A Matter of Perspective

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Prompt
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 5

Chapter 1 - Prompt

A Matter of Perspective

“No!” Dr. Negative cried, scrambling backwards on the ground as his own groaning servants began to swarm him. He managed to get a short distance across the courtyard before he backed into a wall. “What have you done? Wha-what have you done?” He fumbled through his satchel and seized a small vial with his hoof. His triumphant cheer was cut short though, as the vial was knocked out of his grasp and crushed beneath the hoard of drugged ponies. Frantically, he reached for his bag again, only to find it trampled beneath the hooves of a large red stallion; multicolored fluids coated the ground around it.

“No!”

“It's no use, Doctor,” Daring Do called out as she watched the physician's struggle from her perch on the balcony above. “You did this to yourself.” She hopped off the railing and started for the door, walking past a fedora-wearing Earth pony.

“You're just going to leave him?” he asked, following her back into the manor. “Seems a little cold for you, Do...”

Daring paused as the door shut, canceling out the screams of agony now echoing about the place. Her gaze fell to the floor with her wings.“It's not like he doesn't deserve whatever happens to him down there.” She shuddered. “Brainwashing ponies like that... It's... It's just wrong.”

When no response came, Daring's eyes shot up. She could handle danger; give her a crazed doctor with way too many drugs or an ancient temple filled with traps and she couldn't care any less—but him? She needed him. If she upset him—scared him off or ignited his righteous fury—she'd never forgive herself. A quivering desperation seeping into her tone, Daring asked, “You... You don't think I'm a horrible pony for this, do you?”

A brown hoof settled on her shoulder as Manehatten Silver looked her straight in her watery eyes. “No,” he said softly, pulling her into his embrace. “Negative's the monster here, not you.”

Daring choked back a sob as she nuzzled deeper into Silver's chest. “Wh-when he had you—back at the lab... You... a-and the syringe... When you... When you...” Her words failed her and turned into incomprehensible sobs. Gently, a hoof patted her back. Soft words were whispered into her ears, causing her to only hold on tighter to the stallion she'd so nearly lost.

“I was so scared,” she whimpered. Her whole body trembled in his forelegs, but he only held her tighter. “I wanted to kill him—I wanted to rip his throat out and stomp it into the dirt! I-I—”

“Shh,” Silver whispered, running a hoof down the pegasus's gray-scaled mane. “It's over now,” he said. “It's all over.”

“All I could think about was that night in Fillydelphia,” Daring continued, “And how stupid I was for walking out and... I'm so sorry...”

Biting his lip, Silver shifted his weight and looked away from his long-time friend and rival adventurer. “Look, Dare, you don't have to—“ A tan hoof interrupted him and jarred his face down towards Daring Do's. Her eyes shone like rubies in the dim light of the hall.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” she whispered, pulling him closer. Her wings flared as their lips furiously collided in a passionate—

“What?” Rainbow Dash cried indignantly, raising her hooves in the air. She glared at the book before her with furious distaste. “That's... that's...”

“So sweet,” Twilight sighed dreamily. She closed her eyes and smiled, her tail lightly sweeping across the wooden floor of the library. “Don't you think so, Rainbow?”

“So stupid!” the pegasus finished, batting the novel aside. It flew across the room and smacked the wall with a ruffled thud. Paying no mind to Twilight's irritated stare, Rainbow began pacing around the room. “What about Rosetta?” she growled, flapping her wings furiously. She glared out the window at the sunset.

“What about her?” Twilight asked as she picked up her new copy of Daring Do and the Devious Doctor Negative and carefully placed it back on her personal bookshelf. “She's still back at the college, right?”

Dash huffed and blew a stray bit of her mane out of her face. “So?”

“So...” Twilight rolled her hoof in the air, gesturing for her friend to explain further. When Rainbow didn't turn around, she sighed and continued: “What's the problem?”

“Everything!” Rainbow roared, spinning around. Twilight stumbled back in surprise as Dash's hooves slammed into the floor and shook the picture frames on the walls. Nostrils flared, she began prowling around the room, circling Twilight like a hungry lioness. “How can Daring just... Why would she...”

Twilight's brow furrowed. “Rainbow?” she said slowly, watching Rainbow curse and kick another book into a wall. “Are you okay?”

“No!” the pegasus yelled, bringing her hoof to her forehead. “Yes!” She growled at the floor as Twilight stood up and stepped closer. “Ugh! I don't know! I don't get it!”

“What don't you understand?”

“She kissed him!” Dash spat; just saying the words left a bad taste in her mouth. “I can't believe it!”

Frowning, Twilight gave her friend a curious look. “What's wrong with that? I think it's a very sweet conclusion to the story.”

“But what about Rosetta?”

Twilight brought a hoof to her head and rubbed her temple. “I don't think I understand where you're going with this, Rainbow,” she groaned. “What do you mean?”

Dash rolled her eyes. “I mean that Daring totally belongs with Rosetta—not stinkin' Silver!”

Jerking her head back, Twilight's curious expression quickly switched from bemused to amused. An eyebrow raised as Twilight shook her head. “What?” she snorted. “You're joking, right?”

Rainbow's face hardened. Her wings ruffled. “No,” she said. “I'm not.”

“But there's been no evidence that Rosetta and Daring feel anything more than platonic friendship at all, Rainbow,” Twilight giggled despite Rainbow's steadily growing scowl. “Not a single scrap in the whole series.”

Dash's eyes drifted down to the floor and cursed silently. Without thinking, her gaze shot back to her friend and she protested, “They got milkshakes in the beginning of the book!”

“Oh,” she said, smirking, “Then it must be true love!”

“It was a date!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “And that's way better than some stupid kiss!”

“It was not a date!” Twilight countered, “Daring Do has never gone to her for more than advice or to hang out!”

“That's not dating?” Dash huffed, glaring at Twilight. “Daring's totally crazy for her!”

“Just because somepony gets a milkshake with somepony else doesn't mean that they're romantically involved, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, a hint of annoyance seeping into her tone. “How many times have we gotten milkshakes on reading days?”

Dash's wings flared and her ears slicked back behind her head as she turned to the side; the setting sun peered through the window and lit her face, coloring it red. Her cheeks felt warm. “I-it wasn't about the milkshakes, Twi...” she mumbled to the floor. “I mean, I could totally see that... that they were happy together...”

Twilight shook her head. “Rainbow, I'm sorry. I don't know how you got the idea that Rosetta and Daring love each other—let alone the fact that they are both homosexual—but it just isn't there.”

Rainbow's eyes never rose from the floor. There was a crack traversing the length of one of the boards on the far side of the room, she followed it across the floor to Twilight's hooves. “But... but it has to be...” she whispered so low that Twilight didn't manage to catch it. “Daring... Daring totally loves her...”

“Besides,” the unicorn added, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Daring and Rosetta would make for a very strange couple—don't you think so, Rainbow Dash? I mean, Rosetta's a professor at Canterlot University—it'd be awful hard for somepony as adventurous and free-spirited as Daring Do to stick around and be in a real relationship with her.”

Dash jumped to her hooves, her hackles raised. “She could do it if she wanted to!”

Twilight raised her hooves. “I'm not saying that she couldn't,” she reasoned calmly. A scroll on a shelf on the far side of the room lit up in a purple light. It floated over to the duo and presented itself to Twilight, who opened it. An illustration of a unicorn wearing glasses and a lab coat adored the back. “And I guess I don't see any major flaws in their dynamic...”

Rainbow's face lit up for a ghost of a second and she looked at the floor once more. “See? All you need to do is look at it from a different perspective! How can that be so hard for an egghead like you?"

“But, there's still the complete lack of anything beyond friendship exhibited in their actions, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, setting the scroll down on her desk. “Just because they get along doesn't mean that they'd make a good romantic couple. Daring Do has been known to have a soft spot for Manehatten Silver—she is obviously in love with him if she asked him to kiss her.”

Dash’s smile faltered. Her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to say something, but before she’d even started to speak, the door to Twilight’s bedroom burst open and a little purple dragon crashed through. He fell to his knees, huffing and puffing as he tried to catch his breath.

“Spike?” Twilight cried out in surprise. The dragon continued to wheeze, but looked up at her when he heard his name called.

“Twilight!” he gasped, clutching his chest. His eyes were wide with panic. “She... they... help! It’s horrible!”

Author's Note

**This is the prompt for this TwiDash Abandoned Fic challenge. Only one modification has been made to its original form.**

What follows from this point forward is my first attempt at writing a piece of fiction. Ever. I literally finished this with less than 20 minutes to go to the submission deadline, so it has very little in the way of formal editing or proofreading. I realized in the upload process that the uploader removed italics, but I did not have time to fix it. Please accept my apologies. As you can tell, I'm about as green as a noob can get, at least when it comes to writing things that aren't editorials and internet rants. So, if the rest of this turns into a trainwreck, at least you've been warned.

I'm fully expecting my first story to fall quite a bit short. IMO, your first attempt at nearly anything is going to be fairly bad, and writing is likely no exception to that rule. I welcome and encourage any and all feedback from you, the reader. If you liked something about the story, tell me, and if you thought it sucked, tell me that too. After all, this is the internet - a thick skin is required.

All that I ask is this: If you thought this was bad, horrible, or all of the above, please try and leave a tip or two to help me improve. The FimFic world has opened up a creative side of me that I've never had a chance to explore, and while I may yet fail in the long run, I'd like to say I at least gave an honest go of it.

Thanks for reading!
-GMP

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"What do you mean, 'mindless ponies'? Are you sure you didn't hit your head, Spike?" Twilight gave her Number One Assistant a look that was both alarmed and confused. The young dragon had occasionally pranked her with tales of horror that turned out to be nothing at all, but his panicked entry into her bedroom belied a seriousness about the current situation - whatever it was.

While Spike was finishing a valiant attempt at catching his breath, Rainbow Dash came to rest next to Twilight, the small amount of air disturbed by her wings the only sign that she had moved at all. Rainbow leaned down towards Spike, offering an equally confused look that at any other time, would have garnered a small chuckle from Twilight. "Are you sure you're ok?" asked Rainbow. "This had better be a good prank, if that's what you're planning. And, since you didn't ask me to help, it better be the best one ever."

