“…And that’s how it is.” Twilight finished explaining. Her friends were gathered around Rainbow’s house, waiting for her to return from the academy. Rainbow was running late and Twilight decided that now was a good a time as any to tell everypony about the change in plans.
Rarity sighed sympathetically when she saw the other ponies’ downcast expressions. “I’m ever so sorry, you girls. I know you were looking forward to coming to the crystal empire again.”
Fluttershy just shrugged. “Oh yes, I was, but…I understand why I have to stay. I mean…Discord is still under house arrest, so it makes sense that I should watch him…it’s alright. I can stay.”
Applejack paused before agreeing. “Yeah. Yeah, ah can stay too. Ah still ain’t finished bucking all the wrong apples of mah trees.” She groaned, casting a sour glance at Fluttershy’s brand new 500-story office building. “It ain’t no problem.”
“No prob!” Pinkie laughed, still hopping around. “There’s still lots and lots of fun to be had in Ponyville, and so many Ponies that gotta smile! Gotta keep having fun, no matter where! I just hope you girls have lots and lots of fun at the Crystal Empire!”
Twilight sighed with relief. That went better than she’d expected. “I’m just glad you understand. I mean…it’s not like it’s going to be a vacation. We’re going to be busy giving the Equestria Games inspector the big tour. We’re not going to have a lot of free time on our hooves.”
“We’ll all go during the Games.” Rarity promised. “It’ll be a much more delightful experience then. Twilight’s right, we will be quite busy. But I do think I’ll have time to shop…would you like me to get you anything? I imagine the Crystal Ponies will have simply gorgeous souvenirs.”
Applejack brushed it off, smiling. “Ah ain’t much of a souvenirin’ type, Rares. Though ah would like to know if they have crystal apples there or somesuch.”
Rarity smiled. “If I see anything like that, I’ll bring it back for you.”
Fluttershy glanced over at Pinkie, who was trying to do a cartwheel while juggling at the same time. “Umm…Pinkie, please don’t take this the wrong way, but are you… alright? Mrs. Cake told me you had to leave the house last night…”
“Oh, I’m super duper alright!” Pinkie paused for a fraction of a second, and Fluttershy noticed there were bags under her eyes. “Are the Cakes alright? I’m really, really sorry I couldn’t sleep last night. I just had so much energy and I couldn’t control it…”
“Oh, they’re fine…” Fluttershy reassured. Before she could continue, Pinkie was right back to jumping around and humming a new made-up song about always laughing. Fluttershy just stared at Pinkie, concern all over her face. She hadn’t noticed Rarity nudging her shoulder.
“Fluttershy? Did you want me to get you anything from the Empire?” Rarity repeated.
“Wha-Oh! Ummm…there is something I’d really like you to get me…but it’s kind of a secret…” Fluttershy gestured towards Twilight and Applejack.
Rarity picked up the meaning. “Oh! Of course, I understand. That won’t be a problem.”
While Rarity and Fluttershy trotted off to talk in private, Applejack turned to Twilight. “Um…Can ah ask ya somethin’, Twi?”
“Of course.” Twilight nodded.
“Ah get that Fluttershy is Discord’s guardian, an’ I kinda get that Pinkie can keep ‘im busy if need be, but…why me? Why do I gotta stay?”
Twilight thought for a moment, and then smiled. Placing a hoof around her friend’s shoulder, she quietly confided in her. “Truth is…Applejack, I trust you more than I trust either of those two.”
Applejack’s eyebrow went up. “Wha-?“
“It’s not that they aren’t good friends, but…well, Fluttershy is a little too nice for her own good, and Pinkie is…well, Pinkie.” Twilight gently nudged Applejack’s chest. “I just feel safer knowing that the most dependable of ponies is watching things.”
Applejack mused for a moment before smiling. “Yeah…okay. Ah hope ah don’t let you down.”
“Neither do I…” Twilight muttered, removing her hoof from the cowpony’s shoulder.
“What was that, Twi?”
“Nothing…oh! There she is!”
Sure enough, an unmistakable rainbow trail was quickly careening towards the house, doing loop-de-loops and corkscrews over Ponyville on it’s way. Just before it arrived at the floating house, the rainbow formed a lightning bolt shape in the sky.
“Aaaaaaaaaand returning to Ponyville for a special holiday performance, and going on a tour to the Crystal Empire, Wonderbolts shoo-in and daredevil extraordinare, theeeeeeeeeeee one and only RAINBOOOOOOW DASH!”
The cyan Pegasus announced, coming to a perfect landing in front of the girls. Her Wonderbolt Academy uniform looked as proud as she was, and the Element of Loyalty around her neck shone in the sunlight. The fact that she had done all those tricks was surprising considering she was weighed down with several bags.
Once she was on the ground, her friends quickly surrounded her.
