//------------------------------//
// Chapter 41 - Positive Changes 
// Story: Off The Mark 
// by Goldfur 
//------------------------------//

Shining Armor picked up his swooning sister with some concern while the mares looked at me as if I was nuts.

I finally managed to dial down my manic laughter to chuckling.  “I’m sorry, but you need to know what’s been happening to understand why I laughed.  To start with, we’re not the same Mark Wells or Twilight Sparkle that you know, and Chrysalis, you’re definitely not the same changeling we know.  It’s a long story, so may I suggest we go inside and make ourselves comfortable while I fill you all in?  I could do with something to eat and drink too.  Twilight as well when she recovers consciousness. Not sure how long that will be because we’re both pretty exhausted.”

“Okay, Scrumptious,” Chrysalis replied with a smirk, “but this better be a doozy of an explanation!”

I blinked and gaped.  Did she just call me Scrumptious?  What have I gotten myself into this time?

They all took my suggestion though.  Shining gently settled Twilight into a big overstuffed chair of the type that I’d seen her fall asleep in many a time after trying to read all night, so I knew she’d be okay.  Cadance, Shining, and Chrysalis made themselves comfortable on the sofa – the stallion happily sandwiched between the mares.  I had to get a picture of that to take with me.  If we ever managed to get back to our home reality, I would need proof of such an outrageous improbability.  Yet I couldn’t fault it from looking at them.  The way they casually touched and exchanged glances told me volumes.

Spike was here in this alternate world, and he happily went to prepare food and drink for Twilight and me.  I didn’t wait for him to return to begin my explanation.

I covered almost everything about our current situation while avoiding saying anything about Chrysalis in Twilight’s and my home dimension.  However, I eventually bit the bullet and brought up the war dimension. From her facial expressions, Chrysalis looked pleased that she was defending both ponies and changelings, then confused when I described Shining and Cadance being used as a love battery. Lastly, I recounted the events of the Royal Canterlot Wedding.  I don’t think I could have upset both mares more if I’d told them I was drowning kittens as a hobby.

“But why?!” wailed Chrysalis, her wings vibrating with her irritation.  “Why would I ever do such a thing?”

Cadance and Shining tried to console the love bug, but she’d apparently taken her counterpart’s actions to heart.

“The princesses couldn’t understand her motivations either because it was a crazy plan,” I replied.  “I wasn’t there to witness it, so everything about the invasion I learned later. What’s more, it seems to me that it’s hard to harvest love from ponies you’ve enslaved.”

“That’s why we call her the Mad Queen,” came Twilight’s voice.

I turned to look at Twilight who was gazing at Chrysalis with a mixture of curiosity, fear, and confusion.  It seemed that she had regained consciousness during my explanation and kept quiet until now.

“Perhaps if Chryssy can tell us about her past, it might throw some light on the situation,” I suggested.  “Meanwhile, get some food and drink into you.  Spike left it on the side table.”

The purple alicorn’s eyes snapped to the mentioned repast and she began to tear into her meal.  She must have been starving based on the noises she was making.

I turned back to the others.  “How about it?” I asked the changeling.

Chrysalis nodded, getting her wings under control.  “I suppose my story starts when my mother died and I took over the hive when I was still very young.  We had huge troubles and the hive was slowly dying.  Our remote location in the Badlands and changes in pony civilization had led to a serious decline in the love harvest.  Add to that just rotten timing.  Every fifty years or so, ponies would be spooked by rumors of dangerous beasts taking the shape of their loved ones.  Strangers wandering into town used to be a common occurrence, but with the advances in cheap communication across Equestria, the infrequent visitors had to come from somewhere.  Without a credible backstory, our love harvesters had to spend months or even years establishing themselves.  And with the increasing threat of being exposed by suspicious neighbors or even customers, changelings often had to abandon their pony identities and run for their lives.  At my hive, many changelings were dying from malnutrition.  My mother had been a staunch traditionalist and had refused to do anything differently from how changelings had done things for centuries, but I knew that we had to change our ways to survive.  That was when I heard about this new alicorn whose special aspect was that of love.  I was certain then that the Alicorn of Food was the key to our salvation.”

Cadance’s eyes narrowed and she lifted her nose slightly.  “Shiny, be a dear and punch her for me, please.”

