"I never realized how much I hate wearing armor." Shining walked slowly, a wing over his back and his wife at his side. "But it makes me appreciate being out of it a lot more." The sun was only barely above the horizon, the city was mostly already awake and businesses were opening for the day.

"You walk different without it, you almost seem to prance. When you were wearing it, you seemed to be more deliberate, more focused in every step. Look at you, Shiny, you are like a colt in the spring!" Cadance couldn't help but adjust her stride to match, the pair looking like the young couple they were.

"Princess Cadance, Prince Shining!"

The voice had Shining and Cadance both spin around to spot Nimbus poking her head out the window of a small cafe, sitting inside with a pegasus mare and a crystal pony stallion. Ignoring the technically incorrect title for Shining, Cadance beamed back at Nimbus Cloud. "Having breakfast? Mind if we join you?"

Jade was amazed that the rulers of the city—of the whole Crystal Empire—were just wandering along and were now going to have breakfast with them. "Oh my gosh, this is exciting!" She almost bounced on her seat, eyes studying the alicorn and her husband. Especially her husband.

Slick Dive felt a tremble of fear, he had been settling in to a stable role as Sorrel Step, it had become comfortable. "It sure is." He gazed at the two royal ponies, one feeling cool to his senses, the other white-hot. Focusing internally, he locked down and braced all his defenses against that heat.

Nimbus spread her wing to gesture to her friends. "This is Jade Wings, and Sorrel Step. Jade works cleaning the barracks, and Sorrel… we were actually just chatting about that. I have been out of town lately on business." She gave a knowing look and grin to Shining and Cadance.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both." Cadance used her magic to pull over two more chairs to the table the three were seated at. "Don't let us interrupt you, we are playing hookey for the morning." She gave Shining a little squeeze with her wing.

"I was just saying that Sorrel should join the Royal Crystal Guard, I heard the news about that." Jade leaned a little more toward her coltfriend. "I know you said it is open to everypony now, but I am sure there is always room for a big, buff stallion."

"Always room for you." Shining gave the big crystal pony stallion, Sorrel Step, a big and encouraging grin. "What about you, Jade. We could use some more pegasi in the Guard." He turned it back on the mare. "You could both join up."

Jade's eyes widened at the idea. "But I… I mean, I'm a mare." She leaned against Sorrel a little more. "I know you said it doesn't matter anymore, but I just… I'm not that big, and I…"

"I think you would look good in armor." Sorrel leaned in and nuzzled Jade. He didn't even think of himself as Slick Dive anymore, he couldn't, he was so far into being Sorrel for his disguise he couldn't afford it.

"At least try out. Shiny has been dying to get the Crystal Empire its own guard, I told him he could do it but nopony will be turned away." Cadance's attention was taken up by a nervous-looking waitress. Her eyes scanned the contents of the table—mainly what the other ponies had ordered—and quickly came up with something that the cafe should have. "One extra-large milkshake, two straws. And a large plate of pancakes, extra syrup." She gave the mare her brightest smile.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Cadance let the title slip, it had become a bad habit that the changelings had forced upon her, or so she hoped. She looked back to the table, realizing that both Jade and Sorrel seemed intent on letting her and Shining carry the conversation. "I do hope we weren't interrupting anything? What were you talking about before we arrived?"

"Sorrel's job." Nimbus' eyes drifted to the disguised changeling in question. "He was just explaining why he technically isn't mooching off Jade."

"He isn't 'mooching' anything. He works around the house to keep it clean, and cooks for me." Jade seemed a little flustered.

"I am mooching." Sorrel sighed. "Most of the shops want unicorns for handling delicate stuff, or they see my size and assume I am a big clumsy oaf. I guess maybe I should take you up on that offer." He looked at the target of his mission and felt confusion. He should be showing signs of changing by now.

The big milkshake arrived, borne by the widely smiling waitress. "Here you go, I hope you are having a good day?"

"It is wonderful!" Cadance's eyes slid to Shining. "Isn't it, darling?" She was already leaning against him so much it threatened to push him from his perch. She gave a happy little shiver at how perfect the day was.

