Before anypony else could say a word, Cheval reached out and put her hoof over Flurry’s. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Flurry’s eyes darted down to Cheval’s hoof, while Cadence folded back her ears, but Cheval had neither notice nor care for their surprise. “I’m…” As she struggled for words, she reached out with a second hoof, wrapping both of them around Flurry’s.

Then she said: “You weren’t supposed to get old.”

“Ah. Well.” Flurry reacted slowly. When she moved, one could imagine her bones creaking. When she thought, dust was knocked from the volumes in her head. “A lot of things happened that weren't supposed to.”

“I know. I know. For you it’s been decades. You’ve…” The little caps on Cheval’s teeth clicked together, and her words momentarily slurred. “Gotten over things. The war. Dad. Me. But for me, you were eighteen last week, and…”

Her teeth clicked again. “I’m sorry. I’m being emotional.” She forced herself to smile, but couldn’t keep the expression on her face. After a moment of silence, she asked, “How are you a pegasus?”

“After I got my cutie mark, I became a proper alicorn. I didn’t age.” Flurry looked at her mother, her expression momentarily uncertain. Lines formed under her eyes, atop already wrinkled skin. “But I lost the power to learn. I was stuck in amber, the same way mother and the others are. And I made mistakes.”

“You mean you made the same mistake over and over? Like Twilight?” Cheval asked.

“Not quite. When I took the throne…” She paused a moment, and remembered. “I was a hard leader. Merciless. Calculating. Aggressive. They called me the Alicorn of War. That was the sort of pony it took, to beat Amaryllis. But when it was over, I couldn’t stop being that pony. I was as brutal to the Empire as I’d been to our enemies, because I couldn’t be anything else.”

She paused again, and it was with a distracted air that she finished: “And Twilight has a spell that turns an alicorn back to a normal pony. So I asked her for a copy. And that was that.”

“That’s a tremendous sacrifice for your ponies.” Cheval again forced herself to smile. It lasted longer, the second time. “The Crystal Empire looks great, you know. Modern, prosperous. And I saw a lot of Equestrian ponies with really shiny coats. Intermarriage, I assume. I mean, we knew ponies would get over that eventually, but it’s nice to see it’s not a big deal anymore. And that monorail thing. That’s…. that’s neat.”

Flurry gave a humorless chuckle: “You um… are you trying to make me feel better?”

“Well, yeah. You’re still my sister.” Cheval squeezed Flurry’s hoof again, and looked down to the table. “I assume we’ll get around to the reason you woke me up soon. But until then, I figured I should say, no hard feelings. If it matters, anymore. To whatever degree it matters, no hard feelings. You’re my sister and I love you and you did what you had to do.”

“Well…” Flurry again looked at Cadence, but Cadence’s expression had turned hard. She glared at Flurry from across the table, and the old mare retreated in the face of that look. “We should talk about that. Yes.”

“Do you have a child?”

Flurry’s head popped up. Cadence’s reaction was as sudden, her ears perking up. Cadence laughed first. “How did you know?”

Cheval shot her mother an incredulous stare. “She’s a monarch and she’s old. Inheritance is obviously the nation’s biggest concern at this point.” Turning back to Flurry, she pressed: “Do you?”

“Yes. When I became a pegasus, my normal fertility was restored. I have three children: Diamond Path, Sapphire Waters, and Ruby Skies.”

“Let me guess,” Cheval smiled, and on the third try, the expression persisted, “Their father is a crystal pony and he named them?”

“Ah. Yes.” Flurry shook her head. “His name is Emerald Wave. It’s uh… a family tradition.”

“Do you love him? Does he make you happy?”

The question left Flurry obviously discomforted, and the struggled to answer. “Yes, I mean. Yes. He very much does. But Cheval, you don’t have to—”

“I know I don’t have to. But I’ve got fifty years of gossip to catch up on. And I’m happy you're happy.” She looked at the table as she gathered her thoughts, though her smile had yet to fade. “But fine, we can talk about business. Which one is your heir and how good are they at politics?”

“Diamond Path. And he’s good.” She tried to pull her hoof away, but Cheval didn’t let go. “I wouldn’t call him a profoundly gifted leader, but he’s good. He’s got a level head, he makes sound decisions, and he’s well liked by the people. He’ll be a calm, sensible sort of prince. And that’s what the Empire needs right now, I think. A decompression from my high-intensity rule.”

