The More Things Change...
Slowly, the horde of changelings began to advance toward the assembled group of ponies, Twilight Sparkle standing in front of Comet Chaser and glaring daggers at the approaching shapeshifters, which had them completely surrounded. If they had been smiling, or smirking or grinning or even giving some manner of cruel sniggering, that would have been better than the completely casual stares they were giving off. Then there was a small hum coming from the direction of Twilight Sparkle, and a blast of bright purple energy slammed into several of them. At which point the spells started flying. A short distance from everypony else, Chrysalis rolled her eyes. Then several blasts of strange green flames lanced out toward them. Chrysalis did a double-take as she noticed the group of changelings who had absconded with her son surrounding the young princeling, each suddenly looking like the pony. From the expression on the stallion's face, he wasn't sure as to why they were doing so either.
"Sire, run" the lead changeling whispered, "We shall hold them off."
He frowned, but before he could respond with some suitably apropos statement, he first had to dodge a lunging changeling, who was swiftly tackled by two of his little band of bodyguard. He found himself wondering why it was he'd never bothered learning defensive spells, aside for dealing with some of the more temperamental rabbits at home. Wisp highly doubted that techniques designed to work on small furry creatures armed with wooden spoons were going to work on full-grown ponies. However, he did wonder if perhaps talking to them was an id-
There was a loud noise as Twilight Sparkle blasted several changelings off of her. She quickly turned, blasting several more away from Cadance and Shining Armor, before motioning with her hooves in the direction of the city.
"Come on" she yelled. The gathered ponies quickly tried to pull themselves to their hooves and ran, Shining Armor kicking two changelings who tried to attack him. The gathering rushed through the horde of changelings, and headed toward the city. There was a loud buzzing sound as they stopped. Shining Armor's horn glowed, and a massive barrier appeared in front of the changelings, quickly spreading out to block their approach.
"Anypony got a plan?" Comet Chaser asked. There were a few seconds of near-silence.
"If I had a few minutes," Twilight said, "I could probably make a p-" she stopped when Comet Chaser gave her several jabs with a hoof. She turned her head to look at him, and then saw he was pointing at something. Everypony else turned to look. On the horizon, hovering on the edge of the city, were yet more changelings.
"How many did she bring?" Shining Armor asked, "Just for one pony? Even if he is her son, that's just mad."
"Well, it is possible she brought that group we fought for catching me, and keeping me contained, and these new ones are for securing the Crystal Empire while she's here" Wisp said. There were a few seconds as everypony considered this.
"Okay then. So what do we do? We can't exactly fight or hold off all those changelings" Cadance said.
"And I'm pretty sure some of us have already accidentally injured one of this bunch" Comet Chaser added.
"You have" one of the changelings piped up, in-between resting a hoof on an injured eyelid. Comet Chaser looked down at his hooves.
"Sorry."
Wisp shook his head, and looked toward the changelings. They didn't seem to be moving. Then he turned back toward Twilight Sparkle, who was just frowning.
"Can you remove the tracking charm?" he asked. Twilight blinked.
"Yes" she said. "Of course I can."
Wisp nodded. For a few seconds nopony said anything, then Twilight nodded.
"I'll just do that then."
As Twilight's horn began trying to dispel the charm, glances were still exchanged toward the changeling army. Shining Armor looked noticeably tense.
"I don't mean to bring the mood down, but I don't think I can hold them off for much longer, and I get this feeling we're not going to get a repeat of what happened the first time we got attacked by a changeling army."
Cadance looked down at her hooves, and gave a sad sigh. Shining laid a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.
"Would she leave if she thought you weren't here?" Comet Chaser spoke up. Wisp turned to look at the pony, and frowned.
"Excuse me?"
The stallion glanced about, "Well, she is after you, isn't she? If she was distracted long enough, then perhaps we could find a solution toward dealing with her."
"I'm strong enough to knock her down, I know that much" Twilight said hesitantly, "But what I don't know is if I'd be able to keep her down. And I don't know how strong she is currently, or how to compare that to any previous encounter or her average strength, or the relative difference between the average changeling and an average pony."
She frowned. Cadance's expression shifted. "I would help, but I'm not really a fighter, and my spells would probably just make them stronger. I'm not going to be much help here, I'm afraid."
Wisp shrugged. "I can't fight her. I'm not really that strong, and even if she were willing to listen to me at all, I doubt I could convince her to give up her insane crusade."
He looked down at his hooves. "Sorry, this is all my fault."
There were a few seconds as Shining Armor and Cadance exchanged glances. Shining Armor was the first to speak.
"It's not your fault, kid." he paused, and then winced, "Okay, yeah, she did come here following you, and she could have shown up at any point in the last twenty-two years, but..." he bit his lip, "I was going somewhere with this."
Cadance just shook her head and smiled at Wisp, "Don't worry, we'll make sure she doesn't get to you."
"Indeed" the lead changeling said, feeling it was past-time he started repaying his debt to his liege. Wisp turned to look at him briefly, then looked back to Shining Armor.
"Thanks" he said quietly. Shining Armor just nodded. Twilight Sparkle meanwhile was looking at Comet Chaser.
"What is it?" he asked. Twilight looked hesitant for a second.
"I think it would be best if you got to safety somewhere."
He frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Safety? While you stay here and help fight an entire army?"
"What?" Twilight asked, "You're not actually thinking of fighting as well are you?"
"Well why not?" Comet Chaser asked, unaware of how everypony else was watching their argument.
"Because it- it's not safe for you out here!"
"As opposed to stuck in a castle full of ponies with only one way out. Just tell me what's got you so bothered."
"I can't-" Twilight stuttered, her expression growing darker, "I can't do this with you here."
"'What?" Comet Chaser cut in, "What does that even mean?"
Twilight scowled.
"Are you saying I'll just distract you? I'm just getting in your way?"
"Y- No!" Twilight said, looking horrified, "It's just-"
"Just what?!"
"I'm not losing you again!" Twilight yelled. After a few seconds she seemed to fold in on her herself. "I just got you and Twinkle back. I don't want lose you again. I can't."
For a few seconds there was near silence as Twilight Sparkle stared at him, and he stared back. After a few seconds more he held the mare close to him, Twilight quickly hugging back.
"Okay, honey" he said quietly. "Just be careful."
"Aren't I always?" Twilight responded.
"That time you tried to cook dinner speaks for itself" he said, grinning slightly. He could practically feel Twilight tense up.
"The oven was being difficult."
"Like it was the last time? Or the time before that?"
Twilight looked like she was trying to both smile, and not smile. "Don't worry about me, dear" she said.
The pony gave a small shrug. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises."
He turned toward the Crystal Palace, Cadance quickly moving alongside him, though not before giving Shining Armor a goodbye kiss (at which point the guards standing nearby tried to look non-responsive).
Once the two ponies were some distance away, the gathering of ponies looked at each other.
"Alright, everypony, we really need a plan" Shining Armor, "I think that your 'husband' had the right idea, distracting her and-... what?"
Twilight was glowering at him. "Why did you say the word 'husband' like that, exactly?"
"Because I've never seen or heard of him before, and I'm finding it a bit hard to believe you just suddenly had a husband you never told us about."
Twilight stared at him for several minutes. "I'll explain that later, once we've dealt with what's going on."
"If you say so."
The lead changeling looked at Wisp with a curious expression. "Are they all like this?" he asked, sounding genuinely unsure. Wisp just shook his head, and cleared his throat.
"Can we focus, please? I-If it isn't too much trouble, that is."
Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor paused, both glancing at the young stallion before nodding.
"If I might," the lead changeling said, "You wish to keep Queen Chrysalis distracted, yes?"
