Violet found herself short of breath as she trudged through the thick woods. It was the third day of her journey since leaving the train station, and while she’d been prepared for a bit of a trek, she still wasn’t much of an outdoors pony. As she floated the map in front of her, she made note of how far she’d traveled since the last mark she made, and made another estimate mark on the page. Her progress suddenly stopped, however as her head bumped into a low-hanging branch.

She dropped the map and quill, clutching her forehead with a hoof. The spot still felt tender from making the same mistake a day ago. “Way to learn, Vi,” she said aloud as she sat down, letting the weight of her saddlebags rest on the ground. She picked back up the quill and map and tucked them into a pouch on her bags, before glancing up at the treeline.

The sun was just reaching the center of the sky, which meant she had at least a few hours to make it to the changeling hive. Violet pulled the letter she’d received from Twilight Sparkle out of her bags, reading once again the words she’d practically memorized since receiving it two weeks ago:

Dear Violet Verse,

Thank you again for your previous letters and reaching out to me. I know it took some time, but Thorax wasn’t able to reply until just recently. From his response, he and the changelings would be delighted to allow you to visit and ask some questions.

Please return a response with when you’d like to plan your visit, and I’ll be happy to forward it to him.

Thank you,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

P.S. I would still ask that you bring somepony with you, but if you’re adamant about going alone, I wish you the best of luck.

When the response arrived, it took all Violet had to not rush out of the door with little more than an “I’ll be there soon,” but she knew she had to put her best hoof forward. She’d spent a few days planning out her trip based on the map that Twilight had provided to her and gathering supplies before she gave a reply. Now though, she was starting to worry that she’d arrive a bit too late in the day, or at the end of the three-day window she’d provided. How was she supposed to know the train would break down that late in a day?

Violet put the letter down and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. It was getting anxious like this that led her into this situation: traveling across nearly all of Equestria to get to a hive full of creatures she’d only written stories about. They were all fiction, but when she read about the award ceremony in Ponyville, and what had happened, she wasn’t sure what to do. After a bit of trepidation, she sent a letter to Twilight Sparkle. She was the Princess of Friendship; if anyone could help it was her. She was actually shocked to get a response, and to learn that Twilight had even read one of her books. And now, here she was, in a strange land on her own, walking into the unknown.

She did her best to push the worries out of her head. It was out of her control. She wasn’t arriving that late. She just needed to keep up the pace and she’d be there before she knew it. Opening her eyes, she exhaled, and stood back up on her hooves, grunting as the full weight of her saddlebags was on her haunches once again. Looking to the horizon, above the canopy, she could make out the top of the spire that was the changeling hive.

“Just keep moving forward, Vi. You’ll be fine,” she said with a smile, and continued walking.

---

It was getting close to sunset when the treeline started to thin, and Violet was given her first look at her destination. Past a cliff ahead of her, and in a valley littered with jagged peaks of greenery was a verdant, yet menacing tower of bluish stone. She took a moment to rest, admiring the sight. Even from this far she could see changelings darting in and out of it, going about their days and glittering with a reflection of the sun off their shells.

It was altogether the opposite of what she had envisioned. Violet had this image of changelings hiding in plain sight, buried in hives beneath the ground to stay hidden. Still, reading about how this part of the world was until recently, it’s no wonder that no one ever really found them by chance. She took a moment to pull a camera from her pack and take a picture, before making her way down a nearby path and towards the hive.

As she got closer, the size of it became all the more daunting, and she had to crane her neck to keep the high peak in her vision. It was that focus that kept her distracted as a changeling landed in front of her, and made her ram head first into their chest. She fell backwards, one of her saddlebags opening as an assortment of camping equipment, maps and journals spilled out and onto the ground. She looked up at the changeling blocking her path, the sun behind them making her squint to try and make them out. “I’m so sorry!”

The changeling was silent for a few moments, and then spoke with a gruff voice. “I guess you’re Violet then? Thorax said you’d be around sometime soon.”

