Antecedent 10

Story by Xianyu on SoFurry

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#10 of Antecedent


"You seriously intend to alter past events?" Celestia asked, a slight frown visible on her face.

The princess was bound in place by a sticky green resinous substance that the changelings had produced, immobilising her at her hooves, and encasing her horn, preventing her from performing magic.

"Indeed," Chitin stated dismissively, looking down at the Elements of harmony. All six of them lay before her, spread out on a white cotton sheet. They were still grey and stony, inactive.

"And how do the Elements of Harmony factor into this?" Celestia queried, perking an ear.

"I intend to use them as foci, to increase the range of the time magic. It has been many years," Chitin replied calmly.

Celestia nodded gently. "Indeed it has. Many years have passed."

Chitin didn't respond, looking down at the elements, and then dragging a book closer to herself, reading from the pages.

"You understand that time magic is a dangerous thing, yes?" Celestia asked, a note of worry in her tone.

"I understand the risks," Chitin said with a wave of a hoof.

"And yet you would still risk your life for Chrysalis?" Celestia asked, frowning deeply.

"I will rectify her mistake. And we will be together again as Queen and Servant," Chitin stated calmly. "Testing my conviction is pointless."

"But why now?" Celestia asked after a moment. "When you have had the elements in your possession for so long?"

"I did not have your library at my disposal, and I intend for you to help me, princess," Chitin replied with an eerie grin.

Celestia snorted, shaking her head. "I will not help you in this."

"I'm afraid you don't have much choice," Chitin responded calmly. "If you help me go back... then much of what has transpired between our two races can be erased."

"The past is not to be meddled with," Celestia stated flatly. "Good rarely comes of it."

"I'm afraid that that is not up to you," Chitin scowled, waving her hoof again. She tapped her hoof rather firmly against the floor, calling out, "Spike! Come!"

Celestia turned to the door, her eyes narrowing, watching as the young dragon ambled through and into the room, making his way over towards the changeling queen, casting a single furtive look toward Celestia.

"Spike..." Celestia murmured, her ears splaying.

"My Queen?" Spike asked, bowing slightly.

He had grown much since Celestia had last seen him. He was now as tall as a regular pony, but he should have been much larger.

"Activate the elements, if you will," Chitin said, motioning towards the orbs.

Spike nodded, stepping past Chitin and stroking each orb in turn, causing it to glow and then shift, beginning to shine.

"Ahhh, so you use Spike to overcome the problem of the bearers. How clever," Celestia stated.

Chitin gave a smug smile. "I believe that he has spent enough time around their previous bearers that he is capable of handling them."

"Don't attempt this, Chitin," Celestia implored, shaking her head slowly. "I do not wish to see you hurt yourself."

Chitin scowled, baring her teeth a moment. "Do not lie so brazenly to me, Celestia. I have the upper hoof here."

"I am not lying," Celestia rebuked, eyes narrowing on the Changeling Queen. "I wish for our two races to co-exist, if it is possible."

"We will never co-exist when your kind views us as a parasite! Or an influence to be removed," Chitin growled, waving her hoof dismissively. "Quiet your overactive mouth princess, I must concentrate."

Celestia sighed and shook her head, looking up at Spike and Chitin, before laying her head on her bound hooves and closing her eyes, contenting herself to wait.


Stardancer was long gone by the time her cell door was opened. It had taken careful planning, or, as it were with her, careful forethought. Her first tool was a hairpin, pilfered from a guard as he slept after 'accidentally' slipping on a splat of saliva that had 'somehow' made it onto the floor where he was walking.

With a few careful twists, Stardancer was able to fashion the hairpin into exactly the right shape to hide along her windowsill, and with a few more quick twists, made it into an effective pressure tool. It took but a single twist and press to pop the window open, and allow her to squeeze out and into the cool afternoon air.

The second part of her plan was the faint morse code 'S.O.S' she had been 'unconsciously' tapping out on the floor with her hooves. It didn't alert anyone to help her, but it did remind a certain orderly of his days in the Foal Scouts. It had made him distracted at home at a crucial moment, and he had seriously insulted his wife. As a kind of apology, he had scheduled a date with her that evening. He was too busy checking his watch and worrying about his coming 'date' to notice the faint sounds of Stardancer opening her window and slipping out of the building. And then, Stardancer was free.

By the time the orderlies noticed she was gone, it was far, far too late.

With a careful hiding of one of her tablets, and an afternoon of sheer torture as time itself poked at her brain, Stardancer had a single tablet to sate her insanity with once everything was over. Despite being able to see the future, her own future was muddled. She knew she needed to be at a palace, to modulate what was to come. She needed to be there to ensure that all the key points happened the right way, so that many hundreds of ponies didn't die in the future she foresaw. But every time she looked ahead, events became impossible to view, because she was a part of them. By viewing her own future, she changed it. Her own future was never certain.

Pinning down her own future was like trying to hold onto a nightmare tentacle. It was constantly writhing and twisting. And no matter how hard she pinned it down, it writhed out of her grip and moved along a different path. By viewing her future, she automatically changed it. The one time she had tried to view her future, the one time she had really concentrated on it, she had blacked out. It had been three days before conscious thought returned to her.

A hard learned lesson.

So Stardancer didn't try to anticipate this future. She contented herself with being able to steer it, by being there. She wasn't certain on what would happen with her involvement, but she knew what would happen without it. And that was not something she could allow to happen.


Strange reflections shone all around the four ponies and the single griffon. The torch that Sentinel held cast a strange, flickering light over everything, causing strange shadows and pinpricks of light to dance across the walls of the cavern as the flame's light bounced off the crystals. It was a surreal place, and strange. None of them had seen anything like it before.

"What do you think they needed all these crystals for?" Firebrand whispered.

"I have no idea," Remedy admitted, her tone likewise hushed.

Wisp stared up at the pink crystals, glancing from one to the other. "Preeeeetty. Can I keep one? Pleeeease?"

Raindrop frowned a moment, shaking her head back at the griffin. "They're bigger than your entire body. Don't be silly."

"But I'd polish it and love it and everything!" Wisp protested, giving a faint whine.

"The answer is no," Sentinel said sternly.

Raindrop snuffed a laugh, nudging Sentinel's neck with her hooves. "You're going to make a great father one day," she crooned.

"And you are going to emotionally traumatise any child you spend more than five minutes with," Sentinel responded immediately, kissing Raindrop on her cheek.

"Awww, you're just saying that," Raindrop cooed, nudging the guard once and then pointing ahead with her nose. "I say we just fly over that gap. I'm sure me, you, and Firebrand can support Remedy across the gap."

"Are you sure Firebrand won't drop her?" Sentinel muttered, his voice low.

"By accident? No," Raindrop said confidently, "On purpose though..."

"What're you two mumbling about?" Remedy asked suddenly.

"We're pondering on what design would work best to launch you across that chasm," Raindrop said, pointing ahead. "What with you not having wings and all."

"Trebuchet, I'd say," Sentinel affirmed, nodding once. "But Raindrop here is partial to the old-fashioned catapult. I keep trying to tell her that the catapult has too high a flight angle, but will she listen? Noooo."

"What." Remedy snorted once, stamping a hoof. "I will not climb into medieval siege weaponry."

