---

---

I yawn as I open my eyes to see I am laying on my bed in my room. I slowly rub the dust out of my eyes and smack my lips together. 'I'm thirsty...' I think to myself as I then just notice Cadence and Luna cuddled up beside me.

I frown for a few minutes as I don't seem to recall how I got here...

"CHRYSALIS!" I then shout out as I remember what happened before I passed out. I reduced that monster to ash.

"AAAAAHH!" "STARS PRESERVE US!" both Cadence and Luna scream in fright from my outburst as they cling onto me tightly.

"Adrian?" Luna asks and I turn my head to her.

"Good morning, Luna. How long was I out for?" I ask her, my throat feels like I drank sand.

She sighs and nuzzles me. "We art glad to see thee awaken so soon after thy display at the Hive... and it has been only two days," she replies to me.

"I see... and how is everyone doing?" I ask with a cough.

Cadence then speaks up. "Well... Ponyville has been destroyed and it will take a long while before it can be rebuilt, so the town's ponies are currently taking refuge at the Lapis Hive or have left to family elsewhere."

"And what about the bearers?" I ask next.

Luna sighs and rests her head on my chest. "They are staying in the Castle for now. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie art fine, just some cuts and bruises. But Twilight is still depressed and Rainbow is adjusting to the loss of her arm," she tells me.

I remain silent for a few seconds before speaking. "Where is Tia and Shella?" I ask them.

"Tia is overseeing court while Shella is aiding her new changelings to settle in at the Hive. They've already begun their transformations to the Lapis Hive's appearance," Luna replies.

I cough again and rub my throat. "Can I have some water please?" I inquire my lovers.

"Oh right, here," Cadence says and levitates a glass of water from the nightstand over to me.

I grasp it and chug down the cool refreshing liquid and sigh in relief. I then thank her getting a smile in return.

"So why are you both here? Not that I'm complaining or anything," I ask them and sit up.

"It was our turn to watch thee, our love. Tia and Shella watched over thee yesterday," Luna replies and leans against me.

"Alright, so-" I say but get cut off as my stomach growls.

"Come, let us get thee something to eat," Luna tells me and gently pulls my hand.

I smile and get off the bed and stumble slightly, but Luna and Cadence catch me before I fell. "My legs feel a bit numb..." I mumble and start stretching the muscles in my legs. My whole body feels stiff.

"Don't worry, we'll help you until you get better," Cadence tells me and I reply with a kiss.

"Thanks, now let's go get some grub... I got a craving for bacon," I tell them and they both giggle.

Guards and maids bow to us with smiles and get well wishes. I return the smiles and nodded politely as we pass by.

We arrive at the Dining Hall and enter to see Blueblood sitting at the table and Rarity sitting on his lap, Fleur Lily their adopted daughter sitting next to them eating a piece of fruit and Thraxx is standing by the wall behind them.

"Good morning," I greet them, getting their attention.

"Adrian darling! Are you alright?" Rarity asks as Luna and Cadence guide me to my chair.

"I'm fine, just still stiff from lying down for too long, but how are you and the others?" I reply and ask her.

She sighs and cuddles up to Blueblood. "I'm okay, but poor Twilight has locked herself in her old room and refuses to come out until you speak with her. Rainbow Dash though is getting better but is finding life hard without her arm... though she said she's glad it was her arm she lost and not her wings," she replies with a sad expression.

"We'll find a way to help her, but for now we must focus on rebuilding Ponyville and helping the changelings we liberated from Chrysalis," I reply as a waiter takes our orders.

Blueblood then speaks up. "That reminds me, how did you defeat that brutish Queen?" he asks me.

I recount to them what I remember from our battle.

"I see, quite the nasty way to go..." he replies with a shudder.

"Where were you during the attack?" I ask him.

He sighs and shakes his head. "I was here in Canterlot going over some paperwork on the nobles taxes and that's when I saw Ponyville burning from my window... I wanted to take a carriage down there but the guards wouldn't let me," he says sombrely and hugs Rarity to his chest.

I understand his frustration, if someone I cared for was in trouble and someone stopped me from coming to their aid I'd be pretty pissed off as well.

