Twilight Twinkle, Queen of the Changelings (by marriage to their king), looked down at the tiny form in her legs, its tiny little eyes staring out at the world, with its tiny little hooves which were so much smaller than any one of her own.
"She has your eyes" she said to Whisper Wind, who was standing next to the bed she was sitting on. He looked at the newborn foal, and her tiny bright blue eyes.
"She does" there was a tiny gurgle from the newborn, and Twinkle's smile, already at dangerous levels, began to grow.
"What should we call her?" she asked her husband. The two exchanged looks before staring back to the tiny newborn, with her tiny blue eyes, the miniscule horn sticking out of her forehead, her fur a mixture of her mother's dark blue and her father's charcoal grey, however for whatever reason her barely there mane and tail were lilac.
"How about... Lilac Velvet?" Whisper Wind asked. Twilight Twinkle tilted her head, biting her lip for good measure.
"Lilac Velet?" she repeated, frowning. "I don't know, dear..."
She paused in thought for a while, and realised she was drawing a blank. "But then, I can't really think of anything better, myself."
For a few moments she looked at the now slumbering little shape in front of her, and was aware she could feel a tiny heartbeat coming from the foal, making her giggle slightly as it occured to her she was staring at her daughter. Her daughter, she thought.
"Well, if she doesn't like it, she can always have a Cutiecenera when she's older and change her name" she said, trying not to shrug, fearing that doing so would mean she'd drop her daughter, causing the little thing to shatter like glass. She briefly lamenting her apparently inherited lack of skill with names.
'Like calling myself Midday Ecli-... when did I do that?' she looked around, at her husband, who was still staring at their daughter, at the two nearby changelings trying very hard to look invisible, and doing a passable job at that, and down to the newly-named foal, trying to remember when she'd called herself such a stupid name.
"Lilac Velvet" she said, holding the foal closer to herself, as her confusion melted away. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, other than her.
"Hello" she whispered.
Some weeks later
Twilight Twinkle was aware of hoofsteps behind her, and ignored them, focusing only on the object before her. As she sat there, still focusing, she was aware of warm breath on her neck. Had she not been sitting down, she would have been flicking her tail at the offending party.
"How long have you been up?" she heard a voice from behind her say.
"Don't know. What time is it?"
"Three in the morning"
"Then about four hours" she said. She was aware of a sighing behind her.
"You haven't actually gone to sleep yet, have you?"
There was a small pause as Twilight Twinkle thought of the best response to that.
"No" she eventually decided to say. She could practically feel Whisper Wind's stare on her back.
"Honey, I'm fairly certain our daughter will not disappear if you look away for more than a few seconds" he said, placing a hoof on her back, and massaging her.
She looked at the cot in front of her, and the slumbering pony within.
"I know that," she said, trying not to sound exasperated, "I just..."
She placed one of her hooves on the cot, looking around the room. Since they lived in the changeling's castle, most of the rooms did not lend themselves toward being bright or airy, but after some searching they'd managed to find a room that was on the whole more brighter and cheerful looking than most. It didn't seem to bother little Lilac, who only occasionaly twitched in her sleep.
"She's just very beautiful."
She felt Whisper lean in closer, "Like her mother. Or at least like her mother when's she's had some sleep."
She turned and jabbed him with a hoof, fighting down the urge to yawn as she did.
"Fine, fine, you win, I'll go to bed and let the guards look after her" she said, shooting a glance at the two changelings standing nearby. While the changelings didn't usually seem to get nervous, one of them did seem somewhat panicked, and saluted as she glowered at him, much to the confusion of the one standing next to him.
She followed him back to the massive bedroom, which had apparently once been the dwelling of the Changeling Queen, and it was noticable, since the room was far more opulent than anywhere else in the castle, though on 'inheriting' the residence from the mare, Whisper Wind had quickly removed almost everything he'd found in the room, refusing to inform his wife what he'd found. However, the incredibly large bed he had preserved, though even the other changelings weren't sure where it had come from.
As Twilight Twinkle lay down on the bed, reminding herself not to fall asleep on her wings, lest she suffer pins and needles again, she looked over to her husband, who was already fully asleep. She smirked, and then sat down.
Then she heard the voices.
"-an't understand how I'm supposed to remove it"
"Have you tried acid, or smooth jazz, or tempting it with delicious cake?"
"That isn't helping, Pinkie dear"
"You'd think they'd give us s-"
Twilight Twinkle shot up, looking about the room. After a few seconds Whisper Wind shifted and looked at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked. She turned to look at him, then looked around the room.
"Nothing, nothing" she said, laying back down. She was just hearing things and needed sleep, she told herself.
Though she wasn't going to stop worrying about her daughter.
*****
Twilight Sparkle frowned. She wasn't angry, and after the incident with time-travel, she wasn't afraid, but she was deeply concerned about Midday Eclipse, who had been attacked by a strange plant named the Black Mercy (which Pinkie had noted sounded like a rock band), and though Spike had asked the Princesses about this, their response had been much less than helpful, merely telling Twilight to remove the plant, though without any instructions on how to achieve such a thing.
