//------------------------------// // 234. The Loss of Faith - Part 15 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// As the married couple approached the room where Spike was being held, Velvet looked with subtle disdain upon the two guards standing by the door. Sighing, she whispered to her husband, “Are these guards really necessary? Spike is simply a good little dragon who made a mistake!” “I don’t like it either, love,” Night Light whispered back, “but with this changeling threat going on, it pays to err on the side of caution. I love Spike just as much you do, but it is probably safer for him to have a… chaperone, so he doesn’t get himself into more trouble.” Sighing Velvet let it go, seeing in the logic in her husband’s words but that didn’t mean she had to like it. The guards noticed their approach, their wings flaring to block the door. “Halt!” “Who goes there?” “I am Professor Night Light, and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet,” Night Light announced himself, familiar with this sort of protocol. “You may know us as the parents of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Twilight Sparkle.” “As well as Spike, for all intents and purposes,” Velvet added, her look so piercing it made the two guards peer at each other through the corners of their eyes. “His Majesty, Prince Sombra, has given us permission to speak with Spike,” Night Light informed them. “We understand he is to remain in this room, and we will respect that.” The guards looked directly at each other and nodded, folded their wings, and stepped aside. Night Light’s golden aura reached out to turn the door handle, as he said to the guards, “Thank you, sirs.” Stepping in, the couple found the room to actually be rather pleasant. There was a canopy bed, a bay window with two pleasantly stuffed armchairs and coffee table, a door leading to a private bathroom, a grandfather clock, and a bookcase filled with some old classic novels. “Spike?” Velvet looked around the room, only for her husband to place a hoof on her shoulder and give a ‘shh’ and point out the blanket-covered lump on the bed. “Oh, of course. It is still morning, after all.” “No harm in checking on him,” Night Light knew Velvet still wanted to see their little dragon. The carpeted floor made it easy to step lightly as they didn’t want to wake Spike up while Night Light levitated the armchairs over to the side of the bed Spike was sleeping on, and once they were comfortable, Velvet sighed as she held her husband’s hoof and whispered, “Do you remember when our little Twilight first brought him home? Surprising how something so sweet and adorable could be the offspring of something so brutal and ferocious.” “Yes, and in a way he was ferocious as well,” Night Light chuckled lightly, “like when he threw such a tantrum until we got him that amber pacifier for him to suck on. All the rubber pacifiers we gave him were melted by his dragonbreath.” “And it was such a chore finding him gems to eat whenever he got picky,” Velvet agreed, covering her mouth to quiet her own laughter. She sighed and looked at the blanketed lump on the bed, “But it was always worth it to see him munch on them, looking so happy.” Velvet placed a hoof on her little sleeping dragon, about to pull back the covers and give him a kiss… except something didn’t feel right. “What…?” “Honey?” Night Light could see it on Velvet’s face and then they both had the same thought. Velvet’s horn lit up with a purple mana, which grasped the corner of the blanket and threw it off… only to reveal a nice arrangement of pillows underneath. Spike had enacted the most traditional of bed-based decoy systems, the old technique of using a pillow to give the appearance of sleeping under the covers! The baby dragon had escaped with his conventional yet effective ploy. Husband and wife gave each other a look of anxious fear as they both said, “He’s gone!” As the patrol passed by the hall of windows and their heavy drapes, Spike poked his head out, very carefully, watching them vanish around the corner at the end of the hall. He looked the other way, seeing the turn that led to the stairs, down which led to the dungeons. “Don’t worry, Thorax,” Spike whispered to himself as he looked both ways to make sure the coast was truly clear. “I’ll get you back to Elytra.” The young dragon knew he had to be quick but cautious. It hadn’t even been an hour yet since he’d made his daring escape, stepping onto the ledge outside the bay window of the room he’d been