"I'm disappointed," Princess Celestia said. "I thought you had better judgment."

"You were holding an innocent pony illegally," Cadance retorted. "You act like you're above the law."

"I am above the law. That's what being a Princess means." Celestia sighed. "I do everything for the ponies of Equestria. I've made personal sacrifices you can't even begin to imagine. I've sent friends to their deaths, I've let ponies die when I could have saved them. Even my own family..." She shook her head.

"What you want to do is wrong. The war is over and you want to start another one."

"Cadance, do you know what my duty is?"

"You raise the sun."

"And ponies have been able to count on that for a thousand years. It wasn't always so. I won't allow the world to be plunged into chaos again. I led Equestria through its darkest hour, and I swore I wouldn't let it get that far again." She sighed. "I'm doing this for your own good, Cadance. You're not, officially, a prisoner."

"But unofficially if I try to leave the guards will stop me," Cadance guessed.

"They'll keep you here for your own protection until the operation is over. After that, we can talk about your situation."

The sky was a flat wall of grey, as complete as if somepony had poured concrete over the heavens, stretching from horizon to horizon. Doctor Sparkle didn't usually think much about the weather, but today she was watching it closely.

"The clouds were moved in overnight," Moondancer reported. "The Court's sources in Cloudsdale say there was a rush order. It was a big deal, locally, since the weather factory was destroyed and they had to mostly make them by hoof."

"Of course that news won't hit the Canterlot papers for quite a while, if it hasn't been intentionally suppressed already," Doctor Sparkle said. "I'm insulted by the plan, though."

"It's the same one she was planning on using in the North," Moondancer confirmed. "Moving airships into position using the cloud cover, then attack from a position of air superiority."

"I'd send Sunset up to have a look but I fear we'd lose whatever time we have left." Doctor Sparkle turned from the window. "I need options. Any word from Chrysalis?"

"According to her drones, she's taking care of something herself." Moondancer sighed. "I think she just doesn't want to be stuck here when the fighting starts. I can't blame her."

"Mm. She always was smart about political matters."

"Do you think she'll turn on us?"

Sparkle shook her head. "No. I think at this point she's realized that despite how much the Changelings have helped the war effort from the shadows, Celestia will never negotiate with her."

"What are we going to do, though? We can't fight the entire army, and they're ponies like us."

Flam stared into the maw of the beast he'd designed. A stone sphere inscribed with the image of a gem floated in place in the center of a mass of machinery he'd built based on half-remembered schematics.

"It's a bit bigger than Sparkle's, brother," he said. "But I don't have her talent. Not without you helping me."

He adjusted a few bolts and closed the mirror-lined cavity.

"Still, I think the artefact thaumoetheric generator is quite an impressive achievement. I know you'd be proud if you were here. I just wish I knew where Celestia got these things..."

"Flam or Flim, whichever one of you it is!"

Flam flinched at the shout, coming from far too close to be comfortable or polite. He dropped the wrench he was holding, the steel clattering against the airship deck.

"Captain Tiller," he said, turning around and forcing himself to look pleasant. "I'm in the middle of some delicate adjustments."

"These toys are taking up more than half my deck space!" The greying pegasus Captain glared at them. "I don't like having them around. I wouldn't stand for it if the Princess herself hadn't ordered them moved to the HRMS Sunny Day."

"I'm sure. But she did order it. Is there something you needed help with?" Flim grit his teeth.

"I'm supposed to order you to make them ready for deployment," Tiller said. "Bloody things cost almost as much as an airship each. I'll be writing up the performance evaluation on them, Flim, and I expect results. If they don't bucking amaze me, I'll make sure you don't get even one more bit of military funding."

"Flam," Flam corrected.

"Whatever. I don't care. These things are going to be bucking useless anyway in a few weeks." Tiller huffed and turned away. "If we had the funding they spent on you the Shining Armor wouldn't be stuck in drydock and we'd have the full fleet."

"Sparkle is going to prove a more difficult target than you think, Captain," Flam said. "You'll be glad for the Iron Pegasus units before the day is over."

"I doubt that," Tiller said, walking off. "This whole operation stinks of politics. Nopony is going to be happy at the end of the day."

Rainbow Dash lived life on the edge. Sometimes that meant pushing herself to her limits and beyond.

