//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Unwelcome Changes 
// by Blinky 
//------------------------------//

Twilight and Luna were circling the office building. Every door inside was locked, so they had to find another way to get further inside. The dilapidated building only had two entrances and few windows. The two arrived at the back door. Twilight pushed and pulled the small door, but it was locked tight. Luna tried to unlock it with her magic, but the door resisted. The lock had an anti-magic barrier around it, just like all the other doors in the building. Rose must have prepared them to secure the building. They had to find some way inside, before the paper would be printed. The sun had already gone down, there was no time for detailed plans. If the doors wouldn't let them in, they'd have to go through the windows.

The two walked next to the closest window. The wide window was located at the near the end of the building. As expected, it was locked and reinforced with the same barrier. The glass was fairly thin and it wasn't reinforced at all.

“Could you break this window with your magic?” Twilight asked Luna.

“A princess breaking in like a common thief... What would my loyal subjects think?” Luna said and shook her head.

“Not much in this dimension. Just break it, nopony will ever know.” Twilight said impatiently. Luna frowned, but backed away from the window with Twilight anyway. Standing a couple of steps away from the window, her horn began to glow. The glass began to glow white, with a magical aura flowing around it. The glow grew in intensity, until the glass shattered in pieces. The room behind the window was dark, with nothing visible from the distance.

“Good job! I'll go see what's inside.” Twilight said and walked towards the window. While peering inside, something shiny at the other side of the large room caught her eye. There was something sticking out of the wall, with three shiny blades in it. As Twilight put up her hooves on the windowsill, the blades suddenly launched towards her. Twilight reflexively ducked before they flew past her.

“Watch out!” Twilight yelled at Luna. She quickly ducked as the blades flew over her. The blades kept going, until they hit the wall of the nearby house. Only the metal grips were visible from the wall.

“That was close. Those blades would have pierced our skin if we hadn't dodged them in time. It seems Rose was also prepared for us to break through the window.” Luna said.

“Thank Celestia nopony was hurt. I'll check for more traps, I'll let you know if it's safe.” Twilight said. Twilight hopped through the window, while Luna waited a couple of steps away. Twilight carefully looked around in the room. The lights were off, so most of the room was shrouded in darkness. Nothing shiny anywhere, that must've been the only blade trap. Twilight flipped the light switch near the window, but nothing happened. Great, the lights must be broken. Magic was needed to light up the room. Twilight motioned Luna to come inside. She sprinted towards the window and hopped inside.

Luna’s magical ball of light lit up the room. The bright light that followed Twilight allowed her to see the entire room. A large machine took up most of the space in the room. It went all the way to the ceiling, with a chimney reaching outside. It was an old steam-powered printing press. It must’ve been what caused all of the events. There had to be some way to destroy it and prevent it from doing more damage.

“It's awfully big. Could you try to destroy it with your magic?” Twilight asked. Luna nodded in response. Her horn began to glow as she concentrated her magical powers. The ball of light flew higher. It grew in size and became harder, resembling a huge wrecking ball. It flung towards the printing press. An orange barrier became visible in front of the machine. It absorbed the power of the impact, leaving the printing press unharmed. Luna flung the ball again, putting all of her power into it. The ball flew at the machine at an unnatural speed, but it did no damage at all. Her face full of frustration, Luna stopped casting the spell. The ball of light turned back to normal.

“It's no use, the barrier's too large! I can't break it on my own!” Luna said. If only Twilight could help her. Why did her talent have to fail her when she needed it the most? She tried casting a spell, but all she got was a jolt of sharp pain in her head. It made her even more annoyed. She needed to let out her frustration. Twilight ran towards the printing press.

“Stupid machine!” Twilight said and kicked it. The collision caused the cover of the machine to fall off, leaving the mechanical parts exposed. Twilight was dumbfounded. Her anger had proven more useful than she expected.

“Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones.” Luna said and giggled. She walked next to Twilight and peered inside the machine. She put her head inside and looked around. She soon withdrew her head and looked at Twilight with a surprised expression.

“The artifact's inside! I know what it is, it's called a dremer! I had no idea it was in the vault, it must have been put there during my absence. It created this dimension as a duplicate of our own and modified it based on the words it read. Everything in this dimension is as real as in our dimension, even if it is artificially created. This dimension will vanish if we destroy it. It's the only way we can escape!” Luna said. She reached inside the machine, trying to get a grip on the artifact.

“Not so fast!” A voice from above said. A whizzing sound came from the center of the room. Twilight and Luna were drawn towards it against their will. Twilight struggled to resist it, but the draw was too strong. She was forcibly pulled to the center of the room, where she hit Luna's flank. The two were stuck next to each other by an unseen force.

“Take that!” The voice said. Twilight looked up to see Rose looking out of a window in the ceiling. She threw an orange item that was shaped like a spray bottle. It landed close to where the two were stuck. It blew up, forming an orange barrier around the blast.

“Gotcha!” Rose said. She jumped from the window to the top of the machine. She hopped from one platform to another, wearing her reporter's bag. Her movements were swift as she made her way towards the floor.

“A magical magnet and a barrier grenade, how dirty. I can break them, but it'll take a moment.” Luna said. She concentrated as her horn began to glow. The magnet’s draw began to slowly weaken.

“What is she, an ace ninja?” Twilight said.

“I wanted to be a ninja reporter, but I deserve the title of a ninja master! I am the master of my dream! As the ruler of this dream, I will judge you for your crimes! I declare you guilty of resisting your master! Your punishment will now be executed!” Rose cackled and pulled the large switch on the side of the machine.

The machine made awfully loud noises as its cogs began to turn. With the barrier blocking their magic from reaching outside, the two could do nothing but watch as the printing press activated. The first sheet of paper reached the part that printed words. The eyes of the flickering artifact stared at the words as the headline was printed. The flickering grew in intensity as it read the words. Once the sheet of paper was filled, the artifact began shaking.

Flames. Flames everywhere. In the blink of an eye, the entire building had begun to burn. The change happened immediately, as if it had always been that way. The temperature rose to match the situation. Going from pleasant coolness to extreme heat in under a second was suffocating.

“What did you do, you maniac?!” Twilight yelled.

“I laid my judgment upon you sinners. You will be burned by the flames of justice. Screaming in vain, the sinners will die alone. Your master has abandoned you. That will be the end of your nightmare. Today's headline: Factory Building Burns in Invincible Flames. Farewell, my little ponies!” Rose laughed madly as she took the artifact, stuffing it into her bag. She skillfully jumped towards the ceiling window, landing at the areas the flames didn't touch. Despite the raging fire in the room, she managed to hop out of the building unharmed.

“That fool doesn't realize what she's done. The dremer takes commands literally. Those flames cannot be extinguished by any means. They will spread until the entire Ponyville will burn down.” Luna said, frowning. The flames were spreading around the building. They had formed a circle around the two, slowly closing in on them. The roof was on fire, with burning planks falling down. With a crackle, the magnet broke down.

“Get on my back, we'll fly outside!” Luna ordered. Twilight quickly got up on Luna's back, firmly gripping her with her hooves. Luna spread her wings and flew up in the air. She flew towards the ceiling, skillfully dodging the burning planks on the way. Twilight held on tight and hoped for the best. Luna reached the cloud of smoke that had formed in the ceiling. Using the ball of light to light up a way, she spotted a hole in the ceiling. The two held their breaths as Luna dashed towards the hole.

The two had escaped the building, floating in the sky. Twilight took a deep breath. The night air felt so fresh, as the cool wind blew on their manes. Luna scanned the rooftops around them, until she spotted a pony. Rose was sitting on the roof of a house next to the burning building, watching it burn as she laughed to herself. Luna dashed towards her.

