A Journey Unthought Of: Revival of Chaos

by Hustlin Tom

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Human, Lyra, Princess Luna, Original Character, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Main 6
Length: 144531

After the events of the Season 2 finale, Equestria begins to spiral into chaos in the face of a new Changeling threat, a brewing civil conflict, and the second release of Discord.

Events of the first story are explained within this story: this is an open sequel.

Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have been wedded, and the Changeling menace has been repulsed. Life it seemed was returning to normal. As the weeks pass, however, the royal family is rocked by an unexpected death, and in the face of this and a renewed Changeling scare, Equestria is tossed into a state of upheaval, all while Discord's stony prison begins to weaken. Events that have been nearly fourteen hundred years in the making are now unfolding in concert, all under the guidance of some mysterious Conductor who has been influencing countless individuals, from Princesses Celestia and Luna, their mother the Maiden, to Adam the Human. How will the Elements of Harmony, the Princesses, and all the other beings involved struggle to prevent the outbreak of an Equestrian civil war and the threat of a released Discord?

Greatest accolades go to Alan Smithee, the creator of Last, who has been a fantastic editor, reader, and friend.

Published 2013-03-23 18:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-06 20:19:59 UTC

Chapter 1

The Griffon Confederacy holds a special place in political theory. The majority of the northern states had originally been under the dominion of Ailsa VI, one of the last strong descendants of the Griffon nation’s first gladiator king, Adric. The other states , who had been ruled by Sir Gawain, a valorous Griffon knight, had been in peaceful alliance with Equestria for countless centuries. The two factions had been in feud with each other for many years, until Sir Gawain had won the war with Princess Celestia’s aid and supplies. After the deaths of their leaders, the factions subdivided into smaller groups as each would choose a new ruler to represent themselves, only to be rejected by the other factions. War would constantly break out between the factions through history, until a general agreement was reached by all factions, and thus the northern and southern states were formed, and the Griffon Confederacy was created. This didn’t necessarily stop conflict though, as the Griffons had always had a love for blood sport. For one reason or another, skirmishes would occur between each of their seven city states for several years at a time, each side hating the other’s guts to the pits of Tartarus, but then in a few years could easily ally themselves with those very same griffons to fight another city state if it benefited both of their causes.

The southernmost city states in the Confederation still held very peaceful dealings with the nation of Equestria in honor of Sir Gawain, and trade was common between the two countries. Water in particular was a greatly desired commodity for the Griffons, as their eyries were so high that clouds did not readily form, nor were there springs from which to drink. Every quarter year, large supplies of water would be exported from Cloudsdale in exchange for just about any valuable mineral, currency, or magical artifacts the Griffons could find. The eastern and northern city states wanted this exchange to cease, so they could easily defeat and pillage the southern states. To accomplish this, they hired a Death Eagle to eliminate the Equestrian financial minister, a unicorn named Fancy Pants. The assassin was then to plant evidence so that it was believed that the murder had been done in the name of the southern city states of the Griffon Confederacy.

The Death Eagles were a recent development in Griffon history. While ‘peace’ did reign between the several city states of the Griffon Confederacy for many years, war still took place. Cold war had become a staple of Griffon life in the last one hundred years, and the Death Eagles were the ones who most often capitalized on the paradoxical situation. The Death Eagle organization was a recognized independent faction in any war, and would gladly associate with any side in any conflict, provided the pay was good. If paid well by their employer, they would eliminate the target so that the perpetrator was undetectable and the party responsible was unknown; this was the most basic form of their work. Additional royalties were required in order to plant evidence of the party that was to be the scapegoat for the employer. The northern and eastern city states paid well, and so the Death Eagles sent one of their best operatives to find a way to eliminate their target. The Death Eagle assassin found his opening to eliminate Fancy Pants almost as soon as the contract was accepted. In several weeks’ time, there was to be a wedding in the court of Canterlot; a cousin to the Royal Sisters of Equestria. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, was to be married to the Captain of their Guard, Shining Armor. In the frenzied few days before the Wedding, none of the unsuspecting guards would notice a supposed Griffon dignitary talking to the minister of commerce. Not until it was too late anyway. Preparations were quickly made, invitations were acquired to the event, and with only a week before the wedding was to take place, the assassin found himself in the dignified capitol city of Canterlot.

If it were not for the specific instructions that the target had to be eliminated as publicly as possible, the Death Eagle would have very likely poisoned the unicorn in his sleep. However, orders were orders, the customer was always right, and the integrity of the order had to be maintained by any means. Constantly vigilant, the assassin looked for the one perfect moment where all the necessary factors would fall into place. The moment came three days before the wedding. After acquiring Fancy Pant’s schedule for the week, the assassin had been discreetly following his every move. The financial minister had scheduled an appointment with the Princess bride to be for eleven that day. This was a wondrous opportunity; who was a better audience to the shattering of Equestrian trust in their Griffon allies than one of the Princesses?

Fancy Pants left his moderately sized office in the administration suites of Canterlot Castle for the day fifteen before the stroke of eleven. The assassin was not far behind as he silently followed after him. Biding his time patiently, the assassin followed his prey through several different passages and causeways, until the target finally reached the chambers of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. The financial minister knocked on the door five times and waited patiently. In time, the door was opened quickly, and with a few indiscernible whispers, Fancy Pants stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The assassin grinned to himself; it seems the Princess was ‘freshening up a bit’ before her wedding with the financial minister’s help. This would prove oh so wonderfully scandalous for his employers! He waited a short time so that the pleasantries could be put aside in order to get onto much bigger matters, when he flew towards the doors of the Princess’ suite, with a sharp blade in his right talon. There were no guards to stop his progress, and there were several easy to access windows down the hall from which he could make his escape. The job was practically already done!

He burst through the doors into the room; his target was not in the Princess’ bed, but was standing not but five talon’s paces away from directly in front of him, his back facing him. “The South rises!” the assassin roared as he leapt into the air and tried to plunge the knife deep into the back of Fancy Pants’ head. Before he knew it, the assassin had tumbled end over end as he fell over his target and landed next to the Princess, who had jumpoed out of the way of his clumsy fall. How was this possible? He knew he had struck the back of the target’s neck, and in his confusion he then he looked to his blade. The tip was covered in dark green fluid, but below that the blade had been bent at a shear angle, as if he had tried to plunge it into solid rock.

“Guards!” the Princess screamed out in panic, “Guards! Help! I’m being attacked!”

As the would-be assassin got to his feet, he looked at his target. Fancy Pants stoically looked at him as if he were an interesting smudge on the floor, before there was a flash of green light, and he was gone.

Two royal guards with pikes at the ready quickly entered the room, confused as they tried to grasp the situation. They immediately stood between the Griffon and the Princess, and were at the ready for any sudden movements. “Don’t be afraid, Princess! We will protect you with our lives!”

The Princess sighed in relief and smiled with demonic pleasure, “Thank you for your offering!” She threw up her right forehoof, which transformed into a steely blade like appendage that sliced through the first guard’s jugular with relative ease. The second guard tried to turn around in time to respond, but instead received a bludgeon like blow which broke his neck, killing him instantly.

The Princess’ eyes flashed iridescent green as she looked down at the confused and momentarily stunned Griffon assassin lying on the floor, “I also would like to thank you for providing your services as scapegoat for me. It will help to keep the eyes of the wary pointed outward, rather than here within!” The Princess picked up one of the dead royal guard’s pikes and shoved it mercilessly into the Griffon assassin’s chest, puncturing his heart. As blood began to pool on the floor, the imposter Princess Cadence was satisfied; the scene was set. All that was needed was an excellent performance on her part.

“Now then,” she looked into a nearby mirror at her own reflection, “Panicked anguish.” Ready to face the music, the fake Princess Cadence produced a blood curdling scream and began to cry in hysterical terror as she ran out of the room. Her wonderful husband to be would see to consoling her, giving her his sweet, delicious love. Any strange or out of character behavior she exhibited later could be dismissed as post traumatic stress. Of course the wedding had to be put off a month longer until late April, but she obviously had to go through therapy for the horror she had experienced, and her loving fiancé would be right beside her through every step of it. That was exactly where she wanted him; right within feeding distance.

Chapter 2

It was approaching the time for dinner to be served at Canterlot Castle, and cooks of all varieties of skills and specialties bustled this way and that through the large kitchen area in the sublevels of Canterlot Castle. The staff had just prepared and sent up the main course of the evening to the Royal family in the Grand Dining Hall, and dessert was presently being prepared for them.

Many centuries ago, before the rise of Nightmare Moon, there had been a Royal family of unicorns that had enjoyed the benefits of a prestigious lifestyle, while being in regular company to the Princesses. This had been the line of Diamond I, who was famous for siring the beautiful Princess Platinum of ancient legend. The line of unicorn royalty had been forcibly terminated by Nightmare Moon, however, when she had tried to shroud the world in everlasting darkness. Princess Celestia, having no subordinates to handle matters of state, took on all their duties for a total of three hundred years, and had declared herself an Empress for a short time. After Starswirl the Bearded, an eccentric but very wise wizard, had taught her the virtues of the Elements of Harmony, Celestia returned to being a Princess once again, and began to relegate the powers of state that she had seized to a newly created parliament, and to her own students, who she also taught the virtues of Harmony. These students, if they had chosen a royal commission in some office or another, were given an honorary royal title of Prince or Princess. As the years went by, the number of honorary royalty increased, until there was no less than sixty Prince and Princesses at any given time in the court of Canterlot.

Some of the royalty, in relation to their duties, were very widely known. Princess Cadence was the center of great affection of the ponies across Equestria; she was their quintessential Princess. While the populace looked to Princesses Celestia with a maternal sense of love, the average Equestrian looked at Princess Cadence with the sweet endearment of a favorite cousin. Prince Blueblood, the Minister of Entertainment, was widely known for the extravagant events he typically helped to oversee, and for his handsome appearance. Fancy Pants, who had been Princess Celestia’s protégé before the current rising star, Twilight Sparkle, generally left off his royal title, except in the signing of official documents. The vast majority of the posh Canterlot upper class had taken to following and mimicking his every action, in the hopes of having some favor offered to them by the Princess via his proxy. Fancy Pants had of course known the intentions of his sycophantic following, and sometimes for his own amusement would do unusual things, in order to watch his herd of self-serving but obedient sheep follow his lead, and he would chuckle to himself all the while. Another Prince and student to Princess Celestia had been Bunsen Burner, who had overseen the Royal Science Division, the secret innovators and protectors of Equestrian society. Seven months before the events of our story, Bunsen Burner had been mysteriously banished from Canterlot and striped of his titles. He did not participate in the court very often, so for the most part his presence was not missed in any way. His position of Head Officer to the RSD had been bequeathed to a grey wall-eyed pegasus named Ditzy Doo, a civilian resident to a small town in the boondocks named Ponyville.

Cooks continued to frantically rush about as they prepared éclairs, strawberry tarts, and tapioca pudding for the Royal Family up above. One cook, however, had been designated to stay off to the side, so that she could deliver Princess Celestia’s customary slice of cake for her evening dessert. Nopony was quite sure of what her name was since her accent was so thick, but since she was new, the staff had decided that she might as well handle the Princess’ cake, so that she could get the ‘shock and awe’ of meeting the Princess in person for the first time out of the way. After having acquiring her precious sugary cargo, the lone cook climbed the many staircases and traversed the many halls to the Sun Princess’ private quarters. On her way up, the cook stopped and slid into a side passage where she waited patiently. In no time at all, Princess Cadence passed the hiding place of the nameless cook. The pink Princess held a vial full of dark green sludge like substance in her telekinectic grasp. She quietly gave it to the cook, who received it with a bow.

“You know what to do with it,” the Princess said in an uncharacteristically husky but deep, authoritative voice.

“Yes, my Queen,” said the disguised Changeling name Larva.

The fake Princess then briskly began to trot down the hall away from the ersatz cook. Opening up the vial with her teeth, Larva began to drip the contents of the vial onto the slice of cake. The insidious liquid sank into the cake’s delicious surface, leaving no trace that it had ever been applied. Larva continued her journey, which wasn’t all that much longer now. She finally reached a set of double doors that were branded with the Princess’ Cutie Mark; a bright golden orange sun, split down the middle by the crack between the two doors. She politely knocked and waited. From beyond the chamber doors, she heard a soft ‘Enter’.

Larva slowly pushed the door open to Princess Celestia’s chambers and closed it behind herself. She bowed, with much internal protestation, and sweetly declared in her acquired accent, “Your Highness. I’ve brought you your dessert.”

The Princess was seated on an ornate sitting pillow before a cozy, warm fire. She looked up from a scroll that she had received a few minutes ago from one of Twilight Sparkle’s friends, Fluttershy, which related to her what she had learned about being a little confident in one’s self, and how that had helped her to participate in the seasonal rain redistribution for Cloudsdale.

She smiled to the cook who had just entered, and she got up from her seat, “Oh thank you very much! My, that does look most excellent!” She accepted the cake from the cook, and conjured up a fork to eat it with. She singled out a small slice of the delicious marble cake, and daintily placed it in her mouth. As she began to chew and swallow the bite, her eyes became slightly unfocused and glazed over, “Mmmm. This cake is absolutely exquisite!” She looked back to the cook, “I don’t believe we’ve met before. Are you new here to the castle?”

“Da, your Highness. I come from Stalliongrad.”

“What is your name?” the Princess asked.

“Edna, your Highness.”

The Princess took a second bite of the cake, chewed it, and swallowed, “Thank you very much for the cake Edna. It is to die for!”

The cook bowed once again, “You are most welcome, your Highness. I will take me leave now.”

Larva exited the Princess’ chambers and made her way back to the kitchens.

To die for, hm? The Changeling thought to herself, It may take a while for you to arrive, but oh, Irony! There is none like you.

Chapter 4

Twilight Sparkle stirred into the conscious world once more. She propped herself onto her haunches and opened her eyes. The visibility of the area was very poor, so to aid her sight she cast a spell of illumination. Lavender light spread across a small portion of the darkness, but the light petered out a couple of feet away from her. Beyond her magelight, the darkness stubbornly retained its hold on all her surroundings.

“Hello?” she called out, hoping desperately for some form of reply.

From what seemed to be a far off distance, she heard a demented chuckling sound.

“Is anyone there?” she called out again, and she turned her head this way and that as looked for the source of the malevolent laughter. Her anxiety was steadily growing as she ran face first into a solid wall of crystal.

The frightening laughter continued, and Twilight turned back towards where she had come from, away from the reflective surface of the crystal wall she had just run into, “Where am I?”

“The caves beneath Canterlot,” the familiar voice of Princess Cadence finally replied from behind her. Turning to face the direction of where the voice was coming from, Twilight was greeted by a wall of crystal filled with evil eyes. The Princess continued relentlessly as Twilight leapt away from the eerie display, “It was once a home to greedy unicorns, who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside for themselves.”

Twilight had backed away from the wall of eyes, but the green light that had illuminated from them had vanished. Her head whirled in every direction as she continued to back up. An eerie glow identical to the one she had just witnessed from the other side of the cavern appeared behind her.

“And now,” Princess Cadence’s voice continued in a tone of malice that made Twilight’s skin crawl, “it is your prison!”

Twilight rushed back to the center of her rocky prison, crying out all the way, “Help! Help! Somepony please, help!”

Princess Cadence cackled at the desperation in Twilight’s cries, “It’s no use! No one can hear you, and no one will ever think to look for you either!” The Princess vanished and reappeared from one set of crystals to another, and her features became more horrifically distorted each time she reappeared. “Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist, which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans.” The evil Princess laughed manically, and Twilight could almost swear that she saw a pair of fangs.

“Plans?” Twilight spoke to the reflection of her former foalsitter, which was now in the ceiling, “What plans?”

The reflection coyly gestured to itself, “The plans I have for your brother of course!”

Twilight’s eye grew wider, but in that moment all the fear that had been festering in her heart combusted into a passionate fury.

Her horn’s light grew brighter and hotter, and sparks began to descend from it, “Don’t you dare do anything to my brother, you, you monster!”

The Princess’ reflection smiled mischievously as she waved her hoof at Twilight, “The only way to stop me is to catch me!” Her laughter filled the cavern once more as her reflection vanished, only to be replaced by so many copies of Twilight’s face.

Angry and alert, Twilight’s eyes scanned all the reflections for any sign of the harpy of a mare she had once called the best foalsitter ever.

She heard a small laugh, and she saw the eerie reflection of Princess Cadence out of the corner of her eye, “Over here!”

Reacting on instinct, Twilight launched a concentrated beam of light at the reflection, which she hoped would sear through the crystal. The spell instead backfired, blasting off every reflective surface it came in contact with, until it finally scorched the ground right in front of her.

“Nope!” the Princess called out again, as she now appeared in every reflection of the cavern, “Over here!”

Twilight, panicked, angry, and now near sensory overload, began to randomly fire concussive blasts of magic at every reflection she could find. At last, one spell struck a surface that exploded into tiny fragments. As the silicate dust fell to the ground, Twilight saw the form of her tormenter, Princess Cadence, sitting right in front of her. The pink alicorn had braced herself as the blast had taken place, and she was surprised beyond all belief to see little Twilight Sparkle running towards her, a horn fully charged with magic, and an ember of burning hatred in her eyes.

The Princess tried to back away as she waved her hooves frantically, “No! Wait!”

Twilight bowled over the villainous Princess, and was about to make her next move when she saw that her tormenter was shivering in fear beneath her, “Please! Don’t hurt me! Twilight, it’s me! Please, you have to believe me!”

Twilight was so bewildered by this rapid change of behavior that she didn’t move a muscle.

Princess Cadence continued, “I’ve been imprisoned like you. The Cadence who brought you down here was an imposter!”

Twilight shoved her face in the Princess’ face, who hid her own for fear of what the still angry and suspicious unicorn would do. “Likely story!” Twilight seethed, but she was shocked once again as the pink alicorn slowly got to her injured hooves, and she began to do a familiar dance.

“Sunshine, Sunshine. Ladybugs, awake! Clap your hooves-“

“And do a little shake,” Twilight finished as she bumped hooves with the Princess. Princess Cadence smiled a weary but happy grin at Twilight, who began to smile in growing joy. The two of them embraced happily as they recognized that each of them was truly who they said they were.

“You remember me!” Twilight declared.

The Princess patted Twilight’s back as she chuckled happily, “Of course I do! How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?”

In that momentary joy, the silence was interrupted one last time by malicious laughter; it was the laughter of the Princess’ evil doppelganger. Numbness overtook her as the thoughts that had pervaded her mind for the last five weeks without interaction, food, or water returned to her once again; her Shining Armor, all of Equestria, was in danger. Twilight rushed past her vision, which snapped her out of her stupor.

“We have to get out of here!” Twilight called back to her, before she stopped and waited for her to catch up, “We have to stop her!”

The Princess sprang to life as she followed after her young friend, and there was a look of worried determination in her eyes. Oh, Shiny, she thought to herself, I’m coming for you!

Chapter 5

It was the moment everypony had been waiting for. All of the ponies were seated in their rows, and the wedding march had just finished. Princess Celestia had noted on her arrival that Princess Luna was not present for the ceremony. She wasn’t that upset about it; since she was presiding over the exchange of vows, the only role her sister would have held would have been to occupy another one of the front rows, where prominent members of the royal family were acting as observing heads of state.

At her queue, the Princess began her small speech to commemorate the event, “Mares and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor in the bonds of holy matrimony. Marriage, the sacred union of two souls, the dream within a dream, is what will now bind these two together both physically and emotionally for all of time, in this life and the next. Great trials will be in store for the both of you throughout your future, but you will never have to face them alone.” The Princess of the Sun smiled to the happy couple, “Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-“

“STOOOOOOP!” a loud shout called out from down the aisle.

All the ponies gathered in the wedding hall turned to look back to see an all too familiar unicorn appear from the double doors. The Princess was shocked by this sudden reappearance of her student. Last night she had witnessed Twilight Sparkle accuse Princess Cadence of being evil, and of bewitching her brother. She was confused beyond all belief; what was her star pupil doing?

“Uuuugh!” Princess Cadence growled to herself, “Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?”

Princess Celestia looked to her niece with mounting surprise; what was this new side of Cadence she was now seeing?

Princess Cadence recovered quickly, and began to pathetically sob to herself, “Why did she have to ruin my special day?”

Her expression quickly changed to disbelief when she saw a particular unwanted mare join Twilight at the end of the aisle. “Because it’s not your special day,” the battered, disheveled, but very real Princess Cadence said, “It’s mine!”

The entire chapel was due for a round of confusion at this point as they looked up and down the aisle; two Cadences, physically identical in every way? What in Celestia’s name was happening here?

“What?!” The imposter Cadence at the altar exclaimed, “How did you escape?” She then thought to herself for a moment, “Actually, it doesn’t matter,” and then she looked to both Princess Cadence and Twilight with an evil grin, “you’re still too late!”

Applejack shook her head a little as she voiced everypony’s current thought for them, “Ah don’t understand! How can there be two of them?”

Princess Cadence raised an accusatory hoof at her doppelganger, “She’s a Changeling!” She then looked out to the rest of the ponies in the chapel, whose eyes were all focused on her, “She takes the form of somepony you love, and gains power by feeding off your love for them!”

A roaring sound attracted everypony’s attention back to the head of the aisle, and horror spread throughout the chapel, as a green ethereal fire consumed the body of the false bride to be. Where once downy wings had been, membranous gossamer wings were now. Soft fur was burned away and replaced by chitin and insectoid armor plating. Around the imposters midsection sprouted a green thorax, and a jagged, almost volcanic shard-like horn jutted from out of her forehead. Her eyes that had once been lavender were now a mesmerizing emerald.

An unholy chuckle reverberated out to the ponies from this menacing looking creature, “Right you are, Princess! As Queen of the Changelings,” the black insect gestured to herself, “it is up to me to find food for my subjects!” The monster stepped down from the elevated platform of the altar to walk towards Princess Cadence. With every step she took, her porous legs elastically expanded and contracted, and her wings produced a soft unsettling drone as she absentmindedly fluttered her wings. “Equestria has more love than any place I’ve ever encountered.” the Queen continued, “My fellow Changelings will be able to devour so much of it,” she now stood a few paces from Princess Cadence, and as she spoke small rivulets of spittle sprayed the Princess as her former captor thought of all the delicious love just waiting for her and her kind, “that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!”

“They’ll never get the chance!” Princess Cadence shouted defiantly back into her opponent’s face, “Shining Armor’s protection spell will keep them from ever reaching us!”

The Queen of the Changelings chuckled once more, “Oh, I doubt that. Isn’t that right, dear?” She looked back to Shining Armor expectantly.

“Yeees, My Queen,” he said through a deluded haze, as his eyes were becoming more and more unfocused.

The Queen mockingly exclaimed as she gleefully glanced back at Princess Cadence, “Good boy! May I’ll give you a treat later.”

Princess Cadence’s shock at seeing her brave, wonderful fiance reduced to a mere pet by this Changeling fueled her anger as she charged at her enemy.

The Changeling Queen’s horn flared with emerald color, “Uh-uh-uh!” and her eyes narrowed, “Don’t want to go back to the caves, now do you?”

The threat of returning to her prison of crystal, while not a likely outcome, still caused the Princess stop. She couldn’t afford to abandon her only chance at saving her husband now by getting teleported back into some labyrinth beneath Canterlot.

Satisfied that the Princess wouldn’t attack, the Queen of the Changeling’s flew to Shining Armor’s side, “Ever since I took your place, I’ve been feeding off Shining Armor’s love for you. Every moment that ticks by, he will grow weaker, and so will his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at the shield around your city!” The chapel was in a state of full panic now, but no one wanted to move, for fear of raising the Queen’s ire. Ever so content with her complete dominance of the situation, she laughed once again. She cupped Shining Armor’s face in her diseased looking hoof, and turned it to face hers, “He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now.” She then looked to Princess Cadence again, “And, I’m sorry to say, he will be unable to perform his duties as Captain of the Royal Guard!”

Princess Cadence despondently yelled out, “Not my Shining Armor!”

The Queen fluttered her wings to bring herself center to the rest of the raised platform in the chapel, from which she flew up a small way to embrace her triumphant moment, “Soon, my Changeling army will break through! First, we will take Canterlot, and then all of Equestria!”

“No,” a simple but powerful declaration echoed through the chapel. The Queen of the Changeling’s looked back to the momentarily unnoticed Princess Celestia, who now approached her. The Princess’ face was grim as she stood tall in defiance of the monster before her, “You won’t. There won’t be any conquering today.”

The Changeling Queen descended to solid ground as the Princess spoke, “I know your kind; the sort of being who thinks they can just take things because they are more powerful than most. I don’t normally get involved with this sort of thing anymore, but you’ve made your threat quite clear. You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self,” the Princess of the Sun lunged at her opponent. The Queen of the Changelings also lunged, and the two royalty locked horns as they engaged in combat. The Princess broke the horn lock first, and flew up several feet into the air, “I will protect my subjects from you!” and her horn began to glow gold with awesome power. From out of it belched forth a stream of golden light which droned down onto her enemy. The Queen of the Changelings sent up her own burst of emerald magic that collided with the golden energy of Princess Celestia, and the two beams fought for dominance against each other. The Princess forced a large part of her power into the laser blast, and it began to creep toward her opponent at a mercilessly increasing pace. The Changeling Queen screeched in exertion, and her beam of magic responded by traveling back up the Princess’ own stream. Princess Celestia's eyes widened in surprise as the enemy’s magic reached the tip of her horn. A large burst of pain pierced her entire body unlike any she had ever experienced, and in that moment she lost concentration of her magic.

There was a titanic blast of green light. The entire chapel gasped as Princess Celestia, for the first time in all of recorded history, fell defeated to the ground. Her crown skittered a small distance away from her body. Her horn tip was charred black from the magical rebound of her own and her enemy’s spells. She did not move.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight screamed in panicked fear as she ran over to her teacher’s side. Her friends joined her at her side to try and minister the Princess’ wounds.

“Ha!” the Changeling Queen exclaimed as she looked to the horrified Princess Cadence, “Shining Armor’s love for you is even stronger than I thought! Consuming him has made me even more powerful than Celestia!”

Princess Celestia’s eyes slowly opened as she became semi-conscious. “The Elements,” she said groggily to Twilight, “Get the Elements. Use them to defeat the Queen.”

Twilight nodded, and she and her friends dashed out of the chapel with several of the more panicked wedding goers right behind them.

The Queen of the Changelings cackled manically as she called out after them all, “You can run, but you can’t hide! My Changelings are everywhere, and we’re coming for you all!”

Chapter 6

Princess Celestia regained consciousness to a burning sensation traveling through her whole body. She opened her eyes to find that they were obscured by a thick green liquid, which she found rather odd, until she noticed that she was also hanging thirty feet in the air. Ah. So she was in a cocoon of some sort. Another blasting wave of pain hit her. She silently yelped, as the surrounding fluid muffled her cry. She could feel that there was something horribly wrong with her body. The most crucial thing to understand about an alicorn’s physiology is that they do not possess flesh and blood bodies, but that their outer forms are essentially vassals that hold at bay the primal magical energies that roar like a tempest within them. This is why alicorns are very powerful magic users, and are for the most part immortal. The Princess could feel that there was some kind of extra substance inside of her that the cocoon was agitating, and this was what was causing her such a great deal of agony. She began to slip into unconsciousness once again as she reached her threshold of pain. Her final thought as she escaped into oblivious darkness was, Luna, where are you?

Princess Luna had not wanted to miss the wedding of her niece for the world. After she had returned from her thousand year banishment as Nightmare Moon, she had aggressively wanted to socialize and integrate with the current social atmosphere. Her first year had been clumsy and fraught with a few mistakes, but she was confident that she could now relate to her subjects. She might even try to be..what was that one word to express one’s aptitude with the times? Oh yes! ‘Hip’! The Princess of the Night was so excited that she lowered the moon a little early in order that she could start her own personal preparations for the wedding. She was sitting in front of her vanity, doing her best to bring the shine out of the constellations in her ethereal mane, when one of the cooking staff came in with a tray full of delightful breakfast confections.

“Your Highness,” the servant said with a thick Stalliongrad accent, “Your breakfast.”

The Princess was slightly confused, as she had forgotten that morning to order breakfast in her excitement. She internally shrugged; she may not have ordered it, but she wasn’t going to be rude and not accept her food.

“My thanks to you, Miss?”

“Edna, Your Highness.”

“Miss Edna,” the Princess smiled to her newest staff member, “Thank you very much for taking care of me.”

“Eto bylo nichto, Your Highness.” Edna waved her hoof with a smile, “It’s my job, after all!”

The Princess looked down at her tray; cinnamon rolls, hay bacon strips, a bowl of gourmet oatmeal, and a glass of hoof squeezed orange juice met her eyes. It looked marvelous!

“The oatmeal is a new recipe,” Edna explained, “It may not taste like you expect, so feel free to leave it be if you are not interested.”

“Oh no, Edna!” the Princess looked to the cook in alarm, “Do not feel that I won’t enjoy it because it is new! I’ve had to try many new things in the past two years.” Princess Luna gestured to the oatmeal, “Is it yours? Did you make it yourself?”

Edna paused for a time before saying, “Yes, I did.”

“Then all the more reason for me to try it! I’ve never had modern Stalliongrad cooking before.”

The Princess took up her spoon with her magic, and set to eating the oatmeal. She took her first bite, and a flood of delicious sensation burst through her mouth. She could taste tiny bits of apples and peaches that had been cooked into the oatmeal.

“Mmm!” the Princess murmured softly.

“You like?” the cook asked expectantly.

“This is the best oatmeal that I have ever tasted in all of my years!” the Princess said with great enthusiasm.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel good,” the cook blushed with pride.

“Nay! I mean, no! I’m not pulling your tail; this was the best oatmeal I’ve..” the Princess paused and began to woozily sway back and forth. She looked down at her own body as she saw she was losing her balance, and asked, “What’s..happen..tome?” before collapsing out of the chair onto the floor, where she lay on her side.

The cook calmly looked at the sleeping form of the Princess and smiled, “The idiom is ‘pulling your leg’, but thank you for liking my cooking.”

Larva set about to securing all the windows and doors leading out of the Princess’ suite with her magic. Every door became locked, and every window was magically reinforced. Everything was soundproofed by the Changeling Royal Candidate. After everything was put in order, Larva felt free to drop her disguise. Crackling green flames consumed her body, until the large Changeling was restored to her true form. She lifted up the Princess’ body and brought her over to the bed, where she softly laid her down on it.

Larva’s attention was completely drawn to her task, so she did not notice that behind her there were two shadows slowly creeping their way silently down to the floor. As soon as she was sure that everything was ready, the Changeling conjured up a knife into the thin air.

“I despise having to do this in such an underhanded way,” she said to the slumbering Princess, “but my orders are clear. I would have truly loved to have killed you in battle.”

A multitude of events happened in the next several seconds. The Princess’ eyes burst open, but they were not her own eyes. A pair of draconic pupils stared up at the Changeling. Larva cursed to herself and quickly made to stab the Princess, but she was tackled to the ground by some unseen assailant. She was beaten senseless by hooves she could not see, and she could not adapt to the threat because of the dark veil that obscured her attacker’s movements. By the time she tried to change the density of her skin to make it as thick as iron, she was already succumbing to unconsciousness from the savage beating she had received. The dark fog lifted from around the Changeling; a pair of grey furred, yellow eyed, and bat winged ponies stepped out of the darkness. With the threat neutralized to their Princess, the two Lunar bodyguards turned to the bed on which their princess had been lain. Their eyes were met by the sight of a dark, imposing alicorn with dark fuschia armor standing in front of the bed.

They bowed to the dark shadow. “Nightmare Moon,” they said in unison.

The draconic eyes of the black alicorn narrowed, “So, you Antrozi actually have some degree of competence, as opposed to the regular guards. Perhaps I was right to let little Luna take you in as her protectors.”

“The Princess is safe,” one of the Antrozi guards said, “Now release her back to us.”

The dark alicorn smiled deviously, and her incisors became pronounced, “And should I refuse to allow the Princess to return, Nox?”

“The Elements will bind you once again,” the other Antrozi guard, named Umbra, replied, “and your punishment within the Princess’ mind will escalate.”

The dark alicorn scoffed, “You two are no fun at all. Very well, I will release her. She will awaken in time. Go about whatever business it is you deem necessary.”

The shadow that had been animating the unconscious form of Princess Luna regressed back to within her, leaving her sleeping form lying in front of her bed. Umbra slowly looked to Nox, and the two of them nodded. Nox helped to hoist Princess Luna onto Umbra’s back, and the two of them deposited her on her bed. The two of them then began to police the Princess’ room of any evidence that anything unusual had occurred at all, taking up the spilled breakfast and returning it to the cooks, cleaning up the rest of the mess throughout the room.

“What should we do with her?” Nox asked Umbra as he pointed to the unconscious Changeling.

“I’ll be watching over her for now.” he replied, “She cannot know of any of this. She would be distraught if she knew she had almost reverted. Return here when you’re done and join me in vigil.”

“Yes, brother.” Nox replied as he carried out his orders, returning all the pieces of the ruined breakfast back to the kitchens.

Things were not going so well back in the wedding chapel. Twilight and her friends had been captured by the Changelings, and they had failed to reach the cathedral where the Elements of Harmony were stored. Princess Cadence was at her fiancé’s side, while the Queen of the Changelings watched on. She particularly enjoyed the delicious taste of Shining Armor’s despair when he had been asked to perform his shield spell again.

“My power is useless now,” he said hopelessly, “I don’t have the strength to repel them!”

The Queen then heard a small voice inside her head; You’ve worked long and hard for this success. Why not survey your new kingdom? Look out the window, and taste your victory.

She couldn’t argue with that; she had worked many months to come to this point, so why not savor the fruits of her labor a bit? As she approached the window, she heard Princess Cadence say some sappy cliché about her love giving Shining Armor his strength.

The Queen of the Changelings laughed mirthlessly at the statement, “What a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment!”

She looked out across Canterlot with a new perspective; it wasn’t the city she was trying to take anymore, it was her city now. Ponies of every kind were running in stark terror of her Changelings, and she could taste the sour emotion of fear coming up from the city. It was magnificent! It was a triumph! It was..What was the bright light coming from behind her?

As the Changeling Queen turned around, her entire field of vision was filled by a titanic shockwave of magic. The tidal wave of energy hit her, and it forced her out of the window as it carried her away from the wedding chapel, and out above the city. She could see her soldiers were also being blasted away from Canterlot in every direction. She had literally had victory in her grasp, and in just five seconds of letting her guard down, it had been robbed of her! She cried out a frustrated, “NOOOOOOO!” as Canterlot shrank into the horizon, and she and her Changeling Hive were flung far away to parts unknown.

Princess Cadence and Shining Armor descended to the floor of the wedding chapel after the magical shield had completely repulsed all the Changelings from Canterlot. Shining Armor laid his head on Princess Cadence’s shoulder, and she laid her head on his.

“I’m so sorry,” Shining Armor finally said.

“For what?” Princess Cadence asked; she did not remove her head from his shoulder.

He opened his eyes to guiltily look down into her hair, “I should have realized it wasn’t you from the beginning.”

“Shiny,” Princess Cadence brought her head back to look at him in the face, “Twilight told me she believed you were hexed the entire time. I don’t blame you for anything.” She embraced him with her forehooves and closed her eyes once again after laying her head down on his shoulder, “I’m just happy to have you here right beside me again.”

Twilight looked up to the ceiling, having noticed a weird iridescent blob shaped thing from out of the corner of her eye. Up above, she saw that the ceiling was decorated with three pod-like structures, one of which contained..”Princess Celestia!” she yelled.

The others ponies all looked up and followed her gaze to the cocoons. Rainbow Dash leapt into the air to get a closer look at the Princess and the others.

“Whatever you do, don’t touch the pods!” Shining Armor yelled up to the rainbow maned pegasus, “We don’t know what those things can do if they are tampered with, so just be very careful. Is the Princess okay?”

Rainbow Dash peered into the transparent part of the cocoon at the Princess, “She looks fine, but she’s unconscious.”

“Who are the other ponies up there?” Princess Cadence asked worriedly.

Rainbow Dash quickly hovered around to the other two pods on the other side of the Princess’ pod.

“One of’em looks familiar. He’s the one white unicorn with the blue mustache that was there at Twilight’s birthday party!”

“Fancy Pants!” Rarity exclaimed in shock, “Those scoundrels got a hold of Fancy Pants?”

“This other mare’s a unicorn too. She’s got three fancy looking arrow heads for her Cutie Mark.”

“That wouldd be Fancy’s wife, Fleur,” Princess Cadence said as she flew up to meet with Rainbow Dash. With her magic she began to slice away the goo that was binding the cocoons to the ceiling.

“Be ready to catch them as they fall,” she called out to Twilight, Rarity, and Shining Armor, “and be sure to be gentle!”

The pods slowly fell one by one under the influence of the unicorn’s magic, and in a while the pods’ occupants were disgorged from the green disgusting goo that surrounded them. Fancy Pants and Fleur woke up first from their coma-like sleep.

“What day is it?” Fancy Pants asked groggily, “On second thought, don’t bother telling me anything of import for now. I don’t want to even remember my own name until after I’ve taken a shower.”

“I must agree, love,” Fluer said as she conjured up a mirror to look at herself, “I look absolutely horrid!”

“Rarity!” Fancy Pants said as he caught a glimpse of the fashionista, “Good heavens, it’s wonderful to see you!”

“Oh, likewise,” Rarity awkwardly chuckled, “If only it were under better circumstances.”

“Indubitably.”

Princess Celestia began to stir and moan softly.

“Princess,” Twilight softly asked her mentor, “Are you alright?”

The Princess got to her feet slowly, “All things considered, I’d say ‘yes’.”

Everypony looked to their Princess with concerned expressions.

“Are you sure, Aunt Tia?” Princess Cadence asked, and the others mirrored her question with their own.

“You’re quite sure?” Fancy Pants inquired.

“One hundred percent possilutely absitively sure?” Pinkie Pie asked.

The Princess of the Sun faintly smiled, “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” She looked to her niece and then to her Captain of the Guard with a smile, “Now that we have our real Princess here, and her fiancé is in his right mind, it’s time to plan once again. You all have a real wedding to put together.”

Shining Armor laughed to himself a little as he thought Yeah. Third time’s the charm, right?

Chapter 7

The wedding finally went off without any sort of trouble; at least, no trouble out of the usual amount that can stem from a couple joining in marriage, and a royal couple at that. After the vows were said, the rings were exchanged, and the first kiss was made, Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence stepped onto the proclamation balcony, where they could be seen by literally thousands of ponies. Each of those ponies was yelling in joy and offering their congratulations to the new couple. The two of them couldn’t be any happier than they were now. In a couple hours’ time, the reception was held in the Canterlot Gardens, and it started off with a blast as a certain DJ-PON3 was jockeying the tables.

“This may not be meh usual crowd,” Vinyl Scratch yelled in her Trottingham accent to Pinkie Pie, who was standing next to her, “But I’d do anethin’ for Twilight and you lot since you help me get mah tech back from Bunsen Burner and his group’a mooks!”

From across the reception garden, Twilight waved her hooves in their direction to signal them. Pinkie Pie looked over to Vinyl, “I think Twilight says she wants to do the song she dedicated to her brother and Princess Cadence now!” Pinkie squinted back in Twilight’s direction, who began to exaggeratedly nod her head at the pink pony. “Yup! It’s time!”

“Alright then, switching gears!” Vinyl yelled as she wrapped up the song that was being played at the moment. Taking the needle off the record player, she juggled her records with her magic until she found the right one for the occasion. As she put the new song on, she tossed a spare microphone in Twilight’s direction with her magic, which she then caught with her own telekinectic grasp. As she began to sing, Twilight looked to her brother and new sister-in-law with a deep and beautiful smile. The couple had not been told what was happening, so they waited patiently for Twilight to explain.

Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom,
Two hearts becoming one
A bond that cannot be undone because
Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
I said love is in bloom
You're starting a life and making room for us!

Princess Cadence covered her mouth with one of her hooves, and tears of joy flowed from her eyes. Taking advantage of the moment, Prince Shining Armor took his wife and swept her off her hooves in a dance that neither of them would ever forget. As they spun in their swirling pattern across the dance floor, the crowd around them whistled and hollered their approval, but they hushed themselves when Twilight continued her song.

Your special day
We celebrate now, the pony way
Your friends are all right here
Won't let these moments disappear because
Love is in bloom
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom
I said love is in bloom
You're starting a life and making room for us!

Princess Celestia was watching the event take place from a distance, and she was filled such a deep happiness for everyone involved. She was certain that this wedding ceremony would be unforgettable. Fortunately, it was now unforgettable for all the right reasons. She heard the soft clip clop of glass shoes from behind her, and she turned to see Princess Luna coming up to her.

“Hello, Tia!” the Princess of the Night said, “Did I miss anything?”

“Actually,” Princess Celestia replied, “You missed a great deal more than you may realize, but it can wait until tomorrow.”

Princess Luna sighed in disappointment as they watched the newlyweds, who were now leaving for the wedding carriage. “If only I could have been here for the Wedding itself. Curse my sleeping in on this day! I’m sure it was full of excitement.”

Princess Celestia shook her head, “You have no idea, Lulu.”

Suddenly, Princess Celestia grunted and her balance weakened. Alarmed, Princess Luna reached out with her wing to steady her sister.

“Tia,” she whispered harshly, “Are you alright?”

Princess Luna than looked to her sister’s horn, and she saw the tip of it was blackened, as if it had been deeply scorched,

“What is wrong with your horn?”

“It’s nothing, Luna,” Princess Celestia said as she regained her balance and turned her head away from her sister.

“What’s wrong with you, Tia?” Princess Luna continued to whisper, “Please tell me!”

“I said it’s nothing, Luna!” Princess Celestia said a little too harshly.

Princess Luna fidgeted from the forceful tone that her sister had used. The Princess of the Sun turned her head back to look at her sister in the face; her own face was devoid of emotion, and her horn was perfectly white.

“Everything is fine, Luna,” she declared with practiced calmness, “I’ll explain everything that you missed tomorrow.”

Princess Luna was still somewhat startled by what she had seen, but she trusted her sister to explain everything as she promised. She nodded and slowly said, “Very well. I’m just worried for you, Tia.”

“It looks like we missed the carriage driving off,” Princess Celestia abruptly said as she looked back out into the gardens.

Princess Luna whirled her head around just in time to see that the wedding carriage had indeed already crested the nearby hill, and had gone down the way towards the exit out of the Gardens, and back into the city to the newlywed’s temporary hotel suite.

“Confound it.” Princess Luna said in frustration, “I hardly experienced any of the wedding at all, and the one moment I could possibly have seen a part of it in person I’ve let slip away!”

Princess Celestia chuckled, “I’m sorry, Lulu. There is a chance that you can still see the wedding though! You could try asking one of the wedding coordinators for a video recording to watch at some point.”

“Perhaps I will,” Princess Luna spoke to herself more than her sister. After that, she left her sister’s side to hunt down one of these so-called ‘video recordings’, “Good night, Tia! See you in the morning?”

“Yes. See you in the morning, and good night, Lulu!”

The Princess of the Night looked back at her sister with a little bit of worry as she trotted in to the main reception area. Princess Celestia smiled as her sister continued to watch her, but as soon as she was out of sight she slightly grimaced to herself as another bout of pain rushed through her body once again. She looked back towards the castle, and she slowly began to make her way into its interior, balancing herself against the causeway wall with an outstretched wing as her brace. She felt horrible for having to lie to her sister about her health, but she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t tell her sister anything until she was absolutely certain of what her physical condition was. She still wasn’t sure what was happening to her, but she knew it had something to do with that extra substance that she had felt inside of her when she had been in that Changeling cocoon. She had thought her biology would have broken down the alien fluid by now, but it was obviously extremely resilient to her regenerative energies. She didn’t have a personal physician, since she had never been sick in her nearly fourteen hundred years of life. It wouldn’t really matter anyway, she reckoned; she was certain that any pony doctor would be absolutely flummoxed by what was happening to her. There was only one being in the world she was absolutely sure would be able to help her. She hadn’t talked to her in a little while anyways, so perhaps there was no better time than now.

The Princess teleported herself into hers and her sister’s private study chambers in the Royal Canterlot Library. It was a modest sized room furnished with a few soft seats, a small table to rest several books on, and a fireplace that was nestled into a nearby wall. On top of the mantelpiece to that fireplace sat a small but ornate sphere. The sphere was mostly transparent glass except for the brass that acted as the container for the glass. Inside the glass was a shallow cavity, and within that cavity was a small concentrated cloud of yellowish green lights. The Princess slowly approached the mantelpiece and lifted up the sphere with her magic. She undid a latch on the side of the sphere, which opened up the cavity to the outside world. The yellowish green lights flew out of their container until the entire contents of the sphere was free. Princess Celestia placed the now empty container on the nearby table, and watched as the particles began to touch and envelop her own body. She felt herself slowly ebbing into a comforting place. It was a pale, grey space full of memories of a wonderful and beautiful mind. It was the home of the one being in the entire universe that Princess Celestia trusted above almost everypony, except perhaps her sister. As she fully found herself in that grey place, the Princess turned around and saw a human woman with pale skin and red hair. The woman smiled to her and embraced her lovingly.

“Hello, my little Dawn.” the Maiden said happily to Princess Celestia.

She smiled back to the beautiful women, “Hello Mother. It’s good to see you again.”

Chapter 8 - Luna, Celestia

It had been three weeks since the Royal Wedding had taken place, and things had settled back into their usual patterns in Canterlot Castle. The Royal couple was still away on Honeymoon in the southeastern lake resort countryside of Mustangia, and all the guests for the weddings, include Twilight Sparkle and her friends, had all gone back to their homes all across Equestria.

Princess Luna was in the Royal Proclamation Chamber, where she was holding Night Court. When Night Court had first been opened after her return to Canterlot, she had not seen many ponies at all. She had expected such; she had accepted a long time ago that her night was merely a transitory part of life for many ponies. As the months went by, though, she had actually received a great deal of traffic. Some were artists who were inspired by the constellations or the nightlife of the cities, and who wanted to receive royal backing in their projects. Others were doctors or therapists who sought out her advice on the workings of the mind, and how to bring the best therapy to their patients. Still others were insomniacs who wanted a cure for their condition, but there were a few who simply wanted someone to talk to. The Princess of the Night accepted anypony who came to her Court, and because of her ease of availability compared to the constantly overbooked Day Court, she had become endeared to a good many ponies throughout the land. It was nearing five in the morning, and she still had nearly a dozen petitioners to attend to (which was a personal record so far) when she received a summons from her sister.

“What is the matter that Princess Celestia wishes to discuss with me?” the Princess whispered to the messenger next to her. The petitioners still in line looked inquisitively at the messenger pony and at the Princess; what was going on?

“She did not say, but she would like you to be there before sunrise, which is due in about thirty minutes.”

Princess Luna sighed to herself, “Very well.” The messenger pony nodded and retreated out of the room.

The Princess arose from her throne, and the petitioners softly groaned; they knew this meant they would not be heard this session of Court.

Princess Luna smiled to her subjects, “Do not despair, my wonderful fillies and gentlecolts! I will be here tomorrow night to hear you. Have a wonderful day today!” Even as the petitioners grumbled a little, they returned a smile to their Princess, because they knew she meant what she said, and that they would be heard with the uttermost concern from her in time.

Princess Luna walked out of the Proclamation chamber through a back door that lead into a hallway towards the royal suites. She had finally started to become accustomed to Canterlot Castle’s unfamiliar architecture a few months ago. Some parts of the castle had been designed by her sister, and those portions showed some influence of the previous castle the two Princesses had lived in, Everfree Castle. When she had mentioned this fact to her sister, Celestia had seemed surprised, as she had almost forgotten that she had lived in another castle besides Canterlot. Because of the nature of her imprisonment on the moon, Princess Luna’s mind and memories were sharp to ancient things long forgotten, even by her sister. It offered the two sisters a stronger bond when they realized this, as Celestia had been forgetting things from hundreds of years ago, and Luna was still mystified by the new customs, ideas, and technology of the modern equine era. Without having even thought about it consciously, Princess Luna found herself at her sister’s chamber, because it was still the same pattern of required motion as it had been one thousand years ago and before; it was just now simply in another castle than the one she was used to.

She knocked on her sister’s chamber doors and waited for a reply.

“Enter,” the voice of her sister called out, and Princess Luna did.

Princess Celestia’s quarters were always bedecked in colors that were both bright but serene. Today, her currents and other fabrics were powdered blue. She was sitting at a small round wooden table where she had been reading the earliest morning edition of the local newspaper. She was slowly savoring a bagel as her breakfast. Truth be told, neither of them actually needed to eat anything at all, as their bodies hadn’t been entirely physical in nearly a millennia and a half. The both of them typically took a meal of any kind for the experience and the taste of a meal itself, rather than out of necessity.

“Good morning, Luna.” Princess Celestia warmly declared.

“Good morning, Tia.” cordially replied Princess Luna.

“How did the Night Court fare?”

Princess Luna nodded her head approvingly, “Very well, in fact. There were almost two hundred there through the night.”

Her sister smiled, “I’m so glad that our ponies have started to reach out to you again!”

“As am I. It’s truly wonderful to feel..needed again. I look forward to my duties every night, and I think that those who come to me leave with the same sort of happiness that I have.”

The Princess of the Sun smiled even deeper, “Ponies who leave your court will share their stories. In time, maybe even very soon, those that held any doubts about you will be put to shame.” She folded up her newspaper, got up from her seat, and gave her sister a hug, “I’m so happy for you.”

Princess Luna returned the hug for a short while, until she looked out to the balcony area and saw that the skies in the east were beginning to brighten. “It’s almost day time,” she idly commented as she slowly walked to the doorway leading out to the balcony, “I guess it’s time for you to perform your royal duties, hm?”

“Actually,” Princess Celestia finished the last of her bagel as she joined her sister, “that is part of the reason why I summoned you.”

“Oh?” Princess Luna looked with curiosity at her sister.

Princess Celestia nodded, “I want you to try and raise the sun today.”

The Princess of the Night was a little taken aback by this request, naturally, and she incredulously asked, “What brings up this fanciful mood of yours?”, before switching into a sarcastic tone, “Are you trying to usurp my position as Lunar Princess by being better than me at raising my moon?”

Princess Celestia rolled her eyes and smiled, “Oh yes, sister! You’ve stumbled onto my nefarious plan!” She then returned to a serious but relaxed demeanor, “I’m doing this because I think I owe it to you, since I was partly responsible for your banishment. I governed your moon for a thousand years, and I think it’s time for you to have a chance at trying to raise my sun.”

Satisfied with the explanation, but still uneasy about the unusual task at hand, Princess Luna looked out at the awaiting morning sky.

“Let’s begin with the basic ideas,” Princess Celestia declared as she strode out onto the balcony. Princess Luna followed closely behind her. “Stand in the center of the balcony here,” Princess Celestia pointed to a copy of her Cutie Mark, which designated the exact center of the balcony.

Princess Luna silently stepped into position.

“Now, even though our astral bodies are of equal mass and distance from the Earth, the way magic influences them is very different. Your moon, as you know, requires a great deal of willpower be placed into your spells to move it. The sun, on the other hoof, requires some coaxing. You can’t force it, or it will whip right around the planet. If you reach out to it, and are patient with its timidity, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful golden sunrise.”

Princess Luna squinted as she looked to the east and processed the information her sister had given her, “It sounds as if the task is easy in theory, but I expect the actual practice will be more difficult.”

“I’ll be here to guide you through it, and if you make a mistake, I can easily fix it.”

“If you say so, Tia. On the count of three?”

“Alright,” Princess Celestia said as her horn light up and awaited her sister’s signal.

Princess Luna exhaled, and brought in a new breath, “One. Two. Three.” Her horn lit up, and she slowly reached out to the sun. It felt like for a moment that the sun shied away from her. It was the strangest feeling; a titanic ball of superheated gas trillions of times bigger than her, and it was afraid of her! She unconsciously began to talk to it, “Come here, little one. I won’t bite. Could you please come here and warm us? Please don’t be shy. We really do like you!”

A golden rim of light peeked across the hills to the East, as if it were making sure the coast was clear of anyone who would do it harm. “That’s right! You’re doing so well. Could you please start to come up a little higher?” The sun obliged, and it began to turn across the world below as it should. Her spell finished, Princess Luna turned back to her sister with a smile. “How did I do?”

Princess Celestia grinned, “You did even better than I had hoped! I didn’t have to do all that much to keep the sun on a stable course.” She then turned and began to head towards the doors out into the rest of the castle. “I wish we could talk more,” she sighed, “but sadly we both have a kingdom to run. I’d like to try this again tomorrow. Would you be alright with that?”

Princess Luna nodded and smiled mischievously, “I have no problem trying to show you up, Tia! You should know that.”

Princess Celestia smiled, “Then its set. Good day, Luna! I really have to get going; working on an overhaul of the curriculum for my School for Gifted Unicorns can prove taxing, and I wish to finish it as soon as possible.” With that said, she left her quarters.

Princess Luna turned to look up at the sun for a moment and smile faintly to it. “Good girl,” she said to the bright orb, and she could swear that it grew a little brighter in response to her compliment.

Chapter 9 - Bunsen Burner

It was a grey afternoon. A storm was expected early that evening, but for now there was only the mumbling thunder in the distance. Pferdshire was definitely not a cultural center of Equestria. Half the maps across the country didn’t even have it listed it was so small. It was just another unremarkable knothole of a hamlet that dotted the landscape of the northern plains. No one of intrigue had ever come here; neither of the Royal Sisters, no Princes or Princesses. The only pony who regularly came around that represented the crowns was the census taker, and that was once every ten years. It was a boring little place out in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest sister town about forty five miles away.

This also happened to be Bunsen Burner’s hometown. He had not been here for many years, as his duties of being Director of the Royal Science Division had kept him either in Canterlot or near a disaster zone. After his banishment from Canterlot and his titles being stripped from him by Princess Luna, it had taken him nearly a month to return to his birthplace. He had come back to his home in exile, and then he had stopped. He had done nothing except to simply existed in his home for six months, not doing anything of value for himself or for others. He hadn’t gotten a new job; his investments and pay from his years of service could easily cover any expense he could imagine for nearly a full lifetime. He did not have the passion to tinker or create like he used to; his job had always required him to create out of necessity rather than inspiration, and now he had neither. Most days, he simply sat in his small library and read. Book after book after book, he had read them all at least three times, and he was certain that he had memorized the majority of them already. He kept reading; it gave him something to do. He had watched days, weeks roll by, and he did absolutely nothing but read. He had only cleaned and restored a few rooms of the modestly sized manor that his family had owned; the bedroom, the library, the kitchen, and the lab. Everything else had seemed rather extraneous, as he did not expect any visitors. He sometimes walked through the empty rooms, where white shrouds covered all the unused furniture to avoid dust contamination. The house had been placed in this state many years ago, when his father had passed away. That had been the last time he had seen this place before his exile; having been there to handle the execution of the property. He had sold the contents of one or two rooms at auction so that he could convert that area into a laboratory suite. Though the project had been finished, he had rarely ever used the lab since he had been away so often. He felt like he now haunted this house, as if he had died in Canterlot, but was forced to walk these restless halls where he had once been young, watching the ghosts of memories that had been long forgotten past the veil of time, until he had returned here. Now those memories flooded back into him every day, and they reminded him of much younger days, and of much happier times. In a way, he supposed it was true; he had died in Canterlot. Weeks after being cast out, he had read a local headline about how there had been a strange portal that had threatened to destroy Equestria, but that the Elements of Harmony and the Royal Sisters had averted the disaster. He realized then that he had indeed been warned about that very same anomaly by that fellow who had called himself ‘The Doctor’, but he had been so focused on the exaggerated threat of that human being running amok in Ponyville, the threat he himself had exaggerated, that he had failed to see the magnitude of the true danger that was immediately on the horizon. When Equestria had needed him, he had been splitting hairs and trying to neurotically control his world, and he had almost allowed for the destruction of everything because of his pride; because of his constant need to have the world ordered as he saw fit.

Perhaps I’m getting too old, he had thought to himself, Perhaps I just might be going senile.

That thought had utterly devastated him. His purpose, his calling of defending Equestria against unusual and hostile elements; what if he truly was no longer up to the task? Maybe it had been a good action for the Princess to take, banishing him. That was irrelevant now; it was a part of the past; it could not be changed. It was time to look to the future.

What now, he had asked. I don’t know if I can trust myself anymore. He also didn’t know if he could truly be satisfied doing any other job than what he had ended up doing all his adult life.

What now? The question had been lurking over him for the past six months without ever leaving him. He was devoid of duty, bereft of meaning. What good is a soldier without orders? Without an objective? He had no answer to his quandary, so he continued to read, and he waited.

Right answers never come easy in science, and they did not come easy to him in these kinds of life matters either. As his days of self-imposed imprisonment in his home continued, he gathered data from his surroundings and from within himself. The greater the pool of data, the more knowledge he had to answer his life-halting question. It continued to gnaw at his mind, just as it had when he had not been looking for an answer; what now?

It was a grey afternoon. A storm was expected early that evening. From within his small library, the tan colored earth pony heard a great roaring sound that echoed and shook throughout the house. He felt a tingling sensation travel down his spine, as if his back had fallen asleep. He could identify that feeling anywhere and anytime; there was magic afoot, and a deeply powerful one at that!

He slammed his book shut and ran to the nearby window with an energy his body had not seen in months. Across the dark backdrop of the stormy looking sky, Bunsen Burner saw a large ripple of magenta energy beginning to dissipate across the horizon. Magenta..that could only be Shining Armor’s doing. Now that he thought about it, today was supposed to have been the day of the Captain of the Guard’s marriage to Princess Cadence. What in Tartarus was going on? Had there been an attack of some kind?

From out of the clouds he saw a faint lightning bolt strike something flying through the air. A tiny speck came flying out of the clouds, and as he watched, he saw it was getting closer and closer as it fell downward.

“Horseapples,” he hissed as he leapt out of the way. Two seconds later, a dark blur careened through the window, shattering it to tiny crystals. The black object struck the wooden floor and blasted a hole right through it, where it fell to the cellar below. Bunsen Burner began to have a coughing fit as dust and tiny pieces of wooden debris filled his lungs. He whisked away the cloud of irritants with his hoof as best as he could. As the debris settled, and after he had cleaned his rectangular eyeglasses, he looked to the newly created hole in his floor He waited patiently for some kind of response to come from the opening into the cellar. No noise could be heard but for the sound of a liquid constantly lapping as it fell onto the cellar floor below. Whatever it was, it had obviously collided with the mead tankard housed in the basement, spilling its contents. How unfortunate.

Bunsen Burner grabbed an antiquated gaslight from a nearby pedestal, and quickly lit it. He slowly walked over to the side of the hole, and shone what light he could down into the cellar. At first he couldn’t make out anything at all, but as he intensified the brightness, he could see a large black bulky form. Its limbs had random holes scattered throughout their structure. It had a pair of fly-like wings, along with a jagged black horn on its head. Its eyes were closed. It wasn’t dead, but it was unconscious, and sure to wake soon.

In that moment, everything became so very clear to the disgraced scientist. The question that had had no answer before was now found to be fulfilled. Days and nights of purposelessness were at an end. The answer was here, in his basement right now! At that moment, the fire that had all but died out inside Bunsen Burner flared back into a raging inferno. Ideas now coursed through his brain like lightning bolts. Events and patterns began to unconsciously formulate in his head. Whether the world was right or wrong about if he was too old or mad didn’t matter; what ultimately mattered was that now he had an objective.

In that moment of finding an unconscious monstrous insectoid lying in his cellar, Bunsen Burner did something he had not done in a very, very long time. In that moment, Bunsen Burner smiled. “Hello, Changeling.”

Chapter 11 - Luna, Celestia

Princess Luna had been receiving tutoring from her sister on how to raise the sun for about two weeks now, and she had to admit that the more she did it, the better she enjoyed the experience. She could almost raise the sun on her own now; her sister was now only offering encouragement and a few minor tweaks to her performance when she lifted the bright, burning orb. The Princess of the Night happily trotted to her sister’s chambers to perform the sun raising spells so the morning light could shine. It had been strange initially to now have a magical tie to two celestial bodies, as she assumed it had been for her sister in the first days of raising her moon, but she had begun to truly love seeing the timid but beautiful sun rise every day. After finishing her short journey to her sister’s chambers, she politely knocked on one of the doors. There was no reply. Princess Luna waited a little while before knocking again with a bit more force; perhaps Tia was just sleeping heavily. Still there was no answer.

“Sister?” she called out, “Are you in there?”

She then heard a clattering of something metal falling to the floor, and a small groan. Alarmed and unsure of what she’d find, Princess Luna slammed the door open. Princess Celestia was lying on the floor next to her wooden table. Her mane was a mess, and it was not floating serenely as it normally did, but instead hung across her head and the floor like thick pastel strands of long, wet grass. The tip of her horn was charred black, as if she had burnt it on something. Princess Luna couldn’t think. She didn’t understand. How? How could her sister? No!

“Nononononono!” she finally blurted as she rushed to her Celestia’s side. As she now came closer to her sister, she could see that she was still breathing, albeit shallowly. She began to try and scry her sister’s condition with her magic, and as she did, Princess Celestia’s eyes partially opened.

“Luna?” she asked with a pained whisper.

Princess Luna was overjoyed to hear her voice, “Tia! Oh, thank the stars! What has happened?”

“I’m sorry,” the Princess of the Sun said as her voice grew stronger, “I should have told you about this earlier.”

“Umbra! Nox!” Princess Luna called out hurriedly. The two bat pony guards dropped from the ceiling outside of Princess Celestia’s chambers, from which they had been monitoring everything unseen. “Find a physician as swiftly as you can! My sister’s life may depend on how much time you take!” Without a word, the two Antrozi warriors quickly flew down the hallway to pursue their mission.

Returning her attention to her sister, Princess Luna looked down at her co-ruler with confusion and rising urgency, “What’s happened, Tia? How long has it been going on?”

“I think,” Princess Celestia began, before she cried out in pain.

“DOCTOR! NOW!” Princess Luna roared out to the corridor as one or two royal guards now stood there in alarm. At her command, they ran like gazelle to find the nearest and best medical practitioner.

“I think,” Princess Celestia tried again, “I was poisoned by the Changelings weeks ago. I thought I would be better by now,” and she grimaced through another bout of agony, “but all evidence points to the fact that I’m a fool for thinking I could shrug this off.”

Princess Luna slammed a hoof on the floor in anger, “Why didn’t you tell me?! You wasted precious time when we could have been trying to save your life together! Why?”

“I wasn’t for sure I was ill until about three weeks ago. I decided that I would plan for Equestria’s future, just in case things turned for the worst.”

Princess Luna’s eyes misted over as she began to see what the true nature of her lessons had been. “You taught me how to raise the sun..so I could succeed you?” she asked numbly.

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Princess Celestia replied through both tears of pain and regret, “I just couldn’t face the fact of my suddenly acquired mortality. I was so scared. I still am.”

“It is not your time yet!” Princess Luna said angrily, “I’ve seen too many ponies I’ve loved taken from me! I’m not letting you die in my hooves like Orpheus did so long ago! We’re going to fight this, and you’re going to get better!”

“The papers,” Princess Celestia tried to point at the table up above with her hoof, “Look at the papers.”

Princess Luna looked and hastily snatched up every paper than she could off of the table top with her magic. She began to revolve the several pieces of parchment across her field of vision. The writing and pictures were in her sister’s handwriting, but the text itself was complex in its structure and nature. “What is all this?” she asked.

“Transcriptions of some of Starswirl the Bearded’s journal,” the Princess’ breathing quickened, “I allowed him to study me once. Those are all his notes on our biology. I can’t understand the stuff myself, but the journal is,” she gasped as another wave of pain hit her, “encrypted! Encrypted to anyone else who tries to look at it. I hoped it might help in some way.”

“I don’t know if I can decipher this,” Princess Luna said in despair as she skimmed the material, “this could take me weeks to even begin to understand the basic concepts!”

At that moment, Umbra and Nox returned with a unicorn doctor in tow. The royal guards were not far behind with an earth pony physician. Before the two were even brought into the room, they had been sworn to secrecy by each set of guards on pain of imprisonment for life. As they were brought into the room, the unicorn doctor, named Scalpel, and the earth pony doctor, whose name was Triage, stopped dead in their tracks.

“Starswirl’s beard,” Scalpel softly exclaimed as he saw who his patient was to be.

Triage simply gawked at Princess Celestia as she lay on the floor, who cried out a little as another blast of agony overtook her. That was enough to get the two doctors to respond. Triage quickly blurted out, “Help us move her onto the bed!”

“What sort of symptoms has she shown, your Highness?” Scalpel asked Princess Luna as the unicorns among the guards slowly lifted up the Princess of the Sun back to her bed.

Princess Luna shook her head, “I can’t honestly say. She just admitted to me that she has been hiding her condition for over a fortnight. She believed that she was drugged with some kind of venom produced by the Changelings.”

Triage pointed to the royal guards, “One of you, get some cool water and a towel; we need to bring down her fever!” A white stallion from out of the group ran to the bathroom suite of the Princess to fetch the requisitioned items.

Scalpel sighed in frustration, “If this affliction is of Changeling origin, then only a Changeling could know what the proper antidote would be. Your Majesty, there is no guarantee that anything we try to better Princess Celestia wouldn’t actually make things worse.”

Princess Luna nodded, “I realize that this is the case. I can only offer some rudimentary knowledge about mine and my sister’s anatomy to you. First, we need no sleep, food, or drink. Second, if you attempt any internal investigation, you will not find flesh and bone; our innards are made of pure magic. Since none of us in this room has any experience at all in treating an alicorn, I’m going to find someone who may be of help. For now, do what you believe will help to ease Celestia’s pain. Understood?”

Scalpel bowed, “Completely, your Highness,” and he then went to aid Triage and the guards at Princess Celestia’s bedside.

Princess Luna, though calm in her demeanor now in the presence of the guards and doctors, was absolutely terrified by the situation. Turning on the spot, she looked to Umbra and Nox and murmured, “Remain here,” before she instantly transported herself to hers and her sister’s study suite in the Royal Canterlot Library through dimensional phasing magic. She practically ran to the mantelpiece which held the orb where the Maiden now made her home. If there is anyone who will know the answers to my questions, it will be mother, thought Princess Luna. She opened up the glass container’s latch, the greenish yellow particles flew out, and they slowly began to settle on her body. The room around her began to dissolve away into a grey fog, as the Maiden expressed her consciousness within the Princess’ mind.

Even as the figure of the pale, red haired woman appeared to her, Princess Luna rushed up to her, “Please mother! We don’t have much time. Tia is dying, and I need to know anything you can tell me about how to make her better!”

The Maiden looked to her daughter, and Princess Luna saw that she had been crying. The Princess’ heart practically stopped then and there, “You knew as well?”

The Maiden nodded quietly, as new tears came to her face.

Author's Note

For those curious about who Orpheus was, he was a bat pony who served the Princesses in the time immediately before Nightmare Moon's banishment. His death at the hooves of the unicorn nobles was the catalyst that drove Princess Luna towards vengeance against them, and ultimately to her attempt at ending all life on planet Earth.

The story where these events take place is The Sorrow and the Temptation.

Chapter 12 - Luna

“As soon as your sister suspected what was happening to her, she came to me,” the Maiden said morosely as she looked away from Princess Luna, “I wish to my very soul that I could help you, just as I wished that I could have helped her, but I don’t have the information that either of you need.”

Princess Luna couldn’t move as her mind tried to process what her mother had said. This couldn’t be happening. This was...

As what she had been told started to sink in, she fell onto her back legs. Her forehooves were shaking violently, and she yelled in frustration to herself. She then turned her eyes back up to the Maiden, and they were filled with steely determination, “NO! I refuse to accept this! There must be something, anything at all that we can do for her! I won’t stop so long as she remains alive. Tell me everything you know about the ones who did this to her. Tell me about the Changelings, mother.”

The Maiden silently looked down at her daughter for several moments, offering up no visible reaction to the Princess’ statement. After a time, she sighed softly, “Alright.”

The Maiden stretched out her arm, and the grey fog around the two of them melted away. What replaced the all-encompassing murkiness was a clear picture of a room made almost completely of metal. Princess Luna and the Maiden stood on a catwalk that hung over hundreds upon hundreds of chambers, each surrounded by metallic bars coursing with electricity. Within each cage was a black insectoid-like monstrosity. Some were more aggressive than others, in that they attacked the electrified cages without abandon, while the rest simply sat in one position as they eyed the bars with loathing.

“As you know,” the Maiden began, “the humans in my colony planned to retake Earth’s surface with the help of engineered intelligent life. According to what I found in Vanguard’s databanks during the many years I was alone, modern equines are the second iteration of intelligent horse-derived life. The originals, the prototype equine society, was in fact the Changelings.”

Princess Luna looked down at the hundreds of buzzing black forms below the two of them, “So the Changelings are the equine race’s ancestors?”

“Not quite,” the Maiden shook her head, “They are more like your cousins; removed by several generations. I was never involved with this project myself, but from what close friends had told me, and from the security footage I viewed of them, they were once an intelligent and peaceful race. The first plan dictated that each Changeling would be an alicorn, so that any task could be achieved by any individual pony. After repeated bombardment with Tessaractal radiation and exposure to mutagenic compounds, they became just as they were planned to be and more. They rapidly became more and more insect-like, developed a hive-mind, and evolved an ability to rapidly adapt to any negative stimulus.”

As one Changeling struck the bars of its cell, it found that it was no long affected by the shock of its cage. It slowly walked into the cage wall, and walked right through the bars by amorphously gliding through them. It screeched out to the others around it in victory, and at its success, the rest of the Changeling Hive redoubled its efforts, until the entire chamber was flooded with black bugs. The klaxons were already sounded, and security was on the way.

“As you can see, they even became immune to their cages. Eventually, though, the Hive was captured with the help of a shapeshift-lock compound and imprisoned in reject storage, where they were meant to be frozen forever. The revised societal plan for equines required less tampering with the genetic template, so that unwanted mutation was less likely to take place as it did then. You and your sister are the only truly successfully created alicorns by humankind. I’d guess that with their reappearance now, the Changelings managed, one by one, to adapt to the frozen temperatures over the long centuries, so that they could one day escape.”

“When they were studied,” Princess Luna asked impatiently, “did the Changelings ever poison anyone?”

The Maiden shook her head, “No. Since they experience hyper accelerated evolution, their bodies are in a constant state of decay and transformation. Almost anything that applied to them when I was alive could be completely different from what they are now.”

“There has to be some way of saving Tia!” Princess Luna yelled out, “There has to be something you’ve forgotten or that you haven’t remembered yet!”

The Maiden covered her eyes with one hand to wipe away her eyes, and she sighed haggardly, “Dusk, there is nothing I can tell you now that I haven’t said already. I don’t know what to do or how to help you, and I’m afraid of what is to come. If Dawn dies, your entire world will be tossed into chaos.”

“Then I very simply won’t allow her to die,” the Princess said with resolve, “Goodbye, mother. I’m not giving up. Have faith!”

Princess Luna left her mother’s presence to seek further help elsewhere. As she watched her daughter teleport away, the Maiden coalesced the little star-like points that made up her ethereal body into her cloudy green human form. She sincerely hoped that Dusk would succeed against all odds, but she just couldn’t see how it could possibly be done. The Maiden returned to her container, where she began to cry once more, and waited.

Teleporting down into the depths of the Royal Science Division’s headquarters, Princess Luna half galloped to the office of the Chief Science Officer, Ditzy Doo. Ditzy had been looking over some files related to the recent progress in upgrading the Canterlot Defense Grid with the help of her fellow pegasus Lieutenant Swiftfeet, when the Princess barged in. She opened the door to the grey pegasus’ office with a bit of accidental excessive force, as the door’s handle slammed into the plastered wall and stuck there.

Lieutenant Swiftfeet quickly saluted to his highest superior, while simultaneously nudging his immediate superior, “Ma’am.”

Keeping one eye on her work, her other eye glanced up to see who the noisy visitor was. Upon seeing that it was one of her Majesties, Ditzy stood up and gave her undivided attention to the Princess with a genuinely large smile, “Princess Luna! It’s so nice to see you! What can we help you with?”

“Ditzy Doo, I need your entire staff to stop what they are doing, and prioritize to a new goal.” The normally bubbly pegasus was dumbfounded by this urgent and sudden order, “What do you want us to do?” she asked.

The Princess breathed in sharply, and she began to fully explain the situation.

Both Ditzy Doo and the Lieutenant were completely stunned by what the Princess had just told them, “Princess Celestia is sick, and you think she may die if we don’t think of something?”

“There is no need for subtlety when you assign this task,” Princess Luna clarified, “She’s already been poisoned for three weeks; we..I don’t know how much longer she has.”

The two Pegasi saluted and Lieutenant Swiftfeet grimly affirmed with, “You can count on us, Ma’am.”

Ditzy Doo cued the intercom system from her desk began to speak, “Attention R.S.D. Attention R.S.D. Emergency meeting on the Floor. I repeat, emergency meeting on the Floor. Ditzy Doo out.”

Princess Luna pointed to the Lieutenant and barked, “I need you to go to the Division’s archive; find any and all documents you possibly can on Changelings that might not have been found in the cursory search from after the invasion. Run like Tartarus’ flames are clawing at your fetlocks!”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Lieutenant Swiftfeet barked back to the Princess before running out of the room as fast as his nimble hooves could carry him.

“Tell him to drop off his findings at my chambers,” she commanded of Ditzy Doo as she teleported once more, “I need to check on my sister’s condition.”

Scalpel and Triage had done everything they could think of to try and drain the poison from out of Princess Celestia’s body. They had tried pumping her stomach, but because her digestive tract hadn’t been physical in nearly a millennia and half, they hadn’t even gotten any digestive juice out of it. They’d even exhausted the old, draconian methods of medicine like leeching. Immediately after being placed on her body, the leeches would spectacularly explode in a burst of golden light and fire. The spots were the leeches had been placed no longer had any skin surrounding them, but Princess Celestia’s regenerative healing had not activated. This offered the doctors a view of the pocket dimension located within the Princess’ body, from which her golden magical power found its source, just as Princess Luna had said there would be. Within the layers of pulsating bright light they had seen flickers of a dark green sludge-like substance. Scalpel had tried simply grabbing ahold of the ooze with his magic and siphoning it out, but he couldn’t contain it; the substance could not be influenced by his magic, but it was quite readily affecting the Princess’ magical reservoir, and it was ravenously eating away at her life force.

Princess Luna appeared in her sister’s chambers in a burst of dark blue light. Princess Celestia had been given extra blankets in addition to the ones already on her bed, and she had been momentarily sedated by Triage.

“Tell me you two have found something,” she implored as she reappeared in the room. Triage helplessly looked to Scalpel, and then she looked back to her sovereign. Princess Luna’s world began to crumble as she realized that almost every available option that she had been able to think of up until now had been thwarted for one reason or another. “How long does she have?” she quietly asked.

Triage sighed deeply, “You must realize, your Highness, we have no familiarity with this type of anatomy at all. Princess Celestia could remain alive for a very long time, or only a few hours; we are completely out of our depth, and we cannot accurately predict how or when her condition will catch up with her.”

The Princess of the Night looked over to her sister’s bed; she lay fast asleep, but Luna could tell that it was not a restful sleep. She realized that her sister looked completely different from what she had become so accustomed to seeing her as. The bright white color of her coat was now very pale by comparison, and it almost felt like she had shrunk in just the past couple of hours. Celestia had always been a part of pony society, so she had always had a larger than life existence for most any being she came into contact with in one way or another. Now, she looked like any other frail pony, and that scared Luna for many, many reasons. In her sister’s absence, she would have to run the entire kingdom. How could she possibly fill her sister’s shoes in both her status as a national icon and as a leader? She also realized another blood-chilling thought. A little over one thousand years ago, in her darkest time of being Nightmare Moon, she had boasted to her sister that the both of them were gods. Now that the situation came down to it, she knew that neither she nor her sister was actually invincible, and they certainly weren’t as powerful as others thought they were. A new feeling crept into Luna’s heart; the fear of death. She shook her head softly. She would not allow herself to focus on this feeling of hopelessness, not when there were still ponies depending on her. She turned and began to walk to the double doors of her sister’s chamber. As she opened the closest door, she looked back to her sister’s caretakers. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she firmly declared to them, “Make her comfortable in any way you can. I have many tasks I must attend to.”

“Yes, your Highness,” Scalpel and Triage said together as they bowed to the Princess.

When the Princess arrived back at her quarters, she found a stack of dossiers and files that had been left for her by Lieutenant Swiftfeet. She would read them later. Approaching her writing desk, she slowly unrolled a fresh roll of parchment and prepared a bottle of ink and a quill. She tried to think of the best words to use before she began her letter. She decided that she would write only the truth, but she would try her best to soften the blow; she owed the recipient that much. When she believed she was ready, she put the quill to the paper, and she began.

To Ms. Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic..

Chapter 13 - Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, Luna

The overnight express from Ponyville pulled into Canterlot station at around six in the morning. Twilight Sparkle hadn’t been able to sleep at all during the entire night. When she had received a letter from Spike via his magic flames, she knew it was going to be something important. What she had not expected was that it would be from Princess Luna. As she read the letter that she now carried in her saddle bag, she could not believe what the letter had said. Princess Celestia was ill, perhaps even terminally so? Even as her mind was still in shock and unconscious of her actions, she had packed as fast as she could, and without even saying goodbye to Spike or any of her friends, she had boarded a train to Canterlot.

As soon as the doors were open, Twilight galloped hard away from the train depot. With reckless abandon she made her way through the business and market districts of the city; she would even have almost run down a few ponies if she had not teleported around them. As she finally reached the public doors of Canterlot Castle, she was greeted by the presence of Princess Luna and her two Antrozi guards. Her brain finally caught up with her hooves, and she realized why she was here: her mentor, the mare she had looked up to since her first day of being her student, Princess Celestia, was dying. The act of seeing Princess Luna greeting her instead of her teacher was what finally drove that thought directly into the center of her mind. Twilight walked up to the Princess of the Night in a stupor, as her hours of sleeplessness began to catch up with her as well. Princess Luna gestured for her to follow, and the four ponies reentered the safety of the castle, away from prying eyes.

The surrounding environment of the many hallways of the normally beautiful castle was made fuzzy by Twilight’s drifting thoughts. She didn’t really perceive that she had been walking for a great distance, until she saw the door marked by Princess Celestia’s Cutie Mark. Now at the threshold of her teacher’s room, she didn’t want to go in. Afraid of what she would see, but nonetheless worried for her teacher, she entered after Princess Luna. The room was made bright by the rising sun. The linens of the room had been changed to a warm pink color. At the center of the room, Twilight could see the form of Princess Celestia as she lay in bed. She was awake, but she was weak. As she and Princess Luna came around to where Princess Celestia could see them, Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. Her teacher looked so completely different now, that she looked like a different mare altogether. Pain was now constantly near her, and it showed on her face. Lines were now etched into her visage that made her look much older and less vibrant. Never had anyone seen her like this; so fragile, so agonized.

Twilight finally broke the silence with an anguished whisper, “Princess Celestia?”

Her teacher’s eyes slowly opened. As she recognized who was speaking to her, her happiness eased her pain somewhat, and she became a little more like her old self. “Twilight,” she softly breathed, “It’s wonderful to see you.”

Twilight gave a broken smile as tears collected on her cheeks, “It’s nice to see you too.”

“How are you?” Princess Celestia whispered as she grunted from another spasm of pain.

Alarmed at her teacher’s discomfort, Twilight exclaimed, “Princess!”

“It’s nothing,” she replied, “I’m fine.”

“What did this to you?”

“That doesn’t matter now,” the Princess said, “I have one final lesson to teach you.”

“No, Princess please!” Twilight implored, “You have to get better! Who’s going to raise the sun? What about our lessons?”

The Princess winced through another blast of agony to her body, “The sun has been taken care of, and you have already learned so much about friendship over the past few years. You could send your letters to Luna now, if you wanted to.”

“I would be honored,” Princess Luna quietly declared as she took a step closer to her sister’s bedside.

“Princess,” Twilight began to sob as she wrapped her hooves around her teacher’s chest, “I don’t want you to die!”

“I don’t want to die either,” Princess Celestia smiled softly, “I am told that there is still hope, though. Some ponies are looking for a cure. I didn’t know how much time I had left, so I just wanted to make sure that we were both ready, should things turn for the worse. Would you like me to teach you another lesson?”

Twilight brought her head up from the Princess’ chest, and she slowly nodded through her tears.

Princess Celestia slowly pointed her hoof over to her bedside dresser. On the antique, oak crafted table stood a prominent glass container; within it was held a crystal shard. Princess Luna gently lifted the glass case from off its wooden pedestal, and placed it off to the side. She then brought the sliver of crystal over so Twilight could easily observe it.

Princess Celestia’s eyes were misty as she looked back into the past, “This crystal shard was given to me by your ancestor, Starswirl the Bearded, nearly seven hundred years ago. It, along with Philomena, were his parting gifts to me before he died. I will pass them on to you as well if the time comes.”

She paused to allow Twilight a chance to look over the crystal. It shone with so many different colors, each just as bright and beautiful as the last. Some were strange to her; some she did not know even existed, but this in no way detracted from its elegance.

“It’s wonderful,” she said as she finished her visual analysis, her breath taken away, “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Put your ear next to it,” the Princess softly commanded her student.

Twilight obediently put the crystal to her ear, even if it seemed like a strange request. As she listened, she began to hear the sound of tinkling bells. She also began to hear the sounds of ecstatic laughter, and she almost thought that she smelt the familiar scent of ancient books and of a candle burning. Twilight gasped at the sheer sense of joy she had received from this odd crystal. She brought it back around to her face to observe it once again. “What is it?” she asked in awe.

“Starswirl once told me that it was the physical manifestation of what lies beyond death; that it is a fragment of the great beyond. To me, it is a crack in the imposing doorway of what may lie ahead, and it offers me hope.” Princess Celestia lay her hoof in front of Twilight, “If I should leave you soon, do not cry for me. I have faith that we would see each other again.”

Twilight placed the crystal gently in its container, and she wrapped her own hooves around her teacher’s, “I promise,” she said as she dried her tears with her magic, “that no matter what happens, I will always follow the ways you’ve taught me; that I will always keep searching for new ways of making and learning about friendship.”

Princess Celestia smiled as she shed new tears of happiness mixed with dulling pain, “Twilight, you have been a most excellent student. I am proud to have been your teacher.”

Both Twilight and Princess Luna slowly looked upward in awe. Princess Celestia followed their gaze, and she saw small particles of golden light floating towards the ceiling. In that instant, she realized that she no longer felt any pain at all, and that those particles were coming from her pastel mane.

