The Equestrian Monomyth - Book 2 - Complexs of Disharmony

Well, it seems that it was time to have that conversation with Luna. The sooner the better. So, after Celestia ended cuddling her little sister, I asked everypony to let us alone and wait outside. Twilight looked at me with a face that spoke by itself, but I told her: "And that means you too."

She shooked her head. The fear was clearly visible in her eyes. But I didn't give in: "Love. Out. Now." I pointed with my finger to the door.

She refused, and instead, she bite my raincoat an dragged me to the other side of the room. There, she made a gesture with her foreleg to me to kneel, and when I did it, she whispered to my ear:

"Don't do this, my love. Alicorns have a powerful enthralling spell. She's gonna take advantage of your concern on her... and she's gonna take you from me..." She concluded with sobbing voice and tearful eyes.

I smiled and whispered too. "Love, Celestia was into me too and she never..."

"How you're gonna compare... her... with Celestia, love?" Twilight interrupted me, slightly looking at Luna, tilting her head a bit. "She's treacherous and crooky. She's gonna take you from me... She's gonna take you from me, and I'm gonna die!" She sobbed below her breath and hugged me tight, tight, tight.

"I'm gonna be Ok, love, just wait outside. It'll only take a few minutes, trust me. Wait outside, alright?" I patted her loin, kissed her in the muzzle, and she nodded, and, reluctantly, exited the room too, looking back to me.

Then, after patting Twilight's flank and closing the door, I walked to Luna: "Luna, we have to talk."

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, pleb scum?"

I chuckled: "Well, first of all, stop calling me 'Pleb Scum'. That's an insulting term. You know?"

Luna facehoofed and gasped: "Oh! Sorry... I... then... how I'm supposed to call you?"

I looked up. Kinda tired of nicknames, actually: "Just Gus will be ok."

"Alright, Just Gus then." She smiled again.

I raised my finger and opened my mouth to tell her how she should behave, when she interrupted me again: "Why we don't get married?"

I sternly looked to her: "Luna, that's Rule Number One: I'm engaged with Twilight and you're gonna respect that."

"That way you wouldn't be a pleb scum anymore, but a Royal Scum instead." She continued, like she haven't heared me.

Really, she was pissing me off, but I kept my cool and chuckled again: "Damn, Luna. You're funny. Hateful, but funny."

"What?! I am... hateful?" Luna asked with crying voice and quivering and tearful eyes.

I stopped short, as I had to be very careful with what I was gonna say next, or I could screw everything up again. And no solution this time.

"I'm joking, Luna. Of course you're not hateful."

But Luna was already crying her snots out.

I made an annoyed gesture "Alright, give me a hug. Come on." I smiled and raised my arms to her, and she jumped from the bed and hugged me tight, tight, tight, still crying.

Twilight was walking nervously from side to side in front the door, until she couldn't take it anymore and slightly opened it, only to see the above-mentioned scene. It was like she had received a jab in the muzzle and her heart was submerged in frozen water. She gave some steps back and dropped in her haunches, panting and trembling: She knew it! She knew it!! SHE KNEW IT!!! Now, the next step will be the two of them kissing! And the next step will be...

Twilight's eyes went up. It was like as if she was watching it: Her beloved human will walk away from the room, with Luna in his arms, and he'll tell her: "I'm sorry, Twilight, but I have a new marefriend now. Farewell."

Twilight gasped in terror, putting a foreleg in her chest. Her heart was beating slower and slower. Her skin became pale. The strenghts started to abandon her. The world slowed down and started to twirl. She knew what was coming next. She had lived it before... She knew... Heart attack...

NO! Not again! She must live and fight for her love!

In a rapture of desperation, Twilight quickly shooked her head and came back to her senses, and almost tore down the door:

"Stay away from him, you bucking sponger! Stay away from hiiiiim!" She jumped over Luna and bite her mane and dropped her to the floor.

"Twilight, that's enough! I told you to wait outside!" I scolded her, after I managed to separate the two struggling mares.

Quickly, Twilight cast some spell on me, and I, quickly as well, covered my crotch.

"Whoa! Easy with that, love!" But my fears were unfounded, as I felt no hit of any sort. "What was that, love?" I asked.

"Oh, thanks Celestia. You're not under any enchantment..." Twilight closed the eyes and sighed, relieved.

Not too long after that, Celestia entered the room too: "Twilight Sparkle. Can you explain me what's the meaning of this?" She asked, scowling.

Now Twilight was deeply blushing: "Sorry, Your Highness. I thought she was enthralling him..."

We flown back to our house, and I was featuring a fake angry expression, and my marefriend was featuring a... truthfully? embarrassed one. She wasn't capable to look me to the eyes. After entering the house, she walked to a couch and sit there, sorrowful. I sat at her side and we stayed silent for a while, until she spoke: "Alright, now you can stop pretending you're upset."

My face changed to a joyful one, as well at hers: "Did you see Luna's face?" I joyfully asked her.

"Yes! She thought that I was gonna rip her mane off! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

And we both laughed, and hugged and kissed.

"Sorry for doubting you, love. Is that, only to imagine that I could lose you... it drives me crazy..." She confessed with tender voice.

