She wanted to be angry... furious even. To be justified out of it all and throw a childish tantrum of gargantuan adult-sized proportions, to rage unrestrained while turning things she possessed and cherished to mere ash. She was unquestionably tempted by the devilish thoughts to do just that and not look back at the possible consequences.

She was, to be truthful, she really was.

She just... couldn't bring herself to express it as she felt she should. How could she? With everything that has happened, how could she possibly externalize her hate for so many things all at once and not explode into a bloody mist out of pure malice accumulating inside of her? Hate directed at the ones responsible for the horrible setting they found themselves in, at Luna and how right she was, and lastly at the situation itself for even daring to occur. Somehow, the whole world itself was guilty of this heinous crime against her, even if just a little bit.

No. It all paled down under the hatred for the one pony who failed everyone the most.

Herself.

Mmm.

Hate.

She never knew the true meaning of the word itself up to this very moment, she supposed.

Not really.

Hate was just an emotion she knew to exist somewhere out there and one she witnessed upon the faces of her many adversaries time and time again.

Sadly.

That twisted sneer of purest hatred directed at a singular thing, be it something as random as a situation, something so intangible as an idea, or something so insignificant... like a person.

Specifically her, most often.

Now.. that. That kind of wrongness and outright stain upon the face of the world was something for her to stand against. After all, it was her partially self-imposed duty to be the one adversary to the most negative of emotions, one of which was the aforementioned hate.

But to have it not directed at you, but projecting it at somebody.. to feel it so direct and... concentrated... was just novel. New. Fresh. Like a breeze of putrid air overwhelming her. Rotten and unwelcome yes, still.. new. A terrifying kind of novel, one that could ensnare and pull in like a decently sized brick of a lecture.

And she did love a good book.

She wasn't completely detrimental to her beloved psyche just yet tough.

Not all of it was her fault, obviously. But that changed nothing in reality, for her sins lied elsewhere. Among all, first and foremost, she was the one responsible for her many weaknesses and lack of better judgment. She wasn't a foal no more, one to be held hoof to hoof and shown the way of life. She should have known better. For if she wasn't so utterly incapable of protecting the ones she cares about, maybe, just maybe... none of this would have happened.

Deep Dig would be alive along with all the others and brainstorming the solutions to problems they now had. Countless ponies wouldn't have to risk their livelihood in the coming struggle that no one can truly emerge victorious from. At those kinds of battles no one wins in the end, everypony loses, at this one even more so. And Starlight... Starlight would be here with them... with her. Instead, she failed the one she should protect most, one she swore to protect from any harm.

She didn't outright fail to enact her duty. Worse. She.. let her precious student to be taken away, by the decisions she had made. On purpose... willingly.

That revelation.. it... hurt.

Not like a shattering kick delivered to her many ribs or a magical blast of a corrupted villain taken straight on her cranium. She would prefer those multiplied by a thousand-fold enacted upon herself than condemn and forsake the one who trusted her with their very future.

It hurt deep down, at a level none could access but only a narrow circle of people. A kind of hurt only you could enact on yourself.

It felt like.. betraying Starlight.

Betrayal was not something they did. Not something she would have ever done to anyone. It was that horrible thing that those not quite in the light did sometimes. Yet.. here they were.

Damn not given. Friend gave up on.

Done. Taken care of. Bye. Bon voyage. Auf wiedersehen. до свида́ния.

The sin of looking into the eyes of your friend and non verbally telling her.. farewell. Above all, doing so...

Willingly, purposelessly, Intently, flippantly, misleadingly, dismissively.

It felt like abandoning the hope, the hope she had as her ally for most of her life. It felt like writing Starlight off the picture and saying the words she heard once before said by another - "You are no longer of any use to me."

That.. then.. it would mean she stood among the ones she pitied the most. She would be just as despicable and vile as they were, she would be among the ones she swore to beware off.

She wouldn't be a solution, she would become the problem.

She would be the one that needs to be taken care of.

...

...

Ironic.

Broken by the things she faced on a practically daily basis, the things she should be used to. Yet, it seemed they chipped at her day by day, week by week, year by year ad infinitum. Some Princess of "Friendship" she was. Powerless to a fault and unable to protect her friends. The very thing that makes her what she is supposed to be.

Apparently.

The funny thing is.. if she gave in to the temptations and attempted to protect the ones closest to her by any means available... She would both fulfill and fail her very purpose.

Wasn't she just a one-trick pony? Throw friendship at it... and If that doesn't work.. then what? More friends? More beings willingly trusting her to protect them from harm only to be hurt when it doesn't work.

Was she ready to accept this kind of trust put in her? Was she ready to break this kind of trust?

That brought up a good point actually. What will her friends think of her now that they know a little bit more of the bitter truth?

A true scoop into the refrigerated mess of her ice cream mind.

Oh.. who was she kidding? Of course, they will forgive her and try to get across a point that it wasn't her fault in the slightest. It wasn't, not entirely, no, but some greater part of it for sure.

She could admit that most of her choices were almost flawless.. when it came to manipulation and she didn't mean to do so. Sometimes her mind just "did her a solid" and worked faster than she did. It was a good move on its part to choose her old tower as a place of solitude and escape from the bad outer world.

None of the possessions she left behind before moving to Ponyville were disturbed, a thick layer of dust gathering on some of them and obscuring the passages of time even more than she wished them to. Yet, despite that, the floor and furniture were kept pristine and spotless as if somepony expected her to return at a moment's notice.

“Ever the hopeful pragmatist, huh?”

And so she gazed from the third story of her old living arrangement upon the capital city of Canterlot at large, a rather comfortable beanbag she sat upon adding to the already nice experience considerably more. While she could berate herself for the faults real or imagined, she couldn't belittle the blessings she received over the years. One such as this view, for example.

Oh, and what a sight it was...

She gazed at various species meandering about below her stare and at the reflective palace situated directly on the other side of The Mane Row. As per timeless tradition, the prestigious tower she occupied as of years previous and as of now should belong to the Archmage of Canterlot, as it did in the centuries past. Yet, it didn't. Not then, not now. He wasn't offered the location in the first place and when finally approached about it, he outright refused anyway. Said it was a "premature celebration" of when she'd take the position...

...And now it will serve as her temporal arrangement while staying in Canterlot as a Princess. Once in.. upon a time.

“Me, here. Celestia... there,” Twilight's thoughts meandered about from topic to topic as she looked upon the towering spires of the royal palace once more. Them being illuminated as the most prestigious and historical site all the while she sat here in the darkness with only grim thoughts as her accompaniment.

“Princess on one side of the coin, I on the other. As it was for years.” She paraphrased the circular layout of the capital city, which sat on the engineering marvel of a platform system with the biggest and main one approaching two miles in diameter. “Not the units we use, but.. at least it sounds better than three point twenty and so forth of kilometers.”

So close, yet so far. With their enhanced Alicorn sight, they could stand in front of some random windows and literally gaze into each other's eyes. As if they were a naive student and an overprotective teacher once again. It was all so, so simpler back then...

