What Didn't Happen

by Zeg

Set the Stage

What Didn't Happen

by Zeg

Chapter XIX – Set the Stage

It was evening. The exact time, Twilight wasn’t sure of, but the sun was no longer shining into the archive’s domed windows directly overhead. Instead, the room was filled with a gentle, golden glow that signaled the approaching hours of dusk. She still had a couple hours of natural light to work by before needing to light the candles.

Over the last few days, Twilight had used the archives as her own private office. The exclusive access that kept interruptions to a minimum coupled with quick access to rare research materials proved to be the ideal combination for her to focus and work as she spent many multi hour sessions crafting the perfect plan to deal with the world’s newest threat. Her work area appeared a mess, with various books, scrolls, and notes stacked on the floor around her chair and upon the tabletop before her, but was actually organized into piles by their usefulness, keeping them close at hoof.

A quick knock interrupted her train of thought, causing her ears to swivel back and her quill to pause mid stroke and lift from the parchment she had been working on. She glanced over her shoulder toward the doorway as it opened. Spike stepped just inside, ducking his head slightly to clear the door frame and then turning about to face the door and quietly push it back closed. He then approached where Twilight was seated at a table, seeming rather happy with himself about something judging by the broad smile he was wearing.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked, eyeing the white paper bag that she spotted cradled in one of Spike’s claws. She watched him closely as he walked up next to her at the table and then delicately lifted the bag pinched between two of his claws to set it down next to the stack of papers she had been working on. As the bag passed within only inches of her nose, she caught the unmistakable scent of warmed powdered sugar. Her eyes widened a bit as a distant memory surfaced from the simple but distinct smell, causing her to murmur, “No way.”

“Way,” Spike said as he reached just over her shoulder, setting a paper cup next to the bag. The simple white cup was sleeved with a brown paper strip around the middle, and capped off with a white plastic lid. Twilight breathed in deep the scent of hot cocoa that mingled with the scent of the powdered sugar, her eyes going half lidded as she savored the aroma. Spike rested one of his hands gently across her withers and leaned down next to her. “I figured you could use a break,” he said as he gave her a gentle pat-pat on the back before walking around to the side of the table.

Soon, the quill laid discarded beside the parchment, both momentarily forgotten as Twilight quickly unfolded the top of the bag. She hooked a forehoof just inside the edge, sitting up to glance inside at the powdered sugar coated goodies. “I can’t believe this!” she said as her magic plucked one of the donuts from the bag. She bit off a third, her eyes slowly closing as she slid back into her seat. “Mmm, Joe’s donuts always were the best,” she said just before poking the rest of the donut into her mouth. As she finished the first one, her magic lifted the cup to her mouth and the bag up from the table. She took a few swigs of the hot cocoa as her magic fished around in the bag for a second donut, and after picking one out, she levitated the bag toward where Spike had laid down next to the table.

Spike let out a chuckle as he glanced into the floating bag. He lifted one hand up to the bag, poking a single claw inside and fishing about. He then drew the claw back out with a single donut speared through its center on the tip.

“How’d you get these?” Twilight asked, levitating the bag to rest on the table between Spike and herself.

Spike quickly finished off the donut, plucking it off the tip of his claw in a single bite. He licked the powdered sugar from his claw and then pointed off to the side as he said, “His shop is just down the street.”

Twilight looked up from fishing around in the bag again, her magic drawing another donut out as she was just finishing off her second one. “You actually went there?” she asked between sipping at the cocoa and starting on her third donut.

Spike shrugged his shoulders. “It was a little awkward, but he warmed up to me pretty quick. It’s not like I’m a big secret here or anything.” Twilight gave Spike a curious look, letting out a quiet hum muffled by the donut in her mouth. “I didn’t tell him any future stuff or nothing like that, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Spike said, pointing the tip of his claw to the corner of his mouth and tapping it there a few times.

