//------------------------------//
// Complications 
// Story: In a Name 
// by Detectivefish 
//------------------------------//

And so did the two young royals set out on their quest to restore themselves to normality, or the nearest possible approximation. This quest managed to last a grand total of seven minutes and fifty-three seconds before it encounter a complication, in the form of a set of guards standing in front of the main door of the Crystal Palace. One of the guards looked toward the two.
"Sorry, your highness" the pony said, "I mean, highnesses. Can't let you outside."

Shining Sapphire turned to look at Wisp, who then looked back toward the guards.
"Why not?" he asked, "Especially considering you let us in not twenty minutes ago."

"Security reasons, your highness" the guard said automatically. "Apparently nopony's allowed out of the city on top of that."
"And why, exactly?" Shining Sapphire spoke up. The guard just shrugged, before something apparently occurred to him.

"And, by the way, we're supposed to tell you two t' go talk to Their Highnesses 'at your earliest possible convenience'."
"And are they anywhere in particular?" Shining Sapphire asked.


*****


As it turned out, they happened to be sitting in the throne room. Shining Sapphire and Wisp slowly approached the two, and then stopped, looking at one another. A few silent seconds passed as they tried to communicate non-verbally the fact that neither felt up to talking to Shining Sapphire's parents at that particular morning.
"Hey, you two" Shining Armor called out, utterly shattering the silence.

"Hey" Shining Sapphire responded weakly, before nudging Wisp with a hoof. He looked back at her, and could've sworn that there was something unusual about the way she was smiling at that moment.
"What's up?" the colt asked nervously. Cadance slowly rolled up the parchment she'd been working on, and slowly moved it toward an attendant, who then walked out of the room. After a few seconds she began smiling again.

"Well, we didn't want you two to worry, we just felt that, after the" she coughed, her smile flickering, "after what happened last month, some caution was required. But you two are both mature ponies, so we decided it was best to tell you."
After a few seconds Shining Armor joined in, "Especially since you'd probably find out anyway."

"We've had a bit of a concern that there may just be some other changelings about in the city, and possibly some outside the city as well, so right now we're just double-checking everything."
Wisp looked hesitant, "by other Changelings, I'm guessing you don't mean-"

"We don't mean the ones who were already here" Shining Armor said, briefly looking toward Shining Sapphire, "No."
"So," Shining Sapphire said quietly, "assuming that there are different Changelings running around the city, or outside it as the case may be, what are you going to do if you find them?"

Both Cadance and Shining Armor looked uncertain. "Well," Shining Armor said slowly, "that depends. I mean, after last month, they probably aren't feeling very scrappy, but at the same time..."
For a few moments he looked hesitant, before Cadance spoke up.

"We don't want a repeat of last month's events, so right now we have ponies checking the city, and the wastes outside, to see if any Changelings might be residing there, and it may take a while."
"How long, exactly?" Shining Sapphire asked. Cadance looked toward Shining Armor.

"A couple of hours, maybe more" he said, "maybe a lot more. The better part of a day perhaps."
Shining Sapphire sighed. She'd been dreading that part, which admittedly was standard procedure, especially since her dad believed in being amazingly thorough in checking, and expected anypony working under him to do the same. Then she noticed the curious expression on Cadance's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Shining Sapphire shook her head.
"Nothing, nothing" she said, looking over toward Wisp momentarily, "it's just... we... sort of had something we wanted to do today."

She resisted the urge to facehoof for actually saying that, as she saw Cadance raise an eyebrow before turning to look at Shining Armor. From the look on Wisp's face, he had similar sentiments.
"I see" Cadance said, in the manner of a parent who thought they were being subtle, as her gaze flitted between Wisp and Shining Sapphire.

"Well" she said diplomatically, "we'll try and sort all of this out as quickly as possible."
Shining Sapphire fought down the urge to sigh again. "'kay" she said wearily. She couldn't really blame them for doing what they were doing, and began wondering if this was some attempt of theirs to make up for what had happened with the Changelings previously, and with the Nightmare before that, even if this incredibly over-protective for them. And then she realised she'd begun thinking about the Nightmare incident again, and found her mind slipping back to that day, and then to the feeling of waking up in that hospital, especially the smell, and the distant noises of fighting.

She winced, trying to force herself not to think of the memories. Then she opened her eyes and noticed her mother was practically on top of her, a completely worried look on her face.
"What is it?" Cadance asked gently. She fought down the memories, and forced a smile out.

"Nothing" she blurted, "I just... just thinking about something."
She looked over toward Wisp, who just looked slightly helpless, and then back to her parents, who looked... actually, she could've sworn they looked terrified.

"I think I'll just go and get some fresh air" she managed to get out, before turning and heading toward the nearest door as fast as her legs could carry her. Unfortunately, she only made it a few feet away from the door before her legs just decided to give out, resulting in her collapsing in an entirely undignified fashion, and incidentally biting her tongue once more. Time seemed to just stretch out as she lay there, breathing in and out. Then, she was vaguely aware of the feeling of somepony's legs moving around hers. She tried unfolding and looking at whoever it was, and smiled warmly at Wisp.

"Hey" she managed.
"What was that?" Wisp asked. She just paused, and then sniffed slightly.

"Nothing" she said, and then she saw the disbelief on his face, "really, it was nothing."
"It didn't look like nothing" he simply said. Shining Sapphire just looked glumly at the floor.

"I don't want to talk about it" she said coldly, before seeing the look on Wisp's face.
"Don't, Wisp, and don't look at me like that."
For a few seconds more there was utter quiet before she felt the need to say something. "Besides," she mumbled, "you don't tell me absolutely everything."

