There were few moments in Twilight's life that caused her as much calm and contentment as what she was doing right this second. Sitting quietly beside her son's bed, watching him breathing steadily as he slept. A proud smile crept onto her lips as she carefully placed a single hoof upon his head, stroking him there gently, as only a Mother could. The act had its effect, as Spike stirred slightly in his sleep, smiling warmly to her touch, which only caused Twilight smile herself. But, no sooner had this happened when, all of a sudden, there was an unexpected knocking on the door below. Though at first irritated at this interruption, Twilight sighed, taking a moment to kiss Spike on the cheek, tucking him in further, before getting up and starting to leave his bedroom. Once the door was closed, she started to make her way down the stairs, and before long, she was at the front door, opening it with her magic. When she did, her eyes widened with surprise.
"Oh! Shining. Cadence."
Sure enough, her brother and Ambassador Cadence were indeed on the other side, both looking to her with smiles upon their faces.
"Hello, sister. May we come in?" Shining asked.
For a brief moment, there had been something in Shining's voice that caused Twilight some confusion, though why, she couldn't say. Even so, she resumed her earlier smile, standing to one side and allowing both ponies within. At all times, Twilight kept her eyes upon them, even as she closed the door behind her, and once she'd done that, she started to speak up.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight."
Cadence turned to her, nodding briefly.
"Yes...but we figured it'd be nice for the three of us to spend some quality time with one another.”
Twilight chuckled.
"Well, I'm certainly not opposed to that. It's been such a long time since we just talked."
Shining nodded.
"Indeed. I, for one, would very much like to speak with you, sister."
Again, Twilight paused, with something about Shining's voice not quite sitting right with her. But, in the end, she just figured it was how late it was. She wasn't on her game, that was all. So, regarding her brother warmly once more, she started walking closer to them.
"So, what would you like to talk about?"
The two other ponies looked to one another, and when they looked back to her, it was Cadence who spoke.
"Perhaps we could have some...tea...while we discuss things?"
Though taken aback by this, Twilight soon replied.
"Um...sure."
She moved away from them, heading straight for the kitchen. But, as she did this, she started to hear something behind her. It was a sound of clicking, like an insect, but far larger than any she’d ever heard. Confusion took hold in her expression, and she started to turn around.
"Hey, can you guys hear...?"
But she was cut off from finishing, for just then, something struck her from afar on her horn. Taking a step backwards in shock, Twilight immediately reached up to feel what had hit her.
"What the...?!"
It was soft, slimy, and more importantly, stuck there, despite her efforts to pull it off. Her eyes drifted down to the other ponies, and here, terror took hold in her expression. For her brother and Cadence were now engulfed in bright green flames, causing her to step back further. She watched in confusion and horror as it appeared as though each of their skins were magically peeling off, revealing dark carapaces beneath. When the flames died down, and both "ponies" looked to her, with their bug-like eyes narrowing, she realised what was happening.
"Changelings?!"
The two drones, both armoured in dark blue helms, lunged forward, and Twilight, instinctively, tried to blast them away with her magic. Unfortunately, to her dismay, she discovered that, no matter how hard she tried, no spells came forth. Again, and again she tried to shoot, but still, nothing. Soon, her eyes widened with realisation.
"The slime!"
Seeing her attackers come further still, she tried to spin around and run, but it was already too late, for one of them was upon her, grabbing her violently, and soon followed by the second. Twilight struggled to get free of their grasp, even to the point of punching one of them in the face, much to its fury. But even so, in spite of her resistance, the drones were continuing to drag her closer to the front door.
"Mom?"
Horror again took centre stage on Twilight's face, as her head snapped in the direction of the stairs. There, looking to her with fear, was Spike, now woken from his earlier slumber. The two drones regarded the young dragon, hissing aggressively, giving Twilight an opportunity to speak up.
"Spike! Stay back! They're too dangerous!"
Spike looked on, terrified, breathing heavily, but, like his Mother commanded, he did not get involved. Instead, he spun around, running straight back upstairs, shouting out as he did so.
"Trixie! Help!"
