//------------------------------//
// A Blooming Peace This Day Brings 
// Story: In a Name 
// by Detectivefish 
//------------------------------//

The walk back toward civilisation took some time for the young ponies. It took several hours of walking before they found themselves coming upon a small town, and while there, quickly checked for a nearby restaurant. Shining Sapphire's first order of business on entering was to enquire as to the status of coffee. Wisp felt some alarm at the noticeable twitch in her eyes when she was told there was none. However, the princess quickly gathered herself together, accepting the absence of coffee as calmly as she could. The two youngsters sat down at a small table. After a few minutes, Shining Sapphire spoke.

"So," she said, idly nudging a pepper shaker, "are you going to explain now, or later?"
Wisp sat there for a moment, staring at the table, before responding, "explain what?"

"Well" Shining Sapphire said, "for one thing, why you suddenly are acting so... different."
Wisp stared at her for a moment, and then shifted in his seat. "I..."

He stopped, and frowned. He had been trying to think of something to say about that, but all of a sudden the words just seemed to have vanished. "For the last month, I've been worried about things. About me, about changelings, and us. And I guess, maybe because of Princess Celestia, or that tea, I don't know, I just decided that perhaps, maybe, I was sick of it."
Shining Sapphire raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Wisp decided to take that as a cue to continue.

"The reason I was acting so weird when you asked me to share a room with you was because" he stopped, mulling over what he was about to say, "because I have been having nightmares. Not always, but I do wake up in the middle of the night more than I'd really like. And I didn't want to..."

He gritted his teeth, "I didn't want you to worry about me, I guess."
"What sort of nightmares?" she asked gently.

"The usual. Changelings swarming everywhere, blood red skies, diabolical laughter, Ponyville burning to the ground, that sort of thing."
Shining Sapphire's eyes had gone increasingly wide as he spoke, before he continued.
"Of course, they're not always like that" he paused, "sometimes there's singing as well."

If he had been intending to joke, and he wasn't about to say he was, but if he had, the fact that she wasn't smiling would have been upsetting. Of course, as far as Wisp was concerned, her not smiling was upsetting anyway.
"How long have you had these nightmares?" she finally asked. Wisp shrugged.

"Years and years and years" he said, casually, trying not to react at her aghast expression. "After a while they just got annoying rather than anything else."
She blinked, staring straight at him with the most forlorn expression. Wisp just felt his cheeks beginning to warm mildly. Before she could say anything, a pony arrived with their lunches, placing them before the two ponies, smiling merrily as she bade them to enjoy their meal. Shining Sapphire shifted on her seat, before smiling faintly at Wisp.

"You could have just said" she whispered. Wisp looked down toward his meal and grimaced. She wasn't upset because he'd been hiding things from her, but just because of the fact that it had happened. Which, he noted, was entirely like her.
"I know."

The two slowly began eating their meals, occasionally glancing at the other, once or twice smiling nervously, but for the most part, they just eat in silence. As he did, Wisp became slowly aware that he wasn't feeling entirely hungry. It didn't take him very long to determine why that was, as he looked over toward Shining Sapphire. After a few seconds she looked up and smiled at him again, before going back to her eating. After a few seconds more she noticed he wasn't eating and looked back up again.
"What is it?" she asked. He simply shrugged.

"Not feeling that hungry."
Her eyes moved toward the half-eaten sandwich in front of him, then back to him, but she said nothing. After a few seconds of sitting there and waiting for her to say something, he spoke.

"So, once we're finished here, what then?"
Shining Sapphire paused, then took a deep breath. "I guess we'll go back to Canterlot. We can stay with Twinkie for the night."
"Assuming she's there" Wisp cut in.

"Assuming" Shining Sapphire nodded, "then we can head back to the Empire."
She resumed eating, both ponies clearly thinking the same thing, that getting back required nothing getting in the way. Soon enough, Shining Sapphire finished, and the two ponies paid for their meal and left, heading toward the nearest train station. Which, as it transpired was in the next town over. As the two walked along the dirt road, Wisp noticed Shining Sapphire's brow furrowing.

"What is it?" he asked, in-between glancing about cautiously. She just smiled slightly.
"I was just wondering about something. If everypony thought our lives had been switched, what did they think my name was?"

"Buttercup" Wisp said instantly. Shining Sapphire raised an eyebrow. Wisp glanced at her, and realised she was expecting an answer.
"My mom said that if I" he paused for a moment, an exasperated look passing across his face as he did, "if I'd been a filly, she'd have called me that, instead of 'Whisper Wind'."

"Well" Shining Sapphire said slowly, "it's not that bad a name."
"I like my name, thank you very much" Wisp sniffed. "Besides, buttercups are weeds. And poisonous weeds at that."

"I'm aware of that" Shining Sapphire retorted, before smiling again. "Buttercup."
Wisp blinked. "Please tell me you aren't going to start calling me that" he groaned. Shining Sapphire looked astonished.

"What a great idea" she smiled, which only grew when she saw Wisp's horrified expression. "I'm just kidding, dear."
"If you say so" Wisp muttered, at which point she gently shoved him.

"Seems like your good mood's wearing off" she noted. Wisp just nodded.
"Seems like it. Or maybe it's because I'm far too emotionally fragile to withstand being called Buttercup at length."

He stopped and placed a hoof against his forehead. "Alas, that I am undone by playful taunting from my marefriend."
"Knock it off" Shining Sapphire sighed.

"Or what?"
"Or..." she stalled, before frowning, "I'll recite the history of the Crystal Empire at you. Followed by the entirety of the Unabridged Laws of Equestria."

Wisp stared at her, before finally shrugging. "Sounds nice" he said calmly.
"You're not supposed to enjoy it!" she gasped. Wisp just stared at her.

"I've always listened before" he said calmly. Shining Sapphire stopped, rubbing a contemplative hoof against her chin.
"True, true."

She shook her head, and started walking again, Wisp following alongside her. After about half an hour's worth of walking, they reached the next town, and found their way to the nearest train station. A train arrived some fourteen minutes after they stepped onto the platform, and they quickly made their way on-board, Shining Sapphire taking the window seat again. Both ponies said nothing at that point, but both were finding it annoyingly difficult not to think about the events of the night before. As the train left the station, Shining Sapphire leaned in toward Wisp, who suddenly grunted.

"What is it?" she asked. Wisp shook his head.
"It's just..." he started, "you're leaning kinda heavily on me, and it hurt a little."

He looked toward her. "Bearing in mind I did fly an incredibly long way without a break."
Shining Sapphire considered this, then just smiled. "You could always lean on me" she suggested. Wisp did so, albeit in a manner that from the outside would have looked amazingly awkward.

Then he could sworn he saw her smile, and felt the need to ask why.
"Why are you smiling?"

