Born from grief and determination
Twilight Sparkle woke up with a start, after a dreamless sleep. She was warm and comfortable, obviously in a bed and not draped on the ground, like she had slept for the last week. She idly pawed the soft sheets, appreciating their warmth, the cobwebs of her brain slowly vanishing as she gained awareness of her body. Her head, plopped against a pillow; her forelegs, folded over her chest and…something else. Her whole body twitched when the unfamiliar feathers brushed her back legs. Twilight raised the sheets with her magic, and saw the two new feathery limbs attached to each side of her body. Suddenly, the memories of the last night came crashing into her mind.
Twilight let go of the sheets and covered her eyes with her hooves. A sense of void took over her. She felt hollow, broken and defeated beyond tears. No whimper escaped her throat, as the knot there blocked any sound from coming out. She briefly played with the idea of the last night being a dream, but her two wings quickly discarded that possibility. Perhaps, during her sleep, Celestia could have received a message from her mother?
‘No, Celestia would wake me up to tell me,’ grimly reasoned Twilight.
The mare closed her eyes and hugged herself tightly. The only thing she wanted was going back to sleep, and wake up by the voice of the Princess, telling her that everything was alright, that Twilight Velvet was safe and sound, that there was nothing to worry about.
Twilight nuzzled the pillow and frowned. Something didn’t feel right about it. She was strangely aware of the texture of the cloth, being able to feel the individual strings. Plus, when she rested her head, she could hear the faint crinkling that could only be the stuffing being flattened under the weight. Somepony upstairs was walking, and their hoofsteps resounded like hammer strikes. She could hear two distinctive breathing patterns. One on the other side of the wall. The other, in her same room as she was.
Very slowly, she sat up straight and turned her head to the right. There was a white unicorn sitting on the lone chair, smirking. She was a slim, elegant mare, with pale violet mane, that curled at the tips. She gave off an air of noblesse and grace, but that alone didn’t earn Twilight’s trust. If anything, it made her more suspicious.
The two ponies held each other’s glance for a whole minute. “What are you?” finally asked Twilight.
The smirk of the other mare widened. “Je m’appelle Fleur de Lis,” she replied with her silky voice. “I am here by request of Princess Celestia, to-”
“No,” interrupted Twilight, glaring daggers at her. “Not who. What. You are not a pony.”
She could perceive her aura with the same clarity she could see the sheets on the bed, far more intensely than any aura she had seen before. It radiated from her body like sunrays; the same light pink her eyes were. But underneath it was a layer of sickening magenta magic; and below it, a completely different magic, alien and unnatural for any pony.
The smile on the mare’s face vanished, only to return a moment later, amused. “My, my,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I am amazed. I didn’t expect to be discovered for at least a few more minutes. I must be rustier than I thought.” There was a flash of pink, and Twilight suddenly found herself sharing the room with a changeling queen. The newborn alicorn jumped on all four and charged her horn, aiming directly at the changeling’s head.
While her smile dissapeared, the creature didn’t do anything to ensure her safety. “You should turn that down, Twilight; you may hurt yourself. In any case, I am here on your behalf. Celestia asked me to come and check on you.”
“Why would Celestia tell a changeling to come here?” asked Twilight, still aiming at her head. She squinted. The light from her horn was hurting her eyes badly. A kaleidoscopic flurry of colors twirled around its length, adding to the nuisance.
“I’ve been serving Celestia for a very long time. She wanted me to check if your transformation has gone by smoothly.” replied the changeling queen. Twilight flinched. The spot under her horn was starting to hurt. She let the magic fade, just for now. She studied the aura of the creature. It seemed to be perfectly still and undisturbed. Twilight recalled reading that things like lying could disturb one’s aura. Her heartbeat was also steady, but there was no way to be certain, changelings were masters of deception.
‘Her heartbeat?’ Twilight swiveled hear ears. There was no doubt, she could hear her heart pumping. First the atrioventricular, then the semilunar valves. And now that she was aware of that, she began to hear her own heart too, noticeably faster. Her eyes widened.
The smile of the changeling queen returned, this time kind instead of mocking. “Amazing, isn’t it? You’ll discover there is even more to come.”
Twilight grimaced and closed her eyes. The body of the mare was emanating a reddish-brown light, particularly around her chest and face. A dark purple light was filtering through the curtains. To her nose reached the odor of the dust and sweat that covered her fur, the scent of the wooden floor and walls and the cotton of the bed sheets, the smell of the chitin armor of the changeling queen. From the next room came the slow heartbeats of the sleeping pony. Then, faster, the ones from the pony upstairs. The creaking of the floor planks. The noise of the air entering and coming out of her lungs, the gurgling of her stomach and intestines. She clenched her teeth and covered her ears with her hooves. Her head was throbbing painfully from the overwhelming sensations she was getting.
“Twilight!” said the changeling queen. The alicorn opened and eye. The creature had risen from her seat and was looking at her with concern. “I can help you, if you allow me.”
“How?” she hissed.
The horn of the changeling flared, and the room was coated in a simple privacy spell, except it was casted backwards. Twilight let out a sigh of relief. The magic had effectively isolated the room from the rest of the inn, blocking the sensations of everything beyond. The paint receded. “Thank you.”
