Love at Ground Zero

Chapters

Attraction
Loyalty
Commiseration
Deception
Alliance
Rivalry
Impact

Attraction

Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 1: Attraction

It was early in the morning, too early for most fillies to wake up and attend a lesson, but not to Princess Celestia’s faithful student. After only training her for three months, Twilight had already learned how to use telekinesis faster than most foals her age and she was starting on another important lesson. Both teacher and student stood in the royal garden, sitting down on the well-trimmed grass. With the early morning twilight overhead, the whole garden was quiet save for the chirping of crickets.

“Do you see that ball over there?” asked Princess Celestia, pointing a hoof at a small red ball lying among several pebbles on the sidewalk. “I want you to lift that ball off the ground.”

“I can do that, Princess,” said Twilight, confidently. “It would be easy.”

“But you have to lift it without using telekinesis.”

“Huh? But if I can’t use telekinesis, how am I supposed to lift the ball?”

“Remember your lesson yesterday?”

Twilight paused as her methodical mind worked. “The one where you had to concentrate all of your energy at a single point in the air?”

“Yes, that’s the one. What I want you to do is concentrate your energies over the ball and force it to move with nothing but your mental energies.”

“Okay...” She concentrated with all her might, her face twisting into a painful grimace as she conjured her energy from her horn. An invisible singularity appeared over the ball, but it was so weak, it barely produced any kind of static or attraction. Determined to succeed, her horn glowed a bright purple as she drew from all the energy she could, but in the end, she could only cause the rock to shake a little.

Twilight released her magic with a loud grunt, too exhausted to continue. “I can’t do it.” Her voice shook with irritation.

“Don’t be frustrated,” soothed Princess Celestia. “For your first attempt, you’ve done well since you were able to move it at all. Remember, the goal is to focus all your energy at one point to create a singularity.”

“But I don’t understand. How can I possibly move anything with a sing...gular...ity?”

Princess Celestia chuckled at the look on Twilight’s face as she tried to pronounce the word. “A singularity is a point inside an intense gravitational field where all matter is crushed into an infinite density...” when Princess Celestia noticed the look of confusion on Twilight’s face, she added, “it’s a miniature black hole. By creating a temporary singularity out of nothing, you can use its gravity to move small objects, like this.” The Princess’s horn glowed bright yellow as she channeled her magic.

Twilight looked on with her mouth agape in amazement as she saw the ball and all of the pebbles on the ground move toward a single point in the air where The Princess created her singularity. Although the singularity was invisible, Twilight could see the pebbles collecting together around the ball like the asteroid belt around Saturn. Only when Princess Celestia let go of her hold did the rocks finally topple down back to the earth.

“Princess, I don’t understand. Why do we need to learn this power when we can already move objects telekinetically?”

“Because it is with this power, we can do this.” Princess Celestia’s horn glowed again. At first, nothing seemed to happen, much to Twilight’s confusion, but then the light of the sun began to shine in front of Twilight’s eyes as it rose from the horizon.

“You see, my faithful student, the universe is not manipulated by magic, but by gravity. It is gravity that forces the stars and planets to move and remain suspended in orbit, but gravity can be created by magic. What I just did was I created a singularity over the Earth and used the gravity of that singularity to rotate the planet toward the sun, much like how a string can spin a top.”

Twilight stared at her mentor with bright-eyed wonderment, her childish curiosity keeping her glued to Celestia’s lesson. “Is that how other unicorns used to do it?”

“Yes. It takes study and a lot of power, which is why very few unicorns are powerful enough to control the sun and the moon, but nonetheless, it’s a skill that is a proud mark of a unicorn’s heritage, and with your power, you might be able to raise the sun and the moon all by yourself.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up in wonder. “Really? Then I want to practice some more.”

“Very well, just concentrate on the singularity like I showed you.”

Twilight closed her eyes and channeled her magic, again. Although she could not move the ball by the end of the lesson, her resolve to master the skill drove her on.

“That’s it,” said Twilight, “concentrate on moving the ball.”

It was late in the afternoon in Cheerilee’s class. Today was one of those special lessons where each of the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies in the class were divided up and given special lessons conducive to their type. Twilight volunteered to teach the unicorns this time, and she was teaching them the secret to controlling the stars.

Every unicorn in the class was concentrating as hard as they could, trying to move the little balls strewn about on the field. While there were a few who could make the ball rock a little, most of the students were struggling to create the singularity, let alone actually use it to move something.

“Okay, that’s enough,” said Twilight.

The foals let out a collective sigh of relief. Some even collapsing in exhaustion.

Sweetie Belle, sweating profusely, said in a breathless voice, “I can’t...do it. How does...The Princesses...do this...everyday?”

“Don’t be frustrated,” said Twilight. “The Princesses had a thousand years to master the technique. But with training and practice, even you foals can raise the sun and moon.”

“That’s easy...for you...to say...” panted Snips.

“Yeah,” agreed Snails, “you’re...already...a princess...”

Twilight sheepishly tucked in her wings as if embarrassed by the comment. “That doesn’t mean I’m all powerful. I still have a long way to go before I’m at Celestia’s level.”

“Can you lift the sun and moon?” asked Dinky, wiping some sweat from her brow.

“No, but I’ve been able to learn how to do lots of other things with my powers.”

“Like what?” asked some of the students, collectively.

“Well, I can summon a meteor.”

The foals’ eyes lit up with excitement as they gathered around her, requesting to see a demonstration.

“Okay, okay, just stand back and watch and wait.”

Twilight closed her eyes and her mind reached out into the depths of space as she conjured a singularity just above the Earth’s atmosphere. The singularity was not just a point of gravitational pull, it was also an extension of Twilight’s senses. As she quietly meditated, her consciousness spread out from the point of the singularity, reaching out in all directions for any signs of oncoming objects. It was not an easy feat since most objects that come near the Earth are no larger than a pebble and often travel as fast as the speed of light.

At last, she felt something. It was moving fast, but she reacted with expert timing. She increased the gravity of her singularity and felt it grab the object and swing it toward her direction. She could psychically feel the object hit the earth’s atmosphere and plummet down. Twilight had to act fast. Once the meteor hit the atmosphere, the Earth’s gravity was all that was needed to bring it down, but Twilight had to telekinetically slow down the meteor’s descent or else it would burn up in the atmosphere. With careful control and precision, she directed the little space rock toward her. After several minutes of waiting she could feel the rock plummet toward her. Once the rock hit the ground with a soft plop, Twilight heard a startled yelp from a stallion. When she opened her eyes, she saw Shining Armor bent in an odd position next to the hole where the meteor hit.

“Shining Armor,” called out Twilight in surprise, “what are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you and Spike said you’d be here,” said Shining Armor, still shaken from nearly having a rock nail him in the head. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No, I was just demonstrating to the class how to control gravity when—“ Twilight was interrupted by the ring of the school bell. “Oh, looks like class if over.”

Before Twilight could dismiss them, the foals happily skipped away, leaving her alone with her brother.

“So...why didn’t you tell me that you were coming?”

“Well, I was going to write a message to you, but I decided to come to Ponyville to tell you in person.”

“Tell me what?”

“Princess Celestia needs you to come to Appleloosa as soon as possible. We’re going to need your magic.”

“Why, are the Appleloosians and buffalo fighting again?”

“No, it’s not that. Due to the increase in population in Appleloosa, the desert needs more water than is normally delivered from Cloudsdale. In order to survive in the long run, Appleloosa is going to need to build a bigger reservoir, but first they need water. Rather than take water from other towns, Princess Celestia decided to draw from meteors. There’s a huge one made of ice headed this way and it should be within range to draw to the Earth in a few days. She’s gathering up every unicorn to help.”

“But why can’t she do it herself?”

“It’s a rather complicated procedure. The meteor itself is huge and while moving the sun and moon miles from the Earth is relatively easy, moving a large object from space toward Equestria safely is a difficult task, especially since it’s predicted that the meteor will be at least a mile wide and possibly full of rocks that will not burn up in the atmosphere. Not to mention there will be pegasi who will be collecting the water to the reservoir as well as a number of failsafes to ensure that no pony gets hurt. With so much to organize, Princess Celestia is going to need you to help organize the attempt.”

Twilight flapped her wings with excitement. “I’d be honored to.”

There was a lot of activity in the small town of Appleloosa. The normally empty and desolate desert lands was suddenly alive with color from all the various ponies that were up and about. All around, there were the sounds of clinks and cracks of earth ponies digging the reservoir with shovels and picks, pegasi on ground level exercising and stretching out their wings, and unicorns sitting in a circle, quietly meditating as they practiced channeling their energies. Their horns glowed as they slowly lifted every grain of sand and boulder in their circle off the ground and hovering them in the center of their collective singularity.

Twilight was near the other unicorns, watching their progress. “That’s it, every pony! Just keep it up a little longer.”

The ponies who came to participate in the ritual were some of the most talented magic-users in Canterlot. Some were even decorated with jewelry faceted with stones and other objects said to enhance magical ability (or so the jewelry makers say). All of them were focused and powerful, lifting the heavy boulders as if they were as light as a feather.

“Unicorns prepared and ready for spell work, check,” said Twilight as she marked off another item from her list. With a flap of her wings, she took off to oversee the rest of the volunteers. She was so focused on her work, she barely noticed the scorching heat of the summer sun or the inhospitably dry air. She was happy to do her job in any weather, even though she found Shining Armor by the reservoir, panting and sweating.

With his telekinetic powers, he lifted several heavy sheets of metal off the ground as he helped attach them to the inner walls of the reservoir while earth ponies gathered around to fasten the sheets together.

“How’s it going?” asked Twilight as she landed beside him.

“It’s coming along great,” said Shining Armor as he whipped the sweat from his mane with a shake of his head. “The reservoir is almost complete, it should be ready by the time the meteor arrives. How are things going with the unicorns and the pepasi?”

“Fine, although I’m a little concerned about something.”

“What’s wrong?”

