Love's Lesson Learned

She was fooling herself to think she could fix the day’s result. Even if she had the power, it would take too long for her to fly the winding caverns to bypass the shield in place. She couldn’t stop herself from trying. It would have meant giving up on the most important dream she’d even dreamed. She couldn’t let that shield conjure mark the end of it all. Escaping the army was easier than she thought. It turned out that they still followed her after such a humiliating and preventable defeat. She decided not to risk believing that her mentor lacked the power to take control again and have her dragged back to the place of her turning. It seemed like hours before she found her way back into the castle. The time flying to the cave and to the top again caused her to miss the ceremonies. The reception was not yet underway. Urgently she took the form of another pony. Her heart pounded with fear of discovery and the power they could force upon her while infiltrating the city alone.

There was no pony left she could trust. Her fellow changelings would no doubt become hostile if she left the shield’s safety. At the same time, she could think of no way to return to a normal life without the fear is discovery, either by detection of her shifting magics or by changeling scouts who would be much more sensitive to the magic around her form. She could think of no option that did not end in some horrible manner. Outside her new home there was no safe place for a lone changeling, and returning there would be nothing short of suicide. She couldn’t think of a way to dispel such strange… strange magic! She knew what needed to be done. Or rather, she knew who could help her. The reception was going to begin but she was in no proper state for that, even if she disguised herself. Her flight was straight and fast. She passed out of the shield’s protection and headed for the Everfree forest.

Though she wasn’t sure where she was going, Chrysalis knew what she was looking for. There was only one pony known for living in the forest. She wasn’t sure what she would tell the forest pony when she found her home. She expected that she’d be recognized as a changeling right away, as she had no intention of disguising herself for this encounter. She wanted a cure for this curse. She knocked her hoof against the door, still full of spinning emotions. The striped pony who opened the door showed cautious surprise until she understood the reasoning behind her visit. Chrysalis explained that she was on the run and needed to dispel powerful magic before she could be hunted down. Zecora gave her good and bad news. There was a way to reverse the curse, but she could only give instructions. The secret to shedding away the changeling’s curse was to give away the love that sustained them. It wasn’t a perfect cure, as life would still depend on love. The difference between a hostile and hospitable changeling was the love they received. A changeling could continue their pony life if they were strong enough to ignore the lies of a changeling queen who would turn them. She wasn’t sure how to take that news. Her choices could be connected to everything that had taken place over the last few days. Zecora made her promise to visit again, as she wanted to be sure the poor soul found her way back home and on to happier trails.

She reverted to her unicorn self as she stepped out of the striped pony’s hut. Black fur, a canary mane and tail, and emerald eyes defined her true identity again. From there, she would head into Ponyville hoping to find a place she could stay for the night. She remembered the baker’s gracious demeanor, and noted the cutie mark she recalled seeing on her flank. The apple family farm was nearby. If they were as accommodating as Twilight suggested in her letters, it would likely be her best chance at finding somepony who could take her in. Her tale captivated the small family’s attention, especially the small filly who must have been a member of the crusaders that her pen pal had mentioned. She was surprised with the hospitality she received. Their kindness would have moved her to tears, but she kept a strong face. She was especially surprised by the great stallion who covered her from the cold with a cloak when they found her, and brought her to an empty bed once she’d explained her appearance. She would correctly guess that she had been given Applejack’s room for the night, as she was away in Canterlot for a wedding she’d been invited to attend. She wasn’t able to leave without being treated to some breakfast and supplied with some small things to eat on the train back to Canterlot. She thanked the Apple family graciously and went on her way to town with Big Macintosh. Though she preferred to make the walk alone, nothing she tried to explain would convince the stallion to let her do so. She decided to take it for what it was… an extension of kindness to watch over her safety.

When they arrived in town, there were a few stops she wanted to make before heading for the station. She had heard about the Carousel Boutique. The pony who had turned the strange structure into a creative space for dress-making had made quite a name for herself after crafting dresses that were seen at the Gala last year. No doubt Rarity’s name would spread even further when word gets out about her putting together the princess’s wedding gown along with all those worn by the bridesmaids. She wasn’t sure why she stopped there. There wasn’t much she could do while the fashionista was still in Canterlot. She made a not to herself to find the post office when they came near the station. Twilight’s library was truly a sight to behold. It couldn’t rival the size of Canterlot’s library, but she had to see it for herself when Twilight had written that all the books and her own room fit inside a massively thick tree. She was sorely tempted to have a look around. But she knew Twilight and her dragon assistant were also likely at the castle today. She tried to dismiss the red stallion when they reached the station. But it seemed he had promised his granny that she wouldn’t be left alone until she was on the train home.

