It hadn't been long since Celestia had given up. As angry as she wanted to be at Flash, he stood up for her and the Guards he’d been entrusted with. It wasn't as if he had disobeyed her or betrayed her trust. It almost seemed like Swift Hoof's newly explained situation.

Having heard Celestia's warnings of danger and distrust of humans, then walking into a situation he didn't understand the context to? He sought to protect his fellow ponies.

That is to say, so long as what Cerb believed was accurate. Of course, Celestia would only know for sure if she could ask Swift Hoof herself.

"The surgery," she quietly uttered to herself, still mentally wrapped up in her own guilt.

Outside a window, she could hear a clattering of voices, some harder to discern than others. However, Kelly's was easy to identify.

"Why would she say that? She was mad at Luna, not us!"

"I don't know, Kel. She doesn't want us here, so we're leaving."

Even if distant, that voice had to have been Cerb, meaning the next voice was likely Benny. If the voice wasn't clear enough, the choice of words made it evident that it couldn't have been Chris.

"Now, she won't want us back. I knew I should have stayed, but I thought you could keep your cool. We could have salvaged her lack of trust if you didn't insult her to her face like that."

Growing more distant, the last voice had to be Chris's.

"You guys don't get it. You need to explain things to her as if it were a friendship lesson. We can still fix this. We just need to write a letter explaining— Fine! Fuck you, too! What do I know?! I'm just the expert about how this world works!"

More squabbling faded out along with the view of the four humans, the remaining Twilight Guard, and Cadance. While the humans bickered, the following members sulked. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume the whole event had dashed their hopes.

As much as Celestia just wanted to crawl into bed, she had her duties to tend to. So, with a flash and a pop, she teleported away to pick up the pieces of her crumbling guard.

Teleporting into the hallway, Celestia spooked EKG to the point he dropped three books he was levitating in front of him.

"Oh! Princess, you're back. I need to update you. We ran into a problem."

From bad to worse, Celestia didn't need another problem, but for his sake, she remained calm.

"What problem? Is Swift Hoof alright?"

Hesitantly, EKG raised one of the books and turned back to a page showing the anatomy of a brain.

"We're not sure how it happened, but the patient is leaking Cerebrospinal fluid. It's vital in cushioning the brain and removing waste. We thought we closed the only leak after successfully removing the clot, but then more of the fluid started pooling up, and… I'm simply too far behind and not any help to them at this point. They're trying to find the source."

More defeated than ever, Celestia looked towards the closed doors. Through the small window, she could see Becky looking through a microscope over the point of entry and Redheart moving a tool she couldn't make out.

Sadly, EKG had more bad news to share.

"Doctor Horse lacks the precision needed to work the tools needed, and Becky doesn't trust her hands at this point. Nurse Redheart has taken over, and given the possibility of another tear, neither of us can go in with scrubbing up again— If that's what you were thinking, I think it best if we standby for this one."

Horrified by the implication, Celestia looked down at EKG, his expression a bit hopeless with his last words.

"I've never lost a patient before, but if this leak isn't fixed, even if he does come out of his coma, he likely won't survive. He’ll succumb to even greater inflammation or plenty of other complications… His life now rests in her hands. And you’ll have to excuse me. The family of the patient has been waiting for an update. I’m unsure of how to explain this to them since they haven’t been allowed to see him."

Disheartened by the news, Celestia took to the observation deck. When she entered, the typical collection of doctors and nurses could be seen, as well as many of her guards. More than likely, they had chosen to stay behind after being relieved.

Not wanting to create a commotion, she stuck to the shadows in the back. Unfortunately, that exposed her to some colorful commentary from staff and guard alike.

“This is barbaric,” one nurse commented to a doctor.

The doctor looked on with a mix of intrigue as well as disgust.

“In all my years, I can’t believe this is allowed in Equestria. Blood is supposed to remain in the body. And yet… rumors have it that this human helped save her friend who had a blood-related injury. Some of the guards have mentioned just using magic to cure him. They won’t say much, but it sounds as if her friend had her body opened as well, and she was at the delegation that just ended. So maybe there is something to this new method of medicine.”

Down below, Becky called out.

“Stop! Right there. Push down very gently where you just were.”

The whole observation deck leaned closer to the glass, drawn like moths to the flame for this newest update.

“Right there. That’s it… Now move it up."

Having more than a slight height advantage, Celestia could see over the many heads peering in and saw Redheart holding a thin rod in her hoof. It was like a pointing wand, but with a bulbous rounded tip. She seemed to be pressing it into the hole cut from Swift Hoof’s skull, giving rise to another announcement from Becky.”

“That’s it. Mark it. A three-millimeter portion of the dura mater looks to have been perforated by either the initial cut or bone frays.”

Relieved, Becky pulled away from the microscope to address a very optimistic Doctor Horse.

“Doctor, Red has the damaged area marked. Cauterize the punctures just like you did with the bleed, and we can close this up. Red, help me smooth out the edges of the extracted bone, so we don’t have a repeat of this, and then get ready with the pins to hold it back in place.”

Off to Celestia’s right, a dull thud of hoof meeting some pony’s rib cage preceded a grunt and a smug response from an Earth pony mare guard.

“I told you she was trying to stop his brains from leaking out," she whispered snidely. "He needs his brains still in his head so he can confess to his crimes, dummy."

Celestia recognized the guard as Rossby Wave. That meant she was once again getting rough with her squad friend Winter Maple, the pegasus mare currently rubbing her ribs.

"Shut up," she hushed back. "What was I supposed to think? Her friend is the reason he's in here to begin with. And not even the higher-ups trust them."

Another friend of their squad, a unicorn stallion guard, Chiller Snap, leaned in to instigate.

"What about Twilight, Cadance, and Luna?"

Winter Maple held her hoof to her side and rolled her eyes, grinning like that question only helped her point of view.

"Oh, please. Twilight was sent to tame the humans like she does every other creature she thinks she can trust. And Cadance is just there to help since she's all about love. That's why Shining was there, too. He'd stop any of them if they got out of control. But Luna?" She said the name like it was a joke. "She surrounds herself with bat ponies. What's seven more weirdos to her? She probably wants to date one. Didn’t you see how eagerly she waited to dance with them at the delegation?"

Chiller Snap dropped his hoof on Winter Maple's helmet, just hard enough to drop it down over her eyes.

"Yeah, we all saw it. Did you see Celestia dance with the one Sergeant Major Bat Pony Lover Cutter and her daughter were all over? I'm glad I didn't get assigned to them."

At that, Celestia took her leave. She would deal with her guard after Becky.

After some patient waiting outside the operating room, Celestia was promptly greeted by a warm welcome from Becky.

"Princess, we did it! We had a small complication from the skull extraction, but we solved that too. Hopefully, with some time, the swelling will go down, and he'll be ready to answer your questions, and then we get this all done and over with."

Rainbow was still just as closely attached to Becky's hip, as usual, boasting about her ward.

"You should have been there. EKG got all squeamish and clumsy, but Becky was as cool as a sonic-rainboom. She didn't even flinch once."

This might be the last warm encounter from any human for a long while, and for Becky to save yet another life, Celestia would be eternally grateful. In fact, the notion that things would be so irreparably changed compelled her to close the distance and embrace Becky completely. Both forelegs wrapped around Becky, and both wings cradling her closely.

It was selfish, and even Becky's hands that fell to her back were a painful reminder of the comforts Sniff had given her. She didn't deserve Becky's trust any more than she did the dance, but perhaps this could be taken to the others as a small step forward.

"I cannot thank you enough. You may have saved more than just his life today. And for that, you will be justly compensated."

Becky gave a few more soft pats in the awkward embrace, unsure where all this affection was coming from.

"I can't take all the credit. Doctor Horse and Nurse Redheart are the real heroes of this."

Speaking of those two, Doctor Horse trotted out, happy to share the good news.

"Simply incredible! Today! We saved a life! Not from monsters with our bravery, nor wizards with our intellect. Today, it was medical science the likes only Miss Landon could provide."

Pulling away from the hug, Celestia put on her most convincing smile. Had she not ruined things earlier, this could have been grounds for celebration. Now, instead, she would take no part in it.

"Thank you all," she lovingly spoke to them. "Truly, I am in your debt. Unfortunately, I have a very large mess to clean up and would not dream of keeping you any longer. So, please. Be off with you, but please send Shining Armor up to Swift Hoof's room before you all leave together. I must speak to him in private concerning this matter."

Shining knocked before letting himself into Swift Hoof’s room. Celestia hadn't answered, sitting next to the bed waiting for Shining to arrive.

"Close the door behind you. I wish to ask a favor."

Not expecting anything to be wrong, Shining closed the door behind him, expecting this to be some informal question about one of his former guards.

Instead, Celestia was uncharacteristically straightforward.

"Miss Landon has done us an incredible favor by lending her assistance with the operation and increasing Swift Hoof's chances of survival. Not only that, her confidence has greatly improved because of it. However, my last interaction between Cerberus, Benny, and Chris has greatly damaged our mutual relations."

Still being on good terms with the Solar Guard, Shining had been clued in on Spearhead's impromptu inquiry and could only assume that was the cause.

"Oh, no. What happened?"

Celestia lowered her gaze away from Shining, having no desire to further address this topic in her state of humiliation.

