//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Idyllic // by lollipopchica //------------------------------// Chrysalis' words had taunted him all week. 'Ask your sister... Twilight was there... Twilight. Was. There.' It seemed his baby sister had all the answers to everything lately. It ate at Shining Armor to know that something was well within his grasp and yet he couldn't have it. It was that line of thinking that pushed him to show up in his sister's small town of Ponyville, unannounced, with an overwhelming need to know things she'd never spoke of. He stared at the door wondering about what he was doing when he just decided to knock. When Twilight finally answered his incessant knocking, Shining Armor walked in without a 'hello.' "Shining... Armor? What're you doing here?" Her confusion was justified as her brother seemed a little irrational at the moment. His normally stoic demeanor was replaced with an anxiousness that kept him in constant motion. "I need... I need to talk to you about something." He said, trying to gather his thoughts. "You're scaring me," Twilight followed his pacing movements with a furrowed brow. "What's going on?" "Do... you remember the year I lost?" She nodded not quite understanding. "Who was Chrystal, Twilight?" He could tell by the sparkle of recognition in her eyes that she knew what was talking about. "You... remember now?" "Did she favor… Did she look like Queen Chrysalis to you?" Twilight’s thoughts went haywire as his question clicked into place. She shook her head as she took a step back. "No... they're not... she wasn't... Wait! Why does it matter? Chrysalis is gone." Her conviction grew as she noticed the odd look on his maw. If Twilight never wondered about the uncanny resemblance between the changeling queen and her brother's deceased girlfriend, she did now. "She's gone- You and Cadance defeated her!" She could tell by the guilty look on his face that maybe the changeling queen wasn't as far away as the population believed. "She's... not? I-is she here... in Equestria?" "Twilight... it's not what it sounds like." "Then what the hell is it? What is she- a pet or something?!" "Watch your mouth!" Shining Armor growled from a mix of frustration and some other long forgotten emotion he desperately wanted to ignore. Twilight jerked back, taken back by his defense of the mare. "You've been keeping secrets," She accused with narrowed eyes. "I've been keeping secrets?!" His offense made her shake her head as she felt the conversation moving into darker waters. "I'm not talking about this with you!" She left the main room of her home, hoping he wouldn't follow. "Twiley!" She wasn't going to get away that easy, thought the older Sparkle as he gave chase. "I don’t want to talk about this!" Twilight's voice raised. "So it's true." "No… Whatever she said-" She couldn't believe the changeling was still around. "She’s lying." Indigo eyes were narrowed before they turned pleading as the mare turned to reason with the stallion from her bedroom door. "Cadance loves you, Shining Armor. She’s always loved you and now the two of you finally have the chance you should’ve had all those years ago. Don’t let what Chrysalis said get to you. You’ve finally found the perfect mare and you guys are going to have the perfect family. Please, big brother, I’m begging you to let this go. It’s not… she was never worth it." The purple mare gave him once last meaningful glance before quickly shutting her room door and locking it. Shining Armor tensed his jaw as he stood there staring at the locked door. With a snarl he swiped at the door before just leaving altogether. That night Twilight fell into a fitful sleep as she thought of things long forgotten. Loki and Prada had always been mean spirited foals. And that day the two had caught her alone stealing her newest book, keeping it away from her as she hopelessly grabbed for it. The younger filly had been so upset tears were ready to spill from her eyes. Just as she was about to hex the two sideways, her book was magically snatched from the two as an impatient looking mare had walked up on the trio without them even knowing. "Now that's not very nice," The older mare had tsk’ed with the promise of something wicked shining in her bright green eyes. Loki and Prada were immediately weary as they took in the sight of coal the colored mare. “We… we… were just messing around, right, Twilight?” Twilight glared at the two as she tensed her jaw. “Well… do you mind if I join? I’m really good with hexes too. Maybe I could show you some.” Chrystal’s eyes flashed with malice. The two stumbled backwards a bit. “Nevermind. We were finished anyway.” “Sure?” The older mare cooed. "Yeah... Whatever." They stuttered as they quickly stumbled off. “I could’ve handled that you know…” Twilight stated angrily. “I know.” Chrystal had shrugged and gave her her book once she was close enough. “Where’s my brother?” Twilight managed as she wiped furiously at her eyes, cursing the two schoolyard bullies. She heard the older sigh and it pulled her out of whatever funk she was. “Chrystal, is he alright?” She asked her concern completely on her B.B.B.F.F. “I think he needs a visit from his favorite girl.” The two began to walk away from the small schoolhouse. “You’ll help him won’t you?” “You have my word that I’ll try my hardest Twilight.” Chrystal's expression darkened if only for a second. “I’m holding you to that.” Twilight said as she stared up at