"No! This is no prank!" Spike exclaimed. Gathering what little strength had returned from his recent sprint, he stood up, and calmed his voice as much as he could. "I swear on Celestia, this is not a prank. The train station is swarming with zombie ponies! We've got to go help them!"

The two mares looked at each other for a second, neither of them sure how to respond. Twilight was the first to break the already pregnant silence. "And you're sure they all came from Canterlot? On the same train?"

"Yes!", he said. "The Noon train from Canterlot arrived, but when the train stopped, nopony got off. The station manager went to investigate, but came running out of the train seconds later, and hid in his office."

"Well, if these ponies have no brains or whatever, and the station manager was spooked, how in the hay did they get off of the train?", asked Rainbow, her wings twitching a bit in a sign of her impatience with the situation. For the athletic pegasus, the only thing that could be as bad as not flying was waiting for an explanation. She was about to make a turn for the door, when a purple hoof landed on her shoulder.

"Hold on a second, Rainbow. Nopony's going anywhere until Spike finishes telling us what he saw. Whatever happened on that train could still be out there, and it could be dangerous. If it's as bad as Spike says, we need to know what we're dealing with first".

Rainbow turned back slightly, training her eyes to focus on the purple unicorn to her right. Twilight's right, she thought to herself. It's always like her to make a plan first to keep both of us safe, and somehow, it always works in the end. Just like Rosetta's plans always help Daring escape every trap and find every treasure. Yes, just like Rosetta. As her mind finished the thought, Rainbow could not help but focus her eyes just a bit tighter, and for a brief second, the unicorn next to her was different. Her purple eyes now framed by the thin gold frames of reading glasses, and her upper body covered in a gleaming white labcoat.

Refocusing her gaze, she saw Twilight looking back at her, the unicorn's neutral looking stare betraying a mind that was undoubtedly hard at work trying to decipher the somehow distant look in Rainbow's own eyes. Her mental diversion was interrupted as quickly as it had begun though, as Spike jumped between the two mares.

"Hey, are either of you listening?! As Twilight said, I need to finish my explanation!" The dragon let out a decidedly exasperated sigh, and both ponies turned back to him, slightly apologetic looks creasing both of their faces. "That's just it! they're still on the train, and nopony can get them to move!" The expressions on the two ponies faces grew more pensive as Spike continued. "They won't respond to anypony. They just stare straight ahead, with blank looks on their faces. It's like they've been reset, or something!"
Twilight's brain was already running wild, sprinting through the dozens of books she had read on the natural (and sometimes unnatural) phenomenon of Equestria's past, searching in vain for an easy explanation for all of this. Finding none, she turned to Rainbow and Dash with a very worried look. "Whatever this is, it's probably not a natural occurrence. Nothing in my studies indicates a natural phenomenon that could 'reset' a train full of ponies. Some kind of magic is at play here, and we need to find out what it is."

Her brain stuck on the phrase, 'need to find out', Dash leapt off of her hooves and bolted out of the bedroom, gliding down to the main floor of the library. Alighting near the front door, she looked back up the stairs to the second level. "Come on! The faster we leave, the faster we can find out what the hay is going on!"

"Hold your feathers, Dash, I'm coming!", Twilight's words accompanied by the rush of her hooves running down the curved staircase. Still in stride, her horn was already aglow, grabbing a short stack of books related to advanced magic theory from various bookshelves and sliding them neatly into her pair of saddlebags. Topping it off with a notebook and the required quill and ink, she slowed to a halt next to the blue pegasus, who was coiled next to the door like a timberwolf preparing to strike.

"Ok, let's g--" Her remaining words were lost in the wind, as Rainbow leapt through the door as soon as Twilight's magic pulled it open enough to allow the pegasus to squeeze through. Looking back at Spike, she adjusted her saddle bags and sprinted out the door, towards the train station. Towards what though, she had no idea.

Twilight was no athlete like Rainbow Dash, but she kept herself in shape with regular exercise, and a diet that she learned from one of the many books in the Health and Wellpony section of the library. Her efforts in that regard paid off at the moment, as she was able to stay within shouting distance of the cyan blur that streaked through the streets of Ponyville ahead of her.

Her hooves clapping loudly through the streets, Twilight was a bit of a blur herself as she blew by the few ponies in the town square at the time. Thankfully, she knew the way to the train station by heart, so as she ran, she could devote more of her brain power to sifting through the hundreds of magical spells and counterspells contained in the books that she brought from the library.

Rounding the next corner towards the station, Twilight's mind was mentally drilling through one of Starswirl the Bearded's many treatise on the psychology of magic. Yet, another, smaller corner of her mind was doing a different type of drilling, focusing on the scene that had played out in her bedroom just minutes earlier. In a near endless loop, her mind replayed the animated conversation with Rainbow, parsing and reparsing the mare's passionate insistence that her Daring Do books told a different story than the one printed on the page.

As the front of her mind discarded Starswirl's treatise for a similar work by another of Equestria's masters of magic, the back of Twilight's mind continued chewing on Rainbow's words, and her own exasperated responses to her seemingly delusional friend. Focusing on the moments before Spike's entrance cut their spirited debate short, Twilight made special note of Rainbow's last words on the subject - 'It's a matter of perspective'.

Darting out of another alley, Twilight looked briefly up ahead to see Rainbow still a bit ahead of her, and the train station growing nearer by the second across the now open field that surrounded the station. Her mind sped up in tune with her hooves, focusing intently on what Rainbow's last words may have meant. Just how does Rainbow see these books?, she thought. It's like she's seeing the book through her own prism, and she's let it cloud her view of the world outside of the boo...."

Twilight's eyes froze momentarily, her mind trying to grasp whatever tenuous connection it was trying to make. Forgetting that she was still running at full tilt, she closed her eyes, willing her mind to give more attention to the corner of her brain that was struggling to be heard.

Before she could think any further, her mental and physical sprints were interrupted by a wall.

She let out a yelp as she tumbled forward, her saddlebags barely staying attached to her frame. Snapping her eyes open to get her bearings, she noticed that the wall that she ran into was made of feathers - and also happened to be a familiar shade of blue.

Raising her face a bit, she found herself nearly muzzle to muzzle with Rainbow Dash, the pegasus's wings wrapped around her in a protective embrace, and her hooves staggered as if she had just caught a runaway boulder in her grasp.

"You know, running with your eyes closed isn't really a good idea."

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention, I guess", came Twilight's shaky reply, her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I guess I got distracted."

Rainbow let out a brief snort, and gave the bookish unicorn a small smirk. "I'd say so. If not for me, you'd have run past the train station entirely, and with the speed you were carrying, you'd be halfway to Sweet Apple Acres by now!"

"I'm sorry! I just got distracted is all.", replied a suddenly defensive Twilight. "Too many spells running through my head right now, I think. The station is right over there, so let's get going."

Unfurling her wings, Rainbow set the unicorn back on her hooves, which were still a bit shaky after their run was cut unceremoniously short. Twilight adjusted her saddlebags and turned immediately for the station platform, this time at a more measured canter. A few steps in, she stopped and turned back to Rainbow.

"Thanks for catching me, Rainbow. I'm sorry I nearly ran you over."

"Nah, don't sweat it!", replied the pegasus. "Good teams are always there for each other. How else do you think Daring and Rosetta make it out of every possible trap?"

Twilight started to open her mouth to ask Rainbow to hold the Daring Do debate until later, but her voice fell silent, her mind already whisking Rainbow's words away into that same small corner from before. Twilight mused internally, frustrated by her mind's apparent willingness to tackle side projects when there was a crisis ahoof. Shaking her head to clear out the distraction, she again turned towards the station, the chromatic pegasus right next to her.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ponyville wasn't a huge town, so when something bad happened, news traveled faster than a letter sent via dragonfire. Sure enough, most of the resident ponies had gathered near the train station to see what the fuss was about. The small knot in Twilight's stomach from her collision with Rainbow Dash seemed to grow inside of her with each step through the crowd, their worried faces and tense voices doing nothing to calm her suddenly jittery nerves. Pushing their way through the last of the crowd, the pair were greeted by their closest friends, and fellow bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

Pinkie Pie was the first to speak, though gone was her normally perky, bubbly attitude. "Thank Celestia you two are here! I don't have a daisy's idea what happened to these ponies, but they're in super-duper bad shape!" Her eyes widening as she spoke, the normally cheery Earth pony continued. "I tried everything - jokes, songs, dances, you name it! I even fired the party cannon right at them, and they didn't even budge!!" Slouching down to her haunches, Pinkie just stared at the ground, still in disbelief that anypony could sit still through her party cannon routine without moving even an inch.

Knowing an emotional breakdown when she saw one, Rarity quickly moved to Pinkie, wrapping a reassuring foreleg around the earth pony's shoulders. "You know it's not your fault, darling! You simply can't blame yourself like this! Not when the other ponies here need you!"

Mustering most of her strength, Pinkie offered the fashionista the best smile that she could give at the moment. Satisfied that Pinkie was at least not going off the deep end at this instant, she turned to face her most recently arrived friends.

"Girls, I don't know what is going on here either, but none of us can get anything from these ponies. We all went up and down the train dozens of times, trying to get anypony to do anything! But, they're as motionless as the mannequins in my boutique!"

"And pretty darn numb too!", said Applejack, the orange farm pony raising her voice to speak. "Why, I even gave one of 'em a gentle buck in the shoulder, and all that darn pony did was flop on the ground like a seedling in a windstorm!"

Twilight stood still as Applejack spoke, her mind processing the new information as fast as it could. Hearing the farmer recount her 'gentle' bucking of another pony, Twilight made a mental note to find out exactly who she had bucked, and check on them later. She wasn't totally sure that Applejack's version of 'gentle' was really gentle at all.

Shaking her head as she tilted her ever-present Stetson hat back, Applejack continued. "In all my years in Ponyville, I ain't seen nothing like this before. But that ain't even the worst of it. Fluttershy, tell Twilight and Rainbow what you saw."

All eyes now turned to her, the primrose pegasus tried her best to tamp down the fear that was running through her veins. Keeping her face half hidden by her long pink mane, Fluttershy raised her voice as loud as her body would allow.

