Author's Note

Title's reference you guessed it- another song!

This chapter just wouldn't find a proper ending. Cut it kinda weird, will edit that later. Or not.

Right Place, Wrong Time [Not Edited]

The flames slowly died down at my hooves, the scenery around us back to it's pristine, tended-to state. Every single flower, bush, tree, every single blade of grass has been restored around us. The sun was high in the sky- only a few degrees east, and different manner of animals went startled-eyed at us, before running away, the smaller rodents diving in bushes while the larger ones made good use of their longer legged strides to scatter between the trees, away from the little path i found myself on.

The wheelchair was nowhere to be found. No signs of damage against the Castle a few hundred meters away, no collapsed roof, or signs of any explosion.

My jaw fell limp, my mouth opened on it's own. I couldn't comprehend what had possibly happened, while the signs were all there before me.

This Goose... warped us back in time. Her mismatched eyes blinking non-simultaneously, a bored expression etched on her face, as if nothing had happened. she released a small hoquet, and an emerald ember went flying away. I could not believe it.

She had puked us back in time. Her body... It was nothing but a disguise. She was a creature of green flames- an Aberration not unlike changelings. A result of wild magic. It all made sense now. The explosion. the Goose. The Deer...

I needed to find Rhydaelle- Make sure she wasn't replaced by one of these monsters yet. There were different varieties of Changelings, you see. There was the sentient, well more like drone-type changelings from Changelings hives still uncovered- theses ones were mostly harmless. They fed out of emotions- positive ones like love, and ever since Twilight got her wings, and all of that Jazz, they figured out a way to sustain themselves via Friendship- theses Changelings are actually quite friendly and used their Foul magic for good reasons, no longer for nefarious purposes. It was limited to transformation-type magic too, so it wasn't what was scaring me here.

Some changelings, like earlier- or i guess later, actually- are quite another thing. They are born from the enervating, wild radiation of theses ''wild magic pockets''. It offered ponies a glimpse into realms quite far away from ours, it would blend one with another, Eldritch dimension, one that went through the veil. It gave theses changelings all manners of different magics- some of them pretty dangerous to deal with. The horns of crystal were actually designed to deal with otherworldly threats like these. Only they could interact with theses strange pockets of wild, unknown magic. Theses pockets were caused by casting so much high-tier magic, so quickly in succession, in such a small area- or decaying, old spells casted by powerful casters. It could even happen by simply botching a spell- Like, per example, interrupting a unicorn from casting.

''So that's how you call it. Wild Magic, huh?'' The Goose pecked me in the ribs, and i instinctively raised a hoof to my chest.
I was wearing my coat. Said coat i wasn't wearing before.... The warp. ''Indeed. You're catching up quickly... Are you sure you're not one of my brethren?''

''Am I... What? What defines your Brethren? Do i share a magical affinity with you?'' I chuckled. I could barely understand my powers in this life.

''I know I can share your magic, yes. But I think we can agree my skin and bones are that of a Pony. I don't even have feathers... Yet.'' I ushered that last word under my breath, missing my horn. Being stuck in an earth pony shape was exhausting, for one being used to the grace and slim body of a unicorn. I might be modernized and open minded, but my tribalist ancestry sure made me sneer at the earth pony ways at times.

The Goose looked up at me, her eyes slowly blinking one at a time. ''If you are not of my kind, then I must study you. You are an anomaly my kind would very like to know more about... But it will require an exchange of sorts.'' she paced around me, her talons digging into the ground with each step- and perfectly slicing each blade of glass with her claws. This creature could most probably gut me open in the bat of an eye- at any given moment. But... ''You know, my order would very much like to know more about you too. How's that for an exchange?''

The pink, lavender eye took on a blueish hue. The pensive look on her face was oddly disconcerting- but at some point, she nodded. ''It would be beneficial... But are you agreeing too quickly yourself? We barely started talking efficiently. I believe we need to talk about this more before i can officially agree- after all, I'm far from home- but sure. I'll let myself be studied... If you do too.'' her eyes glinted in a very malicious way. It sent shivers down my spine and i could feel all manner of muscles tense up in my body, my tailhole clenching in the most upsetting of ways.

''Could we keep it as casual as possible? I promise that i won't let them do anything you're not comfortable with.'' With those words, her eyes turned even more icy and i swear i could see daggers pointed at me through that milky eye of hers.