For an instant, there was an odd look on his face before he finally just gave a half-hearted shrug, and she could've sworn he felt tense. "Not anything you'd really want to know" he muttered.
"Well then" she said, "this is some relationship then, where we don't tell each other anything."

Both ponies just stared at the floor, before Shining Sapphire slowly stood up, before gently nuzzling Wisp, and smiling, to which he gave a small smile back.
"Now what?" Wisp asked, "I mean, they've got everypony in the city guard looking for Changelings, but not 'our' Changelings, so what are they going to do?"

Shining Sapphire sighed, and gently rubbed her forehead.
"Standard operating procedure would be security sweeps for a while" she said quietly, "No pony in or out of the city, for any reason, unless absolutely necessary, or by approval of the captain of the guard or from my mom and dad."

"And I get the feeling they probably won't give that approval for what they likely think is just some sort of romantic outing" Wisp suggested. Shining Sapphire blinked for a moment.
"Romantic outing?" she asked. Wisp shrugged.

"I think that was the impression they got from what you said. And who can blame them? That is what young ponies tend to do, isn't it?"
"You're never that romantic" Shining Sapphire pointed out, to which Wisp just nodded.

"True" he said quietly, "true. But your idea of fun is reading."
"You never complained before" Shining Sapphire said, trying to look offended.

"And I'm not actually complaining now. I was just..." he shuffled, "noting it."
The two ponies stood there quietly, neither able to meet the other's gaze.

"So... security checks" Wisp said awkwardly. Shining Sapphire sighed.
"Well, they will probably relax, after a few hours, if we're lucky, so we'll have to wait a while to get our train."

"We could wait and see if this... curse, or hex, or whatever it is wears off on its own" Wisp said dryly. Shining Sapphire just shook her head.
"I'm pretty sure whoever did this didn't plan for it to wear off on its own, dear."

"Probably not" Wisp frowned. "Can't get that lucky, can we?"
"No" Shining Sapphire said, before motioning to Wisp. "Come on. We need to go check those train times."

"But... we're not allowed out of the castle" he pointed out. Shining Sapphire then did something that caused him to take a step back. She grinned, though she looked slightly more manic than she probably intended.

"Oh, don't worry about that" she said calmly.


*****

The imposing front doors of the Crystal Palace slid open, without even the faintest creak, or groan. After a few seconds, a bright pink pony stepped out cautiously into the warm summer sun, then stopped when she saw the group of guards in front of her.
"Oh", she said cheerfully, before waving, "Hi, captain Sentry."

The orange pegasus just gave a curt nod. "Ma'am."
Shining Sapphire's eyes passed over the gather of guards behind him, then focused on the captain. "Would I presume these guards are here to prevent my coltfriend and me from going anywhere we are not supposed to?"

"Not at all" the captain responded, "well... sort'a. Her Highness did... suggest that if you decided there was somewhere you really needed to go in the city that we were to escort you there."
"I see" Shining Sapphire smiled brightly, "but there is no need to worry about my intended destination. I am merely taking a pre-lunch constitutional."

"If you say so" the guard smiled back, "though I am wondering if this walk would take you anywhere near the city's train station."
Shining Sapphire's smile vanished. "She warned you about that, didn't she?"
He nodded.

"Well," Shining Sapphire said, "as you may have noticed, my coltfriend is not present, and you have no need to worry, since I am not planning to go anywhere at present."
"That's very kind of you to reassure us" Flash Sentry said, "though be that as it may, we are under orders to follow you."
He suddenly frowned and put a hoof to his chin. "At least, I think we are. Princess Cadance didn't exactly say we were to follow you."

He shrugged, "still, maybe I'm just forgetting. Been doing that all day. Forgot to put my helmet on earlier."
"And your armour" another guard helpfully supplied, at which point Flash Sentry's grin turned into a frown, while Shining Sapphire resisted the urge to giggle. However, she did find it reassuring that Flash Sentry's personality had in no way been affected in any form whatsoever.

"Anyway" Flash Sentry said tensely, "do enjoy your walk, your highness."
"That I shall" Shining Sapphire beamed.


*****


Wisp sat in front of the doors of the Crystal Palace, waiting, and growing slightly more tense by the second, not least because several ponies had passed by and asked him what was wrong, or tried to make idle chit-chat, and he wasn't feeling especially conversational. Eventually, the doors opened soundlessly, and he could've sworn he saw Shining Sapphire saying goodbye to somepony. Once the door was closed she turned to face him, her smile dropping a little.

"Captain Sentry" she said, "definitely a good pony, but when it comes to anything outside his job he's... well, sort of all hock."
Wisp just tilted his head. "He's the bright orange one, right?"
Shining Sapphire nodded, to which Wisp just looked quizzical.

"You know, he does sort of remind me of a younger, off-brand version of your dad."
Shining Sapphire blinked for a few seconds, then stared at Wisp like he'd just suggested fish could fly. "You really think so?"

Wisp nodded, to which Shining Sapphire looked alarmed. "Actually, now that you mention it..."
"And I'm sure I recall something your cousin said once about him and Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Shining Sapphire's expression became stone-like. "I have no comment on the matter" she said icily.
"Shall we-?"

"Move on? Let's."
"So," Wisp asked, "what's the plan?"

Shining Sapphire rubbed a hoof on her head, "Well, unfortunately we will have to wait for several hours, probably until around dinnertime, before getting a train, which means it'll be a sleeper train."
"Okay" Wisp said. She stared at him.

"Really?"
He nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know" she said, "maybe because of what I spent most of the last week trying to get you to do?"
"Oh" Wisp intoned. "Yes, right. Sharing a room together."