"My opinion of the events is of little consequence. My only request is that you usher Becky and Rainbow away to celebrate her achievement. My failures should not prevent Becky from fully appreciating her own promising future. When she is secure, find Cerberus and the others. They will tell you of what happened. Then, please, ask that they not ruin Becky's special moment."

She gave a heavy sigh, staring at Swift Hoof, still motionless in his bed. More of the weight of what was pending, shifted on her shoulders to bear.

"That is the only favor I ask, but as a courtesy to your former guard, let Swift Hoof's family know that I shall be with him until he wakes. Once I have spoken to him, they will be free to visit with him... That is all."

Knowing there was more to Celestia than she liked to let on, Shining decided not to push for more information. That, combined with the mistrust that had already existed between her and the others over the humans, made it more complicated. The more neutral he appeared, the better off he would be to help in the future.

"I'll do what I can, Princess."

And with that, Shining left Celestia to watch over the fallen guard.

After an unexpected knock at the door, Trixie was surprised to see Sunburst with Flurry Heart had decided to make an impromptu visit.

"Uhh... What do you want? No human is home."

Unfazed by the somewhat rude reaction, Sunburst pushed up his glasses, he took a good look over Trixie. She was wearing a black shirt with "Slayer" written in red letters over the front atop a human skull wearing some kind of battle helmet. The shirt didn't go along with the human-sized bathrobe and her hat, making him wonder what he was walking into.

"Oh, no-no. I know they're not back yet, but our little princess has been rather fussy without her human dollies to play with. I was hoping to find some other foals for her to play with, but they are busy planning a welcome home party... Kind of strange to plan a party when they've barely been gone for three days, but they recommended I bring her here for a movie?"

It wasn't like Trixie was some socialite, but even she had to admit that watching movies by herself was getting boring. There was also the fact that it wasn't quite late enough to start drinking, so why not let them in.

"Fine, but I'm picking the movie. If you don't know what you're looking for, you might end up with a movie where humans go to space and have an alien burst out of their chest."

She shuttered and turned back to lead them to the living room, still not entirely over that scene.

"Fuck that movie, and fuck that alien. I'm never going to space."

Both Flurry and Sunburst cringed at that.

"Yeah, I was hoping for something more foal friendly," Sunburst weakly recommended.

Not even slowing down, Trixie figured she had a good idea of what to recommend.

"Well, I was going to try another action movie. Those are lots of fun to watch if you don't mind a lot of humans dying."

"I do," Sunburst protested sharply.

"Dolly!" Flurry doubly protested, unfazed by the mention of death.

Not at all bothered by the demands, Trixie went straight to sorting through the animated section.

"Dogs, cats that can't dance, mice, dogs and cats, a lama, certainly not making the same mistake I did about the deer movie... Stupid hunters... Another dog... That was really good, actually. Oh! Here we go. I had this one on my to-watch list.

Flurry's eyes lit up at the beautifully drawn box cover.

"Dolly?"

Slowly catching on to the foal's innocent charm, Trixie rolled her eyes as a large smile started to grow.

"No-no. No Dollies here, Princess. This is The Princess and the Frog."

The room quickly filled with gleeful laughter of a clueless yet excited foal Princess. And after a whistling musical intro from a boat-driving cartoon mouse, the movie began.

Like any adolescent that young, Flurry was drawn into the cartoon world's colors and soft imagery. For Sunburst, he was more amazed as to how an illustration could have such fluid movement.

"This is incredible. And the music… How many more movies do they have like this?"

Trixie looked between the mass of cases with movies and harddrive that she still had issues navigating.

"I dunno. Probably hundreds? And hey. This is the first cartoon with a guy that looks like Lumberman… Sorta."

In a fit, Flurry turned to silence the two.

"Shh!"

While usually, that would have sent Trixie off, she could respect the foal's dedication to staying focused on the show. Plus getting into an argument with a foal of all things was far beneath her… probably.

So, if further conversation was off the table, she levitated up a bottle of Disaronno and took a sip before passing it to Sunburst.

"Here," she whispered. "Take small sips or mix it with cola. You'll love it, and maybe later tonight we can get into the heavier stuff."

A small carriage adorned in pink and gold, drawn by crystal Earth ponies, pulled up in front of the hospital. Shining quickly recognized it as his own, meaning Cadance had arrived. No sooner did the door open, he could see she wasn't alone.

"Justin? What happened? Celestia told me to-"

"Where's Becky and Dash?" Cerb demanded.

That could have been a little more friendly, but Shining was ready for bad news by the way Celestia left things. He'd have to approach this gently.

"Becky and Dash went out for dinner to celebrate with Nurse Redheart and Doctor Horse, Lumberman, and Applejack for the successful operation for Swift Hoof. Can one of you tell me what happened? Celestia said your relations with her were damaged but wouldn't say anything else. What happened?"

Cadance gently laid a hoof on Cerb's shoulder to ease him back into his seat, then turned to Shining with a pitiful look of remorse.

"Celestia's behavior was worse than we thought. Please take us to where Becky is, and we'll explain everything on the way."

The ride to the restaurant wasn't a distant one, but the slow trot from the guard gave them plenty of time to explain things to each other. Cerb and Cadance felt terrible for not having the tolerance to join Becky to celebrate a feat that might have been impossible anywhere else. Just the same, Shining felt a knot tighten in his gut for having enforced such standards while serving as Celestia's captain.

At the end of it all, they did agree that despite Celestia's prior behavior, she was right about not robbing Becky of this monumental occasion. They would let things die down and pick up the next day with cooler heads.

That, of course, left Shining to continue without the rest of the group. He was instead given a string of excuses as to why the others wouldn't be joining Becky. None of them were actual lies, but an omission of the truth didn't sit well, all things considered, but Cerb knew better.

"Give Becky my best, and be sure to apologize for the rest of us."

Shining nodded, but the event had already been ruined for him. Much the same, Cerb felt a little empty inside, leaving Shining to do this solo.

Now Cerb had to kill some time with Cadance until they made it to the spa.

"I don't really get it. Not just Celestia not trusting us, me maybe, but all of us? And with how good Fluttershy and others are with helping remove hostile behaviors of others, why would she not want us getting close?"

Cadance slowly shook her head, even now visibly wounded by what she had witnessed.

"I don't know. And to be honest, it had started to concern me enough that I came out to Canterlot early to address her concerns, but she refused to share them with me. I've... never seen her so closed off before. No matter what I said or how hard I pleaded. I even tried to instigate an argument with her, hoping she would admit anything to me."

She looked up; more of the realities of how little help or influence she had provided continued to weigh down on her.

"I had hoped that with the beginning of the delegation that something had changed. The way she catered to you all? Tending to Becky with us, offering up all her services, kindly greeting all of you... She even danced with Peter."

Not even Cerb could deny how friendly Celestia had been since he arrived. Perhaps even going back farther to when Applejack was injured and he took over for Becky? Maybe there was a lot he had overlooked.

"We're all strangers to her. And to be fair, some of us can be viewed as extremely dangerous. Especially me and Benny. Add on finding out that seven creatures from another dimension summoned to be the weapons of their destruction were hooking up with their top warriors that defend her kingdom... Her whole planet. Then we pull one of her prisoners out for questioning without her approval-"

"None of that matters," Cadance interjected. "You're no strangers to us, and we're the ones in charge of ensuring your safety while you're here. Besides, you and Benny are no threat to us. You, more than any other, have proven that we are safer with you protecting us. Encouraging Fluttershy and everypony else who has been motivated to be better at your side. And Celestia has no grounds to complain about Spearhead being brought out for questioning."

For the first time, Cadance sat back in her seat, her sadness giving way to a wave of defiant anger.

"Aunty and Luna both share control over the guards while in Canterlot. That goes the same for disciplinary actions. It was a sign of trust she gave Luna when she returned. So there was no violation of decorum by her supervising your questioning of any guard involved."

She turned to Cerb, some of her angry glare not yet leaving while she spoke with firm authority.

"My guard... You can train them, can't you?"

Cerb stared blankly for a moment. It wasn't as if he hadn't already planned on training others when he got to the Crystal Empire, but her whole guard?

"It isn't as if Shining hasn't done well on his own," she added. "But Aunty's foolish views of looking stronger than she really is to keep the peace is clearly only as effective as the guard's lack of training."

That was a tall order. One small group getting trained for specialized warfare was already a heavy load, but an entire force tasked with protecting a kingdom? That was going to be very involved.

"I'll offer what help I can," Cerb suggested. "I'm already doing a lot."

Cadance facehoofed, only now remembering all the plans she had for him.

"Right. Right... I'm sorry, Justin. I've just had so much going on trying to plan for you and Becky, dealing with Celestia, all these new dangers, Twilight and the others finding their special somehumans, and Shining is trying so hard to help me with... with my-"

In this moment of finally having Cerb alone, Cadance couldn't bring herself to open up about her selfish desires. The timing was nothing short of inappropriate, if not dismissive of all the hardship weighing down on Cerb and his friends.

For now, she would have to stay focused on him, despite how much she knew she wanted it and the tears now building up.

"I'm sorry, Justin. There's just so much we've been putting into making sure everything will be situated for you and Becky with us. I even went as far as neglecting to disclose my plans to Celestia about the training you'll be conducting. I should have known better if I was already worried about her reaction. Just please know I never thought her behavior was this... this... Gah! I don't even know how to apologize for this, and I'm not sure how much more I can take."

