//------------------------------// // Almost Forgotten(Misty) // Story: Son of Eternity // by twow443 //------------------------------// Chapter 2-Almost Forgotten(Misty) With a jolt, I shot out from underneath the covers. I didn't know what it was, but something had jolted me awake. Then I realized that it was only excitement. After months of hiding and worrying, I was finally going to strike out against my mother. Rolling out of bed, I glanced around for Zecora. She wasn't in the hut, but I felt that it would be okay to run outside for a little bit. I quickly dashed out the back door over to Zecora's little pond. After dunking my head in it, I ran back inside and shut the door behind me. Feeling refreshed, I went around stirring some flowers and roots into the cauldron for Zecora to make breakfast. I hadn't needed to eat normal food, but I had been getting weaker because I didn't have a source of love to feed on. Zecora cared about me, but that didn't mean she necessarily loved me. Normal food helped, but I knew that I was going to pass out eventually if I didn't have love. As I worked, I glanced over at Shade. Strange for me to say, but he was a beautiful changeling. No, really. Most changelings had blue eyes and not many defining features. Shade's eyes were pure green and longer fangs then I did. Seeing him like that... A thud at the door jolted me back to my senses. I slipped over and opened the door, letting Zecora in. She deposited her flowers and roots on the table and came over to see my progress. Nodding, she said, “Well done Misty, very neat/Soon we will be able to eat.” “Come on Zecora. I've been doing this for a few months now.” I pouted. She laughed and walked over to check on Shade. “His condition has not improved/Have you seen him move?” She asked. I shook my head. “No, I haven't sensed anything from him either, not that I really could.” Zecora had figured out that if Shade moved, at least a little bit that it would be a good sign. Zecora sighed. “Seeing him like this is quite a sight/Can you sense anything from his bite?” I slightly winced, bad memories rushing in. “That's a no also. I think that when his soul shattered, it broke the curse that the spell was attached to. It's just a normal bite mark now.” The zebra spooned some of the simmering broth into a bowl and sat next to Shade. As she started to slowly spoon-feed him, she spoke to me again. “Your bad memories will not last/For you, it was all in the past.” I shook my head. “I guess. But this isn't the time to talk about what's happened before! It's time!” Zecora nodded as she gave Shade another spoonful. “Before you disappear in a flash/you need to talk with Rainbow Dash.” “We agreed to meet in the forest.” I said. “That way we shouldn't be observed by anypony, or changeling.” Zecora gave Shade a final bite and walked over to me, pulling me into a strong hug. “Your journey will have much peril/Please, promise me that you will be careful.” “I will.” I said. “Nothing's going to get in my way of bringing Fluttershy back here.” Zecora pulled away and sat next to Shade again. “Thank you so much Zecora. For everything.” The zebra quickly swiped a leg across her face. “You are very welcome, now head off you/Much you soon need to do.” Before I left I knelt down by Shade's side. “I'll wake you up. I promise.” Then I kissed his forehead, and left the cottage. . . . The Everfree Forest had a couple of small clearings hidden throughout the forest. There was one that was a little ways back from Zecora's hut, and that was where I was headed now. The clearing was a small patch of grass with a pond nearby. Because it was surrounded by trees, it wasn't noticeable from the sky and it was very hard to find from land. This clearing was my own special spot, a place for me to get away if I needed time to myself. And I had, many times. Zecora never asked me what I did here, so I never felt inclined to share. I didn't do much though. I would sometimes bathe here, or have small picnics when I wanted to be outside for a while. But seeing as this was were I buried Null, I would mostly sit in silence out of respect. Sometimes I would talk to myself, asking myself questions and trying to figure out the answer. I had a different reason for coming here today though. When Zecora had spoken to Rainbow about out meeting when I was asleep, she told her to meet me here. So currently I was sitting on a tree stump, waiting for her to arrive. I heard a rush of wind and in a few seconds the cyan pegasus landing in front of me. She took a second or two to take in her surroundings. Her gaze lingered on Null's grave, a mat of leaves and a gravestone that I had chiseled his name on. “That's where you buried him?” She asked. I nodded. “I had covered him up in the field, but after I took Shade to Zecora's I returned there and brought him here to give him a proper burial.” I sniffed and swiped a leg across my eyes. Rainbow tapped at the ground. “I'm sorry. That must have been hard for you.” “I don't intend for you to believe me, but I never knew that