//------------------------------// // 235. The Loss of Faith - Part 16 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// They wasted no time. Luna asked Twinken to just stand by and wait patiently while she and Twilight cleared the middle of the room, removing the carpeting (to Twilight’s silent chagrin) to have room to draw the magic circle. Taking simple chalk, Luna and Twilight drew out the simple circle first, then Luna instructed Twilight to add specific runes along the inner edge of the circle’s basic outline while Luna began drawing more elaborate designs, resembling constellations and one large moon symbol mirroring her own moon on her cutie-mark. Progress was delayed a bit because Twilight kept pausing and asking Luna if she was drawing things out right. Sensing Twinken’s rising anxiety, Luna asked Twilight if there were any candles and when she responded yes, Luna had Twinken bring out as many candles as he could and set them around the room. Having something to do helped Twinken focus and feel less anxious of what was about to transpire. At Luna’s request, he took several candles from Twilight’s old study aid stash (they both gave her a look for having enough candles to fill a store) and telekinetically setting them here and there around the whole room. After almost an hour of careful work and making sure all was as it should be, Luna announced, “We are ready to begin. Twinken, sit in this space of the circle and I’ll sit in the one across from you. Twilight, close all the curtains and make sure not one beam of sunlight is pouring into this room. For this to work, the magic cannot be disrupted by daylight.” “Understood,” Twilight willed all curtains closed and went the extra mile by charming all windows to reflect light so as to allow none in. “Anything else?” “Set every candle alit all at once and then stand by,” Luna requested, and Twilight’s spell ignited every candlewick, creating an eerie atmosphere within the room as the candlelight reached out with its soft glow, casting dancing shadows around the furnishings upon the walls. “Now, the both of you, just… stay still… and stay quiet, and… don’t move.” Twilight wished she could write down her observations of whatever magic Luna was about to work but she didn’t dare interrupt, especially since this was intended to help Midnight. She watched as Luna sat in her space of the magic circle, her eyes closed, her breathing even, while Twinken forced himself to stay still in spite of the building suspense as Luna closed her eyes in concentration and her horn began to glow the soft and guiding radiance of moonlight. The lines of the magic circle began to light up likewise, spreading out from Luna’s side of the circle, each line and detail coming alive like Luna’s horn. Once the circle was completely aglow, Twinken gasped as he felt an ethereal embrace, his own horn began to glow the same soft red as his eyes. “Close your eyes,” Luna instructed softly, “steady your breaths, forget what you see, disregard what you know, leave behind your fears, and take me within…” Twilight watched in awe as the flames of every candle rose up from their wicks, slowly moving around like a nexus ablaze before the licks of flame became something else. Instead of the burning glare of fire it burst into the resplendent radiance of a clear starlit sky! The stars began to move in a circle, some brighter, others dimmer, until it looked like a swirling galaxy, with two particular stars shining brighter than the rest, one the same Persian blue as the outline of Luna’s mane, the other the soft red of Twinken’s eyes. Twilight then tore her gaze down from the miraculous magic working right above their heads and looked at Luna and Twinken, noticing they both appeared to be in a trance, and she wondered, I wonder where they are now… “Ugh…” Twinken moaned as he felt as though he were waking up… but one look around told him he wasn’t awake! “Whoa…!” All around was a cosmic void of soft purple-blue, and floating by were hundreds of stars. But when he looked closer, he saw that these were not stars at all – They were dreams! In one, he saw Granny Smith knitting a quilt that became an entirely new orchard of apple trees… and he also saw a big strong earth pony stallion who looked very much like Big Mac, except his coat was yellow and his mane red, like Apple Bloom’s, and he was wearing… Applejack’s hat? With him was an earth pony mare with a pale orange coat and deeper orange curly mane with a tie in it, as well as her tail. In another dream, he saw… Dinky? Dinky Doo with her parents, Time Turner Whooves and Ditzy Doo laughing and talking as time Turner fiddled with some kind of pen-like gizmo and beckoning his daughter and wife to follow him into some odd blue box. A third dream showed Bulk Biceps… he was with a pretty mare and his son Featherweight. They appeared to be having a picnic and looking very happy