The sun had begun to set across the landscape, the train chugging along it's route, blowing its whistle occasionally. There were a couple stops that were made, but it was still scheduled to make it all the way to Saddle Arabia, which would still take a couple of days to arrive at the desert region.

In the dining car, where some of the other passengers entered to get themselves dinner, many of the ponies stared in bewilderment as Solaris, wearing a white sweatshirt Pinkie pulled out of her bags to hide his wings, scarfing down several plates of the different courses served this evening. Even Applejack, Fluttershy, Trill, and Rainbow were amazed at his appetite.

"Mmmm!" Solaris belched after finishing up his third hayburger, not excusing himself for his poor table manners. At least he knew not to make too much of a mess. "I didn't realize how starved I was! Going almost two days without eating was not a good idea, and this food is sooooo good!"

The hungry alicorn grabbed a bowl of pasta next, diving his head into the bowl and munched on his next course. There were at least six separate plates that once held food, all Solaris's, and they were licked clean. Pinkie was the only one who wasn't fazed, almost encouraging him to keep on scarfing down.

"Solaris, for Celestia's sake, calm down before you choke," Applejack chided, her words falling on deaf ears. He finished up his last dish, licking his face clean of the marinara sauce that stained his muzzle. He let out a loud burp, surprising the other dinner guests around their table. "You're also gaining a lot of attention from the other passengers. We're supposed to make sure you DON'T get caught, remember?"

"...Heh...Sorry, Aunt Applejack," Solaris said, a little embarrassed that he went a little too far with his hunger.

"Hope you saved some room for dessert!" Pinkie said, diving under the table they were sitting at and popping back up, a tray of cupcakes, somehow freshly baked, and ready to be eaten. "I can't believe this train service didn't even have anything sweet for after dinner. They need to fire the caterer who thought it was a good idea to have no dessert for a long train ride!"

Solaris began salivating, always loving Pinkie's baked goods, no matter what she makes, or even how she made the ones sitting on the table right now. He swiped one with his magic, ready to scarf the delicious pastry whole, only to freeze as he saw the look Applejack gave him. He decided to tone down his binge eating, taking small bites of his dessert.

After the scene the alicorn caused died down and the others resumed eating their meals, Trill didn't even touch the small portion of pasta she grabbed. Even though changelings could eat food, they preferred to eat the love energy from the lovers of the pony they impersonate. She didn't really get that kind of meal, but she still ate something, despite the emotions she ate from Solaris were all depressing when he had his panic attack. Fluttershy noticed the disguised changeling was just poking her food, seeming a bit worried about the young mare.

"Evergreen, aren't you hungry?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Trill looked down at her food, not really feeling like eating anything. "Uhh, I'm not really hungry. Kinda lost my appetite with your little cavepony's food frenzy over here."

Solaris glared at Trill at his pet name given to him by the changeling princess. "I can't help it if I was hungry! I had no idea what was considered edible in the Everfree Forest! I did have some food Uncle Spike left for me, but somepony had to eat it all!"

"I had that disgusting taste in my mouth! I needed to wash it out with something!" Trill exclaimed. "It was still terrible, anyway. It was like some kind of weird apple chip or something."

"Ah made them rations, and they can last for at least twenty years before they expire," Applejack said, feeling insulted that her family's prized apples tasted bad to Trill. "Ah'm guessin' ya'll aren't very fond of apples, or apple products..."

"I hate apples." Applejack's eye twitched, though she kept control of her anger, not wanting to cause another kind of scene in front of the other passengers. "Even my mom doesn't like apples all that much. I remember one time she tried some apple fritter at a wedding, and they were just disgusting. She threw them away when the chef wasn't looking, not wanting to insult her."

"...Ya don't say..." Applejack somehow found this all too familiar. Back at the royal wedding she and her friends attended, while also attacked by the changeling invasion, the queen of the changelings, Chrysallis, was disguised as the bride. While fooled by her illusion and the ploy of a stressed out bride wanting her wedding to be perfect, she recalled Twilight telling her that she had tossed a bag of fritters she gave the faker in the trash. Applejack had her suspicions, but she didn't have any proof yet. "...Very interestin'..."

