Chapter 3

...Much has been said of princess Celestia. Some cultures revere her as the reincarnation of their goddesses, while she plays the part of the devil a few others. It is true that she is immortal, or close enough to never age in our mortal eyes, but this only makes those around act as delicately as possible, for she will remember you for far longer than history itself shall.

She is good, and she is terrible, but all agree: she is very, very old. Nopony knows from whence she came, if she has any family, or even many friends. Perhaps this is what gives her the personality unique to her. She is reserved until she is not, she shows little emotion, and, according to most, she is always in control.

Equestria as a nation is built on this final fact: Princess Celestia is in control.

May we never see the day when this is not true…

-Excerpt from The Autobiography of Silver Kettle, 139th servant of Celestia

“Shiny… Wake up, Shiny… Can’t sleep all day, Shiny…”

Somepony was poking him. Felt like a hoof, sounded like Cadance. He was pretty sure he’d locked his door, too.

“Shinyyyyyy… Shiny, the woods are lovely dark, and deep… But get the fuck up.” Quite definitely Cadance. He made an annoyed grunting sound, and rolled over. When Cadance remained uncharacteristically silent, he cracked open an eye.

“Son of a bitch!” He hit the floor of his room with a thump, having flailed himself right off the bed upon finding Cadance’s face not a centimetre from his own. “How do you keep doing that?! And why?!”

The Alicorn in question shrugged. “You’re a really deep sleeper, you know that?”

Shining glared at the pink pony still in his bed. “Cadance. Why are you in my bed?”

In reply, she stretched her wings, then rolled over, completing the image with puppy-dog eyes. “I got so wonely duwing the night, then I remembered that my big, stwong Shining Armour was also vewy cuddwy. And also apparently a really deep sleeper that didn’t feel me curl up next to him.”

Still lying on the floor, Shining dead-panned, “You know, I had a dream last night where you were giving me a blowjob, and your head exploded.”

Cadance blinked. “Was it hot?”

Shining swallowed his answer, and turned to look at his door. His door which had clearly been in a terrible accident last night. “Cadance, what did you do to my door?”

“It was locked.”

Shining poked the now-solidified puddle of brass that had bonded with the carpet. Thankfully, it had flattened enough that it allowed the door to close. “So you slagged my doorknob? What happened to the door itself? How’d it get burned?”

“Meh. Turns out molten brass enough to melt paint, then light the door and the carpet on fire. I put it out before it got out of control, don’t worry.”

Shining was in the process of inspecting his now-ruined door, when a blue glow surrounded it, slamming it shut roughly a centimetre from his nose. He regarded the charred surface with caution, without turning in the slightest. “Yes? What do you want now?”

The sound of the bedsprings squeaking was followed by Cadance’s voice taking on a deadly tone just behind him. “I thought I should warn you, Shiny. See, a little blue birdy told me that you met my current project last night.” The blue glow surrounded his head this time, yanking it around to face her. “Stay away from her, Shiny. She’s dangerous. She’s had to kill, you know.”

“Yes, because she’s been living out in the eastern wastes for Celestia-knows-how-long. I’ve been out in the wasteland, Cadance. I know how dangerous it is out there. She’s adapting, I can see that. And, thinking back on it, she was being honest as well.”

“She’s going to corrupt you! I know she’s up to no good! And she’s going to steal you away from-”

“From you?” Shining stated simply. “See… It’s been a while since we were dating, Cadance. And I’ve moved on.”

“Lies.” She squeaked.

“So, what I’m going to do now, mainly to try and get it to stick in there that we’re not in a relationship anymore, is I’m going to go back there and accept the offer of being her Lord Protector.” Shining said, moving towards the door. “Because, funny thing, she’s actually being more trustworthy and more pleasant to be around in general than you have been since high school. Goodbye, Cadance.” He tried to shut the door, but it just creaked open again, what with the doorknob having melted and everything.

He had barely made it two steps away from the door before it slammed open, and Cadance shot out as though launched from a cannon. Shining, anticipating this, already had a shield in place that she smacked against, sliding down it like a bird that had hit a window.

“She’s dangerous…” She croaked.

Still walking, Shining said over his shoulder, “Yes, she is. But you’re even more so.”

* * *

Shining was stopped both frustratingly close, yet depressingly soon. Jekyll and Hyde, the two Changeling guards outside Chrysalis’ door, would simply not let him enter again. THey had even shifted into a pair of Diamond Dogs, armoured and guarded with spears, in an attempt to deter him.

Honestly, he couldn’t really blame them.

Still, he gave them an appraising look, sizing them up should they actually take arms against him, and asked, “Please let me in?”

They both shook their canine heads, and Shining muttered to himself, “No, no, of course that wouldn’t work either…” Stymied, he just sat down on the floor right in front of them. He hadn’t had time since waking up to put his uniform on, and so he was basically just sitting out there, naked.

If anything, this seemed to confuse them. They both looked at each other, before returning their gaze to him. The one on the left shifted back into a Changeling, and cleared his throat before speaking. “Mother wishes to know why you have returned.”

Shining sighed, turning his eyes toward the carpet. “Oh. Right. Her jaw’s probably still… Sorry.” There was a pause, before he continued. “That’s… That’s a lot of it, actually. I mainly just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and I fucked up. I fucked up bad, and I wanted to apologize to her face, before… Before seeing if she’ll still have me as a Lord Protector, as terrible at it as I’d be.”