Shining Armor leaned back in their sofa, putting one foreleg around each of his wives. “No can do, Cady.  You should have put ‘dole out punishment for teasing’ into our marriage contract.  So it’s your fault, really.”

The pink alicorn’s icy gaze turned to her husband.

Chrysalis’ grin grew wider.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  I meant to say ‘The Princess of Indigestion and Tooth Decay’.”  From Shining’s chuckle, I surmised that this was not the first time the topic had come up.

Cadance’s horn started to glow.  “Just one more, little love bug, and we’ll see if you’re still ticklish…”  A pink glow appeared on the inside of the changeling’s forelegs, causing Chrysalis to jerk them backward with a gasp.  “… just inside your knees?”

The changeling wrapped those forelegs around her husband and wailed theatrically. “Shiny, darling!  Save meeeeeeeee!”

“As if he could protect you!”  Cadance reached for a giggling Chrysalis, leaning further onto Shining Armor who was now truly squished between his mares.

Twilight coughed and the three on the couch stopped moving to look back at Twilight then myself.  They sat back down again and composed themselves, a slight blush on Cadance’s face.

The changeling smiled.  “Sorry. Your counterparts are quite used to our antics and… well…”

I shared a look with Twilight and she nodded.  Whatever else could be said about this universe, these three were truly happy with each other.

Chrysalis continued.  “… because you two always have your hooves all over each other…”

I know my eyes went as wide as Twilight’s.  Looking back, I saw the same predatory grin on both mares sitting on the couch. Together, they said “Reeeeeaaaalllllllyyyyy….”  Even the tone of their voices was the same throughout.

Shining sat up straighter.  “What? What did I miss?”

Cadance pointed a hoof at Twilight and myself.  “Those two.  Purely platonic friendship.”

He snorted and frowned at me.  “Are you telling me you think Twily is not pretty enough?  That she’s not good enough for you?”  Chrysalis put a hoof on his shoulder to keep him from standing up. Cadance merely rolled her eyes.

I waved off his accusation and looked at Twilight.  “No. Nothing like that.”

“Is it the snoring?  Or the bad table manners?” suggested Shining helpfully.

“No. Well, yes, those are super annoying.” Twilight’s questioning look turned into a glare and her nostrils expanded with a huff.  “But that’s not the deal-breaker.  It’s…”

I turned back to three expectant faces, waiting on my every word.  I smiled.

“It’s the future in-laws.”

All three jaws in front of me dropped in unison.  Both Twilight and I cracked up.

When we were done laughing, Cadance said, “Twilight, this pony has no respect whatsoever for royalty.”

Chrysalis finished.  “He’s perfect for you.”

Cadance and Chrysalis nodded to each other sagely.

Shining said, “Don’t I get any say in the matter?”

“No,” chorused both mares.  Shining glowered and crossed his forelegs across his chest.

I prompted, “You were talking about realizing Cadance was your best hope?”

Chrysalis paused to look at Cadance and smiled.  “It wasn’t easy to get a private audience, and even trickier to reveal my true nature to her.  Changelings have always kept themselves apart from other species, hiding our very existence from all.  I knew that the other hives would be upset with me for violating that principle, but the survival of mine was at stake and I didn’t care.  I begged my case with Cadance and her guardian, Princess Celestia. They agreed to help on certain conditions.  Cadance came to my hive and replenished half of our love stores merely from her power alone. As for me, I had to stay in Canterlot to learn more about ponies and how to rule wisely.  I was the same apparent age as Cadance, and I went to school with her while a regent was appointed among my changelings to look after the hive during the week.  I came back on the weekends to deal with royal matters.”

Chrysalis’ eyes defocused as she recalled those times.  A hint of sadness crept into her voice.  “It wasn’t easy at first.  I was the only changeling in a class of mostly unicorns, many of them children of the snobbish nobles.  Cadance stood by me though and refused to let the other fillies and colts harass me. She cared so much, and I felt just as strongly.  We grew into BFF’s and I could no longer imagine my life without her.  Then we met Shining Armor.”

Cadance exchanged a giggle with Chryssy before the changeling continued.  “We both fell for the young stallion.  He was handsome, true, but he was also smart and ambitious. A pity he was also very bashful around mares.”

Shining groaned.  “Do you always have to tell everypony that part?”

