The Chimera

by Scarheart

Chimera 20: Dalesong

The Council of Queens consisted of a collection of matriarchs from well over two dozen tribes (as opposed to houses in the more 'civil' changeling kingdoms). No two bore the same color, though a light green seemed prevalent on their carapaces and chitin. They came in all sizes; big and small, fat and skinny. Some were young, others seemingly as ancient as the scattered stones of the desert. Luna left Silent Wing in the care of the camels, safely contained within his tent and the grouchy doctor who watched over him. Old Mother Moonstar had warned Luna of the particular ways of the Jade Changelings, essentially echoing what Silent's doctor already enlightened her feeble knowledge on them. It was like going into a den of vipers; if she moved the wrong way, any one of the matriarchs might take offense and become hostile. She could not make promises she could not keep and she absolutely, positively could not choose sides.

Luna wished she had her sister's patience for diplomacy at that moment. She was not one for negotiations, where as Celestia was a political animal. Luna's focus as a ruler was more towards enforcing the policies her sister worked hard to wheedle from the ambassadors from other nations. The country's security was her interest.

There were thousands of changelings hovering over and around the oasis. The din of buzzing wings hummed constantly as loose groups droned about at verying heights in the clear blue sky. If they felt the heat of the sun, they gave no indication. Their light green carapaces gleamed in the desert sun as they patrolled outwards, maintaining a wary look out for the hated Topaz. The word sent out by Tseng Tzu had ushered this gathering and in a span of less than twelve hours since the camels arrived, the first changeling scouting party came. Within three more hours, the mass of pseudo ponies arrived like a sandstorm from almost every direction imaginable. There was order in the seeming chaos as the best spots near the water were reserved for the most powerful 'sheikas', as the Jade matriarchs were known as.

On the northern shore of the oasis were ringed with the great tents of the most powerful house mothers. Luna noted they always had a certain squint to their solid eyes, glowing with a myriad of colors from white to blue to a deep crimson. A few of them wore loose fitting tabards, bearing odd symbols and markings the Alicorn would not understand. Their warriors were easily distinguished by the pattern of scars on their muzzles. They chatted with each other around small cooking fires as she worked her way from her tent to a cluster of large changelings gathered at a round table set in a clearing at the center of the tents. Several poles had been erected with thin blue cotton sheets shielding the sun's harsh glare from the changelings gathered at the table. Upon the table was a spread of foods sparsely among clay pitchers of water.

She noted passively the eyes upon her, reminding herself to keep her head held high and to show no weakness. Silent had coached her as best he could when he had the strength.

"Remember," he had told her before she departed to greet the Jade Changelings, "look them in the eye when you speak. Be at their level."

She smiled at the memory as her hooves crunched through the hard sand. "Mind yourself, prince," Luna had told him tartly, "I know how to act regal in the presence of others. I rather think I excel at that, thank you."

Behind her some camels watched as she approached a pair of changeling guards.

"You must be the mare," said one, not disrespectful. He blinked up at her, offering a smile. "Mother will be pleased to meet a pony. You're the first one I've seen, S'atkah."

His partner nodded vigorously, offering a goofy grin. Luna tried not to stare at him as he had an expression suggesting he was not completely there. His ears flopped forward and back as his head bobbed up and down. The spiny crest flared as a happy chirp greeted the princess.

"He's harmless, S'atkah," the first changeling said to her apologetically.

Luna blinked, lowering her muzzle at him curiously. "Might I ask what the meaning of S'atkah means?"

"It is an old word from the old days," he said politely, offering a shy bow. "It means 'Glory of the Night'."

"It's a lovely compliment," Luna said with a slight blush.

"How is the T'aszham?" he pressed carefully, dipping his head and tilting to one side.

Again, Luna found the odd word confusing. "I beg your pardon? T'aszham?"

The guard flinched. "My apologies, S'atkah. T'aszham is another of our old words. It means 'Lost Son'." He backed up a step and motioned her through with a sweeping bow. His companion mimicked his actions badly, but still wore his smile.

Taking a moment to sweep the matriarchs before her, she noted they had all taken note of her arrival and stared at her with impassive stares. They took measure of the Alicorn, some speaking to each other quietly. A few buzzed their wings restlessly. Each of them swiveled their ears at the princess as she approached the only open spot before her at the table. Taking a deep breath and mentally clearing her mind, Luna stepped boldly into the viper's den, assuming her most regal appearance.

Silent Wing's fading life depended on aid from the gathered changelings.

---

He slept, feeling surges through his body, beyond the dull pain and throbbing. The thumps felt like faraway echoes, distant peals of thunder. Oblivion watched him in silence, grinning and grimacing. The living shadow crackled in his form, the dream constantly shifting with restless abandon. Nothing could settle and the unstoppable march towards the Last Moment pressed on. Silent Wing observed his slow decline to death from within his mind with fiery denial, refusing to believe his battered body was slowly losing all functions as he slept.

Oblivion shifted, still atop his pile of bones as the gray skies boiled like a writhing mass of snakes, the flash of lighting their tongues licking the scorched and pitted earth. The storm was intense, as great as Silent had ever remembered, the clouds seemingly drawing nearer and neared to the ground every time he took a moment to pay attention. This was disconcerting, but what could the colt do? What could Silent Wing offer to stem the tide of the inevitable? He was dying and his dream played out the process of how it was happening.

His tree was still there, still whole. Before him lay the bone path to that bone hill in the middle of a once pristine lake. Oblivion looked at him, waiting, expectant. The self-proclaimed living weapon flickered in his dark form. Silent wondered idly why the creature chose to be black in color. It was true color was really unimportant, but the symbolism behind it bore a sinister origin. What is based on his perception of what he considered good and evil?