The other Changeling, still Diamond Dog-shaped, growled. “Not broken. Healed, with love from hive. From us.”

Shining’s gaze didn’t shift. “Oh. Well, that’s good. Still… Sorry.”

There was some nearly-imperceptible shift, some way the guards moved at the same time, and then the one on the right shifted back into a Changeling. As one, they said, “Mother will see you now.” and stood aside.

Blinking, Shining stood. “O...kay?”

The guard on the left moved to open the door, while the other put a hoof between it and Shining. “Mother trusts you. I do not. Harm Mother again, and we shall forcibly eject you.”

"Through a window." Added the first guard.

Shining nodded cautiously. Satisfied, they opened the door, and Shining entered Chrysalis’ quarters for the second time in as many days. The main room had changed little in his absence, with the glaring exception of the table, which was simply buried underneath a massive pile of mail. The other change was the fuchsia unicorn mare sitting on the other couch, with Chrysalis herself sitting in more-or-less the same spot as she had been yesterday, when he… The mare looked at him curiously, the story she had been telling Chrysalis faltering for a moment.

Shining coughed, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. They were both staring at him. Chrysalis coughed, turning back to the mare. “I’m terribly sorry, but something’s come up. Do you mind finishing the story later?”

The mare smiled. “Not at all. Heh. I can’t wait to tell you what Amani said.” Chrysalis nodded at Shining. ‘You have our attention, Captain.”

Shining coughed awkwardly. “Er… Yes. Do you mind there being a civilian here, or…?”

Chrysalis blinked before turning back to the mare. “Oh! Where are our manners? 291, do you mind?” The mare shook her head, and erupted into green flame, much to Shining’s shock. The Ambassador waved her hoof at the newly-undisguised Changeling. “Captain Armour, meet one of my daughters and the Golden Cat’s resident Changeling…”

Shining blushed as the implication mentally registered.

“...291, also known as…” She paused. “291, have you picked a pony name yet?”

The insectoid mare buzzed her wings, reveling in the feeling of having them back, before realizing Chrysalis had asked her a question. “Hm? Oh! Uh, no, not as yet. Everypony’s gotten used to calling me 291, anyway.”

The Ambassador shrugged. “291 it is, then. That being said, I believe the Captain may have a point. Do you mind stepping out for a moment?”

While the former Hive Queen’s eyes were cat-like, with narrow, sharp, but clearly-defined pupils, the younger Changeling’s eyes were compound: multifaceted, yet with eyelids that snapped down for a nanosecond at a time. It was for this reason that Shining couldn’t tell where 291 was looking as she replied—yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that her gaze was darting between him and Chrysalis, carefully mentally debating whether she wanted to leave her Queen in the company of this stranger.

“Not at all,” she replied, with no small amount of fake cheer. “I’ll just go out and chat with Jekyll and Hyde. See if there’s any breaking news.”

Chrysalis frowned at the emphasis on the end of her sentence, but it passed without comment. The Mare trotted out, and the door shut behind her. The Ambassador watched her go, and sighed. “Ah, 291. Her clutch was one of the most tenacious I’ve seen in many generations… It is a pity she, Jekyll, and Hyde are its last remnants.” Her eyes caught Shining still standing ramrod-straight, and she smirked. “You may sit down if you so wish, Captain.”

Said Captain shuffled his hooves. “If it’s all the same to you, Ambassador, I’d rather not. All my military training is telling me not to relax in here.”

Chrysalis nodded. “Of course. Because, I’m sure, of what happened when I last tried to get you to relax.”

At this, Shining cringed. “Yeah… How is it? You look better, you can talk…”

He trailed off. Chrysalis didn’t respond immediately, resulting in a silence neither was completely comfortable with. In that silence, she levitated a brown paper package, which had already been opened, out from under the table. She drew another lock-lid jar out from the ragged top, this time full of milky-white liquid, drawing Shining’s attention as well in the process.

“Changelings heal impressively fast, Hive Queens especially so. If it is any consolation, Captain, I would have needed to sustain excessively more damage than you could ever do with your bare hooves to even come close to inconveniencing me for any length of time.” Holding up and inspecting the jar, she continued, “Combined with plenty of love from my children, the physical damage was negligible.”

“Mentally?” She said, opening the lid. “I was shaken. Those of my children who had not yet been disconnected from the hive-mind, which is to say, most of them, felt the pain of the strike. You, Captain Armour, sent out a ripple, like a drop in a puddle.”

Her tongue shot out, and scooped a dollop of white goo into her mouth. She smacked her lips with a ghost of a smile, before snapping the lid closed. “So. I shouldn’t have to tell you that my hive is nervous. A good deal of them believe I should have never let you back in; you saw a bit of that outside my door. But none of them can do what I shall do.” Setting the jar down on the table, she looked Shining Armour straight in the eyes.

“Captain Shining Armour… I apologize.”

Ignoring his expression of surprise, she trudged onward. “I should, by now, have better control of my instincts. I did not. So, I accept full responsibility for what happened here yesterday.”

Shining finally remembered how to open his mouth, and spluttered, “You… You don’t have to do that!”

“Don’t I?” The Changeling looked towards the floor, crossing her forelegs in front of her. “Captain, had I actually been attempting to control your mind, you would be receiving a medal now.”

“But… I hit you… I over-”

“You reacted exactly as you had been trained. There is nothing wrong with that.”

