“So, will she do it?” I ask.

“Thankfully, yes,” replies Jachs, climbing into the truck with us and banging on the side of the wall, signaling the truck to leave, “My cousin was a little hesitant to agree to abandon her post, but the navy’s doing worse than even the army is, so she knows we’re cooked without this. Verena, that’s her name, said she’ll tell her bosses later that she was temporarily reassigned to a secret mission, which I guess is technically true, but I certainly don’t have the authority to command anyone in the navy.” The convoy starts moving.

“When’s she going to meet us in Manehattan?” Rainbow questions, “Is it like we call her and she comes or something?”

“Communication’s going to be hard. She told me over the phone just now that she's at her home port in Hoofington preparing to leave. Hoofington is probably going to fall in a week or so, so she has some leeway as to when she reports in because she may just get marked as a combat loss in the meantime.”

“That’s bleak,” Applejack comments.

“Maybe,” Jachs admits, “but it works to our advantage. Anyway, we agreed on no radio contact so Viirad doesn’t catch wind of our activities. She said that with sailing time plus her current resupply time means she’ll be in Manehattan in at most ten days. Probably less, but if she has to avoid enemy ships or lay low for a while, it’ll be ten. What’s today’s date again?”

“The 24th,” Fluttershy helps.

“Right, so that’s May 4th then,” Jachs calculates, “Every night at 2am, she’ll try and find an empty spot at the docks and wait for an hour. If you see her, the code phrase is ‘When do you think the fog will clear up?’ and the proper response is ‘Not until there’s a princess of weather.’. She’ll do this until the 11th, but after that, you’re on your own.”

That’s… a little tenuous. The docks are huge, and it’ll be pitch-black at night. I know we’ll have a few tries, but I would have liked more of a guarantee. I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.

“Ok, but how are we going to get to Manehattan in the meantime?” Rainbow asks. Right, she wasn’t here for our planning session.

Jachs answers, “The five of you and two of my soldiers will cross enemy lines. After that, you’ll take a civilian train to Manehattan. As for how you’ll cross enemy lines, well here’s what we came up with.” He adjusts his posture in his seat to better explain, “The convoy’s headed now to a hanger where we keep some civilian vehicles. You’ll take one of those to the front lines.”

“That sounds really dangerous,” Fluttershy says, “Are we sure that’s the best way?”

“I know it sounds bad, but, actually, take a look at this,” Jachs pulls a map out of a saddlebag and levitates it flat in front of us. It’s a map of where the battle lines stand with lots of pencil markings. The current line is drawn from Crystal City in the north to Fillydelphia in the east, essentially showing all of northeastern Equus as held by Viirad. There’s also significant territory lost in the southeast. “Don’t pay attention to the main line, it’s a little out of date and not important. Look at these.” He points to protrusions out of the main line, lines of enemy control following major roads extending beyond Viiradian controlled territory.

“I assume these are armored columns for encircling troops and smashing through defensive lines?” I determine.

“Exactly, Princess,” Jachs responds, “Trimmel’s army had most of our own armor, and since they were lost, we can’t effectively mount a counteroffensive. They just drive into cities, set up a base, and defend their supply lines. Since we can’t effectively attack back, we then have to retreat before we get encircled. Rinse and repeat for the last month.”

Pinkie jumps in, “They kind of look like spaghetti emerging from a giant meatball.”

I think she's referring to how the territory taken by the armored columns extend out in many sinewy lines. The technical term for them is salients, if I'm remembering correctly.

“Uh, sure,” Jachs acknowledges, taken aback, “Um, so the good news is that it means they don’t have a proper ‘line’ of troops so to speak. Equestria is really big, and since they haven’t encountered too much resistance, they’ve just been sticking to the main roads, encircling, and then destroying. If we just avoid these… spaghetti strands as Miss Pie called them, we should be able to just drive right into occupied territory.” He realizes his choice of words, “Well, I say ‘we’, but I guess it’ll be you.”

Rainbow seems satisfied with this explanation, “We’ll sneak right past them, alright!”

“Hang on,” Applejack cuts in, “Where’s Verena going to take us afterwards? You said Hoofington would fall by the time she gets to Manehattan.”

“San Manetonio,” Jachs fills in, pointing at the southwestern city on the map, “I was going to say Fort Mourn, but if Viirad has a good two weeks, they could take that too. San Manetonio should still be in our hooves in two weeks, but I guess if worst comes to worst… meet us in…” he looks for port cities in the west, “Las Pegasus?”

“So if you’re going to be waiting in San Manetonio, who are the two changelings you were saying would go with us?”

“Oh I’ll introduce you once we get to the hangar,” Jachs explains, “Which should be right around… now.”

I look out the back of the truck. Yep, looks like hangars. It wasn’t a long drive from the communications office we just came from to here. I suppose it is all one military base. The convoy stops outside one of them, and we start to disembark. Back on the wheelchair I go.

As we approach the hangar doors, they suddenly begin to open without warning. I assumed it was just one of Jachs’ soldiers operating the controls from somewhere else, but he seems surprised too.

“Jachs?” I look to him expectantly.

“That wasn’t us,” he says gravely. His tone is enough for the rest of the soldiers to ready their weapons. Gun turrets on the trucks and armored vehicles wheel around to the unexpected opening.

As the doors open, a small group of changelings is revealed standing right at the center where the massive doors meet. They’re armed and uniformed, though the uniforms are different from Jachs’ soldiers.

“Generalmajor, I was wondering when you would arrive,” says the center one.

Jachs looks… fearful I think. “Who are you?” he demands back, his voice still confident.

“My name isn’t important, only my message, but I think you know what that is,” the changeling levitates up a scroll with the royal seal on it.

“Has Her Majesty ordered you to kill me?” Jachs asks, “I don’t want to, but we will defend ourselves if we have to.”

The changeling laughs, “I thought you were smarter than that, Generalmajor! If Her Majesty wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have gone through this effort to talk! No, no, this is a summons. We know what you’ve done, and you’ve told us what you plan to do. Her Majesty does not approve of you undertaking this plan without her blessing. You are to be on the first plane to Vesalipolis to explain yourself face-to-face.”

“If you know what I’ve done and what my plans are, then you know I can’t accept this invitation,” Jachs responds, his tone even.

“And you know that a royal summons is not an invitation. This is an order directly from Empress Chrysalis. Comply or we will use force,” the nameless changeling counters.

“Bold words for when I outgun you fifty to one,” Jachs muses. He looks behind him to see his loyal soldiers ready to defend him, “If it were really mandatory, Vaspier would tell me himself. He wouldn’t just send a random VOPS flunkie noling will miss.”

Is that a bluff, or did he just threaten them?

“Mutiny, Generalmajor?” the agent raises an eyebrow, “How unbecoming.”

Jachs huffs, “Do you not understand me? Every action I am taking is in service of preserving Her Majesty’s empire and rule. If you’re really watching me so closely you can figure out which hangar I’m going to take a car from, surely that much was obvious. I’m telling you like I said in my statement that this is the only way we can win. Please, do not interfere.”

The VOPS agent is silent. He appears deep in thought. He looks at us, and then at Jachs. “Your refusal has been noted,” he finally says, “Vaspier is willing to give you some leeway, but know that the Empress’ patience is not infinite.” He points at me, “Keep them on a short leash.” Rainbow does not look happy hearing that but restrains herself.

He walks away, dropping the summons on the ground. He either knows that he won't be able to enforce it, or didn't intend to in the first place - I'm not sure which. The other armed changelings follow him. Jachs’ changelings on the gun turrets stay trained on them until they leave eyesight. That was probably as successful as that confrontation could have gone, but you couldn’t tell that from Jachs’ face. He lifts his cap to wipe off a bead of sweat and levitates the summons.

“Who’s this Vaspier fellow he mentioned?” Applejack raises a good question.

“Vaspier Orn Kladisium. Not surprised you haven’t heard of him. They don’t call him the ‘Great Imperial Nobody’ for nothing,” Jachs informs, “He runs VOPS and all of its vast intelligence networks and secret police units, but other than that nocreature save the empress really knows that much about him.”

“Is he like your boss?” Pinkie asks.

“We have met and talked many times, but he’s not technically my boss. He can have me killed at any time, though. Heck, he could have anycreature in the Queendom killed except Lacin Cardo, who runs the Queen’s Guard, and Hivesmarschall Trimmel, so I really don’t want to give him a reason to. Or at least more than I already have.” He sighs, turning to me, “You know he warned me once not to go spelunking in the caves below Canterlot. That was right after we visited you. He knew what we did.”

“So then what was the point of what just happened?” Rainbow questions, annoyed, “He already knows everything, and he knows you know that.”

“I… don’t know,” Jachs admits, “If I had to guess, it was a reminder that, no matter how free we appear now, we only are so because the Empress allows it.”

