Cardcaptor Twilight

“Over there!” Trixie shouted as she rounded a corner, chasing a blue chameleon through an alleyway in Log Pegasus. “Ha, it’s mine now! I’m familiar with these alleyways!”

“C’mon, Twilight!” Kero shouted as he flew alongside Twilight and Rarity. “Don’t let that brat win!”

“But she’s right!” Twilight said. “She’s in familiar territory, and I’m not! So what can I do?”

“I’ll give ya a bird’s eye view!” Kero flapped his wings faster, and raised higher into the air. He looked down at the Clow Card that was still on the move, and looked for a pathway to cut it off. He found two that would work quite well, and descended back down. “Take the next right! We’ll cut it off, and capture it!”

“Got it!” Twilight, Rarity, and Kero turned right at the next intersection, whereas Trixie turned left. They continued to run until they came into contact with the Clow Card once more.

“It’s mine!” Trixie shouted, raising her staff with her magic. However, before she could cast her spell, the Clow Card turned around, and made a break for the alleyway that it had just come from. “Oh no you don’t!”

“Rarity, hold it down for me!” Twilight shouted.

Rarity nodded, and ran up to the chameleon, grabbing it at the same time as Trixie. It struggled against the combined hold, but was unable to break free.

“Return to the guise you were meant to be in! Clow Card!” With a swing of her staff, and an explosion of magic, Twilight smiled contentedly as the captured Change card floated into her hooves. “We did it! Nice work, everypony!”

“Hmph!” Rarity huffed as she flicked her mane, and dusted herself off. “You may have won this time, but don’t get carried away, Sparkle. The Great and Powerful Trixie will most certainly… What has happened to Trixie’s voice?”

“Good heavens!” Trixie shouted, backing away from Rarity with a look of horror on her face. “T-That’s my body! What is it doing there?!”

Rarity’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open as she scanned Trixie’s body up and down. “W-What’s going on?! Why is Trixie seeing her Great and Powerful Body in front of her?!”

Meanwhile, Twilight looked between the two with a confused, and concerned, look on her face. When she heard a sigh beside her, she turned to Kero, and immediately frowned. “… Is there something you’d like to tell us, Kero?”

“The Change card… has the ability to swap ponies’ bodies.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us that before?!”

“I was going to!” Kero shouted in his defence. “But then that brat came along…” He shot a glare at Trixie, before remembering that it wasn’t Trixie, but Rarity. The blue pony flinched, and looked nervously at the white one beside her. “And I kinda… forgot? Ehehehh…”

Twilight didn’t feel like laughing. She was furious, and also afraid. Afraid that her friends were forever trapped in each other’s bodies. “This is bad… What do we do? How d we explain this everypony? What about Sweetie Belle, and Snips and Snails? How do we explain that the ponies they look up to so much are now in different bodies? And what about Rainbow Dash?! She’ll be livid! Absolutely livid!”

A blue aura appeared around Twilight’s mouth, and a zipper formed, and closed. Twilight tried to undo it at first, but stopped when she saw that it was Rarity – or Trixie, in Rarity’s body – performing the spell. “Try to calm down first, okay?”

Twilight nodded, and closed her eyes. She tried to picture her happy place. In a library, surrounded by books, her family, books, the Princesses, more books, her friends, her friends as books…

“Ow!” Trixie shouted as she rubbed her head, and the spell that she was casting disappeared. “It seems that Trixie’s magical ability still remains, but she is using your magic reserves,” she said as she cast a glare at her own body.

“That’s not all,” Rarity said, pointing at Trixie’s flank. “You still have your Cutie Mark! And it appears that I have mine!”

“Of course,” Kero said, floating in-between the two ponies. “Your Cutie Marks are part of who you are. No matter what body you’re in, your talents, and thus, your Cutie Marks, will remain.”

“Oh, but what is this gaudy manepin?” Rarity asked, looking at her reflection in a small mirror.

“Don’t touch that!” Trixie quickly shouted, startling everyone present. “Uh, i-it’s important to Trixie. She doesn’t want you to lose it.”

“I won’t lose it, darling. I just think that-” A blue aura surrounded Rarity’s hoof, stopping it as it neared the manepin.

“Just… leave it alone! Okay?!”

Rarity stared at Trixie flabbergasted. The look on Trixie’s face showed desperation, and fear. With a nod, Rarity gently began to lower her hoof back down to the ground. She then stowed the mirror back into Trixie’s cape, where she had found it.

