All this procrastinating by not knowing how to write is getting very annoying for me. But I am painfully aware of how stupid an idea it would be to force myself to write something.

Now with this show of my frustration monologue out of the way. This is the second part of the episode "The Times They Are A Changeling."

To Scruffy Pegasus: happy you like my attempt at this world-building with the changelings, and I hope you enjoy the future chapters just as well.

Now to the story.


**outside of the Crystal Empire, underground cavern**

Hidden from the ponies above, the rouge changeling lies on a large boulder, away from the snow so that he wouldn't freeze as much. He has been searching for this other queen, but she has utterly disappeared since he accidentally revealed himself in his starved state. He needs to feed, but the ponies are on high alert, and he got no hive to help him out. He got no other choice than to wait it out.

Sounds of pebbles falling from above; he looks up to the sound and, to his shock, sees another changeling, armored, and very angry. He quickly gets on his hooves, dreading this changeling might be from his former hive. "S-Stay back!" he cries, utterly failing at looking intimating. He's too weak and scared for a proper display.

The armored changeling lands on the rock right before him. He notices this one is female, and she is NOT happy.

This much older changeling snarls at him. "Don't you dare give me orders, worthless grub!" He instinctively begins to lie down as she gets closer, soon towering over him with all her rage. "Because of you, our hive is in danger of starvation! Who sent you?!" She demands, fangs close to his neck.

"N-N-No one." He stutters in fear, though being threatened like this is not abnormal for him. That's how most at his former hive spoke to one another. "I-I left m-my h-hive."

The bigger and much healthier changeling snarls but does step away from him. "A rogue. Makes one less thing to worry about." She muses to herself, shooting him a glare, "This is our territory, leave before… what is that sound?" she interrupts herself by at first faint, but quickly getting stronger. Both scan the area after the sound, although far from the same side. They tense up when something appears from one of the many tunnels. The new arrived slams into a nearby rock, stopping it from getting into the nearby ravine.

The new arrived kisses the rock in relief; then it walks away from the ravine. "Okay. Maybe it's time Spike the Brave and Glorious went back to, uh, protect those guards." That's where he notices them "Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changeling!"

At the same time, the armored changeling cries; "Dragon!" and flies away, right as the dragon runs.

Feeling like he's the fault for this huge mess, he calls for both, "No, wait! Come back!" but neither stops and sees the dragon drop into the ravine. He makes a snap decision and flies down to save it. He catches the dragon by the tail. "This is unexpected." The dragon says as he flies it up to safety again.

Dropping the dragon, he lands not far from it. Breathing heavily from this small flight, he is so low on energy… "The ice is pretty slippery… I wouldn't want you to get hurt… because of me." he struggles to speak out to the dragon.

"You... saved me?" The dragon asks, he nods, and this little creature observes. "You uh… don't look so good."

He shakes his head in agreement. "I haven't gotten a proper meal since…. " He would've said since he left his hive, but not even there did he get enough love to feed on. Only to survive. "uh, um, never, I guess. always been hungry, but it's been worse ever since I'd left my hive."

Spike is very confused about all of this, but he guesses there are more good changelings out there. "Why did you leave?"

"I was part of the attack on Canterlot during the royal wedding," the changeling explains, which comes as a great surprise for Spike. "but the way our queen expected us to ram into that shield, attack everything that moved. I only did that to feed, not use it to enslave others!" The changeling cries. It's hard to get a proper read on this one as changeling does not emote the same way as ponies. Spike has been around Spy long enough to see and definitely hear that this changeling is traumatized by what happened during the wedding. The changeling drops its head, "After we failed, our— I mean, my former queen. She was so angry…! She made the sentinels attack the rest of us and forced us to fight back. If not, then we wouldn't get fed. You don't know what it's like. I knew I couldn't live with my kind anymore, but…."

"But… what?" Spike asks, winching back when this changeling gets pretty much up his face, crying desperately: "I'm starving! And there's so much love in this crystal place. It's what drew me here! But it's drivin' me crazy!" The changeling hisses the last thing out, Spike quivers, and the changeling puts its holed hooves up to its mouth, a muffled. "I'm sorry… I'm just so hungry…!"

