Unity

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Twilight could only stare at the Seer across from her mutely. Her overly analytical mind insisted that there was no possible way Nailiah spoke the truth. Her heart, however, told her differently. Looking closer, Twilight could almost see the resemblance. Those solemn violet eyes. That same gentle smile. Now that Twilight was paying proper attention, she noticed that even Nailiah’s mane was a violet color, but so dark it appeared to be black in the uncertain light. Take away the black and white stripes and the slightly narrower muzzle, and Twilight could easily have a clone. Her mind, however, would have none of this.

“You can’t be,” Twilight whispered, shaking her head. “I would know if I had a sister. Especially a Zebra one.”

“A Seer cannot tell a lie, Twilight Sparkle. Our relationship with the Stars prevents us from doing so. Think about it. Why do you think you never had the same fear of Zebras everypony in Ponyville seemed to have at first? Why do you think that you felt comfortable going to Zecora whenever you needed a potion made? Despite knowing that Zecora was relatively harmless, very few other ponies would dare approach her, aside from you and your friends.”

Twilight arched her eyebrows. “You know Zecora?”

Nailiah snorted. “Of course I know my own mother. That was one of the reasons she moved into the Everfree. She wanted to keep an eye on her ‘other daughter’, as she would call you. You never saw me on your visits because I was off partaking in my Seer training.”

“Does my own mom—Twilight Velvet—know about you?”

Nailiah frowned at Twilight, almost like the Zebra was disappointed at Twilight for asking the answers to questions that were obvious. “I would hope she does! She was there when I was born, and was there to see me off on the start of my training. Did she never tell you?”

Twilight shook her head. “She never told me I had a Zebra half sister. I’m still trying to figure out how all this is possible.” Twilight closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “But now that I think about it… I never really saw much of my parents once I became Princess Celestia’s student. I was always so busy studying and learning in Canterlot. Whenever I did find time to take a break and visit, we always had so much other things to do and catch up on. I imagine telling me that I had a Zebra half-sister was relatively low on the list to do while I was unburdened by my studies.”

Nailiah was nodding. “I can imagine so. It’s a rather long story, and you’ll have to ask our parents all of the details. I’ll give you the short version. You know that both Twilight Velvet and Nightlight were a part of Equestrian Intelligence, correct?”

“Yea,” Twilight said, frowning. She wondered where this was going.

“Well, our mothers and our father were part of a herd back then. A decent sized one, too. They kept each other safe, watched each other’s backs while out in the field. Well, naturally, they also partook in… activities… that herds normally do. Our father, Nightlight, was the herd master—the only stallion in a group of about five mares. Velvet was the first one to get pregnant, with Shining Armor. She resigned from EI to raise him, but would still act as an ‘outside informant’ at times. But then Nightlight managed to get my mother pregnant with me, and Velvet pregnant with you. Both Zecora and Nightlight dropped out of EI then, to raise their growing families. Much like you have been over the past several years, I’ve been busy with my studies, and never have had an opportunity to actually meet the sister I knew I had.”

Twilight’s slightly frazzled mind finally slowed its pacing a bit. It all made since know. She had known her parents had served in Equestrian Intelligence, and had certainly heard the rumors that both of them had been in a successful herd. If Twilight had to be honest, she was overjoyed. She had a real sister, an honest to Celestia sister. As much as Twilight loved Cadance, the Alicorn of Love really did not count. Sure, Cadance was only a few years older, and sure the two had been inseparable since meeting, but it really was not the same. Cadance was a Princess, for starters, both a Princess of Equestria and the Princess of the Crystal Empire. This meant that these days, Cadance was really rather busy with one thing or another. But Nailiah, on the other hand… Nailiah had to be Twilight’s age, if they had been born roughly the same time. Since she was a Seer, Nailiah was probably as knowledgeable about some types of magic as Twilight was.

Twilight glanced over at Rainbow Dash, her eyes asking a question. The Wonderbolt rolled her eyes playfully in response. Dash would have no problems getting along with Nailiah. Deciding it was kind of creepy how easily Dash could read Twilight and vise-versa, Twilight turned her attention back to the Zebra before her. “So, what now?”

Nailiah shrugged. “I do believe it’s up to them,” the Seer said, tossing her head at the other three present, whom Twilight had completely forgotten about until now. She turned to them instead.

