Unforeseen Consequences - The changelings prisoners

>Your mom and you walked down the old set of stone stairs that led into the castle dungeons. You remembered that the changelings were being held in the absolute lowest part of the dungeons, while the first floor was absolutely empty.
>That actually made you super curious, so you decided to ask
“Hey mom, why do we even have a dungeon if there’s no one locked up in here? It doesn’t seem too logical, if you ask me, we should transform this place into something cooler like a sick museum that displays nothing but all the times when you and mom Luna kicked bad guys’ butts. I bet many ponies would love to see that”
>”Well, my dear, it’s true that the dungeons don’t see much activity these days, but back in my day…”
“When dinosaurs walked the land…AGH!”
>Your mom gave you a bonk on the head and a little glare before continuing with her explanation “Back in my day, this place used to be filled with some of the worst scum that Equestria has ever seen… and before you ask, yes, I locked up most of those guys on my own… well” she shrugged “Maybe, just maybe, Starswirl kind of helped with one or two criminals, but that’s it, that pony wasn’t too much of a fighter”
“This makes my museum idea even better! Not only it would display you and mom Luna kicking all sorts of flanks, but the thematic would be absolutely perfect. Just imagine we could put paintings along with the proper description of the lives and crimes of these dangerous criminals, as well as how they were defeated in the very cells that they were locked in. C’mon! You can’t tell me that ain’t rad!”
>”While I’m all for creating new opportunities for ponies to learn about their history, this part of the castle still sees some activity from time to time. Like for example, our changeling friends being locked up in here.”

“I… can’t argue with that… really, I can’t think of a better other place to keep guys like those in check, I mean, if they escaped, they would need to deal with Moonlight and Aegia and then… well, I don’t think that it anyone would try their luck against you and mom Luna… and yeah, even after we deal with Chrysalis, we need to keep a place like this just in case…
>Your ears dropped as you let a sigh in defeat
“Guess that I will have to drop my museum idea.”
>”Not really, you can always do it when you grow older, in a different place of course… and with your own money, museums are an expensive thing to create and maintain…” Your mom tapped her chin, pondering about something “And maybe, just maybe, you could use something different to display like, I don’t know, that laboratory that you’ve never shown me despite you knowing how much I like that kind of stuff?”
>You felt your mom’s glare and tried to shrug it off
“Oh, come on, my lab is cool and it works… sometimes… but it’s not THAT great, really.”
>”Oh, really?” Your mom raised an eyebrow and replied with a sarcastic tone “If it’s not that great, then why you don’t give me a little tour so I can tell you what can be improved?”
>You rolled your eyes and let out a sigh
“You really want to go there, right?”
>”Of course I do! I would love to see what kind of research you do in there and…” Your mom put up on a smirk “Considering how smug you always acted when you saw Equestria’s technology, I’m simply dying to do the same for yours”
“Well, if that’s your intention …”
>You gave her your own brand of smug grin.
“Then I’m afraid that you are only setting yourself for disappointment, because I guarantee you, even Starswirl the Bearded would blush in shame after seeing the equipment that I have in my laboratory

>Your mom chuckled ”I guess that we’ll have to see if your technology is as impressive as you say. But for now, let’s move onto a different subject. You see, my dear, I just thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to teach you something if you feel like you can handle it of course”
“Hah, you know I’m always up for that. Just tell me what I need to do”
>You followed your mom down the set of stairs that led to the second and lowest levels of the dungeon. Right before she stepped into the ward, your mom stopped and silently motioned you to do the same.
>You could see the giant cell where the changelings were being locked up, it was hard to miss it considering that instead of bars, a magical barrier prevented them from escaping.
>In the giant hall which was illuminated exclusively by the magic barrier, you saw Aegia comfortably sitting at a corner while Moonlight discussed something with your mom Luna who was still carrying Cherrywood on her back.
>It was obvious that your mom Celestia didn’t want to be noticed yet, so you looked back at her and whispered as silently as you possibly could.
“Alright we’re here and they are there, now what’s the lesson?”
>With a playful smile, she whispered back at you “I’m going to teach you how to do a dramatic entrance. Don’t move or say anything until I say so, alright?”
>You nodded and slid your hoof across your lips.
>”That’s my colt.” Your mom pulled you towards her, held you in between her hooves and rested her head on top of yours “Now, we just need to listen to their conversation and wait for just the right moment…”
>And so, your mom and you watched as the discussion continued.
>The first one to speak was Luna, who was looking at Moonlight with a baffled expression ”Pardon me, Moonlight, but I will have to ask that you explain your reasoning once more because I simply cannot understand why you are against me having a meeting with your mother”

