Twilight Sparkle, a well known unicorn in all of Equestria. That's what they all thought. Until one day, the day that was supposed to be the luckiest day of Shining Armor's life, everything changed.
Some ponies just don't have any luck.
Twilight Sparkle is one of them.
Sure, other ponies might say she's the luckiest pony ever, being the personal protégé of Celestia, a well known pony in all of Equestria.
What they don't know, Twilight Sparkle isn't Twilight Sparkle.
Everything was perfect, her cover has never been blown. Until that one fateful day, the day Shining Armor, Twilight's brother, should have been married, the day of the changeling invasion.
The cleansing wave of love that send every changeling away...
There are only three ponies who know the truth, Twilight Velvet, Night Light and Twilight herself.
--- I do not own the intellectual properties this fan-fiction is based on ---
Chapter 1: When love turns into hate
Twilight had everything.
A beautiful life, friends who cared for her whom she could always count on, a loving mentor and the best family there ever was.
She had everything.
Why did it have to end this way?
She always tried to tell them. She'd had so many chances. She should have done it so many years ago, at least to soften the psychological blow that this would cause. The letter she needed for that, the invitation to a dinner with her parents, her brother, and Celestia, would explain everything: what had happened, how it had happened, and why she had done it.
She was scared every time. Every time she thought about telling the truth, at least to those who would need to know it.
She should have had the courage to tell it.
Now everything was over; everything was lost.
She could hear Chrysalis's painful screams drown her own as the wave of pure love hit her, smashing her into the cold marble wall. The wave was burning hot, burning away her fake skin, the skin of the one pony that protected her from being hated— protected her from starving in an alley.
Twilight Sparkle burned.
All that was left was Amethyst Sheen.
The wave was pressing her against the marble, and the onslaught went on for a few seconds.
And then it ended.
Falling off the wall, she gasped for air. Her eyes were drooping. The burning sensation was still there, still burning away the last few patches of coat on her chitin.
With a groan, she tried to stand up, to bring her hooves under her body. Her mind was screaming, telling her to get up and run away as fast as she could, to not get caught.
She never had a chance.
A pair of orange hooves filled her vision. She looked up, looking into the eyes of her friend, the most honest pony there was. Her expression showed anger and disgust.
"Applejack," she groaned, her voice weak and raspy from screaming.
"Guys," Applejack called out, looking over her shoulder, "there’s one left!" She stated it coldly, her eyes showing none of their former friendly warmth.
A gasp escaped Rarity's mouth. She even recoiled a step as she noticed the changeling on the floor. Fluttershy was hiding behind Rainbow Dash, her face behind her mane. Rainbow, on the other side, just looked down on the changeling, ready to smash it to pieces if it did more than twitch.
Pinkie was happily bouncing as she looked down on Twilight, a big smile on her face.
It wasn't the first time that Twilight wondered if Pinkie actually knew what she was.
White hooves appeared next to the orange hooves. Turning her head a little bit, she saw Shining Armor, her brother, her B.B.B.F.F., the one pony she trusted more than anypony else.
And his eyes showed hate, pure hate. The feeling was slowly reaching Twilight as her changeling instincts slowly returned to their former self after the love overdrive. She could feel the hate, the pain, the anger, even the fear in almost all of them. She could feel tears well up in her eyes as the poisonous effects of these emotions wandered through her mind.
She had to escape.
She tried again to get her hooves under her body; again, she tried just to stand up, to run away, to get away from the poison that was slowly filling her heart.
"Where is Twilight?" Rarity's voice echoed through the big hall, her eyes searching for the purple unicorn. The others were also looking around, looking for their friend, their sister.
They wouldn't find her.
Strong white hooves pulled her up, pressing her at the wall. Twilight was looking into the eyes of her brother as his rage-filled voice echoed through the hall, yelling at her, asking her where his sister was. The others tried to pull Shining away, to stop him from killing the changeling in his hooves. Tears were streaming down his face.
She couldn't take it, not anymore.
Applejack finally managed to pull Shining away, to let the changeling breathe so it could at least answer. Cadence was walking closer, slowly embracing Shining, comforting him.
Sitting at the wall, she looked up into the eyes of her friends.
She had to tell them. She already knew their reaction; she already knew how they would react to the truth. Her eyes wandered away from the six ponies over to the princess on the floor. The eyes of her mentor were open and she was looking back at Twilight. Her eyes showed confusion even though her expression was calm, focused.
