//------------------------------// // 2 - A Glimpse of Change // Story: Little Changes // by tom117z //------------------------------// In another world, great ribbons of light stretched across the sky for as far as the eye could see, bathing Equestria in an ever-shifting prism of colour. Every so often, a coil of energy would spring from one curtain of light to the next, like electricity between tesla coils. And all of it was completely silent. It was just like watching the northern lights again. Rainbow Dash and Twilight stared up at the sky from their position on a cloud over Ponyville. Aside from their perch, the heavens were mostly clear, giving them an unobstructed and nearly-perfect view of both the sky and the earth. Neither of them had said a word in a while, merely watching the colourful display and enjoying each other’s company. “...It’s beautiful,” Twilight finally whispered quietly, a small smile on her face. “No kidding,” Rainbow answered just as quietly. “I mean, I don’t normally care much about pretty views or anything, but…” she gestured vaguely up at the sky. “C’mon. That’s a pretty awesome view. Even I gotta admit that.” Twilight giggled quietly and offered a short nod. “Yeah… pretty awesome. Prettiest thing I’ve ever seen, I think.” Rainbow’s smile twitched uncomfortably, and her ears briefly drooped. “Well, you only have a few weeks of memories to go on,” she thought bitterly. She had to resist the urge to let out a heavy sigh. She looked at Twilight with solemn eyes. The purple alicorn that rested next to her had, once upon a time, been her dearest friend and, for a brief time, also her lover. They had gotten incredibly close over a series of shared trials that led to them facing off against Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra back-to-back up in the Crystal Empire. It had been a brutal, nightmarish string of events, and more than once Rainbow had been on the verge of giving up. But through it all, Twilight had been there to support her, encourage her, and pull her back to her hooves when she buckled under the pressure. If Rainbow had anypony to thank for their success, it would have to be Twilight; Twilight, and the love they shared. ...Used to share, she reminded herself. “...You know,” Rainbow spoke up, nodding up towards the sky and thing her eyes off of Twilight. “This weird cosmic storm thing kinda looks like the northern lights.” Twilight looked at her curiously. “The northern lights?” “Yup,” Rainbow rolled over onto her back and pointed lazily towards the sky. “See, back when we were traipsing about in the Crystal Empire, whenever the local ponies were really happy or activated the Crystal heart, the sky all around Equestria would light up with a bunch of really pretty curtains of light. It would practically rain light and good feelings. It looked kinda like this, but, you know, lower to the ground and not from space.” Twilight hummed quietly at that before turning her eyes heavenward again. “Right… do we even know what this storm is?” she eventually asked, narrowing her eyes inquisitively. “I’ve never seen anything like it, or read about it in any of my books.” “No clue,” Rainbow replied before flopping onto her belly again. “But Luna didn’t seem to think we had anything to worry about.” Twilight hummed at that before falling silent. The two didn’t say anything for a while after that. They simply enjoyed the view some more, each one absorbed in their own thoughts. Every so often, one of them would glance at the other before focusing on the sky again. Eventually, Twilight let out a rather large and unattractive yawn. Rainbow quirked her brow at her and smirked. “Tired?” Twilight hummed drowsily. “I’ve been up all night, Rainbow. It’s almost midnight,” she pointed out before pushing herself up to her hooves. “The view’s nice, but I think we should head back inside and go to bed.” Rainbow frowned, briefly glancing towards the Ponyville Clocktower. It hadn’t been that long since they had come out here, had it? To her dismay, it had. It was well past eleven-thirty. “Oh. Shoot, that late, huh?” “Yup.” “Hm,” Rainbow grunted in disappointment. She glanced up at Twilight and gave her a small smile. “Well, you go on ahead. I’ll come down in just a few.” Twilight paused, raising a brow of her own. “You’re staying up here in the cold? How come?” she asked curiously. Rainbow hesitated before looking up again. “I just wanna have some time to think, that’s all. Plus, you know, this cloud is really comfy,” she explained, rolling onto her side and planting a hoof on her hip for emphasis. “I could nap up here all day.” Twilight took a second to process that before rolling her eyes. “Alright, fair enough. Just don’t take too long, alright?” “Sure thing. G’night, Twi,” Rainbow answered with a lazy wave. Twilight waved back before unfurling her wings and leaping down from the cloud, swiftly vanishing from view. Rainbow allowed her hoof to drop once Twilight was out of sight and let out the quiet sigh she’d been holding in. Without another word, she rolled back onto her belly and stared up into the heavens, allowing her thoughts to wander where they may. The movement of the light was… soothing. Rainbow’s eyelids slowly began to grow heavy... Something was wrong. Rainbow’s eyes snapped wide open when a gust of wind blasted over her and the cloud she rested on. Lifting a hoof to shield her face, she raised her eyes up to see what the cause of the gale was. She didn’t see anypony flapping their wings at her or any other sign of natural wind. What she did see, however, was the light of the cosmic storm all around her cloud, almost blinding her. “What the?!” she exclaimed, wide awake and alert now. She jumped up from her clouds, flaring out her wings and fighting against the wind to hold herself aloft. Her mane was swept back from the force of the wind, and she actually wobbled in place against it. Suddenly, a bolt of energy snapped through the air mere feet in front of her. Rainbow yelped in alarm as the current of energy, easily twice her size in girth, connected two of the greater curtains that made up the cosmic storm. A deafening squeal of electricity and magic energies filled the air and rattled her bones, making her shudder and compress her body defensively. Confused and scared, Rainbow turned around in the air and flew down towards the ground, hoping to get inside the library and take cover. Sadly, her efforts were fruitless. The wind was too wild, too chaotic. She couldn’t even hear her own shouts of effort over the howling in her ears. Her wings trembled against the onslaught and, before she knew what was happening, she was sent flying back through the air. Another current of energy erupted mere inches in front of her, flashing like lightning before fading away. Her eyes snapped shut from the brightness, and a pained shout tore itself past her lips. The wind latched onto her and lifted her higher into the air, throwing her around like a ragdoll. She could feel her fur standing on end, feel her skin tingling as the energy around her washed over her body. “WHAT’S HAPPENING?!