confined to, risking his life to close the window and climb his way down to the room on the floor directly beneath his own. Ooh! The dizzying heights Spike had forced himself to risk were all but certain to give him bad dreams the next time he slept. But the drive to help Thorax emboldened him to keep moving forward. The patrols in the castle halls, along with the members of the staff, had forced Spike to be patient and as sneaky as possible. He’d had to wait fifteen minutes before a maid was satisfied with her dusting of a portrait, for Faust’s sake! Still, his patience and caution was about to pay off. The dungeon was all but in sight, and… Well, Spike wasn’t exactly sure of how he’d free Thorax other than some vague notion of finding keys hanging on the wall… Okay, even the thought of it sounds dumb, he thought with a sigh. Shaking off the doubt, he reminded himself, Just get in, free Thorax, find the trapdoor that dropped me in the crystal caves before, easy-breezy! …yeah, right. *CLANG/Rattle-rattle* The metallic sound of a heavy door hitting a wall and rattling of chains caused Spike to flinch and hide behind the heavy drapes as he heard several hooves as well as the aforementioned rattling of chains approach. He was tempted to take a peek but dared not even move lest whoever was about to pass him by notice him. “Keep on your hooves, stallions. Just because the prisoner is shackled, doesn’t mean he won’t try some cheap shapeshifting trick.” Spike almost gasped to hear that but controlled himself. “Wh-wh-where are we going?” asked the unmistakably timid voice of Thorax. “Don’t speak unless spoken to, prisoner! But… I guess you should be prepared for your audience with the alicorn monarchs and the ponies who represent the Elements of Harmony. They’ll receive you in the throne room, and one way or another… your guts are going to spill.” The sound of Thorax’s soft and fearful whine receded, as did the hoofsteps and sounds of the chains, as they distanced themselves from Spike, and only when he could no longer hear them did he dare to peer out from the drapes. His face was fraught with concern for Thorax as he wondered, What’re they gonna do to him...?! Thorax shivered in fear as dozens of eyes looked upon him with wariness, distrust, contempt, disgust, and perhaps even hate. Hesitantly he looked upon each of them in turn and saw neither compassion nor mercy in any of them, and he feared that this might very well end badly. The alicorn monarchs (minus their missing prince), as well as the Bearers and Guardians of Harmony (minus Faith) stood in the throne room, Celestia upon the throne with Luna at her side, Sombra at the foot of the steps leading up to the throne and glaring down at the frightened prisoner. Everypony else stood to the sides, Twilight looking upon the changeling with contempt, but… Although her head was telling her that this creature was dangerous and in all likelihood the spy who had instigated the trap Midnight, her brother, and their team had walked into, something within told Twilight that… this was wrong, and the way the changeling truly appeared afraid, and that same something inside her was saying… “We will tolerate your deceit no longer, changeling!” spat Sombra, his eyes narrowed upon Thorax, who felt like the shadowy prince was piercing him with shards of crystal. “Spike was discovered missing from the room to which he was confined. There were no signs of a struggle, no signs of breaking and entering, and it even appears as though Spike escaped the room of his own accord. “So either that is what happened… or it’s what your cohorts want us to think what happened. Either way, Spike naively defended you because somehow you’ve fooled him and won his sympathies. What did you tell him to earn his trust? And I would advise you to consider what may result of whatever answer you give us…” Spike is gone?! Thorax was shaking in his exoskeleton, the suspense of what might follow however he answered exerted an awful pressure in his chest, and he was on the verge of hyperventilating. What do I do… what do I say?! I could tell them about the Hive Mind but… they said Chrysalis is dead! Except that doesn’t make sense… “TALK, changeling!” shouted Sombra, his eyes glowing red with his anger and mana. “Uh- I-I don’t know where Spike is!” Thorax answered fretfully, “But I swear… I would never harm him in any way!” Although she didn’t particularly trust the changeling, Applejack could hear the honesty in his words, just as Blueblood twinge uncomfortably, as