Before Luminous could ask, Twilight walked into the room. Luminous sat up again despite the pain in her head and saluted, stubbornly pushing aside Zecora's restraining hoof to complete the gesture. Twilight looked well enough, even without the usual accoutrement of her armor. Yet something seemed out of place to Luminous even as she said warmly, “Dame Twilight, I'm so glad you're alright!”
Rather than address her, Twilight looked to Zecora with a curiously detached smile, “Is she well?”
Zecora nodded, smiling, “Yes my friend of years long past, your little squire is mending fast. The Dreamsweet cure is hard to blend, I was not sure she'd live to mend.” Luminous paled a little at that, but Twilight looked merely disinterested.
“Well as soon as you're up, Luminous,” Twilight said a shade coldly, “We've got work to do.” Twilight smiled at Luminous and Zecora rather unconvincingly, then exited the room with her usual silence. Luminous looked to Zecora, whose face had become as troubled as the squire felt.
“I'm not going!” Luminous shouted angrily at Twilight in the courtyard some days later, while several changelings looked on uncomfortably. “I'm not going to some idiotic court function while we're still burying our dead!” Luminous was literally sparking with fury, white sparks flying from her horn with every angry movement of her head as she fended off a green-glowing white dress that was being telekinetically floated after her. Twilight had spent the days since the attack entertaining the nobles of Canterlot and luxuriating in the presence of her friends. She had completely ignored or delegated anything resembling work and spent her days and nights with parties and soirees, even in the light of the grim task of burying those who lost their lives defending the Citadel.
Spike was currently being looked after by the dragon changelings, who fascinated him. They regaled him with stories of the great dragon heroes of the past, many of whom were either brave, ferocious, virtuous or some mixture of the three. Luminous had expected Twilight to listen in on what had to be a unique opportunity to hear some dragon history. Instead, Twilight had vaguely instructed Spike to take notes and made a rather flimsy excuse to not attend.
Fortunately, Spike wasn't present to hear Twilight's furious response, “You're going, Luminous!” she shouted in a burning fury, “You're going or I shall remove you from my service!” The shock that rippled through Luminous at the unveiled threat was echoed in the sudden silence that filled the courtyard. Somewhere, somepony dropped something that crashed, while Twilight and Luminous stared at each other. The dress in Twilight's green telekinetic grip floated silently beside Luminous like a mournful spirit.
Luminous broke eye contact first, and, her eyes stinging, she pulled the dress out of the air with her own golden telekinesis and put it on. Twilight smirked and ordered for her chariot to be brought around.
Luminous skulked about the party like a rather sulky ghost in an expensive dress. It was in the house of Brilliant Facets, a minor noble who had earned Twilight's attention. His interests in gemology were currently very lucrative and he was, at present, lavishing Twilight with so much praise and attention that Luminous could clearly see his wife starting to fume gently. Luminous was greeted courteously enough of course, but with Twilight demanding all the attention, the white unicorn found herself drifting aimlessly through the background by the buffet table on her own. Her mood was not improved by the constant pressure in her head, which continued to pull her steadily southeast.
She entertained herself for a little while by stacking sweets on the buffet. Her telekinesis had come a long way since she had entered Twilight's service, and she effortlessly constructed a little fort out of chocolates on one of the platters. It was little more than a box with angled sides, and it fell spectacularly when another chocolate impacted the side of it. Annoyed, Luminous turned to find herself facing a red unicorn mare about her age with orange eyes that matched her fiery mane, a lovely dress made of some translucent material, a cutie mark of a sprig of foxgloves and a mischievous smile.
“Sorry,” she said warmly, “Couldn't resist.” Luminous found herself unable to stay mad at such an honest smile and found her ill temper receding somewhat as the mare extended a hoof. “My name's Foxglove, and you must be Luminous!” she shook Luminous' automatically extended hoof and continued rambling, subtly pulling her away from the table in the process. “I've heard all about you, isn't it true you've seen more combat than most of the Royal Guard?”
“I, well...” Luminous said a little uncertainly as heads started to turn her way, away from Twilight. She straightened as much as she could with Foxglove still holding her hoof, “Yes, I suppose. It's hard living out in the Everfree.”
“But aren't you afraid?” Foxglove asked, oblivious to the attention, “I mean it's not like Equestria has fought a war in over a hundred years! And what are there to fight anyway?”
Luminous felt her face reddening as she kept her head from lowering, “It's terrifying, but we fight for our homes. The ponies and changelings that live out there that is,” Luminous became aware of more heads turning her direction as she continued, “And we fight the agents of the Beast: great hulking wolf-like creatures. They're like Diamond Dogs,” Luminous added, a shade nervously as the tall Twilight's irritated look slid over her, “But bigger, more vicious. We try not to hurt them, but they're very-”
“Luminous,” Twilight said sharply over the crowd's heads, “I really don't think that's appro-”
“Nonsense!” A rather inebriated old Guard pony said affably, “It does the younger generation good to hear a story or two.”