She just continued smiling as she answered. "It's just... I like seeing you like this. Happy. Cheerful. You have a nice smile, honey."
"I do?" he asked, feeling a sudden pang of self-consciousness.
"Of course you do."

He gave this some thought for a while. "Alright then."
"But" she suddenly added, "I am a bit... annoyed, I suppose, that we needed all of this insanity just to be honest with each other."

She sighed, her smile decreasing slightly. "Still, even then, at least it's all worked out so far."
"Presuming nothing crazy happens on the way back home" Wisp pointed out. Then he felt her shift slightly. He recognised the general mood coming from her.

"What's bothering you?" he asked, seeing the exasperated look on her face.
"It's just something that occurred to me, is all" she said, frowning slightly as she did, "Twinkie said somepony had brainwashed us. I'm guessing that's why we can't recall how we got species-swapped."

"Species-swapped" Wisp said, "not bad."
"I inherited my dad's gift for technical jargon" the young princess deadpanned. "Anyway, I think we should probably ask somepony, like Twinkie, to help with breaking the brainwashing spell."

"What happened with your aunt?" Wisp asked. Shining Sapphire quickly explained in as much detail as she could.
"Ah" was Wisp's response to that. "So, Twilight Twinkle then. Or Princess Celestia or Luna."

He felt a slight nervous pang from Sapphy again. "You know they'd help" he pointed out, "even if you weren't related to them, they'd help."
"I know" Shining Sapphire sighed, "but I would also like to reassure my grandparents that I'm okay."

"Good point."
"And perhaps, just perhaps, I might be able to get a cup of coffee from somewhere on the way."

After a few silent seconds, a question occurred to Wisp.
"What did Chrysalis actually want with you, anyway?" he asked. Shining Sapphire just bit her lip.

"She wanted me to help her with some ludicrous scheme to force you to accept kingship. She was waving a crown about, saying that it would draw changelings toward it, and that they'd hunt after me if I had it, and somehow this would make you have to be king in order to save me."
There was a sudden silence between the two ponies, the sort of silence that gave skilled silence artisans pause, before Wisp finally gave his opinion.

"That is the most ridiculous plan I've ever heard of."
"She seemed pretty confident it would work" Sapphy shrugged.

"From the way I've heard she seemed pretty confident just invading Canterlot would work. Doesn't mean it did" Wisp muttered darkly. Shining Sapphire paused.
"Perhaps. Maybe she just finally went mad."

"That would imply she had sanity to begin with."
"Stop it" Shining Sapphire said, "please."

"Sorry" Wisp sighed, "but considering everything she's done, not just what she's done to me, I'm not feeling particularly disposed toward her."
He felt her shifting underneath him, and he didn't need to be looking directly at her to know she was, even if only in a small sense, upset with his current attitude.

"Sorry" he said. Shining Sapphire said nothing to that, as she looked out toward the bright green landscape of the Equestrian countryside. He could tell by her current expression that she had started thinking about something, and in all likelihood it was the same thing he was thinking about, which was chiefly why the changelings had seen reason to chase after them. It didn't make sense. And there was something else in her expression. Curiosity. She had mentioned some manner of castle, which he couldn't recall from his time as a 'guest' of his fellows, which raised the question as to how they'd found it.


*****


It was late in the afternoon as the train finally arrived at Canterlot station. The two young ponies disembarked, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible, which considering they were a Princess and an abnormally tall pegasus proved surprisingly easy. Shining Sapphire strode through the streets, turning this way and that. She knew where she was going, and Wisp was content to follow, which was why he was surprised when she suddenly stopped dead, causing him to bump into her. She looked about the street, sniffing.

"I know that smell" she announced, sniffing again. Then, an almost predatory smile overcame her face, and she galloped off. Wisp quickly hurried after her. Her random path took her through several twists and turns, until Wisp found her at what appeared to be an ordinary coffee shop, save for one noticeable sign in the front window, which proclaimed to all the word that the shop was, in the owner's own words the 'proud caterer to Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna'. Inside, Shining Sapphire was testing out a sudden and unique theory in the proud Equestrian tradition of queuing, to whit that any line with a noticeably jittering princess tends to move at abnormally fast speeds. Wisp just watched as the line she was in quickly vanished, leaving her, now suddenly seeming to be a lot taller than she usually looked, standing over the poor pony (a young colt, if Wisp was any judge, though the pony's proportions, and the fact that there was several inches of Shining Sapphire blocking his view, made this difficult to determine).

"Coffee" she intoned, in an alarmingly chilling fashion, especially since she was still sounding pleasant about it. Several ponies nearby was haphazardly gulping down their beveradges, or fleeing. Wisp decided not to question this.
Quickly, a container of coffee was handed toward Shining Sapphire, who examined it. To Wisp's eyes, it looked abnormally large. He walked over toward the mare as she began drinking it. There were several audible whimpers from the reluctant audience, as she kept drinking, and drinking, and drinking.

"Sapphy?" he asked. The noise of drinking stopped. Her eyes opened and focused on him with an alarming intensity, as she slowly raised a hoof. The message was clear, so he said nothing. After a few seconds, she resumed her drinking. There was the sound of a pony falling to the ground. Wisp found himself wondering if this was some bizarre sport that Canterlotians played, one to which only they knew the rules. Finally, the drinking stopped. Shining Sapphire lowered the cup, and stared at it, her expression neutral. There was the definite sound of somepony's teeth chattering. She turned toward the pony next to the cash register, and then, slowly, her mouth began to curve upward, revealing her teeth, as the room seemed to grow slightly brighter.

"Thank you" she said, her voice sugary sweet. She turned to Wisp, still smiling. "Come on, dear."
At this, she turned toward the door, and looked alarmed. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, on seeing the ponies staring at her with a mixture of fear and amazement.

"No" somepony squeaked. She didn't look convinced, and turned to look at Wisp, who just decided to simply resort to one of the oldest tactics in the books. He shrugged.
"Beats me" he said. Shining Sapphire didn't look entirely satisfied with that answer, but headed toward the door anyway. Wisp stayed, and turned to look at the assembled crowd, shaking his head.

Canterlot ponies, he decided, were just weird.


*****


Shining Sapphire looked like she was about to start glowing, or singing. Wisp honestly expected her to start the later, and if the behaviour of Canterlot ponies were anything to go by, she would likely have the entire city singing along with her without even trying. She was just in an incredibly good mood, the sort that spread from pony to pony at ludicrous speeds. And he would quite gladly have admitted he didn't mind one bit.

She didn't sing. She just continued onward merrily toward the house of the Twilights, and knocked on the door. For a short time there was no response, and then the door opened. Twilight Velvet was on the other side, and she smiled.
"Grandma" Shining Sapphire said, hugging the elderly mare, who briefly objected.