"Carriage, more likely" Shining Sapphire pointed out. "You're really okay with this?"
"Yeah, I just..." he looked around the hall way for a moment, "I was just making a mountain out of a molehill, I guess."

Shining Sapphire smiled, "alright, then."
The two stood there for several seconds.

"Now what do we do?" Wisp asked. Shining Sapphire scuffed a hoof against the floor.
"Find something to do for the next eight hours or so."

As it turned out, aside from ridiculously overprepared lunch, and a dinner that looked like a bunch of innocent vegetables that had been set upon by a gang of artistically minded chefs, finding something to occupy the next eight hours proved difficult for both ponies, especially since Wisp seemed to develop an odd unwillingness to talk.
Eventually however, after what felt like much longer than eight hours, the two ponies felt ready to go. As they did, though, Shining Sapphire looked about.

"How do I summon those Changelings?" she asked, to which Wisp just shrugged.
"Don't look at me" he said, before his voice went worryingly low, "they usually just turn up whenever they want."

"Your highness" a voice said, and she turned to see four of the Changelings trying to look-
She stopped, and then counted the number of Changelings, before frowning.

"Shouldn't there be five of you?" she asked. "Where'd Angel Eyes get to?"
Impulse's wings flitted, and she could've sworn he almost looked bashful.

"We don't know" he said, "we haven't seem him for... some time."
"That's unlike him" she noted, "Isn't it?"

Windsheer shook his head, though she decided not to ask further.
"Well, anyway," she glanced toward Wisp, "we're just... heading out for a while, and we probably won't be back until if not tomorrow, then very late the day after, okay? I was just going to ask if you fi-... well, you four at the moment, I guess, if you could remain here and just..."

"Behave" Wisp supplied. Strangely, the Changelings actually looked like they were listening.
"Yes. Behave" Shining Sapphire said. She turned to look at Wisp, and smiled.

"Alright, let's go."
She was just at the door, when she stopped and turned around. "And no following us, got it?

The Changelings looked vaguely hesitant, but they nodded.
"Okay then" she smiled, "Thanks for that."

As she and Wisp made their way to the nearest staircase, she felt slightly troubled that they had agreed so easily, but she decided not to dwell on it.
The two ponies made their way to the front door, only to find it was still being guarded. Wisp looked to Shining Sapphire, who didn't look remotely surprised.

"Plan B then" she said. With that, she turned, Wisp following her. Her path went through several of the major reception halls of the castle, until eventually arriving at the small wooden door that led to the kitchens.
"You're being unusual quiet" Shining Sapphire noted to Wisp, as they approached the door. He just shrugged.

"Thinking about stuff" he muttered, "that's all."
"Penny for your thoughts" she said. Wisp just shook his head.

"Nothing important."
Shining Sapphire opened the door in front of her, and stepped through into the kitchens. It was the first time Wisp had seen them, and he had to admit, they looked exactly like the kitchens of a massive palace would have. A variety of stoves, and tables, and alarmingly easily accessible knives, peelers, grates, and things he didn't even know what they were for, in a space that looked almost exactly the same size as the main dancing halls.

And they were completely empty.
"Strange" Shining Sapphire noted, glancing back and forth, "there should be somepony here. There's always somepony here."
She turned to look at Wisp, "the head chef hates leaving this place unattended" she explained, as she began moving through the room, navigating around massive tables which looked completely pristine, save for the large knife-marks in the woodworks, and the occasional sauce-burn.

"Just in case anything should happen, he says. Like, just for example, my dad trying to make a few sandwichs in the middle of the night."
She just shook her head at the thought, and then kept moving. The two moved between rows of stoves, as Wisp privately wondered what chefs needed so much equipment, unless they had plans on feeding the entire Crystal Empire.
Soon enough they reached the other side of the room, wherein there was another door. Wisp stared at it, then at Shining Sapphire.
"Did your parents have this put in?" he asked, "Or was it always there?"

"I think it was always there" Shining Sapphire said, "Why?"
"Well, because that just doesn't fit in with the castle, or the" he paused, and tried to think of a good euphemism that didn't involve cussing, "mind-set of its previous owner."

Shining Sapphire just looked at the door. "Only a bit. Just because he was a horrible, insane, paranoid nutcase doesn't mean he wanted any contact with his serving staff, I guess. Or they didn't want contact with him. Or both. Now then..."
She opened the door, and the two ponies stepped out in the mild evening gloom (which wasn't helped by the fact that they were in the castle's shadow), to find two guards standing there. One looked at the other with a triumphantly smug expression, as Shining Sapphire facehoofed.

"Evening, your highness" the smug guard said.
"Evening" Wisp said wearily. Then the second guard revealed a small scroll, and unfurled it.

"We have here a message here from Their Highnesses Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Shining Armor, to be read unto you in the event you emerged from this door" guard number two said.
The first guard coughed, and began to read.


"Dear Prince Shimmering Stretto.
C'mon.
Give us a little credit.
Love, your parents,
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Shining Armor."


With that the guards carefully rolled up the parchment.
"Sorry, your highness" the second said. Wisp looked toward Shining Sapphire, expecting her to look annoyed, or frustrated. Instead, she seemed alarmingly serene.

"That's okay" he said.
"Worth a try" Shining Sapphire stated, before turning around and heading back inside. Wisp followed after her and closed the door. Once he had, she let out a frustrated groan.

"See, that's the problem with the guard. Everypony always thinks, 'oh, look, Princess Cadance hired a boy band, they'll trip over themselves the minute they're asked to do something', forgetting who her aunt is! And then, oh look, mom and dad didn't just hire the pretty ponies, they hired smart as well."
For a few seconds Wisp just stared, expecting her mane to burst into flames, or for her to suggest something dangerously insane.