Today it meant perching at a very literal edge.

Canterlot looked like cake somepony had carved apart with a red-hot knife. Broken water and sewer lines sprayed out of the half-melted, half-cut edges into the abyss, falling a straight mile down to the pile of debris that had once been half the city.

The ponies who had been searching for survivors had been recalled after a week. There was too much to do elsewhere to waste ponies on retrieving corpses. There'd even been talk about just covering it all up with sod and concrete and making it a memorial park.

Dash kicked a loose cobblestone, letting it sail out into the air before vanishing into the distance.

"This sucks," she mumbled.

"Yeah," Pinkie said.

Dash almost fell over the cliff in surprise.

"What the buck?! Where did you come from?!"

"Donut Joe's." Pinkie held out a cup. "You want some coffee?"

Dash took it. "I'm already all nerves, but yeah." She took a long sip. "Whooo! This is a million times better than the instant stuff in our ration packs!"

Pinkie smiled. "No kidding! I can't believe how much I missed good food."

"That's why I always sneak off to Hayburger Princess and stuff when we're anywhere near town."

"And sneaking off is why you keep getting busted down to Sargeant," Pinkie giggled.

"Eh, I always get my bars back. Ponies know I'm the best at what I do."

"Are you going to stay in after the war's over?" Pinkie asked.

"Nah. Maybe. I donno." Dash shrugged. "I mean, I don't like hurting ponies but the military during peacetime is just paperwork and drills."

"Maud is gonna go back and get her degree," Pinkie said. "I'm trying to figure out what I wanna do. I'm not going back to the farm, that's for sure."

"You'll figure something out," Dash said. "I think you could practically do anything you wanted. Or at least you'll make ponies smile while you do your best."

Pinkie laughed. "Yeah!"

There was a terrible crash as one of the walls of debris blocking the streets was shoved aside, Maud standing where it had been and looking around.

"There you are," Maud said. She seemed winded. She was almost sweating. "I was sent to find you."

"What's wrong?" Pinkie asked.

"We're being recalled from leave. We need to report in immediately and get ready to be deployed," Maud said.

"Deployed where?" Dash asked, confused.

"Hello, everypony," Celestia said, as she sat down at the head of the long table. "It's good to see you. I was worried some of you might have been killed."

"We nearly were," Fancy Pants said. "Thankfully Fleur and myself were out shopping when the attack happened, and we didn't go to our personal shelter. That one is currently in the valley below. We lost a lot of friends."

Celestia's expression fell. "I'm sorry for your loss. The scale of the attack was beyond anything we could have predicted."

"We're fortunate it wasn't worse," Jet Set said. "I assume we've gathered here to come up with some sort of plan for the Empire, now they're no longer a threat?"

"There are going to be scared ponies on both sides," Fancy Pants sighed.

"First we need to find out which ones are still a threat," Jet Set continued. "Not all of them were being controlled by black magic. I've read the reports."

"Our first priority should be stabilizing the situation, not starting a witch hunt," Fancy Pants countered.

"We should put them all in camps under military control until we know if they're a threat or not," General Nickel said gruffly. "Even if they weren't in command of their own actions they could still be a threat. Who knows what kind of effect being under dark magic spells could have on them in the long term?"

"You all make valid points," Princess Celestia said. "We do need to decide what to do with the Crystal Ponies. It's important to remember that they are ponies, and we need to treat them like the victims they are."

"Sorry, Princess, but I disagree," Jet Set said. "They may be victims, but they're also the aggressors. We should be making them work to rebuild what they destroyed."

"I hardly think making starving conscripts into slaves is in the spirit of Harmony," Fancy Pants stood up, angry. "If you want to push for that, I'll go to the press--"

"And what? I don't care," Jet Set shrugged. "There are a lot of ponies that would agree with me."

"Gentleponies!" Celestia yelled. "The situation with the Imperials is well in hoof for the moment. We have more important things to discuss!"

"You mean Sparkle's little workshop of horrors," General Nickel said. He waved, and Ensign Alias stepped forward, passing out documents. "EIS cleared this report for today's meeting."

"It's more black boxes than text," Fancy Pants said, as he flipped through the sheets.

