The Retribution of Chrysalis

Chapters

Chapter Seven: Twilight Sparkle (Take Two)
Chapter Eight: Shining Armor and Cadance
Chapter Nine: Princess Celestia
Epilogue: Repentance
Prologue: Extinction
Chapter One: Fluttershy
Chapter Two: Rarity
Chapter Three: Twilight Sparkle (Take One)
Chapter Four: Applejack
Chapter Five: Pinkie Pie
Chapter Six: Rainbow Dash

Chapter Seven: Twilight Sparkle (Take Two)

Twilight Sparkle sat out on her balcony, looking up at the starry late-night sky without actually seeing it. Her fascination with the lunar cycle and constellations could not distract her from the thoughts of the day’s events. It took hours for her to get her sobbing in control, but she somehow managed it in time to see the moon rise.

Now she felt more worried than sad. She'd angered her friends to the point of leaving without waiting for an apology. She could only hope that she could make it up to them before it was too late, but she was afraid of what may happen if she couldn't. What would become of the Elements? Would this render them completely useless? And would she ever be able to cope with it? As adapted as she once was to a solitary life with only a baby dragon to keep her company, it would logically follow that she was capable of adapting to it again. But she thought that life to be mostly behind her, and she far preferred the time with her friends over the time spent shut away in her library. Now that she had such great friends... the last thing she wanted was to lose them like this.

She heard a figure approaching from behind her. She assumed it to be Spike, but kept her gaze locked on the stars. "You know, you could have tried to comfort me a while ago."

"I assumed my efforts would have been wasted. The sight of me would have made it worse."

Twilight turned around, and rather than the young purple dragon she expected, she saw Queen Chrysalis standing over her. The source of all her hatred and misery over the course of these last two days. The creature that had managed, within that time, to shatter her life beyond recognition. She looked upon that face, stared into those disgusting green eyes...

And she sighed, defeated. "I give up. You got what you wanted. Just... just get out of here."

There was a long pause. Twilight looked away, her tears returning despite the control she showed before. When she looked back, however, Chrysalis remained in place, taunting her with its presence.

Finally, Chrysalis spoke. "I wanted none of this, Twilight Sparkle. Rather the opposite, in fact."

Twilight reeled back in shock. From what she knew of this creature, it was prone to gloating whenever it was convinced it had won. This was its ultimate goal, wasn't it? To see her broken and crying with her friends wanting nothing to do with her?

So why did it look as sorry as she felt?

Chrysalis had spent much of the day wondering how much better off she would have been if she had simply met with Celestia directly. How much better off Twilight and her friends would have been. She once cared so little for these ponies, with their static forms and fleshy, fragile exterior frames. They'd been little more than nourishment, perhaps more than enough to have fed her swarm at its peak for generations. Now, however, she was concerned for these six, her actions having possibly torn them apart.

She should have expected this, planned for it. She knew the friends were a tight-knit group; the Elements of Harmony would never function if they were not. And to an extent, she did account for that closeness, trying to gain Twilight’s favor by gaining that of one or more of the others.

But she never even considered what might happen if they all supported her while the lavender mare remained opposed. She had been so certain that the aid of the kind, timid Fluttershy would have convinced her enough to send the cry for help to her beloved mentor with only a moment’s hesitation, yet even with all five, she resisted.

She never considered what that sort of reaction would have done for her efforts to rejuvenate the changeling race. The whole point was to earn Twilight’s trust, and such a division had the potential to revoke that trust and doom her subjects to extinction.

Most of all, she never considered that she may come to bond with the group of friends. They helped her because they cared, and she allowed them partly because she cared as well. She needed only to think back to Pinkie Pie’s party mere hours before to remind herself of this fact. But it seemed that this development was the very reason Twilight felt so betrayed and behaved as she did.

The mare whose help she needed most may have forever lost the love of the ponies she cared about the most... and it was all on Chrysalis’ head. And she could do nothing about it except show her that somepony still cared.

“I...” she began. “I’m at a loss for words. The only thing I can think to tell you is how truly sorry I am that this event transpired. That any of this did, now and in Canterlot.”

Twilight seemed to snap out of her trance and regained her composure. “So what, you’re apologizing for attacking the city?”

“It was an act of necessity and desperation,” Chrysalis replied. “As poor the result may have been, I cannot apologize for acting for the benefit of my subjects. I meant to apologize for everything else. About Captain Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Her name is Cadance. And it’s a little late to apologize for that. You knew exactly what you were doing by screwing with both of them.”

Chrysalis sighed. “That’s just it. I was unaware of their relationships beyond each other. I needed Mi Am—I needed Cadance to get close enough to your brother to drain his force field and grant my people entry. When Shining Armor attempted to introduce you to me, I did not recognize you as his sister. I knew of the Elements of Harmony, and I had general knowledge of their bearers... but I may have changed my entire approach if I’d known of the couple's history with you. Overlooking that crucial detail, I believe, was what put me in the position I’m in now.”

Twilight paused for a moment, considering her words. Chrysalis was surprised by the length of time she took to do so; she wholly expected her to cling to her hostility and disregard the apology completely.

“You know I can’t just forgive you for that,” Twilight finally said. “What you did was manipulative and underhoofed, and it almost ruined what I had with Shining Armor after not seeing him for years. You made me think my old foalsitter had turned into a horrible pony! You—”

“You never realized the deceit?” Chrysalis asked, shocked. All this time, she’d thought Twilight’s actions were meant to blow her cover and reveal her identity before her forces could access the haven of love that was cut off from them. To hear that she may not have been wise to her after all... the thought never even crossed her mind.

“Not until you imprisoned me with the real Cadance,” Twilight confirmed. “I really thought you were her, and I really thought she became this awful, rude, inconsiderate pony while I was in Ponyville.”

“Thanks...” Chrysalis mumbled, unheard.

“If anything, not knowing only made it hurt more,” Twilight continued. “The days leading up to the wedding were the worst of my life, and you can’t deny that that was your fault... but I guess knowing you didn’t mean anything personal by it makes it a little easier to accept.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is... I’m sorry too. For just jumping to conclusions like that and acting based on those conclusions. I was so convinced I was right that I didn’t even consider what I’d be doing to my friends if I was wrong. And... well... here we are.”

There they were. The words Chrysalis had been waiting for since Twilight attacked her. The words she had been working hard to earn from her throughout the previous day, but never heard. The words she’d lost hope of hearing after her meltdown with Pinkie Pie that morning. And yet, she felt she’d neither earned nor deserved that apology. The cost was far too great, and it seemed more like Twilight had been guilted into relenting.

“I don’t know if I can accept your apology. Not like this.”

“You might as well,” Twilight replied. “You probably wouldn’t have gotten it any other way.”

The two sat in silence for a while, simply looking up at the sky and letting their thoughts roam free. In the glow of the moonlight, Chrysalis could feel the tension gradually dissipate. For the first time since her arrival, she did not get a feeling of discomfort from the mare beside her. In that moment, Twilight seemed not to mind her company. Perhaps it was the exchange they shared just before, or perhaps it was the tranquility of the night, but neither of them felt like they didn’t want to be there.

Twilight was the first to break the silence. “So... Chrysalis... there are still so many things about this that I don’t understand.”

Chrysalis looked to the unicorn in amazement. Twilight used her name. She didn’t refer to her by her race, didn’t call her a thing or a monster, didn’t even try to appeal to her royal status. At long last, she respected her enough to use her name. She couldn’t help but smile, touched as she was by the sentiment. “I will explain what I can. It’s the least I can do.”

“First of all... why me?”

“That much should be obvious,” Chrysalis answered. “You are the only way I can contact your princess without risking another journey to Canterlot.”

“Not necessarily,” Twilight rebutted. “You must have known I would be stubborn about writing that letter to her. What surprises me is... well, everything I write to the princess has to be sent through Spike’s fire breath. And he seemed more than happy to have you around. What was stopping you from going behind my back and getting him to send the letter without my permission?”

“A few things,” Chrysalis responded. “First and foremost, however, was that I had been trying to earn your trust and atone for my past actions. I would have made no progress if I’d attempted to involve Celestia without your consent. And I was so determined to gain that trust that it never even occurred to me to try.”

“Really? Not even a stray thought?”

“Not even,” Chrysalis confirmed. “Even if I’d wanted to after your... well, your episode, I assume Spike would have added a note about your mental state. An act of love and concern, no doubt, but it would have made me look even worse to Celestia, and she may have chosen not to act. At least, not in any way that would have helped me.”

“Alright... but what about my friends? What made you think you needed them all on your side?”

Chrysalis recalled hearing this question before, but not having the opportunity to adequately answer. She thought back to Fluttershy, who showed the depths of her compassion when she came pleading to her for help. She thought back to Rarity and Applejack, whose allegiances with her were shakier but who supported her nonetheless. She remembered Spike, whose company was a pleasant constant during her stay at the library. She remembered Pinkie Pie and her small party, which had lifted her spirits in these dark times. Even Rainbow Dash, whom she had only encountered the one time before now, chose to join her friends at her side when faced with Twilight’s apparent madness.

And to think that she, the queen of the changelings, could have forged friendships with these individuals. It wasn’t enough to serve its initial purpose, but she’d stopped caring about the initial purpose around three ponies ago. It was enough that she had their support and their friendship.

“It was not going to be all of them,” she began. “At first, I felt I only needed Fluttershy’s assistance, and in fact, she was the only one I sought out. The others were purely accidental encounters, though I am grateful for them. I wanted only one, but I found five instead. I must admit, though... considering my conviction that Fluttershy would convince you enough to help me, your resistance to all five of them is impressive in its own way.”

Unexpectedly, Twilight actually chuckled at that remark. “Stubbornness is supposed to be Applejack’s job. I must have put her to shame.”

“That seems a poor choice of words,” Chrysalis replied, to which Twilight shrank back slightly.

“I still can’t believe I did that to them,” she lamented. “I used to live a mostly lonely life, but now that I’ve met them, I can’t imagine anything else. But I said some horrible things to them, and they didn’t even let me say I was sorry.” She looked to the ground, her eyes starting to water again. “I’m so scared of losing them... but I don’t know if they’d forgive me.”

“Do not dwell on it further, Twilight. You’ve shed enough tears this night.” Chrysalis draped her foreleg over Twilight’s shoulders. “It was my presence here that triggered this series of events. They cannot stay angry forever, and I will see to it that they do not.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, sniffling.

“Absolutely,” Chrysalis assured her. “They are my friends as well. And even then, I expect some of them to have already forgiven you. Your apology would mean more coming from your own mouth, so you will need to do this yourself. I can only assist. I’ve known none of them personally any longer than two days, so I doubt the effectiveness of my own input.”

“I knew our friendship would be a lasting one after only a few hours,” Twilight countered. “I guess I’m just worrying over nothing again. Discord himself couldn’t keep us apart. I’ll have to talk to them tomorrow... but I think you being there when I do would help more than you realize.”

“I suppose we may have to wait and see,” Chrysalis stated. “And... the matter of your mentor?”

“I promise, I’ll write to her when I’ve made up with my—with our friends,” Twilight declared. “In the meantime, I’ve already lost sleep over this whole thing, and I don’t think I’ll be able to get much now, so... you never did find that communication spellbook I wanted. I don’t suppose you’d want to help me check the shelves on the upper level?”

Chrysalis smiled again, relieved by the relaxed and even friendly attitude Twilight showed towards her. “It would be my pleasure.”

The changeling queen really did admire Spike sometimes. She now remembered how rigorous the task of scouring countless shelves for a single book could be, and she could not imagine dealing with it for one’s entire life. In addition, with only part of a ceiling above herself and Twilight, the sleeping dragon was within hearing range of their entire search; to remain asleep through the ruckus they were creating was an impressive feat indeed.

“What is the purpose of this spellbook you’re fixated on?” Chrysalis inquired, having all but torn apart a shelf full of history texts.

“I want to see if I can find one on vocal long-distance communication,” Twilight responded. “It should be quicker and more personal than writing letter after letter and waiting for the other party’s reply. Since Spike can only send and receive letters to and from Princess Celestia, I don’t have any quick way to talk to my family back in Canterlot, which I’ve been meaning to do for a little while now.”

“Namely, your brother and his new bride?”

“Exactly!” Twilight exclaimed. “Actually, now that I’m thinking about them... you don’t hate them, do you? It was their force field that kicked you and your changelings out of Canterlot.”

“I have not given the couple much thought throughout my stay,” Chrysalis stated. “I do not see myself as harboring any resentment towards them.” And for the most part, she spoke the truth. But Twilight had seemed close to coming around and sending the letter to Celestia before her exchange with Pinkie Pie. It was as if the conflicting emotions had stopped their battle and allowed the more hateful ones to regain control. She’d chosen to give Shining and Cadance minimal thought, but they were the most directly responsible for the changelings’ current state. She could imagine the same emotional outburst occurring to her if she were to meet them.

“That’s good, I suppose,” Twilight commented. “I just felt so distant from him when I had to hear about his wedding from Princess Celestia...”

“Your connection with your brother is as strong as those with your friends,” Chrysalis observed.

“It is, and I don’t ever want to risk losing it again. Do you even know what that’s like, having a connection like that and having it almost come undone? Especially with family or friends?”

“Not in an emotional sense, no,” Chrysalis replied, “but in a literal sense, I understand better than you ever could.”

“What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked, her book search forgotten in favor of a potential pursuit of new knowledge.

“Well, you were not far off when you suggested that the changelings were extensions of my will,” Chrysalis informed her. “They are sentient, of course, and they have their own thoughts and feelings, but they are all connected to each other, and to me, by a single hive mind. Very efficient for spreading orders to the entire hive, if I do say so myself. As their queen, I can detach myself from that connection if I so choose, but the others are linked permanently. Imagine having all of your friends’ thoughts joining your own in your head, and you can grasp the idea.”

“But obviously on a larger scale,” Twilight added. “Is that... how you know about their suffering?”

“That of the ones I could not see, yes,” Chrysalis solemnly answered. “It was a mess of cries of pain and pleas for help. I have not attempted the connection since that time. The sudden silence when any of those voices vanished was too much for me.”

“So you haven’t checked on them in at least two days?” Twilight stated. “You ought to fix that right now. I think they need reassurance from their ruler right now. Heck, since you’ve been detached for so long, they might not even know you’re still alive!”

Had it really been so long? All this time, she’d been fighting to save their lives, and she never even thought to check in with them despite the relative ease with which she could. Even now, at Twilight’s suggestion, she could hardly bear to try, not if it meant hearing the final thoughts of so many more of those poor, broken souls.

However... Twilight had a point. This queen was long overdue for an address to her subjects. With that in mind, Chrysalis reached out and linked herself to the changeling hive mind.

Twilight was actually quite pleased with herself now. In her panic about losing her closest friends, she felt she may have gained a new one. One that, only hours ago, she’d unrepentantly labeled as an enemy, a villain. Their heart-to-heart on the balcony meant more to her than she expected it to. And now, moments later, there she was, making small talk with Chrysalis as they scoured the shelves for the book she wanted.

She was fascinated to hear about the mental link Chrysalis shared with the changelings. It made them sound as if they truly did function as a hive, somewhat akin to ants or bees, with the queen making decisions and giving orders. It was such a bountiful learning opportunity, and there was nopony better to learn from!

And now she was about to see how this hive mind worked. She wondered if it would be entirely mental, which would make it a somewhat disappointing spectacle, or if there would be some sort of visual indicator of the connection.

What she saw was a bit of both. She knew Chrysalis had linked, but she didn’t know from anything related to the process itself. The indicator was the way the monarch suddenly froze up, eyes wide and mouth gaping, then fell onto her haunches with tears leaking unhindered from her eyes.

“Chrysalis...?”

But Chrysalis didn’t respond. Twilight couldn’t pretend to know firsthoof how this sort of thing was supposed to work, but she wasn’t convinced that what she was seeing now was supposed to happen. In all honestly, it looked like something was seriously wrong, and she was beginning to feel unnerved. The lack of response only served to make it even worse.

“Come on, talk to me,” she insisted. “What’s wrong? How many are there?”

She did get a response this time. A short response, but a response nonetheless. But considering what that response was, she would probably have been just as happy with more silence.

“Write the letter. Now!”

The silence in her head was deafening.

Chrysalis’ entire motivation for showing her face in Equestria again was to ensure the survival of her race. Every action made in this kingdom was made to further that goal. And the plan she had to meet this goal seemed so simple, so solid. She was so elated to gain the amount of support she did. She even dared to hope, to wholeheartedly believe that she could do it.

Not one. Not even one. No stray thoughts, no cries of pain, no pleas for help, no begging for an end. The hive mind was empty save for herself. It was as if she never made the link at all, the only thoughts in her head being her own, but it was compounded by the complete nothing she was met with. It made her feel tiny, lost and helpless.

It was all for nothing. She’d have accomplished just as much by laying in that crater and weeping until the bodies she could see stopped squirming and screaming. There was literally no point to her even being here in the first place.

“Chrysalis, what happened?” Twilight asked, the hairs in her recently-restyled mane starting to fall back out of place. “What can you hear? How many are left?”

“None!” Chrysalis sobbed. “They’re all gone!”

“What’s all gone?” Spike groaned, climbing out of bed and looking over the edge of the bedroom to the scene below.

“Spike,” Twilight commanded, very visibly distressed. “Take a letter.”

Dear Princess Celestia,

I may have just learned the most valuable friendship lesson of my life tonight. But I’m afraid I’ll have to give it to you at another time. Right now, there’s something much more important and much more urgent that I need to talk to you about.

You see, two days ago, Equestria got a return visit from Chrysalis, the changeling queen. She’s been staying here in Ponyville for a while, first at Fluttershy’s cottage, then here at the library. She asked me to write a letter to you, hoping you could look past the events of the wedding and provide any sort of relief for her subjects, who were scattered and dying as a result of the force field that drove them out.

Unfortunately, I’ve just been informed that she was too late, and they all perished despite her best efforts to win me over get the help she needed. I’m looking at her right now, and she’s completely inconsolable.

I don’t know what’s left to do, but I need to know that there’s still something. I need to see you as soon as possible to discuss this, as there’s still more to this that I’m not completely comfortable saying through writing. I need a reply as soon as you receive this. It’s just as important to me as it is to her.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

The scroll was incinerated by Spike’s flames, leaving a trail of magical smoke en route to Canterlot Castle. The sending went off without a hitch.

“Perfect!” Twilight shrieked. “Now go get the others and bring them over here! Tell Fluttershy first, tell her to grab Rainbow Dash, and work from there. I don’t care what you have to do or what you have to tell them, just get them here. Got it?”

“Yeah, but I really think you should lie down for a—”

“Now, Spike!” Twilight interrupted, losing her patience with each passing second.

“Alright, fine!” Spike relented, and he moved for the door. Before he got a chance to open it, however, he belched, spewing fire and ejecting a rather small scroll. He grabbed the letter from the air, opened it, and read its contents aloud:

I’ll be there after sunrise. Don’t let her out of your sight.

Twilight was pleased to hear Princess Celestia’s prompt response, but her nerves were still going haywire. “Great, perfect, we can have everyone over to watch for her, just go get them!”

“I’m going!” Spike shouted, exiting the room and slamming the door behind him.

Twilight continued to perform her newly-adopted ritual of pacing in circles, telling herself to calm down, and utterly failing to obey herself. Once again, the world around her was dead to her. She didn’t even register the bawling Chrysalis despite the fact that she was the cause of her stress.

A realization struck her the moment the news had left Chrysalis’ mouth. Possibly the worst realization that anypony could ever hit upon. She’d tried to convince herself that it wasn’t true, but there was no way around it.

This was all on her.

She had to be stubborn. She had to resist Chrysalis’ attempts to show her the light. She had to hang onto some pathetic facsimile of hatred even when the real hatred had all but died. She had to allow herself to snap and lash out at all of her friends.

She had to do all this instead of just thinking for two seconds and seeing just how much harm she was doing. And now, not only did she practically disown almost everypony she loved, but she knowingly stalled the changeling relief effort to the point where it became worthless.

The worst part about it was that the friend problem was the only one that could be fixed.

She envisioned a colorful and elaborate worst-case scenario for herself. The renewed scorn of her friends. Being disowned by her teacher, by the co-ruler of all Equestria. Banishment. Imprisonment. Dying alone, rotting away in a prison in a place she didn’t know. Not even being missed enough for a funeral.

No. She was not letting herself lose her cool like that again. The last time she let her worst-case scenarios run her actions, she... well, the second-to-last time, she sent all of Ponyville into a riot over a doll. She needed to stay positive. She would absolutely make sure her friends knew how terrible she felt about saying all those horrible things to them, and she would keep their friendship alive at any cost, because now, more than ever, she needed them. She needed somepony to help her through this, to ease her nagging conscience, to tell her that this wasn’t her fault.

She felt she needed to hear that, even though she knew it was a lie.

Chapter Eight: Shining Armor and Cadance

“Thanks for coming, everypony,” Twilight greeted once Spike returned with the rest of the group, Applejack having arrived toting a cart full of fresh apples. Everypony, with the exception of Chrysalis, stood outside the front door of the library, anxiously tracking the rise of the sun and fearing what would come when it cleared the horizon.

"We're here for her," Rainbow Dash clarified. "Not for you."

"You're here for both of us," Twilight countered. "I don't know what's taking her so long to come out, but... I had something to say before she—"

"Save yer breath, sugarcube," Applejack interrupted. "Ah ain't mad about what ya said yesterday. Ah mean, Ah am a little... but Ah know ya didn’t mean it. Ya weren't thinkin' straight."

"That's not an excuse," Twilight continued. "I was horrible to all of you. I said terrible things that I had no right to say. I let my feelings for Chrysalis get in the way of everything else. You... you were all right about her, and I was too obsessed to see it. I was too scared of her taking you all away from me... and I'm still scared that I might have driven you away myself."

Twilight felt herself coming to tears again for what must have been the hundredth time, but the feeling subsided when Fluttershy broke off from the group and embraced her. "I already forgave you, Twilight," she assured her, sounding close to tears herself. “One fight won’t change anything between us.”

“Your words were harsh,” Rarity added. “And they resonated on a very personal level. Nevertheless, you are still my friend, and I find it rather difficult to hold it against you.”

Oddly enough, Pinkie Pie remained silent. Her mane still drooped, and her colors were still muted. Her characteristic cheer hadn’t returned since last night, it seemed. In fact, she actually looked somewhat depressed. It concerned Twilight enough to break free from Fluttershy’s hug and walk towards the pink earth pony.

“Pinkie, what’s wrong? I thought you’d appreciate that I was apologizing.”

