War Comesby Proper NounChaptersChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter One"Your Highness, the ambassador from Zebrica has arrived." From her throne, Princess Celestia looked down on the messenger, a Royal Guardspony whose enchanted armor made him appear no different from the others. But there were subtle clues, she knew - not to mention that with a simple spell, she could see right through the illusion. "Thank you, Flash Sentry. Please rise, and return to your post." She turned her eyes on another guard standing attentively by her side. "Sergeant. See to it that the ambassador and his cohort are escorted to their prepared quarters, and inform him that I am prepared to grant his requested audience immediately." As the stallion saluted and moved to obey, Celestia permitted herself to smile in relief. Tensions with Zebrica had been running high, and she had been looking forward to negotiations for months. A thousand years as sole ruler of Equestria had honed her diplomatic skills quite well, but that didn't mean she enjoyed having upset neighbors to practice them on. It was less than an hour before the court crier announced, "Presenting: Ambassador Anansi of Zebrica!" The entire court rose, Celestia included. The Princess spread her wings wide in her most regal posture, yet gave a humble bow of her head as the scarred zebra approached, flanked by unarmed Guards in ceremonial attire. They moved off to either side, leaving him to stand alone before their ruler. "Welcome to Canterlot, Ambassador," Celestia said, allowing her voice to be filled with its natural warmth. She normally suppressed it, but the tone her voice took when unregulated was wonderful for social and diplomatic occasions. She raised her head to look into the zebra's grim gaze. Oh dear. "I trust you find your accommodations pleasing?" "Yes," said Anansi. His tone was flat, and his next words, while carrying little inflection, were suggestive of a threat. "The Zebrican artifacts are but few of many things we shall repossess." "If you like, we can discuss return of what you believe is yours immediately," Celestia offered. It was true that Equestria possessed many zebra artifacts of unknown history. While some collectors and museums would certainly be put out, she had no particular attachment to them, and their use as bargaining chips would be - "No." "No?" "No. The time for negotiation has passed, Queen Hellfire." Celestia recoiled from the name in shock, but could not slip in a word as the ambassador continued. "Do not pretend to have forgotten your war with the Destroyer of Day. For seven months of night, our crops failed, our animals died, my people starved. The fury of moon and stars brought madness and strange, new kinds of death. Then you brought the sun upon our world, and spirits of fire ravaged the land. Our fields and forests burned. Our cities burned. Our people?" He paused, before glaring straight into the Princess's eyes. She could see another kind of fire within them. "Burned!" "My ponies - " "Are not the only people in this world, demon! Yes, after Discord and the Destroyer, your kind was nearly extinct, and good riddance! But you never looked beyond your own borders! After a thousand years, the ruins of Roam still burn! The land is riddled with fire and sand, and forests live only in legend! It has taken us a millennium to reclaim a fraction of our former strength and pride, Hellfire, and now you and the Destroyer feign benevolence? "We are not here to talk about reparations. We are here for war. Perhaps a thousand years of hunger, poverty, and ruin will finally awaken you," Anansi concluded. "Good day, Queen Hellfire. May your heart learn warmth from your fury." Chapter TwoCelestia sat down, stunned, as she watched the ambassador go. She had long known of the plight of the zebras - the amount of food and other necessities she had sent to Zebrica every year out-massed every other Equestrian export combined. But no one had ever told her she was the cause! True, she'd been more than a little single-minded in the war against Nightmare Moon, but even when that was long over, she had no idea of the damage ... that she had to accept she'd done. It made sense, and that was the worst part. "Princess!" a guard whispered urgently. "Should we stop him?" He repeated his question twice, more insistently, before Celestia finally pulled herself out of her thoughts and shook her head. "No, we - " "Princess!" cried another of the Royal Guard, flying into court at a speed Celestia hadn't thought possible for a pegasus in full armor. He only stopped by slamming straight into the steps below the throne. "They're attacking! The zebras have entered the city and they're killing everypony! The Guard is being scrambled, but until they arrive, the civilians are defenseless!" "How many?" Celestia demanded, her old instincts kicking her into action. "About two hundred, n-no idea where they came from," the pegasus said, starting to pant. It wasn't until then that she noticed his injuries - including a spear whose broken shaft protruded from his belly. "Get this stallion to the castle infirmary!" she ordered the two guards who were still in only ceremonial attire. She knew it was useless - the guard was already at death's door, and he'd probably expire before even reaching the doctors, but the gesture had to be made. "Crier, send my chariot to retrieve Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance from the Crystal Empire, and my sister's to bring the Element Bearers from Ponyville. The rest of you: Court is dismissed until further notice. Guardsponies, execute contingency delta. And I expect to see the military houses making use of their training to defend the ponies of Canterlot. Including the poor, nephew." She hissed the last word at Blueblood before teleporting herself straight to the outer gates of Canterlot. She wasn't going to waste any further time that could be spent defending her people, and she would not let this be like another Changeling attack, no matter how well that had ended for all involved. Arriving on the parapet over the gate, Celestia was greeted by screams and bloodshed. Bodies littered the street below, including a few of the Guard and a leather-armored zebra. Fighting hadn't been contained there for long. Though she wished to fly down and take a few minutes to mourn the dead, she had to harden her heart and move deeper into the merchant district that made up the streets nearest the gate. Every moment wasted was another of her little ponies she'd never see again. As she flew, the Princess soon spotted fighting, and landed on the roof of a nearby fireworks shop. Six zebras were fighting a small group of Royal Guards, and only one of the guardsponies was still standing. With the zebras closing in for the kill, Celestia enveloped the surprised stallion in a glowing shield. She'd have to maintain the spell to keep him protected, but that was no longer necessary - the zebras had all turned their attention to her. And they quickly melted beneath rays of intense sunlight cast by her horn. One of them managed to throw something bright, before she became a blackened, steaming puddle... The world exploded. Celestia was airborne, her wings flopping in a panic. Then the ground came up and hit her in the face, at the same time as the thought struck her that she could have chosen to stand on a store that wasn't basically a bomb. She was lucky - no other zebras were around to take advantage of her temporary vulnerability. A few moments, and she was steady enough to rise and walk, though her left wing felt painfully broken. She'd have to get a splint when this battle was over. A few similar encounters brought her to the end of a street, where four zebras had cornered a small group of earth ponies and unicorns. She quickly teleported herself to stand between them and, through the throbbing in her sagging wing, gave the startled attackers a smile that practically dripped venom. Without giving them a warning - the last time she'd fought a war, speaking for effect during a battle had ended badly - she shut her eyes and cast an explosion of light from her horn. She stepped aside before opening them again, allowing the blinded attackers to collide with each other where she'd stood, before knocking each out with a rear hoof to the head. The ponies she'd come to protect were blinded and terrified as well, but it would wear off shortly. She had