"Sorry" Sapphy said sheepishly, as the two ponies entered the room, "just glad to see you."
"That's okay" her grandmother said cautiously, "just try to be a little bit more careful with me in the future."

Shining Sapphire glanced about the hallway, "hey, is Twinkie back yet?"
Her grandmother shook her head. "No, sorry."

Wisp, meanwhile, was taking the opportunity to finally remove the saddlebags, placing them in a small heap by the wall, as Shining Sapphire sighed.
"I suppose we can wait for her, then" she smiled. She and Wisp then stared at one another, before she suddenly grinned, and began making her way up the stairs. Twilight Velvet just shook her head, and made her way into the adjacent sitting room. After a few seconds she reappeared, carrying a book alongside her, still smiling.

"I don't think aunt Twilie will mind me borrowing one of her books" she said, once she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"So, what do we do now?" Wisp asked. She looked at him, then back to the book, and shrugged.

"We'll wait a while. If Twinkie doesn't show up, then we'll go ask Princess Celestia for help."
With that, she headed over toward the nearest sofa. Wisp followed after, sitting down next to her.

"What are you reading?" he asked. Shining Sapphire jolted from the sudden noise, and turned to look at him.
"Just a book I found upstairs in the library" she said. "That's all."

Wisp just nodded. "Is it interesting?" he asked. She looked at him, as if he'd just learnt rain was wet, then she went back to reading. Seconds passed, seconds which stretched into minutes. Then, Wisp heard something. A faint noise on the edge of hearing. His ears twitched as he looked around. He stood up, and tried to figure out where the noise came from. Then, the front door opened, and a certain royal blue coloured somepony walked through it, until a pair of bright orange eyes saw Wisp, and stopped dead.

"Wisp?" the startled Twilight Twinkle asked. Despite her alarm, she was beginning to smile. Before either pony could say anything, a bright pink blur zoomed past Wisp's head. There were a few seconds of muffled noises before Twilight Twinkle got her cousin off of her, although Shining Sapphire did take the opportunity to brush the mare's mane, before a hoof batted her leg away. Wisp couldn't help but notice parts of her fur looked noticeably singed, and she looked incredibly tired.

"You've got rubble in your mane" Shining Sapphire stated, sounding almost like a fussing parent as she did. Twilight Twinkle just closed her eyes for a moment.
"Yeah, probably got rubble elsewhere as well. The little idiot dropped a whole building on me" she muttered darkly, before sighing, "so if you don't mind, Sapphy, I wouldn't mind a chance to clean it off."

"Right" she smiled, "sorry."
Twinkle nodded, and turned toward the stairs, then stopped and turned back toward the two ponies, smiling as she did. "Guessing everything's worked out, then?" she said. There was an odd edge to her voice, irritation and relief in the same breath. Wisp didn't need to think very hard to guess why, if she'd known about their predicament.

"Great" she sighed, "just... great."
For a moment she stood there, eyes moving between the two ponies before she relaxed. "Well then, if that's that, I guess I'll go wash up."

"Twinkie" Shining Sapphire coughed as the mare was halfway up the stairs, "you remember the brainwashing spell you told me about?"
The mare turned to look at her, then nodded. "Yes, got it. Just... give me half an hour, then I'll see what I can do."
She resumed walking again, before she stopped and looked at both ponies, shaking her head. Wisp could've sworn he heard her mutter something under her breath as she went. He turned to look at Shining Sapphire, who just looked relieved. Wisp however, just shuffled nervously. This might have been because he noticed the way she'd been glancing at him. Even after everything that'd happened, she still had a crush on him.


*****


Some time later, a slightly damp-looking Twilight Twinkle reappeared, occasionally stretching herself.
"Hello, dear" Twilight Velvet said, not looking up from the newspaper she was reading. "What did Princess Luna want anyway?"

"Nothing much" Twinkle sighed, "just a temporal paradox, dramatic violation from space-time, and some awkwardness with mom."
Night Light stared at the young mare, blinking in confusion, "and when did the collapsing building come into it?"

"That was later on. Would've been nicer if somepony had started by dropping several tons worth of building on me, but we can't get what we want."
Shining Sapphire coughed lightly, and Twinkle turned to look at her, a sardonic grin briefly crossing her face. "Yeah, okay, Sapphy. One magic fix-it coming up."

Her horn lit up, and she advanced toward the mare. There was a brief feeling in Sapphy's mind, like something connecting with her, and then she heard a small noise from Twinkle.
"What is it?" she asked, and was aware that the feeling had vanished. Twinkle was staring at her with concern.

"There's a second brain-washing spell going through your head" she noted, "or... half of one at any rate."
She tilted her head, "what have you been up to while I was gone?"

Shining Sapphire stared at the mare, "oh, not much. I just managed to get foalnapped by some changelings while I was getting some coffee."
Twilight Twinkle gasped, as did Twilight Velvet and Night Light. "You what?"

"Not my proudest moment ever" Shining Sapphire sighed, "I'll admit that. But then the next thing I know the Changeling Queen's ranting at me, and then she tried to brainwash me into going along with this ridiculous scheme of hers"
She shifted, "she was casting the spell, and then the next thing I know there's this feeling like I was being... torn apart. And when that was done, I was a pony again. At which point I took my chance to escape."

Wisp grunted, drawing all the eyes in the room toward him. "That was probably about the same time that happened to me."
He took a deep breath before he added, "though with slightly different results."

Twilight Twinkle just raised an eyebrow. "Guess that explains that, then" she said, before turning back to Shining Sapphire. "Now then, just relax, and I'll try and do this as quickly as possible."
Her horn glowed, and Shining Sapphire felt a strange tingling feeling washing over her. Then, something like a door kicked open, and she gasped.

"What is it?" Wisp said instantly, placing a hoof on her shoulder.
"I..." she said, "I remember!"

