Who Rules?: Relations

A faint creak turned her head towards the door, reminding her at once that she needed to have the servants oil it immediately. Luna walked through it quietly and directly, striding up towards her with a casual nonchalance.

“Good evening, Chryssie. How are you today?”

Chrysalis glanced at the window, squinting her eyes as the sun shone brightly into them, just to confirm that she hadn’t lost complete track of time.

“Good afternoon actually, Luna,” Chrysalis answered. “You’re up rather early today.”

“Not so early,” Luna answered as she stepped through the ante-chamber of the throne room towards the window, using her magic to pull the sheer fabric of the curtains to lessen the glare. The color of the cloth cast the entirety of the room in a cool blue. “I woke up, so I saw no need to waste any time.”

“So I see,” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow and turned to face towards the other princess. Her eyes covered over every inch of the dark alicorn, lingering where she thought appropriate. “If I may, Princess,” she took a step closer, “you seem distraught. Not to mention looking rather spent. Is everything all right?”

Luna’s nostril’s flared wide with her snort. “I’m just tired. It’s nothing for you to concern yourself with.”

The words hung for a second or two before Chrysalis replied. “Does this have anything to do with last night’s dinner? I do apologize again for my actions. I just felt somewhat attacked and naturally chose to defend myself.”

Pacing past the window to the far bookcase, Luna scanned over the titles slowly. “I believe that is a matter best left undiscussed, Chryssie. We all had our bad moments last night.”

“Well, I just want to make it clear that the last thing in the world that I want to do is cause you any undo stress.” The changeling’s hooves clacked against the hard floor as she closed towards Luna. The tint of the light darkened the coats of both mares. Luna’s already black fur taking on an indigo shade, while Chrysalis’ severely dark green turned the color of the nighttime seas.

The metal shoes Luna wore gave a very different sound than Chrysalis’ chitinous hooves as she turned to face the changeling. Her eyes seemed to glow in the room’s current hue.

“Then why are you?” Luna asked directly.

Chrysalis raised up higher, never breaking eye contact with Luna. “Why am I what?”

“Causing stress. You know you are doing it. You’re anything but a fool. I defend you more and more it seems, and I want to know why it is that you are making me do it? Every time it is becoming more difficult to forgive or explain away. Why, Chryssie? Why are you doing it?” The only tone detectable in Luna’s voice was akin to the look in the eye of a hawk circling on high.

“I’m sure that I don’t know what—”

“Stop it!” Luna barked. “Don’t play innocent. Every day I have to defend you because I believe that you genuinely do have the best interest of Equestria in mind, if only for the welfare of your changelings, but I am finding myself taxed. I want to know why.”

Taking a deep breath, Chrysalis let a smile precede her words. “It’s not easy on my end either, Luna. I’m questioned every day, too. And to see Cadance brought here for no other reason than to antagonize me? That is a slap in my face. I can’t believe that Celestia—”

“Mind your words, Princess!” Luna’s wings flared out to the side. “I do not want to remind you that Celestia is my wife!”

“For the moment,” Chrysalis buzzed.

Both of Luna’s lips curled back, exposing the sword-like fangs in her mouth. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

A deep sigh came from Chrysalis, followed by a wide smile. “Luna. Luna, dear, please forgive me—again. I speak only from concern. Admittedly, I worry about you more than I do your sister, so if I seem to take a biased view, it is only because I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“If that is so, then tell me why you persist with this nonsense? Answer me that one question, honestly and directly, and I will forgive you,” Luna snarled.

The next words that came from Chrysalis’ mouth were little more than a whisper, but not so quiet as to go unheard. “So beautiful.” Luna’s eyes responded, but she wasn’t given the chance to voice anything before Chrysalis continued. “Your sister and I got off on the wrong hoof, and it hasn’t gotten any better between us since. We have a…difference of opinion regarding a great many things, political and otherwise. I am always on guard around her, leading me to seemingly have a rather unpleasant mien. I don’t know if it is intentional or just her nature, but Celestia brings out the worst in me. She feels the same towards me, though, I am sure, so I am only half to blame.”

“Chryssie,” Luna’s tone softened, but only slightly, “Celestia is the most giving and forgiving being in all of Equestria and beyond. If you took the time to speak with her—not argue, but actually speak—then you would understand.”

Lowering her head slightly, Chrysalis turned it to one side, looking at Luna through the tatters of her wispy mane. “Is that what is happening between you two? You are taking time and speaking and coming to an understanding? Forgive me, but the tension there is rather obvious.”

Once more Luna rose up. “What happens between my wife and I is not the subject of this conversation. Do not distort the concern. This is about what happens between two other princesses of Equestria, and that must be resolved.”

Matching the alicorn’s height and demeanor, Chrysalis raised her head and smiled. “Oh, I couldn’t agree more.”

In the blur of events that followed, Luna lost track of the order of things. There was a gentle magic that grasped the back of her neck. Chrysalis closed the gap between them. Luna’s breath went away in a sudden gasp. Her eyes closed reflexively.

When time came back to its normal flow, Luna’s eyes reopened to see Chrysalis’ face in intimate detail, and felt her own lips pressed firmly against the changeling’s. She pulled away instantly.

“What are you—” Luna was unable to finish her sentence, as her mouth was once again occupied by the firm contact from the other mare. It was surprisingly warm, and it wasn’t until Luna felt Chrysalis’ thin tongue pressing between her lips that she finally broke the kiss—and turned her head as she stepped back.

“You need to go.” Luna’s voice resonated against the floor, building timbre slightly.

“Do I?” In response, Chrysalis’ voice raised up and hummed through the room.

The flash of light in Luna’s eyes broke the blue veil of the chamber for an instant. “Princess Chrysalis, I am ordering you to leave this chamber this very second. Do not make me repeat myself.”

Taking a small step backwards, Chrysalis spoke with a near sigh in her voice. “If that is truly what you wish, Luna.” Her eyes met the alicorn’s. “It is what you wish, isn’t it?”