Violet lifted a hoof up to block the glare of the sun from her vision, and could finally make out the changeling. His carapace was dark grey, except for the blue on his underside and the elytra over his wings, and he was nearly a head taller than her if she had been standing. After taking in his appearance for several seconds, she finally saw the expression on his face: a perplexed glare as he waited for a response. “Oh, yes. Yes!”

Violet quickly scrambled to her hooves again, reaching a hoof out once she was standing. He gave it a meager shake and then looked over her shoulder at her scattered belongings. “Well, get your things and we’ll go inside.”

Violet smiled and nodded, until the changeling turned away from her and started to walk towards the looming hive. She sat her saddlebags down and grabbed her assorted things, doing her best to get them back inside before running to catch up to him. She took a few ragged breaths once she was just behind him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“Pharynx,” he said, not turning to look back at her.

“I didn’t mean to bump into you, Pharynx,” she said, picking up her pace just slightly to get beside him. “I was just distracted. The hive was a lot more… grand than I was expecting.” As she walked beside him, waiting for a response, she took in the finer details of his body: the intricate designs of his wings, the way the light reflected off of his carapace, and the violet of his eyes. However, she quickly looked forward to the hive when he glanced at her.

“It’s fine. It’s not like you could have caused any damage to me,” he said, picking up his pace slightly. It was a few seconds of silence before he spoke again. “Thorax said you write books?”

Violet was surprised at his question, but nodded as she smiled. “Yes. I’ve written a few of them—”

“On us?”

“Mostly, yes,” Violet said, looking down at her hooves and frowning.

Violet had written them shortly after the changeling invasion of Canterlot. Hivesworn: a series about espionage, political intrigue and adventure from the point of view of a changeling infiltrator, Chitin. She’d been a journalist beforehand, which was the reason she wasn’t in Canterlot when the invasion actually happened, but afterwards she just couldn’t seem to write articles about it day after day.

Instead, she’d turned to her creative side. Of course, she didn’t paint the changelings in a very positive light. They were still vicious, conniving, and ravenous to the point of being willing to do anything to get the one thing they needed: love. Even if she wasn’t trying to redeem them in her work, it was still easier to write than the truth.

“You ponies are strange,” Pharynx said, finally turning his head to look at Violet directly. “Why write about something other than yourselves?”

Violet closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and then slowly exhaling. When she looked back up at Pharynx, she was smiling again. “Well, I wrote about ponies too. I was a—” Violet stopped talking, partly because Pharynx had already looked back to the path ahead of them, and mostly because the entrance to the hive was upon them.

The archway formed in the stone towered above her, with a mixture of vines and moss growing along its edges. The interior was dark, sheltered from the sun’s light, but as Violet and Pharynx traveled deeper, and turned around a corner, Violet could see a brightness ahead. As they stepped out of the tunnel, it opened into the interior of the hive, brightly lit by both the setting sun through a number of holes in the walls, as well as various luminescent plants along the walls.

It was even more awe-inspiring than the towering exterior, with a series of paths, stairways and caves littering the walls that led all the way up to a ceiling stories above them. Violet could see dozens of changelings flying about above, darting in and out of the caves, while others walked along the stairways between levels. It was like a city contained within a single tower.

As Violet stood in place, taking it in, Pharynx was already several steps ahead of her. He turned around, tapping a hoof impatiently before speaking up. “Come on, it’s going to take a bit for you to walk up there.”

Violet shook herself out of her awestruck state, and trotted quickly to catch up to Pharynx. As they walked along staircases, sloped paths and in and out of halls off of the main chamber, Violet saw changelings of all hues walking past them or standing with one another and talking. A few times she would see them staring at her, and muttering to each other. She did her best not to stare back, looking down at her hooves once or twice to take a breath and exhale.

You’re strange to them. They don’t get many visitors. They’re just curious. Violet told herself any number of things to keep from thinking the worst, and before she knew it, she and Pharynx were entering the top of the tower, and Violet was close to exhausted. As soon as Violet made it past the last step and onto even ground, she dropped down to her knees, letting the weight of her saddlebags rest on the floor as she took deep breaths and pulled a handkerchief from her bag to wipe the sweat from her brow.