Twilight blinked, and then rubbed her forehoof against the edge of her mouth that Spike had gestured to, managing to rub off a smudge of powdered sugar. “Actually, I was kinda wondering how he’s doing,” she said as she eyed the white smudge along the edge of her hoof. She quickly licked the spot clean before looking back to him. “I wouldn’t say I necessarily forgot about him, but it has been a long time since I’ve thought about that old shop. I remember stopping by after lessons on Fridays all the time.”

“Yeah, those were the days, eh? Only had to worry about studying back then,” Spike said with a broad grin. “So, how are the plans coming?” he asked as he glanced out over the table.

“Good,” Twilight said as she sat back and surveyed the stacks of pages she had managed to produce over the last few evenings. She selected a page from a stack in the center of the table and levitated it over to Spike. He caught the page that was barely wider than his palm between his index finger and thumb, and brought it up close to his face. “Read that part. Tell me what you think,” Twilight said as she turned her attention back to the bag of donuts.

While Twilight made short work of the rest of the snack, Spike read over the details on the page. He stopped when he reached the end of the page, his jaw shifting slightly and then saying, “Evil dragon.” He lowered the page just slightly to peer over it at Twilight, arching one eyebrow as he asked, “Seriously?”

“Oh come on, you’ll probably enjoy it,” Twilight said. She let out a quiet giggle when Spike responded with an annoyed grunt.

“Can I really pull that off though?” he asked as he passed the page back, which Twilight took and placed neatly back on its stack. “I mean, look at me,” he said, making a sweeping motion with his hand over himself from head toward his tail. He then leaned in toward the table, folding his arms together and resting them just on the edge as he laid his chin to rest just on the table top. “I’m not exactly evil dragon material,” he grumbled.

“We can fix that,” Twilight said. When Spike glanced up toward her, she smirked playfully back at him.

However, Spike didn’t seem to be in a playful mood, simply saying, “If you say so,” through a drawn out sigh.

The smirk dropped from Twilight’s face, quickly replaced with a concerned look. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she placed the near empty cup down and shifted toward him.

Spike looked to her, meeting her eyes for a moment before glancing back at the stacks of papers covering the table. His brow furrowed as a low sound rumbled deep in his throat. “I guess this entire thing has been bothering me for some reason,” he said. He lifted his chin from the table, running one of his hands over the spines on the back of his neck as he leaned back. “Does... anything about it bother you?” he asked, his shoulders shrugging slightly.

Twilight looked out over her work, quietly contemplating Spike’s question for a moment. “Well, yes, I guess you could say I’ve been a bit worried,” she said. She placed one hoof lightly upon the stack of papers she had been working on, letting her thoughts wander for a moment. Though she had done her best to cover every detail she could think of, it was the details that she hadn’t thought of that really worried her. “If things go wrong, a lot of ponies could end up hurt” — her ears splayed back and her voice lowered to a mumble — “or worse. But, doing nothing could end up being just as bad.” Her mind had been at a constant battle with itself over the last few days, stretched between inventing a swift solution and carefully considering as many possibilities as she could. Even though she couldn’t possibly predict just how long they had before Chrystallyn would become a real threat, she knew that each day that passed was one day closer.

“That’s it?”

Twilight glanced back up at Spike’s question. He had a serious look about him, sitting up straight with his arms crossed over his chest as if he were expecting some sort of revelation from her, though she hadn’t a clue what more he could be expecting her to say. “What do you mean?” she asked, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Uh, well,” Spike started as he reached a hand up and scratched a claw just behind his ear. He grumbled quietly to himself for a few seconds as he glanced about, finally letting out a short huff as he shrugged his shoulders. “I thought there might be something else, but maybe I’m just being paranoid,” he said as he leaned back down to the table to rest his forearms on it. “So, need any help checking your checking, or making backup plans for your backup plans?” he said as he gestured toward the stacks of paper.

“Ha ha,” Twilight mocked back as she sat back upright in her own seat. “For your information, I only needed to make one backup plan,” she said proudly.

“Oh yeah?” Spike said, arching an eyebrow.

“Yep,” she said with a single, confident nod.

“And... it is?”