"Why can't you help?" he asked Oblivion when he decided to speak. His form was in quiet repose, legs folded beneath him as he lay on his belly.

I have told you.

"I find it hard to believe."

Be that as it may, the truth is irrefutable. You are far too incomplete for me to attempt combining with you. I shall not risk driving you insane as I drove Luna insane a thousand years ago. Nor shall I overcome the will of Luna for control of her body. The struggle within would last for an eternity and would be fruitless in the end. Oblivion shrugged at Silent, his half slitted eyes content like a cat's.

Sighing and not at all convinced, the colt shifted his attention to the clouds. They seemed to him like the surface of an inverted cauldron, the contents bubbling and boiling. It tugged at his thoughts as he considered it with renewed interest as a thought occurred to him. In all of his dreams, the clouds had been the same. They were more intense now than he had ever remembered them in the old dreams.

He blinked, coming to his hooves, his legs strolling him out from beneath the tree. Oblivion watched him curiously, an eye twitching impassively. Other than that, he might have been nothing more than a statue, a part of the background as Silent Wing became aware of something for the first time in regards to the clouds.

Visitor. Oblivion sat up, tilting his snout towards the sky. He snorted derisively, as if he really did not care for who or what was coming. The thing vanished from the dream, leaving Silent Wing to peer up where Oblivion had been staring.

"What?" Silent called out to the already gone apparition. His dream shifted, darkened further if possible.

---

'It' was a 'she', he sensed. She probed his dream gently. At first thinking it was Luna, the colt's suddenly appearing smile faded as it felt significantly unlike her presence. Nor was the visitor inclined to fully immerse herself into his mind.

A phantasmic mist put the doctor to sleep as a visitor appeared in the form of a random female changeling with soft green eyes glowing in the gloom of the tent. She drifted quietly from the shadows, the mist her doing. Within a few gliding steps, she hovered over the covered form of Silent Wing, his head the only part of his body poking from beneath the blankets. She lowered her muzzle to his, sniffing carefully, gently.

"You have suffered greatly," her ghostly voice whispered softly into his ear, full of regret and sorrow. "I have done all that I can to protect you." It echoed like the sound of a weeping mother tormented by years of hovering in between life and death with no way to find peace.

The shadows still concealed her form, but if the observer were to lay eyes upon this changeling, they would certainly felt something amiss yet perfectly fine in her appearance. She appeared as a matriarch, yet exuded a gentle unassuming air to convince lingering gazes to think her unimportant and to seek out more interesting things to focus upon. Her mane was dark and straight, of medium length with the typical odd holes here an there through the strands. One ear was notched, the other bore a simple gold hoop half along its length. A single scar was scored diagonally across her muzzle, faint to the point of almost being unrecognizable. There was an agelessness about her, as well as the sensation of penetrating cold about her. Oddly, she had the wings of an Alicorn, matching her dark ethereal body.

"Oh, what has your father done to you?" she fretted, gently stroking the sleeping colt's cheek with the tip of a hoof. It seemed to brush through his skin. Sensing the thing within him, it fled from her presence, fearing her greatly. It was indeed an evil thing, every bit as twisted and misleading as its creator. "What is it trying to do to you? What lies are planted in your mind?"

She quietly investigated the colt's injuries, pausing as her constantly swiveling ears tuned for the sounds of approaching steps to the entrance. The strange changeling did not want to be noticed, could not be seen. A great deal was risked with her exposing herself, but she had to see the colt with her own eyes. Time was short and eventually someone would notice her presence.

Observing the dying colt made her wish she could do something for him.

Such an act was forbidden. The violation could not be compounded by interfering with the events to come. Nor could she do more than she had already done. She was at the point where she could do little more than observe. There were ways around that. She knew this and hoped for the moment to exploit such a moment should it present itself to her.

The prince may or may not have been able to hear the strange changeling's voice, but she continued to speak to him. "Flamespyre has tried for so long to shape your destiny. You must establish your own and make your own path. I cannot do more for you," she conversed softly, sitting on her haunches.

Somewhere between tense and relaxed, the changeling offered an unseen smile. The subject was quickly changed as she glanced at the tent flap and pondered a few seconds in silence. The sounds outside of life and living seemed a distance away.

"This Luna seems a good fit for you," she went on, again stroking Silent Wing, this time along his hairline. It was an ethereal encounter. "I will keep you both in my thoughts." Moist eyes appeared after a moment of inward contemplation, sad regret trickling. Her lower lip trembled beneath her small fangs. Tears fell and disappeared the moment they rolled from her chin.

The tip of her crooked horn brushed his temple as she leaned in. There was a spark at the brief moment of contact. The strange changeling pulled back, her brows furrowed in a knot. Clucking her tongue she closed her eyes for a moment as she separated his emotions, seeking a certain pattern, something specific. It was but a moment before they snapped open, a smile forming. She was glad she could still read his desires, his needs.

"I see." Her gaze fell upon the circle and the candles around Silent Wing. She knew the purpose they served, but they were meant to keep out angry spirits. "This will but hold them back for one more night before they will overcome the enchantment and come for you."

There was an eerie silence as the changeling mare hovered over the colt, her form shifting in and out of focus. At times she became wispy, shifting as if a breeze kissed against her skin.

Once, she had a name. It had not been spoken in a very long time. She wanted the prince to learn it one day, to understand. First he had to survive this ordeal. There was precious little she could do to help him now beyond holding faith in the mare who now sought aid for him.

"I wonder if she is ready for her true nature now?" she mused. The mare also wondered if Silent Wing was ready for his awakening. It was surely at hand, lest he join her in between life and death.

