Hall of Unity, Mount Metazoa | November 6, 1502 | 07:42

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Starlight, Gilda, Nova, and Sunset Shimmer had all gathered around the table in the center of the Hall of Unity. They were up early, of course, as they had a plan ready to enact for the reharmonization of Equestria. Sunset Shimmer had told all of them that they had an important discussion to have with Discord in attendance concerning the Changeling convert, but Discord was, of course, absent. After thirty lengthy minutes of waiting, Sunset began to grit her teeth in frustration.

"Discord, where in Tartarus are you?!" she shouted. Before she could continue, a soft chuckling sounded from throughout the room.

"There's no need for such rude language, Sunset," the voice, which was quite obviously Discord's, said, "after all, we have a guest."

A portal opened, drawing the attention of the seven equines and two gryphons, as Discord stepped out with Thorax following behind him. They all stared in awe and confusion, with the exception of Sunset who bore an expression of rage. She looked at the Changeling, then at Discord, struggling at first to find words for how angry she was in the moment of Discord's blatant disregard for their conversation the night prior.

"DISCORD, BY THE GODS," she shouted, "can't you wait for just ONE gods-damned night before risking probably the most important task on our hooves?!"

The rest turned with an expression of disillusionment as Discord smiled and turned to Thorax.

"See? You're the most important task, how does that feel?" he asked. Thorax turned to him with a frown before Discord looked back at Sunset, "I know we agreed to wait, but then I remembered that it's not friendly to speak behind another pony's back, so since the topic of today's discussion was Thorax, I decided to go ahead and bring him along—you, are, welcome~"

He gave a bow, still not impressing them as he turned up and frowned. Thorax sighed greatly before stepping forward to the table between Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie, smiling as much as ever and Fluttershy ducking her head down a bit in shyness as he did.

"I'm not sure what your relation to the God of Chaos is," Thorax started, "but if what he says is true and you wish to end the war by peaceful means, then consider me your friend. I'm sure with his help you've already learned that a town on the Empire's outskirts has taken me in as a refugee of sorts. I've grown close to them in this short time, and I don't intend to leave them. At the same time, I know that remaining stationary will do nothing to stop this brutal war, so I propose a compromise. If you can, amid your "tasks" as you say, assist me periodically in finding stray Changelings, perhaps we can convince your Empress that there is more to Changelings than meets the eye."

The idea seemed comprehensive. The equines and gryphons exchanged looks with one another, pondering to themselves for a moment before nodding in agreement. Fluttershy looked up at Thorax.

"Uhm, Mr. Thorax," she said. Thorax turned to her with a stern expression, causing her to wince a bit before he eased his look with a little blush.

"I'm sorry," he said with a nervous laugh, "soldier life, I still have the sternness in me."

"Oh! That's okay!" Fluttershy said apologetically before returning a smile, "I understand, anyway, uhm, I was going to say, we would love to help you find your Changeling friends."

"Between Daybreaker and Chrysalis, it won't be easy finding refuge for them," Applejack pointed out, "unless we took them in here, in which case how would we feed em?"

"I see why they call you the Element of Honesty," Thorax said, turning to her, "those are difficult questions, but they're the right ones to ask. Fortunately, food won't be a problem if we can convince them to give their love instead of taking it. As it stands, I now yearn for the same food you do, with the exception that I don't require near as much to fill my stomach."

"Unfortunately, our territory was obliterated by the Sun Storm," Starlight said, "so I suppose we'd have to take you guys in here. If everypony is in agreement, that is."

"Of course," Nova said, "I don't think any of us have an issue with that."

"And nor do I," Discord finished, "welcome to the team, Thorax."

Crystal Capital, Crystal Empire | November 6, 1502 | 08:12

Sunrise opened her eyes. She had slept alone that night, and likewise woke up by herself. It was different, it was wrong. Without Flash, it felt so cold, and she began to wonder if she had made a mistake. She remembered the Empress' words, which calmed her only a bit as she realized that even though it was necessary, it would still be painful if it resulted in his leaving. Being honest with herself, it might even result in his committing of treason. She feared the outcome that would cause his death, but she remembered his words as well. He said he loved her eyes. What did he mean? Was he gone forever, or was he simply taking a while to consider for himself what things were like? Had he found another mare? Had he gone to search for the harmonists? Sunrise plagued herself with questions before she heard the door open, revealing Spike with a freshly-cooked breakfast.

"I know that look," he said with a sigh, setting a tray upon the bed beside her, "he'll be back. Don't worry, just give him some more time."

"But what if he—" Sunrise started.