Twilight waggled a forehoof just in front of his face. “I’ve got it covered, don’t you worry about it.” When she noticed Spike scowling slightly in response, she added, “Really, it’s just an extra trick I’m keeping in reserve, but with how well things have been setting up, I really doubt I’ll need to use it.”

For a moment, it seemed like Spike was going to press her for something more as he continued to stare at her, but he finally relented with a simple shrug. “Well, alright. But you know, if there’s anything you ever wanna just talk about, like anything that’s bugging you....”

Twilight leaned over to his side of the table, reaching out and resting a forehoof just over the top of his hand. “I know who to go to, Spike,” she said, looking into his eyes as she gave him a gentle smile that got one from him in return.

It was then that another two knocks came from the archive’s doors. They both turned to see who it was, watching as one door opened up and a unicorn Nightguard stepped inside and off to the side, and just behind him, another visitor that neither of them had expected to see walked in.

“What is she doing here?” Spike growled through his clamped teeth. Across the room, nodding and giving a quick thank you to the guard as she entered the room, was Chrysalis. However, instead of her true changeling form, she currently appeared as the dust grey unicorn that both Twilight and Spike had thought they knew well.

Twilight knew it was only a disguise, probably worn for the sake of the palace staff. This Chrysalis didn’t have a reason to provoke them by using that form, however, she still couldn’t help but feel upset at the sight of her former student entering the room. And it was obviously having a strong effect on Spike, judging by the iron grip he had on the edge of the table that was causing the wood to creak. “Spike... Spike,” Twilight said, reaching out and prodding him to get his attention. He finally broke his gaze away, glancing down to Twilight as a deep rumbling reverberated in his throat. “It’s not her,” she quietly said.

“Yeah, I know, but she doesn’t have to look like her, does she?” he asked as he quickly jerked his head in Chrysalis’s direction.

“Did I come at a bad time?” They both looked to Chrysalis, silently staring at her for a short time. Twilight glanced out of the corner of her eye up to Spike. She wasn’t necessarily worried about him losing his temper and doing anything physical, he was better than that, but he had always been the type that wore his feelings on the outside. And right now, he was obviously less than pleased.

Spike let out a snort as he stood at the side of the table. “Nah, I’ll head home for now, it’s starting to get late anyway. See you at home soon?” he asked as he looked to Twilight.

She gave him a thankful smile as she said, “I’ll probably work for a while longer tonight, but I won’t be pulling an all nighter. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, later,” he said as he began to make his way to the door. As he passed by Chrysalis, he didn’t at all disguise the disgusted look on his face or the annoyed rumbling in his throat as he gave her a harsh stare.

Chrysalis turned and watched him as he made his way to the archive doors and showed himself out. The door closed with a gentle click, leaving the room deathly quiet for a short moment as Chrysalis kept her eyes on the doorway. “Not entirely sure what I did to deserve that,” she said as she glanced back toward Twilight.

“It’s not really anything you’ve done,” Twilight said as she gestured to a seat at the side of the table. Chrysalis gave her a polite nod, and then made her way to the seat. “Spike wasn’t really upset at you directly, just the fact that you look exactly like her,” Twilight said as she looked over Chrysalis’s form. Every detail was exactly as she remembered, down to the shades of sea green in her mane and tail and even the tone of her voice. It was like Crystal was sitting right in front of her again.

“Her...,” Chrysalis said as she tilted her head curiously in thought. After a moment, she drew in a quick gasp as she said, “Oh, it’s been so long that I’d forgotten. Shared memories tend to fade when you don’t use them. But, I think I remember now. She used this guise to trick you, didn’t she?” Twilight closed her eyes briefly as she nodded in reply. “If it bothers you, I can change.”

“It’s fine,” Twilight said with a quick dismissive wave of her hoof.

“Doesn’t seem fine.”

Twilight let out a heavy sigh. “I need to get used to the fact that she wasn’t ever real.”