Spike is starting to understand that this changeling didn't mean to attack, and he knows how far one can go out of hunger. "I don't know much about changelings, but I happen to know there are other ways for you to feed." The changeling lowers its hooves; hard to tell, but he thinks this one is surprised by his words. "I'm friends with another changeling, and he doesn't go around and suck the lover outta ponies."

"Really? Then how does he sustain himself?"

"I guess ponies just share their love with him." Spike shrugs. He has honestly not thought about how Spy kept himself fed. "Maybe you just need a friend." The changeling titles its head; well, guess this one has never heard that word before. "You… don't know what a friend is?"

"Nope. Not a clue, but I'm willing to try it out." the changeling says, though it is quick to drop its head in sadness again. "But I don't think anyone wants to share this friend with me…."

Spike bites his tongue so he does not laugh at how this changeling mistook friendship. Instead, he thinks he simply needs to make the Crystal Empire give this changeling a chance. "What if I told you there was somepony they respect and admire so much, he could convince them to give it a try?" The changeling stares, again confused at him. "It's me, Spike! Spike the Brave and Glorious? I'm sure you've heard of me."

The changeling shakes its head. "No. But I was raised by an evil queen. I'm Thorax." The changeling, Thorax, introduces himself. "I can't believe you want to help me."

Spike steps over, asking this seemingly ignorant changeling, "Why? Hasn't anypony ever just been nice to you?" to jump and cower in fear when Thorax suddenly hisses at him. The changeling is quick to step away. "S-Sorry! Kindness like that kind of brings it out."

"I can't believe I am going to say this to a dragon." Spike jumps when another changeling, this one bigger and got armor on, lands on a boulder not far from them. This one is impossible to read. Only the voice sounds snappy. "But you may be our way back into the Crystal Empire."

"Um… thanks?" Spike replies though that tone makes him think that this new changeling looks at him as if he's the golden ticket to the Crystal Empire. "I'm Spike, the Brave and Glorious." He introduces himself to this new changeling.

"Heard about you. The crystal ponies love to gush about you." The female changeling points out, again in that snappy tone. "However, you shouldn't bring a staving rouge with you. He has ruined enough already for the rest of us."

Spike eyes Thorax, who has dropped his head at the reminder. He turns back to this other changeling, although he does not like the tone. Spike can see reason in its words. "Makes sense, no offense Thorax, but simple gestures make you go all." The dragon hisses and lifts his claws for emphasis. Thorax nods slowly that he understands. And to both of these seemly good changelings. "Let me talk to the ponies, don't worry, I am one hundred percent sure I can get the whole Crystal Empire to be your friends."

** Later**

Hearing that Spike has returned with the royal guards and spotted a changeling, Shining Armor heads over to get the report as quickly as possible. However, when he arrives, the guards are laughing, and Spike speaks that he is serious. "I'm not joking! The changeling is nice!" Shining Armor does not consider it a joke like the guards, nor does he think there is something like a nice changeling. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it's funny." He states out hard to the guards, and they stop laughing. "There's no such thing as a nice changeling."

"Spy is nice."

That's where Shining Armor disagrees, and he will remind the young drake. "Your ally changeling turned against us when the Changeling Queen Chrysalis took him under her command. He was the one who imprisoned and impersonated me so he could use Cadence." He steps over to the young drake, "Spy is only our ally because it's convenient for him. And if you have spoken to these new changelings, tell them that the Crystal Empire is off-limit." With those words, he leaves. Not having in mind to let more than the one Twilight continues to trust near his subjects.

With a heavy heart, Spike returns to where Thorax is waiting for him. It does catch him off guard when a much bigger changeling, looking a bit like Chrysalis, except this one is much prettier, jerks in fear spotting him and flies away before either him or Thorax can stop her. Walking over to the now very disappointed Thorax. "Who was that?"

"Another changeling queen." Thorax replies and turns his gaze, staring longingly to where this other queen flew off. "Even though I kind of ruined everything with her hive, she still came to check up on me."

