Author's Note

1:02 am. Unedited and commercial free! Next up :"Apples to Apples..."
This is basically a finished rough draft with some rough edits. I'll skim through later to make some changes, correct some errors, that sort of thing. If you want a smoother story, wait a few days before reading this, if not, go for it! :D

The true strengh of love

Twilight had thought the hall was empty! She hadn't seen anyone when she ducked out of the library, but she managed to miss a guard standing right in the open. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid! She should have known better than to let panic drown out the voice and logic and reason. She should have waited until the hall was completely barren before trying to make an escape!

To her credit, the hall did seem empty. The Lunar Guard had been taken off somewhere else in the castle, and it most certainly looked like there wasn't anypony in the vicinity. And yet, now she struggled against strong arms that wrapped around her frame. In half a second, her mind had slipped into full-fledged panic mode. Problem: Captured! Possible solutions: Paralysis spell? Inadvisable. High probability of affecting self with misplaced shot in close quarters. Struggle? Inadvisable. Hold is unbreakable. Arms are...familiar. Irrelevant! Focus! Scream for help? Inadvisable. Most probable result: Captured by the Lunar Guard. Turn and fight? Inadvisable. Overpowered. Opponent is larger. Stronger. Faster, and smells...familiar... Focus Twilight! Bribe? Maybe. Probability of success: Negligible. Note to self: look into martial arts classes. Smells like...wait...big brother!?

"Fancy meeting you here, Twily." A voice said as strong arms spun her around and clutched her to a barrel of a chest. She relaxed immediately with a sigh of relief, pressing herself into Shining's forelegs.

"Shiny!! I'm so glad to see you!!" Twilight whispered as Shining Armor pulled the two of them around the corner, and deeper into the castle.

"Likewise! Whats goin' on?! Why are you wanted for questioning? Why is the Lunar Guard after you?!" Shining hissed, ducking down one hallway and peering down another. Empty. Perfect. Twilight followed quietly,

"Ok, short version? I'm mixed up in an insane cult of rapist Sombra worshipers, who apparently use machines to steal female ejaculate from unwilling sources. I don't know why but I think Luna is involved and trying to cover it up with the Lunar Guard, and she's using changelings to keep herself out of the public's eye. They're after the elements of harmony to use it to power some insane plan to resurrect Sombra. And, And I think they might have followed me here, and, and Cadence is acting weird, and I, I think, it's...Ugh, It's a really long story." She sighed in defeat and disgust. The whole thing made her feel slimy inside and she gave a quiet shudder. Shining Armor, for the most part, seemed quiet and stoic, nodding his head with a glazed look in his eyes. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, as if he were about to ask a question, and then grunted and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a hoof. He finally shook his head, and beckoned Twilight to follow behind him as he made his way through the castle. Eventually, she followed him into what looked like a large store room in the castle halls. He shut the door behind them and leaned up against the wall with a groan.

"Ok. Who hurt you? Just give me a name, a species, and a mane color, I'm gonna ram my horn into somepony's eye socket." The big brother pony grumbled. Twilight chuckled dryly and reached up to pat him on the shoulder.

"As sweet and simultaneously horrifying it is to hear that, we don't have time for revenge. Princess Luna may be going after my friends, so I've got to get to Celestia!" Twilight whimpered. Her brother chuckled quietly and trotted over to an empty adjacent wall. The little storage closet was covered in shelves and stored foodstuffs. He reached up to grab at an opened bag of carrots and pulled at one of them. He tugged at a carrot that was ever so slightly apart from the others and pulled it from left to right. To her amazement, the quiet sound of turning gears filled the room, and the shelf to her left opened up to reveal a hidden door. Shining Armor squealed in glee.

"I've always wanted to use this!" He squeaked, beaming brightly like a colt with a new toy. She smiled warmly at her dorky brother and peered into the newly opened room. It was a long staircase that traveled down to a forked hallway.

"Classy! Where does this lead?" She asked, gazing into the dark revealed staircase in front of her. Shining Armor stepped in next to her, and pointed down the stairs.

"Under the castle and out. Follow the path down until you reach the fork. The left will take you out near the train yards. The right will put you out near the border to the far north. You'll end up in the crystal mines if you go far enough that way. We'll stall the Lunar Guard up here as long as we can, But Twilight...You know going to Canterlot to find Celestia...well, you don't have to be captain of the guard to see you're walking into a trap." He winced. Twilight gave him a relaxed smile and playfully punched his arm.

"I know. By the time I reach Canterlot, it will be night, but that's exactly what I'm counting on. They'll never expect for me to move during the time of her domain. The guard will be strong, but not quite as tight. They'll be spread out looking for us. All I have to do is get to Canterlot Castle and get to Celestia. I'm putting together a theory and a lot of my plans hinge on information only at the castle. If I get caught...well... the guards can't ALL have been corrupted. They'll hold me until I can speak with Celestia. We'll call that my "Fall Back" plan. My Fall Back-Fall Back" plan If anything goes wrong, is my big brother best friend forever heh." She chuckled nervously. Shining Armor threw out his barrel of a chest and nodded his head.

"Darn tootin'! Look, give me twenty-four hours, and I'll take the crystal guard to Ponyville. None of us will be changelings. Hoof picked soldiers you can trust to help sort this thing out." Shining exclaimed. Twilight winced and quietly shook her head.