Chrysalis quietly contemplated Twilight’s words for a moment before saying, “I wouldn’t necessarily say that she wasn’t real.” The statement drew a curious glance from Twilight. “From what I do recall, there were times where she lost herself in the moment and allowed herself to simply be your student for a while, forgetting her real reasons for pretending.” She narrowed her eyes slightly as she peered at Twilight, pursing her lips as she paused to think. “But I can tell, that doesn’t really make you feel any better about it.”

Twilight frowned as her ears splayed back. “You know, I’d rather you not read me like that.”

Chrysalis leaned back, holding a hoof up as she said, “I’m sorry, it’s practically second nature to me.” She turned her attention to the stacks of papers laid out across the table. “So, I do have a purpose for being here tonight, other than bothering you.”

“If it is about the plans, they’re nearly done,” Twilight said as she gestured to the stacks of pages laid out across the table. “You can look them over if you want. I’d really like to hear what you think.”

“I think I will,” Chrysalis said with a nod as her green aura took hold of the stack nearest to her. She tapped the bottom of the stack against the tabletop a few times to straighten the pages and then lifted them up to her eyes. For the next hour or so, Chrysalis occupied her time with looking over the notes for Twilight’s plan, while Twilight continued her work. The day’s light faded and gave way to the evening, but other than stopping just long enough to light the archive’s candles, nether mare strayed from their task or even spoke to one another during that time. Chrysalis had remained completely silent while she studied the notes, up to a point. She seemed to have come across something in Twilight’s notes that she was having trouble with, judging by the drawn out ‘hmm’ and scrutinizing look.

Twilight took notice, and set her quill aside as she leaned back from the table. She took a moment to stretch her forelegs before folding them behind her head as she leaned back in her chair. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she watched Chrysalis puzzling over the page.

Chrysalis quietly pondered something as she stared at the page for a moment longer before finally letting Twilight in on her thoughts. “The plan itself is very well thought out,” she said as she laid the page down with the rest of its stack. “Nearly every conceivable detail has been covered.”

“But?” Twilight asked. There was more, she was sure.

Chrysalis looked up from the page directly into Twilight’s eyes. “It will fail,” she said. Twilight furrowed her brow at the blunt assertion, but remained silent to give Chrysalis a chance to explain her opinion. “But, only because she’ll likely be prepared for something like this. Remember, she has a considerable number of relics at her disposal now, and if I were her... which in a way I am... I would have a trap set to stop you.”

Twilight unfolded her wings at her sides, stretching them out to relax the stiffness from keeping them folded for hours on end. As she folded them back, she considered Chrysalis’s words for a moment before asking, “What sort of trap?”

Chrysalis lifted her forehoof, touching the very tip against her lips for a moment as she thought. She then pointed toward Twilight as she said, “Well, since she has a considerable amount of power now, she could easily allow us the first move and then counter after we’ve been thrown off guard. Also, the Elements do have a rather useful banishment spell that works well on alicorns.”

“I see,” Twilight said through an exhausted sigh. She leaned forward, folding her forelegs together on the table and resting her chin upon them. As she glanced out over the papers, she asked, “So, it’s no good, huh?”

“Actually, I suspected that your plan would be missing something, which is why I’m here. You see, there is something that you likely didn’t realize we could use that could take her advantage away, even for just a moment, and with just a slight modification to just this one part of your plan, the rest should work just fine as is,” Chrysalis offered as she tapped a hoof to the stack of pages, which caused Twilight to perk up slightly in curiocity. “If we are to win this, it will be by surprising her with something she couldn’t possibly expect. And who better than I to point out her blind spots?”

---

For those in the Empire who had been under the millennia long banishment spell, it was as if no time had passed at all. In the days since the Empire returned, its citizens were still suffering from the lingering effects of Sombra’s previous rule and the resulting banishment spell, with many still not completely remembering exactly what had transpired, and most truly not wanting to. This left the Empire in an uncertain and confused state.