The ponies nodded. Then the lead changeling's horn glowed, and in a bright flash of pale green fire, the pony vanished, and in his place was none other than Wisp, though the changeling hadn't quite managed to copy the pony's facial expressions, looking more dour than Wisp did.
"She may be looking for the prince, but she needs to see him to know, and if she does not know which one to go after..." the second Wisp said. Then the changelings behind him also transformed into duplicates of Wisp.
"So, distract her with duplicates, and while she's not paying attention, find a way to beat her army?" Twilight asked, looking toward Shining Armor. The stallion's brow furrowed as he gave this some thought.
"It's an idea" he said. "Incredibly risky as well, and I'm not really for anyone risking their life as a distraction."
Twilight shook her head, "What choice do we have at this point?"
Shining Armor frowned. "None that I can think of. But I still don't like it."
"She told her... troops, or subjects, or whatever the accurate term is" Wisp spoke up, "To keep me alive, until she got to them. As long as she's looking for me, she won't bother anypony else."
"But, what are you going to do?" Twilight asked, looking concerned, "I mean, you can't fight her, can you?"
Wisp paused, and then turned to look at the large gathering of changelings hovering just beyond Shining Armor's barrier, a few of them almost pacing around the edge.
"No, I can't fight her" he said, "Not physically at any rate."
*****
Elsewhere.
Twilight Twinkle rubbed the side of her head, and frowned. She wasn't sure how long she'd been teleporting for, but she was certain, or relatively sure, that she hadn't gotten too far. A few hundred miles or so, nowhere near the Crystal Empire. She sat there for a moment, ignoring the unpleasant wind that seemed determined to go right through her bones, and gave the situation some thought. She wasn't entirely certain where she was, or its position relative to Ponyville or the Empire, but she knew that while she wasn't getting tired physically, she was beginning to get incredibly annoyed by teleporting.
After a few seconds, she began thinking further, and stared up at the horizon, and the sun lazily making its way through the afternoon sky. A few seconds later, wheels began to turn in her head. She bit her lip as the wheels began to grind, and a small grin moved across her face.
Alright, she thought, let's see about speeding things up somewhat.
*****
Cadance and Comet Chaser had made their way to the Crystal Palace quickly and silently, though Comet Chaser was certain Cadance had been giving him odd looks, but given the unusual circumstances, he wasn't surprised. From the look on her face, Cadance wasn't entirely certain what to make of him. Which did explain the awkward smile she gave when he caught her glancing, however she still gave no response. When they arrived at the palace, they were greeted by an unusual sight. Dozens of ponies standing guard, each one apparently looking for something, along with several more standing around outside, none of them looking especially friendly. Their expressions shifted when they saw Princess Cadance.
"Your Highness" one called out, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine" the mare said, "Is everypony else alright?"
There was a sudden pause, as Cadance grimaced. "Ignoring the fact that there's a large changeling army just outside the city, that is."
"Is there a plan to defeat them?" somepony asked. Cadance looked down at her hooves.
"We aren't sure how" she said quietly.
"Well then" another pony declared, "Does her Royal Highness mind if we defend our own home?"
Cadance looked up, as one pony marched out toward her and bowed. The pony, a mare, had a lime-green coat with a lemon-yellow mane, with a Cutie Mark of some fruit or another than Comet Chaser couldn't make out.
"Nothing against you, your majesty," said quickly, "but the last time some idiot tried to take our city, we had to stand and watch. And while we are forever grateful towards you and Spike, this is our home. Nopony is taking it from us without a fight if we can help it."
Cadance sighed. "I was hoping we could avoid ponies endangering themselves if at all possible."
"Question" Comet Chaser said, "Why not try and use that Crystal Heart thing? I mean, if it can blast an evil undead sorcerer, then why can't it work on a few thousand hungry bugs?"
"It's gone quiet" another pony said, "Maybe because of what's happened in the last week, or maybe because it's a bit hard for everypony to feel harmonious when there's an army of emotion-eating bugs about to invade."
Comet Chaser and Cadance looked toward the pony who'd said that, and Cadance suddenly felt a small pang of concern. Standing there was a guardpony with a bright orange coat, blue hair jutting out from under his helmet. She looked toward Comet Chaser, who had a look of practiced indifference, and after a few seconds her brain helpfully pointed out why.
"We did talk about using the Crystal Heart" she said, "But as it is powered by emotions, the likelihood that the changeling army would feed upon is perilously dangerous, and my husband and I decided we'd rather not risk it."
"Where're the Princesses? Or the Wonderbolts?" somepony called out.
"They don't know what's going on" another responded. In short order, several ponies began voicing their opinion on this. However, unlike most ponies, the Crystal Ponies just began debating, rather than actually arguing. Then, somepony gasped. Cadance and Comet Chaser turned to look, and saw Shining Armor's barrier begin to vanish.
"Guess this is it, then" Comet Chaser muttered.
*****
The Changelings watched as the barrier vanished. However, they did not instantly rush forward. Many of them remembered how such things had gone the last time there had been a barrier. There was a feeling of apprehension, of caution. Then the Queen's thoughts came into their head. The order to attack.
Without hesitation, they began to advance. One group, at the forefront of the army, began searching for their prince. They saw a gathering of ponies, including six versions of their prince, five of whom instantly vanished. For a minute, the search party paused, just as Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor let lose with a barrage of spells.
Across the city, several groups of changelings noted their prince trying to be elusive. After a few seconds the Queen's thoughts returned, noticeable anger flooding through as she told them to simply capture them all, and bring all of them to her. They progressed forward, and then felt a new thought coming to them, telling them simply find whichever one was feeling love. For some reason, these thoughts were tainted with something new, something that made several changelings feel disquieted. It was bad enough that she'd injured one of their own kind, but to injure her own spawn. Even if the prince was half-pony, he was still one of their own. But Chrysalis was the queen, and had been the queen for years, and had done well by her subjects. And now she had led them to a great source of food once more. So the thoughts were quickly settled, as the changelings began looking for the true princeling.
*****
Somewhere else, there was a small hum, followed by a bright flash and a loud 'bloink' sound. Then there was only the sound of the wind.
Meanwhile, back in the Crystal City.
The changeling rushed toward the gathering of ponies in front of them, and quickly found themselves driven back by a variety of magic from Twilight Sparkle. Some tried to make their way through, only to be driven back by the rest of the ponies. Soon enough, the changelings tried swarming them again, only to be driven back once more. Similar stories repeated themselves all over the city, as the ponies of the Crystal City used whatever means they could (usually involving stale foodstuffs and the occasional pastry) to repel the changelings. However, suddenly, one changeling managed to barrel past Twilight's magic, and tackled the mare, at which point the changeling horde seized the chance to swarm over the group of ponies. Shining Armor quickly began trying to fight the swarming ponies off of him. Then there was a bright flash, and a loud 'bloink'. In an instant, everything seemed to stop, though the dramatic moment was ruined seconds later by a loud yelp as whoever had just teleported found themselves coming into direct contact with several changelings. Then Shining Armor heard this pony speak.
"Now how'd this happen?"
There was another blast as Twilight shook off the dozens of changelings that had dog-piled her, and rushed over toward the pony, who Shining Armor could see was Twilight Sparkle embracing a startled Twilight Twinkle.
"Mom? How'd you get here so quickly?" the young mare asked. Shining Armor blinked as he noticed the pair of wings on the young mare's back, then stared as he saw they were still there. Suddenly Shining Armor's brain started feeling incredibly warm and fuzzy, and fighting a swarm of ravenously hungry-looking changelings sounded absolutely normal.
"Trade secret" Twilight Sparkle laughed, to which Twinkle just frowned.