“I do,” Pinkie replied. “It’s just... what you said was really mean. You sounded like you hated me. You said I didn’t even deserve to be the Element of Laughter! I... I thought you didn’t want to be my friend anymore.”

“That could never happen,” Twilight assured her. “I love all of you too much to push you away. I don’t know how I could live without laughter in my life. You’ll always be my friend.”

Pinkie’s typical vibrancy returned in an instant, but there were still tears forming in her eyes, and the smile she wore was warmer and more subdued than her usual brand. Without another word, she offered her own hug, which Twilight all too gladly accepted.

All that was left was Rainbow, who kept a safe distance away from Twilight even as she approached Pinkie for a hug.

“What about you, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight inquired. “You’re not still bitter, are you?”

“I have the right,” Rainbow replied. “I know, you were stressed and you didn’t mean it, but you still said it. You still crossed that line, and crossing back over doesn’t mean it never happened. I won’t say we’re not friends anymore, I could never do that to you. But just the fact that you could even bring my loyalty into question and insult everypony else...”

She paused a moment, on the verge of succumbing to tears as well. “I... I think I know how it must have felt for you when Discord got to all of us. It really hurt to hear you say that, Twilight. I don’t want us to stop hanging out, and I guess I forgive you and all, but I’m not just gonna brush that off. I’m sorry, but I’m probably still gonna be sore about this for a while.”

Twilight sighed. It sounded like she might have to work a little to fix things completely with Rainbow Dash, but they weren’t completely broken either. Just as Chrysalis had attempted with her, she would have to earn her full respect back. Making the Element of Loyalty feel betrayed was not an easy feat, and she feared that it would be even harder to regain her favor. It would be best to start immediately, to ask what could be done to make it up to her. Perhaps a pair of tickets to the next Wonderbolts show and a day in her company? It wouldn’t be cheap, and it would be nowhere near enough, but perhaps it would be a good start.

Before she could get the chance to make the proposition, however, she heard a sniffle coming from the library. Everyone turned around to see Chrysalis standing outside the doorway, levitating a book with her magic. She looked like she just made a trip from Everfree to Tartarus and back again.

“It was in with the anatomy books,” she stated with barely any trace of emotion. “I’d been searching since you left the room. I... needed the distraction.”

“Oh, Chrysalis, I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy cried, running over to comfort her. “Spike told me everything he knew. Losing everything you cared about like that... I don’t even know what to say. It’s so awful!”

“Leave the grieving to me,” Chrysalis replied. “They perished by no fault of yours.”

“Technically, it was Shining Armor’s fault,” Rainbow added.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity shouted. “What made you think she wanted to hear you say something so accusatory and inconsiderate at a time like this!?”

“Rarity’s right. Besides, if it’s anypony’s fault... it’s mine.”

All eyes turned to Twilight. She knew she welcomed it with her comment, hence her making it in the first place, but it still made her incredibly uncomfortable.

“I was the one who let this happen,” she explained as she began to pace around the yard. “If I’d just listened to Fluttershy and Rarity and given Chrysalis the benefit of the doubt, Princess Celestia would have already acted by now, and Chrysalis would have been gone. If I really didn’t want to deal with her, I should’ve just given her what she wanted.”

“Twilight,” Chrysalis started, “it’s not your—”

“I even knew I was letting more of the changelings die the longer I kept her waiting,” Twilight continued, ignoring the interruption and losing control of the wavering of her voice with every word. “And it still didn’t stop me. I let them all die because of some stupid grudge I couldn’t let go of!”

“Twilight, please, do not blame yourself for—”

But Twilight still spoke over the interruption, and she started pacing faster, tears streaking down her face. “I was so convinced that I was being the hero that I managed to make myself the villain! If anything, I’m worse than I ever thought she was, because at least she never committed genocide!”

“Enough!” Chrysalis cried, looking ready to succumb to her emotions again.

Twilight fell silent at Chrysalis’ outburst. Somehow, she didn’t blame her for the deaths of thousands. She withheld from Princess Celestia the information she would have needed to save them, and she did it very much intentionally, so how could the queen of the newly dead not blame her? Who else was there to blame?

Without another word, Twilight telekinetically grabbed the book from Chrysalis’ grasp and opened it to a page the queen had helpfully marked. This was the exact spell she had been looking for. Long-distance communication. It looked incredibly complicated, but manageable. It may be close, but she was sure she could perform it and still be left with time to spare.

And while they all waited for the arrival of Princess Celestia, she knew exactly who to contact with it.

It was to be another early morning for the Royal Guard. Shining Armor had returned from his honeymoon just the previous night, and he’d suspected that readjusting to the waking hours required to perform his duties as captain would be a chore. To his surprise, however, he was awake and alert right on time, like the routine had been hard-wired into his subconscious.

Cadance was the one who struggled to get out of bed. It wasn’t the first time she’d asked to join him for morning duties, and she didn’t think it would be the last, but waking up just as the moon was coming down was always the hardest part. She figured she’d be fine once she got some caffeine in her system, and lo and behold, she was now almost as alert as her loving husband.

They stood together at Shining’s current post by the gateway leading into Canterlot Castle. It would be time to begin rounds soon, but for now, they were content with watching the rising sun, with Cadance sipping coffee as she leaned affectionately up against her husband. The perfect start to what could shape up to be a perfect day.

The pair looked up to the tallest tower of the castle, to the balcony adjacent to Princess Celestia’s private quarters. Sure enough, the regal alicorn was standing out on that balcony, her energies focused on raising the sun. Neither had the best of views of her from their current position, but even from such a distance, she seemed somewhat preoccupied, as if some urgent matter had come up. Shining got a sneaking suspicion that she would have a new briefing for his Guard once her daily duties had been performed.

Not that he could entertain the thought much, though, because his attention was abruptly grabbed by his wife.

“Um... Shining? I think Twilight wants a word with us.”

Chrysalis was rather impressed. The spell seemed to work without any major complications, and she could actually view the couple in their current location without actually being there, as if seeing Canterlot through a window. And a window was exactly how it appeared: a small spatial window rimmed with a faint magenta glow. A light prod confirmed to her that it was indeed more akin to a window than a portal, and hazarding a glance behind it let her see that she... well, couldn’t see it from the back. Twilight had effectively created a limited gateway to another location.

“I... I think it worked,” Twilight panted, having exerted herself far more than she must have been used to in order to perform the spell. She looked ready to collapse, but Fluttershy stood beside her to help her maintain her balance.

Chrysalis saw the wife grab the husband’s attention and direct it towards the portal. He looked excited, if confused, to see his younger sibling again. “Twily! Wow, that can’t have been an easy spell to pull off. Must’ve taken a lot out of you.”

“I’m better than you think at this,” Twilight greeted, her physical state contradicting her words. “But right now, that’s not important. Something awful has happened, and I think you and Cadance need to know.”

“Need to know wha—” Princess Cadance began, but stopped herself the moment she noticed the changeling queen off to the side.

Chrysalis locked eyes with the mare on the other side. She had wronged this mare not long ago, imprisoning and impersonating her so she could feast on her groom-to-be’s love and weaken his hold on the force field spell. And she’d gained so much energy from Shining Armor; it was enough for her to surpass Celestia in power and sustain herself for days, if not weeks.

None of this came to mind, however. When she looked into the alicorn’s deep purple eyes, all she saw was red. She’d escaped the caves. She’d blown her cover. She’d rejuvenated Shining Armor. And together, this couple sent an entire race hurtling to their deaths with the force of their love.

They were the reason her original plan failed. They were the reason her subjects died.

“Twilight, get back!” Cadance shouted, clearly alarmed by Chrysalis’ presence.

Shining took notice of her as well, and he immediately shifted into a defensive stance. “Twilight, why is the changeling queen there with you!?”

“It’s a long story,” Twilight replied, “and she’s the reason I had to try to talk to you now. It’s a lot easier for me that you’re both together, since this is something that I think affects both of you, but I promise, Chrysalis isn’t here to hurt anypony.”

“I wasn’t,” Chrysalis corrected her. “But I also never intended to see these two again. I could die happy if I never did.”

“Same here, changeling,” Shining retorted, which riled her up even more. “What are you even doing back here in Equestria? Trying to get to my wife again?”

“Don’t tempt me,” Chrysalis hissed, stepping into full view. “Right now I think I’d love nothing more than to take one of you and suck your love dry whilst I make the other watch.”

“I’m not gonna let that happen. And you still haven’t answered me. Why are you here?”

“It’s of no consequence to you,” Chrysalis replied. “And what does it even matter now? I’ve already failed.”

“Then you won’t mind if I send a few of my pegasi over there to collect you,” Shining threatened, slowly advancing towards the window. “I’ll let Princess Celestia decide what she wants to do with you from there.”

“Why not simply wait?” Chrysalis remarked, advancing from her own end. “She’s due to arrive once the sun rises. And I believe her judgment earns more precedence than yours, as well as more respect.”

“Don’t you dare insult my Guard!” Shining yelled. “How would you like it if I took pot shots at your changelings?”

“I will kill you where you stand if you even try!” Chrysalis shouted. The two now stood face-to-face, their horns scraping the portal on their respective ends without passing through it. “I am in absolutely no mood to put up with such grievous disrespect, especially not from the likes of you!”

“And what makes me so special?” Shining inquired. “Why am I so awful that you won’t let me say anything about your subjects?”

“How about the fact that you and your beloved wife killed all of them!?”

Shining Armor backed away at Chrysalis’ outburst. He had no idea how he was supposed to react. He’d never been accused of massacring an entire race before, and of course, he didn’t much appreciate it. It was impossible to imagine and even harder to believe, and accusing Cadance of the same was completely, unthinkably out of line! The whole thing was too outlandish to take seriously.

Then again... he never did hear from the changelings again. He never got any reports on changeling activity since the invasion. At the same time, though, he never considered that the reason for that was that there wasn’t any possible way for them to act anymore. And every changeling forced out of the city, Chrysalis included, had been thrown far out of sight, so it wasn’t a stretch to assume that there were a few casualties, but surely not all of them, right?

“You’re lying,” he asserted, though the panic in his voice betrayed him. “Twilight, please tell me she’s lying!”

“She’s not,” Twilight replied. “The ones that didn’t die from their injuries went out starving. She tried linking to their hive mind, but it was empty. And she’d been here for two days before I finally trusted her enough to send the cry for help to Princess Celestia, but I stalled it long enough for them all to waste away.

“Basically... the three of us drove the changeling race to extinction.”

“Not you,” Chrysalis corrected. “Only them. And if I can’t save my changelings, I will gladly make the trek to Canterlot to avenge them!”

“You don’t want our blood on your hooves,” Shining argued.

“With all the blood on yours,” Chrysalis countered, “how will I know how much of it belongs to you? It was your force field. It was your spell. It was your love that slaughtered countless thousands of my people! My head should be filled with the voices of my loyal subjects, but you silenced each and every one of them!”

“Stop it!”

Cadance had to shut Chrysalis up. She couldn’t believe this. She’d planned for a pleasant morning in Shining Armor’s company, watching her aunt raise the sun while her husband did roll call and whatever else his position demanded of him. It was her first day back in Canterlot, and she wanted it to be at least some close approximation of perfect. After the wedding debacle, she didn’t know if she could hope for true perfection anymore.

Instead, she was looking through some window to Ponyville that the young mare she once foalsat for created, listening as the thing that had nearly stolen her husband away from her accused them both of committing genocide.

And she couldn’t argue with it. She never tried to kill any of the changelings she helped repel; she just wanted to force them out of the city so they’d stop attacking everypony. At the same time, though, she didn’t try not to, and the act of expanding the field as quickly as possible also sent them flying as forcefully as possible.

She couldn’t deny that it could be true. But she couldn’t stand being vilified for it.

“Please, just stop,” Cadance insisted, eyes misting up and voice wavering. “I’m not going to act like you’re wrong about anything you’re saying, but what else could we have done? Your changelings were attacking ponies!”

“My changelings were starving!” Chrysalis spat back. “They needed love to survive, and there was nowhere else to get it within the city. The whole reason I chose Canterlot on that day was because I’d hoped to feed all of them at once. Hundreds of thousands had gathered to witness your wedding, and it would have been enough to sustain them all with plenty left to spare.”

“Did you even think of what you’d be doing to those ponies if you drained all of their love!?”

“I didn’t care,” Chrysalis responded. “And with the state they were in, I couldn’t afford to. Most of them would have been dead in days, if not hours, if they did not find something quickly. I pose the same question to you: what else could I have done?”

“Can we please stop fighting?” Fluttershy interjected, moving away from Twilight so she could try to stand on her own. “None of you could have done anything else to help those you were meant to protect, and none of you can take back what happened because of it. Even though it was still wrong, you can’t be faulted for doing it.

“But... you’re still sorry for it, right?”

There was a very long, very awkward pause after Fluttershy basically told them to apologize for invasion and mass murder. She buried her face behind her mane and attempted to hide behind Twilight.

Chrysalis was completely speechless. As much respect as she had for the timid mare, she thought it foolish to apologize for trying to solve the problem of her race’s starvation. She may not have thought it through enough, but she wasn’t convinced of the existence of another fast enough solution.

However... she was aware of one thing she could apologize for.

“I never did hold your race in high regard,” she began. “I figured that fraternizing with ponykind was equivalent to playing with your food, because for a changeling, that’s exactly what they were. The most loving race on this earth, and thus the most plentiful banquets for my own kind.

“But I had to set that apathy aside to further my goals here. And meeting Fluttershy... then Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and finally, your sister... it’s given me some legitimate respect for you ponies. I have made friends in Ponyville these past few days, and I have seen their worth of my sympathy.”

She paused, grimacing. This was all so agonizingly difficult for her to swallow her pride and say, especially to the ponies responsible for her predicament. She couldn’t bear to make eye contact with them as she concluded her apology. “With that in mind... I apologize for my subjects’ behavior and assault at Canterlot, and for all the ponies that may have been harmed. At this point, it is far too late for them to apologize for themselves.”

Another silence. Shining and Cadance looked at each other, apparently contemplating their response. Chrysalis hoped they would apologize in turn, or at least attempt to, because she would not be held accountable for what she might do to them if they dismissed it and fought her further.

“I... I guess I’m sorry too,” Cadance finally replied. “Shining Armor and I did what had to be done to protect Equestria, but I never wanted to wipe out your race like that. If I could’ve done it any other way, I would, but... this is just a horrible thing to have on my conscience. How am I even supposed to react to—”

“Why did you only apologize for what they did?” Shining interrupted. “You’re not exactly blameless either.”

“Fine,” Chrysalis relented. “I’m sorry about imprisoning your bride and siphoning your love for her. But my actions were necessary, and I will not say I regret it.”

“Well, then you’re not really sorry, are you?” Shining countered. “And even if you were, actions have consequences. I don’t care what you’ve been up to for the last two days, you still attacked Canterlot. You still kidnapped my wife, used me like a pawn, and directly assaulted the ruler of this kingdom. I’m going to see to it that you answer for those crimes.”

“Then you’d better make sure we answer for ours.”

Everypony turned to look at Cadance, in utter collective shock over her statement. “I don’t know how you can be so calm about this, Shining,” she stated tearfully. “We took from her everything she ever loved. If her actions deserve punishment, ours deserve worse.”

“Cadance, she tried to take over Equestria!” Shining countered.

“And we killed her subjects for it! We did what we had to do, but I wish we didn’t. I don’t even think I’ll ever be able to sleep at night knowing I helped make this happen.”

“Plus,” Twilight added, “I think she’s paid enough. I’ve been making her work for my trust at the library, and she did everything I asked her to without fighting me over it. If I wasn’t convinced by then that she suffered enough, I think her finding the hive mind empty a few hours ago did it.”

After a brief pause, Shining addressed his sister. “Twily... I’m sorry about all this arguing. You probably didn’t need all this stress. But I don’t really think it’s up to you to decide whether she’s paid her dues.”

“You’re right,” came a voice behind Shining. “It’s up to me.”

Chrysalis watched anxiously as Princess Celestia descended from the sky and came into view on the Canterlot end of the portal. Everypony else bowed before their ruler, but she paid them no mind. Her harsh gaze was directed squarely at the changeling on the other side. It was enough to make Chrysalis back away despite the miles between them.

Celestia focused her magic on the portal, replacing Twilight’s magenta glow with her own golden aura. The gateway expanded further, touching the ground and giving the appearance of an open doorway. After hesitantly prodding at it and seeing her hoof move beyond its boundaries, Twilight stepped through and motioned for the others to follow. Once the six ponies, Spike and Chrysalis crossed over into Canterlot, Celestia closed the portal.

“Celestia,” Chrysalis began, “I know my actions were—”

“You’re coming with me,” Celestia declared. “All of you.”

Celestia’s horn glowed with a blinding light, and with a flash almost bright as the sun itself, all eleven of them vanished.

Chapter Nine: Princess Celestia

When the group regained their eyesight, they found themselves in the Chamber of the Elements of Harmony, surrounded by stained-glass murals depicting various historic occurrences. Chrysalis took note of a pair of them depicting the current bearers, one of them showing the liberation of Princess Luna and the other showing the resealing of Discord. These six were truly a special group, it seemed, and she could believe it.

She ceased dwelling on the notion when she glanced towards Celestia, who had brought them here in the first place. Her expression was as serious as the one she wore at the altar when the queen had shed her cover, and nopony in the room dared to speak out of fearful intimidation. For several minutes, the group awkwardly glanced between the princess, the windows, and each other, but Celestia never took her eyes off of Chrysalis.

Eventually, the princess took it upon herself to break the silence. “I received Twilight’s letter, but I want to hear it from your own mouth. Why have you returned to Equestria, Queen Chrysalis?”

“Please,” Chrysalis insisted, “do not call me ‘queen.’ I cannot bear the title when I have nothing left to rule.”

“You’re avoiding the question. Why are you here?”

Chrysalis sighed. “I was here to plead for your aid. Yours is the grandest nation the world has ever seen, and you’ve such little shortage of supplies that you are almost entirely self-sufficient. Surely the use of some of those plentiful resources towards the relief of a struggling foreign power would not be outside the realm of possibility.”

“It would not,” Celestia replied. “But you assume I would trust you enough to provide that aid for your changelings, who very recently invaded my kingdom and threatened my subjects.”

“I knew that you would not,” Chrysalis countered. “That, along with the fear of heightened security, was why I chose not to approach you directly in Canterlot. I’m not stupid.”

“You could have fooled me,” Celestia retorted. “Tampering with the wedding of my niece and the captain of the Royal Guard—the brother of my most faithful student, I might add—in an ill-conceived plot to usurp my throne and enslave the population of Equestria? In my opinion, that was a very stupid plan.”

Chrysalis scowled. “The invasion was meant to feed my malnourished subjects. As long as they may be able to survive off of other sustenance, our biology requires a semi-constant intake of love. There was no other way for me to feed them all at once.

“And as for the usurpation of the throne,” she continued, starting to advance towards the princess, “I had no intention of taking your position until you attacked me. I acted in self-defense. I was not even aware I had the power to surpass you until you forced my hoof, and—”

“And you decided to run with it, is that right?” Celestia inquired, mildly agitated by Chrysalis’ show of defiance. “You know that the reason I attacked you was because you’d kidnapped the bride and manipulated the groom, right? That, and the fact that your forces were trying to break into the city. I had to keep the safety of my subjects in mind.”

“As I had to be mindful of the survival of mine!” Chrysalis shouted, now unrepentantly invading Celestia’s personal space. “Yes, I had to send your niece to the caverns beneath your city in order to take her place. Yes, I had to drain Shining Armor’s energy to sustain myself and allow my changelings entry. And yes, they swarmed the city in order to feed themselves, but you know what, princess? I was out of options! What else could I have done?”

“You could have asked!” Celestia hissed, startling Chrysalis enough to back off.

“...what?”

“You clearly know of my capacity for sympathy if you’re trying to appeal to it now,” she explained bitterly. “If you had simply come to me and requested relief without sabotaging a wedding and sending an invasion force, I would have gladly given you as much as you needed. But in choosing a solution that served your subjects, you had to pick the one that served your own ego as well. You couldn’t swallow your pride and ‘play with your food,’ as you put it.”

“You heard that?” Chrysalis asked. Had she heard her entire debate with the newlyweds? Just sat back and listened to her extended shouting match with Shining Armor?

“I heard enough,” Celestia replied. “Your shouting drew my attention, and you were so involved with your conversation that none of you noticed my eavesdropping during the round of apologies.”

“So...” Cadance interjected. “You know what happened. What we did.”

“I have a basic idea,” Celestia answered. “But a basic idea won’t help me here. I want to know everything. From your initial arrival in Equestria to you being here now.”

This was absolutely not how Princess Celestia expected to spend her day. Granted, her only concrete plans involved conversing with her dearest sister at the start of the day and at the advent of the night, and she intended to just go with the flow for the rest of the day. She could envision herself holding court, sitting atop her throne whilst hearing the suggestions and pleas of her beloved subjects.

But then came that letter.

She was elated at first to see who it was from; it was always a pleasure to see what her faithful student and her friends were learning about friendship. But then she'd read it. She'd seen mention of Queen Chrysalis returning to Equestria and seeking refuge in Ponyville. She’d seen a plea for an audience with her regarding the extermination of her race. She’d seen a notice of urgency from Twilight herself demanding an immediate response. The mention of the changeling queen spending the last few days in Ponyville’s library made her skeptical of certain aspects of the letter, since it wouldn’t be impossible for Chrysalis to have dictated it herself and filled it with lies. Thus, here she was, trying to wrench the full story out of the group of ponies standing before her.

For a few awkward moments, the demand was met with silence, nopony wanting to step up and tell their side of the story. Finally, Fluttershy broke off from the group and moved towards the princess.

“I suppose I should start. It was late in the morning two days ago, and I was just finishing feeding my animals, when somepony knocked on my door. When I opened it, Chrysalis was there, but I thought it was Rarity, so I let her in. Then she shed her disguise... and I admit, I was terrified of her at first... but then we started talking. She told me about how her subjects’ lives were at stake, and I had to comfort her when she started crying. She told me she wanted to talk to Twilight about talking to you, and she thought she’d need me to convince her to listen. But then I had to leave her alone to meet Rarity at the spa...”

“And meet me she did,” Rarity chimed in. “I pried the information out of her about a new pony in town that she was sheltering in her home, and I demanded to meet her once we left the spa. When she led me to her cottage, the first thing I saw was Chrysalis suspended from the ceiling. I was shocked to see Fluttershy treating her well and helping her down, and I got into a bit of an argument with her, but after she told me her story, we agreed to meet Twilight at the library. Chrysalis went in disguised as Fluttershy, but the moment she shed it, Twilight... magicked her in the chest.”

