The train hissed as it pulled into Ponyville, feeling to Twilight not unlike she had just slipped into a comfortable, worn set of boots. She loved Canterlot and Luna fiercely, but some part of her heart still called the sleepy little town home. Coming to each time, be it after a few days or a few years, felt like stepping through the door of an old home. The seven ponies disembarked with tired yawns and heavy heads. Following the hectic events in Canterlot, the Elements of Harmony had set to assisting with the clean-up while Celestia and Liliana discussed terms and conditions. Following that, the changeling queen had been delivered into Twilight's care at the train platform, and they had disembarked for Ponyville immediately.

Now, having arrived in the late-evening, Twilight felt her strength begin to flag. Her friends mirrored her sentiment, and even Liliana appeared to be lagging.

"Ah've got a long walk home, and prolly some work to do b'fore ah catch mah forty winks." Applejack yawned widely, setting her gaze on the far end of town. "Y'all are gonna hafta excuse me. But we're meetin' fer lunch tomorrow, right?"

"Not me, girls." Pinkie Pie sighed softly, hanging her head rather uncharacteristically. "I need to get back to Baltimare as soon as possible, and then Manehattan a week after that. Taking this time off put me in a bind, and I've got a lot more smiles to spread to catch up. I'm catching the first train out of here tomorrow morning."

"Well then, lemme say my goodbye now darlin'." Applejack went to give Pinkie Pie a warm hug, followed by the rest of them. Even Liliana embraced the pink party pony after a bit of hesitation. Pinkie smiled warmly at her before trotting off to Sugarcube Corner, likely to commandeer a bed for the night. Rainbow Dash hung listlessly in the air, and Fluttershy's mane hung limp around her face. Rarity and Cross Stitch looked haggard, and Twilight's horn was still aching faintly.

"Tomorrow for lunch, right?"

"Right." Rarity echoed, and everypony else nodded their acquiescence. Fluttershy flapped off in the opposite direction Applejack had went, and Rainbow Dash muttered something about borrowing a cloud from the local weather team. That left Twilight, Rarity, Cross Stitch, and Liliana to find their own place to sleep.

"The library?"

"Hmm, it's late, but if the key is still there then I can pull it back out with magic." Twilight mused, turning towards the towering oak tree a short ways away. "Here's hoping nopony's come to collect it yet, and they'll allow us another night."

"Just one night?" Rarity fell in step behind Twilight, but her voice betrayed a growing concern. Twilight cast a glance over her withers at the alabaster unicorn, her heavy eyes feeling cold and heartless.

"There are ponies who need us. We can't stay around visiting forever. If I had my way, I'd be in Canterlot right now, trying to resuscitate Luna and finishing with the clean-up. Instead,"

"Eep." Liliana had opened her mouth to say something, but a hard look from Twilight silenced her.

"We need to leave for wherever's next as soon as possible. Sleep first, then lunch to say goodbye, and then we're back on the road."

Cross Stitch silenced Rarity, who had opened her mouth (presumably to protest) but let it close without a sound. The four of them made their way to the library in silence. Luckily enough, the key had been left in the drop box, and Twilight fished it out with a tricky bit of telekinesis. After sweeping inside and locking the door behind them, Twilight turned to Liliana, though she spoke to Rarity.

"You two can take the upstairs bedroom again. I actually wanted to have a talk with Liliana before we turned in."

"Okay, darling." Rarity yawned, leaning heavily on Cross Stitch as they made their way towards the staircase. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Come on," Twilight turned to a nearby door, leading down into the basement area. "There's an extra bed and sheets in storage. Help me pull them out."

"Okay." Liliana followed Twilight, looking doubly as tired as the Archmage felt. Inside the door and down the staircase was the storage area, which in the past had held things like cleaning supplies, book repair tools, extra paper and bindings, boxes with personal belongings and those sorts of things. It had even housed a makeshift laboratory for researching Pinkie Pie's eerie capabilities at predicting future events. Now, it was bare, populated only by cobwebs and dust.

"There isn't a-" Liliana's voice was cut short as the door shut behind them, Twilight's lavender glow enveloping the entire subterranean space. Wide-eyed with fear, Liliana turned to face Twilight, only to cry out as the first bolt of magic impacted her torso.

"Thank the stars," Twilight grimaced as she watched Liliana tumble down the staircase, a cacophany of thumping limbs and clipped cries of pain filling the space. "For soundproofing spells."

"What?! What are you doing?!" Liliana sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, looking mostly undamaged, save a growing bruise on her chest.

