Awakening

by Little_Draco

Changes

Awakening: Changes

What does it mean to change one's past,

If it means destroying another’s future?

Would one so selfishly try to change their past to be happier,

If it meant that many others would suffer for it?

Twilight didn’t how to feel, unable to comprehend what she had heard. Innocent foals, a few having just barely received their Cutie Marks, were corrupted and killed off, in order to save Equestria from a monster.

Those poor souls, enduring pain, torturous, agonizing pain. Never knowing that their pain would be used on the Elements to kill Discord. Discord no doubt deserved it. But the Bearers didn’t. Not in that way. Not so soon.

Her dark thoughts were immediately chased away when she saw Princess Luna speak.

“Twilight…good morning. Please, come join me for breakfast.”

Twilight gave a small smile and approached Luna, who sat at a long table. She was by herself, but other meals were being brought out, so Twilight assumed others were coming.

As she approached the princess, she gave a small bow.

“Good morning, Princess Luna," she said.

“Oh Twilight,” said Luna with a smile. “You know you do not have to prostrate yourself before me. You are my friend; and now almost my equal, so please, no formalities.”

Twilight rose and nodded. She took a seat by the princess and sighed heavily.

Luna noted her mood and offered a comforting hoof.

“I know that…” Giving a pause, she rubbed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “That yesterday was difficult to bear, but I hope that you can understand what happened, and why. You may not like what has happened, but you must learn to move on. I will not ask you to like it, but to accept what has happened nonetheless.”

Twilight felt empty inside. She knew that she couldn’t cry anymore. She knew that her parents were dead and that the world around her had changed. For better or for worse; of that she was uncertain. She looked down as she spoke.

“I know, Luna. I accepted that my parents are dead,” she said. “I accept that Discord ruled the lands for two years, and in that time he killed millions. I accept that the new Bearers were corrupted, and that they killed Discord and in the process themselves.” She looked up at Luna. “I accept it all but…I know that things will never go back to the way they were. I know I can't take what I did back.” She sighed again. “I just wish there was a way for me to stave off the loneliness."

“You won’t be alone," said Luna.

She brought Twilight over to her chest and stroked her mane gently. Twilight relished in the comfortable feeling of being held again. This was the first time Luna had held her like this.

At one point before, Luna and Twilight had a relationship with one another. They had a few dates and had even lay in bed with one another. Even though they never went any further than that, they still carried a passion for one another.

However that left them with a big problem. Luna had her responsibilities as a princess, and Twilight had her studies. Not to mention that a Princess with one of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony would cause a huge scandal, especially among the nobles.

So they decided to remain quiet about their relationship. It came to a point where they just decided to stay as just friends, because of the problems and long distance. Still, while Luna openly admitted her care and fondness for Twilight, she could never bring herself to admit her love for her as well.

Their hug was interrupted when the server came to bring them their food. Twilight felt better, and Luna had missed the comforting touch of another, knowing that Twilight was the only pony besides her sister that she could hug like that.

Once they finished their meals, Luna took Twilight to her chambers. All the meetings Luna had had been cancelled, and that left the two of them to themselves.

Luna had ordered tea to help pass the time. Twilight had the uncomfortable feeling that she was about to hear something bad. Luna and Celestia had always been masters of concealing their emotions. Their many years of facing hardships had toned their faces into near-expressionless masks.

Twilight had been around both of them for long enough to know when they were worried.

“So,” began Luna. “I am sure that you know what happened to the previous Bearers.”

Twilight blinked and nodded slowly.

“How…"

“The walls of Canterlot speak to me, my friend. They can tell me everything in a matter of seconds.”

From behind her, a changeling appeared. Twilight reacted quickly, igniting her horn menacingly.

“Princess! Changeling!”

Before Luna could react, a blast of purple energy sent the changeling towards the wall, instantly crippling it.

Twilight stepped forward and prepared to finish the job, before a blast of magic stopped her in her tracks. The blast hit her square in the chest, and thoughts of betrayal ran through her mind, before she realized that her whole body felt numb, but not painful. She couldn’t move. A paralysis spell.

Luna let out a shaky breath.

“Twilight… it's okay. She is an ally. I am sorry I had to do that to you, but I couldn’t let you kill her.” She trotted up to the changeling, inspecting her body.

Twilight felt the spell waver and fade. She tested her limbs, and upon satisfaction with their control, she cautiously walked up to Luna and the downed changeling. Luna was worried, if not horrified by how badly the changeling was injured.