Chrysalis patted his hoof with hers.  “Yes, dear, I do.  I could taste your emotions, remember?  Cadance and I had to figure out ways to get you to notice us, one of which led to us becoming foalsitters for Twilight when she was still a little filly.”

“You foalsat me?!” squeaked Twilight.

“Of course!” Chrysalis replied with a fond grin.  “We even came up with our own special welcoming chant.”

I remembered seeing Cadance and Twilight’s bizarre little ritual and I grinned. “Can I see that?”

Chrysalis exchanged a look with Cadance who shrugged.  “Okay.  Umm, Twily – want to join in?”

I think Twilight was caught off guard because she started blinking rapidly.  “Ah… my ritual might differ from yours.”

“Fair enough.”

Both mares got off the sofa and faced each other.  Then they began.


“Sunshine, sunshine,
love bugs awake!
Clap your hooves,
and do a little shake!”


They did all the motions that Twilight and her Cadance had done too.  I chuckled and then guffawed when I saw the look on Twilight’s face.

“That… that’s virtually identical to mine,” she gasped.  “You’ve only substituted love bugs for ladybugs.”

The mares resumed their seats with smiles on their faces.  “We’re not that different despite being from different worlds, apparently,” Cadance replied.

“I gather you finally managed to land your stallion?” I asked.

Chrysalis nodded.  “It took until a formal school dance before this loveable twit got around to doing anything about his feelings, but we eventually became a threesome.  Then, after graduation, he proposed to us and we accepted. He had to go off to Royal Guard training, and Cadance and I had royal duties too.  I needed to make improvements to my hive that were now possible due to a constant love supply, and Cadance helped me to start integrating changelings into Equestrian society.  Years passed and Shiny distinguished himself in the Royal Guard, eventually becoming the Captain of the Canterlot Guard when the previous one passed away.”

Cadance spoke up.  “That’s when Auntie Celestia insisted that it was time that we got married.  He had the rank worthy of two princesses now, and the nobility couldn’t bitch and moan as much.”

Shining Armor said, “Although Twily was pretty pissed off about not being told about the wedding until shortly before because of the royal protocol for secrecy. However, she got over it quickly when she learned that she was our Best Mare, and her friends were Mares-in-Waiting.”

I asked, “Are they also Element Bearers?”

Cadance said, “Yes.  Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity.”

“And did they all get their cutie marks when Rainbow Dash did her first sonic rainboom?”

Shining Armor said, “Exactly.  I take it that is the same as in your world?”

I looked at Twilight and she answered my unspoken question.  “So that confirms it.  The futures we are now travelling to no longer have to be tied to Starlight Glimmer preventing that key event from happening.  That also means Star Swirl’s spell is destabilizing.  It will always take us back to the same moment in time in our universe, but our return destination will only get more unpredictable.”

Twilight looked down and was silent for a long moment as she took it all in.  She sighed.  “Still, I find myself envying this world’s Twilight Sparkle.  I could have had so much more if our Chrysalis was as wonderful as you.  I’m truly sorry for my reaction earlier, and I hope we can still be friends, if not your actual sister-in-law.”

Chrysalis smiled and said, “I would expect no less from the Princess of Friendship.” She got off the sofa again and went over to Twilight.  She spread her forehooves and said, “Can I have that hug now?”

Twilight giggled and got down to exchange a fervent hug with the changeling.

“Camera!” I cried.  “Where’s a camera when you need one?!”

Everyone laughed at that.  Damn, it was good to hear.

When the conversation resumed, something occurred to me.  “Are you the rulers of the Crystal Empire in this reality?”

“Yes, we are,” Cadance replied.

“Okay. Chryssy, if you’re married to Shining and Cadance and they reside in the Empire, I presume you do too?”

The changeling nodded.  “My title is Princess Chrysalis of the Crystal Empire, so I certainly need to,” she said with amusement.

“So, what happened to your hive?”

“It’s back where it belongs.”

I blinked. “Say what?”

Chryssy’s smile grew.  “Did you wonder why my hive was located so far away that it was dying?  It didn’t use to be in the Badlands.  It was the only territory in Equestria not claimed by other hives when the queen was forced to move it over a thousand years ago.”

A thousand years?  If I remembered the history lessons I’d been given…  “Do you mean to tell me that your hive used to be in the Crystal Empire before Sombra banished the city?”