“That’s step one,” said the changeling. She light up her horn and extracted something from a saddlebag. “Step two is this.” She held the item for Twilight to see.
It was a ring made of a dull green metal, engraved in runes and with a thin band of ceramic around the center. A limiter, a rather low-gauge one. She had worn a similar one before, back when she had joined Celestia’s School for Talented Unicorns. Nowhere enough to actually contain her, even before she had been turned into an alicorn.
“…fine,” she finally said, dipping her head. The queen nodded and levitated the tungsten ring into her horn. The effect was immediate: she was unable to see both the aura of the queen and the spellwork around the room. The pain disappeared entirely. “Thank you,” she said, smiling with relief.
The changeling smiled charmingly. Twilight took the chance to study her more closely. It was the first time she had seen a queen, and she was much more imposing than she had imagined. She stood as tall as Celestia, but was extremely thin, almost frail, if it wasn’t for the shiny black chitin that covered her entire body. Her carapace and wings were pink, and so was the membrane that hanged from her head and rump and played the role of mane and tail. On her head, a fang-shaped horn sprouted from her forehead. Four mauve eyes decorated her face, two larger at the bottom; and two smaller just below the horn. Those had yet to blink since she had revealed her true appearance. Despite her alien features, there was a certain beauty on the creature, mirrored closely in the pony disguise she had been wearing.
The creature then gave her mane a toss and moved on her chair, and Twilight saw cracks on her chitin, thin lines that radiated from a spot on her barrel. She then noticed a few more, on her leg, on her cheek, and a couple on her horn. “Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” started the changeling queen, looking up to Twilight and snapping her from her thoughts. “My name is Vatia, and I have been serving Princess Celestia for the past…” Vatia paused and blinked her four eyes in quick succession. “…nine hundred and thirty-seven years, I believe.”
“Why would a changeling queen serve Princess Celestia?” questioned Twilight.
Vatia’s smile widened. “How we met, you’ll have to ask Celestia herself. It’s a bit, ah, personal for her. I will gladly tell you more about myself once she does.” She tilted her head. “But my motives are very simple: I have come to love this land, its inhabitants and its monarch. I am sure you can relate.”
Twilight nodded. Her loyalty to Princess Celestia was the reason she had agreed on the ritual that had turned her into an alicorn, even if she had never stated that was the objective. “You mentioned something about a smooth transformation.”
Vatia nodded her head. “Indeed. Ascension comes from several side effects. Your senses have been honed and sharpened, as you might have noticed. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste and arcane reception. My task is to help you get used to them as quickly as possible, otherwise you’ll have to endure the pain.”
“Why does that happen?”
“It simply does. Your brain suddenly has a much, much bigger flow of information, and can’t keep up. That is what was causing you that headache. Cadence had it much worse; with her horn, she suddenly gained an entirely new sense, her migraine lasted for a few days. You, on the other hoof, will have to get used to those.” she daintily motioned with her hoof.
Twilight looked down. Her wings were haphazardly draped over the bed. Making an effort, she managed to fold them against her body, even though she had to consciously hold them closed. “You’re going to teach me how to fly?”
Vatia laughed. It was a beautiful, delicate sound, like wind chimes. “With these?” She flapped her membranous wings. “I am afraid not. You’ll have to rely on some other pegasus to teach you how to fly and care for your wings.”
Twilight gave a little, uncoordinated flap with her wings. That actually sounded exciting. She wasn’t sure if Rainbow Dash would be the best flight teacher. Perhaps the sweet and timid Fluttershy would be a better choice to aid her through the very basics of flying. “So what now?”
The changeling rested her chin on her hooves. “How do you feel, Twilight?”
“Pretty normal,” she replied. “Other than the sense of smell, touch…and hearing, I can hear your heart. And sigh too, I believe. You are glowing,” Twilight blinked. “That doesn’t sound normal at all, does it?”
“It is rather normal for an alicorn,” Vatia got on her hooves and walked up to Twilight. “What we are going to do is magically block all your senses but one, and let you get used to it. Then we’ll slowly make our way up. Sounds good?” The alicorn nodded. “Good! In that case…” The light up her horn and levitated a second limiter from her saddlebags.
Twilight frowned. This new one was at least ten times heavier-duty than the one she was wearing, going well into military usage. “You didn’t mention your arcane reception when you were listing what senses aren’t normal. The limiter you are wearing is only preventing you from directly seeing my aura…but you can still feel magic with your horn.” Twilight begrudgingly nodded and motioned her to proceed.
Suddenly, the whole world went darker. Twilight fought against the urge of snapping the limiter. She had never realized how much information of her surroundings she got with her horn, nor how permeable were the lighter limiters she had worn.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way, Twilight. Shall we proceed?” The newborn alicorn looked at the changeling queen in the eye for a long moment. She sent a small amount of magic up her horn and pushed, just enough that she could feel the limiter budging under the pressure. ‘I can still break free as soon as I want.’ Satisfied with the test, she nodded to the changeling.
For the next hours, Vatia systematically went over each of Twilight’s senses, letting her get used to her new capabilities before moving on to the next. She made a mention of Twilight’s keen sense of arcane reception, which was expected for an alicorn born unicorn; and her excellent sense of smell, which was not. Twilight blushed and explained how she had always been able to track a pony’s aura by sniffing the air.