"We find ourselves in an awkward position," Celestia said. "Doctor Sparkle certainly did help end the war more quickly, but it was largely through unsanctioned, unethical means."

"It's an embarrassment to the Crown," Jet Set muttered. "Spending all these bits and so little to show for it."

"Now that we're no longer on a full war footing, I cannot support her efforts, even implicitly," Celestia said. "Whatever good she may have done in wartime, now that we're trying to move back to the peaceful Harmony that our ponies desire, her experiments are intolerable."

"We don't think she'll just shut the doors and go quietly," General Nickel said. "It's touchy. Ideally, we'd give her a chance to stand down, but the more time we give her to think it over, the more likely she is to double down and refuse."

"And if she does refuse?" Fancy Pants asked.

"She has enough firepower at her disposal to send the rest of Canterlot down the mountain," General Nickel sighed.

"After carefully considering the options, I think the only viable course of action is to shut her down by force." Celestia sat back, watching the other ponies. "We have to use overwhelming strength, the kind it would be impossible for her to resist. If she can't fight back, she might concede."

"You're talking about a full assault," Fancy Pants said.

"We have to be prepared to use lethal force," General Nickel added. "The danger can't be overstated. According to the EIS reports, her resources are exhausted. We've been keeping her from hiring any additional personnel to limit the number of ponies in the line of fire. If we strike now, we might be able to take them with no casualties at all on either side."

Fancy Pants frowned. "This is already being done, isn't it? You've already gotten everything into place and you're just going to backdate our meeting to make it look like it was approved in advance."

"It's necessary, in order to move with the needed speed," Celestia said.

"Where's Princess Cadance?" Fancy Pants asked. "What's her opinion on this?"

"She's not available."

"Neither am I, then. I refuse to sign this. I can't stop you but I won't have a part in this disaster." Fancy Pants stood up and stomped towards the door, Royal Guards moving to stop him. "Oh, I see. She's 'unavailable'. I going to be 'unavailable' too?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Celestia said. "Until the operation is over. I'm sorry."

"Ensign Alias?"

The uniformed mare turned to look at the two black-suited ponies. They'd found her walking from one office to another.
That was a bad sign. It meant they'd been actively looking for her. Even waiting in her office would have been less ominous.

"Can I help you?" Alias asked, keeping her tone and face pleasant. "I'm in the middle of something for General Nickel Plated."

"Not anymore. We need you to come with us."

"What's this about?" Alias asked.

One of the suited ponies adjusted her dark glasses. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but you're not authorized for that information."

Alias narrowed her eyes. "I don't think I caught your names?"

"I'm Agent Sweetie Drops, this is my partner Agent Argent. We're with EIS and we have a few questions. This won't take long, and then you can get back to your duties."

Alias nodded. "Well, lead the way."

"We're going to need to have you wear a magic suppressor," Sweetie Drops said. "It's a standard precaution."

Her partner took a ring from his coat and walked towards Alias. She dropped her head, as if to allow him to put the ring around her horn. There was a long moment of tension, the EIS agents sure that something was going to happen, Sweetie Drops reaching into her suitjacket to touch something that was almost definitely a weapon sheathed at her side.

And then the ring slipped over Alias's horn, and they relaxed. The aura around the papers Alias had been holding vanished, and the folder fell to the floor, papers scattering.

"Shoot!" Alias sighed. "Could you help me with this really quickly? These are sensitive and I'm not supposed to let them get loose."

"Of course, Ma'am. Thank you for being cooperative." Sweetie Drops and her partner started picking papers up.

"Do either of you see a paper with a heading in blue?" Alias asked, looking down.

"No, why?" Sweetie Drops asked. Her partner shook his head.

"It mentions how these rings only work on unicorn magic."

Alias's horn blazed with acid-green light. Darts of wet fire slammed through the two EIS ponies, dropping them almost silently and setting the papers ablaze.

"It's too bad you didn't see it," Alias said. "It's a fascinating read."

Somepony shouted about the noise, and Alias smiled. Sweetie Drops's body sank into the earth within a circle of green flame, and the same fire washed over Alias, leaving her a perfect copy of the EIS mare.

When the guards came, following the smoke and noise, they found Sweetie Drops collapsed at the edge of the obvious magical attack.

