The Twilight Child

by Detectivefish

Reunions

Whisper Wind frowned, as the silence between himself and Princess Cadance continued as it had for several minutes. She had said they had needed to talk, and then fallen into a complete silence.

"Your highness?" he asked. Cadance looked up at him, almost seeming surprised, before what she presumably thought was a reassuring smile crossed her face.
"You know, you can call me Cadance. And you don't need to be so formal, either. After all, we are of equal stature, aren't we?" she gave a nervous laugh, "I mean, you are a prince, aren't you?"

Whisper Wind shuffled his hooves. "I suppose technically, I am prince of the Changelings, even though I've never given it any real consideration, aside from the occasional wish I wasn't."
A thought occurred to the pony after a few seconds, "How did I get here, by the way?"

Cadance looked out toward the window. "A group of changelings brought you here several days ago." she said. She noted the alarmed expression on the young stallion's face, before adding, "You were badly injured, though they would not specify why exactly." her expression darkened, "Although from what the doctors told me, your survival was nothing short of miraculous. You looked like you were at death's door."

The changeling gave this some thought. "I had an argument with my... with her about her opinion of ponies. She wanted me to assist her in some insane scheme of hers, and to that end had me abducted and taken to wherever it is she's residing, in order to offer me the chance to aid her. And when I refused, and questioned her actions, she took exception to it and... injured me." he paused, and shuffled so as to free both of his wings. He gave them an experimental flap, and felt no small amount of joy to see they worked. He looked back to Cadance, "I fled out into the wastelands beyond, but... her soldiers found me, and dragged me back. The last thing I recall is her hoof moving toward my face."

As if on cue, there was a small flash of pain from his jaw. He looked up at Cadance and frowned, "But I do not recall any others. I cannot vouch for them."
Cadance nodded, "They said the Changeling Queen would follow after you, but so far we have seen no sight of her."

There were a few seconds of silence as both ponies found their thoughts going to dark places. Cadance bit her lip, as her expression grew concerned. Then she looked up at Whisper Wind again.
"You were going to come and live here, weren't you?"

The stallion looked suddenly bashful, which even though he was almost the spitting image of his birth-mother, did still look strangely adorable.
"Yes. Or, perhaps. I-if you'd... allow it, that is."

Cadance paused for a moment, her expression shifting. "Well, there are a lot of spare rooms in the palace, but..." she looked at him again. "My daughter. Shining Sapphire. You love her, don't you?"
He nodded, a nervous smile flickering across his face. "Yes, your highness. I do. And I think, if it's not too bold, you did have a hoof in that."

Cadance's mouth twitched as she looked over toward a curtain, next to Whisper Wind's bed. She looked at him with a soul-breaking expression.
"There's something you should know, Wisp. Three days before you arrived there was... an incident."

There was a sudden terrible silence, save for the small sound of rhythmic beeping. When Whisper Wind didn't ask, Cadance continued.
"The details are unclear. Despite the best efforts of myself and my husband, we have been unable to determine what exactly happened. All we know is that while my husband and I were trying to remove a frost drake from an abandoned city that had been found out on the ice plains, somepony came to this city with ill intent."

The young changeling felt his stomach plummet, as Cadance continued.
"For some reason, nopony could rightly identify the pony, so what happened next is amazingly unclear. However, what is known is that roughly ten minutes after this incident began, Shining Sapphire somehow managed to access and utilise the power of the Crystal Heart to drive off this attacker."

Wisp found himself thinking of who could and would have been able to hurt Shining Sapphire, and then found a singular thought screaming through his mind. He suddenly found his ability to speak had just gone.
"And from injuries apparently sustained in the fight, as well as sheer magical strain, my daughter..." Cadance choked up, her horn glowing as the curtain was pulled back. Whisper Wind edged off the bed, ignoring the twinges of pain as he looked and saw the pony lying on the bed, not moving, with her eyes closed and her breathing utterly inaudible.

For several seconds he said nothing, but he was aware of the sheer despair rolling off of Cadance, mixed with love and a small amount of anger.
"Who... who could have done this?" he asked.

*****

Ponyville.
Space and time roiled and pitched as magic collided in mid-air, producing phantom sounds and wind that sounded like the universe itself was trying to vomit. This was one of the many, many reasons most time-travellers prefer to use capsules, so that they never have to hear the sound again, and because time machines generally tended toward more pleasing sounds.

There was a bright flash of light, and a loud 'bloink' sound just as time and space corrected themselves, leaving the form of an eighteen year-old pony on the shore of reality.
Then, after a few seconds there was a startled yelp and a thump, as the royal blue alicorn fell to the ground.

'Okay,' Twilight Twinkle found herself thinking, 'It's the spell, then, not any inherent problem in my ability to cast it.'
She shook her head, and slowly tried to figure out where her hooves where and how to get on top of them.

'Alright' she thought as she stood up, 'Ponyville, or what looks like Ponyville. Can't be sure it's my time, but that's what I get for trying to replicate a spell whole-cloth after several months.'

She paused, and then checked to make sure she was actually alive and had all her internal organs. A quick few seconds proved that she did. She nodded, and slowly got the saddlebags off her back. She opened them, and began investigating. There was the dress Rarity had made for her, the pair of cheap glasses she'd bought, one or two presents she'd received on her un-birthday, and most importantly, the book, the one containing Nightmare Eclipse, or more accurately what was left of her. Then she noticed something, underneath the book. It was small, but wrapped up, with even a small bow around it. She frowned, and opened it. There was a small framed picture of eight ponies smiling (some more than others) at a camera, along with a baby dragon standing in front of them and waving. She was aware of a fluttering noise and looked down to see a small letter. She frowned and lifted it up, and then saw what it said.

'Twilight Twinkle,
Wishing you all the best, no matter where or when you go,
From Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, The Great and Powerful Trixie, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle.
P.S. Pinkie Pie wanted to include the names of everypony else in town, and a couple of others. Be thankful - RD.'