This gives Spike an idea, "Maybe you should ask her to join this other hive." He figures Thorax would prefer to be with fellow changelings.

This lonely changeling looks back up to where the changeling queen flew out from. "I truly wish I could. But" he sighs, "They are afraid of me. They think I'm still part of Chrysalis' hive." Before Spike can argue that Thorax should try and convince these other changelings that he's not part of that evil hive. The changeling asks him excitedly. "Mow many new pony friends do I have? Maybe when the other changelings see I have made peace, they will allow me into their hive!"

Spike really hates to do this, but… "Well, it didn't go exactly the way I thought." He muses and is just as disappointed that nopony else wants to give these new changelings a chance. But he comes up with an idea of how he can ease the ponies' fear when Thorax, in his depressed state, reminds Spike that these species are shapeshifters. So he brings the crystal pony-shaped Thorax back to the Crystal Empire.

Neither has noticed that the changeling queen has listened to their conversation from her hiding spot, having a troubled look in her dark green eyes.

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The changeling queen is not the only one troubled. Cadence is too at how her subjects have acted since the changeling attack. They are all so scared that some have decided to go on the offensive. It does not make it much better than Shining Armor's vigilance, fueled by his fears of a repeat of what happened at their wedding, is causing more panic at how he is hounding the guards to be on a constant lookout for the changelings.

She can understand their reaction, for honestly, Cadence is scared of what would happen if the changeling attacked the Crystal Empire. This whole place is brimming with love, which could strengthen.

Chrysalis' army is a lot more than what happened in Canterlot. The sooner they find and get rid of the changelings, the sooner life can return to normal.

"Cadence, I think I got a spell to reveal a changeling." Twilight's voice causes Cadence to turn towards the door. Her sister-in-law steps inside, her muzzle deep in a book; it's a wonder she sees where she is going. "Spy was a great help, though he definitely didn't like being tested like that."

Cadence turns away from the view of the empire she was tasked to rule, heading over to her sister-in-law. "What kind of spell did you make against the changelings."

Twilight Sparkle explains: "You see, changelings can practically keep up their disguises indifferently, but thanks to Spy—"

"Your changeling friend?" Cadence asks, not really happy about having that one walking around. It was the one who caused the changeling invasion to be close to succeeding during their wedding. Like Shining Armor, Cadence only trusts this Spy because of the vote of confidence coming from both Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight nods and levitates over this book. "I found that changelings will drop their disguise if they are suddenly overwhelmed with a certain emotion." Cadence stares confused at her sister-in-law by that statement, "Oh, changelings can sense emotions. I think they have this ability to pick out their target?" Twilight ponders out loud but is quick to focus on this idea of hers. "So, with your magic and the crystal heart, you can create a shockwave of singular raw emotions, so if there are any changelings in the Crystal Empire, this will force them to drop their disguise."

That is a pretty good idea, "Wow, I'm impressed." Cadence voices and thinks it will spare the crystal ponies a lot of sleepless nights. However, this is still theoretical. "Before we do anything with the crystal heart, let's test this idea of yours on a smaller scale." Twilight agrees, and they leave to find a good place to test this magical repelling idea. On the way, they encounter Spike with a young crystal pony. The moment Twilight sees the young drake, she calls him, "Spike, if you're done searching for the changeling, Cadence and I could use your help. We're working on a repellent spell, and nopony takes notes like you." Spike and the crystal pony look nervous, most likely about the whole changeling stalking the empire.

Instantly nervous about being pulled into whatever spell Twilight is doing and not helping out Thorax, Spike desperately tries to find an excuse to be excluded. "Uh, actually, Twilight, I, uh, wanted to introduce you to my friend," he gestures to the barely able to hold it together Thorax; with a pony face, Spike can quickly see how scared the changeling is about being found out. "Uh..." He realizes he hasn't figured out a pony name for Thorax and spots some nearby crystals. "Uh, Crystal, uh..." His gaze lands on the two princesses' hooves. "Hoof! Crystal Hoof!" He chuckles in relief to have found a name and pushes the close-to-frozen stiff Thorax over. "My good friend, Crystal Hoof."