“Fascinating. Usually unicorns report to ‘see’ auras, not ‘smell’ then. I do wonder if there is somepony out there that ‘hears’ them instead,” Twilight felt the bed shift under her and knew Vatia had changed position. “Do now be worried if this happens with other senses as well. Synesthesia is rather common on alicorns. I know Celestia gets mild hallucinations when we…” The changeling let out a delicate cough. “Anyway, let’s move on.”
“Wait, when y-ack!” Vatia took down the spells that were containing Twilight’s senses, the privacy spell on the room, and removed both limiters from her horn. The newborn alicorn blinked and flicked her ears, assaulted once again by the barrage of sensations…and held up.
Twilight sat very still, watching the thousands of hues of red of the dancing flame inside the lamp. It was hypnotizing. The world had so much to it, so many more colors, sounds and hues than she would have ever imagined or dreamed, and there was so much to experience beyond that humble inn room. She was both excited and afraid to go out and experience this new Equestria.
Twilight wondered if this is how Celestia always perceived the world around her. Then, with a pang of guilt, she realized that was not the case anymore. Along with her wings and power, the Princess had probably lost a lot of intensity on what she felt.
Vatia’s hoof cupped her chin and turned her face to look her in the eyes. “Are you alright? You went quiet.” Twilight stared into the four pink eyes of the changeling…and much to her chagrin, she felt her cheeks heat.
“Y-yeah, I am fine,” she broke the eye contact and gave her wings a little flap. She could only hope the changeling hadn’t felt that, though the odds were against her in that.
“Perfect. There is something else Celestia wanted me to check,” Vatia made her way behind Twilight and placed her hooves on her shoulders. “It’s a mere part of the procedure, I think it is rather unnecessary, but Celestia insisted. Would you kindly spread them?”
“I...wait, w-what?” stammered Twilight.
“Your wings, sweetie,” replied Vatia, tapping her back joints with a hoof. “Mind spreading them?”
“Oh! Uh, yeah, sure,” replied the young mare, ignoring the heat that had once again made its appearance. She obediently spread her wings and took the chance to study them for the first time. They mostly looked like regular pegasus wings, covered in lavender coverts and slightly lighter flight feathers. A single digit sprouted from her wrist.
More unusual, however, was the purple flap of skin that extended from her elbow to her side. Twilight stretched the wing further. It didn’t seem to jeopardize her movement at all, but it was strange. Pony wings differed enormously in shape, size and feather coloration; and on top of that there were the wings of the chiroequus or batponies. Of course, Twilight’s grandfather was a batpony, but that should not affect the shape of her wings in any way.
‘It shouldn’t, should it?’
Her train of thought was derailed when Vatia ran a hoof over the skin, sending a shiver down her spine. She was extremely ticklish there. The mare went rigid and felt her face heat up further. Twilight heard the queen chuckle and barely resisted the urge to cover herself with her hooves. “They seem to have developed well,” stated the queen, purposefully palpating across the length of the whole limb “I don’t see any alteration out of the norm, except for that patagium. It doesn’t hurt when you stretch it, does it?”
“I-It doesn’t.” replied Twilight, closing and opening her wings a few times. Her movements were uncoordinated and jerky, but she was certain she’d learn what muscles moved what joints soon enough. “Say, Vatia,” muttered Twilight, running a hoof over the edge of her wing. It was strange, to think that foreign limb was actually her own. “Has anypony ever ascended with…uh…alterations?”
Vatia grinned. “Never. But Celestia likes to make a check-up, just in case. There hadn’t been many ascensions in history, so there is always the chance those were just lucky tries.” Vatia’s smile faltered. “Especially given how you have ascended, sweetie. That’s an experience I don’t wish to anyone.”
Twilight crooked an eyebrow, following with her with her eyes as the changeling got up from the bed and sat back on the chair. “What do you know of it?”
Vatia shrugged her shoulders. “You have been magically reconstructed from the inside out, while being conscious the whole time. I had to go though a similar procedure once, but nowhere as extensive,” the creature ran a hoof across the light scar on her belly. When she noticed Twilight’s inquisitive stare, she smiled slightly and shook her head. “Ask Celestia.”
Twilight remained quiet for a few minutes, slowly getting used to the sensation of her wings. She was starting to be fully aware of where exactly they were positioned, instead of some strange ghost sensation. “What can you tell me about the changeling queens?”
Vatia blinked at the question. “Can you be a bit more specific, darling?”
“Well, uh…” Twilight, shrugged with both her wings and her shoulders. “I don’t know much, so anything you can tell me is new to me.”