“This is Violet,” she heard Pharynx say, and looked up to see another changeling, even taller than Pharynx, with a green carapace and massive, mandible-like antlers. Violet let her saddlebags fall off her haunches and stood back on her hooves, walking towards the two of them.

“Thank you, Pharynx,” the massive changeling said, before turning to look at Violet. “Hello, Violet Verse. I’m Thorax. I’m glad to see you could make it so soon.” He extended a hoof to her, and Violet reached out to shake it. Pharynx gave Thorax a nod and lifted off of the ground to fly away. It was only then that Violet noticed the open-aired throne room that was the top of the tower, with a view of the horizon in every direction and the slowly setting sun in the west.

It took a few moments for her to turn her attention back to Thorax, still slowly shaking her hoof. “Sorry! It’s just so awe-inspiring. And it’s just Violet, please,” she said, finally withdrawing her hoof. “Thank you again for letting me come.”

Thorax smiled. “You’re very welcome. We haven’t gotten many visitors since our metamorphosis, except for some of my friends. When Twilight sent the letter, I couldn’t be happier to extend an invitation to someone new.”

Violet glanced down at her hooves for a moment and took a quick breath before she locked eyes with Thorax once more. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“I assume your journey went well?”

“Other than hitting my head on a few branches, yes.” Violet and Thorax both laughed for a moment. “I’m not much of an outdoors type, but I guess I made it here in one piece.”

“That’s good. I had some of the changelings checking the woods over the last few days, just to make sure there wasn’t anything dangerous in your way.” Thorax looked to the sunset, and then back at Violet. “I suppose you’ll want some rest, given how long your journey has been. I had some changelings dig out a room to set aside for you. I know it probably won’t be much, but it’s better than nothing, right?”

“Thank you, but…” Violet looked back at her saddlebags, “I’m fine for the moment. I don’t want to impose, but I’d love to have a chance to talk first.”

“Oh, sure. Still, we should get your things down there first. I’ll lead the way.” Thorax walked towards the exit, waiting for Violet to pick up her bags before starting down the stairway. “I’m sorry if Pharynx was a little off-putting. He’s come a long way since he changed, but he’s still not the most talkative changeling.”

“I could tell, but no, it’s fine. I didn’t want to nag him with questions when we only just met,” Violet said, glancing around the hive as they re-entered the main chamber, and made their way towards a lower level.

“Well, you don’t have to be afraid of nagging me. The reason I agreed to let you come was so you could ask questions. That, and I was a little curious myself.” Thorax and Violet reached the bottom of a stairway and then veered off into a cave entrance, walking down the hallway and passing a few rooms that jutted off from it. Like the main chamber, Violet noticed a few glowing plants hanging from the ceiling. “Twilight’s letter only mentioned that you wanted to learn about us, and that you wrote books about changelings before.”

Violet took a breath in and slowly exhaled, her smile starting to waver. “Yes, I did. They weren’t really… factual.”

Thorax chuckled. “I’d hope not. In the old days, whatever wandered too close to the hive didn’t get the warmest welcome. Some creatures still don’t, but we’re certainly welcoming to ponies now. Oh, here we are.” Thorax had stopped near a crude door, made out of what looked like the bark of a large tree. It was set inside of a roughly cut arch, smaller than the other natural looking doorways they had passed in the hallway. Thorax pulled it open, and Violet saw it was attached to the stone by what looked like a few vines to keep it from falling out of place.

The inside had similar roughly dug walls, and a window cut into the wall opposite the entrance. Violet stepped inside and noticed a bundle of glowing fungus on the ceiling lighting the room in a dim glow, keeping it lit even as the natural light pouring in was dwindling..

“Like I said, I know it isn’t much, but we made sure to include a door.” Thorax shut the makeshift door carefully with a hoof. “Changelings have never had a thing for privacy, but we’re trying to adjust.”

Violet sat her bags down in a corner, pulling out a few of her things, in particular a sleeping bag. “I’m sure I can make do,” she said as she turned back to Thorax. “And I appreciate the effort.” Violet then sat down, patting the ground next to her with a hoof. “If you have the time to talk…”

Thorax nodded and sat down across from Violet. “So, your books, did you bring any of them?” As he asked the question, his wings lifted out from under their elytra, fluttering gently.