The mysterious creature could not stay long, but she lingered for as long as she was able, looking down upon a face she never dreamed she would ever see again. With a pang of regret, she sighed wistfully wishing she could hold him just once more. Her time was up when she heard the sounds of voices approaching the tent. Luna's voice was among them. The mare had remained with the colt as much as the camels allowed her within the confines of their traditions.

The doctor snorted awake, finding Silent Wing sleeping fitfully. He felt a chill in the room and shivered. Luna pushed her way into the tent followed by a pair of changeling shaman. They were slightly smaller than she, one was very old, the other her apprentice.

All three froze as they sensed the air.

"There was a powerful spirit in here!" rasped the old changeling. Her eyes glowed two colors; red for the left and azure for the right. Her chitin was covered with swirling tattoos, patterned after the stars in the sky, white and crimson over iron gray faded with age. At some point in her past, the left ear had been shorn away. The carapace upon her back was chiseled with the four elements of nature; earth, fire, wind, and water. Around her chest and slung over her shoulder hung a string of pouches upon a leather strap. She selected one, setting on her haunches. "I must discern its nature."

"I sense sorrow," called out her apprentice. She was little more than a filly, plain in appearance for a changeling her solid green eyes wide and eager to learn. There was already a shrewdness to her personality as she felt her surroundings. A green spiral had been painted upon her bronze chest. Several large pouches dangled from her back and shoulders, each one bulging with strange and mysterious things needed by those who found the elements as their way to the old magic. It was not affected by the dead zone of the desert, as it did to the newer magic. This was primal power in its roughest form, imploring the spirits of the four elements to lend their power in the form of the crudest of magic and also some of the most powerful in existence.

The camel was confused. "What manner do you explain this intrusion?" he barked through bleary eyes he was now rubbing. How did he fall asleep?

Luna had little knowledge in dealing with the dead. She deferred to the changeling shaman, her own suspicions of the chill within the tent falling in agreement with their assessment.

"A mighty spirit was here. Very powerful. Child, fetch the Old Mother. Be quick!" The elder shaman shooed the girl out with a dismissive wave of her hoof. The young mare bowed quickly and darted out with stealthy silence.

"Spirit? Here?" The doctor rose to his padded feet. "The barrier -"

"- is useless against benevolent phantasms," interrupted the old shaman. "Or exceedingly powerful ones. Cease your cud, healer. This is beyond your ken." She glared at him with a furious snarl, squinting one eye at him.

The doctor's face went red at the insult. "My patient! Not yours! How dare you take -"

"Your cud-chewer still emits needless noise. Cease your yapping, camel-cur and let me do my calling. This is the land of the dead and only one such as I can quell them." The dismissive snort in following left Luna suppressing the urge to giggle.

"Luna?" a weak voice called out from the bed.

"Now you've gone and woken up my patient," complained the doctor irritably.

The Alicorn went to Silent. "I am here," she breathed to him gently, smiling as she nuzzled him. It took all of her might to keep her from crying at his appearance.

"I saw something," he told her.

The shaman gently pushed Luna aside, reaching out and tilting his head towards her with a hoof. "Speak to me, child. What did you see?" Her voice was gentle, seeing the condition of the young prince. Noting his odd coloration and his odd eyes, her own narrowed in speculation.

"Who are you?" Silent asked her as she held his head for him.

"I left my name to the past, child. You may call me Shaman. It is my title, my name, my purpose. For five hundred years I have offered words of wisdom to the mothers of the sands. I commune with the dead and speak to the elements. I foretell the futures of foals for mothers who dream," she offered with a growing smile. "I have also been known to ask a simple question and expecting an answer. Now tell me; what did you see?"

"Oblivion at first, in my dream," the colt said to her. "Then he went away and she showed up. She wouldn't tell me who she was." His golden eyes widened in bewilderment. "She was so sad, but smiled. It was a changeling with pony eyes and wings." They flitted towards Luna, settling upon her as if she might know of what he spoke. "She was beautiful."

Shaman quirked an eyebrow at the mention of Oblivion, but made no mention. "A changeling with pony eyes and wings? Such a thing is difficult to believe unless one were to observe you for but a moment." She withdrew her hoof and huffed. "I must look into your form and feel for myself the extent of your injuries. I will be using water to see within you."

"He will need a door to his magic opened so he can unleash it," supplied Luna knowingly. "I fear his body will only become damaged again if you heal him without dealing with that."

"The realm of the mystic energy is known to me," snapped Shaman not unkindly, but with irritation at the obvious. "What is this child to you, pony?" she asked suddenly. "The Council did not bother to ask when they saw you. He's just a male. They are common and not unusual."

Without batting an eye, Luna answered, "He is my Intended."

"So? Find another."

"He is the adopted son of Queen Chrysalis."

"She can bear her own sons, can she not?"

Luna tried to remain patient and calm, but Shaman was being stubborn and deliberately so. "What do you want to hear?"

"I wish to know the whole truth of this colt." Shaman shook her head. "I will not work with half truths and white lies. You have not yet lied to me, but neither have you spoken the whole sum of the truth to me."

Luna closed her eyes and exhaled softly, casting a gentle brush of her hoof through Silent's mane. He looked up at her, too weak to speak now, but he mouthed two words and offered a little smile.

"He is the son of Flamespyre."

Shaman's eyes widened. "The truth! Ah, yes the truth. Ugly as it rears its head, yet necessary. The Father of Chaos is your sire?" She lowered her ancient muzzle to Silent. He managed to flinch from her like a newborn kitten weak from hunger. "Perhaps it is best to let you die, young one."