"Ah ah ah," Spike said, shaking a finger, "food first, overthinking later."

Sunrise sighed. He was right, she was overthinking. As credible as the questions might have been, there was no logical sense in creating more discomfort for herself than what already was. She began to eat, finding Spike's presence a soothing element to strengthen her appetite. She smiled, looking down at him.

"Spike, I don't think I've expressed enough how much I appreciate you," Sunrise said, giving him a hug. He returned the hug with a smile.

"You have, Sunrise," he said, "by keeping me around and bringing me to these awesome places with you when you could have replaced me with anypony else. I haven't doubted it for a minute."

Sunrise felt a tinge of joy before her heart dropped at the sound of the door opening. She let go of Spike and trotted to the door in a hurried manner, confusedly staring at her visitor having thought initially that he would be Flash. It was not Flash, however, but a different stallion. The same one that revealed her brother's treason. Standing as if welcoming himself in his military attire, adorned with new medals after the shift of command from Shining's "untimely death". He had primarily been assigned over Military Police forces, keeping down resistance and watching over infrastructural development. However, by whatever means, he managed to worm his way into various situations and issues across the nation that, while of importance, went under the Empress' radar. Come to think of it, the stallion had only been involved in the military for four years, two of which were academy training. It was obvious he scored his position by luck more than by merit, however it seemed to pay off for both he and the imperial armed forces.

"Apologies for barging in, your highness, but this matter is of some urgency," the stallion started, "do you mind if I take a seat?"

"I wouldn't have minded if you knocked," Sunrise said with a disappointed face, dropping her sorrowful tone and maintaining a professional look to the lesser rank, "take a seat and explain to me why you're here."

"The Empress has dispatched for an unexpected 'diplomatic' mission; news came to Canterlot about an hour ago of the untimely death of Great President Arthur by reason of a heart attack," Solar explained as he found himself a nice and plush chair to sit in, "likely due to the strain of his old age and taking the brunt of a million blows of hive magic, but the Empress insisted in bringing forth the full mass of the newly-founded Solar Intelligence Agency to investigate for possible foul play. As of now, we have yet to hear word of who was chosen to lead them now."

"And this involves me for what reason?" Sunrise asked. Solar laughed a bit as he shook his head at the implied disregard for Arthur's life. He was certain of the Empire's new supremacist ideology, but it entertained him to see it on such natural display. Sunrise, however, was not amused, quirking a brow at the unwarranted laughter.

"Apologies," he said with a grin, "this involves you because her diplomatic trip will last for the next week. She wants you to coordinate the war's conclusion so that she can focus her full efforts on 'consoling the polar bears', as she put it. Our Empress surely has a strange and convoluted heart."

"Are you meaning to question her intentions?" Sunrise asked suddenly as she shot a glare at him. He responded with a simple waving of his hoof.

"Absolutely not," Solar said, "I'm aware of how you dealt with Shining Armor, so I don't suppose I'd be in a safe position by reason of you alone to question the authority of the world's greatest leader. Regardless, I was dispatched directly to escort you to Canterlot, but I know the Empress mentioned another. What was that stallion's name. . .oh it's right on the tip of my tongue—the field marshal! The new one. That guy."

"Field Marshal Flash Sentry," Sunrise replied with an unamused expression. Solar held his hooves in the air for a moment.

"Ah! Yes, Flash Sentry," he said with a laugh, "I remember him now—from the Equestrian Military Academy! Oh, simpler days those were. Anyway, if the two of you would let me know when—"

"Actually," Sunrise said, cutting him off as her gaze fell to the floor, "I'm not sure where he is. He left after I told him about the incident with Shining—and speaking of I'm not sure how in Tartarus you know about that! Why don't you clue me in?"

"Hey, hey," Solar said with raised brows as Sunrise exhibited the sudden and aggressive tone, "it's my job to know things I'm not quite supposed to; after all I'm not one to broadcast the personal issues of leaders. One cannot help without knowing, no?"

"You offer little help as it stands," Sunrise replied with a scoff, "anyway, Flash will find his way in due time. If you mean to take me to Canterlot, then let's go already."

"As you command," Solar said as he stepped up and stretched before walking towards the door.

After Solar walked out, Sunrise turned back to see Spike polishing a dish. She gave him a smile and bid him farewell, telling him she would be back in a week. He gave a confused look, but waved anyway. Sunrise turned back to the door, and she felt very uncomfortable. Though, she believed it was the absence of Flash Sentry that had sent her into a minor chaotic spiral. It would be okay, she thought. It would just take time. A week's events could heal a day's troubles, surely.

