Celestia had lost track of time. Normally, this fact would distress her, if only for the simple fact that she and her sister were in charge of the celestial bodies that her ponies used to track time, but she was too tired to be upset. She was helping guards clean up debris and collect scared guests from the various spots they had managed to hide themselves in. Even Daroach was pitching in, using his odd magic to cool the molten tiles left behind from Twilights attack. And wasn't that something she hadn't seen coming?

She always knew Twilight Sparkle was magically gifted, both in talent and in power. The moment Celestia laid eyes on the scared unicorn filly, she saw a whole new world open up before her eyes. A pony who could truly change the world in ways only they could imagine. The track melted through the floor was still a surprise regardless. Celestia could cast a spell with similar results, don't get her wrong, but it requires tapping into a well of power she normally kept suppressed. It also takes time to gather that much power. Twilight pulled enough power to move the sun and moon for a day into her horn in seconds. That... that was a whole new magnitude of absurd she hadn't been expecting.

Neither was I! That was one pony? She nearly turned my statue into slag, with me in it! What in Tartarus are you feeding your ponies Celly!

Regardless, it would be something to speak to her about later. She was currently in the medical wing, alongside Luna, Carina, and Swaddle-Dee. Carina was miraculously the only one to actually suffer injury, though it was a rough one. Both left legs were dislocated, a kidney ruptured, and several severe cracks and splits across her carapace. She was recovering, and at a surprising rate, but Celestia didn't doubt she would be feeling it for some time. Toby interrupted her thoughts by pulling on one of her legs, and very insistently dragged her back out into the main room of the ruined Gala.

"Toby? What is it you need?" Toby's apparent power wasn't something she really had time to process yet either. She had seen him eat a feather and grow wings, but to have the power to turn sound into a weapon so easily? Sound was always the side-effect of an explosion, she had never realized you could make an explosion with sound. Ignorant to her thoughts on his crazy and inconsistent power, Toby just pointed to the destroyed stage. Celestia looked, but all she saw was one of the musicians pulling her bowtie out of the rubble.

And then a star portal opened up right behind them. The Princess gasped as Elfilis stepped out, looking like he was set on fire. His front was blackened with the ends of all of his fur burnt, his legs were soaked in pink liquid that she tried very hard not to retch at, and his hands were wrapped up in so many bandages he could barely move his wrists. And he also dragged a hissing, spitting Chrysalis out with him by her back leg. She looked mostly unharmed, which was both surprising and unsurprising, sans one of her new antlers being missing. The changeling was wrapped up to the neck in a web of some kind, though her hindquarters and remaining free leg were still able to kick and thrash as Elfilis approached Celestia.

"Elfilis, you got her. Are you... You should go to medical. I'll bring Chrysalis to-"

"Chrysalis needs to go to medical more. Where's Toby?" She glared at him.

"A missing horn is not more serious than whatever you went through. They grow back, even on ponies."

"Hmm. Cool. The worst of my injuries is dealt with. The rest is superficial. Chrysalis needs to be in a sterile setting. Where's Toby?" Said embodiment of all things good cheered from his spot next to the Princess. "Oh. Didn't see you there. Come here for a second bud?"

"Elfilis, can you please-" She stopped as he picked the unsuspecting Toby up by the top of his head, lifted Chrysalis in the air, and then stuck the two together with the webbing. "Why are you feeding her. She just attacked Canterlot."

"It's not for her, it's for the baby." Celestia looked Elfilis in the eyes and noticed just how tired he looked. How disappointed and downtrodden he was... And then his words caught up to her.

"Oh you've got to be joking."

Luna held her hooves together as she sat in front of her (very stupid, very reckless, very tired) friend. She had many things she wanted to say, about how she was glad he was okay. About how brave it was to take down Chrysalis on his own. About how idiotic it was to take on Chrysalis on his own. But she didn't say any of the things she wanted to say. Instead, she removed her hooves from her muzzle and simply-

"Are you okay?" And he just seemed to collapse. Luna carefully went to give him a hug as he sat down in front of her. He had barely walked in and set Chrysalis down on the cot next to them before launching into the whole story of what happened since he vanished. Whole new worlds, evidence of what he used to be... almost killing something sacred. Saved only by an errant thought. He didn't cry as she hugged him, he didn't scream or yell, Elfilis just sat there in her hooves and let himself breath.

"No. I don't think I'm okay."

"Alright. That's okay too." He just sighed.

"What's next? She's due any minute now I think. And between her mother and-" He got cut off by a spelching sound, and Luna felt something warm splash her neck.

"What was..." She pulled back to look at Elfilis. His face was covered and soaked in pink liquids as it dripped off his chin and his eyelashes, which twitched along with the rest of his eye. She turned around, not seeing where it could have came from. There was only her sister, Chrysalis, and... "Did... no. Surely not." Elfilis just stood up, swiped his hands across his face to remove as much as he could, and turned to leave.

"Her water broke." Luna just stared in disbelief at the changeling. Tody just waved at her from where he was adhered to Chrysalis, and Celestia was busy smacking her head against the wall off to the side. Luna felt as if she might join her.

"Carina? Are you okay?" She opened her eyes to look at her temporary roommate and occasional doctor. Twilight had bags under her eyes and her coat was dull, but she didn't seem to be able to sleep. Carina didnt blame her, she wouldn't be able to sleep either if all her friends busted down the door to see her. Especially if they all had to be escorted out by, let's see... Five guards, two doctors, six nurses, and a princess of the night.

