Somewhere, in an unknown limbo in the distant future.

Darkness and silence filled the room until a set of female, green glowing eyes opened and several candles were lit, illuminating the otherwise pitchblack room. Within the shine of the green flames, the coat of a dark alicorn mare shimmered ever so slightly as she focused some magic to create a magic orb in front of her, depicting the past of Equestria in the age of the two diarchs. Ponies trotted over the streets of the many cities of Equestria. To see the ponies of the past that untroubled was many things. A look of dissapointment and slight disgust crept over the mare's face as she looked down to the orb.
"Ponykind.... You are an ignorant species. How foolish of you to believe that all is well in times of peace. Know now that it is only due the warfaring species that you didn't perished. Thus these are the species preserved by the crown for generations to come."

A green hologram of a human being appeared on the other side of the orb, floating in midair and slowly rotating. The human in it was buff and had a strong resemblance to Tyler, yet was more like the depiction of the perfectly trained, unreal human body, complete with no ounce of fat and with Tyler's face slapped on to it. Looking up to the hologram, the mare's glance softened like looking at someone or something soothing her anger..
"There was an ancient legend of a superbeing. He was called the Tilerions. A demigod to take throne in the midst of the alicorn race. An ultimate fighter who emerged from a species we know as mankind.

Moving pictures of Tyler now appeared in the orb, showing him in many occations in his adventures. "The Tilerions will appear through the body of a human. And, with his great power, the alicorns will rebuild what was once brought to ruins. With him, we will create an age of true peace and harmony. His time will soon come. And yet, his current mortal shell is yet to wield its full potential as he has yet to fully awaken." More pictures of ponies browsed over the orb, causing the mare to narrow her eyes in disgust. "Ignorant ponies! The truth shall soon be revealed!"

Behind her, another voice emerged from the dark with an entertained chuckle.
"Yes, yes... Tremble in fear, puny mortals! You always overdramatize."

The pupils of these green eyes darted to the right corners. Slightly shifting her head, the mare looked back to the intruder.
"You! You know full well that I don't wish to be disturbed while studying the past. Why are you here?"

Stepping into the light, a violet coated alicorn approached the black mare. Her mane was purple, with two streaks of black, which were also divided by a third streak of blonde. Other than the black mare, whose mane was flowing without a breeze, her mane was stagnant, making her an alicorn not yet at her full power and thus subordinate to the older one.
"To tell you that Queen Celestia wishes to speak with you. That thing you did yesterday with the Doctor didn't come to her liking. She agrees on the secrecy we demand from him, but your methods are questionable. If you ask me, you're in for it. Your constant meddling with the past went overboard this time. She asked of your presence on Origin and she made it very clear that she does not approve of you threatening one of her oldest and most loyal friends."

That name bothered the dark mare, as a frown grew on her face grow the moment she heard it.
"Equis, not Origin! I can't see why we adopt a starpony name for our very own home world."

A sly grin formed on the younger mares lips.
"Out of courtesy, I presume? You remember courtesy, right?"

Gritting her teeth, the older mare now looked back directly, establishing eye contact.
"Hold your bold tongue, princess! You are speaking to a queen here. And don't tell me you have such a clean slate yourself!"

While both mares now faced each other, the younger one kept her sly grin.
"Please... You want to tell me you want to make this an authority thing? Four others are also entitled with that rank. And do I have to remind you that my mother-"

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, the dark mare sighed before she interrupted her unwelcomed guest.
"No, but let's not forget who asked me about that time-traveling spell..."

In an instant, the sly grin on the young mare's face withered away.
"The spell I asked for... is done?"

A dark chuckle escaped the older mare's throat.
"Look who's reminded of her own manners all of a sudden, eh? Take it and leave me be! I have more important things on my mind than you."

A scroll was levitated from one mare to another and the young mare took it into her magic grasp, eying it like she had plans of her own.
"I can never thank you enough for this."

An annoyed roll of her eyes was everything of a reaction the older mare brought forth without looking back.
"Don't thank me. What you are attempting to do is futile. I've analysed it time and time again to see every possible outcome. A timeline is no toy after all! He will never be in love with you. You would do best to forget about this. But you can't. You feel compelled to do this as you yourself are trapped in a historical loop. I hope after all of this you will come to your senses."

"Hmph! I don't know what you're babbling about and I didn't ask for your advice, you old hag."

With that the younger alicorn teleported away, leaving the dark-coated mare behind, alone. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and drawed in a deep breath before releasing it. In front of her the pictures in the orb changed and browsed through pictures of recent history.
"It's been so many untold years since that young fool has had her blind adventure to bring back the Great One. In the past, there has been no report about her, but I can sense her hoofprint in history..." Three red gemstones now appeared in the orb, emanating a bright red light. Shining from below, the red light of the orb illuminated the mare towering over it as her eyes began to glow in a green light themselves and her mane and tail turned into a cloud of thick and dark mist, obscuring all light in the room.
"Everything is proceeding as I have planned... She will attempt to reclaim which was never hers and will strengthen him and the ones around him." A dark chuckle escaped her throat. "My careful changes will bring an earlier coming of the Tilerions!"

* * * * *

Equestria, today

A large double winged door opened and in it, the silhouettes of a human and an alicorn stood there on the brink of the otherwise dark room. An illumination spell was all it took to cast aside the darkness and Tyler and his protege, Princess Shiria entered the room.
"Well then, Shiria... Since your rebirth to this state, I know you had many questions. And while my answer was always that there will be another time, today you shall see these answers for yourself." Turning over to her, he looked down to her with a encouraging smile. "Do you feel ready?"