it was going to happen.” I began to say, but Rainbow cut me off. “You've said that before and I believe you.” Rainbow said. “What you should be worried about is convincing Twilight.” A spark of excitement shot though me. “She can help?!” Rainbow shrugged. “Twilight and Shade were really close. If anypony has any idea of how to get into the castle, she probably will.” She pointed at me and frowned. “But you have a big obstacle Misty. When I told my friends about what had happened, Twilight took it the hardest.” “Is she still blaming herself for almost killing Shade?” I asked in surprise. “I thought that was resolved between them.” “It was.” Rainbow walked in front of me and sat down. “You have to understand that Twilight would never hurt anypony. Ever. The fact that you tricked her so badly that she almost killed him haunted her. In fact, she just know revealed that to us.” I thought about that for a moment, and then realized something. “Oh, and Celestia is her mentor...” “Exactly.” Rainbow brushed her mane back. “She's never been able to bring that topic up with the princess. And seeing how you caused that incident, she's not going to welcome you with open arms.” “I have to try.” I stubbornly said. “She has to wake Shade up so that he can free Celestia.” “Why can't you just wake him up?” Rainbow asked. “You've told me that you love him. Isn't that what it takes?” I slightly flinched, sadness washing over me. “It does, but he doesn't love me back.” Memories of my past started to creep up on me, but I pushed them away. “Oh, sorry.” Rainbow looked upset. “Well, I'm not going to try to stop you from talking to Twilight, but I do want to warn you. If you're in a disguise, get out of it after you're in her house. If she finds out herself that you're a changeling...” I tilted my head. “You said that Twilight wouldn't hurt anypony.” Rainbow stood up. “The times have changed and my friends are on the edge Misty. Do you really want to be the first changeling to test her?” As I looked into Rainbow's eyes, I knew that she was dead serious. “Go Misty. Find Twilight and see if she can help you. And if at all possible...” Rainbow walked up to me and lightly hugged me. “Free my friend. Please.” The cyan mare jumped back, spread her wings and took to the skies. I stood alone in the clearing for a while, thinking. Then I narrowed my eyes and shifted myself into a red pegasus with a white mane and tail. “Call me Candy Cane.” I thought to myself, grinning. Then I launched myself into the air and headed towards Ponyville. . . . Seeing how the sky was in a permanent state of being almost dark but not quite there, it didn't take me very long to reach the town without being seen by many. I looked over the town and gave a sigh of relief. From my distance, it seemed like my mother hadn't completely destroyed the town. I shook my head and refocused. Maybe it looked okay, but that didn't mean that it wasn't in trouble. I dropped from the sky and gave a neat landing on the road leading up to Ponyville. Not wasting time, I trotted into the town. I slowed to a walk notably as I sensed two changelings heading towards me. “Hey, who are you?” One of them said to me. “Are you even from around here?” I nodded. “Yeah! I was just out of town for a few months.” I looked around, pretending to be completely oblivious to what was going on in the town. “What happened here?” The second changeling glanced at his partner. “Should we give her the grand tour?” The first one nodded. “Go ahead. I'll report to the queen that we still haven't located her daughter.” He walked off, taking off into the sky. The renaming changeling lit his horn and cast a green mist over me. I felt an itching on my side and a strange compulsion to shed my disguise. I would have, except that I had been shifting for years and sometimes forgot who I was. The annoying feeling left me, and I made sure to not indicate that I had been bothered. “Sorry about that.” He said. “My name is Cactus.” “Candy Cane.” I replied. “What was that?” Cactus turned towards the town and motioned for me to follow. “Our queen orders all changelings to walk in their normal forms. Come with me and I'll tell you all the rules.” As we started walking together, my senses were going off the charts. All these changelings were relaxed and acted completely in control, which they were. I saw that the ponies weren't tied up or anything, but they sure were enslaved. Nopony was just running around having fun like I had seen before, and it hurt me knowing that I had a hoof in that. Frowning, I shook my head furiously. I needed to stay focused. “There aren't that many rules here, but I'll tell you the few we have.” Cactus said. “One, no changeling can shift. I assume that’s until we can find Dancing Mist.” I nodded. “That's the queen's daughter, right?” “Correct.” Cactus continued on. “Two, no unicorns are allowed to cast magic without permission. You're a pegasus, so you don't need to worry about that.” I nodded. “Three, no flying off from the town without permission. And four, you must take