Princess Celestia found she could not recall the name of the tune in her head. She'd been humming and whistling it to herself before bed for so many long years, it seemed impossible she could forget, but her mind drew a total blank when she thought of the name. This gave her a slight pause, a twinge of guilt too. If she could not remember something like this, what else had been lost between her fillyhood and her time as Princess? What more would she lose as time dragged on, and those happiest of days grew farther from her?

Her combing suddenly became more of a chore than a pleasant bedtime ritual, and she set the comb down after dragging it through her mane one more time. The job felt half done, but she found herself moving towards her bed all the same. Her rude discovery put her off from it all.

She hadn't made it under the covers yet when a critical message came knocking at her chamber door. The guard was out of breath, at once lifting the note to her. Combing and songs and long lost memories were replaced by sheer horror.

"Trouble..." he gasped between huffs, wiping the sweat from his brow, "Princess Cadence needs aide!"

The tensions to the North had grown increasingly violent, and she had put systems into place to monitor and control the situation. She never expected the systems to go awry. How could she? They'd never failed before, in far worse situations, they had always triumphed. She scolded herself as she warmed her horn with magic, mentally slapping herself for being so naive. They weren't gods, they were ponies, innocent ponies. Murder was not a reality Celestia had been willing to think of, but in hindsight, she had been selfish and foolish, because the world didn't think like her. Only now that it had come to this did she realize that so fully.

With a yellow flash she was in the Crystal Empire, and her jaw dropped as fast as the tears. Half the landscape was in flames, crystal ponies were rushing about tending to the wounded and the dead. In the chaos few regarded her, and as she turned to take in the view of the palace, she felt her knees go weak. Just in front of the large gates, a crater the size of a house, and magical fallout leaking into the air. She did not get here fast enough. She should have come sooner. The moment trouble began stirring, she should have dropped everything and come here.

"Move! Forward!"

A retinue of armored guards surrounding four changelings, all of them incarcerated in heavy gray chains, was moving them away from the town square, towards the outskirts of the city. Celestia took note of the pile of changeling corpses not far away, and the stack of dead guards opposite them, and bowed her head. Then, with resolve, she flew into the air. It was time to be a Princess now. It was time to make things as right as she could.

Conjuring had always come natural to her, but in this moment, as the darkness danced around the burning city, she found it more arduous than expected to create a flow of water. The ponies on the ground, now finally acknowledging her, began to cheer and praise her. She was torn between delight that so many strong voices were well enough to try and save their home, and guilt that it had come to this in the first place. Regardless, she worked at it and flew all around the burning houses, shops, and trees, flooding them as needed. It took her about ten minutes, and then she came back down. A swarm of guards, government officials, and citizens rushed towards her.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Celestia, why are the changelings still here?"

"Princess, thank you for putting out the fires!"

"Princess Celestia, we need more food, more aide! Please, send help!"

"Princess Celestia, are they okay!?"

"Princess, will you stay with us? We need you now more than ever!"

The shouting, the cheering, the closing in all stopped when Celestia coated her vocal cords in magic. Levitating off the ground slightly, pointing towards the large crater she shouted, "Who did that!?"

The crowd grew silent, staring at each other in a daze, and moved away from the direction she was pointing, except for one guard captain. He was frowning, and bleeding from the side of his head. He moved toward Celestia with a level of subtle reverence but comfort that even the coolest and suavest of politicians had a hard time mastering.

"Evaporated. Killed in her own terrorist attack."

Celestia nodded and walked toward the guard, "Where are Princesses Twilight and Cadence?"

"Follow me."

The crowd followed up until the palace entrance, where a squadron of guards blocked them from going any farther. Their shouting and pleading were heard until the grand old doors swung closed behind the pair.

With recent events, the palace interior was the only place that remained unchanged since last Celestia had come to the Crystal Empire. The halls reflected and refracted light into artsy patterns across the walls and floor. The servants were bustling from place to place, with the guards posted in two places above all else: The entrance to the palace, and the private wing of the royal family. The platoon guarding that particular hall seemed uneasy about letting anybody through, but said nothing as Celestia and the guard captain leading her walked into the hall.

"That door there," The guard captain said, head bent low.

"Thank you - and have someone take a look at that cut."

