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'm not dead yet!

Sorry for the delay, real life has kicked up into super high gear recently, and between the tower finally dying, my car's engine-head cracking, work shifts coming in thick and fast and having the re-build the entire modified Pathfinder system we've been using for our Homebrewed game for the past decade because I've been noticing my players building specific classes with specific races over and over again because they're just too broken to not play that combo, I've been distinctly out of time for writing fanfictions.

So please take this double-length chapter as an apology. We'll hopefully be moving along at a far faster rate for the next few weeks and I'll hopefully get the mess I've yet to publish into a coherent chapter sooner rather than later.

CHAPTER 79

Luna found it oddly … disappointing to be back in Canterlot. A thousand years of longing for marble halls and gilded ornaments and the bowing of servants and sycophants, and a few days of adorkable snuggling with Twilight and she was now willing to throw it all away for a tent in the middle of the Everfree or a slightly-too-small bed in a small town’s library.

It was also both hilarious and disturbing to see Celestia shying away from Twilight, who was doing her best to glare at her former teacher and mentor. It reminded Luna of a kitten trying to attack a bear, while the bear was in turn trying its best not to accidentally squash the kitten.

“Well … I see your Regalia helps dealing with the side-effects of a long-range teleport. Is everypony well? Guards? Elements? Are we all accounted for?” Luna asked, shaking her head as she watched a stiff-legged Twilight stalking up to Celestia, who was using her trade-marked ‘court shuffle’ to try and keep at least a full two body-lengths away from Twilight without actually appearing to be actively moving away … which didn’t really work in a room where only three ponies had the stamina left to remain standing.

A chorus of groans, mutterings and whimpers was Luna’s response, and a quick scan of the room found no horrors of magic or accidental conjoinments, merely a baker’s dozen of ponies laying on the floor and trying their best to deal with the awful nausea and vertigo such a powerful teleportation spell often caused in those not used to such methods of travel. Even Kindness seemed a little green around the gills, and the other Elements, in their gemstone forms, seemed to be less than sparkly right now.

“Yes, although I do wish I did not have to wear it. The rest of the world tends to start panicking vigorously whenever I start walking around in anything more than my torc, crown and horse-shoes.” Celestia replied, keeping her gaze firmly focused on the irritated Twilight as she attempted to politely escape her former student’s personal space.

“At the very least we can be grateful that the Nightmare Spirit was not able to force me to summon the full might of my own Regalia. I think it might have been completely consumed fending off the Elements’ power, but it could have … Twilight, peace! Let my sister have a few minutes to compose herself before you start raking her over the coals!”

“No! If I even let her out of my sight for a minute, she’ll go bury herself in her duties as a Princess and be completely out of our reach, and I want to know exactly what we’re dealing with before the Mother of Stones shows up! I have two rogue Elements rattling around in my head, and the last thing I need is to wonder if she’s going to prioritize saving her children over pulling them out of my head!” Twilight snapped back, refusing to take her gaze off of Celestia. “I have enough to deal with without wondering if some all-powerful Elemental Demi-God is going to try and fuse two hostile personalities to my own in some sort of power-play in this Eternal War, another potential threat to Equestria that nobody but the Princesses knew about! Faust knows I’m learning that Princess Celestia has her hoof in far too many plots involving my friends, and once again I’m being told to sit down and wait like a dutiful child when my literally eternal future is at stake and I could end up the Princess of Destruction or the Princess of Insanity because somepony likes to play chessmaster!”

“Ooogh … Twilight, sorry for being so blunt, but knock it off. The Mother of Stones is coming to pull Magic and Generosity out of you and see what damage those two pieces of shale have done to you and Lady Rarity.” Honesty, now a small, rough lump of ametrine the size of a hen’s egg, said unsteadily as it wobbled up into the air and away from Kindness and the other Elements, before settling unsteadily onto Twilight’s horn, growing tendrils of gemstone to hold itself in place. “Celestia and Luna alike both have seen what happens when somebeing tries to fuse two or more entities together, and it’s not pretty even when it doesn’t work. So has the Mother of Stones. At worst, you’re looking at a week or two with the Mother of Stones looming over your shoulder while she consumes our two rogue siblings. At best … Generosity and Magic will stop being hateful little gits and come out under their own power and take their punishment like proper Stones.”

“Consumes?” Twilight whinnied in shock, stopping mid-stalking of her former teacher to stare cross-eyed at the living gemstone that had perched on her horn, while Celestia merely sighed and stopped trying to dance away from her outraged former pupil.

“There are very … hard and fast rules for Elementals who start messing with Organics, Pillar. And those laws become exceedingly harsh when it comes to maturing Immortals and attempting to manipulate the Eternal Conflict using said Immortals.” Loyalty, rising into the air as a fist-shaped lump of blue boulder-opal, shot through with splotches of red, white and pale yellow, with long tendrils hanging from underneath that were gently carrying Kindness, still in it’s equine form, back onto ‘her’ hooves. “If Generosity and Magic willingly come out and accept their fate, they’ll merely be stripped of their mantles, placed in confinement for a few millennia and then released to go … well, go sulk somewhere. After interfering in something this big, after so many Stones competed for the honor of becoming an Element? Their betrayal will never be forgotten, or forgiven by those whom they beat to become an Element in the first place, and they’re likely to spend the rest of their Cycles being shunned and ostracized by the rest of the Stones and targeted by the other types of Elementals almost constantly.”

