Fluttershy stood in her yard, absent mindedly feeding her birds. It wasn’t that she was unhappy to do so, quite the opposite, she loved feeding time! It gave her yet another excuse to interact with all her little friends! But today, her mind was elsewhere. Imago. The changeling commander had left two nights ago, leaving a deeply confused and worried mare behind. Fluttershy had to answer quite a few questions over the next day. Idly, her mind wandered back to that moment.

“Ok,” Twilight began, taking a breath. She had gathered her group of friends at her library, intending to, once and for all, settle everything that had happened with Fluttershy. “so let me see if I understand. After coming back from the wedding, you came home and found a changeling on the river. You gave him mouth to mouth” Rainbow Dash still gave a little shudder at the thought of her own mouth on a Changeling’s. “and saved his life, but his leg was broken. So, you took him in, and nursed his wound. When he woke up, not only did he NOT attack you, but he told you that Changelings actually eat love, instead of only using it for power. So, you gave him that little white kitten, Sapphire. Instead of hurting it, he seemed to just keep it around him, and feel better. But, after I came to visit, he decided to run away, and that’s when the changelings attack to get him back, is that right?” Twilight asked, cocking her head, as though unbelieving her own recollection of the past few days. Fluttershy nodded, looking away from her friends. She couldn’t help but feel like she’d betrayed them. It wouldn’t surprise her at all if they told her they never wanted to see her again.

“Well, I fail to see any problem in this.” Rarity spoke, a dainty smile on her lips. “After all, we’ve seen plenty of ponies who were such ghastly brutes, who’s to say that changelings can’t be kind hearted beings? At least a few of them.” Fluttershy’s ears perked in surprise. Her friends where…!?

“Yeah! And maybe they’re just grumpy because that mean ol’ Queen never lets them throw any parties! Or, Ooh! Maybe they’re actually all a race of ponies that once had butterfly wings, but some ancient curse turned them into love eaters! Or-“

“Or maybe they’re just ponies, just like us, that just happen to eat love. Fluttershy said that Chrysalis was a legend to them, and she did send Changelings out to find him. Maybe we’re just not seeing this from the right angle.” Twilight mused thoughtfully. Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her friends…weren’t angry? In fact, they were starting to think that she could’ve been in the right?

“Yo-…You girls aren’t mad at me?” Fluttershy chanced, peeking out from behind her mane.

“Mad at you? Shoot, sugahcube, we couldn’t be mad at ya! You did what you thought was right!” Applejack assured, patting her shy friend’s shoulder.

“Yeah Flutters! Even if it was a bad idea!” Rainbow said happily. Seeing everypony glare at her, she hastily amended. “Which is wasn’t.”

The sound of aggravated chirping drew her back to the real life, Fluttershy quickly realizing she was overfeeding poor Mr. Flappers!

“Oh! I’m sorry Mr. Flappers, I was lost in thought.” Fluttershy said with a smile, cleaning up her mess. She blinked as she felt a presence against her leg. Looking down, she saw Sapphire, the kitten not her normal cheerful self, but simply staring up at Fluttershy, a confused, almost hurt look on her face. Fluttershy gave the kitty a scratch behind her ears, hoping to cheer the feline up. “Don’t worry Sapphire, he’ll be back. He promised, remember?” Fluttershy said, her voicing holding more confidence than she felt. Oh, she hoped he returned. And soon. Suddenly, Sapphire seemed to perk up, running away from Fluttershy and her house. Fluttershy blinked, her eyes following the small animal, until they were drawn to a figure in the distance. A flying, four-legged shape, but wings not really visible. It looked like a pegasus, but smaller. Could it be..?

The hearing room was abuzz…again. Only now, the changelings that crowded in the seats murmured of what they thought the Queen would say. The hearing had been just yesterday, a day given to Imago to fully recover, and allowed to feed, and the night taken for Queen Chrysalis to decide on what would be done to the disgraced commander. Now, once more, the Queen stood on an elevated platform, designed to ensure her eyes were above any in the room. And those eyes were cast down on the Changeling before her, once again, his eyes cast to the floor in reverence. Everything seemed to be a perfect match to the day before, everything except the weight on her mind. She knew what needed be done. With another stamp of her hoof, the room quieted.