"Yeah. But I do like chocolate, though," Trill said, licking her lips. "Doesn't matter what kind. I'll eat it even if it's rolled around on the ground!" She looked at the tray of cupcakes laid out in the center, spotting a dark chocolate one layered with chocolate frosting, drooling at the sight and smell of the delectable pastry. "MY CUPCAKE!"

Trill nearly pounced on the table, snatching the only chocolate cupcake and took Solaris's table manners, chomping it whole as her lips were covered in frosting and crumbs. Applejack found it odd that the mare wasn't hungry, yet she just ate the cupcake like she was starving. She even thought she saw a fang in that maw of hers before she bit down on it.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry," Rainbow said, a little confused.

Trill's pupils shrunk when she realized her mistake. Thinking quickly, she wiped her mouth of the cupcake she devoured, grabbing her bowl of pasta and began eating it. It was a horrible combination, her stomach wanting to instantly vomit her delicious treat and the horrible noodles and garlicky sauce, but she held it back. "Mmm! Now I'm hungry! Guess I needed a few minutes!"

Trill burped, feeling her stomach churning. The others watched her until she was finally done, her face turning more green than her coat.

"Evergreen? You alright?" Solaris asked, feeling a bit worried.

"I-I'm fine." Her stomach growled loudly, though it wasn't from hunger. "Ooh goodness. Uhh, I need to use the bathroom. Now!"

Trill sped off to the nearest restroom on the train to expel her dinner, leaving the others to wonder if she'll be ok. Applejack was really convinced that the young mare wasn't at all who she claims to be.

"Huh. That was weird." Pinkie grabbed one of the cupcakes, munching down on it while deep in thought. "Did anypony put any poison in this food!? Who would be dumb enough to ruin a perfectly good meal by upchucking it all over the place!"

Pinkie's random logic caused the other passengers who heard her to panic, fearing they'll end up having the same reaction as Trill. Solaris facehooved, questioning why she would even think somepony wanted to poison them. He ate seven different plates of food, and he was fine.

"Aunt Pinkie?" he asked.

"Yes, Solly?" Pinkie asked, licking off all the frosting on her cupcake.

"Should we find some kind of enchanted muzzle that keeps you from spouting random stuff like that?" Solaris asked, pondering if he really should figure out how Pinkie thinks.

"They make those? I thought they only used those for doggies who bite other ponies for no reason." Solaris slammed his head on the table, blowing the insult he gave her over her head.

"Ugh. Never mind." The alicorn gave up, forever leaving Pinkie Pie's antics as her own normal way of being normal.

The moon had begun its rise into the sky, casting a blanket of darkness across the land. The stars were there, though not as bright as how Luna would have wanted them to be. It was like the celestial beings know of their losses, dim and barely noticeable, but still able to be seen if one looks closely.

As wonderful as the evening was, one of them was not having the time of her life. Trill was keeled over a toilet in one of the bathrooms on the train, her head hovering over the bowl as she released the contents of her "dinner". She groaned in agony, finally getting rid of the spaghetti noodles and marinara sauce she had to eat to keep up her disguise, along with the most delicious chocolate cupcake she had ever eaten.

"Ugh...Why did I do that?" Trill burped, feeling another wave of nausea threaten to make her vomit again, but she kept it down. "Stupid delicious, chocolaty goodness. Why must that be the only enjoyable treat we are able to eat? And why did it have to give me food poisoning after eating those stupid noodles!? Who puts that much garlic in sauce!?"

After her stomach finally settled down, she washed her mouth out in the sink, wishing these bathrooms had some mouthwash. Trill was upset, losing her yummy cupcake faster than her failure to attack Solaris, but it was a price to pay for her negligence and weakness for chocolate. As she exited the bathroom, she bumped into Applejack, falling on her rump.

"Feelin' ok, Evergreen?" Applejack asked, though with no hint of concern.

"Oh! Applejack! Yeah, I'm good!" Trill said, trying to stay in character. "I kinda got a bit of a stomach virus, I guess. By the way, I wouldn't go in there for a while...Kinda messy."