"Remember what?" Twinkle asked.
Shining Sapphire's eyes narrowed, "I remember who did this."


~~~~~~


There was darkness. That was odd enough, considering it was mid-summer, meaning that whatever darkness usually lasted only a few hours at the most, but what was bothering Shining Sapphire was that she had just woken up, if only because she couldn't clearly remember going to sleep. She and Wisp had been talking, they'd gone into her room, and while she had been feeling unusually drowsy, she hadn't planned on going to bed immediately. From the looks of it, and from the way Wisp was gently breathing in and out in front of her, they'd both just completely fallen asleep. Deep down, she felt the smallest morsel of disappointment at that, though she wasn't completely sure why. But she never went to sleep that early, or that easily, she knew that. Something was wrong. Her hoof darted up toward just above her horn, where she felt something cold and metallic against it. Her horn glowed slightly, soliciting a small murmur from Wisp as it did. She slowly lowered the small silver tiara downward, staring at it. She hadn't even had time to take it off. Something was definitely wrong. She looked down, and felt her heart skip several beats when she saw Wisp's bright blue eyes wide open.

"Sorry" she whispered, before feeling the need to add, "go back to sleep honey."
"Time is it?" Wisp said. She turned around to look at the clock, then back to Wisp.

"Very early" she smiled, "when everypony but the insomniacs and Lunas are asleep."
Wisp didn't respond to that. He was frowning at something.

"What is it?" she asked. He slowly lifted a hoof toward her mouth, and another to his own. There was utter silence, the only noise being her clock slowly ticking, and the sound of her heartbeat.
Then, she heard it, the slow noise coming from somewhere else. She tried to focus on the noise, and realised something. It was somepony walking.

"Nopony's up and about at this time of night" she said, "not even the guards."
She felt a growing concern, and then noticed Wisp was lying on his side, his eyes shut. "Wisp?"

"Pretend to be asleep" he murmured. Despite her reservations, and her concern for this sudden serious attitude Wisp was displaying, she decided to go along with it. After a few seconds, there was silence once more, save only the clock ticking. And ticking. And ticking. And ticking.
Then, she heard a new noise. Suddenly, she found herself reacting, looking upright. Two dim blue lights were hovering in the darkest corner of the room. She sighed. It was just one of Wisp's changelings. Then she felt her stomach drop. Something was definitely wrong.

"What is it?" she said, trying to shore up whatever confidence she could trough the haze. The lights vanished for a second. Just the changeling blinking. Then, there was a sickly green glow around the Changeling's horn, and then a feeling of something smashing into her mind. She suddenly began to feel sleepier, and sleepier. The world was getting foggy, her eyelids so heavy. Then, there was the sound of noise, and a low hiss. Wisp had moved over toward the changeling, and had hit it.

"What are you doing?" he growled. Shining Sapphire frowned, and then looked down at the bed, wondering where her tiara had gone, before looking over toward the changeling. It was glancing between her and Wisp, but it didn't say anything. It-... his, she corrected herself, his horn lit up again, and she felt something wrenching into her mind. From the mild grunt she heard, Wisp probably had been zapped as well.

"I am sorry, your highness" she heard the changeling say, and she recognised which one it was in an instant. It was Angel Eyes. Why was he attacking them, she wondered.
"But you leave me no choice."

She tried summoning the necessary spells to counteract what Angel Eyes was casting, but through at that moment just focusing her thoughts was feeling like an uphill struggle, like trying to gain footing on quicksand. Then she heard another noise, and everything began clearing up. In the darkness, she could see Wisp and Angel Eyes moving about. The changeling worker's horn lit up, and a blast of magic lanced at Wisp, who seemed to convulse. Summoning her magic, she tried to summon something, anything. She was rewarded with a glowing bright pink pillow. Any other time and she would have tried casting something else, but at that moment, she decided not to question her choice, slamming the changeling across the room. She rushed over toward Wisp.

"Are you okay?" she said hurriedly, placing a hoof again his... she paused, as she felt chitin under her hooves.
"I'm fine" Wisp responded, but his voice sounded off, and much higher than usual. Indeed, it didn't sound anything like it normally did at all. She suppressed the childish assumption that perhaps Angel Eyes had simply gone for a low blow while she wasn't looking, and then ignored a sudden comment for part of her that began wondering if That Sort of Thing worked the same with changelings.

"You don't sound fine" she noted, nudging him with a hoof. It occurred to her far too late that she'd actually gone and turned her back on a changeling who seemed to have gone mad, which she was still wondering about. What possible gain did he expect to make by attacking them in her room, in the middle of the night?

She decided to ignore that feeling, as she felt magic touching her mind again. She slowly forced herself to turn, ignoring a sudden stab of pain from her back leg as she glared at Angel Eyes. Once she did, she noticed he was clearly struggling with something.
"Not..." she managed to get out, "not gonna... not gonna..."

Everything was going dark, or rather, darker. Then she heard the noise from behind her. It was a growl, from Wisp. He actually sounded furious. Even as the darkness closed in, she could've sworn she heard him say something. To her distress, it sounded like he was cussing at Angel Eyes.
Just before the darkness took her completely, she saw the changeling's horn light up again, and a strange green flame wrapping itself around Wisp. She noted that she had rarely seen him shapeshift, save for that one time. Her eyes were almost closed by that point, and noises were sounding distant, and garbled, but it sounded like Wisp was screaming, and, she noted, in an incredibly hi-


~~~~~


Five ponies shared worried looks for several moments, before Wisp finally spoke up.
"So, Angel Eyes did it" he frowned, "but... why?"

"Maybe he told you before he finished" Twilight Twinkle suggested. Wisp shrugged.
"We won't know unless you cast that spell on me."

Twinkle frowned, her gaze moving toward Shining Sapphire, then back to Wisp, then back to Shining Sapphire, then back to Wisp. She looked hesitant.
"I'm not sure if I should" she finally said. Wisp stood up to his full height, and looked toward Shining Sapphire, who now had both of her grandparents sitting next to her.

"I am" Wisp said. "My choice, Twilight."
The mare paused. Wisp frowned. "Look, even if what I remember what happened next and it's upsetting, it doesn't matter. I've still got a brainwashing spell in my head, and I'd like it gone."

He shifted on his hooves, "besides, you were willing to do it for her."
Twilight Twinkle's eyes narrowed, and her tail flicked as she glared at Wisp. He just simply stared back, waiting to see what she would say, trying to ignore the smell of something beginning to burn coming from her. Then, she took a deep breath. "Alright" she said.
Her horn glowed, and Wisp felt something washing over him like a wave. Four sets of eyes stared expectantly at him.

"Well?" Shining Sapphire asked, "do you remember anything?"
Wisp paused. Slowly, his mouth began to move, he took a breath... and then stopped.

"No. Nothing."
He looked down at his hooves. "Sorry" he mumbled. Shining Sapphire just smiled.

"It's okay, honey. We already know who did this, it's already been undone. All we have to do now is get back home, and find a way to remove the spell from the whole city."
Twilight Twinkle sighed in irritation. "I'll just go pack my stuff then."

"I don't think you'll have to" Sapphy said quickly. "My mom and dad do know that spell, after all. They can probably cast it."
Twinkle blinked for a moment. "Yes, of course" she said, "of course they can."

"Not that you're not welcome to visit anyway" Shining Sapphire pointed out. Twinkle nodded.
"Yeah, but I've still got all that work I said I'd do for mom" her eyes darted toward the stairs, before she looked like she was just remembering something, "and a few other things I should probably take care of at some point."

She sighed again, and walked over to the nearest chair, and collapsed onto it.
"So, anypony got any suggestions for the evening?" she asked.