“Leave!” The volume of Luna’s voice was low, but her tone was clear.

“Of course.” Chrysalis bowed her head and backed away towards the exit. The blue light of the floor hid any shadows that might have crept along with her exit, becoming lost in the various pasticcio of colors melding into one throughout the room.

Before reaching the door, the retreating princess was stopped by Luna’s words. “Chrysalis!” The changeling looked up to see a dark shadow standing in the corner of the room with two pale eyes staring back at her. “I’ve had to remind my sister already, but since you are new to Canterlot and Equestria, let me give you a warning: do not try me. I have been known to have a bit of a…temper.”

“Oh, Princess,” Chrysalis smiled with a hint of a fang showing, “I assure you that I want you to be anything besides angry.” Once more she bowed before exiting the room completely.

Alone, Luna looked towards the sunlight glowing against the thin drapery of the room. Something about it left her uncomfortable.

* * * * * * * * * *

“This courtroom will come to order. You may be seated.” The sharp bang of the gavel against the hard wood of the Judge’s desk served as the final indicator for the ponies of the room to sit down and wait for instruction.

Glancing down at her own desk, Twilight read over her notes in a glance. Not a single word on them made any sense. Well, actually there were many words she understood clearly, but putting them together was not resonating in any comprehensive way right now. She remembered writing them down, and then going over them as recently as breakfast, and everything was clear then, but right now it was just a bunch of words on paper.

A hoof touched her gently on the back. Her skin jumped for her, but the rest of her remained fairly still. Turning over her shoulder revealed Trueblood sitting directly behind her. Her touch was warm and that feeling spread out from the point where her hoof rested until it covered all of Twilight.

Twilight’s muscles relaxed, much to her own surprise. A smile grew across her face. Weak, but a smile nonetheless. Turning back, she looked at her notes once more and went over them carefully.

And then she waited. The judge made small motions behind the bench, and—as Twilight expected—had the prosecution begin speaking. Twilight listened as the stallion—Frank Axiom according to her notes—began speaking. He didn’t speak for long, and basically repeated what he said the day before. All the while, Twilight remembered to breathe. Keep the air going in and out. Let this play itself out. According to what she understood, she was going to get a chance—eventually. She wasn’t exactly sure when she would be able to give her side of things, at least not the way that she wanted to present them. They would have to present their evidence—whatever that might be—and she would get the chance to refute it. So, she waited.

The stallion sat down, and the mare stood up. A glance at her notes reminded Twilight that the mare’s name was Vesting Claus. She nodded, ready to hear what she was going to say. For all intents and purposes, all she was doing was giving a full recap of Empress Coldheart and her crimes against this world, including, but not limited to, murder, torture, and enslavement.

And then, it happened.

“I would like to call Twilight Sparkle to the stand,” the prosecutor requested.

A nod from the judge prompted Twilight to move from her seat to the one off to the side. As she sat down she glanced over to the ponies gathered in the room—far more than she would expect, honestly—and specifically to Trueblood, who gave her another reassuring smile.

“Miss Sparkle,” the judge began, “you understand that you are here to defend yourself, but still must answer all questions honestly. Any lie will be detected by the spells cast upon that chair, and that information will be relayed to me. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” This sort of trial wasn’t practiced in her Equestria. The princesses oversaw any dispute of this measure, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Celestia and Luna used a similar spell themselves.

Judge Maven looked to the prosecutor and spoke, “You may begin.”

The mare was wearing the same clean, black outfit she had on the previous day. Her sand-colored coat stood out nicely from it, and she kept her dark brown mane in bump knots on the back of her neck. Despite the harsh clothing and strict look to her mane, Twilight saw a light in her face and eyes.

“Hello, Miss Sparkle. I want to personally thank you for everything that you’ve done for this world. It is appreciated.”

“You’re welcome,” Twilight replied, mostly from instinct.

“Now, to the matter at hoof.” The prosecutor turned and took a couple of steps back before facing Twilight once again. “When was your first contact with Empress Coldheart?”

“Well, I can’t tell you the exact number of days off the top of my head, but it was on the first day that I came to visit this world. The end of that day, actually. I was only supposed to be here for a few minutes, but…well, things went awry, and I decided that the best course of action was to find help. I found out about this world having a Canterlot, and naturally I assumed that there would be help there. I traveled here, and that’s when I met Coldheart.”

“I see.” The mare nodded in agreement. “Totally understandable, considering the nature of your world as it has been described to me. Elaborate on what you found here, though.”

“Uh, well,” Twilight took a deep breath, “I found Empress Coldheart, like I said. I came into the castle and made my way to her throne room and there she was.”

“You saw her in her throne room? The same one that she used to display all of her…trophies, shall we say?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Twilight answered with a nod. “It was very, very disturbing.”

“Then why didn’t you run?” the prosecuting mare asked. “Surely you wanted to, correct?”

“Well, yeah, but, as I’m sure you know, Empress Coldheart had the ability to make ponies fall in love with her instantly. She didn’t want me to leave, so I didn’t.”

“So, you’re saying that she forced you to stay?” The mare stepped lightly to one side as she spoke.

“Yes, ma’am. In a sense. She made me not want to leave,” Twilight answered.

“Ah. So, she controlled the way that you felt. The way that you thought,” she stated.

“Excuse me,” Twilight said to the prosecutor as she turned to the judge. “I would like to object to this line of questioning, Your Honor. I am hardly the only pony that fell under Coldheart’s power. This direction seems pointless.”

“There is a point, Your Honor,” Vesting Claus stated, “if you will allow me to continue.”

“I’ll allow it,” the judge answered.

“Thank you, Your Honor,” the prosecutor replied. Twilight frowned internally. “Now, back to the matter: you do admit to being controlled by Empress Coldheart, then?”

“Yes, of course,” Twilight answered. “It’s what happened, but again I’m not the only pony that’s had that experience.”