he felt the changeling was sincere. Even Pinkie, Cheese, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for the changeling. But Sombra was not so convinced, so certain of this creature’s villainy, he spread his wings and took a fearsome flap into the air, landing with a loud THUD right in front of Thorax, who ducked down, covering his head with his hooves, only for Sombra to grasp him by the throat with a claw of shadow over his hoof, and lift him up off the floor. Thorax let out a choking whimper of pain as the shackles weighed down pulled at his legs while Sombra held him up, glaring angrily. “It seems you are hard of hearing, parasite… I said ‘consider what may result of whatever answer you give us’, and this pretense of innocence is becoming increasingly infuriating…” “My love, please!” Celestia held up her hoof to her husband, who peered over his shoulder at her, and the look on her face, fearful and vaguely disturbed- “No, Celestia! I have already said we will tolerate this tick’s deceit no longer!” Sombra’s eyes began to glow no longer just red, but also green as a purple haze slowly seeped out the corners of his eyes. He glared back up towards Thorax, who squeezed his eyes shut… and tears began to seep out of them, which truly astounded Sombra! “I… I don’t…” “Put him down!” Sombra released his grip on Thorax, the young changeling slumping to the floor, gasping and shivering in fright, while everypony else looked to the doors of the throne room… and there was Spike, looking reproachful at Sombra. “Spike! You’re okay,” Twilight smiled to see him, only for her brother’s good wing to bar her way. She looked up at him, confused, while he looked suspiciously at Spike. “How do we know you’re the real Spike? And not another changeling in disguise?” Spike answered by whipping out a paper and quill from behind his back, jotting something down, and then rolling the paper up before he set it ablaze with dragonfyre. Everypony watched in relief to see the shimmery ashes of the message quickly zoom over to Celestia, and reform into the paper. Celestia gave a look at it, and nodded gladly, “It is Spike, no one else can send me messages the way he does and this is indeed his handwriting.” “Of course it’s me!” Spike walked over and put himself between Thorax and Sombra, everypony suddenly worrying for him. “Spike! What do you think you’re doing?!” Shining admonished, “Get away from that thing!” “He’s not a thing! His name is Thorax,” Spike gave Thorax a smile and was proud to say, “and he’s my friend.” *GASPS* Thorax looked at everypony’s reactions and worriedly at Spike, who gave him an encouraging nod before taking a deep breath… Who’s to say makes a hero, glorious and brave? You may find the answer is hard to believe See, sometimes we get scared, and then we make mistakes Then we’re not so heroic… it seems… But if day can turn to night and the darkness turn to light Then why can’t we imagine a Changeling can change? No two ponies are exactly the same and no snowflake ever shares its design Though we all may be strong, we’ll be nothing but wrong When we forget to be friendly and kind But if day can turn to night and the darkness turn to light Then why can’t we imagine a changeling can change…? Would you call me a hero, glorious and brave, If I told you something you may not believe? This changeling you see, I know him and he knows me And I would stand by his side to the end….! But if day can turn to night and the darkness turn to light Then why can’t we imagine… Just why can’t we imagine! O why can’t we imagine a changeling can change….? Spike stepped back and removed the shackles from Thorax and the suspenseful silence made him feel afraid when he heard approaching hoof steps. “Spike, I am so proud of you.” The little dragon turned to see Twilight standing in front of him, Sombra having stepped back as his and everyone else’s eyes looked on. “You are?” Spike smiled and Twilight gave him a loving hug and nuzzle. “Of course! You were brave enough to form an unlikely friendship and stand up to everyone else in his defense even when they thought you were in the wrong! I can’t imagine anything so brave as that.” Twilight turned to face everypony else, “Since the day Spike and I left for Ponyville, I have studied the Magic of Friendship in pursuit of spreading it to everyone around me to maintain harmony between all! But today, it is Spike who taught me that a new friend can come from anywhere. As much as I’ve learned of Friendship, I continue to learn