Author's Notes:

The Usual Disclaimer:

The following is a work of parody, and is protected as Fair Use under section 17 U.S. Code § 107 of US Copyright Law. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all affiliated characters are property of Hasbro Inc.

I own nothing. All characters, settings and other belong to their respective owners. This is purely a fan-work with no intent towards profit, slander or harm towards the characters, settings or other, or their respective owners. If the respective owners feel that this fan-work in any way, shape or form threatens or besmirches their property, please let me know so that it be can be removed asap.

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I would like to apologize for all the delays. Between a total lack of privacy and utterly primitive internet services, as well as a laptop and portable memory device that have both been heavily damaged by individuals up at the camp, it has been almost impossible to get this chapter written, let alone uploaded.

Many thanks for sticking around as long as you have, its greatly appreciated. And I'm not giving up yet!

CHAPTER 34

Applejack sighed, feeling the weight of the heavy box on her back shift slightly as her hooves navigated the hard-packed dirt-road that led back to the Apple family orchard.

Today had been an absolute nightmare. First a fiend had come to town and threatened the safety of the townsponies, then those snooty reporters from Canterlot had tried to pin the whole mess on Twilight and Princess Luna, and Applejack had then been asked to spend the afternoon keeping an eye on Trixie, of all Ponies, while Twilight went out to see what she could do to cure Trixie of her fiendish tail and to see what Zecora had wanted from the purple Alicorn.

And of course Rainbow Dash had started getting all excited about those perm-afro-dykes that Twilight had been talking about, and that Trixie had admitted to being one of them. Having to spend the afternoon trying to keep Dashie from tearing through Twilight's library for some sort of magical scroll-thingy, and then dealing with Trixie's erection …

Did not jus' think about that. Applejack grunted, shifting the box to a more comfortable position. Trixie apparently had a very low tolerance for flirting, as all Rainbow had to do with flash a bit of her flanks and the Show-Mare would just 'sprout' on the spot. And it was an impressive sprouting, even if Applejack didn't want to admit it. Long and thick, pink, pulsating flesh that …

Applejack stopped, gently put the box onto the ground and put her hat ontop of it, before jumping a nearby fence and running over to the nearest tree, slamming her head against the trunk hard enough to see stars.

Mother-buckin' spawn of a … NOT THINKIN' ABOUT THAT!

Having to sit outside the bathroom door and stand guard while Trixie took care of her 'problem', with Spike sitting outside the window with his trusty frypan in-case Rainbow tried to bust in through the small porthole-style window, had been aggravating in a whole new way to Applejack. It wasn't like she was ignorant of the sounds Ponies made during … personal time. Living in her family's old house meant privacy was limited, and there had been several incidents where either Big Mac or herself had walked in on the other 'taking care of business' in the shower or their own bedrooms, or had to wrap a pillow over their heads to muffle the noises of somebody in the middle of 'happy time'.

There wasn't any laws, so to speak, about Ponies 'keeping it in the family', due to the chaos that Estrus could cause and the marrying habits of the Nobility, but outright incestual relationships were held in low esteem in polite society, and after all, that one estrus aside, she and Big Mac were not that way inclined. The only Ponies who seemed to think sibling love was wonderful were probably those who'd never had a sibling in the first place!

And being rural farm-ponies, Applejack had long been teased about a supposed relationship with her brother as a Filly. Tartarus on fire, Carrot Top still spread those rumors every chance she got, spiteful she-mule of a Pony that she was, and then seemed to wonder why it was that Big Mac refused to have anything to do with her, even in the middle of spring!

And that lack of privacy, coupled with a very healthy body and a painfully long period of enforced celibacy had left Applejack in what was commonly known as a 'sexual drought'. Just thinking about sex of any kind was enough to make her heart race now, and having her face all but rubbed in the fact that Twilight was getting it on with Princess Luna on what appeared to be a daily basis, and now there was a Mare with a Stallion's plumbing who had gotten an erection so big that it had actually pushed the table up off the floor, who had literally been within hoof's reach for several hours.

An' of course, ah was dumb enough to offer to look after the Cutiemark Crusaders tonight … no dippin' down to the swimmin' hole to cool off fer me tonight. The Farm-Pony sighed and trudged back to the road, where her beloved hat sat ontop of the heavy box. An' now Twi's asked me to keep that thing safe … ain't too keen on havin' it near me or mah kin, but Twi did say that only a Unicorn could make it work, an' there ain't no Unicorns on mah farm. 'Sides, who'd look fer that damn Spell-Scroll on a farm?