"So... now what?" he asked. Shining Sapphire just began moving again. He followed. She made her way out of the kitchens, then, began a strange winding path through the castle, until eventually arriving at a completely non-descript corridor. She looked around, and then sidled over toward the wall, and tapped it with a hoof. Wisp just observed, hesitant to say anything at all.
"Where is it?" he heard her mutter. She shook her head, and stalked off, Wisp following her to another corridor, where she began tapping on the wall again. This continued for several minutes, until she tapped her hoof against one wall, and there was a slightly different, hollow sound. She smiled, and looked up toward one of the light fittings. Her horn glowed, and then the light moved downward slightly. There was an incredibly loud 'click' sound, and the part of the wall she'd tapped suddenly began to slide backward, then vanishing, revealing a long, dark stairway. Then several small lights that alternated between bright blue and pink lit up. Shining Sapphire turned to look at Wisp.

"Come on" she said, motioning for him to follow. The two began walking, down, and down, and down, and down. Then, after a while, it went up again, until Shining Sapphire stopped, and lifted a hoof toward something. There was another click, and there was a sudden burst of light. The two ponies stepped out into what turned out to be an alleyway. Wisp turned to stare as a piece of brick wall slid into place, covering up the exit way completely. He raised a hoof to inspect it, and couldn't feel the slightest seam.

"What?" he asked, not expecting a satisfying answer.
"Every good castle has at least one or two hidden passages" Shining Sapphire said. "Apparently grand-aunt Celly doesn't feel safe in a room that doesn't have a secret exit strategy."

She grinned, though in the light, Wisp could've sworn she was actually wincing.
"You okay?" he asked. She just nodded.

"Yeah, just... out of breath" she said hurriedly, "lot of stairs. And I think I just stepped on a stone or something."
Wisp decided not to say anything as she made her way out of the amazingly clean, and definitely stone-free, alleyway.

"Come on, you," she called out, "Almost there."
He quickly trotted up to her, glancing back at the alleyway, then to Shining Sapphire.

"How long has that thing been there?" he asked, as Shining Sapphire looked about cautiously, "and more to the point, how do you know it's there? I mean, you don't really leave your library."
"Oh, well" she said matter-of-factly, "to answer your first question, some of them were there when mom and dad 'moved in', although they had to 'remodel' a few of them. They had this really poorly designed one where you could only see the exit for ten minutes every fifty years. That had to go."

"I'm guessing whoever paid for that one never caught on, then."
"And as for your second, my parents told me about some of them, 'just in case.'"

Both ponies stopped dead, and stared at each other, if only to confirm what they'd just head. Shining Sapphire clamped a hoof over her mouth, which muffled the series of squeaks from her, before she suddenly bolted in the direction of the train station.
Wisp noted something odd about her gait as he followed, but he paid it very little mind, so busy as he was trying to burn the fact he'd just heard her speaking with her father's voice out of his head.


*****


As it turned out, the train station was almost crawling with guards. They didn't actually seem to be blocking anypony's access, just standing around occupying space on the platform. Then, when they saw Shining Sapphire striding through the area, they suddenly leapt into action, surrounding her and Wisp.
"Your highness" one guard said, "is something the matter?"

Wisp noticed the guards were all looking at him. "No, nothing's the matter. We just want to get on the train."
The pony looked about cautiously. "Your highness, we do have standing orders to make sure you do not get on that train."

"Orders" Wisp stated. The guard nodded.
"Yes sir. From the Princess herself, if it helps" he added awkwardly.

"It doesn't."
"We really need to get on that train" Shining Sapphire spoke up. The guard tried to suppress a wince.

"It's just... well, we have reports that there are Changelings out there, and given what happened previously..." he shuffled, "if you board this train, we cannot necessarily guarantee the safety of everypony on-board if there are Changelings."
"If there are" Wisp repeated.

"Yes, your highness, if there are Changelings."
"And are there?" Wisp asked. The guard tried not to shrug.

"We don't know. And searching the entirety of the frozen wastes would be... difficult, which is why we're guarding this train."
Wisp and Shining Sapphire exchanged glances. The captain looked about at the ponies eyeing the scene cautiously. This wasn't fair, he thought, for anypony, least of all himself.

"Look" he said, calmly, "Your Highnesses, we can stand here for as long as we like, but I cannot let you on that train."
Shining Sapphire stared levelly at him.
"'Let'?" she repeated, "we do need to get on that train."

The guard bit down in order to stop himself suggesting that whatever it was could've waited perhaps a day or two.
"I know this isn't fair" the mare continued, "but we have business to attend to, and it cannot wait, not for a day, or an hour, or a minute. We could order you to let us on-board, but we aren't. All I'm going to do is ask."

The guard sighed, and then fell silent for the longest time.
"If it helps" Wisp spoke up, "we'd probably find a way past you sooner or later."

The guard sighed, then looked to the other guards. He suddenly had a vision of being called before Their Highness, who would talk quietly, and politely, and be disappointed, or worse upset.
"I..." he whispered, "fine. Fine."

Shining Sapphire nodded, and smiled sympathetically, as the other guards stepped aside for the two young ponies. Once they were out of sight, the guard let loose a mighty sigh.
Still, he reasoned, with time, Their Highnesses would probably forgive him.


*****


Shining Sapphire and Wisp made their way into the rearmost carriage of the train, noting several other ponies nervously making their way out of the carriage as they did. Shining Sapphire looked about at the almost-completely empty carriage, and then made her way toward one of the overly-large seats which, with some careful work, could be turned into a bed.
"Do you want the window seat?" Wisp asked. She nodded, and then awkwardly clambered onto the seat, instead of just jumping onto it. Once she settled down she looked about the carriage.

