//------------------------------// // Chapter 35: Improvise & Reveal // Story: Changeling Fate // by Nightmare Rift //------------------------------// Night Crystal’s POV: I wake up the next morning to see a note from Twilight. It says I need to meet her and everypony else in Canterlot. It doesn’t say why, but I guess I will carry my sword sheath. Mainly because I am guessing there is a good possibility that we will be meeting in Celestia’s real throne room. I teleport to Canterlot, directly to the throne room. I arrive to see a couple of shocked looking guards, and quickly teleport to the makeshift throne room. I arrive there to see Celestia, Luna, Zecora, Twilight, the other bearers, Starlight, Spike, and Sunburst. “So what are we all here to talk about?” “Surprisingly, Twilight’s school, and you,” says Celestia. “What about Twilight’s school?” “Two things. First, if you don’t make me lose my trust in you today, would you want to take a teaching position in my school? Secondly, a student came to me, regarding a very interesting occurrence. Although I don’t think she meant it to mean something quite as important as it really does to us. I’m sure you remember this student?” asks Twilight, procuring an image in her magic of the Changeling young enrolled at her school. “I would love a teaching position Twilight. And of course I do, what about her?” “Well, she told me that all of the other students congratulated all of the other bearers for saving them. But she instead went up to you, for she saw what you were, and hugged you. Is this correct so far?” “Yes, what about it?” “She then proceeded to tell me that you are kind of like a mother figure to her. She accepted you into that role, but I didn’t know how to tell her that you are not what you appear to be. No, better yet, I didn’t have the heart to tell her what you really were, even though she saw you change!” “Twilight, be reasonable, this Changeling was an orphan, never knowing love, kindness, or friendship. What did you expect her to do after seeing another one of her kind living amongst ponies?” “Well I for one would have assumed that you would have been nice enough to tell the rest of your friends what you really are,” says Celestia. “I agree. It doesn’t mean a darn thing when ya don’t trust your friends enough to tell them that you are a Changelin’,” says Applejack. “Yeah, I don’t know what you could have done in your past that is even close to what I did to my village. Probably not enough to make you sympathize with me!” yells Starlight. Soon everypony but Fluttershy yells at me about my betrayal and how you don’t hide stuff from your friends. I can’t take it anymore. “ENOUGH!” The room falls silent. “You don’t know of my past, you don’t know how much you guys are confirming everything I believed about normal ponies. You can’t imagine the fear I had when I left the life I knew before here. You are all acting as if I am at fault. Do you really believe I didn’t want to tell you? This was the response that I had feared from the beginning about what was going to happen if I marched into town as a Changeling. A bombardment of hurtful things, and possibly physical violence. Do you comprehend how lucky you all are? No! You can’t!” I do a mass teleport of everypony into Celestia’s real throne room. I change into my Changeling form, and pull the sword out of the floor of Celestia’s throne room. I have everypony's attention now. “This is what I am! Why do you think I didn’t show you? I am the last Changeling that looks like this! Everything you know about the War of Crystal is almost a complete lie! I lived it!” “What?” asks Applejack, looking about as confused as everypony else in the room. “All Changelings now look like the one that goes to Twilight’s school. I am what you would call an evil Changeling. I did Sombra’s bidding as a Changeling young. After accepting Celestia’s reign, almost all of the Changelings turned into the colorful versions you know today. I am the one Changeling young Celestia and Luna let live after the War of Crystal. So yes, I am quite a living nightmare to Celestia now. One that has come back to haunt her.” “So that is why you could sympathize with me, and why you never discussed your life in much detail before now,” says Starlight, the imaginary lightbulb going off in her head. “Then you aren’t who we know you to be, are you?” asks Celestia with a look of dread on her pristine face. “No, I am not. My name isn’t Night Crystal. Twilight and Luna knew me to be Skylight, but even that is a lie.” I see Twilight’s face drop in betrayal. “My name is actually Styx,” I say as I see the faces of everyone I trusted turn to fear in light of my new name. Only Fluttershy knew this prior to now, so she was simply staring at me in sadness. I let the personality caged in my head out. I was the only pony left who possessed and knew how to use dark magic, and oh did Celestia and Luna know it. I was somepony to fear. I was the only pony who was able to bring Sombra back, and in that moment I almost do. But I decide to wait and see where my decision takes me.