"My partner?" She asked, weakly.

The Royal Guard shook his head, helping her to her hooves.

"We don't have much time," Sweetie Drops said. "They said they were going after Princess Cadance. We need to make sure she's secure. You take point."

He nodded and ran off.

Chrysalis smiled and followed.

"All the working security shutters are engaged, and the changelings have managed to set up barricades in the remaining corridors," Moondancer said, as she entered the room.

"Can you get another cup of tea for Sunburst?" Doctor Sparkle asked. "We were discussing his experience with the EIS. Apparently, they make rather poor hosts."

"Princess Cadance wanted me to make sure you knew about them," Sunburst said. "Things are really bad. They're mobilizing the military. Starlight said she wasn't going to stick around and that we'd leave too if we were smart."

"Mm. I thought Celestia's student would have more backbone," Sparkle said. "She didn't do poorly in the Fall of Canterlot."

"We can't fight this," Sunburst said. "We should surrender. At least then we won't be executed."

"They wouldn't execute Equestrian citizens," Moondancer retorted.

"If you want to leave, do it now." Doctor Sparkle got up from her desk. "Tell Sunset to meet me in Lab Three on your way out."

"I'm not leaving," Moondancer said.

"Good. Otherwise I'd dock you half a day of pay for leaving early."

Dash appeared in a flash of light and immediately ran behind a tree, retching.

"Oh god I frigging hate teleportation," she groaned, depositing her lunch on the forest floor. "I feel like I'm gonna turn inside out!"

"I'm also sick," Maud said, not that she looked or acted like it.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Pinkie asked.

Dash nodded. "Just gimme a sec. I really shouldn't have eaten anything." She coughed, trying not to heave. "Are the newbies okay?"

"Private Rickety and Corporal Sameday are both following your example and emptying their stomachs," Pinkie said.

"Awesome," Dash sighed. "Pinkie, you keep an eye on them until they're able to stand up on their own."
Pinkie saluted and hopped off towards them.

Dash steadied herself using the tree for support. "Maud, if we run into your sister and you and Pinks can't talk her down, I want you to clear out. You shouldn't have to fight your own sister."

Maud nodded silently.

"This whole thing is bucking stupid, but it's our orders. Let's get dug in and wait for the signal."

"Maud, Dash! Help!"

Dash bolted, ignoring her rumbling stomach and running towards Pinkie's voice. She found her standing over three ponies out of uniform.

"Private Rickety saw them moving in the woods," Pinkie said, once Dash had gotten caught up to them. "They tried to run and Sameday had to put a crossbow bolt into one of them. They were carrying these."

Pinkie held up satchel charges.

"Sappers, huh?" Dash sighed. "Guess they knew we were coming. Radio it in. Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll want us to come back to base instead of fighting."

"Thaumatic field reinforcement equipment, huh?" Sunset asked, as Doctor Sparkle helped her strap on the new armor. "Why do I have a feeling you grabbed this off your lab bench and never really tested it?"

"Because you're almost as smart as I am," Sparkle said. "Consider it a field test in extremis."

"I do love a new dress," Sunset joked. "So tell me about the hemline."

Doctor Sparkle rolled her eyes. "This is going to decrease your maneuverability because of the weight. It incorporates some of the technology used in the Type U equipment Marble wears and the leyline deflectors we put together when you were sniping targets at extreme range."

"The armor is thicker."

"It's reinforced. You'll thank me later."

"I can barely move."

"That's what decreased maneuverability means. You can divert power freely. If you need speed, you have speed. If you need magic, you have magic. There are also several weapons incorporated directly into the armor."

"Doctor!" Moondancer shoved the door open. "You need to see this."

"What is it?" Sparkle asked without looking.

"Somepony waving a white flag."

Doctor Sparkle didn't stop, but her hooves slowed. "They want to talk?"

"Celestia likes talking," Sunset said. "If you don't talk, she'll use your refusal to attack immediately."

"Mm." Sparkle plugged in one last wire. "Moondancer, make sure the changelings stay disguised. I'll see what they have to say. Sunset, you're with me."

The pony was literally carrying a white flag. Sparkle glanced at Sunset, who was casting several spells.

"As far as I can tell they're really there, and I don't think it's Princess Celestia in disguise," she said. "I can't be sure. She taught me a lot but she held back even more."