Shaking his head, Shining stated, “There’s everything wrong with that! Look, we were both at fault. Neither of us reacted particularly well, and I’m just as sorry as you are. I just didn’t understand.” He trotted around the table, sitting down on the couch beside her. Interestingly, they both took the same places as they had last night.

“Ambas- No, hang on, sod the titles. Chrysalis.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Chrysalis, I’m perfectly willing to forget last night. I haven’t told anypony, and we’re clearly both sorry about it. What do you say… What if we just started over?”

At Chrysalis’ head tilt, he continued. “Ma’am, I misjudged you. Now that I know you, and now that we’re being honest… I’d be honoured to serve as your Lord Protector.”

The Changeling snickered, just a little bit. “That’s still an option?”

“Of course it is. Like I said, I didn’t tell anypony. Weeell, maybe Princess Luna, but she helped me think about this. At no point in the interim did I decline the offer.”

“Well, then…” Chrysalis said, awkwardly. “Uh… Good to have you here, Captain.” Half-heartedly, she stuck out her hoof, and Shining shook it.

Shining glanced around the room, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Now, that being said… Do you mind terribly if I sort of… set up here? My room has been somewhat compromised by a certain Alicorn with no concept of trespassing, and I don't really feel safe there any more."

A chitinous eyebrow rose. "Now I'm curious. What'd she do?"

"She decided that 'locked door' meant 'please melt my lock and cuddle with me while I'm asleep."

"Creepy." Chrysalis motioned around the room. "In that case, make yourself at home. I'd offer my own bed, to be polite, but the less said of that, the better. Perhaps the couch? Of course, I've no reservations should you instead desire the floor."

Chuckling, Shining shook his head. "No thanks, the couch is fine. And, uh... I hate to impose, but I do have some possessions I'd like to-"

Chrysalis smirked. "Yes, you can keep your stuff in here too. It's not like I'm using the space, eh? Just no furniture."

"Not a problem. It's all standard-issue military shelving, nothing I'd want to keep. I assume you'll be fine without a Lord Protector for about ten minutes?" Shining stood, trotting to the door, as he asked the Changeling.

She threw a glance around the room, and said in mock terror, "Oh no, how, oh how shall I defend myself against the terrible wall-paper?"

Pulling the handle down with a smirk and a glow of his horn, Shining backed out of the room. "Careful not to stare at it too long; they take it as a challenge!" He shut the door as Chrysalis giggled, and turned back around. "What."

Staring (he would even go so far as to say 'gawking') at him was a perfect copy of the mare he had just left back in the room, and another copy of himself standing just behind her. Beside them was an unarmoured Changeling, whom he was fairly sure to be 291. Needless to say, it didn't take long to put four and four together.

"Oh." He said, quickly acheiving eight. "That's... Huh."

Now that he looked closer, he realized something: the Chrysalis out here was indistinguishable from the one inside the room, but the copy of him seemed... Off. He strongly suspected, with the over-exaggerated muscles and the stronger chin line, that the shapeshifter was parodying him. Or trying to flatter him.

"Brah," other-him said, in an accent one would expect to find on a Coltafornian beach, "You totes brahs with mamma now?"

"Er... Sure, I suppose... I don't actually sound like that, do I?"

"Nah, Brah. Just a drop, dig?"

"Okay, then... Thanks," he paused, before realizing he had no chance of determining which was which. He had a fifty-fifty chance, however, and he liked those odds. "...Jekyll?"

"Brah. I'm Hyde."

Shining pouted. "Well, sorry. You all look-" It was at this point his mind caught up with his mouth, and he elected instead to drop into a sudden cough.

"Pardon?" Other-Chrysalis asked, tilting her head at him. "Did you say something, Captain?"

“Nope. Definitely wasn’t about to insult your entire species.”

“Ah. Alright then.” Other Chrysalis smiled at him in a way that said, “I know exactly what you were about to say. Asshat.”

Shining grinned a very fake grin, and began edging his way down the corridor. “I’ll just… uh… go get my stuff. Yes. Going to do that now.”

The pair of Changeling guards watched him leave, before shifting back into their normal appearance. 291 tilted her head at them. “Well, thanks for eavesdropping for me. Was that really necessary, though?”

Within the Hive-mind, Mother asked the same question. Jekyll and Hyde communicated, debating and reasoning, before reaching a consensus. They turned back to 291. “Yes.”

Through the connection, Mother sighed. “Just go easy on him, alright? He may help us get some of the legislation through.”

“And,” the guards returned, “You are hoping that he will help breed a new clutch.”

Chrysalis didn’t respond immediately. When she did, it was weaker than most of her prior pulses. “...Perhaps. We suffered great losses on the way here, and you are all sterile. I hope to find a solution for that, but in case we need a back-up plan…” She paused. “Regardless. I do not expect it shall be for quite a while, and we are safe here. When- IF it is done… It shall be done willingly. Not like before.”

“Not like before.” The linked Changelings echoed.

“Then we are in agreement. Trust the Captain. He is our friend.” Throughout the Hive-mind, throughout the city, consensus was reached.

Trust the Captain.

* * *

Said Captain trotted quietly and cautiously into the barracks, peeking around the corner at his door. It was still burnt, and Flash was glancing between it and something in his hoof. Relieved, he turned the corner. “Flash? Whatcha need?”

The yellow stallion jerked around to face Shining, shoving whatever it was he was holding into a pouch of his coat. “Shining! Hey, buddy, what happened to your door? And why aren’t you in your uniform?”

