20. Bridezilla

CORONA, AESTAS

When the sun rose, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Eugene walked up to the castle together.

"I wonder if we can help out with planning the wedding," Twilight mused. "After all, we are kind of pros after Cadance's. What do you think, Eugene?"

"I think I have absolutely no opinion on what color the dinner napkins are," Eugene replied. "I don't care what kind of flowers are in the aisle, the border on the invitations makes no difference to me, and as for the cake, as long as there actually is one, I'm good. You'd have to double check with Rapunzel and her parents, though. They're kind of in charge of the whole shindig. Me, all I care about is the bride I get to marry."

"But how can you not care about the border on the invitations?" Rarity asked, appalled. "The presentation says so much about—"

Before Rarity could launch into a monologue, Applejack interrupted, "I hope Rapunzel and Pinkie didn't make too much trouble for the rest of the castle last night." She winked.

They approached the gate, and the guards immediately shuffled in front of said gate to block it off. "Hey now," Eugene said. "What's with the battle formation?"

"We're just a little suspicious of these 'Canterlot ambassadors' after last night," one growled. "If I were you, Fitzherbert, I'd steer clear of them."

"What happened last night?" Twilight asked, perplexed.

"The princess did say that it was probably just one traitor," a second guard told the first. "The others might be innocent."

"Well, I don't buy it," the first said, drawing a frying pan from his belt and pointing it at the six before him. "It's probably some elaborate scheme!"

"Okay," said Eugene, "you're going to stop and back up about ten steps. We have NO IDEA what you are saying."

"See? They don't know," the second guard insisted. "They were even the ones that told us about the mysterious assassin in the first place."

The first guard sighed before lowering the skillet. "I'm going to trust the rest of you…for now. Last night, we caught an impersonator trying to kill Rapunzel and claiming to be her, though she clearly wasn't. The one of your friends that came into the palace last night let her in. We threw both of them into the dungeons."

"Chrysalis!" Fluttershy gasped.

"Pinkie Pie…let Chrysalis in?" Twilight tilted her head. "That doesn't sound right. Are you sure it wasn't an accident?"

"The princess affirmed herself that this…Pinkie Pie…deliberately let the assassin in," the guard continued.

"Can you take us to see them?" Applejack asked.

"Only under supervision," the guard growled.

---

A throng of guards accompanied Eugene, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack down into the dungeons…only to find two suspiciously empty cells.

"They're gone!" the guard from outside yelled. "And so are the Stabbingtons!"

"Chrysalis…has Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy said with a gulp.

"I'm sorry," Eugene said with a nervous laugh, "I thought you said the Stabbingtons had gone missing—"

"Their cell is completely unlocked!" the guard cried in disbelief.

Another guard staggered into the room, pressing a sack of ice to his head. "Someone assaulted me last night and took the master key to the cells," he barked.

"Chrysalis!" Rarity hissed.

"Your Chrysalis and the Stabbingtons…" Eugene reiterated. "No. This is not good. This is not good…"

"Don't tell me," Rainbow Dash groaned. "The Stabbingtons are super powerful villains?"

"Yeah," Eugene answered. "Pretty much."

"Put all the troops on guard," the first guard ordered. "Get Captain Maximus to survey the border. No one gets in or out without our supervision and the approval of the princess."

"Well, can we see Rapunzel?" Rarity asked. "I'd like to get her take on all this."

"And I'd like to make sure my future wife is all right after, you know, an assassin tried to bump her off," Eugene added sternly.

"Of course," the guard said. "Right this way."

---

THE BORDERLANDS OF CORONA, AESTAS

Deep within the rocky underground tunnel, Rapunzel and Pinkie Pie remained in chains, now also fastened to iron rings in the wall. Gothel set before each of them a plate of food, but didn't undo the chains around their arms before watching them try to eat.

"It's only for your own good," Gothel insisted.

When the two had finished with lunch, Gothel cleared away the plates. "It's only temporary," she assured Rapunzel. "Soon, we'll have somewhere to go where I won't have to keep you in such nasty chains."

"I'm already regretting having gone with you," Rapunzel said softly.

"What was that? You know how I feel about the mumbling, Rapunzel."

"Nothing, Mother." Rapunzel sighed dejectedly.

"Now." Gothel knelt before Rapunzel. "What would you say to a little reliving of the old days? Why don't you sing me that lovely healing song?"