together, especially Featherweight, who looked stronger and healthier than normal. “Welcome to the Dreamscape, Twinken.” “Wha-guh!!” Twinken startled and turned around to see, “Princess Luna! Uh…” Luna was floating towards Twinken, who asked, “I… This is the Dreamscape? But… Last time I was here, back when you helped me with my bad dream, it looked like a hall of doors!” “As a Dream-Walker, I can manipulate Dreamscape to make it more familiar to my sense of reality,” Luna explained. “Very similar to the way a pony can manipulate his dream through lucid-dreaming.” “Lucid…? Oh! You mean, when you’re asleep and having a dream but you know it’s a dream and can do what you like,” Twinken pointed out. “Exactly. When I Dream-Walk, I like to make it appear as a hall of doors that lead to ponies’ dreams,” Luna confirmed, “but for you, Twinken, you must learn to bend the Dreamscape to your will and make it appear as something with which you are comfortable. “The way we see the Dreamscape now is this place in its natural state. However, before we proceed with you learning how to Dream-Walk, I must first make use of the mystic link the magic circle has established between us. “Are you ready?” Twinken looked at the starry void around them and while it filled him with a sense of wonder so too did it instill wariness. Even so, he’d come this far already, and Midnight was counting on him. He took a deep breath before furrowing his brows and looking at the Princess of the Night with a bold and determined smile. “Let’s do it!” Luna nodded with a proud smile, thinking, I will be honored to count you among my Children of the Night… She unfurled her wings, which reached out further and further, becoming the night sky all around them, blocking out the stars representing dreams, until there was only darkness. “P-Princess Luna?” Twinken tried to light up his horn but gasped when he couldn’t feel his magic! “Wha- What’s… Princess Luna! I can’t feel my magic! Is something wrong?” “Oh… things couldn’t be more right, my little pony!” The voice! Twinken had never heard it before but it instantly made him afraid. At that moment, a distant purplish haze shimmered into view, vibrant against the darkness and the only light Twinken could see. It looked like a mist of stars, a nebula of forbidden power, and as it cleared, it revealed a tall and terrible form. A visage Twinken had seen only during a certain holiday! An evil from a legend he had only heard of as the figure got closer, revealing herself a tall and black alicorn, the nebula her mane and tail, clad in frightful armor, her lips pulled back in a mocking sneer to reveal fangs and Twinken knew this could only be… “Nightmare Moon…!” “Welcome to my little corner of the void, my little pony…” Nightmare Moon said mockingly as she looked with spurious warmth upon the little colt. “How are- Why- …You’re not real!” Twinken tried backing away but his every step moved him no further from Nightmare Moon. “This-this isn’t real! Luna, where are you?!” “I’m not real?” Nightmare Moon laughed mockingly, “My sweet child, I am as real as you are!” “But you were beaten!” Twinken’s heart began to race, as did his mind as he thought fruitlessly how to make sense of what was happening or how to get out of it. “My brother and Twilight and all their friends used the Elements of Harmony to defeat you and free Luna!” “And yet here I am…” Nightmare Moon jeered as she began to circle Twinken like a predator, “for as long as Luna exists, so do I. She may think she’s free of me, that I am gone, but she, as well everypony else has forgotten! She is me… as I am her! But enough about me, let’s get to why you’re here…” Nightmare Moon waved her wing and a burst of stars revealed an open door… and Twinken gasped at what he saw on the other side! He saw himself, along with, to his shock, “…are those my… parents?!” Ignitus Enflame, standing strong and proud beside his loving and beautiful wife, Faerie Tail, as she gave the Twinken in there with her a bunch of teasing smooches, that the image of Twinken laughed as he tried to wriggle free of his mom’s hug. Ignitus was laughing as he pulled his wife and son into a big family hug, all of them laughing and smiling. Twinken felt his heart ache with longing, a tear run down his face, and then he shivered as he felt Nightmare Moon lower her head next to his as they both gazed into the door. “Tell me, Twinken… would you like to meet your mother and father? Would you like to be with them, as you always should have been? You could make up for lost time, have the life that should have been yours, with your mother and father there, loving you, teaching you. Holding you close, and never letting you go…” “I… I want...” Twinken raised a shaking hoof towards the door until he noticed something missing from this picture. “Wait… I don’t see Midnight in there.” “Midnight…?” Nightmare Moon’s tone changed and Twinken looked up