“It'll just be for a few days, Applejack. Throw it anywhere on the farm you feel will be safe from prying eyes and twitchy hooves. The box has been magically sealed and warded, it's just a case of finding somewhere to hide the infernal thing until I can cure Trixie and then … then we're having a bonfire, and that damn Scroll is being used as the kindling!”

“Heh … ain't never thought I'd see the day when Twi would get all excited about burning a book … err, scroll!” The Farm-Pony couldn't help but laugh as she remembered Twilight's expression as the Unicorn had looked at the box one last time. Utter loathing and chagrin had been clearly visible on the 'Princess's' face, and a healthy heaping of guilt too. Poor Mare was probably still blaming herself for not properly destroying the original, flawed Scroll that had brought Trixie and Sunset together in the first place.

Of course, the news that a Mare could have … that … with just a single spell brought a whole heap of confusing, conflicting thoughts to the Farm-Mare's mind. Applejack didn't have much of a preference when it came to genders, but she did have to admit she had found more pleasure with a Mare, or at least none of the Stallions she'd been with had inspired any need in her to go 'straight'.

And Rainbow Dash's … attitude towards Luna and Twilight was obnoxiously and obviously jealousy-based, and it didn't exactly make Applejack's own green-eyed monster sit quiet either. It wasn't as if Rainbow Dash and Applejack had never crossed the line into 'really close friends' on more than a few occasions, especially when hard cider and drunken daring entered the picture, but Applejack had told the Pegasus clearly that her family's farm would always come first and foremost, and in turn Rainbow has made her case that joining the Wonderbolts was a dream that the rainbow-maned Pegasi would never give up for anypony.

That the Pegasus had basically turned around and started to really push her flirting with Twilight, especially after turning down Applejack the week before, was really grinding Applejack's gears, coupled with the Farm-Pony's already formidably-repressed sexual desires bubbling up inside her and all the strange thoughts that all the day's ups and downs had filled her head with, and right now poor Applejack didn't have the time to deal with all of this, not with the Cutiemark Crusaders ...

Well, speak of the Devil, and she shall appear! Applejack thought wryly as she saw the infamous trio of hyperactive Fillies rushing through the southern field, axes clutched in their mouths …. Wait, wait wait wait, brain, back up a second there, was that Applebloom with a …

“APPLEBLOOM! WHA' ARE YOU DOIN' IN THE SOUTHERN FIELD? AN' WHA' HAVE BIG MAC AN' AH SAID 'BOUT Y'ALL AN' AXES?”

“But we're gonna be Cutiemark Crusader Lumber-Jacks!”

“NO! AN' GET AWAY FROM THOSE TREES, DAMMIT! Y'ALL AIN'T USIN' NO AXES NEITHER, YOUNG MISSY! WE TALKED 'BOUT THIS AFTER Y'ALL NEARLY CUT DOWN TWI'S LIBRARY!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Majesty.” The Warrior murmured, tapping nervously on the broom-closet. “Majesty, the Large, Terrifying One has left, it is safe to come out.”

For several moments, there was only silence, before a whiff of pheromones that all but shouted 'relief' wafted out from under the door.

“Are you sure? She is … formidable. I do not wish to face her in my current condition.” Queen Chrysalis murmured, opening the door a crack to peer around nervously.

“Yes, Majesty. The Large, Terrifying One has retreated to secure something she refers to as 'toys' for the Offspring.” The Warrior replied slowly, his short, sharp-edged wings clattering softly with nervousness. “Apparently Pony-Offspring require something called 'toys'. When I enquired as to what 'toys' were, the Large, Terrifying One gave me a look that … that made me … made me ...”

“At ease, Soldier. That Mare is enough to scare an entire Hive, let alone just a handful of Soldiers and Drones.” The Queen of the Hive said softly, slipping out of broom-closet and putting a hoof on her Soldier's shoulder. “Now, excuse me, I must … refresh myself.”

“Majesty. The One-Who-Pees-In-Faces led your Scout to a place where Ponies pass their wastes and clean themselves.” The Soldier replied, sending an impression of the building's lay-out to the Queen through the Hive-Mind … and was nearly bowled over as the Queen moved as fast as her condition allowed towards the desired section.

She had been hiding in the broom-closet for some time, the Soldier reasoned, picking himself up and following at a gallop after his Queen to stand guard until she emerged, and then assume his role as bodyguard once again.