"I don't want to," Rapunzel muttered.

"Rapunzel, if you don't speak up—"

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO!"

"That's just too bad," Gothel moaned histrionically. "And I was so looking forward to hearing your beautiful voice again. Next to that, sustaining my youth would just be a bonus."

That didn't slip by Rapunzel or Pinkie. "What?" they said in unison; Pinkie in confusion, Rapunzel in anger.

"Oh, surely you must know," Gothel said with a smile, standing tall over where the two younger women were forced by their chains to sit against the wall. "You don't need your hair in order to heal people, Rapunzel. After all, you did sing Flynn Rider back to life."

"You…you still want my power?" Rapunzel cried. "THAT'S WHY YOU SAVED ME? YOU TRICKED ME!"

"You're nothing but a liar-liar-horseshoes-on-fire!" Pinkie added.

"Oh, come now," Gothel replied casually. "I really do care for your well-being. Why else would I—"

"Anything you do, you do for yourself!" Rapunzel wailed. "Not for me! Not for anybody!" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Sing," Gothel commanded coldly, "the song."

"You're wrong," Rapunzel insisted. "I don't have my powers anymore. Whoever told you that I do lied." She took a deep breath before singing quickly but clearly: "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine!" She let the moment sink in. "See? Nothing."

"There has to be a difference," Gothel said to herself. "A reason why losing your hair caused all your work on me to be undone, but brought dear darling Flynn back from the brink of death…oh, I know." Her smile broadened. "Your HEART isn't in it. You have to want it, don't you? You wanted him back to life, and it happened. You didn't mean what you sang just now at all. Well, you're going to want it, Rapunzel. You're going to want to heal me with all of your heart."

"NO!" Rapunzel cried. "No, I won't!"

"Do I have to give you incentive?" Gothel asked, drawing a knife.

"Go ahead," Rapunzel challenged. "Try to hurt me."

"I'd rather not," Gothel sighed. "After all, you are so precious to me. Instead, I think…" She moved toward Pinkie Pie, holding out the blade.

"W-wait!" Pinkie screeched. "Don't! I'm too fun to die!"

"DON'T HURT HER!" Rapunzel screamed.

"THEN YOU WILL SING AND YOU WILL MEAN IT!" Gothel commanded, holding the blade up next to Pinkie's neck.

"F-flower…" Now Rapunzel couldn't hold back the tears. All she wanted was for Pinkie to be safe, and if that meant healing Gothel, so be it. "Flower gleam and…glow…let your power shine…"

A golden glow surrounded Gothel. The older woman backed off, sighing in pleasure as the wrinkles in her face smoothed out and her hair became a deeper shade of black; signs of age that hadn't been noticeable until they were gone melted away. "There," Gothel said. "Was that so hard?"

"Make the clock reverse," Rapunzel finished in tears, "bring back what once was mine…what once was…" She couldn't say the last word. It didn't matter. Gothel's youth was restored.

"That's better." Gothel sheathed the knife. "I'll leave you two to some…girl bonding time. And to think, I thought the pink-haired one was just going to be dead weight!"

She strode down the tunnel and out of sight. Rapunzel sobbed audibly. Pinkie looked upon her new friend with concern.

"She had no right to do that to you!" Pinkie burst out in anger. "She made you cry! I'm NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER going to forgive her! And four evers makes forever!"

"I thought…things would be different," Rapunzel whispered through her tears. "No…I thought things would be the same. I wanted it to be like when I was young, and she would play with me and sing with me and…and treat me like her daughter. I guess I'm an idiot. All along, Barbara was willing to be my mother and treat me like a daughter…and I followed Gothel instead."

"You're not an idiot!" Pinkie argued. "You didn't know! Besides, if we hadn't followed her, we'd probably be way worse off! Hmm…hey, I just thought of something. Isn't it a little convenient that she showed up right after Chrysalis kicked you out?"
"The wedding!" Rapunzel realized with a gasp. "Gothel needs to keep me out of the way just long enough for Chrysalis to take over for me? Augh, how did I not SEE it?"

"Because you remember loving her," Pinkie said, "and that's not bad! It makes you a lot better than her! All those years, she should have been loving you, but she was just selfish instead!"