She couldn't help but grin at this, and then realised she was finding it difficult to breath, which had nothing to do with the saddlebags around her waist. She was also finding it difficult to move.
'C'mon, Twinkie. Gotta do this. Gotta go check. You know you do. Have to be sure.'

She clenched her jaw, and tried raising one hoof. She tried lowering it. She did, for the briefest of seconds, consider flying, but then dismissed it. Even if she was now an alicorn, she didn't trust her wings to carry her all the way into town at the moment.
As she tried moving one foot in front of the other, she noted her face still felt sore from all the crying she'd been doing a few minutes (from her point of view) ago. She tried not to think about Twilight, or rather, the other Twilight Sparkle. The young one. Not her Twilight Sparkle.

As she began to move toward Ponyville, catching the familiar apple scent the town always had, and a lemon-y scent that was probably the Everfree Forest's smell of the day, she began to wonder how long she had been away, relative to the present. From her point of view, it had been several months, but from theirs, she couldn't begin to guess, and that was assuming the spell she'd cast was even correct. For all she knew, she could've ended up back before the Longest Night, and Nightmare Moon's return, or anywhen.

She paused mid-step, the outskirts of Ponyville incredibly close now, and found herself thinking one thing.
'I hate time-travel.'

After several seconds consideration, she began moving again, noting the shops, and stalls, some of which seemed the same, and several of which seemed different. She kept looking about, as if expecting to see one of the ponies from the other Ponyville, merrily going about their business, or to see Rainbow Dash practicing for the Wonderbolts, or just taking a nap, and each time she recalled where she was, she felt a small pang in her heart.

*****

Today had been a good day. Of course, every day had been a good day. It was Ponyville, and everything was fine, unless somepony discounted yesterday and what happened at the library, and the weirdness after the strange event in the library, but apart from those two lapses, Ponyville was doing pretty well. Except...

There was a mess. And why was there a mess? Because there she'd been putting icing on a cake when her tail had started shaking, making some silly pony accidentally suddenly send icing flying everywhere. Ponies were staring at her in confusion.

"Mom?" the young colt behind her asked. He was young enough to not have experienced the family gift yet. Pinkemena Diane Responsibility Dentist's Bane Danger Pie frowned, as she tried to figure out what the combo was. There was a shaky tail, itchy hoof, and a double ear-flop. After a few seconds she removed her hat, and apron, and looked over to her husband, who did a double-take at the expression on his wife's face.

"What is it, honey?"
Pinkie Pie stared straight ahead for a moment before a warm smile spread across her face. Then she blinked, and gave a small sigh, before her eyes darted to the mass of icing covering everything. She looked at her husband.
"There's a happy reunion coming" she said, as she began cleaning up the icing, before pausing.

"We're gonna need a lotta cake. Better fire up the ovens."

*****

Twinkle paused, staring at the door to the library. With the state her mind was in, she noted the door was different from the one from the other library. Evidently at some point it must have been damaged. She blinked. Her heart felt like it was trying to force its way up her throat. She closed her eyes and tried to get her breathing under control. She placed her hoof on the door, and pushed.

The door didn't open. She paused, her train of thought derailed. She gritted her teeth. Her horn glowed, and a small blue beam of light zapped out. There was a satisfying click, and she smiled as she nudged the door open. She walked into the room, and looked about. The entire room looked different, and smelled different as well. There was an absence of the usual background smell of sulphur from Spike's breath. Instead, the room just smelt vaguely dusty, and sounded far too quiet, even for a library. Though there was a faint sugary scent, which could only have belonged to one family of ponies.

She jumped as she heard the door to the kitchen open, a young stallion with curly bright pink hair walked in, and then paused, his eyes going wide with shock.
She stared at him. "Vanilla!" she smiled. The young Pie just nodded. For a few seconds the two ponies stared at one another. Twinkle looked around.

"Where-"
"She went out with" he suddenly cut off into mumbling for a few seconds, looking incredibly uncertain, "Said she'd be back soon..."

"Any idea where I should look?" Twinkle asked. Vanilla shook his head.
"Sorry, miss Twilight. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, how long was I gone?"
"... One day" the stallion said, hesitantly. A few more seconds passed before he frowned, "I think I need to go sit down now. For a few hours."

Twinkle just nodded. "Alright then."
"Welcome back, by the way" he said, before adding, "Nice wings." Twinkle paused, and turned to look at him.

"Thanks."
She walked out the door. After a few seconds she returned and removed the saddlebags, and flashed the unmoving Vanilla Pie another smile before leaving again.

*****

Twilight Twinkle stood in front of the library, staring at the pleasant afternoon sky. She gave a heavy sigh. She had no idea where Twilight Sparkle was, but she was fairly certain who she was with. She found herself smiling again. The Doctor had apparently done as he'd promised. She felt suddenly invigorated, as if struck by lightning, and took one step. Which was exactly when she heard the gasp.

Time suddenly seemed to slow to a crawl. The world suddenly vanished, and the air seemed to have become like soup as she turned to see two ponies staring at her. One was a dark blue unicorn with distinctly orange hair. The other was a purple alicorn, and was rushing toward Twinkle, who had already began to move herself.
The two mares met, and quickly Twinkle found herself being wrapped around by Twilight Sparkle. For a few seconds she just heard Twilight's shaking breath. Then she realised the mare was crying.

"You're alright" Twilight whispered, as she began holding Twinkle close, "Thank Celesta, you're alright."
After a few seconds Twinkle noticed Twilight was trembling. No, she was shaking. With a word she tried to get her forelimbs free, aware of a growing feeling of dampness where Twilight's head met her chest.

"You're alright" the mare repeated, as she held Twinkle closer. "You're alive."
Twinkle just gently hugged Twilight. After a few seconds she continued hugging her, and for several seconds more.

"Hi, mom" Twinkle said, after several attempts.
Eventually, and with glacial speed, Twilight Sparkle pulled away and leaned back, and Twinkle noticed her eyes were red, and then she noticed the bags under the mare's eyes, like she hadn't gotten a proper amount of sleep in a very long while. She blinked, ignoring the mild stinging sensation. For several seconds both mares just stared at each other, utterly ignoring the fact that their eyes were refusing to work properly.

