To say that Spike was looking fearful would have been a great understatement, as he rushed as fast as his tiny legs could carry him, straight towards the friendship palace. He charged towards the doors, knocking on them fiercely, alerting all within to his presence. Within moments, the doors opened, revealing a confused-looking Twilight on the other side. Before she had a chance to say or do anything, she watched as the young dragon rushed past her and slammed the door behind him, leaning against it as if to hold back a mob or something. Seeing his worried look, Twilight gained a concerned expression, as did her friends when they too saw what the drake was like right now. Softly, she spoke to him.

"Spike? What's wrong?"

For a few moments, Spike tried catching his breath and getting his words out, which went about as well as could be expected. In the end, he stopped completely, taking in a few deep breaths and recovering after having run here so fast. With that done, he spoke loudly.

"A changeling!"

Immediately, the other mares looked alarmed, especially Twilight, as she learned forward and pressed her muzzle against Spike’s nose, looking him right in the eye with a panicked look in her.

"A what?!"

But Spike nodded in response.

"It's true! I saw a changeling drone! In broad daylight! He's heading right here, for the palace!"

Standing tall again, Twilight's expression became one of seriousness.

"This is it! I knew this day would come! Chrysalis has come seeking revenge! This drone is no doubt here to act as a scout or something!"

Rainbow rushed to her side, looking equally as determined.

"Then let's show that bug what it means to trespass in Ponyville!"

There was a general cry of agreement amongst the other mares, and a rather meek one from Fluttershy, as Twilight stamped her hoof on the ground before charging headfirst out of the palace, with her friends close behind her. The moment they were out of the doors, they saw him, the drone. He was still pretty far but, as Spike had said, he was undoubtedly heading in the direction of the palace. The mares galloped off towards him, running as fast as possible in the hopes of taking him out before he got there. As for the drone, he was making a rather slow pace towards the castle, only to stop when, to his confusion, he saw six mares running towards him. He said nothing, but, understandably, looked concerned at this. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be prevented from doing so when, at last, all six mares slammed into him, sending him flying backwards, landing on the ground a few feet away. Stopping, Twilight and the others then walked with purpose to the dazed drone. Before he could get up, Twilight placed a hoof upon his chest, keeping him down and glaring at him angrily.

"Alright, drone! Why are you here?"

Although clearly taken aback by this, the drone soon composed himself, clearing his throat a little before giving an answer.

"Er...I came for you."

As expected, Twilight narrowed her eyes at that.

"Aha! I knew it! What was the plan here? You'd infiltrate and learn more about me and my castle for an attack?"

"No."

"Then...then you planned to knock me out and take my place, like your Queen did with Cadence?"

"I...No!"

"Then what? What did you come here for, changeling?"

Looking to each mare in-turn, the drone looked more than a little nervous, especially as he looked back to Twilight.

"I...I...I came to woo you."

Twilight looked to him in triumph.

"You see, girls? He came here...to...woo..."

Slowly, the confidence faded from her face, replaced now by confusion and uncertainty. She looked back to the drone, her voice lowered to a whisper.

"Um...would you care to repeat that?"

The drone nodded.

"I heard rumours of your search for a consort, so I came here to see if I could accomplish that goal myself.”

Twilight's friends all looked to her with various reactions, all while Twilight kept her eyes locked on the still-pinned drone beneath her. In the end, and after much deep thinking and soul-searching, she said the only thing that anypony possibly could say in circumstances such as this.

"...WHAT?!"

The drone, having been tied to a hastily-prepared chair, looked at the obviously-disturbed princess before him, who studied him closely as she sat in her throne on the opposite side of the cutie map, all while surrounded by her friends. The silence was quite uncomfortable, and after a good number of minutes had passed, Twilight sighed and spoke at last.

"Okay...let's start from the beginning. What is your name?"

The drone nodded before answering.

"I am drone two-seven-three-six."

Applejack raised an eyebrow at that.

"Y'all don't have a name?"

The drone shook his head.

"My number is sufficient enough, thank you."

But Twilight just narrowed her eyes.

"And you want...to marry me?"

The drone nodded his head again, prompting her to continue.

"But...why?"

Hearing that, the changeling looked somewhat confused.

"Well...to put it simply, you are an impressive mare. You are strong and capable. It would take no less to challenge my Queen after all."

At that, Twilight looked more than a little angry.

"So…you do know Chrysalis?"

The drone nodded.

"Indeed. In fact, I am one of her offspring. The two-thousand-seven-hundred-and-thirty-sixth to be precise."

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I figured as much from your name. So...are you here under her orders?"

The drone shook his head.

"No. I have, in truth...left my hive."

Twilight looked to her friends, all of whom seemed equally sceptical at that.

"You left your people? Why?"