Shining shrugged. “Same as yesterday: crazy-ass ex-marefriend. Decided that she needed to melt the lock on my door because she got lonely during the night.”

Nosing it open for him, Flash grimaced. “Eesh. That must have been fun to wake up to.”

“You have no idea…” Muttered Shining as he took stock of his room. He was sure he’d had his dad’s old steamer trunk around here somewhere… Oh, right. He was using it as a table. Shoving a pile of MRE packets off and into a rubbish bin, he brushed off the lid, and popped it open. Empty, excellent. He moved to the dresser off in a corner, and started packing his uniforms.

“You, uh, going on a trip, Shining?” Flash asked uneasily.

Waving away the stench of mothballs, Shining levitated his old armour into the trunk. This was followed by sliding his broadsword into a spare sheath, and belting it around himself. “Just moving out.”

“Where to? What brought this on all of a sudden?”

His helmet thudded into the trunk atop the armour. “Chrysalis has diplomatic immunity, meaning she can ban Cadance from her quarters if she tries anything. At worst, I should only have to deal with her one more time, and after that only at official functions.” He moved to the bed, and shoved the blanket and pillow into the trunk.

“What’s her opinion on this?” Asked Flash.

“I don’t need her opinion,” replied Shining. “I don’t need to run every stars-damned thing past her, because we’re not in a relationship.”He stomped the blanket into the trunk just a tad harder than he probably needed to.

Flash took a cautious step back. “Alright, alright. I get that. But she’s going to respond to this. You realize that, right?”

The contents of a short bookshelf had a belt wrapped around them and tightened, before the solid stack was packed into the crate. “I realize that, yeah. But it’s none of her business.” He didn’t have another belt for the second bookshelf, and he began to simply slot the books into place in the trunk.

Flash passed him a lamp which may or may not have been in the room before Shining began living in it. “Well, if she’s crazy enough, she’s going to make it her business. What’s the plan then?”

Shining turned away to pull his old Oubliettes and Ogres books out of a drawer. Flash picked up one of the books already in the trunk, and when Shining turned to put a game book in, Flash put the novel in the drawer. Shining turned, picking up another game book, and Flash pulled another from the trunk. “Grin and bear it. It’ll be the last time she has one of her little freak-outs, after that I’m scot free.”

Flash added another book for every one Shining took out. He removed the last game book, and picked up the first novel Flash had added. “Didn’t I just… Nah, must be stress…”

Flash added another book. “You know what you need? A break. A vacation. I hear Trottingham’s nice this time of year, and if you wanna go tropical, it’s summer in Kalamintaurata!”

“I can’t just go on vacation, Flash, I’m Captain of the…” He trailed off as Flash moved just a little bit too quickly, adding a book to the end of the row right in front of him. The pegasus blinked, then grinned at him nervously. With a snort, Shining levitated all the books out of the drawer and into the trunk. “Captain of the Guard. Remember that? Big ceremony yesterday, party afterward, ring any bells?”

“I remember, I just don’t think it was a good idea. You’ve got a lotta shit on your plate, and it’s exactly the kind you don’t wanna eat but somepony’s holding a knife to your throat and telling you to anyway.”

Shining paused, just before he shut his trunk. “...What?”

Flash shook his head. “Sorry, that one got away from me a little bit. You got the general message, right?”

The trunk shut with a thump, and the lock clicked into place. “I get it. And what you’re suggesting is that I grab the plate and smack it in the pony’s muzzle, then run off. All I’m trying to do is eat a part of it that makes it so I can freely eat whatever I want, whenever I want.”

Flash mulled that over as Shining did a final check around the room. “Wait, so… Are you eating the plate itself in this analogy, or…?”

Satisfied, Shining gave the trunk a push, and it slid out his door with a bump over the puddle of brass still in the doorway. “I think the analogy’s broken down completely at this point. Let’s just leave it at, ‘I’ve got a plan that isn’t going to be fun or easy, but will probably work.’.” He stopped in the doorway, and Flash bumped his muzzle into Shining’s rear by accident. “Well, depending on how crazy she is. It probably won’t work if she snaps completely and murders us both.”

“Agreed,” Flash muttered, holding his muzzle. “Double homicide by ex-girlfriend should be avoided.” He followed Shining out of the room fully, and Shining shut the door as much as he could. “Listen, Shining, you gotta remember you got buddies, alright? Me, and the rest of the old squad, and certainly a few more. You ever need help, you just ask, and you’ll have about two dozen ponies jumping at the bit to kick anything’s arse.”

Shining chuckled, dropping his room’s now-useless key into an envelope, and that envelope into the janitor’s mailbox. “Thanks, Flash. If there’s ever call for ponies I can trust, I’ll go straight to you.”

Flash glanced around. “So, where you heading next?”

“Back upstairs, like I said. And, before you offer, I’m not gonna let you and hollow bones even try to lug this bastard up. I’ve got a horn, and this time I’m not carrying anything sharp.”

“No, just blunt and heavy.” Flash dead-panned.

“Well, then it suits me perfectly. How about you? Where are you going?” He set the trunk down as they left the barracks and came to an intersection of corridors. “Back to the Overseer’s quarters?”

“You know, legally speaking, you shouldn’t know that exists.” Flash chuckled.

“Well, legally speaking, I shouldn’t be talking to you at all. But sod that.”

Stretching his wings, Flash shrugged. “Seriously, dude, good luck. And learn to ask for help sometimes, huh? You’re not out playing monster hunter with your baby sis anymore.” He paused. “Say… How old is your sister, again?”