"We're going to fly you across," Raindrop corrected with a shake of her head. "Geeze, gullible much?"

Remedy flustered a moment, while Wisp and Firebrand both giggled.

Remedy rounded on Firebrand, staring at her. "Did you just... giggle?"

"I did no such thing," Firebrand stated with a shake of her head. "I gave a slight chuckle. I am not girly enough to giggle."

"Enough!" Raindrop said, shaking her head slowly. "Firebrand. You're not going to drop Remedy, are you?"

"Not on purpose," Firebrand stated immediately. "...Unless I feel a particularly strong surge of dislike for her. But I tend to be able to control my murderous impulses."

"Good enough for me," Raindrop said, turning back to the chasm. "Not afraid of heights, are you, Remedy?"

Remedy snorted and tossed her mane. "I've slept on enough clouds in my time."

"Very good, I'll get the right, Firebrand can get the left. And Sentinel, you can fly underneath her to catch her if we fall. And if I catch you peeking at her, I'm going to feed you to Chitin myself, understood?" Raindrop asked.

"Yes, mistress," Sentinel said, saluting with a grin.

The three pegasus moved into position around the earth pony. Remedy looked a little bit unsure about it all.

"Don't worry, Remedy. It's just like falling!" Wisp squeaked enthusiastically. "Falling without going anywhere!"

"That is so reassuring!" Remedy growled.

The nurse didn't have time to say anything else, as Sentinel, Firebrand, and Raindrop all herded her towards the edge of the chasm, leaping out over it and taking hold of the earth pony, supporting her between them all across to the other side.

Wisp watched them go, head tilting to the side slightly.

As they landed on the other side, Raindrop caught Sentinel's attention, and in a few moments, they had returned to get Wisp, ferrying her to the other side as well.

"Forgot I couldn't fly, huh?" Wisp accused the two pegasi, casting her one-eyed gaze from one to the other.

Raindrop gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, kinda. But we're here now."

"I was waiting for Raindrop to say something, honest," Sentinel said with a nod.

Wisp giggled and shook her head, before pointing on ahead. "C'mon! The sooner we get into the castle, the sooner I can find something to blow up!"


The four ponies and single griffon crept quietly through the castle, heading for the Hall of Harmony.

"I think that you winged ponies should take the elements and run," Wisp whispered, looking around intently, ears perking, listening carefully.

"A sound plan if we are discovered," Firebrand stated with a single nod. "Between the three of us, we should be able to carry all six."

"And what about us?" Remedy asked with a faint snort.

Raindrop looked back for a moment, frowning. "I'm sure it won't come to that."

A shadow began to grow on the wall in the hallway, and all five of them ducked back around a corner to wait as a Royal Guard ambled down the passage, his face expressionless.

"Changeling?" Raindrop asked quietly.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sentinel admitted, frowning deeply. "How do we even know they have all the elements here?"

"Classic evil villain logic. Put all your eggs in one basket, that kinda thing," Raindrop said with a confident nod.

Firebrand paused at that. "You realise, of course, that evil villains generally have no logic, yes?"

"I know!" Raindrop snapped, snorting one. "C'mon. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave."

With that, Raindrop began to lead the way towards the Hall of Harmony. All five of them kept low to the ground and pressed against the walls, making themselves as inconspicuous as possible. The palace was mostly deserted though, except for the occasional patrolling guard. It was eerie, and quiet.


"Spike," Celestia murmured.

The young dragon frown, the frills on his head that passed as ears flattening backwards. He was what Celestia would classify as a 'teenage' dragon now, and when standing straight up, he was on her eye level. Chitin had left a few minutes previously, leaving the princess and dragon alone.

"What?" Spike asked, growling faintly in the back of his throat.

Celestia paused, looking the dragon up and down. "...Why are you doing this? Why are you helping Chitin assault the palace?"

"Chitin didn't assault the palace," Spike replied calmly, shaking his head. "She harmed none of your guards. Even though it would have been easier for her to just kill them outright."

"You're avoiding my question," Celestia said firmly, her eyes narrowing.

Spike frowned at that, heaving a soft sigh. "...You wouldn't understand, Celestia."

Celestia snuffed a laugh at that, shaking her head. "What would I not understand?"

"It wasn't fair,' Spike said immediately, frowning, staring down at his paws. "It took me so long to grow up enough for Rarity to want me... and we had so little time together..."

"You mean to tell me that I wouldn't understand love?" Celestia asked flatly, her eyes narrowing slowly.

"What do you know of love?!" Spike demanded to know, rising to his paws and pointing at her, gesticulating wildly. "In all these years, you never even looked sideways at another pony!"

"And you presume that this means I feel nothing?" Celestia scowled, her gaze hardening.

"Given the evidence, yes!" Spike spat, huffing and turning away.

Celestia scowled deeply, working her hooves slowly in anger, stretching the goopy resin holding them in place. After several long, tense moment, she said quietly, "And what of Twilight? What of her final days, Spike? Who was at her bedside the entire time?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Spike asked, rounding on the princess, growling.

"You say I know nothing of love... I loved Twilight. You must know that," Celestia replied, tossing her mane once and snorting.

"And yet you never spent time with her! Or is that what you think love is?" Spike accused, pointing with a claw towards her personal quarters, "All those friendship reports pinned to your walls?"

"You know why I didn't get close to her, Spike. You should know that better than any other," Celestia replied quietly, staring down at her hooves, grinding her teeth. Her eyes were red, and she looked like she was trying to hold back tears.

Spike growled, beginning to pace back and forth, hugging himself. "I... Just... It hurts so much..." Spike pleaded with the princess, his tone becoming helpless. "Chitin can... she can let me hold her again. She can make it stop hurting, even just for a little while... Can you look me in the eye and say that you wouldn't do anything to just hold Twilight in your hooves again, even just for an hour?"

Celestia looked up at the young dragon for a long moment, and then back down at her hooves. "...I would be lying if I said I wouldn't."


Raindrop scowled deeply. The room that had previously held the elements, now held only a set of empty stands where the elements should be sitting.

"I feel as though I should have anticipated this," Raindrop stated quietly.

"Felt too easy and yet you still walked right into it?" Chitin said from the doorway behind them.

The four ponies and the griffon all rounded on the changeling queen, looking surprised. Chitin merely laughed, shaking her head. "Did you really think you'd make it all the way through the castle without any of my changelings knowing?"

"I was kinda hoping," Raindrop admitted, her ears splaying backwards. She made a quick motion with a hoof, towards Wisp, mouthing 'explosions' to the young griffon.

Wisp nodded once, and then began to slide a paw down towards her chest pouch.

"I'd prefer if I didn't have to knock you all unconscious," Chitin said with an airy wave of a hoof.

"You and what army?" Remedy scowled, taking a step forwards.

"My army," Chitin stated, making a motion. The other door to the room opened, and a dozen or so Royal Guards filed in, forming a circle around the group, with spears pointing inwards.

Raindrop frowned deeply, her ears splaying backwards. "Well, this... kinda sucks."

"Indeed," Chitin said with a wry grin, waving a hoof. "Come, you lot. We have business in the library."

Wisp looked sideways at Raindrop, her eyes motioning towards the small black objects she held in her paw. Raindrop shook her head imperceptibly. Wisp frowned, but palmed the objects back into her pouch.