"I know. And I like you to be like that. That way, I know you truly love me." I assured her, smiling.

Twilight lewdy looked to me: "So... mind if I send Spike to another errand?"

Unfortunately, Luna didn't take Twilight's intrusion so lightly. Damned Tartarus, she was so close, so close! She tried to sweep off the thought from her mind, but it kept coming over and over and over again: If only the little traitor wouldn't be in the way. If only the little traitor wouldn't be in the way! Her caretaker could be hers, and only hers!

Luna gasped and backed off: If she just 'take out the little traitor out the way...' Her caretaker will never forgive her! He'll hate her, like everypony does, and that'll be it! Luna turned her head to a side. There must be a way she could have her caretaker... Wait. Actually, there's a way that she can have the caretaker! And the little traitor wouldn't be a problem at all! Luna smirked, and shrugged the eyes, enacting a devious plan.

"I don't like that look, little sister." Celestia commented, worried, as it was the look she have everytime she was gonna do something stupid.

"Nnnngh...! Ooof... Ungh..." Was mourning my marefriend, panting and all sweated, while hugging me. I knew she was enduring a horrible pain, and seeing her like that was breaking my heart, but I know that if I left her on her own, she'll do it anyway, and then, her survival rate will be less than 36 percent.

"Agh!" She mourned for the ninth time, while I was quickly healing the ninth ultraviolet ray burn that appeared on her loin.

"How... many... rads?" She could barely ask.

I looked to the radiation meter: "49 dot 3. You know that anything above 50 can leave permanent damage to you. Right? I think this is enough. Let's stop this, please."

"Noooo." She panted. "Just a bit... more... closer."

I waited just a while longer, and then turned off the UV bulb. "That's enough, my love. You're giving off smoke. Are you alright?"

Twilight dried the sweat from her forehead: "How much...?"

"49 dot 5. And that's enough! You're gonna cook if you keep irradiating yourself like that."

Twilight gave me a tired smile: "I did it, huh?" And she fainted.

I took her to our room and put her in the bed. The very bed where, just a few hours before, we had made love. I think that life is like that: A nice time, and then, a hard time next. Sincerely I don't agree with that, but it seems that not even being powerful wizards as we are, could overcome such fate.

I laid with her in the bed too, constantly monitoring her vitals, until she woke up, several hours later.

"Whoa. I feel so itchy. Can you scratch me?" She asked, still half sleep.

I started to scratch her, but I quickly stopped when I suddenly ripped off a large strip of skin from her loin.

"Shit!" I cursed, quickly healing her again.

Twilight looked to me with a cryptic stare: "Damnation. Do you think I overdid it?"

I scrunched the mouth, worried: "I'm pretty sure you did. Did it hurt?"

Twilight looked to me again, but this time scared: "No, I didn't feel a thing. Love, do you think that... all that horrible things that you told me that happens to irradiated people... happens to me too?"

"Well, love, all that symptoms start to appear on people irradiated above 60-70 rads. But that's on humans. I have no record of how the pony body will react."

"Damn." She cursed, scratching her forehead with her hoof, and thus ripping another chunk of skin from there. "Oh no, love! It's not stopping!" She said, frightened.

I quickly monitorized her vitals again: They were fine. Maybe it was just skin burns.

"Well, love, your vitals are fine, and your neo-cortex seems to be working fine too." I informed her, passing my hand near her forehead. "No internal damage so far, either. I believe it's just skin burns."

"Oh!" Twilight hugged me, relieved. "I was thinking just the worst, that I was gonna turn in an undead or something!"

I took her to the hospital, just in case, as I needed to check how the mass firearm production was going...

Meanwhile, in the Gryphoon Empire:

Daybreaker growled, after her ninth failed attempt of raising the moon: "Claws and beaks! What could I been doing wrong?!"

Suddenly, the sun flashed, and fired a yellow bright beam right on the alicorn. Luckily for her, she had time to raise her shield and to close her eye, so she just ended black like a bunt and giving off smoke like a lit out torch, as well as the peak of the cliff where she were standing. "That treacherous pony dweeb!" She blurted below her breath, annoyed.

She healed herself and shooked her body, to get rid ot the excess burned hair and feathers, and, unable to fly, galloped back to Gryphanius' throne. Once there, she knelt before him, ashamed: "My liege! Forgive me, please, as I have failed!" She pleaded with cracked voice.

King Gryphanius angrily stood up: "What?! Daybreaker, how is that you have failed?! Explain yourself!" He pointed her with a claw.

"I'm sorry, my liege, but that pony dweeb has deceived me, giving me another spell! And I fell like a stupid in her trick!" She sobbed.

That drove off King Gryphanius: "Daybreaker, how could you fell on that lowly trick?!! How could you not figure out?!! We lost an entire batallion in this operation!!" He angrily waved his claws and flapped his wings. "And now are you telling me that all this was for nothing?!!"

Daybreaker dropped to the floor, crying: "I'm sorry, my liege. I'm so ashamed. I'll commit suicide to clear my honor!"

"No, Daybreaker, no!" That made King Gryphanius to react: "This wasn't your fault! It was those tricky ponies that drove you to failure!"

Daybreaker stopped crying and smiled, relieved: "Really? Oh, thank you, my liege, thank you!"