The queen studied Twilight for a moment. “I assume Celestia already told you a bit about us.” The mare nodded, and the changeling bit her lip and then shrugged. “I suppose there is no harm I share the intel I have collected with you too. Celestia will probably brief you, anyways.” Vatia took a few seconds to gather her thoughts and clear her throat. “Before Nightmare Moon returned to Equestria, there were nine changeling queens, me included,” Vatia allowed herself a proud smile when she saw Twilight’s panicked expression. “We have been living among ponies for millennia, Twilight. We are very good at being secretive. Anyway, out of them, one is an unsubtle brute who is usually ignored by the rest of the queens, and a second one is too deep inside her insanity to be of any worth considering. Furthermore, two more queens declined the invitation to participate in this war. That leaves us with only four hives trying to destroy Equestria.” Vatia made a pause, her voice growing lower as she continued. “Unfortunately, they also control the bigger hives. Granted, two of them are already down, but it is hard to quantify the damage they may have done already, or what the two remaining may do-”
“Wait, wait,” interrupted Twilight, holding up a hoof. “What do you mean with ‘two of them are already down’?”
“Exactly what I said,” replied Vatia with an impish smile. “Queen Lacera and Queen Chrysalis are both dead.”
“But who-”
“Nightmare Moon,” interrupted the changeling. “Probably the only good thing she has done since she returned. Chrysalis was killed in Manehattan. From what I could gather, they held a battle in the sewers of the city, that culminated rather spectacularly with both contenders shooting up through the ground.” The queen’s expression hardened. “Several ponies died. I don’t know the exact number, since some are still hospitalized. Nightmare Moon…” Vatia took a deep breath. “I think Celestia is too wishful. She believes there’s still a way to save her sister. But after all she has done…” She locked her pink eyes into the alicorn’s “Twilight, this…how she interacts with mortal ponies, is not how a sane pony acts. This is how a changeling queen treats her drones: they are expendable, replaceable. Each drone is just a fragment of a Hive Mind that each queen controls, individually they don’t matter. The fact that she has killed so many ponies without care…” Twilight actually backed off from her when Vatia bared her fangs. “It’s sickening. This is why it’s so important you stop her.”
Twilight dipped her head. “But how could I? Even with these,” she motioned to her wings with a hoof. “I’m still…well, me.”
The queen chuckled. “I think you’re selling yourself short, Twilight.” She raised her hoof and poked her in the muzzle, causing the alicorn to look up. “I’ve never had the pleasure to met you personally. Everything I know about you, which is a lot, truth be told; was through Celestia herself. And, granted, she probably severely biased in your favor…and I’ve just spoken how I don’t think she is always right,” She waved her hoof dismissably. “But in this regard, I have yet to see anything that contradicts Celestia’s words.”
Twilight blinked.
“That means I think you’ve got this.”
“I-I know what you mean!” hissed Twilight, clenching her hooves. “I just don’t see how I can overpower Nightmare Moon if Cadance was this this close to death!” She held her hooves in front of her face, so close together that she could only see one of Vatia’s lesser eyes.
Much to her surprise, Vatia’s first reaction was to giggle. Not chuckle, but a high-pitched melodic giggle. Twilight lowered her hooves and glowered at the changeling. “Cadance is a pampered princess. I love her dearly, but she has never had to do anything close to training or even exercise. What she has, she got it via ascension. What you have, is an extensive knowledge of advanced thaumatology, practical and theoretical, plus a mana reservoir that I can envy…and then, you were ascended!” Vatia grasped her shoulders. “Don’t you see?”
“But she’s so…she is in a completely different level!” shouted Twilight, pulling her mane with her hooves, “And I am just a unicorn! Well, an alicorn. But I’ve been like this for less than a day! And Nightmare Moon is at least a millennium old! How can I compete with that?!”
“Twilight, listen to me. Baby steps. You should take this one step at a time,” came the calm voice of Vatia. It managed to sooth Twilight enough to stop her anxious outburst and cause her to flop on the bed instead. “There is no sense in worrying about Nightmare Moon if you can’t even fly yet,” Twilight let out a huff at that, which prompted a giggle from Vatia. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s rather easy, once you get the hoof of it. And I can tell you, Equestria looks spectacular from above.”
“I know,” muttered Twilight.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’ve flown before,” explained Twilight, looking at the queen. “Not by myself, of course; but I have flown in a sky chariot.” The young alicorn smiled at the memories. “It was wonderful.”
“It really is,” agreed Vatia. “And soaring the sky in your own wings, feeling the wind under your feathers, is even better..” A calm silence reigned over the room for a couple of seconds, until Vatia cleared her throat delicately and spoke up. “Anyway, we are not done yet. I don’t see anything out of the norm with you, so we may move on. Celestia asked me to teach you a spell.”
That got Twilight’s attention, who sat up like a spring. “A spell? What kind of spell?”
Vatia smiled at Twilight’s enthusiasm. She had always heard the princess spoke very highly of her younger student, and she could see why. In the short time she had spent with her, she had come to appreciate the young mare’s curiosity. She could feel grief and sadness in her, but it was buried under the awareness of the present. She had pushed those feelings aside to focus on the task at hoof. Vatia considered it a sign of mental strength, but also decided to mention it to Celestia later. Hiding or suppressing one’s feelings could ultimately cause issues to everypony involved. Luna’s treason, after all, had been mainly caused by the bitterness of the former Princess. Had she been more open about her feelings…
The changeling blinked and turned her attention back to the present. She glanced at Twilight and got on all four. “I am going to teach you what we do the best,” A gout of pink flames engulfed the queen, disappearing before Twilight had time to yelp in alarm. In place of the dark chitinous creature now sat the same mare Twilight had seen after waking up.
