The next couple of days passed very oddly for Twilight Sparkle. As expected, Flim and Flam made use of her body at every opportunity and Twilight found herself blessing Alyss’s ability to change what should have been disgust and horror into desire, pleasure and even anticipation of those uses. Her furious internal anger changed into an outward expression of her wet, clenching need to be commanded, taken and bred by a dominant stallion who possessed every inch of her.

That realization jerked Twilight from half-asleep musings as she lay curled around 143, on the bed they shared in their quarters. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t woken her partner and went back to her introspection. She sorted through her thoughts and emotions, realizing that Alyss had been right. The conditioning and desires of a submissive, willing slavemare were slowly filtering through to Twilight’s core consciousness, and like it or not, Twilight was not only accepting her situation has normal, but she was beginning to act and react as if this was how things should be.

I’ll just have to be more aware of it, thought Twilight to herself, yawning. I wish Princess Luna would contact me again. I’d love to try to set up something between her and Alyss’s ponies. Maybe if I go back to sleep I can reach her. Twilight snuggled closer to 143, the scent of her mane proving to be an excellent soporific that carried Twilight back to sleep.

“Greetings, Princess Twilight,” said Luna, a seeming moment later, in the grass field where they had first met. “I heard thy call and came as I was able...” This world’s lunar alicorn took on a look of sadness. “Oh foalish filly, what hast thou done to thyself?” she asked Twilight, pointing to her body. Twilight looked down at her own body where Luna was pointing and Twilight saw that even in dream realm she was wearing the suit and collar combination she wore in the waking world.

“I have done what had to be done, Your Highness,” said Twilight, firmly. “Accepting this is a price I have to pay, to remain myself and escape this nightmare.”

“She, with whom you have struck this deal, her kind are different from those you know from your world,” said Luna, frowning. “They are true to their word, but only its letter. Not to its spirit or intent.”

“I had somewhat expected that,” said Twilight, ears twitching, “but I get the feeling you are telling me this for a particular reason.”

“Indeed, Princess,” said Luna, in a gentler tone. “While the one called Alyss did follow your directions, she also laid an additional working upon thy mind.”

“What sort of working?” Twilight asked, with a growl.

“It would be best if I demonstrated,” Luna said. “Brace thyself, young alicorn, and know that what thou are about to do comes from thy core, due to the workings thou has allowed upon thyself.” With that, Luna changed herself into the image of Twilight Velvet.

“Tell me true, 614,” said the transformed Luna, in Velvet’s voice. “What are the first steps of the spell that takes thee between worlds?” Twilight just stared for a moment that Luna would ask her something that had to be kept secret for the safety of everypony. To Twilight’s shock and horror though, her mouth opened against her will, and she heard herself telling Luna the initial steps of the cross time spell. Twilight managed to stop herself after no more than a sentence or two and just sat there for a moment, hooves clapped over her mouth, eyes wide and staring.

“Alyss laid a compulsion upon thee,” said Luna, still in her guise of Twilight Velvet. “Whenever thou hears the trigger words, in thy mother’s voice, you have no choice but to speak and speak only the truth as you know it.”

“She broke her word to me,” Twilight said, ears flat in anger, as she recovered. “That was their highest oath too! How can she justify that?”

“Thou has the right of it, Princess,” Luna said in reply. “In order to maintain her concept of balance and honour, she laid the same compulsion on herself.”

“What? Really?” asked Twilight, eyebrows arching in surprise. “So, whenever I say ‘tell me true, Alyss’ she’ll have no choice but to reply honestly?”

“Precisely,” said Luna, in answer. “That is how she justified violating her word. By telling herself she had balanced it out and that it was necessary. Should you call her to account before her mother, thou should have a mighty hold over her. Now, before circumstance interrupted, why did you summon me?”

“Um, yes, Princess Luna,” said Twilight as she rose to her hooves. “This is going to sound strange, especially considering what you’ve just shown me, but what do you think of working with Alyss and her--um--family to achieve your goals?”

“Yes,” said Luna, simply.

“What?” Twilight asked. “Why are you so willing to trust them?”

“I don’t trust them, but I can work with them, because they have honor of a sort,” said Luna. “They are true to their word, as long as one parses agreements with them properly. For example, you did not specify she could not lay additional workings if she considered them necessary. I could do worse than her people as an ally.”

“All right, Princess,” said Twilight, nodding. “When this is all done I’m going to have Alyss’s mother contact you. I believe she would be willing to help you.”

