Changelings have attacked Canterlot numerous times since her coronartion, and Twiligh Sparkle wants to ease their nerves. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse...
It's been a month since her coronation, and things are already going south...fast. Queen Chrysalis has launched numerous attacks on Canterlot, and ponies are on edge. Desperately trying to calm them, she organizes a presentation in Ponyville on how to determine who is a Changeling and who isn't. The Reveal Spell backfires, and soon Twilight is running for her life. Read on to discover why!
Based off Solitary Locust by the parasprite
Note: This story briefly introduces Princess Rarity, Princess Ella, and the Darklight Incident, which take place in A New Ruler.
Not to skip formalities, but my name is John Winter. I'm Prince of the Kingdom of Solstice, a powerful kingdom to the north of The Crystal Empire, but all will be explained as tou read on.
I was seated with his wife in the luxurious gardens in the palace courtyard. It was a site to behold, flora and fauna long since thought to be extinct on Equus, but still alive here, in the Solstice Royal Gardens. Solstice itself was a city far to the north of the Crystal Empire, and was very disconnected from the rest of Equus. It's inhabitants were humans, not unkile those from Earth, which they had visited in the past.
Solstice was crown jewel of the Kingdom of Solstice, and The Winter Palace it's heart. This is where I was now, lounging around after a morning of tedious meetings, though the arrival of Cadance and Shining Armor had been quite enjoyable, but with all the recent Changeling activity, and this second attempt to take Canterlot, almost everyone was on edge, even as far as far away from Canterlot as Solstice was.
I was thinking about this when a familiar muzzle made it's way into the gardens, her starry mane floating in the breeze, and her kind attitude showing even though her appearance was truely menacing.
"Oh, hello Nightmare Moon," Luna, the only other pony there, said happily, "Sleep well?"
"Quite, thank you," she said as she laid down beside her maker. I had regular visits to the moon during her and Luna's exile, and had rehabilitated her. The antics on Nightmare Night had really just been for show. How Nightmare Moon was independent of Luna is because of The Winter Spire, a tower housing a focus crystal that channeled the dangerous amount of ambient magics that were left over from the Solstice War, which lasted from the very dawn of time to about seven thousand one hundred five years ago, and I'd been around since the beginning. It's all very relative when you're just above the level of an alicorn, but is still very slow to pass.
I was interrupted from my thoughts as I sensed something very wrong. You see, due to the limitless magic reserves I posessed, I could to detect powerful spells being cast incorrectly or by a different species than the spell was meant for. While the latter was of little matter, as many ponies did this, the former was very worrysome, as somepony could get hurt. This was an exceptionally bad case as it was a combination of both, which could lead to the most disasterous consequences possible. I used a magic trace to find who was casting the spell, what the spell was, and how ovepowered and incorrectly the spell was being perforrmed. I gasped as I all was revealed.
Twilight Sparkle was trying to use the Changeling Reveal spell with an area of effect, something that the spell was never once modified to do. To make matters worse, the spell was massively over-powered...
...and had imploded on it's user, doing to her what it would normally only do to a changeling, even if she wasn't really one...
...Twilight Sparkle had accidentally turned herself into a Changeling Drone.
"Luna," I said as I got up and quickly ran for the enterance to the garden, "I'm going on a trip to Ponyville."
"What about the Changelings," asked Luna.
"That's the whole reason why I'm going," I yelled as I passed through the door into the halls of the Winter Palace, out of earshot of Luna and Nightmare Moon, "I hope I'm not too late." My mind shifted to the Inquisition Celestia had formed to deal with the Changeling threat. He dreaded what would happen if they got to Twilight first, not knowing she was one of the alicorn princesses they were supposed to serve.
Twilight charged the reveal spell. It was a fairly uncomplicated spell, but she'd needed it to cover more than one pony, but couldn't find any versions of it that did, so she made her own.
A green ball began growing from the tip of her horn, covering it, then her, then the podium, then it began covering the ponies in the crowd, but all the while, she knew she felt something was wrong, and so attempted to stop the spell.
The ball continued to grow, slightly quicker now.
She tried again.
