The Golden Age of Apocalypse, Book II: Synchronicity

by Shinzakura

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Equestria Girls, Main 7 (EqG), Slice of Life, Human, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: The Movie, Drama, Alternate Universe
Length: 216599

Book II of The Golden Age of Apocalypse. Humanity and ponydom have finally encountered one another, and in the days leading up to Sunset's coronation as a princess of Equestria and the Alicorn of Earth...how will either species fare?

Humanity and ponydom have finally encountered one another, and two delegations are headed to Ponyville and the Crystal Empire, while a third remains in Canterlot. It will be the chance of a life time for hooves and hands to reach out towards another in understanding and to banish the stories and myths of the past.

But in the days leading up to Sunset's coronation as a princess of Equestria and the Alicorn of Earth...how will either species fare?

TVTropes page here.

Published 2019-04-08 22:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-10-23 22:27:32 UTC

Day One, Morning: With One Breath, With One Flow...

Normally, Grand Royal Station, nestled in the southern neighborhoods of Canterlot, was a busy location, bustling with its duties as the central hub for all trains in Equestria – only Manehattan’s Royal Central Station rivalled it in terms of sheer size. Thousands of ponies, griffins and other beings bustled in and out of the nexus daily, headed to and from various destinations, metaphorical ships passing on a sea of rails. Many more used the shops, restaurants and other facilities that ringed the exterior of the station, adding to the throngs of those present. To say that a typical day here teemed with life and was a hive of grand action would be an understatement.

Today, however, the station was, surprisingly, even busier than normal, as the location had been declared a National Security Event. Guards from various divisions of the EUP were as far as the eye could see, and nearby, on surrounding buildings, Royal Army forces assisted their Guard sistren, standing by with a variety of weapons in case action was called for. And above it all, a Royal Navy airship floated above the station, the air monitor’s hull bristling with cannons, and with ponies armed with crossbows at the gunwales. Still, despite the sheer display of armed personnel, business continued as usual…or as usual could be with concerned ponies trying to ignore the military’s presence.

However, for anypony that made it into the station itself and saw who was present at Platform C, the reason for the grand security theater became all too obvious. After all, it was truly a rare event when five of the six known alicorns in history were gathered there. With them were the legendary Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, heroines who wielded the incredible artifacts and had saved the realm countless times. Other ponies of import were present as well, and under different circumstances, they would have captured the imagination as much as the aforementioned. However, that wasn’t what caught the eye of the various travelers present at the Grand Royal Station.

No, that attention had been unilaterally captured by the strange minotaur-like beings that were present with the VIPs. Were they a new species from a previously undiscovered nation, come to parley with ponykind? Or were they beings of a higher order, towering above all but the alicorns themselves? Strangely, the only thing that seemed to be approachable was that several of them had similar mane colors and styles as many of the ponies present.

No matter what was going on, one thing was for certain: once again, the world of ponies would likely never be the same again.

As she watched the two groups interact, Sunset Shimmer would have found the situation fascinating under different circumstances, as seeing the comparison and contrast of each living mirror fit no other description other than that word. A good example of this was her friend, Fluttershy, who had long overcome her shyness as well as the now-public revelation of who her father was. On the other hand, the pegasus that shared that name, despite being a world-renowned heroine and part-time model, still struggled to overcome her fear of, well, everything. Likewise, the initial reactions of the two Applejacks – the well-grounded farmer earth mare and the teenaged martial-artist and shopkeeper could prove to be very jarring due to the vastly different lives they lived, not the least of which was that the human girl’s parents still lived. That would be a sore spot for the mare, Sunset knew, and she hoped it wouldn’t drive a wedge between the two. The same, of course, went for the others and their counterparts as well, whether kith or kin.

At least they would have fun; Sunset, however, had more than a full plate this week. For one, she had to take care of Octavia’s mental health needs, and unfortunately that meant that her cousin and sister figure wouldn’t be able to spend much time in Ponyville with the others. Additionally, the SIRENs had to be fully acclimated and structured into the Royal Navy’s chain of command, something that was going to present unique challenges of its own. Finally, there were her own various responsibilities around the palace, and she would have very little time to herself. It made her wish even more that her “twin sister”, the Sunset Shimmer native to Earth, had come along for the trip as well.

“Sunny, you okay?” Sunset turned to see Raspberry looking at her, concern etched in her features.

“Yeah. The speech I gave an hour ago hopefully changed some minds,” she said, unconvinced. “It was briefer than I’d have preferred, but I had years to acclimate to humanity. The ponies here had only minutes and even then, only in a very controlled setting.”

“You didn’t do half bad, if you ask me,” the mulberry-coated unicorn confided.

“Thanks. I owe my sister for that one.”

“Twily?”

“No, Shimmy, actually; she does a lot of public speaking and so she gave me some tips,” Sunset admitted. “I think she would’ve been mindblown to see all this, even with the life she’s led. I guess pictures aren’t really going to do it justice, especially since it’ll end up looking like Union Station got invaded by pony-shaped plushies or something. It’s just too bad she couldn’t come.”

Raspberry laughed. “I think we’re better off: We already have enough counterparts here as it is. Having two Princess Sunset Shimmers is going to be real confusing real fast, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Sunset replied absently.

Seeing her conversation did nothing to relax her friend, Raspberry then continued down a similar line of thought. “So you guys never told me much about my counterpart. You said Twily and your cousins go to school with her?”

“Ribby? Yeah, I met her once. She’s a sweet girl, a couple of years younger than us, but she’s got a personality like Shy’s. She did, however, make friends with the CMC, and I think she’s got a crush on Flutters, from what I can tell, but given my own personal life I don’t want to make wrong judgements there. Really, if you want to know more, talk to Twily. My sister should give you more info.”

“Sounds like a plan, then.” Raspberry agreed.

Meanwhile, standing a bit away from them were the two Twilights, as well as Octavia. The plum-haired girl looked at her cousin. “It’s a shame you can’t come with us,” she said, hugging her cousin.

“I wish I could, but if there’s a chance that one of the doctors here can heal me, then it’s worth it,” Octavia replied. “Besides, with the plan for me and Flutters to play a concert in Ponyville later in the week, you can bet that I’ll be there.”

Princess Twilight, who had been privately informed about the teen’s illness, agreed with her logic. “Well, it will be a shame not to have you join us, but hopefully, you’ll have a chance to meet your counterpart,” the alicorn replied. “She lives in town and will be working on the music for the ceremonies, so this may be an opportunity.”

“That sounds interesting,” Octavia replied. “I hope I can.”

“ALL ABOARD!” boomed the vociferous tones of the train conductor. “FRIENDSHIP EXPRESS CHARTER LEAVES IN FIVE MINUTES!” He then turned to Princess Celestia and in softer tones, added, “My apologies, Your Majesty, but we received word that the Empire Express is running early, so we need to clear the platform for it.”

“Quite understandable,” the solar alicorn told him, then looked at the others, human, pony and dragon alike. “It’s time for those going to Ponyville to head out, so you may wish to say your farewells for the moment,” she advised.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Velvet; we’ll take good care of them,” Princess Twilight said to her mother’s counterpart. A second later, she blinked and added, “It still sounds so weird saying that.”

“I can imagine,” Velvet replied before turning to the human Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, as the oldest, I expect you to be responsible for everyone as well. While you’re all old enough to understand the stakes, you’re the one closest to a legal adult in age.”

The chiffon-haired teen nodded. “I’ll do my best, Mrs. V.,” she promised.

“Cool! I say we hit the bars once we get there!” the human Rainbow Dash suggested, prompting disapproving glances from several of the other humans present. “Um…of course I’m joking,” she retracted, trying to play off her embarrassment as just another thing.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Applejack told her, folding her arms to scowl at her fellow teen.

“Hey, I was just joking, okay? No need to crawl up my backside or anything,” the rainbow-haired athlete told her friend.

“Raini, you don’t make jokes like that,” the blonde replied. “This is important an’ we don’t need you to act the fool right now.”

Rainbow bristled at the mention of her childhood nickname, something that always set her off. On automatic, she stomped over to her friend. “You going to make me?”

“You won’t live long enough if Ah have to,” came the response, as the two teens glared at one another.

Standing a distance away, the two ponies that shared the girls’ names looked at their human counterparts, then recoiled and turned to one another. “Uh, if I’ve ever been that stubborn, AJ, I am so sorry,” the rainbow-maned pegasus told her farmpony friend.

“Yeah, given their attitudes, Ah have t’ wonder just how – or if – they’re friends at all,” Applejack agreed as she tugged on her hat. She didn’t like to admit it, but there was something about her counterpart that bothered her, like looking at a broken mirror. She didn’t care for how the abyss stared back at her without doing so, and as human Applejack glanced her way, the pony turned her head in disquiet.

Apart from those four, the human Pinkie was looking through her bag for something when she felt a tap on her leg. She turned to see her pink-furred counterpart there. The two were so far getting along, though privately Pinkie had to wonder how she was going to keep up with her pony doppelganger – while she was often considered the most hyper of her friends, the pony was on another level entirely.

Pony Pinkie, on the other hand, noted the human going through her bags. “Whatcha doing?” she asked.

“Looking for my pills,” Pinkie replied to Pinkie. “I have a medical condition and so I have to take pills on occasion.” Pinkie debated asking Sunset if she could gen up copies, but then recalled that might not be possible. Her intended was a lot of things, but a doctor wasn’t one of them.

“Like when you have a tummy ache?” Pinkie asked. “I know that because I had one last night after all the good food! Especially the upside down cake they made for us!” As if to underscore the point, the earth mare chose that moment to do an impromptu headstand.

The cheerleader glanced briefly and nodded. “It was good,” she admitted, before turning back to her task and unearthing a small brown plastic bottle. “Ah, here we are.”

“Can I see that?” the pony asked, and when the human complied, the party planner looked at the strangely-made bottle…before pausing at the script on it. “Hey, does this say lithium?”

“Yeah. They’re lithium salts.”

“But isn’t that dangerous? I mean, Twi has it in her alchemy and chemistry lab, and stuff!”

“I don’t think it is,” the teen replied as she opened the bottle and took one of the pills. “Auntie Cup or Uncle Carrot wouldn’t let me take these if they were dangerous, after all.” She then started to look for something else.

Instinctively, the pony pulled a canteen of water from her mane. “Will this help?” she asked.

The teen took it gratefully. “Thanks. I hadn’t thought to bring a water bottle.”

“So they really are your family? Mr. and Mrs. Cake, that is?” Pinkie asked Pinkie. “I mean, they’re like a family to me, but at the end of the day, I’m just an employee and tenant.”

The human finished the canteen. “Yeah. Auntie Cup is my mother’s kid sister; she met Uncle Carrot while they were in college. They have two kids of their own – Pound and Pumpkin – but they’ve raised me since I was a baby. In many ways, they’re more my parents than my Mom and Dad are.”

“Wow, that’s freaky!” the pony told her.

“It is what it is,” the human replied, returning the canteen to her counterpart.

Meanwhile, Twilight went over and hugged her sister. “I’m going to miss you. Both you and Tavi.”

Sunset smiled. “We’ll be there later this week,” the alicorn assured her. “Until then, just enjoy spending time with Twi. You’ll like her, I’m sure of it.”

“Take care of the others, okay?”

“You know I will, sis.”

At that, everyone and everypony else bid their farewells, just before the travelers boarded their train to head out on their new journey. A few minutes later, the whistle of the Friendship Express sounded and the toylike train rumbled off, bound for its destination of Ponyville.

“I hope they’ll have fun,” Night said, slipping an arm around his wife.

“They’re young and carefree and in a unique situation,” she told him. “I’m sure they’ll have the time of their lives.”

“I just hope the world will survive them all being in one place,” Prince Shining Armor said with a wry smile. “Ponyville can be unusual at the best of times, and now it’s going to be ready for probably one of the most unique things it’s ever been through.”

“Shining, I’m sure the good folk of Ponyville have been through worse, surely,” Princess Luna told them. “They’ve survived parasprite infestations and Tirek. I’m absolutely confident they’ll make it through this with flying colors.”

“I think Shiny means two Pinkie Pies being in the same place at the same time,” Princess Cadance told her aunt. “And by that I mean two actual Pinkies, not the magical clone issue from the mirror pool that Twi told us about last year.”

The lunar alicorn thought about that for a moment. She then turned to the nearest guard. “Have a message sent to Capt. Right that we will ensure that Fort Berryville and its local garrison will be on-call should a situation arise that he needs backup.”

“Luna, you can’t be serious,” Princess Celestia said, trying – and failing – to remove the smirk from her face.

“Ponyville has suffered many arrows and slings,” Luna with a mock-sober face. “I’m not sure it was meant to survive two Pinkies.”

“Well, there’s our ride,” Princess Cadance said as the Empire Express pulled up upon Platform C. Turning to their counterparts, she asked, “Are you sure you two are ready to be treated as royal guests of the Crystal Empire?”

Celestia laughed. “I swear, after what Sombra once told me, I can probably never take that name seriously again.”

Princess Celestia looked at her counterpart with shock. “King Sombra?” she gasped.

“Um…no. Principal Sombra, actually. He runs the special disciplinary high school for delinquents,” Celestia explained. “He’s a good man, one of the best I know. I take it this is another, um, ‘Sable’ situation?”

The sun alicorn then looked to Raspberry. “How ever did you manage to survive in that confusing world, Razz?”

Razz gave her liegelady a resigned look. “I still ask myself that same question from time to time, Princess.”

Cadance looked at her alicorn counterpart. “I take it it’s always like this with your aunt?”

The princess of love grinned. “Sometimes she even manages a full day without things going weird on her. Can you imagine that?”

Headed towards its destination, the train rattled down the tracks as it descended Mt. Canterhorn. As they were the only ones on the train, the large group spread out in the luxury car, settling into quiet routines for the trip. The teens broke out various cellphones, laptops and other items, while most of the ponies had books or did something else. This, however changed as the ponies then took note of the amazing technology their counterparts had on them.

There was, of course, one exception: the pegasus Rainbow Dash chose to nap, briefly rushing out of a nearby window just to bring back a cloud for her to nap on, a form of showing off.

Twilight Sparkle looked at the pegasus lying on the impermeable cushion of floating water droplets and was still as confused as the last time she saw it. “To this day, I am never going to understand how that works,” she said to no one in particular.

Princess Twilight looked at her younger counterpart. “You’re familiar with that, Twilight?”

The scholar nodded. “Sunny took me up for a trip one night when she was feeling down; it freaked me out at first, but eventually I knew I was safe with my sister. And please, just call me Twily, Your Highness.”

“Only if you’ll call me Twi,” the alicorn told her. “You’re the sister of one of my dearest friends, and I’m not really one for formality. Besides, we’ll get to know each other over the week, so it’s only natural. But to answer your question as to how it works, pegasi, griffins, batponies and several other winged species or tribes have magic that allow them to manipulate clouds.”

“But how?” Twilight asked. “Quantum manipulation or maybe molecular grasping? I know some of those concepts are theoretical, but NASA recently published a monograph that states that it’s potentially feasible.”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t give you an answer that will satisfy the physics of your world other than ‘magic’. I’m not completely familiar with the science in your reality, and the physics here may not translate exactly the same,” the alicorn told her.

“Well, I’d like to see some sort of documentation on it, if that’s okay with you,” Twilight asked. “I think it would be fascin—”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Twily, shut up, will you?” the human Rainbow grunted, pulling her earbuds out. “Trying to watch the second season of Aldanoah Zero over here and I can’t hear a damn thing over all the brainiacing you’re doing!”

“Rainbow, go back to whatever IQ-draining thing you were doing, okay?” Twilight snapped back.

“I was, but you decided you wanted to masturbate all over whatever Science Guy shit you and the princess are talking about.”

“Rainbow, you’re an idiot, you know that?”

“Yeah, heard worse from better,” Rainbow grunted and slipped her headphones back in.

“Sorry about that,” Twilight explained to her mollified counterpart. “She’s joking, of course. At least I hope so.”

However, Princess Twilight, who had fortunately spent some time on Earth, took it in stride. “I…yeah, I guess,” she said awkwardly, trying to laugh it off. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

Meanwhile, the human Pinkie, looking out the window, sighed.

“Is everything okay?” her counterpart asked her.

“A week in paradise and I don’t have any time to spend it with my sweetie,” the teen mourned.

“Oh, don’t worry,” the pony said, breaking out a box of cupcakes. “I’m always prepared for the need for sweets! Don’t worry, I stuck to what recipes Sunny said was safe for humans! Here! You can have the first one!”

A second later, Pinkie found an oversized cupcake in her hand. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

“Of course I do! Sugary goodness is always a priority for Pinkies!”

The teen, not wanting to argue, took a bite and swallowed, enjoying the cloying levels of sugar that even she thought was a bit towards overkill. A soft smile came onto her face. “Glad to know there’s somewhere where I’m not a complete fuckup,” she said in a soft voice. “How long is the trip?”

“It’s a couple of hours from Canterlot to Ponyville,” the pony explained. “Of course, we might be going a little faster, since we’ll be skipping the stops at Greenvale, Sunhillow and Berryville.”

“Well, better keep ourselves busy, then.” The human got up and stretched briefly before calling out, “Hey, anyone want to play Uno? I’ve got some cards!” She reached over for her backpack to dig out her cards.

A butter-yellow pegasus looked up from her seat next to her counterpart, who was watching something on her cellphone; though the pony didn’t know Inariese, there were words in Equish (or whatever the human equivalent was called) on the screen. “A card game?” she asked.

The human Fluttershy looked to her friend. “Sure, deal me in. It’s been a while.” She then looked to her pegasus equivalent. “I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s an easy game to learn.”

“Okay, that’s four, counting myself, Pinkie and the Fluttershys,” Pinkie said. “Razz, you in?”

Raspberry Beryl looked up from her own tablet, which had been a gift from Sunset. “Yeah, sure, I’ll go for it.”

Pinkie looked at Rainbow, who was focused on her phone. “Rainbow?”

The rainbow-haired teen waved a dismissive hand without so much as looking up from her screen. “Sorry, too busy watching Martian mechs getting their asses handed to them. Maybe later.” The other Rainbow, still asleep, merely twitched a leg before rolling over and continuing her slumber.

“Rarity?”

The teen looked up from her tablet. “Working at the moment, dear, but thank you all the same,” she replied. Her counterpart said nothing and was likely in agreement.

“AJ?”

“Thanks, but naah,” Applejack replied. Likewise, the pony Applejack said nothing either.

“Twily?”

“Yeah, sure, I’m in.” Twilight then turned to Princess Twilight. “What about you?”

“Sounds interesting; sure, I’ll play.”

Reaching in her bag for a second pack since there were enough players, Pinkie then started shuffling the combined deck, flipping them in the air and instinctively passing them to her counterpart, who caught them in mid-flight and also shuffled before passing back. The two effortlessly slung the cards through the space between them, creating a four-color figure eight in the air before the human Pinkie caught them all and dealt them.

“How…?” Princess Twilight blurted, blinking in surprise. Even having been just a witness to the whole event, she still had no comprehension of what had just occurred.

“Look, I might not know magic, Twi,” the human Twilight said with a grin, “but even I know better than to try to figure out Pinkie.”

As the card game started, Rarity the unicorn looked over at her counterpart, who was engrossed in one of those “tablet” things that Raspberry and Twilight had been gifted from the human world. A strange sort of magic screen, she thought it was incredible at first, but now that she saw her own counterpart with one, she realized it was, even as amazing as it seemed, a very commonplace device in the human world. However, the device that the human Rarity had was far more complex than the ones several of her friends were using.

“What is that, darling?” the unicorn asked the human girl.

Not taking her eyes off the screen, Rarity answered. “It’s a laptop computer. I’m multitasking; doing both my homework at the moment as well as some preliminary sketches for the clothing I plan to make for the others this week. I suspect I’ll be quite busy over the next few days, so best to start now while I have a chance.” She turned and favored her counterpart with a dazzling smile. “I’m sure you know how that can be.”

“Oh, quite so, though if I may say, Rarity dear, with a little magic, anything can be done within a blink of an eye,” Rarity told Rarity.

“Unfortunately, I do not have those advantages available to me. As it is, I had to borrow Sunset’s hammerspace backpack so I could carry all the materials and equipment I needed in order to get my task done. It may be easier for you to rely on magic, but we humans are solely dependent on our technology. Fortunately for me, however, I’ve got expertise in CAD programs, and I brought enough hardware that will make it easier for me to deal with the issue.” She then flashed a dazzling smile as she added, “Of course, one should never forget the most important asset to have: a brilliant sense of the now!”

“And it’s all done with this…device?” To the unicorn it seemed terribly odd. “You do nothing but let the devices do the work? No personal interaction within your designs?”

The human laughed, though not cruelly. “That is as far from the truth as it comes, dear. In fact, right now I’m designing our dresses for the inevitable coronation balls that we may have to attend. This one is for Octavia.” To the surprise of the pony, she detached the screen from the keyboard, and then held it up for her counterpart to see clearer. “I’ve been working on this since we left.”

The unicorn suddenly found herself speechless; not only did the design look precisely like some of her own drawings, but the fact that it was done on one of the human devices – without paper – was a wonder to behold. Even more surprising was the fact that this other Rarity had accomplished the same thing in a fraction of the time it would normally take her to do so.

“But…what about the colors?” she asked. “What if I wanted to change the color of the fabric?”

Rarity smiled. “Ah, that’s as easy as a click of the touchpad.” To demonstrate, Rarity redocked the screen, moused over to the color palette, selected a dusk-blue hue, then went over and tapped the black fabric on the design. The change occurred instantly and what had been a sable tone was now replaced by a lighter shade of midnight-blue. “The little window here—” she said, pointing to a box on the screen, “—gives me the PANTONE color values, as well as the recommended fabrics that can carry that level of color density. If we were home and I were connected to the internet, it would also search nearby shops and online to see current pricing and any sales as well.”

“It shops for you as well?” The dressmaker was stunned and had to suddenly fight back a bout of intense envy. “And this is everyday for you?”

“No more than your magic is for you, Rarity, dear,” was the teen’s response. “I still have issues controlling what magic I’ve been given by Princess Twilight, so I daresay I am, somewhat…envious…of your effortless ability with it.”

“Then I suppose I must teach you my craft,” Rarity insisted. “It would not do for a Rarity to be anything less than chic and magnifique!”

Seated slightly away from them and just watching the scenery as the train rolled on, was Applejack. She’d always loved doing things like this when she was a child, watching as her parents whizzed down the freeway. And even though the current view was unfamiliar to her, the principle was the same; in fact, given the uniqueness of it all, it made it a sight to behold that only those onboard the train would ever be witness to.

“Enjoyin’ th’ view, sugarcube?” Applejack looked to her left and saw herself, except as an earth mare wearing a Stetson. She’d been relatively silent all this time, enjoying the same view.

“Yeah. It’s very different from what Ah usually see,” the teen admitted. “Granted, we have some views like this south of Canterlot on the 5, but nothing like the pony villages out there.”

Her words made the pony do a doubletake. “Ya don’ have th’ Apple family accent,” Applejack said, surprised.

“The Ozarks twang?” Applejack supplied. “Nope. Only reason Ah have any kind of twang in mah voice is because of exposure to mah family. Ah grew up in Canterlot, and California’s much different than Oklahoma.”

“Y’ grew up in Canterlot?” the pony asked, confused.

“Yeah,” the human replied. “We used to have a farm in Oklahoma – little town called Heavener, by the way – but when Ah was just a kid, we had to move to Canterlot to help my grandpa – Ma’s old man, so Pa had to sell our farm. At least we kept it in the family, since Uncle Stayman bought it from Pa. Good thing, too: Pa told us that while he got a better offer from some Australian agro firm, he promised Granny that Heavener Apple Orchards would stay in family hands.”

“Heavener Apple Orchards? What kinda name is that fer an apple farm?”

The teen shrugged. “Dunno; an ancestor named it. As it is, though, Pa called our store the Sweet Apple Supply Stop, so Ah guess silly names run in the family.”

The farmmare’s jaw was just about to drop, had she not forced it to stay shut. A store? Didn’t care about the farm? What madness was this?

But before she could ask anything further, her strange human counterpart said something even weirder: “Wish Ah could take pictures, but Sunny said we couldn’t, at least not on this trip.”

Applejack was at least familiar with cameras, if nothing else that the humans had. “Why not?”

“Security reasons, Ah guess. Personally, Ah wish we could – Mac would just love this,” the human stated. “Might help him come up with new ideas.”

“New ideas?”

Human Applejack nodded. “Yeah. He’s an artist, studying fine arts at Shasta U; he wants to be a professional comic book artist or illustrator – he’s certainly got the talent for it. He wanted to go down south to CalArts, but Ah think he just wants to go where he can be with Scoops all the time.”

“Scoops?”

“Yeah. Sweetcream Scoops, his girlfriend.”

Pony Applejack blinked at that in surprise. “Wait – Mac’s not datin’ Cheerilee?”

Applejack blinked. “No idea why he would chase after the school librarian and English teacher. Plus, she’s in her thirties – she’d be robbin’ the cradle and looking to get fired if she even tried to put the moves on Mac while he was attending CHS. Ah suppose it’d be kosher now in theory, but Ah think he’s planning to pop the question with Scoops.”

The pony looked as though the neurons in her brain were frying. Her brother had a hard time admitting his feelings for Cheerilee as it was; no way in Tartarus would he ever date that two-bit hussy Sweetcream Scoops, especially not the way she threw herself at any stallion that moved!

And then she realized it…and realized how silly things were, as well as the obvious reason. “Ah, silly me. You’re not wearin’ yer hat. Ah suppose th’ heat must be getting’ t’ ya or somethin’.”

Now it was the teen’s turn to look at her counterpart oddly. “Hat? Nope, no thanks.”

“What? Ya don’ have a favorite hat?”

“Don’t like hats at all, to be honest. Maybe if Ah had short hair like Ma, but…ugh, definitely not a fan of hats.”

Applejack had enough at that point. “TWI!” she shouted. “TWI, WE GOT A CHANGELING HERE!”

Princess Twilight looked up from her cards, then set them down and walked over to her friend. “What’s wrong?”

Applejack thrust an accusatory hoof at her counterpart. “She’s wrong! She’s gotta be a changeling, Twi! They musta switched her with the real one while we were all asleep er somethin’!”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she’s nothin’ like me!”

Twilight went over and wrapped a wing around the angry mare. “Why would she be? She’s a human, not a pony, for starters. Second, she’s younger than you. So why would she be the same?”

Applejack looked at contempt with Applejack, who had just started to realize something was amiss. “Well, she ain’t no real Apple, that’s for sure,” the farmmare said dismissively. “Real Apples are Apples to the Core and would never give up th’ farm—”

“Okay, what’s the problem?” the teen asked, starting to not like the attitude her counterpart was giving.

“Yer mah problem! Y’ don’ care ‘bout the farm, y’ let yer brother date some freak, an’ ya don’t sound like a real Apple!”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “The fuck? Why the hell would Ah care about something Ah have no ties to!”

“See? Real Apples are all about th’ land an’ the—”

Applejack crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, finally reaching her breaking point. “Look, if you’re all about Apples being tied to the land and that Goddamn farm, then you can just go to hell! Ah learned a very important lesson from mah parents about what can go wrong when you’re so obsessed with something that you can’t let it go! It hurt mah parents hard, and it almost cost them their marriage! Though we got Mel outta the deal, Ah can honestly say that Ah hope that Ah’ll never end up in a situation so bad it’d ruin things for me like that!”

The mare heard the angry words and turned to face her mirror, green eyes blazing. “Ya take that back, or there’s gonna be more than just words between us,” she seethed. “Apples are nothing without our family and farm and clearly you’re no Apple!”

“So being a slave to some serfdom is more important? Are you outta your fucking mind?” the human spat back. “Ah’m glad that’s not mah life or the life of mah siblings! Mac’s a damn good artist, and Bloomie wants to be a software programmer! Mel’s too young to figure out what he wants, but Ah hope he does without the farm or the store or whatever held over his head. And if anything ever got in the way of their dreams? Ah’d burn the damn thing down mahself!”

“Figures – ya ain’t nothin’ but a damn Manehattan socialite, just like mah Aunt an’ Uncle Orange!”

“No idea what ‘Manehattan’ is, but if it’s anything like New York, good for them! Besides, Ah’m proud of Uncle Orange – man’s the CEO of Chase Bank, one of the largest banks in the country!”

Both Twilights, sensing things were about to go down, stepped in-between the two feuding females. “Look, AJ,” Princess Twilight said to her friend and fellow Bearer. “You have to understand that she’s had a different life than you and that means a different situation, okay?”

Meanwhile the human Twilight pulled her friend aside. “Let it go, AJ,” she said. “The life you lead is very different from hers; she can’t really picture it. Besides, you’re better than this: aren’t you always saying that to be stronger means to be able to know when to walk away from a fight?”

The blonde nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, Twily, Ah let mah temper get the better of me,” she admitted.

But the pony Applejack was having none of it. “Just keep that fake Apple away from me, Twi,” she warned. “No true Apple would ever give up th’ farm. If you need me, Ah’ll be in th’ other passenger car.” She then walked off towards the front of the train car and towards the access doors. A second later it was slammed as the angry farmmare stormed away.

Princess Twilight looked at the teen Applejack. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting this,” she admitted.

“Ah’m sorry Ah blew my top, Twi,” Applejack admitted. “But Ah guess it’s rare when you see the road not taken and the results can scare you. Ah guess that’s probably what Ah am to her.”

As the Empire Express pulled away from the station, Princess Luna looked at her sister. “As I know you’ll be busy today, Celly, I’ll handle your court duties.”

Princess Celestia smiled. “No need; I’ve asked Kibbitz to cancel both our court sessions today. If something urgent comes up, somepony will come get us.”

“That’s rather unexpected,” the lunar alicorn replied. “Usually Raven is punctual about informing me of these things the moment they come up.”

The white alicorn had a tug of a smile come to her lips. “I’m sure she would have…if it wasn’t for the fact that I let her and her husband use our vacation place in Horseshoe Bay for the week.” Luna looked at her sister oddly and Celestia giggled. “Don’t worry; Kibbitz insisted on staying to cover both our needs while Raven is out of town. But he assured me once this is all over, he will take that vacation I also insisted for him.”

The smaller of the two sisters chewed her lip in thought. “Well, I have been meaning to ask Raven to take it easy since the incursion two years ago as well as during the results of the war against Tirek, but she kept demurring on the matter. Perhaps this will finally get her to relax.”

Celestia – the human – spoke up at this point: “That sounds like one of the teachers on my staff. Well, former teachers, since I’m technically no longer the principal of CHS. She’s part of Luna’s staff now. Raven is a wonderful teacher, but she has a habit of going overboard on a regular basis. I suspect she picked it up from her father, Kibbitz, who is also on the CHS staff.”

“How interesting,” murmured her counterpart. “My seneschal, Kibbitz, is our Raven’s uncle, but as I understand it, she was orphaned at a young age and raised by him to the point that she may as well be his daughter. It was he that recommended her for the position of Luna’s seneschal, and prior to Luna’s return, Raven had served as a senior secretary within my administrative offices.”

The human Luna caught that. “Luna’s return?” she asked.

The dusky alicorn flushed from embarrassment. “I had an…extensive…hiatus from duties for a while,” she admitted reluctantly.

Feeling the need to protect her aunt, Sunset interjected, “For health reasons, Ms. Luna. We generally don’t talk about it due to Crown secrecy, but my aunt needed some downtime for quite a while.”

“I see,” the educator stated. “My apologies, then, Your Highness.”

Princess Celestia turned back to her sister. “In any case, as I was saying, in the event that Kibbitz requires a royal’s intervention, we have somepony who can handle those duties.” She then waved a white wing, pointing towards a particular maize alicorn.

Sunset caught that immediately. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” she blurted.

“You wanted to be a princess, my dearest sunlight,” the older alicorn pointed out. “This is just post and parcel of being a ruler.”

“I changed my mind long ago, and I didn’t expect Grandmother to give me the upgrade,” she pointed out. “You just want me out of the way while you talk to my parents about embarrassing things.”

The solar alicorn laughed. “Parental prerogative, dear. Besides, in all seriousness, these are things you would have to do in any case. Cadance had to do them when she was invested, and so did Twilight. You are to be a princess of Equestria, and I cannot give you anything less in this matter.”

“Oh, joy,” Sunset drolled.

Princess Luna, meanwhile, looked at some of the other humans present. “While I know that my sister has plans with Sunset’s parents, would the rest of you like a tour of Canterlot? It’s a beautiful city and I daresay you may not find such a place back in your native world.”

“I wish we could go, but my staff and I need to prepare for tomorrow’s demonstration,” Sable replied. At the moment, he was in his dress blues, a uniform that looked like a US Navy uniform with Equestrian flourishes, and very much unlike what the formal uniforms of the REN looked like. He then looked at his Celestia. “You should go, though.”

“Then I would love to,” the human Celestia said. “I’ve always loved architecture, and if it is anything as grand as this train station, it sounds like it would be a lovely tour.”

“Sure, looks like something out of a JRPG,” Luna replied, while Octavia laughed in response.

“Figures you’d say that, Ms. Luna,” the teen replied.

“Speaking of which, I still need to get my copy of Lightning Returns from you.”

“Once we get back home from the trip, I promise.”

Meanwhile the night alicorn looked at both women oddly. “Jayarpeejee?” she parroted, unfamiliar with the term.

“JRPG – it’s short for Japanese Role-Playing Game,” Octavia clarified.

“I still don’t understand.”

The human Luna went up and put a friendly arm around her counterpart’s neck. Though several of the guards were scandalized by the action, privately Princess Celestia was glad to see it; her sister’s counterpart didn’t have the reservations her Luna apparently had.

“I see it’s going to be a fun week,” Luna told Luna with a grin.

Sunset sighed. “Well, I guess I should go check in with Kibbitz and get this over and done with,” she stated.

Princess Luna pouted slightly, ruffling her wings. “You are welcome to come with us, my niece,” she said. “This is your week to shine as well.”

“Perhaps, but maybe it’s also my week to make up for what I left behind,” Sunset told her. “You and Mother may not think it’s necessary…but I wouldn’t be worthy of the title of princess if I didn’t do anything less than my utmost.”

The night alicorn smiled proudly. “I would expect nothing less of somepony of our family. You do us proud, Sunset.”

“Just trying to make up for lost time,” Sunset insisted.

Author's Note

And here we go!

Be sure to edit TVTropes as only you ~~can prevent forest fires~~ keep it up to date!

Day One, Afternoon: Something Inexpressible

The train pulled into the station, with a small crowd of its residents looking on at the special train carrying the town’s most famous inhabitants. With the recent pool tournament now over, some semblance of normalcy was returning to the now-small city, but the recent announcement that Ponyville was playing host to some special delegates for the week was too interesting an opportunity to miss.

Having arrived earlier via naval airship, Divine wasted no time in having his troops get to crowd control. “Good citizens of Ponyville,” he called out via a voice amplification spell, “I know you’re interested in meeting our guests, especially as news from Canterlot has likely arrived. But please, give Princess Twilight and her retinue and guests time to debark the train! I’m sure there will be more information to come later!”

But as he spoke, Applejack hopped out of the train, a scowl on her face, something he took note of immediately.

“Everything okay, Applejack?” he asked her.

“No, it ain’t, Div,” she told him. “An’ if’n you have any lick o’ sense in wanting t’ protect yer fillyfriend, you’ll arrest that damn changeling!”

“Changeling? But I thought that both Miss Pommel and Mr. Versatile were cleared by Twi?” he asked her, ignoring yet another implication that he and Twilight were already an item.

“Not them! That damn changeling pretending t’ be mah counterpart!”

“Huh?”

“That’s it – Ah’m done with this farce!” Before he could ask anything further, she ran through the crowds and towards her farm, barely dodging any pony in her path as she beat an angry retreat from the station.

Princess Twilight was the next to debark, watching sadly as the farmmare vanished into the distance. “Don’t worry about it, Div,” she told him. “She’s just…well, let’s just chalk it up to cultural clash and leave it at that, okay?”

“As long as you’re okay, Twi,” he told her.

“I am; I promise you that,” she insisted, giving him a smile that she hoped would set him at ease.

“Well, we have the chariots ready to take you to the castle,” he told her. “Just say the word and we’ll get going.”

“Thanks, Div. It looks like it’s going to be a long week,” she sighed.

“Well, I’ll be glad to help in any way I can.”

“I appreciate that,” she told him as she heard the others step out of the train car. The alicorn turned to look at the human Applejack first. “Well, I had arranged for you to stay with the Apples, AJ, but I’m afraid that might be out of the question now.”

“That’s okay, sugar,” Applejack replied. “Ah do appreciate the effort, though.”

“Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of room at the castle,” the alicorn said, gesturing towards her home in the distance.

The humans all looked at it as one, but it was Pinkie’s initial comments that started it off. “Wow, it looks like a gaudy Chinese-made toy!” she commented.

“I think I had something like that for my Fairy Princess dolls when I was a girl,” human Fluttershy added.

“So did I,” teen Twilight chimed in. “Did yours come with the magic dragon that shot NERF fireballs?”

A chiffon-haired head nodded. “I think so.”

Rarity turned to Rarity. “Well, I have plenty of room for you at my place,” she told her counterpart. “Usually Sweetie Belle stays with me, but since I knew you were coming, she’ll be staying with our parents this week.”

“Thank you,” the teen fashionista replied. “I’m honored.”

“Well, I already told Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and they’re absolutely peachy keen to meet you!” Pinkie told Pinkie.

“Cool,” the teen replied as she grabbed her bag. “Lead the way.”

“Sure, just follow me!” the pony said, bouncing off merrily. The human, however, had to jog to catch up with her counterpart.

Meanwhile, pony Fluttershy looked at her taller human counterpart with some trepidation. “Um…my cottage isn’t very big, but I’m sure I can find some arrangements for you, if you want to stay with me…if that’s okay with you.” She tried to hide behind her mane and it would have been adorable if it wasn’t for the fact that she was shaking like a leaf.

The human girl looked at the smaller, quavering pegasus and felt both sympathy and recollection. It wasn’t that long ago that I was just as bad as she is, she had to admit to herself. And if Sunset and the others had helped her to get beyond that, maybe she could do the same for her counterpart. Bending down to look at the mare eye to eye, Fluttershy gave her most disarming smile and said, “That would be great, thanks.”

“Oh, I hope you’ll like it,” Fluttershy said as she trotted over to assist her counterpart with her bags. “It’s cozy and while some ponies say it’s too close to the Everfree, I like the peace and quiet.”

Rainbow, on the other hand, looked at her pegasus counterpart. “I guess I’m staying with you?”

The pegasus shook her head. “Naah, you don’t got wings! And only the coolest of ponies can live in cloudominiums,” she explained. “Besides, there’s no way I’m staying in that ugly-ass castle of Twi’s!” She then realized that said owner of castle was there and with some embarrassment, added, “Uh, no offense, Twi.”

“Rainbow,” Princess Twilight reminded her friend, “you agreed that you would stay at the castle this week—”

“Not now, Twi; gotta fly!” the Wonderbolt shouted as she rocketed off towards her home. Within a second, both a sonic boom and a prismatic explosion of light filled the sky as the pegasus continued to move at a speed that surprised the humans present.

The human Rainbow raised her hand over her eyes to block out the glare of the sun as she tracked her counterpart. “Wow, she’s fast,” was all she said.

“Lt. Dash is one of the fastest fliers around and a capable Wonderbolt,” Divine told her. “She’s got a few flaws, admittedly, but we all do. We are only pony, after all. Or, well, human in your case, Miss Dash.” He then turned to one of his guardsponies, instructing him to get the chariots ready.

Princess Twilight looked at the clock on the nearby tower, then to the chariots as they approached a few seconds later. “Well, if we all get aboard, I can get you settled into your rooms at the castle. Then I can give you all a short tour around the city before tonight’s welcome dinner.”

“A welcome dinner?” Rarity asked, looking more than a bit starry-eyed about it. Her counterpart, long used to it, gave a simple smile, recalling when she was as young and idealistic.

“The mayor insisted on it,” Princess Twilight explained. “I like to be informal, but as she likes to point out, I forget from time to time that I’m a princess and some things just require a more formal and diplomatic touch.”

“Formal dinner, huh? Should be interesting,” teen Twilight admitted.

“Ugh, I hate vegetarian, though,” Rainbow gagged.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow. I hired a griffon chef to cook for the duration while you’re here, and I asked Sunny to send me some human cookbooks. Plus, as I understand it, the royal kitchens at Canterlot Palace will be teleporting the human food items they’re making for your week here, and if nothing else, I do remember what little food I had while I was there.”

“Plus, I’m here, if you ladies remember,” Raspberry, who had been silent all this time, reminded them. “So I recall some recipes as well.”

Twilight blinked. “I know you’ve been to Earth before, Razz,” she told the mulberry unicorn, “but you’ve been to Earth, Twi?”

It was Rainbow that answered: “Uh, remember that ‘mysterious exchange student’ we mention every now and then? The one that kicked Sunny’s ass?”

As if on cue, a magenta flash encircled the alicorn, and when it faded, Twilight Sparkle stared at a near-copy of herself, with the only differences being that the new Twilight was about the same height as her sister and had a slightly larger bust than Twilight’s own. She wore a sky-blue blouse and a poodle skirt, compared to the scholar’s own current black hoodie and jeans.

Seeing her counterpart looking more like her than ever, the human plum-haired girl commented, “This…is weird. And given that I’ve put up with seeing my sister and her, um, ‘twin’? Yup, definite weirdsville. I can see why Shimmy was overwhelmed at first.”

“Sorry about that,” the princess apologized. “I can change back, if you prefer.”

“That’s entirely up to you, Twi. Besides, to be honest, looking at you gives me a sneak preview of how I’ll look when I reach my college years.”

As if on an unspoken cue, a thought came to the alicorn’s mind: “Girls, it just dawned on me: how did Celestia cover my tracks for the time I was there? Sunny said that my spell made sure that no one really remembered me, but they had to remember something, didn’t they?”

“Well,” the human Rarity answered, “as I understand it, since both Ms. Celestia and Ms. Luna are friends of Twilight’s mother, having two Twilight Sparkles in town would have obviously caused some confusion, even though Twilight is a fairly common name. That being said, I recall Ms. Celestia mentioning that she had to backdate quite of bit of paperwork to explain the exchange student everyone remembered.”

“I remember,” Fluttershy chimed in. “She listed you as Purple Smart, an exchange student from a school in Rhode Island.”

“Purple…Smart?” the princess echoed, and the girls nodded.

“Is there something wrong, Twi?” pony Fluttershy asked.

“No, just an interesting coincidence,” Princess Twilight stated, as a wry smile came to the humanized alicorn’s face. “Purple Smart is a cousin of mine that lives in Las Pegasas. Despite her name, she’s kinda flighty and goes more on her looks than her brains, which is a shame, because she’s got so much potential.”

The teen Twilight giggled. “Now that’s weird.”

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me privately,” Princess Celestia said to Night and Velvet as the trio walked away from the chariot that had transported them back to the palace. “I’ve arranged for a lunch in my private tea room in the garden, so we will not be disturbed.”

“That sounds lovely,” Velvet said as the three entered the garden spaces. As they walked through, the two humans noted the pristinely manicured grounds, from the perfectly-formed topiaries to the shining marble paths and statues, the breathtaking fountains that playfully created dances of water and the still and reflective ponds. Undoubtedly for both, it was probably one of the most wonderful views that the couple had ever seen.

“It’s absolutely breathtaking here,” Velvet stated, clearly awestruck. “I can see why Sunny wants to try to recreate some of this at home.”

That caught the alicorn’s attention. “She is? Odd, she was never really one for the outdoors.”

“The girls tend to the garden on occasion, even though we have a landscaping service,” Night explained, “and now that Sunny’s revealed more about herself, she says it helps for her to get in touch with her ‘earth pony aspect’, whatever that means. Plus, she’s also gone camping with her friends and the family has gone stargazing on a few nights. It’s just another facet of the young woman she’s become, and we’re very proud of her.”

“I…see,” the solar alicorn said in a wistful tone, but added nothing more.

The trio walked a bit longer in relative silence until they reached a small building that looked it was made from rice paper and the finest bamboo wood.

“It was a gift from the then-Empress of Inari,” Celestia told them. “When Sunset was nine, Empress Gōkana-o had come to pay a state visit and had commented that it was a shame that we didn’t have a proper tea house. Sunset had then regaled her with a haiku recital by an Inarijin author that my little sunshine had come across. I certainly hadn’t expected it, and needless to say, neither had Empress Gōkana-o. She was more than suitably impressed, and as a result, she had this tearoom commissioned for us in gratitude for Sunny’s accomplishment. I often come here when I want to remember that time,” the alicorn said softly.

She used her magic to open the doors, and allowed her guests in. “Please, make yourselves comfortable. Would you care for some tea?”

Velvet and Night looked around the room and were once again entranced. The worksmanship (worksponyship?) of the interior was incredible, with gold inlay and the finest bamboo mats available. The two once had dinner at a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco, and as ornate and detailed as that location was, it paled in comparison to this one. The pair then sat down on two massive pillows made of the finest silks available, while in front of them, a table seemly made out of a living bonsai tree sat there, the middle portion of it being where the tree rushed out and became the central pillar for the building. The wall was decorated with various Japanese-like sculptures, paintings and other artwork, and in one corner, as if taking up the most significant spot in the room, was a picture very unlike the remainder of the décor present: an unsightly blob of white and pastel colors against what might have been a sky, complete with stitches of clouds and a potato-shaped sun.

“I remember that day,” Celestia said as she brought tea to her guests and saw what they focused on. “Her art teacher had assigned her to do a painting of what she loved most, and naturally, she wanted to paint me. We spent all day doing it, and by the time she was finished, there was more paint on her than on the canvas.” Celestia smiled as she set down the tea, but it was a sad, melancholy motion. “To this day, I consider it one of my most precious items. It’s a reminder…of what I lost.”

“Your Highness,” Velvet began, knowing where this was going.

“Please, just Celestia or Celly will suffice,” the alicorn insisted. “After all, we are all parents to a very extraordinary mare, though admittedly, you have a far more official claim than I.”

“Celly,” Velvet said, her tone slightly firmer. She’d seen this particular display dozens of times, though usually the person doing it was human.

“Given that you adopted her, of course,” the alicorn continued, as if not hearing Velvet. “I know she calls me her ‘biological’ mother, but in truth—”

“Celestia….”

“—I know I’m really not. I never foaled her and she is not of my blood, nor did I ever officially adopt her, though I love her as much as if I’d been her dam.” Celestia turned her neck down so the humans couldn’t see the tears welling in her eyes. “I love her so much and I know I don’t—”

“CELESTIA!” Velvet said sharply, and the princess’ head snapped back up. “I’m sorry for yelling,” Velvet stated once she had the regent’s attention, “but you sound exactly like Tia when she gets in the dumps and that gets to be a chore as well. I don’t let her do pity parties, so I’m not letting you do one either.”

Night chuckled. “What my wife means in her usual brusque fashion is that you are just as much Sunset’s parent as we are. You were there for her whole life, and there are many questions we still have about our daughter, the kind of answers that can only come from her mother.” Celestia was about to open her mouth, but Night raised a hand, a request to let him finish. “We’re not here to claim her over you, Celly. We’re here so that we can learn more about the precious gift you’ve shared with us.”

Tears began to flow freely from the princess. She had feared, despite her sister’s statements, that she would lose Sunset forever to these two. And yet that not only did not happen, but they had stated that they were here, thanking her for sharing such a priceless treasure with them. Shame welled in her heart at her own inadequacy; if these two were typical humans, then the stories her mother had told her about the Megan made that mythical figure seem like a very commonplace individual.

Velvet got up from her seat and, ignoring propriety, put her arms around the princess’ neck. “You and I are the mothers of a wonderful individual. And regardless of whether she is a thirty-year-old mare or a seventeen-year-old girl, she will need our love, our wisdom and our counsel.” Velvet let go so she could face Celestia, her light-blue eyes gazing into lilac ones. “Now is not the time to doubt yourself, Celly. Now is the time to rejoice in your strength as a mother, because our daughter will need us very much during this week, if I understand things correctly.”

Celestia found herself suddenly smiling. “You two are entirely like your counterparts. I have always valued Velvet’s advice, even when it was more direct than I expected; and Night has always known the right words to say.”

Night nonchalantly shrugged as he set down his teacup. “What can I say? It’s a talent.”

In his office at the Palace (as Twilight’s crystal eyesore had become diplomatically known by the Friendship Guard), Divine Right looked over some of his paperwork. He would have joined Twilight escorting the humans around town, but with everything going on and some unfinished business still remaining from when he took over command of the Friendship Guard, he reluctantly had to find time to attend to all of it, and right now was as good a time as any. At the moment, he was reading over a request from his senior sergeants to increase the budget for combat training when a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in,” he said, not looking up from the report.

Hoofsteps sounded as the person came in. “Did I come at a bad time?” a voice sounded out.

Seeing who it was, the stallion immediately got off his seat and stood at attention. “No, your grace, though I am surprised to see you here. Or should I just start calling you Your Highness?”

Sunset chuckled, waving a dismissive wing. “No thanks. You and I are technically cousins even though we’ve never met, so Sunny is fine.”

“I see. Then what can I do for you, Sunny?” he asked, gesturing to a chair by his desk.

“I came to apologize about yesterday,” the maize alicorn admitted; Divine, in turn, decided not to remind her that she’d done so multiple times already. “I forgot to tell my entourage about you and it caused a great deal of issues for your troops, as well as you personally, no doubt.”

“It’s quite alright,” he assured her. “While I can guarantee that my guardsponies are the finest of caliber, I’m sure that being in the presence of humans must have been a shock for them as well. Ancient myths have a way of just getting into your subconscious, especially for us ponies.” He turned away from his paperwork and looked her in the eyes. “If I may be so bold, I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been to get over that fear when you first arrived in the human realm.”

“I had to learn to adjust, and I’m glad I did,” Sunset told him. “I’m sure in your duties, you’ve likely had to adjust to things as well, have you not?”

“Indeed, very much so.” He then thought about it a second. “I am curious, though, why your entourage was disconcerted by my presence. I hope it wasn’t anything I did.”

Thankfully, Sunset had the whole of the previous night to think about what she was going to tell him, and it was true…even if not the whole truth. “Humans don’t hear on the same level that we do, so things tend to sound very similar even if we can distinguish the differences. And from what I’ve been able to tell in my years living there, there’s a human instinctive repulsion for certain sounds, tones, et cetera.”

“Oh?”

“Like fingernails – or hooves – scratching against chalkboards, for starters. To us, that may be an annoyance, but to humans, it’s an instinctive irritant that bothers just about everyone, and even though I’m not human, I learned to loathe that sound as much as any other human would. In your case, your vocal tones contain a similar depth, and while we ponies consider that tone as that of an experienced, admirable stallion…human traditions have engendered that same vocal quality as being sinister and somewhat diabolical. It’s nothing you’ve done or you’re at fault for; it’s just a cultural thing and something they will need to get used to.”

“I assure you, I would never do anything to—”

“You don’t have to explain; I know you wouldn’t. It’s just like griffins eating meat – we know they wouldn’t harm us, but we’re still too used to the old stories of griffins attacking ponies for food even if those old mare’s tales told us differently when we were foals. Fortunately, my entourage is intelligent and they’ll adjust in due time, I’m sure of it. They’ve had to deal with worse, you know.”

“How much worse?”

“I really don’t know if I should mention it,” Sunset stated.

Divine looked at her. “On my honor as both a prince and a guard captain, I will keep the confidence of the Crown,” he swore solemnly, as he raised his right hoof. He then put his hoof down and said, “but more importantly, as we are family, I vow on that even more.”

“I appreciate that.” The alicorn moved to take a seat in front of his desk, pausing for a second before continuing. “I take it you know one of the general rules of ascension for alicorns?”

“I take it you’re referring to the traumatic discorporation of your mortal body as a new immortal one is formed from the very essence of magic?” When she looked at him oddly, he gave her an awkward smile. “After…I heard what happened to Twi, I, er, felt the need to research it. Just in case we ever had another incident of an ascension here in Equestria, you understand.”

Something seemed a bit personal about that answer, so she didn’t pry. Instead, she continued with, “Well, coming from a mostly-magicless world like the human realm is, there’s no knowledge about that. So instead, a divine discorporation….”

“…looks like disintegration,” he finished for her. “And I take it they saw that?”

“I died in my sister’s arms, Divine; I literally disintegrated in her arms.” The look in Sunset’s eyes was pained, and she seemed to grow disquiet at her admission. “Between you and me, I am never going to be able to forget that. I broke my sister’s heart in ways I never meant to, and even though it all worked out, I think it’s given both of us some shared trauma.”

“I am sorry to hear that. I would never want to see a mare go through that kind of pain,” he said softly. The look in his golden eyes was sympathetic, and just alone from seeing that, Sunset knew the stallion before her would never be the monster his counterpart was. “If there is anything I can do for her, I assure you, all she needs to do is ask.”

“Thank you. I truly appreciate that.” Sunset shifted uneasily in the chair. “I just wanted you to know; it’s nothing personal, obviously. It’s just….”

He nodded sagely in understanding. “I would suppose it’s kind of like spending years being hated as Equestria’s biggest traitor, when the truth is that you were anything but? I can understand that. Sometimes we as royals have a thankless duty to our realm, even more so when it’s in situations like the one you were in. But I am sure that if you could bear being the most hated mare in the realm, I can bear having an unintentionally evil voice to them. I will just have to make sure that your family and friends know that they have a friend in Equestria and a friend in me.”

“That is good to know.” She looked at him. “I guess I can see why you and Twi are an item, if I heard Cady correctly.” She then looked at the clock on his wall. “Anyway, I need to head back to Canterlot and prepare for a meeting. Thank you again for everything, and I hope we get a chance to talk about more pleasant things later.” She then immediately winked out, teleporting away.

“But we’re not an….” He didn’t bother to finish his sentence as he would be addressing nothing more than empty air. I wish I didn’t have to qualify that statement, he mused silently.

He then reached in his desk drawer and pulled out a small picture of the two of them, taken the night of her coronation ball. She’d looked absolutely radiant, and at the risk of being vain, he didn’t look too bad himself. Unfortunately, he’d been on an undercover assignment that night and had to pretend to be “the Count of Monte Cristrot” instead of himself, which was why Twi had not recognized him.

Someday, he told the picture. Someday I’ll….

He sadly put away the picture and then went back to work. The duties of the Captain of the Friendship Guard took precedence over his feelings and he wouldn’t deserve to tell her what he felt if he couldn’t ensure her safety or that of her court and guests.

Sable followed the internal map that Sunset had jotted down on a PDF and mailed to everyone’s phone; after Octavia’s getting lost and subsequent incident, her parents had asked that they be covered and the young princess was all too willing to oblige. As he moved along, he noted that the Wi-Fi setup was working better than expected so far, although several ponies were wondering why there were strange plastic devices set in strategic corners of the palace, especially as they were told not to touch them. He would have to see about having Sonata make new shells for them that would allow them to blend in with the palace walls if they were going to do this on a regular basis, but for now, the repeaters gave them all access to the web (linked through the portal by some spell cast by Sunset that Sable tried not to think too hard about), especially the vital data they were going to need for their part in all this.

He departed the main building of the palace complex, walking across the courtyard towards his goal: the Headquarters of the EUP Guard. As he walked in, he looked at the pony at the desk. “Good morning,” he said politely. “Is the Vice-Captain in?” The guard he spoke to was engrossed in a magazine, ignoring him, so Sable repeated himself. After a second lack of response, he noted the rank stripes on the guard’s duty uniform and said, “Private, get me the Vice-Captain and tell her I want to see her. That is an order.”

The guardstallion, a deep-blue unicorn with a greasy-looking amber mane, looked briefly at the human and yawned. Seeing that, Sable frowned; he knew there were shitbags back when he was in the Army, and unfortunately it appeared that even ponies had sad sacks in their own military as well.

“Oh, one of you freaks,” the stallion grunted. “Don’t worry, I’ll find your foalsitter for you in a second.”

“Guardspony, I gave you an order,” Sable warned him. “You will act or there will be repercussions.”

The guardspony looked him straight in the eye and scoffed. “Listen – unlike the rest of these chickens here, I’m not afraid of you hyumanns, got that?” he spat. “So unless you want to end up cooling off in a cell, I would go sit your butt over there on the bench. Just ‘cause you’re all part of Princess Sunset’s entourage doesn’t mean you get to be all so high and mighty like you were Faust Herself, got that? So shut your yap, go park your plot and wait your turn!”

“Then you can listen to my orders, Tpr. Washout,” a testy voice spoke. Both males turned to see a large pegasus mare standing there, glaring at him. She had a tan coat that contrasted with the olive of her duty uniform, and a short gray mane.

Washout jumped to attention instantly, rendering a salute. “Good morning, Capt. Arrowswift!” he told her. “But I’m a private, not a trooper.”

“You were,” she told him, “until you decided to be insubordinate to a flag officer.” She then turned to Sable and offered a hoof. “You must be the new Navy admiral Capt. Armor told me about. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Admiral?” Washout blurted as a sinking fear came over him.

Sable bumped the hoof. “Pleasure to meet you as well, Captain. Capt. Armor told me about your exploits.”

“Absolutely none of it is true, I assure you,” she said with a laugh. “Anyway, I’m glad to be able to meet with you. We can talk further in my office, if you’ll follow me.” She then turned back to Washout. “Trooper, go find Pvt. Steadyhoof and have her relieve you. Then report to Sgt. Grindstone and tell him you’re going to be on heavy duty for the rest of the week, understood?”

“But I was supposed to be off for the rest of the week after my watch!” he cried.

“If you ever want to make private again, you will do as I say, Trooper,” she seethed. “If not, well…you might just find yourself the first stallion to be kicked out of the guard in decades. That won’t go well for your future prospects.” He looked at her with the gaze of the doomed, then loped off to meet his fate.

Arrowswift looked at Sable. “I apologize for that, Admiral; usually our guards are much more responsible than this.”

Sable nodded. “It’s understandable, Captain; sometimes there are people who just aren’t fit for the military and it shows no matter what you do. We have that issue in our services as well.”

“I don’t know if I should be discomfited by that or not,” she said lightly as she ushered him towards her office. “In any case, I had a chance to talk to Capt. Armor last night. Apparently your subordinates have already made quite an impression with the Fishes.”

“The fishes?”

“Our nickname for the Princess’ Hooves. As opposed to the other Guard divisions, the Solar Guard’s main duties are law enforcement and ceremonial duties around the palace, in addition to some minor bodyguard duties for authorized dignitaries and politicians. However, when it comes to Princess Celestia’s main protective detail, the Hooves take care of that role, and I have to admit, they do a great job of that, so they’re not easily impressed. And yet they took to your three like a hydra to a swamp, so that speaks a lot for the skills of the three soldiers you sent.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Sable replied, feeling a bit of pride in what his three subordinates had accomplished. Things seemed to be working out.

“Anyway, what can I do for you? The Captain’s asked me to do whatever I can to assist your needs, Admiral, um…sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“Sable Loam. Please, just call me Sable. And yes, I’ve been told about my ‘interesting’ name.”

“I would imagine so!” Arrowswift said with a chuckle. “But anyway, what can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if we could borrow the parade grounds for tomorrow morning, around ten hundred,” Sable told her. “I’m planning a readiness demonstration for Adm. Tumblehome and the other senior naval and military officers, so they can make a final decision on SIREN.”

“I’ll be in attendance, along with the others,” she told him. “Capt. Armor is obviously with his counterpart back in the Empire, so I’ll be attending on his behalf. And while we usually have practice drills at that time, we’ll be clearing off the western half of the grounds so they can start setting up the seating and displays for the coronation next week.”

He did some quick calculations in his head. “I’m going to need the full grounds, if you don’t mind.” When she looked at him oddly, he added, “for safety reasons. We don’t want anyone setting up to be injured by any projectiles.”

“The full grounds? Why? Your archers are that good?” she asked him.

In response, he got up and walked over to a rack of weapons. Looking at one of them, he recognized it, or what it was the equivalent of: a fire-lance, though clearly of more modern make and likely built with pony hooves in mind. Pointing to it, he asked, “What’s the range on this?”

“So you’re familiar with shootsticks?” When he nodded, she smiled. “Captured that from a band of griffins out in Featherstone last year. It’s one of the most recent models out there, so I’d say the range is about fifty yards, give or take.”

“I see.” Sable then reached into his jacket, withdrawing his sidearm from his shoulder holster. “This is a pistol. It’s a standard human weapon, similar to a shootstick. But it has the range of one thousand yards, give or take,” he told her with an even face.

Her jaw dropped. “A thousand yards? No way! That outpaces some of the Army’s best artillery!”

“Oh, that’s nothing,” he assured her. “We’re also displaying another human weapon that shoots—” He did some quick math in his head, “—about four thousand yards, if not farther.” Seeing the sudden look of absolute horror on her face, he said, “From what I understand, ponies are some of the best equipped military forces on this planet. But in terms of weapons development, no offense, you’re centuries behind humans. And now that SIREN is going to be integrated into the Equestrian military in order to protect Princess Sunset, that means this level of technology will eventually be made for pony consumption.”

She looked at the object sitting on her desk, both afraid to touch it and yet wanting to test it out at the same time. She finally turned to look back at him and said, “It sounds like you could sink a naval airship out of the sky with one of these.”

“Well, maybe not with one of these,” he said, picking it up and reholstering it, “but I suspect one wouldn’t last long against a single MANPAD.”

Arrowswift thought about his words, and then thought about how Tumblehome would react to that. She suddenly relished seeing the pompous pegasus come unglued.

“Sable,” she purred as she leaned over the desk, a huge grin on her face, “just let me know what you need and you’ve got it.”

Laughter filled the tearoom. “And while at the time she felt completely humiliated, I hope that years from now she’ll remember running around in nothing but a towel, soaking wet and trying to hunt down Spike as a pivotal moment in her life. Who knows? She might even remember it fondly,” Velvet said with a giggle.

The alicorn tried hard to picture the whole image, and while she couldn’t precisely do so, the entire concept seemed absurd enough to have her chuckling as well. “Well, this calls for a good one,” she said with a mischievous smile. “Has she ever told you about the time she nearly blew up the palace’s main kitchens because she wanted some cookies?”

Velvet’s eyes lit up like a child on Christmas. “Spill!” she said, excited.

The alicorn then went on about Sunset’s misadventures in trying to find a cookie, which involved using a fire spell (given that at the time, she hadn’t been taught the general light spell and pyrothurgy was natural for her), then instinctively using a compression spell in the kitchen’s flour pantry, which was in dire need of cleaning.

Being a scientist, Night winced at what he knew, and sure enough, as the sun alicorn explained the aftermath of the explosion, he felt sympathy for his frazzled daughter.

“Needless to say, Sunset was okay,” Princess Celestia stated. “Instinctively, she’d somehow created a force field for herself; otherwise, she would have suffered some very serious injuries. As it was, the explosion was dire enough that it completely destroyed the kitchens and took several hours to reconstruct the whole thing with magic.” The alicorn gave a bemused smile, as the memories flooded back in. “And while now I find it amusing, back then I was horrified. I restricted her from using magic for the remainder of the week and told her that she was no longer allowed to go hunting in the kitchens for cookies at midnight.” The alicorn laughed richly, as did the two humans.

It was at this time that a page opened the door. “Dr., uh, Light?” he asked, nervous about the humans in the room. “His Grace, Lord Night Light has requested your presence at the Royal Observatory at eight this evening,” he said, reading from a scroll. “He would like to exchange scientific views regarding the cosmos.” Closing the scroll, he sat there, following his orders even if completely terrified by the alien beings before him.

Velvet, ever the mother, noticed that. “Relax, young man,” she told him gently. “You are among friends, and the princess would not let you get hurt.”

“Besides,” Celestia added, “they are from the same species as the Megan, and as noble and wise.” To the humans, she then explained the legend of the Megan and everything about it, including the fact that said individual may have actually lived and may have been a close confidante of Celestia’s mother.

“Well, that would explain why she was so comfortable around us.” Night then explained their run-in with Celestia’s mother, and from the look on the alicorn’s face, she was at a complete wonderment of her mother’s full story in the proceedings.

But it was the page that was the most excited by the news. “You…you knew the Megan? And Her Majesty?” he spoke, his voice filled with awe.

“Well, we’re not familiar with the Megan, aside from what the Princess here has just explained,” Night replied, “but we do know more than enough legendary warriors of our history. Have you heard of the Knights of the Round Table?” When the young stallion shook his head, Night gave a smile and patted a spot next to him, suggesting he sit down. The next hour was filled with tales of epic and wonder and human chivalry and bravery gone by.

“Is it bad,” Luna said aloud, “that I’m expecting to see a UI pop up at any moment?”

“You Eye?” Princess Luna asked her.

“User interface,” Octavia explained. “It would be…complicated to explain in detail right now, Your Highness.”

As the open-air carriage that the group was riding in continued on, Luna leaned back in her seat and tried to square what she was seeing with the earliest years of her childhood. She looked wordlessly at her sister, wondering if Celestia was having the same issues.

As if to answer her sister’s unasked question, Celestia commented, “This place reminds me of where we were born in some ways.”

From where she sat, Princess Luna looked up at that. “Oh? There are places in the human world that look like this? From what Sunset’s shown me, I thought the human world’s architecture was vastly different from ours.”

“There are some parts of the world that still have the architecture from centuries ago,” Celestia explained. “Luna and I were both born in a town called Cavalcanti in a country called Italy. We later moved to the United States with our parents and older sister to a town named Cardiff, which is a suburb of San Diego, and that’s where we met Velvet. In any case, we go back to Italy enough that we’re more than familiar with how the old country looks, so to us, architecture like this isn’t exactly out of the ordinary.”

“That sounds fascinating,” the princess said, her voice holding a tone of melancholy. “My…public absence caused me to miss a lot of what had come about. I regret that,” she said softly, looking around at the city. “This city wasn’t here during my convalescence, and generations had sprung up while I was gone, to the point that I was all but forgotten. Things have improved since, but….” She then gave a wan smile, trying to cheer herself up; it wouldn’t do to be maudlin in front of guests, after all. “Let us not worry about such trifles at the moment. If you would, please, tell me about my niece. How has she fared over in your world?”

Both the human Luna and her sister shared a brief glance; they’d seen the look in the princess’ eyes on far too many parents over the years – the sign of someone suffering trauma of some sort and had opted to go without treatment because too many depended on them. They chose to say nothing, but instead decided to speak on Sunset’s behalf. “She’s doing wonderfully,” Celestia began. “Ever since her readjustment to how she’s handled things in the human world, she’s gone from being a student of concern to one of our best and brightest, and I couldn’t be prouder of her,” the educator said in all honesty.

“It’s a shame that Tia is no longer in charge of the high school, because I think she can rightfully say that Sunset has been one of our best success stories as a student and a person. And I hope that her final two years under my wing – metaphorically speaking, of course,” Luna added, “will be just as fruitful for her as this past year has been.”

As if to bolster her words, Octavia spoke up. “She’s my cousin, but she’s more than that. Ms. Luna, Ms. Celestia – you know how we girls were brought up. We’re more sisters than cousins, and having Sunny in our lives now is no different. I love her dearly as much as I do the others and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” She then turned to face the royal alicorn. “I don’t care what she was born as or what she is now, only that when I need her, she’s there for me and vice versa. She is a both cousin and sister to me and that means the world, as far as I’m concerned.”

“That’s good to know,” the princess told them. “My sister has worried greatly about how Sunset has fared in your world, especially after she explained to us everything she’s been through and showed us as well – via magic, of course. But from what you’ve told me, if that’s anything to go by, perhaps that will ease her fears.”

“Well,” Octavia mused, “I hope that Aunt Velvet and Uncle Night can assure her that we love Sunny dearly.”

“As do I, young one. As do I.”

The laughter and smiles went on into the night hours, and Velvet and Night were amazed as Celestia lowered the sun; ever the scientist, Night had a billion questions, which the alicorn did her best to answer. The trio afterwards had a pleasant dinner together, where they talked about the commonalities in their lives, finding that the worlds of humans and ponies, magic and technologies aside, weren’t very different at the core, and that in many ways, there were more similarities than differences.

But it was the most common thing the three parents shared that was the main topic. Celestia shared all she could about her daughter’s foalhood, while the humans covered their concerns and points about the once-troubled teen. Both sides talked as parents and as friends and as the hours grew long, they found themselves in concert with their shared parentage of a very special girl.

At last, the page came back to retrieve Night. “Well, as much as I’d love to stay and talk more about our daughter’s various misadventures, I do have a meeting with my counterpart.”

Celestia looked at Night with sincerity and respect, thankful that this strange being had taken in her daughter and accepted her as his own. “You’re a good parent, Night.” She then looked at Velvet and added, “Both of you are. Sunset is more than fortunate that she has two parents that love her more than anything.”

“Three, Celly,” Velvet insisted. “Don’t forget about yourself as well.”

Author's Note

Remember: we go to a weekly schedule now, so see you next Wednesday!

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Day One, Evening: Science Insusceptible

Five girls ate that night in the private dining space afforded to Sunset’s tower at the castle. “This is amazing!” Octavia said, looking around the beautiful glass view of the countryside that the room had. “This beats your normal room back at home!”

“I guess,” Sunset said, munching on a burger. At the moment, she was in her human form and relaxing. She had some free time between meetings, and so now she was using it to her utmost.

“You guess?” Adagio asked her. “Sunny, I would kill—”

“She means that literally,” Sonata interjected with a grin.

“—to have a view like this!” the eldest triplet finished. “And you guess it’s okay?”

Sunset sighed. “Do you know why I have this place, as well as a new vacation home in Acapulcolt? Guilt. Aunt Luna told me that my mother felt remorseful for not treating me as she should have all these years and then went on a spending spree after she found out I survived our little ordeal in the time that never was.”

“At least you have a mother that can do that for you,” Aria pointed out, sounding a little peeved.

“Yeah, I know, Ari, I get it.” Sunset gave her cousin a sympathetic look and added, “Still, I would rather she do something for me out of love than guilt. I know she loves me, but I want her to know that she doesn’t have to make up for lost time.”

“Lucky you,” Octavia said cheerlessly.

“Look, girls, I really don’t want to get into this. I know you four haven’t had the best relationships with your mothers…or not at all, in the triplets’ case, but we’re still family. I’m here for you…even though technically you all are here for me.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow starts our fun,” Aria said gloomily.

“Tell me about it,” Octavia added. “I get to see the first of the mental therapists tomorrow, and I’m not looking forward to that at all.”

“Do you want me to go with you, or would you prefer if my parents did?” Sunset asked her.

“Actually, I got a note that the therapist wants to see me alone,” she said. “I was informed that it’s legal under Equestrian law, but that they’ll notify your parents as a courtesy.”

“Hey, at least you got it easy: Tomorrow, we have our evaluation with the REN brass,” Adagio told her. “Are you sure that there’s nothing you can tell us at all, Sunny?”

“I wish I could, but I really never knew much about the military, other than the guards assigned to me. Which, in retrospect, were probably window dressing; and my nannies, who in hindsight were probably Hooves, were the actual guards.” A thought came to her. “Have you talked to any naval personnel since you arrived?”

“Not really. From what I gather, the Navy here tends to be very insular and doesn’t work well with the other services. The Admiral wants to change that, but that is entirely dependent on what happens tomorrow. Personally, I’m looking forward to showing off our stuff. It’ll be nothing like they’ve ever seen before, and given that Equestria just went through a war a year ago, that’s saying something.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” Octavia admitted. “It doesn’t look like they were.”

“That’s because Canterlot, like a lot of capitals, tend to be isolated from the actual reality of conflict,” Aria explained. “Though for most of history – well, at least human history – conflicts have been pretty much front and center as far as the ruling seat of a nation is concerned. It’s only been in modern times that war has been a faraway and ‘out of sight, out of mind’ thing, especially given Equestria’s size and the central location of Canterlot.”

“You’re not entirely right about that,” the alicorn-as-human told her. “Though war is a rare thing, sad to say, there is a lot of internal strife. For example, prior to Tirek’s war, Canterlot was directly invaded by changelings and before that, there have been a couple of other things, like Sable Loam’s rebellion.”

“Which has given the Admiral no small amount of grief,” Adagio interjected.

“But the last major war Equestria was in, aside from this most recent one, was one against the changelings a couple of hundred years before I was born, and the military has mostly pivoted to peacekeeping now. The biggest concern the Navy has, if I recall, is keeping order in the former griffin kingdom, which broke up centuries ago and is nothing but a collection of squabbling warlords vying for power.”

“Still, I couldn’t tell that this place was at war a year ago,” Octavia said. “If anything, it seems the opposite.”

“That’s the nobility for you. Most of them are so stuck up that they’d easily rebuild everything instantly so that they wouldn’t have to deal with the reality of the situation – that’s for the poor, after all,” Sunset said with distaste. “Granted, there are some good ones, like Fancypants and Prism Chime, but most of them are like Highfalutin’ – unicorns are the only tribe that counts, and maybe even the alicorns.”

“Tribes?”

“Think the pony equivalent of race relations. Technically we’re talking subspecies rather than race, but for the most part it still rings true.” Sunset then went into a brief overview of the different pony tribes and their sometimes messy history with one another.

“Is it bad that I’m kinda glad that humanity doesn’t have the corner when it comes to bigotry, or that the first new species we meet also has the same issue?” Octavia asked with a somewhat awkward smile.

“People are people so why should it be, you and I should get along so awfully?” Sonata sang. “Even though it’s a human song, it seems it’s a truism everywhere you go.”

There was a knock at the door to the room, and a page came in. “Your Highness,” she said to Sunset after giving the other ladies perfunctory nods, “Prince Fujitsu is here and he would like to see you at your earliest convenience.”

“I…wasn’t expecting any company other than who I have present,” Sunset told the page.

“I would presume not, Princess, but nonetheless, he is here and seeks an audience.”

Sunset groaned. “Did he bring an entourage?”

“No, just himself and his retainer. But…he seems pretty insistent on seeing you.”

“Fine. Find out if he’s eaten, and then if not, invite them to join us. If he has, then tell him that I am having dinner and will meet with him at first convenience tomorrow.” The page nodded, then walked off, and Sunset sighed. “Great. Sorry, girls, but you’re getting dragged into this.”

“Into what?” Octavia asked.

“Prince Fujitsu,” Sunset groaned. “He’s a kitsune; back home, the Asian nations have legends of talking upright multitailed foxes, but here, they’re real and they reside in the Empire of Inari.”

“Like Tails from the Sonic games?” Aria asked.

“Something like that, only less cute and more like actual Japanese. The kitsune are long-time allies of Equestria and actually helped in the last war. But they have the opposite problem of ponies: most of them skew male and as a result, they tend to look towards other species for mates. And the royals are particularly bad about it. Both Mother and Aunt Luna have been chased by successive generations of emperors, and so has Cadance, as I recall correctly. I don’t know if Twilight has ever had to deal with them, but apparently now it’s my turn in the wringer.”

“So this guy is going to want to woo you?” Octavia asked.

“Oh, that is not going to make Pinkie happy,” Sonata added. “The only question is: Will she neuter him with a rusty spoon or not?”

“Why a spoon?”

“Because it will hurt more.”

The page came back a second later. “His august highness Prince Fujitsu accepts your kind invitation to dine with you. Shall I notify the kitchens?”

Five girls groaned.

A bespectacled pegasus gestured to a set of stairs in the distance. “Right this way, sir. His grace is waiting for you upstairs,” she told Night.

The human nodded. “Thanks very kindly,” he said, before continuing on.

The pegasus looked at the guard that had accompanied the human. “I was told they were coming, but…how do they see with those small eyes? We had some minotaur scholars here last week and they could barely see in the dark – and minotaur eyes are bigger than those!” She shuddered. “They’re like predator eyes.”

The guard shrugged. “Maybe it’s just a human talent,” he told her. “I’m still trying to figure out how they can hear anything with those tiny ears. It’s freaky, I tell ya.”

Hearing that, Night chuckled to himself. Though he wore glasses, there was enough light available to make the stairs easy to discern. Plus, glasses or not, he’d always had good hearing. Deciding to leave the two ponies to their conversation, he walked through the door and into the Royal Astronomy Guild’s grand telescope room.

From the moment he stepped inside, he felt as though he was walking onto the set of a movie based on the novels of Voyage Extraordinaire. The room had a steampunk look to it, with lenses and gears, contraptions and brass fittings galore. Dozens of ponies fritted about, some faces buried in notebooks or scrolls, while others were focused on a great tellurium in the center of the room. And at the far side, peering through a contracting series of brass-and-steel tubes that seemed at once both massive and fragile, was the deep blue unicorn that was his counterpart.

As he approached, Night looked at Night. “Find the place okay?” the unicorn asked. “I know most folks don’t know where our offices are located, including the majority of the palace staff.”

“No, I was running late,” the human explained. “Got distracted with the time spent talking with Princess Celestia.”

“I can certainly understand that,” unicorn Night agreed. “The princess is a good friend of ours as well, and it helps that we’re all family now.”

The two males stood there, looking at each other for several minutes, as if appraising one another and trying to fashion the countless number of variables needed to create worlds so similar and yet so different. It was not lost upon the others present about how familiar the strange alien was compared to their boss.

Finally, the human spoke. “So, see anything of interest up there?”

A furry head grinned as the reply came. “Actually, before you showed up, we were looking for the Creche of Creation.”

That caught Night’s attention. “The Creche of Creation?”

“Yes, a sacred place from which all springs eternal,” a new voice said. The human turned to see another unicorn, a mare, walking towards them. She had a tan coat, with a mane of sea-blue and lime-green. She wore a cassock of white with golden embroidery, the theme clearly religious in nature. Lastly, from the way many of those present deferred to her, she was clearly of importance.

Moving to the pony Night, she said to him, “I greet you in the Name of the Divine Creator, Saintly One.” She then blinked and turned to the strange creature next to him. “Odd…I sense another saintly soul…and strangely enough, it is the same as you, Blessed One.” A curious look came over her face as she added, “Most interesting. And I have never seen a creature of your kind before. This must clearly be a sign from Our Divine Queen, may She continue to Create the cosmos.”

“Um….” human Night said, unsure of what else to voice.

Pony Night explained, “This is Prestress Sweet Pea, our liaison to the Church of the Alicorns. She’s their foremost expert on the Creche.”

The cleric bowed. “I would not be the mare I am if it were not for the diligence and wisdom of my forebears,” she said in a serene tone.

Pony Night then said as an aside to his counterpart, “That’s my niece’s way of saying that she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.”

The serene look on Sweet Pea’s face vanished so suddenly one could almost hear the metaphorical record scratch. She then gasped, “You promised me you wouldn’t bring that up, Uncle Night!”

“You’re my kid sister’s only foal, Sweets, so who else is going to be an uncle to you?” he teased. Turning to his counterpart, the unicorn added, “Sweets here is the only child of my sister Illumination. Her father passed away shortly after she was foaled, so Lumi’s mostly been a single parent. We’ve helped when we can, obviously.”

“Lucky her,” the human replied with a chuckle. “We managed to get one kid out of the house, but we still have seven more to go – and six of them are all teenage girls. That’s a handful and a half, let me tell you. You at least have an empty nest.”

“Yes, but we do miss Spike living with us,” the unicorn added.

“I’m sure we will when that time comes,” the human answered.

Prestress Pea stood there, watching the verbal tennis match and growing all the more confused. Finally, her curiosity overcame any sense of propriety. “Who are you?” she ventured.

“I’m him,” Night said, hooking a thumb at Night.

She turned to her uncle. “Seriously, though, who – and what – is he?”

“Oh, he’s me,” her uncle said with a grin.

“Divine Celestia, please give me the patience to deal with my uncle’s sense of humor,” she sighed while facehoofing. “Uncle Night, please tell me: who is this individual and what is he?”

“As I said, he’s me,” the stallion told her, “and as to what he is? He’s…well, human.”

Sweet Pea blinked. “A human?”

The human Night offered his hand. “Guilty as charged,” he said.

Prestress Sweet Pea did the only thing that made sense in the situation: she blinked, then fainted.

The look on Sunset’s face was that of a person resigned to not trying to kill the idiot seated across from her. She’d changed back into her alicorn form in order to meet with the prince, but now she was wondering if that had been a mistake.

Sonata’s look was best described as “irritated”. She’d only spent a couple of minutes so far with this prince and she already didn’t like him.

Aria, given that they were given special dispensation to have alcohol during formal dinners, was already debating whether or not she should test that rule.

Adagio looked at the prince and then to his guard, sizing the potential up. There was something about him that she didn’t like and if she had to put a finger on it, it was that he reminded her somewhat of that man she’d killed in the old reality: the one that abused his daughter.

And as for Octavia, her face was unreadable, but the girls knew their cousin-slash-sister well enough to know that this was the last place she wanted to be right now, especially since….

Prince Fujitsu took a drink from his champagne flute, then looked at the raven-haired girl as one would a selection of a trifle on display. “Such a fine bevy of fair maidens,” the five-tailed, black-furred kitsune said. “Any one of them would make for a wonderful bride.” He looked at the alicorn and intoned, “As you know, the Imperial Family has prided itself upon marrying into the other royal houses around the world, the throne of Equestria being the lone exception.” He took another appraising look around the room, then added, “And now I find five exotic beauties when I had only sought one. Tell me, ladies: Which of you would be interested in being a princess?”

“I can speak for them all: they’re not interested in the least,” Sunset told him. “They are underage.”

“Age is nothing but a number, your grace,” the prince told her. “As long as they are physically mature, it matters not.”

“It matters to us,” Octavia told him, trying to contain her irritation. She’d already felt his tail flicker against her leg, and if it was anything like when someone rubbed their leg against another’s, her urge to kill was rising. “Plus, we are not a species familiar to this world.”

“Oh?”

Octavia gave a wolfish smile that would have done the triplets proud in another situation. “Yes – we’re humans.” To ponies – and humans – the toothy rictus would have clearly displayed her irritation at the situation. But cultural mores being what they were, to kitsune, it meant something entirely different – complete with a different response.

The paw of Fujitsu’s retainer reached for her side, placing her paws on her swords, removing one just enough from its scabbard for the blade to be visible. “You will not harm a hair on the prince,” the warrior hissed.

However, Fujitsu put a paw out and stated, “Calm yourself, Kashingo. Her grace would not surround herself with such beings if she did not feel safe herself – and as an alicorn, I would think there would be nothing safer. Plus, we are her guests, and to draw your blades would be the ultimate dishonor to our fine host.”

“Yes my prince,” Kashingo, a golden-furred, two-tailed vixen, responded in shame, resheathing her sword. “I only thought of protecting you.” She then turned to Sunset bowing deeply. “I have brought dishonor upon you, your grace. I humbly apologize.”

“You may punish her as you see fit,” Fujitsu advised Sunset. “I do so wish to keep relations between us in a desired state.”

Sunset noted his choice of words. “Between us or between our nations?”

Fujitsu shrugged. “Whichever is more important to you, I suppose,” he replied lightly.

Sunset looked at the vixen, then changed back to her human form, to the surprise of the female kitsune. “I count myself as one of them, given that I have lived amongst them for years, and I know humanity to be a peaceful species, for the most part. Still, as this was a misunderstanding, I accept your apology and that will suffice.”

“As generous as you are beautiful, Baroness,” Fujitsu said in blatant flattery. “You would do, ah, both your species credit if you were to be my bride.”

Sunset tried to hide her annoyance at his tone. She then said to him, “Your highness, given that they – we – are human, I am not sure that we would fit the traditional needs of an Inarijin mate. The tales of humans abound and there is much to do to dissuade the species of our world that humanity is not what the legends say they are.”

“Oh, I quite understand,” Fujitsu stated as he leaned over the table. “We have tales in our culture of the Hōrō-sha – the one you call the Megan – and her countless kitsune lovers. I am quite sure there are texts on how to pleasure your species, are there not?”

“That’s not important!” Sonata said, blushing.

“Oh, I would think that it would be,” he told her. “Perhaps you would care to—”

“No,” Sunset said firmly. “She is one of my personal guard and thus cannot, even if she desires to.”

“Then what about—”

“I am the Guard commander,” Adagio said. “She is my second in command,” she added as she pointed to Aria. “We three thank you for the…offer, but our loyalty is to Princess Sunset.”

Fujitsu immediately laser-focused on Octavia. “Since you have not spoken up, that means that you are unaccounted for. I presume that means that you are available.” He turned to Sunset. “Your grace, I would like her paw in mine, so that she and I shall walk the ways together.”

“Huh?” Octavia asked.

The look on Sunset’s face had passed to “verge-of-offended-but-must-be-diplomatic.” In a neutral tone, she told her cousin, “He just asked for your hand in marriage.”

The response was obvious.

“Oh, hell no!”

“Your Highness,” Mayor Mare said, looking around at the large gathering. “I noticed Lady Applejack is not present. Is she ill?”

“That’s one way of saying it,” Rainbow said, ruffling her wings.

“Rainbow, will you go…uh, check on her?” Princess Twilight asked.

“Uh, her family’s here. Shouldn’t they do it?”

The alicorn tried not to roll her eyes. “Because you’re a dear friend,” she deadpanned, “and friends check on one another?”

Finally the pegasus got the message. “Oh, I get it! Sure thing; you’re the boss, Twi!” Within a second, the flyer blasted off from her location, dress and formal attire be damned.

A giggle sounded behind her. The alicorn turned to see her counterpart standing there, with a glass of non-alcoholic apple wine in her hand. “So I take it your Rainbow acts before she thinks, just like ours?”

Twilight turned to face Twilight. “That obvious?” she asked, with a twinkle in her eye. In response, the human pointed to where Rainbow’s human counterpart was showing off with a soccer ball, displaying tricks to excited fillies and colts and not caring that she was wearing a finely-made dress, much to the barely-disguised look of horror on the faces of both Raritys.

“Oh, yes, Lt. Dash is quite the diligent individual, er, Miss Sparkle? Yes, let’s go with that,” the mayor said, giving the princess an apologetic look. “She often—”

“Mayor, you don’t have to stretch when it comes to them,” the princess explained. “Our counterparts are fairly similar to us in terms of personality, so there’s no need to polish the brass further. They know their own flaws, as we do ours.”

A relieved look came over the older earth mare’s face. “Ah, good. I’d hate to say something that would eventually prove a falsehood. Not that I would intentionally lie, mind you, but Lt. Dash has a way of turning one’s words into something else when unexpected, if you understand what I mean. On the other hoof, though, she is reliable despite her faults.”

“I quite understand,” the human Twilight said. “Our Rainbow is much the same. Minus the wings, of course.”

“Of course. Well, if you’ll excuse me, there are others I must speak to. A mare’s job is never done.” With a short nod of her head, she moved on, off to schmooze with others.

“So I take it your Applejack really isn’t sick?” the human Twilight asked.

“Fortunately, Rainbow added that part,” Princess Twilight stated. “I probably would have stated a generic ‘she’s indisposed’ or something like that. I’d rather not lie and despite the situation, I suspect Applejack wouldn’t want me to either.”

The teen added, “I would say that I wish she’d snap out of it, but if she’s anything like our AJ, I know that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

“I know them both well enough to know they’re strong-willed,” the alicorn explained, “and that’s not always a good thing.”

“Unfortunately not. At least the others are having a good time, though. They seem to do okay with one another.” Both Twilights looked at the Fluttershys, where the pegasus, amongst others, was entranced by the human’s guitar performance, as the human Fluttershy offered to provide the music for the event; then the Raritys, who were unified in their mollification of the human Rainbow’s antics. And while the Applejacks weren’t together, it was clear, based on the conversation that the human one was having with several of the townsfolk, that Apples will be Apples. In fact, the princess noted, the only ones who seemed to still be nervous about the presence of the humans were the Flower Trio, who watched from the far side of the pavilion with guarded concern.

There was, however, one present exception that the two plum-follicled scholars noticed: while the pony Pinkie was currently talking animatedly with Derpy, the human listened with vague politeness. In fact, she seemed to be somewhat glum, as far as Pinkie Pies were.

“Is something wrong with your Pinkie?” Princess Twilight asked Twilight. “She seems, well, dour.”

“Let me guess: she misses Sunny, right?” Both Twilights turned to see Raspberry approaching them. The mulberry unicorn was in her formal robes as the Guild Archmagus, and carried a flute of carrot-flavored champagne in her magic field.

“Probably,” teen Twilight responded to her friend.

“I wasn’t aware they were that close,” Princess Twilight commented.

“I think you misunderstand, Twi: Pinkie is in love with Sunny. My sister doesn’t feel the same way about her, or so she says, but Pinkie’s somewhat…ardent…in her love for Sunny.”

“I see,” Princess Twilight said, surprised. “I…didn’t expect that, and Sunny didn’t mention that when she was here last.”

“This only developed over the past few weeks, though apparently from what she told me, she’s had it bad for Sunny since for at least some time,” Raspberry interjected.

“You know, I wish I could find somepony like that, but I don’t think he’s interested,” Princess Twilight noted. “A shame, because he’s cute.”

The teenage Twilight shrugged. “At least you have your eye on someone. Unfortunately, I’m not the social butterfly my sisters are, so there’s no way that I get any kind of attention at all.”

Once she revived, the two Nights explained everything to the prestress, who had a resigned look on her face.

“I know the Divine Creator – Blessed be Her ways – can be unusual,” Sweet Pea admitted, “but this is odd.”

“You get used to it,” the human said with a slight grin.

“So what brings you here tonight?” the unicorn Night asked his niece. “Didn’t you have a charity drive planned for tonight?”

“No, that’s next week,” she explained. “Actually, I came by because our librarian asked me to bring this by.” She cast a spell and summoned an ancient scroll that glowed with an inner light. “This scroll is said to have been created towards the end of the Warring States Era and reportedly contains an image of the Creche itself!” A wide smile came onto the mare’s face. “Isn’t that amazing?”

“It definitely is,” pony Night said as he took the ancient tome. Walking over to a nearby table, he spread it out, unfurling it as though it were the grandest flag in all the realm. After the third turn, an illumination of a great blast in the sky was revealed, appearing on the page as if a great sonic boom happened in the very cosmic fabric itself.

“This must be the Creche,” Sweet stated. Closing her eyes, she recalled liturgical lines from memory: “Lo, and the Divine Creator and Queen of All issued forth from the very blackness of nothing itself, bursting forth in color from the ebon ink of eternity and leaving her mark as a bright glow in the universe for all to know she exists.”

Towering over the two ponies, the human Night looked at the scroll itself. “Hrm…that looks familiar,” he said, musing upon it for a moment.

The shorter Night caught that. “Like what?” he asked.

“Hold on, give me a second.” Night reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, dialing a number.

“What is that?” the prestress asked, looking at the black square in the human’s noodly hoof.

“As I understand it, it’s a communication device,” the stallion explained to the mare. “Twilight even has one.”

“How?”

“Your cousin visited their world and afterwards told me that since humans have no capacity for magic, they created technology that is so far beyond what we have that it may as well be magic. That device there, called a ‘phone’, is capable of reaching just about anyone in their world, even from here.”

The look on Sweet’s face went from puzzlement to utter astonishment. “But…only the Divine alicorns should have access to that level of power!” she gasped.

“Tell that to Sunset,” the stallion continued. “She apparently had one even before she ascended.”

Meanwhile, the other Night was busy talking to said former unicorn. “Sweetheart, it’s me. Do you mind running home quickly and grabbing my laptop and external hard drive? I need it for something here.”

“Sure thing, Dad. Just give me a second to prevent a political crisis and I’ll take care of it.”

“Political crisis?” Night began, but never even finished his sentence as a maize alicorn appeared in midair, with a silver slab of metal, some wires and a smaller black box.

“Sorry I took too long,” Sunset apologized, “but I had to make sure that Tavi or the triplets didn’t kill our official guest for dinner. I’ll explain at breakfast.”

“I’m sure I’ll want to hear it,” Night told her as she levitated the Macbook and HD into his hands.

“Oh, believe me, I was tempted to as well, but…well, diplomacy and all,” Sunset explained. She then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek and said, “See you tomorrow!” And with a flash of light and the popping sound of air rushing in to fill the vacuum where she’d been, Sunset teleported away.

Sweet’s jaw dropped. “Was that…?”

The man nodded. “I know she can be a showoff at times,” he told her, “but still, Sunny’s a good kid.” He turned away, just as a look came over the prestress’ face, the thousand-yard stare of a mare whose worldview was not only being shattered, but pulverized like millet under a millstone.

“Anyway, as I was saying….” Night opened his laptop and set it on the table, amazing a small crowd of ponies as the screen came to life. “That image looks a lot like NGC 6023, or as it’s called by amateur stargazers, the Paisley Park nebula. There have been a lot of studies on it as of recent, because it’s got some interesting properties, and some of the theoretical tests we’ve done show what could be unusual variations in its gravitic lensing, the kind we’ve never seen before. But since Paisley Park is about 5800 light years away from Earth, even our most advanced gear can’t get anything more than just a general view….”

One of the researchers looked away from the screen in shock. “5800 light years for a general view? We usually have to petition Princess Luna ahead of time to get her to cast her special farlight spell so we can see out to five hundred light years away!”

The human shrugged. “If we have anything more advanced, it probably either belongs to the DOD or some other nation’s military. Either way, it’s been the talk of the town in astronomy and related circles.” He then turned to his counterpart and said, “Once we get back, I’ll ask Sunset to send you over some of the astronomy books we have. Some of them are a decade or two old, since they’re out of date, but I don’t expect there to be anything new outside of a monograph or two, at least not until the IAU completes its next round of peer reviews.”

Unicorn Night nodded. “That would be helpful, thanks. I don’t know how similar this Paisley Park and the Creche are, but if they’re analogues of one another, then it’s entirely possible that both objects are tied to one another, effectively making a natural connection between your universe and ours!”

“Perhaps it’s a naturally-occurring wormhole,” the human suggested. “That, or…well, I hate to suggest it, but maybe even the Galactic Multiverse Theory at work.”

“The Galactic Multiverse Theory?”

The human tapped away at the keyboard, bringing up a Wikipedia page. “It’s more in the realm of science fiction writers at the moment as opposed to theoretical physicists, but given what I know now, I may have to revise my opinion on that.”

Afraid to look at the screen, but knowing that an answer would be forthcoming, Sweet looked at the human. “What is it?” she asked.

Night looked at her. “If I remember correctly – Twily would have a better answer, as she tends to keep up on that stuff – each galaxy in the sky is actually a ‘reality’ of its own, rather than each universe being a separate reality. So according to the theory, the galaxy that we humans live in, the Milky Way, is one such universe, while this one—”

“The Trail of Stars,” an interested batpony astronomer supplied.

“Thanks. Anyway, the Trail of Stars could be NGC 6744, which looks very much like our own galaxy.” He then went to the Wikipedia page on that. “If so, it could have formed similar stars and the like, all along the same probability tree, but with different life forms, but overall creating intelligent life similar in concept—”

The concept, unfortunately, was too much for Prestress Sweet Pea’s already destroyed worldview. It decided to check out…and a split-second later, so did she, as she fainted once again.

“I can’t believe—!” Octavia said, biting off a frustrated scream later that evening. Fujitsu had since departed, but not before having curled one of his tails around her leg and deciding that she would be best suited to bring the clouds and rain to him. Octavia had no idea what that meant, but from his tone, she knew it had to be something extremely lewd. “The nerve of that asshole!”

“You’re staying with me tonight,” Sunset told her. “No argument.”

“Sunny, I appreciate that, but I can deal with the fact that he’s a chauvinist pig even for a non-human….”

“No, I don’t think you understand,” Sunset told her. “There have been cases in Inariese culture where the ‘groom’ kidnaps the ‘bride’ from the family’s home. The moment they make it onto Inariese land – say, like the Inari embassy – then she is his, and they consider that a major point of honor.”

“What?”

“I wish I was joking,” Sunset told her. “If I remember correctly, about three hundred or so years ago, there was nearly a war between Inari and Abbysinia because one of their princes absconded with the betrothed of the Abbysinian king. My mother had to broker a peace treaty and even then there’s still some bad blood between the two nations.”

A look of horror then came onto Octavia’s face. “He wouldn’t…would he?”

“I don’t want to take the chance; the last thing I need is to explain to your parents why you’re now a kitsune bride. So until I get an agreement from the Inariese embassy that it won’t be allowed – and yes, I have to actually get that in writing – you’ll be staying with me.”

“Do you need us to stand guard?” Adagio asked Sunset.

“No. You’re going to have a long day tomorrow and besides, I can protect her easily. But if it makes you feel better….” Sunset quickly summoned a page and told her, “Contact the Castellan and tell her I have need of a small group of Hooves. Preferably ones on the overnight shift, as I don’t want to disturb anypony’s schedule.”

The page bowed. “It will be done, Your Highness.” The page departed, but no sooner had she departed, she returned. “Princess, I have someone here to see you – it’s one of the kitsunes.”

Sunset hadn’t expected that. “Is it Prince Fujitsu again?”

The page shook her head. “No, it’s his, ah…attendant. The one that was here earlier.”

“Okay, let her in.” As the page departed, Sunset immediately summoned three gunbelts with tasers in the holsters. “I take it you know what to do in case things go sideways?” she said to the triplets.

They didn’t argue, instead taking the belts immediately.

A second later, the page opened the door again and Kashingo walked in…but she looked as if she’d just been through hell. She no longer had the proud look of an Inariese swordsvixen – a kengo, to use their term – but looked closer to a beggar at the side of the road. Her yukata was in tatters and she looked as if she’d been beaten up; worse, it appeared as if that had happened without any attempt at self-defense on the kitsune’s behalf.

“Are you okay?” Sunset asked. “What happened to you?”

Her voice on the verge of sobbing, the kitsune spoke. “I…am here to assure you that his highness, the august prince…will not pursue the Lady Octavia in the Manner of the Night,” she said hesitantly.

“Well, that’s a relief…I think,” Octavia stated, but then paused as she noted a bead of blood welling on the kitsune’s snout, as well as her overall condition. “Wait – did he hurt you?”

“It is unimportant, my lady,” Kashingo told her, as the drop of red fell to the floor, staining the light-colored carpet. As if to underline it, the vixen shifted slightly and nearly fell down in the process, only forcing herself back to rights. “Please do not trouble yourself over my condition.”

“Like hell I won’t!” Octavia replied, looking to the page. “Get me some bandages.”

“At once, my lady,” the page stated.

“Don’t bother,” Sunset said, immediately casting a spell. Flickers of cyan flittered all over the kitsune’s body, and a second later she looked in better condition and her yukata repaired, though she still looked cowed.

“You should not have expended such effort on me, your grace,” she told Sunset.

“My home, my prerogative,” Sunset told her in reply. “Please, continue.”

The vixen then dropped to her knees and prostrated before Sunset. “Furthermore, for my sin against Lady Octavia and thus you, your grace, I have been expelled from my clan. Therefore, I must either come to you asking that I serve you, or per tradition….”

“Per tradition…what?” Octavia asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

“Jigai,” Kashingo explained.

“Jigai?”

“The male term for it is seppuku, milady.”

“What?” Adagio gasped.

“Ritual suicide,” Octavia said numbly. “No. I’m not going to accept that.”

Adagio looked at her cousin. “How do you know that, Tavi?”

“Fluttershy’s not the only one that watches anime, you know.” She then turned to Kashingo. “You’re not going to do that to yourself. It’s insane.”

“It is tradition,” she replied solemnly.

Octavia turned to Sunset. “Sunny, make it so she doesn’t do that!”

Sunset sighed. She didn’t know enough about Inariese customs, and she didn’t know enough about the Japanese on Earth to guess at equivalents, especially since it probably didn’t apply to that nation any longer. Thus, she had little choice but to wing it. “Kashingo, if we accept you, what will occur?”

“I shall renounce my vows to my realm and serve you in all ways, body and soul and whatever you desire of me, I shall do it.” She removed her swords and placed them before the alicorn-as-human. “I am well versed in the ways of combat, so I may protect you. I am,” she said, also hesitantly, “also versed in the ways of bedcraft and may pillow you, if that is your desire.” She then looked at Octavia. “You as well, my lady, as I have insulted you directly.”

“Bedcraft? Pillowing?” Octavia asked, unfamiliar with the term. Adagio whispered something in her ear and the raven-haired girl’s jaw dropped. “You don’t need to go that far!” she said, blushing.

“Regardless. Those are my orders as a retainer, and I must follow them to the letter. I have already shamed myself once, and I have been sorely and rightly punished for it. It is a mistake I dare not make again.”

“Sunny, we can’t let them do this to her,” Octavia told her cousin.

“Yeah, I agree with what Tavi says,” Adagio added, and her sisters merely nodded in concurrence.

Sunset sighed. “Would it help if I talked to Prince Fujitsu or the ambassador and explained this is an unnecessary mistake?”

“It is no mistake, your grace,” Kashingo told her. “I have been sundered already. If I were to head back now, I would be considered hyōhaku-sha, and would be put to death immediately, for I would be an unwanted trespasser on Inarijin ground.”

“And there’s no changing their minds?” Sonata asked.

“Not even my family would recognize me anymore. To them, I am dead, and who I am now is nothing more than a shambling monster.”

Sunset facepalmed, shaking her head. “I can’t believe this shit. You have nowhere to turn to?”

Kashingo looked at Sunset. “If you do not wish my services, your grace, then I ask….” The vixen choked briefly and said, “I beg that you allow me the use of a courtyard so that I may honorably commit jigai.”

“No! Not happening!” Octavia told her, then looked at Sunset. “Sunny, you have to do something!”

Sunset looked back at Octavia, giving her an assuring smile. “I will, don’t worry.” She then turned back to the prostrated kitsune. “Kashingo, face me.” The kitsune did so and Sunset looked at her. “Will you vow to serve the Crowns of Equestria?”

“I will.”

“Will you vow to keep us safe?”

“I will – with my life, if need be.”

“Then I accept you. Rise and stand as a subject of Equestria.” She did so. “Welcome to Equestria, Kashingo.”

“I am sorry, your grace,” the vixen said, “but I can no longer be Kashingo. I am now Equestrian and ‘Kashingo’ is a name exclusively for kashin – retainers – of the Inarijin Imperial Family. I must take another. You may rename me as you wish.”

“No, we do not do that in Equestria,” Sunset told her. “You may choose a name of your own desire.”

“Well, whatever; I guess we’ll worry about that in the morning,” Adagio groaned. “As for now, I guess I’ll get some sleep,” she said, just as a quintet of heavily-armed Hooves arrived to take over the protection.

“The extra protection is unnecessary, my ladies,” the now-nameless vixen stated. “I shall stand the watch.”

“No, you were injured and you have been through much this evening,” Sunset told her, adding a patina of formality to her tones, as she thought it was needed. “It is my wish that you rest and we shall talk about it in the morning.” Seeing the doubt on the vixen’s face, Sunset added, “It is what I request of you.”

The kengo bowed. “Then that is what I shall do.”

Sunset turned to the nearest Hoof. “Please ensure a room is made up for her. It’s going to be a long night.”

“Thanks for helping me bring her here,” pony Night said to his counterpart twenty minutes later. They were in the former’s home, specifically in the guest bedroom. “I probably could’ve carried her myself, but these bones are getting old,” he said with a sad chuckle.

“It wasn’t a problem,” Night replied back. “Besides, I needed the workout, anyway. I just hope that she’ll survive the shock to her worldview. Culture clash can sometimes be an ugly thing.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” the stallion insisted. “Lumi did a good job with her and she knows that with a cousin that’s an alicorn and another married to a second, reality can change at any moment.” He then looked at the other Night’s second bundle and asked, “Well, care to show me more about that wonderful magic mirror device of yours?”

“The computer?” the human asked. “Sure. Got a table we can set it up on?”

“Yeah. Kitchen’s this way.” The two males of science went into the kitchen and huddled around the laptop, talking about many things for hours, learning more about what was different – and similar – about the sciences of their world. The studies of magic absolutely astounded the human, whereas several fields of human science completely amazed the unicorn.

But finally, the grandfather clock in the hallway tolled midnight and the unicorn yawned. “I hate to break off one of the most fascinating discussions I’ve ever had, but I need to get some sleep. I promised a colleague I would present a lecture on some basic material to the Magic Academy tomorrow, so I need to be up bright and early to prepare.”

“I suspect the palace staff has some plans for us tomorrow as well,” the human replied. “Plus, I’m probably going to get a lecture for ditching the escort I had.”

“His fault for not paying attention,” pony Night said, and both laughed at that. “In any case, let me summon one for you. I know it’s a trip to the palace.” With that, he sent off a magic summons for a Guard escort to arrive.

As they waited, the unicorn told his counterpart, “We should do this again.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

Pony Night paused in thought for a moment, then said, “I have always wondered what my life would have been like if things had been different. Granted, I’m a lucky enough stallion to have three wonderful foals who mean so much to me and my wife, who’ve all made their mark on the world in incredible ways, but I always figured another me wouldn’t really be that special. And now that I met you, I realize I really am nothing special to begin with. And that’s not a bad thing.”

“Oh, I disagree,” Night told him. “I think you and I are something special. We’re fathers to special individuals. Three in your case, and four in mine, with an additional four more in a sense.”

“Well,” the unicorn told the human, “you certainly have me beat in that case.”

“Yes, but it’s not the quantity or the quality. It’s that we were fathers to them…and that’s just what they needed.”

Pony Night chuckled. “Well, they do say great minds think alike, and we’re about as great as we can be, I guess.”

The escort chariot arrived, and the two hoofbumped (or fistbumped, in the human’s case) and the latter departed, getting into the chariot. The unicorn watched his counterpart vanish into the distance, and then he closed the door and got ready for bed.

But as he crawled into the sheets, he heard his wife mumble, “You’re not ordinary at all, Night. You’re beyond special to me.”

“I know,” he said, his voice soft and warm, “but I’m even more special because I have you.” Nuzzling his wife, he then turned over and closed his eyes for a much-needed sleep.

In an apartment in the northern district of Canterlot, a petite but perky unicorn did leg lifts, making sure that she was fit as a fiddle.

“21…22…23…24…25! Whew! That’s a new record!”

She had a soft white coat, a pink, teal and purple mane and tail, and at the moment, she wore a sweatband, legwarmers and a workout saddle. Her burgundy eyes gazed out at Luna’s moon as it radiated its sweet light across the city, and in the reflection of the window, she could see her cutie mark: a pink gem, encircled by a soft red heart outline.

“Gotta look my best!” she said to herself, a bright smile on her face. “Can’t afford to look bad if I’m going to meet the love of my life tomorrow!”

The door to the apartment opened and a gray earth mare with a black-and-blue mane and maize-colored eyes looked at her. She then gave her roommate a shake of her head. “You know, Jewel, if you actually went out and met somepony, you might just like them.”

Precious Jewel looked at Polished Silver; the two had been friends since forever. “But Polly,” Jewel defended, “I can’t just meet anypony – I gotta do what my cutie mark tells me!”

Silver rolled her eyes. “Seriously? I have never heard of a cutie mark that states ‘you shall marry a prince or princess’. C’mon, Jewel! When was the last time you dated anypony? Hell, do you even know if you prefer stallions or mares?”

Jewel waved it off. “So totally not important! The thing is that I’m destined to make a prince or princess happy! I mean, tomorrow I could be the fiancéeof somepony like Prince Divine Right or Princess Lilac Bell. Maybe even one of the ruling ponies, like Princess Twilight!”

“The only reason you would remotely meet one is because you work for Princess Celestia's office. Hell, I’m just a waitress and I meet more nobles than you do!”

“I’ll have you know that Prince Orcasong kissed me!”

“As I recall, it’s because he’s a little foal and your office was babysitting him as a favor to Princess Aquasong since she had a speaking engagement and couldn’t find a babysitter.”

“Not the point!” Jewel insisted. “I promise you that when this is all said and done, I will be the true love of a prince or a princess, because that’s what my cutie mark is telling me!”

Silver rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Princess Clueless. I have the morning shift at the restaurant, so I’m going to bed. Good night.”

In the room assigned to her, the vixen once known as Kashingo whimpered softly. She dared not cry; she’d already humiliated herself. To her society, she was an outsider, a Forbidden One. She would never step foot on the earth of her homeland ever again, never see the beautiful cherry blossoms or to ever gain her third tail. She was forever anathema.

Worse, she now had to serve ponies and these…monstrous beings from another world. She really didn’t understand ponies and their strange ways, but it was the monsters that made even less sense. To her they seemed like some twisted cross between minotaurs and ponies and that seemed even odder. Even stranger still, the newest princess of Equestria – her new master – seemed to enjoy being around them and bizarrely even referred to them as family.

Family…I don’t have one anymore. I don’t even have a name anymore.

Despite her vows, she cried herself to sleep.

Day Two, Morning: A Connecting Principle

The alarm went off, and Precious Jewel sat up in bed. After yawning and stretching, she gave the first rays of dawn a smile.

“Today’s the day!” she said to herself, a bright smile on her face. “Today’s the day I’m going to meet the love of my life, I just know it!”

Turning on the light, she got ready for work: brushed her coat and mane, put on just a bit of Everlasting Love™ brand perfume and her favorite soft black lacy ribbon for her mane.

Whistling a soft tune (quietly, so she wouldn’t wake up her roommate), she left the apartment and headed off to work. Today her boss had told her to be prepared for an important challenge, and so if that was the case, Precious Jewel would meet that challenge head-on.

After all, her future special somepony was out there, just waiting for her!

Velvet and Night, already having adjusted to the unusual sights they’d seen since their arrival, now found themselves witness to one even weirder as they walked into the breakfast parlor: both Sunset and Octavia, seated at the table, eating breakfast, while a fox-like creature sat next to the latter, poring over a book with what Velvet presumed was a serious look on its face.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Night said, offering his hand. “I’m Night Light, and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet.”

The fox stood, bowed and told them, “I am no one. Please do not consider me of purpose. I am only here by Her Highness’ insistence.”

When Night looked at Sunset for an explanation, the flame-haired girl said, “It’s a kitsune thing. Just let it go for now and I’ll talk to her later.”

“Is this related to what you told us this morning?” Velvet asked her. Sunset nodded, and decided to turn to the other member of their family. “Tavi, are you okay? Sunny sent us a note this morning and told us about what happened last night.”

“I’m doing better than I was last night,” Octavia replied between bites of her pancakes. “Is it bad that I got proposed to by a prince and I just don’t care?”

“Trust me, things like that are normal around here,” Sunset said sardonically.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Octavia then turned back to her aunt. “Anyway, to make up for it, Sunny’s offered to take me shopping this afternoon before my appointment. I want to see if I can get a new, locally-made contrabass and guitar and see how they sound on human equipment.”

“Just don’t overdo the shopping. We still have to go home and even though it’s just bringing things through a portal, we don’t want to find out the hard way if significant conservation of mass is involved,” the matron advised.

“It’s not, Mom,” Sunset told her. “Besides, we should be okay.”

“I’ll be keeping it to a minimum anyway,” Octavia assured her. “As it is, I don’t have any money, so Sunny’s paying for it all.”

“All the more reason to be careful then – Sunny is quite literally tied to the national economy here, so let’s not leave a bad impression by bankrupting the realm, shall we?” Night joked.

“Oh, I’m sure that they’ll be doing that once they see the weapons that the triplets and Adm. Loam are bringing to the table,” Sunset drolled. “We can have cost overruns just like home.”

“I’m not sure I like the idea of an idyll like this turning into a military behemoth like back home,” Velvet mused.

“Times change, Vel.” Velvet turned and saw both Celestia and Luna – the ones she’d known virtually all her life, at least – walking into the room. “Cultures change. Neither Luna or I remained the same when we moved to the US, and you can’t expect them to remain the same because they’re exposed to us now.”

“Especially given that they just got over a war,” Luna pointed out. “Typically, societies that do that start bulking up soonest.”

“And yet they seem to lead such idyllic lives despite all that,” Velvet replied. “Is it wrong that I’d rather there be at least one species out there that doesn’t want to have anything to do with conflict?”

“It would be nice, Aunt Velvet, but it’s not realistic. There’s always a drive for people to protect themselves, and they do what they have to in order to do that.” The others turned to see Adagio, her sisters and Sable walk in. The quartet were dressed in identical uniforms: black double-breasted suit coats with golden buttons, white shirts with black ties and black trousers; at their sides, they carried combination cover hats. At first glance, the small group could have easily been presumed to be officers of the United States Navy, but a keen look at their rank insignia, as well as their award ribbons, said otherwise. The four had settled on the uniform style, as the organization in question really did not have a standardized dress attire, or at least as far as humans went.

“You know I don’t like this at all,” Velvet told the oldest triplet. “I only reluctantly agreed to let you three do this because of Sunset’s grandmother.”

“We know, and we love you for that, Aunt Velvet,” Aria chimed in. “But this is what we were born to do, and nothing’s going to change that.”

Night, deciding a change in topic was in order, looked at Sable. “Think you’re ready for today?”

“I certainly hope so,” Sable admitted. “Today’s going to be our first formal meeting with the Lord Admiral of the Royal Navy and as we’ll technically be under her command, we need to look our best. As I understand it, Adm. Tumblehome is a martinet if there ever was one.”

Aria grabbed a muffin from the plate in the center, then picked up the butter spreader. “I hope we’re not going to end up with another Cantata,” she groaned. “If that’s the case, she’ll be one we won’t be able to get rid of.”

“That’s why I’m here, Cmdr. Blaze,” Sable told her. “Someone has to step into the line of fire.”

“And we appreciate that, sir,” she told him.

Night looked at Sable’s rank, seeing the single star. “So, rear admiral or commodore?”

“Going with rear admiral, lower half,” Sable told him. “I’ve seen the rank and rate structure of the REN, and it’s a mess, to say the least. The Army, the Guard and the Mage Guild have better systems. Since we’re going to be a special unit of the REN, I want actual structure, which means that we’re best going by established guidelines. And fortunately, the US Navy is a decent enough guide, given that the girls were prior Sailors.” A pony server asked if he wanted coffee; Sable nodded and a second later a mug was placed in front of him, filled with an aromatic black liquid. Continuing his conversation, Sable added, “I’m actually surprised you know about the ranks.”

“Not much,” Night admitted. “While my brother was a Navy fighter pilot, the ways of the Navy are still a mystery to me. As it is, we keep in touch with his widow, Seaspray; last time we talked, she was just promoted to a two-star and made commander of Carrier Strike Group Three or something like that.”

Luna looked at Celestia and asked, “Which makes me wonder: Do we have the funds to make a JROTC?”

“There’s available funding for it,” Celestia responded, “though usually the high schools don’t bother. Besides, I get the feeling that your new vice principal wouldn’t care for that sort of thing, as it takes away from scholastics.”

Adagio looked at the two educators. “If you’re doing it for our sakes, while we appreciate the gesture, we’ll have to decline. After everything we’ve been through, we don’t feel that we can risk the lives of any teenagers who can’t comprehend this lifestyle. No, if this new SIREN is going to work, it will have to be through established members of the Equestrian military.”

Aria nodded. “While we do have a few potential prospects amongst the people we know back at home, Dagi’s right – we’re best leaving the teens we know to be, well, teens. As it is, we’re going to have our hands full, especially when we start drafting up the full teams for deployment.”

“Full teams?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, Your Highness. Five teams of forty personnel each; two hundred in total,” Sable explained.

“Two hundred?” Sunset gasped.

“Wow, talk about mall invasions,” Octavia cracked.

Celestia looked at him. “Sable, we cannot take in two hundred extra students at CHS! It’ll be hard enough as is to hide them around the other high schools in the area.”

“Sunset did it for years without issue,” he noted.

“Yes, but she was able to get away with it because it was just her! Two hundred students are a demographic influx, and you know as well as I do that’s a much harder number to obscure.”

“I know, believe me. That’s why it’s probably going to be more like three teams – 120 personnel – spread around the area. Three active SIREN teams on Earth should be enough, while two units can remain behind in Equestria to assist the Crown with special duties and eventually train the other special forces that the other services will want once they see the effectiveness of SIREN.”

“Sable, have you considered the bigger factor?” Velvet asked him. “Even with seven billion people on Earth—”

“Your world has seven billion sapients?” the vixen said, astonished and looking at Sunset with eyes wider than dining plates.

“Probably closer to eight at this point,” Sonata mused.

“Yes,” Sunset told the shocked kitsune. “We’ll explain later. Anyway, go ahead, Mom.”

“As I was saying, Sable, there has to be at least one or two living near or that has ties to Canterlot and/or Equestria County, or even the general metro area. Even Shimmer, though she lives in France, has ties to Canterlot, for example.”

Sable looked at his future princess. “Do you mind if we discuss this?” he asked her.

“It’s not classified,” she told him.

“It should be,” he replied. “In any case, we’ve commissioned a highly-qualified computer specialist to build specialized software for us.”

Sunset turned to Aria, eyebrow raised. “Is this the thing you set up with Derpy a couple of weeks back?”

The middle triplet frowned; she didn’t think she had been that blatant. “That obvious?”

“Don’t worry, Sunny,” Adagio assured her. “We covered our tracks well and she thinks she designed this for the FBI.”

“You do know that Derpy’s not stupid, right? She’ll probably figure that out in an instant.”

“Probably, but that may be a good thing, as she’s probably one of the few that we could consider as SIREN material despite the prohibition,” Aria admitted. “In any case, she’s built us a program that will tie into all the publicly available information around the world. We’ll be recruiting only Equestrians that are the best of the best, who appear to be between the ages of eighteen to twenty-six, and have counterparts with no criminal records and have zero ties to anywhere within a five-hundred-mile radius of the Canterlot Metropolitan Area. The last thing we need is for a SIREN to walk down the street and run into her counterpart…or worse, the cops, who want to arrest her for something her counterpart did.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would be a slight problem,” Night said with a trace of bemusement.

“Anyway, once we meet with Adm. Tumblehome and formally turn over our flag, we will then start recruiting from within the Navy as well as the other services. In keeping with SIREN tradition, they’ll all be female, though if it’s successful enough, we may consider creating a male-based support unit in the future.”

“That would be good to know; even if Equestria is a matriarchal society I value all my subjects.” Everyone paused to see the solar alicorn standing at the door, a smile on her face.

Sable stood up and barked, “Attention on deck!” At once, the three junior SIRENs stood as one, all four becoming ramrod straight poster children.

Sunset groaned. “Not right now, okay?”

“This is military protocol, Sunset; even I know that,” Princess Celestia told her. “And Admiral, you may relax that protocol while you are here. We have a semi-casual standard around the palace, as it allows things to be more efficient. I will have my office forward you a copy of the joint agreement, if you’d like.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he told her. “That would be appreciated.”

“Still, it is interesting to note that my daughter is raiding my best troops for her own private army,” Princess Celestia said with a grin. “And here you are all talking about it calmly at breakfast.”

Adagio, however looked at the regent. “Your Majesty, with all due respect, I take umbrage to that statement.”

“Oh, how so, my little pony?” she asked. A second later, she amended with, “In a manner of speaking, of course.”

“Understood, ma’am. In any case, SIREN is a naval force, not military, per se. Therefore, your daughter would be raiding your best troops for her own private naval corps, not an army.” Adagio continued to fix her glance on the solar alicorn even as the princess looked back.

The solar alicorn’s eyes narrowed briefly…before she started to giggle. “Oh, I think you’ll give Tumblehome absolute trauma!” she said with a smile. “I wholeheartedly approve.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Adagio said, briefly bowing before returning to her meal.

Princess Celestia then turned to Sunset. “Oh, Sunset, you have such a charming family! Any chance there are others out there that I could adopt from the human world?” Sunset merely rolled her eyes and groaned at that and the princess giggled.

“I’ve been told it’s the right of parents to completely embarrass their foals,” the princess continued, giving Velvet and Night a knowing wink before turning back to Sable. “In any case, Admiral, if you would indulge me, I would like to have a conversation with you prior to your meeting with the Naval staff. Perhaps I can give you some additional advice.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. My subordinates and I would be honored to join you. Would you like us to meet you in the throne room, or is there another location you have planned?”

“The throne room would be fine. Also, if you would, bring your lovely lady with you,” the princess said, turning her head slightly to look at her counterpart. “I don’t believe we’ve had time to chat yet.”

A chill suddenly settled in the room as everyone realized what was going on.

“I’m doomed,” Celestia suddenly murmured. Luna, seated next to her, reached down and squeezed her sister’s hand in sympathy.

However, she wasn’t the only one thinking ahead. “On second thought…. Capt. Dazzle, I want you and your subordinates to meet with Capt. Arrowswift and to make sure we have everything ready for our demonstration with Adm. Tumblehome. We need everything to flow as smoothly as possible and while we have the Guard on our side, the better the planning, the better the result.”

Adagio got the message. “Understood, sir. We’ll switch to Type II OUs and meet you at the parade grounds.”

Meanwhile, Sunset looked at the nearly paranoid gaze on her former principal’s face and the worried cast on her current one, then the unreadable-except-to-her face of her biological mother. She knew she had to do something for Ms. Celestia’s sake, and it was best to do it now. “Mother, may we talk outside for a moment?”

Clearly the solar alicorn had been expecting this. “Of course, dear,” she said, nodding. “Please, everypony, enjoy your breakfast. I’ll see you in a bit, Admiral?”

“Aye, ma’am,” he told her.

Meanwhile, Velvet looked at her daughter. “Sunny, I know what you’re going to do. I suggest you leave it alone,” she advised.

Sunset looked at her human mother, then to the counterpart of her pony one. Celestia looked as though she was seconds away from being fed to the sharks, and Sunset didn’t like that one bit.

“Take care of Ms. Celestia, Mom,” Sunset told her. “I’m going to defuse this.”

“Sweetheart, it’s not that bad, trust me.”

“Maybe or maybe not, but I can’t let it just go without looking out for Ms. Celestia. She did it for me all those years…I wouldn’t be the girl you want me to be if I didn’t do the same.” Sunset took a final swig of her coffee and bite of a scone before getting up and heading out the door.

Princess Celestia waited outside. “Oh, sweetheart, I wanted to remind you that I’ll need you to take the meeting with the delegation from Yakyakistan. They’ve sent a delegation, who seem to be very interested to meet with you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sunset told her. “Now will you please stop scaring Ms. Celestia?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, dear,” the older alicorn replied.

“Yes, you do. Look, if this is about all the times she yelled at me….”

The smile fell from the older alicorn’s face, replaced with a parental look. “It’s not; plus, as I understand it, they were all well-deserved admonishments coming from your educator. I would be remiss as a parent and regent if I were so petty. Plus, as having been an educator myself, I quite understand in any case. So I can assure you, it’s not that.”

“Are you sure?”

“What, don’t you trust me, Little Sun?”

The mention of Sunset’s foalhood nickname made her relent. “I do, Mother. It’s well…she’s family to me, in a sense. Pretty much literally once Shiny and Cady get married.”

“I understand your point and frankly, I’m very proud of you standing up to protect somepony…er, someone you care about. But this is something that I have to do for myself. Honestly, I suspect both of us do.”

“Just…be gentle,” Sunset asked. “She’s afraid of you, and I don’t know why.”

“I do.” Princess Celestia nuzzled her daughter. “And honestly? I’m afraid for the same reason. Now I need to get going. I’ll see you tonight at dinner?”

Sunset nodded. “Of course.”

As Sunset watched her mother depart, she didn’t have time to think about the words she’d said, as Kibbitz suddenly approached her, with another pony in tow. “Princess Sunset?”

“Yes?”

The elderly stallion shuffled some papers in his magical field. “Apologies for the interruption, but the delegation from Yakyakistan arrived early and they’re insistent upon meeting with you now. Additionally, the Ambassador from Inari said he would like to meet with you this afternoon regarding a certain…faux pas…that apparently occurred last night. Lastly, the delegation from Saddle Arabia arrived this morning instead of tomorrow and they would like to perform the traditional Jasmine ceremony for you at your earliest convenience.”

Sunset immediately summoned her phone and looked at her schedule; it was going to completely trash the free time she had this afternoon with Octavia. “Damn, there goes my free time. I’d promised I’d take Tavi shopping today. Is there any way the Saddle Arabians can wait until tomorrow?”

“While I’m sure they could, Your Highness, it would be a grave insult to them,” Kibbitz informed her. “The Jasmine ceremony involves a ritual purification that will take the participants hours, and will vastly inconvenience them. Besides, I am sure Lady Octavia will quite understand that you have other duties and cannot always be available.”

“I know, but….” Sunset sighed and changed into her alicorn form. “I guess I’d best give her the bad news.”

“I know this is a difficulty for you, Princess, but your mother has had the same issues throughout the years. You are not alone in your struggle.”

“Yeah, but I don’t have to like it. As it is, I’m going to hate doing all that extra paperwork that’s involved.”

The stallion nodded. “About that…as you are currently without a seneschal of your own, I’ve taken the liberty of assigning one of my secretaries to you until we complete the search for your seneschal.” Gesturing with his left hoof, he stated, “May I present Miss Precious Jewel.”

The two mares looked at one another. “It’s…it’s an honor to work with you, Princess Sunset!” Jewel said, blushing. “I hope that I can do my very best to make sure your office is running smoothly!”

“I’m sure you will,” Sunset assured her. She then looked back at Kibbitz. “Now, are there any other issues that need to be attended to, as my mother’s busy at the moment and I suspect she’ll pass the paperwork on to me?”

Kibbitz chuckled. “So very astute of you, Your Highness. I have them at my office. If you’ll follow me.” He then turned to Jewel. “And as for you, Miss Jewel, I will need you to head off to Nobility House and to check with my associates there to ensure that everything is ready for Friday’s session.”

The mare bowed. “I will endeavor to do so, my lord,” she said softly.