“And if they try to hang on to their little plans and keep interfering with your Ascension, Twilight? The Mother of Stones has a mandate to protect developing Immortals, and she’ll simply take back what she gave in the first place. Life. Sentience. Independence. The rogue Elements will simply be reabsorbed and crushed under the massive weight of the Mother’s own personality before they can do you, or any other Organic, any further harm.” Honesty added in a blunt, heated tone.

“Tha’s horrifyin’. Can’t she jus’ … stick ‘em in a prison or somethin’?” Applejack asked in a weak, sickly tone as she dragged herself up to a wall and used it to prop herself up into a semblance of being upright.

“We’re Elementals, my dear. We’re nearly Immortal ourselves, capable of shape-changing into whatever form we want, we need neither sleep nor food and every Elemental can move through their, well, element like a fish swims through the water. There’s no prison in this world that can hold an Elemental except a larger, more powerful Elemental.” Kindness, getting ‘her’ hooves under her, began wandering around the room and helping the assembled ponies back onto their own hooves, while Loyalty zipped around the room like a rainbow of annoyance, sending sparks of chromatic hue scattering through the air in it’s wake. “If they are willing to submit to justice and surrender their ability to channel the gifts the Powers gave them, they’ll simply be monitored until the Mother of Stones can confirm our siblings will not meddle with Mortals or Immortals again. If they don’t, then they are too dangerous to be left alive and must be destroyed so the gifts of Magic and Generosity can be given to new Elementals. There are no other options available to anyone with crimes of such magnitude, against such important beings, much as I wish otherwise.”

“And that is why I want you all in Twilight’s tower until the Mother of Stones arrives. It is heavily shielded, both by Twilight herself and my own efforts after she moved out and the Muckraker, Murdock and Stump reporters became entirely too bold for their own good.” The Solar Princess risked coming close enough to Twilight to slip a wing around her frazzled ex-student. Twilight jumped, shivered … then leaned into the contact with a look of anguish on her face as Honesty patted her cheek with a gem-like tendril. “Neither Magic nor Generosity would have any idea of the root-spells Twilight placed in her private quarters and, with the other Elements holding them down, will be unable to effectively pick apart Twilight’s spellwork in the space of a day. And my own enchantments are … considerably more potent, if less specialized than Twilight’s work. Magic and Generosity might be able to remember my favourite root-spells for such wardings, but again, with the other Elements holding them down and with myself wearing so much of my Regalia …”

“I will also be in attendance, should anybeing be concerned. Besides … I would like to have witnesses in place as I ask my sister what the bucking tartarus were you thinking when you allowed Chrysalis, of all beings, to surrender and walk right back into Canterlot? And why was I informed by the morning paper and not my co-ruler?”

“Whatever happened to letting the Princess having a few minutes to collect her thoughts?” The cast-wearing Rarity tittered, to which Luna poked out her tongue and then turned her focus back to her sister, who had gone noticeably pale under her white coat, possibly from the realization there were two pissed-off Alicorns aimed squarely at her, possibly from the sudden death-grip Twilight had unleashed on her former teacher’s foreleg.

“She’s had a few minutes, now it’s the time to mare up and take her lumps.”

“Ugh, it’s like watchin’ the Crusaders have a scrap.” Applejack muttered loudly as a sweating Celestia tried to defuse the situation, only to have Luna grab her other foreleg and forcibly drag the Solar Princess into the nearest corner of the room. “At least we can all rest easy, knowin’ that Spike’s got things well in hand.”

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

Spike heaved for breath, his newly enlarged body coated with sweat, fur and other things as he braced Sweetie Belle for her next turn on the Spike Special, with a cross-eyed and limp Applebloom being dragged out of the way by a weak-legged Scootaloo.

Lifting her tail out of the way as much to get a good look to burn into his mind’s eye for decades to come as to get some time to catch his breath and try to think about non-sexual things to last after ‘Bloom ‘finished’ halfway through their set, Spike got his first good look at the underside of a mare’s tail rather than the frenzied ravaging he and the girls had been giving to each other all morning, and a wicked, evil thought came to mind.

“S-spike, don’t stare, it’s embarrassing!” Sweetie whispered, blushing adorably … and then squeaked, her eyes bulging as the pointed, wet tip of the Spike Special started to travel roads less travelled. “SPIKE! Wait, that’s the wrong hole!”

“THE HELL IT IS!” The now overly-cocky, in every way that counted, young Drake quipped back as he took a firmer grip on the adorable little stub of a tail from which Sweetie’s long, flowing tail sprung, and …

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

Fluttershy wasn’t entirely sure that Celestia was used to being on the receiving end of a lecture in stereo, especially not from her younger sister and favourite student. At least, judging from the nervous ear-twitching and the occasional drum of a hind-hoof on the marble floor as the Solar Princess was seated on the floor, in the corner, in a canine sitting position as Twilight and Luna took turns yelling at her.

Fluttershy didn’t want to assume, after all.

Or maybe it was the fact that the Elements were a bodylength behind Luna and Twilight, or at least Kindness was. Loyalty was zipping around Celestia’s head, shedding sparks every other zip and spin, while Honesty had kept it’s perch and poking all three of the Alicorns with a crystal tendril, and Kindness …

Fluttershy wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to make of Kindness. The knowledge the Element had been a part of her for so many years, but had been a mute and un-noticed observer of some of the best, and worst, parts of Fluttershy’s life was unnerving. Unfortunately, they’d not had a chance to talk in all the chaos, but Fluttershy had several questions and found herself more focused on building up her reserves of courage to ask Kindness some rather personal questions.