"I...I tried to speak to the ponies on the train, but nopony responded at all. I tried to treat them the same way I treat my woodland creatures, but they said nothing. Finally, I...oh this was a horrible thing to do...I shouldn't have done it." Her voice breaking as she recalled her actions on the train, she finished her thought. "I gave one of them....I gave them the stare!"

"None of it worked? Not even the stare?!", exclaimed Rainbow Dash, her wings briefly sweeping up to further emphasize her point. Snapping around on her hindlegs, she turned back to Twilight. "Well, Twi, what do we do now?! We can't just stand here all day! I saw we go to Canterlot right now!"

Holding up a hoof, Twilight gave the fidgety pegasus a stern but serious look. "No, you're not going anywhere, Rainbow. None of us are going anywhere until we find out exactly what happened to these ponies. We need to know what we're dealing with if we hope to get these ponies back to normal."

It took nearly all of her will power, but Dash managed to keep her hooves on the ground, instead settling back on her haunches, ears pinned slightly back. Distraught at the scene before her, Rarity spoke up next: "Darling, we can't get a word out of the ponies on the train, and certainly nopony at the station has a clue what is wrong with them. I just don't think there is anypony else here who can help us."

"Mhm...", was Twilight's only response, as she hunched over a nearby bench, quickly writing down most of what her friends had just described. The quill danced across the papers as fast as her magic could take it, recording notes and observations as fast as her mind could spit them out. Twilight's eyes darted up from her writing for mere seconds at a time, as she regarded each of her friends while she wrote down her notes. Notating the now likely need to journey to Canterlot, the unicorn flicked her eyes up one more time to land on Rainbow Dash. Her breath momentarily hitched in her throat as she looked right into the same distant, yet intense stare that she had just seen in her library.

That small corner of her mind jumped at the chance to trample her concentration, forcing her to spend just a few more seconds trying to read the pair of magenta eyes that seemed to be looking past her and through her at the same time. A sudden movement snapped Twilight back to reality, as Rainbow quickly turned her face down and away from the unicorn, putting on her best attempt at a poker face. Twilight jerked her head back down to finish the last of her notes, cursing herself inside for staring like an idiot. Dipping the quill for one last spot of ink, she scribbled a final note on the bottom of the paper: 'RD - perspective?'.

Standing up and quickly filing the notes into her saddlebags, she turned to her friends. "Well, there is one pony that we haven't seen yet - the train conductor. Unless Canterlot trains now run on remote control, then there is at least one pony on this train that we can talk to." The six ponies exchanged nods of agreement, and moved towards the still full train.

Boarding a few cars back of the engine, the six shuffled into single file, marching quickly towards the front of the train, and hopefully, some answers. The silence on the train was palpable, its effect bringing a slight chill to Twilight as she led the six ponies through the train cars toward the engine room. Just as her friends had described, the seats were all full, but none of the ponies so much as blinked as they passed by. Moving to the last regular train car, she noticed the stallion that Applejack must have 'gently' bucked in an attempt to get him to respond. The light brown pony was still lying in a heap on the floor, his legs splayed out like a foal's rag doll, and his eyes as blank and listless as anything she had ever seen.

Reaching the door to the engine room, Twilight knocked on the door, the clanking sound that her hoof made against the door echoing back through the still silent train. She then tried the door handle, but found it locked.

"Well, it looks like nopony is here. May...maybe the conductor ran away too.", said Fluttershy, who was huddled as close to the other ponies as she could without tackling one of them. "Perhaps it's best if we just go."

"No.", replied Twilight. "Somepony is in there, and he's the only one who can even try to tell us what happened here. If he won't let us in, we'll just have to let ourselves in."

Focusing her mind, Twilight's horn began to glow, bathing her face in its customary magenta glow as her magic coalesced at the tip of her horn. Closing her eyes to concentrate, a small tendril of magic leapt from her horn towards the key hole just below the door knob. Imagining the lock mechanism in her mind, her magic deftly gripped the locking pin, twisting it out of the way. With a short click, the lock disengaged, and the door to the engine room slid open in front of them.

As she expected, there was the conductor, sitting in his chair, staring ahead out of the windows. Waving a foreleg in front of her, Twilight motioned for the group to move forward into the engine room. They quickly closed the short distance between them and the conductor, the clacking of their hooves on the metal floor the only sound in the tiny compartment. Twilight was about to tap on the conductor's chair when it suddenly swung around, bringing the conductor face to face with the unicorn and her friends.

"Can I help you ponies?", said the conductor, his voice oddly cold and vacant.

"Yes! You can tell us what happened to this train!", exclaimed Twilight.

"Why, whatever do you mean?", asked the conductor, his voice growing more and more of an edge with every word.

"This is ridiculous!!", screamed Rainbow Dash. Jumping in the air, she darted forward, stopping inches from the conductor's muzzle. "This entire train is full of mindless ponies who can't even blink, much less talk, and you have no idea what could have happened along the way?! Cut the horse apples, and tell us the truth!"

Casting a cold, dark glare on the pegasus, the conductor began to shimmer in front of the group, as if he were a fading mirage. "Well, when you put it that way...". Before anypony could respond, the conductor's visage was consumed in a flash of bright blue flame, his body replaced by a ragged black creature with insect-like wings and black, pock-marked skin. As the flames reached its head, two jagged fangs emerged from its mouth, and the once cold brown eyes morphed into opaque blue orbs, their intentions nothing but evil.

The six ponies let out a collective gasp. "It's a Changeling!!", yelled Rarity.

Twilight lit her horn to attack, as Applejack and Rainbow Dash reared up for their own strikes. Before they could act though, the now fully revealed Changeling erected a magic field in front of itself, blocking the ponies from advancing further. Testing the barrier, Twilight fired a bolt of magic at the shield, only to have it absorbed completely by the green wall of energy. Rainbow and Applejack fared no better, their physical assaults doing nothing to the impenetrable barrier.

Her frustration near its limits, Twilight turned to face the Changeling, who was laughing derisively at them. "Silly ponies! Did you really think it would be that easy?! This train is a special delivery from Queen Chrysalis herself, and is but a small taste of what awaits you and your friends in Canterlot!"

Flying up to within a whisker of the barrier, Rainbow leveled herself with a pair of soulless blue orbs. "What did you do to these ponies?! Why can't they talk?! Why can't they move?!"

Letting out an ear splitting cackle, the Changeling responded. "These ponies are the first fruits of our Queen's labor. Soon, we will fill the streets of Canterlot with ponies just like these, and then all of Equestria!! Say goodbye to your precious land of love and harmony ponies, for it is at its end!!"

In a flash of blue light, the Changeling vanished from their midst, leaving nothing behind in its wake except for a now even heavier silence.

"I can't believe the Changelings are back!", a bit of fear having crept into Applejack's voice. The six ponies stood back on the train platform, their minds rattled from what they had just witnessed. Chrysalis and her minions were back, and from the looks of things, they were creating more ponies like the ones still on the train every minute.

"Yeah, I thought we had seen the last of Queen Meany Mcmeanypants!", added Pinkie Pie, her light-hearted nature still partially weighed down with worry. Twilight did not really hear her friends as they talked, as she again ripped through her books, looking for something - anything that could be of use.

"Planting her hoof on her forehead, Twilight let out a growl of pure anxiety. "For the love of Celestia, there has got to be a useful spell somewhere in here!"

Celestia. A sudden realization hit the unicorn like a brick, sending her mind into a near frenzy. "Oh no, what about Celestia? and Luna? We have to stop them from returning to Canterlot!!"

"What in the hay do you mean, Twi?", asked Rainbow Dash. "What about the Princesses?"

"No time to explain!", yelled Twilight. Just get to the library and bring Spike! I need to send the Princesses a warning right away! If they return to Canterlot before realizing that the Changelings are back---"

"We already know, Twilight."

The booming voice that carried those words nearly made the unicorn jump out of her fur. Whirling around, she saw the twin Goddesses of Equestria, Luna and Celestia, approaching the group. Pure instinct lowered her front half in a hasty bow, though her jaw was still stuck on the ground beneath her in a state of pure shock. The other five ponies quickly followed suit, trying to mask their own wide-eyed looks with some resemblance of decorum.

Rising to her hooves, Twilight looked up at the two Princesses, their stature as regal and perfect as she had come to expect. Celestia stood to her sister's left, her taller stature allowing her shimmering mane to flow over and behind the Princess of the Night. Twilight had seen them stand in just this order many times before, but the angle of the mid-afternoon sun cast a glimmering light through both of their manes, creating an aurora of pastels and darker hues around them.

The Sun princess lowered her head to speak, her voice as warm and soothing as ever: "Twilight, my most faithful student. It is so good to see that you and your friends are unharmed." Allowing a hint of a smile to cross her face, she added, "I am sorry if our sudden arrival scared you. I forgot to remind my sister that the Royal Canterlot voice was not needed for this occasion".

"You did ask that I make our presence known, did you not?", replied Luna, her question clearly laced with a bit of sisterly needling.

Flashing a slight smirk for her sister, Celestia turned back to Twilight and her assembled friends. "We'll discuss this later, sister. Right now, though, I think we owe Twilight and her friends some answers."

Her eyes growing wide, Twilight asked, "With all due respect, we need all the answers we can get. How did you know about the Changelings return? I thought you both were attending a diplomatic conference in Manehattan?"

"Yes, we were.", replied Celestia. "One of the Royal Guards managed to send a message via dragon fire to warn us. The Changelings attacked before the guards began their morning drills, catching them with their guard down. We have not heard from Silver Arrow since, so we can only assume that he too was captured by the Changelings."

Stepping forward, Luna spoke up, her voice more measured this time: "We anticipated that Chrysalis would want to send a message to try and deter us from acting. Because the Elements of Harmony are here with you, directing the message to Ponyville was the most logical choice."

Listening intently to the two Princesses, Twilight had not noticed her friends close ranks behind her. The next voice she heard had a distinct farmer's drawl to it.

"Beggin' your pardon, Princess, but if the message was a train full of messed up ponies, I don't think we quite get it. How can we get the message if nopony can talk to us?"