Cerb hated seeing her like this. Her face buried in a handkerchief, slowly breathing in and out to hold back from sobbing or completely breaking down.

Since meeting her, he had felt much the same towards her as he did towards Rarity and Fluttershy. There was so much trust and closeness he felt from her warmth and affection.

She didn't deserve this type of added stress, and Cerb knew of only one thing he could do.

While trying to collect herself, she felt the empty space of her seat next to her fill and Cerb's arm fall around her back. Soft, strong, warm, and again lousy timing to try and get him this close... if not closer.

"No, Justin, please. I can't accept this when you've already done so much, and Celestia has-"

Not wanting to hear any further complaints, Cerb pulled Cadance against his chest, having her lean against him from shoulder on up as he held her.

"Come on, Candy. You had nothing to do with any of this outside of trying to help. I'm not mad at you... If anything, I feel bad about driving a wedge between you and your aunt."

Any attempt to pry herself away would have been futile, and Cadance surrendered herself to Cerb's care.

Buried in his scent, safe in his arms, and so close she could have effortlessly forced herself into his lap, but this was good just as it was.

"I should have warned you like I warned Celestia that she was acting foolish... But what did she mean by your teeth? What does she think you are?"

Earlier, this might have set Cerb into a mini-panic, trying to think of how to explain things. However, with her, she deserved the benefit of the doubt even if there were some risks involved.

"Humans, by nature, are omnivores where we come from, but we gave that up since we got here. That's why I eat so many eggs with my meals."

Like any good princess/mother, at least one question had to be asked.

"You don't by any chance happen to eat-"

"No," Cerb answered like it had been scripted for him. "We don't eat ponies. Yes, some humans back on our world do, but it's rare and I promise you we don’t. And we already gave our word to Twilight that we won't eat any creature while we're here and would use lethal force as only a last resort. You have nothing to worry about."

Resting much easier, Cadance took a deep breath of Cerb's scent. She couldn’t even imagine him doing something so savage, even if he was a killer in his former life. Here, he was different, a protector.

"I'm not worried. I know your world is different from ours. You also said we're different from the ponies of your world... Do you miss it?"

That question took Cerb by surprise. He hadn't been asked that by anyone else.

"I won't lie. I do miss a lot of the food I used to eat, but the food here is more than good enough that it's not an issue. I'm not starving; I tell ya that much."

Cadance gave a slightly nervous laugh at that but was otherwise unphased.

"You won't have to worry about food while you're with me. We'll take good care of you. Whatever you need, whatever you want, so long as we're taking care of each other... but I might ask for some other help from you... Something I don't think others could possibly help with... If you're willing to open up to me about it."

Feeling comfortable enough to trust Cadance, Cerb continued his gentle coddling and strokes down the back of her neck.

"I've already told you a lot, but whatever you want, just ask."

That was a great start to working her way closer to the physical intimacy she desired, but now still wasn't the time. Truthfully, there simply wasn't enough time left even if she wanted to start. Judging by the familiar scenery, she could see through the thin parting of the curtains covering the windows in her carriage, they were close.

"It can wait for now. We're just about there."

The carriage came to a halt, and Cadance reluctantly pulled herself away from Cerb. She took a moment to clean up her appearance and dry her eyes. If nothing else, just that little bit of time with Cerb certainly did make her feel better, along with increasing her appreciation for what he had to offer. However, another surprise came as the door was opened, and she was greeted by Cutter.

"Pardon me, Princess, but given recent events, I'd rather not alert the Solar Guard of our search for Twilight and Peter. Given that, I would like to ask Justin if he could think of where to look for him."

Cerb slowly stepped down to the street, trying to think how well he knew his friend and how he would best work his magic.

"Well, shit... He only briefly mentioned that he was supposed to meet up with Top Shelf. Didn't even hint at what he had planned... But knowing him, I think I know one place he might stop if he hasn't heard about what happened."

Cutter tilted her head, her mind struggling to predict what logic these humans operated on.

"If you guess this right, I'm taking you to Las Pegasus?"

After watching the unlikely bonding and nearly ruined romance between the two humans turned to frogs, a sudden turn for the worse in this animated feature, the ponies found themselves huddled together. The heartbreaking crunch from under The Shadow Man's shoe left the movie-goers bawling their eyes out.

"RAY!" Flurry cried out as she hid her face in Trixie's robe.

Fairing no better, Sunburst squeezed even tighter around Trixie as he cried.

"Why would you make us watch this!?"

"I don't know!" Trixie whaled. "I hate the Shadow Man so much!"

Walking out of a fine jeweler store, Starlight was beyond gracious for the gifts she now had stored in her saddlebag.

"I can't thank you both enough for buying these. I had to borrow some of Twilight's to make copies of phone devices and start my prototypes for the power boxes. With these ones, though, it'll be much easier making copies for both of you and the rest of the girls."

Vinyl turned down her headphones and shrugged with her typical grin.

"Don't worry about it, baby-cakes. Us girls gotta stick together, and that song you played earlier was pretty banging. You got some killer vocals."

Octavia, trying to be cute, brushed her tail against Vinyl's, joining her side just outside the shop.

"And by us girls, do you mean music lovers or human lovers?"

That was cute, but Vinyl would have liked a little more openness with their flirting. She leaned in, shoulder to shoulder and cheek to cheek.

"Don't forget she's a fellow mare lover, too."

Still wanting a little more, Vinyl made a quick turn of her head to steal a quick kiss from Octavia.

The shock had Octavia freeze for a moment, but she quickly hunkered down and tucked her tail between her legs along with her ears folding back. The blush on her face just made the display all the more adorable.

"Vuheye-null~ You're embarrassing me. I'm not ready to be so open in public."

It took all the strength Starlight had to keep her amusement down to only a few giggles. The way Octavia shied away from openly admitting how much she enjoyed a mare’s intimacy wasn't too different then what some of her girls experienced. Seeing it again with another couple was still cute, but she had high hopes for these two.

"Okay, girls. Let's not make a scene. And Vinyl, don't feel like you need to keep on initiating more romance. We all know how she really feels about you. Just give her a little more time to get comfortable with seeking out your affection, and before you know it, you'll be chasing her out from under your tail no matter where you go."

Both musical mares laughed together at the suggestion. Neither believed that much openness possible for Octavia to become such an exhibitionist: Octavia, most of all.

"Oh, Starlight. Thank you for that. And while we're with Ben, I do tend to relax a lot more. It's only when just the three of us are together in private that I become as adventurous as you have become." An unexpected sight caught her eye down the street. "Speaking of our special somehumans, here comes ours now."

After seeing the large group accompanying Chris and Benny, Starlight raised a hoof to signal them over.

That instantly got the group's attention, but little did she know that their girls' day out was about to be cut short.

Celestia sat in silence, save the muffled crunches of yet another nutty butty bar she couldn't stop herself from nervously eating. The clock on the wall said over an hour had passed since the operation had ended. One of the nurses had mentioned that anesthesia would take at least forty-five minutes to wear off. However, it could still take days, including his condition.

"Emm." A painful groan came from the bed, alerting Celestia that Swift Hoof was finally waking up. "Oww-Oww-Ow... Where am I? Spear-emmm. Oww."

Celestia laid her wings over Swift Hoof's shambling limbs with the softness of a mother's touch.

"Calm down," she spoke under a comforting hush. "You're in Canterlot Hospital. You suffered some terrible injuries, so try not to move and be careful when you speak. Your jaw was fractured... But I need you to tell me what happened at the Apple Farm."

Swift Hoof's eyes started to search the room, yet he focused on nothing they came across.

"My head really hur... Ahh... My face... It hurts to breathe. Princess... Where's my squad? We found a human. Female. She attacked... Stallion. Red. Earth Pony... Applejack's brother, I think... I... I tried to stop her. She screamed. Mmm. Mind control. Red stallion... He-"

"Shh, not so loud," Celestia quietly hushed. "Is that what you remember? You saw a human attack Big Macintosh? Why did she attack him?"

Swift Hoof continued to search the room with only his eyes. He was still scared. Likely as frightened as the reports claimed he was at the farm.

"Everything is dark and blurry," he frantically stated in the brightly lit room. "Princess... I think he... Big... Big Mac... We found Applejack. He tried to sneak her away. Human... She tried to escape, but you said you neeee- Oww-Emmph! My head really hurts."

It was just as Cerb had screamed at her. Swift Hoof had panicked at the sight of Kelly and assumed that her attempt of running to Big Mac for rescue was an attack. Now she had to accept that maybe this really was partially her fault. She owed him and many others a lot of apologies.

"Swift Hoof, I need you to stay calm and try to rest. Your family is here, and there is a lot to be explained."

The request was all but ignored.

"Spearhead-emmn," he groaned in pain again. "Iron Sparks. They were hit-"

Celestia gave a firm squeeze around his hoof, reminding him to listen.

"They are both... They are not here right now. You need not worry about them, but they are worried about you. So, rest up, and you'll see them soon."

It took another minute or two, but he finally did calm down, granting her the chance to leave.

When she made it down to the waiting area, her heart nearly fell out of her chest at who she saw with EKG and the grieving family.