more and more about it, even in unexpected ways. “So if Spike says that Thorax is his friend then he’s my friend too!” Twilight turned to face Thorax and offer him her hoof in friendship, which he accepted with tears of joy and uttering, “Thank you!” “On behalf of Canterlot even all of Equestria,” Princess Celestia declared, “I am proud to offer my own hoof in friendship and welcome Thorax as a citizen of this nation!” Everypony in attendance cheered, and when it died down, Sombra stepped forward with a sorrowful look. “And I as well, along with my most heartfelt apologies and I admit how wrong I was about you, Thorax, and you too, Spike.” Cadance and Shining Armor stepped forward too, the latter saying, “Welcome to Canterlot, Thorax. I’m sorry we didn’t give you a chance or take the time to get to know you. Maybe we could start now.” “Nothing would make me happier!” Thorax smiled but then he looked nervous, “Although… I do have something to admit. While I am not the spy you’re looking for, I did bring another changeling here with me, but I give you my word she is absolutely harmless. In fact, she’s the reason I risked coming her to Canterlot in the first place.” Everypony shared looks and mutters, when Cadance asked, “Thorax, who is the changeling and why does she matter so much to you?” Thorax hesitated again, when he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder and looked to see Spike giving him an encouraging nod. Taking a breath, Thorax explained. “She’s a young changeling, to you all she’d be a filly. Her name is Elytra, and she’s… my little sister.” “Huh, never really pictured changelings having siblings,” Shining Armor chuckled weakly. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion… over tea,” Celestia suggested, “but Thorax, if you don’t mind an escort, would you be willing to bring your sister to us in the dining room? I would very much like to meet her.” “Um…” Thorax wasn’t entirely sure about that. “I give you my word, as a princess,” Celestia assured him kindly, “no harm will come to you or your sister. Once you’ve brought her before us, we can discuss what happens next.” Thorax could taste the sincere kindness radiating from the Princess of the Sun, and he knew she meant every word. “Okay, but could Spike come along too? My sister is… Well, she’s safely hidden in the crystal caves beneath Canterlot.” “Isn’t that the same place where Chrysalis sent you and then me the last time she tried to invade, Cadance?” Twilight looked to her sister-in-law. “Sounds like it,” Cadance remembered her time in those caves, how lonely and powerless she’d been. How lost and afraid she’d felt, not for herself but for the stallion and all others she’d cared about when Chrysalis stole her identity. “Why would you leave your sister in that place?” “Because it’s how Chrysalis was able to sneak into Canterlot the first time,” Thorax answered, “she would have brought her whole army through but the caves were too winding, too hazardous, and too many wrong turns could have resulted in death. And of course such narrows spaces would have made it too difficult for her forces to maneuver through. “So instead, she alone braved those caves to find a position of power and influence in order to lay the groundwork for her invasion while the rest of the Hive was to stand by until the wedding began. When the invasion was thwarted, the hive didn’t dare attempt to use the caves to do as she did and also because the hive assumed since you’d been made aware of them you’d be watching those caves more closely.” “As much as I want to hear more,” Celestia spoke up, “this should really continue after Thorax brings his sister to meet us. Spike, you and four guards will accompany Thorax to fetch his sister. Once you return bring her to us in the dining room.” It was barely an hour by the time Thorax, Spike, and the guards returned, the two unicorn guards among them levitating a wooden platform upon which Thorax’s cocooned sister was safely placed on. At first glance, the others were a little creeped out by the cocoon, so Cadance asked, “Welcome back, all of you. Thorax, is your sister… inside that thing?” “It’s a changeling hibernation cocoon,” Thorax explained, “we use them to enter a state of… dormancy, especially when nourishment is scarce. It preserves us so that we don’t deteriorate in health. But… that’s not why I put her in there.” “What do you mean, Thorax?” Luna asked, all eyes and ears were his to educate. Thorax looked at them all, nervous and afraid because