//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: A Matter of Perspective // by Vic Fontaine //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Ponyville wasn't a huge town, so when something bad happened, news traveled faster than a letter sent via dragonfire. Sure enough, most of the resident ponies had gathered near the train station to see what the fuss was about. The small knot in Twilight's stomach from her collision with Rainbow Dash seemed to grow inside of her with each step through the crowd, their worried faces and tense voices doing nothing to calm her suddenly jittery nerves. Pushing their way through the last of the crowd, the pair were greeted by their closest friends, and fellow bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie Pie was the first to speak, though gone was her normally perky, bubbly attitude. "Thank Celestia you two are here! I don't have a daisy's idea what happened to these ponies, but they're in super-duper bad shape!" Her eyes widening as she spoke, the normally cheery Earth pony continued. "I tried everything - jokes, songs, dances, you name it! I even fired the party cannon right at them, and they didn't even budge!!" Slouching down to her haunches, Pinkie just stared at the ground, still in disbelief that anypony could sit still through her party cannon routine without moving even an inch. Knowing an emotional breakdown when she saw one, Rarity quickly moved to Pinkie, wrapping a reassuring foreleg around the earth pony's shoulders. "You know it's not your fault, darling! You simply can't blame yourself like this! Not when the other ponies here need you!" Mustering most of her strength, Pinkie offered the fashionista the best smile that she could give at the moment. Satisfied that Pinkie was at least not going off the deep end at this instant, she turned to face her most recently arrived friends. "Girls, I don't know what is going on here either, but none of us can get anything from these ponies. We all went up and down the train dozens of times, trying to get anypony to do anything! But, they're as motionless as the mannequins in my boutique!" "And pretty darn numb too!", said Applejack, the orange farm pony raising her voice to speak. "Why, I even gave one of 'em a gentle buck in the shoulder, and all that darn pony did was flop on the ground like a seedling in a windstorm!" Twilight stood still as Applejack spoke, her mind processing the new information as fast as it could. Hearing the farmer recount her 'gentle' bucking of another pony, Twilight made a mental note to find out exactly who she had bucked, and check on them later. She wasn't totally sure that Applejack's version of 'gentle' was really gentle at all. Shaking her head as she tilted her ever-present Stetson hat back, Applejack continued. "In all my years in Ponyville, I ain't seen nothing like this before. But that ain't even the worst of it. Fluttershy, tell Twilight and Rainbow what you saw." All eyes now turned to her, the primrose pegasus tried her best to tamp down the fear that was running through her veins. Keeping her face half hidden by her long pink mane, Fluttershy raised her voice as loud as her body would allow. "I...I tried to speak to the ponies on the train, but nopony responded at all. I tried to treat them the same way I treat my woodland creatures, but they said nothing. Finally, I...oh this was a horrible thing to do...I shouldn't have done it." Her voice breaking as she recalled her actions on the train, she finished her thought. "I gave one of them....I gave them the stare!" "None of it worked? Not even the stare?!", exclaimed Rainbow Dash, her wings briefly sweeping up to further emphasize her point. Snapping around on her hindlegs, she turned back to Twilight. "Well, Twi, what do we do now?! We can't just stand here all day! I saw we go to Canterlot right now!" Holding up a hoof, Twilight gave the fidgety pegasus a stern but serious look. "No, you're not going anywhere, Rainbow. None of us are going anywhere until we find out exactly what happened to these ponies. We need to know what we're dealing with if we hope to get these ponies back to normal." It took nearly all of her will power, but Dash managed to keep her hooves on the ground, instead settling back on her haunches, ears pinned slightly back. Distraught at the scene before her, Rarity spoke up next: "Darling, we can't get a word out of the ponies on the train, and certainly nopony at the station has a clue what is wrong with them. I just don't think there is anypony else here who can help us." "Mhm...", was Twilight's only response, as she hunched over a nearby bench, quickly writing down most of what her friends had just described. The quill danced across the papers as fast as her magic could take it, recording notes and observations as fast as her mind could spit them