“But you are the only alicorn who has,” Vesting Claus said with a slight rise to her voice.

“Well, that’s not entirely true. There were other alicorns, actually, and I wasn’t even an alicorn at the time,” Twilight stated.

“True.” Vesting Claus nodded gently. “Can you tell us what prompted you to become an alicorn, Miss Sparkle?”

“Prompted?” Twilight swallowed. “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

“What were the events that led to you becoming an alicorn rather than a unicorn? Surely there was something—some prompt—that put you on the road to becoming what you are now. What was it?”

“It wasn’t me, actually,” Twilight said. “Princess Celestia—the ruler of my world—made the decision that I should be elevated to alicorn status. She actually had to talk me into it.”

“Did she? Well, then she must have had a good reason to do it. There hasn’t been an alicorn elevated from unicorn in hundreds—if not more—years on your world. Why you? What was it about you?” Vesting Claus walked a few steps away and stood there, staring at Twilight. The light in her eyes seemed very focused all of a sudden.

Twilight swallowed again. “I don’t know why she chose me. I guess it’s because of my relationship with her—I have been her student for many years—and my being the bearer of the Element of Magic in my world.”

“That’s right! You do have that role, don’t you? Well, that makes you very formidable already, I would surmise. You were able to stand up against Coldheart’s minion, Toy, and eventually defeat her with the other Elements—or so the stories say.”

“Well, I had a lot of help. I couldn’t do any of that on my own,” Twilight explained. She glanced over to Trueblood, who responded with a quick nod. “I’m very lucky.”

Vesting Claus laughed softly. “Well, you are certainly lucky to be an alicorn. Most unicorns don’t even dream of that happening. So, why did your Princess elevate you? What was her reasoning?”

“I…I just told you that.” Twilight blinked.

“No, we were talking about why she chose you. Now I want to know the reason that she chose anypony. Why did you get elevated?” The prosecuting mare walked up to stand directly in front of Twilight.

Twilight felt her wings twitch. She fought to keep them still. “That was Princess Celestia’s decision. I had nothing to do with it.”

“But you did agree, didn’t you? She didn’t force it on you, right?” the prosecutor asked.

“No, she didn’t. Yes, I agreed.” Twilight shifted in her seat and glanced over at Trueblood once again. Her marefriend’s brow was knitted tightly.

“Then tell us why. Why did she change you? She told you why she wanted to, didn’t she?” she asked calmly.

Twilight’s wings fluttered and her eyes danced a little. “Yes, she told me.”

“Would you please share that with us, Miss Sparkle?” Vesting Claus’ voice was smooth and silky.

It wasn’t a glance, but a long, direct stare at Trueblood this time. Twilight kept her eyes on her marefriend for several passing heartbeats, and with every one that went by, Trueblood’s face dropped a little more.

“No,” Twilight finally answered as she turned back to the prosecutor. “No, I won’t answer.”

A murmur quickly rose in the room.

“Miss Sparkle,” Judge Maven broke in, “you need to answer the question.”

“No, Your Honor. I am obliged to tell the truth, but nothing more,” Twilight said. The words came out rough, and she suddenly realized how dry her mouth had become. “I won’t answer that question.”

The murmur became something more.

“Order!” Judge Maven’s gavel struck the wood of her bench firmly and the sound dimmed. She looked back to Twilight once more. “Miss Sparkle, if you do not answer this question, it will weigh poorly for you when I make my decision.”

“Miss Sparkle,” Vesting Claus brought the attention back to herself, “are you hesitant to respond because of any fears you might have about it incriminating you?”

“No!” Twilight snapped. “No, that’s not it.”

The prosecuting mare took a deep breath. “Isn’t it true that you were elevated to alicorn status for the precise reason of coming to this world? That you were transformed by your princess so that you could have better access to Empress Coldheart directly? That you became an alicorn because of Fantasia Coldheart?” Vesting Claus’ voice changed, creating an icy razor across her words.

All color blanched from Twilight’s face. “How did you…?” She looked to Trueblood, finding an expression as wide-eyed as her own. She turned to the judge, with her mouth moving to catch up to her racing thoughts. “I… It’s not like that! I didn’t…” She spun back around to Trueblood and rose to a standing position. “Tru! You’ve got to believe me! I didn’t… I would never…”

The assembled crowd roared. Practically every pony leapt to their hooves, shouting epithets towards the stand and the mare sitting upon it. The guard ponies stepped in quickly, positioning themselves between the throng and the trial itself. Judge Maven’s gavel pounded onto her bench, trying to find enough volume to overcome the swelling sound of the gathered ponies—to no avail.

Twilight could hear sounds like words, but no clear phrases. She felt her heart pounding in a seeming attempt to escape her chest, as though it was giving her some clue as to what she should be doing herself. The image of the ponies overrunning the guards and swallowing her up flooded her mind and she searched the crowd for Trueblood, but she was lost in the mass of ponies.

“Tru?” The din of the crowd devoured her words, losing them with the rest. “TRU?!” She shouted louder, hoping to clear space. Panic set in. She looked to the prosecutor, who had moved back to the far side of her desk. The judge was next, but she was standing and shouting orders to the guards, paying little head to Twilight and the fear boiling up inside her. No one was there for her at all.

“TRUUUU!” The dam broke, unleashing a wave of magic that coursed through the room, silencing every voice save her own. A faint lavender glow filled the space, covering everything—living and not—inside the courtroom. The only sound left was the sharp, desperate gasps for air coming from Twilight herself.

All of the anger that was fueling the crowd was gone, and in its place was something else entirely. Looking over the crowd, every pony wore the same expression as they moved away and began to slink low and into the background.

“I…I’m sorry.” Twilight dispelled her magic. The glow was gone and the sound of a pony whimpering was instantly heard from the back of the room. “I was just…I wanted to see Trueblood, and she couldn’t hear me so I…” The heart that had been racing less than a minute prior now skipped a beat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Guards,” Judge Maven’s voice threatened to crack, despite her best effort, “please escort Miss Sparkle back to her cell. Court is adjourned for the day.”

