Mirror's Image

Chapter 15

Princess Celestia walked into the courtyard, her face betraying her innermost concerns. The way she walked, however, made it clear that she was on a mission.

Every single guard in the courtyard dropped what they were doing and stood up as straight as to could to greet her, as they would their captain. Well, their true captain at least.

Celestia allowed a small smile to grace her face as she noticed that there were far less guards around than there should be. A lot of them had saved up some vacation days and found no better time to use them than right now.

And of course, Celestia knew that those guards risked their lives to protect Equestria each and every day. So in appreciation of their hard work, she had made sure that those who wanted a week off, got a week off.

This left the Royal Guard stretched thin. Prince Blueblood would be throwing a hissy-fit if he knew about this. Luckily he had left for his personal chambers some time ago in an attempt to save what was left of his mane, giving Celestia ample time to do what she did best.

"If I may have your attention," Princess Celestia began, addressing the assorted guards in front of her. She noticed with glee that she held their undivided attention; something Prince Blueblood couldn't say.

"As you know, there has been a slight shift in power recently," Celestia explained. "Prince Blueblood has temporarily assumed the position of captain of the guard."

The usually stoic crowd grumbled disapprovingly at the mention of their supposed captain.

"Rest assured," Princess Celestia continued. "This is just temporary. Captain Shining Armor is at the hospital right now and he's making a steady recovery."

This caught the guards by surprise, as they had been told the opposite by Prince Blueblood. That their beloved leader and his sister were in the clutches of a villainous creature.

Celestia noticed their confusion and made a mental note to talk to Prince Blueblood about that, adding it to the list that contained many other things.

"Furthermore, I wish to discuss your mission," Princess Celestia continued, once the guards had settled down again. "Prince Blueblood has ordered you to search for Changelings and to take them in for interrogation. While I hold no power over you, I ask of you to ignore that command.

"The Changelings are a young species and they have lived apart from us since their birth," Celestia explained. "They have made mistakes, most recently the incident at the wedding."

The guards murmured and nodded, showing that they were still listening to their princess.

"But we all make mistakes, myself included. It would be easy to retaliate but we are better than that. Many times before, we Equestrians have made our enemies into our friends. The Diamond Dogs, the Griffons and most recently the Buffalos. Even as we speak, Princess Luna is out there in the Wastelands to reach a hoof to the Changelings in peace," Celestia said.

"However, if we allow distrust and xenophobia to rule at a time like this we will lose any chance of making the Changelings our allies," Celestia warned. "Yes, there are Changelings amongst the ponies. But they don't know any better. It is my firm belief that if we can become friends, we can help one another live better lives. But by hunting them down we will only alienate them further.

"Therefore, I ask you to lay down your weapons," Celestia said, closing her eyes for a few seconds as she took a deep breath. "Lay them down and show the Changelings that we do not wish to hunt them. That we wish to reach out to them, that we wish to be friends. Equestria was founded on friendship, friendship between three very different kinds of ponies. If those ponies were able to overcome their difference, then so should we."