//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: Warped Mind // by TheUnknownPerson //------------------------------// Six Hours Later Bang Twilight Sparkle's eyes jerked open as the loud noise filled the room. Her heart raced as she immediately lifted her head and looked around the room. What was that?! She scanned around the room, looking for who or whatever had caused the sound. Horseapples... wait-Twilight leaned down, seeing the textbook laying atop of her notebook and quill. She sighed with relief, giggling. Silly. Just a book, Twi'. She picked up the book and textbook, sitting it down in front of her. What time is it? Twilight yawned. She stood, stretching her hooves and wings. The ashes from the previous night's experiments laid at her side, on the table. They had been scattered from her stirring in her sleep. Twilight trotted to the door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway. She trotted down the hallway sluggishly, looking around for any sigh of another pony or crystal pony. There were a few servants passing by, and there were two guards standing at the end of the hall with spears at the ready. I should go check on Spike, then I'll get back to research. Twilight trotted down the hallway and turned to left, towards the entrance to her room. She opened the door and trotted inside. "Hey, Spike-?" Spike was sitting on the bed. He had black bags under his half-closed eyes. "Oh, hey-" Spike stopped in the middle of his sentence to yawn. "-how has the research been coming?" He finished, his speech slow and slurred. "Have you been up all night?" Twilight questioned. Spike let out another tired yawn as he rubbed his eyes. "Yeah..." "Why?" Twilight asked. Spike winced, almost as if she was bracing for her to scold him "I-I've been worried about you, It's been two days since Shining Armor and Cadance... left. You've been constantly researching for the last two days. You haven't even stopped to e-eat." "You don't understand Spike- I can't stop researching. I've got to keep looking for them and the counterspell. Now, you get some sleep before you pass out." Twilight's horn emitted her magical aura, lifting the sheets up to Spike's chest. Spike, too tired to argue, rolled onto his right shoulder Twilight trotted over Spike and lifted his head. She pushed a small pillow under his head and gently rested his head comfortably atop of the pillow. "Twilight, before you go, please promise me something." "What, Spike?" "Please, before you go back to your research, get something to eat or something. Spend time with AJ or Fluttershy." Twilight nodded with a smile. "I will. Now sleep well. I'll see you later." Twilight quietly as she stepped out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her. --- Shining Armor trotted beside Taltra, down the hallway. The early morning snow pelted against the ceiling droned as she lead him down the hall. "To be honest with you, I'm surprised Queen Chrysalis is allowing you to join her in her briefing room so early. Took me years to get a peek in there." Taltra said with a smile. "You should be grateful." "I'll thank her afterwords." "As you should." She trotted passed him. "I feel that you should know that many of the changelings in that room will not like your presence in that meeting. Please, for your safety, and the safety of others, you shouldn't speak unless spoken to." Taltra whispered as she rested her left fore-hoof on the door and glanced to him. "I'll make sure I'm careful." Shining whispered as voices leaked through the cracks in the door. Taltra nodded and pushed the door open. Shining felt all eyes on him as he and Taltra entered. There was a large, rectangular table, with Queen Chrysalis sitting at the head atop a throne. There were three seats at each side of the table, and another empty one at the foot of the table. All at the side were filled except one, at the foot of the table. "Ah, Taltra, Shining Armor. Please take your seats and we will begin." Queen Chrysalis motioned for him to come over. Taltra trotted to the foot and sat down in the unoccupied chair. Shining cautiously trotted over to the empty chair at the right and sat.. "Now, let's begin. What is the status report on the prisoners?" "The disposal rooms are at maximum capacity, your highness." The disposal rooms? Are those... no. They couldn't be. "Ah, excellent. Any word from the search teams, commander?" Queen Chrysalis turned her head towards the changeling to the right of Shining. "No, your majesty. I will keep you posted if I hear anything." "Good. How many crystal ponies' love do we still have to feed on, Taltra?" "Last count was taken yesterday. We have the equivalent of 200 crystal ponies that still have their love left, your highness." They've sucked the love out of 200 hundred ponies? How many more do they have- oh no! The screams! Shining glanced away, recalling the screams from the previous night. So many crystal ponies in pain... no. It's for my queen. He turned back to her, inhaling a deep breath. "Have prisoners transported to the disposal rooms so we may excess love. We'll need more if we're going to capture the Crystal Empire." The disposal rooms again? And ponies being sent there to create love? What the hay... "Commander, refresh my memory, if you would. How many drones are being trained this week?" "3,000, your highness." The changeling to the right of Shining said. Shining's eyes widened. "Good. How many of those have been reserved for the attack?" The attack? Where? Are they going to attack the Crystal Empire? Or Canterlot? "2,000, your highness." 