The guards hesitated. One of them stepped out of the room through a door behind the judge’s desk. Several looked away, but the rest stared directly at Twilight.

She took in a sharp breath. “It’s okay. I’ll go. I promise.”

Another moment passed, but one guard finally stepped forward. As he reached Twilight, two others moved in beside him, and then a fourth, surrounding her. The first guard motioned towards the door leading to the holding cells and Twilight nodded, taking a step that way.

She looked over her shoulder after three steps, spotting Trueblood sitting still in the first row of the gallery. Right where she had begun the day. Trueblood’s face was blank and expressionless. Twilight’s mouth opened, but she stopped herself before any words came out.

Following the guards, Twilight exited the room quietly.

* * * * * * * * * *

She stood there humming a tune as the brush went through her mane. Each pass through her hair seemed to make her smile grow slightly wider, but she was too busy watching the brush in the mirror to notice herself. She did however, notice the imposing black mare who was now standing at the back of the room.

“Auntie Luna!” Cadance jumped slightly, spinning around to look at the other mare directly. “I didn’t hear you come in. You startled me.”

“My apologies, Cadance.” Luna stood still, the majority of her form shrouded in shadow away from the lights near her niece. “It was not my intention to surprise you. How are you tonight?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Cadance trotted lightly over to her aunt, and put her neck up beside the taller dark mare in an affectionate hug. “What are you doing here? Can I help you with something?”

“Perhaps,” Luna said with a sigh. “I’ve been….” She walked past Cadance, stepping into the center of the room and looking around slowly. “I’ve not been in this room since it was rebuilt. This was the room you had when Coldheart attacked, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s the same room I stayed in while she occupied the castle. It was mostly undamaged during the war, actually. The only real damage came at the end when Celestia challenged Fantasia and she blew out the wall.” Cadance moved her eyes from point to point, as though directing the events visually.

“It seems that the room is very different. Or am I misremembering what it looked like before?” Luna moved to the places Cadance looked, examing those spots more carefully.

Cadance moved up beside her, smiling as she took in a deep breath. “No, you’re not wrong. Since I spent so much time here, Celestia asked if I wanted the room changed at all. And honestly, the less things that remind me of Fantasia, the better.”

A low laugh from Luna barely reached Cadance. “Are you afraid of falling to the same sort of darkness as her?”

Luna turned to look at Cadance at the same moment the younger mare turned to her. Their eyes met and kept each other as they waited for the time to pass. It was small, but Luna saw Cadance’s smile fracture. “Yes. Yes, I’m terrified of it, actually.”

“Why?” Luna asked softly.

“Because…” Cadance finally broke and lowered her head. “Because I could. Because I felt that power for a second when I fought against her—and she knew it. She wanted me to be like her. But it’s not the idea of the power that scares me, it’s the thought of what would drive me to it. The idea that I just wouldn’t care at all, and I would look at life and love as nothing more than—”

She stopped herself. Her eyes closed and she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. When she looked back up at Luna her smile seemed softer. “You understand, don’t you, Auntie? If anypony would understand, it seems like it would be you.”

“I do understand. Everypony has a dark side, Cadance.” Luna’s smile revealed a little more fang than Cadance remembered. “Mine is just slightly more obvious.”

The were both silent, standing and staring at each other—until Cadance started to laugh.

“That’s one way to phrase it, I suppose,” Cadance stepped back, and gestured to the table near the window. “But I’m guessing you aren’t here to go over our mutual fears of taking over Equestria. Do you want to have a seat? I can pour us some tea—or whatever you might like to drink.”

Even before any words left her mouth, Luna was already moving towards the table. “I think I would like that, yes.” She glanced to Cadance. “But no tea. If you have something slightly stronger, then I will take that, please.”

“I actually have a bottle of brandy, if you want that,” Cadance replied.

“Perfect.”

As Luna settled into her seat, Cadance brought the bottle and two glasses to the table. A quick flare of magic removed the cork and then poured a small amount in each glass. Taking the glass from Cadance, Luna brought it up to her nose and inhaled gently. Immediately, that was followed by a swirl of the glass and a small sip, which raised her right eyebrow.

“Very good. I’m impressed.” Luna took another sip and set the glass on the table.

Cadance finished her own sip and placed the glass opposite her aunt’s. “I hope so, it’s from your and Celestia’s private stock.”

“You’re stealing my alcohol? Mine?” Luna chuckled. “You do have a dark side.”

“I’m a rebel,” she laughed back. A soft sigh followed. “So, why are you here, Aunt Luna? What’s wrong?”

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to ask you,” Luna said. “What’s wrong, Cadance? Why are you here?”

“I can’t just be here for a visit?” She lifted the glass back up and swirled it in front of her. The flickering light of the flame played over the golden brown color of the liquid as it danced up the side of the glass.

“Yes, of course. You are always welcome here,” Luna’s smile was long and thin over her face, “but is that why you came?”

Cadance’s head tilted slightly to one side. “What are you asking, Luna?”

Luna’s lips made a small smacking sound as they opened before she spoke. “Did Celestia ask you to come here?”

There was a pause, and then Cadance levitated her glass to her mouth and took another small sip before returning it to the table once again.

“Yes,” Cadance stated. “Yes, she did.”

“Why?” Luna’s voice remained calm and even.

Looking down at the table for a moment, Cadance finally looked back up at Luna. “She’s scared.”

“Scared? Celestia? My Celestia is scared?” Luna answered slowly.

“Terrified, actually,” Cadance sighed.

“Of what?” Luna sat back slightly, casting her head to one side a small bit.

“You.” Cadance kept her tone calm.

“In the thousands of years that I have known Celestia—off and on—I have never known her to be scared of me. Startled, yes. Concerned, yes. But not scared. Trust me, I tried to scare her several times.” Luna almost laughed at the end of her sentence.