"I wish Chrysalis was here," Sparkle muttered. "She'd be able to tell."

"How do you want to handle this?" Sunset asked. "I could blast him from here. That'd be a pretty strong reply."

"Mm..." Sparkle sighed. "Moondancer, put me through the PA system."

Moondancer nodded confirmation.

"This is Doctor Twilight Sparkle," she said, her voice echoing through the speakers. "Since you're carrying a white flag I assume you want to talk, though I also find it worrying that you find a need to treat me like an enemy. If the military wanted to speak to me, I do have a mailbox."

"I was sent here to discuss terms of surrender," the pony outside yelled. "Princess Celestia is shutting down this facility. She wants to give you a chance to solve this without bloodshed."

Sparkle tapped her hoof. "Fine. I'm willing to talk."

"You are?" Sunset frowned.

"If I don't talk, she attacks immediately, right?" Doctor Sparkle asked. "Moondancer isn't wrong that we can't fight the entire country."

Sunset cleared her throat.

"Fine, we probably could fight the entire country, but I'd rather avoid it." Sparkle switched on the PA again. "Come to my office. We'll talk there."

Pinkie frowned as she listened in on the radio. "Other teams are reporting they're finding sappers in the woods too."

"Think we have a mole somewhere?" Dash asked. "Even we didn't know about this plan until like ten minutes ago."

"Sergeant, something's wrong with the prisoners," Private Rickety said.

"Yeah, they're dumb enough to work for a mad scientist," Dash said, not turning to look at him.

"No I mean... they won't let us treat their wounds. You know Sameday shot one of them? They need medical attention. If we don't do something it's against regulations."

"Fine. Maud! Make sure they're not gonna die before we get permission from HQ to drag them back to base."

Maud nodded and stepped over. One of the three ponies got between Maud and the pony on the ground. She sighed and pushed him away, Private Ricky grabbing and holding him while Maud looked.

"There's something wrong," Maud said.

Dash snorted. "Yeah, he got shot."

"No. His blood is green."

"What?"

The pony in Ricky's hooves burst into green fire, revealing an insectoid horror. The thing hissed and lunged, showing fangs.

"Princess Celestia has authorized me to make limited decisions for the Equestrian government," the pony said, offering a hoof to shake. "Lieutenant High Altitude. The rank is only a formality."

"You were an ambassador to Saddle Arabia," Doctor Sparkle said. "You negotiated with their leaders during the civil war."

"I'm surprised you know. We did everything we could to keep anypony from knowing there was a war at all. It was all in side-streets and back-alleys with no real military action."

"My contacts were impressed by the use of spies and assassins on all sides. It's interesting how there were some incidents that neither side took credit for."

High Altitude smiled. "So what do we need to do to make this unfortunate incident come to a close?"

"Blanket pardons would be a start," Doctor Sparkle said.

"That's going to be difficult to arrange," Altitude replied. "You realize there are some serious accusations being thrown around. Nothing official yet, or we couldn't talk at all."

Sparkle sat back. "I won't even entertain an agreement that doesn't start with Moondancer and Sunburst walking away. If she needs a scapegoat it's me, not them."

"I think if nothing else, making that offer will help reassure her you're serious."

Dash shoved the fanged maw away from her face, the horrible bug-pony hissing and thrashing, trying to get closer.

"I hate this!" Dash yelled. "I hate this more than I've hated anything else in my entire life!" She kicked it away.

Pinkie gasped. "Watch out!" The third pony changed shape in a burst of green fire, grabbing the satchel charges from where the'd been dropped and pulling a string before flinging them at Maud.

Pinkie intercepted them, throwing herself on top of the explosives.

There was a dull thump as they went off.

"PINKIE!" Dash screamed.

Celestia landed on the expansive deck of her gold-trimmed flagship, the HMS Sunny Day. Most of the space was taken up by the six crouched forms of the Iron Pegasus units, each of them connected by thick wires to generators keeping them on standby.

"Your Highness," Flam nodded.

Celestia was mildly annoyed that he didn't bow or at least salute. "Are your machines ready in case they're needed?"

Flam patted one of the armored golems on the side. "Of course. They're more reliable than ponies."