"I'm so sorry you're here with me," Rapunzel sighed. "It should just be me locked up here. Then she couldn't use you against me. She couldn't hurt you."
"I'm not sorry I'm here," Pinkie said honestly. "After all, if I wasn't here, you'd be captured alone! Now we're captured together! If you were gone, I'd be scared and worried! Well, I'm still a little scared and worried, but at least I know where you are!"

"But the others are probably worried about us," Rapunzel pointed out. "I wonder if they figured out what happened."

"I'm sure they did!" Pinkie decided. "They're probably on their way to rescue us right now! And anyway, we can think of a way to get out of this on our own!"

"But how?"

"I'm not sure yet," Pinkie admitted, "but I'm gonna put my thinking cap on, and I'll come up with something! You have nothing to worry about with Pinkie Pie on the case!"

Rapunzel could finally smile. "Thank you."

"No problem! In the meantime, do you want to do something to pass time until we think of something? I think you need some cheering up! You like singing, right? Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh, I could teach you one of my songs if you wanted!"

"I like the sound of that," Rapunzel admitted. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all!" Pinkie cried. "Okay, I'm gonna teach you how to sing 'Smile, Smile, Smile'! It's the bestest song I ever came up with ever!" She cleared her throat loudly before beginning the first line: "My name is Pinkie Pie…"

---

CORONA, AESTAS

The host of guards accompanied Eugene, Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack up to a large mirrored dressing room, where what appeared to be Rapunzel looked over different gowns on mannequins. "You're here!" she cried. "I was just looking over the gowns for the bridesmaids. I was so scared after last night!" She rushed forward into Eugene's arms, embracing him.

"What happened?" Applejack inquired.

"I was trying to sleep when Pinkie Pie let that horrible assassin through the window," the princess replied, still buried in Eugene's arms. "Then she tried to kill me while Pinkie snuck out to try and pretend she was going to protect me!"

"But why would Pinkie do a thing like that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "That's not like her at all!"

"I don't know," the princess replied; by now, Eugene was stroking her hair. "She just seemed to have gone mad! You should feel lucky we caught her. You would be in danger from her too!" She sighed. "Right now…all I want is to forget about all that and be with my Flynn. After all, Flynn, you and I are getting married tomorrow…that's all I want to think about."

"Whoa," Eugene said teasingly. "'Flynn'? Now that's a name I haven't heard you use on me in a while. I mean, you were the one who got me to start going by 'Eugene' again in the first place…"

"Why is that?" the princess asked, genuinely confused.

"Because it's my real name," Eugene said, gears turning in his head. Before any revelations could come to him, the woman in his arms quickly pressed her lips to his, drinking deeply from his soul.

When the two parted from the kiss, Eugene said blankly, "What were we…what was I…" He looked up at the room, dazed. "Nice dresses," he said. "Are they for the wedding?" His eyes were out of focus.

"Yes, dear," the woman who seemed as Rapunzel said through gritted teeth. "Now run along. I have a lot of preparation to do."

Twilight glared directly at the woman. She knew. So did Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity. The woman glared back. Then she grinned, slowly and deliberately.

"Guards," she ordered, "let me have a moment alone with the ambassadors. I want to talk with them about your friend."

"But what if they're dangerous?" the talkative guard said. "Maybe we should post an officer—"

"You won't have to worry unless you hear me scream," the woman who seemed as Rapunzel assured him. "Now, some privacy, please?"

"Of…of course, your highness." The guards, followed by the dizzy Eugene, turned and left.

The woman closed the door after them.

"Chrysalis," Twilight accused.

"So you found me out," Chrysalis confessed. "Good for you. But what are you really going to do about it? Tell me. Are you going to tell the royal guards? They won't believe you. They don't believe in magic like mine. Are you going to tell Flynn—Eugene? After that kiss, he won't be able to understand a word you say. Use the Elements of Harmony on me? You actually sealed your own fate for me rather conveniently by splitting away from the pink one. And without her…" Chrysalis advanced toward Twilight. "I'm more powerful than even the most powerful of you."

She pushed Twilight's shoulder, a shock of green rocking where her fingers connected with Twilight. Twilight was blasted backward into one of the mirrors, shattering it.

"Does anypony else want to try and challenge me?" Chrysalis laughed. "Oh, and if you're looking to free the real Rapunzel or your pink friend from captivity, you won't find them in the dungeons. I've made sure they're gone, somewhere you can NEVER find them."

"We saw," Applejack said through gritted teeth. "Ya also let out them Stabbin'tons, didn't ya?"