to see her gaze had become cold and steely. “Why would you want him to be there? After all, he lied to you. He abandoned you! And then out of nowhere, he takes you back just to alleviate his own guilty conscience. Take it from someone who knows, my sweet Twinken, older siblings always let you down!” “But… I…” Twinken saw the door was starting to become dim, “I… I know Midnight has kept things from me, and… I don’t understand why, but… He’s done so much for me, looked out for me!” “Forget about him!” Nightmare Moon snarled, “The door is beginning to fade away! If you don’t enter it before it’s gone then you’ll never be with your parents! You’ll regret cutting your worthless brother lose when you had the chance!” “No! Midnight loves me, and now he needs me!” Twinken glared reproachfully at Nightmare Moon. “It’s because of him your parents are gone! Because of him you never knew them! And you would relinquish this one chance of being with them truly for a brother who has lied to you all your life?!” Nightmare Moon’s mane rose up and thundered like a storm cloud as her eyes glared spitefully at Twinken. “I don’t know what happened, and I don’t know why it happened…” Twinken felt a new magic being to ignite within as he found his resolve. “But what I do know is… He’s out there somewhere and that he needs me! Don’t get me wrong, he owes me one hay of an explanation, for everything. He has let me down before but he’s always gone above and beyond to make up for when he’s disappointed me, and I couldn’t ask for a better brother! “I don’t know what that door is you’re showing me…” Twinken looked at it and felt his heart hurt to see the door leading to that happy vision of himself with his parents was almost completely faded away. “…but it’s not real. And giving him up for a lie…” Twinken threw a look unyielding at Nightmare Moon so bold it made him step back warily, “My uncle Joe told me a lot about my mom and dad, that Mom was kind and always lent a helping hoof, that Dad was brave and never shied away from doing the right thing. “And my big brother… He never loses faith in those he cares about and never has he given me a reason not to have faith in him! So thanks but no thanks, Nightmare Moon! I’m here to help however I can and whatever I need to do, and I’ll do it, because I never give up! Not on my friends, not on my family, and not on myself!!!” Nightmare Moon shrank back as Twinken began to glow with the soft silvery radiance of a full moon, banishing away the darkness and Nightmare Moon along with it. This gave way to the starry abyss of the Dreamscape, revealing Princess Luna as well, looking so very proud. “Well spoken, Twinken, and congratulations.” “Princess Luna, you’re- You’re okay!” Twinken floated closer to the moon princess and laughed in relief as she embraced him. “But- I-I thought that you…?” “I was always here, Twinken,” Luna assured, “for this was your test.” “Test?” echoed, Twinken, “I don’t… I don’t understand.” “You feel it now, don’t you, Twinken?” Luna placed her hoof over Twinken’s heart, and he realized she was right! “The lunar magic that was always within you, beyond your reach, until I gave you the way. But only by your will could you finally reach within and bring that power to the surface. You are now a lunar pony, and by refusing to give into temptation or contempt, you have proven yourself a light that shines even in the deepest darkness.” “So… Nightmare Moon wasn’t really here? It was all a test?” gathered Twinken. Then a horrible thought crossed his mind that he had to ask. “…What if I’d failed? What if I’d…?” Luna was hesitant to answer, but she owed Twinken an honest one, “…Then you would have shown yourself to be untrustworthy with the power of Dream-Walking, and your chance to help your brother would have been over before it began.” “…Oh,” Twinken deadpanned with grimace. “But enough of that!” Luna’s tone snapped Twinken to attention. “You are now a lunar pony, Twinken, but more than that, you are a Dream-Walker. That is the first power I’ve helped you to bring to the surface. In time, other powers may make themselves known, but for now… The real work begins, so I have just one question for you…” Twinken gulped as Luna brought her face right up to his, her eyes steely, her face as expressionless as stone before she asked, “Are you ready?” Taking a deep breath, Twinken gave a decisive nod, and Luna stood at the full of her height and said, “Then let’s get started!” She fanned out her wings and her horn instantly radiated a blinding light! In the gardens, Elytra ran and laughed, headbutting a ball back towards Spike, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Cheese Sandwich, having the time of her life. Night Light, Velvet, Big Mac, and Rarity were watching on the side, cheering for Elytra whenever she bopped the ball, caught the ball, just cheering her own the way one does for a foal to make them