between Her forehooves as She could; We do nothing but freeze in Her embrace. “You want me to be your Princess- You want to be Equestrians, don’t you?” Those of Us still capable of movement nod. “-and I would be honored to have such wonderful Changelings as yourselves among my subjects, so We agree. That… is that, and all that matters.” She finished somewhat weakly with a little chuckle as She pulled back and rubbed Her wet eyes.

She turned away, about to continue Our trek, but then the five Celestia-copies put on wicked grins simultaneously and jumped onto the Princess back, who let out a very unPrincess-like squawk of surprise. The six tumbled around in the dirt, a mass of white flapping wings and legs tipped with golden shoes, but when they all got up, they were all more brown and green than white. All six sputtered indignantly and flapped their wings to get the worst of the dirt out of them, then looked up, first with surprise, then playful anger, with a grin and pulled down eyebrows, and they all said, almost simultaneously, “So, you want to play this game?” Rainbow Dash fell out of the air with laughter, while Twilight looked on with hesitant amusement and jumped when the six turned to her. (Rarity stared at the dirtied Princesses, scandalized, Applejack was trying to rein in her own laughter, and Fluttershy didn’t know how she should feel) “Come on, Twilight Sparkle, help me, or can’t you pick out the real me?” At the declaration of the challenge, Rainbow Dash managed to get herself to sit up to watch Twilight with a Pinkie-smile.

Twilight swallowed back something i’m sure was the test-stress, probably telling herself that it was just a game (or something like that), but still she took her role seriously, and thought for not even a minute before giving her answer. “Maybe you can try to do something that they can’t do? -it’s too early to even begin thinking about lowering the Sun, but there must be something else…” Whatever Twilight told herself, she still beamed when the Celestias nodded and smiled approvingly before turning to study each other, eyes roving up and down, searching for something.

Eventually, the twelve eyes settled on the hooves of various other Celestias. They stared at those hooves for a moment, then as one they lifted their right forehooves and gripped the shoes in their teeth and, most of them, tried to pull the shoes off—only two managed it. (You might be wondering why Celestia didn’t try to perform some magic, thus revealing Our green auras? That would have been too easy; it was, remember, just a game.) Narrowing their eyes, the two Celestias faced off, then opened their mouths, and only one shoe fell to the ground; the other remained “stuck” to the Changeling’s teeth, but one burst of green fire later and it was gone. “So… when Changelings create clothing in a disguise, the clothing acts like it’s ‘part’ of that Changeling, and can’t be separated?” Princess Celestia asked half-rhetorically as the rest of Her copies disappeared in more green fires.

We all nodded. “Exactly.” “More or less.” “To put it so simply.”

“Fascinating,” Twilight said with only partial deadpan-ishness, “but we’ve fallen off topic… -again. You were just talking about the Mirror Pools being Changeling magic when we got sidetracked…?” That sparkle in her eye rekindled at the idea of learning about Changeling magic which, as she had stated before, ponies knew pretty much nothing about—at least then they didn’t.

“Jeez, lighten up, Twi.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but spoke lowly and turned away so that only a couple of Us could hear and see her. We regathered Our thoughts as We all began walking yet again.

“Right. Let’s see…” “Already said that, but-…” “Mirror Pools, as We hinted at, are relics of another time, when Changelings weren’t united under one queen, and there were a bunch of smaller hives all over—a lot of hives were so small that they didn’t have enough-…” “-drones. We are drones, so it’s okay to call Us that” “-as long as you remember that doesn’t make Us mindless!” “…-to always be out collecting enough love and staying home protecting the queen and nymphs, so most had their own Pool-” “(which only works when a Changeling is disguised)” “-to create temporary copies of foalnapped ponies that could take their place for a little while.” “-but now that that’s not really needed any more since the hives united, the knowledge of how to create a Mirror Pool has pretty much been lost.” “Though the queen might know. -maybe.”

Pausing here, We waited for the implication to sink in, listening to them occasionally whisper to themselves some quote of what We’d just said; Rainbow Dash was the first one to get it. “Hey! What you just said about what the Mirror Pools were used for-…” She tapped her chin as she stared, trying, as she later admitted, to come up with some other explanation; We grinned wider and wider as We waited for her to reveal Our real motive aloud. “-are you saying that the reason you used it was… for the same reason?”

Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash, confused for less than a second before reaching the same conclusion. “They had ‘the same rea-’? Ah! … Aaaah! You don’t mean that none of those Pinkies were you, do you?!” In answer, We giggled and nodded, making Twilight groan and stop for a second to put a hoof to her forehead. “All that work… the test, the strain of casting that spell so many times, and the stress and worry of hitting ‘the real Pinkie’… and it was all for nothing?!”

Most of Us turned ashamed at the implicit accusations, but i stood Our ground. “Well, none of Us were actually there, but even if We were, We couldn’t have revealed Ourself then… -not without-” “-repercussions.” We nodded solemnly, and Twilight bit her lip at the reminder of what had almost happened just hours ago and how she had participated in it. “Anyway, yes, We were all away from Ponyville; We had to speak with Chrysalis.” “Oh, and to be fair, Twilight, your test did, at least, manage to pick out the copy We originally made—which had a personality that was closest to the one We created for Pinkie.” “-also, try to keep in mind that We had no idea a Mirror Pool copy could create more copies, so…”

Twilight smiled a little at Our praise and apologies, but Princess Celestia suddenly frowned. “Chrysalis… you’ve mentioned that name before a couple of times now, but who is this?”