“There’s a good lass. Now then, if you’ll follow me, Your Highness, we shall get this over and done with. I’m quite sure you do not wish to keep the yaks waiting.” With that the two walked off towards his office and Sunset’s first challenge of the day.

Jewel managed to make it down the hall before she ducked into a closet and collapsed. That…oh, my…. She felt a warm feeling wash over her like she never had before, and every inch of her body seemed to vibrate with excitement. It was like that feeling she got whenever she read one of Silver’s romance novels, but even more so.

Princess Sunset Shimmer…. she thought, running the words around in her mind. They fit perfectly. They were nothing less than sheer perfection.

She giggled softly as she stepped out of the broom closet, an unnaturally wide grin on her muzzle. At long last, she had found love.

Now to win her heart and let her know that I will be the best wife for her that I can! Jewel thought. I will be the one to make her happy!

After all, the princess had been living in an alien world all these years, probably with beings that didn’t understand her and certainly wouldn’t love her the way Jewel would.

Meanwhile, at the table, the kitsune closed the book, a satisfied smile having come to her face. “I have chosen a name, one that I feel will serve me well.”

Adagio looked at her. “Do tell.”

“Henceforth, I shall be known as…Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.” Seeing the sudden looks of confusion on the faces of the humans, she asked, “Did I commit a social taboo? I was trying to pick a name that was acceptable for humans, and it was my understanding that this book would assist in my efforts.” She held up a copy of a dictionary.

“Did someone not tell her what that means?” Velvet asked the girls present.

“I think the bigger question is, is she aware that human names aren’t that much different from pony ones, weird as that is?” Luna added.

“I saw the ‘Fox’ part and felt it was apt,” the vixen said with a satisfied smile, but then that grin fell as she suspected it wasn’t approved. “I have no excuse for any pertinence on my part,” she said apologetically. “I did not ask my mistress and unfortunately, I have taken it as my True Name, so I cannot change it.”

“You can’t?”

“A kitsune can only change his or her name when we are reclanned,” she said. “We can only tell our clan our True Name and it is ours forevermore, unless you expel me from the clan.”

“Not that we would,” Octavia stated, “but you said you would have to take your life if you were to be expelled again?”

“Yes. The shame would be too great,” she said, worriedly. She then took Octavia’s hands in her paws. “Please, milady, please! I will be a gracious and humble servant! Please forgive my unknowing foolishness!”

Octavia looked at her aunt. “Help?” she pled.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Velvet sighed, “but clearly part of my duties as a parent around here is explaining humanity to non-human sapients.”

There were days, Han’nya-no-Midorino’oka, Ambassador of Inari to the Court of Canterlot, wondered if this was all worth it. When he first took over the position from his older brother, Dōkaku, he thought it would be a walk in the park, relatively speaking. But then came the Winter of Aftermath, which had affected the whole world. The seclusion of Princess Celestia had just recently ended, but it had made many kitsune in the Court of Nine Tails uneasy at the prospect of a potentially more powerful Nightmare Moon crisis befalling the alicorn that controlled the very daystar that every being depended upon. Thus, it had fallen to Han’nya to ensure the continued prosperity of the Inari-Equestria alliance, lest their nation become worse off than that Tartarus-forsaken collection of squabbling lands that had once been the great griffin kingdom of Griffonstone.

And now, his idiot of a brother may have sent all of Han’nya’s efforts tumbling straight down the nearest pit, all because he couldn’t keep his yukata folded, as the saying went.

“Prince Fujitsu, you have brought dishonor upon the nation with your antics,” Han’nya said to the recalcitrant prince. “May I remind you that you are merely a minor prince of the realm and not one of the ruling tails! In fact, the only reason you are a prince and not a mere daimyo is because you are the illegitimate child of—”

“Enough, enough,” Fujitsu said, waving a paw absently. “I get your point, brother. And may I remind you that tradition dictates that when a tod is on the search for a mate, none may interfere?”

“For one, you know that is not true – a ruling tail, if he feels it is in the best interest of the Empire, may prevent it. And in this case, I am sorely tempted to do so. These aren’t some lovelorn mares ready to lift their tails at a moment’s notice, you fool – you are entreating with humans!” Han’nya railed in the young kitsune’s face, his hazel eyes flaring as he snarled, “Do you not recall the stories of those monsters? It is bad enough that the alicorns are entreating with these beasts, and now you want to rut with one like you’re some Ōinari-forsaken hydra?”

“Do you not recall the stories of the Megan and her many kitsune lovers?” Fujitsu commented with a bored tone, looking over his recently-polished claws. “A true tod knows how to take care of a human vixen. They practically beg for us to bring the clouds and rain with them.”

“You and those salacious iroke stories of yours will get you in trouble.” The ambassador walked over to a bookcase, withdrew one from the shelf, then threw it at Fujitsu. “Read the true history of our encounters with the Hōrō-sha, such as the one where she slaughtered Emperor Tsuzurao for his predations on other lands despite Queen Faust’s warnings. When he didn’t listen, the alicorn queen unleashed her warlord and our nation paid a terrible price. A price at the paws of a human!

“Humans like that are something we scarcely need more of on this world, and yet the alicorns are playing as dangerous a game as their mother. And now you want to make it worse? Are you that stupid?” He pointed a digit at the prince. “Mark my words: if you continue this foolishness, I will have you sent back. You are here merely because our father seems to think you might be able to handle more responsibility, but I have my doubts – and you are surely proving them true! Remember this: when push comes to shove, I make the final decisions as to your presence here, do I make myself clear?”

Fujitsu growled. “Fine, brother. Fine.”

“Good. I’m glad we’ve had this talk,” Han’nya seethed. “Now leave my office; I have to speak to Baroness Sunset and come up with a suitable apology for your behavior.”

A stoic look on his face, Fujitsu went back to the office he had been assigned to while here at the embassy. Once there, he let the rage he truly felt come to the forefront as he picked up a priceless vase from the nearby table and threw it against the far wall, watching it shatter into a thousand pieces and far beyond the skill of even the finest kintsukuroi artisans to fix.

How dare he treat me like I’m some kit! Fujitsu hissed in his head. Just because he’s a seven-tailed kitsune, born of the actual Empress, doesn’t mean he’s so damn special! Fujitsu grabbed the end of his desk, clawing it hard enough to scratch the priceless wood of the desk. It wasn’t Fujitsu’s fault that he was born of one of the royal concubines! He had served the realm dutifully as a diplomat and bureaucrat, and he did not deserve to be dressed down as if he were some low-ranking one-tail!

He knew what he wanted – that human vixen with the black mane and the wicked purple eyes. She would be a pawful in bed, he knew. He could practically feel her claws against his back, raking them in ecstasy. He’d had many females before, but none caught his attention like that Octavia vixen. None sank into his dreams and made him wish to reach the clouds and rain like she did.

He would have her…but he would have to be careful. Even he knew angering the alicorns was not wise, so he would have to be subtle about the way he obtained Octavia. He wanted her to know that he would spend no little cost to ensure that she was to be his, and that he would make her the finest bride in all of Inari.

He snapped his digits. “Kashintsu, Keraigo, a moment, please.”

Immediately, a pair of three-tailed kitsunes similar to the former Kashingo appeared before him.

“Your will be done, my prince,” Kashintsu, the tod said.

“I am yours to serve,” the vixen, Keraigo, told him.

He first addressed Kashintsu: “I understand that there are…specialists in town, attending to other matters, matters that the Crown of Equestria would not approve of.” One thing about his duties; working for the Kakureta Ashi, the Empire’s espionage agency, had its benefits; even if he was not versed in spycraft and served as an accountancy official, he still had access to information. “Find them and bring their leader to me.”

“As you wish, so shall it be.” Kashintsu departed immediately.

Keraigo then looked at him. “And what are my orders, my lord?”

“I wish you to send a report to the Kakureta Ashi. With humans now becoming a part of the society of Equus, the Court of Nine Tails will need more data on them.” Fujitsu did not mention his ulterior motive: that more data, in turn, meant he would have more ways of understanding his bride.

“I shall depart immediately, my lord,” she told him.

“Not so fast, Keraigo. I have…other needs for you first.” He walked over to the small potted tree in the room and removed a leaf. Magic flowed through it and it became a photograph. “I wish you to change into this.”

Keraigo looked at the picture. The creature in it looked hideous. “Sire, I would happily remove—”

“Those are my orders, Keraigo. Would you care to end up like the Forbidden One?”

“No, my lord.” A small storm of leaves encircled the vixen, and a second later, they vanished, as did the kitsune. In her place stood Octavia, wearing the clothing Keraigo wore a second before.

“Attend me,” he told her. In return, she responded, removing her yukata and presenting herself before him for his pleasure.

He smiled as he disrobed himself. He could almost taste her lips against his muzzle now and they would reach the clouds and rain together.

Someday soon, he would do that with the real Octavia.

As the pair walked down the hallway, Celestia could hear the rhythmic footfalls of Sable’s dress shoes combined with the clopping of their escort’s hooves and the sharp, snapping sound both made as they collided against the floor. They reminded her of the echoing hallways of the school she briefly attended in Italy before her family moved to America. The Scuola Primaria di Castello Cavalcanti had been built in a former monastery, and it showed. Despite (or maybe due to) Armonia’s teasing her about the noise, Celestia had developed a healthy fear of the sound. Decades had worn down that terror to a mere feeling of nerves, but it had never really gone away. And now, on the verge of facing a fear greater than her childhood phobia, she found it ironic that she finally had overcome the fear of echoing taps.

She gripped her boyfriend’s arm tighter. She knew he would try to protect her as always, and she loved him for that. But as powerful as Sunset was, she knew that Sunset’s mother might be even more powerful. And even if Sable would stick up for her…how do you seek protection against a literal god?

But her fears had to be faced, she knew. And so the four continued on, the raps on the floor steady as they moved.

God, I hate that sound, was the only thing on her mind.

Finally, they arrived at the location: a pair of massive double doors made of burnished gold, flanked by two guards in ceremonial barding. “Her majesty is waiting inside for you,” the lead guard, a rather severe-looking pegasus, stated.

“Thank you, Guardsman,” Sable intoned. The guardspony, assuming Sable’s phrasing was a human version, saluted and moved on. Sable returned the salute, then turned back to the doors.

“You ready?” he asked her.

Celestia shook her head. “I don’t think I ever will be,” she admitted.

“We’ll be fine,” he told her as he nodded to the door sentries. Their horns lit up, and the two walked in.

As they walked in, the first thing Celestia noticed was that the throne room was massive: a huge auditorium with raised seating around the perimeter, set so that people – or rather, ponies – would face the far end of the room. On either side of the room were stained glass windows, each one unique and imparting the tale of a major event that took place. At that end was a huge raised dais, upon which were two thrones. The first was made from the purest gold in existence, while the other appeared to be carved from a strange black metal. Behind them both was an even more massive throne that appeared to be made of the finest platinum around.

And in the golden one sat Princess Celestia, ruler of the realm and ageless goddess of the sun. She looked at them both, a friendly smile on her face that to her human counterpart was in truth the bared fangs of the wolf moving in for the kill.

“I thought we should talk a bit in private,” the alicorn said. “I would normally do this in my personal chambers or my tearoom, but my maidstaff are cleaning both right now and I do not wish to disturb them. Plus, I believe we have a few things to get off our respective barrels, as it were.”

This was it, Celestia knew. She tried not to wince, though she flinched slightly. She felt the slight grip of Sable’s hands in hers tighten, trying to send a message to her, but still, she was afraid.

The solar alicorn looked at Sable. “Admiral…no, Sable Loam…your name is part of a dark chapter in our world’s history. The Sable Loam I knew was a monster and one of my greatest enemies. He would have killed me without hesitation and it took me a long time to put him down like the beast he was. His mate, Fair Vista, was no different, and she was just as difficult to stop.” She paused as if for dramatic effect. “So it is a surprise, to say the least, to find out that his counterpart is the paramour of my own. If the cosmos had a sense of humor, it has shown it to great effect.

“Still, my daughter seems to trust you implicitly, as does Raspberry Beryl. Needless to say, so do your fellow humans, and finally, Celestia there as well.” The look on the face of the regal mare was one of guarded interest. “I realize that it is none of my business, but I find that my personal curiosity has been piqued: What are you, really and truly? Who are you?”

“Sable,” Celestia – the human one this time – began.

“It’s okay,” he told her, love in his eyes. He then turned to face the regent. “I would say that I am your loyal and true servant, Your Majesty, but that wouldn’t be entirely true, because before that – before any of that…” He put his arm around his lover’s waist, finishing with, “…I am hers. We only met months ago, but from the moment I saw her, I was completely enchanted. It only took a couple of dates before I knew that she was The One. To be honest, we’re only waiting for a year to get engaged, because whirlwind relationships like ours work so rarely that too many people would be worried if we got tied together now.

“But, Princess, if you really must know, for you and your daughter, I would defend this realm and everything in it.” He pulled his Celestia closer to him and added, “But for her, though…I would conquer it.”

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as one Celestia blushed and the other gave an awkward smile. “I see,” the alicorn said after a few minutes. The tone she used almost seemed to be tinged with a sad emotion – melancholy, or regret? But the moment passed as quickly as it had come, and the ruler was once again herself, complete with impenetrable and unreadable emotive armor.

“Well, Admiral,” she told him in the manner one would speak to a treasured confidante, “the best way to convince Adm. Tumblehome of your value would be to show her a demonstration so spectacular that she cannot refuse, then to show her that it would be of best value to the Navy. To her, the Navy is her whole reason for being, and hitting that particular note is the key to winning her support.”

Sable nodded. “Well, then I guess we have our work cut out for us.” His phone then chirped, letting him know that he only had thirty minutes remaining until the demonstration. “I need to go prepare,” he told his Celestia. “Will you be okay while I tend to this?”

Before she could respond, the princess stated, “We’ll be fine. Go ahead, Admiral, and I hope to hear from you about your success later.” He nodded in response and departed, leaving the two Celestias alone in the empty throne room.

The two looked at each other in silence. The human Celestia wrapped her arms around herself, trying to overcome the rising panic she felt. This was it, she knew: all of the facets of her life placed up against an ideal, perfect mirror and leaving her lacking against the reflection. It didn’t even matter that the image wasn’t human; it was perfection, and that was all that mattered in the end.

So it came as a surprise when the divine ruler of a vast and powerful nation said in sad tones, “You have no idea how envious of you I am.”

The words almost short-circuited Celestia’s brain. She stood there for a second, completely slack-jawed. But that only lasted briefly as the educator cried, “You’re jealous of me? Me? Why? I’m just a middle-aged woman with a small bank account, a condo that probably needs a new roof and a car that I need to take in for an emissions check next month! You’re an immortal goddess that rules a kingdom and moves the sun around like you’re redecorating! I can’t even find my car keys half the time and I’d be completely lost if I didn’t have my cell phone on me! What in God’s green Earth are you envious of me for? You have everything!”

“Except love,” Princess Celestia admitted. She looked at her counterpart, and there was a huge, soul-crushing sorrow in her eyes. “I’ve never truly loved. My mother is distant and left me unprepared for rule; I had to learn it on my own. My sister fell to jealousy and I had no choice but to exile her for centuries and now that she’s back, there’s still a large gulf between us. My extended family members treat me at arms’ length, because after generations of their families under my wings, they fear they’re not truly independent. My apprentice is a goddess and princess in her own right now, and no longer needs me. And my daughter….” Tears began to shed from the alicorn’s eyes as she finished with, “My daughter I treated as everything but, and when I finally did, it was too late. And now she has your friend – who I do not blame at all – to turn to when she needs a mother.

“You have the unconditional love of a male you will spend the rest of your life with – I can see that. Meanwhile, I sit on a throne that feels like a prison and my life is so empty. Perhaps someday I will have the afterlife and psychopompery to look forward to, that is countless centuries from now, with nothing but this throne and this palace to look forward to.” The alicorn seemed so fragile and seemed as she would shatter at any moment. “You fear me, and I understand why. But the way I see it…you have a happier life than I could ever have, and the one to be in fear should be me.”

The two Celestias looked at one another for the longest time before the woman spoke again. “I see you, and I see all the failures in my life,” she said. “Every mistake I’ve made writ large, every opportunity I’ve squandered. All the times Sunset cried out to me for help and I didn’t listen, because I had other concerns and duties.” At that moment, she felt once again like the lonely girl she’d been on her first day in third grade, new to the school and the nation itself, wondering what the future would hold for her. Nearly fifty years later, she could still feel that moment.

“Celestia,” Princess Celestia intoned, “how I would very much wish to walk in your hoofsteps. You have more than you realize, and you will have more still. And all I have done, since the day I first learned of your existence, is to sit here like a jealous filly, envious for the fact that you have spent more time with my daughter than I have in the past five years, time I can never get back. All I can be is envious for what I can never have back.”

“I cannot fathom why you would. You have something I’ve always wanted: a child.” Celestia looked at Celestia earnestly. “I’m sure Sable and I will consider parenthood, but at my age I’m reaching the point where that won’t be possible much longer. And while seeing Velvet adopt Sunset and raise her four nieces as well has given me hope, there’s no guarantee that I will have the same kind of luck or success.” She shook her head, smiling in bitter irony as she said, “How I wish I had my younger sister’s lack of maturity. If I had Luna’s lackadaisical attitude towards life, things would probably be much easier then.”

The princess laughed. “That sounds very much like my own sister. I have to honestly wonder sometimes if she’s Cadance’s sister or mine, since they act so alike at times.” She gave her counterpart a smile. “It’s nice to be able to confide that in somepony.”

Celestia was caught off-guard by that; she’d heard Armonia complain about their kid sister plenty of times, so for her counterpart to feel that way…it was both familiar and disquieting. “Well, Lu has her own positive qualities and I’m sure your sister does as well. They may be young at heart, but I know I can always depend on her when I need her.”

“Same with me. When I thought Sunset had died…I had a mental breakdown. Lulu ran everything during that time, even though she hasn’t the breadth of expertise that I do. I’m incredibly proud of her and I love her for that,” the solar alicorn admitted. “Thank you for reminding me of that.”

“Glad I could be of help, Your Majesty,” the educator said, bowing.

“No,” the princess insisted, waving her forehooves. “You need never do that. Not between us, certainly. I am you and you are me, after a fashion, and it’s rather pointless to do so. Please, just call me Celly.”

“Only if you’ll call me Tia,” the human replied.

The vixen bowed deeply before Octavia. “Please allow me to accompany you on your appointments, milady,” she insisted. “I wish to make up for my grievous injury upon your honor.”

Octavia looked at Velvet, who said, “I tried to explain it to her, but it’s probably going to take a while for it to sink in.”

“Did you want to come with us?”

“No, I have a meeting with my own counterpart later today and I want to make sure that I’m prepared for that,” Velvet assured her. “You should be fine in your escort’s care, though. Besides, Sunset gave us these things—” Velvet held up a patent rosa, “—which basically act as credit cards. I’m still not comfortable about it, but as long as you don’t spend the gamut of the nation’s budget, we should be fine.”

“I’m still not comfortable about going by ourselves, especially since I don’t know if Whiskey here is familiar with Canterlot—”

“I memorized a map, milady,” Whiskey told her, “and anywhere you desire to go I shall endeavor to get us there.”

“Still, I would feel more comfortable with a Guard escort, just in case,” Octavia said, “though nothing too obvious.”

One of the maids nearby asked, “What about a Hoof? We have already been assigned to tend to your rooms and see to your needs, Lady Octavia, and so we can provide an escort as well. Plus, we will be as unobtrusive as maidstaff assigned to guests usually are.”

“I guess? Well, I do need to do some shopping and I do have my afternoon appointment coming up, so…I guess…what could go wrong?”

Ambassador Yakatar shouted, “IN HONOR OF NEW WINGED PONY YAKS SING ANCIENT YAK BALLAD WITH YOVIDAPHONE MUSIC TO SHOW OUR RESPECT!” Thus began an extended and painful period of a chorus of off-key yaks caterwauling their finest, accompanied by a cacophonous instrument that looked like a set of bagpipes with clinical depression. All of it in honor of the soon-to-be-crowned Princess Sunset.

Said princess shuffled her wings slightly, gave an awkward but polite smile to the assembly of yaks destroying the very ions in the air with their torturous song, and hoped it would be all over soon. At least the Jasmine ceremony couldn’t be any worse than this, right?

Day Two, Afternoon: Nothing is Invincible

Sitting in her apartment in Canterlot, a griffoness sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes as she read the rejection letter again. It wasn’t fair! She’d been the best in her class and had worked hard to graduate from an academic institution that her kind wasn’t even normally allowed to attend! She’d earned every plaudit and praise she’d gone for, and she was a citizen of Equestria in full standing! Why, then, was she being treated like this?

She needed to talk to the Countess. She would help – she always did. But the smile on the griffoness’ beak, however, slowly melted away as she realized, while the Countess was always willing to help her…she wasn’t able to stop this. Somepony had it out for her, and clearly ruining her chances with the job of a lifetime was only the first step.

Setting down her teacup, the griffoness made ready to go to the Countess’ office, when her window shattered. She looked to see several nasty-looking griffins climb through the window, armed to the teeth and leering at her.

“Eh, wot y’ think yer a pony now, luvvy?” one of them, with a scarred beak, mangy feathers and an eyepatch said to her. “Time’s fer y’ t’ go back t’ whats yer belongin’ to, roight?”

Given the letter, she didn’t think screaming would help. So instead, she cast a defensive magic spell; she wasn’t really good at offensive magic, but this would buy her time to escape and search for help.

Instantly, dozens of light copies of the griffoness appeared, momentarily confusing her attackers, giving her enough time to launch herself out the window they’d broken and fly for her life.

When she was a chick, she’d been the fastest flyer in her hometown, long before her wings had become ungainly and her tail useless for flight. Now, she was pushing herself as fast as she could, hoping she could run into somepony – anypony! – that could help her.

If she didn’t…the results would be worse than the unthinkable.

“Whiskey, will you walk beside me?” Octavia asked.

“It would be impertinent to do so, milady,” the vixen replied as she walked a respectable six steps behind her. At the moment, despite the peace of a typical Canterlot midday, she had a paw on her sword as if ready for battle. Though she still wore her yukata, she’d taken the time to remove both the Inari imperial crest and that of her former family’s, giving the garment a mottled appearance, which would unfortunately have to do until she could obtain new clothing bearing the house colors of Princess Sunset’s clan.

Walking next to her, Amabile Heart, the Hoof assigned to them stated, “If I may, Lady Octavia, let her adjust. She seems like she’s been traumatized by what’s happened to her since yesterday. Give her time to adjust to our way of life and I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“I understand, but I feel kind of self-conscious about it,” Octavia defended.

Amabile nodded. “That’s understandable. Anypony would.”

The trio continued on in silence, pausing occasionally to peer into a storefront or two, doing typical window shopping. Finally, Whiskey spoke: “Lady Octavia, I have a question, if I may be permitted.”

Octavia turned her head away from an interesting window display – apparently to ponies, socks seemed to be an intimate item – to look at Whiskey. “Go ahead.”

“Is it not presumptuous of your pony retainer to think that she may be allowed to stride aside you? Such impertinence would not be allowed by my former masters, and it would bring great shame upon you and Her Highness Princess Sunset.”

Octavia looked at the kitsune. “We humans treat everyone equally, even those that work for us,” the teen responded. A second later, she admitted, “Well, we would if we could – we’re the only ones on our world, so we don’t have the experience that ponies do here. But from what I can tell, ponies treat everyone the same and we humans act along the same lines.”

“I can’t see that,” Whiskey admitted. “All I know is that if I serve you and Her Highness faithfully, then I will be granted my third tail. Then perhaps Her Highness will give me a small plot of land and a retainer of my own, if I am found so worthy.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Octavia told her. She then walked over and to the shock of the vixen, took her paws in her own hands. “What my aunt said earlier is true: we value hard work and equality back home, and hopefully you’ll get to see that in action when we go back.”

“I don’t understand,” Whiskey said sadly. Octavia was going to continue, but then saw the slight shake of Amabile’s head and decided it was best to leave it alone for now.

The trio continued on for a few more blocks, until Octavia stopped in front of a music store called TIERFENBUCKER’S. Based on the viola and the cello sitting in the display window, she could see that they were easily of orchestral quality, at least as far as the eye could see.

“Interested in going in?” Amabile asked her. “I actually can recommend this shop, Lady Octavia.”

“Oh?”

She nodded. “My sister’s husband owns the place.” She grinned, then turned to Whiskey. “Do you play an instrument?”

“I…play the biwa,” she admitted. “But I doubt such would be found here, as it is an Inarijin instrument.”

“You’d be surprised,” Amabile told her. “Remember that the Equestrian province of Neighpon is not far from there, and there’s a lot of cultural influence.” She opened the door. “Shall we go in?”

“Hey, fillies!” Adagio Dazzle called out as the three siren sisters arrived at the armory where their counterparts were storing their equipment. At the moment, the three human girls were opening the weapons crates that had been brought from Earth.

“We came to wish you best of luck on your demonstration,” the golden-coated earth mare stated. “Getting the attention of Adm. Tumblehome is not going to be easy.”

“Thanks, Addy,” Adagio told her counterpart.

Sonata reached out towards her counterpart’s uniform. “Soni, this looks awfully thin for armor. Plus, it looks like you’re trying to hide in the forest, which doesn’t make sense.”

“Yeah,” the youngest triplet admitted. “Remember that we humans wear clothing, so this is our uniform; specifically, this is our Type II Operational Uniform, which is set for woodland and forest combat. We have other types as well.”

“That seems kinda overkill.”

“Not really, Nata. We don’t have magic to protect ourselves, so we use clothing to aid us in that part; camouflage is designed to make us harder to hit. Anyway, we have Type I, which are just everyday operational wear, and those are blue; Type III, which are for deserts; Type IV, which are for grasslands; and Type V, which are for cold and snowy climates. Each of them is designed to help us blend in with our environments.”

“Yeah, but….” She looked at the uniform again. “No armor of any kind?”

“Oh, don’t worry: we have that, too, though we really shouldn’t need it for the demonstration.” She then went over to another case and pulled out her helmet and body armor, to the surprise of the siren.

“That’s all there is?”

“That’s all there needs to be,” Sonata replied.

Meanwhile, pony Aria watched her counterpart as she pulled a boxy metal object that was most certainly not a weapon she was familiar with. The Hoof looked at the black, metallic thing with surprise. “That’s…not a sword, is it?”

“Nope,” Aria said as she pulled a marksman’s rifle from the second crate. “We don’t deal in swords and bows. Well, I don’t, unless I know I’m going to hit my mark,” she said. “This is more along the lines of what we do.”

“Why do I get the sudden feeling that we underestimated your skill?” the middle siren asked.

“Let’s put it this way, Ria,” Aria said, “you got me good when you played me for that crossbow issue. Now it’s a little payback time.”

The older counterpart suddenly had a very sinking feeling at those words.

“Jewel, not that I mind you coming to visit me at work,” Silver said to her friend as Jewel read from a menu, “but you’ve got that look in your eye and I should really be worried, shouldn’t I?”

The deliriously happy look in Jewel’s eyes said all that there was to be said. “I found my special somepony!” she chirped, her voice carrying the tone of somepony in a daze.

“Good, it sounds like you finally came to your senses an—”

“It’s Princess Sunset! I’m going to be Princess Sunset’s wife!”

“—and I hereby retract what I was about to say,” Silver grumbled. “Jewel, for starters, let me remind you: you’ve never dated anypony! How do you know that she’s ‘the one’? Secondly, how do you know she’s even interested?”

“Because that’s what my cutie mark is telling me!” Jewel told her. “I just know I’m destined to be the bride of a prince or princess and make them happy! And now that I’ve found my true love, I just need to find a way to prove it!”

“That’s nice. Now will you order something? This is a restaurant, you know.”

Jewel pondered at the menu for several moments as if in thought. Finally, she said, “Can I borrow your silk saddle and your copy of the Kamare Sutra?”

Silver just rolled her eyes and sighed.

“This had better be good,” Tumblehome grunted as she and her retinue arrived, standing where Arrowswift, Gen. Halberd, Cast. Marimba Rondo, and Snr. Mage Mystic Essence were. “I just had this uniform freshly laundered and starched for the coronation, and now I’ll have to have it cleaned again,” she said to nopony in particular. “We may as well get this farce over with.”

As per military tradition, officials from the other branches had been invited as a courtesy, though the naval pegasus thought their presence to be completely useless, as this was ostensibly a naval issue…though she failed to see how the humans and their ways of battle could be any better than what the Navy already had. Still, Princess Luna made it clear that as the overall commander of military forces that the four branches of the Equestrian military had to work together, so here they were.

Still, I have no idea why Celestia’s head maid is present, she groaned inwardly. Clearly more of that “Princess’ Hooves” nonsense.

“Honestly, I’d rather not be a part of this dog-and-manticore show,” added Essence, the ranking Guildmember in Canterlot and thus attending on behalf of Archmagus Raspberry Beryl. He stroked his beard in a sign of frustration, looking at trio of strange figures standing around the large boxes. “Still, the Archmagus insists that these are figures of worth, especially since they will be tasked with protecting Princess Sunset. Though if I must be honest, I cannot for the life of me see how these howling beasts could ever do so.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Halberd stated, his mustache jubilantly bouncing up and down with each word he spoke, “from what I hear, these humans have much to offer our forces.”

“From what I know, it will be worth your time,” Arrowswift told them. “I’ve been working with the rear admiral in command of the project—”

“He’s not a rear admiral until I say he is,” Tumblehome countered.

“I was introduced to him as such, so that’s what I’m sticking with. Anyway, I was fascinated by what Adm. Loam told me. Their military doctrine alone is stunning – it’s something we’re vastly unfamiliar with in Equestria.”

“I will readily agree with Capt. Arrowswift,” Marimba agreed. “A report from two weeks ago stated that those three captured a terrorist attempting to harm Princess Twilight last month during the events in Ponyville.”

“And yet the prisoner got away,” Essence commented drily. “One wonders if they were as truly effective as reported.”

“Given they were in pony forms and not their natural ones, and yet still fought the terrorist to a standstill, I would say that’s an accomplishment in and of itself. Our forces need years of training to do what came natural to them, so clearly their abilities are exemplary.”

“Yes, those so-called ‘commando capabilities’,” Tumblehome grumbled. “Such ‘tactics’ sully the honor of true military forces and is well beneath the dignity of naval ones. In my opinion, they are only fit for rabble and miscreants.”

Halberd shook his head. “I disagree. The Asterion of Minos are the finest forces the minotaurs have ever assembled, and they far outpace units of their regular army.”

“Then that just shows how inadequate they are compared to our forces,” Essence said with a hint of smugness.

“I agree with Gen. Halberd,” Arrowswift commented. “We’ve done some training with the Asterions and they are no joke. We’ve learned quite a bit from them, and I think we’ll learn even more from the humans.”

“If your forces still need to learn anything about protecting the nation from the threats, then our combat forces are in worse condition than I thought,” Tumblehome said without a trace of humor. “We need no trickery or chicanery such as commando units – superior firepower is what will save the day.”

“Does she ever shut up?” Arrowswift whispered as an aside to Halberd, who diplomatically coughed into his hoof in reply. Marimba, on the other hand, glared daggers at the offending pegasus, wishing they could be real ones instead.

Dressed in their finest silken brocades and diaphanous, gossamer trails of fabric moving around them like demented butterflies, a small legion of mares danced around Sunset, some carrying oversize fake branches of jasmine, the blossom petals on them enchanted to give off the scent of jasmine blooms in the spring. The cloying, overwhelming scent of jasmine filled the room to the point of suffocation.

Seated in the center of the room like prey being encircled by predators, Sunset could only watch the grandiose, ridiculous display with the most unreadable face of politeness she’d ever been taught. It was taking her every bit not to cast a spell to prevent her from falling asleep due to the heady jasmine scent in the room or to need to bounce out due to the frenetic, pirouetting dances of the mares.

The monotonal voice of the Saddle Arabian representative didn’t help much, either: “And now we get to the traditional planting season. Our legends tell of Prince Peridot encountering the true love of his life, Pilaf, while she was planting jasmine trees. And in the shade of a jasmine orchard, they forever pledged themselves to one another.”

More dancers, with more jasmine-enchanted boughs came out, making the situation even more intolerable.

“Kill me now,” the maize alicorn muttered under her breath.

“I’m sorry, Princess?” the representative stated, craning his neck towards the alicorn. “I didn’t hear that; old age is getting to me, I’m afraid. Would you please repeat?”

“I said…I’m wowed, Kahwaja,” she said, taking the time to use the traditional honorific. “This is…fascinating.”

“I’m glad you approve, Princess; most young mares nowadays do not have an appreciation for the classics. Would you believe my daughter told me that the ceremony was boring and not worth the parchment it was written on? Ah, but she is just a teenager, and you are beyond that age, I believe. It is…difficult to fathom how adolescents think nowadays, I suppose.”

“Yeah, completely,” Sunset sighed.

A few minutes later, Sable arrived. He’d switched uniforms from his dress blues to service khakis, hoping that the everyday duty uniform would allow the brass to focus more on the triplets than him. While he knew what the triplets were capable of, he was sure that the others didn’t, and so keeping a sharp focus on their skills would be paramount.

Unfortunately, that in itself was a different matter, he knew; politics weren’t normal military doctrine and even more so given that he was playing catchup with the politics of his newly-adopted second homeland. It was hard enough to imagine that as a flag officer in their military, he was now a subject of Equestria – Sunset having pointed that out – and that meant that he had as much duty and responsibilities to this nation as he did his old one. More so, though, he had a duty to the three young women currently under his command; he had only started to feel that he was the equal of the sœurs that had trained them in the “time that never was”, and now they were counting on him to be mentor and leader.

That, for better or worse, was what he had to be – for their sakes and Sunset’s.

“Mares and gentlestallions,” he began, making sure he looked at all, “thank you for taking time out of your schedules to administer this evaluation. The four of us are the nucleus of what we hope will be the newest line of defense for both Princess Sunset, as well as Equestria at large—”

“That is for me to decide,” Tumblehome told the human. “Frankly, I fail to see why anypony would sink to using tactics that the basest of ponies would be disgusted to use. And you say you humans use these on a regular basis?” She scoffed. “Somehow, given our myths about your species, that does not surprise me in the least.”

Sable looked at her. “Admiral, from the research I’ve done, it seems that Equestria has run into problems practically on a monthly basis. None of the branches of the military have handled it well, and with all due respect, it seems that the whole of our forces is grossly inadequate for the new types of threats coming before them.”

“Because the princesses won’t let me rain down fire from the ships as we should,” Tumblehome muttered. “We had ships directly above Canterlot when the changeling attack occurred and we could have ended it in minutes—”

“As I recall, the Harmonium and the Farfisa were blasted out of the sky shortly after the attack commenced,” Halberd pointed out. “And even if they weren’t, your plan would have levelled Canterlot worse than it already was! As it was, we had to deal with diversionary attacks all over the country, stretching our forces further!”

“Unfortunately, most of the available battlemages were captured well beforehoof,” Essence grumbled. “They knew who we were and proceeded to target us in the weeks before the invasion.”

“Which left only the Guard and the Hooves to take care of Canterlot’s defenses,” Arrowswift commented as Marimba nodded.

“We Hooves were hamstrung by our particular restrictions, and could not do much,” Marimba stated. “Effectively, that left only the Guard to protect Canterlot.”

“And even though we’re good, we can’t fight an entire war by ourselves,” Arrowswift admitted. “We went down and went down hard.”

“The Bearers had the right idea, you know.” At Sable’s words, everypony looked at him. “A small team, headed straight for the goal with speed and precision made all the difference.” Giving the group his most serious look, he told them, “Surgical strikes are one of the specialties of my former nation – we have others – but the Bearers, unfortunately, weren’t trained to make the final call and as a result, they were captured.”

“The Bearers aren’t combatants,” Tumblehome told him. “They’re not used to the sort of fighting that real warriors are, and they frankly never will be.” She then coughed before adding, “Except for Lt. Dash. She’s the only one of the lot suited for a combat role.”

“Except that Lady Twilight has done the final duty,” Marimba reminded her. “From the report that Capt. Armor disseminated a couple of years back, Lady Twilight prevented the reintegration of King Sombra, thus completely rendering him discorporate and thus very much dead.”

Essence looked at the castellan as if she were mad. “Come now, you don’t believe that, do you? Our former archmagus was a bookish mare, completely incapable of anything other than her academic studies, and certainly not the combatant that her brother is.”

“It’s clear you know nothing about Twilight,” Arrowswift accused. “You do realize there’s a reason why she’s called Equestria’s ‘Warrior Princess’, right? From what Capt. Armor told me, the moment she realized what she had done, she fell apart at first until he explained to her that it was the right thing. It wasn’t easy for her, but she persevered and that’s why she has the respect of everypony in the Guard.”

“Regardless,” Tumblehome told her, “she’s not a warrior and she never will be. She’s not battle-trained for that sort of thing.”

“And that’s exactly why SIREN is needed,” Sable explained. “A single fireteam of SIRENs could have completely halted the attack, and while there may have been enemy survivors, there probably wouldn’t have been many. Furthermore, a SIREN team would have successfully executed a decapitation strike and the changeling queen would be nothing more than a bad memory.”

“I have a hard time believing that,” Tumblehome told him. “Unless you can successfully prove your words.”

“That’s the plan.” He then walked over to his subordinates and gestured to Adagio, who was currently standing there at attention. “This is Capt. Adagio Dazzle, prospective commanding officer of SIREN Team Alpha. She will be demonstrating our weapons with the help of Cmdrs. Aria Blaze, prospective CO of SIREN Team Bravo; and Sonata Dusk, prospective CO of SIREN Team Charlie.” He looked at Adagio. “All yours, Captain.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Adagio told him. Gesturing to a set of bullseyes, she stated, “All, please note the various targets at differing distances. As you can see, most of them are well out of the range of all but your most advanced, magic-enhanced weapons.” She then smiled and added, “However, this is well within the effective range of our everyday gear. As myself, and Cmdrs. Blaze and Dusk will show you, just a small fireteam can be a deadly unit, and when you scale that up, a standard SIREN Team – a group no larger than the average army company – has the same combat potential as a brigade.”

“WHAT?” That shout came from Adagio’s counterpart, who looked at her own sisters before turning back to the humans. “That…that’s impossible!”

But the teenage Adagio shook her head. “I assure you, Ms. Dazzle, it is not,” she said. “I’ve seen it on a regular basis.” Ignoring the further horror on the face of her counterpart, as well as the other ponies that looked at her in disbelief, Adagio walked over and picked up a sniper rifle. “This is a Remington MSR, the latest and greatest out of the Remington Arms Company of Remington, New York. Chambered in 7.62x51 NATO standard and with an effective range of 1700 yards, this is a precision sniper rifle, not a distance one. With this, we can easily put rounds through the target over there—” She pointed to a target three thousand yards off, helpfully denoted with an attached card where 3000 was written in easy-readable type, “—with little issue.” She then handed it to Aria. “Cmdr. Blaze, if you would, please.”

“Aye, ma’am,” Aria complied, taking the MSR in hand and getting into a comfortable firing position.

“Wait!” Arrowswift spoke up. “If that weapon has an effective range of 1700 yards, how do you expect to hit a target out at 1300 yards past that?”

“Skill,” Aria replied, never taking her eyes off the target as she practically froze herself in place, right eye focusing through the scope and waiting for the time to take the shot. Behind her, her counterpart looked at the middle triplet as if she were some sort of inexplicable creature, even more so than already.

The moment never happened, however, as a scream split the sky: “SOMEPONY HELP ME!” All heads turned towards the sky as a black griffin raced through the air, followed by a dozen heavily-armed and armored griffins. The dark-colored one had the lead, but was being outpaced by the pursuers, who clearly had malicious intent on their minds.

Arrowswift made ready to take to the air. “Looks like griffin mercenaries. Summon Guard forces on standby; we need to get a squad of fliers in the air and cap—”

“Belay that order,” Tumblehome countermanded. As Arrowswift was about to protest, the flag officer stated, “If these humans want to prove themselves, then we should let them.” Turning to Sable, she ordered, “If you can rescue that black griffin, then I’ll consider this evaluation successful.”

Just then an earth pony wearing Solar Guard armor raced up to Arrowswift. “Captain! That’s Softwing up there – she’s the assistant of Countess Twilight Velvet!”

Halberd looked at the newcomer, then turned to Tumblehome. “That’s a VIP – these humans can’t fly, Tumblehome! I suggest we let the experts handle this one.”

“Well, that’s too bad for them, isn’t it?” Tumblehome responded smoothly. “I expect the sailors under my command to be the very best, and if these humans aren’t up to snuff, well then—”

“COMMANDER, GET THEIR ATTENTION!” Sable thundered.

“Lighting them up, sir,” Aria responded. She tossed her current rifle to Sonata, who then took aim while Aria reached into another case, withdrawing a Tac-50 Long Range Sniper. She dropped to the ground, popped the tripod, aimed carefully and without waiting for an order, took the shot.

The Tac-50 roared as a lick of flame blasted from the barrel. The humans, used to the deafening report of the weapon, briefly winced as the sound echoed out through the parade field; however, the ponies instinctively ducked in panic from the painful noise. Aria, moving on muscle memory, ejected the round then slammed the bolt home once more, loading the second shot. The weapon sang out again, and would have deafened the others, had not Essence immediately cast a muffling spell, dampening the sound to the mere equivalent of distant thunder. Meanwhile, the teen fired twice more, and in the distance, three griffins fell from the sky.

“Keep the heat on until we draw them from their target,” Adagio ordered. Aria acknowledged the order by continuing to fire, dropping three more until the group peeled off, moving away from their target and vectoring towards them, drawn by what had suddenly taken out a quarter of their number.

Adagio moved over to the crate containing the P-90s, withdrawing several. She turned to Sable, tossing him one. “Sir, you’ve got VIP defense,” she told him.

“Roger that, Captain,” he told her, taking the weapon naturally.

Adagio then handed another to Aria as she stepped away from her sniper. Meanwhile, the griffins had entered the range of Sonata’s MSR, allowing her to drop two more, to the shock of the ponies present. The remaining griffins screamed and flung javelins at their targets. The weapons, clearly magically-charged, lanced towards their quarry, designed to easily maim a pony defender, if not worse. However, against the humans they were completely useless, as the triplets easily sidestepped the strikes, which hit the ground and tore out gouts of earth as they impacted. This did little to deter the battle-hardened teenagers, who continued to rain fire on their targets.

“Take one alive,” Sable told them. “We need to know what the hell’s going on.”

“Roger that, sir,” Adagio answered. “Cmdr. Dusk, disable two of them. We’ll take out the remaining tangos.”

Sonata nodded briefly, blowing out the wings of two of them while the others were cut to shreds by P-90 fire. Several bodies crashed to the earth with a sickening thud that horrified the assembled audience.

Sonata quickly used the MSR’s scope to search for additional assailants. “All tangos down,” she announced.

Adagio trained her rifle on the intended captives. “Tie them up,” she ordered Sonata. “We don’t want them trying to get away and we don’t know what they’re capable of.”

“Aye,” she responded, walking over to a smaller box containing other small items such as tactical cord.

After a few more minutes, a squadron of Guard pegasi arrived, led by a Solar Guard coronet. “Captain, we have a status update,” she stated. “Lady Softwing is safe and we’re collecting the remains of her pursuers. What the buck happened to them?”

“It’s…classified for now,” Arrowswift told them, offering no other details.

“Um…okay. Anyway, we spotted a second group of griffins that had broken off after…the first group was taken down, and in any case, we have a squadron in pursuit.”

“Good,” Tumblehome said. “Contact the nearest ship and tell them I’ve given orders to assist you with whatever you need. Now, we’ll have to get a hold of the Agency, as these miscreants will need to be interrogated as to why they attacked a Crown official.”

Arrowswift seethed; she desperately wanted to tell the sanctimonious admiral off – she risked the life of an innocent just to satisfy her curiosity, and now she was trying to take credit for it? She was about to open her mouth, when she felt Halberd’s calming hoof on her withers. She turned to look at him and the look in his eyes made it clear: I’ll talk to Luna about this.

“Fine,” she said, mentally tabling her issue for now. Turning to the coronet, she said, “Do as Adm. Tumblehome says. Additionally, have one of your troops get a hold of the Agency and see if they can get an interrogator here immediately.”

“We can actually handle that,” Marimba offered, gesturing to her three Hooves on hoof, though much to her (lack of) surprise, Tumblehome ignored her.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, we’ll take care of it,” Adagio interjected. “We have some training in negotiation.”

“You do? I would hardly think such barbarians as you would have that,” Essence said aloud.

Arrowswift might have put up with not taking on superior officers, but she wasn’t going to stand for junior ones stomping on the ones that saved the day. “Wow, specist plothole much?” she snarled at him. “Do I need to send a note to the Archmagus about your attitude?” That got him to shut up immediately, and she smirked. “Thought so.” Turning back to Adagio, she said, “All yours, Captain.”

“Thank you.” Adagio nodded to Sonata, who had switched to her sidearm while heading towards the bound griffin, while Aria retrieved a combat shotgun from the crate – an Armi SPA M1014.

Sonata, pistol at the ready, reached over and grabbed the griffin by the scruff of the neck, dragging him over to a spot where some straw ponnequins used for target practice sat. “One move, and that’s the last thing you’ll ever do, am I clear?” she hissed at him.

“I ain’t saying nothing, you….” The griffin, a male with golden-brown feathers, a dark brown coat and gray eyes, clad in a mix of leather and steel plate barding, finally noticed the inequine creature holding him. “Wha…what are you?” he gasped.

“A human,” was the creature’s answer, “and I’m going to be the last thing you ever see unless you answer my questions, understood?”

“What are you going to do to me?” he said. Under normal circumstances, he would have dared a Guardspony to try something, but his bravado vanished under the small, beady eyes of the monster before him. His best griffins had just been blown out of the sky despite having the finest armor and weapons available – what would this creature be capable of up-close?

“Cmdr. Blaze,” she said to Aria, “would you care to show our guest?”

Aria took aim at the ponnequin as Sonata turned the griffin to make him watch. From a distance, all the others did as well. With that, Aria pulled the trigger, and the shotgun barked louder than any of the previous guns had before, enough to nearly nullify Essence’s area spell. A plume of flame erupted from the barrel, and less than a second later, most of the target was gone.

Aria then immediately trained the shotgun on the griffin. “Start talking,” she ordered.

The griffin immediately did so, though in the process, the blubbering wretch also produced a yellow puddle.

A discordant note sang out from the smaller contrabass as Octavia recognized the sound of gunfire. “What the hell?”

“Thunder?” Amabile wondered. “It isn’t supposed to rain today. I wonder if they’re testing out fireworks?”

“No,” Whiskey said, her paw going to her swords. “Those were explosions. Don’t worry, Lady Octavia, I will protect you and your maid.”

Amabile laughed. “Oh, trust me, I don’t need protection.” She reached underneath her saddlepack, revealing a set of throwing knives. “If anything, I’m supposed to be here to protect you both.” She did, however, look towards the window and the increasing sound of booms in the distance. “Although, I am curious as to what that sound is, given that it’s clearly not fireworks.”

“Well, nothing you can do for it now, Ama,” Quick Note, the owner of the store, said as he came back. “I’m sure the Guard has it all well in hoof. Now then, Miss Human, I presume that you found what you’re looking for?”

“I have,” Octavia said, “though I am curious why you’re not afraid of me like everyone else seems to be.”

“If the princesses vouch for you, then that’s good enough for me,” he told her. “Besides, I’m married to a Hoof. After that, every potential threat seems to be just another day that ends in Y.”

“And now we proceed to the part of the growing season. Traditional Saddle Arabian lore teaches us that on this date, Scirocco the Swift learned how to defend those under his aegis through the art of cavalry tactics….”

Sunset was strongly tempted at that point to import enough coffee to keep the Sugarcube Corner Café in business for the next two years, because she was sure she was going to need it to make it through this hell on Equus.

“And that’s all the information he had of use,” Sonata told Arrowswift.

“All of it?” the Guard captain asked.

“Well…he also admitted that he had a Tea Time Tearose doll when he was a cub; and that he’s a big fan of All Directions – no idea what that is.”

“That’s a pop band that’s popular with teenage fillies,” Arrowswift said with a chuckle.

Sonata shrugged. “Well, he also admitted that he has a thing for griffins with really thin tails, and that he’s got a subscription to Playcolt magazine—”

“Okay, I guess that really is all of it,” Arrowswift interjected, not wanting to hear the rest. “Thanks for the help, Commander.” She then turned to her guardsponies and ordered, “Take him away. He can heal in a jail cell.”

Satisfied with that, Sable looked at Tumblehome. “So, when do we begin discussing integration?”

The look on the pegasus’ face was somewhere between livid and horrified. “That was barbaric, monstrous, horrifying—”

“And extremely effective,” Halberd interjected, leaving Tumblehome sputtering in shock. Undeterred, the general continued: “Think about it: the biggest problem we have fighting other species on this world is that we do not have the capacity for aggression that they do. Sure, we have individuals capable of such acts, because otherwise we wouldn’t have protectors, but specieswise, we do not have that talent.” He sighed and admitted, “But unfortunately, Equus is not a perfect world, and the last war and all its casualties proved that.” He looked at Sable and said, “The influx of humanity on our side may be just the thing that will give us a much-needed balance on the battlefield.”

“NO!” Tumblehome shouted. “I forbid it! These things are monsters and I will not sully my fleet with their presence!”

“You made an agreement, Tumble,” he reminded her.

“The Navy destroys monsters – it does not welcome them within its ranks!” she shouted at him. She didn’t, however, note the smirk from Marimba. After all, if Tumblehome only knew the true secret of the Hooves, it would probably shatter her worldview to know that “monsters” were the personal protectors of Princess Celestia herself.

“Well then,” Halberd commented, “it seems that we are at an impasse. The Navy doesn’t want you, but I can see your value, Adm. Loam. I don’t suppose you might consider switching your flag to us, would you? As the Lord Marshal of the Army, I can assure you that you will have a place with us.” He then grinned and said, “And the feather in the cap would be nice as well.”

“I think I can safely speak for Capt. Armor when I say that offer is extended by the Guard as well,” Arrowswift added, sensing Halberd was up to something, though she wasn’t sure what.

“Unfortunately, Admiral, we cannot make the same offer,” the Castellan told him, “though I will give you my strongest support wherever your forces land. It is clear you are an asset to the nation and we would be sorely remiss if we did not take that into account.”

Tumblehome was about to argue with the three of them, when an aide whispered something in her ear: namely, with the Guard having functional control of the princess’ protection and the army in charge of protecting overseas embassies, the protection of Princess Sunset and special operations being under naval aegis – the “feather in the cap” Halberd mentioned – would be paramount.

A feather that Tumblehome was about to throw away.

She looked at her aide with surprise, then back at the SIREN commander, then to Halberd and Arrowswift, then sighed. Her face then took on a cast of absolute necessary pragmatism, even if personally disgusting to her.

“I may have been a bit too hasty,” Tumblehome stated. “Perhaps new tactics are called for, and I did make a vow. Let it not be said that the Fleet doesn’t stand by its word.” She looked at Sable and said with a resigned sigh, “Rear Adm. Loam, you may proceed with your Special Initiative.” Gesturing to her aide, she said, “You will report to Vice Adm. Adviso and she will oversee your duties in the Navy.”

“Thank you, Admiral – we won’t let you down,” Sable told her, though he caught a wink from Halberd out of the corner of his eye. He made a note to keep tabs on the wily general, as he might prove to be a great ally in the future.

“See that you don’t,” Tumblehome said curtly. “Now if you will excuse me, I have to see to the Order of Battle to make sure the coronation is protected.” Saying nothing further, she walked off in the direction of her personal chariot. Essence, seeing no other reason to be present, opted to depart as well.

The group waited until both were gone before Halberd laughed – a strong belly laugh – and said, “Adm. Loam, please come see me at your convenience later today. I have heard of your plan to poach my best for your SIREN initiative, and while I’m loathe to let go of some of my finest ponies, I care more about protecting the realm and so will make some recommendations.” He then turned to Adviso and said, “And how did you know what I was up to, Adviso?”

Adviso, a pegasus who was essentially the second-in-command of the REN, looked at Halberd with a slight smirk. “Adm. Tumblehome is long overdue for retirement, and the Navy is equally overdue for modernization,” she told him. She then looked at Sable and said, “I have read the documentation you supplied regarding your former nation’s navy, and while I cannot comment on the military aspects – half of what I read is well beyond me, admittedly – the organization is light-years beyond what we are now. The configurations you plan for your SIRENs alone is far superior to what we have for the entire Fleet, and I assure you, I will try to push for the same organization within the regular fleet as well.” She then seemed to deflate as she sighed. “As a tried-and-true seapony, it saddens me to see that’s what’s happened to us, and to know that it was the Lord Admiral responsible for it.”

“I wish you could take over the Fleet, Adviso,” Marimba told her. “I don’t say this often, but Tumblehome is dangerous. Her plan was to actually destroy Canterlot in order to save it. I can’t see how anypony would have a mindset like that where it would make sense!”

“Well, perhaps once she sees the march of progress, she will realize time has passed her by,” Adviso told her. “She was once a good officer, one of the best. But as you know, if you aren’t willing to keep up with the times, then you become a relic. And around here, relics of any kind often cause the most trouble.”

Held aloft in a field of light blue, a cup of tea made its way to nervously-shaking talons, which took them gratefully.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Twilight Velvet, Countess Galiceno and Head of the Crown Office of Welfare and Civil Services, asked.

Softwing looked at her mentor with verdigris-colored eyes. “I…I’ll….” Shaking, the griffoness paused to regain her composure. “I’ll be fine, Your Grace. Thank you for asking.” She took a sip of the offered tea, then shuddered. “Still, to attack me in my own home – in our capital, no less!”

“I’m just glad you were able to get away,” the unicorn assured her. “Look, you’ve had a horrible day, and I don’t feel comfortable with you staying at your place, not with the second group of griffin assailants still at large. I want you to take the guardponies outside, head to your place, pack for a few days and you can stay here in the palace while your place is repaired.”

Softwing, however, shook her head. “But that would send the message that bigots in both my species and yours can get away with whatever they wish, your grace. It was harrowing, I admit, but I will bear the burden.”

Velvet was about to reply when there was a knock at the door. Per her policy, the pony came in without bidding. “Your grace, Dr. Velvet has just arrived.”

“Please send her in, Miss Datestamp,” the unicorn assured her, then she turned her attention back to the other individual in the room. “Softwing, that’s noble of you, but you’ve had a rough day – rougher than normal. I want you to take the day off, then at least stay overnight. Please, you would be soothing my nerves, if nothing else.”

The griffoness would have said something, except at that very moment, a strange creature walked in with what appeared to be a smile on her face. “Wow, your office is much nicer than mine.”

“Oh?” the pony Velvet asked the newcomer. “How so?”

“Yours seems to be from Scandinavian Design,” human Velvet said with a trace of envy. “Mine, however, is probably the best our office could get from UNICOR.”

The unicorn laughed. “And here I always thought it was a little too ostentatious for my tastes.” She prepared another cup of tea and floated it over. “Care for a cup, Doctor?”

“Thank you,” the human said, gratefully taking the cup. “So what’s on the agenda for my visit? I presume the extra security isn’t for me, I hope.”

“No, I’m afraid it’s for what happened to my stalwart employee here,” Velvet stated. “She was attacked by brigands from her homeland.”

“Not my homeland,” the griffoness muttered. “Not anymore, and honestly? It never really has felt like that.” It was then that she noticed that the stranger was nearly identical to her mentor, save for species. A curious look came over her face as she noticed that the figure, as strange as it was, was a human.

“Your grace,” she asked, “I can’t help but notice that your guest is a…human, or at least looks like one? No offense intended,” she apologized to the newcomer. “Furthermore, she’s got the same coloration as you for the most part, and there’s something about her magic…or rather, the lack of it. I’d almost say she has no magic, but that wouldn’t be possible, would it?”

The stranger looked at the unicorn. “She’s a smart one.”

Pony Velvet chuckled. “That’s to be expected of a valedictorian of the Magic Academy. Regardless, introductions are in order, I suppose.” She gestured first to the griffoness. “This is Softwing, my senior research assistant, and somepony who, honestly, shouldn’t be working for me, but that in itself is a long story.” She then gestured to the human. “Softwing, this is Dr. Twilight Velvet – my counterpart from another dimension that is threadbare in magic, as you’ve noticed. And yes, she is a human.”

“A human?” The look on Softwing’s face was one of surprise. “Is that even possible?” she sputtered.

“It’s true for the most part, though as far as magic goes, I’ve recently learned otherwise.” The newcomer smiled as she offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Softwing,” she said.

Softwing’s eyes grew wide, but not with fear; instead, they were of delight. The smile on her beak became huge as she took the hand and shook. “I remember the stories from my chickhood, but I didn’t know they were real! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Doctor!”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Velvet replied. “Like you, I didn’t know your species actually existed. Humans are the sole intelligent species on our world.”

“That’s amazing!” Softwing chirped. “I wish I could be that lucky!” Seeing the sudden look on her mentor’s face, she suddenly realized what she’d said and blushed. “Sorry, your grace, I didn’t mean…. Oh, who am I kidding? I did mean that.”

“I understand your frustration,” pony Velvet assured her. “I’m sure the Guard is doing the best they can, and I’m sure after this, the Agency will likely be involved as well.”

“At this point I’ll have the whole of the military protecting me and it won’t be enough!” She let out a sad, keening sigh. “I can’t take this anymore, your grace! Between the specism and now this, it feels like you’re the only one I have on my side!” Tears started forming in her eyes. “I just can’t….”

“What’s going on?” Velvet asked Velvet.

“I think she’s better off explaining it than I am,” the unicorn told the woman, before both looked at the third female in the room.

Softwing fidgeted in her seat, took another drink of her tea, then said, “Softwing isn’t my birth name, as the Countess already knows. I was born Grizelda Greatsword, and I’m the daughter of Griswald Greatsword, a griffin warlord.”

“Warlord?” human Velvet asked.

Softwing nodded. “Ever since the death of King Grover a couple of centuries ago, the remnants of the Kingdom of Griffonstone have been ruled over by an uneasy collection of fiefdoms vying for the throne. They claim to be a unified confederation of reeves, but in truth, the highreeves scheme and plot against one another while trying to figure out how to seize power. In any case, it was shortly after I was hatched that my father discovered that I was to be his secret weapon.”

“How?”

“Easy – I had magic on the scale of a unicorn,” Softwing explained, “and for a griffoness, that makes me a powerful being.”

“Griffins are a species with limited magic,” Velvet explained to her human counterpart. “They can control weather like pegasi and batponies and have natural access to atmothurgy and fulminothurgy – control of winds and lightning – that’s actually better than that of ponies, for the most part. But it’s extremely rare when a griffin can fully tap into her wellspring and become a mage.”

“My father noticed immediately when I had a foalsflare – unheard of for a non-pony….” A thought came to her. “Do I need to explain what that is, Doctor?”

The woman recalled a very recent foalsflare that had occurred in her house just weeks past and how it had ruined a guestroom until Sunset had fixed that. “Surprisingly, no, you don’t need to,” she said cryptically. “But please continue.”

Softwing nodded. “My father noticed immediately and went to the great effort of having me sent from our reeve of Winglade here to Equestria and to be enrolled in the Magic academy. I think Princess Celestia agreed, as it would be a chance to see some peace in the reeves, given that the westernmost ones have often committed piracy of towns along the Equestrian shoreline. Thus, I was sent here to study and placed under the care – raised, essentially – by Viscount Goldleaf and his wife, Viscountess Silvervein.” She smiled warmly, as clearly gentle memories came to mind. “They loved me as if I was their own filly, and they were true parents to me. My birth mother was one of my father’s kept griffonesses, and I never saw her again once I foalsflared. I don’t even know her name. And as for my father? He only sees me as a tool. But Goldleaf and Silvervein loved me, took care of me and if I wasn’t a griffoness, I would have never known I wasn’t anything other than a beloved granddaughter.” She wiped a tear from her eyes when she said, “I was heartbroken when they passed of old age.”

“Celestia wanted to give you their lands, but they were lands promised under the ancien regime of Unicornia,” unicorn Velvet explained. She then turned to her counterpart and said, “This was around the time Sunset undertook the mission to your world, so there was already a lot of chaos going around in the castle, and by the time Celestia looked into it, the lands had already reverted to the old families.” She turned back to Softwing. “Go ahead, dear.”

“Finally, after my last year of study at the Academy, I’d made valedictorian, and then disaster struck. I’d found out my father had sold – yes, sold – me to a rival warlord that he’d made an alliance with. Geralt Greasypaws is even older than my father, and he doesn’t want me for my magic – he only wants me for my tail and wings!” She saw the confusion on the human’s face and clarified: “I have larger wings and a thinner tail than most griffonesses, and in our society, that’s seen as very sexually attractive. Some griffonesses, as I understand it, have made decent livings as courtesans, due to those qualities. Regardless, I wanted nothing to do with that; plus, I’d spent my entire life growing up practically as a pony, and had Goldleaf and Silvervein still lived, they would have fought to keep me safe!

“And so I did the only thing I could do: I petitioned the Crown for asylum and renounced my position and name as a highreeve’s daughter. I changed my name – after all that my father and that beast Geralt did, I was more than happy to! Besides, Silvervein told me that she was always fond of the name Softwing.”

“Silvy was my predecessor here at the Office,” Velvet stated. “She’d always said that if they’d had a filly, that’s what they would have named her.”

“So that’s who I became. I wrote my father – excuse me, Highreeve Griswald – and told him that I never wanted to see him or his ‘buyer’ ever again, and when he and Geralt showed up at the palace to claim me, Shining Armor himself expelled them from the palace!” She looked at her mentor and said, “I’ll always be grateful to him for that.”

“He was only doing what was right,” Velvet told her. “He felt it was paramount to protect a mare in distress.”

Softwing blushed in appreciation at that; to her, it was the highest compliment. Relaxing, she continued with, “Finally, I graduated, and as a reward for my work, I was asked by Princess Cadance herself to be the seneschal for Princess Twilight! I was amazed – I’d be the first non-pony seneschal in the history of, well, ever, so of course I said yes! It was going to be a great moment for me, and I was getting ready to move to Ponyville.” She sighed. “And that’s when disaster struck.”

“Disaster?” Velvet asked. Her mind swam to a man who thought he could control a demon and the aftermath it had caused her, the pain of watching her oldest daughter die and to find out she wasn’t even human. While it had turned out okay in the end, at that time there had been nothing more than the agony and despair of death and suffering.

“First, the Tirek war, and I don’t have to cover that. But second, during the Winter of Aftermath, when the realm was already suffering because of famine, homelessness and the Princess’ suffering, that’s when the rest hit: an army led by Garamond Grainburner, one of Griswald’s enemies, came to kill me. I guess he figured that if he destroyed me, the alliance between my father and Geralt would fall apart. Unfortunately, he didn’t count on Prince Divine Right and his corsairs. He beat them back and sent those beasts back to the griffin lands with burnt tailfeathers!” She chuckled briefly, but then added, “Unfortunately, it was enough for ‘certain elements of the nobility’ to convince others that a non-pony seneschal would be a clear danger to Princess Twilight and her court. And unfortunately, they have some political sway.”

“We know who it was, but we have no proof,” Velvet said, pawing the ground with an angry hoof before looking at her counterpart. “She’s slippery and she doesn’t have the honor that her forebears or even her brother has, sad to say.” She then looked at the heartbroken griffoness and said, “I did what I could, so I’ve taken Softwing under my metaphorical wings.”

“And I am ever grateful for that, your grace,” Softwing said. “I’ve been content here, and I thought that I was safe. But today just proved the lie of that.” She buried her beak in her claws, sobbing while Velvet ran a comforting hoof against her back. “What happens to me now? Do I run to the Empire, only to be hunted there? Where after that? Yakyakistan? Zebrica? Will I ever be safe?”

Looking at the two, the human Velvet wasn’t sure if she had the answers to that; after all, she’d only just been introduced to this world two days ago. But she did know when she wanted to be of help. Bending down, she instinctively gave the griffoness a hug, saying, “Don’t worry. We’ll think of something.”

“‘We’ll’?” the Velvet Softwing knew asked curiously.

“Unless you can give me an entirely new life, that’s not likely to happen,” Softwing sobbed.

Velvet suddenly had an idea. “Fortunately for you, I have a daughter who’s a meddler,” she said with a grin. She reached into a pocket in her jacket, withdrawing a black square.

“What’s that?” Softwing asked.

The human began tapping on its mirrored surface. “Sometimes the sunrise presents problems,” she said cryptically, “but often the sunset solves as many problems as it creates.”

“I don’t understand.”

The other Velvet caught it. “We’d be appreciative if she did.”

“Well then,” Velvet said as she put her iPhone to her ear, “let’s just see if I can arrange a flame-haired miracle or two.”

“Thank you for your time, Dr. Brainpan,” a fat brown unicorn with a scruffy green mane and near-opaque glasses said to the mental therapist. “I shall inform the Medical Board that you pass with flying colors.”

“I appreciate that, Dr. Busycheck,” Brainpan told him and his assistant. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an important appointment in a few minutes. I’d discuss more, but I’ve been asked to keep it confidential. I’m sure you understand.”

Busycheck nodded. “As a doctor myself, I certainly do. Have a Celestia-blessed Day, Doctor.” With that, Busycheck and his assistant walked away from the office, and eventually out of the building. He didn’t speak again until they departed. “Well, that’s the last one. He seems to check out.”

“You almost seem as though you’re sad that he didn’t, boss,” the assistant replied.

The stallion shrugged. “Guess I was hoping for a little excitement in my—” His words cut off as a human, a maid from the palace and a kitsune walked past them, into the building.

The aide dropped her disguise, revealing Honey Trap, a member of the Agency. “You okay there, boss?” she asked him.

“Busycheck” dropped his disguise as well, revealing Blueblood. “I thought I saw a ghost,” he told her, “and it was….”

“Was what?”

“Strangely…it was beautiful,” he told her.

“Yeah, boss, you seriously need a vacation,” Honey stated as she gestured for them to keep moving down the road. “Maybe you should take that week off to Neighagra Falls, like you were planning.”

Day Two, Evening: Effect Without a Cause

The three Hooves watched as their counterparts put away the last of the equipment they had after today’s horrific display of battle prowess by the three human girls. An awkward silence had fallen between the two trios, and the ponies knew why: despite all their training, all their ability and service as Princess’ Hooves, they had never taken lives and had rarely been in combat. They hadn’t even been in Canterlot when the changeling invasion occurred four years ago, instead having been on leave and visiting their parents in Hoofsdale. And yet their counterparts showed zero fear in battle, dispatching the lives of several griffins as if it were just another day for them.

It unnerved Adagio Dazzle more than she could think. She looked at her own counterpart as she jotted something down on one of those strange “tablet” devices of theirs and it made her wonder if she could ever be like that.

Finally, the human Aria announced, “Okay, that should be the last of them. We should have enough ammo reserves still and if not, we can always run home for another round, though I think we should be good.”

“That’s good to know,” her older sister said, as she turned to their guests. “Okay, we’re done now. What’s up?”

Three sirens looked at three SIRENs as they all stood there, waiting for the next action. Finally, one of them spoke. “We thought….” Sonata Dusk began, kneading her hooves into the ground nervously. “We thought you three were just joking! I mean, we knew that you had military training, sure, but not—”

“It’s just unnerved Nata slightly,” Aria said, patting her sister on her withers. “She’s the most sensitive of us.”

“But when you were reaching for your swords that one day,” pony Adagio asked, “you weren’t really reaching for swords, were you? You were going for your shootsticks.”

“We call them sidearms, though the technical term is a pistol,” Adagio explained to her counterpart.

Aria looked at her own counterpart. “But you told me that whole thing about your crossbow and—”

The middle pony sister shook her head. “Yes, I was trained to be a ranger, sure. But in the end, really, we’re medical support Hooves, not front-line combatants,” she explained. “We…we really don’t have the skills that you do, and so you can see why, given that we’re really healers and not fighters, that we were freaked out by your talents. We thought you were the same.”

Adagio withdrew her pistol, handing it out towards her counterpart. “We trust you three, just like you trusted us,” she said. “We could train you.”

The pony Adagio reached out to it…then withdrew. “We’re…not that kind of siren,” she said. “We have the training and ability…but we’re not the same as you. There are others that do it better than we do.”

“We understand,” Aria said, bending down so that she was eye to eye with their counterparts. “We never wanted this for our own lives either, yet the decision was taken from us, both because of our past and because we love our cousin and want to protect her.”

Sonata put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “We had a chance to give it up and we couldn’t. Even when we were little, we somehow knew what our fate would be.”

“We chose it willingly for our princess,” Adagio said, walking over and hugging her sisters. “But for our cousin? We’d do it again and again – whatever it takes.”

Three sisters looked at three sisters, who looked back. And in that silent gaze, there seemed to be something communicated that couldn’t be said verbally.

Finally, Sonata shook her head, her mane flitting back and forth. “Well, it’s almost dinner time. Shall we head home? I think I’ll make Ria’s favorite dish tonight: baked halibut.” She then turned to the three humans. “Would you three care to join us?”

“You eat meat?” human Sonata asked her counterpart.

“Of course we do! We’re sirens, so eating fish is just a part of what keeps our scales looking nice and sleek!”

“Trust me,” the smaller Aria said to the human trio, “my sister makes the best fish dishes out there, hooves down.”

“Besides, we can talk about other things. I mean, we’re not always warriors 24/7, right?” pony Adagio insisted.

The oldest of the human triplets looked at her sisters, then nodded. “Sure, we’d love to join you.” With that, the three siren sisters started walking towards their shared home, with the three SIREN sisters falling right in step.

Today did not go well, Jewel decided. Here she was, the mare that was going to be the love of Princess Sunset’s life, and she hadn’t spent any significant length of time around her. What kind of fillyfriend did that?

I mean, yeah, she’s been busy all day and I’ve been taking care of a lot of the paperwork, but seriously, what kind of mare just forgets all about their fillyfriend?

She needed to make plans for them to head out to a hot restaurant. Maybe Chez Trotte, or Spurgos, or even that hot little Bitalian place that Jewel could never remember the name of.

She jotted down a quick note to the princess, asking her out to dinner that night so they could “talk about paperwork”. That was a nice way of getting the hoof in the door, right?

But a split second later she got a note back saying that she would probably be too busy to do it that night, but to schedule something in the morning and they could talk about it then.

Jewel sighed. She wouldn’t have the chance tonight to prove her love to the princess, but at least tonight she’d be able to work on getting a hot little saddle from Softspoken’s Special Somepony Store. Then maybe some of those magical chocolates from Irresistible Taste’s Mystic Chocolates and More store – the ones that just let your special somepony feel magical when around you? And then maybe at the end of the week, she could plan for a getaway for them both to someplace like Neighagra Falls or Hoofalulu, where they could spend some time planning their wedding.

Jewel shivered in delight; she couldn’t wait for that!

I wonder what her favorite color is?

As the door opened again, Datestamp ushered a new human into Velvet’s office, Softwing noted. She looked younger than the human Velvet, but unlike the first alien, she had a long ruby-and-gold mane and cyan eyes that glittered like aquamarines. However, it was the aura of magic she gave off that bordered on the impossible – only Princess Twilight might have had a magical aura that strong. Given that humans were apparently a non-magical race, the fact that this human was radiating enough power to match an alicorn said one thing: Softwing was in the presence of the new princess-to-be, Sunset Shimmer.

“Never doing that again!” she groaned, going over and hugging the human Velvet. “The Saddle Arabians were sooooooo eager to show me their Jasmine ceremony that they even did an encore!” The look in the girl’s eyes was as haunted as could be. “It was like the time Fluttershy wanted to go through It’s a Small World over and over again.” She shuddered. “Good thing I’m an alicorn or else I might never recover. As it is, my new secretary wanted to have a talk with me over dinner – probably a working meeting – but I had to re-sked that.” She looked at the older human. “Anyway, did you want something, Mom?”

Velvet, in turn merely gestured to the griffoness.

“Your Highness!” Softwing said, bowing deeply. “What brings you here?”

“Please stand,” Sunset told her. “And don’t feel that you need to be so formal around me. You can just call me Sunset or Sunny. What’s your name?”

“I’m Softwing, your most humble….” She saw Sunset shaking her head and took that as a cue to change it up. “I’m Softwing, Your Hi…I mean, sorry, Sunset. I’m Softwing.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Sunset said, offering her hand. She then turned to her mother and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Just giving you another opportunity to meddle,” Velvet said with a grin before going into a brief explanation of the conversation between her and her counterpart and giving Softwing a chance to explain her side of the story.

The pony Velvet added, “And I’ve sent word to Celestia, and Softwing will be staying here at the palace for the night while you figure out what to do next. Apparently, your mother – well, your pony one – would like you to resolve this issue.”

“Really?” Sunset drolled.

The human Velvet gave her daughter a soft smile. “Parental prerogatives, dear.”

“I figured that,” Sunset responded. She then looked at Softwing. “I’m sorry to hear what happened to you, and I promise that I will do my best to protect you from all of that. If you have time to meet tomorrow morning at breakfast, we can talk it over then.”

“Don’t you have a meeting with your secretary then?” Velvet asked her.

“I don’t think she’ll mind if we move it,” Sunset said. “From what little I know of her, she seems very by-the-book and professional.” Sunset turned back to Softwing. “Anyway, would a morning meeting work for you?”

Softwing, who was surprised by this level of attention by the newest princess herself, could only nod in stunned wonder. After a few seconds, she recomposed herself. “That would be fine, Your H…sorry, Sunset.”

“Yeah, it takes some getting used to,” Sunset replied with a grin. Turning back to the Velvets, she said, “Sorry I can’t stay longer, but I’m already late for a meeting with Kibbitz. He’s presenting a list of potential candidates for my seneschal, and I want to make sure I have enough time to properly vet the list.”

“A seneschal?” human Velvet asked.

Sunset nodded. “I’m a princess, which means I’ll have an office here, even if my duties are mostly back on our world. Actually, specifically because of that, I’m going to need an individual who is very out of the ordinary, who can act on their own and be far more flexible than their counterparts.”

Pony Velvet gestured towards the griffoness in the room. “Then perhaps you may want to look at Softwing. She was originally scheduled to be my daughter’s seneschal, until political issues here prevented that.”

“Political issues?” Sunset asked.

“I would say racism,” human Velvet added, “but I don’t know if that word exists here.”

“It really doesn’t, but there are equivalents, such as tribalism or specism. Either way, I get your point.” She then looked at Softwing and saw pony mannerisms. Clearly, she was more than just a griffin subject of the Crown, and to Sunset, it was obvious that the griffoness had been raised by ponies.

“She’s a mage,” Velvet explained to her daughter. “Apparently she was valedictorian of her graduating year at the Magic Academy.”

“And Twi turned you down? That doesn’t seem likely,” Sunset admitted. “She was just telling me the last time I was here that she really needs a seneschal and she hates that she’s using her little brother as a de facto one, since he’s too young.”

“It wasn’t her fault, Your Highness,” Softwing said sadly. “Perhaps if I explain a bit more, things will be clearer.”

“Sure. That actually sounds faster than doing it tomorrow at breakfast. I need to get to my meeting, but….” Sunset thought about it for a second. “Tell you what: I was going to go out for dinner tonight, but instead I think I’ll just arrange for the palace to set things up in my quarters tonight and we can talk then instead of in the morning,” Sunset suggested. “Just…nothing jasmine. Please, nothing jasmine at all.”

“I’m sorry, Tavi,” Sunset’s voice said on the other end of the phone conversation.

“It’s okay, Sunny, really. We’re here for you and I knew you were going to be busy,” Octavia said, slightly disappointed about not spending time with her cousin and sister figure. “We have a whole week for you to make it up to me.”

“I will, I promise. But I gotta go now. I have a meeting I need to be in and I’m already late. I’ll talk to you later.”

As Sunset hung up, Octavia felt a flash of worry for Sunset’s sake. She was the local and had so far spent pretty much no time to herself since her arrival; meanwhile, she and the others, who had been here to be her support, had done nothing but go out and have fun. Still, that was probably the point, given that Sunset wanted the ponies to see them as she had: people who were normal and simply walked on two legs instead of four.

In any case, since she knew that her other family members would be unavailable, Octavia decided that she would be a bit adventurous and go out to eat on her own. It took some cajoling with Whiskey to get her to agree to come into the restaurant with them, as well as to find a restaurant that would be okay for both of them to eat at, but after Amabile did some inquiries with ponies she knew, the three of them decided to head to a “Bitalian” – what the teen assumed was the local equivalent of Italy – restaurant.

And now, the three were in Paglia e Fieno, one of the hottest Bitalian restaurants in all of Canterlot. Started by Straw and Hay, a pair of brothers from Roam who had started with nothing (or so their story went), they had turned a ramshackle hole in the wall in Southern Canterlot into the best ticket in town, as evidenced by their new location here in the downtown portion of the royal capital, as well as the highest restaurant rating from none other than Zesty Gourmand, Canterlot’s most influential food critic. Though neither Octavia nor Whiskey knew who the other ponies were, it was clear that they were nobility, celebrities and other movers and shakers, the crème de la crème of the pony world. To be seen here at the restaurant was usually an indicator that you were the talk of the town.

Today, however, the restaurant was anything but, with half of the restaurant patrons staring at them as if trying to burn a hole through their heads, while the other talk was about the “barbaric display of violence” that human soldiers had used against Guard forces just hours earlier. The level of fear and hate was palpable in the room and needless to say, it was having an effect on their dining experience.

“I’m sorry, Tavi,” Amabile apologized, her ears levelling out in shame at the actions of her own people. “Canterlot ‘polite society’ – quote unquote – can be anything but.”

Whiskey stiffened in umbrage. “These curs have no honor,” she hissed. “To insult Lady Octavia because of what she is? That is the lowest of the low.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Octavia told the others, giving her tablemates a comforting smile. “I know this isn’t a true reflection of ponies,” she told them. “In fact, if the situation were reversed, I’m sure you wouldn’t think the same of humans.”

“If all humans are like you, then I’m sure they’re not,” Amabile replied.

“I would suspect that most humans are as noble and kind as my lady,” Whiskey insisted. “She is a true blossom of grace and elegance and I feel ashamed that I ever intended to raise my blade against her.”

“Look, it was a mistake, Whiskey,” Octavia told her. “Please don’t beat yourself up over that anymore. You’re with us now and amongst friends.”

But the kitsune shook her head in disagreement. “I cannot be,” she said dutifully. “A lowly retainer deserves nothing, save to serve her masters until they give her a just reward for her successes. I must earn my third tail to prove myself worthy of being yours and Her Highness’ vassal, Lady Octavia.”

“E…excuse me….” The trio turned to look at the waitress, who was shaking on her hooves as she approached the table. “I…I have…I’ve just….” Her eyes started to tear up. “Please, please! It’s not my fault!”

Amabile approached her. “What’s the matter?”

“The owners…they want you to leave!” The waitress looked worried as if Octavia would lash out at her at any moment. “Please, it’s not me, really!”

“Just…just calm down and tell us what’s wrong,” Octavia said, trying to get the poor mare to relax.

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong!” an aged earth stallion with a beige coat and a balding green mane and bushy mustache approached them. He wore a white chef’s jacket with the name STRAW embroidered on it. “You humans are monsters, and I want you out of my restaurant!” Behind him, though he didn’t say anything, was a twin stallion, with his colors reversed but otherwise identical, save for the word HAY embroidered on his.

“What?” Octavia stated.

Hay spoke. “We were walking past the parade grounds this afternoon when we saw that barbaric display! Your soldiers killed pegasi!”

Straw interjected, “Snuffed them out as if they were nothing!”

Hay started again. “So much for you being peaceful! Now I want you both out of this restaurant and never come back!” He then turned to Amabile and said, “And you! You’re a pony, and since you got in, it means you have connections, so you should know better! You should be ashamed of yourself to associate with this…beast!” He then looked finally at Whiskey and said, “And take your pet dog with you, too!”

“How dare you….” Amabile hissed at him. “The humans are guests of the Crown and you would insult our Princess by ejecting them?”

“Why in Equestria would Princess Celestia risk our peace by reaching out to fiends like these?” the first stallion told her. “We already had to deal with those damnable gargoyles and their ilk fighting against Tirek, and now we want these foal-eating, beady-eyed bastions of darkness walking our streets? What, did Princess Luna turn back into Nightmare Moon while nopony was looking?”

Amabile’s face contorted into a grimace. “You had best watch your tongue about what you say,” she warned.

“I know my rights!” the first one shouted. “I want you three miscreants out of my restaurant, and at this point if Princess Celestia herself were to come here, I would tell her that she’s as unwelcome as that…that thing is!” He thrust an angry hoof at Octavia, anger in his pink eyes. “Get out!”

“ENOUGH!” Whiskey leapt to her feet, her paws going to her swords. “How dare you treat my lady this way!” The two brothers started backing away as she withdrew her blades. “She has done nothing but treat me better than I deserve and I will not stand for any cretin who does not treat her with the utmost respect!” She advanced on them, ready to attack.

“Whiskey! Don’t!” Octavia shouted. Amabile rose from her seat, ready to take down the kitsune if she needed to.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t needed, as the vixen suddenly found herself slammed hard against the wall by two meaty fists. She was then thrown across the room into a nearby set of tables. From where she’d been standing a second ago, a larger than normal minotaur, wearing a sauce-stained apron, snorted and flexed his considerably muscular arms. “Calves should learn when to behave themselves,” he snarled at her. “Now get out of my restaurant, or I’m going to have to teach you another lesson, you heifer, or my name ain’t Great Flavor!”

“Just in time!” Straw told him, cheering him on.

“Yeah! Pound those three as flat as Eggplant Parmaresan!” Hay agreed.

Flavor adjusted his toque, grinning and giving his bosses a thumbs-up. “You got it!” he said.

Patrons frantically galloped towards the doors as a fight had suddenly broken out in the restaurant. Tables got knocked over and dishes and glasses shattered everywhere as ponies did what typically occurred when something of this nature happened.

“You!” the minotaur accused Octavia, pointing a finger at her. “You did this! All ponies wanted to do was eat in peace, and you caused all this! Humans are the worst!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Octavia told him.

“I’m going to teach you a lesson!” he roared, rushing at her without rhyme or reason. As he moved on her like lightning, Octavia knew there was no way she was going to survive this. She shielded herself as best as she could, getting ready for a world of hurt.

Amabile immediately sprung into action, leaping towards the minotaur and slamming into him at a high speed. Landing on the ground, she immediately flung her knives at him, and he was only able to block by pulling a table in front of him as a shield. He then immediately threw the table at her, sending her flying out a window. Given that they were on the second floor, the landing immediately meant injuries.

“Nopony is going to ruin Great Flavor’s job!” he snarled, flexing.

“Get ‘em, Flav!” both brothers cheered.

He then would have given a reply back…had it not been for the sudden knee he got in the face. Whiskey delivered a bone-cracking blow to him, and as he staggered, she leaped up and slammed him on the back of the head with her elbow, sending him crashing to the ground.

She immediately withdrew her blades. “You will not touch Lady Octavia as long as I breathe!” she hissed.

“That won’t be long,” he said, only to scream out in pain as Whiskey lashed out with her swords, cutting off both his horns. They fell to the ground, useless.

“Do you know how long it took me to grow those!?” he snarled, his eyes turning red with rage. Seeing that their employee was about to lose control, both Straw and Hay did the sensible thing: promptly run for their lives, doing as their customers already had and ran down the stairs, abandoning the restaurant.

“Better your horns than a hair on Lady Octavia’s ma—” Whiskey suddenly found herself grabbed by the tails and slammed repeatedly on the ground as if she were a toy suffering the results of a child’s tantrum. She felt her teeth rattle and her blood splatter as the now-out-of-control minotaur had control of the battle. She tried to break free, but couldn’t; while she had been expertly trained, none of that training had been focused on how to deal with a minotaur in the midst of a berserker rage.

Finally, he stopped, the kitsune laying still and battered to a pulp. He picked up her swords, snapping them in two with glee, the blood running through his fingers as the blade sliced them open. He then turned back towards Octavia, murder in his eyes. “And now for you,” he intoned ominously, rushing towards her.

She screamed.

The world turned white.

Seated at dinner in her tower, Sunset and Softwing ate a delectable Zhuanganese stir-fry prepared by the kitchen, while the former looked over the latter’s rather impeccable resume. Sure enough, Softwing had been at the top of Kibbitz’ recommendations, and now, based on the dinner she was having with the griffoness, she could see why.

“Honestly, looking at this, for the life of me I can’t see why anypony would think you’re a danger to your fellow Equestrians. If anything, you’re an asset – somepony with your accolades isn’t an individual to dismiss so lightly.” She rapped her fingers against the papers. “Well, they might have forced Twi to turn you down, but as the nobility will find out soon, I don’t play the same game as my fellow princesses. So, frankly, if you want the position as my seneschal – as soon as I figure out what that role entails – then it’s yours.”

Softwing’s eyes lit up. “Really? You mean it?”

“I do. It’s just…if you accept this position, have you been told what the biggest change will entail?”

“I’m afraid not, Pri…er, Sunset,” the griffoness answered. “I’m honestly at a loss as to what you mean.”

Sunset gestured at herself. “This is my everyday form: that of a human. I live on Earth with my adopted family, serving as both Alicorn of Earth and a future ambassador for ponydom, should a meeting between our two worlds ever formally come to pass. If you become my seneschal, for both your safety and for everyday duties, you’ll have to live on Earth like me – as a human. Furthermore, because we are trying to give a positive example of humanity to dispel centuries of myth, whenever you’re in Equestria, you would have to do a lot of your duties here in human form as well.

“I’m not asking you to completely give up who you are forever; that would be selfish of me and unfair to you. And obviously if you take vacation here on Equus you are welcome to take whatever form you please. But I know it’s a lot to ask, so I’m letting you know this ahead of time.” Sunset then added, “Additionally, there’s another condition as well.”

Softwing looked at the princess; the requirement she laid before her was a pretty big one, even if it came attached to her dream job. But there was another issue? “Please, go on.”

“If you can’t meet the other criteria, I assure you, it has nothing to do with the fact that you are a griffin.” Sunset paused as if to gather her thoughts before continuing. “Because there have been no official meetings between humanity and Equus, we cannot accept applicants whose human counterparts have ties to the Canterlot Metro Area or who have criminal connections. We’ve had at least two incidents where counterparts have or potentially could have run into one another, and we cannot risk any further ones. Furthermore, it would be worse if you were in a position where you would have to explain yourself even if you had nothing to do with any illegal activity your counterpart may have done, if that’s the case.

“But if you pass, you will have a new identity on Earth and a chance for a normal life as a human, for the most part. No one will know your secret except for me, my family, my court and guards, and the Equestrian government. And if you choose to leave my employ and live the rest of your days on Earth as a human, that’s fine.”

“Why would I do that?” Softwing asked.

“Haven’t you ever thought about love? To find someone to call your own?” Sunset gave an awkward smile. “I did…briefly. But the point is, if you find someone and decide to live a normal life with them outside of working for me, I wouldn’t stop you. I don’t feel I have that right.” Sunset took another bite of her food, then continued. “Either way, if it works out, your problems here will be solved and you need never worry about being hunted by griffin agents again. I will make sure of that, even if you do not end up working for me. You have my word on that.”

Softwing paused before saying something; clearly, it was a lot to take in. Seeing the look on the griffoness’ face, Sunset added, “Take your time – as much as you need. It’s clear that you have a lot to think about and I know I loaded a lot on you. I know I’d be overwhelmed if I were in your shoes. As it is, I already am, to some degree.”

Softwing looked at the princess and how comfortable she was in her human form. If she didn’t know the truth, she figured that the alicorn before her was actually a born-and-raised human. “I have a question, if I may,” she broached.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Is it…easy being human? Is it any different than what we are?”

Sunset shook her head. “Other than mannerisms and some mindsets, not really. Sure, you’re not going to get all the cultural references; even after living on Earth for half a decade, I still don’t quite understand everything and I still miss a lot of things. But I have friends and loved ones and a life where people don’t know me as Princess Sunset Shimmer of Equestria. They just know me as Sunset Shimmer.”

“So day to day, I would just be Softwing?”

Sunset nodded. “You would be whatever your cover identity has you as, and as long as you work within those parameters, you can be whatever you wish to be. It will be a challenge in some cases, admittedly; some days I would rather fly or teleport than to have to drive to school or work, but humans don’t have access to either for the most part, so I have to go without. Regardless, though it may be a trial at times, it’s also a worthwhile opportunity that no other seneschal will likely ever have.”

“I see. Then I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, Sunset,” Softwing said as she rose from her chair. “Thank you for both your offer and dinner. Actually, thank you for everything, really.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Sunset said as both humans went to the door. “I would protect any mare that needs it. And besides, if you accept the job, I’ll be the one thanking you. In any case, I hope to talk to you soon.”

Halberd gave Sable a grin as he tapped a hoof on the dossiers he was about to give the human. “You do know that once your little secret becomes known to the general public, it’s going to change everything that ponies have known about our world and its geopolitical order, do you not?”

“I can’t answer that, sir,” Sable told him. “I’m still playing catch up with the politics of this world. Probably a worthwhile endeavor, though.”

“Smart stallion, er, man,” the pony told him. “One of my predecessors, Long Campaign, once stated that only privates and fools do not keep track of where the politics blow, because that is what moves the Army.”

“Sounds like a smart suggestion and something similar to my world. The saying from mine goes, ‘Sergeants study tactics, captains study strategy, colonels study logistics, and generals study politics.’”

Halberd chuckled. “I may have to remember that. In any case, Admiral, these are my recommendations, and I understand that Capt. Arrowswift has already passed you the Guard’s. While I doubt that Mage Essence will be of any help to you, I have taken the liberty to contact Archmagus Beryl on your behalf – though I understand you already know her – and her office will likely send you something by courier in the morning. Of course, your Fleet personnel will likely be taken care of by Adviso. She’s a good pony, by the by. If you stand by her, she’ll stand by you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, sir,” Sable said as he took the dossiers. “Thanks.”

Softwing walked through the palace grounds, her mind aswirl with the choice before her. Moving past an indoor fountain, the water dancing within, she stopped to watch it, contemplating her future as the jets of water moved on different trajectories, an aquatic ballet thanks to the superb craftsponyship of whoever had built the display.

The griffoness looked into the pool at the base of the fountain, seeing her reflection. Can I give up who I am? I may not want to see my father ever again, but in the end, I’m still a griffin. A griffin that’s supposed to set an example for our kind to ponydom. She then looked out the window towards the city of Canterlot and its thousands of residents. Somewhere down there was the home she’d once shared with the aged ponies that had raised and loved her regardless of her species. And then there’s Goldleaf and Silvervein to think about. I was never their foal, not really; but they treated me as though I was, and if they had their way, I would have been.

She held a claw up, summoning a ball of grayish-green magic. She’d had dreams of using her magic to help her adopted homeland. Her father, on the other hand, had first dreamed of using her as a weapon against his rivals and ultimately as a bargaining chip for more power when his star had begun to wane. He had never given her a thought and she had no idea if her mother even knew if she was still alive. Goldleaf and Silvervein, however, had taught her to chase her own dreams and to be the best she could be – not the best griffoness or mare, but the best individual. She loved them for that.

Softwing, once Grizelda Greatsword, knew the choice before her and the path behind her. Somepony out of hate or spite or fear had blocked her path. Now, by a Celestia-blessed miracle, Princess Sunset Shimmer was offering her a new chance, a way to chase her dreams in a means she’d never even thought was possible.

But would the price be worth it?

“So how was dinner with your counterparts?” Sunset asked Adagio, glad to have a casual conversation with her cousin and sister figure for a change as the two chatted over coffee and dessert; since their arrival, it had been all business, which bothered Sunset slightly.

“They’re nice girls, though very different from us. And Sirenian Coast baked halibut is probably one of the best meals I’ve eaten since we’ve been here, no offense,” the golden-haired girl replied. “Just like Soni tends to be the best cook out of the three of us, Nata apparently seems to be for her sisters. Needless to say, Soni made sure to get the recipe.”

Sunset chuckled. “Not surprised.”

“Yeah, I suspect that’s going to be on the dinner menu the first night we’re back home. Anyway, got your text. What’s up?”

Sunset tapped her phone, sending Adagio a file. “Need you to look into a new person in your clearance database. She’s not going to be a SIREN, though.” Sunset explained everything and when she was done, Adagio nodded.

“You know, I remember Cady saying last week that the apartment next door to them is available for rent. Maybe that might be a good place for her to start out?”

“Sounds reasonable,” Sunset agreed. “While I don’t think she or Shiny would mind, it means that they would have to help Softwing into human life. That shouldn’t be much of an issue for Cady, but with Shiny’s new job at the FBI that could cause him some headaches.”

“You’re underestimating him. He’s had our backs since forever, and that’s not going to change.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. In any case, it would make sense for whoever takes the job to have a place nearby, so that they can access the portal yet still not have to be at my beck and call 24/7.” The flame-haired girl scrunched her face in thought. “Maybe I should ask my aunt and Twi about building a second portal. They’ve both been heavily researching the spell, so if they make one in my offices here in Equestria, they can tie it to a mirror on Earth that can be at her home there.”

“Your call. In any case, I’ll have Derpy run the info through the wringer and see what we come up with. You should probably call Shiny when you get the chance and have him look into securing that apartment somehow. Maybe he can tell their landlord he knows someone who’s interested or something. That’s going to be the case for whoever ends up with the job.”

“It’s going to be Softwing,” Sunset said with a smile that indicated she was certain. “I’m pretty sure of it.”

“Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched,” Adagio said with a laugh. A second later, she said, “Or griffins, I guess – do they hatch from eggs?”

“Sorta – griffonesses lay eggs if they’re giving birth to chicks, which is the female of the species. However, they give live births to cubs, the males.”

“Weird.”

There was a knock on the door, and Adagio went to answer it. Softwing stood there, looking at them both. Bowing deeply, she said, “I’ve decided, Your Highness.”

Sunset folded her arms and looked at the griffoness. “That didn’t take long.”

Softwing nodded. “I never really knew my mother, and my father intends to use me as a tool for one manner or another should he ever get his claws on me again. The ponies that truly thought of me as their own are gone, and I am alone. All I can do now is to honor their last wish – and that was for me to be happy. And I can’t do that if I stay here where I’m in constant danger.”

“I sense a ‘but’,” Adagio said to no one in particular.

“You’re right,” Softwing told the stranger. “In the end, it’s more than just the fear. It’s a challenge. I love ponies – I consider this land mine, and if I had my way, I would be a mare and not a griffoness. Regardless, I want to be a good example for both griffins and Equestrians. And if this means that I take a job with a challenge like none other, because the Crown has need of me, then I shall do it. I wanted to work with Princess Twilight, because of the unique opportunities and trials it would present, but that’s not possible. But now I see, working with you, Princess, it will be even more of an adventure – and that’s what I want.” She smiled as only a griffin could. “So if the position is still open….”

“Only if you stop calling me Princess,” Sunset said with a smile.

“Just being formal for the occasion,” Softwing said, uttering a purring sort of laugh.

“Welcome to the club,” Sunset said, offering her hand. Softwing took it in her claw and shook.

“Well, I’d better go rush this,” Adagio said as she stepped out the door. “I’ll give you a call as soon as I get a response from Derpy.”

“Sunny! Sis! We have an emergency!” Aria skidded to a stop before Sunset’s door, breathing heavily as she’d apparently run the length of the palace from the guest wing to Sunset’s tower.

“What’s going on, sis?” Adagio asked her.

“We need to get to the infirmary.” Sunset knew she wasn’t going to like those words; the last time she’d been in a hospital situation, it had been for her own injuries after she’d been stabbed.

“What happened?” the flame-haired girl asked.

Sure enough, the middle triplet’s next words froze both Sunset’s and Adagio’s blood: “Tavi was attacked in a downtown restaurant – Uncle Night’s already on the way over and Soni and Aunt Velvet just left. I came here to get you two!”

No words further were said as Sunset teleported all in the room towards the infirmary.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Vinyl Scratch’s Wubsarena, a sizeable crowd had arrived to watch a musical sensation far beyond their wildest imagination perform. She’d only been here for two days and it seemed that Fluttershy had become a rock star amongst ponies, catching their attention.

“Don’t look ahead, there’s stormy weather,
Another roadblock in our way
But if we go, we go together –
Our hands are tied here if we stay”

Her friends in the audience cheered her on, both pony and human, and Fluttershy took to the stage. Thanks to some minor assistance from Princess Twilight, the teenage sensation, backed by a band of ponies, played a mixture of both pony and human songs, and based upon the large crowd dancing, everyone, regardless of species, was having the time of their life.

All except for one.

“Oh, we said our dreams will carry us,
And if they don’t fly, we will run
Now we push right past to find out
How to win what they all lost”

Seated on the balcony, listening from a distance and nursing a Sweet Apple Acres Premium Reserve, a young woman with deep rose hair stared at a mountain in the distance with a desperate longing. She didn’t want to be bothered by anyone right now, save for one person. A person she hadn’t seen in days, and desperately desired.

“Oh-ah, Oh-ah
We know now we want more
Oh-ah, Oh-ah
A life worth fighting for…”

She reached for her purse, pulled out the brown bottle and popped a pill, chasing it down with the alcohol. If she were home, she’d probably would have gotten grief for doing that – she probably would have been in trouble just for drinking the hard cider. But currently she didn’t care. All she wanted was a pair of luscious lips against hers, to fall asleep in strong arms and to smell the familiar fragrance of roses that had seemed to be ever present in her life since the day she first knew her feelings.

She laughed bitterly to herself. Rainbow, currently writhing on the dance floor, probably would have made a tasteless joke that Pinkie really needed to get laid. Unfortunately, her preferred candidate for that was well over a hundred miles north of here.

She took another swig of the cider. She knew she should be down there with her best friends, supporting Fluttershy. But at the moment, all she wanted was for Sunset to throw her down to the ground, rip off her clothing and….

If there was a way for Pinkie to feel utter lust and utter shame at the same time, she’d just discovered it.

She wasn’t the only pink-follicled individual with strong feelings right now.

“That…that…human!” an angry pegasus with a short magenta and neon-blue mane seethed. She had a virgin-blue coat and a neon-blue lightning bolt and G-clef for a cutie mark; she also wore a pair of earphones around her neck. She turned and glared at the other person in the office overlooking the stage. “How could you do this to me?”

Vinyl Scratch shook her head. “Grace, you should be glad you’re getting the time off, okay? That human mare is the flavor of the day and as you’ve noticed, I’m not even performing right now.”

“Well, that’s your fault, Vinyl!” Gracenote shouted. “I’m the best DJ in Equestria—”

“I beg to differ,” the DJ and owner of the venue interjected.

“—and to be upstaged by this…human! I won’t stand for it!”

“Nonetheless, that’s how it’s going to be. The crowds want to see her play, and she’s a friend of Princess Twilight’s, so she’s got the stage for every night this week except tomorrow. You can play tomorrow, if you want.”

“I can’t! You know I have a gig in Cloudsdale tomorrow!”

Vinyl shrugged. “Then you’ll just have to live with it until she goes back to her world, Grace.”

Gracenote stomped towards the office door, then turned and looked at Vinyl. “Mark my words, Vinyl: you’re going to regret giving her the stage for the whole week! And when she bombs, you’re going to beg me to come back and play!” She then departed, slamming the door as she bailed.

Vinyl Scratch removed her sunglasses and polished them against a rag she had on her desk. Rolling her eyes at the departed musician, she groaned, “And I thought Octy was a drama princess.”

Seated on a minotaur-size cot that was usually used by the alicorns whenever they were present, Octavia crossed her arms and looked at the nurse. “I’m fine! I was blinded for a moment, sure, but otherwise I’m okay, I promise!”

“As long as you’re sure,” Night asked her, worry in his eyes. “The Guard is looking over the place with a fine-tooth comb in case it was a terrorist incident.”

“From what our official investigation so far has uncovered, it was just several patrons unduly panicking about Lady Octavia’s presence,” a guardspony present stated, “and a couple of specist restaurateurs who are out one restaurant, as well as their cook, who we’ve arrested. As for the magic blast, we think it may have been a random spite attack by a departing patron. We’re doing magical forensics right now to see if it matches any known wellspring profiles.”

The nurse looked at Octavia, then at Night. “She checks out, but given that she’s not a pony, I recommend that she remain overnight so we can make sure that you had no long-term effects from magic due to your lack of it,” the nurse advised.

“I’m not worried about me,” Octavia told her. “What about the others I was with? Are they okay?”

“I don’t know if confidentiality would allow me to tell you, my lady,” the nurse said.

“Please – I have to know if they’re okay.”

Seeing the human’s concern, appreciation overrode the nurse’s caution. “Miss Heart has a pastern fracture, two broken ribs, and a contusion; she also landed on a spiked fence, so there were some puncture injuries as well. The kitsune, however, refused any medical treatment, so I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss what they found,” the nurse told her.

“Tavi!” The girls, followed in short order by Velvet, immediately filtered into the room.

“It’s okay; it was only a scare,” Night told the others. “They’re going to keep her here overnight for observation, but apparently there was no long-term harm done.”

Meanwhile, Sunset went up to her cousin. “This seems familiar, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Octavia agreed with a grin. “But maybe next time Twily can do this? It’s probably her turn anyway.” She then saw the triplets there and said, “Hey, would you three do me a favor? Apparently, Whiskey skipped out on her medical check, and I’m worried about her.”

“We’re more worried about you,” Sonata told her.

“Look, the nurse said I’m fine, so I’m fine,” the raven-haired girl assured them. “Meanwhile, Whiskey is probably out there, bleeding and thinking that she failed me. Don’t you think that’s a dangerous mindset?”

The triplets got the hint and departed immediately.

Sunset sighed. “As much as I wish I could stay, I need to prepare for a briefing with the Royal Financial Office tomorrow to determine how much my setup is going to be. I suspect because most of my ‘lands, duties and responsibilities’ are on Earth instead of here, they’re probably going to try to give me the bare minimum even if the other princesses suggest otherwise. I suppose Mother will try to give me a rule of a small area where I can easily access it via the mirror or something.” She shrugged. “Either way, I need to go hit the books.”

“You go do that,” Octavia told her.

“I know I sound like a broken record, Tavi, but I’m sorry I haven’t had much time to spend with you,” Sunset said sadly. “I’d promised you I would, and I’ve made a mess of it.”

Octavia hugged her. “Maybe, but I understand. You go do what you gotta do, Sunny. Like I said, we still have plenty of time to spend together, right?”

Sunset nodded, grateful to have such an understanding pseudo-sibling in her life. “Yeah, we do,” she said in a warm tone.

It didn’t take long for the triplets to find Whiskey. Seated in the infirmary’s garden, looking as though she was utterly destroyed, they found her, bleeding and not caring.

“You know, there’s a hospital right here,” Adagio told her. “Injured people tend to use them to get healed. So what’s your excuse?”

“I no longer have my swords, so I cannot commit jigai honorably,” she said in sad tones. “So the best I can hope for is to sit here and bleed to death. I have failed Her Highness and I have failed Lady Octavia as well.”

“She sent us to look for you, you know,” Aria told her. “She’s worried about you.”

“Why? I am just a retainer, and a pathetic one at that. I have lived for 286 years and I am no closer to getting my third tail than I was yesterday. I have failed my duty to my lady again and I have gravely insulted the honor of both Lady Octavia and Princess Sunset as a result. Small wonder that Prince Fujitsu cast me aside and so shall Princess Sunset once she knows what has happened.”

“You know, I find that completely insulting,” Sonata told her. “Sunny’s not like that, and for you to say that…as her cousin, that really pisses me off. She always sees the good in people, and unless you’re a homicidal maniac with megalomaniacal ambitions, well, let’s just say she’s very forgiving. So don’t you dare say she’d give up on you!”

Whiskey turned to look at the three. She knew they were younger than her, chronologically speaking, but she was probably around their age in terms of maturity. And yet…as she inspected their countenances, they reminded her so much of her mentors and trainers throughout the decades, fine tods and vixens with wisdom and demeanors far beyond their years. This trio of humans towered above her, even though they had none of her magic, her age or her vixenish beauty or strength.

“Please….” she said, her voice a whisper, tears beginning to fall down her furry face. “I don’t want to die alone and forgotten, a shame to all of kitsunekind. I don’t want to be a failure and bring shame to generations of my ancestors. But I don’t know what to do.” She looked at them, tears in her eyes. “If you are truly Her Highness’ most trusted and valued retainers, please, help me.”

Adagio looked at her for a moment, studying the broken creature at her feet, just waiting to die, even if that wasn’t what she wanted. Whiskey was trapped by tradition and she didn’t even know why. Adagio recalled a time that didn’t exist when she’d been that way as well.

No more, she vowed. No more letting someone else’s rules dictate someone’s future.

“Sis?” Aria asked her.

Adagio reached for her phone and dialed. “Sir? It’s Capt. Dazzle. I have a question for you,” she asked. “Did you still have a lead on an RDC to get our candidates up to snuff?”

“I do, but I thought we were going to settle on candidates after our first vetting, Captain,” he told her. “I take it something has changed?”

“Something has, sir,” she said. “We’d like to discuss it with you tomorrow at breakfast, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine. We need to discuss my planned meeting with Vice Adm. Adviso tomorrow, as well as the preparations for the upcoming test of potential candidates.”

“Understood, sir. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then. Capt. Dazzle, out.” Hanging up the phone, she looked at Whiskey. “On your feet,” Adagio said, her tone changing from that of a teenage girl to that of what sailors since ancient times called that of “The Old Man”.

The kitsune looked at her, confused.

“As of this moment, unless otherwise dictated, you are now in the Royal Equestrian Navy, and you are now the first candidate for the Special Initiative. And as such, your first order is to get into the infirmary and seek medical attention, do I make myself clear?”

To the amusement of Adagio’s sisters, they had never seen an injured individual move so fast before. Sonata swore she thought she saw the hint of a relieved smile on the kitsune’s muzzle.

Bleary-eyed, Sunset looked at the time on her phone. Ugh. It’s not even midnight yet and I feel exhausted. Between the yaks’ audiohell, the seven-billion-hour long Jasmine ceremony, the whole thing with Softwing (thought that turned out to be a bright note) and finally Octavia’s hospitalization and the triplets taking care of Whiskey, it had been one hell of a day. And now brushing up on what she would need for the next day’s meeting, she felt as though her remaining energy had been completely sapped. She was sure at this point she could mainline the sun into her veins and it wouldn’t be enough to keep her conscious.

Funny, for an immortal creature that supposedly doesn’t need sleep, I really can’t think of anything else but that right now, she thought, stifling off a yawn just as a knock came at the door.

“Coming,” she yawned, hoping that her exhaustion would translate to a very short visit.

As she opened the door, a Guardspony gave her a salute, holding a bound report under his wing. “Princess? Capt. Arrowswift asked me to bring by a copy on the preliminary findings on the attack earlier today and—”

As he heard his voice, her shoulders sagged. Great – I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, she told herself, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen now. The alicorn-in-human-form looked at the pegasus in barding standing before her. His mane and eye colors haunted her and his voice brought back memories, both good and bad. Well, best to face the music now, as if I have a choice.

“Hello, Cpl. Sentry,” she said with a tired voice.

“Uh, do we know each other, Your Highness?” he asked her. “I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”

“Oh, I know who you are, Flash Sentry,” she said sadly, and he winced at her tone. Seeing that made her feel guilty, and she added, “It’s…it’s nothing personal. Well, not against you, anyway, but rather—”

His ears folded. “My human counterpart. I…know about him. I met with Lady Twilight – that is, the human Twilight Sparkle….”

“Yes. My sister sent me a message about that.”

Flash looked worried. “She didn’t tell me much, but from what little she said, and combined with your reaction….” He looked reluctant at first, but then steeled himself. “I feel that I need to—”

“No – do not apologize,” Sunset insisted, a bit forcefully. He took a step back and she winced; she was doing this all wrong, she knew, but it had to be done. “You did nothing wrong, my little pony,” she said, trying to take a cue from her mother’s playbook.

She bit back a groan; this was in no way, shape or form going to be an easy conversation.

“Please, come in, Corporal,” she told him as she opened the door, fully. “I think you should hear the full story.” As he walked in, she bade him sit down in a seat, then she took one next to him. “How well would you say you trust me?” she asked him.

“Implicitly,” he answered automatically. “You are one of the Royal Family and I am yours to command, Your Highness,” he began, getting ready to practically recite the Guardspony’s Credo, but Sunset stopped him.

“I mean pony to pony,” she clarified, mentally chuckling at the irony of her being in a human form at the moment. “And please, drop the formality. You address Twi – that is, Princess Twilight – by her name, right?”

“I did,” he admitted, “but…things have been tense between us lately. I wasn’t really sure why, but now I realize what it was.”

“Well, please, just call me Sunset or Sunny,” she told him. “I would appreciate it.”

“I understand,” he told her. “Well, in that case, I would trust you as much as I would any other pony I just met – why do you ask?”

“Because for me to explain the full story, you need to do something. Please, give me your hoof.” When he looked at her oddly, she added, “Trust me, it will be clear in a second.” He then offered his hoof, and she took it. The moment she did, a huge corona of spellfire enveloped him.

Flash instinctively flinched, pulling his hoof back…

…only to find out that it was no longer a hoof, but a hand. He looked at it, momentarily panicking. “What did you do?”

She summoned a mirror for him to look at himself. “Now you look like him: Bradley. Or as he likes to call himself, ‘Flash Sentry’.”

“Bradley?” the pegasus, now a boy, asked as he looked at his image in the mirror.

“It’s a very old name in both English and Equestrian; an old word meaning broad wood. However, he hated it, so he took the name of a 1930s fictional adventure character. He told enough people that was his name and eventually they believed him, and then continued to call him that even after the truth came out. It was,” she told him, “only the first of the lies he’s told.

“When I first moved to Earth, he was one of the very first that I met. I couldn’t help but find him charming and sweet and though we were both young – in my human form, I was thirteen at the time – I became infatuated with him and eventually we started a relationship.” She paused for a moment to calm herself. “Eventually, that relationship became sexual, and that turned out to be a mistake. I take it you’ve been informed of why I live on Earth?”

He nodded. “I have to applaud your bravery, Sunset. I don’t think I could leave my family to take on duties to go on a highly-secret mission for Princess Celestia, especially given that you’re her daughter. Doubly so, considering that the story the public was told about your disappearance and how you were so unfairly villainized for a long time.”

Sunset wasn’t sure about what to say about that, so she left it be. “In any case, Flash and I broke up shortly before Twi – that is, Princess Twilight – came to Earth for her own mission. Shortly after that, I came into the care of the human family that adopted me. However, the thing that you need to know is that during Twi’s time there, they met and became attracted to each other. Unfortunately, given that Twi is the counterpart to Twily – by that, I mean my sister, the human Twilight Sparkle – those two came across each other and even though Flash didn’t remember meeting a Twilight Sparkle, he was attracted to her enough that he wanted to use her for his own ends. Moreso, once he realized that she was my younger sister, he knew it would be a way to get back at me as well.

“I should also add at this time, he was a part of a group called The Club. It seems like an innocent enough name, right? It might have been…except that the club had access to a drug that removed a person’s will to act.” Seeing the confusion on his face, she explained further. “Think of it as a mind control potion or spell, and then think of the worst ways possible that it could be used.” Her eyes shrank to narrowed slits of anger as she continued. “He used it on Twily, nearly turning her into his plaything. As it was, hundreds of girls were impacted and he was one of the ringleaders, so he was clearly as guilty as sin. He was eventually caught and arrested, but thanks to some political connections and good lawyers, he avoided his fate, and came out smelling like a rose.”

Flash was shocked; he could feel the abject hatred that came from Sunset, inadvertently directed at him…but it was nothing compared to hearing what his other self – his counterpart – did. It was unspeakable, a monstrous atrocity that shook him to the core. “How?” he asked, his mouth feeling dry just from inquiring. “I…I can’t imagine that! How could he get away with it?”

“A lot of money and popularity, combined with parents that don’t care. How old are you, Flash?”

“Twenty-four, why?”

“Your counterpart turns seventeen next week. Even though I’m a thirty-year-old mare, as a human, I just turned seventeen a couple of months ago. And where we live, you’re a minor until you’re eighteen, which means Flash’s parents are responsible for him.” She shifted in her chair as she let that sink in before proceeding with, “In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never met his parents. There were whole weeks where it was just the two of us in his house, which is frankly immoral if not outright illegal.

“I only know three things about his parents: that they’re rich, that they only truly care about him when he does something that could come around to backfire on them, and that this inattentiveness created a monster. I suppose that makes them monsters as well, but I hope that’s not the case. I don’t believe it, however. And that’s really the gist of it,” Sunset finished. “A guy that I thought I loved turned into a monster, but the truth was, he’s pretty much always been.”

Not that I was any better, she accused herself.

“You loved him?”

“I hate to admit it, but…I’ve had plenty of time to think about it. I think in hindsight that I did. I had other reasons for being with him, but let’s be honest: I would not have stayed with him as long as I did unless that wasn’t the case. I think it made it harder when I found out he’d been cheating on me with another girl that’s since become a close friend.”

Flash sat there for a few minutes in thought, digesting everything he’d been told, and none of it was good. It was a horror story, but a thousand times moreso: it was the story of how he could’ve been had his life been different and had he not been blessed with a loving family. He looked once more at the strange image in the mirror that was his current reflection, and he found it twisted for more than just the obvious reasons.

After a few seconds of more thought, he spoke: “Sunset…what can I do to make up for what he did? I know I’m not him, but I am Flash Sentry. It’s not just a name I took on, I was born with it, so I am that pony. Still, to hear my name dragged through the mud like that is galling and I can’t help but want to make up for what has been done.”

“You can’t,” she told him. “The price is too high. For one, he fathered a child with a friend of mine named Blossomforth that he doesn’t care about; while he and I had our relationship, at the same time he’d been cheating on me with her, and neither of us knew about it. My friends and I have helped Blossom and her family with Sunset Blossom, but being a teenage mother and a single parent is hell. Then there’s his reputation, that’s still somewhat in tatters even if he never went to prison.” She looked at the pony-as-boy and said, “That is what you would have to fix: to marry a girl you’ve never met, be a father to a child you aren’t responsible for, and to live with the shame for things you never did.”

He looked at her sadly. “I don’t know how you managed, and everything you were accused of is false. This Flash Sentry sounds like a monster, like everything I could never be and would never want to be.” He sighed. “I don’t think I could ever step into those horseshoes.”

“I didn’t expect you to, but the fact alone that you’re willing to admit that puts you leagues above Brad.” She then added, “If you truly want to redeem your name, then continue to be the stallion of honor and integrity that you are. That is something your counterpart will never be capable of, and each day you are makes your name that much brighter where it counts: to those who know and respect you for who you are.”

He looked at the mirror once more, seeing the strange reflection looking back at him. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to be changed back to normal. I don’t want to cause you any more pain.” She blinked and he said in a soft tone, “It’s obvious: somepony you loved hurt you and that pain won’t go away easily. If I may, I would suggest talking to Princess Cadance. She helped me get over my issues when I realized my feelings for Twi were unrequited. But now I at least know why.”

“Okay, gimme a second to change you back.” Closing her eyes, Sunset cast the amnimorphic spell once more, returning him to his normal form.

A few minutes later, she escorted him to the door. “Thanks for listening, Flash. I appreciate it.”

“No, thank you for explaining it to me,” he replied. “I know that can’t have been easy for you. And if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“I will, thanks.” Giving her a salute, he then walked off towards his appointed rounds.

Sunset closed the door, then shuddered. For a moment, she thought, I thought I saw the guy he might have been. Not the monster, but the guy I loved. Tears came, unbidden and she hated herself for it. She used Flash for her own selfish needs and vice versa, but there had to be a point where they’d been a real couple – hadn’t there?

Out of nowhere, she felt a wing embrace her. She turned to look, and was surprised to see her aunt standing there, a soft look on her face.

“You might not be asleep right now,” Luna said softly, “but I know the heart’s pain when it occurs. I will stay with you this evening, my niece.”

“It’s okay,” Sunset sobbed. “There are others who need you more than I, Aunt Luna.”

“That’s not true,” Luna told her. “I may not understand your experiences, but I know this much: whether as an adult mare, or a broken-hearted girl, we could always stand to use somepony in our corner.”

Sunset responded by burying her face in her aunt’s neck, while Luna wrapped her wings around her niece, letting her know that she was loved.

In a quiet corner of Back Cut’s Pool Hall, a kitsune and a griffin looked across a table at one another. The former was refined and polished, a gentletod in every way, while the latter could hardly be called anything remotely like that. But still the two met, and business was had.

Gunther Granitewings took a swig of his cider. It tasted like dirty laundry water, but he hadn’t come here for the drinks. No, he’d come here for the job offer from the kitsune sitting across from him, the fox that had given him no name but a business opportunity that was of the order that he would have to be insane to turn down.

“So, let me get this straight,” Gunther snarled. “Your master wants me an’ my boys to catch one o’ those humans for you—”

“One particular one,” he said, passing over the image that showed the human in question. “This one, and no others.”

He looked at the image. “Fine, whatever. So we get this one for you and bring her to your airship, and you’ll pay us our weight in gold?”

“Easily,” the kitsune told him. “My master wants this human female for his…well, let’s just call it a collection and leave it at that. You don’t need to know the details, only that we want her unharmed and on our airship in two days. You do that, and we’ll have your money waiting for you.”

He thought about it. With this money, he could easily force his fat-ass uncle and cousins out of the reeve and become highreeve of Clawson Reeve. It would be a first step towards real power, not just being a lackey mercenary with nothing to call his own save his sword and armor.

“Fine,” he said, holding up the picture of Octavia Melody. “In two days, this human’ll be bound and on your ship.”

Day Three, Morning: We Know You, They Know Me

“Okay, Mare’s Desire perfume…check,” Jewel said to herself as she waited outside the door leading to Sunset’s tower. “Rarity4You Special Somepony silk dress…check.” She summoned her mirror, checking her makeup and her attraction spells. She was reaching out to her new marefriend and it was vital that she be the very best. A princess deserved that, after all.

After taking one final time to take a breath to relax, she used her newly-issued keycharm to let herself in. “Princess! I’m here!” she stated. First, she would do the work, and then she would declare her eternal love for Princess Sunset, and then they could start working on their future together. Easy-peasy, smiley breezy, right?

“Oh, good. I see I’m not the only one.” Jewel turned to look at the griffoness before her. She was currently seated at a typewriter, working on what looked like a large stack of reports. “I thought Sunny said there was somepony else besides me, but I was worried that there wasn’t.” The griffin took a drink from a large mug of coffee labeled WORLD’S GREATEST GRIFFONESS, where the last word was overwritten with MARE in red paint, before looking at Jewel. “Oh, and I guess we should introduce ourselves before we get to work. I’m Softwing – I’m Sunny’s new seneschal, which I guess means I’m your boss. And you are?”

“Um…Precious Jewel,” the unicorn stated, a confused look growing on her face. “Um…where’s Princess Sunset? She and I were supposed to meet for breakfast this morning to go over paperwork.”

Softwing faceclawed at that point. “Oh, that’s right – she did mention that. Unfortunately, she had to bounce out. Apparently Princess Celestia had a speaking engagement in Manehattan this morning and she asked Sunny to do it for her. And, given the distance, she had to fly out there immediately. She said she apologizes for not being able to do it and will make it up to you as soon as she can. So, if you haven’t eaten yet, go ahead and have the maidstaff bring you something and then we can get to work. There’s a lot of paperwork involved with setting up this new office and it’s not going to do itself.”

“Right,” Jewel sighed, sad at missing her chance at having breakfast with her true love. Thankfully, there was still plenty of time to spend with her future spouse to be. Besides, if there was one thing that Jewel already knew, it was that the life of a royal was anything but easy.

I just hope I can make things easier for her when we get married, she thought as she went to flag a nearby maid.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles to the south, a breakfast of an entirely different nature was going on. Smells not usually associated with Friendship Castle wafted through its corridors, and the kitchens, usually mostly unused, were now a much livelier and busier place as they had been for the past few days.

In the main dining hall, Gustav le Grande bowed before Princess Twilight, a smile on his beak. “Ah, Your Highness. It’s so good to see you this morning! I have breakfast cooking, all prepared as per your request!” He kissed his claws, a very Prench maneuver, but given that he was a griffin raised in the Equestrian province of Prance, that made sense. “It will be tres magnifique for your guests!”

“Well, I know I can’t thank you enough for taking time out from running your restaurant to accommodate my request to act as chef for my guests for the week,” the alicorn replied with a smile.

“Ah, it is no problem, Mademoiselle Princess,” Gustav assured her. “My partner, Lemon Tart, has it all under control, mais non. Plus, cooking for these humans is the challenge of a lifetime!” He flashed her a second grin and added, “Not to mention that a royal warrant for providing services for the Crown would be quite the feather in my chapeau!”

“Well, don’t let me get in your way,” she told him as she heard the telltale sound of human footsteps behind her. “And it sounds like our first guest has arrived!”

As she yawned and stumbled into the dining room, Twilight Sparkle berated herself for spending pretty much the entire day in her counterpart’s library, trying to read as many books as she could get her hands on. Should’ve went to bed, dumbass, she chastised herself, but noooooooo, you just had to take a self-imposed crash course on your sister’s hinterlands’ history….

“Morning, Twily,” the happy lavender alicorn said.

“Morning, Twi,” the plum-haired teen replied, biting off a yawn as she plopped into a chair, barely aware of the sights and scents of the breakfast buffet around her until a cup of some wonderful-smelling fluid was placed in front of her, courtesy of a magenta glow.

“Here, try this,” Twilight told Twilight.

The teen cautiously took a sip, and her eyes suddenly brightened before closing once more in contented bliss. After a few more sips, she felt human once more. “Kona?” she asked.

“Maybe an equivalent?” was the princess’ reply. “It’s a type of coffee I get from Hoofalulu, then infused with a magic spell I used to recover after I do an all-nighter.” Seeing the teen’s look of horror, Princess Twilight laughed as she added, “Don’t worry. I’ve been there, too; that’s why I have the stuff. Besides, I think it’s admirable that you wanted to learn so much about us.”

“I just want to make sure I’m ready for anything,” Twilight told her counterpart. “I have to set a good example for humanity’s sake, especially given some of the myths I read yesterday.”

“Don’t worry about that,” the alicorn assured her. “Those are just old stories and I really doubt anypony believes them anyway.”

“Old stories…like the ones on our world regarding the existence of unicorns and pegasi?” the teen pointed out. “The fact is, there’s a grain of truth in everything, Twi, and if ponies like you, my sister and Rainbow Dash exist, that means that to some degree, those rumors are true. And contrarywise, given our existence, it means that there are some bits of truth in your fairytales as well.”

“Spoken like a true scholar,” Princess Twilight noted. “Maybe later, you’ll want to look into the legends of The Megan – she was, according to our mythology, the one human who was always on our side. There’s been some debate about her historicity; it’s possible she actually did exist, given that she was stated to be the sworn right hoof of Queen Faust.”

“I might just do that,” Twilight told Twilight as two more people came into the room.

“Heya, Rainbow, AJ,” the teen told her friends. “Sleep okay?”

“Heya, Twily,” Rainbow blurted, then paused. “Oh, shit, is that coffee I smell?”

“Well, good morning to ya, Twily,” the blonde stated as she sat down. “And to you as well, Your Highness,” she added.

“Applejack, you know you don’t have to call me that,” the princess reminded her.

“Ah know, but it helps to remind dipshit here not to be such a rudeass,” Applejack said, pointing to Rainbow, who in a rare moment, suddenly felt self-conscious. However, it didn’t last long.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” the rainbow-haired athlete commented, brushing off her embarrassment. “But seriously, Twi, thanks for having us over. The others might be doing okay with their counterparts, but so far mine seems standoffish and AJ’s is an outright bitch.”

“Rainbow!” teen Twilight scolded.

“Well, it’s true,” Rainbow insisted, folding her arms.

“Sorry about that, you two,” Princess Twilight told them. “Just like you, they have good days and bad days. I’m sure things will turn around, though. But enough of that. What would you all like to do today? Since Razz is covering my court duties today, we can take a trip to another town, go shopping or whatever you want.”

“Ah’m up for whatever,” Applejack replied, “but if you don’t mind, Ah gotta get a workout in sometime today. Got a TKD tournament when we get back, so mah sa-bu-nim says Ah should practice whenever Ah get the chance, and Ah figure with the time dilation working for us, Ah have a whole extra week to work out.”

“Yeah, I should probably do the same,” Rainbow agreed. “We have that big game against Foothills High the day after we get back.”

“Yeah, but who are you gonna practice with?” Applejack reminded her friend.

“Yeah, you have a point,” she sighed. “Maybe I’ll just work out instead. Doesn’t hurt to work on my stamina and distance running, and this is probably the perfect place to do it in, since I don’t have to worry about traffic or anything.”

“Well, I was going to say that I was going to spend another day in your library, Twi,” Twilight chimed in, “but that would probably be a waste, so whatever you want to do, I’m up for it. Even if it means I have to spend some time away from…well, books.” That earned a knowing giggle from the alicorn.

“Well, let me check with the Mayor,” Princess Twilight suggested. “She’s done enough of these as of recent, that she’s probably got plenty of suggestions if not outright plans. And while you all got the tour of the city the first day you were here, there’s still plenty to see within the province. So, let me see what she’s got and I’ll get back to you shortly. That sound okay?”

But before the three humans could answer, there was the frantic galloping of hooves, followed by a mauve-coated earth mare rushing into the dining area. She took several deep gasps for breath before sputtering, “Oh, Twilight! Thank goodness I found you!”