"Yup, nothing could possibly beat how the day has gone so far." He leaned a bit more firmly against Cadance and rubbed his snout against hers.

Sorrel was struggling with his shields, the strain of keeping a white-hot wave from pulling him under almost taking all his strength. The peak of the storm came when each of the royal ponies took a straw and, staring into each others' eyes, started to sip at the milkshake.

Shining was being a big faker. He had his lips around the straw, he made every indication that he was sucking on it, but he let Cadance sip the drink alone. None of the charade had anything to do with how wonderful it was to stare into her eyes over the top of the drink.

At his side, Sorrel felt Jade pull a bit closer, a soft sigh leaving her lips. She slipped under his shields, not breaking them but joining him in the intimate barrier he had erected against the ocean of love battering at him. Sorrel stared at Jade in wonder, feeling the soft love she gave him, it let him reinforce his shield. He didn't resist the temptation to lean and push his snout into her mane.

Reaching out with his new senses, Shining lightly touched the adorable couple sitting opposite him, and was caught off-guard. Neither pony registered to his changeling senses, as if they weren't there. He froze in his charade of drinking and looked at them both. "How long," it was a fight for him to keep his voice even, but recent practice helped him bend the truth easier, "have you all been friends?"

"What, with Jade? We grew up together. She got her cutie mark before me and everything." Nimbus Cloud didn't catch on that the question was loaded. "Sorrel Step is new, though, but then we are both kinda new in town, not surprised I never met him before today."

"Yeah, Nimmy and I have been together so long we know what mane conditioner the other uses." Jade Wings felt the stallion who was very snugly seem to freeze. "But this big brute has only been around for a few days. Cute as a kitten, big as a dragon." She tilted her head up to nuzzle his neck, but saw that Sorrel had locked eyes with Shining Armor.

"Don't run." Shining returned the gaze leveled at him. "I promise it will just be a talk."

Sorrel pondered dropping his disguise right there, but something tugged at him. He broke his eyes away from Shining Armor and looked down to Jade. "Okay." He hated the warmth he got from Jade now, it was tinged with confusion, but still was strong enough to keep his defenses up.

"Good." Shining smiled across to Cadance. "I wonder how good those pancakes are? I see on the menu that they use crystal berries in them."

Slick Dive felt the mask of Sorrel slip, the nice stallion he had been, during his time with Jade. Buck, I liked this. It is… was, nice. He plowed his snout down into Jade's mane again.

"Shiny, this isn't right." Cadance was looking at the caught changeling. "Sorrel, whatever you are scared about, I promise on my honor you need not."

"Would… would somepony tell me what is going on here?" Jade felt confusion reign, Sorrel seemed to immediately become sad at the odd words from Shining. "Sorrel, what are they talking about?"

"Oh…" Nimbus looked between Shining and Sorrel. "He is-" She clamped both forelegs over her snout, only to pull them back. "But the new laws?"

"The new laws that Sorrel probably doesn't know about yet." Cadance glared at her husband. "Shining Armor, tell him and make it a promise."

Shining looked stricken. "I promise nothing bad will happen, furthermore, you are safe in the Crystal Empire as long as I have any say in the matter. Sorrel, just hear out what I am going to say. You can leave if you want, after it."

"Okay, all of you!" Jade pulled away from the table, away even from Sorrel. "What is going on? You," she pointed at Sorrel, "first." When the disguised changeling didn't immediately talk, she furrowed her brow. "I mean, right now."

"I'm a changeling." Sorrel slid the disguise off, mentally. "I was sent to observe, to spy on Shining Armor. I didn't mean-" He reached out a hoof but Jade pulled back and raced for the door. Spreading her wings, she was gone in an instant.

"Oh Celestia, what… hold on!" Nimbus took off at a run, launching into the sky as well. It left Slick to face the music alone.

"Clever mare, she probably would have spotted you sooner if she knew what she was looking for." Cadance returned to suck a little more on the shake.

