Fast laid across a pillow. Her injured leg was bandaged with a gauze wrapping. With a flash of green flame, she became her ruddy red unicorn self, but it was a disguise. It wasn't... her. "I'm a changeling..."
A soft clopping came from the door before Celestia entered with a gentle smile. "Hello, Fast Change." She closed the door behind herself with golden magic. "This must be very trying for you."
Fast looked up at the imposing figure, though being a queen meant she was about as large. She was a queen... "Is it forever?"
Celestia drew a slow breath. "There are tales of some changelings managing to fight their way back from that, to return from the darkness," She smiled a little. "You've proven it's not so dark as we had assumed."
Fast brought her injured leg down, thumping the cushion she was resting on. "I can never go back!"
"Where did you wish to go?"
Fast turned away, hiding fresh tears. "Night, and Silver... My herd. I was hoping... I mean, sure, they needed me, and I was going to stay with them until everything was stable."
Soft and feathery wings descended on her as Celestia sat down beside Fast. "I know they understand..."
"What if I don't understand?" Fast turned back to Celestia, scowling and crying at once. "Well... what did you come for? Are we planning my execution?"
Celestia raised a brow. "I should hope not. You're a hero, and we treat even our villains better than that." She raised a hoof, brushing against Fast's tear-stained cheek. "You prevented a far larger catastrophe with your action. No, we will tell the ponies of the city the truth, and they will celebrate you. You're not here to be punished, I swear."
"We don't have to rescue her?" came a shrill voice from the pillow beneath Fast, sending her scurrying away in surprise. With a flash of green flames, it became a small changeling, smiling brightly. "That's good! Please don't hurt her. She's a great queen!"
Celestia reached out, patting the new changeling on the head. "A few boundaries need to be set, little one. No shapeshifting within the castle. Your queen is safe, I assure."
A chorus of a cheer erupted from around the room as several other tricky changelings that knew the art of inanimate objects appeared from seemingly nowhere, clopping their hooves with relief and happiness. One of them was a leader, and one Fast knew well. Out of her disguise, she was battered and broken, but she had chosen to come anyway.
Fast rushed to Stand In, hugging her carefully. "Stand! It's great to see you."
Celestia shook her head slowly. "Queen Fast Change, you have a new family, and they need you."
Stand glanced away, then back at Fast. "If I may be truthful... I thought you were a flake at first. Just some lackadaisical unicorn with a shapeshifting fetish." She pointed a bandaged hoof at Fast's own bandage. "You're one of us now, and you earned it for us. You could have run away, but you didn't."
Fast clenched her teeth a moment before she nodded. "I am, and I did." She stood tall. "I'd... do it again." Even as she struggled to release the idea that she'd ever return to 'normal', she spread her fore-hooves out towards all her sneaky changelings. "You're mine, and I'll do my best." They pressed in close, hugging their queen eagerly. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad...
They had ascended for what felt like hours. Silver's thumped ankle grew more and more irritated until he just couldn't put pressure on it and had to switch to an awkward three-legged gait. Night noticed quickly and tried to scoop him up, but he refused. "You're hurt too, on the inside. I'll take a few awkward steps right now." He smiled dreamily a little. "Twins."
Night snorted loudly. "You classic stallion... Do you think I'm ready for twins?" She moved ahead, leaving Silver to hobble along after them.
Cadance slowed until Silver hobbled past her, then grabbed him in her strong magic, plucking him right up and setting him on her back. "You can't use that excuse with me."
Silver let out a bit of a squeak, but calmed himself and relaxed on her. Part of him felt guilty, and mixed. Was it right to ride another mare like this? But he didn't want to burden his recently abused and swelling wife. He decided to just be limp and wait for the moment.
Around that pillar they went. The space away from the pillar seemed to be a bright bit of nothing. They couldn't even tell where they were. Cadance snorted softly. "I don't think we're actually anywhere right now. This must be a space between spaces to keep a portion of the castle isolated from the rest."
Night looked out into the sea of white. "That would fit with what I've seen so far. You said Twilight came this way?" She craned her neck upwards. "Are those her hoofprints?"
Cadance looked up with her. "How on Equestria did she get her hoofprints on the bottom of the stairs?"