“And that would be why her midsection is wrapped in gauze?” Celestia inquired.

“Basically, yeah,” Spike answered. “I didn’t see most of that, but the next blast she shot off went through the roof and woke me up. I came downstairs and saw Fluttershy—the real Fluttershy—pinning Twilight to the ground while Chrysalis was huddled up in the corner. I heard her side of the story, and we just barely kept Twilight from siccing the Royal Guard on her, but she did eventually agree to let Chrysalis stay and work at the library until she was willing to forgive her. She was busy doing that the whole rest of the day.”

“And she was still at it when Ah came to the library lookin’ for a book on apple trees,” Applejack added. “Twilight was out buyin’ paper or somethin’ like that, so Chrysalis was watchin’ the place herself disguised as her. Ah kinda blew her cover early on, and Ah argued and made a few threats, but she had me listen to her story. And Ah can tell ya, sure as sugar, that she wasn’t makin’ a word of it up. Then Twilight got back and started bickerin’ with her about how she was apparently skippin’ work, and Ah didn’t really wanna be there for that, so Ah put in my two bits, got my book and got outta there.”

“Twilight must’ve gone right to bed after that,” Spike explained, “because I didn’t see much of her for the rest of the night. I woke up the next morning, she was still in bed, and Chrysalis was losing an argument with Owlowiscious—”

“I was not losing!” Chrysalis interrupted.

“Oh, I remember that!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “That was when I came by because my Pinkie Sense was telling me I didn’t welcome Chrysalis to Ponyville yet! I came over, we talked a little bit, Twilight came down, Chrysalis told me about the changelings, and Twilight kind of... well...”

She paused, her chipper demeanor starting to fade. “She went a bit crazy. She started saying everything was Chrysalis’ fault, started calling her an it, said she should just let the changelings all die, and I... I had to slap her to snap her out of it, and she left after that. Ooh! But then there was the party! I brought over a bunch of stuff, everypony came over to the library, and we were all playing games and having fun and—”

“And that’s when I crashed it,” Rainbow Dash interjected. “Twilight broke into my house to tell me Chrysalis was in the library, and she got me to storm in there and take her out. But then everypony else was telling me she was one of the good guys, and she explained everything that was going on, but I felt like waiting until Twilight gave her side of the story. Turns out her side was completely crazy, some conspiracy theory about how everything from the wedding to now was all about her. Everypony else tried to talk her down, but... she said some really hurtful things to us, saying we didn’t deserve to be the spirits of the Elements of Harmony, and we all just left her there.”

“Twilight...” Celestia asked, shocked at what the unicorn’s very own friends were saying about her. “How much of that is true?”

“All of it,” Twilight confessed, locking her gaze onto the floor and refusing to look her teacher in the eye. “I spent half the night crying and the other half staring at the stars... but Chrysalis came back up to comfort me, to tell me everything would be alright. She apologized to me, I apologized to her, and we just sat there for a while, talking and watching the night sky. We went back inside to find the book with the communication spell I used this morning, and I started asking her all sorts of questions about the changelings’ hive mind, which she tried to link to right then and there. But she didn’t hear anything when she did... I don’t think I’ve ever seen anypony look as sad as she was then. I wrote up the letter to you right away and told Spike to gather the other girls so we could wait for you together... and so I could apologize to them. Then Chrysalis came down with the spellbook, I found the one I was looking for, and... well...”

“That’s where Shining Armor and I come in,” Cadance remarked. “We both kind of lost our heads a bit when we saw Chrysalis again, and she and Shining started fighting right away. She told us that the force field we used to force the changelings out of Canterlot was what drove them all to extinction, and... I just couldn’t take it. It boiled down to us agreeing neither of us could’ve done anything different and apologizing as much as we could for what our actions caused. I think you heard the rest, and... here we are.”

Celestia stood there silently, appraising their words. For the most part, all of them spoke favorably and even fondly of Chrysalis. The way they talked about her, she may as well have been a simple pony going through a rough time in her life. Not a single overt hint of contempt in their voices. They viewed her as a creature worthy of her pity, if not her forgiveness.

But even with all these views, the story still felt incomplete. Shining Armor hadn’t uttered a word, and the mare from whom she was most interested in hearing had only spoken towards the end.

“Shining Armor. You’ve been rather quiet. Surely you must have something to add.”

“I don’t,” Shining admitted, rubbing his neck. “Cadance covered our part perfectly. I flipped out on her, and that was the end of it. Besides, you saw a good chunk of it yourself, didn’t you?”

“I suppose...” She turned to Twilight, whose eyes had not left the floor. She moved to confront her, a look of sympathetic concern across her face.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student.”

Twilight heard Celestia’s voice, and she knew what she was going to ask. She’d want to know about what happened with her throughout Chrysalis’ stay in Ponyville. She’d want to hear about how she got caught up in her grudge, lashed out at the ones she loved, and stalled long enough to let the changelings die out. She’d want to hear all the things she couldn’t bear to tell her. Twilight knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if Celestia knew the whole story, if she knew that she did it on purpose, she would see some terrible punishment like nothing anypony had ever known. After all, there were no previous records of full-scale genocide in pony history; Celestia would have to come up with something new, something horrible.

As she dwelled on that scenario, she felt a hoof beneath her chin guiding her face to finally meet her teacher’s gaze.

“Twilight,” Celestia insisted, kneeling down to meet her protégé at eye level. “Your letter said that there was more to the story that you were uncomfortable sharing in writing. I just heard from everypony else, and it sounds like your role in this is greater than you’re willing to admit. Please tell me, how much more involved are you in the events surrounding Chrysalis?”

“I... I can’t...” Twilight muttered, her voice cracking slightly.

“I need to know,” Celestia demanded sternly. “I can’t make my final call on this until I know everything. I’m stuck unless you can tell me what they can’t. Tell me, Twilight!”

“Alright!” Twilight shouted, startling Celestia. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything.”

She tried to speak further, but the words kept getting caught in her throat. It took some time, but with a series of deep breaths to maintain her composure and Celestia’s comforting hoof resting on her shoulder, she seated herself and felt ready to begin.

“I... I don’t think you realize how much the events of the wedding hurt me. All the ponies she targeted were the ones that were closest to me, and even if everypony else was willing to forgive her, I wasn’t. I know I lost my mind a bit once more of my friends started siding with her, and I know I said so many things that I regret, but the worst of it was the part I was consciously and sanely aware of doing.”

“...go on,” Celestia urged, the intrigue in her voice unable to fully mask her worry.

“The thing is...” Twilight continued, slowly losing the composure she fought to keep. “Chrysalis asked me to write that letter to you the moment she ditched her disguise in front of me. I knew about this the whole time, and I knew I was the only way for her to save her race, but I couldn’t do it. I made her work to earn it instead, which just made the bodies pile up more and more the longer I made her do it! And then I flipped out completely and tried to force her out of my life, which would’ve been a death sentence for them in itself! It wasn’t until a few hours ago that I was even remotely willing to write to you, and by then, I’d waited long enough for the rest to die anyway!

“Oh, Princess, it’s all my fault! I killed them all!”

Celestia completely shut down. She didn’t speak or move a muscle. She barely even breathed or blinked. She didn’t even register that her faithful student had started hugging her and sobbing up against her.

Twilight Sparkle had just more or less confessed to the act of genocide through willful negligence. Her precious, loyal student, one of the few ponies in this modern age that she felt a genuine closeness to, had pled guilty to knowingly driving the changelings to extinction.

Even as she regained most of her motor functions and reciprocated Twilight’s tearful embrace, her mind was at war with itself. The part of her that was screaming that it couldn’t be true gave up disappointingly quickly, which left two major factions: the one that just wanted to comfort this poor, broken mare and not burden her with any sort of punishment, and the one that demanded that she face the full and dire consequences of her actions. She would be playing favorites if she simply acquitted her, but... this was Twilight.

She must have sat there in that position for at least twenty minutes, fighting herself over how to deal with everything. Chrysalis, the newlyweds, Twilight... for the first time since the rise of Nightmare Moon, she truly felt conflicted and emotionally overwhelmed. All of them had acted without a full grasp of the impact of their actions, both on others and on themselves, but at the same time, the consequences were more extreme than anything she’d seen prior. She hadn’t had to face a decision this hard since... since...

“What is the meaning of this!?”

Celestia casted a glance towards the doorway, and there stood Princess Luna herself. She looked tired, irritated, and above all else, confused.

“Luna, thank goodness you’re here!” Celestia greeted through a halfhearted attempt to keep her emotions level. “I think I may need your—”

“I was awakened by a commotion out by the courtyard,” Luna interrupted. “I went to investigate, but there was nary a trace of previous occupancy. On my journey back to my quarters, I heard cries in the Chamber of the Elements. And now I come in to see yourself and Twilight Sparkle in a sobbing embrace and that wretched insect queen fraternizing with the other bearers? I demand an explanation!”

“I was about to give you an explanation,” Celestia countered. “I’m stuck at a crossroads at the moment in regards to...” She paused, sighing. “In regards to punishments.”

“Life imprisonment or exile for the attempted invasion of Equestria,” Luna replied without a moment’s hesitation. “And why, pray tell, was this such a dilemma?”

“Because she’s not the only one I was referring to,” Celestia answered forlornly, looking down at the mare still clinging to her for comfort.

Luna doubled back in shock. “No... sister, your own student? How could you!?”

“I can’t, and that’s the problem!” Celestia yelled back. “You don’t have the whole story. What Twilight’s just confessed to... if it were anypony else, I wouldn’t have hesitated to issue exile and life imprisonment in the place of exile.”

“Impossible! What could she have done to—”

“I let them all die,” Twilight interjected, breaking away from one princess and solemnly turning to face the other. “I had every opportunity to send a letter to Princess Celestia that would alert her to the critical condition the changeling race was in, but... my personal feelings for Chrysalis kept me from doing that until they were all dead anyway. And I knew what I was doing, too. I made it all about her, and they all paid the price for it.”

There was a moment of stunned silence until Luna finally replied. “...why?”

“I thought I made myself clear—”

“Why to all of this,” Luna clarified. “Why has this changeling shown her face on Equestrian soil again? Why were the changelings suffering so? And why are all of you here now?”

Fluttershy sighed. “I guess we’ll need to tell this story again...”

Luna listened attentively as the context to the current situation was given in great detail. She absorbed every word, accounted for every point of view, and weighed every described action and consequence with every other. By the end of it all, she had the full picture, but one question remained.

“How did you expect that to help? I’m just as confused now as Celestia!”

Her elder sister groaned. “That’s not going to help me make a good judgment call, Luna.”

“I’m uncertain that there is a ‘good’ call to make,” Luna responded. “It is difficult to appeal to morality with so many varying shades of gray, and yet we would be failing our duties as rulers to allow these actions to go entirely unpunished.”

“So we’re right back where we started,” Celestia bemoaned. “It wouldn’t be just to let them off easy... but at the same time, I couldn’t live with myself if I had to punish them so harshly. It just wouldn’t be right.”

“Then find that balance between what is right and what is just,” Luna advised, smiling warmly. “It is what you’ve always been skilled at. You did not need me here to tell you that.”

“That’s not to say I’ve always found that balance...” Celestia lamented, her gaze meeting a portrait of Nightmare Moon. When Luna followed that gaze, she felt a surge of guilt and pity.

“You did the right thing, and the punishment was just. It pains me to see you dwell on that event, big sister. What else could you have done?”

After a brief moment of silence, Celestia averted her gaze and sighed. “You’re right, Luna. Thank you.”

Then, to everypony’s surprise, the solar princess walked towards the chamber doors. “I’m retiring to my private quarters to think,” she explained. “The eleven of you may talk amongst yourselves, but I want you all here when I return, so I’d prefer it if you didn’t stray too far from here.” With those parting words, she exited, shutting the doors behind her.

For a brief moment, the only sound in the room was the echo of the closing doors, followed by a long and rather awkward silence. Luna figured that this behavior was to be expected of her sister, but would not have counted on her leaving her in the same room with her niece, the captain of the Royal Guard, the spirits of the Elements of Harmony, including her sister’s student and her personal assistant, and the changeling queen. In all honesty, she was simply expecting to take a wholesome rest from now until it was time to summon the night.

Eventually, she turned to face the changeling. “So... Chrysalis, was it? Have the Elements been treating you well?”

Chrysalis barely even noticed the passing of the hours. After a rather pleasant and informative conversation with Luna, everypony began simply chatting and catching up. It was almost as if the sorrow and tension present in the room before was never there. In fact, though she suspected it may have had more to do with the friendly crowd than anything else, she could swear that Shining Armor was starting to lighten up and relax around her. She subconsciously knew that this was merely a finite moment, a stalling tactic until Celestia returned, but she would have been content with it never ending. For the first time since the discovery in the hive mind, she felt happy.

Unfortunately, the moment was indeed cut short. While they were discussing the subjective quality of baked goods (a conversation Pinkie Pie had started and was strongly invested in), Celestia finally returned, her expression a perfect picture of neutrality.

“Chrysalis, I have a question for you.”

The words killed the conversation in an instant, and everypony turned to face the princess.

“The hive mind is the sum of your subjects’ conscious and unconscious thoughts, is that right?” she inquired, much to Chrysalis’ surprise.

“It was,” Chrysalis answered, her newfound cheer already draining at the memory of that crushing emptiness.

“So you would agree,” Celestia proposed, “that you cannot read the thoughts of a changeling in a comatose state?”

Comatose?

Unbelievable. Even in her panic, she never so much as considered the thought. The possibility—the likelihood—that there were still living changelings that simply could not project their thoughts to her! The word gave back to her the hope that she had lost so many hours ago.

She had never been happier to hear of such a major oversight.

“I... I think I would,” she replied, her eyes watering with tears of joy.

Celestia cracked a smile. “Then I’ve made my decision. First, Queen Chrysalis. And I do believe that you may be able to hold onto your title.”

At long last, Chrysalis was within plain sight of her ultimate goal. She’d gained the trust and companionship of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and she’d arranged for the plea for help to be sent to Celestia. Now she was face-to-face with the regal entity, waiting to hear her final judgment for the changeling race, which, if the princess was correct, was still alive and in greater need than ever.

After a tense, dramatic pause, Chrysalis hoping for and expecting the best all the while, Celestia finally spoke.

“Chrysalis, you and your subjects led a massive assault on a major Equestrian city,” she began. “You disrupted the wedding of my niece and the captain of the Royal Guard, and your changelings caused untold amounts of property damage in their attack. However, you’ve shown your dedication to your people by attempting to provide for them in a time of famine and shedding your pride to seek aid for them in their time of greatest need.

“It is my ruling that, with the near-extinction of your race, you have already paid the ultimate price for your actions. In addition, you’ve shown your desire to repent by working for and gaining the trust of my student and her friends. If I am able to recover the remainder of the changeling population, I will gladly provide for them the medical aid and nourishment they require. And until such time as your subjects have fully recovered, I will allow you to extend your stay in Ponyville under the supervision of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”

The six bearers and Spike cheered at the announcement and swarmed Chrysalis in a massive group hug. The thoroughly overwhelmed queen finally allowed her joyful tears to fall. “Oh, Celestia, I cannot express my gratitude!” she exclaimed. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The changeling race is forever in your debt.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” Celestia responded, “but that won’t be necessary. Though I trust you won’t take advantage of this gesture?”

“After my time here?” Chrysalis asked. “After the events that have transpired these past few days? After everything I had to go through to reach this point? I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Glad to hear it. Now then, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor...”

Shining Armor, as if by reflex, stood at attention as his superior called out his name. As disarming as the last few hours had been for him, and as much confidence as that smile was giving him, he was still incredibly worried. He’d had time to let the day’s events and revelations sink in, and he was still attempting to cope with the consequences of his actions. Whatever Celestia had planned for him, however... he would gladly and honorably accept it.

“Shining, Cadance,” Celestia began. “The two of you, with the combined might of your love and magic, jettisoned the entire changeling population out of Canterlot. As a direct result, they are scattered across the land, all dead or comatose save the queen. Your actions were made out of necessity and desperation to ward off an invading force, but at the cost of untold thousands of lives, and thus you must be reprimanded for them.”

“Your highness,” Shining stated, kneeling before her, “I will graciously accept the punishment for my actions.”

There was another pause. Shining rose to his hooves, beginning to grow nervous. What if the punishment was something incredibly severe? Something that would make him regret saying he’d be able to take it? Something that could keep him away from his family, his wife, his duties, for the rest of his life?

As if reading his mind, Celestia declared, “I thought long and hard about this one... and the best I could come up with was to separate the two of you for a time.”

“What!?” Cadance shouted. “But-but we just got married! Literally everyone in this room was here for it! We only got back from our honeymoon last night! How can you just tear us apart like—”

“Honey, you’re acting exactly like I was this morning,” Shining told her. “I know it’s our marriage at stake, but you’re the one who said we’d have to answer for what we did.”

“Not to mention the fact that I wasn’t finished,” Celestia added. “I will be sending Shining Armor on a field mission to search for and collect any unconscious changeling survivors. I require for him to be thorough so as not to miss any of them, and as such, I expect him to be far outside of Equestria’s borders for months on end. I will not revoke your marriage, nor will I prevent you from contacting each other, but you will be separated by hundreds of miles, if not thousands.” She smirked, now addressing Shining directly. “If it makes you feel any better, consider it a trial to see if your love can survive the long distance. Assemble a squadron at your earliest convenience, because I will be sending you out in the morning.”

Shining bowed again. “Thank you, your highness.”

“I can still see him off, can’t I?” Cadance inquired, walking up to her husband’s side.

“I’d expect you to be there even if I said no,” Celestia answered with a beaming smile. A smile that faltered as she looked upon the subject of her final verdict.

It was finally Twilight’s turn, and she was dreading it. She knew this couldn’t end well, not with all the blood on her hooves. Chrysalis had forgiven her, but she was incapable of forgiving herself. And she wouldn’t blame Princess Celestia for blaming her for everything as well.

Chrysalis, Cadance and Shining were let off relatively easy. She didn’t think she’d get the same luxury.

Before the princess began to speak again, Twilight addressed her, tears flowing freely once more. “Princess... I... I deserve whatever punishment you give me. Don’t hold back on my behalf.”

Celestia looked somewhat confused and distressed by the remark, but she began to list off the charges nonetheless.

“Twilight Sparkle... my dearest, most faithful student... yours is the most severe and distressing crime of all,” she lectured, her voice cracking. “You willfully denied me the information I would have needed to salvage the changeling race, to the point where there are now critically few left barely alive. You did this out of spite for a diplomatic ambassador from a foreign land who had wronged you in the recent past. In this endeavor, you allowed yourself to be consumed by your own hatred and rage, and you focused it not only on Chrysalis, but on your own friends as well. Had you been more careless, you may have rendered the Elements of Harmony useless, or even... I don’t even want to imagine what else!”

The parallel was not lost on Twilight. Her suspicions were confirmed when she shot a glance towards the younger princess, who had noticed and become visibly worried by the same thing.

“This is not the first time you’ve exhibited this sort of behavior, either,” Celestia continued, slowly regaining her composure. “For a sheltered, studious unicorn such as yourself, you are far too emotionally volatile. I have seen you panic and overreact to a missed deadline. I have heard of your paranoia getting the best of you during a time travel incident. And now this rage that has driven you to deny a required service to an entire race... and those are only the recent occurrences in Ponyville. I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve had these destructive meltdowns under my watch. I have delayed this for far too long, but Twilight Sparkle, you need professional help.”

Twilight gaped at Celestia in utter shock. No dungeons. No banishments. No dungeons in the place she was banished to. Just... a psychologist. After everything that happened, after everything she’d said and done, the worst she was getting was a head doctor.

“...that’s it?”

“I can’t afford to do anything else,” Celestia explained. “You’ve needed this for quite some time... I just wish it hadn’t taken something on this scale to make me see that. Plus, ever since you and your friends found and used the Elements of Harmony, we’ve needed them staggeringly often. As such, I cannot do anything that would separate you from your friends for extended periods of time, or anything else that might otherwise weaken the bonds of your friendship, lest the Elements become useless again. At this point, I’m convinced that tearing you away from them would only cause further psychological damage.

“And on top of all that...” she concluded, returning to tears. “I couldn’t bear to lose somepony that I loved dearly. Not again.”

Without another word, Twilight moved in for another embrace, which Celestia quickly reciprocated. She wasn’t sure how fitting the punishment was to the crime, and she felt she deserved something far more severe... but right there, in her mentor’s forelegs, she felt completely at ease for the first time in two days. In that moment, she didn’t need anything but the hug. Those seemed to work often enough.

Celestia was the one to break the hug, regarding her student with a warm, forgiving smile. “You know... you never did give me the friendship lesson you said you’d learned.”

“I think I may have learned a few now,” Twilight stated. “I learned how destructive and unfulfilling it is to try and hold a grudge. I learned how easy it can be to let your emotions get the best of you, and it looks like I’ll be learning to keep them in check soon enough. I re-learned that friendship, while worth fighting for, isn’t always easy. And I know I’ll have to learn how to earn the forgiveness of a friend I hurt before.” She glanced towards Rainbow Dash with that last statement. The pegasus looked away, but Twilight still caught the smile on her face.

“But most importantly,” she finished, “I learned of the true value of second chances. Both getting them...”

Her gaze drifted again, this time to Chrysalis, who returned it with a warm smile of her own. “And giving them to others.”

“One of the most important lessons you will ever learn,” Celestia informed her. “I am very, very proud of you, Twilight.”

Finally, the princess addressed the group as a whole. “Now that this urgent matter has been taken care of, you are all dismissed. Cadance, I would make these next few hours with your husband last if I were you. As for the rest of you, I will arrange for a carriage to return you to Ponyville.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight stated, but heard Chrysalis’ voice join her own with the same words. The two looked at each other... and erupted into a fit of giggles.

The two sisters watched as the group departed the chamber, their shaken spirits somewhat lifted. They still stood there for an indeterminate stretch of time, simply admiring the murals surrounding them.

After a while, Luna turned to face her sister with a smirk. “Your compassion will be the death of you someday, I promise you.”

Celestia merely closed her eyes and smiled. “I’ll be ready for that day when it comes. For now... I think I did the right thing.”

Epilogue: Repentance

“Well, would ya look at that!” Applejack remarked as the carriage Celestia sent them off on touched down in front of the library. “Ah almost forgot about all th’ apples Ah brought over t’help cheer up Chrysalis! And it looks like nopony’s gone through ‘em, either!”

Twilight observed the moderately large cart resting just shy of where their carriage landed. It really did look like there wasn’t an apple out of place, which was rather impressive, given the famous quality of Sweet Apple Acres’ star product. It was surprising that nopony had tried to take advantage of the unguarded stockpile of free apples, or at least that so few ponies did that it didn’t even show with a cursory glance.