We pulled Our heads back in surprise at the question. “Didn’t she… ever give her name?” one of Us asked myselves. “I thought she did-” “-but i guess We only imagined it-” “-or assumed it?” Then We turned back to the ponies. “We thought you knew-…” “-but now, We think you already suspect…” We trailed off, fidgeting, a little afraid of how they might take this news. “Chrysalis-is-the-Changeling-queen,” one of Us eventually burst out in the manner of ripping off a bandage, then another added, “the-one-who-attacked-Canterlot… in full disclosure… so you understand.” “-since We haven’t really explained that there’s only one queen, even though We kind of implied it.” In the silence that followed, one of Us whispered, “I thought it was obvious anyway, since only queens have names.” “-but they don’t know that.” “Oh. Right.”

Princess Celestia, indeed having already suspected this, nodded slightly, and emotions couldn’t decide what to do; Twilight, however, jumped forward, looking manic. “You… went to see that monster!? The one who attacked Canterlot!? Then you know where she is! Where?! Where is she?!” Twilight grabbed one of Us with her forehooves and shook Us, frantic, but the Princess quickly intervened, pulling her back with Her magic; She looked disappointed towards Twilight’s actions just then, but We held out a hoof, asking for Her to let Us handle this, which She allowed with a small bow of Her head.

“Yes, of course We know where she is.” “-and-!” We interrupted when Twilight opened her mouth to ask another shouted question. “-that’s Our mother you’re calling a monster, Twilight.” She flinched, but the anger didn’t yet leave her face. “We know how she hurt you and Cadance and your brother… and you, Princess-…” She made a small dismissive motion with Her wings, and a hint of a smile bolstered Us. “-that is partially why some of Us left Chrysalis: We didn’t fully agree with some of her decisions… but she is still Our mother. She laid Us as eggs, and watched over Us before and after We hatched,-” (Rarity grimaced at the mention Us coming from eggs, but recomposed herself gracefully in a matter of seconds) “-she took care of Us when We were still too young to take care of myselves, and she taught Us everything We needed to know to survive.” At this, Twilight’s eyes started to shift uneasily, knowing that she’ll find it tough to find strong ground to attack someone who was and is so much like any pony mother, even if she did lead an army against Canterlot. “We wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for Chrysalis, and you would have never met Pinkie without her.” At the mention of a potential world without Pinkie, Twilight slumped, but We could tell she still had a little fight left, and We had more to say. “-and, even though she knows it’s unlikely, she always keeps a place in her hive and her heart open if any of Us should ever decide to return. We owe her everything.”

“-but… what if we ever need to use the Elements against her!?” We only shook Our heads, knowing that Twilight only wished she could use the Elements of Harmony on Chrysalis—turning her to stone or sending her to the moon would have surely, in her mind, been fitting punishment for what Chrysalis did, or much more so than what had happened, anyway… but We’re more tactful than that to say such a thing!

“Then you would need to find another way.” “We’re still going to keep her secrets and protect her whenever We can, even if We’re no longer part of her hive or her Mind.” “-and-…” We shivered, but stood firm. “-even if it means Princess Celestia retracting everything She’s said about making peace with Changelings.”

Everypony turned to Princess Celestia then, but She was quick to shake Her head with that old smile. “I cannot order anypony to help with such things, unless they have subjected themselves to my control, which you, my Bearers, did not do—you were chosen by the Elements outside of your will, so I cannot fault you if you ever wish to not use them for any reason, and certainly not a reason like this. As well… if you were capable of meeting with the- with Queen Chrysalis, and your relationship with her is as you say, then I must take the opposite stance: Equestria’s relations with all Changelings may be even more recoverable than I thought just minutes ago.”

“All Changelings? -including… Chrysalis?” We knew Twilight couldn’t help, at least then, but speak the name with some remaining contempt, but she then looked at Us, sorrow in her eyes, “-but what you said: without her no… Pinkie- no… you.” She let out a shaking sigh, and her eyes silently begged for forgiveness. “Maybe we would’ve found another Bearer of Laughter… maybe… not,” Princess Celestia’s eyes widened, and She shivered, barely discernable; a telling sign (to Changelings, since We’re apparently the only creatures who can read the Princ-oof!) She could not see another potential Bearer of Laughter—at least not in Ponyville. “-but even worse than that… we might not have learned the truth about Changelings, and just went on with the spell I augmented with Blood Magic, kill- no, worse than that: slaughtering innocents. Thousands of innocents…” She stepped up to Us and nuzzled one before finishing. “I- I, as a pony, have to admit that even though she did do something so evil as invade Canterlot, if she raised Changelings who grew up to be as amazing as you eight, and even more than just you, then she can’t be… all that horrible.”

“-an’ if Queen Chrysalis still cares about you, even after you left, that only makes ’er more ehquine in mah books!” Applejack grinned in a wide enough way to show her teeth; her words stirred in Our memories her Cutie Mark story, which involved her leaving her family and farm for a time before returning to nothing but love.

“This also brings up the possibility of saving those starving nymphs’ lives…” When the Princess brought this up, Fluttershy brightened at such a prospect—later, she would turn out to be the only pony Chrysalis entrusted to watch over her nymphs whenever she had to leave them for one reason or another, as well as to assign other ponies to nymphsit if both of them were busy. “Which means time yet remains of the essence. I hope that I will have your help in contacting Queen Chrysalis about this?” She asked, to which We instantly nodded—as desensitized (compared to you ponies) that We are to death, We’d still, of course, prefer to avoid it and prevent it where We could and can.