Shining clapped a hoof on his back, snickering. “Ah, knock it off, ya choffer. I got an ex to piss off.”

“Alright, alright. Seeya, man.” Flash bounced into the air and spread his wings, gliding down the hall and drifting around a corner. Shining turned back to the trunk and the stairs. Which seemed to be a fair bit taller than he recalled. Sighing, he picked up the trunk and began to pull it upstairs.

* * *

The shouting was the first thing he noticed when he returned to the apartments. A mare was clearly livid with anger, but he couldn’t place the voice, nor distinguish the words. He also realised that Jekyll, Hyde, and 291 were no longer standing outside the Ambassador’s room.

It clicked. “Oh buck me.”

The trunk was left at the top of the stairs as he galloped to Chrysalis’ door, and he arrived just as the shouting seemed to come to a head. “Where is he!? What have you done with Shiny!?”

Shining took in the scene from the door. From what he could tell, 291 had re-entered the room after he left, and then Cadance had arrived—distressingly, with Princess Celestia in tow. The taller Alicorn seemed to be standing off to the side of Cadance slightly, as if not quite sure whether to stop her or side with her. Thankfully, Chrysalis’ door was unmarked, so that meant she had willingly let them in without a struggle, but Cadance was loudly and clearly making herself a problem now.

Jekyll and Hyde had retreated into the room, standing guard on either side of Chrysalis, and a redisguised 291 standing between her and Cadance. The pink Alicorn was in a spell-casting stance, but with her horn unlit, making a threat without making herself appear too dangerous. Shining knew better, of course, as Cadance was strongly gifted in Spellsongs; even the right tone could invite disaster if she were the one to hum it.

Chrysalis spotted him standing in the doorway, and her expression turned grateful. “Look, Doctor Cadenza, he’s right-”

“DId you eat him?!”

This was followed by a few seconds of stunned silence. It was finally broken by Shining’s singular, “What.”

Cadance whirled around and launched herself at him, tackling him in a hug despite his struggling. "Shiny! I'm so glad she didn't eat-"

"Get off me, dammit!" This didn't deter the madmare in the slightest, and Shining could only stay standing for another moment before collapsing onto the carpet with a thump. Even this didn't dislodge her, until she saw the trunk at the top of the stairs.

“Shiny? What is that?”

Shining finally managed to shove her away. “That’s all of my stuff, Cadance. I’m moving to someplace where you can’t melt the lock and get in.” In the corner of his eye, he saw Princess Celestia quirk an eyebrow at that.

Cadance’s eyes widened in terror. “Surely, you’re not…”

Shining nodded.

In a flash, Cadance had bolted back into the room, slipping on the carpet and sliding to a stop at Princess Celestia’s hooves. “Celestia! She has to be mind-controlling him, she has to be! I warned him! I warned him that this would happen! Scan him!”

Celestia took a step backward diplomatically, stating, “Cadenza, please calm down. I have long suspected you are not mentally well, and these accusations-”

“Scan him!”

The Princess sighed, before her horn ignited with a golden glow, quickly followed by her eyes. It reminded him of bright sunlight. The same aura surrounded his own hooves, and began moving upward, the ethereal pressure tickling occasionally. It moved to the tip of his horn without incident, and Princess Celestia turned back to Cadance.

“Cadenza, there is no veil over his thoughts. He is, as they say, clean. Now will you listen to me?” When the other Alicorn failed to respond, simply staring at Shining with her mouth hanging wide open, Celestia moved closer. Moving her head directly into Cadenza’s line of sight, she spoke again. “Cadenza-”

“Pheromones! It must be pheromones! She’s controlling everypony with-”

“Doctor Mi Amore Cadenza!” Celestia’s shout echoed in the ensuing silence. She moved to the nearby couch, sat down politely, and put a hoof to her temple. Cadance had retreated into a corner of the apartment, curled into the fetal position in fear. Despite that, she still had enough fight left over to try and speak again. “Celest-”

“I did not enjoy doing that, you know. Damn this headache… So cease thy blithering and listen.” Her gaze was focused into a glare, one that fell only on Cadance. “What is thine endgame, Cadenza? What art thou working towards? I hath puzzled over this since thine incident and have no answer yet. Perhaps thou canst provide an answer.”

Cadance’s determination, even now, was admirable. She was still defying Princess Celestia, even after she had been nearly shouted into submission. “I’m not… I won’t tell you… F-Furthermore, I’d like to file a royal restraining order between Shiny and my test subj-”

“Denied. Honestly, Cadenza, whatever made thee think t’would work?” Celestia’s horn glowed again as she took a deep breath, and all trace of old Equuish disappeared from her vocabulary. A glass of water, in the kitchen, filled itself from the sink and floated to Princess Celestia, who drank it slowly and carefully, despite the fact it was boiling hot. She set the now-empty glass on the table, and closed her eyes.

Every pony and Changeling in the room watched her carefully. “Ambassador Chrysalis,” she began, clearly pained. “I would like to apologize for my adopted niece’s actions. I would also like to remind you that you have full diplomatic power, which gives you the ability to remove, permanently, any pony or ponies you desire from your embassy.” Her eyes snapped open. The fire had not yet dispersed.

“Doctor Cadenza. I had not realised your mental state was still so fragile. Clearly, I…” She paused, gritting her teeth. “I failed, when I attempted to act as your therapist. I will not make such a mistake again, and will have you placed under the care of a professional this time.”