For a moment, Twilight wondered if that was because Princess Celestia had faith that she would find a solution on her own. Or perhaps they'd just forgotten how to deal with the problem.
Speaking of problems, she was finding it hard to concentrate as everypony in the room, currently consisting of Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Trixie, Spike and Pinkie Pie, who had returned from distracting the Cutie Mark Crusaders from getting involved via means of leftover birthday cake (for the massive surprise birthday party Pinkie had planned for Midday Eclipse, which Pinkie had reluctantly postponed. Not cancelled, as Twilight had mistakenly assumed, just put on hold). Each pony was trying, in their own way, to help figure out a way to remove the plant. Unfortunately this had descended into petty bickering between Applejack, Rarity and Trixie, while Spike and Pinkie Pie were playing some card game or another on their own, while Fluttershy believed she was staying out of everypony else's way. Then something occured to Twilight Sparkle.
She'd sent Rainbow Dash to Canterlot to fetch Midday's father from Canterlot, on the grounds that he might have been able to help.
'That... might not have been the smartest choice I will ever make' she thought. She sat there for a moment, before going back to reading, assured that whatever Rainbow Dash did, it was unlikely to result in untold disaster.
'Hopefully'.
*****
Rainbow Dash soared through the air, pushing herself at speeds of incredibly fast toward the mountainside city of Canterlot. After a few minutes of flying she reached the city, and landed in a wide open plaza, and looked around, at which point she realised she didn't actually know where she was supposed to look.
She frowed, and shifted her jaw as she pondered her situation.
'Crud'. She looked about for a convinient Royal Guard she could ask, and could see none. That didn't make much sense, Canterlot was usually filled with guards, so why weren't they there at the moment, when she needed their help?
"Why are we doing this again?" Gilded Sheath asked as they stared at a massive wall with paint on it.
"To see who gets to guard the boss's wedding" the mare next to him whispered, as behind them a pony with bright green fur was catapulted out of the room.
Three seconds later, both Sheath and the mare sitting next to him were found unfit to guard Shining Armor's wedding. It would later occur to the captain of the guard that it might not have been the best idea to let Luna choose the selection process, even if she was his superior.
Rainbow Dash slammed a hoof against the ground, as she realised this would require desperation tactics, borrowed from the Book of Pinkie.
Which meant she'd go ask, or annoy, a stranger into helping her.
She confindently set off down the street, and a few moments later found a stallion with bright blue calmly looking at some flowers. She walked up to the stallion.
"Hey!" she called out. He turned around, and a part of Rainbow Dash noted that he looked really familiar, "Do you know how to find this place?" she asked, showing him the location of the house she was supposed to be looking for, which she had drawn onto her leg so she wouldn't forget.
"Yeah, I know how to find that place" the large, well-muscled stallion said, slowly. He quickly ran out a long description of how to find the place, Rainbow Dash just nodding and going 'okay' every few seconds until he was done.
She stood there, glancing about. The stallion stared at her, and then gave her a much shorter set of instructions.
"Thanks" she muttered, before setting off again. As she was halfway to her destination, she realised who the pony had been.
She'd just asked a pony she had a poster of (hidden under bed, of course) for directions.
*****
For Twilight Twinkle, the few short months of looking after Lilac seemed to pass eerily quickly, and soon the little filly was rushing about around the castle, driving the poor changelings assigned to looking after her to distraction.
And also, driving Twilight Twinkle to sleepless panic, since the foal developed a knack for getting out of her cot without using her wings, which due to her youth were barely stubs, or magic, again due to the fact that she was seven months old. However, the most she ever did was try and make her way to her parents' bed.
"How does she keep doing that?" Whisper Wind moaned as Twilight Twinkle and Lilac interacted.
"Because," Twilight Twinkle said, "She's just as clever as her parents. Even if she hasn't managed to get control over her bladder yet."
There was a small pause as the tiny foal's face scrunched up.
"I noticed" Whisper Wind sighed.
Both ponies got up from the bed to fetch the diapers, only to result in an argument over who was going to fetch them, which was fortunately solved by a changeling conviniently appearing with several.
So, as Twilight Twinkle began the arduous task of changing the diaper of an over-active little filly, the unexpected happened.
"Doo-pah" the foal squeaked. It took Twinkle a second to realise what had just happened, as she stared at the purple and grey filly, who seemed annoyed that her mother had stopped changing the soiled underwear.
"WISP!" she said, not yelling for fear of alarming Lilac, though feeling incredibly excited all the same. In a few seconds the stallion appeared, looking like he'd almost had a heart attack.
"What?" he said hurriedly.
"She spoke!" Twinkle beamed, before frowning and finding herself adding, "Well... she verbalised, but still. It counts!"
The filly just looked up at her parents, her bright blue eyes unblinking.
"Di-pah" she squeaked, sounding mildly irritated.
"Oh, yes" Twinkle blushed, as she remembered the awful stench being inflicted on her daughter "Sorry sweetie."
"You know," Whisper Wind said, "You don't need to look after her every second of every day."
"I do know that, thank you very much, dear." she turned and lifted the soiled garment away from her, "But isn't that part of the reason why you love me?"