>Cherrywood leaned forward and asked ”Yeah, mom! Grandma Umbra only wants to know Luna and my Annony, what’s wrong with that?” Your bat crossed her hooves and puffed her cheeks “It’s not like they are gonna meet my uncle too…that would be bad ’cause he’s a big, dumb jerk”
>Moonlight rolled her eyes and shook her head “Okay, first, your uncle is not that big of a moron… he’s just a simple-minded idiot, and secondly, it’s BECAUSE my mother wants to meet Luna and the little dude that I don’t want this meeting to happen”
>”But why?” Your mom Luna quickly asked “You still have not given an explanation for that”
>Moonlight placed her hoof against her forehead and rubbed it, letting out a groan in frustration “Because when it comes to you, my mother never let go of the whole thing about the Hollow Shades tradition of adoring you and for the little dude… man, you don’t know my mother, she will scare the poor fella right away”
>Your mom Luna let out a little sigh and shook her head ”Yes Moonlight, it is true that the legends of your hometown have created expectations about me that I could never hope to live up to. But it is for that exact same reason that I believe is important for me to know your mother. She deserves to know what kind of pony I really am so she can decide for herself if I am truly the Princess of the Night that she has been waiting for her entire life, as for your worries about my son.”
>Your mom Luna gave a confident smile to Moonlight “You are worried for the pony who loves the spirits of chaos as if they were part of his family; he has made friends with changelings, a feat that not even the young Twilight Sparkle has managed to achieve. Even if I cannot hope to live to your mother’s expectations, my son will easily surpass them”
>Moonlight rolled her eyes ”Of course I’m not worried about what the little dude might do! The guy even managed to get on the good side of prenchie over there!”

>She pointed at Aegia who was still comfortably sitting at a corner “Oui, I would be lying if I said zat I don’t care about ze Prince. Not only do I get a good check for protecting him, but he’s also fun to have around”
>Luna looked at her friend with worry “Then, if you are not worried about what my son might do, please tell me what is that trouble your mind, Moonlight”
>”Ugh…” Moonlight groaned “My mother can be a bit on the creepy side… you see, her favorite subjects are not exactly what I’d call “kid’s friendly” stuff. She usually only likes to talk about Hollow Shades traditions or the fricking spirits that she exorcised when she was a kid”
>”That’s your worry?!” Cherrywood raised her voice, completely baffled by her mother’s words “Pffft! Kekeke~! Then it’s not a biggie!” she waved her hoof “I know how that colt thinks, well…”
>Your bat tapped her chin “Kinda… My Anonny can be a total weirdo at times, even for me… but I know that he loves, and I mean LOOOOOVES to learn new things about basically anything, so I’m a hundred percent sure that he will love Grandma Umbra’s stories.”
>”I don’t know, Cherry. I….hng” With a sigh, Moonlight dropped her head “Alright… Guess I’ll have to send a letter to my mother to see when she can come to Canterlot”
>”Mmmm, instead of waiting for Grandma Umbra to come here, why we don’t go to her house instead?” Cherrywood asked “I mean that would be the easiest thing to do… and I don’t think that my Anonny knows Manehattan, right?”
>Your mom Luna nodded “Mhm! You are absolutely correct, little Cherrywood. My child has never visited any major Equestrian city. I think that this travel could be of great help for him… and” She giggled “I must admit, I have been wanting to watch one of Manehattan’s famous musical plays with my little star…ehm… that is, if you do not have any problem with me and Anon having some fun just the two of us”