Chitin paused a moment, staring down at the diminutive griffon, before holding out her hoof. "Pass it over."

Wisp splayed her ears, but passed over her pouch and its improvised explosive contents, giving a soft huff.

Raindrop shook her head slowly as they were all herded towards the door. "Any idea on what to do?" Raindrop asked of Sentinel, finding herself pushed up against him.

"Not a one," Sentinel replied, shaking his head. "It would seem they were waiting for us to try and take the elements back."

"We did kinda walk straight into the trap," Raindrop said with a growl, stamping a hoof against the ground. "It was stupid to think they wouldn't have moved them."

"All we can do is wait," Sentinel stated, shaking his head and nuzzling his nose against her cheek gently. "Something will come up, we'll have a chance to escape."

"I sure hope so," Raindrop whispered, as all five of them were marched down the hallway towards the palace library. "Last time we were here, she tried to kill us."

"I remember. Vividly." Sentinel shook his head, frowning deeply.

Raindrop turned to peer at Wisp, and Wisp gave her a wide grin, revealing the small black object she had managed to conceal in her beak.

"Stop stepping so close!" Firebrand snarled, turning and pushing at Remedy suddenly, sending her stumbling into the guard walking beside her.

Remedy scowled, rounding on the pegasus to argue with her, but Firebrand was already in motion.

Firebrand leapt backwards, backwinging hard to lift herself off the ground. She came down almost perfectly balanced on the back of the two guards behind them, her forehooves coming down hard on the backs of their heads. The two guards crumpled, one of them knocked out instantly, while the other was momentarily stunned by the attack.

As the guards around them turned to face the new threat, Firebrand picked up one of the spears and sidestepped, leaping nimbly from the crumpling forms of the two guards. She landed on splayed legs, holding the spear in front of her, between her and the guards, a wild grin on her face.

"I warn you!" Firebrand cried, brandishing the spear fiercely, "I am trained in martial weaponry!"

Chitin scowled and turned around, regarding the pegasus for a long moment. A simple lowering of her head sent a green bolt of magic from her horn. Firebrand tried to leap over the approaching magical bolt, but it swerved to hit her, smashing into her chest and sending the pegasus tumbling backwards in a puff of displaced feathers, her spear clattering to the ground.

Sentinel and Raindrop both stared, pausing in their motions, as they had both been about to assault the guards besides them.

"Are any more of you going to do anything stupid?" Chitin asked simply, raising a brow.

Raindrop, Sentinel, Wisp and Remedy all shook their heads vigorously.

"Very good. You two," Chitin pointed, "Drag her along with us, you," she pointed at another guard, and then at the unconscious guard," take him to the barracks, wake him up."


Firebrand was still unconscious when she was dragged into the library and dumped unceremoniously in front of the Elements of Harmony. They sat in a rough circle, surrounded by various books opened to pages containing pictures of magical spells and mathematical formulas.

Chitin moved to stand in front of the elements. Her guards all stood around the borders of the library, too far away for the ponies to attack them without finding themselves on the point of a spear, but too close for them to run away without worry of being caught. The few windows in the room were made of stained glass with metal outlines, meaning that attempting to fly through them would be a painful process.

"What do you want?" Raindrop asked, squaring her stance and staring up at the Changeling Queen defiantly.

"Why, I want your help, of course," Chitin stated with an eerie smile.

"And why would we help you?" Raindrop asked, scowling deeply.

"I'll never help you," Sentinel affirmed, shaking his head slowly, moving to stand beside Raindrop, showing the queen a united front.

"You will help me, because it will help you," Chitin stated, looking at both of them with a sly smile. "I intend to create a time bridge. I will return to a time before the wedding, and convince Chrysalis not to go through with her plans. She will never be defeated," Chitin said silkily.

The queen turned to Raindrop, "You, Chrysalis is your grandmother, correct?"

Raindrop nodded uncertainly.

"And your changeling blood is a constant point of contention, yes?" Chitin asked with a sly grin.

"I... I guess so..." Raindrop murmured.

Chitin waved a hoof. "If I stop Chrysalis from ever meeting Evergreen, then you will not have changeling in your blood, correct?"

Raindrop pondered on that for a long moment, her ears lowering. "I... I... You're right..."

Sentinel scowled deeply, staring at Raindrop. "You can't possibly be thinking-"

"And you, Sentinel," Chitin said with a slowly growing smile. "Your comrades tell me interesting things about you... about your past."

Sentinel turned to the queen, his eyes narrowing. "Don't you dare speak of my par-"

Chitin cut him off by placing a hoof carefully against his muzzle. "What if the wedding takeover never happened? Your mother wouldn't have been injured, and you would still have a family, correct?"

Sentinel scowled deeply, his ears splaying backwards as well. He shook his head vigorously. "I'll never help you. I'll never help you, you filthy beast."

"Sentinel..." Raindrop whispered, pleading gently. "I... Just... She's got a point..."

"You can't be serious," Sentinel stated flatly. "After all we've been through, you're just going to help her?"

"I'm considering it!" Raindrop retorted, her ears pinning back. "We could be together. We could be happy..."

"I'm happy with what I have," Sentinel said flatly, shaking his head once, "If that's not enough for you, then-"

Chitin cut him off again, placing her hoof over his mouth.

Sentinel's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he growled, pushing her hoof away. "I swear, if you don't stop cuttin-"

Chitin giggled and placed her hoof over his mouth again.

Sentinel looked absolutely livid, gritting his teeth, grinding them together.

"I can see why you have so much affection for this one," Chitin told Raindrop, before turning to Wisp and Remedy. "I admit, I know very little of you two... or of your fifth member. The simple point is, you will cooperate with me. Spike cannot wield the elements, he can merely activate them. I need all of you to cooperate, and I have ways far less pleasant than simple talking to convince you."

Remedy and Wisp exchanged uneasy glances.

"I will gain your cooperation, be it by force or coercion. I do not wish to harm any of you, but-"

"Bullshit," Raindrop interjected. "You were going to have us killed!"

"Because it served my purpose!" Chitin scowled, eyes narrowing at the pegasus. "You knew of my existence. I did not wish to accelerate my plans too far. I wanted to wait for Celestia to have five of the bearers before I attacked. But it turns out that you are not as susceptible to the hive mind as I had hoped."

"Hive mind?" Raindrop asked blankly.

"Yes, the hive mind," Chitin responded with a dismissive wave of a hoof. "Were you susceptible, I would have bent you to my will and you would have carried out my plans."

"Glad I didn't inherit that then," Raindrop stated, wrinkling her nose.

"Indeed," Chitin stated, snorting once. "Either way, I do not wish to harm any of you... but I will."

Raindrop rolled her eyes, "Oh, well, as long as you don't really mean it-"

"Silence!" Chitin snarled, her horn glowing dangerously. Raindrop fell silent, her ears splaying back.

"Ah'm disappointed in all of yer," Chrysalis stated as she pushed open the library door, stepping inside neatly. "Yer let herself get caught, Raindrop, and yer being daft, Chitin."

The whole room fell quiet.

"C-Chrysalis?" Chitin whispered, her eyes wide.

Chrysalis nodded once, giving a sly grin. "In the flesh, Chitin."

"B-but you're dead," Chitin protested, looking bewildered.