"Uh huh..." Applejack was able to see through her Trill's deceit now, leering at the teenage changeling in disguise. "Kinda odd how ya want for one of Pinkie's cupcakes when ya said ya weren't feelin' hungry, and the fact it's rude to have dessert until after eatin' your meal."

"Uhh, bad table manners?" Trill lied, feeling sweat slowly trickle down her forehead. "Solly and I are kinda alike if you think about it."

"And another thing, about you," Applejack pressed, moving closer while Trill tried to back away. The changeling bumped into the wall of the train car's corridor, no chance of escape even if she tried. "First, your name. 'Evergreen Forrest'? That sounded like somethin' ya named up on the spot. Second, you bein' really close to Solaris."

"W-We're friends." Trill stammered, trying to figure out how to get out of this, her bluffs being seen through like a glass window. "I-I want to get to know him a bit more! Yeah!"

"Not even close!" Applejack pressed Trill hard against the wall. "Ya'll are takin' advantage of him! He has no social interaction outside of where he was raised aside from us and Spike! Because he's an alicorn, ya either want to flirt with him to try and become royalty, or..." The farm mare smacked Trill's horn hard, causing her disguise to drop, harmless green flames enveloping her and turning her back to her original form. "You're tryin' to kill him."

Trill gulped, feeling the strong earth pony's grip against her neck. She struggled to break free, but Applejack was far too strong. As she felt her sight fading, she was thankfully saved before she blacked out.

"Aunt Applejack, stop!" Solaris rammed into his aunt, knowing he'll regret doing this. Trill breathed in a huge gulp of air, clutching her neck as she got oxygen back in her lungs. "You alright, Trill?"

"Y-Yeah," Trill said. "I messed up."

Applejack got back up, confused as she saw Solaris was protecting the changeling. Trill was lucky there was no one else in the same car, otherwise she would have gotten in some real trouble.

"Solaris!? What are ya doin'!?" Applejack stomped her hooves, ready to barge through her nephew just to get to the impersonating creature. "Get outta the way!"

"Aunt Applejack, Trill isn't-" Applejack reared up to shove the alicorn aside, but he stopped her, far more powerful than the farm pony, even without his newly acquired gauntlets. Solaris shoved his aunt down, pinning her to the floor, keeping her from getting back up. "She's not evil!"

"'Not evil'!?" Applejack tried to buck Solaris off her, but he kept her hind legs pinned under his, barely able to budge him off. "Solaris, do ya have any idea what that thing is!?"

"A changeling, I know. But she's not bad!" Solaris said, causing Applejack to stop struggling and look up at the teen in confusion.

"You know!?" She asked. "Since when!?"

"When I met her in the Everfree Forest." Solaris looked away from his aunt, feeling a bit hurt. "Apparently, I had no idea what a changeling was until she described what she was. Trill even told me about how you, my mother, and the others were in an invasion during a big wedding many years ago in Canterlot. You all told me about this wedding, but not what a changeling was. Another little secret you wanted to hide from me, like my mom?"

Applejack's anger melted away, mentally berating herself for hurting the alicorn by hiding stuff from him again. She and the others hoped he would never have to see them when he takes back the throne from Lucifer, but it seemed like it couldn't be helped. At least he didn't know who the bride and groom were that were targeted by Chrysalis and her army, that she wanted to keep as a surprise.

Solaris felt Applejack's tension die down, slowly getting off of her, though still wary as he protected Trill from his aunt's wrath. She got up, feeling guilty as she looked at her alicorn nephew.

"...We all hoped the changelin's wouldn't show up again. We didn't want you to know." Applejack lowered her stetson, holding it against her chest as she apologized. "Ah know we promised not to leave you out of anymore secrets, sugarcube, but changelin's ain't exactly the friendliest of ponies you'll meet in Equestria. They wanted to take over the entire kingdom."

"Actually, my mom only wanted to take over Canterlot because of the wedding. Weddings have that source of love we all need." Solaris facehooved, Trill's chances of getting out of this without getting beaten to a pulp thrown out of the window as she tried to be honest for once.