Twilight levitated her clipboard up to nose level as she read off it. “Braeburn told me that there was going to be a total of 21 unicorns and 34 pegasi volunteering, but according to my count, there are 30 unicorns and 39 pegasi.”

“So?”

“So!” shouted Twilight, fuming with irritation. “I need to have accurate information about these things.”

“Twily, I think you’re being a little paranoid. I’m sure Braeburn just miscounted or we got some extras at the last minute.”

“You’re probably right. I’m sorry I’m a little short, I just want everything to go right.”

“There’s no need to fret. I’m sure everything will go just fine.” Shining Armor wiped off more sweat from off his horn with the back of his hoof. “I don’t know how you can stand this heat. I’m going to see if I can get some water. Be back in a minute.” Shining Armor’s horn glowed a bright purple, and in a flash, he teleported away. Once he was gone, a single scraggily pony came up to Twilight, much to her surprise. She had a mud brown coat and looked up at Twilight with equally brown eyes.

“Princess Sparkle, I need your help moving some heavy boulders,” said the little pony in a small, squeaky voice.

“I can help,” said Twilight.

Without another word, the pony spun around and pranced off. As Twilight followed the pony, she was surprised to see that the pony was leading her far away from the town and out of sight behind a hill.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Braeburn told me that he needed some fruit bat guano for fertilizer.”

“I didn’t know there were any fruit bats out here?”

“Of course there are. They disguise themselves as prickly pears.”

The pony led Twilight to a cave entrance. When she hesitated to enter, the pony waved a hoof to coax Twilight to follow and she impulsively did so. In the dim light inside, Twilight could see boulders chocking the neck of the cave.

“Do you want me to move those rocks?” asked Twilight.

“Just enough for me to get through.”

“Okay! It will only take a minute.” She telekinetically lifted a rock tossed it to the side with a swing of her head.

As Twilight was about to grab another rock, shadows blocked the sun from her. Curious, she turned around and saw four other figures standing at the mouth of the cave. At first, she thought they were unicorns, but as the figures approached, she could make out their insect-like wings and their solid blue eyes. She gawked at the intruders, stunned to suddenly see changelings standing before her, their horns lowered as if threatening to skewer her.

“Look out.” Twilight telekinetically lifted one of the boulders threatening to toss it, but the pony who brought her down there bucked her over, breaking Twilight’s concentration and dropping the boulder with a loud thud that echoed against the cave walls. She looked up in time to see a flash of green as the anonymous pony transformed before her eyes.

This changeling was different from the others primarily because her charcoal black body had a tinge of red and black like a smoldering lump of coal. The red changeling turned toward her subordinates and said, “Take her.”

Twilight’s horn glowed as she tried to teleport, but she suddenly felt an opposing magical tug. The red changeling’s horn glowed a blood red as she used her telekinesis to hold Twilight in place, preventing her from teleporting. She tried to resist, her horn blazing like the sun, but the remaining changelings used their own power to hold her in their completive grasp. Her body twitched as she tried to move, but every muscle felt frozen against their magic. All she could do was watch as she was helplessly carried down deep into the cave.

As her wondering eyes examined the cave, she saw that the walls were made of solid earth and carved without any finesses or regard toward detail as if they were carved recently and quickly. With the addition of torches lighting up the walls, it felt more like a dungeon than a natural cave. She was dragged into the far off room of the chamber and unceremoniously dropped at the feet of a large black changeling.

“Your Highness, I’ve brought Twilight Sparkle as you commanded,” said the red changeling as she bowed her head.

In response was an otherworldly sounding voice. “Good work, Mirror.”

A chill ran down Twilight’s spine as she recognized the voice. She lifted her head up to the figure before her and there she saw the green glowing eyes of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. She was grinning down upon Twilight, baring her fangs.

“What are you doing here?” demanded Twilight, getting up onto her hooves.

Chrysalis ran a hoof under Twilights chin in a mocking gesture. “Despite what happened in Canterlot, I still want Equestria for my people, and after today, the princesses will be no more.” Chrysalis’s wings excitedly fluttered as she said the words no more.

“Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work,” shouted Twilight, trying her best to keep the shake of nervousness out of her voice. “Once Shining Armor notices that I’m missing, he’ll come looking for me.”

Chrysalis let out a loud chuckle. “Hmm, you’re right. I’ll need to find some pony to take your place, and I have several loyal subjects to choose from.” She turned to the red changeling. “Mirror, cocoon her.”

A beam of red energy coursed through Mirror’s horn as it wrapped around Twilight. She struggled against the spell as if it was a rope binding and wrapping itself around her body. She was carried up to the ceiling, smothered as a form of ectoplasm wrapped itself around her. By the time the spell was complete, Twilight found herself hanging upside down inside of a green cocoon. She tried to teleport, but the cocoon dampened her magic. Although she could hear nothing, she could still see Chrysalis talking to the changeling she called Mirror. By the time Chrysalis was done giving instructions, Mirror transformed into the spitting image of Twilight and galloped off to Appleloosa.

Loyalty

Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 2: Loyalty

Her name was Mirror. She started her life as a typical hatchling born from the various emerald green eggs that incubate in the Hive’s collective rookery. This is because all changelings are raised together as one large community; each changeling lives as a single part of one whole. She was born a soldier and raised with one purpose: to protect and serve the Queen and the Hive. But her true power as a magician first manifested during her soldier training. With the Hive’s massive underground caverns, most soldiers never see the outdoors aside for combat and training. On one particular day, Mirror joined her fellow hatchlings in the training gym. With few resources in the desert, the training gym was arranged into the shape of a tortoise shell made of rock and mortared with green changeling wax. There were no windows since the building was built underground and the noise of the changeling city was subdued within the walls of the training gym like an impenetrable egg.

Mirror stood in line along with the other changelings, her fangs bearing in excitement as she waited for her instructor to return and begin the lesson. With their teacher momentarily absent, the hatchlings were free to talk amongst one another, usually talking about games they will play, or gossip they have heard, or about the latest toys. The lone exception was Mirror who stood off to the side, staring off at the wall like a gargoyle in deep concentration.

Among one of the larger males in the class was a changeling named Echo. When he noticed Mirror lost in her own head, he approached her. “Hey Mirror,” he shouted, “what’re you staring at?’

Mirror said nothing, keeping her gaze at the wall as she pretended that she did not hear him. Much like Mirror’s unusual charcoal red color, Echo also stood out as well thanks to the blue tiger stripes along his back, contrasting with his onyx black body.

“Hey, why aren’t you talking?” demanded Echo, stamping his hoof to the floor. “Oh I see. You think you’re too good to talk to me? Are you planning on blowing up the entire gym again like you did last week?”

Mirror got the distinct impression that other hatchlings were noticing her and Echo, but she kept her mouth closed; she refused to so much as glance at Echo, even as he sleeked up in front of her, his eyes piercing into hers.

“Face it, Mirror, you may be magically talented, but you’re also a class-A screw-up and a weirdo.” He pocked a hoof into her wings. “I’m poking you, what are you going to do about it?”

After only a moment of hesitation, Mirror’s horn glowed a bright red and telekinetically grabbed Echo by his hind legs and flipped him onto his back with a soft thud.

As the room filled with giggles from some of the onlookers, Echo awkwardly flipped back onto his legs and stared into Mirror’s eyes, his face absolutely fuming with anger. Even though Echo was right in her face, Mirror just stood there, her eyes glaring off into space. Although she seemed to be in a daze, in actuality, her mind was alert and aware as she waited for Echo to make his next move.

“Come on, try that again,” challenged Echo, but Mirror would not respond. Seething with anger, his horn began to glow with magic.

As Mirror watched his horn glow, her own horn was glowing as well, both combatants itching to strike.

“That’s enough!” At that moment, Forgery, the teacher, trotted across the room from the door he came in and approached the hatchlings with his stern gaze.

“Well, he started it,” said Mirror, rubbing her hooves together nervously.

“I did not,” shouted Echo.

“Silence! Since you two want to fight so bad, come up front.”

Echo and Mirror scurried to the front of the class.

“Now class,” said Forgery, turning his attention to the students, “I assume you’ve all did your homework and read the section on cocoon magic as I’ve instructed.”

There were some murmurs of confirmation from the students even though some were clearly putting on an unconvincing poker face.

“If not,” continued Forgery with a slight hint of a threat in his voice, “then Mirror and Echo will demonstrate it to the class. They will try to capture each other into a cocoon, paralyzing each other.”

Mirror could see the sly smirk on Echo’s face and knew what he was thinking. She stood with both hooves planted firmly in the ground, knowing this might not be a fair fight.

“Ready...go!”

Without a single second of hesitation, Echo fired a blue blast of magical energy from his horn. Mirror countered with a red colored force field, but the blast from Echo’s horn was so strong, its force pushed back both her and her force field with a loud screech of magic against magic. He’s not holding back. Well if that’s the way he wants to play, then neither should I. Her horn glowed red as she shot her own spell at Echo.

Echo stood his ground as the spell flew toward him. However, it did not get far until a blast of sparks shot from his horn. With a swing of his head, he left a current of electricity in the air and as the spell hit the current, it followed the current and flew toward the wall where it ineffectually dissipated with a soft hiss.

“Echo!” said Forgery, angrily. “I told you not to use electricity spells in my class without permission. Do that again and you get detention.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” said Echo, but after saying his apologies, he turned to Mirror with a sinister grin on his face.

Mirror knew Echo was a skillful electrokinetic, and such a destructive ability was highly coveted among the soldiers. Although Mirror had her gifts too, her gift was less than coveted...or at least not among soldiers.

Echo lowered his horn like a bull ready to charge. “You’re move.”

Mirror countered with her own cocoon spell. The blast of magical energy flew toward Echo, but he erected a force field to block. Mirror expected him to just fire another blast, but instead he curved the shield so that the spell would curve around and fly back at Mirror. She took off into the air to dodge the attack, but as she ascended over the spell, she could see another cocoon spell heading toward her. Mirror realized that Echo must have anticipated that she would fly over his spell and fired his own spell in the line of her flight. Before she could counter, the spell hit her and she found herself engulfed in magic. She collapsed to the ground, hitting the ground with a wet smack as if she hit a waterbed. The cocoon that broke her fall solidified around her and she was trapped inside.