no time to stop and reassure them, trotting quickly across another intersection in search of more invaders. Green fire flashed in Celestia's face, and she jumped several steps back before seeing it trail off into smoke, then condense into a letter sent by Spike. "This had better be urgent," she muttered. It was. Heavily inked over the singed page of a book was a simple message: Dear Princess Celestia, Twi berserk. Ponyville burning. HELP! Your faithful subject, -Spike Celestia snorted furiously. Of course. It was no wonder the zebras had scattered in the city; they were trying to delay her, and worse, it had worked. No sane enemy had ever attacked Canterlot directly. She teleported herself back to the castle, and stormed into Luna's dark bedchamber. She was no longer needed on the streets of Canterlot, anyway; the Royal Guard would have had the time to fully mobilize and strike back already. "Sister!" she shouted, trotting up to the royal bed. The lump of blankets, feathers, and flowing stars didn't move. I don't have time for this, Celestia thought, and poured magic into her words, an enchantment known to others as the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Princess Luna Artemis Somnium, awaken at once!" she roared over the bed. It had its desired effect - the younger princess jumped nearly to the ceiling, flailing as she remained tangled in blankets and fell back to the mattress. Celestia didn't even give her time to extract her head from the mess. "Zebrica has declared war. I need your help immediately. Ponyville is being destroyed!" Chapter ThreeSinging. Twilight Sparkle was surrounded by brilliant arcs of lightning-like magical energy that sliced at random through zebras, ponies, and buildings alike. Half of Ponyville was on fire, and corpses or half-corpses of burned, eviscerated, or dismembered ponies and zebras lay everywhere. The ponies left alive were screaming and running in all directions; the attackers were retreating in the face of Twilight's spell while another group attempted to circle around behind her. And the youngest Princess of Equestria, her eyes glowing with power and her magic running wild as she trotted casually after the zebras, was singing. "And some sunny day, it'll all be okaaaaayy..." The entire town sang with her - every mailbox, fountain, statue and small animal - under her modified Royal Voice spell. It would be okay. Everything would be okay. She just had to let the magic do its work. The zebras would flee, and she'd get all of her friends back and the Princess would help them. Or... maybe, if she helped them too, the zebras would be her friends! Everypony could be her friend! With that thought, a blast of magic reached down the streets, lovingly caressing her next friend. She trotted up to the charred back half of him, where it rested against somepony's door. "Don't worry!" she said. She was as oblivious to her volume as to her twitching eye and the magic lashing out of her control in all directions. Nearby, a stallion screamed as he was eviscerated by a lance of lavender lightning. "When this is over, we can all be friends! Just you wait." ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ On their hill overlooking Ponyville - one they'd had to drive a zebra longbow squad from - Luna turned to her older sister. Just as she was clad in full armor wrought from plates of midnight ore and starmetal, Celestia was protected beneath layers of sunforged steel. Both suits were heavily enchanted, primarily with immunities to low-level magic - properties that would be useless in battle with zebras. Neither would they afford protection against Twilight, whose power and mastery combined to make her the most dangerous sorcerer on the planet. Draining away the excess power generated by her wild emotional surges would stop her, but also leave her defenseless before the zebra armies. She couldn't be tended to just yet. "This is as bad as thou hast led us to expect. We apologize for our anger when thou awakened us. Where is Discord?" "I don't know, sister. I don't have time to look. We need to find the other Element Bearers. If we can assemble them, we might be able to stop Twilight then, and use the Elements of Harmony to defend Equestria." "We will assist thee, Celestia, but it is our earnest hope thou hast a backup plan. Thy Royal Guard and our Night Guard, even combined, are no army." Then, Luna observed, "We are out of time. Smoke rises outside Ponyville. Go to Kindness - she fears us. We shall find Honesty." Celestia nodded, gave a quick instruction to her guards to hold the hill, and headed to Fluttershy's home. When she landed, a few animals still lingered in the yard, missing limbs and dead or dying. The cottage was otherwise quiet - the attackers had been and gone. Celestia stepped through the open front door. "Leave," said a high-backed armchair. She knew the voice, and kept her own neutral. "Discord." The chair turned around on its four legs to face her, the Spirit of Chaos holding a yellow heap in his lap. A few matching feathers trickled from his eyes, and Celestia realized he was crying. "I want to be alone," he said. "I... have never found anything less entertaining." "I'm sorry, but I need you." "The last time I said that, you and your cuter sister turned me to stone. It would be pretty funny if I did the same to you." The Princess sensed no real will behind his words, and shook her head sadly. "I am sorry, Discord. I know who she was to you. I need your help to make things right again." Discord snorted, blowing soap bubbles everywhere. "Who do you think I am? War? Vengeance? I am the spirit of Chaos, little princess. Neither of those interests me, and your only bargaining chip..." He hesitated. "She died, crying, on my shoulder. Go away! Before I turn Equestria into a newt!" The chair turned away again, and Celestia took that as her cue to leave. The last thing she needed was to add an angry Discord to her list of problems. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ "So Honesty and Kindness both have passed," murmured Luna, on hearing Celestia's account. "Must they always be the first casualties of war?" "Sister, this is not the time to lapse into metaphor." Celestia closed her eyes. She knew she would immediately regret the jab, but there were few other ways to draw Luna's attention outwards again, and most of them involved letting her sleep. There was no time for that. "I know of your loneliness, but every passing moment is another little pony who will never learn the beauty of your night. We must act now." "Do not dare!" Luna began, her hoof connecting painfully with Celestia's face just as expected. She opened her eyes and held Luna in a calm, sad gaze despite the pain and the trickle of blood marring her pure white coat, and its effect was almost instant. "I ... I am sorry, sister. I cannot bear to be reminded of... " Luna stiffened abruptly. "Thou art correct. We must act. Without the Elements, what is thy backup plan?" Chapter Four"Terrible!" Luna yelled to her sister over the roar of battle, then paused to kick a zebra in the face. "When we asked for thy backup plan, thou shouldst have said this was what it was! Terrible!" It was true, unfortunately. Luna knew she should have tried harder to override Celestia's orders - the older sister had always been the lesser at everything from chess to true warfare. That was proving to be the case once more - the Guards had been driven off the hilltop after a botched counter-attack, and were pinned between zebra forces and a firestorm likely fed by the alchemy supplies at Ponyville Elementary. The Princesses had stayed with them to protect them from wholesale slaughter, but they were still down to ten, after several messengers attempting to fly to Canterlot or Cloudsdale for assistance were shot down. One had finally gotten away, but Celestia flew into a volley of arrows to ensure it - and not all of them were deflected by her armor. A quick glance revealed Twilight's rampage could no longer be counted on as a wild card, either - the zebras could not approach her, but had lured her into the Everfree, where she seemed to be starting a forest fire. And as if numbers and injuries weren't enough, Luna noticed magic wasn't working against the higher-ranking zebras - it felt almost as though they did not exist as magical entities at all. "I know, sister. I apologize." Celestia wheezed with every other word. Her