Shiria took a deep breath, her ears lowered, then nodded, although a bit uncertain. Ever since her rebirth from Changeling Queen back into an alicorn, her mind was in a constant state of confusion. Having no memory at all, she was spoonfed with information to ensure her understanding. A project the other princesses partook in with greatest enthusiasm. Cadance and Twilight had been there whenever they could spare a day or two, otherwise Celestia and Luna were almost omnipresent. Being slightly intimidated at first, Shiria quickly learned to trust the other alicorns and opened up a bit. Today was the day she was about to learn what happened to her former self and her swarm. A step Tyler knew could be hard, but was inevitable at some point.

The door behind them closed and they approached a table, where several stacks of envelopes were placed in an orderly fashion. Tyler patted her back and nodded as he looked down to her.
"You already know you weren't always like this current form. I told you about the Changelings and how they preyed upon love, sometimes imitating whole families and herds..." She nodded, remembered his explanation well. "However, Shiria... Things changed once you were in charge. You were a very unlikely individual for a Changeling Princess and later Queen. We had our encounters and sometimes faced common enemies."

He then patted the stacks of envelopes.
"After your greatest victory, said enemies told me to kill you, fearing your newfound powers would cause destruction beyond measure. But since you're here right now, you can imagine how I obeyed them. These letters have not been opened yet. Not even by me. They are yours. The Changelings in service of your former self wrote them down for you. They gave their lives so you could be here today, so I think it's only good and proper for you to be the first to read these letters meant for you. Once you digested what's in there, we might clearify everything to you. If you need anything, I will be here, taking a seat over there."

He then pointed over to a chair, in which he took seat soon after. Looking down to the envelopes, Shiria then levitated the first one. Ripping it open ever so carefully, she then extracted the letter inside and began reading it.

I am scared... And yet I know that my life was filled with a higher purpose. Does anything make more sense looking at it in hindsight that our entire swarm existed for this one chance to return back to normal what was transformed by this evil king?All the lives given and taken by the swarm... They could have been prevented, if not for this dreaded machine. The queen said that the machine will now self destruct, taking us all with it. I feel... I feel pride in being part of this one particular swarm. Our queen rid the world of a great evil. But it saddens me. It saddens me beyond my understanding that my queen will never remember anything of this once reborn. Your majesty... mother... live on for us!

Confusion struck the young princess. Looking up to Tyler, she shook her head.
"I don't understand... I... I don't recognize anything of what is written in these letters. Machine? King?"

Tyler nodded with a deep sigh.
"Yeah, I know... Your hive gave you its strength as you made your final trip back to alicornhood. If I understand it correctly, they once used that horrible machine to turn your mother into a changeling a very long time ago. But while your mother lost her sanity over the ages, you found this machine and reversed the effect, winning us another alicorn princess. It seemingly only works on Changeling nobility, since drones lack free will once separated from the hive. A thing you changed for your hive once you went through this process. You cocooned in my arms and on the way back, transformed back from a Changeling to an alicorn. You're a bit younger in appearance, my take is the transformation back to alicorn state had to sacrifice some years in order to replenish all cells to former state. Uh... At least that's how I understand it."

Taking in a deep breath, Shiria continued to read. It was much to take in, even more than the lessons the other princesses had taught her so far. The mass of information was not only staggering, it was hard to digest as well.

I am so eternally grateful of being granted individuality. It is an empowering emotion to know that my thoughts are now my own. My Queen, I think you can change so much more if you turn things right. Make them pay for what they did to countless Changelings over the ages!

I am a Changeling Brute. All my live my sole purpose was fighting. Now, that I was given thought and reason, I can see that a force greater than me or the entire swarm created us as an ancient evil. An evil to harm others with. We were forced into an eternal struggle of survival, only to bring misery to others. I will gladly give my life so my Queen lives on. To take the rage of the swarm to those who made us to suffer.

Shiria gasped, hot tears running over her cheeks. If everything in these letters were true then so many who loved her and were loved by her, were now...
"I am nopony! I have no past as it was taken from me, and thus no future..."

Shaking his head, Tyler came to her side.
"No... No! That's not entirely true. You have your past. Your past given by me and all these letters. But what was given to you was this rare chance to start over with a clean slate, to start over from scratch. I am confident that you will make the right choices this time as you did at the end of your old life.”

Her hooves began to tremble.
"So these letters... They are all from..."

Now standing next to her, Tyler rested a hand on her shoulders. He could feel her shaking. He knew it wouldn't be easy to bring her back up to speed, but right now, she looked more fragile than ever. This was even more reason to care for her right now. Fighting the lump in his own throat, he gave his best to speak with a calm and warm voice.
"From your drones, yes. Your children... You gave birth to each one of them, hatched them, cared for them and in good or evil stood with them and felt their pain. You explained it to me so yourself. Each injury and death you felt."

Tears dropped onto the letter in her hooves.
"I... I had family..." Hugging the letters tightly, her weeping silently filled the room while she rocked back and forth in Tyler's arms.

* * * * *

Watching the two of them from a window on the other side of the royal garden, Celestia and Luna had observed the lesson with the letters. Taking in a calm breath, Luna then looked over to her older sister.
"He takes good care of her, mine sister."

"That he does, Luna. I must say it comforts me that he takes special care of her instead of leaving her by herself. By the stars, she needs his aid in these hard lessons" The princess of the Sun looked down in thought.