The ball grew to encompass the entire crowd before her. Suddenly, the spell collapsed, sending all the magic straight back into her horn in less time than it took her to blink. She was sent flying back off the podium and about half a kilometer into the fields surrounding Ponyville, feeling a strange burning sensation the entire time.
The bruning sensation subsided after a short time, and she tried to get up, only to fall right back down again. Her mind was clear, though, and she could see everything around her...
...including hole-filled, black chitin-coated legs where she felt hers should have been.
She stared at them for a moment, completely dumbstruck before she realized her mistake. There was a reason that spell wasn't ever made an area of effect spell, and she'd just learned why.
She was a Changeling, no doubt about it, and the angered yells of, "Where did you take Twilight," could be heard from even where she was sitting.
Realizing her impending danger, she got up and started running. She only then realized how weak she'd felt, and after a short while ran headlong into a stone wall, as she'd been distracted by her thoughts.
While not visible on the outside, she could tell one of her forehooves were broken, as it was numb and would not respond to her commands. She heard the hoofbeats and yells getting closer, and tried to teleport away. Her horn would not cooperate, and simply fizzled out.
She began limping away clumsily, aware she was bleeding green blood from a scrape on her foreleg, but she had more important things to worry about. Thankfully, and not a moment too soon, as he pursuers had almot caught her, she was able to safely teleport away.
She found herself in an empty field near the edge of the Everfree Forest, and saw that dark stormclouds were approaching. She decided, against her better judgement, to wander into the forest, hoping she could make it to the old castle before the storm broke.
No such luck, though. Fifteen minutes later, the storm raged overhead, drowning her mind with bangs and explosions. Her exhaustion from using the teleport spell while in such a weakened state finally caught up with her, and she fell over. Unfortunately, the part of the path she was currently on followed a ridge, which she quickly slid down into the mud below. She tried to get up, but her muscles were too weak to respond. She realized she was falling asleep, and tried to fight it off, but it was a losing battle.
She was about to give up and let sleep take her when she was lifted by something. She couldn't tell what it was, but it wasn't magic, which made her fear the worst possible things that it could be. Suddenly, she heard a voice, my voice.
"You're safe now," I said to the changeling in my arms, "Rest now. I'll get you someplace safe where they can't hurt you."
And with that, Twilight passed out, letting blissful sleep take her.
"Some pain is so great that even death will stay his grasp"
-John Winter, Prince of Solstice
Twilight awoke to the bright sunlight shining through cracked stained glass windows and the smell of freshly cooked eggs. For a moment she thought the whole affair about her becoming a Changeling was a dream.
Then the pain in almost every part of her body returned.
I noticed her enter the foaltal position and ran over to her, casting a spell to reduce the pain. She looked up at me with curious, fearful eyes. "T-thank y-y-you."
"It's the least I can do for a fellow monarch, Twilight," I said as I returned to the stove. You wouldn't believe the stuff they left behind in the castle, besides all the traps and secret passageways.
Twilight sat up abruptly, "How do you know my name? And who are you? And what are you? And where.."
I put a hand to the changeling's mouth, "You're rambling, Twilight. You look starved, come have something to eat. Don't worry, I've put a spell on you that will allow you to gain the nutirents from food for awhile."
"There are spells like that," asked Twilight in wonder.
"Indeed there are," I said, "Though most only exist in books only found in Solstice. Now, to answer your questions. A, I know your name because I'm a Prince, and a member of the Council of Equus, like you. B, I am Prince John Winter of the Kindgdom of Solstice, and it is a pleasure to meet you. C, I am an Equusian human, born at the very dawn of time itself. Does that clear everything up?"
Twilight thought for a moment, "Wouldn't that mean you're older than Celestia?"
"Indeed it would," I said with a laugh, "And indeed it does!"
Twilight managed to laugh a little before trying, but horribly failing, to get up. I went over to help her, deciding she wasn't used to her new legs just yet. "Thank you, Winter."
"It's no trouble at all," I said, "Really, I have limitless magical reserves. I could literlally lift Canterlot if the mood took me, and put it right back without a scratch."
Twilight was at a loss for words. Surely nopony could be that powerful, right? Then again, Winter wasn't a pony, and was older than Celestia. There was one thing that was still pulling at the back of her mind, though. "How did you know I was actually Twilight Sparkle?"