“Very well, Princess Twilight,” said Luna. “I shall take my leave now. I wish to travel the dream realms for awhile more, before my sister rouses me again to my prison. Good fortune to you.” With that simple farewell, the lunar alicorn leaped into the sky and disappeared in wink of dark light. For her part, Twilight allowed herself to drift off to the deeper portions of sleep so that she could fully rest.

614’s combat training continued, and even Twilight had to admit the imposed regime was making her fitter and tougher than she had ever been. Raising a shield was now an automatic reflex for her, for example. Also, the regular sexual attention was very enjoyable as well. Whatever their other faults, Flim and Flam were talented lovers and knew how to drive a mare wild, even before the advantage the suits gave them.

Finally, on the fourth morning things changed. Twilight was letting her altered reactions as 614 carry her along, as she was making Flim happy with her mouth while Flam was sliding into her back passage when a loud explosion echoed through the complex. The brothers quickly withdrew from their toy, and while 614 collapsed from the sudden lack of support, Flam hit a button on the desk.

“What’s going on?” he demanded to the intercom. The heavy thuds of hoof to hoof combat filled the room through the speaker, punctuated by the zorp of a high powered magic blast.

“West entrance!” cried a voice to the brothers. “It’s them! It’s the Angels!”

“Hold them off!” Flam yelled at the intercom. The voice on the other end began to reply but there was a sudden vicious sound of electricity and the connection cut off.

“All security to the west entrance,” Flam ordered into the intercom, and 614 could hear the echoes from the PA system. “All workers to quarters. This is a top-tier emergency.” While Flam barked out those orders, his brother pulled open a hidden door in the wall, revealing a storage locker. Inside were various pieces of gear, and Flim began pulling on a tactical vest lined with pouches which he snapped closed around his torso.

“What’s our move, brother?” he asked, tossing his brother a vest.

“We get clear,” Flam replied, as he slipped the vest over himself. “We go for the south entrance, in case the west side is just a diversion.”

“Sounds good,” said Flim, as he reached into the cabinet once more and pulled out a pair of large devices that greatly reminded 614 of weapons, for some reason. Again, he tossed one of the devices to his brother, who worked a slide on the thing with a loud double-clack. Twilight realized she needed need to speak up. She couldn’t afford to let the brothers leave her behind.

“Masters,” said 614, as she got to her hooves, “is there any way that 614 can help?” Both Flim and Flam looked startled for a moment, as if they had completely forgotten about their alicorn toy. A sly grin came over Flim’s face.

“You certainly can, 614,” he said. “Are you prepared to fulfill your training?”

“Oh yes,” said the captive alicorn, clopping her hooves in joy. “614 has been training so hard for this! It would make 614 so happy to protect you.” Flim looked over at his brother, who gave a nod back.

“Very well,” he said. “614 suit, reduce magic restriction to 75% of normal.” The suit around 614 didn’t seem to change, but for the first time in a week Twilight was able to access magic at will again and an ecstatic grin covered her face as she felt power flow through her.

“Ohhhh, my,” 614 sighed, her face transported in joy. Then, she blinked and looked at her masters, the brothers. Both brothers had their weapons leveled and trained on 614. “Is something wrong?” she asked, as Twilight realized that she had she had let a little too much of her real feelings show. She was about to try to distract the brothers when another explosion, closer than before, shook the plant and the brothers both glanced in its direction before pointing their weapons towards the floor.

“Come on, 614,” said Flam. “If we run across any bad ponies, your job is to shield us while we deal with them, okay?”

“Of course, Master,” said 614, kneeling before the brothers, as Twilight decided a show of submissiveness couldn’t hurt. “Anything 614 can do to help.”

Flim and Flam opened a side door to their office Twilight hadn’t seen before, and she followed them down the narrow passage. Though the two stallions carried their weapons with confidence, their nervous glances showed that they both were very worried. The narrow passage ended at a door and, after tapping out a code on keypad, the metal door opened into one of the large, main hallways. Ponies were scrambling back and forth as the trio were suddenly assaulted by wailing alarms, falling dust, and the sound of screaming.

“Look out!” 614 yelled, as she manifested a shield in a trained, automatic reaction. A split second later, a projectile penetrated the shield and struck Flam’s weapon. Fortunately, the projectile’s force had been spent punching through the shield and it did no damage. The brothers swung their weapons to face the direction the shot had come from, and trained them on a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. The mare had fired her shot from behind a PA speaker mounted high on a wall and was scrambling for fresh cover.

As one, the brothers squeezed the triggers on their weapons and they responded with “phut phut phut” sounds. Several black spheres the size of golf balls struck the pegasus, knocking her out of the air and expanding to volleyball size. The attacking pegasus quickly found herself glued into a sticky mass on the floor of the corridor, unable to move more than her head. Flim went over to the downed mare, and grasping her mane pulled her hair back so he could look her in the face.

