She was restrained. Not just a pair of cuffs, but basically being bolted to the ground. When she tried to shapeshift out of it, the humans threw the element they had claimed mastery of at her. Electricity would jolt her painfully until she stopped trying, leaving her just as caught as she started. She couldn't get bigger. She couldn't get smaller.

She was also alone, isolated, and angry. "Release me at once! This is not how you treat a queen. They came to me. They asked for it!" She would have clopped a hoof, but with her legs basically held in place, that wasn't happening. "Release me!"

Footsteps, she could hear them approaching. "You, whoever you are, let me go and you will be richly rewarded." A sly smile spread on her face, imagining how she would behave should someone be so foolish.

The door opened calmly. There were three men. One remained outside, one entered and went towards a corner. The third approached her directly. "Queen Chrysalis is your name." It wasn't a question.

"Maybe." She shrugged lightly. "What do you want? Release me this instant."

He grabbed a chair and pulled it around, the back of it facing her as he plopped down onto it. "I'm afraid I can't do that. We have questions for you. You will answer them. Answer them well, and we may be able to do something about all this."

"I have rights," she hissed. "Where's my lawyer?"

"You are a terrorist that attempted to seize control of America. Your rights have long since evaporated." He crossed his arms over the top of the back of the chair, watching her. "Tell us about that."

Chrysalis huffed softly, rolling her eyes. "What is there to say? That went up in smoke. Good help is impossible to find these days it would seem."

"Sounds like that wasn't your first time," spoke the agent with false sympathy. "They sure can mess up a good plan."

"You don't know the half of it." A low growl issued from deep inside her. "That fool had half the world in his pocket and he couldn't even pull it off!"

Half the world? "Sounds stupid on their part, what did they do?"

"They lost, of course." Her eyes half-closed, watching the human. "They lost and you won and now here you are. Are you trying to reform me? No thanks."

"Perish the thought." It wasn't his job to rehabilitate a soul. "You worked with Commander Force? That must have been exciting."

"An exciting bore, literally. He blew up his own capital, took over, and for what? To lose? What a waste of resources." She rattled her chains, trying to emote just how annoyed she was.

He tilted the chair back, towards her. "How did you get involved with that loser?"

"Ugh. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Chrysalis loved talking about herself. She would not be a tough nut to crack ultimately. They learned much from their time with her, dutifully recorded and ready to share with other interested parties.

John looked up as the door opened. He knew that agent and perked up. "Did you get them all? It looked like it."

"I'm not at liberty to answer that question." He knelt down in front of John and reached, pulling free some of the tracking equipment that was still wedged into place. John let out a relieved noise as it came loose, liberating him from the irritation of it. "We have something else to discuss."

John tensed. Had his usefulness reached an end? He had done well, at least, as well as a lawless imposter could do... "Yeah?"

The agent set the various trackers and recorders aside. "You have to learn a new identity. I assume you can do this." He drew out a folder and set it in front of John before reaching to continue undoing the bindings that kept John from moving, his identity apparently confirmed. "Take your time."

"My... time?" He reached a hoof for the folder as his horn lit up, floating it up into view. He flipped it open and saw identification and paperwork, so much paperwork. There was a full history there. "Who does this belong to? Why am I imitating them?"

"This is you." He stepped back, John completely liberated. "You are now under the Witness Protection Program. This is, of course, voluntary. Should you accept, this identity is yours. You will become this man, legally. You will be a citizen."

John ran his tongue over his lips, unsure what to say at first, a soft tremble running through him. "You don't need me for calibrations anymore?"

"We have other test subjects." He raised a brow. "We only have one turncoat turned hero. You have demonstrated a true love for this country, it's our turn to show such loyalty is rewarded. The scientists may miss you, they reported enjoying you around."

John smiled faintly, looking through things. He was to become a self-made entrepreneur, already retired. His stock earning were... $207,800 per year, exactly. The rate at which a president could expect for being a president. The meaning was not lost on him. A lone tear fell on the paper and he wiped it away, reigning himself in. "This is a great honor that you did not have to extend to me."

"It is, in fact... too much." He folded it closed. "Witsec should provide basic living accomodations and job-placement assistance, not... this." He waved a hand at the concealed paper that promised him a comfortable life. "I would be living another lie."

"I thought you might say that." The agent took the first folder from John's unresisting hands and produced a second. "Here."

The second identity, as John reviewed it quickly, was far more modest. He had a college degree, recently moved, looking for a job. Nobody special. "Yes... Thank you, again. Look, I'm not trying to be ingrateful. That offer... It was good."

"Too good." He tucked the folded folder under his arm, reaching a hand towards John, open for a shake. "A pleasure to meet you, Paul Goldstein."