Gulping and taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth...
"I am Twilight Sparkle," she whispered. The room was silent enough for all to hear it. They eyes of the ponies in the room were focused on her, practically burning into her.
And then she felt the onslaught.
"Liar!" Shining Armor bellowed. Letting go of his fiancée, he rushed at her, ready to beat the truth out of her. Applejack stepped between him and Twilight, stopping him from doing anything stupid, from destroying their only trace to the real Twilight.
It hurt to see him like that, to see his despair, to feel his despair. There was nothing she could do, nothing to ease his pain, nothing to tell him that everything would go back to how it was.
Tears escaped her eyes as she looked at each pony— her friends, her brother, her foalsitter, and her mentor. She was crying.
"I am Twilight Sparkle," she cried, her voice quivering. She could see the disbelief in the eyes of all of them, the disbelief that would soon turn into more hate.
Princess Celestia slowly rose. Shivering and gasping, she sat up, looking down onto the changeling. Her eyes still showed only confusion, nothing else— no hate, no anger, no fear— only confusion.
"Girls." Celestia’s soft voice was like a cleansing water that extinguished a fire. The hate was gone, making it easy to breathe normally for Twilight, which she did, with a deep breath.
Celestia’s soft hoofsteps echoed through the room as she stood up and walked towards the changeling. Shining was still standing between her and Twilight; she looks down on him, his sad face. She lifted a hoof and laid it on his shoulder, her calm face telling him to stop worrying. He nodded and stepped aside. Slowly sitting down, he looked at Twilight, disbelief and anger still filling his eyes. Cadence was sitting down next to him; unfolding her wing, she pulled him into a soft hug.
Celestia stopped before the changeling and looked down on her, her expression free from any emotions. She was just like she always had been: calm, focused, serene.
"Where is Twilight Sparkle?" Her soft voice again had a calming effect, like she could control the emotions of everypony around her by simply talking to them.
Twilight winced as she looked into Celestia's eyes. "I am Twilight Sparkle." There were still tears streaming down her face.
Celestia's expression didn't change. "Can you prove it?" Her voice had changed; it was as calm as before, but this time, there was no cleansing, no calming echo in it.
Twilight nodded. "I can. There are ponies who will confirm this."
"And who are these ponies?" she asked quietly, raising a brow.
Twilight gulped and collected her thoughts, trying to prepare herself for another outburst.
"Twilight Velvet and Night Light—" Celestia's eyes widened, as did Shining's and Cadence eyes, "—my parents."
Shining Armor stood up, waves of rage escaping his body; the tip of his mane was even starting to smolder. "Don't you dare to pull my parents into this!" he bellowed at her, his horn igniting.
Celestia looked back into Shining's eyes. "Shining Armor!" she shouted at him. Shining recoiled, looking into Celestia's eyes. "Leave the throne room this instant!"
"But—" Shining spoke up, only to get silenced by another glare from Celestia.
It was the first time that anypony had seen her speak to Shining like that.
"Yes, princess." Shining frowned, looking down onto his hooves.
Celestia looked up and smiled at Cadence. "Cadence, would you please take Shining Armor out and search for Twilight Velvet and Night Light?" Shining was looking back up to Celestia, his expression scared. "And make sure Shining Armor stays out." Her eyes wandered back down at the stallion, punishing him with another glare, which made Shining shiver.
Cadence nodded and helped Shining Armor stand up, slowly and sympathetically walking him out of the room.
The doors closed with a massive sound.
Silence.
There was nothing else— nothing besides the soft breathing of the six ponies and the changeling.
And so they waited.
It took more time than anticipated for Cadence to search for Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Both had been invited and were already there when the invasion started.
It was cruel to just sit there against the cold wall, to feel the looks of the ponies on her, to not be able to explain anything, to not feel anything besides the calmness and the fear of the others. She tried; multiple times, she tried to open her mouth and talk to them, but each time, Celestia would look down on her with a disapproving glare, silencing her immediately.
And then new emotions appeared.
Then, she felt warm emotions, soft emotions, emotions she had missed over the last few hours: emotions of a worried father and mother, emotions of the only ponies who would be able to tell the truth, to explain to everypony how and why.
The doors opened, revealing Cadence, Night Light, and Velvet slowly walking in.
Night Light's and Twilight Velvet's reaction were confusion. They recognized the changeling on the floor; they recognized the sun princess and the five other ponies. They know each pony in this room.
Celestia noticed their reaction.
