//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Mind Games // Story: Winds of Change // by ClanCrusher //------------------------------// I didn't stop running until I was out of breath. I'd told Celestia I had plans, but the truth was that she'd startled me out of the library before I could even make a checklist. Right now everything was half-formed and- “Got you!” It was the only warning I had before a rainbow blur crashed into me, sending me into the grass nearby as I rolled head over hooves, ending up on my back with the cyan pegasus above me, pinning me to the ground. “Dash, what the heck a-” “Tell me something only Twilight Sparkle would know!” I squirmed beneath her a bit. While not the sheer powerhouse that Applejack was, Rainbow was still far stronger than myself and wasn't about to let me budge an inch. “Dash, Celestia was visiting this morning-” “Tell me the secret I told you that I haven't told anypony else!” she insisted. Oh yeah...that. The words triggered a spell I had set up earlier and the memory came back fresh into my mind. Fighting to keep the color off of my muzzle, I looked around and quickly determined who was within earshot. Rainbow Dash's crash landing had drawn only a few stares and most everypony else was minding their own business. Even so, I decided to lean up and whisper into her ear instead. “This one time at flight camp Gilda managed to sneak in a case of Colt Forty-five...” My voice went lower as I recounted the tale, making sure to hit all of the details she had mentioned to me the night before. Despite her own growing embarrassment, she refused to let me up until I'd recalled every single bit. By the time I was done, Rainbow Dash refused to meet my eyes. “Okay, so you're not a changeling,” she murmured. “Sorry, when I saw you bolt out of the library this morning I might have sorta panicked just a little bit.” Letting out a sigh, I reigned in my annoyance and gave her a smile. “Thanks for looking out for me, Dash,” I said kindly. “Now can you please get off?” “Oh, right.” With an embarrassed chuckle the pegasus helped me to my feet and brushed off the clumps of grass and dirt that had gotten into my mane. “Why were you running, anyways?” “Um...exercise?” I tried, grinning sheepishly. “Man, I think even Applejack could have come up with something better than that,” responded the pegasus with a roll of her eyes. “So what-” “Twilight! There you are, thank goodness!” Approaching at a canter was Rarity. On her back was my assistant, looking as though he'd gorged himself on gemstones. “Spike? What's wrong?” I asked, grateful for the excuse to dodge away from Rainbow's probing gaze. “Unnhh...someone gave your brother my address...” he groaned, burping up a small bit of green flame that contained a shred of paper. “He's been coughing up letters all morning,” said Rarity, concern etched on her face. Her horn lit up as she withdrew a dozen scrolls from her saddlebag, each one bearing the seal of Cadance's empire. “What on Equestria is she so anxious about?” Opening one of the letters at random, I read the first few lines and winced. “I...might not have told them about the agreement Celestia made with Chrysalis and I...might have asked Celestia to keep them in the dark.” I flicked through the other scrolls. They varied from Cadance's well-meaning and earnest worry to Shining Armor's barely restrained rage and brotherly concern. “Hey um...Spike, do you think you could take a letter?” “Nnnhhh...” --- It had taken a backrub, some stomach pills, and a promise of getting a small taste of one of Rarity's astral diamonds, but eventually the young dragon was convinced to send a message. I was meticulous in my response, outlining all of the potential benefits in my attempt to do damage control while at the same time wondering who had told them in the first place. Seconds after the letter was sent, Spike burped up a reply before going upstairs to the bed Rarity had prepared for him. “Well, what does it say?” Groaning, I passed the letter up to Rainbow Dash and placed my head on my hooves. “Cadance said that she was sorry, but she couldn't stop Shiny from taking the first chariot out. He'll be here before noon. I really do not need this right now...” “Really, Twilight, can you blame him for being worried for you? If anypony knows what horrendous things that bug is capable of, it would be him,” said the designer, her horn glowing as she moved mannequins and fabrics aside to clear a space. “The whole point of me doing this is to make sure it doesn't happen to other ponies!” I protested, already making a mental checklist of the things I was going to have to say to my brother to calm him down. “Hey, no need to convince us,” said Rainbow, putting up a placating hoof. “You know we've got your back.” “You really do not need to go through your fifty-three-point checklist again,” added Rarity with a nervous laugh. I winced as I remembered that. My plan at the time had been to get my friends on board with the idea. Unfortunately, it had turned into a heated argument that only ended once I brought up the unpleasant memory of all of them siding against me when I was suspicious of Cadance. Dear Princess Celestia, guilt can be a powerful weapon when wielding it against your friends, and when used with malicious intent, it can get them