feel good about themselves. From a window, Celestia, Sombra, Cadance, Shining Armor, Blueblood, and Thorax watched in wonder at this little filly. She was not a pony but she was truly something special in their eyes. “Amazing… I can see she is a changeling but the first thing I think of when I look upon her is a child, sweet and pure,” Blueblood commented, the others agreeing. “Thank you all, Your Majesties,” Thorax looked at them all in turn, “this is honestly the happiest Elytra’s been in a long-long time, ever since I took her from the hive and we’d been on the run.” He looked out the window again, his heart swelling at the sight of his sweet little sister, laughing and playing, “This is the kind of life I want for her to have, where she’s happy and free to live as she would choose for herself. “But until I’m certain she is free of the Hive Mind, I will fear for her…” “Perhaps we can figure that out together,” Cadance came up to stand by Thorax’s side, to his surprise. Especially when Shining Armor came up on the changeling’s other side. “You believe Cadance and I somehow freed you of the Hive Mind when we stopped the first invasion,” Shining Armor brought up, “so maybe we can figure out how to do the same for Elytra.” “In the meantime, Thorax…” Sombra spoke up with respectful hesitance, “it might be safer for you and Elytra to appear as ponies. While we have accepted you, others may not be so welcoming, and of course there is still the fact that the changelings’ spy remains at large.” “As much as I would like to think better of my subjects, I must agree with my husband,” Celestia sighed as she looked apologetically at Thorax. “A pony disguise would probably be safer for you and elytra, Thorax, but it’s up to you.” Thorax nodded and his body was quickly enveloped in his turquoise flame-like mana before giving way to show him in his ‘Crystal Shade’ persona, “Elytra’s safety is my first concern, and I agree it would be safer for her and I to look like ponies. Once we’re done talking, I’ll go down and tell her.” “Then it’s agreed,” Blueblood gestured for everypony to sit at the conference table, “which brings us to the matter at hoof concerning this spy. Whoever it is has access to information exclusive to the Aristocratic Council, and leaked the classified location and additional information about the energem mine to the hive. “Is it possible one or more among the council has been replaced by a changeling?” “It is certainly possible,” considered Celestia, “after all, Chrysalis was able to replace Cadance without anypony but Twilight becoming suspicious.” “I have another concern. Thorax,” Shining Armor looked to their disguised friend, “when Midnight and I led the expedition to the mine and we were ambushed, there was a… some kind of… changeling monster among them. It looked like a manticore and the changeling in command there – He called himself Thorn – He said the manticore-changeling thing was… I don’t really know how to explain it, but-” “A hybrid,” Thorax answered, and all ears were his, “Ordinarily, all changelings are birthed using DNA collected from random pony stallions. Essentially, all changelings are either full-blooded siblings, born from the same nest of the same father, or they’re half-siblings, coming from different nests, but all of us birthed by Chrysalis. “But in rare cases… Chrysalis would send her drones to collect the DNA of… other creatures.” “Like the manticore-changeling Shining Armor encountered at the mine?” asked Cadance. “Yes, but… Chrysalis didn’t create hybrids very often,” Thorax confirmed, “because the hybrids’ connections to the Hive Mind isn’t as strong as the sway she has over regular changelings. “The fact you encountered a hybrid at all, well… It means Chrysalis is- Er… She was really gearing up for an invasion that is absolutely intended to be victorious.” “Then this may very well be worse than we thought,” Sombra sighed as he leaned forward onto his crossed forehooves. “We must identify this spy and figure out what other intelligence they’ve leaked to the hive!” “My instincts tell me that at least one member of the Aristocratic Council has been replaced by a changeling spy,” Celestia theorized aloud, “but I am uncertain of trying to determine which one without alerting the infiltrator.” “I think I could help you with that, Princess,” Thorax volunteered, “Although I’m no longer connected to the Hive Mind, I can still sense the presence of another changeling, if I’m close enough to it, and even if they’re in disguise.” “Then perhaps, Aunt Celestia,” Blueblood proposed, “you should gather the council members and have Thorax attend! If your theory is correct, he might be able to sense the spy and point them out!” “So be it,” Celestia nodded in agreement. “I shall call for an impromptu meeting to discuss the breach in security concerning the mine. Either Thorax will reveal the spy to us, or the spy will…”