Her sudden silence made her young sister look over to her, only to see the glum face.
"Thou're thinking of back then, aren't thee?"

A heavy lump formed in Celestia's throat, feeling like it was choking her.
"I must say it reminds me of back then,yes."

Resting a wing on Celestia's back, Luna then looked straight into her face.
"Mine banishment lies in the past. It was just and good. Seeking power and attention, I turned on you, my own sister. But without one another, we both were lost. The two of us inflicted wounds upon another, which had a thousand years to heal. And due to it we were both isolated from another, suffered equally. I have forgiven thee a long time ago, Celestia. Six friends of us showed me the way to be able to do so. Now thou only need to forgive thyself." It was in this moment, when her eyes was shut tight, that the tears welled overwhelmingly in Celestia's eyes as a burden was falling off from her. Warm orbs of relief rolled down her cheeks. Tears that were kissed away in care as Luna's voice sounded in her ears again. "Get some well deserved rest, Tia. I will watch over the night..."

* * * * *

An hour later Tyler entered Twilight's room in Canterlot Castle, finding her there waiting for him. Writing down some notes for a work about the human world, Twilight had waited for him to return, so they could spend the night in Canterlot and return home to Ponyville in the morning. When he entered, Twilight rested down her quill and turned over to him with a smirk.
"Well? How was your first lesson with your pupil?" Her smirk withered away though when she saw his foul mood. "What's wrong?"

Tyler grimaced a bit at the question and she could instantly see it made him uneasy.
"I think I messed up. Maybe she wasn't ready for this yet. Her past I mean. I gave her the letters and... Well, she cried herself to sleep. Can't say that I blame her. She learned that she lost her entire family with the hive... It's like going from having nothing to know you had it all and lost it."

That statement confused Twilight a bit.
"Family? What do you mean by that?"

Taking a seat on the couch, Tyler leaned back to relax a bit while speaking with Twilight.
"Well, they WERE her children, Twilight. Every death, every pain her drones felt, she felt as well. A bond forged by a cruel mind who created this race of living weapons, condemning them to an eternal struggle for survival."

Hearing this, Twilight's eyes widened a bit.
"I must admit I never knew that Changelings were made like that..." Looking down, she remembered her former opinion about the hive. It made her ears drop. "I said some things in the past that I now know to be awfully wrong. That Changelings are nothing but ruthless, heartless... monsters. My experience with them made me biased, seeing only the evil they caused and not the evil done to them. I should have researched more..."

Seeing her dilemma, he immediately sit up straight and stood up.
"Hey... No one knew, Twilight. Don't get mad about that. It just showed what kind of mindset we're dealing with here.”

In the next moment, the door to their room stood open with Luna standing inside of it.
"A twisted mind made them struggle with each passing moment... The mind of a mad king, desperately out to harm the subjects of his greatest adversary, our mother."

Looking at her, Tyler arched both brows.
"Luna? What are you doing here at this hour? Shouldn't you be with... uhm..."

Sharing a hug with first Tyler and then Twilight, Luna then shook her head.
"Night Court was silent, as always. Thus I decided to skip it today for a change of pace. I have a few moments to spare before I get to nightwatch, so I thought I could spend it with thou two. Celestia and I talked a bit about it in the past and we think that after what you told us, Tyler... We theorize that there is no doubt about your report about this machina. The Changelings which we first thought to be a natural parasite were in fact created by our father, King Tacitus in order to be weapons. A weapon system that had a lot of time to ripen since its creation."

Tyler frowned a bit at that.
"But that machine blew up! Right? I mean... the Changelings malfunctioned it and that entire island was blown up."

Closing her eyes, Luna shook her head again.
"I am afraid this is information we can not confirm as of yet. The radiation levels in the ocans surrounding that coast are high enough to be of concern of what awaits on the main land. Maybe it's a living nightmare in the making. If something survived there, it can't be pleasant."

This caused Tyler to nod in understanding.
"I see... This of course is very troubling. Please keep me informed about this."

* * * * *

On the next day, Princess Shiria was leaving her chambers with her very own first task. A task that was meant to bring in some social skills and experience. A task she was determined to perform quite well for Tyler that he would have no other choice but to praise her for it. The task of going shopping in Canterlot. All by herself, she trotted out through the main gate, seeing the lively streets of Canterlor for the first time up close. The escort was optional, as he stated it in the task letter. Maybe a mare of the Royal Guard to accompany her and give her some advice.

But after yesterday, Shiria deemed it unbecoming to be too dependant from others. 'If it's true that so many gave so much that I can stand here, I mustn't disappoint them by remaining small and fragile.' She would do this alone and be stronger than before for sure. Canterlot was so vast, so much bigger than she expected. And the many shops made her gulp a bit. Maresace, Gorgon Armane, some of these brands looked and sounded a bit expensive. Then again, she was a princess and it would be rather proper to shop in those. Taking a deep breath, she bolstered herself and stepped in. Maresace... The layout of this shop was breathtakingly luxurious.

* * * * *

At the same time, Cadance and Shining Armor were shopping in the same shop on a short shopping trip. Unfortunately, Maresace and other brands had no branch office in the Crystal Empire yet, so in order to get something of usual attire, both of them had to do some shopping back in Equestria. Cadance enjoyed these short trips for a day and was conversing with her beloved husband while she browsed through the items.
“Really, Shining. It looked good on you!”