“Time out! Time out!” Rainbow Dash flew forward, pushing Twilight behind her, taking a position between Us and her and leveling Us with a scrutinizing eye. “You said you wouldn’t use the Elements against the queen, but then what happened in Canterlot?”

Having expecting this question, so We were ready with Our answer. “Well, the first thing on Our Mind, of course, was keeping up appearances.” “Yeap. Even though she managed to defeat Princess Celestia, We knew Chrysalis wasn’t unbeatable, so We were mostly hoping that somepony else would be able to figure out something.” “-without Us having to point out her weaknesses, of course!” “As for the Elements, We also knew it was pretty much impossible for Us to fight Our way through Chrysalis’s army, as built as it had been.” “-but when those Changelings transformed into all of you, that’s when We decided We had to fight-” “-not just for appearances, but to warn them that you were all… ah, to put it from a Changeling perspective, Our prey, and that We wouldn’t allow any Changeling to imponyate you.” “-though We don’t think of you as nothing but Our prey, of course! That’s just how those other Changelings would have interpreted Our actions.” We break into nervous chuckling, but Twilight quickly cut over Us after shoving Rainbow aside in turn.

“You don’t have to worry about us thinking anything like that of you. That was already proven by Princess Cadance and Shining Armor’s Love-powered spell, after all!” She flung her forehooves up in a very Pinkie-esque gesture.

“Right.” “Sorry.” “We’re still not use to not needing to worry about-… about…” “-appearances.” “-deception.” “-suspicion.” Three of Us fill in the trailed off sentence at the same time.

“That’s okay. I’m sure you’ll get better with time.” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up, and the others nodded at her words. “-and once you do, I’m just as sure you’ll think of it as a relief that you don’t have to lie to your friends any more.” We all teared up a bit, and there’s more nuzzling all around, but there had already been so many heartfelt moments at that point that everyone’s tear ducts and emotions were feeling a bit worn.

We trotted on even more briskly then, but the sound of running water had Rarity perk her ears up. “Ah-ha! Do you hear that?” (Of course We did long before her, since Our hearing is so much better than pon-ow! Why again?! Ow!) “Water! Now you can all wash up before we get back to Ponyville!” she said as she pointed towards those of Us covered with dirt, the one of Us covered with blood, and finally, with a little hesitation, Princess Celesta.

Looking down at one of her own legs and seeing how it was so dirty that it resembled a certain enthusiastic admirer of Luna, She only smiled. “Yes, a quick bath sounds like a good idea, lest I actually appear in public in such a disheveled and undignified state.” Rarity gapped with horror at the way the Princess implied that Rarity had implied Princess Celestia was in anyway undignified, no matter the reason, but the Princess quickly relieved Rarity of her worry with a laugh, and then We made Our way to find this river.

Thankfully, it did not possess a swift current, and in fact looked quite familiar. “Hey!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “I think I know where we are now! I wonder if that water dragon is around…” She flew up a little ways, looking up and down the river, but apparently having seen nothing, soon shot down into the river with a splash.

“He’s a serpent, Rainbow—not even remotely related to dragons, no matter what they look like.” Twilight corrected in an automatic-sounding way after shielding herself from the wave of water.

“Whatever you say, Twi.” Rainbow shrugged and laid on her back when she resurfaced, gliding along the water with her wings. “I still think ‘water dragon’ sounds cooler, though.”

We chuckled at Rainbow’s “argument” as We, even those of Us not dirty, stepped more carefully into the water along with the Princess, who kept her regalia on to clean it as well. Whereas the Princess used Her magic to bring water up from the river to wash Herself, she watched as We instead did as Changelings do: scrubbed each other, which We were not surprised to learn made the ponies a little squeamish, particularly when We, without the slightest waver or sign of embarrassment, cleaned myselves around the hindlegs as well. There is not much of an idea of “sexuality” among Changelings and therefore no stigma around touching other’s… “tools of the trade” you might say, since only a queen can actually lay eggs and the vast majority of Changelings do not see the enjoyment in recreational activities, much less participate in them… (-and now that i see you’re all squirming, nice and uncomfortable, let’s go on!)

Eventually, as We worked at the stubborn dried blood that clung to one of Our carapace, another one of Us looked at a hoof smeared mostly with blood, but also with a streak of liquid that shimmered without the Sun having to hit it, before turning to the Princess. “Princess Celestia, when you made the Blood Promise-… Can you actually… die?” The water that She had been levitating fell back into the river, and the wing She had been holding out to wash slowly contracted back against Her side; everypony else, now waiting on the shore (except for Rainbow, who was drying herself by flying in quick little circles) perked up.

“I… believe I have already answered this question, at least in implication, but to put it simply and plainly: yes. -or at least I am forced to believe so.” She sighed as She pulled another trickle of water up to Her wing. “The Blood Promise, as I said, will not hold if one—or more—of the conditions are impossible, and as the ‘promise’ of relinquishing one’s life if the promised conditions are unfulfilled is itself a condition, and I have made other Blood Promises before successfully, I can only conclude that, yes, I can die… or at least be killed, since I don’t seem to be dying of old age, so there is no need to worry that I might ‘be gone’ anytime soon.” Then She smiled serenely, comfortingly, towards the shore—particularly to Twilight, who visibly relaxed.