“Very good, Echo,” complemented Forgery.

The class laughed at Mirror as she lay inside the cocoon, blushing profusely. However, Mirror had a gift of her own. The general rule of changelings is that they can only transform into creatures with a heart, and there are rare changelings—particularly Mirror—who can surpass the need for a heart or any living body. Her horn glowed with magic. The echo of laughter turned to shrieks of surprise as Mirror grew and metamorphosed into a log big and long enough to pierce through the shell of the cocoon and break free with a loud splatter. She quickly reverted back into her original form and before Echo saw it coming, she flipped onto her hooves and fired a blast upon him. He let out a muffled cry as he was imprisoned inside a cocoon, leaving the class shocked and silent.

“Mirror!” shouted Forgery, angrily. He used his magic to free Echo from the cocoon, blasting the shell into pieces and leaving Echo on the ground, stunned and confused. “Outside, now!” Forgery painfully grabbed Mirror by her ear with telekinesis and led her out of the classroom. Mirror was forced along, wincing as she tried to keep up with the pull of her teacher’s magic. Once they were out of sight, she felt her teacher let go and she glanced up at his angry face.

“Where did you learn to do that?” demanded Forgery. “Only workers can change into inanimate objects.”

“Well,” Mirror nervously rubbed her hooves together, “it was just a trick I was able to pick up. And why can’t I use this power? I may be a soldier, but even a solider has to take on the job of a worker and vice versa.”

“I don’t deny that your talents may come in handy in the future, but it is the responsibility of all soldiers to learn offensive and defensive magic to serve and protect the Hive. That is your first and foremost responsibility. Never forget that. As for your unique shape shifting powers, you will not use it in my class without permission again. Do you understand?”

Mirror squatted down in a meek and submissive pose like a mouse with a hungry cat hunched over her. “Yes sir...”

As the years went by, Mirror’s powers grew over time, making her into one of the toughest soldiers of the Hive. Although her body grew in size, her real strength came from her horn and the magic she could unleash with it.

After the failed siege of Canterlot, she went back to volunteering at the school, teaching the hatchlings magic.

With a blast of red light from her horn, she trapped a pony-shaped dummy into a cocoon with her spell. “And that, little ones, is how you trap your opponents.”

The hatchlings clopped their hooves together with excitement, their young and bright eyes staring with excitement and wonderment at the prodigy before them. Even among soldiers, Mirror was well known for her deeds in battle, especially after she beat a dozen Canterlot guards during the siege.

Forgery came out, his face now a little withered with age, said to the hatchlings, “All right, it’s time for a lunch break.”

In walked a worker changeling dressed in a white lunch lady uniform. As a volunteer, Mirror was allowed a share of the food, so she stepped in line with the changelings. One by one, the lunch lady pressed the tip of her horn against the students’ horns, transferring love to them like a bird regurgitating food for her chicks...except not as gross. When Mirror got her share, the energy transferred from the worker’s horn to herself. She could feel her malnourished body strengthen and her mind become more alert. There was one final hatchling to feed, but when the worker transferred the love, there was hardly a spark from the worker’s horn.

“That’s it?” pleaded the hatchling.

“I’m sorry. That’s all I have left.”

“But I’m still hungry.”

Without hesitating, Mirror put her horn up against the hatchling’s horn. “Here, have a little of mine.” Mirror transferred half of the love she had to the hatchling who ate it up eagerly. As soon as she transferred the love, Mirror felt her strength tire a little, once again leaving her weak and malnourished.

The little changeling looked up at her with her small blue eyes. “Thank you.”

Mirror gave her a tired smile. With the majority of food going to the workers and hatchlings, Mirror had been eating less and less as is the case with all of the soldiers. That was why it tore at her heart to see the hatchlings begging for food despite getting more of a share than she did.

With the lessons over, Mirror waved good-bye to the hatchlings and left the training gym and into the hallways. The halls were merely a series of tunnels made of bricks and mortared with green colored changeling wax, just like every other room. Round wooden doors and metal lockers were built into the sides of the halls, leading into various classrooms and closets. As she followed the hallways to the exit, she could hear two familiar voices talking. As she approached the voices, she could see, standing next to the door, that it was Queen Chrysalis talking to one of her subjects. As Mirror suspected, the other one was Echo. Now that he had aged into a full grown solider, his body was muscular and large and his blue stripes seemed to radiate with a soft shine like a vein of lapis lazuli in rock.

“Why her?” shouted Echo. “Your Excellency, please. Surely I’d be a better choice.”

Queen Chrysalis let out a low, angry hiss. “Although you are very powerful, a mission like this requires aptitude, not power. You are to remain with the other soldiers and I don’t want to hear another word of complaint from you. Do I make myself clear?”

Echo’s horn glowed as arcs of electricity coursed from it. With rage alone, he was able to produce a bright glow of electricity, which made Mirror shudder as she imagined what he could do with actual murderous intentions. As soon as the electricity cooled down, he said, “As you wish, Your Excellency,” and trotted out the door with a huff.

Queen Chrysalis turned to Mirror.

“Your Excellency,” Mirror bowed to her and kept her head to the ground as she spoke, “what brings you here?”

“I’ve been looking for you. I want you for an important mission.”

“What is your command?”

“I want you to kidnap Twilight Sparkle and her brother.”

“What?” exclaimed Mirror, raising her head up in shock. “Beg your pardon, but...why me? I-I mean...that is to say...I-I’m ill equipped. Surely it would be the job of a worker.”

“I need all of my most talented workers I can spare for my grand plan. There’s a meteor coming near Equestria, and the princesses plan on drawing it down to Earth. My plan is to place some worker changelings among the volunteers in order to sabotage the attempt. That way, it will land upon the princesses, squashing them.”

Mirror gawked at her in shock. “You’re going to kill the princesses?”

“Yes, and I need all of the most magically talented workers I have to make it happen. That is why I need you. Out of all the soldiers I have, your magical abilities are some of the most impressive when it comes to support and utilities. I need you to infiltrate the ponies and lure Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor into our trap. With the princesses and Twilight out of the way, Equestria and all of its love will be ours.”

Mirror nervously bit her lower lip.

“Is something wrong?” asked Queen Chrysalis.

“Why do we...surely there...”

“Are you refusing the mission?”

“No! I-I mean...No, I won’t refuse...” Even in battle, Mirror had never deliberately killed anyone, preferring to weaken or capture her opponents as opposed to inflicting serious harm. As Queen Chrysalis’s plan preyed on her mind, her fatigued body felt like it weighed as heavy as bricks.

“Then you accept the mission?”

“Yes, I do,” said Mirror, reluctantly.

In the following days, Mirror was hard at work with the other changelings, sneaking some of the workers in as volunteers, undermining some of the security, and rallying the soldiers to help with the invasion once the mission was complete. Mirror took it upon herself to lure Twilight into a trap, deciding to kidnap her first then take Shining Armor later. The only minor setback was that she was not told that Twilight was an alicorn. Mirror was certainly thankful that she brought along others to help take her down because there was no way she could take on a princess by herself.

Mirror stared up at Twilight as she hung upside down in the cocoon. She studied Twilight’s wings, and remembered the sheer power Twilight exhibited when she moved those rocks. So this is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s own pupil. She certainly lives up to the power of a princess.

“Now, Mirror,” said Queen Chrysalis, “go out and greet the princesses and tell them that they need to be seated on the foot of the hill beside the reservoir. That will be the most ideal place to land the meteor on top of them.”

“But what about Twilight?” asked Mirror. “What do you intend for her?”

“Since she’s a princess, she must have a lot of love in her. The workers will stay and drain every last bit of it until she’s too weak to walk. In the mean time, go and take care of Shining Armor and the princesses.”

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Mirror said, “I won’t let you down, Your Excellency.” With a flash of green light, Mirror changed herself into the form of Twilight. She galloped out of the caves and out into the open air. While heading toward the reservoir, the sun began to set in the distance and causing the sky to turn dark blue. She eventually found Shining Armor standing outside of the reservoir, searching for his sister.

“Twily, there you are. Have you finished?”

“Oh yes, I’m done here.”

“That’s good because I just got word that the princesses have arrived. I think we should go greet them.”

“Lead the way, Shining.” As Mirror spoke, her voice seemed to show a hint of nervousness, but Shining Armor did not seem to notice as he led her on.

Mirror followed Shining Armor to the train station. Once she got there, she saw a precession of royal guards gathered around the train. The royal guards stood in a line outside the exit to the train. With a red rug conveniently laid out for them, Celestia and Luna walked out of the train car. With so many ponies preparing for the oncoming meteor, none could come and greet the princesses save for Mirror and Shining Armor

“Welcome, princesses,” said Mirror as she bowed to them.

“Salutation, Princess Twilight and Prince Shining Armor,” said Luna. “Have thou completed the preparations?”

“Everything is ready,” said Shining Armor.

“Very good,” said Celestia. “The meteor will be in range within the next two or three hours so please take us to our positions.”

“This way, princesses,” said Mirror. She led the princesses toward the foot of a hill beside the reservoir as Queen Chrysalis had instructed.

“You’ll be standing here,” said Mirror.

“Strange, I thought I’d be out on the field with the other unicorns,” said Celestia.

“I did some calculations and I think it would be best if you were here in the path of the meteor’s trajectory once it hits the Earth’s atmosphere.”

“Strange, I’ve never drawn down a meteor from that position before, but I trust your judgment. Thank you so much for your help. I’m sure this meteor will have a huge impact on Appleloosa.”

“I’m sure it will too,” said Mirror, sadly.

As Mirror watched the servants bringing chairs and food, one of the guards made a quick gesture to Mirror: waving his hoof up at his throat followed by drawing a circle in the air. Mirror returned the gesture. It was a sign that changelings use to identify each other when in disguise. She was told that all of Celestia and Luna’s guards would be changelings and that little gesture confirmed it.