what’d learned from them conflicted with his explanation. But he knew if they were going to help each other he had to be honest. Taking a deep breath, he explained. “Well, for starters, please allow me to finish. My explanation might not… add up with what you told me.” “What we told you?” Blueblood asked, only for his Aunt Celestia to raise her wing gently before nodding to Thorax to continue. Again Thorax took a deep breath and explained, about Chrysalis, about how she treated her own children like slaves, how she used the Hive Mind to control them and rob them of their free will, how she would do anything to preserve her power and control, why Thorax had placed his sister in the cocoon to dull her connection to the Hive Mind, why he and Elytra were on the run because that he was no longer beholden to the Hive Mind but he could not bare to leave her behind and become just another drone enslaved to a mother who may feed on love but doesn’t know the first thing about it. Everypony listened with rapt attention, Fluttershy, Rarity, Cadance, and even Velvet horrified by how evil Chrysalis had truly been, many of the others disgusted, and all of them now understanding why Thorax had risked so much to come to them. “…and that’s it, Your Majesties,” Thorax wrapped it up. “I’m not entirely certain why but I am no longer connected to the Hive Mind. Had I been discovered to no longer be under her control, Queen Chrysalis would have had me executed. But I refused to leave my sister behind, even though she is still connected to the Hive Mind, which means even though the hibernation cocoon dulls her connection eventually the Hive will find us. And I know we can’t run from them forever…” “Now I see…” Sombra said loud enough for everypony to hear that they all looked to him. “That must be why Chrysalis took her own life! If we’d learned of the Hive Mind then we would have known she was acting as a spy even all the while she was our prisoner!” “Except Chrysalis is dead now, so…” Cadance looked unsure at Thorax and the cocoon holding his sister. “Maybe that means with her gone, your sister is free!” “I’m not entirely sure of that, Princess Cadance,” Thorax shook his head. “See, Elytra’s connection to the Hive Mind doesn’t just allow the Hive to track her, but it also allows Elytra to detect and even overhear telepathic buzzings the drones send to and receive from each other over long distances as long as they are within range. “A short time ago, Elytra heard such buzzings about another invasion in the working stages… by order of the queen!” Those words were alarming to everypony, and almost at once there was discussions. “By order of the queen?! How is that possible?” “Wasn’t Queen Chrysalis in prison ever since her first invasion?” “She was, and there were various magical safeguards placed on her cell to insure even with her horn gone she could not try any magicks foreign to us.” “Maybe this Hive Mind works differently and she was able to use it even in her cell!” “Changeling magic could indeed work differently from pony magic. I mean, how much do we really know of changelings’ capabilities?” But all the while everypony else was talking, Twilight was reflecting on Thorax’s words and explanations about the Hive Mind. A telepathic network that allows one to control all but only if…!! Inspiration struck, and Twilight spoke up, “Princess Luna!” But there were too many talking all at once, getting louder as everypony tried to get their words in edgewise, Twilight trying to address Luna. Too much debating, too much theorizing, too much this and that and what and how and- “QUIEEEEEEEETTTTT!!!!!” Silence finally sounded its golden lack of noise as all eyes turned to Twilight, who gathered herself and politely said, “Thank you.” She then looked to Luna and said, “Princess Luna, I think I know just the pony who may be able to enter Midnight’s dream when you couldn’t.” Luna tilted her head a bit, curious of what Twilight’s theory was and who this pony she was proposing could be. Back in Ponyville… “So anything you wanna do today, kid?” Joe smiled happily at Twinken, having picked him up from Sweet Apple Acres and now they were strolling through Ponyville as though they’d known each other forever. “I’m not sure…” Twinken considered, “Rumble’s off playing with Scootaloo, Apple Bloom’s helping Granny Smith around the house, and Sweetie Belle’s spending time with Button. “He lost is big brother, you know.” “Yeah, I heard,” Joe sighed, “poor kid… I know exactly how he feels.” “So… Uncle Joe?” Joe looked down at Twinken, who gazed at him with hesitant curiosity. “We’ve been doing a lot together since yesterday, but… you still haven’t told me about my parents!” Joe wished he could tell Twinken what he wanted to know, even though he knew it would be painful. But he’d given his word to Twilight, and he was a stallion of his word. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I want to tell you, but the answers you want? They have to come from your brother, and he’s on some kind of mission for Princess Celestia, last I heard.” “Mmm…” Twinken moaned in disappointment as he looked into the distance and could barely see Canterlot on the mountainside of Mount Canterhorn. *FLASH* “WHA!!” Twinken hopped backwards and fell on his butt, Joe going over to make sure his nephew was okay when they noticed who was in front of them. “Princess Luna!” Princess Luna stood regal as she looked upon Twinken with soft scrutiny before she spoke. “Twinken! Brother of Midnight Blaze, you are needed!” “Needed? Need for what?” Twinken suddenly felt afraid, seeing as the Princess of the Night had just suddenly appeared before him and said he was needed. “N-now wait just a minute!” Joe stepped between his nephew and Luna, who was barely a couple inches taller, and Joe knew he was taller than the average horn-head. “I don’ care if youse a princess, you don’ just pop outta nowhere an’ say to my nephew that-” “He is needed because his brother needs him,” Luna interrupted with a sharp look of her eyes. “Oh Well… I guess that’s… different,” Joe stood down while Twinken got up and gazed at Luna. “Is my big brother okay?” he asked fretfully. “I need you to come with me, young Twinken,” Luna offered her hoof, “because Twilight and I believe it is only you who can help your brother now.” The little colt looked back and forth between Luna, her hoof, and his uncle Joe. He could see they both were concerned and unsure, and Twinken himself was afraid. What problem could be so bad that his brother needed him? What could he even do to help? He was only an apprentice mage! But then he remembered Joe saying the answers Twinken wanted about his parents would be told to him only by Midnight. Sighing, he looked to Luna and took her hoof, “I’m ready.” “Then I’m comin’ too!” Joe joined his hoof with there’s… only for Luna to gently push it away with her wing. “I am sorry, Pony Joe,” Luna apologized, “but teleporting such vast distances by myself is taxing and risky enough. If the situation were not so dire, I wouldn’t even take Twinken to Canterlot this way. But time is of the essence, and I dare not bring more than one passenger for this teleportation. I am sorry, but you must remain.” “But I…” Joe wanted to protest when he noticed a certain gorgeous pegasus mare he’d met yesterday passing by and giving him a come-hither wink. He couldn’t help but blush and make a silly giggle before remembering Luna and Twinken were still in front of him. “I-I-IIiiiiiiii…. understand perfectly! But… you’ll take care of him, won’t you?” “No harm will come to him, I give you my word as a princess,” Luna smiled in assurance. “Alrighty then,” Joe knelt down a little so he could talk to Twinken almost eye-to-eye, “You be good and careful, kiddo. Listen to the princess and do your best to help.” “I will,” Twinken reared up to hug Joe, and say, “See ya soon, Uncle Joe…” “You betcha,” Joe returned the hug warmly before they parted and he said, “Now, if you both’ll excuse me…” He stepped past them and watched him prance off, calling, “Hiya, Chili, youse lookin’ mighty lovely today!” Twinken and Luna shared a look and both laughed before Luna said, “Are you ready?” “I… guess so?” Twinken smiled a tad nervously. “Then we’re off!” Luna declared and they were gone in a FLASH. Back at the castle… “Alright, everypony,” Thorax addressed them all as they looked on at the changeling as he prepared to open the cocoon. “When Elytra comes out, she’ll be temporarily unable to see. Her sight will return shortly but she’s not used to being around ponies. So just be quiet at first while I talk to her a bit.” Everypony nodded and Celestia bade Thorax, “Proceed.” Thorax nodded and extended his hoof, angling the sharp edge towards the cocoon, and pressed it into the membrane, cutting deep as a clearish-green and pink liquid oozed out. Rarity barely stifled a groan of disgust while everypony else looked on as Thorax cut the hole bigger, more liquid spilling out, until a small form slid out, which he caught with his