Night shook her head. "She cheated, like unicorns do, and she's very good at it. Shame our unicorn is busted."
"Hey..." Silver looked up. Yep, tracks of a pony passing by as if sliding... How? Oh right! He felt a flush of embarrassment as he remembered back to that episode clearly. "I know how she did it, but I don't know any spells like that. Most spellbooks I find don't have gravity spells in them."
Cadance twisted an ear back. "Gravity? That sister-in-law of mine does love playing with the basic forces of the universe. She's utterly terrifying when you think about it. Good thing she's also a harmless geek."
Night raised a brow. "Are you insulting her?"
"Insulting her?" Cadance laughed softly. "I married the only bigger geek in the land, her brother." She reached over and tapped Night with a hoof. "I seem to be in the company of two right now, and that's alright. Geeks are good ponies."
Night looked uncertain. "But you don't strike me as a 'geek'."
She shrugged. "Some of it's rubbed off on me, but for the longest time, you would have been right. I was a 'popular' mare." She hopped over a step, making Silver squeak. "I never stopped being the 'popular' mare." She cracked a crooked smile. "I've gained a few levels in it and took a prestige class, making me a Level 3 Queen."
Silver giggled from atop her. "That was an adorably geeky statement to make. I accept you as one of us."
Night nodded in agreement. "So... do you still play?"
That was how they passed the time. Silver stepped up to being the storyteller of their game, weaving a whimsical tale for two brave adventurers to press through. No dice or paper was involved, just their imagination, and that served well enough, and far better than just focusing on the seemingly-eternal climb ahead of them.
"You throw open the chest with a flick of magic, but there's nothing inside but a single scrap of parchment!"
Night snorted and looked to Cadance. "What's it say? Who beat us to the treasure?"
Cadance peeked over her back. "I take the note and give it a read."
"It says 'I prepared explosive rune--' It explodes brilliantly, leaving you black and sooty from your face to your barrel."
Laughing, gasping, and generally having a good time, the journey passed in good spirits, and they arrived at the top of the tower at last. What they found though took them all by surprise. Beside the shard Silver had hoped to find lay the severed horn of Sombra. How had it gotten there, none could say, but Night stepped forward to claim both, only for Cadance's hoof to thrust ahead of her. "Wait..." She scowled at the piece of alicorn.
Cadance prowled around the two artifacts. "So this is how you've been influencing us. You were right next to us the entire time..."
Silver slid off of Cadance's back, standing on three legs once more. "Maybe I should take it. I know when he's trying to throw me into a nightmare."
Night nipped at him. "Just because you know doesn't mean you can't be affected."
"Listen to her," spoke the quiet tone of Sombra. "She speaks sense, this time."
Silver raised a hoof. "Why did you attack us like that?"
"You're in my way, and attempting to take what's mine."
"You would see a child slain for that?" Silver raised a brow. "We're not even working against you."
"Lies!"
"You're not?" Cadance looked confused.
"Damn it, we want you to have the chance to settle this, properly. Like an adult." Silver took a step forward slowly, teetering on his one foreleg. "You know she wouldn't approve of this. No right-thinking pony does that."
"Stop bringing her up." There was a moment of silence. "Perhaps I did press too eagerly. It is beneath me."
Silver smiled with some hope budding. "I'm going to take this piece now, is that alright?"
"Prove you are sincere." Sombra's form appeared as a ghost over the fragment of his horn. "Restore me."
Cadance bristled at the idea, but kept her mouth closed. She looked to Silver that time.
Silver nodded. "We'll have to talk to her. I imagine she's the only one that can do this right?"
Sombra vanished, fading away. "She will not come. Begone."
Silver looked to Night and Cadance before hobbling to the closest window. "We should go."
Cadance's wings spread wide. "What? Leave him here, where he can take over our minds again?"
Night snorted softly. "It's a gesture of confidence. It has to start somewhere, right Silver?"
Silver smiled, relieved at her understanding. "Right. We know where he is, now." He pointed with his hurt hoof. "And we know where we are. We can fly down from here, right?"
Cadance shook her head as she moved up on Silver, plucking him up. "Let's go. You're going to need to tell me who she is." She launched herself out, Night following, and they descended back to the castle proper.
There were plans to be had.