Chapter 11: A Change of Pace

"It looks like it's finally letting up," Twilight said, looking out the window. The storm had picked up last night, keeping up an unholy amount of noise. In addition, a whole new layer of snow had piled up outside of the house. But the storm had passed, and that was the good news. It was bittersweet, Tyr figured, as his friends gathered their things to leave. Having them all over made the house extremely lively, and he felt as though he was getting closer to all of them. "It was a wonderful time," Rarity was saying. "Although I will have to take another shower and redo all my makeup, and my hair, my tail…"

"And I've got so much to plan!" Pinkie said excitedly. "There's a Christmas party I have to do!"

"I need to get home to all my animals," Fluttershy murmured.

"Same here," AJ agreed.

"Sorry for staying so long," Twilight said. Tyr waved a hand dismissively.

"No, it's no problem. In fact, you guys are always welcome to come by." He grinned. "I was fun having you all over."

"Then we should have a Christmas party here!" Pinkie cried.

Rarity frowned. "Pinkie, don't just go assuming things…"

Tyr smiled. "Actually, that is a good idea. Just make sure to clear everything with me first."

"Kay~" Pinkie giggled.

"Ah, just one more thing," AJ said, turning to Twilight. The librarian blinked as her friend faced her. "I wanted to apologize to you, Twi."

"Apologize?" Twilight was surprised. "Applejack… It's alright. I really wanted to apologize to you."

"To me?"

"Yes! I hit you, that's something I didn't think you would forgive me for."

AJ smiled and rubbed her cheek, remembering the sharp slap Twilight had given her. "I did deserve it, to be honest. But thanks for that."

Twilight went over to her and hugged her. "I was afraid I had ruined our friendship for good."

"Can't get rid of me that easily," AJ chuckled, hugging her back.

"Group hug!" Suddenly, Pinkie was there, hugging them both. "Come on, girls!"

"Oh this is outrageous," Rarity murmured, as Fluttershy and Dash joined the hug. Seeing her girlfriend's face, however, convinced her. She rolled her eyes and joined in.

"You guys too," Dash said, pointing at Tyr and Luna. "You're in this as well."

"But…" Luna didn't get much time to resist before Tyr had dragged her over. The eight of them shared a large group hug.

With a few more goodbyes, the six girls trudged off into the snow. The snowplows were already out in force, and the roads were beginning to clear. Before they left, AJ had presented Tyr with an apple shaped pin her family wore. Fluttershy had given him a butterfly shaped charm to add to his necklace. It was starting to seem like the necklace was starting to become a symbol of the friendships Tyr had made. He was honestly just happy to see them all friends again. Tyr watched them from the doorway until they were all out of sight. "…And they're gone," He murmured.

"Miss them already?" Sherry asked from the couch.

"I suppose so," Tyr said. "It was lively with them all here."

"I enjoyed myself as well," Luna said. "But the quiet… is nice too."

"Should I be locking myself in the game room while you guys have your time alone?" Sherry asked, sticking out her tongue at them.

"Oh be quiet you." Tyr smiled. Although having some private time with his princess didn't sound so bad…

"Did you hear something?" Luna said suddenly.

"Hear what?"

"Silence please." Luna held out a hand. The three of them fell completely silent. Then, Tyr heard it. A soft tapping at the front door. "Is… Is that someone knocking?"

"Maybe one of the girls forgot something?" Tyr went over to the door. "From how soft that knocking is, it's probably Fluttershy…" He opened the door, and was greeted to something falling on his feet. The body of a shivering girl lay at his feet. Her skin was dark, much darker than Tyr's, and her long, dark, cerulean hair lay ragged about her. She was almost literally turning blue from the cold.

"By the night!" Luna rushed over as Tyr lifted the girl into his arms. She looked about the age of a teenager, and was thin and lanky, although how much of that was natural of malnourishment was yet to be seen. He also noticed she had a tail as well. Must be an Equestrian… "Does she yet live?"

"She's freezing cold, but still breathing," Tyr murmured. Way worse than when he pulled Fluttershy out of the snow. "Luna. Sherry. I need one of the guest beds made up and get the space heater into the room. We need to warm her up quickly."

"At once!" Luna said. She and Sherry rushed upstairs.