“You…are going to teach me how to transform?” asked Twilight, visibly surprised. Vatia gave a small nod. A grin slowly spread across Twilight’s face. “Oh yes please! I’d love to learn that!” cheered the alicorn, clapping her hooves in delight.
A few hours later, Twilight had finally learned how to alter her appearance at will. Understanding and dominating the spell itself had been the easy part. Much to her surprise, the transfiguration spell changelings drones used was nothing more than a very exotic and advanced illusion charm, completed with small mass-altering spells so their insectoid wings would feel like pony wings to anypony touching them. Vatia also explained queens had a more advanced spell that allowed them to widely change their apparent size, and promised to teach it to Twilight, the next time they saw each other.
However, deciding how she wanted to look was a completely different matter. She quickly discovered trying to change her whole appearance was an overwhelming task. She had to focus at the same time on her new coat color, size, mane style, color and texture; eye color, and presence or absence of horn and/or wings. And if she decided to have wings, she’d also have to keep in mind how she wanted her wings to be.
In the end, Twilight was happy to make her horn disappear without freaking out. It was really strange to have that void space on her peripheral vision. A burst of purple flames and her horn was back, but longer and curved upwards. Another, and her horn was now foal-sized, completed with a rounded tip. Twilight smiled and turned her attention to her wings. A lilac flash, and she now had a pair of buzzing foal wings. While a full transformation was currently impossible for her, perhaps she could alter her appearance a bit each time.
Somepony gently knocked the door. It opened with a creak, and the head of Celestia poked in. She had bags under her eyes and her barren mane was somehow even more disheveled than usual. The unicorn smiled tiredly at Twilight’s half-way transformation. “Ah, I see you’ve made progress.” she muttered as she strode into the room. Or more accurately, lost her balance and fell into the room. Queen Vatia was quicker and caught her on her forelegs before she hit the floor.
“Celestia, your highness!” she hissed. She picked up the former alicorn and turned to the chair, but Twilight jumped off the bed and gestured it with a hoof. The Queen nodded and carefully placed Celestia on the sheets. “What do you think you are doing?” she chided the Princess, while she telekinetically closed the door. “You should be resting!”
Much to their surprise, Celestia was chuckling. “It’s been a while since somepony carried me like that…” Twilight and Vatia shared a look. “Anyway, I will have plenty of time to rest later.” Her voice came like a weak whisper. Her head hanged from her neck, and her eyelids were heavy. The unicorn was clearly exhausted, only staying awake by sheer force of will. “Now, Twilight…” she took a deep breath. “I haven’t…I have not heard from Twilight Velvet. I don’t think she made it.”
Twilight let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and dipped her head. Vatia had helped her keep her mind away from that matter, but now she had to face the fact that her mother was…was probably dead. There were a myriad explanations of why she hadn’t gotten in contact with them, and she desperately held to that thread of hope.
None of this permeated to Celestia. All she saw was the mare steeling herself after the news, wiping a tear from her eye with her hoof, and giving her a faint nod. “I-I’m alright,” she muttered. Vatia, of course, noticed her actual feelings, but made no comment nor shifted her expression.
Celestia studied Twilight for a few more seconds, before turning her attention to the changeling queen. She light up her horn and from the saddlebags extracted the tin containing the shards of the Elements. Twilight grimaced. Even with the concealing spells, the can glowed as if it were red-hot. They had severely underestimated the sensitivity of an alicorn. Celestia light up her horn, but nothing happened. “…right. Vatia, if you please?”
The changeling nodded and extracted by hoof a dull green metal box from the saddlebags. She unlocked the paddock and opened the lid, again with her hooves. Celestia hovered the can inside and Vatia shut the box, locking it once more. The tungsten box hid the shimmer of the Elements entirely, much to Twilight’s relief. She had been concerned not even the magic-proof metal could stand against the shards. “Vatia, I want you to take these and keep them safe. My sister mustn’t get hold of them.”
The changeling nodded, stern. “I will protect the shards of the Elements with my life.” she said, bowing deeply.
Celestia let out a snort. “Certainly, let’s go with that.” The two shared a chuckle. Twilight blinked, confused. ‘Is this an inside joke?’ she wondered, remembering the two went far, far back, if the changeling’s words were true. “Please don’t, though.” Celestia’s voice came as a whisper. “Enough good ponies have died already. Find somewhere safe to hide the Elements, and leave them there.” The princess narrowed her eyes and stared at the box. “I can’t tell how well the tungsten is concealing its aura.”
“It’s doing its job perfectly,” assured Vatia. Twilight nodded in agreement. The queen took the box in her hooves and slid it into the saddlebags. “I already know a good hiding spot.”
“Hold on,” interjected Twilight. “Are you just going to hand her the Elements?”
Celestia crooked an eyebrow. “Twilight, I know she is a changeling, but Vatia has served me well for centuries, and she has never given me a single-”
“No, not what I mean,” interrupted Twilight. “Aren’t we going to need them for anything else? Like dealing with the remaining queens? Or even turn you back into an alicorn!”
Celestia shook her head. “Being ascended is a huge stress, both to the body and mind,” muttered Celestia, more to herself than to anypony else. “I would have to teach you the spellwork. It is very complex, but I am certain you can handle it. However…” She trailed off and went quiet, idly running a hoof through her mane.