"Well, that and your intelligence and beauty"
Twilight Twinkle smiled at him, then turned to Lilac, who was looking incredibly pleased to not be sharing her behind with soiled undergarments.
"Good answer, you smooth-talker. And better me than Shining Sapphire."
There were a few seconds where both grown ponies looked confused.
"Shining Sapphire, and me? Are you feeling alright, dear?"
Twinkle frowned, as she tried to determine why she said that.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Probably just didn't get enough sleep."
There was a small series of gurgles, before both ponies looked to where Lilac was, which was currently trying to jump onto her parent's bed.
"Honey, stop her before she trai-...Oh. Too late, I guess."
The two ponies stared at the slumbering little foal, who seemed completely unaware of the mess she'd just caused, and was quite prepared for a nap.
"Well, at least she's figuring out how to speak" Twinkle sighed, though her mirth was undercut by a slight amount of nervousness. Why had she just said what she'd said, about Shining Sapphire?
*****
Rainbow Dash looked around the street. She was fairly certain she was in the right place, if what she'd been told by Shining Armor was correct.
She'd spoken to Shining Armor, she told herself. She actually got to speak to him. She was so going to tell Rarity that when she got back. True, she wasn't the little teenager who'd been more than a little bit fond of him when she was younger, but still, she'd spoke to him, without even realising it.
She shook her head. Twilight had asked her to fetch somepony, and regardless of how she felt about Midday Eclipse, which she would have reluctantly admitted she wasn't really sure on herself, she wasn't going to leave a pony hanging, even if she was kinda freaky-weird.
She looked about, and examined the address she'd scrawled onto her leg, and then knocked on the door. For a few moments, nothing happened.
Then there was the sound of hoofsteps, and the door opened.
Rainbow Dash stared at the pony in front of her, with his dark blue fur, bright orange hair and equally orange eyes. For whatever reason, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"Yes?" he asked.
"You Midday Eclipse's old man?" she asked. For a moment he looked confused, and then nodded.
"Yes..." he said.
"Good," Rainbow Dash had been almost possibly just slightly annoyed at the fact that she might have gotten the wrong house, "'cuz she needs your help."
"Why?" he asked, "What's happened?"
"Some weird plant thing attacked her, or something, so I need you to come with me to Ponyville."
For a moment, there was an odd look Rainbow Dash didn't recognise, and then he hung his head.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot."
Rainbow Dash frowned, "And why the hay not? She's your daughter, and she's in trouble!"
"I..." he looked about, at anywhere but Rainbow Dash's Stare-level glaring, "I can't explain."
For a moment, Rainbow Dash kept staring at him. "Yeah, no, that ain't gonna fly with me, chump. And I don't care how sad you look, or how many 'oh-I-can't-explain-myself' you throw at me, I'm getting you to Ponyville even if I hafta knock you out, and carry you on my back!"
He stared at her for a moment, looking alarmed, then strangely he seemed to accept this, like it was an everyday occurance.
"Alright," he said, "If you insist."
*****
Twilight Sparkle sighed, placing another book down, having been frustrated by her lack of success with another book.
"This is getting... intolerable" she sighed.
"Well, we can't magic it off, covering it in mustard didn't work," Spike said.
"It was only a suggestion! Trixie had no idea whether you'd be mad enough to try it!"
"Play music at it didn't work" Pinkie helpfully chimed, "And I really thought Vinyl's best stuff would work."
"No matter Pinkie Pie, and I'm sure Rarity will return soon enough" Twilight said. The fashion designer had practically smashed through the wall in her haste to escape Vinyl Scratch's sample record, which hadn't been as awful as she'd been proclaiming it would be. Though Twilight would have agreed with the mare that it was really loud. She was actually slightly amazed the windows were still there.
"Anypony else got any ideas?" Applejack sighed.
"We could ask the Princesses again" Pinkie Pie said. Twilight shook her head.
"No, we can't. If they knew how to remove this plant, they'd have said so" she spoke with utter assuranty. Everypony stared at the unmoving mare in front of them.
"You know," Pinkie said quietly, "I though she was really going to enjoy her surprise party. I put a lot of effort into it. There was going to be cake, and dancing, and music and games, and punch and pinatas and pin-the-tail-on-the-pony."
There was a tiny sigh from the mare, whose mane was beginning to look deflated, "And now she's all coma-y and she'll never see the awesome party I made for her, and a party's not a party until everypony's there and enjoying themselves, especially if it's their party."
Applejack walked over to Pinkie Pie. "Ah'm sure she'll have the chance to enjoy it, Pinkie. Who doesn't love one of your parties?"
Pinkie Pie's smile returned, "That's because Pinkie Pie's parties are the best in the whole of Ponyville! And that's because of all the love baked into every single cake, because everypony should be smiling at a party, and if somepony isn't smiling, I will find out why and make a way for them to start smiling! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
Then there was a moment of quiet.
"That was... informative" Twilight Sparkle said, "But it still doesn't help us with this plant-based problem."
"We'll find a way" Pinkie Pie said, "Even if it takes us a while"
There was a sudden noise, and everypony looked around in surprise. Twilight Sparkle blushed.