*****


As it turned out, nopony had any general desire to do anything with their evening, so grandparents and granddaughter settled for explaining most of what had been going on, while Twilight Twinkle disappeared upstairs. Eventually, after a pleasant light dinner, Twilight Velvet and Night Light announced they were leaving, much to Shining Sapphire's disappointment.

"Sorry, dear" Night Light said, "but somepony tends to get a bit twitchy if she's away from the house for too long."
"I think" Twilight Velvet hissed into her husband's ear, "somepony is getting confused as to who gets twitchy and when."

Then, without any warning, she began smiling again, "anyway, it was lovely seeing you, Sapphy. And you, Whisper Wind."
"Likewise, Mrs Twilight" Wisp smiled, to which the mare shook her head.

"Now, now. You can call me grandma if you want" she said, glancing briefly at Shining Sapphire. "After all, you're already part of the family anyway."
Wisp suddenly found himself coughing awkwardly, as Shining Sapphire decided to stare at the ceiling. Then, with one last hug, Night Light and Twilight Velvet left, leaving Wisp and Shining Sapphire standing there, neither certain of what to say next.

"So" Shining Sapphire eventually managed, "tomorrow. We wake up bright and early, do a bit of gift shopping and then, we go home."
"Gift shopping?" Wisp asked, "when did that come up?"

Shining Sapphire stared at Wisp, before smiling, "well we do have to get my parents something. If anything, it'll probably stop them being so upset about all of this."
"Why would they be upset?" Wisp asked. Shining Sapphire blinked.

"Well, we did sort of leave the city without asking them" she said, "or telling them, so they'll probably be worried about us."
It was now Wisp's turn to stare, as he realised Shining Sapphire actually meant what she was saying. She actually thought her parents would be annoyed at her for doing what was normally a given for most ponies her age. Though he was willing to concede they probably were worried about her, at any rate.

"Alright then" he said slowly, "gift shopping."
Shining Sapphire grinned, and then headed back into the living room.


*****


The hours quickly passed, as Shining Sapphire occasionally described excerpts from the book she was reading to Wisp, until eventually the time came for them to go to sleep. They made their way up the stairs to the guest bedroom, where there was a completely untouched double bed, which Wisp noted was several sizes smaller than the one Shining Sapphire was used to. She didn't seem to notice, as she gently placed her tiara on the nightstand. Wisp slowly lay down, and then realised how small the bed was when he found himself staring into Shining Sapphire's grinning face.
"Good night" she said. He found himself smiling back.

"Good night."
With a click, the lights were out. After a few seconds, Wisp gently wrapped a hoof around Shining Sapphire. He practically felt her smile growing, as he began to feel his eyes getting heavier.


*****


There was darkness. In the darkness, he heard only the sound of hoofsteps against the floor, echoing into the distance. Hoofstep after hoofstep, until he came to the door. Slowly, the handle turned. The door swung open, revealing a room, lit only by moonlight. Outlined against the moonlight was a mare, her horn glowing, her eyes illuminated a curious bright pink by the glowing pillow hovering a short distance from her face. Slowly, his eyes turned toward the two other ponies in the room, one of who he could see the outline of, surrounded by an unpleasant green glow. The other, body suspended in mid-air as it hurtled backward, he recognised all too well. What little light there was playing off the edges of the dark chitin, glinting off those translucent wings, reflecting off of those amazingly bright blue eyes, and the golden-brown tresses that framed that familiar face.

He tried closing his eyes, ignoring the sight in front of him, and then paused. There was something moving in the frozen image. He turned, to see the tall dark blue pony watching him, as her mane wafted gently on a non-existent breeze.
"Princess Luna" Whisper Wind said. The mare nodded.

"Whisper Wind, is it not?"
"That's me" he said, staring at the mare. He coughed.

"I don't suppose, before we go any further, we could do something about... this" he said, motioning a hoof at the sight. Princess Luna nodded. Everything shimmered, and vanished. They were somewhere else, almost as dark. There were an awful lot of trees.
"The Everfree Forest" Wisp noted. He looked over toward Princess Luna, whose expression remained neutral.

"Sorry" she said, "but I can only take you into another dream. Unless you wish to go to somewhere more crowded?"
Everything shimmered again, and they were in a packed hall, filled with ponies dressed in incredibly smart suits and dressed. There was the distance sound of music.

"The Everfree would've been fine" Wisp noted, "but it doesn't exactly matter. I just wanted to ask you something."
Princess Luna raised an eyebrow. "Indeed?"

Wisp shifted. "I wanted to ask you for a favour."
For a moment, the Princess of the Moon looked at him, then the corner of her mouth began to move slightly.

"I'm listening."


*****


There was a distant tapping noise, which slowly became more and more distinct as Wisp awoke, to a brightly lit room, thanks to the summer sun shining in the sky. Slowly, he moved, and saw Twilight Twinkle standing in the doorway, staring at him.
"Yes?" he asked. She looked concerned about something.

"You've got mail" she said. Wisp frowned, and slid out of the bed. Twilight Twinkle headed along the hallway, and then down the stairs. Wisp followed her into the living room. On the coffee table there was a simple, unmarked brown-papered package.
"Completely magic free" Twinkle noted, in a cautious tone. "And the string is a nice touch."

"Indeed" Wisp said, trying not to notice Twinkle staring at him every few seconds, or the slightly irritated look she had as she did.
"No note, no nothing. Just says it's addressed to Whisper Wind, of Ponyville."

"Where?" he asked. She nodded at it, and Wisp looked. And indeed, somepony had written exactly that on the top of the package.
"There isn't a chance that this is something completely safe and innocent, is it?" Wisp asked. Twilight Twinkle stared at him.

"I highly doubt it."
"Thought so" Wisp frowned, staring at the completely unassuming package, just sitting there, on the coffee table. Perhaps, if it were somepony else, the uncertainty would eat at him, slowly erode his will, as he spent every moment wondering what could possibly reside within the box. He, however, had no such problem.

"You going to open it, or should I just take it outside and burn it?" Twinkle asked. Wisp stared at her.
"I get the feeling whoever sent this might have anticipated that" he said flatly.

"Probably."
He just turned away from the box, "I'm going back to bed" he announced.

He quickly made his way upstairs and back to the bed, and lay there, feeling uncertain about hugging Shining Sapphire any further once he was there. However, he soon felt a leg draping across his barrel anyway.
The next thing he knew he was being nudged by Shining Sapphire. He blinked.

"What time is it?" he asked. Shining Sapphire just nudged him further.
"Time to get up, Wisp" she grinned, before heading out of the room. Slowly, and with some reluctance from some suddenly aching limbs, he did. In quick succession, he headed toward the bathroom, brushed his teeth and made his way downstairs, where Shining Sapphire was preparing a small breakfast. She had an odd smile on her face, as she investigated every cupboard. She stopped when she saw Wisp.