The rest of the time at the river was largely uneventful, minus the envious looks We received from Rarity and Rainbow Dash when they saw how the water glided smoothly off Our chitin, wings, and fins instead of remaining soaked as their fur, hair, and feathers would. “At least we know more or less where we are now; Ponyville is just a little further that way!” Twilight pointed and We set off once the Princess had been Rainblow Dried, and Twilight herself let out a little burst of envy (which went unnoticed by any non-Changeli-argh!) at seeing how Princess Celestia’s mane remained one-hundred percent unruffled and perfect.

As We neared the edge of the forest, seeing how the light of the Sun brightened suddenly in the distance, the ponies sped up (even Princess Celestia, though a bit more elegantly), along with one of Us who transformed into Pinkie Pie and started to bound along in the fashion We had invented for that disguise, while the rest of Us stopped and watched them rush ahead of Us, feeling a little tug of sorrow and Our own envy flow through the Mind. Just before they burst out into the open, however, they stopped and looked around them (perhaps noticing the sudden lack of Our buzzing wings among them) then looked back to see the seven of Us remaining behind, then looked at the Pinkie beside them, who tilted her head, then back to the seven, who were then making Our way into the thick brush of the forest that would hide Us, but Rainbow was hovering before Us again in the next instant, asking, “Hey! Where are you all going?”

We looked between myselves as the other ponies came back to Us. “We’re… hiding.” “-of course…?” “What else would We be doing?” “We can’t just walk out into Ponyville like this.” “We still don’t know how the other ponies will feel about their- the Princess declaring peace with Changelings. We don’t want to-… uhm…” “-incite panic?” “-make everypony think Princess Celestia and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have all been replaced by Changelings.” “-create the impression that Changelings are attacking Equestria again?”

As We explained that in spite of what happened in that canyon between Us and Princess Celestia and the other Bearers hadn’t changed anything out there about the general opinion of Changelings—which amounted to “capture on sight, but kill if there’s no other choice”—they deflated, and they found it their turn to glance between themselves, only now with worry and sorrow as instead they considered Our position… except for Princess Celestia. “Perhaps…” She began as She lowered Her head to Our level. “However, this is the kind of change that must happen rapidly, before any more severe, irreversible mistakes are made. Of course I will not force any of you if you are not comfortable, but if you think you are up to walking into Ponyville without a disguise—all of you—I think that would be best. I only ask that before you make your decision to please take into account that I still consider you my little ponies, and even though you are not ponies on the outside, I will still do everything I can to protect the ponies you are on the inside.”

You might think We had to think long and hard about this, debating back and forth, but it was and is as the other of Us (who’s done cleaning the classroom now, but is talking with Twilight) said: We believed and believe in Princess Celestia completely, so in answer We stepped out of the foliage We had crawled halfway into and the one Pinkie Pie let the disguise burn away. After We stepped out from under the strange (even to Changelings) canopy of the Everfree Forest, We had one request before entering Ponyville itself: “Princess, if you don’t think it would cause too much trouble-…” We paused, but Princess Celestia’s smile widened slightly to invite Us to go on. “-before you make any official public announcement, could We stop by the hospital first?”

Princess Celestia—(i have wondered if it is what We are that caused Her that day to be so open with Her emotions than We have ever seen or heard Her being before or since…)—looked down at Us with an expression of curious bewilderment. Before She could ask, We decided to explain. “There is someone there who We think would like to be there when it happens.” “-be there, at your side, Princess, without her disguise.”

The Princess at this, turned slightly more grim as She stopped walking to look at the sky as She thought over Her answer, and only after about a whole minute in thought does She bring Her head back down with the smile replaced. “If it is as important to her as you say, then for her I think we should at least try.”

Then, as We continued onward, but still a ways from Ponyville yet, Twilight, who had become lost in thought, murmured, “…‘her’…?” before turning to Us. “You described this Changeling at the hospital as a ‘her’, but… you never told us what you are. -your genders, that is.” Then she began to scrutinize Us over as swiftly as she could, trying to look for anything that might indicate who was what—seeing her puzzling over Us, We decided to wait until she gave up. Of course, she found nothing, not even when she dared (with a blush) the quickest of glances towards the obvious spot.

We all chuckled when she slumped into her defeat, so We answered before she could wallow too long. “Actually, with Changelings, the gender ratio is kind’a switched from ponies.” “There are more males than females.” “So… six of Us are what you could call ‘stallions’-” “-in the absence of any better terminology.”

That got them to all stop for a moment, except one: Our perfect partner in crime. “Six of you, huh?” We nodded to Rainbow Dash’s question. “So, that’s one for each of us, including the Princess.” With that, she flew forward and turned around, the better to see the others’ reactions.

Twilight, by the way she just stopped, one leg suspended off the ground, hit a screeching mental halt. Fluttershy, strangely, let out a-… what can only really be described as a “baa” (maybe she’s part sheep? Distantly, if… but still) as she not only froze, but tilted over, rolling onto her back, and Rarity would have fainted right alongside her if one of Us hadn’t caught her (We knew she would have gone more than ballistic if she had to stand in front of Ponyville with Princess Celestia with her coat less than presentable). Lastly, Applejack and the Princess took the joke in stride, and laughed with the rest of Us; the others recovered, if not recomposed, quickly enough, and then We were heading onwards again, some still chuckling and some still blushing.