"Oh, I forgot to eat. I've been so busy trying to find out about this plant... I must have forgotten to eat. Sorry everypony."
"Well then, take a lunch-break, or a snack break. We'll let you know if anything changes" Fluttershy spoke up. Applejack leapt.
"Sorry, Fluttershy. Kinda forgot you were there, you were keeping so quiet."
"Sorry, Applejack" Fluttershy said, before shuffling slightly on seeing everypony looking at her.
*****
Meanwhile, in Canterlot, as Rainbow Dash and Comet Chaser walked toward the train station (the unicorn doubted Rainbow Dash's ability to fly all the way back to Ponyville carrying a full-grown pony on her back, and was not enthusiastic when Rainbow Dash offered to prove she could), they passed by a pony. This pony was a late-night worker at the Royal Achives, and as a result frequently worked late hours, and as a result, when he saw a stallion with deep blue fur, orange hair, orange eyes and a Cutie Mark just like his, he was not sure what to make of what happened. His first thought was that he was hallucinating, though he quickly realised this wasn't the case.
In an instant, his mind was overtaken by speculation, and a curiosity he hadn't realised he had sprang to life, and he decided to follow the pony and see what happened, ignoring his family's tradition for staying at home and not bothering anypony. And as he did, a tiny part of young Comet Chaser's mind began to wonder why it had been so important his family stay hidden.
After all, he thought, one tiny little spark of curiosity never hurt anypony.
*****
Twilight Twinkle sighed, relaxing in the mildly warm sun, while in the distance her aunt and her daughter chased each other about.
"She seems to have her mother's energy" Shining Sapphire smirked.
"You don't know the half of it" Twilight Twinkle laughed, "She's only four, and yet she insists on rushing about everywhere. It's insane."
She lay back, "It's hard enough having to manage an entire country of Changelings without worrying whether or not she's about to try and fly. I'm beginning to see what I put my own mother through now."
There was a slight pause, broken only by the giggles coming from Cadance as she pretended to be wrestled to the ground by the filly.
"How is she, by the way?" Shining Sapphire asked. Twinkle shrugged.
"Good, good. She occasionaly stops by, but I think she's a bit weirded-out by the castle."
"Well, that castle is a bit weird, Twinkie."
"You should've seen it when we moved in" Twinkle said. The two mares paused for a moment before grinning.
"So..." Shining Sapphire said, adjusting her sunglasses.
"So..."
"She started talking yet?"
"Oh, she's started talking, alright," Twinkle suddenly looked alarmed, "And she's not slowing down, either. It's really scary sometimes. She's like her grandmother when she gets started. But it is really adorable."
Shining Sapphire glanced at her. "So, you'd say you're happy, then?"
Twinkle smiled, "Well... I suppose I do have everything I ever wanted. Although, I could do without the immortality, or being a princess, and the slightly creepy castle, or having to do all manner of boring, queen-y stuff. But do you know what makes every boring speech worthwile, Sapphy?"
"I think I can guess" The young mare said, as they turned to see Cadance giving Lilac a piggy-back ride.
"The fact that at the end of the day, I'm married to a wonderful stallion, and have the most brilliant daughter there will ever be waiting for me."
Shining Sapphire stared at her. "Well, you are her mother, so I suppose you're required to say mushy stuff about her. Though if I get diabetes, I'm blaming you for that."
"I didn't picture you as a cynic"
"I'm not a cynic," Shining Sapphire gasped with false outrage, "But I'm pretty sure even Pinkie Pie herself would think you're overdoing the whole sunny-and-cheerful routine."
"I'm allowed to be cheerful."
"Then dial it down before you make the Crystal Heart explode, or something."
Twilight Twinkle suddenly found herself thinking of screaming, and a feeling like something was being ripped from her.
"Twinkie? What is it?"
She looked at Shining Sapphire.
Lying on the ground, breathing shallow, smiling weakly at her.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine," she said, setting down the drink she was carrying. Lilac seemed to notice and walked over.
"Mommy? What's wrong?"
She looked down at the tiny foal, whose hairstyle usually ignored any stylists' attempts to do anything to it, just hanging in an almost Fluttershy-like fashion. She looked at the filly's innocence-filled blue eyes, and smiled.
"Nothing, sweetie. Mommy just mistimed when to breath while drinking, that's all" she realised she was breathing irregularly, and was certain she could hear voices that seemed both incredibly close and impossibly far.
"Come on, Lilac," Cadance said, "I think there might be some ice cream left somewhere in the kitchens."
The distraction worked perfectly, as no little child dared resist the allure of forbidden ice cream.
Twilight Twinkle lay down, trying to get her breathing under control. For some reason, she felt like something was weighing down on her chest.
*****
As the train pulled in to Ponyville station, Comet Chaser felt his heart beginning to beat wildly. Every step from the train station felt like he was moving through sludge, despite Rainbow Dash's impatient shoving and arguing. That was actually distracting him slightly, thinking on how different the mare seemed to the one he'd met, and yet how similar she seemed at the same time. In fact, Ponyville did look practically the same, despite the fact that it was also much smaller.