>”Nah!” Your bat waved her hoof “If you’re gonna watch one of those bore fests then he’s all yours… I really hate all of that dancing and singing and drama and bleh!”
>You hated those plays with a burning passion too, but if your mom Luna wanted to have a mother-son moment, then by all that is science, you will endure whatever cheesy play she chooses! You gotta protect that smile!
>Moonlight groaned “Okay… if you two want to go to Manehattan then… Manehattan it is…”
>”Eeeeeee! We are going on a trip!” Both your mom Luna and Cherrywood exclaimed in unison. After that, they excused themselves; saying that they had others plans to spend the afternoon. Moonlight didn’t protest against that, far from it, the bat mare actually gave them a few pointers about what kind of whacky supernatural stuff they could research first.
>Luna teleported outside the dungeon, leaving a smiling Moonlight behind “Y’know prenchie, I have no frickin’ clue about what actually happened up there, and considering that Discord got involved… I kind of don’t want to know either, but hey, my girl now has a new friend, and what a friend she got, Luna might have her flaws, but she’s a princess for a darn good reason”
>Aegia nodded “Oui, zat was a heartwarming moment, and while I would love to talk more about how easy zey handled you…” She then looked at the changelings who were all lying on the floor, looking intently at Aegia and Moonlight “I zink zat it would be better if you go to inform Princess Celestia on what we learned from ze changelings while I do ze same wiz ze Prince”
>Your mom Celestia gave you a little nudge and whispered to you “This is our chance” She then got up and adopted a more regal expression while she walked out of the shadows “That won’t be necessary Aegia, we’re already here, and we already know about the platoon of changelings that is coming in five days”

>Neither one of the mares acted surprised, Moonlight just turned to your mom and gave her a salute “Your majesty”
>While Aegia acted much more casual about your mom’s presence “Ah, Votre Altesse, what a wonderful surprise!” she then looked at you and smiled “And Mon Petit! I was actually zinking about you”
“Guess it’s hard to not think about me, huh?”
>You stepped into the dungeon ward, fully prepared for the rabid response that you would surely get from the changelings but… they didn’t move an inch.
>Now this was… surprising. Why were they so calm? Considering how they reacted by your presence yesterday, you were absolutely sure that these guys would go crazy the moment you stepped in.
>Considering the fact that, supposedly, you have vast amounts of love inside of you and there was nothing in that cell feeding the changelings, these two must have accomplished more than just getting information out of them.
>”Your sharpness always brings joy to my heart, Mon Petit.” Aegia said with a calm voice “We haven’t said a word and you already took notice of ze general and mois biggest discovery!”
>You didn’t answer or even looked at her; instead, you decided to prove a little hypothesis that you just had come up with.
>You walked at the barrier, placed your hooves on it, and waited for what kind of response you would get from them.
>Again, the changelings didn’t move, limiting themselves to just look at you. A couple whispered something to themselves, but other than that, you got no reaction whatsoever.
“Hmmm… I think that, based on the behavior that I’m seeing from these guys… I can already start to imagine what that big discovery is”
>”You see, General? It’s just like how I told you” Aegia shot a subtle cocky grin to Moonlight “Ze prince takes into account his surroundings and makes accurate deductions based on zem. A natural trait of a pony from ze secret service”

>”In your dreams, prenchie!” Moonlight barked back “The little dude is clear cut material for the Royal Guard!” Quickly remembering that your mom was still in the room, Moonlight cleared her throat and gave her another salute “Your majesty, what Pre- Aegia says it’s true, we have made a huge amount of progress with the changelings”
>Your mom looked at the changelings and then at Moonlight “I can already tell that you did a marvelous job, General Moonlight. Now, why don’t you fill us in with the details?”
>”As you wish, your majesty” Moonlight gave your mom a salute and then looked at you “Little dude, why don’t you come here so you can hear better?”
>You shook your head and looked at the changelings
“That won’t be necessary, as I said; I already have a pretty clear idea on what you and Aegia have to say. Somehow, you two managed to replicate what happened with Thorax and to a lesser extent, with Scrappy, that is, to make their hunger for love to banish.”
>”What?!” Your mom asked in shock “General Moonlight, is that true?!”
>Aegia spoke up before Moonlight could “Oui. Zeir hunger for love is now a zing from ze past.”
>”But…” Your mom turned at Aegia with her mouth wide opened “That is impossible… or at least I thought it was impossible… the only pony who has ever managed to cure a changeling from his hunger is…” she looked at you, your mom was clearly solving this puzzle in her mind.
>Aegia calmly shrugged and pointed at you with her hoof “You can zank ze prince for giving us ze idea. It was him who discovered ze way to cure ze changelings from zeir zirst of love after all”
“Me? What are you talking about? I never did…”
>…Thorax
>”Seems like you were right, prenchie. The little dude is super easy to read once he gets his mind working” Moonlight walked at you and patted your mane “Guess I don’t have to go into lengthy details…and thank Celestia for that”

