“I feel really bad for breaking the amulet you whored yourself to get.”

“Ugh! I didn’t...”

“Here. I will share my own relic with you to compensate for your loss.” I floated the necklace in front of her head. “This here is a very special talisman. And not just because I designed it.”

Her head rose. “What does it do?”

“You don’t have any of my memories left to access, eh? No worries, I’ll explain the inner workings of this necklace to you. And then I’ll let you try it on.

After the Canterlot attack, we captured quite a few changelings. Their magic was strong and normal prison cells wouldn’t hold them. We wanted to interrogate them, but it was very hard to keep them subdued during the inquiry process.

Enemies of Equestria aren’t very enthusiastic to reveal their places of operation. It was my duty as a princess to be very convincing. By failing I could put the whole of Equestria at risk. It never felt right, but it had to be done.“

She swallowed her saliva.“You—tortured them?”

“We princesses take responsibility for things that need to be done, so the rest of you ponies can live in bliss. That is what being a princess entails.”

I wiped my wet eyes. It was weird. Quoting Celestia felt like reading a very tragic story, but there was nothing to distress about. Her words had always been wise. “Do you think that a thousand-year-long peace occurs naturally?”

“Some lines shouldn’t be crossed.”

“You’re the one to speak, terrorist!”

She gasped at that.

“Some sacrifices had to be made to keep that peace in place. Neither of us has the right to judge Celestia’s methods—my methods!

Luna told me that she had doubts about my preparedness for the princess-hood. I was uncertain of the royal duties myself, but Celestia made me realize that evil spreads if left unchecked. I didn’t want to let her and Equestria down. But I did have to betray my pointless emotions in the process. If we don’t crush our enemies, it’s only a matter of time before they crush us.”

“Your feelings let you know what’s right and wrong. You should listen to them.”

“Look who’s talking. And no, you’re wrong! If your emotions are hurting you, you should hurt them back. That’s how you keep yourself in control. That’s how you do what needs to be done.”

“I’m nothing like you, Twilight. I’ve never even thought of such grimdark thoughts and yet I’m the one that gets labeled as evil. It’s not fair.”

“I know what you mean. The first subject I had to work with was heartbreaking for me, but every subsequent one became easier to deal with. I accepted the experience because the procedure needed to be done. I grew from it, mitigating all the moral implications. These inquisitorial routines don’t cause any mental distress anymore. They don’t! I learned to keep my sanity in check.”

“I’ll never want to be a princess again. The things you did—I wouldn’t even dream of such immoralities.”

“I, for one, have proven to be a very dedicated princess! Even Luna admitted that she was wrong about me. But I do have it in me. I can be just as good of a princess as Luna and Celestia are. I deserved to be a princess. I was prepared for it. I was!”

“I think your duties are affecting your mind.”

“Shut up, you dirty changeling!”

“Whaa… Twilight, I’m not a changeling.”

“Aren’t you? You did try to replace me. You also assumed my form in order to do it. I really don’t see your point. Your argument is invalid.”

“I’m a pony, Twilight! You know this.”

“Do I?” I supported my head with a hoof. ”Ponies don’t hurt ponies. Evil changelings hurt ponies. You hurt ponies. So, what does that make you?”

“What I did might have been a mistake, but what you’re doing isn’t right, either. You’re way overreacting. Your punishment is too severe. How can you not see it?”

“If there was a reason for me not to be strict with you, then the same reason would apply to those changelings I dealt with.” My body cringed in response to the thought. I slowly breathed in and out to calm myself down. “What I did, had to be done. It was the right thing to do. It was!”

“You were supposed to be the Princess of Friendship. Surely, there are other ways.”

“When evil fosters, friendship suffers. It’s as simple as that. We have to eliminate evil and stop it from spreading. The same logic applies here. If it didn’t it would mean that what I did to changelings was wrong and I am certain that it wasn’t! I am! You have to be dealt with accordingly, evildoer.”

She shuddered.

”I did propose the use of these talismans, but Celestia deemed them immoral and inequine. As if her solution to cut off the horns of the captured changelings was any better.”

”I’m giving one to you as a replacement for the smashed one. It has a very potent permanent magic in it. You’ll really feel its effects when you put it on.

“Sure, there are many side effects in the use of the talismans I made, and some of them are quite severe. Migraines, nausea, loss of balance, throwing up, general sickly feeling, decrease in motor skills; just to name a few.

“There’s nothing to be done in that area, and they don’t cause any permanent harm, anyway. The side effects aren’t a direct result of my talisman.