"No!" cried Luna fiercely. "He is a good pony! He is mine!" She pushed her way in between Shaman and Silent, her eyes blazing with fury. "What right have you to declare his life to be declared forfeit?"

Just then, Shaman's apprentice appeared with Old Mother. The two old females regarded each other with respectful nods as Old Mother drew herself to hover over the weakening colt. The apprentice took up a spot across from the doctor and knelt down with watchful eyes upon her mistress. Nothing crossed her lips.

"His time draws near," Moonstar crooned to her fellow diviner of the elements. "Why speak you of death? Does this ground not bear enough loss from its past? Surely your desert mothers do not fear a mere child."

Shaman snorted, tossing her head in a wild twist, never lingering off from Silent Wing. "The spirits hunger for his soul. Do you not feel them?"

"Would you allow him to succomb to their tender mercies without a means to speak for himself?" It was Luna who spoke, surprising both shaman. "Heal him so he may have his own voice. If he must face a past he does not remember, let him do so on terms more agreeable."

Both seemed to realize exactly who she was at that moment.

"You are the Goddess of the Moon, are you not?" queried Moonstar.

"I am no goddess, but I am the Princess of the Moon," Luna confirmed tersely. They were wasting time and she was losing her patience. Her worry was turning to frustration. Didn't they see Silent was going to die? "Do not tarry in restoring my prince! Name your price, Tartarus be damned! I would gladly exchange my life for his. If that is the price, then I shall pay it!"

The air about her shimmered in her anger. Both the camel and the changeling exchanged startled looks.

"Your power must be great if you can nearly pierce the ageless barrier," murmured Shaman after a moment of shocked silence. "Perhaps you are who you say you are. Your magic is powerful indeed. Your tendered offer may be enough to stave off the spirits, if for a little while. The dead harbor a great grudge against this colt, but they are confused. One of their number stands between them. I can sense her now. Watching us. Waiting." Her eyes drifted around the tent, mostly following the cover as if expecting something to emerge from the shadows.

She considered Silent Wing once more, speculating. A hoof tapped at her bottom lip as she sat on her rump with a grunt, her joints creaking audibly.

"We must pierce his shell first before we can mend his body," she began as she motioned to her apprentice. The filly rose and immediately trotted to her side, coming around Luna from behind.

Luna shifted aside for her, noting how small and delicate the changeling child was. "What can I do to help?" she offered, glancing at Silent, then back to Shaman.

"Can you enter his dreams?"

"Yes, I did earlier."

"Good." Shaman closed her eyes for a moment, her lips moving. They flew open and turned towards Moonstar. "Earth and water?" she suggested with an arched brow.

"I was thinking along those paths, yes. I shall assume the path of earth."

"And I the water." Shaman directed her old eyes to Luna. "You shall walk the Dreamscape and find his magic and unlock it. Ware the door you open!"

Luna huffed, "I know the risks, old one. I have lived a very long time."

"But have you learned anything in that time?" countered Shaman with a smirk. "We shall see then, won't we?"

Luna decided she did not care much for the changeling and did not even consider answering. If the changelings here wished to underestimate her because she was a pony, well that was certainly their own folly. She was mere moments from erupting with her rapidly shortened temper. Her eyes were certainly showing the depths of her displeasure.

"Peace, please!" cried Old Mother with a roll of her eyes. "The colt fades even as you two bicker. Let us proceed with what needs be done."

To her apprentice, Shaman said, "Set the incense and light them in proper order and timing. Be quick!" To Luna she grunted, "Upon the lighting of the fourth burner, enter his dream and seek out his magic. Pierce it quickly! Once we feel the release of magic, then can the healing begin."

As she scrambled to obey, the young changeling began singing an odd chant quietly, her voice high-pitched as she began rummaging through a box she had brought with her. As she sang, she selected specific little silver burners in the shape of pyramids and set them around Silent Wing's bed. Luna backed away from him and watched the girl work with a great deal of fascinated interest. The filly set the first one on the ground, placing a long stick standing straight up in a hole at the summit of the little pyramid. Taking one of the candles setting around the bed, she lit it and waved a hoof over it.

Moonstar started chanting, her voice low and deep, keeping in rhythm with the filly. Shaman hovered a hoof over Silent Wing, drawing a circle over his head in the air, her lips moving, but no sound coming from her. After a few revolutions, she pulled her hoof to her mouth and spat on it. Then, she resumed the circular motion with some of her saliva falling from her hoof and upon the sleeping colt.

Her apprentice, meanwhile deftly was setting the second pyramid, lighting it as the pitch of her song shifted. Over and over she heard the same word one of the guards had used earlier.

T'aszham. From the sounds of the chant, it almost seemed to Luna they were telling him to prepare. The language was old, very old and completely different from what was spoken between changelings and camels out here in the desert. The local language was odd, yet familiar. This tongue in song she had heard it before in Equestria, a very long time ago when she was still a small filly. It felt to her like a lullaby. Hearing the song made her think of her own mother, making her heart skipping a heartfelt beat.

She missed her mother.

The third pyramid was set in its proper place, opposite from across Silent Wing to the first one and lit. It was then Luna noticed each trail of smoke wafting from the burning sticks of incense bore a different color; red for fire, blue for water, white for air, and the color of earth was yet to be determined. The apprentice again had shifted her song. leading Luna to believe she was calling towards the spirits of each natural element. The very tent was beginning to smell of burning cherry wood and strange flowers the Alicorn could not identify. It was soothing and pleasant, yet there was a hint beneath it all of something unpleasant, as if it was necessary.

