Thirteen Reasons

by canonkiller

Sweet Dreams

Celestia nervously pushed the small stone around on her bedside table. She was nervous; what in Equestria could have been bad enough that Chrysalis had wanted to share it with her?

After moving it around at least fifty times, Celestia rolled over, half-opening one wing to hide the orb from her vision.

And then, she closed her eyes.

-----

When she opened them again, it seemed as though she was looking through a thin fog, or water of some sort. Chrysalis's head came into view from above, and Celestia realized she was standing on the Changeling Queen's hoof.

"Well, Celestia, I admire your determination. Most ponies would get rid of something like this. But anyway, in the orb you are standing in right now are one and a half sets of memories, divided into thirteen nights. You see, there was an... event... in my life, that caused a little trouble. You'll figure it out. And don't worry, Celestia. I don't forgive you."

The Changeling Queen vanished, leaving Celestia floating in the middle of the fog. She assumed, for all intents and purposes, that she was inside the orb.

A small section of the green light behind her broke away, swirling along the inner surface of the orb before floating over in front of Celestia.

She felt her eyelids get heavy. The flicker of the light was so... enchanting. The green core swiveled around to above her, and she felt a deep cold settle over her body.

-----

"Hey mom! Dad! I got the mail!" Celestia burst through the door, regarding it from a low height.

"Thanks, honey." A large stallion knelt down, taking the edges of the letters in his teeth and taking them to a nearby table. Celestia found herself trotting after him, climbing up onto a chair to see the papers. Celestia took in the room quickly, before giving the stallion a once-over. He had a pale yellow mane, an orange coat, and bright green eyes. He was also a Pegasus.

The stallion sorted through them with his hooves, his expression getting darker with every passing word. He stood up and cantered down a nearby hall, knocking his glass on the ground in the process.

He was yelling a name, but Celestia wasn't really listening. She shimmied down from the chair, investigating the spill and glass shards surrounding it.

She saw her reflection in the liquid. A filly, no more than five years old, with a green coat and a mane that altered between blue and gray. She was a unicorn, which explained her difficulty climbing. Celestia grinned and pulled one of the glass shards out of the puddle, using the tougher rim on her hooves to kick the sharp item around.

"Magic Shimmer!" Another voice yelled. Celestia felt a grip on her back heave her into the air, and deposit her on the table. When she turned around, she was muzzle-to-muzzle with a teenage colt. He shared her blue-gray mane, but his coat was the same color as who she assumed to be his father.

"Geez, Shimmer, you can't play with this!" He frowned, but shook his head and went to clean up the mess. "What are the addresses on the envelopes?"

Celestia leaned over to see. "Uh..." The letters danced around a few times before aligning slightly. The lines seemed so... foreign. "453 Rainshower Avenue, Cloudsdale, Sunlight Banks," she paused, moving to the next one, "98 Warmsoil Boulevard, Apploosa, Light Showers Grocery." She read the recipient name in her head; To the home of Lightning Tint and Glitter Dancer. Her parents.

She memorized the names as she turned to the colt. A name popped into her head as she looked at him. "Cloudy Sky, why's daddy so mad?"

Sky sighed, looking up from where he was picking up the glass. "It's just bills again, Shimmer. It'll be okay, mom always comes through."

Celestia nodded, looking back at the envelopes. To her, Glitter Dancer didn't sound like it had anything to do with magic. "I'm going outside, okay?"

Cloudy Sky nodded, mumbling around the newly-acquired mop in his teeth. "Don't talk to strangers and be home by dinner."

-----

Celestia sat up, Luna's moon angled to perfectly stream light onto her bed. The Princess rolled up onto her haunches, glancing at the orb. It seemed a little less animated, the inky swirls moving a little bit slower.

The Solar Princess yawned and climbed out of bed, stretching out her back. Why did Chrysalis show me a foal's memory? She thought. After mulling on it for a few seconds, Celestia shrugged and slipped the orb under her bed.

A few quick brushes through her mane and tail, an even faster donning of her shining regalia, and Celestia was ready to face the day.

She cantered through the hallways of her castle, heading for the main hall. If she had been asleep long enough for Luna to wake her up, she probably didn't have time for breakfast.

"Princess Celestia!"

I hope that pony finds who they're looking for. She casually thought.

She skidded to a stop quickly after, realizing what had been said. "Yes?"

When she turned around, she saw a pegasus stallion looking up at her, a wide scar running down his neck. He also seemed to be dressed in armor. A scout, she assumed. His coat was too bright to be a part of her honor guard.

"Your Majesty, Princess Luna has requested your presence in her chambers."

Oh, he was a Night Guard. That explained why he seemed vaguely familiar.

"Thank you...?"

"Cloudy Sky." He added. He then spread his wings and took off, flying past her and vanishing around a corner.

He seems familiar. Celestia frowned.

-----

"Luna?"

"Come in, sister."

Celestia nosed the door open, seeing her sister sitting on her bed, a plush wolf held in her front hooves. "You called for me?"

"Just wanted to see if you were up." She replied.

"Who is that guard?" Celestia asked. "I think I know him from somewhere."

"Sky? Oh, he's a Changeling. Or, he is now."

Celestia nodded, backing out of the room, the last words of her sister's sentence quickly forgotten.

Comments

[Meta Knight]

Sky? Oh, he's a Changeling. Or, he is now ??? care to explain this.

[ColdGoldLazarus]

Intriguing. The setup so far seems like it could turn out either extremely well or extremely badly, depending on how you handle this, but I'll reserve judgement for now. Either way, I'll be interested to see where you take this idea.

[canonkiller]

826855

*mystical hand waving* All will be revealed in time...

[Meta Knight]

827524 I see

[Fallen Knight]

So Luna is now making changelings huh

[canonkiller]

829282

Sorry, but cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/9258526.jpg

[Fallen Knight]

Crysalis was a pony once, she got somehow turned into a changeling and others can too, so now this Sky turned into one too somehow.

[Fuse]

She assumed, for all intensive purposes, that she was inside the orb.

I believe what you meant to say was "for all intents and purposes" seeing as the intention is to cover all possibilities.