A day has passed since Canterlot was taken over, and Metamorpha, Mist, and a contingent of guards were outside the cell for the Elements of Harmony. "Remember," Metamorpha said, "they're case B, meaning the worst you can do is knock them out if they fight."

"Yes, princess," the guard captain said. "Get ready, men!"

The guards nodded. "Then here we go," Metamorpha said before she opened the cell door, and walked.

"Great," Rainbow said sarcastically. "So, what does the almighty changeling princess want?"

"Just to give two of you a gift," Metamorpha said.

"What kind of gift?" Pinkie asked, interested now. After all, it is Pinkie.

"A surprise," Metamorpha said. "And it would be for Rainbow and Rarity."

"What is it, you animal?" Rarity asked, venom clear in her voice and, even though Metamorpha knew it was warranted, did piss her off a little. Not to the point of assaulting Rarity, but pissed.

"Hopefully something to calm you down," Metamorpha said just as the guards began to file in. "Take them and pod 'em, guys," the changeling princess said. "And remember, worst you can do is knock out."

As the guards went to grab Rainbow and Rarity, the former began to fight, with Applejack saying, "Don't take 'em, you damned changeling!"

"Shut it, Applejack," Metamorpha said. "We'd take you, but I figured you're better off as you are now. That's to say, a pony, and not a prisoner. Behave, and we'll let you go home."

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" Rarity yelled, the volume getting attention of all in the room, and even making Rainbow pause a little. The sight made Metamorpha pissed even more so.

She lit her magic, and dragged the changeling guard that had been groping Rarity over to her, nervousness clear in his eyes. "What did I say?"

"Ma'am," the guard replied, his voice quavering. "Y-you said the worst we could do was-"

"What did I say before we came down?" Metamorpha said in a currently calm rage, one the other bearers knew well, well enough to where Applejack even pitied the changeling held in Metamorpha's grasp.

The changeling guard gulped. "T-to not do anything sexual towards the Element bearers."

"I thought so," Metamorpha said. "You and I are going to have a talk when this is over with. Until then, you aren't going to leave my side." The anger was still in her voice, just a little more subdued. She then looked at Rarity who was, honestly, a little dumbstruck. "So, what do you want done to him?"

It took Rarity a while to answer, her mind still processing both what the guard had done, and the fact Metamorpha, an animal and traitor she once thought of as a friend, had decided to punish the one. When she replied, it was with pony morals in mind, but she had to ask, "What would changeling punishment for it be?"

"Same as ponies," Metamorpha said.

"Then I guess I want him discharged," Rarity said.

"I was thinking the same thing," Metamorpha said. "Now, the rest of you, get Loyalty and Generosity to their pods. And if any of you decide to be smart and do what he did," she said, pointing to the guard in her magical grasp, "you will get worse."

This is when Rainbow resumed trying to fight, and Rarity tried to as well, but both failed, and, though still fighting, were taken away, with just Metamorpha, the guard she was detaining, Mist, and the other bearers in the room. "Um, what are you going to do to them?" Fluttershy, the only one not restrained because Fluttershy, asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Nothing painful," was what Metamorpha replied with. "And no, it won't happen to you three. The only reason Rainbow and Rarity were taken is because they have abilities useful for changelings, while you guys have abilities better for being ponies. Rainbow's a talented flier, even better than our stunt fliers and scouts, while Rarity would be able to help create clothes, we don't have many tailors, and the clothes we do have are on the level of a poor peasant a thousand years ago." There was a silence before she added, "And yes, Pinkie, if you behave, you can throw a party for Rainbow and Rarity when it's done. No idea why you'd want to, though."

"Simple, silly," Pinkie said with a small, for Pinkie, smile. "They need to know that even though they're different on the outside, they're still the same ponies we're friends with." The smile then went down a little, to where it was an actual, small smile. "Which would mean we should have given you a chance, at least."(1)

"Ah don't see why," Applejack said. "She helped take over Canterlot and betrayed the princess."

"Because our people were starving-if you had actually listened to my mom, you would know that we feed on love- our hive was rundown, and you ponies inherently would have attacked us simply because we're a different species than you. And before you say otherwise, I point out Zecora. You all saw her as some kind of freak simply because she was different, and only accepted her after you falsely accused her of putting a curse on us."

"You did, too," Applejack said.

"Because if I didn't, my spell keeping my disguise going would have eventually worn off, you'd freak out and tell Celestia, who would have taken me away some place, and most likely would have interrogated me until my mom attacked early to free me, ruining the entire plan," Metamorpha said. "Now, if you'll excise me, I need to make sure they don't break anything." With that, Metamorpha, Mist, and the detainee left the room, the latter being dragged, and Mist closed the cell door behind them.

"That could have gone worse," Mist said. "Even considering what happened with Generosity," he added, glaring at the detained guard.

"Yeah, probably," Metamorpha said. "So, do you know when your family's going to get here?"

"End of the week," Mist said. "They're looking forward to coming here."

"Well, if you want, I can give you a few days off then so you can help them get settled in," Metamorpha said.

"Thanks, Meta," Mist said.

Metamorpha chuckled. "No problem, Mist."

A few minutes later, they arrived at in the wedding room, or, at least, where the wedding was meant to take place, where the pods were set up, filling the sides and ceiling of the room. Only a few pods, including Celestia's, were occupied at the moment, each but Celestia's being the few being forcibly, to some degree, changed. Rarity and Rainbow's pods were at the far end, where the altar had been, and Rarity had already been put in there, and, from the fact her eyes were closed, she had been knocked out. Of course, due to the chemicals in the pod for turning skin into chitin, the clothing Rarity had on was being dissolved.

Rainbow, though, was still putting up a fight. How she hadn't been stopped by the entire guard squad was unknown, so Metamorpha rolled her eyes, and used her magic to push Rainbow into the pod, and seal it. "Why couldn't you all get her in there?"

"Because, Ma'am," the captain said, "she pushed back as Generosity was being sealed. She used the opportunity of our focusing on her to get away."

"Well, next time, make sure to not let your guard down,"  Metamorpha said before she looked at the guard in her magic. "Now, then, let's take care of you." Next Chapter: Issues Estimated time remaining: 27 Minutes