But, as the two walked through the town, toward the library, thoughts occured to the stallion, and he began to seize up. Fear gripped his very soul as he realised the very thing he'd been trying to avoid was about to come true. He was about to meet her.
"Something wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked. He looked up at her, and realised he was sweating, indeed sweating profusely.
"Just worried about my daughter, is all" he said, which was true. He was as he had been ever since the day she'd been born and had nightmares of finding an empty bed where his daughter should've been, and of course he would always been worried for her, no matter how powerful her magics were, or what she was doing, but even more alarming was the thought of a problem Twilight Sparkle couldn't solve.
He walked slowly toward the door of the library, and strange visions swirled in his mind of being led down a grimly lit corridor toward a foreboding chair, for some reason. He stopped, and remembering a technique he'd seen Twilight Sparkle use many times, took several deep breaths.
'You can do this' he told himself, 'Just remember, she is not the mare you know. Just try not to do anything stupid'
*****
Twilight sat, trying to think of anything left to think of, having shushed Spike several times already for trying to be helpful. She didn't blame the dragon for trying, but he was really distracting her from thinking, which right now was extremely critical, and then the front door opened. She prepared to yell that she was busy, when Rainbow Dash entered, looking triumphant.
"Mission accomplished, Twilight. Found her dad."
Behind her appeared a stallion who looked, actually, quite similar in many respects to the immobile mare standing nearby. He had similarly coloured fur, and the bright orange of his mane was exactly like the two stripes going through Midday's hair, and his eyes were a lighter shade of orange than his, and then there was his Cutie Mark, which featured several stars in a constellation, though she wasn't entirely certain which one it was.
And when his eyes met her, there was a sudden shift. Years seemed to melt away from his face, and he broke out a truly incredibly smile, before suddenly hugging her.
There were a few awkward seconds where nothing happened, at which point he retracted, coughing nervously.
"I... sorry. I'm sorry, but for a minute I mistook you for... somepony else" he said, blushing and coughing a lot as he did.
"Sorry" he added after a second. Twilight Sparkle just stared at him.
"Well, that's okay" Twilight said, awkwardly. She looked over to Midday. Her brain quickly shifted into gear as she prepared to explain what was happening.
"Your... daughter was attacked by a mysterious plant on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Unfortunately, since so few ponies ever dare go in there, we have no record of this plant in the library, though we did recieve a communique from Princess Celestia informing us to remove the plant, it was unusually quiet on the subject of how to do so."
The stallion looked at the motionless form of his daughter, and his jaw dropped. Then he frowned, and seemed to recognise it.
"Yes, I know what this is. It's called a Black Mercy. It's called that because it doesn't really... attack you, in a sense, it just latches on to you and makes you live out your greatest, deepest desires and fantasies, and if I know my daughter, her fantasies would be enough to feed this weed for decades," he looked around the library, and there was a sudden look in his eyes, like he was a second away from weeping, "And before you ask, I know about it because it's in a book my daughter learnt to read from. Can't remember the title, but her mother gave her it for her birthday."
He smiled slightly, "She wanted to be an explorer, and we said she couldn't until she knew what was out there. She read through every book she could get her hooves on, and her passion didn't dim for a moment"
His smile flickered, "There is only one way to get this thing off of her. She has to fight the illusion. And she's smart, she's incredibly smart. Just like her mother, actually, so stubborn sometimes," he frowned.
"I think this horrible thing probably had to throw something serious at her to keep her in its illusion."
"Like what?" Applejack asked. His expression harded.
"I shouldn't like to contemplate. I just want my daughter safe."
"So, can we help get it off of her?" Fluttershy asked. He looked at her, and considered this. Nopony mentioned it, but he almost looked like he was flinching every time somepony in the room spoke for whatever reason, though everypony but Fluttershy just assumed he was simply shy.
"Yes... at least, I think so. If you talk to her, it might help... snap her out of it."
He shook his head. "I don't know, I'm an astronomer, I don't really do this sort of thing. Just..." he looked about the room, occasionaly glancing at Spike.
"I'm not going to be much help here" he said quietly, before walking out of the library.
For a few moments nobody said anything, then Trixie spoke up.
"Am I the only one who didn't expect him to be anything like that? I'll take those odds looks as a yes, then."
Spike looked about, "I'm going to go talk to him, see if he's alright"
Twilight nodded, "Very kind of you, Spike"
*****
Twilight Twinkle hadn't been feeling herself for some months. Nopony was sure why. The finest doctors in Equestria had examined her, and found her to be completely healthy, aside from needing more sleep.
Eventually, Wisp suggested she take a visit to Ponyville, which had sounded like a good idea to both ponies, though he'd been unable to clear his schedule from all the diplomatic visits that seemed to fill his time lately.
Therefore, Twilight Twinkle and little Lilac, now a slightly over-active seven year old travelled to Ponyville to see Fluttershy. For the young princess, it was utterly strange. The Changelings lived out in the middle of a blasted wasteland, despite Twinkle and Wisp's best efforts to beautify the area. For some reason Changelings didn't seem to have much luck growing plants, despite some of them making very spirited efforts.