Rolling his eyes playfully, Shining shrugged a bit.
"Well, at least one of us thinks that way..."

Giving his statement a short giggle, Cadance then shook her head.
"Oh... Shiny, are you jealous about your very own human form? I know it's you. That form only changes your stamina, not the stallion I love."

Looking down, Shining's ears now dropped as well as his voice.
"Yeah, but I feel like my stallion form can't compete."

Hearing this made Cadance halt at once and she knew she had to take immediate action. Turning over to him, she raised his chin with her hoof.
"Ok, look. I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable. I wanted us to indulge a little. I mean by default I have a bit more stamina than you being a mare and that alicorn thing, but... Shining, I wanted to bring you on an equal level of stamina. For once, I wanted to be the one to pass out first beneath my husband."

Shining shook his head with a sly grin.
"Cady, you have one dirty mind. It's not that I'm mad. It's just... Well, maybe I haven't given all this parent thing as much thought as you did."

Turning on her bedroom eyes, Cadance then licked over her lips, knowing all too well about the signals she was giving Shining with this.
“Us two turning human for a night is my only chance to become the mother of your foal. And it's either that or preserving you in most uncomfortable means until I enter heat in 500 years again." It caused him to chuckle a bit nervous, but her lips, locked on to his made him forget all worries within split seconds. Once the kiss ended, she continued giving him the bedroom eyes look. "I want your foal, Shining. I can't think of any better testimony of our love than having your child. Endure it a little longer for my sake. I will make it worthwhile for you..." Her sly grin while stroking his chest while saying this made him chuckle dirty and he finally nodded. She then turned around and pointed over to some shelves. "I'll go look over there, why don't you go look for some shirts matching the stuff we already bought?"

Strolling around, he then at some point bumped into another mare while trotting backwards. The female voice sounded nervous and uncertain.
“Oh! Excuse me!”

“No problem. Nothing happened.” Recognizing her horn and wings, Shining knew in an instant who was standing in front of him. It had one good thing about alicorn mares: They were rare enough to know each of them by name. And then a new one was easy to learn.

Sadly, not the same was to be said about unicorn stallions. But Shiria seemed slightly puzzled about his appearance.
"Hey... Don't I know you?" A wild idea came up in Shining's mind. Was she recognizing him from the time as a Changeling? The other princesses gave her lessons, but he never asked Cadance about it, kept his distance from the subject for not messing up important things. Pinching her eyes together, she inspected his face a bit closer. "Something about that chin..." Her eyes suddenly widened as she recognized who stood before her. "Now I know! You're Shining Armor, the former Captain of the Royal Equestrian Guard! Yes, they have a portrait of you in the castle." Shining rolled his eyes with a smile. That was actually quite some time ago and he was only helping out in the Guard in case of a nationwide emergency. But it sure was nice to be recognized once in a while for not being alicorn royalty. Sometimes he wondered it Twilight ever had problems with ponies recognizing her as a princess all the time. What he didn't expect was the young princess in front of him to approach him all of a sudden. Leaning slightly against him, Shiria began to grin a bit while batting her eyes.
"And from what I see, all alone here..."

In his mind, all alarm sirens began to rang. With how young she looked, she could be deemed a very young mare, surely several years younger than him. Not to mention that he was happily married to a wife that demanded his presence in the bedroom more than enough. However, the mane on his neck began to stand up as he heard a sudden harsh harrumph behind himself, and a voice that he knew all too well.
"Can I help you, Shining?"

Approaching both Shining and Shiria, Cadance had her eyes locked on her husband's eyes. Reading Shining Armor was easy in those situations. As usual, he underwent his usual three stages to react to the situation.

Step One: Realization. In that stage he realized that a mare had come a bit too close and that he hadn't told her to keep her distance in time before Cadance caught him.

Step Two: Emergency Plan Panic. While Cadance approached the two of them, he looked at each one of them in turn, thinking of what to say.

Step Three, and this was the part she loved so much about Shining: Sudden Surrender: Attempting to say something, maybe stammering a bit, before remaining silent and looking down in defeat. It was so cute, she sometimes had to fight the urge to grin at it. In fact, it was fun getting new maids not entirely instructed to the royal Who is Who to approach him, so that Cadance could catch him with this. Recognizing she was treating on claimed territory, Shiria took her distance from Shining at once.
"Cadance? Uh-oh... Enter the jealous girlfriend..."

Stepping next to her husband, Cadance eyed Shining from the corner of her eye, a knowing smirk on her lips.
"Close... Enter the wife."

Taking back yet another step after hearing this, Shiria looked down in embarrassment.
"Oh, uh... Then I didn't say a thing! No offense?"

Touching her chest with her own hoof, paired with a deep inhale, all it took was one exhale for Cadance to get calm again. A technique developed, refined and perfected, to now aid her in this situation. Shiria was young and spotted a handsome stallion. And like any healthy young mare she took her chances. Obviously she missed the information of Shining Armor being married.
"None taken... He IS quite a catch... One of the many, many reasons I'm married to him. So then, young Princess Shiria... I guess Prince Tyler let you out for today?"

Looking up again, Shiria beamed with vigor.
"Yeah! He said I need to go under ponies for a change... This means I'm going shopping today. Not that I'm that thrilled for this. It's my first time out of the castle on my own without anypony. And Canterlot is so much bigger than I thought! But it feels great to explore a bit."

Smiling a bit with closed eyes, Cadance then looked over to her husband.
"Wonderful to hear that! Shining? Why don't we come back later and aid her a bit once we're done? It would be nice to help her out a bit.