''Do not ever show me weakness- I am not one of your loving pony kind. I thought you were above such sentiments. It's kind of you, indeed, to worry about me. But do not be mistaken-'' She scooted closer, and put a talon on one of my legs. I could see the claws just pressing into my flesh, not enough to draw blood. ''I hate weak creatures. I have an irrepressible urge to just gut you open to see where all that boldness went- don't make me satisfy my curiosity so soon, pony.'' With that, she strutted away, ruffling and puffing her feathers.

the conversation will have to wait until we got stuff done.

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

The halls were oddly empty. No guards roamed the palace between the medical wing and the guest wing- the only access that lead into the outside directly from the guest wing, and where i guessed i'd find my target.

I could swear that the Deer Queen's antlers were decorated when i first saw them in the throne room. But, when i later joined her in the suite, she was surrounded by Deer, and her antlers weren't decorated. It lead me to believe that she had been replaced somehow, but when exactly? It was a mystery.
One i intended to solve, and quickly. I still had other threats to worry about.

The imminent explosion overhead, in fact.

''Honk! What are we doing here? Where is the pocket you spoke of?'' The Goose's- Which had yet to provide me with any name or way to address her, really- palmy feet pit patted against the tiled floor, echoing and no doubt, giving us away if an enemy were to sneak about. I lifted my eyes up and peered into any corner, any tapestry or decorative plant could actually be an enemy here. Even any guard I might stumble upon.

The threat of Changelings was no laughing matter.

"It's over us, in the Guest Wing. But we have to be careful- there might be an Imposter among us, here in the Castle.''
The Goose flapped her wings about, her head darting to and fro, left and right, up and down- mimicking, possibly mocking my own behavior- and let out a soft startled gasp. ''Wait, I think i see something! Pure Bullshit, right there on the floor!'' She gave me a peck on the scruffy hair around my hooves, and almost cut a few stray hair with how fast she moved. ''Stop acting like a scaredy cat. You won't find that thing with your eyes alone. It's hiding from us.''

The Goose was clapping her beak as she talked directly into my mind, giving me the impression of speech- but to the overlooking outsider, i was literally talking to a normal Goose. Holding a conversation, with an animal. This still left me feeling a little queasy- Like i had stolen Fluttershy's whole thing. ''You know what? you might just be right. We need to find the Queen and shadow her- Wait until he strikes. I don't know what i was thinking, looking for him while I could've just ambushed him instead.''

My ears suddenly picked up on some noise- some glass shattering. ''Or maybe we could investigate that sound. Follow me!'' I silently darted forwards, on the edge of my hooves as to not make too much sound. Tip-top running like this, i was skittering and sliding across the waxed floors, almost moon walking at some point. This was harder than i expected- I was ill-suited for infiltration work, and yet again missed my horn, for a muffling spell would've let me run without any difficulty, at least. Tripping every now and again, i ended up falling while trying to turn a corner. The Goose behind me, hovering about, flapping her wings, snickered at my display of apparent lack of dexterity.

With an annoyed growl, i stood back up, only to see right before me, emerging from a non-descript room, a pony wearing hooded robes. We locked eyes, my slate and pale yellow orbs starring deep in his lime green glowing eyes. Unmistakably, he was a Changeling. And a Radiation-born kind, not a friendly bug type. It's slightly mismatched limbs skittered on the tile floor, and he half ran, half slid away down the hallway. I had to catch up to him... ''Goose! Portal us in front of him!'' I exclaimed, buckling my legs and preparing to tackle him.

The Goose beside me simply looked at me, with her creepy mistimed, mismatched blink of hers. ''Why would we stop him, actually?'' I couldn't believe what she was saying. ''What do you mean? If we don't stop It, it's gonna destroy an entire Castle wing, an act of Terrorism! We can't let that slide!'' I frantically moved around, wondering if i should try to convince the Goose or run after the aberration while there was still time- ''Him. Not It. I won't fight my Brethren without a good reason.'' She pawed at the floor, her head tilting left and right. "The way I see it, you're just trying to stop him without taking into consideration why he's here, what He's doing. We have a purpose just as much as you do, you know.''
Releasing an exasperated sigh, deciding to talk it out with the Goose before it became a problem, i sat on my haunches and locked eyes with her. ''If we don't stop him, innocent lives will be lost. What remains of the Cervideans's main tribe will be wiped, along with any sick or injured in the hospitals bellow. If I understood what happened properly back then... Without me there to absorb the explosion, it'll be much, much worse. I won't kill him, i promise, sorry for referring to him as an object. Can we warp now?''
She took a moment to think about it. Really, i could see my bluff was well received, but I could feel it was against whatever ''values'' and morals she has. ''Alright. So long as you hear him out...'' She sighed and with a hiccup, barfed down some emerald flames that etched a rune circle around us, and next thing i know, I'm starring down another hallway, flames dying down at my hooves.