"Silencing the voice is just the first step in their plan.", replied the Sun Princess, her voice taking on a more serious edge. "A silent pony cannot speak out when their mind is silenced as well, and a silenced mind is exactly what Chrysalis wants."

"That creepy Changeling on the train did mention something about building an army.", added Rainbow, reflexively shaking her head to try and clear the picture from her mind.

"Wait a second - they want to create an army of SILENT ponies?!", cried Pinkie Pie, her whole body shuddering at the mere thought of a town full of voiceless, ponies.

Tapping a hoof on the ground while she thought, Twilight asked to nopony in particular, "Indeed, Pinkie. But, what could you do with an army of silent ponies?" The words had no sooner left her mouth when it finally hit her. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she recalled the one other time she had seen a truly silent pony - when her brother was under the Queen's spell before his nearly ruined wedding to Princess Cadence. The image of her brother's unnatural green eyes and haunted visage were burned into her memory, and at the moment, they were as fresh and raw in her mind as they had ever been.

She turned to her friends, her face showing nothing but pure dread: "They want to build an army of silent ponies under their control! Just like my brother at his wedding! Chrysalis wants to silence everyponys' minds, so she can replace them with one of her own design!"

"You are correct, Twilight.", replied Celestia, her still melodic voice betraying none of the worry that Twilight could see in her mentor and teacher's eyes. "I feared that Chrysalis would try again, but I did not think it would be so soon, or so brazen of an attempt."

"I...I just don't understand.", replied Twilight, her mind still reeling from her realization of the Changeling Queen's real goal. Recalling Shining Armor's ordeal again, she forced her voice past the growing knot in her stomach.

"My brother is strong, but he is just one pony, and it took Chrysalis days of spell casting to suppress Shining's identity! Now she's turned an entire train full of ponies into blank slates in less than a day?! How is that even possible?!", she cried, throwing a foreleg in the air to emphasize her point. Realizing that her voice had risen well past an appropriate level for speaking to the Princesses, Twilight shrunk her posture, taking a small step backwards as she did so.

Normally, it would not be.", replied Luna. "However, we suspect that Chrysalis is using some kind of enchanted object to accelerate her plans. An 'amplifier', if you prefer. They were used as weapons in the many wars that scarred the ancient world. Put to their full potential, they could increase a pony's magical powers many times over, turning even an ordinary spell into a devastating weapon in the wrong hooves." The ponies let out a collective shudder at the thought of such power in the hands of a creature the likes of Discord, or even worse, King Sombra.

Fixing her turquoise eyes on a distant point, the Princess of the Night continued. "Most of these weapons were destroyed over time, taking their owners with them. However, a few have been discovered since we began our shared rule of Equestria. We tried to reason with the creatures that found them,", casting a brief glance at her sister and co-ruler, "but it was too late to save them." She turned back to Twilight, the alicorn's face hardening like a stone. "We had no choice but to destroy the weapons, and their bearers along with them."

The princesses words hung like a weight around Twilight's neck, as she began to wrap her mind around the task that surely would face them soon. Defending her home, her princesses, and her friends was not an issue to the unicorn. Totally destroying anypony though, no matter how evil they were, was a harder pill to swallow.

"Isn't there any other way?", she asked, directing her question to the Sun Princess. "Can't we recreate the spell that Shining used to repel the Changelings out of Canterlot again?"

"Not in this case, my student. Magic amplifiers are extremely powerful, and can easily overpower traditional counterspells, such as the one that your brother used to drive the Changelings out the first time. Glancing over to her sister, Celestia continued. "My sister is right in this matter. I foolishly thought that those who controlled these weapons could be saved, but in the end, destroying them was the only way to stop them."

Returning her gaze to the six ponies, the Princess focused her eyes on Twilight, her still radiant face projecting a sobering glare that even Luna had rarely seen since her return. "If Chrysalis has obtained an amplifier, then it must be destroyed before she can realize its full potential. There is no other way."

"And if the Queen refuses to surrender the weapon?", came the unicorn's meek reply.

A flash of what seemed like guilt played across the alicorn's eyes before she replied. "Then she must be destroyed along with it."

Celestia's words seemed to double the weight she felt clamping down on her neck, and the look on her face sent ice running through her veins. Twilight's mind reeled as waves of fear, determination, and regret all crashed together inside of her. Despite the chill running through her body, she could feel sweat dripping into the back of her mane, her every hair seemed to stand on end. The unicorn jumped a bit as a cyan hoof reached out to touch her left shoulder, calming a leg that she did not even realize had been shaking.

Sliding up next to the still shaky unicorn, Rainbow unfurled a wing and gently draped it over her shoulders, trying to offer Twilight at least a brief moment of calm. Holding her wing in place over her friend, she stood at her full height to face the two princesses.

"Princess, I will go with Twilight to Canterlot. I may not understand much of that fancy magic stuff that unicorns do...eh, no offense, of course..heh...", smiling sheepishly at her unintended joke, she quickly moved on. "But Twilight is one of my friends, and I cannot let her do this alone."

Her mind jerked into action, Twilight shrugged off the blue wing from her shoulder, and grabbing Rainbow's muzzle, turned the mare's head to bring her face to face with her own. "Are you crazy, Rainbow?! This isn't some grand adventure from one of your Daring Do books, you know that, right?" The pegasus let slip a small smirk at her friend's mention of Daring, the subject having been mostly avoided since their argument in the library. Twilight caught onto the smirk that was held a blink too long, and that only raised her ire more.

"Look, I know we've saved the day a few times already, all of us have. But this is different. Somepony could get hurt, or worse!", her mind nearly froze at the thought of one of her friends not making it back from this trip, never mind herself. "Even if we pull this off, who knows what we'd have to do to destroy that weapon, let alone the Queen herself!" Her eyes took on an almost pleading look as she finished speaking. "Dash, I know you're loyal above all else - to me, to our friends, to everypony. But you don't have to do this."

Struck by the mix of sincerity and desperation behind the unicorn's words, it took Rainbow a few seconds to formulate a response. As her mind tried to cobble random thoughts into mostly coherent words, she gazed around at her five friends, her focused magenta eyes landing on each of the other ponies in turn. A pair of cerulean eyes met her own with a sense of hopeful optimism. Deep azure eyes reflected the generosity behind her desire to help her friend. Continuing her gaze, bright magenta met emerald green, the pony behind them radiating a strength that on most days was a match for her own. Next, she trained her eyes on the most innocent shade of blue, their crystalline gaze revealing an acceptance of the need to take action, a burning resolve to act simmering beneath a mask of timidity.

Finally, Rainbow turned her eyes back to the purple unicorn in front of her. Raising a hoof, she gently raised the mare's head, bringing a pair of impossibly violet eyes in line with her own. Focusing on the face mere inches in front of her, Rainbow saw all of the elements at once in the unicorn - unfailing honesty, endless kindness and generosity, limitless desires to be happy, unassailable loyalty to everything she held dear, and beneath all of it, an untapped reservoir of raw magical power that seemed ready to rip the world asunder when called upon.

In that instant, Rainbow knew without a doubt that Twilight could defeat Chrysalis, and whatever 'weapon' she was trying to use, no matter what it took. Her mind latched onto Twilight's Daring Do comment again, this time smirking only on the inside. Lowering her hoof from the mare's face, the pegasus stepped back and regarded Twilight Sparkle. She fully recognized the same puzzled but probing look in the unicorn's eyes as she stared back at her. Rainbow did not avert her gaze this time, keeping her eyes locked on to the violet gems that were mere inches away.

Keeping her gaze on the unicorn, Rainbow's mind found the words that it was looking for. "You're right, we have saved Equestria a few times already. But, you're forgetting one thing. We never could have done it without you, Twi. Each of us bears one of the Elements of Harmony, but your element, magic, binds the rest of them, and us, together. We may have saved the day as a group, but you led us every time, taking crazy risks to keep us safe."

Swallowing the nerves that threatened to derail her mind, Rainbow continued, her voice boring into the unicorn in front of her.

"Now, it's you who needs somepony to keep them safe. As the Element of Loyalty, and as your friend, I refuse to stand by and watch you do this alone. I don't just have to do this. I want to do this. For you, for me, for all of us. Besides,", she added, that same smirk creeping into her lips, "Rosetta is always saving Daring's flank with her plans and research. Now, Daring finally gets a chance to return the favor."

Slowly, a bright smile formed on the unicorn's face. "Oh, Rainbow, thank you so much! I'd be honored to have you accompany me to Canterlot!" Twilight lurched forward, drawing the pegasus into a hug that reflected the renewed energy in the unicorn. As gracefully as she could, Rainbow returned the hug, gently wrapping her forelegs around the unicorn to match her embrace.

Aware of the audience around her, she willed her body not to react to the assault that the hug was placing on her senses. Her nose was flooded with scents of lavender, vanilla, and plum from the unicorn's mane. The touch of a surprisingly fluffy purple coat on her own reverberated through her spine like a tuning fork, while the feeling of two lavender hooves brushing through her chromatic mane to rest on her neck nearly set the rest of her nerves on fire.

After a few seconds that seemed like hours to the pegasus, Twilight let go of the embrace, backing away a few steps. As she did so, Rainbow's eyes focused on the unicorn, only this time, she saw violet eyes framed by small gold eye glasses, a notepad and quill tucked neatly into the pocket of a white lab coat. Oh, Celestia, she really is Rosetta, isn't she? How could she not be? And how could Daring not love a pony like Rosetta? How could I not love a pony like Twilight? Wait, did I just? Yes, yes I did. I am in love with Twilight Sparkle - lab coat or not. If only I could find a way to tell her that she would understand...

For the pegasus, Princess Celestia picked exactly the wrong moment to get things underway. "So, it seems that it is settled then. Rainbow Dash, you will accompany Twilight Sparkle to Canterlot. When you arrive, you must locate and destroy the magic amplifier that Chrysalis is using. It is my distant hope that the Changeling Queen can be persuaded to surrender herself or the weapon. Should she refuse, you both understand what you must do."

Taking another look at each other, the two mares turned to the Princess and bowed again. "You can count on us, princess!", exclaimed Rainbow, with Twilight adding, "We won't let you down."