I put helped her onto an old stool at the dinner table. "Well, I can detect overuse of magic and use of magic in ways that it's not supposed to be used. Also, I tend to be an excellent judge of character."
Twilight nodded as she used her magic to begin eating, which was suprising because of the trauma her jorn had just went through. Then again, she'd had power to rival Celestia's long before she was an alicorn, so that made it all pretty self-explanitory. In that moment I also remembered anothet thing.
"Twilight, I have to head back to Solstice to do some research on if there is a spell to change you back, as I do recall one but cannot quite remember it," I said, "Though I'll be away, I've made sure you aren't alone here, that would be very heartless of me. Instead, my wife and two very good friends of mine will keep you company, and I wold like to think you know all three of them."
As I finished, the sound of shoed hoofbeats could be heard coming through the halls. "Ah, that's them now, I do believe."
Twilight remembered the empathy sensors and made her first attempt at using them, which was a success. She could feel the emotions of four distinct beings, one strong and close while the other three were growing stonger as they approached. None were afraid or apprehensive, which cnfirmed they were Winter's expected arrivals.
A few minutes later, the three ponies came into the kitchen. First was Princess Luna, who galloped to Winter and gave him a big hug. She'd been worried about him, and Twilight knew this with her empathy sense. She summarized that Luna and Winter were married. Next came Midnight Blue, a high-class pony from Canterlot. She owned a Salon that did spa treatments, hair dressing and she also did portraits of those who wanted one, which was a bonus to have a Spa and Salon in the same place as well. She nodded at Twilight, sho nodded back. The last pony to enter the room chilled Twilight to her very bones. Nightmare Moon walked in and smiled at Twilight. It took her a second to realize it wasn't a smile that wanted to hurt her, but a loving one, that was genuinely worried about her.
So, a Princess, a mare with almost limitless talent, and a demonic godess were to keep her company. The first two were fine but Nighmare Moon made her uncomfortable. I noticed her apprehension to Nightmare Moon.
"Twilight, don't worry," I said, "She hasn't been evil in nearly seven hundred fifty years."
"Then why did she try to cause the Eternal Night, then," Twilight asked.
"For appearances," I said, "The legend still needed to appear to come true. And I needed the Elements of Harmony to seperate Nightmare Moon and Luna. Nightmare Moon was sent into the Winter Spire, and given a new body by using very powerful and complex magic."
Nightmare Moon approached Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, I am sorry for the misunderstanding when we first met, but I am not really like that, and have not been for centuries. I promise."
Twilight realized that Nightmare Moon was being sincere, and was telling the truth because of her empathy vision, which she finally decided to turn off. "Apology accepted."
A smile crept across Nightmare Moon's face, and she gave Twilight a quick hug, being careful not to hit Twiight's injured hoof.
Nightmare Moon began talking with Luna and Winter, leaving only Midnight Blue and her. She waved Midnight over, and she made her way to Twilight.
About when she was halfway between where she'd been standing and where she was now, Twilight noticed the holes in her legs. She also noticed that her horn was pointed, but still very smooth, and that her pupils were more dragon-like in nature. Midnight Blue was a Changeling.
Twilight squeeked in fear as she fell, causing Midnight to jump back in response. "She's a changeling," exclaimed Twilight, "A real one!"
"And, what about it," I said, "I know she's done your hair about a thousand times already. I truth, there was never a Midnight Blue the Unicorn or Alicorn. Instead, there was Midnight Blue the Changeling. She disguised herself by maing minor changes to her appearance, purely cosmetic, and she had alicorn wings when she was a changeling."
"So she's a changeling Queen," said Twilight, confused.
"No. She actually has some pony DNA for reasons yet unknown," I said, "I suspect this is why hives don't have Drone A mate wth Drone B, but instead the queen. This seems to always happen when two drones mate and fertilize, creating a hybrids that cannot reproduce."
"It sounds like there's something else," Twilight said questioningly.
"Indeed there is," I replied, "Midnigth Blue is a product of the mating and fertilization of two of these hybrids, giving her the bonus of a normal pony's digestive system. Instead of eating love, she eats regular food. She is the most pony-like Changeling I know to have ever existed. She is also immortal, which is another curiosity."