“Everything has been set up for your arrival,” explained Shining Armor, “including some refreshments from Appleloosa.”

“It looks lovely,” said Celestia, admiring the scenery. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay here?” asked Shining Armor. “After all, you’ve never been to Appleloosa. The locals might be a little too eager to see you in person.”

“There is nothing to concern thou,” explained Luna as she sat down in her chair. “The guards were instructed not to let a soul too close to us until the meteor lands.”

And no one to warn you once danger’s coming, thought Mirror. She looked up at the sky. Although there was still a bit of sunlight, she could still make out a white dot in the sky. She knew the meteor was out there, and its arrival will not be too much long.

Commiseration

Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 3: Commiseration

Twilight hung there upside down in the cocoon, watching helplessly as the changeling named Mirror transformed into the spitting image of herself. Sounds were muffled within the cocoon, but she could still hear Chrysalis order Mirror to go after her brother and to order the guards to drain her of her energy. She watched as the changelings and Chrysalis dispersed, leaving her alone with three guards that circled around her. She tried using her telekinesis to grab one of the guards, but like a hand trying to reach through a glass window, the cocoon’s shell kept her magic from escaping.

Somehow, this cocoon is keeping me from using my magic through it, which means teleportation is out of the question. There’s got to be a way out of here.

Before she could do anything else, she felt her body growing weaker like a mug of cider being siphoned empty by a straw. She tried to resist, but they were draining her at full power, sucking her dry and she’d be helpless in only a few minutes.

Thinking fast, she gritted her teeth as she concentrated her magic on creating a singularity. Even though the shell prevented her magic from reaching out, it did not hinder her magic within the shell, enabling her to keep the singularity at her chest level. The gravitational pull of the singularity caused the cocoon to squash into a spherical shape. Slowly, the cocoon contracted, pushing into itself until the tip of Twilight’s horn was able to poke through the skin. With all her remaining strength and focus, she blasted a spell down upon the ground with a soft zap. The energies fanned out in all directions, and the ricochet knocked the changelings off their hooves, leaving them on their backs in a daze. Freed from their hold, Twilight increased the strength of the singularity to force the cocoon into an even smaller sphere, allowing her head to poke through. With her head free, she teleported out of the cocoon, leaving behind an empty cocoon that warped back into to shape like a crushed plastic bottle springing back into shape.

With her capturers incapacitated, Twilight paced nervously back and forth in thought. “This is not good. How am I going to get out of here?” She looked about the chamber to find there were five virtually identical tunnels going in different directions. No matter how hard she tried, Twilight could not remember from which direction she had entered. “I can’t teleport through walls and I can’t teleport to the entrance without knowing the way there. If only I can search around without being noticed. Wait, I could use those transformation spells Celestia taught me.”

She searched her memory for pictures of changelings she remembered seeing from books. Eventually, she recalled the picture of a female changeling; one that was scrawny looking with a slightly crooked horn and longer than normal fangs. It was a creepy looking image to Twilight at the time, and she remembered it so clearly because of that. Her horn glowed and in a flash of purple light, she became a perfect image of the changeling from her book. She looked over her new form, examining her insect-esque body and the strange holes in her legs. “What’s the purpose of these holes, anyway?” She was alerted to the sound of hoof steps echoing down the hall and heading toward her direction. As quietly and as inconspicuously as she could, she went down a random tunnel, blindly heading out to wherever it led. She explored the various halls, each one featureless except for the torches that lit up the wall. She could hear the buzzing of wings and the clopping of hooves, but all the activity seemed to be down other paths, leaving Twilight alone as she searched.

“Now, where’s that exit?” said Twilight to herself. “These caves are certainly more intricate than I thought. In fact, I think the changelings must have dug all of these tunnels, but if so, how long have they been here?” She eventually encountered a large circular chamber. The walls were just as gray and featureless as the rest of the tunnels, but there was something else. Along the walls were what appeared to be tubes chiseled out of the rock and the insides coated with green wax. Changelings slid in and out of the tubes as if they were some strange new ride. Over each of these tubes were some kind of characters that Twilight could not. Each one chiseled into the rock.

Her scientific curiosity getting the better of her, Twilight approached one of the tubes and peeked inside it but could not see the other end. It’s some kind of transport but it appears to be horizontal so it doesn’t seem like the changelings can just slide down them. Over the tube was a symbol of some kind: a character that looked like a square with a Z super imposed over it.

As Twilight pondered the meaning of the symbol, she could suddenly hear voices faintly echoing in the tunnels:

“Where did she go?”

“I don’t know, but she couldn’t have gotten far.”

“Should we tell the Queen?”

“No! We must find the prisoner before she finds out.”

Panicked, Twilight crawled into the tube. With a loud squeak, she felt her hooves slide along the slippery wax. As she sat there wondering what to do, she realized that the tube was just large enough to allow her to spread out her wings. Hearing the voices and hooves coming closer, she beat her insect wings and was propelled forward along the slippery passageway. She slid faster and faster into darkness, heading straight for a light at the other end. She popped out and—with a startled yelp—nearly landed face first onto the stone floor. Thankfully, a quick beat of her wings hovered her a mere three inches from a painful face plant on the pavement. With a sigh of relief, she got onto her hooves.

She examined her new surroundings, and beheld an underground world where changelings walked or flew in all directions like the busy streets of Manehattan. All around her was the busy sounds of buzzing wings and the clops of hooves. There were several round structures shaped like rock igloos or cones, all of them serving the function of shops and restaurants like the ones Twilight could find in any city. Some of these buildings were built into the walls and some were built without any kind of stairway or path leading to them. Instead, they all seemed to spread out in haphazard directions as if each building was nothing more than a weed that grew on top of other weeds and into whichever direction had room to grow. She could see several changelings crawling up and down the walls like flies in order to go in and out of the buildings around the city. A large shell covered in bricks and mortared with changeling wax hovered the whole city. Luminescent crystals lined the ceiling, providing light for this underground world.

Amazing! This must be the heart of the changeling colony or maybe even just a small part of it. I’ve read books on changelings, but I knew nothing about what their cities looked like. Those tubes must be how they get around. There might even be tubes leading throughout Equestria. Twilight was not sure what to do next. She was in the changeling colony, and yet she had no idea where to go from there, where Chrysalis could be, or how to confront her. She could not risk going back the way she came, but she could not stay since the meteor was due to arrive in mere hours. As luck would have it, she noticed a building on ground level and on its side was a row of characters, one of which looked suspiciously like a magic wand. On a hunch, she approached the open entrance. She found what appeared to be an ordinary store that was round like an egg, but lopsided and lumpy both inside and out with uneven shelves that held merchandise. It was almost as if the whole building was made by a foal trying to make a bowl for the first time out of clay.

“Can I help you with something?” said a changeling at the counter.

“Oh, I’m just looking.” Twilight entered the store, examining the various jars of herbs and other ingredients for potion making. As she approached the cashier, she leaned over and noticed that the changeling had the name Ditto printed on the nametag he wore.

“Looks more like you’re looking to get out of trouble.” Ditto eyed her suspiciously.

“Trouble? Uh, what do you mean?”

“I mean why aren’t you in Appleloosa helping the Queen? I thought all the workers were ordered to help.”

“Oh,” said Twilight, momently forgetting that she had disguised herself as a changeling worker. “I’m not playing hooky, it’s just that...well...I’m in a bit of a pickle. You see I—“ Twilight hesitated, unsure of what to say. Her eyes drifted up behind Ditto and that was when she noticed a jar of mandrake roots sitting on the shelf. Mandrake? I might be able to use that.

“You were saying?” said Ditto.

“That mandrake, how fresh is it?”

“It was picked a few days ago. Why do you ask?”

“Well...uh, I need it for...a potion. Yeah...a potion I need for the Queen.”

“All right,” said Ditto as he telekinetically lifted the jar off the shelf, “how many do you need?”

“Just give me two roots and do you have a cloth to wrap it in?”

“Cloth? Normally I’d wrap mandrake in paper.”

“Trust me, it’s better in a cloth.”

“All right, if you say so.”

Doing as he was instructed, Ditto telekinetically picked up two roots from the jar and wrapped them in a cheap cotton cloth. He dropped it down in front of her and said, “There you go. That’ll be 50 silvers.”

Twilight gawked. “What did you say?”

“I said the mandrakes cost 50 silvers.”

Twilight paused in shock. It never occurred to her that the changelings must use different currency than in Equestria. “I’m sorry. I don’t have that much.”

“Is that so? Well, do you have any love to barter with?”

“Love? Oh...of course, I can give you some.”

“Then feed me all you can spare.” He lowered his horn to Twilight, ready to accept the trade.

Twilight grimaced as she tried her best to hide her disgust at how he talked about love as if it was a commodity. She tentatively leaned over so that her horn was touching Ditto’s horn. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind. Rather than concentrating to cast a spell, she instead thought back to her family and friends. She kept her mind only focused on them, remembering only the love she felt for them. As her feelings of love welled up in her heart, and she used her magic to gently direct it out of her body and into Ditto’s horn. It was a strange sensation as if she was drawing her own blood. She could feel her strength wane a little as she fed him her love. When she gave him all she could spare, she disconnected from his horn with a tired sigh.

“Oh wow, that was delicious,” said Ditto. “I haven’t eaten like that in a while.”

“Why?” asked Twilight, raising an eyebrow with curiosity. “Can’t you get more food?”

“Have you been living under rock? Of course I can’t get more. With so little food to go around, the majority of it goes to the workers and the hatchlings. Since all I do is run a store, I always get fewer shares. That’s why Her Excellency is trying to take over Equestria and I hope the plan in Appleloosa works this time because I don’t know how much longer the Hive will last.”

Twilight looked at Ditto in amazement. She had no idea the changelings were starving.