“That just makes setting up the party that much easier!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and before anypony else could ask what party she was talking about, she shot off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner.

“I was not aware of any party,” Rarity stated. “Though given how momentous an occasion this is for Chrysalis, I do agree that some sort of celebration is in order.”

“You’re still doing alright, right, Chrysalis?” Fluttershy asked as the carriage departed behind them. “I’m so glad there’s still some hope, but not being able to hear their thoughts like you should... that can’t be easy for you to just come back from.”

“I’ve never been better,” Chrysalis assured her, “and this party should only further that positivity. I’m curious, however, as the last one was disrupted... how long would one of these normally last?”

“Considering the fact that you’re basically moving in and getting your subjects back into shape?” Spike replied. “Chryssy, you’re in for a long night.”

“You’ll be alright out there, won’t you, darling?” Cadance asked the next morning as Shining Armor and his troops were preparing to depart from Canterlot.

“What, you don’t think I can take care of myself?” Shining quipped.

“I was the one who had to bail you out at the wedding, remember?” Cadance countered. Just as she expected, Shining was left without a good argument for that.

“Well, I guess I should probably head out,” Shining said, rubbing his neck.

“Wait,” Cadance insisted. “There’s something else. Something Twilight told me to give to you.” She reached into her saddlebags with her magic and pulled out a neatly-folded sheet of paper.

Shining took the sheet, opened it, and looked over its contents. “What is this? A spell?”

“The communication spell she used yesterday,” Cadance confirmed. “She wrote up two copies, and the other one went to me. She did suggest you use yours to reach Princess Celestia once you found a live one so she could expand it again and take them off your hooves personally, but more importantly, we’ll still be able to see each other, even while you’re gone!”

Oddly, Shining frowned and sighed. “I’m grateful for that, and I’ll probably be using it often, but it still just won’t be the same as having you next to me. There’s plenty of things I’ll miss being able to do.”

“Like wha—” Cadance attempted to ask, but was cut off by a surprise kiss from Shining, which she all too gladly returned.

After a few moments, Shining broke the kiss. “Like that,” he answered with a smirk. “Bet you’re gonna miss that too, huh?”

“I suppose,” Cadance teased, blushing lightly. She did have to admit, though, that Shining had a point. She would sorely miss the contact, the feeling of closeness... but she figured that something was still better than nothing. She’d still be able to see him, even if she couldn’t be right there with him.

Speaking of ponies who were supposed to be right there with him, Cadance finally took notice of the fact that she was the only one seeing him and his men off. “Uh... Shining, wasn’t Twilight supposed to come by to say goodbye?”

“She said she couldn’t,” Shining informed her. “Something about helping Chrysalis get settled in. Don’t worry about it.”

Cadance couldn’t help but notice how disappointed Shining looked despite his claims. It must have been hurting him to not have his sister there to support him as he was getting ready to leave for a months-long trip outside of Equestria.

And no sooner than the thought had entered her head did they hear a bizarre noise coming from right beside Cadance. When she turned to look at the source, she saw a green-edged spatial window looking out at Ponyville, with Twilight and Chrysalis on the other side.

“Twily!” Shining shouted excitedly. “You managed to see me off after all!”

“I couldn’t let my BBBFF leave without getting in a goodbye,” Twilight remarked. “Chrysalis insisted on opening it up this time, but we both wanted to catch you before you left.”

“That was exhausting,” Chrysalis complained. “Either I’m going to need to find energy soon, or your capacity for magic is a thing to be revered.”

“Knowing Twilight, and having seen you beat my aunt in a magic beam war, I think it’s a bit of both,” Cadance replied, eliciting a chuckle from Shining.

“Well, I don’t think I can stall this for much longer,” Shining admitted. “I really don’t like cutting it so short already, but if I don’t get moving soon, Princess Celestia’s probably going to make me.”

“Alright then. Good luck, Shining!” Twilight cheered. “Come back safely!”

“I wish you luck as well,” Chrysalis stated. “But you must promise me that you will find my subjects, wherever they may be scattered, and bring them back to me.”

“They’ll probably be carted to a hospital once I get them over there,” Shining replied. “If you want to see them before they wake up, it’d probably be a good idea to look up the Canterlot medical center’s visiting hours.”

“Then you will inform me of your findings as soon as you make them?” Chrysalis inquired.

“Once they’re in safe hooves, absolutely,” Shining promised.

Cadance grabbed Shining for one last hug. “Please, Shining Armor, be safe. I love you.”

“Love you too, Cadance,” Shining returned. “I’ll try to keep contact every night.”

“If you don’t, I will,” Cadance vowed, releasing herself from his embrace.

With those parting words, Shining and his troops finally set off for parts unknown, and all Cadance could do was smile tearfully and wave. These next few months were going to be rough on her.

She missed him already.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow awoke from her nap at the sound of her name. She recognized the voice as belonging to Twilight, and she immediately fluffed up her cloud and made herself comfortable again.

“Come on, Rainbow,” Twilight insisted. “I need to talk to you.”

“If this is about that fight,” Rainbow replied, keeping her back turned to her friend, “you might as well save it. I’m gonna work through it at my own speed.”

“That’s not good enough. I want to earn your trust back. It won’t feel right unless I work for it.”

Rainbow couldn’t help but be a little impressed. Twilight was really serious about setting this straight. She almost felt bad for blowing her off all this time. And she’d already forgiven her the moment she apologized, sore as she still was about the whole thing.

Still, she supposed she had to keep up appearances. What Twilight said had hit pretty hard, and she still intended to linger on it. To pace herself in the coping process.

“What did you have in mind?” Rainbow asked, reluctantly turning to face Twilight.

“Well...” Twilight answered. “I managed to save up enough bits for a pair of tickets to the Wonderbolts’ next show in Fillydelphia.”

Rainbow scoffed, wondering if she’d been wrong about Twilight’s seriousness. “Are you really trying to buy me back? I’m not that shallow.”

“I never thought you were,” Twilight explained, “and I’m not treating you as if you are. It’s just something to do. I figured a good start to fixing all of this would be... just spending some time with you. Maybe getting out of town for the day so we could enjoy each other’s company.”

That sold it for Rainbow. She was serious. She was seriously serious. She was already making plans for a day out, to just spend some quality time with her as they watched Rainbow’s idols soar acrobatically through the sky. Just an all-around awesome day with one of her best friends.

It was enough to make Rainbow remember that pacing herself was never her style.

“I guess it’s a start. The show’s on Thursday, right?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?” Twilight asked as she finished removing the gauze from Chrysalis’ chest.

“Nothing more than a dull throb,” Chrysalis replied, despite her wincing at what pain was left. “If I were concerned about it reopening, I would not have requested for it to be unwrapped.”

“I still think you should take it easy for a little while,” Twilight advised, “at least until it heals up a bit more.”

“I only promise to try,” Chrysalis stated. Her gaze drifted over to the nearest clock, which read half past—oh no.

“Twilight...” she commented. “Your princess-appointed psychologist is in Manehattan, correct?”

“He’s supposed to be,” Twilight confirmed. “Why?”

“How long would it take for you to get there?” Chrysalis inquired.

“Oh... maybe an hour, give or take,” Twilight responded, puzzled. “Why are you asking?”

“Because at this point, you would have to teleport to arrive on time,” Chrysalis informed her. Twilight looked to the clock herself for confirmation, and instantly started to panic.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, strands of her mane already popping out of place. “My first session, and I’m already running late! I’m not sure how accurate my teleportation spell will be over this great a distance, but I really hope I can get close enough to his office to not be tardy! You can manage the library while I’m gone, right?”

Odd, how different the request felt this time around. The first time Chrysalis was asked to take care of the place, she’d seen it as a sign of trust slipping through weakening defenses. Now, with her friendship with Twilight cemented, it felt much more trivial, more like a favor than a test.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she answered, “it would be my genuine pleasure.”

“Good! You’re starting right now!” Twilight declared, and unceremoniously teleported out of the library.

Once again more or less alone, Chrysalis noted that her journey seemed to end similarly to how it began, with the owner of the residence rushing out the door to make it to some prior engagement. Fortunately, this instance would not see her suspended from the ceiling by a psychotic rodent. That had only been three days ago. And to think that so much had happened in that time...

Her attention was suddenly drawn to a stack of papers on the desk at the center of the room. She walked over to it and examined the top sheet. The first thing that caught her eye was the fact that it was written by Twilight herself; the penmanship was relatively familiar to her. There was enough stationery here for a full-sized book, which led her to believe that Twilight may be looking to get this published.

The next thing she noticed was that it was about changeling physiology. She flipped through its contents, and she saw a plethora of scribbled notes and theories about all sorts of things, from the workings of the hive mind to the conversion of love into usable energy. She also realized that the pages were blank partway through, which told her that Twilight had every intention to learn more.

How quaint. Ironic, even. The mare who was so opposed to learning anything about her race mere days ago was now writing an extensive research novel on changelings. It was touching in its own little way.

Chrysalis took a seat at that desk and fondly recalled the events of the last few days. It was shocking to think of how depressingly it all started, with her lying in a crater at the foot of her own doorstep with the bodies of her subjects lying around her. Yet, now... at the very least, she had made seven close friends, three casual acquaintances, and one powerful ally. And most importantly, she had a strong conviction that it was not too late for her race, that Shining Armor would salvage the survivors and ensure their continued survival. Even with all the panic and hardship, she could say with little fear of contradiction that these days had been just perfect.

And so, Queen Chrysalis smilingly donned her Twilight disguise and patiently awaited the arrival of a potential borrower.

END

Prologue: Extinction

Pain. Immediately after regaining consciousness, the first thing to register was the pain.

Chrysalis, sovereign monarch of the changeling hive, slowly began to collect her wits. It felt like nothing had broken after what must have been a tremendous fall, but in exchange, every inch of her body was in agony. The very act of existing seemed to cause her suffering, and every slight twitch or shift served merely to amplify it. Beyond that, all she could tell about her situation at the moment was that she was on solid ground, perhaps embedded within it, and that she was sprawled out on her back.

Carefully and slowly, she opened her eyelids despite the pain the very action brought, and began to survey her surroundings. At once, she recognized the terrain. The dense cover of trees, the luminescent spores and fungi lighting the entrance to what she identified as her hive, her throne. She was just shy of home. Curiously, she also observed a crater around her aching body and a fleeting beam of sunlight that breached the treetops and shone directly onto her.

Wait. Something was not right. Why was she lying battered and broken in a crater at the foot of her own doorstep? She had no time for this! She was supposed to be in Canterlot, disrupting a royal wed—

And then it all came back to her at once. Mi Amore Cadenza. Shining Armor and that meddlesome sister of his. Overpowering Celestia. The invasion. The lovers reuniting. The force field.

The failure.

The siege of Canterlot was an unmitigated disaster. The only evidence she needed was the pain surging through her body, the queen-shaped hole through the trees and crater on the forest floor, and, after one last glance at her surroundings, the scattered bodies of changelings in various states of disrepair. Several were dead, none as lucky as she.

No, no, no, no! How could she have failed? Her plan was flawless, perfect! She should have been sitting atop the throne that belonged to the ruler of Equestria, watching as her subjects gorged themselves on the amply abundant supply of love that those precious ponies harbored! She herself had drained enough love from Shining Armor to outmatch the solar goddess; how could that not have been enough!?

Hindsight began to creep in. It was the sister. Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic. Her catastrophic failure centered around that mare. She had seen through her disguise when nopony else had. She had very nearly exposed her at the rehearsal. What could she have done beyond banishing her to...

...to the same prison as the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. That was where everything crumbled. That mare had such determination to escape, and had she sent her elsewhere, that would have been less of a mistake. But the bride seemed to have abandoned all hope before then, and sending the best mare to meet her old foalsitter must have reinvigorated her. They came together, blew her cover, so very close to the moment when it would not have mattered. But what else could she have done? Twilight would surely have fully compromised her position if...

...if she hadn’t broken down and apologized after those she loved turned against her. The heartbreak and despair would have been enough to end the best mare’s attempts to expose her, but instead, in her fury, she fully incriminated herself and banished her to the same cave as the bride-to-be. In the end, she had foiled her own poorly-laid plan.

Which all led to now. The great Queen Chrysalis, lying in a crater and surrounded by the broken bodies of her loyal subjects.

For most, it must have added insult to injury. She had staged her attack during a time of stress and famine. Their supply of love was running critically low, and the scouts dispatched to various towns in Equestria could never gather enough to feed the entire colony. She had begun to see it as a success if the scouts didn’t use the opportunity to gorge themselves instead! Bringing them all to a place filled with sustenance, at a time and place when supply was at its peak, seemed like such a noble and logical idea. In one fell swoop, she could have both expanded her own kingdom and fed her subjects for a lifetime!

But instead, those subjects lay in smaller craters around hers. To her knowledge, not many had a chance to feed once their efforts were focused on blockading the Elements of Harmony. Many of them had died hungry, and the ones who lived could potentially starve before their wounds ever mended.

Instead of feeding her malnourished subjects, Chrysalis had sent them all into a death trap. The forceful expulsion from Canterlot crippled the population (literally in the case of those who survived). Who even knew what became of those forced in other directions? Were there just as many dead and injured? Were any left that could possibly find their way back to the hive on their own power?

She tried to connect to the hive mind, the mental link she shared with all of her subjects, to see how many of them were capable of regrouping. She was overwhelmed at once by cries of agony ringing through her head interspersed with pleas for help and the occasional wish for death. She forced herself to cut her connection again once a number of those cries began abruptly silencing.

The invasion may have very nearly wiped out her entire race... and it was all on her own head. And she could do nothing about it except lay in her crater and weep.

No. She was stronger than this. She would not simply lie there and lament the suffering of her subjects. She could think of a solution. She had to!

She wracked her brain for ideas, but it quickly became apparent to her that there was no way for her to solve the issue on her own. She would need to seek aid from a kingdom in far less disrepair. And no matter how hard she tried, only one would come to mind. Equestria. The last place she would be allowed to return to. The last place she would want to return to.

There was no other alternative. Somehow, she had to seek audience with the princess whom she had fought and overpowered not long ago. Celestia could very well have been the only one with enough power to aid the changelings. But convincing the solar monarch of her plight could potentially prove difficult, and entering Equestria’s capital again to even speak to her would be all but impossible. Without a doubt, the Royal Guard would still be on high alert for potential threats to its kingdom’s citizens, and she would surely be captured, if not killed, on sight.

The obvious solution would be to remain unseen. To return in disguise, the changeling’s natural talent. But she would not put it past the Guard to have developed some sort of detector or counter to changeling camouflage. It was possible that they had not, but this time, she was not willing to risk it.

Perhaps they needed to be shown the virtue of her intentions. But how? Even if, by some miracle, she made it into Canterlot alive, none would believe her. And why should they, after what she had done? For all she knew, they could have been told to view any further action by her or her race towards Equestria as an act of war, and again, while she hoped this was not the case, it was a risk she could not take.

A thought occurred to her. What if she started out in a location other than Canterlot? Sought help in a village she would have had to pass through to reach the capital in the first place? Someplace like... Ponyville?

She had sent scouts out to Ponyville in the past, and she was well informed of events there. The small village housed the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, which a few took the time to monitor. Among them was Twilight Sparkle herself. A direct line to Celestia, a way to reach her without first confronting her in person.

But if anypony had cause to distrust Chrysalis, it was her. Twilight was easily impacted more by her actions than any other pony at that wedding. Manipulating her brother, imprisoning her former foalsitter, assaulting her mentor... it would take far more time than she could afford to waste to convince the young mare to come to her aid.

Unless... she could convince one of her friends to come to her aid! There must have been one or two that would be forgiving enough to hear her out. From her brief encounters with them during wedding preparations, she got the sense that the ones called Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, the Elements of Laughter and Kindness, were not capable of holding a grudge or even hating anypony.

That was it, then. She would have to go to Ponyville and gain the trust of one of the other Element bearers in order to convince Twilight to send a plea out to Celestia. And if she wanted to enter the town more or less unnoticed, she would have to approach from the Everfree Forest, which, to her convenience, was immediately adjacent to the home of the Element of Kindness. She would be the liaison to Twilight, then.

Slowly and painfully rising to her hooves, she analyzed her plan in her head one last time. Its downfall, if any, would be its complete reliance on her expectations of these ponies’ reactions and acceptance, but nothing else would work. For the sake of the changeling race, she had to try. And she had to act now.

And so, Queen Chrysalis wordlessly arose from her crater and flew off to seek council with the Element of Kindness.

Chapter One: Fluttershy

Queen Chrysalis quickly came to the conclusion that she could die happy if she never had to pass through that hive-forsaken forest again. She was no stranger to a habitat where nature ran its course unaided by the equine artifice in place throughout Equestria, but the creatures that inhabited Everfree were brutal. In her weakened state, she had come very close to losing a foreleg to an irate manticore and just barely escaped a mercifully brief hydra encounter, but now she could take solace in the fact that her dreadful trek was at its end.

Her target was in sight: a small leaf-roofed cottage flanked on almost every side by birdhouses and other animal homes. So this Fluttershy was a caretaker of local fauna. Having seen her relative skill with handling the songbirds for the wedding, this did not come as a surprise. Chrysalis chuckled to herself. She'd have loved to see the feeble little pegasus go up against some of Everfree's larger denizens.

Now came the tricky part: the first impression, the initial approach. How could she make her situation known without having the mare slam the door in her face? She couldn’t see herself walking up and saying, “Hi! Can you help me save the race that recently attacked Canterlot?”

Ah, the advantages of being a changeling. All she had to do was disguise herself as somepony Fluttershy trusted completely. No dire need for knowing the personality of her chosen costume; she would only require it for as long as it took to enter the house.

Oh, the poor, delicate thing... she was probably going to scare her half to death. But it was a necessary evil. She hid there on the outskirts of the forest, recalling the scouts’ intel to determine the proper disguise.

“You’ve been surprisingly cooperative today, Angel Bunny!” Fluttershy mused, smiling as the white rabbit before her accepted the offering of food without a fight. “What’s gotten you in such a good mood today?”

Angel simply rolled his eyes at the pegasus and continued to work on his meal.

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief despite herself. On any other day, feeding Angel would have been such a chore. That hare was so hard to please sometimes. Today, though, he didn’t fuss over what he was given, and the whole feeding process went much more quickly than she expected it to. This gave her more time to prepare for her weekly spa outing with Rarity. Not that such a thing required much preparation anyway, but it was nice to have some peace and quiet, some time to herself.

Her little moment of zen was disrupted by a quick knock at the door. She perked up, somewhat perplexed. She wasn’t expecting any company today, and it wasn’t often that she had anypony show up unannounced. Of course, she couldn’t complain; she would be more than happy to spend her downtime with her friends. That was assuming it was one of her friends at the door, but then, who else could it really be?

Realizing that her train of thought was keeping herself pinned in place and the potential guest waiting, Fluttershy hurried over to the door and opened it. On the other side, to her shock, was Rarity. She seemed startled by the sudden motion of the door, but quickly regained her composure.

“Good morning, Fluttershy,” she greeted. “Do you... have a moment?” She shifted slightly on the step. For some reason Fluttershy couldn’t figure out, she looked uneasy, almost hesitant.

“Rarity? This is a pleasant surprise. I thought you were going to meet me at the spa!”

“Wh— I mean, yes, I know, but... can I come in for a moment? It’s somewhat urgent.”

The slip was not lost on Fluttershy, and it left her with even more questions, but nevertheless, she let Rarity into her home and closed the door behind her. Whatever she had to say... maybe it was something distressing, something that was putting a massive burden on her mind. The way she went straight for the couch, eyes shut and head buried in her forelegs, seemed to confirm that suspicion.

“Um... Rarity?” she asked, her voice laced with concern. “Is there something wrong? Are we going to have to cancel our trip—”

“Before you say anything more,” the mare in front of her interrupted, “I have to apologize for the deception. I had no other choice... you probably would not have allowed me into your home otherwise.”

Fluttershy suddenly realized she had almost no idea what was happening at the moment. “What deception? What are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry I had to do this, but...” Rarity looked back up to face her host and opened her eyes. Her green, slit-pupiled, almost alien eyes.

“I am not your friend Rarity.”

The sight of those eyes almost made the timid pegasus faint, but she kept enough of her composure to bolt upstairs and hyperventilate from behind her bed. There was a changeling in her house. It made her think it was Rarity and tricked her into letting it into her home. Her mind envisioned a hundred elaborate worst-case scenarios: Rarity and the rest of her friends kidnapped and being converted into changelings, a full-scale invasion happening right under her nose, the changelings suddenly developing a thirst for blood as well as love...

A sudden noise and a bright green flash distracted her from these thoughts. The changeling had shed its disguise. She heard hoofsteps coming up the stairs, hoofsteps that suddenly hesitated and stopped as they reached the top.

Fluttershy forced herself to look over the side of the bed to get a quick look at the intruder. What she saw made her immediately regret it.

She recognized the figure at the foot of the stairs instantly. She stood as tall as Princess Celestia, sporting a crooked horn and thin, translucent wings. Her slender black form was filled with holes in the legs, and her bluish-green mane hung slightly over her face. A four-pointed crown adorned her head, adding to the regal look her physical stature already exuded.

Fluttershy ducked right back behind the bed, realizing right away that she wasn’t being greeted by a normal changeling, but by the queen.

“Fluttershy, please,” the creature seemed to plead. “I only wish to talk, and time is of the essence.”

Fluttershy refused to face the thing at her stairway again. “Go away! Leave me and my friends alone!”

“Please, I need your help!” she insisted. “I will allow you to remain where you are if it comforts you to hide, but I would appreciate it if you faced me while we spoke.”

“W-what are you going to do to me?” Fluttershy asked. Her mind was trying to answer that question before the queen could, and none of what it came up with pleased her.

“Nothing but to ask for your help,” the changeling replied, her tone startlingly disarming. “Please, as amusing as the cowering may have been in any other situation, just look at me so that we may speak to each other.”

The changeling queen was asking—begging—to just talk to her. And she sounded so distressed. Fluttershy processed this information and weighed her options. On the one hoof, this was the thing that impersonated Princess Cadance on her wedding day and launched a full-scale attack on Canterlot. The thing that sapped Shining Armor’s energy as food and used it to outmatch and capture Princess Celestia. Whatever she wanted with her, she had little reason to trust it was anything good.

On the other... she seemed genuinely nervous when she first arrived at her doorstep and legitimately distressed when speaking to her a moment before. In hindsight, when she took Cadance’s place, she acted nothing like her. Everypony chalked it up to premarital jitters, but the fact of the matter was that the queen couldn’t act well at all. It was hard to doubt the sincerity of her emotions here.