Twilight nodded as she took this all in. If she understood it correctly, Midnight Blue was a changeling with more similarities to an Alicorn than a Changeling, incuding a magical aura that was a dark blue, even darker than Luna's aura.
"Alright then," I said, "I must be off before the Inquisition arrives in Ponyville. They will probably quarantine Ponyville and a arge part of the Everfree Forest. I'll have my guards at the Winter Tower set up a barrier here to protect the castle."
"It has that kind of reach," asked Twilight. As the Winter Tower was Solstician technology, she knew only small bits of information about it. It was supposedly a large tower that housed a giant focus crystal, a gem that absorbed and compressed magical energies for storage. It was made as a solution for a long-forgotten war, and it was extremely powerful, but not much else.
"Indeed it does," I said, "My people merged magic and technology to a fine art that even the most scatterbrained of ponies can understand. I say this with Derpy in mind, just so you know."
Twilight nodded quietly. While she woudn't open voice it, Derpy was probably one of the more unintelligent ponies that she knew.
"Well, I'll be off then," I said making my way to the exit, "Do take care of her you three, it would break my heart to lose such a brilliant pony." And truthfully, it would.
"If there is one thing you should remenber, it is to never give up,
because there is always a way"
-John Winter, Prince of Solstice
Twilight watched as the Prince teleported away, hoping that there really was a way to return her to normal. Little did she know, troublr was brewing in Ponyville...
Ponyville, at that moment...
Inquisitor Edmund was avery old stallion, and a very respected one as well. He was a very lage and intimidating brown-coated Unicorn, and had once been Captain of Her Magesty's Royal Guard. He bore hundreds of scars all across his body from this job, and now seemed almost emotionless from the ordeal. Little did even the Princess know what had forced his resignation from the Royal Guard, was that Changelings had killed his family during one of their attacks. HE'd resigned to join the Inquisitor Division to seek retribution. In any case, the Changeling he found didn't live very long unless they had good reason to.
He had just arrived in Ponyville with his escort of Royal Guards and two of his assistants, and was now being confronted by a very tired pony who said she knew where the Changeling went. He was waiting for one of his assistants to get a quill and parchment, which he did after a few minutes.
"So," said Edmund, annoyed by the delay, "Tell me what you know."
"O-okay," said Rainbow Dash, obviously tired and suffering from sleep derivation, "I found a blood trail that led into the Everfree Forest. It was green, and I knew Changeling blood is green, so I followed it until the storm got too rough and I lost it."
"Is that all," Edmund asked, recieving a nod, "Thank you, Miss Dash. This is very helpful information. I'm sure we'll find Miss Sparkle soon."
Rainbow Dash nodded and walked off, Edmund watching her. Once she was out of sight, he turned to his companions. "There are few places in the Everfree Forest to hide, but there is one that would be the obvious choice..."
Meanwhile, back in the Everfree Forest...
Twilight was fast asleep, dreaming about days long past that she'd enjoyed with her friends. Midnight Blue had went into ton to see the situation with the Inquisitor, and had just returned.
"So, what's going on," Luna asked a panting Midnight Blue.
"They...figured out...that...I'm...a changeling," Midnight said between breaths, "Rainbow Dash...blood trail...here."
"Calm down," Luna said worriedly, "What's this about a blood trail and Rainbow Dash?"
Midnight took a moment to regain her composure before she spoke. "Apparently, Rinbow Dash found a blood trail made by Twilight leading into the Everfree. The Inquisitor put two and tow together and him and his guards are on the way here. No doubt they'll knock us out first and see if we're Changelings later."
This worried Luna. Of course she and, to a lesser extent, Nightmare Moon, would be safe, Midnight and Twilight would be in grave danger. "It's Edmund, isn't it?"
Midnight nodded, and Luna's worst fears were realized. Although Edmund was a decent unicorn, he was ruthless and brutal when it came to Changelings. Winter had once said he believed the only good Changeling was a dead one.
Midnight caught Luna's worried panick and managed to cam her down. "Luna, we'll be fine, don't worry." At that moment, Nightmare Moon charged into the throne room where Midnight, Luna and Twilight, awakened by Nightmare Moon's enterance, were.