"I'm sorry" Twilight said, in-between tears. For a second, Twinkle's brain scrambled to catch up, as Twilight continued.
"I don't know what specific thing it was I did wrong that meant I lost you but, I... really am sorry, honey."
Twinkle stared at her. "...mom, it wasn't anything you did."

Twilight looked confused, "But... all those arguments we had, and when you ran away... I just thought that..." she trailed off into whispered mutterings.
Twinkle looked down at her hooves. Then she looked up at Twilight.

"I don't hate you, mom. I could never... It wasn't because of anything you did. It..." she paused for a moment, "But I think there are things we need to talk about."
Twilight nodded, and then suddenly stopped as she seemed to notice something.

"You're... younger. And your fur's it's usual colour." she noted, and then her eyes darted toward Twinkle backside.
"And you're..." for a few seconds she stared further, and then a bright smile spread across her face. Twinkle turned to glance at her sides.

"You're a Princess?" Twilight asked. Twinkle's grin vanished.
"No. Not Princess. Just an alicorn."

Twilight smiled, and then Twinkle raised a hoof.
"And please, don't say I'm already your li-"

"Too late dear" said her father as he walked over toward her and hugged her. In an instant she found herself returning the hug. After a few seconds they both let go. She smiled at him and he smiled back before glancing at Twilight, whose expression shifted between various moods in an instant.
"How did..." she asked, "How did that happen?"

Twinkle bit her lip to stop herself grinning and shrugged. "It's... it's a very long story."
"How long?" Twilight asked. Twinkle gave this some thought.

"About... six months, maybe a little bit more."
She frowned. "Anyway, it isn't entirely over yet. Has there been any news from the Crystal Empire lately?"

Twilight Sparkle and Comet Chaser exchanged glances. "No" Twilight said, slowly, "Why would t-"
In an instant Twinkle's horn lit up, and with a bright flash she was gone, before Twilight could tell her to stop, her hoof raised in mid-objection. After a few seconds she looked to Comet Chaser, who just tilted his head. She stared at him.

"Should I fetch anything from th-"
"No" Twilight shook her head. She began to move in the direction of the train station, her husband following slowly after her. They were just passing the library when the mare stopped, and looked about.

"Do you hear that?" she asked. Comet Chaser shook his head. Then there was the distinct sound of wings being unfurled, and a slight thump as a certain mare landed a short distance away, her mane flowing wildly. She looked over toward Twilight Sparkle and smiled.
"Good, Twilight Sparkle, I was looking for you." Princess Celestia smiled. Twilight nodded.

"I'm sorry, your highness, but there is something I must deal with."
Princess Celestia frowned, "Twilight, please. Something is terribly wrong."

Her gaze turned toward Comet Chaser, and her expression shifted. "I apologise for this, but do I know you?"
"I should hope so" the pony sighed, "You sort of gave me my first job, and were the one who officiated our wedding."
Celestia's expression shifted between surprise, confusion and joy as she looked toward Twilight, who just looked almost annoyed.

"What is this about, Princess?" she asked. The mare closed her eyes for a few seconds.
"It happened shortly after we last talked..."

~~~~~

Seven days ago
Discord stood before Princess Celestia, still dressed up as a butler and smiling at an irate Princess Celestia, as she wondered exactly how long he'd been waiting in the hall of windows for her to find him.

"Discord, what did you do?!" she yelled. The chaos god smiled again.
"Do? Moi? There you go again, always blaming me for everything! 'Who turned Luna's mane into wool? Who rigged those toilets to sing the Prench national anthem? Who turned the moon into cheese and gave every washing machine in the city legs? Who set that giant kitten loose on Vanhoofer? Must have been Discord'."

Celestia glared at him, and after a few seconds he shrugged.
"If I had done something, and I'm not saying I have, what was it I supposedly did?"

"Whatever you have done to Twilight Sparkle and her daughter, your sick little joke ends here."
Discord laughed, and continued laughing. After a few seconds he paused.

"Oh," he said, the humour vanishing from his voice, "You were serious."
He pulled himself up to his full height, and a new grin graced his face. "Well, then, Celly, I might tell you whatever it was I did."

Celestia almost smiled, until she realised who she was talking to. "On what terms?"
Discord leaned back onto a large chair, and raised an eyebrow. "Seven days from now. In Ponyville. See ya then!"

Then he snapped his fingers, and vanished, leaving the mare standing there, her expression shifting between several different versions of irritation.

~~~~~

"I should have really seen that coming" Princess Celestia frowned. "I really should have."
She shook her head. "Anyway, have you seen him anywhere?"

"Discord?" Comet Chaser asked, "No. Would've remembered him."
Celestia frowned. "Then where could h-"

"I'm sorry," Comet Chaser interjected, "But we really should be going. Our daughter just vanished without explaining herself. If Discord is a problem, then we'll just have to deal with it after, but right now, my wife and I would really like to find our little girl."
Celestia paused for a moment, staring at the pony staring back at her with a fierce expression, trying not to be amused by Twilight's shocked expression. "I thought she disappeared some weeks ago, after the incident with the changelings."

Twilight nodded, "And then she returned here last week, then vanished yesterday and then returned and-"
"Breath" Princess Celestia said, the instant she saw the distressed look pass across Twilight's face. Twilight paused and closed her eyes. After a few seconds she let out a sigh.

"Sorry, but it's been an incredibly bizarre day" Twilight sighed, looking over toward Comet Chaser, who just looked down at his hooves. To this, Celestia just raised an eyebrow.
"It's been bizarre for a lot longer than that" the stallion said to himself. Twilight evidently heard this, as she nodded.

"Far too long" the mare added.
"Bizarre, you say?" a voice called out, "I can help with that!"

There was the sudden sound of a drumroll, and Discord appeared, lounging on a sofa. A sign appeared next to him, on which was clumsily scrawled 'The doctor is' followed by an additional scribble of 'Five bits per hour'.