Amethyst (Bon-Bon?) headed Twilight’s question off before it could even get asked. “I’m afraid it is not up to us to answer the rest of your questions, Twilight.”

“What do you mean? You told me you’d give me answers!” Twilight knew that she sounded slightly whiney, but she did not care at the moment.

“And so we did,” Lyra replied. “We told you why me and Amethyst are together. The rest must be explained by Chrysalis.”

Twilight stopped dead. For a few moments, she was completely still. Even her mind was on hold, not even attempting to process this information. When she spoke next, her voice carried a hint of ice that made even Dash shy away a bit. “Let me get this straight. You want me to go talk to Chrysalis, all the way in the changeling lands, after I just got attacked by changelings that seemed bent on killing me. Is that right? I wouldn’t doubt it for a minute if she was the one that wanted me dead in the first place.”

“She doesn’t.” This was yet another knew voice. But unlike before, Twilight knew where it came from. The voice was slightly harsh, telling of a difficult past. At the same time, the voice held a haunting melody that made Twilight want to bury her face into Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and cry her eyes out. Twilight turned to Flicka slowly, properly studying the other unicorn for the first time. For the most part, Flicka appeared to be a normal pony. Her coat was storm cloud grey, with four jagged purple stripes arcing down either side of her barrel. Her mane, also purple, covers her left eye, while her right shines a luminous blue. A circular device rests over this eye, and her right foreleg is made of metal.

Twilight intended to ask how Flicka knew anything about Chrysalis, but the words seemed to get lost on the way to her mouth. Instead, she blurted, “What exactly are you?”

The question seemed to catch Flicka slightly off guard. The unicorn hesitated a moment. “I’m a cyberpony. It’s the unofficial name given to a pony that has been grafted with extensive machinery. Here, strike me in the chest.”

Twilight glanced at Flicka uncertainly as the cyberpony stuck out her chest. At the encouraging nod, however, Twilight reached out and thumped Flicka in the chest. It was not a particularly powerful blow, but it did not matter. Twilight’s hoof rebounded off Flicka with a metallic clunk. The sorceress stared at Flicka with wide eyes.

The ghost of a smile was tugging at Flicka’s lips. “I’m what I call a full cyberpony. I was so close to death when Crow found me, the only way he could save me was to graft me with machinery. I have all the essential organs and organisms to live, but my entire body is made of metal now. Without that metal, I’ll die in a matter of minutes.”

Twilight had instinctively known Flicka, and known who she was, but even Twilight did not know this. She started to panic. “But… I sent you off to fight! I could have caused you to become seriously injured!”

Flicka laughed a short barking laugh. “Relax, Twilight. I’m designed to be tough, designed to take a beating. Not only are my reflexes and other things enhanced, I’m extremely durable. I have to be. I would make a poor body guard to Queen Chrysalis indeed if I couldn’t take a beating and walk away from it.”

Twilight stared long and hard at Flicka. Something was off. Something concerning what Flicka had said earlier, but for the life of her Twilight couldn’t seem to remember. “You’re a bodyguard of Chrysalis?”

“I’m the bodyguard of the Queen, yes. We have our own combat force designed to keep the Queen safe, of course; I am merely the last line of defense should they fall. That is also why I can say, without a doubt, my Queen did not send those assassins after you. Whoever it was acted of their own violation, and without Queen Chrysalis’ consent or knowledge.”

“You seem convinced that Chrysalis is not the bad guy here,” Rainbow Dash broke in. “Last I checked, Chrysalis was the one who tried to conquer Canterlot not too terribly long ago. Or are we missing something?”

Flicka glanced over at Dash, piercing the Wonderbolt with an ice blue eye. “You’re missing something. Queen Chrysalis is dying.”

This bit of information stopped Twilight and Rainbow in their tracks. After yet another stagnant pause, Twilight finally said, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Flicka shook her head. “Don’t be. Chrysalis lived her life the way she thought it should be lived, and nothing more. Those were her words. She has only made one last request of me, Amethyst, and Lyra.”

Despite herself, Twilight Sparkle felt her insatiable curiosity raise its head, sniffing at the air. “What last request was that?” She asked.