"Mister James,” A grieving Earth pony weeped. “What are we going to do? I'm sure he never meant to do any harm. He's a good pony-"

Swifty and Cutter stood guard behind Sniff as he held a mare’s hoof softly in his hands, still comforting her as she tried to reason on her son's behalf.

"Misses Hoof, Sergeant Major Cutter has explained to me what was discovered in the last inquiry. Sunset Shimmer is a very dangerous sorceress, and Swift Hoof agreed to step up and defend his kingdom. What happened was an accident on both sides. And these blood-related injuries are still not fully understood by your doctors. The important thing is that my friends were able to figure out what happened. Both to clear his name as well as to give him the best fighting chance to bounce back from this."

As the mother moved to dry her eyes, she caught sight of who had just walked in.

"Princess Celestia! My baby! Where is he?!"

Celestia bowed low, her grief taking over stronger than her fear of approaching Sniff.

While she would have expected herself to be angry, everything she heard ended up leaving her feeling empty instead.

"Gentle Hoof. I am terribly sorry that you have had to wait so long. Doctor EKG, would you please escort them to his room while I converse with Mister James?"

EKG promptly started to lead them out. Two younger ponies, likely a brother and a sister, joined Gentle Hoof at her side. In their rush, however, the mother stopped and bowed before Celestia.

"Please forgive my son. Mister James explained everything to us. It was an honest mistake, but thank you for allowing the humans to help save my baby boy."

Celestia bowed again, more insult to injury to have someone else acting in her stead.

"This matter will be dealt with accordingly and with the understanding of what Mister James has likely informed of you taken into consideration."

Gentle Hoof rose again and started towards the exit again. A mother's worry and love still shedding tears of hope as she trotted away with her younger two.

"Thank you again, Princess. All of you, thank you for all of your help. And Top Shelf, I'm so sorry this interrupted your date. Mister James seems like a lovely young stal- uh, human."

Celestia turned to the corner of the room where Top Shelf was sitting by herself. A well-deserved nervous smile shared from her direction.

"No need to apologize. I hope Swift Hoof has a speedy recovery."

After the clopping of hooves fell off into the distance, Cutter and Swiftly moved defensively in front of Sniff. Yet another insult to Celestia.

"Please, stand down," Celestia weakly requested.

Sniff could already see how this looked and jumped to his feet to explain himself.

"Princess, this is not what you think it is. I came here with Top Shelf and Swift Sails looking for Becky but Cutter found me first and let me know what happened earlier today. On the way out, Misses Hoof recognized Cutter from when Swift Hoof was still with the Solar Guard and begged us for help."

Not backing down or lowering her guard, Swifty spoke up to defend Sniff.

"If anything, Peter saved every creature involved a lot of yelling and screaming. He wanted to help, and in doing so, calmed her down. She even thinks you were involved in helping Swift Hoof’s name getting cleared of attempted murder."

Cutter nodded, still not trusting Celestia as much as Sniff seemed to.

"As a mother myself, I could only imagine what she must have been going through all this time. Thankfully Peter has a way of helping ponies see things more clearly. And while perhaps a bit of a stretch, telling her there are other dangers involved that he couldn't speak of, as well as the mysteries of these blood-related injuries, I'd wager he saved this whole situation from turning into a much larger conflict."

And that was Sniff’s cue to step in again, as he literally stepped out between them.

"What they mean to say is that I gave this the best spin I possibly could without having to lie to make anyone look good. Or bad for that matter. I didn't bring up his training or any of that. That's for you to explain, but I did the best I could, given only a quick explanation from Cutter before getting rushed by his family. And I'm sure we both know how terrible things would have looked had I just ignored her and walked out. That would have helped neither of us and only made it worse if I just snubbed her like that."

Even if Celestia was Cutter's superior, she held no reservations for sticking up for the Princess.

"Peter, you owe no explanation further than what she has for her own actions."

That was it. Pretty had enough.

"Girls!" Sniff shouted with his hand raised in surrender. "Please... You're not helping."

Things had gone too far, the bias on both sides was only making things worse. Now, for the first time, Sniff was mad.

"Could you give me and Celestia a moment?"

Both Swifty and Cutter froze. They could feel his anger, and while it wasn't as strong as Cerb's, they didn't wish to fuel it further.

"As you say," Cutter surrendered. "Come, Swift Sails. We can trust Peter in knowing what he's doing."

The two guards stepped out, leaving Celestia to confront yet another issue she created.

"Go on. Speak your mind. I'm sure you've identified yet another shortfalling I am to be lectured and shouted down for."

This was so messed up, and Sniff didn't even know how to begin to approach this debacle. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to restrain his initial thoughts of simply appeasing this royally messed-up mare.

"I should have been more direct earlier at the delegation. I know you don't want us here-"

"I never said-"

"I heard you talking to Luna," Sniff quickly interrupted her interjection, looking directly in the eye. "You both argue too loud, but that's beside the point. We're stuck here, for now, you dumped us onto Twilight to take care of, ignored us for weeks, told your guards not to trust us, but then put on this song and dance like you were happy to see us, but you're weren’t. Somehow, Twilight knew that, and Luna too, and now everyone knows it."

Having covered so much, he took a moment to scrape together something worth sharing to save this.

"But I get it... We’re strange, full of problems, but we're also too well-liked and have caused some critical matters to change too fast for everyone to keep up with... And you... You've been stuck out here, totally detached from us... Why would you trust us? How could you when you're busy running a country, and all you see is everypony else busy fawning all over us?"

The look on Celestia's face said everything he needed to know about how surprised she was to hear him say that.

"Yes! I know! And I'm not saying it was easy. We had to overcome a lot of insecurities and grapple with our fears to put ourselves out there enough to make this kind of impact... But you can bounce back from this."

Celestia went blank at words of hope.

"What? You're not going to yell at me or storm off?"

Sniff shook his head, a slight let down that he was having this much trouble with her still.

"No. We still need you involved in a lot of things coming up. Because, like it or not, you are still the leader of all this. So, do what you’ve got to do with your guards, help Swift Hoof’s family upstairs, and give us some time to let tempers die down, and then I'll try to figure something out."

Celestia was still stupefied, lost as to why any human was willing to associate with her.

"If you don't mind me asking... Why are you helping me?"

Falling back into stride, Sniff smirked and straightened out his clothes.

"Benny runs the show, Chris is our legal and brony expert, Cerb's military, Lumberman's infrastructure, Becky's medical, Kelly... Um... I guess we're still working on that one, but I handle public relations and maintaining a positive image. For example, you shouldn't leave Gentle Hoof and her family waiting."

That was right. Celestia had been sidetracked, and Sniff had made his point.

"I suppose I shouldn't leave them waiting like this. However, when cooler heads prevail, I'll await your correspondence to mend our relations. And... don't you have a date with Oven Fresh's friend you should be getting back to?"

That could have been a friendly reminder or a... maybe a playful jab at his philandering ways? Either way, she wasn't wrong.

"Right you are, Princess. I just hope this didn't ruin the evening. I actually wanted to check up on Becky. Top Shelf was curious about what all we were doing here and offered to help motivate her."

Carelessly, he shrugged.

"Guess I'm becoming predictable."

The two walked out together, finding Cutter, Swifty, and Topsy standing by the door. Two standing guard, the other waiting for her date, sporting a lovely smile.

"Don't you worry your handsome little face off, Peter. This stop just reminded me of the kind of human I'm lucky to have tonight. And Princess, Peter is great at helping ponies and humans get along. I'm sure he'll fix everything in no time."

She turned and raised her hoof to be escorted out.

"Come on now. Let's go shopping. I have a lot more of Canterlot to show you. If you like, we can try out some new combinations of ingredients to see what flavors we come up with. Then, we'll finish off the night with something really special."

Cutter knew what that meant, and for standing alongside Sniff, she couldn't help but feel a little envious.

"You two enjoy yourselves. Swifty, be sure to watch over them. I need to report to Twilight, but if anything important comes up, I'll be sure to find you."

The three left, allowing Cutter to speak briefly with Celestia. She was calm but steadfast in her stance.

"As a courtesy to Peter, I'll be sure Princess Twilight knows that you were receptive to Peter's offer. However, I recommend you make good on your word. She is very protective of him and those he holds dear. Losing her support would mean losing the support of all the Elements, and that would be very unwise."

Celestia stood tall and smiled back. Somehow looking much more confident.

"Sergent Major, I'll have you know aside from one comment about potentially soiling himself, Peter has always been my favorite... Well... there is an adorable charm to Becky as well. Such a sweet thing that she is. But regardless. For such a creature to tame the anger of the infamous Cutter, as well as the flame of her daughter?... After all that's happened through Peter's intervention, I'd wager he could move mountains with his words and warm the winters with his charm."

Celestia started off down the hall, regaining some of her royal flow.

"Tell Twilight that I am no stranger to failure and will make amends when the time comes... Public relations are very important to me, so I look forward to working with Mister James in the future."

Flying back from the hospital, Cutter circled down with the rest of her troops and quickly trotted up to Cerb and Benny.

"Justin, my boy, you were right about Peter. Although, surprisingly, after finding him and informing him of what happened, I was recognized by Swift Hoof's mother-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Cerb groaned, dumping his face in both hands, already dreading what was coming.