"Yeah. I think so. It just... hurts, you know?" And she didn't just mean her wounds. Seeing Chrysalis, her sister, acting like some feral beast... She had only caught a glimpse through her tears before Elfilis carried her to safety and began treated her as best he could. And then she had to see him. He looked like he was ready to destroy the whole city if he had too. And now the both of them were gone, who knows where. She sniffled and pulled a mildly uncomfortable Swaddle-Dee deeper into her embrace. Like an embarrassed teddy bear.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know..." Twilight didn't know what to think. Everything had gone wrong so quickly. She knew, logically, that she was thinking, that she was just processing everything that had happened, but it all felt so empty. Like she wasn't thinking at all. She didn't know what do with so much space in her mind. Twilight was always thinking, always focusing on something. Now she just felt her body ache. "Did... Nevermind."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know what I was going to say. Probably nothing at all." She tried to think about her friends, who had nearly assualted the staff. She tried to think of Spike, who was curled up next to her. And then knocking sounded out from the door.

"Hey, Carina, it's me... Are you awake?" Carina couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, and seeing that made Twilight feel just a little lighter.

"Yeah, I'm awake. Come in, please." There was a moment of silence before they heard him groan from the otherside. Carina's smile shrank as she heard him. "Elfilis?"

"Sorry... I'm just... I'm such a fuckin mess right now. I don't... it's stupid, but I don't... it's stupid."

"...You're hurt aren't you?" Carina gasped, and Twilight hated saying it immediately. Too their confusion, Elfilis started to laugh.

"Hahaha. No. Not really. Nothing serious or permanent I don't think. How you holding up Twilight? Heard you were the one who melted a hole in the floor." Twilight felt her ears heat up as he teased her.

"Yeah, that was... An experience." They just heard him huff from the other side.

"I'm sure it was... Alright. While I'm being a coward out here I might as well give you girls the details." Carina took it as a good sign that he didn't sound particularly worried. "So... I may have taken Chrysalis on a trip spanning multiple worlds."

"What." Twilight felt the few thoughts she have beginning to process die.

"Yup. I dipped her in lava and got her struck by lightning in some pretty crazy places. My powers just seemed to take us to places where there were convenient hazards to throw her at, even if they weren't immediately obvious."

Twilight just looked at Carina, who looked back at her. Both were surprised by the nonchalance Elfilis seemed to say that with.

"In the end, I got her stuck in some unnaturally strong webs. I kept injuring her until she stopped bleeding pink. Until she ran out of energy. And then... Then I..."

Both the mares leaned in to hear what came next. They were in suspence, even though they both felt their hearts drop into their stomachs. The shame he spoke with, the fear in his voice... They knew that the next word out of his mouth would be that he-

"-Realized she was pregnant?"

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!" Twilight and Carina stared in shock as Swaddle-Dee screamed into the heavens and started doing a celebratory dance.

"Was that Swaddle-Dee?" Carina nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see her.

"Uh-huh. Wait, pregnant! Chrysalis?! Oh fuuuuuuuuuu-"

"uuuuuuuuuck."

I massaged the back of my neck as best I could. I had definitely wussed out on what I wanted to say, but I would tell Carina that I had almost killed another family member of hers later, when Twilight wasn't sharing a room with her.

"Yup. You're going to be an aunt. Congratulations and all that."

"Ugh! I already was an aunt. Mother had kids with my brothers all the time remember?" No actually, I think I actively repressed that information until now. "Chrysalis is the last one in the whole hive who should ever be allowed to procreate."

"Maybe, but I doubt she's going to be the one with custody, regardless of whether the baby ends up here or back with your siblings."

"...The, baby?" I nodded, almost forgetting she couldn't see me.

"Yes. Just the one. Remember how Twilight said your body changed to match mine? Chrysalis has only had sex with ponies, and I think the same thing happened to her. She's only having the one, like most ponies do... Most ponies only have one baby, right Twilight?"

"On average." Cool.

"Elfilis?"

"What is it Carina?"

"Come back soon."

"... Of course. Love you."

"I love you too."

I really did try to force myself to just open the door. To just go see her. But instead I found myself walking. I didn't know where, I just let myself be pulled wherever my body wanted to take me. I had already denied it enough today, I had no more energy to do it now. So I walked and floated down a set of stairs as I just let the world pass me by. I went down several stories, and the lights got darker as I went. I found myself in a room full of cages, rusty and unused in a long time. I idly hoped that was a good thing as I moved past them all until I got to the very end.

I finally stopped as I crossed the threshold into the final cell. Dust and shattered crystal littered the floor, enough that Chrysalis was able to leave deep hoof prints on the floor. But one crystal caught my eye in particular, as it was the largest and most intact. It was mostly clear, with only the barest tint of pink to color it. Shaped as a heart, sat upon a pedestal, affixed atop a shattered stake that clearly used to be much larger. A heart spear. The mysterious weapons that could imprison Void Termina. The remains of them would give Kirby the ability to use Friend Hearts. The Friend Hearts I had been using to feed the hive every month.

As I left, there was no more heart in the cage behind me. I ignored the shaking of my hands as their bandages ran red. I knew I couldn't have known. It was a miscommunication issue. There were too many of us involved without direct contact. Something got lost in transit. It slipped their minds. Anything.

I hated how it made me feel all the same.

Author's Note

.... He gets better.