“That’s pretty pessimistic, Jachs,” I point out, “I mean, It could be that Vaspier tacitly supports you. He’s just doing the minimum of giving you the Empress’ summons. Maybe this is him saying he’s advocating for a ‘wait and see’ approach for you to Chrysalis.”

“Maybe,” he responds, unconvinced, “Yeah… I guess he could just be checking if I’m still loyal - or it’s equally possible he’s setting up evidence that I’m not so he can kill me. He’s being deliberately vague.”

With the situation resolved, we start walking into the hangar. Dang, I thought we were being pretty secretive with the all-volunteer force and all the moving around, but VOPS was apparently one step ahead. Is there a mole, or are we just being surveilled? Nopony else seems very surprised. I guess they all lived under VOPS’ watchful eye for the last five years while I was busy floating in a cocoon.

We arrive at a nondescript white van and a soldier begins filling the car with gas. Two more arrive and stand next to Jachs.

“This is Leutnant Theronix Vandrak,” he gestures at the first one, “And this is Obergefreiter Ingrid Lichthelm.” They salute, and in the Equestrian hoof over head motion as opposed to in the Changeling style.

“I selected them because they speak good ponish and have had infiltration training. They’ll be your escorts into Viiradian-occupied territory,” Jachs explains.

“Ma’am,” they say, addressing us.

“Oberge-what?” Rainbow struggles to pronounce the changeling word.

“I believe the Equestrian equivalent would be a corporal,” she informs, “but please, call me Ingrid.”

“Nice to meet you, Ingrid!” Pinkie zooms over in between the two soldiers, “And you too Theronix!” She pulls them tight into a hug. They weren’t expecting a hug, but they endured it just fine.

“Oh!” Jachs suddenly recalls something, “You’ll be needing these.” He levitates a duffel bag over to us.

“Ooo, a present!” Pinkie breaks off her hug and undoes the zipper on the bag. She pulls out some skirts and tops, but then finds a wig and sunglasses, which she puts on. “Nice disguises!”

Disguises, why didn’t I think of that? I guess we are pretty famous. I’ll probably need a jacket or something to cover my wings.

“What about y’all? Couple of changelings will probably be pretty darn suspicious to the Viiradians,” Applejack points out.

“Yeah, but we’re changelings, remember?” Theronix says. A green light envelops him and Ingrid, and two generic looking ponies take their place.

“Of course,” Applejack says, facehoofing, “My bad.”

Shifting back, we load the disguises alongside other supplies and gas into the van. I say we, but really it was everycreature else. You know, maybe I can use some more magic now… hmm… maybe later. I shouldn’t strain my horn while it’s still in the early days of healing.

Fluttershy notices my expression, “Don’t worry Twilight, just focus on healing right now. We’ve got this.”

I give her a smile back, but I still feel a little guilty for how much everycreature is doing for me. I’ve been doing my strength exercises in the mornings, but it’s clear it's going to be a while before I can walk without support. Rainbow and AJ lift my wheelchair into the back of the van and help me into a chair.

The changelings take the front seats, while the five of us fill the back. It’s a bit cramped, but it’ll do. Jachs gestures for Ingrid, who is in the driver’s seat, to open her window. When she does, he wishes us a farewell.

“I’ll see all of you in San Manetonio in two weeks, Faust willing. Oh, and say hi to Verena for me when you see her. Obergefreiter, Leutnant, keep them safe.”

“Turn here, Obergefreiter,” Theronix orders, his gaze affixed to the map in his lap. Ingrid complies, exiting the highway that leads to Bales. We don’t know for sure, but before we left, Jachs and his team predicted Bales would be overrun by Viiradian forces right around now. News takes time to travel, and we certainly don’t get war updates while on the road. By circling around Bales, we plan to dodge the Viiradian armored spear as it leaves Bales by the main road. Theronix is playing it safe, taking us on the first road that has a path that leads around the city in case Viira’s army took Bales faster than expected.

We pass another Changeling troop convoy heading in the opposite direction. It’s clear there’s a retreat going on, but I don’t know enough about Changeling tactics to know if that means we’re timing our trip around Bales correctly or not.

“So many wounded…” Fluttershy notices. Looking closer, I see what she means. Every other soldier has some sort of bandage or splint.

I am reminded of my work during the war. The numbers on the pages were large, too large to comprehend. It was only when I went and visited bases and training sites that I began to comprehend the scale that total warfare entailed. Maybe that’s a poor choice of words. I didn’t comprehend the numbers, I comprehended how I was unable to comprehend the numbers. In a very literal sense, there does not exist an arrangement where the amount of ponies and equipment required to fight the war could be beheld in my eyes. There were probably two million soldiers at the beginning of the Changeling’s war against Viira. Now that number is more than halved.

As I see the trucks go by, I wonder what that looks like - a million dead or turned. We could spend a whole day watching trucks go past us and not hit a million. So, when I see a truck full of wounded changelings, I think of the hundreds that must be just like it all across Equestria.

“I wish we could help them.” Fluttershy comments, “There’s just so much suffering.”

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, we are helping!” Pinkie pulls Fluttershy close, “This isn’t like the Everfree, beating Viira will save everycreature!”

Fluttershy looks down, “You’re right this isn’t like the Everfree. I think I was… distracted by all the noise then. Gunfire, bombs, artillery… It was easy to get lost in the moment just surviving. Maybe I was so distracted I could avoid thinking about the cost in lives. Now, it’s quiet. Now I can see the cost of war.”

“That’s just the difference between resistance fightin’ and army fightin’,” Applejack states plainly, “I’ll betcha Rainbow and Pinkie will agree that army fightin’s a lot more hurry up and wait’ than firefights.”

“Ugh, totally,” Pinkie confirms, “We were always told ‘go here’ and ‘guard this’, but most of the time, the changelings never showed up. I had a great solution for the boredom though, can you guess?”

“Parties?” I offer.

“Parties!” Pinkie cheers. I can’t help but smile.

“I’m glad to see you back to normal Pinkie,” Rainbow says, “I remember you were getting pretty mopey at the end there.”

Pinkie’s face shows some concern for a second, “Yeah, after Maud was attacked, I didn’t feel like throwing any parties for a while.” She brightens up, “But after the war ended, I realized laughter doesn’t have to come from good times. Things were really bad, but I still felt the desire to spread laughter. I didn’t do anything at first, because it felt like there was nothing to celebrate. When I started to let myself feel laughter again, regular old Pinkie came back too!”

Wait a second. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie all served in the army. Fluttershy didn’t, but she joined Zecora’s Resistance afterwards. Of the five of us, I’m the only one who hasn’t fought for Equestria on the front lines. At least when we find Rarity, I won’t be the odd one out.

“You girls were all so brave to fight for Equestria. I wish I could say the same,” I express.

“Don’t give me that,” Rainbow immediately responds, “Your egghead stuff was just as important as us on the battlefield. Well, maybe about 20% less cool…”

“Don’t be jealous of us,” Fluttershy picks up where Rainbow left off, “Taking a life… changes you.”

There is a silence as we share Fluttershy’s grief.

“Besides,” Applejack eventually continues, “You had way more responsibility than any of us ever had. I know I wouldn’t have wanted to be in your position.”

“That’s not true,” I fire back, “You had Sweet Apple Acres to manage while also serving in the army. I was just… doing paperwork.”

“I’ll be honest,” Applejack starts, “I didn’t do a whole lot for the farm during the war. At first, it was Big Mac who took care of things, but after he enlisted, Sugar Belle and Applebloom took over the chores. Yeah they sent me a letter sometimes askin’ about big things, but I can’t really say I was managing it. As for you, maybe Princess Luna’s signature was on all the orders, but I know for a fact it was you behind ‘em.”

“I was just keeping Princess Luna well informed! You can’t run an army without logistics, intelligence, and industry. Just because I wrote some reports and helped keep those systems running doesn’t mean I was -” Ok I can see everypony’s faces. Maybe I’m underselling myself a teensy bit. Maybe I’m avoiding taking too much credit because then I’d have to confront the fact that Equestria lost. Still, it’s hard not to think that if I had done a better job, we wouldn’t have.

The next hour or so is uneventful. Theronix and Ingrid guess that we probably crossed into Viiradian-held territory at some point given the lack of Changeling soldiers, but it’s impossible to say when. The lines that are so clear on maps are notably missing from the real world. I think they existed more in traditional warfare, but mechanization has changed warfare. It seems like now, a lot of combat is based on outspeeding the opponent. The battle lines are moved through armored thrusts rather than counted by trench lines.

There’s no evidence of Viirad at all, until Ingrid makes a callout, “Trucks ahead, sir. Viiradian markings.”

“Pull over,” Theronix orders, “We’ll wait them out.” Ingrid slows down and drives off the road and into the dirt. We don’t want to be seen as a potential threat and get shot. Theronix and Ingrid turn their pony disguises on and nocreature says a word.