“Anyway,” Trixie began, now a little more calm, “Why don’t you try using the Change? After all, that’s the reason we got swapped in the first place, right?”

“Ain’t that simple,” Kero said, shaking his head sadly.

“What do you mean?!” Trixie shouted. “So, what, we’re stuck this way forever?!”

“Not exactly. What I mean is, the Change card alone won’t be enough.”

“So what else do we need?” Rarity asked. “Fabulous outfits?”

“Attention-grabbing incantations and special effects?” Trixie asked.

“An ancient spell book written by a Unicorn from olden times, that’s been sealed away in some dusty vault for over a thousand years?” Twilight asked.

Kero shook his head. “First, we need to wait twenty-four hours.” Everypony nodded. “And then… the two of you, in perfect harmony… must hug.”

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, whilst Trixie gagged at the thought. “Is that all?” Rarity asked.

“Trixie absolutely refuses!” Trixie shouted, earning a glare from Rarity.

“And just what is so bad about the idea of hugging me, exactly?!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not do hugs! Especially not with the enemy!”

“So you’d rather stay like that, then?!”

Trixie examined her new white hooves, and grinned. “This body isn’t so bad. And Trixie is given to understand you have a nice little boutique in that town you live in, correct?”

“But what about your magic?” Twilight asked. “You said it yourself. Rarity’s magic isn’t quite as potent as yours. No offence, Rarity.”

“None taken, Twilight,” Rarity said. “And what about our reputation? You’d have to start it from scratch, you know?”

“… That doesn’t seem like such a bad thing,” Trixie mumbled, confusing the other two mares. “But you bring up a good point about the magic… Ugh, fine then. Trixie will swap back with you.” Rarity smiled, whilst Trixie turned her head to pout. “Trixie will just pretend she’s hugging her clone or something.”

“Whatever makes you happy, darling. Now, I suggest, to make matters easier on ourselves, that Trixie stays at my boutique, and I stay in Trixie’s trailer.”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said. “I think it would be better to keep you together.”

“And if Rainbow Dash found out?”

“Trixie has been meaning to ask: why are you so afraid of that hothead, exactly?”

“It’s not that we’re afraid, Trixie,” Twilight said. “It’s just… easier, if we don’t tell her about this. She’s not exactly your biggest fan, in case you haven’t noticed, and she’s easy to provoke, like you.”

Trixie nodded as she listened, but then stopped as Twilight’s words sunk in. “What do you mean, like me?!” She noticed the blank stares pointed her way, and quickly cleared her throat. “… Fair point. But the Great and Powerful Trixie does not feel comfortable letting a stranger stay in her trailer unsupervised. If you insist on sleeping in Trixie’s trailer, then it will have to be with the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

Rarity gave Trixie a sly grin. “Oh, my. You really do love yourself, don’t you?”

Trixie’s face turned red as she realised what Rarity was suggesting. “N-Not like that, you fool! Trixie means in separate beds, bodies not touching, and definitely magiplay!”

“Very well then, dear. Oh, but what about Opalescence?”

Trixie titled her head. “If that’s some kind of slang term, Trixie doesn’t follow.”

“She means her pet,” Twilight said, before smiling at Rarity. “And don’t worry. I’ll take care of her.”

“Are you sure about that?” Rarity asked, her voice full of concern. Which sounded strange, considering it was still Trixie’s voice. “Opal can be quite a hoofful, you know?”

“It’s just a cat,” Trixie said. “If she can handle Nightmare Moon, she can handle a cat.”

“I will not have the Elements of Harmony being used on my little Opalescence!”

“Rarity, relax,” Twilight said. “Really, it’ll be fine. I’ll have Spike and Kero to help me out, remember?”

“Wait, what?” Kero asked. “Why do I gotta-” He stopped when his eyes met Twilight’s hard glare. “Uh, I mean, I’d be happy to help! S-Since, I guess, I should’ve warn you all before this whole mess happened, after all…”

“Then it’s settled!” Twilight cheered, before reaching over and pulling Rarity towards her. “While you’re at it, see if you can introduce some of the magic of friendship to Trixie. I really think that she needs it.”

Rarity sighed, and her ears flattened against her head. “I was afraid you might say that. Well, I can certainly do my best, but-”

“Hey!” Trixie shouted, parting the two mares. “That’s still Trixie’s body! Don’t go touching it like that without Trixie’s permission!”