“Imago, son of Tarsus, after a night of consideration, I have decided on what your punishment will be. After I tell you, the punishment will be put into effect immediately. Am I understood?”

“Of course, my Queen.”

“For the crimes of placing yourself before the Swarm, and desertion of the Swarm’s military, I have decided that you will be exiled, cast out from the Hive.” The room roared to life suddenly. Many voices rose in defense of the commander, while just as many agreed with the punishment, arguing with their swarm-mates. With a stamp of her hoof, and a shout demanding silence, the excitement died down. “However, in light of your crimes, I feel I will amend my normal laws. You will carry your armor with you, a reminder of your failure and betrayal. In addition, I will not strike you from our records. Your heroism and service to the swarm will stand as a reminder of how far you fell. To show future generations that even the greatest of the Swarm can still fail and become a traitor. Perhaps this will frighten them into following our laws.” Chrysalis snorted. Imago’s eyes shot up to Chrysalis, shock and confusion registering in his bio-luminescent orbs. He was to be banished, but not stricken from the records? Such a thing was unheard of! Chrysalis raised her nose, glaring down at Imago.
“Is there a reason you’re looking at me, traitor?” She snapped, causing the Changeling to snap his eyes back to the ground.
“N-No, Your Excellency. I-“

“Good.” She interrupted, turning her back, beginning to leave. “Now get out of my hive.” The order was crisp, cold. A show that she was through dealing with him.

As Imago made his way to the front exit of the Swarm, his walk from his home to the exit of the Swarm met with consolations and friendly words, as well as vitriol and hate, he was stopped suddenly by a voice he hadn't expected to hear.

“You understand what has been done, don’t you?” Chrysalis spoke coolly, her words measured and calm, as they seemed to always be. Imago snapped his posture upright, spinning and bowing to the Queen out of instinct. “Enough of that, Imago, you are no longer one of the swarm, remember?” The changeling Queen made her way to the disgraced commander, placing a single hoof under his chin, and bringing it up to look at her. “Now then, answer me. Do you understand what was done?”

“I…can’t say I do, your highness. You banished me, and yet, I am keeping my armor, my rank. I’m confused…” Imago shook his head, as though the movement would make the answer clear. Chrysalis released his chin, turning and taking a few steps away.
“Your crimes were not done out of selfishness, nor out of hate. You acted on your heart.” She spoke slowly, as though choosing her words carefully. “You don’t deserve hate for what you’ve done, nor do you deserve to be cast out.” She said.

“So, then why exile me?” Imago asked confused. Chrysalis gave a small chuckle, beginning to walk away.

“Imago!” Fluttershy shouted, as she returned the Changelings tight hug. She was so happy to see him, her worry easily transferring into relieved joy. “I was so worried! What happened!? What kept you? Are you ok!?” The mare quickly went to her default state, that of a loving, caring pony as she examined her changeling, trying to find if there were any wounds or injuries. She did notice that the crack on his leg had now fully healed, no doubt from the food he had surely received. Imago laughed, gently pushing her back.

“I’m fine Fluttershy. And…You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“A-…Are you back…for good?” Fluttershy asked slowly, hopefully. She didn’t understand why she wanted for him to never leave again so badly, but she knew she didn’t. She knew she wanted him near her. Wanted to see him smile. And she got her wish as Imago nodded, a smile gracing his lips.

“Yes, Fluttershy. I’m here for good.” Joy welled up once more in Fluttershy’s chest, her heart warming to the point of a pleasant glow.
“

Oh, that’s…good.” She said, her voice wavering, tears of joy threatening to spill over. “That’s...very good.” She said with a nod, turning to hide her face from her dear friend. “C’mon, Imago, if you’re going to be staying here, we might as well get you a room set up.”

“Yeah, why not?” Imago said, his mind drifting back to the last words Chrysalis had spoken to him.

“Who am I to stop love?”

Author's Notes:

Finally! This is over! I'm sorry this has taken so long, but I am so happy to have this story wrap up. It's been a trip, and I'm truly thankful of everyone who's followed me to the end. Hopefully my other stories won't take this long to be done. ><
I don't intend to have this story in my head-canon, as I said last chapter, (if you didn't see, please check the small edit I made in the last chapter.) but I couldn't bear having this story just hanging in limbo.
Also, huzzah! The first story I've ever seen to the end!