2,000?! I need get out of here and warn Twilight, Princess Celestia, somepony! I... I need to... I... Shining willed himself to speak; to shoot up out of his chair and pronounce his loyalty to the Crystal Empire and Princess Celestia, but his will was immediately quelled by Queen Chrysalis' spell. "Good. I think that about finished it for this conference. A quite short one, but oh well. Any questions?" No changeling or pony spoke. "Good. You all are dismissed. Be on your way back to your post." "Yes, your highness." One by one, each changeling around him began to rise from their seats and trot behind him. As the last couple of changeling passed by, the tension around Shining slowly began to quell. Until suddenly he felt somepony grab his mane and tug up on it. "Listen, you pony. I'm going to speak in your language so this is made perfectly clear." It put it's hoof around Shining's neck, tightening over his windpipe. "If you do one thing to harm this kingdom, I will personally end your life." The changeling whispered. Shining grabbed the hoof holding his mane and prepared to retaliate, but stopped once he heard a loud snap echo around the room. "Commander Renla, you shall release Shining Armor." "But, your highness--" "Now. That is an order." Queen Chrysalis' voice took on a stern tone. Renla, although reluctantly, followed her orders and released Shining. Shining let go of his hoof wiped down his mane. "Shining Armor is no longer a threat. Now, return to your post immediately. We'll speak about this later." Queen Chrysalis said. Renla trotted away from Shining and out of the room, growling. Shining looked up, seeing Taltra. Her face was twisted into shock, almost feaar. She was taken aback; her eyes were slightly widen and her mouth was slightly ajar. Shining directed his attention to Queen Chrysalis. She appeared to be perfectly calm, as if it was a normal occurrence. "I apologize for the behavior of Commander Renla. He and I shall speak of this later." Queen Chrysalis rose from the throne and trotted over to Taltra. "Taltra, schedule a session between Renla and I tomorrow." Taltra stood still, frozen- almost petrified if she weren't trembling. Queen Chrysalis cleared her throat. "Taltra." She said lowered, and in a slightly stern tone. "Huh- oh, of- of course, your highness." Her voice trembling. "Now, I have more duties to attend to. Lead Shining Armor back to his residence and then return to your post." Queen Chrysalis said. She trotted out of the door and away from Taltra and Shining. "I-I apologize. I knew that there'd be some tension, and that they'd be very unwelcoming, but I didn't think that Renla would actually attempt to attack you." "It's fine." Shining said, unwilling to speak. "I'll lead you back to your room. Just please, let's hurry..." Taltra trotted over to door and paused, waiting for Shining. Shining trotted up to her and out of the room. --- "Humhmmhmm..." My ears perked up as I slowly awoke. Is somepony humming? I opened my right eye as the humming droned on. I lifted my hoof to wipe my eyes, and the humming stopped. "Rocky?" Blooming whispered close to me. I wiped my eyes as I sat up, opening them both. Blooming was sitting on the floor in front of the door leading to the outside. Her face and body were bathed in the morning sunlight, as well as the floor beneath her. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." Blooming stood, sitting down a piece of paper with some sort of drawing on it. She turned to me. "No- it's all right. I needed to get up anyway." I stood, stretching my hooves. "How long have you been awake?" "An hour. Maybe two." Blooming glanced back down at the ground behind her. I noticed that there was some white, rectangular thing sticking out from behind her. "What's that?" I pointed to the object. Blooming's cheeks turned a dark shade of pink as she looked back at the object. "It's some paper. I knew I shouldn't have t-taken it out without telling you, b-but I got really bored and..." "It's all right, Blooming. Your secret's safe with me. What have you been doing with them?" "Well... I-I went through the different rooms and found a couple of pencils. So, I started drawing. I-I'm sorry if I did anything wrong." Oh- I should look through them too. See if she missed anything important. "You aren't in trouble. Go back to drawing, if you want." I stood up and trotted to the wooden door on the right. "Have you been into