"Oh, didn't I tell you she was still alive?" Raindrop asked, perking an ear, "Shoulda mentioned that, probably."

Chrysalis strode towards the centre of the room. All eyes watched her, and several of the changeling guards tightened their grips on their spears.

"Ah've been listening fer a while now, Chitin. Ah'm here now. So maybe yer can convince me yerself exactly why yer don't want me ter meet mah Evergreen?" Chrysalis stated, coming to stand in front of her. Raindrop looked back and forth between the two Changeling Queens. They looked like a mirror image.

"I... But..." Chitin stated, taking a step backwards, accidentally knocking over one of the elements, sending it rolling away to knock against a bookshelf.

"Yer must have practised yer speech, Chitin," Chrysalis said with a sly smile. "Come, debate me."

"You killed your changelings!" Chitin snarled, taking a step forwards, lifting a hoof as though to hit the other queen. "You turned your back on us! You're not Chrysalis! You're just something that Chrysalis became!"

"Ah don't believe yer in a position ter be saying that," Chrysalis said emotionlessly, disregarding the lifted hoof. "Yer never been in love."

"Changeling don't fall in love!" Chitin snarled, dropping her hoof and beginning to pace back and forth in front of Chrysalis, her wings stiffened and her horn glowing as though she was just itching to attack her.

"That's what yer believe," Chrysalis said with a shake of her head.

Chitin paused, and then rounded on Chrysalis, poking her nose with her hoof. "You were brainwashed! You were weak and gave in!"

"Ah was not weak," Chrysalis replied, her lips growing thin.

"Then why did you turn your back on us?! Why did you turn your back on me?!" Chitin snarled, her horn glistening with green magic as she bared her teeth in anger. Raindrop and Sentinel cautiously began to back away from the queen, wary of an impending attack.

"It was the hardest thing ah ever did," Chrysalis said softly, looking down at her hooves, shaking her head sadly. "But Evergreen was worth it. My life was worth it."

"What about the hive?! You always told me that the good of the hive came before everything else!" Chitin snarled, her tone carrying notes of pain and betrayal.

"Ah did what was best fer the hive," Chrysalis stated.

Chitin's eyes narrowed, and she took several deep, angered breaths. "You killed them!"

"It was fer the best," Chrysalis replied simply.

"How is killing them the best option?!"

Chrysalis paused at that, and then sighed once, shaking her head. "Because there was none ter lead them, Chitin. Yer know what changelings are like without the hive mind to bind them... we had no one ter take over the position of queen. Ah wasn't going ter let mah changelings become prisoners and die of starvation... Ah wasn't going to let them become murderers."

Chitin scowled deeply, her ears pinning backwards. "You were brainwashed, it's the only possible explanation."

"Ah was never brainwashed, Chitin," Chrysalis said sharply, eyes narrowing at the other changeling. "Yer know, there's a way yer can be certain."

Chitin recoiled at that, her ears splaying, shaking her head vigorously. "It's a trick!"

"Ah won't influence yer in any way... Ah'll just show yer what ah experienced," Chrysalis soothed.

"N-no! I won't allow it! You're brainwashed!" Chitin cried, taking a step back from Chrysalis, a single tear marking the black of her cheeks.

"Ah'm not brainwashed," Chrysalis said, taking another step forwards, and then another, advancing on the other queen. "Defend yerself if yer truly think ah intend ter harm yer."

"G-guards!" Chitin called, trying to retreat. Chrysalis bounded after her, as the room exploded into motion.

Sentinel and Raindrop both leapt towards the two queens, intersecting the three guards that were attempting to come between Chrysalis and Chitin. Wisp popped her beak open and dropped the improvised explosive device onto her paw, twisting it and then hurling it away, covering her ears and closing her eyes.

Remedy shied away from the action, and as Wisp threw the little device, her eyes widened and she took cover as well, likewise covering her ears and closing her eyes.

A blinding flash lit the room, following by the explosive of sound so loud that it caused literally put the guards off balance, sending them stumbling the ground. Raindrop, Sentinel, the two queens and the guards were far enough away that they weren't adversely affected. Raindrop tackled her guard to the ground, while Sentinel tackled one of the other guards, and managed to tangle with the hooves of the next, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

The five of them tumbled and wrestled, while Chrysalis tried to get close to Chitin, forcing the queen to return towards the back of the library.

"D-don't make me defend myself!" Chitin snarled, her horn glowing as she squared off against Chrysalis.

"Ah don't think yer have it in yer," Chrysalis stated with a wry grin.

"You doubt me?!" Chitin snarled, a green glow building in her horn. As Chitin lowered her head, the window above her smashed. A hoof-sized stone smashed down across her brow, sending a slick of green blood spilling from a gash as the changeling stumbled, stunned.

Chrysalis took the momentary break to lunge forwards and lock horns with the queen.

Chitin's eyes widened as Chrysalis' horn glowed. Chitin stiffened and gasped, baring her teeth, her delicate wings quivering and fluttering for a moment, before she recoiled with another gasp and just collapsed.

Almost instantly, all motion inside the library stopped. The guards wrestling with Raindrop and Sentinel stiffened and then rolled free, standing at attention. Raindrop and Sentinel scrambled to their hooves, squaring their stances, ready to fight again.

Everything got quiet, bar for the sound of Stardancer overbalancing in the tree outside and falling out of it, landing on her rump with a loud curse.

Chitin stared up at Chrysalis, recoiling from the hive-mind that Chrysalis had forced her to establish. Chrysalis had given her memories. So many, many memories. They were overwhelming in their intensity, and it was all Chitin could do to maintain coherent thought.

Images of lying with Evergreen and watching the snow fall out the window; Writing a book with the woodspony; swimming with him in the gentle stream; lazing with him as she watched the nightflowers bloom and puff their luminescent pollen into the air; all of this and more crashed through Chitin's mind, bringing tears to her eyes as she tried to comprehend the enormity of the emotions behind the images.

"Yer see?" Chrysalis asked smugly.

Chitin's ears splayed backwards as she was forced to understand, and she recoiled, backing away, looking about with wide eyes. "O-oh no... I-I've made a mistake..."

Chrysalis nodded gently at the queen.

"L-lead the changelings, take them and run!" Chitin ordered Chrysalis, pointing with a shaking hoof towards the door. "I'll distract Celestia... I'll... I'll do something!"

Chrysalis shook her head gently, lifting a hoof to lightly touch at Chitin's cheek. "Chitin... Mah time here is over. You are the queen now."

Chitin shook her head rapidly. "B-but I've revealed us! It was going to be okay. I could fix it if I made the time bridge... I... But... Help me make a time bridge! Help me go back to before I revealed us!"

Once more, Chrysalis shook her head. "Chitin, stop. The time bridge is a stupid, childish thing ter attempt. Even the most accomplished unicorn's could barely control them. Yer'll kill yourself, and we'll be worse off. Yer can still fix this though..."

Chitin covered her ears with her hooves, rocking back and forth slightly. "No I can't! I revealed us! Celestia will hunt us down to the ends of the earth now she knows we're here!"

Chrysalis stepped closer to the queen, gently sliding Chitin's hooves from over her ears. "Listen ter me, Chitin. Yer are their queen. They'll follow yer. Even if they've all attained singularity from having the hive mind severed, they're still loyal to yer. Running won't work any more, so what's the last option yer have open to yer?"