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY RAINBOW!”
“…yay.”
“Great ta see ya, sugercube!”
“So, what’s happening with the uniforms?”
Rainbow took several exaggerated bows, trying to hide the fact that she was gasping for breath. “Thank you, thank you. Please hold your applause until the end of the show. And until I get unloaded and cleaned up.”
Twilight shook her head, smiling. “You haven’t changed a bit, Rainbow.” Her expression became more serious. “Seriously though, that was pretty reckless. What if you dropped a bag, or worse, lost your element during those stunts?”
Rainbow dropped a few of her bags on the ground. “Re-lax, egghead. One of the training exercises of the academy is doing tricks and carrying weights without dropping them.” She tapped the ruby thunderbolt around her neck reassuringly. “’Sides, this thing doesn’t come off easy. I haven’t taken it off since we let Discord free.”
“None of us have.” Rarity remarked, tapping the element of generosity around her neck. “It’s been so long, I barely notice it’s even there anymore.”
“Same ‘ere.” Applejack turned over to Twilight. “Hey…where’s yer crown, Twi?”
“In my bag.” Twilight motioned to her saddlebag. “A crown draws too much attention, and it’s not as securable as a necklace. I put a few enchantments on it so it doesn’t get too far away from me.”
Fluttershy blinked. “You can…enchant the elements?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, not the elements themselves. I can do a few rudimentary spells on the holders, but I can’t affect the elements of harmony. And it’s not like I had to do much. The elements are naturally drawn to their chosen bearers anyway.”
They should be. But the Element of Magic kept drawing away from me. Why? I’m it’s bearer! Well, okay, but her and me are functionally identical! It responds to me when I use spells, so why doesn’t it act like it should? Well, whatever.
“Hey, long as you don’t lose it.” Rainbow shrugged. “Fluttershy, can you give me a hand with this stuff? I wanna have everything unpacked so I can sort out what to bring for the Crystal Empire.”
“Oh…of course.” Fluttershy nodded, picking up one of the smaller bags in her mouth.
“Rainbow?” Twilight stopped the Pegasus before she could fly into her house again.
“Uh-huh?”
“Listen, I need to talk to you about something important. Can you come over to the library in an hour or so?”
“Oh, sure! No problem, Twilight. You can count on me.”
Twilight glanced down at the element of loyalty around Dash’s neck before she flew off.
“I know I can count on you.” She muttered under her breath. “I’ll make sure of it myself.”
-----------------------
Elsewhere…
-----------------------
Canterlot Castle had been renovated to accommodate the Changeling ruler and his subjects. Some of the smaller battlements had been replaced with black mounds of Changeling papyrus, and the occasional parapet was made of webbing. But the stain glass windows depicting Celestia had remained untouched, as had her throne.
Shining wouldn’t dare sit there, opting instead to have an office-like room in one of the Changeling nests. It was fairly spartan, with little more than a wooden desk and a chair made out of webbing. A few medals and pictures of his accomplishments hung on the walls. It looked more like a soldier’s office than a throne, which suited Shining Armor just fine.
He had been sitting there, his forehead lying on his hooves, when he heard a knock at the wooden door. Quickly straightening himself up and wiping his eyes clear, he spoke with his usual authority. “Who is it?”
“Oh…” a very quiet voice answered. “Um…sorry to disturb you…I’ll just, uh leave you alone…”
Shining Armor sighed. “It’s alright. Come on in, Fluttershy.”
The door gently creaked open, and the Pegasus crept into the room carrying a thick book on her back. “I’m…I know this is a terrible time for you right now…”
Shining Armor just exhaled, trying to give her something resembling a smile. “It’s…It’s alright. I always have time for you. Can I get you anything?”
“No…no thank you. I won’t be long, I just…I just wanted to talk to you before you…uh…saw her…”
The Changeling King couldn’t hold his smile. “…I see.”
Fluttershy buried her face into her hooves when she saw his expression. “Ooooooh, I’m so sorry…I know how you must be feeling right now…”
“Do you?”, he asked coldly. Shining Armor looked to the side, glancing at a family portrait on his wall. “Twilight was…is my sister. I mourned her when I thought she was dead. And now…this! I have to be one who prosecutes her. Who…condemns her. I don’t what I’m going to do! She’s my sister! I protected her, I raised her, and now I have to do this! You have no idea what that feels like!”
Fluttershy’s only response was, “…she was my friend.”
Realizing how harsh he’d sounded, Shining turned back to Fluttershy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you, it’s just… I…it’s all still pretty raw.”
“It’s okay. I know. I…everything’s been so crazy. Things get so…churned up, and…yeah.”
The two of them sat in silence for a minute, occasionally glancing at the pictures on the walls. For the longest time, neither of them spoke, they just did everything in their power to stop themselves from sobbing in front of the other.