"Stabbingtons?" Chrysalis replied. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play stupid!" Rainbow Dash growled.

"The point remains," Chrysalis said. "I'm about to give the orders that if the pink one or the princess everyone thinks is a fake crosses the borders into this castle, they're to be apprehended on sight. Not that they can get out of where they are, anyway. You may know who I am, but how much good does that REALLY do you?"

"You won't get away with this!" Fluttershy retorted, helping Twilight stand and looking her over for injuries from the mirror.

"Are you going to attack me?" Chrysalis asked. "That would get you thrown into the dungeons as quickly as the pink one. After all, I'm the only thing standing between you and suspicion. You can stay in the castle as long as you like, but if you dare make a move to accuse or attack me, I'll have you sent to die. Of course, I could probably kill you right now, but that would ruin the fun. As Discord always used to believe, the more players there are to make the game chaotic, the more fun the game is. And it will be fun for me…watching you squirm, unable to do a thing."

A knock came at the door. "Who is it?" Chrysalis called out.

The door slammed open. Maximus stood behind it. The look upon his face indicated that he'd heard everything.

"So those nosy guards had to send someone up to supervise us after all," Chrysalis sighed. "You're in the same boat, horse. Even if you could speak, what would you say? That a shapeshifter took over your princess? How would that look? And just in case you're still thinking of snitching on me…"

She placed a hand on Maximus' chest, over his heart. A ripple of green boomed out over the horse; he keened in pain and backed away as quickly as he could.

"I'll have you out of my hair soon enough," Chrysalis said. "I'll see you downstairs. Then I suppose I'll have to choose one of these ugly gowns for my bridesmaids…such a chore." Chrysalis took off running down the hall.

Maximus galloped after her, and the five Equestrians followed in hot pursuit. Maximus was the only one who could catch up to Chrysalis as she scooted next to one of the guards. "I'm frightened by the news that that assassin is still out there with her accomplice," Chrysalis told the human guard quickly. "Please…have Maximus patrol the walls to make sure they don't come back! He isn't doing any good on the castle grounds!"

Maximus snorted a protest, but the human guard nodded. "It's a good idea, Maximus. Keep an eye out for those nasties. Now, don't take that attitude with me! You're our captain, and the most fit to take them on if they return!"

Maximus stomped on the ground once.

"Yes," the guard replied, "you outrank me, but she outranks you. And she's obviously very frightened—"

Chrysalis summoned up a tremble; even eked out a fake tear.

"Don't let her down," the guard told Maximus.

"Excuse me," Fluttershy said shakingly, the others having caught up, "but where's Eugene?"

"We sent him home," the guard said. "He wasn't feeling well. Pre-wedding jitters, probably."

"We should go check on him," Rainbow Dash said. "But some of us should stay here to keep an eye on Rapunzel. You know, in case anything else bad happens and she needs our protection."

Maximus nodded. Now seeing the delineation between who was out to harm his friends and who was out to protect them, he didn't want to limit the Equestrians again.

"Applejack, let's stay here and help out until sundown," Rainbow Dash suggested. "The rest of you okay with going to see Eugene?"

"Yup," Twilight replied.

"Of course," Fluttershy added.

"As am I," Rarity agreed.

Chrysalis seemed slightly miffed, and Rainbow Dash couldn't tell if that was because not all of them were leaving or because not all of them were staying for her to taunt. "Good," Rainbow Dash concluded.

"We'll see you around," Twilight said, turning to leave; Fluttershy and Rarity followed.

"Shouldn't you be going?" Chrysalis barked at Maximus.

Reluctantly, Maximus trotted down the hall and around the corner to where Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy waited.

"Come with us," Rarity told him. "We'll need your help."

At that, Maximus perked up, standing to attention. He followed Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy out and toward Eugene's home.

---

Eugene's daze was worse than it had previously appeared. He stood watching the walls for long stretches of time, occasionally moving to look at a different wall.

Countless times, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, and Maximus had tried to get his attention. "Eugene," Fluttershy said, "Rapunzel is in trouble! That was Chrysalis you saw!"

"Rapunzel," Eugene replied. "We're getting married tomorrow, you know."

"You're not well!" Rarity insisted. "Can't you see what's happened to you?"

"I can see I'm getting married," Eugene told the wall.

"You have to fight it!" Twilight insisted. "Don't let Chrysalis win!"

"Who?" Eugene answered.