“Oh,” she faintly realized as the golden lights continued to float away from her mane, “It looks like it’s time to go.”

With strength she wasn’t aware that she still had anymore, Princess Celestia got up from her bed and began to walk towards the balcony. Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle were not far behind. Even with the knowledge and hope they now had, Princess Luna began to quietly weep, and Twilight once again began to sob. Umbra and Nox, who had been quietly watching from the rafters up above, now silently joined them and gazed on the Princess of the Sun with somber wonder.

“Lulu,” she wistfully breathed.

Princess Luna looked up from her tears to meet her sister’s eyes.

“Lulu,” Princess Celestia whispered once again, “I love you so much.”

Unable to control her composure any longer, the Princess of the Night trotted forward as she whimpered, “I love you too, Tia,” and she embraced her older sister. She felt her sister give her a warm, loving, and firm hug.

The warmth of her older sister’s embrace faded, and when she no longer felt anything between her forehooves, she opened her eyes. A large trail of golden particles slowly drifted off into the sky, leaving behind a puddle of dark green sludge on the balcony.

“Tia!” Princess Luna called out loudly after the golden trail in the sky. As it drifted away, the particles flew up higher into the blue horizon. She was gone. Princess Celestia was gone.

With one great breath, Princess Luna wailed to the skies, “TIAAA!” and then she collapsed to the balcony. Twilight now came to her side, and even as she herself was crying, she tried to comfort the Princess. The two of them embraced each other as they grieved, and they spent several minutes together sitting in that same place, both unified by their loss of a great sister, teacher, and most of all, friend.

Chapter 14 - Discord

Deep below Canterlot Castle, in a chamber sealed off from the outside world, sat the immobilized form of Discord. The room in which the draconequus was imprisoned was a large domed cavern about one hundred feet across, with only one way in or out. The large hangar like doors that sealed the chamber were two feet thick reinforced carbon steel plated with Arcanium; not even a full grown dragon could escape this chamber if it were locked within its walls. Due to the exceptionally powerful and unpredictable nature of their prisoner, a twenty four hour surveillance crew was set in place by the RSD to constantly monitor Discord’s prison. As most could imagine, the job of staring at a statue for six hour shifts straight lended the officers on duty ample time to create new ways of relieving boredom. The two guards on this morning’s shift were talking to each other about their upcoming weekend; what plans they had for partying, how do to deal with the missus, how to get in better touch with their kids, and other mundane conversation that could be made to fill the dead air. Discord had grown tired of this drawl banter within the first few microseconds of being placed in his new home, and it had proven to be a growing source of agitation for him.

By all the wonderful forces of chaos, why must I continue to listen to this? He tried to look up toward the hidden skies above, but his movement was, of course, restricted. Oh yes, I’d forgotten; imprisoned within a shell of friendship produced concrete.

The chimera internally sighed as he mused to himself, I miss the old days. Thousands of years ago I was free to do as I pleased. I could just cause volcanoes to erupt on a whim, earthquakes were my fancy, and floods were my afternoon plaything! Sure it was fun having the humans worship me for a couple thousand years, and even having them try to stop me was entertaining! What I cannot stand, no, what I absolutely detest above all else is this idle conversation! I need something real; something right out of the blue! What I need to keep me from driving myself sane is a great big-

At that moment, Discord felt something unlike anything he had ever experienced before; a part of the balance of the world was now heavily damaged. Where once there had been a constant, unchanging force of the immediate universe, there was now an empty void, abandoned by its keeper. Something, or someone, had just checked out from their little cosmic cubicle. As he unintentionally reminded himself that he could not physically look upward when he realized he couldn’t move, again, he reached out through the web of reality around him. Wherever there was chaos, whether it be physical or metaphysical, there he could witness the outside world. His extrasensory perceptions brought him to the source of the enormous universal disturbance. A cloud of golden particles lazily floated along on the air currents.

Now what have we here? he thought to himself, Well aren’t you just a pretty little nebula of arcane energy. Did you lose your owner? Hmmm, this little dust cloud feels a lot like dear, sweet, horridly consistent Celestia.

Discord’s astral presence tried to reach out to the cluster of floating magic, and he was met with no response. He tried agitating it, whispering sweet nothings to it, even threatening to beat its beloved second cousin with a sack full of capybaras, but he received no answer of any sort. Now this isn’t like you at all. Only I’m allowed to be the unpredictable one in this relationship! You’re tearin’ me apart, Tia! The cloud slowly began to dissipate into the air, and as each particle left the whole, it extinguished.

Discord screeched to a halt midair as the realization of why there was no response came to him. You’re dead! How, though? After all these years of immortal life, you just up and die on me? Discord stared accusingly at the cloud, until he suddenly shrugged and smiled, Oh well, it doesn’t matter; my playmates aren’t allowed to die unless I make up my mind that they can. I still haven’t decided after all these innumerable eons of existence if Schrodinger’s cat is actually dead or alive, and I’m not about to go and change my mind on a whim! That is, unless I do.

Discord funneled his mental essence back into his imprisoned body. When he knew he was ready, he reached out to the entire universe with all his influence, from the dark corner under a nearby filly’s bed, to the vast seas of dark matter millions of light years away in space. Although I can’t access all of my delicious entropic might from within this form fitting cell of yours, he mentally strained with as much effort as he had to physically reshape the walls of his prison from the inside out, I am chaos, and chaos is god; I always find a way to do what is impossible to others!

Moving at an agonizing crawl, Discord’s stony eagle-taloned fingers drew closer and closer together. With the effort that in his unhindered state he could use to implode a medium sized star, Discord was finally able to snap his fingers. Red energy playfully crackled through his claws until it dissipated into the air. After the deed was done, Discord projected himself back out to the golden cloud. A strong gust of wind now blew it along, while it simultaneously bundled up the fading energy.

Now what you need to overcome this temporary case of dead is a nice, relaxing vacation, Discord confidently declared to the cluster of energy. He put his arm around the area near the cloud as he strolled along beside it. Allow yourself some time to loosen up, unwind, and pull yourself back together before you try to return. Now now! There’s no arguing with me, young lady! Listen to your elder, and take some time off! If you’re worried about your little kingdom, I’m sure Loony Luna will take good care of it! Besides, I’ll have things unstraightened out like they should be soon. You see, some practical jokes take time. Discord’s projection nudged the cloud in a playful manner, Of course, I wouldn’t have expected you to know that! The essence of Princess Celestia was as silent as ever.

The cloud and Discord’s apparition flew far up above the skies of Ponyville as they made their way to the boundary of the Everfree Forest. As they passed over the gloomy trees and dank hollows, Discord mused aloud to himself as he stroked his Billy goat beard, You know, I’m surprised that I didn’t offer this place more of my attention when I was active last; it’s a raw canvas waiting for my exquisite taste to spice it up with a little bit of my perspective. Just imagine it: cheese fondue pots as far as the eye can see, a grove of rubber chickens growing next to the pool full of gelatin, and ferns that grow neckties!

The two entities arrived at their destination; a spatial anomaly several feet above the ground. The wound to the fabric of space-time had been repaired several months previously by the two Princesses, the Elements of Harmony, all the nearby ponies of the land, and two beings that Discord was having trouble knowing for some reason. The one of them doesn’t seem to have a name, he explained to the Princess’ dormant form, and the other is..fuzzy, for some reason.

Remaining just outside the Spatial Tessaract’s reach, he shooed the golden cloud towards it, Oh don’t worry; go on! It’s time to go down the rabbit hole, little Alice. Who knows where it could lead? Well, I suppose I could! Discord tried to reach out for the knowledge he sought as he so easily could do in any other instance, but when he tried to find out where the hole did lead, though, his mind came up blank. Now that’s never happened before, he thought without a hint of amusement. He tried to reach out once again, but he gained nothing from his efforts. Something is blocking me from my usual fun. Discord looked on the hole with another case of dawning knowledge, Unless..there’s nothing out there. The largest nothing; the Void between planes.

The golden cloud drifted towards the hole until it was caught by its attractive force. Discord tried to reach out to grab Princess Celestia’s essence, but in his current state he couldn’t fight the Tessaract’s pull. Quickly improvising to ensure the survival of his most favorite playmate, he cast a bit of his power into her, ensuring that she would survive a long trip in the eternal blackness. The golden cloud circled and circled the hole, until at last it was finally and completely absorbed by it. Wherever you’re headed, dear Celestia, Discord frowned at the hole in reality, You’re even beyond my reach, all on your own. I’m sure that you’ll find your way back to us, though; I’m counting on it, in fact.

As the chimera waltzed back into his immobilized corporeal form, he thought to himself, We’re in the middle of the joke now. It won’t be all that long until we reach the punch line; and that, fillies and gentlecolts, I will deliver in person.

Chapter 15 - Luna

In the days following her sister’s passing, Princess Luna had decided to tell to the world what had occurred. She had not wanted to keep her citizens in the dark any longer, but she also did not want to tell anypony before the official release of the information to the public. It was the fifth day after her sister’s death when she had announced that she would speak of a grave matter to Canterlot. Hundreds had packed the square below the proclamation balcony. Most were surprised that the message was being delivered by Princess Luna; what reason did she have to give this message, the gathered ponies wondered. Why wasn’t Princess Celestia here?

“Citizens of Canterlot,” Princess Luna began with a wavering voice, before she stopped. After clearing her throat softly and taking a deep breath, she began again, with a stronger voice. “Citizens of Canterlot and the Equestrian state, I come to you today to bring grievous tidings. Five days ago, my co-ruler and sister, Princess Celestia, went to her eternal rest.”

The entire square was struck to dead silence.

“By her own account, the Princess believed that she was poisoned by the Changeling Hive, who I’m sure you still remember quite vividly from their attempted invasion and occupation of Canterlot. This is a sorrowful time like none witnessed upon us throughout Equestrian history. Two months from this date, a funeral service will be held to observe Princess Celestia’s passing; it will be open for anypony to attend.”

The crowd below was still stunned from the announcement that their first beloved Princess had died. Some began to break down in tears, and others simply sunk to the ground as they were overwhelmed by what they had just heard.

Princess Luna softly began to cry as she gathered her strength once more, “My sister was true to the virtues of Harmony, not just in public where others could see her, but also in her private life. She treated everyone equally, whatever race they happened to be, and she never let her royalty get in the way of us all, especially you, who she considered to be her children. She was a beautiful mare for her compassion, wisdom, inner strength, and her continued faith in anypony’s capacity to be truly extraordinary.” The Princess’ face became stern, and she wiped away her tears as she finished her speech, “Our enemy has tried to destroy our national spirit, Celestia’s spirit, by violating our homes, our basic trust in each other, and by robbing us of her physical presence. Her spirit, though, and her values live on in each of us. We will not be cowed by our opponent simply because they have taken her from us. I now officially declare war on the Changelings; wherever they hide, whatever hovel they may try to seek shelter in, they will not be safe. We will take the battle to them, and we will defeat them for what they have done to us.”

Her speech done, Princess Luna left the balcony to return to her room. Though I am not a statespony in spirit, she thought to herself, I had to play the part made for me. Apart from these public declarations and the basics of diplomacy, I don’t know anything about the political world at all.

She decided that what she needed was advice; advice from someone outside of Canterlot’s web of coy movers and shakers, someone who was able to deliver cold, hard facts. She knew who she was looking for; she had been looking for him when Tia had been dying. The trouble was that she had banished him, and because of that nopony had been able to get an exact location on him in the past few weeks, when she had had every available pony turning the country upside down for one stallion. She had been inside his mind, seen some of his thoughts; it was possible that had he been here, her sister might also still have been here as well. The report had just come this morning, but even though she still held hard feelings against him, she needed what he had to offer; she had to meet with Bunsen Burner.

After making the evening twilight by lowering the sun, Princess Luna covertly teleported to the sleepy town of Pferdshire. She arrived in a back alley off the main square and sunk into the shadows, which she stuck to all the way through the town. The intelligence officer who had found Bunsen Burner’s home had said that it was a manor that stood prominently on a hill to the northwest, and so she made all haste in that direction. Approaching the house, she saw that it was a nondescript home, attracting no attention to itself apart from being on top of a hill. It appeared just as unimaginative in its structure and décor as the rest of the houses throughout the city, except for a window that had been hastily walled up with boards. She rematerialized into physical form from out of the shadows at the door’s front step, where she knocked three times. It was not long at all before she heard the sound of two latches being undone on the other side of the door, which then opened.

Bunsen Burner looked like a completely different pony without a lab coat on, as she had been so accustomed to seeing him in. She saw that he had replaced his previously destroyed half-moon spectacles, which could nullify her telepathic abilities, with more traditional rectangular lenses. He looked her up and down slowly without betraying so much as a wisp of emotion. If he was angry, surprised, or anything at all, the Princess could not see it from just his facial expressions.

“I’ve been expecting you,” he said calmly, before stepping out of the way of the door to offer her his hospitality. She silently entered the manor, and followed the older earth pony to his library. The Princess realized that this was the room which had the boarded up window, and on top of that, there was a hole in the floor which had also been hastily patched. “You’ll have to excuse the mess,” the scientist dryly commented as he offer the Princess a seat in one of his softer chairs, “I had a tad bit of an insect problem several weeks back.”

“Parasprites?” the Princess asked.

“Changelings.”

The Princess’ eyes widened, before she then thrust her host against the nearby wall with her magic.

Grunting in surprise at the sudden impact with the wall, Bunsen Burner sighed, “Well, we might as well get this part out of the way.”

“Say something I know the real Bunsen Burner would say, or I will crush you like an apple,” Princess Luna darkly growled.

“Very well,” Bunsen Burner replied, “When Equestria’s gods become its demons, who is there but me to stop them?”

The Princess released her grip on the stallion, and he fell to the floor on all four hooves. Brushing himself off slightly, Bunsen Burner asked, “Would you like me to pour you a glass of brandy?”

“One small glass, please.”

After the drinks were poured and the first few sips were taken in silence, Princess Luna finally had to ask, “You were attacked by Changelings?”

“Actually, I almost had one literally fall into my lap.”

“Where is it now?”

“Dead.”

The Princess was stunned, “How?”

“A chemical compound I had devised years ago, after my first encounter with their kind. I’m sure in the days after the assault on Canterlot you read some of the after action reports in the RSD archive?”

The Princess stared hard at the stallion for a long pause, before she sighed in frustration, “I still stand by my past decisions: you lied to both me and Princess Celestia-“ at her own mentioning of her sister’s name, she stopped short. “I need your help,” she said flatly, “I am facing an unprecedented national situation alone, and while I am disgusted that I must resort to you, there is no one in Canterlot who is as competent at planning and preparing for unprecedented events as you.”

Bunsen Burner’s eyebrow cocked as he analyzed the Princess’ statement. Finally, he asked, “What has happened?”

Chapter 16 - Bunsen Burner, Luna

Bunsen Burner was shocked momentarily after the Princess had laid out her whole account. He sank a little farther into his seat afterwards. After a long pause, during which he stared into his glass of amber liquid, he took a long sip, and got up from his chair and went to one of his bookcases. Hidden in between two thickly bound books, Bunsen Burner deftly removed a thin journal. The cover was grey colored with a black spine, and there were no markings or title on the outside to specify what type of information was held within.

“What is that?” Princess Luna asked with curiosity.

Bunsen Burner brought the journal over to a small table near his seat, he motioned the Princess over to his side. As she got up from her chair and walked over, he explained, “Hundreds of years ago, Starswirl the Bearded studied your sister’s body in an attempt to understand your kind’s physiology.”

“I am aware of that,” the Princess replied, “She tried copying down some of the theories he postulated so that we could try to divine some kind of cure for her from it. The work was beyond the like of any I’ve seen.”

“The book itself was lost for many centuries,” Bunsen Burner continued, “Passing from hoof to hoof, either bought, traded for, or stolen. No one could crack the encryptions that held the book’s secrets, until about fifteen years ago.”

“Let me guess,” the Princess began sarcastically, “this is your oh-so humble way of saying that it was you who learned to read the book?”

“No. Actually, the feat was accomplished by an old colleague of mine; Punnett Square. The stallion practically revolutionized the study of genetics, and he also had an interest in cryptology. After he came into possession of Starswirl’s journal, he worked feverishly to decipher its knowledge, and in time he succeeded.” Bunsen Burner nudged the journal, “This was his personal translation of the work. From it, I was able to create the serums at my disposal, one of which was the one I used to kill the Changeling I dealt with here. As it turns out, Changeling and alicorn physiology are very similar.” He then began to flip through the journal to the particular section that he was looking for, “Could you show me what the strange liquid looked like that was the cause of Celestia’s troubles?”

Princess Luna cast an illusion spell, which created a floating image of the amorphous, dark green sludge in front of the scientist’s eyes. “The physicians said it couldn’t be manipulated by magic, and any means of trying to contain it were futile.”

“Unstoppable force meets an unmovable object,” Bunsen Burner murmured to himself.

“What are you talking about?”

The scientist turned back to the journal on the nearby table, “Starswirl’s observations led him to the postulate that alicorns possess a continuously regenerating body; an eternal and bottomless reservoir of magic. This perpetual regeneration is not dissimilar to the concept of a self-servicing engine; it would never run down, wear out, or lose efficiency; unless, of course, you put something in that engine that it cannot burn.”

“That would have to be a very small list,” Princess Luna declared, “Swords, whether material or magical, are ineffective at harming us. Stone, lava, even meteorites could only slow either of us for a little while.”

“Starswirl also observed that alicorn physiology cannot be altered by magic,” Bunsen Burner continued his thought process, “If Celestia’s body could not break down this fluid, it then must be of a magical origin.”

“If her body could not break it down, and it also couldn’t be removed from her system, the two magicks would conflict-“

“Which would then result in the breakdown of the perpetual engine,” the scientist finished.

Princess Luna looked at the shimmering image of the greenish black sludge, and her eyes began to widen, “Do you think it is possible that if the fluid were removed, our theoretical engine could start once again?”

Bunsen Burner’s brow furrowed as he looked up to the Princess from the journal, “Could you elaborate?”

“When Celestia died, her body dissipated like a golden fog, leaving the Changeling’s poison behind. Do you think she could still be alive?”

Bunsen Burner shrugged his shoulders, “I wouldn’t even know where to begin calculating the odds with you two, but I know if it’s possible, you must retrieve her. To be frank, Princess, your reputation is still fragile due to your infamous darker disposition.”

The Princess sighed deeply, “I was hoping that time would heal those wounds, but even now I’m working with only half earned trust.”

“Perhaps it is best if you allowed Princess Cadence to take the proverbial reins in regards to being the public face. The populace loves her, and they will be more receptive to her.”

The Princess nodded, “Thank you for your advice, Bunsen Burner,” and she turned to walk out of the library to leave his home.

“Princess,” he called out.

She stopped and turned back to him, “Yes?”

“While you are searching, keep in mind that the longer you take to try and find your sister, the worse things could become here. Before she died, the Changeling I.. creatively interrogated divulged that the Hive had future plans for us all. She did not say what, but knowing their insidious nature, I very much doubt it will be easy to detect or combat.”

“Then I will pray that my search is brought to a swift conclusion,” the Princess grimily declared, “Good night, Bunsen Burner.”

“Good night, Princess, and fastest speed to you,” he replied. She left the room, exited out his front door, and teleported away from his doorstep.

Bunsen Burner got up from his seat slowly with a grunt. He took the journal from the table with his mouth, and he walked to his laboratory. Equestria was headed for dark times in the future; the government would be in over its head without his knowledge regarding the Changelings.

I am a soldier, but I’m no good without subordinates to command, he thought to himself. On the steel table next to the door was a telephone and receiver. Time to call an old squadmate. Spinning the rotor, Bunsen Burner picked up the phone. The tone buzzed once, twice; he waited patiently. The other end picked up.

“Hello,” a husky voice responded.

“Mr. Black,” Bunsen Burner smiled grimly, “It’s so good to hear from you.”

“It’s been a long time, Mr. Brown,” the voice replied warmly.

“Are you still in the cleaning business?”

“Oh yes,” Mr. Black said, “I heard that you got let go from the security business. That’s a shame if it’s true.”

“I’m afraid it is true. I require your services.”

“What sort of job?”

Bunsen Burner sighed, “Long term. The bugs are back.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, “Elysia’s pale wings,” Mr. Black cursed, “No way am I fighting those things again.”

“I saved your life, damn it,” Bunsen Burner growled, “You owe me. Without you, I’m alone, and you know how hopeless the Royal Guard is. You and I both know you’re bound by Griffon’s honor to help me.”

“Alright, alright! At least tell me you got some good toys?”

“I’ll custom make whatever you want.”

“Oh really?” Bunsen Burner could practically hear Mr. Black’s beaked grin through the line.

“Within reason.”

“I want..a long range rifle, minimal recoil, silenced; it’ll come in handy for future assignments.”

“You can consider us even then, so long as you promise to never use it on me.”

“So where will we meet,” Mr. Black asked, “The Galloping Mare in Baltimare?”

“That will do. Meet me there in two weeks. Goodbye, Mr. Black.”

“See you there, Mr. Brown,” and then the line went dead.

Bunsen Burner hung up so he could dial again, and the rotor spun once more.

“Yes?” a female voice called out to him.

“It’s me,” he said, “I’m in need of your magical abilities. If you’re nearby, come back to the manor. If not, head for The Galloping Mare.”

“What’s going on?”

“You wanted to help the world, right?”

“I figured I was doing a good enough job as a wandering magician now. What did you have in mind?”

Bunsen Burner chuckled a little before he spoke again, “We’re going Changeling hunting.”

It was midnight in Canterlot, and some of the citizens were restless. Wearing clothes that would conceal their identities, a small band of ponies found a large wall in Canterlot’s market district, and took to their work. The process only took a few minutes with all the hooves that were available, and when it was done, they vanished into the night. When the morning dawned across the fine city of Canterlot, the populace in nearby homes and shops looked up from their pursuits to the nearby wall, and saw something new. A large image of Celestia’s sun was spray painted across the white plaster of the large building. Above the image was written in large, glaring red letters, ‘The Moon Lies’, and below ‘The Sun Rises’. The ponies that looked on the mural had many different reactions. Some were angry for the slander against the Princess of the Night. Some began to have creeping doubts about the Princess and what she had claimed of her sister’s ‘death’. Still others believed that their suspicions of Princess Luna to be validated. As the many opinions began to be expressed verbally, everypony as one became aware that something was beginning. To what end things would unfold to, though, nopony could say.

Chapter 17 - Cadence, Shining Armor

It had taken the royal couple nearly two weeks to reach their lakeside honeymoon villa nestled in the province of Mustangia by carriage, and they had enjoyed every minute of both the trip and the destination itself. They had taken in the exquisite cuisine of the region, trying every conceivable dish under the sun they could find. They had danced with each other to a street performed quintet of a trumpet, trombone, viola, clarinet, and saxophone. Canoeing, hiking through a nature preserve, resting on the sandstone beach; they had done it all, as well as the usually anticipated newlywed activities. During the middle of their time in that blissful region of the world, they had begun to look at some of the wedding gifts they had received. Most newlyweds of course received things which were bound to be useful around the house; something practical that could last a while. This of course was not the case with this couple. Since their needs were provided for by the castle, they had simply asked that any gifts that others intended to give them would be better used by donating to local charities or other generous organizations. Despite this request, Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had received many gifts. Some were collections of gems, or fine quality jewelry. Princess Cadence had received no less than twenty different tiaras. Though she wasn’t quite sure of what to do with them all, she had made a promise to herself to wear each one at least once for public appearances. Prince Shining Armor had received a ceremonial halberd from the Royal Guard, along with several different outfits he had been gifted from his parents in the rare instances when he got off time from guard duty. In among the many different gifts lay a small rectangular package. It was wrapped in commonplace brown paper, and was addressed specifically to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

“Who is it from?” asked Shining Armor as he got onto the bed where his wonderful wife had been unwrapping all their gifts.

“I don’t know,” Cadence said as she flipped it end over end with her magic, “It was wrapped by hoof, and there isn’t any name on it but mine.”

“Well,” Shining Armor wrapped his forelegs around her as he scooted to her side, “maybe the next step to solving this mystery is opening the package.”

Cadence smiled slyly as she kissed her husband, “And this is why I love you, my knight.”

“Why’s that?”

“Your brilliant mind,” she giggled softly.

“Well of course!” he replied, “I mean, what else would you have married me for?” He began to flex his muscles, “My strength? Or perhaps,” he offered her a smoldering look as he dropped his voice an octave, “it’s because of my astounding handsomeness?”

Cadence loved it when Shiny did these outrageous little outbursts, and she began to laugh, “It was definitely for your humility!”

“Well yeah, I’m always the most humble stallion in the room, but I don’t like to show it off; it might make others feel bad!”

Cadence just kept laughing and laughing at her very silly but wonderful husband, until she finally caught her breath a few minutes later. “Well, we don’t want to put it off any longer,” she declared as she began to unwrap the nondescript package, “let’s see what it is!”

When the object was fully unwrapped, the both of them found it was a modest necklace that had been placed on a small oak plaque. It was made of sterling silver, and at its center was a small ruby. A small envelope had fallen out of the packing when Cadence had begun to examine it.

Shining Armor picked up the envelope, unfolded the letter held within, and began to read its contents aloud, “I wish you and your husband a happily wedded life together. This necklace belonged to your mother when she was alive. It was her wish, I believe, that you should have this when you were grown up and married. I do wish that I had been there to answer your questions when you had wondered where your parents were, and who they were. Your father was devoted to you and your mother, and he loved you both dearly. Your mother was a beautiful mare in both appearance and temperament; you took after her in many ways. If they were still alive, they would be proud of you for the mare you’ve become.”

Cadence snatched the letter from her husband’s hooves and quickly began to read it for herself. As she finished, she muttered, “I don’t believe it.” Looking up to the ceiling, she began to tear up, “After all this time, there’s somepony out there who knows.” For as long as she could remember, Princess Cadence had lived in Canterlot Castle under the watchful care of Princess Celestia. She had of course wondered where her parents were for many of her early years, but as she had grown up, taken on responsibilities, and lived her life, she had become resigned to the fact that she may never know the answers that she was seeking.

“Are you gonna to be okay?” Shining Armor asked compassionately as he began to stroke her mane with his hoof.

“I think so,” she replied, before she corrected herself, “No, I know I will be. If there’s a chance that I can find the pony who wrote this, I’ll might be able to know exactly what my parents were like.” She paused as she wiped her tears away, “I guess that it’s good to know that they didn’t just abandon me, but now I won’t ever get the chance to know them fully like others did. Like this pony did.”

Shining Armor wrapped his hooves around her, and she wrapped a hoof around him. As the two of them sat in silence, he spoke after a time, “You know, I’m sure that if we went back to Canterlot, we could go to the Census office and go through the records there. I’m sure that we can find the writing style that matches this one.”

Cadence nodded her head slowly, “We should do that when we go back in a couple of weeks.”

“Not in a few weeks,” Shining Armor said as he got off the bed, “We should go, like right now.”

“But what about all this,” she waved her hoof at the villa and the lands beyond, “What about all the things we had planned for the next few-“

“Those things don’t matter,” Shining Armor said as he turned back to look at her, “You deserve to learn about who your parents were. All of this would be a distraction in the meantime, and you wouldn’t fully enjoy it. This means everything to you, so it means everything to me now too. We’ll leave as soon as we can.”

Cadence got off of the bed and joined Shining Armor in a loving embrace, “Thank you so much for understanding, my shining knight.”

There was a sudden series of soft knocks at the door to their bedroom chamber door, “Your Highnesses, I have an urgent letter from the royal courier here for you.”

The two looked into each other’s eyes and then looked to the awaiting door.

“I wonder what’s happened,” Shining Armor said as he broke the embrace and slowly made his way to the suite entrance.

Opening the door, he found that one of the servants of the villa was there to greet him with the letter in hoof. “There’s an awaiting carriage for you and the Princess, which I’ve been told is to depart immediately upon your reading of the letter. Your amenities will be dealt with for you.”

Shining Armor accepted the letter with grim anxiousness; whatever message was contained in the letter was most certainly not good news, “Thank you, concierge.”

The servant bowed slightly and came into the room to begin packing the royal couple’s things.

“What’s happened?” Cadence asked as her husband opened the scroll adorned with the seal of Princess Luna. As he silently read the message to himself, his face became paler with every line that he read, and he began to shake a little.

“What is it, Shiny?” she asked worriedly. Shining Armor rolled up the scroll and sealed it, teleporting it to in and among their belongings.

His eyes were hollow, and he numbly said, “Cadence, there’s a carriage waiting for us outside. We need to go right now. There’s been a death in the royal family.”

Chapter 18 - Celestia

The sun had gone down several hours ago, and the life of the night was in full swing. The men and women of Kansas City had worked hard all day, and with their paychecks cashed, they went to go and party the night away into the next morning. In an alleyway outside a bar near the Power and Light district lay a homeless man, semi-conscious in an alcoholic stupor from the cheap beer he had bought with what little money he had. The man’s name was Daryl, and he had made this alleyway his home for the past couple of months. It was ideally placed between the nearby liquor store and a soup kitchen that wasn’t too far away, and that was all he really cared about. The inebriated man muttered to himself as he continued to down the alcohol, one large, overflowing swig at a time. A cat entered Daryl’s alleyway, sauntering perhaps to its own home somewhere among the trash, or to find its next meal.

“Hey, le-le’ me tellya somethin’,” he slurred at the cat, as it began to walk towards the dumpster he was resting against. “I’ve heard some weeeeeeird stuff ‘bout these..peeople! People who take-ya-away, and they sacrifice ya to the moon men.” The cat stopped in front of the garbage bin and looked at the drunkard, as if it were interested in what he had to say, which made Daryl talk all the more, “Oh yeah! Yeah, yeah, see..they snatchya like they’re dogcatchers. Annafter they’re through doing their magic with ya, they take ya and launch ya into outer space. You’d like that, wouldn’ya? One less dog on the street..to make life bad for you and yer friends?”

The cat suddenly turned to look further down into the alley and its ears began to twitch as it looked for whatever was fascinating it. After a while, its ears laid back onto its head, it tail became puffed up, and it momentarily hissed before it ran out of the alley.

“Wait! Come back!” Daryl tried to get up and stumble after his one listener, “I haven’t told you about the aglets! They’re evil!”

A flashing burst of light brought Daryl’s attention toward the back of the alleyway’s end. A gathering cloud hung unnaturally low in the alleyway, suspended around some unseen point a few feet off of the ground. Light and distorted sounds came from within the dark boiling cloud, and from out of its dense fog sprang forth a golden mist. Baffled beyond all sense by both his drink and his surprise, Daryl managed to say, “What the hell,” before the golden particles enveloped him. As the light pass over him, his senses were completely and fully returned to him, and the cirrhosis he did not know he had had been cured. Daryl looked down to the bottle in his right hand with a new set of eyes, and in disgust threw it into a nearby dumpster. “Never needed the stuff anyway,” he muttered before he left the alley to start a newly invigorated life for himself, without ever returning to alcohol ever again.

The golden cloud, having healed the sick man, was carried further towards the neck of the alley by the currents of the wind. In time, the particles began to grow brighter as they gathered together, as if they were excited, perhaps even terrified, for what was to come next for them. Sinking towards the ground, the now dense golden mist began to swirl as it landed on the paved but dirty street. A bright shining light of all sorts of colors temporarily filled the entire alleyway as the beautiful lights began to form the outline of a human being lying on the ground. As the lights faded, a naked woman lay on the still, warm, broken asphalt from the hot afternoon’s sun, and as each moment passed, her form became clearer, and her substance more material.

With the process now completed, she gasped for air with a sudden start as she awoke from a dark isolated place that she could not remember, and she hyperventilated for several minutes. Her violet eyes looked to the skies up above to see no stars, but only the lights of a city colored in faded yellow by the lamps and security lights near the street. She had never seen this place before, and she did not know how she had gotten here. She sat up from where she had been lying, wincing as the sand and hot rock of the paved alley ground into her skin. She felt strange all over, like she was a hoof that had been placed in an oddly shaped sock; not quite conforming to the shape of the unusually shaped garment. Why had she thought of hooves? She brought her forelimbs up and saw she had hands, just like she should. She touched her face with those hands, leaving small pieces of grit stuck to her face. It was becoming too much for her; the new sights and sounds seemed to be bearing down on her from every side, never stopping and offering no mercy to her. She got up and ran down the alley like a gazelle, but stopped short when she realized that the sounds and sights were even more concentrated at that open end of the brick hallway. Turning and running back the way she had come, she huddled next to a large green container full of black bags. She covered her ears with her hands and sat in a fetal position, and when she felt she was almost completely overwhelmed, she began to sob in anguish and confusion.

“Please, someone. Make it stop. Make it stop! It hurts; all of it hurts! Someone help me.”

“Hello?” a voice called down the alley to the distraught woman.

Having not heard the sound because of her ears being clasped shut, the poor woman continued to sob, “I don’t know where I am. What is this place? Where have I been?”

Tentative steps made their way slowly toward her, until a figure stood before. The naked woman cringed as the figure gasped, “Oh my god. Are you ok? Who did this to you?”

Crying, the women looked up from where she was sitting and through her tears she asked, “Help me, please.”

The figure was also a woman. She had straightened blonde hair, and she was wearing a white buttoned up shirt with jeans. She reached into a bag suspended from her shoulder and pulled out some kind of small brick like object, and she said in as soothing of a tone as she could manage, “I’m gonna help you. Everything’s going to be alright, okay?” The stranger began tapping the brick with her shaking hand, and then she placed it next to her ear.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“Please come quick! I just found a woman in an alleyway outside of a bar in the Power and Light district. She’s naked and scared; I think she might have been raped.”

“What is your name, ma’am?”

“Serana. Serana Pryce.”

“Serana, give me your exact location and stay on the line; help is on the way right now. If you need to touch the victim, ask permission first; it will help her to feel in control. Be as supportive and unobtrusive as possible.”

After she stopped talking to the black brick, Serana took it away from her ear and slowly squatted down in front of the naked woman, who backed as far into the wall as she could.

“May I hold your hand?” Serana asked as compassionately as she could to the stranger cowering in front of her.

Timidly, the woman reached her left hand out to take Serana’s outstretched hand.

“Help is coming right now. My name is Serana. What’s your name?”

The woman looked past Serana’s shoulder, and her eyes misted over. She sat for a while in a state of being shell-shocked, as she tried to sift through garbled snippets of words and pictures. She looked back into Serana’s eyes with confusion and anguish, and she finally said through more tears, “I don’t remember.”

Chapter 19 - Adam, Lyra Heartstrings

In a field full of sagebrush sat a man, a woman, and a rock. The man’s name was Adam, the woman’s Lyra Heartstrings. The two of them were an odd couple.

In his early life, Adam had been raised by the streets, surviving by whatever means he could, wherever food and shelter took him. After being snatched like a wild animal by an unethical scientific organization, he had then been coerced into being their test subject for a teleportation experiment. Lyra Heartstrings had been a run of the mill Equestrian mare until she had rescued Adam from drowning in one of the Everfree Forest’s many rivers, after he had been accidentally tossed to her parallel universe by a teleportation malfunction. She had taken him in against the wishes of her housemate, Bon Bon, but the earth pony had eventually grown accustomed to his alien presence. The two had been through a multitude of experiences together; they had both been imprisoned by Bunsen Burner as potential hostiles to the order of the Equestrian nation, and had discovered that Equestria had been created as one last act of benevolence by the human race, who were now extinct. Adam had saved Lyra’s life from a vicious Timber Wolf at the cost of his arm, only to have it replaced by a human created prosthetic that could channel magic, called the Dominion Gauntlet. Lyra had then been transformed into the form of a human being by an alien called ‘The Doctor’, and his wondrous time machine called the Tardis. After being returned to Adam’s universe, the two of them had settled in the small town of Hollow Wood, Montana, where they had lived the past few months. They had had to remain careful at all times to not let slip that anything was unusual about themselves to the populace, so they were somewhat withdrawn from the citizens of the town. The locals didn’t seem all that interested in them, but as they became more aware of the two new strangers, odd, unexplainable things kept happening around them. It was never anything major, but little things like broken gutters, dying plants, and cracked windows would be in their usual state of brokenness or abandonment. During the night, though, it was as if a squad of well-meaning gremlins was going throughout the town, because in the morning dead flowers had come back to life, and little home repairs were being made all over. The observant folk noticed these little acts of goodness had begun when the new people had come into town, and while the two of them were nice, if not reclusive people, there was something very strange about the two of them. The man always wore long sleeves and work gloves, no matter the heat of the day. The woman always carried a small pointed green rod on her person, and while no one had ever seen her use it for anything, she was extremely protective of it. She also had stunningly green and white locks of hair, and she would occasionally play a small golden harp for passerby, sometimes for money or for amusement. Some figured they were a traveling hippie couple; it would explain their hardly owning anything. Others didn’t particularly care what they were. The fact that they were new and a little mysterious made them the subject of one or two fanciful rumors, though.

Adam sighed heavily as he looked at the rock in front of him, “How many more times do I have to try this?”

Lyra continued to lie on her back and stare up at the brilliant blue sky. Without even glancing at her frustrated student, she smiled a little and said, “You know you’re not gonna get anywhere if you look at it like it’s a chore, right?”

Adam threw his hands up in the air and whirled to look at Lyra, “Come on, you know that this isn’t easy for me! If you had asked me a few months ago, I wouldn’t have believed that magic was even possible, let alone that things like talking horses or dragons existed!”

“Watch the language, red face,” Lyra said as she looked over and grinned at Adam.

Adam frowned angrily, making sure his face was comically prudish as possible, and his frustration broke a little as he too smiled, “Shut up, horn head.”

Lyra put her hands to her face in mock astonishment, “Sweetie, don’t use my private nickname in public! What would the children say?”

“You started it!”

“And now I’m finishing it. Break time is over, so you can stop stalling now.”

Adam exhaled through his nose and pouted a little, “So you saw through that, huh?”

Lyra paused for a moment before vigorously nodding, “Completely, yeah. Do you want me to go over the basic ideas of magic again? Maybe that will help.”

Adam sarcastically replied with a scoff, “No I mostly get it, Obi-wan; I’m a Jedi, and just have to channel the Force through me for it to work! I must trust my instincts!”

Lyra’s eyes clouded over slightly, “I’m assuming you’ll tell me what the other half of that sentence that I didn’t understand meant later?”

“Sure.”

Lyra got up from where she had been lying, came over to Adam’s side, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She placed her left hand around his mechanical arm, and brought it up to point at the rock. “It’s not enough to just put willpower behind the spell. You have to find that little doorway inside you and put a little belief behind what you’re doing.”

“I don’t think there is any magic here in this world,” Adam said, “I mean, you still have yours because you’re from a world full of the stuff. This place, well. The only magicians here are illusionists and those who try to take advantage of others.”

“And that’s part of your problem; you’re letting other’s actions determine your own ability. Come on. You’re the real deal,” Lyra turned her head to look her skeptical boyfriend in the eyes and let go of his arm, “Give it one more try, and have a little faith.”

Adam looked at Lyra, and then back at the rock. He shook his arm to make it a little more comfortable, and he willed the Dominion Gauntlet to life. The rock didn’t move, even though he tried to reach out to it with all his might. A grey light enveloped the rock. Adam wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking or him straining himself, but he could almost swear that the rock was begin to wobble from its perch.

“Come on,” Lyra cheered, “Believe it will happen. Don’t just will it, believe!”

He tried to; tried so hard to believe he could do it, but he just didn’t have the hope that Lyra told him to look for. He lowered his arm in defeat, and the aura dissipated away from the rock. “I’m sorry Lyra,” Adam sighed once again, “I just don’t have it. You said yourself not every unicorn is amazing at magic, and I guess that includes me too in a roundabout way.”

Lyra didn’t answer.

He turned to look at her. She was staring off into the distance; her golden eyes now clouded over as they stared into some eternity he could not perceive.

“Lyra. Hello?” Adam waved his hand in front of her eyes, “Are you there?”

“I see something.”

Adam glanced in the direction Lyra was looking, “What?”

She continued in a monotone voice, as if she was in a trance, “All worlds find foundation in the Song, but some express it in one of the multitudinous ways. The Conductor is presiding over Equestria’s music, and he is reaching out. Our verses are now intertwined, each holding time equal to the other, and the time of his revelation is coming.”

“Ma’am? We’ve had another spike,” a technician called out to his superior, who then came to look at his computer monitor.

“More Heisenberg radiation?” the Executor asked aloud.

“Yes ma’am, and from a second source in the state of Missouri. The second is leaps and bounds larger than the first.”

“Interesting. I think it’s time to find out what these sources of radiation are. Send a pickup crew to each location, and be as discrete as possible.”

“Do you think these irradiated locations have something to do with the work we’re doing here?”

“Oh undoubtedly. Alert me once you’ve done all the precursory checks before sending in the squad in full force.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Chapter 20 - Cadence, Shining Armor

The trip back to Canterlot had proved to be very anxious and stressful for the Royal Couple. After being driven from the Honeymoon suite to the nearest railroad depot, they had been traveling for the past week to get back to Princess Celestia’s side as soon as possible. On the sixth day of their travel, they had received a second letter from Princess Luna informing them of the entire situation, including the fact that she believed her sister to still be alive, and that she was leaving Equestria to find her and bring her back.

“But why would she not want us to tell the nation this?” Cadence asked her dear husband, who was still looking over the letter line by line.

Shining Armor began to stare at the far wall of the train car as he looked for any potential reason, “Maybe she’s not sure she will succeed, and she doesn’t want ponies to live in false hope.”

“If both Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna are gone, how are we going to raise and lower the sun and moon?” Cadence asked as she looked out to the now setting sun through the window next to her. Shining Armor now followed her gaze to watch as the sun lingered near the edge of the mountainous horizon, as if it were waiting for the command to rest and travel to the other side of the world. He wrapped his foreleg around his Mi Amore Cadenza and held her close. She put her hoof on his chest and turned to look at him.

“I don’t know what we’re in for, what'll be in our future, or how we’ll face it,” he said, “I just know that with each other, there's nothing we can’t do. If Luna trusts us to rule in her's and Celestia’s stead, I’m sure that we can make it work.”

Cadence smiled and kissed Shining Armor softly, “You’re right. We can do this. I’ve been doing all the political duties of a princess for as long as I can remember. I never thought I’d have to use those skills in a situation like this, though.”

In a few minutes, the train pulled into Canterlot station, and the Royal Couple disembarked as inconspicuously as possible. As they got closer to the castle, they noticed a large number of ponies had started to gather in front of the large doors to the public entrance.

“What’s going on?” Shining Armor muttered to Cadence. Reaching out with her empathic talents, the Princess could feel the mood of the crowd as one gestalt creature; there was frustration boiling over, discontent, even anger. It was a powder keg of negative emotion waiting to explode, if given the right prompting. Looking to her lover, she magically constructed herself a small box hat and placed a ball cap on Shining Armor’s head, after which she made them matching tinted sunglasses. Her husband blinked rapidly in response to have a new set of shades suddenly shoved onto his face, “What are you doing?”

Cadence quickly lead the two of them into a nearby alleyway, away from the crowd, “For whatever reason, everypony is angry, and I don’t know why. We should just get back into the castle as quickly as possible.”

“Citizens of Canterlot,” a voice called out from the front gates to the crowd. Shining Armor recognized it as the voice of Lieutenant Swiftfeet of the RSD. “Please disperse at once. If you wish to bring any grievances to the Royal Family, do so on an individual basis through the Day or Night courts.”

“Is it true that Luna murdered Celestia?” a stallion yelled out from the crowd.

“What?!” Cadence exclaimed in complete shock. A couple of ponies turned and looked to the two strangers in the alley.

“Hey, isn’t that Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor?”

“I thought they were supposed to be on honeymoon in Mustangia?”

“Honey, we really think we need to go now,” Shining Armor urgently whispered to his wife, and the two of them began to walk away from the alley and the ponies that recognized them, but the recognition only followed them.

“How do we know they are the real Cadence and Shining Armor? They could be Changelings!”

“If things were this bad, why wasn’t a detail sent for us?” Shining Armor thought aloud.

“Shiny,” Cadence called out with a little edge of fright in voice, “they’re following us!”

“Return to your homes at once, or we will be forced to clear the area. This is your last warning,” Swiftfeet called out through his bull horn.

Ponies began to get uncomfortably close to the two royals on every side.

“We teleport to the front porch, alright?” Shining Armor said as he looked to Cadence. She nodded her understanding, and before the crowd could get any closer, the two of them were lost in bursts of bright magenta and cyan light.

Landing almost right next to the Lieutenant, Shining Armor spoke urgently to him, “Swiftfeet, report. What’s going on here?”

The Pegasus turned to the Captain, “A disturbance began about an hour or two ago with some wild conspiracy theories about what happened to Princess Celestia. It’s good to have a calm head like yours here; the non-military royals are browning themselves, and some of the Royal Guard has even defected to the crowd. RSD got called in for nonlethal crowd control, which we are about to begin.”

“We know you’re holding back on us!” another pony in the crowd yelled above the din, “You’ve been lying to us all for years about the Changelings!” The crowd quieted a little at this strange accusation, and the mare continued, “For years and years they’ve known that the old stories were true, but they did nothing to warn us, nothing to protect us! If there’s anyone responsible for Princess Celestia’s death, it’s this so called ‘Royal Family’!”

“Luna wasn’t around until after the attack,” another pony called out, “how do we know she didn’t have something to do with it?”

Random voices began to shout out, “Down with the Moon! The Sun Rises!”

“Lunar Princess! Solar Tyrant!”

“Down with the Royals!”

“Get my wife inside,” Shining Armor yelled to a few nearby guards, “Make sure she’s safe above anything else!”

The guards snapped to attention, and with a quick “Yes, Captain!” they escorted Princess Cadence to the security of Canterlot Castle. The crowd was now boiling over with anger and confusion, and the breaking point was about to be reached.

“Whatever you have planned, do it!” Shining Armor called out to Lieutenant Swiftfeet, who nodded. The RSD personnel, each one covered head to hoof in thick polymer suits with hard fiberglass helmets and equipped with back-mounted tear gas launchers, were ready for the order to pacify the crowd. Having given permission to fire, Lieutenant Swiftfeet and Shining Armor watched as tear gas canisters soared into the crowd from above, dispersing their pea-soup colored contents into the assembled ponies. Cries of bewilderment and fear came from out of the smoke, and it seemed that the majority of the crowd was vacating the area. A portion of the gathered ponies, no less than thirty stallions and mares, began a charge on the frontsteps of the castle.

“Hold!” Shining Armor yelled to the fifty guards and officers as he quickly constructed a set of Captain’s armor from the ether, “Use minimal force as necessary! Incapacitate only!”

The pegasi of the small mob began to leap into the air, so as to break the front line of the defense. In immediate response, the pegasi of the Royal Guard took to the air to cut off their strike preemptively. Magical bolts of all different colors filled the air as the mob continued its push, and the guardsponies created a multi-layered phalanx of shields. After the first volley of unicorn magic was dispelled by their shields, the guardsponies that could began to fire hexes that would hog tie anyone they could strike. One by one, the rioters began to fall like dominoes, as they were magically restrained, and horn and wing cuffs were placed on those who needed them. The battle was one sided, but the Royal Guard had succeeded; no casualties to report on either side, and containment had proven simple after the small group of ponies had been subdued.

“Can you handle this from here?” Shining Armor asked Lieutenant Swiftfeet as the RSD forces began to haul the pacified rioters away.

“Go, sir. We have this under control,” the pegasus replied, but Shining Armor was already galloping for the entrance to the castle.

Chapter 21 - Cadence, Fancy Pants

After being hastily ushered into Canterlot Castle by the Royal Guard, Princess Cadence had begun to ask questions almost nonstop in order to get up to speed with the most current events.

“This open hostility has sprung up almost overnight,” one of her two guards said as they began the trek back to her’s and her husband’s new married suite, “One or two ponies started rumors of conspiracy beyond what was officially released by Princess Luna, and now everypony is caught up in both panic and anger.”

Princess Cadence shook her head as she tried to comprehend everything she had just heard, “I’ve never felt so much of it all at one time. It was like a writhing creature, reaching out through everypony. There was fear driving that anger, and I think we all have a right to be a little afraid after the Changelings.”

The second guard cleared his throat, “Ever since Princess Luna declared war on them, everyone has been paranoid, looking for signs if their neighbors might not be who they seem. We’re already getting reports of witchhunts from the outer regions, which must have started around the time the report of Canterlot’s attack made it to print.”

“Have there been any casualties?” Princess Cadence murmured as she took a shuddering breath.

“None so far as we know. Those that have been accused were being kept under twenty-four hour surveillance in any sort of secure areas available; banks, hospitals, even some of the old jails have seen recommissioning in this nightmare.”

The small entourage passed into a large room with two sets of spiraling staircases that lead up to a balcony which looked out across the whole of the north of Equestria through large sets of glass windows and two doors that lead out to a smaller balcony area. The sun had continued down past the horizon, but no one had given it the command to do so. Princess Cadence was unsure if Aunt Luna had placed some contingency to allow the sun and moon passage through the outer ether without her influence, until such a time as her niece was ready to take the job. Her innate sensory of the order of universe told her that this was not the case, and that she needed to find a solution to this predicament very soon, before things would take a turn for the worse in the cosmic sense, and not just the geopolitical.

Without any warning whatsoever, three dark forms crashed through the now magenta hued glass paneling. Three very deranged looking pegasi introduced themselves to Princess Cadence and her guards by barreling into them headfirst, ramming the lot of them against the wall. The guards struggled against their opponents, but the traitorous ponies picked them up by their midsections, carried them through the now broken glass panorama, and tossed them out to a long fall down the mountainside.

“No, stop!” the Princess screamed, but her captor simply doubled the effort that he was putting into keeping her pinned to the wall. The two pegasi that had just accomplished their bloody task returned, and produced swords from the sheaths they had had tied around their bodies.

“Not everypony is going to choose the two most popular sides in the upcoming war,” one of the approaching assassins said through her teeth and around her sword, “Death comes to all tyrants!”

Princess Cadence’s horn pulsed blue as she pushed her attackers away, but before she could make a run for it, a vial that had been thrown in her direction exploded in front of her, releasing a magically potent sleeping drought. She coughed violently to try and expel the potion’s vapors from her lungs, but she could already feel its effect on her system. The edges of her eyesight began to fade slowly as she struggled up the nearby set of stairs. Her strength was leaving her, as was her consciousness of her surroundings. The pegasi weren’t far behind as they followed her, only a few hoofsteps away at any time. There had been enough potion in the small container to knock out an elephant. While Princess Cadence’s body would filter the drought very quickly, she was by no means immune.

The leader of the group raised her sword once again to harm the now unconscious Princess, when a nearby set of double doors were flung open into the room. Out of the darkness of a hallway nearby the balcony where the four ponies stood strode Fancy Pants. His face was devoid of his usual amusement, and he held a magically created rapier in his telekinetic grip.

“Back away from the Princess,” he said firmly, “or I will make things unpleasant for all of us.” He aggressively twirled his sword to offer emphasis to his threat, before bringing its point towards the three intruders. They looked at each other for a moment to confirm what each of the others was thinking, and then they slowly began to smile. The three pegasi slowly began to edge toward Fancy Pants, splitting into a three pronged attack formation as they did. Fancy Pants watched each of them in turn as he did his best to account for each of their movements. Three on one wasn’t exactly sporting, and the odds statistically were not in his favor. He would have to be enough. Please wake up soon Princess, he nervously thought to himself, I could truly use a hoof here.

Princess Cadence found herself in a small garden, sitting comfortably under the shade of a cherry blossom tree, and near the edge of a small but beautiful pond. She knew she was dreaming from the instant that she first remembered being here; her dark aunt had taught her much of the functions of the mind in the past few years. While she naturally was drawn into the elegance of the surrounding dreamscape, the matters of the waking world were decidedly more pressing on her thoughts. She did her best to will herself awake, but she found she was being blocked by some presence.

“Aunt Luna?” she called out to the pink and grey overcast clouds up above, “Is that you?”

From out of the sky came a voice unlike any Cadence had ever heard in her life, “Hello Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of Canterlot.”

“Who are you?” she asked as she looked all around for the voice’s source, “Why are you keeping me here? My life is in danger if you do not let me go now!”

“Be at peace,” the disembodied voice soothed, “You will not come to harm here nor there. I am holding you here because you wish to bring order to a world out of balance. You desire knowledge of how to move the sun and the moon while Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are elsewhere. I can give that knowledge to you. Listen closely to me, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and you will know that which you seek.”

Blue sparks cascaded off the two swords Fancy Pants had conjured. While he had been able to block almost all of the blows of his three dishonorable opponents, they were dividing his focus, and the several slices through his suit made it obvious that his defense was beginning to deteriorate, despite his second sword’s work. They had not given him any amount of respite, but of course he had not expected them too really. Five minutes which had seemed like an eternity had passed since the duel had begun, and it was becoming quite apparent that the battle would be over very shortly. Through his gasps for air, Fancy Pants saw that his opponents weren’t even breaking a sweat as they each took their turns with him. It was then that he realized that they had been toying with him from the very start.

“You can drop this charade now,” he said breathlessly as he parried one last blow, “You could’ve done me in minutes ago. My question is why you are bothering to fight me at all?”

The three pegasi assassins lowered their swords and looked at each other. The leader of the group, the female, stepped forward to engage Fancy Pants in single combat. She lunged at him, and Fancy Pants instinctively sidestepped, slashing his sword horizontally along his opponent’s side. She didn’t even grunt in pain as she immediately came to a stop next to the Equestrian Prince. The gash in the mare’s side oozed green sludge, before it slowly cauterized itself shut with eerie green flames. Fancy Pants looked on, horrified at the realization of what his opponent was. The mare’s pupil’s flashed emerald in color, and she put a hoof to her mouth. “Shh,” she quietly hushed him, before a large extrusion came out of her body, knocking the stallion to the floor. Picking him up with her forehooves, the mare led the other two disguised Changelings to the broken window below.

The form of Princess Cadence stirred. As she got to her hooves and shook off the last of the sleeping potion, she saw that her would-be murderers were about to throw Fancy Pants to his death. Leaping over the balcony to the floor below, she galloped towards them, “Leave him alone!”

Fancy Pants struggled to leave the forelegs of his opponents, but they tossed him out of the window all the same. The Princess leapt over the three pegasi, and began to dive towards the falling form of her attempted rescuer. Fancy Pants did his best to provide an upward force with his magic to slow his fall, but he was exhausted from his battle, and so he simply spread his forelegs out in an "X" formation, hoping that the Princess would catch him before he hit the ground. Speeding like a pink and purple bullet towards her target, Princess Cadence grabbed him by the forelegs and pulled up, bringing them out of the dive to glide away from the unforgiving rock face below and towards the dark waters of the lake below Canterlot.

“We can’t go back,” Fancy Pants yelled over his shoulder to the Princess, “Those three were Changelings in disguise! If you stay in Canterlot, they will keep trying to kill you.”

The Princess vehemently shook her head, “No! I can’t abandon Equestria. I’m the head of this nation now!”

“We can’t risk the lives of the other nobles, especially those who are more familiar with the protocols of governance!” Fancy Pants looked back at the Princess, right in the eye, “Are you willing to risk their lives, or worse, Shining Armor’s life against those monsters?” Shuttering at the thought of what the Changelings might do to her husband as revenge against her, Princess Cadence and Fancy Pants dejectedly flew away from Canterlot into the west, and into the darkness of the oncoming night. Far up above, the Changeling Candidate named Papillion watched them leave with her two subordinates. Taking flight, the three veered toward the north, satisfied in the fact that their mission was complete, and that all was going according to plan.

Chapter 22 - Shining Armor

Taking the shortest route possible to the marriage suite, Shining Armor barreled down the halls of Canterlot Castle to make sure his lovely wife was secure there. The evening was now in its beginning hours, and the moon had begun to rise in the sky. Rounding the corner of the hallway that led to the suite, he saw that two of the Royal Guard were already posted outside the doors.

“Private,” he barked as a true Captain of the Guard would, “Is my wife inside?”

“Sir, no sir,” the private replied, “Princess Cadence has not come this way, and neither have her guards, sir!”

Feeling as if a tub of ice water had been dumped down his back, Shining Armor galloped down the corridor that the Princess’ bodyguards had been instructed to pass through. Fear continued to tighten its grip around his heart the longer he had time to think about what could have happened. Almost immediately his training kicked in, and he sealed up his panic; it wasn’t going to do him any good, and the last thing he needed was to psych himself out. Seeing the double doors to the western balcony room opened up, he had a hunch that he had found the room he had been looking for. Even in spite of himself, anxiety began to creep into his mind. The large plate glass window had been shattered, leaving the shards strewn about the room. Among those unforgivably sharp pieces of glass lay a scroll, wrapped with a green ribbon and a simple circular seal to keep it closed. Slowly descending on the nearby set of stairs, Shining Armor brought the scroll over from where it had lain to hover in front of his eyes.

The message read, We have your wife. If you ever wish to see her again, you will take our side in the coming war. We know that you will choose the noble course of action, as any unicorn would. We hope that in the future, brother, we will not have to utilize such tactics to receive your attention. ---The Mystic Circle

Shining Armor didn’t know what to think. He unceremoniously flopped down on the stairs and reread the message again. Some unicorn group was holding his wife. The riot was a distraction to make Cadence’s capture all the easier. Was this an inside job? Could there possibly be a traitor among the Guard? Shining Armor furiously shook his head; first the rioters had chosen factions favoring one of the Royal Sisters over the other, and now there were groups that were forming to take part in a war based on the three races? Just a month ago, he never would have believed such a thing possible, but the suggestion that even rumors of an Equestrian civil war taking place in the near future seemed absolutely insane! There had never been such a degree of internal conflict in the nation, not since its formation at least. Now there was no Celestia, no Luna, not even his Mi Amore to try and peacefully resolve this. Everypony was afraid, he knew, because of the Changelings, and the fear was causing everyone to grip to anything they could in the face of this foe that could change its identity at will. Seeing as he was married to the last delegated to sovereign, he was next in line to take up the throne and act as ruler of Equestria. If the races were now dividing, there was no way the earth ponies or the pegasi would respect him. The Captain of the Guard put his head in his hooves, as he became overwhelmed by the enormity of his new responsibilities. How could he get Cadence back, stop a civil war before it could start, and defeat the Changelings all on his own?

From behind his hooves, Shining Armor saw a growing blue light. Looking up, he saw a faint blue orb traveling through the remains of the balcony window, floating on an unseen current towards him. The blue sphere composed of magic slowed as it finally reached its recipient. When it came to a complete stop, the sphere began to broadcast a sound; it was Cadence’s voice that was speaking to him, “My Shining Knight.”

“Cadence,” Shining Armor said breathlessly, “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m sending you this message to let you know that I am safe, despite how things may appear. I was attacked by a group of three pegasi on my way up to the room. My two guards were killed, but Fancy Pants came to my rescue. The assassins were Changelings in disguise. We were forced to leave Canterlot. They seem to be everywhere, and I couldn’t risk losing you. I’m what they want, so you are safest when you are as far away from me as can be. I will take care of the orbit of the sun and the moon, but Fancy Pants and I are going into hiding, and we will be constantly moving to avoid the Changelings. I don’t know how long this exile will last, but I hope it will be over soon. I miss you already.”

Shining Armor blinked away his tears as he whispered, “I miss you too.”

“I love you, Shiny,” the message began to fade as it ended, “I know I will see you again.” With that final whisper, the blue orb dissipated, and Shining Armor was left in the semi-darkness lit only by the moon.

The guardsponies who had been posted to secure the suite found their Captain a few minutes later, sitting alone on the stairway. Surveying the damage done to the room in question, one of them muttered, “What happened here?” Shining Armor’s ears perked at the sound of another pony’s voice.

Standing up and turning around, the Captain of the Guard’s face was as blank as a chalk slate, “My wife has been kidnapped.” The two guards were struck dumb by the pronouncement. “Follow me,” Shining Armor said hollowly, and he began to walk back to the marriage suite. Silently, the guards obeyed. “Alert the other members of the Royal Family of what has happened. Take special care when informing Fancy Pant’s wife; he was also taken hostage trying to defend her. The entirety of the Family is needed in the proclamation chamber at 2200 for a council on how to deal with the multiple crises we will be facing.”

“Sir,” the guards saluted before running further into the castle.

Unsure of whom he could trust, Shining Armor had decided to play along with the ruse the Changelings had left him. Later, he would meet in secret with the RSD to learn if they had any means of detecting the bugs while they were disguised. At the meeting time he had set, he took into account the opinions, facts, and concerns of the other nobles regarding the civil unrest. In the coming days, Prince Shining Armor, ruler and keeper of Equestria, instituted martial law across the entire country. Curfews were enacted, certain trustworthy citizens were deputized to oversee the maintaining of order in their towns, anypony suspected of being a Changeling was detained, and strict punishments were laid out for anypony who attempted an execution on any of the accused. Weeks passed, the Changeling Scare only heightened, and many towns had already begun to split and segregate into those who supported Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. In larger towns like Trottingham or Manehatten, violence had even begun to break out over the issue. Gangs had begun to form along the divide line, and they would loot and terrorize the areas where the opposing gangs were strong, which occasionally resulted in injuries or worse. The national count of those who had died had reached twenty after the first month. The smaller towns and villages did their best to remain neutral, but were nominally pro-Celestia, since that was the only ruler of the monarchy they were used to. Ponyville, by and large, was one of the few towns that maintained true, open neutrality from either side, having seen both Princesses and their kindness at one time or another. Housing was consolidated so that at least two ponies lived in the same household, as there was safety in numbers from the threat of the Changeling menace. After several weeks of letters from all over Equestria that had been attempting to sway them one way or the other, the Elements of Harmony had officially declared themselves neutral as well, and had attempted to go about their business as usual. Civil peace was crumbling everywhere a pony could look; with no strong personalities to take to leading either side on the issue, Equestria no longer recognized the authority of its government, as it no longer knew who was meant to lead. It seemed that at every turn, there was antagonization from one of either of the sides, and fear was growing more and more rampant every day. Ponies now looked over their shoulders wherever they went, unsure of what they may find following them at any time. Would it be somepony that they might be able to make sense of and reason with, or would it be a boogeypony from their nightmares who had come for them to take them away? A twilight fell on Equestria’s soul, and there was no light that anyone could see to make it better.

Chapter 23 - Applejack, Rarity

Applejack had been sleeping soundly when she had awoken. She hadn’t had a bad dream or heard any loud, sudden sounds that might have done the awakening; she simply was asleep, and then she wasn’t. Fully alert in an instant, she lay in her bed as she did her best to listen to what the sounds of the night held at one-thirty in the morning. Something wasn’t right, and she could feel it in her bones. Glass broke downstairs. Something shattered to the floor. Applejack jumped out of bed and slammed her hat on. Thieves, she internally grumbled, Wha happened to the honest ponies in this here town, huh?

Descending down the stairs as quietly as possible, Applejack noticed that there was an eerie green light coming from the kitchen. As she slowly approached the doorway to the kitchen, she peeked her head around the corner. Emerald flames were consuming the room at an alarming rate, pouring out of a broken glass bottle which had been thrown into the house through the window above the sink, and that now lay in the middle of the floor. Horrified, Applejack whirled around and ran back up the stairs to the bedrooms, yelling as she went, “Fire! Fire! The house is on fire!”

Slamming the door to Granny Smith’s room open, Applejack ripped the covers off of her. Startled awake, the old mare whirled her head all around, “Wha’s goin’ on? Applejack?”

“Granny, lean on me as quick as yah can,” Applejack said as she wrapped her elder’s foreleg around her neck, “The house’s on fire, and we need to get out!”

“Hold yer horses one second,” Granny Smith exclaimed as she looked around the room, before quickly picking up the family photo album, “Now we can go.”

Making as good of time as they could together, they hubbled back down the hallway to the awaiting stairs and front door. Big Macintosh’s door was already open. Applejack quickly looked into his room and then outside through a nearby window as she helped Granny along, “Big Mac! Where are you?!”

“Here, sis,” the large stallion said as he appeared with a still sleeping Apple Bloom on his back from out of her room.

“Thank Celestia,” Applejack said as she exhaled sharply, “Let’s go!”

“Here,” Big Mac said as he took Granny Smith and gave Applejack her little sister, taking the older mare on his back to carry her to safety faster.

“Wazgoinon?” Apple Bloom muttered as she started to become aware of her surroundings.

“Whatever you do Apple Bloom, hold on tight!” Applejack yelled as she began to gallop down the stairs. The green flames had already reached the foot of the stairs, and were beginning to climb upward. Big Mac and Granny were nowhere to be seen, so Applejack hoped that meant they had already made it out.

“WooOOOAAAH!” Apple Bloom yelled as her sister ran down at the flames, jumping over their reaching tendrils of cold fire.

Slamming down on the floor just out of the fire’s reach, Applejack bolted for the door and made it out safely. Seeing Big Mac and Granny Smith some distance away from the homestead, Applejack ran for them with the adrenaline she still had in her system, and nearly bowled them both over when she met them. “Oh mah gosh,” she said through her panting breaths and tears, “Ah’m so happy we’re alright!” Embracing every one of her family members in turn, she turned back to look at the house with the rest of them; it was completely engulfed in the hellish green flames.

“Nothin’s lost tha’ was really important,” Granny Smith said solemnly as she looked to her family, “You three, and these memories,” she said as she motioned to the photo album in the crock of her right hoof, “Are the only things in this world Ah could never replace.”

“But where’re we going to stay now?” Apple Bloom asked.

Big Mac looked at the ground for a moment, before his eyes turned toward the barn.

Applejack’s face paled as she realized a new horror, “Where’s Winona?”

Suddenly, in the direction of the barn, the Apples could hear the sound of continuous angry barking. Applejack ran after the sound, ignoring Granny’s cries telling her to wait. As she came near the barn, she heard the barking continue. Running around the side, Applejack saw two ponies she didn’t recognize running off into the distance. Winona had been standing guard near the barn, barking after the two strangers. When she saw her owner, Winona ran to her, and began to lick her face. “Winona,” Applejack gasped as she hugged her dog and smiled a little, “Ah was so worried about you.”

The moon, which had been hiding behind the many clouds that night, revealed itself, and as Applejack looked up her smile disappeared, as she now saw that the side of the once cherry red barn had been marked with a dark purple crescent moon.

Rarity was awoken by the smell of smoke. While it wasn’t unusual to wake to a burning smell in the morning after Sweetie Belle tried to practice her culinary skills for her benefit, she had fairly good reason to believe her sister wasn’t making breakfast around two in the morning. Swiftly leaping out of her bed, Rarity made for her sister’s bedroom as quick as she could. As the two of them were making their way downstairs, they passed through the design and showroom of the Boutique. Fabrics of all sorts of colors were lit up with the orange flames that were consuming the two unicorn’s home from the inside out. Her home, her business, everything that Rarity had worked so hard for during the past few years, it was all being destroyed before her eyes.

She stopped and tried to snuff out the flames with her magic. No matter how much she tried to smother the fire, it just kept coming back, burning brighter and brighter with every minute bit of material it could devour.

“Rarity, come on!” Sweetie Belle yelled to her sister as she motioned to the front door.

“No,” Rarity yelled back, as she turned on the tap in the kitchen with her magic and began to funnel the water into the room with as much concentration as she could muster, “I have to save the Boutique! I can’t let all this be ruined!” She sprayed the water in one direction, then another, but the flames would resurge elsewhere twice as high as before. She began to whimper to herself as she now saw that the flames were spreading too fast for her to put out.

Sweetie Belle grabbed ahold of her sister and began to forcibly drag her out of their burning home, “Rarity, come on! This isn’t worth losing you! We have to get out!”

The fire had reached the ceiling and had begun to eat away at the rafters. The rafters themselves had begun to creak and groan heavily. Crying to herself as she was lead out of the Boutique by her younger sister, the two of them looked on as the place they had lived for so long when away from their parents began to collapse under its own weight and the effects of the horrid fire. Rarity sobbed heavily as she watched the final minutes of her recent life’s works go up in smoke, while the Carousel Boutique at last completely collapsed into itself, leaving nothing but a now large pile of glowing embers and ash. Even in their devastation, the two unicorns noticed a patch of earth near where they were sitting, which had been scorched down by a second fire, separate from the larger one. The pattern on the ground was in the shape of Princess Celestia’s Cutie Mark. As Rarity stared at the symbol, things began to make a greater amount of sense, and she began to shake in anger. There was only one kind of fire in the world that could burn so vigorously and reduce any building to a pile of ash as quickly as this had.

“Phoenix fire,” Rarity seethed. She then turned and ran toward the center of town, while Sweetie Belle did her best to keep up with her half-crazed, distraught, and completely furious sister.

In no time at all, the two of them had reached the library. It was nearly morning now, and the first few pale rays of sunlight were groping towards the eastern sky. Rarity had almost made it to the door before two shadows landed in front of her, blocking her path. Startled by the sudden presence of Umbra and Nox, she skittered to a halt a few paces away from them, which left Sweetie Belle some time to catch up with her older and longer legged sister.

The two Antrozi guardsponies snarled momentarily at the two of them, and they began to fervidly sniff the air. The two of them shook their wings loose before resting them once again, and they humbly bowed their heads to the two unicorns.
“Apologies, Lady Rarity and Miss Belle,” Umbra declared dutifully, “It is not often we see two ponies out so close to the end of the night, and your approach seemed suspicious. What is it you wish to bring to Mistress Sparkle’s attention?”

A light appeared in Twilight’s bedroom as she lit a candle, and she opened the nearby balcony doors to step outside to see what had caused her two guards so much alarm. Looking down at the four ponies, she was shocked by her friend’s presence so early in the day, “Rarity? What’s going on?” Twilight punctuated her statement with a yawn, “What are you doing up so early?”

Rarity exploded as she began to blurt out her mind, “I would still be in bed, if it wasn’t for the fact that my Boutique has been turned into a pile of ashes! Those wretched Solar Empire ponies took everything away from us with their phoenix fire, and now we have nowhere to go, nothing to eat-”

“Wowowowoah,” Twilight tried to slow her friend down, “Somepony burned down the Boutique?!”

“Twilight! Ah reaaally need to talk with you!” Applejack called out as she galloped towards the library. Umbra put up his hoof and barked “Stop!” at the approaching earth pony. After he and his brother thought she was safe, they let her pass.

Applejack looked to her fashionista friend with growing confusion, “Rarity? What’re you doin’ here?”

“The Boutique has been destroyed,” she replied with bitter sadness, “Why're you here?”

“Sweet Apple Acres’ been attacked! They’ve burned down the homestead!”

Twilight looked back and forth to her two friends in growing confusion, “Who? Who burned it down?”

Applejack angrily growled and looked back in the direction of her burnt home, “Those cowards that’re abusing Princess Luna’s name! If I saw one of ‘um now, I’d feel mighty entitled to strangle ‘um for what they’ve done!”

Twilight’s levels of confusion skyrocketed. Finally, she looked down to her two guards, “Umbra, Nox, let my friends in. Could you also make us a quick breakfast, please? We’ve got a lot to talk about.” The two guards nodded their understanding. Umbra opened the door for the other three ponies to enter, and Nox made his way to the small kitchen suite to begin making a light breakfast for everypony.

Chapter 24 - The Elements

Twilight woke up Spike and set him down to writing Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash a letter to summon each of them for an emergency meeting at the library. It was only a half hour before the three had made their way to there. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had also brought along their housemates with them, as there was always strength in numbers when venturing out nowadays. Fluttershy’s was Bon Bon, and Rainbow Dash’s was a mare named Lightning Bolt. After sitting down at a circular wooden table, which Twilight had hastily made from the central book stall, they ate a forgettable breakfast, and the discussion between the six ponies about what had happened in the past night and what to do about it began.

“I’ll thank my lucky stars that nopony was harmed in either of these fires,” Rarity said with a sigh as she wiped away stray tears with a spare handkerchief Twilight had given her, “Sweetie and I will have to move back in with my parents while I..rebuild. I can salvage the few gems I had in the Boutique as a quick way to get some currency, but we’re penniless otherwise.”

“While Sweet Apple Acres has suffered worse in the past,” Applejack declared, waving her hoof as she did, “what with the barn bein’ destroyed as many times as it has in the past two years alone, these guys violated our home, our basic sense’a security.” She then struck the table lightly to emphasize her next statement, “We gotta go after’um, an’ we stop these hooligans from doin’ any further damage to anypony else or their property.”

Fluttershy coughed slightly to get the other’s attention, “Um, wouldn’t that make the Solar Empire ponies think we’re on their side, Applejack? If that happened, other Lunar Republic ponies might try attacking more of the town.”

“Screw them!” Rainbow Dash yelled, slamming her hooves down onto the table, “Just ‘cause were being neutral in this craziness doesn’t mean we should act like pushovers! If we don’t make these guys pay for what they did, others may start trying to take advantage of us!”

Twilight cupped her head in her hooves and sighed. Looking up, the only way to really describe the expression on her face was haunted, “It’s pretty clear that both groups are willing to commit the worst kinds of things on those around us to make us decide which group we should go with. My family is safe in Canterlot, but all yours and their safety are..undoubtedly less assured. We have to make a decision one way or another, before either of the groups escalates to doing something even more terrible.”

All this time, Pinkie Pie had remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the entirety of the meeting. She was staring intently at the square foot of table in front of her, and her forehead wrinkled as she rubbed her chin contemplatively. She wasn’t the only one either; Bon Bon was staring out the nearest window of the library with a look of growing frustration brewing on her face. Lightning Bolt was distracting herself and Sweetie Belle by playing one of the few board game Twilights had lying around.

After the silence had lingered a while, Pinkie Pie suddenly perked up and blurted out, “I’ve got it!”

Startled, the others looked to her for an explanation for the sudden exclamation.

Pinkie jerked her head back and forth as she looked at the others in turn, “Two fires on the same night, from two different groups, involving two of us!”

The others in the room continued to blink as they tried to comprehend the mental trail Pinkie was trying to leave.

Pinkie Pie groaned and yanked her eyelids down her face at her friend’s lack of understanding, “Ugh, okay! Here we go. How far is it from Sweet Apple Acres to Carousel Boutique?”

“About twenty five minutes, as fast as a pegasus flies,” Applejack said as she looked at Pinkie curiously.

“Great. How about a time? Did anyone catch the time when the fires happened?”

“Well, it was around half past one when Ah heard the first noises before the fire started,” Applejack nodded to herself.

“And it was around two in the morning when I woke up to the smell of smoke,” Rarity interjected.

“Hang on,” Rainbow Dash waved her hoof back and forth, “Is this-? Is Pinkie Pie trying to make sense? And it's working?”

Twilight grinned sheepishly, “After the MMM incident, I got her hooked on mystery novels.”

“So!” Pinkie exclaimed as she got up from her sitting pillow near the table and began to walk in a circle around the table on only her hindlegs, “If we coincidently had two groups so mad at each other like we know the Solar Empiricists and the Lunar Republicans to be, in the same town and on the same night, wouldn’t it seem a little weird that they didn’t meet and fight each other?”

Looking around the room, everypony was silently waiting for where Pinkie was going with her deductions. Batting her eyelashes momentarily, Pinkie continued, whilst producing a detective’s bonnet and bubbling pipe to complete her investigative attire, “What if, instead of two groups, it was one group who set the two fires, in the hopes that we would give into one of the two sides?”

Twilight tilted her head as she thought through the argument for any inconsistencies, “It is possible, given the evidence we have. Still, it is a bit of a leap in logic. Which of the two groups would this one be, and why would they burn down Applejack’s or Rarity’s homes?”

“Why indeed?” Pinkie Pie asked darkly, before blowing a few puffs of bubbles from her pipe.

Rainbow Dash got out of her seat and began to fly around in circles close to the ceiling, and thought aloud for the others, “We know that there are at least two dozen homes and shops between Rarity’s and Applejack’s, each of which is nearly on opposite sides of the town. These mooks went out of their way to target two of Elements! Everypony knows that the Elements of Harmony only work altogether or not at all, so why would either side want to risk splitting us up?”

“Exactly,” Pinkie Pie gestured to Rainbow, “Why would someone want to split us up? We’re like a banana split of friendship! The parts by themselves are good, but not nearly as amazing as the whole thing!”

“Ms. Sparkle,” Nox strode into the library from his post outside with an orange pegasus in tow, “A filly named Scootaloo is here to see you. She says that it’s urgent.”

“Twilight, Rainbow Dash,” she gasped as she tried to catch her breath with heaving gulps, “You gotta come quick!”

Rainbow Dash landed right next to her little admirer, her tone fairly serious, “What’s happening, Scoots?”

“Cheerilee sent me to find you all,” the child’s panic was growing as she finally began to breathe easier, “The schoolhouse is on fire! When I last saw her, she was trying to grab what she could, but she told me to find you.”

Without another word, everypony rose up and made for the door. Rainbow Dash gestured to Scootaloo with her wing, “Here, climb on!” She would have normally been excited by such an offer, but Scootaloo was too worried about her Aunt Cheerilee to even think about what else was going on. Grasping her forelegs around her idol’s neck, she braced herself as Rainbow Dash bolted out of the library door, leaving the place solely under the guard of Umbra. It was only a five minutes’ run to the school from the library, but it was only a minute long flight for Rainbow Dash. Even so, it felt like forever for everypony involved.

Chapter 25 - Cheerilee

The school house was burning. Green flames crackled, and embers flew up into the sky. Cheerilee and her niece Scootaloo had been lucky to have been late in waking up. Though the sun was not up yet, Cheerilee had made a habit of arriving at the school before dawn to get everything in order for the coming day of studies and bright smiles. Now there was to be neither. Had the young filly not been so difficult to rouse, the two of them may have been inside when the school house had been set alight. The both of them stared at the growing inferno as it consumed the belltower of the school.

“Who do you think did this?” Scootaloo asked Cheerilee, who continued to stare at the green flames.

Her aunt turned to her, “I need you to go find Twilight and her friends and bring them here. If any of the rest of the class comes when you get back, send them home.”

“Right,” the orange pegasus filly yelled over her shoulder as she quickly grabbed her scooter and drove hard away from the burning building.

Cheerilee turned back to look at the little schoolhouse, and she began to silently shed a few tears. She had always wanted to teach in the outdoors more, but she never thought that this would be the reason for-

The school teacher’s eyes looked past the flames into the corners of her mind. Her eyes narrowed, and a small frown crossed her face. As she blotted away her tears, Cheerilee looked to the edge of the Everfree Forest, which was only a couple hundred feet from the edge of the schoolyard, and in the distance she saw two ponies looking out from the edge of the tree line. Just as quickly as she had glimpsed them, they vanished into the forest, leaving no trace that they had ever been there. Sensing that there was something definitely wrong about them, and that they may have been the ones to set the fire, she began to gallop towards the Everfree in pursuit of them.

As she reached the forest’s edge, she cautiously looked every which way she could. After she passed through the first few bits of foliage, the surrounding plant life and clinging darkness seemed to engulf her, and its presence was absolute. Venturing further in, Cheerilee had expected that there would be a camp that those suspicious looking ponies would have kept near where they had entered. Perhaps they only entered the periphery of the forest so as to double back around to get out of town without looking out of place?

As Cheerilee was still searching for any signs of the mysterious ponies, one of them pounced on her from behind, sending the two of them rolling in the underbrush. Leaping off of his quarry, the arsonist pony’s eyes flashed green, and he screamed at the mare with a warbling shriek. Both Cheerilee and the disguised Changeling were startled by each other's sudden presence, but of the two of them it was the insectoid that was definitely the most surprised. From near the direction the Changeling had come, to the schoolteacher’s back, a pale magenta light was emanating from out of the underbrush. Suddenly, the air was filled with smoke and the sound of firecrackers as they screamed through the air, until they exploded in a dazzling display of colors and cacophonous sound. Confused and alarmed, Cheerilee whirled around in the concealing smoke, panicking as she tried to find a way out.

After going a little distance, she found the edge of the cloud, and began to cough away as much of the smell of rotten eggs from her lungs as she could. The Changeling, seeing that it was completely enveloped in the pinkish smoke, rushed to leave the area by shedding its disguise and flying upward as fast as it could. Hissing with alarm, the creature cleared the treetops. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound from up above, and the Changeling spiraled back to the floor of the forest with a crash, back into the now dissipating cloud. As the disturbed foliage settled around it, Cheerilee was slowly drawn to the form of the Changeling, where it lay unmoving at the place of its landing.

“You’ll want to stay back,” a voice from behind her declared, and as she turned, she found that that voice belonged to a strangely familiar cerulean colored mare with a pale blue mane and tail, “They can be quite the actors when it comes to playing stunned.”

Cheerilee unconsciously tilted her head as she tried to think of where she had heard that unique voice before. “Do I know you from somewhere?” she eventually managed to ask.

The mare turned her face away to try and hide her embarrassment, which caused the supplies and gear on her back to shift audibly, “You might, from the last time I was in Ponyville.”

It finally struck Cheerilee who this mare with the white cape and hat bedazzled in stars was, “Hold on a second, aren’t you that unicorn who came into town about a year ago and made the big scene with the Ursa Minor?”

The mare blushed as she tried her best to contain her embarrassment, as she was reminded of her last excursion in the local area. Eventually she let out a quick breath and looked Cheerilee in the eyes, “Yes. Yes I am.”

“Ms. Lulamoon!” an older stallion’s deep staccato called out over a nearby hill, and as he ran over the hill, the earth pony asked through a mildly winded breath, “Is the target pacified?”

Diverting her attention to Bunsen Burner and away from her self-consciousness, the younger mare declared, “Pacified and waiting, thanks to the help of Mr. Black.”

“Good,” he murmured. The stallion brought his hoof up to his face, and lifted a visor that had been concealing his eyes from view, placing them on his forehead. As he joined the two mares at the Changeling’s side, he carefully brought out his usual rectangular spectacles and placed them on his face, “Now this creature can’t do any further harm to anyone.” Tapping the comm unit in his ear, Bunsen Burner called out, “Mr. Black?”

“How does it look below, Mr. Brown?”

“Very nice job on the shot,” the stallion declared coolly, as he looked at the place the rubber bullet had hit the head of the target, “Right between the eyes. Come down; we have a guest.”

Turning back to the schoolteacher, the stallion offered his hoof out, “My apologies that we had to meet under these circumstances. My name is Bunsen Burner.”

Cheerilee was about to take his hoof in greeting, but her eyes filled with another bout of realization, and as she frowned she relinquished her offered hoof, “You're the pony who was ousted from Canterlot a few months ago, aren’t you? You’re the one the papers called 'crazy'.”

Bunsen Burner only blinked as he continued to look at the schoolteacher with a now blank expression.

From above the treetops a brown griffon with grey down glided to the forest floor to meet the three ponies. On his back he was carrying a rifle, and on his right forelimb was a sheathed knife. Cheerilee looked at the Griffon up and down, “And who are you?”