“She requested that we bring you to her. She wishes to talk to you personally.”

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Twilight still could not believe she had agreed to this. Within the span of a few hours, the sorceress had been attacked, rescued by one she had thought would be a natural enemy, and for some reason had agreed to grant Chrysalis her last wish. Even now Twilight had no idea why she had decided to come along. Here she was, approaching the middle of the Verdant Forest, heart of the changeling lands. She was effectively surrounded on all sides by enemies everywhere. All it would take is a single word from the ‘sick’ Queen, and neither Twilight nor Rainbow would ever see their homeland again. Twilight sighed mentally. Despite her strong insistence, Dash had absolutely refused to leave Twilight. While Twilight was glad for the company deep down, it might complicate things if she had to execute an escape strategy.

Twilight found her eyes trailing back to Flicka again and again. The cyberpony did not even seem winded after such a long range teleport. Twilight estimated that Flicka had teleported their party of six at least a hundred and fifty miles; all the way from the outskirts of Canterlot, across the Everfree Forest and the Sweltering Wastes, directly into changeling territory. After resting under a massive tree for roughly ten minutes, Flicka had bounced back onto her hooves and started leading their party deeper into the Verdant Forest, horn aglow to light their way. Lyra and Bon-Bon ranged a little ways off on either side, acting as a defensive screen, while Nialiah brought up the rear. Flicka had mentioned it was unlikely that Twilight would be attacked now, but apparently Twilight’s guardians were not taking any chances.

The endless rows of trees abruptly ended and Twilight jerked to a halt, mouth agape. There, sitting before her, was the largest castle she had ever seen. There were entirely too many turrets for her to count, but hundreds upon hundreds of windows blazed with light; some were green, like the color of changeling magic, and others were yellow, like a the color of an ordinary lamp. Dash stopped next to Twilight, and the sorceress could tell the pegasus was just as awestruck. Flicka glanced behind her and grinned now, an honest, open uplifting of her lips. “Impressive, isn’t it? We’ve still got a little ways to go, through the actual town before we reach the castle proper.”

It was only after Flicka said something that Twilight realized that there was a giant city sprawled at the foot of the slightly intimidating structure. Even from this distance, Twilight could tell the changeling capitol rivaled Canterlot. A good deal of the city was dark, signaling that the occupants in those areas had long since retired for the night. But, dotted here and there were a few places that gleamed with light, just like the castle did. Flicka seemed to be waiting for something; she sat on her haunches and gestured for the others to do the same. “We’re waiting for two more. They said they would meet us up here.”

No sooner had the words left the bodyguard’s mouth than two shadows detached themselves from the outskirts of the changeling city and approached with the slight buzzing of wings. One of the shapes was gigantic, even dwarfing most Canterlot Royal Guard. The other was slightly smaller, but no less intimidating. A moment later both changelings alighted in front of Flicka, saluting respectfully. The giant one was a changeling mare. She did not look overly muscled, but she was huge. The only pony Twilight could compare this changeling to was Blockade, the pegasus captain who had once served under Shining Armor. She wore nothing but four odd little hoof boots, and two massive battle axes slung across her back. Looking closely, Twilight could see the magic roiling off of those boots. The second changeling, while smaller, was a stallion. He wore the same interesting boots, and a short baton sparked with blue flashes of energy at his side.

Flicka made introductions. “This is Blockade, commander of the Peacekeepers.” Twilight startled a little at the name, peering up at the hulking changeling mare.

Blockade offered a hoof to Twilight, smiling toothily at the unicorn. “Blockade reporting for duty. The Peacekeepers are the changeling’s main combat force, similar to your Equestrian Rangers. Though I daresay our technology is a bit more magically advanced at the moment.”

Twilight took the proffered hoof cautiously, half expecting Blockade to suddenly draw her axes and strike. The giant changeling did nothing of the sort, instead nodding with respect and turning aside to shake Dash’s hoof, letting her companion introduce himself.

“Harbinger,” the male changeling said shortly. “Captain of the Enforcers. We keep the peace of our capitol, Hive, and acts as a line of defense for the Queen should the castle ever come under siege.”

Flicka was on her hooves again, eager to be on the move. “Let’s go. The sooner we reach the capitol, the better.”