"Yes, I've been rather disappointed by other ponies lately," Celestia said. She didn't look at Flam while she spoke, obviously thinking about other things. "Keep them on standby."

"Princess Celestia!" Captain Tiller ran across the flight deck. "We have word from the ground forces that were teleported ahead of the fleet. They encountered resistance in the woods."

"That's not unexpected. Doctor Sparkle has to have predicted we would do this."

"They're not ponies, though," Tiller hissed, keeping his voice low. "I don't want to alarm the crew so I haven't spread it around, but apparently they're some kind of insect creatures that can disguise themselves. The special operations units took some casualties in surprise attacks."

Celestia's eyes narrowed. "Changelings."

"Well, isn't this a nice little gilded cage," Chrysalis said. She tried to close the door behind her, and it caught on a limp hoof. She rolled her eyes and her horn pulsed with energy, the fallen pony sinking into the ground, all evidence of his death disappearing with him.

Cadance backed away, caught between fear and disgust. The same reaction she had to spiders, really, and for similar reasons.

"Who are you?" She asked, bracing herself. "I warn you, I can defend myself far better than the guards--"

Chrysalis snorted. "If I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have dispatched the ponies they set to guard you. Really an unpleasant bunch. More thugs than guards, but I suppose that's what happens when Celestia has been sending the best and brightest to die in the north and has to start recruiting what's left."

Cadance narrowed her eyes as the lanky changeling queen came closer.

"They stopped even bothering with real background checks. You'd be amazed at what kind of degenerates were able to slip through the cracks."

Chrysalis' body erupted with green fire, leaving her in the familiar guise Cadance was familiar with.

"Ensign Alias?" Cadance blinked.

"Mm." The white mare smiled. "I don't usually take such a direct hoof in events but I lost some of my best operatives. If you need something done right, do it yourself."

"And what are you here to do, exactly?"

"Ruining Celestia's plans. The first step involves rescuing you."

Cadance relaxed a little. "And after that?"

"I'm going to have you talk some sense into her."

"You can't be serious!" Captain Tiller stared up at Celestia. "We have a pony in there talking to her under a flag of peace!"

"Most likely, he's already been killed and replaced," Celestia explained.

"Then why did you send him in?"

"It was before I knew how low Doctor Sparkle had fallen." The Princess looked around, raising her voice to address the bridge crew of the Sunny Day. "We're dealing with Changelings. They can assume almost any shape, and are experts at deception and betrayal. Anypony in that lab could be a changeling in disguise. Most likely, almost all of them are just that."

"How do we tell them apart from the real ponies?"

"It's impossible in the middle of combat," Celestia said. "Tell ground forces that they're authorized to use lethal force. Prioritize securing the lab. Prisoners aren't a concern."

"No prisoners? But--"

"You don't understand the stakes we're fighting for."

"Respectfully, Ma'am, I won't give that order. I don't care what they're fighting, I'm not going to order them to take no prisoners when there are civilians, and I'm not going to order an assault in the middle of peace negotiations."

"You're relieved of duty," Celestia said.

"I believe your orders are illegal and immoral," he said, almost shouting to make sure the bridge crew couldn't ignore it. "Anypony who follows that command is going to be a war criminal!"

"Captain, I suggest you quietly return to quarters and stay there. If you continue, I'll add a charge of attempted mutiny to your records."

Captain Tiller threw his hat down at her hooves and left, shoving through her security detail.

"Commander... Ascent, I believe it was?" Celestia asked, turning to the First Officer. "Please relay my orders to the troops."

He saluted. "Yes, Ma'am."

"You've been helping the war effort?" Cadance asked, confused. "But I thought the changelings were..."

"Enemies of Equestria?" Chrysalis guessed. "We're certainly not friends. This wasn't because I particularly care. I'd be happy for Celestia's head on a platter. This is about survival."

Cadance followed her up the gangplank to the waiting airship.

"If Sombra took over, we'd be unable to feed," Chrysalis explained. "We need love. That means you Equestrians have to be fat and happy and safe or else we starve to death. This war has already pushed us to the edge and it was only a few years. I've been trying to end it early."

"And Twilight?"

Chrysalis shrugged. "She's useful and smart. She doesn't mind working with me and getting her hooves dirty. I suppose of all you ponies, she's the one I dislike the least."