“I better be going,” said Twilight as she picked up the mandrake and tucked it under her wing. “Thanks a lot.” Twilight galloped out of the building, running as fast as she could back to the tube she came through. She hopped in and was propelled through the earth by her wings. As she came out of the other end, a changeling was waiting on the other side. With her wings, she managed to stop short of crashing into him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there?

The changeling looked at her suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was...looking for the rookery and I got lost.”

“Well, you have no business there today. All workers who are not disguised as ponies are required to join the Queen.”

“Oh...o-of course. Where can I find her?”

“Just go down that tunnel.” The changeling pointed a hoof toward a nearby tunnel. From the other end echoed the voices of many changelings

“Thank you.” Twilight ran down the tunnel, knowing she would be suspicious if she did not obey. Once she reached the other end, she could see a group of changelings gathered around Chrysalis inside yet another round chamber. From a distance, she could see that the changelings were gathered around Chrysalis as she stood next to a pony trapped in a cocoon.

“Good work, Mirror,” said Chrysalis to the red changeling before her. “Now we can destroy the princesses once and for all.”

Curious, Twilight crept closer to see the pony inside the cocoon. She gasped in shock to see Shining Armor hanging upside down inside of it.

Deception

Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 4: Deception

With the princesses in position, Mirror debated with herself on what was the best way of delivering Shining Armor to Her Excellency. She was considering knocking him unconscious when he spoke up first.

“It’s been a long day,” he said as he stretched his stiff shoulders. “How about we catch up on old times back at the Salty Lick. I hear they have some pretty good apple cider there.”

“Sounds good to me. How about you lead the way.” Mirror followed him down to the saloon in town. The street lanterns lit up the road during the evening twilight and the sounds of crickets could already be heard, signaling the approach of night. Once she entered the Salty Lick, the quiet of the night was replaced with the sounds of both earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns all hanging out as they awaited the meteor’s arrival. While some simply sat at their own tables playing old maid or sang songs, there were a few that were clearly a little ditzy either from too much salt lick or getting drunk on too much cider.

Shining Armor took Mirror to the bar and ordered mugs of cider, which the bartender quickly filled up from a barrel and set it down on the counter.

Mirror gazed at the cider mug. Changelings rarely eat food like ponies do, so the idea of drinking the juice of plants sounded disgusting to her. Not wanting to look suspicious, she picked up the mug and tentatively sipped from it. She suppressed a grimace as she tasted the sweet concoction, which to a changeling was the pony equivalent of eating steamed broccoli.

Shining Armor eagerly drank his cider. “Ahhh, now that was refreshing. I tell you, the Apple Family does make the best ciders.”

Mirror hesitated. With little training or experience socializing with ponies, she was not sure what to say at first. “When was the last time you had any cider?”

“I think it was at the wedding, although when we were foals, we used to drink this stuff all the time. Remember that time Granny Comet Tail would make her cider flavored cake?”

“Oh...yeah...that was so long ago.”

“I remember that one time you snuck a bite of the cake and wound up knocking it onto the floor, and we tried to cover-up the evidence by eating it all.” He let out a loud laugh. “I do miss the good old days when we were foals. The days when all we did together was get in trouble and hung out.”

Mirror hesitated again, taking the time to think of a response. “Everything is so different now. You and Cadance now rule over the crystal ponies and I’m now a princess.

“Life is full of surprises. Still, it’s nice being here with you, Twily.” He reached out a hoof and affectionately rubbed Mirror’s back.

As soon as Shining Armor made contact, Mirror felt a spark of energy course through her spine. It was the feeling of Shining Armor’s love for Twilight, and to Mirror it smelled delicious. She had tasted love harvested by the workers, but getting it directly from such a strong source like Shining Armor was irresistibly tempting, especially since she had not eaten a full meal in days.

“I love you, bro,” said Mirror as she reached over and put a hoof on his back.

“I love you, too,” said Shining Armor.

Changelings normally drain love through physical or magical contact. Once Mirror’s hoof touched his back, she could feel his love leach out into her. The taste of his love easily washed away the taste of the cider. His love was so sweet on her tongue she greedily drained it from him until her body reached full strength at last. Mirror could not suppress the smile of satisfaction on her face.

“You know, Twily,” said Shining Armor, “we should visit Granny Comet Tail. I betcha she could make us some more of her cider cake.”

“I would like that very much,” said Mirror, still feeling lightheaded from the feast.

Shining Armor lifted up his mug of cider and drank the rest of it down in one log swig, then placed the mug back down on the counter with a satisfied sigh. “Say, come with me to my hotel room. I forgot to tell you that Cadance bought you a gift.”

“Really?” asked Mirror, curious. “What is it?”

“Well, you’ll just have to come to the room and find out.” He hopped off of his stool. “Follow me. I’ll show you the way.”

“Okay,” said Mirror as she left behind her half full mug of cider.

The two left the saloon to the Breakfast-in-Bed hotel, another rustic wooden building in a town full of rustic wooden buildings. Shining Armor opened the door to his hotel room and led her inside. It looked like a very cheap room with nothing more than a luggage rack and a spring bed for furniture and bare wooden walls.

Shining Armor telekinetically closed the door behind them. “The present is in my suitcase. Go ahead and check it out.”

Playing along, Mirror crossed the room and approached the suitcase. She telekinetically opened it up and—to her surprise—the suitcase was empty.

Just as she turned around, a beam of magic struck her and she was pinned to the wall in some kind of energy field that bound her limbs and wings like rope.

Shining Armor pressed both of his fore hooves against Mirror’s chest, knocking the air out of her breath, and fired another beam of magic, this time aimed at her horn. Her body tingled as her disguise was forcefully undone with a low buzz and her true form revealed.

“I knew it, you’re a changeling,” said Shining Armor, angrily.

It took a moment for Mirror’s paralyzing shock to subside and when it did, she unconsciously kept her eyes off of Shining Armor’s piercing gaze like a child lying to her parents. “H-How did you know?”

Shining Armor grinned. “Granny Comet Tail passed away a few years ago.”

“You tricked me? But what made you realize I wasn’t Twilight?”

Shining Armor took his hooves off her chest, keeping his horn pointed at her as if threatening to stab her with it. “Back when Chrysalis disguised herself as my fiancée, I could remember what it felt like when Chrysalis fed on my love. At the time, I thought it was the effect of the migraine spells she was putting on me, but now I can recognize a changeling feeding on my love easily, and you weren’t very discreet when you tried to drain my love back at the saloon. Now, tell me what you’re doing here and what you did to Twilight.”

Mirror’s eyes were watering with shame. “Queen Chrysalis has Twilight.”

“If that’s the case,” he hissed angrily, “then I’m going to turn you in to the royal guard.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“And why not?”

“Because the Queen has set up her changelings all over Appleloosa. If you tell any pony we’re here, then any changeling who hears it will come after you, and even I’m not entirely sure who’s a changeling and who’s not.”

Shining Armor pressed his hoof against her chin and forced her to look into his eyes as he leaned in. “Are you lying to me?”

“I-I swear it’s the truth,” pleaded Mirror. “All those extra volunteers are changelings and the royal guards around Celestia and Luna are also changelings.”

Shining Armor paused as he thought it over, reading Mirror’s eyes to see if she was lying. After what felt like a small eternity, he slowly separated himself from her, but kept his horn pointed at her throat.

“All right,” he said at last, “if that’s true, then tell me, what’re you changelings doing here?”

“The Queen ordered us to...sabotage the meteor so that it would land on the princesses.”

“What? I don’t believe this. It’s bad enough that your queen impersonated my wife and little sister, crashed my wedding, and tried to take over all of Equestria, but now you’re attempting murder? Why are you doing this? We did nothing to you.”

“It’s nothing personal. We’re desperate for food.”

“If you wanted food, then why can’t you just harvest food like you usually do?”

“It’s not that simple any more. My people have always depended on our ability to disguise and hide ourselves. It is our secrecy that has enabled us to avoid conflict with other creatures. Back in the old days, we used to be able to harvest food from hundreds of victims at a time without drawing unwanted attention to ourselves. Ponies in particular have been our most abundant source of love. However, over the years, ponies and other races have begun to become more aware of us and they’re starting to see through our disguises. In order to more covertly collect food, fewer workers can go out and harvest. With fewer workers out collecting food, we’re left with less to eat. Now, ever since our failed takeover of Canterlot, we’ve become even more conspicuous and it has become even harder for workers to secretly go out and harvest. And now we’re almost out of food.”

After allowing a minute of silence to let the story sink in, Shining Armor finally opened his mouth but no words came out. Even though he kept his horn at her throat, his eyes lowered to the floor with regret and indecision.

“I’m sorry it had to come to this,” said Mirror, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Queen Chrysalis just wants to help us and she believes that a hostile takeover is the only answer.” After another long pause, she added, “For what it’s worth...not all of us approve of her plans. I don’t.”

Shining Armor at last lifted his head to meet her at eye level. “Where’s Twilight?”

“She’s in an underground cave. I can help you find her if you free me from your spell.”

“And can I trust you?”

“Did you believe me when I said there were other changelings in Appleloosa?”

“I’m still a little skeptical, but...” Shining Armor let out a long sigh, “I can’t deny that what you told me does make sense so...Yes, I do believe you.”

“Then I think we can trust each other.”

With a flash of magic, Shining Armor undid the binding spell on Mirror.

As Mirror promised, she led Shining Armor to the cave where she had lured Twilight. By the time they arrived, night had fallen and the dark cave had to be lit up with light spells conjured by Shining Armor’s and Mirror’s horns.

“So Twilight’s in this cave?” asked Shining Armor.

“The cave leads to a series of tunnels that we made to go in and out of Equestria. She should be somewhere down there.”

“All right, let’s go in.” Shining Armor was about to march ahead, but Mirror got in front of him.

“What are you doing? These caves are full of changelings. If they see you, you’ll alert the whole Hive.”

“I don’t care. I have to save Twilight.”

“Well, rather than just rushing in, I have a better idea. Do you know any transformation spells?”