"A group of Royal Guards is crossing the bridge," Nightare Moon replied, "Inquisitor Edmund is with them."
Twilight almost jumped out of her chitin at the sound of the words 'Inquisitor Edmund', as she had indeed heard about his...methods...of dealing with Changelings. She began looking around frantically, searching for a place to hide.
Oddly, the other ponies were very calm and collected, which confused Twilight. "How can you be so calm at a time like this!?"
"Twilight, I think you're having a panic attack," Luna said as she cast a Calming Mind spell on Twilight. "Follow us."
Twilight followed the three other ponies obediently to the castle enterance, where they stopped to watch the approaching ponies.
Edmund looked mad, and her empathy sense said he was mad and very intent on capturing her, or worse. They slowly got closer, and closer, and closer...
Suddenly, a blue ripple appeared in the air before Edmund. He had no time to reach as only seconds later, the ripple reversed direction and caused an outward magical explosion, not hurting Edmund, but sending him and his guards flying backwards a few feet.
"Tis apparent that Winter hath made a shield around the castle," Nightmare Moon said.
"Good," Luna said, "That should hold until we can figure out how to get Twilight back to normal."
A few minutes later, the Calming Mind spell wore off, but Twilight didn't feel stressed, but instead felt relieved. Relieved that she was safe from those who wanted to hurt her. She sighed happily.
"You see," Luna said, "There is nothing to worry about. Now, maybe we should tent to that broken foreleg."
Twilight nodded as she made her way back into the castle.
Meanwhile, just outside...
Edmund rcovered from the explosion, no idea what had happened. One moment he had been walking toward the ruins, then he'd been blasted backwards by some invisible force. He realized that there may be a shield around the castle.
He got to his hooves and looked around him. His Royal Guard escorts were still dazed,as were his assistants. "Pfft, lightweights."
He eventually found a small stone and used his magic to toss it at the castle. Just as he suspected, it stopped midair a few feet from him as a blue ripple crossed the open air before retreating and blasting the rock backwards.
"Hmm," he thought out loud, "It must be in there, then."
Meanwhile in the Archives Section of the Solstice Royal Library....
"Come on, I know its here somewhere," I said. I did recall there being a book on Changeling magics and how to undo the damage of even the most botched of spells. I was about to grab another scroll when Captain Stormcry, Captain of the Royal Honor Guard, appeared.
"My King, Captain Flynn has informed me the Canterlot Inquisition has arrived in Ponyville," he said.
"Thank you for informing me," I said, "And I'm Prince now." Before Solstice had joined the Council of Equus, it followed the regular royal system, and the imperial system before the Civil War, but the latter was ancient history. Though most of the guards had already grown used to calling me Prince, Stormcry still had a habit of calling me King. It's not that I minded, though. I just thought Prince John Winter sounded better than King John Winter.
Stromcry bowed before he left, leaving me with the ancient scolls the lined the shelves around me.
I proceeded to grab the one I had been about to before, a particularrly old scroll that bore the marks of a long existence. I opened it slowly to reveal ancient Changeling writing, a kind used long before the Civil War that destroyed my kingdom.
I was able to translate it, though, as I am a very old being. It contained exactly what I'd been looking for, a way to reverse the effects of misfiring a area of effect Changeling Reveal spell. Believe it or not, it was quite simple. All that had t o be done was overcharge a spell you used very often. I put the scroll back and made my way back to the train station.
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville...
Inquisitor Edmund was pacing anxiously. He was trying to figure out how to penetrate the shield surrounding the old castle, but was consistently oming uo with nothing. When he ws there earlier, he'd tried all manner of attack spells and disspells, but none had any affect. He knew such powerful spells couldn't exist, yet, this one did.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice two Royal Guards enter the tent. He was caught off-guard, but regained his composure before anypony noticed.
"Inquisitor Edmund, there is somepony here to see you," the guard said.
"No," Edmund said, "Not now, I need to think."
"I would not put off a visit from a Royal," said the guard.
"A Royal," repeated Edmund questioningly, "In that case, bring her in!"
