Author's Note

Synchronicity by Cory Wong (feat. Phoebe Katis)

I can just barely, hardly make sense of the link between that song and that chapter.
Maybe I'm just high and trying to find a title, and it's not working. See? I'm that honest with you, dear reader.

Pardon the slightly ironic, sarcastic tone. I'm in pain here- But in all seriousness, do you know what Synchronicity means? It's an old concept (1920's) Imma put a few wiki links here cause it's pretty interesting (also this is straight up copy paste so disclaimer-whatever)
Synchronicity (German: Synchronizität) is a concept, first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl Jung, which holds that events are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related.[3]

During his career, Jung furnished several different definitions of the term,[4] defining synchronicity as an "acausal connecting (togetherness) principle;" "meaningful coincidence;" "acausal parallelism;" and as a "meaningful coincidence of two or more events where something other than the probability of chance is involved."[5]

Jung's belief was that, just as events may be connected by causality, they may also be connected by meaning. Events connected by meaning need not have an explanation in terms of causality, which does not generally contradict universal causation but in specific cases can lead to prematurely giving up causal explanation.[6]

Synchronicity [Not Edited]

The Goose turned her head away, and unkinked her neck- with a nightmarish series of cracks and popping sounds that would no doubt hunt me forever-, and the Changeling's eyes stopped spinning, shutting themselves in a restful looking expression. ''Honk! I'll do the translating, I picked Changeling Chitter in College.'' The Goose ironically said, as she sat more comfortably upon the Aberration's head, and pecked his ear to wake him up. ''Also, I think you owe me an explanation at some point.''

I took a moment to think about all that had happened, in such a small amount of time. We barely trusted each other, and yet she was following me, following my commands and even extending some trust towards me. ''Listen, that guy was either on his way to set off a bomb, or replace the Queen of the Deerfolk. That much I know- I don't understand much of what's going on either. I wonder how I haven't turned even more insane yet. But now's not the time for that talk yet. Our friend is waking up.''

The large, alien looking eyes fluttered open- the eyelids vertical, just to make it slightly more off-putting- and the same series of clicks and mumbled gargles- nothing i could normally comprehend. But... I could now feel emotions, and intentions behind those clicks and guttural sounds. It sounded scared and desperate- but what struck me was that this creature had emotions and... a sentience, too. Quite unlike the impression i had of them at first- and what anypony would normally think, the kind of thing your parents just eventually told you, when trying to scare you into behaving nice. That theses Changelings were horrors, mad, insane, emotionless killing machines.

But they were still equine. They hadn't lost that tinkle in the eye- It was just hidden. Somehow... Just coming to theses realizations was quite a lot to assimilate. The Goose shot me a worried look- My mask, my usually stern expression had definitely slipped. I took a deep breath, exhaling for as long as possible, and came back to my senses- which I then focused upon the Changeling. ''Who sent you? Why the Cloak and Dagger act?''

The Aberra- The mutated creature before me proceeded to talk it's chittery language. I took a feel for the language this time- and actually came to understand the structure a bit- Nouns where clicks, verbs a guttural repetitive noise of varying tone and repetition- and it resumed to clicks to precise an action, or give details about said action. It clearly gave a certain name too, For he used another language to convey his name- a throaty, clickety Kekle-Cuth'Rah, Gorg? It sounded something like that. It must've some better way to pronounce it, though. The Goose cleared her throat, and replicated the weird guttural sounds, clicketing with her sharp beak, a reply of some kind. The Changeling seemed to understand it, and so did I- It sounded scared, and even apologetic- a kindness well received by the creature i now almost felt was a proper Equine now. It made me feel a bit sick inside- To think I wouldn't have hesitated in the slightest bit to smite it moments prior, something about feeling this affinity with him now made me realize that violence most probably wasn't going to be an option here, and if there was, it would stain my Ka- my Soul. Not that it was pure, by any means, but I still didn't want to needlessly soil it, if avoidable.

The Goose locked eyes with me- and i could see the lavender definitely taking on a blueish hue briefly, as her beak contorted into a frown. ''He's just a pawn. He serves one of my Brethren, one of the few that i despise. You may do as you wish with him- my stare gave him momentary clarity, but as soon as it wears off, He'll most likely try to kill you. It's nothing personal, I assure you.''

