Unity

Vizio clamped down upon the white hot flare of impatient anger that screamed through her veins. They were late. Every one of them. If she did not know any better, she would say that no changeling but her cared that their nation was moments away from being destroyed. It was bad enough that Chrysalis led the changelings further down into the path leading to their doom. But now the sickly queen wanted to finish the job by putting a powerful enemy upon the changeling throne. Chrysalis was so blinded by the thoughts of a conflict free future she never stopped to consider other implications. Namely, what would happen to the changelings as a whole if Twilight Sparkle ascended to the throne.

Changelings were not meant to be respected, or viewed as allies and friends. They were above such petty positions. They belonged as the true master race of Equis. They were leeches, designed to feed off of a host until the host could provide no more food. Changelings feeding off of love freely given was absurd, nothing more than another lie of Chrysalis’ in an attempt to get the rest of the council to side with her. Taking their food by force was the path to true power, and Vizio was going to show them the truth. This is also why she called this meeting in the first place.

Finally, at long last, she heard it: the quiet buzzing of gossamer wings. Her potential allies had arrived. They alighted around her, eight changelings in all, and none of them on the current High Council. Even as they gathered together Vizo began to exhort her mind, spreading her influence over them. She had gorged herself upon love earlier, to allow her to guide this moment. Yet everything was still not right. There were two extra changelings, ones she had not summoned. She observed the two newcomers, both with her mind and with her eyes. She knew who they were, too. The mammoth female changeling to the right went only by the name of Blockade. She was a giant, all corded muscle and hulking armor. She was also captain of the Peacekeepers, the primary changeling military force. The slightly smaller male changeling next to her was Harbinger. His armor was less bulky, but just as effective; he was commander of the Enforcers, the Queen’s personal guard. For the smallest space of time Vizo was afraid of these two.

But as she discretely examined their minds, her fear faded. While she could not fully delve into the Hivemind to determine a changeling’s true intent like a Queen could, Vizio could tell enough that they were on her side. She waited for the rustle of wings and clinking of chitin to die down before speaking.

“Welcome, my friends,” Vizo began warmly, infusing her words with a tiny bit of soothing magic. “It brings me great pleasure to see you all gathered here, especially you Blockade, and you, Harbinger.”

“It pleases us to be here, ready to help defend our kingdom, Vizio.” Blockade’s massive voice shook the very air it rode upon.

Vizo dipped her head in acknowledgement. “You have a pretty good idea of why I asked you to meet me here, upon this deserted plateau. Queen Chrysalis is not long for this world, and she wishes to place the Element of Magic upon the throne. We cannot let this happen.” A couple of changelings shifted slightly, making themselves more comfortable. “The Queen’s insistence that love freely given is more powerful than love taken by force is a white lie, in her final effort to get the Council to agree to her plans. Taking the love from other creatures, and crushing them like the pathetic things they are, is where the path to true power lies. If we act upon it and take this opportunity, soon the changelings will be the master race over them all! How could any stand against us, with as much power as we could hold?

“Chrysalis is dying and deluded. She sent her own bodyguard and two others off upon a suicide mission. They seek to bring the Element of Magic back as our new Queen. But the Solar Princess will not give up her beloved pupil so easily. She will imprison or kill the Queen's pets before ever letting Magic enter changeling lands. In the meantime, Chrysalis is still left without an heir. When she dies, so too will our nation unless we can put a stop to it.”

The eight changelings muttered uneasily. “What would you have us do, councilwoman?” Blockade finally asked.

“If I were to openly speak out against Chrysalis and her schemes, she’ll have me locked away as a traitor to the Swarm. I know I am asking a lot of you all. But we need to start whispering to our citizens. Guide them carefully, so that they may doubt Chrysalis. If enough of our nation begins to see through her lies, we can prevent our nation from dying by immediately appointing a new ruler as soon as our current Queen is dead.”