foreleg. “Elytra…?” Thorax whispered loudly, not wanting to startle her awake. “Time to wake up, little sister!” The liquid slid off to reveal Elytra, and although she was clearly a changeling, now that they had a better look of her, most of the mares (and Cheese and Soarin) present couldn’t help but ‘awww’. Elytra did indeed look like a filly, though her black exoskeleton gave off a pink sheen, her wing-coverings very much resembled that of a ladybug, dark red with black spots, and she even had a mane, somewhat similar to Chrysalis’s mane but in much better condition. It was smoother and fuller looking and colored a dark yet soft magenta, and they heard her groan as she was stirred from her hibernation. Her eyelids quivered a little before slowly creaking open to reveal her eyes were seashell pink… and instead of being entirely one color, like Thorax’s vivid opal eyes, Elytra’s eyes had pupils and sclera, like Chrysalis! Her eyes looked more similar to that of a pony’s. “B…brother? Am I…?” she uttered, sounding sluggish. Her little voice soft and sweet and tired. “It’s okay, we’re safe,” Thorax assured her, talking normally as he looked to the others, and smiled. “We’re in good company.” “R-really…?” Elytra tried to see who this ‘company’ was but her eyes could only make out vaguely colored shapes. “Are they… nice?” “Yes, little one. You and your brother are safe with us.” Elytra gasped lightly, for never had she heard a voice so gentle, so calming, so… She scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head a bit before opening them again as the blurriness finally gave way to reveal the ‘company’ her brother said were a bunch of ponies! But her eyes were drawn to the tall white one, looking at her with a smile kinder than she’d ever received from anyone, except for perhaps Thorax. Looking around at the others, Elytra saw more smiles, welcoming, kind, even a few that looked kinda silly, before she looked at the tall white pony again, looking like she was sorry. “Little one, whatever is the matter?” Celestia asked, hoping she hadn’t done anything to upset the little changeling. “I… I- I’m so sorry!” Elytra bowed her head, sounding on the verge of tears. “I know that-that… changeling have done bad things to you, and I… I hope you can fowgive us because we awe so sowwy!” “Aw…” everypony reacted, when Celestia stepped forward and knelt down into a pony-loaf position, where her legs were all folded underneath her, so she could be on a closer level to Elytra. The little changeling felt something soft and tickly touch her chin and she looked up in wonder as Celestia said to her, “There is no need to be sorry, little one, and no more reason to fear. We are your friends, and we will never let the Hive hurt you or your brother again.” Elytra shook as tears began to overwhelm her and she let it out! She sobbed, relieved, happy, no longer afraid, and Celestia pulled her into a hug, finding her softer to the touch than she’d expected, and everypony finally saw the truth: The changelings were not truly evil, but their mother was. Meanwhile, in Twilight’s old tower where she and Spike had lived before relocating to Ponyville, Twilight and Luna had just told Twinken all that had transpired, of the changelings planning another invasion, how Midnight had apparently been captured, and now how Twilight felt Twinken alone could be the one who could find him. Of course, hearing all this had been rather much for the young colt that he had barely managed to contain himself but couldn’t help shedding tears and stifling sniffles, Twilight wing-hugging him as she levitated a box of tissues to him. “Th-thank you!” Twinken whimpered, accepting a tissue with his soft red aura to blow his nose. The two princesses waited for Twinken to calm himself while Twilight incinerated the used tissue and set the box aside. Finally, Twinken took a shaky deep breath and asked, “So… how can I help? I wanna help, my big brother needs me!” “Well, young Twinken…” Luna looked to Twilight, “I am not entirely sure why but Twilight believes you are the one who can help Midnight. Twilight?” Twilight nodded and stood up to walk over to a marker board she still had in her tower, levitating a few different colored markers to draw out visual aids. “Well, Luna, you told me that Midnight’s dream denied you access, which you say has never happened to you before.” “It pains me to admit it so, yes,” sighed Luna, looking apologetic. “But after hearing from Thorax about this Hive mind that controls the changelings,” Twilight