"We take over!" Chitin said confidently.

Chrysalis slowly shook her head again. "No, Chitin. That won't work. Yer know better than that. We rely on love fer power. Yer'll never get love if yer try to use strength ter get it. What did ah teach yer?"

"Cunning before strength..." Chitin whispered. "Peace before war."

"Yer'll just have ter convince Celestia that our kind can be trusted," Chrysalis said with a sad smile.

"B-but that'll never happen! We'll be destroyed!" Chitin protested, looking small and alone.

"Yer'll be destroyed if yer try ter run or yer try ter take over. Yer must know that," Chrysalis said gently. "It's time fer us ter stop hiding in the shadows."

"I'm not a leader..." Chitin said quietly. "I was just... just holding the position until I could get you back..."

"Ah'm not coming back," Chrysalis said flatly, shaking her head, and then nudging the other queen soothingly. "It's up to yer ter lead the changelings now. Take yer place as queen. And as queen, yer gotta make the hard decisions."

"I'm scared..." Chitin whispered. "I just wanted you back..."

"Ah'm sorry ah abandoned yer, Chitin. Yer were my first choice fer queen if ah had to leave... But that's in the past now. Make the right choice, Chitin." With that, Chrysalis turned away, walking past the silent guards. Raindrop looked between Chrysalis and the impassive guards.

"What happened?!" Raindrop asked, looking back and forth between the two queens.

Chrysalis didn't reply, and Chitin raised a hoof, pointing at the door, still staring down at her hooves. "L-leave," Chitin said flatly. "Leave before I change my mind."

Raindrop looked back and forth again, and Sentinel gave her a bewildered look. Wisp shrugged, and Remedy looked distracted, rubbing at her head and temple, looking drained. Raindrop assumed that she had been hit by the improvised explosive.

Raindrop slipped over to the prone form of Firebrand, and shook her until the pegasus awoke, blinking slowly up at the ceiling.

"C'mon!" Raindrop hissed, dragging the pegasus into a standing position, and then leading all four of them out the door of the library, moving after Chrysalis.

Chrysalis was collapsed in the hallway, her breathing shallow, eyes closed and wings limp.

"Cee!?" Raindrop squeaked, bolting over to the fallen changeling and wrapping her hooves around her, trying to pick her up. "C'mon! Before Chitin comes to her senses!"

The changeling queen gave a wry smile at that, opening a single eye to peer at her granddaughter. "Ah'm already leaving."

"N-no, c'mon, we gotta go," Raindrop protested, tugging at the queens neck firmly.

"It's too late fer me, child," Chrysalis said with a gentle shake of her head. "Ah used the last of mah energy showing Chitin what ah experienced."

"Y-you're dying?" Raindrop asked, ears splaying backwards, a whine building in her throat.

"Ah've been dying since ah was brought back here..." Chrysalis said weakly. "But ah'm content... ah got ter maybe convince Chitin ter help mah kind live peacefully." Chrysalis gave a strained smile and lifted a hoof to rest on Raindrop's shoulder. "One of mah changeling's is even a bearer of an element... Ah couldn't be happier."

"B-but..." Raindrop drew back a little bit, sniffling. "I don't want you to go."

"Too late, child," Chrysalis said with a sad smile, her head drooping to rest on her forehooves. "Stick around, Raindrop. Yer a link between ponies and changelings... ah suspect that yer'll have some part ter play if Chitin doesn't murder yer all. Her changelings will have developed personality by now, they get more self-aware the longer they go without a hive mind ter lead em, so make sure that Celestia sweeps the population centres fer changelings that're hiding."

Raindrop opened her mouth to say something, but Chrysalis stopped her. "Don't interrupt, Raindrop. It's rude. There was something else ah had ter say... Somethin... Ah don't... Everythin's all hazy..." Chrysalis trailed off, and then fixed Raindrop with a determined stare. "Don't let Celestia kill the changelings. They deserve a chance ter prove themselves. And bury me with Evergreen. If yer bury me elsewhere, ah'll haunt the living shit out of yer."

Raindrop nodded shakily at that. "I will Cee, I promise."

Chrysalis didn't answer.

Raindrop blinked once, and then gently nudged the queen with her nose. "C-cee?"

But she was already gone.

Raindrop lifted a shaking hoof to gently close her grandmother's eyes, laying her nose against the queen's cheek and sniffling, holding back tears as she began to rock back and forth.

Remedy cautiously stepped closer to her, and then hugged the pegasus from behind, soothing her.

Sentinel, Wisp, and Firebrand could only watch as Raindrop dissolved into tears, cradling the head of her dead grandmother.


Celestia and Spike both looked up as Chitin pushed the door open, her head lowered and ears pinned back. "I... I... Spike. Leave us."

Spike looked from Celestia, to Chitin, and then pushed himself to his feet, stepping out of the room and closing the door.

Chitin stared at the princess, biting her bottom lip uncertainly.

"So it has come to this," Celestia stated, watching the queen impassively.

"Indeed, it has..." Chitin stated, looking down at the princess with a sad expression. "Chrysalis forced me to reinstate the hive mind... all my changelings will be here soon."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Celestia asked guardedly. "And Chrysalis? I thought I might have been a bit hasty in my appraisal of her passing..."

"Indeed. She was alive... was," Chitin said, head lowering further.

"If you've come looking for sympathy, you'll not get it," Celestia stated with a shake of her head.

Chitin sighed faintly, and then took a deep, steadying breath. "I...I've not come for sympathy. I've come to ask... for forgiveness."

Celestia raised a brow.

The Changeling Queen stepped forwards, her horn glowing. She directed a bolt of energy at the princess, which shattered against Celestia's chest. The goo around her hooves and horn hardened and then shattered, falling to the floor like broken eggshells.

Chitin stepped back then, and frowned at the princess. "You... you are free. Your guards have been released. Your guard should be able to detect changelings now that the hive mind is active again... Either way, you have me at your whim." Chitin lowered her front, and then prostrated herself in front of the princess, resting her nose on the ground in between her hooves. "I ask for your forgiveness, princess. On behalf of all of my race... we're turning ourselves in."

Celestia perked both ears upwards at this, looking, if at all possible, lost. "I... I must admit that this is not a possibility that I had anticipated. How do I know the guards you are 'releasing' are my own, and not changelings themselves? I cannot trust you."

Chitin winced at that, her ears splaying backwards further. "I... I'll find some way to show you. Lock me up. Throw me in a cell. I'll prove myself to you."

"Why the sudden change in heart, Chitin? You were quite content to take over my palace. What's changed?" Celestia queried guardedly.

Chitin lifted her gaze to the princess again, dropping her haunches to the ground so that she was flat, resting her head on her forehooves. "Chrysalis came... she... she showed me what she went through. I... I thought she was brainwashed. I just wanted to get her back and I knew that if I got her back, everything would be okay... But... But she was truly in love. And now I've revealed us to you... and our only options are total control or compliance. I've... I've chosen compliance. It's the only hope for the future of my race."

"How many of your kind remain?" Celestia asked, eyes narrowing.

"Two hundred and thirty seven," Chitin stated immediately.

Celestia blanched at that, eyes wide.