Chryssy grinned.  “You catch on fast.  Yes, we are Crystal Changelings.  That’s why our wings sparkle when we’re fully nourished.  However, when all the ponies and their city disappeared, we had no source of food and had to relocate.  Now we’re back where we belong and I can care for my hive as part of my duties to the Crystal Empire.”

“That’s awesome.  I’m very happy for you.  I don’t know why it’s still called an empire though.  It lost all its territories after it disappeared.  Shouldn’t it be called the Crystal Kingdom?”

Cadance replied, “Actually, we already suggested the change of name but the citizens are resistant to the idea.  It’s not too surprising considering that by their perception, the empire was in full bloom just a couple of years ago.  We’re going to let some time pass before we try again.  By then, the citizens will be more used to their change of status and a new generation will begin to have its influence.”

“Fair enough. So – what other things about your domain might be different from ours?”

Twilight pulled out a book and ballpoint pen to take notes.  “Yes, please elaborate!  It could be very useful when we get back to our reality,” she said enthusiastically.

So that’s what the three rulers of the Crystal Empire did, but only after checking out Twilight’s peculiar writing instrument.  My counterpart here must have missed that chance.  That reminded me – only Shining Armor had seen me as Marklestia so far – something else their Mark apparently couldn’t do.  I had quite a party trick to play on the others later. The opportunity came up when the subject of Tirek came along.

Shining explained, “By the time Tirek escaped from Tartarus, changeling-pony couples were already becoming fairly common, and one such pair were walking nearby when the unicorn, Rare Find, had his magic stolen.  Talus sensed his despair and investigated the problem.  Tirek’s disguise was seen through and Talus kept an eye on him until a swarm of changeling guard drones could subdue him.  He never got the chance to grow too much in power.”

I shook my head.  “I wish we’d been so lucky.  He had managed to steal most of the magic in Equestria before I confronted and defeated him.”

Chrysalis’s eyebrows shot up.  “You defeated him?  By yourself?”

“Good grief, no!  I had lots of help, although I was the one who had to pull off the final part of the plan. I had to get close enough to him to do it without being killed or drained of my magic.”

The mare gave me a skeptical look.  “Mark, you’re a good friend and a competent pony, but we both know that you’re an awful flyer.  How could you have pulled off that critical part of your plan?”

I grinned. “I had an ace in the hole that your Mark apparently does not.  Behold my ultimate form!” I said melodramatically.  I then stood, switched to Marklestia and posed heroically.

The result was every bit as entertaining as I had hoped.  The looks of shock, confusion, and sheer disbelief were only topped by the massive spit-take by Cadance who had been sipping on a mug of coffee at the time.  Timed it perfectly!  Twilight was giggling mightily and we exchanged grins.  Let’s see them top that!  Of course, I then had to explain what had happened to me that hadn’t transpired with my counterpart.  I even dug out a few photos from my saddlebag of my favorites of Rarity’s fashions.  I do believe Cadance was envious of me, but by the gleam in Chrysalis’s eyes, I think I might have given the changeling some ideas.

Digging in the saddlebags reminded Twilight of the contents of my left one, and she brought Nyx out to introduce her new daughter.  Cadance took that as an excuse to berate Shining Armor for not giving her a foal yet.  She was most interested when informed that our Cadance was expecting.  Chrysalis then trumped them all by telling us that Shining was already a father to several nymphs.  The changeling looked a little embarrassed and explained that a hive queen’s biology made her produce eggs prolifically and, well… Shiny was quite the stud.  I could hardly wait to tell our Shining that one!  It was sure to top Twilight’s reaction by a mile.  When Chrysalis called in one of her daughters by Shining named Peytral, Nyx promptly started a game of tag with her.  This was moved outside after minor damage to the library and lots of yelling by various parents.  I tried to take a photo of the two of them but it proved impossible.  Separately, they might stay still for a second or two, but together they were a two-headed swarm of boundless energy.





After our experience with the nightmare creature, both Twilight and I badly needed some rest and recuperation.  Even knowing that we weren’t their real relatives, everyone made us feel right at home. After our injuries were given further treatment including a healing spell to speed up the recovery of my ankle, we headed off to bed.