Raising her brows, she looked at both of them as they walked closer and bowed before the sun monarch.
"Is it true?" she simply asked, looking down on both of them. "Is it true that this changeling is Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight Velvet nodded, not trusting her voice as she looked back at Celestia, tears escaping her eyes. She was not able to look into the eyes of the princess.
Night Light had more courage.
"It is, princess." The other ponies gasped. "This changeling is now our daughter." he held the hoof of his wife as he looked at Twilight. "She has been our daughter since the very day that Twilight Sparkle died."
--- I do not own the intellectual properties this fan-fiction is based on ---
Chapter 2: Love in all it's glory
There was only one reaction in the room: shock.
"Died?" Celestia's voice was quiet and quivered in disbelief. "But that can't be true. Twilight Sparkle can't be dead. I got so many letter from her, she can't be dead" she shakes her head.
"But she is." Twilight Velvet said, her voice was quiet and sad.
"Explain it to me." Celestia's voice was still shaking; she just couldn't believe it.
Night Light nodded and took a deep breath, looking at each pony in the room before noticing something. Something missing.
"Where is Shining Armor?" he asked. Velvet took a look around, fear filling her eyes. Apparently they hadn't seen him since they fled from the invasion.
Cadence took a step forward. Velvet and Night Light looked at her. "He is in the barracks. He needed to calm down after we noticed Twilights disappearance." Night Light and Velvet nodded, Velvet even let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm afraid we'll have to explain it to him again later on." Night Light looked at his wife, softly holding her hoof and looking into her watery eyes. She nodded. He turned back to Celestia and the rest, his expression sad and sorrowful.
"Thirteen years have passed since the day Twilight died." His voice was shaking. Velvet even sobbed as Night Light started his explanation. "Twilight was four years old and a very lively child but she also loved to read, just like the Twilight you've all met." He gulped as the memories returned. "She was outside, reading a book and playing with her doll Smarty Pants." He rubs his eyes, trying to stifle the tears. "She got ponynapped." Celestia's eyes widen, Rarity gasped, though the rest were silent, listening to the story. "All we heard were her screams as the pony took her. We called the guards and searched for her. We searched two long days for her." He stopped, his face buried in his front hooves.
"I remember the case" Celestia's soft voice could be heard. "Marble Dust, the captain of the guard before Shining Armor was on the case, searching for the culprit." She looked back at Twilight. "He said that all he had found was the dead body of the culprit; his victim was never found." Twilight shrugged.
Twilight Velvet's and Night Light's soft sobs were the only things that could be heard for a few, long moments.
Taking a deep breath, Night Light looked up, his eyes red and puffy. "We found him. Velvet and I. We were lucky and saw him as he tried to slip away from the guards. He ran into an alley, a knife at my daughter's throat. I sent Velvet away, searching for the guards so they could help us save our daughter. I stayed there, watching the alley in case he tried to get away." Velvet nodded, more sobs escaping her mouth. "And then it happened" his voice was cold. "It took to long for the guards to come over to help us, so I went in but what I saw shocked me." His eyes wandered over to Twilight. "A changeling was in the alley, talking to the culprit. She tried to get Twilight out of his hooves, she tried to make a deal, that she would go into jail for him if he would release the filly. He smiled. The next thing I saw was how the changeling charged at the stallion, Twilight's scream and the hurt groan of the stallion." He took a deep breath, his eyes wandering back to his hooves.
"As I walked closer-" his voice was even quieter now. "-I saw the changeling sitting next to my daughter's body, crying. She cried over the death of a pony she never knew. The stallion was lying behind her. His neck was twisted; she had killed him after he cut the throat of my little girl." That was his breaking point. He covered his face with his hooves, tears falling to the floor.
Celestia looked shocked, as did all the others in the room.
After a few minutes Celestia looked at Twilight, her expression was sad.
Night Light took a deep breath and went on explaining, his voice getting stronger with every word that escaped his mouth.
"After that she talked to me. She told me how sorry she was that she couldn't save her, that she had tried everything." He looked at Twilight, his eyes filled with tears but his expression friendly and warm. "She helped us bury Twilight under her favorite tree. I know we shouldn't have done that but... we were so heartbroken that everything else seemed meaningless. After we buried Twilight, I asked her who she was, what she was doing here and why she even tried to rescue Twilight." He looks at Celestia. "I will never forget what she said that day."
"'She was the only pony who wasn't scared of me.'" Celestia's eyes wandered over to Twilight who had said the last sentence.