As the trucks pass, it’s a stark difference between the soldiers on these and the ones we saw earlier. First of all, they’re ponies. Mostly ponies at least. I also see griffons, zebras, deer - wow. Secondly, there are no wounded. These are fresh troops on the offense, not a retreating army. Their wounded would have been sent back. The third thing is that they seem like they’re in good spirits. Some of them wave at the van. Ingrid and Theronix give awkward waves back.

“It’s crazy that there are ponies liberating us from the changelings, and I’m fighting with the changelings to get rid of them,” Rainbow comments.

“Well, we’re not mind controlled,” Ingrid remarks as the last truck passes and we start moving again.

“Sure, but what’s really the difference between you and them? From where I’m sitting, it sure looks like you’re both loyal servants of imperialistic, egomaniac empresses,” Rainbow compares.

It’s a stinging equivalence. It even makes some sense. Indoctrination and ideology are systems of control too, if more mundane. Still, the wording she used bothers me - it’s a linguistic trap. She’s implicitly implying there are only two choices, serving Chrysalis and being “mind controlled” or not serving and being free. She’s been through years of oppression, so I think I can understand why she said it, at least.

“Rainbow Dash, do not talk to our friends like that!” Fluttershy scolds with surprising force, “You have an idea that you want addressed. Say it with respect.”

Rainbow and the changelings look surprised at Fluttershy’s tone. I think Theronix was going to raise his voice as well, but Fluttershy’s defense of them beat him to it.

“Sorry,” Rainbow says, her tone only half-apologetic. She can’t forgive the crimes of the Changeling Queendom just like that. “My point, and I’ll admit I just thought of this, is that, from my perspective, both Viira and the Changelings represent foreign enemies here to oppress us. Whether the empress in question uses magical mind control to make her soldiers do it doesn’t matter.”

“Well,” Theronix replies, his tone also even now that Rainbow isn’t making a personal attack, “Empress Chrysalis’ greatest punishment is death. Personally, I find that much more amenable to mind control.”

“Me too, I think,” Rainbow agrees, “Mind control is so…”

“Evil? Dastardly? Diabolical?” Pinkie offers.

“Yeah,” Rainbow says, accepting the general idea if not any particular word, “At the very least, it’s the parts of you that are important dying plus then turning against your friends. Who am I without my loyalty, right?”

I look over. Fluttershy seems much happier with the conduct of the conversation now. Applejack, I notice, looks lost in thought.

“Applejack, what’s wrong?” I ask.

“I was just thinkin’ about what Rainbow said about mind control,” she shares, “I got my cutie mark when I realized I needed to go back to my family at the farm. That was a true part of myself that I found, but I’m not naive enough to say that, if I were born in another time or to another family, I would always make that same choice. We are ‘controlled’ by how we’re raised and what we’re taught.”

“That’s not the whole picture though,” I say, “When Starlight altered the timeline to stop Rainbow Dash’s rainboom from happening, I saw what you were like in that alternate history, and you still had your same cutie mark, and you were still at Sweet Apple Acres. You must have still had the same realization and left the Oranges.”

“Is that really any better? That means our lives are either predestined or randomly determined by our births,” Applejack counters.

“I was more going for you, as an individual, were still able to make the choice to return when confronted with the same circumstances,” I elaborate, “You have agency over what you do and how you change.”

Theronix responds, “I don’t think I can fully agree with that. During the war, the Empress pumped out a lot of anti-pony and anti-Equestrian propaganda. Maybe it had less of an effect on me than on others, but I saw a lot of changelings, well, change, and I don’t think it was because they were making a conscious choice.”

“That’s true,” I admit, “We had something similar happen in Equestria. It was early in the war when Princess Celestia came to me about a wartime press censorship plan. There were a lot of anti-war and defeatist news stories going around, and it was having an effect in the surveys we were running. I recommended she implement some press restrictions, and, when we did, the polling changed. It was as if ponies’ minds suddenly changed. Some of it might have been deliberate and thoughtful, but certainly not all of it.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Rainbow interjects, “Which side are you arguing for?”

“Neither,” I clarify, “I don’t have it all figured out either. I’m just working through the same thoughts we all are.”

“I don’t get it,” Pinkie adds, “If news is mind control, then so are my parties. Lots of ponies go to them not wanting to be cheered up, but whether it’s balloons, cake, or a song, they always come out happy!” Pinkie suddenly inhales sharply and loudly, “Am I the evil enchantress!?”

Huh. I wasn’t thinking of that. If pushing an ideology and controlling the news media is mind control by the fact that it influences minds, Pinkie’s parties definitely are too. Scratch that, every conversation and interaction has an influence on who we are. It isn’t even about consent; Pinkie makes the great point that we often don’t want what’s good for us.

“That’s different,” Fluttershy says, “Your parties are done out of kindness. Those… other things often aren’t.”

Intentionality? Is that what separates the two? Something about that resonates, but I don’t think it can explain everything.

“I’d like to rebut that, if I may.” Ingrid speaks up, still keeping both eyes on the road, “Intention doesn’t automatically make something good, especially if the thing is bad. I know I wouldn’t want someling casting a mind control spell on me if I was just feeling bad. A party, on the other hoof, sounds way better. Maybe that’s not a big moral statement, but it’s how I feel.”

That’s a good point. If we found out Viira had good intentions behind her mind control, I don’t think we would do anything different. Her evil goes beyond intention.

“If it’s not intention,” I start, “then it could be method. Influence is ok. Talking, parties, that’s morally ok. Censorship and propaganda, maybe that’s a bit more iffy. Spells and other extreme things are definitely not ok. So, to answer Rainbow’s original point, yes, you could call everything that has influence on us ‘mind control’, but it isn’t the same.”

Rainbow seems satisfied by this explanation. She turns to the changelings in the front seats, “I guess if you’re brainwashed by Chrysalis, then I’m brainwashed by Twilight.” She snickers, and we all join in. “I didn’t think about you guys being moderates. It must take a lot of willpower to stay that way when you’re surrounded by that culture.”

Theronix answers, “If it weren’t for Jachs, I don’t know if I would still be. He did a lot of work getting transfer orders for all of us who served with him during the war to be assigned to the Canterlot garrison. With all us together, we were able to keep our ideas alive.”

Hollow Shades. I’ve never visited this town. Well, it’s on the rail line from Ponyville to Manehattan, so technically I’ve been here, but I never took the time to pay too much attention to it during the brief stops on the way. I adjust my jacket. My fur is still a bit off color, so with my wheelchair and this jacket covering my wings, nopony should be able to recognize me.

Rainbow got a wig and pants to cover her iconic mane color. She wanted the sunglasses, of course, but that was too on-brand for her, so we gave the sunglasses to Fluttershy, who is also wearing multiple layers of clothes plus a scarf to cover most of her mane and coat. Applejack switched out her hat and put on some pants to cover her cutie mark. Pinkie Pie, I don’t know where she got it from, but she is wearing a full bodysuit that makes her look identical to somepony else. I think she did this once years ago in the Crystal Empire, but it didn’t make any sense then either. The technology doesn’t, shouldn’t, exist -

I’m getting distracted. We’re following Ingrid and Theronix to the train station. We agreed that they should do the talking since somepony might recognize our voices. I do know a voice-changing spell, but I’m still conserving my strength and letting them talk works too. I’m surprised by how normal everything seems. If I had to guess, the changelings retreated before they could get encircled here, meaning no destruction to the buildings. There are very few garrison troops too; was there no resistance? Is everypony here mind controlled? That’s a scary thought. I realize I can’t even talk about it without of risk of being heard. I don’t know how long it will be before we’re in private again, but I suddenly can’t wait.

We arrive at the station. Theronix and Ingrid get in line to buy the tickets while the five of us sit aside. We’re close enough to see and hear them still though; the station isn’t that large. It’s bigger than the Ponyville station for sure, but not significantly. How long is this line going to take? I guess we have some time to just sit back and see what Viirad is like.

Well, so far, it just looks like Equestria. The biggest visual change I can see is the Viiradian flags, but if this place has only been occupied for two or three weeks, that makes sense: not a lot of time to do much else. I focus on the few soldiers I can see. Isn’t this a train station and therefore a key strategic asset? Why aren’t there more? Compared to the soldiers we saw earlier on the trucks, there are a lot more non-ponies too. Are they mind controlled?

I glance back to the line; we still have a while to go. Maybe I can check how many mind controlled creatures are around. If Viira hasn’t visited this town, it’s probably not very many and we can talk more freely. Passive magic sensing is a lot less taxing than other spells. This could be a good test to see how much magic I can do now. Ok Twilight, you haven’t done any significant magic in five years, but this should be a cinch. I take a deep breath.

