//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Realization // Story: Princess Celestia: The Changeling Queen // by vren55 //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Realization “The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.” ― J.K. Rowling Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes and was struck speechless.  In front of her lay the grey expanse of the moon.  Above the landscape was the night sky, shimmering and shining.  Every one of its stars brilliant and distinct, yet each contributed to the entire tapestry. “Are you enjoying the sight?” asked Luna, approaching from behind.  The unicorn nodded, her eyes sparkling with rapture. “Where are we?” asked Twilight.  Luna stepped forward to stand beside the unicorn, a small smile on her face. “We are in my mind, or at least part of it.  From here we shall embark into the Changeling Queen’s memories and attempt to discover where she has hidden our sister,” explained the princess. Her expression grew serious, and her horn glowed.  To Twilight’s surprise and disappointment, the lunar landscape began to blur and dissipate, fading away like fog blown away by the wind. When Twilight’s vision focused, she found herself at the bottom of a gently sloped hill covered in long green grass.  At the top of the hill was a house.  However, what drew Twilight’s attention were the strange holes in the hill, some smaller than rabbit holes, others large enough for a pony to fit into.  From within each hole shone a light so blinding, Twilight had to narrow her eyelids just to be able to see. “Strange, we did not expect this,” remarked Luna. “So where do we go?” asked Twilight. “That we do not know, Twilight Sparkle, for each mind is different. Our instinct suggests that we should try the house on the top of this hill.  It looks like a place where important things are stored,” said Luna.  The unicorn nodded, and the two began to slowly walk up the hill.  The holes made it difficult to navigate, and more than once, Luna had to carry Twilight past them. When the two finally reached the top of the hill, they were able to examine the house more closely.  It was then they realized the home was actually more like a miniature castle.  A castle, whose design bore an eerie resemblance to Canterlot.  The structure was painted a combination of pink, green and blue, the colours of Celestia’s mane.  The same blinding light shone out of every window. The front door was ajar and as Twilight’s horn glowed, it swung open without any resistance.  Cautiously, the two entered the home into a long hallway.  Apart from the tiled floor and the doors at the side and end, the corridor was featureless.  Despite the lack of torches, the corridor was illuminated brightly.  Though this time, the light came from the open door at the end.  Pressing forward, the two ponies shielded their eyes and made their way to the portal. They were met with a great chamber.  Shaped like a dome, the walls of the room were neatly arranged with bookshelves, armour, paintings and articles stretching across history.  The floor of this room was of earth, cool under their hooves.  In this room, though, the light was so blinding that Luna and Twilight had to blink rapidly. When their eyes finally adjusted, they were thunderstruck. In the centre of the chamber was what could only be described as a miniature sun, sunken into the ground.  The only reason that they could even see it was because it was partially covered by a thin layer of vines.  For some strange reason, these vines didn’t burn from the sun’s heat.  They were rooted near the hole in the floor where the sun stood and spread out across the chamber, reaching up, touching, sometimes enveloping, certain portraits and furniture. A certain painting drew Twilight’s attention, and when she turned to look at it, she ended up stepping back in shock. “Twilight Sparkle, what is the matter?” asked Luna.  Twilight merely pointed out the gold-framed painting with a trembling hoof.  It was of Celestia approaching a nimbus of violet magic, focused around a small purple filly.  However, when the princess examined the painting closely, the image of Celestia shimmered, like a heated haze, and revealed a Changeling Queen. “That’s my magic exam, when I got my cutie mark and Princess Celestia made me her student... ” murmured Twilight. The unicorn sat down on the earthen floor, her widening eyes tracing the line of paintings.  Around that single large piece were many smaller ones.  Each of them had Twilight and Celestia and when the sun princess’s images were scrutinized, they were replaced by the distinctive form of Alternia.  In all of the paintings, the image of the Changeling was wearing the same smile as the image of Celestia. “By the moon and stars, it can’t be!” swore Luna.  The night princess turned, and her turquoise eyes picked out another image.  This one was of Celestia standing over Luna after the Elements of Harmony had cleansed her.  The princess watched the painting and gasped.  Celestia was once again, replaced by Alternia.  However, this painting was different from the ones Twilight had observed.  The depiction of Alternia was smiling, but it was more of relief.  Her eyes were narrowed, confused and angry.  Far different from the open smile the image of Celestia had worn.  A half-choked gasp interrupted the princess’s thoughts, and she turned to see Twilight fighting to stifle her tears.  The unicorn was sitting in front of another painting, but it was framed in ebony, the tone of its colours dark and dismal.  It was of Alternia sitting in the dungeon and being interrogated by a ring of ponies.  Luna’s initial glance showed an expressionless Changeling, but when Luna examined the image closely, it shifted once again.  The Changeling in the image was crying, tears pouring down her carapace, her wings drooped in despair and her ears turned down to shield the words she was hearing. The weight of Twilight’s actions now bore down on her, like the falling altar that she had narrowly been saved from.  The unicorn sat down, her mouth opening and closing, and her wide eyes blank. The pony didn’t know what to think; she had so many questions.  