"That answer is entirely unsatisfactory" the young mare said, before her frown vanished. "And why are there so many changelings here?"
"They're invading the city, for some reason that probably makes sense to them" Twilight sighed. Twinkle just nodded.
"Makes sense, I guess. Two alicorns in one city and the Crystal Heart with all the emotion contained within, probably would make for a tasty buffet for them."
There was a noise from behind Twinkle, as a changeling glowered at her with what looked like annoyance.
"I don't suppose you two would mind helping?" Shining Armor asked as he wrestled several changelings off of his troops. Twinkle frowned.
"Just dealt with freaking changelings" she muttered, as her horn glowed, and a smile moved across her lips.
*****
Cadance frowned as the changelings that had been laying siege to the palace began to move back. She was fairly certain some of them had tried to gain entry to the palace via the roof. She didn't envy those ones, who probably were learning first hand how far ahead King Sombra thought when it came to home defence. Besides, she noted, even if they did get in that way, they'd still have to deal with the Endless Stairs, the same as anypony else. She felt a momentary pang of pity for the changelings, and then saw them moving back.
"Wonder why they're doing that" Flash Sentry exclaimed.
"They're cowards" another guard, this one with a brick-red colour to his fur, grunted. Cadance shook her head.
"I don't think so. I think that they're just pulling back..."
Then a thought suddenly appeared in her head as she noticed the gathering of guards around her.
"Who's guarding the hospital, by the way?"
The assembled guards suddenly were at a loss for words, though their expression indicated that perhaps in a few seconds there was going to be a somewhat monosyllabic chorus of statements from them. Cadance stared in a mixture of shock and anger.
"Nopony is guarding the hospital?"
"No?" the brick-red pony said, "But... they wouldn't, surely... it isn't safe to just go out and check, your highness."
Cadance suddenly loomed over the pony, the most serious expression on her face she could possibly muster.
"There had better be somepony guarding that hospital, or I shall be extremely upset."
"We're right next to you, ma'am" Flash Sentry said, placing himself between the concerned parent and his fellow guardpony. After a few seconds Cadance nodded, and flew out the door, not even caring about the absence of the changelings. However, some small part of her noted that something had most likely drawn their attention, but at the moment she wasn't really concerned what it was. She was too busy trying to ignore her mind going on tangents about Shining Sapphire.
*****
The gathered ponies stood, catching their breath as the last changeling fell over. Twilight Twinkle was trying desperately not to break out in unguarded smiling. Then she saw the look of concern on Twilight Sparkle's face.
"What is it?" she asked. Twilight frowned and looked about.
"Well, there were more changelings around just now, and secondly..." she stared straight at Twinkle, "Don't think I'm not going to want you to explain what happened, young lady."
Then she froze, and her gaze moved about, and she turned to Shining Armor.
"Where's-" she stared before she saw the look on the stallion's face.
"I don't know. In all the confusion they must've..." he trailed off, and glanced around. On the edge of the city, the changelings had gathered.
"What's going on there?" Twinkle asked. Twilight bit her lip, and then began running full-tilt towards the gathered changelings. Shining Armor raised a hoof, and then lowered it. Twinkle looked at him, and then sighed, and ran after Twilight Sparkle. A few seconds later, and against his own better judgement, Shining Armor followed after them both. The remaining guards looked at the collapsed changelings, and looked concerned.
"What are we supposed to do with these guys?" one asked.
"Beats me."
"They could've told us" another muttered.
*****
Chrysalis smiled, and her good mood quickly began to spread through her changelings, as the sprawled brown-gold pegasus lay before her. Slowly, she moved toward him, and looked. After a few seconds she sighed.
"You should have done what I said. You should have listened to your mother. Why was that so difficult for you?" she said quietly, stroking her hoof through his mane. After a few seconds Whisper Wind stirred. When he saw Chrysalis he bristled.
"You" he said, calmly. Chrysalis looked hurt.
"I am sorry I said those things earlier, dearest. In the moment, I just got so upset. I shouldn't have taken my annoyance out on you."
Whisper Wind gave no response, just glaring at her.
"It's very hard for me, being Queen. There's no room for second-guessing when your decisions could mean life or death for your people. That's all I'm doing, dearest, trying to look after my people. Even you, despite the fact that you've spurned my every attempt to reach out to you."
Wisp's expression shifted.
"If you were trying to do what was best for us, you wouldn't be attacking these ponies. Especially since you know what they can do. Haven't they already foiled your insane attempts to invade them twice now?"
Chrysalis scowled, "Only by sheer luck, and cheap last minute rescues."
"And you wouldn't be trying to take their emotions by force. You don't need to do that, and you know that. You know that."
For a few seconds, the assembled changelings looked from the queen to the prince, and then Chrysalis shrugged.
"Oh, true, we don't need to take their emotions by force, dearest. But shall I tell you the reason why I prefer taking their emotions by force?"
She leaned in close toward him and smiled, her fangs showing as she hissed to him. "I just prefer doing it this way. It's fun."
Then she frowned, and looked up. There was something akin to a ripple through the changelings as three ponies were dragged forward. Chrysalis began to smile a cruel smile, as she saw the three ponies.
"Well, well..." she moved toward the only stallion in the group, and began tracing a hoof through his hair, ignoring his flinching.
"Shining Armor. How nice to see you again. Did you miss me that badly? If you wanted me back that badly..."
She glanced at Wisp. "He's not yours, in case you were wondering."
"I wasn't. And we'd sort of figured that out all ready."
She smiled and whispered in his ear, "His sire was far better than you ever were."
The stallion glared at her, before trying to lunge at her, restrained only by the changelings holding him down, to which Chrysalis just grinned further, before her eyes moved toward Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Twinkle.
"My my. The little girl with the nasty bite, and that childish attraction to my son" Chrysalis's smile flickered as she looked at the mare. "Oh. It's not there anymore. What a pity. Might've been useful" then her expression shifted. "Interesting. So much grief. That is not something you would normally see in a mare your age. What have you been up to, little one? (Not that I actually care, of course.)"
She took a deep breath, then turned to look at Wisp again. "Now, where was I? ... Oh, yes. I am very disappointed in you, son. I suppose it was foolish to expect you would side with us against these ponies, after spending so long among them."
For an instant, a pained look crossed her face, "Still, no matter. I admit, I was hurt when you told me so. I was even more hurt when you tried to flee us, though thankfully your smitten friend over here certainly helped with finding you."
Twilight Sparkle turned to look at Twinkle, and didn't need to be her mother to know how Twinkle was feeling at that moment.
"And I shouldn't have been so angry with you. It isn't your fault those ponies made you so weak. But I suppose it's too late to take it back."
Chrysalis frowned, and stared at Wisp. "However, there is a way for you to help your people."
Her expression went neutral. "You see, all this pointless fighting has made us incredibly hungry, so..."
She looked over toward the Twilights and Shining Armor, then to Wisp. "You get to help us after all, dear. Though not in the way I would have preferred. But all that love you have in you will be good enough..."
Her horn glowed, and time seemed to slow as she moved closer. Twinkle twisted, trying to get free of the mob of changelings, and get off a spell, but with all the changelings on top of her, this was proving difficult. Then a sickly green energy moved toward Wisp.
Across the city, Cadance ploughed through the barriers the hospital staff had set up, quickly making her way toward the room where Shining Sapphire was in.
Wisp grunted as the magic hit him. Several of the changelings stared, along with the Twilights and Shining Armor, as Chrysalis frowned, her horn beginning to glow brighter as she poured more magic into her efforts.
In the hospital room, machines began to react loudly, and an alarm went off. Then there was a bright pink light, that seemed to flood the building. It felt strangely warm, and pleasant.