The drone narrowed his own eyes at that.

"You met my mother, yes?"

Twilight nodded, prompting him to continue.

"Then that should be a good enough answer for you."

At that, Twilight could not argue, having remembered all too well how unpleasant a person Chrysalis was. Nothing was said, but it could well be the case that her defeat made her even more aggressive, to both her friends and her enemies. Is that why this drone had left? Had things amongst the changelings become so bad that there were actually outright defections? It was an interesting thought, but, Twilight shook her head, knowing she had to stay focused for the time being.

"Okay...getting back to business...why do you think I would want to marry you? I mean...if you were part of Chrysalis' hive, then that must mean you were part of the Canterlot invasion force, yes?"

The drone nodded.

"I was. Actually...you and I met each other once."

Twilight raised her eyebrow.

"I did?"

The changeling nodded before continuing.

"Indeed. I landed right in front of you, hissed for a bit, and then you just stepped all over me as you and your friends were trying to charge forward."

For a moment, Twilight recalled her memories of that dark day, only to gain a look of slight embarrassment.

"Um...yeah. Sorry about that."

But the drone just shrugged his shoulders.

"No issue here. I got better."

But Twilight frowned soon afterwards.

"That may be, but you being here is still going to cause problems. How many ponies would you have terrified in Ponyville just walking over here?"

The drone shook his head again.

"None actually. It's not the first time I've been here."

At that, the whole group looked confused.

"Really? When were you here last?" Rarity asked.

"During the wedding of the donkey, Cranky. There was a whole bunch of love in that room that day and I thought I'd just head on over and soak it up for a bit, Didn't even need to disguise myself for once. Although...I don't remember seeing any of you there."

At that, there was a general look of embarrassment amongst the mares.

"We...er...had other things on our minds," Twilight replied.

But, it wasn't long before she recovered, clearing her throat.

"Alright then, say I believe you about all this. Why would you marrying me be a good thing?"

The drone, for once, put on a smile.

"Well, apart from helping to ease tensions between our races, it would provide you an excellent opportunity to learn more about a people that, frankly, I think you know next to nothing about."

Hearing that, Twilight looked somewhat interested.

"Yeah...I suppose that's true. But it's hardly enough to base an entire relationship on."

The drone nodded, letting out a sigh.

"True enough. But the fact is...a drone on his own isn't really going to last. We need direction. We need command. And while I was unwilling to follow the command of my mother, I still need someone above me, letting me know what to do. With you being an alicorn, the highest of all ponies, I figured you’d be a good choice."

For the first time in this, Twilight looked to the drone with what could only be described as sympathy. It was clear to her now that what he truly wanted was not a wife, but a master. And that, as one might expect, was not something Twilight was comfortable with.

"Look...I'm sorry, but I don't think this is a good idea."

At that, the drone looked crestfallen.

"But...I assure you I am a capable warrior and servant! And I can also attend to the many duties of a husband with great enthusiasm! If it is offspring you’re concerned about, I guarantee I can provide a large and healthy clutch of eggs for you."

Hearing those words, Twilight turned, trying her best not to throw up at the mental image that had now been conjured in her mind, all while many of her friends, mostly Rainbow, did their best to hold back their laughter from seeing her like this. In time, she looked back to him, doing her best to put on a smile.

"Thank you for that...vivid description of your...talents. But I'm afraid my decision still stands."

Seeing the honesty in her face as she'd said that, the drone looked down a little.

"Then...where will I go?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted when Pinkie rushed past her and looked to the drone with a massive smile on her face.

"I'll take him!"

Naturally, all of the mares looked to her with shock.

"Wha...Pinkie?! Really?"

Turning to her, Pinkie smiled wider and nodded.

"Yep! I live to make people smile, Twilight. You know that! If being with somepony is what it'll take for him to be happy, then that's what I'll do!"

As one might expect, this seemed a little drastic by the standards of the other mares, but, it was clear that they were all far too late to dissuade Pinkie from this line of thinking, as she bounced over to the drone and began to untie him. As for the drone himself, a look of utter joy now crossed his face as he looked to the pink mare beside him.

"You...you mean that? You actually want me?"

Pinkie gave him an affectionate pat on the head after that.

"Of course I do, silly! Pinkamena Diane Pie always means what she says!"

The smile on the drone’s face was massive now, as he bowed his head before her.

"Oh, thank you! I promise, you won't regret this!"

But Pinkie merely giggled.

"There's no need for bowing, droney. Although..."

A somewhat sly look crossed her face now, with the other mares being slightly nervous as a result.

"Do you think you could...you know...do me?"

The drone looked up, looking quite uncertain about that.

"Do? You mean...change into you?"

After giggling a little, Pinkie's expression became one of definite sultriness.

"Sure...let's go with that."