Sirius and Iclyn were returning to the mansion late in the evening after taking a walk through the city of Canterlot. The sun was setting, the last of its rays slowly disappearing behind the horizon, leaving the rising moon to light the way. The former human had a certain bounce in his limping steps, a smile on his face. Iclyn was by his side, one of her wings over his back, and the same smile adorned her face as well. Thankfully for both of them, Iclyn's family received Sirius with a warm welcome, and the dinner went remarkably well in a friendly atmosphere. Worries and doubts were gone, replaced by a feeling of acceptance and comfort. It would certainly help the two form a family one day.

A distant thunder rolled over Equestria, and a light drizzle started, the rain tapping on the ground, buildings, and the ponies alike. The two lovers went under the cover of the buildings, staying close to the side of the street. Shaking off the drops of water, they continued their way to the mansion, their steps carefree as the pleasant sound of rain filled the streets of the city.

Sirius' ear twitched as he heard something peculiar among the sound of the rain. A high-pitched noise, an unmistakable one, one he had heard before. His body tensed as he scanned the surroundings, looking for the source of... chirping.

"Is something wrong?" Iclyn asked him with worry, noticing his sudden change of mood.

Suddenly, two equine shapes appeared in front of the two. In an instant, Sirius shielded Iclyn with his body, aiming his horn at the shapes, ready to use his magic and wishing that he had his swords instead. However, before he released his magic, one of the shapes spoke in a scared voice.

"No, we didn't come to hurt you!" the shape said quickly, hastily taking a step back. Sirius focused on it and saw what the shape actually was. Dark-gray chitin, a pair of insectoid wings, sky-blue eyes with no iris or pupil, and holes in the limbs. Unmistakably, the two were changelings.

Sirius' mind flooded with the memories of the unfortunate wedding. He remembered the state of madness he was in, listening just to the pumping of blood in his body as he rushed to Iclyn, killing those in his way. The duel with Chrysalis, being crippled for the rest of his life, a life that could've had ended in that duel. And then later, the memories of being captured by her again, mentally tortured, making him unable to resist his inner darkness. Because of Chrysalis, Iclyn almost died. His only reason to live, his very beloved, his light. Almost put out, destroyed, turned into food for worms. It was pure luck Chrysalis didn't finish what she started, it was pure luck Iclyn didn't die, it was pure luck any of them got out of there alive.

His eyes filled with anger as he glared at the changelings, wishing to incinerate them there and then, turn them to ashes, and then scatter them far away from Iclyn and himself. They must stay away or else they would face the fate of those Sirius slaughtered before them. He took no pride in his deeds but he did what he had to do, otherwise who knows what would happen to the pony he deeply cared about?

"W-we mean t-to thank y-you!" the changeling quickly added. "W-we mean no harm to y-you or your b-beloved..."

Sirius snorted, not believing it one bit. He took a step forward, wishing nothing more than to tear them apart, for they were Chrysalis' subjects. They did what she told them to, and for that reason, they deserved to die. No amount of apologies would change it, no gift would bring peace to the former human. In his eyes, changelings were nothing more than monsters, and as such, they deserved what their queen got.

The two changelings cowered, taking another step back, questioning their decision to come out of hiding. Perhaps, it was a wise idea to retreat and never show up to Sirius or anyone close to him ever again. They knew his fury, his unstoppable rage, for the tales of his deeds were well-known and learned among all changelings after the failed invasion.

"Sirius..." Iclyn said slowly, breaking him out of pure rage. One of his ears turned to her as he stopped in his tracks. "Maybe we should listen. I mean... not all of them did bad things, you know?"

Sirius snorted once again. However, he knew that Iclyn always meant well for him, and listening to her was probably the best option. He forced himself to calm down a little, subduing his anger, and yet being mindful of his surroundings and especially the changelings. If he saw anything that would endanger his loved one or himself, he would act without hesitation or doubt, making sure no harm would come his way.

"What do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth, his eyes looking at the two from under his brows.