"Hey. Hey, wake up." Tyr said softly, shaking the girl. He couldn't let her sleep. He prodded her face a bit, and was relieved to see her eyes flutter open slightly. He was surprised to see her eyes were a brilliant green. "Hey there. Don't fall asleep on me, alright?"

"So… so c-cold…" She murmured, eyelids drooping.

"Hey, don't fall asleep." He began carrying her upstairs, shaking her to keep her awake. "Can you tell me your name?"

"C-Chrys… Chrysalis…"

"The bed is ready!" Sherry said. Tyr brought their new guest into the room. He put her in bed and pulled the blankets over her. Luna turned on the room heater. "Will she be okay?"

"We have to keep a close eye on her, but she should be alright," Tyr assured her. He reached out to brush Chrysalis's hair out of her face. A little color was beginning to return to her. "You feeling better?"

The freezing girl nodded slightly, still shivering a bit. "I'll make some soup!" Sherry offered helpfully.

"That's a good idea. You hungry?" Tyr directed his question at his new guest. Chrysalis nodded softly. As Sherry ran downstairs, Tyr glanced over at his girlfriend, who had a frown on her face. "What's the matter, Luna?"

Luna shook her head. "I cannot place it, truly. I thought for a moment I recognized her."

"She has a tail, so she must be Equestrian at least."

"That is true." Luna looked over at the quiet girl. She was looking at the wall blankly. "Well, all we can do for now is warm her up."

-x-

Celestia looked up from the papers on her desk to see one of her guards, Ace Guard, waiting respectfully by the door. "Is something the matter, Ace?" She asked, smiling softly. Ace had the tendency to keep quiet until addressed no matter the occasion.

"Lady Celestia." The blonde bodyguard cleared his throat. "A message from Lady Mi Amore Cadenza and Lord Shining Armor arrived earlier. It seems there is an urgent matter they wished to discuss with you."

"Urgent…" Celestia's smile faded. Cadence and Shining armor would never exaggerate anything. "It must be important. What is the matter?"

"They said they will be arriving personally tomorrow in order to discuss this with you and the other Princesses… I mean, Lady Twilight and Lady Luna."

Celestia's smile returned. Most of her people from Equestria still referred to her as a Princess, along with the others. Only humans really called her 'Lady Celestia'. "Very well. Have Flash Sentry and Night Watch alert Twilight and my sister."

"As you wish, my lady." Ace bowed slightly before leaving the office. Celestia sighed. For the moment, she had found life in the quiet town to be amazingly relaxing. And now there was a big issue surfacing.

"I suppose we were due a crisis," She chuckled softly to herself.

-x-x-

"As much as I enjoy riding with you on your bike," Luna said, "I find it may not be the most prudent when I have to dress formally."

"Apologies," Tyr grunted, letting her hop off the bike. To be sure, a skirt like the one Luna was wearing wasn't the best thing to be in while riding on a motorcycle. However, it was his only form of transportation. He himself was dressed in a simple white dress shirt with black pants, with a vest over it. In addition, he was wearing a leather holster and pistol, something he had taken to wearing ever since he had started as Luna's bodyguard. "I guess getting a car is probably something I'll have to do, huh?"

"Most likely." Luna glanced over to the office building her sister was using as a hub of government for the Equestrian people. A pair of guards were waiting at the front door. "Flash Sentry, Night Watch. It is good to see you two."

"Same to you, Lady Luna," Flash said. He nodded respectfully towards Tyr.

"Is my sister waiting inside?" Luna asked.

"Yes, Lady Cadance is already inside, along with her husband."

"Good. Tyr, follow me." Luna led Tyr past the outer guards and into the building. Tyr took notice of Night Watch's dark eyes following Luna as they passed by. He made a mental note to keep an eye on the dark haired guard. Celestia's office was on the third floor, so they rode the elevator up. As the doors opened, Tyr was greeted by a sight he never thought he would see.

"Sunshine, Sunshine, Butterflies awake! Clap your hands and do a little shake!" Twilight was doing the most adorable, embarrassing and silly dance he had ever seen with a slender woman with multicolored hair. They were giggling at some inside joke.

"Well, that was adorable," Tyr said with a smirk. Twilight whirled on the spot, a blush rushing to her face.