Shining, still a bit nervous, merely nodded, while drops of sweat ran down his temples.
“Whatever you say, honey...” Cadance bumped her flank into his with a short giggle, signalling him that she was holding no grudge and after both princesses nodded at each other, Shiria went her own, separate way while the happy couple headed for the exit. And pretty soon the young princess levitated up the dress that caught her attention.

Little did Shiria know that behind her, a small green portal opened for a brief moment and a small orb passed through before the portal closed again with a mischievous chuckle. Soon after that, Shiria's ears peaked at the sound of whispered gossip. Not knowing about the magical orb nearby, she mistook the voices for regular ponies.
“Isn't that...?”

“Yes, that's her. The new princess.”

“I heard Prince Tyler saved her. She's a former Changeling.”

“What? You mean she's the same Shiria like THE infamous Shiria from the conflict in the Amasian Enclave?”

“The same...”

“Well I hope they have an eye on her. Until I'm not told that she's harmless by Princess Celestia herself, I won't trust her.”

Inside, Shiria was boiling. She knew what her former self had done and she knew it was wrong. But this was in the past, she was different now. Taking a deep breath, she then relaxed and trotted over to the checkout. Taking a short glimpse at the way she heard those mares, she wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
“Geeze... Have one dark spot in your past and they point at it for eternity...” Levitating the dress she was buying onto the desk along with the bits to buy it, she looked at the mare in front of her. “I mean, yeah, I did some foul things in the past but that's over! I'm a better pony now. That's what truly matters, right?”

The mare nodded and gave her a smile as she took the bits for it.
“Why... Yes! The best example for that would be Princess Luna. She is a well respected mare now and beloved among the children.” Turning away, she stowed the bits away, but as she turned back to dismantle the article surveillance device from the dress, Shiria was already trotting towards the exit.

Lost in her own world, the princess mused a bit.
“Right! If Princess Luna could do it and everypony loves her nowadays as an equal to Princess Celestia, I can surely-” Her thoughts came to a sudden halt when a shrilling alarm went of at the entrance of the shop. “HEY! What gives?!?”

Coming right at her, a stallion in shop detective uniform rose his voice.
“Your highness? Would you come back to the-”

“That's my dress! I paid for it!”

Trying to calm the enraged princess down, the shop detective tried to explain.
“Why yes, but you need to let us-”

Not listening, she held dear to her dress and charged her horn.
“It's a frame-up! You won't put me into the dungeon like I'm a Changeling again!”

“Changeling? Your highness, what are youaahhh!” Being levitated away from her, he was then catapulted out of the window, which broke under the sudden impact and fell to the street.

Landing in front of Shining and Cadance, the guard was knocked out for sure, prompting the two of them to gasp. While Cadance looked up to him, Shining Armor trotted back into the shop.
“Cady? Wait outside... I'll handle this.” Shining didn't know what to expect, but with Cadance out of harms way, he could focus more on the situation at hoof.

Hurrying back into the shop, he quickly looked around before he spotted the clerk pointing her hoof into a specific direction.
“She galloped in there...”

Giving a short nod, Shining prayed in the back of his mind that things would not turn out bad now. 'Let's just hope there aren't any relapses on the Changeling Queen to alicorn thing. Then again, who could say for sure?' Stepping near the changing cubicles, he then took a gulp. If she was to hide anywhere, it had to be here. Knocking at the door of one cubicle, Shining took a deep breath and wore a fake smile as a shield for his own uncertainty.
“Princess Shiria? I don't know what happened just now, but I want you to know that nopony is mad at you? Shiria?” He frowned at the fact that there was no reply. Was she even in there? But his next thought of entering the cubicle was not to become a reality.

When Shiria blasted open the doors, Shining was knocked back and landed on his haunches. Holding his head, he looked back up, seeing Shiria in the dress she bought, yet only it had a ton of holes in it, giving it a look of a Changeling. Her face was fuming in rage.
"I tried to play by their rules, but NO!!! With my past, they wouldn't let me go straight? They want to frame me for stealing, taking away something from me?!? FINE!!! Society is to blame! They don't know what it feels like to lose everything!" When Shining raised a hoof to protest, she pointed her horn at him. "Back off, Prince Charming! My horn is armed!"

Just as the guard outside sat up and came back to his senses, Shiria jumped through the window and her front hooves landed on his head, sending it back to the ground, knocking him out a second time Giving it another shocked gasp, Cadance witnessed as the young princess jumped into the carriage and pointed her charged horn at her. "You're coming with me, doll!" Shooting a glare of death towards the two stallions in front of the carriage, Shiria again charged her horn. "If you know what's good for you, gallop!"

Not planning to argue with an alicorn, the two stallions made haste as if a pack of Timberwolves were after them.
“You think she'll kill us if we try to escape?”

“Hay if I know, but would you want to risk it?”

“You think she'll let us live if we bring her to where she wants?”

“You see me at a loss once more!”

Seeing that her demands were met and that the carriage was moving, Shiria then turned over to Cadance, her tone now rather soft than harsh.
“So... You're planning to become a mother, huh? I guess at one point I knew what that was like...”

Perplexed of how casual Shiria was all of a sudden, Cadance shook her head in disbelief.
“Please just stop the carriage, Shiria. Don't make things worse than they already are!”

But hearing this caused Shiria's right eye to twitch in a mixture of anger and madness.
“Worse? WORSE?!? Do you even know what I lost? My entire life! The ones I loved! Even myself! And now these goons back there try to frame me? How could this become ANY worse than this?!?”