“Not so sneaky now, are you Breeze?” sneered Flim, lip curling. “When we take care of the rest of your band, I will take great pleasure in personally dealing with you.” With that, he grabbed up the projectile that had been fired at his brother and jammed it into the side of the mare’s neck. The mare gave a small cry and went limp.

“Is she dead?” 614 asked.

“No,” said Flim. “Breeze prefers to use knockout or stun weapons. Unlike the rest of the Angels.” Turning to 614, Flim said, “Good work, 614. But your shield wasn’t strong enough to stop that shot. 614 suit, decrease magic restriction to 50%.” The suit responded, reducing its stranglehold on Twilight’s magic even further. The three ponies set off again, sometimes having to fight their way through panicked ponies. Whoever these Angels were, they had the entire place in an uproar.

After several minutes, Flim, Flam, and 614 finally reached their goal and closed a large, sliding door behind them as they entered a huge loading bay. The cavernous place was empty except for piles of boxes and a lone, large vehicle at the far end. Several vehicle doors, all closed, had the bay sealed off from the outside and there was no sign of any intruders. After a quick look around to be certain they were alone, the two brothers and their alicorn headed toward the sole remaining vehicle. A large box like wagon, obviously meant to carry cargo.

The trio came to a halt half a minute later when, as they drew close to the vehicle, five ponies and a large changeling stepped out from around it.

“Hello, your Majesty,” said Flam, addressing the well dressed female changeling, that Twilight recognized as Chrysalis. She was tall with a regal bearing, marred only by the broken stump of the horn on her head. Beside her stood a mulberry-coated pony who could have been Twilight’s twin, except that she had a very short mane style.

On the royal changeling’s right stood a powerfully built orange earth pony, and a sky blue pegasus who bore a prismatic mane and had static discharges rolling through her wing feathers. On the left was very, very pink earth pony with a flat mane. She reeked of sulfur and stood beside the final member of the hostile group, a white unicorn with an elegant purple mane. In her magic the unicorn held a runed staff with several lenses attached to it. In turn, Twilight recognized them as Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Each of them wore a tactical vest and light armor bearing the insignia of a halo with wings coming out of it.

Everypony was very, very still. Each of them was specifically not checking their weapons, not checking explosive charges, or knives, ropes, stunners, or any other of the dozens of instruments of violence that were being carried in that room. The mulberry pony beside the Chrysalis slowly nudged her mistress and nodded toward 614.

“Yes, Egghead, I see her,” said the changeling, who then shifted her gaze to the brothers. “Flim, Flam, we are well acquainted with one another, but I cannot say as I have met your companion. What is she? A clone? Something from the Mirror Pool? Some sort of abomination you made in your labs?”

“Queen Chrysalis,” said Flim, with a sneer. “I would like to introduce you to our pet alicorn, 614. 614, meet Queen Chrysalis.” Twilight, as 614, bowed her head to changeling queen.

“My dear,” said Chrysalis, with a throaty purr. “I am Queen Chrysalis. Allow me to introduce my companions. From left to right they are Hammer, Zap, Party Cannon and Widow. Beside me here, is my beloved Egghead. What would be your name?”

“Tw—Tw—Tw—” Twilight stammered, trying to circumvent the redirects and filters Alyss had put into her vocabulary. She simply couldn’t. Short of completely dropping the ruse, she was simply unable to say her own name. Twilight could sense that the moment to reveal her true self was close, but not yet.

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Chrysalis, not unkindly. “That was your name, wasn’t it?” 614 nodded, jerkily at Chrysalis and Flam’s eyes widened with realization as he looked from 614 to the pony called “Egghead” beside Chrysalis and made a connection, as he remembered Twilight’s claim to her name.

“You! You’re Twilight Sparkle!” he shouted, pointing an accusatory hoof at the purple unicorn. Then he looked to Chrysalis, his voice shifting as he said, “Which makes you—”

“Boskone,” said Chrysalis in confirmation. “And as Boskone, I now own 49.999% of Flim Flam Industries. I only need 2 more shares to take over the company. Consider this a ‘hostile takeover’, boys.”

“614 suit, weapons free!” shouted Flim enraged. His command dropping all restrictions from Twilight, even as he and his brother snapped their weapons up into position and opened fire. Chrysalis and her team had obviously been expecting something along these lines as they all dived, ducked or shielded themselves from the incoming fire.