“I’m Mr. Black,” he curtly replied, his yellow eyes analyzing her with calculated judgment.

“Is that your real name, or is that some kind of a codename?”

Silence was the only answer he gave.

“Mr. Black is loaning his services to me in payment for a life debt he owes me,” Bunsen Burner interjected, “He is a Death Eagle, and occasionally his skills are needed for our current line of work.”

Cheerilee looked at the Griffon now with new eyes, and the horrific disgust she felt was almost palatable, “You’re an assassin.”

“I work in the cleaning business,” Mr. Black idly said, as he brought his rifle around to inspect it for a field clean, “And I would very much prefer to be back in the States at my home, but my honor is at stake, as Mr. Brown is so willing to constantly remind me.”

“That I am,” the old stallion declared, before turning back to Cheerilee, “Now then, if our introductions are out of the way, who are you?”

“Cheerilee?” a voice yelled out into the forest; it was Twilight calling, “Are you there?”

“Ah, the schoolteacher,” Bunsen Burner murmured to himself. He then looked to Trixie, “Ms. Lulamoon, would you be so kind as to escort ‘Cheerilee’ to Ms. Sparkle?”

Trixie shifted on her hooves uncomfortably before finally sighing, “Must I do this so soon?”

Bunsen Burner cocked an eyebrow as he glanced above his glasses pointedly, “Yes, you must. The sooner you get the mess of your past out of the way, the better. Now go. I must discuss something with Mr. Black for a moment. We’ll only be a minute.”

Trixie nodded her understanding, even while making her frustration fully apparent, and she motioned for Cheerilee to follow her. Looking back at the stallion and the griffon, Cheerilee had a good idea what was about to happen, and she felt sick.

“Please don’t hurt him,” she called back to Bunsen Burner.

The stallion’s back was turned to her, and she didn’t hear anything in his voice that could show what he was feeling, if he was feeling anything at all, “I will take only the actions necessary to protect Equestria from the Changeling threat. Escort her away now, Ms. Lulamoon; I have work to do.”

Chapter 26 - Cheerilee, Trixie

“You’re very unusual, Cheerilee,” Trixie pronounced, as she escorted the schoolteacher back to Ponyville, “I’ve been helping to hunt Changelings for a little over a month now, and you are the first to ever actually ask for mercy on their behalf.”

Cheerilee anxiously looked over her shoulder back the way they had come, before looking her guide in the eye, “I believe everypony and everyone deserves a second chance.”

Trixie’s face softened a little as she turned her head towards the forest ahead, and she smiled a little, “I suppose.”

“How did he know I was a schoolteacher?” Cheerilee asked with a hint of discomfort.

Trixie sighed as she propelled herself over a gorge wall, and created a set of stairs for her escort to use, “Bunsen Burner told me very little about his days when he was in charge of the Royal Science Division, but he mentioned that he had contacts in the Emergency and Infrastructure branches of the government, who kept track of each of the Elements and those they lived near and knew. Whenever they came around to repair damages to Ponyville, he got a new information packet,” she looked away guiltily, “Including when I held my last performance.”

“Where did you go after you ran away from Ponyville?”

The two ponies had to slow their pace so that Trixie could lift away a few branches which blocked their path with her magic, allowing Cheerilee to pass through first, so that the magician brought up the rear. A stray branch had moved the pointed tip of Trixie’s hat to the front, but she absentmindedly blew it back into its usual spot with a breath, “I lost everything here. My home, my props, what few clothes I had. I was so angry at the world and at those who had destroyed and humiliated my life. It all finally hit bottom completely when a few Diamond Dogs tried to take me and trade me off as a slave. That’s how I met Bunsen Burner. He saved me from those monsters,” she shuddered to herself, “and helped to build me back up.”

Cheerilee gave Trixie an incredulous glance and asked, “Are we talking about the stallion back there, or some make believe pony?” before momentarily pausing, and shivering a little to herself, “Not that I’m doubting what you could have suffered.”

Trixie nodded her understanding, “I know he’s cynical, and a tad bit on the extreme side, but he does what he thinks is the best for everypony. Would you be surprised if I told you that the three of us have encountered three dozen Changelings so far, and we managed to pacify around two dozen of them? The majority of them have been put into an artificially induced coma, and were hidden away until they can be awoken, and that’s all possible because of Bunsen Burner’s chemistry skills and knowledge of their species.”

“He actually knows about the Changelings?” Cheerilee blurted as she finally stepped out of the last bits of concealing forest and towards the forest’s final few trees before the open plains.

“He’s fought them before,” Trixie breathed as she finally stepped out into the light of the sun, “He said that without their commanders, what they call their ‘Royal Candidates’, the Changelings might turn docile, like soldiers without a leader.”

“Or like children without a teacher,” Cheerilee intoned, “Lost and confused, without guidance.”

“Hey! There she is!” Pinkie Pie called out from a small group of ponies that had gathered about a hundred feet away from them, and they trotted their way over to the two mares. “Hey, isn’t that-“

“Trixie!” Rainbow Dash darkly yelled as she flew straight up to the unicorn, “You’ve got some nerve coming back here!”

“I know,” Trixie spoke aloud for everyone to hear, “I know when I was here in Ponyville last, I took my act too far, and unintentionally helped to put many ponies at risk with my boasting.”

“That Ursa Minor almost destroyed half the town!” a stallion called out.

Trixie winced before she tried to break through her frustration and continue on, “I know I have done a lot wrong by many of you. I wanted to say-“

“Sorry?” Rainbow Dash yelled as she forced her face right into Trixie’s, which was steadily becoming more angry-looking to match her own, “Well that’s not going to cut it!”

“That’s enough!” Cheerilee called out, shutting up everypony in one breath. She looked to each of the ponies around her, and she frowned meaningfully at them, “You should be ashamed of yourselves!” She pointed to Trixie with her closer hoof, “This mare has made mistakes; we all have at one time or another. Other races may not turn the other cheek, but we are Equestrians. Most of all, we are Ponyvillians! Is this how we should treat somepony who is truly sorry? She helped save my life today, and if she truly is asking for our forgiveness, I think we should give it to her.”

Around this time, Twilight Sparkle had emerged from the Everfree with the last of her friends who had gone into the forest, even as she was listening to Cheerilee, she approached the two mares that had everyone’s attention. Her movement toward them soon caught Trixie’s eye, who turned to her. The crowd silently watched the two unicorns.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie began, “I had never hated somepony so much as I hated you. Without you, though, I’d never be who I am today, and that someone is much better than what I once was.” She then sighed as she tried to bury her pride a little deeper, “I’m sorry for what I’ve done. Will you please forgive me?”

Twilight was silent for a time. After thinking it over, she spoke, “Trixie, you did cause a lot of suffering when you first came here, and you will be accountable for that.” She looked in the direction of the dawning sun, “But even though forgiveness isn’t one of the Elements, I think it would be what Princess Celestia would want.” Twilight’s eyes misted over as she thought about her departed teacher, before she looked at the magician in front of her again, “Yes. I forgive you.”

Trixie smiled a little upon hearing those words.

“Cheerilee!” a large red tank of a stallion yelled out as he parted the crowd to get to her.

She smiled and embraced him as they finally found each other, “Big Macintosh!”

“Ah was so worried,” he said breathlessly, as he had begun running back from the Everfree the minute he had found out she was alright.

“I know,” she said as she continued to hold her forelegs around his barrel like chest.

“The homestead was burned, and when Ah heard the schoolhouse-“

She shushed him by putting her hoof to his mouth, “That doesn’t matter now. We have things we both need to be doing right now, but when you can, I would like to talk to you in private.”

“Alright,” he said quietly, as he held her a little closer for a minute, before finally letting her go.

“Excellent,” Bunsen Burner declared while approaching Twilight from behind, dumping the catatonic form of the Changeling arsonist near her hooves, rather effectively killing the mood of the moment, “Now that that’s out of the way, we can actually get to the nationally relevant matters.”

“What happened to the second one?” Fluttershy asked in her usual quiet but dulcet tone of voice.

“It escaped our capture,” Bunsen Burner sighed to himself, “This is the first time this has happened. Still, it was bound to eventually. Now the Hive will know there are those who know the truth behind the civil war, and that they are being actively detected and hunted.”

Twilight gestured to the pink earth pony, “So it looks like your hunch wasn’t all that off after all, Pinkie.”

“Iiiit’s what I do!” she smiled as she kicked her backhooves up onto the table.

Bunsen Burner clear his throat, “I have reliable intelligence from the interrogation of two high ranking Changelings about the Hive. One informed me of its system of hierarchy and biology, the other only offered that the Queen, Chrysalis, would be after something more complex than random acts of terror and spiteful retribution for your six’s humiliation of her.”

“Bunsen Burner,” Applejack stopped him in his tracks, “We know what yer methods are from the last time we saw you. We don’t agree withum in the least. Not only that, you just stirred the hornet’s nest, and you could’ve just endangered the lives of everypony in this town.”

“It was an accident that we even came this close to Ponyville to begin with,” Trixie said as she came closer to the library roundtable, “We had been chasing those two Changelings for several miles, and they seemed to be homing in on Ponyville for some reason, so we followed. By the time we got here, they had already committed two of the three fires.”

“Regardless,” Bunsen Burner continued, “We’re here now, you are now aware of the true threat behind all these incidents, the question at hand is what are you going to do about the matter?”

Bon Bon growled to herself as she threw her hooves up in the air, “Stop! Everypony, just stop!”

The room quieted down very quickly as the normally quiet candy maker blew up.

“Look at us,” she waved her hooves to everypony in front of her, “We’re afraid. We’ve been living in fear for so long now, we don’t even know what to be afraid of, much less what to do about it! Prince Shining Armor’s efforts at martial law are crumbling. All the Princesses are missing, ponies are fighting and even killing in their name, and no one can stop this, except you six.” Bon Bon pointed to each of them in turn, “You are the last public faces that represent the government that are untainted by this pseudo civil war. You have a duty not just to Ponyville, but to Equestria!” She then pointed her hooves to her heart, “I’ve been a basket case of anxiety a lot in my life. I’ve been scared of change, especially when Lyra went and found Adam and introduced me to all sorts of change I never knew. But now everything is different! The way we all look at each other, what we think about others, our basic trust in what we see being what it is is gone.” Bon Bon then looked up with determination, “Well I’m tired of being afraid! I want things back to normal, and I want the Equestria I used to know, my Equestria, back, and if you all are too afraid to help me, then I’ll just go and do it all myself!” She began to breathe deeply as she calmed down from her tirade.

The Elements, Bunsen Burner, Trixie, Umbra and Nox all stared at her.

Rainbow Dash blinked first, and then she began to smile, “Well, I like the idea! Let’s do it!”

Chapter 27 - Luna

Frothing waves of oblivion crashed into themselves, raging against the eternal nothingness with a roaring fury that was absolutely silent. This was the Void; the incomprehensible emptiness, the greatest kind of hell unimaginable. Very few had ever ventured into this place, the common bedrock and nexus of the omniverse. An incalculably small number had ever made it out, whether dead, alive, or somewhere in between. Princess Luna’s spirit darted back and forth through the white blackness, her silver essence doing its best to stay together against the inhospitable environment all around. Her attention was divided, however.

Why are you even bothering with this mad quest? Nightmare Moon thought in agitation, Equestria, for the briefest moment, was ours. Ours! Even if we do find dear old Celestia alive, what happens then? We return to Canterlot to continue playing ‘second princess’?

There is no ‘we’, Princess Luna retorted; there will never be a ‘we’ ever again. Why do you even exist anymore? I don’t have any lingering doubts, or buried hatred for Tia, so why do you still plague me with your accursed presence? Why can’t you just go away?

Perhaps you’re in denial? Nightmare Moon’s chuckle permeated Princess Luna’s own. The Elements still bind me, but I think you keep coming back to hear me voice my little opinions because you want to feel guilty. Princess Luna could practically hear her darker half smile, After all, who else can you possibly rely on to be honest to you, to show you your faults, to help make you stronger?

Shut up, Princess Luna said half-heartedly.

Oh please, Nightmare Moon scoffed, Where’s the mare who faced down dragons more than a thousand years ago, who’s powers are considered god-like? Where is the mare who helped to imprison the lord of Chaos in his stony sarcophagus? Is she still here? Or am I just talking to a trembling little filly that can’t wait to stand behind her older sister, so that decrepit, old Celestia can handle the big things while she hides behind her technicolor tail.

SHUT UP! Princess Luna’s thoughts roared throughout her essence, You are nothing without me. You’re nothing but words. You fooled me once when you took advantage of my suffering and stole my body. I will not let you entrap me with your empty mutterings and blatant lies!

Come this way, a strange thought called out to the Princess, The one you seek is this way.

Did you hear that? she asked. There was no reply. The Princess would have sighed if she had been in a corporeal form; Nightmare Moon’s entrances and exits into her consciousness were erratic, but not unexpected, as she had done this before. Perhaps, she mused to herself, her darker persona was always present and was simply waiting for the opportune time to give a deprecating jab, while giving her the silent treatment at other times.

Come this way, the voice repeated, Now is your chance.

A faint point of light appeared in the Void; a true and real light. Princess Luna could feel several very faint but familiar powers come from the tiny portal. One was that of her sister, which caused her to internally scream with joy. She was alive! Her sister was alive after all! The second power confused her momentarily, because it was identical to her own. Something she had created resided in this new place. In a moment, she realized what it was. Before he had been returned to his own universe by the Doctor, the human named Adam had been bequeathed an amulet by the Princess as a gift for his help in rediscovering hers and her sister’s origins, along with the origin of all of Equestria. There also was a large outflow of magic coming from the Void into the universe just across the breach, which was transmitting somewhere very close to her amulet, and consequently Adam.

If I am to enter this branch of reality, she thought to herself, I will need a different form. She reached out with her essence to enter the small window into that other place. Slowly, the natural resistance created by this reality’s initial rejection of a being from another stream ebbed away, allowing the Princess to enter the light, into a very strange world: a home to the race that gave Equestria its chance at life; Earth.

In a small orphanage in Eastern Europe, there lived a young girl. The poor child had been abandoned at said orphanage only a few weeks after she had been born; she was one too many for her family, and she had been born without legs. Within the cold walls of the building she lived in, but never called home, she had spent the last thirteen years of her life. She had had to learn how to be strong for herself, to look after herself nearly to the point of self-sufficience. She would be tossed out into an uncaring world very soon, where she was not expected to survive long given her condition. Her dream of ever being taken into a family had died years ago, and she had no idea where her birth family was, not that she cared to even try and find them. She had never been taught how to pray, and she didn’t know if there was some kind of higher power out there who would listen or even care if she lived or died. She very much doubted it, though. Even so, it was on a milder than usual summer’s evening that she rolled her wheelchair out into the courtyard of the orphanage, and looked for the first star that would come out that night. She did not know how to pray, but she did know how to wish, and even how to hope. She waited as the sun went down in the west, obscured by the heights of the orphanage roof, and finally, the first star twinkled in the deep fuchsia expanse above. With its growing light shining on her face, the young girl wished with all her might. She wasn’t sure of even what to wish for, whether a job, decent food for the next few weeks, love of any kind, or even something as absurd as getting a pair of legs, but she wished all the same for all of it, any of it.

Several minutes passed; nothing happened.

Cynical before her time, the young girl eased her heart’s pain and innocent belief with bitter thoughts that it was stupid to have done such a thing in the first place, thinking that any wish of hers could possibly come true. Before she could fully turn her wheelchair around, a pale light fell on her. As she looked back, unsure of what she would see, hope springing anew anyway, she found herself facing a silvery cloud that appeared from out of a shimmering portal. The young girl began to babble incoherently in her native tongue, wondering aloud if this was one of the nature spirits the old fairy tales spoke of, and if it meant her harm or good. The cloud embraced her, washed over her, and scrutinized her to her very soul. She could feel a warm, tingling sensation reaching through her entire being, from her head right down to her toes. Gasping in surprise, the young girl looked down past her lap to find that the knots in the thread bare jeans that she had always tied off were gone, ripped apart and hanging loose against her thin but very muscular legs. She couldn’t believe what she saw, and as she slowly lifted herself from her wheelchair, it felt as natural as if she had always been able to do so. She looked up at the silvery spirit which had healed her. Slowly, from out of the cloud of clear, beauteous light came the form of a woman. She was clothed in dark and royal purple armor, with shades of darkest ebony and silver scattered throughout her outfit and regal cape. A dark crown graced her head, but it did not compare to the night-like hair that adorned it, which ebbed in an unseen current of stars and emptiness. The young girl could not believe the woman’s alien beauty, but she understood that the woman was something from beyond normal life. She looked middle aged, but the way she carried herself made her seem ancient beyond measure, and unquestionably powerful.

The young girl could feel the woman inside her mind, sifting through thoughts, her memories, what amounted to her life. Taking a sword from her side that the young girl had not noticed before, the alien woman traced the tip of its dark blade against the ground, and from out of it sprung six thick bars of pure gold.

Through her mind, in her own language, the woman spoke to the young girl in a deep but beautiful voice, Use these well. Live well. Peace.

With that, the woman was gone, as she shot into the skies like a shooting star.

The young girl waved after the woman, laughing in pure ecstatic joy as she leapt up and down on her newly made feet, saying over and over again, “Multumesc! Multumesc mult! Thank you! Thank you so much!” She still wasn’t sure if the old tales or talk of spirits were true, but she had found one who had blessed her, and though she never saw the woman again, she told everyone who would listen about the spirit of the stars who had given her her legs.

Chapter 29 - Adam, Lyra Heartstrings

“Have you ever thought about growing out some facial hair?” Lyra asked abruptly, as the two of them made their way back toward Hollow Wood through the thick pink and purple dusk.

Adam shook his head and looked at Lyra with a confused expression, “..Whaaat brings this up?”

“Oh, back in Canterlot mustaches were all the rage,” Lyra explained before tapping him lightly on the chest, “and I think a little mustache would make you look,” she stopped to drop her voice into a sultry tone, “astonishingly handsome.”

Adam incredulously looked at Lyra, who waggled her eyelashes at him. Adam snickered a little to himself, and gave her a little shove away from him, “You are such a spaz!”

“Yeah,” Lyra nodded with a knowing look on her face, “but you love every minute of it!”

Adam pretended to think about it for a second, before smiling back at Lyra and saying with a laugh, “Yeah, you’re right, but facial hair is probably not in the near future for me: it reminds me of not being able to shave at all, and having to look disgusting every day when I didn’t have somewhere where I could try to look like a decent human being.”

“You’ve never looked decent, red face, but I like being stuck with you anyway,” Lyra teased.

The two of them set to playfully shoving each other across the asphalt road they were walking on, until they both settled down into a quiet stroll. The town’s outskirts were not far away, and there was still something that occupied a lot of Adam’s current thoughts.

“Hey Lyra,” He tried to ask as casually as possible, “Do you remember anything weird happening when I had just finished training for today?”

Lyra drummed her lips with her right pointer finger as she thought, “Not that I can really think of. Why?”

“So you don’t remember anything strange at all happening?”

Lyra began to look at Adam with a perplexed expression, “No. I was helping you practice, you were frustrated, then we finished up, and here we are walking back into town. Why're you asking?” Lyra’s expression shifted to one of wonder, “Did you get some kind of magical epiphany or something?”

“Actually, you did. You started talking about someone called ‘the Conductor’ who was reaching out to you, and about how the universe is part of some kind of song.”

Lyra’s eyes widened, “I was in a trance?”

“And you don’t even remember it. Who’s this Conductor anyway? I don’t remember you ever mentioning any stories about him.”

Lyra shook her head, “As far as I know, I’ve never heard a story about anypony like that; legendary or modern.”

The both of them paused as they heard a rumbling sound in front of them, and they looked just in time to move out of the way of a large black Humvee that was driving out of the town at an alarming speed. On the back of the van was a symbol in the form of a silver arrowhead pointed upward, with a gold arcing semicircle just meeting it at the arrow’s tip.

“Oh God,” Adam quietly exclaimed, “I know that symbol.”

Almost immediately after he uttered those words, the car slammed on its breaks, and the doors opened. Five troopers with guns decked out in grey body armor leapt from the van, which began to head back in Adam’s and Lyra’s direction. Adam grabbed Lyra by the arm and began to run off the side of the road.

“Adam,” Lyra exclaimed, “What the hay? Who are these guys?”

“No time,” Adam yelled back to her, “just run!”

The five troopers each grabbed onto a rail on their Humvee, and they hung on as the car began to catch up with Adam and Lyra. They braced their knees as the car went offroad, and began to train their weapons on their two targets. Adam led Lyra into a small washed out gully, and jumped into it. It was just about neck high for him, and was about as tall as Lyra was. They ran along the dried up stream bed, and the car was trying to come alongside them. The two troopers on the side of the Humvee closest to them lined up their sights, and fired. Lyra was able to bring up a small magical shield behind them just in time, and two small cylinders, not bullets, fell off of it and down into the streambed behind them.

“These guys are with the same thinktank that experimented with me!” Adam yelled over his shoulder, “They’re trying to take us back, probably to do something worse than what they did with trying to teleport me. They’re not gonna get us; I’m never gonna be caged again! Stop!”

He screeched to a halt, with Lyra bracing herself on him to stop too. The Humvee stopped only ten feet in front of them, and the troopers fired more shots, with their slugs impacting on Lyra’s shield yet again. Lifting her out of the gully, Adam jumped after her onto the other side of the streambed, and they ran to a nearby outcropping of hoodoos. The gap was too wide for the car to get over, so the five security force members climbed down the gully and back up the other side, buying the couple precious seconds to try and find a way to lose them in among the protruding rock formations. Their path weaved through the rocks, until they both stop behind one particularly large rock.

“How did they find us though,” Lyra whispered, “We weren’t doing anything that could really attract attention.”

Adam turned his thoughts over in his head, trying to see what could possibly have brought the think tank to Montana, and then the idea came to him. His face fell, “Remember how back in Equestria the Maiden possessed you and showed us the human ruins there? She said that magic was just another kind of energy: they must’ve been able to detect us through your use of it and my trying to use it.”

A soft beeping sound filled the air, and the two of them fell as quiet as the grave. One of the troopers was nearby, and his radar was picking up some fluctuating readings nearby. He slowly began to make his way around a rock formation, his emergency taser waiting in hand. The radar showed he was getting closer to the source of the Heisenberg radiation, and he steeled his nerves as he approached his target. Twenty feet. Fifteen feet. Seven. He paused, and waited around the opposite of the hoodoo from his target. In a single burst of energy, the security officer rounded the hoodoo. Just around the corner, a gloved hand slammed into the left side of his head, knocking him into a rock pile five feet away with the force of what felt like a sledgehammer, knocking him out cold. Adam breathed heavily as he brought his mechanical left hand down, and it began to involuntarily twitch.

“Green is down, Green is down!” they heard being barked out close by, and they heard the sound of rocks scraping against each other as boots scrambled over the terrain to get to the downed trooper’s position.

“Let’s go,” Lyra said in a harsh whisper, and she pulled Adam away in the opposite direction of where the troopers would be going.

They had only gone a few steps before Adam felt something lodge in his back, and electricity coursed through him, causing him to shudder, gasp, and crumble. Lyra felt Adam collapse like dead weight out of her hands, and had just enough time to exclaim “Adam!” before she too received a jolt from a taser module, falling unconscious.

The four remaining security officers were on them in a matter of seconds. Adam tried to struggle against the volts traveling through his body, but one of the troopers simply punched him in the head.

“Damn it, not again,” he managed to wheeze before falling into blackness himself. One of the troopers took out a scanner, waving it over their targets bodies. The scan came up questionable on Adam, but was positive on Lyra.

The four looked at each other through their helmet’s visors and nodded, “Bag the chick; she’s the one we want.”

“What about the guy?”

“All he’s got is background radiation, probably from her.”

“Take him. He knows something. ‘Damn it, not again,’ and he managed to take Green down. He’s coming with us.”

Lyra’s eyes fluttered opened, and before the officers could react, she cast one last spell, “Forget”. Her golden energy washed over the troopers, who shuddered a little as their minds were altered, and their thoughts began to bend to her will. After a moment, Lyra’s eyes closed once again, her spell incomplete.

The security officers looked at each other again, “Bag her, she’s the only one that matters.”

With that finished, the troopers picked up Lyra, and headed out, leaving Adam alone in the darkening night among the rocks.

Chapter 30 - Luna

The Princess of the Night soared into the darkening skies above the country of Romania, leaving the ground very far behind her. Stretching out her senses to reach across the whole globe, she felt for the three sources of magic that she knew were nearby; all three of them were on a landmass almost on the other side of the planet, an ocean’s distance away.

“Well”, she mused, “astronomically speaking they are nearby.”

Even if this place was prehistoric Equestria and the other kingdoms of her own world, the geography was as alien as if she had gone to a planet in another galaxy. The stars, forever her companions, were almost fifteen hundred years from the positions she had only recently been taught. Some that had died during her imprisonment still appeared to be alive, but due to the laws of nature their deaths would not be made known until years after they had ceased to burn. The stars were younger now, which meant that she could draw less power from their fields of gravity and alignments with each other, which was the essence of her power. She looked at her right hand, gloved in black and purple. She twiddled her newly made fingers, experimenting with their dexterity, before balling them into a fist. Her knuckles softly cracked, which startled her a little. She scolded herself internally, There’s no time to waste looking at my new form; lives are depending on how long I take to find Tia.

Drawing her sword once again, which hummed with the power of countless stars, she ripped a hole in reality with a broad swing. Colors of unnatural hue sprung from the hole, reaching out with groping tendrils to grasp her. She flew through the gateway into subspace, stepped onto the pathway behind the odd dimensional crack, and sealed it behind her. Reaching out with her left hand as she strode through the odd dimensional architecture around her, Princess Luna felt blindly for her sister. As she did, she realized that something was wrong. Princess Celestia’s magic was not, the best way to describe it would be ‘coherent’. It was not concentrated in her body, wherever that was in relation to Princess Luna, but was erratically appearing and sputtering in multiple locations all at once. It’s like a shell game, she thought in frustration, except the shells could be anywhere, in any dimension of this plane’s existence.

No, Nightmare Moon said, as she once again appeared in their consciousness, She’s somewhere in the mortal world, and she’s dreaming.

Princess Luna unconsciously looked to her left, and in her mind’s eye she saw a dark armored figure, chained with six shackles in the colors of the Elements; one for each limb, one around her midsection, and one clasping her neck. She frowned at her darker half, Why are you bothering to tell me this?

The shade of Nightmare Moon sighed, her pointed incisors flashed as she did, In all honesty, I’m bored. Occupying my time by helping us reach your goal at least dulls that annoyance.

Princess Luna scrutinized her caged doppelganger with a piercing gaze, even while she raised her arm and waved it in a single stroke. In subspace, the walls of reality were much weaker than in the corporeal planes; some allowances could be made on bending the natural order here. Using her signature power over the mind and dreams, Princess Luna cast a spell of enormous power. Its results did not yield for several moments. Then, one, two, a dozen people appeared before her. The number increased exponentially; growing to thousands, tens of thousands, millions. The power consumption was draining both her and Nightmare Moon, but she kept at it all the same.

Your dramatic need for saving the lives of others by using up your own is going to be the death of us some day, Nightmare Moon grumbled, Is this how you think you’ll atone for our taking of lives in the past? Sacrificing years’ worth of your own to do the good deed of bringing Celestia back?

Maybe, Princess Luna replied as the spell was completed. She had done it. Before her stood the presences of nearly three billion minds, all united and connected to her as their hub. Friends, she called out, Please come to my aid!

Everyone’s attention was brought to the woman dressed in purple and black.

I am searching for someone, one among you. She is my sister. Lifting up her sword, she created an image for the minds of everyone to see, showing her knowledge of Princess Celestia to everyone. Finally the image ended with a picture of the Earth. This is the continent that I believe she is on right now, the landmass she pointed to began to glow softly as the Princess spoke.

Almost everyone muttered when they saw it, Well, that’s America. América. Amerika. Nord America. Amérique du Nord.

Everyone who is not from this ‘North America’ may leave, Princess Luna declared.

Almost nine of every ten of the minds she had been connected to left her almost immediately.

Time normally passed slowly in dreams, but in subspace everything was unusual in its occurrence. Time was flying by; new minds were appearing and disappearing into the Princess’.

Princess? one mind called out to her.

She turned to the direction of the voice, to see a man she immediately recognized, Adam the Human!

Princess, is this a dream, or are you really here?

She smiled a little, I am here, and this is a dream.

You’ve gotta help me, he implored, his hands clasping together, We’ve been attacked! They’ve taken Lyra!

Adam? Lyra’s sleeping mind called out to him through Luna’s power. Her mental form, still that of a pony, came right next the human’s. She jumped up and wrapped her hooves around his neck and nuzzled his nose, before she drew back in his arms, Did the think tank get you? I tried to make them forget you, but I dunno if it worked.

I dunno either, he responded hollowly, before he hugged her, We’re gonna get out of this. We’re going to be together again, and in the real world.

I know, she replied matter-of-factly. She then turned to Princess Luna, But what are you doing here, Princess? The Doctor told us we’d never be able to see Equestria again after he sealed off the Void hole.

I was able to close the hole behind me after I slipped through in my ethereal state. I’ve only risked this because Princess Celestia has somehow appeared in your world, and Equestria is falling into unrest without us.

Something buckled in subspace; shattering and cracking sounds appeared all around the Princess. There was a sound like a high pitched piercing drone, and suddenly all the minds Princess Luna had been connected to vanished. Looking beneath her boots, she gasped as she saw that the colors of the subspace pocket around her were turning grey and were beginning to fracture, and the Void began to creep in. We need to leave, now! Nightmare Moon yelled through her mind, If we don’t, we risk being tossed out into oblivion, and we may never find this universal stream again!

Princess Luna frantically swiped her sword through the air once again, opening up a bleed back into reality. She quickly flew back through it before the pocket dimension she had created was consumed by the Void, sealing it behind her. She landed on her back on top of several small, sharp rocks that dug into her, even through the armor she wore. It was dark here; either she was close to where she started, or enough time had passed for it to be nightfall. She groaned as she slowly brought herself up from where she had ungracefully landed. After her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she saw a body lying in front of her, and it was the second time she laid eyes on Adam in not so long a period, only this time it was in the flesh.

Chapter 31 - Adam, Luna

Groaning, Adam began to come to once again. He brought his hand up to his head and tenderly touched where he had been struck, “Why does the universe, no matter which one I’m in, always want to give me a concussion?” Looking up into the starry night sky above him, he noticed a shrinking green cloudy rupture only a few feet up and away from where he was lying. A woman clothed in dark armor with a crown on her head and a sword at her side knelt into his line of vision, giving him a small smile through a spasm of pain, “Hello again.”

The trek back into town wasn’t a long one, as Adam and Lyra had only been five minutes outside of Hollow Wood’s town limits. One of the townsfolk, a wonderful older woman named Bernice, had taken pity on the couple and had given them the small loft above her garage, in exchange for helping out around her property with general upkeep. She had been fantastically accommodating, providing them meals the likes of which Adam and never thought were capable of existing this side of heaven, and even provided a few hand-me-down clothes for them to wear from when her children had still lived with her.

As Adam and Princess Luna approached the house, they could see many of the townsfolk were gathered around the property. As the two of them got closer, they turned to look in their direction. The people’s eyes were full of alarm, mistrust, and doubt. One of the larger men stepped in the way of Adam and Princess Luna. Everyone was on edge, and now their agitation was finding its outlet in the old stranger and the new stranger with him.

“Is Bernice okay?” Adam broke the silence first, his words having the sudden impact of a cannon firing on a peaceful morning.

“Ah don’t see how that’s any concern of yours, stranger,” the large bear of a man said in his low gruff voice. Some of the townspeople nodded their head once, while others mutter their agreement.

“Citizens,” Princess Luna took a step forward, “What we have here is an enormous misunderstanding.”

Some of the people backed away from her as they noticed the sword she carried; though she didn’t mean it, her body language and tone intimidated them.

“Yer damn right it is!” a younger man called out from the crowd, “Some kinda van full of government spooks drives up, they start askin’ questions and taking things, tasin’ Ms. Bernice when all she asked was ‘why’; this sure as hell is a misunderstanding if I saw one ever!”

“Luna,” Adam quietly hissed, “We should probably go.”

The Princess looked at Adam with some small confusion, “There may yet be something of use that the captors left behind in the domicile. Wouldn’t it be fruitless to try and pursue them if we have no trail to follow?”

“Well these people don’t exactly look like they’re going to let us through.”

A woman from the crowd spoke up, “Just get outta here! We don’t want you around here anymore!”

The crowd seemed to ignite with that declaration, and they slowly began to walk toward Adam and the Princess with a shared cold, angry expression on their faces.

“Hold onto me,” Princess Luna commanded Adam, who took her left hand in his. There was a flash of dark blue light, and the two of them landed in the loft above Bernice’s garage. Even though the glass of the nearby windows muffled the noises coming from outside, the townsfolk were clearly alarmed by the two stranger’s unexpected, dramatic departure.

“Help me look,” Adam blurted as he hurriedly began looking all around the small space, “There has to be something around here telling us where they’ve gone.”

The Princess closed her eyes for a few moments in concentration before she opened them again in slight surprise, “The two of you kept regularly enchanted objects with you?”

Adam looked over his shoulder in surprise, “Yeah. How’d you know?”

“I’m sensing past repetitive magical echoes in locations throughout this room.”

“Well, there was Lyra’s lyre, an invisibility cloak Twilight Sparkle had made for me, and a stone tablet that could communicate back to Equestria.”

Princess Luna’s eyes widened, “It is imperative that we recover that tablet: if Canterlot can be alerted to the situation, perhaps that will offer Equestria some piece of mind that Celestia’s alive, and buy us time to find her.”

Adam stood up, and he grimaced slightly, “Don’t get your hopes up: we never got it to work. I guess it wasn’t as perfect a communication system as the Doctor made it out to be.”

Princess Luna’s face hardened and she clenched her hands with a small growl, “Every new solution that comes our way multiplies the number of our current problems! Stars above.” She huffed to herself before tossing her hair back away from her face with a wave of her hand, “We know for certain that these humans are seeking magically imbued artifacts, so they would be collecting any detectable magical source they could find,” she paused, before her eyes lit up again and she whispered, “including Tia!”

“So all we have to do is track them back to their front door, and they could lead us to both Lyra and Celestia,” Adam finished with a grin, before he frowned in frustration, “Except we still have no way of tracking them.”

Princess Luna smirked as she began to open the door to the loft that lead down to the garage below, “On the contrary, we do! If they have gathered up all the items missing here, I can find them by sensing the gathered magic with them! Where’s the nearest train station? The chase is afoot!” The Princess took the steps two at a time and hit the landing before Adam made it to the door.

Turning, she saw a strange silver colored vehicle which looked like an enclosed chariot. “Trains might not be a good idea,” Adam called down the stairs, “Besides, couldn’t we just use your-“

“Nevermind,” Princess Luna replied and smiled, “I believe this will suit our purposes ideally.”

The crowd still stood outside of Bernice’s home, though now they talked among themselves in fear and wonder.

“Where’d they go and how’d they do it?”

“Some kind of tricky special effect, I reckon.”

“That freaky woman must have been some kind of witch! I could just tell from the weird..everything she was like!”

“Get over yourself; everybody knows there’s no such thing as witches that can practice real magic. It’s all smoke and mirrors, just like this was. Probably was some kind of newfangled technology they stole from the government: that’d explain the spooks comin’ in and sneakin’ around.”

The crowd whirled around when they heard the peeling out of tires and a horn blasting into the night. Bernice’s 1997 Honda Accord barreled out of her garage and grumbled as it hit her gravel driveway, slowing only a little to let people jump out of the way. Turning left onto the cracked, faded asphalt, the tires screeched once again as the car sped down the road into the gathered darkness, which was only lit by the headlights and the stars above.

Princess Luna whooped in pleasure as they hit the outskirts of town, “That was most enjoyable! Once I get back to Equestria, I will find a way to make a race for such things as these ‘cars’!”

“I still feel kind of bad that we had to take Bernice’s car, even if you paid for it,” Adam said as he looked in the rear view mirror to see if anyone was following them, “I really do hope she turns out alright.”

“By our account, the debt is paid,” the Princess idly replied as she became fascinated by a lever on the side of her seat, “Tell me, what does this lever do when pulled?”

“If you pull it and lean back, it adjusts the height of your seat,” Adam said.

His statement was almost immediately responded to with a small scream as the Princess’s head plummeted into the floor, her legs began to flail wildly in the space beneath the passenger’s seat, and her arms grasped for anything above her, “Adam, help! Mine hubris hath brought me low! How do I reverse this?!”

Adam kept his left hand on the wheel, while offering his right to the Princess for an assist up out of her fully reclined chair. He wished he had a third hand to slap his palm to his forehead. Princess Luna leaned forward a little, and yanked on the reclining arm again. The seat’s back flew up and smacked her in her own, making her exhale a little squeak of surprise. The Princess’ long trained sense of refinement caused her to pause and pretend that the last few seconds had in fact never happened.

The span of inaction was broken once again by her curiosity. “Pray tell, what does this lever do?” the Princess asked as she reached for the parking brake.

“NO!” Adam yelled as his life flashed before his eyes, and he involuntarily took both hands from the steering wheel to stop the Princess. The car began to veer off the road, and the both of them began to scream. Adam rammed the brake with his right foot, leaning into the deceleration as the poor Honda finally came to a halt. The both of them gulped down several breaths of air, happy to be all together after nearly veering into a nearby rocky outcropping at seventy-five miles per hour.

Adam slowly turned to face the immortal, shape-shifting demigoddess, and said in a chillingly calm voice, “The next time your suicidal tendencies tell you to grab for things you don’t understand, just ask me ‘What is it’ and ‘Is it safe to touch’ first, then I will be able to tell you it is safe. We clear?”

The Princess nodded shallowly, before murmuring, “Deathly so.”

Adam then put the car in reverse and backed up onto the road, “Now, which way are we headed?”

“South by Southeast.”

Adam’s sigh filled the car with a darkening cloud as he tried to understand the directions given him, “ ‘South-ish’ it is then.”

Chapter 32 - Cadence, Fancy Pants

*Whack* *Whack* *Whack*

Large branches and springing underbrush fell at the cut of Fancy Pant’s magical blade. The white coated stallion breathed heavily as he continued the work of clearing a path through the northern Everfree Forest. He had opted to discard his trademark suit around the first few days of the trek into seclusion. His mustache and hair were a mess, as he hadn’t had the energy or time to spare grooming them. He wearily looked back over his shoulder to check on the Princess’ progress. Princess Cadence was not too far behind, and she was doing a remarkable job of reconstructing the environment behind them, leaving as little of a trail as possible for the Changelings to follow.

“How are you holding up, Princess?” Fancy Pants asked breathlessly with a smile, wiping away some sweat from his brow with his left hoof.

She offered him an equally tired smile, “Never better. How many times do I have to tell you that you can just call me Cadence? We are the same title, after all, and there’s no need for any sort of formality out here.”

“True, but you are our only real Princess at the moment,” Fancy resumed his pruning of the foliage in front of him, “I’m just a bureaucrat with a pearly title, even if I was Princess Celestia’s student once.”

“If it’s all the same to you, please just call me Cadence from now, even when we return to Canterlot.”

The sun was moving beyond easy access to the forest canopy, and even though it was only four in the afternoon, the forest would be dark very soon.

“I think we should rest here for tonight,” Fancy Pants breathed as he began cutting out small underbrush for a fire.

The Princess’ horn lit up once again, and the plantlife within a ten foot radius of her flattened to the ground, providing the two of them a springy bed to lie on. By six in the evening, the forest was dark but for the small pit flame Fancy Pants had made for the two of them, and the fireflies that flew all around. The two of them made due with a meal of the grass near the edge of the campsite; decidedly not the finest ever, but living rough like they had for the last two months, they had had their fair share of less than savory dinners.

Most often in the evening times, Fancy Pants and the Princess would alternate every few hours of being awake and on guard with a few dreamless hours of rest, so they rarely ever conversed after each full day. Tonight, though, Cadence felt she had enough energy to talk. She scooted closer to the fire and looked into its dancing flames, “Where did you learn all this? Making use of what’s around you, living out in the forest?”

Fancy Pants chuckled a little to himself, “I admit, I don’t look the type to have ever been a member of the Colt Scouts, but they taught me a thing or two. Imagine it, the sycophants who always grace me with their presence finding out that I once played in the woods like one of the common earth ponies, or deliberately got my hooves dirty for fun!” He gave a laugh that also came out as part scoff, “The shock would kill them, I’m sure.”

The Princess gave a giggle herself, “Oh, I can see them now!” She flapped her wings in mock agitation, and put on as horrendous of a botched upper class Canterlot accent as she could, “What? Our Lord and object of adulation? A Colt Scout? Such slander!”

Fancy Pants got a good laugh out of that; he had to bring his hoof to his mouth to stifle his snickering in case something would hear them.

Cadence calmed herself down from her own round of giggling before she continued, “Where exactly did you grow up, Fancy Pants?”

“Oh, I was raised in Western Fillydelphia in the outer suburbs. I was close to the woods and the city, so I received an education from both. At age ten, I was sent to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, as any aspiring unicorn desires, where I received commendations on understanding magical theory and practical dexterity. Somehow, I caught the Princess’ eye, and she took me on as her then latest apprentice.” Fancy Pants contently sighed, “As I’m sure you’d understand, Canterlot became my home after that. It almost feels like a modern day fairy tale; the unicorn colt of average birth, who with the help of a wonderful, discerning teacher became one of the members of the Equestrian cabinet.”

Cadence remained quiet as Fancy Pants finished. Her mind had wandered to elsewhere, of where she might have come from. The stallion realized what he had said and guessed what she was thinking, and he began to try and backpedal, “Oh stars, I’m so sorry. That was really rude of me-“

“No,” Cadence said softly, “Don’t apologize. I was the one who asked you to tell me; please don’t feel guilty.”

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes as Cadence lowered the sun and raised the moon. She silently strained as she brought the orbs in the sky to their correct alignment, until the task was finally done, and she released her concentration.

“Do you think she knows?” she asked softly.

“Who knows what?”

“Princess Celestia. Do you think she knows where I came from?”

Fancy Pants ruminated on the question; he turned his right hoof to his face and rested his head on it, and he continued pondering for a few moments. Eventually, he softly cleared his throat, “You and I had very different educations under the Princess. Mine was more open ended and allowed some freedom of thought; a thing the Celestia desired above everything else. Yours was related exclusively to stately duties and politics, along with a standard education of mathematics, literature, and the natural sciences.”

“It was a very strict regiment,” Cadence nodded in agreement, “Learning to keep up to date on the latest figures of state for the surrounding countries, being exposed to the issues and troubles of Equestria and those abroad was..less than exciting on a daily basis. I only got to see Aunt Tia every few weeks, with hers and my schedules always being derailed by one issue or another. She always joked about taking a break from holding up the world and going on vacation to somewhere warm.”

“One thing I can tell you about Princess Celestia is that she has done her best to embody the virtues of the Elements over her many centuries. If she would have known where you came from, her belief in honesty would have compelled her to tell you.” Here he paused, and his eyes widened as he realized something, “Oh my word! Now I remember!”

Cadence looked at him in confusion, “What? What is it?”

“It just came to me, but we’ve met before our time together these past few months. It was nearly twenty years ago, when I was still a very young student of Princess Celestia’s! It was the night you were brought to the castle for the first time.”

It was a black night at Canterlot Castle; there was no moon to light the skies. Fancy Pants had been down in the palace kitchens, as he had awoken to an empty stomach. The cooks were good to him, and provided him with everything he could ever want for a midnight snack. Contented and once again sleepy, the unicorn colt made his way back to his quarters, when he heard the distinctive light clanking of his teacher’s golden shoes. Panicking, he ducked into a shallow causeway to avoid being seen, hoping that the Princess would not find him and punish him in some way. He found, instead, that Princess Celestia was proceeding down the hall towards the private foyer where dignitaries and members of the royal family were received. Out of curiosity, Fancy Pants quietly followed behind, tiptoeing as best as he could manage, while still trying to keep up with the much longer legged mare. Down a winding staircase they went, and through a second marble hall, until the Princess was ready and waiting at the small double doors, with Fancy Pants not too far behind, crouching behind a tapestry.

A light appeared on the doorstep, which bled beneath the doors and grew in intensity for a few moments, the light being accompanied by strange popping sounds. Princess Celestia was not surprised by the sounds, and she was not shocked when the doors opened at the behest of two ponies. One was her most recently graduated protégé, Bunsen Burner. The other was..

The Princess was absolutely dumbstruck. The other pony’s fur was pink with purple tinges on her wingtips; but she had a horn as well as those wings!

The mare was leaning on Bunsen Burner’s shoulder, sweating profusely, and completely delirious, “Mommy? Let me sky dance for five more minutes. Daddy said I was getting stronger. I know I can do it!”

Bunsen Burner held a book clenched in his teeth, which he motioned for Princess Celestia to take from his mouth.

Obliging, the book floated close to her under the power of her levitation spell, and she recognized the book. It was wrinkled from extensive use, and the enchantments that had been placed on it to preserve the knowledge held within had begun to decay around the edges of the spine. The cover was adorned with runes of an unusual design, but the centerpiece was two six pointed stars connected by an arcing swirl.

Starswirl.

“At long last,” the Princess murmured, “Your prophecy is fulfilled, old friend. ‘You will see my book again, when the pink and purple mare who is three in one appears.’ ”

“What?” Bunsen Burner asked in agitation.

“It’s nothing. Where did you find her? What's wrong with her?”

“I’m leaving her here with you,” he declared, ignoring her question, “She needs to be with her own kind, and I can no longer provide her the possibility of a good home,” the earth pony angrily spat with his words, “thanks in part to you.”

“Does this have something to do with Lily-“

“DON’T SPEAK HER NAME,” he roared, “Because of your inability to act, no matter how many times I tried to contact you and plead on her behalf, I can never see my wife again! Now my best friend and his wife are dead, leaving their daughter’s future up to me. You can take better care of her than I can, as much as that galls me to say it. She shouldn’t have to grow up listening to a cynical stallion like me. She needs a sickeningly sweat idealist like you.”

“How did she become like this,” Princess Celestia asked, “How did her parents die?”

“It doesn’t matter. It would be best for all three of us if she never knew who I was, or what our relation is with each other.”

The stallion then turned and stormed away, “I’ll be in my office below; I have something urgent I need to work on.”

Bunsen Burner briskly walked past Fancy Pant’s hiding spot, taking no notice to the little colt at all, leaving his goddaughter with Princess Celestia.

The Princess’ eyes followed her former student with a look of guilt and sympathetic anguish for him, before those same eyes turned to the pink and purple alicorn child.

"Hello little one,” she said as she slowly led the child to the hospital wing, “What is your name?”

The child didn’t seem to hear, but she began to murmur a few words, “Protect Mi Amore Cadenza. Protect Mi Amore Cadenza. Mommy, Daddy, don’t leave!”

“I don’t know where you’ve been,” Princess Celestia spoke as softly and sweetly as she could, “but you are safe now. I will protect you, Mi Amore Cadenza.”

Author's Note

Starswirl the Bearded was an enormous influence on Princess Celestia in her time after Princess Luna's banishment. He taught her the virtues of the Five Elements of Harmony: Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, and Laughter. Before his death, Starswirl entrusted the Princess to intentionally lose his research notes, and that she would see them again.

The story detailing these events is Lessons for a Benevolent Tyrant

Chapter 33 - Bon Bon, Bunsen Burner

The town hall of Ponyville was naturally the place where all community relevant matters were discussed and addressed. Today, as it had for so many times previous, it would serve as a place for a public announcement. It was a sweltering afternoon, which was only compounded by how closely packed the near two hundred citizens of Ponyville were to each other.

Bon Bon looked into the mirror in front of her, trying as best as she could to move any stray hairs into their rightful places.

The Mayor Mare appeared in the mirror beside her, and from the reflection she could see that she was looking to her. The older mare asked, “How do you feel?”

“Terrified,” the young candy maker murmured, “I’ve never spoken to so many ponies in my life, let alone all at once.”

The Mayor Mare chuckled, “Would you believe, after nearly twenty-two years of doing this job, I still get the jitters before every speech?”

Bon Bon, surprised by this tidbit of information, looked to her, “Are you serious? I’ve never seen you slip up even once when I’ve heard you speak!”

“That’s just years of practice at play,” she declared, “You don’t have long, but I can give you some simple advice; when you spoke to me along with the Elements, you were passionate about what you were saying, and that’s what helped to sway me. What did you see in your mind’s eye when you were talking to me?”

Bon Bon’s face scrunched up a little as her stage fright burned into righteous anger.

She was about to express it into words, but the Mayor Mare stopped her, “Don’t say it out loud! Think about it, and if you get nervous, imagine each face out there is mine; it’s a one on one conversation between you and me again. Just repeat what you said to me as best as you can and you’ll do fine.” She smiled a little, “You know, I still remember the last time I had one of your pastries; it was a peach strudel.”

Bon Bon laughed a little, “Yes, that’s one of my favorites.”

“If you can bring as much passion to this speech as you do to your divine artistry in confectionery, you’ll knock’em dead.”

Two rapid knocks pounded through the door, and Twilight Sparkle face appeared in the gap as she opened it, with a pre-performance excitement tingle in her voice, “Are we ready?”

Bon Bon took in one sharp breath before turning to the unicorn, “Ready.”

It was a blur, going from the Mayor’s office to the platform and podium outside, the other five Elements were waiting just near the door out, and the seven of them together filed out one by one, with Bon Bon in last, and Fluttershy directly before her, who was just as jumpy and full of stage fright as she was. Twilight Sparkle took the podium first, addressing the crowd about why they were gathered here, the decision to reaffirm their neutrality in the face of the three arson attacks, and to ask the other Ponyvillians to do the same. Bon Bon didn’t hear a word of it; she was stuck in a nervous trance.

Twilight finally gestured to her, and she slowly came to the podium; so many faces watching, wondering why she was there. She rested her forehooves softly on the podium, and tried to start, but her voice caught in her throat. The ponies in front looked up at her expectantly, but she clammed up. She had flubbed it! It was only downhill from here! Like a splash of cold water on hot sand, the Mayor Mare’s advice came back to her in a burst. Suddenly, all of the ponies in front of her looked like the Mayor Mare, waiting for her to let out her bottled up words and emotions.

“You’re probably all wondering why I’m up here,” she began unsteadily. She chuckled nervously, “So am I.”

The Mayor Mares who could hear her chuckled too.

“If you’re anything like me,” she spoke out louder now, “You’re shocked by the unrest that has come upon us out of nowhere. Why are we all fighting? Aren’t we all of the same nation? The sides that have helped to create this divide have chosen one Princess over another. ‘We follow Celestia’ or ‘We follow Luna’.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, before they flashed back open, full of determination, “Well I say neither is the right way. This strife and division, stuff we haven’t even heard of except in Hearth Warming’s Eve stories, is not the Equestrian way. We need each other! We need both our Princesses, the unicorns, the pegasi, and us earth ponies too. We need Harmony! We love Harmony. I want things to be like they were not so long ago; no Solar Empire, new or ancient, no Lunar Republic, now or ever. I want Equestria back, and we need to remind everpony that that good dream we lived in, of love and peace with each other, is still salvageable! We can save Equestria from this mad ideological war! We have to stop being afraid and do the right thing; stand up for what we believe in, and be brave enough to fight with only our words and our hearts, not our horns and hooves. We must reach out to all the other lovers of the Equestria we once knew, and march to Canterlot to show everypony, ‘We will live in harmony! We will live in peace with all. Equestria was and always should be the land of Harmony!' ”

Bon Bon caught her breath as she felt her body crumple a little when she finished her speech; she had barely stopped to breathe in all the time she was speaking, mostly out of nervousness. The gathered crowd of ponies roared, cheered, and stomped their hooves in joyous agreement with Bon Bon’s speech, who nervously smiled. She turned to look to her left, where the Elements stood on the podium, and they too were stomping their hooves, each offering her a smile, a wink or a cheer. The Mayor Mare approached the podium from behind the Elements at a practiced trot, and gave Bon Bon a smile, and with tears in her eyes, she murmured, “Fantastic.”

Within a matter of weeks, scores of ponies descended on Ponyville. From all walks of life, from all over the country, stallions and mares came to support the ideal of a restored Equestria. A pegasus mechanic from Trottingham named Fix-It, an earth pony hotel manager from Mustangia named Sunny Resorts, a wizened old money unicorn from Fillydelphia named Bullion Mint, and many more after them came to show their support for the way things had been, for one reason or another. Some wanted to be able to practice their business in peace and without fear, others wanted the markets to return to normal, and some simply wanted an uneventful, quiet life once again.

Bon Bon and the Elements were overjoyed by the ponies that showed their support with their presence, even as they struggled to find room for all of them around the town. Hotels and inns filled up within days of the speech, and nearby fields were being used as camping grounds for the many ponies that kept coming. Local law enforcement was not enthused by this most recent of developments.

“So many ponies, all in my town,” Officer Blue Badge said as he looked all across the meadows that held the different shapes colors and sizes of tents and makeshift dwellings, he turned to look at Bunsen Burner, “I’d be thrilled if there weren’t so much of a risk of a stampede if someone should panic.”

The bespectacled stallion grunted his affirmation, “It also provides too easy of a target for infiltration. How long have you been sheriff in this town?”

“It’s been around fifteen years since I first got this job. Ponies all around like how I do my job, and keep voting for my re-up every year.”

Bunsen Burner slid his visor down over his eyes, and scanned the meadow, “Have any of the locals been acting odd in the past few months?”

The sheriff scoffed, “No more than usual; we do have plenty of colorful folks around here, but it’s been a little subdued since the Changeling scares began. With that in mind, we enacted the buddy system so that everypony could keep a lookout for each other. Twilight Sparkle's organizational skills have been a miracle for the town these past two and half years!”

“Yes, her abilities have been well documented,” the older stallion murmured. The visor was an invention of Bunsen Burner’s that was created to show magical shape-shifters of all types, but was primarily used in finding Changelings. Ancient mages, Starswirl the Bearded among them, believed that all beings had some balance of magic and mundane within them; some balance of Form and Matter made up all things, and defined their place in the hierarchy in the natural order. A balance of modern technology and unicorn magicks, the Arcanium visor was an example of what had become commonly known at the Royal Science Division as AuraTech. The filtered vision he was offered allowed Bunsen Burner to see the relative magic levels and aura types of the ponies around. As far as he could see with a cursory glance, everyone down below was clean. He then turned his gaze back toward Ponyville, and began to scan the visible locals. Everyone passed checks, and Bunsen Burner was about to put the visor up, when he had a paranoid desire to look again.

One earth pony’s aura levels were abnormally colored; a pink aura with tints of bright green floating through her. Bunsen Burner slid the visor back up to his forehead, and blinked his eyes heavily. The mare with abnormal readings was passing by with a red stallion at her side. It was the school teacher, Cheerilee.

“Out of curiosity, how long has Ms. Cheerilee been in town?” he asked with a practiced pitch to Officer Blue Badge.

“Oh, she moved into town almost twenty-five years ago. Her Aunt Jubilee was the previous school teacher until she retired and passed on, Celestia bless her. Sweet mare; she cares about the young’ins a lot, and takes her time with them, makin’ sure they know everything they need to.”

“Any long out of town visits or vacations?”

The sheriff shook his head, “Never seen her really leave the bounds of the town all that much since she came here; schooling isn’t the best paying profession an’ all. So far as I know, Ms. Jubilee was her only family.”

Bunsen Burner grimaced a little, unnoticed by the Sheriff, as he looked at Big Macintosh, “And how long have those two been together?”

“About four months now. I’d expect church bells in their future,” Officer Blue Badge chuckled, “and it’s all thanks to three of her little students who thought she deserved a Special Somepony enough that they made a love potion for the both of them!”

Bunsen Burner turned all the evidence over in his mind, trying to find the weak link in the evidence, “Is that right?” He then began to walk back into town, “Thank you for your professional courtesy, Sheriff. The information was very helpful.”

“Always a pleasure!” Officer Blue Badge declared, turning his attention back to the campsite of out-of-towners.

Chapter 34 - Bunsen Burner, Cheerilee, Big Macintosh

It just didn’t make sense, Bunsen Burner thought to himself. The visor couldn’t possibly lie, but the traditional Modus Operandi of Changeling infiltration was not being satisfied either. Normally, Changelings would disguise as young fillies or colts as a means to account for their limited individual intelligence and unfamiliarity with pony culture. Children, however, could prove to be useful meals for a Changeling, as their emotions were almost always unhindered by ignorance of social etiquette. If she were one of them, it would explain her sympathy towards the arsonist Changeling that she had been found with by Trixie. Still, she could be just a compassionate mare, just as Officer Blue Badge had made her out to be. Three possibilities existed now: the visor was malfunctioning and needed repair, the school teacher was a common Changeling, possibly unfettered from the Hive’s control, or she was something worse; a Royal Candidate acting on advanced detail for other Changelings to be easily integrated into Ponyville’s population.

Making his way to the library, he noticed a familiar bird flying from out of the window. Philomena soared across the skies above as she soaked in the sun’s rays, gliding serenely on the wind’s currents. He knocked firmly on the door four times, and waited patiently for Twilight Sparkle to respond. In no time at all, the door was opened, but not by the one he expected.

“Bunsen Burner?” Spike greeted the stallion. Though he wasn’t surprised to see him on his doorstep, he knew for a fact he wouldn’t be here on a social call, “What do you want?”

“Master Spike, I was wondering if I could perhaps have a word with the Antrozi bodyguards.”

The little dragon allowed him entry, and he walked idly to the door that led to the basement of the library, “You do know that they are sleeping right now, right?”

“Yes, but I have need of their services as readily as possible: I want their opinion on something.”

Spike was puzzled by Bunsen Burner’s cryptic attempts to keep information from him, “Does it have something to do with the Changelings?”

“Yes it does. Having been driven into the Everfree hundreds of years ago by medieval ponies, the Antrozi herd may have legends pertaining to them, and perhaps some new useful information.”

Spike’s eyes grew wide and he nodded his understanding. He then unlatched the door to the darkened room below, “Watch your step.”

So cautioned, Bunsen Burner was careful to take the stairs one at a time, and made it to the bottom easily. In the dim light, he noticed that his movement was being track by two sets of reflecting yellow eyes. Umbra and Nox detached themselves from the ceiling where they had been sleeping, and came to the old earth pony.

“I suppose you heard me coming,” he asked.

“Yes, we heard you knocking,” Umbra replied curtly.

“What is it you want of us?” Nox asked, his ears twitched as he winced at the light coming from upstairs.

“I have my suspicions that a well-established member of Ponyville is a Changeling double-agent. However, there is not enough concrete evidence for a public accusation. I have need of your services to affirm my thoughts, or too help dismiss them as paranoia. Will you help me?”

Umbra looked to Nox. Wordlessly, they came to their decision together. Turning back to Bunsen Burner, Nox declared, “We will.”

There was a spring in Big Macintosh’s step today. Work at Sweet Apple Acres was done for the day, he seen to that, which meant there was time tonight for a date with Cheerilee. Although he hadn’t ever had his eyes on her in a romantic sense before Hearts and Hooves Day, she was a wonderful mare, and he enjoyed spending what free time he could spare with her. After making his way to her house, he had taken a walk around town with her, talking about anything at all that came to the two of them. After a nice meal at a simple restaurant, they found their way to a quiet place near the Apple property close to town. There was a little stream that ran near Ponyville which had formed an ox bend, and had subsequently been filled in by the Apple family in years past. The two of them sat down near the stream and watch the fireflies come out as dusk fell.

“Thank you for taking me out tonight, Big Mac,” Cheerilee said, and she gave him a peck on the cheek, “You always know how to make me feel special.”

“Ah’m glad ya liked it,” he replied in his gentle, deep voice, and he smiled deeply at her.

The two of them sat watching the skies darken, and the night become bright with the flashing glow of dozens of fireflies. It was a remarkable sight, watching them lazily swoon about, bringing amber tones to the purple and pink colors of the night.

“Have you thought at all ‘bout the future?” Big Mac asked all of a sudden, “We’ve been datin’ a while now.”

Cheerilee looked with surprise at the big, red stallion, “You don’t leave much to subtlety, do you?”

“Nope,” Big Mac shook his head.

Cheerilee looked down into the water at her own reflection, “I..I don’t honestly know what to say. I mean, I want to be with you, Big Mac, but are we really ready to go to that next step? I-“

“Cheerilee,” Big Mac interrupted, “Ah didn’t ask for a ‘yay’ or ‘neigh’ right now, just asked if you’d thought ‘bout it.” He was pleased to know that she did in fact want to be with him at some point.

“I just think we should wait until this ugly war is over,” the school teacher sighed, as she gently touched the water, “The future just seems so murky with everything that’s going on. Who knows what’s going to happen even a day from now? Should we really commit to something big like that, if we don’t even know how others would react to-“

She stopped abruptly, laid her head down on her forehooves, and sighed heavily into them.

Big Mac looked silently into the river along with Cheerilee, unsure of what to say to ease her mind. Eventually, the right thought came to him. He wrapped his right hoof around her and pulled her close, “There’s a lotta things in this world that need plannin’,” he said as he kissed her cheek, “but eventually, everything needs’a leap of faith ta start.”

Cheerilee looked up to her stallion slowly, and within her eyes was a rekindled twinkle. “I suppose that’s true,” she whispered.

She leaned towards Big Mac and offered him a passionate kiss. Big Mac returned her offering with kisses of his own, and the both of their lips parted for each other to explore. Cheerilee breathed in the faint smell of apples as she kissed Big Mac, and it seemed as if everything from the sounds of the creek, to the texture of the grass beneath her, was new. The smells, sounds, and touches she felt all seemed sharp, all were crystal clear; it was an amazing solitude the two of them shared in that moment.

In a few minutes, they separated. The both of them looked ecstatic. Cheerilee glowed with delight and Big Mac seemed to be reinvigorated by their few shared hours.

“I need to get home,” she whispered happily, “I still have papers to grade.”

Big Mac nodded; he would have chores that needed doing early in the morning, so he supposed that the evening’s events had to come to an end. It was a wonderful end all the same, though. The gentlecolt escorted his mare from their hideaway to walk her safely home, where her niece Scootaloo was already tucked in for the night.

A few minutes passed, and with expert skill, Umbra and Nox descended silently from the trees above to touch down on the soft grass below. The two of them looked to each other, wordlessly confirming with each other what they had both witnessed. The night was young, but it was just dark enough that they would not be seen as they made their flight overhead to the library, so they spread their wings and took to the clear skies above.

“Her scent changed?” Bunsen Burner asked pointedly to the two Antrozi, “That’s the best you can give me?”

“It was not a smell that you would find on a mare interested in a stallion,” Nox said as he snorted in mild agitation, “The smell that replaced Cheerilee’s usual musk was something unlike anything we’ve experienced before.”

“Apart from one,” Umbra interjected, “During the first appearance of the Changelings at the time of the Royal Wedding, one of their number was sent to assassinate Princess Luna; a large, intelligent one who wished for battle rather than subterfuge. She had the same smell.”

The older stallion had been walking around the dimly lit basement of the library, passing the seated Trixie Lulamoon and Mr. Black, but upon hearing this account, he stopped and turned to the two of them, “I know the one you speak of. If you have the capability to take down a Changeling Candidate, our odds of successful termination are ever increased in our favor.”

“ ’Termination?’ “ Trixie bristled at the word.

Umbra and Nox stiffened at its uttering.

Mr. Black continued to thoroughly clean his knife.

Bunsen Burner nodded affirmatively to Trixie, before looking back to the Antrozi, “Changeling drones are not called such for their individuality. Destroying the link between the officers and the foot soldiers puts greater pressure on the other Candidates, making each of the drones easier to pacify. A Changeling Candidate is too dangerous to be left alive, and with their deaths, our enemy is less capable of hiding easily and effectively.” He did not share with the others the possibility that ‘Cheerilee’ may in fact be something new, a possible sapient drone. Whatever she was, she was a grave threat to the ponies around her. “The target has been embedded for a long time, making her capture and exposure much more difficult. Tomorrow is Friday. The children will be out of the way by three in the afternoon, giving us the space and the chance we need for the operation to succeed without unnecessary attention. I will fill you all in on your specific part of the plan by tomorrow morning. For now, dismissed.”

With the briefing adjourned, Bunsen Burner, Trixie, and Mr. Black made their way to their own inn rooms in due time just down the way from the library. Umbra and Nox took to their vigil outside the library.

Hiding in among the tree branches, their luminous eyes scanned the night, looking for any unusual ponies. Inevitably, though, they turned to each other.

“Are we going to allow this to happen?” Nox hissed quietly in the Antrozi tongue to his brother.

“I don’t know,” Umbra screeched back, “Even if the school teacher is a traitor, does she deserve death? Is she innocent in all this, or is she preying on the young ones like a dragon on a phoenix’s chicks?”

“I hate what this conflict is making us do,” Nox chirped forlornly as he settled into his post.

“So do I, little brother,” Umbra wheezed glumly, “So do I.”

Chapter 35 - Tia, Serana

..Generosity, to pardon the expression, is a horse of a different color, a voice echoed through Tia’s sleeping mind.

What Serana had done was very generous, but why did that action seem to resonate with her so much? Through the murky dreamscape of her subconsciousness, she saw more of the fragments of what she was sure were her life’s moments. Deep sorrow encapsulated by aquamarine eyes as the two of them rushed into the stars above, away from the diminishing surface and towards the moon’s surface. A purple crystal held aloft by an old friend’s magic hovered into her eyesight. The sun, blazing blood red, burning everything, appeared to her. Her face was in its center, and it spoke, I just wanted to make everypony warm.

Tia awoke with a jolt in a cold sweat, drawing in shuddering breaths as she tried to calm herself. Momentarily disoriented, she quickly looked around the room for any familiar objects or furniture. As her mental state settled, she remembered that she had been brought to this room and this apartment by Serana the night before from the hospital. Even with this small amount of comfort in the knowledge of her immediate surroundings, her despair returned to her: she still had no real idea of who she was. A strange churning feeling suddenly rumbled through her abdomen, causing her to glance down. Hunger. She hadn’t felt truly hungry in over a thousand years. As she got up out of bed and stumbled to the door, she wondered why that obviously wrong statement had popped into her mind. It didn’t really matter she supposed, and she turned the door knob and opened it.

From the look of the sun coming into the large windows of Serana’s loft, it was around ten in the morning.

Tia began to panic, and her hands clasped the back of her brown hair; “I’ve overslept! Who’s raised the sun?”

Confused by her own hysteria, Tia lowered her arms to her sides, “What am I saying? The sun doesn’t need raising by anyone.”

She shook her head, trying to shake the unusual thoughts out, and walked to the kitchenette area. She was about to start making something for herself, when she realized that she knew literally nothing about cooking. Her eyes were quickly met by several fruits nestled next to a silver box with four slits in it; that was certainly an easy solution to her current problems! She took a particularly ripe banana from the pile, opened up the peel and took a bite out of it. It was alright, she determined, not as firm as she would have liked, but the finger’s sweet taste all but made up for its mushiness. After having finished that, she picked up an orange, and began to furtively peel it. She remembered this being much easier to accomplish in the past, but she couldn’t remember why. Perhaps this one had a particularly tough skin. Placing the many pieces of husk in a nearby trash can, she put the first of five orange slices on her tongue. The citrus certainly packed a wallop that was especially enjoyable!

The door to Serana’s room swung open and Tia’s blonde haired hostess staggered out of her room.

“Morning,” she murmured loud enough for her guest to hear.

“Good morning,” Tia said with a smile as she popped another orange slice into her mouth.

“It’ll be ‘good’ once I’ve got a cup of black with four sugars in me,” Serana grumbled. Walking to the side of the sink opposite of Tia, she pressed a button on a metallic appliance that began to whir softly, and trickle a deep brown liquid into a waiting pot below.

“You trying to fight scurvy or something?” Serana commented as she noticed that a couple of her fruits were missing.

Tia chuckled a little, “I just wasn’t sure where you kept everything.”

Serana began to point to specific cabinets in a whirl of detail, “Bowls are in the lazy susan next to the fridge. Cereal’s right next to it. Silverware’s in the drawer right in front of you. If you’re feeling really fancy, skillet’s are to the right of the oven if you want to make an omelet. Everything else is in the fridge.”

Tia decided to go with a simple bowl of oatmeal, while Serana went with a bowl of cereal. The two of them sat at the island counter where the food was usually prepared, and the first few minutes of their shared time together were silent, as Serana began to perk up with a fresh infusion of caffeine to her system.

“How’d you sleep?” Tia asked.

“Surprisingly, like a brick; haven’t had a good night like that in a while. I had this weird dream, though. There was this woman asking me questions about another woman who was missing.” Serana took another sip of her coffee, “I’d say that was my mind’s way of wondering about you. Whatever it was, it was just downright strange.”

“My sister had a knack for dreams,” Tia said as she put a spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth, and talked around it, “She always seemed to be able to understand them, no matter how unusual they were.”

Serana’s eyes lit up, and she looked directly into Tia’s face, “You remembered something!”

Tia hadn’t even been conscious of what she was saying, but when she realized what she had said, she began to grin as she exclaimed, “I have a sister! I remembered I have a sister!”

“That’s awesome!” Serana replied with joy, “Who is she? What does she do?”

“She’s younger than me,” Tia continued, “She’s strong, and caring, and she really stands up for what she believes in!”

“What about a name,” Serana asked with mounting excitement, “Can you remember her name?”

Tia could feel as if the answer was right around the corner in her mind’s eye, but it continued to outrace her. She could sense the answers slipping back into her subconscious, and she began to panic, “No no no!” The more she tried to think, the faster her mind emptied.

In frustration she slammed a balled fist down on the counter. “It’s gone,” she sighed in defeat, and her fist relaxed into an open palm.

The excited tension the two of them had been experiencing followed by their failure left them both in a disheartened state. Serana sympathetically reached over to her guest and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not giving up,” Tia firmly declared as she slapped the counter once again, and she began to look around the apartment for any object that might possibly jog her memory further. Standing from her seat, she then began wandering around the conjoined rooms of the kitchen, the den area, and the small front hallway. Serana quietly watched as her guest did everything from messing with the blinds to feeling the textures of the brick walls.

“Nothing here feels familiar,” she murmured to herself "Nothing is reminding me of anything I'm used to."

“Maybe what you need is a walk,” Serana offered, “For me, walking helps me feel like I’m making progress; helps me think, y’know?”

Tia turned and looked back at Serana and smiled a little. Remaining in this apartment wasn’t going to help; there had to be something out there in the city just outside the door that might help her remember, “That’s probably what I need.”

“Glad you agree,” Serana smiled sheepishly, “Because I needed to go on a grocery run anyway; the cupboards are pretty sparse compared to a week ago. You want to get cleaned up first? I’ll try to find some clean clothes that’ll fit you while you work on that.”

“Certainly,” Tia replied as she began to make her way towards the bathroom. She then stopped and turned, “Serana?”

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to thank you for everything,” Tia smiled softly, “It means a lot to me, all that you’re doing.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Serana waved her hand with a smile of her own on her face, “I mean I’d hope someone would do the same for me if I were like you were, and hey, what are friends for?”

As Tia started to get herself ready for the day, the word ‘Friends’ seemed to linger in her mind. That word was somehow so very important, but she couldn't place it. What was the power behind that word in relation to her? It almost felt like some kind of fantastic secret; just like magic.

Chapter 36 - Tia, Serana

After they had both showered and found a change of fresh clothes for themselves, Serana and Tia headed down to the local farmer’s market. Serana had been ecstatic when the produce market had opened; just as short of a time as three years ago she had had to drive out of the inner city to the local suburbs to try and find a nearby grocery store. Now she could walk the three and a half blocks both ways and be done shopping in under the time it would have taken her to drive one way to a local Walmart. It was definitely easier to keep money tight this way, and for that she was very appreciative.

“I never bothered to ask,” Tia began as the two of them stopped at a four way intersection, and they waited for the walk signal to appear, “but what was it you did before you became unemployed Serana?”

“Oh, I was a manager at a party supply store,” she said with smile on her face, “College was never going to be the path for me; I wasn’t much of a book person.” She winced a little, “I’m definitely regretting it now, though. It’s hard to sell yourself with only a high school education. When the time for the pink slips came around, I was one of the first out of the door; they’d found someone with a business degree who was about five years younger than me. Since nobody in the area is hiring in anything I know about, I’m kinda stuck until either I find a job or the money runs out.”

The stoplight perpendicular to them turned red, and the walk signal lit up in front of them. The two of them made their way onto the next block. As Tia looked down the street, half memories poured into her vision. The buildings of her vision weren’t as high as the ones in front of her, and the roads were cobbled brick and tamped dirt rather than concrete and asphalt. The architecture was curved and ornate in the city veiled by her foggy mind; gilded white spires sprung up towards a mountain’s peak.

“I live in a city!” she exclaimed in renewed excitement. Some of the passersby gave her odd glances before continuing on their way, but Serana didn’t care at the moment.

“Does any of this look familiar?” Serana prompted hopefully, as she waved her hand at the horizon in front of them.

“No,” Tia responded, “It’s..It’s a capital! I live in the capital of a country.”

Serana quick flipped out her smart phone, “What can you remember about it?”

“Statues and marble everywhere,” Tia said as she began to walk in circles trying to recollect, “There was this one big statue in the central square that was of a winged unicorn, and it had a Cutie Mark shaped like a golden sun.”

Serana had been entering information into her phone as Tia had been talking, but she stopped and stared at the screen for a moment before she turned and looked up at Tia, “ ‘Cutie Mark’?”

“Yes, a Cutie Mark,” Tia said matter-of-factly.

“Tia, no offense, but what the hell is a Cutie Mark? I never studied horses all that much, but I think a name like that would’ve stuck out a bit.”

Tia’s eyes went vacant temporarily, and she shook her head a little, “You’re right. I don’t even know what I’m saying. I could have sworn that-”

A large van suddenly parked on the street with a screech of its brakes, almost it seemed to deliberately get their attention. As the two woman turned to look, a group of four men and women rushed out of the van and towards them.

“Federal agents!” one of the men roared, and he trained his taser on Serana, “Don’t move!”

People on both sides of the street stopped to watch; some were panicky, while some immediately reached for their phones to take photos of the event while it was in progress.

“What the hell is this?” Serana yelled in a half state of panic herself, as she was handcuffed and forced to the ground, “We were just walking down the street!”

Tia, having been evidently insecure about herself just a moment before now, suddenly and eerily became authoritative and commanding of respect. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, and her eyes flashed violet.

The four officers were temporarily stunned by the woman’s gravitas, but they quickly reasserted themselves, “Under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act, you are under arrest.”

“I never approved of any such law,” she retorted sternly, “You will stand down now, or you will receive probation and potential expulsion from the Royal Guard.”

The four of them stared at her for a minute before one of them looked to the others, “Is she going Emperor Norton on us?”

“I don’t give a damn one way or the other,” the senior agent declared, “Sanders, cuff this screwball.”

Agent Sanders, restraints at the ready, made a lunge for Tia. Before he know it, Sanders was falling towards the pavement, the cuffs suddenly binding his own hands, and he faceplanted hard on the sidewalk. The crowd screamed in fright, though there were a few among them who laughed or clapped at the display. Everyone was wondering how the brown haired woman had cuffed the man without even touching him. Serana was gawking up at her, wondering what had just happened, when the senior officer simply fired his taser right into Tia’s chest, causing her to fall without any form of grace to the pavement in the street.

“We bagged the big one,” he smirked, “Kowalski, pick Sanders up and get him in the van before he finds a way to embarrass himself even more.”

“Yes, sir,” the blonde haired female agent replied as she wrapped her arms through the fallen agent’s arms. Serana, frightened beyond belief, was loaded into the back of the unmarked van along the unconscious body of Tia. As the vehicle screeched away, the people stood around for a while longer to talk about what they had seen and heard. Eventually, though, they all went their separate and myriad ways, and before long it was as if nothing unusual had even happened that morning at all.

Chapter 37 - Adam, Luna

A harsh light fell onto Princess Luna’s eyes, and she grudgingly awoke. She realized with a start that she had fallen asleep in the first place, and that it was now nearing on noon time. Looking out, she noticed that the car was stopped underneath a large canopy. To her right, she noticed a large sign standing next to the nearby road which said ‘Shell’. There was a small thumping sound as the door lock came up, and Adam opened the driver’s door.

“Morning Princess,” Adam said with a smirk, as he slipped into his seat, his arms full of processed foods and water bottles, “Never thought I’d get a chance to say that without irony.”

“When did I fall asleep?” she asked groggily.

“Around four in the morning,” he replied as he offered her a pack of six donuts and two honey glazed cinnamon rolls, “you sorta conked out right in the middle of talking. I figured you needed it, since you’re mainly going to be the one confronting all the guards where we’re headed, so I kept quiet and inhaled coffee.”

The Princess was suddenly struck by how absolutely ravenous she was, and she eyed the food in her lap longingly. She glanced at Adam, “Did you already eat something?”

“Yeah; ate as we filled up,” he waved his hand absentmindedly, “Go ahead.”

She then ripped open the first cinnamon roll, and finished it in three bites; making short work of both the second one and the six pack of donuts as well. She then ripped the cap off the plastic bottle of water, and chugged down all twenty ounces of it in one go. Adam gawked at the Princess even as he tried to keep an eye on the road while merging into highway traffic. “What?” she asked as she wiped her mouth with her right hand, “You’ve never woken up hungry?”

“I guess not,” he muttered, as he still couldn’t believe how quickly she had downed all her food, “This is probably not what you want to hear, but if we go through any more toll roads like we have been, we’re going to need to find more money; what little I had with me is all but spent, and I’m pretty sure they won’t take gold bars as currency.”

Princess Luna groaned quietly, “Wonderful.”

She then felt out with her senses for the collection of magical artifacts and Lyra, and tried to find their location. For some reason it seemed harder to achieve now than it had a few hours previous.

Perhaps they are beginning to resist my reach? she asked herself.

Take a look in the mirror, Nightmare Moon’s voice echoed back to her, We have a problem.

The Princess hesitantly reached up to the rearview mirror and angled it towards herself. She brushed away her hanging hair and looked at her face; everything looked fine. Then she slowly looked back at her hair: the edges weren’t flowing starlight anymore, but were hanging like limp streams of purple and silver. She began to nervously run her hands through the falling strands of her hair.

“What are you doing with your hair?” Adam asked hesitantly.

“When did this start happening?” Princess Luna asked with consternation.

“When did what start happening?” Adam glanced back over to her.

“My hair!” her voice began to rise, and she shoved a lock of limp hair near his face, “When did my hair start changing?”

“I don’t know,” Adam splayed his fingers across the steering wheel and went on the defensive, “I’ve been busy following the road!”

“Males,” Princess Luna seethed as she brought the offending hairs back in front of her eyes, “Always the least observant sex, no matter the species!”

“Hey Princess,” Adam tried to keep his growing frustration from entering into his voice, “Why not explain to me what the problem is before you curse me for lacking a uterus?”

“I’m losing my magic!” she angrily blurted.

The car interior became very silent for the next few minutes, as each of them tried to cope with this pronouncement in their own way.

“Wait,” Adam began, drumming his fingers as he thought, “How can you be losing your magic? Lyra never had any trouble with her magic when she was with me.”

“You cannot compare unicorn and alicorn magic so easily,” Princess Luna sighed as she covered her face, “My magic is my life force; I am made powerful and near immortal because of it. I have powers that the average unicorn couldn’t imagine, let alone tap. I don’t need to sleep, or eat, or even breathe to continue existing.”

“Then why is that changing now?” Adam asked as he merged into the fast lane to get around several slower vehicles.

“There is no magic in this world apart from that which is created by those who already have it, correct?”

"I guess so.”

“In Equestria, it’s easy enough to draw ambient magic from one’s surroundings to quickly replenish one’s own supply of power,” Princess Luna explained, “But if the world has no magic to draw from, the power must be found by more mundane means; sleeping and eating for instance. The more magic I expend, the more-“ she stopped and became silent.

“The more vulnerable you become?” Adam finished as the conclusion dawned on him too.

“Yes; more mortal,” she murmured quietly, “And if I expend too much, I cannot make a return trip across the universal streams. I will be stuck here forever, and then neither Tia nor I can be of help to anyone.”

The car became quiet as the grave once again for five minutes, then ten. Adam figured realistically their odds of success were not all that great now, as he had hoped the Princess could have played the juggernaut to give them easy access into the think tank’s facilities.

“What you said earlier, about unicorn and alicorn magic being different..Could it be the same as human created magic being different from both of those?”

Princess Luna looked out the passenger window with melancholy into the barren rocky lands of southern Colorado beyond the highway, “I suppose.”

“We need every edge we can get,” Adam continued matter-of-factly, “If we can at least get a noobie’s understanding of the stuff behind the Dominion Gauntlet,” he flexed his left hand, “I’d be able to take a little stress off of you.”

“Very well,” Princess Luna sighed, “I will try to teach you the basics as I can. First, it is not enough simply to force magic to be: Willpower, while one of the necessary constituents behind arcane power, is not enough.”

“Well that’s a start,” Adam sarcastically declared as he rolled his eyes, “I already know that Willpower and Belief are behind magic, but it’s not clicking for me for some reason.”

Princess Luna lifted a finger, and Adam fell silent, “The source of your trouble is that there is a third pillar to understanding magic, and that is Harmony.”

Adam set the cruise control, and relaxed a little in his seat, turning to her, “What do you mean by ‘Harmony’ exactly?”

“Harmony’s concept is something that has become so ingrained in ponykind for so many years that it is almost intrinsic knowledge. The reason Miss Heartstrings may not have mentioned it is that she is so accustomed to others knowing about it, she may not have remembered your ignorance.”

Adam’s skepticism was very apparent when he looked at the Princess, “Am I gonna have to meditate or something to understand Harmony; go all ‘crouching monk, hidden magician’ or something?”

She shook her head, “No, Harmony is not something that is taught: it is a state of mind. Striking the balance between one’s primal desires and one’s higher consciousness is the point where Harmony is reached; your appetite and your mind must be in synchronous when you are attempting magic.”

“And how do I manage something like that?”

“Focus on a goal, some lasting purpose. If there is anything you find serenity in that is where you will find Harmony. Most unicorns use their Cutie Marks as guidance for their magic; thinking about what you take great joy from provides the direction, and the fuel is the Will and Belief.”