“That being said,” Cadance’s ears perked up. “I do like your idea of a Royal Restraining Order. Doctor Cadenza Mi Amore, you are hereby required by the decree of myself, High Overseer-Princess Celestia of Equestria, to keep a distance of at least fifty metres from Captain Shining Armour of the Night Light house at all times. I’ll have Raven draw fill out the official documentation at her earliest convenience, but consider the ruling in full effect from this point forward.”

As Cadance’s ears flopped down and her shocked expression froze on her face, Princess Celestia turned to Chrysalis. “I should have done that at the first hint of trouble. Ambassador, I apologize for the inconvenience.” The Changeling Hive Queen gave her wings a buzz.

Princess Celestia completed a circle, turning back around to Cadance. “Doctor Cadenza.”

“Oh, what now?” Cadance replied with a snarl.

“Does any of the research you are currently doing explicitly require a Changeling Queen?”

“I… I suppose not, but why-”

“Then I’m pulling Chrysalis from the project, to minimize possible contact between you and Captain Shining Armour and prevent a possible conflict of interest. I shall be speaking with both of you to work out replacement test subjects. Volunteers only, I should think, and all the tests will be watched over by my personal guard.”

In the doorway, Shining simply blinked in shock. He’d been expecting this, to be sure, but he had by no means prepared for it, mentally or physically. His eyes caught Chrysalis, who smiled at him happily before approaching. “Chrysalis?”

“Captain Armour,” she stated, trying her best to respectfully mimic Princess Celestia’s tone. “The Changeling Embassy and its associated hive offer you protection and sanctuary at any time you should need it. Doctor Cadenza is to prohibited from entry.” She tilted her head at the mare in question. “I’ll give you ten seconds, and then you are legally trespassing, and have full authority to remove you from the premises.”

Princess Celestia nodded. “Your advisors taught you well in Equestrian law, I see. Though you could use refinement.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia.” She turned to Cadance. “Doctor? Five seconds.”

Cadance blinked, tried to scramble to the door, and tripped over her own hooves. Chrysalis clucked her tongue. “Good effort, I’ll grant you that. Jekyll, Hyde, please escort the good Doctor back to her laboratory.” As they approached, she leaned in close and whispered, “Be gentle.”

Picking her up with their combined magical strength, they levitated her out the door and began marching her down the hall. As they passed Shining, Cadance tried to reach out to him. Whether for aid, or for comfort, only she knew. Shining leaned back as she passed, putting as much distance as he could between them. In moments, she had been ‘escorted’ down the corridor.

Celestia was still inside the apartment, and Chrysalis gently led Shining inside with her. Sitting down on the couch, in nearly the same locations as before, Shining didn’t seem like he would be able to sit up by himself. Chrysalis allowed him to slump over onto her shoulder, wrapping a hoof around him and gently turning him to face the Princess.

That same Princess sighed, looking sadly out the door. “As one student grows greater, another falls behind… Why does history repeat itself?”

“Celestia?” Chrysalis asked.

“Pay me no mind, Ambassador. Merely reminiscing. Now, I am aware I apologized earlier, but I feel I must apologize again.”

Shining weakly blinked. “Twice to her?”

The Princess pulled out one of the stools from beneath the passe-plat, brushed it off with a wave of magic, and sat down on it. “Nay. To both of you. I manipulated both of you into this, and it backfired horrendously. Primarily you, Captain, but the Ambassador played a part in my plans as well.” She sighed, and took her tiara off with her hoof, setting it on the marble counter. “I did not believe you a good influence on her, Captain. Through no fault of your own, I assure you, but it seems any contact between you two worsens her mental stability.”

Shining’s eyebrow rose. “So… Removing me from the equation entirely…”

“Was meant to be my solution, yes. I did not anticipate this, however, and was not prepared for it. I can fully reimburse both of you for your troubles, if you like.”

Shining chuckled weakly, still resting on Chrysalis’ shoulder. “No thanks. Just need a bit of a break. Now that we don’t have to worry about her pestering us, we should be alright.” His eyes turned to the Ambassador. “You’re good too, right?”

The Changeling nodded, running a hoof through the stallion’s mane. “It does simplify things a bit. Now, we still don’t know each other well, so… Would you like to get dinner later?”

Shining returned her nod. “Later. Really tired now for some reason.”

Princess Celestia smiled sheepishly. “That may be the fault of my sister. A side effect of her dream-walking is that the dreamer is essentially awake whenever she interacts directly with them. I’d recommend some sleep, since you have the rest of the day off. I’ll leave you two to it.” She stood, replacing her tiara, and slid the stool back into place. “Good day, Captain. I’ll debrief you and Twilight ‘pon the morn to-morrow.”

As she left and shut the door behind her, a still-disguised 291 poked her head out of the ice-box. “Ah, good, coast is clear. How’d it go? I can’t hear anything in there.”

Chrysalis snorted. “And here I was praising you earlier. What in the name of the Overmind were you doing in my ice-box?”

The fuchsia-coloured mare tumbled out of the ice-box, rolling to her hooves. “Hiding in case things went south, so I could backstab either Celestia or the Doc, whoever seemed to be a bigger problem. I’m not going to charge right at an Alicorn; after all, I’m not suicidal.”

Shining nodded weakly. “Good strategy.” He stared at her for a few seconds after saying as such, which made 291 slightly uncomfortable.

“Uh… Captain?”