"So what will you all do now?" I ask Rarity.

"I'm going to open my own boutique here in Canterlot with Blueblood's help, I may be a princess in title now but I can't stop doing what I love. Rainbow is now applying for a spot on the weather team here and has also adopted Scootaloo as her sister while Pinkie got a job at Doughnut Joe's. Fluttershy is looking to be the animal caretaker in the royal gardens while Applejack and her family are at a loss... Sweet Apple Acres was almost completely destroyed, only a few apple trees survived the fire," she tells me and takes a sip from her tea.

"I see, and planting a new orchard would take years," I say and frown... wait a minute. "I think I might be able to help with that actually..."

"How so?" she asks with a raised brow.

"Mother Gaia, she and I could help grow the trees for them when they are ready to start again," I reply.

I tap Gaia's orb and speak to her. 'is it possible?' I ask her.

'Yes, but with your current skills it would take months to grow them, and it'll go by quicker as you continue to practice. This was the next lesson I was going to teach you anyway, though the circumstances are not ideal, it is a good opportunity to learn,' she replies.

'Alright, I'll go visit Applejack and see what they plan to do later,' I tell her and look back to the others.

"That would be very kind of you. Applejack and her family have just been sitting around with nothing to do since they got here," Rarity tells me.

"I see, well after breakfast I'm going to visit Tia and then talk to Twilight," I reply and wait for our food to arrive.

After a few minutes we receive our food and dig in. Rarity, Blueblood, Lily, and Thraxx say their goodbyes and leave the room.

Once we also finish, we head to the Throne Room where a long line of people are waiting to enter. The guards at the door bow to us and let us inside where Celestia is sitting on her throne with Valiant in her arms.

"I would like to make a donation of three-thousand bits towards the rebuilding of Ponyville," I hear Fancy Pants say as he pats the small cart next to him. The sound of coins jingling slightly echoes throughout the room with each pat.

"Thank you, Sir Fancy Pants. This will be a great help to start the rebuilding process," Celestia replies and then spots me. "Adrian!" she nearly yells and quickly walks over to us and hugs me with a kiss while squashing poor Valiant between us.

"Hello, Tia. I'm sorry for worrying all of you again," I tell her and rest my forehead against hers.

"It's okay, you won and you're fine. That's all that matters," she replies and pulls me along to our thrones.

We all sit down and I have Valiant on my lap who is giggling and slapping me on my chest. Court continues and a lot of the people express their relief that I'm okay making me smile. It seems since the new laws started the nobility are starting to change, though some are still stubbornly trying to resist.

---

---

We head out to lunch where I decide it's time to talk to Twilight. Silk Sheet's is pushing a cart behind me with mine and Twilight's lunch as we make our way over to her old room.

After a long and tedious climb up the stairs, I knock on her door and wait for a reply... none came.

"Twilight? It's me Adrian," I call out to her.

I hear shuffling and the door opens to a rather ragged looking Twilight who looks like she's not slept well.

"King Adrian... erm, please come in," she says quietly and steps aside.

I first turn to Silk. "Thank you for your help, please go and see if Tia or the others need any help as I'll be here for awhile," I tell her.

"Okay, Adrian. I'll see you later," she replies and heads off. She’s one of the few staff members who treats me like a friend instead of her boss.

I walk into Twilight's room with the cart and sit down on a couch. Twilight sits across from me and sighs.

"So, Twilight. How are you feeling?" I ask her.

"Better, but I just feel empty without my magic... I haven't slept well and I keep having nightmares," she replies and lowers her head.

I get up and sit beside her and give her a gentle hug. "It'll be fine, Twilight. We can still help you cast magic again, it'll just be different from what you know, you like learning new magic don't you?" I ask her.

She leans into the hug and starts sniffling but nodded.

"And you'll have a long time to learn it, did you know elves can live up to three-hundred to five-hundred years old?" I tell her and she looks at me with surprise.

"Really?" she asks and I nodded.

She's silent for a few minutes as I prepare our lunch with my right hand.

"What kind of spells do elves have?" she finally asks me.