As the two watched Trixie walk off down the alleyway, Rarity leaned over to finish her last statement. “No promises.”

“What do you mean, you can’t open it?” Rarity asked as she watched Trixie struggling with her trailer door.

Trixie eventually gave up, and gave Rarity an annoyed look. “It’s locked with Trixie’s magic. And since you’re now in Trixie’s body, that means you need to unlock it.”

“How do I do that? I don’t know the spell!”

“Hmmm… We could ask Twilight to do it, since she now shares the same magic as Trixie, but she’s all the way back in Ponyville…”

Rarity sighed. “Is there no other way in?”

“… There could be.”

BANG!

Rarity was startled by the sudden explosion, and completely stunned as she watched the door fall down. “Trixie’s magic enhances her door so that it can’t be broken down so easily. However, there are weaknesses to it, and if you know the right spell-” Trixie’s bragging was cut off by a sharp pain in her head.

“Well, I’m happy that we can get in now, but please do remember that that is my body, won’t you dear?”

Trixie grit her teeth together, and tried to power through the pain. “… Anyway, Trixie will have to repair her door tomorrow. For now, there some spare wood in the back that we can use as a temporary wall.”

Rarity nodded, and followed Trixie into the trailer. She looked around, curious as to what the home of Trixie Lulamoon actually looked like. It wasn’t quite what she was expecting. First off, there was no actual bed, so to speak. Just a blanket of the floor, and a few pillows, and a lava lamp sitting next to it.

There was a kitchen facility, which consisted of a sink, and oven, a microwave, and a few small cupboards.

On the floor, there were many papers, props, fabrics, and other items just laying about, along with a beanbag chair stashed in the corner, surrounded by books. Trixie’s reading corner, Rarity guessed.

Further down the trailer, there were two wardrobes, and a chest. Rarity felt that something was missing… And then it hit her.

“Trixie, where’s…” Rarity blushed, and walked closer to Trixie to whisper the rest of her question. “… The little filly’s room?”

“Don’t have one,” Trixie said as she rummaged through her wardrobe. “Which reminds Trixie, if you want to go, there’s a public restroom around the corner to that restaurant we passed earlier.”

“You… really don’t have one?”

“Having one would mean that Trixie would have to clean it herself.” Trixie grimaced at the thought, and pulled something out of her wardrobe. “Making use of public restrooms is fine. Not to mention much cheaper. Here.”

Rarity took the sleeping bag that Trixie had offered her, and waited for a pillow to come with it. She didn’t get one, though. “Um… Thanks, I guess…”

“Well, let’s just make some room in here, and then we’ll go to the spa.”

“The spa?” Rarity asked, her ears jumping up at the delightful word. They then fell again shortly afterwards, as she realised how awkward that would be. “Um, actually, wouldn’t it be better to do that after we swapped back?”

Trixie gave Rarity a blank stare, and then moved closer, pushing their muzzles close together. “The Great and Powerful Trixie always bathes every other day! And she has a discount for this town’s spa that is only valid today! My body is covered in sweat from all of Trixie’s hard work, so you are going to take it to the spa, and get it cleaned!”

“But isn’t it rather… strange, darling?”

“Ponies clean Trixie’s body all the time,” Trixie said. “What, have you never been to a spa before? Trixie would have assumed differently.”

“Well, of course I have, but I’m not a spa pony.”

“Trixie doesn’t care! Look, how about if Trixie gives you an autographed wand? It’s in the same style as Trixie’s Cutie Mark.”

Rarity didn’t seem swayed at all by the offer. “Tempting, but still, I-”

“Trixie will come to you the next time she needs a dress for some important event.”

That offer was actually appealing to Rarity. “Well, I-”

“Trixie knows some good gossip about the noble up in Canterlot.” That seemed to really pique Rarity’s interests, and Trixie grinned as she noticed it. “In particular… some juicy stories about Prince Blueblood, and also some stuff on Fancypants.”

“You don’t say!” Rarity exclaimed, her face beaming at the sound of fresh gossip about her favourite Canterlot celebrities. Such talk wasn’t easy to come by. The big names in Canterlot weren’t exactly ponies that other ponies liked to spread stories about, so if what Trixie was saying was true…

“You’re not just going to make up some fake stories about them, are you?”

Trixie scoffed, and backed away. “Of course not! The Great and Powerful Trixie may exaggerate her own tales, for the purposes of entertainment, but she does not lie about gossip regarding other ponies! What would be the point, anyway?”