Cheval let out a faint murmur of understanding. “Any concerns?”

“Ah…” Flurry cleared her throat, then nodded. “He’s a crystal pony. And Celestia has refused to grant him any Equestrian titles. Including peer to alicorns. She says he’s a very nice young stallion who is worthy of being a prince, but that mortal princedom does not endow a divine right to rule.”

Cheval nodded again. “So. Mom and I.”

Cadence shook her head: “I swore I would never rule the Empire again. And it took some doing but Celestia and Luna accepted it.”

“Ah.” Cheval drew in a breath and nodded. “But she hasn’t made the same promises for me. I mean, I assume you asked. But she hasn’t. So she’s reserving the right to liberate your empire and restore the rightful rule of alicorns. Which in this case is me, by peerage. So I complicate the inheritance. Is that all right?”

Flurry nodded: “That’s right.”

“And of course, you couldn’t just smash my statue because you’re not an alicorn either, so Celestia might take that as justification for war. Assuming she hasn’t already made explicit threats to that effect.” Cheval nodded, twice. Her expression serious. “Okay. I can fix it.”

“I don’t need you to—”

“I think it would be best if I traveled to Equestria, said hello to Celestia, and committed honorable suicide in Canterlot Palace. That way none of the blame falls on you.”

Silence hung over the room. Cadence squeezed her eyes shut and looked away. Flurry’s ears folded back.

“What?” Cheval looked around at them. “What is it?”

“The reason…” Flurry hesitated. “Celestia hasn’t made any threats about what I could or couldn’t… I mean. The reason I didn’t break your statue wasn’t because Celestia stopped me. I…”

“I know. You’re my sister and you love me.” Cheval squeezed Flurry’s hooves. “It’s faint, dusty, you haven’t seen me in awhile. It’s not as vigorous as it used to be. But you do still love me, Flurry. You know that, right?”

“I do?” she stared.

“Yes, you do.” Cheval chuckled. “And it’s… it’s fine. It’s not the first time I needed to give you a kick in the tail to get you to do the right thing. You couldn’t put yourself on the throne either. And I know, you don’t want to hurt me. But you can’t leave the Empire to your son with a more legitimate heir to the throne running around and making appearances in public. And honestly, I never planned on outliving you anyway. You were supposed to be immortal, drones only live seventy years. I figured this…”

She pressed her teeth together. The caps clicked. “I mean, everypony has to die sometime.”

Then Flurry said: “You made a mistake.”

“About…” Cheval paused. “Which part?”

“When you put me on the throne.” Flurry’s throat was tight, and she needed a moment to say, “You made a mistake.”

“No. No.” Cheval waved off the concern. “I know you… you did some hard things. I saw the war museum, and the changeling exhibit. And I’m sure Twilight, well. Probably won’t ever like you again. I mean, you did kick her through a wall. But it was all worth it in the end. You beat Amaryllis. The Empire is safe.”

“Why?” Flurry asked. “Why did we need to beat her?”

For a moment, Cheval paused. Her head tilted to the side, and her smile flickered. “What do you mean?” she asked, before letting out an awkward laugh. “She was an evil tyrant trying to annex our kingdom.”

“What would she have done, if she’d annexed us? Ended the rule of law? Governed with an iron fist? Restored the secret police? Maybe. But maybe not. I did all those things. And more. I burned half the north. I spilled rivers of blood. Millions died.”

“Hah.” Cheval’s smile faded. “You’re getting soft in your old age. You know better than that. A good leader doesn’t back down in the face of evil.”

“She wasn’t any worse than me. Maybe she was better. Yak and diamond dogs and dragons all fought for her because they loved her. They fought for me because they were afraid of me. I left scars on the north that still haven’t healed. It will be generations before the yak trust ponies again. And she never committed genocide.”

“You did what you had to do,” Cheval snapped.

“I did what I had to do to hold on to power,” she spoke softly and looked down at the table. “Not… not to protect my ponies. The Crystal Empire, the North, the world is worse off for my having taken the throne. There should never have been an Alicorn of War. The entire idea is wrong. It’s a blasphemy against what alicorns are supposed to be. Twilight is powered by friendship, and Mom is powered by love, and I was powered by hate. Hate and fear of Amaryllis is what made me a ruler; it’s what got me my cutie mark, and in the end, my ponies suffered.”