The fact that Kindness had apparently patterned some of her physical aspects on Fluttershy herself was both concerning and flattering … although the gentle Pegasus was fairly certain her butt was not that round and shapely, and her legs were not that long.

Fairly certain …

…

Maybe nopony would notice if she ducked away quietly for a minute or two to find a mirror?

Or maybe she could ask Applejack for her opinion? They had certainly gotten close enough over the past few days, and unlike Zecora, Fluttershy was fairly certain asking Applejack such questions wouldn’t involve losing a few hours in testing some of the overflow of stock from the Glorious Hole store. And limping afterwards.

She’d had quite enough of the limping for a few days.

Thoughts of what she might be asking Applejack for, and perhaps what she might ask Applejack and Zecora at the same time, were disrupted as Celestia fairly bolted from the room in a mad panic. Apparently Fluttershy had been imagining her hypothetical question-time with her two good friends a bit longer than she’d intended …

“I’ll get them! I’ll get them right now and show you why!” Celestia called over her shoulder in a panicked tone, and was responded to with a match pair of outraged whinnies from her fellow Princesses before they were tackled by the Elements not currently occupying Rarity’s mane as a hair-ornament.

Fluttershy blinked as she watched Kindness wrestle Luna to the floor and put her in a reverse-pretzel hold, while Loyalty and Honesty proceeded to hog-tie an outraged Twilight with their tendrils. She wished she’d been paying more attention to their conversation, but judging from the relaxed stances of the sole Royal Guard in the room, and the way the Thestrals were either chuckling into their leathery wings or were rolling their eyes, whatever had sent Celestia bolting from the room like a startled rabbit hadn’t been too serious.

“YES, GO FETCH YOUR LITTLE CHANGELING PETS! I AM JUST DYING TO HEAR THE EXCUSES FOR ALL HER CRIMES STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH, OH SISTER MINE!” Luna roared back in her full Canterlot Voice, nearly sending Kindness, Twilight and the other two Elements flying across the room due to unfortunate proximity to the Lunar Princess’s head.

Oh … oh dear.

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

“Dear, talk to me. None of the Crystal Guard will stay in the same room as me without a direct order, and when they do, none of them will make eye-contact with me.” Cadence huffed as her husband, her wonderful, loyal, caring, attentive husband … stared into the corner of the carriage.

No, scratch that, he was sitting on the padden bench with his entire body facing into the corner. It would have been adorably cat-like if Cadence wasn’t certain he was doing it to avoid her.

“Don’t want to.” Came the muffled reply.

“Is this about knocking you into the wall?”

Silence.

“The … Nightmare Shipper?”

A snort, either of annoyance or amusement, she couldn’t tell, but Shining just shook his head a few times and then went back to staring into the corner.

“Look, you have to talk to me eventually. We’re married, we run a kingdom together, we share a toothbrush.” The pink Princess of Love huffed and began prodding Shining Armor just above the base of his tail with a wing.

Prod.

Prod prod prod.

Prod prod prod poke.

Prod poke prod jab poke prod.

“If we talk, will you stop trying to bore a hole into my spine?” Shining Armor finally managed to grunt in annoyance as Cadence’s endless assault on the soft spot just above the base of his tail finally granted her an audience.

“Honey, I know I went overboard with Twilie and Auntie Luna, but … I have to know, you know? It’s my Domain, my Aspect, and I’m also personally invested in Twilight, just as much as you are.” Putting her best wheedling tone into effect, Cadence leaned in and snuggled against Shining’s back, smiling to herself as she felt her stallion tense up, resist … and then relax.

“I know, but you didn’t have to talk to them afterwards, Cadie. You traumatized them, our little Twilie, your aunt Luna. They’re only just learning they can trust and lean on each other, and to have us just barge in and demand answers without even thinking about how delicate their feelings might be for each other … I suppose we’re lucky we-errk!” Shining’s softly-spoken response was broken as Cadence’s front hooves, wings and magic all grabbed his head and forcefully dragged him around to stare right into her eyes.

Large, bulging eyes with tiny pinpricks for pupils.

Eyes that gleamed with excitement beyond that of mortal ken.

“Luna? Twilight? Feelings for each other?” Hyperventilating, Cadence half-levitated, half-dragged Shining out of the corner and held him up in the air, muzzle to muzzle, as she felt her mouth split into a broad, almost too-broad grin. “Shining, the only things Twilight and auntie Luna told me was that they were swapping spit because Luna went into estrus at a weird time and they were dealing with some sort of crazy magical resonance. Honey … tell me everything.”

“THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!” Shining protested loudly as the train rattled its way back towards Canterlot.

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

Braeburn wasn’t entirely certain what he could do in this situation. What he did know was that it was only Stronghoof’s leg entwined with his own, and her greater strength, that kept him from charging into the fray, but what could he even do in this situation?

Elder Blossom’s children had surrounded their matriarch. And their children. And their children. And the employees and their children. All the while Blossom, her faded olive-green coat and golden mane and tail standing out strongly in the sea of more earthy tones, rolled her eyes and waited for the ruckus to stop.

Sheriff Silverstar was, as usual, utterly useless and simply stood back and watched it all with a stern look, chewing on his stalk of hay and periodically reaching up with a hoof to adjust his hat to a new angle, as Malted Milk, the owner of the local saloon and the bane of Braeburn’s existence, had rallied his regulars to harass the Orchid Clan en-mass. No doubt he’d seen the matriarch heading to the train station the day before and would have leaned on his regulars to learn what was going on, and had probably intended to show up when she came into town next to try and score some emotional hits on a easy target.