“Umm, well…” Violet opened one of her bags with her magic, pulling out a few things: her map, quills and ink, a blank journal, and a compass. After a few dozen other objects were laid out on the ground, she floated a book out from the bottom of the bag. The front cover depicted a changeling, with half of their face covered by a pony’s. The background looked like Canterlot, with a few other ponies scattered about in the picture. The title at the top read Hivesworn: Into the Court. She passed it to Thorax.

Thorax held it in his hooves, looking at the cover and then flipping through a few pages. “I didn’t think ponies would want to write about changelings right after the invasion, and they wanted to read about us too?”

“Well, it’s more about ponies, really. It’s just from the point of view of a changeling,” Violet said, watching Thorax flip through the book for a few more seconds and then set it down. She then looked down, taking a deep breath. “I know it’s not the best picture of your—”

“It’s alright, Violet. I know what changelings were back then,” Thorax said, resting a hoof on her shoulder. “We’ve changed, really, but I know it’s probably hard for some to imagine so soon.” He slid the book back towards her. “This is why you came here, right? To get the real story?”

Violet finally exhaled, only to take another breath in. “Yes.”

“Don’t worry. The other changelings and I will be happy to give you whatever you need. How long were you hoping to stay?” Thorax removed his hoof from Violet’s shoulder and stood up.

Violet breathed out slowly, before standing up and glancing back at her bags. “Well, I haven’t booked a train ticket back yet, so however long you can let me will be fine.”

The door creaked open, and a fuschia-colored changeling poked their head in. “Thorax, there you are.” Their voice was soft, but echoed in the recently-formed room. They waved a hoof, beckoning Thorax to them.

“Chitin, I told you and the others about knocking,” Thorax said, walking towards the door before turning his head back to Violet. “Sorry, it will be just a moment.” He walked out of the room, leaving Violet on her own, mouth agape.

She looked back and forth between her book and door at least a dozen times before she managed to take a deep breath in, which she quickly exhaled. “Calm down, Violet,” she whispered to herself as she paced back and forth in the room. “They aren’t that Chitin. You wrote that Chitin. It’s not… fate or something, is it?” She stopped moving, looking down at her forehooves as she took a few quick breaths in and out.

Thorax must be busy ruling the hive. Just ask to talk to them. What could be the harm in that?

The door suddenly opened again, and Thorax stepped back inside. Violet rubbed a hoof on her face and then turned to him.

Thorax frowned, not taking a step into the room. “I’m so sorry, Violet. Something came up that needs my attention for the night. Is there anything I can get you before I leave? Food? Water?”

“No, I’m fine, Thorax. Thank you,” Violet said. As Thorax turned to leave, however, she raised a hoof up toward him. “Actually… I know it’s a bit odd, but Chitin, that changeling who asked for you. Could I talk to them?”

Thorax opened his mouth to speak, but paused, rubbing a hoof on his chin. “I don’t see why not, but they’re going to be busy tonight as well. Maybe you can talk to them tomorrow?”

Violet smiled and nodded. “That’s great! Thank you, Thorax.”

“No problem. Oh, but feel free to walk around if you like. Every changeling here knows you’re visiting, so don’t be afraid to say hello.” Thorax closed the door behind him as he left, and Violet collapsed to her knees, taking a slow, deep breath.

---

Violet’s night had been uneventful. Sleeping with a roof over her head was a bit more restful that being out in the open air and needing to worry about the elements, but she had elected to stay in her room rather than mingle with the changelings of the hive. Instead, she spent most of the night before falling asleep writing in her journal, making notes about the structure of the hive and some crude drawings of the changelings.

By the time the morning light filtered into her room, she was already awake, eating the last of the oats she packed as she flipped idly through both her journal and the copy of her book that she’d brought. She wondered how long it would be until Thorax or someone walked through the door as she took slow, deep breaths between bites of food.

It was only a few minutes after sunrise that she got her wish.