“However?” asked Twilight.
Celestia snapped out of it. “Oh! Yes….um. Well, Luna and I have ascended about a dozen ponies throughout history. But they were always healthy ponies. In my current state…I don’t know. It may be risky-”
“We are not taking any chances.” growled Vatia.
“Vatia, please,” soothed Celestia, raising a hoof. “I don’t intent to follow this course of action. Like I said, it’s unsafe. But, should the need arise-”
“No!” insisted Vatia. “We are not ascending you until we are absolutely certain you will be fine afterwards!”
“Vatia…”
“Don’t ‘Vatia’ me, Celestia,” The queen brusquely sat on the chair. “No ascensions until you have recovered, and that is final!”
“She is right, Princess,” interjected Twilight with a severe frown. “The risks outweigh the benefits by far. If you die, there won’t be any Princesses left to rule the kingdom. We will need your leadership to come out of this crisis. You’re one of the major reasons we enjoy peace in Equestria. Some of the neighboring countries may try to invade. We have a strong military, but an open war would be terrible.” Twilight’s expression softened. “And if that isn’t enough, I don’t know what I would do if you died. You said it yourself: Enough good ponies have died already. Let’s not increase that count anymore, I beg you.”
Celestia alternately looked at each mare, then sighed in defeat. “Fine. Since testing is impossible, I will leave it on your hooves. I rely very often on others to do what must be done. But this time, I really wish I could solve all this myself. It was my mistake what started it, and it should be me who solves it.” Celestia glanced through the window. The pearl-white Moon was almost setting, and it would soon rise from the other side of the celestial dome. The pony shook her head and spoke again: “Nevermind that. Now, Vatia?” The changeling perked her ears up. “Do you think Twilight has learned the transformation spell properly?”
“Oh, absolutely!” cheerfully answered the queen, happy to have left the ascension topic behind. “She hasn’t fully mastered it, but practice will lead to perfection. But I am proud to say she second best student I ever had.” Twilight blushed and looked away at this.
“Excellent. Well done, Twilight. I knew you could do it,” said Celestia with a proud smile. “Transformation is a truly difficult magic to master. And once you do, you will find it gives you an enormous freedom.” The princess turned to the door. “That matter solved, I believe we all should go. Twilight and I will head for the Whitetail Woods. Meet us when you’ve hidden the Elements.”
“As you wish, Celestia,” said Vatia, bowing yet again. A ring of flames surrounded her, transforming the unicorn into a pegasus. “I know in the end you’re going to do what you want,” she stated as she put on the saddlebags. “But I have to insist: don’t force yourself.” Then she walked to the window, opened it, and took flight with elegance.
***
“Princess?” whispered Twilight.
“Humm?”
“Sorry,” Twilight bit her lip. “Did I wake you up?”
“Don’t worry, my faithful student,” muttered Celestia. She stretched her neck and attempted to suppress a yawn, with little success. “What do you need?” she asked, sitting up straight.
Big Macintosh was already awake when the newborn and former alicorn went to his room. A few minutes later, he was hitched to the cart, ready to take both mares back to the Whitetail Woods. Twilight spent the first hour of the trip rediscovering the landscape, marveling at her overly acute senses. Beyond the noise of the wheels trampling the dirt and weeds, she could hear the wind blowing through the grass, the gentle creaks of the trees, and the friction of the harness against Macintosh’s coat. The setting Moon bathed the countryside in a beautiful silver glow.
However, all this beauty was unnatural and ghostly. No bird chirped under the Sun, no rabbit hopped between the bushes. Even the crickets, naturally nocturnal, were quiet. The land seemed dead.
Celestia, on the other hoof, had decided to get comfortable and lied on a blanket. She quickly fell asleep, cradled by the gentle sway of the cart and the monotonous noises.
“Can you tell me about Vatia?” asked Twilight.
Celestia blinked. “She showed you what she is.” Twilight nodded. “Then you already know more about her than the vast majority of Equestria. There are exactly four ponies that know she is a changeling queen, including you.” The princess paused, and smiled. “Five, in fact, as I am certain Big Macintosh is very interested in our conversation.”
Twilight turned her head just in time to catch Big Macintosh looking away. Celestia chuckled graciously. “She is a friend, Big Macintosh,” said Celestia. The large stallion slowly turned his head to glance at her. “Queen Vatia has served me well for over nine hundred years. You don’t have to fear her or her drones, for she has none. What happened to your grandmother is terrible, but Vatia had nothing to do with it.”
Big Mac looked at the Princess for a few more seconds before huffing and turning his attention back to the road. Celestia let out a sigh and rubbed her injured eye. “What exactly did you want to know about Vatia, Twilight?”
“Well,” started Twilight, awkwardly shuffling her wings. “for one, why isn’t she…uh, doing what the other queens are doing?”
Celestia sat down and telekinetically draped the sheet over her body. She cleared her throat and craned her neck, like she always did when she was going into loving teacher mode. Twilight, on the other hoof, lied on her belly and waggled her tail, like she always did when she was going into adoring pupil mode. “First of all, you must understand that changelings have been the bane of Equestria for thousands of years. They live all over the world, but they are extremely common here. Vatia was born in our kingdom, so she doesn’t know the reason behind this, but I suspect that we ponies, being naturally magically inclined, are better to feed from.”