"Your ma? You mean to tell me your ma is the queen!?" Applejack was about to jump at the changeling princess, who cowered behind Solaris when she realized her mistake. The farm pony thankfully didn't, knowing Solaris could easily trounce her again without trying.

"We were starving! It was my mom's only chance to gather food for the hive, and she took drastic measures!" Trill exclaimed, still hiding behind Solaris. "If you ponies didn't find us as horrible monsters, then maybe we wouldn't have been forced into exile, struggling to survive while using our magic to take the love from others while in disguise! The only way we could feed is through espionage, but we're so afraid of being caught now after the wedding that it's hard for us to even venture into Equestria to find food."

"Then explain what ya'll were gonna do to mah nephew!?" Applejack said.

"I was gonna absorb the love he had...but..." Trill froze, feeling embarrassed of her first hunt ending in failure.

"...But what...?" Applejack asked.

"She tried to pounce me, but she tripped on a rock and fell on her face," Solaris explained, making the changeling's face flush with embarrassment. "She tried again, and failed again...then again...and again-"

"Ok, she gets the point!" Trill shouted. "My first hunt ended up with me losing to Solly! Can we please move on before I have to tell her we cuddled in the tent when we woke up in the Everfree Forest!?"

Solaris flinched, quickly shoving his hoof in Trill's mouth. "Do you never learn to stop talking!? This is how you got in this predicament in the first place!"

Applejack just stared at the two teens, piecing together what Trill had meant until it finally dawned on her. The whole day they were in the forest when they met, spending the entire night there, and shared a tent together.

"...Ya'll did what now?" Applejack said, growing more cautious as to what they really did.

"We were sleeping and I subconsciously curled up next to her, nothing more!" Solaris explained, his face growing red as he recalled how close they were that morning.

"...Alright..." Applejack's protective side was going to kick in, especially when the mare Solaris had slept in the same tent with was a love-sucking bug pony.

"Aunt Applejack, please don't tell the others about Trill. I know Aunt Rainbow would try to kill her," Solaris pleaded.

"Solaris, she's a changelin'! Ah'm gonna have to tell them!" Applejack said, truly intending on getting rid of Trill before she complicated her nephew's journey even further. "Why should Ah trust her!?"

"Because she helped me back in the forest." This caused Applejack to raise her brow, unable to believe something as heartless as a changeling to even be helpful. "When I was alone after Uncle Spike teleported me away with his fire breath, I was falling into a deep depression. I felt like it was my fault he was killed, and I still feel guilty for not listening to him.

"I was so lost and alone, I didn't know what to do. Everything you all told me about what I'm supposed to do began to weigh me down heavily, and I got stressed and panicked. Then, Trill tried to attack me, but she stopped after the third attempt." The changeling gave Solaris the stink-eye, reminding her of her embarrassing moment in her life. "I wanted to be alone, tried to calm down, but everything began to get dizzy and my head hurt. I had an anxiety attack, Aunt Applejack."

Applejack was shocked to hear what Solaris had gone through. If only they were more concerned with him more than Rarity when she broke down, they could have helped him the day he was discovered by Lucifer. Now she was the one who felt guilty, letting Twilight down and leaving her son alone, in the middle of the Everfree Forest, alone and suffering from a panic attack that could have caused him to run out of the safety of the castle ruins and in the splintery jaws of timber wolves.

"But Trill helped me, even after I yelled at her out of my depression." Solaris looked back at Trill, knowing how badly he was suffering that day. "She absorbed my negative and stressful emotions with her own changeling magic, calming me down, but the memories still remain in my consciousness. She told me she and the rest of her hive could feed on other emotions, but love is more edible to them while others taste bad." He wrapped his hoof around the changeling, pulling her closer to him. "She's my friend."

Applejack's jaw dropped, as well as Trill's. The former was shocked at how the daughter of the bug pony who tried to invade Equestria actually helped Solaris, and the alicorn was being genuinely honest, while the latter was just stunned silent. Applejack was speechless, unable to utter a word to argue with his decision.

"Aunt Applejack, please don't tell the others about her. I would have been lost without her, and I don't want her to just leave because of what she is. Isn't giving those a chance important when making friends?" Solaris begged.

Applejack stood there for a moment, a mental war in her mind trying to decide whether Trill should stay and her identity a secret or make Solaris more upset by kicking the changeling off the train and avoid any possible traps she had in store. Sighing in defeat, she finally made her decision. "...Alright, sugarcube...She can stay."

She was instantly wrapped in the hooves of the excited alicorn, his wings twitching under his sweater, which he was still wearing. "Oh thank you, Aunt Applejack!"

"Now hold on there, sugar," Applejack said, managing to pry his hooves off of him, keeping a stern gaze. "Ah'll promise to keep her a secret, but if she's found out by the others, then she has to go. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. None of us can trust changelin's after what they did to Canterlot, so don't expect your words can help save her all the time. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Solaris said.

"Good." Applejack pulled Solaris into a comforting embrace, still feeling bad about leaving him alone in the Everfree when he had his panic attack. "We won't let anythin' else happen to ya, sugarcube. Ah promise we won't leave ya alone ever again." She pulled away, going through the motions of Pinkie's patented promise: crossing her heart with her hoof, flapping both forehooves like they were wings, and pressed her hoof against her eye. "Pinkie Promise."

Solaris knew no one should ever break a Pinkie Promise. He didn't dare intend to break a promise he couldn't keep, hearing how crazy Pinkie was when Applejack had made a promise, but sort of didn't break it through a loophole she made. Even though Applejack was a farm pony, she was pretty smart. After giving Trill a warning look not to harm her nephew, she headed off to their private car. As Solaris turned to face the changeling, she was giving him a teasing smirk.

"...What's with that look?" he asked.

"You and I are friends, eh?" Trill gave him a toothy grin, showing off her fangs. "I knew it. You actually do like me! Finally, you're free of that cavepony way of life and are a caring, though still naive, gentlecolt!"

Trill pulled Solaris into a tight embrace, nuzzling his cheek, though the affection irritated him, regretting his choice of words. He pushed the mare away, giving her a stern glare despite the slight blush on his cheeks. "You're lucky I didn't tell Aunt Applejack what you did to me that got me more upset back there. She would have killed you on the spot if I told her you tried to manipulate me with your seduction."

"It was just a joke," Trill defended.

"You spat green webbing in my face and made me feel like an idiot!" Solaris shouted.

"Just take it as a sign of affection." Trill changed back into Evergreen Forrest. "Don't deny that you felt all fuzzy when you called me your friend." Solaris growled, now regretting ever meeting Trill in the first place. "Oh come on. Friends are supposed to make fun of each other. It's all in good fun."

"But I have no time for fun, Trill," Solaris said. "Your luck is gonna run out at some point. I told Applejack the truth about everything, so you're in the clear with her. If I made anything up, she would instantly know, and you would have been crushed to pieces."

"Aha! You just admitted it! She could find out your fibs, and you were honest when you called me your friend!" Solaris's pupils shrunk, realizing he did tell Applejack the whole truth. She would have spotted the lie if he said Trill was his friend, but she knew he was being honest with her. He turned away, not wanting to give Trill the satisfaction of proving him wrong. "But, even though you hate my personality and my little jokes, I'm glad you came to my rescue. Thank you."

Trill gave Solaris a small peck on the cheek, his face turning red while trying to avert his gaze from the changeling. While she had kissed him, her horn seemed to spark a little, which had surprised Trill as she felt something strange. Solaris didn't even see the shocked expression on her face.

"U-Uhh, I'm gonna go to bed! Night!" Solaris ran off to the private car, unable to find an excuse or retort on his first kiss that didn't come from his family.

Trill stood where she was, still surprised at the strange reaction she had. A moment later, she licked her lips, tasting that familiar emotion changelings are meant to consume. "Huh...That was...strange."

Ignoring the strange reaction she had experienced, she made her way to their car, the others already settled in their bunks and fast asleep. Trill noticed Solaris shifting around under his sheets, not exactly asleep but trying to pretend to, still pretty bashful at her little gift of heroism. Her bunk was on top of his, ironically, climbing up and getting comfortable on the mattress. She needed to make sure she was careful this time, otherwise she would face the wrath of all four of the Elements of Harmony still around.