Part of Twilight’s plan was to take advantage of that uncertainty. After working with Chrysalis to finalize her plan, it had been set into motion the very next day. The first stage called for quiet infiltration of the population in the crystal city. Hundreds of changelings were sent to the Empire by way of the teleportation platform beneath the city as an advanced scouting group. Their task was to blend in with the crystal ponies, most behaving like normal citizens and a few making use of the armor left in the staging area to infiltrate Chrystallyn’s guard. They had no problem doing so, taking advantage of the collective amnesia that the crystal ponies were still suffering from as an easy cover.

For the next few days afterwards, Chrysalis’s changelings gathered what information they could, and once they had found a pattern to Chrystallyn’s behavior, Twilight set the second stage of the plan into motion. The pegasi squadron of Luna’s Nightguard had been dispatched to the staging area earlier that morning. Twilight followed closely behind them, accompanied by Sombra, Graphite, and Gale, and the four of them had spent the last couple of hours finalizing last minute details based on the most recent intel that they had been receiving. Twilight was once again going over the steps of the plan, playing through each part in her mind. Her face was locked into a scrutinizing glare directed at the map laid out before her, the only movement coming from her eyes slowly blinking now and then.

“Something bothering you?” Gale asked.

Twilight blinked again, her thought train interrupted by the question. She glanced up from the map, seeing Gale, Sombra, and Graphite all three looking to her expectantly. “I was just thinking,” she said as her eyes wandered back down to the map.

“You’ve been doing that quite a lot,” Sombra said. “Care to share those thoughts?”

Twilight glanced up again. She hesitated, and for a brief moment she allowed her worries to show on her face. “It’s probably nothing, but I’ve just felt a bit uneasy. There’s no reason for me to, since everything is going perfectly. Chrystallyn still seems to be completely unaware of us. We know exactly what is going on across the entire city in real time... honestly I don’t know why I’m bothered.”

Gale closed her eyes for a quick moment, tapping her hoof a few times. When she looked back to Twilight, she asked her, “How often do you send ponies into battle?”

Twilight was taken off guard by the question, but quickly figured out where Gale was going with it. “To be completely honest, this is the first time for something to this scale,” she admitted.

“Thought so,” Gale said with a quick nod. She walked up next to Twilight, reaching out and resting a forehoof just on her shoulder. “You’re worried that some of them might not come back, even if it is just a fake battle.”

Twilight’s chest heaved with a visible sigh, and she nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Trust me, it’s not a feeling that goes away, but in time you can get used to it,” Gale said. She lifted the hoof from Twilight’s shoulder and gestured toward the map laid out before them. “You’ve come up with a good plan. I doubt we’ll be seeing anyone getting seriously hurt from play fighting as long as we’re all cautious. I think you have the most dangerous part.”

“Maybe, but I can also protect myself,” Twilight said as she glanced over at the map. “I just don’t know if I’ll be able to protect everyone else if it comes down to it.”

Gale once again reached forward and placed her forehoof on Twilight’s shoulder, gently shaking it in her firm grip. She gave a smile as she said, “Have more confidence in yourself. We all do.”

At that moment, Twilight felt a twinge that pricked at the back of her mind. She turned her head toward the platform just in time to see the arcane power skittering over the crystal’s surface, and then there was a bright discharge of light as a static sound filled the room. “And there they are,” Twilight said with a smile as she stood to go greet the new arrivals at the platform. “Thank you all again for agreeing to help with this,” she said as she approached the platform’s edge. Equestria’s other three alicorns were the first among the group that Twilight greeted with a smile as they stepped off the platform, followed closely by Captain Moondancer, Spike, and the rest of her close Ponyville friends. That made up the rest of the group that they had been waiting for.

“Not a problem, Twi,” Applejack said with a quick dip of her hat as she stepped off the platform next to her.

“Ooogh, that was rough,” Rainbow said as she too stepped from the platform, but hung her head low to the floor.

Twilight made her way around to Rainbow’s side, lowering her head to be level with her friend’s. “Rainbow, you alright?”

“Teleportin’ seems to mess with her a bit,” Applejack said as she stood just to Rainbow’s other side. “She’ll be alright though. Give her a sec and she’ll perk back up,” she said as she gave Rainbow a reassuring smile and pat on the back.