Surely.

Vesalipolis, Changeling Hive | November 6, 1502 | 09:13

"Have we heard back from our Gryphon friend?" the Queen asked, still getting over the stress of having lost so much from a single battle. Another changeling sat beside her, colored with red, purple, and black hues and dressed in the same attire as Thorax once was. He gave a huff.

"No," he said sternly, "not that we should expect timely responses from a former operative of a lost faction."

"Now now," Chrysalis assured, "they may be weak but this spy of theirs did get out alive. Barely, but alive."

"Alive enough to persuade to us, for however long it will last," the changeling retorted with a scoff. Chrysalis chuckled.

"By the way, I heard rumor that Thorax might have been diddling around nearby equine territory," the Queen said, "perhaps you could check on that?"

"I'll tear him apart myself for leaving the hive," the changeling replied, morphing into a large and fearsome creature that resembled a massive clawed beetle with five eyes, flying away immediately. Chrysalis chuckled once more to herself.

"That's what makes you such a great replacement for him, Pharynx," she said softly, licking her lips.

???, ??? | November 6, 1502 | 09:52

It had been quite a while, and Sunrise began to realize along the oddly-silent ride that the scenery was not the same as the ride to Canterlot. Surely, she thought, it wasn't because the leading guards had gotten lost. It was a death penalty to do such a thing. Of course, if they had gotten lost, the path would have been more erratic. The turns they took, they seemed calculated. They seemed deliberate. No moment of pause, no moment of thought, just going forward. Sunrise felt her ill discomfort increase as she turned to face General Blaze, who was looking out the window.

"General, where are we going?" she asked cautiously. Blaze didn't do so much as turn to her general direction.

"I like taking new directions sometimes," he said softly as he stared out the window. Sunrise quirked a brow, able to see a slight reflection in the mirror. His eyes, there was something off about them.

"General Blaze, face me when I speak to you," she said sternly. Blaze simply turned to her with half-lidded eyes, as if cynically unamused with her tone. She focused on his eyes, noticing that while the right eye moved just fine, the other seemed to lag behind it a bit. A glass eye, she thought, but that couldn't be. Glass eyes didn't move, and it looked almost impeccably real. As she studied him, he quirked a brow and it seemed as if he were going to ask something before her horn flashed. He paused for a moment in mild confusion, before shaking his head.

"Is this some. . .magic intimidation. . .or something you princesses do now?" he asked rudely. Sunrise gave a glare.

"No," she replied with a frown, "I flashed a concentrated light at your lazy eye there. You didn't blink, which tells me that eye of yours isn't real."

"Maybe I lost it in war," he said with a frown. Sunrise leaned towards him.

"Or maybe that hive magic in you isn't working well enough to outsmart Imperial Leadership," she said with a snarl, "I could tear your entrails from you right now, Changeling."

General Blaze let out a bellowing laughter, much to the confusion of Sunrise who seemed all the angrier by it as she lit her horn. Blaze held up a hoof.

"I wouldn't do that now, Sunrise Sparkle," he said, "after all, how would the equines react if their precious leader was caught by Changelings and a defeated enemy so easily?"

"A defeated enemy?" she asked, her horn dimming.

"Funny you mention my eye being 'out of commission', as they say. . ." the creature said, before a glowing of hive magic radiated around him. His voice changed from the snarky Canterlotan accent to a more Eastern Gryphonstoni one as he continued to speak, ". . .given your charge of Griffonst Station is the reason I lost it."

"Slyphani," Sunrise said with a chuckle, "Equestria's most wanted. Didn't I watch you fall from the sky like a grade-schooler's paper airplane? Or were my eyes deceiving me?"

"Well, creatures like us have a job to do," Slyphani replied, "you should know it's not the first time I've played dead."

"Well played," Sunrise said, "but as soon as you've gotten me outside of Imperial territory, what are you going to do? I can blast this entire pseudoentourage to Tartarus and teleport your happy hind to Daybreaker's hooves without alerting a single civilian."

"Maybe I don't have a plan," Slyphani said confidently as he leaned back in the chair and lit up a tobacco pipe, "I wouldn't tell you though."

Sunrise frowned. He was a piece of stinking shit, sure, but he knew what he was doing. It was a trick, but regardless of how believable it was or wasn't, it was still a high-stakes possibility she was unwilling to second-guess.