What she saw shocked even her.
Twilight was crying, covering her face with her hooves. "She was so innocent. She didn't even know what I am. She shared her sweets with me and played with me." She managed to giggle between her sobs. "She was so naive. But in the end she was the only pony that wouldn't hurt me." She looked up to Celestia. "She was the only pony who gave me the chance to show that I'm not a love eating beast!" She screamed at Celestia.
Celestia's eyes glistered, but she managed to stifle the tears before they could escape.
She turned away, looking back at Night Light and Velvet, crying in each other's legs, holding tight.
"What happened then?" Celestia asked quietly, her voice sad.
"Amethyst Sheen," Velvet spoke, her voice was quivering and almost incomprehensible, "had no place to go. She was the last of her hive. The rest had died after a war with another hive. She was alone and needed a place to stay. At first she took Twilight's place so Shining wouldn't find out that his sister had died, but after a few days..." she stopped, sobbing again.
"We adopted her," Night Light finished the sentence. "She was just like our daughter in every way. She read books and played with Smarty Pants, she laughed the same way and tried to replace Twilight in every way." he stood up and walked over to Twilight, hugging her. "She was the daughter we had lost."
This was too much, even for Celestia.
Rarity and all the other were already crying; even Rainbow Dash couldn't stifle her tears forever.
And now Celestia was breaking down, too, tears escaping her eyes.
Velvet rushed over to hug the changeling, embracing her tightly.
Celestia looked over the scene: two ponies and a changeling, tightly embraced, bound together by love.
She walks over, looking down at the changeling.
"Why?" she simply asked. Her voice was quivering and there were still tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why would you do this?"
Twilight looked up. Her eyes were still watery but her expression was confused. "Why? You ask why?" Celestia nodded.
"Why not?" She asked, Celestia raising a brow. "It wasn't fair that this filly had died and it wasn't fair that I was hunted everywhere I went. The circumstance forced me to do this, and after a few weeks..." She hugged the two ponies tighter. "...I had a family that I couldn't leave. The rest is known to all of you. I lived the life of Twilight Sparkle, the life she wanted." More tears were streaming down her cheeks. "To express my gratitude, to thank Twilight, her parents and her brother for everything they did for me."
Celestia looked at the happy family before her and realizeed something: there was a changeling in her throne room- a changeling who wasn't looking for a food source, who stayed because she was grateful- grateful that a filly wasn't scared of her. And she was still showing this gratitude with every breath she took, embracing her family.
She was seeing love in all it's glory- real love, love that only a daughter could show her parents.
That was everything she needed to know: that they loved eachother and would always do so, that there was nothing that would destroy this connection.
--- I do not own the intellectual properties this fan-fiction is based on ---
Epilogue: It will never be the same
"So there is only one problem left" said Rarity, making all the others look at her. "Shining Armor" she stated, Twilight flatten her ears; she was right.
"Cadence," Celestia asked turning around, "would you please go and bring Shining Armor back here?" Cadence nodded and walked to the door, slowly opening it and leaving. The doors close with yet another loud boom.
Twilight's ears were still flattened against her head, which Velvet noticed.
"What's wrong?" she asked, careful not to startle the changeling.
Twilight gulped and looked into Velvet's eyes. "You haven't seen him, how he reacted. I don't know if he will accept this; not after all that has happened."
"He will" Night Light soft voice was reassuring. "He has to believe us. We are his parents and he lived most of his foalhood with you by his side. He knows what changelings are and what they do, but remember that you showed him that there are changelings who don't use ponies just as a food source."
Celestia furrowed her brows and turned back to Twilight. "Which makes me wonder, how exactly did you survive all those years? You had to eat something, right?"
Twilight nodded lowering her eyes she looked to the floor. "Right. I had to eat and we changelings eat love. That never changed." She looked back up, into Celestia's eyes. "But I never forced them to give me love. All the love that kept me alive was the love they shared with me that they would otherwise have shared with their real daughter."
Celestia nodded, her ears perked as she heard the sound of the throne room doors opening.
Shining was walking in, still wearing a rather grim expression. Cadence, at his side, was wearing a disappointed glare, shaking her head at Celestia.
Celestia understood the gesture.
"So, Shining Armor- " her voice was calm, looking down on her captain, "-have you calmed yourself yet?"
Shining nodded, looking at the changeling in the hooves of his parents. His expression changed; it turned sad, almost regretful.