“Oh, hello, Cheerilee! Welcome! Have you had breakfast yet?”

“Thanks, but I’ve already eaten. As it is, though, I need your help!”

“Always there for a friend,” the princess stated. “What’s up?”

“I just found out that I have a family emergency back home that’s going to keep me tied up for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, I spoke to the provincial school board and they told me that a substitute teacher won’t be available until tomorrow at the earliest. And since I need to catch the next train, you’re all that’s left, Twi.” She shook her head in frustration. “It’s already bad enough that I had to cancel PE because Snowflake sprained his gaskin two weeks ago.”

“And you can’t hire anyone else?” the princess asked.

“Not with the school funds I have issued to me currently, and the school system revision isn’t supposed to happen until next year,” Cheerilee reminded her. “That’s when the new Ponyville Elementary campus is supposed to open, remember?” The look in her eyes was concerned. “I take it you can’t cover me?”

The princess looked at the schoolmarm, sad to be disappointing a friend. “I’m sorry, Cheerilee, I really am, but I’m unavailable as well. I’m entertaining guests this week.” Twilight then gestured to the others in the room and the earth mare finally noticed them, much to her embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with your species,” she stated.

“Oh, we’re humans,” Rainbow said with a note of pride.

A look of shock came over the teacher’s face. “Humans are real?” the earth mare asked the princess, who merely nodded in response.

“I take it you didn’t make it to the big soiree we had the other night?” Princess Twilight asked her.

“Unfortunately for me, no, as grading paperwork is always a chore, especially since I have more students than ever now,” Cherilee explained. She then turned to back to the three humans. “But color me surprised that humans really do exist, especially with all the old ponytales about them.”

Teen Twilight assured her, “But we’re not like all those old stories about humans, really.”

“Yeah, we don’t drink blood or anything, really,” Rainbow added, and an uneasy look suddenly came over Cheerilee’s face.

“Way to set them at ease,” Twilight rebuked Rainbow.

“Hey, I forgot about those rumors, okay? Calm your tits, Twily!” Rainbow apologized.

“Twily, you know by now Rainbow can’t keep her foot out of her mouth,” Applejack added, giving her friends a grin.

“Well, as fascinating as you all are and that under different circumstances, I would be more than happy to have you come for a school visit, I’m still going to be in dire need of a substitute,” Cheerilee mourned.

It was then that Twilight had an idea. “What scholastic level are the students?” she asked.

“Pre-Mark 5: multiplication, reading comprehension, all the basic things a pony needs before they get their mark and start Post-Mark 1,” Cheerilee answered.

The scholar did some quick comparisons in her head. “Okay, so somewhere between third and fifth grade. Shouldn’t be a problem.” She looked at Cheerilee and said confidently, “I’ll cover your class today. It should be an interesting challenge, and will be a great way for us to show that humans can be more than just what the myths say we are.”

The schoolteacher looked at the human with disbelief. “Um, no offense intended,” she said, “but are you sure you’re—”

“I’ll vouch for her,” Princess Twilight told her friend. “It might sound strange, but Twily here is the alternate universe version of me from the human world. She doesn’t have magic – humans don’t, for the most part – but when it comes to the academics, I can assure you she’s just as adept as I am.”

“Sure, in that case,” Cheerilee said, relief washing over her. “I’ll take anypony at this rate!”

Rainbow then chimed in: “Hey, you said you had to cancel the kids’ PE time?” She asked and the mare nodded. “That’s total BS. Don’t worry, I’ll teach those kids how to be as awesome at soccer as I am!” she crowed, hooking a thumb back at her.

“Don’t know what Ah can do to help, but Ah’ll be more than happy to do so,” Applejack offered.

“Pre-Mark foals only go to school for half a day, unlike their Post-Mark peers,” Princess Twilight informed them, “so you wouldn’t be giving up your whole day. And I agree with Twily that it’s a great way to show off humanity’s best while giving me time to plan something for us to do in the afternoon.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Twilight said as she gave her alicorn counterpart an appreciative grin. “What time do you need us there?”

The sweat of hard work rolled off Applejack as she toiled in the back forty. Right now, she was checking the apple trees, making sure that they were all healthy, especially after the last magically-enhanced round of speed growing they’d had to do because of the Winter of Aftermath. She’d hated using magic on her trees to make them grow larger than normal yields, but given that Equestria was starving at the time, there was little choice. At least now, things were going back to the way they should be, and that meant good and normal work.

A warm spring breeze flittered through the morning air, and she removed her hat, feeling the current caress each strand of her mane. It was a good sign, an indicator that things were headed in the direction they should have. But her mood soured when she realized her counterpart would never know or even understand this kind of joy, and it disgusted her that a city slicker like that Applejack probably had no idea what hard work was, even if it reached up and bucked her in the face.

She ain’t no real counterpart, Applejack grumbled. Ah’ll bet that Ah have a real counterpart out there, an’ this one just happens t’ have mah name. She don’t even deserve that!

Moving over to check the next tree – Blumenthal, a strong tree with a good history for making apples – she started inspecting the roots, when she heard a voice call out for her.

“Applejack!” It turned out to be Granny Smith, the matriarch of the family. “Ah need t’ speak t’ ya!” she hollered.

“Be right there, Granny!” the farmmare shouted back before taking one look back at her treasures, her rows of apple trees, the pride of her family. She then cantered off towards the farmhouse. Granny probably needed help with planning dinner or something, Applejack thought. She was starting to get to the age where she was more than a little forgetful. It would take up some of Applejack’s time, but it was at least good work with family and she could take pride in that as well.

At least some of us got pride, she thought, feeling revulsion at her counterpart’s running of a store. A store! As if we’re the Rich family! Glad Ah ain’t interested in going t’ her world, or else Ah’d probably find everythin’ as topsy-turvey as she is! She had to wonder how Twilight – her Twilight, that is – managed to survive a whole week there, or the three weeks that Raspberry had been there.

Maybe she could talk to them this afternoon, since she at least had that time free. Maybe if she was lucky, she could spend time with her other friends, too; she knew she had to make some accommodations, since their counterparts were in town, but at least with those ones, they seemed to be a lot more like the gals she knew.

Plus, Ah bet both Fluttershys are probably scared outta their minds, hidin’ under th’ covers at Shy’s cottage, she thought with a chuckle. Some things just never changed.

As she reached the farmhouse, she saw Granny Smith standing there, a scowl on her face, and that, Applejack knew, wasn’t a good sign. She wondered what happened; whatever it was, it had to have gone down fairly quick, she reckoned. Were Flim and Flam trying something stupid again? Had cousin Goldie Delicious let her small army of cats out again? The last time that happened, she and her friends had pretty much chased the critters throughout all of Equestria before returning them home. Was Uncle Apple Strudel talking about his “battle lederhosen” nonsense again? Or did cousin Apple Butter start yammering on about how life was so much better now that Ponyville was starting to become “a real city”? Whatever it was, it had the Apple matriarch in a mood, and that was never a good sign, as far as Applejack was concerned.

A second later, she noticed that her grandmother had a guest – Twilight. And the fact that the princess was there didn’t bode well.

“Heya, Twi,” she began, “what’s up? Ah presume Granny needed yer help fer somethin’?”

“Applejack,” the princess started, but was stayed by the Apple matriarch raising a single verdant hoof.

“Now, youngin’, Ah know y’ just wanna point out th’ mistake mah granddaughter done made,” the aged earth mare stated, “but let me talk t’ her first, ‘kay?”

“Of course,” Twilight replied, knowing that Applejack would be in better hooves in this situation. “I’ll be, um, waiting in the kitchen.”

“Be sure t’ have some of our fine apple-flavored coffee,” Granny said affably, waiting for a moment or two before affixing her granddaughter with an unpleasant stare which made Applejack take a step back.

“So, what’s this Ah hear ‘bout ya treatin’ yer counterpart like dirt an’ makin’ a donkey o’ yerself in public th’ other day?” Granny asked, though the younger mare knew well enough it wasn’t a request, but a demand for answers.

Still, Applejack wasn’t going to back down from this. “Nuthin’ of th’ sort, Granny, jest th’ facts: that so-called ‘Applejack’ ain’t no real Apple,” she seethed. “Claimin’ that she don’ like th’ farm, or that she wants t’ do somethin’ else with her life. Hell, she don’t even like hats! What kind o’ lunacy is that?”

“Ah recall a little filly that done plum left th’ farm once, ‘cause she thought she could handle livin’ in Manehattan,” Granny countered. “Didya ever think o’ that?”

“Oh, puh-leeze,” Applejack scoffed, brushing off her grandmother’s accusation. “Tryin’ t’ compare mah mistake t’ hers? Mah mistake was just that – a mistake! That human…she not only don’t think that, she’s still makin’ hers! Just proves that she ain’t me!” Granny continued to just sit there and wait for her granddaughter to finish.

Applejack didn’t. “She done gave up th’ farm, Granny! Our lifeblood, our way o’ life! An’ ya want me t’ jest make peace with that kind o’ insanity?”

But Granny Smith just shook her head. “Ah never thought Ah raised me a lunk-headed idjit, but Ah’m wonderin’ if’n Ah should think otherwise! O’ course that girl ain’t you! Me, Mac an’ Bloom talked t’ her at the party th’ other night an’ she’s a sweet thing! Y’ say ya ain’t th’ Applejack that belonged in th’ big city – but didja ever think that maybe she’s th’ one that does?”

“Ain’t true,” Applejack insisted, shaking her head. “No way, no how.”

“And ya know this how? Didja talk t’ her – really talk t’ her? ‘Cause Ah did, an’ let me tell ya somethin’: that gal’s smart as a whip an’ knows where she’s goin’ in life. Without knowin’ her, Ah c’n bet that her granny an’ her parents are proud as punch ‘bout that girl!”

Applejack looked up at her grandmother as if she’d been slapped. “What? How? How on Equus c’n they be proud of a girl like that?”

The look in Granny’s eyes suddenly became sad, and Applejack wondered if she’d suddenly said the wrong thing. “‘Cause that’s how parents are,” she said, her words deflating her and making the aged mare somehow seem even older than her years. She then reached out to her granddaughter. “Applejack, Ah done tried t’ teach ya all Ah can. But there comes a time when y’ gotta learn somethin’ on yer own, an’ likely th’ hard way. Yer an adult now, an’ y’ deserve t’ make yer own choices…an’ yer own mistakes.” Nothing more to be said, Granny went back in the house, leaving Applejack standing there, all the more confused.

Granny went in and looked at the princess. “Ah done said mah bit,” she explained. “Now, Applejack’s gotta see fer herself.”

“I hope she does, soon,” Princess Twilight told her. “I hate to see my friends like this. I know that she’s afraid of AJ, mainly because of how different she is.”

“Mah granddaughter’s a strong sort, Twilight,” Granny assured her. “Ah know she’ll come ‘round in time. Ah just hope that when it happens, she don’t hurt none too bad.”

After this experience, Twilight Sparkle was sure of one thing: she was not going to become a teacher when she grew up.

“Miss Twilight! I read that humans can breathe fire! Can you show us?”
“Miss Applejack, how many apple trees can you buck?”
“I bet you’re not as cool as my Rainbow Dash – though I guess you’re kinda cool….”

“Anyone regretting doing this?” Rainbow asked her friends.

“Miss Twilight! Is it true that humans can grant any wish! If that’s the case I wish for my cutie mark!”
“Miss Applejack, how come you don’t have orange skin? The Miss Applejack we know has an orange coat.”
“Since you’re Rainbow Dash, can you teach me how to do a Sonic Rainboom?”

“Not really,” Twilight lied. “I think this is a wonderful learning experience for both us and them.”

“Yeah, I’m learning I need to get my tubes tied as soon as I turn old enough!”

“Miss Twilight, are you the Witch of Human Mountain?”
“Miss Applejack, can you turn into a werewolf like the other Miss Applejack did?”
“Do you know how to do the Double Inverted Immelmare, Miss Rainbow?”

Applejack, however, had caught the odd comment from the foal who addressed her. “What was that?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Miss Applejack,” Diamond Tiara told her, shrugging her withers. “Tattle is always coming up with tall tales.”

“Um…okay. So anyway, who else needs help with their math?”

The trio had decided, given that Cheerilee hadn’t left much of a study plan, to instead help the students with studying for the day, as well as some physical exercise and a Q&A session on humans. So far, the morning hadn’t really gotten past the first part, as the foals were bombarding them with the planned third part from the get go.

“Mith Twilight!” An excitable filly with curly red hair and oversize purple glasses excitedly waved a hoof at the plum-haired human. “Do you like candy caneth? Do they have candy caneth where you’re from?”

“They do, Twist,” Twilight said, remembering the filly’s name. “They have all kinds of them, from the traditional peppermint flavors to some more…esoteric ones, like dill pickle.”

“Dill pickle?” Twist’s muzzle scrunched up in disgust. “That’th horrible! Why would anypony…er, anyhuman?...want that?”

“People are like ponies, Twist,” she explained. “Some people like weird things. Don’t you know any ponies who like odd flavors?”

“Yeah, there’th thith donkey, Cranky Doodle, who cometh into the thore athking for wild carrot-flavored mintth. Mommy thayth that even though it’th old fathioned, we have to make our cuthomerth happy.”

“Your mother’s right, you know. A happy customer is a repeat customer, and besides, we want to make people happy, right?”

“Uh-huh!” Twist agreed. She reached over into her saddlebags and pulled out some rainbow-colored sticks. “Would you like to try thome? Thith ith our new zap apple flavor! It’th thure to be a hit!”

“Thank you, Twist!” Twilight said, taking them and setting them on the desk. “I’ll be sure to have them during lunch and I’ll let you know how they are, okay?” When the filly nodded, Twilight then said, “So, do you need help with any particular studies?”

“But I heard from somepony that said that Miss Applejack turned into a werewolf!” Tattle, a bright green batpony filly with curly purple hair, cried. “They said everypony in town did! So if they did, then you can, Miss Applejack!”

Applejack crossed her arms, trying to keep an even face. “Tattle, aren’t we supposed to be working on your classwork?”

Tattle blushed. “Sorry, Miss Applejack, but I know it’s true! I know it!”

Applejack thought it sounded outlandish…but there was something about it, as weird as it sounded, that had the edge of truth to it. So she turned to the one pony in there that she knew would tell her the truth. “Apple Bloom,” she asked, “what do you know about this?”

“Well….” The filly began to prevaricate, trying to figure out a way to not have to spill the beans while at the same time answer truthfully. Applejack was her sister, after all, and she could never lie to her sister. Even if it was an alternate universe version of said sister.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to.

“Tattle, I think you’re forgetting about the time Abby Cadabra came to town and wanted to stage a play – The Timberwolves at the Door, or something like that – and she used her magic to make some ponies look like wolves. I think that’s what you’re getting mixed up,” Sweetie Belle stated. “And then she couldn’t remember how to undo the spell, so some ponies like Sandalwood and Davenport were stuck like that for like, a week!”

“Really? I don’t recall hearing about that.”

“Yeah, I remember that clearly,” Silver Spoon added. “I was one of the fillies chosen to be a wolf cub. All that extra fur just bothered me forever.”

Tattle’s wings rustled. “Oh.”

Applejack patted the filly on the head. “Don’t worry about it, Tattle. We humans get things mixed up all the time. For example, Ah didn’t know batponies existed.”

Tattle looked up at her. “Really?”

“Yeah. Most of the time stuff like you are in fantasy books, but here you are, real and cute as a button.” She blushed at that and Applejack laughed. “Now, let’s help you with your social studies homework, okay?”

While Applejack’s back was turned, Diamond turned to Silver. “Thanks, Silvy. You really saved us from Tattle’s…well, tattletelling.”

“Just looking out for my friends,” was the earth filly’s reply. “And isn’t that what friends do?”

“So how come you don’t have wings?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash.

“Look, humans…don’t, okay?” Rainbow was trying to remember, this was just her sister’s counterpart, not actually her sister. But given the voice and the general attitude, it wasn’t easy. “We have a lot of other abilities, just not flying.”

“Well, if you can’t fly, how do you join the Wonderbolts?”

Rainbow waved her hands. “Wait – who said we can’t fly? We just don’t have wings, okay, but humans fly. We’ve even been to space and landed on the Moon!”

The orange filly was surprised by that. “Wait…humans have been to space? I thought the only one that can do that is Princess Luna!”

“Oh, naaah, humans flew to space ages ago and we visited the Moon about thirty years before I was born or so,” Rainbow said. She wanted to pull out her cellphone, but she’d already been told that with the wi-fi being experimental still, it was only for communication and critical use and not for heavy download. She had no doubt that Sonata had even locked down all the fun sites. “I can’t show you right now, but I promise you that we have.”

Scootaloo sat and crossed her forelegs. “Prove it.”

Rainbow sighed, then called out to Twilight. “Hey, Twily, do you have the download override password?”

“Yes, I do, and no, I’m not supposed to share it with you,” came the reply. “The triplets specifically said so.”

“Can’t you, you know, just…say you didn’t, and did?”

Applejack laughed. “Look, you’re not the one that has to explain why the triplets’ critical military downloads suddenly have to wait because you want to download a patch for World of Warcraft or something.”

“Ha. Ha,” Rainbow drolled. “Look, I’m just trying to show them an example of planes and such.”

“I’ve got my tablet with me and I already thought to preload that stuff on there,” Twilight told the rainbow-haired athlete, “though we should save that for later. Right now we need to work on their school work before their PE session, right?”

Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, you have a point.”

Seated in the barn while her brother worked on a particularly problematic axle on one of the farm’s carts, Applejack struck up an important conversation – but for some reason, it wasn’t quite sinking in. “Mac, y’ understand what Ah’m sayin’, right?” she asked him.

“Eyup.” A laconic look came over his face as he continued to work, seemingly more focused on that than the topic.

“An’ y’ agree with me, right?”

The russet-colored stallion, however, shook his head. “Enope.”

“What? Why not?”

He finished hammering the pin back into place, then gave the wheel a lazy spin, making sure that it would remain in position. He then wiped off his brow and looked at his sister. “Ah think…y’ didn’t give that girl enough of a chance, sis. Ah mean, yeah, she’s dif’rent ‘n all from ya, but that’s jest th’ thing: she ain’t you.”

Applejack sighed. This argument again? “Look, Mac…she’s a faker. She ain’t no real Applejack.”

“Way Ah see it, she is. Real an Applejack as she needs t’ be, fer her sake,” he told his sister. “An’ if Ah reckon, more’n ya think. Maybe even more’n you.”

The farmmare’s eyes went wide at that. “What?”

He looked at the sky, something he always did when he was trying to put a thought to words. Finally, he looked at her. “She ain’t tryin’ t’ presume that yer the fake, sis. She’s comfy with who she is. An’ yet, you ain’t. Why is that?”

“Ah am fine with who Ah am, Mac! It’s her that’s the problem!”

“An’ why is that? When we talked t’ her th’ other night, she told me her brother – her Mac – is an artist. Now, Ah always had a hankerin’ fer art, but never the skill fer it. An’ yet t’ here that other Mac does? Fine by me – maybe he don’t have the farm skills Ah do, and Ah’m sure he’s okay with that. And Bloom was interested t’ hear that the other Bloom’s got what they call ‘computer’ skills, whatever that is. If’n it’s like our sis an’ the way she tinkers with stuff? Maybe they’re both th’ same, or both different. Either way, it don’t bother our sister none.” He ran a hoof over his mane, then savored the slight breeze that passed by them both. “So why does th’ other Applejack being so different get yer bee in a bonnet?”

“Ah ain’t havin’ this conversation,” she told him, turning to go. “If’n ya don’t get it, fine. Thought ya’d have a lick o’ sense ‘bout this. Guess Ah was wrong.”

As she stormed off, Mac watched her go. He shrugged and said, “Funny, Ah was about t’ say th’ same thing.”

The cries and giggles of colts and fillies as they kicked a soccer ball back and forth was music to Rainbow Dash’s ears. As she called out comments to and fro while trying to teach them the ins and outs of soccer, it was easy to see that she was having the time of her life.

Seated in a chair she’d brought outside, tapping away at her tablet, Twilight looked up occasionally as Rainbow and Applejack coached their individual teams. She was at first afraid that Rainbow would take her typical penchant for competition seriously, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. If anything, it seemed to have brought out that natural older sister penchant that Rainbow typically only showed around her younger sister.

“Looks like everything is going well.” Twilight turned to see Princess Twilight standing there, watching them. “This is how things should be: the colts and fillies, having a grand time, comfortable around you as if it were nothing special.”

Twilight gave her counterpart a smile. “It’s been my experience that kids tend to be more resilient to change than adults are. Adults bring way too much baggage to the table.” She then laughed and added, “As if I have any room to talk, given that I’m not legally an adult yet. Anyway, came by to tell us what’s going on this afternoon?”

She nodded. “Apparently there’s a farmer’s market going on in Berryville today, and I thought you might be interested, since they also play a lot of music during that time as well. I already checked with Rarity and Rarity, but they’re going to be busy working on your clothing for the coronation and the other events, so they declined. Neither of the Fluttershys were at the cottage, but I left a note there. As for Sugarcube Corner, they’re so busy today that I figure that both Pinkies will be unavailable today. I asked Razz if she wanted to come with us, but she said that she’s working on some issues related to a problem with one of her mages from yesterday.”

“Problem?”

“I didn’t ask. Since I’m no longer in charge of the Magic Guild, it’s up to her. It’s the reason why she’s Archmagus, after all,” Twilight said. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out. Anyway, how are things going on this end?”

“They’re enjoying soccer, although I think they just like kicking the ball back and forth,” the teen told the alicorn. “Aside from that, the schoolwork went along swimmingly; thankfully math is math everywhere you go, though I am curious as to why your math system is base-10 instead of base-4.”

“That’s probably the influence of the Megan, if you ask me,” Princess Twilight pointed out. “I’ve wondered that myself, but like you said, math is math. Anyway, so what’s your plan for the rest of the school day?”

“I’ve been working on a small presentation on my tablet for the Q&A session. If I showed you what a miniprojector is like, would you be able to replicate it?” A second thought then came to her. “You do know what a projector is, right?”

“Don’t worry about that,” the princess said as she cast a spell on the tablet. “When it comes time to display what you were going to, just point your screen against the wall and it will show the image there,” she assured her counterpart. “The spell should last until you turn your tablet off.” A thought then came to the alicorn. “Do you mind if I sit in? I’m always interested in learning about your world, especially with the things that Sunny’s been sending over.”

“I wasn’t aware that my sister was sending stuff,” the younger Twilight stated.

“Nothing significant; you won’t see cars or planes or anything anytime soon,” the princess assured her. “We’re starting small, with things like pens and quality of life items. We need a better technological base if we’re going to have anything like what you guys have; I have to admit, humans have a better comfort zone than ponies do, in many respects.”

“How so?”

“Well, you have all those interesting gadgets. I don’t know about any of the other things that Razz may have got while she was in your world, but I know she enjoys the MP3 player Sunny sent her as a gift. And I’m familiar with tablets myself, given that Sunny sent me one early last year. We try not to let either of them out of our hooves, though: I would seriously worry if ne’er-do-wells like the Flim-Flam Bros. got their hooves on them.”

“The Flim-Flam Bros.? Like the old appliance company?”

“Funny that you mention that: Sunny told me about them, and apparently they’re an example of how counterparts aren’t the same personality,” Princess Twilight told her. “From what little I understand, the human Flim-Flams were a pair of brothers who were ahead of their time and had the misfortune of having their business ruined by investors. Believe me, sometimes I wish their pony counterparts would suffer that fate: the two I’m familiar with are a pair of travelling grifters who unfortunately have made Ponyville a frequent target of their schemes in the past. I’ve hoped that we won’t see them as much now that Ponyville has grown much larger in size, but that’s probably just wishful thinking.”

“You make it sound as though they’re wanted criminals.”

“Crime…is a little different here. We try to forgive our criminals, and for the most part, when they realize their transgressions, they don’t do it again. That’s why we have a fairly small legal system for the most part; and when we have true criminals, they are worth the time of our law enforcement and legal apparatus. But I know it’s different on your world,” Princess Twilight said. “Honestly, given how different, I’m sometimes surprised that Sunny got away with what she did.”

“That was likely due to Ms. Celestia,” the teen said. “As long as I’ve known her, she’s always given her students more than a fair shake, and she hates to come down as the heavy. When she hits her limit, it’s because the student in question has usually been given more than enough chances. I love my sister, but even she admits she pushed Ms. Celestia and Ms. Luna to the limit more than a few times.”

“Well, at least they trust her now, right?”

“Oh, without a doubt. But for the first few months that she was living with us? I know that both of them fully expected that Shining would be carting Sunset off in cuffs. I’m glad that wasn’t the case, given that I got to see the person she’s become. But when she first showed up, both Tavi and I – or Tavi, the triplets and I, depending on which timeline – were afraid it would be very touch and go. But I guess she just needed someone to understand and love her, and I hope we’ve successfully done that.”

Finally, the teen noted the time on her tablet, and she called out to her friends and the students, “Okay, time to wrap it up, everyone! We still have the final hour to go and I have a presentation to show you all, and I’m sure after that you’ll all have questions, so the sooner we can begin, the better!” To the amusement of both Twilights and Applejack, both the foals and Rainbow groaned at having to end their game, though they did so with good nature and almost no fuss. They then noticed Princess Twilight and said their hellos, when she explained that she would be here for the final part as well.

“Well then,” she said, ushering everyone into the small classroom, “let’s get this started, shall we?”

“Looks like when this is done, this is gonna be a day that they’re not likely to forget,” Applejack noted.

“Yeah, it’s too bad that they’re not normal kids,” Rainbow said with approval. “Some of them took to soccer pretty quickly. That one, Quick Kick? Wouldn’t be surprised that if there was a soccer league here in Equestria, that he’d be a superstar of the pitch.”

“They are normal kids, Rainbow; they’re just not human,” Twilight reminded her.

“You know what I mean, egghead. I didn’t mean anything bad by it,” Rainbow defended.

The plum-haired scholar grinned. “I know, but if my sister’s not here to mess with you, someone’s got to do it.”

“Oh, ha ha ha ha – I almost laughed at that,” the athlete drolled. “C’mon, let’s get this last hour over and done with so we can send them on their way.”

Fluttershy thought she was in love.

Not with the person across from her, of course. That would be a little weird, the pegasus decided, especially given who it was. No, she was in love with the music she was hearing now: she’d never heard anything so beautiful before, the kind that just stirred her heart in ways she never really knew. It was…incredible, honestly, and even though she’d sung and modelled and done just about everything that put her in the public eye (even though it was the last place in the world she wanted to be), to hear that music now and to see it performed so beautifully…. Well, love was no better way to put it. It was the same kind of love that Twilight had for her books or Pinkie for her baking, the same kind of dutiful adoration that Rarity had for her dressmaking and Rainbow had for her breaking flight records. It was the devotion that Applejack had for her farm.

And even though Fluttershy didn’t have the same passion for music that the guitar player did, she knew that her calling – what gave her the mark that sat so securely on her flank – was borne of the same ardor that set fingers across wound nickel strings.

But there was one stark difference that the butter yellow mare knew sat between her and the guitar player: the guitarist was incredibly brave. From the stories she’d told, she’d been before tens of thousands – millions, even – and though she’d been afraid, she was more afraid of what she’d lose. She’d told the story of her separation between her father (and who her father was, Fluttershy was still completely amazed by that!) and what she’d done to reunite her family. That was also a brave thing that Fluttershy wasn’t sure she could have done (though, in fairness, her parents had always been together and the concept of them even being remotely apart was nigh unthinkable).

But the most amazing thing was the other person’s younger sibling: to Fluttershy’s surprise, that sibling was not Zephyr Breeze (lucky her!) but instead, somehow, that world’s Angel. He’d been born with a hearing disorder and was deaf, and yet the family had persevered past that and she loved her little brother to bits. Fluttershy certainly loved her brother, but she didn’t necessarily like him, if that made sense.

So, between the beautiful music and the stories of her life, Fluttershy was certain of two things: one, that she was sort of jealous of the life her counterpart – the teenage human girl also named Fluttershy – lived; and that the pegasus mare was very sure that she didn’t even have the ability to live the sort of life that the other Fluttershy did.

Still, she had that musical skill that she found absolutely gorgeous, so it wasn’t all bad, was it?

The pony looked over and then realized that the tea had gone cold. “I’m…going to get more tea, if that’s okay with you,” she said to her guest. “Would you like some?”

“Shy, you don’t have to do anything for me,” the teen Fluttershy said, as she stopped her playing to fiddle with the keys as she was searching for the perfect sound. “I’m perfectly fine. In fact,” she said, a smile coming onto her face, “I’m perfectly at peace right now.”

“Really?”

The girl nodded. “This place reminds me a lot of my grandparents’ home in Kalama Valley. Not so much the scenery, since they live on Oahu and that’s tropical, but this place has the same peaceful, gentle feeling.” Almond-shaped cyan eyes fixed onto large ones of the same color, and both held smiles of their own. “Sunny told me that the Everfree can be dangerous, but I don’t get that feeling right now.”

“Oh, it can be, if you’re not careful,” the pony told her guest, “but if you know the animals and how they act, they’re kind and peaceful. Only the worst-tempered of them don’t listen and those generally tend to stay away from the populated areas anyway. Most of the time, you get ones like Harry, who despite being a bear is so docile, he just wants to sit and eat honey all day.”

“Like Winnie the Pooh?”

A mane shook. “I don’t understand that reference, Flutters. Is that from your world?”

“It’s a series of children’s stories about a yellow bear who just wiles away the day and eats honey with his friends,” the teen explained. “I used to read them to Angel when he was younger, but generally nowadays he prefers to spend time with things like Borderlands.” The teen shuddered. “I really don’t like that game.”

“With a name like Borderlands, it sounds nice and peaceful,” the pony ventured.

“Except with all the violence, bloodshed and gore,” the teen sighed and the pony winced.

“Oh, so like the Rambunny stuff my Angel is into,” Fluttershy said, fluttering her wings in discomfort. “I…I’m not comfortable with it, but it keeps him happy, so I try not to lecture him on it too much.”

Nothing more was said while one Fluttershy went to the kitchen to get more tea, while the other idly played a couple of notes on her guitar. When the former returned, she gave her counterpart a smile and asked, “What are your parents like? I mean…I know you’ve mentioned them before, but…well, it seems so odd that unlike our other counterparts, we seem to have different parents.”

The teenage musician looked at her host. “I….” She frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that before.”

The mare went back into her bedroom briefly and brought back a framed photograph. Passing it to the girl, she said, “That’s my father, Nimbus Breeze; and my mother, Cumulus Strata. The goofball next to them is my kid brother, Zephyr Breeze.”

Fluttershy looked at him and noticed a strange resemblance between the young, unshaven stallion in the picture mugging before the camera and another Zephyr Breeze she’d met…but unlike the one in the picture, the one that was Shimmer’s stepfather figure was more sarcastic and cynical, “just like all cops are”, she’d once overheard him comment to Shining.

“Be glad he doesn’t come to visit me often,” the mare noted, “or else he might try something stupid.”

“Stupid?”

The pegasus nodded. “He kept pestering Rainbow for a date to the point that, little brother or not, she bucked him off a cloud once. He got the point after that.” The pegasus giggled and added, “Mom still thinks they’re a thing, mainly because my brother keeps telling her that, despite my words to the contrary. Anyway, Dad is a butterfly guide – he’s in charge of making sure that butterfly migration paths are safe for them – while my mom is a homemaker. What about yours?”

Fluttershy reached over to her tablet and brought up a picture of her family. “I already told you about Dad. He and I…we’re still working it out, though he’s trying. As for mom, that’s Dr. Posey – she’s a general practitioner at Equestria County General Hospital. And as I’ve mentioned, my little brother Angel is a dear, even if he can be a handful at times.”

The mare looked at the man with the shaggy white hair, tanned skin, soul patch and sulfuric yellow eyes; though she could see some connection to the Discord she knew, at the same time it was hard to believe this was his counterpart – he looked so normal, at least as far as humans apparently went. “Is he nice?”

The teenager gave a soft smile. “He’s trying to be the dad he couldn’t be all those years,” she admitted. “He’s always cooking, making sure that my music is developing and taking time out for the whole family. Though right now he’s performing in Spain with a friend of his as a favor, otherwise he’s going to take a couple of years off so that he could spend time with all of us. I guess he’s trying to make up for everything, even though I don’t think he really needs to—”

“TAA DAA!” There was a flash of psychedelic light, and a second later an all-too familiar draconequus stood there. He wore ill-fitting armor, a bath towel for a cape, and held both a trash can lid which was meant to be a shield, as well as a pool noodle with a sword hilt. “I have arrived!” he announced.

“Welcome back!” The pegasus, long used to this, just looked over at her friend and gave a wan smile. “Are you staying long?”

The teenager, however, was not expecting this. She immediately dived behind Fluttershy’s couch, as if expecting something odd. “What is that?” she shouted.

That caught the attention of the chaos god. “Ah, so you have a guest!” Turning his attention from the Fluttershy he knew, he snapped his talons and a second later, the teen appeared floating before him in a shimmering field of energy. Pulling a telescope out of nowhere, he peered at her, his eyeball somehow sticking out of the end despite the distance. “Wait – if you’re here, Fluttershy, then who is this?” he asked the mare.

The pegasus looked at her friend and said, “Um…that’s me? Sorta. Well, she’s another—”

“Oh, that’s right! That world that Celly’s rug rodent lives in! Well, I guess that means you’re a Fluttershy, too, right?” He tossed the telescope – which exploded into confetti a second later – then grew six arms and hugged her. “Well, that means I get two Fluttershys now!”

Embraced by the weird thing, Fluttershy tried to squirm out of his embrace. ⌠この怪獣くそは何ファックですか？⌡ she voiced, more out of shock than anything else.

Discord blinked. “Wait – Inariese?” He turned to Fluttershy. “Are you sure this is your counterpart? You don’t speak Inariese.” He looked at the human girl again and said, “Well, we can fix that.” He tapped her on the head and a flash of light later, a second pegasus sat next to the first one. He then looked at her and said, “Okay, they look too much alike – looks like an animation error.” He snapped his talons once more and this time a batpony version of Fluttershy stood next to her. “There! Much better and far trendier!”

Fluttershy, no longer human, looked at herself and naturally, completely lost her shit. “What the fuck?”

Fluttershy looked at the completely freaked-out Flutterbat, then back to the newcomer. “Change her back – you’re scaring her, Discord!”

Flutterbat’s eyes widened. “That’s Discord?” she gasped. “But that doesn’t look anything like my dad!”

Discord was taken aback by that. “Wait – your dad? Really?” Now it was his turn to be surprised, for a change. “My my my oh my, oh my stars and garters and cups of Earl Gray tea – now this I gotta see!” He reached for the Flutterbat, pulled the top of her head off like it was a removable lid, and looked at her brain for a second. He then closed the lid with an audible snap, leaving the freaked out pseudo-pony none the worse for wear.

The newly-made batpony immediately hid behind the pegasus, which seemed to a bit too calm, given the situation. “Discord….” the latter pony said in a cross tone.

“Wow, she wasn’t kidding,” he said, more to himself than anything else. “Now I really gotta see this,” he confessed, rolling back the sleeves of his armor as if they were cloth, then clapping his talon and paw together causing a really big blast of light.

A second later, running his hands through his wet hair as if to make sure the shampoo was doing his job, was Discord, rock star extraordinaire, soaking wet from his shower…and completely without a stitch of clothing because he’d been in the shower.

He paused for a second, blinking as he realized he wasn’t where he was a second ago. “Wait…what the hell?” he spoke aloud, then turned around, seeing the draconequus and the two ponies standing there.

Seeing her father in the buff, Fluttershy turned away. “I really didn’t need to see that.”

Blinking, the rock star looked around and moved his hands away from his hair. “Okay, please don’t tell me the roadie put stuff in the drinks again,” he groaned. “Starly promised me she wasn’t going to let that shit happen after the incident in Tenerife.”

“Hi,” the draconequus said to his counterpart, smooth as silk. “You think you’re dreaming now, right?”

“I hope so, because the alternative is not something I’d like to talk about with my family,” Discord commented.

“Well, one of them is right here.” The chaos spirit turned the human so that he faced the butter-yellow batpony. Noting that she still had her eyes screwed tightly shut, he muttered something about “censor bars” and a second later a large black box appeared from nowhere. “Say hi to your precious baby filly!”

Discord looked at the shivering bat-horse pegasus thing. “Yeah, this is really some weird shit. I’m going to have to talk to Starly tomorrow about this. She knows I prefer a clean run.”

“Starly?” the pegasus Fluttershy asked.

“Starlight Glimmer,” the normally-human Fluttershy answered. “I think he, uh, thinks he’s under the influence. Despite the image, he really doesn’t live the rock star lifestyle.”

“Oh.”

“Well, I think we’ve seen enough, and I think I should let things just get back to normal, right?” the draconequus said with glee. “Besides, I can’t take up the whole chapter, can I? Besides, now that I know you’re okay, I can go back to bopping bad guys on the head!” He snapped his talons…

…and a second later, Fluttershy, back to normal, sat on the ground, looking bewildered. She immediately began checking herself out to make sure she was her usual self, sans fur, batwings and other additions.

The pegasus went up to her and administered a hug. “It’s okay. He doesn’t mean any harm, really. He’s just…well, sometimes he just wants to show his good side.”

Fluttershy, however, wasn’t having any of that. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone and dialed. She waited several interminable minutes while the network that had been set up for this trip did its work through dimensions and a phone network or two.

“Hi, Mom?” the teen said over the phone.

“Hi, Flutters. You okay? The call is sounding kinda tinny.”

“Um…yeah. Phone service isn’t the greatest here,” she stated. “Anyway, is Dad okay?”

“Well, remember that he’s in Spain this month playing as a guest for Starlight Glimmer, since she was nice enough to get us the slot for you and your friends to go to Club Tropicana. Spoke to him last night and he seemed fine, why?”

“Uh, no reason, really, I just…well, I just wanted to make sure he was okay. I know he’d rather be home with us than on tour right now.”

“Sweetheart, you could just send him a text, you know. I’m sure he’d like that.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that,” Fluttershy replied. “Anyway, I gotta go. I’ll see you when I get back from the trip. Love you and give Angel a hug for me, okay? Bye!” She set down the phone, and then looked at her counterpart. “I think I need a drink and I’m not even old enough,” she sighed.

“I’ll get go get us some tea, okay?”

“Sure.” Fluttershy was beginning to wonder if this trip was going to get any weirder. It certainly couldn’t top that.

It took her enough times walking through the orchard, but she finally found where Rainbow Dash took her naps. Nestled in the branches of Niobe, one of the newer trees, sleeping amongst the buds and the blossoms, the pegasus almost looked peaceful and not worth waking up.

Still, Applejack needed answers – she needed somepony on her side. So she turned and gave the tree a buck, shaking with a few great thumps. The sturdy trunk jarred back and forth safely, but the vibrations carried through up to the branches and thus made burgundy eyes open in semi-wakefulness.

“Aw, c’mon, AJ!” Rainbow complained. “I just got to sleep after practicing for a few hours! Let me get some shuteye, willya?”

“Dontcha have a place fer that?” the earth mare told her friend with a cocked brow and a bemused smile on her muzzle. “‘Sides, Ah need t’ chat with ya fer a spell.”

“Can we do this later?”

“Want me to kick the tree again?”

“Fine, fine.” Rainbow jumped down from the tree, fluttering her wings. “Whatcha want?”

“I see you’re not with your counterpart either,” Applejack accused. “What, she a faker or something as well?”

“No, not at all.” Rainbow scratched the back of her head with her wings, a nervous trait that she had when she didn’t want to talk about something. As the others had known their friend for years, they’d picked up on it and said trait was now manifesting itself easily. “Quite the opposite.”

Applejack eyed her friend curiously. “Yer not makin’ sense, Dash. Ya bump yer noggin while crashin’ again?”

“I’m serious.” The pegasus’ demeanor was unusually quiet. “I’ve…actually been following them all day. Y’know, since it’s my day off and I was keeping an eye on Scoots.”

“And?”

Rainbow sighed. “She…that other Rainbow? She’s rough, probably rougher than I am, sure. But she’s living the high life, the kind of life I wish I did.”

Applejack blinked. “But…yer a Wonderbolt now! That’s what ya always wanted, innit, sugarcube?”

“Yeah, I always wanted to be a Wonderbolt…but that was back when the ‘Bolts were mostly for demonstrations and high-skill flying. And now, with us having mainly gone back to naval combat since the whole Tirek thing? I haven’t performed in some time. I still fly like I do, but it’s to keep my military skills up. And even if that wasn’t the case, since the war, there are a dozen teams now, all of which could be on the same level as the Wonderbolts. I wanted to be ‘Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt’. I wasn’t expecting to be Lt. Rainbow Dash, REN, a member of the Wonderbolts, y’know?”

“So what’s that got to do with her?”

“She’s…she’s just a kid – they’re younger than us, right? But…it was what Sunset said. She can’t fly, she has no wings. But she’s good at whatever that game she taught the kids is, and she did some stuff with that spotted ball that I don’t think anypony else could do. She’s fast and agile, in some ways even….” Her words devolved into an inaudible mess.

“What was that?” Applejack asked.

“Fine – she’s even more agile than me, okay? Sure, in the air, I can’t be beat – but on the ground, I wonder if I could actually touch her!” The look on the winged mare’s countenance, Applejack realized, was not one of mistrust, but doubt, an insecurity that she hadn’t seen in Rainbow’s eyes in a long time. “Plus, she’s doing, in a sense, what I wanted to do: she’s wowing the crowds, being the best at what she is, and she’s going to go places, AJ – places I thought I was going to go!

“So if you’re asking me why I don’t want to hang around with my counterpart, it’s because I can see what she is…she’s what I wanted to be, and can’t be anymore. Maybe Twi or somepony would call that ‘growing up’ or some ponyfeathers, but you know what? If that’s the case? I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

“Rainbow, Ah….”

“Yeah, maybe I am being a coward about it, but…why are you afraid?” the pegasus asked her. “It’s clear that you and your counterpart are way different. Probably even more different than Pinkie and hers – and is it just me or do I get the feeling that other Pinkie is more like Twi than our Pinkie?” Before Applejack could answer, Rainbow said, “Nevermind,” then continued. “Seriously, don’t tell me you’re afraid of her, are you?”

“What? Are y’ plum outta yer mind, Rainbow? Why on Earth would Ah be afraid of that faker?” Applejack asked.

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to fix a critical eye on Applejack. “But she doesn’t seem fake. She’s just…different. Different like that other Rainbow is to me. It’s not like it’s going to change you.”

“Well, Ah want nuthin’ t’ do with her!” Applejack said, and stormed off.

Rainbow stood there, just about to go after her friend, when she heard shouting on the far side of the field. Wondering what it was, she rushed over there to see what the issue was. To her shock, she found two injured guardsponies, lying in the grass just on the Everfree’s threshold. Both looked like they’d been pummeled within an inch of their lives, and they were going to need a doctor.

“What happened to you two?” Rainbow asked them.

The senior of the two, wearing corporal’s stripes, looked at her, and said, “Monster! From the Everfree! It’s coming!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Look, the humans aren’t monsters, okay? Okay, sure, they look like mutant minotaurs or something, but trust me, they’re not—”

“Not the humans!” the other guardspony said, a look in her eyes that was one of fright.

Standing in front of Vinyl Scratch’s Wubsarena, Gracenote seethed. She’d only been here for two days and now that human nag already had posters out! There they were at the entrance, behind the glass plating: two large, lifesize glossy posters proclaiming that FLUTTERSHY: The Human Music Sensation, along with several guest stars, were performing every night this week – except for tonight. And guess who was supposed to have that slot, but had to bow out because of a gig she had in Cloudsdale!

A gig that cancelled on me because everypony’s coming here to see that human nag! she seethed. Even the owner of the arena I was going to play closed down the Cloudisco because he’s here watching her play!

Not that it mattered anyway; Tuesdays were typically the slowest day of the week, both here and at the Cloudisco. But that wasn’t the point. No, the point was that even in the past year of playing at the Wubsarena, she’d never gotten so much as even anything other than an “also appearing” credit. And now this…this…human! came out of nowhere and stole all of the credit and glory that should have gone to her?

Hell, even Vinyl herself had to be a little jealous! And yet, she was slobbering all over that freak of nature like every other pony in town.

Well, Gracenote wasn’t going to stand for it, not at all! It was bad enough that she had to put up with growing up in the same town as Songbird Serenade, and having that harridelle eclipse her fame; now that she moved to Ponyville, she was not going to let that happen again!

Taking to wing, Gracenote thought about how she was going to have her revenge. She wanted it to be sweet, and she wanted the world to know that in the end, there would only be one superstar in Ponyville (well, two if you counted Vinyl, but clearly she didn’t count!) and that wasn’t going to be some strange weirdo from another world who shared the same name as the town veterinarian.

All it would take is just showing the locals who the real star was.

“So! This meetin’ o’ th’ Cutie Mark Crusaders is comin’ to order,” Apple Bloom stated, looking around at her fellow crusaders. “Fillies, we have a crisis and it’s going to take all of our combined talents in order to solve it.”

“We don’t have tickets to next month’s Wonderbolts show?” Scootaloo stated.

“I thought that their performances were postponed until further notice because they were on military duty,” Silver Spoon reminded her friend.

“Oh, I’d forgotten about that,” the pegasus filly groaned. “Ponyfeathers.”

“In any case, that ain’t the problem,” the yellow earth filly stated. “We have a request from Whitewater to help him find his cutie mark. He says he’s getting’ picked on because he don’t have his mark yet, an’ as Crusaders, we can’t let that continue.”

A guilty look on her face, Diamond Tiara raised her hoof. “I, uh, think we should assist him. Speaking as a former, um, bully—”

“We forgave you for that,” Sweetie Belle noted. “Besides, isn’t that why you and Silvy joined us Crusaders?”

“True, but that only makes it clearer why we should help the markless when we can. So, I propose we help him find his special talent.”

“Works for me!” Bloom stated. “All in favor, raise your hoof!” The four other fillies present did so in unison. “Then it’s settled. Ah told Whitewater we’d meet him after lunch in order t’ help him, an’ that’s what yer all gonna do.”

“We’re all?” Diamond asked. “Aren’t you coming along?”

Bloom blushed. “Unfortunately, mah sis needs some help on th’ farm today, so Ah can’t. But after Ah’m done, Ah’m gonna work on plannin’ his cuteceañera!”

“Um…colts don’t have cuteceañeras,” Sweetie reminded them. “Only fillies do.”

“Okay, Miss Dictionary, then I’ll plan his cutie mark party or whatever colts call it, okay?” Scootaloo insisted. “Anyway, it’s lunchtime and we all gotta go!”

“Best o’ luck t’ y’all!” Bloom said.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Silver said to no one in particular as the fillies departed the clubhouse.

Day Three, Afternoon: A Shared Romance

Rainbow Dash found herself at Ponyville General Hospital standing next to Divine. The two had just departed the room where the two guards had been placed and the look on the stallion’s face was somewhere between relief and concern.

“Rainbow, I owe you one,” he told her. “If you hadn’t come across Quickstrike and Forward Thrust in time, who knows what condition they’d be in.”

“Hey, just doing my job,” she replied with a shrug. “Anyway, did they say what happened?”

“Yeah, and I’m both worried and not worried at the same time, if that makes sense.” Seeing her confusion, Divine explained. “After they gave the description, I went to look up what it was, and well, it’s not a monster, not really. Do you know what the Bete Goson is?”

“The what?”

“Yeah, I kinda expected that response. Do you know what an Ursa is?”

“Given that they kinda tore up the town a few years back until your fillyfriend magicked one back into the forest, yeah, I’m kinda familiar with them.”

Divine shrugged off the remark; he really didn’t feel up to bantering right now, given the potential issue now on his hooves. “Okay, imagine the Ursa if it were upright, knew martial arts like turf-fu and wing chun, and had a strange fixation on attacking creatures it thought were a threat to it as if it was a minotaur with a chip on his shoulder on a really bad day.”

Rainbow blinked for a second as she processed that. “Oh, shit. How much danger are we talking?”

“Both lots – and none at the same time,” Divine explained. “Based on what I read up on it, as long as you don’t present a threat to it, it just ignores you. But the moment it thinks you are one, it’s going to pummel you into the ground and if it thinks you’re a real danger, it could potentially kill you.” He frowned and said, “Back when I was just a coronet, I worked for a lieutenant named Wallburst who was a huge, built-like-Big Mac sorta stallion. He ended up getting his back broken and a permanent limp, because he went hoof-to-paw with a Goson. Did it to save some foolish colt’s life, but it was real touch-and-go there and he ended up in the hospital for nearly a full year. Good stallion had to retire from the Guard as a result.”

“So you’re saying so long as nothing stupid happens, we’re fine?”

“Yeah.”

Rainbow shook her head. “You clearly don’t realize where you live now, do you?”

“Pinkie?”

The teenager barely heard her name mentioned. Right now, as she had the past couple of days, she felt as if she were off-kilter. This store was the Sugarcube Corner…but it was nothing like the place she knew. The patrons sounded similar, but at the same time, were so radically different. The back end was a lot less technologically complex – the wood stove instead of the expensive Viking culinary stove they bought last year being one such example – but it seemed to be laid out much in the same way. The warm earth tones and feel of a comfortable place to chat away the afternoon gave away to the kind of riotous fluffery she liked when she was seven years old, and yet somehow it felt just as comfortable.

The desserts were mostly the same.
The coffee was mostly the same.

Pretty much everything was so Goddamn different…but, weirdly enough, at the same time – the same.

There, seated and eating a muffin and drinking a coffee, was Derpy…but not the Derpy she knew. No, the one she knew would occasionally adjust her glasses while battering away at an expensive laptop. This one had a gray coat, a lazy eye and read from a book. But the wide, contented smile she saw on this Derpy matched the private ones that her friend had when she thought no one was looking. Then there was Mr. Buckhill. The man who Pinkie knew to be the restaurant editor for Equestria Daily only came into their café because, as he admitted, he liked “places where they know who I am and they don’t try to impress me with their best just once”, because those places were always at their best. She didn’t know who the maroon-colored earth stallion seated at the typewriter he’d brought in was for sure, but she bet without a doubt that he had to be Mr. Buckhill’s counterpart.

And then there were the stabs at her heart: the pegasus mare lounging in a bean bag by the far wall, clearly reading from a script and enunciating, had to be Watermelody…or Watermelody’s double. Pinkie had never admitted it to anyone, not even her friends, but after she realized she was bisexual but before coming to terms with her feelings for Sunset, she’d had a thing for the budding actress. Now, she knew it had been purely physical; in hindsight, she’d learned that she would have had zero things in common with the girl. But now, there she was, alive in a sort of manner…while the Watermelody that Pinkie had known had been buried two months ago after having been murdered by the Dead Hand Killer.

There were so many differences, and yet so many of the same things: Mr. Jalapeño, who ran the Mexican restaurant across the street and always tried to add extra heat to his dishes upon Pinkie’s request whenever she ate there; in turn, he often came by the Corner and was a wonderful customer and a blast to know. The pony with the pepper-red coat and poblano-green mane and moustache, by the back wall, drinking horchata, had to be his counterpart. Mrs. Thimble, who ran the fabric store that Rarity often went to for either work or personal reasons often came by the café as well…and now, there was a mare that looked exactly like her (in a sense) that sat at a table, drinking a hay chai and reading from a fashion magazine. In fact, the only regular who didn’t seem to have an equivalent here was Mrs. Honeycomb, the friendly older woman that had taken a shine to Sunset as of late.

Despite that small difference, the list went on and on: so much different…so much the same. It made Pinkie’s head spin, just thinking about it.

And then there were the personal issues, too. Her heart just ached about that.

“Pinkie?”

“Sorry, Auntie Cup,” she said, automatically, without turning to the person she was addressing, “I was just having a weird-out moment.” A second later, she realized who she was talking to and turned fully. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Cake! I, uh, just….”

“It’s okay, dear, I understand this is a bit of an adjustment for you,” Mrs. Cake told her. “I know it is for us. I mean, we love our Pinkie dearly, but to find out that in another reality, she’s our actual niece? I mean, we really don’t know her parents all that well, and I personally don’t have any siblings, so to find out that my counterpart is your mother’s sister? It’s just….” She chuckled. “Like I said, it’s a bit of an adjustment.”

“I’ll say,” the teen said, a blush coming to her cheeks. Right now, she hadn’t seen much of her friends since the whole thing began, not that she blamed them. Spending time with their counterparts probably took up a lot of their own time and, if she had to hazard a guess, their attention as well. So much the same, yet so different: for one, her aunt wasn’t a pony, nor did she have blue fur. And, not to be rude, but her aunt was kind of brawny – a petite bodybuilder-sorta type, if that made sense – whereas this Mrs. Cake seemed to be a bit more on the portly side. Nor did her aunt have a beehive hairstyle, especially one that looked like an icing swirl. But they had the same matronly attitude, and the way this mare’s rose eyes looked at Pinkie with concern was the same way her aunt usually did when there was a problem.

Like the problem two weeks ago, she had to admit. She was still dealing with the fallout from that; while she knew that things were mostly back to normal, she never wanted to see that look in her aunt’s eyes again.

“Do you need to take a break?” the mare asked.

“I….” She shook her head. “Can’t afford to: right now, it’s clear you’re having a busy period, and if my guess is right the lunch rush will come in a couple of minutes. Even if this is mostly a countertop operation as opposed to the Sugarcube Corner Café’s traditional fast-casual setup, that’s still quite a bit. I suspect that if business was anything like yesterday, you’re understaffed by at least two employees and with Pinkie being out doing Bearer stuff now and then, it gets even busier, so it means that just having me here allows you to take a breather, reassess the store’s needs and maybe take time out to plan the quality checks for all the stores, including the planned expansions to Old Towne and Bella Vista, right?”

Mrs. Cake blinked. “How…how many cafés do your aunt and uncle own?”

“Five with two upcoming new stores,” Pinkie answered. “CJV has also asked us if we’re interested in taking over the coffee concessions there, but I don’t know if they have the resources to at the moment.”

Mrs. Cake’s jaw dropped. “We only have the one store! How do your aunt and uncle run seven?”

“Payroll’s hell, as Uncle Carrot says,” Pinkie replied with a laugh. “Plus, my aunt and uncle weren’t on the May cover of Canterlot Business Monthly for nothing, you know!”

A sudden pink blur came in. “Pinkie! You gotta come with me!” Pinkie said, bouncing up and down on her hooves as if it were urgent business. “There’s an emergency!”

“But Mr. and Mrs. Cake need my help,” the teenager replied to her counterpart. “In fact, don’t you work for them? You’re supposed to help—”

“No time!” the pony said, grabbing her counterpart by the hand and dragging her off. “You have this well in hoof, right, Mrs. Cake?” Before the older mare could even give an answer, both Pinkie Pies had cleared the threshold of the shop and were well vanishing in the distance.

“I…guess so,” Mrs. Cake commented to those that weren’t there.

Coco Pommel was sure, somewhere along the line, that she’d become an expert of watching tennis…and she’d never seen that sport a day of her life.

On one side of the table, Rarity, her employer, friend and mentor, looked across the table. “But…how would this Pantone gentleman know about colors without the ability of magic? I just don’t understand! Here in Equestria, Colorway is a famous designer who has spent practically her whole life doing nothing but developing new colors along with her staff! And you’re saying that this Pantone gentleman is doing it all by himself?”

On the other side of the table was Rarity, her human counterpart, who while younger, seemed in very many ways worldlier than the unicorn. “Oh, Rarity dear, PANTONE isn’t an individual, it’s a company, and one of the world’s foremost when it comes to creating colors! If I recall correctly, a gentleman named Matching System created the company over sixty years ago to create a global standard for colors. Prior to that, red wasn’t always universally red, and while color systems existed, such as the Crayola system, it wasn’t taken as seriously as it is now. It was Mr. System’s full development of PANTONE that brought it to the forefront of fashion and design.”

“But just one person? Even with your fancy computer systems, I just cannot see how one pony – er, human – could do all that! Even just Colorway’s staff of ten haven’t come up with as many colors as you’ve shown me!”

“But it’s not just one person. PANTONE is a global company, filled with scientists, artists and other people working on the best way to ensure that the colors universally match. That’s why it’s considered superior to other systems such as Colorchecker, RAL Colour Fans and the Tokyo process.”

Coco looked at both, watching both masters at work: the older, smart, debonair mare that she aspired to be…and the young, vibrant and sophisticated girl that she was closer to in age already.

The changeling hybrid suddenly felt a headache coming on from watching the ping-ponging of the abstract ideas going back and forth. She could suddenly feel herself going weak and when that happened…well, bad things followed.

The unicorn turned to her. “Coco, dear? I think you should go lie down for a bit.”

“No, Miss Rarity, I’m okay,” the younger mare stated.

“No, you’re not, dear.” With a delicate hoof, she stated, “your wings just popped out from underneath your carapace.” She then summoned a mirror and while Coco appeared normal for the most part, two gossamer changeling wings partially seemed to be poking out of her back, as if she were suddenly turning into a butterfly.

“I…guess I should go lie down for a bit?” Coco asked, feeling suddenly ashamed.

To her surprise, she was suddenly hugged by the other Rarity. “There is no shame in being tired, dear. My employer back home, Cardigan Sweater, has a malady that keeps her in a wheelchair, so she has to rest often. And yet, she is all the more hardworking for it. So don’t think that your need to take a break is a sign that your supervisor thinks anything less of you. From what I can tell, you mean the world to her already.”

“Okay,” she yawned, feeling comfortable in the human girl’s embrace. A second later, though she wasn’t aware of it, Coco Pommel fell asleep.

Rarity reached up and patted her cargo on the head. “Poor dear. Isn’t there anything that can be done for her?”

The unicorn drank her tea, looking at her counterpart. “I’m afraid not. Whatever was done to her was done in the womb, and while I don’t know if your world has the ability to undo such horrific changes as done to her, here we cannot. But she’s adjusted to her maladies and made something of herself, despite everything. I, for one, am proud to be her employer and her friend.”

“You should be. She seems like a sweet young mare with a promising future ahead of her. Are there many like her?”

“Truthfully? We hope not. There have been concerns amongst those few in the know that she may be a sleeper agent for the changelings. Now, Twilight and the other princesses trust her implicitly and obviously so do I. But she’s trying hard to retain her ponyness, and unfortunately, we cannot say the same for any other potential ones out there, especially if we do not know that they exist. She’s not even sure if they do and she’s given all the information she could to Divine and Shining.”

“Still, she’s as much of a sweetheart as the Coco we know,” the younger Rarity noted.

“Oh? I wasn’t aware you knew her counterpart.”

Rarity nodded. “You would have to ask Twilight or Octavia, given that she goes to the same school they do. She is, however, legally Sunset’s cousin through that convoluted fiction that they had to come up with to let her live in our world. Coco, however, does not know about that and instead just thinks of Sunset as a sort of older sister-type of cousin. She is actually part of the ‘Cloth Mark Catastrophes’ group, which seems to be much larger than your Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

The older Rarity groaned. “Oh, I am so glad my sister finally got her mark. She and her friends got into quite a bit of a mess trying to find theirs, and still do while trying to help other foals earn theirs.”

“I wish we could do the same for my sister and her friends, but the Girl Scouts continue on until you’re eighteen, so she has at least four more years of badges to get into new and unique trouble while trying to earn them. Worse, she’s convinced Coco and Coco’s best friend, Crackle, into joining as well. Now, they recently had Raspberry Beryl’s counterpart join their group, and while I would hope that she would stay clear of that inanity, she has a personality more like your Fluttershy than your Raspberry, and so it wouldn’t surprise me if she gets shanghaied into their schemes.”

The unicorn gave her counterpart a smile. “And here I thought that I lived in a chaotic, unforgiving world.”

The teen fashionista uttered a musical laugh. “Sometimes my parents joke that it drives them to drink. I think once it actually has.”

“Oh?”

“Let’s just say that I stay clear of egg nog during the holidays for that reason now.”

Asleep in the human Rarity’s arms, Coco just snuggled contentedly, passively absorbing the love around her.

“C’mon, everypony sing along!”

Pinkie…was in hell.

“We hope that you’ll get better,
That’s what we’re here to say!
We hope that you get better,
And healthier every day!
We hope that you’ll be out soon,
And dancing with a song,
But things will go much faster
If you just sing along!
So….”

Pinkie felt her heart quicken. It was them. It wasn’t them. Goddamn it, it had to be them – but at the same time, there was no way that it could be. And counterparts were different – hell, she and Pinkie were different, so there was no way in hell that it could be them in any way, shape or form!

And yet, despite all that, she looked at the two adults standing there. The businesslike mare, a silver-coated unicorn with copper mane and a kind smile. And next to her, a strong batpony with deep-blue fur and a brown-and-green mane, looking as concerned.

But she didn’t see just them.

She saw him. And her.

Words crept into her mind:

“Oh, you like it, you whore. You like it when everyone’s in you.”
“Oh, you’ll do whatever I want. You know why? Because that’s all you’re good for. Just licking me clean.”
“Dear brother, don’t you think the whore will like it if she had all of her holes filled at once?”

Pinkie wanted to scream, to lash out, to leave. To run away.

And yet, she couldn’t…because of the fourth pony in the room. A frail, fragile earth filly hooked up to several bizarre magical devices and lying in a hospital bed, that her counterpart was dearly trying to cheer up and that these two…adults…were clearly worried about.

So she sat, smiled and tried to sing along with the clearly ad-libbed song her counterpart was singing. Even as her hair straightened, she forced the smile onto her face and listened to the voices, each syllable stabbing her a thousand times over.

Sunny, help!

She watched as Pinkie danced along with her one-mare band equipment, tailor-made for a mare on the move. Pinkie remembered when she’d been fourteen and interested in making something like that, because it could be done. Her aunt and uncle had gently tried to steer her away from that, given that Pinkie had no real musical talent, but it had been Cicely who had taught her how to play the violin a bit, even if, unsurprisingly, she turned out to have no real skill for it.

She watched as Atlas and Cicely looked at the poor filly on the bed. Did they care about her? They looked as if they did, as if she was vitally important to them. Were they abusing her, as Pinkie had been abused? Was that even fair to assume? She wasn’t like the pink earth mare that shared her name, so why would a unicorn mare and a batpony stallion be the same as the boy and girl (assuming they were actually that and not just a young-looking man and woman) who gave her a cold realization even as they took everything from her?

Sunny, please save me! Please!

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out of the room, tears streaming from her eyes. Her counterpart didn’t give chase, but instead moved so that the ill filly wouldn’t see the sudden scene.

Finally, the pony was done with her song and looked at the two other adult ponies present, both of who were crying tears of melancholy.

Pinkie walked over and looked at the filly, who had thankfully fallen asleep during all the excitement. “Good. She fell asleep. Have the doctors said if things will improve?”

Sweet Cicely shook her head. “No. Pythiosis is generally fatal. We’re hoping for a miracle, but sooner or later, Little Light is just going to….” The mare buried her face in her hooves, overcome by her grief.

Royal Atlas put a wing around his wife. “Pinkie, as the orphanage caretakers, you know that we don’t care about how the foals come to us, only that when they do, until they’re adopted, they’re ours. And Little Light has been a special case to us, especially given that her dam abandoned her.” He himself fought back tears as he looked at the Element of Laughter. “It’s…it’s very brave for your friend, who isn’t even of our species, to care so much for our little foal.”

“Isn’t there anything the princesses can do?” Cicely begged.

“Twi is working on it,” Pinkie assured them, “but I can’t make promises for her. But she’s doing her best, I promise.” She looked at the door. “For right now, I’d better go check on my friend.”

“Give her our thanks,” Atlas said to her before he reached down to nuzzle his distraught wife. “She’ll be fine, sweetie, I’m sure of it.”

As she left the heartbroken family in peace, Pinkie wasn’t sure that Twilight would be able to save the day…

…or that the other Pinkie was crying because of Little Light’s condition.

Dry Sands hated this place. Sure, he’d moved here for business, but he didn’t like Ponyville. Sure, it was good for the wife and foals, but it was so…boring. The place was just growing into something decent thanks to Princess Twilight and her Crystal Vomit Palace™, but until that happened, he was stuck at his blasé job at Napkins and Buckets as the company accountant.

He heard a growling sound and he wondered for a moment if it had been worth it to skip lunch. Granted, the closest place to grab lunch from was that eyesore of a coffee shop that looked like an oversized cupcake – Sugarcute Corner or something like that – but they had that freaky…thing…that worked there, as well as that pink mare that seemed like she lived off nothing but sugar and salt licks. That was the kind of headache he didn’t want to deal with, so he decided to take a walk instead. Maybe he’d find something on the way to munch on.

He then heard the growling behind him…and realized it wasn’t his stomach.

He was already in a pissy mood, so he turned and shouted, “Hey, you don’t have to follow me so close, you know!”

He never knew what hit him.

He did, however, eventually find out that it was a fir tree that stopped his unintended flight, breaking several of his bones as he collided against it.

Pinkie found herself crying her heart out on a bench. Despite her situation, none of the ponies approached her, instead staying either what was a respectful distance away…or a safe distance. She didn’t care at the moment. She didn’t want anyone around.

Except one.

And a second later, she felt comforting arms around her. “I came as quick as I could,” Sunset told her, immediately summoning a tissue to wipe Pinkie’s eyes dry. “The polar bears are probably angry that I had to skip out of a meeting, but I asked Softwing to sit in for me.”

“Softwing?” Pinkie sniffed.

“Not important right now,” Sunset said, genuinely worried about her friend. “What happened?”

“I…I ran into them.” A chill raced down Sunset’s spine as Pinkie’s tone made it very clear who the individuals in question were. “And they… And they….” Pinkie devolved into a mass of broken tears and all Sunset could do was to hold her close. She didn’t love Pinkie the way the girl wanted her to, but that didn’t mean there was no love at all. Pinkie was more than “part of her court”, more than just a friend. And Sunset didn’t care how she looked to the ponies right now as she sat there in her business attire as Pinkie soaked her blouse and blazer with her tears.

Several minutes passed before Pinkie was able to speak again. “I want to go home,” she said sadly.

“I can take you back, if you want,” Sunset told her. “Might take some explaining with your aunt and uncle, since they think we’re in Oregon for the weekend, but I’ll be happy to do it.”

Blue eyes reddened by tears looked into Sunset’s cyan ones. “I…I don’t want to be a burden to you, Sunny. I want to be here for you, I just….”

“Okay, tell you what,” Sunset told her. “I’ll be right back. Let me tell the others that I’m going to take you back to the portal and then we can get going. That should give you time to say your goodbyes to everyone. Is that okay?”

Pinkie nodded slightly, but she swore she saw the disappointment in Sunset’s eyes. As the flame-haired girl started casting her return teleport to Canterlot, Pinkie grabbed a hold of her and both girls teleported away.

A second later, Pinkie Pie popped into the park, expecting to see her namesake. She looked around, but did not find any humans present.

“That’s weird,” she mused aloud. “I was pretty sure my Pinkie Sense told me she was here….”

The two of them ended up in Sunset’s tower. Pinkie looked around. “Wow, I know you’re a princess,” she told her would-be lover, “but I didn’t know you were a princess, if that makes sense.”

“Pinkie! You’re lucky I know where I was going, or you could have been seriously hurt! Teleporting is not a joke!” Sunset scolded. “We could have ended up in a wall if I wasn’t careful.”

“I’m sorry! Sunny, I’m sorry, but….” She tackled Sunset, bawling. “I don’t want to be a disappointment to you! I know you’re not happy with me but—” The curly-haired teen devolved into incomprehensible sobbing again, and it was all Sunset could do to console her. Several more minutes went by as Sunset held her friend, while Pinkie cried in shame and worry. Sunset, in turn, promised that no, she wasn’t disappointed, and she understood how Pinkie’s fears had been translated by seeing her tormentors’ counterparts.

After a few minutes, she gently kissed Pinkie on the crown of her head. She wasn’t sure why she did it, but it seemed like the right thing to do. “Feel better?” Sunset asked.

Pinkie walked over and sat down on Sunset’s bed. “I just….” Pinkie then decided to tell Sunset everything of the last few minutes, and what she’d endured. Of having to hear their voices, and their words directed towards the little filly and how everything must have been true even as it rang false.

Sunset embraced Pinkie, telling her, “I’m not disappointed in you, Pinkie. All things considered, you handled it very well and I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

Pinkie did not acknowledge the compliment. “I just…I can’t take it, Sunny! I know it’s not them, but it’s them! And I…. I….” She broke down into tears once more, bawling into Sunset’s blouse, soaking it completely.

Gently, Sunset lifted Pinkie’s head so that the girl’s tear-stained eyes could look into hers. “I know. I know it’s hard, Pinkie, I really do.”

“But you need me to go back to Ponyville, don’t you?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, and I can certainly send you home if need be. I don’t want you to hurt; you’re too important to me for that.”

Pinkie wiped her eyes. “But you need me here, don’t you?”

“I need ponies to see humans at their best. As much as I would like to show them myself, I’m not really human, so I don’t understand everything, even after having lived on Earth for years. That’s why I need you and the others to show what I can’t: to show them that we’re more than monsters or the Megan, because they need to know we’re just like them, only with two legs vice four. I am a bridge…but I can only be that. I need people to be my ambassadors, those I know and love who can do it just by being them. Not by being diplomats or anything special…just by being everyday people.”

“I…I let you down, didn’t I?” Pinkie said, her hair completely flat.

“No, and I mean that, Pinkie. You could never let me down.” Sunset gave Pinkie a soft smile. “Just be the Pinkie I know you are, and that’s enough for me.”

Pinkie looked around the room. “You sure I can’t come stay with you at least tonight? I mean, private chambers, candlelight….”

Trying not to get her friend’s hopes up, Sunset merely said, “I’ve got Tavi staying with me right now. She’s had some medical issues, and I want to make sure she’s taken care of.”

“Okay, but she’d better understand that the only one who has that spot reserved 24/7 is me, okay?”

Sunset smiled, glad to see that her friend was rebounding. “You sure you’re not going to change your mind on that?”

In response, Pinkie leaned forward and kissed Sunset. Sunset, not prepared for it, took the blow of sorts, though she broke off before Pinkie tried anything further. “Look, Pinkie….”

“I know. No PDA right now, but you’re my girl! Had to let you know you still mean the world to me. But…can we just stay like this for a while?”

“Pinkie, I have several meetings I need to attend. That’s why I’m in business attire.”

“I understand. And by the way, you really look good in that, you know?”

Sunset blushed. “Thanks.”

Pinkie hugged Sunset and said, “Now, go ahead and send me back and then get back to what you’re doing. I’ll manage.”

“Are you sure?”

“If I’m not, dinner’s on me the first night we’re back. And…come to think of it, dinner’s on me anyway. We haven’t gone on a date in a few weeks and we’re due for another.”

Sunset looked at the clock against the wall, realizing that the meeting that Softwing had taken over for her was almost halfway over. I guess I could…. Involuntarily, she yawned. I guess that trip to Manehattan this morning took more out of me than expected.

Sunset flashed briefly and changed back to her normal clothing. “Tell you what: We can stay here for a while, but after that I’ll need to send you back to Ponyville, okay?”

Pinkie flopped back down on the bed, spreading her arms open towards her love. “I’m not going to argue that.”

Nothing more was said as both girls lay down on Sunset’s sizeable bed and after a few minutes, both had fallen asleep in the other’s arms.

Coco opened her eyes slightly, finding herself laying on her bed. She blushed slightly, realizing she’d fallen asleep in the human Rarity’s arms, but that clearly she’d been taken care of by one of the two Raritys.

She turned to look at her back, noting that her wings had slid back under her near-invisible carapace and had restored her to appearing more or less like a normal pony again.

She smiled briefly; she was lucky. As a changeling, she had a new queen of sorts that cared about her and that was probably the best that any changeling could hope for. But as a pony, she had a boss that cared about her and a growing reputation here as Rarity’s assistant and apprentice, and maybe that, more than anything else, was what she needed to continue to hold onto her ponyness.

She got up and stretched, then headed for her bedroom door. No doubt the Raritys were hard at work at their incredible creations, and if Coco was to ever reach those same highs, she needed to do it alongside her friend.

Her boss?

Her queen?

Coco gave herself a soft smile. Did it really matter what the words were?

A few hours later, Sunset felt herself being tapped awake. She looked up to see Softwing looking at her, somewhat bemused.

“You know, when you said you had to leave your meeting, I didn’t know it was so that you could spend time with your special somepony...er, somehuman,” the griffoness commented drily.

“It’s…it’s not like that,” Sunset explained.

“It’s okay, Sunset, you don’t have to explain it to me. Though now I understand what you mean about finding someone of your own to love.” Softwing smiled and added, “In any case, I came to drop off the Sibearian documents so that you can look them over; you have an additional meeting with their ambassador which I set for tomorrow afternoon. And if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go get some lunch, especially since I want to try some of those human dishes your family has. They seem interesting.”

“Okay.” Sunset then looked at the clock. “Oh, shit – I have that meeting with the Abyssinian embassy that I’m late for.” She cast a spell, slipping back into business attire, then a second one to fix her makeup. “Will you do me a favor and send Pinkie back to Ponyville?”

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do that,” Softwing admitted.

“If you can’t, ask Jewel to do it. She probably knows the spell. And speaking of which, set up a dinner for the three of us. I think we should talk and plan anything else that may come our way during the week. Anyway, I gotta go.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she’s okay, Sunny.”

“Thanks, Softwing. I really appreciate it.” Nothing more was said as Sunset vanished into sparkles.

A few minutes later, Pinkie awoke to find that Sunset wasn’t there. Instead, a griffin stood there, looking at her as if eyeing food of some sort. Pinkie wasn’t afraid of that, but the fact that the newcomer continued to focus her gaze on her for some reason managed to make Pinkie feel inadequate.

“Can I help you?” Pinkie asked. This, probably, was the “Softwing” that Sunset had mentioned earlier. A new person that worked for Sunset? Or something else?

“Her Highness stated that I need to send you back to Ponyville,” the griffin stated in a voice that sounded like she wasn’t happy to do this. “Are you ready?”

“I….” The look on Pinkie’s face was one of disappointment; Sunset wasn’t even around to send her off. Did that mean….?

“Her Highness had to head off to a meeting that she was late for. Now, I hate to be rude, but I’m already running late for lunch myself and I have another meeting I have to attend in her place, while she’s off seeing the Abyssinians.” The griffin then began to prepare a teleportation spell of some kind, which to Pinkie’s surprise, fizzled out.

“Is…is something wrong?” Pinkie asked.

“No, just a miscalculation on my part.” There was a knock at the door, and Softwing called out in a frustrated voice, “Come in.”

A unicorn marched in, with an annoyed look on her face and bearing a sizeable bouquet of what looked to be crystal roses. From the looks of her, however, Pinkie knew something was very wrong. This pony wasn’t just an employee. No employee wore the pony equivalent of a little black dress and wore something that smelled like Coco Mademoiselle’s Eau de Parfum, a fragrance Rarity had told her was worn by those clearly on the chase.

“These were sent over by the Inariese embassy,” the mare told the griffin. “They’re for Princess Sunset. Where should I put them?”

“Who are they from?” the griffin asked.

“The courier only said they were a gift from the Iniarese embassy to Princess Sunset. However, if you’ll note, they’re sky blue.”

Softwing sighed. “Of course they’re sky blue, given they’re from the Inariese. Look, I’m going to hide these; Her Highness hardly needs to deal with this at the moment. Would you do me a favor and send our wayward human here back to Ponyville?”

“Can’t we just put her on a train or something?” the unicorn asked.

“We probably could, but Princess Sunset wants her fillyfriend to be taken care of, and that’s what we do here,” Softwing stated, taking the roses. “Now, I’m going to go mix these in with some of the other bouquets around the tower; hopefully they won’t be as noticeable that way.” With nothing more to say, she departed the room, leaving the unicorn behind.

Both Pinkie and Jewel looked at each other and without a word, the two knew they were sizing each other up.

“What’s important about sky blue?” the teen said, feeling a pain grow in her heart.

The unicorn looked at her as if wondering whether she should bother answering the question. Finally, she relented: “Sky blue is the traditional Inariese color of love. One of the Inariese princes asked for Her Highness’ hoof in marriage.”

Pinkie’s eyes grew wide. “What?”

“Not that it matters,” the unicorn said smugly, as her horn began to glow as she prepared a spell. “After all, we all know that when it comes time to pick a mate, the princess has the best option in front of her: me.” The mare smiled sweetly, and Pinkie suddenly found herself both afraid and offended at once.

“Now just wait one minute!” she began.

“Oh, I know she’s a friend of yours,” the unicorn said off-handedly (hoofedly? Pinkie wondered), as if making an aside. “But she is, after all, a mare beyond compare, and she deserves somepony of her kind to love her. Not some foolish kitsune tod, don’t you think? But enough of that. Time to send you back to Ponyville!”

Before Pinkie could say anything further, the spell was released. Pinkie was caught up in a flash of wine-hued sparkles before vanishing, the air issuing a popping sound as the air rushed into the space where the human had been.

Staring at the space where the human had been, Jewel wondered why the human had reacted so oddly. She knew that Princess Sunset had several dear friends with her entourage, but maybe that human mare wanted to be more than just friends?

Jewel blew a strand of her mane out of her eyes. As if. After all, when push came to shove, it was clear who was going to be Princess Sunset’s true and special somepony.

Pinkie climbed out of Lake Ponyville, the water sloughing off her as she made her way to a nearby tree. She wondered if that unicorn had done that on purpose.

She said she was going after Sunny, the teen mused, still reeling from what she’d been told about the girl that she loved more than anything. Was that why Sunset needed her here? So that she could be wooed by a prince from another land? A king?

Had Sunset tried to spare her the pain of finding out about that? Because as much as Pinkie would be willing to fight against Rose, or any normal person…the truth was, here, Pinkie couldn’t compete with that. There was no way for her to do so.

I’m going to lose her, the irrational part of her mind said. I’m going to lose the one I love most and there’s nothing I can do about it!

She buried her face in her hands, weeping uncontrollably.

“Pinkie!” Pinkie suddenly felt furry pink forelegs around her. She turned to look at a semi-familiar face, and while the other Pinkie’s mane wasn’t deflated, she could see the concern in the mare’s eyes. “I’m glad I found you! Are you okay?”

Pinkie looked at Pinkie, and for the first time she wondered if there was more to the mare than she thought. She didn’t necessarily think she was the more sophisticated one, or that the pony was a simpler person, but that there were clear differences between them.

“I’m fine, Pinkie,” deciding that she really didn’t want to deal with it right now. “Just…drained.”

“I’m sorry I brought you in without asking you, but Little Light needed the cheering up!” the pony insisted as she pulled a towel out of her mane so her counterpart could dry off. “She’s so brave, holding on despite her sickness, and I know that Cicely and Atlas absolutely love her even if she’s just under their care—”

“Why?” The teen accepted the towel gratefully; she could dry herself off…and wipe away her tears without her counterpart noticing. “Why is she in their care?”

“Well, they’re the ones who run the orphanage,” the mare explained. “I mean, they have their own foal; Tattle is just the cutest little filly, but they always wanted a big family, Atlas said.” The mare looked sad. “Little Light…they named her. Her mother just abandoned her at the orphanage, and they don’t even know who she was.”

Just like Sunny, the teen thought. She knew her lover’s true origins and though Pinkie knew Sunset didn’t care about who her dam was, she’d also long divulged what she knew about her birth and appearance at the orphanage where her “biological mother” eventually found her.

Unaware her counterpart was only half-listening, the mare continued: “But she’s sick with an incurable disease, and a filly that young doesn’t deserve it!” Pinkie was frantic, and for a moment, the teen wondered if her counterpart had gone through things that were equivalent to what she’d gone through as a child. “And I’d forgotten that you have your own illness and I’m sorry if I brought that up for you, but I thought that if one Pinkie could cheer up Little Light, two Pinkies could do even better! I’m sorry I hadn’t thought about how it would affect you.”

“It’s fine.” Pinkie looked down at the ground for a moment and thought about what she was going to say. “Is she okay?”

“She’s doing her best, and Twi is looking into a cure for it, but it’s not a disease we know very well,” came the response. “I know nopony deserves to have this thing, especially a little filly with so much to look forward to and with foster parents that love her.” Despite her sadness, Pinkie gave a wide smile to her counterpart. “I know Atlas and Cicely are trying to do their most for her, even with all the problems he has because he’s a batpony, but—”

“Stop! Just…stop, okay?” Pinkie fixed her eyes on the mare standing there. She couldn’t stand to hear one more positive thing about the names being casually bandied about by her counterpart. It wasn’t the fault of their owners, not really, but each glowing statement about them was an icepick to Pinkie’s brain, a stab to her heart and a shank shoved in a spot that she already felt made her sometimes inadequate to be meant as Sunset’s Bride.

The mare sat there, turning her head slightly as if looking at the girl from a new angle would shed light on this sudden development. “Why?”

Pinkie sighed. “You might not want to hear what I have to say, Pinkie,” she told her.

“Oh, is this double-secret probation kind of stuff? Because I’m good at that! I have my Special Pinkie Decoder Ring! I got it from the time there were a million of me and I had to watch paint dry in order to prove that I’m the one and only Pinkie! Except…I’m not really the only Pinkie, because you’re here and you’re Pinkie too and so that’s kinda silly, right?”

Pinkie frowned; there was no way she could do this easily.

“Is there…some place that we could talk about this in private?”

“Sure! To the Pinkie Cave!”

“So…remind me again why we’re doing this?” Diamond Tiara wondered aloud.

“Um…cutie marks?” Sweetie Belle reminded her.

“But he doesn’t have one!” Scootaloo pointed at the colt, Whitewater, then turned to her fellow Crusaders. “And we promised that we’d help everypony out there get their marks, ‘cause we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“Lucky us,” Diamond drolled before turning to Whitewater. “And you’re sure that this is what you think you’re going to earn your cutie mark in?”

Whitewater nodded. “My dad’s the best riverguide ever – that’s why his name is Riverguide! And my family has always been in the river rafting business, so I have to get my mark as a guide, too!” He beamed, his gap-toothed smile filled with confidence. “I’ll be the best one that’s ever been!”

Sweetie nodded excitedly. “That’s the spirit!”

The small watercraft continued down the Ponyconos River, with Whitewater steering just as he’d been taught, while the other four paddled. The raft, a hoof-lashed number of rope and half-cut logs, wasn’t as sturdy as some professionally-built ones that the colt had worked with, but Scootaloo had assured him that building his own might also be a way to find his special talent, and while Whitewater had never really built one, he knew enough from his father’s trips that he could reasonably do it from memory. He hoped.

So now, as the five were moving down the river, it occurred to the young earth colt that he wasn’t familiar with this part of the river. Taking a look around at his surroundings once more, he was definitely sure that this was an area that he’d not been at before. Finally, he looked at Sweetie. “Um…where are we?”

Sweetie smiled. “Horseshoe Bend,” she replied. “It’s always so pretty, and I thought it would be a great place to get your cutie mark!”

Whitewater’s eyes went wide – he wasn’t allowed to raft down the bend, as it was just before the Raging Rapids – even his father didn’t try to boat down the rapids! Worse, after the rapids was the Ghastly Gorge and all the dangers there.

“Look, we gotta start paddling to shore,” he told them. “If we don’t, soon the current’s going to be too strong for us to deal with, and we’re going to lose control of the raft!”

“Oh, c’mon, really?” Diamond asked. When he nodded, she turned to Sweetie. “And you knew about this?”

“Hey, I thought the water was pretty the way it just splashes and stuff.” The white filly shrugged. “Don’t you think it’s neat?”

“Why am I friends with you again?”

At that point, the foals began to try to steer the raft to shore with their paddles, but as they did, the raft then began to round the bend. The river began to pick up speed, and little by little, despite their best efforts the foals in control of the primitive vessel started to find themselves not quite as in control as they thought. It began to move faster and faster and by the time one of the paddles was wrenched out of Silver Spoon’s hooves by the flow, they realized that they were in more than a bit of trouble.

“What do we do now?” Scootaloo asked.

“You could fly to get us help, right?” Whitewater asked, then when he looked at Scootaloo’s wings, he realized that wasn’t happening. “Okay, can you teleport us, Sweetie?”

“I can’t even teleport myself!” she said. “My parents won’t let me learn that spell until I’m older!”

“Maybe we should jump off and swim to shore?” Silver suggested.

“Are you crazy? You saw the water pull the paddle out of your hoof! Do you think you can swim through that?” Whitewater asked her. “Look, the current’s too fast and we could get hurt or worse if we try to swim for it!”

“I think things are about to get worse than that!” Scootaloo shouted, getting their attention. A second later, so did the roar of the water as they reached the Raging Rapids.

“Sweetie! Try to cast a shield around us!” Whitewater told them. “Everypony, stay together and hold hooves!”

“I’m not holding your hoof – you’re a colt! Cooties!” Silver told him.

“Would you rather get slammed against rocks?”

She thought about it a second and grabbed his hoof immediately.

The five looked forward at the raging river and the stones sticking out of it, like jagged teeth. If for some reason the raft survived being slammed against the rocks and shoals like a wooden pinball, just beyond it was the Ghastly Gorge and all the dangers that were within.

The foals started screaming for help, hoping that somepony would arrive in time or be able to rescue them.

No rescue came.

“…and that’s the real reason I ran,” Pinkie said, wiping her eyes for what had to feel like the millionth time. She hated herself for having to tell the story once more, as if it would never let her go, and moreso, telling probably what was the most innocent individual in the world – her counterpart.

After all, Pinkie’s “Pinkie Cave” turned out to be a massive stash of balloons, confetti, party stuff and the like underneath Sugarcube Corner. It was the sort of thing that the teen herself would have longed to have had…when she was, say, eight. Sure, if the house she and her family lived in had a basement, she could probably use something like this for party planning and the like, but she would have loved to carve out a corner for fine art and a small library, as well as her personal shrine to her beloved.

The beloved that’s marrying someone else, a voice in the back of her mind said, and Pinkie closed her eyes tightly, hoping that it was all just a nightmare that she would get over.

Pinkie suddenly felt furred appendages embrace her again; her counterpart was very much into hugs. “I’m sorry you had to go through that and by ponies…er, humans…with those names,” the older Pinkie said, her hair straightening as much as the human girl’s had. “They sounded like horrible meanies and I can’t even begin to understand what they did to you.”

Pinkie, holding her counterpart, now had an extra reason to hate herself: she probably shattered this mare’s innocence, for now and forever. She already knew Equestria wasn’t some candyland idyll; if it had been, she would have never met the love of her life, as Sunset never would have left such a utopia. Even still, this other Pinkie had been far more innocent than she was.

Ironically, she’d already met an alternate version of herself before – she was still not really sure if that had happened or not; it felt more like a dream than anything – but Mina had been through a hell of her own, and yet had still been shocked to find what Pinkie had endured. And now this Pinkie was finding out that out of all of them, all the Pinkies in all the universes, it was the once happy-go-lucky teen, the one that had the misfortune to be a target of sexual predators and the luck to be the beloved bride of a goddess, that had a sort of reverse Midas Touch when it came to telling her story: Everything eventually turned to shit.

But she had to be honest to Pinkie, if for no other reason than because she knew in her heart that lying wouldn’t accomplish anything. Worse, she would, in a sense, be lying to herself – and that was a vow she swore she would never do again. She’d suffered enough because of it, and she’d made Sunset suffer as a result. She would never let that happen again, and now, faced with another version of herself, even if a not human version, that had to be put to the test.

“Please don’t make me explain it again. Or did you not learn the birds and the bees from your parents?” the teen said testily.

“There’s no need to be rude, Pinkie, though I understand your frustration,” the older mare said. “I’m not as simple as you think I may be, nor do you humans have the corner on complexity. I’ve been paying attention all this time and while people know I’m spontaneous, that’s probably more just in my nature. I suspect that you used to be the same way before all this happened.”

“Not really. Maybe when I was a kid, but not now. I like being fun and I like doing stuff, but sometimes I just want to be me, and sometimes I feel I can’t even be that around my own friends,” she admitted. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for my girlfriend, I would probably fall apart nowadays.”

“Girlfriend? Is that anything like a fillyfriend?” the mare asked, then shook her head. “Are you a fillycuddler?”

“Something sounds wrong about that term,” the human said with distaste. “And actually, I’m bisexual – I like boys and girls, though I’m honestly in love with the girl of my dreams right now.” Despite everything, a sublime smile came onto the heartwrenched girl’s face. “Without my Sunny, I’d be completely lost.”

“You and Sunset are dating?” pony Pinkie asked. “That’s great!”

“You don’t think it’s weird?”

The older Pinkie shook her head. “Why should I? I mean, I like stallions, but…you’re not me, even if you are me, if that makes sense. You’re entitled to like whomever you want, and that’s none of my business. Besides, my friends don’t think I have my own interest in relationships, but…well, they’re kinda wrong on that….”

“Oh?”

The pink pony pawed the ground. “I really don’t deal with romantic relationships much, but I’ve had my own share. And since we’re in confession time here, I guess I should talk about the one that got away.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“His name was Cheese Sandwich. You don’t happen to know anypony…er, anyhuman? by that name, do you?”

The teen thought about it for a while. “Not at all, why?”

“He started out as a bitter rival. He and I challenged each other to throw the party that outpartied any other party in the history of party, and…I kinda went overboard with the whole thing. Started obsessing about everything and…well, when push came to shove, I had to realize that I did lose it for a while, and that I should’ve worked with him to throw the best party ever so we could have both succeeded!” There was a smile in her eyes as she said, “When I did that, things improved for me. Got us a lot closer, too.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. We kept in touch afterwards and during the start of the Winter of Aftermath, he came back to Ponyville. He was sick. He’d worked himself to the bone to try to bring joy to everypony out there, but with all the famine and the problems, he just kept pushing until he broke. He came back to me and I got him back on his feet. And…” The pink pony blushed. “Let’s just say that we got to know each other very well over several months.”

Pinkie gave a soft smile. “He asked me to go with him, hoof and hoof, and to spend our lives together throwing the greatest parties out there. I wasn’t sure of what to say. I mean, I liked him a lot – and by a lot, I mean lots of smoochy-face time, if you get what I mean. But he was asking me to leave my friends and family behind. And I’m a Bearer. I mean, the whole idea, as much as I seriously thought about it, is as silly as if I were somehow a full-time teacher despite having a job and no teaching credentials. Just…probably within the realm of possibility, but not exactly the norm, if you get what I mean.

“So…I told him no. I couldn’t leave. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t.” A melancholy look came over her eyes. “I got a letter from him a couple of days before you arrived. He said it would be the last one. He met a filly in Oatmaha, a mare named Confetti Blast who has much the same interests as I did…but unlike me, she wasn’t tied down.” Pinkie was quiet for a moment and said, “Don’t feel you’re the only Pinkie that’s ever dealt with heartbreak. I know I haven’t gone through what you have, but it hasn’t been any easier for me, especially since I’m the one everypony counts on to smile, smile, smile!”

“You don’t always have to, you know.”

“Maybe that works for you, but not me. We’re not the same kind of Pinkie.”

We’re not the same kind of Pinkie. That was the same thing she’d been thinking once beforehand, when Sunset had first told her of her counterpart and what she was like. The words rang back with clarity and it was a sobering thought to have the words returned right back to her. The teen shifted uncomfortably in her seat, somewhat struck by the realization.

“Which is another thing that I need to bring up,” the pony told her younger counterpart. “Please don’t hold what happened to you against Cicely and Atlas. They’re the sweetest, most honest and gentle ponies there are out there and I guarantee if they could have, they would have done everything to prevent what happened to you. I already know that your Sable Loam is different from the one from our world, and I suspect there are other differences as well. So why can’t you accept that this is one of them?” Pinkie crossed her forelegs and blue eyes looked into blue eyes. “I know you’re smart enough to know that.”

“I…it’s hard,” the teen admitted. “It’s been the stuff of my nightmares forever. I just got around to barely telling my aunt and uncle about it, when I should have done so a long time ago, and the only reason I did was because it got out despite my best efforts. Until then, only my friends knew about it. I didn’t even want to tell Sunny about it, but I had to, since it was part of what ultimately led to us being together.”

“But Atlas and Cicely have suffered so much. They love their daughter, Tattle, but Cicely said she’s always wanted a big family, but a fillyhood illness made it hard for her to have more foals. That’s why they took over the local orphanage, because they wanted to make sure that every colt and filly has a chance at love,” Pinkie insisted. “That’s why they’re doing everything they can for Little Light, even if we don’t think she’s going to make it. They love her dearly and were even going to adopt her themselves, so she could have a real mother and father before she moves on to the Great Pasture.

“I don’t think ponies like that can be hated just because they have the same name as the humans that hurt you, Pinkie. We have the same names and we’re different, so please…don’t hate Cicely and Atlas? I know it’s not easy but if only for me, please?”

The teen, not wanting to give an answer, changed the subject instead. “What’s wrong with Little Light?”

“She has pythiosis. It’s a horrible, terrible disease and it’s killing her!” the pony cried. “Twi’s been working on it, but between her own duties and all the recovery we’ve had to do from the war and the Winter, none of the mages or others have been able to find a cure!” Tears started streaming down Pinkie’s muzzle, leaving rivers of sorrow in their wake. “I want Little Light to go out and play and have a good time with other colts and fillies, but she’ll never be able to, because there’s no cure!”

“Pythiosis? It’s curable,” Pinkie said, matter-of-factly.

“What?”

The teen nodded. “A combination of targeted surgeries as well as potassium iodide administration usually does the trick.” When the pony’s jaw dropped, Pinkie added, “When Sunny was hospitalized, I took note. And now that she’s my girlfriend, I have to make sure I keep up on the plethora of medical conditions that could affect her. Yeah, I know she’s probably immune like crazy now, but I would be a horrible girlfriend if I didn’t keep an eye out.”

“But it’s curable?”

Pinkie nodded. “I can ask Sunny if she can recreate the chemical formula for the drug in question. I also have the book that details the surgery, if need be.”

“Please!” The pony repeatedly hugged her counterpart, both excited and worried at the same time.

“Okay. I might not like Cicely and Atlas, but I won’t let a little filly suffer.” She reached in her pocket for her phone.

Less than an hour later, Pinkie watched from a distance as her counterpart spoke to Atlas and Cicely, explaining the “miracle treatment from Earth”. Watching them break into tears of joy was worth some comfort, as was the complete look of shock on the faces of the doctors and thaumic healers.

“The surgeries in the book…we’d never have thought of them,” Princess Twilight told the teen, “because we rely so much on magic-based healing. It’s not like we don’t have operations, but like I said, magic. And the medicine you mentioned…we have those chemicals here as well; they’re alchemical reagents. But we would have never thought to use them in a chemistry setting.”

“I know,” Pinkie said, hugging herself. Her skin itched as she knew her counterpart was probably telling them that she’d been to thank for this. She didn’t want the thanks. She didn’t want anything from them; she just wanted that filly to live a normal life and to not tie it to her at all.

“They’ll want to thank you in person, you know,” the alicorn told her. “And I know you don’t want that. I don’t know why, only that Sunny told me that you’d likely want to be left out of it. But she also asked me to tell you to think about accepting their gratitude.”

“I know. For her, I would.”

Princess Twilight, aware of the “relationship” between the two, told the teen, “You know, you’re lucky that she cares so much about your feelings, Pinkie. No offense, but I would have insisted that you take the credit. You’ve done a good thing, not just for Little Light, but for all of ponydom as well. There are thousands of ponies suffering from this disease, and you’ve just hoofed us the means to solve it forever!”

Pinkie, unable to say anything else, just turned and left the hospital. She needed air and sun.

Or maybe just air and Sunny.

Too bad it was starting to look like she couldn’t even have that.

Sunny…please…don’t leave me….

Day Three, Evening: A Star Fall, A Phone Call

The foals came back to consciousness at the bottom of the gulch. They weren’t sure how long they’d all been out, but the afternoon sun was setting, and the shadows were starting to stretch.

“Where are we?” Silver asked, shakily. Her glasses were broken and from the look in her eyes, she was at a severe disadvantage with her sight. She also had a gash on the top of her right ear that was bleeding profusely.

“I…I don’t know.” That response came from Sweetie Belle, who was rubbing her horn. It looked seriously bruised, and that meant that she wasn’t likely to be able to cast any spells anytime soon.

“We need to get out of here!” That came from Whitewater, who was standing on unsteady legs and looking into the distance. On either side of the gulch, the near-vertical walls were honeycombed with holes – the telltale burrows of quarray eels. He didn’t know much about them other than that he was told to stay as far away from the gulch as possible or he’d be in serious trouble. And now, here he was, caught right in the center of the place. If he managed to make it home alive, he knew he was grounded at least forever. Maybe even past the day he got his cutie mark!

“Calm down, okay?” Diamond told him with a confidence she didn’t entirely feel. “We’ll be okay, alright? We can’t be in any worse case than this.”

“I can’t move my wing.”

They all turned to see Scootaloo, her eyes filled with stinging tears, trying desperately to dislodge herself from a pair of rocks that had pinned her left wing. Given her handicap, it was already bad enough, but this made things so much worse. Even more troubling was that Sweetie, with a horn bruise, couldn’t even try to move it with magic.

The three earth ponies looked at each other and immediately tried to push the top boulder, but to no avail. Instead, the movement scraped against Scootaloo’s damaged wing, causing her to scream. From above, the distant rumble of quarray eels in their habitats stirred, with one lazily poking its head out at the sound. At that, Silver quickly clamped down over the yelping filly’s mouth, muffling it until Scootaloo calmed down and the immediate danger had passed.

“We can’t do this on our own,” Silver told them all. “We need to get help! Find a grownup!”

“Are you crazy? We’ll get in trouble!” Whitewater whined.

“Trouble is better than the alternative!” Silver spat at him.

“Look, we’re getting nowhere, it’s getting dark and we need to find help!” Diamond told him. “You, Sweetie and I are the only ones that can make it to town in time.” She looked at Silver. “Silvy, you need to stay with Scoot. Otherwise, she’s a dead duck.”

“I hate being called that,” the filly in question grumbled, but said nothing further.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Silver asked nervously.

“You can’t climb without your glasses,” Diamond reminded her friend. “And Scoot needs somepony to stay with her in case things get worse.”

“I’ll stay as well,” Sweetie said, still rubbing her injured horn. “I can’t help much, but I can probably create a light spell in case things get too bad.”

“Good thinking.” Diamond looked at Whitewater. “C’mon, we’ve got a long way to town and not a lot of time to do it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because if I remember Miss Cheerilee’s lecture on quarray eels, they hunt at night and that could be really bad for us.”

Sweetie gave Scootaloo a smirk. “See? And you call me a dictionary.”

“Now is not the time!”

To make up from this morning’s earlier events, Fluttershy had decided to take her counterpart out to dinner that night. Carefully, she’d chosen an out of the way restaurant on the far side of Ponyville, a nice little place that she always went to in the past. It was nice and quiet and not frequented often; plus, it was one of the few restaurants outside of Canterlot that specialized in Ponjabi cuisine. Lastly, the owner, Ginger Cumin, was a dear friend of Fluttershy’s, having befriended her when she first opened up her restaurant and understood the pegasus’ need for peaceful solitude. So typically Ginger’s Bamboo Platter was an exotic yet not-too exotic place that was just perfect for Fluttershy on many an occasion.

Unfortunately, tonight was not going to be one of them. For the moment the citizens of Ponyville had spotted their new superstar heading to the out-of-the-way restaurant, the place had suddenly become an unwelcome riot of ponies seeking photos and autographs with the human musical sensation.

“I’m sorry,” the older Fluttershy stated, as the younger one signed an autograph for a particularly gleeful teenage filly. “I had hoped to have a pleasant dinner tonight to make up for what Discord did this morning, and now it’s been ruined.”

“It’s okay, really,” the teen told her friend. “I’m used to this. Sorta.”

“Sorta?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Usually it’s my dad signing the autographs, not me, although I have done more than my share as of late. Maybe it’s just something I need to get used to.” She gave a smile, and then paused to take a picture with a particularly bouncy young pegasus colt who seemed as though he was having the moment of his life. Once that was done, the teen turned back to her dinner companion. “If there’s one thing that Dad’s taught me, is that being a celebrity means that your life isn’t exactly your own anymore, and you need to find those little moments when it still can be.”

The pegasus recalled that. “So that was your father earlier?”

“Yeah.” The teenager blushed furiously. “Although I’m usually used to seeing him with more clothing on.”

Large cyan eyes winced in sympathy; she’d been told by Princess Twilight repeatedly that human nudity was a huge taboo for them, though she really didn’t understand why. “I’m sorry both of you had to go through that. Discord – well, my Discord – was just trying to make friends in his own way.”

“It’s okay, Shy. You don’t have to keep apologizing about it,” Fluttershy insisted. “In fact, I think Dad would find it all funny after he got over the sheer confusion and mortification – though I’m sure not telling him that it really happened. Part of me still wonders myself if it did.”

The butter-yellow pony giggled. “Oh, it did. And again—”

“Shy, you really don’t have to keep apologizing! I’ll get over it.” Knowing her counterpart wasn’t going to let it go until she changed the subject, Fluttershy asked, “So, have you thought about my proposal?”

The topic switch had the desired effect, though not exactly as the teen wanted it. “I…I don’t know,” Fluttershy said quietly. “I don’t know how you do it. I mean, I did some modeling, and the girls tell me I’m not as standoffish as I used to be…”

Could’ve fooled me, the human thought, though she didn’t voice it. A second later, she mentally admonished herself: before Sunset had become her friend, she was likely just as bad as her counterpart, and it was honestly due to Sunset’s direct and indirect influence in her life that had brought about the change.

“…but I don’t know if I’m brave enough to sing on stage with you,” the pegasus continued, unaware of her companion’s internal debate. “That’s not to say I wouldn’t, Flutters, but, well….”

“I’ll be right there with you, and nothing’s going to happen, I promise.” The teen paused for another autograph, this time from the owner of Guitars and Endtables, who had been present for her first performance and had given her a brand-new Everfree oak (certified Timberwolf-Free!™) acoustic guitar in appreciation for her skills.

“But how do you do it? I’m…I’m not comfortable with crowds.” The look in the pegasus’ large cyan eyes radiated fright. “I’m…not as brave as you are.”

Fluttershy gave her friend a comforting smile. “Yes you are – more than you know, in fact. Certainly braver than I am!”

“That’s not true at all! You’re out here performing and wowing the crowds! And Sunny told me that last time you played in front of millions of people!”

The girl giggled. “It’s because I was letting the music guide me, and I got lost in the melody – I forgot where I was. I’m a lot better about being in public than I used to be, and that’s due a lot to Sunny’s influence. But I’m not brave enough to face monsters and all the problems here that you have. You say that I’m brave, Shy, but I promise you, you’re far more courageous than you give yourself credit for.”

“But that’s different than performing in front of everypony. I know I couldn’t do that,” the pegasus insisted, “and I’m amazed that you can.”

“Yeah, too bad she’s not any good at it!”

Everyone in the restaurant turned in the direction of the accuser, to see Gracenote standing there, indignation in her eyes and a snarl on her face. “Yeah, I said it! All of you are just fascinated because she’s some weirdo alien, but we all know that when it comes to real music, she can’t handle anything like the average pony, much less a superstar like me!”

The human looked at the newcomer. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yeah – I challenge you! I’m tired of you stealing the spotlight, and so I’m going to show this town who the real star is! So I’m challenging you to a battle of the bands on Friday!” She looked around the room. “And all of you better be there to see who the best mare is!”

“Grace, why don’t you stop making a foal of yourself?” The pegasus turned to see Drop Leaves, the owner of Guitars and Endtables, look at her with disappointment. “You don’t have to hog all the limelight all the time.”

“Shut up! At least I work for my fame! I don’t have to just be some exotic freak like her!” Grace accused.

“That’s not nice!” Retiring or not, Fluttershy was not about to let her counterpart be picked on just because she wasn’t a pony. “You should apologize for what you said and—”

“Oh, shut up, you little squeaktoy,” Gracenote seethed. “We all know the only reason you even come out of your cottage is because you’re friends with the Princess. And nopony’s talking to you, anyway, so butt out of this conversa—”

“Apologize!” Gracenote turned to see the human glaring at her with burning irritation.

“Excuse me?”

“No, I don’t think there is one. An excuse for you, that is.” Fluttershy stood up and stared down at the pegasus, who was now realizing just how tall humans were compared to ponies. “I don’t care what you say about me,” Fluttershy stated coolly, “but I won’t put up with you saying anything unkind about anyone here. They’re here to enjoy dinner and I appreciate that they enjoy my music. As a musician, that’s the important thing: bringing joy and happiness to others, not basking in the limelight. That’s an important lesson I’ve learned from my father, and I take that to heart.” The teen took a step forward and said, “Furthermore, you insulted Shy. She’s a dear friend and I expect that you will apologize to her.”

Gracenote nervously took a step backwards instinctively before she realized this must be some sort of human effect at work; the myths ponies had of that species said they were fearsome monsters after all. Plus, she was the human counterpart of Fluttershy – the only pony with the particular ability to Stare a target into submission. But Gracenote refused to be intimidated.

“I will…if you give up your performances and admit who the better musician is!”

The pegasus looked at the teen and said, “Flutters, you don’t have to do this for me. I can deal with it.”

“No. It’s not fair to all those who came here to express their heartfelt thanks for my performances,” Fluttershy said softly. “Furthermore, you’re the Element of Kindness, and you least of all deserve to be treated like that.” Crossing her arms, the teen turned back to the offending pegasus and said, “You want the challenge? I accept.”

Gracenote gave a wolfish smile. “Oh, so at least you have a bit more of a backbone than your counterpart here. I’m surprised. You think you can be ready on Friday?”

Fluttershy gave a small smirk that would have looked more common on the face of a girl with ruby-and-gold hair instead. “Oh, I’m ready now.” She turned to the crowd. “Does anyone, uh, anypony know how to do a sound amplification spell?”

As Grace watched on with complete confusion, a thin unicorn with a soft voice raised his hoof. “I, um, do.”

Fluttershy gestured to her phone. “Would you cast it on this, please?” A pumpkin-orange glow surrounded Fluttershy’s iPhone and as it did, she pressed play on her iTunes app. After a second, a jaunty, psychedelic tune began to play over the phone’s speakers, and as it did, Fluttershy sang, each word dripping with meaning towards her target: Gracenote.

“Kid, stay and snip your cord off, talk and let your mind loose
Can’t all think like Checkout but you’ll be okay
Kid, is this your first time here? Some can’t stand the beauty
So they cut off one ear, but you’ll be okay

“Welcome to the Garden of Earthly Delights…
Welcome to a billion Arabian nights
This is your life and you do what you want to do
This is your life and you spend it all
This is your life and you do what you want to do
Just don’t hurt nobody…
And the big reward’s here…in the Garden of Earthly Delights…

“Kid, pick up with another, some will even drop you
But hearts are built like rubber, so you'll be alright
Kid, swallow but believe us, you won’t die of boredom
Should you have to leave us, it'll be alright…

“Welcome to the Garden of Earthly Delights…
Welcome to a billion Arabian nights
This is your life and you be what you want to be
This is your life and you try it all
This is your life and you be what you want to be
Just don’t hurt nobody
(‘less, of course, they ask you)… in the Garden of Earthly Delights…”

As the song hit the bridge and Fluttershy danced around, lost in the song, two things happened. First, a green glow surrounded the girl’s body, and the pegasus of the same name instantly knew what that was: somehow, the other Fluttershy had command of the powers of the Element of Kindness as well, though it seemed that the abilities were manifesting differently, as was how she used them. The second thing was that Gracenote, realizing that she’d just be subtly insulted, stormed out of the building, angry as could be.

Seeing her depart, pegasus Fluttershy looked sad. There was probably a good reason for Gracenote to have done what she did, but unless she explained, that answer would never come. It was a tragic situation; she knew the other pegasus was relatively new to Ponyville, and she probably just wanted to fit in, but really didn’t know how. To the Element of Kindness, situations like that were incredibly sad.

She suddenly felt herself scooped up in a hug and, unsurprisingly, it was her fellow Element of Kindness. “You shouldn’t worry about things like that,” the teen told her. “I know you’re worried about her and that’s very kind of you. But we make our own paths in life, and until we learn how to move beyond it, we’re doomed to repeat the cycle.”

“I wish I could break it for her,” the pegasus told the human.

“I know you do,” Fluttershy responded to Fluttershy. “But speaking from personal experience: unless they’re willing to change…you really can’t.”

Sunset looked at her two employees. “Thank you for taking the time out to have dinner with me.” Currently in her alicorn form for what she felt was a need to be formal, she looked at both Softwing and then Jewel. “I wanted to discuss things this evening because we still have many things we need to complete before my coronation on Sunday and if we knock our heads together, we should figure out how to evenly divide the potential problems coming our way.”

“Knock our heads together?” Softwing asked curiously.

“Human figure of speech – it means to share ideas,” Sunset clarified. “In any case, do either of you have any questions?”

Jewel began immediately. “Are…you single, Your Highness?”

“Not that it should matter, but yes, I am. Why?”

Before Jewel could ask further, Softwing stated, “But I thought the other girl in here was—”

“Pinkie?” Sunset blushed, but said, “Ah, no, Pinkie’s a very good friend of mine, but we’re not…you know.” She flushed once more, but the look in Softwing’s eyes made it clear that she didn’t believe a word of it.

“So, ah, not seeing anypony,” Jewel stated, swirling her wineglass in her magic field as if thinking of what to say next.

“Ladies, we really should focus on work right now,” Sunset stated, trying to get control of the situation. “We can talk about our personal lives later, especially if we’re going to be working together.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, Sunny,” Softwing apologized.

“It’s okay. We’re probably going to be working together for a while, so we have plenty of time to do that. And speaking of which, after dinner tonight, I’ll sit down and teach you both the amniomorphic spell so you can turn human as need be.” She then turned to Jewel. “Although you don’t have to learn it if you don’t want to, given that you’re temporarily on loan from Kibbitz’ office….”

Jewel hadn’t thought of that. No! If I’m going to be her special somepony, I need to be around all the time! “About that, Your Highness,” the unicorn began. “Lord Kibbitz has plenty of accomplished ponies who can work for him and do what needs to be done there. You, on the other hoof, don’t have anyone but Lady Softwing. Thus, I must insist that I come work for you full time, so that you have the same quality of office care that your fellow princesses do.”

Sunset smiled widely. “In that case, I will contact Kibbitz and have him transfer you to Softwing’s supervision. Will that be a problem for you, Softwing?”

The griffoness shook her head. “Not at all – in fact, given the increased load that hit us today, I would recommend seeing if we can hire a few more people. I’m going to be very busy otherwise, especially if I need to look for a home on Earth and the like.”

“Home? On Earth? I’ll have to move to your world, Princess?” Jewel asked. Thinking about it, she didn’t mind, especially since that meant they could set up a cozy little home for the two of them. As much as Jewel knew she was destined to be the spouse of a princess or prince, she really wasn’t a fan of large homes. She wanted something where she could live in paradise with her sweetie.

“I don’t know yet. I know the bulk of the office’s needs will be here in Equestria, but that I’m leaving up to Softwing to decide,” Sunset said, nodding at her subordinate. “I’m sure that you’ll probably have to travel to Earth once in a while, though; plus, having the extra experience will make you all the more well-rounded of an employee and a valued asset.”

I hope you’ll get to value all my assets soon, Jewel thought. She knew that she was now firmly ensconced in Sunset’s workplace. Now, all she needed was time alone with her to explain just how they were perfect together and – easy-peasy, smiley breezy!

I guess I should read that Karmare Sutra book I borrowed from Silver, she thought, making a plan to do so that evening.

Music playing at full blast, Rainbow jogged down the path that Princess Twilight had recommended for her after having had a pretty decent meal. As much as she wanted to sit around and talk with her friends, she knew she had to get a workout done. After all, this morning’s PE session with the kidlets certainly didn’t count, as fun as it was. Sure, teaching the colts and fillies how to play soccer was cool and such, and probably just like human kids, pony kids getting their exercise was necessary, but it really wasn’t doing much for her. After all, she was an athlete, and while she was comfortable with teaching others how to play, in the end, she was made for competition. You couldn’t be the best at soccer if you were just teaching four-legged kids how to punt a ball around. You needed to push yourself on a regular basis.

And since sitting around grading papers like the Twilight she knew wasn’t something she wanted to do, Fluttershy was probably off communing with nature and her counterpart or some shit, she didn’t have the luck that Applejack and Pinkie did and could do those karate moves or whatever the hell it was they did, and there was no way in hell that she was going to hang out with Rarity and her counterpart, that pretty much left one single option left.

Thankfully, as an athlete, she knew that meant staying in shape, and staying in shape meant working out. That much she could do. It wasn’t as though she was going to run into cotton-candy clouds or chocolate rain or any kind of weird shit; so far she was finding that Equestria was…a little out there, but not that much. If anything, it was like living at Disneyland 24/7: not something she’d want to do permanently, but it was okay for a week or so.

So, having thrown on her favorite MP3 mix – she’d rather have listened to her account on Pandora, but Twilight was holding onto the wi-fi password like it was worth more than gold – she jogged down the trail, waving hello to the occasional gawker. Fortunately, there weren’t many, as it was getting towards sunset, or at least what probably passed for that around here; the fact that the sun was literally controlled by Sunset’s biological mother was weird as fuck, as far as Rainbow was concerned. It made her wonder if Sunset, due to her new power, had some measure of control over their sun back home. Not that she’d figure her friend would abuse said skills if she did; Rainbow trusted her dear friend completely and utterly.

She finally hit her stride as “Sirius Wishes” by Discord came thundering over her headphones. She was still weirding out that her favorite rock star of all time was the father of one of her best friends, but Fluttershy seemed to have taken it in stride, and was even now changing her plans from a career in animal care to one in music, like her old man. Rainbow grinned; if it meant that she got free concert tickets and advance copies of Fluttershy’s albums, then she’d be there for her friend – even if she probably wasn’t going to be the kind of musician that rocked as hard as her old man did.

…to say nothing of what Freebass had told her the previous month about all those uncool things that bands had to do for business’ sake.

As she rounded a bend and passed by what looked to be the edge of the pony Applejack’s farm, Rainbow had a weird thought: what would Discord do if he found himself here in Equestria? It was clearly weird as hell, but in that “looks like a toy company’s wet dream” way, completely with Princess Twilight’s “crystal ass-plosion” castle.

Rainbow mentally shrugged; he probably would get a kick out of the place if he showed up and then would have used it as inspiration for those experimental Explosive Chocolate albums of his, she figured.

“HELP!” The shout was loud enough to hear over the headphones, and that made Rainbow pause. If someone needed help, well, that was her calling to do so. Plus, it would probably make her look totally cool in the eyes of the ponies here, but that was second to the fact that someone was in need of help. She raced in the direction of the shouting, where she saw two of the students from this morning. She couldn’t remember their names, but it was clear that they had seen better days; they were soaking wet and looked as though they’d been roughed up somehow.

“HELP!” the filly screamed, looking worried. Her friend shouted as well, but his voice wasn’t carrying as far – female lungs for the win, Rainbow guessed.

Moving up right next to them, she looked at them and said, “What’s up?” Their lung power increased slightly, as, both of them, clearly jittery, screamed in fright and only Rainbow’s earbuds managed to block the aural assault. She looked at them both and, mindful that they were kids, bent down to look at them at eye level. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s you, Miss Human!” the pink filly said. “The other Rainbow Dash!”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m the other, but I am me,” she said with a brief grin before looking at them. “What’s wrong?”

The next few seconds were spent with the two foals explaining to her what happened and what they did. Rainbow was about to write it off as a stupid stunt gone wrong, until the next couple of words chilled her soul: “And Scootaloo got hurt!” Whitewater said, trying not to panic. “One of her wings is stuck between two stones and we couldn’t get her out!”

“And you just left her there?” Rainbow snarled, her anger momentarily rising as she suddenly worried about her sister. A split-second after that she realized that no, it wasn’t her sister, but the Scootaloo of this world. A second after that she decided it didn’t matter; A trio of kids – Scootaloo included – needed help and there was no way that Rainbow was going to back out of this.

“Okay, lead the way,” she told them. “We’re going to rescue them.”

“Um…shouldn’t we get an adult?” Whitewater asked. “I mean, they’re in the middle of quarray eel country, and that’s bad enough!”

“Look, by the time we get there, it might be too late already!” Rainbow told the two of them. “I’m not going to let some kids get hurt because we took too long to get to them, got it? Let’s get over there, pronto!”

“And I thought you’d want to be made aware of it as soon as we could confirm it,” Divine told Princess Twilight a few minutes later. “Sorry for not telling you sooner, Twi, but I know you’ve been busy and I’ve been trying to take care of it as much as I could.”

“No, Div, I appreciate you looking out for our ponies,” the alicorn told him. “Will Dry Sands recover?”

“He’s in critical healing right now, but he should make a full recovery,” the unicorn told him, “though some of his bones are broken well beyond the safety threshold to heal via magic, so they’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. I sent out my best troops to the location where the attack occurred to make sure that the Bete Goson was contained, but it was already gone by the time they arrived.”

“I’m not surprised,” the princess responded. “The Bete Goson might be superficially related to ursas, but it’s a lot smarter. It pretty much has a pony-level intellect, and that kind of nature, combined with its strength, might be a bit much.”

“Think we should contact Fort Berryville for backup? They are on standby,” he reminded her.

Princess Twilight shook her head. “I’ll leave that up to you, but I think you’re more than capable of protecting all of us, Div,” she said with a smile. “I know you can do it.”

Despite everything, he gave her a warm nod in return. “I’ll do my best,” he assured her. “I just hope it’s good enough.”

“I’ll take your ‘good enough’ over somepony else’s perfection,” she assured him. The two looked at each other awkwardly for a few more minutes, as if there were a dozen unspoken things between the two.

Fortunately, the moment was broken by the appearance of the princess’ counterpart, the human Twilight Sparkle. “Twi? I think we might have a bigger problem on our hands – or hooves, I suppose – than you think.” The two ponies turned to look at her and the teen continued. “I did some quick reading up on the situation myself, and I’ve put together a preliminary psychological profile of the thing.”

Divine blinked. “Forgive me, Lady Twilight,” he told her, “but…you’re not from this world. How could you accomplish that?”

Princess Twilight grinned. “I’m not surprised. Go ahead, Twily.”

“Thanks. Well, Captain, for starters, my mother is a trained child psychologist, so I picked up some of those skills from her. Additionally, I’m the counterpart of Twi here, so it’s reasonable that outside of magic, anything she can do I should be able to. And with that in mind, based on the attacks and the nature of what has been written about the Bete Goson, I was able to hammer out something fairly quick. And if I’m right, we have some serious problems…and I don’t mean just ponies. I mean us humans as well.”

“What?”

“Think about it: we humans are significantly taller than ponies. The Bete Goson is looking for a fight and though it’s ultimately going to choose its targets based on aggressiveness, it’s also going to choose potential adversaries based on similar characteristics. Based on the picture in the book, I did some quick math and figured that it’s well within the norms for human height, which means that it would probably try to pick a fight with us. As I understand it, minotaurs are roughly around the same height as humans as well and several known Bete Goson incidents have involved minotaurs being mauled, am I correct?”

Divine blinked as the realization hit him. “Extra targets, and the kind the Bete Goson would want. That is not a good thing at all,” he commented. “I’ll contact the major in charge of Fort Berryville and tell her to be ready to move at a moment’s notice.”

“Let me know whatever paperwork you need drafted up and I’ll take care of it,” Twilight told him. “Also, have one of your ponies contact Fluttershy and tell her that I need her and her counterpart to stay here at the castle right now. I know she’ll worry about her animals, but the bigger concern at the moment is both of them, especially human Fluttershy. The others are staying in town, so they should be relatively safe for the moment.”

“Fair enough. What about the Apples?”

“You know they won’t leave the farm unless there’s no alternative,” Princess Twilight reminded him. “Send a small team out there to watch unobtrusively. I’m more worried about Fluttershy and her counterpart right now, but there’s no sense in risking the others if we can avoid it.”

“I’ll get right on that, Twi.” He then looked at her counterpart. “Would you be able to get your profile down on paper for us? I’d like to pass this out to my cadre so that they’ll know what to look out for.”

“Fortunately, I brought enough printer paper to take care of that,” Twilight insisted. “And if that doesn’t work, I can always email your folks PDFs.” When the stallion looked at her oddly, she blushed. “Right – no technology.”

The princess giggled. “Don’t worry, we’ll get this taken care of, Div.”

Pinkie sent out another text again. She’d tried calling earlier, but…no answer. She’d also called Octavia and the triplets, individually, who all promised that they would get in touch with Sunset for her, but given how busy they were, it might not happen immediately.

And so she sat on the bed in the guest room, holding her knees and not knowing what to do. Every fiber of her being screamed for her to get on the next train to Canterlot and to tell that Prince Fujifilm or whatever his name was that Sunset was taken. To tell that stupid little unicorn that someone already had Sunset’s lips and heart, and that person was none other than her.

But was that really true? If Sunset loved her as much as she loved Sunset, why didn’t she tell everyone that she was taken? Was it because she couldn’t? Did she know that she would have to choose someone else as a lifemate, even though she and Pinkie belonged together? On Earth, royalty was allowed to choose who they wished to marry and love conquered all – but that wasn’t the case in the past. And given how close to the absolute monarchies of the past that Equestria seemed to emulate….

A jag of fear, disgust and indignation went through Pinkie’s body at once. Her love, being sacrificed as a pawn by her own mother for the sake of the kingdom. What kind of parent would do that? But at the same time, if Princess Celestia didn’t have a choice….

The dark thoughts continued to swirl around Pinkie’s mind, giving her no peace of mind. How could she have any?

There was a knock on the door. “Pinkie? It’s me, Pinkie. Can I come in?” A pause. “I brought dinner.”

Pinkie heard her stomach growl, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want anything or anyone except for the one person in her world that brought her joy. The one person in the world she wasn’t hearing from.

Because she didn’t answer, the pony opened the door. Her mane had straightened out, and she looked sad. Pinkie knew that look instinctively; strangely enough, her hair did the same thing and she saw that look in the mirror more times than she can count.

“Are you okay?” the mare asked the teen.

“No. Sunny’s not answering my calls or texts, and though I asked the others to contact her for me, they’re not saying anything, either,” she said sadly.

“Do you want me to go get Twi? Or the other Twi?”

“No,” Pinkie replied. “Seeing Twily right now would just break my heart even further. And I don’t want to hear platitudes that her sister loves me.”

The mare just went up then and put her forelegs around the forlorn girl, and the two sat that way for an unknown time until the human fell asleep.

As Pinkie came down with the uneaten meal, Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked at her. “Is she okay?”

Pinkie shook her head and lied. “I’m sure it’s due to the medicine she has to take. I’m sure she’ll be okay soon.”

“Well, I do hope she gets well soon,” Mrs. Cake said. “She’s a sweet young mare and I hate to see anypony like this.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said cheerlessly as she held the uneaten food and watched as the Cakes went back to finishing up closing the shop for the evening. “Me too.”

When Rainbow and the foals arrived on the scene, help had already come in the form of the other Rainbow Dash…such as it was. Unfortunately, the pegasus, even with her speed, was being overwhelmed by the sheer number of quarray eels that had settled in the gorge. The last time she’d been here, it had been a significant number, but now, it looked like a breeding season or two had multiplied the numbers and any attempt to rush down to save the fillies met with a dozen snarling teeth snapping at her, causing her to barely dodge out of the way in time.

“RAINBOW DASH!” Scootaloo screamed from below, her voice echoing through the canyon. “HELP!” However, the pained pleas only served to enrage the serpentine monsters all the more and they reached down to snap at the foals, causing them to scream all the louder. For now, they were safe, but it was only going to be a matter of time before one or more of the predacious eels decided to get wise enough to burrow down to their level and it would all be over for them.

The human looked at the situation and the setting sun and said, “Shit, this is not going to be good.”

“What are you doing here?” Rainbow turned to look at her counterpart, still in the air and dodging and weaving around the forest of living teeth with surprising grace and agility. Unfortunately, there were still far too many for her to get down to save the foals, and time was running out, both in terms of daylight and the pegasus’ own stamina – sooner or later, she was going to tire and with that, she would likely end up as much in danger as the ponies she was attempting to rescue.

“I’m here to help!” the teenager shouted back to her counterpart.

“Sorry, don’t need help, I got things well in hoof—” She never finished the sentence as a last-second dodge away from one eel ended up getting her swatted by a second one that was attempting to bite her. The impact, while not doing damage, ended up sending Rainbow spinning out of control and out of the gorge, to crash painfully against a rock. “Okay, okay, maybe I do need a little help!” she called back. “But you don’t have magic! What can you do?”

“I don’t know, but I know I’m not going to let Scootaloo or those other kids get hurt!” was the response. Wine-hued eyes gazed into wine-hued eyes from afar, and both of them burned with an intense understanding.

The teen broke the look off first, turning back to her junior charges. “Run back to town,” she ordered, “find the authorities and tell them what’s going on. Then don’t come back here, understand?”

“But what about—”

“Leave that to me,” Rainbow said, hooking a thumb back at herself. She looked down at the footpath down into the gorge. Bathed in the setting sun, it looked like it would be a challenge for bipedals like herself, much less an adult quadruped. And she had the ability to run down the slope, where an adult pony might need to navigate and could get caught by these giant weird-ass moray eels.

