Guards were rushing through the castle whilst Celestia tried to recover from her sniffling and tearing up with the help of Twilight and Sunrise. Shining Armor's barrier was still up, so if there were any changelings trying to flee, it wouldn't work. Cadence and Steamlord were both analyzing the body very closely.

"So you're the sister-in-law of Twilight Sparkle?" Steamlord asked as he plucked out some innards from the morpher.

"Yes. And who are you?"

"Steamlord."

"What creature are you? I've never seen your kind. And what are those...things behind you?"

"You haven't seen my species because I'm not native to this dimension, and those four are my creations. Who is the guard who accompanied?"

"He's my husband and Twilight's brother."

"She has a brother?"

"Yes...I can't find anything relating to Luna's whereabouts. This changelings. I hate them so much."

"I didn't know of their existence until now. I guess that the visual scanners of my robots managed to detect that this was not the original. I also believe that you simply haven't searched thoroughly enough."

Steamlord took some 'algae' from the changeling's body and gave it to Centurion.

"Take this to Security System. Have her scan the composition of this mass and pinpoint the most likely locations that they can be found in larger quantities."

The robot took the item and rushed to the other side of the castle. Sunrise ran to her father to tell him:

"Celestia seems to be doing better. She's still in shock from what just happened."

"Yes. I know. Just console her and bring her to her room. She would need the rest."

"Okay, dad."

Cadence just followed the dragoness with confusion and curiousity. The human had started checking his knights for any damages.

"Dad?"

"I adopted her after discovering that her father had died from a bizarre disease that she seemed immune to."

"The Praetorian Virus...but that's impossible..." Cadence whispered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'll tell you later. We need to find Luna first."

"You'll have to wait, then. The scanning is being done right now, if I'm correct."

The pink alicorn kicked the dead changeling, letting its limp body move a little bit.

"What I don't understand is why this is a siege changeling."

"Changelings have different types?"

"Yes. After their invasion two years ago, we discovered several of them disguised amongst us. Some actually pleaded to stay with their 'loved' ones, so, after an extensive study of their psychological profile along with their partners, we let them go, but they're followed very closely amongst ponykind."

"Really now? Seems rather risky. Besides their infiltration potential, what is so dangerous about these creatures?"

"They feed on love."

Steamlord stopped his analysis of Templar and stared at Cadence with skepticism.

"It's true! They feed on your love."

"What kind of love." he said half-heartedly.

"Any, really, but true love seems to be what they prefer."

"Riiiiiight."

Cadence started to become irritated.

"I'm starting to think that you don't believe in true love."

Steamlord chuckled as a response. Cadence began to growl in anger. Before she could say anything in response, Hospitaller slammed its claymore right in front of her to keep her away from its creator. She turned a pale white once she saw a thread of her mane droop down. The robot removed its weapon once it saw its creator walking away.

"I'll be checking the data in my ship. You...Do whatever it is you're supposed to be doing here."

Cadence didn't like his attitude nor the way this creature thought, but he did seems to have gone through something awful. However, when she tried to turn around, she was met with an inklike figure.

"GAH! WHAT ARE YOU?!"

"Hmm. Tiny pony with wings and horn. Similar to bigger, white equine. Still tiny with slender form. Suggests over-exerting of body and mind. Very tiny." it said as it patted Cadence on the head.

"INK! Don't be so disrespectful." Twilight shouted from afar.

"Respect is irrelevant. Analysis is necessary."

"But you don't have to be so rude."

"You are searching for teh changelings, correct?"

"Y...Why would you just throw that out there?" Cadence seemed very confused.

"Don't...Don't try to understand him. He's...weird." Twilight answered nervously.

"I know where the changelings are. They live in a swamp far north of here. Near city of ponies and griffins."

"The Bubblegloop swamp." the mares tapped their hooves in realization.

"This would explain prescence of algae on this changeling."

"How do you know this?" Twilight asked Ink.

"Ink knows. Ink has memories. Black Ik remembers where it was made and how it was placed. I sent automatons to record surrounding places. They never returned, but one always sent signal as to its prescence. Always had the position of a very moist and murky environnement ripe with insects and disease. Conclusions gave way to a swamp full of enlarged creatures. Changelings likely inhabitants. I will take metal and constructs in castle to make signal to automatons at home. I will tell flyers to arrive at swamp. They must be numerous for changelings are numerous like insect. Singular entity inefficient."

The ink mechanic followed his own words and swarmed back into he castl in search of the necessary materials for whatever he wanted to create. In the mean time, everypony had to watch over Celestia and the castle. Thorough searchers were made throughout the castle, but no new changelings were discovered. It was still unknown as to how they had managed to grab Luna and replace her so discreetly, but had Steamlord not been there, they would have never discovered the fiendish plot...they might have discovered what it was if the bots hadn't killed it either. There was lots of speculation as to what would have and could have been done better amongst the council and the guard captains and generals, but what's done was done. In the meantime, Steamlord had already discovered the location of the changelings and activated his ship to bring it to Bubblegloop swamp. What he wasn't aware of is that Cadence had, like Twilight before her, sneaked onto the ship, although she used to magic to teleport aboard it. She had a personal grudge to settle with the changelings, most notably their queen. Ink and Sunrise had returned aboard not long before, luckily.

Unfortuately for the pink alicorn, she was discovered very early as she didn't have anyone's support aboard the vessel. Steamlord gave no thought to it and left her aboard the metal machine, allowing the princess to observe the interior of such a technological marvel.

"It's amazing. How did your species create such technology? We haven't even gotten close to it."

"I've noticed. You seem to be stuck in a technological era similar to the industrial age of my world." Steamlord answered from the cockpit.

"I would prefer that you do not speak of the old world. Steamlord prefers to not remember it." SS said.

Cadence looked around in panic. She didn't know where that voice came from.

"Who said that? Where did that voice come from."

"I am Security System. An AI. You cannot see me because I lack a physical body."

"O...Oh. That's not really helping."

"Irrelevant. Remain aboard the vessel at all times until my creator states otherwise."

"But--"

"There are no rebuttals."

"I understand."

"We're already above the swamp. I didn't know it emitted that much gas."

Cadance ran forward to see what was going on, only to see that this 'cloud' was actualy an immense swarm of changelings.

"That's not gas. Those are changelings."

"And like a swarm of locusts, we get to see one of the divine punishments brought from above. It's a good thing I created enough bug spray just for such an occasion." Steamlord said.

Pressing a few buttons, the ship deployed its weaponry, ready to strike at the incoming cloud.

Author's Notes:

I actually wrote "zerg" instead of changelings near the end. STARCRAFT, GET OUT OF MY HEEEAAAAAD!