Things became more confusing now for Cadance. Was Shiria wronged? Could this be the reason for this incident? If so, it was best to intervene at once.
“Frame you? There must have been a misunderstanding somewhere! I'm sure we could-”

Before Cadance could end, Shiria waved her thought away.
“Forget it, Caddy! A girl like me will never be seen like you! Not an ex-changeling!"

The statement didn't come to Cadance's liking. From the day Shiria was reborn, she was always a good filly and behaved properly. She was not as mischievous as her former self.
“I don't think you're as bad as a Changeling.” That sentence felt good in Shiria's ears. It made maintaining a determined and angered face difficult.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, back in Canterlot Castle, Tyler was having a business conversation with Filthy Rich. It was actually his first business meeting as an equestrian prince and it was pleasantly enough someone he was experienced enough with. An evening spent with Granny Smith was all it took to learn about the quirks of this clever stallion.
"Phil, I am certain that with these contracts with Rich's Barnyard Bargains you will have a good foothold in supplying the Canterlot facility with enough provisions. And, if everything turns out alright and your supply lines hold what you promise, I can imagine recommending your company as a long time contractor which will multiply your profits as you will supply more facilities in Equestria and beyond."

This brought a smile on Filthy Rich's face. Getting such a contract was a great advantage for his company and having an eye of the human goods that would start to roll out once the town of Horizon Valley would have been established. While they were discussing the details, a guards pony entered the room and approached Tyler, speaking up with a soft voice, not to interrupt the conversation too harshly.
"Your highness, there is a situation in the streets of Canterlot that demands your immediate attention."

Diverting his eyes from the conversation, Tyler turned his head away just a few degrees. 'What could be so urgent to interrupt a business meeting?' Whispering a low "I'm in the middle of something here, what is it?" he returned his eyes to Filthy. The guard now whispered something inaudible into his ears, what prompted Tyler's eyes to widen, if only for a second. Taking a breath, he then shook his head slowly.
"I see... This truly is something urgent." Standing up, Tyler looked over to Filthy Rich. "Phil... My friend, I must ask a favor of you to interrupt this meeting for a while. An emergency situation has emerged here in Canterlot and it seems two alicorn princesses are in distress. In several ways. I have to see this through."

Following him with his eyes, Filthy gave it an understanding nod.
"A minor dispute you have to clear?"

Tyler rolled his eyes and tried to smile. Right now he had to feign it to be something serious, but not a major catastrophy.
"If only it would be that unimportant. But then again, I wouldn't interrupt our meeting for such a trivial thing. Why don't you take a seat in the visitor room in the west wing at the end of the corridor while you wait for my return? I had them re-purpose the room to my very own private den."

This formed a smirk on Filthy's lips.
"Alright, if you make it that tempting of an offer, I'll see that den of yours."

On their way to the door, Tyler gave the business pony a wave and a smile.
“There's also a bar there. I think after two or three good glasses of Las Pegasus Whiskey I should be back to fetch you from there.”

* * * * *

A few minutes later Tyler was high up in the sky and set up his earpiece as his magical sphere went to a descend to the upper floors of the canterlot City buildings. Once set, he concentrated on the traffic ahead while speaking into said ear piece.
"Captain Dusk Aegis! Report!"

In the communication room of the Royal Guard, the stallion approached the crystal microphone and saluted as if reporting normally.
“Sir! Two of my squads are currently advancing to her position the others have sealed off dangerous no-go-zones that might lead to sudden death dead ends, should they pass there. The princesses may be able to fly, these poor two stallions in front of them, however, can't."

Tyler nodded, it was one less worry to have.
"Good! Dusk, how did that happen in the first place?"

"It appears someone mentioned the words Changeling a bit too often around her and then there was the thing with her newly bought dress. She paid for it, but in her haste and inexperience didn't wait until the accountant could extract the article surveillance device. As a result, the alarm went off and she was claiming that the detective was setting her up. She overwhelmed him and ran back into the changing cubicle. Out came a princess dressed up looking much more like a Changeling."

Tyler felt his forehead, this was so utterly stupid of a misunderstanding that in hindsight he wished he would have sent someone with her.
"Did nopony try to reason with her?"

Now another voice spoke into the microphone. It was Shining Armor.
"I did. But the filly was furious, Tyler. She thinks society still fears her for being an ex-changeling and wants to rid itself of her."

The headdache Tyler experienced was getting stronger now. How could this happen in the first place?
"Sorry to hear that, Shining. I'll get the two of them back, don't worry."

"Oh, I don't worry... We are talking about Cadance here. I reckon she is enjoying this little bit of action."

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in the back of her head, Princess Cadance was screaming like a little filly. With gritted teeth she levitated every pony out of harms way as the carriage rushed down the streets. Several other carriages, ponies of all ages. It was madness. Turning to Shiria, she shook the young princess to snap her out of it.
"Shiria! Get a hold of yourself! Ponies will come to harm if this goes on!"

For a few seconds, the face of the dark alicorn wasn't about to budge. First it was only a twitch in her right eye, Cadance witnessed. But this twitch turned quickly into a face of rage and tears.
"I tried to be good. I really did! Everyone in the castle told me how good my progress was. But if that's not good enough for the common ponies on the streets... Fine!!! Let's get back to basics!"

Cadance's jaw dropped a bit from hearing that. Continuing to shake Shiria's shoulder, she continued to reason with her.
"But Shiria! You DID already made such good progress! Your former self wanted to be something better!"