out. Twilight's eyes darted up from her writing for mere seconds at a time, as she regarded each of her friends while she wrote down her notes. Notating the now likely need to journey to Canterlot, the unicorn flicked her eyes up one more time to land on Rainbow Dash. Her breath momentarily hitched in her throat as she looked right into the same distant, yet intense stare that she had just seen in her library. That small corner of her mind jumped at the chance to trample her concentration, forcing her to spend just a few more seconds trying to read the pair of magenta eyes that seemed to be looking past her and through her at the same time. A sudden movement snapped Twilight back to reality, as Rainbow quickly turned her face down and away from the unicorn, putting on her best attempt at a poker face. Twilight jerked her head back down to finish the last of her notes, cursing herself inside for staring like an idiot. Dipping the quill for one last spot of ink, she scribbled a final note on the bottom of the paper: 'RD - perspective?'. Standing up and quickly filing the notes into her saddlebags, she turned to her friends. "Well, there is one pony that we haven't seen yet - the train conductor. Unless Canterlot trains now run on remote control, then there is at least one pony on this train that we can talk to." The six ponies exchanged nods of agreement, and moved towards the still full train. Boarding a few cars back of the engine, the six shuffled into single file, marching quickly towards the front of the train, and hopefully, some answers. The silence on the train was palpable, its effect bringing a slight chill to Twilight as she led the six ponies through the train cars toward the engine room. Just as her friends had described, the seats were all full, but none of the ponies so much as blinked as they passed by. Moving to the last regular train car, she noticed the stallion that Applejack must have 'gently' bucked in an attempt to get him to respond. The light brown pony was still lying in a heap on the floor, his legs splayed out like a foal's rag doll, and his eyes as blank and listless as anything she had ever seen. Reaching the door to the engine room, Twilight knocked on the door, the clanking sound that her hoof made against the door echoing back through the still silent train. She then tried the door handle, but found it locked. "Well, it looks like nopony is here. May...maybe the conductor ran away too.", said Fluttershy, who was huddled as close to the other ponies as she could without tackling one of them. "Perhaps it's best if we just go." "No.", replied Twilight. "Somepony is in there, and he's the only one who can even try to tell us what happened here. If he won't let us in, we'll just have to let ourselves in." Focusing her mind, Twilight's horn began to glow, bathing her face in its customary magenta glow as her magic coalesced at the tip of her horn. Closing her eyes to concentrate, a small tendril of magic leapt from her horn towards the key hole just below the door knob. Imagining the lock mechanism in her mind, her magic deftly gripped the locking pin, twisting it out of the way. With a short click, the lock disengaged, and the door to the engine room slid open in front of them. As she expected, there was the conductor, sitting in his chair, staring ahead out of the windows. Waving a foreleg in front of her, Twilight motioned for the group to move forward into the engine room. They quickly closed the short distance between them and the conductor, the clacking of their hooves on the metal floor the only sound in the tiny compartment. Twilight was about to tap on the conductor's chair when it suddenly swung around, bringing the conductor face to face with the unicorn and her friends. "Can I help you ponies?", said the conductor, his voice oddly cold and vacant. "Yes! You can tell us what happened to this train!", exclaimed Twilight. "Why, whatever do you mean?", asked the conductor, his voice growing more and more of an edge with every word. "This is ridiculous!!", screamed Rainbow Dash. Jumping in the air, she darted forward, stopping inches from the conductor's muzzle. "This entire train is full of mindless ponies who can't even blink, much less talk, and you have no idea what could have happened along the way?! Cut the horse apples, and tell us the truth!" Casting a cold, dark glare on the pegasus, the conductor began to shimmer in front of the group, as if he were a fading mirage. "Well, when you put it that way...". Before anypony could respond, the conductor's visage was consumed in a flash of bright blue flame, his body replaced by a ragged black creature with insect-like wings and black, pock-marked skin. As the flames reached its head, two jagged fangs emerged from its mouth, and the once cold brown eyes morphed into opaque blue orbs, their intentions nothing