Reaching the desired room, the Soldier was greeted by the Pony his simple mind had tagged as the One-Who-Pees-In-Faces and the Drone who had assumed the role of Scout, who were apparently arguing over whether the Scout could remove her wastes on her own, or if One-Who-Pees-In-Faces had to be in the same room as her to allow the Scout to fulfil her mission from the Queen to be with her target at all times.

Scout, report. He sent to the smaller Changeling through the Hive-Mind, and was given a flash of images and impressions. The One-Who-Pees-In-Faces apparently had an issue with the Scout's gender for some reason and was acting strangely around her, the Queen has sequestered herself in the nearest cubicle and demanded soft paper, for some reason, and the Queen's Offspring were being tended to by Bravest Pony, the mate of the Large, Terrifying One, and thus were to be considered safe for the time being.

Any entity, even a Pony, that could mate successfully with the Large, Terrifying One and survive, let alone multiple times, must surely be a veteran combatant, at least to the Soldier's admittedly limited world-view.

“Look, I've already explained how to use the toilet and the purpose of the paper in there, just go already! I won't move from this spot, I promise. I'll stand right by this Changeling here until you get back.” The-One-Who-Pees-In-Faces sighed, putting a hoof to his face in what the Hive-Mind told him was an expression of exasperation.

“You promise … this one will hold you to that.” The Scout said after several moments of flurried conversations within the Hive-Mind, with the Queen firmly telling everyone to disengage from her while she tended to her ablutions and the surviving Infiltrators explaining that the Caste that the One-Who-Pees-In-Faces belong to would normally hold true to such promises, before ducking into the nearby room with unseemly haste.

“Are all females like that? Female Changelings, I mean?” One-Who-Pees-In-Faces asked the Soldier, his posture one of weary amusement.

“No.” Soldier replied bluntly

“Uh ….” One-Who-Pees-In-Faces said after a few moments of awkward silence. “Uh, you're not a female … are you?”

“No.” Soldier responded. One-Who-Pees-In-Faces should be keeping an eye out for possible threats to the Queen, not enquiring about Changeling genders. He was already a pitiful physical specimen for his Caste-designation, to the Soldier's mind, and he should be grateful that his Queen, the White-Sun-Pony, had not reassigned him to Kattian-herding duty.

“So … what's the deal with the Kattians?” One-Who-Pees-In-Faces asked nervously as the silence dragged on.

It was going to be a long wait for the Queen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Honey?” Shining Armor whispered, his breath hot on her mane as the 'Crystal' Princess stared out the window of the Royal Carriage, watching as the waving, smiling Crystal Ponies came and went as the carriage took the royal couple down to the newly-built station, and the heavily armored steam-powered train that would take them to Canterlot … and a confrontation with the Bug Queen.

“I don't want to talk about it right now, Shining. I just ...” Cadence sighed and pulled away from her husband, trying desperately to remember the breathing exercises that the therapist had tried to teach her, to let the fear and the anger flow out of her.

Shining only meant well. Tartarus on fire, everypony only meant well, but every time she heard the words Changeling or Chrysalis or even Wedding, horribly enough, all she could think about was the weeks spent in that crystaline prison, with her captor popping in thrice daily to provide food and water and gloat with almost childish glee over how well her plans were going.

For the most part it had felt like Cadence was being baby-sat, not kept hostage, while at others times Chrysalis had seemed at turns regretful, spiteful or even friendly towards her captive.

Probably all she was trying to do was practice on me. Princess Cadence thought glumly, struggling to organise the arguments and points she felt she might need to convince 'Aunty' Celestia how dangerous it was to treat with a hostile force like the Changelings. Documents detailing the ease with which they had infiltrated Canterlot, the injuries sustained by the common Ponies, the ineffectiveness of the Royal Guards against Changelings disguised as their fellow troops had all been checked, double-checked and packed away in heavily-secured cases that would require the magical signatures of either Shining Armor or Cadence herself to open without setting off alarms … every step had been taken that protocol and Shining Armor's Royal Guard-training demanded, but ...