I chuckle and gently rub her back with my left hand. "Mostly nature magic, like aiding in the growth of plants and healing, but they can also create powerful portals and enchantments, manipulate the mana in the air as well as understand runic magic. They also have very good eyesight which makes them exceptional archers and their ears are also better than a human's," I reply and hold a cup of tea out to her.

She takes the cup and sips slowly. "I'll admit the portals, runes, and enchantments sound fascinating..." she says but trails off.

"But?" I ask.

"I'm a pony... how will others see me if I become an elf? What would my friends think?" she replies and asks with doubt.

"They'd still be your friends. It doesn't matter what you look like as long as you stay who you are. If they leave you just because you’ll look different now, then they never were friends to begin with. But know that me, Tia, Luna, Cadence, Shella, Shining, Spike, and many others will always be there to help you," I reply and pat her on the head.

She slowly smiles and sighs as she reaches out and takes a cucumber sandwich. "I know, but it's still a scary thought," she tells me before biting into it.

After a few minutes of eating silently I speak up. "So, are you ready or do you need more time?" I ask her.

"I've been thinking about it over the last two days... I want to do this, my cutie-mark is telling me to do this, but I'm just scared I won't be me anymore," she replies.

"You'll be fine, only your body will change," I reassure her.

She sighs and nodded. "Alright," she says and I help her up.

After letting her make herself more presentable, we both head down to the Throne Room where Celestia and the others are on their thrones.

"Twilight!" Cadence yells and rushes over carefully as to not injure herself or her baby.

"Hello, Cadence," Twilight replies and hugs her gently.

"Are you feeling better?" Cadence asks her.

Twilight nodded to her. "I am and I'm ready to get my magic back,"

I look over to Celestia who has a sad smile on her face.

---

---

Shining Armour and Spike are here along with Twilight's parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Also with us is Vortigan along with his best elven enchanter Elune who Celestia and Luna will use as a template.

She has light pale skin like most elves, green eyes and long blonde hair. She’s wearing an elegant white dress with a staff on her back.

Twilight is nervously standing between the two alicorn sisters as their horns begin to glow.

"Are you positive about this, Twilight?" her mother asks her with worry.

Twilight smiles at her and nodded. "I am, I'd like to have my magic back," she replies and takes a deep breath.

"Just relax, Twilight. This won't hurt at all," Celestia reassures her.

Twilight's eyes close as Celestia's and Luna's horns glow brighter and the elf glows slightly before the light then transfers to Twilight who is then enveloped in a cocoon of light.

Just like with Shining, an outline of Twilight is seen as her legs change from a three joint to a two joint structure and feet form from her hooves while her tail hair falls off and the stump recedes into her.

She gains an extra finger and her ears travel down to the side of her head but get thinner, although they retain their long pointy appearance.

She also grows to be the same height as Celestia and looks more slender.

It takes ten minutes for the change to complete and both alicorn sisters gasp as they finish the spell.

The cocoon fades away and Twilight now has pale skin, long deep blue hair with her purple and pink highlight through it, which is strange as elves have blonde or silver hair. Even the female elf used for the template looks surprised.

Twilight blinks a few times before looking around and then looks dizzy. Celestia and Luna quickly catch her and set her gently down to the floor.

"Twilight? Are you alright?" Celestia asks her with worry.

Twilight looks at her and nodded gently. "I feel dizzy, but okay," she replies and then looks at her pale hands. Her expression drops as she notices her cutie-marks are gone.

She silently examines herself as her mother kneels beside her and gently strokes her hair.

Twilight then gasps. "I feel something within me... is this mana?" she asks with fascination.

The elven enchanter Elune stands in front of her and looks down at the new elf. "Indeed. I have been assigned to teach you how to access that mana and how our magic works," she tells Twilight in a refined and self righteous tone. Argh, elves...

I walk over and hold my hand out to Twilight. "So, are you ready to learn?" I ask her.

She looks up at me with a wide smile spreading on her face as she grips my hand and I pull her up. "I am."

Next Chapter: Chapter 80: Adjusting to Life in Canterlot Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 20 Minutes