Luna approached the pair, her demeanor showing equal parts confidence and concern. "Time is of the essence, ponies, and we must get you to Canterlot as quickly as possible. Are you ready to begin?"

"You bet we are! Bring it on!", cried Rainbow, her eagerness for action showing in her voice.

"Very well,", she replied, "We will teleport you to Canterlot, placing you just far enough away from the castle to avoid attracting undue attention to yourselves."

Rainbow and Twilight turned back to their four friends, who quickly gathered around them for a group hug, well wishes for their journey, and a collective promise to come back in one piece. The large embrace broken, the duo stepped back towards the two princesses.

"Good luck to both of you, my little ponies", said Celestia, her voice losing none of its regal demeanor. "I know that you will do well, but please be careful."

"Rainbow looked up at the Sun Princess, her mane still flowing impeccably in the light breeze. "I'll bring her back, Princess. I promise."

Favoring the pegasus with a warm smile, she stepped back from the pair, aligning herself with her sister a few steps away. In perfect rhythm, both alicorns closed their eyes, and their horns lit up with some of the brightest magical auras that the gathered ponies had ever seen. Flickering embers of gold mixed with deep, inky purples as they focused their collective wills on teleporting the two mares.

Then, in a blinding flash of light, the two ponies flashed out of view, leaving nothing behind as a memento of their presence mere seconds ago.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

While she had not yet mastered long range teleportation, Twilight had teleported herself over short distances many times, and thus felt right at home as she traversed the blinding ether. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rainbow Dash a few feet ahead, floating in all different directions, her wings flapping futilely into what was in every sense a vacuum. Judging by her skittish behavior, the pegasus had clearly never been teleported before, and she was only wasting energy that she would likely need to defeat the Changeling queen for what she hoped would be the final time.

Taking her eyes off of the still flailing pegasus, Twilight took a quick look all around her. The unnaturally bright light of the ether washed over her in all directions, the dark horizon that signaled the terminus of their teleport not yet visible. Given the physical distance between Ponyville and Canterlot, the unicorn surmised that she had about three minutes wait until exiting into Canterlot, unless the combined powers of the two princesses were even more potent than she thought.

Her moment of scientific wonder finished, she closed her eyes and refocused her mind, giving into the now much larger part of her brain that was nearly desperate to unravel the tapestry that Rainbow had been weaving in front of her since their argument in the library.

Normally, Rainbow is so easy to read, since she wears her emotions on her hooves. How can she be so cryptic now, and why can't I make any sense of it? Perspective....perspective. Ugh, what is that pegasus trying to get at? What is she trying to tell me, and why won't she just come out and say it, like she does every other time?

The rational part of her mind tried to suppress the rambling chain of thoughts, but the growing tide of emotions refused to yield, pushing even harder for a breakthrough.

Ok...ok. Forget about her words, focus on her actions. Three times now, I've encountered a stare that I've never seen out of Rainbow. The library, the train station, and just now in front of the Princesses. Oh, in front of the Princesses?! Pony feathers, does Rainbow have no sense of time and place? Can't she save the cryptic stares for when royalty is NOT around?

Giving her rational side a tentative foothold, she began unpacking the three events in her mind.

Three times, three stares. What do they have in common? Well, each time, it feels like she's looking at me as if I'm somepony else entirely. But, it's not a look that one might give to a stranger. No, there's familiarity there, I can feel it. You don't stare at strangers with that kind of warmth. Well, I suppose you could, but that would be a bit creepy.

What else? Oh, each time I caught her stare, she shied away as fast as possible. Rainbow clearly saw me returning her gaze, but why did she try to hide? I was only trying to figure her out, not stare her down. No, wait - when she spoke to me just now, the stare was there, and much stronger than before too. I swear, those eyes were trying to bore right through me as she spoke. Her words were beautiful, but those eyes...they were trying to say something on their own, I'm sure of it. But what?

Out of nowhere, Twilight's mind latched onto the fading ember of a thought that hit her at the train station - right before she hit a wall of blue pegasus.

Ah, the books! This all ties back to those Daring Do books, doesn't it? Right before I ran into Dash, I had a thought...what was - HA! I remember! Dash is reading the books through a different prism, as if she's superimposing reality over the books. Ok, so what's reality for Rainbow? Well, she loves her Daring Do books, and flying of course. In the romance department, I don't know though. I know she prefers mares, she's said so herself many times before. So, I guess I can see why she'd be in favor of Daring falling for Rosetta, but that's just not how the characters are written. But, if she's looking at the book through reality, it still doesn't add up. She doesn't have a special mare in her life, at least not that she's told me about....

Not that she's told me about---

With all of the grace of two trains crashing into each other, the pieces began to click together in Twilight's mind: A bookish unicorn, a brash pegasus. Adventures of all sorts mixed with long hours reading and researching - over dozens of milkshakes.

Dear Celestia....

Suddenly, bright magenta eyes filled her internal vision, now staring directly at her inner self. Twilight's mind raced to them, re-reading the look in those eyes, twin senses of understanding and trepidation crashing through her mind like a hurricane.

The last piece clicked into place as her mind finally gave in, allowing the raw truth to invade her consciousness.

Rainbow doesn't see Daring and Rosetta in those books - she sees Rainbow and Twilight. No matter what the books say, she clings to the idea, the hope that Daring will someday realize the truth and go to Rosetta. But if this is through the prism of Rainbow's eyes, then what she really means...

No, that's not possible. There's no way.

There isn't right? I mean, she's THE Rainbow Dash, for pony's sake. She'd never...well, at least I think she'd never....

Lost in a sea of emotion, her rational side lost its last grip on her mind, the voice of denial swept away with it, crashing against a wall of a truth that she'd never even considered possible. Her heart hammered in her chest, her breaths coming short and shallow as she forced the words out of her mind, and into the ether:

"Rainbow Dash is in love with me."

"...with me". The words came tumbling out of Twilight's mouth as she suddenly found herself standing behind a store in Canterlot. She was so lost in thought - raw, piercing, unbelievable thought - that she did not notice the barrier marking the end of the ether rapidly approaching.

"Huh? Did you say something Twi?". Turning to her left, Twilight saw that the Pegasus had safely arrived as well, despite her flailing from one end of the ether to the other. Realizing that the pegasus must have heard at least part of the single sentence that came out of mouth as she reappeared, Twilight made a desperate attempt to stall for time.

"What? Did I say something?"

"Yes, right as we reappeared. I don't know what you said though. All I heard was 'with me', I think".

Quietly thanking Celestia that this was all the pegasus heard, she nearly tripped over her own tongue trying to respond. "Oh, that? Hehe...I was just saying...is that I wish I....I wish I had brought my books with me! Silly me must have left them at the train station...hehe." Plastering her best smile across her face, she silently prayed that her friend, was she still just a friend, though?, would be satisfied with her response.

Rainbow took a step forward and gave the unicorn a light tap on the shoulder, a devilish grin on her face. "I don't think you'll be needing your books for this, Twi. Unless you plan on beating Chrysalis over the head with them, of course." The two ponies shared a brief chuckle at the thought of the Changeling Queen being felled by An Analysis of Unicorn Magic and their Effects on Pony Psychology, 3rd Edition - Abridged.

'C'mon egghead, we have a weapon to destroy." Hovering just off of the ground, the blue pegasus took the lead, heading around the front of the store, and into what seemed to be a main thoroughfare. Or, it would be, if anypony was actually doing anything.

As the two ponies stepped into the street, they saw plenty of ponies outside. Looking up at the sky, the sun was well on its way to ceding to the night, but Twilight knew from experience that this was just the time where the citizens of Canterlot would be out enjoying yet another beautiful sunset. At the moment though, they were frozen in place. Standing in line at a vendor's cart. sitting at a table outside of a cafe. Reclining on a park bench. whatever it is they were doing last, they were stuck there.

Wandering around to a few of the ponies, Twilight and Rainbow took turns talking to, poking, or even shoving some of the ponies, trying to get any sort of response from them. After a few fruitless minutes, Rainbow let out a frustrated snort, banging her hoof against the ground.

"It's no good Twi. These ponies are just as bad off as the ones from the train. All of them."

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, it appears that way. It's unfortunate that there is no time to study any of these ponies, and the effects that this is having on them. The things we could learn could advance the field of Pony Psychology exponentially."

Rolling her eyes a bit, Rainbow shook her head at the unicorn. "There'll be plenty of time to write reports after we get home, Twi."

"If we get home", she replied.

A disapproving glare crossed Rainbow's face as she darted over to Twilight, instinctively spreading a wing over the unicorn's shoulders. Twilight's body stiffened at the contact, her nerves nearly standing on end as she raced to quell the rising tide of emotion that threatened to flood her mind. She'd been hugged by Rainbow Dash countless times before, but this was the first hug she had received with the knowledge that the pegasus was in love with her. Lost in her own efforts to quiet her mind, is that my mind, or my heart?, Twilight didn't pick up on the subtle twitch in Rainbow's wing as it settled onto her back.

Glancing over at the unicorn, Rainbow gathered as much calm as she could into her voice, forcing her heart to slow for just a moment as she spoke. "I don't want to hear you say that again, Twi. We're going to get home - both of us. I just know that we will."

Twilight shifted a bit to return the glance, causing her mane to shift imperceptibly through a sea of blue feathers. The smooth contact sent more shivers through her back, though she tried her best to hide it with an artificial attempt to clear her throat.

"H..how can you be so sure, Rainbow? We have no idea how strong Chrysalis is with that weapon. We could be powerless to stop her."

"Because you're the strongest pony in Equestria", replied Dash, pouring every ounce of sincerity into the words. "Remember what you told me right after we defeated Nightmare Moon? That there was a little bit of each Element inside of each of us? That goes for you too, Twi. You represent the best parts of each of us, and you top it off with the most powerful magic anypony has seen outside of Celestia herself." Nopony can stand in the way of that, Twi. Not even Chrysalis. Trust me, Twi - we're going home together."

In light of her recent realization, 'together' took on a whole new meaning for the unicorn, as Dash's words sounded in her ears. Hopefully, there will be time to discuss this with Rainbow later. Steeling her mind a bit, she retraced her last thought. No, I WILL discuss this with her, because we ARE going to get home.