"Call me petty," Twilight cast another bolt that caught Liliana on her rear leg, wrenching it out behind her and sending the disguised queen skidding across the floor with another screech of pain. "But I can't trust Celestia to punish you fittingly."

"What?!" Liliana panted, rising to her hooves shakily. She favored her back hoof, but didn't indicate any major pains. "I've paid my dues, you've bested me! My horde is scattered, weaker than ever, and beaten! What cause could you possibly have to-"

"SHUT UP!" Twilight roared, this time surging forward. She lowered her head, catching Liliana's shoulder with her own, bowling the stockier pony over on virtue of explosiveness and shock. She stood over Liliana, her nostrils flaring wide and her eyes ablaze with anger. The queen, in her shapeshifted form, quivered beneath Twilight, her own eyes wide with fear. Twilight spoke again, her voice low and dangerous this time.

"You threatened Equestria, stole my wedding day from me, and even imprisoned my friends. The three things I love most, and you've acted against them all. Don't you dare think for even a second I wouldn't take my punishment from you." Twilight's horn glowed as she leaned in, hovering over the shaking pony beneath her. Their eyes met, one pair intense, the other fearful. Twilight held that gaze as her magic took form, slithering over Liliana's body, touching her, feeling her, probing her. Twilight found the point she wanted, and glowered down at Liliana.

"This is going to hurt. And I want the memory of this pain to follow you, no matter where you go. No matter what you do. This is part and parcel, one half for having done all those things I've mentioned," Twilight's magic solidified against Liliana's side, right around the base of her ribcage.

"And half as a warning, to never cross me again."

'THWA-CRACK!'

Twilight's magic drove into Liliana's side, driving into her torso with enough force to crack two ribs and hit the changeling's liver. For one split second, Liliana's eyes widened before turning beady and small.

Then the screams began.

Twilight stepped back, keeping the soundproofing spell intact around the room, even as Liliana writhed on the floor. Her hooves scraped across the worn, dusty wood, sending her scooting around in a tight circle. She clutched at the dark, garish bruise on her torso, inhaling deeply and letting each exhalation out in a piercing, gut-wrenching scream. Twilight stood vigil, watching Liliana scream and writhe for a good, long while. She didn't know exactly how long it was, or what time it was when she finally intervened, but Liliana would not forget those painful hours for as long as she lived.

"Enough." Twilight's horn sparked as she subdued Liliana with an anesthetic spell, stopping the pain impulses from reaching her brain. The screams stopped immediately, and Twilight set to work on healing the damage she had done. Both ribs mended together slowly, and the dark bruise faded away until only a faint red mark remained on the queen's ashy-grey coat. Liliana laid on the dirty floor, her eyes red from crying, her chest rising and falling with ragged, gulping breaths. Twilight stood over her, ensuring she hadn't been permanently damaged, save any psychological scars.

"You're going to live." Twilight announced at last, letting the anesthetic spell fade away. The changeling groaned, but didn't scream again. She rolled onto her side, curling into a small ball, shaking with sobs. "I want you to remember what you just went through. And should you ever try anything like what you did at the wedding again, I'll see to it you're locked somewhere dark and cold, well away from your changelings, with a pain much more intense than that love-tap I just gave you. Do you understand?"

Liliana didn't reply, but sobbed and curled up tighter. Twilight growled, striding forward and prying her hold apart, wrenching her face around so their eyes could meet yet again.

"Do you understand?!"

"Yes!" Liliana cried, tears still streaming from her face. "I already promised Celestia, I wouldn't do anything again!"

"Promise ME." Twilight shook her.

"I promise!" Liliana wailed, sagging in Twilight's hold. "I swear it, on my life and the life of my changelings, we'll never do anything like that again!"

"Good." Twilight then did something even she hadn't been expecting.

She wrapped her hooves around Liliana, pulling the changeling queen into a ginger hug.

"I hope someday you'll come to forgive me for doing what I just did, and maybe even see why I did it. In a way, if I had threatened your changelings, I get the feeling I'd be suffering the same thing."

"I... I..." Liliana stammered, caught completely off-guard, but Twilight stroked her mane tenderly.

"Shh. Hate me if you will, but right now we both need to rest." Twilight let the soundproofing spell die from the room, and helped Liliana to her hooves. "Can I trust you to go to sleep, and not to attack me when you wake up?"

"I... I don't-"

"Liliana," Twilight sighed. "I'm exhausted. And I really don't feel like restraining you for the entire night just so I can sleep soundly. Can I trust you to not attack me?"

"O-of course, I... That would go against my promise." Liliana whimpered, raising one hoof to the faint bruise on her side. "As much as I'd like to, I won't harm you. On pain of death, I'll not attack you."