"That's right!" Continued King Gryphanius. "And this is the last time those puny ponies take us as fools! Commodore Gomoc, gather the troops, send the word, make the drums rumble! We're going to WAAAAAAR!" He raised a fist, enraged.

Cadance stepped in front of Celestia, who was setting everything up for her returning to Canterlot:

"Hello, Tia. How do you feel today?"

"I'm fine. Well, almost fine. I still be needing those bothersome injections for a while. I hope it wasn't for too long. That needle is so huge! It drives my coat off! Owwwwww!" Celestia shivered and bristled, proving her point.

"Then, are you returning to Canterlot already?" Cadance giggled.

Celestia looked to the sky: "Not today. Past tomorrow..." Then she looked to the clock: "Holy heavens! I should had raised the moon two hours ago!" Then, she turned her head to her sister: "Luna! Why didn't you warned me?!"

Luna was like in another world: "Huh?" She came back from her daydreaming.

Celestia shooked the head: "You know? Nevermind." And raised the moon, among the cheerings of everypony, relieved that their liege were back to work.

Cadance giggled again, and then asked: "Tia. Can we speak in private?"

"Sure. Just act as if Luna wasn't there. She isn't, anyway." Celestia smiled, looking to her daydreaming sister, as she looked so happy that she didn't want to bother her.

"Seriously, Tia. I need this in private."

Once they were in private, Cadance asked: "Tia, I need a very huge favor from you... Please, convince Shining Armor to come back with me!"

Celestia frowned up, surprised: "What? If you said that you didn't want anything else with him!"

"That was before Prince Blueblood took advantage of me!" Replied Cadance. "That filthy swindler, he somehow managed to reflect my enthralling spell back to me! Shining Armor would never have done that!" Cadance angrily protested, deeply blushing.

Celestia smirked: "So, it looks that your silly games cost you more than you were willing to pay. Huh?"

"Tia, don't you mock on me too! Now I'm going to be the laughingstock of Canterlot!" Cadance angrily blurted. Then, her tone changed to a pleading one: "Please, Tia, tell him that I'm sorry, that I need him... He doesn't listen to me, he's lovestruck with that pink mare thief!"

"And do you think that he'll accept you, now that he's not going to be the first one?" Now Celestia was putting the hoof in the sore.

"Tia, stop please, now you're making me suffer!" Cadance was almost crying. "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to you?!"

"What did you do? Oh, nothing, nothing at all. Only screw up the only chance I've had in my life to have a true love. Besides that, nothing at all." Explained Celestia with a stern tone.

Cadance was taken aback: "Then... that's why...? You were... taking revenge on me...?"

Celestia facehoofed: "Revenge? No, not at all. Just. How can I say it...? Poetic justice."

"Bucking you, Celestia!" Cadance angrily blurted again. But she quickly went back to the pleading tone: "Please, Tia. I've learned my lesson. Now I know I shouldn't play with other ponies' feelings. Please, Tia. Help me regain my stallion back. I beg you!"

"He's not your stallion, Cadance. He never was. You just had him enthralled all the time, up to make him to frequently fail in his duties as a captain!" Now Celestia was upset too.

"Then why didn't you say nothing to me?! Why didn't you warned me about what could happen?!" Cadance inquired.

"Because I thought you were happy!" Celestia said. "I thought you were really in love, and that's why I let that be!"

That silenced Cadance. After a while, she managed to speak again: "Tia, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She hugged Celestia, crying: "Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to stand between the monkey and you. I wasn't myself..." She couldn't continue speaking, deep in her cries.

Celestia patted her loin, and after a while, she finally told her: "Sorry, Cadance, but I can't help you."

"Why?!" Cadance protested, crying. "You can! You're his liege, you can order him to come back with me, you can raise a royal decree or something! You have to help meeeeee!"

Celestia sternly looked to Cadance: "Cadance, that you're asking me to do is what a tyrant will do, and I'm not a tyrant. So, the answer is no."

Cadance roughly broke the hug: "What?! What kind of ruler are you, that you leave your own family helpless?!" She angrily protested, waving a hoof: "He's just a common subject! He has to do what you order him to! You're the Sun Goddess! All Equestria bents on your hooves! He has to obey...!"

"That's enough, Cadance!" Celestia interrupted her. "Do you know how dissapointed I'm about you?! At every turn, you prove me how unworthy are you to rule!"

Cadance stopped short speaking. Her eyes quivered: "Me... unworthy...?"

"Yes! You just keep behaving like a pampered filly, using your spells without concern, escaping from the castle anytime you have a chance...!"

"I escape because the castle bores me to death! Is always the same, every every every, every bucking day! It drives me crazy!" Cadance angrily replied, interrupting Celestia. "I can't take it anymore! I want to leave and never come back!"

"Then leave! Pack your useless stuff and leave!" Celestia roared, red of fury, raising a foreleg to a side.

"Tia... are you... bucking me out?" Asked Cadance with tearful eyes and sobbing voice.

Celestia backed off, realizing that she had gone too far: "Cadance... I... I'm not bucking you out. It's just that I've been to a lot of stress lately, and I can't help but overreact. Sorry, Cadance, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Then, are you going to help me with my beloved pony?" Asked Cadance, hopeful.