Again, Shaman spat upon her hoof, but this time she dabbed each eyelid of Silent Wing. Then she retracted it, allowing for Moonstar to lean in with dirt to smear over the colt's eyes. They both spoke the same line over and over rapidly, their words jumping each other, almost as if it was intended, then blending together in perfect harmony. This was repeated several times. Now, both old shaman rotated a hoof and a foot over Silent Wing, their chants always including the word T'aszham! T'aszham! T'aszham! at the end of each verse sung.

The tent began to hum and the doctor decided it was best to make his exit, his eyes wide and full of fright.

It was then Shaman stopped chanting and stared seemingly into Luna's soul. "Tseng Tzu was a friend to all of us and my master when I was young." Her hoof continued to churn a circle over Silent Wing. "I do this out of the love I had for him and not for you. Certainly not for this...creature before me so close to death. This land is shattered because of him."

Luna nodded, staring right back. She allowed her power to show in her eyes, her wisdom, her own pain and suffering, and above all, her love.

Shaman flinched, cowed when she saw the vastness of the stars in the Alicorn's blue eyes.

"Well played, Princess," intoned Moonstar with neither malice nor humor.

"Be ready," grumped Shaman as she looked away, seeking out her apprentice as the filly set down the last pyramid. Her insectoid wings buzzed in irritation when she realized Luna had deliberately played the foal to decipher the intentions. With a short, barking laugh, she flung a congratulatory smile at the princess before settling back to a severe stare at Silent Wing.

Luna prepared to go into the Dreamscape, watching as a muddy brown smoke began to trail from the last incense burner. She watched as the smoke joined the other wafts of color hazing above the bed, swirling together slowly as the last bit of smoke joined the other three elements. A ring formed above Silent Wing. The Alicorn took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She entered Silent Wing's dream.

---

She did not expect to find a figure sheathed in white mist awaiting her in the sleeping colt's dream. The image was still in the tent, empty now save for Silent Wing, the mysterious mare with her back to Luna, and the Princess of the Night. Luna could see the ghostly figure looming over the still-sleeping prince was a changeling, a queen by the look of it. She was larger than her sister, Princess Celestia and harbored an odd presence. It was neither threatening nor frightening, but very odd indeed.

"I welcome you, Princess Luna," spoke the figure quietly, not taking her attention from the colt. "I pray Oblivion has not been bombarding your thoughts of empowerment. He can be such a bore a times."

Luna did not move, her hackles raised as she felt eerie looking at the mare. She knew what she was looking at, but had never met one before this magnificent. It was also the first time she had seen the ghost of a changeling. Seeing Silent Wing was not responding to his own dream, she became concerned, focusing on this strange presence.

"Remove your presence from this dream!" she demanded, warily gauging the ghost. "You cannot have him, spirit. I will not allow you to take him. Begone!"

The mare did turn to Luna, slowly and deliberately, waiting until the last moment to tear her eyes from the prince before flinging them at the princess. Her lips were a straight line, her round eyes settling sadly. "I am not here to hinder you, Luna."

"Who are you?" Luna took a step forward, towards the ghost.

"I am an ally," said the creature, the faint outline of her wings adjusting. "Let him rest. You and I shall pierce the bubble containing the magic. We shall talk as we go. There are certain things you must know."

Luna was not exactly trusting this complete stranger and was even alarmed somepony else was invading Silent's Dreamscape. She sensed no hostility from this being. It was certainly a ghost, a creature long dead and gone. Yet how was the spirit of a deceased mare able to place herself into form within a dream? Most ghosts were nothing more than lost souls trapped within their denial of their deaths and unable to finish their journey to the other side. No, this one had purpose and she was connected somehow to Silent Wing. A sudden dawning overcame the princess as she immediately understood once the moment of clarity occurred.

"You're his mother," she whispered.

The ghost inclined her head, offering a brief, sad smile. "I carried him in my womb, yes. I do not know if I can declare myself his mother. He should have had a happier life other than the one Flamespyre twisted into him."

Luna couldn't reply to that.

"My name is Dalesong, if that matters," offered the dead mother. "Come. Time moves and we are idle. I should like for my son to live and enjoy what life there is for him." Her tone was bitter. Luna suspected it was turned upon herself.

The tent and colt faded away and both the princess and the ghost found the dream shift around them, pulling them to a starry night sky. For as far as the eye could see, clouds towered up from beneath them, reaching for the night as they shone silver in the gleam of the moonlight. Every now and then, one of the columns of clouds would flash with lightning from within. Beneath their hooves broiled the clouds. Luna realized she was seeing the interpretation of magic from above the barren landscape. Somewhere down there was Silent Wing.

The pale image of Dalesong hovered, taking in the dream with indifference. Her focus lay on what lay beyond the clouds, towards the light of a distant star. It glowed red.

"Come, Luna. This way." Without waiting for the Alicorn to reply, she started for the star as a wall of cloud rolled in to obscure it.

Luna wordlessly followed, still trying to overcome the revelation as her mind. Dalesong appeared solid enough, but the princess could feel the lack of life from the form. The spirit slowed, allowing for her to come alongside. She noted Dalesong's wings did not buzz like a normal changeling's. A second glance revealed the feathered wings, familiar in shape and form to a certain chimera's. The faded darkness of the form she wore made it difficult to see her at times.

"You and my son are connected through Oblivion," stated Dalesong without averting her straight forward stare. Unblinking eyes were unbothered by the wind caused by the speed of their flight.

"Yes," admitted Luna.

"Most curious. Flamespyre was a fool to try and weave that power into a child. It was never meant for him, yet the fool thought he could bend anything to his will." Contempt was etched in a few key words, but Dalesong was more or less monotone.