North Polar Lair, Frozen North | November 6, 1502 | 11:52

"In conclusion, I can say that, to all of the mourning families of the Polar Bears, you have the Empire's full diplomatic support going forward from this incessant tragedy. Great President Arthur was a brave warrior, fighting alongside his fellow bear against the Changeling menace without question. He placed his life on the front lines of war, tearing down hundreds if not thousands of insects wishing to tear apart your land. And no, his life was not taken by the Changeling, and no, his life was not taken by war, for even the enemy could not stop him! It was fate that chose his day to rest, it was fate that decided he had done his righteous duty to his fellow bear. Going forward, you must not allow yourself to grieve his death so much as you praise his heroism, follow his example. Continue your path, and it shall yield rewards far greater. Looking down upon you from my precious sun, his pride in his fellow bear shall be felt by all, including myself. Let not his memory fade away, but keep his life as a staple upon your lands and indeed upon the world as we end this war with the Changeling menace!"

A great applause was given along with the roaring of thousands of bears who had gathered for the funeral of the autocratic leader of the North Polar Lair. What was once weeping had turned into cheering, what was once sadness had turned into pride, and what was once the loss of a national hero had turned into the gain of an even greater national pride. Rather than collapse from the death of Arthur, the Polar Nation instead strengthened it's resolve to fight even harder thanks to the words of Empress Daybreaker. After it was concluded, Polar ritual was held to honor the fallen warriors of the attack on the Hailsberg Hive, in which Daybreaker participated in order to sustain diplomatic relations. She felt the pride of the bear, and it made her think of the ponies who willfully supported her in their two-front war against the East and West.

Daybreaker let a smile form across her face, before some of the top generals had approached her. She turned around, tilting her head up to face them directly.

"Empress, I can't say how much we are glad for your words," one said, "we bear are not really the wordy type. We are really glad you came."

"Of course, General Titus," Daybreaker replied, "I was sure to choose them carefully."

"At least you didn't say 'unbearable loss'," another said with a laugh, the rest followed with a hearty laugh along with Daybreaker.

"I nearly did, Gerald!" Daybreaker exclaimed with a feigned nervous chuckle, "my goodness, imagine the turmoil that would have caused!"

As they were talking, a green flame appeared beside her gently tossing a wax-bound letter onto the ground. The bear gave a confused look, but not so confused as the Empress' upon her recognition of the kind of magic that sent it.

"If you will excuse me, I have to attend to this letter," she said. The bears bid her farewell as they continued to chatter and laugh amongst themselves. Daybreaker levitated the letter and walked outside of the main hall into an office room, or something close to an office, and opened the letter. After a few seconds of reading it, her eyes narrowed with rage. The Empress stepped outside, her flaming mane having flared up a bit as she approached the generals.

Upon seeing her, they quieted their conversation, looking at her with an aura of unease.

"Let the organizers know I have had to depart due to a homeland security emergency," she said, "and if anyone regards this to the press, I will have them prosecuted for war crimes."

With that, she lit her horn and vanished in a great flame.

Crystal Capital, Crystal Empire | November 6, 1502 | 11:23

Spike walked back and forth, sweating through his scales as he wondered if he was going to be burnt alive for contacting the Empress directly. He wasn't sure what else to do, he hoped she would understand, and it's not as if he had another choice. He knew something was wrong when he started to put the pieces together. He would study up on things in the Solar Empire's reorganized military unit with Sunrise Sparkle's clearance as what was officially titled "Noble Second to the Empress". It took him a while of pondering to realize that a General of any kind would not have had the clearance to know about the Intelligence Agency, and while he might have done some talking around, the death of G.P. Arthur had not made any Equestrian news yet. There was no way he could have known about it, unless Spike just wasn't considering something but he had to try anyway. His gut was telling him there was danger, and he'd rather be safe than sorry.

A great ball of fire manifested within the structure as Spike stepped away, falling backwards in the process as he was startled by the flame's intensity. Within a few moments, the flames retreated to the mane and tail of the Empress, who was visibly agitated. Spike gave a gulp as she looked at him with fire in her eyes.

"Explain that letter immediately, Spike," she said sternly, "leave no detail out!"

"I-I-I uh, well, I think it was, uh..." Spike stuttered nervously. He was unable to make eye contact, and Daybreaker realized that she was likely scaring the living daylights out of him. She shook her head with a deep breath as the flames upon her calmed down to their usual amount.

"Take a breath Spike, I am not here to kill you," she said. Spike looked up at her with an unsure expression before giving a sigh of relief, "Sunrise was not to be relocated, the diplomatic meeting was only to be for the duration of the Polar Bears' ceremony. Please, tell me what happened."