This young crystal pony waves his hoof awkwardly at them, "Nice to meet you." doing some weird twitching as if having a tick. This makes Cadence title slightly her head while Twilight shakes this colt's hoof, greeting him without much thought. "Nice to meet you, too." Cadence moves over to shake Crystal Hoof's hoof, but the colt winches away, the twitching increases.

Seeing that Thorax is not doing so well before Cadence, most likely due to the love magic coming out from her, Spike quickly pushed the changeling back with, "Sorry about that, he uh, gets easily overwhelmed."

Thorax nods quickly in agreement.

"How do you know Spike?" Cadence asks curiously as to when Spike befriended this bit quirky crystal pony. Spike explains that they met during the Equestria Games, which makes sense.

"We've been pen pals ever since."

Hearing that excites Twilight Sparkle, partly that Spike has a new friend but mostly; "Pen pals? Spike! You could have been using my pen pal quill set! Why didn't you tell me?"

Spike eyes the nervous changelings and back to Twilight with a claw behind his head. "Well, I... I have my own quill set. Um… Rhys sent one to me." His brother didn't; they sent each other comic books, but Twilight takes his explanation, and Thorax puts in his two bits in an attempt to get out of this situation; "I like to brag to all my friends about my letters from Spike the Brave and Glorious. " Spike voices his agreement; both laugh nervously and are so happy the two princesses agree on leaving them to 'catch up,' and Spike makes Thorax follow him away.

"So much love from one of them. I could barely contain myself." Thorax whispers to him, and Spike is SO happy that Thoarx kept himself together. Being around the crystal ponies shouldn't be that hard for this hungry changeling, so Spike brings him outside to interact with the ponies of this kingdom. As hoped, after Thorax got over his nervosity, he quickly got into talking with the crystal ponies. Their fears washed away in their eagerness to get an audience with their drake hero. It pleased Spike to see Thorax get out of his shell like that.

A mare approaches him; unlike the others, she is nervous. "Spike, was it?" She asks, making the young dragon turn partly to her, though a tad too busy giving out autographs: "That's me alright, Spike the Brave and Glorious." He replies proudly, which makes the crystal ponies beam.

Thorax senses fear from this new crystal pony, yet also something familiar… the crystal pony looks at him, and like that, he knows he stands before this other queen. Instinctually, Thorax bows his head and hunches down in submission.

That gets Spike's attention, he stares confused at him, but Thorax is too scared to answer. "Can we have a private talk, please?" The queen asks quietly. Thorax tries to none verbally sign the young dragon that he definitely should do as she asked.

Sensing something is up, Spike hands the last autograph to the awaiting crystal pony, "Uh, sure." and follows her away from the crowd. To his utter surprise, this crystal pony takes this bigger and more colorful changeling queen form after she checks her surroundings. The same he spotted in the caves. "Woah! You're that changeling queen."

She hushes him fearfully, "Please be quiet." Spike quickly closes his mouth; no need to have this emotion-sensing ability to know that she is scared. She retakes the crystal pony form, "Your word holds a lot of weight here, right?"

"Oh, kinda." Spike admits, sure, the crystal ponies practically kiss the ground he walks on, but he can't exactly persuade Shining Armor to change his mind. "The crystal ponies love me, but the royals are too scared to hear my words. They want you gone."

The changeling queen winches. "I feared that was the case…."

"I'm sorry…." Thorax apologizes somberly, well aware he's the reason for this conflict.

"You didn't mean it to happen." Spike says, and to his surprise:

"It was only a matter of time before the ponies would discover us." The changeling queen admits. She then turns her attention back to him, saying, "Will it be possible you can get me a private audience with the rulers of this kingdom?" adding clearly uncomfortable about this entire subject. "Without them trying to attack me? This is a huge risk I am taking."

Spike figures a changeling queen is very much alike an alicorn princess. She is the ruler of her species. "I think so I can." He says, sort of glad that this changeling queen is trying to form some kind of peace between the crystal ponies and changelings. He turns to Thorax, thinking it should also be excellent timing to introduce him to the ponies properly. "It's time for the ponies to see that changelings can be good too."