"Thaaaaaaaaaat might qualify as an act of war. Besides, if Luna is really that far gone It might turn ugly. The Crystal Empire is just getting stable again. We can't throw it into a sex scandal! Luna could even be planning some sort of war on the kingdom itself, and that would play right into her hooves. I don't think we should involve the Crystal Guard until absolutely necessary. On that note, er about Cadance..." Twilight explained and bit at her lower lip.

"She's a changeling? We know. It showed up at the same time you did. I've been doing guard sweeps, and trying to pinpoint exactly who it is, but it keeps evading me. After the 'Battle at Canterlot', we've beefed up security around here. I'm sorry I'm only getting to talk to you about it now, but we've been kinda busy trying to figure out if another invasion is taking place." He said with a gloomy sigh. Twilight reached out and rested an arm against his shoulder and flashed him a gentle smile before her ears perked at his last comment and she gave a quiet giggle.

"I knew it! IknewitIknewitIknewit! She put me to sleep last night. She made me dream about ...well it doesn't matter. It's dream manipulation magic! Luna's craft! I studied up on it in Canterlot before the 'Nightmare Moon Incident.' I borrowed so many books about it! Now I'm sure I was dreaming! They can't collect from me, but they still want to blur the lines between dreams and reality! Another psychological assault! Wait...how do you know the difference between her and the changeling?" Twilight asked puzzled. Shining Armor blushed furiously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah...heh...Ca-Cadence got really really mad when I couldn't tell the difference between her and Chrysalis, so, we uh...worked out a....system." He stammered, chewing up each of his words as they tumbled from his mouth. Twilight wanted to press for more information! Anything to help keep her safe from the sneaky creatures that seemed to surround her. But the way Shining Armor was blushing, gave her pause. Still, the idea that two lovers would have a special way of acknowledging each other was very sweet. Anything for the one you love. It reminded her of a little bit of the story Princess Luna had told her the other night.

For some reason, that stuck out in her mind. She'd glanced over it before hoof, but now there was something different about it. A different point of view. For a second, she wondered what the Princess in Luna's story would have given up to be with Sombra. Who was the princess? A question she'd never asked, but seemed all too clear now.

Luna.

Luna was behind the whole thing. Everything she'd told them in the story came back to her in wild bursts of memory. Memory over-flowing overtop memory! One after another after another! One stuck out the most though.

The way to bring him back:
“There is a spell...forbidden...and horrid. It is never to be spoken, or learned or even written down. But it exists in the old texts. A life, for a life...and it would require an incredible source of magical energy,”

Of course the Lunar guard were after them, it was the only way to collect the Elements of Harmony! Luna would ponynap all of them and force them to use the elements to bring Sombra back to life. The pony she was so mad about when Rainbow Dash brought up the fact they had slain him. The pony that still held her heart. It all made sense now. Luna and Sombra! Two sides of the same coin!! She shuddered at the horrifying concept of Nightmare moon and Sombra's forces combined. Sombra had given up everything in his blind attempt to win over Princess Luna. He sought to become king and an alicorn of immense power. Perhaps Luna loved him still. Perhaps Luna loved him enough to attempt his resurrection. Love was a two-way street, after all. Love knew no boarders or bounderies. Could a love like Luna and Sombra's be as powerful as Shining's and Cadance? Could love really find a way to reunite them? What was the true strength of this love? How far was Luna willing to go? It all made sense, except for one thing...How did the rape machines fit in? Why steal thier juices? Shining Armor canted his head towards her, and snapped her free of her thoughts. What had they been talking about...?

"Trust me, I can tell the difference. The Cadence I left with the Lunar guard was the 'Real Cadence,' but since I've been gone, I'll have to scan them all over again. I'll use it as a cover to put the castle on lock down, and keep the Lunar Guard busy, They won't be able to chase you until it's lifted. Now listen up! This is a secret passed through royal families. You're in an elite club, lil sis! Under the train yards in the tunnels, you'll find a large red chalk outline. It blends in with the rust down there and the ruby crystals, but it's visible if you look for it. On the third horn of the train departing from the station, stand in that chalk outline, and teleport yourself up twenty feet. With perfect timing you'll end up in one of the rear cars." He explained, poking his head out of the door frame to scan the hallways. Coast was still clear... When he glanced back at her, she had the biggest ear to ear grin across her muzzle he'd ever seen. Like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. He couldn't help but to smile in return and he squeezed his arms around her with a bone crushing hug.

"Why do we always gotta meet up when one of us is in trouble, huh?" He chuckled. She grinned and rolled her eyes, starting to trot down the stairs.

"It's your turn, by the way! I'll be saving you from ghosts, or zombies or mutants or something! Just you wait!" She called back as her trot turned into a gallop.

"You WISH you'd be able to save me from zomponies! I've spent large parts of my life preparing for a Zompony Apocalypse!" He screamed. She was just about out of audible range, dashing down the tunnel the way she was, but Shining Armor was absolutely positive he heard her. The giggling chime of his sister's voice in the distance. It was only one word, but it made him chuckle fondly.

"NEEEEEEEEEEERD!"

He grinned to himself. Siblings. As nice as it was to see his little sister, now he had a great deal of work to do and putting together an undercover anti-changeling mission had jumped to the top of the list.

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