Damn it. As much as she couldn't handle any whatsoever, she needed a drink right about now. After all, it already has been a great while since she teleported here all the way from the Palace and her friends surely didn't-

“Twilight dear...? Are you here, darling?”

Or... she could be mistaken too. Somehow they knew. Either they knew her way better than she would like to admit or somepony had told them where to find her. Probably somepony big, alabaster, and concerned for her well being more than she should be.

Damn the incorrigible good will of some people. Why couldn't they leave things as they are? Miserable, yet simple and uncomplicated.

“I am,” she responded from her place on the most comfortable of beanbags present. Because it would be rude not to. “Third floor.”

She heard their hooves clopping on the marble rich flooring of the entrance, so saying "come in" would be utterly pointless by now and as such Twilight sat quietly as they climbed the stairs to the level she currently occupied, bypassing the many dusted knickknacks laying all around and entering her field of vision from both sides at last. They weren't saying anything too, only soundlessly coming up to her with two or three of them settling down on the remaining beanbags.

Goddess bless beanbags.

They all sat quietly now, looking out of the big wall-replacing window down below on the surrounding town, which encompassed both tower and the castle quite literally and metaphorically with its neon glowing lights and a nearly endless amount of nightlife. Rarely any sights could compare to the countless tiny dots that made up the entirety of the Canterlot's visage. The moon, sitting high up by now, gleamed more brightly than ever and guarded the passages of the night for its followers, yet not dismissing its duties and even showing the way to the ones lost or adrift. While all the hustle and bustle commenced down bellow, they sat up here in relative safety and quiet of the prestigious place, in all likelihood not disturbed through the enchanting night if only they wished so. All of the above with their serene nature brought both tranquility and agitation for the unknown, not letting anypony forget the events of the day past.

All in all, it made up a fairly compelling picture.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” More stated than asked.. Pinkie Pie of all ponies, breaking the proverbial ice. More of an Iceberg.

While it took a moment, the next pony spoke as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

“Yes,” Rarity started shyly, yet firmly. “It is quite the view,” she agreed without any hesitation or even overall flair so common to her. “But as much as it is stunning, sadly we can't beat around the bush and watch the pretty scenery for the rest of the evening, pretending that nothing out of the ordinary has happened.”

The rest of them, albeit still sitting hush quiet, cringed a little knowing the words to be true.

“Twi,” Rainbow Dash spoke unexpectedly, rasping with her voice even more than usual. Surprisingly not while flying, but from her own comfortable beanbag. She didn't even turn her head away from the window while talking.. “I know you well enough to know it's the last thing you want to hear right now, but I'll say it anyway for your own good,” she paused so her friend could register all of it for sure. “Nothing of the stuff that happened was your fault, get it?”

The purple alicorn was not wasting any time to respond. She had this one prepared. Check. “Speak for yourself Rainbow... as in, that's your opinion. I'm a Princess AND a teacher now, I am supposed to be the one to avoid or resolve situations like this, or eventually, take the blame when it doesn't go nowhere near well.”

A quiet and timid voice of Fluttershy brought itself forth faster than even the rainbow pegasus could react, supporting Rainbow's claim while taking Twilight's point into consideration. “You may be The Princess.. a teacher, true, but first and foremost you always will be Twilight Sparkle, A friend.”

“Fluttershy's right,” Rarity interjected herself once more. “You are Starlight's friend, and you acted as such. You made the decision that was "best" for her at the moment,” she paused for emphasis. “You did the best you could.”

Just to prove their point more and secure the logic with an iron seal, Applejack spoke for the first time from her standing place right beside the window and leaning against it in wonder. “Everypony's right, ya know. Heck, after everything we heard there if I didn't know any better... I'd say, would've been half expecting you to blast straight through her just to kill them bastards and save the others he could hurt.”

Others scrunched their muzzles a little in a collective agreement that it was not the best time to bring their unexpected guest up, but before any of them could say anything worthwhile, Applejack continued.

“But ya didn't,” she said with a hint of pride hidden deep underneath. “Ya didn't. You acted as her friend, not as a cold calculating brea- burea- whatchamacallit- scum of a paper politician. Instead gave her, and more importantly us, a chance for a 'damd good rescue.” Orange mare made a pause and used that brief time to look at the one she was talking to. Just really look at her. “Don't cha worry 'bout that part, we'll rescue her. We're just not the kind of ponies to leave one of us behind,” she concluded, earning a unified murmur of similar answers.

“That's what I'm afraid of,” Twilight said apathetically, surprising everypony with her response after they registered the meaning behind it.

“What do you mean?” Pinkie Pie asked finally. Rarely speaking any if at all and acting out of character for herself since the beginning of it all, now still looking out of the window, no one expected her to ask the question. Everypony just assumed she was once again in the world of her own making.

What do they know?

Twilight debated with herself for a while on what to say. “Everything”, she thought. “They're friends and it affects them, they have a right to know”.

“That's why I used Adfectus Sera.” She attacked frontally with the full might of an Alicorn in rage and quickly akin to a blade cutting flesh, albeit carefully choosing her own words. If she kept the charade for so long, no reason to slip now of all times. “The spell out of the arsenal of Black Magic,” she explained like a true scholar. “A spell which subdues each and every single emotion of the user so he can assess the issue with a clear analytical mind.”

Though all of them knew about the existence of the spell before, they never knew its exact purpose and now that they had... her friends were too astonished to ask any questions. So, Twilight just continued her explanation.

“I used it in order to deal with everything quickly and efficiently. Before you've all got a chance to charge right into the middle of it and put yourself in even more danger than you already are. You saw how well that idea turned out,” Twilight waved her hoof meaningfully and ended her confession on a more somber note, closing her eyes and waiting for the incoming backlash.

One that would inform her that she was being an idiot. A doofus about all of this. Stupid. Wrong.

When it didn't occur in an expected amount of time, Twilight slowly opened her eyes only to see her friends, albeit sadly, but still smiling nonetheless. Some still didn't turn their heads away from the window.

“Twilight,” Rarity opted to be the one brave this time. “It is truly too sweet of you to be worried about us like this, but truthfully, how many times already we've been in our fair share of dangerous situations through the years? I for sure don't even count them anymore.” She admitted, flipping the gorgeous purple hair out of her eyes.

“Yeah, I reckon you're right, Rares,” Applejack agreed with the marshmallow mare. “Besides with all that is sure to be comin', there's absolutely no way we won't get involved somehow, now is there?” She pointed out the obvious. “And to be honest, between me and Rainbow Dash, how much time do ya think would pass before we found some troubles of our very own? Mostly by Dash's fault, 'thou.”

“Yeah, you tell he.. wait- Hey!”

Pinkie just snorted quietly under her muzzle, not able to stay overly serious in the light of some well-placed situational humor.