Maximus roughly shoved Eugene over, trying to at least get him to come to his senses and argue with the horse. Instead, Eugene stood up again and stared right at the wall once more.

Maximus whinnied disappointedly.

"It's no use," Rarity sighed. "We need the real Rapunzel to wake him up."

Something bothered Twilight's memory, but she couldn't get it to materialize as a conscious thought. She picked at it in her mind, but to no avail, though she knew she was forgetting something very important.

"We can at least make sure he doesn't hurt himself," Fluttershy said somberly.

"Somehow, I don't think that will be a problem," Rarity said, looking at the statue-still Eugene.

"What am I forgetting?" Twilight muttered to herself.

---

THE BORDERLANDS OF CORONA, AESTAS

"Dinner time!" Gothel planted two plates of roasted herbs, the kind one could obtain by picking them in the forest and scorching them over a campfire, before Pinkie and Rapunzel.

"Um, Ms. Gothel?" Pinkie asked. "Can I ask you a question?"

"I don't see why not," Gothel replied.

"Are you sure you don't care about Rapunzel just the littlest teeniest bit?" Pinkie asked. "I mean, you were together for eighteen years!"

"But I do care about her," Gothel reiterated. "Why else would I keep her locked up safe?"

"If you really cared, you'd give her more freedom and trust her, and she wouldn't leave because she wouldn't want to," Pinkie argued. "Also, you probably wouldn't threaten her friends with a knife."

"You just don't understand," Gothel told Pinkie. "Of course, I didn't expect you to. YOU, I don't care about. You would have been thrown out to the bears by now if you hadn't gotten Rapunzel to sing."

"Moth—Gothel," Rapunzel said coldly, "would you still 'love' me if I didn't sing for you?"

"It's a moot point." Gothel waved her hand. "I love you, and you will sing for me. Of course, I won't need a healing for a good while. After tomorrow, we'll be set up somewhere I won't have to keep you in chains. You're just going to love my new friend. She's the one who's going to get us a new place to live…if I can pass a simple test, of course."

"Test?" Rapunzel and Pinkie asked.

"I only need you here for two days," Gothel told them. "After the wedding, well, then let's just say things will have changed considerably for the better in Corona. And I will have gotten my name in with a friend in a very high place."

"What friend is that?" Pinkie snapped.

"You probably wouldn't know her," Gothel replied casually. "Anyway, enjoy your dinner. I did work so hard to get it for you!"

"I never should have trusted you," Rapunzel growled. "You are NOT my mother."

Gothel very nearly became angry, but she caught herself. "Don't be silly" was all she said before she stormed away down the tunnel.

"How can she just ignore all those years?" Pinkie wondered out loud.

"That's exactly what gets to me," Rapunzel sighed.

"Well, we're gonna get out of here and away from her," Pinkie swore. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my—" She found that the chains around her arms prevented her from poking herself in the eye as was customary in the ritual. "…eye."

---

CORONA, AESTAS

"So," Applejack asked Queen Barbara, "what exactly did Rapunzel plan for this weddin' anyway?"

"She had planned on inviting the entire town, letting the doors open for whomever wanted to enter," Barbara answered. "Already she's so thoughtful about her subjects. She doesn't want to be above them or apart from them. She wouldn't have new wedding rings forged—she's using the rings from my departed mother and father. They've been preserved in the royal treasury, and she wanted to carry on the memory of the rulers of the past—even if she can't remember her grandparents. She absolutely insisted on using them."

"Your Majesty," Applejack replied somberly, "Rapunzel's been…not herself lately. Ya gotta remember what she really wanted for this kingdom right about now. If she says anything that doesn't sound like her…ya gotta notice it."

"Why? Did something happen on your journey to the tower?"

"Just…that she's been feelin' stressed with the weddin' and all…so remember what she really wanted. What she's really like. Her, uh, stress might cause her to say and do things that are different. Don't let her forget. And most importantly, don't YOU forget."

The two entered the mirrored chamber, where Rainbow Dash was modeling the ugliest dress either woman had ever seen: a poofy mess of dark green and bright pink, with ruffles everywhere. "This one's the perfect bridesmaid dress!" Rainbow Dash insisted.

"Ew," Chrysalis said with scorn. A host of guards surrounded her, making sure Rainbow Dash did nothing to harm her, but mostly, Rainbow Dash had done nothing other than make repeated suggestions for ugly dresses.

