//------------------------------// // 9 - A misunderstanding // Story: A Penny for your thought // by Damaged //------------------------------// It had been a short walk and finding a bed waiting for us back at the spa was a welcome thing. But the moment my dreams began I knew something had changed. "You left us!" One of the shadow-things exclaimed, it's form resolving into my mother. More seemed to fade into color. "We are looking for you!" My father, looking more frail than I remembered seeing him last. "We hate you!" My brother. We hadn't really gotten along, but we had reached a truce for our mother's sake. All that peace was lost in his face now as he looked really angry. "You are the reason I screwed up my life!" Estranged adopted sister, the dark sheep of the family. She stood beside the others as they all called out the bad things in their lives as being my fault. I had run away from that life. "STOP!" It wasn't Luna, she hadn't come yet. It was Nightmare Moon. Memories of her, the rising power from the early episodes, the triumphant and malevolent queen from that season five finale. But she didn't seem so terrible right now as she moved to stand over me. Her horn lowered and dark magic tore up each of those phantoms until there was just us. "We don't know why you think of her when you want a protector." The real princess' voice. Luna had come. She walked around the terrible leader she had almost become. "You see protectiveness, dominance tempered by a desire to defend what she owns." I looked up at the pair, from the frozen nightmare queen to Luna. "I do. When… would she have been like that?" Luna sat down, a soft cushion appearing just before the royal flank hit the floor of the dreamscape. "In reality? Maybe." She seemed to really think on it. "If you had put yourself in her care, we think she would have done… a lot worse than that," she raised a hoof to point to the nightmare-family, "but then she would have given you no freedom in your life. You would have been her puppet, her toy." "Maybe my darker side would have liked that. I don't know really. I guess you don't know what those sorts of things are really like until they are gone." Was I really sitting here talking philosophy with Luna? "Oh, I met someone today, an old friend who claims to be an ambassador." Luna's attention focused right in on me. "Silver." She spoke the word with certainty. What had David done here to be on the tip of Luna's tongue like that? "Yeah, Silver. We were good friends back when we were humans, he was always so… full of ideas and energy." This just got a laugh from the princess. "I take it he has been displaying it here too?" "He is a good pony, but gets into the most amazing troubles. Sister has nearly torn out her mane over his escapades. He… he can be vexing at times." There seemed to be more she wasn't saying, a lot more. I tilted my head back, looking up at the Nightmare Moon still standing over me. She poofed out of being and I got up and trotted to Luna. "I am in Ponyville now, I met some nice ponies so far but, when I am done, I was thinking of going to the Crystal Empire, so Silver and I can chat a little more." Luna frowned a little. "Your lessons with Moon Dancer?" My shoulders fell and I lay down just before the big cushion the princess was on. "Well, Silver could take over on that, although it might cut into his time working for Cadance." Sudden inspiration, about just how it could be under Nightmare Moon's rule. Luna seemed to be set to make decisions for my life. A little shudder ran over me, she was a good ruler, shouldn't she be able to? "Very well. we will contact Moon Dancer. No doubt she will be glad to be able to sink back into her books." Luna looked down to notice my smile at this. "There is a joke?" "Moon Dancer is probably wanting friends a little more, now." Memories of that episode came back, of how happy she had been at the end. "You look like you know more than we do on this. Was it from the 'play' back in your world?" It took a moment for me to realize she meant the tv show. I nodded. "I was present for a bit of it, she almost messed up some part of what happened but I made sure it happened just as it was meant to." Luna seemed to perk up at this, giving a nod. "We will see you when you return to Canterlot, preparations will be made for your longer journey." With that Luna was gone from the dream and I felt peace in my dreams until the end of the night. "Morning sleepy-head!" The happy chittering roused me from the more pleasant dreams, Stick giving me a boop on the nose. "You slept in, good dreams?" "Interesting ones. Luna has agreed that a visit to the Crystal Empire would be possible." I gave one of her cheeks a nuzzle before trying to untangle our legs. "But I think Rarity has plans for us today." Stick nodded, helping me get my fur, mane and tail brushed while I did the same for her, well her mane and tail at least. With my little saddle bags on and a shawl over my back end we were ready for whatever our first customer had in store. Opening the door with a hoof led us out into the hallway of the day spa and both Stick and I knew the way. Heading left took us to the front entry where I stopped short and poor Stick let out a soft chitter of shock. It wasn't just Rarity waiting there. The whole mane six, including Spike, turned and spotted us! Rarity lifted a hoof and gestured to us. "There are the darlings now." But her