"Tyr! You… I guess it makes sense for you to be here…"

"Friend of yours?" The other woman asked, looking over. "Luna! It has been a while."

"It truly has, Cadance," Luna said with a smile. "This is Tyr. He is my… boyfriend."

A look of surprise crossed Cadance's face. She came over closer to Tyr. This close, he could see that her hair and tail were streaked with white, pink and purple, with some highlights of gold. Her violet eyes widened as she looked him over. "He's cute," She murmured.

"Uh… thanks?" Tyr offered.

She backed up a bit. "You love Luna, don't you?"

"I… yes, yes I do." Tyr could sense Luna blush off to his side.

"I could tell." Cadance grinned.

"Oh she's at it again." A well-dressed man with dark blue hair with lighter streaks came in from a side room. He was followed by Ace Guard, who was armed. "Cady, you just can't help yourself, can you?"

"When there's love in the air, I'll be there!" Cadance giggled.

"Big brother!" Twilight ran over and embraced the new comer. He hugged her back with a wide grin.

"How ya been, Twily?"

"Who is that?" Tyr asked quietly.

"That's Shining Armor," Cadance answered. "My husband."

"You must be Tyr," Shining Armor said. "Luna's new bodyguard?"

"That's me," Tyr replied. The two men shared a handshake.

"And her lover!" Cadance said with a bit of giggling.

"Cadance, please…" Luna pleaded.

"Embarrass my sister some other time," Celestia said with a laugh, coming out of her office. "We have business to discuss."

"Is that why you called Luna and I?" Twilight asked.

Celestia nodded. "Come in to the meeting room. Tyr, you should come in as well."

Tyr blinked. "Um… yes ma'am."

Celestia led them into the meeting hall. She took a seat at the head of the table, while the other three princesses and Shining Armor took seats around the table. Tyr stood on the wall behind Luna. "So," Celestia said. "Cadance. Tell me what was so urgent."

Cadance's face took on a serious mien. "Shiny and I noticed something as the Merge was happening."

"What was it?" Luna asked.

"A surge of magic that we recognized almost immediately," Shining said, helping out his wife. "We recognize it because we had faced it ourselves before."

"It wasn't Sombra, was it?" Twilight asked, worried.

"No, it wasn't." Cadance frowned. "It was Chrysalis."

Tyr almost dropped his phone as he was reading a text from Sherry. Their guest had yet again thrown up the soup she had made. All eyes turned to him. "Is something amiss, beloved?" Luna asked quietly.

"The girl we brought in…" He said quietly. "…Her name was Chrysalis."

The mood in the room suddenly darkened. "…You brought Chrysalis into your home?" Celestia asked slowly.

"Is she dangerous?"

"Dangerous?" Cadance looked furious. "That… creature stole my husband from me and locked me away in a crystal mine to die! She almost took over our entire nation! Of course she's dangerous!"

"Calm yourself, Cadance!" Luna said sharply. The tone of the rebuke caught Cadance off guard. "Tyr was unaware of her identity, as was I. He brought her into his home out of the goodness of his heart."

"She was freezing," Tyr said in his defense. "I couldn't just leave her out there…"

Twilight turned to her sister-in-law. "I can personally attest to that. Tyr is a very kind-hearted individual. He couldn't leave a person—or changeling—out there in the cold."

Cadance blinked a few times, before sighing ad shaking her head. "Is she still at your house?" Shining asked.

"Yeah, I left her with Sherry…" His eyes widened. "Sherry…!"

"She should not be in much danger at the moment," Celestia said, rising. "Chrysalis was severely weakened when Shining Armor and Cadance's spell forced her and the other Changelings out of Equestria."

"Seems even in that weakened state, she still managed to survive the Merge," Cadance said ruefully. "After all the fighting afterwards, I thought we were done with her for good…"

"We should return to Tyr's home, and see what has become of our old enemy." Celestia led them out of the room, and made a short motion with her hand. Ace and Flash were there at once.

"Yes, Lady Celestia?"

"Ready a car for us. We're going to Tyr's house."

-x-

Sherry came running out of the house as Tyr pulled up in front of the house with Luna behind him. "Dad!"

