This happens a couple of hours after the last chapter and is very loosely based on the episode "The Times They Are A Changeling."

Enjoy.


**night**

Everypony is still out searching for the changelings; Cadence hears that they have spotted several at the borders, yet none of them have been captured. This is troubling, and Cadence wishes they didn't have to be tormented again by this species. She recalls what Nila told her and can't help but wonder, "Was there once truly peace among the crystal ponies and changelings? Or was it just how the drakes viewed it?"

"Once there was peace."

Cadence's eyes wide in horror, she spins around, and standing near the throne is nothing else than Sombra. He does not look like the shadowy pony she recalls when they fought to reclaim the kingdom. In fact, he seems more like an average crystal unicorn. Still, Cadence is wary. "Sombra? Why are you here? We destroyed you."

"You cannot destroy us; we are eternal." Sombra speaks in a strange manner, like it's not truly him. "You've proven worthy of our heart's might. So the kingdom will stay, the shadows are appeased."

What Sombra is talking about makes little to no sense. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"In time, it will." Sombra "assures" her, though it does not bring Cadence comfort at all. "The key will be forged when the Element has been reaffirmed inside of the bearers." He walks over to her, and Cadence tries to shoot at him, but her love-powered magic only swirls around Sombra, like he's part of it. So all she can do is winch back as he gets closer to her. Those ruby red eyes locked to her light purple. "Your love for the ponies is strong, but it is casting a shadow. The same shadow that took the alicorns before this era." He turns his head, making the crown get a rainbow flash.

Cadence stares at the crown, not the same one she wears, but the burden of rulership is the same. That rainbow that flashed made her think about the crystal ponies, currently fearing the threat of the changelings. Then her mind goes to Nila, a ruler in her own right, but she has lost her subject thanks to the shadows of Sombra. She thought they had defeated him, yet here he is, talking practically nonsense to her. Only one thing that makes sense is that Sombra is warning her about the shadows, most likely the Shadow Ponies. But why did he warn he about heading down the same path? What is she missing? "How did you fall to the shadows?" She asks the seemingly normal-looking crystal pony who fell into the shadows.

"Obsidian never fell to ego, only to the arrogance of the alicorns." Sombra speaks, confirming that this is not truly the same pony. Only a mouthpiece to something else. "The shadows are of grave mistakes. A past of arrogance, a path not to be repeated." With those words, Sombra disappears in a small flash of light.

Leaving Cadence alone in the throne room, confused beyond belief yet also very troubled by what this entity said through Sombra's mouth. She knows she has to do something, but what is it?

"Princess Cadence!" Spike calls, running into the room. Though still shocked by her conversation with Sombra, she turns to him to hear what he is saying. But she only hears the end of his words "— please, this is all a big misunderstanding!"

She shakes her head; it's clear whatever is going on about has got him quite a tizzy, "What misunderstanding?" she asks the young drake.

"The whole changeling being a threat! They are not here to invade like Chrysalis was!" Spike says and points to the door, "I tried to talk with Twilight and Shining Armor, but they won't listen!"

Hold up, is Spike saying… "You knew Crystal Hoof was a changeling all this time?"

Spike nods, body hunched in abashment, "Yeah… I uh… suggested he disguised himself. " she opens her mouth to lecture him about how reckless that was, but he came before her. "But I only wanted him to have a friend! Thorax was staving. I couldn't just leave him like that!" She frowns, unsure if she would've done the same. Cadence is painfully aware of the changelings' love-sucking ability and does not want to experience that again. "Please, can't you just try and talk to them?"

Her first instinct is to say no; she wants to tell Spike that these changelings have only been using him to get into the kingdom, but she does not speak these words. Cadence's mind goes to the conversation she had with Nila and the book about how crystal ponies and changelings once lived in harmony with one another. Both stated that changelings could be trusted. And what Sombra's told her… most of it was nonsense, but one thing was clear, shadows are hanging over her.

makes her wonder. 'Is my own fear towards them clouding my better judgment?' Cadence is honestly not sure, but… she thinks she has to give them at least a chance. "Alright, let's have a talk with this changeling queen." She finally decides and wishes she could be as optimistic as Spike got about the whole thing.

Cadance knew it wouldn't be a good idea to go behind her husband's back when it came to this subject, so before they went to the dungeon, Cadence found Shining Armor and told him about Spike's request. She did void the topic of the startling visit she had, for Cadance is honestly not sure if that indeed happened or it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

Shining Armor did not like the idea at all. "You can't reason with a changeling. We cannot change their nature in being love-sucking shapeshifters." He shakes his head, partly out of anger but mostly fear at risking the safety of the Crystal Empire. "For all we know, they only said those things so they can attack us when we least expect it." Shining Armor eyes the young drake. "How can you be so sure we can trust them?"