"Y-you... defeated Chrysalis," the changeling said fearfully, avoiding looking into the eyes of the stallion. "She is n-no more... And we... we are t-thankful," he nodded quickly. "We are v-very thankful!" he paused for a second, looking behind, his ears drooping slightly as if he expected something to happen. "S-she... she was a curse on o-our kind. A curse!" he nodded again. "N-not all of us mean h-harm. Truly, not even most!" he paused yet again, swiftly looking around. "Chrysalis took the m-most love. S-she never ever fed us enough. W-we always had to h-hunt, and... we d-don't want to!" he shook his head. "L-love is not something t-to be forced out of s-someone! We w-want peace, not war!"

"And that is why you followed her into... the invasion?" Sirius demanded to know. "You followed her... You are just as guilty as she is!" he stomped.

"W-we had no choice!" the changeling said quickly, almost squeaking in fear. "Or... we would all die a t-terrible, terrible death! Y-you... you don't want to know."

"Oh, I do," the former human snarled. "Tell me. What is so bad that makes you rape ponies?"

"We n-never! We would never do t-that!" the changeling's eyes widened as he shook his head violently. "W-we stole love, b-but we would never do..." he lowered his voice significantly. "R-rape..."

"And why would you not?" Sirius took a step forward. "There is no difference between... stealing love and rape!" he growled lowly. "I know what you do... you turn into other ponies and replace their loved ones. You fool them into believing that you are their loved ones," he spat on the ground. "Disgusting!"

"N-no, most of us don't do that!" the changeling was quick to deny. "W-we... we can survive on environmental love. Love in the air, that is! W-we don't need to s-steal it from anyone directly... But only if we want to grow m-much stronger."

"I don't believe you," Sirius took another step forward. Iclyn was behind him, looking at him with worry, not knowing what to say or do.

"M-maybe, maybe our gift will convince y-you..." the changeling nodded to the other, still keeping his eyes on Sirius out of fear. "Y-you... you have shown s-something... something truly beautiful," he paused for a moment, looking at the former human. However, no reaction came. "You did the, the most... loving thing. You were r-ready to g-give your life for t-the one you love."

Sirius backed down a bit, something deep inside his very souls was touched by the changeling's statement. He had thought about it a couple of times, coming to an interesting conclusion. He was already in love with Iclyn by the time of the wedding, he was just afraid of it. It was so simple and yet so complicated. However, when it came to doing something for her, he didn't hesitate. He had done more for her than anything he ever did for himself. Maybe it was something more than just not caring for his own life. If he didn't care about it, he would not be there at the wedding in the first place. Iclyn wouldn't know him, at least not to the extent she knew him by the time of the wedding. Many things would be different if the only thing on his mind was trying to die.

So, perhaps the changeling was worth listening to. However, if anything bad happened, Sirius would never reconsider talking with changelings ever again. Not unless he had the position of power and they were at his mercy. He knew very well how a fear of death could make someone talk the truth. Perhaps, a confession is a better way of putting it.

"Go on," Sirius said simply, his voice having less aggression and more interest. The fire in his eyes turned to a slight glow, his posture became less tense.

The changelings visibly relaxed as well, seeing the emotions of the stallion way better than even he did.

"Y-you know love b-better than we do," the same changeling spoke again, some shakiness still present in his voice. "And... we have to admit that... we watched you," Sirius tensed up but the changeling quickly added: "Not for vile purposes! Chrysalis didn't know we, um, spied on you. Sorry..." he said somewhat sheepishly. "B-but... you have one of the biggest love reserves, and how you do love, as in how effective it is, it's just... We can't explain it very well because we can see it, but what we mean is... In getting love, you're a better changeling than us," he paused for a moment. "And... with Chrysalis gone, we, we think that y-you should be our r-rightful king."

Sirius' eyes widened in surprise. Him? King? A ruler of those he mercilessly killed? Most importantly, a ruler of those whom he didn't even like? It was beyond absurd. It was surreal and mind-boggling. It didn't make sense to him in the lightest. Besides, what kind of gift is being a ruler? First and foremost, it is a responsibility. It is the responsibility not just for his own kids if he had them, but for hundreds upon hundreds of beings. Adults, kids, all of them at once. Perhaps, even generations of them.