Fluttershy felt like adding her last two bits too. “I think what all of us are trying to say is, you don't have to do it all alone Twilight. You could, probably, but you don't have to. Besides, I don't think some ponies would let you do that.” Fluttershy silently inquired, looking in the other's direction.

“Nope!” Applejack said smiling and folded her forelegs while at last sitting down, signifying the end of an argument.

Pinkie Pie figured, now it was her time to shine. Figuratively, of course. She would do it literally, but, she was kinda short on glitter right of this moment and confetti just does not cut it for some weird reason. Probably the shiny-es-ness.

“The girls are right, TwiTwi!” With all their spirits properly lifted, she took the opportunity by its horns and proclaimed loudly. Too loudly, as usual. “The only thing you need is us! And friendship and hugs and parties and stuff! Buuuut, mostly us. You know what they say, there is no US without U! Hihihihi, get it?!” Pinkie laughed as she, somehow, pulled everypony from their places into a group hug.

“Uhhh, Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow tried to answer, struggling very hard to breathe. “Literally nopony says that and it was cheesy as all hell.”

“Ehh, cheesy 's what I do,” Pinkie replied while tightening her grip even more, just to get the point across.

The group of friends stood there for a while, assaulted with a weaponized love from their very own Pink Menace™. Seconds passed by and by, yet there was no end to the bodily onslaught in sight.

So, being confronted by the unexpectedly serious question from the pink pony was the last thing resident purple Princess expected to happen.

“Twilight?” The former rock farmer asked timidly, unlike any question she ever asked. “Can I be serious for a moment? Like.. reality level of serious?”

Albeit she was surprised, Twilight formulated her answer quickly and easily. Mostly on account of being too stunned to formulate anything different. “Sure Pinkie, you know that you don't have to ask us for permission or something.”

“I know, it's just... I don't like being serious. It's so... dull.” Pinkie replied while breaking the hug, confirming her friend's intricate guesses. This is going to be one of those rare times when Pinkie Pie spreads wisdom instead of fun, they all thought.

“One could go on and do so many more wonderful things rather than clinging to the past while being tied to the reality,” She said, earning herself a full row of mist blank stares. The collective of mares saw this particular behavior from the pink mare just third or fourth time through all the years they've been together, so they gaped at her like a herd of newly born kittens. So, not at all, closed eyes style. Heck, probably her own family is not used to any of this behavior and possibly never will be.

When met with silence deafening, Pinkie continued with a bare hint of disappointment. “Ehh, my point is..” she looked in her purple friend's direction. “I just want you to know... when we'll rescue Starlight, and I say when because it's a given, you'll do it as Twilight Sparkle. You'll do it because you're Twilight Sparkle. Not because you'll learn a whole assemble of dangerous and potentially self-harming spells designed by the most twisted minds of their respective times.”

All Twilight and the rest could do is listen, none of them even daring to interrupt this rare moment of astonishing clarity.

“You're giving yourself too little credit, Twilight. You can do amazing things on your own. If you want, that is.”

Young Princess wanted to halt the already decorated monologue and argue that all the things they did, they did only because they worked together. Pinkie was the quicker hoof upon this side of the mountain, though.

“Now,” Pinkie wanted to have the first and last word, so she gave it her all to achieve it. “I'm not undervaluing the power of cooperation and what true friendship can do, but.. though I hate to be the one realistic here, you have to face the truth "lavender". You are an Alicorn. A powerful, immortal, timeless pony, who shoots magical beams out of her magically elongated horn while flying on her magical wings. One of five ponies who are literal physical embodiments of celestial bodies, abstract concepts or forces of nature, chosen by the world to carry out its convoluted fate. By all definitions, basically a demi-goddess in her own right. There are very few things you cannot do.”

“Bu- but..,” Twilight was speechless. It was one thing to know some of those, while totally different to hear it as a given fact from somepony else. Especially somepony so close to you.

“No, no but's,” Pinkie interjected without question, unnaturally serious face occupying her visage. “Yes, The Elements are possibly the quickest and most reliable way of doing things, but not the only one. If you choose to do something differently over the course of a longer period, you could do it on your own with that big brain of yours. With us, it's just... easier. You're here to do amazing feats of magic and greatness and we're here to help and support you along the way. As friends tend to do.”

Tears already started to gather under Twilight's eyes with her cheeks blushing, regardless of if she wanted them to or not. Damn that pink tear master.. jerk.. pony person, damn her well-placed arguments.

“Need I remind you that you're the one with a pair of wings, your highness? I think not. What I'm reminding you, is that you got so far through thin and thick without falling to the treacherous promises of an easier way from the dark magics. So... why start now?”

With their mouths hanging agape in unison, be it from undisputed confusion or a perverse shock of understanding, all the present could only come to the same conclusion. If she only wanted, Pinkie- no, Pinkamena Diane Pie could appear not as a bubbly mess of a foal-mare, but as a studious and knowledgeable sage of her times who dispensed wisdom from her mighty wisdom tooth. One that could take the economical and political stage of their country by its muzzle and say "You're mine now.", but she simply chose not to, as that wouldn't give her most happiness.

Not that they would ever say it out loud... or anyone would believe them if they did.

Pinkie Pie? THE Crazy One? Yeah, right.

Pinkie smiled for the first time since she started her perceptive monologue. “In a big summary. Burn some of those pesky books of yours and believe in yourself for once, you doofus. Paraphrasing, but I cooked up a good one, if I do say so myself.”

Twilight from the House of Sparkle rarely omitted to formulate some kind of an answer beforehoof, but now it was certainly one of those times. As they say, "If you have nothing to add, then stay quiet", and as such she said nothing, lounging herself into the already wide open arms of her pink friend instead.

It always ended with a hug, damn the mare.

“Wow,” Rainbow Dash broke the silence, astute as ever. “Just wow. That's out there. Now.” She fiddled a second in her place. “I didn't even know, that you knew so many, ehh.. big words.”

*giggle* The quiet laugh of Pinkie Pie outright pitied the simplicity of some minds and their innate ability to shift the topics from uncomfortable and taboo to pleasant and goofy. Or maybe it was actually their virtue instead of a perceived vice? Her mental council was still debating.

...They hadn't figured that one just yet.

“Well, when you work with and know so many various creatures as I do, you tend to get pretty articulate as a consequence, Dashie.” She sweetly used her friend's nickname like it was the name of a Goddess. “Happy little mistakes.”

=========================================================================================================

A cup of good 'ol coffee was just the thing he needed right now.

Dark, black, bitter and all nice. Ready to stain your teeth yellow to all hell and slowly melt them with its acidic goodness. Mess up your receptors with caffeine and alter your perceived reality, even if just by a little bit... even if for just a little bit.

Yet, some would think themselves better and above it. Spoil the drink with things like sugar or milk.

“It tastes like this for a reason.” It was the penance for trying to trick the universe, for daring to step out of the line. All the while the powers cosmic said- "Now now, none of that." ... and made existence itself bitter. Some liked the taste, though.