Ponies saluted as they made their way to the bridge.

"Why are we on the Shining Armor?" Cadance asked.

"I made sure it was kept in dry dock and marked as not ready for combat," Chrysalis said. She dropped her disguise, and the ponies at the stations around the bridge didn't react.

Cadance looked at Chrysalis in surprise.

"I had the crew replaced over time. The benefit of doing all of General Nickel Plated's paperwork was that I could slip a few of my own orders in. Reassigning crew, for example. Aside from you, everyone on board is a changeling."

"And what are we going to do with this ship?"

"One little ship can make a big difference when it's in the right place."

Sclera stood at something like attention. The back door of the lab was sealed and barred, so it wasn't like he was really protecting much. Mostly he was just there to yell and raise an alarm if somepony breached it.

Back in the hive he'd just mixed the slime pools. He really wished he was still doing that. He was learning to really hate guard duty. Hours of boredom with an undercurrent of bitter fear did not make for a tasty meal. Having to mantain a disguise was proving difficult too.

He heard a noise, and after looking around for a moment, Sclera moved to take a look. A bolt was rolling on the ground in the corner. If the lab hadn't been falling apart from disrepair, it would have been more notable.

A hoof covered his mouth, and he was pulled back, a knife blade sliding into his side. He tried to struggle free, and the knife stabbed again and again until it hit something vital.

Rainbow Dash dropped the dead changeling and pulled the bar down from the door, popping it open. Maud and Private Rickety rushed in, closing it behind themselves.

"Okay, remember the orders," Dash said. "They're not ponies, so take no prisoners. We're gonna get some payback for Pinkie."

Twilight's ear twitched as she listened to the radio.

"What's wrong?" High Altitude asked.

Twilight stood. "Celestia has just ordered the lab purged, along with everypony inside. I see this negotiation was just one of her games to waste my time while she got her pawns in place."

"That's not true! I was sent here in good faith!" High Altitude raised his hooves defensively. "Maybe she thinks something happened to me? I can go out there and explain that everything is okay!"

"Oh yes, I'd love to see you try," Sparkle said. "Be my guest. I won't stop you from leaving. Moondancer, get Marble to the Periapsis. We have to keep ponies from getting down there."

"Marble hasn't been responding to radio calls," Moondancer said. "I've been trying to raise her for a while now."

"Sunburst!" Doctor Sparkle snapped. "Go and get her! If she can't fight..." Sparkle's expression fell. "If she can't fight get her out of here and take care of her. Is that understood?"

Sunburst nodded.

"What about me?" Sunset asked. "I'm not going to stick around and play bodyguard."

"I'd appreciate it if you would escort Mister High Altitude outside," Sparkle said.

"They're going to attack the second they see me."

"I'm counting on that."

"Marble?" Sunburst wedged the door open, having to force it. Something in the repeated damage and abuse to the lab buildings had ended up warping the doorframe. Even something as simple as a door couldn't be counted on anymore.

Marble was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. She'd barely moved or spoken since the whole debacle with Sombra.

"We need to go," Sunburst said. He helped her sit up. "There are ponies coming here, and they're going to try and hurt you."

"Mm..." She just sat limply, not even looking up.

"Doctor Sparkle wanted you to protect the lab," he said. "But you don't have to. You don't have to fight anymore. We can just leave!"

Marble shrugged.

Sunburst picked up part of Marble's armor, the suit lying spread out on the floor, sticky notes still attached from when Doctor Sparkle had been making repairs.

"There are a couple of tunnels the changelings built that go right into the forest around the lab. We can take one of those and be far away from here before anypony even knows we're gone."

Marble looked at the pauldron Sunburst was holding.

He looked down at it.

"I guess you don't really need this if we're just leaving, huh?" He said, quietly. "It would keep you safe but... I don't think you've ever wanted to fight. You just got caught up in all this."

Marble rubbed at her eyes.

"I keep hurting ponies. I just want it to stop," she whispered.

"Come on, we'll get out of here. No fighting, no hurting ponies. We'll go somewhere safe and quiet." Sunburst took her hoof and led her out of the room. Or at least he tried. The moment he stepped out, steel bolts clattered against the wall next to him.