"What?" was the only word escaping Sirius' mouth as he stared at the changelings in shock. Iclyn had the same expression on her own face, not expecting that sort of outcome.

"You'll have just, uh, everything!" the changeling continued. "All Chrysalis had. Well, it's wealth, territory, and love reserves, and personal guards, and-"

"Are you serious?" Sirius asked, cutting the changeling off. "To rule you? That is... responsibility," some aggression returned to his voice. "You want to pass your problems on me? After all you did?"

"N-no, it's not like that!" the changeling was quick to shake his head in denial. "Chrysalis did it! Those who forced all of us to serve her are exiled! B-but... we do need help, and... We'll give you a lot in return! Y-you'll be able to do, uh, everything! We'll follow you! We'll serve you!"

"Even if I tell you to do terrible things? " the former human asked. The changeling opened and closed his maw, not knowing how to reply. A few seconds of awkward silence followed before someone spoke up.

"But you wouldn't tell them to do terrible things," Iclyn pointed out, looking at Sirius. "I don't really understand how the whole "king" thing will work, but maybe you should give them a chance to redeem themselves in your eyes."

"...It's still a giant responsibility," Sirius pointed out in turn, voicing his thoughts on the matter. Then, he returned to the changelings. "How many changelings are there?"

"Uh... We don't know," the changeling replied with uncertainty. "Maybe... a thousand? It's difficult to count."

"Hm..." the former human tapped his chin. "I will think about it. In two days, meet me in front of my mansion," he pointed at them with his hoof. "And! Do not spy on me," he placed his hoof back on the ground. "Now... go away."

In an instant, the changelings took off into the night sky, soon disappearing from view, the buzzing of their wings soon fading away as well. Tiredly, Sirius released a sigh, wishing nothing more than to have some rest.

"That was interesting," Iclyn commented, sighing as well. "I don't know what we should do... If we accept it, we'll have to deal with a lot of things."

"My thoughts exactly," Sirius nodded. "Maybe I should talk about it with Luna," he paused for a moment. "Iclyn... you've never told me what the changelings did to you after knocking me out."

"They didn't do anything to hurt me, really," she replied. "Just... told me to go to the main room. I was escorted there and saw what happened, but... they didn't do anything to me. They didn't even touch me."

"If they did..." the former human let out a growl. "I would not rest until they paid for it with their lives."

"I know you wouldn't," the pegasus nodded, the tone of Sirius' voice sending shivers down her spine. Despite knowing how aggressive he could be, how much destruction he could cause, and accepting it all, she still feared him in a certain way. She knew he would not hurt her on purpose but she also knew that he had no restrictions when it came to hurting those who opposed him.

"I'm sorry, I should've been calmer..." Sirius apologized, noticing her mood. "I should know better to control myself," he let out a long sigh, and then repeated, "Sorry."

"I know why you were the way you were, Sirius," Iclyn told him. "I understand it. Don't worry, we'll sort everything out. We can always just decline to become their rulers, you know? No harm in that."

"Yeah..." he nodded. "Though, now that I think of it... I left them without a ruler. I... I killed some of them, not even knowing what they felt about the whole thing," he looked away for a moment. "Chrysalis got what was coming for her, but them? Maybe not all of them are... bad, I guess."

"I suppose we can think about it in the morning," the pegasus yawned. "I'm... sleepy."

"Same here," Sirius nodded, feeling the weight of the events. "Let's go rest. I guess we'll figure everything out. Somehow."

Author's Notes:

I know this chapter is rather short, especially after a whole month without updates, but I'm back now, and I finally got the inspiration to write, as well as the ideas to improve the story and give closure to arcs I started.

Also, some of you might've noticed that the changelings didn't answer one of Sirius' questions, the one regarding what would Chrysalis do to those that didn't obey her. Sirius wasn't really interested in the answer, so he didn't even notice that the changelings didn't answer it.

I don't know if I needed to say that but... I don't want you readers to think that this is a plot hole or something.