“...Barbarians.”

Maybe he needed something to take a bite out of too. He was getting rather cranky all of a sudden. “Hmm. No, better not. I could very well throw up or something. And this is such a nice, cozy café. I couldn't do that to them,” Thunderstroke debated all the pros and cons of a food item to go with his coffee. “I'm thinking.. cake. Big slice style.”

Now that he thought about it more deeply... “I.. am not even entirely sure what do I have in my stomach as of late. Could be anything really. Twigs and leaves. Blood and gore. Now, that's a thought. What if I started to vomit blood that could somehow get into my mouth yesterday? All brown, gunky and digested by now. Boy, would that be embarrassing...”

But not as much as if he had gone with the bearers, probably. Refusing to go with them in search of Twilig- Newest Princess... was the right thing to do. Or.. at least he thought so. He felt as such... also, none could deny that he was terribly out of place from the very start. At the meeting, he was useful for a few seconds, tops, if at all. Well, that's 'cause they dragged him there in the first place.

As for the search of somepony who dared to call him a friend, he wasn't sure if he could say the same about her. Not that he wasn't grateful for it or willing to be her colleague in this whole jumble of a mess, quite the opposite in fact. The thing is, he wasn't so sure he should call her a friend quite yet. Or at all. It felt.. rushed, or even not appropriate, like he was undeserving of her friendship. Who was he, in the end? An awfully displaced pony caught in the matters he was not suited or meant to resolve.

He really shouldn't be here at all.

Trust him. He would know.

Although, the truth was more than transparent at this point, even for him. Willingly or not, he was roped into this and he wasn't getting out of it anytime soon. Whether he liked it or not.

So now he was here. Sitting at this, although nice, still, a cafeteria, when the world was in mortal peril and he knew so for a fact. A situation so dire and desperate, that even the sworn enemies of the state were willing to cooperate for the greater good.

And here he was getting a nice evening coffee.

Of course, in the end, they are only looking out for themselves. If it didn't concern them, they wouldn't even lift an appendage to help in any way, shape or form.

Well, at least for Chrysalis that's true. Yes, Chrysalis. He absolutely refused to use her self-imposed title.

It is safe to say, that nopony expected her sudden appearance earlier today. Let alone the talk and proposition that followed it.

==========================================================================================================

“Long time no see, Majesties,” The repugnant double voice echoed, the last word almost hissed out with a clear resent as if their collective title burned her lips akin to some acid as the word left them.

Princess Luna wasn't about to stay behind in the newest game and be bested in the art of verbal fencing by an overgrown cockroach, so she gave as good as she got. “As far as the seeing part goes, that's the one thing concerning your person we were hoping to never do again.”

“Ohh, now now, why all the sudden hostility now?” The repulsive equine-like creature outright cooed, mocking all that she heard. “I did come here in the presentation of some good will, after all.” Chrysalis pushed ever further, so it was time for Celestia to speak up.

“The most goodwill I've ever seen you display was a mercy blow dealt to your enemy. So forgive me if I'll be crude and unpleasant saying this, but... state your business and get the hell out of our castle.” Any normal, common ponies, would be terrified to hear such hostilities coming from the mouth of the sun princess, but not the gathered. They knew her too well. Too well, indeed. “Although we did agree to hear your plead, it does not mean we like it more than we would normally. So, do hurry up. Please.”

Strangest of all, the former Changeling Queen seemed to agree, stalling just a little bit. “Wait, let me just-” The small old boring-looking changeling puffed up into sickly green flames, only to reappear as a much more familiar form of a once strong and proud femme fatale. “Rude,” She stated in response to the previous comments of the big white. ”But not uncalled for. For one, you're right, I'm awful. Second, when the time is of the essence, we all agree it would be preferable to make haste.”

The Element bearers sat quietly near the exit, still remembering the last encounter with one of their most persistent enemies. Since no pony said anything, as always, the former changeling leader took the opportunity and tried to make herself right at home by walking up her temporary vessel to the rest of the ponies present in the room.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” a rather menacing voice warned her suddenly, reminding everypony that Discord, The Demigod of Chaos, was indeed still there with them. With his self-proclaimed devine being sitting uncharacteristically quiet for most of the meeting, it surprised some that he chose to act now of all times. Yet none tried to figure out his undoubtedly surreal agenda in all of this, for that would surely be a path that only led to utter madness for years untold.

He materialized in front of Chrysalis by means known only to himself and blocked her way ahead with a menacing glare. Directly intervening for the first time today made all present sure of one simple fact. If none of today's bombshells, like announcing the Ponyfication of Death or reckless soul-bonding made him act, not even one of the adversaries outright revealing himself... and this did... no pony would or could intervene. The last thing any of them want is to interact with Discord when he's like this.

All were made sure he reached his serious phase. And the very last thing you want is a serious, capable of acting and orderly Discord.

“Very well. Have it your way,” The Bug Queen said, knowing better than to challenge the literal embodiment of Chaos Forces. It was like challenging The Universe itself. You could win. Probably wouldn't.

Yet, nevermind all that. He was probably hanging around in wait, just because something unexpected could happen and amuse him for decades to come, Chrysalis thought.

Her message was beautiful in its simplicity and she voiced it so. "I will help you," she said as if it were the most obvious and uncomplicated thing in the world. Yet even the most simple things usually had an epilogue of some kind. “In exchange.”

“Of course,” Snowy Raiment voiced out of all ponies, as if the presence of the Queen did nothing at all to him. “Even when the world supposedly could crumble into pieces, you seek to gain something out of it. So typical for you.. it's almost painful.” He rolled his eyes as if he was predicting it from the very start. Which he did.

“My dear mage coot, I only ask for this one, tiny, simplest of things,” She started to respond, gesturing her puppet's hooves ever so closer, yet not so close as to aggravate Discord. “When the entirety of this rather ridiculous debacle is over, when all of our enemies lay defeated and broken and you..” She gazed at the Archmage with a knowing grin. “Finally admit you were wrong.. I want to be left alone. We want to be left alone.”

“We?” Applejack asked suddenly, only wanting to confirm her already concrete hard suspicions. Though no pony expected her to speak up while what was in essence a diplomatic talk carried on, all of them knew by now to not treat her like a simple farm mare, for she was so much more than that. Even The Queen herself knew that.

“Me. Me and my children. My hive,” she replied while turning Applejack's way, accentuating the last word with the ferocity of a mother hen. A chitinous, atrocious, carnivorous mother hen. One thrice the size and weight of a normal pony and one possessing the height of an ordinary door frame.

“And we are supposed to just believe any of that? What guarantee, if any at all, we have that you won't turn against us the very second you have an inkling of a chance to overpower us?” Cadance asked her greatest adversary to date, being the one with the most reasons to not trust her. For some rather crystal clear reasons.

It was obvious none of the ponies would discuss the matter with the Queen present, so the final decision fell square on the princesses haunches. All three of them looked into each other's eyes, exchanging thoughts without words as much as they possibly could.