Except all sixty of the Orchid Clan had turned up along with their luggage, and then a good hundred or so of the employees had shown up to send the Orchids off, so a dozen drunks and their alcohol-pimp were facing off against not an old crone and a few of her grand-children, but a mob of individuals who intensely disliked every single member of said posse.

And unfortunately, Malted Milk’s posse were armed. It might have only been with civilian-grade revolvers and rifles, loaded with rock-salt rounds, but at close range, that kind of ammunition could still cause painful injuries. And it was only the fact that Appleloosa’s infamously lazy Sheriff was watching that was keeping those weapons holstered, since with so many witnesses, even Silverstar’s legendary incompetence wouldn’t be enough to save Malted Milk and his posse from the full force of the law.

“Braeburn, no, you will be shot.” Little Stronghoof hissed, tugging Braeburn back to her side as the erstwhile ‘acting mayor’ tried to pull away to get in-between the two groups.

“They only have rocksalt rounds. If they have worse, even Silverstar will have to actually do something. Besides, Orchid Blossom has my letter, and if she doesn’t get to Canterlot to deliver it, then this will just keep happening over and over again.”

“And if they have actual bullets? Would you leave me alone, so soon after we gained my father’s approval for our courtship? Many of those ponies have dragged their hooves at every step when it comes to making Appleoosa a home for all beings, not just ponies.” Little Stronghoof’s warm coat pressed into his own, a solid and pleasant reminder of all the changes that had come once Applejack and her friends had come to his small country town and torn the blinkers from everyone’s eyes. “There are many Orchids, and there is only one of you. Silverstar is worthless as a sheriff, and it may be up to us to provide witness to your Royal Guards if weapons are drawn.”

It grated, but the town’s defacto ‘mayor’ didn’t really have a counter-argument. But if Elder Blossom didn’t get on that train, however, then Appleoosa would remain trapped in this vicious cycle between those who were trying to embrace harmony with their neighbours, and those who simply wanted to expand the Apple Clan’s influence, and the wrong kind of influence at that! And sooner or later, if the latter were allowed to continue on unopposed, the Buffalo, Donkey and Diamond Dog communities would turn against all Ponykind in the region, and that would turn into a full-blown race-war.

“You’re right, Stronghoof. But we do have to be the voice of reason here.” Braeburn turned and nuzzled Stronghoof, the young Bison blushing at the unexpectedly public display of affection, before the young mayor turned his attention back to the tense standoff … and the one Pony who could stop it, but didn’t. “Sheriff Silverstar! I wasn’t aware citizens of Equestria were allowed to harass each other like this! Unless I’m mistaken, you’re not allowed to be publicly armed except in times on war, so why are you allowing Malted Milk and his gang to wander around town and harass innocent townsfolk like this?”

Silverstar’s head fairly whipped around to stare at Braeburn, his normally stoic and stern features melting into a fairly vicious scowl as several of the Ponies, Buffalo and Diamond Dogs who had come to watch the show-down all began whispering and nodding. Malted Milk looking like he’d just bitten into a ripe cow-pie, and the Orchid Clan had started to smirk.

“Indeed! The ambassadors of your Princesses promised that Buffalo would not be made second-class citizens in their own lands, yet many of these Ponies you will not control refuse to trade with us, or set up barricades to stop our tribes from accessing our traditional stampeding grounds!” Little Stronghoof stepped forwards to stand alongside Braeburn, the young Brave unflinching as several of Malted Milk’s posse spat in her direction. “Do you answer to Malted Milk’s coin, or the laws that your Princesses uphold?”

“Ah serve the laws o’ Equestria, Buffalo, an’ right now ain’t nothin’ wrong with what Malted Milk’s doin’ here.” The sheriff spat back, turning to glare directly at the mis-matched lovers, tilting his hat back with a steel-shod hoof before the limb moved back to his belt … and the revolver that hung there. “Those ‘barricades’ are called ‘fences’, an’ civilised folk use ‘em to say where their land stops an’ another’s begins.”

“Our agreement with the Buffalo Tribes was that there would be no fences that cut off their stampeding grounds, and you know it, Silverstar.” Braeburn began before the sheriff cut him off.

“Sheriff Silverstar to you, sellout.” The sheriff snarled, taking a step forwards, away from the tense standoff and towards Braeburn, before a rotten apple was thrown at him, missing entirely but causing the armed Pony to stop and rear back a step at the ‘attack’.

“Maybe not a sheriff for much longer, Silverstar, if you’re unwilling to do your job.”

“The Sun and Moon shine on all beings, not just Ponies! For shame, Silverstar, for shame!”

“How many times do we have to go through this mess? We made peace with the Buffalo, we’ve got our orchards and they have their stampeding grounds and our town has never been better off, why are you helping the Ponies who want things to go back to the bad old days?”

“Why the heck aren’t you pulling Malted Milk off the Blossoms? This is extortion! He just wants their quarry!”

“Princesses promised good Ponies would trade with Pack, with Herds, why sheriff not listen to Princesses?”

Up and down the street, bystanders began to call out, and more rotten apples, and heads of lettuce and other, less savoury projectiles began to fill the air, aimed at Silverstar, at Malted Milk and his posse, and in moments as the rancid missiles began to hit their targets, the posse began to splinter and break up.

This is it! We’re finally seeing the bad seeds getting their comeuppance, Appleloosa will… Braeburn’s smile, that warm feeling in his chest as he watched the beings of his town, beings of many races and ways of life come together to defend their own, shattered as Silverstar pulled out his revolver, took aim, and fired.