Rose flinched as she looked up at Luna. She ran away, hopping onto the next rooftop. Luna chased her as she hopped from one rooftop to another. Behind them, the grass around the building had lit on fire, causing the flames to spread everywhere. The residents of Ponyville had taken notice, struggling in vain to put out the flames. The screaming woke up the entire village, filling the streets with ponies running around in panic.

Rose jumped from one building to another in an irregular pattern, trying to lose her chasers. Luna did her best to keep up, but Rose ran slightly faster than she could fly. On top of everything, a flight eater had also appeared. Luna had to take a detour on her flight path to avoid it. The demon watch were unaffected by the panic, concentrating on fighting the demon. Twilight caught Rainbow Dash's eye as she flew past her. Dash followed the two, flying next to Luna.

“What's up? Why are you flying around?” Dash asked.

“We have to catch Rose! She's the one who started the fire!” Twilight said.

“Really? I'll take you word for it. I'll make catching her our top priority once the demon's dead. We'll calm down the crowd and get them to fight against her. The demon watch is on your side, we'll do our best to help you!” Dash said and flew away.

After a long chase, the fire raged everywhere around the two. Rose was struggling to find rooftops to jump on, as most of them were already on fire. The only one she could jump onto was Colgate's, which had been repainted recently. Rose's hooves caught paint on them, causing her to leave blue hoofprints behind. Rose was forced to get back on the ground. She ran on the streets, trying to get onto alleyways. Many of them were blocked by ponies standing in the way. They had followed the hoofprints, using them to see where Rose had gone. Rose desperately tried to find places to run onto, but ponies from all around her were closing in on her. She had little choice in places to run to, causing her to pick the only way that was open to her. The ponies blocked every street she tried to turn onto, forcing her to run out of Ponyville.

Rose refused to give up. She ran towards the Everfree Forest, with hundreds of ponies chasing her. At last, she was pushed against the end of the dimension. With her back against the wall, she breathed heavily as sweat dripped down her face. Everypony in Ponyville surrounded her, glaring at her. Twilight hopped off Luna's back in front of the crowd and looked at the nervously laughing Rose.

“C-come on. I didn't mean any harm. Let me go and I'll write you into paradise.” Rose begged. She took the artifact out of the bag and put it on the ground. She hastily dug back into her bag. “Pen, pen. Where's my pen? I can't find it! Anypony have a pen? Anypony?” Everypony simply kept glaring at Rose. Twilight stepped forward from the crowd.

“You're wasting your time. Nopony is going to trust you after what you did.” Twilight said as she walked towards the artifact. “Your dream ends now!” Twilight stomped on the artifact, breaking it into half.

The dimension began to warp. Everything around them was mangled into unnatural shapes, flashing in wild colors. Sounds abruptly ended and began, forming a cacophony that hurt Twilight's ears. Everything stopped making sense in the broken dimension. What had once been a convincing clone of Ponyville was now a surreal mix of sights and sounds lacking any reason. In this broken dimension, only Twilight, Luna and Rose remained the same. Rose was shaking in the corner, with her eyes firmly closed. Luna looked at Twilight confidently and nodded. Twilight smirked and nodded back at her. Twilight kept stomping the artifact over and over. With each stomp, a shrill sound grew louder. The randomly varying shapes slowed down in intensity. Twilight stomped on the small remains of the artifact, until it was completely destroyed. A cracking sound played as the shapes vanished.

A beautiful scenery appeared around Twilight. It was the outskirts of the Ponyville she knew and loved. The silence was so calming. Twilight admired the peaceful night in the distant Ponyville. The nightmare had finally ended.

“Looks like we made it back in one piece. I'm so glad we got out of that mess.” Twilight said and breathed a sigh of relief.

“So am I. I'll make sure she doesn’t get away.” Luna said, looking at the pony lying still on the ground.

