Any lingering resentment I felt over not going to the Gala evaporated when I saw Sweetie Belle in her elegant little dress while I ate a late lunch in the kitchen of the boutique. I smiled despite my still jumbled thoughts from my encounter with Discord. "You really look lovely, Sweetie."
"I still can't believe that mean old Discord tried to get you to go with him," Sweetie said.
My ears drew back slightly. "Maybe I should've gone with him anyway just to get to go to the Gala."
I had not been serious, but as Rarity trotted into the room wearing her dress, she voiced her opinion. "No, Candy, you did the right thing in refusing that ruffian. As much as I don't care for his presence at the Gala, at least he won't be here in Ponyville harassing you. The nerve of him, thinking he can toy with your affections like that!"
I nearly choked on a bite of salad. "Er, right."
"But who's he going to take if Candy refused him?" Sweetie asked.
Rarity sniffed. "I'm sure it will be somepony more suited to his, ahem, tastes. We'll have to trust that Twilight and Princess Celestia will ensure he'll mind his manners."
I sincerely had my doubts about that.
"Sweetie, I need to check on a hem on my dress that looks a tad frayed," said Rarity. "I should be only a few minutes. Meet me in the front by then so we can head to the train station."
"Okay," said Sweetie.
"And do be careful, please. You don't want that dress stained."
Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay!"
Rarity smiled before heading out.
"She just wants this to be a great night for you," I said.
Sweetie smiled. "I know, but if I didn't complain to her now and then, she'd think I'd been replaced with a changeling or something."
I frowned. "Don't even joke about that, Sweetie. It's really not funny."
Her smile faded. "Oh, um, sorry." She paused. "You sure you're going to be okay by yourself?"
"I'm told Princess Luna will be keeping an eye on me."
"That's good. She's really cool. She helped me once deal with some guilt I had over, um, something I did to Rarity that I really shouldn't have."
"You'll have to tell me that one when you get back."
She blushed. "Mmmaybe ..."
While I looked forward to spending more time with Sweetie after the Gala, that thought suddenly summoned an uneasy feeling that I had on and off since my conversation with Discord. "Hey, um, Sweetie? You really like your teacher, right?"
"You mean Miss Cheerilee? Yeah, she's really nice. I still wish she'd find a special somepony." Sweetie paused. "The Crusaders tried to help her with that once, but ... um ... it didn't end well."
She blushed again, and I smiled. Add another bit of teasing fodder for later. "Does she tend to ask how her students are doing outside of school?"
"Oh, yeah, she's always talking to parents and stuff like that."
I relaxed somewhat. "Well, that's good to hear. I ran into her earlier today, and she was asking about you. Well, you and your friends."
Sweetie blinked. "You did?"
"She apparently helped smooth things over between you and Rarity so you could go to the Gala. She did the same for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, too."
Sweetie looked surprised. "Really? Huh."
"Something wrong?"
"Well, not really," said Sweetie Belle. "Just that I didn't think she'd be back already."
My heart thumped. "Back? From where?"
"Fillydelphia. She told the class on the last day of the semester that she was spending a few weeks there visiting relatives and attending some sort of teacher conference. I guess she got back a little early."
I swallowed my bite of lunch rather hard, my throat clicking.
"You okay, Candy?" Sweetie asked.
My mind suddenly whirled back to Discord's comment about Tree Hugger. It hadn't made any sense until I recalled her reaction to the departing Cheerilee. But what had Discord meant about being right twice? Did that also refer to when Tree Hugger picked up on my alien origin?
"Um, yeah," I said in a vague voice.
"Are you sure? You look upset."
My heart hammered. Had that really been Sevfivtoo I had spoken to? Why hadn't she taken that opportunity to try to kill me and take the pendant? Why just engage in idle chit-chat? I shook my head. "It's fine, Sweetie, I'm just a bit distracted."
"Sweetie Belle!" came Rarity's voice. "No more dawdling! We need to get going!"
Sweetie turned her head towards the door. "Coming!"
I smiled. "I hope you have a good time."