>”I don’t know why everypony is always thanking me for everything but…” Your mom shrugged “You’re welcome”
>”Yeah…eh…” Moonlight quickly turned to you “Little dude, you don’t have to think that hard, we only copied what you did back at the Crystal Empire”
“So that means…”
>You met Thorax who, after escaping his hive and forcing himself to not steal love anymore, was on the brink of madness and despair. You made friends with him, and as your friendship grew, his hunger diminished and eventually disappeared altogether.
> Aegia said that they took inspiration from what you did and that could only translate to just one thing
“…You made friends with these changelings…”
>You slowly turned to the “prisoners” and called them
“Hey, I want to ask all of you a simple question”
>Moonlight immediately turned to your mom Celestia “Uh, your majesty? Are you sure that it’s a good idea to let the little dude interrogate the changelings? I mean…”
>Your mom Celestia raised her hoof to shush Moonlight, and then she walked at you and stood right by your side “Please, proceed with your little experiment, my dear”
“Alright”
>You nodded at her and then turned your attention to the changelings again.
“What would you say if, no matter what Moonlight and Aegia has promised you, I will make sure to sent you back to Chrysalis in this very instant
>This time you actually got a response, all of the changelings quickly got up and rushed at the same time, but they didn’t have the same rabid expression from yesterday, instead, they looked… genuinely scared.
>”Please, please don’t!” One said
>”We will make everything you ask us to do! Just don’t send us back, please!”
>”You don’t know how bad we have it in the hive! I’d rather stay here forever!”
>”I am starting to like this cell, a lot. Anywhere is better than Queen Chrysalis!”
>Every changeling was pleading for mercy and forgiveness, and it felt so… real and genuine
>Hmmm… maybe it would be better if you drop your little experiment and give them the benefit of the doubt, if anything, this will allow you to explore this possibility in a more efficient way.
“Hey, calm down, please! That was simply a hypothetical question; I’m not going to handle you to Chrysalis, but you have to tell me everything that happened here in full detail. I want to hear what the reasons for your change of mind are and also, I want to hear why the idea of returning to the hive scares you so much.”
>The changelings looked at each other and nodded to themselves, then one of them, probably their leader, took a step forward and gave you a salute “I will gladly explain everything to you, your highness …uhh” he looked at you with a nervous expression “Can I call you, your highness?”
“Eeeeh…”
>You rubbed the back of your neck and looked at your mom, hoping that she would answer that for you.
>Your mom Celestia rolled her eyes, and gently shrugged as she gave you a smile “I don’t see why not. You are THE prince after all, and I guess that we can consider this little talk as your first official negotiation with a foreign party.”
>You looked at the changeling leader with a smug smirk on your face
“You heard the lady, now, please, tell me everything”
>”Okay…” The changeling quickly nodded “I am… WAS the commander in charge of gathering vital information about Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends that could be used in order to capture them… these guys are my backup, some of them… most of the drones you see here were sent by Queen Chrysalis against their own will”
“Considering where you are right now, I’d say that’s kind of ironic, isn’t mate?”
>The changeling groaned “Well, nopony at the hive, not even Queen Chrysalis, ever considered that the plan would be discovered by a little colt, or that we would end up facing Discord and that psychotic unicorn”

“Don’t be so harsh with yourself, mate. That little plan of hers wasn’t going to fly under my radar. So, yeah, your little Queenie could have never guessed that she was going to face someone as good as me”
>With a sigh of frustration, the changeling replied as he gave you a stoic look ”Those two mares really weren’t lying when they told us about your smug personality and…” the changeling flinched “Hng! The massive amount of love that you carry! Seriously! Our hunger hasn’t actually banished, you know?! We still feel something and you aren’t helping!”
>You decided that it was probably for the best if you ignored that last part and focused on getting some real answers.
“I’m actually toning down the smugness mate, you haven’t even seen me when I get my game rolling. Anyways, let’s go back to the subject, Starlight told us everything, about you, so why don’t we skip to the good part? What I want to know is what caused your change of heart”
>”But… I thought that the bat mare made that clear!” The Changeling at Moonlight then at you with clear confusion “You even stated what caused us to defect to Equestria! For what reason do you want to hear the same thing again?! Hnng! Why do you have so much love anyways?! I swear that you could feed the entire hive for at least a month”
>Well… this was getting annoying, if this guy wanted a reason as to why you, allegedly, carry so much love, then, by all means, you were going to give it to him.
>You arrogantly shrugged
“It’s fairly simple; mate, I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by wonderful ponies who love me. As for your other question, I want to hear it coming from your own mouth; you can take this as a little punishment for what you tried to do with Starlight Glimmer and Thorax”

