//------------------------------// // One // Story: A Twist of Fate // by lemmingluv //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle slowly opened her amethyst eyes, rolling onto her stomach. She lazily reached a hoof to her back, rubbing it slightly. “This bed will be the death of me…” she groaned. The purple unicorn then stretched similarly to a cat. The walls of the room were painted dark blue, and it was quite empty of furniture. In the midsection of the wall across from the door was a large, semi-circle window with a small fireplace beneath it. Twilight’s bed was in the far corner of the room, and her writing desk was only a few feet to the left of it. On the desk were scattered papers, a stack of books, a gnarled quill, and a large brass lamp. The unicorn had spent many nights under the light of that lamp, furiously scribbling down an idea here and there, or reading a book. All too often Twilight had been shaken awake after falling asleep at the desk, and would usually end up having to brush her mane to hide the red desk mark on her cheek. A loud snort pulled the unicorn from her thoughts. She jerked her head to look at the opposite corner of the room, where a small bundle of blankets and gems were. A drawn out snore came from the pile, and Twilight Sparkle chuckled to herself. Under the mini-hoard was her baby dragon companion, Spike. She had hatched him during her last moments in Equestria. Only he and her cutie mark were reminders of her old life and her last day living it. Twilight frowned at her flank, the pink star shimmering back at her. She sighed and hopped off her bed. Her magic quickly smoothed over the blankets, then took hold of her hairbrush. As she cleaned her room and groomed her coat, her mind trailed back to roughly eleven years ago. Twilight Sparkle was walking on the edge of the Everfree Forest, carrying a small purple dragon on her back. She had originally ran out without him, but after Princess Celestia left, she felt bad for the dragon, snuck back in, and took him with on her exile. It’d seemed like a good idea at the time to the filly, but she now realized that she would have to struggle to feed herself and now also this baby dragon. Why, she didn’t even have a clue what dragons ate! The little unicorn slowly lowered herself to the ground, allowing the hatchling to slide off of her back with ease. She was tired and hungry, as she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Funny, it was amazing how much her life had changed in a little less than a day. Twilight curled up on her side and clutched the baby dragon close, holding back her tears. “I miss Mommy and Daddy, and Shining Armor…” she whispered shakily. “I miss everybody!” The little dragon cooed and nuzzled against Twilights cheek, causing a small smile to break out across her face. She gently rubbed a hoof against his head, humming the lullaby her mother always sang to her. The dragon yawned, curling up to the unicorn shortly before his eyes closed. Twilight pressed her nose affectionately to the dragons head. “I guess it’s just you and me now…” she murmured. “Are you talking to me, or the dragon?” a voice asked. Twilight looked up, surprised and afraid of what she saw. A knock on her bedroom door broke the silence, causing Spike to groan in irritation as he woke up. Twilight’s ears perked up, and she promptly trotted to answer the door. She swiftly opened it with her magic, revealing a changeling. “The Q-Queen…wantses to see you, Miss-sis Sparkle.” the changeling said, struggling to speak in Twilight’s native Equestrian tongue. “Please, call me Twilight… That is, if it’s easier for you.” The changeling simply tilted his head, showing a bit of confusion. Twilight sighed a bit. “Thank you,” she said simply, bowing her head. A crooked, fanged smile crossed the changelings face; he understood Twilight’s thanks. With that, he too bowed his head, then took flight and disappeared down the hall. Twilight shut the door and glanced over at Spike. “C’mon sleepyhead, Lis wants to see us!” Twilight grinned, lifting one of the blankets off of Spikes face. The baby dragon groaned in response. “Twiliiiiiiiiiiiiiight, it’s too early for this royal business!” “Now Spike,” Twilight lectured. “Who took us in when we were all alone? Who put food in our bellies and put a roof over our heads?” Spike sighed, then answered after a pause. “Chrysalis…” “Right! So it’s only fair that we go talk to her as soon as possible!” Twilight said with a grin. She scooped up Spike in her hooves, who squealed in complaint. “Besides, it must be something important if she sent one of the changelings to notify us. Especially if she sent one that’s not very fluent in Equestrian.” “I still don’t get why we can’t learn to communicate like them.” Spike grumbled. Twilight picked up a gem from Spikes bed with her magic and forced it into his claws, then placed him on her back. She opened the door and headed down the hall. “I already explained this Spike. Changelings don’t work the same as ponies or dragons. Their way of speaking is telepathic, and bound by the ancient magic in their blood. It’s basically something you’re born into.” “So, why can’t you just use your magic to create some kind of translator then?” Spike asked, absentmindedly nibbling at the gem. “The only sort of thing I could think of that could do that is to create an amulet. Spike, do you realize how much work and magic it takes to create an amulet? Not only that, but I’d be trying to create a type of amulet that’s never existed before, it would be a lot of trial and error, and I would need someone to test on.” Twilight explained patiently. “If I even knew how to go about creating an amulet, I’d need several samples of changeling blood just to get started.” “So what? You don’t feel comfortable asking anyone for a sample of their blood?” Spike asked, gazing out of the familiar windows that lined the hall. “It’s not just that, the results might vary depending on whos blood I had. For example, Chrysalis’ blood would be different than a common changeling, since she’s got some unicorn blood. Even someone living here in the castle, a member of the High Court, would have a different concentration of magic in their blood than Chrysalis or a common changeling.” Twilight sighed. “It’s a very complicated process.” Spike gazed doubtfully at Twilight. “If it’s so ‘difficult’, then how do you know so much of the subject already?” The unicorn smiled. “It’s like you don’t know me, Spike! You don’t think I haven’t already thought about the idea of a Changeling/Equestrian translator? Plus, I’ve read almost every book in the Castle Library.” Spike sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to change her mind about the amulet. “So then, if the changelings all communicate telepathically, why did some of them already know Equestrian before Lis found us?” Twilight stopped in the hall, looking over her shoulder at her purple passenger. “I swear Spike, it’s like you haven’t actually noticed everyday life until this moment.” “Well, I usually intend to ask you questions like this, but…” his cheeks lit up sheepishly. “You know me, I can be pretty forgetful.” Twilight laughed a bit before continuing on down the hall. “Well anyways, the changelings of the High Court and all those above them have been learning Equestrian since one of the Queens died at a younger age, and she didn’t bear any heirs. The King then fell in love with a unicorn that had been living in the Everfree, and she too was smitten. She managed to teach him Equestrian, and he was surprisingly a quick learner. They courted, and the King taught the High Court her language, so they could all communicate with her. At first, the changelings weren’t too fond of their new queen, since she was part of an enemy race and all. But she showed them undying kindness and care that none of the previous queens had ever given, so they soon accepted her with open hooves. Those were Lis’ grandparents.” Spike had listened to the whole story with big eyes and a smile. At the end though, he shook his head suddenly and snorted out a puff of smoke. “Hmph, sappy love stories.” he said simply, badly covering his liking of the story. Twilight rolled her eyes as she trotted on. The two were nearing the throne room, where Chrysalis was no doubt eagerly awaiting them.