Despite teasing from Cadance and Chrysalis, we decided on the same sleeping arrangements that we had used in Nyx’s home dimension, just in a different room. This time, Shining Armor, his two mares, and Peytral slept in the guest room while Twilight and I took her counterpart’s room.  I stayed in my Marklestia form and rested next to Twilight in the spacious bed. Nyx curled up in her mother’s embrace and both were asleep in minutes.

I, on the other hoof, didn’t feel drowsy at all.  Each time I tried to close my eyes, I found I couldn’t do so for more than a few seconds before a sense of impending dread forced them open again. Plus my rear right leg was bouncing every time I took my attention off of it.  After fifteen minutes of this, I reluctantly made my way to the guest room. Thankfully, I could still hear voices so I wouldn’t be waking them up.

Just as I got ready to knock, the door opened to reveal Chrysalis with a very tired Peytral clinging to her, alternately declaring she was not sleepy and demanding her mother curl up in bed with her.  “Can I…”  The changeling princess leaned forward and narrowed her eyes, studying me for a moment. “How can we help you, Mark?”

I shifted on my hooves, feeling more than a bit embarrassed.  “Uhhh… I’m sorry but… I’m having trouble getting to sleep.  Would Shining Armor mind putting a shield around the tree?  I think that would make me feel safer.”

Chrysalis pulled her head back and gave a meaningful glance to Cadance, who was brushing her mane further in the room.  The changeling princess then turned back to me.  “Absolutely.  As soon as Shiny gets out of the little colt’s closet, I’ll have him put up that shield.  Is there anything else?”

I smiled. “Nope.  Nope.  That will do it, thanks.  Good night.  See you in the morning.”

Only after I got back in bed did I realize I hadn’t waited to get a response from Chrysalis, instead just turning back down the hall.  Outside the window, I saw the telltale shimmer of light reflecting off of Shining’s magenta shield.  Somehow, I still didn’t feel like sleeping.  In fact, the frogs of my hooves were sweaty and I found my front hooves playing with my mane, wrapping it around a few times then pulling it out, again and again.  Why did I have so much nervous energy?  It wasn’t like I had tea or coffee or anything like that.

Frankly, the last time I felt like this was before my senior thesis presentation.  For two days and nights, I prepared, tried to rest and couldn’t, then got up and prepared some more.  A few colas and pure terror got me through my thesis defense, and then I crashed for twenty-four hours straight.  I didn’t know what could be making me feel that way now.  I hadn’t seen anything in this dimension to even raise a little suspicion about the ponies here.

So why couldn’t I sleep?

Maybe thirty minutes later, I finally gave up listening to Twilight’s snores and headed downstairs.  Perhaps some salad or bread or something would calm down my stomach and make me feel drowsy.  I blinked a couple of times when I saw Cadance sitting in a reading chair near the center of the library.

I smirked as I walked up to her.  “Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”

She smiled gently.  “I suppose you could say that.  It turns out that the reason is the same as yours.”

“Oh?”

“Chrysalis told me how troubled your emotions were when you came by our room.  I decided to wait to see if you’d come down.”

I started to back up, heading for the kitchen.  “I’m fine, really.  Thanks, though.”

“Mark, do you normally have trouble falling asleep?”

I stopped and considered.  “No. The last time was… well, it doesn’t matter.”

“Are you sure, Mark?  I think it matters.”

I clenched my jaw a few times.  “It’s nothing.  I’ve been through worse.  Recently, even.”

Cadance leaned forward.  “Which is why I’d like to give you the chance to talk about exactly that.  Have you had the opportunity to decompress since you left Nyx’s universe?  Or have you been stoically bottling it up inside and kept on pressing forward, kept on moving to keep your mind off of thinking too hard about anything that happened?”

I was shocked to hear her say aloud exactly what I had been telling myself for some time now:  “Keep moving.”  “You have to keep doing something.”  “Don’t think about it now.”  That’s when I noticed one of my legs was shaking again.  I stopped it with a conscious effort.

I smirked. “Sounds like you have personal experience with that kind of reaction.  Does Shining Armor do that, maybe?”

She didn’t respond, just giving me that same warm, inviting smile while waiting for my answer.

I ran a hoof through my mane a few times.  My neck felt numb in some places and entirely too sensitive in others.  Slowly, I sat down on the divan that was set across from her. “Yeah.  OK.  Maybe I’m not quite firing on all cylinders right now.”  I looked up to see her tilt her head.  “Which means I admit I’m not thinking straight.”