injuries were starting to take a toll, though her raw power permitted her to continue fighting as she called back. "But I will not allow my ponies to die!" "Then it is time for thy silver tongue to save them." While she had always been the better at war, the younger Princess knew she was far outclassed in duels of words and diplomacy. Luna channeled power into her Royal Canterlot Voice. "Parlay!" she roared over the battle. "Disengage immediately!" The zebras seemed interested, as fighting died off in seconds. Guard and Stripe alike watched each other warily as they parted lines and the last arrows fell. One zebra, decorated in black-feathered armor but otherwise unremarkable, approached the Princesses' position alone. "Send forth your leaders, and let us trade words, for I am the one in charge of these herds." "Zecora." Celestia advanced a few steps. Though her body was hurt and tired, her voice retained its warmth and regal calm. "I am very disappointed." "If you are hurt, or even surprised," Zecora said with a shrug, "you should not have ruined the homeland I prized. Will you surrender, and make your deaths swift? I shall not listen to lie or to gift." "I believe that when you hear what I have to say - " Celestia was cut short by the fiery green pop of another scroll appearing in front of her face. There was some unrest in the zebra lines, but with a wave of her hoof, Zecora settled them. Celestia gave her a gracious nod before she unrolled the scroll and read silently. Dear Princess Celestia, Derpy couldn't get to you. Died on top of me. Her message is next. Your faithful subject, -Spike Another scroll, spattered in places with fresh blood, appeared almost immediately after: Princess, Scouts lost. 9/10 dead. Zebras at Manehattan and Fillydelphia. More moving on Vanhoofer. Zebra balloon units moving on Las Pegasus and Cloudsdale. Wonderbolts, Night Guard lost in action. Cloudsdale evaccing. Las Pegasus already empty. Couldn't do better. Sorry. Faithful in death, -Polaris Luna, reading over her sister's shoulder, frowned. Things must be dire indeed if Equestria's clumsiest flier was the one entrusted to bear such vital - if disappointing - information. There was little that could be done about the zebra military now. They must have crossed the borders, which her sister always insisted on not guarding as a gesture of good faith, at least a week ago. "We wish to discuss terms," Celestia said. Her voice had turned soft, a sign of the impact of the ill news. "In speaking of terms, we shall have none," Zecora retorted. "You shall have lost, and we shall have won. We have the strength to do as we wish. All I may offer's a sword and a swish." "And I have the strength to do more than what's passed. If you'll accept nothing for the lives of my ponies, I can do far worse than run and hide." "For our revenge are we all willing to die. If you will not surrender, it is time for goodbye." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Do you speak for every stallion, mare, and foal? What of your mothers and elders?" Celestia was bluffing. She had to be bluffing. Not even the sister who cast her into the moon would truly threaten children, Luna knew. "Your numbers depend on the food we provide. If you kill my subjects and ruin this land, you will face famine unlike anything seen in a thousand years." The zebra frowned. "The lessons of Hellfire are hard to forget, but we can take what we want to have our needs met." "Surely you remember to whom you speak. I am your so-called Queen Hellfire, demon of the sun. I care not for threats, but you know what I can do merely by accident. I am the one responsible for your suffering and hatred. I am the one who burned your lands and your people." Zecora twitched angrily, but Luna cried out in alarm at the direction she sensed Celestia was taking. "Sister!" Celestia seemed to pay no heed to her. "I am the only one who has ever been at fault, and I will give you a choice. Allow me to surrender my person in exchange for my ponies." Celestia drew herself up to full height, her pearlescent mane and tail briefly igniting into dozens of colors of flame. "Or discover what the one who destroyed your nation by accident can do, when offered nothing to lose!" Luna and Zecora both took steps back in shock. Did Celestia really just say that? "You're - " Luna started, but was cut off. "Sshh." The younger princess opened her mouth to protest, but saw her sister wink, and shut it again. I hope you know what you're doing. Chapter Five"Your offer has been quite fully considered," Zecora said on returning from her improvised camp. "Our officers' hearts are deeply embittered. You may say now whatever you like, but we can't accept merely your head on a pike." "I know, but for you, it is far too late," Celestia said, her tone openly mocking. "You are much too slow - we've chosen your fate." "What?" Luna blinked several times. What was her sister doing? "You cannot be serious, Hellfire Queen. Perhaps it is empty where your sense should have been." "Oh, this day has been just perfect!" Celestia laughed, adding, "Everything is in place. Welcome to our humble camp, Princess Cadance." "Why thank you, Princess." Cadance descended from above to land between the other two Princesses. "It's time to execute our Plan B. Aunt Luna, please trust me - and trust her. Her stake in Equestria is as great as ours." "Indeed," Celestia said, turning her attention back to a confused Zecora. "I must apologize. It has been fun, but you've all been deeply deceived." For what Luna realized was the first time since the start of the battle, Celestia lit her horn. Green. Her magic was green. "Oh, the looks on your faces!" Celestia laughed. Her form shimmered with green fire, shed along with all pretense of injury, and before everyone stood the Changeling Queen, wearing the suddenly ill-fitting armor of Equestria's sun princess. The zebra forces murmured in surprise and concern, echoing more pronounced unrest among the remaining Royal Guard. One of the Guard even moved to confront Chrysalis, but Cadance intervened, ordering him back to his position. "What?!" Luna demanded, leaving her mouth to gape as her thoughts raced in a futile search for answers. "I'm sure you have questions, but right now, please understand," Cadance whispered, her tone urgent. "I need you to shield us all if it comes to a fight." "My terms are simple, little zebras," Chrysalis said, turning to address Zecora. "Right now, my children make up a third of your forces." There was considerable unrest among the zebras, despite their discipline, and the changeling smiled - a menacing gesture, given her fangs. Then, green flames began to shimmer along the ranks as more revealed themselves. The entire rear guard was, in moments, replaced by changelings. The zebras were pinned between them and three alicorns. "Now, I am going to cast a flare in a few minutes, high enough for all of Equestria to see. If it forms a shield, your armies will be disarmed and escorted back to Zebrica. Should it take the shape of a sword, however, you will all be slaughtered without mercy. And believe me, no offensive here will gain you any ground. My magic here is powered by love. May I introduce Cadance, Princess thereof!" Chrysalis laughed. "Just in case you thought you had the edge in so much as rhyming - to speak not of strategems, or tactics, or timing. A few minutes left until I cast the sword. I suggest you surrender, ere I become bored." As a stunned Zecora returned to her camp and Chrysalis began to shed Celestia's armor, Luna finally found words. "We believe we had best be informed of the details of this 'Plan B.' Right. Now." The last she knew, Equestria was at war with the changelings, not allied with them. "I'll tell you the history later," Cadance said. "Right now, I stand by what I said before. Your part is to protect yourself, Chrysalis, and I. I will allow Chrysalis to draw on my love, and feed her as best I can. And she... will be completely unstoppable, as long as I continue to do so. Hopefully, we won't need to actually do this at all, but you know Aunt Tia. She has to plan for everything." "Very well. We shall prepare - " "Your highnesses!" a guard yelled. "The zebras are charging!" Luna immediately turned her attention skyward. This doesn't work without the moon. Forgive me. A clumsy attempt to lower the sun was quickly reinforced by a familiar push, tipping the sun past the horizon