"No-No," Cutter quickly cut off his disappointment. "He managed to explain things in such a way that he relieved her. She wanted to thank all of you for your help in finding the truth... Then Celestia walked in-"

"Gawd-damnit," Benny grumbled, turning away with his fingers digging into his hair.

Cutter glared with the appearance of a mother who ran out of patients, tapping her hoof, waiting for the boys to stop acting up.

Thankfully, they both got the message so she could continue.

"Celestia walked in while Peter was finishing up, but I can't help but feel that your behavior has dramatically affected her. She was restrained, if not even submissive to some degree from what I could hear. Although Peter appeared to have overheard an argument between Celestia and Luna and knew about her distrust towards you."

Benny rolled his eyes, raising his right hand to his forehead and sulking.

"And now he's playing peace-keeper... He's not coming back with us, is he?"

Cutter sighed, but not out of disappointment in the human she still viewed as her future son-in-law.

"No. He still intends to stick to his plans for the evening, but I have yet to locate Twilight. So, that could change, but if not, he still has Swift Sails with him."

"Oh, well, that makes a lot of fucking sense," Chris huffed aloud from behind.

The whole group turned to Chris, still examining his watch. Once he knew he was the center of attention, he lowered his hand, left standing as if he had stage fright.

"Sorry. I was checking the time and saw what day it was... Friday the thirteenth... Bad luck... Go figure."

And with that, Cerb had heard enough, stood up, and turned towards the tracks.

"Fuck it. Celestia gave us the boot, not them. Sniff and Twilight can hash out shit if they want, and Lumberman and Apple Hat can keep Becky company with Dash and Shining."

Chris turned to Starlight, realizing they were one mare short.

"Redheart is with them still. So, Doctor Horse is probably, too. I'm sure they'll be good company for each other, but yeah... Let's just head back for now. Sniff can handle this for us."

Discord had been busying himself with the repairs to the dimensional damages. Still, he had plenty of thinking to do as well. So, while it did stretch his control relatively thin, he was brainstorming with his doubles around a long business table.

"We can't see Harmony's influence unless we're close to it," one double stated.

Another double pushed his face forward into the conversation.

"But she can only see what we want her to see with our magic. We cancel each other out. Her strings against our chaos."

The real Discord lounged back in his executive chair, gloating to all the others.

"Yes. Harmony and I have enjoyed a wonderfully long game of cat and mouse with one another. But we do have the advantage of knowing all the heavy hitters in this game. That, and at least we know that just like us, Harmony can't locate the humans at all. Even better, since she's such a recluse, she doesn't know that three of her pieces are missing from the game entirely."

Another double pulled down the chart of all the most significant ponies to consider. This double grew a third arm to point at two in particular as he motioned to the others.

"We should focus on Twilight and Fluttershy. Twilight has the most influence over the other Elements, and Harmony can't unbind them from her power until they all break the spell of protection Harmony has over them."

Another double rose up and drew a large red circle around Fluttershy.

"And this cutie right here has the biggest anti-magic weapon to back her up. And by her, I mean us, by extension. We can destroy that thorny tree once and for all."

The main Discord leaned forward, an apologetic expression setting in deeper.

"Sadly, that option is no longer on the table."

Next to him, a long lever sprang up. He gave it one firm yank with his lion’s paw, causing a stack of papers labeled "DESTROY HARMONY" to fall through a trapdoor.

A series of buzzing blades and whirling machine noise rose up from the unseen depths, along with seven feet of flames.

"You see, dear me's, destroying the old Harmony was what I wanted in the pre-Nightmare Moon days. My last plan was merely to render her roots from this world useless, so I could seal away the Elements and humiliate her."

He raised a taloned appendage with a TV remote and clicked it.

From where he was pointing towards, that sent up the chart with the ponies and raised a new chart covered in TV static.

He clicked the remote again, replacing the static with a video of old rivals.

"Long ago, Harmony set up barriers to stop truly evil creatures from entering. A noble effort, but I removed the rest so I wouldn't be bothered playing with the ponies."

Demons, shadowy figures, giant beasts, a large goat with a bell around its neck had moments of showing their destructive powers, then Discord fast-forwarded through the rest of the video.

"Nothing but chumps, brutes, and mindless eating machines. If anything, the ponies should be thanking me for saving so many lives… Lives that would have been my playthings, but at least I know how to play with my toys WITHOUT breaking them."

The video sped through until nothing but the scrolling credits with only Discord's name reappeared over and over raced across the screen, and he had finished his point.

"Anyway," Discord announced as he hit the eject button, launching the chart off into nothingness, replaced with a pinata of Harmony. "We all know how amazing I am. And in keeping with my amazingness, Harmony should have her wings clipped-"

One of his doubles jumped up with a large stick in his grasp and a blindfold over his eyes. In mid-air, he stopped, lifted the blindfold, dropped the stick, and swung down with two machetes, severing the wings.

"-horn dulled-"

Another Discord jumped up with a sledgehammer, swinging it down on the horn. It flattened the horn, bulged out the eyes, and caved in the neck.

Discord snickered at the warped appearance of Harmony's pinata but reluctantly shooed away his doubles.

"Okay, that's enough. What I'm trying to say is that if we weaken her enough, she'll resort to her default position of isolating this realm and the protection she's given the inhabitants. Keeping them safe will ensure her survival but limit her reach."

He lifted a small concrete miniature of Harmony in his talons, holding it close like a scene from Hamlet.

"Not as limiting as my stone prison, but her parting will be such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good riddance until… never."

Not at all sad to see her go, he crushed the mini statue in his claws.

One of the doubles scooted closer to the table, his talons and claws tapping on the edge as he drummed his extensions.

"I know we're still playing dumb about the vines, but what else can we do about wearing down Harmony even further?"

That was a good question he finally got around to asking himself, but only one obvious answer could come to mind.

"Well, as much as I love the idea of breaking that crystal harpy's smug little construct apart, or even trimming her branches down to a stump, I can think of a more effective method. For now, it would be best to have her power go somewhere else that's safe. And knowing how Harmony likes to play favorites, especially with the type of protection she has over the Elements, we’ll have to exploit some weaknesses with making a pact."

The doubles slowly turned to one another, a devilish grin growing among them.

Celestia was finishing up running through the breakdown of her plan of what was to come, reading it back to herself.

“We will conduct a more thorough investigation to determine the best practices moving forward, conducting training for weapon issuing and… Gah… Perhaps I’ll need Peter’s help consulting with Miss Landon… I doubt their military experts would be willing to assist me any time soon.”

She lowered her quill, sighing deeply at the mountain of work that lay ahead of her. There was so much to do. Now, without the human’s help, she didn’t even know where or how to begin. Even her reflection in the mirror was frowning.

At a second glance, her mirror image was frowning while she was sulking.

“Don’t look so blue, Princess,” her reflection spoke in a noticeably more jovial tone.

The illogical speaking mirror made her jump back, tumbling out of her seat. A moment of abstract horror quickly faded as her reflection breached the barrier of glass, turning to show the true form of Discord, grinning like a know-it-all fool, aka himself.

“Blue is so much more of your sister’s color.”

This was the complete opposite of what Celestia needed, and her mood instantly soured.

“Discord,” she sneered. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Discord flashed out of view and reappeared with her notes, turning through page by page, sounding unusually chipper.

“You know, mending the tears in the dimensional walls has led me to believe that I really should be helping out a lot more. Perhaps you should do the same. Given all the new and exciting adventures have been… umm.”

After mindlessly skimming through the pages, Discord actually took notice of what he was reading.

“Tia, my dear… I was told about the attack that injured Applejack and Kelly and… Even the guard that attacked her had a blood-related injury? How bad have things been since I’ve been gone?”

In a sudden fit, Celestia took hold of her book with her magic and yanked it back.

“More than enough.”

The light-hearted approach wasn’t going to work for Discord, especially since even at a glance he could see how tense the Princess was. He was going to have to do something he didn’t want to do again…

Be serious.

“Tia… Do you remember the day I was freed from my stone prison? You had a plan for me getting out, didn’t you?”

Trying her best to not let Discord get to her, Celestia returned to the mirror desk with her book. If there was going to be any comparison between the events, she would remind him why her plan for his escape worked.

“I had a long time to prepare. Don’t think there weren’t other ways of returning you to my garden.”

He scratched his chest, trying to think of where he was taking this. Though that scratch felt curiously different. Perhaps some after effects from Fluttershy holding him left his construct feeling different?

Different?

Perhaps he had to think differently. Look for what he couldn’t see before. The threads that somehow tied everything together. There had to be some logic behind Harmony's interventions, that much he knew.

“Why the garden, Tia?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the question.

“The garden?”

Discord flashed out of view, reappearing in Celestia’s book, flipping to a new page he illustrated for her.

“If we’re both being honest, the first time you and Luna defeated me, it was because I didn’t expect you to actually be able to harness the Elements Of Harmony. Heck, I even posed because of how confident I was. Of course, after I was turned to stone, you were left alone shortly after.”

The scenery in the book showing the garden he was displayed in turned to night, and Nightmare Moon’s shadow was cast upon moon behind him, only angering Celestia further.

“Discord. I have no patience for-”

“Trophies?” Discord snidely interjected. “Aside from flaunting your palace for all to see, you're a rather modest pony. Yet you chose me to be the victory you showed off for all to see. None of your victories before me were saved to flaunt, and none after either. Why do you think that is?”

“You were no trophy.”