They parted, and Celestia opened the door of the family lounge to find anything but mirth. She expected a grim sight, but it pulled on her heartstrings all the same. Converted into a temporary emergency room, the entire lounge looked at her when she walked in.

Cadence rushed to her aunt, embracing her with misty eyes and a shaky voice, "I'm so sorry."

As they hugged, Celestia looked at the rest of the room. Twilight's body was mostly wrapped in bandages, and she was floating in a glowing ring of blue-pink magic. The medical equipment hooked into her was beeping loudly, a hopeful, artificial heartbeat. The scent of antibiotics and medical wrap dawned on her like a boulder dropped from above the clouds.

I'm so sorry

Beside her, four more ponies lay in bandages, unmoving, but breathing shallow breaths. Shining Armor was standing beside them all. Flurry Heart was sleeping at the right side of the room, an attendant sitting nearby. A few more guards stood against the walls, silently watching everything. A soundless white flash spread through the room and a warm sensation filled Celestia for a moment.

"You didn't wait for the test," She told her niece, "what if I had been a changeling?"

"I knew you couldn't be. Your eyes give you away," Cadence replied as they separated.

"We can't be that careless," Celestia affirmed, moving towards the five injured ponies, realizing in that moment that she was too focused on finding answers to ensure the ponies in this room weren't changelings themselves. Just another mistake, only one not punished.

"They've all been unconscious since the attack," Shining Armor explained, his voice turning into a trembling, shaking thing, "Twice now we've had to.....perform intensive magic healing spells. We can't keep this up though."

"The doctors have agreed, it's all down to fate now," Cadence said.

At the same time, all three royals wiped the beginnings of tears from their eyes, and the guards and attendants all pretended not to notice. Celestia shivered and turned her head, almost sure that the shadows had been watching them. Probably just the after effects of the haunting magic King Sombra had infected this land with. That was probably the same reason the changelings living here had descended so far into dissent and bitterness. She knew the darkness here could be infectious, how prone to emotions the changelings were, but given how quickly Cadence and Shining Armor were undoing Sombra's deeds...

All was clear in hindsight, but in the moment, Celestia had dropped the ball. She knew it, and she was paying the heavy price for this one. Best not to dwell on such things now though.

"I believe it was Fluttershy who stayed in Ponyville?"

"Yes, with Starlight Glimmer," Cadence answered.

"Poor things. Do we know if the attacker was related to any kind of movement or group?"

"My guards have been investigating for weeks. After the," Shining Armor groped for the word, settling on a rather straightforward one, "assassination of Thorax, we noticed quite a few social and political groups forming. Since that time we've shut down and disbanded three we considered to be of extreme danger, but that only made things worse. The number of such groups has only grown, and so have the list of members."

Celestia interrupted him, "We never did catch the assassin? The one who started it all?"

Shining Armor shook his head.

"We hate to ask, but given how...extreme things have become, we were wondering if it was possible to have more guards stationed here."

"I'm sorry Cadence, I don't think that's a good idea. I was an autocrat for one thousand years. Alone I stood watch over all of Equestria, and I did that by keeping the ponies happy. It's clear that the changelings aren't very content with the way things are, but despite our attempts to make them happier, they resorted to violence and terrorism."

"So if not more guards, what then?" Cadence asked the room.

Celestia grew quiet, moving towards the window and looking down on the streets, where the crystal ponies were just starting to resume their night, all of them sorely aware of how much their lives had changed. What would she have done if this had happened ten years earlier? How would she dissolve tensions by herself? She realized she could not. She was the oldest, some would say wisest, of the Princesses...but she was not invincible.

Cadence broke her from her thoughts, "From the reports we got, almost half the changelings in Chrysalis's hive left to join Thorax and the others here. The population of the Crystal Empire rose almost a third as a result, and even though things started out fine, they've gotten a lot worse in a short amount of time. If you know how to settle things down, we're all ears."

"We tried peace. We can't just ask them to leave now, can we?" Shining Armor spoke, "We invited them to become residents of the Crystal Empire, and Equestria too."

"That's right," Celestia agreed, "They're as much citizens as anypony. Nor will I ever consider asking them to leave. I think we need to try for peace again. I have much to do in Canterlot, but I think Luna can hold down the fort for a little while. I must stay here, and work with the both of you.....and, fate willing, Twilight and the others, to make amends between these changelings and the Crystal Empire."