in one swift, but controlled, motion. Thank you, Tia. As the sudden darkness caused the zebras to hesitate, Luna brought her moon to bear over the field and called down its glow like a spotlight over the small group of Princesses and Guards. A little further magic of her own, and the edges of the moonlight around them formed an impenetrable wall, beyond which she began spreading her own sweet darkness. "Oh, this will be fun," she heard Chrysalis say before crying across the field, "Come, my children! Take no prisoners!" Moments later, a brilliant green sword illuminated the sky. Chapter SixChrysalis picked her way across the field of corpses, granting what was left of her excess energy as healing to her injured minions. She seemed in an actually cheerful mood, and Luna finally had to look away. How could anypony - any being at all - be so cheerful at the site of a wholesale slaughter? Not a single zebra had survived. She hadn't seen so much death since before... before the moon. She shook her head and straightened her posture. "Guardsponies..." She hesitated. There were few of them left, and the battle was over. "Go home. Thou art all granted three extra months of paid leave for use at thy discretion. Go to thy families. Thy suffering this day was for them." The eight remaining guardsponies murmured amongst themselves before parting, each paying respects to their fallen comrades before allowing what remained of Ponyville's medical staff to cart the bodies away. Luna turned next to her fellow Princess. "Now, we believe thou promised to explain this to us." Cadance sighed, and visibly stifled a yawn; fueling Chrysalis had clearly taken a heavy toll on her. "Aunt Celestia and I have been planning our backup defenses for a long time," she said, barely keeping above a mumble. "She didn't say it in as many words, but I think this is her joke on you for sleeping through my... wedding incident." "Thou canst not be serious." Cadance just continued to look her straight in the face. "... thou art serious." "Very much so," Cadance said with a nod. Luna felt an old fury start to bubble up inside her, and quickly held it down. She knew what those old feelings meant, and what they could do. Still, she could allow herself to be merely angry. "How dare she? Is such petty revenge more important to her than the lives of our subjects?! How can our sister - " "Aunt Luna, please. You haven't let me explain." Luna nodded, and forced herself to be still, though she wanted little more than to teleport straight to Canterlot and hit her sister in the face. "We weren't supposed to have to act on this plan. Even then, she made sure at every step that it wouldn't hurt anypony. The focus of it isn't you - it's bringing Chrysalis and myself together. We still needed you to protect her until I could arrive - she's not exactly a brilliant strategist and tends to gloat too much - and we needed you to protect me afterwards. Auntie also knows you trust me enough to see this though." "But she... we... argh!" Luna cried out in frustration. That did sound just like her sister, and it even made sense. She yelled at the sky, "Fine! You win this round, Tia, but I will get you back for this! Now, Cadance, what do the Changelings have to do with this in the first place?" "I believe I'll answer this one. After all, this is where it becomes my story," Chrysalis said. She must have come back while the Princesses were talking. Cadance nodded tiredly. "After being cast out of Canterlot on that day, my people were spent. I had sunk too many resources and re-purposed too many laborers for the invasion. Too many were critically injured, and we were too widely scattered... those who did not succumb from injury or loneliness began to starve, instead." The changeling queen stared down at the bloodied grass with what appeared to be genuine sadness, and Luna forced herself to keep her mouth shut. She knew both that she'd have welcomed their fate, and that she would have been wrong to do so. The callous, jealous heart of Nightmare Moon still beat in her chest, and had to be kept under control. She merely listened while Chrysalis recovered herself enough to continue. "I was, myself, thrown far to the north. Snow and ice jammed in place the plates of my carapace, and the only thing I could do was... was lie still, and place a bet with myself on whether I would die of cold or hunger first." She paused to force her composure back into place again. "... and she, of all people, found me." Chrysalis bowed her head deeply to Cadance. "She saved me, and when I had recovered, we met with Celestia in secret. When I told her of how much had changed, when I begged her to help me save my children..." She paused again, though this time, the ghost of a smile touched her face. "The terms were strict, but the deal so much more generous and trusting than... than we deserved, after what I did. We would even be allowed to slowly merge our remaining numbers with the populations of Equestria's cities, in total secrecy but with her personal oversight. In exchange, we had to do every last thing she asked of us, no matter how menial, and of course follow Equestrian law to the letter. So the Changeling Empire became a vassal state to Equestria. "As three years passed, we regained our strength, our numbers, our prosperity. I watched my entire race begin to heal, and owed all to you." She gave Cadance another bow of her head. "So when Celestia told me to move my children into Zebrica as a contingency because of their sudden diplomatic hostility, I had long been more than willing to carry out any command without question. It was my greatest undertaking - we had to not only invent and maintain perfect cover, but prevent the zebras from noticing their population had almost doubled without explanation. I had to return to Equestria, of course, to keep myself available for Celestia, but I left my children with a plan if the zebras did begin to march. It would seem they executed it perfectly." "We are... impressed, by thy apparent loyalty," Luna grudgingly admitted. But there had to be more. "What else did our sister offer thee?" "Hm-hm. Aren't you perceptive?" Chrysalis replied. That touch of a smile appeared again. "There was one more thing. Should we somehow find a way to prove our allegiance beyond doubt, we would be freed from all terms, and our past crimes forgotten. We would be welcome visitors and residents of Equestria, on the sole provision that we never again resort to kidnapping and murder." The last straw of Luna's trust snapped. "And how are we supposed to believe thou willst not use this to advantage, to attack Equestria once more?" she said, bristling. "Why should we make ourselves vulnerable to thy - " "Aunt Luna - " "Oh, please. Even under Celestia's hoof, my children have known such prosperity as even I have not seen in more than two hundred years. I've been hostile in my dealings with Equestria before, but now I see I was foalish to try to take by force what might be given freely, and now every last one of us has Equestria to thank simply for our lives." She took a breath, and visibly began to calm. "I am a warrior, not a politician. I bargain strictly by cost and gain. By fighting Equestria, I lose safety, I lose security, I throw away lives and prosperity. I gain nothing but a few political bargaining chips even if I do win, something I am confident I cannot do even against Cadance alone. "I'm not an idiot, Princess. Neither am I yet your peer, but I would appreciate my fealty not being questioned on the same day I saved your kingdom." "Aunt Luna - " "Thou lied to us, thou impersonated us, and thou attacked us! Dost thou truly expect us to forget, and permit thy minions to shelter under our wing? Dost thou expect us to believe thy words? We - " "Aunt Luna, shut up!" "We all trusted Nighmare Moon," Chrysalis said calmly. Luna fell onto her haunches, her cheeks stinging. After several moments of silence, the changeling said, "I will go. This victory must be reported, and I must tend to my children. Their orders were to vanish once this is over, but I'm sure that hasn't stopped some of your subjects from trying to attack them." "I need to leave as well," Cadance said, yawning. "I'm sorry for raising my voice, Auntie. I just wanted you two to stop fighting before it came to... that. I'm going to go now, alright? I need to grab my husband for a blanket and sleep for a year or two." Then Luna