Blockade glanced at Flicka. “Why are you in such a hurry, little one?”

Flicka answered over her shoulder even as she began moving towards Hive. “Twilight was assaulted by changeling assassins in Canterlot. I do not know who sent them, or why, but I’m not going to rest easy until Twilight is safe before Chrysalis.”

Blockade did not ask any more questions after that. “Understood,” she said, and then drew her axes with a flash of green magic. With thunderous footfalls, the Peacekeeper took point. Her magical boots gleamed softly with white light, and Twilight saw several wards swirl about Blockade’s black form. Even without properly examining them, Twilight knew they were designed to allow Blockade to absorb attacks that might seriously injure somepony else. Harbinger took to the air with a buzzing of wings, providing airborne overwatch. The careful watchfulness of the others was starting to wear off on Twilight, and more than once she caught herself glancing around cautiously.

But they need not have worried. The party made it to the very fringes of Hive with no incident. Twilight hesitated briefly before stepping over that final invisible boundary separating the Verdant Forest from Hive. This, she considered, was a momentous moment. Knowing what little she did know about the changelings, Twilight was probably about to be the first non-friend of the changelings to cross into the changeling capitol in years. Some part of her, deep down inside, knew that if she took that final step, there would be no going back. No matter what else happened, no matter what Chrysalis wanted to discuss with her, Twilight knew this memory would stay with her forever. She could feel the very warm presence of Rainbow Dash right next to her, waiting for Twilight so they could take the first step together. Twilight’s half-sister moved up on the left side, and despite all of the craziness that has transpired recently, she felt oddly comforted having somepony else she could instinctively trust there too.

After what felt like days but in reality was only about thirty seconds, Twilight Sparkle lifted her first forehoof and stepped right into Hive. The rest of her quickly followed as she made to catch up with Flicka, who had not stopped for an instant. Once they began moving down what had to be the main street, though, Twilight soon found herself distracted. She was simply astounded to how similar changeling architecture was to ponies. She had fully expected the changelings to quite literally live in some giant cave they called the Hive. She was not expecting to see buildings that were only slightly different than the buildings she saw in Canterlot. Most of the buildings were more round, whereas Canterlot was built with square precision. There was also not a single door in sight. Instead, rounded archways marked the entrances to buildings and homes, which in turn were sealed by the familiar green goo. Signs were dotted here and there, naming buildings and providing information on products and services. If the buildings were truly amazing, however, it was nothing compared to the crowd.

Despite what had to be a rather late hour by now, the main street of Hive teemed with life. A sea of black flooded the wide road, glinting occasionally as a green or yellow lamp caught the chitin just right. Specks of sky blue and emerald green could be seen dotted among the black as various changelings went about their business; it took Twilight a moment to realize that these specks were actually changeling eyes. As the group of nine started to make their way towards the castle towering above everything, Twilight noticed that the mass of black bodies parted before Blockade easily. Most seemed to recognize her mammoth form and called greetings. These greetings rapidly fell silent as the changelings finally noticed just who Blockade and Harbinger were escorting. Soon, total silence dominated this section of the city. The only sound that could be heard was the thumping bass emanating from a couple of late night clubs deeper within Hive.

Then the first cheer rang out, so loud and clear it made Twilight jump. Then suddenly, the cheering and stamping of hooves was everywhere, sweeping the party up upon a whirlwind of sound. Confused, Twilight glanced around. As far as she could see at her level, every single eye was turned on her. Twilight felt Rainbow Dash tense next to her, and she turned to the pegasus. It looked like the cyan mare was doing everything in her power to avoid taking flight. Her wings were trembling, and she unconsciously pressed closer into Twilight’s side. The cheering seemed to refuse to die down, issuing from thousands and thousands of dual layered voices. When Twilight, finally curious, raised a hoof in a half greeting, the cheering redoubled. Dash seemed to calm down a bit, no longer shivering but still pressed as close to Twilight as she could get. Blocking out the multitude of voices around her, Twilight asked, Are you okay, Rainbow?

Dash glanced at her best friend with a half smile. Fine, I think. They unnerved me; I thought they were going to start attacking.

That makes two of us, Twilight replied with a mental giggle. Off on Twilight’s other side, Nailiah shook her head vigorously, as though to rid herself of a troublesome gnat. Twilight arched an eyebrow, and Nailiah sidled a bit closer to talk.