"Oh good." Twilight let a breath out, the room spinning around her. "Because I'm about to-"

The world became blackness, and Twilight fell to the floor.

----------

She was warm and comfortable. 'Small miracles.' Her thoughts chased her into the light, drawing Twilight out of a deep and restful sleep. She inhaled softly and blinked at the strange sight around her. Well, perhaps not completely strange, as it was hauntingly familiar. And rather welcoming, after the nightmare of her wedding. She began to wonder which dream she was waking out of, the one where she was swimming underwater with Luna, or the one where she was the Archmage and her wedding had just been ruined by Changelings.

The library's guest bedroom was stuffy and warm, lit by what she would guess was a mid-afternoon sun. Dust motes filtered down through the air, wafting back-and-forth lazily on the minute currents of a delightful spring day. Twilight yawned deeply and slid out of the bed, shaking her frumpy mane out and stretching langurously. Her joints popped, and lucidity returned to her at last. She padded over to the vanity she had used the past several days, absent her toiletries she had brought with her from Canterlot. Groaning faintly, she willed her sore horn to fetch them from the nearby luggage, pulling her brush out. She set to work on her mane, tugging out the tangles and returning it to normal.

She paused mid-brush as she got a look at the bed behind her, and the lump still under the covers. The lump that was moving. The lump that was Liliana.

"Woah!" Twilight spun around, her chest heaving with shock. Liliana peered at her curiously, having dropped her disguise and now appearing as the black-carapaced Changeling Queen from Twilight's more recent nightmares.

"What?" The insectoid pony yawned, her wings flickering as she stretched. "There wasn't anywhere else to sleep."

"Yeah, but did you have to sleep with me?!"

"It was that or the floor." Liliana groaned, rolling her neck in a circle. "I know you like breaking ribs, but I wouldn't expect you to ask me to sleep on the floor."

Twilight balked at that. She had been half-asleep last night, but the memory of what she had done to torture the queen came back readily, in the rare moments of lucidity her rage had offered her. She opened her mouth and closed it several times, searching for the words to say. Liliana spoke for her.

"If you're going to say you're sorry, you can save your breath." The queen slid out of bed, standing before Twilight with a faint frown on her lips. "I may be angry with you for what you've done, but what you said last night holds true. Had I been in your position, I'd have done the same. Worse, even. And for much longer. I don't blame you for doing what you did to me, Twilight." A faint smile crossed her lips, and the queen bowed her head, low enough that her long green mane brushed the floor at her hooves.

"Okay, you can stop that now." Twilight whimpered, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. "You don't have to bow or anything, it's fine..." She blushed, rubbing a fetlock with her hoof. "Just, you know; well, we both know, I guess... what the other is about now."

"True." Liliana chuckled, raising her head at last. The visage of the queen disappeared, replaced by the red-maned, grey-coated mare from their train trip just yesterday. Liliana stepped towards Twilight, holding a hoof out. "In a way, I respect what you did. It means you have conviction, and you're not afraid to act on it. I'm no stranger to pain, but lately I've been absent its touch." Liliana's eyes danced gleefully. "In a way, you've reminded me I'm still just a changeling."

"Right." Twilight grimaced, but shook hooves with the queen anyways. "Well, I guess I don't have to watch my back every minute now..."

"And I won't have to worry about the well-being of my internal organs, will I?"

"No." Twilight chuckled, nudging Liliana. "I promise you won't. Come on, I don't know how late it is, but we have to free some ponies, and more importantly," Her stomach growled, making her grimace stretch ever-thinner. "I think we missed lunch."

----------

They had indeed missed lunch, but Rarity was in the library, reading a book on embroidery patterns that had showed up since her exodus from the sleepy town. She explained that they had checked in on the two of them, but their snores assured the friends Twilight and Liliana were resting peacefully, and would do best not to disturb them. Pinkie Pie had left that morning, Rainbow Dash was flying back to Canterlot, Fluttershy and Big Mac were catching up, and Applejack had work to do. Rarity and Cross Stitch's train was leaving in two hours, but Liliana informed Twilight it'd take them longer than that to get to and release the ponies she had imprisoned in Ponyville.

"We do need to get going on that," Twilight sighed, looking to Rarity sadly. "So I guess this is goodbye for us as well."

"Well, it's not like we won't see each other again, darling." Rarity beamed, wrapping Twilight in a warm hug. "I'll write as soon as we get back to Trottingham. I guess you'll be going there as well, unless I heard wrong?"