The street was silent as the sheriff pulled the gun to his muzzle, blew the stream of smoke away and glared hard at Braeburn before sheathing the weapon.

“Y’all should remember that it was Apple Clan bits that paid for this town out here. Apple Clan bits that brought the lumber to build the homes, the nails to hold it all together, the food to keep us fed an’ healthy ‘fore the orchards got producin’.” The sheriff’s words oozed contempt as the townsbeings all eyed the bullet-hole in the building … directly over Braeburn’s head. “Might be that y’all forgot that the Apple Clan built this town, not the Princesses, an’ definitely not your fancy lil’ cousin wit’ her fancy lil magic gemstone. So, far as I’m concerned, it’s an Apple town, an’ Earth Pony Town, till the Princesses decide to put in the same investment that Matriarch Turnover did, an’ you’d all best be rememberin’ that.”

Braeburn lost track of time. All he could remember after that was warm bodies surrounding him, carrying him into one of the general stores, and the whine of the locomotive’s steam engine disappearing into the distance. Shame gripped Braeburn’s heart and squeezed cruelly, taunting the young stallion with the fact that he could freeze up so easily, as Little Stronghoof held him close and many of the employees of the Orchid’s quarry milled about, discussing in low tones the scene from before and …

“Wait, what happened? The sheriff has closed the post-office?” The young mayor managed to croak out as a snatch of conversation managed to pierce the fuge of shock and dismay.

“Yeah, no messages out of town until the ‘civil disturbance’ has ended. Apparently having some of the townsfolk throwing rotten vegetables at the sheriff classifies as ‘civil disobedience’, at least according to Silverstar. And he’s refusing to say when he’ll allow the post-office to open again.” A burly mare laughed bitterly as she slapped a pile of letters against the counter, while next to her a pug-faced Diamond Dog whined nervously, clutching a brown paper parcel to his chest protectively.

“Stronghoof, the letter … did the Orchids get their matriarch onto the train in time?” The blonde-coated stallion whispered to his beau, who nodded and leaned in again to nuzzle him.

“All of the Orchids got on the train, and most of the employees went back to the quarry to keep it running … and guard it against Malted Milk. And the sher … Silverstar.” The young Buffalo Brave whispered back into Braeburn’s ear. “We should thank our Ancestors that Elder Blossom convinced you to let her take the letter to Canterlot after all, rather than send it to your cousin to spare Blossom from having to play courier at her age. A sheriff’s authority might be enough to cover opening fire at the mayor during a ‘civil disturbance’, or even to close the post-office indefinitely, but I doubt Silverstar could order a train to be halted without something more … impressive than being hit by rotten apples as an excuse.”

“That isn’t what I’m concerned about, Stronghoof! It takes three days for the train to reach Ponyville, and another half a day to reach Canterlot! It could take several days for Elder Blossom to get an audience, and even longer for the Thrones to investigate Appleloosa!” Braeburn’s hoof snuck out and placed itself on Little Stronghoof’s cheek, pushing the Buffalo’s head down to rest against his, forehead to forehead. “Silverstar’s just openly declared himself on the side of the Ponies who’d undo every step we’ve made to make Appleloosa our town, rather than just an Apple town, and Stronghoof? All the Ponies who want to go back to the bad old days have most of the guns.”

In the hushed confines of the general store, as beings of many races all stared at Braeburn with horrified or crushed expressions, the mayor found while he might not have the courage to face a bullet … he did have the courage to face his friends.

“The sheriff’s authority only extends to the town and the surrounding region, and if he’s really determined to cut us off from the rest of the world by closing down the post-office, then there’s no telling how far he’ll be willing to go if we remain in town and still refuse to bow to his perversions of the law.” Standing slowly to his feet, and then climbing onto the counter, Braeburn turned to look at his townsfolk, his people. “I want all of you to spread the word, to anypony in town that’s on our side: Appleloosa isn’t safe, not until the Royal Guards show up and remove Silverstar from power. Warn anybody who isn’t a Pony that the sheriff isn’t on their side anymore. We’ll head for the Orchid’s quarry, take only what you’ll need for a long trip of roughing it, food, water, blankets and medicine, and we’ll try to evacuate as many of the real Appleloosians out of town before the sheriff can try to find a law that allows him to shoot beings trying to leave town.”

“How … long could this take, Braeburn? I run a stall, I have a small farm close to town, if I leave, if I’m not tending to my crops …” A small Donkey stammered, rubbing at a foreleg with a hoof as large, fearful eyes looked up at Braeburn.

“Best guess I can give everybeing here is maybe a month at least, an’ that’s assumin’ the Thrones don’t move on the spot. I can’t see Elder Blossom or the rest of the Orchid Clan being willing to leave us hanging, not having heard Silverstar themselves. But Canterlot’s … messy. Lots of Nobles gummin’ up the Princesses’ works, lots of greedy merchants needin’ to be brought to heel to pay their taxes and tithes.” The young mayor responded in his most confident tone as several beings around the store sagged or wore angry expressions. “I’m hoping that the Princesses will send a platoon to take Silverstar and Malted Milk down and start policing our town, but there’s a lot of Guards being sent to the Gryphonia border these days, so we might have to hope the Princesses will send Applejack and her friends back. A bit of their Elements an’ friendship magic could make all the difference.”

“Let’s get movin’, folks. Appleloosa needs us to save her from Silverstar and Malted Milk, and the sooner we get started, the sooner our families will be safe out at the quarry.”