Seeing that the likes of Rainbow Dash were increasingly more willing to attack the Changeling invader, Princess Celestia looked to the more reasonable of the elements, namely Rarity and Applejack, only to secretly give them a nod meaning that the ponies present will take care of the complicated situation, and they should go tend to their far more important task.

She had let one student down.

She wasn't about to fail another.

What almost no pony had picked up upon was a different covert signal meant for another two ponies present, one of which retreated straight into the shadows while the other one just calmly walked up to the side entrance and left the premises as if nothing even happened.

Fortunately, none of the critical parts of the confrontation noticed any of that and the two elements understood the given signal, proceeding to hurry the rest out of the room. Some with none and some with more protest than expected of them, although, everypony of the five eventually left the room to finally start the search for their distressed purple friend. Surprisingly, the last to leave was Fluttershy, stopping for a brief second and looking back in the Thunderstroke's direction questioningly.

All the called out stallion managed was to shake his head in the "no" gesture slowly, being as overwhelmed as he was right now by all of this. How increasingly stupid of him.

Ancient beings, slaughters of innocents, Princesses, Knights, Army and Souls. No pony paid him enough to deal with this shit.

No pony paid him for this... period.

Despite not being sure just why exactly he wished to stay, the yellow mare accepted his decision with a nod and swiftly left to join the quickly retreating rest. Leaving him only with The Queen-bitch of the world. “Oh joy embrace me,” he thought morbidly.

All the Changeling Queen had done was to look over her shoulder with a question already vocalizing. “Oh, so we are going to fight then?” she asked coyly. “You're minimizing casualties?”

“Don't make me shoot you,” Cadance replied with a hostility normally unheard of the sweet and kind Princess of Love. “From many places at once,” she said looking up to Discord, who nodded back in full agreement.

“Fine, fine,” Chrysalis had given up the issue unusually easily considering how the conversations with her usually went. “We're not going to need them here after all. You three can make all the decisions by yourself and my end of the bargain is already known,” she said, signifying that she won't cause any immediate physical trouble, allowing Discord to float away from her for now and everypony else to relax. Even If just by a little bit.

It didn't mean she wouldn't get under their skin in some different yet equally twisted way.

“Though the purple wench surely would like to know you're dealing with the devil.” She thought of one of her greatest enemies. Twilight, Starlight and Cadance. The three were always top three and always battled for the first place. “That whitewashed cult leader better not die before I can get to her...”

“You better not smudge Twilight's good name again, if you know what's best for you.” Celestia warned the shapeshifter, making most ponies present, sans few, hair stand on their end. “Do not test the limits of my hospitality further.” The longest-reigning monarch replied almost instantaneously, signifying she could endure the insect's act only for so long before taking action.

“Hah, hospitality?”

“You're still alive, aren't you?”

While the Titans among demi-gods clashed, mortals sat quietly and hoped not to get caught in the possible crossfire. For if even the two of them decided to act now, it would have been a battle of a raging fury and inextinguishable fire against the overwhelming hate and hunger of a million souls. Which is to say, probably none of the present mortals would escape alive.

Yet as it was often the case, Celestia was the first to speak, undoubtedly with some intricate plan already in motion.

“What is exactly your game Chrysalis?” she asked plainly as a day she represented, no longer playing games for once. “It is quite unlike you to be the one forthcoming with such a proposition, especially considering all we've.. "been through together".” After such a question everypony involved instantly knew what was she talking about, shivering at a mere thought. “Secondly, why ask this out of us? It is not like you're unskilled in the art of crawling away and cowardly hiding from us, you could probably avoid us very well on your own. You could try to hide from all of this conflict altogether, hoping to survive all on your own. So.. why aren't you?”

Surprisingly, no witty retort or a clever insult came from the mare, even after all the undertone insults directed at her. Ones to her character, ones to her methodology and ones to her emotions. Only almost a full minute-long silence followed. They would know for sure it was so if they only asked.

Discord counted.

When she finally responded, no pony expected her to be as quiet and calm as she was. “When I told you it's a sign of goodwill.. I was serious,” she said meekly, a behavior totally unlike and unbecoming of her.

Of course, only to return to her old self a mere second later by squashing any sign of self-perceived weakness. “Besides, how would I live if all my food was dead and gone?”

Once more, the princesses shared the looks between each other in silence, this time even quietly looking to some of their subordinates for help while the black mare observed all of this exchange without any protests for the moment. “So, do we have a deal?” she asked with finality, feeling the decision was reached long before she asked.

To the surprise of everypony, the first to answer was not one of the elder princesses, but the normally avoidant of diplomatic proceedings Princess of Love.

“Yes. We do,” she answered and signed a pledge for everypony. “Yet I must know, how exactly would your help look like?” she inquired further, not trusting "the help" to be something inherently good or altruistic in this case. Never.

Never again.

Chrysalis seemed almost happy with the answer given. She was even more expressive than usual considering the answer came from Cadance herself. “That's all I needed to hear,” she exclaimed. “As for my help. Don't you worry any of your pretty heads, you'll receive it. As despicable as I am, I'm not a one to back out of an agreement.”

The Sun Diarch's "sixth sense", trained to perfection through the many centuries, made itself known regardless and prompted her to speak immediately. While she still could, it told her.

“Chrysalis, it is very important to-” she tried to say only to be interrupted by the first of changelings. To their knowledge.

“You know, I'll just.. go.. skedaddle,” the Queen said as quickly as she could with a pause thrown in-between. “Tell Twilight I said "Hi".” And just like that, with a final defiant cackle, Chrysalis ended the connection between her and the lone drone.

Luna tried to shout over her, for all it was worth. “Don't you dare to-” But it was all for naught as the drone outright burst into emerald flames and collapsed like a bag of potatoes where he stood in the most dramatic of displays, his body hitting the floor with the might of a thousand empty shells crying out in sorrow and reverence for the fallen martyr.

Not one of the princesses even had to vocalize the order, as a few of the higher-ups present outright threw themselves to check on the changeling. All the while some of them stayed where they sat without motion, which immediately showed the clear divide even among the highest command. After a dozen seconds, the one that was checking the pulse just nodded somberly to the princesses. Considering he was the present Minister of Health, Red Cross himself...

“Damn it all!” the darkest coated of the remaining trio yelled, releasing some of her internal struggle and frustration outside and making it widely known which one of the siblings was more frustrated by the eternal enemy of Equestria. “Damn to hell that overgrown mosquito!” Luna stomped the ground in well-justified anger, feeling like she lost a battle once more. Worse, she wasn't even sure if she had lost.

She just knew she didn't win.

All the while, Cadance hasn't said anything out loud, immediately turning around and consulting quietly with her husband.

As always, it seemed that Celestia will have to be the voice of reason in this grand circus of emotions and confusion. “Calm down Luna, please. There is nothing we can do for him now. Well, almost nothing...” she said, looking in the direction of the ones that just confirmed the death of the carapace clad spy. “If you..” she exhaled. “If you could fetch the additional guards and get him to the morgue, please.”