Adam had never had a stable life when he was young. His only goal when he had been on the streets had been to survive to the next day, so he had never considered anything profound like ‘What will you do with your life’ when more pressing matters like ‘Where is the next meal coming from’ were decidedly more immediate. As he thought, though, there was one source of joy and stability in his life, and that was his Lyra. She was absolutely crazy, and he loved her for it. Her flirtatious attitude always gave him a chuckle as well as a sense of longing. She understood him even when he couldn’t understand himself, and the best part about it was that she believed in him. No one had ever given him that, not even himself. She was pleasing to all the parts of his mind, from the primal part of him that loved the smell of hair, to the refined and intelligent part of him that loved her ideals, her wishes, and her dreams. Unconsciously, the Dominion Gauntlet whirred to live with a grey spark of energy, and the discarded packaging for the donuts and cinnamon rolls began to float into the air, surrounded by their own aura of grey.

“Excellent!” Princess Luna smiled as she lightly prodded the empty water bottle now floating above her lap.

Adam looked over at the Princess, and noticed the floating objects which promptly fell to the cabin floor, and began to laugh in exhilaration, “I did it! I finally did it!”

“We’ve only just discussed the philosophy behind the magic,” Princess Luna chided even through her smile, “We still have much to do.” She paused, and the smile left her face: Nightmare Moon was prodding her consciousness once again.

The cargo we seek has stopped, she declared coolly, But before you continue any further with your new best friend, we need to talk.

What is it? The Princess replied.

You spoke the truth when you said magic needs a union of all parts of the mind, Nightmare Moon pointed out, and as much as we may hate to admit it, we need each other if we wish to survive and return to our home.

I..agree. Princess Luna finally yielded; We cannot avoid this any longer. We must accept each other, and remake the shattered pieces of our mind into one whole.

Nightmare Moon shifted in her monochromatic shackles, If you really mean that, you must release me.

What promise do I have that you will not try to take dominance once again? Princess Luna thought grimly.

Nightmare Moon sighed heavily, and she put her armored gloves in the air, I swear on our mother’s spirit that I will seek reunion, not supremacy.

“Princess?” Adam asked worriedly, “You alright?”

“Fine,” she murmured more to herself than to him, “We are..I am at peace.”

Lyra was shoved into an isolation cell by one of the many security guards in the facility, who quickly shut the door behind her. She immediately attempted to reopen the door with her magic, trying to reach outside the room to shove the door open towards her. The door didn’t budge; it didn’t even show her distinctive golden aura manipulating it.

“What the hay kind of metal is this?” she yelled to no one in particular, “Is anyone going to at least have the decency to get me some food? I’m starving!”

The door opened, and an assault rifle poked into the room, which was followed by the guard holding the weapon. An older female scientist entered after the guard. The woman had already begun scribbling notes onto her clipboard as the door was shut behind her, “Don’t bother trying to escape: the doors are lined with lead.”

“Why did you kidnap me?” Lyra blunted accused the scientist, “What did I ever do to you?”

“You’ve been brought here because you are special,” the scientist declared as she stopped her writing and looked up at Lyra, “and because we want what you have: complete biological access and control of Heisenberg radiation.”

Lyra shook her head in confusion, “What in Tartarus is 'Heisenberg radiation?' ”

“You will become a part of history,” the scientist continued, almost like there was no one else in the room to hear her monologue, “the greatest achievement of the 21st century.”

“I don’t give a Manticore’s backside what you want,” Lyra yelled as she strode towards the scientist, “I want to-“

The soldier at the scientist’s side stepped forward and rammed the butt of his gun into Lyra’s head, knocking her to the floor.

The scientist momentarily looked down at Lyra's crumpled form and then shrugged as if nothing had changed, “Get her into an examination suite; I have work to do.”

Chapter 38 - Cadence, Fancy Pants

Meeting a stranger in a large city like Trottingham was essentially a daily occurrence. For its denizens, that meant that sticking close to those you knew could mean the difference between life and death nowadays. Since the beginning of the civil conflict three months ago, the death toll was now approaching seventy. Any attempt by the authorities to maintain order was essentially a joke to the marauding gangs on the streets. The best the police could do was contain the violence within the city itself and heavily question traffic coming in and out of it. There were of course some gaps in this citywide blockade, which both sides used to bring in further reinforcements for themsevles, making the bloody conflict’s body count swell to even greater numbers. Two newcomers, a mare and a stallion in large dark grey cloaks, had made their way through one of these security gaps, and slipped into the city unnoticed. They made their way through the outskirts of the interior city, looking for any sort of place to stay for the night before dusk fell. As they passed through a section of housing on the famous Upton Street, a door quietly opened to their right, and a nervous stallion poked his head out.

“Oi, you two,” he whispered as loudly as he could, “What the hay’re you doin’, trying to get yerself killed?”

“We were looking for some place to stay,” the stallion called back, “Do you know of somewhere we could lie down for the night?”

Further down the street there was a growing light which all three of the ponies saw; loud shouts and clanging noises accompanied the disturbing light as it made its way towards them. Without any hesitation, the stallion hurriedly gestured with his hoof, “Get inside, quick!”

The cloaked stallion and mare glanced momentarily at each other before they dashed for the stranger’s house.

Closing and locking the door behind them, the earth pony stallion who owned the home exhaled nervously, “You lot just had the luckiest moment in your entire lives.”

“Thank you so much for your hospitality,” the mare curtsied slightly from underneath her robe.

Confused by the archaic greeting method, the stallion shrugged, “Oh, it’s nuthin’. Harmony may be dead, but that don’t mean common decency has to die with it.”

The lights and mayhem began to pass by in the street, and the owner of the home ducked away from the nearby room’s windows looking out into the neighborhood, with his guests following suit. “They’re huntin’ ponies on the streets like a plague of Parasprites, swallowin’um whole. Now you’re obviously outa’towners, so allow me to politely ask who you are and what the ruddy hell you were thinkin’ comin’ to this of all places in Equestria.”

The mare and the stallion turned away from the earth pony to whisper to each other.

“Do you think he can be trusted?” the mare asked.

“It’s up to your judgment,” the stallion replied.

The mare paused, before turning back to the earth pony and unveiling her face with her magic. The stallion took a step back in awe, “By all the stars in the sky!”

Princess Cadence’s beauty may have been dulled by her seclusion in the Everfree, but she still retained her regality even with her hair shoddily tossed up into a ponytail, “I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadence.”

The stallion lifted his own hood revealing a clean shaven and shorthaired white unicorn, “And I am Prince Fancy Pants, Equestrian Financial Minister. Thank you once again for inviting us into your home.”

“Believe me,” the earth pony gulped slightly, “The pleasure’s completely mine. I’m Gearhead. It is such an honor to meet you both!”

“We don’t wish to seem demanding,” Fancy Pants interrupted, “but do you have any food to spare? We’ve been traveling without a chance to eat all day.”

Gearhead’s eyes lit up in semi-panic, “Of course! Of course! Let me just quick prepare some supper!”

The earth pony made his way back into the small kitchen area in his home at a half gallop and feverishly began throwing something together. Cadence and Fancy Pants walked in just behind Gearhead as he began to toss small bowls on the table for the soup he had prepared earlier that evening for himself.

“Sorry if it’s not up to your usual standards,” Gearhead sheepishly grinned, “I’m a rubbish cook.”

“Compared to what we’ve had to make due with,” Cadence eyed the soup longingly as she chuckled, “This will be like a feast.”

“The whole country’s gone to Tartarus since you disappeared,” Gearhead began after moving the plates from the table, “Prince Shining Armor is trying to do what he can, but he’s no Princess Celestia. Word comin’ from the outside said you’d been kidnapped by some unicorn faction. I know this may sound impertinent, Yer Majesty, but where the hell have you been?”

Cadence was heartbroken by Gearhead’s appeals to her. Trottingham’s every citizen was in this same form of anguish, left directionless without any solid lasting institution to rely on. Everything had changed, she began to realize; even the most basic ideas of law and order had been stripped of her ponies, leaving them naked, helpless against an unseen and near untouchable enemy. Perhaps she had been wrong to have left Canterlot, even if it was to protect her husband and the Royal Family.

“I exiled myself,” she said softly, “I was never kidnapped. The Changelings made an attempt on my life, which Fancy Pants here helped to subvert,” she gestured to her guide and bodyguard, “We’ve been living in the Everfree Forest for the past season, assuming that the Changelings would be actively hunting me. Now I wonder if my ‘vacation’ was their plan all along; never to kill me, but to keep me out of the way.”

“The threat may seem like it is the Solar Empiricists or Lunar Republicans,” Fancy Pants interjected as he laid his hoof on the table, “but the truth is both are sham causes. Each is the instrument of the Changelings to divide Equestria and sow hatred and fear among us.”

“But why are they doin’ this?” Gearhead shook his head slowly, which he then placed in his hooves, “What have we ever done to deserve this? First they were just old wives’ tales, and now they’re our wakin’ nightmares? Why are they tearing us down?”

“I don’t know,” Princess Cadence laid her face down on her hooves, “The idea that somepony could hate somepony else like this so impersonally for such a long time, I don’t think I can understand it: it’s just not in my nature to be like that.”

“What news is there from the other parts of the country?” Fancy Pants urged Gearhead, “What about the Elements of Harmony?”

“The Elements?” the earth pony asked “The ones in Ponyville? Last I heard they were somehow remaining neutral in all this. Don’t know how personally, but they ‘ve dun it so far, though there was talk of, if you’ll pardon the mechanic’s vernacular, galvanizing that neutrality.”

“What exactly do you mean?” Fancy Pants asked uneasily.

“Some earth pony named Bon Bon delivered this firebrand speech that we all need to ‘return Equestria to the way it was’. Those who agree with her are goin’ to be marchin’ on Canterlot to show their commitment to the cause soon.”

Gearhead sighed, “I’d love to believe that it’s still possible, returnin’ Equestria to the way it was, but after everthin’ I’ve seen in this city with the arson, the gangs, and the killin’s.” He fell quiet and leaned his head on his left hoof, “There hasn’t been a true homicide in this city for as long as I can remember, and now it’s like all the sense in ponies is gone, and all that’s left is madness.”

Cadence had remained quiet for a time as she processed all the information at her disposal. She believed that whoever this Bon Bon was, it sounded like she had a good head on her shoulders. She could believe that Twilight would somehow be involved with this movement, and she absolutely trusted her sister-in-law’s judgment. She realized she owed it to all of Equestria to be there for this neutral movement, and to not let them down as she had unintentionally done when she had run away. She breathed in, and her determination was palatable: she was not going to back down again.

“Harmony’s not dead,” Cadence firmly intoned.

“Cadence?” Fancy Pants turned to the alicorn princess.

“We’ll make our way to Ponyville at dawn. Where’s the nearest railway line to there from here?”

“Princess, I’m not sure that is the wisest course of action,” the white unicorn cautioned, “Going to Ponyville will attract undue attention from the Changelings as well as from the two factions. Your safety is paramount, and that is next to impossible in any crowd.”

“The herd is who is most important,” Cadence replied with a passionate fire in her eyes, “No Princess or Prince changes that. My life is not worth any more than anyone else’s. I have a chance to serve and help, and that is what I am meant to do.”

“You cannot just throw your life around like you are no more different than anypony else anymore!” Fancy Pants angrily declared as he slammed his hoof on the table, “If anything happens to you the world is thrown out of balance, spelling doom for all races of this world! The fact that you were somehow able to find a way to raise both the sun and moon is a miracle, and that cannot be squandered. We must stay in hiding for the sake of everyone!”

The room became deathly silent, with the two royals staring each other down. Gearhead was doing his best to remain absolutely still, in the hopes that he would not be caught in the range of their mutual death glares.

“I will be leaving tomorrow morning,” Cadence declared in a practiced tone to control her anger, “If you wish to stay behind, then you may: I’m needed in Ponyville, and nothing can change my mind about going.”

In almost an instant, Cadence’s eyes unfocused, and her face gained a green pallor. She quickly got up from her chair, and before either of the males could react, she began to dry heave over the nearby sink.

“Princess!” Gearhead exclaimed in a panic, “Are you alright?”

“Felt better,” she managed to wheeze out before the next round of vertigo and nausea hit her, “We’re going. That’s final.”

“What’s happenin’ to her?” Gearhead turned to Fancy Pants frantically.

The nobleman’s brow furrowed, “I’m seriously praying it’s not what I believe it to be.”

Chapter 39 - Cheerilee

Even after the burning of the schoolhouse, education had to go forward. Life didn’t stop because of one tragedy or another; there was simply too much living to be done. A makeshift place of learning made of a tent and borrowed chalkboards and desks was where the children of Ponyville now received their lessons. It was placed only a few dozen feet from where the original wood building had been, but the spirit of the school was there, and that is what mattered. It was recess time now, and the fillies and colts didn’t have far to get to their playground now, as it was now just outside the tent flaps. Cheerilee was watching her tutelage from the very spot, and was amazed that even with how much things had changed, they had managed to stay the same. Though young, their childishness and innocence was beautifully resilient to the troubles life had thrown at them.

“Cheerilee,” a voice definitely not belonging to one of her students called to her. Turning to the owner of the voice, the school teacher realized that it was Trixie approaching her.

She offered the cerulean magician a warm smile, “Oh hello Ms. Lulamoon!”

“Please, just call me Trixie,” the unicorn said, offering back her own smile as she adjusted her white, star spangled hat.

“What is it I can do for you?”

The smile began to wane from Trixie’s face, as she struggled to find the right words to say. She tapped her right hoof on her mouth, “I wanted to thank you for standing up for me after I first came back to town.”

Cheerilee smiled even deeper, “Well you’re quite welcome! It’s just like I’d told you; everypony deserves a second chance for past mistakes.”

“My intuition tells me you are a good soul,” Trixie interrupted as her mind spilled out without restraint, “which is why I’ve come to you now: to repay your kindness.”

Cheerilee waved her hoof lazily, “Oh no, you don’t need to repay me for anything! It was a matter of principle-“

“You must leave Ponyville,” Trixie finally pronounced.

Cheerilee was stopped short by this command, and she looked at the unicorn with confusion and concern, “What? What are you saying?”

“Bunsen Burner believes you are a Changeling. He intends to confront you in force after the children have left, and he intends to-“ Trixie couldn’t finish her own sentence, so she instead looked to the grass beneath her hooves and nervously treaded on it.

Cheerilee’s eyes widened, “Why are you telling me this?”

“I don’t know whether you are one or not, but I've heard how you've impacted dozens of lives throughout the years. Just from being around you I believe you wouldn’t see harm brought to anypony,” she then looked up into the school teacher’s eyes, “and my conscious wouldn’t allow me to sit by and do nothing.”

The two of them looked at each other silently for a short time, until Cheerilee broke eye contact. She turned to look out at the children and yelled to them in a jovial tone, “Recess is extended for another five minutes! Happy Friday!”

That was all that they needed to hear, and each gave their own little cheer for the happy occasion.

“The children won’t be harmed in any way?” she asked quietly.

Trixie nodded, “He explicitly said that he would wait for them to all leave. You’re not thinking about confronting him are you?”

“Perhaps I can show him reason, or at least speak my own mind,” she shrugged.

“Cheerilee, don’t do this!” Trixie pleaded, “Just run. It will be easier. If you stay he may kill you!”

“Running will only make me look guilty. Besides, doing what is easy is generally not the right thing to do,” Cheerilee replied, “At least morally speaking, that is.” She seemed to exude a strange sense of serenity as she looked at Trixie with a sad smile, “Thank you for coming to me. I’m glad you held to your own conscious. If I could, I’d be honored to call you my friend.”

Trixie blinked repeatedly, but she gave a wavering smile back, “I’d like that.”

“Have a nice day, Trixie,” Cheerilee softly said as she went to meet with and round up all the children to return to their studies, while Trixie galloped hard back into town and tried to contain all the complex emotions and thoughts swirling uncontrollably through her heart and head.

Cheerilee had just finished writing out her last point for the day when she checked the nearby clock hanging from the tent ceiling: It was 2:30. She turned to her students and waved, “Now, you all know your assignments for next Monday. Class is dismissed. Enjoy your weekend everypony!”

The school emptied rather quickly after that last pronouncement was made, leaving only herself and Scootaloo, who approached her aunt.

The young Pegasus filly already had her helmet on, and her cherished scooter was at her side, “Just wanted to let you know I’m gonna be hanging out with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at the Boutique now.”

“Go right ahead,” Cheerilee responded, “In fact, why don’t you turn it into a sleepover? I’m going to be talking to several ponies today, and I’ll be too busy through the night.”

“Really?” Scootaloo exclaimed, and her wings began to flutter with joy.

“Go for it! If Rarity’s alright with it, you have my permission. You better hurry, they’re probably waiting for you!”

“Thanks Cheerilee!” Scootaloo blurted over her shoulder as she raced out past the tent flaps.

Cheerilee couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at her niece’s enthusiasm, but that slowly died out as she realized the time was drawing very fast for her ‘guest’s’ arrival.

Indeed it wasn’t long at all before the tent flap was drawn back, and the scientist in questioned entered. There was no emotion on Bunsen Burner’s face; no smug sense of victory, not even hatred for the one he was confronting. He was followed by a very sullen Trixie, and Umbra and Nox. They quietly took up their positions, one pony for each ‘wall’ of the tent. Bunsen Burner strode purposefully toward the school teacher, until he stopped in front of her desk. The weapons saddle on his back was prepared with a sickly orange liquid filled slug, already primed in the muzzle of his side mounted grenade launcher, and awaiting the pressure of the trigger located in front of his mouth.

“Do you know why I am here?” he asked with a trail of ice in his voice.

Cheerilee furrowed her brow as she readjusted her position on her stool, “I expect you are here to act as judge, jury, and executioner on the basis of your own charges. What crime have I committed?”

“Colluding with another race towards the overthrow of the sovereign Equestrian state: treason.”

“On what grounds?”

“Your sympathy towards the Changeling race, scoring potential positive for a Changeling under aural examination, and for pheromonal evidence of being a Changeling in disguise.”

“Don’t act like this is anything but a witchhunt,” Cheerilee responded coldly, “Besides, even if I was a Changeling, what proof is there that all of them wish to see Equestria overthrown? You made the mistake once of believing an unknown race was intent on Equestria’s downfall.” Bunsen Burner stared at Cheerilee unreactively as she continued, “That’s not the issue though, is it? You’re hiding your fascism and neurotic need for order under the guise of a patriotic duty to citizens you don’t even care for, but who you instead catalog and classify like tools to be manipulated for your later goals!”

Bunsen Burner remained quiet for a time, until he slowly bowed his head a little at the accusation.

“The evidence does not lie,” he replied quietly.

Cheerilee was surprised that the old stallion seemed to be agreeing with her.

“Bunsen Burner, please,” Trixie pleaded from the back of the tent, “there are bigger things to be concerned with elsewhere. Can’t we just let her go?”

Bunsen Burner thought about it, and the seconds seemed to ache as they ticked by. At last, the scientist turned and began to walk away. Cheerilee let out a shuddering breath as she relaxed.

The scientist then whirled around and fired his canister at the foot of her desk, which on impact began expelling the gaseous Marigold Option formula in all directions.

“Probable cause is enough,” he declared coldly, “If you live, you have my sincerest apologies.”

Cheerilee realized that her breathing out had been what the deranged scientist had been waiting for, and as she took a breath into her lungs in surprise, she felt an unquenchable fire begin burning inside her.

“No!” Trixie screamed as she bolted for the schoolteacher.

The tent was suddenly ripped out of the ground, stakes and all, by a great purple colored aura of magic. A technicolored cyclone roared into the area underneath where the levitating tent had been, creating a vacuum that sucked all of the orange fog of death into the sky. A large cumulus cloud was moved into position by a yellow and pink streak, which soaked up the Marigold Option and obscured the vision of Mr. Black’s supposedly hidden sniper coverage. Bunsen Burner heard a clearing throat behind him, and as he turned he received a face full of strong orange hindlegs and hooves, “Ah’ve been wantin’ to do this since the day I met you!” The disgraced scientist fell to the ground unconscious with one blow. Rarity and Pinkie Pie attended to Cheerilee as she rasped her every breath and dry heaved every other one. They carried her to underneath a nearby large shady tree and offered her a fanciful fan and water to drink.

“Mr. Black, hold your fire. Repeat, hold your fire!” Trixie called into Bunsen Burner’s comm unit, “Stand down and await instructions!”

“There’s going to be hell and more to pay when this nutjob wakes up,” Rainbow Dash growled.

Cheerilee wearily looked to each of the Elements in surprise, “What are you all doing here?”

“Saving you, silly goose!” Pinkie Pie gave a broken smile as she held up the teacher and offered her another cup of water to wash out the taste of the awful chemical.

“I just don’t understand why he would think you were a Changeling,” Rarity commented angrily, “I mean, you’ve been here in Ponyville for years! You weren’t doing anything that seemed odd or wrong. What possessed that madpony to try and attack you?”

“I don’t blame him. Please, forgive him.”

“Why should we forgive him after all this?” Rainbow Dash asked in frustration.

Cheerilee’s eyes closed, and her body was consumed by emerald colored flames. The nine ponies surrounding her gawked as the kind mare they had always known sprouted a jagged horn and two insectoid wings. Her fur became hard black chitin in an instant, and when she opened her eyes they were green slits. She smiled with a hint of melancholy, “Because he’s right.”

Chapter 41 - Bunsen Burner, Cadence

Bunsen Burner awoke slowly to find himself lying in his bed at the Yawning Sheep inn. As his eyes widened, he saw the beak of Mr. Black looming over him.

Before he could do anything, the Griffon spoke a key phrase, “Zebra-Foxtrot-Indigo-5-8.”

He instantly relaxed, “So it is you. What happened?”

“Our target was taken by the librarian and her group. Tango-Rodeo-Xray-8-0 is with them. Our situation has changed, and I’m not entirely sure on all of the particulars.”

“You crossed a line,” the voice of Nox declared from across the room, “We couldn’t allow you to kill the schoolteacher, even though she was a Changeling.”

Bunsen Burner lurched forward as he tried to get out of the bed, but Mr. Black shoved him back down with a growl, “Lie down, you stupid horse! You’re lucky that kick the earth pony gave you didn’t fracture your skull. She's to be quite dexterous to have only given you the head injury that you have.”

Warned though he was, Bunsen Burner sat up and glared at the two Antrozi guards on the other side of the room, “Do you have any idea what you have done? You have placed everyone in this town at risk by leaving her alive. This derails everything we have been trying to accomplish!”

“We trust the judgment of Ms. Sparkle first,” Umbra declared pointedly, “She will be able to handle the situation well enough if things go awry.”

Bunsen Burner scoffed, “She is still fresh with idealism. Sentimentality has no place in any conflict, let alone a war of shadows like the one we are engaged in. You know better than most the insidiousness of the Changeling menace. You both know how they can deceive and harm!”

“We will not be able to stay in town much longer with the failure of this sting,” Mr. Black said to Bunsen Burner, “We should leave before we are run out by the locals.”

“We’re not leaving,” Bunsen Burner growled, “not until the threat here is put at an end.”

There was a hesitant set of knocks on the door, and the room went quiet.

Mr. Black half pulled his knife from his foreleg mounted sheath. He obscured his weapon from the angle of the doorway, and he motioned one of the Antrozi guards to open the door.

Umbra sniffed the air; the scent was familiar, but there was some new element to it. He hesitantly opened the door, only to find that it was Princess Cadence standing outside.

“Your Majesty,” he said as he bowed, with Nox bowing in like kind behind him. He then turned to the two veterans and nodded, “She’s clean.”

Mr. Black sheathed his knife and turned in full to look at the Princess silently.

Bunsen Burner was legitimately surprised by the young alicorn’s presence.

“Hello,” she said quietly to the older stallion, unsure of how to approach him, “I’d like to..I need to speak with you. Privately.”

Bunsen Burner blinked once, then twice. Finally he motioned to the others with his hoof and then towards the door.

The griffon looked to the two Antrozi for a moment before he slowly stepped out into the hallway.

The two guards bowed to the Princess once again, “We will be just outside,” and then stepped out as well, closing the door behind them.

The room was silent as Princess Cadence telekinetically pulled a sitting pillow from across the room, and laid down on it. The seconds ticked by as the two simply looked into each other’s eyes.

Bunsen Burner laid back onto his propped up pillow, resting his head gently on it so he could still have a good view of the Princess.

“I have so many questions,” she finally was able to declare.

The stallion blinked and nodded gently.

His silence urged her on, “Are you the one who sent me my mother’s necklace?”

“Yes,” he replied slowly, “I am.”

“You knew my parents?” she whispered.

He nodded once again, “I did.”

The room was silent once again, the emptiness filled by the muffled ambient sounds coming from down in the street below the window to the older stallion's right.

“In all the years you and I were in the castle together,” Princess Cadence spoke unsteadily, “You never acknowledged any connection of ours: your knowing my parents, your godparentship to me.” The Princess looked up with confused and agitated eyes, “Why?”

Bunsen Burner said nothing for a time, before he replied flatly, “I had my reasons.”

“No,” Princess Cadence replied angrily, “No more secrets! You can’t just turn me away now, not after a lifetime of my not knowing. If I have to I will order you as your Princess to tell me everything you know!”

Bunsen Burner put up his left hoof and quietly, almost wearily, spoke, “I am willing to tell you, even without the order.” He glanced out the window, and appeared to stare out into the waning sunset, while in his mind he reconstructed the vivid memories he had once experienced so long ago, “I knew your father from my days at university. His name was Punnett Square. He had already been married to your mother, Bolera, for five years by the time I'd met him. They were young, starcrossed, and in love.”

Bunsen Burner smiled a little as he reminisced, “Your father was a brilliant scientist, and was a wonderful friend to me when I first left Celestia’s tutelage. Our fields crossed occasionally; his mastery of genetics and aptitude with magic meant I had his expertise in creating potions and practicing spells, and I’d occasionally be able to help him receive rare compounds for experimentation, as well as creating any machinery he needed.”

“What about my mother?” the Princess asked with a pleading tone, “What was she like?”

“Bolera was a fiery and passionate pegasus from the province of Mustangia. When she met your father, she was studying historic literature in Canterlot. When they had you, they named my wife and myself as your godparents.”

“How long were my parents alive after my birth?”

“You were eight years old when they died.”

The Princess was visibly confused, and she shook her head, “Why don’t I remember this?”

Bunsen Burner leaned upright, “If you want me to answer that, you must first ask yourself how much you truly want to know. I can continue about your parent’s golden years instead, but you must understand that if you wish to know everything, what I reveal to you cannot be repeated except to your husband: not even Celestia knows what I am about to tell you.”

Princess Cadence’s heart filled with dread; what sort of secret could this possibly be, that not even the likes of her aunt knew of it? Could she bear whatever it was that Bunsen Burner was talking about? Eventually she shakily said, “Alright.”

“Are you sure?” the stallion pressed, “You must be absolutely certain. No one but Prince Shining Armor can know, not even your sister-in-law.”

“Tell me everything,” the Princess finally commanded.

Bunsen Burner exhaled slowly out his nostrils, “Very well. You were not an alicorn from birth; you were a pegasus just like your mother. When you reached the age of three, you were found to have a terminal bone cancer. You were not expected to live past the age of ten.”

This news struck the Princess like a cart full of bricks; she had been deathly sick as a child? Why couldn’t she remember any of it?

“Your father, the brilliant unicorn that he was, searched for a conventional means of curing you for two years without success. He then turned to the arcane sciences for an answer. We looked everywhere, ancient or modern, from Equestria and beyond, we searched for a cure together. I lost hope after many months of failure, but your father never gave up. Eventually he came into possession of an encrypted tome: the personal journal of Starswirl the Bearded. It took him a year to decode the secrets that that damned book held hostage, and another to make sense of it. All this time your mother was at your side, teaching you and giving you her strength, helping you to live the little life that you could out of your bed. She believed your father would find a cure, no matter what it took. After several months of additional preparation and construction of an apparatus to help cure you, he was ready to attempt just that. By that time, your condition had deteriorated beyond what even the doctors had expected. You had mere months to live. In his desperation, he threw everything aside on the gamble that he could save you. He broke all the cardinal rules of research: using experimental medicine on another equine without previous testing, having no reliable results or data beyond the conjectures he had discovered or made. In the end, he believed that the only way to save you was to make you as you are now.”

The Princess couldn’t even breathe as Bunsen Burner relentlessly revealing the truth, “I was stopping by your home on a whim when I found he had already begun. As part of the procedure, Punnett and Bolera had cast their lifeforce as part of the toll for the magical transfusion process. Their combined love for you, and the magic it stimulated, helped the operation to succeed.”

Bunsen Burner stopped when he realized that the Princess was quietly crying to herself, overwhelmed by the barrage of revelations he had just put her through.

“They gave up everything,” she whispered brokenly, “So I could live?”

Bunsen Burner’s stony disposition wavered, and his mouth moved in two directions at once, unsure of what emotion to try and convey, “Yes, and I know they would be proud of you, whether you were a Princess or not, for the mare you have come to be.”

His face hardened once again before he continued, “I have kept this secret for over twenty years. Now the burden is also passed to you. The process that made you this way, while imperfect, has granted you great longevity and slowed aging, as well as a great well of magical power. For the necessary cognition to access this power, your mind was transformed, with the stress costing you the memories from before the procedure. If others were to know your history, the public would relentlessly seek the means of your transformation for themselves. I imagine you can divine the repercussions of such a wish being granted them.”

“Yes, I can,” she said as she dried her tears, when she looked up and realized that the sun had been due to set five minutes ago. Absentmindedly, her horn lit up, and the glowing orange body began its descent beyond the windows reach.

Bunsen Burner was surprised when he looked to the sky’s darkening and then to his godchild, “I didn’t realize you had had time to become acquainted with the emergency protocols before you had left Canterlot, though I supposed I should have assumed so.”

Princess Cadence looked at the older stallion quizzically, “Emergency protocols? I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

The old stallion’s eyes widened when he heard this. “How is this possible?” he murmured, “How do you know how to raise the sun and moon without having been trained by the Royal Sisters?”

The Princess shook her head lightly, “I don’t know. Before I left I was forced into a deep sleep, where a presence spoke to me and gave me knowledge. Perhaps we’re not as abandoned as we had all thought: maybe Equestria has a guardian spirit.”

After the Princess had healed his head trauma, she had said farewell to him for the night and left for Twilight’s library.

Bunsen Burner leaned back against the head of his bedframe, and pondered on what she had said. Could it be true? Is there someone watching out for all of us? While initially he doubted it, he couldn’t be sure enough to conclusively say one way or the other, and that was what troubled him the most.

Chapter 42 - Council of Harmony

Saturday morning dawned pale and cool. A low lying fog had been allowed to set across Ponyville, which the weather team wouldn’t clear for a few more hours.

“Why am I being brought into this?” Bon Bon asked Fluttershy as they made their way to the library, “I don’t have any special talent to offer here, and I definitely don’t have the qualifications to be on this council!”

“Actually, I feel the same way about myself,” the yellow Pegasus softly replied, “I’m not brave like Rainbow Dash or strong like Applejack, and I’m certainly not as smart as Twilight. Besides being their friend, what could I offer?”

“You’re an Element of Harmony for one thing,” Bon Bon impassively replied, “Why am I special? All I did was make a speech, and now everypony seems to think I have all the answers because I said what they were all thinking in the first place!”

“Maybe they admire you for being brave enough to say it,” Fluttershy said before she offered a reassuring smile, “I know I do!”

“If I’d just kept my head down, I wouldn’t be in this mess,” the candy maker grumbled.

Fluttershy frowned, and began to speak in a disciplinary tone, “Now stop that! Whether you meant it or not, you took this responsibility. We’ll help you shoulder it, but we’re looking to you to help us come to a decision on what we’ll all do. We need somepony else’s point of view to help us get untangled from the mess we’re all in. If you can’t believe in yourself, we’ll believe in you for you!”

The two ponies reached the library door, with Fluttershy entering first to take her seat at the now expanded round table.

Bon Bon looked at the occupants of the chairs surrounding the table. There sat the Elements like she had expected, but there were four others who seemed especially out of place.

“Princess Cadence?!” she exclaimed as she practically threw herself into a bow before her sovereign.

“No, please,” the pink alicorn said in embarrassment, and then motioned for the earth pony to rise, “Don’t feel the need to bow; we’re all equals here.”

As Bon Bon rose, she saw another face she was surprised at the presence of, “Aren’t you Fancy Pants, the Financial Minister?”

“Indeed I am,” the gentlepony said with a tiny smile, who was now quite grateful to have his customary hairstyle and mustache restored to him after his long exile in the Everfree, “It is an exquisite pleasure to meet you at last, Ms. Bon Bon!”

Bon Bon arched an eyebrow as her gaze caught the presence of a velvet colored earth pony, “Cheerilee? What are you doing here?” Before the schoolteacher could reply, Bon Bon’s eyes fell on the last chair occupied by a tan earth pony stallion. She recognized him, and her blood began to boil, “What is he doing here?”

Applejack’s gaze shifted to the stallion, and she had a deep frown on her face, “As much as Ah agree with yer sentiment, Cadence has decided ta vouch for his position at the table. Ah’d like ta point out that Ah did not agree with this decision!”

“I didn’t either!” Rainbow Dash blurted, “I don’t care if he has experience against the Changelings and knows a bunch of science-y schlock! He doesn’t deserve to be here.”

“You need a war-horse if you want to win a war,” the stallion opined coldly, “and I am the only one you have at the moment. Use any modicum of objectivity and you will admit that my presence here is necessary, even if it is unwanted.”

“When you kidnapped me and my friends, was I supposed to look at that objectively?” Bon Bon angrily responded, “When to promote your own agenda, you used us like pawns in your plan that almost cost us all our lives because of your arrogant god complex?”

Bunsen Burner adjusted his glasses lightly, and stood from his seat to approach the candymaker. Although internally she was intimidated, Bon Bon stood her ground and glared at the scientist as he stopped in front of her. He then sighed and lowered his head, “You’re right.”

Everypony’s eyes widened in surprise at this small display of humility, itself a very uncharacteristic admission of his.

“What?” Bon Bon asked in semi-bewilderment.

“You are correct, Ms. Bon Bon,” Bunsen Burner yielded at last, “I had allowed myself to descend into a path that led to fanaticism and suffering, and it nearly was all our undoing. My actions to help this nation now are my attempts to atone for what I’ve done. I will not ask for your forgiveness, but I will tell you I am sorry for my mistreatment of you.” The older stallion then returned to his seat wordlessly.

Bon Bon struggled momentarily with what to do with this confession. Eventually, she slowly approached the only unoccupied seat, and sat down on the soft pillow.

“Sooo,” Twilight began somewhat awkwardly, “do we want to start?”

Everypony nodded their approval.

“First, we need to bring Bon Bon up to speed on everything that has happened,” the librarian declared, “Besides, I think we could all use a refresher to clarify our shared knowledge.”

“Seconded,” Rarity tapped the table with her hoof.

“Thirded!” Pinkie Pie called enthusiastically.

“Alright,” Twilight nodded and then turned to look toward the center of the table, “So, the first thing we know for sure is that after the expulsion of the Changelings from Canterlot, Princess Celestia became sick.”

“Which turned out to be caused by a poison created by the Changelings, and was the means by which their Queen beat her in their short battle,” Fancy Pants added, choosing his words with as much care as he could, “Weeks afterwards, the good Princess succumbed to the poison.”

Twilight was still pained by hearing of her teacher’s death, even after many months. Her ears drooped, and she looked at her forelegs somberly.

“Actually,” Twilight’s ears twitched upon hearing Bunsen Burner’s voice, “While Princess Celestia is ‘gone’, she is not necessarily ‘departed’.”

“Bunsen Burner,” Fancy Pants hissed in agitation.

Twilight looked at the old earth pony in confusion, “What are you saying?”

“There is the slimmest possibility that she is still alive.”

The Elements, Bon Bon, and Cheerilee began spewing a flurry of conservation at this declaration. Fancy Pants glared at his predecessor, which the earth pony ignored. Cadence sighed softly, ruffled her wings nervously, and knocked on the table to call for silence.

Twilight looked at the three ponies with a mixture of indignation and anger, “You knew? You never once thought to tell me?!”

“We didn’t want you to hope without any chance of seeing it rewarded;” Cadence said quietly, “We all knew how much she meant to you. She meant a lot to us as well, but we can’t be sure that she is alive.”

“Alicorn biology is unlike any other race’s,” Bunsen Burner declared, “It is literally impossible to kill one by conventional means.”

“But I saw her turn into a gold cloud of dust and fly into the sky,” Twilight replied in grief, her eyes becoming watery as she spoke.

“What you saw was her shedding her equine exterior. Alicorns are magical dynamos, most being unencumbered by age, weakness, or even full physical forms. Now that she is rid of the Changeling venom corrupting her magic, she will eventually find a way to reconstitute herself. After Princess Luna informed me of these events you both witnessed, she went after our wayward Celestia. I know she won’t rest until her sister is found, and they are safely back here.”

“You shouldn’t have told them,” Fancy Pants said angrily to Bunsen Burner.

“Why?” he asked, “They are Equestria’s defenders. If we deserved to know, so do they; they are not children anymore.”

The two silently exchanged glares before Fancy Pants conceded with an exasperated scoff and a shaking of his head.

“Now we come to the issue of the Solar Empiricists and the Lunar Republicans,” Rarity declared.

“Yes,” Fancy Pants spoke as he aggressively cleaned his monocle with a handkerchief, “While the Changelings are the ones who inspired and helped to create the two movements, both of them are now self-sustained by the animosity and disharmony being created by each other, and seem to be hostile both towards each other and neutral Equestrians.”

“This leads me to believe,” Cheerilee said as she threw her two bits into the conversation, “that Queen Chrysalis has decided to actively sow as much chaos and hatred as possible, so that she and the Hive can feed off of it in place of more positive and more difficult to manufacture emotions like love and happiness. From there, she can destabilize the nation enough to make it a ripe field for harvest, with the Hive living like a parasite on the rest of you without any of you ever knowing it, which will lead to Equestria’s spirit being completely broken and the two sides ready and willing to wage full scale war.”

“I’m sorry,” Bon Bon said as she waved her hooves, “but I still don’t understand: Cheerilee, why are you here? What’s the point of making all these horrible assumptions about the Changelings?”

Cheerilee rested her face on her hoof, and her body was consumed by green fire to reveal her true Changeling nature, “They’re not assumptions: I know the subject matter pretty well.”

Bon Bon jumped to her hooves out of her chair in alarm. Fancy Pants and Cadence, while already having been told, were still shocked by the sudden transformation of the schoolteacher. Bunsen Burner glared and rolled his eyes in disgust, even as he tossed his Auratech visor across the table to Bon Bon, “Before you panic, look through these.”

“She’s a Changeling,” Bon Bon panicked, “Which means-“

“When I took you hostage I placed you under sonic sedation in the RSD facility below Canterlot. There! That’s something we’ve experienced together. Trust me now, and put them on!”

Bon Bon realized that only the real Bunsen Burner would know that, so she put the visor in front of her eyes. Eight swirling blobs of various colors filled her vision, with one bright energetic green one where the Changeling sat. “Apart from Falena here, we’re all ponies,” Bunsen Burner said as he returned to a calmer tone of voice, “She is one of the top lieutenants of the Changeling Hive, and claims to have defected to our side.”

“I don’t ‘claim’ anything,” Cheerilee said as she placed her chitinous forelegs on the table, “While I may not be equine, I believe in what Equestria stands for, and I think the Queen needs to be stopped from harming any more innocents.”

Even though she was now weary of Cheerilee’s more insectoid appearance, she slowly returned to her seat, something she definitely wouldn’t have done in the months before she had met and come to know Adam. Even if she looked decidedly more monstrous in this form, Bon Bon at least figured she owed Cheerilee her ear for a little while.

“Now that we all have the biggest possible understanding of what has happened and what could happen soon, what do we do?” Cadence asked, “Our nation’s destiny now rests on our ten shoulders. What we decide will affect thousands of ponies for years to come: do not decide on a course of action lightly.”

“Before we go any further,” Pinkie Pie said in a rare moment of seriousness, “I think we should take an hour to think on what we’ve all just learned; it’s a lot to digest, and think we could all use the break.”

“Ah second,” Applejack called out.

“Any objections?” Cadence asked to a room that remained silent, “Very well. We will reconvene in one hour.”

Chapter 43 - Council of Harmony

“I don’t care if there's only a small chance she’ll return,” Twilight Sparkle huffed to her former foalsitter, “Somepony should have told me exactly what was going on! I was mourning her for months! I could barely get out of bed the first few days after it happened, and you just let me go on my way while you knew this entire time?!”

“To be entirely fair,” Cadence said in frustration, “I wasn’t capable of telling you because I was running for my life for several months!”

Twilight exhaled heavily out of her nose as she calmed herself down, “You’re right. You’re right. I guess Shiny at least has the excuse that he’s been trying to run a country without any experience, but didn’t anypony stop to think that maybe I’d like to know if Princess Celestia might have been alive or not?”

“It was cruel what you did!” Fancy Pants angrily spat at Bunsen Burner, “Why did you tell them? You’re dangling hope in front of them without any assurance that she’ll come back!”

“It was the ethical thing to do,” the older stallion responded, “I believe Celestia taught you ethics not long ago?”

“And which you seem to have completely forgotten,” Fancy Pants fired back, before pointing his hoof at the scientist in an accusatory fashion, “Don’t talk to me about it being ‘the ethical thing to do’. What are you playing at, really? What stratagem has your mind of cold reason and whirring gears produced?”

“Our resources are limited. We have a Royal Princess, a Prince, myself and my squad, the Elements of Harmony, a Changeling conspirator, and a mare with a ragtag gathering of idealists, not a bit of soldiery in them. Even if this placebo of hope will not last long, it will make our forces’ stronger, providing them some fond wish to hang on to. That is an advantage I will not deny us, even if it proves temporary. Besides, what more is one sin to me when I already have so many to bear?”

“I almost feel like I’m seeing you for the first time,” Bon Bon whistfully breathed when she looked at Cheerilee’s, or Falena’s, she couldn’t decide what to call her, black carapace.

Cheerilee smiled slightly, “It feels so strange, looking like this in front of so many ponies at once. There’s a certain feeling of nakedness to it that’s somewhat liberating; being without my other face, living without lies.”

“Do you think that there’s any chance that,” here the earth pony mare struggled, “your kind..can live in peace with ours?”

Cheerilee sighed as she looked to the ceiling with her emerald colored irises, “After all this? I don’t know if we really can.” She then looked back to the candymaker, “It does remain, however, my deepest and most sincere wish.”

Cadence began to have a bout of nausea once again. It was the third round in the past few days. As Spike brought her a glass of water, she hoped that it would subside soon enough.

As a precaution, Nurse Redheart was called in to provide the Princess with a checkup, especially since she had been in the wild for over three months. “I suggest you increase your intake of food, but especially of your nuts and oats,” she said in a serious tone, before suddenly breaking into a smile, “It looks like you’re feeding for two now!”

The pink alicorn’s eyes lit up, as did her sister-in-law’s. The nausea was completely gone now. The two of them looked at each other in silent surprise, before each began to scream gleefully, which immediately attracted everypony’s attention.

“I’m going to be a mom!” Cadence exclaimed in joy as she hugged Twilight.

“I’m gonna be an aunt!” Twilight shrieked back in glee.

Everypony came to offer their congratulations in their own way, with Pinkie Pie dead set on having a pre-birth baby shower for the Princess.

“I’d had a feeling this day would be coming,” Fancy Pants smiled deeply.

Cadence’s eyes began to fill with tiny beads of melancholy, “I just wish that Shining Armor could have been here to help me celebrate.”

“I know,” the gentlepony replied before turning to Twilight’s number one assistant, “Say, Spike. Is there any chance that you could send a letter to the Prince?”

The baby dragon shrugged, before putting a claw to his mouth, “I dunno! Honestly, Twilight and I have never tried, but I guess we could give it a shot!”

The two continued talking about Spike’s breath and how the magic behind it worked, with Cadence only half listening, when Bunsen Burner attracted her attention with his near presence. “This child is going to be blessed with a wonderful mother,” he quietly commented. He then looked the mare in the eyes, and she could almost swear she saw a single stubborn tear escape the old stallion’s own eye, “Whatever it becomes, I know it will do extraordinary things.”

“Thank you,” she worded silently, and she began to mentally draw into herself, wishing with all her might that her parents were alive to see this moment, to find out that they were now grandparents.

“And. we’ve..Got it!” Fancy Pants called out with a shout of triumph.

Spike belched a small gout of green flame, before giving both Twilight and Fancy Pants a thumbs up, “I think we’re good to go!”

“We can send a full debrief to Prince Shining Armor after we have adjourned,” Cadence said, even as she smiled softly at the wonderful news she had received. She was gladly reminded in that moment that even in the worst of situations like they were all in now, there was a glimmer of a hopeful future just around the corner.

“Now that we’ve all had time to think about it, do we have any suggestions as to what this council should do?” Cadence asked.

“The root of the problem in all this is the Queen of the Changelings,” Twilight declared, “We need to find some way to confront her and stop her.”

“Easier said than done,” Cheerilee commented, “We’d have to find a way of separating her from the Hive, calling her out on her own. She’s too smart to fall for any trick you may use, whether you try and goad or threaten her.”

“So then we must combat them in mass,” Bunsen responded, “The place that would be most ideal for such an assault would be Canterlot. It’s has defenses that the Changelings are unaware of, and it has a small trained army defending it already.”

“Who completely got their flanks handed to them the last time the Changelings were there,” Rainbow Dash deadpanned.

“I was referring to the RSD, not the Royal Guard,” Bunsen Burner clarified.

“For this mouse trap to work,” Pinkie Pie interrupted, “we’re gonna need some cheese, right? What kind of cheese do we need for a Changeling?”

The room fell quiet as everypony thought that statement over: how were they going to entice them out?

“What if we’re the bait?” Bon Bon asked quietly. Everypony slowly looked at her, which began to make the mare a little self-conscious.

“Come again?” Applejack asked blankly.

“Well, Changelings can eat and detect emotions right?” she asked, “We’re already headed to Canterlot anyway, so why don’t I just give a few more speeches as we go to psyche everypony up?”

Fluttershy coughed slightly for everypony’s attention, “Won’t that put us all at risk? We’ll probably be dealing with both sides of the civil war and with the Changelings as we make our way to Canterlot.”

“If we can form a security force that runs a perimeter around the group as we travel, we will be a little safer,” Fancy Pants pointed out.

“But what guarantee is there that the Changeling Queen will take the bait?” Rarity pointed out, “If she is as crafty as Cheerilee makes her out to be, won’t she notice that this is a pretty obvious ploy to draw her out?”

The Changeling began to grin, and she waved her hoof a little, “No no no. This is perfect! This will work just like we want it to!”

“How do you figure that, exactly?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously.

“Chrysalis knows just enough about Equestria to figure that if she created the Solar Empiricists and the Lunar Repubicans there would be some kind of counter movement that would form: she anticipated this! The trap you are most likely to fall into is the one you think you know completely which has one major unexpected twist!”

“Clever,” Bunsen Burner couldn’t help but smirk, “However, won’t she notice we will be pacifying her troops as we make our move?”

“Drones in the Hive share one consciousness, so she won’t know if a few go missing for a couple days,” Cheerilee explained, “She won’t send more than four at a time to keep eyes on the movement; just enough to gather information without being noticed. She’ll be saving the majority of her forces for the attack.”

“There’s no sure way to know of that,” the scientist scoffed.

“She will if her best lieutenant tells her it’s the optimal thing to do,” the Changeling said as she crossed her forehooves on the table.

Cadence had tried to stay quiet so that she could act to moderate the nine personalities in the room without forcing a direction of action, but here she broke her silence, “Are you saying you are willing to play as a double agent?”

Cheerilee nodded, “We’ll then have ears for everything the Queen has planned.”

“If we can trust those ears,” Bunsen Burner said quietly under his breath.

Cadence glanced over at Bunsen Burner, and then to Twilight. She was conflicted beyond what she could bear; who did she trust more, Twilight’s and her friend’s judgment, or Bunsen Burner’s shrewd logic? It was a high risk to take, allowing the Changeling to return to her Hive for the promise of vital information. What if the information she gave back was false, and she had always intended to betray them right back in a double cross?

She realized both sides had merit, so she compromised. She reached out with her empathic abilities and touched the mind of Cheerilee. She looked deep down into the Changeling’s soul, searching for any lie she may have told or knowledge she had not shared. It was like walking along the edge of a spider’s web, testing each of the spindles for something wrong. She could find nothing hidden or malicious. As far as she could tell, Cheerilee was being 100% honest with her.

Cadence looked deep into Cheerilee’s green eyes, “I accept your service.”

Cheerilee nodded. Bunsen Burner looked at Cadence unblinking, his body tense. He then sighed softly, and he relaxed a little into his seat.

“How exactly will we keep in touch with you?” Bon Bon asked Cheerilee.

“I will cast a spell to connect our minds,” Cadence replied. Cheerilee looked back to the Princess, who’s eyes bored into her own; not out of malice, but a grave warning against her doing anything she might not like, “Whatever you see or hear, I will know.”

Cheerilee once again nodded, this time more slowly to show she caught all of Cadence’s meaning.

Chapter 44 - Shining Armor, Cheerilee

“Your Majesty, new causality reports from Manehattan have arrived. Shall we go over them now?”

“No.”

“We’ve hit the critical threshold in most of the prisons in the outer districts: they weren’t designed for the number of suspected Changelings they’re holding. What shall we do?”

“I’ll look at it tomorrow.”

“Your Majesty, delegates from both the Griffon Confederacy and the Diamond Dog Empire are curious as to how we are handling this civil crisis. How shall we respond?”

“Tell them we are doing everything in our power to end the threat within our country, and that trade should open back up within another month or so. If they don’t believe you, drown them in gifts.”

“Your Highness-“

“Enough!” Prince Shining Armor said wearily. Everypony sitting at the table in front of him grew silent.

The Royal Proclamation Chamber where Princess Celestia had once sat had been converted into a war room, and both the day and night courts had ceased three months previous when the Prince had enacted marshal law. He and the rest of the Royal Family had been working around the clock, foregoing sleep on a multitude of occasions, to try and find a solution to the many problems plaguing the country.

Ponies had emptied or raided many of their local banks to try and secure what was theirs. The economy would survive for a few more weeks with only minor hiccups, but was projected to crash soon.

Changeling hunts were becoming more prevalent, and there were rumors that some suspected ponies had been killed rather than detained as state policy had mandated.

Militias were forming in many of the border towns, and they were reinforced by state troops. In this period of internal unrest, Equestria was prime real estate for conquest by neighboring countries, especially since the two biggest deterrents against such a proposition were missing. With resources and soldiers spread so thin, Shining Armor was considering having to instill a draft for military service.

The past few weeks especially had begun to weigh heavily on him. Perpetual bags were under his eyes nowadays, and his mane and coat had become less and less cared for. The Prince looked to each of the members of the Family at the table, and then he stood, “We’ve been working hard for too long with far too little sleep. Be back here at 0700 tomorrow morning. We’ll settle today’s mess then.”

Some of the Family looked like they were about to object, but the rest had already begun to leave the room for their own chambers, stifling many yawns between them all.

Prince Shining Armor also slowly made his way towards his and his wife’s chambers. He refused to call them only his chambers. Wherever his Cadence was, he hoped she was alright, and that Fancy Pants was doing his best to keep her safe. He felt so powerless, having no idea where she was or how she was. It was twice now that those bugs had stolen her from him, and for that he couldn’t forgive them or himself.

He felt equally inept in how he was handling the national situation as well. He was trained for battles and tactics, for the love of Celestia, not politics or civil service! How had Celestia done it for all those years he wondered? Three months on the throne and he was already turning into a basket case, and she had done it for over ten thousand months back to back.

Arriving at the Royal Suite, he opened the door and trudged through. A fire had been lit before his arrival, and by its light he found his way to his bed. With agonizingly meticulousness he took off every piece of his armor, and gently set them aside with his magic. Without even pulling the sheets back, he collapsed spread eagle into his bed, ready for his taxed body to crash and give him a sleep like the dead.

As he settled, he heard a faint crinkling sound beneath him, and he felt something poking into the small of his back. Slowly rolling over to allow the object an escape from being crushed, Prince Shining Armor grasped it with his magic. It was a now crumpled scroll that smelled distinctively of a dragon’s sulphuric breath.

“Twily!” he murmured with a small smile. He was surprised that she had taken the effort to rebind the magic on her dragon to just send him a regular old scroll.

As he opened it up, he found his tired mind thinking a little more deeply on the matter. Princess Celestia’s system of receiving letters from her students was near instantaneous both ways, was virtually undetectable by magic, and most importantly bypassed using any courier.

Twilight wouldn’t use that privilege to just send him a ‘How are you’ letter. Something was up.

As he began to read the long piece of parchment, his eyes grew wider and wider, and his smile turned into a full-fledged grin. He did his best not to yell at the top of his lungs in joy, so instead he whispered softly and excitedly to himself, “Cadence is alright! I’m gonna be a dad! I’m gonna be a dad!” He felt like he could run a marathon with the sudden burst of energy coursing through his body. Instead, he settled for punching the air with his hooves in an alternating pattern, wearing a happy but goofy grin through all the time that he did.

As he continued reading, his earlier joy was compounded with hope to go with it: Cadence, Twily, and several others had found an inside pony to the Hive, and they had a plan to draw out the Queen!

It’s going to be a long night, the Prince thought to himself as he continued studying the plans in depth while making his way closer to the fire. He didn’t care about losing a few more hours of sleep now; his body could take it. With news like this, who needs sleep anyway?

It was the mid-evening; mere hours after the Council of Harmony had ended. Cheerilee, disguised as her usual earth pony self, stood on the edge of the Everfree with a small party of ponies to see her off. Princess Cadence offered her a silent nod of farewell, which the schoolteacher responded to in kind.

She then turned to her large red beau. “You’ll take care of her, won’t you?” Cheerilee asked Big Mac as she gave him a hug.

“Scootaloo’ll be fine with us,” he replied, as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Trixie gave her friend a small wave and equally sized accompanying smile, “Be careful.”

“And don’t do anything stupid,” Scootaloo declared as she gave her adoptive aunt a hug, “Come back safe, alright?”

Cheerilee nuzzled her niece’s fur, “I will.”

With her farewells said, Cheerilee galloped into the dark underbrush. When she knew she was definitely out of sight from the edge of town, she shed her disguise and took to the air on her membranous wings, surpassing the canopy of the forest as she gained speed.

She flew in a northeastward direction, as that had been the way the two Changeling scouts had been headed after their arson spree. She traveled through the night, not having to worry about low visibility because her eyes had already adapted to it. She began to ping the psychic network shared by all her kind, as well as leaving a faint pheromone trail behind her in the hopes that one of them may find her.

At three in the morning, she felt a reply. There was a faint signal coming from further north.

She shifted her bearing north of northeast, and redoubled her efforts in trying to hail the Hive. As she continued onward, she picked up several other pheromone trails in the air, all of them converging onto a mountain range several miles ahead. She recognized the geography as the southernmost mountains of the dragon’s summer nesting grounds.

A few of the scaly titans flew far above her, already making their way to their winter homes in the southwest. The mountains themselves were produced by centuries of draconic and volcanic activity. As the lava flows had cooled over the years, younger dragons had burrowed through the mountains in search of gems for their own hoards. This made the mountains a labyrinth of twisting, easily defensible tunnels, which consequently made them perfect for the Hive’s needs in both comfort and security.

Two guards greeted her at one of the higher gates in the mountainside as Cheerilee made her landing, broadcasting their welcome to her at her return through a combination of their mental greetings and their hissing. She growled a greeting back, expressing her gratitude to be back. The Changeling Candidate was happy to once again be able to speak in her mother tongue, as she had not uttered it in many years, not even to Scootaloo.

The guards guided her down into the heart of the mountain, giving her the understanding she would need to navigate the tunnels freely for later on. As she crossed the paths of other Changelings, they were already at attention and saluting her through their language.

Thoughts still traveled quickly through the Hive Mind, she mused.

As she entered the Queen’s Chambers, those drones present bowed and greeted her upon her entry. At the center of the cavernous room was a web composed of green spider-like threads, and beneath that was a map of all the territories of Equestria.

Three Changelings sat outside the hexagonal web on small thrones, staring intently at it and verbally conversing with each other in lowered tones. As they noticed their drones bow and salute, they all looked upward.

“Good morning sisters,” Cheerilee nodded to Papillon and Pupa curtly. She then bowed to the largest of the three, “My Queen, it has been far too long since last we were together.”

Queen Chrysalis’ dark, slitted irises silently bored into Cheerilee’s skull as she remained bowed before her. Pupa and Papillon likewise stared at their sister without making any perceptible judgment.

“It has been many months since our attack on the capitol,” the Queen declared without any of her usual angry volatility, “Why have you only now come back to us?”

She waved her hoof, giving Cheerilee the right to speak.

“Forgive me, my Queen,” Cheerilee continued as she remained prostrate, “I was too far away to hear your summons in the time before the attack. I have not, however, been idle in my absence.”

There was a pause as the Queen continued to analyze her formerly lost lieutenant, her eyebrow arched all the time, “Continue.”

Cheerilee chose her next words carefully, “Since your retreat from Canterlot, I have infiltrated the town of Ponyville, and have replaced their local school teacher.” She paused to cloak herself in her usual disguise for emphasis, before returning to her natural state, “For the past few weeks, I have been studying the so called ‘Elements of Harmony’, as well as acquiring information on their plans for resisting you.”

There was another tense pause as the Queen continued to scrutinize her. Finally she declared, “Rise.”

Cheerilee stood tall, but kept her head bowed before her Queen.

The Queen’s eyes were suddenly filled with great satisfaction, “My prodigal Candidate has returned, humility gracing her head, but a burning fire to serve me. More than that, you have advanced my goals in spirit, even though I was not with you to oversee you!”

The Queen stood from her seat, strode around the edge of the web of war, and escorted Cheerilee to a spot near her own seat at the web. The Queen’s horn lit up with an aura of dark emerald, and the basaltic floor caved upward into the form of a bowl-shaped seat. She then looked to her candidate and smiled, “Welcome home Falena, my most faithful sister.”

The drones screeched their cheers and shouts of joy at the full reinstatement of their returned commander. Papillon grinned and clapped her chitinous hooves together enthusiastically. Pupa had a warm smile on her face as she clapped her hooves lightly for her sister’s return.

So honored and greeted, Falena sat down on her jet black throne and began to do what she did best: teach.

Chapter 45 - Tia, Serana, Lyra Hearstrings, The Conductor

Tia awoke with a gasp when her head was banged against a cool metal floor. As she shook her head to dissipate the numb pain there, she felt something binding her hands behind her back, something that was just as cold and metallic as the floor. What sort of shackles were these that were so small yet so strong? She began to twist her body into a sitting position, when she found that just beside her was a bench she could rest on. Since her legs were not bound, she easily got up from the place where she had been unceremoniously tossed and sat down. On the opposite side of the metal container was an identical bench, which was where Serana sat. The young woman was staring at her fellow passenger with the same mix of fear and wonder that she had had a few hours previous.

“Are you alright?” Tia asked as she got up and approached the blonde hair woman, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Stay back!” Serana hurriedly yelled in a panic.

Confused, Tia stopped where she stood, only to be jolted back onto her bench by the force of the truck going through a pothole.

"Who are you?” Serana asked in fright, as she began to curl up onto the bench into a fetal position.

Tia now began to wonder that herself; strange half remembered concepts, shattered memories, and skills that appeared out of nowhere only made her feel more frustrated with herself for her inability to remember. In the moments before she had been rendered comatose, she had felt powerful. She had known that she was in control of the situation, and that if need be she could have taken her three opponents all at once. What sort of a person was she indeed?

“I don’t know,” she truthfully replied, unsure if she could even trust her own perceptions of herself.

“No good deed goes unpunished,” Serana shook her head as she began to laugh through her oncoming tears, “I do the right thing, sticking my neck out for someone else like a good person should, and it just so happens that I helped the female version of Jason Bourne.”

“Who is Jason Bourne?” Tia asked in confusion. When Serana didn’t answer, Tia tried changing the subject, “Is this sort of situation normal? What crime have we committed that they would respond like this?”

Serana looked up at Tia as if she had sprouted a second head, and began to slowly cry, “No, this isn’t normal! How could this be anything close to normal?! They think we’re terrorists! I don’t know what the hell you’ve done, but me? A terrorist? The worst crime I’ve ever committed was underage drinking and misfiling my taxes!” She then buried her head between her legs and covered her head with her hands, “All I did was help you, and now I don’t know if I’ll ever see my family again. What will my dad and sister think? Will they even be told I was taken, or will they just assume I disappeared?”

Tia didn’t know what to say as Serana poured out her heart to her. She didn’t even really know what to think. What sort of a country was this, that people were taken off the streets in large unmarked carriages without trial or right to see family? The injustice of the situation made her blood boil for her friend.

“I don’t know if this has anything to do with something I’ve done,” Tia admitted, before she continued with a firm tone of voice, “but I will do everything I can to make sure no punishment falls on you for this.”

“You can’t promise that,” Serana replied quietly, “We don’t know where we’re going, what they’ll do to us, or-“

“That doesn’t matter. It’s very clear that they want me for something, so maybe we have some bargaining power. If that’s true, do you trust me to get the both of us out of this?”

Serana once again looked up into Tia’s eyes, and was surprised by how brilliantly violet they were. She couldn’t remember if they had always been that way, or if she was just imagining it, but Tia’s eyes seemed as if they had seen everything. It was as if the wisdom they now appeared to have had been earned by countless years of life, rather than as some sort of innate gift.

Even if she was somewhat comforted by Tia’s confidence, she still had her doubts. Nevertheless, she responded with a little of her returning wit, “Alright. I guess if even you don’t know who you are, that’s some advantage too, isn’t it?”

“That’s the spirit!” Tia smiled softly.

The truck began to slow, which got both of their attention very quickly, and came to a stop. After a few moments, the truck began to move again, but at a much slower pace than before.

“I think we’re here,” Serana whispered, her fearfulness returning to her in just a moment’s notice.

“I think you’re right,” Tia murmured back.

While she had played her part to Serana well, she too was nervous about whatever place they were going, and it sat in her stomach like some bizarre mixture of butterflies and boiling lead.

With one last muffled screech, the truck came to its final stop.

The compartment began to fill with a deep hissing sound, and gas plumbed from both the floor and the ceiling. There was nothing the two of them could do as they slowly fell over onto their respective benches, knocked out by the now fully saturated air. The back doors of the truck opened, and soldiers in large padded suits and gas masks extracted the two passengers.

“Put blondie in a holding cell: the amazon is the one that needs immediate examination,” the senior agent commented to Agent Kowalski. As he walked a few paces away from the large truck’s back doors, he radioed to his superior, “Madame Executor? Team Bravo is in house. The mission was a success. We’re awaiting your orders on what to do with the Heisenberg source.”

“Excellent work, Agent Thompson,” the woman’s voice purred over his comm unit, “Deliver it to examination suite Beta. Prepare Gamma suite as well.”

“Ma’am?”

“A third source has been found, and it is approaching us as we speak. Since it seems to be appearing in response to our collection of the first two, we will allow it to come to us. Have your team ready. We expect it to arrive within the hour.”

“Yes Ma’am. Will do. Thompson out.”

The agent then cued his comm unit off, before turning back to see Kowalski load the mysterious woman onto a restraining gurney, “Take her to Beta and prep Gamma: there’s another one headed right for us, and we’re expected to handle it!”

“Yes sir!” she barked back as she wheeled the gurney into two revolving doors not too far off.

Agent Sanders, now sporting a bandage over his nose, moved the second woman with the help of another agent towards the same set of doors.

“Keep the guards on the perimeter alert but subtle; no sirens or alerts,” Thompson spoke into his mic, “We’re giving the guests a welcome mat, we’re not scaring them off if we can help it.”

From the many guards and agents on and around the compound, the only reply made was a simple but sufficient, “Sir!”

Lyra’s eyes slowly opened. Though she wasn’t aware of it, her body was laid down on a restrained gurney, and she was being physically examined for the way that she was able to produce her magic. What her mind was experiencing, on the other hand, was something completely foreign to her.

When the dizziness had faded and she was able to stand up, unsurprised by her mental projection being that of her old equine form, she was met with a strange sight. A circular staircase made of solid blue crystal stood before her, which led to a small dais surrounded by gilded ivory columns. There was no source of light to illuminate the surrounding area; the blue glow was flowing from out of the crystal beneath her hooves. She ascended the stairway slowly, her steps lighting her way, and as she approached the center of the crystalline ring, portions of the floor grew upward until they formed a large basin. While she couldn’t actively see anyone in this odd place, she felt some sort of presence was very nearby.

“Hello,” she called out with hesitancy.

“Hello, Lyra Heartstrings,” a voice called out to her mind.

“How do you know my name?” she asked as she whirled her head around suspiciously, trying to catch a glance of her unseen host, “Why did you bring me here? Who are you?”

“I know your name, Child of Destiny, because I was present at your birth,” the voice seemed to sigh with age, “I have seen every moment of your life, and have brought you into rhythm with my designs. I am the Conductor of Equestria’s fate, and I have brought you here to enlist your aid.”

A trickling sound filled the air, and water poured from a place Lyra couldn’t see into the crystal bowl before her without a splash, “Look into the vessel, and know.”

Lyra stepped forward and placed her hooves on the edge of the large basin. The waters seemed to seethe in response to her presence, and it began to display images. The first was of an angrily boiling red cloud of energy.

“Discord, when he was first allowed corporeal life by humankind’s folly, was unfathomably powerful. The universe felt his power over all probability and trembled. Two humans with foresight found a means of limiting his power, but still it was not enough.”

Images flew past Lyra’s eyes in a rush, all of which she somehow instantly comprehended; the Canterlot wedding, the ‘death’ and rebirth of Celestia, the descent of Equestria into factions and madness, and the growing group for neutrality forming in Ponyville.

“Bon Bon?” Lyra gawked in disbelief as she saw her one time wallflower of a roommate uniting multitudes of ponies under a banner of harmony. “Unbelievable,” she laughed, “from humble candy maker to Neigh Guevara. Looks like you’ve been busy!”

“This is merely the past and the present from your perspective,” the Conductor declared, “The future is more nebulous and of paramount concern to us both.”

A faint blue light appeared beside Lyra, who was startled by its sudden appearance, “In the face of Discord’s mad quest for eternal and unsustainable chaos, our universe screamed for order: I am the answering call.” The ball of light slowly flew in front of Lyra’s face, “I am capable of seeing the events of our world, however I cannot directly influence it until my power is made stronger, otherwise Discord would sense my presence and snuff me out. This is why I have brought you and the Princesses here, beyond his senses; you will be my agents in the coming apocalypse.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on,” Lyra waved her forehooves and stopped, “ ‘Agents’? ‘apocalypse’? Isn’t Discord still stuck in stone?”

“Temporarily,” the ball of light grimly proclaimed, “But the strife created by the unrest in Equestria is amplifying his power, allowing him to make his prison more pliable, while also weakening the power of the Elements of Harmony.”

Lyra’s pupils shrunk, and she fell on to her backside, “Horseapples.”

“Until such time as I have amassed enough cosmic presence, the possibility of my mantling's failure remains high.”

The crystal basin boiled furiously once again, and images of an Equestria divided began to show. A wilderness of clashing neon zigzags decorated the landscape, and geysers of burning chlorine erupted from the earth.

“Oh my Celestia,” Lyra whispered in horror.

“If we do not succeed in making sure Discord remains within his prison, this could be all that is left of our home.”

She looked back up at the ball of energy and pleaded, “Please tell me you have a plan for stopping this.”

It chuckled, “I am a being of Order: of course I have a plan. I will still need your promise that when the time comes you will act as I need you too.”

“I’ll do it,” Lyra nodded as she stared back down into the basin’s prediction of the future, “Anything to prevent this awful world from happening.”

“Have a care when you choose your words,” the Conductor cautioned, “We may yet have to sacrifice much to see this victory through, and the cost could be beyond our imagining.”

Chapter 46 - Adam, Luna

“After so many months of imagining what the place looked like,” Adam raggedly drew in a breath, “Now I get to see the outside with my own eyes.”

Having stopped their car a quarter mile down the road from the think tank’s facility, he and Princess Luna had walked the rest of the way in to make their entry a little stealthier. They both had figured there were bound to be many guards protecting the compound, which they believed warranted the silent entrance. From their position atop a rocky desert hillside looking down into the place, though, they couldn’t see any visible patrols of any kind.

“You’re sure this is their fortress?” Princess Luna asked as she looked over at him, “I cannot feel Celestia or the artifacts from within the structure.”

“It is,” Adam confirmed darkly, and he pointed to an emblem emblazoned on a large sign set outside the front parking area that read:

Apogee Systems and Technologies
Research Subsidiary of Torchwood

“I’d recognize that symbol anywhere. I have to admit though that I expected it be a little more..evil looking than it does.”

“You’re sure they will have firearms?”

“I wouldn’t bet against it.”

The Princess closed her eyes momentarily before she opened them again, “I cannot sense the portal of theirs that you mentioned either. If it no longer functions, then our original strategic exit has just evaporated.”

“It’s down really far underground, I know that much. The elevator ride was almost a minute long.”

The Princess scowled deeply at the nondescript concrete and white plastered building. Even though she had been regularly checking it, she looked at her hair once again. While the majority of it was still in its usual astral state, there were one or two more locks of hair towards the front of her scalp that were depowered. A frontal assault was sure to be suicide, but if these guards Adam had made large talk of were merely hiding, then they were expected, and surprise wasn’t going to be an option either.

Then a stray thought came to her as she truly processed what Adam had said. She then looked at him hopefully, “Adam, do you remember your time in this place well?”

He waved his right hand in the air a little, “If I wanted to, I could probably walk what I remember of it in my sleep. Why?”

She grinned at him, he realized what he had said, and then made the connection for himself, “Oooohh!”

In the command center beneath Apogee Systems, the analysts looked to their monitors in anticipation, with their Executor just as keenly watching a screen from her own seat. The Heisenberg hotspot had been waiting in a rocky outcropping forty feet above the lobby’s parking area for ten minutes now. She had a team ready to mobilize should it try and make for a retreat, but why wasn’t it moving at all? They continued waiting.

Suddenly, there was a momentary blip in the lights. As they flickered more sporadically, people began to readily look up from their workstations.

“We having trouble with the generators?”

“What’s going on?”

The electrical system completely crashed in the end, and the blood red emergency lights came on.

“Get me visuals,” the Executor commanded her subordinates crossly, “This has something to do with our prize.”

The monitors came back up, and the white indicator for the hotspot was gone.

“Get me a full security sweep of our interior,” she called out, and then she began checking her comm head set, “Alpha, any sign of intrusion? We were dark for fifteen seconds.”

“Same up here Madame Executor,” Agent Thompson’s voice replied, “You don’t think they slipped passed us that quickly, do you?”

“I won’t be certain until the compound is cleared,” she replied, “Bravo? Any sign of life?”

“Not a peep Ma’am,” the radio squawked back.

“Charlie? Delta? Echo? Foxtrot?”

All their replies were in the negative.

“Security, stay alert!” she finally called out, “They’re here somewhere.”

“Stay sharp,” one security guard told his partner as they patrolled their route, pistols unholstered and but not raised, “These guys are pretty resourceful, and they could be anywhere.”

The two of them came around a corner in the hallway, and saw that a door to a small closet was open. Judging by the yellow and black tape creating a box around the door’s swing space, the closet housed the local collection of the level’s circuitbreakers.

The guards slowly approached the door, attentive to movement and with their guns raised.

The first guard crouched while the other stayed fully upright, and together they slowly peered around the corner into the small closet. Apart from what they were expecting, that being a few randomly thrown breakers, there wasn’t anything out of place.

"This is Sanchez-“ the first guard called into his mic, before he suddenly lost sense of the floor, and fell through a multicolored portal beneath his feet without another word.

“Tony?” the second guard called out, as he stood and turned around to see where his partner had gone. He then unexpectedly found his face full of elbow, and fell to the floor out cold.

“Nicely done,” Princess Luna commented as Adam began to rifle through the security guards coat and shirt pockets.

“Same,” he replied curtly, before looking up at her, “Where did you send the other one?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” she replied with an ominous tone as she stood up from her squatting position next to the still present guard, and began to move down the hallway purposefully.

Snagging the guard’s ID badge, Adam hurried after her, “Do you know where we’re going?”

“I have read that guard’s mind. We will need to go down two levels to get to the prison cells.”

As they reached a corner to an adjoining hallway, the two of them heard several sets of footsteps approaching at a fast pace. The Princess looked back at Adam and nodded, “Do it.”

Adam focused as hard as he could. His goal was seeing Lyra again. He needed to see her smile, hear her laugh. As he found his harmony, he backed up as close as he could to the wall, and willed himself and the Princess invisible. Their forms began to vibrate and fade, until all that was visible in the hallway was the single unconscious security guard.

A group of four soldiers rounded the corner, and immediately made their way to their fallen associate, with two taking up positions looking down the hallway’s ends and the other two looked into the situation, “Where’s his buddy?”

“His ID is gone. They’ve got access to the lower floors now.”

“That’s all we needed to hear,” Adam whispered, and the two of them rounded the corner away from the guards.

As they ventured further down their new hallway, they could see through many glass panels that offered glimpses into the laboratories of the facility. Odd experiments, tools of unusual design and purpose, data and formulae mysterious, all of the things they witnessed from their veil of invisibility seemed ultimately sinister. Finally, after many turns and twists, they found an elevator, which was now guarded.

“I can’t hold this much longer,” Adam hissed to Princess Luna quietly.

“Stand close to the wall,” she commanded.

As they leaned flat against an area of concrete wall separating two of the nearby labs, the Princess drew her sword. With a slit twitch of the blade, a schism opened in the air further down the hallway they had just come from, and from out of it came the security guard Sanchez, screaming as if he were in the middle of a waking nightmare. One of the two guards posted at the elevator quickly jogged towards the howling man, while the other remained at his post.

As the first guard passed them, the Princess murmured, “Run, now!”

Adam’s concentration was faltering, and as they made their break for the elevator, the charm failed.

Two intruders became visible out of nowhere.

Even as the second guard shouted “What the hell?”, he flipped the safety off of his rifle.

Princess Luna swung her sword through the air, and the two of them passed through the rift.

For fear of accidentally hitting his partner through the lightshow in front of him, the guard didn’t take the shot. All he could do was be amazed that his two targets had vanished into thin air. From behind him, he heard a low thud from within the elevator, and he realized that the lift was descending, “Command, this is level one elevator. The lower levels are breached! Repeat, the lower levels are breached!”

“They’ll be waiting for us when we hit two floors below,” Adam commented as he rubbed his forehead, and he let out a small groan of discomfort, “is it normal to get migraines after using magic?”

“Sometimes when you’re practicing early on,” she replied as she examined the length of her blade, “At least, that’s what I’m told.”

All of a sudden, the Princess weakly felt them; several arcane powers were nearby, with one very large one deep beneath them.

She fist pumped the air and exclaimed, “Huzzah!”

“What?” Adam exclaimed, excited by the Princess’ excitement.

“I can sense them all, and the portal is still active!”

The elevator dinged the second floor, and the two were reminded that their ordeal was still far from over.

“Right, ok. Celebrate later,” Adam said as he waved his hands, brushing the distracting mood away, “You do have a plan with how to deal with the many guards that’ll be waiting for us, right?”

The Princess checked her hair once again; she’d only lost a little bit of magic, so she had plenty to spare. She grinned deviously, “Oh, naturally!”

Adam was a little unnerved by the way she had responded, and he hesitantly pointed out, “We agreed on not hurting anyone intentionally. You remember that, right?”

She shook her head with a smile, “Oh, I’m not going to harm them. I’m just going to use a little something I created for Nightmare Night! That is, with a few changes, of course.”

Chapter 47 - Luna, Adam, Tia

Eight rifles were pointed at the detention level’s elevator doors, each barrel of which was steady in the hands of the men and women that held them. Most of the security force had seen conflict in one form or another, whether as soldiers under a nation’s flag, or as soldiers of fortune. None of them were green to combat, and each was willing to use lethal force if necessary. In this case, their orders were clear that the intruders had to be alive, so their primary weapons of choice were prototype pulse weapons created for crowd control. The fifty by forty foot chamber which served as the hub for the thirty-two cells on the prison floor had hastily been filled with several crates to give each officer cover against any return fire. Two guards held each of the floor’s three wings at their back, while the last two held the corners of farthest from the elevator. There was no way for an enemy to escape their attention or their fire.

The elevator’s arrival tone sounded, shattering the silence like a crashing bell.

The doors slowly opened, revealing..absolutely nothing. There were no targets in the elevator. In fact, it looked like there was nothing but darkness inside the little room.

The lights above the eight officers began to flicker, and then brightened rapidly. The halogen tubes in the ceiling lights exploded one after the other, until all of the lights was destroyed. Unfazed by the theatrics, the soldiers waited for the emergency lights to kick on in response to the outage.

They never did. The room was consumed by total, all-encompassing darkness.

“FOOLS,” a deep voice boomed, slightly startling a few of them.

They each slowly looked for the source of the voice, but no one could pin down where it was coming from.

“FOOLS!” the voice repeated even more loudly, “FOOLS AND WELPS, THE LOT OF YOU. DOST THOU KNOW THINE ENEMY, TO THINK SUCH PUNY WEAPONS WOULD BE SUFFICIENT IN STOPPING ME?”

A purple fog formed out of nowhere, which seemed to drop the temperature in the room by several degrees, “I HATH SLUMBERED FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, AND EVEN IN THAT TIME I WAS MORE POWERFUL THAN ALL OF YOU COMBINED!”

The fog exploded out in all directions, sending a cold wave of power that chilled each soldier to the bone. Still, they did not give ground. From out of the fog appeared a pale warrior, clad in black and deep purple armor. A helmet with a jagged black horn adorned its head. Its eyes were cold as death, and its teeth were vampiric in their sharpness. In its hand it held an enormous sword, something that looked as if it should have taken two hands to wield, yet it held it in one.

The soldiers opened fire, their electric slugs filling the air, but not a single one made contact with the entity.

“YOUR TOYS ARE PATHETIC,” the warrior boomed, “SURRENDER NOW, WHILE I STILL ENTERTAIN THE THOUGHT.”

The first soldier to panic took out his pistol, flipped the safety off, and fired three volleys with a yell. The shots made impact in the entity’s chest. The warrior took an involuntary step back as it reeled from the blow. Where it had been struck, three points of silver light shone.

As the soldiers watched, the wounds slowly sealed up, and even the armor around the shots regenerated.

“VERY WELL,” the entity declared as its eyes narrowed, “THE GAUNTLET IS CAST.” The warrior joined with the fog once again, which furiously boiled as it spoke one final time, “WITNESS MY MIGHT, THEN. COWER BEFORE ME, NIGHTMARE MOON!”

Every soldier opened fire to no effect; the bullets all passed right through their enemy. In response, the fog reached out with its shadowy tendrils. Snatching the soldier who had fired at it first, it dragged him towards itself. He fruitlessly continued to scream and fire at it until his magazine ran dry, and his comrades watched as he was finally consumed by the darkness. The whole squad finally cracked, each of the supposedly hardened soldiers running for their lives to get to the emergency elevator on the opposite end of the detention level.

After the soldiers were completely out of earshot, the emergency lights flickered on, and Princess Luna stepped out of the fog laying the soundly sleeping eighth guard down at her feet. The darkness also lifted from the elevator, and Adam stared at her as he cautiously walked over to her. Momentarily looking down at the guard, he then glanced back up at Princess: a large chunk of her hair was now straight and devoid of its magic, with only a few wisps of her astral hair remaining as it had been. The wounds she had received and healed from, as well as the show she had put on, had obviously put a great strain on her.

“Time is short,” the Princess muttered. She took some initially uneasy steps as she walked towards the center hallway, but her stride strengthened as she continued on.

“Maybe I should take the lead,” Adam offered as he jogged to get in front of her, his Dominion Gauntlet at the ready.

“I won’t stop you,” she wearily replied. While she wouldn’t admit it aloud, the act she had put on to scare those soldiers out of their minds was rather enjoyable to perform.

I suppose we truly are beginning to cooperate well, aren’t we? Nightmare Moon chuckled faintly inside her head, You certainly shouldn’t have used as much energy as you did though. It’s bound to only get more difficult from this point on.

Is there any chance you can find a little more for us? Princess Luna asked.

You know, this may be magic, but it doesn’t just appear out of thin air like in Equestria. What little I can find, I’ll spare.

“Princess,” Adam called out as he glimpsed into a cell, “There’s someone else here!”

Shaking her head clear, the Princess looked to where her partner was down the hallway, and she faintly sensed a being coated in residual magic. As she came closer, she glanced through a small slate at eye level, and saw a blonde haired woman sitting glumly in the cell.

Unlocking the door with a heave, Adam pulled it fully open.

In a blur, the blonde haired woman had lunged for him, trying desperately to punch him in any way she could. Before she could land any kind of blow, Adam instinctively constructed a grey colored force field which she banged on senselessly, “Woah! Hang on! Hang on! We’re not the guards!”

As she realized her arms weren’t hitting anything material, the woman actually began to look at the people in front of her.

“There. You see?” the middle aged man said with a wave of his mechanical arm, “We’re the good guys, alright?”

“All is well, citizen of Earth,” a tall woman bedecked in dark purple armor declared as she put out her hand for a shake, “I am Princess Luna of Equestria, and this is Sir Adam, Knight of Equestria.”

Blinking in bewilderment, the woman shakily took the Princess’ hand and stammered, “I’m Serana Pryce.”

“Pleasure,” the armored woman said with a tired smile, “We seek two other captives who were brought here not but a few hours ago.”

“You’re with Tia, aren't you?” Serana asked, before she rolled her eyes at her bizarre rescuers, “What am I kidding; you have to be with Tia. Why should I be surprised at this point?”

“You’ve seen her?” the Princess asked excitedly, “Then you must help us find her; our country depends on it!”

“Can’t you feel her or Lyra?” Adam asked worriedly.

Princess Luna tried to clear her head by shaking it again, but it didn’t seem to help, “Not anymore. I’ve used too much magic for that, but I do remember where I last sensed them.” She pointed further down the hall, past the last of the cells in their current wing, “They were somewhere that way!”

“If they’re not here, they’re probably in one of the examination rooms,” Adam declared as he made a dash down the hall, “Follow me! We need to hurry!”

“Come Serana Pryce!” Princess Luna called over her shoulder, “There’s little time left!”

“Hey, wait up! Wait up!” Serana called out as she scrambled after the two strangers.

Tia slowly opened her eyes to sterile, bright light. Groaning, she tried to bring her arms up to block it out, but found that they were restrained. She instead held her eyes as tightly closed as she could manage and tried to turn her head away, only to find her head was restrained in place as well, as were her legs and torso.

“Subject appears to be Caucasian of Mediterranean descent. Age is believed to be mid to late forties by measurement of femur, but subject appears to be remarkably young in appearance.”