The sound of hooves moving through the dirt startled both mares from their quiet conversation. Turning around to the source of the noise, they spotted two Earth ponies slowly approaching them. Thank goodness, somepony else around here can actually move, Twilight thought to herself.

Walking forward a few steps, she extended a hoof in greeting to the approaching ponies. "Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend Rainb--"

Suddenly, both ponies turned and ran in the opposite direction, not bothering to look back at the two mares. "Wait!", she yelled after them, "we just want to talk to you!". Her cries fell on deaf ears as the ponies continued their sprint, rounding a corner into an alleyway.

"Get back here, you dumb ponies!", yelled Rainbow as she shot into the air after the fleeing stallions. "Don't worry, Twi, I got this!", she called over her shoulder as she darted away.

Sensing something was off with the whole situation, she sprinted off after the gaggle of ponies, doing her best to yell after Dash. "Wait, Dash! They could be luring us into a trap!"

The words never reached the pegasus, as she was too far away, and was already rounding the corner. A split second of silence was shattered by a high pitched yelp that could only have come from Rainbow, followed by a flash of electric blue light.

Running as fast as she could, Twilight flew around the same corner, horn already bathed in a magenta glow, ready to strike. She nearly fell head over hoof as she skidded to a stop.

At the end of the alley were two Changelings, who undoubtedly were two Earth ponies mere moments ago. Squaring her aim, she channeled more magic into her horn, waiting for the right second to unleash a volley against the winged insects.

Then, the Changelings stepped away from each other, and Twilight's heart froze mid-beat.

In the middle of the alley, between the two Changelings, was an electric blue net, and in the net was Rainbow Dash, lying listlessly on her side..

Before Twilight's brain could even process what she was seeing, the insects grabbed the net in their sickly claws, and took to the sky.

"NO! Rainbow!!!" Desperation and anger coursing through her veins, the unicorn charged her horn again, intent on blasting the fleeing Changelings out of the sky. But they were just too fast, and too erratic in their motions to offer Twilight a clean shot. And despite her fear of losing Dash to these creatures, she could not even fathom accidentally hitting the mare instead of the insects.

Indecision freezing her in place, she could only watch as the blue net rose into the sky, the insects heading towards the royal castle. Without a second thought, she shot off out of the alley, around the same corner, and began running headlong towards the castle. She still wasn't totally sure how she'd destroy the magic amplifier, but she did know one thing: The Changelings were not taking away a friend. Especially not a friend that loved her.

Author's Note

Note: There are supposed to be a lot of italic words in this chapter (and really throughout the story). I'm a first time writer here, but my impression so far is that italics were a good way to convey internal thoughts and monologues from characters.

Unfortunately, the uploader tool stripped them all out in the upload, and since I literally had minutes until the submission deadline, there was no chance to fix this issue. Once the judging period is over, I do plan on going back in and re-doing the italics, so that it looks correct throughout the story.

My apologies to the reader for any difficulty this presented to you in this, or any other chapter.

-GMP

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

With smoldering debris still raining around her, and a storm of emotion raging through her body, Twilight raced to the fallen mare, finding her slumped down in the shallow pool of water that formed the base of one of Celestia's prized fountains that were the centerpieces of the grand room's decor. On instinct, the jumped into the pool, the water rising only just past her hooves.

Leaning down on her haunches to look Rainbow over, Twilight cringed in shock as her eyes surveyed the pegasus. The tips of her mane were singed, her normally bright coat matted and smeared with a combination of sweat, heat, and the charred remains of the amplifier. Though she had no obvious broken bones or wings, Twilight could already see a multitude of bruises and cuts on just about every inch of the mare, due mostly to her nearly suicidal run at the now disintegrated Changeling Queen.

She's alive. Thank Celestia, she's alive. But, is Rainbow still here?

Cupping her hooves underneath the mare's chin, Twilight lifted Rainbow's head, bringing it level to her own.

Her violet eyes, stained red with tears of worry and happiness all at once, gazed directly into two bright magenta eyes, any hint of the green that had possessed them now gone. Waving a hoof in front of the pegasus, Twilight called out to the pony that she desperately hoped was still in there.

"Rainbow? Are you there? Can you hear me? It's me...Twilight. Please, if you're there, say something....anything at all!"

Her words were met with silence, the magenta eyes showing no sign of movement, or recognition. A tide of failure washed over the unicorn, breaking any shreds of emotional control that she had left.

"Rainbow, no! You can't leave like this!". She was nearly yelling at the still listless mare, grabbing her blue muzzle in her hooves. "You saved my life, but how can I live knowing that you traded your life for mine?! Knowing that every time I see you, I'll see a pony that was Rainbow Dash -- the Element of Loyalty, the fastest flier in Equestria, a future Wonderbolt! My friend...a friend that loved me!"

Bitter tears of regret streamed down Twilight's face as she sobbed into the mare's blue coat. "You said we would come home together, and I can't leave without taking you with me. I won't leave - not until I find a way to bring Rainbow Dash back.

Leaning further into the pegasus, Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow, her hooves meeting each other as they slid underneath the mare's wings. Lifting the wings a bit to tighten her grip on her seemingly lost friend, Twilight felt something splash in the water next to her. Blinking hot tears from her eyes, she turned her head to see what had made the noise, expecting it to be yet another piece of debris.

Her eyes were transfixed by the small green orb that laid in the water next to Rainbow, its surface unscarred by the destruction that had nearly consumed the entire room. Recognizing it immediately, Twilight's heart nearly jumped through her chest as she regarded the glowing orb that contained everything that her friend was. And will be again, she said to herself.

Scrambling to her hooves, she gripped the orb in a gentle cocoon of magic, hovering it near her as she struggled to pull the limp pegasus into something resembling a sitting position. Satisfied that the mare would at least not topple over again, Twilight mirrored the motion, sitting within reaching distance of the pegasus. Grabbing the orb again from behind her, Twilight brought it to rest halfway between the two ponies, levitating it just above their heads.

The importance of what she was about to attempt, and the consequences of failure, hit Twilight like a brick. Her research had uncovered references to memory repair spells, some papers even suggesting the possibility of complete replacement in extreme situations. But, none of them had accounted for a pony's identity being trapped in a glowing orb either.

Breathing as sharply as her lungs would allow, Twilight tried to fight a growing sense of doubt that threatened to overtake her at a moment's notice. then, as if on cue, Rainbow's words spoke out to her again: The Elements are all inside of each of us. That goes for you too, Twi.

Twilight closed her eyes, willing her mind to replay the same memories of her friends that she chose to look at in what should have been her final moments of life. Letting them wash over her mind, she lit her horn, the magenta glow slowly building from the base towards the tip. Despite her mental and physical exhaustion, the Elements buoyed her inner self, giving the unicorn the necessary strength to continue building the spell. The magenta wave spiraled to the tip of her horn, the glow of a single concentrated point of magic coalescing at the tip.

sharpening her focus, she reached out with a small tendril of magic, gently reaching out to the green orb hovering in front of her. Taking another deep breath, she pushed the magical beam the last inch forward, making contact with the glowing orb.

There was no way that she could have anticipated what happened next.

Her mind was flooded with a rush of memories, as Rainbow Dash's very existence poured itself out to the unicorn's mind. Images of ponies, places, and events whirled by Twilight, running her mind through the full spectrum of emotion. The joys of flight camp and junior speedsters. Pure elation at performing a sonic rainboom and earning her cutie mark. Crushing heartbreak as her mother left her in the hooves of an abusive father. Anger and regret for not doing more to protect a certain yellow mare in Flight School. Confusion and boredom as she settled in Ponyville.

Then, she saw a memory that she recognized -- the speeding pegasus running headlong into an impatient unicorn, knocking both of them into a puddle of mud. Then, everything changed. Gone were the regret, the boredom, the simmering anger. All that was present in Rainbow's inner self was a sense of joy, of optimism, of contentment.

Twilight began to watch the events of the past two years unfold again, only this time through a pair of magenta eyes. From the battles with Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Chrysalis, through the Young Flyers' Competition and Hearth's Warming Eves, to hours upon hours of reading, flight research at the hands of a certain unicorn, and dozens of milkshakes. Rainbow's mind had recorded it all, each memory with a singular focus - Twilight.

What began as a sense of duty to protect the mare quickly morphed into something much more, much deeper. Now, Rainbow was doing things for Twilight out of want, rather than duty. Then out of a pure need to simply be around her.

Oh stars, she was falling head over hoof for me all this time? And I never so much as noticed a thing?! She must think I'm terrible.

Finally, Rainbow's memory caught up to the last few days, and to their argument in the library. She saw the frustrated look on her own face, cringing a bit as she saw how harsh her attitude was toward the pegasus. Then, the pair of magenta eyes turned to face the bedroom window, but what she heard next was missing from her own recollections: " I-it wasn't about the milkshakes, Twi...I mean, I could totally see that... that they were happy together...”

A pang of rejection hit Rainbow's mind as she absorbed Twilight's response: "Rainbow, I'm sorry. I don't know how you got the idea that Rosetta and Daring love each other—let alone the fact that they are both homosexual—but it just isn't there.”

Her now dejected eyes looked down at a crack in the floor, following it until it stopped at the tip of Twilight's hooves. Refusing to look up, lest the unicorn see the tears forming at the edge of her eyes, she whispered, “But... but it has to be...Daring... Daring totally loves her...”

Daring totally loves her. Or, rather, Rainbow totally loves me. Oh Celestia, she really does love me. Rainbow didn't nearly kill herself protecting me because she had to. She did it out of love -- for me.

That final thought ripped open a part of Twilight that she had long repressed. A wave of pent up emotion, of longing for somepony to call her own, not just a friend, ripped through her body, sending her heart into overdrive.

Opening her eyes, she locked her stare directly at Rainbow, the mixture of green and magenta colors reflecting off of her eyes as the thrum of magic surrounding the green orb steadily increased in intensity. Above her, the magenta tendril of magic sharpened into a solid line as it emerged from the other side of the orb, slowly crossing the gap towards the top of Rainbow's head.