voice was drowned out by Twilight and the others, clearly readying for battle! "A changeling!" The alicorn quickly had a sphere of force up, one wrapped around Stick before another looped around me for good measure. Stick trembled and fell to her belly in shock. "Stand back girls, I have them!" "Twilight calm down!" Rarity's 'uncouth' loud voice bellowed out over the room. Thankfully with attention gained she could reduce the intensity. "I invited them to join us at the spa, please don't hurt my guests." Twilight blinked but the force bubbles didn't fade. "Excuse me, please, Princess Twilight, can you let me reassure my friend, she was so nervous to meet you and…" I tried to push against the wall to reach to Stick but it wasn't until Rarity used her own magic to turn Twilight's attention to herself that they both snapped out. "Both these girls came here willingly, openly. They did some work for my boutique and it would be frightful to have you cause any more fuss about them." Rarity's words had an effect on Twilight but the others were still complaining. I ignored them moving to Stick and gently rubbing her withers, giving one cheek a bump with my nose. "Rarity, it's a changeling, they probably both are, you can't trust them!" Rainbow seemed vehement about it. It was, amazingly, Fluttershy that approached us. I am sure normally we would have been intimidating to her but the sight of Stick must have appealed to her caring ways. "Are you alright?" Her softest of voices, barely a whisper unless your ears were turned toward her, had Stick look up. "Idon'twanttohurtanyone!" Stick's exclamation, full of chitter and forced out with nary a pause between the words, had the pegasus reach down and rub her other shoulder. The rest were silent in shock as the adorable yellow mare reassured the changeling. "If we are a problem, we will just leave." I leaned down to nose at Stick, helping her get up with my support and we got two steps before soft blue magic gripped the door that led outside closed. "I won't allow this." Rarity practically pranced over, reaching a hoof to the still shaken changeling. "This is not how friendship works." She turned back and I could see a dare flick from her eyes to Twilight and, despite her earlier misgivings, the princess accepted it. "Rarity's right, but, tell us, were you one of the changelings who attacked Canterlot?" The princess of friendship stepped up to Stick, the girl now caught between myself and Rarity and looking up to Twilight. "No, my job was to care for others, in the hive." Her voice trembled and chittered so much it might have been hard to follow, but Twilight had. "Then there is nothing to ask to be forgiven." Looking to Rainbow Dash, Twilight seemed to have offered the pegasus the same challenge as she had taken up. Applejack, having kept out of most of the kerfuffle so far, walked boldly up to Stick. "Twilight's got the right'o it, near's I can figger." She held out a bold hoof and I felt the trembling lessen. The legends of this mare's strength abounded, even to those that didn't personally know her. If she offered a hoof in friendship, how could you possibly say 'no'? "Stick!" Introductions were to start. "My name is Stick. I promise not to mimic anyone without making it easily known I am, and to never drink without asking." She looked up to AJ, hoof reaching and getting a firm shake. "Well howdy there, Stick." Applejack's grin spread not just from one side of her snout to the other, but also made it to the changeling. Pinkie bounced up. "DO ME!" Stick giggled and was about to change but I put a hoof on her withers. "Stick, this takes energy…" The girl looked up to me and nodded. "Okay, how about, if you want her to look like you, you offer to be harmlessly nibbled at for a day? I really can't keep her going on my own, nor would it be healthy to try." Pinkie, of course, was not dissuaded and began a chant. "Do me, do me, do me, do me, do me-" Thankfully, when Stick became a Pinkie-Stick, the chant stopped. To be replaced with a squee. "Oh look, she has my eyes, my ears, my mane, my cutie… wait a moment!" Attention was drawn by the assembled, all looking to Stick's flanks. "I promised not to steal forms. This is how you would know I am not Pinkie." Stick gestured back with a perfect pink hoof to it. It was hard to focus with two Pinkie Pies around, of course one lacked the amazing energy of the other, but that was beside the point. "Can I have my cute friend back?" Pinkie-Stick looked to me and gave a nod. A rush of energy flowed over her, manifested as green flames and the changeling was back to herself. "Much better." I leaned in and hugged her tight. "The spa won't get cold, but girls, we simply must begin." Rarity's voice pulled attention so easily and everypony seemed to turn and follow the patiently waiting Aloe into the spa. We were delayed, however, by a loitering Rainbow Dash. "Twi's all distracted by her new castle, but if either of you two pipsqueaks do something to hurt her or anyone else around here…" One of the pegasus' hooves crashed into another with a very final thud, before she turned and headed in. We were last to advance. "She really loves her friends." Stick's voice was low and it immediately made me worry. I leaned closer. "Stick, please don't drink from-" A hoof had landed on my snout, the age-old and apparently cross-reality gesture to be quiet. "I am perceptive, I learn to read ponies."