Her decision was made. Reluctantly and slowly, she lifted herself up off the floor and met her guest’s gaze.

The look on the queen’s face almost broke her heart. She could see every ounce of the desperation and urgency her voice had shown. Those impossible eyes looked to have seen absolute tragedy in the very recent past, and the physical and emotional pain she was feeling was readily apparent.

“...okay,” she agreed. “I’ll talk. But first... what did you do with Rarity?”

“You are literally the only pony I’ve come in contact with,” the queen assured her. “Neither Rarity nor your other friends know I’m here, and I haven’t seen any of them, let alone harmed them.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said, her fearful mind now somewhat at ease. The reassurance, coupled with the pained expression her unexpected guest displayed, helped her become more accepting of the situation, and she climbed up onto her bed and made herself more comfortable. “I don’t know if I can really trust you, but... I’ll have to for now. What did you want from me... your highness?”

“I’m not in the mood for formalities,” the changeling insisted. “You may call me by my name. Chrysalis.”

“Alright. What did you want from me, Chrysalis?”

“Well...” Chrysalis stated. “Be grateful that you’re already seated, because it won’t be a pleasant story. But I came to plead for your assistance.”

“Yes, you’ve said that. But why me? What could I possibly do to help you?” Fluttershy couldn’t for the life of her understand Chrysalis’ motivation. She couldn’t possibly have any special connection to the changelings. She’d only encountered them once, and she barely even participated in the melee that ensued. So where did the queen think that left her in all this?

“Well... the reason I’m here,” she began, “is because my loyal subjects are scattered across the land thanks to that force field Shining Armor used to jettison us out of Canterlot. I had a rather rough landing, and my trip through the Everfree Forest did me no favors, but every other changeling I saw that had landed around me was either severely injured or killed by the impact. And trying to reach out to the hive mind brought only cries of agony that were dwindling in number.”

As she continued to speak, her voice started to waver, and her eyes began to water. It took everything in Fluttershy’s power to not try to pick the poor thing up and cradle her in her forelegs. Not that she would be able to lift a changeling the size of Princess Celestia... and she certainly didn’t expect to sympathize with the race that attacked the capital of Equestria... but seeing the ringleader of the changelings break down in front of her was undeniably jarring.

“The invasion itself was a last-ditch feeding effort to ward off widespread starvation, so... now there are countless broken and famished changelings scattered further than I would have thought possible, and I cannot do anything in my power to help them. Can you even imagine what that’s like, Fluttershy? An entire race’s extinction on your own head? Especially when that race is your own, you’re meant to lead them, you can hear their suffering, and you can’t even help them!?”

That did it. The next thing either of them knew, Fluttershy had jumped off the bed and grabbed the hysterical queen in a gentle, comforting embrace. Chrysalis collapsed onto her haunches and returned the hug, letting the tears flow freely.

“I’m so sorry,” said Fluttershy, becoming a little misty-eyed herself. It was all she could think of. What were you supposed to say to somepony on the brink of losing everything they ever cared about? She didn’t know, couldn’t begin to know. All she could really offer was the hug. Those seemed to work often enough. “Just... let it all out. I barely even know what to say. You must be suffering so much.”

Chrysalis, far beyond the point of forming actual words, merely nodded. Fluttershy led the grieving monarch over to her bed, and the two sat there for a couple of minutes while Chrysalis regained her composure.

“You’re right,” Fluttershy conceded. “I couldn’t possibly know what you’re going through right now, and I’m certain I never want to go through it myself. But I still need to know... where do I come in? What’s my role in this?”

Chrysalis sniffled. “Well, the only reason I returned to Equestria was to ask your princess for support. Sustenance, medical aid... anything to ensure that they will not all die on my watch. But after recent events, I doubt I could show my face anywhere near Canterlot, let alone Celestia.

“That is why I came to Ponyville. Beyond meeting with her face to face, my only direct line of communication to the princess would be—”

“Twilight!” Fluttershy exclaimed, starting to put the pieces together. As soon as she said it, however, she shrank back. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt you!”

Chrysalis ignored the apology, or at least didn’t acknowledge it. “Anyway, there is still a large issue with consulting Twilight Sparkle about this situation. Seeing how most of the events of her brother’s wedding affected her in some way, I imagine confronting her first would have proven very unwise.”

At last, everything clicked in Fluttershy’s head. “And you figured that you could get her to trust you... by getting me to trust you first!”

“Precisely,” Chrysalis affirmed. “I chose you because you are the Element of Kindness. The one of her friends who would be most likely to give me the chance to speak to them, to explain myself and my desires to them. I apologize again for the dishonest method I used to do so, but I do thank you for listening. And... for comforting me.”

“It was the least I could do,” Fluttershy replied. Considering the circumstances, she couldn’t help but be aware of how true those words seemed to ring.

“So... you will help me?”

There it was. The million-bit question. To her own surprise, the yellow pegasus actually had to stop and consider. She had just heard that awful story, and she had no reason to doubt its truth... but there was still that chance that Chrysalis had some horrible plans for the ponies of Equestria once her race recovered. She wasn’t above an invasion before; who was to say she’d changed?

Then she looked up at that face again. Desperate. Pleading. Streaks of tears that had yet to dry. In that moment, she truly did look like the ruler of a dying people that could do nothing to stop the dying. This was not the face of a tyrant or conqueror. It was far too vulnerable, far too pained. This mare, this monarch, had opened herself up to her and shared her hurt with her. She couldn’t even think of hurting her more.

There was no other answer.

“...yes, Chrysalis. Of course I’ll help you, in any way I can.”

This time it was Chrysalis who initiated the surprise hug, but with significantly more force. “Oh, thank you, Fluttershy! You truly are a credit to your Element!”

“You’re... welcome...” Fluttershy attempted to say. “Please... let go... can’t... breathe...”

“Oh. Right.” At once, the embrace was broken, and Chrysalis shuffled away slightly.

“So,” Fluttershy inquired, coughing lightly, “how were you planning on bringing this up to Twilight?”

Chrysalis paused to think for a moment. A very long moment. “I... don’t think I planned that far ahead. I’d hoped it would come to me by the time I reached this stage.”

In spite of herself, Fluttershy rolled her eyes at that remark. “Well, how about this? I can talk to Twilight after I go down to the local spa with Rarity. I should be able to take care of it by this afternoon.”

“I would prefer that it be sooner, but... I suppose, if you have a prior engagement,” Chrysalis agreed.

“Wonderful. Now, I need to be at the spa by...” Fluttershy glanced towards the nearest clock, which read half past—oh no.

“Oh my goodness, I’m going to be late!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry to have to leave you here, Chrysalis, but I must get going if I want to meet Rarity there! I’ll see you this afternoon!” With that, she stormed down the stairs and out the door. She started galloping as fast as her hooves would take her, wondering if “Angel was being extra-fussy” would be a good enough excuse for Rarity.

Chrysalis stared dumbfounded at the stairway, where Fluttershy had abruptly taken her leave. It seemed somewhat rude, just leaving like that with such little warning.

Still... she had succeeded in earning Fluttershy’s aid. So far, so good. In fact, she couldn’t help but feel that there was some semblance of a connection that was made there. Perhaps there was some room in this old queen’s heart for a new friend. She mulled over that thought for a while. A race she once discounted as merely a source of nourishment, and yet she was relying on them for aid. Bonding with them, even!

When her gaze returned to the stairway, she noticed a white rabbit standing over the top step. He didn’t look frightfully intimidating to her at all; after Everfree, she figured she may never feel threatened by a lesser animal again.

However, she was slightly unnerved by the way he just stared at her, giving her the dirtiest of glares.

Chapter Two: Rarity

Rarity sat patiently in the waiting room of Ponyville’s day spa, flipping through a random magazine that had been left out on the table. It was unusual, her being the first one here; she couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Fluttershy normally spent her time waiting for her every week. The poor dear must get bored waiting this long for her week after week; most of these magazines seemed dreadfully uninteresting. Would it have killed Aloe and Lotus to subscribe to publications for a wider range of demographics? With a sigh, she set down the one she was reading and telekinetically lifted another one. She didn’t even notice until about halfway through that she had already read this magazine, and she set it right back down again.

The bell over the front door chimed, signaling the entrance of another customer. Rarity did not even have to look up to know who it was. “Good morning, Fluttershy. Interesting, this little role reversal we have here.”

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” Fluttershy replied. “I had a busy morning... um... getting Angel to cooperate, and I lost track of time.”

Rarity turned toward her friend, relieved that she had finally arrived, but something caused her to pause for a moment. Was that hesitation? “Are you certain it was because of Angel?” she asked, an eyebrow arching skyward.

“No, I’m sure it was Angel,” she responded. However, she couldn’t seem to meet the white unicorn’s gaze, so Rarity was not inclined to believe her.

“This is not like you, Fluttershy. I thought we told each other everything! Especially after the whole debacle with Photo Finish! You know you can trust me to keep your secrets, as I trust you to keep mine. Tell me, what really happened this morning that delayed your arrival?”

“I...” Fluttershy began, looking away from Rarity and backing up towards the door. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you.”

“Tell me,” Rarity demanded. “I am always completely open with you. How could you not feel comfortable being completely open with me? It’s almost insulting!”

“I know, and I feel so awful for having to hide her—it from you, but I just can’t tell you!” Fluttershy spat back, more forcefully than Rarity was used to hearing. “I’m so sorry, but this is something that has to stay a secret.”

Rarity doubled back. Fluttershy, with such a massive secret? One that must only have come into being this morning? She could hardly believe it. She had to know what her closest friend and confidante was hiding. And she already would by now, had Fluttershy not been so uncharacteristically adamant about not telling. Perhaps she could get her to show her instead...

Wait. Did she just say—she did!

“‘Her?’ Is there somepony you’re meaning to keep from me?” Rarity inquired. “A new friend, perhaps? Or, dare I say it, a lover? I never expected you to be the type to be attracted to—”

“No!” Fluttershy asserted, blushing furiously. “It’s nothing like that! She’s just a... a friend, I suppose, that I met this morning. At least, I think she might think we’re friends now...”

This response confused Rarity even more. The very nature of the statement came as a slight shock, hearing that somepony as timid and admittedly antisocial as Fluttershy had met a new friend within the space of one morning. The oddest part about it, though, was her initial denial of the fact. She did not want her to know about the new friend; in fact, she had seemed ashamed of the fact that she had met them, for reasons she could not fathom.

“I don’t understand. Why hide the fact that you made a new friend? Anypony who would befriend you over the course of a single morning must be such pleasant company! Tell me, where is she staying? I would have to assume it’s somewhere in Ponyville.”

Rarity could see Fluttershy’s defenses starting to weaken. “Um... she’s staying at my cottage for the moment, but—”

“Then you shall take me to meet her!” Rarity declared, causing Fluttershy to squeak at the interruption. “Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. It would be a shame for your newest acquaintance to be the exception to that rule.”

“Now?” Fluttershy asked, somehow becoming even more nervous. “I... what about the spa? We’re already here, and I don’t think this is something we should break our weekly tradition over.”

Fluttershy was stalling. Rarity could see it clear as day. She couldn't imagine why she continued to refuse, but she realized that she was fighting what was developing to be a losing battle. "Very well. I will respect your wishes for the time being. I have been looking forward to this all week, and it would be a shame to cut it so tragically short. After we leave, however, I demand to meet her!”

Fluttershy stood there for a moment, perhaps considering the proposal. It took much longer than Rarity would have expected. “Alright. But you have to promise me that you won’t make a big deal about it when you meet her.”

There must have been something off about the pony Fluttershy had welcomed into her life if it took her this long to agree to introduce her to Rarity, especially if promising to more or less withhold judgment was one of the conditions. It almost sounded as if anypony knowing of the mare’s presence and existence was a bad thing. As if this new mare... could be somehow dangerous.

“...very well, then. I promise I will not make a scene when I meet your guest. Though I must say, what with the secrecy with which you attempted to treat this information... I would expect her to be some sort of wanted criminal.”

Fluttershy shook her head as they walked into the sauna together. “I don’t really care at the moment. As far as I’m concerned... she’s just a broken soul in need of help.”

Chrysalis was, indeed, in need of help. She had no idea how long she’d been tied by her hooves and suspended upside-down from the ceiling, but the feeling of blood rushing to her head was beginning to make her dizzy. That rabbit was dynamite.

She heard a voice by the doorway. No, a pair of voices. One must have belonged to Fluttershy, and she assumed the second would be Twilight Sparkle, as promised. This was not the state in which she’d wanted to negotiate relief arrangements, but it was a desperate cause, and at this point, as long as the job got done, she would suffer any humiliation.

She heard the door open and Fluttershy speak again. “Chrysalis, before you say anything—”

“Before you say anything,” she interrupted, “you must rein in that rabbit of yours. He has unionized the other animals and is out of control!”

Fluttershy looked at the dangling changeling and brought her hoof to her forehead. “This is why I don’t like leaving Angel alone with new guests... here, let me help you.”

The pegasus moved to untie Chrysalis’ bonds. She felt the rope lose its grip on her hooves, then she felt her skull collide with the ground below. Given her height, it was a short fall, but it still hurt something awful.

“Oh, I’m so sorry about that!” Fluttershy insisted. “ I should’ve put down a pillow so you wouldn’t have felt that as much—”

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” Chrysalis assured her, staggering to her hooves. Even on top of every other injury she'd sustained in the recent past, she figured she was going to feel that one for a while.

Fluttershy averted her gaze, looking towards the floor. “I’m sorry again. But I’m also sorry about... well, you see, I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted that I—”

“Is that who I think it is!?” came a voice from the doorway. Chrysalis turned to meet its owner, but instead of the promised mare, she caught sight of a very well-groomed and very shocked white unicorn. The same one whose guise she had taken to approach Fluttershy to begin with.

Rarity refused to believe the sight before her. Fluttershy had just helped a changeling—the queen of the changelings—off of her ceiling! And they were speaking to each other as if they were friends! The vile creature looked in her direction at the sound of her voice, bearing an expression of... confusion and disappointment?

“I thought you were going to bring Twilight Sparkle,” the wretched being stated, turning to face the owner of the cottage. “I’m certain that that is not her. In fact, that appears to be—”

“Yes, it’s Rarity,” Fluttershy answered. “She demanded that I bring her back here to meet you right after we left the spa. I’m sorry, she didn’t give me any time to see Twilight.” She brought her attention over to Rarity. “Um... you remember Chrysalis, don’t you?”

“Remember her!?” Rarity spat, still trying to make sense of the situation. “Fluttershy, this is the thing that tried to invade Canterlot and conquer all of Equestria! How could you let her into your home? Is it even you in there, or is this some sort of changeling trick!?”

“Mind your manners, young Rarity,” the monster cautioned. “I am not in any mood for such accusations.”

“Rarity, please, you promised you wouldn’t make a big deal of this!” Fluttershy insisted.

“That was before I realized you were harboring the queen of the changelings!” Rarity retorted. “It may have been one thing if you only sheltered one of those disgusting grunts, but this is their ruler! The one who orchestrated the invasion, who captured Princess Cadance and attempted to enslave the entire population of Canterlot!”

“Did you just refer to my subjects as ‘disgusting grunts?’” the queen inquired, now growing visibly upset. Ah, so she had managed to strike a nerve!

“That is precisely what they are!” Rarity declared with a hint of triumph in her voice. “Hideous, the whole lot of them! They’re disgusting! They’re vile! They’re—”

“They’re dying!” the changeling shouted. “Dying, every single one of them! I can hear their cries, and I can’t save them on my own! And the last thing I need to hear is you insulting every single one of them while they lay broken and starving all across your precious Equestria!”

Rarity stared in awe. The massive monarch in front of her was certainly upset, but she had expected mere anger. Instead, she saw despair on her face, the look of fresh and painful wounds reopening. She saw her eyes begin to well up with tears, eyes that almost seemed to be running out of tears to shed.

In that moment, she truly saw a broken soul in need of help.

“...she’s not lying, is she?” she asked, suddenly feeling like the scum of the earth.

“I can’t say for sure,” Fluttershy replied honestly, “but I believe her. Chrysalis, I’m so, so sorry about—”

“You are not the one who should be apologizing,” Chrysalis hissed, now glaring daggers at the mare still frozen on the doorstep.

“I...” she started, trying to work out what she would say. Depending on just how hard the changeling queen had taken her words, and on how receptive she would be of this apology, she could very well have made a powerful enemy. She needed to choose her words carefully so as not to escalate things further.

After a few seconds, she had her apology in order. “I... I am dreadfully sorry for what I said. I did not realize that your... your subjects were suffering so. It was wrong of me to pour salt in such a recent and painful wound.”

Chrysalis took a moment to appraise her apology. “I suppose you can be forgiven. You could not have known, after all—”

“I was not finished,” Rarity interjected. “You will also have to forgive me for not being able to trust you completely. Your story is a tragic one, and I have faith in Fluttershy’s decision to aid you in... whatever it is you are here to do, but I simply cannot ignore your past actions against Equestria. You have earned my sympathy, but you still must work if you wish for my trust.”

“I’m sure I will be able to cope,” Chrysalis quipped. “Will you... will you at least allow me to justify my presence here? My reason for coming here and pleading for the help of your friend?”

“Seeing as you are already here... I suppose I can grant you an audience,” Rarity answered.

And thus, in about as much detail as she had the first time, Chrysalis explained to Rarity her plight and her plan. She nearly broke down crying again, but having told the tale once before and having an audience of two sympathetic ponies instead of one seemed to help her compose herself.

“...which is why I need Fluttershy here,” she concluded. “She almost certainly won’t even hear me out otherwise. Though... I don’t suppose you would help me as well? Perhaps to support me if she remains skeptical?”

“For the time being, I see little reason why not,” Rarity responded. “There is still the matter of your recent attack, but... sitting here now, listening to you, I can hardly believe you are the same individual. Where was this side of you during the wedding?”

“Too busy riding the high of what I thought was my impending success,” Chrysalis admitted. “As you can imagine, I would prefer not to discuss it at length. It is a mistake I would not dare repeat. One I’m not even capable of repeating as of now.”

“You won’t go telling everypony about this, will you?” Fluttershy chimed in. “I think she needs secrecy to make this work. I don’t think anypony else needs to know yet... except for Twilight, of course.”

“My lips are sealed on the matter,” Rarity vowed. “Though I must ask... what did you have in mind for approaching her? I doubt you can walk up to her doorstep and grovel. It would be a shameful display, for one, and I’m convinced she would need to be... well, eased into it.”

Chrysalis never even considered a method of bringing the information to Twilight Sparkle. She had the “what” mapped out perfectly for her plan, but not the “how.” The only part of this that had not been pure impulse or reaction thus far was the confrontation with Fluttershy. She had gone with the flow on every other point, and ended up suspended from the ceiling for it due to having never accounted for the temperamental Angel. Too many factors, too many variables... and she had not begun to straighten them all out. These mares were a godsend, filling the gaps and holes in her plan that she failed to notice or acknowledge.

“Well, I don’t think having her meet and recruit the rest of our friends would work out well,” Fluttershy thought aloud. “She may see it as some kind of conspiracy, something we didn’t want her in on. I do hope she would never think that of us, but... she can be unpredictably scary under emotional pressure and stress. We will have to tell her, and we can’t wait too long.”

“I second that motion,” Chrysalis interjected. “Morbid though it may sound, time is bodies.”

“Perhaps one of us should confront her,” Rarity suggested. “I believe it should be you, Fluttershy, since you seem to have more sympathy for Chrysalis here. Honestly, of all the ponies I would have expected you to bond with...”

“I couldn’t do that,” Fluttershy insisted. “I don’t even want to know what conclusions she might come to if I told her I had Chrysalis staying in my cottage... I wouldn’t even know what to say when I get there!”

Suddenly, Chrysalis was struck with a brilliant idea. A way around Fluttershy’s indecision and apprehension. Something she was naturally suited for.

“Actually, Fluttershy... why don’t you leave that to me?”

Twilight Sparkle scoured her vast shelves of books for anything regarding long-distance communication spells. Something that may not need to rely on dragon fire to send scrolls, but could actually allow vocal communication. It seemed like it would be so much more personal. Plus, she wouldn’t have to go so long without hearing from Shining Armor again. She was devastated when she heard the news of his wedding so impersonally... it would destroy her to lose that connection with her BBBFF. Plus, Cadance was likely to be with him most of the time; she’d just love to catch up with her!

Her train of thought was derailed by a light knock on the door. She nearly called for Spike to answer it, but decided against it, allowing him to take his nap in peace. The door was right there anyway, so she chose to not be lazy and open it herself.

The mare standing on the other side appeared to be Fluttershy. “Twilight... can I talk to you for a minute?”

Chapter Three: Twilight Sparkle (Take One)

“No.”

“...I’m sorry?” Fluttershy uttered, as if asking for clarification.

“I said no,” Twilight repeated. “I haven’t thought about what happened to the changelings after Shining Armor and Cadance kicked them out of Canterlot. I just assumed they went on back to wherever they came from. And I hope I never have to see them again.”

“Isn’t that a little extreme?” Fluttershy asked. “There are probably some very nice changelings. What if all of the ones who were attacking the city were just following orders?”

“That’s what they do,” Twilight informed her. “They follow orders. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t have any free will of their own, if they were all just extensions of their queen’s will. But I’m trying to distance myself a bit from everything that happened before the wedding, so I don’t even want to know whether or not any of that is true. I know, it’s not like me to pass up a learning opportunity like this, but... I just don’t want to think about it.”

“Why are you so keen to forget what happened? I thought everything turned out fine for everypony in the end.”

Twilight noted the strange emphasis in the first sentence and the visible pain on Fluttershy’s face after saying the second. Something was wrong. This could actually be another changeling. But she figured it would be best not to draw attention to the oddity, just in case she was wrong, and instead wait for a more incriminating mistake.

“Well...” she began. “It did turn out perfectly. My brother got married to my old foalsitter, I got to spend time with them both, as well as Princess Celestia, and nopony was seriously hurt in the invasion.”

“Nopony...” Fluttershy mumbled under her breath, but Twilight picked up on it. This was definitely weird behavior for her friend. The way she saw it, either something had happened with her that she wasn’t aware of, or this was a bad attempt at infiltration by a changeling who couldn’t act.

“...but it was still an awful thing to go through. That queen kidnapped Cadance, used my brother like a puppet, and even attacked and captured the princess! I almost lost my brother’s love because of her! So much of what happened there ended up happening to or affecting me. I just want to put it behind me.

“Say...” she continued. “Why are you so interested in the changelings anyway?”