Celestia shooked the head: "Sorry for that too, Cadance, but Shining Armor is not your pet anymore. It's not like you're going to throw the branch and he's going to bring it back to you like a pug. Do you remember how much did you laughed of him because of that?"

Cadance looked down, enraged: "Then, this is it? Are you going to let me on my own?"

Celestia shrugged her shoulders: "You're the Princess of Love. You'll figure out. And this conversation is over. I'm tired and I want to sleep. Good night."

Cadance trembled of anger, clenched the teeth, and scowling, turned around and left.

Back on her house, Twilight took a bath, and after coming out from the shower, she shooked her coat, to take out the humidity excess, thus releasing countless skin chunks too. She screamed and facehoofed, scared to death, watching the considerable amount of tissue pieces she dropped. She stood still for a while, trembling and hyperventilating, until she could calm herself enough to be able to think again.

"Sweet Celestia!" She said with frightened voice. "I think I dropped it all!"

She was so scared, that she didn't dare to watch herself. With scrunched muzzle, she come closer to the bathroom's mirror, but without daring to look herself on it. She shivered of terror: How she was gonna look? Like a skinless skeleton?! Like a peeled ulcer?!! LIKE AN UNDEAD MONSTER?!!!

"Oooooh nooooo!" She closed her eyes and covered them with her forehooves. What a disaster! Her beloved human was gonna become nausated before that sight, and he'll surely... and he'll surely...! BUCK HER OUUUUUUUUUT!!!

"NOOOOOOO!!" She screamed, crying, terrified by that very single thought. She has to do something! She has to do something!!

Without hesitation, she ran to a first aid kit, took a bandage reel and enveloped herself form head to hooves, only leaving her eyes uncovered.

"That's it. Now, I have to figure out how to solve this mess." She said for herself, relieved.

"Twilight, what happened to you?" Asked Spike, concerned, as he was just returning from his errand.

"Ah!" Twilight gasped and gave a small jump, startled. "Oh, nothing, Spike. I had a... an awful accident, and I got burned, That's all."

"An accident?! Flakes and scales, you have to go the hospital, Twilight!" Spike said, concerned.

"I can't! I just got back from there! They're gonna think I'm doing it on purpose!" Replied Twilight. "And, Spike! Don't you dare to tell anypony about this, specially my coltfriend!" She direfully raised her hoof in front of the little dragon, to make her point.

"Alright, alright, Twilight. I wouldn't tell anypony, I swear!" Assured Spike, scared, putting both foreclaws before her.

Twilight then looked to her library: "Well, now I have to search for a good skin regeneration spell." So, she walked to the shelves, but she stopped short: "Wait. That'll took too long, because regeneration spells takes a lot of time to work! Oh, no! I won't make it on time!" She freaked out. Then, she looked to the table were the life-force spellbook was. But she shooked the head: "No! Celestia told me that are alicorn-level spells! I'll die if I cast it!" But then, she looked to the other side: "But it might be my only choice. I'll rather die than lose my beloved one!" And she galloped to the book and opened it.

But she hesitated: "Wait, if I just start casting this spells here alone... well, not alone, with Spike... which is almost the same... and something goes wrong..." She looked to a side. "Maybe it'll be better if I do it in the hospital. If anything goes wrong, I can be attended right there! There will be no delay traveling from here to there! But I can't be seen... Wait! I know! I'll talk only with Flutters! She'll keep her mouth shut!"

Rarity put off the nurse cap from her head and walked to the hospital's entrace, where she found Fluttershy, still with the cap on: "Come on, Flutters. We're done here. Let's go to eat something at a restaurant, and tomorrow, I'll invite you to a relaxing time on the spa! It's all on me!" She happily said to the pegasi.

"Ow, thank you, Rares, but I'm staying, actually. My shift hasn't ended yet." Said Fluttershy.

"You're staying?" Asked Rarity, surprised. "Why's that?"

"Well, I didn't planned to, but the hospital manager practically begged me to, and it turns that there was a vacancy in the staff..." She looked down, sorrowful.

"Yes, with the death of that poor nurse." Rarity looked down too. "But don't blame yourself, Flutters. It's not like you were taking her place... I mean..."

"Yeah. I know what you mean. Besides, the payment is good. Maybe the management raised it so I stayed."

Both mares giggled.

Rarity facehoofed: "But Flutters, then your work as an animal caretaker, how you're going to manage it?"

Fluttershy looked back: "Well, even if I was willing to help each and every animal, it turns that there are just too many of them, and I'm only one." She turned back the head to face Rarity. "It was an exhausting and neverending job, not to mention that some of the diets weren't of my liking. The otters, for example, they eat fish, and I'm not going to fish to fed them. No way." She slowly shooked the head. "Thus, I decided to teach the animals how to survive on their own. Like an animal school." She smiled with tenderness. "That way, I'll have plenty of time for me and my coltfriend!"

Rarity opened the mouth, happily amazed: "You've made it official?! Wow! That's so great! I'm so happy for you, darling!"

"Rarityyyyyy!" A filly's voice was heard.

"Sweetie Belle, dear!" Rarity smiled. "You've come!" The sisters hugged each other.