part in a lecture about our queen.” “Uh, okay.” I said, acting confused. “Who's giving the lecture?” “The sun princess's former student.” He said, looking over to the large tree in the middle of town. “And she won't be pleased.” . . . Cactus had planned to introduce me to Twilight Sparkle, but he had winced, held his head and told me to go on alone. So now I was standing in front of the library that I knew she lived it, nervous. Very nervous. I raised a hoof and knocked on the door. I heard shuffling around and a crash. I patiently waited until the door swung open, revealing a purple unicorn. “Oh! Hello there! I'm Twilight!” She said, smiling. “Did you need something?” I nodded. “I'm new here and was told to come get a lecture from you.” Twilight sighed. “Ugh, I hate that lecture. Come on in.” I walked in as she shut the door behind us. “Oh....I though this was a library?” I said. She sighed behind me. “It was.” I looked around the room. The shelves were all but bare, a few books on them from here from there. There was a black rug on the ground and a large mirror hanging on the wall. Twilight walked over to the bare shelf and levitated a book in front of her. “Alright, let's get started.” Twilight opened the book and started to read. “By Order of her Majesty, Queen-” I set my hoof on the book. “Twilight, you don't have to read that.” Twilight was slightly confused. “Uh, yeah. If I don't, I'll be thrown into one of Canterlot's dungeons. I can't leave Spike all alone.” Now was the moment of truth. “You don't have to read it because I already know all of those rules. I was there when Chrysalis thought them up.” Not giving her a chance to respond, I shifted my body and shed my disguise. “And to be fair, I don't like them either.” Twilight stared at me for a while, different emotions showing on her face. I sat completely still, not wanting to show myself as a threat to her. Finally she spoke, “Why are you here? The disguise, you don't need that. What do you really want?” “I do need that disguise Twilight.” I said. “I guess you could say that I've fallen out of favor with my mother.” “She has been looking for you.” She said. “Go to her! Haven't you done enough to us?” I didn't want her to convince herself that I was still evil. “That's why I'm here. I need your help.” Twilight adopted an angry look on her face, warning me that I was going to feel her anger. “Really now? Just how Fluttershy needed help when her changeling was running for his life? Just how Shade was running for his life when you tricked all of us?!” She stood up, walked over to me and got right in my face. “Just how I almost killed him because of what you did? And you want to come back and ask for my help?!” “Please Twilight.” I begged. “I know what I did was wrong, I really do. The nightmares I've been having for the last four months has been the latest proof of that.” “Maybe if you had thought before trying to ruin our lives, we wouldn't BE here!” She yelled. I was completely silent at this point. Pushing Twilight over the edge would be very poor for the both of us, so I wanted her to think. I resolved to myself that if she refused to help me that I would find a way to get in the castle. “Misty, let me ask you something that will decide if I will listen to you, or if I'll turn you in too your mother.” Twilight said, suddenly calm. “What did Shade say, when he saw you with Fluttershy? “Huh?” I was so shocked by the question that I had to take a moment. “He-he gave me a choice. The choice to kill Fluttershy or let her go.” Twilight continued to stare. “Why did he give you that choice when he could have saved her himself?” I was quiet again. “He knew what I was going to do.” “I don't trust you Misty.” Twilight said. “But I will believe you, because I also know what you are going to do.” She sat. “So, why are you here?” “I need to take Fluttershy back to Shade and to do that I need a way into the castle.” I spat out before I could stop myself. Twilight nodded and without a word, walked over to the large mirror. She tapped it twice with her horn and nodded to me. “There you go.” “Wait.” I said. “Why so easily? Didn't you say that you didn't trust me?” “There are two reasons that I am not going to hold you longer Misty.” Twilight said. One, because out of everything we've tried to do to rescue Fluttershy, this is the best plan so far. And two,” She smiled at me. “You're going to have a very hard time convincing Fluttershy. Also, I can't leave this portal up for too long.” Walking over I glanced in the mirror. Instead of showing our reflections, I saw a room with a bed and a lot of pictures. “Why did you never use this portal?” “We weren't ready. We still aren't.” Twilight said from behind me. “But we have time to prepare now.” “Twilight.” I said. “Thank you. I'll make this up to you.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “You can do that by getting my friend out of there. Hurry up now, or this portal will be discovered.” I wanted to hug Twilight but she was right. Without another word, I leapt into the mirror.