“Tell me about how you feel right now.”

I tried to take stock of my emotional state.  Somehow, this was easier in my pegacorn form.  “Jumpy.  Anxious. Like there is a new threat nearby that I can’t see or sense or taste.  Like it isn’t safe to close my eyes no matter what.”

Cadance settled back into her chair.  “Go ahead and lie down on your back, Mark.”  As I hesitantly did so, she asked, “What do you think caused you to feel this way?”

I settled myself on the divan and looked up at the ceiling, reviewing the last few trips. “I don’t know.  I can’t pinpoint exactly when I started feeling off.”

“Why don’t you tell me what happened in the jump just before this one?”

“Well, that would be the one I mentioned before; the Ponyville where ponies died in their sleep.”

“Did you come directly to this reality from there?”

I jumped a bit. How did I forget that?  “Ah, no.  Sorry.  After that, Twilight and I had another unsuccessful attempt to stop Starlight Glimmer in Cloudsdale.”

Cadance’s horn flared and a pitcher of water appeared next to her with two glasses. She filled one and levitated herself and the chair closer so she could lean forward and hoof the glass over to me. “Why don’t you tell me all the details you remember.  Include anything you recall about how you were feeling at the time.”

I proceeded to tell her everything I recalled about the Cloudsdale jump where Starlight grabbed Rainbow in her magic, then talked about the alternate universe with the nightmare creature, followed by the Cloudsdale attempt where I scared off Starlight.  Throughout my tale, Cadance listened intently, only stopping me occasionally to ask a question to clarify one point or another, usually when I used idioms that just didn’t translate to this world.

She smiled at me.  “Mark, let’s go over a couple of things.  I know that the hallucinations you experienced would have been mortally terrifying to many ponies.  Do you remember feeling fear during any of them?”

I pursed my lips.  “No, not really.  When I was a human, I had a few lucid dreams, and these were pretty similar.  I knew the whole time that they weren’t real. It was just a matter of causing a break in the flow so I could force myself awake again.”

“And the creature itself?”

I nodded fervently.  “Oh, hell yeah.  That was scary.  When it was up close to us and when it reached for me, I was terrified.  I just knew I had to keep moving… keep doing something.  I couldn’t rest.  That’s why I’m still alive.”

Cadance was silent for some time.  Eventually, I looked over to her.  She was studying me, then smiled again.  “Help me understand.  You felt scared in that situation, and it was only a compulsion to keep moving that caused you to save yourself.  Is that correct?”

I blinked then looked at the ceiling again.  “Uh.  Yeah.  Maybe.”  I didn’t say that with much conviction.  What I’d said before had all come out of me without me thinking about it.

“Do you feel any guilt about what happened to the creature?”

I scoffed. “No.  Not at all.  It had most likely killed all of the ponies in Equestria.  If anything deserved to die, that was it.  I don’t even feel bad about how it died.  Yeah, it got royally screwed by being stretched out and popped over miles of distance and decades of time.  But it was the combination of Star Swirl’s spell and unhappy Elements of Harmony acting through the map table that did it – not me.  At least, I’m guessing that’s what happened.”

I noticed that I was feeling a bit more relaxed now.  I didn’t feel like I needed to leap off of the couch at a moment’s notice.

After several seconds, Cadance said, “Let’s take a look at a different event.  Can you go over your emotions when you protected yourself and Twilight from Starlight Glimmer?”

“Uh… sure. Immediately after I saw Twilight get struck, I felt concern for her and dove to catch her.  Umm… I was shocked and felt despair when Starlight destroyed the spell scroll.  And I was afraid when Starlight told me she was done messing with us.”

I shifted on the couch, trying to get comfortable.  “That fear went away when she started to attack me again.  I felt determined, like I had to act when she started to break through my shield.  So I took off my regulating band and I think… yeah… I was feeling desperate when I cast my shield around her and started to contract it.”  I blinked then twisted my upper body to look directly at Cadance. “Wait.  I crushed her shield and she was still able to cast spells.  She even teleported.  Why didn’t the feedback cause her to become helpless?”

Cadance looked away and narrowed her eyes.  “Did her shield crack like a glass dome or fall apart in plates and arcs?”