“Well, I hope so. We’ve got less than an hour to get ready,” Twilight said as she glanced into Rainbow’s eyes with a worried look.

Rainbow took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she sat down on the floor. “I’ll be fine,” she said with a quick dismissive wave of her hoof. She then folded her forelegs together before her as she laid down, resting her chin on them as she mumbled, “Just need the world to stop spinning.”

Twilight spent another moment with her friends, trying to give Rainbow some comfort as she reached out and ran her forehoof over her friend’s mane a few times. She’d half way expected her old friend to protest, but either she didn’t mind or was too exhausted from the trip to do so.

Leaving Rainbow in the care of her other friends, Twilight made her way to where Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Moondancer had gathered with Graphite, Sombra, and Gale around the low setting table where her plans were laid out. As Twilight approached the side of the table, the conversations that were going back and forth between them quietened down. Twilight glanced around the table at the gathering. To her right, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance all sat side by side. They had chosen to leave their regal trappings back in Equestria. While neither Celestia nor Luna were wearing any sort of protective armor, Cadance had been fitted with a suit that mirrored something close to the standard issue Equestrian Royal Guard uniform, with a modified helmet that appeared more like a crown than the crested helmets that the guards wore. Next to Cadance at the opposite end of the table sat Moondancer, fully clad in her Nightguard armor. To Twilight’s left, Sombra, Graphite, and Gale rounded out the rest of the table. Twilight first turned her attention to Celestia to ask a question. “Did you explain everything to them?”

“I did,” Celestia said with a nod as she glanced over toward the five Element bearers across the room. “They know what they need to do, and I’m sure they’ll be able to handle it just fine.”

“Good,” Twilight said with a nod back. “Please keep them safe.”

“Of course,” Celestia said, bowing her head slightly.

Twilight then turned her attention to Graphite. “How are things looking up top?” she asked.

Graphite concentrated momentarily on using his ability to reach out to the hive mind. “Everything is still perfectly normal,” he said as his facial features relaxed and the dim glow from his horn faded. “Every infiltrator is exactly where they should be, hidden as a citizen or a crystal guard, and Chrystallyn is currently spending her time in the upper spire throne room, as we expected.”

“Sergeant,” Luna said from across the table, which caused Gale to sit up straight at attention. “Are the pegasi prepared?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yes, Princess. The squadron awaits our arrival near the southern passage.”

Luna nodded in approval. “Go on ahead and join them, we will be there shortly,” she said as she rose from the table. Gale gave Luna a quick bow and then swiftly departed to the southern stairway that led away from the staging area, and the rest of those gathered at the table also rose to their hooves as Luna did. “Spike, if you would come closer,” she called out as she stepped from the table toward him.

Spike glanced up at hearing his name. He pushed himself up from where he had been laying near the Ponyville mares, taking a quick moment to say something to them before quickly making his way over to where Princess Luna was standing in wait for him. “Yes, Princess?” he said as he politely bowed his head to her as he approached.

“Are you prepared to be my... ‘Evil Dragon’,” she said with a sly smirk.

Spike cleared his throat, nodding his head. “What do I need to do?”

“Just hold still,” Luna said as her horn began to glow with a deep blue light. Her ethereal, star filled mane and tail began to billow slightly faster as if caught by a sudden breeze. She let her eyes slowly close as her magic aura grew to encompass her entire body. Her mane was the first thing to change, shifting from the clear, nearly black midnight blue starscape to a cloudy blue with a hint of violet. Her mane and tail expanded after that, becoming like a rumbling storm cloud that enveloped her body from head to hoof. For a moment, the swirling cloud of violet and dark blue simply circled around her form, hiding her from view, but then it began to descend down to the floor around her hooves, revealing a pitch black alicorn clad in pale blue metallic armor emblazoned with a glowing crescent moon upon her chest. She opened her eyes, revealing the draconic iris set within.