Rarity considered it for a moment. She then looked over her body, and realised that she was rather sweaty. And filthy. And then she felt dirty. She couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping like this, even if it wasn’t her body. And a good trip to the spa did sound rather tempting.

Twilight’s words rang through Rarity’s ears. She wanted Rarity to try and befriend Trixie, even if only a little bit. “Oh, very well, then,” Rarity said, earning a smile from Trixie. “I suppose that the day is still young. I’ll just close my eyes and pretend it’s my own body.”

Trixie shrugged. “Whatever works for you.”

“Okay now, easy does it…” Twilight slowly crept towards the lazy cat, laying down on a pile of pillows on the bottom floor of the library. It was Opal’s feeding time, but the bowl for her food was sitting next to her. Which meant that Twilight would have to take it, fill it up, and then return it, all without being scratched to death by the furry little menace.

“I got the bag ready, Twilight,” Spike announced from a safe distance away from the cat.

Twilight nodded, and carefully placed another hoof in front of her. She saw Opal’s ear twitch, and had to hold back a frightful gulp. When no further moves were made by Opalescence, Twilight took a few more steps forward, and grabbed the bowl with her magic.

Smiling, she levitated the bowl over to Spike, who quickly began to fill it up with the cat food. The baby dragon suddenly yelped, and dropped the bag onto the floor, pointing a finger at something behind Twilight. “T-Twilight, look out!”

Twilight’s ears fell flat against her head when she heard a hiss, and she turned around to see Opal giving her a look of anger, and getting ready to pounce. “Oh no…”

Rarity sighed happily as she made herself comfortable inside Trixie’s sleeping bag. It wasn’t at all a comfortable place to sleep, especially with the lack of pillows, but the spa trip was indeed relaxing, and it felt good to be so clean and well-groomed.

She found it strange how fixated Trixie was with her manepin. Even when bathing, or sleeping, Trixie insisted that Rarity leave it in. Her face made it clear that she was desperate, and Rarity even felt that Trixie was close to begging at one point.

As a show of good faith, she complied with the showmare’s request, and kept the manepin in throughout the spa trip, and even when settling into her sleeping bag.

Glancing over at the clock, Rarity saw that it was pretty late, but not late enough for a little late-night chat. Turning onto her side, Rarity saw Trixie laying next to her, wrapped in her own blanket, with her head resting on three rather cushy-looking pillows. She almost felt bad for what she was about to do, considering how peaceful and content Trixie looked, but when she thought about how it might help in the long run…

“Trixie?” Trixie’s eyes opened, and she gave Rarity and annoyed look. “I was just wondering, how did you discover your passion for show business?”

“… School talent show,” she answered, before closing her eyes and attempting to go back to sleep again.

“And your magic?”

“Unicorns from Canterlot can generally do magic very well, even if it isn’t their talent. Therefore, it’s only that those of us whose talents are magic-based would discover it fairly quickly.”

“I see. You know, Twilight went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” Trixie’s eyes opened once more. It seemed she was giving Rarity a silent signal to shut up, but Rarity chose to believe that it was just her imagination. “How about you? Did you go to any special magic schools?”

“Same one,” Trixie said. Between her eagerness to just go to sleep, and her eagerness to brag about her most spectacular upbringing, Trixie was torn, and her voice was a mix between lazy, annoyed, and enthusiastic. “Trixie also got into that school.”

“Oh my. I hear it’s not easy to get a placement in that school.”

“No, it wasn’t.” A smile began to form on Trixie’s face. “Would you like to hear the story of how Trixie got in?”

Rarity bit her lip. If she said ‘no’, then the conversation would most certainly end right there. If she said ‘yes’, then she would have to sit through what she was sure would be hours of Trixie talking herself up.

“Um, actually, I was wondering if I could ask you about your shows?”

Trixie’s face suddenly turned serious, and she sat up and gave Rarity a suspicious glare. “… You hated Trixie’s show last time. Why the sudden interest?”

Rarity quickly formulated something that would sound believable. “Oh, well, I just figured that I judged you too quickly, that’s all. I would like to start fresh… if that’s okay?”

Trixie narrowed her eyes, and leaned in closer to examine Rarity’s face for any hint that she was lying. “… Well, since you’re so interested, the Great and Powerful Trixie will tell you about some of the spells she uses in her shows. They’re general spells, so they can be used by any Unicorn.”