Through the tent's door stepped two ponies. One had fur so white is shone naturally, and a gold mane and tail that did the same. His wings were magnificent, bigger than even Celestia's and his muscle and size made him tower over most ponies, except Celestia, who he was only slightly taller than. Beside him stood a mare. She had blue eyes like sapphires, and a mane and tail as white as the fur of the stallion that stood beside her that flowed as if there were a slight breeze. She had no fur, but instead a jet black chitin covering her entire body, with more intricate holes in her legs, all symmetrical. Though he despised them, he had a certain respect for her beauty.
This was Queen Fate, and with her stood her future husband, the legendary Flash of Gold himself, Elegance White.
Edward was in awe. "Queen Fate! Elegance! What...what are you d..d..d..doing here!?"
"We came to see if we could reason with this Changeling," said Fate, "I'd pefer no unnessissary deaths."
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in the ruins of Old Canterlot Castle in the Everfree Forest...
Twilight was once again asleep, and Midnight was busy talking with Luna and Nightmare Moon.
"From what I understand about regular Changelings, they feed on love, right," Midnight said, "And Twilight has been turned into a normal drone, so she needs to feed, or she might die, right?"
"Actually, no," Luna said, "Winter created a spell to allow Changelings to absorb the nutrients from regular foods. He used it on Twilight earlier."
"Oh, um, sorry," Nightmare Moon apologized, "Do you know this spell, Luna?"
"I do, actually," said Luna, "Winter taught me it last year."
"Good," Midnight said, "So when Twilight wakes uo, she should be able to eat."
"Right," replied Luna, "It isn't a permanent substitue, though."
"I hope Winter returns soon, then," Midnight said, "Otherwise Twilight might be in big trouble."
At that moment, Twilight woke up. Though she knew she'd slept a couple of hours, as the sun was now setting, she felt extremely tired. The three other mares saw her trying to get up and ran over to her.
"Are you okay, Twilight," said Luna as she and Nightmare Moon helped her up, "You look terrible, and I don't mean because you're a Changeling."
"I feel terrible," replied Twilight. Her muscles ached, and she could feel the beginnings of a headache. She was also very hungery. "I need to eat something."
"Hungery, then," said Midnight, "I'll go see if I can make something up for you, thought this isn't my kitchen, so it won't be as good as it would be in Canterlot."
Twilight chuckled at this. Midnight was, among her many other talents, a naturally-gifted chef, and could honestly make raw fish into a desirable meal.
Luna and Nightmare Moon helped Twilight over to the table. She was feeling very weak, but knew she had to stay awake and get some energy into her body. She sat for the next while, thinking about random things until Midnight returned with her food.
"It's not much, but it's something," she said as she placed the plate in front of Twilight. It honestly looked spectacular.
Twilight was about to start eating, but Luna stopped her. "I need to cast the spell that actually makes eating useful."
Twilight nodded and waited as Luna cast the spell. "There, now you can eat."
Twilight dove greedily into the plate. She hadn't realized how hungery she'd been until that moment. She soon finished the meal, feeling much better afterwards.
"Thank you, Midnight," Twilight said with a smile, "It was delicious."
At that moment, I came running in, panting.
"Winter!? What's wrong," said Midnight.
"Nothing, actually," I said, "The Inqusition is in Ponyville, as are Fate and Elegance, who are stalling them for me."
"Did you find a way to fix me," asked Twilight.
"Indeed," I replied, "It took a bit of searching, but I found an ancient Changeling scroll telling of how to reverse the misfire."
"How," Twiligth asked eagerly. She really wanted to be herself again.
"All you have to do," I said, " Is overcharge the spell you use the most."
I led Twilight and the other to the throne room, as a large, open space was needed for what Twilight was about to attempt. Though I knew she felt tired, I also knew she didn't want to be a Changeling any more. "Are you ready, Twilight?"
Twilight nodded. "I'm ready as I'll ever be."
"Okay," I said, "Luna, Midnight, Nighmare Moon, I suggest you take a few stteps back, as this will be a very powerful spell."
The three ponies nodded, and took a few steps backward into the hallway for cover. I turned back to Twilight. "Whenever you're ready."
