Common Ground

by LunasCaptain

Loose Ends

Twilight woke up slowly, a throbbing pain settling deep under her horn.

She groaned a little under her breath. Moving one hoof up to her head in tiny increments, she probed gently, searching for the source of the sickening ache. The sensitive edge, still bound in gauze from where she had sliced it open in the gardens, slipped under the heavy silk of her forelock, and grazed--

She bit back a yelp and gritted her teeth against a nausea-inducing wave of pain. Oh dear Celestia. Yep, that was it.

Dropping her forehoof from the swollen goose egg on her head, Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself. Then she attempted to haul herself to her hooves. She gasped, joints buckling, and barely managed to keep from collapsing again. By moving in tiny increments, careful not to do anything that might jostle her head, she was able to settle her haunches on the stone floor and hunch her withers into a sitting position.

Her memory was fragmented, distorted. She remembered returning to the palace after the Changelings were captured...she remembered heading towards the dungeons, though she wasn't sure why...she remembered being approached by a stallion in dark armor, being told that her brother had sent him to keep an eye on her. And then...nothing.

Moving carefully, Twilight glanced at the cage behind her. It was empty, the door standing open. The broken lock fizzed with residual magic. She swore under her breath.

Maybe she didn't remember how she had been knocked unconscious, but she could definitely guess. Cadance and Shining had to be told immediately. The Changelings had escaped again, and there was somepony helping them who had access to the armory. Possibly another Changeling or a product of the same hypnotism spell that she had seen Chrysalis use on her brother.

Twilight forced herself onto all fours, giving herself a tiny shake to try and banish the dizziness. Every step towards the stairs felt like she was winning a miniature battle, and each one took about as much energy out of her. She was barely able to make it to the bottom step before her strength gave out and she collapsed with a cry of pain. Panting, she stared up the multiple flights of stairs, to the pinpoint of light from the crystal palace above. Her heart sank even as her head throbbed.

It was going to be a long day.

---

"Hey. Uh..."

Downpour dropped the telescope from his eye, adjusting his grip on it so that it didn't go plummeting to the iridescent cobblestones far below. He glanced at the pegasus soldier who had approached him.

"Yeah?"

The other stallion pointed a primary feather at a pair of winged dots in the distance. "What should we do about those?"

Downpour squinted, then raised the telescope. A pair of plain-looking gray pegasi were headed towards the city. They had no saddlebags and carried no luggage between their hooves. They didn't seem like much of a threat.

"Nothing," he shrugged, turning around to focus his telescope back on the inhabitants of the Crystal City. "No orders. Let 'em in."

The other pegasus shuffled his hooves, obviously uncomfortable. "If Commander Damage were here--"

"She's not." Downpour tracked a kirin mare in a lacy saddle for a few moments before losing interest.

"But--"

"Listen." He held up a hoof, never taking his eye away from the telescope. "Don't sweat it, okay? It's no big deal."

"If you say so." He still sounded uncomfortable.

"Tell the others," he said, waving a hoof. "Nothing to worry about."

The stallion turned to walk away, but Downpour stood up straight and glanced at him. "Wait."

"What?"

"Try and find out if any of them know what went down in the Garnet Plaza this morning." He returned his attention to the city. "Somepony told me it was Changelings, but that can't be true."

---

"Your aunts are coming soon, right?" Shining asked, walking beside Cadance. She nodded.

"Sail volunteered her services," she said quietly, speaking of one of the younger dragons in the city. "The spell to connect her flame to Aunt Celestia's magical field was temporary, but she actually suggested that we should put a permanent spell on her and several other dragons. In case we need to get word to Equestria fast."

"Like now?" Shining asked. Cadance nodded. "It might be a good idea...but now isn't the time. Follow me."

It was rare for somepony important enough to warrant a carriage ride from the train station to visit the palace, and as such, they didn't have an official place for Celestia and Luna to land. They'd be receiving them in a part of the gardens that Twilight and the Changeling hadn't destroyed.

Shining's mane and tail were brushed, which had probably been a good idea after several days spent in full armor. He was wearing a military dress coat, the same one that he had worn to his wedding. Cadance had on her collar, crown, and shoes, as well as cleverly-applied makeup to mask the fading bags under her eyes.

Pulse's pep pills were beginning to wear off, and the frantic action of the past few days was beginning to catch up with him. He could only imagine how Cadance must be feeling.

As soon as they stepped outside, surrounded by a set of fresh unicorn guards the sounds of wingbeats reached him. He looked up to see a spectacular gold-and-silver carriage, almost glowing in the light of the late-afternoon sun and pulled by a mixed team of white pegasi and kirin. They wheeled above, getting rid of some of their velocity, and Shining caught a glimpse of Celestia's multicolored mane. Then they touched down with only the faintest clink of metal.

"Mi Amore Cadenza!" Luna's voice, loud and joyful, rang out immediately. "It has been far too long!"

The lunar alicorn, slightly taller and stockier than Cadance, leaped out of the carriage and hurried over. While her guards were still trying to extricate themselves from the harnesses. She dipped her head slightly to Shining, who bowed back. Even though he was married to one of them, he would never be equal to the princesses.

"I wanted to apologize to you," Luna said. "For missing thy--er, your wedding."

Cadance blinked. "Oh. Uh. It's fine."

"No, no, I must make it up to you sometime," Luna replied, irritably waving a hoof. "But that will have to wait. I believe we have more important things to discuss, do we not?"

"Indeed we do," came a gentle, lyrical voice. Shining shifted his attention from Luna to Celestia, Regent of the Sun, and began to sink into a bow. A soft magical nudge stopped him. "Really, there's no need for that."

"Sorry, Princess," he replied. She offered him a brief smile before turning to Cadance.

"I'm sorry it took such dire circumstances to warrant a visit from us," she said.

"I wouldn't have called you, put I'm afraid Chrysalis may attack the Crystal City," Cadance answered. A hard note entered her voice. "After all, we're executing two of her drones tomorrow as soon as you raise the sun."

"About that," Celestia began carefully.

"Yes?"

The white alicorn bent her head, so that she and her niece were both enveloped in her flowing mane. Shining had to strain to hear what she said next.

"Are you certain about your decision?" she murmured.

A pause.

"What do you mean?" Cadance asked, sounding defensive and confused.

But before Celestia could answer, Luna cried, "Twilight Sparkle!" in a shocked voice.

All heads turned to the direction she was looking in. Twilight was standing in the shade of a pearly gray growth of crystal, her hooves spread wide to support her and her head bowed. One side of her face was swollen, culminating in an ugly bruised lump peeking out from underneath her forelock. Her pupils were dilated, and she looked as if she were going to pass out at any second.

Shining was the first to reach her, placing a hoof on her withers and guiding her gently into a sitting position. She didn't protest.

"Twilight," he murmured, "what happened?"

"They're gone," she replied dully. Behind him, Cadance sucked in a breath.

"Do you mean the Changelings?"

"They're gone," Twilight confirmed. She grimaced in obvious, pain, and her horn lit up, very slowly. The magic wavered and Shining considered telling her to turn it off, to take it easy. "But I think I know how to find them..."

Comments

[Arcane Howitzer]

I'm thinking Downpour is a changeling. Or dense. Either way, he really shouldn't be giving orders to the guards.

[Otrepony]

I promise that having a chapter with no cliffhangers wont kill you
Other wise it was great

[Doctor Agon]

i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/212/587/2667328774161692252111104.gif

[Percussor Armis]

Wow.
I really am getting complacent, I missed THREE whole updates I need to up my game.
Review pending.
Cheers LC
Honora Imperator