Cadance shook her head. “No, you didn’t. Well, you tried to, I guess—that is, Nightmare Moon tried to, anyway—but all that was going to do is strengthen her resolve. She never had a reason to fear you until now.”

The corner of Luna’s lip went up far enough to show what lay beneath them. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or insulted.” The mouth opened farther, fulling exposing her fangs. “By either of you, actually.”

A short gasp stopped Cadance for a moment, but she continued. “Think about it, Luna.” Cadance swallowed. “Celestia has never had this much to lose, because before now she’s never had you. Not like now.”

Turning to the side, Luna looked out the window into the night. “That I understand.” Slowly, she turned back to Cadance. “What I don’t understand is why she’s scared. Why she called you.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, with Cadance growing an uneasy smile. “Yes, you do.”

Luna’s first response was a loud snort, followed by a ruffling of her wings, and then finally she spoke. “You don’t trust her, either.”

A series of rapid blinks came from Cadance. “Trust her? You mean the creature that took me prisoner, locked me away, impersonated me, brainwashed my husband, and then tried to take over all of Equestria? Gee, why would I not trust her?”

“She’s not the same. She is a princess of Equestria now.” Luna rose up higher as she looked across the table.

“Maybe. That’s what Celestia brought me here to find out.” Cadance rose up as high as she could, trying to meet the other mare as best possible.

“You’ve been here for a while now. What do you think?”

Shaking her head, Cadance frowned. “That’s not the important thing. What’s important is what you and Celestia think of her. And before you even ask, that’s not a question that I’m able to answer.” She paused. “Not yet.”

“Able…or willing?” Luna replied.

A genuine warm smile covered Cadance’s face. “Auntie Luna, the one thing you don’t have to worry about is me.”

The glass of Brandy levitated off of the table and found its way to Luna’s mouth. She drained it dry in a single drink. Returning it gently, Luna stood and began to walk towards the door—stopping halfway there. She turned and looked back at Cadance.

“I love her,” Luna said.

Cadance took a deep breath and nodded. “I know.”

Luna turned and walked out of the room.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Superintendent?” Barely making it in far enough to get his muzzle past the door, Cobblestone warily announced his arrival to the room. “Superintendent Trueblood?”

He pushed a little further in and saw his target sitting alone beside the fireplace. No flames burned in the hearth, but she sat still, back to him, facing towards the cold stone. A deep breath filled his heart with enough courage to step fully into the room and approach her carefully.

“Superintendent?” The clatter of his hooves on the floor sounded like thunder in his ears. Each step he tried to make slightly softer than the one before it, but somehow it only seemed to get louder. When he made it to the side of her chair, Cobblestone could see her eyes staring blankly ahead. “Superintendent Trueblood? I have news.” He took a small breath. “Twilight Sparkle has been asking to see you.”

The unicorn nodded, at least acknowledging that she heard him.

“Is there something you want me to say to her? Some message?” He took another step around to be further in front of her. “Or would you rather go see her yourself.”

Trueblood’s tongue came out of her mouth and started playing around the right corner of her lips. She poked and prodded there, waggling it back and forth slightly, enough so that Cobblestone looked to her face to see if she had split her lip or something similar.

“Nope.” Cobblestone jumped back when Trueblood spoke. “I can’t. You can’t. Can’t send her any message at all.” She looked up at him and smiled—a wide, and to Cobblestone’s reckoning, genuine smile. “She knows that. Or if she doesn’t yet, she’ll figure it out. She’s smart. Too damn smart, I think.”

Popping up from the chair, Trueblood cantered over to the bar on the far side of the room, levitating up a glass and filling it with a small amount of cider. She tossed it back quickly and then turned to face the lagging Cobblestone, who’s face was suddenly rather twisted in confusion.

“Relax,” she laughed. “I’m okay.” Moving across the room, Trueblood went to her desk and started to rustle through some papers. “I gotta give it to that mare, she knew what was going on way before I did. She tried to tell me, too, I was just too stubborn to hear it.”

“What?” Cobblestone moved up to stand across the desk from her. “I don’t understand.”

Trueblood laughed. “Don’t be hard on yourself. Like I said, I didn’t either.” She took a moment to look up at Cobblestone. “How did the prosecutor know that about Twilight? That specific information about how and why she became an alicorn?”

“I…I don’t know,” he answered with a shake of his head.

“Well, let me help. The short answer is, she couldn’t. There is absolutely no way that anypony here could possibly know what happened on her world.” Trueblood’s smile became wider. “And Twilight knew that.”

Cobblestone’s eyes narrowed and his head turned a little to his right. “I’m still not following you, ma’am.”

“Twilight told me,” she moved back to looking through the papers, “that this wasn’t about solving this one problem, this was about finding the core of the matter. She didn’t phrase it that way, she said something about this dealing with beings of her kind and not coming back and things getting worse, and that’s all I heard at that moment.” Trueblood looked up at Cobblestone. “Until the trial today.”

He stared at her and then slowly shook his head. “Superintendent, I am completely lost.”

Taking a deep breath, Trueblood looked at him gently. “Alicorns. In her world they are a symbol of hope and leadership. They guide the ponies of the world and serve as a…a paragon. Something more to look up to and know is there when needed. Here,” she nodded over her shoulder, “all we can remember is Fantasia. This was about creating hope, one way or another. Or at least making sure that there was the chance for hope. If the only thing we know about alicorns is the nightmare my mother left behind, then… Well, Twilight wanted to change that, even at the cost of her own life, if need be.”

Cobblestone’s head bobbed slightly in acknowledgement. “Okay, but what does that have to do with no pony here knowing about her becoming an alicorn?”

Both of Trueblood’s eyebrows went up. “It means when somepony here found out about her being an alicorn—one specific somepony—they made her a focus. They didn’t want her here, or worse, they wanted her dead, just because she was an alicorn. Because it went against what they wanted.”