but evil. The six ponies let out a collective gasp. "It's a Changeling!!", yelled Rarity. Twilight lit her horn to attack, as Applejack and Rainbow Dash reared up for their own strikes. Before they could act though, the now fully revealed Changeling erected a magic field in front of itself, blocking the ponies from advancing further. Testing the barrier, Twilight fired a bolt of magic at the shield, only to have it absorbed completely by the green wall of energy. Rainbow and Applejack fared no better, their physical assaults doing nothing to the impenetrable barrier. Her frustration near its limits, Twilight turned to face the Changeling, who was laughing derisively at them. "Silly ponies! Did you really think it would be that easy?! This train is a special delivery from Queen Chrysalis herself, and is but a small taste of what awaits you and your friends in Canterlot!" Flying up to within a whisker of the barrier, Rainbow leveled herself with a pair of soulless blue orbs. "What did you do to these ponies?! Why can't they talk?! Why can't they move?!" Letting out an ear splitting cackle, the Changeling responded. "These ponies are the first fruits of our Queen's labor. Soon, we will fill the streets of Canterlot with ponies just like these, and then all of Equestria!! Say goodbye to your precious land of love and harmony ponies, for it is at its end!!" In a flash of blue light, the Changeling vanished from their midst, leaving nothing behind in its wake except for a now even heavier silence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I can't believe the Changelings are back!", a bit of fear having crept into Applejack's voice. The six ponies stood back on the train platform, their minds rattled from what they had just witnessed. Chrysalis and her minions were back, and from the looks of things, they were creating more ponies like the ones still on the train every minute. "Yeah, I thought we had seen the last of Queen Meany Mcmeanypants!", added Pinkie Pie, her light-hearted nature still partially weighed down with worry. Twilight did not really hear her friends as they talked, as she again ripped through her books, looking for something - anything that could be of use. "Planting her hoof on her forehead, Twilight let out a growl of pure anxiety. "For the love of Celestia, there has got to be a useful spell somewhere in here!" Celestia. A sudden realization hit the unicorn like a brick, sending her mind into a near frenzy. "Oh no, what about Celestia? and Luna? We have to stop them from returning to Canterlot!!" "What in the hay do you mean, Twi?", asked Rainbow Dash. "What about the Princesses?" "No time to explain!", yelled Twilight. Just get to the library and bring Spike! I need to send the Princesses a warning right away! If they return to Canterlot before realizing that the Changelings are back---" "We already know, Twilight." The booming voice that carried those words nearly made the unicorn jump out of her fur. Whirling around, she saw the twin Goddesses of Equestria, Luna and Celestia, approaching the group. Pure instinct lowered her front half in a hasty bow, though her jaw was still stuck on the ground beneath her in a state of pure shock. The other five ponies quickly followed suit, trying to mask their own wide-eyed looks with some resemblance of decorum. Rising to her hooves, Twilight looked up at the two Princesses, their stature as regal and perfect as she had come to expect. Celestia stood to her sister's left, her taller stature allowing her shimmering mane to flow over and behind the Princess of the Night. Twilight had seen them stand in just this order many times before, but the angle of the mid-afternoon sun cast a glimmering light through both of their manes, creating an aurora of pastels and darker hues around them. The Sun princess lowered her head to speak, her voice as warm and soothing as ever: "Twilight, my most faithful student. It is so good to see that you and your friends are unharmed." Allowing a hint of a smile to cross her face, she added, "I am sorry if our sudden arrival scared you. I forgot to remind my sister that the Royal Canterlot voice was not needed for this occasion". "You did ask that I make our presence known, did you not?", replied Luna, her question clearly laced with a bit of sisterly needling. Flashing a slight smirk for her sister, Celestia turned back to Twilight and her assembled friends. "We'll discuss this later, sister. Right now, though, I think we owe Twilight and her friends some answers." Her eyes growing wide, Twilight asked, "With all due respect, we need all the answers we can get. How did you know about the Changelings return? I thought you both were attending a diplomatic conference in Manehattan?" "Yes, we were.", replied Celestia. "One of the Royal Guards managed to send a message via dragon fire to warn