this room yet, Blooming?" I asked as I put my left fore-hoof on the doorknob. She had already picked up the piece of paper and had returned to her drawing. She glanced up to me for a moment. "Mmhm. That's where I found the pencils. I couldn't get into the other one. It smells bad in there, so be careful." Blooming warned. I nodded as I pulled the door open. A putrid smell immediately filled my nostrils. I pulled out of the room, turning away. "Warned you." Blooming giggled. I chuckled. before holding my breath. Horseapples, that smell... I hope nothing's dead in there... I let my stomach settle before I looked back up at the room, trying the find the source of the foul smell. The only source of light was a broken window that was above a small, foal sized bed that had a torn pillow in the middle and faded blue sheets covering the mattress. I trotted into the room, looking at the moldy wooden boards and small pieces of chipped away wood from the ceiling, allowing small beams of light to pass through. Where do I start? I stepped to the side of the bed gently, making sure that I was't stepping on any sharp objects or broken pieces of wood. My fore-hooves rested on the bed for a moment, feeling the soft fabric. I gripped the fabric and pulled it off on the bed, letting it fall to the ground beside me. Under the sheet was the white mattress. It had a faded yellow stain in the middle and had three or for drips of something red at the top. I couldn't tell if it was blood or not, with it already being dried, but I hope that what I think happened to the ponies that were previously here didn't happen. I grabbed the bottom of the mattress and lifted it off of the bed. The sunlight was blocked out by the mattress, so I pushed it over to the other side. I looked down at the old, worn down bed frame. There were eight boards under the bed; two of them in the middle were broken. I noticed that there was something being covered by the boards. A small notebook by the look of it. I grabbed the boards and moved them away, picking up the notebook. It had a small lightning bolt in the middle with a small lock on the side that prevented me from opening it without the key. Strange... a journal, maybe? I sat the book down at the side as I stepped out. As I directed my gaze back to the room, I noticed that it seemed like there was nothing inside. I'll get Lance next time to see if she can help me next time. I looked back over Lance. Her hind-hooves were propped up on the edge of the couch, and her fore-hooves were at the top of the couch, and her head was resting atop of them. She snored quietly while she slept. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Blooming, happily drawing. --- Twilight trotted into the dining room, a mare servant at her side. The room had one large, round table in the center. Large enough to fit six chairs around the table. A specially made fabric covered the crystalline table, spread across the table like snowflakes. The fabric draped over the ends of the table for a few inches before cutting off at the arms of the chairs. There was a door at the middle of the room, behind the right side of the table. To Twilight's surprise, Applejack was sitting at one of the chairs at the bottom of the table, eating something out of a bowl. "What would you like for a meal, your highness?" The servant beside Twilight asked, her purple covering half of her face. Her words caused Twilight to shift her attention from Applejack to the servant. "Oh, just some oats and nuts with a glass of water." "Right away, your highness." The servant hastily trotted to the door and opened it, entering and shutting it behind her. Applejack looked up from her bowl from a moment, a couple of crumbs around her mouth. She picked up the napkin sitting beside her bowl and wiped the crumbs away, and immediately noticed Twilight as she put the napkin down. "Oh, howdy Twilight! I didn't see ya there!" Applejack's voice took on a welcoming tone. Twilight trotted over to her and sat down in the chair beside her. "Hi, Applejack. What time is it?" "I'm not sure... but, if I had ta guess, it's sometime near noon, maybe ten?" Applejack said. A servant quickly came over to her and picked up her empty bowl. She turned to the servant and muttered a thank you before turning back to Twilight. "So, how's your research comin'?" "It's all right. I've been trying to create my own transformation spell so I can know the magical elements. That way, I could figure out the elements that could counteract it." "All right. Well, I'm going ta go inta the village and ask around. See if I can find anything out." Applejack stood up from the chair and trotted towards the exit. "Oh, okay. Thanks again, Applejack." "You're welcome, Twi'." Applejack said. She trotted towards the exit, however, a crystal pony stepped in. blocking her path. "Your highness, someponies are requesting to see you. Shall I let them in?" "Yes, of course." Twilight said, intrigued. The servant nodded and trotted out. Applejack