The Goose flew from his head to come rest at my hooves, starring at the Changeling softly weeping on the ground. It's eyes were flickering- the lime glow was slowly returning, and i could see how painful it must've been. To have one's mindscape tore from your grasp and polluted by another was dreadful. There were ways to actually, without pain, in total consent and in complete harmony, bind two souls together, or achieve some control over other beings- My Order was proof of that, stood upon this very value in fact. Sure, it was slightly immoral, and the way my direct ancestor did it wasn't quite ethical- but my point still stood. Abominations that possessed the weak-willed to do their bidding were unmistakably evil- even that transdimentional Goose agreed with me on that one.
Without a word, i took the Changeling's head in a bear grip, and as swiftly as possible, i snapped his neck. Some problems just couldn't be solved by peaceful negotiations.
Yes, the Irony wasn't lost on me. Going from an extreme to another made me realize how much of a monster i was, though not without a good cause, for good reason- I couldn't let the one possessing this creature know my identity- Death was the only option here.

The Goose pecked at her wings, her expression almost indifferent, she pruned her feathers without shame, almost in an idle manner. I could see her beak wasn't quite straight, though- she definitely felt sorry for the other creature. She just couldn't let me see that it affected her. The Goose wanted to appear strong. That much, i could feel by being attuned to her ''harmonic signature'', her peculiar magic frequency. Just what kind of abilities my mark gave me? I needed to figure it out, sooner rather than later.

''What should we do with the body? Can your 'Brethren' infect other nearby minds through his corpse?'' I instinctively asked, without actually knowing where that came from. The Goose did something quite upsetting- she shrugged. How in Tartarus could her wing's joints bend that way was sending shivers down my neck. ''I don't think so... But you're never too careful. I'll take care of it.'' She stretched her beak open- wide, wide, so wide it didn't make any sense. How was it stretching? How was her jaw able to dislocate itself in such a manner? Her large gaping maw open, large serrated teeth on full display- you don't want me describing how bad her breath was, honestly: How foul could Ink smell left me mystified- She used an extending, expending wing to grasp the Changeling, and carelessly engulfing it in a single bite. With quite the bump traveling down her throat, she released quite a honky-sounding, retching belch. It left my nostrils numb by how disgusting it smelled. Then, as if nothing had happened, her beak crawled back into place and shrunk in the blink of an eye. ''Sorry, I'm definitely going to need a minute to digest this. Go ahead, I'll catch up.''

Recoiling from what just happened, suddenly taking stock that what i had just witnessed was real- and still somehow retaining my grip on my sanity, i turned tail and ran down the Hallway.

I still had to check on the Queen- and launch a large scale magical scan, to make sure I hadn't missed any threats. I would eventually had to report this, however, so I would have to keep some manner of tangible proof to support my claims.

The deserted hallways echoed with my hoofsteps- If I wasn't too disoriented by the little chase, the room I was looking for wasn't that far- just overhead, in fact- and I couldn't hear any sound coming from over me. true, my hearing wasn't the sharpest- but my acute, attuned senses told me there were other mind-controlled Changelings nearby.

But where exactly? Without having eyes on the Queen's room, I couldn't possibly compare where the signatures were coming from. All i could tell was slightly on my left, and overhead- and that the energy signatures weren't as intimidating as the changeling now getting dissolved in Goose stomach acid. They must be either lesser creatures, or ones capable of cloaking magic- Either way, it didn't matter much. They would sense me as one of them- giving me the element of surprise.

Gauging my "tank's" remaining fuel, I estimated I could take care of two of them, maybe three- any more could overpower me. I couldn't make out exactly how many they were, but there couldn't be more than five or six, or they were standing really close to one another- which wasn't a bad thing. If i could trap them in a room... I'm sure the Princesses won't mind a little ceiling caving in, if it meant avoiding an explosion and needless casualties.