“Whatever you’re going to do, hurry!” That last came from the pegasus, who looked as though she was starting to tire. She’d apparently switched tactics from a rescue to distracting them long enough to let her counterpart make it to the canyon floor. However, that meant completely pissing off the eels, and that was a no-win tactic that would end up with the pegasus becoming monster chow, if she wasn’t careful. But it did mean that they would be distracted enough not to attack Rainbow while she raced to the aid of the others.

“Good luck!” Diamond said, as she and Whitewater turned to run back to town.

“I don’t need luck,” she said with a proud smirk. “I’m Rainbow Dash, after all.”

The three foals looked at the figure flying down the path, moving at a speed they hadn’t expected of the human that had taught them that “sock-ker” game earlier. She finally came to a stop in front of them, a proud smile on her face. “Hey kids,” she said, “I’m here to save the day.”

The smirk completely vanished from her face as she saw the strained look on Scootaloo’s face, as the trapped wing continued to be utter agony for the young pegasus. The swimming pain in those eyes was a perfect match for all the times she’d seen her sister in distress: all the bruised knees, the times she’d been made fun of because she still had minor issues dating back to her childhood, the cuts and scrapes and arrows of life. Rainbow loved her little sister too much to see that look last long on the young face and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let it remain on her sister’s counterpart.

Moving over to where the boulders were, she said, “I can move these, but it’s going to hurt until I do. Can you hold out?”

“I don’t know!” Scootaloo sobbed. “It hurts!”

Rainbow bent down and wiped a tear from the pony’s large eyes. “Hey, be brave for me, okay? My kid sister Scootaloo is one of the bravest kids I know.”

“Wait, your sister’s name is Scootaloo?” the filly asked.

Rainbow nodded. “Yup. She’s absolutely fearless. Wants to be a fighter pilot when she grows up. Don’t know where she got that idea, but I know that someday, she’ll probably end up in a cockpit and Top Gun all over the Goddamn place. Anyway, she wouldn’t let a little thing like this stop her. Can you do the same?”

“I’ll try,” Scootaloo replied.

Rainbow reached over to the top rock and knew it was going to be a challenge; the top rock pinning the filly’s wing down was easily the size of a car tire and looked like it weighed a hell of a lot. “On the count of three, I’m going to lift,” she instructed. “I want you to grit your teeth and not scream, okay? Be fearless.” She then turned to the other two fillies and added, “And I need you two to be the same. We’re going to get out of this, but we can only do it if we’re brave, ¿sobres?”

Neither Silver nor Sweetie were familiar with that word, but coming from the human Rainbow, it had to be something cool. Cautiously, they nodded their heads silently.

“One…two…three!” Putting her muscles into it, Rainbow started to lift, even as Scootaloo bit down on her lip and tried not to yelp in pain. Silver and Sweetie each took a hoof in theirs, rubbing it and letting her know that her friends were there. The boulder was exceedingly heavy and Rainbow grunted; she could feel her muscles strain at the heft, but she wasn’t going to give up. Maybe Applejack or Pinkie or one of the triplets could have taken care of this easily, but they weren’t here and even if they were, Rainbow was not going to let Scootaloo down. At all. Period.

From above, Rainbow watched as her counterpart struggled with the boulder. It certainly looked heavy enough that Big Mac might have had problems with it, but there was nothing she could do other than to trust the strange human that was the her from another world. It was out of Rainbow’s hooves, and in the noodly hoof things – hands, whatever – of the other Rainbow Dash.

Still, after Rainbow chewed out Scootaloo, she was going to hug her and never let her go. Scootaloo’s parents were on an extended trip, and they would likely be gone for the next six months, so they trusted Rainbow to look after her. And without a doubt, Rainbow loved the little filly to death and to do nothing more than to sit up here and play dodge-the-bite with these annoying quarray eels while her pseudo-little sister was down there suffering broke her heart.

And that was when she heard the loud rumble and watched the trees in the distance – the trees that led towards the path to Ponyville – began to topple as something massive burrowed beneath the surface.

Her eyes widened in shock.

“Oh, shit,” she said to nopony in particular.

With a final teeth-gnashing snarl, Rainbow finally lifted the boulder off of the wing. She took two steps past it before tossing it down into the water, where it sank instantly. She went back and looked at Scootaloo’s mangled wing; hopefully a doctor would be able to do something for it. Reaching down to pick the filly up, Rainbow held her close and said, “You did good, kid. I’m proud of you. Good job.”

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Scootaloo said, reaching forward despite the pain and nuzzling the tan, bare skin of the human. It didn’t matter to her that this wasn’t the Rainbow she was usually used to, only that it was somepony – or rather, somehuman – who had been there when she needed them.

“YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE!” a voice screamed from above, and just as the pegasus Rainbow’s warning came from on-high, the three fillies and the teen could suddenly feel the rumble of the ground as if an earthquake had just started.

“What the hell? This isn’t LA!” Rainbow said, making sure to hold Scootaloo tight so she wouldn’t fall. Looking down at the other two, she asked, “Is this normal?”

Before that answer could come, the side of the canyon, as well as the pathway Rainbow had taken just minutes before, exploded into rocks and dirt as a massive quarray eel, bigger than any of those before, popped out of a newly-made burrow. With thicker scales, sharper teeth and what appeared to be a nastier disposition, it looked right at the teen and the three fillies before letting out a fetid, feral roar.

“RUN!” a voice shouted from above.

Rainbow didn’t need any further prodding. She immediately bent down, grabbed the other two fillies and started to run as fast as she could, down the canyon floor, away from the snarling, massive beast that had begun to snake its way towards them.

“It’s following!” Sweetie shrieked.

“I can’t see anything – don’t tell me so I don’t have to know!” Silver shouted back.

Scootaloo, jostled by the movement, merely whimpered in pain.

Rainbow, on the other hand, focused on two things: running towards the other end of the gorge, and holding on to the three lives in her arms. She wasn’t a runner; her body wasn’t built for the same things that her cousin Spitfire did. She could move in bursts with no problem, given her natural skill at soccer, but sustained, constant movement, whether a four-hundred-meter dash or a cross-country marathon, wasn’t something that she was gifted to do. That wasn’t her thing.

But now, with three lives as well as her own in the balance, she was going to make it her thing tonight. With the last dying rays of the sun flitting over the horizon and dark, sinuous shapes starting to crawl out from holes that dotted both the walls and some of the floor of the gorge, Rainbow didn’t have any other choice but to push harder than she’d ever done before.

The lives of three innocents, as well as her own, hung in the balance.

The life of Scootaloo hung in the balance.

And sister or not, Rainbow Dash simply did not let Scootaloo down. Wasn’t going to fucking happen – no way, no how.

Red began to course through her like blood – like fire. Red seemed to be all she could see, and as she took each step, she somehow felt lighter. She wasn’t sure why, but she was pushing and her body moved right along with it. It was like she was soaring, flying, even though she knew somehow that wasn’t the case.

Somehow step by step, the other side of the gorge, which should have been miles away, now seemed like mere yards, and growing closer every moment. Unfortunately, it was a near-solid vertical wall, with no place for her to run. Behind her, despite the panicked screams of the three fillies she held, she could hear the thundering movements of the quarray eels as they rushed to try to claim her and her precious cargo as their morsels.

That wasn’t going to happen.

With two more steps, somehow, Rainbow reached the wall. Still feeling as though she was burning with energy, she turned towards the monsters and screamed.

The world went ruby.

At Fluttershy’s cottage, the guard delivered the sobering news. “I guess we should pack then,” the pegasus said.

“I’ve been ordered to wait here for you, milady,” the guardspony said.

“But if the Bete Goson is an animal, has anypony reached out to it? It might just need a friend, or somepony to understand it.”

“Shy, I don’t think that’s the case.” Fluttershy approached, carrying her phone as if she was reading something off it. “According to this PDF that Twily just mailed me, it’s not really an animal. And if she’s right, this thing has…well, a very human mindset, I’d argue. And we’re not going to be able to talk it down.”

“Oh, my, that doesn’t sound good at all,” the pegasus stated. Looking at the guardspony, she added, “Let me talk to some of my friends quickly and let them know that they’ll have to take care of themselves for a couple of days and we’ll be right there.” The guard nodded, and took up a position where he could see the majority of Fluttershy’s property.

Meanwhile, the human Fluttershy went back into the guestroom and started to pack her clothing. She didn’t have much unpacked, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that in the past couple of days, she really enjoyed staying here – and now, like so many other things in her life, outside forces had ruined it.

It was getting to be too much of a common refrain for her life.

“Good, she’s awake!”

Rainbow opened her eyes, staring at a ceiling. This was definitely not where she’d been earlier.

A brown stallion with a long, curly carrot-colored mane looked over her, his glasses comically perched on his muzzle. “Yes,” he said in a nasal tone, “definitely awake. She should be fine now, just fine indeed.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Princess Twilight said as she approached.

“No thanks needed, Your Highness, just doing my job,” he said, waving at both as he departed.

Rainbow sat up, looking around. “A hospital?”

“Yeah. They brought you here after you passed out.” Rainbow looked in the direction of the voice, finding Twilight – the one she knew – standing there. “You went in and saved a bunch of fillies from being attacked – or worse – by quarray eels. But that’s not all you did.”

Rainbow’s head swam with pain, like a bad hangover. But one thing came above it all. “Scootaloo – is she…?”

“She’ll be fine, Rainbow.” Princess Twilight spoke again, a proud smile on her face. “Her wing is going to be in a cast for a month, since the injury was bad enough that we couldn’t use healing magic, but she’ll be fine, thanks to you. If you hadn’t shown up, the damage could have been terminal.”

“Terminal?”

“She might have never been able to use that wing ever again,” the princess explained. “But thankfully, you came in and saved the day. Same with Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle – they’ve got cuts and bruises, but they’ll be fine because of your actions. You’re a hero, Rainbow. I want you to know I’m proud of you for that.”

“Same here – we wanted to show the best that humanity could be, and you risked yourself to save some foals from being attacked,” Twilight said, reaching over to hug her friend. “Sunset will be proud of you when she hears about this. I wish I could tell your parents and your sister; I think they would be too.”

“What happened?”

“That’s what we want to know. Your counterpart saw everything from above, but we’re not sure of what she’s saying and Div wants to talk to you tomorrow about it, if you’re up to it.”

Rainbow started to get out of bed. “I can talk to him right now, if you want.”

“No, Nurse Redheart is insisting that you stay overnight here in the hospital,” Princess Twilight cautioned. “They say you’re fine, but they want to keep you under observation because you were slightly dehydrated when they brought you here.”

“Twi, we should let her rest,” Twilight suggested. “We can talk about things tomorrow, and besides, she’ll probably want to see Scootaloo and the others then.”

The alicorn nodded. “Besides, there’s one last visitor that wants to see her before Visiting Hours are up, and I think we owe that to her.” Turning back to Rainbow, Princess Twilight said, “You’ll be out tomorrow, but until then, you just get some rest, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow said as the two departed. Rainbow yawned and looked over at the nearby nightstand for her phone. If she was going to be here overnight, she might as well get caught up on the rest of Aldanoah Zero, so she could get started on her next anime.

“Um…can we talk?” The teen looked up to see her counterpart standing there, wearing a blue jacket that she assumed was part of the pegasus’ Wonderbolts uniform.

Rainbow put down her phone. “Sure, I guess.”

Rainbow looked at Rainbow, and then the pegasus sighed. “Look, I want to thank you for saving Scoots. I know she’s not your sister…heck, she’s not really mine, either, but I love her like one and I was worried half to death that something was going to happen to her as well as the other kidlets. And I, uh….” She paused for words. “I didn’t have any way to save them. With all my ability, even with my combat magic, if I’d cut loose, I could have seriously hurt them. And here you come in with that lightning bolts of yours – hell, I thought humans didn’t have magic!”

The Latina blinked. “Lightning magic?”

“Yeah! You were moving like you were Filli-second!”

“Who?”

“You know – Filli-second! From The Power Ponies?”

“Not a clue,” the teenager replied.

“Not a clue?” The pegasus was fit to be tied. “You did that! You were moving like a red blur of lightning, dodging all kinds of quarray eel attacks like it was nothing, then you turned and unleashed some kind of red lightning attack against them! You burnt their tails to the point that when we go back there tomorrow the eels might actually leave the Ghastly Gorge for the first time in…well, I dunno, but a long time! How’d you do that?”

“Look, I don’t even know what you’re talking about, okay?” the teen said to the mare. “You make me sound like I’m some sort of cross between the Flash and Alisia Dragoon!”

“Who?”

“One’s a DC character, and the other’s from a retro video game I have on my phone. And before you ask, retro is supposed to mean ‘old but cool’, I guess.”

Rainbow wordlessly shrugged her wings, as if having no idea what her younger counterpart was saying; given that said counterpart had no idea who the Power Ponies were, the world she came from was already tragically bereft of good comic books, it seemed. She then scratched her mane, trying to figure out what to say next, then it came to her.

“Look, I don’t know any other way to say this, so I’m just going to spell it out: thanks. I thought I was going to lose Scoot, and you saved her. Maybe you were doing it just to make humans look good, or maybe because it’s the right thing to do, I dunno. But I owe you, mare, and if there’s anything I can do to make up for it, you don’t even have to ask – just tell me.”

“I did it because I love my sister,” the teenage Rainbow said to her older counterpart. “I couldn’t picture anything happening to my Scoots. I can’t imagine you would do anything different.”

The two Rainbows looked at one another, as if something wordlessly was said, and an understanding was reached. Finally, the mare shook her head and chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess that’s just proof that any Rainbow Dash is just the coolest there is, whether it’s you or me.”

The teen laughed. “Preachin’ to the choir, sister. Preachin’ to the choir.”

After having spent some time talking to friends in Cloudsdale – I should really move there; it’s the only place where I have real friends! – Gracenote headed back to her home. Said home was a former flour mill that had been converted into her personal studio. Ultimately, she wanted to turn it into a nightclub where she could kick out the banging beats and have the crowd revel in her greatness, but that two-bit nag Vinyl had built her Wubsarena first and unfortunately, this town wasn’t big enough to support two venues of that nature just yet. So she was forced to slum there until the world just acknowledged she was the best there was, until she could earn enough money to make sure that Gracenote’s Grand Venue was going to be the destination when it came to Ponyville’s nightlife!

Unfortunately, that seemed like it was going to be a longer haul than she’d preferred. So as she came into a landing by her home, she looked at the grove of trees that was just by the mill, she was going to have to tear those down in order to eventually plan the outdoor performance area. If her plan was to make the Grand Venue better than the Wubsarena, it couldn’t go with just the safe same old same old. No, it had to be better in every possible way there was, and Gracenote was going to be sure that would be the case.

As she opened the door to her home, she heard a growl and saw a tall figure in the trees; with it being a cloudy night, much of the light from Luna’s moon was obscured and so she couldn’t see things clearly. However, Gracenote wasn’t stupid: there were only a hoofful of creatures that size and only one that she challenged.

“So,” she boasted, “come to give up? I’m not going to give you the pleasure! You ruined my plans and so I’m going to make sure I completely get back what’s mine, you get that? I don’t care if you’re the personal friend of the princesses and the Bearers; to me you’re just an obstacle and one that I’m going to fly over and buzz right on by!”

The figure in the trees made a low growl.

“What, too awed to say anything? Not surprised. But I don’t care.” The pony mustered up the nastiest, most threatening look she could. “Now get off my property and go crawl back to human land!”

The response came a second later.

Gracenote’s scream came a second after that.

Day Four, Morning: If You Act, As You Think

“This…is going to take some getting used to.” A young woman in her mid-twenties looked at herself in the mirror. She had short black hair, verdigris-colored eyes and a stacked body. She reached up and squished her breasts together. “And they move up here—OW!”

“Trust me, you don’t want to do that,” Sunset told Softwing. “Human breasts are a lot more sensitive than griffin or pony teats. Also, I don’t know about griffin culture, but that’s sexual in pony culture and very sexual in human ones.”

“So noted.” Softwing moved her hands back down, then continued to look at herself in the mirror. At the moment, she was wearing a white midriff t-shirt, black cargo jeans and a silver choker with an onyx gem in its center. She stood about the same height as Sunset, and had at least taken to standing far better than had been expected; she had yet to drop on all fours as both Sunset and Princess Twilight had when they’d first assumed human form.

Sunset them noticed the choker. “I don’t recall seeing that before, but it looks good on you,” Sunset commented.

“I don’t know if I should wear it,” Softwing admitted. “It’s my old collar, defining me as a member of the nobility of Winglade. Essentially, it states that I am the property of my father, at least until I’m married – and I don’t feel I am anypony’s property.”

“Well, for one, it’s anyone, not anypony – English uses different pronouns. And while I don’t know all the particulars, if I remember correctly, chokers – they’re not called collars – are a sign of independence. A lot of strong-willed women wear them.”

“Really?” When Sunset nodded, Softwing looked at it again. “And you don’t have a problem with me wearing it?”

“It’s jewelry. Personally, I don’t wear any unless it’s a formal situation, but you’re allowed to wear whatever you want as the situation requires. Though I’ll have to let Rarity figure out your full wardrobe, as she’s better at it than I am. You’ll get to meet her this weekend once they get back to town.”

Softwing looked at the unusual technological marvel that was on her lower tarsus…“wrist”, to use the human word. “And this thing will keep me human while we’re here?”

Sunset nodded. “Until I can teach you the spell that’ll allow you to do it on your own. Right now, I just want you to be comfortable with being human until we head to Earth. It takes some getting used to and I’m sure you don’t want to go through all the issues I did.” Sunset gave her seneschal an awkward smile. “The time of the month alone is interesting and hopefully you’ll get off light.”

“Time of the month?”

“Humans have a menstrual cycle, not an estrous one.”

Softwing blinked. “But only mole rats have them here!”

“And only humans and a few other animals have them there.”

“That’s…weird.”

“Welcome to humanity, Softwing.”

There was a knock at the door, and before Sunset could tell the person to come in, Sonata entered, followed behind by Jewel. The former was wearing her duty uniform, while for some reason unexplained to Sunset, the unicorn wore a high-cut dress more appropriate to dinner dates than work. However, since she did her work, Sunset just wrote that off as the unicorn being the naturally flirty type – though she wondered who it was here in the palace that Jewel was trying to snare.

Some guardspony’s probably in for a pleasant surprise, she thought with some amusement.

Stopping and coming to attention, Sonata started with, “Your Highness, we have—”

Sunset sighed. “Do you have to do that right now, Soni?”

“I’m in uniform. You know the rules.”

Sunset snapped her fingers and a second later Sonata was in a t-shirt and jeans. “You were saying?”

Sonata grinned. “Yeah, figures you’d find a way around that,” she said with a laugh. “Anyway, we finished up the research and Softwing here is completely in the clear.”

“Oh? So my human counterpart doesn’t have a tie to Canterlot?” Softwing asked.

“No. In fact, she’s never even been to the United States.” Sonata handed over a couple of folders, which both of them took. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back. We start working with the new trainee candidates this afternoon and we have to make sure that we’re ready for the initial examination.”

“Sure,” Sunset said, absently snapping her fingers while opening the folder. Cyan light flickered around Sonata as her uniform returned. “You be careful, okay?”

Sonata went over and hugged Sunset. “Of course. I’ll let you know how things went during lunch, okay? We still on for tonight?”

“Yeah. Take care.” Sonata threw a flippant salute, then departed. Sunset then went back to her reading, and hadn’t gotten far when she heard a soft sobbing from Softwing. She looked up and sure enough, she was crying…but they were accompanied, strangely enough, by a warm smile.

“My counterpart was lucky,” she said, wiping her eyes. “She was born to a crime boss in some place called Australia, but then was adopted by a local couple named Goldleaf and Silvervein.” She smiled softly. “What I wished for…what I wanted so much…she got.” She held the folder close to her, like a sacred talisman. “The parents that I would have done anything to have, and she had them.”

Sunset didn’t like that word. “Had?”

Green-grey eyes filled with sorrow. “I don’t understand all these particulars, but apparently there was an accident and…she passed away at the age of twenty-five on August 16, 1976. That’s a date, I presume.”

“That was over forty years ago,” Sunset commented. “Even if she lived, you still wouldn’t look like her.” Sunset then looked at the griffoness, mourning the loss of her counterpart, who had passed away long before either of them had even been born in this world. “Are you okay, Softwing?”

“I’d…I’d like to be alone right now, if you don’t mind,” she said. “I can catch up with you at the meeting at 10:30.”

“Take your time,” Sunset assured her. “I know what you read probably wasn’t easy to sit through.”

“At least I know she lived a peaceful life,” Softwing murmured. “I suppose that’s the best of what we can ask for.”

Sunset looked at Jewel and gestured towards the door as she said, “We should probably give her the time she needs. Shall we?”

Now’s my chance! Jewel mentally chirped. Granted, she did kinda feel bad for Softwing, even if she didn’t understand exactly why the griffoness was getting broken up over a dead human with the same name, but given that it finally gave her the chance to be alone with her true love, it was perfect! Closing her eyes for a second, she went over her opening lines that she’d been working on the whole week. After she declared her true love for the princess, obviously Princess Sunset would reciprocate and they could work on starting their lives together.

“So, Princess,” she began.

“Sunny or Sunset, if you please,” the alicorn-as-human replied with a smile. “I’m not as formal as some of the other royals around here.”

“Right!” The thought of being on a first-name basis with her intended sent Jewel into a swoon that she had to force herself to calm down from. After all, even though she was with the love of her life, she still had to be professional within the halls of the palace. “So, I, uh, wanted to say something.”

“Sure,” Sunset commented. “What’s up?”

“Princess!”

Another voice cried out, and both ponies turned to look at Desk Blotter, who worked for Luna’s office. “Thank Celestia I found you!” she said. “You needed to leave an hour ago!”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “An hour ago?”

Blotter nodded. “Yes. You’re supposed to give a speech at the Military Retirees Association Conference in San Caballo in an hour. Didn’t you check your schedule?”

Thinking quickly, Jewel brought out her organizer. “Yes. Princess Luna was supposed to do that, but she gave it to us. I thought we went over that last night.”

“We might have, but if we did, I forgot. Anyway, I have to get going apparently; it’s a long flight to San Caballo and I don’t suppose a chariot is ready, is it, Ms. Blotter?” When the earth mare shook her head and said, “Time to go ballistic. Looks like you’re going to have to handle the meeting I’ve got in twenty minutes with the Bengali government. Don’t worry; it’s just a meet and greet and explain to them what happened. They’re very reasonable.” Before Jewel could respond, Sunset teleported away and a second later a sonic boom could be heard.

“I…guess?” Jewel responded to the thin air. On one hoof, she was depressed; she screwed up and now she would not only not to get spend time with her Sunny, she also made things difficult for her. On the other hoof, though…. If I’m going to be the wife of a princess, I guess I’m going to have to learn how to deal with these sorts of things. Better to do it now, she mused.

Seated mostly by herself in the breakfast parlor, Octavia looked absently at her tablet while picking at her French toast, eggs and bacon. Her aunt and uncle were off touring the capital, as was Spike. Her other cousin and their friends were off in Ponyville, which Octavia was supposed to visit yesterday but was asked to remain in town due to the incident. She hadn’t seen Sunset at all yesterday, and she had only seen Adagio briefly in passing. And now she sat here, alone, in a beautiful but empty parlor, a reality away from home.

It didn’t help that the austere staff currently in the room were not as friendly as Amabile had been, and given the situation, the teen wondered if they were part of the Princess’ Hooves, or actually just maidstaff. Truth was, she still felt guilty about what had happened to the friendly siren who was now restricted to the hospital. For that matter, she hadn’t seen her self-appointed bodyguard, Whiskey, since the incident. When Octavia had asked Adagio about it, she simply said, “my sisters and I have it taken care of,” but added that she didn’t want to talk about it until they were sure. She knew they weren’t blowing her off, but she wished she had more answers.

And that wasn’t the worst part.

No, the worst part was herself. Right now, she wanted to cry, to scream, to do a billion things and all of them nauseated her, because it was variations on violence towards those she loved. An all-too-familiar voice in the back of her head whispered to her to pour pure and hated violence against every one of the five other girls that were her sisters in all but name, and luxuriate in an orgiastic spree of blood.

She knew it was just that part of her, the part that had termed herself as “Melody”, that was doing this. She hated that part of herself because of all the things it cooed at her: rape Twilight. Murder the triplets. Knock out a guard and steal his sword, then head to Sunset’s chambers while she was asleep, and ram the blade as hard as possible through one of the bacon-haired bitch’s eyeballs, and finally to throw most of her remains off the balcony – most.

The part to keep? The spine, and what the voice told her to do with it?

Making her think about it again immediately curbed what was left of her appetite. She pushed the plate away before the bile kicked in.

“Is everything satisfactory, Lady Octavia?” She turned to look at her newest escort who had been assigned yesterday as a replacement for Amabile. Dolente Ascent seemed pleasant enough, but she reminded Octavia of a girl that attended Zacherle; that Dolente was way too reserved and acted far too old for her age. While Sunset had requested that someone around Octavia’s age be chosen as her escort, her cousin hadn’t thought about demeanor factoring into the equation. And as the cousin of one of the alicorns (even if only by adoption), Dolente essentially kept Octavia at arm’s length. The teen hated that; Amabile had been friendly to her and if she’d been around long enough would have made for a good friend. But now this new guard wanted to put her on a bigger pedestal than even Whiskey did, and that Octavia absolutely despised.

“I’m…not very hungry,” Octavia lied. Between her swirling thoughts and trying to push Melody away Octavia felt drained even though the day had just commenced; even right now the bacon, cooked to perfection, a simple foodstuff, had become a symbol of every bit of violence and mayhem that Melody craved and that Octavia would fight to her last breath to prevent.

She’d already lost once before and had hurt Sunset badly. She would die before she let that happen again.

“Well, my lady, if it pleases you, you have a visitor that wishes to see you,” Dolente stated. “Shall I send her in?” Octavia mutely nodded, not sure of what she could say at the moment. At that, the Hoof nodded to the two conventional guards standing at the door, opening it.

A girl slightly younger than Octavia walked in. Japanese in ethnicity, she had long black-and-gold hair that was tied back in twin ponytails behind the nape of her neck. Her bright green eyes conveyed a look of guilt and shame, and even though she was dressed in the same uniform as the triplets were wearing, it wasn’t adorned with rank or any other details.

The girl came to a stop before Octavia and bowed before her feet, practically groveling. “Please forgive me, my lady, but I cannot protect you any longer. I am not worthy to do so and I am filled with deep shame that I have not been able to tell you this until now.” She looked up and her eyes were close to tears. “I have failed you and I can only—”

That stopped as Octavia bent down and embraced the other girl, much to the latter’s surprise. “I haven’t seen you in two days! I was worried about you, Whiskey!”

“Me? Why? I am just a retainer! I am a worthless one at that – I have failed my princess and you as well, my lady! It is only by the generous grace of Capt. Dazzle that I am even being given a third chance.”

“I don’t think you’re being given a chance,” Octavia began.

“But I am, milady!”

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that—”

“I know this is my final one, and if I fail this last time, I will not even be worthy of an honorable jigai. I will have no choice but to rend my body to the night to pay for my shame.”

“Stop that,” Octavia told her. “Whiskey, I want you to stop that right now – you have value. I don’t even begin to claim I understand what your culture is like, but you’re going to be with us now, and we value life very much. You may think you failed me, but you did your utmost to try to save me from those assailants the other day. That doesn’t sound like failure to me.”

“But I wasn’t able to protect you from them!”

“They didn’t get to me, so that seems to me like you did; at the cost of you being injured, no less.” Octavia then got to her feet and pulled Whiskey along with her and said, “And if you feel so strongly about it, then get better at your skill. From your attire, I suspect the triplets are trying to recruit you into their little gunbunny club?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“MS. FOXTROT!” The two turned to see Aria standing there, a scowl on her face and in the same uniform. “You were supposed to report to Cmdr. Dusk and I ten minutes ago!”

To Octavia’s surprise, Whiskey jumped to attention and stood ramrod straight, almost comically so. “Sorry, ma’am! I’d gotten permission from Cmdr. Dusk to come pay my respects to Lady Octavia and—”

“No excuses,” Aria hissed in a tone that surprised Octavia. “Give me five laps around the palace complex, now.”

“Now?”

“That’s six. Want to make it seven?” Whiskey needed no further prodding and instead took off as quickly as she could, pausing only to bow respectfully to Octavia before rushing away.

The teenage officer then turned to her cousin. “Wow, first Sunny and now you. What, is everyone of my cousins getting the gay?” Aria accused with a laugh.

Octavia scowled and crossed her arms. “That’s not funny, Ari. You could have been nicer to her, you know.”

“Sorry,” Aria countered, “but that’s not going to happen, Tavi. You have to understand: She comes from a society and culture that isn’t used to that sort of thing. You’ve been trying to treat her as though she has value as an individual, but it’s also clear that she doesn’t get it, because…well, she’s not used to that concept. It’s as foreign and alien to her as we are; and if you had to put it in human terms, it probably means she’s been brainwashed since she was a kid.”

“Brainwashed?”

“I don’t mean that literally. I guess a better term to use is that she’s been raised with certain values different than you or I. Remember, back in the time that never was, we were very much the same way. It took time for me and my sisters to get used to the fact that we were teenage girls rather than teenage soldiers. So I can see how she was likely instilled with the same mindset.” Aria plopped down in the seat next to Octavia and gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know you mean well and that you’re worried about her well-being. But she’s not like Sunny – she’s a child soldier like we are and that means that in order to make her more like us – to where she can think in our terms – we have to run her through the bootcamp mindset.”

The raven-haired girl frowned. “Which is?”

“You have to break someone down before you can build them up. You need to change the way they view things – to show them that the old way doesn’t work for where you’re going now, and that only the new methodologies will.”

“You make it sound as though you think she’s not capable of doing that on her own.”

“Tavi…we weren’t capable of doing that on our own. When you’re a child, you soak up things like a sponge, and if that’s all you’re taught, that’s the only thing you know. We were lucky: in the time that wasn’t, our sœurs cared more about just whether we could shoot a target or could be efficient killers, and that’s probably the only reason we’re as well adjusted as we are. I knew some girls back then whose sœurs only cared about that and that alone. Do you remember Piano Bliss?”

When Octavia nodded, Aria added, “The way she is now, is because someone in her new life raised her to be that way and as a result, she’s a normal girl. But in her old life, she was the petite sœur of Cantata Blast, and was really no different from her.” Aria paused to look her cousin and sister figure right in the eyes before she added, “It could have very well been that at the end, we could have been staring down the barrel of Piano’s gun.”

Octavia thought about the girl who she’d happily chatted with about music and shopping, then tried to square that with a killer that would have murdered her without so much as a second thought. She shivered at that.

Seeing that, the middle triplet nodded. “You get it. Sadly, that’s the kind of person, for better or worse, that Whiskey is right now. Obviously, we want her better than that – we want her to know that she’s more than a tool, more than a disposable body. She’s now a SIREN – and SIRENs don’t give up on one another.” Aria got to her feet and patted her cousin on the shoulder. “You have to trust that we’re going to take care of her, Tavi. And we will – I promise that, and you know Soni and Dagi would do the same.”

Octavia nodded. “You know I trust you three.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for the day.” She punched her hand into her other fist and gave a grin. “I get to beat the fuck out of ponies today.”

“What?”

“Trust me, it’s for a good cause,” Aria assured her. “Besides, after what happened to us last time? It’s gonna be cathartic.”

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, another pair were talking and the conversation was just as awkward.

“Your Highness, I must insist,” Kibbitz said, straining to keep up with the pace of the other pony, already several steps ahead.

“Look, I just want to grab breakfast somewhere that I can do so in peace, okay?” Blueblood told him. “I already have a long day ahead of me of looking like a rich, spoiled plothole just because one of my aunts insist that I go poke my head out in public instead of doing my job.”

“But sire, it is important that—”

Blueblood stopped and turned to look at the older stallion. “It is important that I get something to eat or I’ll probably look less like a fool and more like an angry fool, Kibbitz.” The young prince shook his head and sighed. “Look, I’ll flirt with whatever mare Auntie Celly wants me to, piss off whichever one Auntie Lulu wants me to and then probably do something that will mortify just about every noblepony in Canterlot yet at the same time somehow manage to endear myself to every gold-digging mare that seems to want to put a marriage ring on my horn. But if I do that while I’m hangry, then it looks less like ‘Blueblood is a useless dolt’ and more like ‘Blueblood is a psychopath that we need to lock up’. Trust me, the former is much more useful than the latter.”

Kibbitz sighed. “Your sense of humor is as droll as always, my prince.”

“It matters not how my humor is,” he grumbled. “It’s not as though I’m going to be lucky enough to find somepony of my own who would appreciate it, in any case.”

“My prince, you do not give yourself enough credit,” the older stallion said, his mustache bristling from him turning up a lip in concern. “Your duties to the realm and the Crown are of the utmost importance and while I understand your concerns about what it is doing to your image, I am quite sure that there is somepony out there that is perfect for you.” He shook his head. “For example, there is the Lady Octavia, is there not?”

“You know how close we are,” the younger stallion reminded the older. “May as well have asked me to start dating Cadance when she was single.”

“True; I forget that point. Perhaps you may wish to inquire amongst the single members of the Hooves?”

Blueblood’s eyes narrowed. “I want somepony who will be attracted to me for who I am, not because my aunt would like to put one of her faithful bodyguards out to pasture.” He stopped and then sighed. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

“It’s quite alright; as I said, I understand how you feel. Remember that I have never married myself, and were it not for me raising my niece, I would have no heirs, either. The duty of the Crown is sometimes a hard taskmistress.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

The pair paused as they reached the central breakfast parlor. “Well, I can hardly fault you for that, sire. Enjoy your breakfast.”

In a ramshackle hotel in South Canterlot, Gunther Granitewings looked at his forces. They’d spent yesterday making the appropriate inquiries, schedule surveillance and bribed or threatened the right ponies. And now he looked at a paper which held the culmination of yesterday’s investigations and preparations. “Are you sure this is going to be her schedule for today?”

A griffin ugly as sin even by their standards shook his head, his balding, vulturesque head and milky, scarred eye fixed on his boss. “Yeah. Cost me a pretty bit it did. This had damn well better work, Granitewings.”

“Oh, it’ll work, Gonsalvo, if you did your work right.” He looked again at the picture of the freaky not-minotaur thing with the long hair. Why the hell that Inariese princeling wanted this human female – humaness? – for his personal little harem was beyond Gunther’s understanding, but that wasn’t his problem; to be honest, he really didn’t care. Let the prince stick his wick in whatever strange holes he wanted; so long as Gunther got paid, he didn’t give a damn whatever freakish desires the kitsune had.

“Let’s go over this again,” the griffin stated, pointing to a map. “You’re saying that she’s probably going to go to that music shop she was at yesterday, then the office building, then the hospital, before returning to the palace.”

“Yeah.” A griffoness with ridiculously bright plumage looked at him. Unlike most griffins, who looked like crosses between raptors and predatory felines, Giada Grindstone looked as though her ancestral feline had mated with a parrot. Of course, anygriffin who dared to say that to her face learned to soon regret those words, as she immediately then hospitalized any who dared to insult her – assuming she didn’t just kill them outright. “We have a short window of about three to four hours before she returns to the palace. Once there, she’ll be with the other humans and any chance we have to capture her will be lost.”

“Okay, have we informed our contact of our plans?” Gunther asked.

“Yup. Their ship is planning their scheduled departure sometime today, and will take off the moment we have her aboard,” a large, brawny griffin by the name of Gibril stated. “We will be paid the moment we end up on their ship and will ride with them with diplomatic protection until they’re over our homelands. Then we can disembark, rich as highreeves!”

“Don’t count your eggs before they’re hatched, Gibril,” Giada warned him. “I’ve heard things about these humans – that they can fight stronger than even the alicorns and nothing can stop them.”

Gonsalvo cackled, a dry, heaving sound. “Don’t be stupid – the Megan is just some made-up story, and does the humaness in the picture look like she’s any sort of threat?”

“She may not be a soldier,” Giada countered, “but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any around. Remember what happened to Gilvayne and his crew. Rumor around the palace is that a group of humans were responsible for that.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it. Gilvayne and his crew were stupid little cubs that deserved to get taken down because they couldn’t capture one single griffoness – a griffoness who doesn’t even have your skill,” the older griffin pointed out. “You would have wiped the nest with them in an instant.” When Giada puffed out her plumage in a sort of appreciation, Gonsalvo said, “So yeah, I’m not surprised that ponies are saying that. They’re weak little dweebs and they need something stronger than them to protect them. It’s why they hide under their princesses’ tails, after all.”

The meeting with the retiree association had been interesting, Sunset had to admit to herself, and she’d had time to stop and have a quick breakfast in Clovervale; though the diner owner had tried not to charge her given that she was a princess, Sunset had insisted and as a result of that, she’d earned herself a return invitation and had done a good deed. Besides, given the fact that Clovervale looked like one of Equestria’s more impoverished towns, the extra money she spent, as well as the Royal Warrant she issued the diner, was well worth it.

And now here she was, able to take care of something personal for a change. With a note from Softwing that she was able to take care of the meeting by herself, that gave Sunset time to take care of some other stuff. And right now, she was doing that. Currently she was at the Royal Canterlot Museum, dropping off a valued item.

“This is simply amazing, Your Highness!” Aged Artifact, the curator of the museum, stated. “A Wonderstone! I’d only read about them in historical records, but I didn’t think they were real! They were believed to be destroyed thousands of years ago by a young mage by the name of Jade Lily. She was said to be the first apprentice of Starswirl the Bearded, you know.”

“Oh?” Sunset asked.

In response, Artifact gestured to a painting on a wall. “This is the only known image of Magus Lily, created millennia ago by Linseed Oil, one of the most famous painters of that era.”

Sunset feigned disinterest, not quite looking at it just yet. “Do we have a record of what happened to Magus Lily?” she asked, making a mental note on whether or not she would tell her friend – the actual Jade Lily – about this. It had been she that had donated the stone, insisting that one had to go to the museum, and Sunset was all too willing to oblige.

“That’s not my area of expertise,” Artifact said, adjusting his glasses, “but if I recall correctly, she was said to have abandoned her husband and her duties shortly after their marriage and was never seen again. From what we know, her husband, Blazing Lance, eventually married Latch Hook, the daughter of Lady Frostburn, and they had several foals. In fact, Lord Kibbitz is a direct descendant of Lady Latch and Lord Lance, though I’m sure he could tell you more about his family line.”

The young alicorn did not expect to hear that response. “Nothing was said about how she left Starswirl’s employ?”

“No, I’m afraid not. From what I understand, he was shocked that she would do something so out of character for her. Then again, given that at that point in time, there existed rumors of a mare out to destroy both him and Her Majesty, Queen Faust, perhaps this Jade Lily character was the culprit. I suspect that your mother might know more, though she was just a filly at the time, if I recall correctly.” The stallion cleared his throat, then looked at the inert Wonderstone again. “I’m curious as to why you would be interested in such a dark period in pre-classical history, Your Highness.”

“Just a personal interest,” Sunset said, fighting to keep the absolute shock from her face. “We are talking about my grandmother, after all.”

“Yes, of course, I quite understand.” He then held up the Wonderstone once more, as if trying to discern its secrets by looking at its surface. “And you said you came upon this on Earth, Princess?”

Sunset nodded. “There’s an archeological dig on Earth where this was uncovered. Perhaps it was thrown there in a transdimensional rift, as they theoretically pop up from time to time,” she said blandly. “The archeologists had no real interest in the stone and they told the person who gave it to me that there were more interesting things, so it was passed into my care. One of the humans in my retinue was present at the time and I’m sure if you’d like, she can give you more information.”

“That would be appreciated, Princess. For now, though, I must get this to the vaults, as a treasure like this should be catalogued. Of course, we plan to put it on display in time, but we still have to make sure that we take the necessary precautions and the like.”

“Of course.”

“If you wish, I will give your office advance notice of the day we intend to put it out on display, so that you can be here for that, but until then, off to the vaults it goes. If you’ll excuse me.” Nothing more to say, he walked off with a giddy stride in his step as the older unicorn stallion carried the Wonderstone like a foal would a treasured toy.

That done, Sunset finally turned to look at the painting. The picture was of both Jade and her husband, but the image of the mare in the picture was one of a severe, calculating and potentially sinister creature, not the friendly humanized unicorn she’d met just a week ago. Even though she didn’t really know Jade all that well, Applejack did and considered her family – and Sunset knew her friend’s word was as solid as gold.

Somepony had taken the time to not only cover up whatever they’d done with the Wonderstones, but had also pinned the blame on Jade to the point that even Starswirl publicly appeared to believe that she might have been guilty. While Sunset was sure that the ancient stallion had probably seen through the lies, chances were, he probably didn’t know what had happened to her and had thought it best to leave the story intact in order to spare Jade’s abandoned husband any further scandal, especially since Jade herself had admitted the marriage had been merely one of convenience.

Sunset wasn’t sure of what the answer was, but she was sure that her fellow pony – a girl that now fell under Sunset’s responsibility as the Alicorn of Earth – had been wronged. And that was something Sunset couldn’t abide.

I’ll prove you were innocent, Jade, she promised her friend silently. You deserve better than this.

“Going somewhere, Fujitsu?” Han’nya asked him.

The younger kitsune yawned. “I have grown bored of this place and will be departing for home later today,” he stated. Curiously, however, he was dressed in his court finery.

“As much as I have my reservations about it,” Han’nya warned him, “Father assigned you a duty here, one that you cannot shirk.”

“I believe I have have done my duty, brother,” Fujitsu told him. “Baroness Sunset has assured me that the alliance between Equestria and Inari will not change after her coronation. But for your sake, I took the time to plan one last meeting with her this afternoon as a courtesy. After all, I did send her a bouquet as of recent.”

“Yes, and I am frankly surprised we have not heard any complaints from the palace,” Han’nya retorted.

“In any case, after that, I plan to depart for Shibasaki at around two this afternoon.” A grin came to his muzzle as he tied his obi. “The ladies, I’m sure, miss me.”

“Oh, I’m sure they do,” Han’nya drawled, rolling his eyes.

“Dear brother, do I detect a sense of sarcasm there?”

“No, Fujitsu, I don’t believe you’re intelligent enough to,” Han’nya told him with a curt tone. “Just see that you send your farewells and best wishes to the Equestrian Crown before you depart. As it is, now I will have to figure out a way to explain why our delegation is departing so suddenly so that it does not bring shame upon the Court of Nine Tails.” Nothing more to say, the kitsune ambassador departed.

The moment Han’nya departed, Fujitsu looked to the darkened corner of the room. “Kashintsu, is it done?”

The two-tailed servant appeared in a rustle of leaves. “It is nearly so, my prince. All the pieces are in place and the moment the human vixen departs the palace, the sellswords we’ve hired will bring her onboard the ship. They will then remain onboard until we’ve flown over the griffin lands on the way back to Inari.”

“And the rest?”

“Of course – we have our own forces ready to…dispose…of them once we are well outside of Equestria’s grasp. As your lordship states, we cannot have witnesses to this action, and my prince deserves to be with his desired bride. I have also sent word to the Masters of the Inyo and they will meet us at Mount Griffonstone to cast a transference gate that will allow your ship to return to Shibasaki instantly. Once there, your bride will be yours by law; and unless Equestria wishes to go to war for a single individual, there will be none who will gainsay you. Even your father, wise emperor that he is, will support you in this.”

“I see. And the information that I requested?”

“Already being attended to. Within the hour we shall have all the information that Equestria has about humanity in our paws. We are sure they will not notice the thefts from their archives for quite some time.” Kashintsu gave a slight smirk. “The minds of ponies are simple and not as learned as we are; while our scholars would instantly notice any missing documents, the ponies foolishly lock such vital arcane knowledge behind closed doors until one or more of the princesses requires them.”

“Good. Lastly, have my estates prepare for my bride and to set a budget aside of 800,000 hansatsu for the Lady Octavia’s comfort. Doubtless as a non-native of this world, it will be difficult for her to adjust to our ways and I wish to make it easier for her.”

“A wise decision, my lord.”

“Of course it is: after all, is not the old saying true? ‘A happy household makes the clouds and rain arrive faster’,” Fujitsu quoted, imminently pleased with himself.

“I will see to it at once, my lord.” Kashintsu departed immediately.

With that, Fujitsu prepared himself for his final trip to Canterlot palace. He hoped to see his bride in her natural state one more time, as when he would next see her, she would be in the white and burgundy colors of her wedding kimono. Octavia would see reason and doubtlessly be honored that she had been selected to be his bride and a princess of the Empire of Inari, and once that occurred, she would willingly give him the clouds and rain and they would walk the paths together.

In Princess Celestia’s private chambers, both females by that name chatted on about various topics. Today, the regent had to attend to matters in the Solar Court, even if she would rather have left that to other hooves. The human educator, intrigued, offered to join her counterpart, and the solar alicorn was more than glad to have support.

“Your Majesty,” Kibbitz said to the princess as he gave her a rundown of what was expected to be addressed, “I should warn you that the first order of business will undoubtedly be the most…trying.”

“Is that so?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Duchess Highfalutin’ is your first petitioner and she’s in quite the mood today.” The wobble of his mustache indicated a clear displeasure. “I offered to mediate the issues she has so that it would not involve you, but she dismissed me as if I was of little to no importance.” He sighed. “Sometimes I think she forgets that as nobility, she and I are equals,” he grunted. “That, or she deliberately ignores such. In any case, even if she did recall, she would likely then use her title as a minor princess to pull rank.”

“My apologies, Kibbitz,” the princess said sympathetically. “I value your advice and service immensely and quite frankly, I am getting a little tired of her antics.”

“I take it this noblepony isn’t all she’s cracked up to be?” the human Celestia asked.

“Just another member of the former royal family of Unicornia that was absorbed into Equestria when we retook the throne,” Princess Celestia explained as she gestured with a wing for them to start walking towards the throne room. “Most of them serve with honor and distinction: my nephew, Divine Right, who you met the other day, is one of our most valued military captains, for example. But his sister, Highfalutin’, desires a return of the Unicornian monarchy, so much so that she mainly abstains from her regular title of that of a minor princess of Equestria, in favor of her one as duchess because it gives her more influence amongst her fellow nobles.” The look in her large lilac eyes was one of sorrow. “She was such a sweet filly and I don’t know why she’s become what she is now.”

“If she is the counterpart of the individual I’m thinking of, you have my complete sympathy,” Celestia replied. “The Highfalutin’ I know is the president of the local PTA. However, she’s interested in climbing political ranks, so she uses her position to its utmost, nevermind that it’s mostly powerless and voluntary. That being said, after the issue we had back in January—”

“The incident involving the mind control drugs?” Princess Celestia asked. “Sunset told me about it.”

“Yes, that’s the one. Knowing Sunset’s prior record, Highfalutin’ tried to have her expelled, blaming the actions of the Club on her. But by that point, I’d become fond of Sunset as well as proud of how she changed, not to mention the fact that Sunset was the one to actually expose the Club. So, I pulled Ms. Highfalutin’ into my office and let her have it with both barrels.” The educator gave a slight smirk of satisfaction. “I’d like to say that I made my point, given that she tried to call for my job not long after, though that fell on deaf ears. After that, I intimated her with some trustworthy parents, telling her that they may wish to run against her when it comes time to elect new PTA officers.”

Princess Celestia nodded with appreciation. “So it seems that you’re better suited to dealing with her than I am, sad as it is to admit.”

“Unfortunately, she’s not going to listen to me, I suspect. I’m just a human, not the ruler of this country.”

The alicorn approached the throne. “Oh, I think I may have a solution to that,” she said slyly. “Now let me see if I remember the spell that Twilight taught me….” Princess Celestia’s horn glowed with golden energy that quickly enveloped her, and a second later, an exact duplicate of the human woman stood there, clothes and all.

“This is going to take some getting used to,” the alicorn stated as she wobbled unsteadily on human feet and was quickly prevented from falling by her counterpart catching her.

“You look good,” the educator told her, “but that still doesn’t—” She didn’t finish her words as the solar (not-)alicorn snapped her fingers and with a flash of light, suddenly said educator was now an alicorn herself, nearly falling over on her own awkward appendages.

In turn, Princess Celestia used her magic to steady her counterpart on her now-four legs. “Okay, maybe my sister has a point that I have a large plot,” she mused.

Celestia blushed. “Look, we may be counterparts, but I’d rather it be my boyfriend that looks at my ass!” When the princess started laughing, the educator sighed. “I take it you have some sort of plan?”

“Well, look at it this way, Tia,” Princess Celestia said to her now ponified counterpart as she summoned her regalia. “How many people can actually say they get to be a goddess-princess for a day?”

“You’re going to what?” Sonata Dusk shouted. The siren stood there, looking aghast at the human before her.

As she removed her uniform blouse, revealing her t-shirt underneath, the human Adagio Dazzle grinned. “Has to happen, Nata. We need SIRENs that are going to be willing to face off against the odds, and so that means we need ponies that aren’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with humans.”

“But you’re—”

Aria, having already removed her blouse and was doing stretching exercises, chimed in: “Nata, the Hooves might be particularly suited to being Princess Celestia’s guards as well as her handmaidens, but for Princess Sunset, things have to be a little different. We’re not just guards – we’re an elite combat force as well.”

“Well, yes,” the mare pointed out, “but—”

“We’ll be fine, so don’t worry.” Sonata, doing leg stretches, assured her worried counterpart, before hooking a thumb at the gathering assembly on the other side of the parade field. “Them, I’m not so much sure about.”

“But—”

“This should be interesting.” Unlike the others, Whiskey had not removed her blouse, but was seated in a lotus position, meditating. Her eyes closed, she added, “I truly look forward to proving myself.”

“But—”

Stretching his arms behind his back, Sable said, “I wouldn’t worry about it. Just watch and enjoy.”

That was enough for Sonata to walk back to where her sisters were. “They’re actually going to go through with it!” she told her sisters, horror in her voice.

“That’s insane!” Aria answered, her ears flickering in concern. “I mean, they’re just humans!”

“We’ve made the mistake of underestimating our counterparts before,” Adagio reminded her sisters. “They’ve proven that they’re more than capable of dealing with things that even we Hooves can’t. So let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt, okay?” She looked at all the medical supplies she’d brought. “I just hope all of this stuff isn’t going to be necessary.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will be, Addy,” the human Adagio called back from where she stood. “Just not for us.”

“I’m afraid to look,” Sonata moaned, covering her eyes with her hooves. Aria merely patted her sister on her withers in sympathy.

With the three siren sisters standing a slight distance away, five humans – or technically four humans and one kitsune-as-human – looked at approximately a legion’s worth of ponies: one thousand of them, all female and all from the three branches of the Equestrian Armed Forces, as well as some additional ones from the Agency and the Mage’s Guild and even a few sirens assigned to the Hooves. None of them wore armor of any kind and additionally, they wore a bracelet that partially hobbled their magic (in the case of unicorns), combat magic (for pegasi and batponies) or strength (for earth ponies). Additionally, some of them were not actually ponies, but instead the few griffonesses, minotaurettes, zebras and mules that had joined the Equestrian military; they too wore hobbling bracelets that would make them on par, strength-wise, with the humans.

Behind the siren sisters stood a group of other onlookers gathered to see this display, mainly those who had chosen not to participate, including several Hooves that were off-duty. Additionally, a couple of unicorns from the REN were there to provide magical assistance, because as Sable had told them, there were going to be a lot of bodies that were going to require safety teleportation from the field. Lastly, a group of senior officers were present once more, and having been present at the SIRENs’ last performance, were now very filled with trepidation at the human capacity for violence.

Sure that all the players were on the metaphorical stage, Sable walked to the front of the group. “Hello to all of you,” he began, addressing all the participants present. “You are here because you have been selected as potential candidates to join an organization that’s unlike anything you have ever seen before: the Special Initiative, Royal Equestrian Navy, or as we call ourselves: the SIRENs. All of you have certain strengths and talents and have been highly recommended by the seniormost of your officers or supervisors. I’m not going to waste your time telling you what to expect, because hopefully those recommending supervisors have already done so.”

One of the ponies, a unicorn, raised a foreleg. “So, is it true? If we join this SIREN we’ll have to become human and move to the human world?”

“That’s assuming if we let you join: this is an elite unit and not every individual will qualify,” Sable told her. “As to becoming human?” Sable gestured to Whiskey. “She was born a kitsune from Inari, and she is already in the program. And yes, most SIRENs will be stationed on Earth for the most critical of our assignments: part of the protection detail for Princess Sunset Shimmer. Eventually, there will be SIRENs stationed here, but the bulk of the force will be with Princess Sunset’s detail.

“But it’s more than just that: The SIRENs are a new breed of warrior for Equestria, the tip of the spear. And as a result, our recruiting efforts will be exacting: Out of a thousand of you, only the top two hundred will make the first cut – and by the time this is done, only forty of you will be the first graduating class of SIRENs.

“Those of you who don’t think you can cut it are free to step out of formation. There’s no shame in admitting you can’t hack it.”

At those words, the murmurs began through the crowd: taking a group of two hundred and whittling them down to a core group of forty? Still, though they all had questions on their faces, none backed away from the crowd.

“Okay, fair enough,” a rough-and-tumble crystal pony mare commented as she stepped forward. “I’m sure I’m going to be the top candidate, anyway,” she boasted.

“And you are?”

“Crt. Blazing Painite, of the Romance Guard, 114th Cohort – I specialize in hard-hitting and I can take a blow—” Any further speech from her was suddenly cut off as Adagio rushed towards her, leapt into the air and came down on her head with an inverted axe kick. Painite only had time to blink as her eyes rolled to the back of her head briefly before she crashed to the ground, unconscious.

Straightening herself out, Adagio commented blandly, “Okay, looks like she can’t take a blow.”

Another mare, a pegasus, looked at them with shock. “What in Tartarus was that?”

“Easy, ladies. There’s five of us versus a thousand – or rather now, 999 – of you. Last two hundred standing get to advance to the first phase of SDT. Anypony who takes one of us down definitely gets in,” Adagio commented. She then raised her hand and beckoned them to come. “Any takers?”

The response was immediate. From the middle of the crowd, a griffoness launched into the air and divebombed right at them—

—only to be met with a steel-toed boot across the beak as Whiskey leapt into the air and landed a roundhouse kick. The dazed griffin collapsed to the ground, where Whiskey dashed forward and delivered a brutal punch to her barrel, knocking the wind out of her and taking her out of commission.

“Wow, looks like the Boot’s got some moves,” Aria said to Sonata with a grin.

“Yeah, apparently it’s a martial art from her homeland called Tetsu-no-o no Michi.”

“Which means?”

Sonata shrugged. “Not a clue. It’s clearly effective, though.” She looked at the crowd and noted they were starting to evaluate their odds. “Shall we?”

“Sure. Let’s get this done before Aunt Velvet and Uncle Night find out what we’re doing and chew our asses out for this,” she laughed.

As the two sides rushed towards each other and the battle began in earnest, Arrowswift, Halberd and Adviso watched from their places behind the three siren sisters, who had already begun to administer medical care to the downed individuals that were being teleported in by the two unicorns. “What kind of insanity is this?” Adviso voiced, watching the whole thing with absolute horror on her face.

Halberd grinned like a foal at the circus. “It’s absolutely brilliant, if you ask me!” the general said in an ebullient tone.

“Care to explain for those of us who don’t have a clue why five humans are taking on vast numbers that are sure to get themselves brutally injured?” Arrowswift interjected. “I mean, from what I was told, the three girls were seriously injured here last time and now they’re doing it again?”

“I’m going to have to agree with that,” Adviso added. “I have direct authority over this program and I’m letting Adm. Loam do as he wishes because I believe he knows what he’s doing. Now, if only I knew what he was doing, because I’m sure this is going to get to Tumblehome and she will not be happy about this one iota.”

“Oh, they have no chance of winning, and Adm. Loam knows that,” Halberd said with a twinkle in his eye. “But that’s not the point.” When the two mares looked at him with confusion he explained. “Every soldier knows that at some point in battle, you may face odds that you’re not likely to trot away from. How many casualties did we have in that last war?”

“Too many,” Arrowswift said sadly.

“Exactly. But do you recall what happened at the Battle of Box Stall Canyon?”

“I hadn’t heard much about that, other than it was a decisive victory,” Adviso commented.

“Not quite,” Halberd admitted. “It was a troop of forty-six of our finest ponies, zebras and griffins, up against nearly five thousand of Tirek’s nastiest golems. And they couldn’t run, because they were the only thing protecting the town of Box Stall from being overrun by those monsters. So the soldiers, under the command of Ens. Fauchard, chose to fight until reinforcements came.” Halberd sighed and added, “Reinforcements showed up…but not in time. When a relief force arrived, the holding force had pretty much fought to the death to save the town. None of them survived…and our reinforcements made sure to get revenge for those lost and to make sure the town stood.”

Both mares looked at the old soldier with shock. The official report had mostly explained that there had been significant casualties, but it had never truly been made clear that the initial defenders of the town had fallen.

“Adm. Loam, being the consummate military human that he is, must know that. So he’s pushing those currently under his command for that moment.” The stallion pointed towards the throng of mares, attacking the humans in full. “To them, this is just the first test for whatever SIREN will become. But for those who already call themselves SIRENs? This isn’t a test for them. This is an intentional exercise in futility. They weren’t meant to win this. They can’t.”

“Then why?” Adviso asked.

“Because at the end of the day,” the stallion said with awe as he watched the five humans strike their opponents with brutal precision, “the point is to win the battle and seize the objective for your side. And if you’re alive to do it, everypony celebrates. But in war, not everypony is going to come home. And I suspect those SIRENs out there – those humans – already know that.” From where he stood, he could see the fierce looks in the eyes of the human combatants. “Call it a hunch.”

Author's Note

Don't forget to update the TVTropes! We have a lot of stuff going on!

Day Four, Afternoon: The Missing Link

A discordant note split the air, followed by a voice shouting, “No, no, NO!”

One of the violinists leaned over and whispered, “Oh, great – Octzilla is at it again.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” came the response.

Sure enough, stomping onto the conductor’s stage was Octavia Melody. She practically snorted steam through her snout before her eyes fixed on her fellow ponies. “This is not some sort of game! We are here to practice for one of the most important moments in the history of ponydom and I expect you all to be perfect – better than, even!” She pointed at Beauty Brass. “Beauty, have you had your tuba retuned lately?” She then glared at another pony. “And Meadow Song! It sounds as though your lute is in dire need of restringing!”

They all looked at her as if she’d suddenly forgotten that they were all consummate professionals like she was, all experts in their particular instruments and would obviously know how to care for them. In fact, given that she didn’t know how to play several of the instruments in question, they knew how to use it better than she. A series of angry grumbles started to utter from the musicians.

“What? I’m the conductor and you’re the hired help!” she told them. “Don’t give me attitude right now!”

Seeing everything on the verge of disaster, Lyra Heartstrings immediately galloped up to the stage and covered her friend’s mouth with a hoof. “Okay, okay,” she said to the visibly agitated musicians, “everypony take a ten-minute break! You’re all doing wonderfully, and Canterlot wasn’t built in a day, right?” She gave a huge, toothy grin to the others before dragging Octavia off-stage, much to the relief of the others.

Once they got a distance away, the celeste unicorn looked at her friend. “Octy, what are you doing? I’m the one they supposedly don’t take seriously, and when they’re listening to me instead of you, you know we have a problem. Now, are you going to stop acting like the second coming of Tirek and relax?”

The earth mare took a breath, then exhaled. “Thanks, Lyra,” she said with a wan smile. “I just….”

“I know you want it to be perfect. This is the first time that you’re conducting and the first time that we’ve been commissioned for a major piece. Heck, it’s got ponies actually thinking I’m normal and well-adjusted!”

“Oh, the horror,” Octavia snarked.

“I know, right?” The unicorn wrapped a friendly foreleg around her friend’s crest. “Just relax and let them do their job. They’re consummate professionals, just like you and me. They know this is important, and more importantly, they know their instruments – in many cases, better than you do, Octy. Don’t blow it because you want it so perfect that it becomes mechanical. Music is about the soul, not about the equipment.”

Octavia sighed. “Yes, you’re right, Lyra. Sorry for overreacting.”

“Hey, at least you got the lecture from me and not from Vinyl or Midnight – they’d never let you live it down.”

“At least somepony would let her live it down,” a voice said as a unicorn stallion walked in.

“Oh look, your coltfriend’s here,” Lyra teased her friend, turning to give him an impish wave.

“Well, where else would I be, Miss Heartstrings?” he asked with amusement. He had a long blonde mane and sharp blue eyes, and was currently wearing a sweater, with his blonde mane currently in a docktail. He looked earthy and casual, and from his demeanor, people would hardly know who it was. Though more than a few of the other musicians saw the trio talking, his “disguise” was enough that they couldn’t picture it being the individual in question.

“Dunno, maybe off taste-testing a mare or two?”

Blueblood shook his head but gave her an ironic smirk. Due to her longtime friendship with Bon-Bon, Lyra was one of the few non-royal ponies in the know about his true status with Octavia. “Oh, I think I’d rather watch you be the terror of Canterlot Music Hall, instead. Keeps things lively, I suppose?”

“Naah, I leave that to your babe here,” she said with a laugh. “Speaking of which, when’s the wedding? I’m sure Vinyl can’t wait to horrify any visiting nobles again.”

“Lyra, that’s enough,” Octavia said, wriggling out of the unicorn’s grasp. She then looked at her brother figure. “Hello, Blu. What brings you here?”

“I just happened to be on the way to Baroness Sparklebell’s office, and I thought I’d swing by and see how things are doing.”

“Just that?”

“Well,” he admitted slightly, “there’s also something valuable about talking to normal ponies instead of just trading vapid comments with a mare whose stars in her eyes are likely due to the hole in the back of her head.” A pained look then came over his face. “I know I missed breakfast this morning, so I thought I’d come to make apologies. Although, I know you’ve been busy the past couple of days, so I suspect you likely missed it as well.”

“Don’t worry, I made sure she ate, Blu,” Lyra assured him. “She’d probably be even more intolerable than she’s been the past few otherwise.”

But Lyra’s snarkiness wasn’t on Octavia’s mind. “Sparklebell?” she asked. “Isn’t she the one that….”

Blueblood sighed. “One of the ones you kicked out of my bedroom the other day, yes. But you know nothing happened, Octy.”

“I know, but does she?”

“No, and that’s the point. Remember, I have those spell foci in my home that plant subconscious memories in any visitors who are not prepared for them, so that they can think that I wined and dined them and then—”

Lyra went up to him and tapped him in the barrel. “You sly Diamond Dog, you! When should we hear about this in the social pages of the papers?”

“Hopefully, you won’t,” he told her. “Because Lady Cedarwood, the daughter of Viscount Pinewood, was also there. And yes, memories were implanted in her, as well. And yes, the two of them think that we—” He shuddered; far from being depraved, he was actually sort of naïve when it came to that sort of thing, truth be told. “Sorry, you get the point,” he amended. “In any case, if I’m lucky, I’ll have played Cedarwood and Sparklebell off one another, and they’ll be so busy fighting over who is going to get me that they’ll actually leave me alone.”

Octavia gave him a sympathetic look, reaching over to embrace him. “And so you have mares fighting over you that you’re not interested in and you end up by yourself. It’s not fair to you, it isn’t.”

“You should know by now that it’s the duty of the Crown.”

“Yes, but you’re not a Celestine cleric, Blu. You deserve somepony.” She kissed him on the cheek. “And I hope you find that somepony. Or else I’m going to tie you to Lyra here.”

“Sorry, not that desperate,” both ponies said at the same time.

In Tirfenbucker’s, an event was occurring. Given that it was a musical instrument shop, there were often performers who plied their wares there and so impromptu concerts were common. And once in a while, somepony was good enough that others would stop and listen. But today, the store was filled to standing room capacity, and there were even ponies standing outside listening to the incredible performance going on.

“A little bitter,
A little sweet –
That’s how I like my life to be
I'll take it neat:
Bitter sweet
That’s how I see the world

“I like the rain,
I like the dark
I like the mornings in the park
The summer heat,
Bitter sweet
That’s how I see the world”

Ponies sat there, entranced as fingers danced across mithril strings. A radiant voice followed, clear as a bell, singing a song from a land they had never known. A cosmic beauty as special and wonderful as the music itself was in the store and was now giving a performance for the ages, one that they never would have believed possible.

“Oh, let’s go
Let’s go
To paradise, Jack
Paradise, Jack
Let’s go,
Let’s go
To paradise, Jack
Paradise, Jack

“I got the sorrow,
I got the smile
I got a box under the stars
Shoes on my feet –
Bitter sweet
That's how I see the world”

Some stood completely in awe. A few even cried tears as the music moved them. Not a single word was uttered as the music had them in its grasp, stronger than any siren’s call.

“I got the joke,
I got the twist,
I got a lazy afternoon
I’m a girl over the moon,
Girl of the world

Oh let’s go,
Let’s go
To paradise, Jack
Paradise, Jack
Let’s go,
Let’s go,
To paradise, Jack
Paradise, Jack

“Chain me to a tree,
Watch me –
I’ll set myself free
Escape from situations
Magicians would be proud of me
I’ll lie around and sigh on,
And write verses to the moon
I’m the crime and I’m the siren,
I’m a fighter in the ring of life”

Even those that had come with the performer were completely in awe of her skill. They had a few days of experience with humans, but it had been nothing like this so far, and even though they knew in their minds that humans weren’t the monsters that myth claimed them to be, there was a difference between being aware of those myths and knowing it in one’s heart. And after this performance went on, not a single pony could claim that the myths were anything even approaching true.

“I’ve got the medals,
I’ve got the scars,
I’ve got a pocket full of hope
I got the beat –
Bitter sweet
That’s how I see the world

“And the moon is in my head
The moon is in my head
The moon is in my head….”

When it was done and the last note vanished into the ether, not only did those patrons in the store raucously stomp their hooves in appreciation, so did those outside, causing a cacophony as they rained applause for the performance they had just witnessed.

Quick Note walked towards the performer and said, “Even if it wasn’t for the fact that the Crown is paying for this, I’d give it to you just for the crowds you brought in, as well as the beautiful song you just played!” He looked at the crowd. “Give her another round of applause, folks – human music like this is clearly a treasure!”

Blushing, Octavia set down the guitar and spoke into the microphone – it looked very similar to those back on Earth, and given the rest of the technology she’d seen here so far, she was surprised that it was so advanced, relatively speaking. “Thank you all,” she said, overcome by the moment. She’d played for crowds before, but somehow this was very different. She’d come in on the way to her appointment to check on the status of the musical instruments that Sunset had commissioned for her, and the first one, a Spanish-style guitar, was ready. She’d tuned it and played, and in the process had a crowd gathered, transfixed by her artistry. Somehow that had turned into a mini-concert, based on some songs she’d memorized, obviously ones ponies had never heard before.

“You know, if you ever decide to come back to Equestria, you could make a fortune as a musician,” Quick told her. “Between your uniqueness as a human – no offense meant, of course – and your incredible musical talent, I don’t doubt you’d have an amazing career here! Maybe not even just here, but other countries as well! You could be an international superstar!”

“I….” Octavia stopped, unsure of what else to say. It was something to think about, certainly; she and Fluttershy were putting a band together, after all. But how would she explain this to Lyra, who even though she was a friend was one hell of a conspiracy theorist at her age…let alone convinced that unicorns were real – and in a way, she was right? And then there was the fact that they didn’t even have a drummer yet, much less a name for their band.

Regardless, it was something to consider. They could hone their craft here while being utter celebrities and then unleash those skills on the human world afterwards. Plus, there were all the finances they could make; just alone here, from the sounds of it, they could earn more than a comfortable living.

Rock stars from another world, she mused, running a hand across the strings. I’d have stories to tell that would outdo any in my family! Alas, however, she certainly couldn’t tell them, nor would she want to – the last thing she would want to do is to keep up the meaningless family battle that had pretty much ensnared her mother’s side of the family, one that she was lucky she and Fiddlesticks had avoided so far.

Dolente approached; unsurprisingly, she seemed completely impassive as usual and if she’d noticed the performance, there was no clue of such on her face. “Lady Octavia, we must depart soon if you are to make your scheduled appointment,” the mare said, nodding to the official guards in Octavia’s escort to begin clearing the way for them to depart. “If we depart now, we should make it there with ten minutes left to spare.”

Octavia sighed. Another medical professional who is probably going to look at me and say nothing can be done because I’m human and they don’t understand my mind, despite the fact that we’re not much different from ponies in that regard. Great.

“Leaving so soon?” Quick asked, unaware of Octavia’s irritation.

“Unfortunately, the Lady Octavia has other appointments that are paramount,” the mare spoke, preventing the teen from giving an answer herself. “I am more than sure that you will be adequately reimbursed for any troubles. Additionally, we shall make sure that a courier from the palace will be by to pick up her order once it is complete.”

“Yes, of course,” the luthier replied, an annoyed look coming onto his face for being brushed off by a fellow pony.

Octavia stood up and returned the guitar to Quick; the item still needed some finishing, so she couldn’t take it just yet. “Thank you for having me here, Mr. Note,” she replied. “I very much appreciate it.”

He gave her a warm grin. “Hey, with the business you just brought me, you’re more than welcome any time in my store!” As Octavia and her escorts departed the store, the crowd happily gave them room to depart; she paused to give one or two autographs for those who requested them. As she stepped outside, he gave her a fond farewell wave, as did several others.

Once out of the store, Dolente looked at the lead guard. “Where’s the chariot parked? We have ten minutes to get her ladyship to her next appointment and the location is—” She produced a paper schedule which she quickly scanned, “—out in Eastern Canterlot, in the Woodside district.”

“We parked it behind the building, ma’am,” the guard stated, gesturing for them to follow.

“Good. Deploy a field so that we have the path clear.” The guard ordered his flyers to do so, and as the pegasi raced off into the air, he reported the same to Dolente. Satisfied that she would get her charge to her appointment in due time, she explained the same to Octavia, who wordlessly nodded. With that, the siren and guards walked behind the building into a slightly shadowy area, where the royal carriage that had brought Octavia to her appointment was.

It was the last thing the ponies present ever saw, as a hailstorm of arrows suddenly loosed from nowhere, finding targets in pony fur, faces and weak parts of their barding. In particular the unicorns were struck first, in order to prevent them from countering with any magic spells. Immediately, one of the heavily-struck earth stallions tackled Octavia, saving her from a crossbow quarrel that sank into the guardspony’s eye. He screamed in pain, the blood splattering on the confused and terrified teenager as the body lay upon her, dead.

Dolente, bleeding from two well-placed crossbow bolts embedded in her, forced herself through the pain and immediately moved in front of Octavia to protect her, withdrawing a pair of short swords from beneath her skirt. “Run back to the store!” she ordered.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” a voice said from above. A second later, a multi-colored griffin with a parrot-like head and a cheetah-like body slammed onto Dolente from on-high, thrusting a heavy trident into the siren’s back. A grisly snap could be heard and down went the siren instantly.

Trying to scramble out from beneath the cadaver that had been her guard a second ago, Octavia came face to face with a strange griffin that looked at her with predatory eyes. “Oooh, you have pretty eyes! I can see why you’re the kind of humaness that dweeb princeling wants!” The teen’s eyes widened in terror and her assailant cawed in laughter. “I see you remember him! Well, that’s not my problem!”

Gibril looked at the dead pony beneath Giada. While they had intended to kill all of them, Giada had applied her typical ruthlessness to her target. “Had to kill off the maid, I see.”

“That wasn’t a maid, you idiot,” Giada told Gibril. “Look at those short swords she had – they’re of minotaur make. What kind of maid carries that? No, she was clearly an undercover guard and likely the most dangerous one of the bunch, too.” She picked them up. “Heh, nice toys. Mine, now.”

“Well, somegriffin’s bound to have heard the ruckus, and the minute they find the bodies, they’re going to go hunting for us. Tie her up quickly and let’s get going!”

Octavia screamed in horror as she realized the danger she was in. However, a second later, she felt something stick her in the neck.

“What in the Black Eyrie did you just do?” a guttural voice just outside of her vision shouted. “We don’t know if that sleeping draught works on humans or not!”

Octavia felt herself rising off her feet against her own will. She tried to scream again, but she couldn’t. Her eyes tried to search for a way out of this, but she suddenly found that she couldn’t move, and her vision began to swim.

A second voice said, “Oh, please – this stuff is designed to knock out a manticore. Should work on humans and humanesses, I’m sure.”

The voice that was identified earlier as Gibril commented, “Whatever. Get her in the bag, then we need to get out of here while we still can. Once we’re clear, then we’ll change into the outfits that kitsune gave us so we can get to the ship without problems. We got thirty minutes to do this and time’s a wastin’, folks – time is money. Get moving!”

As she felt herself being shoved into a bag and the light close, she heard her doom from one of the creatures: “This had better be worth getting her to that damn prince. Personally, I wouldn’t touch one of these humanesses, but if he wants to mount one, that’s his business.”

Sunny, help! Octavia screamed in her mind, hoping that her cousin would hear her. Sunset had once said she could maintain a psychic bond with them, but was reluctant to because she didn’t want to intrude on their mental privacy. Right now, Octavia would lay bare her entire soul to her cousin if it meant being saved. Help me!

“Okay, she’s in the bag!” Giada’s voice, now muffled by the bag, shouted. “Time to get clear!”

“You’re not going anywhere!” a new voice sounded.

There were some screams and caws, followed by strange sounds and the clash of steel. Octavia, unable to see anything other than the black of the bag, felt herself jostled around and then crashed hard on the ground, painfully. The events outside the bag seemed to go on for seconds or minutes; she couldn’t really tell. However, she could instead feel a dulling numbness, as she realized the poison the creatures had injected her with was starting to take hold.

A second later, a blinding light seared her eyeballs as the bag was opened once more. A blurry face spoke to her. “Are…are you alright?”

“I…help….” Octavia slurred.

“You’re safe, miss,” the voice said in a warm tone. “I’ve got you. I’m going to summon help right now.”

Octavia wasn’t sure, but she thought she said something like thank you. And then she couldn’t say anything further as her vision swam to black. She sensed her mind fading towards unconsciousness…

…and then nothing more.

Sonata Dusk dabbed a viscous brownish-green ointment on the cut, her hoof carefully rubbing the cloth against human skin. “What were you thinking? I don’t get you humans at all!”

“That was fun!” the human Sonata Dusk replied, her nose wrinkling slightly from the pungent odor of the ointment.

“Fun? Fun? Soni, you had a tooth knocked out!”

“Well, the healer regenerated one for me, right?” As proof, the teen smiled, with a new tooth gleaming brighter than the rest of her pearly whites.

Her counterpart glared at her with disappointment that would have made Fluttershy proud. “That’s not the point! You went up against all of them!”

“Not all of them.” A slight distance away, being tended to by her counterpart, Aria gave a tired grin. One of her pigtails had been undone and she was bleeding from a gash on the side of her head that pony Aria was tending to. “I think I managed to make it to about seventy-five, maybe seventy-six before I got knocked out?”

“Eighty, actually, Commander; I was counting.” Being subjected to a healing spell by one of the REN medical unicorns present, Whiskey had her arm in a sling, clearly the result of it having been broken. “I just wish I could have done more to protect you all.”

“That’s not what you’re supposed to do.” Adagio approached – or rather, limped over to – them. Covered in bandages and gauze, she’d been the one to see the most medical attention first so that she could answer any questions from those who wished to ask. “Yeah, we weren’t going to win this, but that was never the point. Someday we might find ourselves in a no-win scenario so that Sunny or someone else we care about can walk away. Do I want to be in that situation? No. But do I want to make sure that if I’m going down, at least my loved ones are going to make it out okay? I’ll take that trade.”

“Me too,” Sonata agreed.

“Same here,” Aria added.

“I would do anything for my ladies and my princess,” Whiskey stated. “I am the body to throw against the pyre when it comes time.”

“That’s a negative,” Adagio told her. “You’re a SIREN. We all go down together or we all come back home. It’s how it works.”

Seated within the privacy of a nearby tent and ignoring the pain he felt, Sable took another drink of the tincture he’d been given for his busted rib; the unicorn assured him the alchemical potion would heal it within the hour. Good thing, too, he mused, because if Celestia found out about this, a broken bone would be the least of his issues.

“I’ll be sure to process the paperwork to have them transferred to the Navy,” Adviso told him. “This little stunt of yours may have impressed more than just the potential candidates, Sable. The ones that failed already said they want to come back and try again. And Halberd says that he intends to keep a close eye on your training—”

“SDT. Short for SIREN Development Training,” he explained.

“Yes, that. Well, even if the ones that fail your SDT stay in, we’ll have a far superior quality of sailor than we’ve ever had before, and for that, I am completely impressed. Good job.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he told her.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go report your success to Adm. Tumblehome before her spies do – I guarantee they won’t explain the reasoning behind all this and will make it out to be worse than it actually is.”

“I’m sure she will, regardless, ma’am.” Sable gave his superior a salute as she departed the tent.

The medic seeing to Sable’s injuries approached him and stated, “Admiral? The, um, ‘victors’ are here to see you, as per your request.”

Sable turned in his direction and winced slightly; he could practically feel the potion he’d just taken start to take effect – gentle, it was not. “Let them in, will you?”

“Right away, sir.” The medic went to the tent’s entrance, said something, then opened it. In walked six mares, all in the uniforms of their particular soon-to-be former branch.

He looked at them all. The tallest one was a guardsmare so huge she could easily pass as a stallion, even though she had an apparently shy disposition. The earth mare had a bronze-colored coat with a white-and-sky-blue mane and soft sea green eyes. She had the rank of a private and she looked very ill at ease in her EUP Solar Guard armor.

Standing next to her was a zebra mare wearing the robes of a mid-ranking Guild mage. The look in her eyes was scholarly and penetrating. Sable didn’t know much about zebras on this world, so he wondered what her specialty was.

Next to her and for some reason reminding him of that rainbow-haired athlete girl was a light-blue batpony. She had a short, unkempt mane of purple, and the look in her eyes was that she owned the place. Unlike the others, she wore a combat flightsuit, though Sable wasn’t familiar with the squadron.

The fourth seemed to be the senior of the group: an earth mare from the guard, a lieutenant with a white coat, a two-tone blonde mane and a professional but friendly demeanor that reminded him of several officers he’d worked with. He looked at her a little closer, then thought about the name and it came together: this was likely the counterpart of Petty Officer 2nd Class Sunny Side, who had been tragically killed during the assault on the SIREN stronghold. However, he made a mental note not to say anything at this time, as he had no idea what that Sunny Side’s fate had been in since the timeline reset.

The fifth was a pegasus with black armor, and from what Sable knew, that meant Agency – the nation’s spy services. She had a cream coat with a beige-and-black mane and sleepy orange eyes; if he didn’t know better, he thought that she would have been the resident stoner.

The final one was, as an old sergeant of his once said, “as Soviet as could be”. Stony exterior and wearing the outfit of an Army sergeant, she had a scarlet coat, a short-cut curly blonde mane with red highlights and pink eyes. But her demeanor reminded him of a Spetsnaz sergeant he’d met once during a war exercise. That guy was a stick in the mud if there ever was one, and she appeared to be no different.

“Okay, ladies, for starters, introduce yourselves.”

The tall one went first. “Um…Pvt. Embiggen. 13th Infantry Cohort, Solar Guard, sir,” she said in a barely audible voice.

The zebra was next. “Ekene is my name, dear sir. From the Guild office in Baltimare, to be sure.”

“Heya,” said the batpony next. “Ens. Moonblazer, attached to Nightswifter Squadron. I’m the best flyer there is, hooves down!”

“I guess I’m next,” the lieutenant stated. “Lt. Sunny Side, 27th General Duty Cohort, Romance Guard. An honor to be here, sir.”

Everyone turned to the pegasus from the Agency next, who stood there with a serene smile on her face for so long that Sable thought he would have to prompt her to introduce herself before she spoke up in a calm, soothing rasp: “Oh. Name’s Tomahawk, but you can just call me Tommi. Gonna be cool doing this SIREN stuff.”

The unicorn was last. Stepping forward, she said simply, “Sgt. Ushanka, 181st Ranger Cohort, Solar Guard,” then stepped back, as if that was all to say. Her accent had been as thick as if she’d been from Russia itself.

“Well, out of one thousand ponies, not only did you six not fall, you six managed to take out the five standing SIRENs,” Sable told them. “That means that you are exceptional amongst even the rest of your fellow candidates and I should expect to see that you will excel. We will need experienced personnel to protect Princess Sunset and even though you’re at the top of your game as ponies, as SIRENs you will be entering a whole new level.”

“Huh. That’s great…that sounds wonderful!” Tomahawk commented with an enlightened grin. She then started nodding to herself, as if agreeing with somepony only she could hear. “Hmm. Yeah, I think Fate is telling me this is where I’m supposed to be.”

“Are you always this much of a space cadet?” Moonblazer asked her.

“Naah, you should see my sister Tree Hugger. Confidentially, she can be a little out there sometimes,” Tomahawk admitted.

Sable ignored that. “Later today, you’ll be fitted for your spell bands that will keep you in human form until further notice. Your duties will be to remain in your human forms, getting used to them until SDT starts up next week. The recruit drill coordinator will be here personally to give all of you your instructions and I expect that you will give our incoming Force Master Chief the same level of respect that you do me, understood?”

“Eh, no biggie,” Moonblazer crowed. “Can’t be any harder than Combat Flight School.”

“We’ll see if you think that once Master Chief Clyde is through with you,” Sable told her.

“With a name like that, he sounds scary,” Embiggen said in a halting voice.

“He will be your drill instructor so yes, he is scary. And it will be his job to make sure that you all end up as scary as him.”

Ushanka stepped forward, and Sable thought he saw the barest hint of a smile on her muzzle. “I look forward to it, sir.” She then stepped back.

“Report to Naval Headquarters at 1800 for your bands,” he told them. “Any last questions?”

“One, sir,” Sunny stated. “Why us? Why not the whole two hundred potential candidates? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have them adjust to their new forms as well?”

Sable grinned. “And you just proved why you’re at the top already, Lieutenant. The fact is, if we have a situation where we need to move quickly, we won’t have time to train two hundred girls instantly how to cut it in the human world. While you’ll all receive the same training and ultimately have your assigned duties, I expect that you six will accept accelerated training while Capt. Dazzle and I figure out how we’re going to translate your present positions to our system. Regardless, we will need talented personnel at all ranks and that means that we will need those positions filled soonest. That’s where you six come in: the first tip of the spear.”

“That’s as clear as a bell,” Ekene replied. “Later SIRENs will rely on us as well.”

“That’s correct, Magus,” he told her. “In any case, report to Capt. Dazzle at 1800 at Naval HQ. Dismissed.”

The doors opened and Kibbitz stepped into the center of the room, making sure to take note of all those who came to court as they filed into their seats encircling the room. Once all were seated, the stallion sang out in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “Hear ye, hear ye, the Court of the Sun is now in session. Our Divine Princess of the Sun presides, and all who wish to petition before the Solar Throne may do so at her mercy.” His horn glowed with azure power as he summoned the first petitioner’s scroll, though he knew very well who that was.

With a formal click of his hooves, he spun with practiced precision to face his liegelady. “Your Majesty, may I present—”

“I can speak for myself, you old dolt.” A unicorn mare dressed in a resplendent white dress pushed past him. She had a cyan coat, sea-green eyes and a purple mane in a style similar to Princess Cadance. Though the dress covered her cutie mark – a diamond topped by a crown – she wore an alicorn-like torc with the mark replicated on its fascia. She walked forward as if it was clear that she owned the place and each stride she took forward caused murmurs within the crowds present.

⁅Clearly no different than the Highfalutin’ I know,⁆ “Princess” Celestia said to her counterpart, who had conveniently provided a telepathic connection between the two.

⁅If you can deal with her, I’d be appreciative, Tia,⁆ the true solar alicorn mused.

⁅I’ll see what I can do,⁆ Celestia replied as she put on her most sober of principal demeanors, the kind she saved for students on the verge of expulsion.

Meanwhile, Highfalutin’ came to a stop before the dais. “Hello, Your Majesty,” she said in a tone dripping with barely-disguised contempt. “I wasn’t aware that you had a new pet. Has Philomena decided to go back to her kind?”

⁅Pet?⁆ both Celestias thought at once. Out of the corner of her eye, the current alicorn could see the jawline of the human woman firm slightly and knew that action well; she’d done it a million times herself. It was clear that the true solar alicorn was already reaching her limit with the haughty unicorn, and the educator could hardly blame her counterpart.

Summoning her best tone of authority, Celestia said archly, “Duchess, this is my counterpart from another world, the Lady Celestia. In her world, she is me. And I would very much appreciate it if you gave her the courtesy that anyone – anypony – is due.”

“But she is no pony,” Highfalutin’ jabbed verbally.

“Perhaps I am not,” the human replied with a humorless grin, “but I would say I have the ear of my counterpart.”

It was clear that Highfalutin’ had not expected that answer. “I…see. Then my apologies, Your Highness.” Reluctantly, she turned to the human and added, “And to you as well, Lady Celestia.”

Princess Celestia, seated in her human body, trusted herself only to nod an acknowledgement, lest she decide to anger her sister by littering the moon with a resident.

Meanwhile, Celestia tilted her head slightly, a technique she used to intimidate unruly students. “So noted. Now, what is your request?”

“It is a simple one, Your Majesty,” the mare stated, somehow thinking that she’d missed something vital she didn’t quite get. “I do not feel that my duties to my duchy quite adequately match my talents at management and husbandry of the landholdings. I do not feel that I am properly utilizing my talents to the utmost of my abilities, and it would be a shame to my family’s good name if I didn’t do more.”

Celestia translated that one. ⁅Let me guess, Celly: she ran her duchy into the ground and now she’s trying to claw for more power?⁆

The princess mentally giggled. ⁅See? You’re a natural at this. The fact is, her duchy, Pindos, has been struggling the past few years and even had a riot six months ago during the worst of the Winter. There have been accusations that she’s been squandering the duchy’s wealth, but if that’s the case, she’s been very good about covering her tracks.⁆

⁅And I take it that openly calling her on it would cause too much of an issue?⁆

The human nodded slightly; to the ponies, it might seem as though it was just a human gesture, but Celestia knew her own mannerisms enough to get the point. ⁅That’s what she wants. Even if I were to prove her wrong, the fact that she “stood up to Celestia” makes her look good amongst the nobility that is anything but noble.⁆

⁅I see.⁆ The alicorn looked at the unicorn. “And how do you feel you could best prove your own skill for the benefit of the realm, Duchess?”

With a practiced grin, she said, “Why, taking on additional landholdings, of course, Your Majesty. We had a number of older nobles pass during the Winter and tragically, many of them died without heirs. Take for example Viscount Goldleaf and his wife.” She sighed theatrically and stated, “Those poor, poor souls did so much for their ponies and yet passed without anyone to step into their horseshoes! Were it not for the ancient compact that the land would return to Unicornian families, I would shudder to think what would happen to the serfdom…I mean, citizenry!”

⁅So that’s her game.⁆ Princess Celestia rubbed her chin with her hand. ⁅It seems she’s trying to overplay here.⁆ The true alicorn quickly explained the situation of Softwing’s plight and how in her greed, Highfalutin’ had just provided a critical piece of the puzzle.

⁅She really doesn’t think much of you, does she?⁆ Celestia asked.

⁅No, and that hurts the most. Despite everything, she is family, after all,⁆ the princess mentally sighed. ⁅Were it that she was as truly princely as her brother is.⁆

⁅Well then, let’s turn the tables on her. Let’s give her what she wants, Celly.⁆

The alicorn blinked. ⁅Tia, are you sure that’s a good idea?⁆

⁅It’s an old human aphorism: “Let the punishment fit the crime”. She says that there’s been a number of provinces that have gone without leadership? What’s the largest and most problematic one at the moment?⁆

The princess instantly realized what her counterpart was up to. ⁅Tia, you’re not seriously going to…?⁆

⁅Of course I plan to, Celly. I am, after all, just a feral human,⁆ Celestia said with a mental laugh.

⁅Okay, I trust you. Ask Kibbitz to pass you the survey of affected lands and then give it to me. I’m sure you can come up with a reason.⁆

⁅Already on it.⁆ The human-as-alicorn let her counterpart focus on that, so she went into action. Looking at the unicorn before her, she intoned, “I understand your quandary, Duchess. And I quite sympathize with your situation – it would be an understatement to say that the whole of the nation would benefit from proper leadership, were it to show itself.”

“Oh, yes, I quite agree, Your Majesty,” Highfalutin’ replied.

“Then let it not be said that the Crown is not sympathetic to its servants’ needs.” She looked at Kibbitz. “My dearest seneschal, would you be so kind as to pass me the Survey of Lands Affected?”

He looked at her oddly. “Most certainly, Your Majesty.”

The alicorn then turned to the human. “My dear Lady Celestia, would you be so kind as to look in the survey for a proper landholding for my most vaunted supplicant here?”

The human nodded. “It would be my honor, Your Majesty.” Kibbitz summoned a large book, then levitated it over to the woman, and Princess Celestia found herself in the odd position of not trying to use her magic to take it from him, instead just waiting for him to place it into her hands. However, once present, she got to work immediately.

Meanwhile, Highfalutin’ had put together what the alicorn had stated. “Wait – you’re giving me additional landholdings, Your Majesty?”

Celestia nodded. “Of course. My counterpart here was just telling me this morning about a phrase from her world: ‘May you live in interesting times.’ And I assure you, my dear Duchess, I will ensure you will be living in this most interesting of times.”

A self-satisfied smile suddenly came onto Highfalutin as she began to realize she’d pulled one over the eyes of her liegelady. In the galleries, various whispers of interest could be heard. The unicorn ignored them and instead bowed. “I shall endeavor not to forget this honor, Your Majesty.”

Celestia answered with, “I am quite sure you won’t forget.”

Meanwhile, the true princess had found what she was looking for. ⁅Ah, here we are: The Barony of Percheron,⁆ she mentally provided. ⁅It’s just across the sea from the griffin lands and has had to deal with an extensive amount of piracy from the warlords. Even if that wasn’t the case, it’s been a challenge, since the lands are mostly fallow and there are few natural resources. A few decades back, I had sent in a trusted guardspony who I’d invested as a baron, and Courageous Heart tried his best to fix the situation. I think he would have succeeded, had he not passed away two years ago without heirs. The problem is, no likely successor has presented her- or himself.⁆

The educator digested this. ⁅What’s the size in comparison to Pindos?⁆

⁅About three times larger. On paper, it looks like she’s making out like a bandit.⁆

Celestia smiled. ⁅Perfect.⁆ She looked at her counterpart and said, “Have you found anything of value yet?”

“I believe I have, Your Majesty.” Celestia went through the motions of looking at the section her counterpart was showing her, though the two were already metaphorically on the same page.

Finally, the “solar alicorn” turned to look at Highfalutin’. “I am willing to offer you a new land, far larger in size than your current ones.”

Highfalutin’ tried very hard not to let her jaw hit the floor; she hadn’t expected that. “That…would be very magnanimous of you, Your Majesty,” she said with genuine surprise.

“You deserve it for everything you’ve done, I’m sure. However, I do have a problem on my hands…er, hooves: if I were to give you these lands, it would be…problematic for me. Many nobles that have not earned such a situation might complain of unfair treatment, you understand. And given all that we have gone through as of late, I am sure you realize I must keep peace within the gentry.”

“Oh, I quite agree, Your Majesty,” the unicorn said, though the look in her eyes made it clear that she didn’t give a damn.

“I have given consideration to this, however, and this is my proposal to you: if you would be willing to renounce the claim to your present landholdings and take this new trust permanently instead, that would negate many of the issues and placate the other nobles. I would get peace of mind, and you would get a challenge worthy of your particular skills.” The alicorn leaned forward. “Is that not equitable?”

“It would most certainly be, Your Majesty!” Highfalutin’ chirped. She was now practically salivating at the prospect of getting her hooves on this new land.

“Then what should you suggest we do with your old landholdings?”

“My brother can have them. Even though he turned them down, they would naturally revert to him,” she said. “It’s not like he’d care anyway.”

“Lady Celestia,” the alicorn stated, “would you remind me later to discuss with Prince Divine that issue?”

“I shall endeavor to do so,” the human stated, already formulating what she would tell her nephew once this was over. Knowing him, he would insist on at least giving back some of Goldleaf and Silvervein’s old lands to Softwing.

“My thanks.” The alicorn turned back to her petitioner. “Then do you swear to renounce your claim to the Duchy and Province of Pindos forevermore, and to accept the new responsibilities that you will be given, without complaint and without delay?”

“Yes! I renounce it! Divine can take that crappy old homestead and shove it up his plot! Now give me what I deserve!” Highfalutin’ sang, and in the galleries, the voices became a loud static of various whispers as others discussed the blatant disregard Highfalutin’ had shown her regent, though some had also expressed amazement at her pure blatant actions and that they had somehow succeeded.

But not for long.

“So be it,” Celestia said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Let it be noted that on this date and time, Highfalutin’ of Canterlot abdicates her position as Duchess of Pindos and places her brother, Divine Right, in her stead. At the same time, she will immediately accept her position…” The faux-princess paused for effect, “…as the newly-created second Baroness of Percheron.”

Those present practically heard the shattering of glass in the mind of Highfalutin’ as she now suddenly realized she’d been given rule over the worst province in Equestria – and worse, as a barony, it was a demotion. “WHAT?” she shouted, all pretense of decorum suddenly now defenestrated.

Celestia ignored the unicorn and turned to Kibbitz. “My dear seneschal, please have the guards escort the good baroness to her home so that she may collect her belongings. As the province has been without a ruler for the longest time, I am sorely worried about its citizenry. Thus I feel it be of paramount importance that its newest baroness report to her new lands no later than sundown.”

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” Highfalutin’ roared.

“Ah, but my dear baroness,” the “Lady” Celestia explained from her seat next to the alicorn, “your sovereign has done nothing. She has merely presented a potential issue and you have made the choices yourself. A lesser mind would say that you fooled yourself into thinking you were getting more than you deserve, but it is a good thing that in truth, we know of your selfless devotion to duty. Would that my fellow humans could learn from your experience. I am humbled by your actions today,” she said with an intentionally vapid smile.

The newly-entitled baroness could do nothing more than growl and spit as she was dragged out by the guards. She shouted several more obscenities and curses, all of which were soon drowned out by the explosion of discussion from the galleries.

⁅I couldn’t have done it better, Tia,⁆ Princess Celestia broadcast smugly to her counterpart. ⁅Perhaps you might want to consider a full-time career as a princess?⁆

⁅Unfortunately, that job title’s not a common one back home, Celly,⁆ came the mirthful response. ⁅Besides, I think sooner or later you would have done something like this. The situation was just a little more tailored towards my talents than yours, is all.⁆

⁅Well, Court still needs completing, so…you’re in charge today. Of course, I’ll be here to help you every step of the way,⁆ the princess said with approval.

A genuinely sunny smile came over the face of the faux-alicorn. “Lord Kibbitz, the next petitioner, if you please? I have a feeling today will be a day to remember.”

“Oh, good, she’s coming to,” a male voice just out of Octavia’s view said as she began to open her eyes. “I want the medic to check her just in case there were any leftover effects from the sleeping dart she was hit with. Additionally, notify me once Ambassador Han’nya arrives. Even though we’ve sent word to him as to what’s going on, he’s still going to want to know why we’ve locked down one of their ships and intend to arrest a member of the Inariese Imperial Family.”

“Understood, sir,” a second voice, female, spoke. “Anything else?”

“Cancel all my appointments today. Also get a hold of my office at the palace and have any appointments I have there cancelled as well. I have a feeling this is going to require my entire attention.”

“I don’t doubt that, sir. Shall I inform Princess Luna’s office as well?”

The first voice gave a grunt of agreement. “Good idea; let Princess Celestia’s office know as well, given that this has the makings of a potential international crisis, if not interdimensional.”

“Will do, sir. Any last requests?”

“Yes – inform Princess Sunset’s delegation. Given the situation here, I have a feeling she is not going to take this well, and given her reputation, this could get volcanic pretty fast. That being said, I want to make sure that this is nipped in the bud before anypony even gets the idea.” The male voice sighed. “I can just imagine the field day that the media would have with this.”

“We’ll make sure we get a complete blackout, sir,” was the response. “Will that be all?”

“That will be all,” a third voice – another male – spoke. “Dismissed.” Footsteps echoed in the background as the drug started to wear off. The blur that was Octavia’s vision cleared enough to see a pony guard in black armor standing there, looking at someone – or probably somepony – and then her head lolled towards the individual the guard had saluted.

A second unicorn stallion stood there, out of armor and dressed more like a typical civilian. He looked like he’d been through the wringer, with his blond mane messed-up, and scrapes and scratches along white his coat. The sweater he wore was torn, and floating in the air at his side was a nasty-looking rapier that had clearly seen recent action. A cloth ran along the blade’s length as the stallion was clearly using magic to clean the blood off the blade.

“Here, hold this,” the stallion with the sword told the other, passing him the weapon before he went over to her, concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. “We have a medic on standby, just in case.”

But Octavia, seeing the stallion up close, recognized the voice, mane and blue eyes, and immediately did what came naturally: she screamed.

“No!” she gasped, hyperventilating as her eyes began to shrink into pinpoints of panic. “I’m in hell I’m in hell I’m in hell….”

The stallion in question waved a foreleg. “WE NEED A MEDIC NOW!” he shouted. “Also, see if you can get a hold of Princess Sunset immediately.” He bent down over her and she started to try to scramble away. Turning back to Octavia, he said in the softest tones he could muster, “Miss, you’re safe. You’ve nothing to fear.”

“YOU’RE HERE!” she shrieked as she started to try to scramble away from him. “MY WORST NIGHTMARE IS HERE!”

He shook his head briefly as if to stop the ringing in his ears caused by her shouting. “Well, I suppose that implies that humans can use the Royal Canterlot Voice, not that I needed to know that information,” he said weakly to nopony in particular.

The medic, a pegasus, approached immediately, gently ushering him back. “Sir, she’s in shock,” she stated. “You might want to stand clear before she does something rash, like commit a final flight or something.”

“I doubt she can do that; she doesn’t have wings, though I get your point. I’m going to talk to the investigators.” He looked at the assistant in black armor. “Stay here with her and give me a report if anything changes, or if Ambassador Han’nya or Princess Sunset arrives. Understood?” The guard saluted and the pony walked off.

“You’re safe now, Miss Human,” the medic told her. “I’m going to check your vital signs, if that’s okay with you. And before you ask, yes, I’ve been briefed on human emergency medical procedures – what your people call ‘First Aid’, I think?” Octavia nodded numbly.

Meanwhile, his ears still ringing from the human’s terrified screams, Blueblood went over to where a group of Solar guardsponies and a few of his Agency personnel were doing magical forensics of the scene. “Give me a status update,” he told the assembly.

“We have the one survivor you didn’t kill in custody,” one of the Solar Guard, a sergeant, said with a salute. “Will this be handled as an Agency matter or an EUP matter, sir?”

The prince nodded, acknowledging the salute. “As much as I’d be more than happy to give your ponies the credit for the collar, Sergeant, because of what’s going on, this will unfortunately have to be an Agency issue,” Blueblood explained. “Besides, I’m fairly sure that neither Capt. Arrowswift nor Capt. Armor will want the kind of heat that will be coming their way.”

“What kind of heat?” the sergeant asked warily.

“The extremely angry alicorn that should be arriving any second now,” Blueblood said with a tone that feigned disinterest. “And when Princess Sunset hears what happened, I pity anypony standing in her way.”

There was a massive blast of power, enough to make just about all present take a step back in awe, and before them suddenly stood a maize alicorn, cyan flames burning around her enraged eyes and wings opened and locked in attack position. The guardsponies present withdrew their swords, only to realize who it was and immediately resheathed them.

“WHERE ARE THOSE BASTARDS?” she seethed, as oversized balls of spellfire started to encircle the Alicorn of Earth. It was clear that she was already in attack mode, and wasn’t going to be easily talked down.

Still, Blueblood had to try. “Your Highness, a word if I may,” he stated calmly, hoping his demeanor might get her to relax in turn.

Sunset moved right past him, headed towards Octavia. Blueblood solved that by teleporting in front of her again. “I think it’s important that we talk first,” he insisted.

“You have seconds to explain yourself,” Sunset seethed, “or else I will just bulldoze through you like an ADHD toddler in a candy store.”

“Seconds are all I need. Now, I understand you are worried about your human friend—”

“Cousin,” Sunset interjected. “Kind of like a sister, actually.”

Blueblood sighed. “I…see. Well, this may not be the most ideal time to say this, but….”

The guard in black armor stepped up, interposing himself between Blueblood and Sunset. “Princess Sunset? I am Clandestine Moves, Deputy Director of Royal Surveillance for the Agency. Prince Blueblood contacted us when he came across your, er, ‘cousin’? Anyway, we ascertained what occurred, and we have her assailants – those that are still alive, in any case – in custody. We are moving on the rest of them now.”

Blueblood, realizing what his subordinate was doing – especially given that they were in public – immediately went into his shtick: “Yes, well, I figured if Auntie realized I did a good enough deed, she would probably reward me with another title or something.”

Sunset turned and glared at him. “You? Shut the fuck up.” She then turned back to Moves. “What the hell happened?”

“As far as we can tell, Your Highness, they attempted to abscond with your cousin.”

“They tried to kidnap her?” Sunset asked, surprised. A second later her eyes narrowed. “Fujitsu – that bastard.”

“So you know, then.”

“Yes, and give me a good reason why I don’t declare war on Inari right now.”

“Ah, because Equestria and Inari are allies?” Blueblood offered.

“I didn’t say Equestria would be the one starting the war,” Sunset hissed.

A look came over Clandestine’s face as if the last place he wanted to be was in Sunset’s angry glare. “In any case, Your Highness, one of the surviving assailants, Gibril Glasscannon, told me as much as he could, though apparently it wasn’t much. But it was enough that I’ve ordered the Inariese airship in-port detained and any crewmember aboard arrested. I’ve also taken the liberty of contacting—”

Sunset’s horn flickered with cyan magic. “Don’t bother,” she ordered.

There was a swirl of leaves and Han’nya appeared in an instant, flanked by several of his guards. “I have been summoned,” he said testily, “and I demand to know why—”

Sunset immediately got in the kitsune’s face. “I’m going to backhand Prince Fujitsu into the next timezone. If you’re here to stop me, then you can join him. If you’re here to find out what the fuck happened, well, give me five minutes to make him piss in his pants before I backhand him into the next timezone.”

Blueblood looked at them all. “As much as I could care less about what’s going on, I do have my position to consider.” Turning to Sunset, he pled once more, “I strongly suggest we talk in my office.”

“As if I give a fuck what you want,” the alicorn retorted.

“Please, just trust me, all will be clear in time.”

Han’nya looked at Blueblood, who looked to be in bad shape. “And why are you in such disarray, Your Highness?”

The unicorn gave a theatrical sigh. “Paparazzi can be such a trial,” he said. “I just happened to be walking by and heard the commotion. In my haste, I jumped into those nightrose bushes over there—” He pointed to a group of neatly-trimmed black and blue rose bushes, “—and after everything was over, climbing out of them was a bit of a chore. I’m afraid I’m going to most certainly need some time at the spa in order to make up for all this.”

Blueblood put a hoof on Sunset’s withers in an attempt to lead her away, but she merely swatted it away like a particularly bothersome fly. “I’m not doing anything until I know that—”

“I’m okay, Sunny.” Sunset turned and saw Octavia nervously walking towards her, the medic closely following.

Sunset immediately changed to her human form and went over, embracing her. Seeing that, Han’nya’s jaw dropped. “What in the twelve underworlds?” he gasped.

Sunset ignored him. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you or anything, did they?” she asked.

“I’m still a bit groggy after whatever it was they hit me with,” the raven-haired teen admitted.

The medic looked at the humanized alicorn. “I administered an anti-toxin nostrum, and she should be fine in a few minutes, Your Highness. Aside from that I recommend she get some rest tonight and she should be back to normal in the morning.”

Clandestine sighed. “We need to take this out of the public sphere, for all involved. Please, my esteemed guests, if you’ll come with me, the Agency offices are not far and we can discuss this there. As it is, the Solar Guard will need to complete their investigation and they can best do that if we are not in the way.”

“And to think, I never even noticed!” Kibbitz laughed as the two Celestias spoke to him in the now-emptied throne room. Turning to the alicorn he said, “Lady Celestia, you are far more suited to this than you think. If my Princess should ever need time off, I think I know who to call upon!”

Celestia blushed. “Thanks,” was all she said.

“Thanks nothing, Tia,” Celestia told her counterpart. “I couldn’t have done better myself!”

At that point, one of the guards approached them. “Adm. Loam has arrived, Your Majesty,” he told the alicorn, unaware it was not really his regent.

“Thank you; please send him in,” Celestia said, a twinkle in her eye. The princess caught that and knew what her counterpart was up to.

A few seconds later, Sable approached the trio. “Hello, ladies, Lord Kibbitz,” he stated. “I trust court went well?”

“Quite so, Admiral,” “Princess Celestia” told him.

The woman stepped forward and took his arm. “So, how did the SIREN candidate selection go, dear?” she asked him.

Sable looked at her and said, “It went well, Your Majesty. Thanks for asking.”

The trio looked at him, completely shocked. “How—” Kibbitz asked, unable to even finish his sentence.

Sable laughed. Pointing at the alicorn, he noted, “She’s fidgeting her wings, which I’ve been told is a habit that new pegasi have before they learn how to fly.” Then pointing to the human, he added, “Plus, my Celestia doesn’t last more than two minutes without checking her cellphone!”

“Busted,” the alicorn sighed. “Am I really that obvious?”

“Only to me, Tia,” he told her.

One quick magic spell later, and the two Celestias were back to normal. “Well, that was fun,” Princess Celestia said with a wide smile. “I would hope that I could talk you into doing this again sometime?”

Celestia grinned, but said, “As much as it was a nice change of pace, Celly, I’ll have to decline. I don’t see my position as one step away from world domination, no matter how vital it is.”

Kibbitz stated, “Well, perhaps you may wish to change your mind over lunch? I’ve taken the liberty to have it prepared, and the chefs are standing by.”

“Well, at least that I believe I can get behind,” the woman noted. “Lead the way, good sir.” Taking her boyfriend’s arm in her own, the two humans, the alicorn and the unicorn headed off, chatting merrily about their day.

Day Four, Evening: If We Share This Nightmare

“That…fool!” Han’nya hissed. “That damnable, stupid fool! May his tails grow mangy and balding from his sheer inanity!” The kitsune turned to Octavia and bowed deeply. “My lady, you have my deepest apologies for what you have suffered. I will be certain to make amends for everything, though I know not how.” He next turned to Clandestine. “Asst. Director, as ambassador of Inari and the senior-ranking member of the Imperial Family of Inari, I hereby strip Fujitsu-no-Amai’kegawa of his diplomatic protection. You have my support in arresting him and seizing the Imperial airship Kawa-no-Ishi.”

“We shall return the vessel once we have made the arrests,” Clandestine told him.

“I will have one of my trusted retainers, Shinka, report to your ponies at the pier. You may turn the vessel over to him once you have finished your duties.” Finally, he then turned to Sunset and, getting on his knees, completely bowed to her in utter supplication, a gesture of utter humility for the proud kitsune. “Your grace, it is my sincerest hope that this shall not strain the long-standing ties between your nation and ours. I am shocked beyond words at the behavior of Prince Fujitsu and while I knew of his interest, you have my sworn words that I had forbade him from taking any actions in Pursuit of the Manner of the Night when it came to your court. His actions, though they have brought great shame to the Court of Nine Tails, were completely of his own.”

The alicorn looked at him and could easily tell the groveling kitsune told the truth. “So long as she is safe, I am fine with that,” she assured him. “Please rise, Ambassador. I promise you this will not impact our nations’ longstanding alliance or friendship. It is strong enough to withstand the actions of a rogue individual.”

“I thank you, your grace,” he said with a sigh of resignation. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to send word to the His August Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, and let him know what has occurred. It is a duty I do not relish.”

“Because you feel you have sullied Equestria’s honor and your own?” Sunset asked him. “I assure you, Equestria would not hold you responsible for this, Ambassador. You took the precautions to prevent what occurred and Prince Fujitsu acted regardless. You are in no way to blame.”

“I thank you for your kind words and confidence, your grace, but I did not mean that.” Han’nya turned away. “Even though he has committed an unforgivable offense and will now be stripped of everything…Fujitsu is still my younger brother, fool that he is. And as you well know, Princess, it is natural to worry about family.” Sunset merely nodded, and Han’nya vanished in a swirl of leaves.

“Well, I for one am glad that is done,” Blueblood stated; during the conversation he’d taken the time to clean himself up and apply healing magic to many of his cuts. “Now my secret is safe and I can go back to pretending to being a useless buffoon.”

Sunset crossed her arms. “Yes, mighty convenient that a fool like you happened to be there just as Tavi was attacked.” From the sound of her voice, she sounded not convinced in the least.

“Actually, it’s the truth, cousin,” Blueblood told her. “I was visiting Lyra Heartstrings and seeing how the preparations for the music were going, and the practice hall is two streets down from the place I found your friend. I was actually on the way back here to my office and it was a good thing that I’d decided I was going to have lunch delivered instead of going out, or else I could have missed them entirely.”

“Look, I’m still in disbelief that you’re not a complete idiot, given what I recall of you as a colt,” Sunset admitted. “Especially given the complaints my mother has had about you in the times since.”

“Well, as I recall, you were a harridelle, so I suppose it evens out,” he told her.

“Touche,” Sunset responded blandly. “So now that we have that douche canoe in our custody, what next?”

“We’ll hold him in legal detention until the coronation is over and we consider our legal options,” Clandestine told Sunset. “I’m sure after that, Princess Celestia will want us to return him to his people, both as a gesture of goodwill to the Court of Nine Tails, as well as to face whatever charges they may have regarding this. But until then, he will be completely incarcerated, with no further way of causing any issues for your entourage, Princess.”

“I don’t buy that,” Sunset stated. “I want a guard on Tavi at all times. So long as there’s a potential danger, that means that I can’t leave her alone. I would normally assign my SIRENs to a protective detail, but unfortunately, they’re busy with other things, so that means I want her guard detail increased.”

“That’s up to the Solar Guard, Princess.”

“Yes, and I’m telling you so that way you can tell them. Because if I get involved, I’m going to ensure that she has a full detachment of Hooves protecting her and even my mother might wonder why the hell the Agency botched this one up, requiring me to Monster Mash through the Tulips to get what I want.”

“Sunny…please, no.” Octavia put her hand on her cousin’s shoulder; the flame-haired girl turned to see her cousin in tears. “Please don’t.” she said again in a soft, pained voice. “I can’t bear to see anyone else die because of me.”

“Die?”

Clandestine looked at Sunset. “None of the guards assigned to protect her survived. They correctly presumed that the detail would protect her at all costs, and proceeded to exploit that. They particularly dispatched the Hoof, Dolente Ascent, that was assigned to her.”

“Dispatched?” Blueblood said with distaste. “You make it sound so clinical. One of our own was killed – a siren was killed – and you make it sound as if it was of no concern.”

“Sire, they’re nothing more than an unknown tribe—” Clandestine began, but was silenced by Blueblood’s sudden glare.

“My mother is a siren,” he informed him. “As are my sisters – including the one that gave her life for this nation,” Blueblood growled, his eyes narrowing.

“Ponies died to protect me!” Octavia said, starting to panic again, “and it means nothing to you?”

“I am sorry, Lady Octavia, but they did their duty,” Clandestine said analytically. “The nation mourns their loss.”

Octavia, horrified, looked at him, then to Sunset. “I…I can’t deal with this,” she voiced. “Sunny…I just can’t.”

A worried look came over the flame-haired girl’s face. “Tavi….”

“I just need to use the little girl’s room. I’ll be fine,” Octavia lied. Not waiting for an answer, she stepped out, a little faster than a normal pace.

“Good job breaking it, hero,” Sunset angrily snarked at Clandestine.

“They weren’t just numbers, you know. They were lives,” Blueblood hissed at him. “Lives that matter and will be lost, and you’re treating them as if they’re just assets? I think you need to seriously reconsider how you think of the value of life, Clandestine.”

“Well, as much as I could give zero fucks listening to you chew him out over a racist comment—”

“Racist?” Blueblood commented.

“Sorry, tribalist,” Sunset amended. “Wrong species. Anyway, I’m already late for a meeting that I needed to be at, and one that my office can’t exactly cover. My cousin is in a very delicate situation right now and I want to ensure that she’ll be alright before I start populating my aunt’s moon once again.” She looked at Blueblood and said, “So, you and I need to have a nice little chat.”

“My princess and prince, regardless of that, we still need to discuss the potential ramifications of—” Clandestine began, but never finished as he was suddenly teleported out of the room.

Sunset lowered her hand. “Did you know he was an asshole?”

Blueblood looked at the human girl. “I’ve known him for years, and as the old saying goes, sometimes ponies can surprise you.”

“I suppose,” Sunset sighed. “Now, I need you to listen to me.”

“What is that thing?” Princess Luna asked, transfixed by the view.

“It’s called the Heart of the Black Garden,” her human counterpart explained, “and it’s pure concentrated evil. Our job is to destroy it.”

“And how do we do that?”

“Easy,” the human said, hefting a pulse rifle and taking aim. “We need to remove its support forces, and then once that happens, the main reinforcements – the Sol Divisive – will attack, and we need to destroy them. Only by doing that will the Black Heart fall and the Traveler will be safe.”

Seated by her television and hefting a Dualshock in her magic field, Princess Luna grinned wickedly. “I shall smite thee!” she called out in glee.

Across the room from her at her own television and Dualshock in hand, Luna ducked around a corner and threw a knife, hitting her target in the sweet spot, spewing radiolarian fluid everywhere. “Be careful. As a Titan, you might be able to take more of a hit than I can, but you’re not completely invulnerable.”

“Oh, posh – I wield the power of lightning! I am the thunder itself!”

“Arc, not lightning, though technically it’s pretty much the same thing.”

As Vex goblins rained down digitized solar fire onto the two from Slap Rifles, Luna picked up her trusty Hawkmoon and opened fire, the rounds tearing apart her opponents. Meanwhile, Princess Luna, not as familiar or comfortable with hand cannons as her counterpart, instead chose her Doctor Nope, cutting loose with auto rifle rounds sprayed across the battlefield.

“Watch it!” A slap grenade went off, tearing off a good chunk of Luna’s health before she was able to switch to her sniper rifle and take aim at the hobgoblin Vex firing from the other side of the map. Her Benevolence sang out, sending a void-infused bullet through the robot’s brainpan. Though it didn’t kill it, it was enough to daze it, allowing a follow-up shot to take it out.

“YOU VARLETS CANNOT STOP MY RIGHTEOUS CAUSE!” the alicorn snarled, firing until her auto rifle was empty. “My gun’s not working any longer!” she shouted.

“Switch to your special and move in!” Luna ordered. The alicorn did so, and Princess Luna’s Matador 64 barked, shredding any enemy that dared to venture within the muzzle range of the shotgun.

Finally, the three oversized Minotaurs of the Sol Divisive showed up, and between Luna’s Golden Gun and Princess Luna’s Fist of Havoc, the three bosses went down in fairly short order and the Heart died its death, removing the Black Garden from its place in unnatural timespace and firmly anchoring it once more at Mars.

As the cutscene for the final vanilla missions of Destiny began, the alicorn pulled off her headset. “That was fun! What’s next?”

Luna was about to say something when her stomach growled. “Probably food,” she said with a slight blush. “We’ve been in here pretty much the whole day and I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast.” She chuckled. “My fiancé gets on my case whenever I do that, not that he’s any better.”

“You’re betrothed?” the night princess asked as she sent out a magical signal for the kitchen staff to prepare for a dinner request.

“Yeah, I thought I mentioned that. Moonshadow and I have been an item for years, but this past summer we finally decided to tie the knot. Of course, that’s in the new timeline. In the old one….” Luna sighed, and the alicorn could see a grave sorrow in her counterpart’s eyes.

“He died, didn’t he?” she asked, and the human nodded.

“He…he was murdered by the rogue SIRENs in the old timeline,” Luna explained. “How did you know?”

“Perhaps…I think we’re done with these games of video for the night,” Princess Luna suggested. “I believe that we should talk about this, for it sounds as though you could use a friend to talk to…and, truth be told, with the anniversary coming up—”

“Anniversary?”

Now it was the alicorn’s turn to nod. “The anniversary of the death of Bucephalus, my own betrothed. And every year, even during the time I was ‘afflicted’, I grieved his loss. I still miss his touch.”

The two Lunas looked at one another for countless moments.

“Let me order a repast and refrections for us, then we shall hie away,” the alicorn said softly. “I think I shall visit him early this year, and I think…for once, I would appreciate some company, if you don’t mind.”

Luna saw the broken-hearted way her counterpart carried herself and knew it was a wound that had never really healed. Luna herself knew that, given that even though in this new timeline her own beloved was still alive, she still had nightmares about the other time, when she saw him killed before her eyes by mercenaries with sweet smiles and dagger-drawn eyes.

“I would be honored to go with you,” Luna said, getting up from her seat and walking over to place a hand on her friend’s shoulder…or wither, or whatever it was called.

Sitting alone on a pony-sized bench in a nondescript hallway, Octavia shivered, tears running down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure what to do now, except acknowledge that she’d somehow become the embodiment of the old Chinese curse of living in interesting times. Ever since Sunset’s appearance in their lives, her world felt like it had been a nonstop hell – it had never been easy for her, sure; but it seemed as though things had completely cartwheeled out of control since the day the redhead showed up in her life. That wasn’t Sunset’s fault, not entirely, Octavia knew; she loved her cousin and sister figure just as much as she did Twilight or the triplets (another example of how Sunset’s superexistence ran roughshod over everything she’d ever known). Hell, even reality itself had bent to the needs of the unicorn-turned-girl-turned-alicorn-turned-literal princess of two worlds, not to mention a goddess!

But something had to give; nature abhorred a vacuum and the scales of reality had to reach equilibrium. And more often than not, as of late, it felt as though it was doing so at Octavia’s expense, turning her into the buttmonkey of continuity itself. From her parents moving away to her own mental illness, it felt as though life itself had it out for her. The attempted sexual assault on her by both Blueblood and later Vinyl Scratch; or the fact that she even felt exhausted and drained too often due to the impact her medicine had on her, it all seemed like a constant litany of pain.

Of course, she knew Sunset was trying her utmost to remove the problem, and that even magic couldn’t do things with mental illnesses – the doctors she’d seen over the week had confirmed this – but part of her had to wonder if it wouldn’t have been this bad if Sunset had never appeared. Would “Melody” have become the rampaging monster within Octavia if Sunset hadn’t been around? She didn’t know.

And now there as a body count indirectly attached to all of this. Octavia knew as well that wasn’t her cousin’s fault, but then again, had Sunset not entered their lives, she would have never come here and caught the attention of that spoiled, freakish fox that felt it was necessary to do whatever it took in order to make Octavia his sex slave. An action that had caused mercenaries to kill those that had been tasked to keep her safe. Ponies that had literally given their lives in order to protect her.

Octavia didn’t blame her cousin for any of that – she loved Sunset too much to do so. But she wished – prayed – that just once – just once! – that something in her life would be more than melancholy and pain, more than just typical teenage melodrama gone into overkill mode. She privately envied her friend Fluttershy’s problems with her father, because those were pedestrian compared to the magic-spewing, bullet-flying, alien-infested Götterdämmerung that was Octavia’s life.

“I’m sorry.”

Octavia turned to see one of the last individuals on Earth she would ever want to see…or at least his equivalent here on this not-Earth. And he looked at her with sorrowful eyes.

“Sunset told me everything about my counterpart on your world and what he’d done to you,” Blueblood spoke, and to her surprise, he looked genuinely disconcerted. “Granted, while I do have somewhat of the same reputation myself here, it is genuinely just smoke and mirrors to cover for my true day job: the chief spymaster of Equestria. But I would never even consider what he did to any gentlemare, much less one as sweet and kind as Sunset described you as.” He sat down a slight distance from her in the hall, a look of shame on his face. “I suppose it would be an understatement to say that your run-ins with the Blueblood of your world have been less than ideal.”

“That’s the under-fucking-statement of the year,” Octavia told him.

His ears drooped. “I know this is of cold comfort, but if there’s anything I can do at all, Miss Melody, if it is within my power to do so, I will do it. I cannot abide to have somepony – er, somehuman? – suffer needlessly, not when it is within my power to right. I am a prince and though by day, I pretend to be a royal brat, in truth, I despise the members of the royalty and nobility that only serve themselves at the expense of our ponies. Ponies like my cousin, Highfalutin’, who use their power as nothing more than a weapon to be wielded against innocents; or nobles like Brass Shock, who I’ve had a long-term battle in court with over the treatment of individual ponies’ rights.” He sighed as if in frustration, then added, “I know none of that means anything to you, Miss Melody, but what I can say is that based on what Sunset told me, I truly wish I could do everything I could to make amends for what he has done to you. It was not of my actions, but I feel it was done in my name and that I cannot stand.”

Octavia looked at the stallion with genuine surprise. She understood on an elemental level that things were different here in some respects: the Divine Right of this world was a soldier in Equestria’s military, and the Sable Loam she knew was a far cry from the historical terrorist that had apparently been his counterpart.

“Why?” was all she voiced. When he looked at her oddly, “Why are you…you? Why?”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” he asked her.

She meant to clarify her question: Why are you so human in comparison to the Blueblood I know? Yet as she opened her mouth, it was, instead, her stomach that answered. Her face became redder than a rose as the borborygmus announced to the world that she hadn’t eaten anything since the morning. She immediately covered her face in embarrassment.

“I know that sound,” he said with a gentle smile. “Allow me to take care of that, as I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast this morning, myself. Would you permit me to take you out to dinner to make amends?”

“Make amends for what?” she said, still redfaced and so mortified she was unwilling to remove her hands from her face.

“For what you’ve been through. Besides, I know a restaurant that I’ve been dying to try…and given that Sunset had also told me what you’d been through the other evening, I can most certainly promise you that this restaurant won’t give you the same issues as you had the other night.”

A violet eye peeked through the hands. “You mean that?”

“Well, I can’t speak for others, but I’m fairly positive that this place won’t do the same thing. I know the owner, after all.”

Octavia sighed, feeling as though she was trapped. “Okay, but let me let Sunny know. She’ll worry about me otherwise.”

Blueblood nodded. “That sounds amenable. Right this way, if you please.”

On a barely-lit pathway on a mountain in the Undiscovered West, a pair of guardponies crossed their fierce-looking halberds in front of a non-descript cave. The two were not dressed in armor that was familiar to any of the services, and if anything, it seemed like the attire was custom-made, as if for a ceremonial or special reason that was not clear to any casual passer-by. Not that there were any casual passers-by, as this was a remote location and the nearest settlement was at least a hundred miles to the southwest.

“Halt!” the leftmost one shouted in a clear voice. “Who goes there?”

Princess Luna stepped out of the shadows. “It is I,” she stated. At her approach, the two ponies stepped back and wordlessly bowed, pulling their polearms back to allow their liegelady entrance into the passage. But a second individual approached behind her and the two ponies looked at the strange newcomer with suspicion.

“She is with me,” the princess of the night announced, and just as simple as that, the two ponies went back to their silent watch.

As they walked in, Luna ducked her head slightly as the cavern was clearly not made with humans in mind. “Where are we?”

“This place has no name, not in modern times or a language that ponies speak nowadays, anyway,” her counterpart said in a sad tone. “I would have given it one for this era, but…it didn’t ever feel right. To him, it was simply ‘the place’, and that was all it needed to be.” The two stepped forward a few more feet, before entering a grand chamber bathed in brilliant mystical luminescence by magically-powered wall sconces that flickered with mystic lights shining a loving warmth in the room.

Lining the circular room were exquisitely-designed stained glass displays detailing majestic deeds of a time likely long gone. A circle of pillars of various stones lined the walls of the expertly-hewn room, and from them hung banners of an ancient age, silken flags threaded with the most precious of gold and silver. And in the center of it all was a massive statue made of black marble, shaped like a rearing earth stallion. The mane was made of threaded yellow-and-red gold, and the inset eyes were of the finest polished pyrite. The statue seemed as though it had a confident yet gentle smile on its face, one of a self-assured and experienced warrior.

At the base of the statue was a sword, and from her sister’s years in SCA, Luna recognized it as a type of spatha. The blade shone with a brilliant golden-red light that clearly indicated its magic status. The hilt, made of what appeared to be leather, looked pristine and perfect, and no doubt that it was as mystical as the rest of the weapon.

Luna didn’t have to be told twice that she was looking at the grave of somepony very special.

“Hello, my love,” Princess Luna said, sitting down by the base. “I came early this year. I hope you don’t mind.” She leaned forward, nuzzling the cold marble. “I missed you. I still do, and I always will.”

The woman watched as the alicorn had what was clearly a private moment with her dead lover, and Luna couldn’t help but wonder if this would have been her own fate, of a sort, if the old timeline had remained as is. Would she have come to Moonshadow’s grave until her own dying breath, an unmarried spinster growing old without even trying to find love once more? She didn’t know the answer to that, and seeing her counterpart’s current predicament, she wasn’t sure that she would ever want to know the answer.

After a few more moments, Princess Luna stood up, wiped the tears from her eyes and gave her counterpart a bittersweet smile. “His name was Bucephalus,” she began gesturing with a wing towards the statue. “He grew up on this mountain, the only foal of a pair of farmers who wanted nothing to do with Equestria and had settled down near the village of Rolling Gait. They had expected Bucephalus to follow in their footsteps, and in truth, he would have much preferred to. My Buce was never a soldier by design, and he took up his role reluctantly – because fate demanded him to.”