She reached a hoof across the table. My smile widened as I touched mine to hers. What I had said to Cheerilee was true; Sweetie really did feel like a little sister, and with as much as my heart ached at the idea of anything happening to her, I think I loved her like one.
"I'd hug you, but I don't want to wrinkle your dress," I said softy.
"Then give me an extra one when I get back."
I giggled. "I will, I promise."
Sweetie Belle hopped off her chair.
"And you promise me something," I said as she started for the door. "Promise you'll stick close to Rarity or your friends tonight. Don't be alone."
Sweetie rolled her eyes. "You really are getting as bad as Rarity." In a softer voice she added, "Thanks. I will."
My gaze lingered on her as she trotted out the door. I listened as she and Rarity left the boutique as I stared at the uneaten portion of my lunch. I frowned, wolfed down the rest of my meal, and rushed out of the boutique. I glanced at the retreating tails of Rarity and Sweetie Belle before galloping for the castle. I hoped Spike either had opted not to go or had not left yet.
I suppressed a yawn as I secured the final stitch before pulling the thread taut and snipping it with the scissors. Both it and the needle wobbled as I set them down on the craft table. I rubbed my head at the dull ache under my horn but smiled at my achievement.
The lacy trim I had secured to the edge of a practice dress flared in elegant ruffles that remained undamaged despite my magical manipulation. While this could have been accomplished adequately with the sewing machine, I was forbidden from touching it until I learned to do everything unassisted.
I yawned fully as I trotted out of the workroom. Pale, silvery light streaked across the floor of the otherwise dark hall, the moon hanging low over the horizon. Without the distraction of my work, emotions stirred in restless abandon that precluded sleep. I headed into the kitchen to make some tea to help relax me.
I froze when a gentle knock sounded at the door to the boutique. My hoof briefly flew to my pendant. I trotted to the front room, stopping halfway to the door. "We're closed!" I called out in a quavering voice.
"Perhaps you might make an exception for a friend," said a gentle and familiar voice.
I gasped, smiled, and rushed to the door, opening it with magic before I got there.
"Hello, Candy Swirl," said Princess Luna as she smiled gently. "Might I visit with you for a short while?"
"Of course!" I gushed. "I didn't know you were going to come see me, Princess. I thought you'd be at the Gala and would just look in on me while I slept."
Luna stepped inside, and she closed the door with a push of magic. "I'm not quite as fond of the Gala as my sister, and I'm not as keen on who she likes to invite."
"You don't happen to mean Discord, do you?"
Luna sighed. "Tia seems to believe he would 'liven things up.' I told her to be careful what she wished for."
The mention of Discord brought all my worries flooding back to me. I had worked myself to near magical exhaustion just to keep my mind off them. I could still see Sweetie Belle in that dress as she trotted out of the kitchen. Her words concerning Cheerilee haunted me almost as much as Discord's roundabout clues.
I needed to talk about it. Part of me still insisted I didn't need to bother her with this, but ... well, let's just say the smarter part of me prevailed, just as it had earlier. I had enough of playing to emotions that stopped me from doing the right thing.
"I come bearing a gift," said Luna, breaking me out of my reverie. Her horn glowed, and a cloth bag closed with a braided drawstring emerged from under her wing. She presented it to me.
I took it in my magic, but I had no need to open it. I could smell it easily, my ears rising. Coffee.
"For tomorrow morning, of course," said Luna. "It's a rather strong blend."
"Thank you," I said. "Princess, I was about to make some tea, would you like to join me?"
"I would love to."
"And ... maybe we can talk about a few things that are on my mind."
"Like your encounter with Discord?"
I glanced at her as we headed towards the kitchen. "You know about that already?"
"Twilight received the letter Spike dispatched on your behalf," said Luna. "She had mentioned it."
That helped. It felt less like an imposition now. I had already resolved to speak with Luna, but this made it easier. "It's a little more than that, but, yeah, that's a big part."
"Then by all means, Candy, please enlighten me ..."