*****

Elsewhere, several dozen miles away.
She could have flown. She wasn't sure how fast she could go, but considering she'd managed to fly from Ponyville to Canterlot in a few minutes, she was fairly certain she could have gotten there very quickly. But she still hadn't changed her opinion re. the wings, and had decided to teleport. Alas, unlike the last time she'd been to the Crystal Empire, she didn't want to teleport all the way at once, and instead was going for micro-teleports. Plus, she was just enjoying the ability to teleport, and wasn't about to let rational thinking get in her way. It was slow-going though, since there was only so far she could teleport in a single sitting, and she was unwilling to teleport blind, in case of winding up in a wall or rock, or worse, accidently teleporting into somepony.

She was beginning to wonder if perhaps rushing out on her parents had been the best idea ever, and whether it was truly necessary to rush straight to the Crystal Empire at that moment. But then she thought of Shining Sapphire. She had to know whether anything had happened. At which point her mind began working through the various possibilities. She stopped, and dropped to the ground as her mind began thinking of another pony in trouble. Whisper Wind, whom she'd last seen being seized by the Changeling horde. Despite what she'd learnt from Cadance, which meant he'd been alive at least during her time possessed by the Nightmare, she shuddered to think of what could've happened to him since, thinking of those obvious injuries, and the wing, bent and broken in the sunlight.
She gritted her teeth as she tried to force the memories out of her mind, before looking around to see where she was. It was still a long, long way to the Crystal Empire.

It was also beginning to occur to her, now that she'd stopped, that what she was doing was incredibly impulsive. After all, she could have talked with her parents, told them about what had happened and then made her way to the Crystal Empire. Even though she was likely going to be grounded forever the minute she got back. The fact that she was fairly certain she hadn't gotten much sleep helped, or the fact that she felt extremely emotionally raw, just for a change.

After a few seconds she smiled without meaning to. 'If I'm in trouble, I'm in trouble. But I'm making sure Sapphy and Wisp are alright first. I'm not letting them down again'.
Her horn glowed again, and with a bright flash, she continued onward toward the distant Crystal Empire.

*****

Meanwhile, inside the Crystal Empire
Both ponies stared at the sight, of the pink-furred mare just lying on the hospital bed. There was utter quiet in the room, save the occasional beep from the various monitors. After a few seconds there was a small noise from Cadance.
"I'm sorry" she said quietly, "It's just..."

Whisper Wind nodded. He didn't need the Changeling ability to see emotions to understand how Princess Cadance was feeling at that moment. He gave a small nod, and tried looking toward the mare again.
"The doctors say that she is recovering smoothly, but that... they don't know when or if she'll wake up."

For a few seconds Whisper Wind glanced from Shining Sapphire to Cadance.
"When was the last time you slept?" he asked quietly. Cadance paused for a minute.

"I... I don't know. At least two days, I suppose."
She shuffled on her hooves. "I did try, you know. I did try to get some sleep. But I only managed about twenty minutes."
She bit on her lip and looked up at the young stallion. "And you know, if she was awake, she'd... she'd probably be telling me not to worry or something along those lines."

For an instant, there was a strange smile on her face. "Do you know, a few hours after my husband and I learnt of what had happened to her, we started getting letters. Ponies from all over the city were sending condolences to us, asking if we were alright, wishing for her to recover. At first we thought there'd just be a few. Sapphy's never been the most social pony ever, but the mail's just kept coming."

There was the tiniest of sighs from the Princess, as her glance moved from the slumbering mare to the young Changeling.
"I think perhaps I will need to go talk with some ponies. Though I might need your help for some of them."

"Me?" Whisper Wind blinked in confusion. Cadance nodded, before a small, not-quite-a-grin moved across her face.
"I have this sneaking suspicion those changelings who came with you won't speak to me or Shining Armor." her expression flickered for an instant, "But for now, I'll just let you and Shining Sapphire be alone for a while."

She stood in the doorway for a second, before moving away, a noticeable look of distress on her face. Wisp looked at the unconscious form of Shining Sapphire. It was odd, the way she lay there, looking for all the world like she was simply asleep. Suddenly Wisp found himself thinking of old fairytales, where the sleeping princess was woken by the kiss from a handsome prince, and gave a wry smile at that.

'I don't think a simple kiss will fix this.' He laid a hoof on Shining Sapphire, and sighed.
'Not that I'm much of a prince, anyway. I didn't even want to be a prince.' he added. He looked at the mare again, and gave a small smile. Seconds passed, as he tried to think of something to say, but he found himself drawing blanks. After lengthy pondering, he just placed his other front hoof on Shining Sapphire's.

"Hey" he said, quietly. After a few seconds he frowned. 'Hey' he thought. That was apparently all he could think of. 'Hey'.
"Sorry, that was terrible" he said, "But I'm not really sure what-... I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say, right now. I mean, I could make this one of those stupid 'I didn't know how much you mean to me' speeches, but that'd be pointless."

For an instant a smile flashed across his face, "Because I do know how much you mean to me. You mean everything to me. And I don't even know how to help you. I don't even know where to begin helping you."
For a few seconds he sat there, trying to ignore the rhythmic beating of the heart monitor. "But I know that I love you, and I will do whatever I can. But right now there are other ponies who might need my help, but I promise you I will be here for when you wake up."

He gave a small, sad smile, and then slowly leaned over toward the mare and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. If Shining Sapphire had somehow felt it, she gave no indication that she had. With great effort, Whisper Wind slowly pulled himself away from the mare, and slowly headed toward the door, not daring to take a look back.

Shining Sapphire remained there, unmoving, not responding. If perhaps she'd suddenly made some movement, or the monitors examining her had shown some signs of change, or perhaps even a tiny sigh and a muted whisper, then that would have been something. She didn't. Instead the young mare remained unmoving, without so much as a single twitch, the only noise being the noise of the heart monitor.

Though if one had been looking at exactly the right angle, they might have noticed what could have been mistaken for her mouth just barely beginning to curl into a smile.