Sliding to a halt, I finally made it to the flight of stairs and servant's lift, or trolley as you could call it- And I was considering using it. It could conceal me slightly as i went up the stairs, offer me some cover, and wouldn't make as much noise as my hoofsteps that would no doubt echo loudly in the open staircase. But it could also trap me in place, and the small metallic box won't do much good if it where to be turned against me. With a groan of annoyance, I proceeded to tiptoe up the stairs- slowing my approach considerably, but the sound traveled quite far in the empty halls of the Castle, and being alone at the moment, I couldn't risk an offensive strategy- but I still needed to hurry. Making my way up as silently as possible, I threw my senses ahead and above- It was already getting more precise. I could feel a total of 5 signatures- three just outside a room, and two right at the top of the stairs. I couldn't waste time on theses two- but I still couldn't leave them be while i charged ahead at the three- It posed the risk of having to fight them all at once, and without some serious charging up, without a horn, the odds weren't in my favor. I had come to rely on spell casting too much- If only i could get my hooves on some weapon...

And that's where i realized there were tapestries hanging over me- Hanging on a metal rod, with large spherical, decorative weighs on each sides. It probably would bend and break quickly- But it was just what i needed to deal with the two guarding the stairs. I put my front hooves against the wall, and with a mighty push of my hind legs, managed to get a hold of the tapestry with my teeth- and with a good pull, i managed to make the tapestry and metal rod fall at my hooves.

The noise was kind of absorbed by the heavy fabric- but one of the weighs hit a potted plant on it's way down, as well as a hanging dish- meant to hold lavender at night- making the chains rattle against the wall. Cursing under my breath, I pulled the metal rod out of the heavy cloth, and threw the fabric at the two Changelings attracted by the noise. Moving swiftly, i used the tapestry as cover while it was in the air- and collided heavily with one changeling, tackling him to the ground. I spun in place, raising the metal rod still in my mouth, and brought it upon the head of the second Changeling- who fell limp to the ground, and tumbling down the stairs.

One down, four to go. the creature on the ground wasted no time, and it's horn started to glow a bright green. I ducked and rolled, as the released spell shattered the tiles i was standing on just seconds prior. with a grunt, i spun to gain momentum, and threw the bent rod directly in the Changeling's face- To be continued after this commercial break!

Two in two, perfect score. panting slightly, I took a look at the hallway- my fight visibly hadn't got the attention of the other group further away. Good. I brought my eyes upon the two bodies at my feet, their black, viscous blood staining the tiled floor. I had no time to deal with them, and swept my hooves against my belly to keep them from slipping on the dry, waxed tiled floor. I closed my eyes and focused my senses towards the end of the hallway, on my left, giving me a clear mental picture of what awaited me before the Queen's guest suite.

I could feel two changelings, and one... One other creature like the Goose- It's shape isn't unlike a Pony, except it's all wrong. It is mutated, twisted like a Radiation-born Changeling- alien, buggy eyes, crooked horn and fangs- but the proportions weren't wrong like i would normally expect. And it didn't have holes, either. An hybrid of bug and radiation Changeling. I could feel the tension around him, or her, too. The air shimmered not unlike inside the pockets of wild magic-and a kind of silver thread linked it to... Apparently, the ceiling- but I knew it stretched way, way further. My instinct were telling me this was the mind control of a higher being, one residing in the astral realms, or beyond. It could explain the silver color of the thread, at least. The dark, emerald energy emanating from it's eyes, not unlike mist or smoke in appearance, made me come to some conclusion. One, an Abomination wanted to impersonate the Queen, most probably capture her, and then the squad here would suicide themselves by overpowering the enchantments in the hidden room, creating a pocket of wild magic that would cause the 'explosion', in an effort to disguise the kidnapping. A clever plan, for who would suspect such a thing? Who would rush to the Queen's aid, if everypony believed her dead?

I needed to stop them. But the energy I felt made me hesitate- I wouldn't walk away unscathed from a confrontation against something with such power. And they probably had other tricks up their sleeves too- Which forced me to use one of mine. I could probably try to reach into their minds and severe their consciousness and subconscious- letting me slip Silence in, let her take control of their subconsciousness, and finally 'switch' their conscious and subconscious.
In other words, I could make one of them my puppet. And as it so happened, one of them was quite the host. True, it was a high-risk, high reward kind of thing, and true, luck hadn't been on my side so far- but I knew I was a lucky pony, in normal circumstances. I have no other option but to put a little faith in, and hope i'll come out okay.