to go along with the stupidest of ideas. “So...are you gonna tell us what happened?” asked Rainbow Dash finally, breaking the awkward silence. “I mean, if it's not part of the secret agreement or anything.” “I'd rather wait until everypony is here so I only have to go over it once.” “Um...I've been here the whole time.” I nearly jumped from my seat at the sound of the quiet voice from behind the couch. “Gah! Fluttershy? Why didn't you say anything?” “Oh um...I didn't want to disturb anypony,” she murmured, endeavoring to look as small as possible. Post script; as an addendum to my previous letter I would also like to congratulate Fluttershy on being able to weaponize guilt without even trying. “Fluttershy, you know I'm not upset about the wedding. I just...lost my temper.” All I got in response was a meek nod. “Well, I guess that just leaves Applejack.” “Hey, what about me?” Pushing up one of the couch cushions next to me, Pinkie appeared. “There was a seventy-five percent chance you were here already and just waiting to make a dramatic entrance,” I said, not even blinking. “Hmph. Spoilsport.” From the corner of my eye, I saw her discretely bury a ball of confetti in her tail, where it disappeared. Pinkie may not have a horn, but she had her own brand of magic all the same. “Ah'm here too!” came Applejack's voice as the door slammed open. Not breaking her stride for a moment, Rarity was already taking her saddlebags and wiping away the dirt she had tracked in before she'd even caught her breath. It hadn't exactly been the plan to host this get-together at Rarity's shop, but she was a gracious host nonetheless, quickly setting out snacks and refreshments for everyone as I began an abbreviated version of last night's events. “So what sort of questions did she ask? Were they embarrassing?” asked Pinkie partway through, making me stumble in mid-word. “Er...yes...” No one around the table said anything but I could sense everypony's curiosity. “She asked me some personal questions to keep me off-balance, but everything else was completely mundane.” “Ah still can't believe you let her poison ya. Yer playin' with fire doing somethin' like that.” “You know I can't just let this opportunity slide. Chrysalis isn't the only changeling queen around and just because she failed doesn't mean that another queen won't try something similar in the future.” “Hey, um...can we back up for a second?” My head turned upwards to Rainbow Dash, who had a thoughtful look on her face. Wait, no, scratch that. It was thoughtful, but also uncomfortable. “What is it?” Her tone was almost pleading now. “That...sensation you felt when Chrysalis bit you and gave you her venom, could you describe it again?” Blinking in confusion I nodded and repeated my description of the sensations I had felt when Chrysalis had 'bit' me, carefully avoiding any allusions as to how she'd actually given me the poison in the first place. Warm, inviting, and safe was the best way to summarize it. “Why do you ask?” I pressed after I'd finished the explanation a second time. “Look, um...Twilight, I don't wanna sound like I'm making excuses or anything...a-and you were right to be upset with us over the whole Canterlot wedding but...” “But what, Dash?” My annoyance was coming through now. Mulling over the idea, Rainbow Dash finally turned to the other ponies. “Did anypony else feel like that around Cadance when she was...you know...Chrysalis?” My first reaction was to snap at them. I really was in no mood to deal with her excuses, but one look at Rainbow's earnest face stopped me. Maybe she had been taking it the hardest considering her affiliation with loyalty. I held my tongue and looked around at my friends, waiting for their replies. “Ya know...when Cadance...I mean Chrysalis threw away mah food, Ah don't remember even being a little bit annoyed.” Rainbow Dash blinked and fluttered closer. “What do you mean?” “I mean...ah knew...or thought she had a lot on her mind and was trying to spare mah feelings, but ah wasn't even hurt or annoyed that she'd done it. Ah wasn't even disappointed.” “I'm hardly a stranger to clients making outlandish suggestions or requesting bizarre changes to my designs, but usually I can talk them around to my way of thinking. When Cadance...I mean Chrysalis...wanted all of those sudden changes to the entire line of dresses, I didn't even think about debating it with her.” Rarity was looking at the table, fiddling with her cup as she thought back to the incident. I really wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I'd been a witness to all of those incidents and she hadn't used her magic once. Unless I was completely missing something... Fluttershy coughed quietly. It would have gone completely unnoticed if we hadn't been attuned to her quiet signals through two years of friendship. “Um...well, she did shout at one of my birds, but he was singing off-key and...and...” “But was that really a good reason to shout at an animal?” pressed Rainbow Dash. “No...it wasn't,” she murmured, her voice now somewhat dark. Fluttershy seemed upset at the memory and I knew from personal experience that she would have stood up to Celestia herself if she ever thought an animal was being mistreated. I realized that we were still missing one account though. “What about you, Pinkie?” “What? You