Rose had hit her head and lost consciousness when the wall behind her had suddenly disappeared. Luna sealed her in a bubble with her magic. Even if she woke up, she wouldn't be able to get anywhere. Rose silently floated in the bubble.

“Is everything okay? Does your head still hurt?” Luna asked, looking slightly worried.

“I'm fine, just a bit tired. My horn still doesn't work, but don't worry about that. It's happened before, I just overused it. It'll heal within a week.” Twilight said.

“That's good. That dremer won't harm anypony anymore.” Luna said while pointing at the pile of junk drenched in goo. “The design is so complicated that it's impossible to reassemble it when it's in that state. I'll take it with me and dispose of it just in case.” Luna made another bubble for the junk and floated it beside her.

“You're going to take Rose with you too, right? What will her punishment be?” Twilight said.

“Celestia has the final say on that. I'll explain the whole incident to her and see what she thinks. Considering what she did to us, I can't imagine she'll get anything less than a life sentence in prison.” Luna said. There was a hint of resentment in her usually calm expression.

“That's what I thought. The Flower isn't going to survive without her. Honestly, I think it's for the best. Their motivations were always wrong. Being a reporter is about informing the public, not about becoming a celebrity. They chose the wrong career for that.” Twilight said.

“I agree. I'll head over to the castle. It was a pleasure getting to know you, although I wish it had been under better circumstances. Goodbye!” Luna said and flew towards Canterlot, with the bubbles following her. Twilight waved at her as she left. Luna flashed a smile at her before disappearing into the starry sky.

A quiet walk in the night. Such a simple thing felt very pleasant. For the first time in a week, there was no rush to get anywhere. Admiring the scenery, Twilight strolled towards Ponyville. It looked exactly the same as yesterday, yet it felt very different. It made her feel comfortable, as if this was where she truly belonged. It was the very definition of home.

In the distance, two ponies were looking around. One pink, one yellow. They soon saw Twilight and ran towards her.

The first one was Pinkie Pie. The wingless pony had a wide smile on her face.

The other one was Fluttershy. Clearly in the shape of a pony, her eyes shone brightly.

The ponies tackled Twilight into a hug. They snuggled her, making Twilight feel warm all over. Seeing their familiar faces was very comforting. Twilight was so glad that she had returned. The life she wanted to return to was right here. No imitation could ever match her love for reality.

“We finally found you! I missed you so much!” Pinkie said.

“Me too. I was so worried about you.” Fluttershy said.

“I'm glad to see you two again. Promise me you'll never change. I love you just the way you are!” Twilight said.

“Sure thing! Where were you? We've been looking for you all week!” Pinkie said.

“Let's just say I was having a nightmare. No need to worry, I'm alright.” Twilight said.

“Great! We haven't been able to sleep since you disappeared. Good thing we decided to look for you tonight!” Pinkie said.

“How's Spike? Is he okay?” Twilight said.

“Oh, yes. I took care of him while you were gone. He's sleeping in my house.” Fluttershy said.

“Thank you so much!” Twilight said. Everything really was the way it used to be. Overwhelmed with emotion, happy tears began to slowly drip down Twilight’s face. She was so relieved to be back in her normal life.

“It's okay, just let it all out. I don't know what happened, but you're safe with us.” Fluttershy said as she stroked Twilight's head.

“We have to let everypony know you're alright. I know! Let's have a party tomorrow! I'll send invitations to everypony in Ponyville. They'll be so happy to see you there!” Pinkie said, bouncing in excitement.

“That sounds wonderful. Twilight needs some rest first, so let's let her go to bed. I'll help Pinkie with the preparations, see you tomorrow!” Fluttershy said.

Twilight nodded and went to the library. It was so nice to return to her real home. It may have looked the same, but the atmosphere was much more pleasant. Twilight got into her bed. It felt so comfortable on her back. Tomorrow, she would meet all of her friends again. The real ones she had missed so much. Twilight pulled the sheet over her and fell asleep.