This prompted Shiria to laugh.
"Ha! She wanted to be something better, but pony society gives a damn about that! And just what do you know about Changelings? What do you know about my former self?"

In her mind, Cadance began to grin. That was an easy question for her.
"Your mother once tried to invade Canterlot on my wedding day, where she tried to impersonate me and after that failed, invaded an enclave in the southwest, where she took my husband hostage. You tried to seduce one of my best friends, who happens to be human, time and time again and from what he told me, there was something between you two. Something that goes beyond a male and a female, even beyond love. You gave all this up. Just for the sake of your current form having it instead of your former. I know that your former self went her own way and it wasn't always for evil. And for what it's worth, I believe that you have an even higher capacity for good."

Tears welled in Shiria's eyes that were quickly carried away by the wind.
"Cadance... you really mean that?"

Giving her a nod, Cadance began to smile.
"That I do."

Shiria responded with a smile of her own, before her face sobered and she turned to the two stallions in front of them.
"You may stop now!" The carriage came to a halt in the middle of the street as the two earth pony stallions were unable to take another step and collapsed wheezing. Shiria stepped off, gazing down into the air. "Go... Go back to them, Caddy. I don't want you near me right now... I don't know this feeling... And I don't know if I want it, yet.”

Confusion got hold of the Princess of Love. Wasn't she coming with her?
"But-"

Turning around, Shiria's horn and eyes were glowing green, her face still showing anger.
"Leave!!!"

Taking a short look at her, then into the air above, Cadance gulped. 'Changeling Memorial Museum' stood there, with a banner beneath it. 'This month: Exhibit – What we know and what not'
"Oh, ponyfeathers..." While Shiria was going up the stairs to the building they both were in front of, Cadance levitated both stallions into the carriage and levitated this with the ease as others levitated a basket. Moments later she spotted Tyler in a search flight pattern over the city and waved up to him. “Tyler! Down here!” Yet her voice didn't reach him. Frowning a bit, she then charged her horn and projected her cutie mark into the sky.

Taking note of her sign, Tyler then turned around and approached her.
"Cadance!" Landing at her side, he gave her a short inspection. "I saw the signal. Are you alright? Where is she?"

Just as he tried to touch her, she took a step back.
"I'm alright, really. But she's in turmoil. She thinks pony society rejects her due to her past as a Changeling."

"That sounds bad, but that's silly!"

"Worse than you think." Cadance retorted while pointing at the building behind her, "She's inside the Changeling Memorial Museum that recently opened."

Cringing a bit, Tyler looked up to the sign before looking at Cadance again.
“Does this mean she does remember? But I thought... Her former self back then explained to me the transformation would wipe everything." Shaking his head, he looked to the ground. “I should have accompanied her today. I could have intervened...”

Shaking her head, Cadance smiled a bit tired after the events of the evening.
"No, I think leaving her to explore a bit on herself was a good choice. Nopony could have known somepony would escalate things like this. You made the right decision. Maybe you didn't make it at the right time, but you made the right decision. And I don't think she truly remembers anything again... I think what happens right now is that her mind is undergoing a final cleaning process. It rejects anything Changeling right now. We're losing the last remnants of Queen Shiria, making way for the princess you saved."

Tyler looked over to the entrance, determination in his eyes.
"Cadance? You go and tell Shining Armor you're alright. He's worried sick for you. And if you can, please forget what Shiria did today in her confusion.

Rolling her eyes, Cadance began to smirk.
"Oh, alright. But only because you said please." Slapping his butt with her wing, she then went along. "Now get inside and help her out!"

* * * * *

The doorknob was slightly in his hand when it loosened from the rest of the door and said door fell off the hinges towards the floor. Tyler gave the doorknob, which was still in his hand, a glance, before he let go of it.
"Efficient..." he mumbled under his breath while taking slow and careful steps inside. "Shiria? Sound off!"

In the darkness, Tyler could hear the yelling upstairs already.
"WHY IS YOUR PAST HAUNTING ME LIKE THIS?!?" Just as he wanted to ask, what she meant by that, light became visible through some wood boarding before a beam of magic burned through it, missing Tyler for just a few inches and caused him to jump into safety.

Coming up behind some display cases, Tyler saw Sage's reflection in the glass.
"Careful, boy! She's highly volatile right now."

Shooting his personal phantom a short glare, Tyler then eyed his surroundings.
"Do you think she attacked us?" But not long after that other magic shots were fired in different directions.

Sage, looking a bit into the direction the shots came from, shrugged.
"I'd say you're not the target. Unless you're a Changeling..." Tyler looked around and found the evidence to Sage's claim. Lifesized Changeling puppets were torn to pieces either by hoof and ripped apart or burned to piles of ashes. Making his way upstairs, he climbed over several obstacles or crouched beneath them when it was more convenient. All the time worrying about Shiria's state of mind.