“We can do this, councilmare.” It was Harbinger who spoke this time, his voice surprisingly soft. “We can do this, to save our people and our nation.”

“Then go, and be swift! We must begin to lay our foundations before it is too late!"

* * *

Twilight could hear the whispers. She knew what they were talking about. It wasn’t just the other champions, either. Everyone was talking about it in hushed voices, almost as if the owners were afraid Twilight was going to suddenly leap up and zap them. Some, Twilight knew, automatically jumped to the worst conclusions. Twilight had cheated somehow. Twilight’s good graces with the Princess of the Sun influenced the decision. Twilight and Rainbow had done nothing overly special. Others offered reverential respect, visible in the slightly awed glances shot Twilight’s way. Either way, the fact of the matter remained: Twilight and Rainbow Dash had scored a twenty six on the team evaluation, a feat that had not been accomplished by any team for years. No one knew how, and Twilight Sparkle planned to keep it that way.

The Silver Wing Tavern was pretty rowdy tonight. The entire establishment took up two whole city blocks, and it was still full to bursting. Not only were all sixty four champions present, but a good deal of other patrons crowded inside. Twilight took another sip of her light apple cider. Rainbow and Twilight had already deflected more questions than they could keep up with, and eventually they were left alone. Dash, who normally enjoyed a little too many drinks, remained next to her tournament partner. Even Dash understood the importance of making sure her head was clear for the first match the next day. Unlike some of the other champions who were partying hard, both Twilight and Rainbow didn’t want to risk not even passing into the second round. The two friends sat there in companionable silence, grateful for each other’s company. Then Rainbow Dash spoke.

“I was thinking earlier, Twilight,” the cyan mare began. Twilight flicked an ear to indicate she was listening. “I’m really lucky that I’m partnered with you for the Unity Chalice. I couldn't think of any pony else I’d want by my side.”

Twilight turned slightly pink and turned to her friend with a small smile. “Why do you say that, Rainbow? I would have thought you’d rather have Applejack or somepony else with muscle on your side.”

Dash shook her head furiously. “No way, Twi. My magic can only accomplish so much. With you fighting next to me, I can leave you to focus on the magical stuff while I take care of the physical.”

“Well, I’m glad that you have that much trust in me.” Twilight was smiling wider now, the pink fading from her cheeks.

“Yea,” Dash was silent for a moment. “But it’s not just your aptitude in magic, ya know? You’ve gotta be the smartest pony I’ve ever met. Everypony knows that I’m not the best when it comes to thinking ahead or planning. If it were anypony else, I doubt I’d get past the first rounds.”

Twilight’s blush had returned full force. “Well, thanks, Rainbow. That means a lot, coming from you. But don’t sell yourself short. You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for.”

Dash snorted. “Well, yea, now I probably am. I’ve been hanging with you too much. I mean, really. ‘Aptitude’? I never even knew that was a word, and here I am, using it in a sentence. Twice, I might add.”

Twilight giggled. “I think I’m starting to rub off on you, Dashie.”

“You are, Twiley. But that’s not a bad thing, ya know? Out of all my friends, I end up hanging with you the most. Applejack and I were friendly rivals before you came along. Fluttershy I’ve known since flight camp, but once she started sticking up for herself every once in a while I didn’t have to be there all the time.”

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. Now that Rainbow Dash mentioned it, the pegasus has been hanging with her quite a bit. She had never even noticed before, but Dash was right. From eagerly checking out the newest Daring Doo novel, to watching Twilight with her research and experiments, to just idly sitting and talking, Rainbow seemed to spend most of her spare time with Twilight. Then once Rainbow Dash started growing into her pegasi magic she started spending even more time with Twilight. Dash had even volunteered to accompany Twilight to Canterlot while Twilight saw the Board of Arcane Sciences. Part of this, Twilight was sure, was to check in with Spitfire. But rather than hang out with the Wonderbolts or head back to Ponyville, Dash had decided to stay with Twilight in Canterlot. Then the Unity Chalice happened.