Sunburst ducked back, his mane on end.

"This could be a problem."

"Ma'am, we have word from the ground observers," Commander Ascent said. "They've got eyes on one of the secondary targets."

"A secondary target?" Celestia turned away from staring at the clouds as if she could see through them. "Which one?"

"It sounds like Sunset Shimmer. She's exiting the facility with Lieutenant High Altitude, the one the Council demanded we send in to negotiate."

Celestia's expression hardened. "Of course they'd send her out."

"He's got the white flag with him and he's waving it. The ground elements are holding fire and asking for orders. Should I have a chariot sent down to bring them up to us?"

"Focus fire on her," Celestia said. "I want every weapon we have ready."

"Ma'am, we're still configured for conducting large-scale attacks, and from this altitude with the cloud cover--"

"Lay down suppressing fire and bring the fleet down below the clouds to give the gunners visual contact," Celestia said, with a tone like she was explaining things to a particularly slow foal.

"But Ma'am, Lieutenant High Altitude is with her!"

"He's almost certainly already been replaced. Follow your orders."

Sunset felt the change in the air.

"So that's the game," she said, looking up. Behind her eyepatch, something was glowing faintly.

High Altitude was about to ask her what she was talking about when the clouds overhead lit up, bursting into nothing in the wake of a screaming torrent of energy. A terrible force threw him back, and his life flashed before his eyes. He landed, rolling in the dirt, and it was like throwing open the door of an oven, a wave of scorching heat washing over his body.

A breath. Two. Death didn't claim him.

He opened his eyes against the glare.

Sunset Shimmer had stepped in front of him. A shimmering energy barrier held back enough spellfire to level a fortress. She stood tall on her hind legs, her forelegs folded while she balanced in the air with wings spread and her mane whipping around her head like living flame.

"You never wanted me to be an alicorn," Sunset called out, even as more spells hit her barrier and stuck like flies in amber, frozen at the moment before detonation. "You were afraid of what change would mean to your perfect little world! You were even afraid of Cadance!"

The shimmering constellation of spells shifted and spun, circling around Sunset before surging in, shrinking into twinkling motes of light.

Sunset reached into the center of that tiny galaxy and grabbed onto something, drawing it out and revealing a sword of pure magical energy, crimson red and burning like a nova. The pressure and heat in the air vanished, and High Altitude was able to look up to see the airships hovering above.

"True power comes to those who reach out and take it," Sunset declared, pointing the star sabre at the flagship. "Now come down here and face me yourself!"

Author's Note

It has become fashionable, among those in the know - and despite what some have claimed, there are many who know - to analyze Nightmare Moon and myself as if our disagreement was a political one, with values that can be weighed and opined. Some ponies even go to little secret societies and cults to flirt with the transgression of siding with my sister.

I despise this flirtation.

I cannot speak against it, though. To speak of something is to give it power. Those ponies already think I stomp down on the truth with an iron hoof. They don't understand that sometimes one has to be ready for the truth, and that a foal's life is happiest before they learn about death.

I've asked the great philosophers of the last thousand years about the decisions I've made. One, whose works are almost impenetrable to modern ponies but who was kind and understanding in life, told me that ponies were made in conflict. My sister and I were born in the wake of Discord.

He never knew a world that wasn't full of harmony and, yes, ambition and dreams and nightmares. The kind of philosophy he did hadn't existed before my sister's rebellion. He looked over Canterlot, which was still new and growing at the time, and reminded me that I even made my own home in a city that represented growth and novelty. He said we needed balance like trees need the seasons to grow.

He told me that we all needed a little chaos. A little unpredictability. A little change from one day to the next. Alcohol is a poison, but in moderation one has wine. Cheese is spoiled milk. Medicine and toxin are the same except for dosage.

I think a world in balance would fight chaos, because chaos unchecked disrupts that harmony of everything. I think that ponies truly seeking truth would never mistake the excitement of transgression or the grim necessity of trespass for a genuinely good act.

We once lived in a world where ponies knew every day would be the same and that was a source of joy to them. They didn't need anything to be different because every day was as perfect as they could imagine it. I raise the sun every day because I made a promise to do it. I've never broken it, and as long as I live I never will.

• Princess Celestia, Private Journals