"We repopulated once we were certain it was safe," Chitin admitted.

"This much is obvious," Celestia stated, frowning deeply. The door burst open, and several of Celestia's Royal Guard pushed in, panting faintly, fastening their armor.

"Princess, are you safe?!" one of the guards asked, brandishing a spear at Chitin.

"I am quite fine, thank you," Celestia stated dismissively. "Take Chitin into custody. Lock her and any of her brood in the dungeons."

"Yes your majesty!" the two guards affirmed, moving towards Chitin.

Chitin frowned deeply, her ears pinning back. "Celestia, please..."

Celestia turned away, electing not to respond as Chitin was dragged away towards the dungeon.


Raindrop, Sentinel, Firebrand, Wisp, and Remedy were all herded into a cell by the Royal Guard, left there until 'your identities can be ascertained'. None of them had any idea what was going on. One moment, they had been trying their best to escape the castle, the next, they were surrounded by actual Royal Guards and marched to the dungeons.

There was movement all around them, the sounds of shuffling hooves and low whispers, likely from all the other prisoners the Royal Guard had attained when they took back the palace.

"What do you think is going on?" Raindrop asked of Sentinel, her voice low.

"No clue," Sentinel stated flatly, his tone short.

Raindrop's ears splayed back, and she stared at the guard for a long moment, her brows furrowing. "Is... is something wrong?"

Sentinel snorted once, shaking his head and turning his back on her. "Nope."

Raindrop sighed and laid down on her stomach, resting her head on her forehooves.

Remedy, Wisp, and Firebrand were all at separate corners of the cell, doing their own thing. Firebrand was rubbing her head, inspecting the lump from where she had been knocked unconscious, and flexing her wings slowly to make sure they still worked. Wisp was pouting at the lock on the cell door, staring at it like she could will a small explosive device into existence so she could blow up the lock. Remedy looked a little distracted, mumbling to herself and shaking her head slightly.

The sound of footsteps echoed in front of them, and Celestia came into view, inclining her head towards the cell door. the lock clicked, and then opened, and Celestia waved a hoof. "Come, you are all free to go."

"Princess?" Sentinel asked, clambering to his hooves. "Did we retake the castle?"

Celestia shook her head gently. "No, Sentinel. Chitin and her brood turned themselves in willingly."

"It's a trick!" Sentinel hissed immediately.

Celestia again shook her head. "No, Sentinel. I believe that they are sincere in their convictions to attain a peaceful resolution. But... I need to be certain. Will you allow me to try a new spell on you?"

Sentinel stiffened, saluting. "Yes, you majesty."

"Good, come," Celestia said, turning and moving back towards the stairs leading to the surface. "What were your parents names?"

Sentinel splayed his ears at that, "Shimmer and Cloudpeak."

"Very good," Celestia stated, and then turned to look back at the other four occupants of the cell. "All of you, please, remain within the bounds of the palace."

Raindrop nodded gently. "Yes, Princess Celestia."

Remedy frowned deeply, and then sidled up to Raindrop, giving a furtive glance left, and then right. "Raindrop... we need to talk. In private."

"In private?" Raindrop asked uncertainly, watching the princess and Sentinel climbing the stairs.

"In private," Remedy affirmed.

Raindrop looked back at Wisp and Firebrand, and frowned slightly. "You two will be fine without us?"

"I'll try not to get lost," Firebrand stated, rolling her eyes.

"I don't have anything to blow stuff up with," Wisp soothed, her tone part reassuring, and part disappointed.

"Good, then." Raindrop walked with Remedy up to the palace gardens, finding a nice, quiet spot under a large, leafy tree.

"N then," Raindrop said, looking at Remedy for a long moment. "What is it that's so important?"

"Sentinel will find out eventually..." Remedy said, her ears pinning back. "You'll all find out eventually... but I need you to protect me from him when he finds out."

"Protect you?" Raindrop asked, bewildered. "Why would I need to protect you?"

Remedy cast another furtive glance left and right, making sure they were alone, before she leaned in close to whisper to Raindrop. Raindrop knew it in the instant before Remedy said it, as the nurse's eyes flickered green.

"I'm a changeling."


Raindrop stared at Remedy for a long moment, mouth parted. "You're... a... changeling?"

"Yes," Remedy stated, nodding once. She stared into raindrop's eyes, and let her own switch again, becoming green and slit-pupiled in the way that Raindrop had seen her own eyes do.

"I... wow," Raindrop breathed. "And you're... the bearer of an element."

"You think you were surprised?" Remedy asked, shaking her head. "But it is immaterial. I need you to stop Sentinel from doing anything... crazy, when he finds out."

"You've kept it a secret up until now," Raindrop said, staring at the nurse in disbelief.

Remedy nodded at that. "Indeed. But that is mainly because nopony has been looking for changelings. I don't exactly have much of a past. If one were to dig into my past far enough, they'd find gaping holes."

Raindrop nodded once, continuing to stare at Remedy. "I just... you're a changeling."

"I believe we established this fact," Remedy said, pursing her lips impatiently.

"And you're a bitch... and you give me relationship advice... ugh. That's like a dragon trying to teach manners!"

Remedy's eyes narrowed and she gave a low growl ."What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You're a changeling!" Raindrop stated, waving a hoof for emphasis. "Your mode of operation is that you twist ponies' emotions to get love from them. What do you know about relationships?"

Remedy's eyes narrowed, and she scowled at the pegasus for a long moment. "I seem to recall that I saw what wrong with your relationships."

"Dumb luck?" Raindrop offered, raising a brow.

Remedy snorted once. "I'm not even your species and I know more about relationships than you," the nurse snickered.

Then it was Raindrop's turn to scowl. "Whatever. I bet you're not even a real nurse."

"Of course not," Remedy scoffed, wrinkling her nose.

"Then why did you pretend to be one?" Raindrop asked, exasperated.

Remedy looked down at her hooves at that, frowning slightly. "Well... I'm not sure if I'm comfortable talking about that."

Raindrop gave Remedy a blank stare. "So you want my help, and yet you won't tell me what I want to know?"

The nurse huffed once. "Fine. Chitin sent me into the general population of ponies to monitor changelings effects. I was the best at hiding myself, and probably still am. I was to find a position where I would know if ponies were killed by changelings; either from their magic, or by prolonged exposure to their emotional draining."

"So you were damage control?" Raindrop queried.

Remedy gave a half-nod. "Kind of, I suppose. But mainly, I was there to make sure no changelings went rogue. Once the link was broken we were free entities. The hive mind is... strange. Pervasive. It's like having a voice constantly governing your actions... and once it was down, it changed us. Normal tendencies that would be kept in check; violence, ego, arrogance, all of those traits that were suppressed by the hive mind could come to the surface."

"And if you found a changeling that had become violent?" Raindrop asked curiously.

"I actually did find one. He was injured in a fight after putting three ponies in intensive care," Remedy said with a soft sigh and a shake of her head. "I... accidentally administered three times the lethal limit of morphine to him. Misread the bottle, you know?"

Raindrop took a step backwards, staring at the nurse. "You killed him?"

"Indeed," Remedy said, her ears drooping. "It was... difficult."

"You're the Element of Kindness!" Raindrop protested, her eyes wide.