Turning the page for Celestia, a new scene focusing on the statue drew itself with ponies and various royal creatures coming and going.

“Not a trophy, yet for all those years, I was shown off for visitors from all sorts of other kingdoms in your world-famous garden of statues. Not flaunted, of course. You are rather modest, after all. Yet, during all those years-”

The scene from the day Discord escaped started to fill in on a new page turned for Celestia to see.

“-you never once opened up my display for the bickering, chaotic, noisy balls of fluff and angst that only foals can create until that day.”

“Confusion!”

“Evil!”

“Chaos!”

The three words from the Crusaders echoed as clear in the room as they did from his memory, followed by a question.

“Was that part of your plan?”

Celestia was about to slam the book shut but recalled her inspiration to invite the Ponyville school out to be the first to tour the garden. Or did she remember only being inspired enough to open his display for youngsters?

Not done, Discord could start to see how well-woven these strings had to have been strung. All the more fuel to begin a new page.

"And let's not forget about your sister's return? Your plan?... Twilight."

Another page turned, showing Discord sitting atop his throne in Ponyville.

"Then it was me."

Another page turned, showing the Elements of Harmony turning him to stone.

"Twilight."

Another page turned, drawn from the perspective of Discord looking out his bubble prison as he watched Twilight give up her powers to save him.

"Tirek?"

Another page turned, showing Twilight's return with the others to finally defeat Tirek.

"Twilight."

Another page turned, which this time stayed blank.

"And then you just stopped. Almost as if once Twilight started fixing problems before you could find them, you let her take over. And yet here you are— "

He drew a small picture of Celestia sitting alone in her room at her mirror desk.

"— upset with how Twilight and the others are taking over. Has the loss of power finally gotten to you? Stuck ruling Equestria while Cadance spends more of her time raising a family? Where your sister is more easily found in the dreams of others than her courts? And Twilight... Your star pupil. Your very own Princess that you molded into shape since she was a foal... Becoming soooo close-"

Celestia had seen enough and closed the book before she could see what would be drawn next, which would have assuredly shocked her.

"You made your point, Discord. I am shackled to my throne while everypony else is out there, living their dreams and having adventures… Even Luna has seen fit to include herself with the human affairs and has gained a new level of freedom that I have— “

A flash of realization appeared on her face as she opened up her book back to the page of her defeating Discord with Luna. Her expression was weary and empty. Like her life had passed her by and she was now forced to admit it.

“I have all but forgotten what it means to truly live. And if it makes you feel any better about yourself, I enjoyed the chaos my little ponies bring along with them.” She cracked a grin. “You would have loved to see the mess Peter made for me on the dance floor at the delegation. Ponies tripping over one another, falling out of step as they raced to win the spot at his side. A most enjoyable disaster.”

Now there was a story Discord wanted to hear more about, his snickers giving him away. Still, he had put aside such amusing distractions for what was most important so that he could get straight to the point.

Turning his body into that of a snake, he slithered his coils around Celestia. Snuggly, he wrapped himself around her until he was able to comfortably address her face to face.

Not entirely done, a dark glare of chaos magic shrouded the room from any observers. Near or far, mortal or construct, Discord was going to keep this portion short and confidential.

“Now I know what you must think of me, given my past reputation. I’m sure any offer I give you, you’d see me as the kind of villain to plant a yard of grass just so I could be the snake that hides within it.”

Uncoiling himself, he fell to the floor in front of her. His form rolled into a ball, enveloping himself in a white cloth that rose up in his typical form as he stood before her in an angelic robe. He even stood with a halo above his head that matched his innocent smile.

“And you’d be right.”

The halo vanished in a puff of smoke, and the robe burst into flames, scattering to ashes on the floor.

“However, if there’s one thing I can acknowledge where I’m a hypocrite, it’s that I hate others pulling the strings on me."

He twirled his lion's paw, wrapping a long string around his wrist that ended with a keychain figurine of Fluttershy that he caught in his paw. He clasped both paws around the figurine and shook it close to his ear, excited to hear it change. After a few good shakes, he opened his paws to reveal it had transformed into a figurine of Celestia. The strings now attached to the toy’s limbs so he could puppet it."

Celestia looked down at her hooves working a piece of clay and the strings of another Discord puppeteering her. Frustrated at the prank, she pulled her hooves back, breaking the strings, just as Discord had intended.

"Then again," Discord playfully jested. "I'm not the only one."

The tone was playful and sly enough that Celestia could tell he was trying to tell her something, and she looked back at the clay. A perfect recreation of a young unicorn Twilight.

"Of course," Discord went on to say. "When I'm pulling the strings, I make it a point to let my puppets know that I’ve been manipulating them. Makes the game more interesting when they can learn and make it more challenging. A more worthy opponent to make a victory all the more rewarding. I think if you ask Twilight and her friends, even my manipulation over them helped them grow stronger."

Reappearing in an artist's garb, Discord placed down more clay and began to add to the sculpture.

"You, however, never let your puppets know the game has even started."

That was an accusation too insulting for Celestia to take.

"I am no puppet master. You have no right to-"

Calling out her lie, Discord shoved the finished sculpture of Twilight as an alicorn in her face. Complete with a crown and her golden Twi-sceptre.

"Hmm, I suppose in some ways you’d be right. After all, the best puppet masters don’t even need strings to move their pieces into place."

The sculpture bowed, speaking in the voice impossible to not recognize.

"Good afternoon. My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's most faithful student. I do everything she asks of me. Even if I don't want to or if I'm actually terrified and unprepared."

The sculpture flew off, and Discord rushed into a side hug with his sun princess buddy.

"I know the game when it's being played, and you are a very sore loser at it. Although, I was wrong about your endgame. I thought you wanted a new champion of Equestria. Some pony to fight the fights you didn't want to dirty your pretty polished hooves with."

The clay Twilight flew down, blasting clay figures of Discord, Tirek, and changelings.

"Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. Turning enemies into allies, protecting your kingdom, and securing your spot on the throne."

He raised her book, looking over the notes written in private.

"But it's all too clear what you really want."

Celestia reached out and retrieved her book like a starving thief would steal a loaf of bread. Fearful and angry, she guarded it against her chest, but Discord wasn't done.

In fact, he was sympathetic.

"You have chosen a worthy successor… But then these seven strangers arrived and ruined all your plans, didn't they?"

He didn't need to recreate any of the humans’ images. The secret was more than self-evident at this point, and Discord turned the room into a sunny beach, placing both of them in reclining beach chairs under a sun umbrella.

Celestia looked around at her surroundings. The future she had dreamed of. A cold drink in her hoof, a thin blanket over her lap, and an unread book held open on her back leg, this was her dream.

Discord, lounging comfortably, took a drink and smacked his lips in approval.

"I have to admit, retirement would be well deserved for the likes of a pony who has worked as hard as you have for over a thousand years."

Suddenly, the ice-cold drink in her hooves turned into a gavel, her chair a throne, and the sands a well-polished marble floor. From the crashing waves, nobles and foreign leaders raced from the waters, shouting demands for her attention. The sunny sky grew dark and vanished behind her castle walls, then the clink of cold steel alerted her that her book was gone. Instead, a ball and chain had been clasped around her back hoof.

She was back in her throne room, the chains no longer metaphorically holding her there, but literally.

"No!"

With a snap of Discord's claws, it all disappeared, and she was back in her room. Only now, there was an obnoxiously loud clicking with each second that passed, coming from a tall grandfather clock of Discord.

"I want to make a deal before our time runs out."

The clock struck the next hour, and with its chimes, fell apart, crumbling to the ground. Springs, bolts and gears were tumbling around Celestia, and Discord rose from its remains.

"I'll make this simple. You agree to accept my help so you can retire, and I only ask for one thing in return, even if you don't like what I want."

Now here comes the catch. Celestia knew there was always a catch.

"What do you want from me?"

Discord filed his arms stubbornly, already knowing this wasn't going to go over well.

"As fun and exciting as these humans seem to be, I know you want to get rid of them, but Justin stays."

"What!?" Celestia shouted. "Out of all the humans. Why him!?"

Discord turned away with his head held high and snapped his claws, making the beach reappear.

"I have my reasons. Now, you can agree to accept my help and maybe make this work for your future’s sake. If not, I'm sure Twilight's help will be easier to acquire and only ensure the humans never get close to going back to their own world. Of course, being so attached to them, that would end up eating up all her time handling their affairs."

Celestia was stuck between having no reason to doubt him yet no reason to trust him. Then again, while he was heavily animated with his demonstration of her past, which he was right about, he didn't speak in riddles or make any outrageous requests.

Okay, maybe asking that the most dangerous of the humans to remain in Equestria was a bit outrageous if he knew she wanted him gone. Regardless, so long as she got what she wanted, one human could be easy to manage. Especially if she could use both Fluttershy's friendship and Cerb's destructive nature as leverage against Discord.

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed. "But only on the condition that we do not let any others come to know of our agreement so that Fluttershy or Justin would find out. If angered, I'm sure you would not fare so well if any human felt the urge to lash out at you."

Discord turned back, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Celestia in a new light.

"That's quite the threat to wager against a friend with mutual interests. Not to mention the only one able to help you right now." He shrugged. "But, who am I to blame you."

Accepting this was as good as they were going to get, he extended his claws out for her hoof.