Rainbow caught the frown and hurried to correct herself. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Twilight! I enjoy hanging with you, I really do. You’re fun to be around. You’re not like, hogging me from the rest of our friends or anything. Just…. After a day or pushing clouds or training, nothing sounds better than visiting Twilight and maybe crashing at the library. Come to think of it, that library of yours has almost become my second home….”

Twilight visibly relaxed, assured that she was not preventing Dash from being with their friends. She chuckled at that last statement, and privately agreed. Out loud she said, “I think I’m going to head back to Canterlot, Rainbow. It’s still rather early yet, but I’d like to talk to Princess Celestia before the big day tomorrow.”

Dash nodded in understanding. “I’ll stay here for a bit; if Pinkie winds up getting completely smashed again I’ll probably be the one escorting her back to her room.” Dash stood up and gave her purple friend a brief hug.

Twilight returned the gesture with a small smile and turned to exit the Silver Wing. She tried to ignore the stares as she made her way to the door, and then closed it behind her. It was a rather still evening, with the sun slowly sinking behind the last of Canterlot’s towering buildings. It was a cool night for the middle of summer, but not unpleasantly so. Twilight closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the slight breeze stroking her coat and ruffling her mane. She had set aside her jumpsuit before heading out; while the Teflon was extremely comfortable, nothing beat the feel of the wind. Twilight opened her eyes again and began the short trot back to Canterlot, heading to a familiar alley shortcut. The unicorn passed unmoving dumpsters and silent buildings without so much as a pause. She felt oddly at peace.

The slight whistle, almost too low for her to hear, was her only warning. She jerked her head back instinctively. In doing so, she saved her life. There in front of her, quivering in the wooden frame of an empty building was a dart. It was unremarkable in shape and color, a simple sharpened stake with tiny fletching. What was not ordinary was the bright green oozing from the dart’s tip. She stared at the projectile, transfixed. That green goo looked so familiar, and she could not understand why. Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened as she heard the all too familiar sound of chitin plates rubbing together. The sorceress turned just in time to catch a glimpse of glowing green eyes and elongated fangs before the changeling was upon her. The creature landed on top of Twilight with a tiny dagger, glowing with a nimbus of pale green magic. As she tried to form a ward to deflect the blade, another holed hoof shot from the darkness and slammed into her horn, breaking her concentration. The blade flashed down and Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, knowing her end was near. She didn’t even get a chance to tell Rainbow Dash good-bye.

The stabbing pain of the dagger never came. Instead, the changeling above her hissed in surprise and anger, almost drowned out by the sound of pounding hoof beats. Twilight felt the changeling thrown from her prone form and dared to open her eyes. For a moment all the dazed mare could see were shadows. There were more changelings hissing, issuing from several throats, followed by the sounds hooves cracking into hard shell. Twilight’s eyes slowly focused. Standing protectively before her was some other pony. Or, that’s what it looked like, if normal ponies had a metal limb and a blue glowing eye. Twilight gasped, trying to get her hooves under her. The pony in front of her never changed its protective stance. It glanced back at Twilight as if to make sure the mare was still okay.

The sounds of a fight broke Twilight’s gaze from the strange pony. The now risen moon caught one of the shifting bodies, and Twilight was rewarded with a confusing flash of mint green and golden eyes. “Lyra?” Twilight asked in stunned disbelief.

The unicorn ignored Twilight, delivering a well placed buck at a changeling. Then Bon-Bon was there, helping Twilight to her hooves. The earth pony spoke swiftly with her sweet voice. “Come on, Twilight. There are too many for us to handle. We’ve got to get you out of here. Lyra, Flicka, let’s go.”

The two other ponies followed Bon-Bon out of the alley. Twilight was dragged away, still in a daze. She shook her head violently and began running under her own power, throwing a fearful glance over her shoulder. She spoke in panting bursts. “What are—changelings—doing in Canterlot?”