As one of the ponies saluted to the princess and trotted out of the room, Thunderstroke decided that he'd seen enough of the existential horror and dread for the evening. With his luck, he'd better leave before they ask him to be the attaché for the Changelings. To hell with the fact that they are supposedly reformed and allied now. No. Just no.

He needed coffee right about now. A lot of it.

Better yet. A single, strong one.

===========================================================================================================

So now he was here.

...

Blissfully sitting under the coolest of moonlights in his recent memory and drinking the ridiculously overpriced coffee at one of many high and mighty establishments of the Canterlot's main street -Harmony Avenue... or... ugh.. The Mane Row as some would call it, blast them from midnight all the way to dawn.

It was a busy evening too.

Now that he thought of it, he was never on this particular street during his few and brief visits into the city, even if it was the main one. Well lit, with a lot of ponies going about without a care, attending to their daily businesses and errands or just having plain old evening fun. The road itself paved with a beautiful imported cobblestone interwoven with artistically placed marble or granite pieces here and there. On the sides rows of brass lanterns jutted upward, powered by the super-charged high-grade crystals instead of crude solutions like simple bowls of oil. It was the best yet the most expensive option on the market. Last but not least, the facades of buildings themselves. Each different from the other, but they all had a singular common point. All of them just reeking of glamour and splendor. Most possibly, you would be able to say “exquisite” in wonder and gag at the tackiness at the same time.

Such was the second "business card" of the Canterlot beside the Palace itself. Of course, it leads straight from the town gates right up to the throne room door. Just because it could. Just because it should.

And to think all of that.. luxury and pomp could be gone within a single week. Made empty husk of a dead city with the inhabitants nowhere to be seen, just like that. All the wealth and power muted by the sheer amount of horribleness and then rendered just dead quiet like a cassette tape stuck on its end. Countless centuries of history concluded by nothing more than some background white noise. Hush-hush. Good night. Bye bye.

Maybe tomorrow. Or even today, all in a few minutes for all he'd known. All the ponies and even a few representatives of different species he saw right now, going about their lives.

Poof... done and gone.

The guy he just saw selling balloons, the children that bought them eagerly and the parents who reluctantly paid for them. The waitress who brought him his newly brewed house-priced coffee.... and himself.

All of them unaware of the impending danger, none the wiser of the death slowly and steady breathing on their backs. No pony would even know what had happened, excluding a hoof-full of "lucky" insiders, himself included. With the exception that he was not cut out for any of this whatsoever.

Why did they ask him?

Why did she ask him?

Why did she ask him?

There had to have some profound and devine reason, way beyond his simple plebeian grasp. He wasn't Starswirl after all, nor his esteemed protégé. No wandering hero, not even a local leader. For all that he had unfortunately done in his short life, they shouldn't even-

...

...nevermind all that. None of it mattered as of now, for all he cared. He questioned his already fragile psyche while the world he'd known crumbled around him in a bloody pile of gore a mere few.. whenever that was.. ago. To panic uncontrollably now out of all times.. would be just stupid.

Right up his alley of stupid actually.

Right. It seemed he wasn't getting any concrete answer out of himself. No outright panic, no overwhelming calm.

“Half measures it is.”

Some small part of him wanted to run from any random one pony to another and scream about the forthcoming cataclysm, but the other part realized he would look like all those nutcases they write about on the seventh page of the vile newspapers. Cardboard cutout costumes, bells and all. "Doom is near everypony, repent to the true Goddess or perish and linger in the eternally scorching fires!"

Poor fuckwits.

What should he do? He couldn't just sit and do nothing, could he? In reality, he probably could, but would he? Could he?

Did he dare?

His coffee was getting cold. Only more bitter by the second.

Good. Yet.. bad.

“You shouldn't sell yourself short just quite yet, you now?”

Thunderstroke turned to the source of a sudden commotion immediately, fully expecting to see one of the self-proclaimed preachers. He almost broke his neck on the most sudden twist he performed as of late when he recognized the voice, yet that bastard of reality told him it was even worse.

The voice, It proved to be the Captain of a Guard. Both Captains of the BOTH Guards, even if only one of them currently spoke to him.

“Grand. Just dandy.”

There they were. The prestigious and rarely mingling ponies stood at the very edge of his coffee table, like some friends of old would do. Showing out of the blue and hoping for a chat. How's it going chap? Care for some evening tea over crumpets on the out and a chit-chat?

“Fuck me to literal hell.”

“I've seen that face many times before,” Captain Sunstreak continued just as if he was this imagined friend of times long gone. “The face of "Where am I, why am I here, and what the hell do I do?". Am I right?” He asked, accompanied by the completely excessive mount of gesticulation, one that most ponies would be confused to even follow.

When he received no sliver of the confirmation out of the storm stallion, the silence became enough evidence on itself. “Bingo. Just as I thought.”

“Mind if we join in?” he asked nonchalantly, akin to the best of con-stallions... and Thunderstroke knew his con-stallions.

Thunder just briefly looked over both of them already imposing their overwhelming presence on him and gave his approval, however unneeded it was. “Ye, sure.” Not that it mattered or was acknowledged at all. He just tried to get the point across. “Mi casa.. et cetera...”

“You're awfully hard to track down for a civilian,” the fiery stallion initiated the talk smoothly before pulling a chair from another table like he owned the damn place and sitting down. “I'll give you that much.”

His brown maned unwilling companion was not entirely sure of how to respond to such.. praise? “Thanks, I guess,” he settled on. “I was just.. going wherever the most splendid of nights took me.” Which earned him an underhoofed expression from the silent Night Guard. Something between a smirk and a scowl, as if she couldn't decide upon just one. Which was more unsettling than pleasing with those fangs of hers.

As if the fact that she already sat at the table in a chair of her own wasn't freaky enough.

There wasn't any additional chairs even remotely near the table.

She wasn't even remotely near the table previously.

As both of the veteran guards started to make themselves comfortable in their respective places, the solar one, being a unicorn, used his magic to distribute himself a brand new top brand cigarette, complete with THE tackiest golden flip lighter. It even had a shining etching of Celestia's cutie mark on it...

All in all, it was so stereotypical, it must have been an inside joke of some sort and Thunderstroke wouldn't believe otherwise.

The act of smoking finally prompted the Captain's nocturnal counterpart to speak for the first time since they came here completely uninvited.

“Do you HAVE to smoke near me?” she asked with a definite scowl this time, fangs showing in clear displeasure. “My head is still hurting after that heck of a spell and you're not helping whatsoever.”

“Hey, what can I do?” He shrugged with a cigarette already lit and about halfway done. “It's relaxing in our line of work. You should try it.”

“Pass. Contrary to common a misconception I'm not partial to Frutti-di-Mare. Especially cancer,” she bit back with the ferocity of a thousand tiny crab pincers.