“Yes I do but I haven’t used them in a long time.”

“Do you think you can transform into me?”

Shining Armor gawked at her, confused as to what she was planning. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

“The Queen is expecting me to turn you in. If I don’t show up, she’ll get suspicious. So my idea is you can transform into me and I’ll transform into you. That way, you can turn me in as you and while I’m imprisoned, you will be free to look for your sister disguised as me. Get it?”

“Huh! It’s crazy but it could work. However, how do I know I can trust you? You might tell others where I am the first chance you get.”

“I wouldn’t betray you because if they discovered we’ve traded places, I’d be in just as much trouble as you. Other than that...All I can say is I don’t want to see any pony get hurt. Whether you believe me is up to you.” There was a flash of green light, and right before his eyes, Mirror transformed into the exact image of Shining Armor. In his voice, Mirror said, “So, are you in?”

“All right, but I don’t like it.” Shining Armor grit his teeth with concentration as he cast the spell. A haze of purple magic surrounded his body and with a bright flash, he transformed into Mirror. “So, how do I look?”

Mirror looked him over. “Well, some of your features looks a little off, but I think you’ll pass.”

Shining Armor looked over his new body, studying the strange shapes that changelings come in. “Exactly why does your legs have holes in them?”

“That’s not important right now,” said Mirror, irritably. “Right now, you need to deliver me to the Queen.”

“Oh, right!” Shining Armor used telekinesis to lift Mirror up off her hooves and carried her down into the tunnels. He did not have to travel far into the tunnels until he encountered two armored changeling guards.

“Who goes there?” one of them said.

“I have one of the prisoners for the Queen,” said Shining Armor, telekinetically lifting up Mirror as if she was some animal he caught.

The second guard looked over Mirror with a quick glance before saying, “Follow us.”

Obediently doing as he was told, Shining Armor was led deeper into the tunnels. The sounds of clopping hooves and buzzing wings echoed off the walls as they got closer to a congregation of changelings deep underground. They entered one of the lower chambers, and Mirror saw Her Excellency standing in the middle of the room surrounded by her loyal servants.

“Your Majesty,” said Shining Armor as he gave her a bow, “I have brought Shining Armor as you requested.”

“Bring him here,” hissed Queen Chrysalis, giving Shining Armor a fanged smile.

The two guards telekinetically picked up Mirror from Shining Armor’s grasp and rotated her upside down. With a flash of magic, she was surrounded in a cocoon, imprisoning her inside it. Through the cocoon, she could only watch as she was hung onto the ceiling. Queen Chrysalis and her changelings gathered around Mirror like hungry pups crowding under a piece of meat. Some even had their tongues hanging out as they gazed upon the feast before them.

“Good work, Mirror,” said Chrysalis to Shining Armor. “Now we can destroy the princesses once and for all.”

“Not so fast!” The frenzy was interrupted by a long figure off to the side. Much to everyone’s surprise (Mirror and Shining Armor in particular), they could see Twilight Sparkle staring them down, boldly challenging a room full of changelings. “LET MY BROTHER GO!”

Alliance

Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 5: Alliances

Twilight’s heart sank when she saw her big brother helplessly hanging there in a cocoon. Knowing she had to act fast, she telekinetically removed the mandrake roots out from underneath her wing. She unwrapped the cloth and ripped it in half. She carefully stuffed both halves of the cloth into each ear, making sure that they fit snuggly.

After dispelling her transformation spell—changing back into her original self—she charged the changelings and shouted, “LET MY BROTHER GO!” telekinetically holding up one of the mandrake roots as if it was a weapon.

The changelings froze in stunned silence, certainly not expecting to see an alicorn come out of nowhere to challenge them.

“You again,” shouted Chrysalis. “But how did you escape my guards?”

“That doesn’t matter. Release my brother, now!”

Chrysalis let out a laugh. “Fool, you’re outnumbered and there’s no way a tiny piece of mandrake can save you. Go, seize her.”

The sound of buzzing wings echoed against the stone walls as changelings crowded around her like a swarm of angry hornets but Twilight held her ground.

She had read a book on mandrakes before. It told her that once a mandrake is removed from the ground, it lets out a high-pitched scream that can kill in an instant. However, once the mandrake is safely removed it is harmless.

Twilight channeled her energies into the root. Although mandrake roots were harmless once cultivated, with the right prodding—such as with a sudden surge of magic—a freshly plucked mandrake could still let out a cry strong enough to paralyze and just as Twilight predicted, the mandrake let out a booming wail.

As their ears were pelted with the cacophonous screech of mandrake, the changelings shook violently as if under electric shock before collapsing into a twitching heap. With the changelings incapacitated, Twilight flew over the pile of unconscious bodies and with a blast from her horn, she freed Shining Armor from his cocoon, which blew apart with a loud splat like a popped water balloon. Before the unconscious Shining Armor hit the ground, she telekinetically caught him and carried him off as she flew down the hall. Luckily, the chamber she was in only had two passageways, and as she flew through one, she was able to find her way to a cave leading outside.

“Oh finally, I’m outside,” sighed Twilight with relief. But her relief was short lived as she looked up at the sky and could see the meteor close enough to be visible in the night sky. It glowed white like a miniature full moon. “Oh sweet Celestia, we’re running out of time.” After setting him down, she put a hoof against Shining Armor’s shoulder and began shaking him vigorously. “Come on, big brother, wake up.”

“What...what happened?” groaned Shining Armor. He pulled himself up onto his hooves, looking around in confusion.

“I just saved you from Chrysalis.”

Shining Armor stared at her with his mouth agape. “You what? Oh no, this is bad, this is really bad.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Twilight, furrowing her brow with worry.

“Well...” Shining Armor rubbed his hooves together nervously, something Twilight had never seen him do before. “I’m not sure how to tell you this but...there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Uh...what are you talking about?”

There was a flash of green light, and right before Twilights eyes, her brother transformed into a charcoal red changeling.

“You?” shouted Twilight. “I remember you. You’re that changeling that got me captured. What are you doing here and what did you do to Shining Armor?”

“We weren’t trying to deceive you,” said the changeling. “We were trying to save you.”

“Save me?”

“I was supposed to turn in Shining Armor next, but he and I switched places so he could turn me in instead and he would be free to look for you disguised as me.”

“You were trying to help my brother? Why?”

The changeling knelt down with her head lowered like a sad puppy. “When I kidnapped you, I was only doing what my Queen told me to do. I don’t want any pony to get hurt.”

“But if you were impersonating my brother, then where is he?”

“He’s probably still back in the caves.”

“Oh no, I have to go back and save him.”

“Don’t go,” said the changeling, blocking Twilight’s path as she tried to rush into the cave. “The meteor is about to enter the earth’s atmosphere and when it does, the Queen will cause it to fall on the princesses.”

“What? Is that really what Chrysalis is up to?”

“Yes. I’d warn the princesses myself, but the guards around them are changelings and they will repel us if we got too close.”

Twilight stared at the changeling in stunned silence. Her eyes darted as her logical mind processed this new information, trying to make sense of it all.

“We didn’t want to hurt any pony,” the changeling hastily added, “we’re just desperate for food.”

Twilight paused, remembering the changeling at the store, before saying, “Okay, I believe you. So what’s your name?”

“Mirror,” said the changeling.

“Well, Mirror, we need to warn the princesses and fast.”

“But how?”

“The way I see it, since you’re a changeling, you’re more likely to slip passed the guards.”

“I told you, they’d see me coming if I got too close.”

“I don’t think so. So long as you’re alone, you’re the one they would least suspect, and even if they get in your way, just change back into your changeling form, and once Celestia sees you, then she’ll know what’s going on.”

“I suppose that could work but what about you then?”

“I’m going to help my brother as well as try to reason with Chrysalis.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Oh, I’m confident I can do my end of the job, can I trust you to do yours?”

“Well, I suppose I can’t disobey the word of a princess so, yes, you can trust me. Good luck down there.”

“Same to you too, Mirror.”

Without another word, Mirror ran off toward Appleloosa, leaving Twilight behind to venture the changeling caves once again.

Twilight galloped down into the caves, casting a transformation spell to morph into a changeling as she ran. She went deeper and deeper into the cave tunnels, her mind racing with ideas and plans. She firmly clutched the mandrake root and cloth under her wing while she came up with ideas on how to use it and where would be the best place to go. Her mind was so distracted with her thought that when she turned a corner, she skidded to a halt just as she nearly plowed right into a changeling going in the opposite direction.

“What are you doing here?” asked the changeling. He had a noticeably sagging face, indicating old age.

“Oh...uh, I heard the noise and ran down to investigate.”

The changeling looked her over as if he was trying to remember where he had last seen her. “And where were you this whole time?”

“I was just outside...uh, what’s your name?”

“My name’s Forgery. I’m surprised you don’t remember me. I’ve been training hatchlings for over 30 years.”

“Oh, that’s right, now I remember you.”

“That’s strange since I certainly don’t remember you. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

Twilight tried her best to put on a poker face, but her eyes unconsciously twitched regardless.

“Exactly who are you?”

“I’m...” Twilight tapped her hoof on the ground as she searched for a name, “Facsimile! M-My name is Facsimile. Now, if you don’t mind, I can’t keep the Queen waiting.” Twilight tried to walk around Forgery, but he easily sidestepped in her way.

“I thought you said you were coming down to investigate the noise?” said Forgery, narrowing his eyes.

“I am.”

“Then why would she be expecting you?”

“L-Look, I’m in a hurry so could you please get out of my way.”

Forgery made a strange gesture with his hoof: waving his hoof up at his throat followed by drawing a circle in the air. He paused, watching for some kind of reaction.

“Well,” said Forgery with a tone of finality, “Facsimile was it? If you are going to the Queen, then you won’t mind if I go with you.”

Twilight felt the cool of sweat beads on her forehead. “Of course not. Please lead the way.”

Reluctantly, Twilight followed Forgery deeper into the caves. She considered just blasting him with a paralysis spell, but Forgery was careful to keep his eyes on her as they walked. All Twilight could do was quietly contemplate her options.