"I have been around them; talked with them. They're not like Chrysalis' army." Spike says, with his somewhat scarred claws folded before his chest. "They are nice but scared."

She can see that her husband isn't convinced, and Cadence will admit that she, too, is on the fence regarding this species. However, something tells her that letting fear control their decisions will not do them any good in the long run. "Shining, I don't trust them either, but I think we need to give them a chance to explain themselves." Shining Armor gives her a look of disbelief that she suggests such a thing, but before he gets the wrong idea, "It does not mean we have to let the queen go, but if they are good as Spike says, then perhaps we can reach some mutual agreement that won't end in conflict."

Shining Armor hums at her words, turning his attention to the empire's borders. He stares in that direction for a short while before he muses, "I'll admit that these changelings haven't hurt anypony, even though we have their queen." he sighs in defeat. "Alright, let's see what the queen got to say," Adding sternly to Spike, "but that does not mean I trust them." Cadance is alright with that, as long he's willing to give this peace offering a chance.

Together, they head to where the changeling queen is kept. The guards stationed there only stop to confirm they are who they said they are; otherwise, does not try and prevent them from approaching the changelings. The small one looks like how Cadence remembers this species. It is backed fully up in a corner; only the blue eyes back be seen. It honestly freaks her out. Spike runs over, "Thorax! Are you alright?"

The changeling does not answer; only a quivering whimpering can be heard. It takes Cadence by surprise to hear one of these terrifying creatures being scared.

Shining Armor steps closer to the cage; he, too, is surprised to see a scared changeling. He looks at her before he lights up the cage with his horn. The changeling winches from the light, trying to back away, but it's already as far as the wall, and chains around those holed hooves will let it. Cadence feels a pang of sympathy seeing this changeling like this. "Thorax, was it?" The changeling nods fearfully, trying very hard not to look at her. Its entire body language screams how afraid this one is, a fear towards her. 'Guess this one is just afraid of me as I am of it.' Cadence hums to herself.

The sounds of chains make both her and her husband turn. In a cage beside the one called Thorax is the queen. She has taken a crystal pony form. Still, the chains hold firm around her hooves and neck. "Why are you here?" She demands; a sneer appears on her muzzle, "Here to finish the job? It to be expected from ponies."

This catches Shining Armor's attention, like he had viewed them; the changelings see ponies as something evil and unable to be trusted. This confuses Shining Armor, for why does a changeling fear ponies? "You can't expect us to sit idly while you kidnap ponies and try and steal our love." He points out to the currently disguised queen.

The queen gets a confused frown over her blue eyes. "You really think of us that way, pony?" She asks, bemused.

"That's happened the last time." Cadence points out, "A changeling queen hijacked our wedding. She replaced my husband with a changeling and was planning on using Canterlot as her feeding grounds."

Shining Armor nods, putting his two cents on this subject: "If it weren't for the Elements of Harmony, we wouldn't have gotten much of a chance."

The queen titles her head slightly, "So the stories are true…" she then takes her true form, leaning as much forward the chains will let her. "I am not like that— my hive will not be conquerers. All I want is my hive thriving, and we in peace can gather love."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Cadence demands, she is not letting her subjects get hurt just to feed this changeling queen's hive.

The queen opens her mouth, then closes it, stunted by this question. "I am unsure how to explain this. Gathering love is like eating an apple for you. Youngsters are messy, like Thorax." She nods to the cage where the whimpering changeling is imprisoned. "They need to be taught how to feed properly."

Spike leaves Thorax be, instead joining the royal pair and the conversation with the queen of the hive located somewhere in the Crystal Empire. "Do you feed as Spy does?" The queen gives him a confused look, of right, she does not know him. "He just needs to be nice to ponies, and when ponies return the kindness, it kind of keeps him fed."

"Yes, that is how we feed." The changeling queen confirms, "We gather love from others by making them do or talk about what they love. That is the best way to stay hidden. Other creatures— ponies do not know they give us love to gather; that is why only molted changeling gather love for the hive. They are trained to eat properly, you see."

Huh, this info dump of how changeling society works paints a very different picture than Cadence made after her encounter with Chrysalis's hive, but it seems that queen is the unlikely one. Perhaps changelings and ponies can live in harmony. Cadence is carefully optimistic.

Shining Armor is still on the fence, so he wants more information to clear things up. "If your feeding is harmless, why hide the way you do? I have seen how changelings fight, they can be brutal, and attacks do not seem to face those looking like that one." He nods over to where the one whimpering is.