To the young filly, it was like the world had exploded into colour. Even the browns and greys looked brighter and more alive.
"Is everwhere like this, mom?" she asked.
"In what way?"
"So... beautiful" the filly said in awe.
"Some of it" Twilight Twinkle said, "And some of it is even better."
A smile crept across her face. "When I was your age, my mother, your grandmother, took me to see a rainforest. It was... there were really no words for it. Not any that do it full justice. Just imagine massive, massive trees, stretching on forever. And this rainforest, it was soaked in magic for whatever reason, and when moisture got caught in the air, it would just float there. You could actually stick your hoof out, and see light caught in the rain as it fell."
She looked down at her daughter, her young mind desperately trying to figure out how that worked.
"Now, Ponyville isn't quite as beautiful as a rainforest, of course, but... it has a beauty of its own. A gentle, simple beauty, that comes from the ordinary and the everyday things. It doesn't need huge amounts of magic, it doesn't need artisans or castles or massive cliffside waterfalls like Canterlot, it doesn't need a huge scenic ocean right next to it. Ponyville just is."
Lilac Velvet stared at her. "Are you feeling alright, mom?"
The mare smiled at that, then proceeded just to laugh. The filly looked confused.
"What?"
"Nothing, Lil. You were just being very sweet, is all."
"Okay..." Twinkle paused. Was her daughter being cynical, all of a sudden?
As the train ground to a halt, and the two ponies stepped out onto the platform, she was sure she could hear an odd voice speaking in her head, half-mumbling.
"And I just wanted you to know... what you said a few weeks ago... I thought about it, and thank you for saying that. I don't really know if it's true, but... you clearly do. Thank you. Nopony's ever really said something like that to me. Not in those words. So... thank you, Midday"
Twinkle rubbed the side of her head, nudging the small crown balanced on her head as she did. She felt a small hoof on her leg.
"Mommy? Are you okay?"
She looked down at the little pony, fear noticable in her bright blue eyes.
"Yes... I'm alright." she looked about. Either Fluttershy would be in her office, or looking after her animals.
"Come on" she said quietly.
*****
Spike searched Ponyville, before finding Comet Chaser sitting on a small hill just outside the town. He didn't seem to notice Spike as he approached.
"Hey," the little dragon said. He looked at Spike, and nodded.
"My daughter told me you knew about the whole... time-travel thing" he said calmly. Spike nodded.
"Guess she sees you as being like an older brother, then."
Spike nodded again. A strangely sad look passed across the pony's face.
"I think she always wanted a sibling, a sister or a brother, not sure which. I think that's why she got on so well with her cousin. They were practically sisters anyway."
He stared up at the pleasant mid-afternoon sky. "We just never had... the time, I guess. H-her mother and I. Never had the time."
He looked down at Spike. "How does she do it? How has she survived every day looking at them, and not... not gone mad."
He closed his eyes. "I look at that mare, and I can't help but see her. My Twilight. The mare I fell in love with, the mare I dated, courted. I look at her and I remember dancing, at our wedding, her tripping over her legs as we danced, despite Rarity helping to teach her how to dance 'properly'. And I can't stop myself thinking about her, and then she went and smiled exactly like my Twilight."
He paused for a moment. "Sorry, Spike. Was there something you want to say before I start whining again?"
"Well, I was kinda gonna ask you why you left, but... I think Midday- I think she doesn't like it either, but that she just keeps going, because like you said, Twilight and her, they're really stubborn when they want to be."
He looked at the middle-aged pony, a question suddenly occured to him. "You don't know Future Spike, do you?"
"No. Sorry."
Spike sighed, "I think he's a jerk, then. Not wanting to know his little sister. Sometimes, she can be annoying, but... at times, she does act so like Twilight it can actually be scary. And she's got this weird hero complex. She wants, needs to help everypony she meets. And sometimes... sometimes she just... stares at Twilight, and she doesn't look anywhere near as old as she should. And she looks... kinda lost."
Comet Chaser nodded, then something occured to him. "Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you come here to try and talk me into going back to the library?"
"Yeah. Because even if you can't look this Twilight in the face, your daughter still needs you. And if your Twilight Sparkle was here, she'd be doing everything she could to help, even if she didn't think she could do it"
"Are you trying to guilt-trip me by saying what the mare I married would do?"
"A bit."
"A bit" he repeated, "A bit. Nice try, Spike" he said, quietly, before frowning. "And you are right. She would. Which means I must."
He stood up, and turned toward the library. "Otherwise I don't deserve either of them"
*****
Twilight Twinkle had found her pace slowed, ever moreso than her energetic daughter's. Something just didn't feel entirely right with what was going on. She looked about, not sure what she was looking for. She was fairly certain she could hear distant voices.
"So we've got the job of supplying Cloudsdale with all the water for Equestria this year. Actually, I'm really hoping we break the current record for wind power, because that would be way awesome. I mean, I've already broken speed-records, and saved the world, but everypony in Ponyville breaking a world record would be way awesome.
"Rainbow Dash, ya ain't supposed to yammer on 'bout world records!"
"But he said 'talk'."
"Then let me have a go."