was alone. Chapter SevenSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter One"Your Highness, the ambassador from Zebrica has arrived." From her throne, Princess Celestia looked down on the messenger, a Royal Guardspony whose enchanted armor made him appear no different from the others. But there were subtle clues, she knew - not to mention that with a simple spell, she could see right through the illusion. "Thank you, Flash Sentry. Please rise, and return to your post." She turned her eyes on another guard standing attentively by her side. "Sergeant. See to it that the ambassador and his cohort are escorted to their prepared quarters, and inform him that I am prepared to grant his requested audience immediately." As the stallion saluted and moved to obey, Celestia permitted herself to smile in relief. Tensions with Zebrica had been running high, and she had been looking forward to negotiations for months. A thousand years as sole ruler of Equestria had honed her diplomatic skills quite well, but that didn't mean she enjoyed having upset neighbors to practice them on. It was less than an hour before the court crier announced, "Presenting: Ambassador Anansi of Zebrica!" The entire court rose, Celestia included. The Princess spread her wings wide in her most regal posture, yet gave a humble bow of her head as the scarred zebra approached, flanked by unarmed Guards in ceremonial attire. They moved off to either side, leaving him to stand alone before their ruler. "Welcome to Canterlot, Ambassador," Celestia said, allowing her voice to be filled with its natural warmth. She normally suppressed it, but the tone her voice took when unregulated was wonderful for social and diplomatic occasions. She raised her head to look into the zebra's grim gaze. Oh dear. "I trust you find your accommodations pleasing?" "Yes," said Anansi. His tone was flat, and his next words, while carrying little inflection, were suggestive of a threat. "The Zebrican artifacts are but few of many things we shall repossess." "If you like, we can discuss return of what you believe is yours immediately," Celestia offered. It was true that Equestria possessed many zebra artifacts of unknown history. While some collectors and museums would certainly be put out, she had no particular attachment to them, and their use as bargaining chips would be - "No." "No?" "No. The time for negotiation has passed, Queen Hellfire." Celestia recoiled from the name in shock, but could not slip in a word as the ambassador continued. "Do not pretend to have forgotten your war with the Destroyer of Day. For seven months of night, our crops failed, our animals died, my people starved. The fury of moon and stars brought madness and strange, new kinds of death. Then you brought the sun upon our world, and spirits of fire ravaged the land. Our fields and forests burned. Our cities burned. Our people?" He paused, before glaring straight into the Princess's eyes. She could see another kind of fire within them. "Burned!" "My ponies - " "Are not the only people in this world, demon! Yes, after Discord and the Destroyer, your kind was nearly extinct, and good riddance! But you never looked beyond your own borders! After a thousand years, the ruins of Roam still burn! The land is riddled with fire and sand, and forests live only in legend! It has taken us a millennium to reclaim a fraction of our former strength and pride, Hellfire, and now you and the Destroyer feign benevolence? "We are not here to talk about reparations. We are here for war. Perhaps a thousand years of hunger, poverty, and ruin will finally awaken you," Anansi concluded. "Good day, Queen Hellfire. May your heart learn warmth from your fury."
Chapter TwoCelestia sat down, stunned, as she watched the ambassador go. She had long known of the plight of the zebras - the amount of food and other necessities she had sent to Zebrica every year out-massed every other Equestrian export combined. But no one had ever told her she was the cause! True, she'd been more than a little single-minded in the war against Nightmare Moon, but even when that was long over, she had no idea of the damage ... that she had to accept she'd done. It made sense, and that was the worst part. "Princess!" a guard whispered urgently. "Should we stop him?" He repeated his question twice, more insistently, before Celestia finally pulled herself out of her thoughts and shook her head. "No, we - " "Princess!" cried another of the Royal Guard, flying into court at a speed Celestia hadn't thought possible for a pegasus in full armor. He only stopped by slamming straight into the steps below the throne. "They're attacking! The zebras have entered the city and they're killing everypony! The Guard is being scrambled, but until they arrive, the civilians are defenseless!" "How many?" Celestia demanded, her old instincts kicking her into action. "About two hundred, n-no idea where they came from," the pegasus said, starting to pant. It wasn't until then that she noticed his injuries - including a spear whose broken shaft protruded from his belly. "Get this stallion to the castle infirmary!" she ordered the two guards who were still in only ceremonial attire. She knew it was useless - the guard was already at death's door, and he'd probably expire before even reaching the doctors, but the gesture had to be made. "Crier, send my chariot to retrieve Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance from the Crystal Empire, and my sister's to bring the Element Bearers from Ponyville. The rest of you: Court is dismissed until further notice. Guardsponies, execute contingency delta. And I expect to see the military houses making use of their training to defend the ponies of Canterlot. Including the poor, nephew." She hissed the last word at Blueblood before teleporting herself straight to the outer gates of Canterlot. She wasn't going to waste any further time that could be spent defending her people, and she would not let this be like another Changeling attack, no matter how well that had ended for all involved. Arriving on the parapet over the gate, Celestia was greeted by screams and bloodshed. Bodies littered the street below, including a few of the Guard and a leather-armored zebra. Fighting hadn't been contained there for long. Though she wished to fly down and take a few minutes to mourn the dead, she had to harden her heart and move deeper into the merchant district that made up the streets nearest the gate. Every moment wasted was another of her little ponies she'd never see again. As she flew, the Princess soon spotted fighting, and landed on the roof of a nearby fireworks shop. Six zebras were fighting a small group of Royal Guards, and only one of the guardsponies was still standing. With the zebras closing in for the kill, Celestia enveloped the surprised stallion in a glowing shield. She'd have to maintain the spell to keep him protected, but that was no longer necessary - the zebras had all turned their attention to her. And they quickly melted beneath rays of intense sunlight cast by her horn. One of them managed to throw something bright, before she became a blackened, steaming puddle... The world exploded. Celestia was airborne, her wings flopping in a panic. Then the ground came up and hit her in the face, at the same time as the thought struck her that she could have chosen to stand on a store that wasn't basically a bomb. She was lucky - no other zebras were around to take advantage of her temporary vulnerability. A few moments, and she was steady enough to rise and walk, though her left wing felt painfully broken. She'd have to get a splint when this battle was over. A few similar encounters brought her to the end of a street, where four zebras had cornered a small group of earth ponies and unicorns. She quickly teleported herself to stand between them and, through the throbbing in her sagging wing, gave the startled attackers a smile that practically dripped venom. Without giving them a warning - the last time she'd fought a war, speaking for effect during a battle had ended badly - she shut her eyes and cast an explosion of light from her horn. She stepped aside before opening them again, allowing the blinded attackers to collide with each other where she'd stood, before knocking each out with a rear hoof to the head. The ponies she'd come to protect were blinded and terrified as well, but it would wear off shortly. She had no time