//------------------------------// // S3 CH 13. Private affair // Story: The Story of Twilight Glow // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Twilight stared at the creatures before her, trying to keep her nerves from showing. She’d gathered every pony who had volunteered to take one in, as well as a few volunteers to help keep an eye out, but it was still not going to be easy. Moondancer glared at the gathered four, her eyes narrowed skeptically. She severely doubted that any of this would work. “Any ideas?” she asked Rarity. “About this? No. But… if it’s one of Twilight’s ideas, well… I’m sure it’ll be just fine. Though, I must ask. Is the cage truly necessary?” Rarity asked, glancing up at the top of the large cage where Rainbow and Shadowfang were sitting. “Hey, you wanted them, we got them. Tartarus isn’t exactly an in and out resort, you know!” Rainbow said with a roll of her head, her eyes hidden behind the shadowbolt costume. The mare glanced towards the four who would be the ‘keepers’. “You four sure this is a good idea? Still room to chicken out.” Applejack shook her head. “Nah. We can always use a bit more help on the farm. Yah all sure those… collars of yours will work?” she asked, eyeing the caged creatures. “Moondancer made them, I’m sure it’ll be fine!” Pinkie said, moving to the bars and giving a wide grin. “Don’t worry, we’re going to have the best time! Just you wait!” “Ummm… y-yay?” Fluttershy offered, sheepishly hiding behind a wing. “And if anypony deserves an assistant, it is I, the Great and Powerful Trixie!” the unicorn said with a flourish of her hat. Twilight couldn’t imagine what led to this strange situation, but it had all come together. She stared at the four collared changelings in the cage, the group huddled up into a small pile in the center, looking around at their captors. They were the first batch, of course. If things went well, she could increase the number up to ten without bothering the ruler again. Her plan had been simple enough. She’d started with Pinkie, asking if she’d be willing to watch a changeling, to test how well they could be brought into pony society. If anypony could befriend and feed them, it was that mare. What she hadn’t expected was for Pinkie to ask others. Applejack had worked out well in their favor, since the grant they could give for aiding the throne in this manner could help make up for some of the damages done to their farm by the false sun incident. Trixie wanted some assistance at the library, which would be a good controlled environment for ponies to meet a changeling without there being any fear. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, had nearly floored her. She suspected Discord was involved. Still, four volunteers would make an okay sample size. Moondancer had even enchanted some collars that would prevent them from shifting or attacking anypony. The biggest issue was trying to get them to not panic. She gave a sigh and motioned Moondancer forward. “Okay, no funny business,” the unicorn snapped before slowly unlocking the cage with her magic. “Come on out.” Twilight sighed and glanced to Spike, the dragon looking nearly as tense as she felt. He gave a small nod, though. She cleared her throat. “Yes. We’re going to go meet Queen Chrysalis.” “The dark one won’t be there, will she?” one of them asked, their voice filled with fear. “Dark o-- no,” Twilight said quickly. “Nightmare Moon won’t be here. In fact, she is scheduled to not return until this evening due to an important royal affair.” “Yeah, like that doesn’t send chills down my spine,” Rainbow said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “It’s best we don’t think about it,” Moondancer said quickly. “Come on, let’s go talk to your queen,” she said before she turned and trotted away. Twilight watched them and then gave a soft sigh. She really hoped this worked. The future of the changelings depended on it. She gave Rainbow a small smile when the pegasus flew down from the cage. “Thanks for this, Rainbow. I know it can’t have been easy getting them here on time.” “Nah. They didn’t give us too much trouble, guards gave us a tougher time. Besides, I got to take a bit of a detour and go check on Gilda.” Twilight blinked a few times. “A bit of a… Rainbow, how BIG was this detour?” Rainbow just grinned. “Come on, I got here in time, didn’t I?” “And you let her?” Twilight asked Shadowfang. “Awfully cocky of you to assume anyone ‘lets’ Rainbow Dash do anything,” Shadowfang said with a look of exasperation. “They don’t pay me enough.” “Heh. He loves it. Come on, ferret, let’s go meet queen other flank.” “It’s a raccoon!” Shadowfang said, stomping a hoof down, though he still had a smile on his face. “Do you see what I have to put up with?” Twilight gave a light snicker into her hoof. “You could try asking for a transfer?” “Buck no. That little side trip of hers was a blast. A shame we had to leave. She could only take so much of Bouncing Breeze and Coldstone before she started gagging and we had to go,” he said with a light laugh. “I thought it was cute. We got to watch them fight a giant crab too.” “It! Was! Awesome!” Rainbow said with a squeal. “I’m almost jealous of her, down there in the Badlands, having all these adventures. Almost. The Shadowbolts would be lost without me, though.” “If you’d like to put in for some leave, you could,” Shadowfang said with a teasing tone before he picked up the pace to walk besides her, giving her flank a bump with his. “Just tell Spitfire the high flying life is just too much for you right now, you need some safe, quiet time to do something relaxing. Like pissing off dragons.” Twilight snorted, shaking her head while watching the two bicker. Times like this it really felt like all of this would work out just fine. Still, she found her mind wandering to Nightmare Moon. She wondered what this ‘duty’ of hers could have been. More importantly, why it didn’t involve her, Moondancer or any of the guards. She just hoped it wouldn’t spark another international incident. Or get anypony killed. Whatever it was, it had to be very important if nopony else was involved. ------ “Radiance, you say?” the unicorn asked, looking her up and down. “Where did you say you were from again?” Nightmare Moon grinned to the strange unicorn. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of this before. The ‘Radiance’ persona was so easy and simple. The perfect way to get information out of a pony without them knowing they were actually talking to their ruler. She’d even come up with a fake occupation to make her questioning not suspicious. “New Moon Monthly. We’re, well, new. And I’d love to ask you some questions if you don’t mind, miss… Sundancer?” The unicorn froze before giving a snort. “Oh, aren’t you just the sweetest thing? I can see why you’d think that. A life of dancing, well, it keeps you young. But Sundancer is my daughter. I’m Firedancer.” She pushed the door of the studio open and motioned her inside. “Come in, come in, we’re actually preparing for our next show.” “Thank you,” Nightmare Moon said, walking in after the mare. So this was the fabled Firedancer? She looked the unicorn up and down. A simple white coat with a flowing, golden mane. The mare was so perfectly done up she looked more like she could have been Rarity’s mother, rather than her often frazzled and perplexed student’s. On top of that, she couldn’t help but be surprised that the ‘home’ listed hadn’t been a home at all, it had been a rather large dance studio. “So, I take it you’re here to ask questions about the upcoming show? Well, I can’t give you too much information, but I can tell you it will be spectacular. Sundancer has been training her heart out for months and we’ve got quite the show to put on. She’s drawn inspiration from my own ‘Flight of the Torrential Storm’ and Clouddancer’s ‘Tornado’s rest’. It’s going to be absolutely breathtaking.” “No, but I do hope to see it. My questions are of a more personal nature,” Nightmare Moon said, still eyeing the mare. Everything about her was so different from what she expected. How could Moondancer have come from… that? This mare walked with poise, grace, dignity. Moondancer could barely take five steps without nearly falling over her own hooves. They were nothing alike. “Family history, actually.” “Family history?” Firedancer asked, glancing back to her. “I think our family’s reputation speaks for itself. Not a single bad mark across our family name, we’ve performed across Equestria, even for the true princess.” Nightmare Moon opened her mouth, but found the words locked in her throat. It took her a few moments to clear it. “True… princess?” “Celestia, obviously. Here, would you like a small preview?” Firedancer walked through a pair of double doors, revealing the main auditorium. The soft, classical music could be heard echoing through the room while a dozen or so pegasi danced on stage, a hoofful of unicorns dancing as well. Nightmare Moon could only barely suppress her fury enough to maintain her disguise. “We… see. So you have never performed for Nightmare Moon?” “Pfft. Why would anypony want to perform for that tyrant? She’s foul. Despicable. Anypony who can stand being in her presence for more than a few moments would either become physically ill or already were mentally. Hmph.” Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed while she imagined the glee she would take in dealing with Moondancer later. No wonder the unicorn was so annoying to her. “We see. But that wasn’t the history I meant. We wished to discuss your other daughter.” Firedancer froze in midstep, her hoof raised. The alicorn wasn’t sure, but she swore she felt the room get colder. “I don’t have another daughter.” That statement gave the ruler pause. Was it possible that she had come to the wrong place? “I’m talking about Moondancer, the--” “Moondancer IS NOT my DAUGHTER!” Firedancer practically screamed, her voice echoing through the auditorium. The music went silent and the dancers stopped, every eye now focused on them. “Moondancer is no longer a part of the Dancer family and I would thank you to ignore whatever nonsense made you think we’d want anything to do with that… that… traitor!” Nightmare Moon stared, her eyes wide. “Traitor? No longer a part of… then you are her mother? But--” “Very well, you’re one of THOSE kinds of reporters. Allow me to make it perfectly clear. Moondancer is a traitor to all of us good, honest ponies. She has been officially and legally disowned from our name. I will have no more talk about that… that creature in my presence!” Nightmare Moon stared, her mouth falling open in shock. The tone the unicorn used when discussing her had been dismissive, angry and a bit rude. But the tone Firedancer used when talking about Moondancer was outright disgust. How could a pony speak like that about their own daughter? “But, but she’s your own filly, isn’t she?” “A disgrace. A disappointment. A despicable, dangerous, damaging deceiver. The fact I brought her into this world is something I regret every day of my life. Even more so now that her true colors have been put onto display for the world. We’re done here. Go. Now.” Nightmare Moon stared at the mare in shock before glancing at the stage. To her surprise, the faces staring back at her looked just as hostile and angry as Moondancer’s mother. The ruler turned tail and fled, leaving them all behind. She was a few steps out the doors of the main building before she stopped and realized there was no reason for her to flee. She was the ruler of Equestria. The most powerful pony in the world. She wouldn’t allow herself to be intimidated by such a simple, vile creature, even if she WAS Moondancer’s mother. She was halfway back towards the door when her eyes widened. She was Moondancer’s mother. Had Moondancer truly been disowned? There was no way that was possible, it had to be a ruse. A clever trick to do… to do... Something. She didn’t know what. But she’d figure it out. If Moondancer’s family wouldn’t give her any information, then she would just ask around town. Radiance hadn’t got her non-existent journalism degree by ignoring an important story when it was dropped into her lap like this. Besides, she still needed to learn what it was about Moondancer’s cutie mark that hurt the mare so badly. Nightmare Moon couldn’t shake the feeling that, now more than ever, she owed her student to get to the bottom of this mystery.