“We knew that. All of the ambassadors—”

“All of the ambassadors were terrified when she displayed her power. They’ve been terrified all along. I was there when she was spotted out in public and it was the same. Fantasia made everypony fear alicorns, but somepony realized she was more than that: she was a symbol. And they wanted to make sure that she was a negative symbol,” Trueblood said softly. “Those ambassadors were too scared to act against her, and too angry to work together. Somepony changed that. I want to know who.”

“And you think that pony was able to find out what happened in her world, find out how she became an alicorn, and gave that information to the prosecutor? How? Why?” Cobblestone asked.

“I’m not sure. Obviously to get a reaction—probably from her—but I’m not sure to what end. I don’t think it was just to make everypony scared, but I might be wrong. That’s what I haven’t figured out.” She looked back at the paper. “That’s what I need to do.”

“Okay. Okay, I think I understand.” His voice went up slightly in tone. “So, we should go tell Twilight all of this, so that she can help.”

Trueblood sighed. “No, we can’t. I can’t tell her anything. Whoever is behind this obviously has some way to monitor her and is doing that, so I can’t go see her or talk to her or…or anything. I have to stay away and figure out who that is and why they are doing all of this.”

“But what about the trial?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “She’s not going to be convicted. There is absolutely nothing to connect her to Fantasia’s crimes. All of this is just a show to get her on display and…and do something.” Her hoof hit the desk. “Dammit! I’m sure it’s here somewhere. What is it they want?”

“Twilight has been very upset, Superintendent. She’s been asking for you constantly,” he explained. “Are you sure you can’t say anything?”

“I’m…sure.” Her hooves began to sort through the papers again.

Cobblestone watched her for several seconds. “Superintendent?”

“Hmm?” She kept her eyes down.

“What if what the prosecutor said was true?” His voice became very soft. “What if she was made an alicorn to get closer to Coldheart? What does that mean?”

Trueblood stopped. Her eyes were locked on the desk, motionless like the rest of her at that moment. “We’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

Raising her head up, Trueblood met Cobblestone’s eyes. He saw all he needed to know.

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

After taking a deep breath, she smiled and then went back to work.

* * * * * * * * * *

Her silhouette was outlined against the window as she stared out at the sun. Once more the door behind her knocked, and like every time before on this day, she ignored it. Unlike the all the previous attempts to get her attention, however, this one didn’t end at just a knock.

“Auntie Celestia?”

She heard Cadance’s voice and felt herself smile. A look over her shoulder confirmed what she knew.

“Hello, Cadance. Please, do come in,” Celestia said in her normal, easy tone. “And if you would shut the door behind you, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” The magic came from Cadance and closed the door with a slight click. “No pony has seen you today. I was worried, so I came to check on you.”

Turning around, Celestia sat once more in the same place, but with a different orientation. “Straight to the point, eh?” she laughed. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine.”

“I’ll agree with part of that.” With an easy gait, Cadance moved over to stand in front of Celestia for a moment, and then she sat down as her tail flicked off to the side with little flourish. “I can’t agree with all of it, though.” Cadance took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?”

The idea passed through Celestia’s head to tell her that nothing was wrong. That she was just feeling slightly under the weather and had decided to stay in her room for the day. She had been running that cover story through her head all morning, in fact. So, it doubly surprised her when she told the truth instead. “Luna never came home last night. To our room, I mean.”

Celestia could tell that she tried to hide it, but Cadance looked over to the bed. Pristine and clean, and very unslept in for the night. “Did you hear from her at all?”

“No,” Celestia answered. “No, it was just me.”

“Oh…” The way that Cadance spoke caught Celestia’s ear.

“Oh? Do you know something?” Celestia’s ear twitched, despite her best effort to control it.

The smile that Cadance put on was rather weak in Celestia’s eye. “I saw her last night. We spoke.”

“About?” Celestia felt her heart skip a beat.

“You, mostly. Well, the two of you.” Her answer was calm and direct—and not enough for Celestia.

“And her?” she prodded. “You talked about her, too, didn’t you?”

Cadance’s chest swelled as her lungs filled up. “Of course we did. It’s why you asked me to come here, isn’t it?”

A slight blur formed at the corner of Celestia’s eye. She smiled harder in an effort to push it away. “It is. Did you find out anything?”

“Nothing conclusive. I’m sorry.”

Celestia turned her head to the right, attempting to hide the eye that was trying to betray her beneath her mane. “Very understandable.” She took a breath. “Do…do you know where she went last night?”

“No, Auntie, I don’t. I’m sure she just went off to think. She seemed distracted and upset.” Cadance rose briefly. Just long enough to move a step closer.

“Well, she has her own places. I wouldn’t think to intrude upon her there.” Celestia felt her jaw tremble as she spoke, but hoped that it didn’t affect her words.

“Oh, Auntie!” The impact against her jostled Celestia, but the strength of the hug around her kept her in place. “It’s all right. I promise that everything is all right.”

The dam broke, and the tears that were being pushed back flowed easily. Celestia wrapped her hooves around Cadance and pressed her muzzle down into the pink alicorn’s shoulder as the emotions began to empty along with her tears. So many feelings that were pushed down and away spilled out, flowing with the tears onto Cadance’s coat. It took her several seconds to realize that she was sobbing out nigh-unintelligible words.

“It’s okay,” Cadance whispered into her ear. “I’m here. Just let it out.”

She pulled back, looking into Cadance’s eyes through her own tear-stained vision.

“Are you all right?” Cadance asked.

And she was. For this one moment, everything was right. Thanks to Cadance.

Even she didn’t realize she had done it until she felt the other mare’s warmth against her lips. It was broken as quickly as it happened, with Cadance pulling away quickly.

“Celestia! What are you—”

“Shh.” Celestia moved a hoof up to touch Cadance on the lips. “Let this happen. Please. I need this.”