"Making progress?" Barbara asked.

"Oh…Mother!" Chrysalis said with a start, turning to face the queen. "I was just about to pick a dress for the bridesmaids. And Rainbow Dash is…HELPING." She glared at Rainbow Dash, who just grinned.

Applejack rolled her eyes. It amazed her, how Chrysalis always had to play the bridezilla. In a kingdom that was more used to shape-shifters, her need for perfection, so different from that of Cadance or Rapunzel, would be an obvious giveaway.

Another guard rushed to the room. "Your Highness!" he greeted. "The warriors from the borderlands are here!"

"Warriors from the borderlands?" Chrysalis was genuinely puzzled.

"You wanted them to entertain at your wedding," the guard reminded "Rapunzel." "You requested the piano talents of one, the mime act of another—"

"MIME act?" In disgust, Chrysalis stormed out of the room, the host of guards following her. "Let me see these warriors!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack followed her knowingly; Barbara followed perplexedly.

In the atrium of the castle, the muscular patrons from the Snuggly Duckling all gathered. "EW!" Chrysalis immediately reacted. "I don't want YOU at my wedding!"

"But…Princess…" The hook-handed warrior stepped forward. "You said personally that you'd love it if I played your wedding march. You told me—"

"No, no, NO!" Chrysalis yelled. "No wedding march! No mimes! NONE OF YOU! You aren't part of my kingdom anyway, so go back to the borderlands, you…disgusting creatures!"

"Rapunzel!" Barbara gasped. "They're your friends!"

"I'm just…under a lot of pressure right now, Mother," Chrysalis answered, pressing her fingers to her temples. "I want everything to be perfect. You understand?"

"I think I do," Barbara said, remembering Applejack's words. "But are you sure? You planned for them to be part of your special day since—"

"They need to GO!" Chrysalis screamed. "I will NOT have my wedding filled with what looks like the most detailed criminal record in this world's history!"

"But we're reformed from all that," another warrior, a tall and lanky man with a distinctively large nose and a winged helmet, piped in. "All our days of murdering and kidnapping and robbery are behind us!"

Rainbow Dash slipped in next to Applejack. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" she whispered.

"No," Applejack replied just as hushedly. "What are you thinkin'?"

"Reformed criminals. They know where to hide bodies and hostages."

"I still have no idea what yer…OH."

"OUT!" Chrysalis insisted.

"But we traveled all this way," the warrior in the winged helmet protested. "It's a two-day walk—"

"I SAID OUT!"

"Well…if you insist," the hook-handed warrior said dejectedly. He turned to leave, slouching slightly from sadness. The others slowly turned to follow suit.

"Look at the time!" Rainbow Dash cried. "Applejack, we should be going too! We'll see you tomorrow, Princess!"

"Don't forget to be at the wedding!" Chrysalis told Rainbow Dash cheerily. "I want you right in the front…where I can SEE you."

"Of course!" Rainbow Dash answered without missing a beat. She and Applejack followed the group of warriors out of the castle.

The sun was dropping lower in the sky. "We'll have to walk through the night," the hook-handed warrior lamented.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash called out. "Wait up!"

"It's the princess' friends," the warrior in the winged helmet said, noticing her and Applejack.

"So you guys are like the foremost criminals in the world, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Uh, were the foremost criminals?"

"Yeah," the hook-handed warrior answered. "Why?"

"Listen," Rainbow Dash said. "There's something big going on, and it has to do with why Rapunzel kicked you out. Tomorrow's wedding is set to be an absolute disaster. I can't explain it right now because you kinda wouldn't believe me. Anyway, I need to know one thing that could mean the difference between a happy ending and a really bad one. If you were going to hide a body, alive or dead, somewhere in these lands, anywhere you wanted, and you wanted to make sure it was NEVER FOUND AGAIN, where would you hide it?"

"Well," the hook-handed warrior mused, "there's—"

"Are you sure you want to give that away?" the warrior in the winged helmet asked him worriedly.

"It's not like we use it anymore," the hook-handed warrior said with a shrug, "especially after the flood closed half of it off. There's a tunnel under the Snuggly Duckling. We used to keep all sorts of hostages there. It has all our literal skeletons in the closet."

"And I'm going to take a bet on that," Rainbow Dash said. "Thanks…um, what was your name again?"

"Franz," the hook-handed warrior answered.