“My name is Tia,” she woozily declared as she shook off the last of the knockout gas from her mind, “I don’t care who I am or what you’ll do to me, but the woman who was with me did nothing wrong. Release her, and I will do whatever you wish.”

A masculine head leaned over her, his face made unperceivable by the brightness of the light around him, “You assume there is room to negotiate? Everyone thinks that at this table, but bargaining for someone else’s freedom? That, I must say, is a first.”

“All she ever did was give me a place to stay. Your country has no right to hold her against her will.”

The man cocked his head, “Ah, but there’s the chink in this argument. Under the organization I represent, which by the way supercedes any local national government, I am required to investigate and learn about any threat to my planet.” The man leaned a little closer, and Tia could see that he was an old, balding man. As he spoke, she could smell his sour breath, and she involuntarily wrinkled her nose in disgust, “If it’s alien, it’s ours, and you my dear are most certainly alien.”

As he returned to his position above the light, Tia’s mind began to cloud once again with strange, unconnected thoughts.

Sol Invicta? An old friend’s voice called out to her disapprovingly, I name you Solarus Tyrannus!

I am a god, dear sister. Just like you, a dark phantasmagorical presence with chilling eyes whispered to her.

A mismatched serpent with limbs and wings flew through each of her thoughts, but above it all, one phrase kept repeating over and over. In different voices of different races and ages, she kept hearing, Dear Princess Celestia. Dear Princess Celestia! DEAR PRINCESS CELESTIA!

It began to drown out everything else, until there was nowhere she could go to avoid. She fell deeper and deeper into her mind; disjointed carved stone stairs, marble floors, and dirt paths spiraling all around. A solar eclipse appeared that frightened her beyond all sense, until it was replaced by a red boiling sun, which scared her all the more because once again her face was coming out of it.

“What does it mean?” she mouth quietly in the real world, “What does it all mean?”

Five syllables snapped her back to reality in a single instant, “Taking blood sample.”

“No, don’t!” Tia cried as she struggled as much as she could in the straps she was in.

The mantra in her head grew louder as the needle came closer, DEAR PRINCESS CELESTIA! DEAR PRINCESS CELESTIA!

The needle broke the skin, and the shrieking phrase stopped.

A mismatched goat’s head consumed her mind, its yellow eyes gazing down at her with a combined predatory and mocking stare. It grinned, a single long incisor sitting out pronounced from the rest of its draconic jaw, Dear Princess Celestia,

The pump of the needle pulled backed, but instead of filling with blood like the restrained Tia and scientist had expected, gold sparkling lights filled the vial, bouncing excitingly against its glass walls.

The creature grinned even more, and it placed a floating extraneous digit on her forehead, Gotcha!

The face began to laugh madly as it disappeared, and Celestia’s mind became flooded with her memories. All fourteen hundred years of them. Every single bit of information about her life streamed into her consciousness all at once, and she couldn’t bear it.

Her eyes lit up brighter than the light shining down on her. A hair-raising scream escaped her throat, and with a strength she had not known she had a few seconds before, she tore her left arm completely out of her previously inescapable restraints.

“Guards!” the scientist screamed as he banged on the door leading out of the examination suite, “Get me out of here, right now!”

Celestia’s eyes began to change from a shining white light into a deep fiery yellow and orange color, and thin wisps of plasma began to vent from them. The remaining straps holding her body in place began to spontaneously melt, the rubber in them oozing to the floor like molten tar. The metal table underneath her began to buckle as it reached the beginning of its melting point as well. Golden particles began to envelope her body once again, only this time her magic began to construct a white, pearl, and red colored set of armor for her.

The door to the room quickly opened as the guards dragged their colleague through, firing their conventional rifles as they did. The bullets liquidized from the intense heat being put off by the Princess, and all they managed to do was splatter her armor with flecks of bronze. The door was then slammed shut and bolted. The Princess began to slam her newly gloved hands into the door with an almost animalistic ferocity, bending and dissolving its metal as she did.

Finally, with a mighty kick, the door was blasted free of its hinges, and it slammed into the other side of the hallway. Her magic was out of control: her armor began to sporadically burst into flames and reconstitute itself over and over again. Below her she could sense a means of escape; a tear in reality that she could use.

The mad Princess began to walk towards the end of the hallway, her armored boots leaving glowing footprints after her.

It was all burning. Her world, her mind, her body was all burning.

Why was everything so cold compared to her?

It all needed to be warmed.

Everypony needed to see her light and feel her warmth.

Everypony needed to feel just like her.

Chapter 48 - Lyra, Adam, Luna, Serana, Celestia

Alarms woke Lyra from her trance-like slumber. As she looked to the door of the examination suite, she saw the scientist who had been doing work on her run out the door leaving her stuck to table.

“Where is it?” she desperately asked to no one as she looked around the room, “Where’s my horn?”

She glanced up behind her, and lying on a medical trolley she found her wand-like horn. “Okay, good to know,” she sighed with relief, and then she started pulling against her restraints, “Now I just gotta get out of these stupid things!”

Here, the Conductor spoke to her, Allow me. The straps rapidly removed themselves from around Lyra’s body, and she quickly got up and grabbed her horn. Your rescue party is not far. Turn to your right when you leave.

“Whatever you say, and thanks!” she called out, and she ran out the door.

The alarms were even louder out in the hallway, it was almost to the point where she had to run down the hall with her ears covered. At the end of that hall she turned the corner, only to almost run straight into Adam’s chest. She gave a little gasp of surprise as she knocked the wind out of him, causing him to deeply cough and hold onto her for a second.

“Adam!” she yelled in happiness, and she gave him an enormous hug, forcing what little air that had made it into his lungs back out, “I knew you’d get me out of here!”

“Hi, Lyra,” Adam wheezed, “Love you too. Can we wait on this?”

“Agreed,” Princess Luna exclaimed as she caught up to the two of them, “We still have to find Celestia and escape from this wretched place!”

“What she said,” Serana yelled over the alarms.

“Follow me!” Princess Luna bellowed as she ran off down an adjacent hallway, “She’s this way!”

The three of them quickly looked at each other before they bolted after her. As they ran down the hallway after their guide, they literally and metaphorically tried to catch up with each other.

“So Lyra,” Adam gestured to their newest friend, “Meet Serana Pryce.”

“Hiya!” she called over to the blonde hair woman.

“Hey,” she responded back curtly. They huffed for a little bit as they rushed around another corner.

“So, I feel like I never get a good answer to this when I ask,” Serana yelled, “but who are you people? Secret agents from another country or something?”

“I’m from around here,” Adam called back, “Luna and Lyra, well, aren’t.”

“We’re from a parallel universe where magic exists,” Lyra explained, oblivious to Serana’s growing confusion, “I spent most of my life as a unicorn until I met Adam, who got transported over to us by-“

Serana shook her hands, “You know what? Forget it. Whatever the hell that was, whether it was code for something else, I’m really gonna need a drink after this.”

The three of them finally caught up with the Princess’ pace. Suddenly, the intersecting hallway they were about to cross into was filled with a large gout of flame. Princess Luna put up her arms and yelled, “Stop!” She reactively used her magic to slowing the four of them down.

The pillar of fire slowly extinguished, and to their left they saw a titan walking towards them, her entire body set aflame. She almost looked as if she were crying vibrant trails of orange plasma from her eyes. The multicolored gaseous hair was the dead giveaway, and Princess Luna’s heart stopped in fear, “Tia? What have they done to you?”

The titan growled incomprehensibly a little in response, before it seemed to recognize her, “L-l-l-l-una?”

“Tia!” she yelled back hopefully.

Princess Celestia rushed her sister, and backhanded her into the wall. Princess Luna had not been expecting the attack, and she slammed into the hard bulwark, dropping to floor like deadweight.

“Luna!” Adam shouted as he tried to run towards her, but Serana and Lyra grabbed and held him where he was to keep him from approaching the burning Princess.

The elder sister picked up her sibling by the neck, who cried out in pain as the fractured vertebrae in her back automatically began to mend themselves. As the Princess of the Night looked into her sister’s angrily burning pupils, she thought that death would be coming for her soon, and that the last thing she’d ever know would be those bright hot eyes.

Instead, they blinked, and she heard her real sister softly plead to her from the out of those burning lips, “Help me.” Princess Celestia dropped her sister and sprinted towards the end of the hallway in the direction the four had initially been headed. Arriving at the doors of the elevator there, Princess Celestia slipped her hands between the panels, slammed them open with pure brute force, and jumped down the shaft.

“Princess,” Lyra called out in concern for her fallen sovereign as she came near to her, “Are you alright?”

“No,” Princess Luna said through tears and gritted teeth, “I’m not.”

“Lean on me,” Adam told her as he helped lift her from the floor, “We still have to get out of here.”

“I’ve failed her,” she spoke softly to no one in particular, “I was too late to save her. Oh stars, is this what she felt like for me all those years ago?” She cried out as her back popped into its correct position at last, and she almost crumpled to the floor again.

“Princess!” Adam exclaimed in fear of her being harmed.

“Lay her back down! We can’t move her like this!” Serana yelled.

“It’s alright. I’m fine,” Princess Luna yelped as she stood up uneasily under her own power, “but I won’t be using my magic again while we’re here; I’ve barely got any left.”

Serana gawked at the Princess’ near instantaneous full recovery, and began to think about the previously ridiculous things Lyra had been spewing not but a few minutes ago. “So,” she said as she slowly connected the dots, “that burning thing..that was actually Tia?”

The Princess nodded as she began to walk gingerly towards the elevator shaft, “Yes, but never like I’ve seen her before; not even when I was Nightmare Moon did she show such unbridled power!”

“Who is Nightmare Moon?”

As they finally made it to the elevator doors, there was a great explosion from below that knocked them all to the floor. They heard a great shriek and a large shearing sound, and watched as the elevator which they had been about to call fell down, down, down until it fell out of sight far below. They heard it impact below with a gigantic bang after a full fifteen seconds of falling.

“Please tell me that wasn’t the only way out of here,” Serana groaned as she started to get up.

“Yeah,” Adam sighed as he got into a sitting position, “That was the only way down.”

Serana looked at him, shook her head, and put her arms in the air, “Why the hell would we want to go down? Escape is up!”

“There appears to be only one option then,” Princess Luna grimaced, “We have to jump down.”

This declaration brought a chorus of objections from Adam and Serana.

“Are you crazy? We just established that escape is up!” Serana yelled.

“There is no way we can do this,” Adam shouted, “We don’t have any ropes or climbing equipment to reach the portal!”

“Containment protocols enacted,” a cold mechanical voice called out across the level’s PA system, “All personnel evacuate. Automated self-destruct activated. Three hundred seconds until internal detonation.”

“The Princess is right, Adam,” Lyra shouted back, “The portal is our only ticket out of here. We won’t make it up to the surface in five minutes!”

Princess Luna nodded and gestured to Lyra “Yes! We still have two magic users: Lyra can take Ms. Serana, and Adam will take me. We’ll levitate our way down to the bottom of the shaft.”

Adam’s eyes bulged and he waved his arms, “No! Nonono! That is a terrible idea! I have no idea what I’m doing, and on top of that I have a fear of heights, ok?”

“We don’t have time to argue. We must press on,” the Princess growled. Without another word she grabbed Adam in a bear hug, easily lifting him off his feet, strode towards the gaping doors, and stepped into the elevator shaft.

Adam screamed in abject terror as they freefell, the red emergency lights flickering quickly past them as they reached terminal velocity.

“Pull yourself together and focus, or we both die!” Princess Luna yelled into his face angrily, before she instinctively looked beneath them: the fiery point of light below them was growing very fast.

His survival instinct took over and all happy thoughts of Lyra ceased. “Oh god I want to live!” he screamed at the top his lungs. The Dominion Gauntlet’s grey lights roared to life with an intensity it had never known, and with an almost cartoonish abruptness the two of them stopped mid-fall. It took a few seconds of heavy breathing and hugging his elevator diving buddy before Adam noticed.

“Hey,” he muttered numbly, “We stopped.”

“For a few seconds I was beginning to deeply regret my decision,” Princess Luna replied shakily as she looked down at the crushed and sparking roof of the elevator below, “I’m just glad you figured it out.”

“We’re floating!” Adam shouted in joy, and he began to giddily laugh.

“Don’t drop me!” she yelled as she felt his arms begin to unconsciously slacken, “We still have a hundred feet or so to get to the doors!”

“Right! Sorry! Okay. Okay. Slowly descend.”

The two finally made it down to the already open doors of the basement floor, where they found themselves inside of a glass paneled control room full of all sorts of incomprehensible knobs and switches. The heavily shielded box offered a perfect vantage point to the large chamber outside where the powered down portal was housed. The giant circular structure took up most of the area of the wall it was located on. The riveted but slightly separated panels that surrounded its edges gave it an unsettling resemblance to teeth, with the darkened interior not unlike an eerie esophageal abyss.

“We have no clue how this works,” Adam finally realized as he looked at all the foreign equipment in front of them, “This might as well be written in an alien language for all the good it does us.”

“Look,” the Princess pointed to the floor, where still molten footprints led out of a door nearby down to the large chamber below, “Celestia must have found a way to access it. If she can do it, we should be able to as well.”

Lyra and Serana appeared at the elevator doors and glided into the room, where they softly landed on the floor. Lyra looked exhausted, and she was taking in huge gulps of air every chance she could. Despite the fact that Luna was her sovereign, she gave the Princess an icy glare and breathed, “Thanks for not killing my boyfriend.”

“Ohh that was fun,” Serana giggled woozily; “I dunno what yer talkin’ about!”

“What’s up with her?” Adam asked as he helplessly tried to look around for some way to be useful.

“Oh, you know. She was panicking, so I hit her with a calming hex, but it’s like I gave her a couple rounds of cider instead. Go figure.”

“One hundred eighty seconds and counting,” the autonomic voice intoned on the PA.

The Princess whirled around in an agitated frenzy before she finally threw her hands up in the air and gave a frustrated grown, “There’s nothing up here that can help us.”

She then rushed out the door down towards the portal itself. Adam joined Lyra in half carrying/half dragging Serana after the Princess. As they finally made it to the bottom of the stairs and began the cumbersome trek to their still inactive gateway of escape, they saw that Princess Luna was standing in front of it investigating the molten footprints her sister had left behind. She then began to think aloud, “Tia had to have forced it open with her magic. Judging by her pace, she didn’t even stop as she approached here.”

She then ran into the chamber inside the portal and began to feel the walls seemingly at random. She then put her ear next to the last panel she arrived at and listened for a few moments. A grin rapidly formed on her face, “This machine operates under the same principles as my Dimensional Phasing magic!”

“So they really did accidentally make a dimension jumping gate instead of a teleporter,” Adam shook his head, “now how do we get out of here if you have no magic?”

As the Princess was about to reply, the giant portal behind them gave a deep grown. The emergency lights dimmed as power was diverted from them towards the gaping hole. There were several sparks of lights emanating from within the giant maw, and with a roar of sound a large window formed inside the gateway. The event horizon seethed with varying shades of black and white that seemed to eat each other every second, only to be replaced by identically hungry waves of energy.

“How is this possible?” The Princess asked in bewilderment, “I didn’t do this!”

Lyra’s eyes fogged over once again, and she spoke in monotone, “The time has come. The Conductor has queued our entrance into his masterpiece. He opens doors to those he deems fit, and he sees all things through all his windows.”

“One hundred twenty seconds and counting.”

Adam looked at Lyra in confusion for what she had uttered for a second, before shaking his head, “Does it really matter how? We can figure this out later!”

“Where’re we going?” Serana asked, now semi-aware of her situation.

The Princess looked at the women she had only just met, weighing the options of the situation and her own ability. She didn’t have the magic to teleport her outside, and even if she did the guards would probably recapture her. What could she do in less than two minutes? She grimaced, “I promise that one day I will help you return to your home.” She then took the unsteady woman and picked her up, carrying her in her arms.

“What’s going on?” Serana asked in growing panic as Princess Luna approached the portal, “Where are you taking me?”

“I promise I’ll get you back here someday,” the Princess repeated, and then she leapt into the portal.

Serana shattered into thousands of particles and was sucked into the abyss, while her guardian returned to her fog-like state when she was consumed as well.

“Ninety seconds and counting.”

“Whatever you do,” Adam told Lyra as he took her hand, “will yourself towards the light: it’s the only way to get out of the nothingness we're about to go into.”

“Adam,” Lyra said in her own voice and way. He tore his gaze from the gateway to look back at her. She took his other hand in her own, and she quickly kissed him. She smiled a little at his surprised expression, before she looked at him meaningfully, “No matter what happens after this, I’m just happy that I've gotten to know you.”

“Right,” he replied dumbly, “I-ah. Ok.”

She rolled her eyes at his flubbing any sort of reply, “I love you, even if you are completely hopeless. Now, let’s go!”

The two jumped through the portal, consumed by its energies, and were transported away. Less than a minute later, the facility entered its self-destruct protocols, detonating a stockpile of plastic explosives through the facility, burying it and all its secrets below several feet of rock and sand.

As soon as the burial was complete, a strange thing came over the staff of Apogee.

"Where are we?" one would ask another.

"Why are we out here?" someone else would ask.

"Why can't I remember how I got here?"

The forgetfulness would haunt all of them until even those self-aware questions would be forgotten, and each would go about their lives afterward as if nothing had happened.

The crystal basin faded, its contents evaporating away as the visions ended, and the blue energy of the Conductor pulsed.

The pieces and players will all soon be in place, it mused to itself, Now begins the endgame.

Chapter 49 - Trixie, Bunsen Burner

With their total head count numbering no less than six hundred and seventeen ponies total, the Return to Harmony movement had begun its march towards Canterlot. They had started the trek three days previous, and there were still five days to go at the pace the peaceable crowd was trotting at. There had, of course, been complications, however.

Trixie back-flipped into the air, narrowly avoiding a searing green magical bolt that had been meant to pierce right through her chest, but which instead scorched through the back of her white cape. While still in the air, she drew a collapsible amplification staff from off of her back. The rod unfolded outward, doubling its length, exposing a star-shaped crystal nexus at its end. She landed poised on her hindlegs, with staff at the ready and her pointed white hat slightly askew. She confidently smirked at the six milky blue eyes peering out of the darkness, “Come on then! Show the Great and Powerful Trixie what you’ve got!”

The three Changelings rushed her at once from out of their cover behind several shrubs, intent on bringing her down in one fell swoop. She jumped out of the way with a strained grunt, and launched a magically constructed firework at the lot of them. The Roman candle-like pyrotechnic exploded just in front of the lunging insectoids, creating a large discharge of sparks and light. Stunned by the flashing lights, the bug on point was the easiest target for Trixie to take out, which she did with an underhooved swing of her staff to his jaw.

Fancy Pants burst out of his nearby cover, tackling the largest of the Changelings at its ankles, forcing it to the ground. He rather effectively ended his fight by pinning the bug at the chest and swinging his magically created cricket bat down onto its head, rendering it comatose. The last Changeling, realizing through some quick addition that he was outnumbered, tried to escape by taking to the open skies, only to meet a very large and very angry Griffon. The two collided in midair, with Mr. Black piledriving the Changeling straight into the ground, finishing the brawl.

Trixie took a few seconds to breathe, trying to make her adrenaline fueled heart slow a little, while she stowed her staff and grabbed the nearest Changeling with her magic. She then drug him towards Mr. Black’s downed foe, and tossed him right next to his partner.

“Well, I’d say that went swimmingly,” Fancy Pants commented as he brought his own opponent with him, absentmindedly dumping the bug on top of the rest of his brothers.

“Where’s the last one?” Trixie asked as she brought her cape around to take a look at the good sized hole there, “Cheerilee said they’d always be in patrols of four.”

“Already got’im,” Mr. Black replied as he flew a little ways off, dragging the fourth along with his talons. A small trail of green oozy droplets followed the Griffon’s path as he slammed it down on top of the rest, only to have it fall off of the pile of tangled black bodies.

The two unicorns frowned at him meaningfully.

He shrugged in response as he pulled a sleeper canister from his back satchel, “I softened him up. It’s non-fatal.” Pulling the pin, the Griffon tossed the can at the pile and flew back towards the direction of camp. Trixie and Fancy Pants weren’t far behind, pacing themselves at a quick trot to make sure they weren’t going to trip on the hilly and darkening terrain. It was evening, but as they approached the camp they almost couldn’t tell. The multiple fires and lights throughout the transient city made it feel like it was daytime with their brightness. There was a spirit of excitement running through the ponies, as each of them felt like they were making a difference by their march, and how it wasn’t going to be too long at all before they would arrive at Canterlot.

“You’ve been working really well with us out there,” Trixie said as she looked to Fancy Pants, “I almost wish we had had your help from the beginning.”

“The Changelings seem to be effective warriors,” the unicorn stallion replied before grinning a little, “but they’ve clearly never fought an avid Rugby player like myself before tonight!” The both of them got a good chuckle out of that observation. “I’m to be dining with Mses Rarity and Fluttershy tonight,” he remarked as they passed a particularly crowded tent that housed several barrels of apple cider which had been brought along, “I’d be more than happy to bring you as my guest, if you’d be so interested.”

Trixie grimaced a little, “Thank you very much for the offer, but I’m afraid I have to decline. There is something I still need to take care of with Bunsen Burner.”

Fancy Pants shrugged good-naturedly, “That’s fine! It’s a shame you can’t join us. I suppose we’ll reconnoiter again tomorrow at dusk?”

“The fun never ends. You should know that by now!” Trixie sarcastically rolled her eyes with a smile.

The two then went their separate ways: Fancy Pants towards the northernmost part of the camp, and Trixie to the east. On the edge of the camp was a small fire. The flame was low, and sitting within the flame was a crucible full of a molten metal. Several smithing tools were scattered near the edge of the firepit, with some leaning against or lying on top of the rocks set in a ring around the pit. Some parts to a partially cannibalized Auratech visor were lying very close by. Not too far away from the fire was a canvas sheet held aloft by two long staves, making the dwelling very reminiscent of an isosceles right triangle. A flickering gas light illuminated the area under the tent from the stave on which it hung, which is where Trixie found Bunsen Burner working meticulously on something at his collapsible work table. At least, that's what it seemed he was trying to do. What he appeared to be succeeding at was frustrating himself to no end.

She gave a small cough to announce her presence. The older stallion looked up from his work, his eyes decked out with a set of jeweler’s bifocals at full magnification.

“Need some help?” she asked with an almost impish tone of voice. She was always amused when he had to put on those ridiculous looking lenses, as they made his eyes appear enormous when he would glance her way.

The stallion looked back down at what he had been trying to make headway on, before sighing and muttering, “Perhaps.”

“Wow,” she exclaimed as she came closer to his workbench, “Admitting you need help, apologizing. Perhaps one day we’ll get you to smile, too!”

Bunsen Burner deadpanned, “Frowning uses more muscles. It keeps me in shape.”

“A joke too!” Trixie said in actual surprise, “It must be the end of the world.” She looked down at the semi-ovoid shaped device lying in front of the frustrated stallion, “So what is it that you’re working on?”

“Teleportation beacon,” he replied, “Back when I was younger I could build one unit every twenty four hours.” He stopped momentarily, took the magnification lenses from his face, and then sighed heavily and muttered, “My vision isn’t what it used to be. I’m not like I used to be.”

“What can I do to help?” Trixie asked, doing everything she could to now express her genuine desire to help.

Bunsen Burner hooved her the jeweler’s bifocals, which she placed on her face with her magic, “I need you to connect some wires for me. You can’t use your magic, or else you’ll polarize the Arcanium components and make it into a wonderful paperweight.”

Trixie looked down at the device and saw three unattached wires: one white, one red, and one black. Bunsen Burner reached into the fire with a pair of tongs, and pulled the glowing red crucible out. Slowly, he poured the contents into a circular shaped clay mold, “Do you see the white wire wrapped around the small crystal?”

Trixie slowly looked around the device until she found what the old stallion had mentioned, “Yes.”

“Solder that into the small metal box directly beneath it. Remember, no magic.” Trixie grumbled a little at the handicap, but she complied, placing the soldering gloves on her hooves. She was able to eventually line up the wire and box with her teeth and delicately soldered the two components together, “Done.”

“Out of curiosity,” Bunsen Burner began as he monitored the alloy rapidly solidifying in its mold, “Why are you here?”

Trixie looked up from the beacon to the older stallion, “I’m worried about you.”

Bunsen Burner looked back to the unicorn, evidently unsure of what to make of the statement, “What for?”

Trixie looked back to the center of camp, where ponies were laughing, eating, and telling stories of good times before the civil unrest, “If we do succeed at defeating the Changelings, we all have something to go back to. Mr. Black goes back to the Confederacy, Fancy Pants and the Princess to Canterlot, I go and continue my work, and everypony else goes back to their homes and lives. Everypony but you has something meaningful to look forward to when all this is finished.”

Bunsen Burner delicately grasped the solidified Arcanium ring he had been tending with his tongs, and brought it over to the beacon. Squinting hard, he managed to place it right in the center of the device, exactly where it needed to be.

Trixie continued, “You thrive on conflict and protecting other ponies, but what happens when this is over, and you are no longer needed?”

Bunsen Burner paused as he mulled over the statement. Eventually, he spoke, “Solder one end of the red wire onto the Arcanium ring, and the other end into the metal box.”

Trixie shook her head and sighed in disappointment as she followed his instructions, “You haven’t thought about it at all, have you? You’re too busy focusing on the present to remember that someday you’ll have to return to Pferdshire. I know how much you hate living in that empty house, and I’m afraid that if you go back there without a purpose to follow, you’ll-“ she stopped, and then sadly looked up at the older stallion, “You’ll do something you can’t undo.”

He gradually took his rectangular glasses from his face and began to clean them vigorously. As he placed them back over his eyes, he gave a quick sigh of exasperation, now forced to actually look beyond what he was comfortable admitting, “The world we once knew is gone. We are living in unprecedented times. Equestria has lost its two pillars of stability, the country is experiencing fear and pandemonium the likes of which hasn’t been heard of since Discord’s reign, and we now live with a race of metamorphs from out of old pony’s tales.” He looked to Trixie as he struggled for the way to express him, his face screwing up as he tried, “I can’t promise anything about my future one way or another, but in a world like we live in now, I can most assuredly say that anything is possible. Who knows, perhaps even a pony set in his ways like me can change.”

Trixie seemed to be put at ease somewhat by his statement. She then looked back down at the device, “What do you need me to do with the last wire?”

“Oh, don’t bother. I can handle it, I suppose. You should go. Be young with some of the other ponies instead of worrying about me.”

Hesitantly, Trixie tried to object, but when Bunsen Burner waved his hoof and told her to go on, she slowly left his tent. Perhaps she did have time to be Fancy Pants’ guest after all, she thought to herself, and she briskly trotted away.

As he swapped out his glasses once again and stared down at his work, he stopped and began to wonder to himself. Was what he had said to Trixie really even true? Could he change? More importantly, did he want to? Could he live without a mission, without some new objective to obsessively pursue? What sort of life could he have after all he had seen and done?

In time he came to his decision, albeit silently, and he soldered the last wire into place.

Chapter 50 - Falena

The Hive of the Changelings was a place very much lacking in décor. The only rooms within its twisting tunnels that weren’t efficient and utilitarian were the Queen’s and the Candidates’ chambers. The Hive’s warriors and workers adored their rulers unquestioningly, and out of their almost child-like love for them they had gone to nearby towns to secretly take luxurious furniture and other amenities for them. The Candidates had each separately appreciated these endeavors of theirs with varying degrees of sentiment. Queen Chrysalis had accepted her gifts without thanks or even a thought, as if she had been expecting her drones to provide these things to her all along. Lounging in her dark red colored bed of soft downy feathers, she waited patiently for the one she had summoned to her chambers deep in the mountain. Luminescent fungi and Hive created lights made it so that the Queen’s room was never dark, and the respective blue and green hues each created harmoniously complemented one another.

Falena stepped down into the open chamber, and humbly bowed before her sovereign, “Your Majesty.”

“Rise Falena,” the Queen declared warmly, “and approach me.” The Candidate humbly did as she was told, and slowly walked to the Queen’s bedside. “I suppose you are wondering why I have summoned you here,” the Queen said with a smile as she crossed her forelegs.

“It did cross my mind, your Majesty,” Falena responded matter-of-factly.

“This ‘Return to Harmony’ movement has more bite than I’d originally expected of them, and now they are only a few days march from their capital. I must know if there is anything else you could possibly tell me about these ponies from your experience living among them.”

Falena exhaled loudly, exasperated by her sovereign’s vague demands, “To be fair, your Majesty, I might be of more help to you if you actually told me what your strategy was against them.”

Queen Chrysalis’ demeanor changed rapidly from hospitable to angry, “No one but me can know!” Falena remained silent as the Queen began her tirade, “I allowed myself one tiny moment of relief, and in that moment all of my planning and promised victory was swept away! I may have killed Celestia and driven her pathetic sister into hiding, but I should have been sitting in Canterlot when it happened, not cast out into hiding by their so called ‘power of love’.” The Queen leapt from her bed and began to stare her lieutenant down as she approached, “Now, you can either tell me what you know and perhaps be of some help to your Hive, or you can get out of my sight!”

Falena waited until the Queen was done before she calmly spoke, “These ponies are going to Canterlot to show that they are not afraid of you. They know you are responsible for the civil unrest and warmongering among them, and if their government recognizes the validity of their message, all of the past several month’s efforts will crumble around you, and they will hunt us in united earnest. You’ve hit them right in their most sensitive spot, their ideals, and they are not nearly as soft as you think they are. If your attack does not succeed, we might not be prepared for the aftermath of our failure.”

The Queen calmed upon hearing her subordinate’s candid words, and a slight smirk came across her face, “The past several month’s efforts have not been wasted, and they certainly won’t be after we’ve accomplished our mission.” The Queen lightly stepped into her bed once again, “Those fools in Canterlot hold the means of their own destruction, and all we need to do is seize it from them.”

Falena cocked an eyebrow at this cryptic statement, “What do you mean?”

The Queen chuckled coyly, “They have a weapon buried deep beneath their pristine little city which they cannot control. With dear Prince Shining Armor’s knowledge of Canterlot in my hooves, I will take command of it and bring Equestria to its knees! We will feed as we wish, take what we wish, and the land that was promised to us so long ago will finally be ours to rule as we see fit!”

The Queen dismissed her after a little round of chuckling to herself, and Falena returned to her chambers. When she was out of earshot, one of the fungi near the cavern entrance began to ooze, expand, and transform until it took the shape of Pupa.

“She may appear to be acting like her old self,” the Candidate said tersely, “but you were right; no one could be in deep cover that long without some kind of subtle difference in behavior. She's definitely hiding something.”

Queen Chrysalis sighed as she absentmindedly began to examine the many holes in her left foreleg, “I had anticipated after such a long time that she might have gone native, but for her to think that she could have been capable of deceiving us really does mean she has gotten soft.”

“She was the best when it came to fitting in mentally,” Pupa offered with a small sense of disappointment and pity, “It’s truly a shame that she was too capable with her talent.”

“Have Papillon seize and pod her,” Queen Chrysalis idly declared as she now glanced at her other foreleg, admiring the contours of her porous limb, “She knows more than she’s letting on, and eventually she’ll remember our first rule: Everybody lies, except one member of the Hive to another.”

“Say ‘apple’,” Falena patiently repeated.

The drone she was trying to educate exuded its impatience through its pheromones and a brief fluttering of its wings, but because it was a Candidate who asked it could not disobey. With great effort, it enunciated, “Eh-ppel.”

“That’s a good effort, but let’s try again.”

It rather obviously rolled its eyes at the continued strange request, but it tried again, “Ah-pel.”

Its teacher’s eyes gleamed, “That’s better! You’re making good progress. We’re done for today. You can go.”

The drone bowed quickly, hissed its thanks, and quickly left her chamber, dreading that she may in fact change her mind.

Falena trotted over to the mirror she had been gifted by the rest of the Hive and sat down in front of it. She looked herself all over, from her turquoise colored hair to her black armored hooves. She almost laughed at the strange sensation of being uncomfortable staying in her true form for so long. She really had gotten used to her earth pony disguise she realized. Her thoughts began to wander back to her real home, and how Big Mac and the children were all doing. She hoped her beau, Scootaloo, and the others were safe. Even though she thought fondly of her new family, she had come to realize in the past few days that she still had a responsibility for her first family as well.

It wasn’t some influence of the Hive’s telepathic field on her mind that created this sensation; it was her own feeling of compassion for the drones, her ‘biological children’ so to speak. Their mental capacity had found a way to deteriorate even further than when she had last seen them so many centuries ago. The Queen had obviously been so obsessed with her plan of vengeance that she had not found a way to keep their metamorphic physiology from evolving out of control. It was a predicament that Falena had thought of for years; how to keep her race’s beneficial mutations from turning malignant. She had realized not to long after her arrival to Ponyville that the royal jelly was somehow the answer. The Queen had not lost any acuity, and neither had she or the other Candidates. Something about the royal jelly kept them from destabilizing further like their drones had.

The mystery behind this bodily meta-stasis had to wait temporarily, as another more pressing one had to be answered: what sort of weapon could Queen Chrysalis be referring to? Due to her passive psychic link with Princess Cadence, she was sure that the others were already working out such a conundrum. Still, that didn’t stop her from trying to think up her own hypotheses on the matter.

“Hey Falena,” she heard a voice call out.

She saw the reflection of one of her fellow Candidates in the glass in front of her. As she turned to look she smiled, recognizing her diminutive but energetic sister, “Hello Papillon!”

“Heard you just got out of a talk with the Queen,” the smaller Changeling said with a grin as she trotted over with a spring in her step, “I guess you forgot how mercurial she can sometimes be, huh?”

Falena was careful in how she chose her words, as after all they traveled very fast in a species that was part telepathic, “I can't claim that it makes sense, her holding onto the plan's secrecy when it wasn't the Hive's fault the first attack failed, but I trust her judgment.”

"I get the feeling Pupa knows, but she hasn't been too talkative about it," Papillon shrugged as she sat down next to her compatriot, “She sort of became the new you after you disappeared. Speaking of, I never got to ask, but what sort of things did you do while you were away? I mean, I get out pretty often, but I don’t usually wait a couple years before I come back and report in.”

Falena chuckled a little at Papillon's statement, “I became a teacher actually: it provided for a varied but interesting diet. Just feeding off of the children would have been easy enough, but I also used post-hypnotic suggestion on them to make them more subservient and pliable. As they grew up, I gained a vast network of information that I could pull any which way I wanted.” Here Falena emphasized her statement by plucking at the air like the strings of a harp were in front of her. “Every one of the little foals was so willing to please dear ‘Ms. Cheerilee’ that I almost never had to give a reason why I needed what I got.”

Papillon gawked a little at her sister’s achievements, “No way!”

Falena smile grew into a devilish grin, “Oh yes!”

Papillon cackled and hit her sister in the side playfully, “You monster! I love it!”

The two of them laughed a little together before Falena spoke again, a small degree of truthfulness slipping in between her lies, “It’s funny, really, but I have to say that I legitimately enjoyed being a teacher. It’s more than just shaping the minds of a few fillies and colts: its literally shaping the future right in front of your very eyes.”

"Having all those connections, you must have felt like a spider in the center of her web, able to see and do anything. You must have felt like the Queen herself," Papillon still had a wicked smile on her face, “So is that why you were trying to teach that drone just now: nostalgia?”

Falena blushed a little, realizing she had been caught in the act. She sheepishly smiled, “I won’t deny it; that’s part of the reason I’ve been doing it.”

“And the other part would be?”

Falena tried to think her words out as fully as she possibly could. As she did, she leaned back on to her hunches and tapped her hoof to her mouth. After a short silence, she had thought of what she needed to say, “I’ve lived among these Equestrians for a quarter of a century, and with all that time on my hooves, everything I’ve learned can be summed up in a few sentences. They have something we don’t. Our lack of empathy is our undoing; it’s the reason we have to be parasites instead of a self-supporting species. If we can find a way to train ourselves to feel as they do, to share our emotion with each other, whether Queen, Candidate, or drone, the way we do things now doesn’t have to be the only way anymore.”

Papillon’s interest was piqued as Falena’s speech became more impassioned, and her eyes widened in sudden surprise when she began to realize her fellow Candidate was projecting her emotions, and that she was being fed by her close proximity to her, “We wouldn’t have to hide or steal others' feelings to survive ever again! We can live in peace, learn, and grow! Perhaps one day we can even find a way to stop our children’s continual state of evolving decay. Who knows, maybe we could even find a way around the barriers the humans placed in us so we can begin to reproduce as a race again.”

“Falena,” Papillon exclaimed in a hushed tone, “Stop right now.”

Falena was confused by her sister’s command, “Why? What is it?”

“This explains everything; why she wants you silenced, why you’ve been gone so long and acting so strange, everything!” Papillon murmured to herself, and a crafty smile grew across her face, “Whatever your plan is, I’m interested!”

Falena did a small double take when she looked at her sister, “What?”

The smaller Changeling pointed at her, a smug grin still on her face, “The Queen thought your sudden return was too convenient to be true, so she’s been spying on you. She sent me here to pod you on suspicion of treason.”

“That’s absolutely outrageous!” The larger Candidate said as she rose to her hooves and jittered her wings in practiced anger even as her heart fell straight into a pit, “I was her greatest lieutenant! Why would I return at all if I didn’t come to serve her once again?”

“She thought you were a traitor, but I think you are something much more.”

Falena eyebrow arched even as she exuded fake anger at her sister’s accusation, “And that would be?”

Papillon lean closer to her and whispered, “Not a traitor: a usurper.”

She then quickly leapt to her hooves and declared in a commanding tone, “Candidate Falena, I am commanded by order of Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Hive that you submit yourself to me for questioning.”

Falena angrily groaned, “Fine! I have nothing to hide from you or her Majesty! I will submit.”

As Papillon led her away from her chambers, Falena could only hope that Princess Cadence and the others would decipher the Queen’s cryptic boast, because it looked like her services to them were now at an end.

Chapter 51 - Bunsen Burner, Bon Bon, Applejack

“We have a problem,” Princess Cadence said as she opened her eyes, blinking thoroughly as she did.

Fancy Pants, Bon Bon, Bunsen Burner, and the Elements all looked at her expectantly for what she had to say.

“Falena has been taken in for questioning.”

“So,” Fancy Pants breathed with a heavy sigh as he leaned backward on his sitting pillow and removed his monocle, “our double agent has been compromised.”

“We can’t be too sure of that,” the Princess replied as she waved her hoof, “The one who took her in, Papillon, seems to have some motive of her own for interrogating Falena. She’s not in trouble; not yet anyways. Our only hope is that she can find a way to turn the situation to her advantage.”

“Did she at least manage to find out anything before she was caught?” Twilight asked anxiously.

“The Queen of the Changelings said that Canterlot is guarding an uncontrollable weapon below the mountain.”

“Ah’d take that ta mean it has somethin’ ta do with your spooks then,” Applejack meaningfully glanced to Bunsen Burner with an arched eyebrow, “Care ta share?”

“It could be any number of things, really,” Bunsen Burner said as he put his hooves together, sporadically tapping them as he thought, “Just about anything from the Black Vault could be a threat to a city or even a nation if placed in competent hooves. The Queen’s intel comes from the good Captain’s own knowledge, which would narrow the threat down to something we’ve acquired within the past five to ten years. If memory serves, that number totals at seventeen items or entities that the RSD has informed him of.”

“So we’re stuck until we can get more info,” Rainbow Dash huffed in frustration, “Whatever it is they’re trying to use, we need to get everypony else away from Canterlot, then we can bring out our hooves swinging.”

Bon Bon grimaced as she rubbed her head, “It’s too late for that. The herd is too committed, and if we stop now we might lose our chance to draw the Changelings out. To pardon the analogy, we’ve set sail on the Furia Ocean: the only way out is to press on.”

Bunsen Burner nodded his approval of the idea, “We should make full speed to Canterlot then. It is our safest position of defense, and now that our mare on the inside is out of the game, we can be assured that our enemy will do everything in their power to end the threat we pose to them before we make it there.”

The Council of Harmony ended after a little further deliberation, and each of the members went their separate ways. Princess Cadence had just returned to her small tent, where Umbra and Nox were just waking up from their daily slumber, and was about to step inside when she heard somepony call for her. Looking just behind her, she found Bunsen Burner breathing a little raggedly as he approached her.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Oh, splendid,” he wheezed slightly, “Just a geriatric trying to catch his breath.”

After a few moments’ pause, he finally was able to say his peace, “Because of my current lifetime sentence of banishment bestowed on me by your aunt Luna, I cannot enter the walls of Canterlot with you.”

The Princess had forgotten about this judgment, and she began to think aloud, “Given that Luna has abdicated to me, I am fully willing to-“

“No,” the old stallion interjected, “The law is not overturned for the sake of one stallion. I will return to my exile tonight, but first I must offer some small advice: tell your husband to begin preliminary checks for the activation of Siege Mode. If ever there was a time to use it, it’s now.”

The Princess froze for a second before she gave a simple nod, “Very well.”

“You have two days before you reach Canterlot at the herd’s current pace; make it in one or less. The sooner the city is secured with you inside, the better. I don’t care if you have to start a stampede to make it there in time.”

He paused, unsure of how to proceed. After an awkward moment had passed, he reached for the satchel on his back and brought out a grey notebook, “These are your father’s research notes. With the empty space still left, I filled every blank page with as much of my memories of your parents as I could. It’s now yours to keep.”

Trixie, who had been walking a little ways off initially unaware of the conversation, stopped heading towards where she had originally been going and slunk a little closer to the two ponies, unseen by either of them. The Princess was touched by her godfather’s offering, and accepted the book from his mouth with her magic. The warmness in her heart dimmed a little when she remembered this was his parting gift to her, but a sweet smile graced the corners of her lips all the same, “This is so sudden. Couldn’t you stay even a little longer?”

“I’d only prove to be a distraction,” he replied matter-of-factly, “Your mind must be on the herd’s good now more than ever.”

After another seemingly awkward pause, he offered the Princess a very stiff hug. Trixie was surprised by this sudden display of affection. To be fair, so was the Princess. For just the tiniest moment, her empathic powers picked up a small surge of emotion in the steely-eyed stallion. Paternal love, worry, and happiness for her were all a part of the little seed of pathos flickering inside his heart.

“You’ve been a fine Princess in this crisis,” he said, and as he pulled away his voice broke a little, “and you’ll make an excellent mother when the time comes.”

“Thank you,” she whispered with muted joy.

His heart, not dead, only buried, returned to its normally chilled iron state, and Bunsen Burner turned and walked away, “Goodbye, Princess Cadence.”

“May I visit you sometime?” she called to him.

He stopped, and looked a little back towards her, a microscopic smile on his face, “I suppose you could come to Pferdshire when this is all over. I won’t stop you.”

The old stallion walked slowly back to his tent and began to pack up his things. As he did, he noticed a certain cerulean unicorn approach him.

“What are you doing?” Trixie asked him with simmering anger.

“I’m leaving. Isn’t it obvious?” he replied curtly as he began to break down his tent.

“No, I mean what are you doing?” she asked insistently, “We know you’d originally been planning to go to Canterlot all along, so why leave now?”

“ ‘We’?” the old stallion asked as he turned to look at her.

“Yes, ‘We’,” Mr. Black declared as he descended with a final flap of his wings and landed near the two ponies, “After all we’ve done to fight the bugs, you’re just going to turn tail before our biggest battle yet? You’ve changed quite a bit in the past few days if that’s true. ‘Coward’ isn’t something I’d pegged you for turning into.”

“I’m not retreating,” he replied calmly as he took a familiar ovoid shaped device from his satchel and strung it around his neck, “I’m the advance party.”

“Huh,” the Griffon grunted, “So you did get your beacon working.”

“I have an alibi for disappearing, you two don’t. I need you to stay here and be on your guard.”

“Why did you lie to the Princess?” Trixie asked with bitter pointedness.

Bunsen Burner looked at Trixie with a small amount of surprise, “You spied on me?”

Trixie’s expression didn’t change from her agitated glare.

Finally, the older stallion gave a little smile, “Good. You’re learning. As a general rule, Ms. Lulamoon, I lie to everyone, but always out of necessity.”

“That talk about a pony like you being able to change,” Trixie asked as she raised her voice a little higher, “Was that a lie too?”

Bunsen Burner froze as he thought about what he had said a few nights previous. Finally he sighed in frustration, unable to say anything clever in response.

Trixie’s eyes widened as she injected meaning into his silence, “You don’t want to change, do you? You’d rather stay as you are, heading off into the stars know what, than be someone else and stay out of harm’s way?”

“I’ve made my choice,” Bunsen Burner replied simply.

“Just go,” she exclaimed with a frustrated waving of her hooves, “Can’t you just leave this to us? You’ve done your part, so why can’t you just go and try to live a life that will at least give you a chance at happiness?”

“He won’t stop; not now, not ever,” Mr. Black declared as he turned to look at the unicorn, “As long as there is something to fight for, he won’t rest until he’s gotten it. That’s his way. He can never leave anything half done, and he’s not walking away until this war is seen through.”

The griffon glanced at his former squadmate; the old stallion nodded appreciatively for his understanding. Mr. Black then looked back at Trixie and quietly finished, “Now, give him his jolt of magic and send him on his way.”

She glared at the griffon for a full three seconds and then wordlessly lowered her head, and fired an energy bolt directly at the surface of the tele-beacon. The device began to shine blue in resonance with her aura, and it retained the magic it had been imparted with.

“You’d better come out of this alright, you stubborn old earth pony,” she declared with a hurt but angry voice, “Or I’ll never forgive you!”

“I’ll try,” he replied grimly, “Be ready for anything.” He then pressed the surface of the beacon with his hoof. In an instant, a blue light flashed all around which forced the two warriors to shield their eyes, and with the sound of firecrackers and smoke, the old stallion was gone.

“Hope you gave him enough juice,” Mr. Black idly commented as he took to the skies once again, leaving a concerned Trixie to stare at the spot Bunsen Burner had just left, “Otherwise some archeologists in the future will find a rather interesting fossil down the road.”

Bon Bon was having a difficult time dealing with her new responsibilities as, well, whatever she was to everypony else. When she was able to get away from the ponies in the camp who continued to ask her questions she definitely didn’t know the answers to, she found refuge inside a cook’s tent. The smell of the various stowed spices and seasonings were almost an immediate aphrodisiac to her. She was in a place she understood completely, and she finally found some peace to think. Who knew that nirvana smelled like cinnamon, sugar, thyme, garlic, lavender, dandelions, and a pantheon’s worth of other wonderful ingredients? As an artist possessed by some creative force, the initially troubled earth pony settled into a rhythm as she took stock of her utensils, pots, and pans, found her items of interest with which to cook, and set to work over the small fire nearby.

“May Ah join you?” a voice interrupted her trance.

Bon Bon whirled around to find Applejack at the tent flap, a compassionate but hesitant smile on her face. The cook calmed herself a little first before she responded with a warm, “Sure!”

“Whatcha making there?” her companion asked inquisitively as she looked down into the pan in the fire.

Bon Bon followed her gaze, and was legitimately surprised when even she herself wasn’t sure. “They almost look like cinnamon rolls stretched into a burrito shape,” she finally observed, “Apart from that, I couldn’t tell you what they are.”

Applejack shrugged a little, “Well, yer guess is bound ta be better’an mine!” She then sat down at the fire’s edge, her recent curiosity replaced once again with an understanding glance, “You wanna talk?”

“Hm? Talk about what?”

“Well, we’ve all been under a lotta pressure, and you’re still new ta all this. Ah figured maybe you needed a little help gettin’ adjusted to it all.”

Bon Bon look at her for a moment, and then her defenses broke down entirely. She leaned forward a little and exhaled with a sigh, “Sweet Celestia, yes.” She then looked back up to Applejack in equal parts confusion and panic, “I think I’ve been asked almost every question possible. ‘What do you think about the economy?’ ‘Ms. Bon Bon, what is your opinion on Celestia’s Equal Races, Equal Rights doctrine?’ ‘What do you think Equestria’s policy should be on dealing with the Changelings post-war?’ ‘What about the rise of post-Harmonic thought?’ Everypony seems to think I have all the answers because I spoke my mind one time, but I am so absolutely in over my head I don’t know what to say or do!” She paused and almost looked up at her fellow earth pony in awe, “How do you and the others do it? With your friends it almost seems like you always know what to say and when to say it. How do you handle all this stress: the weight of the world hanging on your shoulders?”

Applejack looked sheepishly at Bon Bon and nervously chuckled, embarrassed by the way that the candy maker looked up to her, “Ah’m gonna be perfectly clear with you Bon Bon: Ah have never had to deal with the spotlight the way you have. From the outside it may look like we have a plan, but by Celestia’s sweet sun, Ah swear we make it up as we go along. It’s always like we’re all tryin’ to lay the track down only a couple of minutes ‘fore the train’s comin’.”

“Hold that thought,” Bon Bon said as she reached for a plate and spatula, “I need to get our mystery food out of the fire.”

Applejack patiently waited as the cook dexterously flipped the four cylindrical items from out of the pan and onto the plate with just her teeth and her tool. Bon Bon then whisked them to a nearby table to cool off, and she then began to clean up the many pans and utensils that had been strewn about the area in her wake.

“Ponies came from all over the country ta hear what you had ta say,” Applejack began again, “not because you necessarily said it with flowery prose or with some unseen eloquence: it was because you said what was closest to both their hearts and yer own! They admire yer honesty, so just continue to be honest with’em.”

Bon Bon put down the bowl she had just been about to put away and turned to the orange pony, blinking in surprise, “Is it really that simple?”

“Well,” Applejack chuckled good-naturedly, “Ah don’t know about that. Ah’ve never really been a politician before! Farm work keeps me too preoccupied to try’an run fer election to the House of Commonponies, even if Ah had an interest in the matter! Bein’ the Element of Honesty an’ all, Ah can definitely say that ponies really appreciate when ya talk straight with’em.” She then got up from where she had been sitting and put her hoof around Bon Bon’s back and gave her a soft squeeze of encouragement, “All things considers, Ah’d say yer doin' remarkably well. You know what our secret is? How we make it all look easy?”

“How,” Bon Bon asked with a true sense of wonder in her voice.

“We believe in each other. That’s the steam ta our locomotive. With each other at our backs to help push us through, we’re unstoppable. You believe in us, so let us believe in you too.”

Bon Bon cocked her head a little as she thought with bemusement, and then a smile slowly grew across her face as she turned to her friend, “Yeah. Maybe that is what I need to do: stick with what I know best, be truthful about all the rest, and remember that my friends will always be there for me.”

“Ya couldn’t have said it finer!” Applejack replied with a grin.

Now at peace in both body and mind, Bon Bon turned to the now sufficiently cooled food waiting for them, and then glanced back at Applejack, “You want to see what it is now?”

“Why not? Let’s give it’a whirl!” she replied.

They each took one of the treats in their hooves. Bon Bon took the first bite: if she was going to poison somepony, she sarcastically thought to herself, it’d be herself over Applejack.

“Huh!” she exclaim in surprise as the light, doughy shell melted in her mouth, “How about that: it is a cinnamon roll burrito!”

“Mmmm,” Applejack exhaled contentedly as she took her first bite. She then shook her head up and down a little. “You definitely need to write that recipe down!” she exclaimed through another mouthful, “This is unbelievably good!”

Bon Bon eyed her cinnamon burrito in frustration before she chuckled a little, “Great! Now I just have to remember how it was I made it in the first place.”

Chapter 52 - Papillon, Falena

“Ah, Papillon,” Queen Chrysalis exclaimed warmly when the Changeling Candidate stepped down into her chamber, “How goes Falena’s interrogation?”

Papillon gave a quick bow as she spoke, “It’s going well, actually. You were right; she is a traitor. She will definitely crack, but not before the attack on Canterlot, unfortunately.”

The Queen huffed slightly, “Disappointing. Very well! I trust you will work expediently to acquire what information you can. Perhaps something useful may still come of it.”

“You know I will!” the little Candidate said with an almost adorable grin.

The Queen stepped down from out of her bed, and strode regally toward the entrance to her room, “I’m leaving you twenty drones in reserve to assist you as you wish: the colony is yours to command during the assault. I am confident you will perform admirably.”

Papillon dutifully bowed as her sovereign exited, “You honor me with this responsibility, my Queen. Good luck in the campaign!”

Queen Chrysalis did not respond when she swooped up and away, her wings droning with an eerie buzz as she sped up the hallway towards the open shafts leading out of the Hive’s borrowed home.

Papillon had measured her steps, trotting along with her usual energetic pace, but secretly she was absolutely elated at the turn of events. Drones had rushed all around her, heeding their highest royal’s call, scrambling into platoon formation as they exited the Hive. She was sure that it was bound to be quite a sight from the outside world: a black swarming mass spewing from the mountainside that would slowly turn gray as it flew farther to the southeast. She had wished to see the army off in person, but she had needed to appear as if she were doing as her Queen had commanded. She had taken her time, leisurely returning to the Queen’s chambers and jumping into the silky blood red sheets. As she sunk into the soft downy mattress, she giggled a little to herself: no matter what the outcome of this coup, it was all worth it to be nestled in this absolutely fantastic bed!

When she was sure that the army was out of local telepathic range, Papillon buzzed a little with excitement. It was time to begin.

The small Candidate streaked further down into the mountain, easily maneuvering through the tunnels by her memory. Beneath even the Queen’s deeply buried room was a spacious cavern, filled with several hundred pods. This expansive room served as the Changeling’s feeding grounds, from which the Candidates and Queen siphoned off the charged emotions of those who were encased in their slimy sarcophagi, and converted them into readily consumable psychic energy.

Twisting through the air as she quit flapping her wings, Papillon transformed into a sludgy, rubber-like substance. When she landed she bounced once, then twice before she reconstituted herself into her usual body. The place where she finally stopped was the exact pod she had been looking for. Shifting the substance of her right foreleg into a sharp, sword-like point, she gave the opaque pod a vertical slice through its tough outer membrane. Green, slimy jelly burst from the pod, disgorging Falena onto the cavern floor.

“Hurry, the troops will be coming soon,” Papillon said with an ecstatic smile.

Falena gave a deep gasp and choked slightly. Her body had transformed her respiratory system into a gilled structure like that of a Lung Fish, but was now reconverting back into its normal state.

“You think I don’t know that?” Falena wheezed through the still undergoing process, “They feel us and we feel them, remember?”

“I need you presentable for when they get here,” Papillon replied as her attention was drawn to several whiny buzzing sounds coming from the entrance tunnels, “Just do what you did with me yesterday. I’m positive they’ll be convinced.”

The drones swarmed up above the feeding grounds, sweeping over the two Candidates in cyclical aerial patterns. When they had felt the traitor awaken, they had assumed she was trying to escape, yet there she was next to their commander. The confusion billowing off of them was palpable from below.

“I’m ready,” Falena murmured to her co-conspirator as her gills finally sealed up.

Papillon grinned as she addressed the troops, “Drones! Listen to me!” They slowly descended, touched down, and gathered around the two Candidates to offer their undivided attention. “You are of course aware that our Queen has denounced Falena, our prodigal sister, as a traitor, but did you know that these charges are false?”

The drones glanced in surprise at Falena, which Papillon took full advantage of by pushing onward, “Yes, my drones! I was unnerved by this discovery: why would our Queen break the First Rule? It became so obvious to me as I talked with our dear Falena. The Queen has put her priorities above the Hive’s own survival, all the while promising that she would bring us more the food we all so desperately crave.” Papillon pointed her hoof with a jabbing motion, “In our hour of greatest need, one of our own has returned with the secret Chrysalis has hidden for so long: Candidate Falena has rediscovered the way to provide her own emotions as food for the Hive!”

The drones each looked to each other in shock, and the Hive mind doubly communicated their disbelief. Falena took a step forward, which refocused the drones attention on to her.

“It’s true,” she announced, “I have found the way to feed ourselves again, but it wasn’t by accident or luck.” Her ears drooped a little, and each of the Changelings was surprised: they could sense emotions coming from her! A sadness mingled with nostalgic happiness emanated off of their Candidate in slow, ebbing waves. She continued, “In my time among those the Queen considers our enemy, I was taught by a wise mare how to feel for myself and for others.” She looked to Papillon, who was also surprised by the deep display of passionate emotion she was giving off, “We know of your love for us, and how it remains unreciprocated by Chrysalis.” She then looked out to her twenty drones, her newest children and students, “It’s time for a new transformation: not one for our bodies, but for our minds, hearts, and souls. Equestria has taught me so much.”

Papillon gasped in awe as her fellow Candidate practically went supernova, waves of psychic energy cascading off of her like tidal waves on a shore. Love, mercy, happiness, and joy intermingled in one self-sustaining fount. Falena slowly flew up above her twenty-one compatriots, and her eyes, with the same emotions welling up inside of her, gazed down on them all, “Let me share with you what I’ve learned.”

The dams that seemed to keep her energy at bay were let down, and she projected everything out. She loved her children. She loved her sister. She loved everyone. The energy wrapped around each of the Changelings, flowing over them as if it could share some sort of affection of its own. To experience it all at once was as if they were trying to consume a year’s worth of energy in one mouthful. Those that had been starving and hungry were filled. Those that had felt full were now beyond a doubt in their own mind that they were.

As Falena quietly lowered herself, both the drones and Papillon didn’t seem to know how to react. Suddenly, the nearest drone approached her, and she saw something new in its face. Sitting on its cheeks were tears, pure child-like tears. In a burst of its own emotion, it hugged her, and began to sob.

Thank you, it said through the telepathic link all of them shared, thank you so much.

Falena wrapped her own hooves around him, deeply moved by his simple exclamation. Yes, these drones had been mere workers, no need for singular designation of any kind, but this was the first of the Hive to truly be recalled to an identity.

“Than-ku,” he expressed verbally with great effort.

Falena was overcome with joy, and tears streamed down her own face, “You are very welcome.” After a short time, they broke their embrace.

The other drones did not move, but there were tears in their eyes as well: their one had spoken for them all, and that was enough.

Sniffling a little, Falena turn to Papillon, “I wish that this could last longer, but time isn’t on our side and we need to stop Chrysalis’ plan. Where is she?”

“They left about an hour ago,” Papillon shakily replied through her own emotionally fragile state, “They were headed to the Equestrian capital.”

Falena nodded urgently, “She mentioned that there was some kind of weapon beneath Canterlot she wanted to take.”

“Yeah, some kind of creature encased in stone. Apparently it’s super powerful, but it looks like a walking zoo.”

Falena’s heart stopped for a moment. Her eyes widened and her face turned a paler shade of black. “She can’t be that stupid,” she whispered in terror, “She cannot be crazy enough to honestly try.”

“What?” Papillon asked in blithe ignorance.

“Is the creature’s name ‘Discord’?” Falena tried to calmly ask, but her voice faltered a little.

“Ummm. Yeah, actually it is!” Papillon shook her head in the affirmative.

Falena choked a little as she breathed in with a hiss, and then bolted into the air. “Follow me, all of you!” she yelled in fright, “If we don’t stop the Queen right now, she will unleash a being beyond anyone’s control!”

The drones froze: talking of mutiny was one thing, but to actively obstruct their Queen’s plans?

“Scramble!” Falena bellowed, “Or she will bury us all!”

“You heard her: move!” Papillon chimed in as she saw the fright in Falena's emotions, and followed after her, who was already streaking up towards the surface.

The drones rose up and followed after their commanders. The small force exited the Hive’s home at top speed, streaking after the larger force so very far ahead of them.

I hope the telepathic spell is still working for Princess Cadence, Falena thought to herself, the stars help us if we don’t catch up in time.

Tick tock goes the clock, here ‘rives the golden day, Discord sung to himself.

He could feel the sun, so very far away and so very near, as it cleared the horizon of the mountains beyond Canterlot, a crimson dawn.

The draconequus chuckled deeply to himself, Tick tock goes the clock, until it’s time to play.

Chapter 54 - Princess Cadence, Shining Armor

The morning was warm early that day. As the day approached closer with each step up the sloping road to the marble heights of Canterlot, the weather was sure to become more humid and more unbearable. Trotting at point were Umbra and Nox, acting as the Princess’ advance guard as she and the rest of the Council led the rest of the movement on.

“Do you feel that, brother?” Nox asked, “There’s a strange kind of stillness in the air.”

Umbra nodded, “I feel tremors in the earth, but not from behind us: they’re coming from in front of us. How is that possible?”

“It’s as if the mountain breathes. Perhaps it doesn’t like the heat any more than we do?”

“You and your poetic language,” Umbra grumbled, “I’m more concerned by what could be causing it. You should be as well.”

The crowd began its passage over the three bridges that led up and over the small rivers that ran down from the mountainside into the valleys below. A red sun began to rise as Cadence guided its path, its light shining through the rivers and waterfalls below, making the streams seem like the mountain’s free flowing orange colored tears. As they all crossed over the last river and turned to the north and upward along the road, they were greeted by two lamps etched into the rock, illuminating the path with a soft yellow light.

These were the outermost lights leading into Canterlot. While the others didn’t quite understand the significance, Cadence, Fancy Pants, and Twilight Sparkle all gave a small sigh of relief: the long journey was almost over, and they were on the last leg.

“After being away for so long, wishing to be able to come back, I’ve just finally realized we’re here.” Cadence looked further up the long stretch of road as she spoke, and seeing the gate to Canterlot open and waiting for them all she smiled with a few tears in her eyes. “Shining,” she exclaimed softly.

The Princess took off at a gallop, leaving the others to protest in alarm. She didn’t hear them. She flapped her wings sporadically, trying to push herself along as fast as she could physically go. The guards at the gate exclaimed in pure joy upon seeing her. One passed the word of what they had seen to the next. The next guard yelled ecstatically to another. The good news spread across Canterlot faster than the Princess could run. Doors and windows burst open to watch the running Princess as she darted through the streets, a pink and purple blur.

While it was true that Celestia was the soul of Equestria, it's keeper of culture and moral compass, and that Luna was the mind, with her dedication to the sciences both technological and arcane, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was the heart of her fair country: unbridled, free, and full of great love for everything she held dear.

Untarnished by hatred, rhetoric, or violence, she ran straight to the front doors of Canterlot Castle, and the life and love of her city followed in her wake. The Return to Harmony movement thundered after her, the streets remained clear to avoid being trampled. The citizens of Canterlot were not far behind them either.

As she rushed into the square just outside the doors to the castle, they were opened wide. From out of the citadel rushed the acting Prince Shining Armor, his military uniform ruffled and crinkled from many unbroken days of coordinating strategy. He had slept in it several times by accident, and while the uniform was most definitely tired, the Prince was now brimming with energy.

As the two of them ran to each other, there were no words shared. There were no cries of joy or laughter. The desperate longing that had been brimming in the both of them for each other was so transient, so above base emotional outburst, that when they finally reached each other they slowed, wrapped their forelegs around each other, and brought each other into a tranquil but charged kiss. Time seemed to collapse outright as their lips locked with each other. The unity they shared after being so far away for so long was unlike any other. Their hearts, though beating at their different tempos, were as one in harmonic unison. When finally they had to part, they simply stared into each others' eyes.

“Mi Amore,” he said breathlessly.

“My Shining Knight,” she whispered.

The crowd that had finally gathered in the square cheered and whistled at the romantic display. It almost felt like the reception ball all over again.

It was in this beautiful moment, amidst the cheers, the dawn, and the love, that Falena’s communique finally came through.

Cadence’s eyes glazed over momentarily as she couldn’t believe the contents of the message. Finally, strength returned to her body, and she ripped herself away from her husband. Flying up in the air, she projected her voice as loudly as she could, “Everypony, please listen! Find shelter immediately! An attack is imminent! Return to your homes in an orderly fashion, and do not panic!”

Most of the crowd, initially perplexed by the strange transition of behavior, while also remembering why they had been told to stay in their homes, began to file back the way they had come.

There were some, however, who stayed. Even though there were those ponies that had come with the Princess that left to seek shelter with the rest of the crowd, more than three hundred stood their ground. Princess Cadence looked at each of them as she was able, from her sister-in-law and her friends, to Fancy Pants, Bon Bon, Trixie, and the many others standing behind them. They in turn looked back to her expectantly.

The Princess spoke up again, “My little ponies, I know what we came here to do initially, but I will not risk your lives like this. Please find shelter immediately!”

“If we don’t stand up for what we believe in now, what was the value of what we were striving for to begin with?” Bon Bon yelled passionately. The crowd quieted as the earth pony stepped forward to address the Princess personally, “We came here to prove we weren’t afraid of our enemy, whether it’s the two factions or the Changelings. We won’t sit by, not anymore! Equestria needs us, and to me right now that’s more important than anything, even my own safety!”

Twilight nodded her approval of her friend’s words. “I can’t speak for anypony else,” she said as she approached her brother and gave him a hug, “but I’m going to stand by the both of you.”

“And there’s nothing you can do to stop us!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with cocky grin.

“That is what friends are for, after all,” Rarity pointed out.

“To be honest with you,” Applejack continued.

“To always offer a helping hoof,” Fluttershy said with a demure smile.

“And to do it all through thick, thin, and whatever’s in the middle!” Pinkie Pie finished.

“I can’t allow this,” Prince Shining Armor declared as he glanced at each of them momentarily, “None of you are staying out here.”

“To be fair, you can’t stop us,” Fancy Pants replied as he stepped forward, a subdued smile adorning his face.

“Fancy Pants!” the Prince exclaimed as he gave the suave unicorn an enthusiastic hoofshake, “You have my undying gratitude for keeping Cadence safe.”

“I can only do so much once she’s made up her mind, Celestia help me,” he said with a small chuckle, “I believe we are in such a situation now.”

Princess Cadence’s initially worried expression had slowly been replaced by one of determination. “Bon Bon’s right,” she finally said, “We’re not just fighting to protect Canterlot: we’re fighting for Equestria.”

Prince Shining Armor covered his face with his hoof a little as he sighed, “Cadence, that’s all well and good, but you and the others need to get to safety right now! We can talk about this once you're inside.”

“You’re not listening, Shiny,” she tried to calmly express herself without letting her agitation enter her voice; “We’re all staying. What we’re all fighting for is more important than any one of us, even a Princess.”

“This is not a debate!” the Prince snapped at last, “If I have to, I will have you forcefully moved to the castle!”

All the nearby ponies who had heard those words stared at their ruler now and felt varying degrees of betrayal.

“Shining!” Twilight exclaimed in alarm at his seemingly outrageous declaration.

Princess Cadence’s anger was numbed over by her shock. “You’d do what?” she asked quietly.

“I can’t lose you again!” he muttered with an almost wounded tone through bitter tears that began to creep into his eyes. Her heart cracked a little as he continued, “Those..bugs have taken you from me twice. Do you know what it’s been like, not knowing where you were, or if you’d been hurt, or worse?”

“Shiny,” she tried to say.

“I can’t think straight without you,” he said as he wrapped his forelegs around her suddenly in a huge embrace, “I’ve been going crazy without you! Don’t put yourself or our foal’s life at risk like this, not when I’ve just gotten you back! Don’t force me. Please.”

As the Prince’s forelegs squeezed tighter around her in wanting, the Princess at first didn’t know how to respond. She loved her husband so very much, but right now her ponies needed her. She breathed in shakily, unsure of if she had made the right choice at first, but then steeled herself and quietly said,“To your post, Captain.”

Prince Shining Armor’s eyes opened as his mind automatically processed her words, “Cadence-“

“To your post, Captain!” she repeated clearly and firmly.

Years of training made the Prince leap back and stand at attention, "Ma'am!"

Princess Cadence, returned at last to her home and to her now rightful throne, looked at her husband, the Elements, Fancy Pants, and Bon Bon, “The Changelings will be coming soon, but they aren’t here to take Canterlot or even to silence us: they’re here to release Discord.”

The nine of them paled rapidly, with the Elements being the most unnerved of the lot of them.

“We stand as the first line of defense against our enemy,” the Princess continued before the others had a chance to become frenetically anxious, “Today we are not bakers, librarians, farmers, or royalty: we are warriors, if not in actuality, then in spirit! Twilight!”

“Yes, Cadence?” Twilight stammered in surprise at her foalsitter’s sudden authoritarian shift in attitude.

“We need you and the others ready with the Elements of Harmony. Get to the cathedral and come back here once you have them!”

“You got it, Princess!” Rainbow Dash nervously yelled over her shoulder, already leading the pack by air to the chamber where the Elements were kept.

“Captain,” she turned to her husband, “What is the status of our defenses?”

“Our forces are ready to move into position at my command,” Prince Shining Armor replied with a loud, sharp tone, as if he was a private reporting to a commanding officer at boot camp, “A squad of Wonderbolts will be arriving within the hour. General Blitz Hammer and Lieutenant Swiftfeet are standing by with their respective ground forces.”

“What about Siege Mode?” Princess Cadence asked.

“Still being worked on, but we should be ready soon.”

The Captain of the Guard eyes fluttered a little as he realized his situation. His wife, his commanding officer he corrected, was adamant to stay on the battlefield despite the risk, and there really was nothing he could do to convince her otherwise. Had she really thought about the potential aftermath of this attack if things didn’t go well for them? What if he couldn’t protect her? Sure, she was an alicorn, but even they clearly had their limits against these things! He could handle something happening to himself, but if something happened to Cadence? He honestly hoped that he never had to be put into that situation: he didn’t want to know what he’d do.

“We’ve got incoming!” Mr. Black called from far up above the three royals, “They’re coming in hot from the North by Northeast!”

A grey spot was fast approaching in the morning sunlight, and a barely audible droning sound could be heard by all.

Fancy Pant’s shoulders fell as his mouth numbly fell open. “We’re too late,” he uttered quietly as he created a rapier with his magic and held it gently in front of himself, “Tartarus’ gates are upon us.”

Chapter 55 - Bunsen Burner, Lieutenant Swiftfeet, Ditzy Doo

The elevator ride down to the Royal Science Division was normally a very nondescript daily occurrence for Lieutenant Swiftfeet. Up until recent months, it had been the same sort of experience for Bunsen Burner. Now, as with many other things in recent days, something was different. The tremors from earlier were stronger inside the mountain, and the compartment shuttered between each interval as it made its way further down.

“Whatever happens after this is over, I will support you in your trial, sir,” the Pegasus announced as he looked to his old superior, “I’ve seen what you’ve given for this country, and I believe one misstep is not enough to condemn a pony.”

“What happened was a colossal error,” Bunsen Burner responded, “Don’t pretend it was anything but that. I allowed my...obsession with containing radical elements like that human to get in the way of impartial logic. I was for a time a creature of habit, not of reason, and it put us all at grave risk.” He glanced to his once old but faithful subordinate, “And don’t call me ‘sir’: I am now merely a civilian consultant to you and the RSD.”

The Lieutenant nodded, “Understood Si- Mr. Burner.”

A particularly violent rumbled forced the two of them to hold onto the rails of the compartment, and the light above them flickered sporadically.

“What improvements have been made since my banishment?” the old stallion asked through gritted teeth as the quake hit its highpoint.

“We’ve mostly been-“ the Pegasus was slammed into the wall with a grunt, “-focusing on a massive upgrade to the Defense Grid: replacing rusted and out of service motors, hydrostatic pistons, and actuators, making sure the old spells will still operate if called on. We’ve also managed to boost the capacity and efficiency of our Auratech Reactor by 66 percent.”

“Excellent news all around it sounds like,” the old stallion gave a tiny smile.

“The praise should go to Miss Doo if anypony. She may not be a unicorn, but she’s a wizard with this technology through and through,” Swiftfeet paused briefly before affirming more to himself than anypony, “She’s an incredible mare.” The elevator stopped, and the extending shutter slid open with a ding. “In all fairness, we have the situation under control,” he continued as they stepped out, “but I expect that you wouldn’t have come here if you had already suspected that.”

Bunsen Burner paused for a moment in silent thought as he realized what those words meant.

The Lieutenant cracked a small smile, “Well now. It looks like you taught us too well. ‘Adapt and advance’; those were always the words you repeated to me, weren’t they?”

“I suppose I never expected you to move on without me,” the earth pony replied softly, and he sighed heavily, “I’m getting slow, senile, and attached. Still, I won’t allow myself to be useless.”

“What do you need?” the pegasus unconsciously stood at attention.

“Lab 009, and access to forty munitions grade chemical dispersal canisters.”

“Done,” the RSD ops commander replied with next to no thought.

With surely no time to spare, Bunsen Burner galloped for the lab he had requisitioned. All personnel were on high alert and at station with the impending attack, so the halls were devoid of any staff, making it easy for the old stallion to reach his destination in no time.

Slamming the door open, he immediately went for the nearest chalkboard, unclasping the lid on the container around his neck as he did. As he began to scribble as quickly as he could with the piece of chalk in his mouth, the Maiden’s many golden green particles coalesced into her equine facsimile. Using a small amount of her substance as an aural field, she took up four pieces of chalk and set to work transcribing her own chemical formula on a separate chalkboard.

As she wrote, she glanced over to her ‘partner’, “Pardon me, but-“

“Bunsen Burner,” he murmured around the chalk in his mouth, not stopping for an instant.

“Bunsen Burner, did I hear you right in saying you had met a human?”

“Yes. Why?”

The green fluorescent alicorn ghost continued to look at her board as she replied, “No reason. You can call me ‘Maiden’ by the way.”

“Pleasure.”

The both of them finally finished their separate formulae another three minutes later.

“There,” Bunsen Burner raised his voice from earlier as he spit out the chalk in his mouth and looked at the atomic model he had constructed, “The structure is a tad complex, but I’m sure we can find a binding point to link the two compounds..together.”

As he had talked, he had begun to glance toward the Maiden’s board. The compound he saw as he slowly approached was more advanced than any he had ever seen. His jaw continued to slowly drop as he looked further to the right. A quarter of the board there had been donated to a diagram of four interlinking helices, one set looking like a normal strand of DNA labelled ‘A’, with a second set perpendicular to the first named ‘B’ running through it. A long membranous strand ran through both of the sets, acting as hub for the both of the double helices. The genetic sequence looked like two coupled together intersecting spiral staircases, running up and down a segmented column.

“When a Changeling copies the DNA of another species, the primary strand ‘A’,” the Maiden pointed to that part of the drawing, “remains a stable double helix, while secondary strand ‘B’ shifts into the genetic structure needed to maintain its disguise.”

“Four helices,” the old stallion breathed in disbelief.

“For other metamorphoses, like into non-sentient gases, liquids, or solids, some physical properties like color and shape may change, but others like density and the Primary genetic code will not.”

“I’ve spent nearly my entire life fighting an enemy that I thought I knew,” Bunsen Burner exclaimed softly, “And everything I thought I understood has been completely turned on its head!”

“This compound of yours, does it kill?” the Maiden asked as she turned her facsimile’s head back towards her compatriot.

“Yes,” was all he replied.

“Reactor at 95% capacity,” an RSD scientist called out as he read the dials in front of him, “Final checks will be completed in 25 minutes.”

Ditzy Doo nodded her head as she stared down through a heavy glass shield with a tiny smirk, “Good work! We’re almost there.” The Auratech Reactor below, which was shaped like a giant sphere and held in a concave indentation by four pylons, pulsed serenely. Across its surface were many small ports which the unicorns below were firing their magic directly into. Through those ports, if one were brave enough to glance within, one could see a giant swirling multicolored ball of coherent arcane energy. Ditzy Doo turned as she trotted quickly out of the room, “Keep me posted, okay? I’m headed to the Defense Chamber.”

She only made it a little ways away from Reactor Control before she was quickly joined by her co-leader.

“How’re the ponies upstairs, Swifty?” she asked with a smile and a wink.

Lieutenant Swiftfeet replied as if he hadn’t heard her use that pet name for him, “They’re confident in us. Still, they’re justifiably nervous. We’ve only come close to doing a full launch sequence back when Nightmare Moon’s return was imminent.”

“If everything works by the models we’ll be fine,” Ditzy Doo replied reassuringly as they approached a flight of stairs. They each spread their wings and glided down, turning sharply as they descended both the landing and the connecting flight of stairs to the floor below.

The Lieutenant was having a difficult time coming up with the best way to break Bunsen Burner’s return to the grey pegasus. He couldn’t think of one that didn’t end with her irritated with him somehow. While good-natured and very mellow, Ditzy Doo had previously been a part of what Bunsen Burner had called his ‘colossal error’. Having seen his former superior’s less than stellar first impression, she probably wouldn’t feel as chummy with him as she was now if he told her. It would be worse if he didn’t tell her at all, though. Stuck between the rock and the hard place that he was, he still had to come out and say it, as hard as it would be.

“Miss Doo,” he tried to say, but he was drowned out by blaring alarms.

“CONTACT DETECTED. INBOUND HOSTILE FORCE!” a mare called out over the broadcast system, “REPEAT, INBOUND HOSTILE FORCE!”

Ditzy Doo quickly looked at her co-leader before shooting off down the hall, yelling over her shoulder, “Get the troops to the hatches! I’ll get them open for you as soon as I can!”

“Ma’am!” he yelled as he took off towards his own position.

Red lights blinked on, and alarms began to sound along every hallway of the Royal Science Division. The Maiden looked up as if she could see through the hundreds of feet of rock and steel that separated her from the outside world, “They’re here.”

“No,” Bunsen Burner yelled out to no one in frustration, “We still need more time!”

The lab doors slid open as two ponies, a pegasus and an earth pony, shoved a cart loaded with cylindrical dispersal canisters through.

“Just what the doctor ordered,” the earth pony, named Stock, declared as he wiped his brow.

“Figuratively speaking, of course,” Barrel added, “Welcome back, sir! We-“

“There’s no time for pleasantries right now!” Bunsen Burner blurted, “We need to get to the Chem Bank and load these with MRG-03 immediately!”

“Sir!” they yelled reflexively. They pushed the cart back into the hall.

“Can you come up with our recombinant chemical on your own?” Bunsen Burner yelled over his shoulder to the Maiden.

“I’ve already thought of the solution we need,” she replied as she slipped through the doors as they sealed shut around her.

“Give the formula to Barrel then! He’s a good enough chemist to handle this I’m sure!”

“To be fair, Mr. Burner, I typically make explosives,” the Pegasus grunted as he pushed the cart, “Is that what we’re making?”

“Not intentionally,” the old stallion replied.

The Maiden pointed to Barrel, “I’ll be the most helpful with him. I should be able to speed up the process of making our unified compound with my expertise and his hooves.”

Bunsen Burner shook his head, “I still have need of you. The plan I have is less of a high risk option with someone who doesn’t have a need for material existence. I’m more willing to wager just my life then I am to wager two. Since you don’t require a body, your survivability is greater than either of these two.”

“So who’s your friend?” Stock asked as he shoved, “Some kinda ghost or something?”

Bunsen Burner looked back at the green colored spectral alicorn. She shrugged a little, and cocked her mouth at angle. His eyes narrowed a little as he thought before he turned back to helping push the cart forward, “I have no idea. She’s pulling her own weight, though, and right now that’s all I care about.”

They stopped the cart just short of the door that housed the refrigerated Chem Bank. Stock and Bunsen Burner quickly swung the door open, and began to delicately take vials of the potent Marigold Option chemical agent from the vault, placing each of them carefully into a canister each. Meanwhile, Barrel was quickly scribbling notes as the Maiden explained the process and formula for the hybrid compound. Finally, but not soon enough in Bunsen Burner’s mind, all forty of the dispersal canisters were sealed.

“Now what?” Barrel asked.

“I need you to cook up our little cocktail,” Bunsen Burner ordered.

The Maiden interjected, “I’ve thought of a compromise.” Her alicorn form blurred and then reformed into a cloud, before it subdivided into two separate but identical smaller copies.

Bunsen Burner blinked twice in surprise. He then shrugged and placed his hoof on Barrel’s shoulder to get the pegasus’ attention,“Inform Miss Doo of your success when you’re both done. Go!” The old stallion didn’t have time to watch him fly off back to the lab, one half of the Maiden trailing off after him, before he returned the cart, “Stock, with me! We’re headed for R & D. Your brother Lock still works down there, correct?”

“Yeah. What’s your point?” the muscular stallion grunted.

Bunsen Burner looked at him ominously, “We’re activating Project: Dragon’s Bane.”

“It hasn’t passed the safety tests since its last round of upgrades!” the unicorn protested as he followed after the Bunsen Burner, “The ejection system still constantly jams, and the conversion sequence could end up crushing you. If you step into that thing, there’s a good chance it’ll be your armored, rolling coffin!”

“We’ve run out of options, Lock,” he replied as he moved a set of rolling stairs towards the side of a very large set of treads, “the enemy is at our doorstep, and anything at all that could delay them in order to allow our forces a coordinated defense is exemplary in my book.”

“It takes two to pilot that monstrosity,” Stock pointed out, “You need a gunner if you want to be half effective with it.”

“No, you are not offering yourself up for this,” Lock turned to his brother angrily, “Neither of you are getting in that thing!”

“There’ll only be one pony riding in this vehicle,” the old stallion declared as he meaningfully stared at the Maiden’s glowing form, “But I hope to still have some help.”

The Maiden quickly looked over the large vehicle and nodded, “So this is what you had in mind. I should be able to interface with its circuits.”

“Excellent,” Bunsen Burner declared as he lifted the hatch that led into the beast and jumped into the dark interior, “Let’s begin loading those canisters! There’s a war on, after all!”

Chapter 56 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 1

An army of half a thousand Changelings swarmed into sight, flying in what seemed like erratic patterns. The sun reflected off their black carapaces, their exoskeletons looking like full body armor suits, their fangs like miniature sabers.

Mr. Black squinted as he peered down the scope of his rifle, “We’ve got incoming! They’re coming in hot from the North by Northeast!”

He cursed the bugs for flying with the sun close to their backs, and shielded his vision with the tips of his wings as best as he could. Their attack formation wasn’t making it easy for him to score a clean hit. He cursed them again: he wasn’t going to waste his precious few bullets on a shot he wasn’t sure of.

Beneath the Death Eagle’s cloud, Prince Shining Armor’s eyes grew in horror at the incoming jittering mass on the horizon. So many of them, and they still weren’t ready, not even by a long shot! His eyes quickly ignited with a spark of anger. They’d fooled him once and taken his love from him twice. Neither of those was going to happen again, not today! He raised his horn straight toward the sky directly above, and fired off a large magenta beam of light. The spell reacted with the rooftops of Canterlot, and once again the city was encapsulated by a large magical dome. Before Cadence could ask what he was doing, he shook his head and growled in discomfort, “That’ll hold them a little longer, but not for long!”

A detachment of the Royal Guard led by General Blitz Hammer began to trot out of the doors of Canterlot Castle and into the square. The war pony was genuinely surprised to see Princess Cadence at the Prince’s side, and he bowed quickly to her, “Good to see you again, your Majesty.”

“General,” she greeted.