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

Twilight scowled at the door and wondered if the Royal Guards were actually worth their pay-checks. The Elements had … well, not betrayed her, but had stopped Twilight and Luna from going after Princess Celestia directly and the Royal Guards had then stepped in-front of the doors and pleaded with the remaining two Princesses to stand their ground and wait for the Elder Princess to return.

“So … theories.” The dishevelled purple princess said out loud, silencing the muted conversations behind her. “Princess Celestia is converted to the Changeling Queen’s will and we’ll have to disable her without the power of the Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia isn’t converted, but this is still some sort of convoluted plot by the Changelings and we’re going to have to prove it despite nobody believing me ... us, just like with Cadence and Shining’s wedding.”

Twilight didn’t have to look behind her to know several Ponies in the room were wincing at that reminder.

“Third option … Princess Celestia is telling the truth, Queen Chrysalis has honestly come to surrender, and there is yet another unspeakable threat bearing down on us all, except this time, nopony honestly knew about it before-hoof, so that will be … refreshing.”

There was silence for a few moments before Applejack spoke up.

“Honestly speakin’, Twi, ahm not entirely sure which o’ those options are worse. Ah mean, the first one’s bad enough, an’ the second one ain’t much better, but the third?” The farm-mare’s deep voice and warm tones were tinged with alarm. “Ain’t quite sure we’re ready to face somethin’ that’d send as many things fleein’ as a whole Hive o’ Changelings. The Elements ain’t available an’ the Guards ain’t really … err …”

“You’re kiiiiiiiiiiinda useless.” Rainbow ‘helpfully’ added, and the number of angry snorts around the room told Twilight all she needed to about how the Night and Day Guards took that comment.

“Ah was gonna say not used to fightin’ somethin’ meaner than another Pony havin’ a bad day, but yeah, that’s true too, Dashie. Ah mean, the Princess kept on sendin’ six civilian mares out to do the work, an’ not her own soldiers. That ain’t exactly a glowin’ recommendation on y’all.”

“In their defence, if a member of the Royal Guard so much as hip-checks a civilian without sufficient cause, they can be sent back to basic training until such time as the Royal Comission decides they’ve learned their lesson, if not dismissed from the Guard dishonorably.” Luna interrupted, leaving Twilight’s side to interpose herself between Rainbow Dash and the Day and Night Guards. “Once open warfare is declared, Lady Dash, Lady Jack, you might find your views on the Royal Guard undergoing drastic changes. My sister and the Generals of her armies have spent many centuries and untold amounts of bits and diplomacy making Equestria’s armies as friendly and welcoming as possible, so that if we do need to go to the defence or aid of another nation, our soldiers are welcomed as friends and allies, not another potential enemy.”

“And lest we forget, Royal Guards have kept the border with the United States of Gryphonia stable and prevented petty warlords from expanding into our territory for centuries. This had not been a bloodless endeavour, and I will ask you all to remember that. Whatever issues we have with my sister and her machinations, please do not assume incompetence amongst the Royal Guard is common, nor forget how much you all have been aided by the Elements subtly reinforcing your natural abilities over the course of your adventures.”

Twilight finally broke her glaring contest with the mirror-finish on the door to gaze at Luna, a small smile forcing its way onto her face as she watched her mare-friend stand up for the Royal Guard. With her wings held slightly out and away from her body, the Lunar Princess looked commanding without threatening.

“Hey, I am 120% cooler all on my own! I did not need magic to get into the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow snapped back, crossing her free foreleg over the one in a cast and glared down at Luna.

“Actually, my little feather-duster, you did.” Loyalty chimed in, the floating gemstone having taken the form of an eight-sided star, shaped like two cubes of boulder-opal super-imposed over each other. “In your case, however, physical prowess was never the problem, but squashing down your ego and cultivating some self-awareness and humility was my biggest issue.”

“… What?” Rainbow grunted in the near-silence, broken only by the soft groans of Kindness and Laughter, and the small, solid thump noises of Honesty floating over to the wall and banging it’s largest facet against the solid surface.

“Loyalty, why on Equis did you say it like that?” Floating up from Rarity’s mane, and taking a long strand of the fashionista’s mane with it, Laughter bobbed up into the air and twirled in the sunlight. “Uh, Bearers, please don’t misunderstand. We can’t change your personalities, we can only encourage the growth of your harmonious qualities. You’re no less Rainbow Dash than you were before you became a Bearer, you’re just … uhm, what’s the term I am looking for here?”

“Laughter and Loyalty means you’re simply a more virtuous Pony now. You’re more confident without needing to think you’re above others, you’re willing to consider other options before just using your own strength, in summation, you are everything a Pony should be.” Honestly bobbed over to where Loyalty was hovering in the air, grew a long, segmented tentacle of ametrine crystal and thwapped it’s fellow Element, making the large chunk of boulder-opal spin wildly in the air. “If you honestly didn’t want the cultivations we were performing on yourselves, you’d subconscious supress them and they would only really ‘appear’ during moments of extreme stress or pressure, much like what happened to Lady Rarity and Generosity’s perversion of it’s duties.”

There was silence for a few minutes as everypony tried to digest that little nugget of information.

“Okay, look, this isn’t solving anything, so let’s table the whole mind-fiddling angle until after Princess Celestia comes back with her ‘proof’, I’ll blast her and it with my Anti-Changeling wards and if it does turn our we’re betrayed, the Royal Guards get to prove their paychecks aren’t in vain.” Twilight grunted, stomping into the middle of the roof and using her magic to push Rainbow down onto the ground and away from the Royal Guards, both parties still looking profoundly irritated. “And if the wards do nothing, then it means the Princess is telling the truth, the Changelings are honestly looking for peace and that’s one less nightmare we have to deal with.”