Soon enough, though the dreaded moment came and wiped away Our thoughts of amusement or embarrassment. Entering Ponyville, then, for Us, when all We had ever done Our whole lives until that moment was hide, it was-… We shivered, Our wings buzzed nervously, and We looked all around frantically as We felt the need to get out of sight before anypony could see, but before We could bolt away, a soft brush of Princess Celestia’s wing across one of Our backs—which We all felt through Our Mind—calmed Us again. Still, She could not stop Our hearts from being stung when that inevitable cry, filled with fear, hit the air. “Changelings!” “The Changelings got Princess Celestia!” “-and Twilight Sparkle, too!”

The Princess, i think, understood that this situation required a more delicate, precise approach than just calling out “Wait!” or “Stop!” or “Halt!” and did nothing. The panic that followed left the streets empty in record time (quite a feat for a town that nearly meets its doom every other week, making the ponies of Ponyville already amongst the quickest in Equestria at reacting to danger) except for two who had been left behind who had rushed to the edge of town instead. “Is this… what it looks like to me, Vinyl?” Octavia turned to Vinyl Scratch (otherwise, “known in the industry” as DJ PON-3) to whom she then continued asking, voice growing more excited, “This is what I think it is, right? Please, tell me this is it!” Vaguely, We noted that someponies’ curiosity at this outburst had gotten the better of their fear and now peeked out their windows.

“Ehrrrr,” was all Vinyl said, even when Octavia reared up, grabbed Vinyl’s face between both forehooves, turned Vinyl around to face her, and stared into Vinyl’s eyes, muzzles touching. Octavia only pulled back when We—the other Bearers confused to various degrees, and Princess Celestia having a gleam of curiosity and a guess at what’s happening in Her eyes—stepped up to them. “I… think so?” Vinyl finally managed to say in a half-question that was directed at Us.

-but it was Twilight who spoke next. “Are you saying that one of-” Octavia grinned and started nodding. “-one of you-… one of you are are-?”

Octavia seemed to quickly lose her patience, but she didn’t stop smiling as she rolled her eyes and said in a faux mocking tone, “Yes, Twilight Sparkle. Honestly, I thought by now everypony had figured out that Vinyl Scratch is a vampire… even if ‘she’ isn’t the type of vampire they usually think of.” Octavia laughed as Twilight continued gapping and mouthing some words she was unable to vocalize as she pointed a forehoof at Vinyl, who grinned sheepishly from behind Their shades; Octavia, ignoring this, put a hoof over Vinyl’s withers and said into Their ears, “Go ahead. It’s safe now. Right?” She directed the question at Princess Celestia, who nodded, but Vinyl didn’t release the disguise right away. Instead, They lifted up Their signature lenses behind Their horn with a little light blue magic and looked the Princess square in the eyes for a long moment, during which Octavia gave Them a peck on the side of Their muzzle.

Slowly, Vinyl started to smile, then with a burst of green flames—which didn’t so much as startle Octavia, who kept her leg draped over Vinyl even as they partially engulfed her—the Changeling revealed Theirself with the apparently real purple shades still behind Their horn. Octavia gave her lover (Octavia insists that everyone refer to Them like this, so as not to give anyone the wrong impression about Their relationship) another kiss on the side of Their muzzle, which Vinyl returned—to Our surprise, Rarity wavered, swooning not from disgust, but happiness (and maybe a bit from the idea of “forbidden love”, but she’d never admit that)—after which they started forward, towards Us, but Twilight called out of the blue, “Hold it!” making everyone but the Princess jump. “Vinyl Scratch’s magic is blue, not green! It’s a light blue that you-! … -just… demonstrated?” She started out with pointing an accusatory hoof that made Vinyl flinch, but it lowered slightly when the obvious question came to her.

Princess Celestia, with a laugh in Her eyes that She was determined to keep to Herself for Her student’s sake, stepped forward and lowered Twilight’s hoof the rest of the way to the ground with a touch of Her own hoof. “I believe I can answer this, and, Twilight, you should be aware that once I speak the answer it will sound obvious only in hindsight; do not worry yourself because of this, and remember it still has yet to be even half a day since I declared peace. I- Nopony can ask or expect you to set aside reservations and the tendency to be suspicious so quickly.” Twilight nodded slowly and offered Vinyl an apologetic smile, to which They smiled in return, and They nodded Their understanding. “Now, as for the magic, certain classes of magic, such as Dark Magic, Blood Magic and, I suspect, Changeling Magic, causes the aura of the caster’s magic to temporarily change. A Changeling may yet have an aura yet different from that of Changeling Magic when it uses Unicorn Magic; alternatively, if Changelings usually have this green aura, well, usually a unicorn’s aura is similar to the color of that unicorn’s eyes, but there are exceptions here as well, so I would not think it impossible for some Changelings to also have an aura outside their norm.”

“Oh…” Twilight had been steadily cowed as Princess Celestia explained Her (correct) theo- hypothesis(-! By the Sun Princess’s great eclipsing plot, think before you speak! Twilight would kill Us for using ‘theory’ as a synonym for ‘hypothesis’! -or at least give us a really long, detailed, boring lecture.” “She’ll kill you if she hears you call the Princess’s plot ‘eclipsing’!”… “Sorry.” “Anyway), but after a moment, as she started to rise from her submissive posture, she stopped. “Speaking of magic-…” She raised herself to stand straight slowly as she dragged out the word. “-which on of you is the Bearer? -The Bearer of the Element of Laughter? I mean, it would be good to know for the next time we need to use them.” To herself, in a pseudo-whisper, she added, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of asking that until just now!”