At the Crystal Palace, several ponies saw a bright light coming from the Crystal Heart, as it began to glow brighter, and brighter.
Several changelings, the ones not watching the sight of Wisp being fed up, saw a bright light approaching, incredibly fast. Twilight Twinkle felt something wash over her, like a wave, and then there was a sound, as the horde of changelings were thrown apart, which had the side-effect of knocking her onto her behind as well. Then she saw what the cause was, and her jaw dropped.
"Get away from my boyfriend" declared the pony standing next to Wisp, which Twinkle felt rather killed the pony's dramatic entrance somewhat, though she made up for it with sheer flair. Due to the sudden effect of the Crystal Heart, her body, like that of everypony else's, had been transfigured into a more crystalline nature, but she was still undeniably pink, and her mane and tail were a bright sapphire blue. It was Shining Sapphire.
She examined Wisp, and gave a tiny smile after a few seconds. Then she turned to look at Chrysalis.
"Okay, you just hurt him, and I don't care why. Your army is looking more than an little bit full, so I don't think you can count on th-"
Chrysalis leapt. Shining Sapphire's horn glowed and the changeling queen collided with a gigantic translucent pink shield, one that looked phenomenally like the one on Shining Armor's flank.
"I don't need an army!" Chrysalis yelled. She lunged at the shield again. "Not when I have made the power of my son's love my own."
"And I am the daughter of the two ponies who managed to defeat you the first time you showed up in Equestria."
"A jaundiced account, I think you'll find" Chrysalis said.
"Not to mention I can and have wielded the full power of the Crystal Heart. An entire city's worth of hope and love. And I'm pretty sure even you couldn't feed on all of it."
Chrysalis smirked. "I can definitely try."
"You'll lose. It'll sting" Twinkle said. Suddenly Shining Sapphire turned around, her eyes going wide, and she suddenly gave off a high-pitched noise.
"Twinkie!" she said, leaping over toward the mare.
Twinkle could not respond nor hear what Shining Sapphire said next due to her suddenly being subjected to a hug that would have most likely crushed her neck had she not been made of a crystalline substance at that moment. After a few seconds Shining Sapphire seemed to realise this and leaned out, still smiling.
"Bad guy?" Twinkle said. Shining Sapphire blinked.
"Oh, right, yes. Her."
She turned around, and smirked. Suddenly a burst of green flames sprouted around her, cutting her off from everypony else, though she did feel slightly reassured that it cut off the changeling queen from her army. Then Chrysalis's hoof connected with her face. Her horn glowed, and a burst of pink energy struck the mare in the face. The mare hissed.
"That is concentrated love. Same sort of stuff I used on a nightmare, so I figure it'll probably work on you."
Chrysalis frowned. "You think you can injure me with food? Clearly you have your father's brains."
Shining Sapphire frowned. Then her horn began to glow brighter. "Think of this as the different between giving you cake, and attacking you with cake, then."
There was a sudden pause as she saw the look on Chrysalis's face. "That sounded better in my head."
*****
The roar of the flames made it difficult to tell what was transpiring inside, and the heat from it had made them take several steps back. After she had, Twinkle noted the variety of changelings, none of whom looked like they were in any capacity to act, save for a few, who were eyeing her and her family with what looked like concern, or fear. Then she heard the noise from behind her, and turned to see Cadance approaching, a few distant dots behind her that looked like the entire city coming to see what was going on. She was aware of noises behind her, and when she turned, almost all the changelings were gone, save for five battered looking ponies who looked exactly like Wisp. Twinkle gave this some thought, and then realised what that probably meant. She tried not to listen to the sound of fighting, just barely audible over the roar of the flames.
"What's going on?" Cadance stated once she arrived, staring at the flame barrier.
"Sapphy and the Changeling Queen are in there, fighting." Twinkle said, before smiling, nodding and adding, "Hello aunt Cadance."
"Hello, Twinkle. You look... different."
Twinkle just nodded. "Very long story."
"... I look forward to hearing it. Once this matter is settled."
She paused, "What is going on, right now?"
"Oh, Shining Sapphire and a really crazy changeling queen, fighting, lives on the line, same old" Twinkle shrugged. "And I think she's somehow managed to absorb the energy of the Crystal Heart. Again."
"Again?" the three ponies asked. Twinkle bit her lip and nodded.
"Would this have something to do with why my daughter was hospitalised?" Cadance asked. Twinkle shuffled.
"Perhaps."
Cadance said nothing, just glancing toward the flames. "Have you tried dispelling them?" she asked Twilight. The mare just frowned, evidently not feeling the need to point out her horn was glowing.
"It's tricky" she said, "I'll see what I can do, but it might take a few minutes."
Cadance said nothing, but the expression on her face made her feelings clear enough.
*****
Inside the barrier, the two ponies fought, utterly ignoring the total lack of space to manuever. Shining Sapphire blocked another burst of fire from Chrysalis by summoning several large pink books to block the flames, and grimaced. She wasn't even sure why her magic was choosing to form those things, but as long as it kept her from being roasted by those flames, she wasn't about to argue. However, her own retaliatory magics didn't seem to be doing anything in particular to the changeling queen, and she was beginning to notice several aches and pains she hadn't felt before, probably as a result of however long she'd been out, which meant she probably had to wrap up the conflict and fast.
"What exactly are you thinking, by the way?" she asked, ignoring the warmth of the flames, "If you do beat me, then you have to get through the two strongest magic-wielders I know. If you get past them, you'll have to go through two ponies who managed to beat you and your entire army just by kissing. And should you manage by some stroke of luck to get past them, what then? Seriously?"
Chrysalis growled as she found herself being dragged back by several pink versions of Whisper Wind.
"What do you expect to happen?" the young mare asked.
"I will feast on the power of the Crystal Heart, and become even stronger th-"
"Seriously? That's it, that's all you want, is to just snack down on an entire city's worth of emotions?"
"Well, a changeling's got to eat, don't we? You wouldn't let us starve, would you?"
Shining Sapphire frowned. "I... No."
She looked at the magical constructs in front of her. "Okay then."
Her horn dimmed, and Chrysalis practically laughed as the books vanished. "Foolish girl, do you really think I-"
She didn't finish as Shining Sapphire's horn glowed brighter, a massive beam of energy flowing from her to the mare. Everything went bright.
*****
They heard a scream over the crackle of the barrier of flames, and each of the ponies present watched with fear building in them as the green flames flickered out, soon revealing three ponies. Shining Sapphire was the only one presently standing, but she did look like a wreck. Her mane and tail were dishevelled, her eyes looked like they were trying desperately to close on her, and she looked like she was having trouble standing up. She turned to grin at the now somewhat large congregation around her.
Then Chrysalis slowly got to her hooves, in a way that looked alarmingly like she was unalive, and snarled. Shining Sapphire turned, her horn beginning to glow...
Only for the leaping mare to be hit dead centre by two blasts of energy that catapulted her through the air, all the way toward the barrier leading to outside. There was a dread silence as both Twilights prepared for the changeling to return. Minutes passed, and then Shining Sapphire made a small noise.
"I guess this means she's had enough, for now at least" Twilight said, cautiously.
"Yeah," Twinkle said, "I think you're right."
Shining Sapphire just smiled. "Good. Because I'm never doing that again if I can help it."
"What did you do?" Shining Armor asked. The pink mare just grinned.
"She was looking to feast on love. I helped. Well, I say 'helped', more like forced her to feel love rather than just eat it, so..." she suddenly breathed out, "Didn't know if I could do that, actually. Sort of a desperation tactic."