The door opened and Violet looked up, seeing the same fuschia changeling, she thought, that had come in to find Thorax the night before. “Violet?” the changeling said, in that same soft voice. “I’m Chitin. Thorax said you wanted to speak to me.” Chitin entered the room and closed the door behind her, only taking a step or two inside as she looked at Violet.

Violet took a quick breath and held it in. She nodded and smiled, patting the ground with a hoof. She exhaled. “Yes. Yes, I… I know it probably seems strange.”

“Oh, not at all,” Chitin replied, her voice melodic but still quiet. She walked in and sat down across from Violet, smiling as she looked down at the journal and book sitting between them. “Oh, are these what you wrote?” she asked, picking up the book and looking at the cover, her wings fluttering out from her elytra almost exactly like Thorax’s had.

“Y-yes, it’s,” Violet took another quick breath, trying to keep it and the sudden exhalation quiet, “why I wanted to talk to you.” She closed her eyes and took a moment to calm herself. “I’m not here to write about changelings.”

Chitin glanced up from the cover of the book, looking confused. “What do you mean?”

Violet had spent more hours than should remember dreading this moment. She thought of every possible way that things could go horribly wrong; she would be hated by creatures she had never met and that she deserved it. Her breathing quickened, and her eyes stayed shut as she tried to push those recurring thoughts out of her mind. “I wanted to apologize,” she said, her voice cracking as she forced her eyes open and looked up at Chitin.

“I wanted to apologize for what I wrote,” Violet continued, using her magic to pull to the book out of Chitin’s grip. “I don’t know how many ponies have read what I’ve written, or who maybe think it’s as close to the truth as they’d get about changelings. I know you’re different now, and that they should know better, but I…” She found her words catching in her throat, and felt the tears starting to well in her eyes.

“What if somepony never trusts a single changeling because of what I’ve written?” She let the book drop from her magical grip, landing with a thud on the ground. Violet kept her eyes on her hooves, not having the strength or will to look up. She took quick, ragged breaths in and out as she prepared for the worst. She imagined Chitin shouting at her or storming out of the room. Every single horrid scenario from the past month of tenuous waiting played over in her head.

Instead, tears streaming down her cheeks, she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her shoulders, and Chitin’s hard carapace brush against her coat. That soft, sweet voice filled her ears. “It’s alright,” was all that Chitin said. Violet wrapped her hooves around Chitin in return.

Only the sound of Violet’s crying and ragged breathing filled the room for a few minutes. When she finally calmed down, she let go of Chitin, and pulled her head up to finally look the changeling in the eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered, using a hoof to wipe tears from her face.

“It’s fine, Violet. You don’t have to be ashamed to share that.” Chitin pulled away from Violet, glancing down to the book for a moment. “Thorax said you were here to write about us though, right? Did you really come all this way only to apologize?”

Violet nodded, grabbing a handkerchief with her magic to wipe the rest of the tears off of her face. “Yes, I… After the changelings reformed, I was worried about my writing, just a little. Then one day in Canterlot, I just overheard some ponies talking about you all. They talked about how they couldn’t trust you, and… I just blamed myself. I can’t recall however many books I’ve had printed that are in the hoofs of ponies I don’t even know, and I can’t change all of those stories for the better.”

“You don’t have to,” Chitin said, grabbing the book with her hoof. “Everything you’ve written,” she flipped through the pages quickly, “is what it is. It doesn’t have to change with time.” She closed the book and pushed it aside. “We all know how we were. We all know the things we’ve done, and how ponies, or any creature, would naturally feel about us now. Still, we’re trying to put our best hoof forward. It’s why Thorax let you come here.”

Violet looked down at her hooves and started to take a deep breath, but stopped herself. She turned her gaze back to Chitin, but stayed quiet.

“Don’t let what you’ve made before stop you from making something new, especially if it’s to help someone else.” Chitin looked back down at the book and smiled. “Thorax would still love for you to write about us, and to share it with as many ponies as you can.”

Violet returned the smile, and grabbed her journal to flip it open. “I did take down some notes, but I’m going to need a lot more than that.”

“Then we’d be happy to help.”