Twilight broke her gaze from the pegasus for a moment to observe the tendril closing the last few inches of empty space. Despite sitting in a pool of cold water, a feeling of pure warmth crept into her body, and a smile of pure joy crept across her mouth.

All this time, I thought my friends were enough. And they are, but deep down, I wanted more than friendship. That special pony was right next to me for months, and I never noticed it. Yet, she never gave up, never moved on, never lost hope that she could somehow make the impossible happen. Just like Dari--

Oh, Celestia, she really is Daring, isn't she? How could she not be? And how could Rosetta not love a pony like Daring? How could I not love a pony like Rainbow?

"I can't. I am in love with Rainbow Dash".

Twilight closed her eyes and leaned forward, her lips meeting Rainbow's at the same time that the magenta beam of magic made contact with the mare's forehead, completing the connection between both ponies.

Years of pent up emotion forced their way through Twilight's lips, trying to draw every last moment from the tentative kiss. A burst of magic rose from Twilight's horn, surging into the green orb, spinning it faster and faster until it became a green blur suspended in the air.

She held the kiss for a few seconds, then broke away into the strongest embrace that she could give, holding onto the pegasus for dear life. Burying her muzzle in chromatic mane, she prayed to Celestia that the spell would work. Then, in a final act before completing the spell, she whispered words that mere days ago had been the furthest thing from her mind.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash".

Commanding a final wave of magic from within her, Twilight sent an even bigger surge of energy into the orb, breaking the first part of the connection between herself and the orb. For two beats of her heart, she stared at the orb, her eyes imploring it to give her friend, her love, back to her.

A crack of energy shook the fountain as the orb gave up its closely held contents, sending its own surge of power down the last half of the connection. A green and magenta glow enveloped the pegasus as the whole of Rainbow Dash rushed down the magical line, refilling mind, body, and soul. Slowly, the orb emptied its secrets back to their owner, dissipating into the ether as it did so.

When the last of the aura had faded away, Twilight opened her eyes, still holding on to Rainbow as tightly as she could. forcing herself to lean back, she brought her face back in line with the pegasus, one hoof still touching the mare's right shoulder.

"Rainbow? Are you there?"

With a series of slow flutters, cyan eyelids opened to reveal two brilliant magenta eyes, this time with the warmth of life burning behind them.

"Twilight? What happened? Where am I?"

Almost at a loss for words, Twilight could only mumble a completely obvious question. "What's the last thing you remember?"

The pegasus thought for a second, a slow smile spreading across her lips as her mind played its most recent recording back to her.

"This."

Lunging forward, she threw herself at the unicorn, drawing their lips into an intense kiss. The initial contact elicited a small yelp from the unicorn, but her surprise was quickly overcome by the raging fire that burned through her mind. Wrapping her forelegs around the unicorn's neck, Rainbow poured every last bit of strength that she had into her lips, her soul pouring itself out with each movement of her mouth against Twilights.

Breaking the kiss, she leaned her head back, tears of joy welled up in her eyes, her lungs gasping for air. Looking directly at the unicorn, Rainbow could barely speak.

"Twilight, I..I"

"I know Rainbow, I know. And I do too."

Her eyes nearly exploded in her head as words that the pegasus never thought she'd hear sounded in her head. Most other times, she'd fly in circles to celebrate, but this moment called for something much better. Leaning in again, she embraced Twilight like the unicorn was the last lifeline she had. Twilight eagerly returned the embrace as the two mares buried their muzzles into each other's manes. They sat in silence for minutes, letting their minds, and their still accelerating heartbeats, speak for them.

Finally, Rainbow pulled away from the embrace, and looked again at Twilight. My Twilight, she thought to herself.

"How did you figure it out, Twilight? All this time, I never told you how I felt, well not directly, anyway."

Her own smirk lighting up her face, Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash. "It was just a matter of perspective".

Author's Note

Well, there you have it. My first submission to FimFic, and my ever piece of fiction. Now, all I can do is sit back and let the bits fall where they may.

I will admit, I submitted this literally 20 minutes before the deadline, so it is literally devoid of formal proofreading or editing/polishing. After this challenge is over, and a winner is announced, I fully intend to go back and take care of these items. Also, I had never used the uploader tool before, so I did not realize that all of my italic marks were removed until I had uploaded half of the chapters. I do apologize for this, and promise to fix it when the contest judging is over.

In other words: I know it's a bit rough, and there should be plenty of italic words throughout. But, at least I had them in there when I tried to upload it. :)

Finally, I welcome any and all comments, be they good or bad. All I ask is that if you want to tell me that it sucked, please try and leave a tip or two to help me improve. I have fallen head over hoof for the FimFic world, and even if I fail at this long term, I'd like to at least say I tried to do better, lol.

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the story!

-GMP

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Despite not spending much time in Canterlot after Ponyville became her new home, Twilight still knew every shortcut that the expansive city had to offer to anypony who was curious enough to look for them. She used every single one of them as she screamed through streets, darted down back alleys, and slid through seemingly inaccessible walkways, willing every last shred of her energy into her legs.

She swung onto the central road that led directly to the castle, the sight of the massive golden front gates in the distance refueling the unicorn's already burning legs, urging her faster still. Her mane and tail streamed behind her as she ran, creating a pink and purple trail that nearly rivaled the one left behind by Rainbow as she flew. Hooves thundered off of the smooth cobblestone streets, each report echoing off of the grand buildings to either side, giving off the aural effect of an entire stampede.

With a quick flick of her horn, Twilight threw open the castle gates mere seconds before she would have crashed into them, charging into the main gardens with reckless abandon. Finally skidding to a halt, Twilight's legs nearly collapsed underneath her from the strain. Not willing to sit for even a second, she allowed herself a slight lean into a nearby light pole while she collected her thoughts, and waited for her breath to catch back up.

Owing to her many years spent under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, Twilight knew the castle like the back of her hoof. Even so, the castle and its surrounding grounds were huge, and searching all of that area would take far too long for any single pony.

Quickly sifting through spells in her head, Twilight settled on one that she thought would work. In effect, it was a sonar spell, designed specifically for locating pegasi. The fact that pegasi had magical energy of their own was well known, but not much had ever been made over it, either. Unicorns used their magic in ways that suited their needs on the ground, and pegasi used their magic to take to the skies, and of course to control the weather. On the occasion that a pegasi veered off course, or suffered an accident, unicorns would use this spell to locate the lost pegasi, following their magical 'signature' to its source.

Twilight drew a sharp breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled slowly, lifting a hoof in front of her as she let the air escape her still burning lungs. Relishing the small moment of calm that the action afforded her, she closed her eyes, channeling the sonar spell into the tip of her horn. Instead of sharpening the spell into a defined line of magic, Twilight slowly relaxed her mind's grip on her magical aura, reforming it into a glowing circle, small waves of magenta emanating from the bright spot at the tip of her horn. Satisfied that the spell was stabilized, Twilight sent a surge of magic through her horn, raising the charge in the spell exponentially.

For a brief second, the tip of her horn lit the gardens in bright magenta, as a larger wave of magic pulsed out in all directions from the unicorn. Seconds passed as she waited silently for the spell to report back its findings, the only sound in the unicorn's ears the rapid beating of her heart, each one seeming to take an eternity of its own.

Ping.

The tell-tale report from the spell sounded in her mind, letting Twilight know that a signature had been found. Focusing the spell to focus on the general direction of the signature, she released another tighter wave from her horn, trying to pinpoint the location of the signature.

Pin...

The report returned faster this time, but seemed significantly weaker than before. So far as Twilight could tell, the signature had not moved much, which could only mean one thing.

Snapping the spell with a flick of her horn, Twilight reared up on her hind legs, then shot off through the gardens towards the source of the now fading signature. Rainbow was near the center of the castle. And she was in trouble.

Twilight's legs quickly protested the renewed running motion, but she paid it no mind. Darting through rows of flowers and hedges, she kept her aim squarely on the grand entry way at the front of the castle, it's tall alabaster doors gleaming in the growing moonlight, the gold trimming surrounding them as reflective at night as it was during the day. Nearing the edge of the garden, Twilight launched herself into the air, her purple frame just clearing the top of the last hedge wall.

Landing on the well-paved walkway mid-stride, she willed more speed into her legs, bounding up the gleaming white staircase that led to the castle doors. Her intimate knowledge of the castle's layout paid off again, as she immediately turned to her left as she passed through the doors, aiming for the grand staircase near the center of the welcoming hall. Twilight raced up the winding staircase, the sound of her hooves temporarily muffled by the plush red carpets that lined the staircase.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she again darted to her left, heading for the East wing of the castle, and the only place that Rainbow could be - the Throne Room. Twilight made no attempt at subtlety with her approach, galloping down the marble-tiled hallway like a mare possessed, her hooves nearly putting chips into the tiles as she slammed them down with each lunge forward.

Nearing the end of the hall, Twilight skidded to a stop, the polished marble offering her very little in the way of speed reduction. Setting her jaw, she slowly opened the door to the throne room with a flick of her horn, prepared to fight whatever lie on the other side. Stepping through the open door, she found the usually bright room eerily dim, the only source of light emanating from a pedestal in the center of the room, upon which sat a massive orb, it's entire surface covered with tendrils of crackling green energy.

Celestia, that is huge, she thought. This must be the magic amplifier - I've never seen a magic orb that could even attempt to hold that much energy. How do you destroy something like this? First though, I need to find Rai--

Her thought was interrupted by her eyes, as they caught the faintest hint of a shadow in the glow of the monstrous orb. Twilight took a few steps forward, her eyes completing their adjustment to the unnaturally lit room. Cutting through the green glow, she caught sight of a set of blue wings, their owner facing away from the unicorn.

"Rainbow? Rainbow!", Twilight called out to the pegasus, increasing her speed to close the distance between them quickly. She stopped a few paces behind the still seated pegasus, a look of worry crossing her face at the lack of reaction to her repeated calls to the mare.

"Rainbow? Are you ok? Please, say something, anything, if you can hear me!" A cold fear began creeping up from Twilight's hooves, racing through her body like lightning. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her heart in her chest instead of her throat, as she placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder as she stepped around to face the pegasus directly. As if on cue, a pair of eyelids slowly rose, the eyes beneath them rising to match the unicorn's violet gaze.