“Get the alicorn!” shouted Chrysalis’s Applejack, who ducked behind a box as a stream of the black pellets went over her head. 614 manifested a full power shield, and a split second later the shield was sorely tested. Zap unleashed a lightning bolt straight into the shield, while the Party Cannon blasted at it with a cannon and Hammer bucked the large box she had been hiding behind directly into the shield.

It was a combined assault that could only have been done by ponies who regularly fought and worked together as a single unit. With the instant timing and automatic coordination born of many fights, each pony did their part, and their assault paid off. 614’s shield did not break, or allow any part of the triple attack through. But, as it repelled those tremendous forces it couldn’t help but flex, and in that flexing it changed from a smooth hemisphere of force to a rippling one. In those ripples there existed peaks and eddies of force. They would fade within seconds, but seconds were all Widow needed to target one of those eddies and fire a deadly blast.

Twilight Sparkle saw the incoming fire and normally she would have been able to bolster her shield, or have a second shield ready, or manifest a prism to bend the beam, or any one of a dozen different techniques her brother had taught her to counter the tactic being used.

Normally.

Twilight was not, however, in her normal mind. She was still working within the filters and alterations that formed her mental defences as “614” and they slowed her for a few, critical fractions of a second. The needle thin spear of magic lanced through the weak eddy point Widow had targeted and clipped Twilight along the side of the head. Sending her spinning, stunned and bleeding, to the floor. The only reason Twilight lived was the fact that her shield had managed to bend the beam just enough to prevent a head shot. 614’s shield winked out as the attackers achieved their goal of taking down their enemies alicorn.

But their success came with a dire cost, as the brothers took full advantage of the exposed position of the three ponies who had made the initial assault, hammering the three ponies with rapid fire from their weapons, immobilizing them and gluing them in place. A second shot from Widow shattered Flam’s weapon but Flim counter-fired to good effect, pasting Widow against a wall, spreadeagled and helpless. Which left only Chrysalis and her companion, Egghead, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle, to stand against the brothers. Egghead was trying to shield Chrysalis from Flim’s weapon as he forced Egghead to keep her shield up by firing into it every second or two.

Shaking her head to clear it, Twilight staggered back to her feet, as the brothers closed in for the kill. She could see that one of the pellets had hit Chrysalis in the leg and the monarch was glued in place.

“Get out of here, Egghead,” said the changeling, to her unicorn companion. “I’ll hold them as long as I can.”

“No!” cried the lavender mare, as her shield visibly weakened and began to crack from the blows it was taking. “I’m not leaving you.”

“That’s an order,” said Chrysalis, summoning her own stuttering shield. “Get out of here, make plans, rescue me and your fellow Angels when you can. The hive will obey you. Now go!”

Time slowed as Twilight took it all in. The sneering faces of the brothers, moving forward to possess and control what they did not deserve, yet again. The selfless sacrifice of Chrysalis, face set in determination to buy as much time as she could. The anguish of Twilight’s counterpart. Her desire to stand or fall by her friends warring with her duty to escape and avenge them. The acceptance of the others and their own urging of their Twilight to go, and save herself.

It was all Twilight Sparkle needed to see. Reaching deep inside herself, she touched the central point of the changes Alyss had made in her mind and twisted. As she did, the overlays, the speech changes, the emotional alterations, all faded away like morning mist suddenly struck full on by the blazing sun. Emotions, no longer held back, controlled, or altered stormed through her mind.

Furious rage, at what the brothers had done to her. Shame, that she had let it happen, that she had taken pleasure in it, that she was going to miss it. Pity, for the broken wrecks of ponies that the brothers had left in their wake. All these, and more, flowed through Twilight as she summoned her magic, unleashed by the brothers own command, and dropped several heavy crates on Flim and Flam, knocking them cold.

As the others looked on in stunned shock at the sudden reversal, Twilight calmly grabbed up Flim’s weapon with her magic and deliberately fired a line of pellets up the length of the bodies of each of the brothers. As she glued them in place, Twilight made sure that the expanding spheres covered both pony’s mouths, gagging them so they could not issue commands to her suit. For a moment, Twilight considered shooting the brothers in the head, which would cause them to be smothered to death. Then, the moment passed,

“Queen Chrysalis,” she said, turning to the changeling monarch, who was carefully lowering her barely usable shield. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and I suggest we take this somewhere more comfortable. I would like to have a chat with you and yours.”

Thirty minutes later Chrysalis, her team, and Twilight Sparkle sat in Flim and Flam’s office, sipping chardoneigh and talking. The brothers had signed over their shares in the company in exchange for not being given to their “employees” or put into suits. They were currently locked in one of the alcove cells with all its controls disabled. They were still gagged by the adhesive goop on their muzzles as nopony dared allow them the chance to start calling out commands to suits or anything else that might be voice activated..