“Assemble your troops around as many of the entrances to the underground caves as you can,” the Prince commanded, “The Lieutenant will fill in where you can’t reach. Stick to the outer entrances on the lower and middle terrace, and I’ll manage up here with a dozen of your ponies.”

“Sir, Yes sir!” the General bellowed before he turned to his troops, “Roll out, ponies! We’ve got orders to complete!”

“Sir, Yes sir!” the group of unicorns and earth ponies repeated back as they all fell in and made for the lower districts. The pegasi soldiers, who had remained at their post atop several of the roofs of Canterlot’s taller buildings, began to follow their earthbound compatriots from overhead.

The twelve guardsponies the good Captain had requested filed into step in front of him and saluted, which he quickly returned. He then turned to his wife, “Our army of idealists should be able to hold the main door to Canterlot Castle against the Hive by sheer numbers, even with zero combat training. Even so, I’m not taking any chances.”

“I trust your judgment,” she said as she nodded her understanding.

“Just like I’m trusting yours,” he replied with worried eyes and a small smile. He then turned to the crowd of ponies surrounding them. While still standing their ground like earlier, their nervousness was almost palatable as they all stared up at the swarming mass of enemies just outside the large magenta dome. The Changeling drones had learned from their previous experience with metropolis spanning shields, and they took turns slamming against several different weak points over and over again.

“Your Majesty!” Trixie yelled as she rushed forward, trying to grab the Prince’s attention. The guards locked ranks to protect their Captain, but she yelled over them, “Your Majesty, we’ve fought them before!”

The Prince’s eyes widened, and he called his ponies off with a heavy wave of his hoof, “Let her speak!”

She straightened her pointed hat a little as she spoke, “Their strength is their coordination with each other! Lead a few away from the others, a dozen at a time, and you’ll be able to make it a fair fight!”

One of the ponies who had stayed behind had a radio pack on his back, and he approached so that his commanding officer could spread the word back to the General. The radio squawked after he had finished, and a mare’s voice spoke, “Prince Shining Armor? Are you receiving?”

He clicked it with his magic, “I’m here. Is that you Ditzy Doo?”

“Loud and clear!” she called out with a smile, her optimism very apparent as she moved her chair around the cramped circular space of the Defense Chamber. She began to set several small levers at their upright positions, and slid back towards a large set of organ keys and pumps, next to which sat the communications array, “We’ve almost got everything ready! The Defense Grid’s partially up, so I’m sending supplies up to you right away: weapons and armor.”

“Fantastic!” he called back, “When can we expect them?”

“Give it a couple of seconds for the lower terraces,” she replied as she pressed down on a pedal at her lower hooves, and began to slide her hooves across the lowest set of keys. On a nearby route indicator panel, diodes began to light up. The paths they took indicated where a supply unit was headed from the RSD at the bottom of the map to the surface up at the top. Once they had reached their destination, the lower set of lights flashed green. “aaaand they’re there.”

“Send up as much as you can to our front door,” the Prince called out, “We’ve got about 330 troops to arm.”

“It’ll take a while for that many,” Ditzy called out as she began to send the arms first, “but I can reasonably send about eight units per minute.”

“You’re a saint, Ditzy!”

She grinned again and replied, “Don’t I know it!” before she signed off with him. She then switched over to every RSD channel, “All units prepare for open gates. Repeat, opening all troop hatches now: Siege Mode conversion in fifteen minutes.”

All squads checked in, and everything seemed to be going right.

Then a new unit called out.

“Defense Chamber, this is Dragon’s Bane 1,” a gruff stallion’s voice declared, “Requesting surface exit to middle terrace.”

Ditzy Doo’s brain stopped when she realized where she had heard that voice before. “You,” was all she could initially say.

“Yes, me.”

Her words began to then tumble out as the mare’s agitation grew, and her wings flapped angrily, “How are you even here after what you did? You are breaking Equestrian law by even being near this city! Whatever you’re doing, you put that vehicle back right now, and stay out of the way!”

“My presence is sanctioned by the Prince for the moment. If you wish, you can check with him or the Lieutenant.”

Ditzy Doo patched her co-leader into comm, and snapped at him, “Swiftfeet!”

The call was silent for a little bit, before the Lieutenant hesitantly replied, “Yes, Ma’am?”

“Is there any particular reason why I wasn’t told of a certain banished scientist’s return?” she angrily asked.

The pause was even longer this time, “To try and avoid something like this from happening.”

“Is he really here under Shining Armor’s orders?” she asked with an angry snort.

“Yes, he is,” the Lieutenant quick replied back, “and in case you haven’t noticed, we do have bigger things to worry about! Open up the hatches already!”

Ditzy Doo stared down at the speaker with a dark expression as she began to open up several small pressure valves with an outstretched hoof, “We’re going to have a long talk when this is over, Mister.”

“What the-“ Twilight exclaimed.

The Elements paused outside the Cathedral of Harmony to look at the skies, which had not been magenta hued when they had entered just a few minutes ago.

“Why is the shield back up?” Rarity asked as she looked across the horizon.

“What is my brother doing?!” Twilight asked as her confusion and anger grew, “We can’t do this without him! If he accidentally puts himself out of commission…”

They began to run back towards Canterlot Castle at a hurried gallop, with Twilight leading the way through the backstreets along the quickest path. As they came to a wide street from one of those alleys, the cobbled road began to shift and groan. Each of them came to a very quick stop to avoid the cracks that were forming in the middle of the street.

“What in the hay is happening?” Rainbow Dash yelled.

The street buckled completely and caved upward. Slowly, an opening appeared that lead down into the street at an angle. Once the earth stopped shifting, a large squad of ponies began to emerge, and they began to march up towards the area where the mountainside and the large citywide terrace met.

Twilight and her friends gawked at the sudden appearance and then dispersion of a group of soldiers from out of the earth.

“What. The.” The cyan pegasus could only exclaim dumbly before she shook her head a little and turned to Twilight, “Since when-“

“Don’t look at me!” Twilight exclaimed in bewilderment, “This is new to me too!”

“Far out as that was, we still need ta get back to the others, so let’s move!” Applejack yelled.

Before they could cross, there was an even deeper rumbling, and from out of the hatch emerged a colossal machine. The bricks that covered the street were crushed beneath its gigantic treads. Steam vented from the back of the metal behemoth, as well as from two ports on its front. As the tunnel into the earth closed behind it, it began to slowly turn.

“Holy horseapples!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed again.

The street was barely large enough to allow the land ship clearance without touching the surrounding buildings, but it managed to turn and head up towards the upper terrace.

“Come on! There's no time to lose!” Twilight called out, and they made for Canterlot Castle at a full on gallop.

The ground beneath Canterlot Square shook. The many civilians that made up the Return to Harmony movement looked at the street nervously. All that the Prince could focus on was the nearest sewer hole cover. As the tremors intensified, it began to shake in its frame. Finally it slid off to the side as a large capsule pushed it out of the way. The container opened its compartment doors, revealing two fully equipped light war saddles, four spears, and two full sets of armor.

The Captain of the Guard rushed to the capsule as soon as it emerged from the ground and began to quickly fit himself into a set of armor. “Those with any form of experience get the spears,” he bellowed out, “Earth ponies or pegasi with the best accuracy get the war saddles. Everypony else, scrounge for anything you can use for now!”

The crowd temporarily didn't move or know how to respond.

“MOVE SOLDIERS! YOUR LIVES DEPEND ON YOUR WEAPONS!” he screamed harshly, and that got the crowd moving.

Bon Bon, just like anypony else at that moment, was terrified. Still, she looked around for the nearest thing she could use to defend herself. In front of a nearby tailor's shop she found a thick handled broom leaning against the door frame. As she picked it up with both her front hooves, she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. She headed back towards the larger group. When others stared at her strange weapon of choice, she yelled, “I’ve been told I have a good technique!”

Princess Cadence looked up at the large shield above them all. Large cracks could be seen throughout the entire structure as the insectoid army just outside continued to bang away at it. It wasn't going to last much longer. With her magic, she constructed her weapon of choice. From out of thin air she produced a blue, elegantly curved bow. She aimed towards the sky, notched an ethereal arrow, and drew it back.

Nearby, Fancy Pants flicked his sword slightly, trying to keep his concentration up and his body limber as he jumped in place slightly.

“I've never done anything like this before,” she quietly announced.

The gentlepony stopped his preparation and put his full attention on the Princess’ words.

“I know what I said to Shiny and everypony, and I did mean it,” she shook her head and looked to the unicorn, “but I am so far in over my head.”

“We've both been through dark times, you and I, Princess,” he responded as he cleaned his monocle one final time, “Through it all you persevered, and believed that hope was still alive. Be strong, especially now; now, when we need you most of all!“

A loud crunching sound could be heard coming from above, and a large crack appear in the dome’s structure.

“I don’t know how to fight a war; that’s your husband’s province,” he said as looked back to the Princess, “but fight for what you want to protect most, and hopefully we can all make it through this crucible!”

“Big Brother, Cadence,” Twilight called out as she and her friends finally made it back into the square, “We've got the Elements!”

“Well, having those close by is one small relief in this whole mess,” Cadence sighed in relief. She glanced at the ornate headgear that sat on Twilight’s head and smiled, “That crown really does look beautiful on you! I imagine it’s leaps and bounds better than quite a few of my tiaras.”

“Before we go any farther, there’s something we need to quick address,” Rainbow Dash declared before she flew up to Prince Shining Armor and drew him close to her by the collar underneath his armor, “Since when did you guys have a tank and secret passages?! That is awesome!”

“Tank?” the Prince asked as he slipped the enthusiastic pegasus’ hooves off him with his magic, “Wait, do you mean-“

The ground shook again as the gigantic armored box on treads rolled around a corner further down the street, and made its way to the Square. With a screech and several clanking mechanisms, the twelve foot tall monstrosity came to a halt. Adorning the front of the tank was a large rollbar, and a steel face which it connected into. The whole ensemble made it seem like the land ship had the head of a disembodied minotaur.

The guards who could see it, Prince Shining Armor included, gave a big cheer upon the tank’s complete transformation, while everypony else just stared in mixed fear and awe. The Captain laughed giddily, “We've got the Mechataur with us now! Things are looking up!”

A deafening crack filled the air, and with one last heave, the magenta shield that had been keeping the Changelings out gave way.

“And not a moment too soon, I suppose,” Fancy Pants declared as he raised his ethereal sword once again.

“Prince Shining Armor?” the comm pony’s com squawked; it was Ditzy Doo, “We’re green to go! Ready when you are!”

In reply, all he could say was “Do it! Do it! Do it!”

The Changelings came down, swarming to and fro as they closed the gap between themselves and the roofs of Canterlot. The warning sirens all across the city flared to life, but it was the signal to remain grounded for an incoming storm, not of an impending attack. As the chattering army of hellish insectoids approached from the skies above, rolling aggressive clouds appeared out of nowhere. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the invaders were enveloped by the menacing weather. Before they could retreat, lightning bolts struck each of them, arcing across one to another, creating twenty and even thirty member long chains of energy with their luminescent power. Stunned, but not incinerated, the bugs fell in uncoordinated patterns, impacting randomly across the city.

Each of the terraces, all nearly a half mile in diameter, groaned and buckled as they too began to change. Homes and businesses were sucked up by the ground, taken out of harm’s way, while they were replaced by high stone walls. Massive structures of marble extended up throughout the city, creating a labyrinth of causeways, passages, and streets. High towers collapsed and fell down, their bricks and mortar crushing the streets below. Where those pristine works of architecture had once soared to the skies now sat artillery and cannons, each with ponies already at their station and ready for their orders.

“Conversion complete,” Ditzy Doo announced across all of Canterlot through the city’s sirens, “Siege Mode Activated.”

Chapter 57 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 2

In the very first few minutes after the incapacitating of the larger Changeling army, Falena and Papillon finally arrived. Stopping short in the air, the twenty-two stragglers looked down at the city beneath them.

“What the hell happened here?” Papillon exclaimed when she now saw a maze-like city armed to the teeth, “Last time we were here it was all beautiful, and now it looks like someone in the Urban Renewal department went on a war binge! Are we already too late?”

Falena shook her head, “No, we’re not. If we were, you wouldn’t even have to question it: reality as we know it would have already checked out.”

Before they could even blink, thunderclouds began to form in the air around and rumble threateningly.

“Evasive-“ Falena tried to yelled out, but lightning was already coursing through all of them. She and the others all tumbled out of the sky, striking their own sets of buildings like their more hostile peers. Falena bounced off one of the few remaining steeply sloped towers in the city, her fall breaking the shingling loose as she slid off the edge. She did recover in midair, however, and began to slow her fall until she made an ungraceful but safe landing on the street below.

Papillon fell onto the edge of one of the high marble walls and slipped off to another thirty foot drop nearby. Before she hit the ground she changed her substance into a sludge-like form, and she splattered across a very large grassy area.

“Are you alright?” Falena yelled out as she galloped up to her.

“Oh, peachy!” Papillon replied as her upper body emerging out of the congealing dark pond that gathered beneath her, “Let me just pull myself together.”

Falena looked all around them now: the imposing white walls, the skies above that hid magical traps, the sight of what she could almost swear was an artillery station on the top of a ruined tower. “This isn’t the Canterlot I know,” was all she could think to say.

“That doesn’t change anything,” Papillon declared as she fully reformed herself, “The Queen’s around here somewhere, and we have to find her and take control of the Hive against her.”

“Which is going to be even harder now that everypony is on the lookout for all Changelings, not just the bad ones.” The two Candidates quickly shifted into a gaseous state and drifted away, following their connection to the Hivemind back towards the physical location of the nearest commanding psychic broadcaster.

The many ponies that had remained in Canterlot Square could not adequately express their dumbfounded shock at the city that now surrounded them. Even those who had been trained for and expected the change, like Prince Shining Armor and his troops, were staring up in wonder at the transformation apparent around them. The moment was short lived, though, as the Changelings that had fallen into the city around them began to recover groggily and become hostile. Bon Bon was scared stiff by one such monstrous invader that had landed near her. With no pretext in disguise any longer, the bug shook its head to refocus, hissed at her menacingly, and pounced. Without being conscious of what she was doing, she abruptly swung her broom up at the creature and caught it by its abdomen on the broom handle. It tried to maintain its position in the air by flapping its wings erratically, but Bon Bon continued to try and beat at it. Eventually she struck it on the head, and it fell to the ground unconscious. The earth pony took in ragged, nervous breaths as she was momentarily mesmerized by what she had done to her assailant. A scream forced her back to consciousness of her surroundings, and she saw a defenseless stallion and mare struggling against a group of four Changelings who were trying to create pods around them. Her righteous fury was piqued by the desperation of her fellow ponies, and she rushed off to free them.

Trixie, star tipped Arcanium staff twirling in her hooves, swung this way and that as her enemies rushed in on her all at once, attempting to dogpile her. It eventually became too crowded for her to be able to move around the stage she was mentally performing on. She channeled a powerful telekinetic spell into her staff and slammed the blunted end down into the ground. The shockwave of her hex knocked the encroaching Changelings back, sending them stumbling over each other. She scoffed at them with an inflated show of confidence, “Can any of you possibly approach the triumphant skill and ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? One wonders why I bother wasting my time on you!”

Fancy Pants held his own against his foes, but just barely. Rather than ganging up on him as was the case with most of the other fighters, these Changelings tried to stay just out of his reach while extending out iron hard appendages to attack him like many sabers. He was managing to side-step or jump over most of their assault, and was parrying the rest with his twin conjured cutlasses. There was a momentary opening in his pattern though, and before he could comprehend what he saw he felt a searing pain on the left side of his face. He gasped loudly from the burning sensation and realized he couldn't see well out of his left eye. His monocle fell to the street, where he heard the initial bounce of the glass on brick, but which was also followed by a heavy crunching sound. His swords dissipated when he was hit from his blindside, and he was heavily shoved to the ground. He saw two blurry Changelings standing above him. He quickly concentrated again, squinting as he did, created a single cutlass, and swung at the closest black blob he could see. There was a shriek of pain from the creature, and a flurry of blows rained down on him, rendering him unconscious.

Before any sort of finishing blow could be struck, a canister bounced in among them. An orange gas began to expel from it after a few second’s delay, and the bugs were all enveloped by it. They quickly began to feel as if their bodies were on fire as they succumbed to the effects of the Marigold Option. As they emerged from the dense cloud, the Changelings each began to stumble, wheeze, and then slowly collapse. Their entire bodies began to tremble and as the imaginary fire inside them began to burn its way out. After a few more seconds, the light left their eyes, and they were completely still. The Changelings in the nearby area felt the deaths of their brothers, and they all turned to look where the deadly chemical agent had come from. The tank, which had been motionless since its arrival in the square, began to come to life in an unexpected way. It produced a low grumbling sound, and the treads towards the front of the machine came undone. Slowly rolling backward, the entire structure of the vehicle began to realign into a new configuration. Armor plates moved and shrank, and the gigantic drums that drove the tank forward began to draw the treads back inside their own structure. From out of the space where there had once been large treads now sprouted two large mechanical arms with four digits on each hand. The hands pressed against the ground, bracing against it, and pushed the half transformed machine into the air. From what had once been the back of the machine sprouted two large cloven hooves, the hydraulics of which vented small jets of steam as they helped to support the rest of the mass of the monstrosity. From out of its central column shifted an enclosed rotating gunner’s seat, attached to which was a long barreled rotating repeater rifle and grenade launcher. Finally, the minotaur’s head and armor came down to rest on the titan’s newly acquired shoulders. As everything locked into its final positions, the metal minotaur’s eyes glowed yellow, and steam vented from its nostrils.

“Changelings,” the gravelly voice of Bunsen Burner boomed from out of the machine, “I offer you this one and only chance to surrender. Refuse, and you will receive your prompt and utter destruction.”

Princess Cadence, amidst her own battle, looked up at the hulking Mechataur, and her heart froze.

Why is he here now, she wondered momentarily, why did he come back?

She was forced back into her own combat by the shouts of her overwhelmed husband, who was batting away his enemies with a magenta sword and shield.

A large number of the dutiful insectoid soldiers began to fly towards the gigantic Mechataur: if it could kill them so easily with its weapons, then it had just become the highest priority target. As they approached, panels in each of the Mechataur’s arms opened, and its tank treads uncoiled outward. The exo-golem turned and swung its left arm in an exaggerated arc, and the coiling treads followed after it. The four Changelings that were caught up by the tread flail and pulverized against a nearby building never saw it coming. The machine gun revved up and began to fire, cutting a line through the air as it locked onto its insectoid targets. Most of the bugs were able to evade the barrage of lead, but seven were not so lucky. Those that made it past the line of fire latched on to the machine and began to crawl towards the gunner’s seat to rip the weapons located there free of their mountings. A gas grenade was already loaded and fired directly at the ground by the time they got anywhere near their target, and orange plumes began to rise up around the titanic guardian. The bugs retreated, quickly rising up and out of the fog before it could affect them.

“Nicely done,” Bunsen Burner yelled back to the Maiden as he lifted the visor to his telepathic helmet up and retracted the tread flails, “but be careful: no civilian casualties.”

“There’s no need to worry about my aim,” she replied from the control panel of the gunner’s seat with an audible smirk, her green and yellow particles possessing the triggers and other instruments, “I don’t have to worry about twitchy fingers or sweaty palms.”

“What was that?” the old stallion shouted back over the loud thrum of the exo-golem’s internal systems.

Before the Maiden could reply, the entire vehicle lurched suddenly to the right. The Mechataur began to fall, but Bunsen Burner managed to bring the machine’s arm down into its own path, making a small crater where the splayed palm struck the cobbled road to steady itself. From outside the now fading orange protective cloud Bunsen Burner only just caught a glimpse of a large black appendage. It flew toward them faster than either pilot could respond to, but suddenly an enormous dark mass lunged into the dissipating Marigold Option and launched the exo-golem completely off the ground.

As the forty ton giant flew through the air, the old stallion bellowed to the Maiden, “Thrusters!”

Two sets of Arcanium plates, a large one for maximum lift and the other for attitude and control, deployed out of the Mechataur’s back and lit up with a powerful anti-gravity spell. The force provided by the hex was not enough to counter the machine’s backward momentum, however, and it still ended up crashing into one of the large nearby sections of marble wall, creating a large crater and enormous cracks in its structure. The gigantic exo-golem wasn't even superficially damaged, and as it pulled itself out of its hole, broken fragments showering down around it, its pilots finally saw their enemy in full.

An enormous arachnid abomination with a large set of gorilla-like arms and two smaller arms protruding from its chest slowly walked towards them on two pairs of long, thin cricket legs. It stood like a centaur, its long plated tail and barbed stinger helping to provide it balance. From out of its back sprouted a set of membranous wings, which hummed menacingly when it moved them. Its head was featureless apart from four compound eyes and its snout.

A lone Changeling drone ran towards the monstrosity away from the greater battle around them and leapt onto the hideous chimera. Once it landed on top of its larger compatriot, the drone turned into a liquid state and sank into the gaps between the plates of armor on the creature’s back, and was completely absorbed by it into its substance. The final soldier now incorporated into its mass, the insectoid chimera’s lower head split into a five mandible structure: one where a pony’s chin would be, and two jaws on each side of its face. Its exoskeleton was molted and cracked on its upper right arm, as well as on other scattered portions of its body from where it had entered the cloud of the now fully dispersed Marigold Option.

Initially stunned to silence by the disgusting looking creature in front of him, Bunsen Burner shook himself back to reality and thought aloud to himself, “You may have a new form, bugs, but that doesn’t make you any less vulnerable to my chemicals!” His confidence growing, he arrogantly yelled at the chimera, though he knew it couldn’t hear him without the loudspeaker, “If I could trick and even beat Equestria’s gods with my mind and potions when they were still here, what hope do you have against me?!”

The arachnid juggernaut shrieked, its blood curdling wail sending shivers along the spines of everypony who could hear it, and charged its titanic mechanical foe. Responding in kind, Bunsen Burner slammed the Mechataur forward into a large striding gait with his own furious yell, and the two giants engaged in their own battle.

Chapter 58 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 3

As she and Serana tumbled through the Void, Princess Luna could feel her powers reaching dangerous new lows. She could sense the particles of her gaseous form evaporate away into the nothingness around them, and once again she felt fear grip her. If they didn’t escape soon she would die, and the screaming human in her company would be lost for eternity.

Time is short, the Princess heard the Conductor declare in her mind, Much has transpired since you left our home. A second assault on Canterlot is being made by the Changelings. Though she entered the humans’ portal before you, you will arrive back in Equestria before your sister. I will hold her back as long as I can. If you do not pursue victory by any means, the city’s forces will be overwhelmed, and all will be lost. The key to your success is just a thought away.

A portal yawned opened beneath the two passengers as they fell through the full nothingness. Serana was still hysterically yelling and whimpering as they sank towards it. Princess Luna spread her substance underneath the flailing human like a great cushion, reached into the deep recesses of her mind, and commanded with all her telepathic power, SLEEP! Initially resistant to the command as she continued to reach around for anything solid to hold onto for dear life, the poor distressed woman finally drifted into a sleep deeper than she had ever known.

Once they had finally passed through the threshold of the gateway’s edge, reality’s acceptable laws once again took over, and Serana fell through the weakened Princess’ fog. Cursing to herself, she reconstituted into her equine form, and darted down beneath the still slumbering woman as she fell towards the Everfree Forest below. Having caught her newfound responsibility between her front hooves, Princess Luna struggled to gain altitude as she made for Ponyville. The further she traveled, the less she felt like she was a weary old mare.

It’s just like before, she thought to herself with a sigh of relief as she moved telekinetically moved some of her now corporeal hair, the magic of the land is strengthening me once again.

But not nearly fast enough, Nightmare Moon replied, If you go out in this condition you’ve brought us to, we will be no more than a winged unicorn; a very weak winged unicorn at that.

The Princess mulled over these words of caution in conjunction with those given by the Conductor. The thought passed from her temporarily as she spotted a large orchard and barn not too far from the forest edge, and she descended as quickly as she could manage. As she approached the large red barn, she saw an equally large wreck of a burned home just a little farther away. A group of three earth ponies and a Pegasus filly were all picking through the devastation. Princess Luna’s heart stopped: How much had changed since she had left? How long had it been? To her, her journey across the universal streams hadn’t even last a full two days. By Tartarus, she swore, how long have we been away?

“You four down there,” she called out loudly as she approached from above. The Apples and Scootaloo turned to look up at the one who addressed them, and they couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Is that?” Apple Bloom asked in hushed tone.

Big Mac nodded with wide eyes, “Eeyup.”

“Well Ah’ll be,” Granny Smith declared with a chuckle and shake of her head.

“What’s that she’s carrying?” Scootaloo asked with an inquisitive blink.

“Looks mighty like Adam’s kind,” Apple Bloom replied, “but different.”

“Citizens, please help me!” the Princess called out to them as she unsteadily hovered above the ground with her sleeping cargo.

Big Mac rushed to the approaching Princess and presented his back to her. She in turn rolled Serana onto him, and then landed on unsteady hooves.

“Yer Majesty,” Granny Smith said with as good of a bow as she could give.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo quickly glanced at the elderly pony and copied her action, while Big Mac nodded respectfully.

Princess Luna exhaled a small breath, and then stood tall, exuding a practiced aura of confidence, “I am sorry but I have very little time, and what I have must be spent wisely. I ask that you would watch over this being. She is under my oath of protection, which I cannot yet fulfill. I ask that you would keep her safe until my return to you.”

“As you wish, Yer Majesty,” Granny Smith declared with a stiff bow, her joints starting to offer their complaint to her.

The Princess nodded, and she then turned towards Canterlot. As she and the others looked, a large magenta colored shield began to take shape around the city.

“The Captain’s defensive magic,” she breathed, “I’m not too late.”

Her horn lit up with her deep blue energies, and in a flash she disappeared. She reappeared just twenty feet away, both horizontally and vertically. Flapping her wings desperately as she initially began to fall, she stabilized herself and began to fly to Canterlot as fast as she could.

It appears it’s to be the slow road for me today, she thought.

Stop ignoring the obvious, Nightmare Moon chided her more beneficent side, We both know that it doesn’t have to be this way.

The Princess stopped midair and began to listen.

You know as well as I do that I’m your more powerful half in terms of magic. The millennial astronomical alignment that made us powerful enough to confront Celestia may have come and gone two years ago, but I can still draw some of its power, giving us the vigor we need in this battle.

And all I have to do is hand over control of our body to you, the Princess finished the thought, Unacceptable.

Nightmare Moon scoffed and waved her hoof to emphasize her point, Am I not still bound by the Elements? Am I not bound by an oath on the spirit of our mother to seek unity with you? Face it, little Lulu, the only thing hindering us now is your holding onto the past! She then angrily snarled, momentarily turning away from the Princess’ presence before returning, Look to my actions in recent memory: we tried to save the sister we once despised together. We were doing it to help the ponies we both equally hated for so long together. Now, we must face these invaders together, or we will both fall. She then spread her forehooves wide in a confrontational manner, What’s it to be, Luna? Shall Equestria live on, or will it burn?

The Princess’ face darkened as she thought very carefully on those words.

Fluttershy had seen Fancy Pants fall to the street unconscious from afar. She was struck cold with the fear that her gentlepony friend might not get back up, and she rushed towards him. Two Changelings pounced down and stood between her and him. It was always a rare occasion for her, sweet and kind to the very core that the demure pegasus was, to get angry. This proved to be one of those moments for her.

She didn’t stop as she ran towards her enemies, and she snorted in rage, “You are not getting in the way of me helping my friend, do you hear me?” A great yell escaped her lips as she barreled through her opponents like they weren’t even there, sending end over end through the air.

When she reached Fancy Pant’s still form, she quietly gasped. A deep gash stretched across the length of the left side of his muzzle to near his ear. Blood was steadily dripping from the wound down his white fur and into his recently reacquired mustache, which rose and fell slowly. He was still alive. Fluttershy’s anger compounded as she gazed down at her friend’s injuries, and then she noticed that four Changelings now begun to surround her.

“Don’t you DARE COME ANY CLOSER!” she shrieked at them, and they actually fidgeted when she did. She took deep breaths as she stared at them one by one, her wings now flared, “You will not touch him again!”

The four bugs looked at each other, pausing and blinking sporadically as they did. Slowly they flew up and away, retreating to bother some other pony who was less crazed and easier to pick on. Still shaking from both a mixture of fear and righteous anger, Fluttershy slowly lifted Fancy Pants up into her hooves and flew away, taking him to some place nearby where she could treat his wounds.

“Y’all burned down mah home,” Applejack hit a Changeling with a buck from her back legs.

“You destroyed my dream and livelihood,” Rarity exclaimed as she delivered a flying kick to another bug, then turned and backhoofed one of his allies, “You put my little sister into harm’s way!”

“And mah entire family,” Applejack roared as she clubbed their two heads together, “Y’all didn’t think there’d be no consequences, now did ya?”

“HEEYAAAAAA!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she flew through the air with a blast of her party cannon. In her hooves she tightly held a gardener’s trowel, and on her head was a thick helmet that partially obscured her vision. She swung at a Changeling as she flew by it, catching it by the head and sending it flying unconscious into a nearby wall. As she twirled through the air and began her descent, her Pinkie Sense alerted her to another opponent that would be close very soon. Sailing back towards the ground, she reached out with one forehoof. Another bug sailed by underneath her, which she caught by the neck. It tried to compensate for the addition weight it was now holding, but it didn’t have time. The drone fell towards the street below, buzzing forlornly as it went. Before it hit the pavement and skidded along its way, Pinkie Pie jumped off with a twirling backflip. Just before she landed on her hindlegs, her helmet still on her head, she swung at yet another Changeling with her gardener’s trowel, launching it backwards unconscious.

“You just got dominated, Buggo Flapkins!” she yelled as she tapped the end of her trowel on her helmet.

Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, was firing concussive spell after concussive spell, but found they were not as effective as they had been in the last brawl with the Changelings.

“Of course,” she thought aloud as she found a brief pause in her fight, “They’ve adapted a resistance to that particular enchantment. That must be why they got up so quickly after they all got electrocuted by the lightning hexes earlier.”

Her mind began to tumble along a course of logic as she looked around the battlefield. She could see every Changeling, and this perplexed and worried her, “Why are the Changelings fighting us undisguised? Their shapeshifting is one of their most useful assets, so why are they making it so easy for us to identify them now?”

Unaware of her surroundings, a Changeling tackled her from behind, pinning her to the ground. She involuntarily yelped in fright as it bared its teeth at her.

A bright magenta heater shield slammed into its side, forcing it to stumble over its intended prey. Prince Shining Armor leapt over his sprawled out sister and charged the now recovering Changeling. Using his shield he caught his opponent, pinned it against the ground and began to slam the construct repeatedly on top of it.

“DON’T. TOUCH. MY. SISTER!” he roared, emphasizing each word with a blow.

With the bug down and out, he dissipated his magic and stood to catch his breath for a few seconds. He then rushed back to his sister, who had picked herself up and was dusting herself off. “Twily, are you alright?” he called out as he ran up to her.

“I’m alright: don’t worry big brother,” she replied.

She looked once again to the battle going on around them all: Rainbow Dash was intentionally colliding with her enemies in midair, using their falling bodies as a spring board toward her next target. Umbra and Nox were taking on six Changelings at a time, but they both held the highest knockout count of those ponies on the upper terrace. Princess Cadence had switched out her ethereal bow and arrow for a thin bladed rapier. She was managing to hold her own for the moment, but she looked like she could use some help.

“We’re coming, Cadence!” the Prince yelled as he rushed to his wife’s help.

“Shining, wait!” Twilight yelled as she ran to catch up to him.

“What?” he replied as he constructed another shield, as well as a complimentary sword.

“The Changeling’s usual plan is to hide behind a disguise and create confusion, so why are they suddenly shifting strategies? What’s different now?”

A fist made of several tons of metal slammed into marble, trying to pin an enormous bug to it like it were a plaque for an insect collection. Bunsen Burner’s titanic enemy, which he had mentally dubbed ‘The Locust’, ducked and skittered around his exo-golem, and reached for his back-mounted weapons. The Mechataur’s port side thrusters activated and spun it around on the spot as it did a small jump off the ground. The Mechataur’s servos groaned as they caught its arthropodial foe’s arm as they tried to reach down, its armored fists had a strong hold on the monstrosity’s thick upper set of plated biceps.

Bunsen Burner had meant to crush his enemy’s arms and eliminate the threat to his back-mounted weapons, but the carapace of the creature was stronger that he had thought. Its upper set of arms struggled against his hold, its claws spasming as they futily tried to reach for and rip apart his grenade launcher, ending the threat of the earth pony’s Marigold Option. It’s lower and smaller set of arms clawed at the Mechataur’s armored torso, but this wasn’t having much of an effect.

“Target its shoulders!” Bunsen Burner yelled up to the Maiden.

The Mechataur’s machine gun whirred to life, and it began to unload hot lead straight into the Locust’s right shoulder joint. The creature shrieked in pain as the bullets passed underneath its protective shell into its fibrous muscles. It tried to climb up the Mechataur’s body, placing its front set of spindly appendages on the exo-golem’s metal legs.

“Mr. Black! Assist!” the old stallion yelled into his comm unit as he wrestled his exo-golem and his opponent’s around into the assassin’s sights.

The Locust’s upper body rose above the Mechataur’s horns, its left arm almost within reach of its target.

A loud crack filled the air, as the griffon sniper’s Marigold tipped bullet burned through the air straight through the back of the Locust’s head.

Rather than going limp like the two fighters had expected, the creature’s upper arms immediately reached for its head and it wailed in pain. Its sharp claws reached for the hole located there, and it almost seemed like it was trying to scratch at the burning, irritating sensation it was now feeling behind its eyes.

Momentarily stunned by the Locust’s seemingly bizarre survival of a headshot, Bunsen Burner released the distracted creature’s arms, circled behind it, and slammed the gigantic machine’s structure on top of its lower body. The Locust shrieked in agony as its four legs twitched and squirmed underneath the weight of its opponent. Bunsen Burner took the creature by its mangled right shoulder joint with one arm, forced its torso down with the other, and pulled outward very hard. With a sickening pop the large right arm of the creature came free from its socket entirely, and hung in the Mechataur’s fist twitching.

“Firing canister now,” the Maiden called to her co-pilot as she loaded the chemical grenade into its launch tube and fired.

“Make it three,” the stallion called back, “I want to be certain this thing doesn’t get up.”

Thick orange smoke plumed around the two titans, but no matter how much the Locust tried to squirm out from under its opponent’s hold, the Mechataur forced it back down.

“Weaken their forces! Strike down their commander!” Queen Chrysalis bellowed to her troops as they swarmed around General Blitz Hammer and Lieutenant Swiftfeet’s ponies like many tentacles that grew more taught by the minute, “Once their officers lie dead at my hooves, victory will be ours!”

The Queen stood atop one of the numerous marble labyrinth walls that now littered Canterlot’s entire surface. Her view of the battlefield was excellent from this vantage point, and she could indeed see that her Hive was giving its all to accomplish her orders. Even with the RSD’s experienced commandos aiding the Royal Guard, it was only a matter of time before their position was overrun.

As she continued to tantalize over her eminent victory, she felt two Changelings nearby that she did not expect to appear in this battle. Two inky blobs climbed up and over her wall and stopped at either side of her, and from out of each viscous mass slowly emerged Falena and Papillon.

“My humblest apologies, my Queen,” Papillon gave a curt nod to her superior, “but you must stop your assault immediately!”

“You don’t have any idea of the power that you hope to unleash or how it will affect us all, and you certainly don’t have the means to control it!” Falena shouted without any attempt at decorum, “For the love of the stars, you are playing into the clutches of literal Chaos! The world can’t afford to see Discord rise again!”

The Queen angrily glared at Falena, and then her gaze slowly shifted towards Papillon.

“I must admit that I never thought you would turn traitor as well,” she quietly seethed as she stared down at her most diminutive Candidate.

Papillon scoffed and smirked at the Queen, but then her face turned dead serious, “If anyone’s the traitor it’s you, Chrysalis. This plan of yours was just about getting your revenge on these Equestrians; it was never about the Hive.”

Falena took a step forward, which caused the silently enraged Queen to return her attention to her, “If you have any decency at all left, you will forfeit your crown to us, and we will sort out your…mess.” The rogue Candidate’s thoughts ground to a halt as she now carefully scrutinized Queen Chrysalis. Her aura was strong, and she was the powerful telepathic signature in the area, but she felt smaller than usual. She didn’t have her usual gravitas or erratic mood swings. She wasn't herself: this wasn’t Queen Chrysalis.

Papillon had picked up on the same unusual behavior and froze as she realized who that meant the ‘Queen’ really was, “Pupa.”

“We’ve been duped!” Princess Cadence blurted out as her psychic link to Falena translated the Changeling’s thoughts to her.

“What? What do you mean?” Prince Shining Armor asked as he held his guard up while facing off against a Changeling drone.

“The entire attack was just a distraction!” she yelled out as she made a swipe at one of her own assailants.

The Prince processed the information for a full five seconds, and he could almost swear that the drone in front of him grinned.

Foregoing honorable combat, he telekinetically launched his opponent into the air away from him and ran. His head whirled all around looking for his communications pony, only to see the radio he needed abandoned in the street on its side with no sign of its operator. He hurriedly picked up the transmitter and yelled into it, “Defense Chamber! Do you read? The surface attack is a diversion! RSD may be compromised! Repeat, the attack is a diversion!”

The message went out across all frequencies, including the Mechataur’s channel. Bunsen Burner’s eyes widened in alarm, “RSD is compromised?”

Wasting no time, he made his exo-golem stand up and stride away from the Locust’s corpse, running as quickly as he could to the nearest entrance to the RSD underground, “Defense Chamber, this is Dragon’s Bane 1! I’m securing the Black Vault!”

“Hold on! Hold on!” Ditzy Doo yelled back across both channels as she rolled her chair towards the monitors that kept track of base security. She only just caught a glimpse of several dark shapes slipping through the cracks between the floor and armored doors leading into a heavily armored chamber. “Don’t bother going to the Black Vault Bunsen Burner! They’re already in Discord’s chamber!”

“Discord?” the Maiden exclaimed from within the console of the gunner’s seat of the Mechataur, “What are those idiots doing?!”

“Give us a straight shot to the Mad Adder’s chamber right now!” Bunsen Burner desperately yelled as he got the exo-golem to leap up to the top of one large marble wall with the help of its thrusters. It ran across the length of the winding white maze to one of the upper terrace’s supply lifts.

“I’ll do what I can!” Ditzy Doo replied as she forced the lift to emerge up from the street with a flick of a lever.

Chapter 59 - Queen Chrysalis, Discord, Bunsen Burner, the Maiden

Queen Chrysalis, the true and real one, glided through cracks and joints between the thick carbon steel doors that lead into the large chamber she had waited so long to enter. Her squad of four attending drones followed just after her as they each oozed up from their pools of substance.

She slowly approached the statue at the center of the vault. In the days she had been up above in Canterlot masquerading as Princess Cadence she had heard the tales of what this being could do. At the snap of his fingers, order became chaos, nights and days had become mere minutes, and the skies were filled with cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain. Though the thought of Discord’s..proclivities for child-like madness irritated her, she believed that she could find a more effective outlet for his power. All beings had something that they wanted, and this draconequus was no exception.

Standing but a few feet away from the figure frozen in solid enchanted rock, she began to speak to it.

“I’m sure you can feel it by now,” she began with a smirk, “All the chaos above as my soldiers and enemies battle, as well the havoc spreading across the land, and it is all my doing. I know that the disorder I have caused is enough to break your prison.” She raised her left forehoof to the air in the direction of the statue, and she grimaced madly with anticipation, “Awaken! I call you forth, Discord! Come before me and speak; I command you!”

The statue of the immobilized Lord of Chaos did not shudder one bit. It appeared as if the dust that hung in the air had not even been disturbed by the Changeling Queen’s flourished display of drama.

She looked up at the statue expectantly for a short while longer, but there was no reaction to her words. Her anger grew, and she continued, “I have spread paranoia and fear to every corner of the world that I could reach, and I have sown war and destruction so that you could be released from your lifeless slumber. Now awaken!”

Still the statue did not move.

Growling in fury, she fired a burst of her harsh emerald magic at it. When the spell struck the immobile entity, its effect rippled across the surface of the warded stone, but otherwise left no trace of a reaction.

“What the hell does it take to wake this blasted creature up?” the Queen furiously muttered to herself.

“Perhaps you could try saying ‘Please’?” she heard from behind her.

Needing only a flimsy excuse to release her growing anger, Queen Chrysalis almost relished the opportunity to punish one of her underlings. She roared as she began to turn, “I will incinerate whichever one of you said that!”

Upon turning fully around, she found herself looking at three normal looking drones. The Changeling closest to her, however, looked different: its compound eyes were replaced by two mismatched in size whose sclera were yellow and whose irises were red. It was also sporting a white tufted goatee and a single fang.

The Queen was legitimately stunned to silence for a moment as she looked down at this unusually individual looking drone.

“Why are you taking that shape?” she asked in angry confusion as she quickly recovered, though she was still evidently jarred by the surprise before her.

The drone shrugged, “I’ve heard imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” before its head transformed into a humorously grotesque impersonation of Queen Chrysalis’ face with large crossed eyes and chubby cheeks, “The likeness is so obvious, it’ll make you speechless!”

The Queen could not compute the fact that this drone had so heavy-handedly insulted her, first by taking her visage and then by mocking her with it. Her expression was caught between a cycle of clamping her jaw shut in rage and in opening in sure disbelief, which helped to make her look like she were a fish gasping for water.

Her subordinate burst out laughing before a crackling red flash consumed his body, and he transformed into a conglomerate of body parts that matched the statue behind her.

“You would not believe the face you’re making,” Discord exclaimed through his now subsiding snickers, “It is absolutely hilarious!”

Queen Chrysalis was still mutely struggling with what she should feel at the moment, which gave Discord the excuse to look around.

“You know, now that I’m free from this old prison of mine, I almost feel sorry about leaving it behind,” he commented idly as he approached the statue he had once been confined to, still standing in the same pose as it had been for the past several months, “I mean, look at him! He’s such a handsome devil. It would almost be a crime to just leave him here like this!” Discord stroked his prison across its face with almost a loving tenderness of his lion’s paw, and he made exaggerated air kisses to it. Then, with almost a thoughtless whimsy to action, he tapped the statue with one of his other forearm’s talons, and it exploded outward from the point of impact into thousands of tiny pieces. With a deep sigh of satisfaction, Discord pronounced, “Oh, that’s much better!”

The blast from the shattering stone was what finally jarred Queen Chrysalis out of her constant loop of confused emotion.

“Discord,” she finally announced with a very audible edge in her voice, “I have come to offer you a proposition that I believe we will each find mutually beneficial.”

“And just who are you exactly?” the draconequus asked absentmindedly as he stuck a finger in his ear and cleaned out the wax and assorted pebbles lodged there.

“Chrysalis: Queen of the Changelings, rightful heir of the Earth, and your savior.”

Discord stroked his beard for a moment as he thought hard, “Chris, Chrissy, Christine.” Finally he shrugged and nonchalantly waved his arms in the air, “Never heard of you.”

“Oh, but I’ve heard of you,” the Queen countered with charming demeanor, “Your powers are extraordinary! The ponies of this land tremble in fear of you. There’s no being alive who has as great a legacy as you.”

“More than you’d believe,” Discord replied as he strolled around the Queen as he stretched his legs, “and while I admit the flattery has a welcome unexpectancy to it, I’m curious to hear what you think you can offer me.”

“My hive thrives on the emotions of others, the most powerful of which comes from when we take others’ place,” Queen Chrysalis smiled as she saw she was gaining headway, “The process of integration without suspicion is slow and in need of much planning. If the emotions of others were freely available to us, however, we would no longer have need to hide or fear of running out of food. My race would be the conquerers of a nation!” She stood at her full height and straightened her wings with a small flutter, “My proposal is quite simple: We will allow you to do whatever you wish with the lands of Equestria, but I want you to drive every single one of its citizens insane, making them an easy feast for us. Do what comes naturally to you, Discord, and I will share my world with you. What do you say?”

The draconequus leaned back into the air where he sat suspended by nothing. Between his asymmetrical hands spun several small pieces of his former prison, and as he looked at it intently it rapidly morphed into various states of being: butterflies, a candelabra, a stick of bamboo, a coffee machine, oversized bacteria.

The Queen’s agitation grew as several more seconds went by with no answer from the strange creature. Her drones behind her began to look at each other in confusion as they expectantly waited for an answer as well. After a full minute had passed she snapped, “Well?”

“Hm?” Discord grunted as he looked up, realized that the Changelings were still present, and flatly announced, “Oh, yes. Request denied.”

The Queen’s eyes flared with anger, “What?”

“You have ears don’t you, Princess Cheese Legs? I’m not helping you,” Discord slapped his palms together, annihilating the bacteria that still remained there in a flash of light, and returned to the ground as he began to stroll away from the Changelings, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some bedlam that needs attending to.”

The draconequus was suddenly stopped by an emerald whip that had wrapped around his cloven hoof.

“First,” the Changeling monarch seethed, “you will address me as Queen Chrysalis and Queen Chrysalis only. Second, I’ve created bedlam already in an effort to free you from that accursed prison Twilight Sparkle and her little friends put you in, so you owe me. Third, because you owe me, you will do as I say, or I will put you in a new prison!” She yanked on her whip and spun the chimera around to face her, the act tottering him off balance, “You will yield to me!”

Discord froze in midair, his body balanced by an unseen force at almost a 45 degree angle to the floor. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the one who had dared to lay a grip of any sort on him. “I believe there are some facts we need to straighten out here,” he declared darkly.

The emerald whip was consumed by ruby colored flames that erupted from around Discord’s leg and spread along its length up to the handle, and it dissipated into thin air.

“You have spread chaos across these lands, but you have done so without any sense of style. There is no artistry to it, no inspiration at all, and I am insulted that you somehow thought it would impress me. It is a disgrace, and it ultimately served no purpose but to sully the canvas I was so patiently waiting to do my work on.” The Lord of Chaos turned and looked across the land of Equestria, his vision piercing through mountains, plains, and skies and murmured, “It is still salvageable though, no thanks to you.”

“I don’t care about your stupid ideas of ‘style’ or ‘artistry’-“ the Queen of the Changelings tried to cut in, but Discord roared, “I WASN’T FINISHED SPEAKING!”

The draconequus’ visage no longer held any measure of humor or eccentricity: all that was left was darkness and raging fire in his eyes.

“You are nothing to me, insect,” he spat, “Nothing but an out of its mind bug with aspirations far too large for it to actually achieve. Do you know why these ponies locked me away? They sensed my power, and they rightly feared me, which you were too stupid to figure out. I am the oldest force in the universe. I was born in the moment before there were moments, at the very beginning of time. I was there when humans first emerged from their pustulent soup billions of years ago. I watched them grow, and learn, and even worship me as gods. But after they trapped me in this wretched, consistent form, I slaughtered them.”

The Queen’s eyes glazed over as she began to realize the enormity of just how much she had underestimated this creature, “The humans are extinct? All of them?”

He tapped his talons one after another with his thumb for emphasis, “One by one I extinguished their existence, until there were none left. That’s what happens to those who try to treat me like I am a knowable quantity, to make me their plaything, their stooge.” He leaned in close to the Queen’s face and cupped her chin firmly in his lion’s paw. Her guards leapt at him in an attempt to drive him away from her presence. “I am nobody’s stooge,” he whispered furiously, “This is for killing my playmate Celestia.” He snapped his free fingers, and red arcs of light scorched the air.

The heavy doors to the Mad Adder’s chamber finally began to open, but not nearly as fast as they needed to. Bunsen Burner, in his sense of dread and desperation, slammed the Mechataur’s large hands through the growing gap and attempted to ram them open. He was met with some small measure of success, and he quickly forced the exo-golem into the chamber.

“Oh stars,” he whispered to himself and to the active comm, “We’re too late.”

Discord stood near the center of the chamber, his back facing the entrance. Before him stood a small weeping willow; its bark was black and riddled with holes, and its branches were dark blue. Surrounding it were four small dark leaved shrubs, each cut into the image of Discord, and each in its own unique pose.

He turned to slowly look at the mechanical behemoth that towered in the doorway to his prison, and suddenly his eyebrow twitched upward in surprise.

“Well now,” he thought aloud as he stroked his beard, “You’re something new, but also something familiar.” A smile flickered across his face again, and his attitude returned to a playful state, “Oh I just love a good paradox!”

The draconequus raised his paw up at the Mechataur and it glowed with a red light. Before Bunsen Burner could do anything, he was picked up by an invisible force from his pilot’s seat. The force pulled him through the armored plates between him and the outside world like he had suddenly become immaterial. As the old earth pony slowed to a stop in front of the draconequus, Discord asked, “And who exactly are you?”

“FIRE!” he bellowed.

The Mechataur’s grenade launcher primed and launched a Marigold canister at the two beings before it.

Discord looked up at the projectile arcing toward him, and without so much as moving a muscle transmuted it into a harmless beach ball. The inflatable toy drifted serenely to the floor of Discord’s chamber where it spontaneously popped.

“ ‘Fire’, hmm?” Discord chuckled, “Such an odd name for a pony. I wonder what your parents were thinking when they named you?”

“Forget about me, just attack him!” Bunsen Burner yelled desperately to the Maiden.

“I think she knows just how futile that action would be,” Discord commented before he sneered deviously, “Don’t you, Lauren?”

There was a deep silence that filled the air with no reaction from within the Mechataur, that is until the loudspeaker turned on.

“There’s nothing left that we can do here, Bunsen Burner. This machine needs a pilot with a body and a mind.” the Maiden’s bitter voice filled the chamber, “We don’t present any threat to you, Discord. Release him.”

“You…know each other?” the old stallion asked as he tried to turn his head to look back in the Maiden’s direction, but he was forced to look in Discord’s direction instead.

“Oh we go way back,” Discord idly mentioned as he drew a claw through the air, ripping the fabric of reality as he did, and opened up a square window across the whole of space and time, “1400 years back actually!”

Through his peep hole into the past, Bunsen Burner saw a giant red ball of coalesced energy trapped in a large cylindrical tube.

“See, this was me before I was forced into my whole ‘corporeal’ phase. I was just the ambient probability field of this universe before that. Oh, and look over here!”

The window’s gaze shifted upward, where Bunsen Burner was astonished to see humans standing on a balcony above the preincarnate Discord, one of which was a red haired female, feverishly scribbling notes in shorthand on her tablet.

“There’s your ‘Maiden’, one of my ‘creators’. You looked so fetching back then,” the draconequus quipped, “I imagine everything went downhill, though, after you acquire an inevitable case of ‘death’.”

The old stallion silently processed this new information. Discord could be and probably very well was lying, but to what degree?

“My daughters stopped you before, and they could again,” the Maiden declared, “And even though neither of them are here, I know Dawn’s students will stand against you, no matter what.”

“Speaking of,” Discord turned his attention back to the earth pony in his clutches, “You just reek of Celestia’s influence. Do you mind if I pick your brain for a bit?”

Without waiting for a response, Discord took his claws and reached inside Bunsen Burner’s ear. Searching by touch, the draconequus rummaged around the disturbed scientist’s head until he found what he was looking for, and pulled his hand out. A brain sat in the palm of his hand, covered in golden chains of light with a matching padlock that pulsed with magical energy. Bunsen Burner was struggling on how to respond to seeing his own mind outside of his head. He was also struggling to yell at the chimera to give it back.

“So, ‘Fire’,” Discord said with a smirk, “Your name is Bunsen Burner. You were born in the small town of Pferdshire, population 53, where you were raised by your well off parents. After you had completed your studies on friendship with dear Princess White Horse, you married your sweetheart Lily Cloverhoof.”

Bunsen Burner’s eyes filled with burning rage as he growled, “You don’t deserve to be able to speak her name, you cancer!”

The Lord of Chaos didn’t relent, and as he learned more his smile grew bigger, “You lost your best friend and his wife on the same night after you helped them save their daughter, Princess Cadence.”

“Don’t you dare say anymore!” the old stallion yelled.

“Oh,” Discord exclaimed, which he then followed up with a sinister bout of chuckling, “Ohohohoho! You lost poor Lily too! You watched her die after days of trouble with your one and only child, and neither survived the labor.”

“I’ll kill you!” Bunsen Burner at last roared, “I don’t care how far I have to go to do it or how long it takes, I will end you!”

Discord looked down at the earth pony’s brain and grinned at his suffering and pain, “And the worst part of it all was that you tried to reach out to Celestia, but she didn’t come in time; not for you or your wife. You went mad, unable to be anything but a rotting vegetable in a sanitarium, until she finally came, all too late. She couldn’t just leave you like that, though; mercifully out of your own mind, unaware of the world around you. She still had need of you, so she put your shattered mind back together with a few improvements.”

“Improvements?” the old stallion asked quietly.

“She would never do that! Dawn would never be so cruel as to use another person like that,” the Maiden shouted.

“Says the woman who abused the trust two earth pony fillies had in her by submitting them to irreversible mutation to try and face me,” Discord replied. When he was met by silence from the Mechataur, he smirked, “Like mother, like daughter.”

He continued on as he looked back to the brain in his hand, “The spell linked their minds all those years ago, shoring up this mad pony’s sanity.” Discord flicked at the chains with his claws, “It also left a subconscious bridge between the two of you, passing along all her arrogance, her warrior’s savagery, and her desire to create an ordered utopia of the entire world. Although,” Discord leaned down to whisper in Bunsen Burner’s ear, “after peeking through your head, it seems you tried to go even farther than even she wanted to of your own volition!”

Even though Bunsen Burner’s thoughts were clouded from his freshly reopened emotional scars, the tiniest portion of his mind wavered; how many of the decisions he had made in the years after his recovery had been his own? Had Celestia had the power of suggestion over his thoughts? Was he his own pony, or was he just an unconscious accessory to whatever she had wanted him to do to avoid spoiling her image?

“I’ve got an idea,” Discord declared as he began to juggled the stallion’s brain in the air, “Here’s something I think you both can appreciate: an experiment. I postulate that if I were to do my usual round of tampering with our little mad pony’s brain, the result would also affect your dear daughter, Lauren.”

“Don’t you lay a finger on him!” the Maiden tried to warn, but all three of them knew the threat was empty.

“Oh don’t be such a prude. It’s for science after all; meddling with things on the basis of some guesswork. I’d think you revel in this sort of thing.” Discord smiled wickedly before he brought the brain in his hand up to eye level, “Dear Princess Celestia-“

“No!” Bunsen Burner flailed his hooves towards his brain as he tried to snatch it out of the mad chimera’s clutches.

Discord tapped it with his lion’s paw, and its healthy pink color began to change to grey. “Gotcha!” He exclaimed with a laugh.

Bunsen Burner yelled in frustration as his coat’s colors began to fade and his mind to blur. He realized that he couldn't fight it, and that his rational side was being overcome by an avalanche of memories, the sensations and emotions of which were magnified one hundred fold.

He couldn't resist.

There was no way to fight.

Then he was swallowed up.

The process completed, Discord delicately put the stallion’s brain back in his head and affectionately patted him on the head, “Now, off you go! Be everything you aren't.” A flash of burnt red consumed the now corrupted Bunsen Burner, and he disappeared from the room.

“Enjoy my topiary garden, by the way,” the draconequus commented to the Maiden as he too teleported away, “It’s not like you can go anywhere in that hunk of metal.”

After he had gone, she quickly began to funnel herself out of the cockpit through the tiny gaps between the cockpit and the armor plating outside. Free of the now useless machine, she flew off to find the other half of her particles in Lab 009. The formula that Barrel and she were working on was something they now needed more than ever.

Several minutes passed in silence in Discord’s old chamber, then a half hour. In time, though, the weeping willow in the center of the room began to rustle, its fronds blowing in a nonexistent breeze. Two small lumps slowly grew out of its trunk which then split open, revealing two glaring eyes that glowed with bright emerald power. The trunk began to split apart, and its branches began to bend towards the ground as the Queen of the Changelings began to reform herself, her fury burning so hot she thought she could spit it up like vomit.

Chapter 60 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 4

“Come on, ponies! Dig your hooves in!” General Blitz Hammer yelled to his troops as he fired his war saddle’s guns, “If Canterlot falls, Equestria falls with it! We are not letting these bugs take our capital from us; not on my watch!” One Changeling stumbled, and then another, but the ballistics were only slowing them down; they had each adopted an iron-like carapace.

Lieutenant Swiftfeet took to the air, gaining just enough altitude to come right back down and divebomb the insectoid army below, all guns blazing. As he glided back up from his strafing run he could see that his and the General’s forces were being overrun, despite their best efforts. He was about to dive back into the fray when a group of a half dozen drones flew up to engage him. He quickly flew backward and turned his guns on them, but they just kept coming. From behind him he heard a distant whistling punctuated by a crackling sound.

Just as he was about to be caught by his six pursuers, blue and yellow streaks blasted past the Lieutenant and intercepted them, each arcing back over the skyline of Canterlot. The bugs were tossed against the marble walls of the city or slammed into the ground, either option eliminating them from play.

“Many thanks for the save,” Swiftfeet declared with a smile on his face as the Wonderbolts reassembled before him, “Lieutenant Swiftfeet, RSD field commander.”

“Captain Spitfire,” a mare with a fiery orange and yellow mane replied as she flew forward to greet him, “Looks like there’s no time for small talk. Where do you want us?”

“We need to get rid of a lot of these drones in a short amount of time. Anything you ponies can do to keep them off of us so we can regroup would be appreciated.”

Spitfire’s nodded and her lightning quick mind cycled through several strategies. She turned to her squad, “Fleetfoot, Wave Chill, Cloudchaser, you’re on hit and run routine. Grab their attention and get them in the air. Soarin, Silver Lining, you’re with me. Make me a strong, tight cyclone. Break!”

The squadron of pegasi split into their assigned groups, three descending on the losing battle below, and three climbing higher into the air.

“Hey you!” Cloudchaser yelled at a drone as she clipped it from behind, causing it to spin in place. Once it had recovered and had whirled around to find its attacker, the purple mare gathered small thunderclouds around her forehooves and grinned cockily, “Quit wasting your time with these chumps and take on a real mare of action!”

Fleetfoot did her part by skipping across the tops of her targets heads, having no trouble at all attracting the attention of those drones she leapt onto.

Wave Chill used his power over the cold to tag any Changeling that he could. With each touch of his hooves he left behind an angry squad of bugs with patches of frostbite on their armor.

Emerald blasts of magic filled the sky. Having returned to her accustomed appearance, Pupa was flying through the air flinging volley after volley at her two pursuers. Falena weaved around the attack, twirling through the skies to try and intercept the one who had taken her place in the Hive. Papillon stretched like taffy as she fluidly dodged Pupa’s assault, and she began to return the favor with her own hexes. It was now a battle of wills between the two parties as to who would control the Hive. The drones themselves didn’t have a say in the matter, and so they continued to fulfill the command their Queen and her chosen representative had given them: distract the ponies until Chrysalis’ return.

Pupa landed on one of the large marble walls found throughout the city, turned to face her enemies, and unleashed a shockwave of magic directly into their path. Falena transformed into an amorphous blob that split into two masses, avoiding the attack altogether. Papillon exploded into a dark colored gas made of billions of particles that funneled down to land in front of Pupa. With her magic the diminutive Changeling Candidate constructed a large mace that swung in an underhooved arc. Pupa created twin katars and sidestepped Papillon’s swing, quickly launching into an aggressive offense past her opponent’s defenses. A swift but solid blow hit her on the head, and she staggered back. Falena drew her schoolmaster’s rod back, caused it to grow into the shape of a Bo staff, and then swung again.

“You’ve lead our Hive to ruin,” she yelled as her weapon struck Pupa across the face. “You were at the Queen’s side in all this; you knew her plans, but you let her continue on with her suicidal delusions, and for what?”

“For what was meant to be rightfully ours all along,” Pupa replied as she spat out green blood and swung her katars at her opponent, “Changeling dominance.”

“Falena had years to study these Equestrians,” Papillon budged into the conversation with a swing of her mace, “But you pushed her out, convinced she was a double agent. We went to war with no intelligence on our enemies-“ she leapt over Pupa’s blades as they swung at her hooves, “and we did it on the hope that a genie could solve all our problems.”

Pupa blocked a swing of Falena’s staff by crossing her blades, and then swung for Papillon again to only have it batted away by a flick of her sister’s mace.

“We were never meant to be conquerors,” Falena continued as she glanced down at their drones before blocking a flurry of Pupa’s blows, “We were meant to share this world, not take it for ourselves. If it weren’t for our shapeshifting abilities we wouldn’t have this second chance at all! We can’t waste it or our lives so frivolously, not when there are so few of us left!”

Above the skirmishes taking place between the many factions beneath them flew Soarin and Silver Lining, the both of them helping to create a small but powerful windstorm that grew and grew as they flew in their circular formation. The three groundside Wonderbolts flew up towards the funnel: behind them flew a group of almost fifty drones. “Aaaand now!” Fleetfoot called out, and the three air champions dove back towards the city below. The Changeling horde tried to follow, but suddenly they found themselves being sucked upward beyond their control. The cyclone had become too strong to escape, and they were drawn into it.

Each of them could see the blue sky at the other end of the windstorm as they were forced into the vacuum. The blue was quickly replaced by a steady red glow. As they drew closer they could see a single pegasus mare ready to meet them, her hooves, wings, and mane lit up with crackling flames. As she dove towards them she began to spin, and the heat she was producing began to radiate off her. Speeding like a bullet down the wind tunnel, Spitfire left behind a trail of fire in her wake, and the Changelings screeched as they tumbled through a vacuum filled with fire and pain. As she exited the other end of the cyclone and pulled up the other two Wonderbolts disengaged from their task, and the cyclone rapidly began to collapse.

Burning Changelings were flung in all directions, and their pain reverberated off the minds of their nearby Candidates. They each turned to see their drones falling scattered across the horizon, and they each saw the one who had done the deed. Spitfire caught her breath as she held position: her back was to them.

Pupa’s vengeful anger exploded out of her with a scream, and she fired a jagged bolt of emerald lightning into the sky.

The hex drilled straight between Spitfire’s wings. She plummeted towards Canterlot’s streets below.

“Captain,” Soarin yelled in horror as he swooped to save her. He strained to catch up with and intercept her only a few dozen feet before she hit the ground. The two of them spiraled out of control towards a thick marble wall before he was able to pull up. Soarin held his Captain in his hooves: she wasn’t breathing.

He flew down closer to the battlefield, looking all around while shouting ‘Medic’ as hard as he could. Everypony who saw him fly over, Spitfire hanging limply in his hooves, stopped in numb shock. Their attention was swiftly drawn toward the Changelings they were fighting, and they were split up into smaller and smaller groups. Even with the loss of their leader and second-in-command the Wonderbolts strove on to try and buy the troops time and chance to regroup, but their attempts were proving ineffective. As the soldiers under the General and Lieutenant’s command were bested, they were taken alive but unconscious to be put into hastily made pods around the edges of the battlefield. The Equestrian army’s troops numbered less than thirty active ponies, and they were being divided up fast.

“Cloudchaser, get over here!” Soarin called out as he landed on the marble wall surrounding the city, his squadmate not behind. He gently laid down the Captain in front of him. His squadmate set down across from him, and quietly looked down at their commanding officer.

Soarin glanced down at Spitfire, then looked up to his squadmate with steely resolve, “Shock her.”

“You sure?” she asked with a little hesitance before she summoned up a small thundercloud between her hooves.

“It’s the only chance she’s got,” he fired back, “now give her the jolt!”

Cloudchaser drew her hooves up into the air and pressed the thundercloud into her Captain’s chest and discharged it. Spitfire’s chest heaved upward, but she remained unresponsive.

“Again.”

Another discharge. No response.

“Again,” he snapped.

“Soarin,” Cloudchaser bleakly looked back over to him.

“Just do it again!”

The thundercloud pulsed again.

Spitfire spluttered and coughed.

Soarin gave a sigh of relief and put his hooves over his face, “Oh thank Celestia, she's alive.” After a few minutes of just letting her catch her breath, Soarin gave another sigh, “We can’t stay here. She needs real medical attention.”

“Canterlot Medical is on the upper terrace,” Cloudchaser threw Spitfire’s right hoof over her shoulder, and Soarin took her left, “We need to get there or as far from here as we can!”

From out of the west came a deep blue and purple light, so large and bright that it temporarily caused the battle to cease.

“Insects!” roared a sharp, deep voice, “You dare attack my city not once, but twice?”

From out of the light sprang a dark form, its form both beautiful and terrifying.

“You planned well by removing me the first time you were here, but there is nothing to avail you now!”

Nightmare Moon landed hard in front of the largest mass of Changelings, her hooves cracking the weak cobble beneath her. All attention was turned on her, and she relished it. From out of nothing she created a large purple straight bladed broadsword. It then subdivided, creating one and then three identical copies. She flashed her fangs and twirled her four swords in oscillating patterns before bringing them to a stop, each blade pointed to her nearest foe.

“Come on! Pit yourselves against me! I need the sport,” she yelled with a cackle before she charged the drone army head-on. Leaping into the thickest cluster of the swarming Changelings, Nightmare Moon didn't so much best her enemies as she destroyed them. Her swords sliced through drones like they were made of gelatin, each orbiting her like an arm of a galactic cluster, with herself as the black hole at the center. It didn't matter where they stood; in front of her, above her, or even behind her, she never broke her stride as she continued to push straight through the Hive. Green sludge flew everywhere she walked.

Those few Equestrian soldiers left standing looked on aghast. The mare that had been the monster under their beds during foalhood, the one that legends had spoken of as an apocalyptic bringer of darkness was now fighting on their side.

Initially left speechless by her arrival, General Blitz Hammer remembered Prince Shining Armor’s words from earlier that morning.

He looked to his troops, then back to the dark alicorn, “Regroup around me, mares and colts! We’re backing her up!”

Taking his twenty-five soldiers the General galloped to the east, doubled back around, and charged the larger army.

“Drive as many of them as you can into Nightmare Moon’s path!” Lieutenant Swiftfeet called out as he intentionally collided with a drone, swing it around by the shoulders, and then let it go in an arc that crossed between her swords.

“You underestimated the Equestrians by a very large margin,” Falena declared as she lowered her Bo staff and dissipated it, “Outnumbered two to one and they’re now turning the tide of this battle. Sound a retreat now and we can avoid more casualties!”

“You can’t keep yourself from praising these lesser races, can you,” Pupa spat, “They must mean a great deal to you, but what are their lives worth to you?” Pupa flew up and readied her katars, “Drones! I have new orders: no prisoners. Kill everything that is not one of us!”

The drones blinked as they received their orders, and then turned to those podded Equestrians that were closest to them. Others began to look menacingly at the soldiers near them, and venom dripped from their fangs.

“No! Stop!” Falena yelled in a panic as she rushed to the wall bordering the battle below, “Killing them solves none of our problems! Retreat!”

They looked up again at the new commanding voice invading their minds and ears, and then looked back to Pupa in confusion. They had never experienced a countermanding of orders before, and their efforts screeched to a halt. As they continued to scrutinize Falena, the drones realized that she was giving off enormous amounts of fear and uncertainty. The fact that she was emoting at all astounded them.

“Listen to Falena,” Papillon blurted to them as well as she darted around through the air, “She still remembers you! She hasn’t left you behind like the Queen or Pupa! We still care about you! Pull out and return to the Hive immediately!”

Pupa screeched in anger as she rounded on Papillon. “You don’t care anymore about them than she does!” she roared before she grabbed the smaller Candidate and slammed her on the nearby wall face. Blinded by her fury, she threw her sister against the wall again and again and again.

Before she could begin another round of beatings, a dull thump impacted against her.

Pupa slowly glanced down at her chest. Her wings began to beat erratically.

An emerald javelin stuck out from the left side of her chest, its blade nearly sunk all the way through her outer plating.

Green sludge pooled from out of the wound and fell a long height to the street below.

Pupa blankly looked down from where the javelin had been cast to find Falena’s horn glowing and eyes full of tears.

“I’m sorry, Pupa,” she yelled up to her with a wavering voice, “I really do wish this could have ended another way.”

The spear dissipated, the mad Candidate went limp. Pupa’s body fell to the street with a crunch. Even though she had been dead in the air her limbs still sporadically spasmed and twitched, the effect of her insectoid physiology.

Falena quickly flew down to Papillon from the top of the wall. Her sister was badly beaten and crushed, and her sliding down the wall to the cobbled street below had injured her even worse. She was battered beyond belief.

The entire Hive had stopped what it was doing and turned to look toward their scene.

Falena quietly lifted up her sister with her magic.

Four drones offered themselves to serve as a stretcher for Papillon, and she placed her on their backs.

“Please, for the love of the stars, hang on,” Falena whispered as she began to silently cry, “I don’t want to lose two sisters today.” She then signaled for the drones to take the injured Candidate somewhere safe.

Just as she was about to give the order for a full retreat, Falena recognized a presence that hit her like a train. It was a presence she had hoped to never have to feel again.

“He’s risen,” she whispered in horror as she now saw red flashes of light coming from the terrace above, “The Queen has doomed us all.”

Chapter 61 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 5

It was the height of the battle on the upper terrace, and several strange things began to occur. The Changelings’ behavior shifted momentarily from hostile but restrained to outright murderous, then to a calm, solemn stupor. Bon Bon used their distraction to her advantage by popping open the pods of several captured ponies and escorting them out to safety. Atop his perch Mr. Black fired round after round. He didn’t care why the bugs had stopped, but he knew it wouldn’t last forever, and he wanted as few as possible around when they became aware of their surroundings again. His rifle clicked: he had gone through his last bullet.

Fluttershy’s hooves, meanwhile, were hard at work as she helped other ponies with the injured in the castle foyer, which had been set up as a triage station. There weren’t many with experience in medical knowledge among the civilians or the castle’s staff, but she made for a good substitute for a full-fledged nurse. Though she made sure to help every patient she could, she regularly checked up on Fancy Pants as she made her rounds. She stood by him as he lay unconscious on a bed of linens, and she blotted away the excess blood leaking from his rapidly forming scar. “You’re going to be alright,” she softly reassured him, though she also did it to comfort herself as well.

“Oh Celestia,” said a tortured whisper at Fluttershy’s side.

As she turned to look at the gorgeous unicorn mare beside her, she recognized her: Fleur De Lis.

“What have they done to you, my sweet gentlepony?” she asked quietly as she gently stroked his mane with her hoof.

The emotional pain that Fluttershy saw on Fleur’s face struck the chords of her heart, and she spoke up, “The gash is largely superficial; it’s been treated, but he is still badly hurt from being nearly trampled.”

Fleur tenderly continued to rustle Fancy Pants’ mane a little, “I’m thankful to have him back, though I wish the reunion weren’t like this.” She turned and looked to Fluttershy with a pleading glance, “Will you show me how to care for him? He’s been gone for so long, and I just need to be with him.”

Fluttershy smiled softly and nodded her understanding, “Absolutely.”

Soarin and Cloudchaser flew into the makeshift hospital with Spitfire in tow: her breathing was ragged and her heartbeat was shallow.

“What happened to the city hospital,” Soarin asked one of the castle’s servants, “We were going to fly there, but it’s gone!”

He shrugged, “My guess is it was taken below with the rest of the city.”

Rainbow Dash flew in behind the three Wonderbolts, having helped to escort them in through the battle outside. Her gut was tied up in knots. She had never seen her heroes like this: confused, weakened. She had wanted to sit in vigil with them over their Captain, her idol, but her dread stopped her. What if she didn’t make it? The thought made her descend and land on the castle floor uncertainly. It can’t end like this, she thought to herself as she trotted over to where they were laying Spitfire on some soft blankets.

She felt a tap on her shoulder that awakened her from her state of worry. Applejack put her foreleg around her lightly and patted her back, “We need ta go, Dash.”

Rainbow looked back to Spitfire’s bed. She was pale yellow, but she was at least beginning to breathe easier. Cloudchaser argued with Soarin’ with a hushed tone, but he simply pointed out toward the door. With a visible sigh she left them to head back out to command the other Wonderbolts, while he stayed by his Captain’s side. Soarin’ watched her leave, and then he noticed Rainbow Dash’s gaze and looked to her.

Applejack gave her another tug which she tried to shrug off. He noticed that as well, and shook his head. He mouthed “Go”, and then returned his attention back to Spitfire.

Rainbow Dash internally struggled with herself for a few moments before she turned to Applejack, “Let’s go. We’ve got a job to do.”

As the two of them left for the castle doors they were soon joined by Rarity, who had also taken some time to persuade Fluttershy to leave her post.

“Twilight should hopefully still be with the Prince and Princess,” Rarity thought aloud for the others to hear, “but where in the world is Pinkie Pie?”

“I have come to dispense sugary justice and chew bubble gum,” the mare in question declared as she walked toward them out of nowhere, a colorful mortar launcher cradled in her front hooves, and a helmet on her head which was inscribed with ‘Born to Party’.

“I still have thirty packs of gum left,” she growled as she blew a large bubble, which burst with a loud smack, “My Pinkie Sense gave me a doozy like no other a few minutes ago.”

“Something’s been givin’ me the creepy-crawlies too,” Applejack nodded as she looked to the others, “Ah figured if something related to Discord was gonna happen, it would be soon.”

“Oh it’s soon alright,” Pinkie Pie affirmed as her body began to seize and shake all over, her legs flaying like they were possessed, “In fact it’s happening right now!”

With a flash of red light that filled Canterlot Square, Discord made his entrance. The draconequus didn’t move initially or even so much as utter a smug declaration; he simply stood where he had appeared and waited. Those who were nearest to him, both Equestrian and Changeling, noticed something very strange occurring as the seconds ticked by: a haunting melody filled the air that flooded their minds. As they became consumed with finding the source of the sound, they all stopped what they were doing and turned toward him. It was in that moment, when he felt there was an audience large enough for his liking, that he began to sing.

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of
Pure imagination

He snapped his fingers as he waved his arm and red lightning spewed from out of their tips. Cobble stones flew from out of the street and wrapped around the body of an unsuspecting unicorn pony. She cried out for help as the bricks fused around her, then through her. Her whimpering turned into snarling as the transformation finished: a gargoyle with predatory eyes, carnivorous teeth, and rocky hide and quills reared on its clawed back legs and attacked the nearest group of ponies it could find.

Discord smiled, then swung a male earth pony up into his arms, the terrified pony held aloft by his cheeks in the Lord of Chaos’ hands.

Take a look

The earth pony struggled against the grip around his face, but it didn’t matter as he was already being corrupted by Discord’s powers.

And you'll see
Into my imagination

Just as casually as he had picked the stallion out of the crowd, he tossed him aside to go about whatever sick wish he had in mind. With a click of his reptilian appendage on the cobbled street, stone transmuted into a small sea of cornstarch-water, which began to swallow up those closest to him. Discord, meanwhile, began to dance and twirl across the substance, never sinking beneath its surface.

We'll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation

He leapt off of the white colored goo and began to wave his arms in front of him in an oscillating pattern.

Red sparks began to appear between his fingers. The smell of ozone filled the air. The little singularity of chaos that pulsed between his palms was erratic in its emission of light, shape, and energy level. It was absolutely exquisite.

Discord looked up to see six very familiar ponies rushing towards him: Twilight Sparkle led the charge, her friends close behind.

He smiled deviously. Just in time.

He brought his hands closer, squeezing down on the point between them.

What we'll see
Will defy

As he looked up, his eyes twinkled ominously.

Twilight’s opened wide as she realized what was about to happen, and she tried to skid to a stop.

“Explanation!” Discord yelled, then he opened his palms wide.

The singularity exploded, the shockwave scattering everyone but the draconequus from the point of detonation. The Elements spun head over hooves until they each came to a pained stop near each other.

As the energy Discord had created continued to expand, the surrounding area began to warp and ripple under its effect. Lollipops sprang up from the ground, uprooted themselves, and grew large, sharp rows of teeth. Ponies began to run in screaming panic as the carnivorous treats started to hop after them. Licorice bushes began to ensnare anything that got near them. A creature with tentacles made of taffy and a hide of rock candy began to savage the Changelings near it, but they evaded its attack through flight or their metamorphic abilities. Twisted hobgoblins made of pretzels appeared and began to vomit molten cheese from their mouths as well as leak It from the holes where their eyes should have been. Discord frenetically teleported across the battlefield, staying in one place just long enough to infect a pony or Changeling with his influence, only to reappear somewhere else and continue the process. In no time at all he had corrupted several individuals or drones, and he then reappeared in front of the Elements, his arms raised as he looked around his mad kingdom,

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you refrain from, do it
Wanna change the world?
There's nothing
To it

“At least for me it isn’t,” he finished with a chuckle.

Twilight began to pick herself up, and as she did she helped Rarity to her hooves as well.

“Discord,” she called out.

The Lord of Chaos looked at her with a bemused smile as he hovered a little closer to the six of them, “Yes Twilight dear, what is it?”

“You know how this ends,” she declared as she adjusted her Element of Magic.

Discord tapped his chin as he drew even nearer, “Really? I’m not so sure. I’m feeling rather full of energy, like I could take on the world. I don’t think I will be going back to my cell for quite a while.”

“We beg to differ,” Twilight replied. She and her friends began to rise into the air, their Elements resonating as they approached full power. Their powers activated and combined, creating the signature rainbow they had become known for.

“Not this time, you don’t!” Discord yelled as he reached out with his lion’s paw.

The Twilight’s elemental tiara began to shudder. After some momentary struggling, Discord’s red aura seized the artifact and ripped it from her head.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, while the others had similar reactions when their necklaces were ripped away, and the technicolor energy dissipated.

“These used to be so much more powerful centuries ago,” Discord commented as he brought each of the Elements before him, “that was back before Celestia sealed away their power to only those who could use them in tandem. They were once able to seal me away for what was meant to be an eternity, and were capable of recreating worlds from dust. Now, though? They’re little trinkets for dress up.”

Twilight tried to reach with her magic to swipe them back, but she could not concentrate.

Rainbow Dash made to try and grab them with a quick burst of speed, but Discord caused super elastic cellophane to appear in front of her. She strained against it even though she couldn’t breathe, but ultimately she was slingshot back into her friends, causing them to tumble once again.

“There will be no ‘solution by friendship’ today,” Discord declared as he brought the Elements to circle in front of him, “I gave you your chance to save the day in 46 minutes, and things never happen the same way twice.”

A dark purple light appeared from up out of the lower terrace of Canterlot and began to arc towards him.

“DISCORD!” Nightmare Moon angrily yelled as she rocketed down from the sky.

Twilight barely registered the arrival of the dark alicorn. Her eyes were turned toward the Elements, which rattled in the draconequus’ grip.

“Huh,” the mad titan exclaimed, “Well that's new.” He then turned his attention back to his prizes, and he grinned, “Oh well.”

The Elements began to whine.

Cracks appeared across their surfaces, and light of each hue shone through them.

Twilight shrugged off her friend’s bodies and began to run towards him like her life depended on it.

Nightmare Moon tucked her wings and dropped towards him.

A brilliant flash emanated from Discord’s palms, blinding the both of them.

Twilight became temporarily delirious from the explosion of color and she had to stop in her tracks. She blinked rapidly to try and get the imprint of the light from out of her eyes. As it finally began to clear, she saw that Discord had remained where he had been, hovering just above the ground.

On the street before him, Twilight was horrified to see thousands of multicolored shards, each sparking with power, but each also quickly dying out like a fire’s last embers.

Nightmare Moon hovered just above her, stunned just as she was.

“Well how about that,” Discord smirked, and he put his hands to his chest, “It looks like I win!”

Chapter 62 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 6

Bunsen Burner opened his eyes with some small amount of hesitance. As he looked and took in his surroundings he recognized his estate back in Pferdshire. The mansion was behind him, the rolling hills to the west and mountains to the north were before him. The sun was shining beautifully across the countryside, with several small clouds offering their help to shade the land beneath them. On the edge of his property stood a tree, its branches reaching to the heavens with leaves that shook with excitement in the wind.

As he slowly approached it, he finally realized that there was a picnic blanket spread out beneath its shade, and a basket full of what was sure to be appetizing food was lying open waiting for him. A mare sat on the blanket, her face partially concealed by a book on horticulture. Her coat was crème colored, her mane was auburn with three streaks of grey hair that, rather than accentuating her age, magnified her feminine grace. Her Cutie Mark: a watering can that was lightly soaking the ground next to a blooming flower.

“Impossible,” he whispered.

Hearing the faint utterance, the mare looked up at him happily, “Hello, Bunsen.”

“Lily,” his voice broke a little, her warm smile melting him from the inside out in an instant.

“You haven’t kept me waiting too long,” she declared cheerfully, “I’d have gotten my glasses from inside otherwise. I don’t understand how you’ve lived with those things all these years: I can’t!”

“You’re…You’re here,” he declared in a wavering voice.

“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it back early from my trip to Seaddle Hospital. I thought it would take another three hours, but since I got home early I wanted to give you a nice surprise.”

Bunsen Burner slowly approached her, stepping around the picnic basket, and settled down on the blanket with her. He gently held his head to her cheek, and tears formed on his face.

“I missed you so much,” he said as his voice cracked again, and he wrapped his hooves around her side.

Surprised, Lily turned to give him her full attention, “It was just a day trip.”

“I know,” he nodded as he rocked the both of them a little, “but I had a dream: a horrid nightmare, really. I’d lost you, and suddenly that day trip had seemed like years.”

She smiled at him, and put her hoof around the cusp of his jaw, “Well, I’m certainly glad you’re awake now, because I’m here, and I won’t ever leave you.”

Bunsen Burner kissed her on the cheek gently.

“I love you,” he declared to the pile of rubble he held in his forelegs. Ponies screamed as they ran from monsters made from cotton candy. Changelings buzzed above as they fought their own confection demons off. “Tell me how your day went,” he smiled at the rock as he stroked it, “It feels like it’s been forever since I've asked you that.”

With a great roar Nightmare Moon barreled down on Discord from above, swinging her conjured sword down to slice through his asymmetrical skull. He didn't move a muscle to stop her or to save himself. The sword came down, but mere inches from the draconequus’ person he reached out with his power and pulled on the weak point of the sword’s structure, and it shattered into tiny pieces. The dark alicorn was thrust back into a staggered landing, but she recovered very quickly. Ripping up several cobble stones from the street, she launched them towards him, even while she was summoning chains to ensnare him.

“I must admit that I find your tenacity adorable,” Discord declared as the stones racing toward him transmuted into a sickeningly cute picture of his opponent.

Nightmare Moon growled, and the chains that began to constrict around her enemy grew thick spikes on each link.

“Is there really any point to this struggle of yours, though?” he continued as they surrounded him up to his arms, “Who exactly are you fighting for anyways, Loony Lu? These ponies? The ones who have feared and hated you for so long? I admired your decision to break from the fold all those centuries ago, but it looks like you’re hiding away in your sister’s ideals again.”