*****

Several thousand miles lay between Ponyville and the Crystal Empire. It was an incredibly long distance, even by train. Twilight Twinkle wasn't even sure how her terrified teleporting had managed to get her all the way there in one go, and she wasn't entirely certain about the implications such an act held for her current mobility. She was certain, however, that she was getting closer.

The fact that it was beginning to get incredibly cold helped.

*****

"So, do you actually have names?" Wisp asked. The changelings looked at each other in what was probably their idea of confusion. They'd been unwilling to not stand guard over their prince, and had evidently taken some persuasion to simply wait in a small lounge elsewhere in the hospital. Their expression on seeing Whisper Wind had almost looked like naked joy, up until he'd asked the question.

"No, sire" said the lead one, with what almost sounded like hesitation, "We do not have names."
Wisp just nodded. "Alright then, just asking. Names would make conversation a bit easier, is all."

He looked back toward Cadance and Shining Armor, neither of whom seemed to be focused on either pony.
"Why did you save me?" he asked. The lead changeling paused for some time, looking down at his hooves. When he looked up, his eyes briefly glanced toward the two ponies standing by the doorway.

"You are our prince" he said solemnly. Wisp stared at him for several seconds.
"I am not entirely certain, sire. There are many reasons as to why I might have tried to save you, but now I am not sure why I did it."

After a few seconds his expression shifted. "But my troops and I do not, and will not, regret our actions, sire. That, I am sure of."
Wisp just nodded slowly, "Okay, good to know. But how did you get me out of the hive to here?"

The changelings suddenly exchanged glances, and for an instant they looked almost bashful.
"With great difficulty" the lead changeling said, before adding, "Especially as we are incapable of harming our own kind."

"Can't or won't?" Shining Armor spoke up, causing some of the changelings to look startled.
"Both" the head changeling said quickly. "We were forced to find alternative means of escape."

"'Alternative means'?" Wisp asked. The changelings nodded, the look on their faces indicating quite clearly that they were unwilling to speak further on the matter, though in a way that suggested, without a word being spoken, that they weren't entirely certain how they'd managed to get away with it themselves, only that they had.

"A problem presents itself, though" Cadance said, "You mentioned that you were being pursued by your queen, and yet... it has been almost a week since then, and we haven't seen a single sign of anything approaching another changeling, much less an army. And we have been looking" she added. Instantly the group of changelings huddled together, and began making several noises that sounded almost exactly liked a hushed conversation. Then they stopped, and began examining one another, causing Shining Armor and Cadance to share exchanged confused glances, before the lead moved over toward Wisp, with what looked suspiciously liked nervous embarrassment on his face.

"My lord, if it is not beneath me, I would humbly ask that I examine you."
"For what?" Wisp asked. The changeling's wings buzzed suddenly.

"It is important, your highness."
After some quick consideration, Wisp nodded, and turned around. There was a series of alarmed gasps from the assembled changelings.

"What is it?" Wisp asked, as he saw the changelings sharing a look of dread. The lead changeling bowed before him.
"My lord, I am sorry for failing you. Had we realised what had been done, we-"

"What is it?" Wisp repeated, irritably. The changeling shuffled again, his face going an odd pale colour.
"It appears that her highness has placed a tracking charm on you" he said, his voice almost quavering, before he dropped to the floor, "I can only beg your forgiveness for this failure, your highness. Had we known of it, we would not have-"

"It's alright, seriously" Wisp said quickly, "She probably was going to find me sooner or later anyway. And this would probably explain how she always knew how to find me. And at least we know she's coming, right?" he asked, looking toward Shining Armor and Cadance. The Princess nodded.
"She seems to be taking her time though" Shining Armor frowned, "Although, I suppose you Changelings would probably have some problems getting through the cold, rig-..."

There was a sudden terrible absence of noise, as Shining Armor's eyes went tiny.
"We would" the lead changeling said, an absence of emotion in his voice. Shining Armor looked toward Cadance, and then in an instant rushed out of the room, before Cadance could even tell him to stop.

"Sorry" Wisp said quietly. Cadance looked over toward him and shook her head.
"Don't. It wasn't your fault, was it?" she said, looking like she wasn't entirely sure whether to smile or not. Wisp looked up at her.

"But because of me this entire city's in danger" he said. Cadance made a noise that sounded like a non-verbal indication that she was trying very hard not to agree.
"Perhaps, but wherever these ponies" there was a derisive noise from the changeling behind Wisp, though Cadance didn't seem to notice it "took you would be in danger. At least this city has adequate means of defending itself."

Wisp nodded. "True. But... my birth mother did explain as to what her general scheme was, in-between the flowery insults and screaming of course, and... I don't think she has a plan."
Relief moved across Cadance's face. "That's good."

Wisp stared at her like she'd gone mad. "No, sorry. I mean, I don't think she has a plan. I think she's been planning her 'revenge' as she called it for a long time, and has been considering a lot of options."
Cadance's expression changed. "I see."

"So, when one plan stops being viable, for whatever reason, she simply adjusts, and moves on. She really doesn't like you two, by the way. She was quite keen on making that point clear."
"I could have guessed" Cadance said. Wisp nodded. The mare frowned, and looked into the middle distance.

"Come on. We should probably prepare for her arrival."
Wisp nodded, and slowly followed after the mare. As he did, he was certain he heard the changelings following behind him. He decided to let them be for the moment. As they walked, he noticed Cadance occasionally glancing toward him. After a few seconds he decided he'd had enough of being glanced at.

"What is it?" he asked. Cadance's mouth curled.
"It... I was simply thinking about something."

"I see" Wisp said. Cadance's mouth curled.
"We know your mother is the changeling queen, but... have you ever learnt who your father is?"

He shook his head. "No. It isn't anypony in Ponyville, obviously enough, but beyond that I don't really know anything about whoever he is."
His wings fluttered for a second. "And considering nopony has ever turned up in Ponyville looking for me, I doubt he even knows I exist."

For a few seconds, as they began walking down a flight of stairs, he frowned. "Which... it's not that I haven't given thought to what he must be like, but at the same time I'm not really certain I want to know, just in case. I'm quite happy with the family I already have."