It felt as odd as it did good to share a cup of tea with Princess Luna in such an informal setting as Rarity's kitchen. Even more so -- in both respects -- to pour out my concerns to her.
"I checked Twilight's wards as I arrived," said Luna as she set down her cup. "They are undisturbed. I do not believe Sevfivtoo somehow slipped past them."
"So there's no way Miss Cheerilee could've been a changeling?"
"It seems unlikely, but neither Twilight nor I wish to dismiss your concern out of hoof."
"Is there any way to check on her?"
"I will peer into her dreams tonight," said Luna. "It would rule out her having been affected by a changeling recently, or captured and subjected to a changeling cocoon."
I shuddered as I recalled finding Strong Wing in the forest. "When you first visited my dreams, you knew I was in the castle. Could you do the same for her and see if she's really in Ponyville?"
"I could, yes."
"Thank you, Princess." I still shivered a bit at the memory Luna had prompted. "Just ... just what are those cocoon things?"
"They appear to act as both a prison and a convenient means by which to feed," said Luna. "The pony inside can be kept in a dream-like state, having visions which generate emotions that changelings can feed upon."
My stomach turned. "That sounds ... sick."
Luna paused to take a sip of her tea. "It also impairs my ability to walk their dreams, which is why I was unable to assist in finding Strong Wing."
I sighed and looked down into my cup. "I'm worried about Sweetie Belle."
"Twilight had taken precautions even before your letter arrived," said Luna. "She warded the train to Canterlot and intends to do the same with the one back to Ponyville tomorrow morning."
I nodded, feeling a bit more relaxed. "Um, Princess? Can I ask you something that might be personal?"
Luna smiled. "Please ask, Candy Swirl."
"How do you feel about the changelings?"
Luna drew back, looking thoughtful. "Even though I suspected Queen Chrysalis' motives from the start when she suggested the summit, the desire for peace with the changelings runs strong with my sister and I."
That ... didn't really answer my question. It sounded more like a political position. I supposed she felt required to say that, but I had hoped for something more. "Okay, um, I guess I understand."
"I suspect that answer was unsatisfactory."
"Well, yeah, it kinda was," I said in a low voice. "Sorry."
"Please do not be." Luna paused for a long moment. "The changelings are unique in that their behavior is by necessity rather than by choice, at least as far as we know. This makes it hard not just to deal with them, but to know what to think about them."
"I know what I think about them," I muttered.
"Yes, I am aware of that, and it is perfectly understandable given the circumstances."
Maybe that was meant to help me feel better, but it wasn't working. Wasn't this supposed to be a magical fantasy world? Weren't things simply good or evil in places like this? Unfortunately, I had only to look at Discord to completely refute that idea. I couldn't place him in either category.
"I feel wary of them," said Luna. "That best sums up my feelings, and likely those of my sister as well."
"Princess, do you know about Matilda's friend?" I asked.
"Yes, Twilight mentioned it in a letter she sent to my sister and I."
"I don't want anything to do with that changeling."
Luna nodded once. "That is your choice. You cannot be forced to confront your feelings concerning his ilk if you feel it is too soon."
I tilted my head. "Confront?"
"Resolving to hate others is not desirable in the long run," said Luna. "It is almost always simply a step, a means of coping for the moment."
"So am I wrong to hate him? Or changelings in general?"
"No emotion is 'wrong', Candy Swirl. We have them for a reason. We are not machines in that we can turn them on and off at will. But negative emotions which continue unabated can cause problems in the long run." She paused to take another sip of her tea. "If anypony knows that, it would be me. The situation is not exactly the same, of course, and I don't mean to imply you would somehow become a 'Nightmare Swirl' in the future."
I actually grinned slightly at the imagery that conjured.
"But unresolved feelings can eventually cause you pain. I cannot predict how, but it is what I believe, and what I have seen before." Her eyes became distant for a moment. "In a way, it is something I still wrestle with myself."
I lifted my forgotten teacup and scrunched up my muzzle when I found the tea had cooled. After I put it down, it glowed in Luna's magic until the tea steamed once more. "Thank you," I said as I picked it up. "So you're saying I should confront one of them?"