“Yeah, deal. Ah ain’t ready fer that topic yet.”

“Good enough for me, darlings.”

“Sounds super-duper good to me!”

“Uhm, I’d like that, if it’s okay?”

The rest of the Bearers turned to Rainbow Dash, who huffed, blew a bang of multicolored mane out of her face and grump a “Fine!” at them.

“I am glad you have all reached a consensus, because I can hear my sister galloping back to this room, and I can feel her magic levitating something.” The Princess of the Night stepped around to Twilight’s side and wrapped a wing around her smaller Alicorn marefriend. “So … if we are going to do this, Twilight stands with me and casts her spell. I will shield her. The Elements and the Royal Guards will shield the Bearers. And all things going well … we’ll get back to yelling at Celestia in the next five minutes.”

“Deal.” Twilight grunted as the room rapidly re-arranged itself, with Royal Guards dragging or carrying furniture to form barricades between the door and the Bearers, and the Elements themselves arraying themselves around Twilight and Luna.

After several moments, and a dim sensation of Heat and Power growing closer and closer to them, which Twilight chalked up to this strange ability to sense things beyond what normal Mortals could that her blasted Ascension was forcing on her, Twilight began preparing her private Anti-Changeling spells, wards that should strip the illusions from their hides or cause the magical residue of their transformations to become visible to the naked eye, the door slammed open and a visibly-panicking Celestia staggered into the room … with a frazzled-looking Queen Chrysalis, wrapped in a thick blanket and rag-dolling through the air in a cloud of the Princess’s magic.

Without meaning to, Twilight poured far more power into her wards than she intended, bathing the Princess and the Changeling Queen in a cone of reddish-pink energy. And apart from potentially blinding everypony in said cone… nothing.

Not a single charm or compulsion that tied to the Changeling Queen or an external source could be seen. That didn’t mean there wasn’t anything, but as Twilight focused on her spell, there didn’t seem to be anything concrete to suggest the Changelings had managed to subvert or replace the Princess of the Sun.

“Yep, tha’s the bug.” Applejack muttered darkly from behind Twilight, the muscular farm-pony waiting for the call to action with barely-controlled nervousness.

“Oh my goodness, she’s so … oh dear, oh dear.” Fluttershy whimpered, held back from surging up to the Changeling Queen by the combined efforts of Kindness and three Royal Guards

“Simply awful, how can she still be alive after looking like …” Holding onto each other, Rarity and Pinky stared at the Changeling Queen, and even Twilight found herself wincing at the awful state of her old enemy, the horrible cracks in her chitinous shell and the thinness to her already slender frame lending the Changeling Queen a sense of fragility that seemed so odd after all their interactions.

“C’mon, it’s gotta be a trick, she can change shapes, she can probably pretend to look half-squashed too!” Rainbow spluttered in protest, but even the trainee-Wonderbolt seemed subdued by the state of the Changeling Queen.

“Either blast me or turn off your damn horn.” The Changeling Queen hissed in a parched croak of words, throwing a fragile, be-holded limb over her face and flaking sections of chitin in the process. “I am in too much pain, too tired, and too over all of this to care, but at the very least aim higher. I don’t want the babies to be hurt.”

“Ba …” Twilight spluttered, her spell trailing off as shock overtook her. “Babies?”

As a rapidly-blinking Celestia tottered on her hooves and the Changeling Queen wobbled lower, three Ponies surged forwards to essentially frisk the Changeling Queen. Two of which didn’t surprise Twilight in the slightest, but the third did.

Fluttershy was, of course, the first at the Changeling Queen’s side, pulling aside the blanket at great speed but in a manner that was also surprisingly gentle, revealing two tiiiiiny little black foals and a white one, while Applejack was perhaps a half second behind her, the two of them lifting a white and a black foal between them, while Luna’s hooves carefully gathered up the remaining child and, cooing softly, transferred the sleepy baby into the feathery cocoon of the Princess of the Night’s wings.

Okay. So. My Marefriend is apparently ga-ga for babies. That’s … going to be something to process later. Feeling another treacherous shift in her mental landscape as her subconscious tried to fathom how this new revelation was going to affect her fragile relationship with Luna, Twilight tottered over to Luna’s back and plastered herself over her marefriend’s back to stare at the Changeling spawn.

Okay, it was adorable. So maybe Luna just liked small, cute things …

“Oh my gosh, we’ve never known what Changelings look like in their various life-cycles! We always assumed it was insectile, but if they give live-birth, then that means they’re more mammalian than we thought!” Bringing her muzzle down closer to the child, Twilight’s nostrils flared, taking in the scent as her eyes roamed over the adorable little thing. It didn’t smell like the Cake family’s twins, a slightly more acidic scent clung to the little black female than was normal for a member of the equine species, but there was an undeniable warmth to the filly than an insect’s grub would possess. There was also something so strangely familiar about the child that immediately made Twilight want to just steal the adorable little thing out of her marefriend’s wings and cuddle it directly.

All across the room, mares and stallions alike squealed and cooed as they fawned over the offspring of the Changeling Queen, and when it came for Twilight’s long-belated turn to hold the little black foal, who snuggled in against Twilight’s body the instant the newest Alicorn brought the child close to her and began to peep happily, it was only after her gaze automatically turned to Princess Celestia, in a long-ingrained habit of seeking some sign of tactic approval for an action she wasn’t used to performing, that she witnesses the Princess of the Sun and the Changeling Queen whispering to each other on the couch.