~~~~~~~~~~
Inquisitor Edmund had just recieved word that Prince Winter had arrived and had gone into the Everfree. He was tiring of Fate and Elegance, and excused himself, claiming to need to relieve himself, which he did not. Instead, he rouned up a few Royal Guards and began making their way into the forest.
Fate and Elegance grew suspicous when Edmund didn't return, and peeked out of the tent just as he and his guards disappeared into the forest.
Elegance pulled out a small radio. "This is Elegance to Captian Stormcry, over."
"This is Stormcry," said a voice over the small speaker, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Inquisitor Edmund is on his way to the old castle," Elegance said, "A guard came in a few minutes ago. He must have seen Winter go into the forest."
"The shield is down at the moment," said Stormcry, "It cannot be raised until after Twilight has performed the spell."
"Okay," Elegance said, "Out."
He put away the little radio and turned to Fate. "What should we do?"
"Have faith," she said, remembering the show as she'd watched it back on Earth, "Twilight will make it, don't worry."
~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight's teleport spell had reached full power a few minutes ago, and was almost to the appropriate charge when I heard hoofsteps approaching. I would've asked gotten Twilight to abort the spell, but at this charge, there was no telling what could happen.
"Luna, Midnight, Nightmare Moon, I think the Iquisitor knows I'm here," I said, "We need to keep them out until Twilight's spell is charged enough, follow me."
I led the ponies to the door, which I quickly closed and barred. "There are towers overlooking the area before these doors. Do not kill them, just immobilize them, got it?" All three of them nodded. "Okay, let's go!"
~~~~~~~~~~
While we were using non-fatal spells, the Inquisitor and his guards were using spells that, if they hit one of us, could cause serious injury.
"Winter, look out," yelled Nightmare Moon, and I ducked just as a fireball flew by me.
"Thanks," I called as I paralyzed the pony who thew the fireball.
Moments later, I heard a sickening groan, followed by a snap as the rotted wood beam holding the door closed snapped, revealing a completely defenceless Twilight Sparkle.
Edmund, who had just blew open the door, managed to send a fireball at Twilight before Luna paralyzed him.
"TWILIGHT," I yelled as a bright light lit the entire throne room.
When I opened my eyes, it was to a dismal sight.
All that remained where Twilight just stood was a scorch mark in the shape of her cutiemark.
I feared the worst, but held out hope that Twilight had succeeded.
A memorial service was held for Twilight the next day, and all of Ponyville attended, as well as Princesses Celestia, Luna, Ella, Rarity and Cadance. Shining Armor, Twilight Velvet and Night Light were also there, as was Nightmare Moon, Queen Fate and Elegance, all mourning the loss of somepony so young...
...then the unthinkable happened...
...Twilight arrived for her own funeral, looking like a complete wreck.
~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight felt like she'd just been thrown from the highest tower in Canterlot, thrown against a brick wall, than sat on by an Ursa Minor.
Overall, she hurt everywhere.
Twilight struggled to open her eyes, but when she did, she was met with a familliar sight.
She had teleported herself back to her library, and there were books lying around everywhere because of the teleport.
As she struggled to her hooves, she noticed something had changed...
...she had lavender fur on her hooves.
She looked ver herself to find that she was completely back to normal, forgetting about all the pain she felt for a moment before it returned, almost making her fall back down.
She looked out the window to find that the sun wasn't setting anymore, but was rising, making her wonder how long she'd been out. She managed to make her way out the front door and to the town square, where the memorial service was taking place.
~~~~~~~~~~
I ran over to Twilight, catching her as she collapsed from exhaustion. "Twilight, are you okay?" I was answered by a faint moan.
I lifted her in my arms and carried her to the hospital. Tha last this she heard me say before she passed out was "It's okat, Twilight. You're going to be okay."
~~~~~~~~~~
"So, you're absolutely sure this a dream," asked Twilight.
"Indeed," I replied, "And a very splendid one, at that."
We were in a giant library of which we couldn't see the roof, only a black void. Luna was also there with us, using her Dreamwalk spell.
Twilight had been in a coma ever since she'd passed out at the memorial ceremony, which had been a week ago. Luna and I decided to enter her coma-induced dream to see how she was, and admittedly, she was fine as fine could possibly be.
