Luna let out a tired sigh as she lied down in her bed. Sinking into the soft surface, she pulled a over a body pillow with her magic and cuddled against it. A short pang of loneliness shot through her heart as she felt the cool surface press against her fur.
Her mind returned to an age long ago. Before she was banished to the moon. When she had someone to hold during the lonely nights. Sadly, those days were long gone. It was no use thinking about them. Closing her eyes, she let out a breath before activating her magic.
Everything went silent in that moment.
Opening her eyes once more, she was met by a inky void bespeckled with colour. Each point of colour was a dream all it’s own, and each had its own meaning. Though it was none of the dreams that she could see that had earned her attention.
In the back of her mind, she could feel a familiar call. The void around her shifted, changing to one of grey, where a singular white dream awaited her. With a small frown, she willed herself forward until she was merely an inch away from the dream.
She briefly wondered why the elf was calling her into his dream when he could have simply come to her during the day. Perhaps he was too busy? Or perhaps it was a private topic? Either way, she would not know until she spoke to him.
As such, she didn’t hesitate to press her hoof the the mass of white.
Within an instant, her view changed. She was no longer within that grey void, but standing in an nondescript field. The only thing to see in any direction, was the stone house before her. Shaking her head, she stepped forward and rapped a hoof against the door.
The door slowly swung open by an unseen force, revealing the familiar entrance. Stepping in, she turned to face the couch, where the host of the dream resided. He was facing away from her, his arms resting on the back of the couch.
Wasting no time, she moved into the living room and sat in the arm chair that she had come to claim as her own. Aurick didn’t even greet her, though she knew he saw her. He had a strange look on his face. Certainly not a happy one, if Luna could read him right. Perhaps he had something serious to talk about.
“What is on your mind, Aurick?” She asked him, knowing that they would get nowhere if neither of them spoke. The elf’s eyes flicked to her for a moment before he scratched at his beard. The next moment he leaned forward and locked eyes with her.
“Do you trust me?” His tone was serious. Luna was slightly taken aback by the sudden query. He had been a crucial role in helping Ashwyn recover from what had happened to her. Not to mention the works he had created for the crown. Though to say she trusted him…
Trust was a dangerous thing. It could make you blind to those around you. She had only known him for two months. Sure, he had been helpful for a vast majority of that time, and she would even consider him a friend, but trust… that was something she did not give away so easily. Not anymore, at least.
Of course, he didn’t need to know that.
“Of course.”
Aurick’s eyes narrowed at her, a small frown on his face. He seemed to consider something before sighing.
“What if I told you that Cadence was a changeling?” The new question surprised her even more than the last. She simply blinked at him for a moment, unsure if she had heard him right.
“A… Changeling?” He confirmed it with a nod. That sounded rather outlandish. She would know if her niece was replaced by a changeling. She was sure that Celestia would especially be aware, seeing as she had known Cadence since she was a child. What kind of proof did he-?
“Impossible.” Her eyes narrowed at the elf. She didn’t believe him in the slightest. It was impossible, and any thoughts of hearing him out were swiftly snuffed out.
“Not even going to ask why I would say that?” His frown had turned into a scowl at this point.
Normally she would, but she something within her told her that she shouldn’t. There was no point to it, it would all just be lies.
“No, and we are done with this conversation. I will not hear any more slanderous claims against my niece.” She told him coldly, not entirely sure why she was so angry about it all of a sudden. “Finish your work, Aurick, and stop making false accusations.”
With a huff of annoyance, she left the dream, leaving the elf alone in his dream.
~-~
Slowly opening his eyes, Aurick was greeted to brilliant yellows peering back at him. A paw was placed against his cheek as Ashwyn frowned.
“What happened?” She asked, the concern clear in her voice. He only then noticed that he was still scowling after the dream.
“She didn’t believe me.” He said flatly. “I told you that they would believe their niece over me.”
“You tell her of other changelings?” Ashwyn asked, making Aurick shake his head.
“Didn’t even get the chance. After I told her that Cadence was one, she claimed it was impossible and left in a huff.” The news certainly didn’t help her mood, if the deepening frown on her face was anything to go by.
“Not even hear you out?”
“Nope.” Aurick sighed and closed his eyes as he pulled the bed sheets tighter around him. “It looks like we’re alone on this one, and I doubt we can do much.”
“Why not?” Ashwyn asked in ignorance. Opening his eyes once more, he looked down at her.
“I’ve done this for longer than you’ve been alive. Two people cannot defeat an unknown number of combatants, with unknown abilities, when one of them has received no training, and the other is two months out of practice.” He told her firmly. “We would die.”
“But-” He pressed a finger to her lips to halt her rebuttal.
“That doesn’t mean we do nothing.” He told her, retracting his finger.
“Then what we do?” She asked instead, the faintest trace of fear lacing her voice.
“That’s the part I’m not sure about.” He grumbled and scratched at his beard for a moment. “For now, I’d like to get some more information. Would you be able to distinguish the changelings from each other?”
“Is harder than ponies, but, yes. Why?”
“I need to know how many changelings are in the castle. Can you figure that out?” Aurick asked, getting a nod in confirmation.
“What do if they attack me?” She after a moment.
“If you think you can take them, then knock them out. We can use them as evidence to back our claim that Cadence is one of them. If you aren’t confidant of doing that, run to me, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Got it.”
“Good.” Aurick said with a nod. “In the meantime, I’m going to continue working on the hall. Hopefully I can think of something we can do to sabotage their plan.”
~-~
Cadence frowned at the dark liquid before her. She despised the beverage more than any other. She could not understand how the ponies enjoyed the bitter liquid. Luna seemed to run off the blasted stuff.
Even worse was that she had to have one every morning. She needed it to keep up appearances. She didn’t want anyone to get suspicious, now did she? Not like it mattered, no one of importance would even think of suspecting her.
The frown turned into a devious smirk as she felt power course through her. Love in its purest form coursed through her entire body, making her feel mightier than even the dastardly Discord. She knew she held more power than the blasted alicorns. There was no doubt of that.
Not anymore.
As though on cue, it was at that moment that the doors to the dining room decided to open revealing a frowning Luna. She entered and swiftly took a seat at the table across from her. Cadence couldn’t help but smile as she saw the blue alicorn. She knew something had happened last night, and she was certain she was going to hear what exactly that was.
“What’s wrong, Auntie?” She asked in an innocent voice. She didn’t have to fear Luna seeing past her disguise, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She had a plan, and she would follow it.
“It’s nothing, Cadence.” Luna replied in a voice that suggested anything but.
“We both know it’s not nothing, Auntie. What’s wrong?” Her voice tinged with the faintest hint of magic.
What little resistance Luna was holding fell like a sack of bricks as she let out a sigh. “Aurick levied some dire accusations against you.” She admitted with a frown.
“What did he say?”
“He claimed you were a changeling. Obviously, I didn’t believe him, but to lie so blatantly to my face like that…”
“Oh?” Her face was one of shock and hurt, but inside, she was scowling. That strange creature from the other day had seen through her disguise!? She should have known something was up. Him and that chimera he had were looking at her strangely throughout dinner. “Why would he ever think that?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care.” Luna said firmly, making Cadence smirk internally. “Would you like me to send him home? We might not be able to trust his help if he is thinking like this.”
“No.” Cadence told her with a shake of her head, a gentle smile on her face. “I’ll speak with him.”