"I'm not used to doing this" she said, sounding excited about it, "it's weird. I've slept in a whole extra half an hour from normal."
Wisp just nodded, since he was at least two hours out from his comfort zone, if the way he felt was any indication, though he was taking solace in the fact that nopony was trying to style his mane.
"Eat up" Shining Sapphire declared, "we'll have to hurry if we want to get home by at least mid-afternoon."

So the two ponies quickly had breakfast, and then made their way out into the wide streets of the Canterlot market. Every now and then Shining Sapphire examined objects, flittering from store to store with unbridled curiosity. Wisp just tried keeping an even pace, while attempting to block out the various moods he was getting from the nearby ponies.

"I'd have thought your parents would be difficult to buy gifts for" he said, as they examined their fourth bookshop. Shining Sapphire stopped and looked at Wisp like he'd just replaced his tail with an extra head.
"Why do you say that?"

"Well," Wisp said, before finding that whatever explanation he'd had thought of had vanished, "I just assumed..."
"Yes?"

"Your parents seem so happy with everything anyway. What do you get for the ponies who have everything?"
Shining Sapphire paused, apparently seriously considering this, before she raised an eyebrow, smiling widely as she did.

"Memories" she stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, come on, just a few more stores."
Eventually, she seemed satisfied with a few small items she'd acquired, and began heading back toward the Twilight's house. As she did, she looked at Wisp.

"What are we going to do with that package?" she asked. Wisp stared back.
"No idea" he admitted, "though I think if it's a 'gift' from who I think it's from, then the best idea is perhaps to throw it into the darkest possible pit we can imagine, forget about it, and move on with our lives."

"Wisp" Shining Sapphire said, an oddly cold tone to her voice, "what did I mention yesterday?"
"That I should be doing more for the changelings" Wisp said, "I know. I know. It's just..."

"I know" she interrupted, "but all the same."
Wisp just nodded. "Yeah. Alright. Positive attitude. After all, it can't be something that bad, can it?"

"Let's hope not."
The two made their way back to the house, picked up the package and Sapphy's saddlebags, and prepared to leave. As they did, Twilight Twinkle reappeared in front of them.

"You didn't honestly think I was going to let you two leave without saying goodbye, did you?" she grinned.
"No" Shining Sapphire said, "it seems not."

Twinkle grinned, and then opened the door for the two ponies. "Let's go then" she said, her smile growing dangerously wild.
The three ponies made their way through the winding streets of Canterlot in silence, until they reached the train station.

"So" Twinkle said quietly, once they reached the platform, "this is goodbye, for now."
"Guess it is" Wisp said. After a few seconds Twilight Twinkle hugged Shining Sapphire, and then looked toward Wisp, and stopped.

"Look" she said calmly, "I know it's been... horribly awkward between us for the last few years, but, Wisp, you are my oldest and... best friend. I think after every ridiculous thing we've done, we can survive one friendly hug."
Wisp shuffled, looking toward Shining Sapphire. "C'mon," Twinkle said, "you won't burst into flames just from a hug."

Wisp made an overly dramatic sigh, then hugged the mare. When he pulled out, she was smiling even further.
"And you look after my cousin, 'kay?" she said, her eyes suddenly wavering slightly, "promise me?"

Wisp stared at Twilight Twinkle, then to Shining Sapphire. He felt the desire to point out that if anything, it was likely to be the other way around, before he raised a hoof.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Twilight Twinkle stared at the sight for a moment, before bowing her head. "Flawless."
There was the distant noise of a train approaching, as Twinkle turned back to Sapphy.

"Say hi to aunt Cady for me" she said. Shining Sapphire nodded.
"I'll do that."

"Good to hear" Twinkle said. Then, Shining Sapphire's smile vanished.
"Twinkie" she said solemnly, "why are you acting like this is the last time we'll see each other?"

The mare tried to look innocent. "I'm not telling you" she said, brightly. Then, when her words registered wit her, she facehoofed.
"Just in case" she said quietly. "Just in case."

Shining Sapphire placed a hoof on her cousin's shoulder, as she remembered the painting she'd seen the day before. "Twinkie, you will be alright on your own, won't you?"
"I'll try and cope" Twinkle said, staring at the ground. Behind them, the train slowly ground to a halt. Then, quite curiously, there was an odd noise in the distance. Twinkle's ears began to twitch.

"What's that?" she asked. Wisp swivelled, and stared. Something was approaching Canterlot, something large and flying.
"DRAGON!" somepony yelled. There was a multitude of screams, as the platform emptied, leaving only the guards, Twinkle, Sapphy and Wisp. The royal blue mare's wings unfurled, and a small smirk appeared on her face. Then, quite curiously, the dragon slowed, and hovered over the train station. Then, a small charcoal grey shape dropped inelegantly onto the platform in front of the three ponies.

"Your highness!" the shape blurted, quickly revealing itself to be a changeling. There was a disappointed noise from Twilight Twinkle, as the changeling rushed over toward Wisp.
"You're alright."

Wisp stared at the changeling for a moment. "..." he said, once he realised he couldn't tell which one it was.
"Windsheer" Shining Sapphire helpfully supplied.

"Windsheer! What brings you here, when we told you to remain at the Empire."
The changeling's wings flickered as he looked up toward the dragon, which was hovering casually above the station, before he looked back toward Wisp.

"Her Highness... ordered us to find you, and her highness" the changeling said, slowly, and reluctantly.
"Ordered?" Shining Sapphire repeated, "my mom ordered you to do something, and you did it."
Windsheer sniffed slightly.

"Hey, quick question" Twilight Twinkle spoke up, "but why's there a dragon up there?"
Windsheer glanced about shiftily. "It is... very difficult to explain."

Suddenly, four more changelings fell onto the ground, and the dragon slowly began turning, heading away from the city.
"He was your ride, I'm guessing" Twinkle stated.

"In a sense" the changeling said, "yes."
"Which sort of sense?" Wisp asked. There was a painful pause before he responded.

"In an incredibly accurate sense, royalty."
"Well," Shining Sapphire said, "you've found us, caused a scene, scared a lot of ponies, and inadvertently outed Wisp to the population of Canterlot in the process, all for essentially nothing, since we were just about to head back to the empire anyway."

The five changelings exchanged glances, then looked toward Wisp, who by now was staring at Angel Eyes quite intently. He leaned in toward the pony.
"Do you have... any idea of what you did?" he growled, "and for what possible reason?"

"Yes" Angel Eyes responded. "I do. I did what was necessary for the good of my blood, and I make no apology for it."
Wisp snarled, feeling the magic stopping his fangs from showing fading as his control slipped. Shining Sapphire placed a hoof on his shoulder, and suddenly he stopped, and pulled back.