reacted the same way for the first party I threw for you!” she accused. Okay, I'll give her that point. “Well, looking back on it I can say with certainty that she wasn't an 'absolute gem' in any sense of the word,” said Rarity with a huff. “She didn't present herself any differently from the regular nobility that I deal with.” I sighed inwardly. I really wanted to believe my friends but there was simply no way to be certain that they weren't caught up in hindsight bias. Even so, I chalked up the small mystery as something to discuss with the changeling queen during our next meeting. “I'll look into it,” I said finally, “but I think you're grasping at straws. The only one she was magically influencing at the time was my brother. There's no way she could have done it to all of you without somepony noticing, and I'm pretty sure she didn't bite anypony, either.” “Well, even if it's not true, it might be important to check all the same, yes? What if she's using it to influence you?” That brought me up short. Sure, everything I'd done that night had a logical reason, but had I given in to those practical tests a bit too quickly? Before I could answer, a sudden tingling sensation ran through my body, making all of my fur briefly stand on end. Across from me, Rarity dropped the teacup she was holding, her eyes going wide as it clattered loudly on the plate. “Oh...dear me, what on Equestria was that?” Her hooves were shaking a little bit and there were spots in my eyes. I didn't need to glance out the window or see the pink barrier to know what had just happened, though. “That was Shiny. He just put up a barrier around half of Ponyville.” Briefly my horn glowed and then fizzled. “And he's making sure I can't teleport away either.” --- Flash Sentry stifled a yawn but kept his eyes straight ahead, mentally cursing the stallion who had called in sick this evening. While he didn't hate the night shift, it was remarkably less interesting than the day shifts simply due to the lack of people. During the day, the court was a vibrant mishmash of ponies and creatures from all over. During the night, there was perhaps a brief hour of excitement once the bars closed and little else. Still, at least it allowed him time to think of his one true love, the beautiful unicorn- “Flash!” “Whuzzat?” He shook his mane, drawn out of his reverie by the other guard next to him. “Were you sleeping again?” “What? No! Of course not!” “At least try to look awake! There's somepony approaching! How do you think Luna would-” The other stallion's eyes widened suddenly as the distant figure slowly came into view, color draining from his face. From a distance, and especially in the dark, one might have mistaken her for a pony, but now she was in the courtyard and illuminated by the moon. With no disguise and no changelings at her side, Chrysalis was calmly walking into the courtyard, a smile on her face. There was a tap on his armor. The other guard was giving him a look of sympathy. “Flash, I've really enjoyed our three nights together, but someone has to warn Princess Luna. Don't worry, I'm sure you can deal with Chrysalis on your own.” Minutes later... CRASH! “Oh Celestia mercy!” WHAM! “I surrender!” SLAM! “Uncle!” With another violent crash, Flash Sentry was thrown through the heavy double doors, the wood splintering as the stallion tumbled several times over the floor before landing in a heap. His armor was dented and several burn marks scarred the metal plates. While he appeared to be breathing, his eyes were rolling in their sockets and much of his mane and tail were burnt away. Several bruises were visible along his flank, as if a pony had kicked him repeatedly. With the demeanor of somepony on a nighttime stroll, Chrysalis walked through the new stallion-shaped opening, the green glow of her horn fading slightly as she made sure to step on Flash's stomach on her way in. Her eyes scanned the area and came upon the stallion with the captain's insignia. “I do apologize for my rough treatment of your door guard. There was just something about him that made me want to kick him. Repeatedly.” “Queen Chrysalis,” said the captain levelly, ignoring her comment and the stallion groaning in pain beneath her. “A shield has gone up behind you and you face a squad of a dozen unicorns and twice that many earth ponies in front of you. Princess Luna is also on her way, and Princess Celestia will not be far behind. You have this one and only chance to surrender.” Weapons tensed and a dozen unique magic signatures came to life, every stallion and mare ready to react no matter what move she made. For a single tense moment her jagged horn seemed to glow just a bit brighter before it suddenly winked out. “Very well, I surrender.” Her declaration was met with silence, broken only by the chirping of crickets. “If it's not too much trouble, I'd like for the binding ring to match the shackles. You do have shackles, yes? Well come on now, I am a busy queen,” she said impatiently. Her casual comments finally spurred the stallions into action, magic auras appearing around her body as several guards closed in with their spears raised, bringing forward physical restraints to fasten around her legs. The entire time Chrysalis didn't even so much as flinch, even when one of the spears accidentally