Lyra spared a glance at Twilight. “They’re aiming to kill you, Twilight.”

This caused Twilight to do a double take; she stumbled and almost fell. “Kill me? Why?”

Bon-Bon shook her head. “We’ll tell you later, Twilight. Right now, we’ve gotta get you out of Canterlot. The changelings are going to have every route to Canterlot Palace blocked. We—” Bon-Bon was interrupted by a grunt of pain. A changeling had flown out of the inky blackness and raked her side. Suddenly the entire party was surrounded by more changelings. Twilight threw up a purple dome as she screamed with her mind.

Rainbow Dash! I need help! Changelings in Canterlot! Please! Twilight didn’t even know if Rainbow would hear her, as far as she was from the Silver Wing. The changelings were gathered around Twilight’s protective bubble now, testing it with flaring tendrils of green magic. A sharp report sounded in the distance as a certain prismatic maned pegasus brushed the sound barrier. A split second later, one of the changelings was sent reeling as Rainbow Dash waded into the fray with both hooves swinging. The others turned to face this new threat, only to be caught between the hammer of Dash’s unexpected, furious arrival and the anvil of Twilight’s shield. The bug like creatures scattered before reforming and darting back in for lightning quick attacks, throwing themselves upon Twilight's shield. They ignored everypony but Twilight, enforcing Lyra’s belief that they were determined to kill her. Dash threw a changeling away and then cleared a path straight ahead.

Suddenly the party was moving, galloping down the streets of Canterlot. Everything was completely black, and Twilight had no idea why. She dropped her shield and focused on tossing changelings away with blasts of magic instead. They turned down another street, still dark, still harassed by changelings that darted from the shadows. Twilight knew they were nearing the Canterlot city limit, but she didn't think they would make it. There were simply too many black forms leaping from the shadows. Without even thinking about it, Twilight turned to the strange pony galloping by her side. “Flicka, can you distract them?”

Flicka glanced over briefly, piercing the purple mare with that luminous eye. “Consider it done, my Queen.” With a puff of grey tinged purple, Flicka was gone.

Twilight stumbled again. “What did she just call me?”

Lyra was there again, steadying her. “There’s no time to explain. We've got to get you some place safe. Then we can answer your questions.”

The party of four thundered past the city limit of Canterlot and skidded to a halt, panting heavily. There were no changelings that they could see. Whatever Flicka had done had worked.

“Come, Twilight,” Bon-bon started leading the way. “We’ve got a safe point up ahead, and we can try explaining things to you.”

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For the first time since discovering that she was the strongest Seer born for generations, Nailiah wished that the Sight would just leave her alone. All of her training, all those years of experience were doing nothing to stem the tide of visions that plagued her inner Eye. Ordinarily, this would not be a problem. While the Stars were known for their ruthless way of showing the future, even the Stars needed sleep—which normally meant that the visions only bothered Nailiah when she was dreaming at night. However, thanks to a particularly nasty image rousing her from a light slumber, the Zebra was currently awake in the middle of the night, attempting to ensure that the future followed the most ideal timeline. Preferably, the timeline that did not involve Sol falling in flames.

During the past several months now, Nailiah had been visited by the same dreams, over and over again. At first, they had only shown her the worst possible future: Sol, a burning, barren world, devoid of all life. The atmosphere was thick with dust and sulfur, a mix that would prove deadly to any who inhaled it. Trees had long since fallen, branches bare and brittle. A single creature suddenly emerged from the thick air, garbed in black metal. An odd protrusion formed upon its forehead, the jagged remains of a once proud unicorn horn. Tattered gossamer wings sprouted from its back, long past capable of giving flight to the creature. Then the unicorn that used to be Twilight Sparkle raised its head, eyes glowing with red fire and scars crisscrossing her countenance…