Meanwhile, We were looking between myselves in confusion. “Who-?” “-is the Bearer?” “-of Laughter?” “Well, i’m pretty sure it’s all of Us who’s ‘the Bearer’-” “-since i was the one who wielded it against Nightmare Moon…” “-and i’m the one who used it against Discord!”

Even Princess Celestia pulled Her head back in surprise, but it was Twilight who went on. “Two… of you? -but how is the possible? Each Element chose a Bearer. One! -and I know each of you have a separate personality-”—We, and even the Changeling that had been Vinyl, grinned in appreciation of this—“-even though… I can’t tell who’s who because you all look the same to me… but-! -how can you all represent Laughter like this?! Though even if you can answer that, there can still only be one Bearer! -or at least…” Twilight started shrinking in on herself, going so far to lower herself to ground so she could pull and push at her face with her forehooves—a dangerous sign. “-that’s what I thought… how the Elements worked?”

The Princess looked like She was going to speak, but one of Us (who wasn’t paying attention to Her) answered first. “Well, i see two possibilities here: One, the Elements are not bound to one and only one Bearer, or two, the Bearer isn’t ‘one of Us’ but ‘all of Us’—that is: ‘Our Mind’. -or, ah, three-…” The one of Us chuckled awkwardly here. “-it could be both, i suppose.” The only thing that greeted this explanation was Twilight blinking blankly. “Well, that’s just what i thought; i mean, We don’t really know how the Elements of Harmony really work… right?”

At the question, Twilight sighed and stood, losing the glint of insanity in her eyes. “No, you’re right. I was just making assumptions when the data pool was way too small from which to draw any definitive conclusions.” She gave the one of Us who had offered her the explanations a quick hug. “Thank you for… drawing me out of that little freak-.” She stopped and a look of exaltation slowly overtook her, making the rest of Us (plus Octavia, Vinyl, and some of the pony onlookers behind their windows) to worry. “Magic! Of course!” Naturally, none of Us had any idea as to what she was talking about until she revealed her ingenious segue. “If Changeling Magic is a class of magic, and not-!… Then that would make-! Changelings and-!”

“Twilight…” We cut her off, “You’re doing that thing again.” “That thing where you aren’t really explaining anything.”

“Sorry.” She apologized while chuckling awkward apologetic chuckles. “What I’m getting at is that this aura discrepancy—if the Princess is correct—reveals that Changeling Magic is a class of magic, like Blood Magic, which means-…” She paused dramatically, but i’m sure you’ve already figured it out like We did then, and We gasped before Twilight announced her th-(rk!) hypothesis. “-if a unicorn studied hard enough, then it shouldn’t be impossible for a pony to learn how to cast Changeling spells!”

She looked up at Princess Celestia for confirmation, or any kind of comment on her proposition. “Yes, indeed.” She inclined Her head in a small nod. “If the nature of Changeling Magic is how I just supposed, then I would not rule out the possibility until you, my faithful student, prove such a thing impossible.” The Princess’s smile grew when She saw how Her implied invitation for Twilight to study Changeling Magic had Twilight’s eyes sparkling (ha! Good one!). “Now, however, I think we should make haste for the Ponyville hospital. Perhaps a simple, unassuming, unaggressive stroll through town will go some ways towards alleviating the townsponies’ fears? You two-” She directed to Octavia and Vinyl. “-are welcome to join us, as are the other Changelings who… ah, make up ‘The Mind’ of Vinyl Scratch?” She half-questioned Her own phrase, but Vinyl nodded, and as We made Our way (finally) into Ponyville proper, three more Changelings joined Us—each one was greeted by Octavia with a kiss too… involved to be anything remotely platonic. (Octavia is as good as any Changeling at putting on a mask: She acted and acts like any Canterlotian, but on the inside-” “—inside the bedroom!—“ “-she’s a machine! Four stallions every-!” “Okay…! On with the story!)

We do not know if Our “simple, unassuming, unaggressive stroll” had any effect, never mind the one the Princess hoped for, as everywhere was empty and still except for the windows where ponies watched Us and ducked away out of sight when they noticed one of Us looking at them. So for a long time nothing happened until We were in sight of the hospital, and at that last turn Princess Celestia held out a foreleg. “Wait…” She ordered before pointing up to the sky where a wing of pegasi guards were descending towards Us, one of them carrying a unicorn guard. Once they were close enough, and We saw (with no little worry) that they held their weapons ready, Princess Celestia gave Her order to Her guards, “Hold! Do not attack!”

The pegasi hovered and looked between themselves for a moment at this order from the apparent Celestia (they flew far enough apart that they could not hit each other with the spears they held in their mouths as they did this), and We could see the quandary they silently pondered: If this was, indeed, the Princess Celestia, then they couldn’t afford to disobey. However, if She was not a Changeling Herself, then what was She doing in the apparently amicable company of Changelings?! Ponies then only knew one surefire test to check if somepony is a Changeling, but that would involve attacking who was, potentially the real Princess Celestia! With a sigh, they landed before Us and the unicorn stepped forward with their answer. “Princess—if you are Princess Celestia—I’m sorry, but we have to know… and you know there’s only one way to be one-hundred percent certain…”

Princess Celestia only smiled down at the unicorn that could have been mistaken for any of his fellow guards (and ponies think not being able to tell Us apart is in any way unusual). “I agree. In fact, I would have had to insist if you neglected this duty, so I hold only pride and respect towards you for being able to confront me like this.” The unicorn’s ears perked at this, and We could see that there was something like a… an understanding-hope hybrid that this Alicorn before him is, indeed, Princess Celestia, at least until it hit him that if he’s right, then he’s about to strike the Princess of the Sun with a spell that had to be strong enough to knock Her out! He gulped, steeled himself, then let out a burst of orange magic that had enough force to knock Her back into rearing up on Her hindlegs.

