That Which was Lost

by LadyRFC

Into the Night

"I thought we agreed no more late night pacing,” Spike muttered, slumped against the headrest on the bed.
Twilight continued her trot, barely registering her own movements. “I’m not pacing, I’m thinking,” she defended herself. However, she soon forced herself to stop for an instant, casting a look around her room.
It was rather large and the doors slide open right into a wide porch overlooking gorgeous garden. They had been taken away from the palace, but this place might have been a palace all on its own for how many flowers and art and extravagant rugs were inside. All was in a deep blue and gold, from the walls and roof tiles, to the small wind chimes that hung from the low eaves outside the doors. The room itself contained a bed big enough for nearly all of her friends to share, although each had been given her own room for sleeping. The rugs were deep and soft and though the ceilings were low, they were decorated with beautiful murals of pegasus and dragons dancing in the sky. Once or twice, Twilight had thought she’d seen a changling up there, but it had only been a very dark coated pony and she eventually let her head drop from gazing upward, her neck beginning to feel sore.
“Where are they?” she muttered, though her breathing remained calm as it took in the scent of the flowers drifting in the night air through the open door.
“They should be back soon enough,” Silverline’s voice echoed from just outside her door, left there while the rest of his unit escorted her friends around the village. Twilight had been unable to go as she was handed an unholy amount of paperwork to complete. She had no doubt it was to keep her busy, not for any real use. She was sick of writing down the reason for her visit on every political form imaginable.
Sighing, she walked over and lay down next to him on the wooden porch. “You were sent to guard me, weren’t you?”
Silverline smiled slightly. “It was that or go back to patrolling. Although I have little doubt,” his eyes shot around them, gazing over the roof top, “my team is just as watched as you right now.”
Twilight sighed, setting her head down on her hooves and shooting a glare at the stacked papers sitting all over the floor in the room. “Why did it have to be this complicated?”
The stallion looked at her with a curious expression.
Smiling slightly, she explained, “I’ve only become royalty… recently. Actually,” she glanced back her closed wings, “I’ve only become an alicorn recently.”
Silverline blinked. “I’m afraid I don’t understand…”
“You aren’t the only one,” Twilight sighed.
“Hey,” Spike exclaimed, climbing up on Twilgiht’s back and poking her wings. “You need help again?” He pulled one wing back a bit and the alicorn was ashamed to see that more than a few feathers were out of place.
“Spike!” She snapped, blushing and getting up in such a hurry that the dragon tumbled off of her, tangling in her glittering train.
Silverline fought to hide and smile, but he got up and began walking into the garden. “I should give you more privacy, your highness. My apologies. I shall be in the garden if you require my services.”
As he walked off, Spike managed to distance himself from Twilight’s dress and sputter, “Sorry, Twilight. I didn’t-“
“It’s fine,” she sighed, trying to get her blush to leave her cheeks. She pulled out a wing and looked it over. It was a mess underneath. She closed it, eying it for mistakes. Thankfully, it looked fine. Twilight had been disturbed by the idea of her wings being such a wreck on her first meeting with the emperor. Not that she felt it made that much of a difference. The emperor was afraid she, not to mention his own army, would mess something up. Something important. She doubted her appearance would have changed anything one way or another.
Even so, she sat down and extended her wing, smiling softly as Spike walked up and started the meticulous process of moving her feather back into place. She vaguely hoped that Rainbow and the others would still be gone for a bit longer. The last time the pegasus had caught Spike helping her with her wings she had received a lecture on the importance of good grooming habits for pegasus. Even Fluttershy had joined in, both of them insisting she spend the next few hours practicing grooming her own wings. The result had been her wings being worse than before and her neck obtaining a painful strain. She didn’t like avoiding a task she knew she had to get used to, but the stress of the day was more than she could handle.
As Spike’s small claws worked, Twilight felt her eyelids begin to drop. Being preened was rather relaxing and the alicorn fought back a yawn. She blinked and gazed up at the stars, moon and the dark shape racing across the sky.
“What?!” Twilight jolted up, breaking away from Spike’s work.
“Hey!” he called. He followed her gaze. "Is that a pegasus?"
At first Twilight thought her eyes had played a trick on her. But it was there again. A small black shape fading in and out in the sky. She squinted. Stars glittered through the form.
“No, not through their body,” Twilight whispered to herself, recognizing the slightly twisted form she was seeing. “It’s a changling,” she announced firmly, opening her wings wide. “I’m going after it. Stay here and wait for the girls.”
And just like that she took off, the shock of what she was sure she saw giving her the energy to push herself through the chill night air. She heard a shout behind her, likely Spike calling after her. She also knew Silverline would probably follow her as soon as he found out she had taken off. Thus she hardly worried when the dark form lead her to a heavy forested area heading towards the west side of the valley, the city beginning to fade behind her. She didn’t even worry when she matched its change in altitude, entering the vegetation and dodging branches as she flew.
She only began to worry when she lost sight of her “guide” and she heard not a sound around her. No birds, no frogs, nothing. Even the Everfree Forest had more life. A lot more. It was far too quiet here.
A twig snapped behind her and Twilight swung around to see glowing eyes watching her from the shadow of the trees.
“You,” a voice hissed out, “why are you here?”

Comments

[SomeRandomMinion]

And so a princess meets a queen...

[Starcat5]

2931078
...as far as we know. Glowing eyes, while rare, are hardly reserved for Changelings. And if it is a Changeling, who is to say it is ol` Cheese Legs?

[Razzy]

See, Twilight, you shouldn't stick your nose in others' business.