Rarity smiled. This might actually not be so bad. “Oh, do tell.”

As the night shifted to early-morning, the two Unicorns continued to talk and exchange knowledge with each other that they both found useful, and interesting. Whilst Trixie taught Rarity a few spells to help her with her work, as well as getting back at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie whenever they pranked her, Rarity taught Trixie a good number of tips for keeping her mane beautiful and healthy, and for making her dresses much more fashionable and stronger.

Eventually, the topic began to shift. They moved onto talking about famous colts that they felt were overrated, to movies that they felt were great, or that had touching moments in them, and then to exchanging stories about the worst dates they had ever been on. At some point, Rarity had began to braid Trixie’s mane. Though, since Trixie was in Rarity’s body, she was technically braiding her own mane, but she didn’t really mind. She was actually surprised at just how much fun she was having right now.

“So then, I finally decided that enough was enough! You should have seen the look on his face when I ruined his well-groomed coat by covering it in that apple cake!”

Trixie laughed at the image of Prince Blueblood covered in cake, running around and screaming like a little filly. She offered her hoof to the mare behind her, who bumped her own against it. “Well well. It seems that not all of Sparkle’s friends are boring or as obnoxious as Trixie first thought.”

Rarity half-smiled at the compliment sent her way, but also half-frowned at the insult directed towards her other friends. “You know, if you just gave them a chance, you would find that they’re not really so bad… I should know. I, too, felt that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were merely uncouth brutes for the longest time. But then I spent some time around them.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is a good judge of character. Trust her, she will never get along with those ponies.”

Rarity sighed, but continued to work on the mane regardless. “By the way, why do you keep calling Twilight by her last name?” Trixie didn’t answer. “Surely you two are close enough that you can call her by her first name, right?”

“… It’s a bit personal.”

“You don’t exactly hate her, do you?”

Trixie sighed, and shook her head. “Sparkle is the one pony to have ever bested the Great and Powerful Trixie. Until Trixie can even the score, she refuses to see Sparkle as anything other than her greatest enemy. That is all that there is to it.”

“Well that just seems childish, if you ask me,” Rarity said with a pout.

“To each their own. For Trixie, it is easier to work towards defeating her, if she sees Sparkle as an enemy, rather than a friend.”

“But if you were on friendlier terms with her, you two could help each other to improve.”

“Why would Trixie want to help Sparkle? Were you not listening? The Great and Powerful Trixie wants to beat her.”

“Is that why you became a Cardcaptor?”

Trixie shook her head. “There’s a different reason for that. It was just good fortune that Sparkle was the pony that Trixie would be competing against.” Trixie thought back to Yuko’s words. “Or maybe… it was inevitable. Maybe the gods arranged this little competition for us, as our ultimate battle.”

“That’s rather poetic,” Rarity said, backing away when she was finished with Trixie’s mane. She then let out a large yawn, and rubbed her eyes as she looked over at the clock. “My goodness, we really should be getting to sleep now.”

Trixie turned around and smirked. “Whose fault is it that we’re still up right now?”

Rarity chuckled, and made her way back over to her sleeping bag. She was stopped by a pillow suddenly flying past her, and settling itself at the head of her sleeping bag, the blue aura around it disappearing as she turned to face Trixie.

“That’s Trixie’s body,” Trixie said with a grin on her face. “It should be treated well.”

Rarity smiled, and thanked Trixie as she began to settle into the sleeping bag. Suddenly, she remembered something. “Oh, Trixie? Please be a dear and remove my contacts, would you?”

Trixie’s ears twitched. “You… have contacts?” Rarity nodded. Trixie turned to the mirror hanging on her wall, and gulped as she slowly brought a hoof to her right eye. “S-Sure. Trixie can do… that…” She brought the hoof closer, and closer, and closer, and then… “GAH!” she screamed as she immediately pulled her hoof away. When she was clam once more, she saw Rarity staring at her with a concerned look on her face. “Um… Trixie has never done this before…”

Breathing a sigh of relief that Trixie was okay, Rarity smiled once more, and motioned for Trixie to come closer. The showmare reluctantly obeyed, and shifted about nervously as Rarity reached a hoof towards her eyes. “Just hold still. I’ll get these out in a jiffy…”

Trixie tried her best not to move, but her hooves seemed to have minds of their own. She began flailing and shaking about as Rarity tried to remove the contact from her right eye, which only made the situation even more uncomfortable. After thirty minutes of struggling, screaming, yelling, and pain, the contact was finally out.

