//------------------------------//
// Shifting Perspective 
// Story: Wind Chimes 
// by flutterspin 
//------------------------------//

An energy like I've never experienced before flowed through my body as I fell to the ground. Before my head hit the floor, a coated blanket of the night sky phased through the room around me. The tension in my muscles disappeared. The nagging pain subsided. A haunting void buried into my bones like a used bowl with nothing left in it. There I laid helplessly alone among the stars on a surface that no longer existed.
The room darkened and transformed to something different, something new. The room's stony walls with its mold growing in the high corners remained the same, but the size and shape of the environment around me changed. The dreary prison cells were replaced with finely-cut wooden furniture. A full-sized bed rested behind my back. On the wall hung a large landscape painting of Cloudsdale. Instead of torches, a simple flickering candle from a delicate lamp barely lit the area around me. 
I heard the sounds of whispering voices in the distance and a door creaking open down the hallway. Two silhouettes shined upon the wall as a pony flicked a light on in the other room. I crawled closer to the entrance doing my best not to draw any unwanted attention to myself; I wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation. 
"Why are they after us?" The older mare asked with her hoof over her chin.
The large pegasus gently touched the shoulders of the nervous pony. "They're not. They're after the artifact." 
"What are we going to do?" asked the anxious pony, pacing the floor. "The princesses can only do so much. It's not safe for us anymore." 
The pegasus replied in a soothing voice, "Don't you worry, my dear. Everything is in order."
"Do they even know what they are looking for?"
"I'm pretty sure the - " the pegasus quickly turned his head mid-sentence and pulled his hoof around the door frame.
The sudden appearance of his head scared me into planting my back flat against the cold wall. That's when I noticed a small cabinet, eerily similar to the one I had in my room when I was small, resting at the foot of the bed. A golden hourglass, identical to the one my father crafted me, sat next to a small mirror on top. 	
Another figure down the hallway called out, "It's time, Day Star. Princess Luna is waiting."
"Alright. Make sure Night Star is ready. We don't want him wandering off like last time."
As I listened to their conversation, I heard a crackling sound like logs burning in a fireplace. Though the cavern was completely enclosed, a small breeze blew past me. The small hourglass across the room spun ever so lightly, keeping an even amount of sand in both sections of the glass. The motion was so mesmerizing that my thoughts drifted to a better place high in the clouds away from all of our troubles.
Yet the serenity was fleeting when two large dragon eyes unnaturally formed on the wall above the bed. This time I did not fear them. No, the sheer complexity of how the eyes slanted inward captivated my curiosity as if they were actively inviting me to sail away into the dreamscape. 
A voice from behind tickled my ears. It simply whispered, "Your time is up."
Slowly, the room faded away and returned me back inside the mountain pass. All my concerned friends stood over me with worried expressions on their faces. 
"He's still breathing," Twilight observed. "He's just non-responsive."
I nonchalantly asked, "Hey guys, what's going on?"
Applejack shouted, "Moonlight! What happened?"
Still strangely relaxed from my experience, I replied, "I don't know. I took a look around the room and just passed out. I had some sort of vision."
"A dream?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm not sure. Everything seemed kind of... familiar, like I've been there before. How long was I out?"
"Less than a minute," Twilight stated.
From the far reaches of the prison cried out an unknown voice, "Hey! Is someone out there?!"
"Jade?" Sumica perked up. "Jade! We're coming! Where are you?!"
"I'm in the high-security cell a couple rooms over."
"Excuse me." Sumica stretched out her wings and leapt into the hallway. She flew through various sections of the prison and ended at a solid black wall. Sculpted in the center was an intricate design of a dragon's tail. An old bowl on top of a small stool sat inches away from the mysterious carvings. She rolled her hoof over the symbols looking for a means to access the lock. "Jade? Are you behind this wall here?" 
"Yeah, but you won't be able to open it without the rune key."
"Let me give it a try." Twilight braced her hooves deep into the concrete. An engrossing aura grew around the tip of her horn. Electricity surged all around as the power reached critical mass. 
"No, wait!"
Before Jade could finish his warning, the lightning bolt shot across the room. Before it struck the smooth surface of the wall, a wavering force field repelled the blast. It dispersed the energy back at us in every direction. The resulting amount of force knocked us off our hooves.