Luna held her tongue, sensing Dalesong wanted to speak and needed to speak. They curved around a rolling thunderhead, the mass flickering as thunder rumbled ominously from within.

"Oblivion is a parasite. It grants great power by unlocking emotions and magnifying them to the particular skills of the welder. It was very correct in telling you it is but a tool. However, it only spoke a half-truth. You already have felt the touch the moment you first manifested your true form without being prepared for it." Dalesong veered back on course, both mares having finally gone around the massive storm.

"You speak of my time as Nightmare Moon," Luna's voice was flat, with a touch of curiosity. She was still uncomfortable speaking about it, especially to Tia. Her shame was great in her eyes and she thought she would never live it down in her heart.

"I do. Your full power has yet to manifest itself because you are too afraid of falling into that darkness again."

"I murdered innocents!" cried Luna. "I betrayed my sister's love! I broke her heart! I broke many hearts all because of my selfishness!"

"I know." Dalesong glanced at her with an unreadable face. Her mane began to leave an etherial trail behind her. Or was Luna noticing it just now for the first time? "Yet it is your responsibility to be your sister's equal, to maintain that balance between sisters. You both are to rule, neither holding more power than the other."

"I know this," shot Luna back. "I know these things!"

Dalesong shrugged off the Alicorn's scornful tone. "Yet you do not embrace that which is yours to grow into. You shun it because you allowed an outside entity to shatter what you had hoped to become; an equal to the Sun and the Day. Your struggle is your battle from within. Know that Oblivion has deliberately placed that seed of doubt within you long ago so he might find a purchase again upon your soul in the near future. It is his nature to twist and deceive with half truths and hidden lies."

Again, Luna fell silent. Beneath her, the sea of clouds rippled mightily, as if a wave formed from nothing as lightning danced over and through them. Thunder rolled, vibrating her very form and leaving her wondering if this was still a dream. It was growing in power, she realized, even as Silent Wing's body inexorably degenerated towards collapse. The red star was looming closer and closer. She soon came to realize it was not a star but a pulsing sphere of shimmering crimson, like a red sun. It was still bright, but seemed to dull a bit the closer the two came.

"I only got to hold him once," Dalesong sighed sadly. "After bearing him, I was able to hold him and give him as much love as I dared." Her flight slowed as she regarded her hooves before drawing them to her chest. The changeling spirit offered a wan smile to Luna. "He was adorable as a foal." Wistful regret emanated from the long-departed mother.

"You are a queen?" Luna's unexpected question made Dalesong issue forth a hollow, humorless laugh.

"I was the first Changeling Queen to survive my darling love's tender mercies in genetic engineering. His previous experiments died horribly as he tried to create the perfect mother for his ultimate designs." The spite in her voice tore the air hatefully. A broken heart was in those words, bitter and cold from a long ago but never forgotten betrayal. Dalesong lifted her chin to the skies and cried out in a vast, anguished voice, "I tried so hard to stop him! I gave my everything to make him see the path he followed was the one to ruin! I wanted a world where my son and my daughter could learn to love and protect this world."

"Do you speak of Draccaria as your daughter?"

"Indeed," admitted Dalesong with an airless sigh. The ghost seemed to become more lively as she and the Alicorn conversed. "She is tormented by my death and hates her father for slaying me. She was the last thing I saw as the life fled my body. I bade her one last thing she could do without violating the bonding magic."

"Bonding magic?" Luna pressed.

"It is a genetic bond between the monster and all of his children. He gave them powers greater than his own, but the bond he created prevents them from rising against him. Think of it as a sort of command ingrained in their mental functions, a mad scientist acting to prevent his creations from turning upon him." Dalesong smirked, "It was only partially broken upon my daughter when I spoke my last breath to her. It failed upon my son, as I had time to bond with him and seek out the automatic desire to obey. Flamespyre has spent countless centuries trying to fix something that was never broken. It became his obsession, a hollow triumph for me as it has caused for my child to be broken in half."

"Scarheart?" Luna blurted.

Dalesong nodded. "His true name, the name he gave the part he wished to keep and work upon. The name suits both halves, to be honest. It was not the name I wished to give him. I whispered it once in his ear before his father came to claim him from me," she said heavily, once again sadness overcoming her form. The ghost shimmered for a moment.

"We are here," Luna noted as they came upon the red sphere. She noted it was not large, perhaps even shrinking the closer the two came to it. The light shining from it had dimmed to a dull orange glow, washing over the Alicorn and her dead companion. When they were a scant few yards from the strange spheroid, Dalesong stopped, her wings folding against her side as though she had just landed upon solid ground. The Alicorn followed suit and found the air beneath her hooves was indeed firm, like standing upon an invisible cloud.

"I should warn you," Dalesong spoke quietly as they studied the object. "Oblivion will react in a way I cannot predict when we unleash the power."

"Will Silent Wing be able to use magic?" Luna asked curiously.

"Nothing beyond what a normal changeling can do or a pegasus. He won't be able to cast magic as he has no unicorn horn, but he'll be able to shape-shift. I think. I am not fully confident in that assessment. Anything may happen." Dalesong strode up to the sphere until her face was inches from it. Her long, straight horn hovered on the brink of touching. "Come. Place your horn upon the sphere. Let us begin."

Luna nodded and joined the ghostly mother at her side. "I am the only one who can do this," she noted.

"Very true," agreed Dalesong, turning slightly to regard the smaller form. "However, I wish to see for myself if your devotion is to my son, or to Oblivion. Do you love him? The two of you have had the full phase of the moon to learn from each other."