Twilight still wary of the changeling, decided to quickly cast a healing spell over it. A small magical wave cascaded from her horn to cover the changeling's chitinous form.

Luna was about to question what she was doing, but the changeling reacted quickly. It shot up and gasped, giving a shrill cry before falling back down on its back, gasping for air.

“You're alive!” exclaimed Luna gleefully. The changeling took in another gasp of air before she managed to regain a normal breathing pattern. She clutched her chest and coughed, a sound which puzzled Twilight. Hearing a changeling cough was like hearing a cat choking on a hairball.

“Hmm,” groaned the changeling. “That hurt…a lot.” She turned her attention to Twilight. “What the hell did you do that for?”

Twilight tried to speak but she was left somewhat speechless.

Luna shook her head.

“It was my fault, Mirage. I didn’t warn Twilight of your species' presence here…or yours.” She brushed her hoof over the changeling’s head. “I am sorry.”

The changeling purred. Yeah… it happened. A changeling, something Twilight had nightmares of every night after the invasion and maybe even within the last 13 years in her comatose/dead state, purred.

The changeling's eyes closed. Her fangs were revealed by her smile as she leaned into Luna, the same way Twilight used to. Twilight could be horrified, mortified or disgusted, but she really didn’t know what to do or think.

Once the changeling felt better, Luna brought Twilight up to speed. With Discord dead and all of Equestria slowly recovering, the changeling race was practically extinct. Despite their presence in Equestria being outlawed after the ‘Canterlot Invasion’, changelings from all over began showing up inside towns and cities.

Many had offered themselves to the citizens, if only for the bit of love that they had left. The fear caused by their return their return nearly started a nationwide purge of them. However, during that time, Luna and Celestia had come back and aided them, allowing them to integrate themselves into pony society.

Chrysalis was dethroned and all changelings gained their own freedom. However, some did try to attack and steal the ‘love’ from the ponies while others fought against those changelings, trying to gain the respect of the Princesses. Hence, Mirage was one of the few who fought back and gained the trust of Luna.

After the attack, many were dying and the few left were instantly granted equality and security. Some even tried to replace or at least try to take the place of those lost in the ‘Discord Reign’.

“I stayed with Luna,” began Mirage. “When she gave us rights after we defended her and the ponies. Others went to go join families and replace those lost to them. I was a born soldier, so I continued to fight and defend.”

Twilight remained quiet the whole time. She hadn’t taken her eyes off of Mirage for a second. It wasn’t that Twilight didn’t trust the changeling, even with Luna backing her up. It was that, for her, it only felt like a short while ago that they had invaded and tried to take over Canterlot.

It didn't feel too long for her, but for everyone else, 13 years can change one's opinion.

“So…” said Twilight cautiously. “What ever happened to Chrysalis after she was dethroned?”

Mirage grimaced a bit. “I…truly don’t wish to repeat it, but… when Discord caused chaos over Equestria, the madness of her failed attempt at the siege of Canterlot, plus the crazy love that Discord was creating made her go insane. She tried to take out the entire hive to go and fight Discord and steal all the love but, noling could do it. We were starving and we were low on reserves. Any place that wasn’t infected or touched by Discord, were either busy keeping extra security at home or didn’t have any love to go around.

"We scraped by with the occasional Dragon, Gryphon and even a few animals that were intellectual enough to love. Most of it went to the wounded or the younglings.

"Chrysalis tried to steal it all for herself but with the council and a few hundred of us, we dethroned her and put her in a cell.” She paused as her eyes focused on Luna. “That was 12 years ago, and she is still there.”

Twilight shuddered, and tried not to imagine what state the queen was in.

A silence passed between them. Luna allowed the information to sink in for Twilight. Mirage clearly felt uncomfortable when she was talking about the past.

The silence was disrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in!”

The door opened to reveal a night guard.

“Princess Luna,” he said, giving a stiff salute.

“Yes, corporal?” replied Luna.

The guard walked in and bowed. A typical male night guard; bat wings, cat eyes, and a webbed crest.

“We have received word from the Diamond Dog that you have previously asked to join us.”

Luna gave a nod and a small smile.

“That is good. Is he going to join us or is he just coming to speak?”

The guard shrugged.

“He didn’t really specify, he just said that he wanted to meet with you tomorrow and see what would be in it for him.”

Luna scoffed and shook her head.