Some of Us rushed forward to catch Her as She started to tilt to one side, and the guards crouched before rushing forward “to their Princess’s aid” as they no doubt thought, but Twilight, who had been ready for this, solidified her already half-conjured shield spell; the guards let out cries of alarm when their spears stuck the pinkish shield of magic that now trapped them (Equestria’s military really leaves something to be desired, doesn’t it? First Canterlot and then that. It’s a good thing you all have Us Changelings—ha! I was ready for your attack that time!—as allies now, isn’t it?). Princess Celestia must have had some kind of instinctual response to their yells, because She began to wake way quicker than anyone expected—even the unicorn who cast the spell stopped trying to break through the barrier to gape in surprise.

Almost instantly, Princess Celestia (perhaps this had something to do with Her “Alicornliness”?) was able to stand on Her own, and We pulled away. “Thank you, my little Changelings, for making sure I didn’t get dirty again.” We couldn’t help but chuckle at the effect Her words had on Her guards—none of Us would have been surprised if any of them had dislocated their jaw so severely they had to be taken to the hospital, but such wasn’t the case (-sadly! Gak! What?! It would’ve been fun-ngerk!). “Twilight, I believe you can let down the shield now,” She instructed, and as Twilight did so, Princess Celestia stepped slightly forward and to the side to be partially in front of Us and the Vinyl Changelings in an obviously protective move that the guards couldn’t fail to notice. “My guards…” She inclined Her head respectfully. “Thank you, as well, but these Changelings are now under my protection, and by extension the protection of Equestria. I will explain soon enough, but for now I would like you to gather all the residents of Ponyville before town hall. I will explain then, but before that I have some business to attend to in the hospital.”

For just a moment the guards looked like they wanted to speak up, but a small twitch in Princess Celestia’s expression had them salute and fly (or run) off to perform the duty assigned to them. From there, Our short walk from the intersection to the hospital was uninterrupted, except now some ponies were brave enough to actually step out their doors to watch Us from there, having apparently seen that Princess Celestia hadn’t been captured by Changelings and imponyated after all—We did Our best to be friendly, waving as We flew along, but that only earned Us, at worst, fleeing back into their homes and, at best, a tilted head from them, and no matter what each reaction earned a little surge of sympathy from the ponies walking with Us when they saw how Our friendliness was greeted (or rather not greeted). We were actually encouraged, though, by how… not “positive”, but… by how nonaggressive and not angry the ponies were.

Predictably, but a little disappointingly, We found the reception desk of the hospital unstaffed… along with everything else, but as the automatic doors slid shut behind the last of Us, there was a whimper, just audible, and there was only one place it could have come from—one place large enough to hide a pony in that room. The Princess stepped up to the reception desk with a little cough and tapped the wood with a golden-shoed forehoof, earning a squeak from the hidden pony. “Excuse me, we would like to see…”

“Ah, right, We hadn’t said yet, had We?” We ask rhetorically. “That would be- i mean, We would like to see a patient. Her name is Screw Loose.”

The pony started inching up, revealing herself to be Nurse Redheart, and hers eyes stayed on Princess Celestia as she asked, “Screw? The one with-?” She stopped when she finally looked away from the Princess and froze upon seeing Us—i suppose that facing a dozen Changelings would have been above simple fright for a pony back then.

We decide to push on and hopefully startle her back into movement. “Yes, Screw.” “Yes, the one in your psych ward suffering from M-S.I.I.” “Mind-Separation Induced Insanity.” “We’re here to give her the thing she’s been waiting for ever since she left her old Mind.” “-a… cure.” Poor Nurse Redheart—she’s so kind that We didn’t like the idea of inadvertently giving her a heart attack; not that We liked the idea of giving anypony else heart attacks-! -but Redheart-… You’d have to know her to understand, i guess—only turned more and more confused until Our very last word catches her attention.

Less and less reluctant, Nurse Redheart eventually stood tall and straight, staring with such intensity at the one of Us who had spoken the word “cure” that We started to cower a bit in turn. “You better be telling to truth, now. You don’t just throw around the word ‘cure’ in a hospital.” We nodded—We knew the true identity of Screw Loose (as you’re probably suspecting now), after all, so We had no fear that Our “cure” would not work. Still, the nurse glanced at Princess Celestia for some sign, and She nodded, so Redheart turned to a hallway. “Please follow me, then, and I’ll take you to her.”

Unfortunately for Nurse Redheart, the psych ward was far out of the way, so she had many long halls through which to lead Us, past many windows and windowed doors on the other side of which there were many fearful, staring eyes, but they didn’t concern Us so much as how Redheart felt the need to constantly glance back at Us. Almost inevitably, she missed a turn because of this, and when she realized it, she turned, gulping back her fear. “Uhm…” was all she was able to say as she waved jerkily towards the hall she should have taken. Catching her meaning, We stepped back to give her room to continue leading Us; after that, she looked back at Us a lot less, and Our hope in Princess Celestia’s plan grew.