"Perhaps, but when you do is entirely at your discretion."
I took a sip of tea and stared into my teacup, tilting it and watching the liquid slosh about, something of a metaphor for my feelings. "Twilight wants to talk to this changeling herself," I said in a low voice.
"Tia and I believe she should proceed," said Luna. "With adequate security in place, of course. Regardless of your feelings towards him, he could indeed provide valuable information."
Which, of course, would be an ideal time to "confront" him. But to do what? Rail at him for the crimes of his peers? Or for simply being what he is? Or demand some sort of retribution?
While my thoughts stewed, a scroll suddenly popped into existence before Princess Luna. She grasped it with her magic and unrolled it. "This is a missive from my sister," Luna said, her eyes sliding back and forth as she read. "Oh, dear."
My stomach clenched. "What is it?"
"It appears there was an incident at the Gala." Her eyes flicked to me for a moment. "Nothing related to changelings or your pendant, rest assured. It appears centered around Discord. His companion apparently got out of control."
"And who was his companion?"
"Some sort of gelatinous pile of green ooze."
My mouth dropped open.
Luna glanced at me. "Something the matter?"
I groaned and face-hoofed. Maybe I should have gone with him after all. "Nothing. Princess Celestia must be livid."
"Actually, she considers this the most fun she's had at a Gala in a long time."
I simply stared at her.
Luna rolled up the scroll. "My sister is odd that way sometimes. The main thing is, nopony was hurt, and Discord learned a lesson in friendship from Fluttershy."
I waited. When nothing more was forthcoming, I blurted, "That's it?"
The scroll disappeared in a flicker of magic. "Apparently."
So why did it seem like every other problem in this world was solved and wrapped up in a half hour or so but mine continued on with no end in sight?
Luna glanced towards the window. "The hour grows late. I am sure you wish to rest, and I must attend to my nightly dream duties."
I downed as much as the remainder of the tea as I could before setting down the cup. "Princess, Discord had implied that the changeling is expecting me to go to it. What about that?"
"Without knowing Sevfivtoo's plan, it is hard to say," said Luna. "Perhaps Twilight will know more after speaking with this other changeling. For now, it presents an easier means of avoiding trouble: simply do not seek her out."
I had the uneasy feeling it would not be that simple.
I stand upon a field of vibrantly green grass, my gaze cast at my feet. Appearing as a pony in my dreams still eludes me, even when I see other ponies sharing the same imagined reality. When I raise my eyes, my heart aches at the familiar landscape. The castle is set against the same backdrop of white-capped peaks, and water flows nearby.
"Michelle?" I call out.
Grass rustles to my side. "Right here, Rachel."
I whirl around, and my breath catches in my throat. Michelle steps towards me, still in her elegant, flowing purple robe. "Wh-what the hell? Have you found a way to ... no, I'm still asleep."
"Yes, you are," Michelle says as she steps up to me. "This is indeed your dream."
"But I thought you needed energy to interact with me like this."
"Starswirl is stealing a bit of the energy from Twilight's shield spell."
I frown. "I need that spell!"
"This won't weaken it significantly, and Princess Luna is protecting you," Michelle says. "Twilight can renew it once she's back."
Michelle always was the practical one, but I still feel I should have been consulted. "Why are you doing this?"
Michelle turns her gaze towards the castle. "I heard everything that happened in your encounter with Discord. Well ... I hear just about everything that happens around you."
My eyes widen. Given her knowledge of my life in Equestria during our previous meeting, I should have realized this, but it is still a shock. "So much for privacy."
Michelle turns to me. "Rachel, please, this is important. I know this will be hard for you, but I want you present when Twilight speaks to Kevin."
I gape at her. "What?! Why?"
"So Starswirl and I can hear what he has to say."
"You'll get it when Twilight tells me what she learned."
Michelle smiles faintly. "Twilight is very good at what she does, but she sometimes sees things through a bit of a filter. I don't want to risk something being lost in translation."
I tilt my head. "YOU don't?"