"When we return to the Crystal Empire" Shining Sapphire said, her voice utterly calm, "we will discuss what you did, and should we pass sentence on you, you will do as we say. Is that understood?"
Angel Eye stared at Shining Sapphire for some time, his gaze moving toward Wisp briefly, before he nodded. "As you say, my queen."

Shining Sapphire's response to this was to raise an eyebrow, before she motioned to the train carriage. "Now let's get on-board before somepony does something they'll regret."
The changelings slowly filled onto the train, as Wisp and Sapphy exchanged glances. The mare shook her head in exasperation, before turning to Twilight Twinkle.

"You sure you don't want to stay here for a few more days, or weeks?" her cousin suggested playfully.
"No" Shining Sapphire said, "if we stay here much longer, I think my mom and dad will probably invade Canterlot just to make sure I come home."

"Knowing them" Twinkle laughed, "they'd probably win."
"They probably would."

The two ponies smiled warmly, before Shining Sapphire sighed, her smile vanishing in an instant. "Be careful, Twinkie. And if at all possible, be safe."
"I'll try" the mare said.

"That's all I ask."
Then, a thought seemed to occur to the mare. "And Sapphy?"

"Yes?"
"If you and Wisp... you know, decided to make certain 'arrangements'..."

"Yes?"
"And you feel the need to invite me..."

"Yes?"
Twinkle leaned in closer, before suddenly pulling back, grinning as she did. "I'm not being your damn maid of honour."

Shining Sapphire stared at her cousin, aiming a swift kick at the mare, who just hopped out of the way. Shaking her head, Shining Sapphire got on-board the train.
"What was that all about?" Wisp asked. Shining Sapphire just gave him a Look, which he seemed to understand well enough, as she made her way toward one of the seats and sat down. As she did, she noted that aside from the five changelings, four of whom were glowering at Angel Eyes, along with her and Wisp, there was nopony else in the carriage.

'Deja vu' she thought to herself. As she sat down, she saw Wisp staring at the package intently.
"Are you going to open it?" she asked. He turned to look at her.

"I probably should" he said, "but at the same time..."
He stopped and rubbed his eyes, before looking straight at her. "You're going to suggest I should, aren't you?"

She looked at the package, and shifted. She had a suspicious feeling about the box, and whatever was in it. "Not necessarily."
Wisp shifted again. "Not until the train's moving" he said.

The two ponies stared at one another. Then, Shining Sapphire noticed something just at the edge of her vision, and turned to stare at the changeling balanced on top of the seating, an inquisitive look on his face.
"Yes?" Wisp asked. The changeling blinked.

"So, are you going to open that?" he asked.
The two ponies exchanged looks, before Shining Sapphire stared at Impulse's hooves, then at the changeling's face. He stared blankly, until she coughed, pointing a hoof at him. He just continued staring.

"Off the chair" she said. He looked down at his hooves, smiled sheepishly, and hopped off the seat. Sapphy looked at Wisp, who just shrugged.
"Don't look at me" he said. Shining Sapphire turned back toward the window, waiting for the train to start. After several minutes there was the sound of the whistle, and the train jolted, slowly beginning to move. She lay back in her seat and relaxed, watching the landscape moving past. After some time, she noticed Wisp had fallen asleep. She found herself smiling slightly at the sight, and the content look on his face.


*****


Wisp stirred, yawned, and stretched, before looking about the carriage, trying to ignore the feeling in his forelimbs. He looked over toward Shining Sapphire, who from the looks of it was beginning to fall asleep herself. He gently nudged her with a hoof.
"Hey" she smiled. Wisp smiled back.

"Are there yet?" he asked, to which Shining Sapphire grimaced.
"I'm fairly certain we're not even hallway" she said, "you've not been asleep that long."

Wisp just nodded, numbly, fighting down the urge to yawn again, before his eyes turned toward the parcel, now sitting on the floor in front of their seats. He felt his stomach twist at the sight, as he remembered what he'd agreed to do. He sighed, and focused, his magic lifting the box so that it sat between himself and Shining Sapphire. He stared at it, then into Shining Sapphire's eyes.
"Might as well get on with this, then" he frowned. He set up a hoof on top of the box, and then felt one of hers touching his. He looked up at Shining Sapphire, who just nodded. He suddenly felt like a weight was being lifted from his back. He focused on the strings. Slowly, they unfurled. He slowly removed the packaging, revealing... a plain white box. There was a sudden sigh, and Wisp turned to look at the changelings, who were staring with rapt attention. He shook his head, and turned back to the box. Slowly, carefully, with the same caution usually only shown to things that ticked, he prised open the box, and looked inside. In an instant, his mood shifted to downright horror at the sight.

Sitting there in the box was a black and green crown. If Wisp had to say, he would have said it matched exactly what he thought a changeling crown should have looked like. It even managed to look unpleasant, at least to his eyes, and there was an odd feeling about it. He looked up at Shining Sapphire, who looked alarmed, though she was rapidly moving on toward outright alarm. Wisp found himself recalling exactly what she'd told him about the day before.

"What should we do with it?" he asked. Shining Sapphire's face was one of stone-cold determination.
"Well" she said, "my first instinct would be to throw it out of the window. But..."

"But?" Wisp asked, his gaze not moving from the crown.
"I don't know if that would be such a good idea."

She stared into the box, carefully considering her next statement. "I think, perhaps, we should wait and see. If this turns out to be part of some plot, we'll deal with it."
Wisp paused, his gaze flickering, before he nodded. "Alright, then."


*****


Across Equestria, in the darker corners of the land, minds stirred, as one by one they noted a feeling, a distant sensation that enticed them closer. In essence they were like moths, being drawn like moths to a flame they could not resist, even as whatever it was moved further and further away.


*****


Some hours later, as the sun began to lazily head downward, the express train slowly halted, and stopped. Shining Sapphire practically leapt from her seat, grinning at the sight of home. She turned toward Wisp, who had calmly closed the box's lid, and handed it to Angel Eyes, glowering as he did.
"You're not off the hook yet" he said coldly, to which the changeling nodded glumly, as he took the box in his own magic, in addition to the saddlebags and Shining Sapphire's gifts. Wisp turned to look at Shining Sapphire, and smiled weakly.

"Shall we?"
He stepped over toward Shining Sapphire, who was now glancing nervously toward the door. "Yes" she smiled.

"Let's."
The two ponies slowly made their way out of the carriage, once again trying to look casual, much to the confusion of their changeling entourage, who exchanged concerned glances at the sight. As the two ponies moved through the throng, lots of ponies stared and whispered and muttered, as Shining Sapphire marched purposefully in the direction of the palace. Wisp just followed behind her. He wasn't absolutely certain as to what she'd been expecting, all things considered, but he knew from the look on Sapphy's face she was perplexed. He, meanwhile, was more concerned about the odd feeling, the odd tingling in the back of his mind. From what she'd told him, he'd been expecting an attack by changelings already, but aside from the usual five, there didn't seem to be any others around, and that worried him.