“I swear, those greedy mutts always want something, be it for the greater good or to save their tails.” She sighed. “Fine. Have him come by noon tomorrow and we can discuss what he wants.”

The guard nodded and turned to leave. Luna stopped him before he closed the door.

“By the way, have we any responses from the Dragons or Lulamoon?”

The corporal shook his head.

“Sorry, Princess, but our scouts aren’t getting proper responses back. The dragons don’t seem interested in our problems. Not even Dracus. As for Lulamoon, she is at least a weeks’ worth out, even with her dragon pet, or friend or whatever.”

Luna gave a heavy sigh. She looked down at her hooves, crestfallen. However, in the corner of her eye, she saw Twilight and her hope instantly rose higher than ever.

“Corporal, I will write a letter and mark it with my seal. I want you to try to personally deliver it to Dracus. He is the only one of the dragons that will listen. And tell him before handing him the letter that an old friend has returned.”

The corporal nodded.

“At once your majesty.” He bowed and backed out of the door, closing it behind him.

Twilight turned to Luna and asked, “Who are Dracus and Lulamoon?”

Luna smiled, a smile Twilight hadn't seen since she first arrived here.

“Twilight, I think that in Dracus' case, the surprise might be worth the anticipation. For now, he is one of the few dragons in their Empire that we speak to, not to mention he is of the bloodline of the Dragon Queen.

"As for Lulamoon, well I am surprised you don’t remember her. She is the one that boasted in your town about defeating a Ursa Major only to have one come into your town. Not to mention that she has claimed to be the greatest and most powerful unicorn in Equestria.”

The words rang in her head. In an instant, she put two and two together. Only a name crossed her mind.

“Trixie?”

Luna nodded.

“Trixie Lulamoon. She is one of the few ponies that we have as a field agent, trying to get everything back in line. She makes sure that there are no influences of evil, or any sign of Disharmony in Equestria. She is in disguise, using her prior life as a ‘Performer.’

Twilight blinked and stared.

“Others?” she asked. “What others? Luna, what is going on?”

Luna gave a sad smile.

“While I trust you, Twilight with nearly everything, I don’t think that I can trust myself to tell you what I have planned for you. When you came back to us, you were the final piece of the puzzle to help us bring peace and harmony back to Equestria.” She laid a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “For now, I just ask that you trust me and wait until I can explain everything.”
Twilight looked into Luna’s eyes and saw that Luna was telling her the truth. She knew Luna long enough and trusted her enough to tell her what she needed to know.
She nodded. “Okay Luna, I’ll trust you but please, I want to know what has happened with everything the last thirteen years and what I have to do with it.”
“I will Twilight, but for now, I don’t want you to be in any situations right now. For now, I just want you to rest, try to adjust with the new things around you and find yourself.”

“I’ll try.”
“That is all I ask.” Luna said with a smile. “Now, I won’t answer any questions right about what I have planned for you, but I will answer questions about anything else I can.”
Twilight nodded. “Fair enough.” A million questions swarmed in Twilight’s head. Where are her friends? Where is Shinning Armor or Cadance? Where was Celestia? Where was Spike? How could she adjust her life back? How did Trixie…

“Wait… Trixie has a pet dragon?”

Author's Note:

Thanks to JumpyShinyFrogs for the edit as well as his help to checking my story progression.
This story is coming along nicely, if a bit slow but I am trying. I am graduating soon so it will be that more difficult to finishing up or continuing the story.
Don't worry, the end is not for another 10 or many many more chapters, not really sure.
Comment, rate, review and enjoy!

Comments

[Icanhazmochi]

Trixie should have a pet Ursa Minor just for da lulz xD

[JumpingShinyFrogs]

I see you added a bit to the end, and didn't allow me to edit it. Mind sending that to me so I can fix it?

[Rustled Pages]

4150280
Why is a plot device book so unbelievable? Have you forgotten the book which predicted the return of Nightmare Moon? Or the "secret compartment" in the library tree (RIP) which told Twilight exactly where the Elements of Harmony were and all but the final bit of info on how to use them? How about the book on how to do time travel found in the Starswirl section of the Canterlot library? Or the book on Poison Joke? How about the Book Spike finds in the recent season in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters which gives him (and by extension Rarity) the perfect spell to fix the cart that she made too small. The cannon series is quite literally filled with plot device books. At least two or three of them were Starswirl related in some manner, why is another one so surprising?

[Estella Star]

“Wait… Trixie has a pet dragon?”

Facts best ending ever