"Guess this means we've got the whole place to ourselves" she noted.
"Makes sense" Wisp said as he stored away their bag, "Nopony really wants to know what a princeling and his young lady get up to in privacy, after all."

Shining Sapphire nodded, "and it means I can finally do this..."
Her horn glowed, and then her whole body changed. Soft pink fur was replaced by chitin, the soft lines of her face became ever-so-slightly harder, her features noticeably more ragged. She shuddered for a moment, then yelped, glancing toward her back legs. Wisp just stared at her as she breathed deeply.

"Holding that spell for several hours" she whispered, "or, trying to, at any rate."
She placed a leg against her horn, but quickly withdrew it. "Felt like my horn was going to tear itself out of my head."

"Learning to hold a form is always difficult" Wisp said quietly, as he sat next to her, allowing her the chance to lean on him, "not that I had any choice, or anypony to help me learn how to do it. My mom, she did try, she asked for help from Princess Twilight Sparkle, and any other magical authority she could trust, but... none of them were really knowledgeable enough to help."
"That can't have been fun" Shining Sapphire observed. Wisp just nodded.

"It... had its moments" he said, looking down at his hooves.
An almost playful grin appeared on Shining Sapphire's face. "I'm going to guess that's how you and cousin Twinkie met. I can see it now: Twilight Sparkle gets a call for help from one of her oldest and dearest friends, and decides to bring her daughter along with, since she's heard Fluttershy has a child as well, and they might get on."

Wisp said nothing to that, and there was an odd look on his face. Shining Sapphire tried to adjust herself to look at him, earning herself only a quizzical eyebrow.
"What is it?" she asked. Wisp stared at her, unblinking.

"Just... thinking" he stated. "You managed to hold that spell from before breakfast to now, with no previous experience with it."
"I watched you and those other Changelings perform it before" she stated casually.

"And in all that time, you barely showed any discomfort, even though it was hurting you? Didn't you ever consider just... dispelling it?"
Shining Sapphire looked uncomfortable, "not really. I had things I needed to do, and I don't even know if I can do it successfully again anyway. Besides, my parents have managed to keep spells going for days at a time."

"True" Wisp said, "but you parents were slightly older than we are right now when they did that, and more experienced, and those kinda were completely different circumstances. Your father for example, had expertise and years of training on his side, and..." his expression turned sour, "well, we all know how that one worked out. Meanwhile, your mother is a full-fledged alicorn, trained by Princess Celestia herself. And even she required rest, if I remember correctly. Several days worth, once she was done."
He looked down to see she was glaring at him with such intensity he was slightly surprised he hadn't burst into flames yet, "not that you're a slouch" he said cautiously, "but... well, y'know..."

"I'm aware of that" she said coldly, before sighing, and slumping against him some more. After a few seconds he began stroking her mane. There was utter silence, which was shattered by the sound of a whistle blowing somewhere, followed by the train slowly beginning to move. Soon small houses and shops began to pass by the windows, and shortly thereafter the small fields and hills outside the city, then almost instantly after that the beginning of the snow-covered lands between the Empire and Equestria.
After a few minutes, Wisp spoke up again.
"There is... something else" he said reluctantly. Shining Sapphire tensed up.

"Last night" he said, "we fell asleep really quickly, didn't we?"
Shining Sapphire stared blankly for a few seconds. "Hey, yeah" she said, "we did. That's weird. I remember... what did we do last night?"
"Well" Wisp said, trying to remember, "there was dinner, and then you reminded me I promised to share a bed with you that night, and then... I think I just wandered about for a while, then made my way to your room, and you were there."

Shining Sapphire's cheeks began to turn red, and she tried sitting up.
"Yes" she continued, "that's right, you did. And then we talked for a while, and then we... we must've just passed out. That's really weird. I mean, I never fall asleep that easily. Never. And I-"

Wisp saw her eyes staring slightly above his forehead.
"You've still got my tiara on" she noted, before raising an eyebrow. "Any reason for that?"

"You didn't say anything" Wisp said, suddenly feeling the presence of the small tiara on his head. Shining Sapphire's eyes darted toward the wall for a moment, then back to the tiara. Her horn glowed, and then nothing happened, save a few sparks jolting from her horn.
"Uh-oh."

"'Uh-oh'?" Wisp asked. Both ponies shared the same expression, realising the trademark signs of being magically drained.
"How drained are you?" he asked. Shining Sapphire bit down on her lip.

"Not in any dramatic or life-threatening fashion" she said, "but I think that even the most basic spells are out of the question for the time being. A couple of hours, at the least."
She suddenly looked nervous, "which, on a train going through the major population center of Equestria, might just be a bit of a problem very quickly."

She quickly looked out of the window. "And I don't really fancy our chances of having to walk."
Wisp stared at her. "What about flying?" he asked. She suddenly jolted.

"Yes, flying. That's what I meant. Flying."
He looked at Shining Sapphire, who just smiled nervously, though the smile almost instantaneously vanished.

"Sapphy, what's wrong with your leg?"
"It's-" she started.

"It's not nothing" he interrupted, "I know it's not nothing. You've been having trouble walking all day. I might have noticed a few times" he said on seeing the look on her face. "Over the last month" he added.
Her wings buzzed pathetically, startling both ponies.

"Sapphy. You can tell me. If there's anything I can do, I... please."
For a few minute she sat there, shuffling and shifting and looking wretched. Then she sighed.