Fluttershy notices, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing,” I say, “I’m just going to try some magic. Nothing too taxing, just making sure I can still do it.” She nods and leaves me be.

I close my eyes to focus. I channel just a bit of mana into my horn and extend my magical senses around the room. For a moment, it feels like I’m back to normal, but then I sense my limits. I can do this, but it’s probably on the more powerful side of spells that I can cast right now.

Huh, did I cast the spell wrong? I felt nothing. I try again. Ok there’s something coming from over there… I open my eyes. It’s just a unicorn lifting a cup. What? I redo the spell for the third time, this time directing it at a pair of soldiers on guard duty. If there’s anything that can be sensed, it should be on them. Nothing. What’s going on? I could probably sense any spell like this, heck, stuff like that unicorn and the mug is usually too minor to be picked up. You’re telling me these soldiers aren’t mind controlled? Is there some kind of shielding involved that’s blocking my sensing? Maybe it’s a kind of mind control that doesn’t require an active spell? Questions flood my brain. This little experiment has only caused more questions, and I don’t have the right setup to answer any of them right now.

I sigh. I’m definitely going to bring this up with the girls later. In the meantime, I start my strength exercises. I’m getting better every day, but I don’t have a good frame of reference to know how strong I have to be to walk. I extend my forelegs and then bend them back. As many times as I can, rinse and repeat. Wait, did I make eye contact with somepony? Oops.

“War injury? I get it,” the pony I was looking at says. She’s a blue earth pony. “Same boat.” She lifts her rear leg, a prosthetic wooden facsimile. “At least the damned bugs will be gone soon, am I right?”

“Uh, sure,” I say, keeping my response brief.

“I don’t know about Viira either,” she doubtfully expresses, “but we’ll see. I’m optimistic. Anyways, good luck on your recovery.” She walks away, waving goodbye. I smile and wave back.

That didn’t sound like somepony mind controlled. Equestria is pretty big, so maybe Viira just hasn’t visited here yet. Now that I think about it, Viira wouldn’t have to mind control every single creature in her empire. Ten percent of the population would probably be enough to control the rest. Could it be everycreature here is just normal? That doesn’t explain the soldiers right? Would these griffons and zebras willingly fight for Viira? I don’t know enough about life outside of Equus right now, and I fear that is by Viira’s design.

Ingrid’s voice grabs my attention, “8 tickets to Manehattan, please.” Eight? There are only seven of us.

“Coming right up,” the clerk says, “Normally, I’d ask you for your IDs, but with everything as it is right now, just write down your names here and we’ll get your tickets printed. Oh, and I’ve been told to inform everypony that we will be switching to the Rivbit soon, so make sure to get your bits exchanged by, uh, whenever the date on this sign says.” He points to a sign on the glass that is facing outwards. Ingrid complies, writing down what I can only assume is a false name, and we soon have our tickets.

“I got us eight tickets so we could occupy a whole sleeper cabin. You know, for privacy,” Ingrid explains. Thoughtful.

“Let’s go every…pony,” Theronix says, catching himself at the last moment. We head to one of the two platforms and board the waiting train. I have to be lifted in as usual, but it isn’t so bad. Once in our cabin, a pony comes by and punches our tickets. It’s all so mundane and normal. I could almost believe there’s no threat and we’re just all going to visit Rarity in Manehattan. Ingrid starts touching the walls, her unicorn horn illusion glowing. After a few seconds of spell casting, she turns around.

“Clear,” she states, “That was a soundproofing spell - we should have some privacy now.”

I can feel the relief of tension in myself and everypony else now that we can finally stop worrying about being found out or caught for a while.

“Phew,” Applejack emotes, “I didn’t realize that would feel so darn tense. I almost prefer the front lines.”

“Totally,” Rainbow agrees, “It’s like you can’t trust anypony.”

“Don’t trust any of them,” Theronix says flatly, “Any one of these ponies could be mind controlled.”

“What are the chances any one individual is mind controlled?” I ask, “I tried to scan for mind control back in the station, and I came up with nothing. Not even the soldiers showed any sign of magical influence.”

“That lines up with how we were briefed,” Theronix answers, “Apparently, there is no way to test if someling or somepony is mind controlled by Viira. Whatever magic she’s using isn’t detectable by normal means.”

“So don’t trust anypony!” Ingrid says. “A-ny-po-ny,” she repeats, emphasizing each syllable.

“The briefing we were both given said that, most of the time, it’s pretty obvious,” Theronix shares, “If they start professing loyalty to Viira, that’s mind control. One of the reports said that that’s what happens to most of the affected. However, there’s nothing stopping them from just pretending they aren’t, so there’s a theory that there are a lot more mind controlled ponies and changelings around and that we just can’t see them.”

“Survivorship bias, I see,” I say, “So they can only be detected through their actions. I guess that means any one of us could already be mind controlled and the rest of us would never know it.”

“Technically, yes,” Theronix acknowledges, “but I think if any one of us were, they’d have killed at least one element bearer already to prevent the elements from being used.”

“Good, well, not one of us dying - good in terms of that means we can trust each other,” I clarify.

“Is what we saw here what we can expect in Manehattan?” Fluttershy asks, “Everything, um, normal?”

“Maybe,” Theronix replies, “They did say major cities are more likely to be mind controlled, but these Equestrian territories are all recently acquired, so maybe the spell hasn’t been cast yet.”

“What if it gets cast when we’re there?” Pinkie imagines, “Boom! We lose instantly!”

This does not assuage anycreature’s fears.

“Pffft, it’s ok. When my knee gets pinchy, just cast a shield!” she says, unbothered by the uncomfortable possibility she just suggested. I prepare a shield spell. Nope, I’m not going to be able to cast that.

“I don’t think I can cast one yet,” I admit, “Ingrid, Theronix, can any of you do it?”

“Sorry, Princess, but that’s a level of magic way beyond us,” Ingrid answers.

“So what I’m hearin’,” Applejack says, “is that we’re actually hopin’ Manehattan’s already mind controlled so that we won’t get caught in the spell because we’ve got zero defense against it. That’s just great.”

“Maybe we can word it more optimistically,” I try, “The silver lining of Manehattan being mind controlled is that we’ll probably be safe. On the opposite end, the downside of Manehattan being free willed is that there’s a chance we get hit by the spell. None of the possibilities are great, but there’s upsides both ways. Ergo, we can’t lose.”

“If that’s true, why does it feel more like we lose either way?” Rainbow expresses. I suppose there’s no hiding the fact this is not an ideal position for anycreature.

“It doesn’t change what we’re doing,” Theronix states, “Let’s stay focused on the mission. We’ll be in Manhattan in about 16 hours, and I say we keep our disguises up to guard against potential accidents like a nosy foal or the food cart arriving early. I can give Obergefreiter Lichthelm orders, but you five I don’t have authority over. Are we agreed?”

The five of us nod. This train, Hollow Shades, Manehattan - the once familiar territory now feels too foreign to let our guards down.

“Good evening ladies and gentlecolts, we are arriving at Manehattan Station,” A stallion’s voice crackles over the PA system, “All passengers prepare to disembark the train. Please make sure you have gathered all of your belongings before disembarking. Hail Viira, and have a nice night.”

That was creepy. I look over to the others. Their expressions tell me they thought the same thing. The way he said it; it was so… casual. Was that a sign of mind control, or just an employee complying with new policies? It’s like the true horror of mind control is having to question everything. I mean, I’ve not even met any mind controlled ponies yet - I think - and I’m still questioning. What if there is no mind control spell? That would explain why it’s undetectable. The changelings just can’t comprehend creatures turning against them. It’s the perfect theory!

Eh, it’s a stupid idea. It glosses over so much and ignores a bunch of evidence from those I trust. From what I’ve heard from Jachs about Viira, the only ideology she has is “serve me”, which I doubt was very compelling to… well anycreature really. It’s the best explanation for how she conquered Griffonia and Zebrica so quickly while keeping things so… eerily normal like it is here. I wonder if the mind controlled are aware that they are being controlled. I didn’t ask Jachs for too much information about how things are in Viirad, so, for all I know, they could all be totally unaware. That could mean there is no evidence of it, and therefore support the theory that there is no spell, but that seems very far-fetched to me.

We toss on our saddlebags and exit the train. Man, these trains really need to start getting wheelchair ramps. Heh, now that I’m disabled, accessibility legislation suddenly seems so much more lucrative. Something to consider for after Viira is defeated, I suppose. I start to think about all the assumptions that entails, but I stop myself before I get into a full Twilighting session. Gotta stay focused.

“Um, do we know where we’re going?” Fluttershy asks, posing her question to the group.

“I have an address from the dossier, but we’ll probably have to call a cab or rent a car,” Ingrid says, levitating out a piece of paper.