She suddenly found herself feeling lost, the streets of Ponyville seeming labyrinthine, and the sky seemed to be going strangely dark.
"Mom?" she heard Lilac call out, though she couldn't tell from where. She looked ahead, and started walking. The air felt entirely wrong, and her legs felt incredibly heavy.
"Mom? Mommy? Where did you go?"
*****
The door opened, and everypony turned to see Spike return with Comet Chaser, both looking steadfastly determined.
"Anything?" he asked. Twilight Sparkle shook her head.
The stallion and Spike exchanged looks.
"Um, excuse me?" Fluttershy spoke up.
"Have you tried yet, Twilight?"
The librarian looked confused.
"Me? No. Would it help?"
"Well, she's sleeping in your house, and I'm guessing she sometimes helps out around the place, correct?"
"Sometimes. But why would that-?"
"Everypony?" Fluttershy said in the background.
"Just give it a try. It can't possibly hurt."
"Twilight!" Fluttershy said, though she said it loud enough to grab the mare's attention.
"What?" Twilight, Spike and Comet Chaser asked as one (to mutual embarrassment).
"She's frowning."
Indeed, there was a noticable downward curve to her mouth and her eyes appeared tense.
"She's frowning because she's beginning to fight it" Comet Chaser smiled, rushing over to her.
"So... what should I say?" Twilight asked, feeling oddly nervous.
"Something, anything. Use that brilliant brain of yours, and think" he said, rolling his eyes.
*****
Twilight Twinkle was standing on a hill, one that offered a full view of Ponyville, the one her parents had met on, in fact. She'd began her trip there feeling incredibly cheerful, but now, there was a knot in her stomach, and she felt like the world had stopped making sense completely. Behind her she heard the sound of a child struggling to breath. She looked to see Lilac trying to make her way up the hill, her tiny little wings flapping as she went, her tidily arranged lilac hair wild and disarrayed.
"Mommy? Mommy, what's wrong? Why aren't we seeing Granma Fluttershy?"
She looked down at the small child, and winced as she tried to think of what to say.
"Lilac, dear, sweetie, I... I don't know. I just... have you ever had a feeling? This huge... no, no you wouldn't. Too young" she said weakly. She knelt down to look closely at the little filly.
"I'm sorry, I must sound like I'm losing my mind, mustn't I? Look at you, Lilac Velvet. My own creation, my little girl. You know, I honestly couldn't believe it when I first saw you, so tiny, so utterly peaceful. I could see every moment in your life, stretching out in front of me. The minute you learnt to walk, learnt to speak, your first day of school, the day you learnt to fly. And you were so beautiful, and I knew you always would be."
She looked up at the sky, which had turned an ominous grey colour.
"Mom? You're... you're scaring me" Lilac whispered, nudging her leg. "What's going on?"
Her mother looked at her, tears beginning to move down her face, and just by instinct she found herself holding the filly tightly to herself.
"I love you dear, your mother loves you, and she always has, more than anything. You know that, right?"
"Mommy?"
"I love you so much, Lil. Forever and always. But, I'm sorry. You aren't real."
Then the world went dark, and there were voices.
*****
The assembled ponies gasped as the Black Mercy fell off of Midday, before quickly being caught in both Twilight Sparkle and Comet Chaser's magic.
"Quick, Spike!" they both yelled, "BURN IT!"
The little dragon was ahead of them in that respect, incinerating the plant instantly. Whatever it survived, it couldn't handle dragon-flame.
"Look!" Fluttershy said, eagerly, "She's waking up"
Everypony looked in silence as the mare's eyes opened, and took in her surroundings. For an instant there was a look of blind terror on her face.
"She's alright!" Pinkie cheered.
Midday looked down at her hooves, and then Spike noticed she was trembling, indeed shaking madly. Her mouth hung open for a moment, and if anypony had been paying attention they would have realised that was because she was breathing in.
"Midday?" Spike asked, cautiously.
"Lilac..." she whimpered.
And then, Pinkie Pie had the misfortune of being the pony to speak first.
"Who?" she asked, in genuine confusion.
Midday's face suddenly shifted, tears beginning to move down her cheeks, and she started making odd noises.
"Sweetie," her father said, and normally she might have wondered why he was there, but not at the moment, "Just calm down, please, an-"
Then she screamed. And she kept on screaming. Fluttershy, Applejack and Trixie, by dint of being behind her, were lucky, but Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Comet Chaser and Spike were thrown against the wall by the sheer force of her scream. It was the worst sort of scream to hear, one of the purest hurt, rage and sorrow. It was the sound of somepony's heart breaking.
It continued for several seconds, in fact it continued for half a minute before she finally stopped.
There was a tiny gasp of horror from the mare, who suddenly looked several years younger, and then her horn glowed and she vanished from the room with a small 'bloink' sound.
For a few moments nopony said anything, not sure what to say.
"Where did she go?" Spike asked.
*****
Many miles away, in the exact middle of the Everfree forest laid the remains of the old castle of the Princesses, where the Elements of Harmony had been kept inert since the fall of Luna. There was an eerie silence to the place, since no animal seemed to go near the ruins, meaning all there was in the castle was dust, and some old vines.