to stop and reassure them, trotting quickly across another intersection in search of more invaders. Green fire flashed in Celestia's face, and she jumped several steps back before seeing it trail off into smoke, then condense into a letter sent by Spike. "This had better be urgent," she muttered. It was. Heavily inked over the singed page of a book was a simple message: Dear Princess Celestia, Twi berserk. Ponyville burning. HELP! Your faithful subject, -Spike Celestia snorted furiously. Of course. It was no wonder the zebras had scattered in the city; they were trying to delay her, and worse, it had worked. No sane enemy had ever attacked Canterlot directly. She teleported herself back to the castle, and stormed into Luna's dark bedchamber. She was no longer needed on the streets of Canterlot, anyway; the Royal Guard would have had the time to fully mobilize and strike back already. "Sister!" she shouted, trotting up to the royal bed. The lump of blankets, feathers, and flowing stars didn't move. I don't have time for this, Celestia thought, and poured magic into her words, an enchantment known to others as the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Princess Luna Artemis Somnium, awaken at once!" she roared over the bed. It had its desired effect - the younger princess jumped nearly to the ceiling, flailing as she remained tangled in blankets and fell back to the mattress. Celestia didn't even give her time to extract her head from the mess. "Zebrica has declared war. I need your help immediately. Ponyville is being destroyed!"
Chapter ThreeSinging. Twilight Sparkle was surrounded by brilliant arcs of lightning-like magical energy that sliced at random through zebras, ponies, and buildings alike. Half of Ponyville was on fire, and corpses or half-corpses of burned, eviscerated, or dismembered ponies and zebras lay everywhere. The ponies left alive were screaming and running in all directions; the attackers were retreating in the face of Twilight's spell while another group attempted to circle around behind her. And the youngest Princess of Equestria, her eyes glowing with power and her magic running wild as she trotted casually after the zebras, was singing. "And some sunny day, it'll all be okaaaaayy..." The entire town sang with her - every mailbox, fountain, statue and small animal - under her modified Royal Voice spell. It would be okay. Everything would be okay. She just had to let the magic do its work. The zebras would flee, and she'd get all of her friends back and the Princess would help them. Or... maybe, if she helped them too, the zebras would be her friends! Everypony could be her friend! With that thought, a blast of magic reached down the streets, lovingly caressing her next friend. She trotted up to the charred back half of him, where it rested against somepony's door. "Don't worry!" she said. She was as oblivious to her volume as to her twitching eye and the magic lashing out of her control in all directions. Nearby, a stallion screamed as he was eviscerated by a lance of lavender lightning. "When this is over, we can all be friends! Just you wait." ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ On their hill overlooking Ponyville - one they'd had to drive a zebra longbow squad from - Luna turned to her older sister. Just as she was clad in full armor wrought from plates of midnight ore and starmetal, Celestia was protected beneath layers of sunforged steel. Both suits were heavily enchanted, primarily with immunities to low-level magic - properties that would be useless in battle with zebras. Neither would they afford protection against Twilight, whose power and mastery combined to make her the most dangerous sorcerer on the planet. Draining away the excess power generated by her wild emotional surges would stop her, but also leave her defenseless before the zebra armies. She couldn't be tended to just yet. "This is as bad as thou hast led us to expect. We apologize for our anger when thou awakened us. Where is Discord?" "I don't know, sister. I don't have time to look. We need to find the other Element Bearers. If we can assemble them, we might be able to stop Twilight then, and use the Elements of Harmony to defend Equestria." "We will assist thee, Celestia, but it is our earnest hope thou hast a backup plan. Thy Royal Guard and our Night Guard, even combined, are no army." Then, Luna observed, "We are out of time. Smoke rises outside Ponyville. Go to Kindness - she fears us. We shall find Honesty." Celestia nodded, gave a quick instruction to her guards to hold the hill, and headed to Fluttershy's home. When she landed, a few animals still lingered in the yard, missing limbs and dead or dying. The cottage was otherwise quiet - the attackers had been and gone. Celestia stepped through the open front door. "Leave," said a high-backed armchair. She knew the voice, and kept her own neutral. "Discord." The chair turned around on its four legs to face her, the Spirit of Chaos holding a yellow heap in his lap. A few matching feathers trickled from his eyes, and Celestia realized he was crying. "I want to be alone," he said. "I... have never found anything less entertaining." "I'm sorry, but I need you." "The last time I said that, you and your cuter sister turned me to stone. It would be pretty funny if I did the same to you." The Princess sensed no real will behind his words, and shook her head sadly. "I am sorry, Discord. I know who she was to you. I need your help to make things right again." Discord snorted, blowing soap bubbles everywhere. "Who do you think I am? War? Vengeance? I am the spirit of Chaos, little princess. Neither of those interests me, and your only bargaining chip..." He hesitated. "She died, crying, on my shoulder. Go away! Before I turn Equestria into a newt!" The chair turned away again, and Celestia took that as her cue to leave. The last thing she needed was to add an angry Discord to her list of problems. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ "So Honesty and Kindness both have passed," murmured Luna, on hearing Celestia's account. "Must they always be the first casualties of war?" "Sister, this is not the time to lapse into metaphor." Celestia closed her eyes. She knew she would immediately regret the jab, but there were few other ways to draw Luna's attention outwards again, and most of them involved letting her sleep. There was no time for that. "I know of your loneliness, but every passing moment is another little pony who will never learn the beauty of your night. We must act now." "Do not dare!" Luna began, her hoof connecting painfully with Celestia's face just as expected. She opened her eyes and held Luna in a calm, sad gaze despite the pain and the trickle of blood marring her pure white coat, and its effect was almost instant. "I ... I am sorry, sister. I cannot bear to be reminded of... " Luna stiffened abruptly. "Thou art correct. We must act. Without the Elements, what is thy backup plan?"
Chapter Four"Terrible!" Luna yelled to her sister over the roar of battle, then paused to kick a zebra in the face. "When we asked for thy backup plan, thou shouldst have said this was what it was! Terrible!" It was true, unfortunately. Luna knew she should have tried harder to override Celestia's orders - the older sister had always been the lesser at everything from chess to true warfare. That was proving to be the case once more - the Guards had been driven off the hilltop after a botched counter-attack, and were pinned between zebra forces and a firestorm likely fed by the alchemy supplies at Ponyville Elementary. The Princesses had stayed with them to protect them from wholesale slaughter, but they were still down to ten, after several messengers attempting to fly to Canterlot or Cloudsdale for assistance were shot down. One had finally gotten away, but Celestia flew into a volley of arrows to ensure it - and not all of them were deflected by her armor. A quick glance revealed Twilight's rampage could no longer be counted on as a wild card, either - the zebras could not approach her, but had lured her into the Everfree, where she seemed to be starting a forest fire. And as if numbers and injuries weren't enough, Luna noticed magic wasn't working against the higher-ranking zebras - it felt almost as though they did not exist as magical entities at all. "I know, sister. I apologize." Celestia wheezed with every other word. Her injuries were