poked her. “Halt, foul shifter!” The subsequent crash and the booming voice of princess Luna caused several stallions to panic and a few magical spells to discharge, punching a few holes in the walls and windows. “We demand thy surrender or thou shalt be-” “Princess Luna, Queen Chrysalis has already surrendered,” said the guard captain, interrupting with a polite cough. Luna paused. “Oh.” Drawing in a breath she turned back towards the captive changeling. “Thou art wise to accept defeat. Where art thine armies?” “There are none. I have come alone.” Another pause. “Why?” “Because I've come to offer a deal,” said the queen, shifting in her bonds slightly. “And what do you have to offer?” “Well, for starters, I could reveal the changeling in this room that managed to infiltrate your guard,” said the queen casually. A distracted murmur rose among the stallions, many of them glancing to one another. “Silence!” The talking stopped abruptly. “Thou maketh a bold claim. We hath developed detection methods since thy failed invasion.” “And the changelings have long since adapted to your detection spells,” responded the queen easily. “But I don't expect you to believe me without a practical demonstration.” “Do you think me such a fool that I would allow you the use of magic on our subjects?” snapped the lunar mare. “If you insist on such a farce, then simply explain the magic to us and we shall perform this ourselves!” “Of course, Princess Luna, though it will be useless within the week.” A brief exchange of arcane words followed, most of it lost on the earth ponies but eventually Luna nodded with understanding. “Which of us do you accuse, then?” she asked, her eyes narrowed on the captive queen. “The third stallion on your left who is trying to shy away,” said the queen with a fanged grin. To the credit of the royal guards, this did not prompt an immediate turning of heads, merely a few glances of suspicion. It was the captain who spoke first. “Crimson Mail, step forward,” he barked out, the nervous-looking pony approaching his side. “Princess Luna, I ask that you perform the spell on myself first.” Receiving a nod from Luna, the stallion stepped forward, bowing his head as Luna's horn glowed and the magic washed over him. Aside from a tingling sensation, nothing more occurred. “Harmless,” said the captain with a nod. “Crimson?” The question was left dangling in the air. Luna's eyes glowed as she began the spell once more. He hadn't hesitated when his name was called and he didn't show any signs of being frightened of the test, but there were subtle signs that Luna could see. Short breaths, the slightest tremor of a hoof, a conscious effort to continue blinking normally...she knew even before she cast the spell what was going to happen. Luna's horn glowed. Crimson lunged. There was a flash of azure and the pony went spiraling backwards, crashing into the floor, letting out a very un-pony like hiss as he writhed on the ground, his shape twisting and contorting into a black insectoid until finally it lay still, the hole Luna's attack had made in his carapace catching up with him. “Captain.” The surrounding ponies had been shocked at the sight but a single word from Luna brought them all back to attention. “You will take Queen Chrysalis to our most heavily fortified cell and bind her magic with the most powerful inhibitor you have at your disposal.” The captain snapped off a salute and quickly formed the squad around her. “Chrysalis, are there any more changelings you wish to reveal to us?” asked Luna. The changeling queen merely shook her head. “Not at present.” She was displaying nothing but amusement at the situation. Trying not to let the double-speak bother her, Luna turned back towards the captain. “See to it that no one else comes near Chrysalis' cell save for myself and Celestia. Food will be brought to you, but until we can confirm who is and isn't a changeling, we will take no chances with a change of guard.” Looking around at the rest of the ponies who had stayed behind, Luna gestured to the deceased changeling. “You and you, clean this up.” “Nnnhhh...ugghhh...” “And somepony should take Flash Sentry to the infirmary.” “Do we have to?” came a whine from the remaining guard. Luna looked at the fallen stallion. For some inexplicable reason, the urge to strike him was coming over her but she quickly pushed the feeling down. “Yes, I'm afraid I must insist.” - I shifted uneasily inside the barrier my brother had set up around me. He hadn't talked once as I related the story I'd heard second-hand from Luna, and every few minutes he'd pour more power into the shield to make sure I couldn't escape. My brother didn't have the talent or instinctive skill as I did for magic, but it still ran strong in our family. Even Celestia herself had taken almost fifteen seconds to break through one of his barriers. “Look, will you drop the shield already? I promise I'm not going to run away,” I grumbled. Shining Armor looked impassively at me for a few moments before shaking his head. “Not until you tell me how you got caught up in all of this.” “I already told you, Chrysalis asked for me specifically. That changeling within the guard wasn't just a one-time thing either, she can always find them just by looking. Celestia and Luna keep trying to come up with