One magenta eye -- and one bright green.

Twilight's mind ground to a halt, her veins turning to pure ice faster than even a Windego could hope to accomplish. Her jaw slackened as the color drained from her face, her face locked onto the twisted eyes of the pegasus in front of her, a dull magenta eye nearly overpowered by the ethereal glow of the green iris next to it.

Tears welling up in the corner of her eyes as the possibility of failure flooded her still frozen mind, she forced herself to speak. "Rainbow? Are you still there? Can you hear me? Please, say something to let me know you're still in there!"

The blue pegasus raised her head, bringing both of her eyes in full view of the slowly crumbling unicorn. Furrowing her brow, Rainbow let out a raw growl, her dull magenta eye increasing in brightness for a split second, the still free part of her mind struggling to hold onto its tenuous grip of reality. Feeling her mental grip quickly receding, Rainbow rushed out the only word she could think of:

"Run."

Twilight gaped in horror as Rainbow collapsed to the ground, the magenta in her left eye fading even more than before. Her right eye, already consumed in a in a bright green glow, gleamed with renewed intensity.

"She doesn't have much time. I need to destroy this thing now!", Twilight said to herself. She turned back towards the pedestal, but before she could take a step, a crackling, evil laugh pierced the silence of the Throne Room.

"You'd be wise to heed your friend's parting advice, you stupid foal!", came a distorted, evil voice from the shadows. "Not that running would do you any good, of course."

Staring past the glowing pedestal, Twilight saw Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings, emerge from the shadows. Her jet black coat framed by a teal mane and tail, all of which were marked with holes and indentations. Flaring her tattered, insect-like wings, the Queen's elongated green pupils stared down at Twilight, a purely evil sneer crossing the fangs that passed for the Queen's teeth.

"In fact, I'd much rather you not try to run. Tiring you out now will only delay my plans.", she spat at the unicorn.

"I know what you're up to, Chrysalis, and I won't let you get away with it!", replied Twilight, her eyes narrowing to the most imposing angle that she could muster as she stepped towards the Queen. "I won't let you steal the identities of every pony in Equestria!"

Laughing derisively, the Queen looked over to the orb, still crackling with unearthly levels of energy. "So, you figured it out, already? It took you less time than I thought. Perhaps I did not give 'Celestia's favorite student' enough credit.", nearly spitting the words onto the ground as she spoke. "It is no matter though. My plan is well underway, and soon, my army of ponies will begin to assemble."

Glaring down at the still prone pegasus behind Twilight, the Queen continued. "I knew Celestia would send her protégé to try and stop me, and I knew that the Element of Loyalty would never let you go alone. Trapping the pegasus was all too easy, you see. And now,", raising her voice to a thunderous level, "her transformation is nearly complete, and when it is, I will use her loyalty to me to build my entire army!"

Twilight's blood boiled beneath the surface, her mind recognizing the need to act immediately if she had any hope to stop the Queen. But, she needed a distraction to buy time. An idea hit her, and she acted immediately.

With a flick of her horn, the massive door to the Throne Room slammed shut behind them. Chrysalis turned to the noise, taking a few steps away to see if anything was actually there.

Knowing that she had only seconds to act, Twilight's horn flared to life, her mind willing as much magic as she could into the tip of her horn. Focusing her mind, the glow at the end of her horn intensified, mere seconds away from unleashing itself onto the massive orb.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, foal!", the Queen recovering from the distraction faster than Twilight had hoped. Still, the unicorn maintained her magic, aiming her horn directly at the orb.

"Or what, Chrysalis? You'll zap my mind too? You might take me, but not before I blow this orb straight to Tartarus."

The Queen cackled at Twilight, the dual echo of her laugh bouncing around the Throne Room. "Did you really think I did not anticipate just such a threat from you? Really, you are too predictable, you impudent child."

As she spoke, she levitated a smaller orb from under her teal mane, holding it in a blazing harlequin glow in front of her. "You may be willing to sacrifice yourself, but are you willing to sacrifice your friend too?"

Twilight's eyes focused on the small orb. "What do you mean?!"

A mocking tone laced the Queen's nearly out of sync voice. "What I mean is, if you destroy that weapon, I will destroy Rainbow Dash!" She spun the orb in the air, levitating it further towards the unicorn, her purple horn still one command away from lashing out at the Queen's weapon.

"The mind of one of the Elements - especially the Element of Loyalty - would be a terrible thing to waste. So, before beginning the conversion spell, I collected her entire mind in this orb. Not only will it serve as a perfect template for future leaders of my armies, but it will also stop foals like you from doing something foolish."

Twilight's mind raced in circles. She had to destroy that weapon, or the Queen would bring war to Equestria from the inside out. But, she could not - would not - sacrifice a friend. Not for anything. Sweat dripped down her neck and into her mane as she careened from thought to thought, all the while maintaining the pent up magic at the tip of her horn.

"Well, foal, which will it be?", said the Queen, clamping down on the small orb with her magic, eliciting a small crunch from the orb as it reacted to the increased pressure.

"NO!!", screamed Twilight, bitter tears burning her eyes. "I will never sacrifice Rainbow Dash! She is my friend, and she means the world to me!" Twilight's words echoed through the Throne Room like a rolling peel of thunder from the Everfree.

Celestia, forgive me.

Twilight relaxed her mind, and the energy at the tip of her horn faded to nothing.

Behind her, a blue ear twitched in response, unseen by all present.

Letting out a mocking chuckle, the Queen relaxed her grip on the smaller orb, returning it to her tattered mane. Turning back to the exhausted unicorn, she bared her fangs in full as an all-encompassing sneer crossed her face.

"As I expected, you possess almost as much loyalty as the Element of Loyalty herself. Which will be to my benefit, as you will soon be joining your friend to build an unstoppable army for me. With unending loyalty, and nearly limitless magical powers, Celestia will have no choice but to bow to Chrysalis!!", an ear splitting cackle punctuating her last words.

Lowering her head, the jagged horn atop the Queen's head began to shimmer in flames of green, as she channeled her magic for what Twilight knew would be the final blow. As energy continued to gather on her horn, the Queen issued one final insult to the purple unicorn.

"I read the pegasus's mind when I copied it, and you shouldn't be too upset with yourself for failing to save your friend. She wasn't expecting you to anyway. In fact, her last memories were of a pony in a white coat coming to her rescue, not you. Unfortunately for you, you'll never get to ask her about it, because you are at your end!"

The labcoat...Rosetta.

Despite the situation, a small smile crept across Twilight's sweaty, matted face. Sensing that she had only seconds left before ceasing to exist as Twilight Sparkle, she offered a final retort to the Queen. "You're wrong, Chrysalis. I'm exactly who she was expecting." With a final, thunderous roar, the Queen unleashed a bolt of magic at the purple unicorn.

The darkened room erupted in a blaze of light as the blazing green lance ran headlong into a bolt of solid magenta, the two reels of magic crackling against each other like a lightning storm. On either end of the maelstrom stood the Changeling Queen and Twilight Sparkle, both the two magical ponies locked in a battle of wills as much as strength. Twilight braced herself on her hind legs, pouring everything she had into keeping the Queen's killing blow at bay.

"Insolent fool!!", yelled the Queen, her off canter voice still booming over the roar of the deadlocked magic streams. "Your resistance will be your undoing, foal! You will submit, or be destroyed!!"

In the back of her mind, Rainbow's reminder rang in her head. The Elements are all inside of each of us. That goes for you too, Twi.

Twilight opened her mind, allowing memories of each Element at their best to flood the back of her mind. Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, and Loyalty. All connected, all building on the strength of the others. As if unlocking an unseen door in her mind, Twilight let the memories of her friends flood her core of magical ability.

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Twilight sent a massive burst of energy through her horn, driving the competing green bolt of magic nearly back to its source.

Gritting her teeth from exertion, Twilight raised her own voice as loud as she could. "Then I gladly meet my end, Chrysalis! You may stop me, and you may even stop the magic of friendship...." Narrowing her eyes to pin points, she bellowed what she expected to be her final words: "But you will never stop the power of love. Not now, not ever!"

Letting out a roar that would have shattered every window in the castle had they not been enchanted against it, the Queen's power intensified exponentially, filling the room with a sickening green light as her magic quickly regained its lost progress, bearing down on the purple unicorn. Twilight realized that the Queen must be drawing energy directly from the still glowing orb on the pedestal, but she could not divert a shred of energy to break the connection.

Her eyes became flooded with green energy, as the advancing wall of energy closed in on her. fighting with every last bit of strength that she had, she closed her eyes, imagining her friends one last time.

In the midst of the titanic struggle, neither pony had noticed the empty space where a blue pegasus had once laid.

"TWILIGHT!!!!"

The unicorn's eyes shot open in time to see a cyan blur race across the room, aimed directly at Chrysalis. Diving low across the floor, the chromatic streak jerked upwards at the last possible second, slamming into the side of the Queen with a thunderous clap that shook the foundations of the castle itself.

For Twilight, time nearly slowed to a halt as she could only watch the scene unfold in front of her. With the Queen lifted off of her hooves, Rainbow drove forward in the air, her forelegs and shoulders firmly planted into the Queen's black coat. With a final yell of pure defiance, the pegasus dove down at breakneck speed, the Queen still firmly planted in her grasp.

It took Twilight only a second to realize what was about to happen. Her mind screamed out to the diving pegasus, but the words would not make the journey to her vocal cords.

Her black, jagged horn still radiating green flames of energy, the Queen was driven directly into the magical amplifier, her horn lodging itself in the center of the blistering orb. The reaction from the orb was immediate, and it was violent beyond measure. The overloaded orb erupted into a searing ball of green flame, fissures opening like a spider web across its surface as it began to break apart. Chrysalis's final, bitter scream could barely be heard over the roar of the destruction that consumed her, as the fire reached the magical reserves that sat at the heart of every unicorn.

That final piece of fuel pushed the fire past the breaking point, as the now molten orb erupted in a final blaze of light that would surely have blinded the Sun itself. An earth shattering clap of thunder erupted from the orb as it flew apart, the shockwave sending debris in every direction - including a blue pegasus.