starting to take a toll, though her raw power permitted her to continue fighting as she called back. "But I will not allow my ponies to die!" "Then it is time for thy silver tongue to save them." While she had always been the better at war, the younger Princess knew she was far outclassed in duels of words and diplomacy. Luna channeled power into her Royal Canterlot Voice. "Parlay!" she roared over the battle. "Disengage immediately!" The zebras seemed interested, as fighting died off in seconds. Guard and Stripe alike watched each other warily as they parted lines and the last arrows fell. One zebra, decorated in black-feathered armor but otherwise unremarkable, approached the Princesses' position alone. "Send forth your leaders, and let us trade words, for I am the one in charge of these herds." "Zecora." Celestia advanced a few steps. Though her body was hurt and tired, her voice retained its warmth and regal calm. "I am very disappointed." "If you are hurt, or even surprised," Zecora said with a shrug, "you should not have ruined the homeland I prized. Will you surrender, and make your deaths swift? I shall not listen to lie or to gift." "I believe that when you hear what I have to say - " Celestia was cut short by the fiery green pop of another scroll appearing in front of her face. There was some unrest in the zebra lines, but with a wave of her hoof, Zecora settled them. Celestia gave her a gracious nod before she unrolled the scroll and read silently. Dear Princess Celestia, Derpy couldn't get to you. Died on top of me. Her message is next. Your faithful subject, -Spike Another scroll, spattered in places with fresh blood, appeared almost immediately after: Princess, Scouts lost. 9/10 dead. Zebras at Manehattan and Fillydelphia. More moving on Vanhoofer. Zebra balloon units moving on Las Pegasus and Cloudsdale. Wonderbolts, Night Guard lost in action. Cloudsdale evaccing. Las Pegasus already empty. Couldn't do better. Sorry. Faithful in death, -Polaris Luna, reading over her sister's shoulder, frowned. Things must be dire indeed if Equestria's clumsiest flier was the one entrusted to bear such vital - if disappointing - information. There was little that could be done about the zebra military now. They must have crossed the borders, which her sister always insisted on not guarding as a gesture of good faith, at least a week ago. "We wish to discuss terms," Celestia said. Her voice had turned soft, a sign of the impact of the ill news. "In speaking of terms, we shall have none," Zecora retorted. "You shall have lost, and we shall have won. We have the strength to do as we wish. All I may offer's a sword and a swish." "And I have the strength to do more than what's passed. If you'll accept nothing for the lives of my ponies, I can do far worse than run and hide." "For our revenge are we all willing to die. If you will not surrender, it is time for goodbye." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Do you speak for every stallion, mare, and foal? What of your mothers and elders?" Celestia was bluffing. She had to be bluffing. Not even the sister who cast her into the moon would truly threaten children, Luna knew. "Your numbers depend on the food we provide. If you kill my subjects and ruin this land, you will face famine unlike anything seen in a thousand years." The zebra frowned. "The lessons of Hellfire are hard to forget, but we can take what we want to have our needs met." "Surely you remember to whom you speak. I am your so-called Queen Hellfire, demon of the sun. I care not for threats, but you know what I can do merely by accident. I am the one responsible for your suffering and hatred. I am the one who burned your lands and your people." Zecora twitched angrily, but Luna cried out in alarm at the direction she sensed Celestia was taking. "Sister!" Celestia seemed to pay no heed to her. "I am the only one who has ever been at fault, and I will give you a choice. Allow me to surrender my person in exchange for my ponies." Celestia drew herself up to full height, her pearlescent mane and tail briefly igniting into dozens of colors of flame. "Or discover what the one who destroyed your nation by accident can do, when offered nothing to lose!" Luna and Zecora both took steps back in shock. Did Celestia really just say that? "You're - " Luna started, but was cut off. "Sshh." The younger princess opened her mouth to protest, but saw her sister wink, and shut it again. I hope you know what you're doing.
Chapter Five"Your offer has been quite fully considered," Zecora said on returning from her improvised camp. "Our officers' hearts are deeply embittered. You may say now whatever you like, but we can't accept merely your head on a pike." "I know, but for you, it is far too late," Celestia said, her tone openly mocking. "You are much too slow - we've chosen your fate." "What?" Luna blinked several times. What was her sister doing? "You cannot be serious, Hellfire Queen. Perhaps it is empty where your sense should have been." "Oh, this day has been just perfect!" Celestia laughed, adding, "Everything is in place. Welcome to our humble camp, Princess Cadance." "Why thank you, Princess." Cadance descended from above to land between the other two Princesses. "It's time to execute our Plan B. Aunt Luna, please trust me - and trust her. Her stake in Equestria is as great as ours." "Indeed," Celestia said, turning her attention back to a confused Zecora. "I must apologize. It has been fun, but you've all been deeply deceived." For what Luna realized was the first time since the start of the battle, Celestia lit her horn. Green. Her magic was green. "Oh, the looks on your faces!" Celestia laughed. Her form shimmered with green fire, shed along with all pretense of injury, and before everyone stood the Changeling Queen, wearing the suddenly ill-fitting armor of Equestria's sun princess. The zebra forces murmured in surprise and concern, echoing more pronounced unrest among the remaining Royal Guard. One of the Guard even moved to confront Chrysalis, but Cadance intervened, ordering him back to his position. "What?!" Luna demanded, leaving her mouth to gape as her thoughts raced in a futile search for answers. "I'm sure you have questions, but right now, please understand," Cadance whispered, her tone urgent. "I need you to shield us all if it comes to a fight." "My terms are simple, little zebras," Chrysalis said, turning to address Zecora. "Right now, my children make up a third of your forces." There was considerable unrest among the zebras, despite their discipline, and the changeling smiled - a menacing gesture, given her fangs. Then, green flames began to shimmer along the ranks as more revealed themselves. The entire rear guard was, in moments, replaced by changelings. The zebras were pinned between them and three alicorns. "Now, I am going to cast a flare in a few minutes, high enough for all of Equestria to see. If it forms a shield, your armies will be disarmed and escorted back to Zebrica. Should it take the shape of a sword, however, you will all be slaughtered without mercy. And believe me, no offensive here will gain you any ground. My magic here is powered by love. May I introduce Cadance, Princess thereof!" Chrysalis laughed. "Just in case you thought you had the edge in so much as rhyming - to speak not of strategems, or tactics, or timing. A few minutes left until I cast the sword. I suggest you surrender, ere I become bored." As a stunned Zecora returned to her camp and Chrysalis began to shed Celestia's armor, Luna finally found words. "We believe we had best be informed of the details of this 'Plan B.' Right. Now." The last she knew, Equestria was at war with the changelings, not allied with them. "I'll tell you the history later," Cadance said. "Right now, I stand by what I said before. Your part is to protect yourself, Chrysalis, and I. I will allow Chrysalis to draw on my love, and feed her as best I can. And she... will be completely unstoppable, as long as I continue to do so. Hopefully, we won't need to actually do this at all, but you know Aunt Tia. She has to plan for everything." "Very well. We shall prepare - " "Your highnesses!" a guard yelled. "The zebras are charging!" Luna immediately turned her attention skyward. This doesn't work without the moon. Forgive me. A clumsy attempt to lower the sun was quickly reinforced by a familiar push, tipping the sun past the horizon in one swift, but controlled, motion. Thank you, Tia. As the sudden darkness caused the zebras to hesitate, Luna brought her moon to bear over the field and called down its glow like a spotlight over the small group of Princesses and Guards. A little further magic of her own, and the edges of the moonlight around them formed an impenetrable wall, beyond which she began spreading her own sweet darkness. "Oh, this will be fun," she heard Chrysalis say before crying across the field, "Come, my children! Take no prisoners!" Moments later, a brilliant green sword illuminated the sky.
