Discredited

Note to self: The next time you spend an eternity in a cave with no natural light, WAIT UNTIL SUNSET before rushing out with your eyes wide open! Idiot….

“Nnngh….”

Twilight unclenched her eyes ever so slightly; just enough to locate the daffodils she had smelled before going half-blind. Food. She had knelt in the grass when the sunlight took its toll, and now found herself surrounded by treats. Nature’s apology. Gently, as if sudden movements would scare the flowers away, she leaned down and began to eat. Each delicate petal was like a feathery pill of concentrated deliciousness extract. Twilight couldn’t remember having eaten anything so wonderful. Having nothing but moss and lichen for long enough would do that to a mare. There were more than enough flowers around for her to truly feast until sated.

“Mmmm….”

By mid-afternoon, the trees had rescued Twilight from any further pain to the eyes, and she looked around, feeling a serenity she hadn’t known in some time. Of course, that feeling lasted right up to the moment she began thinking again.

I can’t go back to Canterlot, and do I want to go back to Ponyville? How long was I gone? Did they search for me, or just declare me dead the moment I vanished? Do they care, or was the wedding just a… just a start?

Twilight sighed. No more crying about it. Keep it together, focus on the present. You’re free and need to prepare yourself. Start by figuring out how to talk again. Say “checklist.

“Ch..Chh..Ch’cklssst.”

This doesn’t make sense. No throat pain, no breathing problems, but no language nonetheless. Is it only language? Sing the scales.

“Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ahhhhh.”

That came out perfectly. You’ve ruled out physical damage, and you can still sing…wordlessly. The loss of speech must be psychosomatic, then. It seems so needlessly dramatic; make a big scene at a wedding, have every friend you’ve had so far turn their backs on you, get sent to glassy purgatory…I think I’ve narrowed down the causes. How do I fix this? Do I need to? If the girls remember me, I doubt I have the patience to say anything to them. Do I even need them any more?

…Yes. For now.

Plan for the future: Cadance is evil. She sent me to the caves and has my brother in the sole of her hoof. If nopony else has stopped her, then I will. Not for Equestria, not for Celestia, for me. The girls will likely want to help somehow, and I’ll let them. We’ll save Equestria one last time, and then I’ll leave them behind just like they left me.

Smirking, Twilight stood and deduced the cardinal directions with help from what she could see of the sun’s position. Choosing South-West on a whim, she took a slow gait through the ancient oaks, an old, sacred grove having grown in the shadow of Canterlot Mountain since the princesses knew youth. A fresh, Alpine breeze blew down across her back, and carried the songs of a multitude of nesting birds. So many different stimuli should have been overwhelming, but nothing could spoil Twilight Sparkle’s good mood when she had a plan.

The forest seemed endless, but Twilight was not bothered by it. The ground beneath her hooves was soft and welcoming to her, lacking the sharp jolts each step in her last home had sent up her frame. Her only concern was the thirst that her recent meal had brought on. Equestria’s forests were riddled with creeks, springs and ponds. This one was no different. Continuing South and West, Twilight smiled again, having spotted one such creek moving through a clearing occupied by two ponies yelling at each other under a beam of blue light. Resolving to worry about the ponies after slaking her thirst, Twilight set a course for the cool water.

“I’m telling you! The spell didn’t ‘fizzle out’ this time! The beam would have dissipated again were that the case. “

“Don’t feed me them road-apples! Why’s the beam cuttin’ off here, then?” Applejack pointed a hoof at the spot in midair where the locator spell abruptly cut off. “Ya ain’t got enough juice in that horn to cast the spell right! Come clean already, and let’s head back to find a unicorn that can do the dang job!”

“You obstinate, plebian oaf!”

“Prissy, jelly-horned twit!”

“N’so loud….” Twilight mumbled as she passed between the combatants.

“Stay out of this, Twilight!” both mares screamed before facing off again.

“Jelly-horned is it? At least I’ve made progress. Canvassing Ponyville? Perhaps you think so small because your brain is so small!”

“Don’t go takin’ credit fer Spike’s idea, ya little….”

Applejack trailed off as she and Rarity lost their scowls. Their eyes locked and widened as the metaphorical lightbulb lit over their heads. As one, they turned, and spotted Twilight bent down at the creek, guzzling water with the intensity she normally reserved for new books.

“Twi!”

“Darling!”