“You’re a menace, Discord,” she replied angrily.

“Flattery will get you nowhere with me,” he smiled as he gobbled through his chains like they were spaghetti noodles, “The last one who tried I turned into a tree.”

“Are you so egotistical that you think you have exclusive control over change,” Nightmare Moon asked as she backed up slowly as he advanced, “Ponies do it every day without you. Even I have changed! What’s the point of you then? We don’t need you!”

“Pardon me if I’m skeptical about your ‘reform’,” he fired back as he caused the terrain to become a taffy-like quick sand beneath her, “I think you simply can’t have someone else ruling your world. You can’t even lead your own herd, so what makes you think you can handle something so much bigger?”

Even as her wings became covered in the sticky trap and she began to sink, the dark alicorn glared defiantly up at the mad titan, “I've learned two things from you over my lifetime.”

Discord looked at her with genuine curiosity, and her descent stopped altogether, “Oh? What are those?”

She scanned the battlefield momentarily, and quickly found the one she was looking for. Twilight Sparkle looked down at the shattered pieces of the Elements of Harmony, her magic slowly picking through the larger shards, sifting through the dust. Her friends had joined her and looked down in despair at the broken artifacts. She looked back up at Discord, scoffed, and raised her voice to a shout, “That anything is possible, and that there’s no stopping those six ponies! Did you think you were the first to try and destroy the Elements?”

The six friends’ ears perked up as they realized who was speaking and what was being said.

Nightmare Moon looked straight into Twilight Sparkle’s eyes as she spoke, “The true power of the Elements was never really in those trinkets; it was in them!” She turned back toward Discord, who had begun to frown heavily, “Their friendship is their power, and not even you with all yours can change that!”

Discord sternly glared down at her, and had her entirely swallowed up by the taffy pit. Even as the last of her horn sunk beneath the surface, he felt a strange sensation jab at him from the inside. A miniature black hole had opened inside his belly, and his form twisted and contorted as it was sucked past the event horizon. When the last of him had disappeared into its dark depths, the hole widened for its mistress to exit.

“Reform the Elements! I’ll try to hold him off!” Nightmare Moon blurted to Twilight, before a door spontaneously grew in front of her. Out of it stepped Discord, and on the other side she could see another small point; a white hole.

“Action and Reaction, Loony Lu,” he said with not a trace of humor at all, “You’re not going to be rid of me that easily.”

As he was about to engage in actual combat with Nightmare Moon, Discord sensed a massive shift in the cosmic background of the universe. Something so incredibly alien was nearby that he could practically feel it breathing down his neck, and for the first time in his physical existence he was afraid. He whipped his head back and forth looking for the source of the unknown power.

Princess Cadence and her husband were wearing down even as their enemies increased: they had simply traded hellish insects for sugary demons. Prince Shining Armor sliced a carnivorous lollipop down its length, and the creature finally lay still when it fell to the ground. Drawing her aural bowstring back, Princess Cadence let fly an arrow. It flew along its path and pierced through one pretzel goblin’s head, dragged the creature along as it continued through the air, only for it to embed in another pretzel goblin’s chest. The arrow violently exploded on impact, launching cheesy bits of bread everywhere.

“This is frickin’ ridiculous!” the Prince yelled as he shield bashed a licorice creature away and sliced through its legs, “Why did the apocalypse have to be ‘candy land’ themed?”

“There’s no explaining Discord,” the Princess replied as she took a solitary breath between her last and next shot. She glanced in the direction she had seen Twilight last: her magic was enveloping the shards of the Elements, her friends gathered around her to literally offer their moral support. She then saw Nightmare Moon as she was flung through the air by a clearly distracted Discord, only for the alicorn to open a portal behind herself that led behind him, allowing her to try and slice at his back. “Whatever the case, I’d say he’s achieved what he always wanted: the world is going mad.” Her arrow left the string, zigzagging around the ponies in the area to hit Discord’s sick creations.

The creature made of taffy appendages with rock candy hide slowly turned its way towards the royal couple and lumbered towards them, its steps causing the surrounding area to quake.

“Everypony clear the area around that thing,” Prince Shining Armor called out as he raised a large magenta enclosure around it.

The creature slowly walked into the wall closest to them. Its mass colliding with the shield caused it to develop hairline cracks. Stupidly it probed the wall for a way out, and eventually it began to slam its tentacles against the wall.

The Prince grabbed the receiver of his backpack radio and broadcast on as many channels as he could reach, “All Arty units near Canterlot Square, lock onto the creature in my killbox and fire at will.”

“CLEAR THE AREA!” Princess Cadence shouted as loudly as she could, and she galloped away just behind her husband. All the ponies in the Square heard her and ran away from the large creature-holding box. The Changelings in turn followed after them, sensing that something they didn't necessarily want to be around for was about to happen. The candy abominations loitered longer than their enemies, and it sealed their destruction.

The tower cannons that had range enough to hit their target clanked into position on their clockwork platforms. Having gone unused for most of the battle because of the agility of the Changelings, the artillery brigade was quite ready for a chance to unleash their fury on something. Brass barrels locked onto the semi-amorphous rock candy abomination dumbly attempting to escape its prison and bellowed as they opened fire. Lead blasted straight through the shield and the creature’s hide, and the ground trembled as they impacted into the ground beneath it. After a full volley had occurred the guns paused. What remained of the creature wasn't much, as all that was left was taffy seeping into the damaged street below.

As the air cleared from the mixture of ground candy and cobblestone, Princess Cadence looked amongst the debris hoping to not see a single pony injured or worse. As she carefully made her way through the treacherous mish-mashed landscape of ruined marble and sugar, she saw a pony sitting in the rubble. There her godfather sat in the ashes, happily talking to a pile of rocks.

“How is our little girl doing?” he asked, “I’d heard she recently had an exhibition of her gallery at Canterlot Museum. Have you been in touch with her recently?”

“Bunsen Burner!” she yelled as she made her way to him as quickly as she could.

The very instant that she called out to him, Discord slowly looked in her direction.

A third alicorn.

“Of course,” he said to himself, and he vanished from the spot to appear in front of her.

The Princess stopped short when he appeared before her. “You’re powerful, I’ll give you that,” he declared, “but whatever you are, I’m not letting you spoil my fun.”

He snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened; not a flash, glimmer, or spark.

The Princess looked at him, her body braced for whatever he had planned, but it never came.

He looked at his fingers in surprise and snapped them again, and again. “This isn't funny,” he murmured, and he continued to snap his fingers, until he roared, “THIS ISN'T FUNNY!”

He looked back at her, enraged and afraid at the thoroughly confused pink pony princess, and then to his still enthralled slaves, “Kill her! Remove her! I don’t care how you do it, just kill her now!”

“Bunsen Burner,” a familiar voice called out to the stallion in question.

The sky and mountains seemed to quake with the exclamation. The tree under which he and Lily sat seemed to become fuzzy momentarily, and the landscape darkened and blurred.

“What was that?” he asked as a sudden weariness overtook him, and a great ringing entered his ears.

“Bunsen, look,” Lily pointed towards the side of the mansion, “the Princess has come to join us!”

The large white frame of the alicorn Princess of the Sun appeared, but something was decidedly wrong. At first her form shifted and blurred, and her coat appeared in a pink hue, only to shift back into its usual elegant whiteness. Her face seemed concealed even though it was in plain view, like the details were being sculpted out of half-formed clay overly full of moisture.

“I've come for your wife, Bunsen,” the equine abomination declared in a gurgly voice, it’s milky, dead eyes gazing down on him, “It cannot be any other way.”

“She’s trying to take me away from you, Bunsen,” he heard Lily’s voice say behind him, but it was Discord’s influence speaking through her lips, “You know there’s only one thing that will stop her from ever causing me harm.”

“Yes,” he replied, his mind possessed by only one desire, “I must kill her.”

“Removing her means we can be together happily ever after,” Discord said through his illusionary puppet, “Kill the Princess now!”

“I won’t let you,” the corrupted Bunsen Burner yelled as he galloped hard right at the startled Princess Cadence, intent on trampling her underneath his hooves, “You can’t take her from me again!”

Chapter 63 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 7

“Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter, Magic. Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter, Magic.”

Twilight Sparkle repeated the mantra of the six Elements of Harmony over and over as she waited for the fragments of the jewels to reassemble themselves. Her friends watched with growing worry, while each of them occasionally looked to the latest epicenter of the battle. After many minutes without success Twilight gave an exasperated growl, “Nothing I’m trying is working!”

“It’s not an issue with your magical prowess,” Rarity commented as she rubbed her chin, “nor is our friendship in question at this point, so what could the issue possibly be?”

“Maybe she needs to give Discord another monologue on friendship?” Pinkie Pie offered.

Rarity gave her an incredulous glare, to which she shrugged, “What? It seemed to work pretty well last time!”

Twilight reached out with her magic and seized as many of the fragments as she could and began to try and force them to join into the necklaces and tiara she knew they could still be. Her horn sparked frenetically as the shards seemed to fight her every attempt to reunite them.

“Twilight, stop!” Fluttershy declared firmly as she reached out for her shoulder, “If you keep going like this you’ll hurt yourself.”

“I don’t understand it,” Twilight exclaimed in frustration as she released the fragments, “We all saw that Discord broke the Elements and that there was still power left in them afterward. They should naturally want to return to their whole state, but somehow it’s like they don’t want to be rejoined!”

Applejack scratched her head through her hat, “Ah don’t know gems sugarcube, but wouldn't they've turned grey or somethin’ like they were when they were last broken?”

“No: the Elements were only that way because they had been dormant for hundreds of years,” Twilight replied as she shook her head. As she thought about it, though, she slowly stopped shaking her head altogether and looked down at the fragments with fresh eyes, “So, if they still have their color, they still have their power, but they aren't coming back together. What if…”

“ ‘What if’ what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight looked up at her friends, “What if they still have their power, but it’s been transferred to somewhere else? If they were to reform, Discord could just break them again. What if the Elements are giving their power to something or someone else?”

A pegasus flew overhead, almost grazing Rainbow Dash in her rush to get wherever she was going. A Changeling drone passed her on the other side as well, and she cried out in surprise. As she watched them fly away, she noticed that the both of them had been turned to a grey color. Looking further ahead of them with her sharp eyes, she saw that they as well as others who had been touched by Discord were making their way towards a cyan colored shield on the other side of the square.

“I think I have a hunch who that someone might be, Twilight,” she commented as the others turned towards the direction she was looking in.

Princess Cadence jumped out of the way of her godfather’s charge with a surprised gasp, causing him to stumble and fall clumsily over the upturned bricks in the street. As she ensured that the shield protecting herself from the now absent Discord and his puppets was holding, questions began to tumble out as she thought aloud, “What are you doing here, Bunsen Burner? What’s wrong?”

“You took her away from me once,” he angrily yelled at her as he picked himself out of the dirt and straightened his glasses, “Was that not good enough? Is it some sick desire of yours to reopen old wounds you’re responsible for?”

“Cadence, let me in!”

She looked to her right quickly to see Prince Shining Armor blasting away the madponies outside her self-imposed cage. His coat was its usual pearlescent white. She opened up a hole large enough for him to quickly squeeze through and then snapped it shut right behind him.

Bunsen Burner finally took notice of the Prince’s arrival, and his anger surprisingly grew, “So it’s just like usual, eh Celestia? You can’t be bothered to do things yourself, so you get others to dirty their hooves for you, leaving you just as ‘pure’ and ‘blameless’ as ever!”

“Celestia?” Princess Cadence asked in bewilderment.

“Bunsen,” Prince Shining Armor tried to calmly get the older stallion’s attention, “You’re not well. This is Cadence. Whatever your grievance is, we are willing to listen, just calm down-“

“What is there to be calm about, Captain?” he asked as his mood rapidly shifted to one of sadness.

“You recognize me?” the Prince asked in surprise.

“You don’t know what it’s like: being part of a greater whole, only to have your better half taken from you. How could you? You’re just a colt; untouched by the sadness of the world, your youthful innocence still intact.” Bunsen Burner collapsed, his head lying in the dirt, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks, “My Lily is dead. I trusted my teacher with everything, and in the moment when I needed her most of all-“

His silence hit the Prince like a sledgehammer to his chest. He thought back to his own confession to Cadence, and how he had been willing to lock her up to protect her. The soldier looked at the scientist lying in the dirt, and he came to realize something about both himself and the old stallion. Crafting thick magenta manacles with his magic he placed them around each of the earth pony’s hooves. The old stallion’s demeanor reverted to rage when he realized what had just happened, and he struggled against the cuffs. “I can’t claim to know you or what you’ve done, Bunsen,” the Prince solemnly declared as he turned and walked toward his wife’s side, “but I think I understand you a bit better.”

“You should’ve learned from my example, Captain,” Bunsen Burner called out as he fought his restraints, “the Princesses are dangerous, no matter which one you pick. Taking their side only leads to a shattered life and broken promises!”

“I’ll take my chances,” he shot back as he glanced at his wife, “Come on. Let’s go.”

Princess Cadence reached out and grabbed him with her forehoof, causing him to turn back and look at her, “I’m not leaving him; not like this.”

“There’s nothing we can do for him right now. With Discord still loose-“

“You don’t understand,” she replied as she looked back at the crazed old stallion panting into the dirt as he tried to right himself, “he’s the one who sent me the package with my mother’s necklace.”

Prince Shining Armor looked at Bunsen Burner with a new set of eyes for the second time.

“He’s my godfather,” she finished quietly.

He continued to look at the old stallion, and then slowly he looked at her.

“I know this is going to be hard,” he declared softly, “but we have to leave him like this for now. For whatever reason you can nullify Discord’s power, and that’s our first step at trying to imprison him again.”

“But Shining-“

“For right now you need to give him up,” he gave her mane a sweet stroke as he looked at her sadly, “just like I did for you.”

The Princess glanced at Bunsen Burner, then to the chaos happening outside her protective shield, and then back to her husband. Her heart was tied up in knots, and she felt like she was being pulled in every direction with no slack whatever path she chose. She cleared her throat and tried to form a coherent sentence, but all that came out was a very shaky “I”.

There was a full silence for several seconds as she still tried to decide on what to do, but it was interrupted by another calling out of her name.

“Cadence!” Twilight yelled as she tried to fend off an attack by an insane unicorn.

“Twily!” the Prince yelled as he ran towards the edge of the dome shaped forcefield, “What’re you doing here? Where are the Elements of Harmony?”

“There’s not really time to explain it all well,” she said with a grunt as she tossed her opponent off herself, “but we think the Elements have transferred their power to Cadence. She’s the only one who can undo all the damage Discord’s done!”

The Princess herself rushed over as Twilight was speaking, “What about the ones he’s touched: how do we cure them?”

“Princess Celestia taught me a spell the last time he got loose that gives them back their sanity, but I don’t know if it works on complete strangers! It needs an emotional bond to restore the affected ponies back to the way they were before!”

She put the tip of her horn to the shield, and her magic sparked against it. Seeing what she meant to do, the Princess opened the shield enough to touch her horn to Twilight’s.

A mad Changeling jumped on her from behind and tossed her to the ground.

“Twilight,” the Prince yelled before he teleported outside of the shield to come to her aid.

Princess Cadence didn’t sense what was happening around her; her mind was absolutely enraptured by the complex magic that she was quickly analyzing, comprehending, and then remembering. She quickly galloped over to Bunsen Burner, who had at least gotten himself into an upright posture and had been slowly hobbling towards her.

“Are you going to kill me?” he asked venomously, “I can’t lie and say I thought you were above such petty acts of vengeance. After all, it was just a few centuries ago that any besmirching of your name and image was a punishable heresy.”

Ignoring his ravings, the Princess lightly touched his forehead with the tip of her horn, and cyan light spiraled out of it into Bunsen Burner’s brain. She remembered the stories he had told her of her parents, the stiff but meaningful hug she had received from him, the goodbye he had given and obviously reneged on. Color spread back into him from his head, to his muzzle, to his forelegs and then to the rest of his body.

Even as memories of him entered his mind, memories of her she could have never known before suddenly ignited inside her own mind. Her father, a unicorn with light blue coat, was reading a bedtime story to her beside her bed, while she watched Bunsen Burner’s hooves scribble down a complex chemical compound, then scratching it out feverishly.

It was now morning and she stood beside her father, watching as her mother, a purple pegasus, coached the younger version of herself on how to gain enough lift to fly.

It was a dark room, sparks fell from the ceiling, her mother lay dying in Bunsen Burner’s hooves.

“Protect the love of my life,” she whispered with her final breath in her Mustangian accent, “Protect Mi Amore Cadenza.”

She watched Bunsen Burner’s hooves approach her body, the one she recognized, and saw that she was still breathing, but very shallowly and rapidly.

As the visions ended, Bunsen Burner’s eyes came into focus and blinked heavily. Reality replaced illusion, and he saw his goddaughter standing above him with tears beginning to fall from her face.

“Cadence,” he exclaimed in a near whisper.

The Princess, having been lost in her own world of emotion, looked down rapidly to see the old stallion was rid of his madness. “Shining,” she called out to her husband, “Bunsen’s cured! You can release him now.”

“Got it!” he yelled from outside of the shield, and he quickly lifted the enchantment to place it on the crazed Changeling he was struggling with.

“I have something I need to take care of,” she declared as she spread her wings and lifted the shield surrounding her, “Discord-“

“Of course,” he replied as he watched her ascend, “Go.”

Looking down at him with temporary apprehension, she then rocketed away to find the troublesome draconequus.

“I have plans of my own for that wretched snake,” he angrily growled to himself, and he spat on the ground at the thought of Discord. He looked in the direction the Princess had yelled to for her husband and caught a glimpse of Prince Shining Armor wrestling another unicorn to the ground and restraining him with his magic. He galloped towards him, taking care to not trip on anymore rubble than he already had, “Captain!”

Something hit him from the side and pinned him to the ground. He tried to twist his body over so he could buck his assailant off with his hindlegs, but his opponent only hissed at him and stamped on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

“Captain,” he called out weakly from under his Changeling enemy’s hold.

“Bunsen,” the Prince called back as he rushed over to clear the possessed bug off the scientist, his magic telekinetically launching the drone into the air.

“Need...teleport,” Bunsen Burner wheezed as he got to his hooves and tried to fill his lungs again.

“A teleport? Teleport where?”

“Discord’s chamber, ” he declared, then tapped the tele-beacon hanging around his neck, “not on the network. The Mechataur’s still down there.”

“You’re as good as there,” the Prince said with a nod, then he braced himself and lowered his horn, “Just don’t move.”

Magic surged in an arc off of his horn, and in a flash of magenta light Bunsen Burner was several hundred feet underground. After the momentary vertigo wore off, the old stallion glanced around the large domed chamber: the Mechataur was still where he had left it, standing near the open hangar-like doors. The black and green weeping willow and the surrounding shrubs that had been near the center of the chamber were missing.

“Maiden,” he called out loudly to the Mechataur, “are you in there?”

No response came.

“She must have returned to the lab to rejoin with her other half,” he mused, and he galloped towards the doors. Skidding as he turned toward the hallway he ran as fast he could toward Lab 009, hoping that the ghostly human and Barrel had made some progress on the Marigold hybrid compound. “A human,” he scoffed to himself as he breathed heavily, “who’d have thought I’d need help from one now after all I did just to lock away another?”

“We’ve managed to synthesize about a half dozen canisters of the new compound,” Barrel said as he tapped the aforementioned items in passing, “The process was slower than I would’ve liked, but it’s all we could make in the time we’ve got. How’s it going up there?”

“It’s pandemonium,” Bunsen Burner replied as he stood on his hindlegs and lugged the first canister on the cart next to the table, “I can’t rightly anticipate who’s going to win. The Changelings seem to be as focused on defeating Discord now as we are. The Elements have been destroyed by Discord, but something about Princess Cadence seems to be able to cancel his power.” He loaded the second canister, and then the third, “It’s almost like we’re not in a battle, but some sort of experiment: reactants colliding together to produce some sort of solution.”

The Maiden silently watched them as they loaded the fourth and fifth canisters, but as they were about to load the final one, she waved her green transparent hooves rapidly, “Wait! Hold on!”

“What? What is it?” Barrel hurriedly asked as he turned to her.

“That payload is 8.45 ounces lighter than the others.”

Hoisting it back onto the table with a grunt from both of the stallions, Barrel dexterously unlocked the lid of the payload and spun it open: the vial containing the new compound was missing from its housing.

He shook his hooves in confusion, “I don’t understand! I know I put it in there. It’s not like it could’ve vanished!”

Bunsen Burner shrugged a little and began to push the five canisters out the door of the lab, “Five will suffice, but sweep the lab for the missing vial: we can’t afford to have unaccounted for chemicals of any kind. As for the Maiden and I, we have a war machine to pilot.”

Chapter 64 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 8

Falena flew low along the outskirts of the upper terrace to avoid the detection of the pegasi or other observant ponies in the area. She had seen all of the past half hour’s events unfold but could hardly believe any one of them. Discord had shattered the Elements, become powerless in the presence of Princess Cadence, and retreated to the middle terrace seemingly to cause havoc a safe distance away from her influence to increase his power. She could feel his clutches in the Hivemind’s consciousness, somehow restricted only to those drones he had physically touched: he had managed to give them individuality even as he enslaved them to his will. She just managed to dodge a stray bolt of magic that had been launched into the sky when she saw a pale blue light begin to quickly rise from the upper terrace and then arc back down toward the middle terrace.

“That must be her,” she declared with determination, and she spoke with her mind across their psychic link, Princess, can you hear me?

Falena! Thank the stars you’re still alive, Princess Cadence thought back to her, If you have any control over your Hive you need to leave immediately. I’m going to face Discord, and if you and the other Changelings are still here when he is defeated we’ll all be forced back to square one.

Believe me when I say I don’t want any further harm to come to either side, but we can’t leave now. Even if Discord is removed from the situation his magic could continue, and some of my Hive has been infected by him. Besides, Changelings created this mess, and I think we should clean it up!

Then I suppose we will succeed or fail together, the Princess thought as she finally spotted her ultimate opponent below, still locked in battle with Nightmare Moon, Whatever happens after this, I will remember what you’ve done for Equestria. I won’t forget the good you’ve accomplished.

Thank you, Cadence, Falena thought, her sincere appreciation for the Princess’ word crossing through their psychic connection, which she then closed again. Tugging on the Hivemind’s consciousness with her own, she signaled for the drones to approach Discord’s position with extreme caution. Instead of receiving the usual affirmation from the drones she had been expecting, the response was more one of apologetic refusal: her orders, while appreciated, weren’t necessary. “Oh no,” she breathed.

She was being overruled.

The Queen had to be nearby.

“I really am beginning to tire of our little game,” Discord said with a very minute but perceptible level of annoyance in his voice as he caused blood red lightning to spew from his taloned hand. The energy forked through the air striking Nightmare Moon in the chest. The attack forced her to the ground with a roar of pain, but she seemed to brush off the attack as she teleported out of his sight.

“Why can’t you just die,” she yelled as she attempted to strike him in the back as she appeared behind him.

Discord’s body contorted like taffy around her stabs and slashes, “We’re both made of sterner stuff then these mortals; you know that. You said as much when you tried to defeat your sister a millennium ago. Your inability to beat me is just a fact of nature, because no matter how much you try to destroy, remove, or contain me you can’t stop entropy.”

“Yet magic doesn’t have to end: it can go on forever.”

Discord’s lion paw stretched in length and wrapped around the dark alicorn’s neck, causing her magic and consequently her sword to waver and shimmer as he lifted her up.

“Everything bows to me in the end,” he grimaced evilly while watching his opponent futily swing her blade down on his arm, only to have it pass through intangibly, “You, your sister, and your precious Elements of Harmony.”

“Have you forgotten,” Nightmare Moon croaked through the draconequus’ grip, “that you are Chaos itself?”

Discord’s tale flicked about sporadically as he brought his free hand to his chin in mock moment of thought, “No, I can’t say the idea escaped me at any point, what with me declaring it all the time.”

“Chaos breaks down everything, including itself,” she declared as she smirked back at him, “Look back at every time you’ve been beaten. You could have broken the Elements ages ago, turned back time to change events to your liking, even wiped out anyone who could oppose you, but you can’t! Because in your moment of victory you would have lost: order would become chaos, and chaos order. You’d be a dictator without equal, but with no one to challenge you your rule would continue forever.”

“And how would that be so bad for me?” Discord asked as he continued to hold her up by the throat, “I’d be ruler of everything; changing anything I want when I want and how I want!”

“Except then your chaos would become the new norm, the new ‘order’. The truth is you can’t afford to be in charge for long, or else you become your own antithesis, so on a subconscious level you want to be beaten, and you doom yourself to failure every time.”

“Shut up,” Discord whispered as he began to squeeze harder.

“You are a contradiction, true, but a pathetic one at best,” she wheezed as her regenerative energies kicked in to expand her crushed windpipe, “doomed to either fail and be the jester for all of eternity, or to be the king of everything you hate.” With one last chuckle she sneered at the draconequus, “I don’t know whether to be disgusted with you for aspiring for so much and never being able to achieve it, or to pity you for even trying.”

Discord flung Nightmare Moon to the cobbled street hard, and with ferocity no one had ever seen he caused spikes to erupt from the ground to impale her all across her body. “DO NOT PITY ME!” he roared to the physically shocked alicorn. He ripped a slab of rock out of the street, gave it its own set of spikes, and slammed them down on top of the areas on her body that hadn't already been pierced, “You may think you’re a god, but there’s only room enough for one in this universe, and it certainly isn’t you!”

An emerald green arc of energy flew through the air and wrapped around Discord’s neck and yanked backward hard. Caught off balance, the Lord of Chaos strained to stay upright. His head revolved backward on his neck like an owl, and he saw that the one who bound him was none other than Queen Chrysalis.

“You,” he growled angrily as he reached for the whip around his neck and broke it with a flexing of his grip.

“I don’t care if you think you’re a god,” she seethed as she created an ethereal chain sword and began to aggressively swing it next to her, “you’re mine.”

Growling furiously he snapped his fingers and the Queen’s body began to transmute into glass from the hooves up. When the silica reached her knees, though, it abruptly stopped and then began to diminish and fade.

“You can’t out-change a Changeling,” the Queen quipped as she swung her chain sword through the air from ten feet away, only to have its segments extend to accommodate to her target’s distance and wrap around his neck. With a hiss she pulled him face first into the ground and flew over to slam his head repeatedly into the dirt. “Isn't it tasty?” she said with a mad chuckle, “Eat it up! Isn't that what snakes do?”

She is coming, the Conductor’s voice rang through Nightmare Moon’s mind. Stirring from her body’s physical shock, she fully processed what that message meant. Celestia’s almost there, he intoned again, You must get Twilight Sparkle. She is the key to fully restoring your sister.

Slowly craning her neck around, the dark alicorn looked at the slammed together serrated blocks that kept her in place. Closing her mouth and eyes tight, she began to levitate the top part of her prison off of herself, hollowly screaming in pain as she did. Her silvery life force leaked out of the holes in her body, sealing up the wounds from which the spikes had been removed. She began to have trouble lifting the dislodged block already above herself, and it slowly began to sink back towards her.

“Aunt Luna!”

Lifting her head to look in the direction of the upper terrace, Nightmare Moon saw Princess Cadence gliding in towards her. She felt the spiked block above her lifted up out of her control and saw it tossed to the side in a field of her niece’s unmistakably blue magic.

“Just hold on,” the alicorn of love tried to say calmly as she slowly began to lift her free of the spikes she was still pinned to, “Everything’s going to be alright.”

Nightmare Moon yelled into her own mouth again until she was completely pulled free of the spike tips. Even as she was gently laid down, her wounds had already begun to seal up, leaving no trace that she had ever been injured at all. “Get Twilight Sparkle,” she declared shakily as she rested on her side for a few moments, “We need the Elements here to finish him off.”

Princess Cadence was about to explain why that couldn't be done, but the voice who had helped her before spoke again, Do what she says: I have already spoken to her.

“But-“

Have a little faith, the voice replied, and then it was gone.

“Go!” Nightmare Moon yelled as her strength returned to her, and she picked herself up from off the ground to look in Discord’s direction, “What’s the worst he can do? Tickle me for a few more minutes?”

The ragtag group of the remaining Equestrian soldiers, RSD troopers, and Wonderbolts watched as their Princess flew back towards the upper terrace, while a literal titanomachy took place in front of them.

“General,” a private cautiously spoke up, quickly getting Blitz Hammer’s and Lieutenant Swiftfeet’s attention, “what are our orders?”

“To keep our flanks exactly where they are right now,” he replied calmly as he stared at the three beings battling in front of him, “We’re supposed to be brave, not suicidal. We’re staying out of this like the good little mortals we are.”

As the General finished his thought, a soft but deep boom in the West caught the attention of everypony observing.

A small bright point of light twinkled in the West.

“What is it?” one soldier asked.

“It almost looks like a star,” another replied in confusion.

Cloudchaser alighted to the other commanders’ position as they watched it, “It’s coming right for us.”

The three ponies could only just pick out the details of the fast approaching object. Then it gave a deep bellow. Equine in shape, Lieutenant Swiftfeet thought at first it was some sort of pegasus wreathed in fire, but that quickly changed when he saw the horn on its head. He had to partially close his eyes as he continued to look at it; the fires making up its mane and tail were so bright.

With a roar the alicorn crashed into the middle terrace, her impact scattering glowing cobble stones everywhere. The small patches of grass that had not been taken below with the rest of Canterlot’s citizens began to wither and dry up as she rose up. Her sclera were as black as the darkest night sky, but her pupils burned like twin suns as she looked around the battlefield. Even from the safe distance that they were, each of the soldiers could easily feel the heat radiating of the incandescent equine.

“By all the stars in the sky,” the General whispered in a mixture of awe and horror.

The Lieutenant nodded and said in an almost reverent whisper, “Sol Invicta.”

Nightmare Moon quickly turned toward the upper terrace: there was no sign of Cadence’s or Twilight Sparkle’s arrival. Turning back towards her sister, she saw that the burning mare was staring straight at her.

“Celestia,” she started as she tried to reach out to her, “…Tia, whatever this dark curse is that’s made you this way, you need to fight it!”

Discord gave a sharp laugh as he tossed the Changeling Queen off of himself, “I’m afraid she can’t hear you from in there: nothing is crossing her mind but ‘Burn baby, burn!”

“Impossible,” Queen Chrysalis hoarsely whispered as she hovered midair. Without warning she began to shake uncontrollably and giggle to herself.

As Sol Invicta’s gaze turned to the mad insect, a vision of the past entered her mind.

Green, blazing light quickly traveling up her own stream of magic.

Those green, reptilian eyes and sharp fangs.

The creeping coldness as she slipped into oblivion.

She had tried to put her out.

The burning alicorn exuded a great wave of heat, causing all the foliage within a thirty feet of her to instantly char and turn to ash. With an unholy shriek Sol Invicta jumped and tackled the Changeling Queen, her very touch causing the insectoid monarch to cry out in pain as her exoskeleton began to warp and bubble. Transforming into black ooze the Queen tried to slip away, but her particles were so full of energy from the heat around her that she was beginning to visibly evaporate. Growling at her opponent’s retreat, Sol Invicta opened her mouth wide and a gout of flame chased after her. Sliding in underneath a nearby pile of rubble to reconstitute herself, the Changeling Queen began to incorporate it into her outer plating in order to shield herself from the extreme heat. Fire-like ether spouted out of Sol Invicta’s horn, and the pile of marble and stone her enemy was resting under violently exploded outward in all directions. Only half-prepared, Queen Chrysalis frantically lashed out at the burning alicorn with her chainsword. As the tip of the blade lashed around Sol Invicta’s neck it began to melt, and steaming emerald colored ether fell to the street like molten slag.

“This is impossible,” the Queen whimpered as she reached a whole new level of desperation, and began to look for a crack to slip into to escape. Seeing none, she darted off into the sky.

With another angry yell, Sol Invicta easily belched another stream of fire. The burning trail lanced through the sky, wrapped around the escaping insect, and bound her wings with burning cords. With a frightened prolonged scream, the Queen was brought back to the earth.

Several Changelings who had been watching their sovereign wage battle could no longer stand by and watch her be harmed anymore, and they swarmed around her. The burning alicorn watched impassively as they circled around her and waited. Before any of the Changelings could commence some sort of attack, they heard and felt the crackling and snapping of the membranes in their wings, and before they knew what to do they fell out of the sky.

“My children,” Queen Chrysalis whispered in sorrow as she watched them sink to the ground, and their pain echoed into her mind.

Sol Invicta turned her penetrating gaze down on the Changeling. With a rasping cough, she cleared her throat, and what looked like magma dripped from her mouth.

“Every…thing…burns,” she struggled to vocalize.

Bubbling energy spewed from her horn, and a flaming sword entered into existence.

“You...took…my life,” she spoke louder, and the point of her fiery blade turned towards her opponent’s chest.

Queen Chrysalis sobbed softly in fear, hatred, and grief. With her pleading eyes she tried to pry any sense of mercy from Sol Invicta. All that stared back at her were two burning points of light in a dark void. There was no grace or mercy to be found there: only an unstoppable fire. No matter how much she was to stare into those eyes, they would not fade or blink, since there is no outstaring the sun.

“NOW…I TAKE…YOURS!” she roared, and she brought the blade up.

“Princess?”

Sol Invicta halted her blade’s path into her enemy’s heart. Slowly she turned her head to a lavender unicorn and two alicorns.

The unicorn had spoken to her, but more importantly she knew her.

Studies with a young filly.

So many scrolls she had sent.

Friendship.

Friendship is magic.

“Tw…” she struggled with the name, “Tw…Twilight?”

“Princess,” her most faithful student whispered through the tears growing on her cheeks, “Please don’t.”

The burning mare’s fiery mane and tail began to shrink, and the points of light in her eyes began to grow wider.

“I,” she tried to speak as she glanced back down at the Queen of the Changelings, still sobbing at her hooves, “What was I…”

The time has come, the Conductor intoned in her mind, for this conflict of races to end there is only one solution: eliminate the Queen.

The mare continued to look down at her opponent as she breathed in and out heavily.

You must do this, the voice insisted, the moment is almost past. Kill the Queen now!

Looking down, still caught halfway in her madness at Discord’s hands, Princess Celestia said one simple word: “No. No. Nonononononono.” Finally, as just enough of her madness left her that she could feel grief and shame, she screamed, “NO!”

A flash blinded the area, but as everyone watched, a trail of light flew up into the sky and disappeared. Sobbing, confused, and still out of her mind, Princess Celestia flew out of the planet’s atmosphere and turned into a singular point of light. She sped up, going faster and faster. Aithon, the red planet, appeared in her vision, but as she accelerated it began to change color: orange, to yellow, to green. As it turned blue in color she passed it completely. Another enormous planet she didn't recognize passed by in the blink of an eye. Another with a gigantic ring surrounding it barely even entered her vision before she flew past it in silence.

No, stop, the Conductor tried to calmly urge her, but its voice began to show signs of panic, Please you need to stop! Wait! Stop!

She ignored the voice, which made it cry out even more, You have to stop or everything is doomed! For the love of the stars, stop! Stop!

Chapter 65 - Celestia, The Conductor

Bright light.

So beautiful.

So incandescent.

So serene.

The peace that the wall of white light gave Princess Celestia as she flew behind it was indescribable. The silence that surrounded her had helped to calm her frantically crazed mind, and she was tranquil in its caring embrace. She could still see in her mind’s eye everything that had transpired since recovering her memory: the flames coursing off of her human incarnation, then falling through a sea of nothing, only to find herself ready to slaughter the Queen of the Changelings back in Canterlot. A drop of guilt and melancholy entered her heart as she thought about the scene. Seven hundred years of constant care to transform herself from a radical, war-hungry tyrant into a compassionate, collected world leader, and in a matter of minutes all her forward progress had been stripped away.

The white light before her, which had brought her peace for who knew how long, was suddenly broken in its uniformity. Blue now tinted and swirled throughout it, and with the new image came a sound: the first sound Celestia had heard in what felt like an age. It started as a low grumble but slowly grew in pitch and volume, as if the noise itself had been drawn out over a long period of time.

ssssssttoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOP!

The voice. She had heard it before she now realized: first when it had told her to banish Nightmare Moon to her lunar prison, then it inspired her to bind the Elements of Harmony to the moral principles Starswirl the Bearded had created, and finally it had commanded her to end the Changeling Queen’s life. The voice had convinced her to do things which had ultimately ended in some form of good in the past. Still, she was uncertain what benefit killing her insectoid counterpart would have had. Thinking that perhaps she owed it some small chance to explain itself, the Princess began to slow down.

The blue light quickly shrank into the distance beyond her ability to see. Darkness quickly replaced the light, with a few stars glimmering brightly against the backdrop of space. Small chunks of frozen vapor and mineral surrounded her, and to her right she saw a bright yellow sun. Initially she smiled as she basked in its rays, but as she looked at the vast background of celestial patterns it faded quickly. These stars weren’t the ones she recognized. Nothing matched up with what she knew from her many years studying astronomy in Canterlot or from her trips to high orbit around the earth. She unconsciously tried to speak, but as she opened her mouth she remembered that there was no atmosphere.

Just where am I anyway? She thought to herself as she drifted through the vacuum, while minute particles began to lazily orbit around her body.

You are near Gliese 3347 A, the voice replied to her at its usual speed, one of the many stars that make up the constellation of Orion.

Orion? she thought in confusion.

An image constructed of blue light appeared before her eyes against the dark backdrop. Small points of light shimmered to life while thin lines began to join them into a pattern she ultimately recognized: a minotaur brandishing a sword in one hand while holding a snake in the other.

In our world he is known as the Hunter, the voice replied before the familiar constellation shifted into the image of a swordsman holding aloft a lion, but to the humans he was Orion.

You know about the humans?

I know a great many things.

The blue light erupted silently into a portal that seemed to have no visible end.

Come. Destiny awaits.

I don’t believe in Fate, the Princess thought matter-of-factly.

You will believe in me soon enough, the voice replied, and the light engulfed her.

As the brightness faded Princess Celestia realized with a start that her hooves were suddenly on a crystalline floor: before her stood a similarly crafted dais with ivory columns sprouting up to create a dome over an equally crystalline basin. Hoofsteps softly echoed down to her, and she turned to look towards the sound.

A robed white stallion descended from out of the darkness above, crystal stairs appearing seemingly out of nothing to support his descent. As he reached trotting distance to the platform she stood on, the crystal of the levitating stairs merged with the structure beneath. When his last step from the stairs was completed, they dissolved into the platform altogether as if they had never existed. As he approached, the Princess observed new details of the mysterious unicorn. His mane and tail were a collection of different shades of blue that began to slide into grey, presumably because of advancing age. The robe he wore was deceptively plain in its appearance, but upon closer observation she realized that very thin lines of gold were woven into the fabric, seemingly clustered in some areas while microscopically thin in others. As he continued his advance toward her, though, the patterns and clusters seemed to fluidly shift, as if the whole garment was one fashionable optical illusion. His pupils were a deep blue, almost royally so, and appeared to be as fathomlessly deep as the ocean.

He finally stopped several feet away from the Princess, and looked at her with a gaze that seemed passive. His horn lit up with a blue light, and without warning Princess Celestia experienced a sensation unlike any she had ever felt. She saw within her mind an exact copy of herself and the stranger. The meaning of the conversation being had by the two passed through her mind so quickly that she didn’t have time to hear the words exchanged at all. A second scenario appeared alongside the first in her mind, once again containing the stranger and herself, and once again comprehension was forced on her, though this time somehow different. A third and fourth event occurred in tandem with the first two, then four more, then eight, sixteen, and thirty-two, sixty-four, then one hundred and twenty-eight. Princess Celestia experienced two hundred and fifty-six slightly different but similar conversations, and each offered her something new, as if each exchange was a reprise of a song, each with unique timbre, key, and tempo, but all simultaneously working in harmony.

Abruptly the vision ceased, and she whirled around to look at the mystical pony before her.

“I’m sure I’ve asked this before,” she realized aloud even as she tried to comprehend all of what had happened, “but who are you?”

The unicorn gave a slight smile, “You are right: you have asked that question many times, but only once here.” When he noticed Princess Celestia’s silent confusion, he bowed his head a little, “My apologies. It’s been so long since I’ve had direct interaction with another being, let alone another equine, that I’ve forgotten my manners. I am called Janus.”

“You were the one guiding me throughout my life,” she said for her own confirmation, “You were the voice in my head?”

“Yes, I am the voice,” he replied simply, “and I have directed many lives towards a great design.” He turned towards the dais and began to motion towards it, “Walk with me, please.”

Taking his request, she followed alongside him as they approached the dais, out of which grew a basin.

“This place is not governed by the reality most beings know,” Janus declared as he took the step up onto the elevated platform, “From here I can see and influence events all along our timeline: from before Equestria or even humanity’s existence, to the many ends of all things.” He turned to look at the Princess with a sad glance as he stepped in front of the basin, “It’s because of this that there is still hope, albeit growing fainter by the minute.”

“I don’t understand,” she replied as she took a place next to him in front of the basin, “Are you saying we’re in some sort of other reality?”

“Yes, just not as elaborate of one as Equestria’s, but more like a smaller dimension all its own; comparing the two would be like the difference between an ocean versus a cup of water.”

Princess Celestia nodded unconsciously as she processed the new information, and then looked intently at the unicorn sage, “When I was still being influenced by Discord, I heard you command me to kill the Changeling Queen. Does this have anything to do with the ‘fading hope’ you were talking about?”

"I’m afraid it does,” Janus replied before he looked down into the basin intently.

The Princess watched him for a second before she followed his gaze into the clear liquid below. An alien but also far too familiar world greeted her. She recognized the continents, but the landscape was a nightmare of clashing terrain, flora, and fauna. The ecosystem was in utter turmoil: animals had been so severely mutated that they could no longer digest anything around them, and each individual one was so genetically different now from any other that they could no longer even produce viable offspring. Plants could barely get enough energy to survive because of erratic weather patterns. In the middle of this forsaken wasteland sat a large dome composed of magic, roughly a third the size of Equestria. Inside that small dome was something similar to the land the Princess had always known. A false sun provided heat and light for the population underneath the shield’s protection. A large stone wall meandered its way from one edge of the dome to the other. There was a small section of land that was completely surrounded by two forks of the wall, as if they cupped it between its split lengths, only for them to rejoin and continue on to the other side of the dome.

“What is this?” the Princess asked so quietly it was almost to herself, “What happened?”

“The end of the world,” Janus intoned with a sigh, “and life afterward.”

Princess Celestia shook her head softly, “but how is this possible? How far into the future is this?”

“Almost one hundred years.”

The Princess' confusion deepened as she thought about the situation further, “This is impossible! I wasn't gone for one hundred years. I couldn't have been!”

“This may sound very strange, but you were and you weren't. When you left Equestria, you were subconsciously doing everything in your power to escape from a situation you didn't understand. Your innate talent for light related magic allowed you to travel nearly as fast as it could. Time bent around you, so what was nearly one hundred years for Equestria was only one year for you.”

The Princess shook her head again as she tried to reconcile everything that the unicorn had said, but finally she sighed and gave up, “This sounds like a riddle Starswirl would have deeply enjoyed.”

Janus gave a slight smile, “I expect he would have.”

The Princess pointed down into the basin with her hoof, “So this isn't the future? This is happening right now?”

“For ease of understanding I’ll say yes. This present is the product of a past without your help or involvement.”

The image of the sheltered civilization grew as the point of view flew into a small but fanciful estate. An older mare sat on a floor pillow alone. Her purple and pink wings were folded up close to her sides as she nestled into a thick, warm blanket. Her magic was holding aloft an old photograph of a young white stallion in a royal guard uniform.

“Cadence,” the Princess whispered in pain.

“After your departure from the earth, she was struck a great blow by the Changeling Queen. While she survived, the child she was carrying did not. Since you were not there to ease the tensions of the populace created by the Changelings, a terrible and bloody civil war broke out. After many years of conflict, Cadence was able to broker a peace between the two sides with the help of her understanding of emotional magic. The love she felt for all ponies was enough to get them to end hostilities, but not enough to end old grudges. Those that considered themselves Solar Empiricists or who wished to remain neutral in the conflict joined her in creating the Harmonious Union.”

The image in the basin changed. A dark room greeted Princess Celestia’s eyes. Books lay scattered about the chamber, while many boards that appeared to be made of light surrounded Princess Luna, who was feverishly scribbling onto them with some sort of metallic rod.

“Those that chose to stay with your sister banded together to create the Lunar Republic. Both your sister and your niece are effectively public figureheads now: neither actually rules their respective nation. They both hope that reunification will take place one day, but neither is optimistic when faced with the stubborn nature of their herds.”

“What is she doing?” Princess Celestia asked as her sister quickly paused to look at a scroll before she began to write again.

“She’s plotting a course for the stars, with the intended destination being another planet like this one once was; one that will be able to sustain life.”

The point of view of the basin changed once more, this time to the city encircled by the wall dividing the two equine nations.

“The micro-nation of Academia proposed the colonization of another world at the behest of their Council of Technocrats. The learned elite are culled from the other two nations to work on the project. Those that prove intelligent and skilled enough are invited into the Council, though they themselves still answer to a Potentate.”

An alicorn towered in the basin before the Princess’ eyes, but not one of flesh. Metal plating and synthetic muscles were prominent in its structure, evoking a stallion-like build for the robotic organism. A hub of light was present on each major joint in its skeletal structure. It didn't have wings per se, but instead had mechanical phalanges that extended out to create magically constructed feather-like force fields. At the center of its chest the Princess could see a gap, through which she glimpsed a perfectly spheroidal green crystal. The crystal began to glow as it brought the machine to life, and the robotic alicorn’s eyes snapped open, staring unflinchingly off into the distance.

“At the end of the Battle of Canterlot, Bunsen Burner was able to force Discord to leave Equestria under the threat of his use of a chemical warhead that could even end the lord of chaos’ life. Knowing it would only be a matter of time before the draconequus returned, he spent every waking moment left in his natural life studying the advanced technology left behind by humankind. Their science is what helped him transcend his mortal body. The dome you saw holding the lost world outside is also of their design, as well as the ship that is being built to leave this barren world behind.”

“What happened to the Changelings?” the Princess asked.

Janus looked downward in shame, and he gave a heavy sigh, “After the damage they had caused, nowhere was safe for them. Between Bunsen Burner’s cold ruthlessness and Shining Armor’s rage, the two of them enacted an extermination of the Changeling species: not a single one survived. Though Cadence never stopped loving him, Shining Armor’s obsession for revenge drove him apart from everyone, including his own sister.”

Princess Celestia looked hopelessly up to Janus, “Twilight?”

Janus looked sorrowfully down to her, “She always had faith that you would come back one day. She spent her last years looking out to the stars for you, waiting expectantly for your return like a little child.”

A numbness invaded the Princess’ mind as she tried to process all the new raw information she was being fed.

All this pain.

All this suffering.

The agony of an entire world: it was almost too much for her to bear all at once.

“This world,” she tried to say, but at first it came out a quiet rasp, “This world. It’s become the way it is because I wasn't there?”

Janus looked back down into the basin before looking to the Princess and nodding solemnly, “I’m afraid so, but that is not the only reason it is the way it is.”

Princess Celestia looked back at the unicorn, her expression pleading for him to explain.

He stepped down from the basin’s pedestal, conjured up a sitting pillow for each of them, and then sat himself down comfortably before continuing.

“I've been steering the course of Equestria’s history from the very beginning,” he declared as he looked out into the blackness beyond his crystalline platform, “Every major event that has occurred in the first 1400 years of its history I had influence in. I helped your mother create you and your sister, I created Nightmare Moon to turn the tide in battle, and I helped you seal her away when she nearly proved too much for this world.”

The Princess turned to look at him in bewilderment, which gave way to no small measure of disgust and anger, “You caused my sister’s suffering intentionally?”

“I am not proud of what I had to do,” Janus replied as he continued to stare off into space, “and I wouldn't have done it if it weren't absolutely necessary.”

The Princess’ anger began to burn even hotter, “What possible cause could justify what you put her and the rest of the world through?”

“The end of Discord, forever.”

Princess Celestia’s rage was not abated by what the unicorn had to say, but with practiced patience she silently allowed him to continue.

“As the time approached for what was to be my mantling, I had to intervene more and more. When my link to the physical world was severed, I could no longer nullify Discord’s power, nor could I avert the disasters that befell Equestria. In this way, its future state, what it is now, is also my fault.”

“So there’s nothing we can do now?” the Princess asked.

Janus shook his head, “No, we still have a chance to make things right. Even though the events we will try to change have already happened, they are not firmly set in time. We can fix the damage done and make sure this world never has to exist.” He paused briefly, then looked to her, “If I gave you the chance to go back and set things right for the both of us, would you do it?”

The Princess stood up and nodded, “Absolutely. I’ll do what I must to make sure that nothing that I saw here ever happens.”

Janus nodded, “I have no doubt that you will, but in order for that to prove true the Changeling Queen will still have to be removed from the situation.”

“But you said we were the ones ultimately responsible for this horrible future,” Princess Celestia asked, “Why is ‘removing her’ so important?”

Janus blinked and then turned his head to look at her. Wordlessly he undid the cloak from around his neck. The garment was abruptly cast off when he flared his wings.

The Princess could only stare aghast at them. They were predominately white, but their tips were royal blue like his eyes.

“Because I was murdered before I could help the world,” he said matter-of-factly.

“You,” the Princess tried to say, but she was so caught off guard she had to recollect herself, “You were Cadence and Shining Armor’s son?”

“I was, and I will be again.”

Magic coursed along his horn, and the Princess could feel her body begin to vibrate rapidly.

“Protect my younger self at all costs, and I will see to Discord. Just remember one last thing: there are always more than two options for every choice we make.”

With his peace made, he completed the spell, and the Princess disappeared in a burst of light.

Chapter 66 - The Battle of Canterlot Part 9

For the second time in only a few hours the Mechataur saw sunlight. As the massive vehicle exited the gaping hatch erupting from the streets of Canterlot, Bunsen Burner surveyed the ruined skyline around him from his command chair. He had expected that he would have been furious at the sight of seeing the city he had practically called home destroyed around him, but he was surprisingly at peace. Peace, he realized, wasn’t the exact state of mind he was experiencing. The calmness that had settled on him as he had driven the hulking mass of metal he sat in to the surface was not a happy stillness: rather, it was one that galvanized the anger inside him towards a proactive, methodical goal, like a coolant system to a heat engine. He was a weapon, but not large like a sword or clumsy like an axe. He was a scalpel: surgical, cutting deep to the origin of any given problem, and excising it without a second thought. The next problem he intended to address was Discord.

Just as he was prepared to roll out towards the center terrace, he heard it call out to him, Wait!

Bunsen Burner’s eyes widened and he slammed his back hoof down on the brake plate, bringing the Mechataur to a lurching stop.

The Maiden exclaimed in surprise at the shifting of vehicle before she yelled out from the machine’s internal workings, “What’s wrong? Why are we stopping?”

Princess Cadence may be in grim danger.

“You again,” Bunsen Burner murmured to himself, then he yelled out to the voice, “What do you mean? We’re all in danger so long as that accursed draconequus is loose!”

He will be taken care of soon enough, the voice replied, but just as equally soon Queen Chrysalis will make an attempt on the Princess’ life.

“Bunsen, are you alright?” the Maiden asked from the gunner’s seat, but the old stallion didn’t hear her.

He ground to a halt as his steel trap of a mind went over a projection of the situation. He had to choose, but which option: long term success at the cost of his goddaughter, or an emotional, short term course of action that took him out of the situation of greater importance?

Put aside your need for revenge, the voice prompted him, I need you where you were always meant to be: the lone gunpony between the monsters and those who need protecting.

Vengeance: an emotional response to equalize an arbitrary set of scales. Both situations were clearly not without their irrational roots then. Which was of greater value? Save a princess, or slay the dragon?

The seconds ticked by as he thought impatiently on which he should choose. Finally, the moral quandary boiled down to a simple question: which was more important in the end: family, or duty to the realm? Lily, the true Lily from his memories, flourished in his mind. Suddenly the answer seemed so simple.

He slammed the Mechataur back into gear with a snarl and began the transformation into its bipedal mode, “You’d better be able to handle this, whoever you are.”

Rest easy; I’ll be able to.

Dust clouded everything. The cobblestone beneath him was broken and gouging painfully upward into his legs and back. Flashes of red and green light burned through the air just beyond the heavy veil of powder in front of him. Groaning softly, Adam strained his body forward to sit up, and then he noticed the towers spiraling above.

Canterlot.

With a rush he almost laughed at the realization that he really was back in Equestria. Things were very different from when he had last been in the once shining city, and that was as big of an understatement as he could think of. He felt something resting in his right hand, and he brought it up to look at it. It was a vial full of a lavender fluid, encased in some sort of hand clamp activated hypodermic needle. The dust cleared as he gazed at the pneumatic syringe, and he saw before him the most bizarre thing in the world. A creature of some sort, composed of the fused body parts of many other animals, stood with its back to him, its attention drawn to a pillar of blue light roaring down from the skies.

“Well, no mistaking it,” he murmured to himself as he started to get up and thought about the description that had been given to him, “that’s definitely the guy I’m looking for.”

It only felt like it had just been a few minutes since they had entered the Void through the portal from Adam’s Earth. When he had become conscious of the world around him again, the mixture of the black and white insanity had been replaced by a crystal platform suspended in a dark abyss. He shook his head to clear out the drowsy feelings that clouded his thoughts, and quickly took in the details of the surrounding event. Lying not far away from him was Lyra, who was also in the act of rising from the hard floor with a grunt of discomfort. Adam jogged over to help her up, and was about to ask her if she was alright.

“Welcome, Adam,” a voice called out to him.

Startled, he whipped around to see that the one who had spoken was an older white stallion dressed in dark blue robes. The stallion smiled warmly, and teleported to the two humans.

“Our meeting has been long delayed,” he declared as he offered his right hoof in friendship to the both of them, “but at long last it is very nice to meet you in person.”

Lyra shook his hoof readily, a somber expression on her face.

Adam hesitantly took the outstretched hoof and shook it weakly. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “Are you God; because if you are, there’s going to be a lot of confused and upset people where I’m from!”

Lyra looked at him strangely, and asked, “Wait, what?”

The stallion froze, and then burst into a fit of laughter. “No, I’m not the Composer of the universe,” he replied, a chuckle still in his throat, “I’m merely its Conductor.”

“Oh, ok,” Adam said with a quick exhalation and a wipe of his brow, “So, we’re not dead then?”

“Not in the least,” he replied as his horn lit up, “Could you back up a little, please?”

Confused, Adam felt Lyra tug him backward by the arm, and realized that the floor where their feet had just been was rising up. Columns sprung up from the crystal and formed a domed roof, and a basin ascended in the center.

“It’s time, isn’t it,” Lyra asked with an anxious tone as she stared at the Conductor, “It’s time to stop Discord?”

“Events have unfortunately not transpired as I had hoped,” the white stallion commented, while Adam silently looked back and forth between the two in bewilderment, “but now is the time that I have planned we will all strike together.”

“Woahwoahwoahwoah,” Adam said as he frantically waved his hands and glanced back and forth between the two, “Can someone explain to me what’s going on? All I knew about was getting the Princesses back and maybe by a shot in the dark make it to Equestria again with them. What’s this about Discord?”

“My apologies,” the Conductor replied, and his horn lit up.

Instantaneously, Adam’s mind was flooded with the memory of a full conversation between the three of them explaining the events in Equestria, one which they had never had. Reflexively, he stumbled backward and sputtered as the newly acquired knowledge flooded his mind.

“I’m alright,” he said as he raised an arm at Lyra to reassure her, “I’m alright.” Blinking rapidly, he shook his head and muttered, “That would have been so useful for the school years.”

Lyra’s eyes widened as she too received the memories of a conversation she’d never had, and she verbally exclaimed in surprise, “Aaaaah! Watch it! My childhood memories are in here!”

“My sincerest apologies,” Janus bowed his head slightly, “but I thought it best that we all be on the same page to avoid an overly long conversation.”

“Ok, so Discord’s free,” Adam thought aloud as he rubbed his forehead, which then evolved into a question, “How do we stop him? Actually, hang on, why is there even a ‘we’? Can’t you take him on by yourself? Why do you even need us?”

“I can equal him, that is true,” Janus replied, “but I cannot destroy him. We are two parts of the same spectrum, and our status quo is in a delicate, easily destructible balance. As a being of Order, I’m only in a position to influence Discord because he has made plans, albeit very open, vague ones. Still, it is an order that I can manipulate. If I were to try and strike him down, no matter how emotionless or rational I was would matter against the fact that I would be trying to end the greatest source of improbability in the universe. That course of action, whether it actually succeeds or fails, is by its nature improbable. Discord could then have the potential to influence me, and unravel every past, present, and future strategy I have leverage in.”

“So why pick us,” Lyra asked, “I mean I’m just a regular old unicorn- No, I was a unicorn, but was transformed into a human.”

“I’m a regular old human,” Adam commented as he threw his hands up, but stopped when he looked at the Dominion Gauntlet where his left hand used to be. “Well, OK, we are pretty extraordinary,” He exclaimed as he brought his arms back down with a flop, “but what qualifies us over anyone else to be slayers of beings that represent the forces of the universe?”

Janus looked at them both contemplatively for a few moments as he analyzed his thoughts.

“I’m not completely sure how to explain it,” he admitted with a quick exhalation, “All I know is this: humans, of all the races I have observed, have the greatest amount of potential to be anything they want, whether they wish to be moral, immoral, orderly, or chaotic. Humans make war and spill blood, but they also bind up wounds and offer healing. They’ve destroyed planets and star systems over petty wealth or belief, but they also offered others, like Equestrians, a chance to share in a world they helped to restore. Perhaps that’s why Discord wiped out this timestream’s population: your nature is so great a paradox that not even he can control you, and neither can I. This is why I’ve helped you to survive the trip across dimensions: you can be my force of change for order.”

“That sounds like a contradiction,” Lyra pointed out flatly.

Janus looked at her with a knowing smile, “And in no other race’s nature can we find so grand or simple of one than in humanity’s.”

Adam furrowed his brow as he thought, and then a suspicion crossed his mind, “So with all your talk of manipulation and conducting events, how do we know you’re telling us the truth? How can we be sure you aren’t using some sort of mind control on us like Discord's been known to do?”

“I could if I wanted to,” Janus replied matter-of-factly, “but then you’d be in the same situation I am with our enemy; turning you to his side and upsetting the status quo in his favor again. No, I can’t force you to do anything, but I can appeal to you with my words instead. Discord wants to end the world that we both cherish, and he will not stop unless he is destroyed.” A flash erupted in front of Adam and Lyra, and a vial of purple liquid appeared, hovering in the air. In another flash, the small container split into two identical copies. The two ampules turned ninety degrees, waiting to be held by an outstretched hand each. “Will you help me to end his threat to existence once and for all?”

Lyra reached for her vial first, but then hesitated as she thought about what Adam had asked: how did they know they weren’t allowing themselves to be used? She had been quick to trust the Conductor’s word, but all they had to trust him was his own word and what might happen if they didn’t do as he asked. Still, the alternative was too high of a cost to not take seriously. With greater care than she had initially displayed, she took the vial into her hand.

Adam was lost in his own train of thought on the subject, but he did notice Lyra had taken her ampule of purple fluid. His concentration on the matter visibly increased. With great effort on his part, he finally came to his choice and swiped up his own vial.

“Alright, I’ll help,” he exclaimed to Janus, “but I’m not doing this because I trust you.”

“We are all getting something out of this,” Janus nodded grimly, “and that’s all that matters.”

With the acceptance of their task accomplished, the Conductor shunted the two humans to the space and time he wanted them in Canterlot. He stared down into the basin he had spent immeasurable eons looking at.

“Now it’s time to make my own entrance,” he murmured, and he disappeared from his pocket dimension with a blue flash of light.

A shockwave of deep blue magic spontaneously appeared on the battlefield of the middle terrace, drawing the attention of everypony away from the melee between the various powerful beings at play. Discord’s mismatched eyes turned to the disturbance and narrowed: this was the source of power that had seemed so foreign and hostile to him. Before he even knew what it was he tried to strike at it with all his might with a pointing of his finger, but all that happened was the appearance of a little strip of paper from the tip that said BANG! Discord looked down at his finger and scoffed, “Cute.”

“Discord,” a voice called out from the waning cloud of energy. A white stallion appeared from the dying light, his forelegs, back, and wings covered in orangish gold armor that gleamed in the sun’s midday rays. On his head sat a regal four-pointed crown made of pure gold through which his deep blue hair flowed out. A steely look was in his eyes, and his voice boomed across the field of battle, “Face me. I challenge you to physical combat. Beat me, and you can continue to terrorize this world freely without my interference on your magic. Lose, and I withhold the right to banish you from this world forever.”

Discord was legitimately surprised by such a blunt challenge, but he strode over to the stallion with confidence all the same.

“That’s a pretty interesting bet you’re wagering: very high stakes,” he commented as he stopped in front of the mysterious fourth alicorn, “but if you plan to fight me, I expect that you’ll at least be sporting enough to tell me who you are.”

The alicorn’s eyes appeared as if they were charged with energy as he looked up at the draconequus, and it almost seemed as if each cornea was the container for an entire galaxy.

“I am your antithesis,” he declared as he spread his wings wide, “I am Order given form. I am Equestria’s Guardian and Conductor, and I am your judgement.”

Discord mockingly whistled and clapped his paw and claws together, “Those are quite the descriptions! You must have worked on those for a long time. You even gave yourself the wholesome appearance of a heroic knight, come to save his kingdom by slaying the dragon.”

Discord’s tail, unbeknownst to the Conductor, slowly began to reach around his back right hoof.

“I’ve unfortunately got some news for you,” Discord declared as he cinched his tail tightly around his foe’s legs and tossed him into nearby some nearby rubble, “this dragon’s not so easily beat!”

A familiar scene unfolded not too far away. A burning Princess of the Sun had raised her sword to strike down the Queen who had tried to end her life. In the last moment before she would have done the deed, she had stopped at the pleading of her student. A bright light had consumed the area. When that light faded, a Princess Celestia, much more collected and sane than she had appeared only a few seconds before, stood above the whimpering, pathetic form of the Changeling Queen.

Time felt as if it were going at a snail’s pace for the Princess. Perhaps the crawling of the seconds was a blessing of some sort, because in the time she was given, the Princess thought about the last thing Janus had told her.

There are always more than two options for every choice we make.

Princess Celestia had lived over 1400 years of life. She had seen kingdoms rise and fall, some of them even her own. Across that seemingly enormous abyss of time she had learned one very crucial fact: everyone makes mistakes. Discord, as omnipotent as he claimed to be, had made them and allowed himself to be imprisoned. She had made the mistake of not paying more close attention to her sister when she had needed her help the most, and consequently Nightmare Moon was born. She had tried to see her sister’s dream of social equality accomplished by claiming divinity, and the colossal error of Sol Invicta was born. If they had all been so equally capable of fallibility as any mortal, then it was indeed possible that Janus was no exception. For all his supposed plans and machinations, even he could be wrong. What if there didn’t have to be bloodshed? Perhaps even now there was still a glimmer of hope of reconciliation between Equestrians and Changelings.

In those few seconds of thought, something new was born. A realm of new possibility was being opened. Princess Celestia didn’t believe in fate, and so she tried to change the world with two simple words: “No. More.”

As time seemed to return to normal, the Changeling Queen’s tears and shivering came to end, and she looked up in confusion at the now calm Princess before. Nightmare Moon, Princess Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, and everyone who watched seemed to be involuntary holding their breath, as the air hung thick with destiny.

Princess Celestia looked down at the Changeling Queen with her practiced diplomatic demeanor, and stepped away, “The battle is no more. Surrender.”

Her opponent blinked in surprise as she stared up at her.

“I want peace and healing for the both of our herds,” the Princess continued with an imploring tone, “We can do that together. The future can be a bright one, just please yield to me!”

The Queen looked up at the Princess, visibly mystified by this sudden change of heart. Then comprehension quickly came down on her about what this situation meant: this ‘peace offering’, even if genuine, would only be a means for her Hive to be oppressed by the common rabble of Equestria. They would be outcasts, not conquerors; starving and dying when they had just had a future of guaranteed prosperity. She had failed.

No. So long as her enemies didn’t get their victory unscathed, she could always claim victory.

“I will never accept your terms,” she hissed. Spawning her chainsword once again, Queen Chrysalis stabbed up and through Princess Celestia’s ribcage.

The Princess choked, her eyes widened, and she slowly fell onto her back hooves.

“Tia,” Nightmare Moon screamed, as she ran to her sister’s side. The Princess of the Moon’s eyes grew from their draconic shape to a normal equine set, her black coat changed to a phthalo hue, and her astral mane and tail turned into silvery azure as she galloped toward her sister. Her concern for Celestia’s well-being her most immediate priority, a weakened Princess Luna had reasserted herself over her darker counterpart.

“Princess!” Twilight Sparkle yelled in horror as she too teleported to her.

“I will have my vengeance on you all,” the Queen shrieked as she ran towards the nearest edge of the city, ready when there to take flight back to the Hive’s temporary home in the North and call a full retreat.

Princess Cadence, being the only one standing in the Queen’s path, summoned her ethereal bow, quickly notched an arrow, and fired on her. The magical projectile soared through the air and plunged into the Queen’s shoulder, who screamed in pain and fury.

The Queen’s horn began to glow, ready to target the Princess of Love, and unknowingly her unborn child, with a powerful hex.

Janus slammed into another pile of rubble, his body already between broken and mending as the energies that powered him restored his physical being. Discord loomed over him, ready to swipe at his exposed underbelly with his claws. Instinctively, the alicorn kicked with all his might against the serpentine body of his enemy, which sent the draconequus flying back. Discord hissed as he felt pain for the first time, his traumatized organs already healing and returning to their normal place. Mortality, he quickly determined, was very unwelcome and not advantageous to him. Janus rushed him even as he was sprawled on the street, and slammed down on his ribs, stamping on him with all his might. Wrapping his lower body up and around the alicorn, Discord returned the favor by trying to crush Janus’ bones with his constriction, even as he slashed away with his claws. Janus bit down into the draconequus’ fur, drawing out his red regenerative energies even as his own blue ones seeped out of him.

“You can fool them all you want with your ‘defending the realm’ shlock,” Discord sneered, “but we both know what you really are. I’m Chaos incarnate! I was the Big Bang! I’m the life of the universe itself!”

“You’re the reason pain, suffering, and decay exists,” Janus snapped.

“So what does that make you, Mr. Order? Stasis, inertia, the end of all things! Death! We may have a difference of opinion on a cosmic scale, but if I’m taken away, all that leaves is a darkness that never starts or ends!”

Discord flew upward and tossed Janus free, who recovered his balance and immediately flew up to piledrive the draconequus straight back into the ground.

“Look at us,” Discord said with a laugh as his body reconstituted into its usual asymmetrical form, “the powers of the universe at our disposal, and we spend our little battle acting like common, uncivilized beasts! Really though, we are very much alike: using spider’s webs to ensnare mere mortals into our bidding, more ability to shape reality around us than most can dream, but where does Chaos stop and Order begin They’re practically the same thing in the end!”

Janus was about to respond when his attention was ripped to somewhere nearby. Through his view of the potential divergent timelines, he saw Queen Chrysalis about to strike his mother with a bolt of energy. There were only 7 of 1046 universes where he would survive. His heart gripped with horror as he realized the Princess may have failed her choice.

Reaching back in time to just a few minutes previous, he tugged on one of the minds he had predestined in the past. Wait! Princess Cadence may be in grim danger.

Through a set of similarly knowledgeable eyes, Princess Celestia watched in what felt like slow motion as the horrific future she had witnessed was imminently about to become true. With a wound gaping open and magic pouring out of her body, the Princess sprang off the ground, crumbling the stone beneath her. As she soared through the air, the seconds ticked by like years. Turning into a beam of light, she swooped down. The Queen’s horn was glowing emerald, milliseconds from unleashing a bolt of lightning on Princess Cadence. Reappearing in her normal equine body just above the Queen of the Changelings, the Princess yelled a great “NO!”

Her golden sword slowly appeared out of thin air, its usual wavy construction present once more. With a twirling fall and a swing of her blade, Princess Celestia cut through Queen Chrysalis’ horn, shattering the tip.

A small but vibrant green explosion erupted out of the point where the horn had once joined its head. Princess Celestia landed on all four of her feet, coughing heavily and collapsing to the ground as her wound and the exertion of the act overtook her. Princess Cadence had been prepared to fire another arrow, but rushed over to her aunt’s side to see if she was alright. A deep rumbling sound filled the air as titanic hoof falls approached from behind her, and a deafened thud echoed across the battlefield.

The voice entered Princess Cadence’s mind with an uncharacteristic yell, Teleport yourselves away now!

Wasting no time on questions, Princess Cadence clutched Princess Celestia in her hooves and caused them to disappear in a cyan flash of light.

Stunned and oozing green gel from her chest wound, the Queen of the Changelings didn’t notice what was happening until it was too little, too late. A canister landed next to her, and purple gas spilled out of it. The mist filled her lungs, which felt like she was getting frostbitten from the inside out.

The Mechataur sprinted towards the dazed Queen and snatched her up into its palms.

“Thrusters,” Bunsen Burner roared to the Maiden.

With only a second’s delay, the behemoth’s Arcanium thrusters ignited, and the Mechataur slowly began to ascend up and away from the city.

Discord took advantage of his opponent's distraction and slammed him into the ground, ripping away at the stallion’s chest with a visceral glee. After a few vindictive addition swipes of his claws, Discord needed a chance to breathe. Standing straight up, he watched as the slashes and tears in his mortal enemy’s coat slowly mended back together with flashes of his magic. Having passed out from the pain, Janus’ eyes flew open as he began to recover. He could sense that Adam and Lyra were not far off, so he needed to make his performance last. Gasping in pain like he never had before, he took in deep gulps of air as he waited.

“I think you’re wrong about something,” he said through an exaggerated cough of pain.

“I've been hearing something like that all day,” Discord said with bemusement, then he shoved one of his talons into Janus’ stomach, “Enlighten me at your own risk.”

Janus gave a very real shout of agony before he continued on between gasps of pain, “Order and Chaos…”

“Yeeess?” Discord twisted his claw in the wound.

Silently, Lyra stalked behind the draconequus, syringe in hand. Adam appeared not too far away from the opposite side of the pile of rubble Lyra had emerged near.

Making sure to not give them away, Janus looked straight into Discord’s eyes, “We’re two sides of the same coin, but we are separated by a very fine line; sharp as a knife’s edge.”

“And that fine line is?”

Janus smiled, “The still moment, a very singular pause in all things: the existence of Potential.” With a small grunt of pain, he then shouted as loud as he could, “NOW!”

Discord was surprised by two very distinct battle cries coming from behind him. As a force of habit, he snapped his fingers as he turned, but nothing happened.

Lyra slammed her needle into Discord’s lower abdomen, and released the solution into his body.

With a flying jump Adam stabbed his into the draconequus’ chest.

Discord looked down at the two needles puncturing his body, and he felt the serum flowing through his physical form: it was like a nothingness was creeping through him, swallowing up everything that he was. His eyes grew in surprise, and then he looked at the ones who had done the deed.

The woman he recognized from the little talk they had mentally had many months ago, though she had obviously traded in her old unicorn body.

The man! He was the one he couldn't remember when he had sent Celestia away. As he continued to look at him, some sort of hallucination made the way the human appeared to be change. He seemed so bright, shining like a star of pure undiluted white light, only his outline was the deepest black.

“I…” he tried to speak, but the words he wanted to say felt like they were being sucked down a drain which he couldn't climb back up, “I…don’t understand.”

Adam had thought about what this mismatched creature represented, and he looked up at the draconequus, “Even though they never got the chance to be here, humans still beat you.”

Discord wanted to be furious, but the concept was leaving him. He lost balance and fell backward, landing in a haphazard mess on the shattered masonry beneath him.

“This was for the Maiden,” Adam declared as he turned and walked away, “and for all the rest.”

Lyra stayed, still shocked that the being who she had always known as the source of all disharmony was now dying before her.

Discord looked up at her as he began to breathe erratically, and he pointed to Janus. With great effort, he muttered, “Watch him.” He then looked over at Janus and chuckled softly, “Good luck without me.”

With one last great spasm, Discord lurched forward and bit down on his own tail. Lyra instinctively leapt backward with a gasp at the sudden movement. Discord’s eye’s became grey and sightless, and in one last bizarre act he chewed his way up his tail, then to his legs, his torso and arms. When he reached his head his prominent fang fell out, and his jaw, almost like the pattern of a Mobius strip, wrapped around and ate his own skull.

As he finally realized the goal he had planned for nearly 1500 years was accomplished, the death of Discord entered Janus' mind. As he processed what this meant, a door into the future he had never before seen opened in front of him. All the timelines he could see, each like an elegant strand of color in a rainbow pattern, was violently sucked down into a singularity: one general outcome that united all of them in their futures. After it, nothing. A darkness deeper and blacker than he had ever seen consumed the vision of his mind.

“No,” he whispered to himself in abject terror, “by all the sacred stars, this can’t be possible!”

Lyra didn't hear what the alicorn was saying, but squatted down to pick up the fang of Discord, the singular remnant to mark his passing. Suddenly, she noticed a large mass moving through the sky away from Canterlot towards the Northwest, and she couldn't help but exclaim aloud, “What in Tartarus is that?!”

The Mechataur ascended steadily away from the city. Bunsen Burner flipped open the glass case of an overhead button and slammed it upward. The canopy of the forward compartment was filled with red light, and a small counter to the far right of the console activated and began to tick away.

Sixty seconds.

The old stallion wrestled the controls to try and maintain a steady altitude, and so he didn't notice the Maiden had left her post possessing the gunner’s seat to meld with his mind.

“What are you doing?” she quietly asked from inside his mind: she hadn't taken full control of his senses, but only enough that she could understand and speak without interfering.

“The Queen and I have too much blood on our hooves,” he yelled over the internal noises of the tank-golem, “We have too much to answer for to not receive the highest sentence possible. Besides, I’d rather die than live to rot in another cell without a purpose.” He realigned course to allow for detonation over an unpopulated forest near the capitol, “You’d better go. There’s not much time left.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” the Maiden replied simply.

Bunsen Burner unconsciously flinched in surprise at her choice, “Why?”

“Because there’s still fifty seconds left to convince you there’s a life worth living out there.”

Bunsen Burner was silent, so she pressed on, “I was forced to become a scientist because my society dictated so. I lived that life even after I become the last human, because Discord needed to be countered. I spent all of your world history guarding the secrets of human technology. Even in death and having the patience of a machine, this purpose driven life has offered me nothing but misery.”

Three precious seconds of precious silence ticked back.

“What did you want to be, if you had been given the option,” Bunsen Burner asked, his voice betraying his cracked image of control and self-assurance with a tiny waver.

“I wanted to be a storyteller,” she replied softly.

Bunsen Burner glanced down at the counter: thirty-five seconds.

“When I was a young colt, the mysteries nature offered and that science answered amazed me. I always wanted to study them, but at my leisure: not looking for a means of weaponization, or an anti-toxin, just observing the passing of a grand and marvelous universe.” His eyes migrated downward as he thought, and he murmured, “I never got to do that.”

“But you can now,” the Maiden responded, “I can offer you knowledge like you've never dreamed. I want to give you something I never had: a second chance to live before you die.”

Twenty-five seconds.

“Were you too afraid to face death,” Bunsen Burner asked with an accusatory tone, “Is that really why you stayed after the creation of my world?”

“No,” she replied, “I stayed because I still had too much to atone for.”

Bunsen Burner looked up and out to the world outside his metal coffin. A blue sky greeted him, and rich green trees. Puffy white clouds were on the horizon, and a beautifully yellow noon sun sat in the sky. It seemed like any other day, but at the same time there was no better day than the one before him. Lily had loved rainy days, but a day like this…These were the kind of days she absolutely adored. Tears began to bead near the center of his eyes.

“I don’t deserve this,” he said in a cracking voice, “I don’t deserve a second chance.”

“I know,” she replied soothingly as eleven seconds ticked to ten, “That’s why, if you take this, you should make it count the most that you can.”
Queen Chrysalis, beginning to awaken from her poisoned daze, tried to shapeshift out of the Mechataur’s grip, but found that she couldn't. “You can’t hold me forever,” she screamed, and tried to struggle against the hydraulic pistons enclosed around her, but to no avail.

Seven seconds.

Bunsen Burner slammed the eject lever at his side down. The bolts around the forward compartment exploded, but the canopy remained in place. A light signaling an ejection fault flashed.

Bunsen Burner quickly glanced at the countdown.

Four.

Three.

Two.

Sitting back in the pilot’s seat, he closed his eyes and whispered to himself, “Lily.”

With a mighty roar and a burst of flashing colors, the Mechataur violently exploded. The distant thump of the detonation took a full second to reach Canterlot after the spectacle ended.

From his perch in the clouds above, Mr. Black bowed his head and began a prayer, “Oh Elysia, goddess of the warriors slain, send your valkyries to lift up the soul of this honored foreigner. Bring him to a place of peace and happiness now that his fighting days are done.”

Prologue

Superstition is an inherent part of any society, and Equestria is no exception to this rule. In the tales of ponies that came from the old days, there were fables and folktales alike; some were to instill bright moral lessons in the minds of growing young colts and fillies, while others were simply tales of the exploits of hero and heroine alike, where everypony lived happily ever after. There were some tales that were told, however, that were not meant to breed happiness. Legends spoke of beings that came in the night, who could steal away your loved ones and replace them, and you would be none the wiser that your husband, wife, father, mother, daughter, son, or any other relation you loved was now somepony else. These tales in time fell to the wayside, being unpopular to begin with for the fear they incited. Besides, there was no such thing as the creatures told in those tales. Some tales are meant to be shared, however, because without the wariness they inspire, one may find that someday their nightmares are very real, and that nopony was prepared for the possibility of it being so, for fear of it ever occurring.

In a dark part of the Everfree Forest, where no common animal dared tread, there lay a small cavern. A creature made its home in this hole; a large three headed dog named Cerberus. Whenever any ignorant animal came too close to entering the cave, Cerberus would be released to teach them the error of their ways. When the threat to the cave was neutralized, the three headed dog would return to its pen, where it would enter a chamber that preserved it in an icy dreamless sleep until the next intruder came. No being of any kind was allowed to pass into the cavern. The dog had no knowledge of why it was protecting this particular hole in the ground; it only knew its masters had commanded it to. Further into the cave, if one could make it that far without drawing Cerberus’ wrath, was a deep shaft; a chasm that looked as if it were a large gaping esophagus to a mighty beast. Down and down it went, hundreds and hundreds of feet, until the tunnel leveled into a horizontal slope. Down here, in a hole where sunlight had never penetrated its depths, where everything was encompassed in a cold muggy environment of subterranean atmosphere, lay Tartarus; the place of legends, frightful and terrible.

Almost a millennia and a half ago, humanity had been forced into life underground after the end of an apocalyptic war on its surface that wiped out all life, except that which was safe below ground. In time, one colony of humanity, Vanguard, discovered a spatial anomaly that emitted a strange radiation that could alter almost any lifeform it came into contact with. Armed with their growing knowledge of what they dubbed ‘Tessaractal Radiation’, they planned to retake the surface and restore life to the planet with this energy, and with the genetic engineering of new lifeforms. As with any scientific endeavor, trial and error was to be expected, and there were of course many failures. Most could easily be cleaned up or eliminated. Tartarus was the place where humanity sent ‘reject stock’ from their experimentation that proved too dangerous to be kept around, but could not easily be destroyed. Dozens upon dozens of cryogenic chambers lined the hole that led up to the surface. The majority of them were filled with one type of creature; the ones that never stopped evolving. Some had even gone so far as to call them ‘the ultimate survivors’, and that statement held true; even with humankind long dead and gone, the Changelings remained deep in an icy slumber.

As the years passed, a few of them had eventually adapted to the cold of their chambers, and had escaped to the world above, where they spawned the forgotten stories of the shape-taking bugs that went bump in the night. Without their royalty, though, the majority of the escaped Changelings eventually starved, because they were not intelligent enough to maintain cover for long periods of time, so that they could feed off the emotions of others. In among the many uniformly sized pods that held their captive insectoids, was one large pod. The slumbering occupant was the leader of the Hive; their Queen. Her metabolism had been slowed to a near standstill by the ice surrounding her lithe and gossamer winged form. As time had inevitably marched on, though, her physiology had begun to adapt to the cold. If one were to look at her now, they could see her chest imperceptively rise and fall with a gradually increasing tempo, as her body had almost become completely immune to the cold. Today was the day that hell would break loose from its bonds; today was the day Queen Chrysalis awoke from her slumber.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing her dark emerald, slit-like sclera. She stared up through the small portcullis near her face that offered her a splendid view of the stalactites decorating the cavern ceiling. She lay in the chamber for a short while, trying to recall her dreams and last few memories. The humans had shoved her in this pod when she and her Hive had escaped their cages. They had tried to overthrow the humans; she was superior to them in every conceivable way, so what reason was there to remain subservient to them? The humans had fought back with their science, and they had poisoned her and her Hive with a compound that forcibly took away their shapeshifting for a time, leaving her children powerless. She had taken down six of those aggravating little monkeys before they had iced her and put her in this pod. Now, however, was the time to be free from her old life. Now was the time to start anew.

Using her amorphous body structure, Queen Chrysalis punched a hole through the portcullis with a super dense iron hoof. She then transformed into a puddle of black goo which slid up the walls of her sarcophagus and out the hole she had just created. Reforming herself atop her pod, she began to take in her immediate surroundings. She counted no fewer than five hundred Changeling pods, with sixty three missing occupants. She would have to count those missing presumed dead; still, four hundred and thirty-seven was an excellent number of soldiers all the same. She turned her head up to the ceiling, and from out of her mouth came a high pitched wail. The magically enhanced scream shattered the glass of her Hive’s cryo pods, and in time they awakened. Using her emerald magic, Queen Chrysalis ripped the hatches off of some of the closer pods, and her Changelings slowly began to emerge and approach her, awaiting her command. She began to look around for her commanders to her army, her eyes roving over the gathering hoard of insectoids.

“Royal Candidates; my sisters,” she barked out harshly, “Present yourselves to me!”