Realising that they needed to be swift now, the drones looked to one another again, nodding in unison, before getting back to the matter of dragging their captive out with them. One of them kicked the door open, the cool of air of the night flowing into the house. As before, Twilight continued to struggle against her assailants, but without her magic, her odds were slim. Once outside, the young unicorn could see the wings of the Changelings start to flap rapidly, and she realised that they were about to take flight, presumably with her alongside them. She doubled her efforts to break free of their grip, but they were too strong, and now, tears were about to form in her eyes, as she spoke quietly to herself.
"Spike..."
She could feel herself being lifted from the ground, as her attackers began their flight. But, no sooner had this started when, to the shock of all of them, one of the drones called out in agony.
"GAAAAARRRRRHHHH!!!"
Instantly, all three fell back to the ground, and in the confusion, Twilight was released from their grasp. At first, she couldn't understand what had happened, but soon, she looked to the drones with realisation. The one who had screamed was looking to his back, and saw that his wings were now seared, smouldering, as though blasted by something. Their heads swivelled in all directions, and soon, their eyes fixed on one who was not that far away. Twilight too looked on, and saw, to her amazement, that it was none other than Trixie, who now smirked at the Changelings.
"Now...that’s not very nice, now is it?"
Though understandably confused at this, Twilight stayed silent as the Changelings, rather than resume their kidnapping of her, instead focused on Trixie.
"KILL THE INTERLOPER!!!" one of them called out.
Their heads bowed, the tiny horns on the Changelings' heads started to glow bright green, and they soon began to shoot out small offensive magical bolts. But, as soon as they "struck" Trixie, yet further confusion awaited them. For instead of incapacitating the mare, all it did was phase right through her, as though she were nothing but smoke. They tilted their heads, not understanding what was going on. But then, another spell occurred, this one behind them. One of the drones was struck in the back, knocking him out cold, and the other spun right around, seeing that Trixie was there instead of where she had been.
"Right here, big boy!" she called, mockingly.
Looking over his shoulder, the drone realised that the other Trixie was actually a fake, as it faded away like a mirage. Twilight watched the whole thing, seeing her friend yet again blast her magic, while the Changeling had been focused on the illusion. The drone reacted too late, for he was hit right in the middle of his face, sending him flying backwards, before colliding with the Library. He fell, motionless, to the ground, and now, there was only silence. Twilight slowly got to her hooves, keeping her eyes on the drones for a time, before glancing up to the blue mare.
"...Trixie?"
The other unicorn said nothing, merely sighing and regarding Twilight with a look that was hard to read. Twilight opened her mouth, no doubt to enquire further, only to be kept from doing so when, to her delight, she heard a familiar voice.
"TWILIGHT!!!"
Turning, she saw that it was her brother, Shining, accompanied by a pair of other Equestria Guards, who were running towards her location as fast as they could. Though delighted to see them, Twilight then looked back to Trixie, who smiled to her and gave a brief nod.
"...Exit stage right."
Lighting up her horn, Trixie was soon engulfed in a near-blinding flash of light, and when it was done, the blue mare was gone completely from where she'd been. Even though she was still in a state of shock, Twilight knew a teleportation spell when she saw one. But regardless, it was now when her brother and his subordinates reached her, and immediately, their eyes drifted to the unconscious drones nearby.
"I...what...what happened here?!" Shining asked.
Twilight, keeping her eyes on the spot where Trixie had been, slowly shook her head.
"I think...Trixie had some tricks up her sleeve."
"She was one of them?!"
Shining's fury was evident as he paced up and down in the main chamber of the Golden Oak Library. Nearby, the front door was open, and the two guards who had accompanied him here were standing watch out in the cold air of the night. But they were not alone here right now, as Cadence had also arrived, and was currently handing a warm cup of tea to Twilight, who smiled in appreciation as she took it. Spike, who was likewise nearby, stayed beside his Mother, never once taking his eyes off her as she took her first few sips. After almost a full minute of non-stop pacing, Shining finally stopped, before turning to Cadence in anger.
"We should call up Ambassador Rarity. Have her explain why they had a spy here the whole time!"
Cadence turned to him with a frown.
"Shining! Calm down!"
But the stallion did no such thing.
"Calm down?! Cadence, those Lunars had a spy living with my sister! Watching her day and night! Heck, she's even been to Canterlot! Who knows how much info they have on our capital now?"
Cadence's frown deepened.
"Shining! Not now!"