Their quarrel forgotten, the vitriolic voyagers hurried over to their long-lost friend’s side. Their pace slowed when they saw Twilight hadn’t responded, choosing instead to continue drinking. She was truly a mess. Her mane had grown wild; almost as long as Fluttershy’s now, but with enough dust and split ends that Rarity had to bite her tongue to continue looking. Twilight’s hooves would be salvageable with a thorough rasping, and her coat was nearly beige with dirt.

“Twi…sugarcube…we’ve been lookin’ all over for ya.”

“Indeed. We’re sorry that it took so long. We spent two years searching by hoof before Spikey-Wikey found your divination spells.”

“He’s been keepin’ the Library in tip-top shape for ya since we got back. We check on him all the time, but he’s been keepin’ fed since Cadance ain’t canceled yer weekly stipend.”

The mention of Cadance seemed to snatch Twilight back into the real world, because she let out a heavy sigh before bending her head back down towards the water. Then she froze, her eyes widened and she let out a whimper so pitiable that Applejack doffed her hat in dread. Slowly, the battered bookworm turned her head to face her friends, and the sight she presented made Rarity retch in sympathetic pain. Her encounter with the stalagmite had done more than just knock her unconscious. Twilight’s horn had snapped off an inch from the base. Twilight’s eyes were still wide with shock, her mouth half-open, but tears flowed now.

“Ssssoo-knowwhy….” She said before slumping forward.

“Woah, there! I gotcha!” Applejack said, slipping a foreleg under Twilight’s barrel. “Rarity, wipe yer mouth and help me get Twilight on top my back!”

Rarity, quietly weeping, lifted her friend with her horn’s magic and set her gently upon the apple farmer. Falling into step, the two mares solemnly made their way back home.

“I…I think I know why the beam cut off like it did….”

“Ah reckon ah do, too. Sorry ah said that stuff to ya.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

The two mares and their maimed burden walked on. From a distance, two pairs of solid blue eyes tracked their progress before slinking back towards the mine entrance. Chitinous, black, and riddled with holes, the only difference between the two observers was size, until one broke the silence with a deep baritone.

“I honor your keen eyes, sister, that you spotted the mine entrance in such an inconspicuous part of the Market Square.”

The smaller one grinned at the praise, and then replied in a gentle soprano.

“I honor your strength, brother, that the dark of the mine held no terrors for me.”

Upon entering the mine again, the larger of the two paused, before spewing luminous mucus upon the wall.

“It is essential that we mark the route we followed a second time, and report the purple one’s emergence to the Queen. This mare was reportedly quite troublesome at the mission’s outset, and her continued freedom is beyond detrimental to all Changelings.”

The smaller one scoffed as they turned and climbed.

“A single mare, and a hornless unicorn at that? What danger could she pose to us? The swarm is strong now. Even the princesses were subdued by our power.”

She looked up to see her brother’s expression had darkened. The little changeling’s ears drooped in anticipation of another lecture.

“For an infiltrator, you place an inordinate amount of value on raw power. That is a fatal mistake. Magic and combat prowess can be useful, yes. However, you fail to consider craft and tactics. This pony may be injured and without magic, but she has powerful friends and her leadership skills are said to rival many a minor hive queen.”

“And for a warrior, you are frustratingly cautious! The swarm has reached a point where we need not hide our forms any longer! The love we have harvested will last for countless hatch-cycles. The ponies cannot defeat us whether or not they find out the truth. Do you doubt our Queen, brother?”

The infiltrator looked up, and realized she had been talking to thin air.

“Brother?”

No reply.

“It will do no good to hide from me, brother. One does not win an argument by walking away.”

She waited a moment, and then activated her pheromone-senses. A tell-tale green cloud turned into a passage some yards behind her.

“Brother! You know I dislike the darkness! Come back to my side!”

Hearing nothing but her own echo, the little changeling sighed and cantered after her brother’s trail. Higher and higher, the path took her ever closer to the heart of the mountain. Never one for the gloom of the hive, the infiltrator much preferred open air. The dark of the mine tore at her nerves, and she began to breathe heavily.

“Brother! Answer my call!”

The pheromone trail grew thicker and stronger as she followed; winding and turning, no longer able to rely on her sight. She sensed the trail ending at a small chamber not far ahead. Casting a light spell with her horn, the changeling ran to her quarry, and immediately wished she hadn’t. A soft blue aura doused her light spell, and then dragged her, screaming into the dark.

Crunch

Snap

Crunch crunch

“Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake….”