The Band of Loyalty

Scootaloo spent the next two days reclaiming every pony in Ponyville. Sir was methodical, picking his way through town swiftly and deliberately. Many of the citizens were easy prey, still being shaken up, others were on guard and paranoid. As King had said, having Princess Twilight along for the rounds did make things easier. Properly utilized, she held down anypony unwilling to return to the fold, which was a fair few of them. Big Mac was particularly rowdy, but he went down with enough force.

The last two to go were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The look of betrayal on Apple Bloom's face was harrowing, but Sweetie was very understanding. King had been particularly soft with her, having been honest with her. Despite the fact that he'd made her do things against her will, she didn't really dislike doing them. With little convincing, she fell to her knees and took her friend into her mouth, her last words before going under being a wish for Scootaloo to reunite with Rainbow, in the hopes that she was okay.

With all of the ponies back under control, it was safe to let the queen and King loose. It would be quite the task to reclaim Soarin and Spitfire right away, and the buck was long gone by now. Everypony else was back under control. Everypony except Queen Chrysalis, of course. Sir made his way to the dungeon, first finding Chrysalis in her cell.

"Hello, Chrysalis," smiled Sir. "Are you enjoying your stay?"

"That's Queen Chrysalis to you, demon," she growled. "What are you doing down here?"

"Well, I was about to let you out of your cell," he said, twirling a key in his fingers. "But since you decided to be rude, I'm wondering if perhaps I should snap this key in half and just leave you here."

Chrysalis looked back and forth between the key and Sir's face. She smirked. "You would lose the support of my armies if you did that."

"I could have the guards end you here and now," he chuckled. "If the changelings are under the impression that you were executed before I arrived, even moments before, they'd still flock to me. You would be best suited to work with me. What say you to rewriting the contract you had with King?"

"There was no contract. We discussed terms, and that was it."

"That was it, hm? Then let us finish what was started." Sir sat down. "Explain the terms, and I will decide whether or not to accept them."

Chrysalis once more explained the terms as they had existed. Sir nodded through most of them. "After that, we discussed who would take princess Cadance, and he jumped on top of me."

"We will take her. You will be given leave to torture her as you see fit, but it will be much more fulfilling if she remains alive. If you take her all at once, you can't have a repeat performance."

Chrysalis scowled. "I suppose that's true. Very well, I accept your terms."

"Not so fast," said Sir, shaking his head. "I have one more condition."

"Oh?"

"You are to take a subservient role to the two of us. You and your changelings shall obey our commands, either willingly or unwillingly. If you refuse, we will change your mind for you. If you accept, then there will be no need to force you back under our control."

"Why in Equestria would I agree to that?" growled Chrysalis.

"You don't have to," chuckled Sir. "I can always just change your mind for you."

Chrysalis stared through the bars, glaring at Sir. This wasn't really a choice for her to make. The only thing she had to decide is whether or not she kept her agency. "Fine." She stuck her hand through the bars. "I agree."

Sir took her hand, and a burst of magic ran down his arm, up Chrysalis' arm, and around her neck, forming a collar. "Excellent. You're under our command now. And that puts you and your kind under our protection, too." He reached forward and unlocked the door, setting her loose. "Go have a meal, but eat slowly. We don't want to destroy any of these ponies, do we?"

Chrysalis wasted no time, rushing up to the surface and taking a breath of fresh air. She was so very hungry, and there were ponies everywhere. She met up with a few of her changelings and they took her to some of their favourite livestock.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo descended further into the dungeon. Sir had stopped her to deal with Chrysalis, but now she was free to search for Rainbow. She came across King, panting and gasping in his bed. She immediately unlocked the door and slung Rainbow's body over her shoulder, carrying her up to the bedrooms, where a string of servants and a purple dragon were waiting to restore King to power.

Five hours passed before King was ready to stand again. As he walked out of the bedroom, he placed a hand on Scootaloo's shoulder. "What compelled you do this, Sir?" he asked. "Not that I'm ungrateful, I just want to know what reason you had."

"It was what Scootaloo wanted," he replied.

"Is Rainbow still in there?" asked Scootaloo, full of hope.

King slowly nodded. "She's been weakened to a terrible degree, though. It will take quite some time to restore her, but if you will join me next to the bed, I shall call her forth, and you may speak with what is left of her."

Scootaloo couldn't wait, grabbing King by the wrist and dragging him over to the bed, sitting next to him. "Right now. Bring her out." King smiled and took a deep breath. As he let it out, his expression turned to one of pain. As Rainbow came back to consciousness, Scootaloo grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Rainbow? Can you hear me?"

Rainbow opened her eyes and looked up at Scootaloo. "Is King gone?"

Tears filled Scootaloo's eyes. "No. You almost died. I had to do everything in my power to keep you safe, Rainbow. Being rid of King isn't worth it if we're rid of you, too."

Rainbow looked up at Scootaloo. "You're sure?" She looked worried.

Scootaloo took a deep breath. "I have more trust in Sir. I think that as long as I keep him in power, he won't actually hurt anypony. And if I keep King happy, he'll keep you safe."

Rainbow pulled Scootaloo down and hugged her. "I suppose your heart was in the right place." Scootaloo delighted in the hug, glad to have Rainbow back in her arms. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best she could have, under the circumstances.