the taller mare. “Good.” She gave a timid smile. “Let’s get you to Delia’s. Cadance’ll take you home.” “You really care about him, don’t you?” She asked after a while. “Yes…" She admitted with a blush. "He’s the only pony I don’t have to prove anything to.” "Well... see you later Chrystal.” The two had arrived to the bakery. “Goodbye Twilight.” A week later she was told by her parents that the dark colored mare had died in a train wreck and that her brother couldn’t remember anything from that year. The family played along but Shining Armor never did recover his memory and in time Twilight forgot the whole thing. The harmony holder of magic stared out into the distance as she lay awake in bed. Tears fell from her eyes as she realized how messed up her brother's situation was. He 'had' loved Chrystal. And Chrystal had loved him. *-*-*-*-* "Princess Cadance is right. We have to make sure something is done about this!" Two ponies sat at the bar of a coffee shop. Deb was a sky blue pony with a gold and blue streaked mane who was still impassioned by the Princess' earlier assurances days ago. 'And here she goes...' Flo stared at her hooves with a bored expression as her sister was always ranting on about something. A violet colored mare with a gold colored mane tied up in a ponytail, her lilac eyes were always rather impassive. "You don’t trust Princess Celestia?" She picked up another newspaper listing scanning its content for job offerings. "I trust her to be too forgiving." Deb tossed her blue streaked mane over her shoulder as she scribbled angrily on her parchment paper narrowing her grey eyes. "Celestia's a politician and politicians like to lie when it's convenient for them." "Cadance is a public official too... How do we know she doesn't have her own agenda?" Deb groaned as she face planted into the table. "You've got to be kidding me! How did I get pegged with such a rube?" Deb picked her head up and continued her scribbling. "Cadance is too ‘nice’ to have an agenda." Flo snorted, "As if you're any better. You make it sound like compassion is a crime." "When it absolves a person from their own crimes, yes it is." "What about delirium? Narcissism or delusions of grandeur?" Deb shot her sister a nasty glare causing the other to snicker as she abandoned her current paper for a new one. "What're you going to do, then?" "Oh it’s not me who'll be doing anything." Laughed the older. "Oh no, no, no, no!" Came Flo's disapproving tone as she actually looked up at her sister for this. "There's no way I'm getting roped into another one of your schemes." Deb huffed as her sister shut her down before she even had time to propose a plan. "Freakin' rube..." She muttered. "You're supposed to be helping me find a job, remember?" "Yeah... yeah... Here's your stupid résumé." Deb finally dropped her pen and slid the parchment over to her sister. 'Not bad,' she thought as she looked over the paper. *-*-*-*-* Integrating back into changeling society had proved challenging for the two mares. Life was not as it once was, and rebuilding was tiring on both the mind and the body. The two had taken on new titles as there were only few nobles left. Kahn was the new pony in charge here, and his priorities were not with their old way of life at all. Right now, he was concerned with survival and it had turned the once sociable stallion into something like a tyrant. Jedzia and Kirai had been trying to meet with him for a week, now it seemed he'd finally found the time to hear what they had to say. As predicted, he was against the idea whole-heartedly. "I'm glad you made it," he locked eyes with Kirai. "Really I am, but I can't help you with what you're asking." Jedzia stepped up behind the pony who'd been like a sister to her. Never had she seen Kirai so intent on something. Usually Kirai was levelheaded but lately, she'd been all fire and determination. "We can barely fend for ourselves now. How can this be better than we were? We are nothing now... ordinary, unimpressive." "We may be different now, but that doesn’t make us weak." Kirai stated angrily. "We have to go back and get our Queen." "We don’t need her anymore…" Spoke the angry stallion. "She did this to herself. To all of us.” “We were all changelings once upon a time. For most of her life she's looked after us. We owe it to her. You may not agree with the change, but she's given us the one thing none of us has ever had.” “And what is that?” “The power to choose. We may be unimpressive, but we finally get to say how we'll spend our lives for better or worse. She's given up everything that made this empire so that we can experience life as free ponies no longer bound by magic or love. Surely, that means something to you. Or are you truly an obstinate, ingrate lost in his own cesspool of self-righteous pity?” Jedzia blinked, shocked, and amused, by her friend’s words. “And just how do you expect us to get her back?” Kirai had a way with words and as her husband Kahn fell for them every time. “Who could we save like this? We're in no shape to fight Celestia's army.” “No... but who says we have to do anything like that?” “What?” “Kikyo!” A white mare, with a brilliant red mane and dark eyes, came to mind. “She still communicates with the beasts of the mountains, does she not?” Kahn narrowed his eyes as he was slowly beginning to trail her thinking. "And your point?” He prompted wary at what she was hinting. "My point is who says we have to initiate anything...."