"You just tried to use magic on the seal, didn't you?" Jade sighed with disbelief. "This cell was built to hold the most powerful of magic-users. No spell or incantation can break its bond once locked."
Rainbow Dash rubbed her temple. "Now he tells us."
Jade's criticizing tone surprisingly shifted to one a father would use to scold an unruly child. "Listen, whoever you are, tell me this - Are you the one with the artifact?"
"Artifact? What artifact?" Sumica cleverly replied in an attempt to goad the locked pony for more information.
"Don't be coy with me," Jade argued, clearly seeing through our friend's ruse. "The only reason they locked me in here was so I could deliver a message to the one that holds Toukh ew Xuvub. Is that you? Because they told me to expect someone passing by here. They would be seeking out their companions. By the sounds of your company, I believe that someone might be you."
"What do you know about The Heart of Dagaz?!" Sumica demanded.
Jade replied, "Ah, so it is you! Good. Now maybe I can finally get out of here and stop this madness they speak of before it begins. Listen. The message they wanted me to convey is as follows: 'Drop the The Heart of Dagaz into the bowl and leave this place never to return. If you do not comply, we will be forced to release the full might of the Asanda clan onto your tribe. Believe our words as true; your friends have been left unscathed. We have been patiently waiting for ten long years. We only want what rightfully is ours.' They said they would release me as soon as you relinquish the artifact."
"This sounds bad," Applejack noted, "for all of Equestria. What in Celestia's name do you have?"
Sumica's ultimatum was no easy feat. No pony had the guts to thoughtlessly give-in to such ill-willed demands. Yet, the pressure of having an entire kingdom's future in jeopardy must have been weighing heavily on her mind. The decision alone taunted us as we watched for our leader's final say. 
Sumica caressed the artifact in her hoof and took a deep breath. A tiny shimmer of scarlet inside the jewel pierced through the smoky haze. The muscles in her legs shook wildly as she stared at Jade's imprisonment. She grit her teeth and immediately roared at the ceiling. She grabbed hold of the bowl with both hooves and raised it above her head.
"No!" Sumica smashed the bowl into the ground and pointed at the magic wall. "The Heart of Dagaz was given to our ancestors as a gift in exchange for bringing peace to this land. We worked far too hard for far too long to simply just hand it over to a bunch of outcasts who don't even have the guts to show their face. And they think they can just come in and bully us around until we give them whatever they think is theirs?" She stomped the ground. "I will not do this!"
Rarity asked, "Do we even know whether or not this jewel, as valuable as it may be, really was in a position to be given out so freely in the first place. If they feel this strongly about it, why not just give it to them?"
"Because the Asanda clan were too arrogant to take responsibility for all of the hardships they created for the ponies in the first place. Did you ever think it was strange that one of the dragon's virtues was friendliness and not friendship? Because that concept was so foreign to them that they never fully incorporated it into their culture. Dagaz knew this and that is why Dagaz refused to give it to them."
"I think you are wrong," Jade refuted. "The account specifically says that the gift was meant to be cherished by all, not to be squandered by one race or faction. If you truly hold such a thing in your grasp, I think it would be wise to give it to them. You do not have the strength to wield all of its unadulterated power by yourself. It will eventually consume you."
Sumica tried to conceal her emotions, but the anger in her eyes led way to tears. "I need some air." She turned around and glided down a series of corridors deeper into the mountain pass. 
"Wait! Sumica!" I chased her around the cells and past the guard's station. I lost her at the split of the road where an old mine shaft ran adjacent to the main path. The wooden frames high above barely held together the crumbling bedrock of the abandoned pit. I spotted a green feather gently fluttering from an undercurrent inside the splinters of one of the support beams. After exploring the tunnel for roughly a minute or two, I finally found the pegasus lying in front of a cracked opening.
Sumica shied her face away from me. "Is this the moment when you try and tell me what to do?"
"No, it isn't," I said, strolling closer. "I can't even begin to understand everything that's going on." I sat down next to the distressed pony and observed the raging river pour over the mountain across the valley. "You have gone through a lot, more than any pony in their lifetime. You traveled through time, fought off scary monsters-"
"So have you," Sumica interjected.
"And you're a guardian! You learned the dragon's culture and their language and then you found... you found..."