Twilight paused for a moment, and looked at the seven others in the room. This Chrysalis was conversational, amiable, and gave off a pleasant emotional warmth. In fact, she reminded Twilight of Celestia. From what she could see, Chrysalis and her Twilight very much had the same dynamic she and Celestia had when Twilight was younger—that of a mentor and favored student. The other five were all very much like her friends, although with a harder edge. Collectively, they apparently were known as Chrysalis’s Angels, and despite their combat-hardened exteriors, Twilight could see they all had great love and affection for Chrysalis.

“We haven’t had much of an actual discussion,” said Chrysalis to Twilight, “but I have to know. ‘Princess’ Twilight Sparkle?” Egghead looked up at that as well.

“I’m a dimensional traveler,” said Twilight. “On my world, I ascended to become an alicorn and I am one of five Equestrian princesses.”

“One of …five?” Widow snuggling up to Hammer quite tenderly, despite the skepticism in her tone. “You’ll forgive me if that sounds a little far-fetched.” Twilight was about to answer that when Twilight Velvet walked in—or rather, Alyss the changeling disguised as Twilight Velvet, and she had 143 with her as well.

“I believe I can verify everything our guest has to say,” said Velvet, who was embraced warmly by Chrysalis.

As that reunion was happening, 143 ran up to Twilight and hugged her for all she was worth, tears of happiness running down her face. She joyously kept repeating, “You came back! You came back!” It was all Twilight could do to calm her friend and companion, and assure her that Twilight Sparkle was indeed back.

“Alyss, my daughter! It’s good to see you again,” said Chrysalis, somewhat ignoring the reunion between 143 and Twilight. “Were you successful?”

“Partly, mother,” said Velvet.

“How so?”

“First off,” said Velvet, disappearing in a wash of green fire to regain her true appearance, “the suits adapt to shape-shifting, as we suspected they would. I’m as trapped in this suit as much as any other pony.” Chrysalis made a sad noise and nuzzled her daughter. Alyss continued. “Second, I was able to find the suit master codes. It will take a while, but at least the suits will be under the command of their wearers once we’re done. Third, I also found the records. We should be able to reunite a lot of ponies with their loved ones, even if a lot of those reunions won’t be happy ones.”

“Good work, Alyss,” said Chrysalis. “But I believe you also said something about being able to prove our new friend isn’t lying to us.”

“Yes, I can,” said Alyss, turning toward Twilight. “Before I do anything, let me first say that everything I’m about to do to you, you are able to do to me.” Twilight began to pull in some power, readying herself to fight or flee, as the occasion called for it. The others in the room noticed and a truly impressive variety of weapons came into view, all of which were very carefully not pointed at anypony.

“Alyss, you had better explain yourself before I do something severe,” said Twilight, deliberately ignoring the threat implied by the Angel’s weapons. She had set down her glass and got to her hooves. “You know I have zero reason to trust anypony in this world.”

“I had to be sure I could trust you. So, I placed a deep compulsion into both of us,” said Alyss. “A compulsion to tell the truth when a question is asked of us in a certain way, by a certain voice.”

“Yes, I know. And you broke your sworn word to do it. But, fine, use it, because I do need to prove myself to your Queen,” said Twilight.

“How did you—” began Alyss.

“I'm an Alicorn,” said Twilight, by way of answer. “Just hurry up and get it done.”

“Tell me true, 614,” said Alyss, watching Twilight’s eyes become unfocused as the compulsion took hold. “Who are you and where are you from?”

“I am from an alternate Equestria,” said Twilight in a monotone. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, former Bearer of the Element of Magic and personal student of Princess Celestia.” Twilight’s eyes snapped back into focus as she glared back at Alyss, then, giving a thin smile said, “Tell me true, Alyss. What was the deal we made and will your mother honour it?” Alyss’s eyes unfocused, just as Twilight’s had, and Twilight could see the changeling trying to fight off the compulsion, but the changeling apparently had done her work very well indeed.

“My mother will honour any agreements made by me, particularly those made in the oath you made me swear,” said Alyss, in the same near monotone Twilight had used. “I swore that, in exchange for your help and allowing me to alter your mind in the ways you specified, you would be given safe passage so you could return to your home. That you would be given ownership of the pony known as 143, and that my mother would perform a long term task on your behalf. One that you promised would benefit her.” Alyss staggered sideways as the truth telling compulsion released her as she finished her statement.