The young princess was in a lust for murder. These phantoms, these beasts of which she was being accused of being a part of... She would face them. These were not her children, these were beings that were the very reason she wasn't accepted in society. She had to take a stand and make sure she was a pony now. So many had sacrificed themselves so that she could be here today in this state as an alicorn pony. She had to fight for them as well. It was her duty and her burden. Shot after shot her magic burned the images and puppets of the Changelings until she spotted her. The lifesized puppet of a Changeling Queen. It was only a doll, made to spook colts and fillies, but in this moment, it was the embodiment of all her misery. Tears of hatred welled in her eyes as she gritted her teeth. Her horn charged and the beam melted the glass and set the doll ablaze. "DIE!!! DIE, YOU ABOMINATION!!! YOU... You miserabl-" Shiria began choking on her own words. Every beam and every kick onto the cold ash was not enough to still this thirst for revenge, to destroy this phantom out of existence. Unable to speak through all the sobbing and wraith in her mind, her eyes shut as she trampled on the ashes in blind rage. "You're the reason... I... I..." Her horn still glowing, she then felt Tyler's hand resting on her shoulder, prompting her to stop in her motion. Looking up to him, she only saw him shaking his head with closed eyes before her sight became blurry and she began to sob. "I'm not like her anymore... No one will punish me for what she did!"

Nodding in silence, Tyler knelt down to her to greet her welcome in his embrace.
"I know... Let's go home..." Resting in his arms, it didn't took long for her to finally slump down unconscious. By the time he carried her outside to his meanwhile arrived carriage, the Royal Guard had already stormed and surrounded the building. Fires were put out and damages noted and repaired.

* * * * *

Once back from all the trouble in her room in the castle, Tyler took care that Shiria was lying in her bed, sleeping tight to replenish some strength. While he was closing the windows, Luna watched him in silence. Once the door was closed behind her, the Princess of the Night spoke up softly.
"How do we explain this to the public, beloved? After I stood up early to fetch you from your den, I stumble over a mildly drunken business pony and some guards informing me about the situation. I mean, she dressed up in an attire awfully resembling to a Changeling, took Cadance hostage, went on a small rampage through the back alleys of Canterlot and caused a major search and secure operation for the Royal guard."

Looking up, Tyler replied in an evenly soft voice, careful not to wake the filly.
"Tell them... the young princess had to sort out some final issues with her past. Or tell them nothing. Doesn't really matter, for it will never happen again. Besides, a hostage situation requires demands. Cadance was only part of an involuntary trip through the streets of Canterlot."

Tipping his chest twice, Luna gave him a stern look
“Well, thou are lucky that Shining Armor and Cadance have decided to demand no reparation from either thee or Shiria. But if thou ask me:” She then gave a sigh and shook her head with closed eyes. “Thou have a soft spot for that filly."

This caused Tyler to grin a bit.
"Do I? Or is it just a soft spot for alicorn mares? I tend to run into them most of the time. Don't be envious of her, Mooncake." He looked over to her and smirked as he gently tickled her chin. A gesture Luna answered with a chuckle before they both looked down to the young mare. "She is like the teenage daughter I didn't had yet. Yet... Even in the past, when she was just a Changeling, there was already a bond between us."

"Love?" Luna asked.

"No, nothing specific like that. She would have feed off from this. No... Compassion would be more precise. What I felt for Shiria was more paternal. After the death of her mother, I think something changed my mind on these creatures. Changelings were the children of a once alicorn filly called Chrysalia, nowadays only known as Queen Chrysalis... An entire race of bioweapons, created only to feast on the goodness of love..." He gently stroke over Shiria's coat. "There had to be more for them than only this misery of survival as parasites. Shiria came back to us; now she's a treasure to be cherished, to be strengthened. Today, the last remnants of her Changeling past tried to tempt her, but she prevailed. Now with me as someone to give her support and emotional shelter, she can truly begin to rebuild from scratch."

"Today she came back... What makes thou think she will do that the next time?"

Tyler shook his head with confidence.
"There will be no next time! The last remnants of her Changeling past have been purged from her mind. Like a spectre that finally went back into the shadows where it belongs. All Changelings of her hive died on that damn island with the destruction of that Machina Infernum. I don't know what horrors still linger on that island, but this I know: Princess Shiria, at last, is at peace." Bowing down to her, he placed a gentle kiss on the filly's cheek before they silently left the room. Luna nodded at him when their eyes met. In her eyes, he would make a good father for alicorn ponies. The way he handled Shiria already gave insight to that.

And it made Luna's heart race in anticipation.

* * * * *

Meanwhile. In the far reaches of the southeast, the nation of Amasia was in the painful process of rebuilding. Their king dead, the young prince was on his own. Though the aid flotillas from Equestria helped out as best as they could, the diplomats had their hooves full to re-establish the once good relations. Shadowponies distrusted them, gave them partial blame on the current situation for not being there in time to avert the catastrophe. The high casualty numbers in the battle against Nagohod soothed the tensions to some degree, but the bitterness was still present in many conversations like a sour aftertaste.

But little did they know that at the edge of their nation, at the coastline to the now forbidden neighboring island of Aresios, a lone Changeling craft of the old hive was stranded. The Changelings in it, big and small, were all in their last moments, starving to death, incapable of fighting or hunting anything. The big plates of a Changeling Brute ascended and descended in a slowing pace of its final breaths, when two little shadows crawled away. Sitting down, a small Changeling filly looked all around, sadness in the eyes. As she began to whimper a bit, a young Shadow Pony colt took notice of that and hugged her tight to comfort her. As time passed, the young Changeling became better, seemingly able to feed off the love of the colt, what caused it to laugh a bit again. Now hugging one another, both looked around and began exploring a bit as they crawled up the beach. Unbeknown to the both of them, a dark fog creeped from the sea towards the mainland. Coming from the island of Aresios, the black fog slowly crawled along the coastline, like an animal, alive and intelligent.

Author's Notes:

Not proofread yet, any notification about typos is welcome.