But there was one thought clear in Twilight’s mind.  In her desperation to find her mentor, she had ended up accusing, interrogating and slandering her.  When evidence was provided, her hate for the Changelings had made her ignore all the signs, that at this moment, seemed all too clear. She had been so focused on finding Celestia, she instead committed ultimate travesty; trespassed into her mentor’s mind.  Something she knew Celestia — no — Alternia would have disapproved of. Slowly, the unicorn cradled her head with her hooves as tears began to form in her eyes.  Now, she knew the truth. “What have I done?” sobbed Twilight.   I heard the sound of crying.  Twilight’s crying.  It roused me from my slumber. “I’m here Twilight,” I called drowsily.  When I opened my eyes though, I found myself in a strange domed room, blindingly bright in the centre and filled with articles and portraits of all kinds.  The room instantly felt familiar to me, catching me off guard.  However, as my senses returned to me, I was concerned with a more pressing matter. “Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna,” I said, trotting forward.  The two of them jumped to their hooves and turned to face me.  Twilight’s cheeks were soaked, her mane slightly disheveled and eyes red.  My student seemed to lean away from me while I approached, like she expected me to lash out at her.  Luna held her head high and tried to glare at me, but her turquoise eyes were soft and confused, not angry.  Behind them were paintings, the contents of them were somehow known to me, even though I couldn’t see them.  I quickly deduced they had been looking at them for some time, and then I knew what had happened. They had dared to invade the privacy of my own mind, just because they wouldn’t trust me!  Now they had realized what I had been telling them all along was true!  But this was no comfort to me.  I was hurt by their distrust, and from that hurt spewed forth anger and indignation. “Twilight—” I stopped as Twilight cringed and shut her tear soaked eyes.  I blinked, but my scowl of disapproval did not abate.  I wanted to punish Twilight.  She had gone too far this time.  I had never taught her the rules of this memory magic, but she should have known better!  I opened my mouth to speak and stopped.  I recalled Twilight’s tears after I had expressed my disappointment in her for accusing Cadance.  I saw her despair and horror as I walked away from her.  My role in this debacle came back to hit me like a hammer, the guilt following it quickly.  It was true that my student hadn’t trusted me, but I didn’t trust my student.  Now that I thought about it, I never trusted the ponies I cared about.  In fact, my failure was worse than hers.  Twilight had been understandably denying and trying to accept something I should have told her long ago.  I had brushed off her concerns, when I had every reason to believe in them.  Moreover, I knew that – ironically – her actions were motivated by her devotion to me.  I must have worried my student to death, and it was my fault. I bit my lip and sighed, “My faithful student, I would be lying if I said I am not angry or saddened at your actions.”  I winced as Twilight trembled and quickly moved to remedy it.  I would not bring her to tears again. “But I am not innocent either.”  Twilight stopped crying and stared at me uncomprehendingly. “Princess you…”  I leaned forward and lowered my head so I could meet Twilight’s wet eyes, trembling with uncertainty of what she had just learnt. “I forgive you, Twilight.  Will you forgive me for doubting you?” I asked.  Twilight said nothing, and my fears grew at her silence.  Was she too afraid of who I really was?  Could my mistakes ever be forgiven?  Can I live knowing that the pony I loved the most would not forgive me?  I closed my eyes, hoping and praying for an answer. I soft impact against my leg made me almost lost my balance.  When I opened my eyes to steady myself, I found my foreleg being nuzzled. “Princess, I’m so sorry!  I didn’t know it was you and…” Twilight blubbered on as I leant down to nuzzle my student, tears of happiness at the edge of my eyes.  Never beyond my wildest hopes did I think that Twilight would touch me in this form.  My joy, though, was brief. “Changeling… Alternia, you have much to explain.  Where is our sister?” demanded Luna.  I raised my head to meet Luna’s eyes determinedly.  I was still angry at her for putting me to sleep and going through my head like an open book. “And why should I answer you?  You probably didn’t explain to Twilight, so she cannot be accused, but you know as well as I do that what you have performed on me is one of the most heinous abuses of magic,” I retorted, coldly.  Twilight’s gasped and turned to Luna, whose wince was enough to tell her the truth.  Still, the Princess stood her ground. “Alternia, I am the co-ruler of Equestria, as is my sister, whom you have impersonated.  I will do whatever possible to see her safely returned to the throne, no matter the consequences,” stated Luna defiantly.  I grimaced, though privately, I was wondering how to answer.  The alicorn deserved an explanation of what happened.  She knew enough to not reject what I would tell her.  However, I didn’t want to tell her.  Luna would be horrified and would surely hate herself if I told her the fate of her sister. Still, with great reluctance, I consented to her demand.  I was tired of keeping this secret for any longer.  Besides, I knew it was futile to maintain this lie any longer.  If I refused, Luna would simply overpower me.  It would be better to describe it to her clearly. Luna, as mad as I was at her, needed to know what happened to her sister.  And Twilight, despite all the odds, had accepted who I was.  She of all ponies deserved to know. Bowing my head, I sighed.  “I will explain everything to everypony when we wake up.”  Luna bowed graciously in return, the relief shining brightly in her eyes. “Then we shall, as they call it, ‘remove ourselves from your mane’?” said Luna dryly.  I expelled air from my nostrils in exasperation.  However, I found myself smiling slightly as the domed room slowly faded away.  Finally, I could break my vow of silence.