Another white pulse, and another warm sensation that confirmed to the entire room that no changelings were among them.

"Above all, we need a code to ensure at all times we are who we say we are," Celestia whispered, tapping into the minds of the married couple.

'Any ideas?'She asked in their heads.

'It should be something personal, something close to our hearts, something a stranger could only guess with a one in a million shot,' Cadence thought.

'Yes, and nothing too obvious for any spies or double agents,' Celestia agreed.

They stood quiet, internally and externally for a moment, then Shining Armor smiled.

'Cocoa' He thought.

'My...old pet hamster?' Cadence clarified.

'I remember a young filly being quite enthralled with that hamster,' Celestia recalled, smiling for a very brief moment, 'I like it.'

In unison, they nodded, and resumed talking out loud.

"Very good, now that that's out of the way, where will I be staying?" Celestia asked.

"The deluxe suite, of course," Cadence said, "I can help you settle in."

"No, it is getting late. If nothing else can be done for now, I'll settle myself in, and we'll discuss our agendas in the morning. Let me know if something changes."

"Alright," Cadence relented, then turned to her husband, "I'm going to take Flurry to our room. Are you going to stay with Twilight and the others?"

"Of course," he nodded, smiling a soldier's smile.

The Princess of the Sun nodded (and sighed inwardly), looking at her greatest pupil, suspended in a healing bubble, wrapped up like a mummy in bloody bandages, barely on the right side of life and death. If she died, it was all Celestia's fault.

No, her rational side told her, the bomber was the one who hurt them, the responsibility was on them. Their lives were in danger because of them. But her emotional side spoke up, pointing out that if she hadn't sent them here at all, they would be perfectly happy and healthy. Or if she had even warned them to take caution, it was possible they would have never been blindsided by a point blank attack.

If Twilight never played with her niece again, if she never made another fun memory with her friends, if she never found a husband or family of her own, if all of Equestria was without a Princess of Friendship...it was all. her. fault.

Her logical side didn't have a response, and with that, Celestia went back into the hallway, and towards the deluxe suite she had stayed in once or twice before. It was a grand room, truthfully but it felt small now. The windows were shut, the curtains drawn, the open spaces in the closet and on the tables invited loneliness. The bed was mostly unfamiliar, but comfortable enough that with all the sorrow in her heart and the loss of all the sudden adrenaline she had upon teleporting here, she was whisked away to sleep faster than not.

And as her eyes drooped, she heard the whispers in the shadows, those evil things Sombra had brought here, yet, they did not feel like Sombra. Not exactly. They whispered of pleasant things, of safety and security, and unity for all.

And they asked only for one thing: "Break the gate," the shadows whispered, "and Twilight will return to you."

As for the other things that came to her mind as she drifted away...they meant nothing, and their echoes were the last push that sent her into rest.

But rest was anything but pleasant. Twilight was in her dreams, not as the adventurous and studious filly from long ago, nor as the confident and optimistic Princess she had become, but as a hollow shell, a bloody bandaged form that was in pain.

"It hurts!" she cried and choked and breathed shallowly, "It hurts too badly!"

Celestia tried to reach out, with her hoof and her magic, tried to embrace Twilight, do whatever she could to ease the suffering, to end the torment, to make things right again.

Tears falling through the bandages, lost eyes shining from the red and white mask, Twilight called out. "Princess Celestia.....I don't feel well...."

"Twilight, I...Twilight hold on," Celestia rushed towards her former student, but the faster she ran, the further she seemed to be from reaching her.

"Please make it stop! Please! Save me!!"

With doubled efforts, Celestia strode faster, beating her wings like whips, charging towards her beloved student and friend. She never made it. A swirl of blue and black grasped at the younger Princess, dragging her into shadows. With a final, agonizing cry, Twilight vanished, her voice added to the thousands of lost souls who suddenly surrounded Celestia. And then, the invisible plane that she stood in became an icy waste, and the souls ventured into decaying bodies and frozen corpses, and as Celestia looked around her the world became a chilly grave.

The entire night was over before she knew it, but the nightmare had gone on for far too long.

Somewhere dark and long forgotten by the world, somewhere cold and distant, where nothing had changed for countless years, an unexpected event happened. For as long as time itself, perhaps, a sound that was not wind echoed through the ice. Something was waking up.

"Rise...."