"Justin stays even if the others are forced away in exchange for the power you need to allow Twilight into your throne. That is, so long as neither of us runs our mouths so that some third party could discover our agreement and end up informing Fluttershy or Justin. Fluttershy, I'm sure, would forgive me, and Justin seems like an understanding young fellow. So, hopefully, the throttling they give you would be as reserved as Onyx received. Are we in agreement?"

As it turned out, Discord did know more than he might have let on initially. Still, it wasn't anything Celestia didn't already know or could have foreseen. So, she raised her hoof to his paw.

"We are."

"Good," Discord said with a wicked grin, a flash of light glowing between them. "Oh! One minor detail I failed to mention."

He raised a pair of 3D viewing glasses, showing them off as he held Celestia in place.

"We have made a pact, and I fully intend on holding up my side of the deal. And like I said, I may be a hypocrite, but I won't be tolerating any strings on you either."

Celestia began to struggle, gently trying to pull her hoof free, then frantically trying to separate herself from Discord as he drew closer. When the glasses slid on and showed her another view of the world she never knew surrounded her, she was frozen. Shock and awe had rendered her at a loss for the moment.

"This is... Cadance had shared but only a fraction of-"

"You haven't seen anything yet," Discord snapped. "Now listen and learn. We don't have a lot of time, and if you don't learn what to look for, you'll ruin everything for me, which will break our pact."

Celestia looked down at her hoof. The strings of friendship and chaos twirling together until both strings swirled in unison with each other.

"Pact!? What pact!"

Time was precious, and Discord's impatience was growing, resolving to a roll of the eyes because Celestia even had to ask.

"You need power to get what you want. I need Justin to stay here to give Fluttershy what she wants. You back out or cross me, and I take your power to use and give away as I please so that I get what I want. If I don't help you to get the power you need, or allow you to lose it before you get what we agreed to, then I'll use all my power to send them home or die trying."

Celestia gasped, realizing the full implications of what was said.

"You can send them back to their world?"

Discord jerked her closer, mashing his nose against hers, staring her down into submission.

"Not right now! I'm too busy closing the rips between worlds! You don't know the terrors that await you out there. You probably weren't even old enough to remember the terrors Harmony kept at bay. The living nightmares I locked away. Knowing Harmony, she probably doesn't even want you to remember. But once the repairs are done—maybe. Maybe... if I use all of my power, that would be enough to bridge the gaps Trixie and Harmony crossed to bring them here."

Celestia blinked twice, realizing how serious he was.

"But... What if you can't bridge the gap?"

Discord bared his fangs under his burning red eyes that flashed before three glowing strings rose up behind him. Strings that already could be heard echoing suggestions.

"Whether I can or can't, if Fluttershy loses Justin because of me, I. Will. Die. Trying. Now shut up and listen. This is important. This is my plan."

Luna, of course, had taken Kelly back in the comfort of her bat pony-drawn carriage, leaving the rest to lament on the events of the day. Pinkie, in particular, had a lot of thinking she had to share.

"I still don't get it. We all had such an amazing time together. The delegation was superly awesome, the Werewolf Party was so much fun, and all the kingdoms are getting along. All because of you guys! And Becky totally saved that dummy guard's life! How can she not love all of you like we do?!"

Cerb, being the proverbial elephant in the room, didn't shy away from his own faults.

"Pinkie, she doesn't know us like you all do. Beyond that, she's right that I have been a danger. If not to myself, certainly to the rest of you. We're all dangerous in one way or another. Fuck... Had it not been for Benny bodying The Pony of Shadows, we'd be an even bigger liability."

Kühn, still being the newest, was out of the loop on that name.

"Shadow Pony? Is that dangerous bat pony?"

Gilda was also unfamiliar with that part of the story.

"Wait? I remember Rainbow Dash telling me about that name. Isn't that some kind of demon pony related to Nightmare Moon?"

Thankfully, the shock value had worn off from the others, and Octavia laid a comforting hoof on Benny's hand to spare him having to retell the story.

"Something like that. From what we know, he was behind summoning Benny and his friends to this world. It's believed he planned on using their fear and negative emotions to empower himself so he could destroy Equestria. Possibly the whole world."

Proud of her man, Vinyl plugged herself into the explanation.

"Yep. That was one bad pony. But our Benny here took him out before he could get the upper hoof and take him away from us."

She finished with a kiss on Benny's lips. Nothing more than a quick peck to cheer him up. Which it did.

"Yeah... Cerb is sorta right, though. Celestia runs the show here, and we walked in and complicated things with not nearly enough communication for her to understand what was all going on. To her, we're outsiders from a different country walking in and trying to run her army and her government. It wouldn't matter if what we were doing was right or for a good cause. We jumped the chain of command by questioning Spearhead."

Cadance had already explained that portion to Cerb, but now she had to explain it again.

"Luna shares the same authority over disciplinary actions to the guards. You three did nothing wrong today."

To that, even Cerb had to side with Benny, despite his feelings towards Celestia.

"She still should have been involved. Celestia does control the Solar Guard. She has every right to be pissed off about what we did, even with everyone else there... Doesn't change how I feel about her, though."

Unusually surprised, Rarity didn't expect Cerb to hold a grudge like that.

"You... Why though? You already said that you acknowledged what you did was wrong."

Cerb pulled Rarity in a bit closer to him, letting her nuzzle in under Fluttershy already cuddled up against him.

"How we did it was wrong. Everything from the top down under her control was mishandled. Her guard, minus present company, only seem to be disciplined while in front of her. They're sloppy and poorly trained. But I think what pissed me off the most was when she said I challenged Prince Rutherford to the arm wrestling match."

Fluttershy could see how that might have set him off. It bothered her enough that she shifted higher to nuzzle under Cerb's chin to confirm her view on the poor choice of words.

"She got it all wrong. You didn't challenge him at all. He challenged you."

Cerb gently stroked her neck, glad to have them so close to keep him calm, even though she got it only half right.

"I only accepted his challenge, but Kühn, don't take what Celestia said personally. She was mad at me and couldn't have been thinking straight."

Kühn nodded, staying calm despite the insult that had been cast at his kind so carelessly.

"Devil Dog great friend to yaks because he know yaks proud of our great strength, but yaks not think that our greatest attribute."

Cerb nodded back, but no one else knew what Fluttershy or Celestia got wrong. Probably the most lost was Gilda.

"It's not? But that's just about all you yaks talk about. Strongest this. Strongest that. Smash and... yeah."

On that note, Pinkie giggled, knowing the truth of the matter, now that it had been said like that..

"Yaks are best at smashing. They're really tough and strong too. But yaks don't view their physical strength as their most valuable attribute."

"Nope," Cerb said with a smile directed at Kühn. "Friends, family, and community. That's why every yak fights the same fight, even if it's in their own way."

Kühn puffed up his chest, sitting tall and proud in this moment to represent his race.

"Yakyakistan is cold and dangerous lands. Yaks have no choice but to be strong for other yaks sake. Strong yaks keep friends safe when travel and family safe at home. That why Kühn choose to stay with Becky and human friends. Human friends need strong yak in case of dangers. Devil Dog know what most important to yaks. Prince Rutherford want strong and safe nation for yaks. Good trade and friendship with other kingdoms make for better community. Yaks always strong, but stronger with friends like Devil Dog."

In that moment, Cadance had an entirely new level of appreciation for Cerb. His compassion and capabilities for loving others made his outburst at Celestia all the more righteous and admirable.

In the same vein, it made him all that more desirable.

"You never cease to amaze me, Justin. And Kühn, I too would like to apologize for misunderstanding your culture."

Kühn sat unphased and shrugged it off.

"It okay. It very common mistake when yaks always so strong, but we not like to brag."

At that, everyone in the cart burst into laughter, leaving Kühn stumped at what the joke was.

"What so funny? Yaks best at being humble."

More laughter ensued as the train coasted along its way to Ponyville, prompting Cerb to move away from the joke and let everything play out on its own.

"Dude, Kühn. I'm buying you a drink when we get back."

Starlight, having just been a listener for most of this, had to call Cerb out on his BS.

"Buy him what? All your alcohol is free, you're welcome very much."

Discord and Celestia popped into view far below the Castle of the Two Sisters. After taking a look around, Discord realized where they were.

"You know, out of all the places I thought to look, I never would have expected to check this place."

Celestia took a moment to steady herself, put on a strong front and began her march into the wide, cavernous, stone entrance under the castle. If anything, she was committed to honoring their pact.

"It's further inside... Don't make me regret this."

Discord skipped along next to Celestia, confident to the point of sounding cocky.

"You worry too much."

It was a short walk in, given how the crystal tree was clearly in view from the entrance, but Discord wasted no time to start this new pact by chucking a handful of rocks at the tree.

"Hey! Harmony! You got company!"

The sudden spat of anger came off as a bad omen to Celestia, who quickly tried to calm Discord down.

"Stop it," she angrily hushed, trying to keep her voice hidden. "You're going to upset her, and then she won't come out."

"HARMONY!" Discord shouted again, ignoring Celestia’s pleas. "You asked for my help! This is the only chance I'm willing to offer it! Now get out here or I'll be an even bigger thorn in your side than the ones growing out of your ugly tree!"

Truly, this was not Discord's proudest moment, nor his most elegant. However, the threat worked, and the tree began to glow.