…

Finally, They came upon My room as the saviors I had been waiting for for-… for I don’t remember how many years—I wasn’t exactly in any fit state to count them. What was going through My mind—My mind in which I was alone—before They came inside or when They came inside doesn’t matter… The only thing that matters is what happened after the burst of green light that brought to Me the sudden realization that I shouldn’t be barking. “-barking isn’t what ponies—or Changelings—do-” “-or growling-”

I shook My head as clarity came to Me slowly, and when I stopped, the first thing My eyes fell upon was one of the few things I had come to realize that I love, even through My madness. She gasped, put her hoof up to her mouth, and said something, but My thoughts were too busy aligning with the Mind I had been pulled into to understand her. After all, I had been so long without a Mind that I had become more accustomed to being without one than with. For a long time we just stared at each other, I blinking like a cave creature thrust into open sunlight and she crying silently, hoof frozen over her muzzle. “Nurse… Redheart?” I finally spoke, “What-?”

That was it: My speaking in rational, understandable Equestrian threw her over the edge and spurred her into motion- into rushing forward and more jumping on Me than hugging Me, though she had kept a firm grip on My neck even as we landed on the floor. “Screw… Oh, Screw, you said my name! You never said my name before! You never even spoke, but you always understood everything I said, didn’t you!? I knew there was somepony inside of you, trapped! I knew you weren’t a waste of time, like-! Oh, forget them!” The entire time she was nuzzling Me nonstop as she spoke, and she didn’t seem to mind I was too shocked still to return the affection.

As Nurse Redheart started reining herself in, letting Me go, My senses had finally and fully righted themselves. “-a mind?- -wait!- -no!- -I don’t want this!-” I was so unused to having a Mind then that I wasn’t able to control what thoughts were to be in the Mind and which were mine and mine alone. I stood up and leveled a glare at the Changelings who had forced their Mind on Me- whose thoughts I could feel as I hadn’t felt for uncountable years. “You seven—eight?—eight-! -I told you before I didn’t want this! I don’t care that I can’t think rationally and that I can’t control myself without a Mind! I hate it! I. Hate. Having a Mind! I don’t want anything to do with Changelings! I want-!… I want to be a pony! I wish I had been born a-!”

“Screw…?” Nurse Redheart’s tender, soft, caring voice, as quiet as it was, stopped My ranting instantly. “Screw, are you saying-? Did you just say-…?” She couldn’t get the question out, but I knew what she was asking, of course.

I nodded. “Yes, I’m a-” I growled, but Redheart was so accustomed to Me doing such things it didn’t phase her. “I’m a… Changeling.” I wanted to bark out that word—curse it—but instead it came out with a whimper and column of green flames to reveal the body that had never felt like it belonged to Me. I didn’t want to know Nurse Redheart’s reaction, so I swiveled back around to the eight, intent on continuing to chew Them out, but instead I let out a scream of horror and terror and fear for My life, and jumped back next to Redheart. “P-P-Pr-Princess Celestia!” I cried out in vain warning, pointing to where She then stood in the door, then I frantically looked around even though I knew this room: There was no way out. Whimpering, I squeezed My eyes shut, determinedly not listening to the Mind—expecting to feel nothing but pain and cries for help that would be swiftly silenced—and lay down, awaiting My own judgment.

Even as I was determinedly laying prone, I couldn’t help but jump when I felt something touch My head; I had expected to be done away with by a wave of magic that would crush the body I hated so much against the wall, not to be actually touched. Then, through the thick fogs of dread, I finally heard something pulling Me out. “Screw… Screw… It’s okay… It’s okay…” Nurse Redheart, the only one who fed Me with her love since I left My old Mind and was dragged to the hospital and as the only one towards whom I acted somewhat acceptable when I had been without a Mind, was stroking Me with one of her forehooves, slowly and gently, from the top of My head at the start of the spined fins on the back of every Changeling’s neck, down them to the hardest plate of a Changeling’s body—on their back—then back up and on and on and on, and she brought Me back to reality again.

With deep steadying breaths, each one coming out less shaky than the last, I took in the Princess Celestia in the doorway. “-is she a Changeling?-” I asked the Mind. “-no-” “-it really is okay, too-” “-We know how you hate being a Changeling-” “-how We have to lie and hurt and foalnap…-” “-but that’s over-” “Over?” I asked aloud. “It’s over?”

Princess Celestia, with the intelligence of millennia, must have figured out that we had communicated in the Mind, for as She nodded, She said, “Yes. I may not be able to transform you into a pony (fully and permanently or otherwise), but I can do the next best thing: make peace with Changelings so that you don’t have to resort to the deceitful tactics, which is what I assume is what you really hate so much.” It was My turn to nod at that, then the grin broke out on My face, and I squeezed Nurse Redheart so hard that the instant I jumped away from fear that I’d hurt her, but she pulled Me back, squeezing Me just as hard in return and nuzzling Me.

Sometimes, I still envy you ponies like I did before—when I was in the psych ward, and even before that- long before that, really—but other times… now that I mostly don’t feel ashamed to be part of a Mind (and Nurse Redheart convinced Me it's for the best), I pity you ponies about how you can’t so intimately understand another’s thoughts and feelings. How I wish I could share with you that palpable joy, bliss, elation, rapture-!… Such words are so meaningless when I put them next to what I felt when that which I’d always wished for but never hoped for finally came and saved Me from the infinite darkness I had locked Myself inside of when I wanted to live a life as something I could only copy but never be…

…

… … … …

Oh! Did Princess Celestia set the Sun early?! No!? We’re sorry!