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, only able to hear the cry inside of her head. Another series of bolts erupted around her, one of which singed the fur on her left flank. Crying out, Rainbow uncovered her eyes to try and find out where she was. She was completely surrounded by the storm. On all sides, it was endless light of several colours, mostly gold and white. Even looking down towards the earth revealed nothing but more light. Now hyperventilating and on the verge of complete panic, Rainbow tried once again to fly for the ground. She had to get out of here, she had to get back to Twilight and make sure she was alright! Alas, fate had other plans. Another bolt, this one smaller than the others, came from the nearest wall of light, striking her head-on and swallowing her whole. Rainbow’s eyes went wide with shock, her vision briefly flickering. She could see Chrysalis grinning at her in the Crystal Empire, and her ribs burned with agony. She could hear the queen’s sadistic, insane laugh echoing in her ears, along with the sound of snapping bones. Just as quickly as the vision came, it was replaced with something else entirely. A bassy boom filled Rainbow’s ears. Her heart began to hammer wildly in her chest, its frantic beating even managing to drown out the roar of the wind in her ears. Her legs became heavy as if filled with lead. She gasped, her hooves flying up to cover her eyes. Her vision was consumed with white. Deep within the halls of Canterlot Castle, a group sat in the royal dining room, contemplating the revelation that had shaken them all to their very cores. “I just find it hard to believe that the egghead was a bug this entire time!” Rainbow groaned. “Rainbow Dash, we will not devolve into using such derogatory terms about our friend, or her kind!” Rarity glared at the cyan pegasus in disapproval. “Well… it’s true!” As the “to-be” Wonderbolt and the fashionista bickered, the others sat in an uncomfortable silence. Princess Celestia stared out of the window, her eyes distant. Princess Luna grew irritated with the nearby bickering and moved in to stop them. “Rarity and Rainbow Dash, your friend has been taken against her will and your bickering isn’t helping.” “But what if Twilight was in on the plan!?” Rainbow lashed out. “What if she’s been playing us the entire time and-” “Rainbow Dash, that is quite enough,” Luna calmly, but angrily, silenced the pegasus. “Just because Twilight is a changeling doesn’t mean we should judge her, she’s been nothing but a friend to us and we shouldn’t abandon her now!” Fluttershy interjected with a rare bout of confidence. “I mean, would it matter if I was?” Rainbow bowed her head and slunk back into her chair guiltily. “No, Fluttershy’s right, it doesn’t.” “Do you think Twilight has a different name?” Pinkie pondered out loud. The others looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Think about it, her name might have just been part of her cover; I think Amaryllis would be a good name.” “Ama-what now?” Applejack questioned. “I don’t know.” Pinkie shrugged. “I just think it would be a good name for a changeling Twilight.” Rainbow Dash gasped heavily as the vision shattered, finding she was still being thrown about by the winds like a ragdoll. Her entire body was sore from the blast of energy that had hit her, and now her mind was dull and unfocused in the wake of a Flash. A very unsettling one at that. “Twilight… a changeling?” she thought to herself, horrified even by the mere concept. She shook her head, trying to focus. “No! No, don’t be stupid! Twilight ISN’T a Changeling! She’s not!” Before she could consider that matter any further, though, her situation very abruptly changed. The sensation was best compared to have a sledgehammer strike the side of her skull from the inside. She was jolted off to the right with a cry of pain, her entire body spasming uncontrollably as she passed through one of the walls of energy. And then she was free-falling through open skies over an expansive, rocky desert. She had only the presence of mind to note that it resembled the Badlands on the southern border of Equestria. The night sky was perfectly clear, a crescent moon casting a limited amount of pale light on the world below. “...Where’s the storm?” The sky was completely clear. There weren’t even any clouds, much less the swirling nightmare of light and energy she had just been trapped inside. What in the world just happened? Her still-groggy mind did not have time to ponder that mystery. A far more pressing matter was swiftly rising up to draw her attention. Namely, the ground, and her imminent, surely-fatal impact with it if she maintained this velocity. Growling through clenched teeth, Rainbow fanned out her wings to try and slow her descent. She was successful, but not by as much as she would have liked. The ground was too close, and her descent wasn’t slowing anywhere near fast enough. Swearing internally, Rainbow screwed her eyes shut and braced for impact. She let off an agonized shriek when she finally reached the ground. The speed and force of her landing sent her into a wild, uncontrolled series of rolls across the hard, dusty ground. Try as she might, she could not bring her momentum under control. Finally, all of her efforts were silenced when her forehead cracked against a stray stone jutting up from the earth. Spots exploded across her now fuzzy vision, and she finally came to a rest on the ground. She could feel a warm trickle running down her face from where she’d hit the rock, along with intense, burning pain. The last thing she saw before falling into unconsciousness was the crescent moon far overhead, and a single thought echoed in her mind. “...Where am I?”