"It happened when that... thing that had possessed Twinkie attacked me. Her first shot sent me flying, right into mom's throne, which broke my right wing and back leg, so in addition to having to fight a crazed monster with all of my cousin's magic, who was already physically stronger than me, I had to try and ignore that, even though I could barely make myself move, and... well, you know the rest of that story" she mumbled. For a while there was utter silence as the train just continued onward.
"And then, after the invasion, after I woke up, everything seemed fine, but... my leg started hurting whenever I put too much weight on it. Which was fine at first because, well, I don't really go anywhere, I just stay in one of the libraries all day long, and I thought if I just waited it'd wear off. Not that'd I mind going somewhere" she said hurriedly, "but the pain didn't go away. And it hasn't exactly gotten worse, it just hasn't gone away yet."

She paused again, and when she turned back to look at Wisp he noted she was fighting back tears. "And I didn't say anything because my mom and dad would get worried and upset and I didn't want to say anything after what happened with you and your birth mom and Twinkie and everything between us was going so well and I thought it would pass and it hasn't and now all this has happened and I just- I can't, I... I just can't, Wisp. Nothing's making any sense right now and I wanna scream but I can't and my parents look at me and it's like they don't even know me and I don't even know why this is happening and-"
She trailed off and then just curled into as tight a ball as she could manage, trying to ignore the alien feel of the chitin, all cold and smooth as it was, until she felt warm and soft fur brushing against her.

"I'm sorry" she managed, "I have literally no idea where that came from."
"I know this is going to sound... well, it's going sound kinda hypocritical coming from me, but... you are allowed to feel, y'know" Wisp said.

"I know" she sighed, "I know. I know I know. I know I know I know I know. But..." she shuddered, "It just sounds so selfish of me, complaining about something like this.
"And" she added, "it's not like it's anywhere near the end of the world, is it? And we can fix this."

"We will" Wisp said, before nuzzling her neck. For some reason she found herself grinning, which then quickly turned into a smile.
"Well," he then said, "I really mean you'll figure out a way to fix it, while I stand around, try not to touch anything and look pretty."

She suddenly laughed, and then found herself unable to stop. After a few seconds Wisp joined in, the two continuing their laughter for some time. Once they stopped she stared at Wisp.
"Honey?"

"Yes?"
"How come you haven't been reacting to any of this? I mean, really, you don't even look panicked?"

Wisp shrugged. "Lots of reasons."
"Would any of them involve being a rock-solid pillar of support for a certain distressed princess?" she smirked.

There was a lengthy and discouraging pause before he finally answered "Yes."
"But also" he added, "because of the way my life has gone, waking up one morning to find myself a flesh-and-blood pony doesn't really make a dent."

There was another lengthy pause, which seemed determined to out-do the previous one.
"That and the fact that you freaked out first, and Shimmering Stretto didn't want to get accused of imitation."

"Were you trying to be funny there?" Shining Sapphire asked. He shrugged.
"Trying, possibly. Waiting to hear from the judges on the succeeding front."

"Points for the effort" she deadpanned, "but the execution faltered."
"Noted."

"Anyway" he said defensively, "you looked like you were having one of those spurts of madness you and your cousin keep mentioning."
"Yeah" she nodded, "probably was at a few points."
She sighed, and then went silent, trying to adjust her position to get the best possible view out of the window, watching the ice and snow whip past, occasionally trying to catch a glimpse of one of the old cities buried under the ice, which even without going at the cautious speeds the train was going at would have been difficult, what with the lack of light, and the weather conditions. She decided to go over what she knew about the buried cities in her head. After a while, it occurred to her that her eyelids were feeling very heavy, likely because she hadn't had any coffee, what with the general excitement of the day, and strangely, she didn't really care much, especially since Whisper was so warm, and cosy, and fuzzy, and yet, certain parts of him were incredibly firm. She began to wonder when he'd had time to build up muscles when she realised he'd tensed up.

"What is it?" she asked.
"Do you hear that?" Wisp responded. She was about to ask what, then she heard, very distantly, a horrific squealing noise. She slowly sat up, and looked out of the window.

"That's odd" she noted, "we've stopped. In the middle of nowhere."
She turned to look at Wisp. "Does this train usually stop in the middle of nowhere?"

Wisp shook his head. "Sleeper trains do, I am told, tend to take longer stops than some trains, but generally there tend to be stations where they stop. Although" he said cautiously, "it could just be a simple problem of ice on the lines."
"Right" Shining Sapphire said, "ice on the lines. After all, you'd expect those in an environment like this."

"Even though, if I remember correctly, both the train and the tracks have been enchanted to prevent ice from building up."
"Repeatedly" Shining Sapphire intoned, before looking cautiously around the carriage.

"Of course," Wisp said, slightly louder than was really necessary, "it is conceivably possible that those spells and enchantment all just happened to fail today. At the same time" he gulped.
"Yeah" Shining Sapphire nodded, "and I'm certain somepony will be along in a moment to tell us..."

She stopped dead, and looked down at her legs, then back up at Wisp.
"Wisp!" she yelled, before shaking him, "I still look like a Changeling!"

Wisp gave this some thought, about what the guard were likely to do if they found their 'prince' in an otherwise empty carriage, in a train stuck in the middle of nowhere, with what looked like a Changeling Queen, and didn't like the conclusion that lead to. And from the way she was still shaking him, neither did Sapphy.
"Okay, no need to panic" she said, "after all, we've probably got a few minutes until they get here, and then we'll..." she trailed off.

"They, uh, they wouldn't throw us off the train, would they?" Wisp asked. Shining Sapphire stared at him, and he noted her mane seemed to have become slightly dishevelled all of a sudden, a few noticeable strands out of place.
"No," she said eventually, then she said it again, more confidently, "no. Not until we reach the next stop, at any rate."