“Demanded him to?”

“That’s the thing about Swordbearers: they do not get the luxury of choosing. Fate – Harmony itself – chooses them, just as Twilight and her fellow Bearers were chosen to take up the Elements and then later their Elemental Armor. In his case, there were brigands and bandits assailing Rolling Gait, and due to various reasons, we could not get soldiers from Everfree out here in time. Knowing that his kith, kin and fellow villagers were in danger, he went and grabbed a massive branch from an ironwood tree and went out to fight them, without knowing a single thing of the soldierly arts. Somehow, the branch became a powerful weapon in his hooves and transformed into his sword – Ironbranch.” The alicorn gestured to the spatha.

“When Celly and I arrived, we were amazed to see a third Swordbearer in existence. Keep in mind that this was long after the Megan disappeared into legend; and Celly’s own Swordbearer, Starswirl the Bearded, had vanished mysteriously as well. At the time, we kept running into challenges and threats that the Elements weren’t always capable of dealing with, and so we pled for him to come back to Everfree with us. He didn’t want to, because he had the village and his family’s farm to consider. To be honest, though, most of our soldiers didn’t want him to come along, either: he was rough, uncouth and…well, a farmer, not the sort of gentlepony knight that made up the bulk of our forces at the time. But he was kind, honest and there was something about him that just made me connect to him.” The alicorn gave a soft, fillyish smile, one that Luna herself knew all too well. “At the time, I thought it was just because he found Celly overbearing. I didn’t know it was because he was destined to become my Swordbearer.”

“Swordbearer?” Luna asked. “You keep using that term.”

“A personal guardian and companion, meant to always be ultimately loyal and faithful to the alicorn that is their charge; as a result, they become ageless and powerful and, in a sense, nearly an alicorn themselves, at least in terms of skill. Most Swordbearers and their charges become great friends, such as my mother and the Megan. Sometimes they are like family members; though I do not remember him well, my sister regarded Starswirl as an avuncular figure, an uncle of sorts; as her Swordbearer, he was always there for her and loved her dearly. Sometimes, a Swordbearer and their charge might even become a couple: my niece, Cadance, and her husband are one such example, as were Bucephalus and I.” She then added, “And before you ask, I do not know what is in store for the two youngest of us: Twilight will encounter her Swordbearer someday, as will my other niece – Sunset.”

Luna looked at the grave. “But I thought you said they were immortal? If that’s the case, then why—”

“No. They are ageless – but sadly, they do not gain our immortality. We do not know if The Megan still lives, or even if she is real, truth be told. Neither Celly nor I had ever met her, and for the few times we’ve talked to our mother, she has rarely given us any information regarding that individual. As for Lord Starswirl, he vanished under mysterious circumstances, and we believe him to be dead, tragically. Our mother may know the full story, but again, she has not been forthcoming with information and I suspect that she is trying to shield Celly any pain, given how he’d been a father figure to her. And as for my beloved, though he remained with me for centuries, in the end…even if he was ageless, he was still only mortal.” The princess was silent for the longest time before she spoke her next words: “Thus, he fell to that most horrific pair of tragedies: betrayal and murder.”

The alicorn fell silent again for the longest time before she spoke once more. But this time she sang her continuation:

“Night turns to day,
Day to night,
Save your tears
‘Til the morning comes

“I’ll be there,
And I swear
When you need somepony…”

“Those were the last words he ever said to me,” she said in a near-whisper. “The words he spoke when he proposed and asked Celly for my hoof; by this time, our mother was gone and Celly had taken the throne. But we were still dealing with the Army of Shadows: followers of Sombra who had believed him to be nearly an alicorn himself and fought in his dark name. The Army threatened the newly-won peace in Equestria and Buce felt that even though he was no warrior, he had a duty as a future prince consort and my Swordbearer to save our ponies. So, he and his closest companion, a stallion named Rondel Dagger, went out to challenge the Army. And when he came back, we would wed.

“He never came back.” Princess Luna turned to look at her counterpart, an endless well of sorrow in her eyes. “Unbeknownst to my love, Rondel was a traitor; he had secretly coveted me and had been very good at hiding it and even Rondel’s own wife was not aware of the depths of his depravity. In secret, he made a deal with the Lord Marshall of the Army of Shadows that if Buce was murdered, once Everfree fell, he could have me. We later found documents that he’d written in secret, that were so sinister in design that it took us a long time to reconcile the faithful and dashing figure we’d known Rondel as with the traitor whose horn had penned those words.

“In any case, they’d set out towards Deersgrave to hunt down the Army of Shadows. At the time, Deersgrave had the reputation that the Everfree has nowadays: a forbidden place that few ponies trod…and thus perfect for a rebel army to hide within. As they arrived, Rondel ambushed Buce unawares, stabbing him with a needle dipped in a poison that didn’t kill him instantly but that there was no known antidote for. He then wore Buce down, hoping to land the killing blow. Thankfully, his arrogance was his undoing; Buce defeated him, but by then…by then it was too late.

“The funeral was a grand affair, and Celly put the city into mourning for a month. But it was too grand for my Buce and I knew it wasn’t what he would have wanted. So, when I had the opportunity, I had this place constructed for his final resting place: a palace fit for a prince, yet in the shadow of the mountainside where the simple farmer had grown up in. The grand crypt in Canterlot where others believe he lies in state has become a tourist attraction with a carnival atmosphere that he would have disdained. This place…this is only for me and him. Celly, though she knows about it, has only come sporadically. I don’t believe the others know, nor have I ever seen them here.”

The alicorn turned away, tears falling unabashedly. “This is my place for he and I to be together, for him to know that I will always love and miss him and for him to wait for me until the day I ascend to the Great Pasture and we can be together once more. Until then, he remains here, guarded by hoof-picked members of the Night Guard, who tell none of this special duty and who consider it the highest honor there is.”

Luna went over and embraced her counterpart, letting her cry for the love she’d lost and the damage that his absence was doing to her even now. “You don’t have to say anything else,” the human told the mare. “You love him still, and he will always be here with you.”

“I know. That is why I have never looked for another. Celly has no real interest in a relationship, but I was probably the more social of us back then. And now that I have recovered, I am once more, but I seek no companionship of that sort,” Princess Luna said sadly. “I am, as far as I am considered, a widow and a faithful wife, and just as I suspect Cadance and Shining would agree, when a Swordbearer and their charge are united together in love, it is perpetual and infinite, and nothing will ever change that.”

In an out-of-the-way restaurant in the small town of Colton, the smell of garlic, cheese and mushrooms filled the air, as did the sound of laughter. A large, bearded batpony stallion wearing an apron uttered a huge belly laugh, following that with, “And so Blu says to me, ‘Look, stallion, that Abyssinian lady has her eye on you,’ and I tell him back, ‘That’s cause you told her that ponyfeather story about how a batpony’s wingspan is the same as his drive!’” Another round of laughter sounded into the air, a perfect setting for a warm, cozy atmosphere tailored towards this establishment.

Leaning over a plate of creamy garlic mushrooms and pasta, Blueblood gave an awkward grin. “Look, it was either you or me, Blaze, and I had my image to protect.”

“Oh, please – everypony knows you’re a tailchaser and an incorrigible cad!” The batpony chuckled. “I swear, some fillies probably come to you just because of that rep!”

“And you know how much hydrashit it is and how much I hate it,” Blueblood said in response.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, Blu,” the batpony replied, nodding. “Seriously though, I’m glad you could make it out here to my restaurant before the grand opening. Cremini and I were worried you wouldn’t be able to, and we’ve wanted you to come for the longest time.”

“Hey, as long as we’ve been friends? You know I wasn’t going to miss it for the world,” Blueblood told him. Turning to Octavia, he explained, “In case it isn’t obvious, Blazewing and I go way back – we’ve been friends ever since our first days in the Agency. Hell, he’d still be my right-hoof pony if it wasn’t for his accident.”

Blazewing held up a clearly artificial wing. “Hey, saving your plot from the bomb? Almost worth it,” he joked. “Almost.”

“And saving the museum?”

“Well, I met my wife there, so obviously, I must’ve done something right.” Blazewing looked at both. “Well, you two best take a bite before it gets cold.”

Nodding, Octavia took a bite of her dish; a second later, her eyes lit up with surprise as her tongue practically exploded from the flavor of the morsel. “Wow, this is outstanding!” she said, looking at Blazewing with appreciation. “I’ve had some great dishes before, but this is just out of this world!”

“Well, given that you are, yourself, out of this world, I’ll take that as the highest compliment,” the chef replied. “Although I can’t take all the credit: my wife came up with the recipe. Unlike me, Cremini was always meant to be a chef.”

“Where is she, anyway?” Blueblood asked. “Usually she’s the one here pestering me on my dating life and whatnot.”

“Yeah, well, she’s good at that,” Blazewing said with a chuckle. “As to where she is, she’s in the Crystal Empire this week looking for some last-second items for the restaurant. We’re in need of some glassware for some of the more expensive drinks we’ll be offering, and there’s nothing better than Imperial City crystal glassware.”

“Tell her to have them commissioned from the Rosequartze family,” Blueblood suggested.

“That’s some pretty pricey stuff,” Blazewing noted with a whistle. “They’re suppliers for the Imperial and Canterlot palaces as well as several top-notch hotels and restaurants around the country.”

“Don’t worry about the price. Have them send me the bill.” When Blazewing gave him an awkward look, Blueblood added, “It’s not charity, Blaze. It’s me looking out for my best bud, okay?”

“We’re talking something to the tune of several thousand bits.”

“Money’s just money, Blaze. Taking care of my friends? Far more valuable than some gold discs that a vassal of my aunt’s decided was going to be what made the sun go round.”

Blazewing chuckled. “Well, fine, but don’t be surprised if Cremini insists you come back for a personally-cooked dinner to make up for it.”

Blueblood grinned. “I’ll take you up on that. She was always a better cook than you anyway.” Blazewing playfully swatted his friend with his good wing, then commented that he needed to check on dessert before wandering back to the kitchen. When he did that, he then turned to his dinner date of sorts. “So, what do you think? Blaze and his wife cook the best mushroom dishes in Equestria, bar none.”

“I’ll say,” Octavia agreed, taking a bite of a cheese-and-rosemary stuffed portabella. “I wish we had something this good back in Canterlot. Well, the Canterlot I live in, that is.”

“I was actually surprised that he was setting up a restaurant here in Colton,” Blueblood said. “Between him and his wife, they’re talented enough that they could easily set themselves up in restaurant row in Canterlot. I mean, she’s the one with the cooking cutie mark, but he’s no slouch either.” He shrugged, as if he resigned himself to a lack of an answer. “Then again, I suspect he did it because of Cremini’s plans.”

“Oh?”

Blueblood nodded. “Cremini’s been trying to fix me up with her kid sister Lily Mushroom ever since those two got married. Plus, with Colton being an out-of-the-way town here in Fillydelphia Province, it gives me a chance to come here, unwind and be, well, me – the real me, that is. I don’t get a chance often to be just me, Blueblood, a stallion who just happens to be a prince, rather than ‘Prince Blueblood, Plothole Supreme’,” he sighed. He took a drink from his cider and sat back in his seat, relaxed, briefly listening to the mandolin music playing on the phonograph in the back of the restaurant. “It does feel good to let my mane down, in a manner of speaking, though.”

“That’s a shame. Back home, we worry about the same thing happening to Sunny, though she manages to juggle the situation,” Octavia intimated. “Although, given that her situation isn’t as obvious back there as it is here, I suppose that makes it easier for her.”

“Lucky her. In any case, when I’m here, I can dress like a normal stallion and as far as anypony knows, I’m nopony of note and not anypony that would stand out. On the other hoof, Prince Blueblood,” he intoned in a grandiose voice that conveyed all his contempt, “wouldn’t be caught dead here with the commoners. And he certainly wouldn’t be found eating in some ramshackle restaurant like this plebian locale.”

“You don’t sound very happy.”

“I’m not.” He took another drink, then continued, his eyes fixed on hers. “I’m not like my cousin Divine. He’s happy playing the valiant prince and gallant soldier, because his duties afford him the luxury of doing so. But my duties at the Agency do not, and unfortunately, that’s just part and parcel of the nature of spycraft. Publicly, my aunts bemoan my very existence. Privately, they bemoan that the public can never know the stallion I really am. My predecessor in the position was considered a pervert and a tailchaser, nevermind the fact that he was married to the same mare until the day he went to the Great Pasture. And I’m sure that whichever unlucky pony that becomes my successor as the director of the Agency, will probably have to take up an equally unsavory public persona in order to divorce her- or himself from any potential accusations of competency and usefulness to the Crown. It is both a blessing and a curse of a position and while it is most certainly one vital to Equestria’s needs, it comes at a very public cost, one that nopony deserves.”

Octavia wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she decided to deflect, instead. She finished the last bite of her meal, swooning once more at the taste. “Oh, God, I have got to get the recipe for all these. The triplets would be pissed if I didn’t.”

“Ask Blaze for it; I’m sure he’d be more than happy to offer it to you in return for some recipes that come from your world.”

“Well, my phone doesn’t work this far out, but once we get back to Canterlot, I’ll be more than happy to offer more than a few.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

The two ate in silence for a few more minutes, occasionally offering small talk and minor chat about themselves; Blueblood seemed intrigued that Octavia was a musician and had entertained a growing crowd of listeners at Tierfenbucker’s. In turn, she learned about some parts of his personal life, and the differences between what he’d said and what she knew of his counterpart intrigued her. In particular, he had three sisters that he’d absolutely doted on, but that one had given her life during the recent war. Still, he said, he had a great relationship with his siblings and absolutely adored them.

After a few more minutes of one of the most pleasant meals that she’d ever had, she then got up and stretched. “I’ll be right back; need to head to the little girl’s room.” She looked around for a second.

He pointed towards the far end of the restaurant. “I think it’s over there,” he offered.

“Thanks.”

A second later, Blazewing came back, bearing a tray carrying a sizeable honeyed walnut cheesecake. “So, where’d your fillyfriend go?” he asked with a grin. “Thought she might want to try out my newest recipe.”

“She went to the little filly’s room,” Blueblood told him, “and she’s not my fillyfriend. In fact, I just met her today. She’s actually the cousin of Princess Sunset.”

“Um…how is that possible? And aren’t you the cousin of our newest princess?” the batpony asked, an odd look on his face.

“Human customs, I suppose,” Blueblood replied. “As I understand it, she was also adopted by a human family on their world. And yes, I suppose I’m technically Sunset’s cousin as well, but I really don’t know her all that well.”

“And so you know this filly?” When Blueblood chose not to answer that, Blazewing laughed. “Look, I get that she’s a human – and I’m really weirded out that they’re not what the legends say, but I know you, stallion. I know that look in your eyes, and don’t even try to suggest otherwise; you can’t kid a kidder, Blu. That look…it’s the same one you had for Maple Flavor way back when.”

A dejected look came over the unicorn’s face. “I wonder how she’s doing?”

“She just had her second kid with her husband in Whinnypeg,” Blazewing admitted. When the unicorn gave him a stunned gaze, he added, “Don’t be so surprised – we keep in touch, because she was part of our security cell. That kind of friendship doesn’t just go away, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Although, if you ask me, I think she would’ve been happier with you, but you let yourself be married to your Celestiadamned job. You two were perfect for one another. Now she’s married to some accountant in Whinnypeg and while, sure, the Agency is out one top agent, it’s moreso that you’re out one primo fillyfriend.” The two stallions looked at each other for the longest time, before Blazewing spoke again. “No skylarking, stallion – why the buck did you ever let her go? She loved you, you loved her. You two were meant to be together.”

“Because she would have been miserable as Princess Maple, wife of Prince Jerkface,” the unicorn said with a touch of sadness. “And there was no way for her to be simply Maple Flavor, wife of Blueblood, the stallion who just happens to be a prince.”

Blazewing frowned. “That’s a bullshit reason and you know it.”

“Maybe, but do you think you could deal with flirting with every filly available while Cremini sat at home and played the role of the forever-spurned but dutiful wife? Nevermind that it’s not true at all – could you do it? Could she? All these years, I have no idea how Duke Codepoint did it when he was the director and I don’t know how his wife stood for it. But my fate was sealed, and I couldn’t do that to Maple. I just couldn’t.”

Blazewing sighed; he of course had known that answer but it didn’t mean it was something that he wanted to hear, regardless. “Look, for what it’s worth, I haven’t seen that look in your eyes for a long time, and clearly it’s set on that human mare, whether or not you’re going to admit it to me. Just…just take care of yourself, okay? You deserve better than what you’re getting in life and me and Cremini want the best for you.”

“Not a clue of what you’re talking about,” Blueblood said glumly, “but at least I appreciate it.”

Back in Canterlot, Whiskey reported to Sunset, as per her request. “You wished to see me, Your Majesty?” she asked.

“Yes,” the flame-haired girl said with a smile. “This was just delivered by the Inariese embassy, and they’re for you.” Sunset floated a package out to the other girl, who opened the box, and a wide smile came over her face as she did.

“For me?” Whiskey asked with shock, and Sunset gave an approving nod.

The smaller girl pulled the precious items out of the wooden case, holding the swords in her hands and marveling at the incredible make: two jet-black blades of metal veined with razor-thin jags of silver and copper. The blades were made from shibuichi, a mystical metal of Inariese make, a material so rare that it was usually only made available to the most elite of Inari’s populace.

“Yes,” Sunset told her. “They’re an apology gift from Ambassador Han’nya for everything you’ve endured because of his now-disgraced brother. I’m told that shibuichi swords are priceless and powerful.”

Whiskey flitted the blades around in her hands, a look of wonder coming onto her face; the swords felt perfect in her hands, and she wondered if they would feel just the same in her paws. “They are, Your Highness,” she stated.

“He also said that due to the unfair way you were cast out of your clan, that he would insist that they accept you back. You could return to your family.”

Whiskey thought about it for a second, then looked at the princess. “Permission to speak freely, Your Highness.”

“Of course.”

“I…I don’t want to go back.” The look in Whiskey’s eyes was one of worry. “In the short time I’ve been with you all, I…I like it here. I feel valued. You treat me as though I am a treasured vassal for who I am, not because of my martial talents or my ability to pillow—”

Sunset blushed. “You keep mentioning that.”

“Prince Fujitsu…he was never very pleasant to pillow with, but he was my master,” Whiskey admitted. “And I suspect you would let me choose to decline if I were given the order.”

“You won’t be given any order to sleep with someone. In human cultures, that’s a thing of the past. You are free to choose who you wish to be with, because you will have a chance to love them.”

“Then please, Your Highness. Please let me stay with you and Lady Octavia and the others.” She got on her knees, bowing deeply. “Please let me continue to be your vassal.”

“No.”

The word hit Whiskey like a slap across the face. “No?” she gasped in a tortured voice.

“No – you are not a vassal. You are a SIREN. Vassals are servants and retainers, who serve because that is their lot in life – and I do not wish those. SIRENs are guards and friends, those I can rely on because they care about me as much as I do them. And you are a SIREN, Whiskey. So no, you may not be my vassal.”

“You…you mean that?” When Sunset nodded, a soft, happy smile began to come over Whiskey’s face. “Understood, Your Highness,” she said, relief sounding in her voice.

“Okay, go meet up with Adagio and the others. I have a funny feeling you’re going to have a busy day tomorrow, so take your break now while you can.”

In a sudden burst of affection, Whiskey got up and hugged Sunset. “Yes, my lady!” she said, before she realized what she did. Gasping in horror, she stammered. “I’m sorry!”

Sunset laughed. “You’re learning.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, Whiskey.”

As the kitsune departed, she passed by Softwing as the latter came into Sunset’s room. “Here’s the paperwork you wanted,” she stated, then sat down in the seat across from the flame-haired girl. “Have you told her yet?”

Sunset shook her head, giving her seneschal a knowing grin. “I thought that you might like to,” she stated.

“Well, it beats living alone, and adjusting to the human world is going to be a challenge, I’m sure. Plus, it’ll be interesting having a kid sister. Never had one before.”

“You do know she’s older than either of us, right?”

Softwing laughed. “Sunny, I’m twenty-five. Yes, Whiskey is probably a few hundred years old, but developmentally, she’s what, thirteen? Fourteen?”

“Thereabouts. And as for her counterpart, we don’t know anything about her. The database found no trace of anyone living with that name or her previous one. That either means that the record is very incomplete or we’ll have to ask Flutters to do a database search for us in Japanese. But you’re right: Either way, the identity she’s being given is that of your adopted kid sister and fourteen years old.”

“Then I’m going to treat her like one, because otherwise she might start wanting to be my vassal.”

The flame-haired girl nodded and took the paperwork from her seneschal. “Look, I appreciate that you’re willing to take her under your literal and metaphorical wing. It’s going to be a period of adjustment for you both, and having you two together should make things easier.”

“Works for me. Besides, as I said, I consider myself more pony than griffin, and that was enough of an adjustment. If I’m going to live as a human for years to come, then I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have an additional soul along for the ride with me.”

There was an additional knock at the door, and Sunset called, “Come in.”

Celestia opened the door, followed closely by Sable, who was out of uniform. Looking around at Sunset’s chambers, she sighed. “Of course the former troublemaker has a better lifestyle than I do,” she mock-grumbled.

Sunset grinned. “You know, Ms. Celestia, I could fix your house up….”

“Please don’t; Sable’s still half-grumbling about getting a paycheck from you even though he needed a new car,” the educator responded with a wry smile.

“Okay, okay, I get it, I get it. Besides, I like my Toyota,” he commented. “So what do you need from us?”

The next few minutes went by as Sunset explained to her former principal what their plans for Whiskey were, as well as what they were going to do about the other newcomer SIRENs. The two adults listened to the teen’s plans, with some input from Softwing as well, though that was few and far between.

“Well, as it would seem, we will have to figure out familial structures for those who are underage as far as Earth is concerned,” Celestia stated once Sunset was done. “I presume that you wouldn’t want any of them to have to go through what you went through.”

“Absolutely not,” Sunset agreed. “It was hell for me and I wouldn’t want that on anyone, much less those under my aegis.”

“Smart move,” Sable commented as he nodded his approval. “That being said, we’ll have to be careful. Additionally, I’ll say this right now, Sunset: Celestia and I will not be taking in any of the underage SIRENs,” he told her. Looking at Celestia briefly, then back to Sunset, he added, “As much as Tia and I want a family of our own, as the senior SIREN officer, it would be unduly picking favorites if any of them lived with us. Plus, from what the triplets told me, I wouldn’t want to create another Piano Bliss, whoever that is. I’m also going to add that when I onboard the Force Master Chief, the same will apply to him as well.”

“I suspect that given what we know of Troubleshoes’ home life, I really don’t think he would want the extra headache anyway,” Celestia added.

“That’s understandable,” Sunset stated. “I leave that in your capable hands, Sable.”

“There’s also another thing that’s come to mind,” Celestia added. “If the paperwork for Softwing’s new apartment is right, Whiskey will have to attend County High, not Canterlot High. While Luna and I let you get away with it, her new vice-principal seems to be much more of a stickler for the rules.”

“I know. I’ve already run on his bad side more than once,” Sunset admitted, and the reproachful look from her mentor did not help. “I didn’t do anything wrong, I assure you. I think he’s just keeping an extra eye on me because of my profile.”

Celestia nodded. “I wish I could help you there, but that’s no longer my balliwick. That being said, as a superintendent, it will give me a little more leeway to watch over the individual SIRENs at whatever schools they attend, so long as they are within the school district. It’s just that you’ll have to deal with Whiskey being a Saberhawk instead of a Wondercolt, and the others going to other schools as well.”

“ECHS sucks,” Sunset teased.

“I’m not allowed to play favorites there,” Celestia said with a smile. “Are there any others that I should be aware of?”

As part of the bonding session and in order to get used to their human forms, the triplets were having dinner with their new SIREN charges. Not surprisingly, they were all getting adjusted to their forms far faster than expected. Other aspects, however, were apparently going to take some getting used to.

Moonblazer, now a human girl of African-American persuasion, pouted, and the look on her face was priceless. “What do you mean I can’t drink?” she gasped. “Do you understand how much I need my fix of Sweet Apple Acres Premium Reserve Apple Cider?”

“Moons,” Aria told her, “Look, you might be twenty-six as a mare, but as a human girl, you’re seventeen. That means you’re underage – the legal age where we’re from is twenty-one. Trust me, it’s easier if you just get used to this now.”

Moonblazer pushed purple bangs out of her eyes. “But that’s not fair!” she grumbled.

“Then you don’t need this.” A hand reached over and took the mug; a second later, it was drained and placed in front of a stoic-looking petite blonde woman with pink eyes and in her early twenties. “Not as good as Stalliongrad vodka but it suffices,” Ushanka commented.

“You owe me a new one,” Moonblazer hissed.

“Нет. Alcohol stunts fillies’ growth,” Ushanka said with a straight face. “Wait until you are old enough.”

“Is it just me, or did she just make a joke?” Sonata asked Adagio, who merely shrugged.

Embiggen blushed. “I guess that means I can’t either, I guess.” She handed her mug to Tomahawk, who wordlessly took it. “I mean, I think.”

“Yeah, but you’re tall, Biggie,” Adagio noted. “Yes, officially you’re just going to be sixteen, but tall girls get away with a lot of stuff. And since you’re an amazon—”

“I thought you said I was, um…what was the term again?”

“White,” Aria noted. “Like my sisters and I are Chinese, you’re white. But what ‘amazon’ means, is that you’re tall – really tall – and have a lot of muscles. Typically girls like Ushanka here would fit that description, but obviously she doesn’t. You however, do; and since you’re just sixteen, it means you might grow even taller.”

Now it was Embiggen’s turn to pout. “But why can’t I be a normal size?”

“Sorry, can’t help you there,” Sonata stated.

A woman with dusky skin and long salt-and-pepper hair done in a braid, nodded. “Perhaps that’s just the way things are, just a path to stay on par,” Ekene told her fellow SIREN.

“You’re going to have to work on that,” Adagio told her. “On Earth, nobody rhymes unless they’re a rapper.”

“A rapper, you say? What’s that, if I may?”

Adagio rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you’re really going to have to work on that.”

While Adagio struggled to explain rap music to the zebra-turned-human, Sunny Side was having her own conversation with Tomahawk.

“Huh, sounds pretty frightening,” Tomahawk said after hearing Side’s first-hoof account of the incident in Lonesome Dove over a year ago.

“Yeah, admittedly Archmagus Beryl did most of the work resolving the incident, but Cpt. Skyracer must’ve spoken pretty highly of me in his report, because next thing I know he tells me that I was in line for a promotion to a pretty sweet position in the Romance Guard!”

“Huh. That’s wonderful!” Tomahawk said with a smile before taking another sip of her tea. It was then that Side noticed that the alcoholic beverage Embiggen had handed Tomahawk was placed aside, completely untouched in favor of the cup of tea.

“You don’t drink, Tommi?” the earth mare turned fair-skinned girl asked, and Moonblazer glared daggers at her; evidentially, she thought it unfair that one of the lucky mares to be a legal adult in human form did not partake.

However, this went unnoticed by Tomahawk as she glanced between Sunny Side and the cup of tea in her hands with a look of mild confusion on her face. “What do you mean? I’m drinking right now.”

Sunny giggled. “I meant alcohol.”

There was a pause before Tomahawk nodded in understanding. “Oh, no – never tried it before. Never felt like I needed to when my parents made the best tea in the country.”

It was then that Moonblazer’s baleful gaze turned mischievous as she grinned at Tomahawk. “Well, no time like the present to try it, right? We are celebrating a major turning point in our careers, after all!”

Tomahawk picked up Embiggen’s cider and studied it uncertainly for a moment. “Well, I suppose you’re right.” The ruddy-skinned girl then did exactly what Moonblazer hoped and took a great gulp from the mug.

The attention of the whole table was then drawn to Tomahawk as she started uncontrollable coughs, sputtering and gasping for great lungfuls of air. Several more seconds went by before she even attempted to speak again.

“Is it—” she wheezed before another coughing fit occurred, her voice much hoarser than it was previous. “Is it supposed to burn like that?”

“Yup!” Moonblazer happily exclaimed.

“Ugh, this is….” Tomahawk paused to chase the drink with some of her tea, and only then did her normal voice return. “This is really awful. Why do ponies drink this stuff?”

“We don’t drink it for the taste!” the former batpony cheered.

Sonata, meanwhile, thought that Tomahawk’s reaction was far too strong to be normal, and also noticed that Moonblazer seemed too pleased with herself. Picking up the offending mug, she sniffed, then inquired, “There’s more than just cider in here, isn’t there?”

With a grin, Moonblazer pulled out a small flask. “I always add a shot of whiskey to my drink!” she explained.

Across the table, a young Japanese girl looked up from her meal. “Yes?” she asked.

“She didn’t mean you, Whiskey,” Aria stated as she quickly snatched the flask out of Moonblazer’s hand.

“Hey! Give that back!” Moonblazer snarled at Aria, trying to reach for the flask. The middle triplet, on the other hand, deftly moved out of the range of Moonblazer’s grasp.

Adagio watched all of this with a nostalgic smile on her face, her plate almost forgotten.

They already looked like a Sisterhood to her.

Blueblood escorted Octavia back to her room. “Thanks for dinner,” she told him. “I actually had a fun time tonight.”

“I’m glad you did,” Blueblood told her. “I hope that in some small way, I was able to make up for all the pain and suffering you’ve had to endure because of the name Blueblood.”

“Which wasn’t your fault, you know,” she told him.

“All the same, I still wish you the best,” he assured her. “I take it you’ll be going back tomorrow? To the same location?”

Octavia nodded. “I have to pick up my musical instruments tomorrow, as well as do some other errands before I attend Sunny’s speech before the assembly of nobles.” Her smile fell, however, as she admitted, “I…I don’t know how to react to that, though. Ponies will undoubtedly know what happened and they’ll blame it on me.”

“They won’t, I assure you. You were a victim of a mad prince who thought he could do anything he wanted in order to satisfy his desires, and that gallant ponies gave their lives to save yours and save Sunset’s honor. I know you don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.” He looked at her and could see the pain in her eyes. “Tomorrow won’t be easy for you, I know. But if you are anything like the person I met today, then I know you are strong enough to manage that.”

Despite everything, she blushed. “Thank you,” she told him.

“As for the speech, I have to attend that as well,” he stated, “though thankfully it’s one of those few times with enough situational gravitas that I can be myself and not have to act the fool.” He then thought about it for a second, then gave himself a nod as if approving some unspoken concept. “So what time should I pick you up tomorrow?”

Octavia blinked at the sudden change. “Excuse me?”

“If you still have to head out into town, the fact is, you will still need an escort, both due to your VIP status and the extra threat that was presented to you. Plus, I’m sure it would put Sunset at ease if you were with somepony trustworthy. Because I’m free for the most part tomorrow, I would consider it an honor if you would allow me to accompany you.”

“But your highness—” Octavia protested, but he cut it off with a raised hoof.

“Please, just Blu is fine. My friends and family call me that. Only those not in the know insist on calling me by my full name and only those who completely believe me to be a pompous asshat call me by my title. Of course, the truth of that is that I’m usually the one insisting to them that they do, because it’s all a part of my guise.”

Octavia prevaricated as she opened the door to her room. “Well….”

“Besides, I know the best place for breakfast tomorrow – Donut Joe’s has the best coffee and crullers in town,” he told her in a conspiratorial tone. “I daresay they’re even better than the chefs here in the palace, if I may be so bold.”

“The best in town?” she asked, and in reply, he merely gave her a look that stated, you doubt me?

“Okay, okay, fine. What time would be good for you?”

“How does eight sound?”

The raven-haired girl thought about it. “Okay,” she said with a satisfied nod. “You’ve convinced me. See you then.”

He gave a courtly bow and said, “Until the morning.” With that, he walked off, a smile on his face.

Octavia went into her room and closed the door before slumping to the floor. I have to be out of my mind! I just agreed to do something with Blueblood? I mean, I know he’s not the same Blueblood, but… She sighed. Now I know how Sunny feels whenever Flash is mentioned. Still, she got off the floor and went to check her clothing. If she was going to go out with someone tomorrow, she had to look her best right?

A thought then hit her.

Wait…is it a date?

The confusion remained with her for the rest of the evening.

Day Five: Morning: You Will Know

As was the norm, Donut Joe’s was a bustling hive of activity and a nexus for breakfast in Canterlot. Whether highborn or commoner, the place was packed with mares and stallions enjoying the finest confections that the establishment had to offer. The tables within the establishment were seated to capacity, even to the rafters – quite literally so, given last month’s installation of special cloud tables for pegasi and batponies so they could partake and allow the use of tables by more terrestrial patrons. And in the center of it all, entreating his customers like a great prophet of pastries, was Donut Joe himself, taking the time to speak to his clientele on a personal basis as he somehow managed to single-hoofedly run a busy restaurant that would have completely exhausted a lesser individual.

With a steaming mug of raspberry hot chocolate in one hand and an oversized apple fritter in the other, Octavia had a sublime smile on her face. “You’re right – this place is great!”

Seated across from her with a coffee in his magic field, Blueblood gave an appreciative nod. “I’m glad you think so. I’ve come here for years, and to date, Donut Joe has never done anything less than his best. Even on the days when he’s sick and his wife has to run the counter, well, she’s not too bad either, though Mocha Latte’s better in the coffee department, truth be told.”

Octavia looked at him oddly. “You come here on a regular basis?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he admitted. “Even when I’ve been on assignments, I’ve actually had some of my subordinates bring me a delivery.” He chuckled. “Smokescreen insists that I’m addicted to the coffee, if you believe her.”

“But based on your image, wouldn’t you not be caught dead in a place like this?”

“True. But we’re not here right now…in a manner of speaking.” His horn flickered, and a mirror appeared before them. Octavia looked in the mirror, and found what she looked at, was not what was looking back at her. The reflection Blueblood gave off was one of a bucktoothed sand-colored earth stallion with a sweat-stained green ball cap, while her reflection was that of a cute earth mare with a pine-green coat and a short honey-brown mane.

“I thought it was prudent to disguise us both,” he explained as he made the mirror vanish. “Me for the obvious reasons, but you as well, not only because of what you endured at that one restaurant, but so that you could also eat without being bothered. While I know you’ve had a better experience at the music store, our intelligence states that whoever was behind the magic assault that hit you is still at large, and so I thought better to be safe than sorry.”

“Thanks,” Octavia stated. “I appreciate the gesture.”

“Think nothing of it. I’m used to providing the disguise, as a dear friend of mine came up with the idea.” Without prompting, he continued. “She was my sister’s best friend and is a sort of sister figure to me as well, truth be told and she’s usually the one who uses it. She’s actually put up with a lot of things: she’s been a foalhood confidant and one of the few who knows my secrets – and in return for that, all she gets is endless grief from society.” A frown came over his face as he moved his forehooves in a sort of “air quotes” mannerism, stating, “Because ‘she’s the only earth pony Prince Blueblood has any respect for, he must be sleeping with her,’ quote unquote. I hate that she cannot live her life in peace, because she feels she needs to protect me from the sort of actual bitdigging trophy mare that the nobility clearly thinks I’m interested in.”

But that wasn’t what Octavia focused on. “She used to be your sister’s friend?” A second later, she recalled. “This is the sister that passed away during the war here, isn’t it? I remember Razz mentioning something about a war, and that while she was stuck on Earth for three weeks, something like a year or so had passed here.”

“About eight months,” Blueblood explained. “And yes, what brought her to your world was the result of an event during which the monstrous centaur warlord Tirek tried to kill her. Unfortunately, he did succeed in killing Archmagus Beryl’s bodyguard. That bodyguard was my sister, Pavane Bayan. I may be a spymaster, but Pav was born to follow in our mother’s footsteps as a Princess’ Hoof.” He shuddered as he admitted, “She died saving the world…but I would do anything to have her back.”

Octavia gasped, nearly dropping her mug in the process. “Oh my God…Blu, I’m so sorry to hear that! I had no idea!”

He closed his eyes, the pain clearly etched on his face. “Sometimes…sometimes when I sleep, I dream about when she and I were just foals. I was two years older than her, but we were inseparable and I could always confide in her. And then I wake up and realize what world I live in now and I…I just want to lash out at the unfairness of it all.” To her surprise, a broken look came over his face. “My sister deserved to be the princess she was, but she desired something more: She wanted to be a hero, to be better than so many of the undeserving plotholes out there who only care about stealing bits from the poor and hurling insults at their so-called ‘lessers’.”

Something inside Octavia reacted to his words, and a part of her wished that she had met this Blueblood first instead of that other one. Maybe then she wouldn’t be as broken as she felt she was. To use a line of thought more akin to how Rainbow related things, Prince Blueblood played at being Billionaire Playboy when he was in truth Batman. His human counterpart, on the other hand, was merely the empty suit who didn’t even have the ability to imagine himself as such.

To her own surprise, she found herself reaching out, embracing the stallion before her. Part of her recoiled at the thought that she was actually embracing Blueblood, but then she just as quickly reminded herself that this wasn’t Blueblood, the asshole that had tried something unsavory on her and later Rarity. No, this Blueblood felt remorse for how she’d been treated by his counterpart, even though it was no fault of his. He clearly cared about his friends and family and was clearly devastated by the loss of his sister. He was diligent and dutiful and everything that the Blueblood she’d known actually was, to the one she was holding, it was only ever an act, a cover identity.

“I hate myself,” he said softly to her. He looked at her, and in his blue eyes she could see something all too familiar: self-loathing. “I hate everything about myself and everything that I’ve become. I hate that I couldn’t protect my sister when she needed me and that I can’t protect the mare who’s just as much a sister to me from the world’s contempt and spite. I hate that I have to live a lie that I am tired of living, but I can’t let the monsters out there win.”

Octavia, though she said nothing, was shocked by his words. The Blueblood she’d known would never have admitted such a thing. Hell, the boy she knew was such an egomaniac that he would have fucked his girlfriend – and knowing her, Suri would have gone right along with it – on top of a Hollywood-sign-sized I LOVE ME announcement just to make sure the world got the message. He would never have humbled himself the way this prince – a literal prince, no less! – had just done.

“I know how that feels,” she found herself admitting. “Hating yourself? I know that all too well.” Now it was his turn to look at her in surprise, and she couldn’t stop herself. “I’m an only child and I live with my aunt and uncle, since my parents live overseas. I have three cousins at home, plus three more girls on my aunt’s side who are like sisters to me as well and who I’ve known for years even though my mind also knows that I’ve only known them a handful of months due to the whole time change that Sunset’s grandmother did.”

He looked at her in surprise. “I…was not aware that Queen Faust had affected your world so.”

“Oh, she definitely did, and what’s worse, is that fuckery is because of Sunset! I mean, I have to deal with the fact that my cousin – someone who I love like a sister – is not only not human, but she’s a literal Goddamn goddess! I mean, never mind that she’s not the goddess of our realm, never mind the fact that humanity has probably five-thousand-odd ones, give or take a few. Because of her, I can remember a whole life that supposedly never happened, while I’m adjusting to the fallout of the life I’ve always lived…which I didn’t know existed up until a month and a half ago!

“But do you know what the hardest part of it all is? Living with the monster inside me. Having to take medicines that prevent that monster from coming out and hurting Twily or the triplets, or even trying to do worse to Sunny. They’re my sisters – the only ones I will ever have – and that…that beast…inside me would do nothing more than gleefully shred them if not worse!” Tears now welled in her own eyes as she sobbed, “There are days when all I can see in the mirror isn’t my own reflection, but Melody, damn her, as if she’s just biding the days until I don’t have control anymore. And it scares me!”

Now it was his turn to hold her, as she cried. The two tearfully held one another, while other ponies, watching the display, gave them the needed space to deal with their grief. It wasn’t anything they would have done for Prince Blueblood, or for the strange being from another world. But for the two ponies they appeared to be, it was as though they were just a part of the background, the rearmost element in the story of somepony else’s life.

Seated in a hastily-arranged conference room at Naval headquarters, the new SIRENs looked over the paperwork that would dictate their new lives as humans. Already many of them had several questions and more than a few of them were surprised by what would be their undercover identities in the human world – especially those that had not expected what had come their way courtesy of the documents prepared by the senior SIRENs.

“What the buck?” Moonblazer moaned, as she slapped a hand against the documents on the table. “This is seriously messed up!” She then picked up the stack of papers, brandishing them like an evil talisman. “It’s bad enough that I gotta be underage, but now I can’t fly? What in Tartarus is with that shit?”

In response, Sonata merely pointed a finger towards the girl’s back…and the decided lack of wings she had there, as if that was enough to clarify things. It clearly wasn’t.

“But I’m the best flyer in the world! Probably two worlds, once I get to yours!” the former batpony shouted. “You can’t do this to me! How in Tartarus am I supposed to rule the skies if I can’t reach them?”

“I thought the local Rainbow Dash was supposed to be the best flyer ponies have?” Aria asked Adagio.

Moonblazer, overhearing that, responded with the expected disdain: “That two-bit nag has nothing on me and she knows it!”

“But isn’t she on the Wonderbolts?” Embiggen asked meekly, only to be met with a harsh glare from the other girl.

“So what? All those day-siders get on the good flight squadrons and we get stuck with the night-fighting squadrons! I’ll bet that if that jerk Capt. Spitfire had some braincells, she’d put some of us in the ‘Bolts, pronto! But nooooooooo – that might make her look bad!”

“Relax, will you?” Adagio explained. “You’re now in a unit even more elite than the Wonderbolts, so you can crow about that all you want.”

She pouted and crossed her arms. “Not if I can’t be the best there is.”

“Maybe not as a batpony, but probably as a human. After all, your counterpart is on the track team at her high school, and so I’m sure you’ll be able to do the same at Everfree Glades High.”

At that pronouncement, Moonblazer’s jaw dropped even farther. “I have to go back to school?” she stammered. When the senior SIREN nodded. Moonblazer banged her head on the desk. “Princess Luna,” she moaned, “why have you forsaken me?”

Meanwhile, Embiggen read hers, taking some time to do so and asking Ekene, who was seated next to her, various questions here and there. She then looked at her documents nervously before turning to Adagio. “Um…Captain? Is this right? According to this, I’ll be attending Bella Vista High School?”

“Yeah. We had to do a lot of scrambling last night and Ms. Celestia helped us identify the best locations for each of the underage SIRENs to be placed at. Unfortunately, because of the unusual situation with you, Biggie, you’ll have to attend BV High. Is that a problem?”

“No!” she said, a shy smile coming to her face. “I…never really finished my schooling.”

“You didn’t?” Sonata asked her.

Embiggen shook her head. “I got so big that other foals would make fun of me for being the size of a full-grown mare before I even got my cutie mark, and it got so bad my parents pulled me out. They tried to tutor me at home, but….” She sighed. “That’s part of the reason I’m in the Guard. You don’t need an extensive education to be a guardspony.”

Adagio looked at Embiggen. “Um…how little schooling are we talking?”

“Oh, I have the standard pre-mark education. That’s mandatory in Equestria,” the amazonian girl blurted something under her breath. “Basically, reading, writing and I can do my multiplication up to 12. I also know some basic Equestrian history, too!”

Sonata quickly did the math. “So…we’re looking at a third-grade education,” she told her sisters.

“I don’t even want to know how they allow that,” Adagio sighed.

“Sounds like they just want bodies, not educated people. That or some of the ponies believe that having brains and being in the military is a contradiction,” Aria noted.

“Well, we’re going to have to have Twily give Embiggen a placement test and then ask Sunny to come up with the appropriate infodump spell.”

Aria groaned. “Oh God – not those again. Those things gave me a headache!”

“Not for us, sis – them. They are moving to Earth, and we can’t have them saying ‘anypony’ or ‘anyhuman’ or things like that,” Adagio reminded her. She then looked at the others. “Anyone else have any questions?”

“What is ‘exchange student’?” Ushanka asked, looking at her paperwork.

“And this Egypt place that’s mentioned here; I know not what that is, I fear,” Ekene added. “It’s logical to have a guise, but this won’t work, I do surmise.”

Adagio shook her head; she might not be having an infodump stare moment, but she was starting to feel a headache nonetheless. “Look, Ushanka, your counterpart is a student at the Volgograd Institute of International Trade, Economics and Law, which is one of the biggest universities in Russia. So naturally, you’re going to be an exchange student at Canterlot State.”

“I still do not understand,” the petite blonde stated.

“An exchange student is when you’re normally attending one school, but you go to another one for a short visitation period. In high school, it’s typically for a couple of weeks to a month, but for college, which you’ll be in, it’ll be for a year or so. Afterwards, we can come up with a reason why you decided to stay in Canterlot.”

“Acceptable,” was the terse response.

She then looked at Ekene. “And Ekene, your counterpart is a museum researcher in Alexandria, Egypt, so it makes sense for you to have a job at ECMAH. Besides, it will put you in a position where you might be able to study the potential of human magic on Earth. While it’s believed to be a myth for the most part, we’ve come across evidence that supports that it’s anything but.”

“Sounds intriguing – I’ll surely be seeking,” Ekene stated.

“Well, at least I’m working in a tea shop,” Tomahawk commented. “That makes sense.”

“Not exactly. Technically your counterpart is an expat working in a head shop in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, but the Admiral thinks that running a one-to-one comparison there would be bad for a number of reasons.”

“Uh, what’s a head shop?”

“It’s a store that sells illicit substances. They’re illegal where we’ll be living, but it’s legal there.”

“That sounds harsh,” Tomahawk observed.

“Yeah. So as a result, we’re going to see if Applejack’s connections with that tea shop out in Shasta View is any good. From what I understand, the owner’s a friend of Applejack’s mom, so we might be able to get you a job there.”

“Sounds awesome.”

“Well, what about me?” Sunny Side asked. “I mean, I get the college student part – I was considering accepting an instructor position at the Guard Academy prior to my promotion as a cohort vice-commander in the Romance Guard, so that part I can deal with.” She pointed at one particular document, adding, “But the rest of it I really don’t understand, especially the mentions of chocolate?”

“Oh, that,” Sonata said with an awkward grin. “Unfortunately, you don’t have a counterpart on Earth. Well, not exactly….”

“I thought everypony…er, everyone did?”

“Yeah, well….” The youngest triplet scratched the back of her head nervously before continuing. “Your counterpart isn’t exactly named Sunny Side. Her name is Mint Chocolate. And well…she’s a celebrity.”

“Yeah, she’s Soni’s favorite celebrity,” Aria, not being able to pass up an opportunity to tease her sister, interjected. “You should have seen how ga-ga she went when she finally got to meet the Chocolate Twi—oof!” Her words were cut off as Sonata elbowed her sister in the ribs.

“This is going to be one of those long stories, isn’t it?” Side inquired.

“Okay, let’s take a break,” Adagio groaned. “I’m going to go find some Advil.”

In her new establishment, the former duchess Highfalutin stood at the window of her private chambers. She looked out the blasted, bleak grounds that made up her new barony, and right now she awaited her executive assistant to complete the litany of her morning’s events. Truth be told, she really didn’t care what was on her schedule, anyway; most of it was just manticoreshit meeting with the peasants, pretending to listen to their concerns and probably giving a pep talk to the forces nominally under her authority. She’d done things like this when she was in charge of her previous landholdings, and now she had to make this rough piece of coal a diamond worthy of her. That would not be easy, not by any means.

Damn that harridelle Celestia! ran through her mind, though it didn’t come across her face.

“…and at ten is the initial meeting of this year’s Yield Preparatory Committee. That should only be an hour, your grace, after which your schedule is clear for the remainder of the evening.” Behind her, the unicorn heard the click of a clipboard being set to the side. Now, if the filly was properly trained, she would stand there, waiting for the next command. And given the sound of youth in her voice, she was doing so eagerly, waiting to prove her usefulness.

Highfalutin’ gave herself a private smile, reflected in the window. Time to start turning fortune towards her favor again.

“‘Your Highness,’” Highfalutin’ corrected her. For one, she would stomach the indignity of being referred to as a lesser rank no longer. It suited her to merely be a duchess when it would gain her power, but now here, where that damned alicorn – her so-called “aunt” – had exiled her, she would not stand for a moment’s more of such a gross display of insolence. She would let those here know they lived and died under the call of her hoof. Her hoof, not those damned abominations in Canterlot.

“I’m…sorry, Baroness?” came the answer.

“I am a princess, a princess of this realm,” Highfalutin’ stated. “I have been placed in charge of this pit in order to turn it into a land worthy of Equestria and so I will do so – but I will do it under my proper method. Am I clear?”

The mare’s eyes widened slightly at the realization she’d committed a horrible offense, even she had not realized it. “A thousand pardons, Your Highness!” she yelped, immediately dropping to a bow. “It’s just that the prior baron—”

“I am not the prior liege of this place, as you can see,” she said, turning to face the younger mare. As she did, what she saw intrigued her: The assistant, a mousy mud pony who barely looked as though she’d just finished up her schooling, adjusted her glasses. Brown coat, white-blonde mane, and soft green eyes – there was nothing about her that served any value whatsoever, as far as Highfalutin’ was concerned. Less than nothing, even.

Still…if she was going to be here for a while, she would need a hobby. And making diamonds out of coals was a particularly favorite hobby of hers. She had done it before…here, she could do so again.

“What is your name?” Highfalutin’ asked.

The mare was quiet for a second before speaking. “Teeline, Your Highness,” she said in a soft voice.

Highfalutin’ took a step forward, changing her attention. “And do you know what your first mistake was, Teeline?”

“No, Your Highness.”

Highfalutin’ bent down and reached towards the mud pony’s head, lifting up her muzzle. “You faltered.” With a smile on her face, she soft in soft tones, “Yes, in the past I was known as Duchess Highfalutin’, because I needed to be a pony of the people, to let them know that I am on their side and always there for them. But this place is different. This place needs a strong hoof, and so I must – as much as I dislike the idea,” she said with a theatrical sigh, “be a princess for them. The populace here in Percheron crave a leader like a parched pony in the Badlands craves water, and they naturally look up to princesses, do they not? Therefore, I must be a princess for them.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Teeline said, her green eyes full of confusion, though there was a glimmer of intelligence there. That was a positive sign, Highfalutin’ noted; there was a potential there and not just a vapidity that would be useless to her.

“If you are to be in my employ, Teeline, I will need you to be as strong as I am. You are my executive assistant, are you not? That means you are a seneschal.” The unicorn smiled. “Of course, given that this is such a low posting, I do not need a true seneschal, but that is not the point. What is the point is that as my assistant, you are my right-hoof mare, and that means that others will look to you for guidance and information as to how to work with me. You cannot falter, or else they will take advantage of you.”

Helping her back to her hooves, Highfalutin’ ran a soft hoof against Teeline’s withers. To a casual onlooker, it would be seen as nothing more than a friendly gesture, but Highfalutin’ had enough experience to know that where she ran her hoof across could be, to some mares, an erogenous zone. Sure enough, she felt Teeline’s coat ripple underneath her touch, and she knew she struck gold. Old enough to be of value, the unicorn thought, but not old enough to have learned self-control yet. That means I have plenty of room to work with.

“I will need to rely on you to straighten this barony out – to make Percheron the envy of all the provinces,” Highfalutin’ stated, noting the flustered flush on the younger mare’s face. “So I will need you to be strong. Both for me and for yourself. After all, my successes will be your successes as well, will they not?”

“Yes,” Teeline said, calming down.

“Then this will be your first assignment, Teeline. I have studied this ‘Yield Preparatory Committee’, and do you know what it is? It is a farce. It is a group of the largest landholders in the province, working together to find a way to appease the raiders who storm our lands. They are a bunch of scared little colts and fillies who would rather give up the hard-worn fruits of labor – the very resources our ponies need to survive – and to give it to those pirates. I will not countenance that for our ponies one moment more!” With a conspiratorial smile on her face, she said, “So this is what I want you to do: You are going to attend the meeting in my place, and when those fools demand to know where I am and what I am up to? I want you to tell them that I do not answer to them – they answer to me. And I will most certainly demand an answer as to why they have abandoned their duties to Crown and Country, and to the very ponies suffering because of their actions. If they wish to hem and haw, let them – if they wish to spit fire and make noise? Let them – show them that we are completely unimpressed by their false bravado, and that finally, when they wish to see reason and present a plan as to how we will win back what we have lost for our ponies, then – and only then – will I meet with them. Is that clear?”

Gears seemed to click in Teeline’s head. “Yes, Your Highness,” she said, her voice a little firmer.

“Oh, and let the housekeeping staff know that you and I will be having a working dinner tonight. I think we should get to know each other a little better so we can plan to turn Percheron into a land that even Manehattanites will look upon with jealousy, correct?”

“Of course!” A second later, she gasped. “Oh, but I have a date tonight with my coltfriend!”

Inwardly, Highfalutin’ frowned, but she never removed the placid look from her face. “I’m sure he won’t mind if you cancel. After all, this has the opportunity to make things better for everypony, correct?”

“Of course, Your Highness! I’m sure Sterling Heart won’t mind at all,” she agreed. “I just need to let him know.”

“Good. Now, go ahead and do whatever you need to do to prepare for that meeting,” Highfalutin’ told her, “and remember: as far as they are concerned, you are me. You don’t answer to them – they answer to you, got that? In the meanwhile, I need to meet with the captain of my guard to assess our military situation.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” With a newly-built confidence, Teeline strode out, a smile on her face.

Once she was gone, Highfalutin’ gave herself a satisfied smirk. Teeline would be easy to break and turn into putty in her hooves. Plus, as worthless as mudponies were, they did have one use: they were fantastic in bed.

A second later, there was a knock at the door, followed by a guardspony poking his head in. Unlike the true professionals of the EUP or the other services, the local provincial guard were ragtag and showed it. “Captain Redeye and her…associate…are here to see you.”

“Please, let them in,” Highfalutin’ said as she walked towards her bar. At that moment, two individuals walked in. Redeye had worked with Highfalutin’ for years now and was one of the closest confidants the unicorn had – mainly because she knew Redeye’s secrets as well. The brooding unicorn mare in the custom-made black armor had a way about her that made others stay clear of her, and that was fine by Highfalutin’. It made it easier for her to do her job. After all, there were few unicorns with charcoal-gray coats, and Redeye’s namesake soft-red eyes and burgundy mane along with her bullseye cutie mark made her somewhat unapproachable to begin with.

But it was her counterpart, another of Highfalutin’s associates, that made others pause. Trapper was an Abyssinian, a species rarely seen in Equestria; they were similar to minotaurs, but apparently descended from cats instead of cattle. However, that was where Trapper’s ties to his own species ended. Wearing a travel-stained duster coat and a traveler’s hat, the former covered the bandoliers he usually wore, those equipped with poison quarrels for his crossbows. The look clashed with his patchy calico fur as did his eyepatch, the result, he said, of “the one time he tried to be nice”; he said he learned his lesson about that real quick.

They were ruthless, murderous and as far from ponies as ponies could be – mainly because neither were ponies. But as long as Trapper kept to the shadows and Redeye continued to look like a perpetually-angry unicorn, they would serve Highfalutin’ well.

Redeye looked at the door where Teeline had been a second before, then turned back to Highfalutin’. “I know that look in your eye,” she said gruffly. “How long do you think it’ll be before you have her between your stifle?”

Highfalutin’ laughed. “Oh, Redeye, you say the most charming things,” she said in a smirk. “What makes you think that?”

Trapper took off his hat and twirled it on a claw. “Well, that’s what you did with your previous pet project. Tell me,” he said with a malicious grin, “did you know that Steno genuinely thought he was your true love until his dying breath?”

“And you would know that how?”

He gave a shrug. “Did you forget who you paid to make sure he took his dying breath, Princess?” he said plainly.

“No, no I did not. And remember, I asked you to kill Steno because he was starting to be…inconvenient. I have my pets, but the moment they start thinking that they’re equals in a relationship with me? Well, I won’t have that. Not from featherdusters like Steno or mudponies like my newest toy.”

“And I gather you want us to find out everything there is to know about your little plaything?” Redeye asked. “Well, fortunately for you, I already got a head start on that: Sterling Heart is a sergeant under my command and was the acting garrison commander until I got here. That colt is so sickeningly head-over-hooves for that filly of his that I get full just when he talks about her. Still, he’s also got a weakness: he’s got a wandering eye and I think you can use that to your advantage in the long term.”

“Good. That’s a start. I want more info. Now, Trapper, what do you know about the lay of the land here, especially with the provincial guard?”

Trapper chuckled under his breath, a hissy, sibilant sound. “I was able to breach the guard barracks and take out the roving patrol with little effort. They actually think he’s off somewhere drunk and sleeping it off under a tree. By the time they find his body….” The Abyssinian placed his hat back on his head, “they’ll think it was some pirate who was scouting and decided to leave a reminder of, and I quote, ‘who’s in charge here’.”

“I’m going to enjoy breaking these worthless fools and turning them into real fighters,” Redeye said, her own chuckle holding no trace of humor. “They might even appreciate not being fodder for the birdos for a change.”

“And what about the main villages?” Highfalutin’ asked.

Redeye rolled her eyes. “Seatown makes Klugetown look like fuckin’ Ponyville. That place is a shithole even by mudpony standards. And the worst part is, it’s probably the best of the five villages in this forsaken blasted waste of space.”

“Rock Ridge is no better,” Trapper added. “Best you can say about the other three: Treeline, Dry Vale and Pegasus’ Flight, is that they’re filled with inbred hicks who don’t realize how lucky they have it. The rabble are stupid, though there is one pony that is a concern.”

“Oh?”

Redeye nodded. “Sunmane, the mayor of Dry Vale. She’s got some…odd…notions about how things should work here. From what little I gather, she had the attention of the previous baron and was able to try to talk him into making some changes here and there. If you’re not careful, she’ll be a thorn in your side.”

“Well, then that will be a thorn you’ll just have to take care of, right? Maybe she’ll run afoul of a timberwolf or two.”

“No timberwolves in this part of the country,” Redeye responded, “but I’m sure I can come up with something.”

“Good. See that you do.” Highfalutin’s horn lit and two large sacks appeared before them, jingling. “Red, start breaking the guard and fixing it. I want us to look good and more importantly, I don’t want some feeble-brained drooling mudpony being the last line of defense between me and a pirate’s blade, got that?”

“Me neither,” she admitted.

“Trapper, you grease whatever hooves you need to find out everything about Sterling Heart and Sunmane. I want a full report on their capabilities and weaknesses by the end of the week.” She grinned wickedly. “And then after that, I’ll strike.”

“Oh? You plan to move that fast?” Redeye asked.

“Oh, with the eagerness my new toy has? She’ll do it herself and think it was her idea,” came the response. Walking back towards her desk in order to get a drink, she then added, “And now to the last part: the pirates. We need to show those birdos who their betters are. Aside from your breach, I understand there was an additional raid of a small town by the beach last night?”

Trapper nodded. “Yes. Small place called Shelltown. From what I know, they raided the granary there. No deaths, but they took most of the stores.”

“Okay. From what I understand, the Wow and Flutter is in the area. Signal to their captain to bombard the griffin coastline in retaliation. I don’t care what they hit; I want a message sent: that theft from us will no longer be tolerated.”

“You mean theft from you.”

She shrugged. “One and the same, so it matters little. What does matter is that I want that message sent. After the Navy is done with their little show of force, I want you to take the best forces you have, cross the strait and send the real message.” Her eyes became twin suns of hatred. “Kill whatever is in your path, whether it be a pirate in her or his prime, an elderly griffin or the chick just out of her egg, understood?”

Trapper gave a brutal smile. “So I have your permission to, ‘run wild’, as the saying goes?”

“I expect nothing less from you, Trapper.” Highfalutin’ smiled, and there was a perverse sense of pride in that rictus. “Let those featherheads know the moment they step out of line, we’ll simply depopulate them. After all, even the worthless species care about their young.” She poured herself a glass of wine and swirled it in her magic field, a cruel smile coming to her face. “Soon I will make this place my own and Celestia will realize she has given me the means to topple her. And I assure you, when Unicornia is reborn under my aegis, the rabble will know what it is like to have a true scion of Platinum upon the throne once more.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Sunset told Adagio, coffee cup brandished in hand like a sacred talisman. For a rare moment since she arrived, Sunset was allowed a break from her non-stop political run around and learning how to be a princess via trial by fire. Unfortunately, given what was going to occur later that day, that was probably the reason why she was being let off the relative hook, she realized.

Adagio blinked. “But you’re….”

“A normal teenage girl?” Sunset reminded her cousin.

“Seriously.”

“I am being serious. I know what you’re thinking: ‘yes, I should be able to just tap them on the forehead and voila! Instant knowledge?”

“I saw you do that with the bi…with Beryl,” the SIREN sighed. “So I know you can do it.”

“Sure…if we want Ekene or Ushanka to be imbued with the same kind of mindset as Embiggen or the others,” Sunset told her. “But you have to remember something: forget that I’m an alicorn or a goddess or anything else. What am I?”

“My cousin, who I love like a sister and who is busy beating around the bush?” Adagio said as she leaned back in her chair.

“Ha, ha. Seriously.”

“I’m completely at a loss what you mean, Sunny.”

“I don’t mean who I am. I mean what I am. And that is…a typical girl. A typical teenage girl. A typical American teenage girl. When push comes to shove, I don’t have the worldliness that you, your sisters or even Shimmy has. That trip to Europe was the first time I’ve been outside of the US, as far as Earth is concerned.”

Adagio immediately caught what she meant. “And that means that you can’t just ‘infodump’ them?”

“I can’t give them what I don’t know. I’m a Greco-Roman sort of power, Dagi. Not Abrahamic, Vedic or Shamanistic—”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the triplet said flatly.

“Basically, I can’t give what I don’t know, any more than you can. While I am an immigrant of sorts, I have no idea what it’s like to be an immigrant from Egypt or an exchange student from Vladivostok, so I can’t help them with those particulars. I can make an infodump spell so that our quote, ‘locals’ like Embiggen or Moonblazer accurately know what life is like, and I’m sure that Cady and the others will be more than happy to help the others fit into normal American life as much as possible, but there are going to be gaps – there’s no way around it. I don’t speak Arabic, so I can’t teach it to Ekene. Likewise, I don’t know how much Russian is like Stalliongrad patois, so I’ve no clue. Hell, from what I understand, during the summer, Stalliongrad is actually sunnier than Volgograd, its equivalent on Earth.”

“No way at all?”

“Not unless you want to bring Blossomforth in on all this – she’s the only one I know of that speaks Russian, and given that she’s third-generation, it’s probably nothing like what’s current over there.”

“Great, just fucking great. I have a hard enough time getting them to use the proper pronouns, much less preventing MC Zebras-a-lot from spitting rhymes.” Adagio sighed and put her head on the table. “Fuck my life.”

Sunset giggled. “Well, this is what you wanted, Dagi.”

“Yeah, I know.” From her prone position, she smiled slightly. “I just didn’t think I’d really be the one in charge.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I have complete faith in you.”

“Because I’m the field commander?”

“Because you’re family.”

“Yeah, well, that and five bucks’ll get you a mocha at Starbucks,” Adagio said with a laugh. “But I’m sure we can work this out…well, at least I hope we can. If we’re lucky, no one’ll look too deeply at their backgrounds, and if Ekene and Ushanka are willing to do a lot of research on their own, that’ll help a lot. Hell, all of them are going to have to do so.”

“Maybe we can ask Shimmy for some help. She and her mother are well-traveled enough and we know we can trust them.”

“That’s an option worth considering,” Adagio admitted, “though I’d rather go for the in-house solutions whenever possible.”

“Okay, anything else I should be aware of?”

“Yeah.” Adagio then went on to explain Embiggen’s education – or rather, lack of it. “And she seems like she wants to learn, but she’s got a very rudimentary education. From what we can figure, at best she’s got a fourth- or fifth-grade education, and that’s a very rudimentary guess. If we’re going to throw her at a high school, we need to bring her up to speed - fast.”

“Well, fortunately, we have a secret weapon.”

“Twily?” Adagio asked.

“Twily,” Sunset agreed. “She should be able to figure out a game plan and I should be able to figure out an infodump from that point. Might have to pool some of the girls’ knowledge together – and boy does that sound weird – but I should be able to bring her up to speed.”

“Good, because she has enough issues as is, and as her commander I want the best for my troops.”

“And for those who aren’t your troops on off-hours?”

“Well, for that…well, I want the best for her. She seems like life took a dump on her because of her size and I can’t wait to realize how much of a stunner she’s going to be the moment she steps into human life.”

Sunset smiled as she reached for her coffee. “That in itself is going to be a unique challenge.”

“Oh?”

“Read up some time on the population ratio ponies have and how unnaturally balanced it is. Then take mares in their prime and make them a different species and put them on a world that doesn’t have that problem. I’m positive they’ll all have boyfriends by the end of their first week on Earth.”

“You think so?”

“Trust me, Capt. Dazzle, your biggest problem is probably not going to be protecting me or executing my requirements on Earth,” Sunset said with a knowing smile. “Your biggest problem is going to be making sure that your forces don’t end up married and pregnant before their first tour of duty is up.”

“You’re joking, right?” In response, Sunset snapped her fingers and a book entitled The Mare Problem: The Dangers of the Pony Population Imbalance appeared before her.

“You didn’t just make this up, did you?”

“No, actually it’s been on the bestselling book list all of last year,” Sunset said sadly.

“Great – now I’ll have to worry about horny, boy-crazed troops as well.”

“You have your work cut out for you, don’t you?”

Adagio laughed. “Yup. Can’t wait.”

Since she didn’t have to head into work immediately this morning, Precious Jewel stopped by one of her favorite arsenals: Rarity4You. The Canterlot store had recently opened an intimates section and she’d heard from a friend that they’d recently stocked a new supply of some pretty racy socks and saddles. Since she knew that sort of attire was going to be vital in wooing the alicorn of her dreams, she just had to stop there.

“And why am I coming with you on my day off?” Polished Silver asked her.

“Polly, if I’m going to look my sexiest for my true love, I just have to be prepared! And since you’re going to be my best mare at my wedding, I’ll need your help to make sure that I’m perfect for her!”

“And knowing you, you probably haven’t even said a single word to her much less anything else,” the other mare replied. “Have you at least told her how you feel?”

“No, but she knows! Just last night when she had me fill out a report for her, she told me that I was doing a great job!”

“Wow, that sounds like unbridled passion,” Silver drolled.

Jewel, either not catching or understanding the sarcasm, nodded in complete agreement. “Yeah! And she’s completely into me! We just need some alone time together and – easy-peasy, smiley breezy – we’ll be official special someponies!”

“You’re hopeless, you know that?”

“Hopelessly in love! You know it!”

As they entered the store, a tall, svelte unicorn mare with a vermillion-and-amber mane and cerulean coat waved at them as she came in. At the moment, she wore a tasteful black and gold dress and was minding the counter with a smile on her face. “Oh, buttons and bodkins! It is so good to see you here at Rarity4You’s Canterlot Carousel! What may I do for you esteemed mares?”

“We’re here because—” Silver began, but was cut off by Jewel’s overdrive mode.

“We’re here because my lovey-dovey special somepony Princess Sunset is so in love with me that I want to make our first night together special!” the officemare sang, “and I want the very best you have for that special moment!”

An inquisitive look came over Sassy’s face. “Is that so?”

Good, Silver thought to herself. Finally somepony besides me that will talk sense into Jewel before she does something terminally stupid!

A wide smile came over the fashionista’s face. “Why, Miss Rarity had not informed me of that. As I recall, she is a friend of the princesses! And if you are the intended of one, then by the surest stitch, I must make sure that you look ideal for your special somepony! Please, right this way – I will do my utmost to ensure that you are nothing less than completely satisfied!”

Jewel squeed.

Silver facehoofed.

In a small bedroom in the palace, a matched battle of wits occurred, a great debate the likes of which had never been seen before in Equestria. Its like would likely never come again, and though there were no bystanders to record this historic contest of wills, still it continued, a matter of great and vital importance to the two individuals whose ideological sides were undisputed and, to each, without question:

“The Power Ponies are cooler!”

“No, the Justice League is!”

This debate had gone on for the duration the two had met and discussed their commonalities and had even overshadowed the original question of import: whether it was cooler to be a dragon that turned into a dog on the other side of a mirror, or to be a dragon that had a human as a counterpart instead of a dog. Though the debate on that discussion had been ardent and lengthy, this current dilemma was of far greater import and urgency to the two opposing sides.

“Are you kidding?” A purple claw pointed at Power Ponies Unlimited Vol. 6, Issue 16. “When the Treasure Trancer trapped Radiance in her own shield and she had seconds to save Maretropolis? Now that’s claw-biting action there!”

“Oh, please! Batman would have stomped Treasure Trancer in an instant!” A young hand brandished Justice League of America, the current digital series, via his phone. “And try and tell me that someone like Zapp could handle the Joker!”

The two youths continued to argue about who the best superheroes were, each staking their claim as was their wont and duty to their culture and mores.

And while neither of them could come to a satisfactory conclusion…

…it at least kept them both out of mischief.

Once again, a crowd had gathered at Quick Note’s to watch deft fingers splay across mithril strings, with a melody more hypnotic than any siren’s utterances, crooning a bittersweet song whose lyrics contained a surprising universality, whether from their own lands or the one this song originated from. The spectators were, as like last time, silent in their awe. Some were moved to tears at the spectacle before them, while others swayed to and fro, carried on by tune and tone amongst the musical tide.

“Oh, Penelope
Are you filled with air?
Swallowed oxygen that make you float up?
Is it dropsy?
Where your lungs swell?
It’s depressing me to see you struggle…”

As the assembly of those gathered bobbed and weaved in time with the musical spell being cast, a newcomer had joined the crowd. Sitting there in disguise, appearing to be nothing more than a nondescript Solar Guard, Blueblood was utterly entranced by the aural beauty before him, utterly awed by the skillful artistry of his human companion.

Certainly he’d heard beautiful music before: His mother, being a siren, came from a culture with a rich musical background and thus she completely enjoyed music and played piano in her spare time. Likewise, Pavane had been a violin aficionado, often accompanying her best friend on her off-time. And though his youngest sister Cauda didn’t play an instrument, she often loved singing. While he himself had no particular talent in those arts, he was no stranger to tunes and melodies by any means.

And yet, somehow, this music from another world touched part of his soul that he hadn’t even seemed to know before. Octavia (his close friend and sister figure, not the human girl playing the guitar), had once told him that music was love and that when it was capable of reaching you in places you hadn’t thought were possible, that was when you realized the true power and majesty of the art itself. If so, Octavia (this time the girl playing before him) was an artist of the highest caliber.

It felt as though she was reaching out to him, note by note, pulling him forward with an invisible silken strand of tuneful twine, drawing him inexorably closer and closer, as if he had no choice but to follow the edicts of that unspoken command.

I wonder if Blazewing was right, he wondered. In his life, he hadn’t really been lucky enough to have anypony of value to stick around, and the one that he’d wanted there he had to push away because he was shackled by the twin chains of duty and his station. The former ensured that his life wasn’t truly his own, while the latter drove a bevy of bitdiggers and trophy mares towards him on a regular basis. None of those had been ever worthy of his time, not because they weren’t beautiful, elegant or refined. Oh, certainly they were, but that was only on the outside. On the inside, they were selfish, self-centered mares and he wanted nothing to do with any of them.

Only Maple Flavor had ever been worthy of his heart, and because he didn’t want her to suffer the fate that his predecessor’s wife had, he pushed her away and now she was forever away from his grasp and his heart. After that time, he’d hardened his feelings and consigned himself to the ugly realities of being alone.

But now, because of his friend’s words, for the first time he began to wonder if that was really true.

“I’m treading water with my oars
Glass galleons anchored, ocean's floor
I’m diving down with all my gear
In search of treasure, para me corazon…

“Take you to the forest
Let you feel the raindrops falling down
Seeping through your red scales
Eliminate the faucet,
Eliminate the need for water,
Replace it with a safe shell…”

This stranger, this mare that was technically not a mare…she had come out of nowhere and by happenstance come into his life. She was the alternate reality counterpart of the mare that was practically his sister, and in just a hoofful of hours had captured his attention in a way that he hadn’t even thought possible. Was Blazewing’s joke anything but? How could he look at her like that when she was another Octavia Melody, and not even a legal adult, to boot?

Is there something wrong with me?

And the music played on.

“Don’t want to see you floating upside down
On the top of the bowl when I come around to visit you
Don't want to see you floating upside down
No, girl
Need you there, need you there, need you there

“Ooh, release that air

“I’m treading water with my oars
Glass galleons anchored, ocean's floor
I’m diving down with all my gear
In search of treasure, para me corazon…”

It was funny; the song that Octavia was playing was (by her own admission) a ballad about a human worried about his pet goldfish, a paean to his beloved pet. But somehow, it seemed like more than that; it seemed as though it was also a real and metaphysical cry for freedom at the same time.

Right now, that was how Blueblood felt. Somehow his world had suddenly been turned upside down, become a whirlwind without any sense of control, and he was desperate to lay a hoof on any sense of normalcy…

…and strangely enough, he had to wonder if the appendage offering stability was not a hoof, but instead a hand.

For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to be human.

“Take you to the forest
Let you feel the raindrops falling down
Seeping through your red scales
Eliminate the faucet,
Eliminate the need for water,
Replace it with a safe shell…

“If they summon the rains now
Are you gonna rise?
If they summon the rains now
Are you gonna rise?”

As the final sound drifted away from the guitar, the room exploded in applause and Blueblood’s reverie snapped away. As his head cleared from his thoughts, he realized he was drowning in a sea of hoofstomps, whistles and cheers, all for the beautiful creature before him. He wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt a surge of jealousy, one he couldn’t explain.

He felt a jab in his side and he turned to look at Quick Note, who had a wide smile on his face. “Stallion, I tell you: my business has exploded – twice, no less! – since that human mare’s been playing here. I swear, if she stayed in Equestria, I’d give her half my store! With everything she’s done, she’s more than earned it, I tell ya!”

“She is most certainly something,” Blueblood responded in his faked Trottingham accent.

“Well, I can honestly say that it’s rare that I see an accomplished musician of any type come into my store. Even the ponies that play with Royal Canterlot Orchestra and other musical luminaries usually only come in for one instrument. The human girl here? She can play five – in addition to that acoustic guitar she’s playing, she’s also ordered a contrabass, a bass guitar, and a violin. In addition to that, she also played the piano we have in the corner for a bit. Heh, I didn’t even know that it wasn’t tuned until she played a quick ditty on it the other day and noted a sour note. And I thought ponies had the better ear for music!”

Blueblood, however, didn’t hear a thing the shopkeeper had said. Instead, his eyes were completely focused on the beauty who, having set down the guitar, idly chit-chatted with other musicians and patrons in the store. Several of them had asked about this “Penelope” (he supposed that was the name of the fish) and if all humans loved their pets enough to write a song about them, but none of that registered in his mind. All his mind was on the enchanting violet eyes, the luscious raven mane and the friendly smile that seemed to be so different from the similar individual he knew.

“I know that look, Sergeant.” Blueblood finally reacted, remembering that he was in disguise. He turned to look at the shopkeeper, who had a smile on his muzzle like the manticore that ate the phoenix. “Yeah, she’s some kind of special mare, if I don’t say so myself. Heh, look at you: pride of the Solar Guard, could probably get yourself any mare there is, and yet you’ve got your eye set on that human mare here. Just be careful: she’s tied to Princess Sunset and I suspect that after the coronation, she’s probably headed back to the human world, wherever it is. A shame, that; I know plenty of stallions who would go ga-ga over that gal.”

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir,” Blueblood replied in a weak protest. “I am merely here to provide protection for the Lady Octavia.”

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t,” Quick replied with a chuckle. “Just don’t let your heart get broken. Too many songs about that as is.” With that, he then went off to talk to Octavia himself, as well as make some announcements on the mini-stage and a few other things of note, leaving the disguised prince to his own thoughts.

“Don’t let your heart get broken”, the stallion had told him. It was too late for that. He’d had that happen far too many times. He’d let his heart die once already because of duty, and instead there were too many mares he didn’t want because, well, he wanted more than they were capable of giving. And yet, when he looked at her, he felt something he hadn’t felt in quite some time. Something he hadn’t felt since the days that he and Maple had been together, fighting the good fight and loving each other when they could.

He shook his head, chuckling – clearly, he was overthinking things. The whole idea, after all, was silly if not borderline insane. After all, she was a human and while that wasn’t particularly an issue, the fact was, she was an adolescent, whereas he was probably closer to double her age. He didn’t know how that worked in the human world, but here in Equestria, those kinds of relationships were frowned upon.

Furthermore, she was Octavia Melody, and he was Blueblood. Her counterpart was like a sister to him, and one of the few ponies in the world he could trust with anything. And as for his counterpart, the one Octavia had come across before? Well….

Blueblood swore if he ever somehow met his human counterpart, there would be more than just words to be had, he decided. He would make sure that cretin paid for what he’d done to Octavia. She was too wonderful a mare to have suffered from whatever that brute had done, and Blueblood was very much interested in payback.

“Sgt. Azure?” He shook his head and found Octavia staring at him. “Are you…alright?”

“Perfectly fine, milady,” he responded in his faked accent once more, coughing into his hoof. “I was just…thinking about things, ‘sall.”

She didn’t look convinced. “Well, if you’re sure….”

“Absolutely right as rain,” he assured her. “Now then, if you’re done here, then I believe you have time for lunch before you need to return to the palace to prepare for your attendance of Princess Sunset’s meeting before the House of Nobles.”

Octavia frowned; though he knew that wasn’t his fault, he never wanted to see her with that look on her face again. It bothered him immensely that it sat there.

“Well, let me wrap up here, and then I suppose we can find a place to enjoy lunch,” she said softly, then went on to talk to Quick Note about setting up the delivery of her order to the castle. Quick happily did so, though he was sad to know that today would be the last day that she would be able to perform at his store; tomorrow she would head off to Ponyville to meet some friends there, and then to return the day after to prepare for the coronation. That in itself would tie up Quick’s store, as he was supplying some of the backup strings for the instruments in the event that a string broke onstage.

But none of that mattered to Blueblood. Strangely enough, he decided that he was going to do whatever he could to spend the remaining time with her as much as he could. Give her good memories of a good Blueblood before she had to face that bastard again.

Day Five, Afternoon: It's So Deep, It's So Wide

The Friendship Express rattled along its tracks as the train went north. On its usual course, the locomotive carried the typical assortment of riders, and today was no different…except for the off-limits train car that was towards the front of the whole assembly. Typically, this wasn’t a normal configuration for the train, but today was certainly not a normal day, not for the three individuals riding in the Royal Car.

Under different circumstances, Rarity was sure that she would have enjoyed the elite treatment of having such a posh car virtually all to herself. However, there was little luxury to be had, as the car had been turned into a mobile workshop for her. Even now, as she sat at her sewing machine, putting the final touches on one of the dresses that was being prepared for tonight’s event, she hardly heard her MP3 player playing in the background. A shame, too, as it was one of her favorite songs: “Everything Changes”, by Valotte. She wasn’t one to often admit it, but if there was one older gentleman that made her go weak in the knees, it was him. He was a heartthrob when he was around her age, and even though he was now decades older than her, he still had his father’s striking looks and had certainly inherited his talent, especially his singing.

But no matter, she thought to herself as she moved to place the dress on the mannequin one last time to make sure that everything was to proper precision. Satisfied, she turned to one of the other two in the car. “Coco, dear, what do you think?”

The young mare stood up from where she was studying Rarity’s 3D printer; it was an amazing device that nopony could have come up with, even though they had magic to cover that sort of contingency. Still, the science of humanity was leaps ahead of nearly all pony technology and understanding of science, as far as she knew. She was glad that she was now in the hive of her new queen, the unicorn Rarity, or else she might have unintentionally been under a geas to find a regular changeling queen and report on this.

Coco looked at the dress and nodded with appreciation. “It looks elegant and refined, Miss Rarity,” she said, reminding herself that this was not her queen, and even if she was, the Rarity she owed her allegiance to was just the same as this one. It was why she was sent here to go with them, after all. “I don’t think I could have done better myself.”

Rarity gave her assistant a smile. “Oh, this is just a rush job, Coco dear. I’m quite sure that given enough time you could have come up with quite the masterwork yourself. For that matter, I’m quite sure your employer has done a much better job than I have, as she’s been prepared for this for quite some time, whereas I didn’t have that much amount of planning.”

In the corner, a pegasus with a pine-green mane and pinto coat looked at the dress. She wore the duty attire of a Friendship Guard sergeant, and had been quiet for most of the trip. “It seems like it’s missing something,” she commented.

Rarity looked at her. “Oh?” she asked, curious. “And how would you know?”

“My grandmother was Cross Stitch, one of the best fashion designers of her time,” the pony commented. “Although I didn’t have her talent, she taught me a thing or two about understanding fashion.”

Coco perked up at that. “Cross Stitch? I learned about her from my previous employer. Suri had always said she wanted to even better than she was! Wow!”

The human girl thought about it for a second. “There was a famous fashion designer by that name well over a century ago where I’m from. As I recall, she was influential in the hastening away from corsets and towards the modern bra. Perhaps it was likely your grandmother’s counterpart?”

“I don’t know, as I really don’t know much about your world, Lady Rarity,” the guardspony stated. She walked over to the dress and added, “Perhaps if you added some ornamentation here, that would complete the look.”

“That’s brilliant!” the human girl commented. “I daresay that you’re better at this than you think, Sergeant.” She took the dress off the mannequin and moved back to her sewing machine. “Coco, dear,” she stated, “please hand me that swatch of burgundy silk. I think we can use that to best effect.”

There was a knock at the door and another guard came in. “Sergeant, we’ll be starting the ascent up Mt. Canterhorn in a few minutes. ETA to Canterlot is in fifteen minutes, if all goes well.”

The sergeant nodded. “Thank you, Trooper,” she said, and the door closed, the guardspony returning to his duties. The sergeant turned back to her charges. “Fifteen minutes until arrival in Canterlot, ladies. You don’t have to worry about packing anything up immediately, though. Once we arrive, this car will be moved off the train and over to a secure location.”

Coco nodded. “I guess I should check to see if the packages we have are ready, shouldn’t we?”

Rarity, already hard at work, looked over at her charge. “If you would be so kind, dear, thank you.” She then looked at the guard. “And thank you for your efforts in protecting us, Sgt. Pine. I know this must have been tedious for you.”

Sgt. Evergreen Pine nodded. “Just doing my duty, Lady Rarity,” she said with a smile.

In the tearoom, mother and daughter had a quiet moment together. Princess Celestia wanted to spend some final time with her daughter before this afternoon’s arduous events, and even now that she did, she wasn’t sure what advice she could give her foal. In fact, if she had to make a confession, she would have done everything possible to prevent her from enduring such a headache, but such was not the duty of the ruler of Equestria.

Sunset, her typical cup of coffee from Sugarcube Corner Café in her magic field, sighed. “This is going to be a pain, isn’t it?”

Princess Celestia looked at her daughter. “I wish you didn’t have to do this either, dear, but it’s something that all princesses must do. It was a tradition set up by the ancien régime of Unicornia and after what happened to your aunt, I felt it would be best to uphold it for no other reason than to assure the populace.”

Sunset stabbed a fork through her lettuce; she’d recently introduced the kitchens to the human meal known as Ceasar salad, and her mother had quickly seemed to have taken a liking to it. Sunset wasn’t sure she could eat it on a regular basis, but she did want her to be happy. “Mother, you don’t have to justify it to me,” she stated. “I get the idea of putting noobs through the meatgrinder. The tryhards want to pwn noobs and go all super sweaty and that’s just how the GG rolls.”

The elder alicorn blinked. “I’m afraid I didn’t understand half of what you just said, dear,” she admitted.

“Sorry, human terms of phrase,” the younger alicorn replied. “But what I was saying was that I know what’s going to happen: the nobles that think that I’m too young and inexperienced, fill in the blanks, etc. are going to try to challenge me all in the name of ‘preparing me for rule’, quote unquote. But in truth, they’re doing it just to be seen, improve their profile and try to make themselves look better. It’s all a game to them, regardless of what the true price is.”

“It’s more than just that, sweetheart. With Highfalutin’ in retreat, some of her erstwhile allies will attempt to fill the power vacuum and they will come at you hard. While they somewhat fear and respect both myself and Luna, they do not have much respect for either Cadance or Twilight…and given your recent reintroduction to Equestrian society, I am not sure that they’ll treat you with the proper accordance one should a princess.”

Sunset laughed it off. “What are they going to do to me? I’ve already been self-exiled, possessed by a demon, then died saving a universe. Do they honestly think that some yelling and posturing is going to bother me?”

Celestia smirked. “I seem to recall a little filly that once tried to attack one of her teachers with a fire spell because he’d pointed out that ‘the princess’ ward’ should be better than some commoner,” she noted.

Sunset’s ears downturned at that, as did her smile. “That…wasn’t one of my better moments,” she admitted. “Granted, in hindsight, what Prof. Notetaker stated was wrong, but all I did was prove his point.”

“Well, you have moved beyond that, haven’t you?” Celestia bent down and nuzzled her daughter. “And I am proud of you for the individual you’ve become. You’re now the mare I always knew you would be.” Now it was the solar alicorn’s turn to mourn. “And I was never a good enough mother to you—”

Sunset turned in her seat; the waitstaff, sensing a private moment was needed between the two, wordlessly stepped away for a moment to give them a small space. “Mother, we’ve both made mistakes, as has Aunt Luna, Cadance, and I’m sure all our relatives. We’re only human, after all.” She gave an awkward smile. “Besides, I recall somepony once telling me that making mistakes only means that you get to improve in the long run. If you don’t make mistakes, you have no barometer to know that you’re getting better.”

Celestia caught her daughter’s slip. “Human?”

But Sunset’s smile remained on her face. “And so my point is made.”

There was a knock at the door and then Kibbitz came in. “I’ve spoken to the Castellan and she states that the chariot to take you to Nobility House will be prepared in an hour,” he told them both. “I shall be leaving shortly in order to prepare the way for you both. And best of luck to you, Princess Sunset. I am sure you will do us proud.”

“Thank you, Kibbitz,” she told him. “And…thank you for everything.”

“No thanks is needed,” he began, but she held up a hoof in order to get his attention.

“No, I mean that. Over the years, you were more than patient with me when I didn’t deserve it and a veritable saint when I was at my worst. I didn’t treat you all that well and I didn’t compunct myself as I should as the daughter of the ruling princess. For that, I am sorry and I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done and everything you will continue to do for me.”

Though Kibbitz said nothing, the look in his eyes was everything that needed to be said. Finally, he cleared his throat, and with a smile on his muzzle, the aged pony bowed and departed.

As the maidstaff came in to clear the plates, Celestia looked at her daughter. “So…ready to show them what you’re made of?”

“I don’t have to.” The look on Sunset’s face was placid, enough so that it made Celestia wonder what her wayward daughter was up to. “They should already know that.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I’m not just a princess of Equestria. I’m the Alicorn of Earth – and that means sovereignty over an entire dimension. They’ve no idea who they’re dealing with.”

As Rarity entered Octavia’s room, she found herself hugged by her friend. “Oh, it’s good to see a friendly face again!” Octavia chirped. “I mean, don’t get me wrong: I’m not having problems with the others, it’s just that….”

The fashionista waved a hand in understanding. “Oh, I quite understand, Octavia dear. We’ve missed you as well out in Ponyville, though I daresay it’s a bit…small…for my tastes. If anything, it’s similar to Everfree Glades, but without the upscale suburban charm, you understand. Still, it’s a quaint location in its own rustic way.”

Octavia gestured to a chair, and both sat down as the maid present brought them refreshments. “We have some time to talk before we have to get ready, right? Have a seat and tell me everything – don’t leave out a detail!”

“There’s not much that I can add, I’m afraid; I spent most of my time there in the company of my counterpart and her assistant, and we were working on the attire for the next few days’ events. However, that being said, I have to admit it’s been quite the experience, and one I will most certainly cherish. I honestly believe I found out a lot about myself as a fashion designer and as a person by meeting my counterpart; and needless to say, making the dresses for tonight was certainly more than enough of a challenge.” She picked up the cup of tea and took a sip from it, savoring the taste that came from the heated liquid. “But enough of that. Why don’t you tell me how you’ve fared these past few days? From what I understand, both Sunset and the triplets have been busy, so I suppose you’ve had to fill your time with other entertainments.”

“It’s been an adventure for me these past few days, admittedly. I’ve had almost no time to spend with Sunny or the triplets, and while I know that’s not their fault, it’s left me to my own devices for most of the time and as a result, not everything has been sunshine and roses, except for—” She suddenly covered her mouth and blushed, surprised by her own words.

“Oh?” A smile came over Rarity’s face. “I suspect there’s a story that I’ve missed, and since I’ve been regaling you about my time in Ponyville, I certainly think that turnabout is fair play, don’t you?”

“Um….”

“Octavia, dear, you know I’ve always held your confidence, even when you’ve had certain other issues that you didn’t want to discuss,” the fashionista reminded her friend, “and this one sounds like another that you need to get off your chest.”

“I…I’m really not sure how to explain,” Octavia told her.

“I am always here for you, you know that.”

“I know,” the raven-haired girl said gratefully, “and I appreciate that. But I’m not quite sure I know how to process this myself.”

“Well, I must admit that I do not have our dear Twilight’s talents at layman’s therapy, but I’m fairly sure that you need to get this off your shoulders, as it were. For as long as I’ve known you, you tend to let things that bother you consume you until they come out at the worst time. And I do not want that for you, my friend.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess,” Octavia sighed.

The next few minutes were spent with the raven-haired teen going over everything that had happened: from her unwanted wooing by the Inariese prince and his subsequent reactions, which had nearly cost an innocent kitsune vixen everything, including being exiled from her clan; her making friends with said kitsune as well as one of her guards, and the dinner the three had together, at which there had been an unexpected conflict. That had resulted in injuries to Amabile, as well as a perceived second failure by Whiskey that had made her nearly suicidal had not the triplets intervened. She then went on about Fujitsu’s masterminding of her kidnapping, which ultimately ended with the deaths of all her guards at the hand of horrible griffin mercenaries.

But the most surprising thing was her final words: how she was subsequently saved by Blueblood, of all ponies! She’d explained how different the local Blueblood was from the one that both of them unfortunately knew on Earth and how the unicorn of the same name was the gentleman that both of them had thought the boy would be. She explained how he’d taken her out to dinner at a nice place where they talked casually and how he’d felt remorse over what his namesake had done to her. Finally, she’d wrapped it up with a short explanation of their breakfast this morning, as well as how he’d gallantly escorted her around to her appointments and had been more than polite company.

“I see,” Rarity said in a tone that indicated she scarcely believed her friend’s words. “Forgive me, darling, but I’m…having a hard time coming to terms that this Prince Blueblood is such a gentleman. I mean, given what you and I had to go through with that…that…cur back at home, I’m just having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the whole concept. After all, the Blueblood we know is the son of a senator and from a well-heeled family and you would think that would make him as noble as one can be, and yet….” She shook her head and took another drink from her tea, as if that was enough.

“You can ask both Princess Twilight and your counterpart,” Octavia insisted. “Apparently the princess is an old friend of his and while your counterpart ran afoul of him during his ‘routine’, quote unquote, he later apologized to her and now she knows the full story. Besides, isn’t that other prince supposedly the polar opposite of the Divine Right we came across? Not to mention what we know of the local Sable Loam as compared to Ms. Celestia’s boyfriend?”

“Well, from what it sounds like, you’ve caught yourself your own beau – and a prince at that. I am a bit envious, admittedly, but as long as you’re happy, I am happy for you,” Rarity said with a soft smirk.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Rarity, let’s be real here: he’s a pony – another species. And even if he wasn’t, well…as nice as he is, I still have too much baggage with the Blueblood we know. And while I know Blu’s not like that, it’s hard to square the two sometimes, you know?”

“And yet you yourself are the cousin – practically a sister – of a pony, one that our dear friend Pinkie is completely head over heels in love with,” the fashionista reminded her. “Plus, you talk about him as warmly as Fluttershy does about her Puppytails – you haven’t said anything even remotely negative since you mentioned him. Furthermore, you refer to him as Blu, whereas you refer to the other, ahem, ‘individual’, as Blueblood. It appears that you already separate the two in your mind, if you were to ask me.”

“I think you’re reading into nothing. Besides, even if I was interested – and I’m not saying I am – in a few days, we go home and I doubt we’ll be coming back on a regular basis.”

“You have a portal to this dimension underneath your home. It can’t be that hard to come here.”

“True, but there’s also the fact that he’s a prince with duties and responsibilities that I can’t really fathom, not to mention all the mares around here that constantly throw themselves at him. Lastly, he’s an adult. I’m not. Even if everything else was considered, I’d hardly think that my aunt and uncle, much less my parents, would approve of that.”

“Yet your cousin is thirty here…and seventeen back at home.”

“And we don’t know how age differences work between the two dimensions. You’re seventeen as well, but your counterpart is in her twenties. Razz is twenty-four, if I recall correctly, and she’s sixteen as a human…yet her counterpart, Ribby, is only fourteen. Let’s also not forget the differences between Ms. Celestia and Princess Celestia, or Ms. Luna and her counterpart.”

“I hardly think a pair of immortals that are thousands of years old count on the same level as two women in their fifties. Not that Ms. Celestia or Ms. Luna look bad, mind; I would swear the former was in her mid-thirties at most, and Ms. Luna looks even younger,” Rarity noted.

“Okay, let’s take a better example then: Divine Right. The pony, from what little I saw of him, I’d ballpark in about his mid-twenties. However, the man we knew had to be in his late forties or early fifties, right? Let’s take that theory and say Blu came to Earth to date me. Dating someone around my age is fine; even if he wouldn’t really be, it would be close enough not to cause scandal. Fluttershy dating someone a few years older than her is acceptable, and her parents are fine with that. But what if Blu isn’t the same as his counterpart? We’re assuming, after all, that the idiot who goes to Munechinger is Blu’s counterpart – but what if his actual counterpart is some guy in Europe in his sixties? That…would make things a little odd, you know?”

Rarity tapped her chin with a finger. “You do bring up a point there. But,” she said with a knowing smile, “if you weren’t interested, you wouldn’t be putting so much thought into this, would you?”

“Hey, you brought it up!”

There was a knock at the door, and without anyone saying anything, it opened, revealing Aria, standing there in her dress uniform. “Heya, Rares, how was Ponyville?” she asked.

“As well as could be, Aria, dear,” the fashionista commented. “I guess it’s time to go?”

“We need to be in place in about thirty minutes,” was the answer.

“Don’t we need an escort?” Octavia asked her cousin.

“I’ll be your escort to Nobility House,” came the reply. “Each of us has been assigned an escort duty and I figured it would be best if I go with you and Rares.”

“Well, then, that’s that,” Rarity noted. “I believe it is time for us to get ready, as it were.”

Octavia removed her clothing and opened the ornamented box, retrieving the gown that Rarity had made for her. She held it up, appreciating it. “Beautiful as always – you’ve outdone yourself.”

“Not really. I had to come up with something quick, so we’re all wearing matching dresses, dear. In fact, I would have put the triplets in dresses as well had they not insisted that they had to wear their dress uniforms for the occasion.” Rarity pouted slightly at that, then looked at Aria. “You would think that you and your sisters would have more of an interest in showing off your feminine side.”

Aria laughed. “I’ve always been a tomboy, Rares. Besides, I’m a military gal – this is about as formal as it gets for me. Maybe when I get married someday I might consider wearing a bridal gown, but until then this is as ornate as it gets.”

Octavia slipped on the formalwear, then turned her back to Aria so she could zip her up. “At least they act normal while they’re out of uniform, or else I’d go nuts.”

“You have a point,” Rarity said, slipping off her own clothing so she could put on her gown on.

“Ha, ha,” Aria drolled. “You’re a riot, Rares.”

A couple of minutes later, both were in their gowns. “There, perfect if I do say so myself…and I do say so myself,” Rarity commented with a grin. “Now, we shall look dashing together and just perfect for Aria to escort us.”

A thought then came to Octavia. “Just thought of something: what about the others? Aren’t they coming?”

“Given that ponies at large still aren’t too comfortable with humans yet,” Aria pointed out, “Sunny suggested that the others telepresence in.”

“Correct,” Rarity noted. “My counterpart sent Coco along with me to assist everyone here in getting ready, while she remained behind to help the others prepare at Princess Twilight’s castle. A group of Princess Cadance’s staff will be responsible for getting the group there ready, and thus everyone will telepresence in, whatever that means, when the time is right.”

“Well, we need to get going; while the chariot is waiting for us, we want to make sure we get there in enough time to avoid the crowds,” Aria stated, “as we had advance notice that the local media and other paparazzi are going to be out in droves.” She gestured out the door. “Ladies, if you’ll follow me?”

“Sounds lovely,” Rarity said to her friends as she grabbed her clutch purse and made ready to depart.

Octavia did the same, but then another thought came to her mind. “Where’s Whiskey? I haven’t seen her since yesterday and for some reason I would have thought that you would have assigned her as our escort.”

Aria gave a slight smile. “She’s escorting someone, so don’t worry, Tavi. You’ll see soon enough.”

In an office at the palace, the former kitsune prostrated herself before her escort. “I am here to provide escort services to you,” she said in a timorous voice, “though I must point out that this escort service is only a physical escort and does not include any pillowing or actions of that nature. I have no desire to do so and furthermore, even if I did, my princess has prohibited me from such a thing.” With clear hesitancy, the SIREN trainee nevertheless continued: “Prior prohibitions aside, Your Highness, I assure you that I will serve to protect you in all manners otherwise. Please do not—”

Blueblood rolled his eyes and sighed. “Did Auntie Lulu put you up to this?”

The girl looked up. “I’m…sorry?”

“This sounds like something my dear nocturnal aunt would do. She’s quite the prankster when she gets to it, though I must admit she hasn’t done anything like this before.” He tugged on his boutonniere. “I have to wonder, however, how she managed to convince Sunset to allow one of her guards to do this.”

The girl looked at him with complete confusion. “You…don’t want to pillow with me? For realzies?”

“I thought you said you weren’t interested?” A pause. “And what is ‘for realzies’?”

“It’s…something Cmdr. Dusk says all the time,” Whiskey explained hesitantly. “But you really aren’t interested?”

“Do you know who I am?” he asked her.

“I’ve…been told the stories,” she explained. “I was especially informed about the one with you and the kirin orgy that—”

“No such thing occurred,” he said in a tone that made her shudder. When he saw that, he added, “You know, I read your dossier, as well as the report of what you told Princess Sunset and your fellow SIRENs. And, quite frankly, it sickens me. By our standards, you are not even a fully-mature adult yet, so what happened to you can be classified as nothing less than foal abuse. And not only would I not add to your abuse further, now that I know you have been – to the point that you must feel the need to explain away the ghastly deeds done to you as if they were nothing and to thank Princess Sunset for doing what any common pony would do? I am strongly tempted to go down to the cell where we are holding Prince Fujitsu and geld that damn coward myself.”

She looked at him, stunned at his words. “But…but I was a servant! It was his right and—”

“No – you are in the equivalent of your teenage years by our standards, and you’re an Equestrian citizen now. Furthermore, while I suppose you suspect that your former culture sees things differently, I have read up on Inariese law, and I can assure you: they don’t: what he did to you was even dishonorable and inconceivable by their standards.”

She stared at him, slack-jawed, as if a great truth was revealed to her. What he had been doing to her was illegal? She felt as though it was a slap in the face – if it had been against the Emperor’s very laws, and yet her clan had wholeheartedly backed the arrangement….

Unaware of her thoughts, Blueblood went over to his desk and picked up a book. The book was a translation of the Gōhōsei no Shō, the code of Inariese laws. Opening it up, he read from a bookmarked section: “‘The laws shall not protect any lawbreaker, no matter how high he is or how many tails he possesses. The laws protecting kits shall be paramount.’ Based on this small preamble alone, the law makes it clear that he knew he was doomed the moment it became public knowledge. He hid behind his rank and privilege, and I suspect the only reason it is coming out now is because of what he attempted.

“Since his arrest, our legal teams have worked with the Inariese embassy and what we have uncovered? Let’s just say that there is a reason you have been given those shibuichi blades: They are the highest form of apology the Court of Nine Tails can give you right now without causing utter scandal for their emperor. I have been told that upon being given a full account of what has occurred so far, the emperor himself paled at what his son has done. What Fujitsu did was monstrous, and he should feel nothing less than utter shame at that!

“While I don’t know Princess Sunset’s position on things, I suspect she would agree with me: Don’t ever think what has happened to you was in any way your fault. You are a citizen of Equestria now and a member of its armed forces. And while we have made certain exceptions for you to join its military due to certain technicalities, I suspect Princess Sunset and your commanders will apply the rest to you accordingly.

He went over and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “The truth is, the last thing you need is for anypony to take you to bed or to heap more abuse on you. No, what you need…is somepony in your corner.”

She looked at him, completely and utterly in shock, unable to say a word. This…was not what she expected from a prince. From her princess, yes, but not from a royal of Prince Blueblood’s reputation. She had come in, prepared to tell him no, and had even been given orders by her captain to disregard anything that could stain the honor of the SIRENs. And yet, now, here she was, in front of a pony whose reputation was as salacious as that of her former master…and he was more worried about protecting her dignity.

“Now then,” he said, stepping away from her, “you have a duty to perform, do you not? I believe that you should do so.”

She rose to her feet, picking her swords up from the ground and bowing. “I will do my utmost then, my lord,” she told him.

And for the first time that she’d spoken those words to a prince? She meant every bit of it.

One of the oldest and grandest buildings in Canterlot, Nobility House was initially the original Canterlot Palace and had been Princess Celestia’s home for the first century of the city’s existence. She’d mainly built it away from the edge of the city, because she didn’t want to look at the Everfree Forest, which contained Castle Everfree: the ruined home that she’d once shared with Luna. The war had destroyed it as well as the then-Everfree Plains, not to mention the younger alicorn, and all now was a tangled, thick forest filled with uncontrolled magic, the result of zero-sum magical warfare between two deities.

As time went on, however, the pain lessened, the city grew, and the small forest encircling the plains had now completely taken it over, turning into a vast woodland, painful memories had been supplanted by other issues. Ruling the nation meant dealing with its fractured provinces and constant issues, and there were few royals within the realm, and even they could only do so much. That meant they needed to rely on the nobility to help rule the repairing nation, but even that was a problem: The nobles needed a place to meet and to discuss things and with the population of Canterlot increasing each year, there was only so much room to be had in the palace. Guest rooms became at a premium when things came to a head and nobles from the farthest reaches of Equestria had to come to debate and discuss issues with their peers.

Thus, in the year 121 Anno Alicornis, construction began on the present-day Canterlot Palace. Twelve years later, it was complete and Celestia moved her household and offices into it. In turn, she released the original palace over to her then-seneschal, Terra Cotta, who in her position as chancellor turned it into a meeting house for the nobility. Each noble’s provincial offices would be placed there, there would be room for nobles and their guests visiting from the far reaches, and most of all it would be a place where the nobility could meet and come to agreements without the need for the princess to constantly be involved in everything.

Since that time, both the palace and Nobility House had grown, and while provincial nobles now tended to live in their estates in separate parts of the capital, they still maintained their primary offices within Nobility House. Over the centuries, the venerable parliamentary building stood as a pinnacle of ponydom, the bastion where the Council of Nobles met. Plenty of vaunted names had met under this hall:

Procedural Vote, whose oratory had single-hoofedly stopped a war between the then-fracturing Griffin Kingdom and Minos;
Intellectual Bent, who had gone forty-eight straight hours arguing against a tax bill that would have bankrupted ponies across the land. Thanks to her efforts, the taxes had not been levied;
Gaterammer, former Captain of the Guard turned noble, who argued for peace and the acceptance of immigrants as King Grover’s death had turned the griffin homeland into a chaotic mess;
and finally, Magnus Cart, whose treatise on governance, Of Hoof, Wing and Horn, was a de facto required read for any young noble entering the profession of guiding and ruling over ponies.

Those hallowed names still meant much to the ranks of nobleponies which now sat within the main hall, gathering for what was most assuredly a rarity and what would be a day to remember: The Preparatory Presentation. Initially endured by Princess Platinum when she was still just the crown princess of Unicornia, she was given this trial by unicorn nobles who had wondered if she was as qualified to take the throne in the passing of her father, and if she could be as much a ruler as her ancestors. She had succeeded in that effort and had seen wisdom in the concerns of her vassals; and so, once she ascended the throne of the then-neophyte kingdom of Equestria, the young queen made it mandatory that any prince or princess wishing to take the reins of governance would have to prove themselves by way of said speech. Since then, given the relative dearth of either major or minor royal ponies, “The Preps”, as it would come to be known, was an occasion that practically all invested nobles attended.

And now, for the second time in just over two years, a new Major Prep – the Preparatory Presentation of an alicorn – was about to commence. Ponies were still discussing the one given by then-Duchess Twilight Sparkle prior to her official coronation as Princess of Friendship. The populace still marveled at how she seemed so calm under the rigorous debate given to her by senior members of the nobility, and how it had ultimately been her oratory – the famed “Won’t You Take My Hoof in Friendship?” speech – that had so captured the hearts and minds of the realm.

As she closed her copy of the book version of said speech, Black Cherry hoped such would repeat once more. As the Chancellor Pro Tempore – the one who led the Council of Nobles when Lord Kibbitz’s other duties prevented him from attending sessions – she took Princess Twilight’s words to heart. After all, even though they had never met, the two were roughly of the same age. Furthermore, Cherry herself had gone through troubles of her own: she wasn’t truly a noble in her own right, but instead exercised it on behalf of her grandfather, Colorata Cherry, margrave of the Northlands Province. Thus, she was often ridiculed and ignored by many of the nobles seeking power.

“Relax, Cherry,” Kibbitz told her. As he was in presence today, it would be he that would take authority, not her. She was glad for that; at least even the contentious nobles listened to him out of deep respect for both his position as well as his stature within the halls of Nobility House. Truth be told, she herself was a little in awe of the elder statestallion; even had he not been the Princess’ seneschal, as Chancellor, he ran a truly capable and effective governance for ponydom.

“I know they give you a hard time, but I assure you, my dear friend Colorata would not have sent you if he didn’t think you were most capable,” he assured her.

“Sometimes I wish he’d chosen my mother,” Cherry said softly. “She is so much better at this than I am.”

“Your mother is better suited towards running your family’s farms,” Kibbitz reminded her. “Recall that I have known Cherry Jubilee since she was a filly, and she is as happy on a farm as Lady Applejack is. Neither have the desire or inclination to rule, but your grandfather knows your skills and that is why you are here.” He gave her a paternal smile and added, “If you were to ask me, I suspect when the day comes that he journeys to the Great Pasture, you will be the next margravine of the Northlands.”

Cherry’s muzzle settled into an o of slight surprise. “I hope not,” she said softly. “I am not as strong as my grandfather.”

“No, you are not,” he agreed. “But you have the capacity to be stronger – and in time, you will be. Now, let’s watch this presentation, as I suspect we are about to see a Major Prep that will even outshine that of Princess Twilight’s.”

Row after row of seats were filled, both by nobles in governance and nobles who chose not to do so but nonetheless had the right to be here: the lowest-ranked knights, baronets and baronetesses, followed by the earls and earlines, counts and countesses, the bulk of whom were the non-governing nobles. Finally, the next rows up gave rise to the professional politicians and rulers of ponydom: viscounts and viscountesses, marquises and marquesses, margraves and margravines. Finally were those in pristine positions of power, the true movers and shakers of the Council, those of whom made up the Courts of Sun, Moon, Crystal and Friendship: the palatines, dukes and duchesses, as well as minor princes and princesses of the realm. Nearly a thousand ponies (with a small spattering of non-ponies who had also earned titles of their own) sat in audience, all facing the thrones of the princesses, before which was the lectern from which Baroness Sunset Shimmer – the future Princess Sunset Shimmer – would speak.

Escorted into a private room above the assembly, the humans gathered, escorted up by the House Guards, the smallest division within the EUP and whose duties it was to guard Nobility House and to keep and enforce the law on House grounds. The private rooms were used by visiting dignitaries and other representatives who were not allowed to sit in the grand assembly downstairs; this would allow interested parties to watch from above without issue.

Rarity, looking over the edge, gasped at the finery present. “My, I never thought I would have been here at such a place,” she said, her voice carrying a bit of awe.

“Yeah,” Octavia said warily. “All those ponies out there, many of whom have a bone to pick against Sunny.” Rarity looked at her friend and saw the protective look in the raven-haired girl’s eyes.

“She will be fine, darling, I’m sure of it.” However, Rarity wasn’t sure whether what she said was to comfort her friend…or herself.

Meanwhile, a worried look was etched on Twilight Velvet’s face as she looked at the crowd below before turning to her husband. “They’re going to eat her alive, Night!” she said, a catch in her throat.

Though he looked concerned as well, he nevertheless tried to comfort his wife. “I believe in her, and you should too,” he assured her. “I’m sure Cellie trained her for this eventuality.” He turned to look at the Celestia he was more familiar with. “You’ve spent the most time with her, Tia. What do you think?”

The response from Celestia was simple: she merely pointed down at the thrones, where the alicorns sat. All of them, including Princesses Twilight and Cadance, who were present via “telepresence” – a sort of astral projection that served as a magical sort of teleconferencing – had unreadable looks on their faces, the kind that clearly indicated that they, too, were worried but couldn’t allow themselves to show it. But the most impassive of all was Princess Celestia – whose eyes fought to keep the motherly panic off her face.

“You are not the only one suffering, Vel,” Celestia reminded her friend. “You are not the only one worried. Quite honestly, so are Luna and I.” She gestured to her sister, who sat in the corner, wordlessly looking at the audience with a hawkish, protective look on her own visage. “We are Sunset’s human family, and like her pony one down there, we would do anything to protect her. But this is something she must do alone.”

At last, carrying a stave upon which the flag of Equestria hung, Kibbitz approached the front and boomed out in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “HEAR YE, HEAR YE, THE COURT AND COUNCIL ARE NOW IN SESSION. ALL RISE BEFORE THE THRONES!” As one, the nobles and others present stood while “In Regnum Aeternum Solis” played, the grand melody sending chills through all present. The humans, watching from above, witnessed a rare moment when ponydom was truly at harmony: the ancient song seemed to resonate through the souls of all present, reminding them of their commonality as ponies, their universality as citizens and subjects of Equestria. Then as the last note played, the assembly came to a seat as one while Kibbitz stiffly and formally turned to face the princesses, bowing deeply before them.

In her most formal tone, Celestia spoke to her old friend, going with the theatrical motions of ceremony. “Has anypony come before Our Presence to speak, my good chancellor?” she asked him. It was odd, hearing the majestic plural being spoken by Celestia instead of Luna, but on this most formal of occasions even Celestia had to stick to the script.

“I do, Your Majesty and Your Highnesses,” raising his head as he spoke to her. “A petitioner has come before the Court and Council to stake her claim as a ruler of Equestria.”

“Then let the petitioner speak to this esteemed gathering of nobleponies,” Celestia intoned, tamping down a strain of worry in her voice, “and let the wisdom of the nobility prevail.” He could see the disconcert she had in those words and he could not blame her; he often wondered which puffed-up noble wrote the script ages ago to make it appear as though the world would fly apart at the seams if it weren’t for the ruling class. Worse, decades of the most egotistical and malignant of Equestrian nobility had taken that conceit and ran it to its natural conclusion, warts and all.

Bowing once more, he then turned to Cherry and intoned in a formal voice, “Send the petitioner in.”

She bowed in turned and shouted to the assembly, “FELLOW NOBLES, I PRESENT BEFORE YOU SUNSET SHIMMER, BARONESS WESTPHALIA. SHE HAS COME TO SPEAK AND TO PETITION FOR HER RIGHT TO RULE. MAY THE WISDOM OF THE NOBILITY GUIDE AND PREPARE HER!”

In the back, the doors opened, and in walked several humans, dressed in the SIREN dress blue uniform, sharply contrasting with those of the regular REN, whose attire bore the design of a century prior. At Sable’s call, the SIRENs marched to the sides and withdrew their ceremonial sabers, cutlasses (and in Whiskey’s case, her daito), raising them in salute. All who saw the humans, especially those of other species that for the first time were now encountering the enigmatic species, were completely astounded by the presentation.

A second later, appearing as if forged from the very flame of the sun itself, was Sunset, walking in and using her alicorn ability for everything that it was worth. As she moved forward, she appeared as if a newborn star departing its stellar nursery to shine before the cosmos. Her cyan magic flickered and reached out, dancing naturally around Princess Celestia’s own golden aura, the harmonic dance between mother and foal saying more than anything else she could have voiced at the moment.

Seated on her own throne, Princess Luna allowed herself the merest ghost of a smile. You knew how to shut down the crowd the moment you came in. If I weren’t already proud of you, my niece, this would most certainly do it.

Saying nothing more, Sunset continued her march to the dais, nodding to Kibbitz and Cherry’s deep bows, acknowledging them with gratitude. She then turned to face the audience assembled before her. Once, she had readied herself for this moment, and whether she wanted it or not now, it was finally here. Yet she knew that many of the nobles out there were ready for her to fail, both because of herself as she was and because of the proxy failure they thought it would present on her family’s behalf.

Unfortunately for them, she wasn’t the same mare she was the last time she’d been in these halls. She’d taken her seat in the highest levels of the room, and had watched the debates, “knowing naturally” that she would be a part of them, because it was her fate to rule as an alicorn. The alicorn she was now mentally laughed at the stupidity of her earlier self and had she been able to talk to that younger, spoiled Sunset, probably would have set her straight for the truth of what was to occur.

Sunset Shimmer, Baroness of Westphalia and Royal Ward of Equestria, had been an embarrassment.

Sunset Shimmer, Baroness of Westphalia, Imperial Princess of France and Alicorn of Earth, was a different story.

Time to make that perfectly clear.

She eyed her fellow ponies, giving them her most winning smile. “Ladies and gentlestallions, lords and ladies and princesses and princes, I present myself before you, a mare far different than what you remember. As you recall, the last time I was here, I was part of the peerage, seated amongst the barons and baronesses, a member of the nobility of Equestria searching for a way to better our ponies and the world around us. But even then I was not the mare you knew, because at that time I had started my plans to work on the secret project that Her Majesty had tasked me with. A project that would sorely and grievously wound both my mother’s heart and my own, as it meant I would have to turn my back on my family, my nation and my fellow ponies – to appear as the spoiled, selfish and ungrateful person that Equestria remembered me as for so long. It hurt – I will not pretend otherwise – but it was necessary in order to provide a cover for my duties, one that my mother had tasked me with and one I could not fail her in.

“I have spent the last five years in another world, another realm, learning from a species far different than any of you know. This species we only know through mythology and legends: from stories of the kind and generous Megan, to the dark and horrific tales of such human monsters as The Prelate, the Nameless Shadow and generic monsters on par with vamponies and shamblers. And I have spent that time learning from this mostly magicless people, whose skill at technology and science is so far above and beyond ours that they don’t need magic.” She paused for thought and from the shocked looks on the faces of the assembly, they hadn’t expected that. She chuckled inwardly; she’d made several speeches and noted that a few times during the week, and yet these nobles were just finding out. Clearly the majority of them didn’t read the news unless it immediately impacted them.

“But one thing I have found out about humanity that is more important than anything else…is that they are not the monsters that we have perceived them to be all this time. They are a good and honorable people and we can learn much from them. They love, they laugh, they cry and feel pain. They are very pony as a species and I am proud to be the alicorn that is responsible for that domain. They deserve the protection and aegis of one that will understand them, and I have come to love them as much as I do my fellow ponies. The poet Farthest Reaches once stated, ‘You don’t know how far you’ll go unless you understand what you don’t know’, and I have found that to be true: had I not taken that journey to Earth, I would not have understood myself, my species or especially humanity the way I do now. I have spent that time in growth, taking each step forward, both for myself and my species.

“Now, my purpose there is to carry on the task of Her Majesty’s wishes. Both that of my mother, Princess Celestia…and that of my grandmother, Queen Faust.” The mention of Faust’s name drew more than a few hushed gasps from the crowd, but Sunset paid them no mind and continued. “Though I am to be crowned as the Princess of Seekers, I already occupy a critical niche in that world: that of the Alicorn of Earth. I am a bridge between ponydom and humanity, a nexus between the two, and it is my honor to serve that vital purpose, so that both Earth and Equus may learn and grow from each other.

“Princess Twilight once stated in this hall, ‘Won’t you take my hoof in friendship?’ I offer both hoof and hand and hope that I may be as humble a princess to serve the needs of both, to unite both humanity and ponydom in alliance and amity, and I hope to do the same with the other species of Equus in time as well. There is much we can learn from them, and much they can learn from us and we can only do that if we are together in certain and common cause.” She paused once more, and stated, “I will now let my vaunted peers ask of me what they will, if they so wish.”

“LIES!” a voice boomed, the words echoing in the hall as if to stall the very walls with their dark nature. “LIES AND DECEIT!”

An off-white stallion with a black mane and beard and burning orange eyes stepped forward, his formal tailcoat shining with gilded gold against deep blue velvet. Looking at him, Sunset remembered the stallion well, though he now appeared older: Riven Oak, Marquis of Moyle, and a pony Sunset had never liked. During Sunset’s brief appearances in Nobility House the two had verbally sparred on more than one occasion, his cool demeanor always seemed to gain an advantage over her hot-headed nature. It didn’t help matters that as Baroness of Westphalia, her landholdings would be separated from him as the old pre-Moonfall province of Westphalia made up a good portion of the modern Moyle lands. Nevermind that her title was essentially one in name only and that she would never hold actual landholdings, not to mention the fact that she no longer had such interests in the first place; that mattered little to the petty stallion who had always scrabbled for power and clearly was still doing so. Moreso, given his attitude, it was clear that he was one of Highfalutin’s associates, clearly trying to take his place in the constellation of power that had been left by her recent downfall.

Kibbitz tried to intervene. “Lord Oak, you do not have the floor at this time,” the older stallion reminded him.

“Baroness Shimmer has offered it, and none of the dukes and duchesses have said anything, so it falls upon me to do so,” he announced as he stepped forward onto the floor, turning to face his fellow nobles, focusing on the crowd as he began his attack. “And you have all fallen for these falsehoods!

“We are gathered here to inquest upon the soon-to-be-crowned alicorn, but the truth of the matter is, this is all a lie!” With a practiced ease, he looked at each of them, his fiery eyes carrying the ire of his point. “My fellow ponies, I posit before you this: this is all a sham! We know that Princess Twilight has tamed the demon Discord, and she has healed our beloved Princess Luna from her madness, but do you actually believe that humans actually exist? The very demons that we have been told about in our bedtime stories, from our legends and myths. May I remind you that they are just that? Stories?”

He pointed at the SIRENs standing there. “They may look like the descriptions of humans, but we know better, don’t we? We know that we have shape-changers amongst us…changelings. And even if not changelings, other species have that same ability. See the supposed human mare standing there with the Inariese sword? That likely means she is a kitsune, a species whose ability to shape change is as natural as that of the changelings. I posit that we are seeing the result of exceptional amniomorphic spells, if not shapeshifting sellswords!” He looked at all of them and gave a feral grin. “We are no mere foals to be fooled – we have eyes and we can see, and when you look hard enough, you will see that this is nothing but a perfectly tailored mockery of the truth!

He looked at Sunset, but was not addressing her, instead, accusing her with his gaze. “In fact, I posit that our newest alicorn has never been off our world at all! While it is clear that we stand before an alicorn – of that, there can be no doubt – I hardly think that she has been off-world…because there is no other world to go to! There is only our fair Equus, not this so-called Earth, as if anypony would be so simplistic to name their world after the very ground we walk on!

“Now, I know many of my fellow esteemed nobleponies doubt my words, because we have reputed ‘evidence’.” He spat the word out as if it were an invective. “First, we have the reports regaling Princess Twilight’s claimed travel to this human world two years ago. But have any of you read it, other than the most fanciful and fictionalized excerpts? Of course not, because it is a heavily-classified report that is only held at the highest levels of the military and Crown officials. The majority of the Council has not seen this report, and it certainly has never been made publicly available in full! While I am sure that Princess Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, that quality does not exactly entail Honesty. That is under the domain of Lady Applejack, Knight of Honesty and I know she has stated she has never been there. I would wager neither have the other Bearers – and where Princess Twilight goes, so does her court. Then we have the reports of Archmagus Raspberry Beryl and that she spent three weeks there…but she was gone for the majority of the past year! We remember that hard year, my friends, and I remember Archmagus Beryl’s funeral, and the sorrow that came about that. And yet, she returned after nearly a year, which she stated was three weeks in their world. So, which is it? Between you and I, I think we know the answer: neither three weeks nor eight months, but instead none.

“Ultimately, I think that this is a coverup for a much grander crime: I believe that Princess Celestia, eager to forgive her wayward ward for her spoiled actions, came up with this grand lie in order to prevent us all from seeing the truth! That the Baroness of Westphalia has proven herself true and become an alicorn is not the lie, my lords and ladies, but that she was ever assigned at all! She probably ran off to Shibasaki or one of the other cities in Inari or Zhangguo or somewhere else in this world, far beyond pony cares or concerns, until she became an alicorn and had to return to rule. Note that our beloved princess claims Baroness Sunset as her daughter…but have you ever seen a legal document of adoption?”

In her seat, Celestia’s eyes narrowed slightly. She felt her sister’s hoof on hers, a silent plea for calm. While it would have been her unquestioned royal right to put Riven Oak in his place right here and now, it would also vindicate whatever he was saying. And so, angrily, she remained in her seat, letting the malignant stallion continue to spew.

“And now we have our other princesses roped into this travesty as well! We are forced to believe that Princess Twilight has traveled beyond the veil of time and space – a barrier proven unbreachable by no less than Starswirl the Bearded himself – to go to this other land? We are supposed to believe the words of Archmagus Beryl that she traveled to this same land – when in truth, the story of Raspberry Beryl’s own life is virtually a match for that of Sunset Shimmer’s? Are we all so foalish as to not see the curtain behind which the truth is hidden?

“I don’t know about you all, but I cannot accept this farce. We are the nobility of this land – we cannot afford to turn a blind eye just because it is politically convenient! We have a duty to protect our ponies from schemes, no matter how well-intentioned or good-natured they seem to be! If Her Majesty wishes to return her redeemed ward to the ranks of ponydom, then I have no issue. But to concoct a scheme where this alicorn is suddenly the daughter of our princess – and to be crowned a princess in her own right just because of that? Well, I have serious concerns about that – as should you all!” He turned to look at the crowd, his voice reaching a loud crescendo. “We have already had one alicorn go mad and now we are to give a crown to another who as a unicorn proved herself to be anything but worthy? I ask – nay, I DEMAND – DENY THE BARONESS HER CROWN UNTIL SHE PROVES HERSELF WORTHY OF BEING AMONGST PONIES AGAIN, TO SPURN THESE LIES ABOUT THIS SO-CALLED HUMANITY AND ACTUALLY PROVE HERSELF AS THE DAUGHTER OF OUR PRINCESS, OR TO ADMIT THAT THIS WAS ALL NOTHING BUT A SHAM AND MOCKERY PERPETRATED IN ORDER TO PUT ANOTHER ALICORN IN CHARGE OF US ALL!”

The room broke out in a cacophony of disturbing cheers, claps and stomping of hooves as Oak’s fellow accomplices sounded their approval. In their thrones, the four princesses remained impassive, though the angry glares in the eyes of the four made it clear just what they thought of Riven Oak and his little scheme.

He turned and gave Sunset a mocking smile. “Is there anything you wish to say to counter that?” he asked her coolly.

In a conference room at the Friendship Castle, a group of ponies and humans assembled, watching the proceedings.

“That jerk!” pony Rainbow Dash snarled. “How can he say that about Twi or Razz?”

“Or Sunny!” her human counterpart added, as a scowl also engraved itself on her face. She turned to Raspberry. “Razz, can you teleport us over?”

“Why?” the mulberry unicorn asked.

“Because I need me to be a Knight of Mars!” was the Latina’s reply.

“A what?” Rarity asked, the unicorn unfamiliar with the term.

“Beater of ass,” was the response from all the humans at once.

“Girls, I’m not sure violence is the answer,” pegasus Fluttershy nervously suggested.

“Oh, that’s tame compared to what I have in mind for that Goddamn motherfucker,” human Pinkie seethed in a tone dark enough that made everyone back up and especially made her counterpart worry, her hair becoming ramrod straight in a harbinger of ill-tidings.

Knowing damage control was in order, Twilight reached over and took Pinkie’s hands in her own. “Pinkie, do you trust Sunny?” she asked.

Pinkie looked at her friend, the younger sister of her true love. “You know I do,” she said softly, calming down.

“Then believe in her, like I do. She’s been up against worst things than this,” the teen scholar reminded her. “A blowhard with an attitude problem isn’t going to keep my sister down.”

Knowing the crowd’s eyes were on her, Sunset moved from her place, smiled and walked over to Riven Oak, each one of her calm, measured hoofsteps making him wonder what she was up to. As she approached him, he couldn’t help but note that the mare who had been much shorter that he was now towered over him as an alicorn, and it made him pause.

Cyan fixed onto burnt orange, and a sweet voice sang out:

“And of the sweet, sweet soul,
Let’s be certain
Of the deliberate monologue
As sure as if it will fall
Across you,
Unto you –
Will most certainly leave the doing undone…

Come on, undone”

The world plunged into darkness.

When light returned, chaos reigned on a scale even Discord couldn’t come up with. In their seats, three of the four alicorns’ jaws dropped, while the fourth merely giggled. Amongst the crowd seated, many gasped in shock, if not screamed outright in panic as they found themselves collectively at a crossroads of a place that should not be.