“Eh,” Sunstreak shrugged again in blatant dismissal of her honest and well-placed rebuttal. “Suit yourself.”

Now that the initial prattle was quickly done and equally fast forgot, both of them turned their heads to the poor Manehattanite stallion still sitting where he was, slurping in innocence his completely cold and very overpriced coffee.

"Well said, Captain Lumia. Pass. Pass indeed."

===================================================================================================================

As the big black plastic bag containing some dead-weight of a changeling was quickly removed from the room by the helpful pair of guards pushed forward by their princess's orders, most of the still present stood in their designated places like inanimate figures on the chessboard of the political scene, ready to be pushed to their planned places, whether they liked it or not.

Yet, they were definitely alive and breathing individuals. Ones that, according to some, should be working like ants right about now, tending to Equestria and its needs. While some would give them extended leave.

It seemed like the horrors experienced by some would have to be corrected by others once more. Not that she minded.

The experience makes the master, they say. As such, she is The Master.

“My ponies, please, focus on the here and now.” Celestia's voice reverberated through the chamber with the grace of a gentle giant. Yet as it traveled, it ensnared almost everypony as if it was enchanted.

Ministers mended their ruffled mane styles she imposed centuries ago and straightened the crooked pieces of clothing sanctioned by her decades ago. Generals had fallen upon their drilled norms of the Equestrian military and stood on attention, just like the generals of old saluted her before the battle hundreds of years ago. Secretaries waited readily to write even more, brandishing paper and quill over the magic means, to the knowing displaying the forgery paranoia of Celestia. Now, only to give them all a little push. “As.. tumultuous as the Queen's tomfoolery was, there is nothing we can do about it.. for now. ” She reminded them while steering their collective thoughts onto different tracks with immediate ferociousness.

“After this generous display we just had today I think none of you can deny Princess Twilight's claims any longer,” Such a simple sentence, yet one that caused such complex cocktail of emotions within her little ponies. Be it anger, denial, confusion or sadness, none objections were voiced aloud for almost a disturbing amount of time, allowing her to continue undisturbed. “As such, your standing orders are as follows,” While her fellow Princesses voiced their non-verbal approval once more..

When it came to the ponies.. those who could, worked their quills faster than light, for it was a historic moment to record, even if a sad blemish in the chronicles.

Those who should, had listened to every word, knowing their decisions would decide the fates of thousands upon thousands of innocent souls.

...And ultimately, the ones that wanted information for their own selfish gain, rubbed their hooves metaphorically, already tasting the future power and wealth amassed within their grasp.

“As of tonight... Equestria is in a state of War.” The dreaded words had fallen like a grim shroud over all with morbid finality, sealing the feared decisions in stone and nothing short of a divine miracle could change them. Those with the most military background would say that the worst has finally happened within their lifetime, a thing their grandfathers prophesied since time immemorial, at least five generations. The ones with some political merit would be scared. All for their positions, most for their families and friends, some for their wealth and power, scarce most sincere ones feared for the common pony they swore to serve and protect. A select few smiled internally, for finally, it was their time to shine upon the annals of history.

Be it within the bounds of heroism and bravery or calamity and corruption.

Yet none of them could deny one simple fact with a clear conscience. No matter if on utterly lucid or at a subconscious level, all of them were simply terrified.

Politically and legally speaking, Equastria wasn't at war for the last.. two hundred years. A record of any nation on the planet, yet... The last being King Guto's Excursion upon north-east coast of the continent in a desperate attempt to save what was left of the Griffon Empire. After that fell apart spectacularly, only the Dragon Lord Pyre tried anything outright hostile against Ponies and that day... even dragons learned to fear true fire.

Though, before any could ponder more on those thoughts.. “A mere situational grand speech full of promises and simple instructions, but...” Princess Celestia actually inhaled, as if her massive lungs were not enough for the shout to come. “..AS HAVE PRINCESS TWILIGHT ORDERED!” She started her almost eardrum busting roar, one that any of them would remember for as long as their memories allowed. “GATHER OUR ARMIES, READY OUR ALLIES, PREPARE THE FORGES AND STRIKE THE IRON WHILE IT IS RED HOT!” Luna already knew what was the most prominent issue with her sister's speech and was prepared to pick up the fallout, reforge it into what it's meant to be. “DO NOT FEAR FOR THE CLANDESTINE AND THE OBSCURE, FOR BOTH ARE ALREADY PERSUADED TO SIDE WITH US. ALL THAT IS LEFT.. TO ARMS, FOR EQUESTRIA!”

As quickly as she could.. “What our sister had on her mind meant- tend to your designated duties without causing unnecessary civilian panic and bring Equestria into something akin to a state of nationwide natural disaster, if I had to dress it into actually existing terms. Colloquially, pile up your respective units, ministries or resources and wait for further instructions. Dismissed.” .. she picked up to pieces and glued them back into something more coherent.

And just like that, almost all of the present sans the Princesses started to filter out of the room, duties assigned, plots to prepare and strategies to plan. As soon as they shook themselves awake and gained their hearing back.

Within a two dozen seconds or so, the room remained mostly empty.

Now that they were mostly alone..

“Don't you have your share of subjects to protect?” Luna inquired of her niece and husband out of concern, unfortunately using the same condescending tone she used mere minutes ago on reflex. Immediately, she received a slight frown in response, which wasn't her intended feedback.

At all.

“We acknowledge what needs to be done and it will be done. No need to be crass about it.” Shining voiced for the both of them while Cadance prepared a teleport for the both of them over a long distance. Destination presumably being their Crystal Palace.

“N-No! It's not what I had-” But before Luna could explain anything the pair was gone in a blink, ready to tend to their own duties regardless of what the Princess of the Night thought. All that remained for her was to hide within the solace of the shrouding forehooves.

Now. Now that they were all alone..

“And here I thought you could withstand the whole meeting, reeve up you inner fire. For you to trip-up at the very end.. tut tut.” Discord actually said the onomatopoeia out loud, still hovering above the sisters. “I had a bet going on that, you know...”

Though he knew better than to tease her too much this time around. Twilight and Fluttershy had some influence over him, finally getting through that thick non-euclidean cranium bones of his. “I'll go do my own thing to help you. No reason to be cruel now.” With the last words he dissipated into thin air, as if he was never there.

All the signal for Luna to speak up. Now that they were truly alone.

She hoped..

“How is that thou mess up once again, we pick up after you and not a minute later I am the one at fault?” Luna slipped at her dialect once more only to come back to the modern speech not a mere second later.

“Oh? I "messed up", did I?” Celestia inquired of her dearest sister while not diverging her sight from the door most of the ponies left through not so long ago.

Oh?

Oh.

She simply loved it when her sister got like that. Completely adored that.. that thing that she did. The Night Sovereign lingered a while longer within her private shell for as long as she could, stewing within her very own thoughts a little bit longer.