"And I'm Sigmund," the warrior with the winged helmet added. "And that's Vladimir, Atilla, Shorty, Ulf, Gunther, Tor—"

"Yeah yeah," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Thanks for the tip. I'm gonna be going with you tonight." She turned to Applejack. "You should stay back. If four of us show up, Chrysalis might not be too suspicious!"

"She'll notice if even one of us is gone," Applejack replied, "but I got some information from the queen that might help me back her into a corner if she tries to act too out of character. You're really gonna chance it that you-know-who's in this secret tunnel?"

"We have nothing else to go on," Rainbow Dash answered. "If it's the best place to hide, then that's where they're hidden." A thought occurred to her. "I need to stop back at Eugene's place. I thought of someone else that can help us! Someone the 'princess' kicked out and doesn't expect to see at the wedding anyway."

---

The warriors from the borderlands waited outside while Rainbow Dash and Applejack met Twilight, Eugene, Rarity, Maximus, and Fluttershy in the reading room.

"I think I know where Rapunzel and Pinkie are," Rainbow Dash informed the others. "If Chrysalis thinks like the best criminals, they're stuffed in a tunnel below the Snuggly Duckling. I need to go out there tonight with the rest of the warriors. It's a long shot, but we gotta take it. In the meantime, most of you have gotta show up at the wedding so Chrysalis doesn't think something's up. I'll also need you to stall for as long as possible. Keep Eugene from saying 'I do' to Chrysalis as long as you can! If I'm right, we'll be back just in time!"

"It is a long shot," Twilight admitted, "but we have to take it."

"We can certainly come up with a distraction or two in order to stall," Rarity said with a smile.

"And we'll keep working on seeing if anything can make Eugene better," Fluttershy added.

"Great!" Rainbow Dash cried. "Now, there's one more thing. Maximus, Chrysalis kicked you out. She doesn't expect you there anyway. I was wondering if you'd come with me. You're the captain of the guard, after all, and we need all the help we can get on this mission!"

Maximus whinnied his approval.

"Then let's go!" Rainbow Dash commanded. "I'll see you all tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow's my wedding," Eugene said listlessly.

Rainbow Dash and Maximus left the house to join the band of warriors. "We're ready," Rainbow Dash announced.

Maximus nudged her gently. He bent one foreleg, giving her one shoulder. It took Rainbow Dash a second to realize that he was offering her a ride.

"You out of everyone should know how wrong I think that is," Rainbow Dash growled.

Maximus gave a sort of shrug before straightening up into his full height once more. The band set out for the borderlands as the sun plummeted and the moon rose.

Rainbow Dash didn't let it show, but she was quite worried that her hunch was wrong. After all, if she was incorrect, no amount of stalling would stop Chrysalis from taking Corona within the following day.

---

THE BORDERLANDS OF CORONA, AESTAS

Gothel had gone further down the tunnel to make her own bed. Rapunzel and Pinkie Pie were left to sleep in their chains against the wall. Despite the discomfort, they'd managed to lose consciousness.

At midnight, as though the time itself was a marker for revelation, Pinkie's eyes flew open. She knew.

"I have a plan!" she cried.

---

Chapter 20:

· "Four evers makes forever" is a reference to a particular MLP ep, the title of which I forget, where Pinkie is told by somepony that he's "never ever ever ever ever" going to be her friend; she remarks sadly that "four evers…that's like forever!"

· The Smile song returns. It has a purpose for being here.

· THIS is the big reason you had to remember that Gothel thought his name was Flynn: no one around Chrysalis knew his real name. So she'd obviously slip up right away and call him that.

· A Pinkie Promise canonically has Pinkie finish her promise by actually poking herself in the eye.

· The reference to the rings belonging to Barbara's parents is from Tangled Ever After, where in Maximus' daymare about the royals finding that he lost the rings, the queen stands up and yells, "Those were my mother's!"

· Yes. I thought of it the other day: when Chrys impersonated Cadence, why did she give in to all her selfish urges instead of trying to act like the mild-mannered princess? Perfectionism is just Chrys' weakness. And I mean perfectionism in the events she's crashing, not just in her evil plans.

· This is the chapter where I finally picked names I like for the thugs! "Franz" is the pianist, of course, and "Sigmund" is the lovestruck one. All the other names are actually canon. Franz and Sigmund are listed canonically as "Hook-hands" and "Big-nose," which I don't think count as names.