Any further conversation was forestalled by her suddenly being rushed by Cadance and Shining Armor, and hugged. For a moment, silence reigned as the family just held each other, before the older alicorn began examining the young mare and frowning.
"Mom, mom, stop it, mom. I'm okay, really."
Cadance just stared at the young mare for a moment. "Sorry for being concerned about my little girl being up and about like nothing ever happened after a week in a coma."
"A week?" Shining Sapphire asked, "Really?"
"So what was it that happened, honey?" Shining Armor asked. The mare glanced over toward Twinkle, and then shuffled.
"It... I'm not entirely certain" she said, as she turned to look at the prone form of Wisp. She stood next to him, and after a few seconds rolled her eyes.
"Wisp?" she asked, looking cautiously toward the five changelings, who were eyeing her with what looked like trepidation, if only for an instant.
"Come on, Wisp. Wake up."
As if on cue, the young princeling stirred, and looked astounded when he saw Shining Sapphire staring down at him.
"Hi, beautiful" she said, smiling broadly. The young pony blinked before doing something Twinkle wasn't sure she'd seen him do before. He was smiling.
"Hi yourself."
She helped the young stallion get to his feet, and then smiled at him again. He continued smiling back. After a few seconds both ponies began kissing, and then Twinkle noticed both of them were crying.
"Kissing and crying" she muttered with distaste, glancing toward Twilight, who was standing with Comet Chaser, utterly ignoring her niece, or Cadance's expression. Then Twinkle found herself beset upon by a bright pink blur that knocked the air out of her lungs.
"Hey, Sapphy..." she wheezed, looking at the mare's smile. "Nice to see you again."
"Twinkie" she said, smiling back, before glancing at something and raising an eyebrow. "Since when were you an alicorn? And how come you look like your actual age again?"
She slowly stopped crushing the young mare and shook her head. "Honestly, you take one week off and everything just changes, huh?"
There was a noise from Cadance, who apparently hadn't noticed the wings either. She seemed bemused by the sight of the royal blue feathered wings currently remaining unused on Twinkle's back.
"How did you get those wings, by the way?" Shining Sapphire asked.
Twinkle grinned nervously, as she noted the number of ponies looking at her. "Seaponies" she grinned.
Twilight's eyes and ears began to twitch, as Twinkle grinned, before saying "It's... it is an extremely long story."
"We are going to hear about it, I hope" Cadance asked. Twinkle looked over toward her parents, who were staring at her, a notable look of exasperation on Twilight's face. Twinkle paused for a few seconds.
"Of course" she said. "But it is really long and I would like to sit down before I do."
There was a sudden rumbling noise, which reminded Twinkle that she had in fact skipped breakfast.
"Might also need something to eat" she grinned. Cadance just smiled.
"Well then, we'll attend to business, make sure everypony in town is alright, and then after some lunch, you can tell us the whole story."
"Sounds good to me" Twinkle said.
The group of ponies set off out of the field, through the crowd of Crystal Ponies, Cadance and Shining Armor leading the way, Twilight and Comet Chaser following behind, then Sapphy and Wisp, and behind them, Twinkle followed by the five remaining changelings. Twinkle looked as Sapphy and Wisp moved slowly, and though the stallion seemed the more injured, she couldn't help but notice Sapphy seemed to be leaning on him, and there was an odd rhythm to her legs, as if one of them wasn't quite working properly. She suddenly found herself thinking of memories of that day, and her pace had begun to quicken, which also brought her neck and neck with the two ponies. A content smile was on Shining Sapphire's lips, and Wisp was doing an extremely poor job of hiding a similar look.
"You know, you two look so cute together" Twinkle said. Shining Sapphire looked at her.
"Thanks" she said, haltingly. Wisp looked at her with confusion.
"Quite the change from the last time we were together" he frowned, "I got this strange impression you weren't wild about us being together."
Twinkle shrugged. "I'm a firm believer in true love. And besides, Wisp, it probably wouldn't have worked out between us anyway."
The pony nodded slowly, and then frowned when he saw Twinkle's coy expression. "I know I'll regret this, but what is it?"
"Nothing, nothing," she smiled, "Just that our kid would have been incredibly cute."
At this, Wisp suddenly did a variant of his mother's impression of the fainting goat, which proved Twinkle's hypothesis about Sapphy leaning on him when this sent the mare tumbling onto him. In an instant the five changelings sprang into action, trying to separate the tangled ponies.
"What are you three doing?" Comet Chaser asked, the ponies in front having stopped and glanced at them in concern. Twinkle just tried, and failed, to look innocent.
"Discussing hypothetical situations" she said, trying desperately not to think about certain fillies, which to her surprise was proving far easier than it had been some days ago. Comet Chaser's expression indicated how much of that statement he believed, as Shining Sapphire tried to reassure the head changeling she was doing alright.
"Oh!" Wisp exclaimed.
"What?" Shining Sapphire asked with concern. The pony's wings were flapping in desperation.
"It's my mother. She doesn't know what's happened to me, correct?"
"We... didn't have the time to send a letter" Cadance said, looking somewhat sheepish.
"I should probably get back to Ponyville then, make sure she knows I'm alright."
"You aren't going anywhere" Twinkle said, "Not after the day you've been through."
There was a few seconds as Shining Armor nodded. "Take it from somepony who knows about this sort of thing, you'll wanna get some rest."
Wisp looked as if he was about to object, and then he looked toward Shining Sapphire, and then slowly nodded.
"Tomorrow, then?" he suggested.
*****
They made their way to the palace, and were led not to the main dining room, but the smaller one that Cadance and Shining Armor reserved for family functions, rather than lavish balls (not that they had much of those anyway, strangely enough), Twilight Sparkle briefly pausing to converse with a bright orange-furred guard in the manner of distant friends. Cadance and Shining Armor briefly disappeared to go deal with fallout from the changeling attack, and after some time eventually reappeared, looking more or less satisfied.
Lunch itself was nondescript, but delicious. The group of changelings did not partake of the eating, instead remaining off to the side of the room looking for all the world like the eating equivalent of teetotallers at a drinking competition. Cadance did ask them whether they wanted to have something to eat, but the lead changeling had politely and firmly turned her down. It was by that point that Twinkle noted the temporary alterations of the Crystal Heart's magic had worn off, meaning her hair had returned to it's usual state, rather than the dreaded bangs it had been turned into.
Once the meal was done, everypony headed to one of the many, many, many lounges the palace had. Like all buildings of a certain age, the castle collected various rooms, and it had been the joy of many ponies, including several scholars and archaeologists to examine the entire castle, a process that was still on-going even now due to many rooms being booby-trapped or cursed, or just damaged from long years of disuse. Apparently the ones near the top floors of the castle were something to behold. The one everypony has filed into however, was... exceedingly plain. Sofas, chez longs, chairs, a fireplace that had apparently been installed just for the sake of having a fireplace, since otherwise it would've left the wall barren. Each of the couples sat on their own separate sofa, Shining Sapphire and Wisp being the closest to Twinkle's chair, the young princess beginning to look slightly tired now.
"Okay, when you're ready" Cadance said. Twinkle paused. Seconds passed.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. Twinkle looked up and gave a nervous smile.
"No, no. Nothing wrong, I was just... I'm not certain when this story begins."
She frowned in concentration. "I suppose if there's something that doesn't make sense, you can just ask and I'll fill in the details. Which means, I suppose it really started a few weeks ago..."
