//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 - Contemplation // Story: A Changing Perspective // by Dragrace //------------------------------// Paranoia had set in in a matter of hours. Every house and shop had been locked up, blinds pulled shut and streets empty. Whatever Aegis had planned, there was almost no possible way to prevent it. Well, from Twilight's perspective anyways. She could easily send a letter to the princess explaining how corrupt the minister really was, and get the whole problem dealt with. As a matter of fact she was in the middle of writing a letter until a large mass of ponies arrived at her doorstep, both interrupting her train of thought and foalnapping her right out of her home. Behind the crowd stood a familiar golden pony with a sinister look upon his face. What Aegis had just done had broken many Equestrian laws, but with such a large amount of support, just about any law could be broken. If Celestia found out about her prized student being foalnapped like that, let's just say the minister would lose more than just his job. 'I hope Spike gets this letter before it's too late...Twilight thought. There was a paralysis stone placed on Twilight's horn, so she wasn't able to do much to escape. The ring fit snugly, with a small stone encrusted in one of the sides. The stone itself was imbued with anti-magic, preventing any unicorn that wore the device from using any magic. Of course, the anti-magic had a limit, and the device was flawed in such a way that it could be overflowed, however this was extremely rare and usually took months of magical attempts for a regular unicorn. Then again, Twilight was no regular unicorn, she had proven her magical capabilities to Celestia, and she expected to escape from her captors sooner or later. Despite the device attached to her horn, her forelegs and back legs were chained together as well, preventing anything more than a brisk walk. 'When did Ponyville get such devices? She thought. 'It has to be relatively knew, unless the minister had brought them himself... That sneaky little... Twilight's train of thought ended abruptly when she was tossed brutally onto a concrete surface. She bounced off the solid floor before cowering away. She was shaking slightly from the sudden movement and the amount of pain that she had just experienced. The place she was in was quite unfamiliar, although she did remember entering Sugarcube Corner at some point. There were a few unlabeled boxes scattered across the floor, however it looked like the basement was rarely used. There was a small light which barely lit the small room swinging slightly with the constant movement of the group of ponies. There were approximately seven ponies left in the room, most of which Twilight recognized but never had formal introductions with. The minister was one of the ponies who had followed her into the room. "Now, could you please explain why you helped the changeling escape?" >---< Jack couldn't say he hated Scootaloo's company. It was true that sometimes the filly didn't know when to shut her cute little face, but Jack didn't seem to mind. Sometimes he enjoyed being alone, and sometimes he enjoyed company. While he and Scootaloo were both following the edges of the force field, Jack recalled the small opening in the Everfree forest along the edges of the mountain. There were a few flowers in and around the area, so he assumed it would be an appropriate place for Scootaloo to get something to eat. Well, something safe to eat, seeing as it was almost impossible to determine grass from weed and flower from potentially dangerous herb. "...But then again, Twilight was there and she totally helped us fix everything!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "As interesting as your story may be, I'm afraid I find myself hungry. You must be hungry after be trapped outside of town for a while, don't you think?" Jack asked, looking curiously at the small filly. The expression Scootaloo gave was of pure shock and fear, as if she expected the changeling to feed off of her. Not a bad assumption to make, in most cases, however Jack knew he would never do such a thing. He let out a small laugh before shaking his head. Then again, the mention of food did get Scoolatoo's attention and stop her from talking for a moment. "I'm going to eat something solid." Jack chuckled, "I eat normal food, unlike most changelings." Scootaloo let out a long sigh of relieve before resuming her story. Jack never actually paid any real attention to the story, something about the cutie mark crusaders and becoming librarians. Obviously the story didn't end well, most of the things the cutie mark crusaders did ended up destroying something. As they continued following the edge of the Everfree forest, Jack finally found the small path he had used to find the opening originally. "Excuse me, but... Uhh... Where are we going?" Scootaloo asked. "We're getting food, there's an opening with a small pond over here and a few flowers growing around. I hid here for a while practicing my skills." Jack replied. "Oooh, what kind of skills? Is it something I can do? Will I be able to get a cutie mark in it by any chance? Oh do changelings get cutie marks? I wonder what they would look like..." "Magic and flying skills, you may be able to do the flying part, not so much the magic part. Cutie mark? Maybe. And changelings do not get cutie marks." Scootaloo looked a little disappointed, but after they finally reached the bright opening she looked content with the surroundings. There was a rock off to the side, with a small pond beside it. Flowers were blooming here and there; most of them were daisies, with the occasional daffodil. Instantly the filly ran out and began picking the flowers she preferred, while Jack sat back and relaxed. Watching another living thing shove its face full of food had never been so relaxing. Thinking of ponies, he didn't feel the shocking sensation anymore, more than likely he would be able to change again soon. >---< "So you think you know who I am?" Jack asked, cocking his head slightly while placing a hoof under his head. "Yeah! You're the new pony that showed up a couple days ago, Jack is it?" Scootaloo said with a hint of excitement in