“S-star?! Star Crystal! You’re safe! You’re alive!!” She turned to the sound of her name. It was a surprise to hear it, and even a greater surprise to hear it in Twilight Sparkle’s voice! Greater shock was added to her paralysis when the purple unicorn bounded to her and squeezed tightly around her neck. “We thought you were lost in the changeling ambush months ago, how did you get here!?” The younger unicorn pressed her tears into elder’s neck. Again, as she had several times in the most recent days, her emotions were mixed. She was overjoyed to find that she could still have Twilight’s love. It gave her great hope that many Canterlot ponies would react in the same manner when news of her safe return had spread. “Spike! Urgent letter!” The small dragon hurried to them, and pulled what he needed from Twilight’s saddlebag. “Princess Celestia, I have wonderful news! The unicorn Star Crystal who was taken by the changeling ambush in place your niece, Princess Cadance, had made an escape and a safe return to Ponyville. Please make sure this news reaches Shining Armor. He will be able to bring to news to her family in Canterlot. She and I are boarding the next train to bring her home. Signed, your student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Star Crystal told her story to the young mare who sat close to her for the ride. She was captured, placed in some sort of evolution chamber, and had nearly been forced to join in the battles that emptied the changeling warrens. She was tempted with power over other ponies and the ability to take their shapes. She decided it best to leave out her falling to that temptation and the events that followed. Instead she’d explain that she couldn’t be tempted to do such things, even if it meant having the love of her Shining Armor. When she looked down at her friend, she realized it was the first time she had confessed that love to anypony since she had talked to Princess Cadance. “Don’t worry. I know about the wedding, and I’m just as happy for him as you are.” Twilight seemed relieved to hear it, but she felt awful given the circumstances knowing that Star Crystal had likely been waiting to come back to him. “He’s going to cry when he sees you.” Star Crystal smiled, knowing that much was probably true. “I hope he doesn’t feel guilty about what happened… had he written or mentioned anything to you?” He hadn’t. Twilight knew he reacted as anypony would after losing their closest friend that way. If Shining Armor did blame himself, he didn’t show any indication to his sister.

Star Crystal could see the congregation standing at the station as the train pulled in to a stop. The princess and Shining Armor must have worked quickly to tell Everypony who would want to know that she was safe and on her way home. It wasn’t her own family who stood front and center. She didn’t expect any of them remained in Canterlot to begin with. Instead her first welcoming came from all of twilight’s family which included the newest addition, the newlywed Princess Cadance. Her steps shy steps forward were met with a rush of clopping hooves as Shining Armor and his parents met her with a large group embrace as if she were one of their own. She didn’t know if the intensity of the reunion was getting to her or if being something new with a different way or processing love had been the cause. Maybe she simply hadn’t realized how much love there was just for her right in her home town. Being in the center of the surrounding embrace was overpowering. She cried and laughed with them all at the same time. When she was released, she found that even more ponies had come to see her. Her mentor in the jewelry store had come right away then the news was received. There were also some old classmates she and Shining Armor knew from Canterlot’s University of Magic. Celestia herself had arrived after passing on Twilight’s note to her newest nephew.

Everypony wanted to hear the story and it was decided that those who wished to stay with her would gather at Princess Cadance and Shining Armor’s home. While she did wish some member of her own family could have come to see her, she had always felt like an adopted member of Armor’s; just as Cadance had in her foal-sitting days. In either case, she was surrounded by ponies who were overjoyed to have news of her safe return. She retold the story she told to Twilight Sparkle on the way back. It was true that she had been turned into a love-dependent changeling and had managed to escape while the invasion was taking place. She told them of her visit to Zecora’s hut and the advice she had received. Together the group declared that if love was all she needed, there would be no worries for her. Her mentor still had the room above the store empty for her to reside again. Twilight Sparkle made her promise to write again. She agreed and looked forward to getting those letters again. Night Light and Velvet Sparkle told her to visit often, as did Shining Armor and Cadance.

Before she was left to the comfort of her home, she stopped Cadance from leaving. There was at least one more thing that needed to be said. “You remember the advice you gave me that day… and I’m sure you know who it was about. Shining Armor forgave himself for what happened that day. It was the best I could get out of him for now. But I wanted to be sure that you knew there are no ill feelings between us. I’m happy for you both, more than you could know. I still have my best friend… that will have to be enough for me.” The princess must have known that there was still a big part inside the unicorn that wished she had been the one in the white dress that day. She embraced her newest friend with a single hoof around her neck. “I saw him during those hardest days after you were taken away. I know the two of you had been very close for a very long time. And I know those feelings don’t go away even after he managed to move on.” The princess loosened her embrace to look Star Crystal in the eye. “I can see that you’re starting to move on as well. I think it’s rare to say so but in your lucky case, I think being around him and his family… your second family…?” The unicorn nodded to confirm the princess’s assumption. She had been more or less unofficially adopted into Armor and Twilight’s family. “Yes. I think being close to them will help you become more comfortable with your place there. I can’t take claim on his entire heart after all, and the rest of it belongs to his family.”

Star Crystal appreciated the princess’s words. She was glad that his bride would trust him to be around somepony who was nearly an interest of his. She shook her head as that thought passed her mind. That was thinking like a possessive Queen Chrysalis. The princess’s advice proved helpful in the coming days. Spending time with Shining Armor, his bride, and his family did indeed help her fall back into normalcy and accept her place as his loving sister. She couldn’t convince herself that it was for the best to have lost her chance to be his bride. But she accepted it as a happy consequence for her hesitation and the actions it led to. Slowly, her life was on track again. She never did have to worry on Zecora’s warning, as she was ever surrounded by the love of her family around her.