> The Changeling closed his eyes, shook his head and made an awry smile ”So, I take that Thorax is alive and well, heh… you know? Just a couple days ago, I’d have used that information to destroy him myself, but now? Now I’m worried about him”
“Worried? Now you better keep talking, mate, because you just got my curiosity”
>”Yes, I’m worried about Thorax’s safety, the Queen is still out there and she will do anything in her power to destroy Thorax… I don’t want that, in fact… I want to talk to him, more than anything in the world…” The changeling turned to his companions “and my soldiers feel the same way, right boys?”
>The changelings nodded at the same time and replied at unison “Yeah!”
“Hmmm, that may not be a bad idea, especially since Thorax could tell you how he managed to completely get rid of his hunger”
>The changelings gasped and murmured something among them, then, their leader turned to you and slowly asked “Thorax… doesn’t feel hungry for love anymore?”
“That much is correct, unlike you guys, who are struggling to hold off against what remains of your thirst for love, Thorax has managed to eradicate it completely. How did he manage to achieve such feat? Don’t ask me because as I told my friend, I honestly only have baseless hypothesis”
>”Just tell me something, your highness” The changeling stared directly in your eyes “You’re not lying to us, right? Because what you are saying is…”
>You raised your right leg up to a bend and adopted a proud stance.
“I swear on my title and everything that I hold dear that I’m not lying to you. Thorax really doesn’t need to feed on the love of other ponies anymore”
>”I see… I see…” The changeling placed his hooves on his temples and stared at the ground
“Hey, mate, are you okay?”

>”Yes…no… I’ve been lied to… we all have been lied to… by that Chrysalis…” The changeling looked at you again “And… I lied too” he sighed “Our plan was to betray you as soon as you let us out from this cell, but… if Thorax really doesn’t need to feed from love, then…”
>”Tch… I can’t believe that I trusted in these bugs” Moonlight growled “I guess we’re back to square one”
>”Wait!” The changeling quickly replied “T-There is no need for that… I-I actually want to help you now…”
“Really? And why would I, no, why any pony in here would believe you?”
>”Because… I want to stop feeling hungry and…” the changeling scowled “I want to make sure that Chrysalis gets what she deserves for everything she has done to us…”
>”Then the first thing that we need to do is to arrange a meeting with Thorax.” Your mom Celestia finally intervened “Of course, that will only be possible if you give us real information that we can use to stop Chrysalis’ plan”
>The changeling nodded ”We will… I swear that we will, with real coordinates, battle plans and schedules, the whole package. I just have a petition to make”
“You realize that we are not going to free you, right? At least, not until we’re a hundred percent sure that you ain’t lying this time”
>”Of course! I-I understand that! I…” The changeling looked at his companions and then at you “Listen, a platoon of changelings coming to Canterlot in the next few days that wasn’t a lie, I just want to ask that after you capture and lock them here, we can have a reunion with Thorax.”
>”And why would we do zat?” Aegia asked
>”Because… I want Thorax to tell as many changelings as possible how he overcame his hunger… I-I just want him to… please… oh, yeah, and Chrysalis is planning to come a few days after the platoon manages to infiltrate in the city, so when she arrives… please, make her pay for what she has done to us”
“I think that I will need to talk with Thorax about your petition, so he can get mentally and physically ready for the meeting, as for your other request… what do you think, mom?”
>Your mom Celestia smirked “I think that this will be a wonderful opportunity to teach Chrysalis a lesson that I’ve been meaning to give her for a long, long time”
“…and after you kick her flank, then we laugh at her, right?”
>”If Luna and I leave something to be laughed at, sure” Your mom Celestia shrugged “I mean, it’s not that fun to laugh at a bunch of ashes”