Without any kind of warning, a runic circle of emerald flames sprouted at my hooves- and an annoyed Goose winked into existence before me. Before she could say anything, i moved a hoof to my lips and shushed her- getting an acknowledging nod out of her. I pointed at the curve, at the end of the hallway to our left. With her by my side, the odds were a bit more even. I had come to expect the unexpected out of my feathered companion, which both made me feel a bit more confident, and scared of what kind of thing she might do to me in my sleep. But theses were troubles for Future me.
I still had Present me to deal with, and something told me Past me made the wrong decisions this morning, and maybe should've stayed in bed. Let somepony else deal with all of this.

We slowly, silently crept down the hallway, and i signaled my companion to take care of the two smaller targets. By that, I mean i actually used the mute-pony hoof signal language- To which the Goose shrugged. So i simply mouthed at her ''Take the two smaller grunts, I'll take care of the Big guy.'' I made sure to exaggerate my mouth and tongue's movements, as to make it extra clear. She nodded, visibly having understood enough of what i said. Nodding back, i narrowed my eyes and took the lead. I could feel the Goose likewise getting ready for a charge- We would turn the corner and each take on our opponents- I hoped I could make the old 'Possession' trick work again- I still hadn't really tried making Silence fight yet in this life. Of course, being who and what she is, she already knew all about combat and how to handle herself in pugnacious mindscapes, and only hoped her opponent wouldn't be too tough.

-----------//----------

''Silence! Think you can handle this one?'' I felt the voice echo around me, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. A command from Master. Looking through the large bay window, which was showing me what He saw, I prepared myself for the attack. Readying my shield and spear, I sprouted wings of light from my back to help me wield my weapons.

It was time to hunt.

I sent him a tug through our mental link, saving my energy for what laid ahead. I could feel all of what he had read earlier on my target- I made sure not to memorize his name, for fear the abomination could use it to get a hold of me somehow. Sometimes, knowledge could be an edge used against you in foreign landscapes. Most were pretty hostile- a pretty natural thing, in fact. But I had a feeling this one was going to be quite different from the mindscapes little ponies and friendly creatures had. Having the Goose as reference, I couldn't begin to fathom what i was getting myself into.

All of a sudden, I saw him charge, and I was flung into the air, towards him- In a diving position, my shield before me- shot at bullet speeds, i threw my spear into the biggest Changeling's forehead, and dove into the ethereal wound, into the creature's mindscape.

At first, everything was dark. I fell for what felt like a solid minute- but must've been a millisecond. I had to adjust to the creature's mind, and as such, his perception of time. I felt something enter the wound too, following me inside- Looking up, I saw only white feathers. How could it follow me? That Goose was all kinds of unforeseen-able.

We both landed on soft ground, covered in snow, near a little wooden cabin in the middle of nothing There was hardly light around, And I was thankful that I was made out of light. I hated the dark with a Passion unmatched. I was the Lightbringer, my psyche's 'programing' forced me to hate the darkness. In order to keep my Master on track within the path of the Light, and to banish every shadow in His way.

A voice chuckled overhead, coming from everywhere around me and the Goose- which I still couldn't decide if she could be trusted- and i rose my shield before me instinctively. ''Greetings, Visitors. I knew you would eventually find your way here. Turn back now, and I shall spare your lives, just this once.''

The Goose let out a defying Honk, which made the whole realm shake slightly, and made me jump back. I now kept one eye on the shack's door, another on the Goose, just to be sure. ''You know why we're here, then. I was getting tired of waiting, Brother. Your games have gone too far. Stop at once, or else.'' The Goose stood straight and tall, and in a flurry of white feathers, grew twice, thrice her size- and took on a distinguishable Pony shape, with a beak, talons and palmed duck hind legs.Her wings were huge, so large I had to duck when they sprouted, and made me instinctively feeling jealous. I thought my wingspan was large...