Theronix steps in. “Let us do the talking. We should limit your interactions with the public. It's loud enough right now that no one should recognize your voices but try not to make too much conversation with anypony. This should limit the opportunities ponies have to see through… you know.” He doesn’t want to say “disguise” out loud in public, but he doesn’t have to, we get the intention.

“Limit our interactions with the public? But I love meeting new ponies!” Pinkie complains.

“And maybe try and keep your personalities, um, dialed down?” Ingrid adds, “What we were taught in… school is to stay generic. In public, if you don’t want to be caught, be forgettable.”

We head out of the station interacting with nopony. I don’t even have to direct where we go since I’m in a wheelchair with Pinkie pushing me, and it leaves me ample time to look around at what Manhattan is like under Viirradian control. Maybe I’ll be able to figure out if the spell has been cast yet. Visual inspection reveals… a lot of orange Viiradian flag banners. Ok, I guess that was expected, but I don’t think their presence reveals anything.

The ponies seem normal. I can’t really hear any specific conversations given the hustle and bustle, so that’s not going to be an option to check. Hmm, I don’t think there are any soldiers here - all I see are security ponies. The lack of griffons, zebras, and other races also points to no regular Viiradian soldiers. That seems like an oversight at what is the biggest train station on the east coast, but maybe that tells us something. Assuming this isn’t bad planning, there is a reason behind it. Hmm…

The purpose of soldiers at train stations is to prevent resistance or enemy troops from sabotaging it and therefore restricting transport of personnel and materiel. If there are no soldiers, that means Viirad doesn’t believe there is a threat from either of those things. The enemy troops thing makes sense seeing as we are pretty far past the front line now, but no fear for potential resistance attacks? That suggests to me that the mind control spell has been cast over Manehattan. If so, there would be no pony around who would want to do such a thing, making soldiers unnecessary.

That seems like pretty solid logic, but if I think more about it, it’s not bulletproof. There were soldiers in Hollow Shades, but I didn’t get the impression that there was any resistance activity either. Maybe the resistance is holding off on fighting Viira to allow her to kick out the Changelings. Rainbow seemed open to that idea when we first found her. If that’s true, that means the soldiers aren’t necessary. Ugh, I wish I could just ask Rainbow right now, but we’re in public in hostile territory. I won’t jeopardize our mission for this thought exercise.

Wait, hang on, if Hollow Shades had soldiers and Manehattan doesn’t, that means Viirad assessed a greater comparative danger in Hollow Shades. If the resistance was what Viira was worried about, they would either both have soldiers or both not. The differential could then be explained by Manehattan being mind controlled and Hollow Shades not.

Although, I did just say soldiers are present also for protection against Changeling attack too, and Hollow Shades is closer to the front line… This is getting too complicated and I don’t have all the data. I’ll chalk it up as evidence that Manhattan is mind controlled, but not as definitive evidence.

“Taxi!” Theronix yells. He waves at a larger taxi that can hold all of us. The driver sees us and starts pulling over towards us.

“I remember when these used to be horse-drawn,” I reminisce.

“It’s hard to believe it’s already been more than ten years,” Fluttershy adds.

Pinkie groans, “Ten years!? Don’t make me feel old!”

“I miss the old cabs. They were better,” Applejack states confidently, “These here newfangled cars are always breaking down. During the war, fixing ‘em was half of the job. And you need to keep refueling ‘em.”

“What!?” Rainbow exclaims, “How can you say cars are worse than carts? Cars are so much faster!”

As AJ and Rainbow continue their debate, Ingrid shows the driver Rarity’s address and the others start entering the car. I am confronted once again by my lack of mobility - there’s no way I’m getting in without assistance. I sigh.

“Girls, could I get some help?” I ask.

Rainbow and AJ stop their arguing. “Right, sorry, we should have noticed,” Rainbow says, “Still getting used to you being in a wheelchair.”

“So am I,” I say, “Hopefully it won’t be for too much longer.” They lift me into the car and then put the wheelchair in the trunk. Before long, we’re on the road.

“So, what’s your business in Manehattan?” The driver asks. Getting a look at her, I can see she’s a pink pegasus mare.

Ingrid speaks for us from the front seat, “Just visiting a friend, nothing special.”

“Visiting a friend, all of you? Must be a special event - let me guess, a wedding?” the driver replies, inviting more conversation. This is a bad time to get a friendly cab driver. If we’re found out, I’m sure it would be only hours before Viira shows up and deals with us.

“Oh nothing so dramatic, but we are new to the city. Could you tell us about Manehattan?” Ingrid says, turning the conversation topic back onto the mare and staying vague about us.

“Well, normally, I’d have a lot to say about that, but a lot of things have changed since the liberation,” the driver answers, thankfully not prying into our business.

“The… liberation?” Ingrid asks, hesitantly.

“Well that’s what I’ve been calling it,” she explains, “For us it was about a month ago when the empress’ ships landed in the harbor. Finally gave those bugs what they had coming. They kept saying Protectress Lilac was ‘one of the good changelings’, but it never felt that way to me. When was it for you all?”

Ingrid only hesitates for a moment, but it’s enough for the driver to pick up on.

“Oh, I get it,” the driver says knowingly, “you’re still under changeling occupation. Well, we’ll all be under one banner in a few months, am I right?” She laughs. Ingrid joins in, just quieter.

This driver seems to be really pro-Viira, but I can’t distinguish between that and being anti-changeling. I reach out with my magic - nothing. Is she mind controlled? I don’t think I’m the only one curious, because as we catch a glimpse of the Statue of Friendship, lights illuminating it in the night over the water, Ingrid resumes the conversation.

“So, what’s changed in the last month? You think they’ll replace, say, the Statue of Friendship?” she asks.

“I mean a lot has changed. New government, new rules, yada yada,” the driver responds, “The most visual thing is the flags, but what’s really nice is not having changeling soldiers everywhere now. As for the Statue of Friendship, eh, I don’t see the empress replacing it with, like, a statue of herself. Actually, that would be pretty cool - imagine the antlers… Where was I? Ah, yes, I don’t think that’ll happen, I mean, we believe in the same values she does, so I think Equestria will be a great addition to Viirad.”

That’s an… interesting perspective to take. No Equestrian in their right mind would think like that, right? She’s just so casual about it that it makes what she’s saying almost sound normal.

“The same values?” Ingrid asks, no doubt as curious as the rest of us as to what she could possibly think Equestria has in common with an imperialistic empire conquered through mind control.

“You know, kindness, honesty, loyalty - those things?” she lists.

“Oh, ok…” Ingrid acknowledges, not wanting to be confrontational.

The driver recognizes the brush off. “Eh, out of towners all have their opinions, I know. I drive from the train station so I get to meet all sorts of ponies. I like it, even if it means we disagree sometimes.”

Pinkie, in her disguise, looks like she really wants to just pop up and yell “Me too!”, but she holds it in, thankfully.

“It’s always complaining about the mind control,” she continues, “I mean, I get it, I don’t like mind control, but I don’t like ponies dying either. Think about how many lives we’ve saved from using mind control instead of more bombs and bullets.”

That’s almost compelling - if not for the fact that mind control is very comparable to death. If I woke up tomorrow with a different set of beliefs, it’s not crazy to say I would be a different pony. If that me who wakes up is a different pony, then who I was before that would be gone - effectively dead.

Theronix seems like he’s been bristling to speak. He voices his rebuttal, “But more lives could have been saved if Viirad never invaded at all.”

The driver doesn’t look back at him and responds with a practiced ease, “It’s a war of liberation. I, for one, appreciate our empress freeing us from our changeling overlords. It’s also a chance to spread her glory to the changelings too.”

Theronix doesn’t respond. Maybe he can’t think of the right thing to say in character or maybe he’s angry and doesn’t want to raise the temperature and risk discovery. This has got to be definitive evidence this mare is mind controlled, right? Like Theronix said earlier: if they start professing their love for Viira, they’re mind controlled.

I look out the window. The steel monoliths of the city now seem more imposing than grand. The lights in the windows were now signifiers of potential threats, not friends. Was every soul behind those windows under Viira’s sway now? With what the driver said about out-of-town ponies… it’s very possible. It’s not a smoking gun, but it is certainly more evidence suggesting the mind control spell has been cast over the city.

As we continue through Manehattan, I am surprised to see no visible damage to anything. Jachs said this was the site of a naval invasion, so where was the evidence of that? We occasionally pass fortifications, but they appear undamaged. I know it’s been a month or so now, but a combined land, sea, and air campaign should have leveled a lot of buildings. With a sinking feeling, I realize this is more evidence that mind control was involved. If Viira could teleport near the city and just cast her spell, there would have been no resistance from either the changeling army or the ponies.

I know that’s supposed to be the “good” outcome where we’re not at risk of getting caught in the spell, but a part of me agrees with what Rainbow Dash said then - that both options feel like losing. Maybe instead, there’s no damage because the Changelings were in full retreat at the time, meaning they abandoned this city, causing there to be no fighting. That could also explain things. I don’t know which option I’m hoping for.