“But if they’ve been around for so long,” whispered Twilight. “why haven’t you gotten rid of them.”
Celestia bit her lip. “With the benefit of hindsight, that probably should have been my course of action. But I was scared of starting exactly this, an open war against them. You see, changelings have always been among us. By the time Equestria was no longer threatened by enemies from outside, they had already rooted in our society. They are parasites, Twilight. They gain nothing from killing ponies. Do you know what a taenia is?” The lavender alicorn nodded. “It feeds at your expense, but it doesn’t really hurt you. And if you want to remove it, you have to go into surgery and come out with a scar. I wanted to prevent that last part. Of course, now it seems obvious I should have removed the parasite before it became a blight, but I can’t predict the future. And meeting Vatia gave me hope that changelings and ponies could live in peace.”
Twilight looked down to her hooves. She had always been vaguely aware of the existence of changelings, but she had never given them a second thought. They were very real, and had been around since the foundation of Equestria. She also understood why she’d keep them hidden from most ponies. After the changeling outbreak, everypony was suspicious and jumpy. Still, Twilight couldn’t help but feel resented about being kept in the blue for so long, even if it was for a good reason. “So how does Vatia fit in all this?”
“She was once a major queen,” started Celestia. “Lacera, Umbra, Andinas and Vatia were the dominant queens back then, plus several minor ones. Chrysalis was one of them, in fact.” Celestia blinked. “She’s been around for a long time, hasn’t she? In any case, back then my posture about changelings was the same as today: leave them alone, and they won’t harm you. But then, Vatia made an unfortunate mistake. She captured…somepony very precious to me. So I searched for her hideout, determined to bring an end to her existence.” Celestia closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “Her drones made no difference. The stench of charred chitin and the dying wails of the burned are cauterized into my memories. I had never let myself loose like that before, and I promised myself not to do it ever again.” Twilight folded her ears back and shuddered in horror. After a pause, Celestia opened her eyes and continued. “Vatia was different. I didn’t want to incinerate her, as that would have been too quick and unsatisfactory. Have you seen her scars?” Twilight nodded slightly. “Like alicorns, changeling queens can regenerate almost any injury. But those scars, those will never fully heal. They were caused by a magic too intense for that.”
Celestia closed her eyes and rested her head against the side of the cart. “I am not proud of this. But luckily, I stopped in time. I didn’t deliver the killing blow on the broken, pleading creature lying before me. Instead, I offered her mercy. I had wiped out her entire hive, and permanently crippled her ability to spawn eggs. She deserved another chance.” Celestia’s lips turned into a small smile. “And she has made sure I didn’t regret it. She has been a good servant. I appreciate her presence, and she appreciates mine. And most importantly, she is happy. She has a life in Canterlot. A job. Friends. And a husband that loves her, even knowing what she really is.” The princess opened her pink eyes and looked at Twilight. “Everypony deserves a second chance, an opportunity to amend their wrongs and fix their mistakes.” Celestia looked to the eastern horizon, where the Moon was rising.
Twilight followed the gaze of her master. Her expression remained the same, but her mind boiled. She wasn’t as kind as the Princess. Perhaps Sunset Shimmer deserved a second chance, but she wasn’t willing to give it to her. Her death wouldn’t be an act of revenge, but of justice. As for Nightmare Moon, Twilight still couldn’t see herself defeating the black alicorn. But she was certain she would only be spared as a favor to Princess, Celestia, and nothing more.
***
A scream of pain cut through the howl of the blizzard. The ground shook and a small amount of loose snow plunged down the mountain. The small opening of a cave poured some golden light into the otherwise dark mountainside. It was a beacon inside the furious storm.
The ground shook once again when Sunset Shimmer crashed into the wall, then proceeded to drag her body against the harsh surface, leaving behind a trail of blood and broken feathers.
“What have you DONE?!” screamed the alicorn, slamming her head into the wall. She stopped, panting and her legs shaking. “What have you done what have you done what….what…have you…done…” she whispered, oblivious to the trail of blood that dripped from her muzzle and into the stone below. “You’ve killed her. You’ve killed her, you’ve killed her. She didn’t deserve to die and now she’s dead. All because of you. You, you, YOU!” Sunset turned around, whipping her forelegs against and invisible attacker, and accidentally hit her left hoof against the opposite wall. The alicorn let out a cry of pain and dropped to the floor, clutching her injured hoof and gently swaying back and forth. Tears of pain and grief mixed with the blood and pooled underneath her head.
“Oh Celestia, what have I done?” muttered Sunset. She opened her eyes and looked to the miniature Sun that floated in the center of the cave. “This is what you meant when you said I didn’t deserve to be an alicorn, isn’t it? Your sister conceded me that power, and look what I’ve done with it! You were right. You are always right…” The illumination spell, of course, remained quiet. Sunset hadn’t bothered to give it any resemblance of intelligence when she casted it. It merely floated there. Staring at her. Judging her. “Heavens, when did I turn into this?” whispered the mare, looking down. “When did I decide I had the authority to decide to take a life? W-when did I turn into a m-murderer?”