Luna smiled at the dead changeling. "Chrysalis asked me the same question, when I still knew nothing of him. I'll admit then I had an interest in knowing more of him, thinking perhaps it was but an enamored fascination with his mixed blood. He is headstrong, stubborn, kind, caring, and wiser than I think others give him credit for. I cannot lie to his mother when she poses such a question."

Dalesong chuckled dryly. "A political answer does not please me."

"I think I do love him," she admitted. "It is far too early to say for sure, but I feel I want to make him mine. He is my Intended."

"I pray the two of you find happiness." Dalesong indicated the sphere. "Do what needs be done so those old ones can begin the mending. I am eager to see my son again, but not until after he has had a full life filled with love and children!"

Luna blushed.

Noooooo! I forbid this! The vast roar echoed throughout the dream, shaking the very foundations of the Dreamscape. It reverberated among the clouds, churning them into swirling madness. Heavy bolts of lightning streaked across the sky, arching between thunderheads in impossibly huge and long stretching fingers of crooked electricity. I should be the one! The thing's presence was out there in the Dreamscape somewhere.

"Oblivion," snarled Dalesong. "I suspected he would interfere. Do what you need to do, open the sphere. I shall deal with this thing." She flared her ghostly dark wings, spinning on a backhoof.

"This is why you came?"

"I have a vested couple of interests in this, Luna of the Moon," remarked the ghost. "Get you to work, girl! I will handle this abomination."

Luna knew she was going to need some time to open the sphere. But how much? She wished Silent Wing was here. Still, she had a duty to perform. Stoically, she closed her eyes and concentrated, pressing the tip of her horn against the sphere. It tried to resist the touch, sending tendrils of pain through the length of the horn and into her skull. Luna winced and hissed at the sudden pain. Of course it would resist. All around her the world bucked and heaved as Oblivion rose from where ever he was lurking, the Alicorn's ears swiveling this way and that to locate him.

He was everywhere, it seemed.

She is mine, Dalesong! He is mine! I will not be denied the purpose for which I was created! He screamed, an echo in her mind threatening to bring the Alicorn to her knees. Oh, she knew this touch all too well as it bore down upon her, threatening to swallow her mind again, as he had done a thousand years ago. Luna almost broke away from the sphere, but felt a gentle presence hold her still.

"You cannot take this child again, thing!" cried the ghost with growing rage. "My son was never meant for you! The mare you corrupted with her own power is not your pawn any longer. Face me, creature of the most foul creations! Face the mother of the child you sought to enslave!" Her voice rang as loudly as the pealing of a great bell, sending shock waves right back at the monstrous presence of Oblivion.

It struck Luna as odd a ghost would have a voice in the Dreamscape, yet the very thing that had possessed her for so many centuries would not speak with a mouth. Dreams were indeed a strange place where even the unexpected surprised the Alicorn. This was her domain, yet there was still so much about it she was still learning beyond what was to be expected. She had certainly never expected to meet a ghost in another's dream, nor did she expect a battle to erupt between that ghost and a living weapon.

"Hi," said a little voice from within the sphere.

Luna opened her eyes and saw a little dirty yellow colt with a fiery red mane looking at her in curious wonder. His stubby little wings flared out as he rose up on his hind legs to get a closer look at her. She smiled. "Hello, little one."

"Are you trying to make things better?" he asked hopefully, his golden eyes brimming with life and joy. Luna noticed the innocence and felt her heart skip a beat.

"I am," she reassured him with a cooing voice. Meanwhile, a battle raged, one she could not see but felt vaguely as she was lost within the confines of the sphere, having been drawn in. "Do you want to be better?" she asked him.

"Yes!" he chirped. "I want to play with you, Luna! I've waited so long for you! Momma told me your name when I was born and said I would have to be good to have a friend like you. She says we're so alike and I should trust you when she's not around. Please let me out, Luna. I've been good. Honest!" His changeling hoof pressed against the opposing side of the sphere.

Do not release him, foolish Alicorn! You will never become great unless you take me once again within you! Don't you want the night to last forever? Don't you want your subjects to fawn over you? Don't you desire to have power over all things, to rule absolutely, with no fear from your enemies? Do you not wish to be beyond your feeble power? Oblivion cried out, raged, pleaded, and promised. Despite the unseen battle, he still sought to prevent the breaking of the sphere.

Little Silent Wing flattened his ears against his skull, looking behind Luna. "I don't like him. He's selfish and just wants things for himself. He's as bad as daddy!" His fearful gaze shifted as he sought her eyes, leaning again towards her, pleading, "Please don't let him take me away. He makes me do things to hurt others. I can hear them yell at me in awful voices even though they're not alive anymore. I don't want to hurt anymore ponies!" He began to bawl, tapping and brushing his hoof against the curved wall in front of him with fresh frenzied panic.

"Shh!" Luna felt her magic begin to have an effect on the sphere. It cracked. "Just be patient a little while longer and I promise we'll be together," she assured him. "Don't look at what's going on behind me. Keep looking at me, little one."

There was a thunderous boom, rolling everywhere and washing over the Alicorn's body. A shriek followed, angry and vengeful. Dalesong was silent, standing firm in her defense as Oblivion hurled himself again and again against her. He lashed out against her invisible barriers, the wall of death which she represented. The ghost did not flinch against his assaults and always seemed to know exactly where he would strike next. She was a mother still, even in death and fought to protect her only son.

"I will unmake myself if it means keeping you from succeeding," she hissed with life very much uncharacteristic for and obviously death being. "I have turned you away three times before you could fully manifest yourself, Oblivion. My son will have a normal life. He is not a plaything for either you or that bastard which created you!"