After that, more dreams began to surface, all of them different endings to multiple futures. A bright and sunny Sol, marred only by the same scarred unicorn as the first vision. Another Sol bereft of Twilight Sparkle entirely, instead showing mourning friends. The most recent one, however, depicted a whole and healthy Twilight Sparkle, commanding the changeling Swarm against an enemy most foul, determined to destroy any who did not follow their religion. But she was not alone. The other races of Sol stood with her, accompanied by aliens unfamiliar to Nailiah. These new aliens were powerful, as powerful as any of the magic wielding forces of Sol. Twilight Sparkle directed them all, the tiara gleaming upon her head. But the Stars were tense, expectant. They began showing Nailiah what needed to be done to ensure the continued survival of Sol. So, even though she would rather sleep, even though she was sporting a headache of mammoth proportions, she was up and determined to influence the future as best she could.

Yet she was already too late. She could hear the sounds of fighting emanating from ahead. The Zebra Seer moved into a light canter, fearful that the future had already taken a change for the worse. As she did so, her Sight was disrupted by a powerful mental bellow.

Rainbow Dash! I need help! Changelings in Canterlot! Please! Nailiah breathed a sigh of relief, now slowing her pace for a bit. If Twilight’s new guardians had wavered, even for a moment, Twilight would have never been able to call for Dash, nor would she have made it out of Canterlot. There was no need to directly interfere at the moment. The Seer rounded the corner and stopped dead. It was as bad as she had feared. There were at least ten changelings attacking Twilight, undeterred by the efforts of the others. To make matters worse, the changelings had used magic to extinguish the street lamps in this area, making it even harder for them to be seen. However, Twilight’s shield seemed to be doing its job, throwing back the would-be assassins every time they tried to breech the field. Nailiah thought that these changelings were not very bright at all; while they were trying to breech the shield with magic of their own, the main thing they kept doing was bodily throwing themselves at the magic sphere.

Nailiah watched as one of Twilight’s defenders broke away. The escort in question appeared to be a unicorn with a metallic limb and a mechanical eye. The unicorn sideswiped a changeling, horn glowing with grey tinged purple. The changeling whirled and hissed at the unicorn, then lunged with bared fangs. With a flash of magic, the unicorn was gone, teleporting several yards back down the street. The other changelings inexplicably followed this unicorn as she drew them away from Twilight Sparkle. Then the small party was across the Canterlot city limits. They paused to catch their breath and by now Nailiah was close enough to hear words they spoke. She followed at a safe distance as her targets began to move off.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle’s head was spinning. She felt unsteady upon her hooves, almost as if the world as she knew it was coming crashing down around her head. Her over-active mind rapidly created a checklist of events that had rapidly spun out of control. Firstly, there were changelings in Canterlot, somehow avoiding detection by the anti-changeling spells her brother had implemented. Secondly, said changelings had just made an attempt on her life. Ordinarily, she would have thought the idea to be preposterous. Changelings did not suddenly decide to kill a specific pony. They were enemies that would strike at the first target they happened upon. But deep down, Twilight knew those changelings had been after her. They had completely ignored the other three, instead focusing their attacks on Twilight despite the shield. This also kind of brought her to her third point. Three different mares, two of whom Twilight viewed as good friends, seemed to know about events that had just transpired. They planned to explain what was going on, which meant all three of them were in this together. Then fourthly, the last Unicorn, Flicka, had called Twilight her Queen. What she was supposed to be Queen of Twilight had no idea, but Flicka had said those words with complete conviction.

The last thing upon her mental list, the one that terrified Twilight, was that she knew Flicka. How this was possible Twilight had no clue. She knew for a fact she had never met Flicka in her life. She would have remembered those non-pony attributes. But Twilight still knew who the cyborg was. She knew Flicka’s name, despite having heard it only once before. She knew that Flicka was a bodyguard to somepony (or something), but not what. Try as she might, Twilight could not remember who Flicka was supposed to be guarding. It was all fuzzy, like somepony was blocking her memories. It was the same feeling she had experienced when trying to remember why she was relieved to not have dreamed that one morning. She quickly stopped thinking about this, as she was giving herself a headache—again, it felt like the side effect of somepony blocking her memories.