Without waiting for a response, Celestia leaned in once more, reconnecting their kiss. The brief hesitation on the other end faded quickly, and the larger mare used her position to push forward, catching Cadance with her wing to gently lower her to the floor without breaking their embrace.

Immediately she followed, pressing down on top of the younger alicorn and moving the tips of her wings to begin playing along the boundary of Cadance’s feathers, causing them to ruffle and flare out slightly. Breaking away from the lips, Celestia began to plant kisses along Cadance’s muzzle, heading towards her neck.

“Celestia,” Cadance spoke in a hushed, breathy tone, “are you sure about this?”

“Yes. Yes, please let me do this,” Celestia urged as her mouth moved down Cadance’s neck. Both pairs of wings moved, and the outlying edges gently intertwined, falling feather over feather to create an interlaced mix of white and pink. “Please.”

The soft moan that Celestia heard was beautiful to her ears, causing her to renew her barrage down towards Cadance’s shoulder. As she moved further down, her wings strained to hold onto Cadance’s, eventually needing to pull themselves free. Celestia folded her wings to her side, and lit her horn to continue massaging the sensitive area along the outskirts of Cadance’s wings. Gentle tendrils pushed their way into the space between the feathers, surrounding and massaging the point where quill met skin.

“Oh,” Cadance moaned. “Oh, that’s…that’s nice.” Celestia smiled, realizing that experience was enough to even impress a goddess of love.

Moving down Cadance’s belly, ideas, bordering on hopes, raced through Celestia’s mind. Images formed in her head, causing her to swallow back the craving to blurt them out, even as her haunches soaked with her own desire. As she reached the edge of her ultimate goal she paused, pulling back just above Cadance’s coat.

“Turn around,” Cadance suggested with a voice full of musk.

Celestia could feel her own breath against Cadance’s skin. The heat that was reflecting back to her only redoubled her eagerness.

“No.” Celestia looked up along the other mare’s body, meeting her eyes as she looked back down at her. “No, please let me just pleasure you. Just let me…let me…serve you.”

She watched as a smile grew across Cadance’s lips and a light ignited in her eyes. “You may,” her voice took a deeper tone, “but do it well.”

Celestia felt her breath catch in her throat. She bit her lower lip and held that breath inside her as temptation tempered her decision making. The magic she used to stimulate Cadance’s wings disappeared, moving to the cabinet on the far side of the room. The doors swung open, and then the back of the cabinet opened again, allowing her to obtain the objects she needed.

A ring, large enough to slide halfway down the horn of a unicorn—or alicorn—floated alongside something resembling an inverted teardrop, easily the size of Celestia’s hoof, with a post attached to it, capped by a large, dark amethyst. Both the ring and the object were cast from a silver that glistened with a black hue. The ring floated up towards Cadance, stopping in front of her.

“This….” Celestia’s throat was too dry, causing her to swallow and start again. “This is something that I had made. The ring won’t harm you, it will just…just monitor how you feel and transfer it to the—”

“I understand,” Cadance interrupted. “Go ahead, you have my permission.”

Even as the ring settled down onto Cadance’s horn, Celestia closed her eyes so that she could concentrate. The large anal plug moved into position behind her, waiting there until Celestia felt she was ready. The magic on the metal lubricated it enough, she knew, but that wasn’t the cause for hesitation.

She let her body relax, as much as she could, at least, and then pressed the tip of it against her opening. Twisting it slightly as she pushed, she felt it spread her tailhole open and then slide inside. Only a little at first, but as she increased the magic on it, it found its way deeper down her rear passage. Then, after reaching a certain point, it almost seemed to be swallowed in a single second, stopping only when she closed around the metal shaft holding the amethyst outside, just below her tail.

The sensation almost overwhelmed her, and she dropped her head down between Cadance’s legs, putting her tongue to work. Her mouth exploded with flavor, sweet and pungent, with a unique quality all its own. And with every lick, she felt Cadance’s arousal course through her from behind. Small shocks pulsed through her anal passage, reaching all the way to her clitoral nerves—and the stronger the sensation hitting her, the more she wanted to please the mare in front of her.

A loop of stimulation grew, filling the room with the impassioned moans of both mares, growing continually until neither of them could contain it any longer. Celestia screamed first, muffling the sound of her release by burying her mouth into Cadance’s sex. The sudden action was all it took for Cadance to go over the edge as well, filling Celestia’s mouth with a torrent of juices. In her excitement, Celestia was unable to take them all in, and they ran down her mouth and pooled beneath the both of them in a slightly milky puddle of sex and saliva.

As Cadance’s orgasm began to subside, Celestia felt the stimulation that was powering her’s also start to fade, eventually coming to a full stop. Her body collapsed, spent and exhausted. She felt the moisture under her neck, as well as the spreading basin of her own ejaculate underneath her belly, but she truly didn’t care. None of that mattered right now. Not at this precise minute of her life. She just let herself be content.

“Are you okay?” Cadance’s voice was close, and Celestia opened her eyes to see the other mare had turned herself around. She simply smiled at her and nodded.

“You should probably go.” Celestia did her very best to sound normal, but there was so little strength in her words that she realized it likely came out very fragile. “I don’t want somepony to come in and catch us like this.”

It was Cadance’s turn to nod. “Okay, I’ll go, but if you need me, just send me a message. Through a guard or however you like, and I’ll be here for you.” Bending down, she placed a soft kiss on top of Celestia’s forehead. “And you were wonderful, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Celestia replied.

“Oh, and you’ll be wanting this back.” Carefully, Cadance levitated the ring off of her horn and moved it between them. “Where do you want me to put it?”

“Just here on the floor is fine,” Celestia nodded easily in front of herself.

Laying the ring down, Cadance stepped backwards and took a deep breath. “You might want to rest some, Auntie. You look like you need it.”

“I think that I will, actually,” Celestia half laughed. “Thank you—for everything.”