To both surprises, the queen gets a look of horror at his words. "No, it is wrong to make the nymphs fight for the hive!" She shakes her head hard like the very idea is incomprehensible. "They are weaker than adults but unable to fully feel the pain of their broken body because of their hunger. This other queen is evil if she does this to nymphs- to fillies and colts."

Hearing this startles Shining Armor and Cadence to see that even another queen is horrified at what Chrysalis did. It frightens them further to hear that the queen who invaded Canterlot used youngsters to fight her wars; which makes everything so much worse. They exchange a look, and Cadence turns back to this much more diplomatic queen. "We won't mind you are doing this harmless gathering, but I don't want any of our subjects to be attacked as they were a few days ago."

"I'm sorry…" the one named Thorax speaks quietly from his cage. "I-I- I didn't m-mean to… I-I'm just s-so h-h-hungry."

"Can't Thorax join your hive?" Spike asks the queen, thinking his changeling friend will be better off with his own kind. "You can teach him how to feed properly."

"I can, but…." Coastal glances over to where this rouge is located. "I am unsure if it's wise to let him near my hive… considering he used to be part of the conquering hive. There are stories this Chrysalis will attack new hives and steal the eggs."

It sounds like even the changelings fear Chrysalis, and along with how this changeling made her case, it's enough for Cadence. "Thorax is a friend of Spike, and usually, I would welcome him into the empire, but since he got the tendency of this hungry aggression, I cannot allow him before he got that under control."

Shining Armor nods that he is on her with this; he too, has been convinced that this other hive is peaceful.

"If he learned how to control it, neither of us would mind allowing him to visit us from time to time."

The queen eyes them, confused, but does catch somewhat up in what they said. "You will allow Thorax to wander inside this empire because of this friendship he got with this young dragon?" She nods down to Spike. Cadence nods; the queen ponders for a moment, then nods slowly, "Then I will allow him into my hive. It would be easier to enter without worrying about getting attacked."

Cadence smiles, and Shining Armor, with his magic, releases both from their chains and cages. She turns to Thorax, "I look forward to seeing you in the future."

He responds with a hiss, which startles her, and her husband goes on the defensive. The queen shifts her stance in a more dominating manner, which makes him stop. "Sorry… kindness like that just brings it out." He apologizes, and Cadence thinks he smiles, "Thank you for giving me a chance."

She would offer him a hoof to shake, but Cadence thinks he just will end up biting it. So instead, she merely smiles, "Any friend of Spike is welcome in the Crystal Empire."

Still not entirely sure how changeling society works, only that their stages of life are more apparent compared to ponies, and they got a much more strict hierarchy. "After you have learned to control your hunger urges." The young changeling nods, and by a silent command from the queen, they both transform into small birds and fly out from the dungeon, back to their hive.

**Two days later**

Since they had let the two go, no further changeling sightings have happened, nor have any attacks. Shining Armor was still wary if these changelings could be fully trusted, but he was willing to give them a chance. Until they prove to be like Chrysalis, he wouldn't mind allowing the Changelings to pretty much mingle with the crystal ponies, and Thorax will be welcomed into the empire— when he has learned to control his hunger aggression. The guards were definitely happy that he relaxed on the patrols, though he still kept on the buddy system. Cadence is very optimistic that these changelings will honor their words of staying peaceful and simply wishing to exist without having to worry about surrounding danger.

With the danger over, Cadence can focus on the surprise party she was planning at the start; she heads to the market, so to speak with the ponies that sell the accessory she needs for the party. To her surprise, a crystal pony approaches, "A sign of goodwill." she speaks with the same voice as the changeling queen, and before Cadence can speak a word, the disguised queen disappears into the crowd.

She looks down at the item the queen gave her; it's a hoofband made out of beautiful lush leaves, weaved by vines with a faint scent of a forest after it rained. This beautiful gift takes her by surprise, mainly since Cadence hadn't expected changelings capable of creating something as beautiful as this. But it looks like she got a lot to learn when it comes to other species.


and there you go, my take on how changelings work and a view on my OC Coastal. she may show up in the future, depending if I am going to need her for certain scenes.

I have plans about changing Thorax's story a bit, the outcome will be the same, but the journey to it will be a tad harder for him.

I also hope you readers liked how I potrayed Shining Armor and Cadence reaction to this new threat, by using the trauma they got from their wedding. I'd long decided that they wouldn't change their mind as easy as they did in the show, instead needed to take the step on their own.

of course, they got a push from someone Cadence never expected, but if you remember it from earlier chapters, Sombra wasn't always an evil pony of shadows. I am planning on expanding on the earlier bearers' story, but it will only happen in the sequel.