Chapter SixChrysalis picked her way across the field of corpses, granting what was left of her excess energy as healing to her injured minions. She seemed in an actually cheerful mood, and Luna finally had to look away. How could anypony - any being at all - be so cheerful at the site of a wholesale slaughter? Not a single zebra had survived. She hadn't seen so much death since before... before the moon. She shook her head and straightened her posture. "Guardsponies..." She hesitated. There were few of them left, and the battle was over. "Go home. Thou art all granted three extra months of paid leave for use at thy discretion. Go to thy families. Thy suffering this day was for them." The eight remaining guardsponies murmured amongst themselves before parting, each paying respects to their fallen comrades before allowing what remained of Ponyville's medical staff to cart the bodies away. Luna turned next to her fellow Princess. "Now, we believe thou promised to explain this to us." Cadance sighed, and visibly stifled a yawn; fueling Chrysalis had clearly taken a heavy toll on her. "Aunt Celestia and I have been planning our backup defenses for a long time," she said, barely keeping above a mumble. "She didn't say it in as many words, but I think this is her joke on you for sleeping through my... wedding incident." "Thou canst not be serious." Cadance just continued to look her straight in the face. "... thou art serious." "Very much so," Cadance said with a nod. Luna felt an old fury start to bubble up inside her, and quickly held it down. She knew what those old feelings meant, and what they could do. Still, she could allow herself to be merely angry. "How dare she? Is such petty revenge more important to her than the lives of our subjects?! How can our sister - " "Aunt Luna, please. You haven't let me explain." Luna nodded, and forced herself to be still, though she wanted little more than to teleport straight to Canterlot and hit her sister in the face. "We weren't supposed to have to act on this plan. Even then, she made sure at every step that it wouldn't hurt anypony. The focus of it isn't you - it's bringing Chrysalis and myself together. We still needed you to protect her until I could arrive - she's not exactly a brilliant strategist and tends to gloat too much - and we needed you to protect me afterwards. Auntie also knows you trust me enough to see this though." "But she... we... argh!" Luna cried out in frustration. That did sound just like her sister, and it even made sense. She yelled at the sky, "Fine! You win this round, Tia, but I will get you back for this! Now, Cadance, what do the Changelings have to do with this in the first place?" "I believe I'll answer this one. After all, this is where it becomes my story," Chrysalis said. She must have come back while the Princesses were talking. Cadance nodded tiredly. "After being cast out of Canterlot on that day, my people were spent. I had sunk too many resources and re-purposed too many laborers for the invasion. Too many were critically injured, and we were too widely scattered... those who did not succumb from injury or loneliness began to starve, instead." The changeling queen stared down at the bloodied grass with what appeared to be genuine sadness, and Luna forced herself to keep her mouth shut. She knew both that she'd have welcomed their fate, and that she would have been wrong to do so. The callous, jealous heart of Nightmare Moon still beat in her chest, and had to be kept under control. She merely listened while Chrysalis recovered herself enough to continue. "I was, myself, thrown far to the north. Snow and ice jammed in place the plates of my carapace, and the only thing I could do was... was lie still, and place a bet with myself on whether I would die of cold or hunger first." She paused to force her composure back into place again. "... and she, of all people, found me." Chrysalis bowed her head deeply to Cadance. "She saved me, and when I had recovered, we met with Celestia in secret. When I told her of how much had changed, when I begged her to help me save my children..." She paused again, though this time, the ghost of a smile touched her face. "The terms were strict, but the deal so much more generous and trusting than... than we deserved, after what I did. We would even be allowed to slowly merge our remaining numbers with the populations of Equestria's cities, in total secrecy but with her personal oversight. In exchange, we had to do every last thing she asked of us, no matter how menial, and of course follow Equestrian law to the letter. So the Changeling Empire became a vassal state to Equestria. "As three years passed, we regained our strength, our numbers, our prosperity. I watched my entire race begin to heal, and owed all to you." She gave Cadance another bow of her head. "So when Celestia told me to move my children into Zebrica as a contingency because of their sudden diplomatic hostility, I had long been more than willing to carry out any command without question. It was my greatest undertaking - we had to not only invent and maintain perfect cover, but prevent the zebras from noticing their population had almost doubled without explanation. I had to return to Equestria, of course, to keep myself available for Celestia, but I left my children with a plan if the zebras did begin to march. It would seem they executed it perfectly." "We are... impressed, by thy apparent loyalty," Luna grudgingly admitted. But there had to be more. "What else did our sister offer thee?" "Hm-hm. Aren't you perceptive?" Chrysalis replied. That touch of a smile appeared again. "There was one more thing. Should we somehow find a way to prove our allegiance beyond doubt, we would be freed from all terms, and our past crimes forgotten. We would be welcome visitors and residents of Equestria, on the sole provision that we never again resort to kidnapping and murder." The last straw of Luna's trust snapped. "And how are we supposed to believe thou willst not use this to advantage, to attack Equestria once more?" she said, bristling. "Why should we make ourselves vulnerable to thy - " "Aunt Luna - " "Oh, please. Even under Celestia's hoof, my children have known such prosperity as even I have not seen in more than two hundred years. I've been hostile in my dealings with Equestria before, but now I see I was foalish to try to take by force what might be given freely, and now every last one of us has Equestria to thank simply for our lives." She took a breath, and visibly began to calm. "I am a warrior, not a politician. I bargain strictly by cost and gain. By fighting Equestria, I lose safety, I lose security, I throw away lives and prosperity. I gain nothing but a few political bargaining chips even if I do win, something I am confident I cannot do even against Cadance alone. "I'm not an idiot, Princess. Neither am I yet your peer, but I would appreciate my fealty not being questioned on the same day I saved your kingdom." "Aunt Luna - " "Thou lied to us, thou impersonated us, and thou attacked us! Dost thou truly expect us to forget, and permit thy minions to shelter under our wing? Dost thou expect us to believe thy words? We - " "Aunt Luna, shut up!" "We all trusted Nighmare Moon," Chrysalis said calmly. Luna fell onto her haunches, her cheeks stinging. After several moments of silence, the changeling said, "I will go. This victory must be reported, and I must tend to my children. Their orders were to vanish once this is over, but I'm sure that hasn't stopped some of your subjects from trying to attack them." "I need to leave as well," Cadance said, yawning. "I'm sorry for raising my voice, Auntie. I just wanted you two to stop fighting before it came to... that. I'm going to go now, alright? I need to grab my husband for a blanket and sleep for a year or two." Then Luna was alone.