"And what was more kind?!" Remedy hissed, stamping a hoof, anger quickly surging to the surface. "That I let him live and harm more ponies?! You think it was easy to do? You think that that was a choice I took lightly?"

Raindrop just shook her head. "So... you just kill any changelings that go rogue?"

"They are a threat. To us, and to ponies," Remedy said, her eyes hard. "Without the hive mind to govern their actions... we really can't take the risk. A civil war amongst the changelings would destroy us."

"That's just... brutal," Raindrop said, shaking her head. "What if a changeling went rogue and decided to be normal? To try and live like a pony?"

Remedy laughed at that. "That is what I am, Raindrop."

"You're rogue?" Raindrop asked, blinking once.

"Indeed. I am a rogue changeling," Remedy said with a half-shrug.

"So if Chitin found you... she'd kill you?" Raindrop asked, aghast.

"I find it unlikely. I have no violent tendencies. I am no threat to ponies," Remedy stated, before she frowned slightly. "I'd rather not find out first-hoof, though."

"But then... how... how are you the bearer of kindness?" Raindrop asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I have no. Idea." Remedy shook her head for a moment, mincing her forehooves back and forth. "I mean... I kinda like helping other ponies. Even if I'm a bitch about it. But I'm not very kind."

"I can confirm the bitch part," Raindrop said with a nod and a sly grin.

"Not helping," Remedy stated, snorting. "But it's happened, and here we are. I need you to promise me that you'll protect me if Sentinel does anything... stupid."

"I can't promise you that," Raindrop said with a shake of her head. "I can promise that I'll try..."

"That'll have to be good enough," Remedy said with a deep frown.

"So, how is it that Chitin didn't find you?" Raindrop asked suddenly.

Remedy canted her head to the side. "How do you mean?"

"Well, she sent you into the pony populace to monitor us... she must have known you were a nurse. Not particularly hard to track you down after that," Raindrop stated.

Remedy gave a nod at that. "Indeed. At first, I was a doctor," the nurse said with a sly grin. "Doctor Splint, an elderly trauma doctor who was getting on in years and beginning to forget some essential parts of his job. Needed refreshers. Once I went rogue, I kinda just became a nurse... I liked helping the hurt ponies."

Raindrop perked her ears at that, frowning deeply. "Then... uhm..."

"Yes?" Remedy asked.

Raindrop leaned closer, and then whispered, "How do you know which gender you are? If you can be both?"

Remedy chuckled at that. "Gender identification is not so cut-and-dried with changelings as it is with ponies," the nurse admitted with a wry smile. "I am female though. It is the gender I identify most with."

"That is so... strange," Raindrop stated, staring at the nurse.

"For you, perhaps. A changeling merely chooses their gender upon reaching the correct age... while under the influence of the hive mind, many of us never choose a gender to which to stick to. It's only since the hive mind was broken that I decided I was female."

"'Decided I was female'," Raindrop repeated, shaking her head slowly. "So changelings can hide from the hive mind?"

"Yes, that is going rogue. Breaking from the hive mind. Most don't drum up the willpower to do so... but since the hive mind was broken, there are likely many more rogue changelings now," Remedy stated with a deep frown. "I felt Chitin try to re-establish the hive mind earlier... I blocked it out."

"Why would Chitin do that?" Raindrop asked, bewildered.

"Chitin turned herself in... so perhaps she re-established the link to try and tell all changelings to turn themselves in?" Remedy offered helplessly.

"Would that even work?" Raindrop asked, perking an ear.

Remedy went quiet for a moment. "Back when the hive mind was always active yes, yes it would have worked. But now?" she trailed off, frowning deeply. "I... the changelings will have their own minds now. Their own goals. They'll be able to decide for themselves if they want to come in or not."

"Changelings are weird," Raindrop stated with a shake of her head.

"Ponies are weird!" Remedy countered.

"They are," Raindrop admitted, giving a faint, amused snort. "And I'm half-n-half, I've got the best of both worlds."

"It does explain why you're so fucked up," Remedy stated.

"Well thanks for the emotional support, Mrs. Element of Kindness," Raindrop said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Tough love, Raindrop, tough love," Remedy said with a slight smile. The nurse trailed off for a moment, and then sobered. "Thank you, Raindrop... for not, you know... running away or something."

"I'm part changeling," Raindrop said with a helpless shrug. "I'm desensitized to changelings I guess."

"Still," Remedy stated, "I'd expect the others to take it less... calmly."

"I disagree," Firebrand said, as she ambled over to the pair.


Chitin looked up as a key scraped in the lock, and her cell door slid open.

"You requested to see me?" Celestia asked, as she stepped into the cell. The door was closed behind them, the lock clicking.

Chitin rose to her hooves, nodding once. "We have a problem, Celestia."

"We have two hundred and thirty seven problems, in fact," Celestia corrected tartly.

Chitin scowled at that, her eyes narrowing. "We have more of a problem than that, Celestia. A large group of changelings did not reintegrate into the hive mind. I can't find them. They've all gone rogue."

"How many?" Celestia asked flatly.

The dark queen splayed her ears back, and lowered her head. "I estimate fifty."


Stardancer watched the ant crawl over the blade of grass with utter fascination. The ant did not know it. Nopony knew it. Nopony but her knew it. But the ant had a destiny. Stardancer could see it clearly; the guard who would get stung by the ant. He would pause in his walk, and that single, infinitesimal action would cascade into a long chain of events that culminated in lives being changed.

She could see the turning points. Sometimes, a turning point was so solid, so anchored within the timeline that it was almost impossible to change. Nightmare Moon coming back and trying to cast eternal night? There was no single action that could stop that. Not a single one. But there were actions that could have changed the eventual outcome, of that she was sure. But most turning points, like this one, were fluid. They were easy to manipulate.

The guard would be stung by the ant, and he would pause to brush it off. He would be delayed from arriving at his post for a crucial few moments, and his wife, whom was waiting for him, would become more annoyed than if he had arrived those meagre few seconds earlier. Her mood would be changed enough that the guard would not get laid that night. Frustration at being denied would keep him awake, changing his mood the following day. He would delay a pony from seeing Celestia for a few minutes, just to take his aggression out on something. That interruption would cause that pony to be late for a conversation with a passerby that evening, and he would never hear the words that he would tell his future wife.

Possibilities cascaded past Stardancer's inner eye like a movie played at a thousand times normal speed. Images and possibilities assaulted the unicorn's mind. She winced at the sharp, blinding pain building in her temple, swaying slightly. A trickle of blood dribbled from her nose, and she collapsed.


Remedy took a step backwards as Firebrand intruded, the nurse's expression guarded. "Disagree with what?" she asked carefully.

"That I would not take it calmly that you are a changeling," Firebrand stated simply, shrugging.

Remedy's expression become alarmed, and she stared at Raindrop for a moment, as though seeking help.

Raindrop shrugged her shoulders helplessly in response, just as alarmed as the nurse was.

"But... I'm a changeling," Remedy said, staring at the wonderbolt.

"...And?" Firebrand asked, arching a brow calmly. "So?"

Remedy stared at the pegasus, her mouth parted slightly, completely off balance at the mare's reaction to her secret. "But... I steal love..."