“But they're not a story!” Luminous said firmly, but more loudly than she intended, drawing the attention of the rest of the room. Twilight's look was pure acid but for once a flame of rebellion filled Luminous, who continued as if she hadn't seen, “The wolf-creatures of the Beast are expressions of his perverted magic and seem to be more closely related to-”
“Luminous.” Twilight's voice cracked like a whip over whatever Luminous was about to say next, “You look like you could use some air.” Luminous was about to respond hotly when she remembered Twilight's earlier threat. She nodded tightly instead and bowed to the assembled nobles at a precise angle appropriate to her station before she turned sharply to leave.
Foxglove was already walking beside Luminous as she turned and left. Foxglove was giggling softly, to Luminous' silent irritation, but the pressure in her mind and her own shame at her dismissal kept her from commenting as she and the red mare left the party. “I'm sorry,” Foxglove said softly, once her amusement had abated, “But I really couldn't resist putting a thorn in her side.”
Luminous walked a little faster, not towards anything in particular, “Dame Twilight deserves respect; she holds the line in a difficult territory.”
“That she does, but that's not her,” a definitely masculine voice said beside Luminous, who turned to find no sign of Foxglove, “Down here,” the voice said helpfully, and Luminous looked down to see a small fox smiling up at her with a carnivorous grin. Luminous froze, while the fox kept walking down the moonlit street.
After a moment Luminous caught up, and pulled the fox into an entirely unexpected hug. Blackboard struggled against being squeezed like a stuffed toy, but Luminous refused to let go. “You didn't say goodbye,” she said roughly as she held the vulpine, who calmed a bit and licked the side of Luminous's face, which was damp with silent tears, “And now you come back,” Luminous said more bitterly, squeezing Blackboard a little alarmingly, “to tell me that that's not the real Twilight who just told me to leave, who's been driving me up the wall for days.”
“Um... Yes?” Blackboard said a little breathlessly, squeezed as he was in the emotional Luminous's grip, “I wanted to tell you earlier but-”
“Then they might kill her.” A voice from the shadows finished. Luminous leapt to her hooves and thrust Blackboard beneath her in one smooth motion, ready to defend him from some unseen assailant, only to relax as Trixie came walking forward out of the darkness. The changeling smiled as Blackboard shook himself and stepped out from under Luminous with as much dignity as a fox that's been squeezed and then shoved under a mare could manage.
“What do you mean?” Luminous asked with concern. She trusted Trixie absolutely, and if what she said was true then that threw her mind into alarm.
“Shouldn't you be more concerned if I'm the real Trixie or not?” Trixie admonished, until Blackboard snickered.
“No,” Luminous said, a little puzzled, “Blackboard trusted you absolutely and immediately, and I just... Know you're you.” Trixie shot Luminous a sharp look until she continued, “Plus you walk like her, and there's a scent of ink that follows you. Furthermore, your ambient magical signature is-”
“She's observant enough,” Blackboard interrupted while Trixie just stared at Luminous, “Let's introduce her to the others and apologize properly.”
“So Twilight was kidnapped?” Luminous asked, surprisingly calmly. She was sitting in Pony Joe's coffee shop with Blackboard, once more in pony form, Trixie and three ponies a few years older than Luminous. One of them, Applebloom, had greeted Luminous with a tight hug, while the other two, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo laughed and clustered around the pair of them. Now however they were seated around one of the tables, nodding seriously over donuts and coffee.
“Yes,” Trixie said grimly, “During the attack. When you and Twilight were hit, they dragged off Twilight and left a creature in her place.” Luminous' jaw dropped, only to have Blackboard sneakily fill the gap with a donut. While she chewed and the others giggled, Trixie continued, attempting to maintain some semblance of seriousness. “The creature that impersonates her, just to complicate matters, is also known as a changeling.”
To her mild surprise, Luminous simply nodded. “So the stories about the changelings were true.” At Trixie's rather shocked look, Luminous added, “I ran across them while researching changelings in the library,” she didn't add that she had been looking for a reason for Twilight's suddenly abrasive behavior and simply continued, “they're amorovores, they eat love,” Luminous said quickly at the three other fillies' alarmed looks, “And they're known to replace ponies to do so. They replace somepony you love and-...” Luminous broke off, her eyes widening.
Trixie nodded grimly, “So we think she replaced Twilight to try and feed off the love and admiration she receives. Unfortunately for her,” and now Trixie grinned with satisfaction,“The changelings, our changelings, all know she's a fake, so she's getting no love on that front.”
“So that's why she's been runnin' around all them snooty ponies' places,” Applebloom put in indignantly, “We oughta tell them all she's a fake, see how they-”
“But then she'll just split,” Scootaloo put in, her wings fluttering with concern, “She'll run off and we won't know where Twilight is.”