“You mean to tell us you actually pinned all of this on her?” The Dark Mistress was daring enough to attempt some semblance of a mock surprise. “That you botched up this speech of yours and reverted back a few centuries in your vocabulary on purpose?”

Now, the most radiant pony in the room wouldn't confirm any of it.. though she wouldn't outright deny it either.

“Even IF I did,” The more mischievous of the duo started with a soft smirk forming. “It was because she needs it. As quickly as she can get it.”

“Oh.” Luna summoned all of her eloquence at once into one word. “How so?” she asked for the sake of it. “She needs all the stress and pressure? The attention of a whole country on her?”

“Ah, not that you doof.” Celestia outright disregarded all decorum when it was just the two of them. “They should know who is the one shouting Timberwolf.” She stated cryptically, recalling a particularly old fable. “But considering that contrary to the age-old tale, it came true and the Timberwolf actually came this time...”

A little bit more of the situation sank a little bit more this time.

“In hindsight... it makes for quite a poor analogy.” Celestia admitted.

Luna felt like all of this happened inside some grotesquely twisted dream belonging to one of her many subjects. For only them could conjure such vivid yet believable images. Only they could make up any of those many things her sister just said.

“I.. Don't quite follow,” The younger sister admitted truthfully. “Afraid you have lost us at "the wolf" part.”

Well, while that little tidbit out of her sibling cemented most of her hopes in the boots of her own making, the millennium monarch approached the matter like a true honcho mafioso of the last thousand years.

And to be honest, absolutely no surprise there. Her own inability to match up with the ever increasingly changing times could be only assigned to her ever progressively failure as a ruler. To be truthful with herself, as much as she tried to change for the sake of her little ponies quickly enough, she just couldn't... keep up.

When they developed new technology, she was stuck on the basic setup instructions. When they wrote plays, scenarios and poetry, she found herself longing for the old classics. When they asked about her take on the architecture of a newly opened art-deco skyscraper, she was stuck on why does this Rococo building look so modern and subdued. When they asked for her expertise on the newest magical theories explaining Clover's Third Theorem, she could provide some insightful thoughts.. just barely.

She had to face the music as any good composer. With endless time and effort on their hooves, all reprises became better than the original.

The little ones had overgrown her.

As of now, she was old and feeble.. a burden to their progress. Being asked about opinion out of courtesy. She had became.. obsolete.

...

...

...For centuries as of now she had known...

Those who do not adapt.. are replaced.

And as much as they needed her to go away and shift away into the shadows of history... she couldn't deny herself playing them the last selfishly arranged sonata. That's just the despicable kind of pony she was, bitter to the very end.

The difference between her and her recently returned sister became more than apparent at this moment, as her sibling was the one to miss the meaning of their age old sayings. Ones they shared... once upon a time.

...

Luna is adjusting way better than her it seems.

Good.

It seemed she couldn't connect with anypony anymore. Not her subjects.. not even her own sister. “Figures”. “Simply put,” She patiently explained for her dearest of siblings, utterly ignoring all of the internal monologue that would ultimately change the course of a vast nation. “If we win, this way she'll become a savior of us all in the eyes of populace and none shall question her forevermore. If we don't... well...”

All of the roughly self-proclaimed confidence she had left evaporated within a second, while the reality forced one of the demi-goddesses to transform the attempt at scarce humor into an unwanted scowl. All of her well-intended plans, decades into making, sometimes even subconsciously, could be rendered completely moot within a moment. She thought not only of the time rendered useless, but of the lives that she- “No, none of that now”.. it was a matter reserved for later. Much later.

“It won't matter after all.” Her insincere smile almost reached the corners of her cheeks by now.

Author's Note

Before we get any further....

That is The Best you can get out of me without an editor involved.

This a result of "way too much time", doubting how things should be written and own insecurities.

Now...

From this point forward, there is no chapter shorter than 10,000 words. So.. yeah. Fuck me, I guess. And my psyche for good measure.

The chapter is kind of a mess, I know.. but not too bad if you ask me. Kind of 'bitchin comparing it to any of my other things. Saying that, I wouldn't be opposed in any way to having an editor, BUT I'M DIRT POOR AT THE TIME AND CAN'T AFFORD ONE FOR HELL. Emphasis intended.

So, if any brave daredevils would be wiling to pick up this task of truly gargantuan proportions... just sayin. The offer is out there. *wink wink*

Now that that's out of the way, back to the regularly scheduled....... whatever it is that I have here...

My God, that took way longer than I thought it would. Way longer than it should or had any right too, as I obliged myself to write this. But hey. Having work and life is important, is it not? Probably. I wouldn't know, I don't have much of those, for I was just trying to justify my laziness and problems in the time I took to write this.

I like these "Author Notes" thingies, way more relaxing and less formal than the story itself. Like a true reflection of myself projected onto you. Well, as close as we can get through online medium.

P.S. - Commenting on the Sunstreak blatant disregard of health standards.. please don't smoke, winners don't smoke. Unless you want to win championship in ingesting poison and dying, then... sure, go ahead, have a good smoke, all the power to you my guy or gal!

Also, a note to myself- It's Cadance, NOT Candance. Because it's Cadenza, not Candenza. Though, she probably can dance, as princess should.

Fucking idiot.

=========================================================

=========================================================

Some stupid thoughts of mine:

I used some real world languages and that's bad? Now, now, before you say anything.. Germane, Stalliongrad, Prench. I rest my case.

“Twilight said nothing as they climbed the stairs all the way to her level” - Akchualy, I don't think you are on the same level of anime expertise as I am.

“Goddess bless beanbags.” - And amen to that sister. Amen to that.

“You know, I'll just.. go.. skedaddle,” the Queen said as quickly as she could with paused thrown in-between. “Tell Twilight I said "Hi".” - Damn what all of you say. Saying hi to your enemy and disappearing is a good cliché dammit!

“Don't make me shoot you,” - now, that an obscure one, but.. I thought of "Deadpool" game and the line "don't make me shoot you boo boo."

================================================

Chapter Reference list:

“Sage of her times who dispensed wisdom from her mighty wisdom tooth.” - Now, that's a "Dog of wisdom" reference, right there.

“Happy little mistakes” - We miss you Bob. Go on and paint the heaven with colors. White on its own is quite drab.

“Candance asked her greatest adversary, being the one with the most reasons to not trust her. For rather crystal clear reasons.” - Crystal clear. Candance. EHHH? EHH? See what I did the- ....ehhh, nevermind.

“I'm thinking.. cake. Big slice style.” - My name is Tyron- I mean, Thunderstroke and I will eat everypony's cake. BIG GLUTTON STYLE.

"Finally getting through that thick non-euclidean bones of his." - HAH HAH. *blink blink* Those who know, WILL know. You can't unimagine that.

EVER

==============================

Hey, any of you like music?

*crippling silence*

I sure thought so! While writing this chapter I listened to a lot of Rammstein.
Mainly to "Feuer Frei" and "Ich Will" because I love these two.

As always, comments and constrictive critique greatly appreciated.