us. The Changelings attacked before the guards began their morning drills, catching them with their guard down. We have not heard from Silver Arrow since, so we can only assume that he too was captured by the Changelings." Stepping forward, Luna spoke up, her voice more measured this time: "We anticipated that Chrysalis would want to send a message to try and deter us from acting. Because the Elements of Harmony are here with you, directing the message to Ponyville was the most logical choice." Listening intently to the two Princesses, Twilight had not noticed her friends close ranks behind her. The next voice she heard had a distinct farmer's drawl to it. "Beggin' your pardon, Princess, but if the message was a train full of messed up ponies, I don't think we quite get it. How can we get the message if nopony can talk to us?" "Silencing the voice is just the first step in their plan.", replied the Sun Princess, her voice taking on a more serious edge. "A silent pony cannot speak out when their mind is silenced as well, and a silenced mind is exactly what Chrysalis wants." "That creepy Changeling on the train did mention something about building an army.", added Rainbow, reflexively shaking her head to try and clear the picture from her mind. "Wait a second - they want to create an army of SILENT ponies?!", cried Pinkie Pie, her whole body shuddering at the mere thought of a town full of voiceless, ponies. Tapping a hoof on the ground while she thought, Twilight asked to nopony in particular, "Indeed, Pinkie. But, what could you do with an army of silent ponies?" The words had no sooner left her mouth when it finally hit her. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she recalled the one other time she had seen a truly silent pony - when her brother was under the Queen's spell before his nearly ruined wedding to Princess Cadence. The image of her brother's unnatural green eyes and haunted visage were burned into her memory, and at the moment, they were as fresh and raw in her mind as they had ever been. She turned to her friends, her face showing nothing but pure dread: "They want to build an army of silent ponies under their control! Just like my brother at his wedding! Chrysalis wants to silence everyponys' minds, so she can replace them with one of her own design!" "You are correct, Twilight.", replied Celestia, her still melodic voice betraying none of the worry that Twilight could see in her mentor and teacher's eyes. "I feared that Chrysalis would try again, but I did not think it would be so soon, or so brazen of an attempt." "I...I just don't understand.", replied Twilight, her mind still reeling from her realization of the Changeling Queen's real goal. Recalling Shining Armor's ordeal again, she forced her voice past the growing knot in her stomach. "My brother is strong, but he is just one pony, and it took Chrysalis days of spell casting to suppress Shining's identity! Now she's turned an entire train full of ponies into blank slates in less than a day?! How is that even possible?!", she cried, throwing a foreleg in the air to emphasize her point. Realizing that her voice had risen well past an appropriate level for speaking to the Princesses, Twilight shrunk her posture, taking a small step backwards as she did so. Normally, it would not be.", replied Luna. "However, we suspect that Chrysalis is using some kind of enchanted object to accelerate her plans. An 'amplifier', if you prefer. They were used as weapons in the many wars that scarred the ancient world. Put to their full potential, they could increase a pony's magical powers many times over, turning even an ordinary spell into a devastating weapon in the wrong hooves." The ponies let out a collective shudder at the thought of such power in the hands of a creature the likes of Discord, or even worse, King Sombra. Fixing her turquoise eyes on a distant point, the Princess of the Night continued. "Most of these weapons were destroyed over time, taking their owners with them. However, a few have been discovered since we began our shared rule of Equestria. We tried to reason with the creatures that found them,", casting a brief glance at her sister and co-ruler, "but it was too late to save them." She turned back to Twilight, the alicorn's face hardening like a stone. "We had no choice but to destroy the weapons, and their bearers along with them." The princesses words hung like a weight around Twilight's neck, as she began to wrap her mind around the task that surely would face them soon. Defending her home, her princesses, and her friends was not an issue to the unicorn. Totally destroying anypony though, no matter how evil they were, was a harder pill to swallow. "Isn't there any other way?", she asked, directing her question to the Sun Princess. "Can't we recreate the spell that Shining used to repel the