"Rarity, you're Ok! I was so worried!"

"And me too, Sweetie. With who you came?"

"With miss Cherilee, Big Mac and Applebloom. Miss Cherilee said that it was already safe to go back to town, so I wanted to stay with you this weekend. Can I?"

"Of course, darling. All the time you want." Rarity nodded.

"Well, it looks that you'll have to postpone that trip to the spa." Giggled Fluttershy.

"Aha." Confirmed Rarity, smiling.

After visiting their respective sisters, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom met each other:

"Hi, Applebloom! How's your sister?"

"She's almost fine, thanks. The doctor said she'll be released tomorrow... Hummm, Sweets, hav' ya seen Scoots? Ah havn't seen her from four days ago."

"Me neither. I'm worried. Do you think we should pay a visit to her?"

"Ar' ya sure? Ah think she's still mad with us because..."

"Well, Apples, we maybe not be Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore, but we are still friends, no?"

"Yar right!"

They happily galloped in direction of Scootaloo's last known hideout, somewhere at the town's outskirts, but they found her on their way, riding her scooter like she had seen a ghost: "Girls, girls! Don't go that way! There's a monster there, I tell you!"

The other two fillies stopped short and gasped, scared.

"But if miss Cherilee said it was safe to come back!" Said Sweetie Belle, scared.

"We hav' to warn the guards, quick!" Said Applebloom.

Suddenly, a frightening image appeared before them: It looked like a mummy, covered with ripped clothes and fringes:

"You're not warning anypony!" The monster said with a deep scary voice.

"Ahhhhhhh!" The filles tried to run, but they were trapped in a levitation spell: "Nooooo! Heeeeelp! Anypony heeeeelp!" They pleaded.

"Shut up, or I'm gonna eat you all!" Said the monster, and the filles made silence, with scrunched muzzles and trembling of fear. Then, the monster spoke again: "I'm the Monster of the Mischiefs, and I've come to punish you for making too many of them!"

"No, please, no, Monster of the Mischiefs! Don't punish us, please! We're going to behave well, we're going to behave well, we swear!" The fillies cried, scared to death.

"Well, do as I say, and I'll forgive you this time!"

"Yes, yes, yes, we will, we will!"

"Alright, from now on, everytime you're gonna do something to earn your Cutie Marks, you'll ask for an adult's supervision first! Understood?!"

"Yes, yes, yes, we understood, we understood!"

"And you can't tell anypony that you've seen me, or I'm gonna go to your houses and I'll eat you!"

"No, no, no! We won't tell anypony, we won't!"

"Alright. You can go now." The levitation spell slowly faded, and the fillies were safely back on earth, and they galloped away, screaming in terror.

The 'monster' giggled: "Sweet Celestia. I should have done this before..."

Fluttershy were out of the hospital, waving her hoof, saying goodbye to the last leaving visitors, when she heared Twilight's whispering voice: "Flutters, Flutters, take a look here, please."

Fluttershy looked behind some garbage trunks: "Twilight? What happened to you? Why are you hiding there?"

"I was making an experiment and dropped all the skin out. Please, attend me where nopony can see us!" Twilight whispered.

Fluttershy shrugged an eye, suspicious by her friend's strange behavior and all that bandages concealing her body: "Yeah? And how I know that's really you, huh? You could be an imposter, as far I know!"

Twilight startled: "Come on, Flutters. Who'll bother on making a clone of me?"

Fluttershy facehoofed and gasped in belief: "Oh, you're right! Quick, come, we have to attend that right away!"

"No! Not at the open sight! I don't want anypony to find out, specially my coltfriend!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because he's gonna buck me out if he sees me like this!"

Fluttershy facehoofed and gasped again: "Oh my! Wait, I know. There's a employee's restroom which is not being used. Come on, this way."

Cautiosly walking through the hospital, hiding Twilight from any passing nurse or doctor, in which case, Fluttershy featured a fake wide smile, they managed to get to the room without Twilight being seen.

Once there, Fluttershy told Twilight: "Well, I had enough septic sash, disinfectant and anesthesia. Let me see what the damage is." She said, starting to cut Twilight's bandages. "Does it hurts?"

"No, I don't feel a thing... Oh, Sweet Celestia! I should look horrible!" Sadly mourned Twilight, putting a hoof in her forehead.

Fluttershy smiled, finished removing the bandages, and put a mirror in front of her friend: "Why you don't look by yourself?"

"No, I can't!" Sobbed Twilight, turning the head away and clenching the eyes.

"Come on. Open the eyes. You have nothing to worry about." Fluttershy encouraged her.

Twilight's trembling left eyelid slowly opened, and then the other one, faster this time, and turned her head to the mirror. She couldn't believe it: She was fine!

"See, Twi?" Fluttershy smiled and closed her eyes with tenderness. "You have nothing to worry about!"

"Damnation! I should had checked before freaking out!" Twilight scolded herself...

Spike opened his maw and a scroll come out. He opened and read it: "Twilight, it's a message to you from... Luna?"