“All of this noise is disrupting my Sight,” She muttered. “It’s kind of nice to not be assaulted by images, but at the same time it’s unnerving.”

So they continued on. Past countless more shops and homes, all the way up the winding path to the looming castle. The cheering crowds of changelings remained at the city limits, but Twilight could still hear them even as she stood at the giant drawbridge. Once inside the courtyard the noise died down to a muted roar, but it was still there just the same. Twilight turned to the rest of the group.

“Well then. That was certainly unexpected. What in Equestria were they cheering about?” Flicka did not seem too keen to answer. She turned towards Blockade and Harbinger, but those two had already departed, presumably back to their other duties. Amethyst and Lyra had long since disappeared too.

“Come,” Flicka gestured impatiently. “I’ll take you to the waiting chamber. Queen Chrysalis may not entirely be ready to see you yet.”

So they followed Flicka down innumerable hallways, past walls every bit as opulent as those in Canterlot Palace. Twilight tried to memorize the path they took, but this task soon proved to be impossible. This castle was every bit as confusing as the Palace to those who were unfamiliar with its secrets. They were rejoined at some point by both Amethyst, in her Bon-Bon form, and Lyra, who reappeared out of nowhere. One moment they were not there, the next they were. If not for the lack of magic felt, Twilight would have though the duo had teleported. She did not comment on it though, instead continuing to follow their guide. Flicka eventually lead them into a rather simple room, furnished with a couple of couches, a small center table, and a metal rack with a few magazines.

“Wait here,” Flicka directed. “I’ll be back as soon as I talk to the Queen.” With that, she was gone again. Silence fell again as Twilight attempted to tame her chaotic thoughts. So much has happened in just a short while; this all was starting to feel surreal. Rainbow Dash curled up next to Twilight, too worn out to fidget like she normally did when she had to sit still and was not meditating. Nailiah curled up on her sister’s other side, seeking warmth from the sibling she had just met. Throughout it all Twilight just sat and stared at nothing, woolgathering. As her semi-tired mind alighted upon a question she wanted to ask, she turned to Lyra.

“I have a question, Lyra. I understand that you and Amethyst love each other. I honestly think it’s great. But throughout all of this, you have treated yourself as though you are actually a part of changeling society. Why is that?”

Lyra turned towards Twilight, obviously not expecting the question. She stared at Twilight for a moment, like she was trying to make up her mind how to answer. “I consider myself a citizen of the Swarm because Chrysalis saved my life.”

This got a raised eyebrow from Twilight. An identical right ear flick from both Dash and Nailiah signaled that the other two mares were listening. “Is this the same Chrysalis we are talking about?”

That got a chuckle from Lyra. “The very same. Without her, I‘d not be here right now. Do you recall how she had brainwashed me and the other bridesmaids at the wedding?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “I remember. You tried to stop me and Cadance.”

“Yes. The spell that Chrysalis used against us was different from the one she used to subdue Shining Armor. The spell on the Bridesmaids, while it would ensure our complete obedience while Chrysalis was not there to give us direct orders, had a side effect: It would eventually turn us into changelings.” Twilight was wide-eyed now, and even Rainbow Dash raised her head in surprise.

“That was about the time I discovered that Bon-Bon was a changeling. She’d heard what Chrysalis had done in her bid for power, and rushed off to save me. In order to cast the spell that would at least slow down the transformation, Bon-Bon had to be in her changeling form. Even though I was still under Chrysalis’ control, I could recall watching Bon-Bon change right before my eyes. After Chrysalis’ plan failed, Bon-Bon carried me to Hive. She planned to force Chrysalis to stop the corruption.

“Chrysalis, to Bon-bon’s surprise, readily agreed to stop the spell and reverse its effects. Before she could, however, I was attacked by a couple of rogue changelings who were convinced I was an abomination and had to be put down. Chrysalis intervened and sentenced those two to death. After that, I swore fealty to her for saving my life.”

Twilight let out a slow whistle. “That certainly explains a lot.” Before the discussion could continue farther, they were interrupted by Flicka from the doorway.

“Queen Chrysalis will see you now. All of you, follow me.”