“So what're you gonna do?” Sweetie Belle asked Trixie seriously, “And why are you telling us?” The filly had just returned from a concert, and her mane was still styled in a wild, punkish flare of multicolored spikes.
“Because it wasn't fair for Luminous to be in the dark. And we figured she'd tell you all, since you're her friends,” Trixie said frankly, “And the other changelings and I are all in the know, as are the Princesses. It just isn't right for Luminous not to know.”
Luminous felt a cold fury rising up in her, “And now I'm just supposed to play nice and pretend that everything's alright, knowing that the real Twilight is in danger?” Her tones were crisp and exact, but there was no denying her frustration and anger as she quoted, “'It's the duty of a squire to rescue the knight they're under in the event they're captured.' I should be out looking, not entertaining the fake!”
Trixie gave Luminous a sharp look while Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all looked mildly impressed at Luminous, “You're a filly, you don't have full control-”
“Well what if she had help?” Applebloom interrupted belligerently, the monocle around her neck jingling against the table, “Ah sure as hay ain't gonna let this just slide, an' how fair is it to tell her about it if you're just gonna ask her to sit tight and do whatever that bully of a fake does?!”
Trixie rubbed her temples with a frustrated growl, “Look. None of you can do anything about this, and before you go flying off the handle, you need to realize that if the fake realizes anything's wrong, anything at all, she's got no more use for Twilight. We need to find her, not get her killed,” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle paled at that, while Applebloom and Luminous just glowered, “And I know it's not fair, but it's the truth, and you've earned it,” Trixie continued, more consolingly, “But if you just sit tight and play along, everything's going to be just fine.”
Luminous finished penning her note with her light-writing spell, which filled Twilight's room with the slight scent of burned paper for a moment. The scent made her think of Twilight with a pang as she looked over the letter, her heart filled with trepidation for what she was about to do.
Princess Luna,
I wish to tender my resignation from the position of squire to the individual known currently as Dame Twilight Sparkle. It has become clear in recent days that she is unfit for duty and I cannot in good conscience serve her. While my immediate departure is somewhat unusual, you'll find similar cases in Equestrian Chivalry Volumes 3-11 and the accompanying law books.
Luminous had debated about including all the annotations she'd made, but she settled for leaving the piles of books she'd referenced. She felt a little foolish including all the lawbooks, but she wanted to make sure her legal position was clear. Fortunately the fake Twilight was still away trying to soak in more affection from the nobles around Canterlot.
I make this decision with a heavy heart, but I feel it is for the best. I shall be moving back into the orphanage immediately, until such a time as an opportunity presents itself for me to join a family.
Yours faithfully,
Luminous
Luminous left the letter out next to the stacks of referenced books, and turned to her belongings. Most of her birthday goods had been packed into a large wagon, which was going to be looked after by a few of the changelings at the Citadel until she sent for them. What she didn't pack though, she was wearing.
For her birthday, Luminous had been given wonders both big and small, magical and mundane. The changelings and ponies at the Citadel had outdone themselves in their generosity, but while the ponies gave beautiful, often practical things, the changelings had given Luminous mostly armor and weapons. Most of which she was wearing, and none of which matched in the slightest.
She wore a helmet of solid, unbreakable crystal that swirled with patterns of power and protection. It featured a horn-blade that was made of the same substance and allowed Luminous to cast while sporting a significant weapon. Protecting her neck and body was a bright green undercoat of stitched whispers and dreamstuff from the Hedge. Far from being too warm, the garment kept Luminous at a constant temperature, and could repair itself. She sported a bright purple breastplate that seemed to glow with inner sparks of light. It was crafted with wood taken from the Hedge and fit Luminous so snugly it was almost like a second skin. It was fireproof, and provided a surprising amount of protection, she had been assured. Her hooves were clad in brilliant yellow crystal that chimed softly as she walked. The crystals had been grown in dreams, and should protect her hooves like steel. Over her back, she wore saddlebags made by Twilight that could hold three times their apparent size, and as such she had sufficient survival gear for a march across the San Palomino Desert and back.
She paused at that thought, because she still didn't really know where she was going. A steady push in her mind urged her to head southeast, like some part of herself that was empty and aching from the lack. She hadn't mentioned it to anypony, but the pressure had been constant since Twilight was taken. She had assumed it was a side-effect of the drug, since it had been steadily fading from her mind, but it always pulled from the same direction. She had discreetly checked on maps, mainly to calm herself after a fight with the false Twilight, and the only thing in that direction was the Badlands.
With nothing else to go on, Luminous secured her bags and slipped out into the night. She trotted through the sleeping Citadel, her hooves chiming on the stone, and stepped out across the bridge into the forest.
She entirely missed the small shape slinking after her in the brush, its yellow eyes fixed on the white unicorn filly as it followed as silently as a shadow.