Amongst them, ghosts walked. Hundreds of humans, all of various sizes, skin tones and clothing, walked down busy streets. Massive metal chariots of designs unseen before in Equestria moved on, belching smoke and making loud noises on a scale that ponies had never seen. All of these passed by – and through – the ponies as if they weren’t there.

And indeed, they weren’t. Instead, great buildings, the likes of which they hadn’t seen outside of the largest and newest cities in Equestria, stood. Large palm trees lined the road and metal poles were festooned with strange lights that alternated in colors of red, amber and green. In the distance a large, clearly iconic building rose to the sky, and on each of the corners, were blue signs that helpfully read both HIGHLAND and SUNSET.

A voice behind Oak spoke in a way that seemed to both be and not be the Royal Canterlot Voice at the same time: “Welcome to Los Angeles. In terms of population, it is the thirtieth largest city on Earth, with a mere fifteen million humans living there. It is, in my time on Earth, the largest of the cities I have visited, though I understand that Tokyo has about forty million living there.”

Oak’s jaw dropped. Forty million? That’s impossible! And yet, seeing all these humans walking on, moving through their daily routines? There was no possible way for a spell this powerful to be cast, could it? Maybe it was being done in concert by all the alicorns and Discord? He turned to look the alicorns, finding all but Princess Twilight bewildered. As for the latter, she just looked in a strange sense of familiar wonder.

“Oh, this is real,” Sunset’s voice continued. “This is the corner of Highland Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, the busiest intersection in LA, or so a quick look at my phone told me. Google Maps’ realtime visual feed can be very helpful – good thing humans set up traffic cameras, right?” Oak turned to look in wonder, only to find a human mare standing in front of him, her long ruby-and-gold hair seemingly burning with the power of reality herself.

“Let me say that again: this is very real. What you’re seeing is going on now and is no figment of your imagination,” Sunset told him. “This isn’t an illusion, and as somepony with a horn himself, you can tell when a spell is being cast in concert. Well, it’s not – only Princess Twilight has been to the human world before and she certainly couldn’t cast a spell of this magnitude, could you, Twi?”

Twilight looked at Sunset, a wide smile coming to her muzzle. “Well, ponies might call me the Princess of Magic, but I guess they should call you that too, right?”

Sunset giggled. “Naah, I’ll let you keep that one. I have one more important to me.” Turning back to Oak, she said, “Do you know what I am, Riven Oak? I am the Alicorn of Earth. I am responsible for the protection and security of the few ponies and nearly eight billion humans that live in that realm. That means I need to be powerful. And I am – I am probably the second most powerful alicorn that ever existed, second only to my grandmother. And I would rather not test my power levels against her, simply because…well, you know how grandmothers can be.”

She bent down so that she was eye to eye with him once more. “I am responsible for the protection of every human life and every pony life. That is my duty, my domain and my calling. So, Riven Oak, Marquis of Moyle, you may say whatever you want about me. Because until the day that you have to abandon everything you’ve ever known and loved and to take on a mission of utmost importance to a realm that you cannot even comprehend, to spend years there learning, adapting and growing to love that world, and then to literally die protecting it from a madman the likes of which you can never stop, much less a demon that desired nothing less than total world domination? Well….” She patted him on the head as if assuring a child that everything would be fine. “When you can do that, then we’ll talk shop. Until then? Shut the fuck up.”

She snapped her fingers….

…and a second later, everything returned to normal, except for the horrified stallion in the center of the room, who was now busily soiling himself in front of all present.

“Now then,” Sunset, back in her alicorn form said, looking at the audience with a pleasant smile. “Is there anypony else with questions? Because I do believe I can show you Paris, next. It’s a lovely place.”

The remainder of the session went as expected, with Sunset’s presentation having been abruptly set aside to discuss other things of import to ponies, as well as for the janitorial staff to clean up the mess left by the now-catatonic Riven Oak, who had been taken to the infirmary for his own good. Though, admittedly, given the incredible display of power by the young alicorn, everything else was a subdued, nervous stammering that even the other alicorns had a hard time focusing on.

Everypony else just looked at Sunset the same way they did Celestia’s sun – a primal, elemental thing that they could not understand and likely never would. The other alicorns were their goddesses and rulers, and that, the average pony could comprehend. But the flame-maned alicorn at the lectern was beyond them, something that seemed as if out of a horror novel by the (in)famous pony author Love Craft.

After another few hours, the meeting finally started to wind down, with the intended noble’s ball to be held tonight, the first of several ramping up for the festivities in a few short days. As Kibbitz called the meeting to order one last time, he stated, “And now for an official vote on Marquis Riven Oak’s earlier inquest: do we submit a motion to the Crown to deny Baroness Sunset Shimmer of Westphalia her due as an alicorn? All in favor, raise your hoof and state ‘aye’.”

Not a single voice spoke.

“All against? Raise your hoof and state ‘neigh’.”

The room became a solid wall of voices all uttering the same word, as a forest of forelegs raised.

“Then let it be so.” He turned to Sunset and with a proud smile, stated, “In two days, you shall be due your accordance. Please prepare yourself…

…Princess Sunset Shimmer.”

Day Five, Evening: A Sleep Trance, A Dream Dance

Over two centuries ago, the spacious brownstone mansion two streets down from Canterlot Palace had been the embassy of the Griffin Kingdom, but after the death of King Grover and the complete collapse of the realm into the warring fiefdoms, the building was abandoned as there was no kingdom to represent. As a result, the once important building sat unused and crumbling. Over time, weeds grew where the expansive grassy fields were, the magically-harnessed clouds had either floated away or vaporized, a portion of the roof caved in, and the building began to look less and less like an important meeting hall between species and more like something left over from a Nightmare Night play.

Over the decades the building had become an eyesore and had even been the local topic of demolition due to its near-ruined nature, until the day when Giles Greatmind, a refugee to Equestria who wished to improve the situation for his fellow griffins, petitioned the Crown to allow him possession of the building. When asked, he simply responded with his heartfelt wish: he desired to create an organization under which all non-ponies – not just griffins – could live in harmony with the dominant species of Equestria. Princess Celestia, impressed at his request, not only readily agreed but had also provided a grant through which Greatmind could fund the renovation of the facilities and start his organization. Furthermore, when the Frostburn Society had caught wind of it, they eagerly joined in to assist their fellow being; with their help, Greatmind’s dream was on the way to being realized.

Now, the Crown Association for the Advancement of Non-Ponies, better known by its initialism of CAANP, served as one of the pre-eminent civil rights associations for non-pony subjects of Equestria. In a land where tribalism was rare, the CAANP had most of its work complete, but that didn’t mean that equality was everywhere or that there weren’t occasional issues. Thus, wherever and whenever they were needed, the CAANP stood by, ready to further the cause of harmony between all Equestria’s subjects, hooved or not. Whether fighting for the rights of persecuted diamond dogs in court, providing housing aid to discriminated griffins, or even holding community get togethers so that ponies could make friends with species that lived within Equestria’s borders, the CAANP did its duty, as befitting Greatmind’s legacy.

Tonight, however, was not a time of fighting for equality; instead, it was a night of celebration as the CAANP headquarters had been chosen to host the first of many balls and cotillions that would be ongoing throughout all of Canterlot over the next few days. After all, it was a time of celebration: a new princess of Equestria would be crowned, but also a new species was being introduced to the world. Clearly, to Gisbourne Graceclaws, the current director of the CAANP, it was a time of magic and wonder and even as he viewed the goings-on in the grand ballroom with amazement, he knew the world that he and his fellow Equestrians lived in would never be the same again. After all, how could it be? From what little he’d heard about these humans, they were the only intelligent beings within their dimension, and to the griffin, the ramifications of that were nothing less than astonishing: With only a single intelligent species, he was sure that humans were much more aware and in-tune with equality and fairness than any of the various species on Equus. It made him a little jealous, truth be told, but he could only hope that if his guess was true, there would come a day when his world would be as fair as that of the humans’.

For the most part, Twilight Velvet sat at her table, completely captivated by the sight of so many different species waltzing and schmoozing as if this had been a ball on her native world. It was most certainly a view she would never see on her homeworld, not just because of the number of various beings present, but the fact that they seemed to get along with little to no issue.

Humanity could learn a thing or two from this, she mused to herself, though she kept it private.

Seated at a table across from her, her counterpart smiled. “At first, I enjoy the spectacle, but after a while, it ends up being somewhat stifling,” the unicorn voiced. “While I would like to attend less of them, both duty and station require my husband and I to come to more of these than we’d prefer.”

“That sounds entirely familiar,” the human woman replied. “We usually have more than a few official functions around the holidays and while they’re not mandatory to attend, it always helps one’s career to see and be seen. Tia, in particular, hates them.”

“So does Celly,” pony Velvet agreed. “Perhaps it’s the similarities in their – and our – natures?”

“Most likely so, and frankly, I think I’m old enough that I’d be more than happy to skip more than a few.” The human reached over and grabbed her flute of champagne, holding it out in a toast to her counterpart. “Well, here’s to not getting used to this.”

A similar flute, clad in light blue magic, clinked against hers in agreement. “You’ll get no argument out of me,” was the response as both Velvets chuckled.

Meanwhile, a slight distance away, the two Night Lights conversed with several colleagues of the pony’s. The group of astronomers, mages and scientists listened with a mixture of fascination and horror at the casual discussion of physics and astronomy that the human was detailing – and how out of sync it was with the world they knew.

Quantum Mechanix, a fellow at the Royal Astronomer’s Guild, had his eyes grow wider than dinner plates at the man’s last comment. “And your sun just rises and sets over the horizon by itself?” he asked, completely in disbelief at the strange mechanics of how their universe operated.

“Well, technically no,” the human explained. “It’s actually an optical illusion, as on Earth the rotation of the planet causes the appearance of the Sun’s movement across the sky. In truth, however, it’s just the planet moving on its axis at fifteen degrees per hour.”

“Your planet spins?” a second pony asked. “How do you stay on?”

“Gravity,” human Night explained simply.

Quantum nodded as if he had the answer. “But surely now that you have an alicorn in charge there, things will be set right, will they not?”

“Quantum,” pony Night explained to his associate, “their world is right – that’s all they’ve ever known, so why wouldn’t it be correct to them?”

The response only brought more confusion to the astronomer. “But wouldn’t Her Highness Princess Sunset wish to correct such a grievous error when she returns to the human realm?” he asked. Turning to the human, he stated, “Now that you have an alicorn of the princess’ caliber, it would only be right to fix such an erratic and unnatural situation in your universal order.”

“Sunny has no intention of mucking with something that was fine before she got there,” the human said affably. “Besides, I’m sure she wouldn’t want to be grounded if she did start messing with the firmament of the universe.”

“Grounded?”

The human smiled. “Parental prerogative.”

Seated at another table and only vaguely paying attention to the soiree around them, three different humans had their minds on their own conversation rather than the spectacle of the ball. More than a few ponies and non-ponies approached them, particularly due to the presence of the two women there, only to back away when they realized that these were not the individuals that they were looking for. And while both sisters looked ravishing tonight, making such a faux pas in identification might be more of a headache than it was worth.

“Would you stop being a downer, Lu?” Celestia said to her younger sister. It was sort of ironic, as just at the beginning of the year it had been Luna that had chastised the elder sister for being somewhat downtrodden at a formal event. That last time, Celestia had been so desperate for a date, she’d co-opted her best friend’s husband. This time around, however, it was she who had brought her own beau – and needless to say, Luna was present without hers.

“I’m sorry, I’m missing my fiancéright now,” she pouted, reminding her sister who was the one who was engaged. “While you know that Shadow and I really don’t care for this kind of thing, it would have been nice to spend some time with him. The change of pace might have even done him some good.”

“Well, why not dance with one of the other males here?” Sable suggested as Celestia snuggled up against him. “I’m sure they would be more than happy to spend time with an exotic beauty such as yourself.”

“Flatterer,” Luna told him with a quick grin. “But I already did, and it seems that minotaurs have two left feet when it comes to dancing, pandas have no clue how to dance, Abyssinians are not very careful about where they put their claws, gargoyles don’t like to dance because their wings get in the way and kitsune start proposing – and I mean literally proposing the moment you seem to show some vague thing that looks like the barest remote hints of interest, whether true or not. And that’s just the bipedal species. As for ponies and other quadrupeds, they seem to want to maintain a polite but reserved distance for some reason.”

“Well, I’d offer to dance with you,” Sable offered, “but I think your sister has other plans.”

“Yes, that tends to be the nature of women in our family; we can be somewhat clingy when it comes to our men,” Luna said, covering up another small smile by taking a drink from her champagne. “Remind me later to tell you about the time Chivalry offered to dance with one of our unwed cousins who was visiting in town. I swear, Moni seemed as though she was about to blow a fuse!”

“Oh, I remember that. Stellaria just wanted to dance and I think it ended getting Chiv in the doghouse with our sister for the rest of the night!” Celestia reminisced, a smirk coming to her face.

“Well, you two have fun – the night is young, and you never know if you’ll have an experience like this again,” Luna insisted. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Starò bene,” Luna assured her.

“I have no idea what she said, but I can guess.” Sable turned to his lady love, a smile coming to his face. “Shall we dance?” he asked as he took her hand.

“That would be lovely, dear,” she told him as he led her off to the dance floor. With that, the two wandered off, and it seems that all eyes were on the human Celestia, if for no other reason than who she was.

As Luna watched from the safety of the table, she gave herself a bittersweet smile: At last, her sister was finally having the time of her life with someone, and Lord knew that Celestia truly needed that. While Luna missed her own beau, she at least knew that she would see him again once this most magical mystery tour was over and done with and they returned to the human world. But then she looked towards the outdoor balcony and saw this world’s moon, seated in the sky and glowing with a soft white radiance.

The smile fell from Luna’s face; she wasn’t sure why, but somehow, she could feel a melancholia wafting away from the giant rock. Furthermore, she knew why: unlike her, Princess Luna would never have the pleasure of seeing her beloved ever again and at that realization, part of the human woman wept for her doppelganger and friend. The other Luna deserved someone in her life, but she insisted on remaining a recluse and would have been a total hermit if it weren’t for her duties. She’d forced herself into a painful seclusion, because she didn’t believe she could ever enjoy happiness again.

She drained the remainder of her glass, then got up to depart. While she’d promised to be here for Sunset’s sake, it was her student’s aunt that needed her more right now; given the situation, it seemed that being alone right now was not the best place for anyone, royalty or not.

Perhaps she could do some better good by helping to mend a broken heart, if only to console her own lonely one right now.

Sunset sighed as the last well-wisher departed her presence; she had already felt as though she’d been here too long, dealing with both the genuine well-wishers and those that would grovel for her attention. The plastic smile that had been on her face the whole time made her feel as though she was trying out for an alicorn version of the Joker rather than a genuinely genial new princess.

“Mother, if you do this every year for the Grand Galloping Gala, I have no idea how you manage,” she said to Princess Celestia.

“It’s an acquired skill,” the older alicorn admitted, resisting the urge to wrap a motherly wing around her daughter; while she wasn’t above doing that to Sunset in private, in a public function such as this it was probably best to spare her. “In time, you’ll learn how to deal with it.”

“No offense, but it’s nothing that I’d rather learn,” Sunset told her. “I like being a normal girl as much as I can be.”

“Enjoy it while you can, dear,” Celestia said with a touch of melancholy. “That way when things get rough, you can remember the good times and know that the bad ones don’t always stay around.” When Sunset gave her a questioning look, the solar alicorn gave a bittersweet chuckle. “This doesn’t actually have anything to do with you, dear heart. I was just thinking about my own mother. It’s occurred to me that I may have done the same thing with you as she did with me, and while it wasn’t intentional, it’s just that….” She sighed. “Your grandmother made mistakes in raising your aunt and I and sadly, the cycle continued.”

“You weren’t the only one, Mother. It’s fair to say we’ve both made mistakes, and they’re best left in the past,” Sunset told her. “You once told me that because of how light works, mirrors are good for looking into the past, but not at the future. Those are words I’ve taken to heart.”

Celestia craned her neck down and nuzzled her daughter. “Not even crowned yet and already a wiser princess than I,” she said proudly. “Well, now that the introductions are complete, I’m afraid I must depart. I have another appointment, and besides, this is your night and your opportunity to shine.”

“Another meeting?”

Celestia covered a polite giggle with her wing. “Actually…Poker Night. I get together on Friday evenings with the Castellan and several others on the palace staff and we play for bragging rights. High stakes, you understand.”

Sunset gave a curious look. “How high?”

“The last game got bad enough that I lost and ended up having to pay for Silken Thread’s family to go on vacation to Acapulcolt. It worked out for the best, though, given that she’s probably the hardest working of my clothiers. I take it you’ll be staying until the end?”

“Somepony has to be here to make sure my family stays out of trouble,” Sunset replied sardonically.

“Ah. And here I thought you were off to go spend some time with your special somepony.” A motherly smile came to Celestia’s muzzle. “As I understand it, you only went off to see Miss Pie once this week. You should spend time with her more often if you want your relationship to flourish!”

Sunset blinked. “What?”

“For what it’s worth, I approve. She seems like a sweet enough mare…er, girl. Just…please wait until you’re both adults to get married. I can wait to be a grandmother, dear. Ta!” With a loving nod, Celestia teleported away.

Sunset stared blankly, then covered the impending blush with her wing. “I am not dating Pinkie!” she groaned.

He hated this.

“Oh, but this place is sooooooo boring! Why don’t we go back to my place and…liven things up a little?”

Another night, another vapid mare on his foreleg, another mare he’d have to take back to his place, let the magic do the work and let her leave thinking she had the night of her life while Blueblood lay in bed next to a dazed-out mare, wondering how empty his life was. There had been so many of them that if he’d been of the mind to carve a notch every time this happened, he probably would have whittled a post down to toothpicks at this point.

“Or we could ~ giggle ~ just find a quiet room in this place, right?” She looked at him, the stars in her eyes seemingly caused by the presumable hole in the back of her head. “Just you…and…me.”

Another day of loneliness followed by another night of the same, with the only arrangement of note that he truly had being a large, unyielding stack of paperwork on his desk. Endless reports that came from the four corners of the realm and beyond, filled with data and information by his various agents, all of which had lives to lead – because they were allowed that.

Though his family and friends tried to keep his spirits up, the truth was that Blueblood was a prisoner, despite all his privileges and advantages.

The prisoner of a being known as Prince Blueblood – his damnable public persona.

“There’s this thing I do with my tail…I think you’d like it.” The mare, a dense little idiot by the name of Heatherfield, pouted prettily, hoping that it would signal how ready for a run in the meadow she was. Ponies were lucky in that though they had an estrous cycle, they still were sapient enough that they understood the concept of sex as pleasure and thus could participate in it. Clearly, she’d participated quite a few times if she’d used the old “thing with the tail” routine that was so common to mares of the night and ponies that slept with just about anything with a pulse. Hell, he’d never slept with anypony and at this point he could probably describe “the thing with the tail” to the point that he could write a scientific monograph on it.

He hated this more than he could say – and he could say quite a lot, unfortunately. His skin itched as he could feel his coat against hers. She was ready and willing to go. He was ready and willing for her to go away.

“Excuse me, for a moment, will you?” he said to her in his most charming voice possible.

“You’d leave a young, innocent thing like me all alone here?” she said in a breathy voice, strongly indicating she was likely neither young nor innocent.

“I must find a place for us to….” He gave her a dazzling smile and left off the rest of the sentence. Let her think that he wanted more from her than to just be as far away from her as equinally possible.

“Don’t be too long,” she said, levitating a champagne flute to her muzzle.

He took a walk, hoping to get as far away from her as he could without departing the party that he unfortunately needed to be present for his image’s sake. In any case, hopefully several more minutes would go by, with the result being that she’d be drunk thanks to the small, unnoticeable spell he’d cast on her drink. If he was lucky, she’d go off and find some other, more willing target; if not, he could just dump her in some random empty bedroom and let her sleep it off.

The more cynical part of his conscience told him to just deal with it and actually bed her; that a trophy mare was probably for the best anyway, as it would mean that he wouldn’t be chased anymore. He could stop living a facade as a careless playcolt, instead trading it for an equal lie of being a happily married stallion; that dealing with some moronic bit-digging mare would be worth it as opposed to the eternal emptiness that faced him. Or maybe he should take the hint and let his aunts tie him down with some Hoof that wanted to retire and deserved the company of a prince. After all, he was a prince, and princes married for the fate of the nation, correct? Situations such as his parents, or his cousin were exceedingly rare and certainly not the standard, right? Besides, even he knew that due to their duties and position, the sirens were gorgeous creatures and ponies that would be perfect foreleg candy for a prince with an image to maintain.

He hated that.

He hated all of this.

As she leaned against the balcony railing outside the main portion of the ballroom, Octavia nursed a flute of champagne, much more cautious about drinking, especially after the accident earlier in the week. A warm spring wind enshrouding her like a stole, the stars glittered around her like a canopy of glittering diamonds just waiting to be touched. She’d spent most of the night out here, talking with Rarity, but as was typical for the fashionista, she decided to go off and play social butterfly. That had been well over an hour ago, and Octavia had been left completely do her own devices since that point.

From here, she could at least enjoy the music performed by the small chamber ensemble. Truth be told, they weren’t half bad, but she could already tell that the violinist had his or her strings awkwardly tuned; and the harpist, often a beat or two behind, clearly wasn’t used to working with a group. Octavia gave herself a soft, private smile at that; she’d spent more time at Quick Note’s music store this week than she had with all the psychiatrists that had been lined up for her. In retrospect, that had been a good thing; most of them were reluctant to try to help Octavia, citing “the unusualness of the human mind” and a variety of other excuses why they couldn’t – or wouldn’t – try to help her with her problem. Part of her wondered if she should have informed Sunset about what they’d said, but she didn’t want to rock the boat for those whose well-meaning paucity and ethics genuinely prevented them from offering assistance.

Besides, right now, she had other issues on her mind. If Amabile’s wounds and convalescence bothered her, the death of Dolente Ascent and the other guards haunted her. The fact that Whiskey had briefly become suicidal after feeling that she failed the raven-haired girl was an additional weight on Octavia’s heart as well, though thankfully that had been sorted out. Even now, she knew she was still being watched, albeit from afar. She wondered if the guards watching her thought of her as a sort of albatross around their necks, a thing to be put up with only because she was, ostensibly, a relative of their newest princess. She pondered if they held her responsible for the death of their fellow warriors and fretted that being around her was a harbinger of injury or worse.

And worst of all? She swore she could still hear Melody’s voice in the back of her head, whispering black language and dark desires to her. A voice that claimed to be her evil twin, somehow having survived beyond the grave and wanting not only her body back, but so much more. Though Octavia was still in control, the alter ego that lurked in the deepest parts of her psyche was getting stronger and bolder with each passing day. Once, Octavia would have believed it to be nothing more than her weird genetics at work, but the past few weeks now made her wonder just exactly how much of a figment of imagination Melody truly was.

What if Melody really was real? What if her supposed twin had somehow survived beyond nonexistence and wanted revenge for something that was beyond Octavia’s control? What if she desired the surviving twin’s death for events that were truly out of the latter’s hands? Octavia had no real way to explain any of it, but she knew that she couldn’t – wouldn’t – relinquish control to Melody. Her family was at stake and she loved them too much to ever let them be subjected to the madwoman that claimed to be her undead twin.

Despite the warmth of the evening, Octavia shivered at the thought.

Seated atop her tower, Princess Luna sighed. She had a perfect view of the CAANP building and could see the festivities clearly…but once again, there was a party going on and she wasn’t in attendance; a typical thing for her at this point. It wasn’t as though she didn’t enjoy such events – she enjoyed them far more than her sister did, to be honest – but tonight was the night. On this evening so long ago, the guards had come to her bearing the body of her beloved Bucephalus on a bier. That night she’d wept openly and screamed at the unfairness of it all, setting herself down a dark, bloody path that even now, centuries later, she was still struggling to overcome.

Even now, she could feel his touch, with those warm strong muscles of his under that coat. She could see that earnest smile that was just for her, and those gentle, caring eyes that showed nothing but deep, boundless love. He would have been a horrible prince consort, he told her, but he would be one all the same because it meant being with her always. She knew he would be a horrible prince consort because he was no politician, but it was that very same quality that would ensure that he would have probably been the greatest amongst princes. Instead, he’d been betrayed and murdered by his best friend. In her own grief she ultimately gave in to despair and hatred, and the world had suffered for it. The echoes of those past events still impacted the present day, centuries long after those who had lived through those times were gone.

Yet she lived on…and she wondered if she was damned for it.

“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” a familiar voice told her. “No one deserves to be lonely on a night when they’re grieving.” Princess Luna turned to her counterpart, her eyes filled with ageless tears of incalculable sorrow, for the love she’d lost and the lives that had been ruined in the aftermath.

“Why?” the night alicorn asked. “This is my grief, and you are here for my niece’s sake. This is your time to enjoy yourself.”

“Not when you told me how much you hurt,” the human woman told her. “You told me the truth: that you were never truly sick, that you were taken by something primal and dark, and that everyone and everything you ever loved suffered because of it.” Luna hung her head in shame briefly, pausing to choose her next words with care. “I know how that is.”

“You do? How?”

“I didn’t have the same experiences as you, but in my own way they were similar. I am eight years younger than my oldest sister Armonia and four years younger than Tia. I look up to Velvet both as a best friend and an older sister figure as well, but when you’re a teenager, none of that matters. You feel all alone and abandoned, especially when your sisters were far more popular than you and you had no hope of meeting that same bar.” She chuckled bitterly. “Moni was the most popular girl in school during her time there, and so were Tia and Vel. Me? I was ungainly, awkward and tomboyish. Maybe a bit overweight and really didn’t know how to react. So, when puberty finally kicked in during my first year in high school, I railed against all the unfairness of the world. The fact that no one understood me, that no one cared, and that high school society considered me a reject even as they embraced Tia and Vel.”

A sad look of recollection came over Luna’s face as she dredged up the memories of the past like a fisherman trawling in the mud. “I started hanging out with the wrong crowd, wearing a purple wig, listening to goth and industrial and even called myself ‘Nightmare Moon’, because I thought it sounded completely cool. I suppose it was, in the typical teenage rebellion sort of way, but adolescents aren’t exactly known for grand leaps of logic.”

The alicorn turned to listen to the tale being told with fascination; after all, this wasn’t her story and yet somehow it was. She wondered: had she been human, would her life be a copy of what her counterpart went through? It was clear that even without magic, the human Luna had been through something traumatic of her own life, something that had clearly marked her. She had no real answer for that, so instead she focused her full attention on the human woman, searching for answers in the tale being told.

Meanwhile, Luna continued her litany of teenage wastelands and high school oblivion. “So as a teenager, I was a little shit, to put it charitably: Lots of partying, lots of telling my parents to fuck off, all that kind of stuff. Did a lot of pot, drank a lot of beer and did things that I would be horrified to see anyone else that age do now.” An embarrassed look crossed her face as she added, “My first sexual experience? Slept with a random guy at a party I wasn’t supposed to go to because I was high as a kite and we were bored. I don’t even remember the guy’s name – I might not even have known it.”

Princess Luna blinked. “But you—”

“Lulu, even though we’re the same, we’re different. My path isn’t yours and yours wasn’t mine. You were led down the dark path because you lost the one you loved, and you felt you had no one to turn to. In my case, I led myself down that path because I was too stupid and selfish to realize there were alternatives I could have chosen.” She shook her head. “All I had to do was to talk to Tia or Vel and tell them all the things I was going through. They had only gone through similar things a few years prior, so they had the fresh experiences I could have appreciated. But instead, I was an island of self-pity and determined to be a loner. It’s bad enough for anyone, but when you’re a teenager it’s toxic.”

Luna walked over to her friend’s bar and poured them both glasses of wine; somehow, it seemed apt. “Ultimately, six months later, my sister and I came to blows. By then, Moni was off at college and Tia was getting ready to graduate that year. Meanwhile, I was the hell of the school and an embarrassment to my family. Tia will always say that it was her disappointment in me that led us to fight in public, and maybe to a large degree it was. But I’m pretty sure what set her off was because I did something so stupid that when the news got out, she couldn’t face any of her friends because of what her ‘dear little sister’ did.”

Princess Luna took the drink in her magic and took a sip. “You seem awfully calm about all this,” she noted.

“Nearly four decades’ worth of living past it was more than enough time to look back on it with a sense of humor,” Luna admitted. “Besides, I was lucky: back then, people didn’t have smartphones and therefore cameras weren’t all over the place. If I did that nowadays, it’d be all over the internet and the net never forgets.” She laughed again. “I wonder what my students would think of their principal if they knew the kind of person I was back then? Most of them think of me as a strict but fair disciplinarian, while more than a few know that I’m someone they can turn to if they need help. But sometimes I wonder if they would think twice if they knew any of the story, much less the whole of it?”

The night princess sat there, rapt. “Do I want to know? More importantly, would I understand?”

Luna took a seat next to her counterpart. “Oh, I’m very sure you’d understand. Just about any civilized being would.” Luna then went and bent over, whispering in the alicorn’s ear for a solid minute. Though she could just have said it aloud, given that it was just the two of them, this way seemed a better method to inform, as if the illicitness of her act back then was salacious enough that it deserved equal treatment.

Sure enough it did: the alicorn’s jaw dropped. While there was no direct equivalent to what the human had told her, the night alicorn was more than creative enough to figure out the details. “You what?”

Luna laughed heartily, then drained her glass and went over to pour another one. “The world had pissed me off to the point of not caring by then, and all it took was one prim and proper prissy teacher to tell me why my sheer top and leather outfit wasn’t dress code. He soon found out that it was better than the alternative.” She gave a salacious smile. “Probably could’ve gotten a little more too, if he’d just went with the flow.”

Princess Luna and Luna stood there, looking at each other, glasses filled with wine. Endless minutes went by before either spoke. “What happened then?” the alicorn asked.

“I got sexually frustrated.”

“You know what I mean.”

The woman giggled. “To my surprise, Tia immediately showed up, screaming at me in Italian and pushing me well past the point of no return. It probably should’ve surprised me that she was at my side of the school, but then again given that she was the metaphorical belle of the ball, they weren’t likely to ask her why. In any case, it turned out to be a very bad thing for both of us that she was there.

“I don’t remember who threw the first punch or what happened after that. I was moving on automatic, throwing every punch I had, every blow of mine filled with hate and anger and rage at the world, and I didn’t care who or what I hit at that point. My sister has told me since that I gave as good as I got, but the difference was clear: after all, she was into SCA and a bunch of other martial things, while I’ve always been into art and writing and the like. Ultimately, one of us was going to go down, and I knew it wasn’t going to be her.

“The next thing I recall, I had a broken arm and was deathly afraid of Tia, so much so that for at least a week, I was living at Vel’s place because I was afraid to go home. As for Tia, our parents grounded her for a month for fighting and the only reason she got off so light was because of the recommendations of the school faculty, strange as that was.” Luna laughed once more, but this time there was a harder edge to it. “Nice to know someone got off light for what I did.

“After that, I was expelled from Cardiff High and I finished out my freshman year at San Diego County Northern Alternative High. Going there was more than enough to straighten me out and eventually changed my ways. I got some counseling, got accepted back to Cardiff High for my sophomore year and became a normal student. But in some ways, the damage was done: It’s taken me years to be as close to Tia as I used to be, and even then, we’re still not as close as we were. But I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. Yes, it was pain, both for me and for others, but it made me a better person in the end.

Cyan eyes looked at like. “The loss of your love turned your life into hell, and just as much for others. But in the end, you’ve persevered and become a better princess for it, I’ll wager. Don’t let your loss blind you from what it’s given you as well.”

The two Lunas embraced as the alicorn tearfully nuzzled and thanked her counterpart for being the one being there for her at that moment, when she needed somepony most of all…

…the one that would understand.

“This sucks!” groaned Jewel. “It’s the night of one of the most important balls in Equestria and I’m here, stuck at work, doing paperwork!”

“Jewel, I get it; believe me, I’m not happy either,” Softwing agreed, “but we serve at Sunny’s needs, and right now we have to set up the pay for the SIRENs.” At the moment, she was at a computer that Sunset had provided, reading some documents for a pay system that Sonata had found. “We need to make sure that they get their recruitment bonus, housing and clothing allowances and other basic payments before they leave Equestria.”

“Why? Aren’t they supposed to be naval personnel? Shouldn’t that be the naval paymaster’s job?” she asked. I’m stuck here, while my sweetie is probably going danceless without me! How am I supposed to be a great fillyfriend for the princess if she’s stuck there without me?

“Because the SIRENs are going to be living on Earth, and given that humans don’t know we exist, I really doubt that there’s a bit-to-human money conversion available. The Navy will be forwarding us the appropriate funds for them as per the agreement, and our office will be responsible for making sure they get paid,” the griffin reminded her. “Plus, I’m sure the paymaster probably doesn’t know a thing about human pay systems. Heck, I’m reading this instruction manual right now for the pay system Cmdr. Dusk found and even with the knowledge spells that Sunny cast on me I still don’t get half of this and I have to manage the pay for the SIRENs and myself.”

“Yourself? Aren’t you on the Royal Payroll Service?” Softwing just gave her subordinate an even look and Jewel blushed. “That’s right – you’ll be living on Earth, too. My bad.” A thought then came to her. “Does that mean I have to move to Earth as well?”

“No, because on the days when I’m stuck over there, I’ll need you to be here, in charge of the office. We are getting a bunch of other employees in time, and you’re going to be my right-hoof mare. So we’ll need somepony here we can trust, and that pony is you.”

Jewel sighed; and here she was, planning a getaway for just her and her sweetie after this was all over. I guess I’ll have to borrow a book or two when I get a chance to see what romantic honeymoon spots exist on Earth so Princess Sunset and I can spend that time together, like we’re supposed to!

Sometimes it was hard being the special somepony of a princess….

“Usually isn’t it the prince that finds the fair damsel wiling away on the lonely balcony?”

Having had his eyes on the moon, Blueblood turned towards the speaker. He knew the voice but was surprised to see the owner. “Ah, you must be Rarity. I have the honor of knowing your counterpart, both in the good and the bad.”

“Yes, I am quite aware,” the teen stated. “She told me of the time when she’d done to you what so many others had, and how you brusquely shoved her off as a result. However, she also informed me of the truth and that she deserved it.”

“That is most certainly true. I have since apologized to Lady Rarity and now I keep her in my confidence as well about my true nature.”

“Octavia has also told me that it was just an affectation and that in truth you’re a stallion of honor and integrity, forced to pretend to be anything but, so I assure you, sir, you are more than safe with me.” The teen nodded. “I wish I could say the same about your counterpart, but unfortunately, all his ugliness is entirely of his own nature.”

“Yes, the Lady Octavia told me about him,” he replied, an edge in his tone. “It sickens me to know that some churlish knave is besmirching my good name…even if it is technically his as well. Although…sometimes I wish I could be that ugly,” he told her in confidence.

Rarity looked at him with surprise. “How so?”

“I just had a run-in with yet another mare who wants me for my title or my wealth rather than for me.” She gave him a look of understanding, but all he could do was to shrug. “I suppose my good looks play into it, but I could be as ugly as Tirek’s tail and enough money would still make me palatable enough to gain a trophy mare.”

The look in his eyes were bleak, Rarity noted, and he seemed subdued in a way that she would swear she couldn’t imagine his counterpart. However, she had to admit, she also saw something else.

“It seems to me that you’re a gentleman pining for a ravishing young mare,” Rarity stated. “Or perhaps I should say a ravishing young woman?” He gave her a sudden look of surprise, and she smiled in return. “My counterpart and I don’t always align precisely. We agree that I seem to have a sharper instinct on what a man – or in your case, a stallion – wants. And I see in your eyes a man who is in love but doesn’t even realize it. Perhaps you just need to set your eyes on a different goal?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, though I do appreciate the compliment,” he told her. “I just…I was thinking of my younger sister just now. She passed away during the war and I miss her dearly.”

“I suppose,” Rarity stated, knowing that was a lie, but opting not to call him on it. “I have no older brother of my own, but my friends who do state that an older brother can always be relied upon. But I am an older sister, and speaking as one, I can see when emotions are overwhelming. And you are not suffering through melancholy, dear sir, but indecision.” she went over to him and placed a friendly hand on his withers. “There’s a girl I know who is head over heels in love with her intended. Her intended is, quite honestly, an alien to our world, and one would think that given the human propensity for being the only intelligent species on our world that the taboo against loving a non-human is strong, if only due to instinct. But she saw past that and saw the individual and as a result, she is selflessly and totally in love with her intended – and I hope her intended sees that and responds.

“I see that same thing in you, good sir. You are on the verge of realizing that you want something – no, someone – for the first time in your life and you don’t know how to react. You are used to being chased while remaining chaste, to dare a bit of wordplay on my part. Now, you have the chance to finally react, but you’re not sure what to do. Perhaps it is because you are a prince…or because you are a pony?”

Blueblood was silent for the longest time before finally pursing his lips, as if carefully choosing his words. “If I were interested in a relationship…if I were, mind…it would have nothing to do with my station or my being. No, what is holding, er, would hold me back would be a lack of interest on behalf of the other party, and the fact that we live in separate worlds – literally. Ultimately anything would be like two airships passing in the night, my dear lady.”

Rarity smiled at that. “We humans have a saying,” she told him. “Love finds a way.”

“That sounds like something my cousin would say.”

“Your cousin sounds very wise, because it is true. I can assure you that I see a captivity in the eyes of the other that you do not, because you are struggling with your own questions. And those, I’m afraid, I cannot answer for you. Forgive the human saying, but you can only lead a horse to water – you cannot make him drink.”

Blueblood laughed at that. “Sounds like a maxim we have: ‘You can take a mare to the bar, but you can’t get her to order’. Perhaps such wisdom is universal.” He looked at the moon again and said, “Unfortunately, I can tarry no further. I have duties in the morning that I need to attend to, and they will not be with the lovely Miss Melody. In fact, alas, they are out of town, and as I understand it, she will be headed to Ponyville herself tomorrow, so the chance to spend more time with her is at a minimum.” He bowed to her, adding, “However, I thank you for both your company and your kind words. I hope to speak to you again before the coronation.”

As he departed, Rarity smiled. He called her lovely, she thought to herself in a satisfied grin. He’s further gone than he realizes.

A pink hoof knocked on a bedroom door, the owner of said appendage wearing concern upon her face. “Pinkie? Can I come in?” the pony Pinkie asked. There was no answer, and that made her worry. It had been a rollercoaster of a week dealing with her counterpart, and though she really didn’t want to voice it, Pinkie had to admit that the teenager that shared her name was…well, a hoofful. She knew that others had said that about her before, but she took it in stride, not really understanding what that meant.

She knew now.

Truthfully, it wasn’t the nicest thing to think about her counterpart, but it didn’t make it any less true. Pinkie never realized until now that even she had a limit, and the other Pinkie was hammering it like Jack Hammer and Drill Bit whenever they were working on a construction project. She probably wasn’t doing it intentionally, but nonetheless it was happening.

And as her counterpart, the one that probably understood her most, Pinkie had to reach out to her.

Except that wasn’t entirely true, was it? She really didn’t understand her counterpart on the same level as the others. The two Twilights got along, and so did the Raritys, the Fluttershys and, after a bumpy time, eventually so did the Rainbows. Her friend Applejack wasn’t getting along too well with her own counterpart, and maybe that was because they were too different. And now Pinkie could see why.

It didn’t mean she didn’t like the other Pinkie. No, there was much to admire about her counterpart; she especially liked the teenage girl’s work ethic; if the mare had to be honest with herself, the human Pinkie was probably a harder worker than she was. Regardless, she was younger and didn’t really see the world with adult eyes like Pinkie herself did. And right now, that didn’t make a difference anyway. Right now, she needed to help a friend out of a jam, and it fell upon her to do so.

“Pinkie…please open up. I want to help,” she spoke, her words pleading.

“I think I’d better help instead.” The pony turned around to see the human Twilight Sparkle standing there, a worried look on her face as well.

“Can you help her?” Pinkie asked.

“I’ll try,” Twilight replied. “Can you do me a favor?” When the pink pony nodded, Twilight brought up her phone. “This recipe is for French Onion grilled cheese sandwiches. If you can make that for her as well as a tomato basil bisque, it’s her favorite. That will help cheer her up.”

“I’ll get right on it!” Pinkie said, taking the phone and shoving it in her mane so she could run downstairs and get started immediately.

Now it was Twilight’s turn at bat. “Pinkie, it’s me, Twily,” she said to the door. “I need to talk to you.”

A response came, fragile and broken. “She’s…. I’m losing her, aren’t I? I’m going to lose her!”

“Will you let me in, please? It’s easier to talk when I’m not looking at a wooden plank.”

A second later the door swung open, and a forlorn voice said through the crack, “Come in.” Twilight went in and immediately went over to the bed, where Pinkie had just sat down. She looked like she’d been run through the wringer, raw: her eyes were red from tears, her hair hung down limply and her face was flushed from crying.

“Pinkie?”

“She…she hasn’t answered my calls or pages for the past couple of days,” Pinkie said forlornly. “I asked Tavi and the triplets to have her call or text me, but I haven’t heard anything. And now with the news that some fox prince is marrying her—”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked.

“She’s marrying some fox prince named Fujibuji or something like that!”

“No she’s not – not at all.” At that, Pinkie looked at Twilight the same way a starving man would look at a banquet, desperate for information. “Why did you think that?”

“Because she won’t speak to me and her secretary said that some prince from another country asked to marry her. Then I overheard the florist this morning say that she got an order of crystal roses from the In-something-or-other embassy all the way in Canterlot, because some prince named Fujifilm or something was going to propose to the new princess!” Pinkie then produced a newspaper, pointing at the front page. “They were seen kissing in Happy Skyline Park, wherever that is!”

Twilight laughed and sat down next to her friend. “That was a misunderstanding – and a bad one, too, Pinkie. According to Twi, the fox in question tried to propose to every one of the girls over there, and when they all turned him down – Sunny included – he tried to kidnap Tavi so he could take her back to his country. He’s been arrested for that, and Tavi’s safe.”

“But what about—”

“Twi told me about that.” Twilight went over and picked up the paper that Pinkie had been brandishing a second before. “The Examining Inquirer is a gossip tabloid, the same kind of tripe that even Rares says is bullshit. Don’t believe a word of this, Pinkie.”

“Really?” Twilight nodded, and the cotton-candy haired girl breathed a sigh of relief. But a second later, Pinkie’s mood darkened again as she realized that one of her friends had been attacked and that she was being selfish about things. “Is Tavi okay?”

“Yes, and apparently there’s a long story about that, but she’ll tell us when she gets here tomorrow. You do remember that they’re coming to Ponyville, right?”

“But why hasn’t Sunny called me?”

“Same reason she probably hasn’t called me: she probably forgot to charge her phone. You know she’s bad about that, especially since she can use her magic to charge it. That’s an option the rest of us don’t have.” Twilight took Pinkie’s hands in hers. “She’s not leaving us or marrying a fox or ignoring anyone. Besides, there’s no way my parents would even consent to that and I doubt that Princess Celestia would, either. You’re being silly, Pinkie.”

“Well, I am Pinkie Pie,” she stated via a wavering smile that both girls knew she didn’t feel. “I’m supposed to be silly, right? That’s me, Silly Pinkie, with the maturity of a twelve-year-old—”

“Stop that.” Twilight gave her a disappointed look. “You’re just deeply in love with my sister. She means the world to you and that means a lot to me, though truth be told, I’m a little envious. I wish I could find someone who could love me as much as you love Sunny. I mean, there was a guy I met in my freshman year who went to Munechinger that I liked, but then he moved away shortly afterwards, and I haven’t been as lucky in love since. But you, Pinkie: you’re sure of who you want. It makes me happy that you love my sister so much,” the teen scholar noted, then decided to take a different tack. “Do you remember what I told you a couple of months back?”

Pinkie nodded. “I do. You didn’t want me to smother Sunny just because I love her, and I promise you I haven’t, Twily. She means too much for me to do that.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, prodding a bit on that.

“I haven’t, I promise. Well, other than dealing with that bitch Rose, and I got in trouble with my aunt and uncle for that. But it’s justified! Rose should know better than to push on another girl’s girlfriend. I mean, you don’t see me chasing after Forward Pass, right?”

“Pinkie, that’s not the point,” Twilight noted. “She hasn’t told me as much, but…Sunny’s afraid right now. She’s now a goddess with massive responsibilities and yet still must try to live a normal life when even that’s no longer an option for her. Just a few months ago she was a typical girl, but now she’s a literal and ridiculously wealthy princess, even by our standards! Just from the money she has on Earth, she’s got more than our parents do, and I don’t even want to think about her net value here. But all she wants more than anything is just to be normal. And it’s not the best time to exacerbate her situation by reminding her that she’s anything but.”

“I…I don’t understand.”

“Well, I’m not the most versed at dating, admittedly, but I do know that usually when you’re the age we are, you don’t have to think about who you’re marrying or where you’re going to be a decade down the road. Our biggest concerns are finishing high school and finding a good college. But Sunny has all of that mapped out for her already, and I think that’s unsettling her. Because she’s my sister, I feel a responsibility to ensure she’s going to have as normal a life as possible for the remaining time I’m with her. Because in two years, I’ll probably be off at Harvard or something and Sunny’s probably going to attend a local college. We’re all not going to be together like we’re used to, and I don’t want her to feel the world is coming down on her alone.”

“She won’t be alone,” Pinkie vowed. “I’ll stay with her.”

“And give up your life? Pinkie, she wouldn’t want that!”

For the first time since the conversation began, Pinkie gave Twilight an earnest smile. “Twily…you don’t understand. I am your sister’s bride. I’m not just saying that – I mean it. I have…I know what I’ve seen, and I know what I know. So does Sunny. We are meant to be together, always.”

“Pinkie…if you genuinely believe that, then why are you worried about her marrying someone else? Especially since that’s not going to happen?”

Pinkie blushed. “Twily…just because I know what the future is, doesn’t mean I’m not a woman and I don’t have my own worries!” She blushed. “Your sister is my all, and even if it takes a while for us to get to that point…it doesn’t mean that I want her with anyone else, you know.”

“Are you saying you’re jealous?” Twilight asked, crossing her arms.

“Um…would you hate me if I said yes?” Pinkie asked meekly.

The plum-haired scholar just had to laugh at that response.

As the ball began to wind down and patrons began to head home or to other places, Sunset, still in her alicorn form, went out to the balcony to find Octavia. Seeing the girl quietly sitting by herself, she went over to sit down next to her cousin. “I thought I’d find you here,” Sunset commented.

“Oh?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah – you wanted a place where you could appreciate the music without bothering the chamber band, right?”

Octavia gave a soft smile. “Guilty as sin, cuz,” she replied.

Sunset gave a tired smile of her own. “Well, in any case, the ball’s wrapping up now and all the adults already went home, so at this point it’s just the nightowls and the cleaning staff.”

“Yeah, I gathered once the music stopped,” Octavia replied.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve been here alone all night.”

“Not all night,” Octavia semi-admitted. “Rarity was here earlier, but she said she was going to head back herself, as she wants to pick out the ideal outfit for our trip to Ponyville tomorrow. Plus, during their break I had a nice conversation with the violinist, Open Strings, and he was surprised to realize that I could tell his strings were off.”

“I’m kinda surprised too,” Sunset admitted. “As a human, you shouldn’t have been able to hear the music that clearly from here.”

The raven-haired girl tut-tutted. “Sunny, I’m a musician. I know my trade. I don’t tell you how to fling magic, do I?”

The flame-haired alicorn laughed. “Point. Anyway, you ready to head back to my tower, or were you going to stay in your room tonight?”

Octavia’s smile fell. “I….” She paused.

“Tavi, we’re family. You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong. If you think that asshole fox is going to try something again, I can promise you you’re safe.”

“Easy for you to say,” she sighed. “You didn’t have someone die because of you. Or someone get hurt or….” Octavia looked and saw the worried glance in the large, soulful cyan eyes. “I’m sorry. I just…I don’t know how deal with this. For God’s sake, Sunny, you died! My own cousin, who I love like a sister and you died! Everyone is dying around me and I—”

“It wasn’t your fault, Tavi. None of this is,” Sunset told her, wrapping a wing around her. “I know it’s been rough for you and I wish I could have done more to prevent you from having gone through that. But I want you to know I spoke with the family of Dolente Ascent this morning via telepresence. They were proud that she gave her life to protect you.”

“What?”

“Forget for a moment that I am their goddess, and because we are family, your safety is paramount. They were proud that she did her final duty to protect you – not because you’re human, or even a new species to this world, but because you needed help. For that simple reason, Dolente is a hero in their eyes. Yes, we would all rather her be alive, especially her father and brothers, especially given that they had already lost her mother – who was also a Hoof – during the war.”

Octavia gasped, her hands going to her mouth in shock. “Oh my God….”

Sunset nodded sadly. “But they come from a military family: the father, Turfstomper, is an Army colonel, and chances are the brothers will join the military when they’re old enough. So as a proud family of protectors, they understand duty and honor, and the fact that she did everything she could to save you? To them, there is nothing more important – not the accolades, not the sobriquets, the posthumous honors or medals or anything compared to the fact that when the Princess needed her, Dolente stood ready. And in protecting you, she fulfilled that duty.”

“But I don’t want innocents to die because of me! I don’t want Blu to end up hurt because of me!” she protested.

Sunset heard her cousin’s slip, but diplomatically chose not to point it out. “Tavi, tomorrow, we’re going to spend the day in Ponyville and just relax. We won’t be there for anything official and I don’t have anything on my schedule at all. I’ll do all I can make up for not being able to spend the time with you that I wanted.”

“Sunny, that’s not your fault – I know you’ve been busy.”

Sunset wrapped her wings around Octavia, nuzzling her. “Tavi, there’s nothing more important than family. Not even being a princess.”

“You promise?”

“We’re sisters, Tavi. I shouldn’t have to, but if it makes you feel better, then yes. I promise.”

Octavia smiled. In the back of her mind she could feel Melody’s mental assault against the metaphorical gates continue, but for now, Octavia was only concerned with spending the time with her cousin. “Okay. Let’s go home.”

“Thanks for having me over for dinner,” Applejack said to the Apples. Sure enough, Sweet Apple Acres felt like her uncle’s homestead over at Heavener Apple Orchards. Obviously, the food was vegetarian – mostly apple-based dishes, unsurprisingly – but it was good, and she had a fun time talking to those who were, in a sense, her relatives.

“Well, y’all should come back again!” Granny Smith said to the teenager, pleased as punch to have had her visit. Spending time with the human girl who was one of the Apples of her universe was a great way for her to compare her life, and some of the things she found out about the Applesmith of that world turned out to be interesting. For example, the fact that while Granny herself had been a stunt diver, her counterpart had been a professional athlete in her youth and had been an Olympic swimmer, whatever that was. She also found out that unlike her son Appleseed and his wife – bless their souls in the Great Pasture – their counterparts were still alive and running a grocery store that was the envy of Canterlot, or so Applejack had stated. Furthermore, her daughter Dabinette and her husband – or rather, their equivalents – also lived in the human version of Manehattan as important bankers. But it was the fact that her counterpart had a third child who ran the family farm…that was bittersweet for the pony matriarch. Her third foal had been stillborn, and she wasn’t comfortable discussing it. But at least she was happy to know that her counterpart’s own youngest had survived and thrived.

For Big Mac, just to find out that his counterpart was thriving as an artist was a hoot. While Mac had done plenty of art in his spare time, he never had considered it anything that he would do professionally. And yet, to hear that his counterpart was looking into doing that for a living? He just nodded in satisfaction, especially after the human Applejack showed him a picture that his counterpart had drawn that he really liked. Applejack had promised she would see if Princess Twilight could replicate it so he could hang it on his wall.

Apple Bloom’s own words had been muted. It was interesting to find out that her counterpart was even more mechanically and technically inclined than she was, but that was tempered by the fact that her friends had all gotten in trouble over the attempt to get Whitewater his cutie mark. She would go see Scootaloo in the hospital tomorrow, as she’d done for the past couple of days, but between the pegasus filly being hospitalized for the moment and the rest of her friends grounded for what they did, she was somewhat stuck with boredom until further notice.

In any case, the three Apples had enjoyed hosting their fellow Apple while she was here, and as the teenager headed back to the palace, she swore she would come back one more time before she returned to Earth in order to spend a little extra time with them. She’d enjoyed it here and even though this wasn’t her home…it felt like where Apples belonged.

After she’d seen the teenager off, Granny Smith went upstairs and knocked on the door to a particular bedroom. “She’s gone now,” Granny said with disappointment. “Y’ don’t hafta hide anymore, Applejack.”

The door opened and Applejack, the farmmare with the same name, poked her head out. “Ah ain’t hidin’, Granny,” she said testily. “Ah jus’ don’ trust that cityslicker fake Applejack none. She ain’t a real Apple, an’ Ah don’t know why the rest o’ y’all think she’s worth yer time.”

Granny Smith just shook her head; sadly, her granddaughter still hadn’t learned her lesson. “Food’s downstairs, if yer hungry,” was all she said. “Ah’m gonna get me some shuteye. Night.”

“Night.” As she hadn’t had dinner yet, she stepped out of the bedroom so she could go downstairs. But as she did, she saw her two siblings looking at her, disgruntlement also in their eyes.

“Yeah, Ah know – y’ both think that Applejack is better ‘n’ all,” Applejack stated as she walked past them. “Someday Ah hope y’all learn th’ truth.”

“Ah did, sis,” Bloom said to her sister’s retreating figure as she headed down the stairs. “An’ Ah hope she’ll forgive ya fer treating her like dirt.”

Tired from the long night, Blueblood arrived home to see the Octavia he knew lounging on his couch and reading a book. A half-emptied wine glass sat on the coffee table next to a mostly drained bottle of Chateau L’Écurie. Thankfully, he had more than one of the bottles here in the house, as it was his favorite vintage. Problem was, it was her favorite, too.

“I was tired, so it was easier just to come to your apartment to get some sleep, not that I’ve been able to,” she sighed. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“You know I don’t,” he told her. “We’re family, after all.” He sat down next to her, tugging at his tie.

She closed the book. “Thanks. It’s been a long day and we didn’t get done until a couple of hours ago. Normally we’d be done earlier, but…I can’t seem to get the performances out of them I want. I know they can do better than what they have, and it galls me that they aren’t.”

“The performance getting to you?”

“The performance and the performers,” she moaned, resting a foreleg against her head as if to ward off a headache. Blueblood cast a spell and a second later she looked at him with relieved appreciation. “When Lyra is being the voice of reason, you know things have hit the breaking point.”

“Octy, things don’t have to be perfect.”

“You’re right – they have to be better than perfect.” She finally sat up, putting aside the book and looked at her brother figure. “In any case, you look as though you had a fun time at that ball tonight. I take it the mares finally left you alone?”

“Of course not,” he admitted. “But it wasn’t all bad.”

“Okay, you weren’t left alone, but it wasn’t bad, so….” At that, she sat up, surprise in her eyes as sudden realization filled her mind. “You met somepony? A real somepony that you actually want around?” She smiled widely. “Blu, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you!”

“But I didn’t—”

“I’m glad, I really am.” Octavia leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “You know I’ve always wanted that for you. You deserve somepony who can love you and be there for you.”

“Octy, it’s not like that….” he protested.

“Blu, you can’t kid a kidder; I know you too well – you haven’t been like this since Maple was in your life,” she noted. “So who is this new mare and when do I get to meet her?”

“I….” He didn’t know what to say. How could he explain that the person in question might be her – but not her at the same time? “I, uh….”

At that point, fate intervened. She let out a huge yawn and said, “Oh, wow, I must be more tired than I thought. Okay, I’m going to go get some sleep, because I know that tomorrow’s going to be just as hard. But I promise I’ll make breakfast in the morning and we can talk about everything before I head off for Round Two, okay?”

Her smile was infectious, and he knew he couldn’t say anything that would dampen it, nor would he want to; she was, after all, as close to a sister as could be. “Okay,” he stated, hoping he could figure out something in the morning. “We’ll talk over breakfast. For now, I just need to get some sleep as well.”

“Good. I’ll talk to you in the morning, Blu. Good night.” Nothing more, she walked upstairs towards his guest room.

He sighed. How in Tartarus was he going to explain this to her? Shaking his head, he decided to worry about it in the morning. Maybe he would be lucky and the world would end before then.

Day Six, Morning: Casually Connectable

It was a typical spring morning in the Crystal Empire: The Imperial City glistened from the care given to it by its citizens, and from the many parts of the land, the small towns and villages were filled with contented, happy ponies, all doing their part to move forward from their tragic past. And over the whole of the land, shrouding them all like a benevolent umbrella, was the overarching power of the Crystal Heart, which kept Sombra’s still-impending curse at bay. The magic of the Heart brought warmth and life and allowed the timeswept citizens of the Empire to continue their daily lives unmolested, as they were already still coming to terms with what had happened to them so long ago.

Sadly, that was one of many parts of his legacy that had remained to haunt his former subjects: that he had been willing to kill the entire populace by freezing them to death either in the tundra that surrounded the city; or by keeping them in a netherspace for eternity, beyond the realm of the living. The end result had been that the Empire had suffered the latter, and for centuries, where a magically prosperous and peaceful nation had sat, nothing but barren, frozen wasteland had existed, a place so cursed neither the neighboring nations attempted to annex it nor did wild animals choose to live there. In time, the Frozen North, as it came to be called, was a large, desolate stretch of land that none chose to settle, because the tales of the curse persisted, even as the particulars had faded into time.

Thankfully circumstances had, for the most part, turned against Sombra, and due to the faith that the alicorns had that the citizens of the Empire could be saved from their ruler’s dire whims, the spell began to waver. Equestria sent its forces in, and as Sombra rose from his ancient slumber in order to wreak havoc once more, Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped in to do what needed to be done in order to defeat him, and in doing so, broke the first part of the curse, returning the towns, villages and city of the Crystal Empire back to normal space.

Since that time, the citizens of the former empire lived peaceful and fruitful lives as subjects of Equestria’s newest province, even if they now needed to catch up with over a thousand years of history, ever thankful to the alicorns and Equestria for saving them from a fate worse than Tartarus. Still, the spell had not been broken in its entirety just yet, and the tundra remained, though it began to recede little by little each day as the Crystal Heart continued to fulfill its duty; it was hoped that in a time to come, the last remnants of the dark unicorn’s machinations would vanish, leaving everything as it had been before he’d sullied the land with his presence.

In that time, the citizens had come to accept their lives as Equestrian subjects, and that the Empire was now that in name only. They had come to accept the wise and just rule of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the last living member of House Amore and by right the technical empress of the Crystal Empire, along with her husband, the gallant Prince Shining Armor, the Captain of the Guard. They had accepted Princess Twilight as their hero and savior as well as her brother, the young dragon Spike and their friends, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. In time, they had even accepted the descendant of Sombra herself, the young unicorn mare Raspberry Beryl, who, while cursed with the magic and abilities of her forefather, had none of his wickedness and in truth had a heart as pure as that of Princess Cadance.

This was the modern Empire, and those living in it wouldn’t have it any other way.

Seated on her veranda, sipping her favorite tea and casually munching away at crystalberry cookies, Cadance hummed a note of utter contentment. Overall, it had been a productive week here in the Empire, with her Court proceedings going much faster and more efficiently than usual. Many of the disputes that had been brought before her, ones she’d had to sit over for days or even weeks to find an answer to, had been solved in mere minutes; and long, dreary petitions that were brought before her court that took her equally as long to go over were done within an hour of being brought to her. It actually allowed her to get some other paperwork done and to even spend some time relaxing. She wasn’t as much into the details of paperwork as her elder aunt, nor did she enjoy much of the courtly intrigue that her younger aunt did. She was, after all, the Princess of Love, not the Princess of Administration. So this week had been a Faustsend for her, a clear and total blessing.

The reason for that was the strange figure sitting across from her, poring over the latest documents brought to Cadance’s attention. The stranger, though blessed with a similar manestyle and eyes, was nonetheless as different from her as night was from day – or at least as her aunts were from one another. To an individual not familiar with the particulars, this line of thought would not have made sense, because the figure across from her was none other than Mi Amore Cadenza herself, in a manner of speaking. An alternate-reality version of herself, and this one not a princess but instead Mi Amore Cadenza, Esquire, Assistant District Attorney for Equestria County. A woman versed in law inasmuch as Cadance was versed in statecraft and her aspect as the Alicorn of Love; and, as the alicorn found out during the week, also carried the sobriquet of “Goddess of Love”…though in the human’s case, it was somewhat of a dysphemism, given that most of her cases dealt with all the wrong aspects of it.

Still, the human Cadance had brought with her a razor-sharp knowledge of administration and skills in paperwork that dwarfed the princess’ own knowledge, and with the latter’s office here in the Imperial Palace still smaller than it needed to be, the help offered by the lawyer had been something that the ruler had gleefully cherished, and not just because it was assistance offered by a friend, but a genuine and true boon to save her from the tsunami of paperwork that typically engulfed the governance of Equestria’s largest province.

Closing the folder, the human reached for her own cup, this one filled with coffee, a drink that the princess didn’t entirely care for, but still had on-hoof for cases such as this. “Cady, I don’t know how to tell you this,” she began, “but…if I were seated on your throne, this…stallion?”

“Ardent Granite?”

“Yeah. I would have him seated in prison for at least a dime,” the lawyer explained. Seeing the curious look on her counterpart’s face, she clarified, “Ten months in prison. What he’s doing to that mare is wrong.”

“I know. He’s very much in love with Luminescent Mineral. Problem is, she’s interested but is still devoted to her wife. While I do think it’s sweet that he’s so in love with her, I also think that he’s going about it the wrong way.”

“Well, where I come from, we call that stalking and harassment. Furthermore, add trespassing onto their property and breaking and entering, given that Ms. Mineral’s wife found him in their closet and…yeah. I don’t think there’d be a jury anywhere that would let him off the hook.”

To the shock of the human Cadance, the princess simply said, “I would.”

The human gave the alicorn a raised eyebrow in response. “You’re kidding.”

“I know you’re looking at this through the lens of justice, and yes, I’m grateful for that. Given how we’ve structured the justice system in Equestria, it’s rare when we actually have criminal cases, so I would think we would tend to underplay that. But he didn’t want to cause harm to Mineral or Apatite Crystal. He simply wanted to love Mineral.”

“But you can’t know that!”

“I do. I’m the Princess of Love,” the alicorn reminded her, “and I know true love when I see it. Furthermore, I can see it building in her as well. Yes, I will admit, his timing was incredibly horrible and he should have thought things through better, but given time, I suspect that our dear Mr. Granite will have to deal with a punishment of a different sort.” The mare gave a wicked smile. “Two mares might just tire him out constantly, and even though group marriage isn’t particularly legal in Equestria, it’s common enough that he’ll have his hooves full with the two of them.”

Cadance rubbed her head; this was definitely not how she was used to dealing with things back home. “Look, maybe that’s how it would turn out here, since you have that gift, but back on Earth, we don’t. We would have to think of the safety of the two women, and a man breaking into someone’s house might end up with two women assaulted if not worse.”

“But you don’t know that for sure,” the princess argued.

“You’re right, we don’t. But again, since we don’t have your gift, we can’t afford to take those chances.” The lawyer was quiet for a second, as if thinking of a better way to clarify her thoughts. “Back when I was in law school there was this case we studied that’s a textbook example of what I’m talking about. If I remember correctly, it happened in upstate New York back in 1995. Guy fell in love with a girl, did pretty much all the same things you had here. But instead of trying to talk to her, he let it fester. Finally, he went over to the dance studio where she worked in order to ask her out, only to find out she was a lesbian. He picked that moment to snap, and so what did he do? Killed the girl’s partner, then took her to his house and kept her chained in the basement for eight years while he tried to, ahem, ‘love’ her into staying with him. She finally managed to escape when one of their children snuck out of the house and begged the neighbors for help.”

Now it was the princess’ turn to be horrified. “He forced himself on her?” she said in a tone of complete shock. “That would never happen here!”

“That you know of,” the human Cadance corrected. “Bad things happen everywhere, and not everyone is willing to talk about their bad experiences, even if it means potentially catching a lawbreaker.”

“But ponies would—”

“Cady, in my time here, I’ve found your world to be a wonderful place. I’ve also found that ponies can be prejudiced, xenophobic and bigoted. Remember that report that Shining told me about the other day? Tavi was attacked at a restaurant, because the two owners – both ponies – already had negative opinions of humans based on mythology and decided to take it out on her just because she was there.” The conversation became awkward silence for a few seconds before she added, “Look, your world is a lot shinier and happier than mine is. We’re jaded and cynical because that’s part of the human condition. And maybe you’re right, maybe this is a case of ‘let the punishment fit the crime’. But as a keeper of the law, I don’t have the luxury to do that. Our judges don’t have the luxury to do that. My fiancé, as a law enforcement official, doesn’t have the luxury of doing that. Maybe some theoretical case out there looks worse than it actually is, but we can’t count on someone not doing something stupid just because Happily Ever After didn’t make its guest appearance in the potential perp’s life.”

“And yet you see it every day,” the romance alicorn noted.

“What do you mean?”

The alicorn gave a wise smile. “You see it in how your Pinkie is trying to romance Sunny.”

The human shook her head in vehement disagreement. “Honestly? Not happy about that, not at all. That girl’s a little too obsessed, if you ask me. I know she won’t try anything stupid, but she’s clearly on the good side of that edge between devoted and psycho. If I didn’t know that Sunny was capable of taking care of herself, or that they didn’t have such a good circle of friends, I would honestly be concerned. Pinkie isn’t just laying it on thick – she’s well past that.”

“And yet you don’t see what I do,” the romance alicorn pointed out. “Miss Pie clearly loves Sunny, in the same way that you or I love our own husbands. That girl doesn’t see herself just as somepony interested, but instead as a future spouse. I think that’s very romantic.”

“Look, I’m all in favor of true love winning the day; contrary to what I may be in my day job, I really am a hopeless romantic,” Cadance admitted. “But the truth is, Sunny only thinks of Pinkie as a friend. Furthermore, even if she was interested, she’s told me she’s out of the dating pool simply because she doesn’t feel she’s ready for a relationship at all. She told me all about the issues she had with her ex, and that was before all the troubles my office had because of her ex.”

“Your office?”

“You know about the whole Club incident, I presume?” Cadance asked her counterpart, and when the alicorn shook her head, she gave a quick report. The look on the face of the alicorn went from interested to horrified, especially when Cadance had pointed out that Rarity, Octavia and Twilight had been potential victims, and that one of the purported ringleaders – and one of the only two to be found innocent of charges – was Sunset’s ex-boyfriend, Flash Sentry.

“That’s horrible!” Princess Cadance gasped. “I didn’t know that at all!”

Cadance nodded. “That’s the main reason why. She really doesn’t trust anyone right now and even though she can protect herself in ways that no other person can, she doesn’t want to find herself in that position.”

The princess looked dismayed. “That’s not good. How is Sunny going to express her own love for Miss Pie if she doesn’t trust herself to love her.”

Cadance shook her head. “I just said—”

“I know what you said, but that’s not what’s true. Sunset doesn’t want to admit it, or maybe she’s denying it, but there’s a strong attraction there. She cares very deeply about Miss Pie, so much so that she may be afraid of hurting her.”

“I doubt that.”

“I don’t. If Miss Pie isn’t the one that’s tied to the Strand, no matter how deep their love is, Sunny will only suffer, because…well, I’m sure you can figure that one out for yourself.”

“The Strand?”

Princess Cadance’s answer to that was the glow of her horn as she cast a spell. Instantly a bright, glowing red cord appeared around one of her hooves and stretched out the door. A second one appeared around the human’s arm, also heading out the door.

“This is my strongest ability: The Strand of True Love,” the alicorn began. “It—”

“Finds out who one’s true love is, who they are destined to be with, and who they will likely be with forever,” the human Cadance interjected. When her counterpart gave her a confused look, she just smiled. “The Red Thread of Fate is a concept in many human cultures and means much the same thing.”

“I’m surprised that your culture has that,” Princess Cadance stated with surprise.

“We love just as much as ponies, though it doesn’t seem that way sometimes. We humans are capable of the highest highs and the lowest lows, sometimes even at once. My aunt Luna once told me that humans are living contradictions because we contain multitudes. But anyway, please, continue.”

Princess Cadance gave a conspiratorial smile as if she was sharing one of her deepest secrets. “As you can see, it binds those who are destined for each other and are soulmates. It grows thicker and stronger as time goes on and as love is expressed. As you can see, mine is exceedingly dense, as it is the bond between me and my husband. Yours isn’t as thick, but I suspect that has more to do with the fact that you two aren’t married yet, not that a ceremony would make any particular difference.” Seeing the sudden appearance of a concerned look on her counterpart’s visage, the alicorn continued with, “Don’t worry! That’s still far stronger than most I’ve seen. The fact that it’s there just means that you’re meant to be together.” She brought up a second image, glowing before them; a second later, the image duplicated and each duplicate floated to each particular Cadance’s cord. “That’s the average for most loving couples in Equestria,” the princess explained. “As you can see, yours is still much stronger, as it is with your fiancé.”

The princess then summoned two images of Sunset and Pinkie. Sure enough, the line was thick on Pinkie’s end, possibly even thicker than the ones either Cadance had. However, as it reached towards Sunset’s arm, it thinned out until there was barely more than a laser line, a strand that appeared no thicker than a single molecule.

“This is an approximate but no less accurate representation of Sunny and Miss Pie based on what I saw before the latter departed to Ponyville,” the alicorn explained. “As you can see, it’s thick on her end, but as it approaches Sunset, it thins out.”

“Well, I’m not surprised,” the lawyer argued. “The fact that it’s pretty much nonexistent on Sunny’s side basically says that she doesn’t see Pinkie as anything more than a friend. Not that I’d be against them being together, other than that Pinkie really needs to tone it down.”

“I’m glad you see it that way, because that’s not the color of amicable love.” The princess gave a knowing grin. “No, the spell for the Strand of True Friendship doesn’t even look remotely the same – trust me, my Twilight and I have gone over that spell quite extensively. However, I should point out something: if there was absolutely zero romantic intent there on Sunny’s behalf? The line wouldn’t even connect.”

“Well, I’m not entirely convinced,” Cadance replied.

“You’re not the one who needs to be convinced,” was the response. “That is up to Sunny and Miss Pie. They are tied together. There is no guarantee that they will end up together, but this makes it clear that they are meant to be together.”

“Forgive me if I still remain skeptical. It’s not just….” Cadance suddenly noticed that her counterpart suddenly looked ill at ease. “Are…are you okay?” the human asked.

“I…I don’t know,” Princess Cadance admitted as she stood up uneasily. “I feel so…weird all of a sudden.” Without warning, she suddenly fell back down on the cushion. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.” Seeing the look of worry on her staff’s face, she tried to give them the most reassuring smile she could.

“I’m wondering if we need to get you to an infirmary,” Cadance suggested. “You have one here in the palace, I presume?”

“That might not be a bad idea,” the princess stated. “It might not be anything, given that alicorns don’t get sick, but maybe it was just something I ate that disagreed with me. Would you mind going with me?”

The human nodded. “Sure, just lead the way,” she said, and both departed the veranda.

A distance away, on the pavilion field, a cracking sound rang out, its sound echoing across the cityscape. In the distance, a crystalline target shattered into harmless shards, felled not by the usual missiles used against it – arrows, javelins or a magic blast – but instead bullets, a more modern projectile. Furthermore, these were not rounds from a griffin shootstick or minotaur blunderbuss, but instead a more powerful weapon, brought to this realm from a place heretofore unknown to the surprised residents watching this display.

As Special Agent Shining Armor, United States Federal Bureau of Investigations watched, the weapon discharged, the aim horribly inaccurate and the gun control nearly nonexistent, but that wasn’t surprising. This was the first time that a weapon of this nature had been fired in the Crystal Empire and the first time the individual firing the firearm was doing so. As a law enforcement officer, while he completely trusted the individual shooting the weapon at the moment, he wondered if he was making a mistake by doing so, especially with the personage in question. It was, in many ways, like handing a child a lethal weapon and hoping they would do right by it.

The gun, surrounded in a blue field of magic, lowered itself to the table. “I…have no words,” Prince Shining Armor, Captain of the EUP Guard and prince consort of the Crystal Empire, spoke in a hushed tone. “I mean, I could have easily have done the same thing with a magic blast, but…eventually we tire out. If we – or worse, our enemies – had something like this, it could turn any battle, decisively and possibly completely.” The stallion turned to look at his counterpart. “And you face things like this every day?”

“Yes, but whether soldiers or cops, those who face guns on a daily basis are trained for such eventualities,” the human Shining pointed out. “For example, there’s a limit to how much ammunition you can carry – even the strongest individual carrying a ruck sack of nothing but ammo boxes is going to run out given enough time. There’s also the fact that we get tired too, both physically and emotionally – I’ve been in a few shootouts that took only minutes, but felt like hours. The reaction time and adrenaline just pushes through you until you’re completely exhausted at the end.” He then sighed. “Then there’s the fact of the emotional cost. It’s a truism amongst human cultures that if you draw a gun, you had best be prepared to take a life.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Prince Shining replied. “Still, if a weapon like this is so powerful and yet you say it’s one of your lesser ones, then I am curious about the more advanced ones.”

“The triplets brought those with them,” the human told him. “I’m not entirely familiarized with the sort of weapons they carry, but generally speaking as military personnel, the guns they use are far more lethal than the ones I’m authorized to wield. They also have a greater arsenal at their disposal overall.”

The prince thought about that. “On second thought, I’m not sure I want to know more, if that’s the case.”

“Trust me, you’re better off. Those weapons are magnitudes more powerful than my handgun, much less those griffin weapons that are like guns—”

“The shootsticks?” the prince spoke. When the human nodded, he replied, “Unfortunately, the way of the world – both yours and mine – is progress, and I’d be a liar if I said all progress is beneficial. The griffins have their shootsticks, and the minotaurs recently created blunderbusses as well, and if neither species had invented firearms, another one would have. The pandas are fairly creative and scientific-minded, and the kitsune have a militant enough mindset that it would have been feasible. The gargoyles and centaurs, while overall peaceful, have stark reminders that they do not live in a world that’s entirely peaceful to them, and Abyssinians can be fair weather friends as a species, sad to say. Sooner or later, somepony would have done it, and as you can see, they already have. All in all, we’re lucky that the griffins are in the midst of a centuries-long civil war, but sooner or later that will end in one way or another, and a unified Griffonstone, like Minos, will have a military advantage over us. I hate to admit it, but with the weapons from your world, it would make things easier for us.”

“Shining, we didn’t come here to sell weapons to your people or to even introduce our weapons to your world,” the human reminded him. “I know as a military man, you have to think that way, but my sister came here to introduce peace to the world and show everyone out there that humans aren’t the nightmares the myths have them believe. Hard to do that if we’re presenting ourselves as arms dealers.”

“I know; I’m just thinking of the uncomfortable facts and unsavory parts of military life,” the prince reminded his counterpart. “That’s the joy of being the EUP Captain – I have to think of ways to protect my people and my family and not all of them are going to be devoted to peace. Believe me, I’d be much happier if we lived in a world where my job was nonexistent, but if such a place exists, it’s clearly beyond both your species and mine.”

Shining thought about the hell he’d been through in the past year, and then the “remixed” version, due to the new timeline. He’d lost friends and fellow officers in either case, and had to worry about his own life and that of his family in either. Hell, his sister had even died in one of them, though he was still wrapping his mind around that. In fact, that he had somehow managed to normalize all of this either spoke wonders for his abilities as an officer of the law, or the fact that his sister was an alien goddess was the least of his problems now.

He retrieved his gun from the table and holstered it. “I get what you mean,” he stated. “I’ve seen too many good men and women die fighting the good fight against criminals and even though I would rather it never happen again, I know it will. All I can do is just keep them in my memories and continue to live life as I should.”

“Well, then let’s focus on other things,” Prince Shining agreed as he gestured away from the parade grounds, heading out. “You ever play a game called Ogres & Oubliettes?”

“Well, based on my initial tests, you’re as fit as a fiddle, Your Highness, not that any alicorn wouldn’t be,” the doctor said, turning away briefly from the charts. “In fact, I can’t see anything wrong except for….” He paused. “Oh, my. Oh my, oh, my.”

“What is it, Dr. Wellness?” Princess Cadance asked, suddenly worried. At her side, the human Cadance put a comforting hand on her counterpart’s withers. She knew that tone and it rarely boded anything positive.

Wellness gave her a wide smile. “Your Highness…it is my proud duty to say you’re with foal.” He looked at the chart again. “Twins, in fact.”

“Twins?” the princess stated, her jaw dropping.

“Yes. Looks like you’re about two months along, Your Highness. Congratulations. I will, of course, keep it confidential up until you and your husband decide to make a public announcement.”

“I…I’m going to have twins,” the princess said to herself, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Congratulations,” her human counterpart told her, truly happy for her. At the same time, however, a note of concern crept into her voice. She forced it out, however.

“C’mon,” Princess Cadance said jubilantly to Cadance. “Let’s go find the colts and let them know.”

Seated in her office, the Princess Highfalutin’ read the most recent reports. Her little pet project was coming along swimmingly: in the few days that she’d taken charge of this blasted wasteland of a province, she’d cowed a number of committees and councils into submission, making it clear just who was in charge here in the province. Furthermore, her little attack dog, Teeline, had taken her advice to heart and reportedly had confronted that goody-two-hooves Sunmane and made her backdown in front of her village council.

Now all she had to do was to tighten her grasp around this province and it would be her personal playpen.

There was a knock at the door, and with a tone that she carefully made sound as though she was distracted by work, stated, “Come in.” As the door opened, revealing Teeline, Highfalutin’ practiced her most wan smile. “Oh, good, you’re here – a bit of sanity in my day.”

Teeline gave her princess a soft smile. “I don’t think I’m that much of a good fortune, Your Highness.”

“You are more than you know,” she lied. “If it weren’t for you, I would have problems turning this province around. Thanks to you, we finally have a chance of making things better for our ponies.” Though in truth she didn’t give a single damn about said ponies, it sounded good and it was convincing enough to almost sound as though she was being sincere.

“Here’s the report you asked for,” Teeline said, producing a summary of the Major Prep that had gone on the day before. Due to her duties-slash-exile, she could not attend, though likely those damnable harridelles, the alicorns, made more than enough of an excuse for her. Between them and their toady, Kibbitz, it was a wonder that the mountain Canterlot rested upon was still standing. In any case, she had a general idea of what had presumably happened: in her absence, most likely many of her erstwhile allies decided to take advantage of the power vacuum and set themselves up as the new mover and shaker, only to run headlong into Celestia’s daughter, who very much didn’t play by the same rules that her (presumed) mother did.

Sure enough, the report detailed Riven Oak’s attempt at corralling the young alicorn, and how she pretty much turfstomped him into the marble tiles of Nobility House. The fact that Sunset Shimmer had a mind that was far different than that of her so-called mother made her probably the most dangerous of the alicorns. Fortunately, she was easily attended to by the fact that she didn’t live in the same reality as the rest of them, given that she seemed very tied to the humans she arrived with.

She looked at Teeline. “Teeline, dear, would you find out all that you can about Princess Sunset? I suspect that we may have an ally here in helping us improve the standing of our residents and I would welcome that.” As Teeline nodded and departed, the unicorn gave herself a self-satisfied grin; while the simpering little filly probably wouldn’t find out anything that Highfalutin’ could use, it would serve as a starting point for Trapper and Redeye to truly dig at what hidden information was there on Sunset Shimmer. After all, the chances of an all-powerful unicorn just suddenly having an argument with her mother and heading away for years only to return as an alicorn seemed more than a little incredulous. And even though Riven Oak had blown his chance to get across what was likely the truth about Sunset, it didn’t mean that his little tantrum couldn’t be put to actual use.

She made a mental note to get the full record of what happened during the Preps, if only so that she could see how Oak had overplayed his hoof and how Sunset had shoved it right back at him; finding out a method to counter that mare would be something to file away for safekeeping and revealed when necessary. After all, when the day came that Highfalutin’ would be able to challenge Celestia for the throne, if Highfalutin’ was to get back what was rightfully hers, it wouldn’t be the elder alicorn that would be the problem…

…it would be the younger.

The “stallion cave” that Prince Shining had built for his Ogres & Oubliettes adventures significantly impressed Shining. The year before Sunset had come into their lives, he, Cadance and a bunch of their friends had gone to GenCon. There, they had found a modern bar that was an accurate depiction of a Dungeons & Dragons tavern, and the group delighted in spending quite a bit of their time there, both in-costume and out of it.

Down here, in the prince’s O&O room, the ambience and décor was very similar. At the moment, Shining had a tankard of wheat beer (stronger than the stuff he was usually accustomed to drinking but apparently still safe for human consumption) in hand while he planned out his character; next to him, several other members of the staff, mostly off-duty guardsponies but more than a few others who weren’t military, were doing much the same. One or two of the maids, while not playing, seemed to be interested enough that they decided to stay and watch the proceedings. And finally, seated behind the Dungeonmaster (or rather, Oubliettelord) screen and setting the overall mood, was Prince Shining, who had shed his normal attire for a spooky looking cloak.

The pony seated next to him, a guard by the name of Speckled Obsidian, looked at the human’s sheet. “Uh…what’s an elf?” he asked.

“Fantastical creature that looks like a human, but doesn’t actually exist,” Shining explained. “Our legends about them are that they mainly live in the forest, have long ears and impossibly long lifespans, but otherwise mostly look and act like humans.”

“So…like deer?” Obsidian asked.

Across from him, a maid just scoffed. “Obsidian, I keep telling you – deer exist!”

Obsidian just shook his head and looked at the human. “Don’t mind Lace Agate there,” he confided. “She’s a little off her rocker.”

“But they exist! I keep telling you!” Lace insisted. “They live in the same place as the kirin do!”

“Except that the kirin have never seen them, and even they think deer are fictional,” stated a zebra butler by the name of Zuri. At first, Shining had been curious about the zebra’s non-use of rhyming slang, until Zuri had pointed out that he had been a visitor to the Empire just before everything had gone down and had been sheltered by kindly ponies who had been against Sombra’s rule and so had been caught when the Empire had been timeswept. As the rhyming patois had taken root long after that time, he’d never been familiar with it and so obviously didn’t speak in such a manner. He had stayed on in the Empire, mainly due to the crystal mare he’d settled down with.

Lace pointed at Shining. “Well, we thought humans were fictional, too, and clearly they’re not!”

Another maid, a mare named Fantastone, looked at her. “I swear, you sound like that mare out in Ponyville! You know, the ones with the weird notions about humans and Sunset Shimmer and….” The mare paused, then looked at Shining sheepishly. “Which, er, I guess they turned out to be true, huh?”

Lace thrust an accusing hoof at Fantastone. “You take that back! Lyra Heartstrings is a genius when it comes to these things! She’s the greatest scholar on the unknown since Talespinner!” The mare squeed. “Did you know that in her last newsletter to the group that she’s going to start looking into the legends of Lybians?”

Obsidian looked at Lace oddly. “The group?”

“Yeah! The Directly Unexplained Multilateral Bureau! We study all the things in Equestria that nopony believes is true and prove it!”

Fantastone facehoofed. “You named your group DUMB?”

“That was…coincidental!”

Prince Shining groaned and leaned on a hoof. “You guys are doing it again,” he groaned.

Shining looked at his counterpart. “This happen all the time?”

“Entirely too much,” the prince admitted.

Obsidian then looked at the clock on the wall. “Great, there went all my free time. I need to get home to grab lunch before I take on the afternoon patrol shift.”

Prince Shining blew a lock of his mane out of his face. “Yeah, I guess we’ll pick up where we left off next week.” He looked at his counterpart. “Sorry about that.”

“Well, maybe I can talk my sister into letting me find a way to join your games. Plus, then I can bring over my D&D gear.”

“D&D? What’s that?”

“Dungeons & Dragons – it’s like O&O, but made for humans,” Shining explained.

“Wow, that name sounds completely made up!” Fantastone drolled.

Just then, a page came down looking for the prince. “Prince Shining! Princess Cadance needs to see you as soon as possible!”

Fujitsu seethed. He had been arrested! Arrested, like he was some common one-tail, by these…ponies! So-called allies who arrested him for his decision to seek his intended in the Manner of the Night! How dare they? Didn’t they know who he was?

Worse still, he’d been here two whole days and he had yet to be released even with his diplomatic immunity. Not even the alicorns were brave enough to challenge his father, the emperor, so either they were holding him in secret, or…

He smiled. Yes, that had to be it. How could he be so blind? Clearly Octavia desired him so much that she asked Baroness Sunset to arrange for a secret tryst for them. Given his brother’s prohibition, if the human vixen so very much wanted to give him the clouds and rain, obviously it would have to be discreet.

He went back to the bed and sat down, knowing it would fulfill a proper use soon.

Seated on the opposite end of the scrying spell, several Agency offers tried to figure out a psychological profile of the prince, as was standard procedure.

“Did you see that?” Fakeout asked, turning to his colleague. “The guy was raging and then suddenly gave himself a smile, laughed and sat down on the bed as if he was waiting for somepony.”

Fakeout’s colleague, Mindgames, watched as the kitsune just luxuriated in his cell after his tantrum. “Seems like somepony’s got an unstable mind,” she commented. “Continue watching him and I’ll go report our findings to the Director.”

“Shouldn’t we, ah, not go that high? I mean the section chief’s just down the hall and—”

“No, we got our orders on this one: the Director’s taken a personal interest in this particular case. It’s why he’s being held by us and not the Guard.”

Fakeout frowned. “And here I thought it was because it wasn’t squeaky-clean enough for the Guard.” He then turned to look back at his subject – and blanched. “Did he just…?”

“Yeah,” Mindgames agreed, jotting it down onto her notepad. “Anyway, I’m going to go talk to the Director about this. Be right back.”

Mindgames took the elevator up eight levels from the sublevel where the freakstick kitsune was being held in his cell, and up to the main Agency building. Unlike the other services that protected Equestria, the Agency’s headquarters didn’t look like an official government building, but instead was in the old Green Onion Grocery Co. Ltd. building. Sure, there was an “official” Agency building, but it held the organization’s less clandestine functions. This was where the real business of spycraft went on.

As she exited the elevator she walked down a blank hallway with unadorned doors, until she reached one at the end of the hall. She placed her hoof on the door and it glowed a soft white before the color changed to green. The door then slid away, granting her ingress.

Inside was a tastefully decorated office, with chairs, a coffee table and a desk, behind which sat another pony. Behind her was a second set of doors, which were currently closed. “Good morning, Agent Mindgames. Are you here to see the Director? He’s in with another agent at the moment.”

“It’s about Captive 221,” the earth mare replied.

“Ah, yes, he wished to be informed of that. Please, go ahead on in.” She gestured to the doors. Mindgames walked in to see Blueblood talking with a familiar earth mare.

“Ah, Agent Mindgames,” he said, gesturing to a seat. “Good to see you. I was just talking to Agent Sweetie Drops—”

“Bon-Bon, if you please, Blu,” the earth mare replied. “I’m retired, and so is my Agency codename.” Looking at the newcomer, she gave a smile. “Good to see you, Yuma. How are things?”

Mindgames, whose real name was Yuma Spurs, took a seat. “They’re great, Bons. We miss you around here. I know why you retired, but the place just doesn’t seem the same without you.” She then turned to the prince. “C221 started doing some…interesting…things. Thought you might want to know about it.”

Blueblood started reading the report and raised an eyebrow. “By interesting I take it you mean disgusting,” he said, his eyes narrowing.

“Well, far be it from me to consider the sexual deviancy of other species, even with my psychology degree,” Yuma commented, “plus he thought he was in total privacy. Apparently it hasn’t occurred to him that he’s under surveillance.”

“Well,” he said with displeasure, “let me know if anything further happens. The Ministry of Justice is compiling the charges and sharing them with the Inariese government, and once the coronation is over, we’ll turn him over. But until then, I want to know everything about that little rapist bastard and I want enough to nail him to the wall, got that?”

Yuma was surprised by her superior’s sudden anger. “Got it.” She turned back to Bon-Bon. “If you’re in town for a while longer, let’s do lunch, okay?”

“My coltfriend and I are in town this weekend as guests for the coronation, so sure, just let me know,” Bon-Bon replied as Yuma departed. She then turned back to her original conversation. “Well, if there’s any indicator that you’ve changed, Blu, I guess that would be it.”

“I appreciate the candor,” he told her, then leaned forward, his chin resting on his forehooves. “Are you sure you’re not interested in coming back?”

“Trust me, I’m happy doing my thing as a confectioner. I mean, if there’s ever a world-spanning war or crisis, sure, count me in, but until then, I’m happily retired.”

Blueblood leaned back in his chair. “Bons, if there’s one thing you should know about Equestria by now – especially since you were in the Agency – is that there’s always a crisis.”

“Twins?” the prince asked his wife a few minutes later. She nodded and he lovingly embraced her. “That’s great! We’ll have to think of names and everything! And wait until we tell the family! They’ll be completely thrilled.”

“I know,” Princess Cadance told her husband. “We need to start thinking of names, and we should start preparing the bedrooms and everything! Do we have enough space for cribs in our bedchambers?”

A slight distance away, the human Cadance watched as her counterpart and Shining’s counterpart happily celebrated the wonderful news. However, there was something tugging at her heart. They looked so perfect together and they most certainly deserved this moment of joy, and Cadance knew she should have been happy for the couple, as it was, in a sense, a portent of her own life with her fiancé.

So why didn’t she feel that?

Shining saw the look on her face and whispered in her ear, “I know that look in your eye. Do we need to talk?”

Leaving the two lovebirds be to their moment of joy, the two walked away, finding a secluded balcony where they could be alone. “Cady,” Shining began. “It’s not a contest, okay? We’re going to get married next year and we’ll have time to work on a family. They’re a few years older than us and have been married for a couple of years already, so it’s natural that they’re already at that point.”

She shook her head. “No, that’s not it,” she told him. “I know we’re going to have children. I know, because….”

“Because?”

“Because….” She looked at him sadly and said, “Because…this has been willed where what is willed must be.”

Shining paused as he took note of what she said. “Those…those words: I’ve heard them before, but I can’t recall where.”

“I can,” Cadance told him. “Those are the same words Sunset’s grandmother said just before she changed everything. And those are the words I heard in my mind a couple of months ago…when I met the mothers of our daughters.”

“The what?”

“I…I don’t know how to say this,” Cadance began. She paced around nervously, then bit her fingernail as she debated whether or not to tell him their fate. Because it was just that: a fate that was beyond what either of them had expected, and one that had been opened up to Cadance. She looked down at the ground, unable to continue.

He reached out and raised her chin, so his eyes met hers. “Cady…I’m here. Tell me.”

“I….” she paused and looked at him bleakly; there was no easy way to do this. “Somehow, I received a message from Sunset’s grandmother, Queen Faust. We won’t have children of our own. Our fate is to save the Children of Three.”

“Children of Three?” Shining looked at his betrothed as if she’d thrown on Prince Shining’s cloak and started to lay out a D&D campaign. “That sounds like something out of Neverwinter Nights, Cady! What are you talking about?”

“Our children. Our…daughters.” She wrapped her arms around her and suddenly felt very cold. “I’ve met the mothers. We have to save our daughters, Shining. When they’re born, we have to.” The passion in her voice was clearly there, and the look in her eyes was haunted. “I know it doesn’t make any sense, but when has any of this made sense? Our own lives are no longer our own, Shiny!”

Shining looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

“We’re fated to have two children that aren’t ours, born of three mothers and no father! Do you know how weird that sounds?”

“Cady, you’re right – you’re not making any sense!”

“Because it doesn’t make sense!” Cadance cried.

“Cady, I don’t know what’s going on,” he told her, “but you know I’m here for you.” He looked at his fiancée, and there was nothing but love in his eyes. “Please, Cady…explain everything.”

So she did: she related what had been prophesized to her and what Sunset had confirmed. Of the unnatural fate that had come about and that even now, it had been confirmed, as strange as it was. Of what would come, and that fate had chosen her to be the standard bearer for it. None else would be suitable, wyrd demanded, and not even Sunset herself could countermand it.

“You should have dated Sandy,” she told him. “You wouldn’t be tied to this…this…whatever it is!”

“Yes, I would, because I never saw Sandy, or Hearts or Lemony like I did you,” he told her. “I have never wanted my life intertwined with them as I have with you. We were meant to be together, Cady, whether it’s at home or here in this fantastical place. You have always had my heart and you always will.” He walked over to her and took her hand in his. “And we will get through this, you and I.”

“Even if it means…?”

He nodded. “We face everything together, sweetheart.”

“Well, we’re glad to hear that.” Both humans turned to see both of their counterparts, standing there, looking at them. “I felt the anguish in your heart, Cadance,” Princess Cadance told her. “But I didn’t know what it was. I thought it might be envy, but I suppose I should have known better.”

“No, it wasn’t that,” Cadance replied. “You two deserve to have and love children of your own, and the line of Amore will be restored. But that’s not our path to walk – our fate will be much different.”

Prince Shining laughed. “You know…fate can be a funny thing. When my sister was born, none of us ever thought that she would grow up to be what she’s become. Not a single one of us…except for my grandfather, strangely enough. He said that Twily would probably be the strongest unicorn anypony had ever seen, and we thought that it was nothing more than a grandfather’s bias for his beautiful little newborn granddaughter. But…sure enough, he was right. When everypony looked at my newborn sister and thought she would follow in my father’s footsteps, no one believed that we were in the presence of a future alicorn. Maybe my grandfather didn’t even know. But he saw something in her that moment, something that marked her fate in a way that has defined her ever since.”

Princess Cadance nodded. “Cadance, I know this bothers you, because of what you believe in and that you don’t know how to handle it. But you have the love of somepony…er, someone who will be there for you. You will love those girls, not because you were fated to be their mother. You will love them because you’ll be their mother, fate or not. And anything else that comes along with it is just window dressing.”

“How can you be so sure?” Cadance, still filled with doubt, asked her counterpart.

The princess gave a soft smile, as if she had the key answer to a puzzle. “I grew up as a pegasus in a small town, not knowing that my family was descended from the last surviving line of the House of Amore. I had no knowledge that I was a princess, much less that I would become an alicorn, and if you’d asked me before any of it happened, I would have thought that I would have just grown up to be an average filly in an average town, not knowing what direction fate would point me in. I certainly wouldn’t have thought that I’d become the ruling princess of the Empire, or have a husband that thinks the world of me,” she said, reaching over to nuzzle him. “Fate only gives you the map – it can’t make you walk the path.”

“But if I don’t walk that path….”

~ Otherwise, I fear my rage and anger will pass to my own daughter and she will become a flurry of hate and despair~

In her mind’s eye, Cadance saw ice and storms in her mind. Gale force winds that tore at everything, a violent scirocco. She then saw nothing but love, and the blizzard became gentle powder flitting to the earth, the blustery winds becoming a warm, gentle breeze. She understood everything at that moment.

“We’ll have to give up our honeymoon,” Cadance suddenly said to Shining. “We can’t afford it if we’re going to have a family right out of the gate.”

“Are you sure about this?” Shining asked her.

She nodded. “Your sister can’t do everything alone, Shiny – we shouldn’t leave everything on Sunny’s shoulders. It will be hard, but…yes. I’m ready for this.”

“Well, perhaps we can help,” Prince Shining told her.

“We have a summer home in Bitaly – the ancestral home of the House of Amore – that you are welcome to use for as long as you wish,” Princess Cadance told her. “We ourselves spent some time there and it’s beautiful. And, having just gotten through the wedding, we both know that you’ll want to do the thing that is on most couple’s minds once they tie the knot.”

“And that is?” Shining asked.

The two royals looked at each other with knowing smiles, then turned to their counterparts. “Get some actual sleep,” they said with the tone of a pair imparting a grand secret.

Dinner that evening was at a fine restaurant in Snow’s Edge, the northernmost town in the Empire, right on the line of the where the Crystal Heart’s power met the unyielding snows of the north. It was quite unusual, seeing the green spring grasses of a beautiful evening come right up against a solid wall of ice that stretched hundreds of feet into the air and beyond as magic gave way to the forces of nature. The restaurant in question, the Snowline, was wildly popular and many times it was booked solid for weeks in advance. So when the princess and prince of the Empire had requested to dine there the first time after its opening, the restaurant owner and the waitstaff went out of their way to make sure their rulers had the time of their life at their restaurant. Since then, even with the busy schedule the Snowline maintained, they always had a table specially reserved for their princess and prince, so that they would be able to enjoy their time at the restaurant and to enjoy the delicious food.

And right now, that was happening…though not in the way that Princess Cadance would have preferred.

“No, you can’t have that,” Prince Shining told his wife. “You’re eating for three now, and that’s not the healthiest thing!”

“But Shiny,” Princess Cadance whined. “I want a double chili hayburger with everything on it, chili cheese hayfries and an oat shake! I always get that when I’m here!”

“Yes, but it’s different now,” he insisted. In response, she gave him an industrial strength pout.

Across from them, both Cadance and Shining laughed at their counterpart’s antics. The human Cadance and Shining were coming to terms with their own decision, and though for now they didn’t need to focus on it, the thoughts weighed heavily on the woman’s mind.

“I’m sorry, hon,” Cadance told Shining. “I panicked. I should have known better.”

“Cady, you were afraid,” Shining told her. “That’s only natural. We’re only just beginning to understand the world that Sunset’s brought into our lives and the roles we’ll play in it. But we’ll do it together.” He reached over and took her hand. “And that is a fate that I’ll willingly accept.”

“Me too,” she said, leaning over and kissing him.

Prince Shining looked at his wife. “You have something to do with that, Cady?”

Princess Cadance looked at their counterparts, so clearly in love and clearly ready for whatever would come their way. “No, it was all her. After all, did you know at her workplace, they call her ‘the goddess of love’?” The alicorn grinned as she looked at the other couple, so in love and so unprepared for the future – no different than any other pairing.

“She mentioned that, but I don’t see how that has anything to do with your abilities, dear.”

“Sometimes,” the alicorn of love said with a satisfied look on her face, “even the goddess of love wants to find her own. And even though it’s probably a path that she would have never thought of on her own, somehow…this just seems right.” She gazed at the couple, seeing their Strand growing stronger as they looked at one another. “Yes, this is just perfect for them.”

Day Six, Afternoon: Almost Imperceptible

Walking through the center of Ponyville and enjoying the sights, Sunset, Octavia and the triplets headed towards Princess Twilight’s castle. As Sunset just wanted to enjoy the day as herself rather than Princess Sunset, they got up early and took a regular train from Canterlot to Ponyville. The ponies on the train had been friendly and engaging, and thanks to Sunset’s conjuring of her guitar, Octavia entertained their fellow passengers during the ride. The young musician had gotten a lot of accolades and adulation for her performance and by the time they’d pulled into Ponyville Station, those riders were reluctant to disembark, as it meant the end of a very enjoyable trip, one far more so than normal.

As they passed through the main promenade, the raven-haired teen noticed that none of the ponies treated them any different than as if they had been ponies themselves. “Sunny, did you cast a disguise spell on us, by any chance?” she wondered.

Sunset shook her head. “No. I didn’t think it was necessary. This is Ponyville, and we’re safe.”

“Relatively safe,” Adagio added with a grin. “We are talking about Equestria’s disaster magnet, you know.”

Aria laughed. “Well, if that’s the case, then I guess that Twily and the others must’ve left a positive enough impression on everypony here, if they aren’t freaking out like they were in Canterlot.”

“Well, count me impressed. In some ways, it reminds me of home – San Palomino, that is,” Octavia commented.

“Well, this Ponyville, unlike the one back home, is a magnet for the weirdest shit, so they’re used to things like this,” Adagio noted.

“Yeah, like pool players that turn out to be assassins or grocery store owners that turn out to be secret ninjas!” Sonata added. Octavia gave her an incredulous look, and the youngest triplet laughed. “No, seriously. Mr. Daikon Radish apparently is originally from Neighpon, and is a master of the art of turf-fu, which is a major pony martial art.”

“And Razz said Earth was weird,” Octavia said with mild amusement.

Aria walked, her hands behind her head briefly as she stretched. “I’m just glad to be able to take an actual day off,” the middle triplet mused. “All work and no play makes Aria a cranky bitch.”

“Hey, I’m just glad you’re back to treating me like family again instead of putting me on a pedestal,” Sunset commented.

“Sunny, if it means anything, we hate doing it as much as you do. But like Adm. Loam said, a certain level of detachment is required to do our jobs correctly. You weren’t there when we all nearly lost it when our sœurs were killed in the time that never was. Even though we recovered, for a split second or two, we were useless, and in a situation where bullets take fractions of a second to kill, that’s unacceptable. You may have come back from the dead, but as you said, even you can’t bring back someone who’s gone.”

“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Sonata gave her cousin a soft smile. “If it helps, think of it as just another way to show that we love you. If we didn’t, it’d be a lot easier to be professionally detached, you know?”

Sunset would have responded in turn, had it not been for a sudden tackleglomp from behind. “Sunny!” Sunset suddenly felt herself hit the ground, followed by a familiar mop of magenta hair rubbing up against her back. “You’re here, you’re here! You’re really here!”

Hearing her family’s laughter behind her, Sunset groaned, “Don’t make me change my mind, Pi—” Sunset turned around just in time for Pinkie to lean forward and kiss her, not caring about propriety.

The four cousins suddenly found looking elsewhere to be in fashion. “This again?” Octavia commented.

“You do realize that the population of ponies are skewed to the point that lesbian relationships are almost at a parity with straight ones, right?” Aria noted.

“No, I…didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. Why do you think our cousin has a girlfriend despite ‘claiming’—” Aria added finger quotes, “—that she’s straight?”

“Look, let’s let the lovebirds be, okay?” Adagio noted. “I’m eager to just get to the castle and see how Twily’s doing. Shall we?” Knowing that Sunset would be okay, the four girls continued, much to Sunset’s irritation.

Meanwhile, Sunset pushed Pinkie away. “Pinkie!” she gasped.

To her surprise, Pinkie’s hair had straightened, and she had a forlorn look on her face. “I know, but I missed you, and this week has been hell for me, sweetie!” the usually chipper girl spoke.

That caught Sunset’s attention. Again, while she didn’t feel anything romantic for her friend, she did want her best for her. “You could’ve called.”

“I did!” Pinkie said, wiping her eyes. “I left several messages.”

Sunset summoned her phone and looked at it; sure enough, there were a ton of emails, voicemails and texts from Pinkie, all of which she’d disregarded because she’d been extremely busy, so much so that it had drained its charge last night and she had to magic up a recharge this morning.

Sunset looked at Pinkie with a completely apologetic look. “Pinkie, I—”

“I know…I know you’ve been busy,” Pinkie mourned, “but I missed you and you didn’t call or write and I thought you didn’t love me anymore, and then I heard the news about that kitsune proposing to you and I thought you’d leave me!”

Sunset looked at Pinkie and saw the fear in the girl’s eyes. She’s serious, Sunset realized.

“Pinkie, I….” Sunset began…

…only to find herself swept up in a pink whirlwind…

…and a second later deposited in a room filled with gaudy balloons and one very, very exasperated pony Pinkie.

“That fillyfriend of yours?” Pinkie accused Sunset, agitation in her eyes. “I’m sorry to say this, Sunny, but she’s driving me crazy!”

Apple Bloom sighed. Because her friends were all injured or grounded, it meant that she had a lot of free time to herself. And of course because Applejack was mad at her friends because they were mad at her because of that other Applejack (and Bloom didn’t understand why; the other Applejack was kinda cool, all things considered), that meant that her dear loving sister had dragged her into helping around the farm.

Right now, she was checking the back forty, looking around at the trees. A lot of them were broken and snapped, as if a hydra had come through the farm. Which was silly, given that hydras didn’t like being around ponies. She thought it could be a timberwolf as well, but just as easily dismissed the thought, as timberwolves really didn’t like the smell that applewood left, so they never tried to integrate it with their forms.

The filly yawned; she’d been here ten whole minutes and she already bored out of her skull.

“Well,” she said aloud, “Ah guess Ah oughta look an’ see which trees’re okay, so Ah c’n let Applejack an’ Mac know. They ain’t gonna be happy about what happened t’ th’ trees, though.” Especially Jebediah; that had been one of the oldest trees on the farm and was planted way back when Granny was her age, and now it was nothing more than a memory, its deeply scarred and shattered trunk laying in ruins.

Apple Bloom stomped the ground in order to take out her frustrations at her boredom as well as keeping herself awake.

“AH’M BORED! BORED, BORED, BORED!” she yelled into the air, as if it would help. Of course, it didn’t.

From the treeline, it watched. The little figure stomped around, moving back and forth and bellowing out a war cry. It clearly demanded a challenge, looking for a worthy opponent.

The Bete Goson narrowed its sulfuric eyes, watching its every move. The challenger had an unusual style and pattern to its moves, almost as if it wasn’t trained at all. But it knew better. Ponies provided some of the most challenging and dangerous fights known to Gosonkind. This was one of the smaller, younger ones, but it was likely no less formidable.

The Goson scratched one of the trunks of the tree it hid behind, scoring a deep groove into the bark. It would watch and wait, preferably for the large red male or the strong orange female. They would provide a better challenge. And if not? Then it would accept the challenge of the small warrior kicking the air.

A battle of honor was a battle of honor, after all.

Divine looked at Adagio. “I apologize, and I know this is your day off, Capt. Dazzle,” he began.

The oldest triplet sighed. “No such thing as a day off for a SIREN,” she moaned, reciting the old Canadian SIREN motto. “Explain to me what’s going on.”

Seated at the dining table, which was currently covered with a large map of Ponyville Province, the guard captain explained everything about the Bete Goson and the increasing attacks that had occurred. The three triplets listened rapt as Lt. Gatecruncher, the Army liaison from Fort Berryville, had detailed an increasing number of attacks there, as well.

Looking at the map, Aria stated, “That doesn’t make sense. There’s easily about ten miles between Ponyville and Berryville, if I’m reading this chart right, and given the times of the attacks, it doesn’t parse well.”

“Have you considered you’re dealing with more than one attacker?” Sonata asked the ponies.

Sgt. Deep Trench, one of the patrol leaders, looked at her. “That wouldn’t make sense, Commander. From what we know about Bete Gosons, unlike their ursine cousins, they really don’t like being around one another unless they have no choice, say like mating season or….”

“Spring, when it’s mating season?” Adagio, arms folded, looked at the ponies.

The three ponies present looked at one another, then to their human colleagues.

“We’re screwed, aren’t we?” Gatecruncher commented.

Seated on one of the balconies, the others had a charming lunch together, talking about how their week went. “Sounds like you had a fun time, Flutters,” Octavia told her.

“I got some songs written and the local Discord – who is nothing like my dad – inspired one of them. The working title is, ‘I Think I’m Losing My Mind’. Remind me to play it for you later,” the chiffon-haired girl told her bandmate.

The butter-yellow pegasus sighed. “He really didn’t mean to freak you out, Flutters,” she told her. “He’s just…well, exuberant about showing off in front of his friends.”

“I know, Shy, and it’s not your fault. It’s just something I have to adjust to.”

Seated together, the two Rainbow Dashes lazed in their chairs, posture be damned. “Well, I had a pretty cool time, Tav,” the human Rainbow told her friend. “I was totally a hero and shit and apparently, I’ve got magic, just like AJ and Pinks!”

“Yeah!” pegasus Rainbow agreed. “She was moving all like nyrrrr and vroom!” as she moved her arms around, pantomiming her counterpart’s actions. “And then she turned around and ka-chow! Lightning bolted the quarray eels like they were nothing! Plus, she saved Scoots and the others! Mare, I totally appreciate that!” One Rainbow put out a fist to bump and the other responded, knocking their appendages together in a sign of clear, unadulterated coolness.

“So has anyone seen Sunny?” Twilight asked, wondering where her sister was.

“Oh, Pinkie tackleglomped her just outside of the train station,” Octavia told her. “Hopefully they should be coming up for air from swapping spit any minute now.”

“She didn’t, did she?” Twilight asked.

“I hate to say it, but I really think that Ari’s right when she says that Sunny might be a little bit on the gay side,” Octavia said. “Personally doesn’t bother me any, but I wish Sunny would stop stringing Pinkie along.”

“Am I missing something?” Princess Twilight asked.

“Twi, you know that Pinkie – our Pinkie, anyway – has been out of sorts because she misses Sunny. I told you she’s completely in love with my sister. It looks as though my sister might be reciprocating, despite telling us she’s not interested.”

Princess Twilight nodded sagely. “Well, at least she’s a better match for Sunset in the dating department than Flash was, apparently.”

“I’m not sure I would call what that jerk does ‘dating’, per se,” the plum-haired scholar growled.

“Sunny told me what he did to you, Twily,” the princess told her. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s not your fault,” Twilight responded to the alicorn. “He knew what he was doing and now he’s paying the price: his reputation is in tatters and while I hope he learns his lesson, I honestly don’t think he will.”

Applejack, stretching, said, “Well, Ah’ve had enough lunch, thanks. Ah think Ah’m going to take a walk and enjoy what little I can before tonight’s concert and before we go back tomorrow. Anyone wanna come?”

“No, while I would love to,” Octavia told her, “Fluttershy and I need to practice for tonight.” The various other girls made apologies as to why they couldn’t and understanding that, Applejack nodded. She wanted to see if she could pick up some souvenirs for her family that seemed plausible enough to have come from “their vacation in Oregon” even though they came from here.

As she left the room and headed towards the stairs, she brought her phone out, in order to take notes down. Let’s see: maybe I can see if Rarity – either of them – can make a t-shirt for Mel. I think he’d like that. She then tried to figure out what to get for the others; maybe she could come up with a decent idea or two after her stroll.

“Look, Pinkie, I’m sorry,” Sunset told her. “She’s normally not like this.”

“Yeah, I can figure that. But she’s still driving me batty!” the pony argued. “Look, I get that you’re going to defend your fillyfriend, and I certainly understand that. But we’re just…too different. I’m all about smiles and laughter and stuff. She’s all about….” The pony paused. “Well, I don’t know what she’s all about, but whatever it is, it’s not normal Pinkie material! Maybe it’s those drugs she’s taking!”

“Look, I know about the lithium salts,” Sunset explained, “and they help balance her.”

“Balance her? That’s alchemical stuff! That stuff is dangerous!”

“Human body chemistry is different from pony ones, remember? Different species,” Sunset reminded her. “Besides, she’s probably told you about everything that’s happened to her, and yet she gets up and always tries to put a smile on everyone’s face in her own way. And yes, she was probably the same way as you, but what happened to her scarred her terribly and she’s spent a while coming out from under all that. So I would appreciate if you laid off her, okay?”

“Sunny, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to rain on your parade with her; what two mares do in their own private time is certainly none of my business. I’m just saying that there’s something elementally sad about her, something that is crying out for completion. If you love her – if you really love her as much as she does you – then you’ll want to take care of that.” A strangely sad look briefly came over the pink mare’s face as she said, “Don’t let a mistake ruin your whole life.”

“You seem to be speaking from personal experience there, Pinkie,” Sunset noted.

“Let’s just say that your fillyfriend isn’t the only Pinkie in town with relationship regrets and call it that, okay? Mine are just not as bad as hers.”

Sunset was treading down a path that she really didn’t want to discuss. Pinkie was not her girlfriend, and anything she could say would probably be misconstrued by anyone or anypony, especially this Pinkie. But at the same time, Pinkie was special to her. She had to protect Pinkie, especially since she wasn’t here to protect herself.

The teen rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Pinkie…. Pinkie is very important to me,” she said, choosing her words very carefully. “Her happiness means the world to me, but I also have to let her grow to be the woman that I know she can be. If I do anything to change that, it would be to shortchange her and her future. And she means too much to me to do that to her.”

The pony looked at the teenager for the longest time, and then finally smiled. “You really love her, don’t you?” Sunset was about to say something, when the pink mare raised a hoof. “I can tell. You want the best for her, even if you’re not sure how to help her; I can see that in your eyes. That’s…beautiful, Sunny, really beautiful.” She walked over and hugged the human. “Take care of her always and she’ll always be there for you. I know she will.”

Despite herself, Sunset gave a small, girlish smile. “I…know, Pinkie, I know.”

“Then what are you doing here spending time with me? Your fillyfriend’s been waiting all week to see you! Go schedule some quality smoochy-face time with her!” Pinkie started pushing Sunset towards the door and finally shoved her out. With a satisfied grin, she looked at the door where the alicorn in human form had been just a few moments ago. “Wow, I swear if it wasn’t for me, nopony would ever get their happy endings!”

“And you see, Your Grace,” a particularly bland and boring pony droned, “if you take into account the significant amount of bits spent on the particular project, I don’t see any reason why either the municipal government nor Her Highness’ office should not pay for the recompensation. As you’ll see here in Form 2345XJ1, it clearly states….”

Raspberry Beryl stifled a yawn and tuned out the droning stallion. For some reason that she couldn’t understand, every pony that had any interest in either trying to appeal to Twilight’s sense of minutiae or Tartarusbent on boring her to death had scheduled time during this period while she was covering the Court proceedings.

“…and according to Form 2312-AB-D-1231, it also points out that I’m entitled to…”

Raspberry remembered a figure from the time she was on Earth. He was in a videogame and had a face that could be best described as “angry glare grit teeth”. It probably looked fearsome on a human, but she also bet if she tried it now, she would just look silly…unless she switched to her Sombraic form, in which case then she would look possessed. Either way, she wanted this stallion to shut up and just go away.

That’s when she suddenly heard something. “What did you say?” she asked.

“I said that according to those two forms and the Ancient Laws of Unicornia, that house belongs to me and those ponies are staying there illegally.”

“But you’re not a unicorn,” Raspberry pointed out. “The laws of Unicornia don’t apply to you.”

“But my mother was a unicorn and a member of the old Unicornian nobility,” the stallion continued. “Furthermore, my second cousin is influential in the Court of the Moon, and so I insist that I get the respect that I am due!”

Raspberry rolled her eyes. “And they say that Canterlot residents are uptight.”

“I’ll have you know that I moved here from Canterlot six months ago in order to get away from that!”

“And that explains it.”

“Well then, I absolutely insist that the house be passed to me under the laws of Unicornia!” the stallion insisted.

Raspberry frowned; she was starting to lose her patience with this idiot. “Well, Mr. Houseflipper, as much as I’m finding this absolutely fascinating—” she said in her best imitation of Rarity, hoping her friend would forgive her, “—the truth is, you seem to be ignorant of more than a few things. For starters, this is Ponyville Province. The province was never under the control of any of the original three breakaway nations, so the laws of Unicornia – or Pegasopolis or Æarthe, for that matter – never applied. Secondly, you’re talking about an ancien régime, and per the laws of the Unification of the Realms, none of the old laws apply unless specifically dictated by municipal code, royal or noble decision or the direct decree of one of the ruling princesses. So I’m afraid your claims are not valid.”

Houseflipper’s eyes narrowed. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to demand that you give me the land over on 245 Blackberry Pass, or else I’m going to have to go to Princess Twilight and demand it.”

Raspberry’s eyes widened briefly, then narrowed. 245 Blackberry? That’s the orphanage! She groaned. Talk about cliché villain shit!

Focusing a narrow glare on him, she pointed out, “Do you see where I’m sitting?”

“Yes, that’s the throne of Princess Twilight, but I don’t see how—”

“And do you know who I am?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” he said, waving a hoof as if unconcerned. “Raspberry Beryl, Archmagus of Equestria and the Court Mage of Princess Twilight, as well as a princess in pretense, as I recall. But none of that makes you fit to make decisions—”

“Wrong,” she hissed, leaning forward. “What it means is that I’m a member of the Court of Friendship and I can make certain legal decisions that the Princess can override, but she likely won’t. Furthermore, given that I am holding Court in her stead, that means I am her direct representative, and to you, I may as well be her. Therefore, I can make several decisions, many of which I guarantee you won’t like.” She paused briefly to dramatically float a glass of water to her lips, taking a long drink before continuing. “The first of which, I declare any ownership point you have null and void – not that I needed to, mind you; it was never enforceable to begin with. But the second part is the more important one: I find you in contempt.”

“What?” he sputtered. “You can’t do that!”

“I just did,” Raspberry stated. “I honestly don’t care about what you have to say or think about me, or whatever supposed – and clearly inflated – influence that you may think you have. But allow me to explain something, since you clearly aren’t getting it: I am the Archmagus of Equestria. That means I have direct authority from the Princess of Friendship aka the Princess of Magic herself. Furthermore, it also means that I am directly influential in the Courts of the Sun and the Moon.” She leaned back into the throne, luxuriating in her point. “So, let’s play a game: who has more influence? You, who are a paper tiger and trying to spread your influence like too much butter on bread; or me, who knows a couple of the princesses on a first-name basis and is technically one in my own right? I mean, I don’t care to brag, but I think you may as well just give up your point right now. I’m already holding you in contempt, which means your fine is currently at ₿2000, but if you don’t depart, we’re going to increase it.”

“You can’t do that!” he screamed, his eyes bulging.

Raspberry waved a guard over. “Sergeant, please make sure that Mr. Houseflipper has a guest suite in the jail. Nothing serious, just a cooling down period until he decides he’s going to pay his ₿5000 fine. Afterwards, you can let him know he needs to report to Lady Fluttershy next week so she can explain to him the principles of kindness.”

The guardspony, a pegasus, saluted. “Understood, ma’am.” She turned to Houseflipper. “C’mon, you, let’s get you where you really need to sit and think about what you did.” With the assistance of two other ponies, the offender was dragged, kicking and screaming, out of the room.

Raspberry turned to another sergeant, who was acting as the usher. “Is there anypony else for today?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am – that moron was the last one there was.”

She smiled as she hopped out of the seat. “Good! Declare Court closed for the week. Now I’m going to breathe a sigh of relief; I have no idea how Twi does this on a regular basis. Speaking of which, is she in the castle?”

“I believe she’s on the residential floor right now talking to some of the humans that just arrived.”

Raspberry perked up at that. “Oh, that’s great! It’s been a while since I saw Soni and Ari last. Hell, I’ll even deal with seeing Dagi as well. And of course, Tavi and Sunny – can’t forget them.”

“I, uh, have no idea who you’re talking about, ma’am,” the guardspony said with a straight face.

“Well, no worries, I guess. Anyway, close up shop and then you’re dismissed for the day. Have a good weekend, okay?”

Despite it all, he smiled. “You as well, Archmagus,” he told her.

That done, Raspberry departed the Throne Room and headed towards the stairs, intent on visiting her friends. However, it didn’t take long before one other joined her: a familiar weight descended on her horn with a flutter. “Yes, I’m done for the week, Heelee,” she assured him. “Believe me, I really didn’t want to go another moment in there.”

There was a chirped sigh of relief, and she giggled a bit at that. “Hey, you had it easy,” she accused him as they headed up the stairs. “You just had to keep yourself busy this week. I’m the one who had to sit in all of that stuff. I mean, granted, not all of it was bad, and I got to help a lot of ponies in ways I hadn’t done before, but…. Let’s just say that there are some ponies beyond help, you know?”

She finally reached the floor she wanted to and opened the door, revealing all the humans seated at the table, just chatting around lunch.

“Hey, just in time!” Rainbow – the human one – called out. “The rest of our group got here and we’re thinking about showing them around the town.”

“Well, you’ve been here all week, so that’s not a problem,” Raspberry said as she pulled a seat up.

“Besides, we all have to head back to Canterlot tomorrow for the preparations, so I’m hoping that we’ll be able to show them some local color,” Applejack – again, the human one as well – added.

Princess Twilight, however, noted that her friend looked a little down. “Let me guess,” she began. “Court get you down?”

Raspberry nodded. “Yeah. Some of the ponies that are moving here from the other big cities? They clearly don’t get what Ponyville is supposed to be like. It’s almost as though they moved here so that they could make our town like the place they came from, Twi!”

It was Twilight – the human teenager – that responded instead. With an understanding look on her face, she looked at her friend and said, “Well, you spent a few weeks on Earth and know what our society is like. Sounds like pony society isn’t all that different than it seems.”

The mulberry unicorn nodded. “Yeah, Twily, you have a point. Still, at least all of it is over now and when it starts up, it’s Twi’s problem again.”

The alicorn rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks, Razz.”

“Well, yeah, this is about as interesting as dirt an’ all,” the pony Rainbow drolled, “but I’m a bit more focused on what’s going down with that karate bear stuff. I mean, that’s what’s got all the guards fired up, right? Hell, let me at ‘em and I guarantee I’ll wipe the floor with them!” She looked at her counterpart. “An’ if we add her to the mix, I promise you they won’t last for shit!”

The human Rainbow grinned. “Yeah! Just watch my moves and I’ll juice those fuckers up!” She offered a fist to bump, which the pegasus did without a second’s thought.

“But Rainbow, we don’t know why this poor thing is hurting others,” the pegasus Fluttershy stated, looking at her oldest friend. “What if it’s hurt itself? Or sick, or afraid of us? What if it’s just trying to protect itself? If you attack it, all you’re doing is just making it feel that much more guilty about itself!”

“Raini,” the human Fluttershy began.

“I hate it when you do that,” the addressee in question grumbled.

“I’m doing it because I care. I don’t want you to get hurt. Maybe she’s right about it; I don’t know. I just know that I wouldn’t want any of you getting hurt because of this. Apparently, several ponies have, and because Twily says that we humans are ideal targets for it, I’m afraid it will hurt you and I don’t want that.”

“But Flutters….”

The chiffon-haired girl crossed her arms. “I’m putting my foot down on this one, Raini.”

Rainbow sighed. “I think I liked you better when you were a pushover,” she grunted.

“Be that as it may, I think we should let the experts handle this,” Octavia advised. “That’s Capt. Right and his forces, as well as the triplets. And I know we’re safe when it comes to the triplets, and I don’t doubt that Princess Twilight’s forces aren’t any less capable.”

“Spoken like a true scholar,” Twilight affectionately told her cousin.

“Well, you had to rub off on me at some point or another, Twily,” Octavia replied with a grin.

“I see my sarcasm was lost on you.”

“Sarcasm?”

“You did a double negative, Tavi. Seriously! I thought you were better than that,” the plum-haired scholar stated dramatically.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Okay, I think Sunny’s rubbed off on you more than you’ve rubbed off on me. Anyway, though, as long as we remain in safe areas, I think we should be fine.”

Princess Twilight nodded in agreement. “I’ve already asked Div to place his best troops in highly-trafficked locations so that if something happens, we’ll be ready. Plus, I don’t mean to brag, but if worst comes to, we do have two alicorns in town – myself, and Sunny – so I don’t think there’s anything to fear.”

“Unless you’re stepping between Pinkie trying to kiss my sister,” Twilight cracked. “Then you might be in over your head.”

“I can’t believe we’re doing this on our day off,” Aria sighed. Now, she was walking the ridgeline of a butte that skirted the northeast edge of Ponyville’s municipal limits. “And why is there a butte here, for that matter? What kind of bizarre topography does this place have? I swear, it’s like someone just created the place half-assed, stated it was plains and then for reasons that make no logical sense, added a lake, forest, rolling hills and now a butte on demand, like as if a plot needed it.”

“Yeah,” Sonata laughed. “It’s like the main city in Filly Fantasia. I think the writers originally meant it to be just a single setting, but then as the series grew, they needed to change parts of the layout in order to accommodate some of the outlandish—”

“You’re not helping,” the middle triplet accused.

“Would you two knock it off?” Adagio admonished her sisters. “Look, it was a good thing that we talked Princess Twilight into letting us store a weapons crate at her Chateau d’ Arts & Crafts Gone Wrong, or else we’d just have sidearms. At least with what we have here, we have a fighting chance against whatever it is.” She looked toward the guardspony that had been assigned as their scout. “Trooper Furlong, what’ve you got?”

From above, assisted by a speaking crystal, the pegasus winged his way around the area; looking up, from this distance the winged pony looked little more than a bird soaring through the skies. “Nothing so far, ma’am,” he replied. “Of course, this is the area of town that’s farthest from the Everfree, and given most of the attacks have been there, we’re less likely to see it.”

“Great, just great – first, we have to give up our hard-earned liberty in order to deal with this shit, and now we’re in the wrong place? This sucks. Seriously, this is just UNSAT,” Aria groaned.

“Hey, look at it this way, sis,” Sonata suggested. “At least we’re getting to see a nicer, more peaceful view of Ponyville than the last time we were here. And I don’t have to worry about being critically injured by an assassin pool player!”

Adagio chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what our lives have been reduced to, ladies: we were once unstoppable illegal Canadian child soldiers. Now we’re heavily armed Canadian-American schoolgirls related to an alien goddess and whose job it is to save more than one world from perverted fox princes and pool-playing assassins. I swear, it’s like our life is some badly-written story.”

“Don’t get started on Twily’s multiverse theories again,” Sonata groaned. “It’s bad enough we now know that they exist. I really don’t want to get a headache thinking of all the permutations.”

“Well, you are the smartest of us three, sis,” Aria chimed in. “I don’t mind admitting that.” Aria was about to continue chatting, when she suddenly saw Adagio stop and gave the hand signals to stop, followed by the one for silence. Noting that, both younger sisters immediately fell in line, going back from their habits as normal girls over to that of specially trained naval commandos.

“Trooper Furlong,” Adagio whispered into her crystal, “what’ve you got eyes on, over?”

“Something bad, ma’am,” came the response.

“That…whatever it is?”

“No, but something just as bad: there’s a hydra up ahead. They usually don’t wander into this part of the Unicornian Plains, as they prefer to remain in Froggy Bottom Bog. But if one is out, that’s going to be really bad. The direction it’s in is headed towards the parade grounds, where a lot of ponies without homes still reside. Do I have permission to start using combat magic?”