It was supposed to have been her big day. The day she had dreamed of since she was small, and in Cadence's case, she had literally been swept off her hooves by an actual white knight. And it had nearly been ruined by the Changeling Queen, her beloved Shining nearly stolen away by …

By a dark reflection of what I might have been. Cadence finally admitted to herself. How easy it would have been to reach out, grab Shining's mind and change it back to loving her, to fight the Changeling Queen on equal footing on the battlefield of Shining Armor's mind and heart … but at best, the cost would have been losing all of Shining's trust in her, at worst burning out his mind and leaving him a drooling husk. That his feelings for her were indeed natural, and not an artificial construct she had forced on him, was a cornerstone of their relationship.

Cadence jerked in surprise as two strong white limbs wrapped around her body and pulled her back against Shining Armor's chest, a box of tissues being levitated in-front of her face.

“Honey, please, talk to me.” Shining Armor whispered, hugging her from behind, his magic deftly pulling a tissue from the box and dabbing at her face. “I could hear you crying from the other side of the royal train-carriage … do you want to stay here, and we send Ambassador Silicate? The Minotaurs will understand if we reassign her given the nature of the situation, I'm sure.”

Cadence gave a muffled sob as she put a hoof over Shining's arms, then shook her head quickly. “No, Shining, we can't risk it. The Minotaurs of Labryinthia and the Maze Republic are already on edge and their squabbling over territory and resources is on the verge of turning into another full-blown war. We can't risk pulling Silicate out of the region, not now, when she's making the first in-roads to a truce, a real and sustainable peace-accord, between the two Minotaur nations in centuries.”

“Honey, you're crying. I don't care about that, I just want to make sure you're alright.” Shining whispered, hugging her tightly as Cadence sagged back into the comforting embrace of her husband, savoring the sensation of having him holding her safe, both physically and emotionally.

“I will be alright when we convince my aunt that the Changelings are a true threat that we cannot risk diplomacy on. When Chrysalis is banished for all time from beyond our borders, and our Ponies, crystal or otherwise, are safe again.” The Princess of Love murmured then sighed as Shining began wiping away her running make-up again. “Chrysalis pulled the wool over everypony's eyes. Friends I had known for years, even the Princesses, even … even ...”

“Even me? Oh honey ...” Shining whispered, pulling away slightly. “Honey … there is nothing I would like more than to see that Faust-awful bug loaded into a catapult and shot as far away from Pony-held lands as possible, but we can't hide. Not from her, not from what she did, not from the mistakes we've made.”

Mistakes we've made.

Cadence couldn't help but shudder at those words. The Honeymoon had ended after only two days, both of them too shaken up once the adrenaline and the joy of being together had worn off. An hour in the shower, supposedly getting ready to finally consumate their marriage, but instead Shining had spent the night holding Cadence under the hot water of the shower while she sobbed and begged him to stay with her, to not forget her.

It had been … hard. Chrysalis had done more damage to their relationship than any of the tabloids or scheming Nobles had ever come close to. Months of therapy with the Royal Psychologist, the arguments and the make-up cuddling afterwards, and finally when they had just started to get back to the same feeling of closeness they had enjoyed just before Shining had proposed … Celestia had demanded they head north to a tiny mining community and that they be prepared to stay there for several months if necessary, with a sealed scroll containing orders for them, a scroll that Celestia had forbidden them from opening until 'the northlands glitter with crystal spires'.

For several weeks, the couple had worried that Celestia had banished them for some political gambit, likely to keep them away from the Shadow Court or perhaps to keep them out of the way while Luna tried to reintroduce herself to the Noble Council again, when the Crystal Empire had appeared all at once in a single explosion of light, shimmering into phase out of a snow-storm, the Crystal Ponies disorientated and confused as the miners ran for their lives from what they feared was an invasion.

With the northlands 'glittering' with crystal spires, the couple had finally cracked open the scroll and read the message, which was simply 'retake the Empire by any means necessary'.

You always were a pain with your love of obscure meanings and word-play, Celestia. Cadence sighed and leaned back into Shining's warm body, reliving that day in her mind's eye.

To Shining's credit, he had charged into the newly-restored Empire, alone, unarmed and wearing only his dress-armor and began interrogating the disorientated Crystal Ponies to know what the strange equines were doing in Equestria … and had immediately summoned Cadence when he discovered the 'invaders' were instead prisoners, the victims of a banishment spell that had just lifted.