“Fluttershy” was speechless for a moment. Game, set, match.

“Well...” the apparent imposter replied after her moment of silence. “No reason in particular. I was just a little curious about them after what happened.”

“Uh-huh,” Twilight retorted. “You know, a better liar would have come up with an answer to that before coming to talk to me. There was no reason to think I wouldn’t have gotten curious and asked about it, and the excuse you gave was terrible and uninspired. Your cover’s blown, changeling!”

“So it is,” the thing that wasn’t Fluttershy confessed, chuckling. “I was hoping to maintain it for longer and have the main point of discussion come more naturally, but I suppose it’s of no real consequence now.”

“Unfortunately for you, this conversation is over,” Twilight declared. “Get out of my library and out of Equestria right now, and maybe I’ll be nice enough to not tell Princess Celestia about there being a changeling spy in Ponyville.”

“There are two problems with your ultimatum,” the thing informed her. “First of all, a letter addressed to Celestia was precisely what I came to ask of you, albeit with different content. Second of all...”

There was a brilliant flash of green, and the changeling—no, the changeling queen—stood undisguised before her. “I am not merely a spy.”

Twilight stepped back, her mind reeling. The sight of this monster in her home summoned too many emotions at once. Shock at the fact that she even stood there. Confusion as to why she had come specifically to this place. Fear of the much larger and most likely stronger threat she no doubt posed.

In the space of a second, however, it all gave way to anger and hatred. Here she was, the beast who had imprisoned Princess Cadance and taken her place. The one who had imprisoned her as well and sent her to the same network of abandoned and forgotten caves. The one who had drained Shining Armor’s power until he could not maintain his force field and taken control of his mind at the altar. The one who had very nearly torn apart the bond she shared with her brother. The one who had orchestrated the assault on Canterlot, who had captured and could possibly have killed her teacher and idol.

And now she dared to return to a kingdom in which she was not welcome, presenting herself to a mare whose life she had very nearly destroyed.

“You.”

Fluttershy and Rarity observed the confrontation from right outside the library’s window. It was all going so smoothly until Twilight somehow pieced it together and blew Chrysalis’ cover. They’d decided not to act, though, hoping the situation wouldn’t get any worse... but then they saw Chrysalis shed her disguise, saw Twilight’s violent reaction.

“Well,” Rarity stated flatly. “That escalated quickly.”

As Chrysalis lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, the pain of the magic blast still searing in her chest, she swore to herself that she would give up on making plans for as long as she lived. They seemed to have a habit of going disastrously and tragically wrong. All she wanted to do was convince Twilight to send a request to Celestia, but she could not maintain her cover long enough to ease naturally into it over the course of the conversation. And now here she lay, curled up on the library floor with an absolutely livid lavender unicorn standing over her.

“Wow,” Twilight mused, seemingly admiring her work. “I knew I had some powerful magic, but I never thought I could incapacitate the changeling queen with one shot! And with any luck, I’ll be able to kill you with two.”

“You don’t have it in you to take a life, Twilight Sparkle,” Chrysalis responded, calling her bluff. In truth, however, she was growing increasingly unsure. Those eyes, at one time filled with an innocent joy at the sight of who she had thought was Fluttershy at her doorstep, now held nothing but vengeful contempt. The sweet smile she once wore had mutated into a demented grin.

“Well, I suppose I never have. But as much as I’d love to stand here and savor this sight, I’m about to try. This is for everything you put me through, and for everypony you and your changelings have ever hurt!” With that, Twilight’s horn began to glow, preparing for another attack.

So this is how it would end. One last shot, one final strike from a pony, and the changeling race would be doomed to extinction. For the first time in recent memory, Chrysalis was legitimately terrified for her life. She could not accept that this was to be the final fate of her kingdom, but at the same time, she was incapable of preventing it in her state. She shut her eyes as tightly as she could, awaiting the enraged mare’s judgment.

“Twilight, what are you doing!?” somepony shouted from the doorway. Chrysalis willed herself to reopen her eyes, and they fell upon the sight of a panicking yellow pegasus rushing towards her friend.

Twilight was completely lost in the moment. The world around her wasn’t there. All that mattered was her and the queen, that hateful queen who strived to destroy everything in her life that she held dear. It wasn’t enough for her to target her brother, foalsitter, and mentor. Now she was here to ruin everything else. She probably already got to her friends; why else would she have used Fluttershy as a disguise? Then she would try to take the library, try to take Spike, and leave her with nothing while she saved her for last.

She was fully ready to kill before she would let that happen.

She faintly registered a shouting voice and flapping wings, but they did not deter her. She prepared the shot that would strike the demon down for good.

The next thing she knew, she was on the ground with Fluttershy pinning her down, and there was a charred and smoking hole in the ceiling. That thing must not have gotten hit, then.

“Get off me, Fluttershy!” Twilight demanded, struggling under the other mare’s weight. “I’m trying to save Equestria!”

“I can’t let you hurt her anymore!” Fluttershy pleaded. “Please, Twilight, just stop this! Killing her would just make everything worse!”

“But-but she’s evil! She wants to—”

“She wanted to talk! Twilight, please, this isn’t you! I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it’s completely unlike you and it’s seriously scaring me!”

All of a sudden, Twilight regained full awareness of her surroundings. She saw Fluttershy on top of her, breaking down and crying out of fear and concern. She saw Rarity in the doorway, wanting to step in and intervene but hesitating. She saw Spike at the foot of the stairs, having been awakened by the new hole next to his bed and coming down to a shocking and confusing scene.

Finally, she saw the changeling queen, that malicious, insectoid saboteur, huddled in a corner. She was clutching the wound in her chest with her forehooves, and her expression was one of the most despairing and terrified she’d ever seen. She actually managed to make that monster fear for her life.

And now, fully returned to the waking world, she felt like the monster.

“I... I’m so sorry!” Twilight cried, freeing her forelegs enough to embrace the sobbing Fluttershy. “I don’t know what came over me. I was just completely out of it!”

“We could never stay angry at you, darling,” Rarity assured her, finally moving from her position by the doorway. “Though I’m not certain we’re the ones you truly owe the apology to.”

“Who else could you—” Twilight began to ask, then looked over to the frightened black blob in the corner. “Tell me you’re not serious.”

“We are,” Fluttershy confirmed, sniffling and releasing her grip on Twilight.

“Oh no. Not even over my dead body. I am not apologizing to this... thing.”

“I have a name, you know,” the queen interjected through gritted teeth.

“I could care less, changeling,” Twilight hissed. “Now tell me, because I know you did something to them: where are my friends?”

“If you mean your group as a whole,” the changeling replied, “wherever they would all normally be. If you specifically mean Rarity and Fluttershy, they are right here with you.”

“Can someone explain to me what all the fuss is about?” Spike inquired, but the others were so caught up in their argument that they didn’t notice.

“As if I’d believe you!” Twilight stated. “Your entire existence is based on deception. Why should I trust anything you say to me?”

“This is why it’s so hard to be honest with anypony...” the queen lamented. “Think of it this way, then: would a changeling have broken down crying after seeing you lose your grip on sanity and morality?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Twilight retorted. “I’ve never seen one actually try to act like the pony they’re pretending to be. They’re probably much better actors than you are.”

“You would dare—”

“I would, and I did,” Twilight snapped. “Are you still honestly trying to make me believe you didn’t just swap my friends out for changelings so it would look like they were giving you credible support?”

“I couldn’t have even if I wanted to!” the queen answered.

“Oh, really! And why not?”

“Because if you don’t shut up and help me, there won’t even be any other changelings left!” the monarch spat. “Your brother’s force field left me with an empire of empty stomachs, broken bones and rotting corpses! To my knowledge, there is not a single able-bodied changeling left alive! So you’ll forgive me if I’m not entirely sympathetic to your plight!”

Twilight was about to come up with a response, but... there was that despair again. If Twilight ever saw a genuine emotion on another pony’s face, it was the guilt and sorrow shown by this being, this ruler of a doomed people. It was almost enough to make her turn right around and help her with whatever she wanted...

...but looking upon that face still summoned painful memories of the days before the royal wedding. For everything that happened in those few days, it seemed that Twilight was the epicenter and this creature was the catalyst. As genuinely anguished as the changeling queen appeared now, Twilight couldn’t bring herself to look past what happened then.

“...it’s sad, what’s apparently happened to your subjects,” she explained. “But that doesn’t change what you did. You still led a full-scale attack on a major Equestrian city, and you still assaulted Princess Celestia and manipulated my brother. I’m going to write a letter to the princess, and once it’s sent, you’ll be in the Royal Guard’s hooves and out of mine.”

“What? No!” Fluttershy cried. “How is she going to get help from a Canterlot dungeon? She hasn’t even done anything wrong since she got here!”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I’m writing to her about her crimes from the last time she was here, isn’t it?” Twilight replied. “Spike, now that you’re awake, take a letter.”

But Spike hesitated. Twilight found this odd; normally he would be more than happy to to grab a quill and parchment and write out a letter. Why he would suddenly seem to have second thoughts, especially on a matter of such grave importance, was beyond her.

“Actually, Twilight...” the baby dragon explained. “I kind of want to hear her out and see what she needed you to do for her. I wasn’t here for most of this, but you look more in the wrong than she does right now.”

“Spike! How can you say that!?”

“Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it,” Spike replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, it’s good to see someone in this library speaking with a clear and open mind,” Rarity commented, giving Spike an affectionate rub on the head. The young dragon’s eyes filled with hearts, and he began to swoon.

“Are you just taunting me with that display of love now?” the changeling asked. “I’m trying to be polite and keep my appetite in check, but your little assistant is not making it easy.”

“Not my problem,” Twilight quipped, visibly enjoying the minor torture. “Just tell me what you want. The sooner you get done with that, the sooner I can fetch the—”

“Twilight!” Fluttershy interjected.

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” the queen responded. Twilight was never going to get used to seeing her and her friends be nice to each other. “As luck would have it, I needed you to write a letter to Celestia anyway. I already made clear my subjects’... collective situation... and it’s not in my power to help them. I had hoped that it would be in your princess’s power to... perhaps... take pity on me and provide me with aid so that I may ensure their survival.”

“Wow,” Twilight observed. “That actually sounds like you care about your subjects.”

“What good ruler would not?”

“Please help Chrysalis, Twilight,” Fluttershy pleaded. “She’s been through so much already, and I don’t want to hear any more about all this suffering.”

“I will have to side with Fluttershy,” Rarity stated. “I had much the same argument upon first meeting her... minus the attempted homicide, of course—”

“Am I ever going to live that down?” Twilight asked, already knowing the answer.

“—but you can see how noble her intentions are,” Rarity continued. “Even the wedding seemed more like a case of the ends justifying the means, though I hesitate to properly term it as such. Can you truly fault a ruler for wanting to support her subjects?”

Twilight took this into consideration. She had always assumed that the queen—Chrysalis, her name apparently was—only wanted to take over Equestria and enslave all of ponykind as food for her subjects. That the only way to do it was through everypony Twilight ever cared about. But... what if it really was just a last-ditch effort to feed a starving kingdom? She couldn’t imagine it being very easy on a changeling to have to siphon love from other species... perhaps she could look into changeling physiology after all, if only to see how long they could survive without love or on other sustenance.

After a moment of silently weighing her options, Twilight finally spoke. “I guess you win. I won’t write to Princess Celestia to arrest you.”

“I do appreciate that,” Chrysalis said, relieved. “Now about the contents of the other letter—”

“I’m not writing to her at all,” Twilight clarified. “I have no idea why, but Fluttershy and Rarity seemed eager to forgive and support you. I won’t be won over that easily. Consider it a trial run of sorts: I’ll let you lay low in Ponyville for a little while, and if you can convince me to let go of what happened, I’ll happily write that letter you want and apologize for everything I said and did today. But for now... I still only see red when I look at you, changeling.”

“I said I have a—”

“I don’t respect you enough to address you by it,” Twilight remarked, the venom slowly creeping back into her voice. “It doesn’t matter to me how troubled you are now; I still won’t forgive you for the damage you’ve already done. And until I do... I can’t see myself helping you.”

Chrysalis was taken slightly aback by the unicorn’s words. She had expected the backing support of Fluttershy alone to be enough to earn Twilight Sparkle’s aid. But even with the direct assistance of Rarity and the passive assistance of the dragon Spike, all she had managed to do was narrowly avoid arrest and get blasted in the chest. She did not anticipate the hatred running as deep as it apparently did.

And yet, in hindsight, she should have. She should have planned better for the possibility of Fluttershy’s aid not being enough. Even though she just so happened to gain another supporter without much effort on her own part, not even that sufficed. She should have accounted for the mare’s closeness to her brother, but instead, she underestimated the impact her actions had on their relationship. She probably should have accounted for the dragon as well, though his support had been a pleasant surprise.

Of course, though, she dove right into the confrontation, hoping for and expecting only the best. This always happened, it never worked, and yet she never learned. And now here she was, curled up in a corner in the library of the unforgiving Twilight, still in too much pain to even attempt to get up and leave. Being told that the time she was running on was now even more borrowed than before. That her only hope would be to show herself worthy of forgiveness in her eyes, despite the direness of the situation.

“Twilight, please! This is a desperate and urgent matter—”

“Then you’d better start trying to make it all up to me now,” Twilight replied coolly. She still had a hard time believing the absolute apathy she showed towards her. “A good start would be leaving my library.”

“I would,” Chrysalis retorted, “if you hadn’t shot me in the chest. I doubt I want to risk much motion in this state.”

“She does have a point,” Rarity observed. “And I could not carry her out, not even with Fluttershy’s aid. If you want her gone, you may have to wait for her wound to mend.”

“It could actually help you two become closer!” Fluttershy added. “And the sooner you two forgive and forget, the sooner Chrysalis can get help for the changelings!”

“But-but—” Twilight stammered. Chrysalis couldn’t help but get a sense of satisfaction out of seeing the mare who had proven so menacing earlier reduced to virtual wordlessness. “I can’t—she’s—why do—”

“I think you’re the only one who minds,” Spike interjected. “Well, actually, I don’t know how Chrysalis feels about it.”

She actually had to think about that. At the moment, it literally felt like she had no other choice. But how she felt about it... that was harder to pin down. On the one hoof, Twilight still carried a powerful grudge against her, and the arrangement would be awkward and tense from the very start. On the other hoof... it might be the perfect opportunity to earn Twilight’s sympathy and convince her to send for the aid she so desperately required. She hated to have to waste more time, but she had run out of viable options.

“Well... it seems to be in the best interest of everypony involved. I suppose I would not terribly mind. I’m sure Twilight Sparkle would appreciate the company.” She casted a glance at the mare in question, whose eye was twitching furiously.

“I—but—ugh! Fine, she can stay here!” she relented at last. “I’d love to charge you rent, but I don’t think you even have any Equestrian money. But I am definitely putting you to work around here. You might as well get used to the idea of housework and manual labor.”

Chrysalis groaned. The concept wasn’t at all foreign to her; she would often end up carrying out most of her own plans, and she saw to the maintenance of her own throne room. The issue was with her current injury, which she was now certain Twilight would not be above ignoring in favor of harder work.

The things she did for her subjects...

One hastily and shoddily applied roll of gauze later, Twilight managed to convince Chrysalis to make the agonizing trip back up into a standing position. The cries of pain were likely audible halfway across town, but she somehow succeeded.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright here without us, Chrysalis?” Fluttershy asked as she and Rarity were preparing to leave.

“Not in the slightest,” she replied truthfully. “But I must make the attempt.”

“Try to let us know if you need anything,” Rarity offered. “Take care now! You as well, Twilight!” With that, both mares were out the door.

“So... what exactly does my work here entail?” Chrysalis inquired, turning to the baby dragon.

“Mostly just chores and general assistance,” Spike answered. “I’m sure she’ll still have me on letter duty, but if she’s as set on making you work as she sounded, it looks like I’m gonna be out of most of a job.”

“I suppose I owe you an apology for that.”

“No, it’s fine,” Spike assured her. “At least this time I know my position as Twilight’s number-one assistant isn’t in any danger.”

Chrysalis merely rolled her eyes. “When do I start?”

“Immediately,” Twilight informed her from the bookshelves. “And for your first order of business... there’s a spellbook I was looking for before you showed up, and now you’re going to help me find it.”

Chapter Four: Applejack

Chrysalis spent much of the rest of her day on literary fetch quests for Twilight. She could only assume that her continuing with this specific line of work was meant as some sort of contrived punishment for failing to find anything pertaining to communication spells, as per the original request. She’d been sent to scour the shelves for history texts on Star Swirl the Bearded, operation manuals for some equipment in her basement, a random book of old foals’ stories, and anything else the unicorn could think of. She couldn’t help but pity that dragon assistant of hers; he had gone right back up to his bed, a clear indication of appreciation for the sudden lack of a demanding workload.

As the sunlight illuminating the library began to obtain a tint of orange, Twilight came down from her room. “Up for some more work? Of course you are.”

Chrysalis groaned. “What do you need now? And will there be any point to what I’m sent to find this time?”

“It’s not another book search,” Twilight clarified, “but it may involve more of them. I’m going to step out for a little while to see if I can buy more parchment before the store closes, so I need you to watch the library in my absence. You can handle taking my form until I get back, can’t you?”

A request to watch over the library. To take care of the place while the master was away, as it were. A seemingly inconsequential and innocuous request in itself, but Chrysalis viewed it as Twilight slowly lowering her defenses. She was being trusted more or less alone in the building while she left for the market. It wasn’t much, not at all, but it did seem to be a step in the right direction. If she continued to play her cards right, then with any luck, she may even have her audience with Celestia within two days’ time! Not that she was entirely sure what cards she had to play... but this small surrender gave her a much-needed boost of confidence.

“This is an interesting turn of events,” Chrysalis observed. “Finally warming up to me, are we?”

“I just don’t want you slacking off while I’m out, changeling,” Twilight retorted. “Don’t forget, you’re supposed to be working. And it’s better for everypony if I know where you are; who knows where you might run off to if I sent you out instead?”

Chrysalis merely gave her a bemused look and gestured towards the gauze wrapped around her chest. “I would not have gotten far even if I’d wanted to. Is this even necessary for me to do? Nopony has come into the library since myself and your friends.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Twilight answered, and quickly took her leave, the door slamming shut behind her.

Chrysalis sighed, bemoaning the fact that she could not even rest in Twilight’s absence. Well, she technically could if it was her wish, but the last thing she wanted was to betray what little of her host’s trust she managed to gain through her diligence. She made it this far by demonstrating her willingness to put up with whatever Twilight threw at her (which, thankfully, required minimal physical movement on her part), and she could not afford to squander that. Not while the lives of an entire kingdom were on the line.

The fate of the changeling race rested on her watching a library. There was a thought.

Accepting her fate, she transformed her outward appearance into that of the recently-departed mare and sat by the desk in the center of the room, patiently waiting for somepony to arrive.

To her surprise, about twenty minutes later, somepony did.

This was an uncommon thing for Applejack to do. She was very used to going to the library to visit Twilight, but now she was actually going to the library to get a book. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been there for that express purpose, but she knew for sure that it was long before Twilight came to town. She didn't even know what book she'd gotten or whether it still existed on those shelves. Luckily, she did know what she wanted this time around, and she could swear she'd caught a glimpse of it the last time she visited. She also figured she might ask for clarification on bits that went over her head; no use repeating the events of the previous applebuck season by jumping in blind and alone, was there?

Soon enough, she came to the front door of the Golden Oak Library. She'd been here so many times recently, but she'd almost forgotten the proper name of the place. She considered knocking on the door for a brief moment, but she figured that it wasn't necessary if the library was still open, which it seemed to be. Plus, it was Twilight; she didn't think she'd object to a friend dropping in unannounced.

Her course of action now clear, Applejack allowed herself into the hollowed-out tree that made up the building, and sure enough, her friend was there by the center desk. She seemed lost in a story (classic Twilight), but at the sound of the door, she looked up to greet her guest. "Oh, hi there! How may I help you?"

...well, that was an odd way for her to greet one of her closest friends.

The Stetson-sporting earth pony mare in front of Chrysalis gave her a strange look. What, was that not the right way to greet library guests? Perhaps she was meant to greet her with more familiarity, but while she had to admit the orange mare looked familiar, and looking upon her gave her the sense that she was forgetting something obvious and important, these ponies really all looked the same to her, coloration notwithstanding. She had to focus on maintaining her disguise and tending to a potential book borrower.

"Uh... howdy, Twilight," the mare greeted. So she did know Twilight; that was a slip-up on her part then. "Ah know this ain't what Ah'm normally here for, but Ah actually need a book."

That accent, that familiar informality... not only was this a pony Twilight knew, but it was clearly one she should have recognized by now. There was something glaring she was missing here. Something that would make her feel like an idiot when it finally came to her. But... nothing was coming to her. At this point, she just needed to get this mare out with what she wanted before she did something that blew her cover.

"Well... that is something I didn't expect to hear from you," Chrysalis stated, silently praying that she'd saved some face. "What kind of book did you need?"

"One on apples," her guest replied. "Ah know. Big surprise, right? Well, Ah wanted t’see about plantin' new types of apple trees, but Ah also heard there could be problems with puttin' a new plant in with the plants that are supposed to be there. Takin' all the nutrients and overrunnin' the population and all that. Ah wanted t’know if there were any kinds of apple trees that would do that, or at least not do it as much."

Well. That would be easy enough. She may never come to understand the categorization method Twilight used, but Chrysalis had scanned these shelves often enough to know the general location of the agricultural books. "Of course! Coming right up!"

Thankfully, the section she needed was at eye level, so she would not have to risk much movement or tear several books off the higher shelves. It didn't take long for her to find something that looked to match the given requirements, and after a quick scan of its contents, she levitated the book over to the waiting earth pony.

"There you go!" she declared. "I don't think introducing a new species of apple tree into a controlled environment should be an issue, but I'm certain that should help.

"And if there's nothing else you need, then... thank you, and come back soon!"

That's what finally tipped Applejack off to the fact that something was very wrong with Twilight. There was no way she would try to rush her out the door like that! Even if she wanted to be left alone, wouldn't she have just said so? This wasn't like her at all!

"Somethin' wrong, Twi?" Applejack inquired. "It ain't like you to just get me out the door. Ah thought you'd wanna chat for a while before Ah left."

"Well, uh," Twilight stammered, "I-I have a lot to take care of before the end of the day, and I'd appreciate it if—"

But the unicorn didn't finish that sentence. Instead, she stared at Applejack with widened eyes, as if she suddenly had an epiphany.

"Oh."

Applejack. This was Applejack. The Element of Honesty, the baker for the wedding. One of Twilight's closest friends. Of all the Element bearers to forget, and of all the times at which she could have forgotten... Twilight was going to kill her for this, or at least try again.