There was another bout of silence, as Cadance just nodded. "The hospital staff did get a blood sample from you, while you were out" she said, at an unusually low pitch, "Just in case something happened while you were recovering. It didn't match anypony who lives in the city, just as a point of interest."

Wisp was certain he could detect a mild undercurrent of relief in her tone, but decided not to ask about it, especially since he could guess why the relief was there. The two continued onward, the Changelings still following silently behind them, as their path took them through the city, they noticed a great many ponies heading toward the palace. Cadance noticed Wisp's confusion.

"In an event of an emergency, like say an evil overlord coming back from near-death, the citizens of the Crystal Empire gather in the safest place in the city. Which is of course the castle. Hopefully."
"'Hopefully'?"

Cadance just gave him a Look. "Changelings have never attacked the Crystal Empire before, and while Sombra was alarmingly good at thinking ahead, I don't think he designed any of the now-largely defunct defences of his castle with changelings in mind."
She looked toward a small throng of ponies rushing toward the castle. "And we've never really been certain about installing new defensive charms and wards just in case we set something off we hadn't noticed before. Which might at least explain why whoever it was that attacked Sapphy managed to get so close to the castle."

Wisp nodded, and noticed they were moving toward the fields that surrounded the city. Ahead were several guards, lead by Shining Armor, who noticed Cadance's arrival, giving only a curt nod at this.
"We've got guards covering every potential access point to the city, with instructions to signal the rest of us at the first sign of the defences being breached" he said, "While we're maintaining watch over the train station entrance, just in case she's actually decided just to take the train here."

He looked toward Wisp for an instant, who just shrugged. "Don't look at me. I didn't exactly hear what her plan was, thanks to the whole 'beaten senseless' thing."
Shining Armor's expression changed fractionally. "Guess we'll just have to wait then" he said.

Minutes passed in silence, as the several ponies sat there. Due to the usual conditions of the Crystal Empire, and the barrier separating it from the tundra outside, it was amazingly quiet, save for the distant sounds of sheep bleating, and occasionally making very loud small talk. Wisp looked over toward the gathered changelings, and then frowned.
"Aren't you guys going to... I don't know, disguise yourselves?"

The lead changeling stared at him. "My lord?"
"Well, it's just... when she shows up, presumably with an army of some form, isn't that going to make telling who's who a bit difficult?"

The lead changeling blinked, in the fashion that was suggested he was about to start speaking slowly and loudly.
"No, my lord" he finally said, in a calm fashion, "We'll know who we're supposed to be fighting."

"But you're still going to look like changelings, right?" Wisp asked, trying not to sound to weary.
The changeling nodded, to which Wisp sighed. For the briefest moment, he wanted the changeling army to arrive.

*****

"Discord" Twilight said, in the same tone one announces that it's raining. The draqonequus sat up and frowned.
"What? That's it? No yelling, or screaming, or anger, just 'Discord'?"

Twilight frowned, and began to advance on him, only for a hoof to stop her. Celestia smiled what was apparently supposed to be one of her reassuring smiles.
"Discord, either you explain what you have wrought between Twilight Sparkle and her daughter, or I swear, you'll wish you were turned to stone."

Discord just raised an eyebrow. "Will I, indeed? You always knew how to butter a chaos god u-"
"Now." Celestia said, in a tone that would have made even the most blood-crazed berserkers mildly nervous. Discord, however, just kept smiling.

"Alright. Here is the truth of what I did to little Twilight Sparkle, and her dearest daughter whatserface" there was a pause, and Celestia was aware of noticeable build-up of magic near Twilight Sparkle, along with a faint smell of something beginning to burn.
"Nothing."

Discord's smile grew. Twilight just blinked.
"I haven't done a single thing to either of them" for a few seconds he continued grinning, relishing each word as he said them, before shrugging, "Well, aside from the time-travel thing, but apart from that-" he paused as he saw Comet Chaser. His grin vanished, and he stared at the pony for a few seconds. He pulled out a pair of opera glasses and began carefully examining the stallion, giving him an experimental tap on the head, which while having no apparent effect on the pony, did produce an audible sound like that of a coconut being struck.

"Interesting" he finally said. He looked at Twilight, and then Princess Celestia, then back to Comet Chaser. "I feel the need to amend my previous statement. I did throw him out of the universe" he said, pointing a talon at the stallion, "Which, in my defence was because I'd just been zapped by a teenager for no reason."
"Aside from the fact that you were spreading chaos?" the stallion asked. Discord stared at the pony for several seconds.

"Thrown out of the universe?" Twilight asked, the build-up of magic around her horn vanishing, "How does... that doesn't..." Celestia, meanwhile, tried to resist the urge to inflict whatever cruel and unusual punishment her mind could think of, if only so she could pay attention to current matters. However, she couldn't help but consider having a talk with Fluttershy when she was done with Discord.

Discord frowned at Comet Chaser. "Alright, little pony, let me show you something" he said slowly, reaching into a non-existent pocket and pulling out a wallet. From that, he produced a tiny piece of cardboard, and handed it to the pony. "My card."
Comet Chaser glanced at it, and then raised an eyebrow.

"You work on a contingency basis?" the stallion asked. Discord leaned over his shoulder to examine it.
"Apparently, I do now." then he frowned.

"Aren't you supposed to be scared of me?" he asked. Comet Chaser shrugged.
"Still am, but after the last few days I've had, and when you're standing next to two of the most powerful beings alive, you suddenly find yourself with a lot less fear than usual. Or, indeed, any ability to feel anything at all. Besides, if you did anything to me, then you'd have to deal with an angry teenager."

Discord stared at him, before nodding. "Good point."
"Discord" Celestia said between clenched teeth. He looked up at her, almost surprised.

"Oh, yes, that thing. As I said: I have done nothing directly to Twilight Sparkle and... the other one."
"Twilight Twinkle" Twilight helpfully hissed. Discord waved a paw at her.