Eventually, Shining Armor managed to break the silence. “I…appreciate the visit, Fluttershy. I really do. But…is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Oh! Oh yes…um…something’s been bothering me since last night…”
“What would that be?”
Fluttershy bit her lip. “When…she appeared, something was…funny. She wasn’t…acting like herself. I mean…she wasn’t acting like…like she was recently, more like she used to be…it’s hard to explain, but…”
Shining just gave her a confused look.
“Well…it was like…she was talking like nothing had happened. Like…we were still friends…she didn’t know what happened to my eye…and she was…scared…”
Shining Armor sighed. “She was probably trying to manipulate you. Twilight’s smart. She tricked us all into thinking she was dead…”
“Well, yeah, but that’s another thing. Why would she come to me? There’s so many guards there…of all the places in Equestria, why would she go to my cottage? If she’s smart enough to try and trick me…why would she teleport to the one place she’d get caught right away?”
Shining Armor was about to respond, but stopped. The truth was, that did bother him. As…as…it was hard to call her ‘crazy’, but…as irrational as Twilight had become, she was still very intelligent. Knew how to cover her tracks, how to get her followers to do what she needed, how to stay underground. But the actions leading up to her arrest didn’t make any sense. She revealed herself in public, walking out of a building everypony knew as ‘hers’, and then fled to one of the most heavily guarded locations in Ponyville. She was smarter than that…
Then again, it could’ve just been a gambit. To let herself get caught, for some bigger plan. That was a possibility…
“And there’s something else…” Fluttershy spoke up, interrupting Shining Armor’s train of thought.
His segmented eyes flickered back up. “What?”
“This.” Fluttershy took the book she was carrying off her back and handed it to the Changeling ruler. “I think she brought this book with her when she teleported into my house…”
Shining Armor opened it up. Several familiar pictures stared back at him. “A photo album? I don’t see how this is unusual. I remember taking some of these pictures…”
“But…you didn’t take this one.” Fluttershy took a page with her hoof and brushed it open.
Shining Armor’s eyes widened when he saw the picture. It was him and Cadance dancing together in their wedding dresses, Celestia standing to the side, his sister looking on, their smiles mocking him with an idea of what could have been…
The Changeling Ruler had to slam the book shut, nearly catching Fluttershy’s hoof in the middle. “Fluttershy, what’s the point of this?! What are you trying to tell me? I don’t need to be reminded of how things could’ve gone!” he snapped.
“But those pictures…”
“They’re faked! Altered! Manipulated!” he insisted.
“They’re not.”
Shining Armor froze. ”What?”
“I was just as confused when I saw them. I was so confused, I had to get some sleep before I could think clearly. Before I came to you, I saw Photo Shop. You know, Photo Finish’s unicorn assistant? She…checked.* These pictures weren’t altered or manipulated. They’re real.”
Shining Armor was shaking now, his wide eyes warping into a glare. “But…they can’t be! Twilight…Twilight’s trying something, there’s other ways to fake a picture…what good are pictures?! This is pointless! I know you want to think that you can save your friend, but you have to face the fact that she’s GONE! Memories of the past don’t change what she’s done NOW!”
Fluttershy was scared now, backing away slowly. “…I know, I just…um…
Are you sure this is the same Twilight?”
That was the worst Fluttershy could’ve said to Shining Armor right then and there. Memories of his last civil conversation with his sister, the day everything went to Tartarus, the sentence that set everything in motion, it all came crashing into him and he couldn’t contain himself.
“GET OUT!” The Changeling King roared. Fluttershy obeyed without a moment’s hesitation, leaving Shining Armor alone in his office.
Once he caught his breath, Shining sank back into his seat. That was uncalled for. Fluttershy didn’t deserve that. I was out of line. I’m better than this… accusation after accusation rang in his head, replacing his earlier rage. Eventually, all that was left in him was regret.
Not just regret for how he’d treated Fluttershy just now. Using telekinesis, he picked up a photograph and brought it in front of his snout. The picture was Twilight as a filly, proudly holding up her certificate of admission to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. He just stared at it and sighed sadly.
He regretted so much. He regretted not being a better brother to Twilight after she left for the school. He regretted not protecting Cadence from Chrysalis. He regretted not recognizing the imposter sooner. He regretted not fixing things with Twilight. When he accused Fluttershy of wanting to save Twilight, he was really talking about himself.
But it didn’t matter. He had responsibilities as ruler of the Changelings. Twilight had broken laws and slain innocent lives. The little filly in the photo was long gone. She was dangerous now, and he had to deal with her. He had steeled himself for that responsibility ever since he’d heard of the attack.
But even as he put the picture away, stood up and started walking out, two things still pestered him, like mosquito bites he tried to ignore. That picture that couldn’t be real, but was.
Are you sure this is the same Twilight?