“Here we are ladies and gentlecolt,” our driver says. Oh? I guess I was too lost in my thoughts to notice we stopped. I wait for Pinkie to get my wheelchair out, and Rainbow and AJ help lift me into it once more. We trot towards the modern looking apartment building where Rarity is supposed to live now. I just hope Rarity is still here and didn’t evacuate when Viira’s army came through, otherwise… well I haven’t thought of a plan for that. Hopefully I won’t have to.

Theronix calls the elevator. I’m surprised, there’s no operator inside.

“Where’s the elevator operator?” I ask. They all look at me strangely.

“You haven’t heard of an automatic elevator?” Rainbow asks rhetorically, “Even I have.”

“No, I was busy being stuck in a cocoon for five years,” I remind her.

“Heh heh, right,” she laughs sheepishly, “Sorry.”

We fill in the elevator to capacity. An automatic elevator. What will they come up with next I wonder. With maybe a bit too much fascination, I watch as Ingrid presses a button on the elevator for the 20th floor. My mind is racing with the circuitry that must be required to run such an elevator. What’s going to happen to the elevator operators? Are they all out of a job?

I’ll have time to think about that later. The elevator arrives at our destination, and we find the right door. My mind starts to race again. Is she even home? What if she’s not? How do we explain the situation to her? It’s too early for Captain Verena to be here, are we going to have to stay in her apartment for a few days? Rarity won’t have enough groceries for us then, we’ll have to -

I see Fluttershy looking at me in concern. “Do I look like I’m freaking out?” I ask.

She nods, “We understand. This is a stressful situation for all of us. Think it through if you need to.”

Let’s just focus on the present for now. What is it that we should worry about that we can actually do something about?

“Ingrid, Theronix,” I address the changelings, “can you keep your disguises up for now? Let’s try and break the news to her gently.”

“As you wish, Princess,” Theronix responds, “We’ll give you all some space for your reunion.”

Pinkie pushes me up to the door. I hesitate for a second, and then knock. I thought that would be more difficult, but it seems like my strength-building exercises are working. We wait. I think I hear hoofsteps. The door opens. It’s her!

“Can I help you?” Rarity says. She squints at us, taking in our disguises. Shoot, maybe we should have taken them off. She looks at me and her eyes widen. “Twilight?”

I smile. “In the flesh.”

She hugs me around my wheelchair. “Oh dear, what happened to you?”

“A lot,” I summarize, “Can we come in?”

“Of course darlings,” she excitedly replies, “Come in and get those dreadful outfits off. Those sunglasses don’t work on you, Fluttershy dear.”

“Dreadful outfits!?” Pinkie exclaims, “I knew I should have added a fake nose!” She pops out of her bodysuit in one smooth motion. Rarity does a double take.

“Maybe not yours Pinkie,” Rarity admits, “How did you… what material is that?”

She looks to the rest of us, but we just give her the “Pinkie Pie things” look. We enter her apartment, Ingrid and Theronix entering last and closing the door behind us. It’s a nice apartment and pretty roomy too. Following Pinkie’s example, the rest of us start taking off our disguises, Rarity embracing each of us as she gets to see us for the first time in years for some of us.

Applejack throws on her normal hat, “How didja figure out it was us? I thought our disguises were pretty good.”

“Darling, you aren’t just your hat, you know,” Rarity points out, “Besides, what kind of fashion expert would I be if I couldn’t tell your clothing came from a costume store.”

“Costume store?” Rainbow Dash says, confused while looking at the pants she was wearing, “They look normal to me.” I have to agree with Rainbow here, my jacket seems pretty normal.

“All of your clothes are either nylon or polyester, and I can tell a sloppy seam when I see one. These were designed to only be used a few times, not for everyday wear,” Rarity explains.

“I could also tell,” Fluttershy says, “But, um, it’s only obvious when looking close.”

Rarity walks up to me, “Enough about that though. Twilight, darling, you have to tell me what happened! And say more than ‘a lot’ this time; your coat looks positively dreadful.”

“Well, I was stuck in a changeling lab in a cocoon for five years being drained of love and being underfed,” I summarize, “I actually used to look a lot worse, but I’ve been recovering.”

“Five years!?” Rarity exclaims, “Those dastardly villains! I can’t imagine going so long without a soiree or - ” she looks at my hooves, “a hooficure. Goodness darling, who did your hooves?”

What? I look down at my hooves. Ok, they’re not polished or anything, but they’re much better than they were before. Oh, right, she hasn’t seen what they looked like before.

“AJ and Fluttershy helped me. I didn’t get to trim my hooves in the cocoon, so they were a little overgrown,” I explain.

“A little?” Applejack says, “Yeah right, her hooves were this long!” She gestures the size like she was describing the size of a fish.

“How horrendous,” Rarity comments, “Perhaps I shouldn’t be too critical, all things considered.”

“That’s enough about me though,” I say, “What have you been up to Rarity?”

“What haven’t I been up to?” Rarity starts, “After you disappeared, I moved to Manehattan to make it big - Ponyville, well, it wasn’t quite the same place after the war. Nopony wanted to buy my dresses, or just couldn’t afford them anymore. The only ones able to pay for my services were the Changelings.”

Rainbow dash looks on disapprovingly, “I heard you collaborated. You should’ve joined us in the resistance!”

“Darling, there are more ways to contribute than just with brute force,” Rarity explains with a huff, “My methods are far more stylish.” She gets a gleam in her eye as she gestures over to a nearby mannequin form bearing a Changeling uniform. “Behold, my masterpiece!”

She points to the black outfit. It looks standard in every way, probably for soldiers to wear in everyday duties.

“That’s just a normal Changeling uniform,” Applejack says, giving the mannequin a gander, “Seen hundreds of their soldiers wearin’ these before.”

“Precisely!” she replies, “However, these, after a few weeks, are designed to wear down in unpredictable ways.” She points to the collar. “This has a chance to begin chafing, the material around the belt will begin to bite, and the fabric on the back begins to feel abrasive once it’s been washed a few times. I’ve designed the world’s least comfortable outfit where all of the problems are attributable to improper care and random enough to be untraceable.”

“Wouldn’t they just stop buying them if this kept happening?” I ask.

“Not if you know the right changelings,” she responds, “Half of my work was keeping these in circulation.”

Rainbow Dash looks impressed, “That’s probably the most Rarity way of fighting I’ve ever heard of.”

“I shall take that as a compliment, Rainbow,” Rarity says, “The best part is that it meant they had to keep buying more. Collaborating does have its benefits.” She gestures at her spacious apartment.

Applejack sighs, “That it does.”

“Of course, I don’t do that for the new uniforms,” Rarity continues, gesturing to another mannequin form with another uniform. This one is a dull orange, the color of… no…

“What do you mean?” I ask her, keeping my voice as even as I can.

“Well, with our new goddess liberating us, it would hardly be appropriate.”

No, no, no. This isn’t happening, right? This can’t be happening. Time slows down as my mind speeds up. There’s got to be another explanation. Please let there be another explanation. Maybe she’s just like the pony we met in Hollow Shades - the Changelings were very brutal in their occupation, so anything might seem a better alternative. No, Manehattan's been occupied for a month, time enough to see the new administration for what it is. Or is it? I don’t know how Viira operates. I have to be sure, then I can make a plan. Please don’t be mind controlled. Please…

I add a follow up question. “Speaking of, what do you think of her? It’s been less than two weeks since I was rescued, so I’m still figuring out what I missed.”

“Well, like everypony else, I was horrified at her appalling actions in Zebrica and Griffonia, but once she came here everything started to make more sense. It was all so sudden - one day it was just on the news, but then the next Viirad was landing here and it was so nice to have the changelings gone. They say it’s because Her Divinity mind controlled us, but I don’t know about that. I don’t feel mind controlled.”

“But you do feel loyalty to Viirad and Viira?” I ask directly. It’s a bit risky, but if she is mind controlled, she should answer eagerly. If not, this might make her mad, but that’s a small price to pay to know she’s free.

“Of course!” she answers. My heart sinks to my stomach. “Without Celestia and Luna around, we’ll need a new leader, and Her Divinity has already done so much for us in removing the changelings. I can’t think of a better creature for the job.”

That sounds… almost logical. Is she not mind controlled? Theronix’s words ring in my ear once more: if she starts professing love for Viira, she’s mind controlled. How though? This isn’t like any mind control spell I’ve ever seen before. She’s still herself - mostly - and I already established and confirmed that it can’t be sensed. I glance at the others. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are wearing barely concealed faces of shock. Applejack is stoic and I can’t decipher Pinkie’s smile.