"The new law is that changelings are safe in the Crystal Empire." Shining laid it out as plainly as he could. "There are no exceptions to that, you can stay if you want, even if you are spying for… your queen."

"Wait, what?" Slick froze and stared at Shining, then looked to Cadance. "What do you mean I can stay? I am here to spy on you!"

"Here's your pancakes." The waitress' ears were perked forward, clearly listening to and trying to make sense of the conversation on the table.

"They look wonderful, thank you." Cadance beamed at the mare and, as she walked away, looked between Shining and Slick. "Are you alright with this? Being out in the open?"

"I… it is normally drummed into us: hide, sneak." Slick looked briefly at the door, hoping Jade would return. "If you know, what is the point? My mission is over."

"I don't care about your mission." Shining let Cadance focus on the pancakes. "I care about all the ponies in the Crystal Empire," fire rose in Shining, a fierce determination, "and you are one of them. If you want to pack it all in and go back to the Badlands, go for it. But you wouldn't even be giving Jade a chance."

That had Slick's attention on the door nearly completely, even as he listened to Shining. "What is wrong with this… this feeling? It hurt when she ran away."

"You care for her, and before you ask that is normal." Shining swirled the milkshake a little with his straw. "So apart from your mission, what do you want, Sorrel?"

"Slick." Slick looked down at the table. "Slick Dive."

"Slick Dive, you fly?" Cadance stopped working on the pancakes a moment. "I didn't always have this," she rolled her eyes upwards and inwards, "I was born a pegasus. You could add some wings to that shape."

"I was named for my way with words." Slick smiled a little. "What gave me away? Was it something I said?"

"I will tell you if you decide to stay." Shining stirred the bubbles out of the milkshake. "So what about 'Dive'?"

"I liked the deep caves, I loved swimming down in the deepest parts of the hive, even as a nymph." Slick gave a sigh. "So if I stay, what will happen?"

"You can join our hive if you want." Cadance spoke around the pancake, but she could see the effect it had on Slick.

"H-H-Hive?" Slick shook a little. "What… what do you mean, h-hive?"

"You would not follow Chrysalis anymore. She would have no sway over you. Instead, you would have us." Shining gave a suck on the straw at last, the taste of the milk sweet and spiced with vanilla. He caught himself before swallowing, looking around and then using a trickle of power to send the milk into the sink behind the cafe's counter.

"But how?" Slick was almost on the edge of his seat, for a moment he thought he felt magic—changeling magic.

"After you agree. You have my word you can go any time you want." Shining let go of the straw, hoping his little display had proved to Slick that he wasn't a changeling. "See you at noon?" Shining slid his chair back and was on his hooves.

"Noon?" Slick looked from Shining to Cadance. "What happens at noon?"

Cadance barely got the last piece of pancake down. "I think what Shining Armor is asking, is if you will come to the new Guard sign-ups." She loved the look of astonishment on the drone's face.

Author's Notes:

Gilt and Princess Twilight Sparkle: "With the way in which the Changeling feeding process has been described, do you believe it would be possible for the two of you to create mini simulacrum of the Crystal Heart which is able to alter the flow of love for a Changeling on an individual scale to help protect the Changeling guards from outside influences such as the Crystal Heart or a love overdose?"

~~~~~+++++~~~~~

Twilight picked up the card from her desk in the clean lab she worked in with Gilt. "Oh, a question?" She read the little card. "The Crystal Heart is a little complex to make, and requires a lot of energy to 'start' it. It works like a huge siphon, taking excess hope and love, storing it up and using it to protect the Crystal Empire."

Gilt beamed. "If I may?" She got a little nod from Twilight. "The heart will keep drinking at a changeling; it was never made with us in mind. Basically, there are no safeties. The problem is that this is part of the design of it, we couldn't make one without the other."

"As for changelings and their... drinking problem." Twilight gave a giggle at Gilt's expense. "They can learn, through careful exposure, to not be affected like that."

~~~~~+++++~~~~~

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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