“You look different.” He stated simply. “Not sure how.”

Glancing at Chrysalis prompted the Queen to snicker. “291, you’ve forgotten your disguise’s horn.”

“Oh!” The mare chuckled, and a horn only a few shades darker than her fur seemed to burn itself into existence on her forehead. “Heh. Went for a quick disguise, not a thorough one.” She tilted her head at Chrysalis and Shining, with the latter leaning heavily on the former. “You know what, I think I should probably go as well. You need anything else, Mom?”

Chrysalis hummed to herself. “Have you, by any chance, seen 342? He seemed to have disconnected a few days ago, and I can’t contact him anymore. I hope he hasn’t been killed…” Her gaze dropped to the floor, and 291 was at her side in an instant, hugging her.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. Canterlot’s a civilized city, and we’re safer here than we ever were in the wastes. I’m sure he’s just… somewhere. I’ll help search. Where was he when he disconnected?”

Eagerly accepting the hug, Chrysalis muttered, “He was around the airfields for some reason. He was following this strange humming sound one moment, and then he was just gone.”

“Airfields. Zeppelin or Aeroplane?”

“Zeppelin, far corner from the gate.”’

“Got it.” 291 pulled away, and smiled at the both of them. “I’ll search around, see if anypony’s seen him. 342’s… Well, he’s a little wacky, but he should be alright.”

Chrysalis sighed. “I hope so. Thank you, 291. We need to keep each other safe.”

“Agreed,” said the mare. “Seeya next week, Mom.” With a final wave, she moved to the door, cracking it open and peeking out before exiting into the corridor. The sound of a conversation filtered into the room before the door shut, leaving Shining and Chrysalis alone in the quiet room.

Shining welcomed it, after all that had happened. The couch was soft against his fur, with the air inside the room gradually cooling down after Princess Celestia had left. Chrysalis’ foreleg was still wrapped around him, and both and her shoulder were pleasantly warm. A pinprick of fear needled at him, but this time, he forced it down. To Tartarus if she was trying to control his mind, whether intentional or no; she was doing it nicely enough that it didn’t matter.

He was so comfortable, in fact, that he didn’t realize until a few seconds after the fact that Chrysalis had said something. He was too preoccupied with the sensation of her having done so while he was leaning against her, which felt like something between a buzz and a rumble.

“Hm? Sorry, could you…?”

She made a buzzing giggle and sighed. “I’ve wanted to tell Dr. Cadenza off like that for a while. She was never very nice when we doing her tests.”

Shining humphed. “Well, whenever she was around me, she was trying, and failing, to seduce me. So I wouldn’t know.”

Tapping her chin, Chrysalis muttered, “Perhaps she has a hormonal problem…? Hers were all over the place…”

“Well, I can’t imagine inducing heat in herself to try and seduce me was a very smart idea.”

Chrysalis looked at him, shocked. “She did that? Why?”

Shining shifted, getting more comfortable on the couch. “She was desperate.” After a pause, he sighed. “This is gonna be fun to explain tonight.”

“Tonight?” Her ear… frill… things, perked up.

“Oh, yeah,” He chuckled mirthlessly. “Remembered I have dinner with my folks tonight. Big fancy thing to celebrate my promotion. Now, I have to also explain why I have a restraining order against my old mare-friend. Least it takes care of where you and I should have dinner together.” He glanced at her. “If… That’s alright with you, of course.”

Chrysalis leaned back against the couch, and Shining moved with her. “That sounds wonderful, Captain, don’t worry.”

Shining, for the first time in a long time, actually felt good. To-morrow he’d have to put his uniform on, and the sword that was weighted all wrong for him, and he’d have to fill out the mountain of paperwork that had, he was sure, built up during the week that there wasn’t a Captain of the Guard. But as he’d always said as a colt, that was future Shining’s problem. Present Shining no longer had the pink menace hounding his every step. Present Shining had made a new friend. And Present Shining was happy.

And, much to present Chrysalis’ surprise, present Shining fell asleep on her shoulder. She looked at him, listened to his gentle snoring, told Jekyll and Hyde to wake them up at three o’clock, and then leaned back, gradually falling asleep herself.

* * *

The Royal Palace was not known for its Biology lab. In fact, if asked, very few ponies (those that weren’t janitors, high-ranking guards, or princesses) would even know of its existence. Its entrance was an otherwise unremarkable wooden door in a rarely-used corner of the castle’s sub-level, which hid a proper steel door overlaid with a sterilization spell. This door was airtight, blast-proof, and the lock was unpickable. Only a single key existed—though Celestia, by dint of not knowing the lock had been changed, believed she had another—and this single key was kept on Doctor Cadenza’s person at all times.

Stepping inside the room, anypony would have begun blinking in the markedly different lighting—going from bio-lanterns to long fluorescent lights—before looking around at the massive, barely-organized laboratory. Long metal tables stretched across the room, two tables wide and eight tables long, giving it the appearance of a rib cage covered in half-finished tests. It was a laboratory designed to be staffed by dozens, with Doctor Cadenza watching from her office above, at the end of the room and at the height of a second floor. The side of the office facing the rest of the lab was a full-length window, which could be made one-way with a simple spell.

Yet, the entirety of the laboratory was devoid of any life. None of the lights were on, save a single one so any ponies that wanted to enter the lab could navigate. All of the absolutely essential machines were shoved to the side, running quietly and unobtrusively. It was completely deserted, lacking only the dust covers that would have been the final nail in the coffin of the barely-used laboratory.