Stepping out from the light, Celestia couldn't believe her eyes.

"Twilight?"

Harmony stepped forward. Her constant, empty smile sized up Celestia, ready to make her first formal greeting. Unfortunately, her mouth was promptly held shut by Discord's claws, swooping in out of nowhere with the cheesiest smile he could muster.

"Did I forget to mention that Harmony likes to cosplay as Twilight? It must have slipped my mind. Oh, no, wait. I just really wanted to see your reaction."

Discord teleported back to Celestia's side, finally allowing Harmony to speak.

"It is good to finally meet you, old friend. I apologize that we were not able to meet one another sooner. This body is new and requires a great deal of magic and focus to hold together."

The amount of power flowing out of Harmony was beyond comprehension. Its strength was like that of Discord's, but without restraint or, as Harmony had said herself, focus.

Nevertheless, Celestia had her priorities.

"I can't begin to describe how I feel about finally meeting you, but time is short, and I must ask a favor of you."

Harmony bobbed her head slowly, still not even blinking, and her unchanging smile grew more uncomfortable to stare at.

"If Discord has decided to help and has brought you here, then I will hear your request."

Celestia steadied herself. This was going to be a hard sell, and she knew it, but she had to make it work.

"Discord and I have talked, and given how he feels about Fluttershy, he has convinced me that the human's influence has become too strong. Twilight needs to be removed from saving Equestria so often and aiding them in their everyday affairs. If you can make me stronger, the humans can focus on saving Equestria, as Twilight and the others will be too busy helping other creatures and nations. You don't know what they have been up to, but we do."

This was the moment for the final sales pitch.

"I know your time with us is short, and we have nowhere near enough time to explain what all has happened. Share with me some of your power so that I may rise to the occasion and free the other ponies from the humans. Only then will the humans you have chosen be able to save our world, and things can go back to normal."

Harmony tilted her head slightly, contemplating such an odd and direct request. Regardless, however she truly felt about it, her expression gave away none of it.

"My powers are vast, but the darkness that threatens this world requires a great amount of my power in these times. If I share my power, I will not be able to project myself out as I can now."

That was not what either wanted to hear, but Discord had expected as much of a response. So, to speed things up, he held out a contract for Harmony to read.

"I'll keep this short and simple so your transparent brain can understand it. Your attempts to communicate with Trixie utterly failed. You refuse to show yourself to others, and it's far too taxing on you as it is. Instead, we're asking that you give Celestia a share of your power, thirty percent will do, to take over for you with things here on this side of reality. That will allow the humans to save us from disaster. Then, when all of the humans are gone, you can have your power back and you can go back to making all your fairy tale dreams come true. With all the humans gone, I won't even try to stop you. So long as Fluttershy gets the future she deserves."

This was nothing like The Words had foretold to happen. Then again, neither were the humans. Not in this capacity at least, but what other options did she have? Even as a construct, her instincts were telling her this had to work.

"This will be our second pact."

It took Celestia a moment to let that register.

"Second?"

Harmony nodded, the same smile and empty eyes reflecting a memory of long ago.

"Yes. The second. Our first was with the Elements of Harmony. You were to wield them with your sister to protect Equestria. When she was sent away, the pact was broken. However, I had no means to communicate with you, or even Twilight and the others. Not until just recently. Twilight's pact with the others is that they must not give up on their friendship."

Discord crossed his arms in a huff, reflecting back on his first encounter with Twilight after his release.

"And mind control doesn't count against them. That's why they didn't truly lose their ability to use the Elements."

Harmony nodded, her expression becoming more pestering the more Discord had to look at it.

"That's correct. They didn't make a choice to give up on their friendship. You did. With Luna, she broke the pact when she allowed herself to become Nightmare Moon. For Celestia, sending her to the moon was her final act of giving up on saving her. Not that she would regain that hope, but it would take a thousand years before she could undo the spell that imprisoned her sister."

The clock was ticking, and Discord shoved the contract in his pocket, which he just made, then grabbed Celestia's and Harmony's right forelegs and brought them together.

"Yes-Yes-Yes. We all love reliving the good old days.

Discord reached back into his pocket, shoving a now-wadded-up contract between the two's fetlocks.

"Now, do you both agree to the conditions of this contract to form your new pact?"

Celestia and Harmony looked each other in the eyes and nodded, both answering at the same time.

"Yes."

A light grew bright between their bond, the contract flashed in an even brighter light, and Harmony felt something go horribly wrong.

"Celestia? Have you deceived me?"

The time had just run out, and the spell over the 3D glasses wore off, and the reflection alerted Harmony to what Celestia was able to see the whole time.

The whispers from strings were everywhere.

"Trust me."

"The humans are the key."

"Make Discord trust Harmony."

"Harmony is my friend."

The deception was twofold, as Discord pulled an uncrumpled contract from his pocket. The many strings from Harmony fading and unraveling as her power faded.

All the more rich and satisfying for Discord to drink in.

"Oh, dear. I appear to have pulled out the wrong contract. I hope you're okay with only keeping thirty percent of your power. Not that you can't trust Celestia with seventy percent."

The last bit of light flashed away, and the pact was complete. Celestia removed the glasses, now free to share a look of disgust at Harmony.

"When this is over, if I see you again, you will have a lot to answer for."

Discord, having nearly hit the peak of his first act of revenge, retook his snake form. Tall grass grew underhoof and Discord coiled around Celestia. He twirled around her until he was face to face with Harmony again.

Only one thing came to mind to properly put her in her place.

"Now run along. Return to your tree and get nice and comfortable. We have a lot of work to do here, and you have a long future of insignificance and isolation ahead of you."

Harmony stood motionless. She had been so completely tricked. Her confidence in The Words, or possibly foolish confidence without The Words, having been what betrayed her.

Not that she would let any of that show.

"My apologies, Celestia. One day you will understand, so use my power well. And Discord, well played, but do not think me so easily buried and forgotten. I will recover my power, both what I have lost and what I will take back again one day. But do not think my influence to be insignificant. I have shaped this world far more than you know with less."

With her magic drained and her focus no longer able to keep her form together, sparkling lights floated out from her body and back into the tree.

"Unlike your stone prison, I will be able to free myself back into this world. I will see you sooner than you think."

With her last words, the lights faded out of view, and the crystal construct left behind cracked and shattered under its own weight.

The long silence that followed was broken by Discord falling to his knees, crying out in regret.

"Noooooo!... I never had the chance to tell her that I wasn't going to let Twilight pick up the pieces!"

"Really?" Celestia scoffed at the immature display.

Discord picked himself up off his knees and brushed himself clean, looking surprisingly unimpressed with himself.

"Yes, really. Just like you, I have a long history of reasons to hate that stupid tree. More reasons than you know... But if it's all the same, I'm sorry my spell couldn't keep the glasses hidden from her for longer. I'm sure you have more questions for her than reasons to forgive her. However, at least for now, you are free. Even with that in mind, don't think that the pony you are is all because of her. Her whispers are of suggestions, not demands. Her strings here today were out of panic."

Discord took a deep breath, taking one last moment to savor this victory.

"Just be careful with that power stored in your crown. Take it in slowly, and your body will adjust to it properly. Now, if you excuse me, keeping this many copies of myself is rather stressful on myself. There is still a lot of repairs for me to finish. You should get back to what you need to do as well."

"Discord?"

"Yes?"

"... Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I am but a humble snake in the grass."

So, here we are again. Celestia is dealing with the fallout of her actions, and Becky in a position that is way over her head. Understandably, at least, Celestia is starting to put things in a better perspective. At the same time, it's looking like some of her mistrust had been taken out of context and overblown by those serving under her. That much was seen by the commentary of those watching the surgery.

That being said, Cerb appears to have been proven right by Swift Hoof's first words coming out of his coma.

After discovering that gem, Sniff was doing what he does best... outside of the bedroom at least. Working his silver tongue, audibly this time, on Gentle Hoof saved Celestia a lot of explaining, and potentially exposing a lot of mistakes that would have taken a long time to address. Instead, this poor mother was able to leave with some optimism and was even grateful.

Let's just hope that Sniff's gift for gab doesn't end up complicating things down the road.

Cadance has also taken this opportunity to stick by her favorite human, but at least wasn't dumb enough to throw herself at him. Then again, others have already confirmed that thinking about depressing thoughts can have a profound effect on lowering their libido so that probably played a role as well.

Once on the train, Cerb revealed at least one thing had set him off during his spat with Celestia, but at least we can see how they're all dealing with these new events.

Add in a little moment to check in with Starlight, Octavia, Vinyl, as well as Trixie, Sunburst, and Flurry Heart to keep the tone from being too serious, and we end up with the biggest part of this story finally coming to a head.

Discord, you clever demi-god.

I hope you all followed the agreements made in the pacts because everything was meant to screw over Harmony. Namely, Harmony get's her power returned when all the humans are removed, but it was already agreed that Justin/Cerb has to stay no matter what.

Let's just hope that power boost doesn't go to her head.

But also, what might Harmony have been implying?

"My apologies, Celestia. One day you will understand, so use my power well. And Discord, well played, but do not think me so easily buried and forgotten. I will recover my power, both what I have lost and what I will take back again one day. But do not think my influence to be insignificant. I have shaped this world far more than you know with less."

Perhaps we'll find out next time in: