Twilight yawned as she woke up, sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window. A brief pang of worry hit her—confusion at why she wasn't in her own bed—but quickly faded as memories filled in the blanks for her.

Climbing out of bed she stretched and shook. "It's going to be a big day today, I need to make a list of everything I need to do, and another for the things I want to do." She gave a happy nod at that and used her magic to fetch two scrolls from her bags. "First, make lists." Twilight giggled at her old joke. "I should have brought Spike with me, but somepony has to keep an eye on the library."

Taking care of her morning duties, Twilight trotted out into the hall and followed her nose. "Just like in Canterlot Castle." She giggled and heading unerringly in the direction of the kitchen. Her ears were the next sense to guide her path and Twilight turned into the dining room to find Cadance and her BBBFF talking over breakfast. She held still a moment and watched as Shining "ate" food, able to sense the slightest build-up of energy as he sent the food away before swallowing.

"Twily!" Shining was off his seat and across the room before his little sister had even entered the room. Both hugged tightly as they met. "How was the room?"

"It was a room." Twilight smiled at her brother's question. "Ready for a full day of doing science?" Her eyes practically lit up at the prospect, even just the emotions the word evoked. Taking her seat at the table she reached over to pull some salad onto her waiting plate.

"Just make sure Shiny is back in one piece." Cadance lifted up some lettuce and daisy salad, munching on it thoughtfully. "Well, mostly. Last time we did science he ended up with holes." She waved a fork around as she spoke.

"One time!" Shining couldn't keep the laugh out of his voice. "It would be good to not have to wear this," he jangled a hoof up, covered in armor, "so hopefully Careful can work out what we were doing wrong."

Twilight giggled at her married siblings. Munching away at her salad, she pondered the things to do again and pulled out her lists and started adding more tests to them. Her attention was broken when a unicorn walked in and settled beside her BBBFF.

"Good morning, Careful." Cadance smiled as wide as she ever could, she didn't need her magic to see that the disguised changeling was head over hooves in love with somepony. "Today we are fixing the little mistake of yesterday, once and for all."

Whenever Queen Cadance spoke in such a way, Careful knew to be ready for something big. He didn't make a show of eating, he just sat there. "Yes, Princess Cadance?"

"We are reducing the guard down and increasing it." Shining focused and sent another mouthful of food away to the castle's privy system. "We will no longer be supporting Canterlot guard here, we are starting our new guard, our own. You have met who I intend to help me run it."

"Gilt?" At Careful's question Shining nodded. "A good choice. A clever mare with a good head on her withers." He pondered the thoughts more. "A very good choice. What do you mean by increasing it?"

"The guard will be open to everypony who is willing to learn the craft. Mares, stallions, pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies," Shining tilted his head to Careful, "and changelings." The single word—spoken aloud—made not only Careful jump, but everypony within earshot.

Cadance giggled and leaned forward to take a kiss from her husband. "Changelings were as hurt by what Chrysalis did as everypony else, more so really. You have to live with how much Equestria now hates you," she inhaled deeply, "but not the Crystal Empire. Careful Steps, please remove your disguise."

Heads turned and stared at him, Careful looked up at his Queens. Looking from Cadance to Shining, he felt the love and support of his hive in them—and let go.

"It's a changeling!"

"Tell the Princess!"

"There's the Princess!"

"Why isn't she attacking them?"

The words cut through Careful's chitin like magic-tipped spears. He sat there, eyes closed and fearing what he would see when he opened them. But his hive was here, his Queens right beside him. He opened his eyes and saw the love and praise in Queen Cadance's eyes, swapping to Queen Shining and seeing that he too had support in abundance. "My… my Queens. What would you have me do?"

"Come with us to the guard practice field." Shining got up and turned. Astonished gazes were focused on the royal table as everypony present seemed in shock at there being a changeling not only in their midst, but accepted as such. "Everypony, this is still Careful, please treat him with all the respect you did before."

"But sir," a guard stepped forward, "he's a-" Cutting off his words, he sat back down.

"He is a changeling, a friend, and one of the smartest ponies I know." Shining gave a lop-sided grin to Careful. "I want it known that not only is he just a pony like everypony else, but if there are more changelings in the Crystal Empire," Shining took a deep breath, "we welcome them."

Cadance took her cue, stepping up beside her husband. I am so proud of him. Leaning in, she pressed the tip of her snout to his, their necks arcing in a pose reminiscent of when they had driven off Chrysalis.

The flapping of wings heralded Nimbus' arrival, the mare stopping in the doorway and staring at her coltfriend. She saw how proudly he stood and grinned like a schoolfilly at her first crush.

"The day isn't getting any younger, time to see to the guard. Twily, you coming for this?" Shining turned to face his little sister and caught her wide grin. "Yes?" Twilight nodded rapidly. "Hear that, love, I might have my first new recruit." Shining gave Cadance a peck on the cheek and strode for the door, leaving anypony who wanted to join in his meeting scrambling to catch up.

Twilight, however, just kept grinning. "Is he always like this? I don't think I have seen my BBBFF stand so tall before." She wasn't rushing, she had a plan. Teleportation is cheating, but this salad is delicious.

"Recently," Cadance gave a deep sigh of pride, "he has been walking a lot taller. I blame good food." She winked to Twilight and started to trot out of the dining room. With the royal couple gone the room fairly exploded into talk. A few ponies were still looking at Careful, while some others took off from the room at a dead run.

"Rumor is like lightning." Nimbus sat at the table, opposite Twilight. "And now the young mare finds herself having breakfast opposite the Element-bearer of Magic, Sister to Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle." She stopped the "third person narrative" tone she had taken. "So what is your take on all this?"

Despite Twilight's less-than-steller sense at picking up social cues, she could tell the moment Careful sat down beside Nimbus that they were a couple—she smiled at the two. "Oh, you know me, saving Equestria, saving the Crystal Empire, and all that between taking care of a library and raising a dragon." The look Twilight gave Nimbus and Careful had both of them snorting a little. "I came because my brother needs somepony to look into a…" Twilight trailed off, every ear in the room seemed rotated toward their table, their own conversations paused, "problem with a scroll." Conversation restarted on all the tables once more.

"Oh yes, that scroll is quite the problem. I hope you can help." Careful caught on instantly, his senses pushed to their limit. I feel so open, defenseless. "Speaking of which, you aren't going to see what he intends for the guard?"

Twilight lifted up the last piece of crisp lettuce to her snout and chewed it slowly. Once it was clear of her palate, she gave a nod. "About to head to him now, please excuse me." She felt out her brother and sister with her magic, this was one of her oldest and most intuitive spells. "Bye!" With a POMF of magic Twilight vanished and appeared to one side of her brother.

"I owe you five bits, Cady." Shining reached up a hoof to gently muss his sister's mane. "Step one down, changelings are officially citizens."

"You know it is going to take more than that, right? I mean, you just suddenly showed that a trusted member of the royal court is a changeling, you think everypony will change from distrust to acceptance overnight?" Twilight blinked up at her brother.

"It would be nice, but you are right, Twily. We need to lead by example." Shining Armor looked every bit the stallion in charge as he trotted toward the arrayed Royal Guards; it helped that Cadance and Twilight were with him, but this was literally his element.

Cadance looked over her husband's back toward Twilight, catching her sister's attention. Wearing a grin a mile wide, she mouthed, "Lead by example."

"At ease." Shining's voice lifted easily to his parade-ground timbre and volume. "A lot of you have been with me for a while now, when I took this post you came with me. You others are just as welcome, just as trusted. Some rumors will be circling of changelings in the castle, of a fake Shining Armor walking around." He paused long for effect, spotting a few of the typical rumor-mongers nodding. "They are true. Several members of the royal household are not only known to be changelings, but are welcome as such. I expect them to be treated with the respect you would show anypony in the Empire."

The less disciplined—along with some of the older soldiers—began mumbling between each other.

"Permission to speak freely is granted. Starting with the front row and working left to right, what do you think?" Shining turned to the first in row and column, it was the newest officer recruit, Gilt Wings. "Gilt, isn't it?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Gilt grinned. "You hired me most recently of all your soldiers, but I owe you my life, your word is my honor." She gazed straight ahead, unable to look at her Queen lest she cry, drop her disguise, or both. To her surprise a lot of hooves thumped the ground, an anonymous round of support for the words.

"Next." Shining looked to the lieutenant beside Gilt.

"We won't be in trouble for sayin' what's on our mind, sir?" The stallion was one of the "old guard" from Canterlot.

"Of course not. Speak your mind as you always have, Dropper." Shining had stood with this stallion through a few of the stranger fights the guard had faced.

"Changelings are monsters, sir, and should be driven out. After what they did at Canterlot, I can't ever trust them." Dropper spat on the ground unceremoniously.

It took a steeled heart to brace against the soft clopping of hooves against the ground, Shining moved on and on, hearing each soldier give their opinion. All of the new blood are with me, half of the old guards would follow me to Tartarus... Shining looked out over the waiting faces. "Everypony who cannot stand beside a changeling and call them 'brother,' or 'sister,' may leave for Canterlot. Everypony present is now granted a transfer to there, there is no Royal Guard in the Crystal Empire."

The field was silent, every single pony stared at Shining with shock and amazement.

That was the sting, Shining. Time to hook those that want to stay. "Lieutenant Gilt Wings of the Royal Crystal Guard!" The voice echoed over the assembled.

Gilt stepped out of line with the soldiers who were no longer soldiers here. "Sir, yes sir?" She halted directly in front of Shining Armor.

"Gilt, drop that disguise, it is unbecoming." Shining's words drove shock deeper into everypony present, more so when she did drop the disguise, "You are promoted to Captain of the Royal Crystal Guard. Are you willing to start accepting applications to join?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Gilt spun in place, her shiny black carapace catching the morning sun. She lifted her voice almost on par with Shining's, "Anypony wishing to sign up to be in the Royal Crystal Guard remain, the rest of you…" she turned her head, blue eyes watching her Queen nod, "are dismissed!"

"This is horse-apples!" Dropper stepped forward. "I didn't complain when you started letting mares in. I didn't complain when you hired one as an officer." He glared at Gilt. "But changelings? Sending us away?"

"You can stay if you want to, Dropper." Shining looked the stallion in the eyes. "But if you continue to speak ill of your superior officer you will be stuck peeling potatoes until next Nightmare Night." Shining watched as the stallion turned and started walking away.

It started an exodus, nearly half his guards were walking away. Shining had to close his eyes to stop from crying at the loss of friends.

"Sir, the Royal Crystal Guard are waiting for your first address as Commander." Gilt's words caused Shining to open his eyes again. "We will build numbers back up, sir. If nothing else, there was a lot of very miserable changelings back at the hive."

Author's Notes:

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and I they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, I They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! I They will pick one question per chapter.

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