stood in front of the entrance. "Ya think that's them?" "Hopefully." After a minute or so of waiting, hoofsteps echoed into the room from the hallway. Booming laughter blocked out the hoofsteps for a moment before being shushed by somepony. "Pinkie, calm down. You are in a royal palace and Twilight's in an unimaginable situation right now. Show some etiquette!" "I'm sorry-" The familiar voice snorted as she began to giggle again. "I was just thinking of some things I could do to cheer up Twi'! I can't wait to see her!" The pony finished, returning to the booming laughter. However, the laughter was snuffed out almost immediately after it started. "Will you both shut up? I could hear you both arguing in the carriage, and I was flying above you." "Shh! We're approaching the room! And we weren't arguing. We were... simply discussing our differences, dear." "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Three ponies stepped into the dining room. The pony on the left was a familiar, party-loving mare that had a light pink coat, curly, messy rose mane and tail, and light cerulean eyes with large smile on her face. She had a yellow scarf wrapped around her neck and yellow socks covering her hooves. Her cutiemark were three balloons, the strings at the ends of them entangled. The other one the right was a mare. She had a red, orange, light gold, green, blue, and violet multicolored mane and tail. She, like the other pony, had a blue scarf wrapped around her neck, yellow socks, and she had yellow ear muffs. Her cutiemark was or a cloud with a lightning bolt shooting out of the bottom of it and her eyes were cerise. The mare in the middle standing in front of the two others had a long, indigo mane that curled at the end. She had obviously taken great care to make it look just right. Her coat was a light shade of gray and her eyes were azure. She had a shawl wrapped around her head and the upper part of her body. The shawl had purple rubies that had been studded into the fabric that protected her from the snow outside. There was a bright yellow band around the outside of the shawl and the rest of it was purple, like the rubies. She, like the others, had blue socks over her hooves. Her cutiemark was of three shimmering diamonds. Fluttershy was standing behind them, some of her face hidden by her mane. "Howdy! I thought I recognized y'all's voices." Applejack said. Pinkie Pie rushed up to her excitedly. "Hi AJ!" Pinkie said as she enthusiastically bounced in place. She hugged Applejack. "Where do you get all that energy from, Pinkie? I'm sure even you are tired after that trip." Rainbow Dash asked, emitting a loud yawn. "Well, to be honest, she wasn't flying here, dear." "True." "So, how are you, Twilight?" "It's... it's not good, Rarity." "I couldn't imagine what you've experienced." Rarity said sincerely. Tears stung Twilight's eyes. She brought her right fore-hoof up to her eyes and quickly wiped them. "A-are you all right?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight's cheeks brightened in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm fine Flutters'. Don't worry." Twilight said. Fluttershy nodded. "So, what's the plan?" Rainbow Dash trotted farther into the room. "I'll discuss it with you later. Right now, go ahead and get some rest while I look up the magical side of the spell." "All right. You won't get any complaints from me." "You sure dear? I can assist you with the spell, if you'd like." "No thank you, Rarity. I know you must be tired." "Oh no dear. I insist." "Really Rarity, it's all right." "But-" "Rarity- she said no. And we both know you could go on like this all day." Rainbow Dash interrupted. Rarity show an angry glare at her before returning to Twilight with a caring look and a warm smile. "All right dear. Just let me know if you need anything." "I will. Go get some rest." Twilight said. Rarity and Rainbow Dash exited the room. "Ooo! Twilight! Can I do something?! Can I?! What can I do?!" Pinkie asked, still bouncing, but now in front of Twilight. "Pinkie, you can..." Twilight stopped for a moment, pondering her answer. After a moment, it suddenly came to her. "You can talk to the ponies in town and see if you can find anything out. Or-" Before Twilight could finish, Pinkie rushed out of the room excitedly. "That mare... she's somethin' different." Applejack chuckled under her breath. "I-I'm going to go check and see if the local animals are hungry or saw them." Fluttershy said. She shyly backed out of the room and trotted down the hallway. "Yeah, I think I'm goin' ta join 'em. I'll see ya later, Twilight." Applejack said, following Fluttershy. "Okay Applejack. Let me know if you hear anything." "I will, Twilight." Applejack said as she exited the room, leaving Twilight alone. A stallion servant came out from the kitchen, magically levitating a plate beside him. The plate had a small bowl with a glass of water to the right of it. He sat it down in front of Twilight. "Your meal, your highness." ---