her voice. "Yeah, but have you seen me like THIS?" With a blink of an eye, Jack was enveloped by a brilliant flash of green light, and his entire body ignited. Replacing the dark, insect form was now a grey pegasus, looking identical to the old Jack except for the wings. "Woah! That's AWESOME! Can you fly? Can you show me? Please? I bet you can use magic AND fly! Can you do them both at the same time? Could you make yourself into an alicorn? That would be..." Jack shoved a hoof over the orange filly's mouth. Too many questions being asked at once, he needed a break so he could think. "I could probably be an alicorn if I wanted to, and yes, I can fly, and I can use magic. Although my abilities are fairly limited, I'm not used to magic or flight. As a matter of fact, I can hardly control my own wings right now..." Jack said, trailing off while admiring his wings. They moved up, then down. Up, then down. The wings then expanded to full length, as he stretched out his back, before returning to his side once more. "Being a changeling and all must be tough. I mean, around town everypony was afraid that something bad would happen, but you're here right now with me, and nothing bad has happened." Scootaloo stated. It was true. With paranoia, Jack had to be extremely cautious about his actions, and try not to say anything he knew about the ponies around him. So far, he had managed to play it cool with everypony, except maybe Rarity, but things did sort themselves out in the end. Thinking about his cover and his actions, his mind dragged Jack back into reality. The only thing that worries Jack was what may have happened to Twilight. There were definitely suspicions, seeing as the pony on trial disappeared and Twilight was the one defending it. He had no idea what had happened, assuming something had happened, to Twilight. Scootaloo caught notice of the sudden panic in Jack, and decided it would be best to point it out. "Hey... Are you okay? You look a little worried." She said. "Uh... Yeah. I'm fine. I just... Well it's nothing really." Jack said, stumbling upon his own words. When Scootaloo didn't ask any more questions, Jack was relieved. He didn't really want to talk about what was bothering him, especially if he was to bring up a relationship between a pony and a changeling. 'It could always be worse. I guess. Jack thought. Practicing the skills he sought to master didn't seem like something he wanted to do anymore. As useful as they would be, they wouldn't be able to help him learn about Twilight's current status. Or maybe it could, seeing as he did have magic available. Maybe, just maybe, he could manage to sneak into town. Unicorns can teleport, right? And they can use counter spells as well, it seems. Preparing to return to the energy field protecting the town, Jack took one last drink of water and ate a flower or two before departing. Flowers weren't even that bad tasting, seeing as he never ate them before. The filly followed closely behind, which Jack found it interesting how quickly Scootaloo bonded with him. Then again, life or death situations could result in bonding, or just when there's a lack of other social creatures. Departing from the peace and quiet of the clearing, they headed back towards the sealed off town. >---< "It's not as easy getting in there, you know." Scootaloo said while Jack tapped lightly on the sphere. "I've tried just about everything to try to get past." "But you haven't tried magic, have you?" Jack replied. "Of course not, I'm a pegasus, not a unicorn. You, on the other hoof, can be either. That would be SO cool if I could do that..." Returning to the unicorn form which he had used for roughly 18 hours, Jack slowly brought his horn into contact with the sphere. He felt magical energies course through his body, and he felt as if the world around him was slowly melting away. It wasn't until Scootaloo poked him on the leg that he pulled himself away. "Woah, I never knew magical energy could feel so... surreal..." Jack said, attempting to regain his focus. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but on the other hoof, this thing is as hard as rock! There's no way we can just break in!" Jack paused for a moment. The magical energy protecting Ponyville was way too strong for him to break his way in, and seeing as Twilight managed to teleport him out of the shield, he must use a similar strategy to get himself in. The problem he found was that he could visualize the magic he wanted to cast before, but this time was different. How does one imagine moving something instantaneously? It just doesn't work! Then again, that would explain why so few ponies are able to teleport. With Scootaloo kicking at the dirt on the ground, an idea popped into his head. It was a crazy idea, one that was relatively risky, but he had no other plans. The screen had to have some sort of filtering system, otherwise the town wouldn't receive light, or fresh air for all that matters. Two ideas were in his head, either change what can and can't go through, or turn into something that can go through. The first option was the only one Jack was willing to attempt, the other one just seemed a little too far out of his league. As Jack touched his horn against the glowing bubble once more, he felt the magical energies flow through him. One after another, different 'waves' of energy passed through him, almost like DNA, where the same energies would repeat themselves, but never follow a specific pattern. The energies continued to pass through Jack, while he attempted to decode the magical ability cast in front of him. >---< "We need him" A raspy, emotionless voice said. "He has done nothing for us. We fed and we got punished. Why should he hold such power?" A similar voice asked. "There is no other option. She is gone now. What shall we do?" "We must search for her. She cannot be lost forever." "But she has never left us before. What shall we do?" "Keep everything running. This is bound to cause... Disagreements. However, until she returns, things must continue running smoothly. What if she was to return?" "We must find him. He has the power to save us." "He lacks power. He has a gift, and his gift will save us." "So be it. When shall we depart?" "This very moment."