Michelle's eyes flick to the side. "I mean us. Starswirl and I."
Am I making too much of that little slip? Yet Michelle tends to be precise with her language. Are they having another difference of opinion?
Her gaze meets mine, and she takes a step forward, her hand alighting on my shoulder. The touch is nowhere as real as it was during out last meeting, and I resist uttering a forlorn sigh. "I'm sorry to have to ask this of you. I know how you feel about the changelings."
"Why don't YOU feel the same way?" I demand. "Why aren't you as angry as I am? Why don't you hate them like I do?"
Michelle's eyes glisten. "I ... I really don't want to discuss that right now."
I swallow hard. I feel as disconnected from her as that night when we had our one huge argument. I place my hand on hers and squeeze gently. I can feel it, yet not feel it. "A-all right, fine. I'll do this. Maybe by then Zecora will have another potion whipped up, and we can talk like we did before."
Michelle lowers her head, a lock of hair falling over one eye. She slowly withdraws her hand and turns away. "About that. It might be better not to do that again."
I stare at her. "Why the HELL not?!"
"Starswirl and I don't want to risk doing anything to damage the pendant."
"But that's ridiculous!"
Michelle gives me a small smile. "As happy as I am to see you mastering unicorn magic, I don't think that quite makes you an expert."
"No, I'm not. But Twilight IS."
"Yes, she is. But she doesn't quite know everything about how the pendant works."
"She intends to find out," I say in a challenging tone. "And ... and I intend to ask her about helping you get out of this thing."
Michelle nods. "We would prefer if Twilight helps me manifest. That's the safer of the--"
"No, I mean permanently. As in get you a new body."
Michelle's eyes become cloudy. "Rachel ... no, please, don't pursue that. Don't let Twilight pursue that."
"Why not?!"
"You'll only be disappointed."
"How do you know?" I demand. "This avatar of Starswirl may have all his knowledge, but it's outdated! Just because HE can't do it doesn't mean no one can!"
"Rachel ..."
"TWILIGHT COMPLETED A SPELL HE COULDN'T! She became a goddamn ALICORN because of it!"
Michelle sighs and lowers her head. "You need to understand, there are simply some things magic cannot do. Please, Rachel, have Twilight focus on assisting my manifestation, as that's something proven to work. We can't take the chance that--"
A tremendous boom reverberates through the dreamscape, shaking the ground. Before either of us can say a word, it is followed by a crack like the crystalline report of delicate glass shattering amplified to deafening proportion. I gasp when my gaze rises to the sky, where the very air itself is coming apart, as if it were only a painted backdrop against a glass dome.
"What's going on?!" I scream.
"Something is breaking into your dream!" Michelle cries.
"Oh, way to state the obvious, Michelle! Just what--"
Another boom-crack reverberates through our reality, and the wound in the sky grows. My heart leaps into my throat, until I see a single midnight-blue leg break through, its hoof adorned in gold.
"Starswirl is trying to keep it out!" Michelle shouts as she grabs my hand. "We need to head into the castle, it's safer there!"
I resist her. "No, wait! It looks like--"
The "intruder" renders the rest of my statement moot. The dream substrate shatters, revealing a star-filled void beyond, and Princess Luna charges through the gap, her horn blazing. She zooms towards the ground and lands next to me. "Candy, are you all right?"
I stare, too shocked for a moment at the worry on her face to respond. "Um ... well, yes, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
Luna shifts her eyes to the side and turns from me. Michelle drops into a curtsy before Luna, bowing her head. "WHY HAST THOU BLOCKED US FROM THIS DREAM?" Luna thunders in a voice that shakes the ground. "WHAT WAS THINE INTENT IN MASKING THIS DREAM FROM US?"
So THAT was the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Why are you yelling at her?" I ask of Luna before turning to Michelle. "Michelle, what's she talking about?"
Michelle rises, her head still bowed. "My apologies, Princess of the Night. Starswirl perhaps was too enthusiastic in protecting this dreamscape from outside influence."