"Anything that happened thereafter was the result of reality trying to make sense of him not existing, and nothing whatsoever to do with me. Aside from the time-travel thing."
"What time-travel thing?" Twilight snapped, before glancing toward Comet Chaser, who just grinned nervously.

"I was going to let her explain things" he said quickly, "But then she took off."
Celestia strongly resisted the urge to facehoof. Then she saw the expression on Twilight Sparkle's face. It was one she hadn't seen in a long time, and if she had never seen it again, it would have been too soon.

"So, you mean to tell me that... everything that happened between myself and Twinkie was because... of ourselves?"
Discord nodded.
"And not because of you?"

Discord nodded again, clearly enjoying himself. Then his expression shifted. "Well, that Nightmare might've helped, but, basically, yes."
Twilight looked down at her hooves, suddenly looking almost like a little filly again, apparently disregarding Discord's previous statement.

"Time-travel?" Celestia asked, trying not to let her concern about the word 'nightmare' show. Discord shrugged.
"Only a bit" Celestia gave him a stare that would have made diamonds crumbling. He just gave off a smirk. "I didn't know it was her daughter. I just saw somepony trying really, really hard to teleport and I thought I'd... give them some 'help'"

"So," Twilight said, her voice eerily calm, her mane suddenly looking like it was about to fly apart, "All that swirling wind and flashing light, that was you?"
Discord nodded, before looking hurt. "You didn't like my little light show?"

"And you threw my daughter... back through time?"
For a few seconds Discord said nothing, instead staring at his paw.

"Don't tell anyone, but yes."
Twilight frowned, magic beginning to flicker around her horn.

"And the wings?" she asked. Celestia's stare focused on Discord again. Suddenly he seemed almost sheepish, and muttered something under his breath. Twilight's expression went wide, and she suddenly found her back legs weren't working. She tried to say something, but could only manage some inelegant sputtering. After several seconds she managed to get herself under a semblance of control.

"I suppose there's no reason asking why, is there?"
Discord actually looked like he was giving this some thought before he responded, "There's a reason" he said defensively.

"Let me guess; chaos?" Comet Chaser asked. Discord looked astounded for an instant.
"That works too." he muttered.

Twilight shook her heard, and glanced at Comet Chaser. "I think we need to go have a talk with somepony" she said, "But knowing the way things have gone, by the time we get to the Crystal Empire, she'll probably have vanished again."
Discord leaned in toward her and smiled. "I can help with that" he grinned.

Celestia saw his fingers begin to move. "No Discord, don't you d-"
"Too late, this way's more fun!" he said quickly. His fingers snapped, there was a bright flash and both Twilight Sparkle and Comet Chaser had vanished. Celestia glowered at Discord, who just calmly looked at her.

"Oh, don't give me the angry eyes, Celly. You could have stopped me if you really wanted to. And we both know why you didn't."
The diarch stared at him. "I haven't the slightest clue as to what you mean."

Discord snorted at that. "Fine, be like that. Play coy, see if I care."
"I'm not playing coy" she said, casually. Discord just gave a sceptical 'uh-huh'.

"So that's why you're smiling then, is it?"
"I might not be smiling at that. Maybe I'm smiling because it's a nice day, or because Twilight Twinkle is alive and well, and apparently no longer playing host to a nightmare. Or maybe it's because you just did something nice of your own free will."
Discord blinked in alarm, as Celestia hummed. "And since there's apparently no crisis brewing, I think I shall return to Canterlot."

And with that she vanished into the air, leaving a troubled Discord standing and looking alarmed. Numerous ponies who had watched the scene unfold suddenly felt confused as to Discord's troubled expression.
"Huh." the trickster exclaimed, before vanishing in a puff of insane logic, leaving behind a thoroughly confused geranium.

*****

There was a flash of light, and something that sounded amazingly like claws being snapped as inside the main hall of the Crystal Palace, two ponies appeared. This was quickly followed by an alarmed yelp as Twilight Sparkle and Comet Chaser both fell to the ground, fortunately the ponies beneath them managed to scramble out of the way.
"You alright?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing broken" Comet Chaser said, "Bit startled, but apart from that I'm absolutely fine. You?"
"I'm okay. Bit confused, and my head's beginning to hurt, but considering who we were just talking to, that's not really a surprise."

She stood up, and after taking a deep breath frowned.
"And I know there's a lot you're not telling me, by the way, so I just want to make it utterly clear I'm very upset with you right now."

"I was going to let Twinkie tell you. Most of those things are to do with her. And I think there's a few things she didn't mention that I would very much like to know about."
Twilight saw the look on his face, and nodded in agreement. Then she noticed the dozens of ponies staring at the two of them, and then her location clicked in her mind.

"Why exactly is everypony doing in here?" she asked.

*****

The guards, Wisp, Cadance, Shining Armor and the group of changelings sat on the edge of the city, still waiting for the changeling army to arrive in utter silence. A few minutes before Wisp had gotten around to re-disguising himself, which had caused a few glances from the other changelings, though they said nothing. Minutes passed, and then one of the changelings seemed to hear something. It turned to face back toward the city, gathering almost everypony else's attention. Then Wisp saw the looks of joy on Shining Armor and Cadance's faces as Twilight Sparkle (alongside a dark blue stallion he didn't recognise) approached, followed by their rushing over toward her.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake" the two mares chanted, "Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
Their greeting done, the three ponies embraced.

"What in the world are you doing here?" Cadance asked. Twilight just blinked.
"We're here looking for Twinkle. Well," she paused, "Discord sent us here because Twinkle's likely to head here for some reason which hasn't been explained to me" she paused to glance at Comet Chaser, who seemed perfectly happy to stay out of Shining Armor's reach.

"Although I'm guessing she hasn't gotten here yet" Twilight finished. Cadance looked over to Shining Armor, who just shook his head.
"No. We would've noticed her" he said. Then Twilight Sparkle noticed Wisp, and an odd expression moved across her face.