Changelings out of Canterlot again?" "Not in this case, my student. Magic amplifiers are extremely powerful, and can easily overpower traditional counterspells, such as the one that your brother used to drive the Changelings out the first time. Glancing over to her sister, Celestia continued. "My sister is right in this matter. I foolishly thought that those who controlled these weapons could be saved, but in the end, destroying them was the only way to stop them." Returning her gaze to the six ponies, the Princess focused her eyes on Twilight, her still radiant face projecting a sobering glare that even Luna had rarely seen since her return. "If Chrysalis has obtained an amplifier, then it must be destroyed before she can realize its full potential. There is no other way." "And if the Queen refuses to surrender the weapon?", came the unicorn's meek reply. A flash of what seemed like guilt played across the alicorn's eyes before she replied. "Then she must be destroyed along with it." Celestia's words seemed to double the weight she felt clamping down on her neck, and the look on her face sent ice running through her veins. Twilight's mind reeled as waves of fear, determination, and regret all crashed together inside of her. Despite the chill running through her body, she could feel sweat dripping into the back of her mane, her every hair seemed to stand on end. The unicorn jumped a bit as a cyan hoof reached out to touch her left shoulder, calming a leg that she did not even realize had been shaking. Sliding up next to the still shaky unicorn, Rainbow unfurled a wing and gently draped it over her shoulders, trying to offer Twilight at least a brief moment of calm. Holding her wing in place over her friend, she stood at her full height to face the two princesses. "Princess, I will go with Twilight to Canterlot. I may not understand much of that fancy magic stuff that unicorns do...eh, no offense, of course..heh...", smiling sheepishly at her unintended joke, she quickly moved on. "But Twilight is one of my friends, and I cannot let her do this alone." Her mind jerked into action, Twilight shrugged off the blue wing from her shoulder, and grabbing Rainbow's muzzle, turned the mare's head to bring her face to face with her own. "Are you crazy, Rainbow?! This isn't some grand adventure from one of your Daring Do books, you know that, right?" The pegasus let slip a small smirk at her friend's mention of Daring, the subject having been mostly avoided since their argument in the library. Twilight caught onto the smirk that was held a blink too long, and that only raised her ire more. "Look, I know we've saved the day a few times already, all of us have. But this is different. Somepony could get hurt, or worse!", her mind nearly froze at the thought of one of her friends not making it back from this trip, never mind herself. "Even if we pull this off, who knows what we'd have to do to destroy that weapon, let alone the Queen herself!" Her eyes took on an almost pleading look as she finished speaking. "Dash, I know you're loyal above all else - to me, to our friends, to everypony. But you don't have to do this." Struck by the mix of sincerity and desperation behind the unicorn's words, it took Rainbow a few seconds to formulate a response. As her mind tried to cobble random thoughts into mostly coherent words, she gazed around at her five friends, her focused magenta eyes landing on each of the other ponies in turn. A pair of cerulean eyes met her own with a sense of hopeful optimism. Deep azure eyes reflected the generosity behind her desire to help her friend. Continuing her gaze, bright magenta met emerald green, the pony behind them radiating a strength that on most days was a match for her own. Next, she trained her eyes on the most innocent shade of blue, their crystalline gaze revealing an acceptance of the need to take action, a burning resolve to act simmering beneath a mask of timidity. Finally, Rainbow turned her eyes back to the purple unicorn in front of her. Raising a hoof, she gently raised the mare's head, bringing a pair of impossibly violet eyes in line with her own. Focusing on the face mere inches in front of her, Rainbow saw all of the elements at once in the unicorn - unfailing honesty, endless kindness and generosity, limitless desires to be happy, unassailable loyalty to everything she held dear, and beneath all of it, an untapped reservoir of raw magical power that seemed ready to rip the world asunder when called upon. In that instant, Rainbow knew without a doubt that Twilight could defeat Chrysalis, and whatever 'weapon' she was trying to use, no matter what it took. Her mind latched onto Twilight's Daring Do comment again, this time smirking only on the inside. Lowering her hoof from the mare's face, the pegasus stepped back and regarded Twilight Sparkle. She