Paul, who had once been John, who was still a changeling, but then an American citizen, accepted the hand, shaking it firmly. "It's good to be here, but I should get home."

"Oh, of course." The agent turned for the door, guiding Paul along. "We have a flight ready for you."

"He was kidnapped," explained a Secret Serviceman. "He suffered some trauma during it and is experiencing memory loss."

John's wife had tears in her eyes and was holding her sunken husband. "Will he recover? John, poor John... Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah... Of course I can." He squeezed her hand. "It felt like forever... I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?! You have nothing to be sorry about." She kissed his forehead gently. "What happened to whoever did this?"

"They are in custody but I am not at liberty to say more than that. For now, he is relying on you to get back up to speed on his life." He was moving for the exit. "We'll be close, you can call us."

How her strong husband had been reduced to a wreck she didn't know. She would just have to pick up the pieces.

"Terrorists captured." The newscaster was looking at a screen with intensity. "In a sudden daytime raid, over a dozen suspected terrorists were captured." A window popped up, showing the abandoned building that Chrysalis had inhabited, its door left open. "With only a handful of injuries, the FBI says it was a resounding success."

"The exact nature of what these terrorists had planned or already done is still a mystery and they've been tight-lipped on the matter."

Smith drummed his fingers on the table, looking across at the other EFC members. "I have news."

Ruddertail crossed her arms. "Date set for trials?"

"That too, but more than that." He pulled up his suitcase and set it on the table. Unfolding it, he pulled a folder free of it. "We know how Commander Force came to power. We know who helped him, and encouraged him. We know how the war began and who is to blame."

Astonished gasps rippled around the table. Celestia's ears perked up, directed at Smith. "It was not Commander Force then?"

"He was far from an angel." He set the folder down on the table. "His country had been preparing for war for some time. This was no miraculously rapid deployment. Before I start, do any of you know 'Queen Chrysalis?'"

Celestia tensed. "We've... met..."

Cadance put a hoof to her face. "What did she do?!"

Smith cocked a brow at the response of the two pony rulers. "That sounds like a yes... She is the reason this war happened."

Both princesses groaned, their heads flopping to the table. Luna frowned softly. "Really, her?! This will not stand. No more running. We capture her and lock her away, forever."

"We have her in custody," calmly reported Smith. "If she is a known threat, why were we never informed?"

Novo inclined her head towards the fallen form of Celestia. "This is an excellent question. If you would?"

Celestia gathered herself back together. "We did not think she was a threat. Her people have been reformed, and are good neighbors now. She was sent fleeing, alone and powerless. I only hope this will not sour your view on the rest of them. Most are harmless and kind."

"Powerless is not the term I would have used..." He pressed his fingertips together, drumming them instead. "We're still putting the pieces together, but she provided the bomb he used. She fed false intelligence suggesting we were preparing to attack them. She orchestrated this entire war." He brought down a fist with a thump. "The bulls were foolish to go along with it, but she was the one dancing in front of them, leading them along this bloody path."

Ruddertail suddenly climbed the table, scurrying towards Smith. "And you have her! You have her!" She was rubbing her hands together with a big grin. "Time for revenge. Never hurt anyone ever again. Never never. Serious serious. Give chance punch face in. Record, good for morale."

Celestia raised a hoof. "Before we discuss how to inflict further harm... Was it she that set off the bomb then?"

"Commander Force knew what it was, and made sure to not be there when it was brought. The final decision was on the council. If they went along with the idea of it, it would be set off. In her words, he said that any council that agreed with using one of those was beyond redemption anyway, and that would absolve him of all guilt." He spread his hands. "I don't think I need to emphasize how insane that line of thought is."

Luna nodded lightly. "Yes, but if he was not there, how did he succumb to the disease the bomb spreads? Is it infectious, jumping from one creature to the next?" She suddenly looked to Celestia. "Did you catch it?!"

John held up a placating hand. "It is not infectious. It was only dangerous for a few weeks, long enough to get him when he hurried in to gloat about it in front of the cameras. The area is, relatively, safe now. People are already living there, and likely will continue to do so."

Ruddertail suddenly poked him, delivering a sharp little jab to the president's face. "Punch now? Revenge."

"She will be brought with the others," he firmly stated.

"What?!" She threw up her hands. "Ponies, I understand. Ponies soft, weak, nothing but hugs. Nice neighbors, terrible battle partners. They want trial. Why you want trial? You have her. Now revenge!"

"We want to capture her testimony on film. People, our people, your people, all people... They need to know what happened. They need to hear it from her lips, and they need to hear us proclaim her sentence."

Author's Note

Ruddertail wants her pound of flesh with interest, but President Smith advises waiting just a little longer. Who has the right of it?

John Rason, now Paul Goldstein, is a proper American citizen!

And now I run off to Everfree NW.

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