With a nod of her head toward Spike, the clouds billowed out across the floor to surround him. Spike flinched at their touch, his claws flexing open and closed as he eyed the clouds circling his feet. They began to rise, first covering his tail and legs, then up to his midsection. He grit his teeth and balled his fists as the clouds climbed higher up to his chest, and finally squeezed his eyes tightly closed as the clouds passed up past his neck to envelop his face. Again, the clouds circled for a moment, causing faint rumbling noises to echo through the chamber as Luna continued to channel the spell. She finally allowed the spell to dissipate, and the clouds swirled out of existence all at once, revealing a deep midnight blue dragon.

Spike slowly opened his now darkened teal eyes when he noticed the sounds had ceased. He blinked his eyes, looking around at everyone that was looking at him before giving them all a sheepish grin.

A short whistle came from across the room, followed by a ‘Wowie’ from Pinkie, breaking the silence.

Spike cautiously glanced down at his hands, opening the long, menacing claws slowly towards himself. They appeared a bit longer than before, and also looked to have a sharpened edge to them now instead of just tapering off to a point. His scales were all a reflective midnight blue in color, except for the ones running down his chest, which were a dark shade of violet. Glancing about, Spike spotted one of the hovering crystals near the edge of the platform, and walked up to it. He leaned in close, turning his head slightly from side to side as he looked over his reflection. His normally rounded off green head spines had been transformed into much sharper looking spikes of dark violet. “Whoa,” he said in a breath of amazement.

“Told you,” Twilight said as she walked up next to him.

Spike glanced down to her at his side. “Yeah, alright. This is kinda cool,” he admitted as he flexed his new claws.

“Do not grow over confident in your new appearance,” Luna warned. “Our looks are merely an illusion required for the part we must play” — she lifted her forehoof, admiring the illusionary armor for a moment — “though I do suppose we shall need to stay in character,” she said with a barely noticeable smirk. “Now, my Nightguard await our arrival. Care to escort your Queen of the Night to our destination?” she asked as she gave a regal, but yet at the same time, somewhat playful smile.

Spike took in a deep breath, puffing his chest out. “Well, guess this is it,” he said as he looked down to Twilight. He kneeled down, extending an open arm to her as she reached her forelegs up to him. She nuzzled against his neck, hugging him close while he ran his hand gently over her mane down to her back, and then she leaned back to look him in the eyes.

“You be careful out there,” she said quietly to him.

“You too,” he said back, gently combing his claws through her mane. He then stood tall and turned toward Luna. Sweeping his right arm from his side across his chest, he lifted his right wing, wrapping it around himself like a cloak as he gave a deep bow to her. “Ready when you are, your Majesty,” he said as he glanced up to her with a broad grin.

Luna let out an amused hmm as she turned aside and extended her left wing toward him. Spike took his place at her side, placing his hand just inside the fold of her wing as she tucked it back to her side. Together, they scaled the steps to the southern passage. Twilight watched them go until she could no longer see them in the dimly lit tunnel.

She gave a light sigh, and then focused her attention on the map laid out on the table nearby. Reaching out with her magic, she lifted the map and carried it with her closer to those that were left. Everyone gathered around as she rested the map on the floor near them. “Alright, so that leaves just our group now,” she said as she sat down before the map, waiting on the others to get comfortable as they gathered in a circle. “Lets go over our part briefly once more just to make sure we all know it. We’ll be using the northwestern passage,” she said as she pointed and traced the tip of her hoof along the markings that depicted the underground passage. “We’ll then approach the tower under an invisibility veil supported by Cadance and myself, so make sure to stick close to us and stay quiet.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help with the veil as well?” Celestia asked.

Twilight quickly shook her head. “We can handle it, and you need to save as much of your strength as you can.” She waited until Celestia nodded in response, then continued. “Once we reach the tower, Cadance and Moondancer will stay behind with the Crystal Heart,” she said while drawing her hoof to the center of the map and tapping it there once. “The rest of us take two separate paths inside the tower to the top,” she said, lifting her hoof from the map and glancing around at the group. “Cadance will hold off on dropping the shield for ten minutes to give the rest of us time to get into position inside the tower.”