Sumica smiled. "And then I found an old friend."
"Actually I was trying to repeat what Jade called the necklace but my brain decided to go out on vacation instead."
Sumica giggled. "You were always slow when it came to learning new things." She picked up a small pebble and threw it over the cliff. "I really was hoping you would tell me your thoughts on the matter."
I nervously pondered over my next words, but failed miserably in executing them. "Oh, well, that's... all I got."
Catching my insecurity, Sumica replied, "That's quite alright." She picked up another pebble and lightly tossed it a few times above her hoof. "Maybe Jade is right. Maybe I shouldn't carry such a burden alone."
"Found them!" Pinkie Pie shouted from across the hall. "They're over here!"
"Nothing gets by that girl, eh Moonlight?" Sumica rose from her stupor. "We should probably start heading back."
We barely traveled twenty meters before meeting up with the rest of the group. 
"We wondered where you guys went," Applejack noted.
Sumica replied, "Just mulling over what we should do."
Fluttershy asked, "Did you come to a decision?"
"I have." Sumica unstrapped the artifact around her neck and held it in front of Twilight. "I need you to take a look at this thing and to tell me what it does."
Twilight modestly declined, "Me? I don't know anything about magical amulets."
"You're the smartest unicorn I know - and resourceful at that. Surely a magical being like yourself has some idea."
"Rarity is the gem expert. She would know more about the artifact's magical properties than me."
Rarity turned around all flabbergasted. "Me? You want me to take a look at it?"
"Would you please?" Sumica asked, handing the jewel to the fashionista. 
"I'm not sure if I can be of any help but I'll do my best." The clouds covering the red hue in the jewel faded away the instant Rarity's hoof made contact with the metallic surface. She walked past us and carefully observed the gem in the sunlight. "At first glance, it looks to be some form of ruby, but the markings are too complex. It's weight is too light to be a zircon. I would have to say that you have - " Rarity gasped " - a beryl."
"Is that supposed to be rare or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"For a red beryl like this? Extremely." Rarity flaunted the jewel a little in the sunlight. "Jewelers sometimes call them bixbites, taken from the explorer who first discovered them. Others have developed a certain kind of nickname for them - the 'Right Time' crystals I think it was - for their ability to hold life-changing enchantments. Depending on what type of magic is infused into the core, they can heal wounds, sharpen your mind, increase your stamina, build up your strength, anything you can imagine to overcome any challenge or obstacle. Where in Equestria did you find such an heirloom?"
"Day Star my - " Sumica cautiously paused for a moment " - associate gave it to me a few days ago. Told me to hold onto it until he got back from his excursion."
Rarity asked, "And he didn't tell you what it was or what it did?"
Sumica's eyes emboldened. "No! He simply said it was some magical artifact that needed to be kept safe and to not let it out of my sight. I knew it must have been important, but I would have never guessed it was the very thing we hid all those years ago."
"So, important enough to start a war over," Applejack noted.
"This really is magnificent." Rarity wrapped the amulet around her neck. "So spectacular." 
"Alright," Sumica stammered as the unicorn gave into her insatiable urge to try on all things beautiful.
"Such a remarkable piece of history. An inheritance to the kingdoms."
Something snapped inside Sumica after Rarity said those last words. What was simply a slight irritation shifted into shock and horror. She hid this change so well that no ordinary pony would have noticed unless they were paying close enough attention. I, on the other hand, recently discovered that whenever her wings tugged inward, things were sure-fire about to get serious. That was definitely her tell.
"I would like to have it back now, if you may," Sumica politely asked, slipping ever closer to the pony.
Rarity did not respond. Her silence was disturbing. She mocked the futility of the question by rubbing the silver chain.
Sumica unexpectedly lunged at our oblivious friend only to be stopped dead in her tracks when meeting her face-to-face. A tiny trail of smoke that everyone could see was strangely flowing up right out of Rarity's nostrils. Out of her mouth burst forth a bright red flame that forced the pegasus to leap backwards. 
"Rarity can breath fire?!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"That's not Rarity," Rainbow Dash stated, "that's a changeling!"
"It can't be!' Twilight exclaimed. "Changelings aren't capable of producing that kind of flame, at least not any that I've encountered."