What was up with that gesture he was doing earlier? If I didn’t know better, I would say he was signaling to some pony. Wait a minute. Was that a secret code, like something they would use to identify each other? If so, then he might know I’m not a changeling and could be luring me into a trap.

Twilight frantically looked for a way out, but in little time, she found herself inside the chamber where Chrysalis and her changelings now stood up, recovering from the mandrake. She tried to turn around and flee only to discover that Forgery was already behind her, blocking her exit.

“Your Excellency,” called out Forgery. “Facsimile wants to speak to you.”

Rivalry

Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 6: Rivalry

If it were not for the noise of cricket chirps in her ears, Mirror might not have noticed there was no moon out. The meteor was so close that its white glow lit up the desert. Its oblong shape was distinguishable in the night sky and it was surely going to hit the atmosphere soon. Not much time. With a flash of green, she changed into a yellow pegasus mare and galloped as fast as she could toward Appleloosa. The town was within her sights when a pegasus stallion landed in front of her. She slid to a halt, nearly crashing right into her aggressor. Her eyebrows furled with confusion as she gawked at the pony before her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked the stallion.

“I just need to join the other pegasi at the—“

“Oh no you’re not. You’re up to something, Mirror.”

Surprised, Mirror did the changeling salute, which the stallion immediately returned.

“Who are you and why are you getting in my way?” asked Mirror.

Right before her eyes, the pegasus transformed into a changeling. Thanks to his large physique and the blue stripes on his back, Mirror knew who he was.

“Echo?” said Mirror with surprise. After changing into her original form, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“That’s what I want to know from you. I was just outside the mouth of the cave when I saw you with that alicorn. I overheard your conversation with her.”

Mirror froze, beads of sweat dripping from her forehead. “Look, I...I can explain...”

“Oh, there’s no need to explain,” said Echo, his smile showing malicious mirth. “For so long, I’ve been in your shadow. Now I can finally put you away for good.”

“Echo, wait. Please let me explain.” Mirror was rubbing her hooves together so fast, they were starting to get hot from the friction.

Rather than allow her a chance to speak, Echo lowered his horn and fired a beam of energy. Mirror flew over the spell with a quick beat of her wings. It was so close, she could feel the static in the air and hear the small explosion as it burnt a crater into the dirt. Echo soared into the air and knocked her down with a midair buck to the chest, knocking her hard into the ground with a soft thud.

Mirror let out a gasp of pain as the wind was forced out of her lungs with the impact. Before she had a chance to counter, she could see Echo fire a beam of magic at her from above. She rolled out of the way, spinning back onto her hooves.

“Echo, you don’t understand. If that meteor kills the...” She froze in shock when she saw Echo’s horn glowed a white light flowed by the loud rumble of lightning. Even with the warning, she barely had time to erect a force field to block the attack. However, although a force field was affective against moderately powerful spells and physical attacks, shear speed and power of a lightning bolt was too much for her force field to handle, causing it to violently shatter with a deafening buzz as it disintegrated into wafts of magical energy. Unlike the mere sparks that Echo would create as a hatchling, the lightning bolts were powerful and violent. Mirror could feel the intense heat, leaving a prickly sensation on her mildly burned skin.

“Ugh!” Mirror clasped her head in pain as she felt a sharp headache caused when her force field was destroyed.

“Oh you have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that,” said Echo.

“I can’t believe you want revenge just because I beat you that one time in school.”

“Oh, it’s more than that. We were both very special in our class. I’m an electrokinetic while you were the only soldier who can transform into inanimate objects. However, you were always a one-of-a-kind, while I was just one of few. That’s why I’ve always wanted this opportunity. To see what was truly greater: your transformations or my lightning.”

Mirror could see the lights of Appleloosa in the distance behind Echo, so close yet inaccessible.

She briefly glanced at the sky before saying. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“You’ll have to if you want to get to Celestia and Luna,” said Echo.

Mirror reluctantly spread out her legs and lowered her horn to Echo in a fighting stance. Her legs twitched with agitation, preparing not to run but to react. She knew that his electrical blast was very difficult to dodge. Once she saw Echo’s horn glow with electrical charge, she had only a split second to react. With a flash of green light, she transformed into a glass statue of herself. The lightning bolt shot out and hit her in the chest, but the electricity harmlessly curved around her glass body. However, although she was immune to the electricity, she could not move while she was made of glass and Echo new that. He charged toward her and Mirror could barely had enough time to change back before she was smashed to pieces.

She changed into a rubber ball and bounced toward Echo. There was another lightning bolt directed at Mirror, but the electricity just circled around the ball as if it was nothing. However, Echo spun around and bucked the ball away. Mirror only bounced once before changing back into her original form and hovered in the air.

“Face it,” said Echo. “I know you can change into objects I can’t electrocute, but you have no way of fighting back while in those forms.”

Then I guess I’ll have to get creative. Mirror flew toward the closest pile of rocks and transformed into two stakes tied to a large rubber band like a slingshot. She fell to the ground and imbedded the stakes firmly into the dirt. Although a glass statue was still and static, the rubber band was much more flexible, and she was able to bend the rubber down like a new arm to scoop up a rock, reared back, and fired it upon Echo.

Echo dodged the attack, but the next rock struck him in the horn with a loud thunk. He fired a bolt of lightning, but once again, the electricity had no effect on her rubber body.

“Is that all you’ve got?” shouted Echo as he dodged the last rock.

Once all the rocks were used up, Mirror used her rubber body to pull the stakes out of the ground, tossing dirt and rocks aside as she pulled free. She ran off, using the stakes like legs, running fast enough to escape Echo’s lightning bolts that fired from his horn. She launched herself into the air with the swing of her rubber band and imbedded her spikes into the ground. She scooped up some more rocks, and launched them at Echo, hitting him square in the chest.

He hissed angrily in pain before firing another lightning bolt, but it did not damage the rubber band, instead passing through it like it wasn’t there.

Mirror launched herself into the air and, but Echo took off and beat her down with a precise kick, knocking her to the ground. He fired a spell down upon her, and this time, it struck her with a loud sizzling sound. Mirror could feel the spell force her back into her original form followed by another spell that manifested a cocoon around her.

As she looked up at Echo through the cocoon’s shell, she could see Echo hovering over her, sparks coming out of his horn to charge up for a finishing blow.

Impact

Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 7: Impact

Knowing that she cannot weasel her way out of it, Twilight tried to teleport away, but as she charged up her spell, a green magical aura surrounded her. Forgery must have noticed what she was trying to do, she assumed, since he telekinetically held her off the ground, preventing her from teleporting away.

“Show her who you really are, Facsimile,” said Forgery, “if that is your real name.”

Twilight reluctantly undid her transformation spell, changing back into her original form. Knowing she cannot escape, she decided to try persuasion. “Queen Chrysalis, I know your people are starving. I know how desperate you are to find food for your people. But you don’t have to resort to murder.”

“Why should I believe you?” shouted Chrysalis. “For generations, we’ve been feared and ostracized for our abilities. Do you really think that the world would just willingly let us feed off of them if we just asked them to?”

“Well, if you just attempt a diplomatic solution as opposed to violence, you might be greeted with a more sympathetic reception.”

“Umph, there can never be peace,” shouted Chrysalis.

“Just give it a try,” insisted Twilight. “If I go to Princess Celestia and bring her here, I’m sure she’ll be willing to negotiate.”

“No!” shouted Chrysalis. “There’s no other way.”

A voice rang out from the crowd like a knight coming to Twilight’s aid. “I wouldn’t say that.” From out of the crowd emerged a lone changeling, pushing the stunned soldiers aside as he came out into the open.

“Who are you?” asked Chrysalis, irritably.

There was a flash of purple magical energy as the transformation spell was undone, revealing himself to be Shining Armor, alarming the changelings. All eyes were on him, but he stood his ground like any heroic prince facing an army. As he spoke, his voice was firm and calm. “I can’t say that I’m happy that you impersonated my wife on our wedding day and I certainly can’t say I approve of our methods, but I too would rather earn your trust than fight and I will prove it.”

The changelings nervously fidgeted where they stood, not sure whether to attack or to hear what Shining Armor had to say.

“And what can you do to earn our trust?” asked Chrysalis.

Before answering, Shining Armor glanced at Twilight and inconspicuously winked at her. “I’m going to give you all my love to feed off of.”

“And what’s that supposed to prove?” asked Chrysalis with a laugh. “Furthermore, what’s suppose to keep us from just taking you and your sister captive?”

Shining Armor once again gave a brief glance at Twilight. “I think my generosity will convince you.”

Twilight just looked at him in shock. Shining, what are you doing? You’ll just make them stronger and they’ll capture us both.

His horn glowed as he channeled his energies. From the tip of his horn, his love flowed out as wisps of energy that floated off toward every changeling’s horn. The malnourished changelings let out sighs of joy as they gorged on Shining Armor’s love. Even Chrysalis swayed with giddy joy as she was fed. The energy easily flowed passed Twilight toward Forgery who was so intoxicated by Shining Armor’s love that his hold on Twilight weakened slightly, but not enough to enable her to escape.

As she looked on with worry for her brother, Twilight could feel a growing heat under her wing as something began to react. She realized the heat was coming from the mandrake under her wing and all of a sudden, she understood what her brother was doing: He was trying to ignite the mandrake with his magic just like he saw her do earlier. With her hooves able to move more freely, she pulled out the cloth and stuffed both pieces into each ear. She tried to lean over to the side while still suspended in the air, inching her mandrake closer to the magical energy. Shining Armor’s magic was so strong, the mandrake began to vibrate as it slowly built up to explosion. She covered her ears with her hooves just as the mandrake burst under her wing and let out a deafening wail.

Once again, the changelings shook with pain as their bodies were assaulted with the sonic energy. With a collective moan, they all collapsed to the ground at the same time, including Shining Armor.