*****
The explanation was long. Really, really long. No wonder, considering she was trying to recount several months worth of story, perhaps focusing on the details just a bit too much. She did have trouble trying to figure out where exactly to begin (and only found herself thinking how much she disliked time-travel twice), but eventually she started with a recounting of the incident with the Nightmare, or more accurately the events that lead to her being taken over by the Nightmare, Shining Sapphire filling in on a few points that she had witnessed. She had been expecting questions or comments or some kind of reaction to that, but there was none. Cadance and Shining Armor's expressions remained neutral, and while Twinkle did have some difficult continuing when she described the Nightmare's acts, Sapphy simply laid a hoof on her shoulder and nodded. She continued onward, noticing the concerned stare from Twilight, and the look of alarm on the mare's face when she described the time-travel, and interacting with the younger Twilight. Cadance just grinned at the description of her first meeting with Shining Armor, followed by Princess Celestia, followed by an outright gasp at the mention of Lyra. Shining Armor had begun grinning at the description of the younger, slightly more energetic Twilight Sparkle, which had earned him a cushion to the head, followed by Twilight looking like she wanted to burst into flames. Twinkle continued onward, noting the glance Twilight gave when she mentioned her first encounter with the strange time-travelling madpony who claimed he had been Star-Swirl the Bearded. When she mentioned the series of events with Trixie, Twilight suddenly looked greatly concerned, though she wasn't entirely certain why. Twinkle refrained from mentioning the escapade with the portal, or 'Midnight', though she noticed the curious look Wisp gave her as she tried not to think of it. As she carefully skirted around mentioning what she'd gotten up to after witnessing the abilities of Heart's Desire, or the horrifying days spent in that other place, a chilling thought briefly occurred to her as she wondered exactly how parallel her life and Midnight's were, and since the mare had mentioned there had been no Shining Sapphire in her universe...
"Is something wrong?" Wisp asked. Twinkle blinked and looked up at him.
"No, no, just... thinking about something" she said. Wisp nodded, though he looked unconvinced.
After a few seconds Twinkle decided to ignore those thoughts, and continued onward, describing all the strange insanities that followed. Mare Do Well, Twilight's birthday and meeting Princess Luna (and the mare's odd choice in music), the reunion of Twilight Sparkle and Smarty Pants, which caused Shining Sapphire to look puzzled. She followed on with recounting the brain-swap with Rainbow Dash, followed by the Help Rampage, Spike's greed-fuelled destruction, and spending Hearth's Warming with Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Then came the near-destruction of town hall at the hooves of Ditzy and Rainbow Dash, and the journey to Dodge Junction. Comet Chaser noticeably twitched at the mention of the town, while Twinkle couldn't help but notice the Look Twilight was giving her when she made clear the reason for her dislike of Applejack. The young mare got the impression Twilight was a second away from just keeping her hoof connected to her face forever. Strangely enough, Twinkle noted she wasn't even feeling embarrassed about any of this. Probably because of recounting several of her greatest mistakes already.
She continued, recounting what she could about the following four months, trying to leave no detail out, and then she got to the events of the twentieth of March. She paused as she bit her lip, suddenly finding whatever had fuelled her throughout the story was evaporating. Now she was just beginning to feel slightly tired. Though that might have had something to do with her not having gotten much sleep. But she wasn't finished yet, and after a few seconds began recounting the incident with the Black Mercy, and what little she could remember from the dreams. She couldn't help but notice Sapphy holding Wisp a lot closer as the tale went on. Then she moved on to the return of Nightmare, and rewriting time. There were several concerned gasps throughout that, she noted. From there she moved through the final weeks she'd spent in the past, noticing the grim looks passing over the faces of her mother, her aunt and her uncle, as she moved toward describing the wedding, and the events surrounding it.
They quickly grew alarmed as she described how she'd taken Twilight's place in the argument with Shining Armor, and her admittedly brutal description of her fight with the changeling queen, and the escape from the dungeon (though she didn't bother attempting to imitate Cadance's singing voice. She merely pointed out that singing had, at some point, taken place). Of course, there was reaction to her pointing out her near-death, at which point all the air and warmth and light seemed to vanish from the room, though the fact that it was now late in the evening probably helped with that.
"You... died?" Shining Sapphire asked, raising an eyebrow. Twinkle stared down at her hooves. A dozen possible answers ran through her head, and she noted the look on her mother's face, like the mare was fighting an urge to point out the obvious. Most of the responses she could think of seemed to involve scathing levels of cynicism.
"Yes" she said, her voice sounding slightly louder than it should have in the all-consuming silence. There was a pause, as she noted the look on her father's face, one of concern and... no, not concern. Alarm. Anguish. Realisation.
"Then what happened?" Wisp asked, causing several eyes to move toward him. Twinkle just fought down a strange urge to grin (which in all likelihood would have to have been followed by unhinged laughter, and if the weather permitted, perhaps some ominous clouds, followed by a visit to a psychiatric institute).
Slowly, haltingly, she tried to explain what had happened after her 'near-death experience', once again expecting somepony to question her, to remark that what she was saying was insane, or impossible. The closest she got was an odd sort of twitch from Twilight when she mentioned Twilight Twinkle the first. She finally finished off the tale, covering the remaining insanity of that day.
"Then after Shiney and Cadance did their thing, we... well, actually I passed out because somepony offered me the job of Maid of Honor, and then after that we spent the next day just getting ready and the wedding went off without a hitch. And then two days after I just... realised it was time to come home, and that's pretty much it, I guess."
She took a few breaths before grinning, "I think I might need something to drink now."
"You aren't the only one" Shining Armor muttered, before seeing Cadance looking at him. "What? Time-travel? Exploding chickens? Meeting somepony who claimed he was Star-Swirl the Bearded? And she apparently died and came back to life because of grandma Twinkle!"
"Ditzy Doo did disappear unexpectedly, her daughter Dinky as well" Twilight noted, "Right about that time, twenty-three years ago. Strange, but," she added, a notable amount of embarrassment seeping into her voice, "I... never really noticed. Pinkie Pie mentioned something about it, and Fluttershy did bring it up once or twice, I think. And eventually she just turned up again, like nothing had ever happened."
"And Great-Grandma did say it wasn't her doing. That, I am fairly certain, was Discord's doing."
"Really?" Wisp asked. Twinkle nodded.
"Well, the time-travel was a bit of a hint, but the fact that I was told someone thought I was important enough to keep living."
"Discord" Comet Chaser nodded. Twinkle just gave an ironic smile.
"I thought so. Makes sense, as well. Or as much sense as one gets around something like him."
There was a few seconds as everypony muttered agreements. Then something occurred to Cadance.
"Goodness, we've been here talking for so long, it's almost dinner time. And I haven't asked for rooms to be prepared for everypony, although..." her gaze moved toward first Wisp, then the Changelings.
"I think there was mention of living arrangements to be made" Cadance said, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly Shining Armor looked like he'd been struck by lightning. Shining Sapphire just facehoofed.
"Didn't mention it?" she asked. Cadance looked down at her hooves.
"Might have forgotten, what with everything that's been happening the last week."
"You got rid of that dragon you went to deal with, right?" Twilight asked. Cadance nodded.
"Oh, easily. Fortunately when he'd been last been awake there hadn't been so much snow about, so he was happy to move, though I'm not sure how he was going to get his horde out of those ruins."
She paused in thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Anyway, sleeping arrangements, since I assume" she glanced toward the Twilights, "You'll be heading back to Ponyville tomorrow."
Wisp raised a hoof, "So am I."
He turned to see the look on Shining Sapphire's face. "What?" he asked. She just smiled.
"I'm coming with you. You obviously are incapable of looking after yourself. Besides, I've never actually been to Ponyville" she added, "I want to see what it's like."
"Didn't you fly over it before that party?" Wisp asked, hoping he wouldn't have to specify which. Evidently she knew what he meant as she smiled.