"What? A message from Luna? Let me see." Asked Twilight, intrigued, taking the scroll to read it too: "It says: Bucking Little Traitor..." Twilight made a quick grimace: "That bucking...!" But she skipped that and continued reading: "We have to talk. Meet me at the Training Field of Ponyville at midnight. If you fail to comply, I'll enthrall your coltfriend and I'll take him for m..." Twilight clenched the teeth and trembled of anger: "That bucker jerk!" She burned the scroll. "Of course I'll be there, miserable!"

"What does it said?" Asked Spike.

"Nothing of your concern!" Twilight growled.

It wasn't midnight yet, and Twilight was at the meeting spot already. Luna didn't last in appear, either. Twilight sharpened the eyes: "Alright, miserable jerk, I'm here. Now speak! I haven't all the night!"

"Me neither, so I'll go straight to the point." Said Luna while landing. "I think we have a little issue here, but we can get to an agreement."

"'Issue'? 'Agreement'? What do you mean?" Asked Twilight, shrugging the eyes.

"As you know, the monkey is my caretaker now..." Started Luna with her usual smugness.

"And...?"

"And I think that we can have him for both of us." Said Luna with an intriguing smile.

"I think right that you think wrong. He's mine, and only mine!" Twilight angrily assured, pointing herself with a hoof.

"Come on, come on. There is no need of such hostility!" Luna smiled and waved her hoof, with a peacekeeping gesture. "I'm not selfish anymore, and, according to the old customs, there isn't any problem with a stallion having a herd!"

"Yes, there's a problem, because herds are not used anymore!" Twilight replied. "That's a stupid and discriminatory custom, from the times when us mares were treated as slaves, and which Celestia abolished thousands of years ago! So, yes, there's a problem here!"

"I tell you that there isn't...!" Luna angrily yelled, but she quickly backed off to her soothing tone: "I mean, there is no problem with that. I'm sure that if I talk with my sister, she'll make an exception for me." She said with closed eyes, restraining her anger.

"Well, too bad for you, because I'll not make any exception for you!" Replied Twilight.

"You stupid bookworm! I'm offering you a truce! I'm not asking for much, just a day in the week!" Luna insisted.

"You're offering me a truce? What for?! We aren't at war or anything! Take out that idiotic idea from your head, Luna!" Twilight differed.

"You want to bargain, huh? Fine! Half a day!" Luna proposed.

Twilight sternly looked at her, shrugging an eye: "No way, Luna. And this is not negotiable. Besides, why should I negotiate something that's already mine, huh? Now buck off and stop pestering me!"

And she turned around to leave, when a dark blue beam stroke just before her face, opening a hole in the ground:

"Don't you dare to give me the flank, you stupid bookworm." Growled Luna, below her breath. "I came in peace, to offer you a convenient deal for both, and you rejected it! So, you leave me no choice but to challenge you to a duel! The winner keeps the stallion!" She threatened Twilight, flapping and opening her wings.

Twilight turned her head to her: "I knew I couldn't trust you, miserable traitor. So, what now? Are you gonna attack me from behind, like the bucking coward you are?" She angrily asked her.

Luna evily chuckled: "As if I had any need for that. I can defeat you with my eyes closed. So run, run for your life, little bookworm, while you still can."

Twilight started to slowly walk away, as she has no need of that stupid duel.

"But if you leave, you'll lose the respect I have for you, and I'll take your coltfriend for me!" Luna warned Twilight.

Twilight stopped short, looked down and sighed. What can she do? Talk to Celestia? What for? Celestia will bias in behalf of her sister. And her beloved one will try to talk, and she'll enthrall him, and that'll be it. There was no other choice. She has to duel. And she knows that she's gonna lose. And that'll mean death. If Luna doesn't kill her, losing her beloved one surely will. Tears fell from her eyes.

"Sorry, my love. I have failed you." She mourned, raising her head, sure of her awful fate.

Then, she dried the tears with a foreleg, and sharpening the eyes, with a last sniffing, turned around and spoke: "Luna, I don't want to fight you..."

Luna widely smiled and said with a mocking tone: "Then, you're admitting defeat already? Awwwww, I'm so dissapointed, I wanted to leave you with some flank burns as a memorial of our..."

"But I will!" Twilight interrupted her, posing in a combat stance.

Luna smirked: "Oh, good! Don't worry, little filly, I'm going to be easy on you." Then, she lightened her horn. "So, I'll finish this at the first strike!"

And she galloped towards Twilight...

But, unlikely the first time, when she battled Nightmare Moon, Twilight didn't move. Everything looked to slow down around her: Then, this is it? She's gonna give up without putting a fight? Are she even gonna raise the shield, to minimize the impact? Will that matter at all? It'll make any difference in the result? Can she...?

She was in the middle of that thoughts, when she actually received the strike. Everything looked to shake off, and a pain in her forehead, made her came back to her senses. After rolling several times in the ground, she finally managed to stand up on her hooves again, amazed to be still conscious. Then, she looked to Luna, who was featuring a wide smile:

"Ow! It looks that your training is paying off, little bookworm!" She cheered her. "You're still on hoof! But my next attack will take you down!" And Luna charged against Twilight once again.

Twilight closed the eyes. There was no way she'll resist this attack. A new powerful hit, this time in her ribs, thrown her several meters backwards. Twilight trembled a bit for the pain, but she opened the eyes, as it wasn't by far as painful as the UV treatment. The pain quickly receded, and she opened wide the eyes: She hadn't raised the shield yet!