Luna narrows her eyes before turning to me. "When I found I could not access your dream, I feared the worst. When I visited your bedside in the real world, however, you were sleeping normally." She turns to Michelle. "I wish to speak with this avatar of Starswirl."
Michelle sighs. "I'm not sure he--"
"NOW."
I don't understand Starswirl's elusiveness. What is he hiding?
Michelle glances towards the castle. "I will speak with him, Princess."
Luna steps forward. "Perhaps we should accompany you back to the castle."
"As you wish," Michelle says without looking at either of us as she starts walking.
I have never felt so distant from Michelle. I want to walk alongside her, but a sense of dread creeps over me, and I have no idea why. I instead walk with Luna. "Um ... Twilight mentioned that you and Celestia's friendship with Starswirl was strained for a while."
"Indeed," says Luna in a somber voice. "I am trying not to let that color my judgment. I know this avatar is a mere shadow, but it is acting too oddly for my comfort."
"He only wants a good outcome to a bad situation," Michelle says.
"I will be the judge of that," Luna declares.
"There's much you don't know."
"Then I look forward to him dispelling my ignorance."
My heart thumps as my own questions for Starswirl crystallize in my head. Hope soars that I will soon no longer feel like I am flopping about like a fish out of water. As much as I am sometimes caught up in my own volatile emotions, I want to do the right thing. I want to resolve this and move on.
My hopes are shattered when everything vanishes, and Luna and I are left standing in a star-filled void.
"What the fuck?!" I cry. "Michelle! MICHELLE!!"
I am about to start running in the direction I last saw her when Luna wraps a wing around me. "There is no point," she says with a sigh. "The dream has ended."
I spin around to face her. "Can you make it come back?"
"I can interact only with existing dreams," Luna says. "I cannot make them happen nor force them to continue."
"But what about Michelle?"
"I sense she is still safely in the pendant. Her connection to you was simply broken, likely by the avatar of Starswirl."
My hands ball into fists. I could no longer think of this Starswirl as anything other than a prison guard, and I see Michelle's release from the pendant as freeing her from an unjust incarceration.
As if sensing my thoughts, Luna draws close. "I do not like this situation either, but there is little that can be done now. It is best I return you to your rest. Be absolutely sure to inform Twilight of everything that happened."
"I will, Princess," I say. "Oh, did you get a chance to check on Miss Cheerilee?"
"Yes, which is what I was on my way to tell you when I discovered your dream closed to me," Luna replies. "Her dreams were somewhat disturbed, but she shows no sign of being affected by a changeling. She is also in Ponyville."
So was Discord just toying with me, giving me clues as useless as that joke "answer?" Why do I still have an uneasy feeling? I have little chance to think more on it before the starry void fades, and I fall into deeper, dreamless slumber ...
My eyes blinked open, and I squinted at the bright sunlight streaming across the bed. I stretched under the covers and yawned. I draped a fore-leg over my head just under my horn and uttered a long, suffering sigh (in a gesture I would realize only later was very Rarity-like). I closed my eyes as images of the dream flickered across my mind.
When I drew my next breath, however, a rich and delightful aroma tickled my nose and interrupted my thoughts. I crawled out of bed and found the clock. It was just after nine, and the train was not due until ten. My mane was a mess, but the smell was too enticing. I trotted into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Candy Swirl," said Princess Luna. Two mugs of coffee steamed on the table.
I climbed into the chair opposite her. "Um, good morning. Not that I'm unhappy to see you, Princess, but I thought you'd be back in Canterlot by now."
"I need to continue protecting you until the others return."
My heart thumped at the grave tone to her voice. "Something happened, didn't it?"
"There's been an incident involving the train returning from Canterlot," said Luna. "Nopony is hurt, but Twilight and her friends need to finish investigating before they can allow the train to continue."
The fear that should have gripped me never materialized. An unfamiliar but welcome emotion had displaced it: resolve. Screw what Michelle said. I would honor her request concerning Kevin, but I was tired of not getting the answers I wanted. If that meant using Zecora's potion again, so be it.
It was time I started calling the shots.