"Yes, but... I was going too fast to get a good look. I want to take it all in. See the sights as it were. Make sure none of those Ponyville girls try to steal you from me."
Wisp blinked, and looked over toward Twilight Sparkle, who was just shaking her head. Twinkle, meanwhile, was trying not to break down in laughter, mainly because she was certain that she wasn't going to stop, just from Wisp's perplexed look alone.
Then Twilight saw a clock, and gave off a small hum. "It's almost dinner time."
Twinkle blinked, as she stared at the clock, then to the slowly dipping sun outside. Then she saw the look Twilight was giving her, and bit her lip. She knew what that look meant, well enough.
Twilight watched as Cadance made her way out of the room, Shining Sapphire and Wisp following after. There was a small noise apparently indicating the changelings were following their prince out of the room, albeit at a safe distance, and in a way that completely suggested they were going to leave anyway, at that very moment. Shining Armor had already made himself scarce, albeit looking slightly dazed. Twilight Sparkle looked at Twilight Twinkle, a concerned look on her face.
"Now then, I suppose there are a few things we need to talk about."
Twinkle winced, remembering the last time she'd heard that phrase, then nodded. "Yeah. I guess we do."
For a few moments both mares stood there, staring at one another, unblinking. Then Twilight looked down at her hooves.
"Why didn't you just tell me you didn't want to go to college?" Twilight asked, her voice oddly devoid of emotion. Twinkle frowned.
"Probably because I thought you wouldn't understand, or..." she trailed off, and stared at the clock. Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Or what?"
"Or that you wouldn't care either way."
Twilight's eyes went wide, and in a metaphorical sense, the gauntlet had been thrown down.
"Why in the world would you think I wouldn't care about you?!"
"Because you signed me up to that place without freaking asking if I wanted to go! You never ask about anything!" she frowned, and then decided just to continue onward anyway.
"Just like with every single birthday! All you ever do is buy me books! And you've never checked with me what I would like. It's just been books, books and more books!"
"I thought you liked them" Twilight said. Twinkle sighed.
"... Well, yeah, I do like reading, but... that isn't the point!"
"Then what is your point?"
"My point is..." Twinkle frowned, as her train of thought derailed. "My point is, that frankly, you... weren't as good a parent as you could've been."
There was a sudden silence as Twilight's eyes narrowed in shock. "What."
"You were barely there, mom! You bought me all those books on magic, and never taught me so much as a single one! Every time I got into trouble at school, and got sent to the principle's office, dad was the one who fetched me! And the five times you ever wandered into my childhood, you were as controlling as all get out."
Twinkle stared at her in alarm. "Was I?"
"You sealed away half of my magic when I was five, mom. Or did you forget the little incident of how I got my Cutie Mark? And that seal, waiting for 'when I was old enough'? Funny story, it only wore off when I died! What, eighteen isn't 'responsible' enough? And while we're on the subject of that, you went tinkering around in my head!"
"I was just trying t-"
Twinkle raised a hoof to stop her.
"Just trying to let me live a normal life, yeah," she said, her voice slightly calmer, "I know. Past-Twilight got your message for me, remember? Told me the whole thing."
"Oh."
Twilight stared at her hooves, and then looked back up at Twinkle. "Was I that bad a parent, Twinkie? Did I ever make you do your homework? Didn't I take you with me to all those places I went to when you were little? Like that rainforest we went to, you remember?"
"... yeah" Twinkle said, smiling faintly. "You did."
"And you could've just said you didn't enjoy going to college, or getting books. But I just assumed you enjoyed books, because you were always reading almost anything you could get your hooves on."
"I wanted to be an explorer, even when you didn't let me!"
"Of course not! You were seven when you came rushing into the sitting room, smiling like Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush, and you said-"
"'I wanna be an adventurer'" both of them said, though in different ways.
"What sort of mother would I have been if I'd just said 'yeah, go on, go have adventures when you're only seven', well?"
"You got to fight nightmares, and Discord and all sorts" Twinkle mumbled, "An' you got to make friends doing it. The only friends I ever had outside of this one pony are family, like Wisp and Sapphy, an' Apple Bloom. And you had wings and I didn't."
"I had nightmares that night" Twilight said, "I kept imagining you'd-... you vanishing in the middle of the night without a note, gone off to fight dragons or explore ancient tombs."
"I wondered why you kept checking up on me in the middle of the night" Twinkle frowned. Twilight's eyes went wide.
"You were supposed to be asleep! Sleep is important for a young filly!"
"I wasn't gonna run off, mom! I had to know about everything before I ran off! What if I met a giant pony-eating chicken monster, and I didn't know how to deal with it?!"
Twilight stared at her for several seconds. "Giant pony-eating chicken?" she asked, trying and utterly failing to keep the mirth out of her voice, "Really?"
Twinkle raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Okay, one: I was eight, second: this, from miss 'Banished-then-thrown-into-a-dungeon-in-the-place-I'm-banished-to'?"
Twilight bit her lip, as Twinkle continued, "Seriously, you never once tried to figure out what type of bird that was? What exactly was Princess Celestia teaching you?"
"How long have you been sitting on that one?"
"Since the first time miss Fluttershy told me, so... I think it's about twelve years."
Twilight's expression went eerily calm. "I must have a... talk with Fluttershy at some point, then."
Twinkle smirked, "And those books were... helpful, I guess, and college wasn't all bad."
"Even the thing with the opera, the octopus and the oatmeal you told me about?" Comet Chaser asked, causing Twilight to stare at him, then to Twinkle.
"Do I-?" she stared
"No. You don't. And it wasn't an octopus, it was a Land Squid. Or so he said." Twinkle informed her. Twilight just nodded, and both mares sat there, staring at one another. Twilight stared down at her hooves and sighed.
"I'm sorry I was such a lousy parent" she said. Twinkle frowned.
"You weren't a lousy parent. Okay, you weren't exactly one hundred percent great, but you still did okay, all things considered. Aside from me getting myself possessed by a Nightmare, and your crummy tastes in gifts. The problem was I was just... too angry with you, and angry at myself, and just... angry at a lot of things, I guess. And the stubbornness."
"Twinkie..."
"And the impulsiveness, which despite causing my near-death, I still seem to have, it seems."
"Twinkie."
"Yeah?" she asked. Twilight just shook her head, and smiled.
"Don't be so hard on yourself."
"I'm no-..." she trailed off, as Twilight smiled even further.
"Seems even you don't believe that" she said. Twinkle nodded.
"Apparently not."
Twilight nodded, and laughed, if only for a few seconds.
"Although I really should've picked up on your barely disguised dislike of Applejack, I suppose. And I will need to have a chat with a certain somedragon when I get back to Canterlot. But apart from that, I didn't do to badly, did I?"
Twinkle gave this some thought, and smiled. "You tried. That counts for something. And you could've done far worse, all things considered."
Both of them smiled at each other, as the clock continued ticking.
"Now then," Twilight said, "Shall we see whether dinner's ready, then?"
Twinkle nodded. "Yeah, let's."
"How long's it been since we all ate together?" Twilight asked. Comet Chaser and Twinkle exchanged glances.
"I'd say that's 'too long', then" Twilight smiled.
*****
Dinner passed without incident, up until Cadance and Twinkle began talking about the younger Shining Armor, with Twilight quickly joining in, causing him to begin to look despondent, until Shining Sapphire asked about the younger Cadance, which quickly resulted in an impressive attempt at an angry glare from Cadance, which failed after a few seconds, as Shining Sapphire began laughing at the mare's expression, and after a few seconds Cadance and Shining Armor joined in, and a few seconds later both Twilights as well, while Comet Chaser and Wisp just exchanged mutual glances which seemed to indicate that both ponies were feeling the exact same thing at that moment, even if they did both love the mares they were sitting next to, they still weren't going to join in with the laughter.