"Sherry, what's wrong?" Tyr got off the bike, a frown on his face. Celestia and the others pulled up a moment later. Ace and Night got out first, slowly casing the house. As the other three princesses got out of the car, Sherry's eyes widened.

"Uh… The girl you brought in," she said after getting the stars out of her eyes, "She still can't keep anything down, and keeps throwing up the soup."

"Changelings can't eat normal food," Cadance murmured. "They feed off emotions, particularly strong ones like love."

Cadance and Shining Armor went inside, followed by Celestia and her guards. None of them seemed happy. "I feel like I messed up here, Luna…" Tyr muttered. He was really bad at first impressions, wasn't he?

Luna put a comforting hand on his arm. "You only did what was in your nature, beloved."

"Is something bad going to happen?" Sherry asked.

"No… I hope. Let's go inside." The three of them went inside. Celestia and the others were already upstairs, so they went up after them. Night Watch was outside of the room.

"Didn't realize you were into taking in dangerous criminals," He sneered.

"I guess I'm just too kind for my own good," Tyr replied with a frown.

"You got that right."

Luna walked over to the guard. Despite her small stature, he visibly drew back when she faced him. "You may believe Tyr to be in the wrong, but at least he has the kindness to extend a helping hand to a stranger. I will not let you fault him for that."

Night Watch swallowed heavily. "I… I apologize, princess."

Luna nodded curtly and went into the room. Tyr gave the chastened guard a smirk as he went into the room as well. As he entered, a pair of scared green eyes darted to him. "You… you brought them here?" She whispered.

"We almost didn't know you were here," Celestia said. "Cadance and Shining Armor alerted us not too long ago. We pieced it together."

Chrysalis shifted uncomfortably. "…Am I to assume you're here to finish me off?"

"As much as I would like to say that is the case…" Cadance sighed. "I am the Princess of Love. Ordering you killed would be harsh."

"You're not afraid I'll try to take control again? Steal your loving husband?"

"Chrysalis," Tyr said quietly. "Don't. Please."

Her eyes shot over to him. She was surprised to see he looked disappointed. The man had been taking care of her, and seeing him unhappy… made her sad. "I… I apologize." She murmured softly. What was she doing, she wondered. Worried about some man's opinion?

Cadance seemed to be thinking the same thing. She glanced back at Tyr. "You've been taking care of her this whole time?"

"I guess you could say that," Tyr said. "To be honest, I didn't know what I was going to do if she didn't eat."

Celestia thought for a minute. "Tyr. A question, if you will."

"Yes?"

"If I were to put her in your custody, would you be able to make sure she stays on her best behavior?"

"What?" Cadance, Chrysalis, and Shining Armor all said at once.

"Hear me out, all of you." Celestia smiled. "I believe Tyr would be well suited to keeping an eye on Chrysalis."

"You mean, like how Fluttershy reformed Discord?" Twilight asked. "But Fluttershy is an Element of Harmony! How is Tyr going to reform Chrysalis?"

"The very same way. You say it yourself Twilight, Friendship is Magic." Celestia smiled. "Have you forgotten, my dear Princess of Friendship?"

Twilight blushed. "Oh… right. Sorry Princess Celestia."

Celestia turned to Tyr. "Do you believe you can handle that?"

Tyr glanced over at Chrysalis. She was staring down at her lap, keeping her eyes averted and hidden behind her long unruly hair. "…What happens to her if I can't?"

"We'd lock her up in a windowless room," Shining informed him. "And leave her there."

Chrysalis shuddered at the thought. Tyr noticed. "So she'd be under my custody, is that it?"

"I will be expecting reports on her actions," Celestia said. She turned to Chrysalis. "If you are not on your best behavior or Tyr says you are doing anything harmful to another person, human or Equestrian, you will be punished. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand," Chrysalis murmured. "I'm the last Changeling after all… You saw to that."

"You were threatening my people," Celestia said. "And declared war on us. I am giving you this opportunity to change, Chrysalis. It is your decision to make."

"A question," Luna said. "If Chrysalis is staying here, how are we supposed to feed her?"

"I can survive with simple basic affection," Chrysalis said half-heartedly. "I only fed off of Shining Armor's love so that I would get stronger. With my magic gone, and my people annihilated… I don't care anymore. I just want to survive."