No time for birdbrain stuff. It was time for Fighting stuff. The disembodied voice overhead- It clearly sounded like it came from over us this time- chuckled again, and the void around us turned a ghoulish green, the snow at my hooves took on a greenish glow that made me feel sick- even though i had no stomach, or other organs for that matter- and my eyes narrow, for with my own light and everything around, it was getting pretty bright in here. The Goose's eyes didn't seem to have any problems though, as a regalia of emerald flames appeared on her whiters, and all four of her... legs? were her talons on arms or legs? My mind had trouble making the distinction, and i wasted a precious second trying to make sense of the Pony-ish, Equinesque creature before me. The Goose-Hyrbid stood in defiance, and snorted at the laughing void.

''Then, do come in. Let us see who has the right to influence the Oz, the etch and flow of the weave. Let us see who really is Chosen!'' The Shack's doors swung open, and a powerful aura could be felt from within the shelter. I rose my spear, getting ready to go in, but the Goose's wing blocked me. She was holding me back. ''Let me do this. It isn't your fight... And don't mention it to your Master. I owe him one and I don't want him thinking we're even... Yet. You too, lack the foresight to understand what really is going on here. Stay safe.'' Without leaving me time to answer, she dove inside in subsonic speeds, leaving me stranded in the sea of green snow.

It was getting cold.

----------//----------

The fight was over in a second. The Goose had outstretched her wings and grabbed the Two Changelings, and whispered a weird language in their ears, making them convulse and turn insane. I put my hooves on my own delicate ears, making sure to focus on the Large Changeling walking slowly towards me, his eyes flashing with a weird glow, flickering on and off, a clear sign that Silence was doing well. I braced myself, and brought my bent metal rod before me, to hold him back. He would act like a zombie at this point, and so long as i kept him from touching my forehead, i would be fine. I cracked my neck in anticipation- so it wouldn't keep me from dodging, if need be.

When this was all said and done, i deserved some special medication- and by that, i meant drugs. I wasn't ashamed to say it- I was long past due and could feel it throughout my whole body- The ritual binding me with it was painful, and as such i had taken the habit of smoking opiates and cannabinoids, to keep the pain a dull sensation instead of this rusty feeling i had in my muscles. It was as if my body weighed several tons more than it should, and I tried to keep my mind off of the pain by focusing on the Changeling, sending willpower to Silence- no doubt helping her, somehow.

And suddenly, all the Changelings felt limp to the floor, the two smaller ones emanating some wild magic ennervation- and without taking a second to think about it, just let myself breathe it all in. It was as easy as breathing, at least- but it was more similar to Changeling feeding then taking a deep breath. It left me feeling full, all bloated somehow, and I now knew what it felt like to be pregnant. The Goose opened a portal of dark emerald flames, and pushed the two small bodies in as i felt Silence slipping back into my body, making me shudder. It was such a weird sensation, when she exited and entered my body- and no matter how many lives i had lived through, It still left me feeling queasy and uncomfortable. It was as if something tampered with your physical brain, like undergoing surgery with just enough painkillers not to feel your head being split open, but to leave you feeling these thousands of little needles in your brain. It was quite unsettling, to say the least.

Dismissing the weird feeling with a little shake, I took a better look at the changeling on the Floor before me. With a scan, i could tell he was still alive- he just didn't have any consciousness left. Only a broken subconscious that left his organs pumping, and the juice-blood flowing in his veins. ''Is it worth saving, Silence? Is his mind salvageable? Any stray memories left, by any chance?'', I asked through our telepathic link. I could sense some hesitation coming from her, but she quickly replied, "there's not much left... But with a little work, he could still be saved. Of course, he's only going to be an emotionless drone, but it's better than death, i assume.'' I took a moment to consider it. I was about to go on an adventure, I just knew it. My talent, my purpose was clear, and I could feel the familiar itch of the road begging to be traveled. Having another set of hooves, one that didn't require sleep or food, would be quite useful. Perhaps i could even transform it into the new kind of Changeling that populated our cities today. I sighed. ''Ready to leave my brain again? Just make sure he can stand and follow us around for now, we'll have plenty of time to work him out when we have our talk with Goose and the Princesses. Not looking forward to that...'' A ball of light shot itself from my forehead, and dove into my new companion's forehead. Within a few moments, empty gray eyes fluttered open, and he stood mechanically two steps behind me. The Goose looked at me, then the door. With a nod, I pushed it open.

Little did I know, Destiny had already worked itself. It was too late to go back, too late to change what had happened.