“So, Your Majesty,” said Twilight, turning to face the changeling monarch. “Will you agree to the terms I made with your daughter, even if she broke her word by adding on that compulsion?” As she said that, she noticed that while she had been distracted by Alyss giving her compelled answer, the other mares had arranged themselves between her and Chrysalis in a defensive formation. Five of the six, anyway. Fluttershy’s counterpart, Breeze, was nowhere to be seen. Twilight smiled. Some things never changed. But then a gentle puff of air wafted across Twilight’s cheek and she looked up and behind herself. There was Breeze, hovering in Twilight’s blind spot, a blackjack held in her hooves.

“Stand down, Breeze,” said Chrysalis, mildly. “If the Princess intended harm to us she has already had her chances. I think we can extend some trust, particularly in light of my daughter’s actions.” Breeze nodded as she silently drifted back towards her queen. “As for your agreement, Princess, I will agree to your conditions—excepting the task you have for me. I would hear what it is first.”

“Thank you.” Twilight was unsurprised that Alyss and the others remained between her and Chrysalis. “On my world, my friends and I found the Elements of Harmony and cleansed Princess Luna of Nightmare Moon, as well as stopping several other threats. This world needs the Elements, it needs its Bearers, to help it’s Celestia and free it's Luna. You and your Angels can do that.” The Angels looked at each other questioningly.

“Princess,” said Chrysalis, “what makes you think me and mine have any chance of not only finding the Elements, but wielding them?”

“Because,” said Twilight, smiling and pointing at Egghead, “just as she is my counterpart, the rest of your team are the counterparts of my friends. They may not be the Bearers right now, but all of them have the potential for it and I can’t believe it's a coincidence that the same six mares are a group here, as in my world.”

“You make good points,” said Chrysalis, then grimacing as she touched a hoof to her head. “Has anypony told you how I got this?”

“No.”

“A few years ago, I decided to invade Canterlot with a changeling army,” began Chrysalis. “The plan was perfect and went off without a hitch. As my army swarmed Canterlot, I...gloated. I couldn’t help it. It was the greatest triumph of my life, right up up to the point where Celestia dropped a wall on me.” Twilight gasped as Chrysalis pressed on. “There were no warnings, no threats, no challenges. One moment I was in my glory, the next, Celestia was pulling my broken body out of the rubble and snapping off my horn. She threw me to my changelings like a piece of refuse and told them that this was the only warning they would ever get. If it happened again, she would simply kill us all.”

“But you got better,” said Twilight, thoroughly impressed at the resilience of the queen. “Not only that, you’re working with ponies. You’re even helping ponies.”

“After Celestia broke my invasion of Canterlot, I spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do next,” said Chrysalis. “Equestria needs somepony other than Celestia on the throne, but it was obvious that I didn’t have what it took. I had the drive, the will, and the intelligence to take the throne. I even had an army, but it wasn’t enough.” Chrysalis paused and smiled as she ruffled Egghead’s mane. “I needed friends, and starting with my Egghead here, I found them. It wasn’t easy to learn to make friends, but I did it. Their hurts became my hurts, their goals became my goals. Their triumphs were my triumphs.” Chrysalis stopped for a moment and said, “Heh, listen to me ramble on here, I have no idea why I’m telling you any of this.”

“Maybe you just needed to tell somepony,” said Twilight, smiling. “It could even be because I’m the Princess of Friendship and my magic is drawing this out of you.”

“Perhaps, Princess,” said Chrysalis, looking critically at Twilight. “But I do know this. I, we, are stronger as friends than we ever were alone. I call them my Angels because together we’ve raised ourselves up to the heavens. But, one monarch to another, be honest with me Princess,” said Chrysalis, “you’re asking me to go up against Celestia again. On a quest where, if she discovers what we are up to at any moment, she’ll likely kill us. What possible reason could you give me to take such a risk? Not just for myself, but for the ponies I’ve come to love.”

“Because it has to be done,” said Twilight, leaning forward. “Somepony has to reach out, to find the Elements and bring Harmony back to this world. This isn’t my world. I can’t do it, but you, you and your Angels, can. Compel me if you think I’m lying about that.”

“No, you aren’t lying to me, and I won’t lie to you, Twilight,” said Chrysalis, one leg around Egghead. “The whole idea scares me, but if I do this, I will do it my way. My Angels answer to me. Not you, not Celestia, not any other pony. Me. So, if this happens, it ends with me on the throne. I’m not a good pony, but I can promise to be a just pony. Can you live with that?”

“You’re putting your life on the line for Equestria,” said Twilight. “So long as you have these ponies to keep you grounded afterwards, you’ll have earned it and I can live with it.”