"Well, that explains why this smoothie never seems to empty," Twilight said, using magic to lift an apple smoothie off the table, "Still, at least it doesn't hurt everywhere."
"Indeed," I said, "Most of the damage has been healed, though, and if I'm correct you should wake up in about five seconds."
"Hmm," Twilight said before realizing what I'd just said, "Wait, what!?"
Too late, as me and Luna had just left her dream. Everything started to go white and dissapear around Twilight until...
~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight groggily opened her eyes. Although her head hurt a little, she felt fine otherwise. As her awareness returned to her, she realized that she wasn't alone.
She was in a bed at Ponyville General Hospital. Her friends were all there in the room with her, all fast asleep, except me and Luna, of course. She looked around at all the flowers and get-well cards that had been left for her, then looked back at me and Luna.
"So, I was like this for a week," Twilight asked.
"Indeed," I replied, "Fate and Elegance were quite worried about you, and would be here right now if something hadn't come up that required their attention."
"Oh," said Twilight, "And what was that?"
"Final preparations for the wedding, of course," said Luna, " What else!?"
"Where's Nightmare Moon," asked Twilight.
"One of Edmund's guards managed to hit her in the side with a fireball," I said, "She was only at the memorial because she wouldn't take no for an answer."
Twilight nodded, appriciating Nightmare Moon's worry. "Is she here?"
"Yes," said Luna, "But she's resting now. After all, it is around midnight."
"I'm going to see if we can dissolve the Inquisition at the next Council meeting," I said, "I see no need for an anti-changeling organization when it's not needed."
Twilight and Luna both nodded in agreement.
"Well Twilight, you should see about getting sme actual sleep now," I said, "That way, you'll be ready to deal with Pinkie Pie in the morning."
Twilight let out a slight giggle at my comment. "I think I'll do that."
Me and Luna proceeded to leave. "Goodnight, Twilight," I said.
"Goodnight, Winter, "Twilight replied as she began to fall asleep, "And thank you."
Events happened rather quickly after Twilight left the hospital. Pinkie Pie threw a party to celebrate Twilight's safe return, of course, and Ponyville settled down. While not dissolved, the Canterlot Inquisition was stripped of a number of it's priviledges, based on what happened in Ponyville. These losses included control of the Royal Guard and a sharp cut in funding. It would have been dissolved, but there were still Changelings out there with ill intent, and they still needed to be watched. Edmund was dishonourably discharged from the Inquisition on account of his mistreatment of prisoners, and only narrowly avoided banishment from Equestria altogether. Now, the only real important thin was the wedding of Queen Fate and Elegance White, which was just a few weeks away...
"So darling, aren't you excited about the wedding," asked Rarity. She and Princess Rarity were making Twilight something nice to wear for the wedding.
"Don't you think it's a bit early to get excited," questioned Twilight, "It is two weeks away, after all."
"Nonsense," replied Rarity, "Getting ready for events like this require much planning ahead, so one must be excited about it."
"I guess," Twilight said before looking over to Princess Rarity, "What do you think."
"Well, darling, I really just want you to look nice," she said, "I already made myself and Ella dresses for the wedding, and it worries me to think that you do not."
"Huh, you really were a fashion designer in another life, weren't you," Twilight said, refering to the fact that Princess Rarity was once human.
"One of the best," she replied, a smug look on her face, "Rarity was my idol! She's the reason I'm here, well, not the direct reason..."
"I get the picture," Twilight said, remembering the incident earlier that month.
"Don't worry, darling," Princess Rarity said, "I'm still fully devoted to my work, now even more, since I get to work alongside my idol."
The rest of the session consisted of much talking and gossip, and despite all of it, the two Raritys made Twilight a beautiful lavender dress.
"It's simply marvelous," said Princess Rarity with a smile.
"Agreed," Rarity said.
Princess Rarity left, as she had some other things to take care of before the day was over, leaving only Twilight and Rarity.
"I still find it confusing to have two of you," Twilight said.
"As do I, darling," Rarity replied.
Twilight's thoughts turned to the wedding in a few weeks. She knew that the few renegade changelings wouldn't try something, but she still felt as if something bad was going to happen.