"Of course," she commented, feeling like an idiot. "There is no excuse for me not recognizing you, Applejack."

"Ya think?" Applejack replied. "There's somethin' real funny 'bout the way you're actin', Twilight. Heck, are you even Twilight?"

Her cover was blown. Again. She was never any good at salvaging it once it reached this point. The issue, then, was what to do about it.

There was only one good option, and that was to reveal and explain herself to Applejack. Admittedly, she knew very little about her from personal experience, and her recollection of her scouts' intel had failed her up to this point, so she could only imagine how the mare would take to the information. Though if what she recalled about stubbornness was accurate, then it would not be easy to convince her to listen. Perhaps if she found a way to ease her into—

"Hey, Twilight. I was just coming down to get dinner set up. I could whip something up for you too, AJ, if you plan on sticking around."

Chrysalis glanced towards the stairway, and just as before, Spike was descending from his room. She could swear that dragon had an unnatural sense of convenient timing.

"Uh, Spike," Applejack responded, "ya might wanna stay back. Ah don't think that's Twilight."

"Well, who else could it—" Spike began, then apparently remembered the day's previous events. "Oh yeah, right. Good one, Chrysalis, but don't make a habit of throwing me off like that. Where'd she go?"

"Out to the store to purchase parchment," Chrysalis answered. "Or so she said. She asked me to manage the library in her stead. I expect her back any moment now."

“Awesome. Cooking for four, then?”

“You ain’t cookin’ for nopony ‘til y’all explain what’s goin’ on here!” Applejack shouted, starting to become angry as well as confused.

“...I might as well,” Chrysalis replied, and promptly shed her disguise right before Applejack’s eyes.

Applejack’s mind was completely overloaded. What she just saw only added so many more questions to the ever-growing pile. Why was the changeling queen in Twilight’s library? Why was she disguised as Twilight? How did Spike know who she really was? Why did he call her “Chrysalis?” Why was he not making a big deal about there being a changeling in his home? Why did she drop her disguise all of a sudden? And... why was her midsection bandaged?

All of it ended up boiling down to one central thought, one pressing issue. The changeling queen was back in Equestria.

“Ah can’t believe this,” she stated. “Ah dunno why you’re here, and frankly, Ah don’t care, but you’ve got some nerve showin’ yer face ‘round these parts again. Ah oughta buck yer behind back to wherever ya came from right now!”

The thing before her—“Chrysalis,” apparently—winced at the mention of violence. Whatever wound she was keeping wrapped up must have been a recent one. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle may have had that in mind as well. Possibly somewhere lost within her urge to kill.”

“Urge to—what!?” Applejack could only gape incredulously at the queen. Of all the things Chrysalis could have accused Twilight of, she had to pick murder? “Ya can’t expect me to believe she’d ever—”

“I’d have thought that too,” Spike interrupted, “but she basically lost it when Chrysalis here showed up. We still haven’t patched up the hole in the ceiling from her magic blast. I’m kind of surprised you didn’t notice that.”

“That blast was meant for me,” Chrysalis explained, “and the one before it managed to connect. It’s still quite painful, and if you insist on using force to expel me from Equestria again, I would ask that you avoid striking the affected area.”

Another bombshell of information. More that needed to be processed but was having trouble processing. As if everything prior wasn’t overwhelming enough, she had her own friend’s supposed actions to question as well. It was difficult to imagine anypony, let alone Chrysalis, driving Twilight to such an extreme.

But that much she was sure of. She was driven to it somehow. As... emotionally volatile as the unicorn could be under stress, she would never have simply attacked with intent to kill on nothing more than a whim.

“Ya did somethin’ to her, ah know it,” Applejack insisted. “Ya had to do somethin’ t’get her riled up, or she’d never have done it.”

“And I believe you’re well aware of what that ‘something’ was,” Chrysalis answered. “And part of the reason I am staying here in this library is to atone for my actions, as necessary as they were.”

“You’re callin’ a giant attack on Canterlot in the middle of a wedding necessary!?”

“You’re calling the prevention of mass starvation unnecessary?” Chrysalis spat back, slowly growing more agitated.

Applejack had never considered the motivation behind the changeling invasion. Maybe it was just the last-ditch efforts of a queen to feed her hungry subjects... but it was still a full-scale invasion that put so many ponies’ lives at risk, and she wasn’t ready to look past that fact. “Well, whatever yer reason was, yer work’s cut out for ya. The whole thing really did a number on Twilight, and Ah wouldn’t be surprised if she never let ya off the hook for it.”

“I’m willing to settle for that,” the changeling replied, “as long as I can convince her to help me with something extremely urgent!”

Help her!? She never expected to hear that from the queen of the changelings, especially not in the same context as any of her friends. She never expected to see the queen of the changelings again, either, but that was another matter entirely.

“And ya really think ah’m gonna believe that?” Applejack inquired. “You’re a changeling! Yer whole life is based on lies! Ah have half a mind to just ignore everythin’ ya say!”

“Then listen,” Chrysalis challenged, “and judge for yourself.”

So Applejack seated herself there on the library floor, and listened as Chrysalis told her tale. Now, when she put conscious effort into it, Applejack was relatively adept at identifying the truth or falsehood of a pony’s words. If she stopped, listened, and absorbed the words spoken to her, she could make a decent judgment call about whether any of it was to be believed. She seldom utilized this skill with her friends, since they rarely gave her reason not to trust them, but it aided her in the marketplace, both when making purchase decisions herself and when dealing with customers at her apple stand. And of course, she watched Chrysalis’ every expression and movement and listened to her every word.

It all added up. She looked legitimately anguished, legitimately concerned for her dying race. She looked desperate, like she didn’t even want to be here in Equestria but had nowhere else to turn. Her words were disheartening, and her tone was pleading. It was almost as if the queen wanted her to help the relief effort, even though she had no idea how she possibly could. Despite herself, Applejack felt true sympathy for this thing she once thought a villain.

At last, Chrysalis finished her story. After taking a moment to register everything, Applejack was ready to make her judgment call.

“...Ah’m sorry, Ah still don’t know if Ah can forgive ya, even after all that. But Ah do believe ya. And Ah guess Ah can trust ya too, at least for now.”

Chrysalis let out a sigh, some of her distress giving way to relief. “That’s all I ask of you. I can deal without true forgiveness, but I wanted it to be clear that my intentions were—”

Applejack never heard the end of that statement, because it was cut short by a voice from the doorway shouting “What in Celestia’s name are you doing!?”

Twilight gave that changeling freeloader one job. One job. She could’ve sworn it would be an easy one for her to do, since she’d been doing alright with most of the book searches she sent her on throughout the day. But no. The minute she opened the door, she saw Chrysalis, completely undisguised, sitting there and talking to Applejack.

“Oh, hey, Twilight!” Spike greeted, meeting Twilight at the doorway. “I was waiting for you to get back. Anything you want for dinner?”

Twilight looked incredulously between the two conversation partners and her assistant, who was somehow not fazed at all by what was going on. “How are you so calm about this right now, Spike? I told her to watch the library, and not only is she blowing that off, she’s—"

“Doin’ nothin’ wrong, far as Ah see it,” Applejack interrupted. “We were just talkin’. And she ain’t blowin’ off work, either, ‘cuz she did get me the book Ah came here for.”

“Well...” Twilight was almost reaching for something to scold Chrysalis for at this point. “...you shouldn’t have dropped your disguise, if you even had it up in the first place! What if somepony else came into the library and saw you?”

“I was disguised when your friend Applejack arrived,” Chrysalis insisted. “I admit that she saw through it due to a lapse of memory on my part, which is why I shed it. I doubt she would be as willing to listen to me if I were still wearing your face, anyway.”

“Listen to you? So you told her—"

“Everything,” Chrysalis confirmed. “Excluding the monotony of the book searches, of course. And if there still exists doubt in her mind, she may seek confirmation from Fluttershy or Rarity.”

“Ah just might,” Applejack replied. “But for now, Ah say this all checks out. And speakin’ of checkin’ out, Ah got what Ah wanted here, so Ah guess Ah’ll be headin’ back t’the farm.”

“Wait, so soon?” Twilight asked. She’d have thought Applejack would enjoy sticking around for a while to just talk!

“Twilight, Ah may as well have just listened to Chrysalis’ entire life story. Ah’m a bit beat. Plus, just ‘cuz Ah don’t object to what she’s tryin’ t’do here don’t mean Ah’m too comfortable bein’ around her for too long.”

“Now you know how I feel,” Chrysalis retorted.

Twilight sighed. “You’ll at least keep this quiet, right, Applejack? It wouldn’t look good for anypony if this got out.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Applejack answered. “Whatever ya wanted t’do here, that’s yer own business, and Ah won’t get involved or involve anypony else if Ah don’t need to. Well, see ya ‘round, Twi!” With that, the farm pony cantered out the library door, borrowed book in tow.

“Looks like I’m just cooking for three, then...” Spike commented, himself retiring to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Chrysalis turned to face Twilight. “And I suppose I’ll still be searching for—”

“Just sit there and keep quiet, changeling,” Twilight interrupted, ascending to her bedroom and leaving the confused monarch alone in the lower level of the library.

This entire day had been mentally exhausting for Twilight. There was no way she could have prepared for the changeling queen barging in disguised as Fluttershy and having Rarity and the real Fluttershy come in as backup. If nothing else surprised her, it was her friends supporting the one living creature in the world she could legitimately bring herself to hate on a personal level, not counting the petrified Discord. Even Applejack, the most stubborn pony she knew, took her side over the course of what she assumed was a single conversation.

She didn’t like this, not one bit. As adamant as she was being about not succumbing to pity and keeping hold of the powerful and justified contempt she had for Chrysalis, the queen was winning over all of her friends with ease. And all it was taking was a sob story about all the changelings dying and having to turn to Equestria to save the ones that were left, which Twilight was still not letting her do.

She dwelled on that last point. She was the obstacle standing between Chrysalis and Princess Celestia, between her and the aid she could get for her struggling race. She figured she was making the changeling queen pay slowly for the emotional damage she’d done, but now began to wonder if she was only damning them all for the actions of one.

What terrified her was the fact that she didn’t even know which she was doing at this point.

She skipped dinner and sat in her bed for the rest of the night, turning in for a restless attempt at sleep with the thought lingering in her mind.

Chapter Five: Pinkie Pie

“What was up with last night?” Spike asked when Twilight finally came down the next morning. He noticed her absence when he ate the previous night, and she'd beaten him to bed, which was extraordinarily off behavior for her. He got some initial entertainment from coming down to see Chrysalis engaged in an argument with Owlowiscious (which the owl was undoubtedly winning), but his concern would not abate even then.

"Don't worry about it," the unicorn replied. "I just... had a lot on my mind."

Spike took this to mean it was related in some way to the wounded changeling currently losing a shouting match with the night assistant. That was understandable, given everything that happened the first time she appeared in Equestria.

Spike never really got to see much of what Twilight and her friends had gotten up to once the invasion started, but he spent plenty of time trapped in the throne room where the crashed wedding was being held, and he'd seen more of the queen than most of the others. She'd certainly seemed malicious at first, but there were fleeting moments that had made him question just how much of her actions were driven by malice. The laugh she loosed after singing what must have been a reprise to a song nopony in that room had heard prior... it almost seemed gleeful, like it was all just a quaint little plan coming together. Like she was on a mission, nothing more, and she was pleased by its accomplishment.

Then she'd come to the library, and he'd seen Twilight fighting with Fluttershy to get another shot at her. Granted, there was no way Twilight would attack just anypony like that, and the Cadance disguise Chrysalis used for the wedding made it personal for her, but the sight of the changeling queen curled up in a corner, clutching a fresh injury and fearing for her safety, had only served to summon the memories of those less villainous moments he observed. Even now, he questioned whether Chrysalis even knew of the bride's relation to her, or anything about the groom's family, at the time of the infiltration.

Actually, that sounded like something he should bring up to Twilight, assuming Chrysalis hadn't already! He didn't mind the changeling's company nearly as much as she did, but the tension between them was starting to bother him. If that didn't help alleviate it, he didn't know what would.

"If it's about what—or who—I think it is, then I think—"

"We're not talking about it, Spike," Twilight insisted. "We're not talking about her."

Spike attempted to push the point further, but Twilight turned around and went back up to her room. The subject of their temporary tenant was clearly still a sore one, and he was quickly tiring of their attitude toward each other. He realized that he'd either have to force the issue or try to take the edge off through nonverbal means.

An idea struck him. It seemed like the perfect way to lighten things up around here, and it really felt like everyone needed it. The problem, however, was that the pony he'd have to speak with to arrange anything of the sort was still unaware of Chrysalis' presence in Ponyville. He figured she'd be accepting of the situation and excited to set it up, but as safe as it sounded, he didn't want to take even the remotest risk of putting the changeling queen in danger when he didn't need to.

It was a shame, too. A Pinkie party never fails.

Pinkie Pie hopped gleefully in the direction of the Golden Oak Library, more excited than ever. She'd been disrupted at work by her Pinkie Sense, an achey knee/twitchy tail combo, telling her that she was now twenty-four hours late with greeting somepony new in Ponyville! She hadn't gotten that one in a while, since she was usually incredibly observant when it came to new ponies in Ponyville. She briefly wondered if the new pony was some sort of ninja who managed to sneak by her, but giggled at the general silliness of the idea. Not that it would matter in a few minutes anyway, because she was going to fix this right away!

Soon enough, she was standing outside the library, right where her Pinkie Sense told her the new pony was. She was getting ready to knock on the door when she heard voices from inside.

"The changelings! Must I keep explaining this to you!?"

"Who?"

"Oh, for the love of—"

Pinkie started bouncing in place. That voice fighting with Owlowiscious actually sounded familiar! That meant she was about to see an old friend, which often ended up being more exciting than meeting a new one! She repeatedly slammed her hoof against the door, not even noticing when the door opened and each knock started colliding with Spike's skull.

"Pinkie—ow! What are—gah! You shouldn't—ow! Stop that!"

"Oopsie!" Pinkie exclaimed, ceasing the knocking but not the bouncing. "Sorry, Spike. I just got really excited because my Pinkie Sense told me a new pony came to town and they were staying here! You have to let me in and see!"

Spike hesitated. "I... don't know if she'll be happy about that. I mean, since it's you, I don't see why not, but—" He was cut off abruptly by a pink bullet blasting through the door and into the building, sending him flying into a bookshelf.

Pinkie stopped right in front of the new pony. She took one look at who it was... and gasped loudly, eyes wider than reasonably possible.

Chrysalis was stirred from her argument with the obviously simple-minded bird by the sound of the library door opening violently. For a moment, she observed a pink blur sending Spike flying, but it stopped in front of her to reveal the form of a pony. Specifically, Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter. She was certain of the bubbly earth pony's ability to trust her as the others had. And it seemed obvious that she would need to explain herself now that this obnoxious mare knew she was here. She imagined it would be a relatively swift process.

But then Pinkie gasped, a look of exaggerated shock on her face. Chrysalis suddenly wondered just how well she knew this mare's behavioral patterns. Perhaps she would be more of a wild card than originally anticipated.

As optimistic as she wanted to stay, she now thought that gasp might be a very, very bad sign.

Pinkie couldn't believe her eyes. The new pony wasn't a pony at all. She was a changeling! The queen, even! After all that bad stuff in Canterlot, she was back here in Equestria, and she had no idea why.

This was easily the most awesome and exciting thing to happen to her all week. How could it not be? This would be the first time she'd ever made friends with a changeling! And what better one to start with than their ruler? There was the obvious issue of everything that happened at the royal wedding, but come on! She was staying at the library with Twilight and Spike, so she must have had a serious change of heart!

"Oh my gosh, this is so cool!"

The queen looked thoroughly confused by that remark. "...I'm sorry?"

"It is!" Pinkie began. "I've never made friends with a changeling before! Well, I don't think I've made friends with a changeling before, but if they're in disguise, you can't really tell if it's a changeling, can you? Well, this is the first time I've made friends with a changeling and knew she was a changeling! I can't be the only one who's excited about this right now! You probably haven't met a lot of ponies yet, so this should be a big deal for you too!

"Oh, sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?"

Chrysalis' mind had a difficult time processing the audio assault from the pink pony. How could this much energy fit inside one single living being? If all of that were love, she may as well feast on that energy and never have to eat again! She never thought speech this fast was possible, and it took so much effort just to keep up with it all. Ultimately, though, it was a vain effort, and all she caught was "What's your name?"

"Well..." she said. "I suppose you may call me Chrysalis. I already know you, as well as your closest friends, and to my knowledge, there is now only one I have not encountered since my return to Equestria. It... hasn't been entirely unpleasant. I may even consider Fluttershy a bit of a friend in her own right."

Pinkie immediately perked up at the mention of the word "friend" and the yellow mare's name. "So you are making friends here! It makes me so happy to hear that! I mean, I'm used to being the first pony the new ponies meet, but there's nothing wrong with you meeting other ponies without my help. In fact, now that you've met me, I can help you make even more friends—"

"No!" Chrysalis shouted. "You cannot make my presence here known! If anypony were to discover I was here, what would prevent them from alerting the Royal Guard?"

"Don't be silly!" Pinkie chirped. "You came back to make everything better, didn't you? Why would you be staying with Twilight if you didn't want to make up for everything?"

"You assume that the Guard would be as sympathetic," Chrysalis lamented. "I fear they would apprehend me without a second thought, perhaps even execute me. If salvation is to come to the changeling race, I must—"

"Will you quit yelling?" Twilight complained, descending from her room once again. "Can't I contemplate recent events in peace?"

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie greeted, as if oblivious to the conversation she'd been having before. "Why didn't you tell me sooner that Chrysalis was staying here? I'd have had a party set up by—"

"Oh no," Twilight groaned, bringing a hoof to her forehead. "Not you too..."

"Why so surprised?" Chrysalis inquired. "Have I not been courteous enough to earn the trust of the others before her?" And yet, the unicorn still so adamantly refused to help her. The logic of this fact was lost on her. She wondered if the decision was even based in logic anymore.

"And how long did it take you to rope her into this?" Twilight demanded.

"It was instant," Chrysalis replied. "And I did literally nothing. She certainly is an odd one."

"Well, no argument there," Twilight agreed. "But why keep targeting my friends? I thought you only needed me to help you, whether or not you were actually getting the help."

"Help?" Pinkie interjected. "Help with what?"

Chrysalis realized that she had never gotten to the point. Even with this entire exchange she found herself having with Pinkie Pie, she somehow failed to inform her of her purpose for returning to Equestria. She may have gotten close at some point, but the mare was still uninformed. Pinkie truly had a talent for talking...

"Well, I suppose you have a right to know why I'm here. I cannot promise that perpetual smile of yours will remain, however. You see..."

Well, Chrysalis wasn't wrong. By the time the changeling finished speaking, Pinkie was bawling like a foal. How could she not cry about the near-extinction of an entire race? She thought the wedding was supposed to be happy for everypony, but it may as well have been changeling doomsday! Did Shining Armor and Cadance even know what they did with that force field? Basically wiping them all out with the power of love? Suddenly the wedding seemed really dark and depressing instead of happy.

"Well, you were warned," Chrysalis stated, marveling at the exaggerated display. "But I cannot reach out to your princess without the aid of Twilight, and I cannot rely on her aid until she decides I have atoned for my actions. For their sake, I hope I'm close."

"Aw, don't be sad, Chrysalis!" Pinkie exclaimed, the irony and hypocrisy of the statement completely lost on her. "If I know Twilight, and boy do I know Twilight, you'll be un-dooming your subjects in no time! Right, Twilight?" she added, turning to the mare in question.

The smile on her face began to falter, however, when Twilight didn't confirm her assumption right away, and it nearly completely dropped when the reply turned out to be "I really don't know anymore."

“...what?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck and sighed, preferring to watch the floor rather than the expressions of those around her. "I mean, I don't know... the changeling's story may be depressing, but that doesn't make up for what she did.

"And... at the same time, I'm demonizing myself by preventing a queen from saving her subjects,” she continued, now starting to pace around the room while still avoiding the gazes of her guests. “I want her to suffer, that much is obvious... but it's getting harder and harder to look at her face and keep that wish alive."

Chrysalis’ expression visibly softened, almost like she was relieved to hear that last part, but Pinkie didn’t have the context needed to understand why that would be. “So this tension may well be at its—”

“You be quiet!” Twilight ordered. "You nearly ruined my brother’s wedding, played with his mind, toyed with everything and everypony I ever loved, and you almost killed my mentor. How am I supposed to just... let you, let the entire changeling race, go on after that!?"

"Twilight!" Pinkie shouted, her joyful demeanor now long gone and given way to distress and confusion.

"Are you going to say I shouldn't be acting like this?” Twilight demanded. “You saw what happened, Pinkie! Princess Celestia was brought down, laughed at! Not only that, but this... thing sat there and watched as Canterlot fell by her hoof!"

"But she's trying to save her subjects!” Pinkie countered, becoming more than a little frightened by her friend’s behavior. “I don’t think you'd say the same thing if Princess Celestia did the same thing and was trying to save Equestria!"

"I would say the same thing if that was happening! If she did what the changelings did... and ruined a wedding just to take over a country... then I'd... I..."

The next few words just stopped in Twilight’s throat. Princess Celestia was her mentor, yet here she was, nearly damning her name in a hypothetical situation! Almost equating her to the changeling queen, the being that actively tried to destroy everything she cared about!

"...I admit, I don't know what I'd do... and it just makes this all that much harder! What do you expect me to do, Pinkie!? So much has happened because of her!"

Wait... because of her? No, Chrysalis didn’t even deserve that much. It. That's all the changeling was good for. Not she, not her, just it! She... the changeling didn't deserve her help. Didn’t even deserve to still be free, to still be alive.

"So much... because... because instead of putting her... its subjects first... this thing put its ambition at the front of everything. This changeling doesn't deserve its royal title."

"What's wrong with you, Twilight!?" Pinkie shouted, apparently distressed for some reason Twilight couldn’t understand.

"A lot!” she responded, her volume raising with every word. “A lot is wrong with me right now, and my friends helping this changeling is only adding onto all the problems! It’s taken every ounce of focus I have to not just blow this thing all the way across Equestria and into the ocean!"

Twilight was stopped in her tracks by a quick and painful smack. Her vision blurred and her left cheek began to burn. She looked to her left, expecting to see a leg filled with holes and two sickeningly green reptilian eyes, but the sight that met her was infinitely worse.

"...Pinkie Pie?"