Sunset closed her emerald eyes. The pain on her hoof and side slowly receded, and her breathing and hear rate went back to her normal levels. Exhaustion caught up with her and she fell in a dreamless doze.
When she snapped awake, the blood had clotted and the miniature Sun had shrunk to half of its original size. The mare lighted up her horn, and pulled the spell downwards. When it was at hoof range, she extended her forelegs and wrapped the light orb in a hug. It was too hot, but she didn’t care. She needed to feel something warm.
What should her next move be? A part of her wished to die from cold and starvation right where she was, on the northern mountains of Equestria. But she was aware that, being able to fly, her survival instinct would kick off and force her to leave. What, then? She couldn’t return with Nightmare Moon, of course. The black alicorn would kill her for losing the Elements.
And she couldn’t go back to her previous life either. She had literally lost or destroyed everything she had. Celestia was dead. All her belongings were in Canterlot, which was indeed no longer hanging on the side of the mountain, but destroyed at its bottom. She also was a traitor, for siding with Nightmare Moon; and a murderer. Not only that, but she had killed Twilight Sparkle, one of the very few ponies that had ever considered her equal…
And it was all her fault.
Sunset flicked her tail, which brushed against her flank. Her lips turned into a sardonic smile as she considered what her CutieMark was. She had always assumed her fire was meant to bring comfort and warmth, like the Sun. But it was obvious she was better at causing harm and grief. The alicorn turned her eyes upwards. There, filling more of her peripheral vision than before she was ascended, was her horn. She couldn’t undo the damage her magic had done.
But she could certainly prevent it from happening again.
Pushing the diminutive Sun aside, Sunset reached up and wrapped her forelegs around her horn. She gave it a tug, but it remained on the same place. The pony almost laughed at her own idiocy. Had she expected her horn to just pop out? No, it was solidly attached to her skull. But she had seen her alicorn strength snapping a wooden beam with a single blow. Breaking a bone would be a walk in the park compared with it.
She took in a deep breath and clenched her teeth, steeling herself for the incoming agony.
One.
T-two…
“There you are.”
The voice sounded gentle and calm, but it caused Sunset to get on all four like a spring. Nightmare Moon was standing inside the cave, the tip of her horn almost touching the ceiling. The young mare frantically shook her head, tears building up on her eyes and muttering incomprehensibly. “Aren’t you going to greet us?” the midnight alicorn asked.
The utter terror prevented Sunset from answering immediately. “H-h-h-hello, y-your hi-ighness!” she stammered.
“It’s been an eventful day,” calmly muttered Nightmare. She took in the pitiful state of the small alicorn, the stains of blood splattered on several places of the cave, and the numerous feathers over the floor. “We fly to a city named Manehattan to find a changeling queen living in its sewers. We alone walk into its lair and slay the monster, taking down every single drone she throws against us. Then we fly back to our castle…” Nightmare’s small smile twisted into a snarl, and her eyes turned to Sunset, a cold fire burning in them. “And find the furniture wrecked, the shards of the Elements missing, and our apprentice…vanished.” Sunset stammered incomprehensibly. “Would you kindly explain?”
“S-she’s d-dead,” managed to croak out Sunset, still frozen on the spot. “I-I killed her. I k-killed her! She a-are no more. She’s g-gone.”
“Who?” snapped Nightmare, showing her needle-sharp fangs.
“The thief!” cried out Sunset, her voice degrading into a wail “Twilight Sparkle! She’s dead, dead, dead…” The alicorn dropped to the floor and began to cry, shaking uncontrollably.
Nightmare lost what little patience she had. She wrapped the neck of the smaller pony on her magic and forced her on all four. “Where. Are. The. Elements?” she snarled, his mane billowing around her like blue fire.
Sunset stared into those sapphire eyes that burned with more fury than she had ever seen. “I don’t know,” she choked out. The expression of shock on the black alicorn face lasted for a fraction of a second. Then she slapped Sunset, who landed on the other side of the cave. Sunset cried in pain when one of the hooves of the large alicorn stomped on her foreleg. “You have lost the Elements,” growled Nightmare, her voice tinted with wrath. “We gave you a simple task, and you have failed. You, unworthy, pathetic, useless, miserable, puny wrench of an alicorn.” The black mare punctuated each word with more of pressure to her victim’s foreleg.
“Please don’t kill me,” whispered Sunset, almost inaudibly.
However, the Nightmare’s fine hearing caught it. She raised her foreleg and lied on the floor. Carefully, almost daintily, she took Sunset on her forelegs and rested her head against her chest. “Kill you? No. We are not going to kill you.” Surprised by the sudden tenderness, Sunset blinked away the tears and looked up. The pitch-black mare was looking at her with a small, loving smile. The same she had seen Celestia bear so many times during their private lessons. But her eyes betrayed her. Her eyes were harsh and hateful, not kind and forgiving. “We are just going to hurt you really, really bad.”
The soft embrace turned into an iron grip. The horn of the alicorn light up. The miniature Sun extinguished and sunk the cave in darkness. A fountain of flesh-pink magic flowed from her eyes and flickered around her face, framing her terrifying grimace. Sunset fought against the grip, but she was too weak.
A scream of pain cut through the howl of the blizzard.