She shifted about, then looked around.
"Wisp? Where's the bag?"

Wisp's horn glowed, as he lifted the bag down and opened it. "Notepad?" he asked. She nodded.
"There are means by which a pony can determine if somepony's been brainwashed, right?" Wisp asked, "you know, by Changeling magic."

"Oh, sure there are" Shining Sapphire said, "I wouldn't worry about that. I just wanted to get started on my notes for aunt Twilie while we're waiting."


*****


A few minutes later, and the carriage door slowly swung open, after which a guard pony cautiously stepped into the room. She wasn't entirely certain what she was going to see. She had been told there were two royals in the carriage, which she presumed made it the royal carriage by default (even though she'd seen the royal carriage, and that was magnificent and huge and didn't look exactly like all the other ones) and whatever two young royals got up to in private was their own business. She just didn't want to be accused of killing some sort of mood, and be sentenced to cleaning the barrack toilets, or scrubbing armour for a month, or whatever punishment was assigned to killers of royal moods.
She coughed nervously.

"Your Highness?"
"Hey" a voice said. She looked, to see the prince just sitting on one of the beds, next to what looked amazingly like a full-grown changeling who was currently scribbling furiously into a notepad, occasionally muttering to herself.

"I know how this looks" the prince said cautiously, before pausing, "actually, if I'm honest, I don't actually know how this looks, but there is a perfectly innocent explanation."
"That's okay" the guard said quickly, briefly glancing at the Changeling, who didn't seem to have noticed her at all. The prince was staring blankly at her, and she felt the sudden need to explain her statement.

"We were all informed about the situation between you and her highness" she said, nodding toward the Changeling. The prince looked confused.
"You... were?" he asked, which struck her as odd. Surely their highnesses would have told him, or he told them, or somepony told somepony. He was staring at her.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. Then, she remembered what she was supposed to be there for.
"Oh, yes sir" she said, "the train has stopped because of an icing problem with the rails, but at the moment, the opinion of the driver, the engineer and the lieutenant is that this is just an accident, and that nopony is to worry."

The prince looked relieved, "Okay, thanks for that" he said.
"Sir" the pony said, before turning and heading out of the carriage as quick as was possible. Later, when she went off shift, she made her way immediately to the dining cart, and proceeded to get blink drunk, in a desperate attempt to destroy whichever braincells had dared suggest the prince was actually pretty good-looking. By all accounts, she definitely succeeded.


*****


Shining Sapphire checked, and then double-checked the page, and satisfied with her work, continued onwards. After some time, she began to wonder when the guard was going to get there. She looked up. Wisp was sitting next to her.
"The guard's been and seen" she said. Wisp nodded, and she turned to her paperwork.

"You could have said" she suggested. Wisp looked tremendously guilty.
"I did try, sort of" he muttered, "but from the way that guard looked, I think probably it's for the best I didn't."

"Why?" Shining Sapphire asked.
"I think that guard was expecting us to be... well..." Wisp's cheeks turned bright red. Shining Sapphire gasped in horror.

"On a train? With the door unlocked?"
Wisp muttered something under his breath. "Still" he said, "gone now, and I think the train should probably be starting any minute now."
The two ponies sat there, the only noise the howl of the winds outside, and the occasional wet splat of huge chunks of snow hitting the windows, which made both ponies incredibly glad the carriage was enchanted to retain heat.

After several long, silent minutes, the train jolted, and began moving.
"One less problem then" Sapphy said, before looking back at her notes, "Anyway, back to thinking."

She went back to writing down her notes, occasionally stopping to look up at Wisp. Eventually she looked back up again, worried by the distant look on Wisp's face. She set a hoof on his shoulder.
"Hey" she said gently, ignoring the slight twitch he'd had when she'd touched him, "What is it?"

"Nothing" he said immediately.
"C'mon, dear" she stressed, "don't 'nothing' me. If something's bothering you, you can tell me."

Wisp shifted his weight, and then looked toward the door, then back to her. "I was just thinking" he said, and something about the way he said it made Shining Sapphire feel nervous.
"Yeah?"

"When we fix this... this whatever it is, I was just wondering... if maybe..."
He went silent, and then briefly glowered, which was then replaced with a resigned look. What he said next made Shining Sapphire's stomach twist.

"If we could make it so I don't have to be a Changeling anymore."
For several horrible seconds there was only the sound of the train rocking back and forth.

"I don't want to be a Changeling anymore" he said. Shining Sapphire stared at him.
"I don't" he added, before sighing. "It's just... it's just... ever since what happened with my re- with Chrysalis, those Changelings have been waiting for me to do something, to do anything, and I... I don't want to be that pony. They look at me like they expect me to perform miracles."

He stared down at his hooves. "I don't want to be that pony. I don't want to be some amazing Changeling prince. I just want to be me. I just..." he stared at Shining Sapphire, his bright blue eyes practically trembling. Then Shining Sapphire realised that was because he was trembling.

"I just want to be Whisper Wind. With his life, and his family, and his stupid name and what few friends I actually have..."
Shining Sapphire slowly got up and enveloped him. "Sweetie" she said, though she found herself at a loss for words beyond that.
"I just want to be me" he whispered, "not a prince, or a king, just... me."

Shining Sapphire held him slightly tighter, hoping desperately as she did that he didn't feel the need to continue. A horrible, horrible silence filled the carriage.
"Shouldn't have said that" he muttered.

"No, you probably shouldn't have" Shining Sapphire found herself saying eventually, "but you did. And... well, after everything that's happened..."
She sighed, "this hasn't exactly been a normal day."