“You’re welcome. Now rest.” And with that, Cadance turned and walked to the door. She glanced back at Celestia as she reached the door, but said nothing else before she left the room. There was only one thing left for Celestia to do.

“Ugh!” The sound was as much from overstimulation as anything as Celestia’s magic once more gripped the plug and pulled it from her tailhole. Once free, she cast a simple sanitizing spell on it and brought it around to set it in front of her beside its ring counterpart.

She stared at the dark silver metal engraved with a series of interlocking crescent moons surrounding both the ring and the plug. A gift that she had yet to give her wife, to confirm her ownership of that part of her body. The recent change in the power structure of their relationship didn’t warrant that type of claim for Luna, but she had every intention of giving it to her eventually.

And she let another mare use it first.

The corners of Celstia’s mouth slowly moved down, and her pupils shrank to dots. “Oh no,” Celestia’s voice cracked. “What have I done?”

The sobs came in sharp stabs as she pulled both of the pieces of metal against her coat and surrounded her head with her wings, hiding herself from view.

* * * * * * * * * *

The flesh sloughed off of her leg, collapsing onto the floor in a small heap beside her hoof. Carefully, she moved it to the side, and looked to the leg opposite it, studying the intricacies of her own design. Her horn came to life, and a spell revealed where she needed to begin removing the seams holding the outer flesh sheathe to her own tattered body.

“One skin,” she mused aloud as her magic pulled a suture out slowly. An inky black liquid spilled out, spreading out and disappearing as it struck the ground. The skin sagged slightly, and she smiled. “How sad it must be to be trapped with only one skin. To be trapped.”

Her voice grated against itself. Every word fought its way out of her throat and past her lips, escaping for a brief freedom before dying in silence.

“None of them know what it is to live.” The sutures pulled free one by one, loosening the husk that hid her true form. “They cannot help their own shortcomings. They’ve had no one to show them any difference, have they?”

A glow barely more than the dying ember of a fire at midnight hardly illuminated the small space, leaving more shadow than light. Completely devoid of windows and only a single door, it seemed to be carved from stone. The walls were smooth, but only just, seeming more worn down than shaped that way.

“Thankfully, they have me. These ponies must be restored to the light. To the true path awaiting them.” The last bit of flesh from her leg came free, falling easily to the floor. Once again she moved it delicately away. A quick look up brought a smile—or what passed for one on her face—aimed at the others in the room. “And we are all fortunate that our new savior, Twilight Sparkle, chose to come to our world. We were beginning to think that we might not have an avenue to return our Empress. She is wise, though, and the Empress provided us with a way. The Empress is wise and giving.”

The sound that echoed from her could only be identified as a laugh, though by definition a laugh is meant to display emotion, whether it be joy and amusement to derision and nervousness. There was no feeling behind this noise, only a semblance of appearance.

Magic caressed over Eidolon’s chest, revealing a deep line that ran from the base of her neck to the space between her hind legs. As she began to unweave the binding, darkness fell out, spilling over her hooves and spreading out into nothing. Her eyes moved across the room, covering one by one those to whom she spoke. “We will guide them. Make them understand. And, if they cannot understand, then they may have no choice but to join us here. We will make room, won’t we?”

The last piece of suture slipped free, causing the entire shell covering the core of her body to slip free. A sigh gargled out of her as she stood revealed entirely in her own flesh once more. Hundreds of scars and stitches crossed her body, creating a lattice of mismatched flesh.

With her magic she gathered up all the pieces that were just removed and transferred them to rest with the armor and clothing she had previously taken off. Each piece—flesh and other—was put in place, carefully arranged beside each other.

Her head turned, accompanied by the sound of dry wood cracking as her revealed, barren flesh broke open fresh sores. The right side of her lip curled up in a half smile, showing a row of pristine teeth beneath it. Her magic summoned a thick, black bag to her, tied tightly with a heavy red cord. Three tugs in the proper order loosened the tie.

When she pulled open the bag, light spilled from the top of it, coating the room in a bright purple tint. The growling sound from her seemed out of place with the content looking expression showing in her mis-matched eyes.

A crystal levitated up, glowing brightly from the inside with a deep lavender magic, revealing everything in the room in detail.

“A gift from our Empress, as given through Twilight Sparkle.” Her breath rasped in short heavy spurts. “Alicorn magic.”

She looked across the way at her audience. Dozens of skins and faces, with empty holes where eyes once rested, the shells of ponies who once were. Each of them carefully arranged to stare back at her from their mount upon the wall. Each waiting for her to wear them as she needed.

All of her friends.

* * * * * * * * * *

Cadance sat down with an audible plop, accompanied by a very heavy sigh. There was a smile on her face, but whether it was contentment, relief, or genuine joy no pony could say—not even her.

Her hoof came up to gently rub against the right side of her muzzle, working its way up to her temple. Closing her eyes, she let the events of past twenty-four hours wash over her.

The difficult talk with Luna was rather unexpected, but likely a very good thing. The air needed to be cleared and the reason for her being here had to be known eventually.

And then there was the…well, what happened with Celestia. While she couldn’t actually say that she disliked what happened, she was concerned. For a wide variety of reasons, actually. She caught herself licking her lips, and stopped with a sharp intake of air.

“No, no. No, Cadance,” she said to herself, “you are not going there. You are a married mare, and that’s just…it’s going down the wrong path. You love both your aunts, and you are here to help them any way that you can.”

“I’m very glad to hear you say that.”

Cadance’s eyes popped open instantly and she spun her neck to face the speaker. She recognized her immediately, causing her heart rate to slow and her muscles to relax. With a smile growing on her face she stood back and up and turned to face the other mare directly.

“What are you doing here?” Cadance asked as she took a step towards her.

“I came here to see you. It’s time that you and I talk. We have work to do.” With a wide smile of her own, Fleur de Lis stared directly into Cadance’s eyes, where a tiny glint of light appeared.

…to be concluded.