“If you think it’ll drive it away, do it,” Adagio ordered. “We can’t afford an additional risk to the populace.”

“I’ll see what I can do, ma’am.” The line ended, and from above, Furlong began his assault. She didn’t know what his combat magic specialty was but given that he was in the Guard rather than the Navy or Army, it had to be mostly defense related, the oldest triplet decided. She wasn’t still up on the magical capabilities of Equestria, but it stood to reason that was what the case was.

“Okay, at ease,” she told her sisters. “Even though we’re focused on that Beet…whatever, we can’t let something like a hydra get into the city limits. Ari, get up to a nearby tree and set up a sniper position. Soni and I will remain here in case we need to push on the ground.”

“Roger that,” Aria stated, slinging her weapon around her shoulder. “Looks like today’s going to be a fun one.”

“Yeah, no shit. But we have a duty, and besides, I’d rather this than have to deal with what Sunny’s gotta deal with.”

“You mean you’re not marrying that prince?” Pinkie asked, her eyes red with tears still.

“Pinkie…I’m not even….” Sunset paused. She was going to say dating anyone, but the last thing she wanted was for Pinkie to lose it right now. Pinkie was still extremely fragile when it came to that. “Why would I do that?” Sunset said instead. “My mother wouldn’t want me to marry for affairs of state. If she did, she would have found a much more advantageous marriage for my cousin Cadance, not to mention both Twilight and my aunt. So if she didn’t do it with them, she wouldn’t do it with me. Plus, to be honest, given how Fujitsu acted towards the triplets and what he did to Tavi? Even if she was looking for an advantageous marriage for me, he wouldn’t be it.”

“But then what about…”

“Pinkie, I’m not marrying anyone. Not right now and not in the foreseeable future – that even includes you.” Sunset felt compelled to say that much; while she didn’t expect her would-be paramour to rush out and go buy an engagement ring, it did sound like something that was safe enough to say. “I’m still…well, as an alicorn, I still feel I have a long way to grow. And as a human, I definitely do. I can’t do that if I’m saddled with a betrothal, right?”

“So…I still have time?”

Sunset felt that silence was the better part of valor and opted not to answer that.

Pinkie wiped her eyes, smiling. “I’m…happy,” she said, her voice sounding a little more normal. “I love you, Sunny, and I want the best for you. And I don’t mean the best as in me; I’m not conceited enough to think that of myself.” She reached over and caressed the taller girl’s face. “I would be brokenhearted if you had married him, sure, but I would have been devastated because that meant you wouldn’t have had a happy life. You mean too much for me to ever see you go through that, love.”

Sunset noticed the crowds building around them, and that meant one of two things: either she and Pinkie were drawing a crowd, or worse, the populace was about to break into one of those strange song and dance numbers that ponies always did for some reason. She found it weird that her native species had a proclivity to do that, and since her time as a human had since upgraded that to outright creepy as fuck. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to stick around for it.

“Let’s get going,” Sunset told her. “I haven’t had lunch yet after getting dragged into an impromptu meeting with your counterpart, and I’m starving.”

“Is everything okay?” Pinkie asked her.

“Yeah, she was just worried about you,” Sunset stated as the two walked away from the growing crowd. Sure enough, one of the ponies – Sunset thought she looked like she would be Waterjug’s counterpart – broke out into song, and as four other ponies joined in she definitely wanted to make sure she was clear of the aural blast radius, in a manner of speaking.

After a few minutes, they were at Bon Apple Tea, a small, secluded (or in Pinkie’s terms, “romantic”) café. Sunset had chosen it mainly because she hadn’t wanted to be bothered by the extended musical number going on outside and hadn’t even thought of the ramifications. But as she saw the girl sitting across from her, drinking a strawberry milkshake and undressing her with her eyes, she realized she probably should’ve thought about lunch choices a little more thoroughly.

To ease Pinkie’s worries about the week, Sunset went over everything and how she’d been worked to the bone, and how if it hadn’t been for her two assistants, things would have been worse. Pinkie was about to point out how rude and pushy Precious Jewel had been to her until Sunset had pointed out that Jewel had thrown herself into her work, having been at Sunset’s chambers at first light of dawn in order to get work done and not having left until Sunset practically had to order her.

“She sounds totally like a yandere,” Pinkie mused when Sunset was done with her explanation.

The flame-haired girl giggled at that. “Yeah, I guess she could, now that I think of it. But I don’t think she’s interested in me at all, Pinks. She’s clearly got her eye on somepony else at the castle – why else would she wear that risqué attire of hers? I think she’ll calm down once she has her intended firmly wrapped around her hoof.”

Pinkie sighed and gave Sunset a smile. “I still have my doubts – call it woman’s intuition – but I trust you.”

“So why don’t you tell me about your week?”

“Not much to admit, really,” Pinkie said sadly. “I spent most of the time helping out at the Sugarcube Corner, because the other Pinkie sure as hell doesn’t. I mean, don’t get me wrong: I like her, but she’s…she doesn’t take things seriously enough. She’s like a perpetual twelve-year-old and doesn’t have many responsibilities and really doesn’t take any further ones. It’s like she just wants to coast through life.”

“Pinkie, she also has her responsibilities as the Element of Laughter and a member of Twilight’s Court, so I’m sure those duties keep her tied up,” Sunset reminded her. “I’m pretty sure that all of The Court of Friendship is pretty busy, now that I think of it, at least by pony standards. Remember that humans have a lot more on their plates because of the lives we lead, so what might seem as lackadaisical to you might be a full plate to a pony.”

“Except that I’ve seen you work and you’re always busy! And you said that you’ve been working yourself to the bone this past week!” Pinkie countered.

Well, she’s got me there, the flame-haired girl had to admit.

Before Sunset could say anything else, Pinkie absently poked her straw at her half-finished milkshake and asked, “Do you have a court, Sunny? And if so, am I a part of it?”

“Personally, I don’t think I would want a court, as much as Rares would think it would be ‘divinely romantic.’ And before you ask, I don’t know if that entitles you to titles of nobility, either. I don’t know if you’d even want them.”

“There’s only one title I can think of that I would want,” Pinkie said sweetly.

“I know, Pinkie, but don’t you think it’s a little too early to start thinking about that?” Sunset asked, worry creeping into her voice. After all, Engagement Rings & Drumsticks was just across the street, and all Pinkie needed to do was to see that.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to, Sunny. I am your bride and your all,” she stated in a stentorian tone. “When everything seems lost and you have no one to stand by you, I will always be there for you.” She reached over and took Sunset’s hands, holding them in her own.

Sunset suddenly felt flustered at that. “Pinkie, I….”

“I know. PDA again. But I guess the rules for royals – even pony ones – are a little different from normal ponies or people, right?” She pulled out her phone. “Need to make a note to look up how the Brits do things. I’m sure there’s enough on the net to figure that out. I’m just glad we can be a normal couple when we’re back home, right?”

“Yeah, right,” Sunset said flatly.

“But for right now, can I ask something?” Pinkie’s blue eyes bored into Sunset’s cyan ones. “Please, if for no one else than me, have fun today, okay? I can tell there’s a lot on your mind and it’s not good to just let it sink in and fester.”

“Well, that’s my plan today. I have to go back early tomorrow, so if nothing else, I just want to have fun today.”

“Well, I know a girl who’s available to have fun with,” Pinkie stated in a smooth tone. “She’s perky, cheerful and very, very kissable,” she purred. “And I know she would just love to spend time with her girlfriend.”

Sunset couldn’t help herself. “Really? Where is she?”

Pinkie blinked and her jaw dropped. Then she laughed, a musical tone that just elicited from her as though she was letting loose some long, pent-up frustration. Looking at Sunset, she said honestly, “I don’t know what I would do without you, love.”

Laying in her bed at Ponyville General, Gracenote lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling and wallowing in her utter defeat. She was ruined. Not only would she not be able to perform at all this week, but she wasn’t even sure she had the bits to pay for the expensive medical treatment she was going to need as a result of the attack she’d received. Every part of her hurt and her wings were ruined – not to the point where she’d lose them, but they would take a long, long time to recuperate. Time she didn’t have and money she didn’t have, either.

She would have to sell her home and then move back to her hometown. Her parents would insist that she give up the music industry and go work with the local birdnest building factory, something she didn’t want to do. She was made for music and made to be the biggest celebrity there was!

But that wish was now gone, thanks to a wild animal and her own inability to get away.

The nurse approached. “Miss Gracenote? You have visitors.”

Gracenote lolled her head towards the nurse. “I do?”

“Yes. Would you like me to let them in?”

At this point, Gracenote’s life wasn’t any lower; she was probably at the bottom of the barrel, so what harm would it do? “Sure,” she said in a soft, defeat-filled voice. “Let them in.” The nurse nodded and departed, leaving Gracenote to carefully sit up in the bed. She wouldn’t hope to be looked down upon any further than she already was.

So it was a complete shock to her that who should walk in were Fluttershy, the human that shared her name and another human who seemed cut in the same stock as the chiffon-haired one. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” the pegasus said in a soft, but kind voice.

“What…what are you doing here?” Gracenote demanded. “Here to laugh at me while I’m down?”

But the pegasus just looked at her and shook her head. The look in her cyan eyes were one of sorrow. “I’m sorry to hear what happened to you. Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?” Gracenote asked. “I was attacked by that creature, I’ve lost everything and now I can’t even afford to pay for my bills! I’m ruined!”

“Don’t worry. The bills have been taken care of.” It had been the human Fluttershy – her hated rival – that had spoken.

“What?”

The pegasus smiled. “When she heard what had happened to you, she went and used some connections of hers. She’ll be paying for your medical expenses using the proceeds she made from her performances here.”

When Gracenote looked completely shocked, the human Fluttershy smiled. “I came here to show the best of humanity,” she explained. “That means more than just performing. That also means doing what I can to help ponies whenever I can and to show them that we humans are more than just the fearsome legends you grew up with.”

“But why me?” Gracenote asked, completely perplexed. “After everything I said to you….”

This time the second human, one with a black mane and purple eyes, spoke; she reminded Gracenote of Octavia Melody, for some reason. “That’s Flutters for you,” she said. “She’s always been one of the kindest people I know and that’s why I’m glad to be her friend. We’ll be performing tonight at a benefit to raise money for the rest of your medical bills.”

“But you’re not a pony! You don’t have to take care of me!”

“No,” Fluttershy answered with a smile. “But I am just like her,” she said, gesturing to her pony counterpart. “I can’t bear to see anyone – or anypony – suffer if there’s something I can do to help it. You could say…it’s Kindness.”

There was a knock on Applejack’s bedroom door. The teen, sitting on her bed and reading, looked up. “Come in,” she called out.

The door opened up, revealing Big Macintosh. “Hey, Ah hope y’ don’t mind,” he said.

The blonde smiled. “Naah, was just doing some homework and Ah’m already bored of it. Ah’m not Twily,” she added with a chuckle.

“So, Ah wuz hopin’ y’d tell me a little more ‘bout yer brother,” Macintosh told her. “Sounds way different than me, Ah reckon.”

“Yeah, but he’s mah brother,” she said with a grin. “So Ah love the big lug. An’ he’s got a good girlfriend, too.”

“Well, tell ya what: up fer another home-cooked Apple meal? Ah know we didn’t talk ‘bout that before, an’ Ah know that Granny would be pleased as punch t’ hear ‘bout all of it.”

“Well, Ah know that Ah’m supposed to go to Flutter and Tavi’s performance tonight, but until then Ah’m free. So that sounds like a perfect plan to me.”

The stallion gestured towards the door. “Well, then, if’n ya don’t mind, we c’n go swing by an’ get mah fillyfriend an’ let her hear about this, too. Ah think Cheerilee’ll get a kick out o’ this.”

Applejack got up from the bed. “You don’t think it’ll freak her out?”

Macintosh laughed. “Sugarcube, she teaches the schoolfoals ‘round these parts. If that don’t freak her out, Ah don’t know whut would.”

As they walked back towards the palace, Pinkie and Sunset talked about other things, topics that the latter hoped were neutral enough and that the former thought were fascinating, because it was details about the youth of her dearest love. As they moved on, Pinkie’s hand repeatedly brushed against Sunset’s, as if hinting at something. After a bit, Sunset ultimately relented and took Pinkie’s hand in her own, much to the latter’s content.

They walked around town, shopping and just enjoying time together, and as they did so, Sunset had to admit, it was a great way of spending some downtime, even if it wasn’t the way she wanted it to. The way the other girl just excitedly wanted to share time with her, not just because she was beautiful, or because she was a princess or even a goddess, but just because she was Sunset Shimmer. Pinkie loved her because she was who she was, and even Sunset knew that wasn’t going to change. She could see it nearly as clear as her fellow princess Cadance would, she guessed: Pinkie loved her deeply and utterly and that would never change.

It was only part of the reason why that cheered her and worried her.

She wasn’t gay. She wasn’t attracted to girls in the least. And yet, if she was, she knew she could easily see herself spending the rest of immortality with someone like Pinkie. Hell, her family already thought they were an item – both sides of her family, in fact, and possibly even all three if someone was to ask Shimmer. Plus, in a bizarre sense, the first one that Pinkie had been open to about her feelings outside their circle of friends had been Sunset’s own adoptive mother.

She looked at Pinkie as she rushed over to a nearby chocolate store, bouncing up and down and insisting that she wanted to try some. Sunset had never seen Pinkie so open before, not with anyone else. Though the scholar athlete was honest and forthright with her friends, there was something that she always seemed to hold back, a part of her that always felt reserved. And yet, that wasn’t on display here: Pinkie was truly being herself around Sunset because the cheerleader loved and trusted her enough to show the deepest facets of herself, warts and all.

It was, Sunset knew, the sign of not just a passing fancy, or even someone in a relationship – it was the sign of someone who had already decided upon her spouse and had settled herself in for the lifelong journey that couples walked together.

Sunset wondered if she was worthy of that.

Walking into the chocolate store and waving at the friendly stallion who minded the counter, Pinkie’s mind was swirling with thoughts. Once again, her dearest love was fretting about something, and it wasn’t hard for Pinkie to guess what it was: Sunset had always felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, and that had to be double now that she was an actual princess and goddess. It was Pinkie’s job to relieve that burden, not just because she was in love with Sunset, but because of what she knew she was.

She only wished that she could get Sunset to just open up and relax a little more. She was sure that she had her girlfriend’s love; of that, there was no doubt in Pinkie’s mind. But Sunset was too burdened by other cares and concerns and Pinkie sometimes worried it made her girlfriend feel a little too distant.

But then, there were those unguarded moments, the little instances where Pinkie saw her girlfriend just unwind and smile and laugh and love life. Those moments Pinkie cherished more than anything else, because she knew they were so special when she did it around her. It was irrational, but she felt jealous when Sunset was able to do that around her family, because she wanted those moments to herself. But at the same time, she knew that as long as the girl she loved – the alicorn she loved – was able to just be herself and not just Sunset Shimmer, Alicorn of Earth, Princess of France, Princess of Equestria and A Billion Other Titles, then everything would work out in the end.

Pinkie looked forward to the day when the two of them could just spend time with each other, lay in each other’s laps and sip wine and read from tablets. The other Pinkie – Mina – despite the very different way her life had been, went through her own hell all in order to end up with her Sunset. Even if that took that level of dedication, Pinkie would do the same, because she loved Sunset. Because that’s what being a proper girlfriend meant: being there for the good and the bad. And given how rough their lives had been and how reality had often dealt both girls more than their share of bad hands in the card game of life, Pinkie would continue to fight for their happiness in whatever way or manner it took.

Sunset had saved Pinkie from her inner demons from just being true to herself. Pinkie would save her beloved from the slings and arrows of the world – worlds – by doing the same.

She knew she had to be worthy of that.

At this point, Apple Bloom was so bored out of her skull that she was actually working, bucking the trees as hard as she could. Granted, as a filly, there wasn’t much she could do, but she was putting her everything into it, trying to be a miniature version of her sister. And that in itself was a problem: Normally, the younger Apple sister idolized the older, but Applejack had not been anything to impress this past week. And the reason for that was both simple and ironic: the human that shared Applejack’s name, mainly because she was an alternate universe version of her. Apple Bloom thought it was cool enough that there were alternate reality versions of themselves, just like in those sci-fi comics that Spike always read. But to experience them? That was absolutely amazing!

Bloom wished she could meet her counterpart. From what the human Applejack had told her, “Bloomie” was fourteen, which meant she was much older than Bloom herself was, which means she was probably pretty cool. Plus, given her own ability to use mechanical parts and the like, probably paled in comparison to the other’s “computer programming skills”, whatever that was. Plus, there was that absolutely magical (in a non-magical sense) world that the humans lived in. For a filly interested in mechanical craftwork like Bloom was, it was probably heaven.

Too bad I’m stuck here, she thought grimly to herself. I know that I’m needed here, but Applejack always gets a chance to go off on adventures! I want my chance too!

Frustrated, Bloom bucked as hard as she could—

—and heard a roar, her hooves impacting against something soft that was most decidedly not wood.

Bloom looked up…

…and into eyes filled with rage and sharp teeth. A muzzle snarled at her, then uttered a roar straight into her face.

Needless to say, Bloom screamed.

Meanwhile, on another part of the farm, Applejack removed her hat and wiped the sweat off her brow, the perspiration whisked off her orange fur and yellow mane by a strong right foreleg. The week was over and she was glad for the weekend, though…it had been, quite honestly, the most miserable week she’d had in quite a while. She’d alienated her friends because of that fake Applejack and worse, even her family was starting to like that charlatan! The only pony who she thought still might be on her side, Raspberry, was tied to the humans in a way that the rest of her friends weren’t, and that probably meant she was likely in that other Applejerk’s pocket as well.

She couldn’t blame her friends, though; even Applejack knew that ponies always took a fancy to the new and exotic – except when they were afraid of same. Unfortunately, the fact that Ponyville had grown since Twilight’s coronation meant that the locals were now more used to the former than the latter. And while that was a good thing, it also meant that a grifter like that no-good fake Applejack could thrive in a situation like this.

After all, she’d already stolen Applejack’s friends, family and probably Celestia only knew what else.

Placing her hat back on her head – a proper hat, since unlike some other individuals with the same name as her, she appreciated the value of a headcovering – she was about to get back to work when she heard Apple Bloom’s scream coming from the eastern fields. She was about to dismiss it as just Apple Bloom being bored – her friends were either hospitalized or grounded, after all – but then she remembered the warning that Divine’s guardsponies had given her just the other day. About the creature that had injured several ponies and that nopony was safe.

Worried about her sister, she rushed over to the fields in question to see chaos taking the order of the day. Terrified out of her wits, Apple Bloom hid underneath the ruins of two shredded apple trees. Meanwhile, two guards were taking on a brutal beast, and were losing – badly. Worse, she knew the ponies in question: Pulsewave was one of the fastest pegasi assigned to the Friendship Guard and was nearly as fast as Rainbow herself; he was also apparently no slouch in the combat magic department, either. As for the other, Boomer, he was just as big as her brother and, truth be told, much easier on the eyes. But he was also a fighter – and right now all the skills she knew he had been all for naught.

And the reason for that was the Bete Goson. It set itself there, unnatural and unreal even by Ursa standards. Standing upright like a minotaur or a human, it had a body more akin to those other two species than its own native one. Its fur was mottled and striped in strange patterns and looked strangely enough like clothing on the creature rather than a hirsuite covering. Crowning its head like a halo of puffed-up fur, the Goson almost appeared as if it had a globe-shaped mane of its own, or what (if any of the humans had been around) would have referred to as an “Afro” hairstyle. The look was both comical and bizarre, and had it not been for the clear ferocity of the creature, Applejack might have just fallen to the ground, laughing at the incredulity of the situation.

But there was little to laugh about when the Goson picked up another guard whose name Applejack didn’t know and with a cruel ease, slammed it against another tree by his hindlegs. She could hear an audible crack, but whether it was the tree or the pony’s rib she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she had to do something, or ponies were going to get hurt – worse, her little sister was in great jeopardy.

“HEY, YA FUR COAT – WHY NOT TRY PICKIN’ ON SOMEPONY YER OWN STRENGTH?” she roared as she dove into the fray, and with the ease of a mare used to fighting rammed into the Goson at full speed, pushing it away from its quarry. Wasting no time, she turned to the others and shouted, “Get out of here and get help!”

A second later she realized that she was the one who was going to need help as she felt her tail being yanked, followed by the unnatural vertigo of being thrown through the air. A second later, she felt the impact of being slammed against – and through – one of her precious apple trees. She felt her world spin at the impact, as well as felt something else go.

She thought she heard her sister scream.

Shaking her head, Applejack felt herself being picked up, and then slammed back to the ground again. Not wanting to end up like the Guards she’d just rescued a second before, she lashed out with a hindleg and felt something connect hard; a roar of pain sounded out and Applejack used that time to try to get away, only to feel herself picked up like a Smarty Pants doll and thrown like one. She sailed through the air but hadn’t even yet landed when she felt herself slammed several times while in mid-air. She screamed in pain and finally hit the ground, crashing painfully and briefly blacking out.

A second later, she felt something heavy dropped on her and it made her scream. She didn’t have to guess what it was: the Goson, clearly intending to pin her for a series of blows, dropped the heaviest tree he could on her, and with her pinned, there was no chance for her to easily break out of this predicament.

Her vision swam as she saw the Goson headed towards her with what looked like murderous intent. She tried to force herself to her feet but couldn’t do it. It was as though she’d had all her strength sapped out of her and was now helpless before the oncoming marauder. Having been through a war and the brutal aftermath, she hadn’t thought that she would have been brought down by yet another one of the rampaging animals that lived in the Everfree Forest, but the truth was undeniable.

Eyes connected with eyes, and in that moment, Applejack wondered if that would be the last thing she ever saw.

Day Six, Evening: Extrasensory

Sunset and Pinkie walked out of the chocolate shop, both feeling particularly relaxed about the situation. Pinkie had come to understand that she’d made a huge mistake. She needed to trust her girlfriend and if she didn’t, it would be problematic to say the least. Sunset wasn’t like Atlas and there was no reason to treat her like that, even inadvertently.

She looked at the taller girl and the calm, serene face she had. Eyes like flawless turquoises set in a stunning face wreathed by hair that seemed as though it was a very inferno itself. And that was Sunset: a lively flame, both nurturing and caring and so very kissable (amongst other things).

The two of them stopped.

Sunset turned to Pinkie. “Are you okay? You’ve been pretty quiet,” she asked.

Pinkie wasn’t sure how to answer that. The truth was, of course, that she was thinking of their relationship and how she could take it farther. They were already a couple, but not yet ready for marriage. And given their horrific previous relationships, Pinkie did not want to push the sexual button just yet, especially after Twilight had already given her a lecture on taking it easy with Sunset.

“I was just thinking,” she replied simply. “I didn’t get to see much of Canterlot and I wanted to see where you’re from. I mean, you’re my girlfriend and Auntie Cup says that every couple should do the cheese tour at one point in their life.”

Sunset looked at her oddly. “Cheese tour?”

Pinkie nodded. “That’s when a couple get to show each other everything from their childhood. I mean, I know you spent most of it in the palace, but what about that orphanage? And given that I’ve lived most of my life with my aunt and uncle, you’ve already pretty much seen that.”

“Pinkie, I—”

Pinkie took Sunset’s hands in her own. “Please? I mean, it would mean a lot to me. Besides, we need some stories to tell our children, right?”

Sunset looked at Pinkie strangely. It had already started off with the mention of a cheese tour, which her adopted mother had already told her about, and now suddenly Pinkie was planning children with her?

We’re not even dating!

“Pinkie, I….” The look on Pinkie’s face became one of absolute pleading and Sunset somehow knew that she couldn’t disappoint her friend. “Okay. I have a few hours free tomorrow, and we can do it then, okay?”

Pinkie jumped up and down in victory. “Yay!” The moment meant the world to her. Even though it would probably be another decade or so before they tied the knot, Pinkie was happy to be able to learn as much about her future wife as she could. After all, if she was going to be the lifemate of someone as special as Sunset, it didn’t hurt to start preparing as soon as possible!

Before Sunset could say anything else, Pinkie got on her tiptoes, threw her arms around Sunset’s shoulders and reached up, kissing her. “I know, no PDA, but you’re my girl, Sunny!” she crowed. “I have to show you who loves ya, baby!”

Despite everything, Sunset blushed slightly. “Pinks, I already get that from you, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh, I worry, believe me. With that bitch Rose trying to muscle in—”

“Pinkie, I have no interest in Rose.” Despite her reluctance to try to break the situation about their supposed “relationship”, Sunset felt at least comfortable enough to comment on that. “Rose is just a friend and you should know that.”

Pinkie gave her girlfriend a blushing response. “Sorry…I can be a jealous Pinkie at times. I know, it’s an ugly side of me, but we’re a couple and you’re going to see this eventually. Forgive me?”

“Pinkie, there’s nothing to forgive, okay?” Especially since we’re not a couple!

“Really?” When Sunset nodded, Pinkie responded by leaning her head against Sunset’s shoulder. “How did I luck out and get the best girl in the world?”

Sunset would have answered that if it wasn’t for the guard that was galloping towards them. “Princess Sunset! Princess Sunset!” He skidded to a stop, nearly bumping into the two. “Oh, thank Celestia I found you! We have an emergency going on and we need your help!”

Sunset looked briefly at Pinkie, then at the guardspony. “What’s up?”

The stallion gasped for breath for a second, then explained the situation and what was being done about it. “And with Princess Twilight covering the area around Berryville, she asked me to come locate you and see if you would be willing to support us locally,” he finished.

Sunset looked at Pinkie. “Pinkie, I—”

“It’s okay, sweetie,” she replied. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” She turned to the guardspony. “Is there any way that I can help?”

“Yes. We have a squad of ponies headed towards Sweet Apple Acres and the outskirts, but we don’t have enough ponies to spare. If you can assist in any way, we’d be appreciative.”

Sunset changed into her alicorn form. “Trust me, Sergeant,” she told the pony, “if you’ve got Pinkie on your side, then you’ve got nothing to worry about.” Giving her friend a smile, Sunset launched herself into the air and within seconds was nothing more than a speck in the sky.

“Wow, with an endorsement like that, she must really have faith in you,” the sergeant told Pinkie.

“Yeah,” Pinkie said in a dreamy voice. “Gets me all creamy just thinking about it.” A second later she realized what she said and blushed furiously. “Um…you didn’t hear that,” she said in an awkward tone, then took on a more businesslike approach. “Okay, what’s next?”

Back when she was just a filly, Applejack’s father once told her a family proverb: Sometimes you feel like the swatter, sometimes you feel like the fly. It was one of those folk wisdom things that her friends typically were at a loss to understand what it meant, and in this case, truth be told, the farmmare was more than likely to agree with them. It wasn’t exactly the most accessible of maxims, and by the time she was old enough to ask him, her father was gone.

Now, as her teeth rattled in her skull as she was smashed violently against the ground once more, she understood the meaning of the old saying. She also wondered how long she was going to spend in the hospital because of this. She’d managed to draw the heat off her sister and the guards, which was good, but in the process had drawn the wrath of the creature, and it had decided she was the perfect target for its strikes. That meant it wasn’t going to leave her be until she was unconscious and bleeding out of several locations and probably in traction for weeks. That became a definite as the Goson then pinned her to the ground courtesy of one of the shattered trees that had been the family livelihood.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the thing rushing towards her. It was clearly intending to deliver the finishing blow, and that was going to be painful on a level that Applejack had probably never felt before. Even being in the war against Tirek’s forces hadn’t been like this, and she’d escaped that one mainly unscathed. There was also the recent issue in Nightshade, and she’d went through that with flying colors. And yet, here she was, bruised and battered and looking like she’d come out the bad side of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a comfortable position to be in.

She saw sharp claws coming for her, straight at her eyes. That close and powerful, it could do some serious damage – the kind even the most potent of healing magic would have a problem dealing with.

She closed her eyes, shivering and knowing that she was powerless, and wasn’t going to be able to stop that at all.

The blow never came.

The moment she arrived on the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres, a wounded guard had come up, calling for help. Both she and Big Macintosh asked him what was up. Once he’d given an answer, it only took a brief look between the teen and the stallion before Applejack vaulted towards the action as fast as she could. People – ponies, whatever – were in trouble and she was the kind of girl that wasn’t going to let that fly.

She arrived to see chaos: apple trees uprooted and shattered, the ground pitted and scarred as if explosions had gone off, and in the center of it, was a creature that Applejack could best describe as a cross between Disco Bear from Happy Tree Friends and the stereotypical look of a karateka. She probably would have laughed if it weren’t for the fact that the thing seemed wild and was tearing up everything in sight. Worse, it seemed to have moves and motions as though it had some martial arts training as bizarre as that would seem.

Then again, for this world, it’s probably par for the course, Applejack thought.

And then that’s when she saw the object of the creature’s fury: her own counterpart. She didn’t hate the other Applejack, though for some reason the reverse was true. Since then, she’d given the earth mare a wide berth, even though she’d taken the effort to spend some time with the other Apples, who treated her like a family of sorts. And now that such had happened, the teen could see why: in a sense, she was one of them. The Granny of this world was little different than her own, while the Apple Bloom and Macintosh of this world. but they had similar dreams and desires. And though her parents’ counterparts were gone from this world, from what Granny Smith had stated, they were very similar.

In any case, none of that mattered. The Applejack of this world couldn’t afford to be injured, because she was a part of Princess Twilight’s court and a Bearer of the Elements of Harmony in her own right. She was, essentially, a knight and a lesser noble, though she didn’t act like it. But no matter what, she had to be protected.

Applejack herself didn’t know what her own future would be now that Sunset was a princess and a goddess. Would she, too, become a member of a court, a noble and a knight? She thought that laughable; she was just a typical California girl with a slightly odder accent and a love of tae kwon do. She didn’t imagine herself as an armor-clad, sword-wielding amazon roaming the countryside (and in any case, Pinkie was the one who usually imagined that sort of thing, based on several of her non-stop diatribes). She was just…Applejack. AJ. The girl that wanted a boyfriend, wanted to be a TKD instructor when she grew up and was good, but probably not Olympic-level good, sad to say.

Still, she had three things that were paramount to her: her family’s values in honesty and integrity, which she took to heart. Her martial arts skills and drive (which while others would say that she wasn’t going to earn a gold medal in anything anytime soon, was fine), and most important…

…no one else could say that they pounded two goddess-level entities into the ground. She flexed her fist and felt the familiar crackle of her magic come to life within. As a normal girl, she was a better-than-average TKD practitioner. Magically embued, however, she was an unstoppable stone-cold bitch that shrugged off a direct hit from a two-ton truck.

With a confident swagger, she walked up to the creature and cocked her fist back—

“HEY ASSHOLE, PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN WEIGHT!”

—and swung.

As the Goson temporarily skidded away courtesy of Applejack’s “lovetap”, the blonde went over and started deadlifting the fallen tree that lay on her counterpart. Seeing Macintosh running towards them, she called out, “Okay, Ah’m gonna lift this thing outta the way and when Ah do, you grab her and run like hell, got that?”

“Ya c’n lift that?” Macintosh said with a bit of surprise.

“Ah’ve dealt with worse, sugar,” she said with a grin. “Ah think Ah can handle a simple tree.”

Meanwhile, the farmmare looked at her as though she were insane. “Whut th’…?” she asked.

“Don’t speak,” Applejack told the pony. “You’re injured. Focus on recovering, instead.” With that, she pulled at the large trunk, her muscles bulging and straining against the weight.

Macintosh, meanwhile, looked a growing figure on the horizon. “Better hurry – looks like whutever it is, ‘s gonna be back fer seconds,” he told her.

“Don’t worry, Ah got us covered,” Applejack said as she continued to lift. Little by little the trunk began to move while the figure loomed closer and closer.

“Okay, pull her out,” Applejack told him. “Now, Ah gotta deal with our new friend here.”

“An’ how’re ya gonna do that?” Macintosh asked.

The human merely gave him a simple smile. That grin, however, was enough to send a chill down his spine.

As the Goson reached a close enough distance, it vaulted at them, moving into a diving kick that would have easily taken down a lesser. Applejack, however, just blocked it and jabbed forward, which the creature easily avoided. She knew it would and it knew she knew it would. Thus, the two stood facing one another, the Goson thrilled that it now faced something truly worthy of its attention, and Applejack faced an unknown creature that she knew she had to beat.

It bellowed a roar of challenge.

Applejack briefly bowed to her opponent and assumed a fighting stance.

The two rushed at each other, fist and claws respectively cocked before reaching the midpoint and the flurry of punches and kicks began.

Exhausted, Adagio plunked down on a rock, wiping the sweat from her brow. Since the first sighting, the trio had gone impromptu hydra hunting. And like the myths on Earth, it was just as painful as described: while they didn’t grow back any heads after one was taken out, the screams brought a ton of reinforcements to help the wounded one. And so twelve heads became 144 became over 1700 and it went on from there.

So now, they were resting after having decimated what was probably a pack? Swarm? Whatever they called a group of hydras…. Something had caused a whole stampede of them to depart the Froggy Bottom Bog and with Ponyville and a few other towns in the way, there was not going to be an easy way of getting rid of them. So, the SIRENs had served as an impromptu extermination force, with their air support occasionally going back to the palace to get them ammo resupplies.

“Fuck this.” Aria downed the contents of her canteen, then rested in the shade of a mangrove tree. Sweat-stained like the rest of them, her pigtails had come undone and she’d just settled for tying them back in a braid for the moment. “I thought this was supposed to be our day off.”

“Yeah, me too.” Sonata just lay on the ground, completely spent. Her hair was a soaking wet mop that trailed behind her and given that she’d been the one wearing the most fashionable (and least utilitarian) clothing of the three, had already torn her skirt in three places to let her move a little more freely. “Sunny’s going to owe us big time for this.”

“Yeah,” Aria agreed. “I’m thinking this is worth a shopping trip on her dime.”

“Ladies, we’re on the clock, remember?” Adagio chided them. “We don’t get to make demands like that.”

“Sunny won’t mind. In fact, she’d probably insist on it.”

“Be that as it may, Ari, I don’t want to get into the fact of mixing business and pleasure. We did agree to treat her from a distance when we’re on the clock, right?”

“Extenuating circumstances, sis,” Sonata reminded her.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that,” Adagio sighed tiredly.

“Alpha Six, this is Air Support.” The voice of Sgt. Upstairs came in loud and clear over the impromptu setup. She’d relieved Trp. Furlong an hour ago and genuinely felt bad about doing so – while the ponies were able to get breaks and be relieved, there was no such luck for the human forces present. “Okay, we have the all clear. Good job, you three – you managed to turn away that large hydra bundle.”

“Bundle? Is that what a group of hydras is called?”

“Yup. I take it you don’t have hydras on Earth?”

“We do, but they’re more like insects. Same name, different thing. And we don’t have a term of venery for them,” Sonata chimed in.

“Lucky you. Anyway, we got the all clear from Cpt. Right, so if you’ll head due west for about thirty minutes, you should reach a guard outpost. The unicorn on duty there should be able to teleport you back to Broken Glass Tree Central.”

“Broken Glass Tree Central?”

“Um…don’t tell anypony I said this, ma’am, but that’s what we guardsponies in the air wing of the Friendship Guard call Princess Twilight’s castle. To be honest…it’s a little ugly and we don’t know why she lives in it.”

Adagio laughed at that. “Your secret is safe with me, Sergeant.”

“I’ll keep watch up here until you get to the outpost. Air Support, out.”

“Works for me.” Dragging herself to her feet, Adagio smiled. “Okay, you heard the news. Sooner we get going, the sooner we can get back and take a shower and relax.”

“You mean the sooner I’m going to get my ass chewed,” Sonata said mournfully.

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” she said, gesturing to her ruined skirt. “This is one of Rarity’s, and she let me borrow it because I looked good in it. You know how much she’s going to tear my head off when she finds out.”

“Not as much as pony Fluttershy will probably flip her shit when she realizes we just killed about a dozen hydras,” Aria added.

“Yeah,” Adagio said tiredly. “C’mon. Maybe we can get Sunny to protect us as that favor she owes us.”

“From Rares?” Sonata asked.

“Point.”

Raspberry Beryl, paired up with Rainbow Dash at the moment, were in the village of Broadmoor, southwest of Ponyville. Given Princess Twilight’s edict that she wanted to make sure the population centers in the province were forewarned of what was going on, the unicorn and the pegasus headed there immediately.

“This is boring!” Rainbow groaned. “I could be covering air support for the SIRENs or raining down my combat magic on that Goes On thingy or stuff like that – instead I get sent here to just talk to the mayor?”

“Rainbow, it’s our job as members of Twi’s court to assure those under our protection that we’re to, you know, actually protect them?” the mulberry unicorn reminded her. “Besides, as the Element of Loyalty, you should know that it means to be here for somepony else, through thick and thin.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get your point,” the pegasus sighed. “But still—”

“No buts, Rainbow. We have a meeting with Mayor Whistletail in five minutes, so try and be professional, okay?”

“Hey, ‘Professional’ is my middle name!” Rainbow boasted, sweeping a foreleg in front of her. “Just call me Rainbow Professional Dash, okay?”

“Last week it was Rainbow Danger Dash, as I recall.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Hey, things change, okay?”

Applejack delivered a jaw-jarring blow to the Goson’s muzzle, then dashed back as the creature recovered quickly, raking its claws against her leg, drawing blood. She ignored the pain; she wouldn’t scream and give the creature the satisfaction of any perceived advantage. Instead, she dropped to the ground and swung out with a sweep kick, which it easily avoided; it in turn tried to deliver a diving punch but she in turn blocked that and returned the blow with a thrust to its gut.

So far the two had been at it for ten minutes, trading blow after blow and not getting the upper hand (or paw, in her opponent’s case) against one another. The battle was taking longer than she’d expected; given that she was in an actual fight against a beast that (inexplicably) had similar skills, it wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped. The last time she’d been in a combat of this nature had been against her cousin who had been turned into some magically overdosed freak of nature, and back then it had been a mindless brawl of pure power. Now, technique and speed were counting more, and that was something that Applejack wasn’t completely in tune with. After all, who the hell could she spar with? Sunset being the notable exception, anyone else was going to get seriously crippled if she used her full magical strength.

The Goson launched a flurry of punches at her, and Applejack brought up her arms to block it just in time. Scores of cuts appeared on her arms, many of them fortunately vanishing in quick bursts of golden light – her magic, in addition to giving her immense strength, also apparently seemed to give her limited invulnerability as well.

Which is good, because I really need it right now! she thought, watching her blood flick away from her arms. A thought immediately popped into her head: even if she was instahealing from these minor wounds, that didn’t stop blood loss, and right now she was on the defensive from this creature’s lightning strikes. If she was going to end this, she needed to do it soon.

Apparently overconfident in its victory, it cocked back its paw in order to deliver the finishing blow, and that was all that Applejack needed. She immediately dropped to a crouch, and as the intended blow sailed over her head, she lashed out, doing a flip and striking with her leg. She’d seen the move not done in real life, but instead in a videogame and she’d wondered if it could be replicated in real life. Perhaps it couldn’t be done with the best of TKD practitioners under normal circumstances, but magic tended to play by its own rules.

That was quickly proven true as the knife edge of Applejack’s foot hammered into the Goson’s face, and an explosion of energy burned across its features, causing it to roar in pain. However, that roar lessened as physics took over, sending the creature flying. It sailed through the air a dozen yards, caroming off the boundary fence at one point and shattering it before coming to a painful crash within the nearby reaches of the Everfree Forest.

Retracting her leg, the teen didn’t have time to gloat in the fact that she’d pulled off the Silent Slash. She wondered if she should let the creature go or continue after it. It didn’t seem like the type that was going to give up easily, and when she left for Canterlot tomorrow that would mean that anyone here would still have to deal with it. However, if she beat it to the point that it conceded defeat, maybe it had enough of a sense of honor that it would leave the town and its populace alone.

She couldn’t risk that, though. She wasn’t a knight or a warrior or anything like that, but she knew that she had to protect the innocent. It was what her parents and her sah-bu-nim had taught her, and it wasn’t something she could easily back down from.

Without a moment of further hesitation, she rushed into the dark, primeval forest, ready to end the fight.

Seated at his desk at the palace, Divine looked over the map of where his forces, the SIRENs and the two princesses were operating. It chafed him to just sit by and do nothing – he was a prince and it was his job to look after his ponies, not to mention his princess – but Twilight had told him that he was the best tactician they had, and there was nopony better to handle that. And, unfortunately, she was right. So he sat at his desk and ordered troop movements and watched over the situation as best he could.

And hated every moment of it.

I should be out there, protecting her! his mind seethed. He knew she could take care of herself – she was an alicorn, for Celestia’s sake! – but that paled compared to the maelstrom that was his feelings. He had to protect her. Not just because they were foalhood friends, or that she was his princess or that Shining had personally tasked him with doing so, but because…

Because…

He slumped against the map, then forced himself to calm down. He was a prince in his own right. He was a captain and a leader and a guardspony and unlike that playcolt cousin of his, he took his duties and position seriously. Despite his name and his old colthood jokes about things being “his Divine Right”, they were. It was his Divine Right to look out for those in need. It was his Divine Right to protect the innocent and the weak from those who would hurt them. It was his pleasure and his privilege, and he would never shirk that. His aunt depended on him to follow through with honor.

But more importantly, he couldn’t be the kind of stallion that could look a particular mare in the eyes if he was anything less than the best he could be.

“Captain?”

He looked up at that voice…then looked up further. Standing before him was one of the few here who could rival his talent in tactics: Princess Twilight’s own counterpart, the human Twilight Sparkle. Magic aside, she was just as smart as the alicorn, and given human science and technology, possibly even smarter.

“Hello, Lady Twilight. What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Actually…I think it’s more about what I can do for you.” Twilight dropped into the seat across from him. “It’s clear you don’t want to be here.”

“It’s my duty, Lady Twilight,” he told her. “I am the CO of the Friendship Guard and so it’s necessary for me to be here. Sometimes leaders don’t get the luxury of being with those that need them the most.” Worried about how she might take it, he quickly amended with, “My troops, I mean. I trust my junior officers and non-commissioneds, but….”

“That’s okay, Captain, I understand what you mean,” Twilight told him. “But I’m not sure you understand what I mean.” When he looked at her oddly, she smiled and held up her iPad. “You know about this, right?”

“Yes, that science-based magic mirror of yours. A…tablet…you called it?”

“Well, it has more than just the functions of looking up information. After all, to a person like me, data and information is my stock-in-trade, and that includes maps.”

Gears clicked in the stallion’s mind. “Does that mean you would be able to commission one for me, Lady Twilight?”

“I don’t know about that, as I would have to ask my sister or Twi first. But they might be able to make a magical equivalent, which, now that I think about it, which might be better in the long run.”

“Well, if you can do that for me, Lady Twilight, I would be very appreciative. Your suggestion could revolutionize the military as we know it.”

Twilight’s lips pursed. “That…wasn’t the answer I was hoping for.”

Wounded and ashamed of its dishonor, the Bete Goson stumbled away from the impact location, hearing the roar of the creature as it approached. It felt a deep shame – losing to such a beast was normally an honor, but during this time of year, it couldn’t afford a loss of this nature. Not if it wanted….

It stumbled against a tree, breathing heavily. It would need to recover in order to challenge that being again, and that was time it might not have.

It was then that it heard footsteps – no, pawsteps – approaching it. The Goson looked up…

…and a grateful clarity entered its eyes.

Determined to end the battle, Applejack charged headlong into the Everfree. She had to put an end to this before anyone else got hurt, and the sooner the better.

Without warning, a blast of dark purple tore the air just above her head. Applejack hit the deck, rolling, then immediately moved back to her feet. She had just enough time to do that, when a growl, far different from the earlier one, sounded out.

The teen said to herself, “That does not bode well.”

A figure stepped out from behind a tree, another creature like the one she’d faced earlier. But this one was thinner and lither, as if it was the female of the species – it probably was, with Applejack’s luck. And unfortunately, it looked as though she had just beat up the creature’s mate, which meant payback was in apparent order.

Unafraid, the teen let her aura begin to build, the familiar golden cloud of energy enshrouding her, and she felt the familiar magic course through her. Confident, she steeled herself for battle. “Sorry, but Ah can’t let you or your beau head back to town.”

As if understanding, the creature dropped into a battle-ready stance of its own.

Nothing more to be said, Applejack charged the beast as it propelled another one of those magical blasts at her. However, she was prepared. As she approached, she rammed her outstretched palms towards her foe, screaming a battle kihap.

Arriving at the farm, Pinkie surveyed the destruction, worry etched on her face. The amount of damage was immense, and while she figured that was due to Applejack going overboard, the fact that she had to do that meant something powerful.

A thread of thought burrowed its way into her mind: was this how their lives were going to be from now on? Constant fighting and constant battle, due to threats both normal and otherwise? The triplets were used to that sort of thing. And, truth be told, Pinkie felt it was her responsibility as well, even if no one had given her such a demand. But Applejack and the others were normal, or as normal as could be given their circle.

Following the path of the damage, Pinkie moved on. Like it or not, her life was no longer the same trajectory that it had been. And given that she had a girlfriend to protect in addition to her friends, there was no way she was going to back down from a fight.

The two collided in the center, erupting in a blast wave of light and force that shook everything nearby and sent smaller animals within the forest running for safety. Both combatants were propelled backwards, each slamming into nearby trees like ragdolls thrown around by a petulant child. Applejack, frequently used to taking blows from her sparring, simply shook it off and, being the first to recover, charged back into the fray.

Upon reaching her opponent, who had just begun to stand, she launched into a spinning snap kick that rebounded the creature back into the tree, and coming off the bounce, Applejack charged her fist with magic and threw an uppercut, the golden-glowing hand crunching hard against the creature’s chin. She then leapt back, readying to rush forward with an elbow strike, only to have the creature rake its claws across her forehead, splitting it open and drawing blood.

Ignoring that, she instead threw a series of rapid punches against the female Bete’s barrel, punching harder and faster than she’d ever done before. Blow after blow rained, and Applejack hoped that her magic would queue something.

It did.

A miniature sonic boom exploded, dropping both to the ground. This time it was the female Bete which recovered first. Roaring in anger, it picked the teen up by her hair and charged a fist with burning purple energy before thrusting forward. The impact set off an explosion of power that ripped into Applejack, turning her into a projectile that went into – and through – a large tree.

Undeterred, the female Bete followed, rage in its eyes. It had found a mate and this strange creature had dared issue a challenge. This wasn’t just about honor as a Bete Goson…this was about the future.

Some distance away and deeper in the forest, Applejack stood up, the water of the pond she’d been thrown into sloughing off her while trying to ignore the stars that were busy trying to set up orbit around her head, the ringing in her ears and the general feeling that she’d just been punched by a building. Wiping the blood off her face and glad that her magic had healed that minor injury, she looked around, readying herself for an attack.

This second beast was far stronger than the first. Clearly the mate and clearly the female, in better times Applejack would have probably cracked a joke or two about that. But now, with her shirt shredded – soon, she was going to have to discard it and hoped that her bra would hold up – soaked and with no idea where she was, her problems were piling up fast.

In any case, the first step is to get out of this pond. I’m at a disadvantage here, she said, and walked up the embankment. As she did, though, her side exploded in pain as a fist nailed her there. She spat up a glob of blood and felt something in her snap. Falling backwards, she could see the eyes of the Bete before her, now with murderous intent etched in them.

Forget problems piling up – the problems had just decided to take a massive shit on her right then and there.

Not yet satisfied, the Bete picked up the limp body by its head. Bringing it up so that eyes bored into eyes, the female challenger snarled, signaling its intent: this would be the death blow.

Applejack’s green eyes blazed with fury. “Sorry, Ah’m gonna have to take a raincheck on your plans!” She reached out and tapped the creature on the nose.

The blast of energy Applejack planted erupted right in the creature’s face, stunning it and sending it backwards. The blonde used that time to scramble out of the way and move to a more advantageous position.

Note to self: ask Sunny how to fling fireballs later. Videogames aside, I think I’m going to have to stop thinking like a student of TKD and more like a character in Street Fighter! But for now she couldn’t worry about that. Instead, she had a job to do and to put this thing down before it did the same to her.

Rushing to its side, she dashed in and threw the hardest punch she could at what would have been the solar plexus on a human. If she was lucky, it would knock the wind out of her opponent and put her back on top. Ignoring the pain she currently felt, she threw that blow, delivering as much magic into it as she could.

The eruption of power sent the creature flying once more, but this time, Applejack was right on it. The moment it landed she delivered a series of brutal punches and kicks, intended to put the thing down. The ground began to crater from the power of her blows. She’d used this amount of force once before, when her cousin had overdosed on magic and had become something that Applejack had to put down. Now, she had to use more, given this creature’s tolerance for pain.

Pouring everything into her fist, she couldn’t help but scream, “OKAY, FEEL THIS! SPECIAL ATTACK – APPLE CORER!” She struck the creature with the force that no normal human could have ever done, raining the full power of her blast. After a few milliseconds, the blast corona was so powerful that it caused a whiteout just before a wave of destruction flattened everything in the immediate vicinity. Oceans of dust motes crashed against sparks of magic, turning the area into an orange-hued maelstrom.

One second passed, and the noise died down and the dust settled.

Two seconds.

Three.

Applejack stood up, letting out a sigh of relief and nursing her aching side while she felt bile and blood trying to course up her throat. That was pure luck on my part, she mused. I could’ve been a goner if I hadn’t poured so much power into that blow. Guess I’m going to need magic training for sure, now.

Stepping away from her opponent, she looked at the setting sun. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it had been earlier in the day when this had all started, so the fact that they were approaching sundown was not exactly a good thing. Hopefully Sunset would send out help soon.

There was a sudden crack behind her. Applejack began to turn around…

…and the world exploded beneath her in a borealis of power. Violet flames burned her, shearing her skin and lacerating it. Magnitudes of force buffeted her as though she were nothing more than a matchstick in a hurricane. The force felt so overwhelming she screamed but she couldn’t hear her own voice over the roar of whatever it was that hit her.

She felt multiple things snap within her and she crashed to the ground, unable to stand or even move, a blasted husk with no strength left. It felt like a herculean task to just breathe and every bit of her power seemed to dissipate from her body.

She felt herself picked up once more, not by the hair this time. She screamed in agony as she was lifted up by her chest, her nerves burning from the pain. She looked into the eyes of the Bete, who seemed to be drawing on some final power that Applejack didn’t understand.

With her flagging strength, she looked at the creature and found that it had been covered in the blue glowing leaves of a strange plant. What the hell is that? she wondered, but she couldn’t even find the strength to speak. And was it just her, or did her opponent suddenly seem to grow in size?

She suddenly felt her head become enveloped by something leathery, and she panicked: the beast had somehow become large enough that its paw could now envelope her head and it was clearly going to squash it like a grape. Terrified, Applejack tried to force herself to move, but she couldn’t find a reservoir of strength left within her. She was completely spent and it meant she was going to die.

The creature made a noise that almost sounded as though it was laughing. It was clearly enjoying its win.

Sunny, if you’re a goddess, I could use a little divine intervention right now! Applejack pled.

It was then that she felt a blur of wind pass her. Looking, she saw a blur of red, blue and magenta slam into the Bete like a divine wind, delivering ringing punch after ringing punch. The creature went airborne via an uppercut, followed by being knocked away by an aerial spin kick.

Applejack felt herself arc away from the beast and in her condition, the landing was going to be painful as hell. However, that agony didn’t come, as she felt strong arms encircle her and gently set her on the ground.

“Rest. You earned this one, AJ.”

Applejack looked up and at that moment saw something she swore would burn into her memory for the rest of her life. There, standing above her with a sweet smile, was Pinkie. However, the corona of Pinkie’s magic burned around her like a star, as if Applejack had been placed directly next to the Sun.

I’m strong, she realized. But Pinkie…

Reaching in her pocket for her phone, she gave it to Applejack. “Call for help when you can. I’ll try to make this quick so we can bounce soon, though.” A cocky smile came on to the girl’s face as she hooked a thumb back at where the creature had landed and added, “So let me go talk to the DJ, or we’re outta here!”

Applejack blinked. She finally managed to bring a word to her lips: “What?”

Without a care in the world, she bounced over to the creature. “Excuse me, could you play something with a beat?”

The Bete didn’t waste time, immediately charging towards Pinkie.

The smile remained on Pinkie’s face, as she added, “You know—”

Applejack, terrified for her friend, finally found her voice, “PINKIE! GET AWAY! THAT THING IS A KILLER!”

The Bete was within feet of the cotton-candy-haired teen, and it didn’t look like it was even going to give any modicum of quarter that it had given Applejack.

“—something I can dance to?”

As if on cue, music began to play from Pinkie’s phone, a heavy bassline and thunderous guitar.

Pinkie’s smile turned wolfish.

Before anyone swore that she moved, she practically turned into a blur, immediately beginning her assault. She threw a series of lightning-fast punches, driving the creature back. The Bete countered with a neck grab, using its right leg, of all things. However, Pinkie countered that by dropping to the ground and performing an upward sweep of her own, pirouetting behind the creature, which immediately allowed her to quickly turn and deliver a brutal knee attack to the back of the Bete’s head.

As the blow staggered it, Pinkie didn’t waste time. She threw another round of lightning punches, pushing it away.

“Oh, have I got a present for you!” she sang out. “Been practicing a little – PARTY CANNON!” A blast of magic that seemed to be made up of nothing but neon-colored sparkles collided into the Bete, staggering it back, but not giving the hadōken-level blow that Pinkie had expected.

She sighed. “Guess I gotta work on it a bit,” she mourned. “Oh, well – guess I have to do this the hard way!” Her aura burned around her once more and with that, she launched herself at her opponent once more.

However, the Bete had been expecting that and replied with a palm punch of its own, sending her flying back. But Pinkie was a different kind of fighter and rebounded, striking back with a flying kick. The Bete punched forward, ready to take her out of the air, but Pinkie adjusted, landing on the creature’s arm, and immediately threw a striking blow to its head.

Roaring in pain, the creature attempted to swat her away, but she danced out of its range, moving back to where Applejack was. Seeing her friend in bad shape made the smile briefly fall from Pinkie’s face. “AJ, you holding up?” she asked, never taking her eyes off her target.

“Yeah, but Ah think…Ah busted a coupla ribs,” she said painfully. “Not to mention Ah’m in a bit of a delicate way right now.”

“Yeah, I saw that. Wish I’d remembered to pack a spare t-shirt for spare t-shirt emergencies,” Pinkie responded.

“What?”

“Nevermind. I’m surprised you went down from this.”

“Yeah….” Applejack coughed up a blob of blood. “Well, this is the second one Ah fought. Ah hope we haven’t run into a bunch of them or we’re gonna have some serious issues.”

“Well, like I said, you rest up,” Pinkie assured her. “I’ll have this finished soon. I guess I have to get serious.”

Applejack blinked. “Serious?”

“Yeah! I mean, I know what I am, AJ. And….” She sighed, shook her head and then turned to look directly at her friend. “Let’s just say that my life’s going to be very different than I ever expected it to be. I mean, I’m going to be married to a goddess someday. So I gotta keep up my fair share!”

But unbeknownst to Pinkie, the Bete had recovered and was running towards Pinkie. It was now clearly drawing all the power it could, recognizing that it now was in a do-or-die situation of its own.

Applejack’s eyes widened. “Pinkie – behind you!”

The cheerleader smiled sweetly. “I know.” She then turned…

…and in that motion, Applejack knew exactly what Pinkie meant. The girl that Pinkie had been was forever going to be gone now, and the wounded teen didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

You owe her, Sunny, Applejack thought soberly.

The smile fell from Pinkie’s face and her eyes tightened from a smile to that of an aggressive stance.

“I came to start the party,
‘Cause I’m the party starter,
So if this beat ain’t knocking,
LET’S GET IT KNOCKIN’ HARDER!”

In a move that Applejack could only watch with wide-eyed wonder, Pinkie did a flying uppercut and while still in the air, delivered eight more lightning punches to the creature before somehow flipping towards the nadir of her ascent and lashing out with a kick that sent the Bete crashing back down to the ground.

Before the creature could even bounce from the impact, Pinkie, her blue corona burning around her like a star, was already there and delivered a second axe kick, embedding the creature even further into the ground.

However, in a strange move the creature pushed itself out of the ground by spreading its arms, cutting through the battered earth as if it were soft loam. Its moves, however, were slightly slower, a sign it was running out of steam.

“I haven’t even hit my stride,” Pinkie warned the Bete, “and you’re already flagging. You can walk away now, or things get nasty.”

The Bete, in response, flexed its fist – the only answer it was going to give.

The two stared at one another.

“So be it.” Pinkie raised an open hand, then closed it. There was a miniature sound of thunder as a blast of power erupted from that move.

The Bete rushed towards Pinkie, possibly for the final confrontation. Pinkie bolted forwards to meet her foe. As the two collided, they immediately traded blows at full strength, the Bete’s magical and physical power unable to get an advantage over Pinkie’s pure speed and well-placed parries. The two went at it for several more seconds, unable to one up the other.

Knowing that it had to do something, it threw a powerful uppercut that managed to get through Pinkie’s defenses, staggering her. It immediately started doing what it had done to Applejack earlier, raining clawed blow after clawed blow on its new opponent, intending to wear her down just as she had done to the earlier one.

Unfortunately, it had picked the wrong target to do that with. A power blast of energy rocketed forward, hitting the thing like a freight train and knocking it aside.

“You had your chance.” A human voice, filled with cold fury, spoke. An azure magic aura glowed strong enough to look as though the sky itself had enshrouded its user. “And now I’m going to end this in the name of my liege and my love.” With that, Pinkie pounced like a demon, executing her battle strategy as if it had always meant to be this way. She grabbed the Bete and started slamming its head against the forest floor, then added the brutality of a strong axe kick. Coming out of that move, she then parried hastily thrown energy blast that the Bete had thrown as a distraction. Pinkie retaliated by throwing a fierce snap kick that sent the Bete into a large boulder, shattering it on impact.

The Bete in turn went back on the offensive, seeming to deflate Pinkie’s rebound. Drawing power, it threw a gout of energy, but the teen merely sidestepped it, unimpressed. The Bete then launched at its foe, attempting a scissors kick, but that was just as easily countered by a block and a counterpunch by Pinkie, that snapped the creature’s head back. She then charged up her fist with magic and threw her full force into the punch, both drawing blood and an audible snap as she cracked the Bete’s snout.

The creature fell to the ground, roaring in pain as it tried for one last time to rally. It’d had been bruised and battered several times and while it had clearly expended itself on the other fighter, this new one was leagues more dangerous. Still, it looked at its opponent as though it was willing to go on.

“If that’s the way you want it.” Pinkie cracked the knuckles in her fist, her hands glowing like stars. “I was perfectly willing to let you go, but if you want to end it this way, I’ll be more than happy to.” Not wasting any further words, she launched into her next volley of strikes. She landed a downward blow, then followed it up with an immediate short kick. She moved in closer, throwing left and right jabs before turning it into a non-stop series of rolling punches.

The speed of her blows became faster, the interval when one fist was pulled back and the next connected was shrinking by the nanosecond. This had not become about just protecting Applejack, but about something else as well. Somehow, Pinkie was passing a line and she didn’t even realize it. She only knew that she had to protect, because that was her duty.

She had to kill, if that was what it meant from stopping this thing from rampaging in Ponyville.

“PINKIE!”

The teen felt a hand on hers and stopped. She turned to see placid cyan eyes looking at her, filled with love and a request to stop. Seeing that, Pinkie forced herself to stand down and looked as Sunset silently pointed at Pinkie’s target.

The Bete was bloodied, battered and had its arms up in a defensive posture. The look of defiance in its eyes was gone, replaced by terror. In the distance, the male Goson stood, watching everything, ready to move in for the mate it had just discovered and yet at the same time terrified to take on the magenta-haired juggernaut that had nearly obliterated everything.

Pinkie, worried, turned to look at Applejack. Princess Twilight was already there, administering healing spells and having conjured up another set of clothing for the downed teen, but the two girls looked at one another. In Applejack’s green eyes was relief, but also…something else. Something that made Pinkie wince.

Sunset looked at the Bete and cast a healing spell, then with a wave of her hand, pushed it over into the outspread paws of its mate. Looking at both, she said, “Go. Don’t ever come back.” The Goson, its unconscious mate secure in its arms seemed to nod in understanding and wandered off into the deeper, undamaged part of the Everfree.

Princess Twilight looked at the massive clearing that had once been a thick, dense part of the forest. “This…I haven’t seen this level of destruction since I went hoof to hoof with Tirek,” she admitted.

That was enough for Pinkie. Something came over her and she broke down crying. Sunset immediately tapped Pinkie on the forehead and put her to sleep.

“Let’s get goin’,” Applejack said, now able to stand up with some assistance from Princess Twilight. “Ah bet the others are worried about us.”

“You guys have been gone for about five hours,” Princess Twilight noted. “So yes, I would imagine so.” She gestured to the sky, which was already darkening as the moon began to shine. “This is going to be an unusual day, even by Ponyville standards.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said warily.

Sunset looked at her friend. “AJ….”

Applejack shook her head. “Sunny…she was going to cross the line. Even you didn’t cross that when you fought that demon. Hell, you died rather than let that happen.”

“And yet the triplets do it all the time.”

“Maybe, but they’re trained to deal with that. We’re not,” the blonde pointed out. “Worse, she was going to do it for you.” Sunset’s eyes narrowed but Applejack didn’t back down. “You know what Ah mean, sugar.”

“Yeah. Look, let’s get back to Twilight’s, get the rest of your wounds looked at, eat some dinner and figure out what to do next. Flutters and Tavi have their concert tonight, so maybe we should go to that and just unwind.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said, her tone indicating that she just wanted to be away from here. “Let’s do that.”

Applejack opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. She’d been here more than enough times, while visiting Rainbow due to her injuries at one point or another. She’d also been here during the Winter of Aftermath, assisting the medical staff when needed and helping Braeburn to get used to his own injury after the war with Tirek.

But looking at the ceiling from this angle was a new one.

“Ah, good, you’re awake!” Dr. Horse came in, a smile on his face. “Yes, definitely awake. Well, I have good news for you: the healing treatments from Princess Twilight and Princess Sunset took, and you should be discharged tomorrow.”

The farmmare sat up, looking at the doctor. That was good news, right? She nodded. “Thank ya, Doc. Ah ‘preciate it.”

“Well, you have a visitor. Normally it’s after visiting hours but given the situation….” He shrugged. “I’m hardly one to say no.”

Before he could say anything, Princess Twilight walked into the room. Her face was impassive, unreadable, and it wasn’t a look that Applejack liked seeing on her friend.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” he told the alicorn. “Please let me know if there’s anything else you need, Your Highness.”

She nodded, not giving him a verbal response as he walked out.

It was the earth mare that spoke first. “Yer mad, aintcha?”

Princess Twilight sighed. “No. I’m disappointed, however. Both in myself and you. You for the obvious reasons. Me because I let it go on this long.”

“Yeah. Ah thought that she wuz just an imposter, an’ yet….” Applejack paused for thought. “Ah wouldn’t be alive if’n it wuzn’t fer her.”

“Yeah, AJ’s a top-level martial artist even before her magic kicks in,” Princess Twilight explained. “I wouldn’t say that’s what she lives for, but she definitely knows how to protect those that need it.”

“An’ that’s why she ain’t no farmer,” Applejack concluded.

“Well, it’s more complex than that, but the details would take too long to explain. Suffice to say that her being human means that her world is substantially different from ours and so she has a different drive. But it’s just as strong for what she wants as for what you want as a farmmare.”

Applejack nodded sadly. “Is she okay?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“What?”

“You’ll have to find out for yourself tomorrow. As for now, you’re going to stay here overnight, and then tomorrow after you’re discharged, we’ll have you flown out to Canterlot to join us for the coronation rehearsal. The rest of us have to leave earlier than your discharge time, and we can’t wait.” The look on Princess Twilight’s face was not the one of her friend that Applejack knew so well, but instead that of a princess, and so Twilight’s requests weren’t that – they were edicts. “I expect you to be there.”

“Ya don’ have t’ tell me twice. Ah done screwed this up hard.”

“Yes, you did. But that’s what friendship is all about – learning from your mistakes when you have to.” A smile flitted on the face of the otherwise stern alicorn. “Fix this, Applejack. Not for my sake, or our friends, or your family…but for yours. Because if you don’t, there won’t be anything but shame and regret.”

“Ah know.”

“Good. Now, let me get going and let you get some sleep. You still need some rest after everything – especially after your own heroics.” When Applejack blinked at that, Princess Twilight giggled. “According to Cpl. Boomer, you saved him from getting torn up. He, ah, admitted to looking for a reason to ask you out, but could never find one. Now apparently you’ve given him one.” Seeing the blush on Applejack’s face was enough to make the alicorn laugh all the louder. “Anyway, I need to get going.”

Applejack wasn’t sure why, but she decided to ask, anyway. Given the pigheaded mule she’d been during the week, it was something she needed to know. “We’re still friends, right, Twi?”

The princess nodded, and in that Applejack could see ruler replaced by friend. “That’s never going to change, AJ. I promise.”

“Sis, you’re making a mistake,” Twilight told Sunset.

“Twily, then it’s my mistake to make,” the alicorn-as-human reminded her sister. “Look, give Tavi and Flutters my apologies for why I can’t go.”

The plum-haired scholar folded her arms, not accepting that answer. “No. I don’t like this. The rest of us don’t, either, for that matter.”

“Yes, but she’s my responsibility – both of them are,” Sunset explained. “This is my fault.”

“Don’t you dare,” Twilight growled. “You may be an alicorn and a goddess, but don’t you dare take the world on your shoulders! I want my sister to be as human as possible, not some abstract that I can only understand as much as I do my own faith!”

“That’s not fair, Twily. This is Equestria – and I am an alicorn. This is what alicorns do.”

“No, this is what ruling princesses do – and while you’re not even a princess yet, for the record, you won’t rule here. This is not your problem.”

“Yes, but if you want to point that out,” Sunset noted, “I am the Alicorn of Earth. That makes humans my responsibility!” The two sisters looked at each other in silence before Sunset relented. Chastened, she gave her sister a soft smile. “I’m not going to turn into some faraway deity – you know me better than that.”

Twilight’s eyes softened. “I’m just worried about you, Sunny.”

“I know, and I love you for that, Twily, but here and now, I’m the only one that can fix this. I’ll be okay, I promise.”

“You’d better.”

“I will,” Sunset vowed. “Besides, someone has to make dinner for AJ, since she’s resting up; and Pinkie, once my sleep spell wears off. I think it’s best that it’s me. You go have fun at the concert tonight and we can talk when you get back, okay?”

Accepting that as an answer, Twilight nodded and departed the kitchen, where Sunset was hard at work making French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque.

Tonight, Pinkie knew she wasn’t at the room she’d been using at the Sugarcube Corner. She was in one of the VIP suites here at the Friendship Palace, and based on the size, she suspected that she knew whose room it was. Normally, she’d have been thrilled by that. But now, it made her afraid. Her love had seen the ugliest side of her ever. A side that even Pinkie didn’t want to admit existed, but due to the battle, had eagerly and easily revealed itself.

She looked at her hands. These hands that had been shaped by her parents, by her aunt and uncle, by her friends and the girl she loved…was nearly on the verge of taking a life. The girl that she was…wasn’t there anymore.

She had changed today, permanently. And it scared her.

“‘Tis something that scares ev’ryone the first occurrence.”

Pinkie turned to see a stranger in the room. Blonde, blue eyed and wearing ornate, beautiful armor. She knew who it was, and yet couldn’t say a thing.

The woman looked at her with understanding eyes. “‘Twas f’r me. I hadst just been train’d in the ways of combat by mine own mast’r, Lord Brambleton, and that gent was a martinet o’ a stallion was there e’er one! We waged war ‘gainst the griffins and I did slay one yond hadst nearly done me in. ‘Twas…vexing to adjust to.” The woman sat down on a nearby seat. “Clearly, so ‘tis f’r thee, as well.”

Pinkie looked ashamed. “I failed Sunny. I know what I’m supposed to be, but how—”

The stranger smiled. “Nay, thou shouldst be fustian of thy hesitancy! Yond means thou art gentle and kind and ‘tis what we art ken to be! Not soulless soldi’rs or cavalier butch’rs, but swords of our mast’rs! To safekeep and perform val’rous deeds in their names, nev’r to slaughter!”

“But I….”

“Mine own queen wouldst sacrifice h’rself af’re letting me fall to a dark fate such as that o’ the Damn’d One. So wouldst thine. Allthemore, given what thou art to bet to her.” The stranger chuckled. “In my day, such wast unheard of, but these art mod’rn times, mine tongue aside.”

“Then I didn’t fail?”

“Were the lady here, mine own queen wouldst bid thee this: thou art her grandfilly’s sword and heart. One is of import, but the oth’r is ev’rything.” She gave a confident grin to Pinkie. “Thou art nearly there, dawn-hair. At which hour come yond t’ pass, thou shalt perform thy service because ‘twas the right thing, not ere thou were a foul beast in lack of thy faculties.”

The woman stepped back and sang, her voice clear and beautiful:

“You are lost in a shadow there,
Cinder and smoke hanging in the air
But oh, I know you’ll be
Bolder than me”

The door opened to the room and Sunset came in, carrying trays in her magic field. “Oh, good, you’re up. Feeling better?”

“Sure, I was just…” She turned to address the stranger, but she was gone.

“Just…?”

“Nothing, Sunny. Is that my favorite I smell?”

“You earned it, Pinkie. You saved AJ and knew what to do when the moment came.”

“I did?” Pinkie asked as she gratefully took one of the trays from Sunset.

“Yeah.” The two ate in silence for a few minutes before Sunset spoke again. “Honestly, you scared me. I was afraid I was going to lose you.”

“That thing couldn’t beat me at all,” Pinkie explained. “But I know what you mean. I came close, maybe too close. But in the end, I couldn’t.”

“Because you’d lose yourself?”

“No. Because I’d lose you,” Pinkie answered honestly, and Sunset blushed.

Author's Note

Hey, the TVTropes page could use a little love! Do the world a favor and give the page a hug - and an update!

Day Seven, Morning: It Joins All

Normally, Grand Royal Station, nestled in the southern neighborhoods of Canterlot, was a busy location, bustling with its duties as the central hub for all trains in Equestria – only Manehattan’s Royal Central Station rivalled it in terms of sheer size. Thousands of ponies, griffins and other beings bustled in and out of the nexus daily, headed to and from various destinations, metaphorical ships passing on a sea of rails. Many more used the shops, restaurants and other facilities that ringed the exterior of the station, adding to the throngs of those present. To say that a typical day here teemed with life and was a hive of grand action would be an understatement.

Nearly a week ago, however, the station was even busier than normal, having served as the location for a National Security Event that had drawn members of all five branches of Equestria’s military: The EUP Guard, the Royal Army, the Royal Navy, the Mage Guild, and the Agency. At that time, Equestria had just been exposed to a moment in time that was nothing less than sheer majesty, due to the presence of the alicorns, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, various other royals and VIPs and with all the pomp and circumstance to come with it.

So it had once again, as the Friendship Express had arrived just a few minutes before with the retinues of both Princess Twilight and Princess Sunset and in thirty minutes the Crystal Express would arrive with Princess Cadance’s retinue as well, and that would be a bucephalean effort. But to add to this, the station was doing an additional duty as well: for some distance away, at Platform K, the circus had arrived. Because of their need for their own trains and the overall high level of support they would need, High-Flying Kite’s Circus Royal had to go into the industrial area. Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite, the stationmasters were all too eager to agree, especially with the problem they had on their hooves already due to the major royal arrivals.

As for the various troupemembers of the Kite Circus, they were thrilled to have been chosen to perform in town as part of the festivities post-coronation. From the newest animal handler to the most experienced clown, they were all thrilled to be here in the capital, witness to something they would be able to tell their foals and grandfoals, and to perform before crowds that even a popular circus such as theirs wouldn’t be able to draw normally, due to those in town just for the coronation.

Seated on a hogshead barrel and smoking a pipe, Kite puffed away and grinned. “Ah, this will be one for the ages! We haven’t had a chance like this since the time we did the performance for Princess Celestia’s birthday celebration last year in Bishopsgate!”

Zanthus, a former member of the guild and now a performing magician, nodded. “Well, if we should need assistance, my understanding is that my granddaughter Trixie is with Princess Twilight’s retinue.”

“Ah, so she’s retired from the performing scene? That’s rather odd. And here I thought she was destined to be a road gypsy such as we.”

“Actually, from the last letter my son sent me, she’s been performing as of late with the Four-Footed Performers, who were commissioned to put on a series of plays here in town on behalf of Princess Twilight. They’ll be arriving later in the evening.”

“Ah.” Kite grinned broadly. “The wainscoting of the world is at hoof! An ending, a beginning, and we shall perform it all for the crowds, even if we are but a sideshow to the true thing.”

“Perhaps, perhaps,” Zanthus said with a grin as he stroked his beard. “But have you seen Princess Sunset? Quite the beauty, and there’s a mare that I don’t mind being a sideshow for.”

“You’re a cad, my old friend.”

Zanthus laughed. “Ah, but to be none better!”

“Sommerset!”

At the other end of the train, a small sapphire blue pegasus ran over to her friend. “You’re leaving us? But you just joined the circus six months ago!”

Sommerset, a petite lavender unicorn with a jade mane tied in a docktail, frowned. “I have to, Essence. After this, isn’t the circus scheduled to go overseas and perform in Neighpon for a few months? I…I can’t do that. I promised my parents that I’d remain in Equestria since…my mother is ill.”

“Oh, but I was hoping that you’d stay on! I mean, I really don’t get along with any other pony and you’re really the only friend I have….”

“I know, and believe me, I really would love to,” Sommerset stated. “And you’re my bestie, so I’m going to miss you as well. But don’t worry, I’ll still be here for this week to do my performances. After all, everypony’s going to want to see Sommerset, the Astonishing Aerial Unicorn!” And that certainly was true enough. Typically for safety reasons, acrobats and trapeze artists were either pegasi or batponies, and occasionally you’d see a particularly nimble earth pony. But despite their reputation for grace and elegance, unicorns were never seen in that position and so somepony like Sommerset cultivated an incredible reputation for her talent. In fact, there hadn’t been anypony like her since Aerial Silk had retired a few decades prior.

But Sommerset had her own plans. And admittedly, leaving the Kite Circus would leave her without a good source of intelligence and alibis. And for somepony like Sapphire Essence, who was a member of the circus’ musicians and a notorious gossip, she would miss out on a lot of the bits and pieces that the pegasus naturally tended to pick up by talking with just about anypony that came across her path. But with them headed well out of the country for the next three months, that was something that Sommerset couldn’t afford.

Not when she had her revenge to accomplish.

Bouncing up and down excitedly and completely forgetting her station and propriety, Autumn Blaze, Delegate to Equestria from the Kirin Dominion, squeed. “I can stay here? Really? Really? Reallyreallyreallyreally?”

Blueblood chuckled. “Yes, Autumn. After all, you’re the one leading the delegation that’s here for the coronation, right? Besides, I’m staying at my apartment in town, and with the mansion not being used often, it may as well get some use.”

“You’re staying at your apartment?”

“Yes, I usually do. I really don’t care for living here in the mansion and besides, it would be that or living back at my parents’ mansion with them and my sister, which I’d rather not do either. Is there a problem?”

“But if you do that, then how am I supposed to provide Nightly Service?” Autumn asked.

Blueblood looked at her, having a feeling he already knew where this was going. “What?”

“Lady Autumn, you weren’t supposed to mention that!” a kirin mare to the side of Autumn stated, facehoofing. Turning to Blueblood, she added, “That…was meant to be a pleasant surprise for you, your highness.”

Blueblood sighed. “Willowbranch, I’m flattered, but…look, I’m not in the market. I take it this was Rain’s idea?”

The second mare nodded. “Yes. Her majesty Empress Rain has given all the female delegation orders to pillow you should you request it, given that she could not attend herself. She did, however, instruct us to inform you that she herself is still waiting for you to ‘make her your mare’, quote unquote, and that she would always welcome you as her prince consort for what you did for our nation.”

Blueblood groaned. So that’s where the orgy bits come from. I’ve really got to talk to Rain when I get a chance. “And how do you feel about it?”

“I’m married and with my own foals, so I was sent to make sure that none of the other delegates gets pregnant should you decide to use them,” Willowbranch explained. “Her majesty has told us that only she will carry your foals, your highness and that anykirin who thinks otherwise will have to explain it to the Court of the Winds. So, all kirin mares were fitted for contraceptive earrings and were additionally taught the backup spell as well.” She blushed and then muttered something.

“What?”

She blushed again. “That being said, should you choose me, I have already gained assurances from my husband that he understands that it is my duty and would not hold it against me as infidelity on my part.”

Blueblood groaned again.

Music played in the streets and there was a festive mood in the air as the carriages took them back to the palace. Seated alone in the front one, for reasons of formality, Sunset and Princess Twilight waved to the crowds. Accompanied by both Divine Right and Adagio as escorts, the two alicorns greeted their well-wishers.

“You don’t look happy about this, Your Highnesses,” Adagio said delicately, though she knew the answer.

“I’m not,” Princess Twilight explained. “I’ve never really been comfortable with being on a pedestal like this. Especially when my duties as Princess of Friendship preclude me from having to do things like this.”

“Yeah, well at least you’re not having to deal with the guilt from wanting this initially, like I am,” Sunset admitted.

“Sunny….” Adagio said, breaking protocol for her cousin’s sake.

The maize alicorn waved a hoof. “I’m fine, Dagi. It’s just…some things you really never get over. Others have forgiven me for my tresspasses, but that doesn’t mean I’ve entirely forgiven myself.”

“Well, Sunset, if I may,” Divine stated, “I can say that from what I’ve seen of you and from what I’ve heard of your past, you are not the same mare. Neither Auntie Celly nor Auntie Luna would be willing to come up with a reason for protecting you as they did. Plus, we are cousins and I dare say I am proud of that fact.”

“Yeah, well, Sunny collects cousins like some people collect Pokémon,” Adagio snarked.

Sunset mock-sighed. “Dagi….”

Both Princess Twilight and Divine blinked. “Poh-keh-what?” they asked in unison.

“It would take too long to explain,” Sunset assured them. “In the meanwhile, let’s just wave to the adoring crowds and survive the trip to the palace, shall we?”

Meanwhile, in the following carriages, the humans and ponies watched with awe. The coronation of Sunset Shimmer was drawing an even bigger crowd than had been present for Twilight’s own investiture, and while the ponies had no reason to be jealous of that, the humans were amazed at being part of the spectacle.

All except one.

“Pinkie, are you okay?” The teenager looked to see her counterpart looking at her with concern. “You didn’t come home last night and you only showed up to grab your bags and say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Cake.”

“I, uh, stayed with Sunny last night,” Pinkie admitted with a blush. “Nothing happened, though. I wish it would have, since we haven’t had much time to be together since all of this, but I was tired and still a bit out of it after everything yesterday and I love her for worrying enough about me to care for me during all of that.”

“Oh. Well, you two are special someponies, right? Or special somehumans, or however it’s said, so I guess that’s okay.”

“Pinkie? You didn’t answer my question: Are you okay?” This statement came from the human Fluttershy, who looked at her friend with worry as well.

“I just…I have a lot on my mind right now,” Pinkie told the chiffon-haired girl. “Just a lot to think about.”

Gingerly leaning back into the seat due to the soreness she still felt from yesterday’s battle, Applejack grinned. “Yeah, well, you go on and think all you want, Pinkie. Ah owe ya, big time.”

“AJ, you would have done the same for me,” Pinkie said with a wan smile. “You don’t owe me a thing – that’s what friends do, right?”

The blonde gave a nod. “Yeah, Ah guess.”

One could then hear the record scratch as four virtual siblings realized what Pinkie had said. “Wait – you stayed with Sunny last night?” Twilight, Octavia, Aria and Sonata said as one.

The smile on Rarity’s face was victorious. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense, dear.”

Rarity’s counterpart briefly tut-tutted. “A refined mare does not discuss her affairs, and I presume neither does a refined human.”

“I’m making an exception,” the human replied.

“Well, I’m not,” Pinkie told them. “For one, I already said nothing happened. I was too tired and I think Sunny was too worried about both me and AJ. Secondly, there are some parts of our lives that I think deserve some privacy.”

“I think Rares is joking, Pinks,” Rainbow stated.

“Maybe, but I’m not. Girls, we put too much on her shoulders, and I don’t think that’s fair. She might be a goddess, she might be a princess, but before any of that she’s a friend, a sister, and – most importantly to me – a loved one.” Pinkie looked at her friends, a fire in her eyes. “Things are changing and though things might not change between us, I think we all want what’s best for her, right?”

“Wow, Pinkie, that’s surprisingly mature of you,” Raspberry commented.

The teen shrugged. “I have my moments,” she said glibly.

Meanwhile, in another part of Canterlot, an alarm went off. Sitting up in bed, Precious Jewel raised a foreleg in triumph as she gave the morning sun a smile. Today, because of everything going on, her boss Softwing had given her the day off before tomorrow’s coronation and then the normal workday would begin again.

But for Jewel, today would be a perfect day of triumph.

“Today’s the day!” she laughed merrily. “Today I’ll finally get the chance to kiss my beloved and tell her how much we should be together! And then after we dance tonight at the ball, we can announce our engagement! And then after tomorrow, we can start planning our life together forever!”

She hopped out of bed, reaching for her brush. Running it through her coat and mane, she thought about using her favorite Everlasting Love™ brand perfume and her favorite soft black lacy ribbon for her mane, but then thought that today called for something extra special. Using her magic to draw down the shades, she looked around her room to make sure that nopony was spying on her, then she reached underneath the bed and withdrew an ensorcelled box.

Casting the correct unlocking spell, she brought out her ultimate weapons: Unattainable Mare by Rarity4U™ and a black starsilk ribbon. The former had been a prize she’d won when she was back in Ponyville a few years ago; the owner of Perfumes & Anchors was a friendly earth mare, even if she seemed a little odd. As for the starsilk ribbon, that came from a place in Rainbow Falls that specialized in clothing that was made from starspider silk; it was said to be enchanted with charms to woo that special somepony.

Tonight, with these, she would be invincible.

“Jewel, would you not cackle like the Witch of Canterlot?” a sleepy-eyed Polished Silver said as she poked her head into her friend’s bedroom.

“But today’s—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” Silver yawned. “Some of us have to get some sleep, Miss Future-Alicorn-Fillyfriend. I have to work tonight, remember?”

“Sorry!” Jewel said to her friend. “Look, if it means anything, when I’m married to Princess Sunset then you can be my personal assistant and you can have normal hours, Polly!”

“Look, if you marry a royal, I’ll take you up on that offer – Celestia knows I could use the sleep!” she groaned. “I’m going back to bed. You go have fun tilting at windmills.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a Donkey Jote reference – don’t tell me you slept through reading that in school!”

“Oh, I knew that!” Jewel said in a tone that was clear that no, she didn’t know that.

As the carriages approached the palace, Softwing stood there, flanked by the other SIRENs. “Welcome back, Sunny,” Softwing told her boss. “Have a decent day off yesterday?”

“No, not really,” the alicorn stated. “I really don’t want to go into it, though. I take it shit’s hit the fan again?”

“Well, I don’t want to say that exactly….”

“She’s saying that yes, things are ugly, Princess,” Sunny Side answered. With the triplets having taken the day off and Side being the seniormost SIREN – though her new official rank had yet to be decided on – she’d been the one in charge for the day. “We had the camels demanding that they meet with you immediately since you, in their words, ‘have ignored and shunned them’.”

Sunset sighed. “Okay, you were right,” she said to Princess Twilight, who looked at her friend and fellow alicorn with sympathy.

“I did warn you,” Princess Twilight told her. “The Gamalaqi are brusque, rude and try my patience – and that’s on a good day. They’re probably complaining that you didn’t reach out to meet with them the moment you arrived in town.”

“They never scheduled anything with me!” Sunset groaned, but the other alicorn just looked at her with an I know look. Sunset groaned again and muttered, “Fuck this. Seriously, we have until tomorrow to rehearse for what I need to do and they want to meet with me now?”

Princess Twilight gave her friend a smile. “I’ll go in your place. I know how to deal with them and as long as I have a human with me, that should suffice. Though I will warn you that they’ll be rude and insulting, because that’s just how their culture is.”

“In that case, I’d better go with you,” Raspberry said. “I know how to hold my human form for about an hour, and they don’t know all of the people that came with Sunny…but those folks have to get ready for their parts in the rehearsal and so forth, right?”

“Well, from what I recall, the escort is being done by the SIRENs and they’ve been practicing the past couple of days, so there shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Twilight asked. “So, why don’t we all go?”

Raspberry and Princess Twilight looked at her with flat stares. “What?”

“Twi, Razz, she’s got a point,” Octavia pointed out. “If these Gamalaqi are going to try to bully Sunset because of their own attitudes, what makes you think they won’t try to ridicule you for being human? So if we show up in force, even if you and Twi will be ones handling the negotiation, we’ll be sending a message about human and pony unity. From what you’re saying, these camels are bullies and the only way to neutralize bullies is to stand up to them.”

“Quite an excellent idea!” pony Rarity stated, looking at all of them. “Alas, however, both myself and my lovely counterpart must decline. We need to go to my store here in Canterlot to prepare your outfits for tonight’s royal pre-coronation gala.”

Human Rainbow blinked. “Uh…didn’t you do that already Rares? Rares squared? Rares times two?”

The human fashionista laughed. “Ah, Rainbow, darling, you should know by now that since we’ve been here and we’ve gotten the lay of the lands, those designs we made the other day just won’t do! We need to look spectacular – all of us – so that we may shine and complement Sunset’s beauty.”

Sunset laughed. “Well, shine on you crazy diamond,” she said with a grin. “Softwing and I need to meet up with Kibbitz so that I can start working on my rehearsal.”

“Well,” Pinkie said, putting her hands behind her head in a casual pose, “since you all have your plans, I promised Sunny I’d stick with her today. We made plans and there are a few hours available between the rehearsal and the ball that I think we can do what we wanted.”

“Then I think I should step in.” Everyone turned to see Princess Celestia herself standing there, a smile on her face. “Miss Pie, if you will accompany me, please, I have some business to attend around town and I do not believe we’ve had a chance to speak before.”

Pinkie’s counterpart went over and tugged on her jeans. The teen bent down so she could be level with the earth mare and with that, pony Pinkie whispered in a blatantly obvious aside, “Better be nice to your future mother-in-law!”

“I’ll put it on my list of things to do,” the teen said with an awkward smile.

Having decided to take a walk around town, Lockbox wandered through the main shopping district. Currently as a guest of the Archmagus, she was afforded an escort with a mage who seemed more interested in talking about dry, boring things in regard to magic than anything else. Even though Lockbox was a unicorn, she wasn’t particularly interested in magic, so she mainly tuned out Swell Spell and her constant diatribe. She suspected that had it been a topic about locksmithing, Lockbox herself would be chatty and Spell would be tolerating the conversation because of her duties.

As she walked through the promenade, seeing the bright and gay Canterlot edifices, now even more so due to the decoration for the week’s festivities, a part of her tamped back disgust. Had this town always been like this? The Winter of Aftermath had done a number on the morale of both the country and the world and there was only so much that even the Crown could have done. Even now, there were still remote parts of the realm that were suffering the aftereffects of the Winter, as well as other nations that were dealing with the same. And yet here, in the capital, where even the alicorns had seemingly done everything they could to deal with that annus horribilis, it seemed like the majority of the nobles didn’t care. That the suffering was out of sight and so out of mind.

Just as quickly, though, she pushed it out of her mind. She knew several nobles that had done as much as they could. Even before she knew them, there were stories about the Bearers having worked themselves to the bone to do what they could for ponykind and beyond. And even in her hometown, the farmers pushed themselves far beyond the norms expected of earth ponies, reaching towards their absolute limit to make sure the almond trees gave an abundant yield that year so that starving ponies everywhere would be helped.

In retrospect, the anger, the hatred? That was Sombra’s way. Her hated ancestor – he would have reveled and luxuriated in that flare of rage she’d felt. But she was not him anymore than Raspberry was.

“You seem pensive, Lady Lockbox,” Spell stated. “I quite understand.”

“You do?” Lockbox asked, surprised.

“Indeed. Flaming Caster’s theories on utilitarian spellcasting make absolutely no sense! We’ve known that there is dark, neutral and light magic – or to use the vernacular terms, black, gray and white – but to have magic without alignment polarities? It goes against everything that we have been taught!”

Lockbox suppressed a groan and added her comment; at least she could participate in this line of thought. “But what about what Razz stated about human magic? That they have utilitarian magic and it doesn’t align with standard polarities?”

“Forgive me, since I know she is your cousin, but I completely disagree with the Learned One on this. It is clear just from the humans we’ve seen that they do not possess magic at all and so during her time on Earth, either the Archmagus misread Princess Sunset’s magic or she misunderstood the physical planarity of magic that is within the human realm.”

“But—”

“I have read the Archmagus’ treatise on dark magic and I agree with that, so I am quite aware that she is no talented amateur; one does not reach the highest level of responsibility in the Guild that way, and even her connections to the Princesses wouldn’t gain her such a position. No, she reached that herself. But she is, after all, only pony. Ponies make mistakes and it is clear that in this case, she did.” Spell gave a self-satisfied grin. “I would go so far as to say that if I ever saw a magical human – and not a pony in mufti, as Princess Sunset is so fond of spending time in her human guise – I would eat my hat and robes in an instant.”

“Well, good thing we’re here at the shopping district,” Lockbox said with a chuckle. “I’ll pay for the salt and pepper myself. My treat.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll see.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the promenade, Sonata Dusk was doing the shopping for her and her sisters. Due to the extra workload they’d taken on while the humans had been present, the Castellan had given them extra time off their regular duties, and so the siren was currently using part of that to catch up on the grocery shopping she’d had to miss out on. It wasn’t all bad, though: she got a ton of new recipes she wanted to try out, courtesy of her human counterpart.

That last one? Seafood Doria? That sounds divine! the supposed earth mare thought to herself, humming as she walked down the streets. She’d already procured most of what she needed and while Adagio was doing the dishes and Aria was sweeping their home, Sonata was planning for tonight. The three of them would enjoy their evening, and then tomorrow would attend the coronation, even though they would be doing so as part of the security detail hidden amongst the crowds lining the streets.

“Nata? Sonata Dusk?” She turned and saw two mares walking towards them, one of which she knew.

“Essie!” Sonata went over and hugged Sapphire Essence. “Hey, long time no see! What are you doing in town?”

“What am I doing in town? What are you doing in town? Last I heard, you and your sisters were still back on your parents’ apple farm back in Hoofsdale!”

Oh, that’s right – she doesn’t know. Given that the three sisters had grown up in rural Hoofsdale, those not in the know about their siren heritage tended to mostly focus on the fact that they were the daughters of Tarte Tatin, a member of the Apple family. Few in that town remembered that Tarte had briefly been in the Army and stationed at Fort Seacrest, where he had met Rumba Break, a young Hoof. In fact, anypony who lived in Hoofsdale knew Rumba to be the schoolteacher and town musician, rather than a combat-capable mare.

“Well,” Sonata stated, rubbing the back of her head, “Dad really didn’t think we were cut out for farm life. Fortunately, Mom had an old friend of hers here in Canterlot who was looking to hire some maids for the palace, and so she put in a good word for us. Addy, Ria and I have lived here for about five years now and we’re pretty happy. But enough of that – what are you doing here?”

“Oh! I’m here with the circus that I work for! I’m part of the musical ensemble, and we were hired to be part of the post-coronation entertainment this week.” Essence grinned. “Oh, and sorry, totally rude of me. This is my friend, Sommerset. Sommerset, this is Sonata Dusk. We went to school together in Hoofsdale.”

Sommerset offered a hoof to bump. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Dusk.”

Sonata bumped it. “Likewise.” The minute she did, something about Sommerset immediately set off all of Sonata’s alarm bells. She wasn’t sure why. The mare was incredibly fit for a unicorn, with even some slight muscles; unicorns typically were either on the thin side or pudgy, but unless they were in the military, they weren’t the athletic types. Maybe it was because this one was a circus worker, the siren reasoned.

But even still….

“Well, tell you what: are you two free tonight? I’m making dinner at our place, and I think Addy and Ria would love to see you again, Essie! And you’re welcome to join us as well, Miss Sommerset.”

“Well, we really don’t have to be anywhere tonight since the roustabouts are still setting up the tents and everything,” Essence noticed. “Besides, nothing beats a homecooked meal and I’ve eaten at their place – absolutely nothing beats an Apple family meal! What do you think, Sommerset?”

The unicorn flashed a dazzling smile. “Sure, sounds great!”

“Good! I just have to grab a couple more things from the market, if you don’t mind, and then we’ll be off!”

“Are you sure?”

“Quite?”

“Are you sure you’re sure?”

A sigh. “Very.”

A pause. “But I’m flexible and I can even touch my own—”

Blueblood sighed. He had never regretted the mission he’d taken that had led him to Tsujiaosho, the home of the kirin; or the fact that he’d broken the curse that had rendered them effectively mute, but in this case he was wondering if the latter would have been preferable, at least in the case of Autumn Blaze. Hell, to this date he’d never found the kirin’s supposed nemeses, the niliq, and he was seriously wondering if he’d rather spend the time with one of those supposedly diabolical creatures than the nymphomaniac that was walking next to him.

At his side, Autumn pouted. “But Your Princeness! How am I supposed to bring you the clouds and rain if you won’t let me?”

Blueblood blinked. “Clouds and rain? Isn’t that a kitsune euphemism for sex?”

“Well, who do you think they got it from? Besides, Willowbranch says it sounds more elegant than ‘I’d like to fuck you silly’, which personally I think is more direct and honest, don’t you? I mean, I’ve been assigned by the Empress as your personal plaything…okay, well, all of us have, really, but as the lead delegate it’s supposed to be my job and can we please stop here in this hotel and grab a room so we can get started?”

Blueblood wondered at that point if his aunt Luna was the Alicorn of Facehoofs, because he’d seen her do it so often and was now tempted to emulate that.

“As I said earlier, I have to decline your offer. I have duties today that I must attend to and as…ahem, ‘stimulating’ as your company is, I must be a professional first. Duties to the crown, you understand.”

“Oh, I quite understand!” Autumn agreed. “I have to go attend one of those boring meetings with Willowbranch and some representatives of the hippogriffs while we’re in town. Would you believe they find the concept of concubine diplomats weird? I mean, seriously – who doesn’t like sex?”

“I…see.” They arrived at one of the buildings where Blueblood could carry out his princely (and non-Agency) duties; it would be a good way to get rid of her. “Well, I’m afraid we must part for now. I have to overlook some documents on behalf of my dearest aunts. I’m sure you understand.”

“Absolutely! Besides, like I said, I have boring things to do, too! But don’t worry, we made sure to make sure you’re covered. Lovely Day should be here in about five minutes.”

“Lovely Day?”

“Yeah! She’s the best one for paperwork. Oh, and she likes doing it on desks, especially if you get her started.” As if letting Blueblood in on a great secret, Autumn whispered in his ear, “She’s kinda kinky that way. Honestly, she’s a bit of a freak.”

Waving goodbye to Autumn, Blueblood had the fortune of running into Paperchase, one of the staffers assigned to his princely office. Recalling details about his subordinate, the prince suddenly remembered something about the quiet earth stallion and immediately hatched a plan. “Chase, you said that you were single, right?”

The stallion nodded. “Especially since I had to break up with my fillyfriend last year when she had to move back to Scoltland. She wasn’t happy that my duties required me to stay here. Uh, why do you ask, Your Highness?”

Blueblood gave a huge grin. “This is your lucky day.” His horn lit up and a spell was immediately cast on the stallion. “Best of luck.” With that, the prince teleported away.

Paperchase looked at where his boss had been just a second ago. “I don’t get it.”

A second later, a svelte kirin with a cream coat and blazing orange mane walked in. Fixing Paperchase with bedroom eyes, she cooed, “You. Me. Office. Now.” Not taking no for an answer, she took his tie in her teeth and dragged him off towards the nearest office, not caring whose it was. The moment they were in, she shut and locked the door.

“Oh, buttons and bodkins! Miss Rarity, it is such a pleasure to….” Sassy Saddles paused in mid-sentence and looked at her employer…and then at the human with nearly the exact same appearance. Immediately dropping to her haunches, she summoned a holding fan and started waving it to cool herself off. “Oh dear, I do believe I’ve been overworking myself….” she said to no one in particular.

Unicorn Rarity chuckled. “Oh, I assure you, Sassy, dear, you’re not seeing illusions or the like. It is me.” Gesturing to the human next to her, she explained everything and noted as a look of confusion came over her employee’s face, soon replaced by comprehension and then finally relief.

“Oh, that’s quite a burden off me,” Sassy admitted. “And here I thought I was under the vapors again!”

“Vapors?” the ivory unicorn asked.

Sassy nodded. “A store opened up next door that specializes in tinctures and nostrums, and unfortunately, they do not have the best filtration systems, so for the past couple of weeks it’s been leaking into the store. I’ve had to close a couple of times when things got too bad. Do you recall Viscountess Quiet Storm?”

Rarity nodded. “As I recall, she is one of our best customers.”

“Well, she was in the day that it got really bad and a puff of magical smoke hit her. Turned her coat into a series of flashing, random neon colors. She was looking for an outfit for a garden party she plans to attend and I’m afraid it did a number on her.”

Quiet until now, the human Rarity winced at that. “That sounds absolutely dreadful. I hope the poor dear was able to recover.”

“As do I. In any case, I received your note, and your apprentice has been setting things up since she arrived last night,” Sassy explained, turning back to her employer. “She seems quite the diligent filly.”

“She is, though never fear, your job is safe,” Rarity said with a smile. Thinking about Coco’s “condition”, she asked, “So where is Coco at the moment?”

“She was working so hard that she looked completely frazzled. I asked her to take a nap in the breakroom,” Sassy explained. “Although….”

“Although?”

“I wonder if she’s not the only one that needs one. For a moment, I thought I saw her with changeling wings, but….” Sassy sighed. “I suppose it’s the fumes from that store again.”

Both Raritys looked at each other briefly, as if sharing an unspoken message.

“I’ll go and check on Coco,” the human stated. “It’s early enough that I can take her to a café, because she sounds as though she could use a pick-me-up.”

“Thank you, Rarity dear,” Rarity replied. Turning back to Sassy, she said, “Sassy, if you’ll come with me, let us go next door and talk to our new neighbor. I’m sure no harm is meant, but fumes are bad for business if they are making you, ahem, ‘see things’, we’ll need to remedy that. Plus, having my clientele turn into garish colors just won’t do.”

Walking into the back room, Rarity knew exactly what to look for: when she was younger, her sister Sweetie Belle often hid in the swatches of fabric that Rarity had in the room. And clearly, though some particulars were different, the effect was the same.

“Coco, dear?” Rarity called out. “You can come out now.”

A hybrid changeling came out, looking both ashamed and embarrassed. “I overworked myself and lost control,” she said sadly. “My quee…er, Miss Rarity must hate me for being so useless.”

“No,” Rarity assured her, walking over and scooping the pony up in a hug. “She was worried about you and I offered to check on you. Would you like to go get some coffee? I thought I saw a café down the street.”

Feeling the affection from the teen, Coco felt herself revert back to normal. “Thank you; that would be lovely,” she said. “I just hope Miss Saddles isn’t mad at me for doing all that work.”

“No, actually, from what I gathered, she was worried about you as well. She saw your hybrid form, but fortunately thought she was hallucinating because of industrial fumes from the store next door.”

“Yes, Miss Saddles told me about that,” Coco admitted. “I hope they fix that, because it sounds really dangerous!”

“Well, thanks again, Nurse Redheart,” Applejack said, setting her hat on her head. “Ah ‘preciate ya lookin’ out fer me while Ah wus here.”

“Hey, you just take care of yourself, Applejack,” the nurse pony replied. “I don’t think we want you going through all that again.”

“Ah don’t think we’ll see one o’ them Bete Gosons anytime soon, sugarcube, so don’t fret none,” Applejack said with a grin. “Now, Ah gotta catch mah ride t’ Canterlot.” As the two waved goodbye to one another, Applejack made her way to the station. She had enough time to get there and catch the 10:30 Friendship Express, which would get her into Canterlot a couple hours later.

The trip would give her a couple of hours to think over her shame. She’d shamed herself by doubting the one individual that she should’ve treated like family: her otherworldly counterpart. She’d called her a shame, a faker and so much worse. She’d ostracized her friends because of the human that shared her name and had bickered with her own family over it. And what did that get her? She’d been injured by the Bete Goson because of it.

And then she’d been rescued by the other Applejack, who selflessly went in and fought the beast – and its mate, she later found out – to a standstill. The other Applejack turned out to be an unparalleled master of turf-fu or whatever the human version was called, and she went hoof-to-hoof (in a manner of speaking) against beasts that were significantly bigger and stronger than her.

Yes, the other Applejack wasn’t a farmer, but instead a girl still in school. Applejack had ridiculed her for that, too; she’d already been out of school at that age the human girl was. But she found out that the complexity of the human world ended up with the average person spending as much time in school as the most learned of unicorns. Earth ponies rarely had a need for advanced education, but in the human world, it was a necessity. And Applejack had spit in the other Applejack’s face for living as was the norm.

There was a faker named Applejack, surely enough…but it wasn’t the human girl.

Tugging her hat over her head to cover her guilt-stricken eyes, she silently continued on to the train station. She had to make it right, whatever it took.

As she arrived at the station, she bypassed the line of passengers waiting for train boarding and went to the special VIP section. Each of the Bearers had been issued a special priority pass as part of their duties to the Crown, and during the Winter of Aftermath, they’d been used extensively. Of course, as she walked into the station and waved at Switch Track, the stationmaster on duty, she didn’t even need to break hers out; he already knew who she was.

Switch scratched at his beard. “Top o’ the mornin’ t’ ye, Miss Applejack,” he said in his soft Scoltish brogue.

“Mornin’ Switch. Almost time t’ head out?”

He nodded. “Aye, an’ yer escort’s already aboard, waitin’ fer ye.”

Applejack blinked. What?

He tipped his hat at her. “Have a lovely trip, lass. Train leaves in five minutes, surety.”

Nodding, she immediately went to the car that had been reserved for exclusive use by the Bearers. In the past, they’d enjoyed riding in the normal cars and talking to their fellow Equestrians, but the Winter of Aftermath – and especially after the rescue mission to Our Town that had turned out very badly – she now understood why the Bearers needed their own car, with dedicated supply space and various other necessities. The fight against that unicorn and her army of bandits had proven that.

Wonder whatever happened to her anyway? Applejack mused. Last she recalled, Starlight Gumball – or whatever her name was – fell to her death off the nearby cliffsides after her attempt to control the town via that brainwashing/cutie mark-stealing spell had been exposed. Applejack made a mental note to read the follow-up report when she got back to town; she’d been given a copy, but it still sat on her bedroom nightstand, untouched.

“Heya, Jackie.”

She turned and knew that voice. There was, after all, only one stallion who ever called her that.

She looked at the earth stallion slightly taller than her, standing there in his guard dress uniform. Beige coated, he had a short maroon-and-charcoal mane and eyes the color of seafoam – Applejack had to admit, he was easy on the eyes. But it was the bright orange multipointed star that was his cutie mark that was his stock in trade.

She felt the ground shift underneath her and she wasn’t sure if that was due to the train moving…or something else.

“Heya, Cpl. Boomer,” she said with a soft smile.

“Sergeant, now,” he said, showing her the new stripe on his uniform. “Her Highness gave me a promotion after what I did to try to save your little sister.”

“Well, Ah reckon that makes you a hero, sugarcube. So, whatcha all gussied up for?”

He walked over to her and flashed another smile. “Let’s just say that Lady Rarity decided it wasn’t a very good idea for the Bearers to be without gallant escorts, and so she called in some favors. While she couldn’t do anything for the humans, sadly, she could do something for her friends.” He chuckled. “I heard Lt. Cmdr. Soarin’ dropped everything for tonight just to spend some time with Lt. Dash.”

She blushed. “An’ so Ah guess, Rarity talked ya into comin’ fer li’l ol’ me?”

“Nope – she didn’t have to talk me into anything,” he said, flashing another smile her way.

This time she was sure the weakness in her knees wasn’t due to the rumble of the rails.

And at that, it made her wonder if the other Applejack had a coltfriend – or whatever humans called the equivalent – as well. And as the guilt kicked in once more, she had to give Boomer her best plastic smile as the two settled down for the trip to Canterlot.

“And I think that’s enough,” Princess Luna stated as she looked at those present for the rehearsal. “Please, take a break. You’re all making a wonderful effort.” With that, she walked over to Sunset, who stood on the dais with a pensive look. “You look tired, dear niece. Is everything okay?”

“Just…tomorrow it finally happens,” the younger alicorn said softly. “The thing that when I was younger I would have done anything for…and now that it’s about to happen, I realize how unworthy I am of it.” She shook her head and ruffled her wings. “I know I earned these. And I understand that Mother and I are working out our issues, and I have a family – well, technically three, I guess – that I’m blessed to have. But that just makes me a very lucky mare, or girl, or whatever I am. But it doesn’t make me worthy of being a princess.”

The night alicorn smiled. “And those words right there are why you are qualified. You need to learn to forgive yourself, dear. I won’t pretend it’s easy – I still retain a lot of my own personal issues from what I did – but you are worthy to stand as a princess of Equestria.” Luna wrapped a wing around her niece. “And I think I can speak for both my sister and I when I say we’re proud of what you’ve become and what you’ve done. All of us alicorns have at one time or another saved ponydom and other species here on Equus from malevolent forces, whether it’s warmongering changeling queens or alicorns gone mad from grief and spite. But you risked your life for another dimension’s worth of beings that you have no real tie to. You did that – nopony else. And that is something to be very proud of.”

“That just makes me human, Aunt Luna. In a manner of speaking, of course. But…why me? I know I’m powerful, but surely there are others more qualified? I mean, Twilight became an alicorn and she’s roughly on the same level as I am, and I’m sure that others out there are as well. Why me?”

“Because it’s you. Not because you’re the daughter of the ruling princess, but because you’re a mare that’s understands what it’s like to be at your worst and at your best. The you that left Equestria wasn’t worth being a princess at all, nor were you worthy of your own powers – that’s partially why Cellie sealed them. But after your change of heart, you found a way to overcome that and continued to improve yourself and the others around you. Your adopted mother stated that you’ve helped countless in need without wishing for anything in return and you even tried to refuse your doppelganger’s wealth when she declared you as her twin sister. You’ve helped the needy, protected the defenseless and have done so at considerable personal cost.” Luna smiled. “That is a princess.” Luna wrapped her wings around her niece in a hug. “You have earned this. I would even argue that you, out of all alicorns, deserve this right now.”

“You really think so?”

The elder alicorn giggled. “If not, I’ll just give anypony who disagrees nightmares.”

Sunset gasped. “Aunt Luna!”

That just made Luna laugh all the harder.

A tan paw slammed the table. “In my country,” a voice spoke in a thick, accented snarl, “a cow would respect a bull! I don’t know about you Equestrians – and certainly you humans – but as far as I am concerned, you’re rude and uncouth!”

Twilight Sparkle – the human one – leaned forward, fixing cold purple eyes on the Gamalaqi representative. “And yet remind me, Ambassador, who is the one banging his paw on the table and throwing a temper tantrum like a child? You’ve heard the legends about us, and yet here we are, calm as water…and you are the blaring, blowing scirocco that seeks to do harm.”

To her side, Princess Twilight said nothing. She wondered what her counterpart was doing and yet the actions seemed, well, so Sunset-like. Taking a chance, she decided to let the teen continue on, though she would probably have to step in later to mend bruised egos.

“And I said in my country—”

With that, the teenager leapt to her feet, her chair clattering behind her. Using her size, she leaned over the camel, glaring at him. “We are not in your country,” she hissed at him dangerously, “we’re in Equestria. And if you want to bring up country comparisons, in my country, ambassadors and delegates from other lands are the soul of grace and civility, not pushy, crude cretins like you’re proving yourself to be!”

He backed off slightly, then realized his own delegates were staring at him, then looked her right in the face. “تقبيل مؤخرتي ، أنت العاهرة!” he snarled at her.

Twilight didn’t back off. “¡Mira qué cabrón, puto!” she snarled back.

Both Rainbows looked at the girl with shock. “Wow, Twily, usually insulting people is my department,” the human one said with a wide grin.

“I should demand that you be executed for talking to me like that!” the camel threatened.

“And I don’t give a damn. I am a part of the Court of Earth – of Princess Sunset’s court – and as such I am her representative,” Twilight told him. “Furthermore, Her Highness is quite literally my sister. I wouldn’t make such threats if I were you, especially not on the soil of a third country and indirectly threatening its newest princess. So why don’t you go back to your country and have them send an individual that understands civility!”

The camel reached for a sword at his side, only to be met with a stronger voice calling out, “Al-Cadiz, that’s enough.” Said admonishment came from the back as another camel entered. Slightly older than the first, he seemed much calmer and bowed before her. “I am impressed, Lady Twilight,” he told her. “I have studied the legends ponies have of your kind and how ferocious you are in battle. Apparently you are that way even in diplomacy as well and do not give an inch of the oasis. I am impressed with your Bactrian courage. Would that my little brother would learn the same thing.”

The original camel turned his attention from the human to his fellow bull. “But Al-Andaluz, she insulted me!”

“And I have been watching – and you deserved it. Every word this humaness has said is true – this is the ponies’ country, and you are being an embarrassment to all camelkind.” Al-Andaluz bowed before Twilight and Princess Twilight. “As the ranking prince of my country, Princess Twilight, I hereby apologize to you and yours. I had thought to leave the negotiations to my younger brother in the hopes he would earn himself some credibility amongst the diplomatic circles, but I was mistaken.”

“I can still salvage this!”

“No. you can’t. And therefore you will never gain your third bride, brother – you do not know how to treat ladies with respect.” Before the others could ask, “Back in Gamal, the royalty always have three wives. We are engaged to the first at birth, and the second upon our tenth birthday. But the third one – the one that marks you as an adult – you must earn yourself. My brother is…old enough that he should have earned her by now, but who would want to be married to such an impudent boor?”

“How dare you!”

“I dare because I am the senior prince, brother. Do not test my patience or our hosts’ hospitality. Get out of my sight.” Irate, the younger one left and the older took his place.

“Three wives? I wasn’t aware of that in your culture,” Princess Twilight told Al-Andaluz.

Al-Andaluz laughed. “Yours is not the only species with a paucity of males, your highness,” he told her affably. “It’s just that mine has made herding formal, while I understand it is merely just frowned upon in pony culture. And likewise, same-sex pairings are taboo in my culture but acceptable in yours. It is, to use one of your language’s phrases, ‘different strokes for different folks’, is it not?” Seating down at the table, he added, “And now that the unpleasantries are done, I would like to get down to actual business and see how we can strengthen the ties between our two nations, shall we?”

“That’s it, I quit!” Deep Thrum threw down his drumstick and stormed away from his timpani. “I’m done dealing with that idiot, do you hear me?” He turned and shook an angry hoof at Octavia Melody. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Octy, but I would rather make new drumskins out of my own hide than work one more minute with you!”

“Hey hey hey, calm down dude, calm down!” Lyra Heartstrings immediately rushed over to the (justifiably) high-strung stallion. “Look, I know we’re all on edge right now, Thrummie. But this is the world we’re playing for! Literally every species on our planet is going to be here and every nation is sending representatives! This is even bigger than when Princess Twilight was coronated, so we have to look our best! I know Octy’s been out of sorts on that, but she’s trying to make this the best for all of us. So give her a break, okay? You know she doesn’t mean any of it.”

Thrum took a deep breath. “Yes, I know. But we are professionals and we understand the stakes as well. It is rather ironic that you, not a professional—”

“I’m a professional as well; I just don’t play with this orchestra normally,” Lyra reminded him.

He nodded at the soft rebuke. “In any case, what I mean is that we understand what is at stake here. We know that one error in our performance could mar Equestria’s sterling image around the world.”

“Between you and me, I don’t think we really have one, right now,” a second pony chimed in. Both unicorns turned to look at Firebird Ballet, the xylophone player. A pegasus who was the daughter of an Equestrian diplomat, she’d grown up in a lot of other countries. “Think about it: how many global crises around the world have been our fault? Tirek’s rampage, Nightmare Moon, the resurgence of the changelings, and let’s not forget the Winter of Aftermath, which was directly the fault of our princess!”

“That’s treasonous talk, Firebird,” Thrum told her.

“It’s only treasonous if I were in the military and doing something about it – read up on the law sometime,” she replied glibly. “Besides, I’m only expressing my opinion, which last time I checked is still perfectly legal. Besides, let’s be honest: if I weren’t an Equestrian, I’d be worried, too. I bet even some non-pony Equestrians are afraid of the current geopolitical climate right now.”

He sat and crossed his forelegs. “How so?”

“Think about it: when other mothers freak out about their children dying, they cry, gnash their teeth and go into hysterics. When our princess did it, however, she literally blew up a mountain and then proceeded to put the world into a miniature ice age. What other rulers have those abilities? The kitsunes? Maybe. The centaurs and gargoyles? Stretching it. Sure as hell not the other nations! Furthermore, what do we have on our side besides the alicorns? Humans – monstrous demonic war machines from our nastiest folklore and myth.”

“They’re not what the myths show them as,” Lyra told her. “You should meet them.”

“I know. I had a chance to meet one of them at the music store downtown and she’s as normal as you or me. But do you think the average griffin in that wreck of a country, afraid that he and his family won’t see the next day because one of the alicorns from the land across the sea is throwing a temper tantrum, is really going to believe that? Hell, did you read the Equestria Daily this morning? The headline was even after them being here for a whole week, half of all ponies still don’t believe that humans aren’t what the myths say they are!”

“Well, trust me, we’re not going back to the era of Warring States anytime soon. A pony civil war is completely unthinkable!” Thrum told her.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s what the populace thought just before the rise of Nightmare Moon, too,” was Firebird’s response.

“Yes yes yes, fine – whatever! Now I’m busy!” The owner of the tincture shop, a disheveled unicorn wearing slightly musty robes and with a mane that looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in forever looked at them through oil-stained glasses. “I’ll order a new filtration system when I get around to it. Now, I have work to do and you two mares are holding things up! Science waits for nopony, do you understand?”

Standing in the somewhat quaint store, Rarity was somewhat surprised to find that it was far more organized than its owner was: various liquids and gases in various types of bottles lined the walls, and crystal balls of different types sat on well-tended tables. By the cash register sat a firecat, a rare type of animal usually seen on the other side of the world; where this unicorn got and tamed one was probably an interesting story that the fashionpony would have loved to have heard…had not said unicorn in question been such a rude son of a mule.

Taking a breath, she said, “So, Mr. Simple Science—”

“That’s Magus Science to you!” he argued. “Only my wife and my mother call me by my first name!”

Rarity took another breath. “I see. Well, Magus Science, I should inform you that the civic ordinances require us to have filters whenever our shops are working with potentially hazardous materials and that they need to be up to date—”

“Unless you’re from City Hall and here to give me a fine for not updating my filtration systems and spells, then I will give you the same answer I gave her,” Science said, thrusting a hoof at Sassy. “I will do it when I have time!”

“But we—”

“Listen. I realize that your pretty little head is typically filled with the gossip columns from Mare’s Monthly and the fashion pages in Cosmarepolitan, but I already told you my final answer! You could be one of the Bearers and my answer would be the same!”

Rarity looked at him as if he were insane. “Sir…I am one of the Bearers!”

“You are?”

She curtsied. “Rarity, Bearer of the Element of Generosity, member of the Court of Friendship, one of Equestria’s knights in Princess Twilight’s service, and a noblemare in good standing.”

He narrowed his eyes, inspecting her, then rubbed his chin. “I see. And are you a representative of City Hall?”

“Well, no, but I hardly see what—”

“Then my answer is the same,” he told her curtly, cutting her off. “And you are wasting my time! Leave! Shoo!” He started waving his hooves towards the door, indicating the direction they had to take.

“Fine,” Rarity huffed, “but I will be back!”

Meanwhile, Sassy went over and looked at glass jar on a shelf. Inside it was an iridescent butterfly, whose wings seemed to flicker with a spectrum of pastel lights, as if it were made of magic itself. “What is this?” she asked him.

In turn, his eyes widened briefly. “Are you mad? Get away from that!” he told her.

Rarity did not like the sound of that. “Sir, I would insist that you treat my employee with respect. She asked you a question.”

Science ignored her. “Get away from that, you numbskull, before you expose us all!”

“Expose us to what?” Sassy asked, looking at the beautiful winged creature as if it were suddenly dangerous.

“Do you know what that is?” he demanded of her. “That is an Allucinor Wing!”

“A what?” both Rarity and Sassy said at the same time.

“A very rare and very expensive butterfly that that comes from the Dragon Lands! It feeds off your deepest desires and the deeper it is, the stronger its effect is while its feeding! I ordered it for a client at great cost and he is supposed to come here this week to retrieve it! Now get away from it before you break its containment—”

KRASH

In an effort to push Sassy away from the shelf holding the apparently dangerous butterfly, Science accidentally jostled the shelf himself. Rarity would have found the whole situation amusing, had it not been for the end result: the glass bell plummeted to the floor, shattering into a thousand crystal pieces. Now untethered from its glass, the dainty creature flitted towards the air, circling the ceiling as if looking for a meal.

Science dropped to the ground. “Quickly!” he ordered. “Cover the back of your neck – that’s where it feeds from!” He did so immediately and seeing the panicked manner in which he performed the action, both Rarity and Sassy copied him, without even giving it a second thought. The butterfly, seeing no chance to feed at all, instead fluttered out through a window and into the open air.

“What have you done?” Science shrieked at Sassy, who cringed under his withering glare. Enraged, the irate stallion took a step forward…

…only to find himself in a bubble of blue magic. “You’re under arrest, sir,” Rarity told him.

“On what charge? You and your bimbo of an assistant barging into my store and breaking my merchandise?” he hissed.

“No, actually, you’re under arrest, because I distinctly recall Princess Twilight signing a ‘no-animal importation’ treaty with Dragon Lord Ember last month,” Rarity responded coolly. “And since you mentioned that this creature comes from the Dragon Lands, then that means you smuggled it here, especially since you pointed out how expensive it is.” She looked at Sassy. “Sassy, dear, please find a nearby guard and let them know to meet me here.”

“But what about the butterfly?” Sassy asked nervously.

“I wouldn’t worry much about it. In a place like Canterlot, even with there being a lot of secrets, they’re likely harmless ones. Besides, dear, it’s a butterfly. When it’s at that stage, it’s typically at the last stage of its life, so sadly it probably won’t live for much longer.”

Seated at her desk in her office, Black Cherry looked over the reports for tomorrow’s coronation. “This…is not looking good,” she said softly to nopony in particular.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace?” her secretary spoke up.

“I’m looking at the attendance figures. These are much larger than expected. Canterlot was already bursting at the seams at the expectation of Princess Sunset’s coronation, but these newest figures from the city gates are three times what we had estimated, and we still have beings coming in?”

The assistant nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so. We can’t exactly turn away folks at the entry points, can we?”

“No, I’m afraid not.” She sighed; this was not going to be easy to do. “Contact Lord Kibbitz and tell him I need to speak to him urgently. Tell him…we may have to switch to Plan B.”

“Plan B? Are you certain?”

“Very. It’s that or we’ll have streets too clogged for processions and the like. And that will be very bad for Equestria’s image. Now more than ever, we must get this right.” Her attendant nodded and departed.

As soon as she was alone, Cherry put her head on her desk and rubbed her ears; she could feel a headache coming on. She was not going to like telling her mentor and Princess Celestia’s seneschal that there were so many guests and attendees that the whole thing would have to be pushed back a day in order to accommodate them all.

Never before had success looked so much like failure.

Day Seven, Afternoon: Logic So Inflexible

“And so this is where it began for her.” Pinkie touched the steps of the orphanage with a sense of wonder on her face. “And then six years later, you became her mother.” At the moment, the two were on a fairly empty street in South Canterlot. As most of the festivities were being held in the northern and western districts, the eastern and southern ones were living their normal lives. And the orphanage they stood in front of was no exception.

“I hadn’t expected what happened that day. I hadn’t even planned to visit the orphanage,” Princess Celestia admitted. Spreading her wings to encompass the street, she added, “My original plan was to attend the commemoration of a new library for the southern district of town.” She gave a nostalgic smile. “Of course, my plans were changed by one special little filly and I am very glad for that.”

“A special filly for a special mother,” Pinkie said with a soft smile.

A brief look of pain came over the alicorn’s face. “Perhaps…but by no means the best one, I’m afraid,” she admitted. “I’m sure my daughter has told you about the difficulties we’ve had in our lives.”

“Yes. And she’s also told me about how much she absolutely loves you despite all that. Besides, I know a thing or two about being distant from my own mother.” Pinkie then went into a brief explanation of her own home life and how she was mostly raised by her aunt and uncle and how that impacted her relationship with her parents. “Mom and I get along like oil and water. Now, don’t get me wrong: I love her and I’m going to guess she loves me, even if she doesn’t know I’m bi, but…well, it is what it is.”

“I see.” Princess Celestia looked at the human that was her daughter’s lover, protestations to the contrary. “Miss Pie, I dislike interfering in Sunset’s affairs, given that she is an adult by our standards, but…she seems pensive about the two of you. Please, don’t get me wrong; I can clearly see there is something between you two – I don’t need my niece’s talents to discern that – but at the same time, there’s also something that seems to be keeping you two from being together.”

Pinkie looked at the mare that was Sunset’s mother. Adopted or not, this was the person that had set Sunset on a course that had ended her up on Earth and into Pinkie’s life. The teen was forever grateful for that, but at the same time, there was the undeniable fact that Princess Celestia was the ruler of this nation. It underscored the fact that Pinkie’s girlfriend was a literal princess, and not just that of a French house in pretense, but a living, breathing royal.

“PDA, maybe?”

“PDA?”

“Public displays of affection,” Pinkie clarified. “Apparently on Earth, the royals we have aren’t very big on it. Especially the British, the Thai, the Saudis and the Japanese, as I recall. I’m not saying they’re sticks in the mud, but they rarely express themselves in public.”

“Well, we don’t have any sort of things like that here,” Celestia assured the girl. “Even if we did, I don’t think Cadance would stand for it, given her aspect.”

“Well,” Pinkie admitted, “It could be another thing I haven’t mentioned. Because of what happened to us, Sunny knows our future – especially mine and hers. Moreover, she knows that I know it, too. I think it scares her, because she’s never been one that has let things just happen to her. She’s always been the type to fight against fate and I love that about her. But this isn’t the sort of thing that you fight against. This…well, it just happens.”

“You sound as though everything is set in stone.”

Pinkie gave a smile. “I’m a wife. I’m not saying I want to be. I’m not saying that I know I’ll be. I am Sunset’s wife. I am her sword and her heart. I am going to be the mother of our children. I’m….” Pinkie sighed and walked away from the orphanage, heading to a small bench that was just over by the street. “I’m trying to be vague, because no one should know their future and yet I do. It was all laid out for me before I was even born. I will marry an alien that is the same sex as me, and I have no choice in the matter. Not that I mind; I love her and this is what I want. But predestination is a scary thing, Princess.”

“Well, my sister and I – and likely Twilight as well – suspected that you were Sunset’s Swordbearer. But I should tell you that it doesn’t mean that you two will be lovers. Yes, my sister’s fiancé was her Swordbearer, and Shining is Cadance’s. But my mother’s Swordbearer, the Megan, was said to be her closest friend and confidante, not her lover; and as for my own, Starswirl was far too much older than I to be anything other than an avuncular figure to me. I know he thought of me like a precious niece.”

From the way Princess Celestia had mentioned the Megan, it sounded as though she were talking about someone that was long gone. And given her conversations with the stranger, it made Pinkie wonder if she’d been talking to a ghost. Either way, it was not the best time to bring it up. “And what happened to them all?”

“I don’t know about the Megan,” the day alicorn answered. “Sometimes I wonder if she was even real. As for Bucephalus, he was betrayed and murdered by his so-called best friend. And as for my own…my mother told me that Starswirl vanished after having been betrayed by a monster that he couldn’t defeat. Sometimes I think my mother was worried I’d be broken hearted over losing the closest thing to a father figure that I had and so spared me news of his death. And yes, I miss him dearly, and I know the cenotaph in the Royal Cemetery is the closest thing I’ll have to closure over the issue.

“But it also makes me think of something else, Miss Pie. If you truly are her Swordbearer, you will live an eternal life with her; moreover, as you grow into your power, you will match the strongest of magic users in this world and clearly outpower anything on your own. But you will merely be ageless, not immortal. Something as deadly as a blade or as simple as a virus could kill you. I do not wish for my daughter to suffer being alone.”

“I would never do that to her.”

“It is not my place to say yes or no. Given that she is an adult, I’m not even sure it’s my place to give my blessing to such a union, though it wouldn’t surprise me that her adopted parents might have some position on that, given you are both minors on your world. But as her mother…if you two are truly to be together, please: make her happy. Give her the joy and peace she so desperately deserves, the wither to cry on when she needs it and the wing to wrap around her when she feels frail. Give her the strength of your hooves when she….” Celestia chuckled. “And here I’d rehearsed this speech in my mind the day my Little Sun finally found somepony, and her ‘somepony’ isn’t one at all.”

Pinkie laughed. “That’s okay, I know what you mean. Besides, I suspect Auntie Cup and Uncle Carrot probably have something similar to tell her.”