Celestia looked … chagrined, while Chrysalis looked irrirated. And then her gaze travelled to Luna and Twilight herself, and an evil grin split her chitinous face.

“So … exactly how long have Luna and Twilight been going at it like bunnies in the spring-time?”

Twilight squeaked and nearly dropped the foal in her hooves, while Luna coughed and sagged against Twilight’s back, nearly squashing her. All across the room, the Bearers and the Guards broke out into flustered spluttering or outright laughter, and the foals all began to giggle and coo as well, although on a conscious level, Twilight knew they were only reacting to the amusement of the adults, and not her personal embarrassment.

It still didn't make the sting of humiliation and embarrassment any less present.

“Wow, Twi, ah think she’s gotcha number.” Applejack snorted, trying vainly to push the broad rim of her hat back from the clumsily-pawing hooves of the foal in her arms, while Pinkie was busy trying to pat the back of Rarity through her cast, where the white Fashionista had broken into a coughing fit as laughter had causes some spit to go down the wrong pipe.

At the very least, Rainbow wasn’t laughing at her, she was just glaring daggers at the Changeling Queen.

At least I have one friend who doesn’t think my relationship with Luna is something to laugh at. I mean, I know they’re supportive but we haven’t actually … talked … about me dating somepony, especially a Princess like Luna. Hmmm. Twilight frowned at the thought that maybe her friends would think less of her for dating somepony of the same gender. Rainbow made no bones about her broad ‘strike zone’ for dating, Fluttershy had busted herself wide out into the open with the fact Applejack, Zecora and herself had had a raging lesbian escapade, Rarity was a wild-card since Twilight was fairly certain the mare was vigorously straight, and Pinkie …

There were few things in the world Twilight did not want to know, and what Pinkie found sexually attractive was fairly high up that list.

So flustered at being outed so bluntly by an old enemy, Twilight had lost track of the room, totally focused on not dropping the foal in her hooves and trying to shield her heavily-blushing face from sight behind her wings, and as such was caught unprepared for what happened next.

“I beg your pardon?” Chrysalis snapped loudly, causing every head in the room to swivel back from the popular game of Twilight-baiting to the metaphorical elephant in the room.

“Twilight Sparkle has the brightest, sharpest mind of her generation, and can turn that intellect to any task with ease.” Sounding far more confident than the frazzled mess who had burst into the room only a few minutes ago with the bed-ridden Changeling Queen in tow, Celestia looked almost smug as her gaze travelled from Chrysalis to Twilight and back again. “Who better to defend you in the Courts and ease the integration of every Changeling Hive into Equestrian society than the greatest hero in living memory? Who better to champion the befriending of the Changelings than the Princess of Friendship herself?”

Twilight watched Chrysalis’s eyes go wide, her throat bob with a swallowing motion … and then the Changeling’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and fainted dead away onto the couch.

“…WHAT?” Twilight hissed, about to shout at the Princess before remembering she had two hoof-fuls of innocent, fragile life to deal with.

“I’m not saying now, Twilight, but your popularity with the common folk of the kingdom has never been higher. If not you, then who? If the Princess of Friendship is unwilling to extend a hoof to those seeking our forgiveness, then who will?” Princess Celestia replied calmly, levitating Chrysalis into a less spine-defying position as the room filled with shocked whispers again.

“You think I’m going to put myself out into the spotlight, when I have all of your enemies baying for blood, when I’m barely able to have a moment of privacy and my own life is completely out of control, so I can save Chrysalis?” The purple alicorn’s words were laced with venom as she spat them out, and Twilight’s mind both quailed and approved as she watched the smile on Princess Celestia’s face fade into a sad frown.

“No, Twilight, I hoped you’ll do it for her.” A golden glow from below made Twilight’s gaze drop, to where a tendril of Celestia’s sun-magic had manifested to push a lock of pale blue-green mane out of the foal’s eyes, those same perfectly blue eyes that stared back up at Twilight with innocent confusion at how angry the one who held her had become.

“… That’s not fair.” Twilight’s voice was far softer when she spoke next, and she didn’t lift her gaze from the Changeling foal in her hooves.

“Were life fair, Twilight, the world would not need either of us.” Twilight’s word became white and soft as Celestia got up and wrapped both Twilight and the foal in her wings, bringing the younger Alicorn’s head to rest against Celestia’s side. “I cannot force you to do this, we will be equals soon enough and I need you to stand as the equal of Luna and myself, to make sure the mistakes of the past, my mistakes, are not repeated in the future, but if not you, who? I will say it again, if not the Princess of Friendship, who else can heal the rifts between the people of this world?”

“I did not want this for you, Twilight. I wanted you to make friends, to have a life outside of this gilded prison of a city, for you to fall in love, have children, to grow old gracefully after living a life full of adventure and experience. To become a Princess, and all that that entails, was never what I wanted for you, but it seems fate has other plans for the both of us.” The white wing pressed Twilight into Celestia’s side tighter … and then relaxed, merely shielding Twilight from the rest of the room now. “You wanted to know everything, and so you shall, I swear on my Sun and my Throne. But for now, I must make sure you can survive what comes next with your body, mind and soul intact, and for that...”

Twilight’s eyes closed as those words, in a tone so familiar and comforting, tore at her heart like a Gryphon’s claws, and she shuddered as the final stroke came so softly.

“For that, I need you to trust me, now more than ever.”