Luna was staring her with a surprised look: She had realized that something wasn't right: The little traitor had to be unconscious by now! Why she hasn't fell already? Has she became that strong?!

Twilight smiled, realizing that she has a chance, and then she raised the shield: "Now, it's my turn, miserable traitor!" And lightening her horn and her four hooves, launched a fivefold attack over Luna.

"Ungh!" Mourned Luna, barely managing to escape by teleporting to the sky. "What the Tartarus?!"

But she hadn't too much time to curse, as Twilight had cast the flying cloud and had flown to her same height: "You can't escape from me!" She happily told her.

What came next was anything like being easy on each other. Enraged, Luna cast her Flaming Sword, while Twilight cast yet two clouds more at her side. And when Luna launched her attack over her, a lightning crossed both clouds, shocking Luna.

"Agh!" Luna mourned, backing off, all bristled by the electric shock, and then she cast the Dark Cover and made her Sonic Wave.

But Twilight had a counterstrike for this too: She surrounded herself in a big hollow ice block, and filling the nearby environment with lightning clouds, she illuminated the area enough to spot Luna, and once she did, she locked her down, and lauched a thunder storm and a hailstorm at the same time over her!

It doesn't mattered where Luna teleported, the storms always reappeared where she does! The lightning storm were weakening her magic shield, while the hailstorm were beating her down!

Desperated, Luna tried her deadliest attack, the Arrow Feathers, but they only managed to get stuck in Twilight's ice shield. Finally, Twilight realized that Luna was stunned enough, and she cast a huge ice ball and tossed it on the alicorn's muzzle... and Luna fell KO...

The next day, Luna woke up in the hospital, and Fluttershy's face was the first thing she saw.

"Who could have thought this, huh? Look who I found not even starting my shift. Oh my..." Said the yellow pegasi, scowling.

Luna blushed: "I can't believe this... I lost..."

"Yes, you did. And now you're MINE." Fluttershy smirked, and raised a bowl of food: "Come on, Luny, you have to eat to recover your strenghts." She said with a mischievous face, putting a full spoon near Luna's muzzle.

Luna looked her with a defeated stare and scrunched mouth, and ate the spoon's contents, only to open the eyes wide, and turn her head to the other side and spit: "PUAJ! But what's this?!" She protested, disgusted.

"Twilight made it by herself, just for you. Now, EAT!" Angrily said Fluttershy, taking yet another full spoon to Luna's muzzle.

"Nooo!" Luna protested, swinging her forelegs, closing the eyes and with a horrified face.

"Come on, Luna, don't make me do this like you were a filly! EAT!"

The sunlight found Cadance still awake, with tired eyes, and she hadn't figured out what to do. She stood up, opened the window and sadly looked to Canterlot. The awful thought quickly came back to her: She was walking, sorrowful, while everypony was laughing her lungs off about her. And, to close it with a golden seal, Prince Blueblood, smirking, will raise his foreleg and say: "Behold, citizens of Canterlot! Here comes my whor...!"

Cadance quickly shooked the head, horrified: "Aaaagh! Noooo!" Then she mourned in despair, putting a foreleg in her forehead. "I can't... I can't pass through such embarrassment! I'll rather die!" Then, she crossed her forelegs before her chest. "If at least, my kind Shining Armor were protecting me, he'll put all those mockers in their place!" Then, she looked back: "I have to gain his love back, or I don't know what's going to be of me!"

She exited the apartment and flown back to the hospital, where she knew that Shining Armor was, protecting the Princesses. Where else he could be?

But when she arrived there, she found out with horror that they were already left. Celestia, Shining Armor, the royal guards... Only Luna was still in the hospital. More like, back in the hospital...

Cadance put a hoof in her forehead, despaired, and a tear slid on her cheek: All was over! She was left behind, abandoned on her own! Now, she was nothing but a helpless soul, who nopony cares about! Sorrowful, she slowly walked back to her apartment. Only a guard was outside, but she didn't care. There could be none. Better, she was wishing there were an assassin waiting for her in the bedroom, to save her from the embarrassment which was waiting for her in Canterlot.

And, as if she had rubbed Aladdin's Lamp, not even she entered the room, a dagger appeared on her neck.

"Silence, or I'll cut your throat! You have to help me to escape!" A fearsome female voice was heared.

Cadance looked emotionless to a side, with half lidded eyes. "You're that assassin, huh? Go ahead. I don't care anymore."

"Sure?" Asked the voice, and the dagger pinched Cadance's right shoulder, making a little cut on her body.

"I've told you that I don't care. Kill me already." Repeated Cadance with the same indifference.

"Why? What happened? Celestia let you down too?" Asked the voice.

Cadance opened the eyes: How she knows? "Who are you? What do you know about me?"

"I'm Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the changelings, and I'm the last hope of my kind!"

"Last hope? What are you talking about?"

"Celestia, that filthy tyrant, banished my kind to the wastelands, thousands of years ago, and we're been at the brink of starvation since! If I don't find a source of food soon, me and all my race will die!"