“Girls,” Chrysalis said, looking to her companions, “you’ve heard the Princess. You know the odds. I won’t risk your lives unless you agree to this. What do you say?” A chorus of agreements came instantly and Chrysalis didn’t hesitate to hug them all.

“Okay, I agree, but on one condition,” said Chrysalis, and Twilight cocked a questioning eyebrow. “You take Alyss with you, when you go back to your world.”

“WHAT?!” erupted from Twilight and Alyss at the same instant.

“She is my daughter,” said Chrysalis. “If we fail, if it all comes crashing down, it will ease my passing to know that my daughter is safe with you. Everything I’ve seen and heard about you tells me that you will] keep her safe.”

“She’s already gone past certain boundaries with me,” said Twilight. “Not too mention her use of certain…techniques to get what she wanted out of me. How can I trust her in my world?”

“Not only that, she broke her word to you, as well. I would say a balancing of the scales is in order. Alyss,” said Chrysalis to her daughter, who snapped her head around, “from this moment, until you return here, you will be Princess Twilight Sparkle’s obedient servant and companion. You will assign control of your suit to her and obey her commands as if they were my mine. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mother,” said Alyss, her head lowered and her ears drooping.

“I’ve just ordered my own daughter to be your chattel. Will that suffice for the issues of trust and violation of her word?” asked Chrysalis, looking toward Twilight, who nodded.

“Excellent,” said Chrysalis. “I believe that the Princess has much that she can teach you, Alyss. Be attentive to her lessons and make me proud to be your Mother. Now, I believe you have some suit commands to give?”

Alyss nodded and gave the commands that sold Twilight and 143 to themselves. Effectively freeing them. Then, grimacing in obvious distaste at put herself back under somepony’s hoof, she gave her own suit the commands to register a new owner of the pony within it, namely herself. Nopony heard 143 softly repeating those commands to her own suit and it wasn’t until Twilight named herself as the new owner of Alyss that anypony realized something was wrong. When Alyss’s suit collar gave off a double beep registering its new owner, a second double beep came from behind Twilight, and everypony in the room shifted their gaze to where 143 stood.

“143, what have you done?” asked Twilight, eyes wide in surprise. Her ears stood up as well, as 143 carefully knelt to her.

“143 isn’t ready,” said the kneeling mare. “So, 143 repeated the commands Alyss gave her suit to 143’s own suit.”

“But why?” Twilight asked, sorrowfully. “You were free.”

“143 can’t be free, at least not yet. She still needs somepony to be in charge of her,” said 143, placing a leash on Twilight’s hoof. “She needs somepony to keep her in harness, to hold her leash. 61...um, Twilight, you came back. Nopony has ever come back before. Would you please own me and be my Mistress? At least for now.” Twilight looked at the leash on her hoof, and then at the hopeful face in front of her. As she did so, warmth filled her heart with the display of affection and trust from 143.

“I will be your Mistress,” said Twilight, smiling and drawing 143 to her hooves. “But only until the day you feel ready to stand on your own, and no matter what, I will always be your friend.” 143 hugged Twilight again, and as Twilight looked up she saw the others looking at her. Each and every one of them was smiling and trying to hide it.

“Well,” said Chrysalis, smiling, “if you ever want to stay here I think you would fit right in. But, there is no real reason to delay further, so let’s get you on your way home, Princess.” Together, the large group traveled back through the overcast evening back to where Twilight had first emerged from her portal. Chrysalis, Twilight, the Angels, Alyss and 143 all travelled together in some sort of large, steam powered vehicle that had a large enclosed area for ponies to ride in.

“Alyss, how do we get rid of these slave collars?” Twilight asked as they bounced along to their destination.

“We don’t,” said Alyss, sighing heavily. “The collars are the control interface for the suits, and if they aren’t in place the suit defaults to ‘lock down’ and freezes the wearer in place. It’s easy enough to take the collars off, but if we do, we can’t move.”

“Are you sure?” asked Twilight, a little suspicious.

“I’m just as locked in as you are,” said Alyss, huffing. “I want them off as much as you do, but if there is a way get the collar off and still be mobile I don’t know it.” Alyss spent the rest of the trip on the far side of the wagon, talking to her friends, while 143 knelt on the floor at Twilight’s hooves.

“Princess,” said Chrysalis quietly, as they neared their goal, “I have one other request of you. No matter what, come back here in a year’s time. If we’ve succeeded, I will be here to greet you. If we need more time, I will ensure there is either a message or a messenger waiting for you.”