detection spells, but they just adapt to them within days.” “I get that, but why does this agreement include you specifically and not someone like the court unicorn?” he demanded sullenly. I was running the potential answers through my head and mentally gauging which one would cause the least amount of headache, but short of just throwing the problem at Celestia's hooves I had nothing. Maybe feigning ignorance was best. “I'm not sure. Maybe she just doesn't trust Celestia or Luna.” “Ooh ooh! Maybe it's because she's secretly trying to win you over to the dark side like she did last time when she kidnapped the Cutie Mark Crusaders and wanted to make you into her student!” “Pinkie!” “What? It seems like a good idea to me,” said the party pony innocently. “Something you want to tell me, sis?” came Shining's pleasant voice, the barrier around me glowing with renewed strength. “Wait, you never told him?” Applejack looked between me and my brother and winced. “Now that's just all kinds ah awkward...” “I thought Celestia told you!” I lied, knowing perfectly well that Shining Armor would have dropped all of his duties with the Crystal Empire immediately if there was even a hint of changelings about Canterlot. “No, she didn't! And apparently you didn't think it was even worth mentioning in your weekly letters!” he accused. “I didn't want to worry you! Cadance told me about the problems you were dealing with just trying to bring the crystal empire back into modern times!” From the corner of my eye, I saw Rarity gently ushering my friends out of the room. Mentally I thanked my friend for her quick thinking and her ability to pick up on social cues. “None of that is as important as you, Twilight!” he insisted. “Chrysalis is dangerous. I know that more than anypony! Celestia has no right to ask this of you.” “She didn't ask me to do it, I volunteered!” “And you don't think she might have manipulated you towards that decision?” My retort caught in my throat as I processed that statement. “Twilight...sis...” he continued, his voice a bit more sedate now, “Celestia is a great and powerful ruler...but the safety of the realm and all the ponies therein is always going to be her top priority. It has to be.” His horn glowed with a pink color and the shield winked out. “I'm sorry, Twilight, but I'm not going to have my family get caught up in this again. I'm going to talk with Celestia and Luna.” He was nearly at the door when I finally found my words. “You still have nightmares, don't you?” My brother paused. “What?” “Cadance told me in her letters...you still dream about her sometimes. What it was like to be under her control...how obeying every one of her orders gave you this sense of euphoria...Luna even told me that she's had to destroy several nightmares that were feeding off of you.” This was wrong. I was tearing open an old wound that was probably still haunting him even now. He was right to be worried about Chrysalis...but he was also wrong about this. “Celestia isn't the only one who cares about Equestria, you know, and even if she is manipulating me...” I paused, disliking the taste of that word on my tongue, but I managed to continue, “...it doesn't change the facts of the matter. Chrysalis nearly took over Canterlot in her single attempt and she's not the only changeling queen out there. If we don't find a way to counter their threat once and for all, there's nothing stopping the changelings from trying again ten...or even a hundred years in the future.” His head bowed slightly. I knew I had him beat. Turning around he walked back over to the table and flopped down next to me. “Show me your checklist.” “Huh?” “I know you, Twilight. I want to see the contingency checklist you made just in case Chrysalis goes out of control.” A smile crept its way onto my face as my horn glowed, summoning a scroll from Rarity’s shelf and unrolling it out in front of him. “This is volume one. All my friends have a copy and Pinkie has an emergency checklist hidden Celestia-knows-where just in case I become compromised. And yes, I did account for the possibility that she might find out about these contingency plans through me, and I can guarantee that there's no possible way for her to plan around them.” Shining Armor chuckled, scooting next to me. “I'd hate to be on the receiving end of one of your checklists.” “Even Celestia fears my checklists,” I boasted, giggling as I playfully pushed his hoof away. “So then, are you heading back?” “Not just yet. While I'm here, I may as well deliver my status reports on the Crystal Empire to Celestia in person and you...” His horn glowed and suddenly the shield reformed around us, “...still have to tell me about Chrysalis' second attempted takeover.” “Come on, Shiny, I just managed to talk you out of storming Canterlot,” I said with exasperation. Glancing at his face I realized that I wasn't going to get anywhere with him on this point. “I could probably break out of this shield if I really put my magic to it.” “And just how much magic can you summon while your big brother is exploiting all of those hidden ticklish spots of yours?” he responded smoothly. “You wouldn't dare...” “Oh, I'd dare. Now start talking.” Grumbling a few muttered death threats, I relaxed against his side and began recounting the tale of Queen Chrysalis' return.