"Are you sure about this?" Luna asked.

Tyr thought for a long moment. After hearing that she was dangerous, yes he had wanted her gone. But seeing her like this, squirming awkwardly as all eyes on the room were on her and sneaking glances at him… she was cute. Perhaps Celestia was right, he could 'reform' her. If that meant all he had to do was be her friend… He smiled. Chrysalis's eyes widened and then shot back to her lap. "…I think I can handle it."

"Very well then." Celestia nodded. "She is under your care."

Tyr nodded. "Of course, ma'am."

"Be careful with her," Cadance warned. "If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

"Of course. Luna will be watching out for me anyway," He said with a small laugh.

"Well… I guess we will leave it at that," Celestia said. "Take good care of yourselves and her, Tyr."

Celestia led her group out of the room, leaving only Twilight behind. "Should I tell the girls?" She asked Tyr.

"I would appreciate it, Twilight. As far as I can tell, Chrysalis caused you guys a lot of trouble, huh?"

"Quite a bit," Twilight said.

"Well, if it means anything, I'm sorry." Chrysalis murmured. "I was doing what I thought was best for my people."

Without thinking much of it, Tyr reached out to gently stroke her hair. Her eyes widened, but she eagerly leaned into his touch. "Well, you'll be living with us now. So no trying to feed of my love for Luna, got it?"

"Very well. As long as I get attention like this, I should be fine." She purred softly.

"…What are you, a cat?"

"I am a Changeling," Chrysalis said proudly.

"Alright then. Chrysalis, you'll have to get along with Luna and Sherry."

"Sherry…? Ah, the girl who was watching me while you were gone."

"Hey," Sherry said from the doorway. She seemed a bit wary of entering the room.

"I won't bite," Chrysalis assured her, smiling. Tyr frowned.

"Those fangs say otherwise," He muttered.

Chrysalis blinked, reached up to touch her teeth, and then laughed nervously. "Ah, right…"

Twilight smiled. "Well, I'll leave you guys. See you for the Christmas party, Tyr."

"Ah, right. See ya." Twilight left.

"What is a Christmas party?" Chrysalis asked.

"A celebration the humans have where they give one another gifts," Luna said. She smiled proudly. "I did my research."

Tyr couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend's innocence. "Well, good. Eventually Pinkie will be coming over to do… whatever, so we'll have to be ready for that."

"What about me?" Chrysalis asked. "Am I going to be confined here?"

"Of course not. You can enjoy the party too."

-x-

"So Tyr is Chrysalis's new guardian?" Rarity asked, incredulous. "How could Princess Celestia allow that?" She, along with the other five Elements of Harmony were at Twilight's home, essentially a second library. Twilight had called them all together shortly after leaving Tyr's home.

"She believes it will be a similar situation to when Fluttershy reformed Discord."

"You did point out Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, right?" Dash asked. "Plus, how many pegasii and earth ponies were lost getting rid of those Changelings anyway?"

"It was quite a lot," AJ agreed. "It'd be different if Princess Celestia had pick one a us, but Tyr is just a human."

"He is far from normal, thought," Twilight said thoughtfully. "I was watching Chrysalis. She seems to really want to live. She's the last of her kind, anyway."

"So you want to give her a chance?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"If Discord could be reformed, why not her?" Pinkie asked.

"Cadance doesn't trust her," Twilight said, "But Princess Celestia wants to give her a chance."

"Well," Dash said with a huff, "I'm going to be keeping a close eye on her. If she tries anything…"

"I believe we'll all be doing the same thing, darling," Rarity agreed. "If all the princesses agreed to it, however, we can't pass judgement so quickly."

"I suppose we'll have to have faith in Tyr, huh?" AJ asked.

"We can still help him," Twilight assured her friends. "We're his friends after all."

"Well, I have a party to plan," Pinkie said, standing. "So we can worry about Chrissy later."

Everyone looked over at her. "…Chrissy?" AJ mumbled, confused.

"I dunno, Chrysalis sounds complicated to say all the time, doesn't it?"

"…Anyway, She's going to be staying at Tyr's house. We can rely on him and Luna to watch her," Twilight said. "So for now, we just hope nothing bad happens."

"We make sure nothing bad happens," Dash corrected, cracking her knuckles.