*****
Later, as dinner settled and Cadance and Twilight caught up on events in what was considered the main sitting room, Twinkle found her way to one of the balconies, looking out over the Crystal Empire at night, which while not as impressive as it looked at sunset, was still very impressive in it's own way, especially with the various stars in the sky, and the moon. She sighed, as she stared out at the landscape in front of her, all impressive purples, blues and black and silvers.
"What's the sigh for?" a familiar voice asked. She turned to see Shining Sapphire standing by the door to the balcony.
"Just thinking, about... a lot of things."
"Like those other-universe versions of aunt Twilight and her friends?"
"Like them, yeah" Twinkle said, before shifting on her hooves. Then she noted Shining Sapphire was staring at her.
"What?"
"What was her name?"
Twinkle blinked. "Pardon?"
"Wisp..." Shining Sapphire glanced back inside, where Shining Armor was engaged in some conversation with the young princeling, "Said you were sad about something, but he couldn't tell why."
Twinkle frowned. "You know how I told you about that dream I had, of all my wishes, including the ones I thought I'd got rid of?"
"Yeah" Shining Sapphire said.
"Well, it's about my daughter."
"What was her name?" Shining Sapphire asked. Twinkle paused, as the pink mare raised an eyebrow.
"Lilac."
"Good name" Shining Sapphire said.
"Lilac Velvet."
"... Good a name as any, I suppose" Shining Sapphire quickly amended. "So, that's why you're upset?"
"No, actually. It's because I'm not upset."
"Come again?"
"In order to win against Chrysalis, the other one, that is, I fed her all my grief about Lilac. So now, all I have are the memories, and this feeling that I should, should feel sad that she doesn't exist, never will exist but I don't. I don't. She was my daughter and I just... I don't feel anything."
Shining Sapphire's wing fell across the mare, which did help considering the slightly cold night air.
"Thanks" Twinkle said.
"That isn't the only thing that's got you down, is it?"
Twinkle gave this some thought. There was the other version of her, there was the fact that she apparently had Discord backing her actions, what changes were going to occur in the other timeline because of her actions, and the nagging sense that there was something she'd forgotten. She looked at Shining Sapphire, and opened her mouth to say something before the mare just grinned.
"No."
There was a pause, as the young mare shuffled again.
"Do you feel like telling me?"
"Not really."
"Fair enough" Shining Sapphire said. The two mares sat there for a moment, before Twinkle smiled.
"And hey, I've got wings now."
"I noticed" Sapphy said. Twinkle's smile grew.
"And I suppose there are some upsides to being immortal, right?"
Shining Sapphire's expression suddenly shifted, her smile vanishing completely.
"At least we'll have each other right? That's gotta count for something, huh?"
"Yes. That's right. We'll always have each other. Because we're both immortal." the pearly pink mare said quietly, looking straight at Twinkle, before an unusual smile passed across her lips.
"But really, that's great. That you've got wings." Her gaze moved toward the light from indoors. "I'm gonna go back inside now."
Twinkle's smile vanished, as she noticed the way the mare had said that. "Sapphy?"
But Shining Sapphire was already back inside, leaving Twinkle standing there, on the balcony. She frowned, and turned back to look at the stars. After some time, she was aware of steps behind her, and noticed her father standing next to her.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" he smiled. Twinkle nodded.
"It is."
"You're not thinking of taking off again, are you?"
"No" Twinkle laughed, "Though I probably should find somepony who can help me learn to fly."
"What about Rainbow Dash?"
"No" Twinkle said instantly, before smiling slightly. "I've heard how she 'trains' ponies."
Then she saw the frown on her father's face.
"You knew you were going to die, didn't you?" he said. She nodded.
"Yeah. Right after that nonsense with Nightmare Eclipse. I knew. Somehow I just knew I was going to... you know."
"That's why you had that weird pony and Miss Doo take me home, while you took the scenic route."
"Yeah."
He nodded slowly.
"Was it worth it?"
Twinkle considered this for some time, before finally nodding. "Probably not, but I wouldn't change a thing about what I did."
Comet Chaser gave a small smile for an instant.
"How do you feel?"
Twinkle sighed. "Young" she said, eventually. "I feel... young."
There was another paused as she moved over toward her father and smiled. "And I'm home. And that's all that matters."
"Right now?" came the voice of Twilight Sparkle, "Yes. It is."
The mare sat next to Twinkle, smiling at Comet Chaser.
"It's a nice night."
"I just said the very thing."
Twinkle just smiled as she stared out at the stars. It was a nice night, and she was beginning to feel incredibly tired now. She was certain she could feel a blanket being placed around her. She tried to say something in response to that, but it simply came out as mumbling as she fell asleep there and then.
Just before she did though, she couldn't help but think it. She was finally home. And she smiled.
She was Twilight Twinkle, she had her family back, and she was home. And that was that.
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And, that... is pretty much that for this story. My first story.
I don't know about you, but it's been an experience on this end. It really has. And I never expected it to be anywhere near this long.
(Feeling a little burnt-out now, truth be told.)
Thank you for reading, and for those of you who enjoyed it, thanks for sticking through to the end, and as for those who couldn't for whatever reason...
I'll just have to get you next time!
But, for now, it's time to stack the chairs on the table, and turn the lights off.
It's the end.
(Or is it...?
I have no words to describe the awsomeness of this story. So simply... brohoof /)
2920046 It had better not be the end... please?
2934215
Hey, eighty-one whole chapters. If I don't finish it here, it'll never stop!
I only meant to write fifty chapters, at the most.
Although...
It was quite the experience reading this, I can't really bring myself to believe it has come to an end(?).
So why'd Ditzy return to Ponyville?
2959806
Because she had to. Because there were things she couldn't remember. Because the only other option was dying.
But there are those who do not forget Ditzy. Not ever. Not for one minute.
3788625 Sounds like a sequel.
Awesome story, by the way.
where spike?
Shouldn't they REMEMBER all this? If she was just in an alternate timeline, then all the changes she made were pointless!
"Why in the world would you think I wouldn't care about you?!"
Because you called her a THING, and a MISTAKE, and said you wished she'd never been BORN.
Twilight made a hell of a lot of nigh-unforgivable mistakes.
Binding her daughter's magic-- and doing it incorrectly.
Tampering with her mind.
Treating her (and Spike, too) like unwanted distractions from her oh-so-precious books. (Make no mistake, 'I wish I never made you' didn't just pop out of nowhere. Twilight obviously on some level resented the time her spouse and children took away from her own projects and interests, and having her memory rewritten so that she thought Twinkle was the product of a magical accident would have only made it worse.... )
Grabbing the Arbitrary Skeptical Idiot Ball with all four hooves and refusing to let it go (one of her worst character traits in canon, too)* when it came to the truth about her husband and Twinkle's father. I mean GODDAMN, it was THAT HARD for her to believe that what her daughter was saying Discord had done was possible?
And especially, ***doing the one thing Twinkle hated ponies doing more than anything... behaving as if she expected Twinkle to be Twilight Sparkle 2.0.***
And in passing let's note she's screwed up hard with Spike too. It's no wonder he was so neurotic and insecure about being replaced by Owlowiscious-- because despite the fact that Twilight HATCHED him, and as a baby dragon he would desperately need her love and acceptance to feel secure, he was always nothing but a 'helper' to her....**and so anything that threatened that rather poor and sorry substitute for genuine maternal love, he saw as a threat.**
The most dissatisfying thing about this is that Twilight Sparkle here shows little if any genuine grief or regret-- or even any understanding-- of what she did wrong.