began her theory, “I believe that maybe – Just maybe! – Twinken could be the one who could enter Midnight’s dream!” Luna and Twinken shared a nervous look but kept listening. “Thorax explained the Hive Mind only allowed Chrysalis to control her own children but not any changelings she was not the mother of,” Twilight went on, her theory sending her on a fervent roll, “and he also mentioned the Hive Mind is like a telepathic network, which the changelings use to communicate over long distances and even track each other! “So Luna, would it be fair to say that Dream-Walking shares anything in common with telepathy?” “In a way, yes,” Luna considered the prospect, “what Dream-Walking is, is opening your mind to another plane upon which all dreams occur. In this… Dreamscape, as I call it, anything a pony thinks or imagines can seem as real as life! Imagination gives rise to fears, anxieties, and other troubles that weigh upon a pony’s mind, making their troubles, their fears, their worries, anything at all that is bothering them apparent in this Dreamscape, often in some twisted or exaggerated expression that turns these fears and troubles into something that can be truly frightening. “Dream-Walkers are able to step into the Dreamscape and use their own wills to shape it however the desire. It’s why whenever I perform my duties in watching over ponies’ dreams I manifest a… hall of doors that lead to the dreams of a specific individual. By stepping through the door I am creating a mystical telepathic link between my mind and the sleeping mind of the pony whose dream I have chosen to enter. “Which brings us, Twinken, to why you are here. You see, last night while watching over dreams, I happened upon the door to Midnight’s dream! But when I tried to enter it, it repelled me. Quite painfully, I must say, but this- I don’t… Being denied access to somepony’s dream has never happened to me before! I probed the dream door more carefully and still it denied me entry.” “So that brings me to my theory, Luna, Twinken,” Twilight spoke up, the two of them looking at the purple princess, as she told them, “I believe that you, Twinken, are perhaps the only one who can enter Midnight’s dream and find out where he might be held prisoner or anything else concerning his location or information about the changelings.” “So… does that mean, you’re gonna take me to Midnight’s dream, Princess Luna?” Twinken looked hopefully at the moon princess, but the look on her face caused him worry. “I…” Luna looked to Twilight, who shook her head no. “Actually, Twinken, we believe, in order for this to be most effective, that you yourself must Dream-Walk into the Dreamscape and attempt access to Midnight’s dream,” Twilight elaborated, “There is a chance that if Luna helps you that Midnight’s dream will deny you as well.” “So in other words,” Luna was finally realizing what Twilight was getting at, “you want me to unlock any latent lunar magic that is dormant in Twinken, and bestow upon him the power of Dream-Walking!” “That’s the idea,” Twilight concurred, Twinken looking nervously between the two princesses. “Twinken, I understand this is a huge prospect and I would never ask anything like this of you unless there was a more promising option. “Maybe there is but with this changeling invasion hanging over our heads, I don’t think time to find another solution is a luxury we have!” Twinken sighed in worry when he felt Luna’s hoof on his shoulder and he looked up at her, “I can feel it in you, Twinken. You do indeed have lunar pony blood flowing through your veins, but due to how thin it’s become over the generations of your family I would doubt you’d ever develop any lunar powers at all. Unless you are willing to let me form a mystical link between us so that I might reach into your magic and bring that power to the surface. “We understand how heavy this burden may feel upon your shoulders, and we will think no less of you if you are not up for-” “Okay…!” The princesses startled a bit at the determined look in Twinken’s bright red eyes as he gazed boldly at them and said, “Let’s do it!” The two princesses shared a concerned look before Twilight asked, “Twinken… Are you absolutely sure?” “Midnight’s my big brother and he’s always come through for me,” Twinken nodded although there was a light shiver in his voice. “Now it’s my turn to come through for him. What do we do first?” Twilight and Luna met each other’s gaze again and nodded and Luna said, “First we must prepare a magic circle.”