As they approached the Crystal Palace, Wisp saw somepony waiting on the front doorstep. Two ponies, actually, neither of whom looked entirely happy. And then, as they got even closer, and Wisp felt the usual side-effects of being anywhere near Princess Cadance, he noticed the five changelings disappearing.
"Shining Sapphire" Princess Cadance declared, her voice managing to carry a long way despite sounding astoundingly calm, "you have a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

Wisp stood close to Shining Sapphire, who just stared.
"Sorry, mom" she said quietly. Slowly, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor walked toward the two ponies. Wisp was certain he heard a small sniff from Sapphy. Then, the two ponies stopped.

"What happened?" Shining Armor asked gently. Shining Sapphire raised her head to look at them, her eyes quivering. Her parents just blinked, and looked at one another.
"What is it" both ponies asked at one. Shining Sapphire just blinked.

"You're... you're not mad at me?"
Her parents looked shocked by the very suggestion.

"Hey," Shining Armor said, "we're not angry at you, sweetie."
Sapphy's eyes went wide. "You're... not?"

The two ponies looked at one another, then to Wisp, who tried to communicate non-verbally that he had no idea why she was surprised about this either.
"Why in the world would you think we'd be angry at you?" Cadance said.

"Because, because we left without telling you what we were doing, even though I thought we had a good reason at the time, and... and..." she trailed off.
"Well, maybe we were worried about you" Shining Armor admitted, his glance moving toward Wisp momentarily.

"But" Cadance smiled, "we knew you'd be okay."

For a few seconds Shining Sapphire just stared at the two ponies before she began to laugh, before hugging the two ponies tightly. Wisp remained at a distance, not feeling entirely confident about approaching, and not wanting to spoil the moment in any form.

"Now then" Cadance said, once the hug was finished, "what have you two been up to?"


*****


Soon after, the four ponies found themselves in one of the many, many drawing rooms. Cadance and Shining Armor recounted what the changelings had told them, and once they were done, the two young ponies quickly tried to fill in the blanks as to what had been happening with them. Neither decided to mention the similarity to what they had done not one month previously, while Wisp made a mental note to come up with as degrading a sentence as he could managed for Angel Eyes. On the mention of the brainwashing spell, Cadance and Shining Armor suddenly reassured Shining Sapphire that they knew about that, and had taken steps towards dealing with it on learning about it. Sapphy and Wisp briefly shared a concerned look, but decided to not question the convenience, before resuming their tale.

Once they finished, there was utter quiet. For the longest time, nopony knew what to say, before Shining Sapphire spoke up.
"Well I don't know about anypony else, but I think, right now I'm just going to go lie down. On my bed. In my room."

Wisp stared blankly for a while, before quickly galloping after her. Cadance watched the two go, a small smile spreading across her face. She turned to look at Shining Armor, who smiled back.
"What?" he asked, after a few seconds. Cadance just shook her head.

"Nothing" she said, "I just..."
"Just what?"

"It's just... seeing those two so happy" she smiled, before trailing off. Shining Armor just nodded.
"Yeah. I know."

Cadance looked about the room, before standing up. "I think I'm just going to go check on something for a while" she said, absent-mindedly. Shining Armor raised an eyebrow, or at least he tried to.
"This 'something' wouldn't happen to be any sort of plans relating to certain events, would it?" he asked, walking over toward Cadance, nuzzling her, "plans maybe involving two ponies and a lot of guests, perhaps."

Cadance just smiled innocently, "I just think there's no harm in... being prepared."
The two ponies stood there for a while, before her brow furrowed. "Shining?"

"Yeah."
"Would I be right in thinking that I'm not the only pony in this castle who's been making 'plans' about those two?"

Shining Armor tried to maintain a neutral expression, and in a few seconds managed to fail completely. "Maybe?" he said.
The two ponies looked at one another for the longest time, before they smiled. "Want to compare notes?" Cadance asked.

"I thought you'd never ask."
At that, the two ponies rushed off together. Some of the palace staff who encountered them later noticed they were making some very strange giggling noises as they went.


*****


Later, as Shining Sapphire sprawled onto her bed, enjoying the full range of motion that a full king (or rather, princess) sized bed offered. There and then she made a silent vow to her bed to never take its comfort for granted again, as she smiled contentedly. She looked out of the window, seeing the cool blues and purples of the night sky. She was home, she was a pony again, she had Wisp, and all was fine. She was content. Or, almost at any rate.

A few seconds later and Wisp sat down on the bed next to her. Slowly, she brushed a leg against him, smiling as she did.
"Hey, handsome" she grinned, to which Wisp just smiled cautiously. With great effort she got up, leaning in close toward Wisp. An odd smile flickered across his face.

"Hey" he said, as she leaned closer.
"So, what now?" he asked, as she continued brushing a hoof against him.

"Well," she said, smirking as she went, "Wisp, darling, I think, perhaps, it's time we really got serious about this relationship, isn't it?"
His eyes darted about, moving from her leg up toward her face. Realisation dawned in his eyes.

"Oh" he said, his cheeks suddenly turning pink as he realised what she meant, "yes. Right."
Slowly, he began leaning in toward her. Their lips met, and slowly, the two ponies began to kiss. It was not, by any metric, a great kiss, but neither pony was really caught up in the details at that point. Then, quite suddenly, they stopped.

"What is it?" Shining Sapphire asked, as she saw the look on Wisp's face. She shuffled.
"You know," she said quietly, "we don't have to... we could just..."

Wisp's head shot up, "No, no" he said. "I do. I... I really do."
"You do?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes. I do" he leaned in closer. "I mean, I know... I know I've been stupid about this sort of thing, but... yeah."
Shining Sapphire began to smile, and then he suddenly began to grin.

"I would marry you" he said. Suddenly, she felt like her legs were going to give out. She tried to resist the urge to collapse into an undignified grinning heap.
"I'd marry you" she said back. His eyes darted about the room, and he smirked.

"At least until I saw all the pink in this room."
"Don't joke."

"Sorry" he said quickly. He moved in closer towards her, their noses touching. "But I would marry you. I love you."
"I know" she whispered. They stared into each other's eyes, smiling uncontrollably. Then, their lips pressed together. Had either been noticing, they might have noticed the fact that one of them was beginning to cry.

After several minutes, they stopped, staring at the other.
"So..." Shining Sapphire began, "you're... you're okay, with w-what comes next?"

"I think what comes next is mandatory" he whispered.
After a few seconds they kissed again, and then again, and again.
What happened next... was between them, and them alone.

The next morning, when they were woken up, they were found with their hooves around the other, utterly contented smiles on their faces..