I know Rainbow Dash. It’s probably taking her all her willpower right now to not scream at Rarity for the crazy things she just said. Her discipline is keeping her in line, treating Rarity as an enemy, which she is - even if she doesn’t seem to know that. If Rarity thinks we’re a threat to Viira, she might call the authorities, which would doom us all. Still, I need to understand what exactly happened to Rarity if there’s any hope of helping her.

“And you didn’t think that a month ago, right?” I press Rarity for details.

Rarity thinks for a second, “I suppose not, why?”

Do I tell her? I know that, with normal mind control spells that preserves intelligence, pointing out that the subject is mind controlled can help the pony fight it. It usually costs magic to intercept those thoughts, so it could be an avenue to save her if that is the case. I’ve got no idea if that’s the case here though - this spell doesn’t seem to work by any method I know of. If Viira has figured out a way around this, it could be disastrous.

I have to try. “Rarity, sudden changes like that don’t happen overnight. You were mind controlled.”

Rarity takes my words in, strangely unbothered. I reach out with my magic - even if the spell was cloaked somehow, if she’s fighting it, I should be able to sense something. Please, I need something to go off of.

Rarity shrugs. “It has been what everypony’s been saying. It’s a little distasteful perhaps, but it doesn’t change my opinion. If Her Divinity deemed it necessary for Viirad, then I’ll defer to her judgment.”

Her saying that was like a lance to my heart, but still, I sensed nothing. I’ve probably given myself away - I need to head this off before she sees us as a threat.

“The reason I ask, Rarity, is because we… don’t agree with what Viira has been doing. I hope that’s not going to cause any problems,” I reveal, careful to not be confrontational.

“I don’t see why it would. We disagreed when Mayor Mare and Filthy Rich were both running for mayor and that wasn’t a problem. Why should this?” Rarity dismisses.

The weight lifts from my chest slightly. No fanatical devotion? Whatever’s affecting her, it’s very subtle. Is that why it can’t be sensed? No, that doesn’t explain it - the soul enforces its own influence when the mind is interfered with and that takes a lot of magical energy, relatively speaking, to counteract. As far as I know, there’s no such thing as a subtle mind control spell.

“That’s… good,” I say. My heart is racing. I’m not sure what to say now - our plans have kind of gone out the window. One thing is clear: we can’t let Rarity stay like this. We’re not leaving until she’s back with us.

Let’s just start there. I continue, “Rarity, I know us showing up is a bit of a surprise for you, but we’ll be staying in Manehattan for a few days. Can we stay here at your place?”

“Of course darling,” she replies, “The problem with having such a large apartment is that I never seem to be able to fill these guest bedrooms. There’s enough room for all…” she looks us over, realizing there are two ponies she doesn’t recognize, “seven of you? Twilight, dear, you never introduced your friends!”

“Oh, uh, right -” I stammer. How am I supposed to explain the changelings? Now that we know Rarity’s mind controlled, it can’t be safe for them to reveal their identities. If she found out we were working with changelings… I don’t know how we would explain that away without giving away our purpose here.

Ingrid sees my hesitation and walks up to Rarity, extending a hoof, “I’m Lily Petal and this is Redhoof. We’re with the resistance and we helped get your friends here.” They’re professionals - thank goodness.

She shakes Ingrid’s hoof, “Nice to meet you, Lily. If there’s going to be seven of you, you’ll probably want to grab the spare mattress from my laundry room.”

Ingrid and Theronix nod, heading off to set up sleeping arrangements. Rarity turns back to me, “Something tells me you’ve come to Manehattan for more than just to visit. What brings you and the resistance here?”

Pinkie Pie opens her mouth to speak, but Rainbow Dash sticks a hoof in her mouth before she can say anything. “It’s a secret!” she quickly yells, preventing Pinkie from spilling the beans.

Rainbow lowers her hoof and Pinkie speaks, “Right, a BIG secret! Secret anti-changeling… stuff.” Potential crisis averted.

“Definitely nothing against Viira. Definitely,” she adds on. Ugh, hopefully that wasn’t too on the nose. Fluttershy cringes while Applejack is trying her darndest to resist the urge to be honest. I give Rarity a shrug like I didn’t understand Pinkie’s strange wording either. Luckily, Pinkie says enough nonsense for Rarity to not give it a second thought.

This is getting dangerous. We need to get our story straight and make a plan. I don’t know what to do, but I do know that I can’t think of a plan while we’re awkwardly talking with Rarity trying not to give ourselves away.

I fake a yawn, “How late is it now? The train ride over was pretty tiring. I think I need to get to bed soon.”

“Oh, of course, Twilight, how inconsiderate of me,” Rarity says, “With your poor health and all, I should have been more thoughtful. I have an early meeting tomorrow, but we absolutely must catch up more once I get back.”

“I can’t wait!” I reply with feigned cheeriness. I can definitely wait. I need, we need, more time to figure out exactly what’s going on and what to do about it.

“Done,” Ingrid says, finishing her soundproofing spell on the door of one of Rarity’s guest bedrooms. Rarity has gone to bed, and we’ve all gathered in a single bedroom to plan our next steps.

“What happened to Rarity?” Fluttershy asks, a desperate edge in her voice. I think she’s been waiting for us to get our privacy to ask.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Rainbow replies, “She’s been mind controlled.”

“What are we supposed to do now?” Applejack asks, “I’m not gonna pretend to understand how our friendship magic works, but I’m pretty sure we’re not zapping Viira with Rarity worshiping her.”

“Twilight,” Pinkie addresses me with expectant eyes, “You’re super duper good at magic! How do we fix Rarity?”

“I -” I hesitate. Everypony is looking at me like I have the answers. “I don’t know...” They visibly deflate. “Yet!” I quickly add. It’s so frustrating - I don’t even know how she’s being mind controlled let alone how to undo it. Am I just behind the times from losing five years? No, Viira’s been active for at least ten. If it’s a magical mystery, I can solve it. I just need more information.

“Ingrid, Theronix,” I turn to the changelings, “I need to know everything you know about Viira’s mind control.”

They look at each other and Theronix responds, “We’ve already told you everything we know. It’s undetectable and irreversible.”

“Right, that’s the ‘what', but do you know anything about the ‘how’?” I specify. They look at me as if to apologize, not saying anything. They know more than I do, but I’ll have to ask the right questions to help them remember. Even what they don’t know can provide insights.

“Ok, well, let’s start simple. Jachs said the spell was used to break through defensive lines. We also know that it affects cities, so we can assume it affects an area rather than individuals,” I think out loud. Maybe that doesn’t hint to what the actual spell function is, but it can tell me something. All information is good if I have nothing to go off of. If it affects an area, it could be a point charge spell or a continuous field projection. How would I distinguish the two?

“Does it affect everypony, sorry, evercreature, in the same way, or are some more affected than others? Are there changelings or ponies who are only partially mind controlled?” I try asking.

“I think it affects everycreature the same,” Theronix replies, “We never got any material about different types or levels of being affected.”

“Wait,” Ingrid interrupts, “That’s true, but there was that article from one changeling who fought it. From what he said, it sounded like he was less affected than his trenchmates.”

“Okay!” I say, “That’s at least something. Now we know that it might be a point charge spell. It’s not definitive, and it could be just a sign that there are many variants, but it’s data!”

Rainbow gives me a confused look, “Can you translate that for us non-eggheads? How does this help us?”

“Oh, that specifically probably doesn’t,” I say, “But besides the fact this is a fascinating spell I want to know more about, this proves we can get more information about the spell even if we can’t detect it. We just have to extrapolate from the observations we see in the world and figure out what that tells us about the spell. If we can get enough information, I might be able to make a cure.” At the idea of a cure, everycreature perks up a bit. They may not know magic theory, but they know I do, and it’s giving them hope. I can only hope to be able to back up my words.

“Theronix, you said there was a theory that said there are a bunch of mind controlled ponies and changelings among us right now, just hiding. Is that an accepted theory or fringe?”

“Uh, well, I think we’re supposed to act as if it is true just in case. There were a number of recent policy changes that came down about containing information,” he recalls. Hmm, that’s not the angle I was going for. Even if it was only suspected it would be the correct move to tighten security, just in case.

“But do you know if there were any real instances of these sleeper agents?” I press.

He thinks. “Not that I know of,” he eventually answers.

So then it’s a fringe theory. Rarity seemed very normal outside her new love for Viirad. I would imagine her trying to hide that would be like lying about anything else. Somehow, this spell only affects thoughts related to Viira. I would imagine the affected would make terrible sleeper agents - if they love Viira, concealing that all the time would have to be difficult. At least, they wouldn’t be any better at it than a non-mind controlled creature.

What does that imply? If there’s a word to describe this spell’s effects, it would be subtle. Most mind control is very overt, so I’m removing those spells from consideration. I thought it might be some sort of personality layered on top of the normal mind, but from what I’ve seen, the affected don’t act like a possessed entity who is using the memories of the body they are inhabiting to appear normal. Both that and the artificial personality would be hard to detect and be long lasting but would not fully maintain the individual's original personality like this spell seems to.