So lost in her own conflicted mind Twilight almost did not notice that her little party had passed into a campsite. Two tents stood sentinel around a now smoldering fire. A couple of saddlebags rested off to one side, almost as if they had been tossed there in haste. Twilight stopped as Lyra stoked the fire with a bit of magic, hesitantly trying to figure out what to do next. Lyra took the problems out of Twilight’s hooves by gesturing next to the fire, where it was a bit warmer. Twilight took the proffered patch of ground, watching the other two curiously. She waited expectantly for one or the other to speak. When neither did, Twilight broke the silence herself. “So… What just happened back there?”

Bon-Bon threw a quick glance at her lover, almost as if she were asking permission. At Lyra’s nod, Bon-Bon began, “It’s a long story, Twilight. I’ll explain what I know to the best of my ability, but you might not like what I’m about to tell you.”

“I don’t understand,” Twilight said slowly. “Why would I not like your explanation?”  Rainbow Dash, who had been uncharacteristically silent thus far, moved closer to Twilight’s side protectively. Come to think of it, Dash had never moved too far from Twilight since they escaped the changelings. Even Dash’s thoughts were muted, making it hard for Twilight to get a reading on her friend. Twilight laid a comforting hoof upon Dash’s side before turning her gaze back to the two before her.

Bon-Bon sighed. “I’ve got something to show you. All I ask is that you trust me, and try not to blast me too hard.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but her question died in her throat. Bon-Bon was changing. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, Bon-Bon shone with green magic Twilight Sparkle knew all too well. Starting with her hooves and working its way up the rest of her body, the green flare of changeling magic soon covered Bon-Bon’s form. Then the green flare fizzled and faded, and in Bon-Bon’s place stood a creature who had just tried to kill Twilight. Twilight’s reaction was instantaneous. She leapt backward away from the creature, horn already pulsing with dull magenta light. Dash took to the air with a muttered exclamation, sizzling bolts of lightning forming at her wingtips.

The only thing preventing the duo from attacking the changeling then and there was:

“Lyra,” Twilight breathed. The mint green unicorn had moved protectively in front of the changeling, her own horn glowing with aquamarine light. “Get away from the changeling, Lyra, or it will hurt you.”

Lyra shook her head, her golden eyes steady. “No. Listen to me, Twilight. Don’t let your natural fear of changelings make you do something rash.”

“I’m not afraid of it, Lyra. The changelings are sworn enemies to the Crown, and as such must be turned in to the nearest authorities. Don’t let it brainwash you.”

“She is not brainwashing me. I’m still the Lyra Heartstrings I’ve always been. I know I’m not match for your power, but I’ll go to Tartarus before I allow you to hurt Amethyst.”

Twilight heard all of Lyra’s words, but her mind focused on one thing. Twilight tried to form words past her confusion, but Dash beat her to it. “That thing is a she? And it has a name, Amethyst?”

“Yes,” the changeling named Amethyst said, stepping out from behind the protection of Lyra. “My name is Amethyst, ex-harvester to the changeling Swarm.”

Twilight frowned in confusion, her horn extinguishing as she lost her concentration on it. “Ex-harvester? What is that?”

Amethyst giggled, a strange sound, multiplied by the faint double layer of the changeling’s voice. The unexpected noise caused Twilight’s horn to flare to life again. “A Harvester is a changeling who serves the Swarm by “harvesting” love. We possess a slightly differed magic from the rest of the Swarm; while other changelings can only stay shifted for small periods of time before they need rest, a Harvester can keep their shifted form indefinitely. This allows us to integrate securely into society and leech love for the Swarm.”

Twilight’s mind was working overdrive. “Why do you call yourself an ex-Harvester?”