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Thanks to Twilight's research, it looks like they got a proper defense against the changelings. Of course, it's still in its testing phase. Cadence is optimistic about this, though, and so is Shining Armor when they see how this spell forces Spy to drop his disguise, being stunned by the spell as well. "With this spell, we will have a chance to capture the changelings when they reveal themselves." Her husband says to Twilight.

"It should put everypony's mind at ease." Cadence agrees. She looks forward to learning this spell. It means she can help the guards track down the changeling. Right that moment, Spike arrives with Crystal Hoof, and one she presumes is his mother. "Oh, Spike, is this your friend's mother?"

"Um, no, just somepony who wished to speak with you." Spike replies nervously. He gestures to the other mare, "This is Coastal."

The crystal pony steps over, giving her a weak smile, "Pleasure to meet you."

Cadence smiles; she has seen this pony wander around the marketplace from time to time. "Likewise, Coastal, what brings you here?"

"Well, um, it's about the whole changeling issue." The mare speaks quietly, like anyone else, troubled by this hidden invasion. "I was hoping you would hear out a few… um, ideas I may have."

This is a surprise, but right now, Cadence will take any idea everypony now have. "Of course; what do you have in mind?" Shining Armor walks over to her side, putting a hoof over her neck in his way of showing he's there for her and saying to this crystal pony: "Anything you have will be a great help."

Coastal winches for some reason, then, fear in her eyes when Crystal Hoof starts twitching and backing away. "There's so much love around them...! I... I...!" He then transforms into a changeling. Startling Cadence to see that one of them is in their midst. Everyone gasps at the sight of this hissing and aggressive acting changeling moving closer to Spike.

Seeing this, Twilight calls, "Spike! Get away from the changeling!" and instantly levitates him over to her and the others. For some reason, he argues against her: "Wait, no! You don't understand!" Twilight chucks it up that he is in denial that his friend has been replaced with a changeling.

"Guards!" Shining Armor commands and approaches the still hissing changeling with his horn glowing. Two other guards surround it from behind. Then, the pony citizen leaps before him and the changeling. She hisses and transforms into the same changeling queen he saw in the market a few days ago. Seeing her, causes him to remember what another changeling queen did to Cadence during their wedding, "You!" he sneers, and the glow around his horn intensifies. The changeling queen responds by snarling louder and shooting a beam at him from her own horn. He jumps to the side just at the last second and retaliates by shooting her right in the chest.

Twilight snaps her eyes to Spy at how he responded to this queen's cry of pain; he jerks backward, a sneer over his muzzle. "Spy?" He does not respond, only that it seems the queens have some sort of control over the smaller changelings. Fearing Spy will be forced to do a Canterlot repeat, she quickly joins her brother in capturing this queen and getting rid of her.

She puts up a good fight, and the grunt changeling tries to defend her, but soon enough, they are both knocked out.

With them dealt with, "Take them to the dungeon." Shining armor commands the guards. "Do not approach them without my approval." The guards salute and drag the two changelings away. With them gone, he then turns to Spike, enraged that he has let two changelings this close to his sister and Cadence. "What were you thinking? You knew there were changelings among us. Why didn't you check your friend for who he was?" He demands the young drake.

"I…" Spike takes his tail, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry…."

He better be; they are all lucky that the changeling revealed itself. Otherwise, they would have been none the wiser. "Twilight, I need you to perform this spell of yours." With the queen this close, who knows how many from her hive were around. "There's no saying in how many others are around."

Twilight nods; she will help her brother search the kingdom for more. Before leaving with him, though, she turns to Spike. "You should go find Crystal Hoof while we hunt down the changeling." He only nods, and she heads out with her brother and friends to find more changelings not on their side.


I had to split this chapter up, so this story about the changelings will be a three-parter. I want to say you will get the chapter soon as I have already written it, but by how I am lately, I honestly got no idea when I get to submitting the chapter.

Soon I hope.