“The latter. Does that mean something?”

Cadance nodded. “Being married to the foremost shield-caster in generations has its benefits.  Starlight Glimmer cast a frangible shield.  Excellent against magic attacks but nearly useless against physical ones.  About as strong as the general purpose shield against magic, but its main benefit is that the casting energy is absorbed by the way it fractures.  No magical feedback.”

“Oh.” I rolled back onto the couch.  “I guess that makes sense.”

After ten seconds or so, Cadance said, “So you felt desperate when you cast the shield around Starlight Glimmer.”

“Yeah. Then she teleported away.  After that—”

“Mark, could you go over that part once again?  What happened right after you saw Starlight’s shield start to fail, and what emotions were you feeling?”

I frowned, thinking back.  “Umm… I was feeling angry when I started to collapse the shield with as much magic as I could.  One of the side effects of this form is that I can dump all of my magic into a spell in just a few seconds.  So for any spell that gets stronger with more magic flow, I’m the strongest there is for about three seconds.”

“Could you walk me through those three seconds?”

I noticed one of my rear legs was starting to vibrate again until I willed it to stop. “S-s-so Starlight’s blast bounced back and hit her, then she tried to push my bubble away by casting magic in all directions but that didn’t stop it.”

“And what were you feeling?”

I swallowed. “Angry.  Determined.  Like I had to keep going.”  I breathed deeply a few times.

“Can you tell me what happened next?”

I started to cry.  I wiped away tears with a fetlock.  “She looked at me.  I saw how scared she was.”  I had to breathe for a bit before I could continue.  “I think I was screaming at that point.  It was pure hate.  I wanted to keep going until she was dead.  I wanted to kill her.”  I was openly sobbing now.  “I – I saw her body start to bend as my shield pressed in on her.  Then the bubble went white and she was gone.”

I broke down and cried my eyes out.  It took me a few minutes to collect myself.  I went through maybe half a box of tissues that Cadance floated over to me. Eventually, I was able to continue.

“I don’t know if your Mark Wells told you much about his world, but mine is pretty safe. Very, very few people ever get in a situation where they need to try to kill anyone else.  And since I wasn’t a police officer or a soldier, I never experienced anything remotely like that.  Not ever.  I should have found another way.  There had to be something I could have done differently.”

Cadance said, “Do you regret going to protect Twilight?”

I shook my head. “No.  I had to do that.  Starlight could have killed her in a second if I left her unprotected.”

“So you feel good about protecting Twilight and not flying off to perform some different kind of attack.  Is that correct?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“So you were by Twilight’s side with your shield protecting her.  Thinking about it now, when there is plenty of time to consider your options, is there a different spell you know that could have delayed or distracted Starlight Glimmer?”

“No.  But I should have known something.  I should have learned something.”

“Have you been taking lessons regularly to improve your unicorn magic?”

I paused. “Yeah.  But it wasn’t enough.”

I felt Cadance’s hoof on my shoulder, comforting me.  “It’s very common for a pony to look back with hindsight, wishing they had a different spell or skill or tool.  But you did have the right tool after all.  You were able to keep your friend safe.  Even now, looking back, do you agree that there was no other course that would keep Twilight alive?”

I thought about it but didn’t have any other answers.  “Yes.”

“Do you think you can feel some pride for keeping your friend safe?”

“I don’t think I can feel proud about how I did it.”

“That’s fine. But for now, just think about the fact that you almost certainly saved Twilight’s life.  Can you feel proud of that?”

I thought about all of Twilight’s friends that loved her – about how sad they would be if she had died.  I thought about Nyx and Thorax.  I blew my nose once again and looked up to where Twilight was sleeping.  “Yes.  I think I can feel good about that.”

“That’s wonderful.  Hold onto that thought.”  Cadance got up.  “How do you feel now?”

I smiled up at her as I took stock of my body.  “Quite a bit better, thanks.  Thank you, Cadance.”

“I’m very glad to help.  I think that is enough talking for tonight.  You can sleep here if you like, but I think you’ll rest better next to your friend.”

I got up slowly, feeling the late hour in my fatigue.  “Yeah, I think I’ll do that.”

From behind me, I heard, “Oh, and Mark?”