Days had stretched into weeks, the miners having taken the train, the only land-route link back to civilised lands, by force from the token Guard presence, bundling their families and belongings into the train's cabins and cargo-trailers before fleeing, leaving only Shining, Cadence and a trashed mining camp to care for an entire city suffering amnesia in the middle of one of the most hostile environments in the known world. Warrants were still in circulation for the miners for their assault on the Royal Guard protecting the train, and on a somewhat shallow and petty level, Cadence hoped the miners remained on the run for a long, long time. Their selfish actions had forced Shining and herself into an almost untenable situation and left them to try to care for an entire nation of invalids on their own, with no support and precious little in the way of supplies.

Thankfully, Cadence's own magic had been a tolerable substitute for the Crystal Heart to feed on with the Crystal Ponies still confused and despondant, but there was no way a single Alicorn's magic could fully charge the Heart. Indeed, the moment Cadence had stopped charging the Crystal Heart, the life-giving aura of the mystical gem would begin to fade, allowing the icy grip of winter to return to blanket the city and making life an absolute misery for the earth-bound Crystal Ponies. Shining Armor had been forced to cover the city in his barrier-spell, but the problem was such a spell also negated messages sent via magic, so if anyone had been trying to contact them during the rare periods of sleep Cadence had grabbed while Shining stopped the city from being buried under snow, neither of them would have been aware of it.

A single vial of Dragon Fire had miraculously survived the miners' looting and rampaging through the mining camp and the train-station, and once the Crytal Ponies had uncovered the treasure, Shining had sent a message to Celestia with half the vial, having to send close to a hundred pages to properly explain the situation to the Solar Princess, and then he'd used the rest to alert Celestia about the return of Sombra, using the additional Dragon Fire to 'supercharge' the spell so that it would close the gap in a few hours, instead of several days due to the distance and leylines the teleported scroll would have to traverse.

And Celesita had sent the Bearers of Harmony instead of an army. In the end, it had been blind luck that Twilight had been able to find the Crystal Heart, and it was a near thing that allowed Spike and Cadence to get the heart before the Shade that had once been Sombra could have reclaimed it.

And now that same Princess Celestia was taking the Changeling Queen into Canterlot, supposedly under heavy guard, but both Cadence and her husband were intimately aware of just how powerful the Changeling Queen was.

If she was faking her injuries, all Ponies could be in grave danger. Celestia gambled far too much on Twilight's abilities, and Cadence wasn't willing to risk the lives of everypony on the continent if Queen Chrysalis was able to magically charm the Alicorn of the Sun the same way she had once charmed Shining Armor.

And if she wasn't faking … then Cadence was going to make damn sure that the treacherous Changeling would never be in a position to steal love, either from her beloved Ponies or her dear husband, ever again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So...”

“So?”

“SO!”

“Not helping, Spike.” Twilight sighed, rubbing her face with a hoof. Luna's spontaneous little … display in the steam-room notwithstanding, today had been aggravating in the extreme. Aloe and Lotus had been exceptionally wide-eyed after catching the two Princesses in a most undignified tangle and had fled back to the staff bathroom, shouting apologies as they tried to run away with their hind-legs crossed, Zecora and Rarity had been caught swapping sex stories that probably would have made Spike's scales pop off in shock and poor Fluttershy was still unconscious and had had to be carried back to her cottage by the Zebra.

Now, Twilight found herself sitting, once again, at the kitchen table with Luna, Trixie and Spike as they prepared the ingredients for Spike's soup. According to the information given to them by the Unicorn Royal Guards, the Pegasi that had helped bring Celestia and her Royal Guards to Ponyville should be waking up shortly … and they would be ravenous.

And Trixie and Luna were squaring off, trying to compete in who could cut up the pumpkins faster for some obscure reason, and ruining her cutting boards and kitchen knives in the process. The bathroom had also been demolished, with Trixie muttering something about 'oversexed Pegasi' and 'fat-plotted Earth Ponies' when questioned on why the window-frame was almost completely knocked out of the window itself.

There is so much I don't know. Point 1, what is going on between Luna and myself. Point 2, why are the Ponies so hellbent on trying to pin all this madness on the Princesses. Point 3, how come Trixie was able to resist being changed into a Succuponi. Point 4, where did all this sexually-charged weirdness come from and why has it decided I am somehow supposed to be involved in all of this! Twilight sighed again and levitated a discarded kitchen knife away from the 'dueling' Trixie and Luna and began rubbing a whetstone up and down the edge, wincing at the way the much-abused blade caught on the stone's surface.