"Who are you, and what did you do with Twilight?" Pinkie hissed, tears streaming down from her eyes. This wasn't like her at all! Her mane and tail were still puffed up and unruly, nothing like the way they appeared the last time she became depressed... but then, why was she crying? And what was with the slap?

"Pinkie... why would you—"

"Who are you!?” she cried, her voice wavering. “Because you aren't Twilight Sparkle! You aren't my best friend! The Twilight I know wouldn't hurt a fly! Y-you're just... just some impostor!"

Pinkie Pie just called her an impostor. Supported the greatest living threat to Equestria, slapped her across the cheek, and refused to believe the real Twilight could be standing before her. And the sight of the most excitable and happy pony she’d ever known breaking down and sobbing before her... it was all too much.

Right then and there, her mind filled with a single goal, and her horn immediately lit up. The changeling backed away, presumably expecting another special explosive gift with her name written all over it... but it never came. Instead, with a loud crackling noise and a bright flash, Twilight Sparkle vanished from the library, leaving behind an inconsolable friend, a baffled enemy, and an assistant who was only just beginning to regain consciousness.

As Spike started to recover from his recent meeting with the bookshelf nearest the door, Pinkie collapsed, completely distraught and uncontrollably sobbing. To his own shock, his first reaction was disappointment for having missed everything important that had been happening lately. He missed most of the first fight with Twilight, he missed the start of the conversation with Applejack, he wasn’t even around for Chrysalis’ arrival... and now he sat there in a pile of books, looking upon a scene that confused him just as much as those before it.

His next and more rational reaction, however, was to gingerly approach the crying pony and give her a hug. Those seemed to work often enough.

The first meeting to go completely wrong. Chrysalis should have figured it would happen. Granted, her initial encounter with Twilight left her in pain, but much of it had subsided by this point, and she at least avoided arrest and received shelter in the exchange. And in comparison, the meetings with Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack went swimmingly.

Oh, but this. The one encounter she would have thought would go even better than Fluttershy's... this turned out to be an absolute failure. Twilight was more conflicted and unstable than ever, and the most agreeable pony in town was crying in the arms of a baby dragon. Any hope she had that she may speak with Celestia by the next morning died the instant Pinkie Pie began shedding tears. How could this mare with such skill in lightening the mood in a room manage to drag it down as well?

Chrysalis then did the one thing she would not have expected to do in her entire lifetime. She walked over to the weeping pony and attempted to comfort her.

"I'm... sorry for your friend's behavior. I am largely to blame for it. But I can promise you that she will shed this anger and return to normal."

"H-how do you know?" Pinkie asked, though the words seemed to calm her somewhat.

"I do not, honestly," Chrysalis replied. "But I have to hope that she will. I may even have to make it happen myself, and very soon. I cannot imagine how I would go about it, but—"

"Actually, I was just thinking about that earlier this morning!" Spike interjected. "What if we threw a party? It doesn't really matter what it's for, but I don't think anypony can stay sad during a—"

"You're right!" Pinkie shouted, her previous depression somehow vanishing. The sudden shift in mood startled Chrysalis more than the exclamation. "In fact, why don't I make it the welcome party I was about to throw for you, Chrysalis? I have to start setting up right away so I can make Twilight feel better as soon as possible! I'll start setting up balloons and streamers and games all over Sugarcube Corner, and I can start baking the—"

"Hold up, Pinkie," Spike interrupted, blocking Pinkie's mouth while she continued to talk. "We don't want to take Chrysalis around town like this. Plus, she's still hurt, so she probably can't move very far. We should just have it here in the library!"

"You're a genius, Spike!" Pinkie complemented. "I'll head back and get my party cannon right away!" Before anyone could object, the party pony shot out the door, leaving behind a confused changeling and an emotionally exhausted dragon.

"...there's actually something else I was thinking earlier," Spike stated, breaking the silence. "When you took Cadance's place and messed with Shining Armor... did you know how Twilight was related to either of them?"

"No, I did not," Chrysalis answered. It was all she needed to say. In hindsight, it was yet another failing of her initial plan. She'd never accounted for the bride having sat for her or the groom having a sister, and thus never expected her to appear at the wedding or even before it. But no, Twilight had known and was very close to both of them. Looking back, she wondered if she'd done anything right in Canterlot.

"And does she know you didn't know?"

"I assume not," Chrysalis replied. "I will have to tell her when I get the chance. When we see her again, rather. For now... we let her have her space and leave her to her thoughts."

Everypony was turning against her.

It was all so obvious, now that Twilight thought about it. That evil empress wanted to break her completely before corrupting or killing her. It went for her friends first, brainwashing them subtly or tempting them with its words or something. It was building up a force against her, and it was doing so in a way that would protect itself from the power of the Elements of Harmony, or maybe even allow it to try to use them against her.

And to think she almost pitied this creature and its pawns.

But its victory wasn't complete. There was still one friend the thing hadn't touched, one who didn't even know it was here. One she was certain wouldn't be manipulated by this demon and would stay loyal to her no matter what. It never hurt to be sure, though; she would have to make sure she reached her before it did.

And fortunately, she remembered her cloud-walking spell.

Chapter Six: Rainbow Dash

Rainbow Dash was beat. Most of her morning was dedicated to clearing the sky of clouds, allowing for one of the sunniest days Ponyville had seen all year. As nice as that was, it left her without anything she could use as an obstacle course for stunt practice, so most of her flight was through the open air. Not that that was dull in and of itself, flight could never be boring, but she had been in the mood for an obstacle course on a day when the forecast called for clear skies.

This did not dampen her mood, however, because of what awaited her when she arrived home. She’d recently picked up the latest installment of the Daring Do book series, and she was eager to sit down and read it. Yeah, she’d heard rumors about there being aliens in it and it killing the franchise and blah blah blah, but it was still Daring Do. There was no way it couldn’t be awesome, and there was no way she wasn’t still going to read it.

Excited about the promise of another thrilling adventure with her favorite treasure hunter, and mostly drained from her aerial acrobatics, she landed at the foot of the doorway of her expansive cloud home. When she opened it, she realized that what was waiting for her inside wasn’t the new book, but a very disheveled-looking lavender unicorn. “Finally! I’ve been here for hours!”

“Twilight!?” Rainbow shouted. “What are you doing in my house? How did you even get up here?”

“Easy!” Twilight replied, in a tone that seriously creeped Rainbow out. “I just used the cloud-walking spell from when we all went to Cloudsdale, then I teleported into your living room! It was foal’s play, really.”

“O...kay? But that doesn’t tell me why you’re here.”

“Because I desperately need your help!” Twilight exclaimed. “Equestria’s in serious danger, and I can’t trust anypony else but you!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rainbow stated. She was used to Twilight using a vocabulary that she hardly understood, but at least there were always plenty of context clues to let her know what she was saying. But this... she understood every word she said, but none of them made sense.

“The changeling queen!” Twilight explained. “That thing is in my library right now, and I’m positive that it’s trying to ruin my life more than it already did at the wedding! It’s making all of our friends help her, and you’re the only one left that hasn’t fallen for it!”

Alright, that did sound serious. But just looking at Twilight, with her normally-straight mane and tail poking out and bending in every direction but straight, made Rainbow skeptical. There was also the matter of Twilight breaking into her home while she was away, something that, as a unicorn, was impossible for her to do accidentally. Plus, she had a hard time believing that the changelings would come back to Equestria after the serious thrashing they got in Canterlot, and she absolutely refused to believe that any of her friends would listen to anything a changeling told them, let alone help one destroy Equestria.

At the same time, though... she’d noticed a trend of bad things happening whenever she and her friends failed to take Twilight’s concerns seriously. Granted, there was that whole time travel thing that she heard amounted to nothing, but she ended up being right about Princess Cadance not acting like herself. And that was even ignoring that one time when them not taking her seriously turned her into the problem. She really didn’t want to have to relive that whole thing, and she could tell with one glance at Twilight that she was one false step away from doing just that. Whether or not Twilight was actually right about the changeling queen, she knew better than to just not help her.

“Well, what do you want me to do about it? Whatever it is?”

“It’s simple,” Twilight answered. “We need to get to the library and take this thing down.”

As small as it was compared to her usual brand, Pinkie Pie’s party was nearly in full swing. There was only one pony on the guest list who had yet to appear, and much to Pinkie’s very vocal dismay, it was the one whose appearance mattered the most and whose home and bedroom it was currently being held in.

But Chrysalis couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. She was surprising herself with how much enjoyment she derived from activities she would have seen fit for a five-year-old’s birthday party. She didn’t much care for “pin the tail on the pony,” however. It left her helpless and reliant on the ponies around her for guidance, which paralleled her situation much too closely for her comfort. But the music, the other games, the company of others who inexplicably cared about her... it made her feel legitimately happy for the first time since the wedding.

“Pinkie Pie, I cannot thank you enough,” Chrysalis stated after a pleasantly successful run at apple-bobbing. “With all that has happened recently... I needed my spirits lifted.”

“That’s what I’m here for!” Pinkie replied. “Nothing makes me happier than making ponies happy! Even if those ponies aren’t actually ponies. I’d do the same for any donkey, griffon, or changeling that came to town and needed to be cheered up! And I’m so glad it’s working, even though we don’t have everypony here that needs to lighten up!”

“She’ll come,” Spike reassured her. “It’s her house. She kind of has to.”

“I’m worried about her,” Fluttershy stated. “If she really ran off like that, this must be bothering her more than we thought. I’d hoped she would learn to get along with Chrysalis by now, but... it sounds worse than ever. What would she even do if she came?”

“I imagine it would be violent,” Rarity responded. “Her initial reaction to her presence... well, I need not explain, as you can still see the result. If she has unhinged further, I would not doubt she would attempt to finish what she started.”

“She wouldn’t!” Pinkie shouted. “I know she’s not like that! She’d never kill anypony!”

“But as you yourself have seen,” Chrysalis countered, “she does not view me as a pony.”

"Ah don't blame her for that," Applejack remarked, earning the shocked glances of her fellow party-goers. "What? She ain't technically a pony!"

"That was still very insensitive of you!" Fluttershy scolded. "She still has feelings! You could have just hurt them!"

"I'm assuming she meant nothing by it," Chrysalis assured her. "This is meant to be a time of joy, so I choose to be optimistic."

"You mean like about all the other changelings?" Pinkie interjected, apparently ignoring the previous point about insensitive comments.

"Yes, actually," Chrysalis answered. And it was true; perhaps it was just the good mood she had been put in, but her hope for her race's future felt reinvigorated. The whole party thing was giving her the feeling that everything just might yet turn out alright.

Then she saw a blue blur crash through the window, multicolored trail behind it, and charge right towards her.

Rainbow Dash saw the changeling queen through the library window. She didn't know what scared her more (not that she would admit to either): the fact that she was in there with all her other friends, or the fact that this meant that Twilight could be right about everything.

At any rate, this meant she needed to stick to the plan. The only thing she was asked to do was to burst in and tackle the queen, then try to get her friends out of there. It was odd, being asked to crash into the library this time, but it was obvious that it was going to be for the good of Equestria.

And she would get her friends out of there. It would kill her to leave them under changeling control.

One crash and tackle later, Rainbow loomed over the changeling, who was now being pinned to the ground. She turned to her friends, ready to tell them to get out of—

"Hi, Dashie! I'm so happy you finally showed up!"

"You invited Rainbow Dash!?" the changeling shouted. Rainbow looked down at her, and she looked... just as confused as she was starting to become.

"Not yet, but I was getting ready to go out and get her," Pinkie replied. "I couldn't leave her out! I wasn’t gonna tell her what it was for—"

"But she still did not know I was here!" the changeling yelled. "You have no idea how she will take this! You could have jeopardized everything!"

"Okay, everypony just stop for a second," Rainbow interrupted. She suddenly took better notice of her surroundings. The room was decked out with balloons and streamers, and there was a banner hanging from the ceiling that read "WELCOME TO PONYVILLE CHRYSALIS." She saw apple bobbing and pin the tail on the pony, and an assortment of drinks and sweets.

This wasn't an invasion. This was a party.

"What the heck is going on here?" she demanded. "And who's Chrysalis?"

"That would be me," the pinned monarch responded. "And would you mind releasing me? Your hind legs are digging into my chest wound, and I'm in a great amount of pain."

Rainbow looked down at her hooves, and sure enough, they were right on top of a section of the queen's body that was wrapped in gauze. She hesitantly released the changeling and climbed off of her, never taking her eyes off her. "There's definitely something going on here, and you're not off the hook until I find out what."

"It's a party that's going on!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I didn't think the balloons were that subtle!"

"It's nothing you're probably thinking it is," Fluttershy added. "Chrysalis actually came here in desperate need of help—"

"Help with what?" Rainbow spat. "Trying to take over Equestria again? And if you're not actually changelings yourselves, you're playing right into her hooves!"

"Given the circumstances, I doubt any of us could possibly be changelings," Rarity stated. "In fact, the reason she is here is to save the ones that are left."

Wait. She came to save something rather than take over? "I don't know. That's not what Twilight told me."

"Twilight's under a lot of stress right now," Applejack explained. "And rightly so. Chrysalis went way overboard in Canterlot, and a lot of what she did affected her."

"She's staying here to try to make it all up to her," Spike added. "She's actually been a pretty big help around here!"

Rainbow’s mind was trying to process several conflicting thoughts. What her friends were saying now didn’t come anywhere close to adding up with what Twilight had told her of the situation. Obviously, somepony was wrong, and she was having trouble figuring out who. If Twilight was right, and the changeling queen was really trying to take over, then she couldn’t trust what the rest of her friends were saying now. She could have brainwashed them all. Heck, they might even be changeling replacements themselves, and her real friends were somewhere far away.

But if they were right, and she was only here on some kind of rescue mission, then it was just another case of Twilight freaking out over a minor issue. She did look pretty messed-up when Rainbow encountered her, as if she wasn’t in her right mind. Plus, there was the whole matter of breaking and entering, which she was certain was a pretty un-Twilight thing to do. And Spike had said the queen had been staying in the library, which must have meant that she had been here for a while. If that was the case, then why would Twilight have waited so long to tell her about it?

Ultimately, Rainbow Dash just gave up trying to figure it all out and rested there on her haunches. “Well... Twilight’s probably going to show up soon. I’ll have to see what happens when she does before I decide whether or not I can believe anypony right now. But you, the changeling queen thing—”

“Please, call me Chrysalis,” the changeling insisted.

“Alright. Chrysalis, I guess. They’re saying you wanted to save something. It sounded like they meant the other changelings. What were they talking about?”

Chrysalis sighed. “I’m growing weary of telling this story. But, since you asked...”

Twilight sat outside the library, waiting eagerly by the front door. She saw Rainbow Dash burst in through her bedroom window, heard a thud as the giant bug hit the ground, but... nothing else. She thought she could make out voices, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying from the ground. All she knew that it was taking her an awful long time to grab the rest of her friends and get out of there. What was holding her up?

As if she needed to ask. That creature must have gotten to her too. It must have had more persuasive power than she first thought. And she, in her grand effort to rescue them all, only managed to make its plans complete. Rainbow had fallen, right alongside all the rest of her friends. All of them, her assistant included, in her home. Thanks to her attempts to bring it down, she ended up helping it take away everything in this town that she held dear.

Which obviously meant it was time to take it back.

Rainbow Dash sat there flabbergasted as Chrysalis finished her story. There was no denying that she was speaking the truth; the pain in her expression and the way her friends jumped in to comfort her as she spoke convinced her of that. It was heartbreaking to listen to, and had her pride not prevented it, she may even have wept with the queen. She wanted to reach to her as well, to tell her that she hoped she could get the help she needed soon...

...but before she could make a move, a flash of light disoriented her, and when she snapped out of it, she saw Twilight standing between her and Chrysalis, a look of mad determination plastered onto her face.

“You must feel so accomplished right now,” Twilight hissed, looking towards a very confused Chrysalis. “You’ve done it. You’ve suckered all of my friends into helping you with your little scheme. You’ve taken advantage of my hospitality and set up a base of operations in my own home. You probably think you’ve completely broken me down now that you took everything I love away from me, but—”

“Is that what you think I’ve been doing?” Chrysalis inquired, seemingly taking offense to the allegation.

“I know it is,” Twilight responded. “I’m wise to your tricks, changeling. Everything you’ve done up until now has been about me, hasn’t it? My brother, my teacher, my friends... it’s all centered around me! I have no idea why, but you’re clearly trying to target me and break my will. And when I think of that... all of a sudden, everything you’ve done makes sense.”

“Twilight, what in the wide world of Equestria are ya goin’ on about?” Applejack demanded.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Twilight replied, her eye twitching incessantly as she paced around the room. “It’s all mind games with that thing! It swapped places with Cadance and made me think she’d turned evil! It turned everypony against me when I called it out on it! Even Shining Armor and Princess Celestia! The invasion was just a distraction so I wouldn’t realize it was going for me the whole time! The fact that it’s here now, all of you standing around it... and you don’t even realize. It gained your trust, tried to gain mine, just so it could try to take it all away and turn you all against me again! How can you not see that!?”

“Because it’s nonsense!” Rarity answered. “She’s been on her best behavior ever since—”

“Why are you calling it ‘her?’” Twilight interrupted.

“Why are you calling her ‘it?’” Fluttershy countered. “Just because she’s a changeling doesn’t mean she’s not like us at all! She has feelings, emotions, things she loves and cares about—”

“And she likes parties!” Pinkie added out of nowhere. “Who can hate anypony that likes parties?”

“I—are you serious!?” Twilight spat. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing! It doesn’t care about anything but ruining my life! I don’t even think it cares about its oh-so-troubled subjects! They’re just its pawns, and it’s just antsy about losing so many of them. And I say good riddance to them.”

“That’s enough!” Chrysalis shouted, fresh tears streaming from her eyes. The pacing mare stopped dead in her tracks, and for a moment, all that could be heard were the changeling’s sobs.

“Twilight...” Spike said, resting a claw on Chrysalis’ shoulder. “I think you need to calm down and listen to yourself. You just said you don’t even know why she’d go after you, so what makes you think she’s going after you?”

“I-I... it... I thought...” Twilight stumbled over her words, unable to properly counter the young dragon’s point.

Rainbow Dash simply remained where she was and took the scene in. Well, she got what she wanted. She heard Chrysalis’ side of the story, and Twilight burst in to give hers. There was still so much she was failing to understand. She didn’t get why Chrysalis would ever come back to Equestria after what happened at the wedding, why she even thought it was the only place she could have gotten help. She barely got why she couldn’t just go to Princess Celestia to explain what was going on and had to go through Twilight. She really didn’t get how the thing that launched an all-out attack on the kingdom’s capital could have such a dramatic reversal of priorities.

But most of all, she had no idea why Twilight was acting the way she was. At least what Chrysalis had said could be believed; Twilight’s concerns sounded like overblown paranoia, like a crackpot conspiracy theory. It seemed like such a stretch to even link together all the events Twilight was claiming pointed right to her. It didn’t even sound like a finished theory, since she lacked any motive or end goal for the plan she dreamed up. The more she heard, the less she was convinced that her friend was acting with any rational thought.

“...you disgust me,” Twilight finally announced. “The changeling in particular, but I mean all of you. You’re all so willingly playing this creature’s game. I can tell you’re doing it of your own accord, and that just makes me sick. You’re all complete disgraces to the Elements of Harmony. I almost can’t even believe we’re friends!”

That was the last straw. Rainbow launched off of the floor and hovered in front of Twilight’s face. “How can you say something like that!? When have we not been the best of friends to you? We never did anything to hurt you, and we never would! How does that mean we’re putting our Elements to shame!?”

“Fluttershy. She’s supposed to be the Element of Kindness, but she’s actively and knowingly helping with this thing’s plot to destroy everything good in my life!”

“B-but...” Fluttershy began, tears flowing freely. “I’m not doing anything to hurt you! I’m just t-trying to comfort Chrysalis and help her through a tough time in her life! W-why would I ever be unkind to you?”

“Well... what about Rarity?” Twilight responded.

“Generosity has little to do with the situation,” Rarity stated. “If it is being employed at all, it is through my using my time to aid Chrysalis. I had to put off a rather important commission to attend this soiree, which I deemed far more important. And I am appalled that you would accuse me of such wrongdoing!”

“P...Pinkie Pie?”

“I just wanted to see her smile and laugh,” Pinkie spat, grimacing as her mane went straight and her coat’s colors dulled. “That’s all I ever want out of anypony. I threw this party for her so I could do that. And I meant it to be for you too, but you came in and ruined it instead!”

“But... surely Applejack was—”

“Goin’ for th’ honesty thing now?” Applejack retorted. “Ah heard what she had t’say, and she was tellin’ the truth about her subjects. Ah can tell when somepony’s lyin’, and she ain’t. But you... Ah don’t even think you’re convinced anything ya said was true at all. Looks to me like you’re makin’ up excuses to keep yer feelings for Chrysalis the same, and now you’re takin’ it out on yer friends.”

“Rainbow Dash...” Twilight looked to the cyan pegasus, pleading. “You’re the Element of Loyalty. I thought I could count on you to stay by my side when everypony else turned to that... monster!”

But Rainbow had heard enough. It was one thing to be distrustful of somepony who’d recently attacked their kingdom, but it was quite another to flat-out make things up about them just to justify her hatred. She might have let all of that slide and slept easy tonight knowing that Twilight was fussing over nothing and that her friends all knew it... but she had to make it about them too.

“You’re right. I am the Element of Loyalty. And I stick by my friends no matter what.” She paused, then left Twilight’s personal space and joined the rest of the group by Chrysalis’ side.

“And that’s just what I’m doing,” she continued. “Chrysalis is trying to keep her subjects from dying, and that’s dedication I can get behind. The others obviously see that too, or they wouldn’t want anything to do with her. You’re the only one here who doesn’t. In fact, it looks like you hate her more than you love us. You just crossed a line by insulting all of us like that, Twilight.”

Rainbow turned to the rest of her friends. “Come on, guys. She obviously doesn’t want us around.”

Twilight could only stare at the doorway of her bedroom with teary eyes, watching as her friends walked out and left her behind. She’d managed to upset and offend each and every one of them, and they wouldn’t even stick around to hear an apology from her. Even Spike followed them out, looking back once with pity and betrayal written all over his face before descending via the staircase.

At the rear of the pack was Chrysalis, whose physical stature and royal standing brought about a sense of déjà vu. It was just like at the wedding rehearsal, after she’d sent the imposter Cadance packing, yet they’d all taken her side. At that time, and now again, the last to depart was the ruler of a kingdom.

Before closing the door, however, Chrysalis turned back to Twilight and uttered a single sentence. A short, simple sentence, but one she’d heard once before, not long ago, and it shook her to her very core.

“You have a lot to think about.”