Thus, when the maroon-cushioned office chair was ejected out of the wall-length office window along with a shower of glass and an inequine howl of anguish, nothing of value was lost. With the possible exception of the office chair itself.

Doctor Cadenza stood in the shattered frame of the window, hyperventilating as the susurration of the glass ‘plink-plink’ing onto the tiled floor below echoed around the room. Her horn flared with a blinding glow, and a wax cylinder player (With one of Sapphire Shore’s infamous hits loaded in) was catapulted through one of the larger sections of glass that had survived the first object.

It did not survive the second.

The freed components of the wax cylinder player bounced between the tables. “You don’t tell me who to love”, #3 on Equestria’s top Pop list last year, stubbornly remained intact, rolling underneath the remains of the rolling chair.

With a growl, Cadance spun, facing her office again. A gift-wrapped box two metres tall, a present from her new therapist, had been left in front of her desk. For a single moment, curiosity overtook rage, and she tore the lid off before levitating the contents out. Said contents consisted of a teddy bear larger than she was sitting down, with a comically-small note attached: “See you next Tuesday! -Soothing Voice”.

Cadance’s vision went red, and the bear was dumped back into the box. The lid clapped back on, and the whole box lifted above her head. Cadance’s magic surrounded the entire present, and she began to squeeze, the magic’s brightness growing in intensity. With a sound like crumpling cardboard, the box was crushed into a slightly smaller ball. When this failed to satisfy Cadance’s anger, she growled, and the box burst into flames. Whether box, wrapping paper, or the cotton of the teddy bear, it all burned with a bright blue flame. As the fireball was catapulted out into the empty lab, following the path of the other objects, it shifted into a more-normal orange, shortly before thumping onto the floor and breaking up, singeing them slightly.

Cadance’s sights fell onto her own desk, and all of the pictures of Shiny. Her largest collection, the scrap-book, flew further than anything else thrown out the window by dint of being the lightest. Trails of various pictures, drawings, and writings about them both trailed after it, fluttering to the floor. One of the daguerreotypes from inside landed on the burning teddy bear, igniting with a harsh chemical stench. She moved onto various framed pictures scattered around her desk, each of them exploding against the opposite wall of her office in a shower of broken glass and wrecked wooden frames.

She grabbed the last photo, preparing to simply slam it into her carpet, before she saw it again. Like a switch had been turned off, her burning blue aura faded back into a calm cerulean. As the fire in her lab set off the fire-suppression system and water soaked everything, her hair flopped soggily in front of her eyes. She brushed it out of the way, lowering the photo to her eye level.

It was another daguerreotype, this time from their high school dance, of her and Shiny in their dress and suit, respectively. It had been taken just after he and his friend had chased off that jock, and just before she went into the bathroom. She thought back to that day, and she could see it in her mind’s eye.

The universe had peeled itself open before her, and through it… She had seen the future. She had seen that damned lying bug straddling her stallion on their bed. She had seen that crystal warlord enslaving her wonderful crystal ponies, forcing them to kill, mine and die, all for his own sick amusement. But above it all, she saw herself and Shiny, sitting on their rightful thrones, together as husband and wife, as Emperor and Empress.

The picture clattered to the floor, the glass spider-webbed with cracks. It was simply forgotten about as Cadance realized; she had failed already. She had failed herself, she had failed the Crystal Ponies, she had failed fate, and worst of all? She had failed Shiny.

No.

No, this would not do. Fate could not have been changed, because one could not change fate. Attempting to do so was the domain of the void, and the creatures therein. It had only been… twisted? Yes, twisted. Twisted was fine. As long as it twisted all the way around, back to it’s original position.

And it would start with that bitch.

Gazing back over her laboratory, covered in broken glass and scattered mechanical fragments, singed in places, and now thoroughly soaked. And then she saw it. A circular metal rack of glass vials, all filled with green Changeling blood, and a printed blood analysis. It was simply sitting on her desk. She picked up the print-out, and re-read her own report. Where before she had merely skimmed, now she inspected every detail.

There. Line 16. “Exposure to all Equestrian blood types shows latent mutagenic propensity. Vials 16-20 consist of contaminated blood samples. Vitreous contact strictly prohibited.”

She had theorized, of course. Just like any good scientist, she had formed a hypothesis. There had simply been no way to test it, not before. She couldn’t get any volunteers, and there was no way Celestia’s Academy (Or its professors) would ever allow it.

And now…

Now, she was going to have to twist the rules. So she could twist fate back to where it was supposed to be. She was going to be a hero. She would beat that damned stink-bug at her own game, she would win back Shiny, she would defeat Sombra, and finally free her Empire. Everypony would love her. Especially Shiny.

She just needed a syringe.

Author's Note

So, my artist seems to have had some technical difficulties. Perhaps you guys will finally see the awesome cover art next chapter, eh? Which brings up an interesting point, that being that this is the last chapter of the first arc of this story. It'll be posted, in parallel chronological order, alongside Interloper whenever chapters for that are finished. I'll also make a blog post about it for those of you following this story but not me, so don't worry about it.

Oh! And by the way, does anyone know how to add space after paragraphs in FimFiction's editing UI? I mainly write these in GDocs, then copy/paste them into FimFiction, but I don't trust the "Import" button. These stories are already rather disjointed, thank you very much. Point is, these chapters look much prettier in GDocs than FimFiction. Have a look!