And one collapsed royal blue pony.
Midday Eclipse, or Twilight Twinkle, sat there for several long minutes, waiting for the crying to start. It didn't come. She didn't seem to be able to cry, so she just sat there, on the verge of thinking thoughts no-one should ever think.
After a few moments, she was aware of the sound of hoof-fall. Slowly she opened her eyes, to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at her, and beyond that a charcoal grey coat.
She opened her mouth to try and say something. All she got out was "You're not real."
The pony shrugged, and finally said, "Yes. I'm not real. This just seemed like the best way to get your attention."
"My attention?" Midday hissed.
"Yes. You see, 'mom'... I am actually your mind trying to warn the rest of you."
"Warn me? Warn me of what?"
The pony, who in fact looked like a full-grown mare looked about.
"Well, in case it's not honestly clear, you are in a bad place, and... I know you're hurt, and angry, but... it's not about to get any better, I'm afraid."
"Do tell."
"I know, you feel like your heart's been ripped from you, but... there's a bigger problem."
"What?"
Me.
Midday's eyes went wide, and the illusion of Lilac Velvet vanished. "I know that voice. But it can't be..."
Oh, but it really can, Twinkie-winkie. And it is.
"It can't... Sapphy destroyed you. She destroyed you."
"Well, Twilight Twinkle, let's run through everything in chronological order. Let's see, you thought your late, lamented cousin destroyed me using that trick with the Crystal Heart, right? Wrong. That just really, really hurt. After all, it wasn't exactly the Elements of Harmony. So I decided to hide, deep in the corners of your mind while I recovered."
There was a strange noise, and Midday realised she was chuckling.
"Now, if your idiot cousin had zapped me with the Elements of Harmony? That would have done it, but... alas. And then you went and ended up in the past, which, by the way? Not my fault, but OH WOW, has it really helped."
There was a pause, "Now then, you remember after that little accident with the memory potion, that idiot with the bad clothing came along? And then later on he said bits of his mind ended up in yours? That was me. Ooohh, the self-loathing that 'pony' had, so delicious. Such knowledge, as well. Shame I didn't get through all of it, but alas."
Midday frowned, trying to stand, but for some reason her legs didn't work.
"Now, you can't go blaming all your problems on me, Midden, because actually? Most of those were just you. I was still asleep. But the whole thing about forgetting your daddy-dearest? That was me, I did that, to fuel your despair. After all, I'm a Nightmare. Misery and terror are my food and drink, strife the air I breath, and ill-will my life's blood."
There was another pause.
"Where was I? Oh yes, now then, that whole 'walk about town in the middle of the night' stuff? Me, again. And forgetting the BM? Me, also. And look at you now. Too miserable to even think a coherant sentence. I doubt you could even summon a snowflake right now. And also? Teleporting to the place where Nightmare Moon was born and eventually died? Really stupid, girl."
Midday was still trying to get to her hooves.
"And now we come to the best bit of my little monologue. Those legs you're trying to use? Yeah. That ain't gonna happen. You see, I'm about to go back to Ponyville, and because of stupid Cadenza's daughter zapping me, I'm gonna kill someone you care about. Maybe that stupid chubby dragon, or that annoying apple-farmer you've been getting on with so much. Or maybe just everypony I find. Yeah, that sounds good. That'd make you feel guilty, right? Because you always do. And by the way, just as a point of curiosity, you know why you've not been able to break the spell that made you four years older than you should be? That would be because of me. I've been in you since at least a bit before then. Isn't that interesting?"
There was a sound like a giggle.
'Yeah, you aren't going to be killing anypony. I've been planning since you took over me all those months ago. You won't be going anywhere.'
There was a pause, in which Midday was fairly certain she could practically feel the etheral facehoof.
"Oh, Twinkie, Twinkie, Twinkie, do you really, honestly think I'd just explain all this stuff if I really, honestly thought there was the slightest possible chance you could do anything to stop me?"
Midday suddenly felt a strange tingling sensation, and realised her mouth was moving while she wasn't speaking.
"I've been in control of this pathetic sack of meat you call a body since the plant sunk its meat-hooks into you. You are trapped in my head, trying to speak with my mouth, trying to cast with my magic. And here's the kicker: I'm about to cast a spell that's about to evict your whiny little mind from your body"
Her horn glowed, and there was a strange noise, like a faint and distant scream. Then, Midday's body stood up, smiling, and spoke with a radically different voice.
"Goodbye, Twilight Twinkle. Hello again, Nightmare Eclipse."
She looked down at her hooves, and frowned.
"Something just doesn't feel right though." She smirked, and then her horn glowed. In an instant her body warped and shifted and stretched, until her fur was pitch-dark, the orange in her hair darker, her eyes glowing and slitted, and the sun on her stolen Cutie Mark blood-red over a scorched moon.
"Ah, so much better. Except... something is still missing."
She frowned, and tore a chunk of rock out of a wall, her horn blasting it until it turned into a obsidian crown, which she examined.
"Yes, this will do" she said, before placing it on her head.
"And now, to Ponyville."