“So … sleeping arrangements. I'm in the basement with the magical not-quite-a-fiend Mare with the raging yard-long hard-on, you and Luna will be camping in your bedroom, and the Guards … we're just leaving them in the hallway? I mean, they have pillows and blankets, but really, we're going to leave them on the floor?” Spike complained loudly, measuring cups of seasoning into the large cauldron that Twilight had been using for potions, but Spike had cleaned and had filled with hot water, and now with clawfuls of spices, segments of butternuts and chunks of pumpkin.

“As much as I would like to see the Guards given proper sleeping arrangements, given that certain loud and somewhat aggressive sections of the local population seems to believe the Guards have unfairly treated them, I feel that it would likely be more dangerous to have them sleeping in the local hotels or hospices.” Luna pointed out, using her magic to manipulate three kitchen knives at once, chunking her pumpkin into uneven portions with a smug look on her face as Trixie tried to drive her own knife through the thick skin of the pumpkin with obvious effort. “They might be uncomfortable, but at least we can ensure they remain unmolested. The actions taken by this … Carrot Top, and the two fillies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, have worried me quite a bit. Such attitudes towards the Royal Guard, let alone Celestia herself, seem very, very out of character for our little Ponies!”

“Tr-Trixie apologises for s-speaking out of turn, but Princess Luna, you ha-have not been talking with the Ponies outside of Canterlot, have you?” The blue show-mare asked, slowly working her knife through the thick skin of the pumpkin with obvious effort. “Baltimare, Stalliongrad, Las Pegasus, Neigh-York, everywhere Trixie has gone in the past few years, there are always groups of Ponies who are always rabble-rousing against the Royal Guards, and even Princess Celestia, long may her Sun shine on us all. Many newspapers and radio-hosts ask questions that Trixie believes are loaded to make other Ponies question Princess Celestia's worthiness to rule, to lead the nation.”

“Unacceptable.” Luna muttered, and Spike snorted in agreement, twin jets of green flame shooting out of his nose in his anger. “I am aware that many Ponies seem to think the recent attacks are my fault, but to blame Celestia as well, after three hundreds years of peace between Ponies, Gryphons, Diamond Dogs and Minotaurs under of her rule? Completely unacceptable!”

“Its the Shadow Council's fault. They want Unicorn nobility to control Equestria and all the Ponies who live within its borders, and since Princess Celestia is immortal and cannot be removed by force since she controls the sun and could effectively drop the world into an endless night or sweltering perpetual day if threatened in a military coup, and she is known and loved for her continuous efforts to keep the three Pony Tribes, as well as the other nations and species, from going to war again, they undercut her at every opportunity in parliament and in the media outlets they own or can manipulate.” Twilight explained, holding the kitchen knife up to inspect the edge before assisting Trixie with cutting her pumpkin into segments, rolling her eyes at Luna's pouting and Trixie's blushing. “My father told me they were originally just another group of Nobles petitioning the Solar Throne for their own self-interests, and were fairly incompetent even by Canterlot standards by all accounts, but the Blue family took control of the Bloc six or seven generations ago, and turned it into a focused effort to unseat the Princess through her own constitution and laws.”

“One wonders why Celestia tolerates their existence then.” Luna sniffed angrily, scraping her pumpkin-chunks to one side and levitating another pumpkin over, before staring at her blunted knife and scowling at it before picking up the whetstone. “Once, Ponies worshipped the very ground my sister and I walked on, literally in some cases, and I distinctly remember how much effort it took to get them to believe we were not in-fact Gods. Now, Celestia has crafted a world of almost-perfect peace … and those same Ponies are agitating against her like she was a mere feudal lord.”

“Tyranny, that's why.” Spike said loudly in the silence as Trixie and Twilight tried to digest the thought that third Pony in the room had actively forced their Tribe to stop worshipping her. “After I had my growth-spurt on my last birthday, Princess Celestia took me aside and gave me the 'Why we can't just force Ponies to do things' talk. Princess Celestia said the reason she allowed groups opposed to her to rise up and gain traction was that so if she ever made a mistake, there would be voices willing and able to call her out on it.”

“Be that as it may, Sir Spike, I fear my sister has, in her intent to not be like the monsters we faced together in the past, given those who would attempt to do just that all the room they need to grow into a true threat not just to herself, but all of the sentient beings that dwell within Equestria.” The Lunar Princess retorted in a soft voice, dropping the whetstone onto the table and manifesting three blades of magic from her horn to dice the pumpkins again, this time into almost perfectly equal cubes. “This reeks of the Bloody Horn Rebellion, all over again.”