"It was General Blaze," Spike said, "he came in without knocking and said that you had left for a week, mentioned the Intelligence Agency, and I knew he didn't have the clearance so I thought something was up, and I knew you would have simply told Sunrise yourself so I sent a letter."

"That's odd," Daybreaker pondered, stepping to the side and looking towards the wall, "why would Sunrise not question that?"

"He uh," Spike started, "he seemed to distract her, as if to quickly detract from it before she could think about it. He mentioned Shining Armor, said he 'knew about things that he wasn't supposed to', and said he was sent to personally escort her and that it was urgent."

Daybreaker gritted her teeth. She had known General Blaze since she was still in the form of Celestia. Celestia had doubts, but put trust over rationality, allowed him in for the sake of friendship. In that moment, she knew the mistake she made.

"Once again, I am throttled by Celestia's mistakes," Daybreaker growled, "Blaze was playing the long game, he was never here to serve us as Equestria or the Solar Empire. He was a GODS-DAMNED SPY!"

The Empress let out a ear-piercing roar that Spike was fortunately able to shield his ears from in time, however the sound of the roar was enough to shake the building itself. Spike closed his eyes for a moment before looking up to see that she was gone. A single flame flickering out from where she once stood.

???, ??? | November 6, 1502 | 11:39

Slyphani quirked a brow upon hearing the echoing roar. He gave a chuckle.

"The Empress has found out you were missing," Slyphani said, "Spike must have sent her a letter as I anticipated."

Sunrise looked over to him with a frown.

"She can locate me rather quickly with a detection spell," Sunrise pointed out, "and if she's angry enough to let out such a shout, she's angry enough to wipe all of you out without a second thought. Come to think of it, I wouldn't have to fear any plan of yours! I'll just kill you now."

She lit her horn before Slyphani rolled his eyes and lifted up an odd mechanical device with a small red button on it. Sunrise quirked a brow as her horn dimmed once more, wondering what the scoundrel had 'planned' now.

"You know, we did a lot of study on alicorn magic while we had encapsulated Princess Luna. However, the Griffonian Empire was too prideful to outsource the proper magical resources to the Changeling power while Taurus was in power. I worked with the Changelings of my own volition to develop a few interesting sciences, such as a way to dispel alicorn magic of any kind with particular magi-deterrent elements artificially created from harvested essence of the Nightmare. Furthermore, it allows me to set an automatic activation upon interaction of alicorn magic onto a device such as, say, this one."

He gently shook the device in his claws, puffing the tobacco pipe nonchalantly with a smirk.

"It looks like a toy," Sunrise pointed out unamused. Slyphani gave a chuckle.

"But it packs a big bang," he said, "namely of the Alpony Residential Complex in Las Pegasus, given it is linked to quite a load of crafted magidynamic thermobaric expulsion compounds. MTEC capsules, as you might have read in a war textbook. A fairly recent science for the fairly recent Solar Empire, but a more refined one to the Griffonians."

"You're holding thirty-two thousand equines hostage," Sunrise said weakly, turning her face to the floor with an expression of shock, "that was your plan."

"Actually, I was hoping you would have not believed me at first," Slyphani pointed out, "that way, I could have detonated the building and lied about having another setup. That would have been absolutely golden, but as it turns out you're rather smart and knew to, hehe, hold your horses."

Sunrise gritted her teeth, quietly snarling as she knew there wasn't anything she could do but wait it out. Why didn't she think about this? How could he have so cleverly gone under her nose this whole time? Furthermore, what was going to happen when she encountered Chrysalis, who she assumed she would soon be meeting? One thing she knew about hostage situations, of course, was that the hostages died whether or not the holder had their way.

As all seemed lost, a crackling sound came from the wall in front of her. She and Slyphani both looked in astonishment as a text burned into the carriage's wall with a yellowish aura, reading "HOPE FS".

"What the fuck?" Slyphani said with a snarl, staring at the letters in confusion. Sunrise began to laugh as Slyphani quickly turned to her, "what is so funny?"

"For a gryphon who has studied so much magic, you seemed to forget that alicorn magic and unicorn magic operate differently," Sunrise said, "now, you're fucked."

"Damn it all!" Slyphani shouted, opening the carriage door and leaning out before shouting in fluent Changeling. The "guards" leading the carriage turned to one another, having reached the outside of the Empire's national borders and letting out a collective screech. They dropped their false forms to reveal standard changeling hoofsoldiers before speeding up the carriage to an uncomfortable pace. Sunrise simply grinned to herself as she recognized the yellow aura.

"You came back," she thought to herself.

Author's Note

WELL, THAT CERTAINLY TOOK A LONG TIME.