“It works by a very simple concept, but Celestia just can’t seem to grasp it. ‘Fix it’, she says, and then she bans it with the immorality act until further notice.

“The talisman can’t be fixed because it isn’t broken! It doesn’t even cause those nasty side effects. Disruption in the flow does. The only way to get rid of the symptoms would be to get rid of the effect. I swear, sometimes I think Celestia is trolling me.

“Officially, I’m still researching my amulet to find a solution for the side effects, so I’m exempt from the immorality act. Unless she decides to ice my efforts, that is. Until then, I may still hold it in my possession and use it for testing purposes. When she shuts down my project for lack of progress, and I’ll be ordered to destroy the amulet, I’ll be glad to know that it had been put to good use in the meantime.”

She just kept staring into the distance.

“I’m boring you, it seems. Well, we don’t need all the theory for this one, anyway. You can just try it in practice and you’ll instantly understand what I’m talking about.”

“I get to wear a necklace that isn’t fit even for the worst of the scum? You must think very highly of me...”

“Don’t fret. Even I tried to put it on once out of curiosity. I thought I was gonna puke as soon as I did. I probably would have if I didn’t rip it off my neck right away. So yeah, Celestia is right about the severity of the side effects issue. But that’s not a design error. It’s not!

“Yes, after a few hours changelings start begging to have their horn removed instead of having to wear the amulet. And yes, they beg to be killed after a day of wearing it.” I slammed a hoof against the floor. “But that would happen even if some other method was used to disrupt their inner flow. My amulet design has nothing to do with it!

“So, when you experience side effects, understand that none of it is my fault. The amulet is designed only to disrupt the inner flow. Nothing less and nothing more. It achieves exactly what it was designed for.

If you need to find something to blame, blame your own physiology for depending on the inner flow so much.”

“Twilight, is the talisman really as bad as you say it is?”

“You’re missing the point, Trixie. It’s not that bad. It’s that good. It’s a feature, not a bug!”

“But you said it will really hurt me.”

“No, I didn’t say that. It won’t cause any physical damage to your body, I promise you that. You won’t even have to wear it all the time since you’re not as stubborn or capable as changelings are. The prerequisite for not wearing it at all times is that you behave yourself, of course.”

“Can I not wear it during this night?”

“You’ll be wearing it every night.”

*I promise, I won’t use magic.”

“Oh, Trixie. We both know honesty isn’t your element. I won’t hold that against you, though. I’ll keep you honest despite your failings. As long as you’re here with me, you’ll be safe from your own betrayal.”

She tensed her body. “I just think I could rest more without it. That way I would have more energy for learning from you and earning your forgiveness during the day.”

“No.”

She sobbed. “Please! Can you at least let me spend this one night without it? It will give me time to, um, adjust. I only need one night. That’s all I need. Please!”

“No.”

“I was really looking forward to this night. It kept my hopes up.” A tear drifted down her face. “I beg of you, Twilight. Please, just give me one single night with myself. That’s all I need. I won’t be able to, um, rest properly if the effect is as you described it.”

“You underestimate the power of exhaustion, Trixie. Maybe you won’t get much rest the first night, but you’ll lose consciousness eventually. On the side note, life shouldn’t be squandered with useless oversleeping.” I levitated up my scepter. ”And let’s not forget that you have tomorrow’s test to prepare for. Failing is the last thing you want. Believe me.” My scepter trailed over her back.

She bit her lower lip. Her face turned into a grimace.

“I want you to ponder about it at night. Think about every word you’re going to say to me in the morning. If you come up with only a summary I’ll be forced to refresh your memories.

“Tomorrow I won’t be as generous as I am today. If you fail the test I’ll beat the crap out of you, then I’ll fuck you until you start squirting blood, and then I’ll fuck you some more.

“When that is all good and done, I’ll ask you for a detailed review again and if you only give me a summary, we’re going to do it all over from scratch. Again and again for as long as it’s needed. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“You’re right about everything you say, Twilight. I’ll, um, think about what happened long and hard during the night. There’s no need for you to pay so much attention to me anymore. Really.“

“Has the great and unfulfilled attention whorse finally got her fill?”

“That was the old me. I’m a different person now.” She looked up at me. “You taught me to be better.”

“That’s a good pony.” I smiled at her as I brushed through the bright blue mane. “If you pass the test tomorrow, you’ll get some water and hay.”

“So, do you want to try on the talisman now, Trixie?”

She shook her head.

“The correct answer is yes, Trixie.” I grabbed her head with both forehooves and made her nod. “Good pony.”

Author's Note

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