Instantly, the stallion stopped, and his eyes drifted down to his silent sister. Realisation came to him, and he raised a hoof to his temples, rubbing them before letting out a long sigh.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Twilight. You've been through enough tonight."
Slowly, Twilight nodded, before glancing back up at her brother and offering him a small smile.
"It's fine, Shiny. I'm just a bit..."
She paused for a few moments, then looked back down at the ground.
"...well...I don't know what to think about tonight."
Shining stared at her, then looked over to Cadence, who, likewise, was looking as though she was trying to think of something else to talk about. Then, a "lightbulb" expression came to her, and she looked back to Shining.
"So...what news of the drones?"
Shining's frown returned, and he turned to face the still-open door.
"They've been taken into custody. By the orders of Princess Celestia, any rogue Changelings found within Equestria’s borders are to be handed over to King Thorax. He's been looking for the remnants of Chrysalis' army ever since they lost the war."
Cadence considered that.
"But why would they want Twilight?"
The nearby stallion looked back to her.
"It's obvious. Capture an important Equestrian citizen, then issue demands. Maybe they figured they could convince Celestia to provide them with supplies or some means of fighting back at Thorax."
He pointed to Twilight.
"And given that you were Celestia's apprentice, that made you a prime target."
Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks for making me feel better, brother."
Understanding dawned for Shining, and he started scratching the back of his head in a nervous manner.
"Right...um...sorry."
But Twilight's irritation was short-lived, as she once more let out a sigh.
"Do you think they'll be back?"
Shining shrugged his shoulders.
"Hard to say. Now that we’ve found them out, the might try to lay low, depending on how many more are still out there. But, to be safe, I'll have those two..."
He pointed to the guards.
"...stationed outside your home for the next few days, if that's okay with you?"
Twilight nodded in acceptance.
"Sure."
But it wasn't long before Shining continued.
"Having settled that...I think we should get back to the matter of...Trixie."
Twilight hunger her head a little.
"Shining..."
But the stallion cut her off.
"No, Twilight. The Lunars had a spy in our midst for months, and we never even suspected."
His sister looked at him disapprovingly.
"She saved my life tonight."
Shining paused, his expression softening.
"...I know that. And believe me, I'm grateful to her for it."
Again, his face resumed its sternness.
"But that doesn't change the fact that, in the long run, the knowledge she's gained about us and our country could do a great deal of harm."
His eyes drifted to Cadence.
"As I said, we should get Ambassador Rarity to talk with her about this."
Cadence herself started to open her mouth to reply, perhaps to counter his position on this matter. However, she was unable to get a single word out, as Twilight, rather quietly, started speaking instead.
"It won't do any good."
Both of the other ponies looked to her.
"What do you mean?" Cadence asked.
Twilight looked to her, then to her brother, before eventually settling on Cadence.
"Do you remember that big dinner we all had together? Here at the Library? Remember the way Rarity looked when she saw Trixie, completely surprised?"
She glanced away from both of them.
"I think that, whatever Trixie was here for...Ambassador Rarity had no idea what it was. I don't think she even knew Trixie was going to be here."
Hearing that, Shining grumbled.
"Plausible deniability. Of course."
After casting her brother an irritated look, Twilight's face softened back to what it was before.
"Maybe...but regardless...I don't think this is something we can just talk to them about."
Shining looked to her, taking in her words, before eventually giving a short nod, albeit a reluctant one.
"In that case...I need to get going."
He started making his way towards the door.
"I need to write up a full report about this to send back to Canterlot."
Pausing, he looked over his shoulder, to Cadence.
"I'll need your help with it."
Cadence nodded, then looked back to Twilight.
"Will you be okay here?"
Twilight smiled in appreciation.
"I'll be fine, Cadence. Thank you."
The pegasus mare considered that, then returned the smile, getting out of her chair and following Shining out. The latter gave his sister one last look, which Twilight gave him a reassuring smile over, before nodding to her and closing the door. Now, it was just Twilight and Spike, alone together. After what seemed like a full minute of silence, Twilight exhaled deeply, looking down to her son with warmth.
"Come on, Spike. You've been up long enough.
But Spike himself looked back to her with concern.
"Mom? Will...will we ever see Trixie again?"
The question had caught her off-guard, but not for long, as she thought quite hard about it before looking over to the door that led outside.
"I don't know, Spike. I just...don't know."