Cadance opened her eyes wide: She'll never have thought this! Her Tia, the very Sun Goddess that she had worshipped as the living proof of purity and kindness, all this time, was nothing but a heartless mass murder!

"Then that's why you tried to kill Celestia... But then why did you killed that innocent nurse? She didn't have fault of anything!"

The dagger trembled and fell to the floor, and Cadance took the chance and turned around to face Chrysalis. The Queen's condition was deplorable: she was thin and pale, and her black body color was bleak; her ribs could be perfectly seen, bulging at her sides; her wings were ripped off, making them unusable to fly; and her cheeks and eyes were sunk. All this features were giving her a cadaveric look.

The Queen looked the Princess: "I'm desperate! My subjects are my family! And I'll do whatever it takes to protect my family! What you'd have done in my place, huh? What?!" She said with broken voice.

That touched Cadance. This Queen was trying to protect her family, while Celestia had abandoned her on her own! A wave of anger and hatred filled her heart. And she took a decision: "Tell me, Queen Chrysalis, how can I supply food to you? I'll do everything in my power to make it happen!"

"That'll be a bit hard to you to do, Princess, as what we need to eat is not regular food." Sadly assured Chrysalis.

"Not regular food? I don't understand."

"We changelings do need feelings to eat. Love is the more nutritive of all, and this kingdom has plenty of it! But that selfish tyrant of Celestia, doesn't let us to take not even a bit. We don't ask for much, just a sip from time to time!" Were explaining Chrysalis, when suddenly, her legs trembled and she drooped to the floor, defeated. "I'm so hungry... I fear I haven't much time left..." She closed her eyes, with trembling body. "Forgive me, my dear subjects... I have failed you..." She sobbed.

Cadance smirked: Love? Who was the Princess of Love, huh? And she cast her signature Love spell on Chrysalis. Instantly, her pale black color turned into a lustrous shoeshine-like one, and the her green wings regenerated, her sunk features dissapeared, like her cadaveric look as well.

Chrysalis looked to Cadance, surprised: "Oh, thank you, thank you! You have saved me, you have saved me...!" She thanked, smiling and with crying voice, and crawled to Cadance's legs an kissed her hooves. "But... Why...? Why did you do that?" She asked, intrigued.

"Because I know what you had been through. Now tell me. How much love do you need?"

Chrysalis turned her head to a side, touching her muzzle with a hoof. "Well, that spell was quite strong. It could easily fed all my hive with just a few casts! Amazing!" She assured, raising a hoof, impressed.

That made Cadance to get deeply moved. She felt... important. She has the power to save an entire race from extinction, and the only thing that she has to do, was to cast a mere spell which she used to play everyday, just to kill the time!

"Queen Chrysalis, take me to your hive. I'll fed it with upmost pleasure!" Happily affirmed Cadance.

Chrysalis shrugged the eyes: "Well, that's... interesting... What's the catch?"

Cadance sharpened the eyes: "I want some annoying pink party mare out of the way."

Chrysalis frowned up: "Which one? The one with the balloons cutie mark?"

"That very same! Why? Do you have a grudge against her too?"

"Indeed! That filthy meddler seems to been everytime messing with my plans. I had the perfect hit at this very town, six months ago, and that odious pink pony sent the groom to the hospital, and screwed everything up!" Chrysalis angrily blurted, standing on her four legs again and hitting the floor with a foreleg.

Cadance evily smirked: "So, it seems that we have a deal."

Chrysalis evily smirked as well: "Yeah. We do."

It was first day that classes were allowed, as the town was restoring to it's normal daily functioning, but it was friday, and Cherilee decided to let the day off to her students, by just giving them a stroll and visiting amusement sites. She took her students to some nearby places, until she and her unquiet youngsters arrived to an array of statues. She stopped in front of one, that resembled a dragon, with different legs and horns, and she was explaining: "... and this, my dearies, is the statue of Discord, Lord of Chaos, who was turned to stone by the Princesses, four thousands of years ago..."

Meanwhile, the former Cutie Mark Crusaders, who was doing anything but listening to their teacher, were arguing among them:

"Apples, I'm telling you that monster wanted us to be Cutie Mark Crusaders again! Don't you remember what he said?" Were argumenting Scootaloo.

"Shhh! Shut up! Remember that we can't say anything, or he'll go to our houses and he'll eat us!" Warned Sweetie Belle, below her breath.

"You shut up, Sweets! Don't you see that I'm discussing an important thing?" Replied Scootaloo.

"Ha! Sure it's important! You're discussing how to get us into trouble again!" Angrily replied Sweetie Belle.

"It wasn't my fault! It was Apple's! She was the one with the idea of earn our cutie marks on fighting!" Argumented Scootaloo.

"It wasn' mah fault! It was yars, 'cause ya lied about the fireworks!" Applebloom argued back.

"I wasn't lying!" Denied Scootaloo. "We got too late because Sweets delayed us!"

"Liar!" Angrily yelled Sweetie Belle, and hit Scootaloo, and she fought back, hitting Applebloom by accident, and soon the three fillies were fighting among them.

"Girls, girls! That's enough! Stop fighting at once!" Cherilee quickly interceded.

But it was too late, as Discord's statue cracked, and a mischievous laughter could be heared...