Once Forgery toppled over unconscious, Twilight was freed from his telekinetic hold. She flew off, telekinetically scooping up Shining Armor and raced off out of the caves. She flew up through the tunnels and out of the open cave mouth without any resistance.

“Come on, Shining Armor, wake up,” said Twilight as she ascended even higher into the night air.

Shining Armor opened his eyes to see himself dangling high off the ground. He cried out with surprise and panic, kicking his legs as if trying to escape the ground below.

“Next time, wake me up on the ground.

“Sorry,” said Twilight as she flung him onto her back. “We have to get to Princess Celestia...” A flash of light in the distance caught her eye. At the outskirts of Appleloosa, she could see two figures fighting in the distance. One of which was discharging lightning bolts through the air. “Is that Mirror?”

“I think so,” said Shining Armor. “She must have encountered a changeling along the way.

Twilight accelerated toward Mirror with a beat of her wings, nearly knocking Shining Armor off her back as he clasped his hooves around her neck to stop himself from flying off. She flew as fast as she could, diving toward the dueling changelings. By the time she was close enough, she could see the changeling trap Mirror inside a cocoon, and even from a distance, she could see the glow of electricity as the changeling charged up for a fatal shot. Hitting a target with a spell from a distance while flying was not an easy feat, but Twilight had a lot of practice when it came to spell precision. As she dive-bombed toward the changeling, she lowered her horn and fired her spell. The spell flew through the air, crackling and sizzling with power, and it struck the changeling from the side, paralyzing him. The changeling toppled over, landing with a soft thud against the dirt. With another blast from her horn, Twilight fired a spell upon the cocoon, shattering it and freeing Mirror from her prison.

Twilight landed onto the ground next to Mirror as she shook off the last of the cocoon residue.

“Thanks for the save,” said Mirror, trembling from the excitement. “One more second late and I would have been toast.”

“Well, that’s what friends do,” said Twilight. She glanced up at the sky and could see that the meteor was almost as big as the moon at this point. “The meteor will hit the atmosphere any minute. We need to warn the princesses.”

The three of them galloped toward the town, and they reached the top of the hill where Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and their guards were sitting at its foot.

“How am I going to alert the princesses?” asked Mirror. “Even if I get passed the guards, they’ll hear every word I say.”

“I don’t think we have the time for subtly,” said Twilight. “Isn’t there some way you can lure them away from the princesses?”

Mirror let out a huff in thought. “I have a crazy idea. I’m going to go down there and distract the guards while you two can just paralyze them while they’re not looking.”

Twilight and Shining Armor curiously eyed her, wondering what Mirror had in mind. Since neither of them had ever heard of a changeling transforming into an inanimate object before, they were startled to see Mirror’s body radiate with green magic as it harden into a round boulder. Mirror rocked her new stone body back and forth to allow herself to roll down the hill toward the princesses.

Twilight and Shining Armor ducked behind a bush, and watched through the brambles as Mirror rolled down the hill. As expected, the princesses saw the boulder rolling toward them and after taking a stunned second to process what was happening, the two opened their wings and lifted off into the air. The guard hopped to the side as the boulder rolled passed them. Once they were distracted, Twilight and Shining Armor leaped out from behind their cover and fired their spells upon two of the guards, paralyzing them instantly. Before they had a chance to take out the others, Mirror changed back into her original form, and fired a blast at the remaining guards, paralyzing them. With the danger averted, Twilight and Shining Armor galloped down the hill to join the princesses.

Upon seeing Mirror, the princesses gawked with astonishment, looking between Mirror and Twilight, unable to distinguish what was happening.

Princess Luna hovered over the changelings, examining them as if they were specimens on the ground. “What are changelings doing here?” She looked at her sister as if expecting an answer, but Princess Celestia looked as flabbergasted as her.

“Twilight!” shouted Princess Celestia. “What’s going on here?”

“I think you need to see this,” said Twilight. With a burst of her magic, she forced one of the guards out of his disguise, revealing his true form to the princess.

After explaining what had happened, Twilight teleported Princess Celestia into the caves. She led the princess down into the chamber where she had left behind Chrysalis and her changelings. All of them appeared drowsy and unstable, indicating that they had just woken up from the mandrake. When the changelings noticed Princess Celestia and Twilight, they all gathered in front of Chrysalis and with a hive-mind exactness, they gathered into even rows forming a solid wall between the two princesses and the changeling queen.

Chrysalis eyed Twilight with an angry scowl. “How dare you bring her here.”

“Queen Chrysalis,” said Princess Celestia, keeping her tone calm and formal, “Twilight told me about your plans and why you’re doing this. I’m here to call a truce.”

There was a stunned silence among the changelings. They kept their horns lowered, prepared for a fight, but their heads and legs fidgeted nervously rather than strong and sturdy.

“And why should we trust you?” demanded Chrysalis. “We don’t need you.”

Princess Celestia continued to talk, keeping her voice firm but friendly. “I know my people haven’t been able to get along with your people, but that’s only because we haven’t had a chance to know your people. I understand why you keep yourselves hidden from others, but in doing so, you’ve become nothing more than a menace and a mystery for us to fear and shun. Give us a chance, and I’m sure we can help you. There are plenty of ponies who are willing to donate their love to your people. I don’t expect you to forgive us right away, just be willing to accept our help and our friendship.”

There was an uncomfortable pause as both sides were at a stand still, giving time for the weight of Princess Celestia’s words to settle. The changelings were now visibility fidgeting, indecisive of what to do.

Chrysalis bared her fangs in an angry scowl as hate welled up in her heart. “Do you really think anything can change between us? There can never be peace and we don’t need you. Soldiers, attack Princess Celestia and—”

“Stop!”

There was a collective gasp of surprise among the soldiers as they looked about their ranks, wondering where the voice came from.

From out of the crowd came a meek little voice. “Please listen to her, Your Excellency.” The crowd parted to reveal a single soldier looking up at Chrysalis with large blue eyes.

“Doppelganger?” said Chrysalis in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Please listen to the princess,” said Doppelganger. “I have three hatchlings back home who are starving and my fellow soldiers are all tired of the fighting. We’re tired of all the espionage and the violence. We all support and love you, but we’ve hidden our feelings from you because we’re desperate for food. But now that a chance for peace is open to you, I beg of you to take it...for all our sakes.”

“Do you all feel this way?” asked Chrysalis, her tone now somber.

Emboldened by Doppelganger’s courage, there was a gradual murmur of agreement among the soldiers. One by one, they all turned toward Chrysalis, looking up at her not out of defiance, but out of pleading like unhappy children turning to a parent.

For the first time, Twilight saw Chrysalis’s face soften. Her look of greed and hatred became one of remorse and sadness.

With an exacerbated sigh, Chrysalis turned toward one of the changelings to her far right. “Mock-Up!”

A changeling named Mock-Up came out of the crowd. “Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Go to Appleloosa and tell the workers that the mission has been cancelled and they are to come home.”

Without a single word to Princess Celestia or Twilight, the changelings all turned around and disappeared into the tunnels.

With their mission complete, Princess Celestia and Twilight returned to Appleloosa. The other changelings were already retreating back to their colony by the time Twilight arrived, just as the ponies gathered around to draw the meteor down.

As the ice meteor drew close to the atmosphere, several singularities magically appeared, their gravity gently controlling its decent to earth like invisible strings. It silently hit the atmosphere and burned upon reentry in a cloud of mist and fire. The ice quickly melted into water with pieces of rock and ice still inside of it. With the meteor quickly becoming more liquid than solid, the singularities could no longer control the mass of melted water as it came hurtling down to earth. That was the job for the pegasi as they all gathered around the meteor and used an air funnel to siphon the water out. With the wind funnel pulling the water from one direction and the singularities extracting any stray bits of rock and ice out the opposite direction, both the water and the rocks were separated apart mid fall. The wind funnel easily lowered the water down into the reservoir, filling it up like an invisible facet pouring water into a cup until it overflowed over the sides, soaking the ground and any of the ponies who were standing there. With the collective mesh of gravitational singularities, the unicorns gently lowered the ice and rocks down to the ground. With just one collective singularity and with the direction of Twilight, the unicorns gently lowered the meteorites to the outskirts of Appleloosa and gently set them down to be categorized and sold later.

With the reservoir full of water and the meteor successfully brought down, the Appleloosians and the volunteers all cheered with excitement and joy. Lanterns lit up the small town as every pony both young and old were out on the streets, dancing, playing games, getting drunk on apple cider, and singing songs as if it was a New Year’s celebration. Even the princesses stayed behind to enjoy the party, Princess Celestia in particularly scarfing down an entire apple pie by herself, much to the annoyance of Princess Luna.

All the while, Twilight and Shining Armor were sitting next to the snack table, eating apple crisps, enjoying each other’s company and catching up on old times. As they talked, a little earth pony mare approached Twilight and Shining Armor from out of the crowd.

“Twilight,” said the pony with a smile on her face. “I just want to say thanks.”

“Uh, who are you?” asked Twilight.

The mare let out a laugh. “It’s me, Mirror.”

“Oh,” said Twilight, feeling embarrassed, “well I should be thanking you for helping us.”

“We couldn’t have done it without your help,” said Shining Armor. “Do you think things will work out between Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia?”

“I’m sure it will be fine. I don’t think the Queen will change over night, but I think the princess and Twilight had left an impression on her.”

“Why don’t you party with us?” asked Twilight.

“Thanks, but I must decline. This is the first time I’ve ever had to mingle outside my own kind, and frankly,” she gave them a sly smirk, “I only like to stay at parties for the food.” She trotted off toward a large and handsome stallion near a cider trough, looking a little loopy from too much cider.

“Well, hello there, handsome,” said Mirror, swaying her flank and batting her eyes in a seductive way. “Want to dance with me tonight?”

The stallion ogled her. “Oh my, you’re pretty.”

Mirror beckoned him to come along with a sway of her head, and the stallion gladly followed, hopelessly love struck.

Twilight watched the whole thing and laughed. “I think that stallion is going to get more than a hangover in the morning.”

The End