"You" she exclaimed, before marching over toward him. Wisp saw the look of concern present on the lead changeling troop, and waved a hoof at them, as Twilight Sparkle bared down upon him, before stopping in front of him and shaking her head.
"Good to see you're okay" she said, hugging him "Fluttershy's been worried sick about you."

Wisp just nodded, before finding himself asking "I'm guessing that means that Twilight Twinkle did not manage to tell anypony about what happened to me, like I thought she would."
He noticed the odd burst of alarm coming from the stallion behind Twilight Sparkle, who he noted looked incredibly familiar to the mare, once he gave it some thought. Then he saw Twilight looking about.

"What's going on, by the way?"
"The Changeling Queen is apparently coming here with an army of changelings, either to get revenge on Shining Armor and Princ-... Cadance," Wisp said, noticing the small smile from Cadance, "or to reclaim me. Or try and violently injure me again. Or both. Or possibly none of the above."

He sighed. "It's been a long day, and I've only been awake for an hour or so."
"Oh, so it's not just us" the stallion spoke up. Cadance stared at him.

"Excuse me, but who exactly are you?"
"He's called Comet Chaser. And he's my husband" Twilight said, before he could respond. There were a few seconds as Shining Armor's eyes went wide, and his gaze moved from pony to pony, his jaw hanging open. Cadance, meanwhile, just smiled a smile large enough for several ponies.

"Discord" Twilight said quickly, to which Shining Armor frowned.
"Discord did something to him during that rampage of his some years ago, and for whatever reason only Twilight Twinkle seemed to remember him" Wisp spoke up. Twilight looked back to the colt, and a sheepish look moved across her face for an instant.

"Figures she might have mentioned that to you" she smiled. Then a thought occurred to Wisp.
"Mrs Twilight, could I ask a favour?" the mare simply looked over toward him.

"You don't need to be so formal to me, Whisper. I've known you since you were little, and been to several of your birthdays. And that's without pointing out that I know your mother."
"I'm just trying to be polite" he mumbled, "Anyway, the changeling queen has placed a charm on me, and I was wondering if there was something you could do about that, if it isn't to much to ask."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "I don't have a lot of experience with changeling magic, but I'll see what I can do."
Behind her, Wisp noted Shining Armor glancing at Comet Chaser, though not with suspicion, more like he was appraising the pony. Cadance meanwhile looked lost in thought. Then Wisp heard Twilight speak up, as she began examining the charm.

"So, I can't help but notice the absence of a certain niece of mine" she said slowly. Wisp saw the look of heartbreak on both Cadance and Shining Armor's faces.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. Cadance bit her lip, as Shining Armor walked over to her.

"Twily, there's something we should probably tell you when this is over" he said, the normal confidence in his voice utterly gone. Twilight's expression shifted instantly, her work on the charm forgotten.
"What happened?" she asked. And just as Shining Armor was about to respond, a guard called out.

"Sir! Enemy sighted!"
Shining Armor turned to look, and saw a dozen Changelings marching through the barrier leading out into the frozen wastes, miniscule amounts of snow falling off them as they marched. Quickly one guard's horn glowed, and a flare shot from his horn into the sky, as the changelings filed into an unusual formation, and after a few seconds the Changeling Queen slowly walked through them, a smile alighting on her face as she saw the ponies gathered in front of her.

"My goodness. What a treat this is. All my favourite ponies in one place" her eyes darted toward the group of changelings, who had quickly surrounded Wisp as she'd appeared, and a terrifying glint appeared in her eyes. Behind her, more changelings continued moving through the barrier, slowly spreading out around the group, encircling them.

"Dearest" she said, looking toward Wisp, "If you would step away from these fools, I promise you will not be punished. I apologise for what I did t-"
"No" Wisp said. Chrysalis blinked.

"No? No what?"

"No" he repeated. "I am not helping your insane schemes, not now, not ever. If you want to hurt my friends and family, you'll have to go through me."
For a few seconds, Chrysalis paused, before looking at him and shaking her head.

"I'm so disappointed in you" she said, calmly, "You cannot begin to imagine the life you have denied yourself."
"And I'm not going to try." he snapped back. Chrysalis's expression hardened.

"Fine, fine. If you and those idiot traitors you've got with you wish to live with ponies, you can die like them as well."
She motioned to her changelings.

"Kill them all. But leave my son for me."

Author's Note:

... ugh. So sorry about that delay.
More writer's block. Then a sudden heatwave that fried my poor laptop.

Comments

[Terrifying Space Worm]

DAMN! That is a lot of words for an E for everyone!

[fuckyoudeletemyaccount]

Of COURSE my favorite fic would get an update right as I was about to go to bed. Ahh well, I guess it's time for ~10thousand words of insomnia.

[Music-and-magic]

*whimper* that cliffhanger, how could you?!

[Detectivefish]

2862842
Because it was either that or continue onward for another few thousand words, and take another five weeks to get there.

[Music-and-magic]

2862866
*sigh* Fine then, you're forgiven. At least it was right before things started to get out of hand.

[Undecided]

Can't really hold laptop issues against you. Good chapter, though I'm sort of confused why nobody seemed to cared much when Discord said he'd tried to turning Comet Chaser into nothing and sent Twinkle back in time.

[Detectivefish]

2867536
Ah. Whoops.
Just a second.

[Authora97]

It says you just updated...where's the update?

[Detectivefish]

2918619
Well, unless parts of me have been sneaking out at night, finding a typewriter or something, yeah, pretty sure.
And I have sort of been hoping for a cover, but... I haven't really had the time to look for one, or commission one, or what have you.
(sigh) it would be nice, to have a cover... one day...

[Detectivefish]

2918672
Bit of a slip-up there, I'm afraid.
The computer froze up while I was working (as it so frequently does in this weather), and... well, I accidently clicked on 'Publish' by accident (I was aiming for 'Edit' and the mouse slipped) .
But the update should be soon, yes. Even if I break something important while working.
We apologise for the inconvenience.

[Authora97]

2918709 Hate when that happens

[arachnidsGrip]

2918619 It's more like 8 novels.

~Vriska Serket