It was Lyra who stepped forward now. “She fell in love with me.” Twilight was so shocked; she fell flat on her rump, staring at Lyra with pricked ears. Her horn ceased its glow for the second time. A split second later Rainbow Dash fell out of the air; the rainbow maned pegasus was so surprised she stopped flapping to keep herself airborne.

Twilight could only stammer at first. “I—what—is that even possible?”

“We are living, proof, so I’d say yes,” Lyra nuzzled the changeling, causing Amethyst to blush green.

“B—but changelings are monsters! They suck you dry of all emotion, like a drink, before they kill you! They don’t care about their hosts, so long as they are fed!”

Amethyst snorted with laughter. “Let me guess, you read that from a book?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Did you ever stop to think that the author of said book might have just been making things up? Very few ponies honestly know anything about changelings, and this right here proves it.”

Amethyst’s answer caught Twilight like a well thrown javelin. She paused, analyzing. It did make sense. Nopony knew anything about changelings, except maybe the princesses. All anyone knew was vaguely what changelings looked like, and what they fed off of. As far as Twilight knew, everything she read in A Guide to Changelings could have been… not entirely true. The thought mortified Twilight. An author who just made something up based upon fanciful ideas or half truths was a criminal as far as she was concerned. The sorceress shook her head slightly, trying to refocus on the task at hand. Twilight glanced back at the pair before her and spoke one word.

“Explain.”

So explain they did. Lyra and Amethyst talked for minutes, recounting almost everything from their first meeting all those years ago. They recounted Lyra’s discovery, how Lyra had knew that she had never loved Bon-Bon the candy maker, but Amethyst the Harvester. At the end of it, Twilight was silent for a very long time. She was silent for so long that Lyra stoked the campfire twice, and shortly after Flicka returned, covered in green changeling slime but otherwise unharmed. Rainbow Dash had just started watching her friend with worry before Twilight finally spoke.

"This. All of this sounds like some crazy fairytale designed by some nameless author who has no idea what they are writing about. How do I know I can believe you? I see you two before me, standing far closer than any other pony and changeling has ever done. I want to believe you, I do. But how do I know your tale is true? How do I know you’re not in this with those so-called assassins?”

“Because it is true, Twilight Sparkle.” This voice was a new one. The lavender unicorn whirled around, seeking the owner of the voice. A Zebra stood there proudly, surveying the scene with careful eyes. The Zebra was small, smaller than most adults. She wore her mane in careful ropes along her back, and her tail looked as though it had been purposely cut short. With the uncertain shadows behind her, the Zebra almost blended in, save for the white parts of her coat. But what startled Twilight the most was the Zebra’s eyes. They were violet, just like Twilight’s. The Zebra must have seen the question about to spill forth from the sorceress, for she stepped forward a few paces.

“I am Nailiah, the most gifted Seer born to the Zebra tribes in generations.”

“A Seer,” Twilight breathed the simple statement almost a question. “But… Seers usually don’t appear to normal creatures. They keep to themselves. Unless…”

Nailiah was nodding. “I’m here to guide the future, Twilight Sparkle, a future that revolves around you. I’ve seen… some terrible things. Things that may happen if one little fragment of time goes awry. My very first suggestion to you is that you trust these three friends. The words they speak are as pure as fresh fallen snow.”

Twilight’s mind, however, was stuck on something else the Seer had said. Her brilliant brain attempted to make sense of her chaotic thoughts, and before the bookworm knew it she was asking questions before the words were processed. “What do you mean a terrible future? How do you know Lyra and Amethyst are being honest? Where did you come from? Why are your eyes the same as mine?”

Nailiah laughed, a light tinkling sound. With a great internal struggle, Twilight clamped her muzzle shut before it could ask more. “Well, Twilight, the last question you asked is the easiest for me to answer. Violet eyes are the color of those with Seer blood. Given enough training, you could even see fragments of the future as I do.”

The Zebra paused, as though considering her next words. “However, in the case of our eyes being completely similar… that would be because I’m your half-sister."