"So it's true?" he whispered, looking at Twilight and his parents. "You are the real Twilight?"
Twilight shook her head, "I'm Amethyst Sheen. But yes, I was Twilight Sparkle for the last thirteen years" she got out of the embrace and tried again to get up. Her legs were wobbly and were almost buckling underneath her.
Shining Armor's expression didn't change. It was still the sad, regretful expression.
But not for long.
He shook his head. "No, I just can't," he suddenly states, taking a step back. Raising a hoof he pointed at Twilight. "How do I know you haven't brainwashed them all already?"
"Shining!" Velvet exclaimed, making Shining shirk. "Watch your mouth, young colt!"
"No I won't!" he snapped at Velvet. "She is a changeling, mom! We can't trust her!"
A soft thud could be heard as Twilight fell back on her haunches, a sad expression on her face, she was on the edge of tears.
Celestia stepped between them, looking down on Shining Armor with a disapproving glare.
"You should be ashamed of yourself!" her voice was angry, something nopony was used to hearing in her voice. "You should be ashamed to talk like that about your sister!"
"THAT'S NOT MY SISTER!" he shouted at Celestia. "She is a love-sucking beast! We should take her away as fast as we-"
Velvet slapped Shining Armor.
"Velvet!" Night Light exclaimed. He rushed to her, stopping her from attacking him again. Tears were streaming down her face.
Shining Armor took another step back, slowly raising a hoof to his cheek.
"Your sister, your real sister" Velvet's voice was quivering. "She was the only pony who wasn't afraid of her. She was the first pony who didn't see her as 'love-sucking beast'! That's why she took Twilight's place! She did it so YOU wouldn't have to grow up without your sister!" she turned back around embracing her husband. Soft sobs could be heard.
Night Light was looking at Shining with a disapproving glare, "I'm disappointed in you, Shining. Not only did you make your mother cry- no, you make Amethyst feel bad and defiled the things Twilight did for this changeling!"
Shining turned around, looking at Cadence. She was looking away, an angry look on her face.
Shining turned around and ran away.
"Shining!" Twilight called after him but Shining ignored her. Before leaving the room he turned around, his expression was angry.
"I resign!" he shouted, turning back around he ran away as fast as he can.
"Shining..." Twilight whispered, more tears escaping her eyes.
"Excuse me." Cadence looked shocked. Giving Twilight a friendly nod, she turned around to follow Shining Armor.
"How rude" Rarity stated, slowly walking closer to Twilight and Velvet with two hoofkerchief in her magical grasp. Velvet and Twilight both took them with a nod and a word of gratitude.
Rarity's expression was calm- confused, but calm.
Suddenly she smiled as she looked down on Twilight.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Twilight asked, dabbing her cheeks.
"You know what incredible chance this is?" she squealed. "I'm the first pony who will ever make a dress for a changeling!" She clopped her hooves.
"No, you won't," Celestia said with a sad smile, "a pony five hundred years ago made one for an ambassador. You will be the second."
Rarity's smile weakened a little bit but returned to the bright glee after a moment. "Well then, the second. Still, this is a chance of a lifetime!" She looked at Twilight with a friendly, warm expression.
"So I was right!" Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed, flying into the air, and startling all the ponies in the room. "She IS a spy!" She smiled, slowly flying down and nudging Twilight with a big smile. "But you are our spy" after the words had escaped her mouth she looked like she felt out of place. "Told you!" she exclaimed folding her front legs before her chest.
"Um, I-it might be a little strange-" Fluttershy's voice was almost unhearable and she was still hiding her face behind her mane. "B-but I never had a chance to have a changeling as friend." She was wearing a weak smile.
"I knew it aaaaaaaaall the time" Pinkie chirped, bouncing up and down. "You taste different!" Looking at the confused expressions, her smile widens. "Remember that day Luna came to town and scared us all and you put your hoof in my mouth to tell me that nothing bad would happen? Your hoof tastes different than any other hooves." She giggled. Scratching her chin she looked at Twilight. "Yours tastes more like tomatoes then grass. Or maybe more like brocooli than tomatoes? Vanilla icing than chocolade cream?"
"Ya could have told us!" Applejack exclaimed, ignoring Pinkie's rambling and taking a step closer to Twilight. "I didn't even know what a changeling was before the invasion." She embraced Twilight, a big smile on her face. The others quickly followed Applejacks example and cuddled up in one big group hug.
"We love you!" her friends said in a choir, tightening their embrace.