“And if none of those are there?” Twilight asked.

“Then assume we’ve failed, and my Angels and I are either dead or captured,” Chrysalis said, her expression grim, brows furrowed. “If that happens, leave and never come back. Just keep my daughter safe, please.”

“I will do all I can to keep her safe,” Twilight whispered back. “Also, one other thing. When you go to sleep tonight, call out to Princess Luna.”

“What? She’s...sane?”

“Who do you think urged me to find somepony to wield the Elements?” Twilight said, with a smile, which then fell. “She also asked that if the Elements couldn’t be found or controlled, that somepony find her and put her out of her suffering.” Chrysalis nodded, apparently not needing to have the implications of Luna’s request spelled out for her.

“Understandable. And if she is indeed possessed of her faculties,” said Chrysalis, rubbing a hoof on her chin, “she would make an excellent co-regent.” Chrysalis saw Twilight’s look of surprise. “I am not as foolish as I once was, to think ponies would accept me as a ruler without one of the Sisters to provide me with some legitimacy.”

“You are very different from the Chrysalis of my world, your Majesty,” said Twilight, studying the face of the changeling monarch. “I have one question of you though. What will happen to the other ponies you now own?“

“The ones conditioned by Twilight Velvet and Alyss are simple to restore,” said Chrysalis. “They both added conditioning and training to the ponies they worked on, and that is relatively easy to remove, which we will be doing for them. But the other ones...” Chrysalis gave a small, uncharacteristic shudder.

“I’ve heard that the original Control was feared,” said Twilight, noting the reaction. “But nopony has ever explained why, or what she did that was so terrible.”

“The original Control was a former student of Celestia’s who lusted for power and domination over others,” explained Chrysalis. “But the only way she knew how to create that control was to break and destroy minds and free will. She literally burned away parts of her victim’s minds, like their ability to speak, or feel pain, or even think, in order to control them. 143 was one of her last victims. Control burned away 143’s self-reliance and her ability to say ‘No.”

“What?” asked Twilight, anger spiking in her.

“Just what I said, Princess,” said Chrysalis. “143 literally cannot refuse to do anything you tell her. She can still feel regret and anguish over what she is commanded to do, but she will obey regardless. Also, she is almost completely dependant on other ponies telling her what to do. So, just be careful with what commands you do give her.”

Twilight’s mind reeled as she took in that knowledge. She had demanded to take 143 with her because she was fairly certain she could remove any conditioning on 143 and heal her. But this was different. 143 was missing vital parts of herself and the only way to restore this Trixie to her former self would be to literally rebuild her. But 143 had shown initiative in submitting herself to Twilight, so there was definitely something that could be built from. As Twilight dwelled on this, she realized she could see familiar terrain outside the vehicle.

“There! That’s the spot,” called out Twilight, and Hammer, who was driving, obligingly brought the vehicle to a halt and everypony piled out. Twilight quickly found the exact spot she had originally arrived at and began to prepare the return spell.

“Is...is it going to be okay?” asked 143, beside her. “Has 143 been a good pony?”

“You have been a wonderful pony,” assured Twilight. “I’m taking you someplace where you will always be safe and nopony will hurt you again. I’m taking you home with me.” 143 nodded and leaned against Twilight, drawing strength and warmth from the alicorn, her owner, by her choice. A minute later Alyss came trotting up, having bid her mother and the Angels a heartfelt farewell.

“Ready?” Twilight asked the ponies on either side of her. They both nodded, and Twilight filled her horn with power, preparing the Cross Time spell.

“Remember, Princess,” called out Chrysalis, as the spell’s vortex swirled into reality above the trio with a rush of wind and magic. “One year!”

“I’ll be here!” Twilight yelled back. “Hang on to me, girls!” she commanded to the mares on either side of her, who grabbed on tight. The vortex snapped into place, and Twilight, Alyss and 143 were drawn upwards into the portal and towards home.

At long last the "Cog" arc of chapters is complete. This went far longer than I had originally planned, and I have no one to fault but myself for falling down the rabbit hole of an absolutely fascinating world chock full of interesting side stories and characters.

There will be a chapter or two as Twilight deals with the consequences of her first journey, but then it is on to the next world. Also, if anyone has any questions about any of my background material for the "Cogverse" feel free to ask them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them. I will be taking a step away from this story for awhile as I've discovered that concentrating on one story at a time just doesn't work for me and I am going back to a rotation in my writings. So, the next chapter of this story will be after chapters of my newly commissioned project, Journey, Slaves to Darkness and Equestria: Destroyed.

This chapter is also brought to you through the assistance of my current patrons:

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