I looked back. Cadance said, “Your homework is to stop and examine how you feel about saving Twilight’s life.  Do this before you go to sleep each night and any time the doubts start creeping in again.”  She came up and gave me a wing hug.  “Mark, this is just the beginning of your road to recovery.  When you get back to Twilight’s and your home dimension, seek out my counterpart or another experienced counselor.  Don’t be afraid to talk to Twilight, either.  She is a very strong mare and can listen to her friend without taking on your problems.”

I nodded. “OK.  I’ll… I’ll do that.  Thanks again, Cadance.  This has helped me a lot.”

Cadance folded her wing back and took a step to the side.  “Good night, Mark.”

“Good night.”

Soon, I was climbing back into bed.  My large frame wasn’t very stealthy and Twilight looked over at me.  “Everything alright, Mark?”

I smiled. “Better.  Had a talk with Cadance and I think I can sleep now.  I’ll tell you about it in the morning.”

“I’ll…” Twilight yawned hugely.  “I’ll hold you to that.  Sweet dreams.”  She turned back to curl her neck around her daughter and soon I heard the alicorn’s snores again.

I closed my eyes and smiled.  “Yeah. I think they just might be.”





I got all the pictures that I wanted of Chryssy with Twilight the next day.  Cadance and Shining Armor joined in for several photos. The changeling was more than willing to have the pictures taken, declaring that if we should ever find the opportunity, we had to rub them in the face of the mad queen.  And we finally got Nyx and Peytral to stay still long enough to get at least one photo of them together.





After replenishing our supplies, Twilight returned Nyx to the saddlebag, but not before putting a spell on her that would hopefully ameliorate the interference with the temporal vortex.  We would have liked to have stayed longer with these wonderful alternate versions of the ponies we knew, but we had a responsibility to our own timeline and a miscreant to apprehend.  Personally, I felt that we could have stayed a little longer, but I think Twilight was a bit too conflicted when she found out that the local Thorax was Chrysalis, Cadance, and Shining’s butler.  He did look quite good in that tuxedo, I have to admit.  Poor Twilight though!  When she tried to talk with him, Thorax was quite formal and distant.  Apparently he could feel her emotions for his form and he answered most of her questions with nothing more than an arched eyebrow and disapproving stare.  Cadance asked me what was up with Twilight and I quietly told her about their relationship back in our reality.  I left the pink alicorn with a wild gleam in her eyes.  I wondered if I had accidentally started something but then I shrugged.  Let that Twilight deal with her sister-in-law’s machinations.

They were all there to see us depart, and I do mean everyone.  I’m pretty sure the whole town had gathered to watch us activate the temporal vortex after hearing the news about us, including several changelings that were now citizens of Ponyville.  It didn’t take a genius to notice that some were obviously partners of the ponies, and I knew that Chryssy had certainly started a trend when she had married Shining and Cadance.  All of them had the same sparkling wings and lack of holes as Chrysalis.  Integration with pony society had done them a world of good and Chrysalis proudly told me that other changeling hives were taking the first steps to follow hers out of the shadows.

Twilight and I got hugs from everyone – Chryssy gives very nice ones.  She told me, “Stay safe, Scrumptious.”  No, I didn’t dare ask why she had nicknamed me, or at least the other Mark, that. Some things were best left unknown.

The crowd oohed as I transformed into my pegacorn form and aahed as Twilight activated the vortex and we were drawn up into it.  I truly hoped that they would get our counterparts back soon.





When we exited the portal, Twilight had a shield up already.  However, Starlight didn’t try to attack us.  Of course, she probably thought that we were stuck in the future due to destroying the original scroll and hadn’t expected Twilight’s forethought to save us from that fate.  Even so, after I had nearly killed her, I bet she was going to be a whole lot more cautious from now on.

The odds were still stacked against us though.  There were a million ways this delicate event in history could be disrupted. Our best strategy was to try to protect Rainbow Dash while observing as best we could how Starlight went about her disruption of events.  If we could find some pattern or unconscious bias, we could possibly take advantage of it. The rogue unicorn just had to slip up once.

But not this time.  From the cover of a cloud, Starlight cast a spell that hit Rainbow Dash and caused her to slump over at the starting line.  By the time she rolled onto her side, Rainbow was already snoring. Twilight and I looked at each other for just a moment before we were whisked away to the unknown once more.


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