“Well, since we’re here, we may as well go in and meet the staff. They still remember Sunset with fondness, and I’m sure the colts and fillies here will be thrilled to meet a human.”

Pinkie couldn’t help but smile. “Okay then! Lead the way!”

“Okay, ladies, take a break,” Sable told the assembled SIRENs. “You won’t oversee security tonight at the coronation ball, and tomorrow you’ll be busy being the escort for Princess Sunset. So we need to get this right, understood?”

Currently, the dozen SIRENs were in one of the Army’s private training fields, where they were working on their formation marching. Normally it wouldn’t be anything of concern, since their stock in trade was guerilla warfare and not precision drill marching, but military formalities were universal everywhere. The Army, the regular Navy, the Guard, the Guild and even the Agency had their own marching groups ready to go, and as the ones that would escort their princess down the road to the dais where she would be invested as the newest princess of Equestria, they had to make sure things were better than perfect.

“Awww, c’mon!” Moonblazer groaned. “We should be able to do this! We used to fly in formation all the time in my old squadron!”

Ekene rolled her eyes. “In case reconnaissance is not your thing, please note we all are lacking wings.”

“Um…we all used to be part of the other services, so we’re used to marching,” Embiggen said in her soft voice. Towering over them all, she looked down at them with hope. “I know we can do this. We’re a team now, right? So we should be able to succeed at this or at anything.”

“She’s right, you know.” Aria looked at the others. “We all have had military training of some sort, so we should be able to do this. And speaking from a personal perspective – not as Cmdr. Blaze, REN, but as Aria Blaze? It would mean a lot to me if we did. Not because we want to look like the superelite troops that we are, but because this is my cousin’s time to shine. I want to make her look good because I’m proud of the point she got to.”

“Same goes for me,” Sonata added.

“That would be three of us,” Adagio chimed in.

“Well, I’m not related to her, but I’ve seen how much she’s worked to get where she is and all the good she’s done,” Sable said, “so speaking off the record, I would like it to happen as well. Both for Princess Sunset’s sake and to show ponies that the SIRENs are the best in the business. Whatever must be done.”

“Sounds like a new motto, sir,” Sonata said.

“What was the old one?”

“Ultimum Surgere, or The Last Ones Standing,” Adagio explained.

“So what’s our new one in Latin?”

Sonata looked it up on her phone. “Id Agendum,” she replied.

“Then we’ll go with that. So, now that we’ve taken our breaks, ladies, back to the marching practice. Everyone back in formation.”

“Like we formin’ the forms in formation?” Tomahawk giggled.

“I see someone did not turn her brain on,” Ushanka said curtly, but at this point they knew her sense of humor, especially as it was followed up by the ghost of a smile a second later.

“Adm. Loam!” Sable looked up to see a royal page approaching from the air, soaring across the sky and coming to a stop just before the group. “I’m glad I found you, sir. We have an update from the Coronation Events Committee!” The pegasus reached into a pouch at her side and pulled out a letter for him. “Now if you’ll excuse me, sir, I need to go let several other VIPs know. It’s going to be a busy afternoon for me.” She gave a brief bow, then launched herself into the air again towards the continuation of her tireless mission.

Sable immediately opened the envelope and looked at the news within. Folding it and putting it in his pocket, he shook his head in bemusement. “Okay, ladies, listen up: I’ve got some good news and some bad news – and they’re actually the same thing.”

“Wouldn’t that just be ‘news’, sir?” Tomahawk asked with a lackadaisical smile that held a touch of mischief.

“I suppose. In any case, because of the much larger than expected crowds, the Coronation Events Committee has decided that it would be in the best interest to delay things by a day. They’re announcing it to the VIPs and foreign dignitaries right now and the public announcement will be in an hour.”

“Oh, that’s gotta suck for Sunny,” Sonata told her sisters. “She’s already nervous as hell about this.”

“Yeah, but that just gives us time to perfect all that we need to,” Adagio commented. “So, ladies, break’s over. We got a job to do and we’re going to do it, right?”

“Aye aye, ma’am!” the other SIRENs said in unison.

As the news was read to both Sunset and Princess Luna, the younger alicorn deflated with relief. “Good,” she said softly. “I can be normal for just one more day.”

Princess Luna, however, heard that. “What, don’t you think you were normal to begin with, my dearest niece?”

“I already told you my opinions on that.”

“Yes, and I’d hoped that you would already stop feeling sorry for yourself. Guilt can be a powerful thing; believe me, I still go through it myself often enough. But you can’t do this to yourself forever, Sunset. That way lies madness. Trust me on that. Besides, I really don’t think you want to make your own Tantabus. They can be problematic to control if they get out of hand.”

Sunset looked at her aunt oddly. “Huh?”

The night alicorn tittered, discreetly covering her mouth. “It would take too long to explain. In any case, we can schedule an additional practice for tomorrow, so we can end this. Truth be told, this does get old. And Cellie has the easy part: she only has to sit there and look regal. We agreed that I would be the one to do the speeches this time around, so I’m the one with all the difficulty. In any case, are you up for lunch? I know this great little bistro in the eastern district of town that I think you might just enjoy.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sunset replied, glad to get out of yet another round of discomfort. She would be glad that this whole ordeal would be over soon, even if it would take a day longer than planned. At this point she relished going back to school, her afterschool job and all the other things she did as a normal girl, as well as all of her duties as the Alicorn of Earth.

I guess in the end, the trappings of a princess of Equestria were never really for me, she mused. I guess I’d rather be a princess like Shimmy, in the end.

She made a note to make sure she visited her “twin sister” after this was all over. She was pretty sure that they would have a lot to talk about.

As the crowd dispersed and the two alicorns teleported away, a shadowy figure watching from the sidelines took notes. She doesn’t seem particularly powerful. I wonder if all the news of her being the strongest of the alicorns was mere propaganda from the Crown. The figure jotted down more notes, eyes darting to and fro and looking at all the attendants present. Light amount of guards, even less than when Princess Twilight was coronated. These fools are too confident.

With that done, the figure slipped the notes into a sidesaddle pouch as well as the limited hiding cloak that was being used. Once that was completed, the figure moved away from the practice grounds, towards the public and soon blended into the crowd, yet another faceless pony amongst the increasing crowds that were flowing into the city. It was becoming to the point that the central, western and northern districts were reaching capacity, and the eastern and southern districts would have to pick up the slack. Certain roads were already being designated “cart only” traffic, as the foot traffic was now so heavy that it would be too hard to move the vehicles through. Additionally, the fact that the sidewalks were being blocked off in order to install the seating for tomorrow’s event also added to the crush of bodies.

That would be to our benefit, the figure thought. With this many in town, it will be hard to control both a panicked crowd and additional combatants – because we know there will be. We will finally have our due.

The figure looked above, looking at the sheer number of fliers in the air, far more than normal. There were already some guards in the air, starting to direct traffic and soon there would be an air grid similar to that of the ground one, something that only happened when there were so many fliers in the air that it affected localized weather and some magical patterns. That, too, would be a benefit, as the panicked fliers would either scatter, inadvertently overwhelming any defenders; or head to the ground, causing a burden to the ground support. Either way, it would result in precious time lost for “Canterlot’s defenders” to act and more time for the Covenant to do what needed to be done.

The figure smiled. The day of the coronation would be a grand day, indeed: it would see the crowning of the newest princess of Equestria, it would be the pinnacle of a moment between Princess Celestia and her beloved daughter…

…and it would be the end of the alicorns, paving the way for Sombra, the true lord and master of ponydom.

The paramedic shook his head. “This is weird. Are you serious about this?” he asked the guard.

“That’s the statement from the witness,” the guardspony told him. “She reported that this stallion got on the roof of that building, declared that he wished he was a pegasus and he would now be one and then he jumped from the top as if he was going to fly. Even tried flapping his forelegs like he was just going to get airborne or something.”

The paramedic looked at the place where the unfortunate stallion “descended to the ground”. “Yeah, well, fortunately for him, the building wasn’t too tall, and plus, he landed in all this garbage,” she noted. “That being said, he’s got a broken left forecannon and his croup is cracked. He’ll be lucky to get out of the hospital after a couple of weeks. Wonder what made him do something that dumb?”

The guardspony shrugged. “Dunno, but personally, we’ve seen our share of more than a few ponies ‘celebrating’ Princess Sunset’s coronation a little early, if you get my drift. They either hit the cider bottle a little too much or partake in a salt lick or twelve. Heard a few are even using things they shouldn’t, like nostrums – we’re looking into that. Just…expect a lot more of this.”

“With the crowds larger than normal? No kidding. I just hope this doesn’t get out of hoof.”

The two ponies continued to trade notes as was the norm in their profession and were so engrossed in that, neither noticed the beautiful prismatic butterfly that flitted away from the scene. It seemed to glow a little more brightly than last time, as it was no longer starving, but still required sustenance. And in this town, it had to be picky in order to find the best food around. After all, it still needed to fly back to its homelands and find a mate.

“Thanks for coming with us, Whiskey,” Octavia told the kitsune. At the moment, both she and Fluttershy were headed off to Tierfenbucker’s. Since they had an extra day, the raven-haired musician thought she’d show her friend and fellow musician the store and maybe play a mini-concert. Given the crowds she’d been drawing during the week, she was more than certain Quick Note wouldn’t mind in the least.

“Plus, having a cute little guard walk with us is just totes dorbz!” Fluttershy said with a smile.

Whiskey blushed and Octavia laughed. “Flutters, the ‘cute little guard’ is nearly three hundred years old.”

“Seriously?” When the disguised fox nodded, it was Fluttershy’s turn to be flustered. “I’m sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize,” Whiskey pointed out. “In this form, I am human. Not a kitsune in disguise, but completely human, with a human lifespan and everything. We kitsunes aren’t like most other shapeshifting species, where we’re able to keep a part of ourselves in our true natures while shapeshifting. Because our ability to take on the guises of other creatures differs from the norm, I suppose we’re an ‘all or nothing’ species. So you can just figure that I’m fourteen – that’s what Princess Sunset figured I was after doing some age conversions.”

“Well, I’m glad that you’re more comfortable around us than you were a week ago,” Octavia noted.

“I’m not Kashingo anymore,” the youngest teen said sardonically. “She was weak and foolish.”

“You shouldn’t think about yourself that way.”

“I don’t. She had dreams and hopes of being a better retainer and a valued vassal of a kitsune prince that abused her, all in order to earn fame for a clan that disgracefully got rid of her first chance they had because of a simple mistake.” Placing a hand on her chest, she said, “I am a SIREN. A valued ally and follower of Princess Sunset and one of her guards. I’ve been told that I will probably be issued a petty officer’s rank because of my experience, even though I don’t yet have the ability to lead. But I’m okay with that, because I have a chance to grow and become the best person I can be. If I were Kashingo, I’d be dead already…by my own paw, no less.”

“Well, let’s not talk about that,” Fluttershy suggested. “This is a time to celebrate, isn’t it? We should be happy!”

“Yup, and that’s why we’re headed towards this place.” The trio arrived at Tierfenbucker’s and based on the newest addition to the storefront window – a photograph of Octavia playing, as well as a type of guitar that she had been using – it was clear that the store was doing very well. As for Fluttershy, she could see the quality of the instruments present.

As they walked in, Quick Note noticed and instantly gave a wide smile. “If it isn’t my favorite human!” he crowed cheerfully. “Welcome! And I see you brought more of them. Musicians also, I presume?”

“Well, I am,” Fluttershy admitted, “though I don’t know about Ms. Whiskey here.”

“I can play the biwa, but I don’t consider myself a professional musician, sorry.”

“Well, I sent your instruments over to the palace as per your request,” Note told her, “but were you looking for some new instruments, by any chance?”

“I thought my friend here would appreciate the gesture,” Octavia told him, “and in return, I think we can perform one more mini-concert, if you’re interested.”

“We can’t stay long, though, as we do have that ball tonight,” Whiskey reminded them.

“True, but at least we can have a little fun before the drudgery,” Fluttershy said.

“Not a fan of that sort of stuff?”

“I’ve been to a couple of formal dances, and truthfully, no.”

“Wow, Twily,” Princess Twilight said as the group sat down to lunch. “I am extremely impressed. For someone not versed in politics, you were able to deal with the Gamali and work out an agreement with them on behalf of Equestria!” At her side, the Bearers that were present all nodded, agreeing with their friend’s words.

Given the teenager’s amazing feat of dealing diplomatically with a species not particularly known for diplomacy, the alicorn chose to take the group out to lunch at one of the best restaurants in Equestria, on restaurant row. The Tasty Treat was a new place specializing in ponjabi dishes, and from some of the discussions that Twilight had with the restaurant’s owner, they had meals that would satisfy both pony and non-pony tastes. While it was vegetarian, human Rainbow was willing to put up with it, given that she liked the Indian restaurant that her family usually went to.

“Yes, you should really be a noblepony!” Pinkie chirped, practically bouncing up and down in her chair, the earth pony’s mane and tail bobbing up and down in time with her hopping on the seat.

“Sounds like something Ah’d agree with,” Applejack replied. “Ever think about going into politics back home, Twily?”

“Not really. I mean, my mom deals with it enough, and I never really thought of myself as politically minded.”

“Well, maybe you could be a kickass politician or something, like Long Ball or Louisville Slugger!” Rainbow cheered, thrusting a fist in the air.

Applejack facepalmed. “Rainbow, those are baseball players, not politicians. Even Ah know that.”

The wide smile on Rainbow’s face vanished. “Um…I knew that!” she said awkwardly, and the group giggled.

“And here I thought I could be bad at times,” Rainbow’s counterpart replied, bending over to whisper to pony Fluttershy.

“Oh, you are, Rainbow,” Fluttershy teased, “but we love you anyway.”

Unknown to the others, at the other end of the restaurant, Blueblood sat, eating lunch. He was currently in one of his disguises, that of a brick-red unicorn stallion with a white mane and a cutie mark of interlinked circles. As Circlesong, he’d eaten here a number of times. It was a good way to put his ear to the ground, in a manner of speaking, to discover and find out about what he couldn’t hear when he was trying to find out what threatened the kingdom. Even merchants and traders had to eat, and that meant restaurants, and just like that, merchants and traders had loose lips.

But right now, it was all he could do to concentrate on his own food. All he could do was to steal looks at the humans with Twilight and his fellow ponies…and to hope that one particular one was with them. But she wasn’t.

Why was that? And more importantly, why wasn’t she?

“Thanks for waiting!” Rubbing her head, Octavia Melody slipped into the chair across from him. She already knew about this disguise, as she did many others, and it didn’t matter now, as the earth mare had a splitting headache.

He immediately cast the all-too familiar spell. “I thought you promised me that you were going to take it easy, Octy.”

“Well, I did sleep in the other day when I was at your place. And I appreciate you bringing me breakfast, even after I offered to cook.”

He felt relieved by that; it had gotten him out of a messy explanation. “You needed your rest. You were obviously working too hard on your project. By the way, I took the time to order your usual.”

She smiled. “I owe you, you know that? For everything.”

“We’re family, are we not?” he told her. “You know I would take care of you.”

She nodded. “Well, let’s just forget about everything right now and just relax. Thanks to the overwhelming interest of Princess Sunset’s coronation, things have gotten so busy, they’ve had to push everything back an extra day, which gives me one more day to practice. I just hope I survive the ordeal,” she groaned.

“And it is a pleasure as always for you to spend time with us, Your Majesty.” An aged mare stood by the door to the orphanage; though normally she would have bowed, both age and the insistence of her visitor had convinced her otherwise. “It is always an honor to have you come here to the South Canterlot Foals’ Home,” she said, a genuine smile on her face.

Princess Celestia nodded. “No, the eternal pleasure has always been mine, Miss Heart,” the day alicorn stated. “Ever since the day you and your husband showed me the beautiful little filly that would come into my life, I have forever owed this orphanage a debt I feel I can never repay.”

Dreamy Heart moved aside, allowing the alicorn in. “Your Majesty, your attention to this place is more than enough,” she assured her.

“No, it’s not. I wish I could do for all the foals and children of Equestria what I did for Sunset, but I am one mare. I am at least glad I was able to give this place my personal patronage and ensure that youth that end up here have a chance at a life they deserve.”

“And we appreciate it, Princess.” She then looked at the stranger that had accompanied the princess and was currently talking to the extremely inquisitive foals. “And if I may venture, Your Majesty, who is that?”

The princess smirked. “One who is very dear to my daughter,” she explained. “One that wanted to know where she came from and how things began for her.”

“I see. And how is Princess Sunset doing, if I may ask? I haven’t seen her in quite some time, and when I’d heard the stories about how she and you fought, I’d worried. But now that I know they are nothing but falsehoods, I am eager to see how that little filly has fared after all this time.”

“I shall ask her to come see you when she has an opportunity,” Celestia stated, wincing at the reminder of the official lie she had set. “As for Sunset, she is enjoying her new duties with a verve and panache that I had always hoped for her, and she seems much happier with that than the original duties I had planned. She has built a life for herself amongst the humans and I am proud of the mare she’s become.”

“As are we, Princess, as are we.”

It was then that one of the foals ran over to Dreamy Heart and asked, “Miss Heart! Miss Heart! Can we go outside and play with Miss Pinkie?” As the foal asked, it was already clear that was the intent of the other foals, as they were both pushing and dragging Pinkie, who was clearly amused at their attention.

“Miss Pie, if you don’t mind?” the princess asked. “It will give me a brief moment or two to catch up on business here in the orphanage.”

“No, Princess, I don’t mind at all,” Pinkie said, reaching down to pick up one particularly young one that looked like she was slightly overwhelmed by the older foals. “I like kids, human or otherwise.”

“Thank you.”

“No, it’s not a problem!” Pinkie said, a wide smile on her face. “Like I said, I like kids.”

With that, she walked out into the orphanage’s spacious backyard, where there were swings and slides and a dozen fillies and colts following her. As they stepped onto the grass, she turned and asked, “So, what do you want to do?”

The answer to that was a billion questions asked at once, a cacophony of the type that only overexcited children could create. Pinkie gave them all a sweet smile; they were happy and it was infectious. It reminded her briefly of her childhood at Riverstone Elementary and how she loved the school. Unfortunately, the school no longer existed, as it was old and eventually replaced by Greengrass Elementary, a few blocks down from where the old Riverstone site was. At least the site was now a park, and some of the buildings repurposed into a community center.

Finally, one shy little filly with a bright blue coat and a red mane came up to her and tugged on her pants. “Miss Human?” she said softly. “Will you tell me a story?”

“Valley, nobody wants to hear a story!” a colt with a dark green coat and an unruly yellow mane commented. “Ugh! Stories are filled with flowery princesses and tea parties and stuff like that!”

“Stories are good, Rockwall!” Valley countered.

“Are not!”

“Are too!”

“Are not!”

“Are too!”

“Waitaminit!” Pinkie interjecting, an idea coming to her mind. “How would you like to hear a story from my world? And yes, it has a princess in it…but it’s Princess Sunset!”

A couple dozen eyes suddenly looked at Pinkie in wide-eyed wonder. “Really?” they asked in unison.

“Yup! And it’s a story filled with action and good guys winning the day!” Sitting down on the grass, she patted the earth in front of her, and instantly the foals listened, wondering what this was going to be about.

“Ith it really a thtory about Princeth Thunthet?” a little colt with thick glasses and a clear lisp asked.

Pinkie nodded. “Yup! I was there and watched it all.” Inwardly, even though the teen winced at those horrific memories, she wanted to give the foals an understanding of the world, and so she would heavily embellish the story. After all, they didn’t need to know what that bastard Divine Right had nearly done to her world and how his hubris had come close to bringing hell on Earth. “So why don’t you sit right on down and let Auntie Pinkie tell you about how Princess Sunset beat the demon Chernabog!”

After being delayed due to a couple of other trains being at platforms awaiting debarking, the Friendship Express finally arrived at its appointed location. As Applejack and Boomer got off the train, they were met with a press of crowds, the onslaught of ponies so deep that a guard in his dress uniform and one of the legendary Bearers weren’t noticed at all as they tried to move through the crowd.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Canterlot this crowded,” Boomer said. “I mean, it’s always been busy, but….”

“Yeah, Ah getcha, sugarcube,” Applejack agreed. “Maybe we c’n find a taxi that’ll take us t’ the palace?”

“I’m afraid not,” an older pony at her side commented. An earth stallion with a plum coat, caramel mane and kind brown eyes, he held a cane and was seated on two large steamer trunks that looked as though he’d somehow managed to drag here himself. He had a build that once hinted at great strength, but that it had been stolen from him by the rigors of age. “Apparently, because the Guard had to put in some new traffic rules because of the crowds,” the pony told her, “the taxi stand’s been moved from the front of the station to about two blocks away. Kinda annoying, especially to an oldtimer like me, with my luggage.” He groaned. “If it wasn’t for my rheumatism, I’d probably walk the whole way without a problem. Sadly, I’m just not as young as I used to be.”

“Why are you here, sir?” Boomer asked.

“Ah, well, unlike the rest, I’m not here for Princess Sunset’s coronation, though I wouldn’t mind seeing it,” he told them. “Actually, I’m here to visit my daughter, son-in-law and grandfoals. Getting on up in years, and with the missus now gone, I don’t get much chance to travel anymore. Honestly, they’ve been trying to get me to move in with them, but then I’d have to leave my home. And I got too many memories there, you know?”

“Well, Ah would think that they’d be here t’ help ya, sir,” Applejack ventured, seeing nopony around that looked like they were coming towards them.

“Well….” A sheepish look came onto his face. “Ah…kinda didn’t tell them I was coming. They worry enough about me as is, and I want Wind Honey and her family not to fret anymore.”

Applejack looked at Boomer, and a silent agreement was shared between them. Grabbing the larger trunk by her teeth, Applejack slung it onto her back. “Boomer, make sure th’ straps ‘re on good an’ tight, else they’ll chafe,” she reminded him.

“Sure thing. After that, you can slip the other one on me,” he told her.

The old stallion looked at them both with surprise. “No, no, you don’t have to go that far for an old coot like me—”

“Sir, Ah wuz raised t’ respect yer elders, an’ that’s what Ah’m gonna do,” she told him. “B’sides, it’s clear ya care ‘bout yer family, an’ as an Apple, Ah know ain’t nothin’ more important than family.”

“Are you sure about this? I don’t want to take you out of your way, Miss, especially since you and your coltfriend seem to be here on official business.” When Boomer looked at the old stallion, he smiled. “I used to be in the Army when I was your age, kid, stationed at Fort Baltimare. That’s where I met my dearest wife.” A smile of sweet nostalgia came over his face. “But anyway, I couldn’t impose, Sergeant.”

“You’re not imposing,” Boomer told him. “We’d be honored to help out a pony in need.”

The old stallion’s eyes widened. “You’d do that for me?” He bowed. “I’m…honored. Both of you, I’m honored beyond words.”

“Oh, shoot, hun, don’t say that. Ah’m not one fer sappy stuff.” She offered a hoof. “Just call me Applejack, an’ Ah’m okay with that. An’ this here’s Boomer,” she said, gesturing to her companion as he flipped the second steamer chest onto his back. “An’ yer name is, sir?”

The old stallion bumped her hoof in gesture. “I’m Smokechaser.”

Boomer blinked. “Smokechaser? The Smokechaser?” He turned to Applejack. “This guy’s a legend, Jackie! His combat magic is to turn into smoke so he can’t be hit; or teleport via smoke! It’s so unusual for non-unicorns to use fulminothurgy that he became a legend!”

Smokechaser laughed. “Well, glad to see that somepony appreciates the good old days.”

“Well, we just gotta get you to where you need to go, sir,” Boomer insisted as Applejack tightened the straps. “Let’s get going, then.” Excited, Boomer took a couple of steps before he stopped and facehoofed, realizing what he was doing. “Oh, crap – this is going to affect your meeting up with the others, isn’t it, Jackie?”

Applejack shook her head. “Don’t you fret none, Boomer. We agreed t’ this, an’ that’s what we’re gonna do.” Applejack didn’t admit to him that she didn’t mind having an excuse to avoid facing her friends a little longer.

A flare from a teleport occurred, and a split second later, both Princess Celestia and Pinkie arrived at the palace. “Thank you for taking me there,” Pinkie immediately told the alicorn. “While I wish I could have seen it with Sunny, it was something that I wanted to see for myself. Plus, I had a fun time with the colts and fillies.”

Celestia smiled at the human. “You don’t know how much that means to me, Miss Pie. I can’t state enough how important that orphanage is to me. While the well-being and welfare of all of Equestria’s orphans are concerns of mine, there is only one that gave me my beloved daughter.”

“I know. And now I’m indebted to them as well: without Mrs. Heart, I wouldn’t have the girl I love in my life,” Pinkie said. “I don’t know how often I’ll be here in Equestria, but you have my word that if you need me to go help out at the orphanage, I’ll do so. It’s a Pinkie Promise.”

“I would expect nothing less of my daughter’s Swordbearer,” Celestia said, coming to a stop. “Miss Pie…Pinkie…I know I said this before, but I don’t feel I can express this enough: The path you are walking will be a difficult one. Time is an immortal’s greatest ally…and heaviest burden.”

Pinkie opened her mouth to interject, but Celestia continued unabated. “Yes, you will not be a true immortal, but functionally there isn’t much difference. The more time passes for those of us who are ageless, the more we are weighted down by loneliness as those we care about pass on without us.” Celestia sighed, “There have been moments in my life where I considered simply allowing the weight of time to crush me, so that I would join the countless many that I’ve lost. So I’d at least know peace.”

Seeing the scared, lost look on the girl’s face before her, Celestia gently lifted her chin and held her gaze. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you have to know: Destiny is not an ironclad track you must move along like a train. It’s…more like a road that’s been paved for you. Whether you choose to follow that road is up to you.”

Pinkie and Celestia held each other’s gaze, time seeming meaningless in that moment – fitting for a pair of ageless beings.

“What made you keep going?” Pinkie finally asked. “You’re thousands of years old, right? So why haven’t you let go of that weight?”

The solar alicorn was quiet for a time before she answered, “Others were depending on me.”

“Then that’s where I’ll find my strength,” Pinkie answered with an immediate certainty that surprised Celestia, though the alicorn didn’t show it. “If the burden of time is as heavy as you say, then Sunny will need me by her side more than anything.” Then with a resigned smile, she added, “We’ll find strength in each other.”

Princess Celestia looked at the girl, who in turn looked at her. Blue and lilac eyes met, and within them was an understanding.

“You are far more than what I thought you were, Pinkie,” Celestia said with a smile. “You are more than I could have ever hoped for in a spouse for my daughter. Just…don’t hurt Sunset. It’s all I ask.”

“To do that would be to hurt myself a thousand times over,” Pinkie replied with a sincerity that Celestia knew was unshakable.

“Well then,” Celestia commented after a second as an impish grin came to her face. “I believe there’s something else you may wish to see. Another place that’s somewhat important to my filly’s life.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Even after all these years, there’s still a burn mark in the kitchen from the time she blew it up while trying to steal some cookies after they were baked. Care to see?”

The grin on Pinkie’s face was nearly serene. “Oh, please, lead the way!”

In the office that was assigned to them, Softwing finished up the rest of her paperwork, then looked at the time. It was already close to late afternoon, which meant that she had just enough time to get some of this paperwork over to the other offices before she closed shop for the day. After that, she would have to make it to her appointment with the Royal Facilities Caretaker Agency; as she would be living on Earth most of her time now, she would have to have her apartment here watched over and the RFCA would assign a maid to come by the apartment once a week to take care of the place in case Softwing had to stay back in Canterlot for an extended period. After that, she had to return to her bedroom in the palace to figure out what to wear for tonight.

And that’s going to be a challenge in and of itself, she realized. Because she had to be at the ball tonight as well, she’d had a dress prepared, but the dress had been for her griffoness form. Given her rising profile, many of the more important members of griffin society in Equestria were paying attention to her; in truth, yesterday afternoon while she was in her griffin form she’d happened to run into Capt. Gallard, one of the Navy’s top combat fliers and the Commanding Officer of the Thunderheads, Equestria’s all-griffin squadron. He’d been pleasant to chat with and under different circumstances, she probably would have liked to get to know him a little better.

But now that she’d spent most of the past few days in human form, she was beginning to see the benefits of a human lifestyle. They certainly didn’t have the claws of griffins or the ability to fly, and walking upright was taking some getting used to, but as a griffin who felt she was more pony than that of her own species, living the life of a third species seemed, as strange as it was, more natural. Plus, the ball wasn’t for her sake, it was for Sunset’s. Sunset herself would be attending in a specially-made dress that would convert as she went along, because she would have to move between her alicorn and human forms for the majority of the night. Softwing didn’t have that luxury.

It was at that point that Jewel came in. “Um…I’m going to head home to go get ready for the big ball tonight!” she chirped. “Looking forward to dancing with my sweetie!”

I wonder what Guard she has her eye on? Softwing wasn’t the most versed in relationships, but she’d have to have been blind to see the amount of suggestive clothing and items that Jewel had been using all week. Given that there was a heightened number of guardponies around the palace this week due to the festivities, it made it rather obvious that somepony was clearly the unicorn’s attention.

Softwing smiled. “Think you’ll land the apple of your eye?” she asked.

“Oh, I know I will! We’re fated to be together, after all!”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Softwing patted the stack of documents on her desk. “If you can deliver these for me, you can head out afterwards. I need to get to my appointment with the RFCA. See you tonight!”

“Will do!” Jewel responded as she went to retrieve the paperwork while Softwing walked out.

A few seconds later after the human woman had departed, the mare sighed. She didn’t mind delivering the paperwork – it was her job, after all – but it also meant that she would have less time to prepare for her ultimate victory at winning Princess Sunset’s heart.

What am I worried about? I mean, I know we’re destined to be together! Jewel reminded herself. She could see in her mind’s eye now, the loving eyes that Sunset was giving her, the touch of her kisses and horn rubs….

Jewel immediately forced herself to cast a brief enstilling spell on herself, lest somepony come in and misunderstand. Not that she didn’t want her loving princess when it came time but being raring and willing to go even right now was going to be a problem if a certain pony wasn’t around to share that moment with….

As she reluctantly felt the effects of the enstilling spell upon her, calming her down, she picked up the papers and decided to get back to work. After all, the sooner she was done with that the sooner she could get home and get to work with her ultimate plan.

Between the spell and her focus, she didn’t even notice the prismatic butterfly lifting away from the back of her mane, heading out the window.

“And I want to thank you again for escorting me to my daughter’s place,” Smokechaser told Boomer and Applejack. “Really, I can’t thank you enough.”

“No thanks needed, sugarcube,” Applejack told him. “Just listening to yer stories while walkin’ was fun.”

“I’ll say!” Boomer agreed. “Especially the one about the jackalope stampede! Seriously, was the town in that much danger?”

Smokechaser laughed. “Normally, no. Even with their antlers, jackalopes are rather harmless. But when you have tens of thousands rushing into town for no reason, somepony’s bound to get hurt. So we had to do what we could to keep them out of Baltimare before things got too bad. I’m just glad some of our troops knew how to play vuvuzelas or we could have had a real problem on our hooves.”

“Yes, but from what it sounds like, nopony except for you seemed to know that a vuvuzela sounds like the howl of the prairiefrog, the natural enemy of jackalopes.”

Smokechaser shrugged. “Just something I read. I tend to memorize a lot of useless things. Anyway, thanks again for getting me where I need to be.”

“It was an honor,” Boomer said with sincerity.

“Yeah, Ah hafta agree with this big lug,” Applejack replied. “Ah l’ved listenin’ t’ yer stories, sugarcube. But we hafta go. Hope t’ see ya again, though!”

The three said their goodbyes and Smokechaser waited patiently until the two ponies walked towards their goals, vanishing into the distance. After a few more minutes of pleasantly watching his two saviors depart, Smokechaser opened the door to his daughter’s home, threw the cane in, then hefted both steamer cases onto his back and walked in.

As he walked in, a young pegasus mare with a golden swept mane and honey-brown coat stood there, holding his cane. “Hi Dad,” she said with a bemused look on her face. “Doing the old ‘can’t hack it no more’ bit?”

The wrinkles around the edge of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Well, an old stallion’s gotta have a hobby,” Smokechaser commented. “‘Sides, I’ve gotta know if today’s troops are just as good as when your mom and I were in uniform.”

A smile came over Wind Honey’s face. “And?”

He shook his head. “Sad sacks, for the most of them. Bunch of soldiers and guards passed me by without a thought. Hmph – think they’d have some respect for their elders. That being said, there is some hope for the future.”

“Oh?”

With that, Smokechaser then began to regale his daughter over running into both Applejack and Boomer, and how they instantly offered to assist, wanting no compensation and having enjoyed the time in his presence. Furthermore, the guardspony acted like the perfect gentlestallion and the mare, though he wasn’t too familiar with her, must have been of good upbringing as well. When his tale was done, he found it odd that his daughter was gently snickering at his story.

“Did I say something funny?” he asked her.

“I don’t know who the sergeant you ran into was, Dad, but the mare sounds like Lady Applejack. She’s the Bearer of one of the Elements of Harmony and a knight in Princess Twilight’s service. She’s a celebrity, nearly as famous as the princesses themselves! I’m surprised you didn’t know!”

Smokechaser gave a sheepish shrug. “Remember, I’ve been out of the country for the past few years, hon. I barely heard about this new third alicorn—”

“Five, Dad. There are five alicorns now; six if you count the old queen.”

The old stallion blinked. “Looks like I’ve been gone longer than I thought. Guess I should check in with the field marshall, then.” He paused for thought. “That’s still Gen. Hammersmash, isn’t it?”

As the train from the Crystal Empire arrived on time, Shining Armor tugged on his shirt collar. He normally wore a suit now as an FBI agent as opposed to the days when he’d been just a CPD officer, but he had never really liked ties. Furthermore, once they arrived back at the palace, he was going to have to get ready for tonight’s ball and change into a tuxedo, which he liked even less.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” he heard at his side and thought it was Cadance chiding him until he turned to see Princess Cadance giving her husband grief instead.

“You know how much I hate wearing the dress uniform,” the unicorn stallion whined to his wife.

“Would you prefer to wear the official office of station as the Prince Consort of the Crystal Empire?”

Recalling how ridiculous it was the last time he saw it, he shuddered. “No, I think I’ll stick with the uniform.”

“See?” the alicorn crowed. “I see your counterpart isn’t complaining!”

At that, Shining felt his fiancée squeeze his hand and give him a look that distinctly said, I’ll keep your secret safe. For now.

As they pulled into the station, the first one aboard was Arrowswift. “Shining, did you guys get the update?” she said to the unicorn.

He nodded. “Yeah. How bad are we talking?”

“Remember the wall-to-wall crowds we had when your sister got coronated? It’s worse. We’ve got all the wellwishers, the ones here to gawk at the humans – no offense – the protesters, the fancolts and -fillies, and everything in between. We’ve had to activate the Crown Office’s Plan B to handle the crowds and right now we’re starting to set up designated air grids. The street grids were activated this morning.”

“This sounds like it’s going to be a mess,” he groaned.

“Yeah – apparently it’s so bad Nobility House is calling in the Church knights to assist. Anyway, we have a chariot outside. We need to shuttle you to an emergency meeting with the other military heads and VIPs as well.” She then turned to Princess Cadance. “Cadance, we’re going to have a second chariot arrive shortly in order to take you and your guests to the palace. I know you normally like to walk, but with the crowds in town it’s going to take you hours to get down to Strawberry St.”

The princess nickered in surprise. “Wow, that is bad.”

“Yup. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make sure that the groundskeepers aren’t rioting in the streets again – yesterday somepony stepped on a painstakingly hooficured petunia bed and the Royal Landscaper vowed ‘death to the infidel’ or something like that.” Wasting no more time, Arrowswift launched herself skyward, off towards her destination.

The human Cadance looked at the massive press of ponies and other species, noticing that some were starting to gawk at her and her fiancé. “Wow, I don’t know whether I should be impressed for Sunny’s sake or worry about her,” she replied.

“Yeah,” was all Shining could say as he took her hand in his. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

There was a flash of light and two figures appeared in front of Rarity’s Canterlot Boutique. Nudging Pinkie slightly, Princess Celestia gestured towards the door. “Go on.”

“I dunno.”

“I recall a famous line that was said by one of my generals a long time ago, Miss Pie,” the solar alicorn told her. “‘Fortune favors the bold’, he told me. And he was right. You are certainly bold – are you willing to go for your fortune?”

Pinkie steeled herself. “You’re right. See you tonight?”

Celestia merely gave a wide smile and teleported away as Pinkie walked into the store, where the two Raritys, Coco and Sassy were idly chatting while working on the gowns for tonight’s surprise.

“Ah, welcome, welcome to the Canterlot Carousel—” Sassy immediately stopped the moment she saw who it was. “Another human?”

“Pinkie?” The human Rarity looked at her friend. “Darling, what are you doing here? We were all supposed to meet at our bedchambers to get ready for tonight.”

“Indeed,” the unicorn of the same name agreed. “We’ve worked on your dress in particular, Pinkie dear. We think the dress we’ve made will match wonderfully with your counterpart.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said awkwardly. “About that….”

“Is something the matter?” both Raritys said at once.

Pinkie told them.

The unicorn blinked in utter confusion. The human, on the other hand, was more direct, facepalming and muttering, “Oh, fuck this.”

Pinkie went over to the Rarity she knew and took her hands in her own. “Rares? Please?”

“Pinkie, we went to great effort to make sure that—”

“For me?”

“Pinkamena, you have to realize that—”

“I do.” Pinkie’s blue eyes met Rarity’s own. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t love her, Rares. You know that.”

The human sighed. “I just know I’m going to regret this.”

In her personal chambers, a bevvy of maids helped Sunset with her outfit. “You are going to look beautiful, Your Highness,” one of them commented as they ran a brush through the alicorn’s mane.

“I just hope that you don’t spend too much time as a human,” another one said. “No offense intended in the least, Your Highness, but this is your chance to look good in front of a lot of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. Just about every available eye tonight is going to be on you.”

“I’d rather not think about that,” Sunset replied.

“Oh, that’s right!” a third mare chirped. “You have that humaness that you’re dating, right? I heard Her Majesty talking with her earlier today.”

Sunset spun and looked at the mare. “What?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? I suppose the Princess was doing the traditional marriage interview. After all, it’s been a while since she did it for Princess Cadance and arguably, given that you’re her daughter, she wants to make extra sure that you end up with your loved one.”

Sunset muttered something under her breath.

“Uh, could you say that in Equish, Princess? I don’t think any of us here understands Burroñeso….”

“Don’t….” She sighed. “Don’t worry about it. Nerves.”

It was then that a knock on the door sounded. A second later, it opened, revealing the triplets in their dress uniforms. “You look good, Your Highness,” Adagio told her.

“Dagi, please not now,” Sunset said in a plaintive voice.

Adagio looked at the maids. “Ladies, if you could give us just a second, please?” The three maids nodded and departing, leaving the alicorn with the SIREN, cousin with cousin, sister with sister. “Sunny…don’t be a dipshit, okay?”

Sunset smiled. “Much better.”

Despite the smile on her own face, Adagio tried to be serious. “Look, this is an important night for you, okay? You have no idea how proud the family is of you right now, and I’m just speaking of our own. I’m not even mentioning your pony side. You’ve reached a point where very few have ever been and you have every right to be proud of your accomplishments. I know you’re nervous, but you know we’re all here by your side – we’re always going to be here by your side.”

“You promise?”

Adagio laughed. “It’s always better when sisters are together, right?”

“I am so regretting ever telling Twily about that.”

“Maybe in the old timeline; in the new timeline we all found out about it because Shiny had the actual video.”

“What?” Sunset gasped and the triplet laughed all the harder.

“Feel better?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Dagi.”

“We’re family, Sunny.” The alicorn and the girl looked warmly at each other for a few minutes before saying, “Well, shall I call the maids back in so they can finish whatever beauty torture they were doing to you?”

“I suppose I should get this torture over with,” Sunset admitted.

“Hey, it’s just a dance, right? What’s the worst that could happen?”

In the basement of the shop owned by Simple Science, a massive pressurized vat began to bubble and boil over, as he was currently under arrest and there was nopony to tend the alchemy works. Seated under eternally burning witchfire, the oversized cauldron began to shiver and shake based on the churning of the internal liquids cooked within. Of course, no soul was there to pay any heed to that, or to the gauge whose needle was currently deeply buried in the red, multicolored puffs of steam venting from the buckling pipes attached to the structure. Likewise, there was not a single being present to realize the hazard presented by the unwatched device or to read its label:

WARNING!
CONCENTRATED POISON JOKE SAP
DO NOT INGEST

A second later it didn’t matter in any case, as there was a massive boom that shook the immediate grounds. Viscous blue fluid spread throughout the heavily damaged basement, while a rainbow-colored jet of steam rushed upwards, through the vents and outdoors.

Day Seven, Evening: We Can Dream

Even for Canterlot, a city prone to spectacle and pageantry, the impending coronation of Sunset Shimmer was a moment that was going to be nothing less than spectacular. Around the city, balls and feasts were held by the nobility and the well-to-do. For those of more meager means, raves, parties and other special events went throughout the city. The capital city was normally a city filled with about 215,000-odd residents, but for this momentous occasion, the jewel of the nation was bursting at the seams with an estimated 270,000 present and the numbers increasing. What would have been an already special moment to ponies was turning out to be the defining point of a generation, something that colts and fillies of the day would tell their grandfoals in decades to come: the moment the mare, unfairly singled out as a traitor and the most hated mare in Equestria, turned out to have done it all for the nation’s best interests and having ascended in that time. It was almost like a bedtime story that adults told their foals as they tucked them into bed for the night.

Standing in their usual place while they lowered the sun and raised the moon, Princesses Celestia and Luna said nothing, merely enjoying the moment in each other’s company. There was nothing to say, as both knew what was on the other’s mind. The solar alicorn was proud beyond words, virtually enraptured at the accomplishment her daughter had made and what would be to come in a couple of days, even though it had been pushed back beyond the original time. As for Princess Luna, she felt a swelling in her heart that was nothing less than satisfaction at her niece’s efforts. No other could have done what Sunset Shimmer had done and having been at the nadir of her life just as Sunset had once been, the lunar alicorn knew well what it was like to reach the lowest lows and climb back to the metaphorical mountaintop.

Below them, Canterlot was lit up like it typically was in the evening, but now it was even brighter and shinier. A human observing from above would have commented on light pollution, but to the princesses, this was not an issue. After all, this was the whole of the capital in jubilation, and who knew when another celebration like this would come. After all, the Winter of Aftermath was done, Tirek was becoming a bad memory left unspoken, and the world was healing from his rampage. Equestria was becoming prosperous once more and the world moved along with it. To both Celestia and Luna, this was the way the world needed to be: at peace, plentiful and prosperous.

Though neither of them knew it, those thoughts were soon to be shattered due to the very crowds below.

At the Kite High-Flying Circus, crowds watched as Sommerset the Astonishing Aerial Unicorn did effortless backflips on the high wire above. What made it so death-defying was that she did so with a blindfold on and a horn sheath, completely blocking her magic off and giving no chance for her to survive should she fall. And yet she maneuvered at the near top of the big tent, moving with an acrobatic grace that would have impressed even the most athletic of pegasi.

Below her, the eyes of the audience were upon her, including her friend Sapphire Essence (who was in the musicians’ pit) as well as the three Hooves she’d invited. She hadn’t revealed to them that she knew who and what they were, but it was obvious that they were members of the famed (and mysterious) Princess’ Hooves. After all, what kind of maids kept that fit while just doing housework? Sure, the palace was big enough to work off some pudge while walking around, but they had the wiry bodies of soldiers in their prime and none of the three sisters would have looked out of place if you put them in the armor of soldiers, guards, Agency officers, or Church knights. She wouldn’t have expected Essence to be looking out for that sort of thing, and she also expected the three sisters wouldn’t have revealed that. So it was just pure luck that she had run into the trio, or she wouldn’t have found a potential avenue of threat.

As she intentionally dived off the wire, causing the crowd to gasp in shock, she plummeted through rings of fire and an actual hogshead that had been set ablaze – Mr. Kite had always thought it was a neat touch. As always, the slim, nearly invisible strand of silk was there for Sommerset to reach out and grab. To the relief of the crowd, she performed the feat as always, grabbing it and soaring through the air as though she were flying. Finally, with a triple flip, she landed on the ground and took a bow, to the roar of the crowds.

She looked around at the audience. In a sense, she’d miss the performing and the entertaining of crowds. It was a decent living and she was good at it. But she had something far more important to do, something critical to accomplish. She had to get vengeance not only for herself, but for those that had wronged her family – had destroyed her family.

She was going to get it, or she was going to die trying. And if that happened…she was going to make sure she took a whole lot of others with her.

Within the grounds of the palace, the greatest show was being assembled: dozens of the highest-ranking nobles and dignitaries of several nations were in attendance, with musicians playing a myriad of songs depending on the area. The gardens were gaily lit, festooned with a billion different magical lights, giving the place a timeless, ethereal quality. The crowds were assembling for one of the biggest events since the Winter’s End ball that had gone on just a scant few weeks ago: the coronation ball for Princess Sunset Shimmer. And by the looks of things, it was going to even outpace the Grand Galloping Gala in terms of prestige.

Having arrived first to make sure that the “emergency clothing repair center” was ready – never allow a stitch to be out of place! – the two Raritys, Coco and Sassy looked around at what the gathering was wearing and tried to figure out what designers were attached to the attire.

“Isn’t that a Kerfluffle original?” Sassy asked her employer.

Rarity took a closer peek. “Why, yes it is!” she said with a smile on her face. “I’m glad to see she’s back in the business. It was horrible hearing about how she’d lost her hindleg during the war, but I’m glad to see she’s back on her hooves. Er, in a manner of speaking, of course.”

“You know Miss Kerfluffle, Miss Rarity?” Coco asked the unicorn.

“Oh, yes – we met at the Rainbow Falls Fashion Gala last year, just before the war. She’s a sweetheart and probably one of the best young pegasus designers around. When Rainbow Falls was destroyed by the battle, Rainbow and Pinkie led a relief team during the winter to help the survivors, but the only information I’d gotten was that she’d been seriously injured. I guess I’ll have to go visit her when I get the chance.” A thought then came to the fashionista and she turned to her human doppelganger. “Would there, by any chance, be a counterpart that you know of?” she asked.

Rarity tapped her chin in thought. “I recall meeting a girl by that name a few years ago, but she wasn’t a fashion designer, she was an artist. Quite a good one, admittedly. Furthermore, she had more than enough fashion sense to become a designer if she so wished; she hand-decorated her wheelchair and it was very eyecatching, if I do say so myself.”

Coco then saw something – or rather, somepony – that made her wince. “I guess she’s still at it,” she sighed.

Rarity put her foreleg around her apprentice’s withers. “I don’t know why Suri Polomare is here, dear, but you have nothing to fear from her.” Instinctively, Coco snuggled a little closer to her mentor-cum-pseudoqueen’s embrace, feeling a bit safer as the bane of her life walked past, thankfully not giving her even so much as a notice.

Rarity looked at her rival as she walked by. “I wish somepony would teach that harridelle a lesson,” she said softly. “She never learns.”

“I still recall the time she tried to convince the Manehattan Daily News that your dress designs were stolen from a Zebrican seamstress,” Sassy commented. “I’m glad that Nadji was willing to speak up and tell everypony that she had made no such designs.”

“Even if she had, I would never have been so gauche as to steal them – a creator’s art is her lifeblood, after all.” Another thought then came to the pony and she turned to the human Rarity to ask the obvious.

Her counterpart, however, already knew what was going to be asked. “No. I’ve never had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting the Suri Polomare of our world. And I may say, I hope I never do.” She then went on to explain the others’ run-ins with that person and how negatively they had turned out in those cases.

Sassy went ashen faced. “Buttons and bodkins! It sounds as though our Suri is quite the hoofful, yours is downright diabolical!”

“Tell me about it,” Rarity sighed.

A slight distance away, Twilight looked around, as if expecting something problematic to occur.

At her side, Princess Twilight stood, watching her friend and counterpart. As expected, the two had matching dresses, just like everyone else. Both Raritys had pointed out the difficulty of making matching dresses that would compliment both human and pony bodyframes, but they had done so. And with the sparkling, shimmering “magic” glitter of both Twilights’ dresses, it made them stand out all the more.

“Twily, you seem out of it,” she commented. “You okay?”

“Sorry Twi, I’ve just never been a fan of these sorts of things. I’m just not entirely comfortable like this. I guess you could say I’m informal—”

“Or more comfortable at home with a book?” the princess ventured.

“Swap ‘book’ for ‘iPad’ and you’re probably right,” the teen laughed.

“Well, if you’d like, after this is over, the girls and I usually head to Pony Joe’s for some donuts and coffee. You’re more than welcome to join us.”

“Think I might just do that. I mean, no offense to my Rarity or yours, but this dress….”

The mare blushed. “I know what you mean. This thing makes my tail look fuller, which…well, I’m sure you can guess.”

The human looked down at her amply exposed cleavage, both due to the push-up bra and the cut of the top. Normally, she knew that her parents would probably be throwing fits but given the number of non-humans around and thus the number of non-human tastes, the teen fashionista had gotten away with it, though she would likely get a lecture on propriety from Ms. Celestia later. “Yeah, I’m pre-tty sure I can. What were they thinking?”

Out of the corner of her eye, the princess spotted Divine Right walking in, looking completely resplendent in his dress uniform. She blushed and stammered, “Um…I’m fairly certain I know what my Rarity was doing. I suspected that she talked your Rarity into much the same.”

The teen scholar finally put two and two together. “Oh.” She then saw where her counterpart’s eyes were and put that together as well. “So….”

Princess Twilight sighed. “Look, I’d rather not discuss it, because I really don’t know. Div…he’s great. An old friend and somepony I feel really comfortable around. But I’m not sure he feels the same,” she admitted. “I’m not even sure how I feel about him, though I suppose I could do worse. I do notice, however, that you guys don’t talk much about the Divine Right of your world. I take it you’re not familiar with him?”

Twilight pursed her lips briefly. She didn’t want to lie to her friend; given that her friend was essentially herself, she would probably see through it. But at the same time, the local Divine Right was clearly nothing like his counterpart and she didn’t want to cast anything that would seem like a negative light on him. “We know of him,” she said in the most natural voice she could muster. “He’s…distantly related to Sunny via that complex set up she has with her ‘twin sister’. But that Divine Right was both much older than we are and if I recall what Shimmy had said, he passed away last year or something like that.”

Something about what her counterpart said seemed off to the princess, but she let it go; it didn’t sound like she was lying and in any case it didn’t really have any bearing on the Divine Right she knew. Besides, it was just as likely that Twilight didn’t know that she knew the truth of the human madman and just wanted to spare her any unintended bad thoughts, which was only natural. It was, after all, the sort of thing a friend would do.

Standing there in her dress uniform, Arrowswift looked over the burnt remains of a building, where the fireponies present were putting out the last of the fire. She had to leave the coronation ball early, which she didn’t mind much, but the fact that the city currently had a temporary population approaching one-and-a-half times its normal amount…anything that could go wrong would become a powderkeg of epic proportions, and that she really didn’t want to deal with.

Speaking to the fire captain present, the pegasus had a look of resignation on her face. “And you’re serious about this?” she asked, still disbelieving the words that had come out of the stallion’s mouth.

The fire captain spoke, his brushy mustache bobbing up and down with the movement of his lips. “As serious as Celestia’s tail, Captain. Giant fire-breathing multicolored mouse did this. Weirdest thing, too. Then it grew wings and flew off towards the Everfree.”

Arrowswift facehoofed. “Great. As if we don’t have enough things to worry about right now.”

“Well, at least it apparently cleaned up the majority of the concentrated poison joke essence that was here,” another firepony said, holding up the carbon-scored and shattered remains of the vat. “We’ll probably still have some issues with any concentrated stuff that atomized and got into the air.”

“Hopefully, it’ll disperse enough that it won’t be much of a problem,” Arrowswift sighed, feeling a headache coming on. “Fortunately for us, we have the owner of this shop currently in custody for other issues. It looks like he’s going to have to answer a lot more questions than he expected.”

“Worse than cooking illegal chemicals down in the basement?”

“Illegal animals without a permit, a ton of safety regulations and resisting arrest – one of the Bearers brought him in after he tried to give her some grief.”

“Some ponies just don’t know when to quit,” the firepony answered in reply. “In any case, for safety’s sake, we’re sending ponies going down into the basement soon with safety suits, so if we find anything else out, we’ll let your folks know. But given that we have proof of dangerous substances being created without proper safety precautions….”

“Yeah, well, at least we avoided this one without any problems. Last thing we need tonight is for something to go wrong.”

There she was, Applejack noted. It wasn’t hard to pick out her counterpart amongst the dozens of various non-ponies around here. Since she’d arrived an hour ago, she hadn’t said much of a word to anypony – actual pony or not. The only one she’d spoken to had been Fluttershy, who had accepted her apology and told her that the others would forgive her if she tried to make amends. But right now, Applejack wasn’t in a mood for forgiveness.

So at the moment, she sat by the bar, nursing an apple cider and missing her hat. When she got to the room assigned to her to change, she found a note from Rarity letting her know that the ball gown chosen went without the hat. Given her counterpart’s comments that she didn’t like hats and given that the human Applejack was a guest in this world, the local by that name opted to go without her hat for what felt like the first time in ages. Truth be told, she felt a bit naked without it right now – and for a species that didn’t typically wear clothing, that was saying a lot.

“So, care to dance?” She turned to see Boomer standing there. He’d briefly vanished when they arrived at the ball, if only to talk to his friends in the Guard and she thought that was going to be the last of him that she’d seen that night. But sure enough, he came back and a part of her felt good for that. She knew he was attracted to her, but right now she felt like the least attractive thing on the planet, especially with beauties by the dozen here in the palace. And yet, he had come back to be by her side.

“Ah…Ah’m not really good at dancin’, ‘specially this fru-fru stuff,” she admitted.

“That’s okay,” he said with a grin. “They really didn’t teach us how to dance in boot camp and I never learned on my own. You’re not the only one who comes from a small town, you know.”

She remembered that Boomer came from a small town in northeastern Equestria called Hourglass Hills, and it was just as rural as Ponyville had once been. Hourglass Hills was known for its excellent rose orchards; given that apples were part of the rose family, there were a couple of Apples that lived in Hourglass Hills; her cousin Ballyfatten Apple in particular, if Applejack recalled correctly. And yes, with it being such a small town, likely there were nothing like galas or balls or the like – hoedowns were more the order of the day.

“Ah can’t dance,” she reminded him. “But…Ah’m not against strollin’ out t’ a private balcony fer a try.”

Boomer gave her a wide smile. “We can step on each other’s hooves in peace,” he assured her.

The smile she gave back to him was just as sunny.

“They’re totally dating! But they’re also not dating! And they totally should be!” Rainbow told Soarin’ as the two sat, talking to one another. As a member of the Royal Equestrian Navy, Rainbow had to wear her dress uniform to the ball but was mildly jealous of the dress they’d made for her human counterpart. Attired in the Wonderbolts’ colors, it seemed as if it were a moving flame and had caught the attention of several members of the crowd for its gorgeousness – even if said wearer felt really uncomfortable in it.

“Rainbow, why are you worried about your counterpart?” Soarin’ asked her with a bit of amusement. “I thought you wanted to be here with me, not with her.”

“That’s not the point!” Rainbow groaned. “They should be going out because we’re going out, right?”

“I thought you didn’t want to—”

“When did I say I never wanted to? It was you who said that you didn’t want to!” she accused.

Soarin’ blinked and leaned back. “I never said that, Dashie.”

“Yes you did!” She jabbed an accusing hoof at him. “You specifically said that we couldn’t date!”

He sighed. “No, I said that during the war we couldn’t date because we were both Wonderbolts and I was your superior officer. But now that I’m with a different squadron, there’s no regulations against it.”

“You mean that?”

He pointed at himself. “Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Okay, but I’m going to hold you to that!” she insisted. In response, he merely reached out and took her hoof, leading her towards the dance floor. She blushed briefly but agreed to it, as it meant that she would get to spend time with her guy.

Watching from a distance, her counterpart smiled. “Looks like she finally got what she wanted,” Rainbow said to no one in particular.

A voice spoke, “Thinking about your own future, Ms. Dash?” Rainbow turned to look at Luna, who watched her student with a sort of studious pride.

“Look, Ms. Luna, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” was the response. “Besides, why are you worried about my relationship – assuming I’m dating anyone, of course.”

Luna chuckled. “You’re not fooling anyone, Rainbow,” the older woman explained. “And you’re right, as an educator, it really isn’t my business. But as someone who has watched what you and your friends have gone through all this time, can you blame me for caring?”

Rainbow looked at her for a few seconds. “No, I…I guess not,” she admitted. “It’s just…weird, you know? I can’t really tell anyone outside of a small group of people all the awesome and scary things I’ve been through. I mean, some of it sounds like some sort of freaky story I just made up. Others might even say I’m not smart enough to make up what I’m talking about. But all of it is true, even if none of it really happened in the new timeline…and even that I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around.”

“You’re not the only one. That’s probably what ties us all together,” Luna told her in a sardonic tone. “We’ve all been marked by both triumph and tragedy. And even after we’re gone, what we’ve done will live on, even if no one knows. But even if not a single person remains aware of what happened because of us, it doesn’t take away the simple fact that it happened. That I, Luna, lived, breathed and existed in a world that is long gone and yet never existed – and in the now, in a world that should not be and yet still is.”

“Wow, that sounds really, really deep, Ms. Luna.”

Luna laughed, then took a drink from her champagne flute. “Read enough sci fi and fantasy and you learn how to wrap your braincells around anything, kid.”

Tonight’s the night! Precious Jewel mentally squeed as she arrived at the party. Tonight would be the night that she would finally declare her love for Princess Sunset, Princess Sunset would reciprocate and they could plan their lives together as truest of true loves. As she stepped out of the cab and watched as the arrivals danced and sang, as was the norm for ponies, she laughed. This evening, she would be with the pony that she was destined to be with. She knew it.

“Whoops! Excuse me,” somepony said as they quite literally tripped over themselves to avoid bumping into her. She looked down and saw a forlorn stallion on the ground. He looked a mess, with a brown coat, lilac eyes and green mane and tail. His glasses lay askew on his face and Jewel’s eyes wandered over to his cutie mark, noting it to be what looked like some sort of index card.

“You need to be more careful,” she told him, offering him a hoof up.

“Thanks,” he told her, adjusting his tweed jacket. “I actually didn’t want to come tonight, but….” He left it at that as he wiped his glasses on his coat and then placed them back on his eyes.

Jewel looked at the stallion, feeling sorry for him. He looked miserable, both because he felt he had to be here and because he looked, well, miserable. Definitely not the kind of guy she would date at all – not that it was a problem, since her sweetie was inside, waiting for her! “Well, you take care of yourself,” she told him as she walked off towards her goal. “See ya.”

Walking into the ball area, she spoke with several other functionaries and those she knew, and the question that she’d asked all was, “Where’s Princess Sunset?”

“She hasn’t arrived yet,” a guard explained.

“She’s being escorted by her SIRENs,” stated another.

“She’s expected to be here shortly,” stated a third.

And so Jewel waited, hoping for the moment when she could head up to her dearest heart, kiss her and declare that they would be special someponies forever. Then she would take her place at Princess Sunset’s side, and they would be happy together.

Easy peasy, smiley breezie!

Watching from her vantage point, Princess Celestia looked at the milieu of her ponies and other species, all celebrating a moment that was to come soon. And hopefully with that, she could learn to move past everything that had happened in the decades past: her abandonment of her daughter, the temper tantrum she’d thrown when she thought Sunset to be dead and had plunged the world into the Winter, and so many of the other mistakes she’d made in-between. Her life had never been as sterling and precious as her ponies thought it probably was, and if somepony were to ask her in her most unguarded moments, Celestia would probably admit she did not take up her mother’s mantle as queen because she never felt she was worth it; that her sins and mistakes had dragged her down.

But now, there was finally a light at the end of that long, dark tunnel. Luna was back and at her side. Cadance had succeeded at turning the Crystal Empire’s suffering populace to something brighter: the hope of Equestria. Her dearest apprentice Twilight had done the impossible time and time again and had ultimately earned her accolades as an alicorn in the process. New princes, such as Shining Armor, Divine Right and Blueblood had stepped up and done their best to protect and defend Equestria, through means obvious and some less so.

And now finally, the one that Celestia had felt so helpless, so paralyzed against because of her elemental failure to do what was required of her as a mother: her daughter, Sunset, was now an alicorn and would soon be a princess in her own right. It wasn’t forgiveness or vindication of Celestia’s plans, but rather a chance at her own personal redemption.

Unnoticed by the crowds below, the solar alicorn wiped a tear from her eye, allowing herself a relieved smile. Finally, after everything she had done, all her struggles and trials had come to fruition and her family had vindicated her. She would never feel comfortable about taking her mother’s crown as queen, but after everything that had happened, now she could feel a tiny bit, well, regal.

“By yourself, Cellie?” a familiar voice sounded. The alicorn turned to see a dear friend show up, holding out a flute of champagne to her. She’d only met said friend a week ago, but in that time had forged a bond stronger than iron with her.

Taking it in her magic, the princess smiled. “I was just thinking of my daughter and how proud I am of her,” she said honestly.

Standing across from her, the human who also had the name of Celestia agreed. “As my former student, I can’t agree any less. She’s not only turned her life around, but in ways I couldn’t have even imagined. As her educator, I’m proud, but as a mentor….”

Princess Celestia raised a hoof. “I can certainly understand and sympathize with that. I feel like I spent more time with her as an educator and mentor than as a mother and I—”

Celestia held up a finger in reproach. “Don’t do that to yourself. Her triumph today is your triumph as well. She wouldn’t be here at all had it not been for you taking her under your wings.”

As Sunset and Adagio walked around the perimeter of the palace while headed towards the area where they would meet the full SIREN entourage, the latter moved with the casual pace of a girl looking slightly out of place in her dress uniform. Next to her, the former was in her human form, mindful of the gown made for her. Designed by both Raritys, it was nothing short of a masterpiece that would make fashion houses on Earth green with envy: a jade-green number that matched her eyes, with shoulders that evoked flowing flames and heels that seemed to flow from deep red up towards a bright yellow as if her footwear were made from fire. On the gown, a similar-gradient comet design trailed around the torso, with the head of the comet coming to just above her heart. The dress was ensorcelled so that it would change along with Sunset as she switched forms, and Sunset easily saw herself wearing this for the prom. Her makeup was pristine, and her hairstyle had been done up in such a way that evoked the comet’s look, and there were spells cast on it so that both would work in human and pony forms as well.

“So, nervous about tonight?” Adagio asked, trying to bring up some light banter to counter Sunset’s clear discomfort.

“What makes you think that?” Sunset replied in a tone that dripped with sarcasm.

“I intentionally made a tasteless joke two minutes ago about how you’ll have all the kitsunes fighting over you and you completely missed it. Given what Tavi went through, I thought you would have bitched me out.”

Sunset blinked. “You did?”

“Would I do that under normal circumstances?”

“No, tasteless jokes are usually Ari’s stock in trade.”

The golden-haired girl grinned. “Exactly.”

“Oh.”

The two then walked a ways more in awkward silence until they got a corridor away from where they needed to be formal. With that, Adagio paused. “Look, I’m about to go back to normal formality, so I just want you to prepare. Can’t hide behind me forever, you know.”

Sunset crossed her arms. “I’m not hiding behind you, Dagi. You know I hate formality.”

“Yeah, I know. But we all gotta grow up sometime. Even Soni admits that.”

Sunset gestured with her arms to encompass their surroundings. “Soni didn’t have to grow up with all this. I mean, sure, when I was younger, I was okay with it. I craved it and naturally assumed that it was just supposed to be mine regardless. But I’ve grown out of it now, and maybe it’s the guilt that makes me feel I don’t need this anymore.”

“Usually that will do it. Ari’s admitted that sometimes she doesn’t feel she deserves to have a family after everything we did in the old timeline.”

Sunset looked at her cousin oddly. “But you did that because that was the only thing you knew! You didn’t have a typical family life and if you had, chances are you wouldn’t have been in the situation you were. I mean, that’s how it was for you in this timeline, right?”

“Yes, and she knows that. But like you said, sometimes it’s the guilt that makes you forget any logical thoughts. But if it’s worth anything, she wouldn’t have had that thought to process if it wasn’t for you. None of us would.” The smile on Adagio’s face was fond and loving and it once again reminded Sunset of how lucky she was to have the girl as family.

She patted her cousin on the shoulder. “It was always worth it for you three. That’s never going to change.”

“Glad to hear that. Well, unfortunately, it’s showtime. You ready?”

Sunset sighed; she knew this was necessary, but she never really liked it. “As ready as I’m going to be,” she sighed.

Adagio nodded and took one last look at her cousin to make sure that everything was in its proper place. She was sure that it was, but it never hurt to make the boss look good in front of the subordinates. Finally, Adagio shifted her posture slightly and as she did, somehow it seemed to be the terminator line between Sunset’s cousin and her bodyguard.

Finally done, she said, “All in all, looking good. Even that hairpiece.”

“Hairpiece? I hadn’t even noticed the maids put it on me.”

Adagio looked at it once more. “Well, really, it looks more like something Fluttershy would wear, but it still matches the dress. Looks pretty realistic, too: I’d almost swear it was a real butterfly.”

Sunset shrugged. “Well, like I said, I didn’t notice, but if it’s what Rares thinks goes with the dress, I guess it could go with the dress. Anyway, shall we?”

“Follow my lead, Your Highness,” Adagio told her as they met up with the rest of the SIRENs. It was explained that this would essentially be a repeat of the entry at Nobility House, and after which then they could go enjoy themselves at the ball. When Sunset noted that Sable wasn’t there, Sonata helpfully informed the princess that the admiral was otherwise engaged, to which one of the other SIRENs joked that was likely a euphemism for “was currently with his girlfriend”, to which Adagio groaned and Sunset couldn’t help but laugh.

After a couple of minutes the group got into formation and moved on towards the ballroom. Switching to her alicorn form so that she could make the formal entrance as a pony, Sunset wanted to strike up a conversation to bypass the awkward silence, but a quick glance from Aria squelched that. She knew that she had to let the trio do their duty, which also meant letting the SIRENs do theirs. These were the girls that she was going to have to rely upon as the second line of defense once they returned to Earth, which meant that they had to be used to doing things differently from the pony methods they were all likely used to.

Well, if nothing else, the ball was going to be boring tonight, she was sure of it. Afterwards, she could probably just go accept Princess Twilight’s offer and join the girls at Pony Joe’s for donuts and coffee and relaxation into the wee hours.

From his vantage point, Sable watched everything. He wasn’t happy about that; at the moment, he would have rather been downstairs, dancing the night away with his beloved. But because of the number of high-ranking individuals that were here for the coronation, pony and otherwise, the security retinue had to make sure that all was taken care of. While the other branches of the Equestrian military were comfortable with their plans, to her credit, Adm. Tumblehome didn’t feel that same way about the Navy’s concerns and so she was holding a meeting with several of her staff officers in order to ascertain what else was needed. Unfortunately, as the head of the Naval Special Initiative, that meant he was going to have to attend as well.

So here he was, in the captain’s cabin onboard the Space Moment, one of the Navy’s finest airships floating above the palace. Several of the other admirals present looked at him with a mixture of both surprise and concern, and only Vice Adm. Adviso gave him any sort of a friendly look.

Meanwhile, Tumblehome looked at all of them. “I don’t think I have to tell anypony here what a critical situation this is,” she began, the look on her face terser than normal. “While the Army, the Guard, the Guild and the Agency seem to think that we have everything under control here, the truth of the matter is that the city is bursting at the seams with a population explosion right now and despite what Princess Luna states, I do not believe that everything is ‘under control’. It is the job of the Navy to ensure that, and that means every ship, every combat flight squadron, and even those…” She sucked in a breath to bite off a word she’d originally planned to say and then changed it with, “…SIRENs.”

She then leaned on the table and looked at all of those assembled before her. “I want several of our best ships available and in the air above the ceremony. That way when the inevitable trouble starts, we can blow it away with cannon volleys.”

“I’m not sure that’s a wise idea, Admiral,” Adviso stated. “For one, there’s an air grid down there for flyers and I don’t think our ship patrol patterns have taken that into account. Secondly, you did see the report that came from the Canterlot Fire Department, correct? Several concentrated clouds of poison joke essence have been released into the air by a criminal and while the Guild is trying to track it in order to neutralize it, having too many of our ships in the air could be an unknown factor that could turn out to be a real problem.”

“We can deal with that,” Tumblehome insisted.

“Can you deal with the ship’s air balloons getting turned into anvils and dropping down on the heads of tens of thousands of innocents?” Sable stated. The other officers in the room turned and looked at him with various looks of shock, horror and disgust. Only Adviso’s gaze indicated that she was interested in what her subordinate had to say. Knowing he had their attention, the man continued: “While I’m sure that the fleet has backups for this eventuality, what we don’t need is a massive crush of beings going into panic because they see a huge airship plunging out of the sky towards them even if there are safeguards. We’re better off having some of the faster, more agile ships in orbit above Canterlot, with the larger capital ships on standby.”

“Orbit?” one admiral asked.

“Capital ship?” another voiced.

“Most likely human terms,” Tumblehome said, not bothering to hide her disdain.

Sable did some quick translation, thanks to the dry, dusty tomes that Velvet’s younger daughter had supplied him with. It wasn’t of much use to a modern fleet, but the Royal Equestrian Navy wasn’t quite what he would term as such. “In the human world, those are newer terms for ‘circuitous patrol’ and ‘ship of the line’, respectively,” he explained.

One of the admirals, a stout earth stallion named Wooden Carrack, looked at Sable. “You humans are weird. If you just meant that, why didn’t you just say so?”

The returned look by Sable was no less devoid of warmth. “Because I’m used to more modern equipment, such as metal ships that don’t drop on innocent civilian heads and weapons that effortlessly kill the enemy instead of hoping that you might hit the appropriate targets.” He leaned over the table and looked at the senior-ranking officer. “That is, unless you want your name to be attached to senseless deaths.” A pause for effect, then: “Sir.”

“You’re out of line, Adm. Loam,” Carrack told him, immediately pulling rank.

“But he has a point,” Adviso stated. “Think about the incident at Trotter Plains during the war.” She looked at them all. “All it took was one hit from Tirek’s forces and the Inarese Imperial Navy ship that was assisting us came crashing out of the air. Thankfully, it crashed on the farms to the south, but it was just close to coming down on the entire town. Do you think we can afford for multiple ships – our own, no less – to do that when Canterlot is the busiest it’s ever been?” She turned to Tumblehome. “Given his unusual experience, Adm. Loam has a point of view on warfare that we don’t have, ma’am. Perhaps it would be best if we followed his recommendations.”

“Or perhaps it would be best if you left it to the fleet experts,” Tumblehome replied. “After all, you’re just an administrative officer, and Adm. Loam…well, we all know where his bestial level of expertise lies.”

“That’s enough.” The words, though spoken softly, cut through the room and they all turned to look at Princess Luna, who had appeared when they least expected. She looked at all of them, pausing only to give the slightest of approving nods to both Sable and Adviso. “They have a point and if I am to countermand your order, Adm. Tumblehome, then I will do so. Have only two or three of your best ships in the area, and that should suffice. Have the remainder in circuit around the mountain range just to be on the safe side. I believe between the ground services and the SIRENs, we should be safe.”

“But—”

The night alicorn all but glared at Tumblehome. “If we need further firepower, then our fleet will be within striking distance. Although given the current state of things, should we end up in a situation where the ships are needed, we are in far worse straits than expected.”

“But Your Highness—”

“I would rather risk the lesser coverage than to risk the necks of countless civilians. Can you absolutely guarantee without a doubt that nothing will go wrong with the ships, Admiral? Do you have a special precognition that we alicorns are missing, perhaps?” A smirk flitted on her face. “Perhaps you could tell us more about this?”

Tumblehome’s eyes briefly narrowed before she took a breath. Turning to Carrack, she said, “Per Princess Luna’s orders, pull the fleet back to a safer distance. Leave the Allures, the Golden Atoms and the Galaxidion in circuit around Canterlot with the Space Moment directly above. This way we have adequate protection.” She turned to look at Sable. “Do you have any other suggestions, Adm. Loam?”

“No, ma’am,” he replied. “Fleet organization isn’t my forte so much as special operations are. For that, I assure you even if the SIRENs are in a parade status, we’ll be ready to move should something go down.”

Princess Luna nodded. “Then if that is that, I suggest you all head down to the ball. After all, that is, as my sister would say, where the real action is going on.”

As they arrived at the ball, Sunset felt a little odd. For some reason, she felt as though something was ending. Like a change in the weather, or the end of a beloved TV show…which was weird, as she was never really much of a television viewer. The air felt as though it was filled with change, and something in the back of her mind felt as if something was gnawing on her soul.

Maybe it’s just the nervousness, she wondered. Sure, that had to be it. She’d been on nerves for the past couple of days, ever since the practice to become a princess had started in full. It wasn’t as though her mother and aunt were planning to drop the rulership of the nation on her and then just hightail it to Silver Shoals, leaving her holding the bag, right? What was she worried about?

As the SIRENs fell into their positions and brought their swords to the honor position, the answer, she decided, was: plenty. Here she was, solo on the stage and finally ready to assume her position as a future princess of Equestria. She was already used to being the Alicorn of Earth and the protector of humanity; to some degree, she could even argue that she was okay now with being a princess (even if in pretense) of France. But the doubts of unworthiness to being called Princess of Equestria™ weighed on her like nothing else. If anything, she needed something to take her mind off the nagging doubt.

Arriving later to the party than she’d intended, Pinkie felt a giddy excitement in the air. She was taking a step that felt far beyond what she probably would have done under normal circumstances, but things weren’t normal anymore. She was Sunset’s Sword and Sunset’s heart, and she had to act those roles – both for Sunset’s sake and her own.

It was odd, though: she hadn’t expected Sunset’s mother – Princess Celestia, that is – to have accepted them. Not that she was expecting to run into problems, there; after all, she knew that she had the unspoken consent of Sunset’s adopted mother. But with the blessing of the alicorn that had been so instrumental to the life of the woman she loved, Pinkie felt as though every ray of the star of love was shining down upon her.

“Pinkie?” Pinkie turned and saw Twilight walking towards her, and she did not look happy. “What—”

“Twily, no. I know what you’re going to say. I have to do this. I love your sister, and I have to do this. For both of us.”

The other teen looked her up and down as if she’d lost her mind. “Pinkie, we’ve known each other for a while now and I think you’re making a mistake.”

“Then it’s my mistake to make, Twily. Please, don’t interfere.”

“I’m not, Pinkie. I just think this is a bad time. Now is not the time to send a signal.”

“Au contraire – now is the time to do so.” The look in Pinkie’s blue eyes was filled with a bevy of unreadable emotions. “I would never hurt her. I would die a thousand times over before I let that happen.” She reached out and took her future sister-in-law’s hands in hers. “Twily, if our friendship means anything, believe in me.”

“I do, Pinkie. I just….” Twilight sighed and wordlessly walked away.

Both of them knew there were other things that remained unspoken, and as the plum-haired teen melted into the crowd, Pinkie gave both a silent apology and offer of thanks to her. Twilight had backed down in order to let the cotton-candy-haired girl do what had to be done.

As she continued to look for Sunset in the crowd, she could only hope that she would prove worthy of the gesture of faith that her friend had given her.

Sunset suddenly felt a flare at the side of her head, as though she’d been bitten or stung, or jabbed with a sharp needle for just a second, and she wondered, oddly if for just one second that headpiece she wore was anything but. A burning seemed to filter in her head and her vision swam for just the tiniest second…

She took a wobbly step forward as she moved through the final part of the sword arch, and as the other SIRENs fell into their parade rest position, she could instantly feel Adagio moving to her side.

“You okay?” Sunset saw not the eyes of her protector but instead that of her cousin and in that moment, she felt relief. She didn’t want the military formality right now and thankfully Adagio knew that.

“Yeah, I just felt dizzy for a moment,” she replied. “Thanks, Dagi.”

“No worries. I know you have to go up and make a statement, so let me lead you to the riser and then I’ll have someone get you something to drink.”

The two went up to where Sunset would give her speech to the crowd before standing and welcoming people and probably dancing with a few of the dignitaries, and then Adagio broke off to find a waiter to see about getting Sunset something to take the edge off her. This left the young woman alone to stew in her thoughts as the crowds gathered around her. This time, there would be no guidance by her side from her mother – a quick look around even showed that if Princess Celestia was watching, she was doing so from a very discreet vantage point. No, this would be Sunset’s moment before the crowds.

As she opened her mouth to begin her rehearsed speech, she could feel that flare at her side again and the brief flashing lights dance before her eyes. Under a different circumstance, she would wonder if she was being placed under a spell of some kind, but she knew better. Right now, it was just nothing but nerves.

“Ladies and gentlebeings, lords and ladies, and distinguished guests,” she began, her voice as clear as a bell, “thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to this grand occasion. It is a situation that I had never thought myself to be in, and despite all that I have done and all that I have accomplished, it still feels somewhat of a surprise to be here.”

Especially since we’re all living a lie, she thought. She hated that. She knew why they had done it, though, and now that her family had put themselves on the line for that lie, she couldn’t separate herself from that. It was ironic: when she had left here the first time, the world she had thought was flawed was closer to perfect than she’d realized. Now that she was here, reaching the pinnacle her past self had always desired but her current one actually cringed from, she now wondered if by doing so, she’d imported a flaw – a very human flaw: the need to spin a lie until it was the truth.

She hated that.

And then she saw the face in the crowd, like a breath of fresh air. A pair of bright, twinkling blue eyes, looking at her, and a smile that was clearly meant just for her. Seeing that, Sunset’s mind and heart cleared as if the clouds had parted and Faust moved over the waters. Her mind was at peace.

She could do this.

Looking at the crowd once more, she said, “Now, I know you didn’t come here just for my sake,” she said, with a smile, “but let’s enjoy ourselves tonight and celebrate not just my accomplishments, but more importantly, your accomplishments. Because I sincerely believe it is the harmony of Equestria and her allies, all of you wonderful beings out there, that allow the Crown and its subjects to be the best we can for this world. And I hope to do so right along with you.” Giving them all a formal bow, she could hear the oohs and aahs of those assembled; they clearly hadn’t expected such a display of humility from her.

Well, I am a changed mare, she thought to herself. And it’s because of my friends and family. And that girl before me.

As the crowd dispersed so they could take the dance floor or return to their tables, Sunset approached Pinkie. “You, ah, look good,” the alicorn said to the woman.

“Oh, this?” Pinkie said, blushing slightly at her attire. “I, uh, just had an idea and I asked Rarity.”

“It definitely looks good on you,” Sunset said, smiling. At the moment, Pinkie had her hair done straight, accenting her blue eyes. She wore a black tunic with red piping and a standing collar; the gold buttons stood out and also accented the golden aiguillette she wore. On her shoulders were white epaulets covered by a field of large, gold-framed garnets that would have been impossible on Earth but normal here. Beneath that she wore a spotless pair of white pants and black dress shoes. All in all, the whole of the outfit gave Pinkie the look of a refugee from a marching band, or rather…

Fluttershy facepalmed, then looked at both Raritys. “Seriously? Seriously?”

The human Rarity had the grace to look completely embarrassed. “I…I really didn’t know.”

Her counterpart, not aware of what was going on, nodded. “Well, for one, Fluttershy, dear, I can certainly say I don’t know what that refers to. I am, as you can imagine, somewhat uncultured when it comes to human references.”

Fluttershy’s own counterpart looked at the part-Japanese girl with confusion. “Is something the matter?”

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy said, crossing her arms and looking cross at the two fashionistas. “they just made Pinkie look like an anime character is all.”

“Well, in fairness, I thought it was an excellent design,” the human Rarity huffed, “and I was actually quite impressed with what I thought was Pinkie’s admirable…restraint…in coming up with an outfit. Typically she sticks to the t-shirt and jeans range that she usually inhabits.”

“And you didn’t think that was off?”

“Well, I….” Rarity blushed and buried her face in her hands. “No,” she squeaked between fingers after a few seconds of utter mortification.

Fluttershy facepalmed again and shook her head. 「私は正直にこのたわごとを信じない,」 she sighed.

“It’s from one of my favorite animes, one Flutters showed me back in Freshman year,” Pinkie explained. “It was about a girl who didn’t want to be a princess, so she decided she was going to be a prince instead and…well, just watch the anime when you get a chance. Flutters has the dub, the sub and the original Japanese release, if you’re into that kind of thing.”

“So why…?”

“Because you’re a princess,” Pinkie told her honestly, “and you deserve a prince. And because one wasn’t available….” Both girls blushed at that. The response was normal for Pinkie, but for Sunset, it seemed a bit out of place and she wasn’t really sure why.

“So…” Pinkie began, “would you, um, like to dance?”

“You know formal dancing?”

“Of course! I’m a dancer and cheerleader, remember?”

Sunset had to blush at that; she’d clearly forgotten, given the year they’d had and everything they’d been through, her mind had been more towards Pinkie’s other abilities, not the least of which were the ones she got as a result of her magic exposure. “I’m sorry, I’d forgotten.”

“It’s okay,” Pinkie said with a smile. “But would you like to?”

“I…sure.” Sunset, much to the surprise of the guests assembled, changed to her human form and taking Pinkie’s hand, was led to the dance floor.

“Let me lead,” Pinkie said. “I know both the guy and the girl’s parts,” she commented breezily as she slipped an arm around the flame-haired girl and the two began to twirl around in something out of a fantasy-fueled dream. Thanks to her dress, Sunset seemed to sparkle like her name, while thanks to Pinkie’s attire, she lent a princely, regal look to the pair. After a few, the audience gathered looked on in awe as the princess and her knight danced the night away, clearly more between them than what it seemed.

As for Sunset, she felt the burning at the side of her head again and her mental alarm bells went off. This wasn’t nervousness, this was a—

And then she saw it.

The most beautiful thing in the world.

Two beautiful eyes looking at her with nothing but love and laughter. She already knew that Pinkie had chosen her out of all the potential mates she could have had, and with many guys – and quite a few girls – wanting her favor, that said a lot. Sunset, for that matter, had much the same problem, but a lot of that had come from her beauty and her money, with maybe some of it coming from her changed personality as of late. But with Pinkie, it was always due to her looks, her bubbly personality and her intelligence.

Sunset sighed, recalling her own thoughts from earlier: if Pinkie had been a guy, then—

~her mind burned~

Her mind cleared once more, though strangely at the same time it felt as though it were clouding. What difference did it make? Pinkie was Pinkie. Pinkie loved her—

~synapses didn’t seem to connect, and at the same time it felt as though something was chewing on them~

—and if her experiences on Earth had taught her anything, just about every guy on Earth was trying to get into her pants just because they thought they could. Any guy who hadn’t she was either related to or wasn’t old enough yet.

But even still, that didn’t make sense—

~Pinkie makes sense~

Something was wrong. Something was definitely very, very wrong.

~It will be alright if you let it~

Her eyes glazed over, and a sultry smile came onto her face.

From where she stood, Pinkie bounced up and down, her tail bobbing in time! “See! See! They look perfect together, don’t they?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow said, ruffling her wings. “But doesn’t, ah, something seem a little off?”

“Yeah,” her counterpart said with a grin. “We need to get Sunny a red dress, a pair of glasses, a wavy purple wig and a deep suntan, stat.”

“Huh?” both ponies commented.

The human Rainbow groaned. “I hate it when no one gets my references,” she muttered.

“Sunny, I want you to know I’m having the time of my life right now. I mean that.” The smile on Pinkie’s face was beatific and beautiful and to Sunset, she had never seen such a gorgeous being before. And she was right here and together.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” A part of Sunset’s mind swore she would have never said that, and yet it seemed like the perfect thing to say. She let out a girlish giggle. Just her girlfriend and her, dancing together in the light of the moon, with the world watching the two of them. It was so, so very…perfect.

“Thank you,” Pinkie responded. “For you, I try.”

“You mean the world to me, Pinkie, you really do.” Sunset’s eyes gazed longingly into Pinkie’s. It felt somehow wrong and yet so right at the same time. Her mind was swimming right now and she felt as though she was on cloud nine and in Cloud 9 – that dance club in Cloudsdale was one of the world’s most exclusive, after all.

She felt herself drawn inexorably closer to the other girl, despite something in the back of her mind saying this wasn’t normal. Her mind however, suddenly felt like it was shifting once more and though something was giving her permission for this moment.

It felt as though the universe was telling her that Pinkie had been put here, just for her. That a girl from another dimension and another species, had been born just to love Sunset and be with her forever. That the girl would always be there for her, and that Sunset would never be alone: she would always have someone by her side, through thick and thin.

Sunset leaned forward softly, her lips brushing against Pinkie’s. Pinkie responded in kind and the two girls sighed, drawn towards one another at that critical moment.

At the side of her head, the butterfly, no longer able to contain the psychic energies it was drawing from Sunset Shimmer, literally burst on the side of her head, turning into a prismatic spray of light and magic as it died in ecstasy.

At that moment, pony Rarity was finally drawn to the ornament to the side of Sunset’s head and realized that it wasn’t an ornament, but instead the creature that she’d dodged earlier that day. “Oh, my….” she voiced, her hoof going to her mouth in dismay.

However, the others saw the liplock between Sunset and Pinkie and a very different word came to the mind of nine girls:

“Oh, shit….”

Jewel watched, horrified, as her heart shattered into a million pieces. There she was, Sunset Shimmer, her truest love, kissing – kissing! – that human mare! Why?

Why? When I finally found the mare I would love forever and…. And….

No other words were said as she turned and galloped from the room at full speed. It was better than hearing her heart crushed upon the ballroom floor like so much crushed crystal and imploded glass. Her mind drawing a complete blank, she was no longer in control of herself but instead let her instinct carry her far, far away.

Somewhere where pain didn’t matter anymore.

She bowled past everypony else as she retreated and swore she heard the world laugh at her. That was her, a joke. Precious Jewel, whose cutie mark told her that she would be the love of a royal and would be a faithful wife, would never have that chance now. Not when her truest love had just stomped on her heart in front of the world.

Author's Note

Next chapter: the conclusion.

Day Seven, the Late Hours: Spiritus Mundi

It was well past midnight and into the early hours of the next day, and the streets of Canterlot were mostly quiet. The bars were open, making bits hoof over hoof with all the overnight celebrants. The balls around town were winding down, and a soft quiet settled over the city as it groaned at the seams, the world in full celebration of what was soon to come. Even if it had been extended an extra day, the fact was that Sunset Shimmer’s coronation would come soon and the young alicorn would become a princess of Equestria in full.

But that was hardly on the mind of Sommerset right now. At the moment she bounded from rooftop to rooftop, lightly moving as she made her way across the Canterlot skyline, her path illuminated by the starry sky above. Sapphire Essence had opted to stay at her foalhood friends’ house, and while they had invited Sommerset to stay there as well, the unicorn had stated that she had to get up early to practice for that day’s show, so it made more sense to stay at the tents set outside the train station that were set up for the circus performers to sleep. Believing her, they all said their goodbyes and parted ways.

However, she was not anywhere near the train station, but instead in the eastern district, headed towards the Great Cathedral of the Alicorns there. The seat of the Church of Alicorns and the headquarters of the Church Knights as well, it was a foreboding place at night and probably ringed with protective spells. However, the knights were likely either asleep, tending to their nightly duties or whatever. Chances were, their eyes were not focused on the night sky and thus not on the rooftops.

Finally, as she reached the great building, she cast a spell, and a thin, nearly invisible line of starspider silk flicked out towards the tallest spire, the central bell tower. Immediately, she began to climb it, not worried at all about the weight, as the celestial arachnids were known for creating extremely durable materials and she’d spent a small fortune having this line created for her needs. Scooting up the tower, she passed an opening that was for the bell tower’s great bells to utter into the sky. A knight was dozing off there, clearly asleep during his duties and Sommerset was thankful for that; it meant that she didn’t have to spend time trying to knock him out, if not worse – a death would definitely trigger alarm bells of some kind. So ignoring him, she continued her climb, up the spire until she was at the very top.

Grabbing on to the top weathervane, which was shaped like Queen Faust’s cutie mark, she remembered the trick she’d painstakingly researched. She turned it clockwise twice, and then counterclockwise once, then pushed back. The weathervane uttered a soft click, and below her, a portion of the spire’s broach roof slid away, leaving a small opening, just big enough for a pegasus or batpony to climb through. No doubt that had been the intent, and nopony had ever expected an earth pony, much less a unicorn, to make their way up to this secret chamber.

Sliding in, she knew she had to move fast. Given the secrecy of this room, it had to mean it was carefully guarded and she was surprised there were no spells in here that she had to break apart. Casting a night vision spell, she began to look around the room. There was nothing in it, save for a weathered, ancient chest, closed though without a lock. Even without examining it she knew that it would have what she was looking for. She also knew the moment she opened it she would be setting off every alarm within the church.

She immediately flung the thing open, grabbed the book from within, and sidestepped the instantaneous spell that had been cast on the floor to teleport her likely into the dungeon of the church. Behind her the opening that she came through began to shut, and without thinking twice, she blasted it with her magic. She had seconds to move.

With no fear, she dived out the opening and let herself freefall towards the ground below, making herself as small as possible so she could reach terminal velocity faster. She cast a quick sensory spell and noted that below, there was a lot of movement in the church’s grounds; even though they hadn’t expected this to happen, it was clear that they were able to react faster than expected. The flyers would be on her soon, and they were already looking towards the skies, expecting an airborne being lofting away from the building.

Well, that would be their undoing. With less than a second left before she hit the street, she cast her spell – teleportation – and with it in concert towards the gem she’d placed earlier in the day.

A split-second later, there was a massive splash at the swimming pool at Royal Canterlot University. The pool was typically open for students who wanted to swim at night, but there would be none due to the festivities and so Sommerset hit the pool, letting the water slow her dive. She pulled out of it just before her speed let her crash against the pool’s floor, and swam to the top, glad that the charm she’d placed on the book still stuck there and thus protected it from the actions of her escape. Now, due to planning and guile, she was miles away from the Church and while they would be scouring the skies for a flier, by the time they realized it was the wrong type of individual to be looking for, she could make arrangements to hide the book amongst her equipment until she was able to depart the circus and begin her true mission.

This book, after all, was the key. The key to her vengeance, to her rightful destiny and to her fate.

And she would enjoy every moment of rubbing it in the faces of those who had wronged her.

Something was very wrong right now, Princess Cadance realized. She wasn’t sure why – she could feel an intense and powerful love in the area, and that usually meant two special someponies were going to end up celebrating said love – but at the same time there was a wrongness about it. In a sense, it was like if someone had taken her favorite crystalberry syrup she used on pancakes and replaced it with crystalberry-flavored cough medicine.

Fortunately, I got back at my maidstaff for that little prank, she thought with a soft grin before refocusing on the sensation.

There was love going on right now and it was a sick and twisted love. Sure, the emotions were raw, pure and sincere, but they were coming out wrong. Had somepony had a spell cast upon them? If that was the case, that was a big problem – a really big one.

She was just about to call it a night when there was a knock at the door. Already by it, Shining looked at his wife. “I’ll get it – it’s probably for me, anyway.” He opened it to find Arrowswift standing there.

“Heya, Shining. We have a problem.”

“Yeah….” Shining said a few minutes later. “This is a problem.”

The ballroom, which had only been cleared of patrons a few hours ago after the coronation gala ended, was now occupied once more – but in a way it hadn’t been in a few years. Tens of thousands of glowing, glittering cocoons lined the walls and ceiling, all of them strobing a soft prismatic light.

“Well, on the bright side, they’re not changelings,” commented Divine Right, who had also shown up. “Problem is, I don’t know what these are.”

“And the maidstaff found this place like this a few hours ago?”

“Yeah. Fortunately, the maid in question was a Hoof.” He gestured to a mare standing next to him.

The Hoof bowed. “Lentando Fury, at your service, Captains.” Wearing a traditional maid’s attire, she looked like a willowy and frail earth pony, seemingly all the more so by her mist gray coat, midnight blue mane and gentle cyan eyes. However, this was belied by the pair of sais she had tucked into her waist sash.

“Not being subtle, I see,” Arrowswift noted wryly.

“Given the circumstances, would you be?” the Hoof asked. “Personally, these things give me the creeps.” She shivered. “They kinda remind me of stuttermoth egg cases.”

“Stuttermoths?” Shining asked. “I’ve heard of those.”

“Yeah. You get bitten by one and you’re stuck with a stutter and jitters for weeks until the venom wears off,” Lentando commented. “My team and I were on a mission for the Princess a couple of years ago and we ran into a swarm of them in the Badlands. I got bit and I was bedridden for close to two months. Not fun at all, let me tell you.”

Something about the Hoof’s words instantly triggered a recall from Arrowswift. “Wait – stuttermoths? As in moths?” She looked at the room again and gasped, “Uh, I think I know what these are, and if so, we have serious problems.” She turned to one of the guards nearby. “Find Princess Twilight and Lady Rarity; if they’re asleep, awaken them immediately.”

Divine stopped her. “Actually, just head to Pony Joe’s. Twi usually has her after-ball party with her friends there.”

Shining looked at him. “And you would know that how, Div?”

“Um…captain of her guard division, Shining?” the younger stallion pointed out.

“Oh, yeah. Anyway, what do you have in mind?”

The Hoof looked interested as well. “I’m quite aware that Lady Twilight is versed in many things as well, Capt. Arrowswift, but I’m curious as to why Lady Knight Rarity would need to be here as well.”

“Because I think Rarity can identify these,” Arrowswift told them, “and if they’re what I think they are, we’re going to need to find a way to quarantine this part of the castle immediately.”

Precious Jewel lay her head on the bar, her mascara smeared and her eyes red from crying her heart out. She reached for her shotglass, only for another hoof to push it away gently.

“Look, kid, I get that you got dumped by your special somepony,” the bartender told her, “but it’s not healthy to just come in here and start downing apple brandy like it’s going out of style.”

“I don’t care,” she slurred. “Hit me with another. Maybe if I drink enough, I’ll forget everything.”

“Nope. What you need is some strong coffee, mare. I don’t make that here, but thankfully the diner next door is open. I’ll go get you some.” With that, he took the shotglass away and vanished from Jewel’s alcohol-soaked sight.

As he walked away, she lifted her head up and stared at the alcohol. Dozens of different varieties, from different lands and for different species. Most of it was safe for ponies to drink, though ones that were hazardous to their health were in a locked cabinet. Maybe one of those would do the trick. After all, what did she have left to live for? The love of her life was a sham, and her cutie mark as well. She would never get to live up to her cutie mark and somewhere the mare that was supposed to be her dearest intended was off canoodling with some strange alien.

Always a bridesmaid, but never a bride, right? Who am I kidding? I’ve never even been a bridesmaid! That was her life, it seemed: Precious Jewel, whose cutie mark was to be the truest love of a royal, only to be jilted by the pony she dared to have fallen in love with. Even now, she could see in her mind’s eye, her being left at the marriage altar while Princess Sunset went off and practiced “look at the mirror” with that…that…human!

Well, maybe if she was lucky, Tirek would come back from the dead and blow the place to smithereens. It wouldn’t be like she would be missed, anyway.

“I just want the pain to end,” she muttered.

“Yeah, you and me both, lady,” an equally drunk voice slurred. With what was some effort, she lolled her head in the opposite direction to look at the other end of the bar. Sitting next to her was the stallion she’d encountered earlier that night. He looked just as drunk, and unlike her, he was drinking those fancy cocktails, with the empty glasses of what were clearly downed cosmarepolitans surrounding him.

The two looked at each other, and Jewel slurred, “The love of my life dumped me for another mare.”

“So what? At least you got paid attention to.” The look in his eyes was angry, as if he had a complaint with the world and it was going to listen to him whether it wanted to or not. “I’ve spent years – years! – doing my duty and nopony ever remembers that I’m here! Do you even know what it’s like to slave away selflessly and not even so much as get a single iota of appreciation?”

“What are you even talking about?” Jewel told him. “I dedicated my life to my sweetie! Me and my honey were supposed to be together like cherries and chimichangas! And yet she dumped me for somepony else! And I don’t know what to do!”

The look in the stallion’s eyes was dismissive. “Then if you pine for her so much, why don’t you go fight for her? Why are you giving up? Don’t you have enough faith in your love for her instead of sitting here, getting drunk like an old painted nag that’s let her life pass her by?”

Something about his words seemed to press her buttons the wrong way. Lifting her head, she looked him once over and snarled, “Well, what about you? You’re here whining about how the world owes you something when it sounds like you never even really tried? What, can’t tell the boss what you want? Have you even given it a shot?”

The two stared at one another, with the same answer on both their minds: neither could really answer the question. For Jewel, it was a sobering thought. From the moment she saw Sunset Shimmer, she knew she was the one that she loved and had been willing to devote her life to. But…had Sunset ever really said anything to her about that? Had she even had more than a few fleeting words with her so-called life’s heart?

She turned to look at her cutie mark. She had always known that her cutie mark meant she was meant to love a royal, to be the wife of a prince or princess, and to be with them forever. That she would be their strength and wither to cry on when needed and their special somepony to snuggle up with when called for. And from the moment she had set her eyes on Sunset Shimmer, she had naturally thought it would be her.

But I never thought…. Her mind swam back to a few days before and despite the alcoholic haze remembered meeting the human mare that had kissed Sunset and how vulnerable that creature had been at the time. The look of confusion and despair that had been on her face and how Jewel had told the human mare how things were and how she was destined to marry Sunset. She now realized the reason the other mare had acted so strangely was because that was Sunset’s true special somepony and Jewel had just talked up grand plans in front of the one person who was living those plans.

Her love…was a lie.
Her life…was a lie.

The tears began anew, once again.

“Hey, hey, stop that,” he told her, walking over and putting his foreleg around her. “You’ll find somepony new, right? Just because that pony turned out to blow you off doesn’t mean there aren’t better hippogriffs in the sea or something like that.” He looked at her intensely and blinked. “Someone as pretty as you should find somepony with no problem at all.”

Bleary-eyed, she looked at him. “Really?”

“Trust me, you will.”

She gave him a smile.

A couple of minutes later, the bartender returned. “Hey, sorry I was late,” he commented. “The diner had to make a new pot and—”

He found himself by an empty bar, with a few bits on it; of the two ponies that had been there a few minutes ago, there was no sign. The other patrons were at their tables, still too busy drinking to have noticed that the countertop had been vacated.

Sweeping up the bits from the surface and then cleaning up the used glasses, he decided he’d just drink the coffee pot himself. Something told him it was going to be a long, long night.

In another part of the palace complex, two lovers were enjoying the moonlight and each other’s company, giggling between kisses and breathless sighs. Both of the two were in seventh heaven at the moment, their worlds filled with joy and giddiness as they celebrated their love. Seated on a marble bench in front of the rose garden and in-between kisses, Pinkie practically felt her worries and cares melt away. She was with the woman she loved and she felt desire, a sensation she hadn’t felt in quite some time, rising within her. She’d tamped it down for so long because of what had happened to her, the thing that Atlas and Cicely had taken from her – and the thing that the local ponies of the same name had unintentionally reminded her of. And yet, here it was, building within her once again.

She felt shame from that, followed by internal war with herself: should she feel this way? This was her girlfriend, after all – she should feel this way about her, more than anyone else in the multiverse! And it was clear they belonged together. The universe had long determined that she was the bride of this magnificent creature, this alien goddess, this woman that meant so much to her.

She was Sunset’s as much as Sunset was hers.

Leaning to the side, Pinkie gently pulled away from Sunset’s lips, pushed ruby and gold strands of hair to the side and began planting soft kisses on the other girl’s jawline. Sunset melted into that, her head drooping against Pinkie’s own mass of curls.

“I…” Pinkie said, partially breathless and partially not sure how to continue. She looked at her lover with an expression filled with fear and anticipation. She blushed slightly, her cheeks filling with a rosy hue. “I want you, Sunny.”

Instead of answering, Sunset gently pulled Pinkie’s to her own, bringing their lips together once more. Pinkie moaned in anticipation as the older girl gently ran her tongue over her own, and instinctively, she brought her body even closer together.

There was a flash of light and in a second, the two were gone.

“Oh, my,” pony Fluttershy said as she looked at the egg-filled chamber. “I remember seeing these when we went to help the dragons when their volcanoes started freezing over due to the Winter.” When the guards had been dispatched to Pony Joe’s to go get Rarity and Twilight, the other Bearers had elected to come along as well as several of the humans that were with them.

“Wasn’t Applejack with you at the time?” Rainbow asked her, ruffling her wings slightly as she tugged on her uniform jacket’s collar. “Speaking of which, where the buck is she?”

Princess Twilight, not wanting to lie for her friend but at the same time not wanting to fan the flames of her friends’ ire with their companion, did the split decision: “She, ah, came here with Boomer, so….”

“Well, good for her, I suppose,” pony Rarity commented, looking closer at the iridescent gossamer casings on the wall. “And if this is what I think it is, we could have some problems on our hooves.” She then related her incident earlier in the day with the nostrum shopkeeper and the butterfly that had been accidentally released from the safety jar. “I’m glad that Sassy and I survived that ordeal, but it appears we will not get off as scot-free as I had hoped.”

“Not in the least.” Reading from a book floating before her face, Raspberry Beryl. The book gave off a disquieting aura and based on the cracked leather cover that seemed to glow as if it were made from lava, it was clear who the book’s previous owner had been. “From what I’m reading here, it’s bad. Real bad.”

“Bad enough that you have to refer to that?” Princess Twilight asked her friend.

“The Clavicula Sombras Regis?” Raspberry asked. When the alicorn nodded, the archmagus gave her friend a sad look. “I had a bad feeling about it when we were called, so I summoned this immediately. Glad I did – like Rarity said, we have problems.”

“How bad?”

“At one point during the war between Equestria and the Empire, Sombra considered weaponizing them. Unfortunately, they don’t do well in cold, so all of them died.”

“Is it something we need to worry about, Razz?” the human Twilight asked, nursing her cup of hot chocolate and trying to type down what she could on her tablet at the time.

“Yeah. According to his research, ponies are extremely susceptible to the effects of an Allucinor Wing.”

“Yeah, that’s totally not good,” pony Rainbow groaned, only to receive a sympathetic pat on the head from her human counterpart.

Undeterred by her friend’s outburst, Raspberry continued to look at the others. “Other species impacted are those with magical abilities as well, especially like kitsunes and kirins.”

“Both of which are in town as well,” Princess Twilight noted.

“Yup. And last but not least, as for humans….”

“We have no idea if we are or not, so it’s best to assume that we’re in danger as well,” the human Applejack stated.

Sonata looked at her sister. “Looks like we’d better go muster the troops on deck and inform the Admiral of what’s going on.”

“Do that,” Adagio ordered, and both sisters departed. She then turned to Princess Twilight and asked, “Thing is, it was just a single butterfly and it was already in the adult stage, so how would it come up with a single egg, much less all…this?”

The alicorn, taking a cue from her fellow spellcaster, had summoned a book of her own: Lacywing’s Everything You Wanted to Know About Exotic Butterflies. “Well, it says here that Allucinor Wings aren’t really lepidopterans, but instead psychophagipterids, which may or may not be genetic ancestors of changelings.” She buried her nose in the book again. “Hrm…fascinating.”

“Twi-Twi, now’s not the time,” Pinkie admonished, pushing the book away from the alicorn’s face.

“You know shit’s hit the fan when Pinkie is taking this seriously,” pony Rainbow whispered to her counterpart, who chuckled.

“Sorry,” Princess Twilight told her fellow pony, then turned to the rest of them. “From what I’ve read, they don’t breed like normal insects do. When they feed on a strong enough source, they explode and the remains turn into eggs. Typically, the stronger the psychic energy they intake the more pieces they morph into and thus more offspring, but on average it’s no more than four or five.”

“Except that Sombra theorized if it fed on an individual with extreme repressed thoughts and a lot of magic, the Allucinor Wing could do something like this,” Raspberry added.

“Wait – something like burst in a flash of light?” pony Rarity asked nervously. The other humans immediately caught what she was hinting at.

“Tavi, Dagi, with me,” Twilight told her cousins.

“Why, unless….” Adagio instantly put two and two together and blushed furiously. “Yeah, I get it.”

The two teleported directly onto Sunset’s bed, the sea of sheets and pillows spread out for the two lovers as they continued to kiss and explore. They stopped just for a second, as if to take their breath and then started again. Pinkie’s hand came up to Sunset’s chest, fondling and caressing, and the older girl moaned, seemingly electrified by the sensation. Pinkie went forward and laid a series of kisses down her lover’s neck and Sunset pulled her in closer, as if wanting to merge their bodies.

“You’ve no idea how long I’ve wanted you, Sunny; how much I’ve wanted this,” Pinkie gasped as Sunset straddled her. Sunset’s body arched reflexively, and with a flare of light, her clothing melted away from her, leaving the redhead in a stunning black bra and panties. Pinkie knew what to do and undid the clasps, freeing Sunset’s ample chest from its bindings. Sunset shivered from the slight chill as much as the sexual anticipation coursing through her.

The scent of Sunset’s womanhood hit Pinkie hard; to her it seemed like a medley of chocolate and wild honey. Definitely a reminder her lover wasn’t really human, but Pinkie didn’t care. Nor did she care as Sunset tapped Pinkie’s clothing, leaving her only slightly more dressed. Hands went for Pinkie’s bra, and a second later a deep red one joined the black one on the floor.

Pinkie’s heart beat with desire and anticipation…but something else as well. This was what she wanted, sure, so…why did things suddenly feel off? Why was something in the back of her mind telling her that the whole situation was off? This was how things were going to be for the rest of her life: her and Sunset, two lovers, joined for eternity, right?

She reached up to kiss Sunset once more, desperate to lose herself in the abandon of her girlfriend’s lips.

And that’s when she saw Sunset’s eyes. They weren’t radiating love, or desire or anything. Her beautiful eyes – the cyan treasures that Pinkie always knew were for her – were blank and empty, as if something wasn’t there.

And then she realized: Sunset hadn’t said a single thing to her in the past couple of hours, instead just physically going through the motions.

“Sunny?” she breathed, reaching out to cup Sunset’s face to get a better look at those eyes. Eyes that normally said how much she loved and was loved, how much they desired being together.

Instead, she looked up at a face filled with lust…except for the eyes. Those empty eyes.

Something was very wrong.

“Sunny, I….” Pinkie despite feeling her body ache with desire and her nethers becoming wet with arousal, forced that from her mind. She was more than just Sunset’s girlfriend and future bride. She was Sunset’s protector, too – and that meant defending her from everything that could harm her, even if that thing might potentially be Pinkie herself.

“Sunny, no,” she said as Sunset began to tug away Pinkie’s panties. She felt her body wriggling with Sunset’s motions, moving in tandem to let the redhead free the younger girl’s womanhood from them. Pinkie’s mind railed at her body’s betrayal as Sunset finally magicked them away. A second later she moaned in ecstacy as Sunset began to kiss her body, leaving a trail of tender touches as she worked her way down.

No! Pinkie’s conscious mind screamed at herself. I need to stop this! And yet…she didn’t want it to stop. She had the chance to finally make love to the one person she really and truly wanted to, the one that was hers and that she belonged to.

But is it really love if….

With a last-gasp burst of willpower, she reached up and pulled up Sunset’s head as it was mere inches from delight. The room filled with a brief flash of blue light, and both were thrown away from the bed as if a blast of energy had slammed them both. Pinkie felt herself soar briefly through the air and straight into a vase, hearing the crash as the ceramics broke.

Ignoring the pain of the uncomfortable landing, she immediately ran to Sunset’s side. Sunset had crashed into the coffee table in the room, breaking it in two from the impact, with glass and wood scattered around the impact. “Sunny? Are you okay? Say something!”

“Ugh,” Sunset muttered, shaking her head. “I feel like I got stabbed in the side of my head, and I don’t know why. Last thing I remember is us dancing and….” She paused. “Why the fuck am I naked?” She turned to look at Pinkie, and her eyes opened wide in shock and horror.

That was not the response Pinkie had expected. Her body blushing fully, she asked meekly, “So, ah, I guess tonight is out after all?”

Back at the circus, Sommerset went into the residential tent she shared with a lot of the other performers, opened her steamer trunk and pulled out a small crystal. Time was of the essence, and the Church knights by now had to have figured out what was going on, which means they would eventually trace the book here.

Moving away from the tent, she rushed into one of the train cars, the one where the trained bugbears were kept in their cages. Because of the sensitivity of the creatures, only the bugbear tamers tended to come in here and right now they were all asleep.

Tapping the crystal, it began to glow with a rosy light. Speaking into it, she said, “I have the book – it was right where you said it was. But the knights are on the way and I need to get it out of here.”

The crystal depowered for a second, then started to glow once more. A tinny voice rang out from it: “Good. Is it ready to be sent?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how much time we have left.”

“Put the crystal on the book and I’ll activate the teleport spell. After that, you get out of there. If you’re anywhere within a hundred feet of the spell, they’ll immediately suspect you.”

“Got it. How do I get a hold of you?”

“Meet me in Clydesvale in a month. That should give me enough time to decipher the book and give you the information you need then. Now go!”

Sommerset didn’t waste any further time. She placed the crystal on the book and rushed out of the car, only catching the barest flickers of light and magic at the edge of her vision as the crystal – and the mysterious tome – vanished. Not taking a chance, she rushed away from the circus’ cars, but not to the tents. Instead, she wandered over to an old abandoned train, where she’d stashed something she had in mind for this situation.

Casting the spell, she winced as the enchanted object – a truncheon – began to beat her mercilessly. It left several bruises and she would end up with a black eye tomorrow, but it would be worth it to cover her tracks. A second later, after it drew blood, the spell ended and the truncheon burst into billions of unidentifiable wood shavings.

Staggering and in genuine pain, she stumbled back to the tents, where the circus performers were being awoken by the knights, who had, as expected, traced the path of their quarry to the trains. She stumbled and collapsed on the side of one, a surprisingly burly unicorn whose armor made it clear he was the one in charge.

“What happened to you?” he asked her.

“You can…you can stop them if you move fast enough,” she gasped, then reached for her horn, whimpering in pain. The blow there hurt like hell, but if it got her out of this, it would be the sweetest sensation ever. “I was coming back from a friend’s house when I overheard two voices. I thought they were locals looking for an autograph, but then they hit me over and over. Said I was delaying them from getting to Klugetown in time.”

“Klugetown, you said?” the knight asked.

Sommerset was just about to continue, when a pegasus in knight’s armor appeared. “Sir Thunderhooves, we just found out the red-eye train left two minutes ago. Destination is Hatchaway Falls.”

“That’s in the direction of Klugetown,” Thunderhooves commented. “Okay, we know what we have to do.” Turning to Sommerset, he said, “You rest up, Miss. Sir Flagflyer will stay here and ask some additional questions just for the record.” Looking at the other circus workers, he added, “Take care of this mare – she’s given us a critical clue towards catching a vile criminal.” Nothing more to add, the other knights rushed off towards the train station to see what information they could glean.

Flagflyer reached over and gently led her to a barrel where she could sit down. “It’s okay, ma’am,” he told her. “You’re safe now.”

“Thank you, sir knight,” she commented, wincing from the pain and at the same time laughing inwardly.

Sunset didn’t have time to say anything as the door to Sunset’s room slammed open and a second later, Twilight, Octavia and Adagio rushed in. She saw both girls in flagrante and then just lost it.

“YOU BITCH!” Twilight immediately tackled Pinkie, slugging her across the face. “I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU DID THIS TO MY SISTER!” Angry as hell, the teen immediately threw blow after blow, not worried that it was actually hurting her more than it was Pinkie.

As for Pinkie, though Twilight’s punches really didn’t hurt her at all, the fact that one of her closest friends had just attacked her shocked her to the core. “Twily! I didn’t do anything! I swear!”

“You lying bitch! It’s obvious!” Twilight cocked back another fist, only to find herself pulled away by Adagio. “Dagi! What the fuck?”

“That’s enough, Twily,” Octavia commented as she moved to Sunset’s side and was covering her with a blanket. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation here.” She turned to the shell-shocked Sunset, who was seated in a chair, shivering from the shock. “You okay?”

Sunset said nothing, unable to even look at Pinkie and that, more than anything, ripped her heart out.

“She’s innocent.” They all turned to see Princess Cadance standing there, looking somewhat tired, but clearly awake. “I knew there was something going on, something twisted.” The alicorn’s horn lit up and a glow surrounded Sunset’s head. “Sunset’s been under the influence of something strong enough to make her lose all willpower.” She turned to Pinkie. “And you had no way of knowing that, Miss Pie.”

Pinkie felt utterly helpless; she was still naked as a jaybird but given the circumstances, getting dressed was probably going to be very awkward, not to mention that she was still reeling emotionally from what happened. “I love her,” she said in a plaintive voice. “I would never hurt her, not in a million years.”

Cadance walked up to her and nodded. “I know. I can see that clearly.” She cast a spell and the bedsheet tore away from the bed, wrapping around Pinkie and becoming a makeshift dress. “But you’re emotionally fragile at the moment and you don’t need to be here. I’ll take care of her.”

Pinkie winced at that; she was being sent away. “But I—”

“Pinkie, just go.” Sunset couldn’t even look at her, and that hurt most of all. “Just go,” she sobbed.

Pinkie reached out to the girl she loved. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not tonight, not ever. “Sunny….”

“C’mon,” Adagio told her, taking her friend’s arm in hers. “We can talk on the way and you can tell me what happened.” The look in the golden-haired girl’s eyes was sympathetic, and it was just enough to get Pinkie moving.

Twilight, who had just begun to digest Princess Cadance’s words, looked at Pinkie with guilty eyes. “Pinkie, I’m—”

“I know,” the girl said dejectedly as Adagio led her to the door. “I know.”

As Pinkie departed, Twilight moved to her sister’s side. “Sunny, I—” Nothing more was said as Sunset grabbed the two girls closest in her life and started crying unabashedly, and soon they wept along with her.

Seeing this, Cadance sighed. “At least some good came of tonight,” she said to no one in particular. “I just wish it would have been here.”

Jewel woke up. She found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom and in an unfamiliar bed. She then turned and found that strange stallion, sleeping next to her. She put two and two together, and….

Her ruination had finally been complete. She was no longer worthy of being married to any royal, for what royal would want a soiled mare like her? She would have to settle for second or third-best.

She sighed; maybe this guy wasn’t going to be a total loser, right?

There was a knock at the door, and a stallion in butler’s attire came in. “Ah, rise and shine, Your Hi—” He blinked, looking at Jewel. With a surprised look on his face, he said, “Well, this is unexpected.”

The stallion yawned and said, “I’m up, Spurlington.” He then turned and looked at Jewel and an equal look of surprise came over his face.

The stallion named Spurlington looked at both of them and drawled, “I’ll inform your office that you, er, will be coming in late today. And if I may be so bold as to say? It’s about time.” Giving them a playful wink, he then closed the door.

The stallion looked at Jewel. “So, uh, hi?”

“Hi yourself,” she said uncomfortably. “We…um….” She looked over at the table, seeing the remains of a magical prophylactic device. They were usually used in cases when a pony was either unfamiliar with or for some reason couldn’t cast the spell, so the crystal emitted an aura that did the same thing. Jewel recognized it as one she carried around in case of emergencies. Clearly, it had done its duty and still would, for at least another few hours, if she recalled correctly.

“Yeah,” he said, running a hoof through his mane. “I guess we did.”

“Look, I’m sorry about last night,” Jewel said. “I didn’t mean to use you like this. I think we were a bit drunk.”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I was angry at the world because my family keeps forgetting I exist. I mean, it’s my job to keep the nation’s museums running, and yet because I’m not as famous as the other princes, they forget about me all the time. I was supposed to have a meeting with Aunt Cellie last night and yet they seemed to have had a ball instead. One I wasn’t invited to.”

Jewel blinked. “Wait – are you…?”

He blushed. “Oh, I guess we didn’t even introduce each other, did we?” He gave her an awkward smile. “I’m Prince Exhibition. So far down the line in succession that I don’t even bother using my princely title half the time. You can just call me Exi. And you are?”

Jewel looked at him, thought about it, and smiled. “The mare who just decided to give love a second chance,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him.

Adagio took a drink from her cup of coffee; it was already her third one and the sun was just barely starting to peek over the horizon. “Yeah, so….”

Pinkie looked forlorn. The cup of tea in her hand had long grown cold, and it would likely remain untouched. “Dagi….”

“I believe you, Pinkie. And I know you love Sunny, you don’t have to convince me. But you know how Twily is. She’s very protective of family, and given that we’re all more like sisters than cousins, I….”

“I would never hurt her.” The tears began to sting Pinkie’s eyes once more.

Adagio went over and hugged her friend. “You had a rough night, Pinks. Probably more than any of us. Just…get some rest. Things will be better in the morning.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe it either,” Pinkie told her. Adagio gave her an apologetic smile and departed. Pinkie waited until the door completely closed and her friend was well away from the bedroom before Pinkie said to the air, “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”

“‘T nev’r is, Dawn-hair,” a familiar voice said from behind her. The figure turned and walked to where Pinkie was and for a change, she was in a tunic and slacks, not in armor. But she still carried herself regally and the look in her eyes was sympathetic. “But yond is the price we payeth f’r protecting those we love.”

Pinkie threw the tea aside and buried her face in her hands as she wept. The figure went over and embraced her, being there for her fellow Swordbearer in her time of need.

Simple Science yawned in as exaggerated a manner as he could while keeping it natural. He was exhausted, and the pony who woke him would damn well know it. It was mere minutes ago that he’d been rudely awakened in his cell by a stern-faced guardsmare, who told him only to follow her as she led him down the dark hallways of the garrison. It was bad enough that self-righteous Element Bearer had treated him like a criminal, even as she invited herself and her lackey into his shop. Now, even the lowly guards of this place looked down their muzzles at him. Didn’t they realize he was a stallion of science and magic, a veritable learned pony amongst the unintelligible cretins that made up this place?

The guardsmare escorted him into the featureless interrogation room that by now had become so familiar to him. A simple wood table and a couple of chairs filled the room, with a couple of odds and ends on shelves along the wall. The large two-way mirror dominated the wall to his left, where he imagined more guards were seated, studying his every tic.

He yawned again as he took his seat. Science wasn’t sure what ungodly hour he’d been rousted at, but his bleary vision told him that it was not an hour most ponies were awake for. To his surprise, the guardsmare that brought him here sat down at the table opposite to him. The guardspony that had interrogated him previously wasn’t present. Nothing about her really stood out to him except for the hairclip holding her auburn mane and the no-nonsense eyeglasses she wore. Her cold expression unchanging, she passed him a steaming cup.

“Drink up,” she told him. “You’ll need it.”

The disheveled stallion took the cup graciously and downed a scalding gulp of the hot liquid, already feeling more awake and alert. “I assume there’s a good reason why you’re getting me up at Celestia-knows-what hour this is?” he asked.

“A little past three in the morning,” the guardsmare replied curtly. “Now, if you don’t mind, I was hoping you’d answer some questions for me.”

“What do you ponies want now? I’ve already told you everything I can!” he retorted. “If anything, you should be arresting that Bearer bimbo for trashing my store and causing the release of the Allucinor Wing!”

“About that: there’s been a new development. We found that butterfly of yours – or rather, the room full of eggs it left behind.”

Science was about to answer but was suddenly overcome by a phlegmy coughing fit. “Wait – room full? How many are we talking here?”

“We don’t have an exact count yet, but hundreds at the least. Enough to fill the palace’s grand ballroom.”

His eyes widened. “That shouldn’t be possible….” he gasped.

The guardsmare folded her forelegs. “And yet something tells me you know that it is.”

Science cleared his throat of more phlegm as the mare continued: “And that’s not even the worst of it: the original Allucinor Wing got to a very important member of the Royal Family. Information has not yet been made public, but let’s just say that as things are now, this is not looking good for you.” She picked up some papers that she’d brought with her and read from them. “Your original charges were gross negligence, producing large-scale restricted magical compounds without the proper permit, and possession of dangerous magical creatures without a license. An hour ago an additional charge of assault with a magical weapon was added when we found a pony in the hospital who was affected by the Allucinor Wing and thus seriously injured as a result.

She leaned over the table. “Now we can add assault on a royal person to those charges, which by itself carries a penalty twice as long as the others. You’re going to need a damn good lawyer if you ever want to live outside a cell ever again.” She snorted. “And that’s assuming Princess Celestia or Luna don’t get involved. You might end up spending some time not in a prison, but in Tartarus – or worse, you might even get fitted for your very own marble plinth.” She leaned back. “I don’t think I need to explain further what that means.”

The mare paused for a moment to let this knowledge sink in. Science tried to take a deep breath, but was finding it difficult to breathe. A bead of sweat traveled down his brow.

After a second, she shifted papers. “However, because of circumstances, the Royal Ministry of Justice is willing to reduce your sentence significantly if you’re willing to cut a deal.”

He gulped, then nodded slightly. “I’m listening.”

“Tell us where you acquired that specimen,” she told him. “Where you really acquired it – we already know you haven’t left Canterlot in the past six months and Allucinors don’t typically live past a month without feeding. Therefore, you had to have purchased it locally.”

“But I—”

She hammered the table with her hooves. “I don’t have time for your lies! If you want to see the outside ever again, you’ll tell us, now!”

Science looked around as his heart rate steadily increased. Something’s not right here, he thought to himself, but he had to focus on what was before him.

“Shouldn’t…uh, shouldn’t I have an attorney here if—”

“We don’t have the time for your little antics,” she spat at him. “We have information that this was an assassination attempt against a member of the Royal Family. We already know there’s a plot to attack the princesses during tomorrow’s coronation! And either you’re a willing lackey of these criminals, or you’re an idiot who got in over his head! Which is it?”

“But I’m not—”

“If you don’t want to end up decorating the palace gardens for the rest of existence, you’d damn well better start talking!” she hissed. “If you have any information about who gave you the Allucinor, you need to tell me now!”

“Okay, okay!” the stallion relented, coughing a little more and taking another drink to clear his throat. Am I getting sick? Of all the times…. He took a breath and looked at the guardsmare. “Look, Sergeant, I’m not a bad pony, okay? I don’t want to see anything happen to the princesses. Just…please make sure I’m protected. My source made it pretty clear that his group wouldn’t tolerate me talking.”

“No harm will befall you while you’re within these walls,” the guardsmare said solemnly.

That comforted Science a little more, though he was still finding it hard to breathe. He coughed up some phlegm and took another drink to wash it back down. “The stallion who arranged the delivery of the Allucinor Wing…I never got his name, but right away I could tell he wasn’t right in the head. Went on and on about ‘the importance of faith’ or some nonsense, and I’m pretty sure he was coming on to me at one point.” Science coughed again, then continued. “Anyway, he had a beige coat. Black receding maneline, dirty mustache and a lot of scars on his face.

“He told me I could keep it for study as long as I didn’t tell anypony I had it, but that he would need it back around the day of coronation. Didn’t think anything about it at the time, but now?” Science was about to say more, but another coughing fit cut him off.

The guardsmare, however, had apparently heard all she needed to hear, but her reaction wasn’t at all what Science had been expecting. She simply sighed, shook her head and muttered, “Dammit, Barkeep, why am I always the one cleaning up your messes?”

“Excuse me?” Science asked, and the guardsmare looked at him, but something about her expression changed. Gone was the impassive, righteous fury of a guardspony, replaced by a look of disinterested disgust as if she was looking at an insect. The change was enough to set off every instinct of danger in the stallion.

“Barkeep may be a constant source of annoyance in my life as of late,” she told him, “but you, Simple Science, are merely a disappointment.”

“What? What are you talking abou—” Science was suddenly wracked by more coughs, and a sense of panic began to set in as he realized he couldn’t stop coughing. I…I can’t breathe!

Then he looked down at the cup of coffee still steaming on the table and realized with dawning horror what was happening. As if on cue, the guardsmare who Science now knew was most certainly not a real guardspony reached into a compartment somewhere under one of her wings and pulled out a small vial.

“All you had to do was keep your mouth shut just like he told you and I would have let you have this antidote,” the mare said as she put the vial back.

A note of indignant anger rose within Science despite the fear. “You lying—!”

She looked at him as if he were a bug she had little interest in squashing. “I told you no harm would befall you within these walls, and I meant it. Come the morning, however, the guards will find you in your cell suffering what appears to be an extreme allergic reaction. They’ll have you rushed to the nearest hospital, and if the doctors are quick enough, they’ll be able to keep you alive – albeit in critical condition – for a few days. However, they’re sure to give you healing reagents that won’t work well with the specialized toxin I just gave you.” She smirked. “Either way, you won’t die here.”

Heart hammering in his chest, Simple Science crawled out of his seat and staggered to the door. He tried to call out for a guard – a real one – but all he could do was cough out disgusting wads of mucus and phlegm that still weren’t enough to clear a path through his precious airway. As his breaths became quicker and shallower, and his lungs felt ready to burst with hot mucus, he looked back at the strange mare as darkness began to claim him.

She had removed the hairclip holding her mane and where once there was a simple gray coat and auburn mane, there was now a dark green coat and a mane of red, white, black and yellow. His eyes widened as he realized he’d seen her before: her picture had been in the newspaper as the pony responsible for blowing up a Guard train, leaving a body count in her wake that was getting longer by the day.

Notorious cult assassin Corner Shot gave him a disgusted look as he passed into unconsciousness.

He knew he would never wake again.

Author's Note

To Be Concluded in:

THE GOLDEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE
B O O K I I I

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