You're dead. You cannot stop me. Luna is mine. Your son is mine. I shall overcome the Master and rule this world as it was meant to be ruled; lifeless!

He assaulted Dalesong directly, this time. The clouds formed behind his emerging dark form, coming at last to view. Black wings buffeted through the swirling storm, highlighted by lightning. The ghost quivered, flinching as he struck. The ghostly fur and skin was being torn away, shredding her incorporeal form. She took a step back, then another. Her body wavered. It was not by magic or physical force with which he struck, but through his sheer presence. Oblivion displayed his full power in the Dreamscape and the sensation alone forced the dead changeling back step by step. The exposed flesh gave way to pale bone, exposing the ghost to nothing more than a skeleton bearing tattered remnants of her flesh and skin. She grit her teeth, hissing in fury, remembering the pain she could no longer feel. Her reactions were a mirror to what she once felt in life, her memories and reactions not born of sensation, but of what was once but could never be again. The beautiful image of the dragon before was contorted with rage and effort, hurling his will against hers in what was in effect a staring contest. Fury met with cold calm as the two opponents locked. Dalesong once again found her footing and held firm, already sensing another assault forming behind Oblivion.

"Not. One. Step. More," she swore, focusing her eye sockets at her enemy, her eyes now nothing more than a pair of burning blue flames raging like a pair of infernos.

You cannot stop me. There are no Elements of Harmony to aid you. The master already has begun turning one against. Perhaps...

The voice trailed off into the storm, fading away like rolling thunder.

Dalesong felt his will relent, as if pausing in contemplation.

There are others who would welcome my gift.

The sphere cracked further, a bit falling away to the earth like a shard of glass. Air began to rush into it.

"You're doing it!" Little Silent Wing hopped up and down excitedly, the rushing wind blowing his mane and tail about his little body wildly.

Dalesong was confused. "What trickery is this?" she demanded, spreading her legs in a wide stance as the dragon pulled away from her.

Oblivion smirked. Oh, I have been such a fool to not notice this. The Sun falters into despair. A mindless puppet is on the brink of madness. If these two are not willing, then perhaps I should expand my horizons a bit. Have your victory. Bring forth the magic within Silent Wing. I shall savor it still, grow stronger, and use it to break the Master at long last! By then, I shall have two more to face against the failed Master!

Dalesong suddenly felt nothing as Oblivion abruptly departed. Just then, she could feel Luna's magic break through the sphere completely, shattering it wide open. The clouds began to surge towards her en masse, lightning crackling wildly as thunderheads slammed into each other. Despite the movement of air, her form remained calm in its demeanor. Even in the Dreamscape, her form was in between life and death. With the draw of the clouds to the now open sphere, Luna appeared next to her, following the sudden look skyward of the dead changeling. Yet she was now nothing more than a tattered remnant of the ghost that had once been beautiful even in undeath. Now she was a nightmarish monster in appearance; a skeletal pony barely holding a solid form.

"Momma?" asked a tiny voice at her hooves.

Dalesong looked down. If she still had a heart, it would have stopped beating. "Hello," she greeted the dream manifested colt before her.

"Are you coming home soon?" he asked. "Atalanta still isn't home. I'm gonna get her and bring her to you so you don't cry anymore."

"I'm not -" the ghost paused, sadness overcoming her as she realized he thought she was Chrysalis.

He shook his head violently. "Nuh-uh! You're just as much her mommy as Momma is 'cause you're here for me."

"Can you read my thoughts?" she asked him curiously, her voice still dead. There was still emotion even though she was a ghost.

"No. Don't hafta. You been watchin' a long time, haven't you?" He grinned, sitting on his rump and craning his neck up at her. "I still remember when you held me, Momma. He doesn't remember, my other self, but I do and I'll make sure he remembers when he wakes up! I promise."

Luna felt tears welling up as she watched this bittersweet exchange.

His smile faded as he seemed to come to the same conclusion. "I miss you, momma. I miss you bad. But my new momma is okay. I love her and she loves me. Is that okay if I have another momma? She's grouchy when she's in a bad mood, but she's almost as pretty as you!"

Dalesong shook her head, perhaps amused at being told she was pretty in her current state. "No, you need her. I don't mind. I even gave her something so she won't fall under your father's eye."

He suddenly beamed and cried, "You're the best momma a colt could ever have!"

The ghost turned to Luna. "I must go. There is still one more thing you and Silent must do before you can go after Oblivion and Flamespyre. You'll need to stop both."

"I heard. Which one is most important to deal with first?"

"I would advise rescuing the other Elements. Head for Kahsoon, the capital of the Topaz Kingdom. Go alone or gather allies I care not, but go quickly. I know not what is in store for this world, but time is running short. Flamespyre is as close to dominating this world as he has ever been."

"What of you?" Luna asked. "Are you to find rest at last?"

"I cannot say." Dalesong looked down upon the small form of Silent Wing, his awakened part after so many thousands of years of slumber. "He is still not whole, but he is nearly there. I should like to speak to him in his dreams, so he may know me. I have been given permission to do this. Perhaps I can linger a bit longer, make sure I can do what I can."

Luna nodded and prepared to leave the dream.

"One more thing," Dalesong offered, making the Alicorn pause.

"Yes?" she asked curiously.

"If you love my son, then learn to love yourself and accept what you are."

"And what am I?"

Dalesong offered a mysterious smile and faded from the dream even as the first rays of the morning sun suddenly appeared, washing over the dark princess like a wam blanket.

...you are what you have always been...

Comments

[changlinggod45]

Shit that was good and for flamysper go die in a pit

[Razzy]

And then Oblivion possessed Cadance and became Nightmare Lovemuffin.