In a flutter of several sets of wings, three Changelings stood before her, and they bowed to her. These Changelings stood a little taller than the drones around them, but they were still shorter than their mistress. They also had the single eye structure of their Queen, as opposed to the compound eyes of their drones. The highest ranked of them was Pupa; she held the Queen’s ear on many matters, and she was skilled in the art of finding suitable food sources for her Hive. She was just as slender as her Queen, and her mane was shoulder length and thick. The second among them was Larva, who was large and bulky by Changeling standards. She enjoyed the sweet nectar of love just as much as any of the Hive, but she preferred the spicy but bitter taste of anger and the bloodlust of battle. The last of the Royal Candidates was Papillon. The smallest of the three Changeling commanders, she enjoyed the subtle art of deception. While any Changeling could deceive, Papillon reveled in the action of becoming a new being, taking her place at center stage in the theater of falsehoods, and draining her food source of the last of their tasty emotions while she exited stage left.

“So we have lost two. This I will have to make do with.” the Queen muttered to herself. Speaking out to her troops now, she raised her voice, “My beautiful Changelings, the time has come for us to see what lies on the surface above. Much time may have passed, and who knows what we may find, but this world is ours to rule! No matter what obstacles we face, we will take what was predestined as our birthright; Earth belongs to us, and we will seize it!”

The Hive hissed and screeched in passionate agreement.

“Should we find any of our old masters, you all know what to do with them,” the Queen smiled wickedly.

All the Changelings around her angrily buzzed their acknowledgement of her instructions.

“Now, we rise!” Queen Chrysalis grinned before she let out another ear piercing screech.

The Hive scrambled into the air without hesitation, organizing into complicated formations as they flew out of the cavern and up the tall shaft of their pit to the world up above. The mouth of the cave that led to the Everfree Forest belched forth a large humming, jittering mass of black chitinous armored bugs that buzzed off into the grey morning light. By the time their guardian had been released from cryostasis, the Changelings were free and far away from the cave mouth, flying up and out of the gloomy Everfree Forest, to the waiting world of Equestria beyond. Needing to warn someone, anyone at all, of the breach to its territory, Cerberus angrily ran out of its cave into the forest beyond, and then from out of the forest to a small town not too far away from its home. It was a little frontier town by the name of Ponyville.

Chapter 3

Shining Armor had taken his orders to secure Canterlot to the best of his ability very seriously. After what had happened to his fiancé, in what he and many others believed to be an assassination attempt on Princess Cadence, he was ready to take Canterlot directly into Siege Mode. He had been assured, however, that this was not necessary, but that did not stop him from conjuring up a city wide shield that proved theoretically impervious to all aerial assault, making a Griffon attack impossible. The towers of Canterlot had been hastily electro-plated by the Royal Science Division with a substance that they had taken to calling ‘Arcanium’, an element that their metallurgists had fabricated many years ago to conduct magical energy for experimental purposes. The magenta colored shield had been holding steadily for the past two weeks now, but it required continuous charging by Shining Armor, who was now beginning to have frequent migraines as a result of his continued subconscious exertion. The migraines had started about the same time that he had begun to experience strange thoughts, thoughts that spoke in a sweet but malevolent voice to lower the shield. He of course ignored those strange impulses. Perhaps, he thought to himself, the strain of keeping the shield raised was started to cause him to have hallucinations. He didn’t like the sound of that, but he told no one about this development.

He had just sent out two small detachments of Royal Guardsponies to their posts, when he heard a familiar voice calling out from the courtyard below him, “I’ve got something to say to you, mister!”

The voice was highly agitated, but it was unmistakable; it was his sister, Twilight Sparkle. Some of the more inexperienced or eager guardsponies lowered their pikes to the lavender unicorn, but he silently order them to stand down.

“Twily!” Shining Armor said as he quickly made his way down a nearby staircase to greet his little sister, “Aw, I’ve missed you, kid! How was the train ride? I-“

Twilight irately stopped him right in his tracks, “How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married? I’m your sister, for pony’s sake!”

Shining Armor was stunned a little by the realization that he had indeed forgotten to do just that, but he quickly recovered his thought process, “It’s not my fault! Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn’t you see all the guards at the train station?”

“Yeah! There’s a big wedding coming up. Maybe you heard about it?” replied Twilight in frustration as he trotted away from her brother to look down into a small pool of water nearby.

“It has nothing to do with the wedding,” Shining Armor said as he came over to stand in front of his disgruntled sister, “A threat has been made against Canterlot.”

This grabbed Twilight’s attention rather quickly, “A threat? What kind of threat? By who?”

Shining Armor shook his head, “What little we do know, I can’t say. I can tell you this much; we don’t ultimately know who’s responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I offer additional protection.” He realized it was now about time to offer his energies to the shield for the day. “This, you need to see.” he said to Twilight, who now gave him her full attention.

Shining Armor prepared his stance, and after a few moments of concentration, a magenta light pulsated off of his horn. Twilight covered her eyes as the spell became brighter and brighter. After he was sure he had received enough energy from his magical reserves, he fired a pulse of pure energy into the sky. The packet of energy hit the large spherical shield, causing it to momentarily ripple as it received its recharge for the next twenty four hours. His task complete, Shining Armor dissipated the spell from his horn. A lightning burst of pain hit across his sinuses and brain, and he had to momentarily rub the sides of his head to dull the awful sensation back to manageable levels.

“Shiny, are you okay?” Twilight asked with an edge of concern in her voice.

He shook his head, “Yeah. I’m fine.” He slowly began to walk back up to the balcony at which he had originally been standing, and Twilight followed, lengthening her pace so that she would be right beside him. He sighed deeply as he looked to Twilight, “The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hand has been my top priority.”

Twilight slowed her pace a little as she felt momentarily guilty for what she had said, but after realizing her brother had continued on to begin the climb to one of the overlooking tower outposts, she quickly caught pace with him once again. As they approached the center of the bridge that the nearest guard tower joined to an adjacent tower, Twilight’s feelings of guilt came out as a sigh.

She looked to her brother, “Okay, okay, I get it. You’ve got a really important job of protecting all of Canterlot with a force field only you can conjure up!” She then looked down to the passing squad of guardsponies trotting below, “But still, how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding?” Twilight looked up to her brother with eyes that showed how emotionally hurtful his absentmindedness had made her feel. “Am I not that important to you anymore?” she asked with eyes full of sadness; was she being shoved out of his life in favor of this new mare?

“Hey,” Shining Armor replied without skipping a beat as he placed his hoof on her shoulder, “you’re my little sister. Of course you’re important to me!” A mischievous smile suddenly began to grow across his face, “Buuut, I’d understand if,” he momentarily paused, “you didn’t want to be my best mare now.” He looked expectantly at his sister with a goofy smile.

Twilight realized what her brother was asking of her, “You want me to be your best mare?”

Shining Armor scoffed to himself a little as Twilight caught his meaning, “Well, yeah!” and he smiled.

Twilight smiled happily as she took a little bow while holding her left hoof over her chest, “I’d be honored!” The two siblings then gave each other a small but meaningful embrace. The hug was broken when Twilight shoved Shining Armor in the chest, “But I’m still pretty ticked that you’re marrying somepony I don’t even know! When did you even meet this ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’?!”

Queen Chrysalis, still disguised as the lovely Princess Cadence, had seen the flash of light that signified that the shield around Canterlot had been recharged. She was not pleased with this turn of events. She had of course known that the security would escalate after the body of the dead Griffon assassin was found in her room. She had not anticipated such a heavy handed response by her delicious little Shining Armor. Day and night she had been draining him of his love while simultaneously brainwashing him to lower the force field, but he had not succumbed. It was a mixed blessing; Shining Armor obviously had so much love for dear Cadence that he would not do anything that could even indirectly lead to her harm, so even though she had enough love to distribute to her Changelings to feed each of them for a month, they were not able to breach the shield at all. Her only allies in all of Canterlot were Pupa, disguised as Fancy Pants, and Larva, who had been spiking Princess Celestia’s food with her royal jelly for the past few weeks. Should battle take place between herself and this Sun Princess, she had every confidence she would win.

Having just reached the top of the stairs to the tower, the imposter Princess Cadence almost ran into a lavender unicorn mare who had been conversing with her ‘fiancé’ until the strange pony had nearly jumped right into her face.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” the pink and purple alicorn said with a mild tone of accusation.

The lavender unicorn, overjoyed to see her, began to do a bizarre set of moves to a nonsensical rhyme, “Sunshine, Sunshine. Ladybugs, awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”

Confused by this previously unmentioned custom of greeting, Princess Cadence asked, “What are you doing?”

The strange unicorn was slightly startled by her reaction, which was than replaced by a smile, “Cadence, it’s me; Twilight!”

“Ahuh,” she replied as she walked past the unusual ‘Twilight’ to join her husband to be.

Unaware of his fiance’s uncharacteristically rude behavior, Shining Armor wrapped a foreleg around Princess Cadence as he smiled at his sister, “I’ve got to get back to my station. But Cadence will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for the both of us when I say; we couldn’t be more excited to have you here.” He then looked to his fiancé, “Right dear?”

Princess Cadence smiled at Twilight in a way that screamed ‘He’s mine now. Back off.’ “Absolutely!”

Twilight was surprised to an even greater degree than she had been before, and her confusion was growing likewise.

Still oblivious to the subtle change in Princess Cadence’s attitude, he smiled and offered, “Well, we’ll let you get to it!” as he and his wife to be turned to the doorway of one of the towers to exit downward to the street below.

As they made their way down the staircase, Princess Cadence suddenly forced Shining Armor against the wall.

Alarmed, Shining Armor asked in bewilderment, “Cadence, what are you doing?”

He was cut off of any further complaints that he might have had by his fiancé’s eerily green spell. Princess Cadence’s eyes flashed green as her hypnotic power seized the Captain of the Royal Guard. She chuckled to herself, “I’m draining you dry, my love. Now, let’s talk about your work; you look very stressed!”

Chapter 10 - Larva, Bunsen Burner

Larva, Royal Candidate of the Changeling Hive, stirred as she began to awaken. She had failed her mission to kill Princess Luna. She had failed the Queen, and there was sure to be repercussions for her negligence. As the large Changeling opened her eyes, she had expected that she had been placed in some cold, dark dungeon in Canterlot from which she could easily escape. Instead, the room she found herself in was colored white and well lit. There was a door on the other side of the room that was sealed up by some kind of hatch. She got up and made her way over to the door with a nonchalant demeanor, as she believed it would be a simple latch mechanism that restrained the door and nothing more, which would be easy enough to bypass. She held her foreleg out and probed the bottom of the doorway for a hole to slide through; there wasn’t one. She reached out with both her forelegs and felt her substance all the way around the door frame; the door was pneumatically sealed. Her frustration growing rapidly, she transformed her right foreleg into a large sledge of hardened iron. She was going to force the door down, but before she could even begin her strike, she heard a deep tinny voice in her cell, “I would not advise that course of action.”

Larva slowly craned her head all around her as she sought the source of the broadcast system through which her captor was speaking. “What sort of action would you advise?” she sarcastically replied to the disembodied voice.

“Perhaps we could simply speak to each other, as one sapient being to another? As equals perhaps? I might even let you go if you talk.”

Larva scornfully laughed, “Don’t patronize me, stallion. You are nowhere near my equal. None of your kind is.”

“And just what makes you assume I am an equine, Changeling?”

Larva was legitimately surprised that whoever this stallion was knew about her race. She of course did not allow herself to express this surprise externally, “Your vocal timbre and cadence matches that of any Canterloter I’ve met, Equestrian. If we’re in Canterlot still, of course you’d be a pony.”

“What if you are not in Canterlot,” the voice continued, “What if you are hundreds of miles away from where you think you are, separated from your Hive and Queen? Do you think Queen Chrysalis will come looking for you?”

Frustrated with this stallion’s string of hypotheticals, the volatile Changeling burst out, “Enough games! How do you know such things as our Queen’s name? Who are you?”

The voice coldly responded in a calm, clinical manner, “I am he who fights monsters; it is my business to know my enemy’s secrets.”

“Is that so, ‘He who fights monsters?’” Larva responded with evil glee, “You don’t know what kind of monster you are dealing with! I will break out of this prison, and I will eat the hearts of your loved ones. I will make you watch as I feast on their precious blood and love for you! You ponies are weak because of your emotions for each other, and your weakness is my strength! When I am finished dining on the flesh of everyone you ever loved, I will kill you in the slowest possible way.”

For several moments, silence was the only response the Changeling received, and she was pleased if it meant she had intimidated her captor. The broadcast system filled with a garbled, deep rumbling noise which burst into a higher pitched sound. It was laughter. Larva could taste the emotion behind the outburst of laughter, but it wasn’t mania or nervousness like she had expected; the stallion legitimately believed her threat was funny.

As he subsided, he returned to a steely calm tone of voice. “Tell me,” he asked, “If you were to engage an opponent who fed off of all positive emotion, and who could take the form of anyone they desired, how would you fight such a creature?”

Larva remained silent, as she felt the tiniest drop of fear enter her mind.

“In my opinion,” the voice continued on, “I would find a being that could no longer experience any positive emotion without it being tainted by their own perception of reality, and who had no one left in the world to care about. I would then send that being to fight those creatures, and I believe it would be very likely that he would win.”

“You’re not like the others,” Larva said with a touch of genuine shock, “You’re not soft and weak like the others.”

She whirled her head around as she still frantically looked for the source of the voice, and she angrily cried out, “You’re bluffing! You can’t lie to me! Changelings are the masters of deceit!”

“Very well, Candidate,” the voice declared, “If you are indeed as great of a lie detector as you say you are, then tell me if this is a lie or not; you will not leave this chamber alive.”

Larva scrutinized the statement with all of her empathic powers, as she tried devouring the emotions behind it like it was her first meal in weeks. She felt the icy numbness of fear grip the closest thing she had to a heart; there was no emotion behind the statement. She found no regret, pity, anger or hatred for her, or even self-deprecating disgust for having to take a life. The statement held nothing but one single elemental thing; truth. The stallion believed with all his heart that she was going to die in this chamber.

“Fine,” Larva huffed in anger to mask her true thoughts, “What do you want?”

“Information. I may even let you go, if I believe the intel is truly valuable.”

The Changeling sighed in defeat, “Liar. What sort of information do you want?”

“What were your Hive’s plans for Canterlot?”

“The Queen was going to marry the Captain of the Guard in the stead of the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. With the love she would receive from both her new food source and the adoration of the gathered crowds, we’d have enough food to last us for months.”

“Is the Princess still alive?”

“You don’t know?” Larva asked in surprise, “So I’m not really in Canterlot after all. Yes, she’s alive.”

“Why?” the stallion asked, “Surely you must have known she could escape and thwart your plans by appearing at an inopportune time.”

The Royal Candidate chuckled to herself, “You are deviously clever! It’s the conundrum of our race; if the being we take the guise of dies, then the two way connection between them and the one they love is broken, and we cannot feed off of their passion for each other any longer.”

“Your scheme of taking the place of Princess Cadence would have only lasted you for so long,” the stallion bluntly said, “What was the plan for after you were discovered?”

Larva did not speak. “Bear in mind that your chance of survival increases as you talk.”

“We Changelings are a tough species,” Larva smirked, “How do I know that your threat to me is actually merited?”

“I’ve dealt with your kind before. There was a Royal Candidate among them. I believe her name was Bruco?”

Larva’s breath caught in her throat; Bruco had been one of the unaccounted for Candidates when the main host of the Changelings had broken out of Tartarus.

“I was one member of a squad sent to investigate claims of metamorphs in a small town. We went, we sought them out, and we eliminated them. I thought fire would be effective in neutralizing your kind, since you have many insect-like attributes, but even that takes great time and effort. Your physiology requires a more subtle and creative means of ending your life quickly and efficiently.”

A small hatch opened in the ceiling. Larva instinctively leapt up to try and slip into the hole and make her way out of the cell, but as she almost reached the hole, a small puff of orange gas blew into her face. She unintentionally breathed in the foreign substance, and it felt like fire in her lungs. She fell clumsily to the floor and began to cough violently. The pain traveled from her lungs to her thorax, where her stomach used to be. If she had still had a gastrointestinal tract, she would have been trying to throw up her guts.

“That,” the voice said, “was a sample of one of my chemical blends called ‘The Marigold Option’.”

Larva looked up to the area where the ceiling panel had been, which had now closed up, and her eyes were filled with bloody hatred. “That was only a six percent concentrate sample. A one-hundred percent dose will leave you to die a quick but painful death.” There was a pause before the stallion continued, “Now, I’m going to ask again: What was the plan for after you and your Hive were discovered?”

“Even if I knew, it ultimately wouldn’t matter,” Larva spat on the floor, “The fact of the matter is that we are everywhere. You may find one of us, but there will be ten others whose disguise is still strong. The more you try to find us, the greater the paranoia of not being sure of who is who will drive you insane. Whatever happens from now on, I can trust in my Queen to make sure that you lose.”

“You may have faith in your Queen,” the voice said over the broadcast system, “I have equal faith in myself that I will succeed. Perhaps we are more alike than you may think? We are two soldiers; one loyal to the crown, the other to the state. It is in your nature to transform and adapt, and in my own way I suppose I do as well. The difference between us is that you have lost your camaraderie by accident, while I must go and find my own way of stopping your kind now, since I am now without my organization.”

The Changeling was quiet for a time as she listened to the monologue. After the voice had finished, she began to think deeply.

“So,” Larva slowly spoke, “the game begins?”

“I suppose it does,” the stallion replied.

“Are you going to kill me now?” she asked.

“Yes. I cannot contain you forever, and I cannot control you. Logic has determined that I must eliminate you.”

“Are you sure you are truly equine?” the Changeling smiled wickedly, “Even among the Royal Guard, I haven’t seen somepony so comfortable with the thought of taking a life. Do you think that after so many years of fighting monsters, you might just have become one?”

“I know I am a monster,” the voice said, “I just happen to be the monster that protects Equestrian soil. I will offer you this, though; if you wish, I will lace the air with a heavy sedative before killing you. Your body shouldn’t have time to become immune to it before you expire. It will not be comfortable, but it will at least be painless.”

The Changeling shook her head, “No. When I go, I will face death with you hearing my every scream. I hope you remember what I look like when you close your eyes at night. Whenever you try to drift off to sleep, I hope my face haunts you forever.”

“So be it,” Bunsen Burner intoned with finality, as he hit the switch to administer a full dose of Marigold Option. The orange cloud of death descended, and Larva’s fate was sealed.

Chapter 28 - Tia, Serana

Rushing people. Kind woman. Strange bed in white enclosed chariot. Large building made of mortar and brick. Quiet room. Questions.

“Do you consent to have your friend be informed of your situation?”

Friend. Friendship. So many friendships, don’t know where to begin. She consented.

“Do you consent to an examination for trauma and-“

No! No tests, no need, no consent.

“Do you remember anything at all that happened to you before you were found in the alley in the Power and Light District?”

Snippets, fragments of voices talking, searing pain like fire in her veins, then nothing. Absolute nothingness.

“What is your name?”

Tried so hard; it was on the tip of her tongue. One fragment spoke to her in earnest. TIAAA!

She remembered that voice. Someone very dear to her, but still someone she couldn’t quite remember. She was the ‘Tia’ the voice referred to she supposed. At long last, she spoke, “My name is Tia.”

Serana had been in the hospital’s waiting room for almost an hour. It was nearing on one in the morning. Sitting there for a woman she did not even know was not how she had anticipated the evening as turning out. Still, she could tell when she had found that woman that she was overwhelmed beyond her breaking point. Even if she didn’t know her, it was definitely the right thing to do, so there she stayed. In time, the nurses called her in, and she was able to see her. As she was escorted into the small but simple grey room, she saw that the woman had been given a nondescript outfit of a purple t-shirt and pajama pants.

She couldn’t even begin to think of where to start; should she try to avoid talking about it completely, or would she say nothing at all? The woman slowly looked up at her, and Serana internally kicked herself; her time was up, and she had no idea what to say.

“Hey,” she said lamely as she tried to smile as best as she could.

“Hello,” the woman replied back with a surprisingly calm demeanor.

“Are you okay?” Serana sighed to herself when she realized what had slipped out, and she covered her face with her right hand “No, of course you’re not okay. I just-“

The silence between the two of them was short but awkward.

“Your name is Serana, right?” the woman asked.

“Yeah.”

“My name is Tia.”

Serana slowly came over next to Tia and sat in a chair that was close to her. She had worried that Tia would still be very sensitive to human touch and presence, but the dark brown haired woman didn’t flinch at all. “You remembered! Can you think of anything else?” Serana asked with quiet concern.

“Nothing completely, just little fragments.”

The two of them sat in their soft chairs in another awkward silence.

“What happens now?” Tia asked.

Serana looked back over her shoulder to the door of the small room, “Since you didn’t consent for testing, I don’t know. You don’t remember anything except your name, so I expect you’ll have to stay here while they help you recover.”

“Where will you go?” Tia asked worriedly.

“Back to my flat downtown, where I’ll keep trying to find a job,” Serana grimaced, “With the economy like it is, though, I don’t expect I’ll find one before my rent money runs out.”

Tia desperately scooped Serana’s left hand in her own and squeezed slightly, “No, please! You’re the only person I know. Please don’t leave me here!”

It hurt Serana to see this woman in the state she was, but she had to take her own hand from hers, “I’m sorry, but I can’t take you with me. We don’t really know each other at all, and I’ve barely got enough to keep myself going, much less for two people.”

Tia’s hands slowly slumped back into her lap. A stray strand of hair fell in front of her face as her head fell towards her lap.

“I promise that I’ll visit you while the doctors try to help you, ok?” Serana tried to offer, but it seemed like the woman hadn’t even heard her. Her violet eyes had no spark in them as they looked to her knees; she looked much as she felt, and that was of hopelessness and loss.

Serana got up from her seat beside Tia, and made her way to the door. She was about to say ‘goodbye’, unsure of whether it would be her last to the woman she had only just met, when a thought occurred to her. If she had been found naked, abandoned, and in need, would she want her rescuer to turn her back on her when the hardest part of her healing was only beginning? If she couldn’t remember who she was, would any face, no matter how insignificantly familiar it seemed, be some small comfort to her? Her hand was still on the door latch, turned and waiting to fall open. She could leave right now, knowing she had done all that was necessary for this stranger; doing all that could be done given the situation. Even if her set of scales was balanced and right in regards to being a good Samaritan, wasn’t this woman’s scales still in need of adjustment though? She could do it. Even if it cost her in the end, she could still give a little more.

“Damn it,” she breathed to herself.

Turning back to face Tia, she closed the gap between the two of them, and put her hand onto the woman’s shoulder. Tia looked up from her lap, and her eyes locked onto the woman beside her.

“Come on,” Serana said with a calm firmness, “We’re both walking out of here, just follow my lead.”

Tia’s eyes began to grow teary as Serana lead the both of them out of the small room, “Thank you.”

“Excuse me,” Serana got the attention of the doctor who had been standing just a few paces away outside.

She somberly approached them and asked with practiced compassion, “Has the patient’s family been contacted?”

Serana gestured to herself, “I’m a friend of Tia’s. I’ll help get her home.”

“I’m afraid that only a blood relative to the patient or an appointed representative can officially say whether or not she wishes to stay in our care or leave,” the doctor declared as she adjusted her glasses, “Unless either of these comes to claim her-”

The doctor’s body stiffened for a second or two, before she put her hand to her chin contemplatively, “Now that I think about it, in your case we may make an exception. If you’ll excuse me for a minute or two, I’ll be writing up a release form, and then you’ll be free to go.”

As the doctor walked briskly away, Serana eyed her strangely, before turning to Tia, “Did that seem..”

“What?” Tia asked.

“You know, weird? For a second, I thought she was going to force you to stay here, and now she’s pulling a one-eighty and is rushing us out of here.” Serana breathed out a quick sigh, “You know what, whatever. I don’t even care why it happened, but whatever gets us out of here, the better.”

In a few minutes, the release forms were brought, and Tia signed without reading or even thinking about what she was doing. The doctor accepted the documentation, and Serana and Tia left the hospital in a cab that Serana had haled while Tia had been signing herself out. Though she strangely felt unused to the enclosed nature of the chariot she was riding in, Tia fell asleep almost a minute into the ride. Serana struggled to stay awake the whole time to keep an eye on the driver and to make sure he wouldn’t adjust his price in any way. Finally, around two in the morning, the two women made it back to Serana’s apartment in the River Market district. The loft she lived in had a nice outlook north to the cityscape of the glowing skyscrapers of Kansas City, and the Missouri River was only about two and half blocks away; it was a beautiful view at least. The two of them drowsily got out of the cab, which promptly drove away once paid for by what little money was left in Serana’s purse, and the two of them made their way into the secured parking lot just outside the complex. As they trudged up to Serana’s room, the music playing in another person’s apartment switched to a particularly loud, grating track. The both of them grumbled semi-coherently about the loudness of the noise, before Serana was finally able to get her door open.

“At least this place has a guest bedroom,” she sarcastically murmured, “The last place I lived in was more like a half bathroom, quarter bedroom apartment.”

The living room, which also doubled as the kitchen and dining room, was decorated with photos of family and friends, a small potted fern in the far left corner next to the window slats looking out on the river, and a small digital clock that hung on a loose bolt protruding from a steel column that helped hold up the room. Just off the main room was a small bathroom and two bedrooms, each on opposite sides of that bathroom. Unfortunately, the guest bedroom was not designed with window access to the sky outside, so it was a pitch black hole in comparison to Serana’s room.

“If you’d like, I’ll give you my room so you can wake up with the sun,” Serana offered.

Tia yawned deeply, “Thank you, but I’ll take the guest room.” With that she opened the door, walked straight into the darkened room, unceremoniously collapsed onto the bed without pulling back the sheets, and was sound asleep before her head even made it to the pillow. Serana did almost the exact same set of actions, but managed to pull the covers over her before she was out like a light.

Back at the hospital, the doctor who had been in charge of Tia’s care was going through her last checks on her paperwork when she noticed an odd set of papers. A Jane Doe, assault victim, had supposedly been brought into her care around midnight and had been evaluated and released. The doctor was alarmed because she didn’t recall ever seeing an assault victim that night. Strangest off all, the woman had signed herself out, and on the line where she had signed, this was what was written: Princess Celestia, Guardian of all Equinity, co-ruler of Equestria.

Chapter 40 - The Elements, Cheerilee

Word spread quickly about what had occurred at the school with Bunsen Burner and Cheerilee. One major detail that was kept as far under wraps as possible was the Element’s discovery of the school teacher’s true nature. The unconscious scientist was taken by Mr. Black back to his inn room, with Umbra and Nox holding careful watch on the two of them. The Elements and the other ponies returned to the library to try and privately discuss their new information, but they would find that impossible once they were safely inside: Big Macintosh and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were already waiting for them.

“Why did you do that?!” Scootaloo angrily asked Cheerilee, who was once again in her earth pony form, “Did you think giving yourself up was going to make things better somehow?”

“Scootaloo,” Cheerilee sighed, “I did what I thought was right. I had to confront him, or else we would have both been endangered.”

“Whatever,” Scootaloo growled passive aggressively as she turned away from her ‘Aunt’.

Big Mac looked at Cheerilee with a mix of relief at her safety and anger at how she had so recklessly endangered herself, but he too turned away from his marefriend. Cheerilee felt like she had just been stabbed in the stomach at this show of silent emotion, and she fell back onto her haunches softly.

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat to attract Cheerilee’s attention. The librarian was sporting a full frown across her face, as were Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and even Fluttershy. Rarity and Pinkie Pie simply couldn’t stop from looking at her, with the former in a simple state of confusion, and the latter’s jaw still hanging wide open in surprise from the school teacher’s earlier revelation.

Sweetie Belle looked around the quiet and tense environment with innocuous confusion, “Why’re we all staring at Miss Cheerilee?”

“Yeah, what gives?” Apple Bloom chimed in.

“Cheerilee, start talking,” Twilight commanded without breaking eye contact on the mare, “and make sure to leave nothing out.”

Cheerilee sighed once again as she looked to the floor in shame, “I do owe you all that much I suppose.”

Once again her form was consumed by green fire, revealing her true insectoid form underneath.

“It’s a Changeling!” Sweetie Belle screamed.

“What’ve ya done with the real Miss Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom yelled in anger, “Give’r back!”

The proverbial knife blade in Cheerilee’s gut gave itself a twist upon hearing those words, and her head bowed even lower.

“She is the real Cheerilee,” Scootaloo declared with a still notable tone of frustration, “She always has been since we’ve known her.”

“Wait, you knew?!” Sweetie Belle whirled around to her pegasus friend in shock.

“ 'Course I knew,” she replied as she rolled her eyes, “She’s my guardian! We live together; it’s not like I wouldn’t have noticed at some point!”

“You’re not one too, are you?”

“No!”

Applejack looked to Big Mac, who had become suddenly fascinated with the many volumes of literature lining the walls, “Did you know?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac commented.

The Element of Honesty scoffed and waved her forehooves in the air, “How long?”

“Few weeks now.”

“Why didn’t yah tell me, yer own sister and the Element of Honesty for Pete’s sake?!”

Big Mac looked into Cheerilee’s undisguised green eyes, and said with a tone of disappointment, “It was mah secret to keep. Ah’d hoped she’d be mare enough to tell alla you on her own, instead of pullin’ a foalish stunt like this.”

“Stop!” tears began to well up in the Changeling’s eyes, “Please! I know I shouldn’t have kept this from you, but before this all started with the invasion of Canterlot it didn’t really seem relevant, and then after it I was too afraid of something like this happening!” She broke down completely and began to cry, “I’ve already had to pay for my secrecy once today. Please don’t add to my guilt! Please.”

All the ponies in the room remained quiet as Cheerilee shed her tears, unsure of what to do next with the crying mare. Big Mac approached his mare slowly, and wrapped his forelegs around her and began to rock her back and forth slowly. She slowly opened her teary eyes to look up into his face. He was looking up to a nearby window, and to the blue sky beyond, “Ah can’t fault you for tryin’ to find some way ta tell the truth. Ah just wish you hadn’t risked yer life like that.” He then looked down into her eyes, and smiled the tiniest bit, “You know Ah forgive you.”

Trixie cleared her throat lightly, and everypony looked to her for her say. “We all deserve a second chance,” she finally said quietly, “She may not be Equine, but she is certainly Equestrian.”

“I agree,” Fluttershy nodded softly. “We’ve each hidden things from each other in the past between just the six of us,” she looked to each of her friends in turn, “We all have to give her a full chance to explain herself, without any reservations.”

The other ponies all slowly nodded their agreement.

Feeling more at peace now than she had been, Cheerilee gently nudged Big Mac to let her go, so that she could stand on her own. “Cheerilee was my adopted name,” she began shakily; “My first name was Falena. I was a Royal Candidate of the Changeling Hive.”

“Your voice hasn’t changed,” Rarity commented.

“That’s because this is my voice,” the school teacher replied, “I’ve always been Cheerilee. Her voice, her likes and dislikes, her pace when walking, they’re all really mine. They’ve always been mine.”

“Why did you leave your Hive?” Twilight asked, her angry demeanor beginning to melt away, “Didn’t they need you?”

Cheerilee took a breath, “Before Equestria was formed, even before the world as we know it was made, the human race created the Changelings as one of the many species to populate the planet.”

“No way,” Rainbow Dash shook her head in half disbelief, “They made you guys too?”

“Anything in the world living today was,” Cheerilee said matter-of-factly. Her membranous wings jittered a little as she continued, “We were put into a deep sleep after our Queen, Chrysalis, attempted to overthrow them. Each of our bodies eventually adapted to the cold in our own time, and over the years others would escape from our prison to reach the surface. Eventually, I unfroze and escaped, to arrive here in Ponyville. That was twenty-five years ago. When I first looked on the world around me outside of the hole we had been buried in, with the blue sky, the green plants, and fertile ground, I was amazed by humanity’s success at restoring the Earth from the uninhabitable pit they had originally made it. When I found Ponyville, my initial plan was to follow the basic protocol of my Queen: infiltrate, allocate, and subjugate.”

“What exactly do yah mean by ‘allocate’?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“Find available food sources,” Cheerilee explained calmly, “We don’t actually eat food like you ponies do: we are pathovores, feeding on the emotions of others. Our largest weakness is that we lost the capacity to feed on each other’s emotions, and so we are forced to depend on other species for nourishment.”

“So you’re kinda like emotion vamponies or something?” Pinkie Pie interjected.

Cheerilee shrugged, “I guess that would be an apt description.”

“Could we continue with your story?” Twilight asked as she gestured for the others to not interrupt as much.

“When I came to town all those years ago, I immediately made my way for the schoolhouse. It would be an easy in for learning information for the first stage of Changeling doctrine. That’s when I chose this appearance,” she quickly flashed back to the form that each of them recognized her as, and then switched back to her natural form. “I didn’t really understand the importance of Cutie Marks back then, so I just chose an image at random.”

“So you don’t actually have a special talent?” Sweetie Belle asked warily.

Cheerilee looked to her pupil and smiled, and was about to explain when Sweetie Belle drew back a little. The school teacher realized that her fangs were rather intimidating, so she remolded her mouth to what was normal for an equine, “I do have a special talent, Sweetie Belle; I just don't have a physical marker for it. I can understand other pony’s minds and take on their way of thinking.”

“Let me get this straight,” Rarity waved her hoof, “You have the power to read other ponies’ thoughts and steal them if you wish?”

Cheerilee shook her head, “I can’t read minds. I’m more like a strategic psychologist who can passively share thoughts and assimilate them for myself. It’s a kind of telepathy, just not fully actualized. It allows me to more easily infiltrate other societies, adopt their ways, and quickly find the weaknesses therein.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she grasped the full meaning of Cheerilee’s words, “You could have effectively toppled the Equestrian government by yourself if you had really wanted to, couldn’t you?” Cheerilee was silent as she looked Twilight dead in the eyes, and the unicorn shivered, “What stopped you?”

Cheerilee blinked, and a smile began to spread across her face, “My Aunt Jubilee. After just a day of being in her classroom, she already knew what I was. When she confronted me, I was going to take her place to avoid discovery. Instead, she offered me a deal: stay in her home and under her care for one month, and then I could do as I pleased. She taught me the five Elements of Harmony, Equine money, politics. All of these topics paled in comparison to the greatest thing she taught me; something I’d never known before, and that was true empathy. I understood emotion; I quantified it and knew its value as my nourishment, but I didn’t understand how to be happy or sad with somepony. Because of her, and my own unique abilities, I learned how to both be conscientious of others and to feed off of my own emotion. After my time with her was up, I stayed with her posing as her niece until I became Ponyville’s teacher.”

Cheerilee’s ears drooped once again, “When she died, I realized just how much she had taught me. I’d lost the closest thing I’d had to a true parent, and it felt like my heart had been taken from me. I needed to find someone to love like that; giving and sharing it with them, instead of just stealing it for myself.” She then looked past the other ponies to the one small filly in the room that was looking at her with an expression of smoldering anger, “That’s when I adopted Scootaloo, and raised her like she was my own daughter.”

“So you were going to throw all that away today just to prove you were right?” Scootaloo blurted.

Cheerilee stared at her 'niece', before she guiltily glanced to the side, “I thought I could reason my way out of it.”

“You should have come to us first,” Fluttershy said with the signature blend of friendly caring and maternal admonition she was known for, “You should have trusted us enough to be exactly who you are with us. You should have given us the chance to trust you back.”

Cheerilee looked to each of them, and she somberly relented. “I’m sorry I had so little faith in all of you,” she said to the Elements, who replied in mixed fashion with some saying ‘I forgive you’ fully, and others with silence.

She turned to Trixie, “I’m sorry for having put you in such a horrible position: nopony should ever do that to their friend.”

“Don’t ever do that again,” Trixie replied hollowly.

She next turned to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but before she could offer any kind of apology, she was hugged by the two little fillies.

“We can’t stay mad at you ferever,” Apple Bloom said as she looked up at her teacher, “You’ve been too nice to us fer that!”

“Besides, you do look kinda pretty like this,” Sweetie Belle said with a little smile.

Cheerilee was touched by their ease of forgiveness, and she embraced them back.

Scootaloo had hung back, her scrunched up face making it apparent to everypony how much of an emotional dilemma she was having. Finally, she looked up, walked over to her Aunt, and punched her on the shoulder, “Don’t you ever almost leave me alone again.”

“I won’t,” Cheerilee promised.

Scootaloo jumped and gave her aunt as big of a hug as she could, and she began to silently cry.

“At this point,” Pinkie Pie said with tears of joy and sadness intermixed together, before blowing her noise loudly into a handkerchief, “I think we could all use a group hug right now.”

There was a knock at the door, which gave everyone a tiny scare.

Cheerilee reactively changed back into her velvet furred earth pony form, which gave the Cutie Mark Crusaders a little gasp of their own.

“Did you gals get a weird, fuzzy feelin’?” Apple Bloom asked.

“It felt like somepony put a warm blanket right next to me,” Sweetie Belle replied in a tone of curiosity.

Twilight strode to the door and opened it a crack, before she flung the door completely open and deeply hugged one of the cloaked ponies standing on the door step. “Cadence!” she exclaimed in joy, but she was quickly shushed by the two. She hurriedly let them in and closed the library door behind them, allowing Princess Cadence and Fancy Pants to reveal themselves to the others.

Fancy Pants looked around the room already full of eight mares, three young fillies, and one large red stallion, and wryly asked, “Is there any room for two more in this hotel?”

Chapter 53 - The Maiden, Bunsen Burner, Shining Armor

Three months, twenty-two days, fourteen hours, twenty-seven minutes, and fifty-three seconds.

That was exactly how long it had been since the Maiden had last seen Princess Luna, her Dusk. It had been even longer since she had seen Princess Celestia, her Dawn. Though she supposed she should have begun addressing them by their royal titles and names when she had been brought to Canterlot, it was hard not to call them by the names she had given them when they were just little fillies. It was hard for the Maiden to think of the two Princesses as anything but that, even after fourteen hundred years of their being alicorns together. It had grieved her that no one had come to tell her anything of them or their well-being. Where were they? They wouldn’t have just forgotten her in the library study that they shared together.

She had wanted with all her might to leave the glass container that was her prison, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t able to leave the room for fear of someone discovering her and mistaking her for some kind of spirit, only to try and exorcise her, or worse succeed at doing so. She instead sat in agonized worry on the study’s fireplace mantelpiece, now for three months, twenty-two days, fourteen hours, twenty-eight minutes, and thirty-seven seconds, feeling abjectly powerless in a situation she neither fully understood or had control over.

Her state of consternation was interrupted when she sensed a sudden buildup of Tessaractal energy in the area in front of the fireplace. The phenomenon dissipated as a shrieking explosion and blue light appeared from nowhere, depositing a disheveled earth pony before her. In her state of frenzied worry, she barely processed the stallion’s exclamation, “The royal study? That was definitely off target. I suppose I’m lucky I arrived at all with this cobbled together hunk of junk.”

She didn’t care what would happen, not anymore. She needed to know what was happening in the outside world. She jostled her spherical container open from the inside, quickly exiting through the top into the open air.

Bunsen Burner looked up to the nearby mantelpiece to see a large cloud of green and yellow light leaving a flask located there, only for it to aggressively descend on him.

The real world quickly faded around him into a grey inscrutable fog. From the stubbornly thick mist galloped a large white alicorn mare with straight red hair. Stopping just short of the old stallion in front of her, the Maiden asked hurriedly without thinking, “Do you know what’s happened to my daughters? Is Dawn alright? Where is Dusk?”

Bunsen Burner looked up in genuine surprise at this unknown alicorn, “Who are you? What is this place? If I’m alive, don’t waste my time: Canterlot will be under attack soon!”

The Maiden grasped onto the last few words he’d spoken and began a new round of questions, “The city is under attack? Is it the Changelings again? Where are the Princesses?”

“Time is of the essence, Madame. Let us be brief: I am Bunsen Burner, yes, we are fighting the Changelings, and the Princesses are indisposed at the moment. Now, who and what are you? There are only four alicorns in this land, and you are not one of them.”

The Maiden sighed, which her mental projection mirrored by placing her hoof over her face, “I am the..spirit of Celestia and Luna’s mother.”

“Don’t bother trying to lie to me,” the old stallion growled, “there are no ghosts in this world.”

“I’m trying to use concepts you can at least somewhat understand,” the Maiden’s projection shook her hooves angrily, “and what do you mean by ‘the Princesses are indisposed’?”

“Wherever they are, they are not here. Now, whether you are some sort of magical construct or djinn I don’t care: just what exactly do you know about the Changelings?”

“Is there a laboratory nearby?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Give me your hooves and I can make you a chemical compound that will lock their shapeshifting abilities at least for a short time.”

“You are a scientist then?” the old stallion asked skeptically.

“Within each Changeling’s genetic makeup...their essence… are a few traits that remain constant, whatever their current form. I can create a solution that activates some of those dormant traits, locking them into a temporary stasis of being.”

“And you understand genetic theory as well,” Bunsen Burner shook his head and scoffed, “I have seen things very few could imagine, but this definitely is something new. No more charades: who and what are you?”

A rumbling and two small tremors interrupted the stallion’s continued questioning.

“What was that?” the Maiden asked as she looked beneath her hooves.

“You don’t have full control of the environment,” Bunsen Burner murmured as he thought to himself, “which means none of this might be real. You looked down as you acknowledged that quake, so we’re most likely still in the royal study if we’re anywhere. Canterlot’s not on a fault line,” Bunsen Burner paused momentarily as he reached his conclusion, “Which means that the preparation for Siege Mode has already begun.”

He then looked back up at the Maiden, “You have no love of the Changelings, that’s obvious, and we each have knowledge the other can use.”

“Are you proposing that we collaborate?” the Maiden asked as she flicked her projection’s tail.

“Precisely.”

“Guards!” a deep voice boomed down the high marble halls of Canterlot Castle.

Those who were nearest, two very inexperienced guards, bolted towards the sound of the voice as if it were the bark of their drill instructor. The two found an older stallion wearing a war saddle, a glowing container, and some kind of ovoid device standing just outside the doors to the Royal Sister’s private study, who was the apparent owner of the voice who had called them.

“Guards,” the earth pony now spoke in a normal tone of voice, “I ask that you would arrest me and take me to Prince Shining Armor immediately.”

The two guards looked at each other in bewilderment; they hadn’t been trained for this situation at the Royal Guard Academy.

“Excuse me, sir,” one of them, a pegasus, replied, “But asking to be put into custody is no laughing matter!”

“Do I appear to be amused?” the grave looking earth pony asked as he turned and began briskly trotting towards the Proclamation Chamber.

“Sir! You shouldn’t go that way!” the second guard shouted.

“Or you’ll do what?” the stallion looked over his shoulder with a smirk, “Exactly as I asked?”

The two guards looked at each other and realized their blunder.

“Why would we arrest you?” the pegasus guard asked again.

“Let’s see,” the stallion put a hoof to his chin, “I’ve committed crimes against the crowns, been given a life sentence banishment from Canterlot which I am currently disobeying, and oh,” he popped open the glowing container around his neck, and out sprayed a torrent of eerie green light that morphed into the shape of a ghastly looking alicorn, “I’ve been practicing necromancy.”

“The attack is projected to take place within the next twenty-four hours,” Prince Shining Armor thought aloud, “How long would it take to mobilize and position the Wonderbolts around Canterlot airspace?”

“At top speed they’d arrive in two hours and have enough fight left in them for another straight eighteen hours of airtime,” a war clerk called out.

“We desperately need them right now,” the Prince’s Military Advisor General Blitz Hammer declared, “they haven’t been psyched out by these bugs like the Royal Guard has, and they’ll be a morale boost for sure. That’s bound to give us an advantage!”

“Do we have any idea on numbers for battle ready unicorns?” the Prince called out.

“The garrison has 118 unicorns on duty,” another aid called out.

“And the RSD?”

“Forty-seven, sir,” Lieutenant Swiftfeet replied with a nod, “though right now they’re helping with the preliminary checks for Siege Mode.”

“Do we have enough war saddles to cover all our earth pony and pegasi units?” the Prince asked as the doors to the outside hallway opened. Everypony’s eyes turned towards the unexpected intruder, who was ushered in by two very startled royal guards.

“Thank you, gentlecolts,” Bunsen Burner said to them as he looked to each in turn before approaching the table on his own, “I’ll be able to handle myself from here.”

“Sir?” Lieutenant Swiftfeet exclaim out of force of habit.

Prince Shining Armor blinked several times before asking in genuine surprise, “How did you-”

“You know I wouldn’t be here if the situation weren’t so dire,” he replied, “Before you do anything, I offer you a proposition: I will help as I can during the upcoming battle. You can arrest me for violating my banishment afterwards. I can provide vital resources towards defeating the Changelings, as well as perhaps speeding up final checks for the defense of Canterlot.”

“This is outrageous,” a political advisor called out, “How did this madpony slip into the city, and why are we even listening to him? Guards, take him away!”

The two previously cowed guards were shamefully bustled out of the way in favor of more experienced ponies who began to approach Bunsen Burner slowly.

“Wait,” Prince Shining Armor called out, and all eyes turned to him in surprise. His face was set like stone, and he leaned forward in his seat a little, “Let him stand.”

“But your Highness,” the same political advisor protested, “He’s a criminal and a traitor, lying and scheming towards his own ends: he cannot be trusted.”

“That’s true,” the Prince looked at the old stallion, “but it’s just like he said: he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t have something to offer, and he has a large amount of tactical knowledge. Besides, our list of available allies is short. If it came down to it, with the way things are looking now, I’d strike a deal with Nightmare Moon if she could beat these bugs for us.”

The room was silent as the grave as this pronouncement sunk in.

“I’m holding you to your promise, Bunsen Burner,” he finally addressed the old stallion, “I will have you arrested and set for immediate trial once this is over for violating your sentence.”

The old stallion nodded with a grim smile, “The law must be upheld, no matter the consequence.”

The Prince nodded in reply before looking somberly to Lieutenant Swiftfeet, “He’s your responsibility, soldier. Take him below.”

“Sir,” the pegasus replied simply with a salute.

Epilogue

It had been a month since the Battle of Canterlot, as it was already being called by the general public. So many events of importance had happened all on the same day that it might as well have been the start of a new era in Equestrian history. Discord was dead. The Changelings were defeated and now in hiding. All the Princesses were alive and well, returned to their respective positions in Canterlot’s court.

Yet all of this was just a single step forward.

Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence stood at the edge of the proclamation balcony, ready to address the masses. None of them stood back to allow one to speak to the crowd over the others: they stood together as equals, sharing the burden of the message they were about to deliver.

“Citizens of Canterlot, Equestria, and the world at large,” Princess Celestia began, “It has taken us a long time to be able to approach you with the proper words to address the countless concerns of each of you, and to look for ways to address the civil uprisings that have been plaguing this country, and which are still happening now. The first of these concerns relates to my sister and I.” Here she looked to Princess Luna, then back down to the assembled citizens and dignitaries, “I was taken from you, but by the help of three extraordinary individuals and my sister, I have been returned to you. My absence was not the result of any of Canterlot’s court, as some have claimed. The individual responsible for my supposed death, the Changeling ruler Queen Chrysalis, was killed in the battle that took place here, and the radicals of her herd that supported her likewise met their end in the battle.”

Princess Luna then spoke when her sister had resumed her silence, “With the evidence that has been provided by Equestrian sympathizers among the Changeling Hive, we have on the highest authority confirmation that the many insurrections across our nation’s cities, towns, and villages, were all the work of the radical nationalists among the Changeling Hive, which their current Queen has denounced as racial supremacists and ultimately traitors. My sister and I never have and never will support the factions that claim to operate in our names or intentions. Trials will be held for those who have been confirmed to be either Solar Empiricists or Lunar Republicans, with those who continue to carry out actions in the name of either organization one fortnight after this speech’s recorded date to receive the severe legal punishment due for the crimes they commit.”

Bowing her head, she then allowed Princess Cadence her moment to speak. Taking a quick breath to expel her nervousness, she spoke up, “Punishments and law are not the ultimate focus of this proclamation: it is not to be a scourge, but the beginning of healing for the many wounds this nation has received. We have all been touched by the effects of this civil conflict. Some of us have lost family, close relatives, friends, and other loved ones.” Princess Cadence was momentarily overcome after this statement, but she recollected herself quickly with a sigh. “It is common after such tragedies as these to ask questions like ‘Why’ and ‘How could this happen’. We, the Royal family, will never claim that we have the answers to those questions, but we can and we will stand beside you. We will grieve with you. More importantly, we will help you rebuild. As of now, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have passed the majority of sovereign responsibility to me, as an act to maintain a proper and unbiased government when serving you, our subjects. As I take care of the daily responsibilities related to our nation’s operations, they will begin a tour together of Equestria’s many cities, as an act to restore public trust in their character and actions. This ‘Tour towards Peace’ will go on for an unprecedented amount of time, as will my position as monarch of Equestria, until such time as both their Majesties believe that Equestria is well and truly whole once more.”

The Elements

On that very same day, Princess Celestia met with the Elements in a private meeting in her royal proclamation chamber. As she and her friends walked down the carpet that adorned the long distance between the chamber doors and her teacher’s throne, Twilight Sparkle noticed that a new stain glass window had been put into place. Discord was pictured as cast down, falling from the top of the window to the bottom. Two humans, one male and one female, stood above the falling draconequus, their arms closest to the center of the glass stretched down as if they had just cast him down. Above them sat a white alicorn stallion on an hourglass, his wings curved down towards its center. Perplexed by the art, she had to file it away as the Princess came into the room to sit down on her throne.

As she came to the end of the carpet before the throne, she and her friends bowed, which the Princess waved off.

“You six have done more for Equestria than perhaps anypony else in its history,” she proclaimed with a smile, “You never have to bow to me ever again.”

“Can we get that in writing,” Pinkie Pie blurted out with a smile, “Because a certificate for that would be great!” She then did her best to impersonate the Princess’ posture and style of speech, ‘I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that Pinkamena Diane Pie need never bow to me again’!”

The Princess chuckled softly, “I’ll even make sure to use the golden ink and my personal seal when I do.”

Pinkie’s eyes grew wide in excitement, while all the rest good-naturedly rolled theirs.

Settling down into her chair, the Princess’ face became solemn, “You of course are wondering why I’ve summoned you here. The truth of the matter is, I believe Equestria needs each of you once again.”

“What’s the danger, Princess,” Applejack asked, “Whose backsides do we need ta kick?”

“This time, no one’s. From what reports I have seen, ponies have become very embittered by the civil war that almost broke out. Ponyville and a few other nearby villages were largely unscathed by the social impact, but larger cities like Manehattan, Trottingham, and Los Pegasus saw riots and violence.” She paused as her heart began to weigh on her, “In some cases, lives were lost.”

The six heroines bowed their heads slightly, with Applejack taking off her hat in respect.

The Princess looked up at them, and stood up to approach them, “I and my sister are going around the country to help begin the healing process, but we can’t be in every place at once. That is why I want to extend to you, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, an invitation to help on my mission to restore Equestria to harmony.”

The four ponies were stunned by the enormity of the task they had just been offered, and they began to talk amongst themselves about it.

Seeing the worry in some of their eyes, Princess Celestia called for their attention again, “I want to remind you that this is not a decree or a mandatory task. It is a choice: one for you to freely refuse or accept. You have done more than anypony could ask for already, and I won’t think any less of you should you choose to go back to your lives in Ponyville. If you change your mind, you can always accept the call later.”

“But what about us?” Rainbow Dash asked as she pointed to herself and Twilight, “why don’t we get this offer?”

“I have an equally weighty choice for you, Rainbow Dash,” the Princess replied as she turned to look at the cyan pegasus, “During the Battle of Canterlot you distinguished yourself with your skills and sense of duty. This caught the attention of the acting commander of the Wonderbolts, and you have been selected to be put on the fast track towards recruitment into the organization.”

The Princess smiled warmly as she offered her congratulations, but all Rainbow Dash could do was gawk stupidly at her. After what seemed a long while, Rainbow Dash shot up into air, and began to do laps around the vaulted ceiling of the proclamation chamber, “YES! YES! OHMIGOSH OHMIGOSH OHMIGOSH YES!”

Her five friends cheered and congratulated her for finally getting the chance to achieve her lifelong dream.

Rainbow Dash came in for a divebomb landing back in front of her sovereign, an enormous grin on her face, “I will totally do it! I won’t let you down, Princess!”

Princess Celestia chuckled, “Well, I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm!”

Finally, she turned to look at the last pony to receive a mission, “Twilight Sparkle. Do you remember how before I left Equestria I said I was proud to have been your teacher?”

Twilight nodded, “I do. You said I had been a good student.”

“A most excellent student,” the Princess corrected with a smile, “I stand by what I said that day. You were a most excellent student. Now there is nothing more I can teach you.”

The Princess took a step back and magically constructed her signature wavy patterned sword. She gestured for Twilight to sit back on her rump, which her student obliged. She slowly brought the flat edge of her blade down onto her left shoulder and then to her right.

“Twilight Sparkle, by the powers vested in me by Equestrian law, I elevate you to the position of Princess in the royal court for the completion of your training, and your magnanimous service to the land. Congratulations!”

The Princess smiled and nodded in Twilight’s direction, and her friends took the opportunity to give her an excited group hug. Happy shouting and cheers were had all around, and Twilight’s were most definitely among them. After a few more minutes of joyous celebration, the six friends settled down at the behest of Princess Celestia.

Twilight looked up to her former teacher, “I am honored that you’ve given me this title, but is it alright if I choose to just go by my name?”

The Princess nodded, “You certainly may. As my first task to you, I need to ask you to make a journey for me. Delegates from Saddle Arabia have come a very long way to ask for my help because of a problem in their homeland. Matters here, of course, also require my attention, so I have put you forward as a representative to go in my stead. Will you accept this task?”

Twilight looked back to her friends, a trace of worry quite evident in her face, and then turned back to the Princess, “I don’t mean to question you, Princess, but is it really a good idea to split us up? The Elements are still broken. What if there’s a danger that needs us all here to face it?”

The Princess smiled mysteriously as she looked up at the image of the unknown alicorn stallion in the nearby stain glass window, “I’ve been assured that there won’t be any trouble here that can’t be handled, but my sister also pointed something out to me: you six are the reason the Elements of Harmony worked at all. If anything does happen, I can always count on you to face the problem together, and to defeat it.”

Twilight thought about what the Princess had said, and slowly a smile appeared on her face, “Then I accept.”

“I’m ready to go when you are, Princess!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

“If Equestria really needs us, I’ll come,” Fluttershy declared with a nod, “I’ll just need to find someone who can take care of my animals first.”

Rarity sullenly glanced at the floor for a moment before she looked up to the Princess, “Well, it’s not exactly like I have anything left to lose! I’ll just need to see that my little sister gets moved back in with my parents.”

“Ah’m gonna need a few weeks,” Applejack interjected, “Mah family is livin’ in our barn right now, and while we have cousins and neighbors helpin’ out with the reconstruction of our home, it’s still gonna take some time to get it back up.”

“I understand,” Princess Celestia replied, and then she turned to address them as a whole, her eyes watering a little as she did, “Thank you so much for your promise of service. You are an incredible source of inspiration to me. I hope that our task of seeing a bright future brought to Equestria is fully realized.”

Serana Pryce

The bell above the door to Sugarcube Corner rang. Mrs. Cake, having been nearest to the storefront, came from out of the kitchen area, a jolly spring in her step.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner,” she said with a warm smile, “where we hope to satisfy your sweet cravings every time!”

It took her a moment to realize that the being who had entered her and her husband’s establishment was not a customer, but their newest lodger, “Oh hello, Serana! How are you doing?”

The blonde, straight haired human woman strode up to the counter smiled, “Hey, Mrs. Cake! I've been good. How about you?”

“Oh, I’m alright. The babies have been keeping me and Carrot up, though. Newborns: you know how they are.”

Serana dropped her small bag on the floor, a gift from the Apples filled with clothes made by Rarity, and sat down on the stool in front of her. She was still getting used to the fact that the height difference between this seat and the ones she was used to back home was just enough to throw her off.

“Can I get a water,” she asked “Water’s free, right?”

“My dear, so long as you live in this household, you can drink and eat whatever you want! Seriously, what you need will be a fraction of what we’re used to deducting from Pinkie’s pay. Speaking of-“ she yelled up towards the ceiling, “Pinkie, come down! Surprise is here!”

There was a thud and then the sound of scampering hooves. As the two watched the stairwell, Pinkie Pie flew into view as she cartwheeled down the stairs past the doorway. After she had left their view, there was a slamming sound as well as a shattering noise of something breaking as it hit the ground.

“I can fix that!” Pinkie yelled.

The pink party pony then appeared in the doorway again, her entire body shaking in ecstatic glee.

“Surprise,” she screamed in delight as she bounded over to her human friend and wrapped her up in a big bear hug, “It’s so good to see yoooou!”

“Hi Pinkie,” Serana croaked as her ribs crushed into her lungs, “how are you doing, girl?”

“I’m chillin’ like a villain, sister from another mister,” she replied with a giggle, “So, I’m guessing you’d like a full blown tour of the place before I have to leave for my mission work, right?”

“That will be great, but first I need to make sure you promise me something.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she intoned as she did the accompanying actions, “A Pie’s word is her bond! What do you need?”

“If you ever see Tia again, tell her she either has to get in touch with me or visit sometime, and tell Luna that I’m keeping her to her promise. She’ll know what you’re talking about.”

Pinkie Pie nodded her understanding with an exaggerated serious face, “You got it.”

Big Mac, Cheerilee

September’s afternoon sun shone down on a gathering of over one hundred ponies. The weather had been made absolutely perfect by the Ponyville weather team, and so everypony was able to give their absolute attention to the outdoor ceremony taking place.

“Macintosh Apple,” the elderly priest declared as he looked up to the tuxedo wearing stallion, “Do you take this mare to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“Ah do,” he said with nod and an understated smile.

“Then do you, Cheerilee Blossom, take this stallion to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Tears of joy had been gathering in the earth pony mare’s eyes all day, and they finally found their release as she exclaimed, “Yes, I do!”

The priest looked back and forth between them, and then out to the crowd, “If there are no objections then, I now pronounce these two to be mare and colt!”

Before they had been given the chance to be told they could do so, the couple had already taken their first matrimonial kiss. Slightly surprised, but not astonished in the least, the priest chuckled to himself as many cheers and whistle calls came from the congregation before him for the now happily wedded couple. While the Apple family’s many relatives took up the vast majority of the allocated seats, there were about a dozen Blossom family members present.

As the reception began, Cheerilee’s sister, a magenta earth pony named Joy, rushed up to her to give her a big hug.

“You did it! Ohmigooooosh!” she squealed and giggled, “I am so happy for you!”

“I was just glad that you were able to make it at all,” Cheerilee replied as they let go of each other, and then lowered her voice, “It was rather touch and go with your injuries.”

“I would never miss my only sister’s wedding,” Joy exclaimed, before she whispered in return, “You better be sure to share some of this amazing love with us! Just feeling it all around is driving me nuts!”

Cheerilee leaned a little closer with a knowing smile on her face, “I’ll be sure to send some the Hive’s way before I begin my first talks with the Equestrian royal family, your Majesty.”

“You’d better be sure to, Madame Ambassador,” Joy said with a wink, then raised her voice again, “Now where have you put that husband of yours? This wedding isn't legally binding until I’ve met him!”

Cheerilee smirked, “The ‘legally binding’ part’s already happened!”

“You may be today’s Princess, but I’m the Queen, and nothing happens without my say-so!”

Sweetie Belle squealed to herself as she trotted up to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, “Do you realize that you two are now related? This is so awesome! You’re like sisters now!”

Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow, “Well actually, I’m legally related to Cheerilee as a cousin, even though I’m really adopted. So I’m not really related to her by blood.”

“But I really am related to Big Mac,” Apple Bloom declared as she cut in, “so I’m actually Cheerilee’s sister-in-law.”

Sweetie Belle blinked at her two friends for a few seconds.

“They explained it to us,” Scootaloo said, ending the silence, “We’re not related: legally or actually.”

“Well, that’s not going to stop me from treating you like you are,” Sweetie Belle said with a huff, “We’ll just have to come up with some new sort of name for the two of you.” She tapped her hoof on her chin for a few seconds as she thought, and then the idea struck her, “I’ve got it! You two are Crusaders-in-law!”

Scootaloo looked at her unicorn friend incredulously, “ ‘Crusaders-in-law’? Cutie Mark Crusader-in-laws?”

Apple Bloom nodded her head in approval and glanced at her new ‘relative’ with an aloof smile, “Crusader-in-laws.”

Adam, Lyra

“Well, we've finally done it,” Adam declared as he strode through the front door of a modestly sized two story home, a very pregnant Lyra Heartstrings lying in his arms, “We are now proud home owners!”

“Alright, you walked me through the doorway like you wanted,” Lyra said in a mock agitated tone, “Now can you please put me down?”

Adam slowly set her down on her feet, and she took in a slow breath. Just to be playful, he passively commented, “It’s just as well: you were starting to get heavy.”

Lyra turned around and gawked at him, and she smacked him several times across the head, a smile on her lips all the while, “You little buttmunch!”

“Careful,” he exclaimed happily as he put up his hands to protect himself, “You could hurt the baby!”

“The only one who’s going to get hurt here is you if you keep it up with the weight jokes!” Lyra retorted, than gently grabbed her belly and stroked it softly. “He didn't mean it, Megan,” she said as she cooed to their daughter, “not if he plans to sleep in this house tonight!”

“Oh, I plan to do a lot more than just sleep tonight,” Adam declared as he shut the front door behind them. There was a smile and a glint in his eye as he turned to look at his lovely wife.

Lyra wagged her finger as she walked away towards the room that would become her inspiration space to write music, “Hoho, you better not! Aunt Bon Bon’s coming to visit and help with the Housewarming party tomorrow, so you better not do anything that would scar her for life. Besides, it’s not every day that a Representative of the House of Commonponies comes around to their hometown from Canterlot!” He had already taken in the breath to ask a question, but she had read his mind and headed him off, “Don’t bother asking for it right now. You know we both have a lot of work to do!”

Adam sighed, “Yes, dear.”

He was a little disappointed, but he knew she was right: she had a lot of music to compile together and submit to the local licensing company for approval, distribution, and hopefully profit. He, on the other hand, had a story that he needed to get back to writing.

After rummaging around through the various cases they had brought in but hadn't unpacked yet, he finally found his notes and manuscript. Grabbing his two pens, one black one for the true writing and a red one for editing, he walked into the quiet living room area. He sat himself down on the soft bottomed rocking chair that sat next to the fire place, and leaned back as far as he could.

Pen at the ready, he glanced at the title of his memoirs: A Journey Unthought Of: The story of a human’s life in Equestria. It was a bit pretentious sounding, and it needed work like he couldn't believe, but it had a certain epic ring to his ears. Adjusting his posture to get more comfortable, he flipped open the manuscript to the part where he had last left off: the morning sunrise that he and Lyra had shared in front of Bon Bon’s old cottage, and her life’s story.

Trixie

Trixie Lulamoon was the only civilian present at the reading of Bunsen Burner’s public last Will and Testament. All the various ponies who sat in the parlor around her were either members of the Equestrian government or military. As she had come into the sleepy town of Pferdshire for the occasion, she had seen a trail of four very large motorized wagons.

Bunsen Burner had once told her that in the event of a death of a researcher connected to the Royal Science Division, it was standard policy to have the lab and home of said researcher purged of all sensitive material. The findings, experiments, and academic life of the individual were then to be taken back to Canterlot, where they were assimilated into active research or archived away until their notes could be understood. Since he had worked most of his life in the Canterlot facility, the only thing the scientists on site had to worry about was stripping down the lab and purging the library.

Trixie tuned out most of the reading. She spent her time thinking about the old stallion. He was clever enough that if he had wanted to he could have found a way to have helped from outside the city boundaries. He could have stayed out of harm’s way, but it was just like Mr. Black had said: Bunsen Burner could never leave anything half done. He could never get his hooves out of anything he had stuck them into, the control freak.

As she sat there in fuming silence, Trixie came to realize that she despised the old stallion. She despised him because he had made her care about him, even with his prickly demeanor and the almost cavalier way in which he committed to monstrous decisions. Why had he chosen the dark and terminal path that he had taken? Why had he ignored her pleas to stay behind? Did he not care what she had to say at all? A deafening silence filled the world outside her thoughts, and Trixie looked up from her white and starry cape and hat, which she had been vacantly staring at.

The reading had ended. The larger will had been placed to the side, and a small envelope was brought out by the executor, “This codicil is addressed to Trixie Lulamoon.”

Setting it down, the Pegasus put his hoof on an ornate letter opener and slid it across the tabletop, neatly slicing through the top envelope’s top. He slowly brought up the legal document that fell out and read aloud the contents, “To Miss Lulamoon I leave the entirety of my Pferdshire estate, as well as the surrounding property on which said estate lies, to do with as she pleases, without any expectation on my part.”

Trixie felt like she had been struck by a wrecking ball. Bunsen Burner’s attitude toward her had never belied this offering to her. In all honesty, she was surprised to have even been invited to the reading in the first place.

“In addition,” the executor continued, “Having no heirs or justifiably close relations to bequeath my savings to, I have elected to leave my surplus of investments and government salary to you, excluding the seed money being used towards the finance of the Canterlot University Scholarship of Science and the Canterlot University Scholarship for Horticulture.”

Trixie’s heart stopped. She had never intensively discussed with the old stallion about his finances, but she had always assumed that he was pretty well off. The amount he had given her was bound to be of an almost astronomical value.

“With these articles now being legally parted from me, I have one last thing I wish to say: thank you. I know I was a stubborn old stallion, but you helped me and stayed with me in spite of that. If there ever was anypony in this world I wished I could have called my daughter, it was you. Thank you for teaching an old pony how to change.”

The young mare’s eyes were filling up as she heard those words. This didn't make any sense. How could this have been the same stallion she had known for the past year? Even after the reading had come to a full close, and the other ponies in the room began to file out of the parlor, she sat in a tumultuous state, unsure of whether to remain angry, joyful, or filled with a new layer of grief. Whatever she was supposed to be, she was completely and fully confused.

The executor’s briefcase snapped shut, and he slowly ascended above the desk, “Excuse me, Miss Lulamoon?”

Startled out of her emotional dilemma, the former entertainer looked up to the legal aid, “Yes?”

“There is still one last portion of the will to enact.”

She cocked her head in confusion, “But I thought that the reading of the will was completed.”

The Pegasus nodded as he flew closer and descended, “It is, but there is a private portion pertaining to you for your eyes only.”

The lawyer then produced a parcel from his back mounted saddlebag, as well as her portion of the will, and offered them to her. She lightly grasped the both of them with her magic, allowing the executor to gather his briefcase and offer her a good morning as he left.

She studied the message Bunsen Burner had left to her again. The words didn't change as she read over them again. She had money. She had land. She was for all intents and purposes a baroness now. Just a short time ago, shorter than she was willing to admit, she would have thought that her life was complete, and that she could now waste her days away on expensive wine, furniture, dresses, and comfort. Now, while the gesture was appreciated, it seemed hollow, knowing what this place was for the old stallion. He had given her his prison, and she was unsure if he had meant for her to either live in comfort or to take his place.

Glancing down to the bottom, she saw a seal that separated the last third of the letter from the rest. With a precision cut she sliced through the wax with her telekinesis, and bent the remainder of the will open. The hidden message was two simple sentences, obviously written in a hurry.

In all capital letters and orientated at an angle, Trixie read, OPEN PARCEL. READ AND USE ON WILL.

Her eyes widened. There was a reason! There always was with him.

She tossed the letter to the side and ripped the upward end of the parcel open. The thick paper fell out of her grip, leaving a medium sized book whose title was ‘Practicing Psychometry’.

Wasting no time at all, Trixie opened the book and began to read. Hours passed by like minutes as she studied and absorbed the concepts detailed in the tome she had been given. Finally, as she noticed the sun was setting in the west, she believed she was ready to try the spell she had just learned.

She grabbed the will in her magical grip once again, and hesitated as she brought it before her face once again. With a deep breath as if she were about to jump off a cliff face, she cast the spell on the legal artifact, and a door opened in her mind’s eye.

She could see the words freshly forming on the paper in front of her as Bunsen Burner wrote them with the quill in his mouth. He sealed the private portion of the letter and then closed the letter up in its envelope. Placing the envelope in his bureau-bound lockbox, he glanced over at the calendar near his desk. It was 12 August, 1002.

Trixie’s eyes grew even wider. The Battle of Canterlot had taken place on 7 August; the fact was seared into the deepest parts of her brain.

Before she did anything else, the magician cast a spell of temporary silence on her vocal chords. Now unable to give herself away, she screamed as hard as she wanted and jumped up and down. She began to laugh, and then the tears started again. Noiselessly, she screamed in tearful joy ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’

Eventually she needed to stop and breathe. As she gasped for air, she trotted to the nearby window to watch the rosy red sun set behind the fields and mountains in the west, and she couldn't help but smile amid her tears as she wondered many possibilities.

Bunsen Burner, The Maiden

The Tumulus of the Kings, situated within the Everfree Forest, was a locale that never received visitors. If the forest wasn't deterrent enough, the legends that surrounded the place also made sure that no one approached it. A green ghost of sorts typically haunted the area according to legend, and consequently the place had colloquially become known as Spectre Howe. The true nature of the site, and the secrets that it held, was only known by a handful of beings. Beneath the grass, the trees, and the overgrown mounds of the surrounding area lay the discovery of the millennium: a gigantic installation spanning miles long and hundreds of feet deep, and made entirely of metal. Beneath a vast chunk of the Everfree Forest lay Vanguard, one of the last homes to the planet’s human race, the mysterious progenitors of all others.

As they finally reached their destination, the Maiden paused to allow Bunsen Burner a chance to take a quick respite from his long trek.

“Finally,” Bunsen Burner said as he removed his wide brimmed hat from his head, “We've made it.”

After he had sat his pack down, he looked over to the Maiden, who was now fully comfortable revealing her human form, and saw that she was lost in her thoughts. He decided to allow himself the chance to look over some of his own while he sat. It had been a long journey, over nearly seventy miles of terrain, from the nearest road at the northern edge of the Everfree to here. The few hostile animals that they had encountered along the way the Maiden had possessed and forced to flee.

Here he corrected himself. Lauren. Her name was Lauren.

Still, the journey was nothing compared to the starting point itself. It had all begun with seven seconds.

He slammed the eject lever at his side down. The bolts around the forward compartment exploded, but the canopy remained in place. A light signaling an ejection fault flashed.

He quickly glanced at the countdown.

Four.

Three.

Two.

He sat back in the pilot’s seat and closed his eyes. Gambling against all odds, he cranked the transmitter of his teleportation beacon and pressed on its ovoid shaped surface.

He whispered, “Lily,” and then he disappeared in a flash of blue light and the smell of fireworks.

When the light had faded, he realized that he was standing in the old and battered receiver sitting in his basement laboratory. Even after years of non-use and covered in dust, it had still done its job.

“Bunsen,” Lauren said a little louder to get the stallion’s attention.

He quickly glanced up to his guide, “What? Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“So was I,” she said as she glanced back towards the site, “It seems so strange to say it, but I really am happy to come back to this place.”

“A few months’ vacation and you already want to return to the place you spent nearly 1400 years?” Bunsen Burner asked as he re-shouldered his pack.

“The offering of company certainly helps,” she said with a smile. She then turned and glided away, waving her arm after her, “Come on! You have a lot of things to learn ahead of you, and we might as well get you set up with a camp inside the ship.”

Bunsen Burner trotted after her, a full-fledged smile on his face.

“I can’t wait,” he declared without a speck of sarcasm.

Cadence, Shining Armor, Celestia

The contractions had begun in the early evening. Neither of the royal couple had had any real idea what day the baby would be coming; they only knew it would be soon. It coincidentally began during their discussion of what they were planning on doing for their first anniversary. The Princess had begun to pace as she conversed with the Prince, growing more skittish as every minute ticked away. It was at the point when she felt the baby moving more than it ever had before that she knew it was time.

“I thinking maybe we could go somewhere out West. We could see if there’s anywhere on the Pacifican coast where we could stay at for a few days,” Shining Armor thought aloud from his position lounge on the bed, oblivious to what his wife was currently experiencing.

All the Princess did was snort in reply and glance toward her behind.

Taking this as a sign to continue, the Prince rolled onto his back and blithely kept talking, “We could walk the fine ground sand beaches there, maybe take a hike or two in the northern forests, then maybe take a chariot up to Seaddle and go to one of the opera houses there. There’s this dish they serve there that uses oysters, and I've been dying to try it. It’s not necessarily for the bragging rights, but I've heard from some of the Southern Griffons when we’re doing military exercises with them, and they say the taste is phenomenal. I-”

“Shining,” Cadence cut off her husband with just the mention of his name, “Get the midwife. The baby’s coming.”

The upturned Prince froze as he stared at his wife, eyes becoming as large as saucers.

“The-,” he stammered, “The baby’s coming?”

“Yes, the baby’s coming,” Cadence snapped, “I’m the one carrying it, so I’m pretty sure I know what I’m talking about! Get the midwife!”

“Right! Right! Rightrightrughtrightright!” the Prince hurriedly blurted as he rolled over, jumped off the bed like it was a springboard, slammed the doors to their suite open, and ran like a crazy horse to Canterlot Medical.

That had been about six hours ago.

Now Shining Armor sat in a conference room a few hundred feet away, neurotically rubbing his hooves through his mane. His parents had come within the first thirty minutes, but several other ponies had joined him in his vigil.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were present, as were Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis.

Twilight Sparkle had also received the news, but even with the fastest sky chariot she was still hours away.

“Cadence is going to be fine, sweetheart,” Twilight Velvet said as she grasped Shining Armor by his right foreleg to keep him from rubbing himself bald, “Everything is going to be OK. It hasn't even been that long of a labor period yet. Most pregnancies finish up inside of seven to eight hours.”

“When we had you and Twilight, I think I was the one of us that was more terrified,” Night Light frankly declared as he took a sip from his lukewarm coffee, “You can relax a little son: the midwife is simply here as a precaution, not because there are complications.”

“Well I for one am feeling rather ‘psyched’,” Princess Luna said as she sat down onto one of the many sitting pillows in the room, “While not the court’s first child, this will be the first one where one of the parents was in the immediate royal succession, and of an alicorn parent no less! We are in the very action of living history itself! Who can guess what the child will be?”

“Well,” Fleur exclaimed as she brushed her hair with her magic, “Whatever the child is or chooses to be, we can all be assured that it will be given the gift of a pair of loving and supportive parents.”

“Well spoken, my dear,” Fancy Pants declared when he turned to look back toward his wife, his facial scar catching the light of the flickering candles on the table. He turned back toward Shining Armor and rapped his hoof on the table, “You and Cadence will make for an excellent father and mother!”

The Captain of the Guard looked to the gentlepony and nodded in appreciation for the compliment, but his face turned once again towards his lap, “I just hope I’m ready for this.”

Night Light chuckled as he looked to Twilight Velvet, who smiled back in return, “Trust us when we say you won’t be ready until you've raised one and they’re out of the house.”

“You’ll never be ready until you've already done it at least once, for better or for worse,” his mother clarified.

The doors to the conference room opened, which immediately grabbed everypony’s attention. Shining Armor turned his head so fast it almost looked like he was going to break his own neck. The midwife smiled as she fully opened the doors, “We’re ready for you.”

After many long hours of waiting, followed by a rush of pain and contracting muscles, the child was brought into the world.

“It’s the strangest thing,” the midwife commented as she ushered the herd of ponies in, “I've never before seen a foal that was born exactly at midnight. For posterity’s sake, though, the birth certificate will say he was born on 1 April 1003.”

As Shining Armor approached his wife, he noticed that she looked positively radiant despite her disheveled mane and her obvious sign of exertion. Resting on a thick linen covered bed in the center of the room, Cadence looked to her left side, where their child now lay. His coat was almost pure white, his tiny tail and mane were streaked blue, and he had both a horn and a pair of wings.

“An alicorn child,” Fancy Pants whispered in awe, “This is absolutely incredible!”

Taking a closer look at the fresh colt, Shining Armor was struck by a perplexing illusion: though obviously new to the waking world, the child looked as if he were older than his appearance seemed. Almost as if sensing his presence, the child opened his eyes to look at his father. They conveyed a strong sense of curiosity, but also seemed to have wisdom far beyond anything he could possibly have. Swirling like deep blue oceans, the lids around them closed as the little colt drifted off into sleep.

“It’s not fair,” Cadence weakly but happily whispered, causing Shining Armor to look at her in confusion, “I carry him for eleven months, and he barely looks anything like me!”

The Prince smirked a little and laughed softly, “He does have your wings, though. That counts!”

“And he has your entire body,” she replied.

She then turned to look at the colt, and her smile deepened.

“Isn't he beautiful?” she asked in maternal bliss as she ran a field of magic through his few strands of mane.

The newly made father slowly, almost with a tremble in his steps, walked to her side and lay down next to her, their child snuggled between them.

“Yes,” he said softly as he reached over and kissed her softly, “Yes he is.”

Princess Celestia, having remained unusually quiet for practically the entire affair, at last spoke up to ask a question, “What are you going to name him?”

The couple looked at each other for a moment, and then back to her.

“Well, Naming Day isn't for another five months,” Shining Armor said, “We've talked quite a lot, but we don’t have anything nailed down yet.”

The Princess nodded as she stared down at the newborn, and her eyes misted over as she pondered him. Having never told a soul what she had experienced, she wondered what it would be like, being in such a unique position as having met him first when he was a full grown stallion, and then watching him grow up before her eyes. When would he leave to carry out his plan to stop Discord, and thus cause the recursive events that were already in the past but still in flux? This and many other questions she would ponder in the days to come.

Janus

It was all wrong.

The plan was a success, but everything was spiraling out of control.

Janus, once again in his small plane of crystal and oblivion, watched as his parents settled down for the night beside the newborn that he was. Life in Equestria marched on, and everything was beginning to return to normal for those restricted to its domain, yet they could not see what was coming: to their credit, neither had Janus before he had made certain of Discord’s demise.

Only now, after he had made the draconequus’ fate an undeniable axiom did he realize the horrid truth: Discord was not the greatest threat to the universe. Even with his habit of toying with both mortals and immortals, and making reality his plaything, there was something much larger in both this universe and all others, something which Discord’s chaotic nature had been instrumental in keeping at bay. Now, it was awakening, and it was clawing at its prison, snarling and whispering its hunger across the cosmos.

Janus had not known what purpose the Void had served before, but now as he heard the ancient one’s murmurs in his foresight, he realized that it was not only the bedrock on which all of known reality was built, but also a prison. A prison outside of existence, one which no being was meant to cross and remain the same, but which he had done for others multiple times.

He had weakened the bars then, and now he had destroyed the lock.

Once it realized it was free, it would begin to infect all of the multiverse with its presence, at which point all causality would be sealed, meaning that from the inside looking out the end of days would happen in the blink of an eye, and that it would have always been that way, from into the misty past to the murky future. Then every universe would be bound together and swallowed up by it, leaving nothing but itself to live in a sea of cold darkness for all of eternity.

The future looked very dark indeed, for he had seen flashes of it upon Discord’s death.

A moving darkness, neither living nor dead, scoured the timestreams in an alien vessel, searching for something of importance, but what he couldn't say.

A crimson pony appeared before him, its appearance demonic in nature, with wings like a bat and a mane and tail like an inferno. Her eyes were sharp cyan with black sclera, and her forked tongue was hidden behind an almost carnivorous maw of teeth. As the alien vessel carrying the darkness descended like a storm cloud on Canterlot, the demonic pony was there, bursting into flame and rising up with a rage like he had never seen to defend the city from the ghastly presence, along with the help of Princess Celestia, Nightmare Moon, and his mother.

A zebra living deep within an all too familiar forest appeared before him. He saw that she was not alone, as a spirit of nature and the wilderness was beside her and within her, giving her the power and wisdom to be the custodian of the Everfree. Living things of all sorts came to her call, whether chipmunks or timber wolves, gnats or bears, and they stood guard around the little town of Ponyville, offering some small protection against the evil forces marching on it.

The perspective of the vision then tunneled deep below the earth, where at last Janus finally saw a face that he recognized. Bunsen Burner was hard at work welding a plate down to the floor of a large metal room, with what appeared to be a human ghost offering him company and instruction. As he watched, time blurred into the future, and now the old stallion was in some sort of control room with his guide. Slowly the room began to shake, and as light entered through the panels on the far wall, Janus realized that the thing the two beings were in was a large starship, and that for the first time in countless years it was taking off, destroying the Everfree above it as it rose.

Once again the perspective changed. He was greeted by the sight of an icy plain, across which the Elements were running for their dear lives. Applejack was carrying a pony on her back: who it was and to what extent they were injured he didn't know. Two humans, one being Adam, and the other a male he didn't recognize, brought up the tail end of the group, their steps hounded mercilessly by the darkness. A blue box of some sort was the destination to which they all ran.

The unknown male, young in appearance but ancient by the judge of his eyes, waved the others to retreat into the box while he stood his ground against the massive shadow. He carried a long case in the grip of his right hand, which fell open to reveal some sort of rifle-like weapon. From out of the shadow appeared two eyes, each with a red iris, green sclera, and a malevolent purple fog that poured out of them both. The mysterious young man brought up the weapon to point directly into the heart of the darkness, while he steadied his aim with his left hand.

“I’m begging you, for the love of God, don’t make me do this!” he yelled out over the howling winds. His eyes were a mix of fear, regret, and righteous anger, while the shadow’s eyes were filled with nothing but hatred and hunger, and it laughed at him.

Even as the renewed vision ended, a new fact echoed into his mind.

Four years. He had four Equestrian years to prepare for the coming cataclysm and to find those he had seen.

Though the fourth being he couldn't be sure of, he did understand what the other three represented: Hatred, Nature, and Science.

The last two were ends of a spectrum, much like he had once occupied with Discord.

Perhaps that was the key.

Princess Celestia was the Day and Princess Luna was the Night: another spectrum composed of opposites.

Princess Cadence, the third royal alicorn, was characterized by Love, which meant that the demon pony must be her equal and opposing opposite.

Six ponies: each with some sort of great power and each personifying a part of life itself. Perhaps if he found a way to help unite them all they could stand a chance at fighting the darkness that intended to consume everything.

He didn't care what he had to do to make it happen: in the face of this multiversal threat, anything that could help to forge this group of ponies, this Cosmic Paradigm, and which could help them win was preferable to the alternative.

Now set on his course of actions, the Conductor reached down into his basin, through which he could see all of Equestrian time and space, and began to tug on the strings that made the world go ‘round. So concerned was he in trying to set things right that he didn't notice that he was not alone in the darkness surrounding him.

It was already free, and it was watching.

It hungered, but knew it could never be satisfied.

The monstrous eyes which had appeared in Janus’ vision now bored into the back of his head, and it waited. As it watched, it couldn't help but whisper of its hunger for magic, or its desire for absolute dominance over all things, living or dead.

It murmured of its wish to eat time, to take the white alicorn and break him.

It wanted his domain and his life.

It wanted his bowl and his stage in the darkness.

It wanted his crystals.