"Then what else in Equestria could it be?" Applejack inquired.
A delicate shockwave, like a soft blast of compressed air, rippled through the ground utterly bypassing the physical manifestations of everything around. A cloud of smoke, very similar to what was left behind when Ordain teleported through Ponyville, encircled around the body of our adorable yet overly-dramatic friend. 
Through the burning fumes reconstructed something horrifying. Rarity's body transformed from the purest white to the darkest black. Holes like that from a changeling formed in the bottom of her legs. Two sharp dragon wings sprouted out of the void. A mouth broke out of the polarizing atmosphere with fangs sharp as glass. Two jagged horns slanted upwards past the beast's ears. All of the exhaust ushering out from the bowels of this mighty foe hid his daunting red eyes that peered deep into my very soul.
The beast groaned, "This sudden reversion is unexpected but long overdue. You wanted to see us and now you shall. Look at you, cowering in fear. Even after all your talk, you still ended up handing over the very thing you promised to protect. Some guardian you turned out to be. You should have listened to your compadre more carefully."
Twilight yelled, "Where's Rarity?!"
"Don't you worry nyati. We sent her on a little trip. She will remain unharmed for as long as you leave us alone to our affairs."
"You won't get away with this!" Sumica stressed.
The shadowy figure stretched out its wings. "I already have." A flame erupted high out of its mouth catching the support beams on fire. The timber burned and snapped, tearing down the one thing that held the ceiling together.
The resulting collapse of the fractured walls separated the three of us from the rest of the group. Sumica managed to jump out of the way, but my poor reaction speed allowed the rocks ample time to pin my hind leg to the ground. A large chunk of the smouldering wood, keeping the boulders from crushing my head, slowly buckled under all the pressure.
The dragon-changeling hybrid lifted itself up off the ground and offered Sumica a choice, "What is it going to be? Will you chase after me, or will you save your friend?" He propelled himself out through the crack, cackling with the dilemma it left in its wake. 
Sumica charged in with her hoof swinging, almost grabbing hold of his diamond-shaped tail. She leaned heavily into her hoof at the very edge of the opening.
Another splinter fell from the board dangling precariously over my head. "Sumica!" I yelled helplessly, hoping she remembered the type of peril I was in.
Sumica angrily shook her hoof in the air. "I'm coming, Moonlight." She rushed over and braced her shoulders underneath the beam before it could move another inch. "I'm not about to lose you again," she wheezed as the wood cracked and splintered down onto her back, "but I fear this board might be a bit too much. I don't think I can hold it for long."
"Then let me assist!" a voice shouted from behind.
"Day Star?!" Sumica gasped as her comrade slid in. "Where did you come from?"
"I was passing by and figured you could use a lift."
Ignoring the clever word play, Sumica replied, "Well, you're a little late."
"Really? From the looks of it, I'm right on time," Day Star teased. 
While they both held together the one thing that prevented my impending doom, I couldn't help but notice a small device strapped around the overly cheerful pegasus' right leg. At first glance, I thought it might have been a watch - the size and shape matched one I've seen while attending one of the many Buckball games. Yet, there were no identifiable markings around the outer axis. It wasn't until a green dot appeared, pulling away from the center, that I realized it must have been some special kind of tracking device.
"Hey," Day Star remarked, "remember that wing-lift exercise we had to do at the academy?"
Sumica entreated, "You wanna' do that now?!"
"On the count of three." Day Star stretched out his wings and bobbed his head up and down. "One. Two. Three!" 
In that moment, the pegasi performed an ingenious maneuver. Normally a pegasus would be able to gain thrust in the air by pulling back their wings. This tenses up their shoulders and reduces the amount of airflow passing through their body. Utilizing that extra strength from the muscles in their shoulder-blades, they exerted enough force to push the board away from me.
Once the debris settled, Sumica stumbled back to the opening. "Come on... Day Star... We can still catch him if we..."
"Hold!" Day Star asserted.
Sumica hollered, "But he's getting away!"
"That's an order!" Day Star commanded.
The confused gal rapidly shook her hoof towards the opening, stunned at what her superior officer just instructed her to do. Sumica's entire reputation as a guardian was at stake. Her pride refused to let go of the matter at hand. What could have possibly been more important than retrieving the artifact?