fully recognized the same puzzled but probing look in the unicorn's eyes as she stared back at her. Rainbow did not avert her gaze this time, keeping her eyes locked on to the violet gems that were mere inches away. Keeping her gaze on the unicorn, Rainbow's mind found the words that it was looking for. "You're right, we have saved Equestria a few times already. But, you're forgetting one thing. We never could have done it without you, Twi. Each of us bears one of the Elements of Harmony, but your element, magic, binds the rest of them, and us, together. We may have saved the day as a group, but you led us every time, taking crazy risks to keep us safe." Swallowing the nerves that threatened to derail her mind, Rainbow continued, her voice boring into the unicorn in front of her. "Now, it's you who needs somepony to keep them safe. As the Element of Loyalty, and as your friend, I refuse to stand by and watch you do this alone. I don't just have to do this. I want to do this. For you, for me, for all of us. Besides,", she added, that same smirk creeping into her lips, "Rosetta is always saving Daring's flank with her plans and research. Now, Daring finally gets a chance to return the favor." Slowly, a bright smile formed on the unicorn's face. "Oh, Rainbow, thank you so much! I'd be honored to have you accompany me to Canterlot!" Twilight lurched forward, drawing the pegasus into a hug that reflected the renewed energy in the unicorn. As gracefully as she could, Rainbow returned the hug, gently wrapping her forelegs around the unicorn to match her embrace. Aware of the audience around her, she willed her body not to react to the assault that the hug was placing on her senses. Her nose was flooded with scents of lavender, vanilla, and plum from the unicorn's mane. The touch of a surprisingly fluffy purple coat on her own reverberated through her spine like a tuning fork, while the feeling of two lavender hooves brushing through her chromatic mane to rest on her neck nearly set the rest of her nerves on fire. After a few seconds that seemed like hours to the pegasus, Twilight let go of the embrace, backing away a few steps. As she did so, Rainbow's eyes focused on the unicorn, only this time, she saw violet eyes framed by small gold eye glasses, a notepad and quill tucked neatly into the pocket of a white lab coat. Oh, Celestia, she really is Rosetta, isn't she? How could she not be? And how could Daring not love a pony like Rosetta? How could I not love a pony like Twilight? Wait, did I just? Yes, yes I did. I am in love with Twilight Sparkle - lab coat or not. If only I could find a way to tell her that she would understand... For the pegasus, Princess Celestia picked exactly the wrong moment to get things underway. "So, it seems that it is settled then. Rainbow Dash, you will accompany Twilight Sparkle to Canterlot. When you arrive, you must locate and destroy the magic amplifier that Chrysalis is using. It is my distant hope that the Changeling Queen can be persuaded to surrender herself or the weapon. Should she refuse, you both understand what you must do." Taking another look at each other, the two mares turned to the Princess and bowed again. "You can count on us, princess!", exclaimed Rainbow, with Twilight adding, "We won't let you down." Luna approached the pair, her demeanor showing equal parts confidence and concern. "Time is of the essence, ponies, and we must get you to Canterlot as quickly as possible. Are you ready to begin?" "You bet we are! Bring it on!", cried Rainbow, her eagerness for action showing in her voice. "Very well,", she replied, "We will teleport you to Canterlot, placing you just far enough away from the castle to avoid attracting undue attention to yourselves." Rainbow and Twilight turned back to their four friends, who quickly gathered around them for a group hug, well wishes for their journey, and a collective promise to come back in one piece. The large embrace broken, the duo stepped back towards the two princesses. "Good luck to both of you, my little ponies", said Celestia, her voice losing none of its regal demeanor. "I know that you will do well, but please be careful." "Rainbow looked up at the Sun Princess, her mane still flowing impeccably in the light breeze. "I'll bring her back, Princess. I promise." Favoring the pegasus with a warm smile, she stepped back from the pair, aligning herself with her sister a few steps away. In perfect rhythm, both alicorns closed their eyes, and their horns lit up with some of the brightest magical auras that the gathered ponies had ever seen. Flickering embers of gold mixed with deep, inky purples as they focused their collective wills on teleporting the two mares. Then, in a blinding flash of light, the two ponies flashed out of view, leaving nothing behind as a memento of their presence mere seconds ago.