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

A suprised Changeling before me, sliding down to a halt, and let out a surprised jumble of clicks and growls in a rapid succession- a natural language of sorts, that i couldn't understand without my horn. I brought an hoof over my head, and slammed it on the floor, releasing a small burst of earth pony magic- sending the Changeling half flying, half sliding on the tiled floor, and ran after it to pin it down before he could stand back up. Sliding down next to him and putting my hoof at the base of his neck- and bearing down half my weight on him, as to not crush his windpipe- I looked at the Goose hovering next to me. ''Can you understand what he's saying, Goosey?'' I received a wing-slap behind the ears, for the lame nickname.

''Of course i understand what he's saying. Why don't you? I thought better of you, Pony. For all your tricks and potential, you sure are dumb.'' She carefully put a palmed feet over my mark, on my forehead- and suddenly, I understood what she meant. ''This is going to take a minute or two, at the very least.'' I nodded at the Changeling squirming under my unmoving hoof. ''Hold him down, will you? You can release him if he cooperates. I'm willing to extend that much trust to you.'' The Goose hovered over, and ushered herself softly unto the Aberration's head- and stretched her neck, twisting her head backwards to hold a stare contest with the Changeling- who stopped moving, hypnotized by the mismatched Goose eyes slowly burning their way into what passed for a soul, making him cry a bit.

I took a deep breath, sat down unto the cold tiled floor. The Castle was still completely devoid of any guards or security personnel of any kind, the Guest wing was in fact still completely empty. the Changeling's plans clearly were into motion, for the Deer hadn't come upstairs after introducing themselves to the Princess. My internal clock (which wasn't precise by any kind of measure) told me it was around two in the afternoon, or maybe a bit earlier. we had been scouting the halls for quite a while without stumbling into anyone- and this was unsettling me. Sure, I could hear some ponies in some rooms once in a while- but the fact that I still hadn't seen any made me feel like this wasn't real... Like I could somehow stretch my hoof and reach past the floor beneath me, or the walls around me. I lacked the perceptions of an Alicorn at the moment- but this gave me an idea. Mayhe I could alter my perception of reality, "borrow" someone else's point of view for a second.

I cleared my mind of any stray thoughts- of which they were quite a lot- and tried to focus my senses upon the Goose and Changeling before me. My sharp magical senses could tell me they shared a common inherent magic, one i could tap into. Reaching out, i could feel the damp, dark and empty magic that the two shared- It came from beyond the planes known to equines, beyond the ''Veil'' that surrounded the ''Tree'' of multiple universes we currently found ourselves in.

''Honk! That's it! How do you do that, Pony?'' The Goose asked, not breaking eye contact with the Changeling under her, but showing a perplexed look on her face. She had small folds over her eyes, in her thick plummage, that somehow looked like eyebrows, and it rendered her eyes most expressive. I could sense them, see them through my closed eyes, and it somehow shook me awake to realize how i could now feel and hear her better through our telepathic link she was maintaining, through her own magic.

I looked at her eyes, both with my senses and open eyes- i could feel the magic behind them, and see through the milky haze in her lavender-pink eye. I could see ink, and deep in it, nightmarish visions like no other. I could tell apart that very distinctive, absolute terror i felt creeping from deep within my bowels- It was from the Tantabus itself, creature of condensed nightmares and one of the most ancients of entities that lurked the abysses beyond the Veil. Just what kind of friendship was i getting involved in?

''I... Don't think this is the best place to answer that question in deep detail.'' I looked at the Changeling she was hypnotizing, and realized i had a golden opportunity to demonstrate my Order's abilities passed down to me by my Mother- ''But i will explain that at some point, I assure you. And I think I'll have some questions for you as well... '' I took a look at my body- my coat was definitely more brown then beige, and darker then ripe hay. I was charged with chaotic energy, but i couldn't feel any pressure- as if my ''tank'', my fuel capacity, was pretty much empty. I had successfully absorbed just enough magic from them to attune to their field- to other magical, unicorn senses, we now appeared the same, or close enough. My magic frightened me in this life- just what kind of things this mark can achieve? And, perhaps the most intriguing question of All- Who, or What, Drew it? I had a feeling the Goose might actually know... Perhaps because I was attuned to the most peculiar, unknown and wild magic in existence. I still had no idea how i could store that energy, and not be harmed by it. Those Radiations would usually mutate, disfigure and disembowel a Pony.

''Wait... Let him breathe for a bit. I think he's ready to talk." I took a seat next to 'him' and the Goose, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.