"No" Wisp said, "it hasn't."
She leaned out again, and smiled gently at him. He smiled back. Then she went back to hugging him, enjoying the warm feeling of his fur. Later on, neither of them was exactly certain as to who did what first, but they were certain that she had been nuzzling him, and that he had kissed her first, and that she had definitely kissed back, but beyond that it had apparently been automatic, up until she'd realised what they were doing.

"Sorry" she said, much louder than was necessary, repeatedly, until she just curled up into a ball again, remaining completely still for some time, until her cheeks finally cooled down at least. Once she did, she looked up, to see Wisp just staring blankly out of the window on the other side of the carriage. From the looks of things, they were going past a cliff.
"I'm sorry" she said, even if she wasn't absolutely sure what for at that point, though if she had to guess, it was because it was better than absolute silence.

"I just... it just... I don't..."
She stopped, and tried to ignore the fact that her heart felt like it was pounding louder than the train was.

"It's just everything. I have no idea how this could have happened, and I have idea if I'm actually doing the right thing about it, and... then there's me. And you. And us."
Wisp just remained as still as a statue, not even blinking, while the most recent awkward silence seemed determined to outdo all its forebears.

"I mean, everything was going fine, and then you got abducted and I got hospitalised and then... I'd swear we've just been going backwards since then, and you... you've been distant, and keeping things from me, and I know you probably have your reasons, but... it... it's just..."
Suddenly, Wisp turned to look at her with a speed best described as glacial.

"Do you want to get married?" he asked, his voice sounding both quiet and furiously loud at the same time. Shining Sapphire just blinked. She tried to say something, or indeed anything, but stumbled over the words.
"I, ah... I... I guess?" she managed. Wisp turned away again.

"But not... not right away, not right now, I mean, we're not even in our mid-twenties, and there's still a lot of things I wouldn't mind doing before then. If I ever stop sitting around in the libraries, reading all those books of mine. Yes, I do want marry you, but... someday."
"Someday" Wisp repeated. "And what would this wedding be like? Would it just be a small private affair, with family and friends, or more like your parents?"

"I..." Shining Sapphire stopped, "I hadn't really given that any thought" she mumbled.
"And who'd marry us? Your mother? Or perhaps Princess Celestia herself?"

He slowly moved again. "I don't really want to be anypony's spectacle" he said coldly. "A wedding, at least I always assumed at any rate, a wedding isn't about how grand or romantic it seems, but a way of proving out love for one another."
Shining Sapphire frowned at that. "Hey! I woke up from a coma when you were nearly killed by your birth mom! I fought her off, remember, just to protect you! I didn't have to! I was terrified out of my damn mind and had no idea what I was supposed to do, and I still did it! Doesn't that prove I love you?!"

She stopped, and looked down at her hooves. "I don't think I've ever sworn before" she muttered quietly, "or felt angry like this. Day of firsts."
She looked at him again, "And don't you dare say you don't love me too, because I know you love me. Even if I don't have this stupid Changeling... emotion vision thing of yours, I know you love me, and you know that as well."

She sighed, suddenly feeling more tired than she had in a very long time. "Look, we'll go to Canterlot, we'll get this nonsense fixed, and then, if you feel that there are any problems in this relationship, then I promise, we will talk about them."
"But..." she continued, "maybe for now, it... it might just be best if we d-don't saying anything, okay?"
And with that, she slowly turned back toward her notebook, and began going over her notes again. After a few minutes, she realised her hooves were shaking.


*****


Meanwhile, a few hundred miles away, back in the Crystal Empire, Cadance and Shining Armor were taking advantage of the cool summer evening to relax in one of the palace's many, many drawing rooms, specifically one of the ones with a nice view of the city, and the brilliant orange colour that the city was turning as the sun set. The two were quietly sitting down on a sofa, reading, when Cadance suddenly looked around, then slid off the sofa.

"Honey?" Shining Armor asked, "what is it?"
Cadance turned to look at him, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Something's wrong" she said.
Shining Armor got off the sofa. He didn't bother asking if she was sure, he never needed to. If she said something was wrong, then something was definitely wrong. If he bothered questioning that, he wouldn't have been Shining Armor. And if she knew what it was, then she would have said. She sighed.

"I can't tell what it is, but something's been wrong all day. Something... not quite right. Haven't you been feeling it?"
Shining Armor instantly opened his mouth to say he hadn't, and then stopped when he realised that wasn't true. Something had been stuck in the back of his mind all day, and he hadn't noticed.
"Yeah" he said quietly, "but... I guess I figured the kids were having problems."

He shook his head. "Not kids, shouldn't call them kids. They aren't kids anymore, haven't really been for a while."
He sighed wistfully, then looked at Cadance, who was smiling at him.

"That's not the only thing bothering you" he stated. Cadance just shifted on her hooves, before shaking her head.
"It isn't. I've been having this small headache all day, and I am very sure it's just a headache" she said before he could say anything. Then her expression shifted.

"And I am very certain something just happened to... to..." she suddenly looked confused, which then moved to alarm. Shining Armor recognised the first part. As a pony whose talent was maintaining and strengthening the bonds of love between ponies, Cadance had always been sensitive to heartbreak, in a more literal fashion than most. She could feel it, and the stronger the feelings, the more it hurt. In an instant he was right next to her.

"Shiney" she asked, a very noticeable amount of concern in her voice, "what's our child's name?"
Shining blinked, feeling a small but rapidly growing amount of dread.

"Shimmering Stretto?" he said, though he didn't sound or feel entirely certain about that. Cadance's expression shifted to cast-iron determination.
"Something's definitely wrong."