"We have several ponies there, too." Liliana sighed, hanging her head. "As well as Stalliongrad and Horseshoe Bay. I've already released the ones in Canterlot."

"See? I'm sure we'll see you then." Rarity kissed Twilight's cheek tenderly, her eyes glimmering with tears nevertheless. "Just as long as you stop by when you get in."

"I'll be sure to ask about you as soon as we arrive, though I don't know when we'll make it out there. It could be as long as a week, maybe even two."

"Ah, well, there you have it. Plenty of time for me to finish your next dress."

"Next dress?"

"Well, your last one was destroyed, wasn't it?" Rarity winked teasingly at Liliana. "I can't expect you to share your vows with Luna naked, now, can I?"

"Thank you, Rarity." Twilight knew better than to press her luck with the generous unicorn, and she'd be just as well off accepting the dress. "We'll see you in Trottingham, then."

"Until then. Good luck, Twilight. And be safe."

"You too, Rarity." Twilight embraced her friend warmly. "You too."

----------

"How much further?" Twilight asked, finally voicing the growing doubt in her mind. Liliana had led Twilight onto a path out of town, and they had been hiking for almost an hour by then. They shared a comfortable silence, Twilight enjoying the light exercise and the sights of Ponyville's outlying farms in Spring. But the sun was sinking lower in the sky, and she felt less-than-comfortable staying outside alone at night with the queen. They may have reached an accord, but Twilight would just as soon not trust their tenuous friendship.

"We found several travellers camping in an abandoned farmhouse, not much further ahead." Liliana explained, turning off of the path and onto a lesser, more overgrown dirt drive. Ahead of them, hunched against the edge of the Whitetail Woods, sat a dilapidated farmhouse. Several signs along the way explained the property was condemned, due to be torn down, but likely had been ignored during the long winter. Knowing Ponyville politics, they were just dragging their hooves in tearing it down. Industrious as farm ponies tended to be, they could also be awfully lazy when the inclination suited them.

Liliana followed the weed-choked drive up to the farmhouse, slipping through a gap in the boards criss-crossing the front door. Twilight followed after, her horn illuminating the interior.

"We wanted to hide them from any prying ponies, so they're in the basement." Liliana gestured towards a nearby door. "I understand if you don't trust me, so how do you suggest we handle this?"

"I'll go first. Don't follow me until I say so." Twilight's jaw was set, and she fixed Liliana with an intense look. "If it's a trap, I'd just as soon not have you on my tail."

"Well, I can assure you it isn't. Hollow a promise that may seem, it's the truth. Would you like me to wait outside?"

"No. I'll place a shield behind me. Come down when it disappears." Twilight made for the door, keeping a careful eye on Liliana until she was inside and behind it. She cast a quick, strong shield and turned her light down the dusty staircase, into the basement of the old farm house. It appeared nondescript, with a few moth-eaten rags sitting idle on some of the shelving, and an old lantern with no oil or wick leftover hanging on a nail. Whoever had lived here last took most everything with them, leaving Twilight with nothing to investigate. She was moments away from leaving the basement when her eyes passed over a portion of the cobblestone wall. She narrowed her gaze at the portion, seeing something off about it.

"Oh I see." Realization came to her, and Twilight's horn sparked. The wall shimmered and shifted before the image melted away, leaving behind three glowing green pods, mirror copies to the one she and her friends had found themselves imprisoned in at the wedding. Sensing no threat, Twilight dropped the shield from the top of the stairs. Liliana descended a few moments later, smiling at her.

"See? No traps."

"Forgive me for being cautious." Twilight chuckled, nodding towards the three green pods. "Go ahead and release them. I've got a memory modification spell to make them think they hiked to the border of the dragon lands and back in their time under."

"Good plan." Liliana's visage shifted back to that of the queen, her jagged horn glowing intently. The prisons melted and dissipated, dissolving into pinpricks of green light that floated up to the cieling before disappearing completely. Inside of the orbs were three of them, a unicorn mare and two earth ponies, male and female respectively. They laid curled on the floor, their chests rising and falling smoothly. Behind the three pods was a small pile of packs and saddlebags, complete with a miniature tent and cooking utensils. Twilight gingerly carried the three upstairs and into the main room of the farm house. Carefully, she set them out around the stone hearth, lit a blaze inside, and cast the memory spells on them in turn.

When they awoke, they would find their gear restocked with fresh water and food, and a few magically-conjured photographs of the three standing at key points in Equestria, smiling happily. Twilight banked logs into the fire, and turned to a smiling Liliana with a nod.

"Let's get back to Ponyville."