“When a creature is affected, do they gain any abilities?” I ask. This should put the nail in the coffin of this theory.

“Abilities?” Theronix responds, puzzled at my question.

“Yes. Do they become stronger? Can they cast spells they couldn’t before?” I elaborate.

“Uhhh, no?” he hesitantly answers, “I haven’t heard of anything like that, but don’t quote me.”

“I’ll assume that's not the case then. We don’t have the luxury of doing longitudinal studies and surveying the mind controlled, so it’ll have to do,” I say.

Ok, so it’s not possession or some kind of personality overriding the normal one. Then what the heck is it? It’s like someone used transmutation to change the right synapses in the brain to add loyalty to Viira. That’s basically impossible though. Those neurons would be different in every mind, and would therefore require a different spell for every creature. Clearly that’s not the case here given its mass use. Besides, the soul would resist such changes, unless, I guess, it was overwritten too. The mana required to customize a tailor a spell to every single creature - I guess it is theoretically a finite number. Viira is supposed to be a powerful deer, but how powerful exactly?

I ask my next question, “Why doesn’t Viira just travel through the world mind controlling everycreature in every city? How limited is she in mana?” I consider my wording to get the answer I’m looking for, “What I want to know is how often does she cast her spells?”

Ingrid answers this time, “A few times a month? Mind control isn’t her only spell.”

“That’s the first I’m hearing that. What else does she do?” I ask.

“Just all sorts of things to reduce our effectiveness on the battlefield,” Ingrid says, “Breaking our equipment, destroying buildings and vehicles, teleporting troops, all over the span of a few miles - that kind of thing.”

“Those are the tactical spells,” Theronix explains, “The strategic ones are more scary. Mind control, obviously, nuclear explosions, and weather control have all devastated us. As I understand, Griffonia and much of Zebrica’s weather has become permanent chaos since she took over.”

I think for a moment. Those all take large amounts of mana, but are within the bounds of reason. Without this hole in my horn, I could possibly cast any of those spells given the right preparation. To do them several times a month… I don’t think even Celestia and Luna have that much mana.

However, it does put an upper bound on what she can do. Even with that amount of mana, it’s nowhere near the amount required to cast an individualized mind transmutation on every creature around her. If she could do that, she might as well cast a more standard mind control spell on every creature in the world simultaneously. The amount of mana that would take to maintain would probably be less than transmuting individual neurons and personalizing a spell to every creature. I don’t think we even have a good enough understanding of biology to do that.

Actually, on the topic of mana, how does she maintain mind control over so many creatures? With both Griffonia and Zebrica under her control, the number of mind controlled creatures might be over a hundred million. The mana required to maintain a normal mind control spell over so many would be insane.

This poses my next question, “Does Viira cast fewer spells today than she did, say, five years ago?”

“To my understanding,” Theronix says, “there hasn’t been a change to how much she casts.”

“Why does that matter?” Fluttershy asks curiously.

“Well, if the spell needed to be maintained, her mana requirements would go up over time. We know she has a limited amount of mana, so maintaining control would mean allocating more and more of it to maintenance over time. If this was the case, she would use less magic for other things over time. In our case, assuming her spell output hasn’t changed, we can determine that the spell doesn’t need constant mana to work, and probably doesn’t need to be ‘recharged’ every so often, so to speak.”

“That’s really smart, Twilight,” Fluttershy says, her question answered.

Applejack looks frustrated, “But does that really change anything? Do any of these questions matter?”

“They do,” I firmly declare, “Actually, I think that last one is very important. If I’m right, she’s actually not under any spell at all.”

“What!” Pinkie yells, “You’re telling me Rarity went out and started worshiping Viira on purpose!?”

“No!” I quickly say, “That’s not what I meant. I mean in a more technical sense, there is no magic currently interacting or interfering with her mind.” I’m met with a chorus of confused looks.

I continue, “The spell that made Rarity loyal to Viira was cast a month ago. The changes were made in her mind, and she now believes them. The question on upkeep was important, because now I know that the spell was done once and does not need to be maintained. I think that’s because her mind isn’t being ‘controlled’ per se, but her mind has been… changed.”

“You mean like when Discord made us all wonky?” Pinkie asks, “Or like when we were all evil after that hot spring?”

“More like the second than the first,” I reply, “Discord’s spell that time was actively fighting who we were. When I cast the memory spell, you were able to break through it because those thought patterns were being suppressed. That water, well, my analysis after the incident suggested the water left… I guess detritus would be the best word, in our minds and souls that directed us to think differently. The cure removed it, causing us to think normally again. I imagine, though, that’s not how this spell works. Rarity never met Viira, and it seems she does this en masse. Therefore, I don’t think there is some substance involved like dark water.”

“Couldn’t she transmute the material into creatures’ minds?” asks Ingrid.

“If she could do that with such precision as to only affect loyalty to her, she may as well just turn off our brains. Transmutation is expensive magic - I don’t think it is involved. That’s especially true when it involves creatures with souls - they tend to resist things like that.”

“Didn’t you just say the dark water left stuff on our souls too? Couldn’t she just do that?” Rainbow asks.

I’m surprised by Rainbow’s astute question, “Soul manipulation? I suppose it’s possible… I was going to say reality manipulation, but that also fits the evidence. Both would be completely undetectable.”

“Um, sorry, what’s reality manipulation?” Fluttershy timidly asks.

“It’s what Discord does mostly,” I answer, “He doesn’t change things into other things - he changes things, period. When he drank the glass part of a glass of chocolate milk right before we defeated him leaving only the milk behind, it wasn’t like he was holding the chocolate milk part in telekinesis and carefully transmuting the glass part away. It wasn’t even an illusion. For that moment, in that space of the universe, that was simply how the laws of physics worked.”

“Ooooh, like when we were all part of Accord,” Pinkie says. That brings up some scary memories.

“Exactly,” I confirm, “There was no magic after we were affected - it simply was. The best example I can think of is actually when I cast Starswirl’s incomplete spell.”

Rainbow tries to remember, “You mean that thing from right before you became a princess?”

“Yes. When I accidentally swapped your cutie marks, who you were changed. Not only that, but it changed your pasts and everyone’s memories. You weren’t mind controlled, but it sure seemed that way to me. I didn’t fix it by ‘restoring’ your minds - that was how your minds were in that reality.” I think for a moment, realizing the differences between then and now, “This spell obviously doesn’t go that far with the past and memory changing, but it could be an explanation.”

“So that’s what we’re up against? Soul manipulation or reality manipulation?” Theronix asks, “How do we beat it?”

“I’m still coming up with that. The key thing is that, in both cases, there isn’t some sort of magic dispelling or counterspell that I can do that will return Rarity to normal. This is simply who she is now. My first thought is to just do some soul manipulation of our own and write the changes we want in her mind.” Maybe that wasn’t the best way I could have worded that, “But I know how that sounds. Don’t worry, we’re not going to mind control her back to us.” I don’t even know if I have the ability to cast a spell of that power level right now, but I wouldn’t do it anyways.

“Well, I hope you can work quickly, Princess, otherwise we’ll have to subdue her and bring her back using force,” Theronix says, “In the meantime, Obergefreiter?”

“Sir?” Ingrid responds.

“Go down to the docks and try to get in contact with Captain Verena. Regardless if this works, I would prefer it if our exit is secure. She’s probably not here yet, but we want to establish contact ASAP.”

“Yes sir!” she snaps off before making her way out of the room.

It looks like I have my work cut out for me. I may have some understanding of what’s happening now, but I still don’t know how we’re going to do this.

Fluttershy sees the unease on my face. She steps over and puts a hoof on mine, “It’s ok Twilight, we believe in you. We don’t expect you to have all the answers immediately. Just take your time, and remember, we’re here to help.”

I look up at my friends, and they all nod in agreement, Theronix included.

“Thank you. All of you,” I say to them. I don’t have any more answers than I did before, but a flutter of hope rises in me that wasn’t there earlier. We will save Rarity.

Author's Note

Looks like I'm going to need a part 4. I have an outline of what I want to write, but I'm apparently underestimating how much each part takes.

Congrats to NovemberWolf for reading the foreshadowing on Rarity - I'm glad my hints were being caught. There are also some comic references that I hope people get.

In EaW lore, there is a somewhat controversial event chain during the Great War where Pinkie becomes sad. I've resolved it off screen here, but I did want to at least reference it.
Sugar Belle running Sweet Apple Acres during the war is also a part of EaW canon.

Rarity designing uniforms that itch for the Changelings in Manehattan is an EaW thing where, during the Equestrian Liberation Front path, is what gets her collaboration charges dismissed. Not so simple in this timeline though.