Trixie breathed heavily, and thanked the stars above that the ordeal was over.

“Alright,” Rarity said, “Now for the next one.”

The following evening, Twilight Sparkle and Keroberos arrived at the arranged meeting spot on time, not a single second late or early. Twilight had expected Rarity and Trixie to be there on time, too, or at most, only about five minutes late. But after fifteen of waiting, they were still not there, and Twilight was beginning to grow very annoyed.

“What is the point of arranging a meeting time if they don’t even show up at the meeting time?!”

“Calm down, Twilight,” Kero said, watching with slight amusement, and slight worry, as Twilight paced around the grassy area.

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?! The whole point of making plans beforehoof is to make sure that everything goes off fine, without a hitch! If not everypony sticks to the plan, then everything does not go fine! Everything falls apart into total chaos! The very harmony of the entire world is thrown into disarray!”

“We’re here!” Rarity cheered as she and Trixie arrived.

“YOU’RE LATE!” Twilight shouted, startling the two mares.

“Uh, s-sorry about that,” Rarity said. “The train had a slight… delay…” Rarity shot a glare at Trixie, who simply whistled innocently in response. It was then that Rarity noticed all of the cuts and scratches on Twilight’s body, and she cringed at the sight. “Oh, Twilight, darling, I’m so terribly sorry about Opalescence.”

Trixie also cringed when she turned and noticed the same injuries. “That came from a cat? Boy, is Trixie glad she didn’t stay at your boutique last night.”

Twilight sighed, and looked over her scratched and bandaged body. “Well, it wasn’t so bad. She fell asleep, eventually.”

“So, when do we start?” Trixie asked, turning to Kero.

“Twenty-four hours have passed, so you’re good to go whenever. You two just need to embrace, and then Twilight needs to use the card.”

Rarity and Trixie nodded, and then turned to each other. Without a moment’s hesitation from either of them, the two mares moved closer, and wrapped their forelegs around each other.

Twilight and Kero were both surprised by how easy that was. They were prepared to deal with quite a hassle from the two of them, but instead… “I guess things went well last night,” Twilight whispered, a smile on her face.

“Great,” Kero said sarcastically. “Just what we need. Rarity getting’ all chummy with that brat.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, and then pulled out the Change card from her saddlebag. “Right, let’s do this, then.”

Princess Celestia walked down the dark stone passageway beneath her castle, two guards flanking her rear, and two guards leading the way in front of her. The passageway had very little lighting, and looked like something out of a nightmare. It was a dark, gloomy place, and there was a terrible smell in the air.

This was the Canterlot dungeon. Whilst there was no particular health hazard down here, its appearance had to drive fear into the hearts of anypony thinking of breaking the law. Since the dungeon was designed one thousand years ago by Princess Luna, the low lighting was designed to give prisoners a hard time breaking out, or keeping their cool, whilst having no effect at all on the nocturnal Princess of the Night.

Celestia, however, had to use a spell just to see where she was going, as did her guards.

“This is their cell,” the guard before her said. “They injured fifteen of our guards, including a Captain.” A bang was heard behind the metal door, and the guard cleared his throat. “Well, one of them did. The other one has yet to make a single violent move.”

“I see. And you say these… ‘creatures’, as you described them… they requested to see me personally?”

“I don’t know how else to describe them, Your Highness. And yes, they requested to see you, even calling you by name, and claiming that you are their old friend.”

Celestia nodded, and motioned for the guard to open the door. The guard obeyed, and Celestia watched as the door slowly opened, revealing the even darker, even danker, and even more horrifying cell inside. Chained to the wall inside, were the two prisoners that currently took up residence inside the cell. And Celestia’s eyes widened as soon as she could see them properly.

“It’s been a while,” one of them said. Of the two, he seemed to be the friendlier one, even smiling at the guards that were glaring at him. “Your Royal Guard has grown soft over the years.”

“Well, now that you’re here, perhaps you could release us?” the other one said, giving Celestia a cold, cautious glare. He looked like he was ready to attack at a moment’s notice, and if it wasn’t for Celestia’s reassurance, the guards would have been all over him, ready to keep him in line. “We could break out ourselves, but it would be pointless. Since we need to talk to you, Celestia.”

Celestia smiled, and walked into the cell, approaching the two creatures inside. “It has been a long time, but neither of you have aged a bit. Kamui. Subaru.”