"Not my love, certainly," Firebrand pointed out with a derisive snort. "I care not if you are a changeling. If your kind were dangerous, then I would certainly be more apprehensive."

Remedy stared at Firebrand for a long moment, head tilting to the side slowly. "You don't think I'm dangerous?"

Firebrand shook her head slowly. "Perhaps you may be dangerous as a single entity, but on the whole, changelings are not so dangerous."

The nurse scowled at that, shaking her head. "Element of truth my ass."

"It is the truth," Remedy stated with a shrug.

"They really are dangerous," Raindrop said, her tone worried. "You're deluded."

"And yet, we have heard nothing of the changelings for a generation, yes?"Firebrand queried.

"That's correct," Raindrop admitted, an ear perking. "But what does that have to do with-"

"-ergo, they're not dangerous. If they were dangerous, then there would be a slew of unexplained murders in the major settlements or even in the isolated ones," Firebrand pointed out, raising a brow.

Raindrop shook her head. "Still don't see where you're coming from."

Firebrand rolled her eyes, sighing once. "If changelings intended on harming ponies, then they would expose themselves," she tried to explain, waving a hoof as she hummed thoughtfully. "Think of it like this. You only know a dragon is sleeping in the cave if you see the smoke. But if he burns down a town, everypony knows about it."

"So you're saying they're not dangerous because they haven't been murdering ponies?" Raindrop asked flatly, her eyes narrowing slowly. "What planet have you been living on?"

"The changelings are all locked up now, correct?" Firebrand asked. "Present company excluded, of course," she added, before Remedy could say anything.

"I should hope so. But without access to the hive mind, I can't say for sure," Remedy said with a shrug.

"And you, as a rogue changeling, really can't draw attention to yourself, right?" Firebrand pressed, turning to Remedy.

Remedy scowled. "That would be correct. I've only told one pony, and one filthy little eavesdr-"

"-then I do not fear changelings. At least, not you, specifically." Firebrand said with a smug smile.

The nurse took a deep, steadying breath, and then turned to Raindrop. "Can I hit her, please?"

Raindrop shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not."

"Not even once? I'll bandage her up good as new afterwards, promise!" Remedy pleaded, her tone hopeful.

Raindrop shook her head again resolutely. "Sorry, remedy. No can do."

Remedy sighed and then pursed her lips wryly, before turning to Firebrand. The nurse stalked up to the wonderbolt, and poked her in the chest with a hoof, her eyes flaring green. "I swear, if you tell anypony about what I really am, then I will-"

The nurse paused then, staring at the pegasus for a long moment, frowning deeply. She drew back, looking away, and then back to the pegasus, shaking her head slowly. The nurse then turned to Raindrop, and said quietly, "Can I speak to Firebrand alone, please?"

Raindrop looked Remedy up and down for a moment, frowning. "No murdering, right?"

"No murdering, I promise," Remedy said, making a shooing motion with a hoof.

Raindrop sighed, and turned away, flicking her wings once, irritably. "If I hear even a single scream, I'm gonna come running," she stated, before stalking off.

Remedy waited until Raindrop was out of earshot, and then turned to Firebrand. The pegasus perked an ear at her, brow raising. "Well?"

The changeling nurse stared at the pegasus, walking around her in a circle and then leaning in close to hiss accusingly, "You like me!"

Firebrand paused at that, looking up and to the left thoughtfully, chewing her bottom lip, before nodding once. "I guess I do."

"What the hell are you doing that for?" Remedy hissing, poking the pegasus in the chest.

Firebrand shrugged helplessly. "It's complicated."

"You're crazy!" Remedy whined, rubbing a hoof against her temple, scowling.

Firebrand shook her head slowly. "No, not crazy."

"Then explain yourself!" Remedy demanded, waving a hoof angrily for punctuation.

Firebrand took a deep breath, giving a soft sigh. "You really want an explanation?"

Remedy scowled deeply. "I wouldn't have asked if I did-"

The pegasus lifted a hoof to stop the nurse from speaking. Remedy glowered angrily.

"In truth... it's a very recent development," Firebrand said with a soft nod, her tone thoughtful. "Actually, since I just heard you're a changeling."

"You like me because I'm a changeling?!" Remedy asked, staring at the pegasus incredulously.

"That... is a very vague way of explaining the convoluted process," Firebrand admitted.

Remedy opened her mouth to speak, but Firebrand shushed her again. "I hear a lot, you know. I don't think people really realise when I'm listening, because I don't take the time to let them know I am. But... either way, I heard what you said to Raindrop. Back at the cottage. You convinced her, with some very short words, to reconcile with her grandmother, whom she hated, as far as I could tell. Sure, you tried to cover up your soft side by demanding payment... But you really just want to see ponies happy, don't you?"

Remedy shirked backwards at that, her ears splaying. She paused, and then gave a slow, gentle nod. "I guess so..."

"Now, that's an admirable trait. Not enough to make me like you, because your attitude is detestable-"

"-And right back to wanting to murder you-"

"-But then... I hear that you're a changeling. A rogue changeling. You have no family, no friends. You can't take a lover because you'd end up killing them eventually. And you're a nurse, of all things. Your current life is dedicated to helping ponies... ponies who aren't even your own species. You're the Element of Kindness. And even though you do hide it rather well, you care. You're empathic to a species that you should see as nothing more than food. We're basically your prey. You are the lion that protects a gazelle from a coyote. And that is very admirable to me. Sort of even tips the scale of whether I like you or not over to the 'like' side."

"Lies and slander," Remedy stated, sniffing once.

Firebrand gave a wry smile, and then shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Element of Honesty here, remember?"

"You might just be deluded, I'm a bitch, ask anypony," Remedy said with a slight shrug.

The pegasus gave a smile at that, and then lifted the nurse's chin with a hoof, staring into her eyes. "Be proud of what you are, Remedy."

Remedy snorted at that, rolling her eyes. "Proud to be a bitch? Sure am!"

Firebrand sighed, shushing the nurse with a press of a hoof against her lips. "No. You're not a bitch-"

"-Boy is this logic going in circles-" Remedy said with a slow shake of her head.

"-You're a pony that cares about others. And that's becoming far too rare."

"I'm not even a pony," Remedy said with a defeated sigh, hanging her head.

Firebrand shook her head. "No, you are not. And that's what makes you special. I am disappointed in my own species that there are not more ponies like you kicking about."

"I feel like I should say something profound about how you're giving me advice when that's my job," Remedy said with a weak chuckle.

"I'm not giving you advice. You wanted to know why I like you, and I told you," Firebrand said simply.

Remedy scoffed at that. "Oh don't even try that bullshit line on me, lady."

"Element of Truth, remember?" Firebrand said with a sly grin.

Remedy rolled her eyes, pushing at the pegasus' shoulder with a hoof. "And I'm the Element of Kindness. Doesn't mean I won't beat the crap out of you."

"I would prevail over you," Firebrand stated simply. "But you asked, and I told."

"So you think I should feel all special because I'm like, the only changeling ever to grow a conscience?" Remedy asked, raising a brow skeptically.

Firebrand gave a sad smile at that, shaking her head once. "I can't answer that question for you, Remedy. That's up to your mind to decide. I admire you for it, but my opinion means little."

With that, Firebrand rose to her hooves, and left, leaving Remedy to stare at her hooves quietly.