“Remember,” Graphite began, drawing the groups attention toward himself, “only some of the crystal guards are changelings. Use caution if we come across one, and if in doubt, avoid them.”

“Right,” Twilight said with a nod, glancing back down at the map. “This plan has gone off without a hitch so far, but we’re coming up to the most important part now.” She looked up, glancing around at her gathered friends. The worry that she had felt earlier was still there, but seeing her friends ready and willing to help her had helped put her mind at ease. She smiled, finding her confidence among the show of support around her.

“Once the shield goes down, it’s show time.”

Comments

[shyguy7829]

Ha ha! Time for mysteries!

Mysteries
The Origins of the Changelings: Chrysalis's true identity is that of the former Everfree and Crystal Empire Queen Chrystallyn.
Timey Wimey: Even though the past has changed, those who are from the future still exist. How could such a paradox happen?
The Missing Spark: Chrysalis manipulated her past self into sacrificing the past Twilight in an attempt to draw out the Element of Magic. The little girl remains trapped with the past Element of Magic within the hive mind. While there might be a way to conjure a body for her, it is highly unlikely that she can be saved.
Chrysalis's Strange Behavior: It turns out that Chrysalis had orchestrated a deal with Celestia to safeguard the Elements in exchange for a place to build a Hive without being ostracized by the public.
Secrets of a Changeling Queen: Chrysalis is attempting to reclaim her former kingdom, the Crystal Empire.
The Truth about the Elements: It turns out that Chrysalis is the true creator of the Elements and Tree of Harmony. Certainly there are things that only she would know about them.
The Chessmaster: Celestia has been guided by the powers of her visions to create all of her plans.
What the Mad God Knows: Discord has proved that he might be aware of Twilight Sparkle from somewhere. Is there anything else that he might shed a light on?
Dual Destinies: Both Twilight Sparkle and Chrysalis have received rather harrowing visions. Have their fates been sealed?
Amplifier Artifact: Twilight has acquired a Celestial Weapon, Dusk. When was it created? What was it doing in the hive mind in the first place?
The Dark Prince: Revealed to be the creator of the Alicorn Amulet as well as Chrystallyn's ex-husband, his former actions were the result of the Alicorn Amulet's dominating power.
A Bothersome Feeling: Despite everything going smoothly, both Spike and Twilight felt some uneasiness. What could be the source of this discomfort?

[NebulaNyx]

Crunch Time!

[Blankscape]

About 3 left to go... this makes me sad

[Laluzi]

Ooh, this is going to be good. :o

Not much in the way of reveals this chapter, but an excellent update nonetheless. :3 And I love seeing (past) Chrysalis and Twilight interacting.

[Zeg]

4326078
Yeah, I know that this one wasn't all that exciting, but as the title says, it's setting the stage.

The truth is I've written 17k words since I posted chapter 18, and then I figured that's just too long to be a single chapter, so I've split it into two.

Chapter 20 will be going up tomorrow when I finish touching it up.

[Harwick]

"Does anything about it bother you?" Might have to be a little more specific there, Spike. Considering the shambles that history is currently in, I suspect a full accounting of things to be bothered about would be pretty lengthy.

Glad to hear we don't have to wait long for the next part... I'm eager to see things unfold!

[NebulaNyx]

“Yes, Princess?” he said said as he politely bowed his head to her as he approached.
Repeated word should be removed

[ForSpite]

“If we are to win this, it will be by surprising her with something she couldn’t possibly expect. And who better than I to point out her blind spots?”

Someone who knows both versions of you well like Graphite? Generally you, yourself, are not aware of your own blindspots, that's rather the point.

[flowgninthgil]

Twilight spent another moment with her friends, trying to give Rainbow some comfort as she reached out and ran her forehoof over her friend’s mane a few times. She’d half way expected her old friend to protest, but either she didn’t mind or was too exhausted from the trip to do so.

i have so many ides to add some thing else about that, just look at all the possibilities of a twidash here... t'woul be perfect