“No.” Cheval let go of her sister. Her face twisted into a snarl and her hooves hit the table. “You’re so close to the end. Your life’s work is almost complete. Don’t you dare fail me now.”

“I don’t want to be remembered for this.” Flurry’s throat tightened again, and she struggled to form words. “It’s too late to fix what I’ve done. But I was at the point that I either needed to kill you or accept that you might destroy everything I created. And I can’t. I can’t. What I created isn’t worth it and I don’t want to be remembered for killing you.”

“Why? Because I’m innocent?” Cheval sneered, and her voice turned toxic. “So sweet and defenseless? Old mare walks in and this poor, kind creature’s first thought is to give her a big hug. Do you honestly think that because you took away my power to shapeshift you took away my power to manipulate ponies? Are you that stupid? Or has it been so long you forget that the reason I got turned to stone in the first place was two counts of murder and one count of rape?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Flurry struggled for words, her own voice weak. “But ponies are ponies because they can forgive. There must be an end to punishment.”

“I am giving you the end.” Cheval rose up beside the table, towering over Flurry. A changeling queen stood twice the height of a common pony, and Flurry was not a large pegasus. “And if you don’t take it, then things just keep going. Then there’s going to be me, and my,” she bit off a word, “drones. And I like power. I like power too much and it will eventually turn me into something I don’t want to be. Amaryllis was probably a sweet nymph once too. And if I walk away, this will all happen again.”

Flurry’s bodyguards didn’t like how loud Cheval was getting. Two of the earth ponies moved to either side of their charge, placing their hooves to intercept any blow. A pegasus hovered closer. A unicorn’s horn started to glow.

Cheval eyed the guards. Flurry rubbed her jaw with a hoof.

“You’re not a monster, Cheval,” she said. “You’re a pony who made mistakes. Terrible mistakes, yes. But you don’t deserve death. And I won’t let you kill yourself because of me.”

“I’m not giving you a choice.” Cheval glanced at the earth pony bodyguard across the table. “Hey, you.” She grinned. “You know my sister is the Alicorn of War?”

It all happened so fast.

In the first tick of the clock, Cadence started to say something. The unicorn guard with his horn alight began to cast his spell. The earth ponies across the table moved to protect Flurry. With her superior height, Cheval reared up, and grabbed the pegasus hovering above her.

In the second tick, Cheval yanked the pegasus down. Their head smashed into the table, tail and body sticking up. The unicorn fired their spell. The beam struck the pegasus guard in the back. Cadence froze.

In the third and fourth ticks, Cheval threw the pegasus at the earth ponies. Halfway through her arc, the unicorn’s spell resolved, and she turned to stone. A granite statue of a pegasus hit the earth pony bodyguard on the left. It laid him out on the floor, and his bones crunched.

Five seconds into the fight, the remaining earth pony guard lunged across the table and struck Cheval. The blow hit her right in the face, with such force it cracked her carapace. The plastic caps flew off her teeth and scattered on the floor.

So she bit him.

After the fight was over, Flurry’s dozen other bodyguards brought her back to her room. The unicorn whose magic made plastic restraints put new caps on her teeth, and also fastened cuffs for her legs. They were quite effective. She could barely move.

Cadence stayed with her the whole day, talking, listening, trying to get through to her. Cheval ignored her. A old doctor came to mend the cracks in her carapace. It had been years since he worked on a changeling, and he was one of the few who knew how.

Cadence refused to leave when the sun went down. She slept on the floor beside Cheval’s bed.

Eventually, the clock chimed midnight.

“I hate you,” Cheval said. “I hate you so much. There is not enough suffering in the world for what you deserve. And if it had been me on the throne instead of Flurry, I would have been even worse. I wouldn’t have given you a quick death. It would have been public and cruel, and the ponies you sought to enslave would have heard you beg before you died.”

“I know,” Amaryllis said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s a little late for that,” she sneered.

“It’s much too late for that.” Amaryllis sat on the bedside, resting a hoof on Cheval's belly. “But not for you. You have a lust for power, but you recognize that that’s wrong. You have a sadistic streak, but you have the self-control not to indulge it. You are my daughter, but you’re not me. You can make different choices. And you’re Shining Armor’s daughter too. I can see him in you.”

Cheval turned her head to the side. It was one of the few ways she could still move. For many long seconds, she struggled to speak. “Begone, spirit. I’m tired of you.”

Amaryllis vanished.

Around 3 AM, the door to Cheval’s room cracked open. She was still awake. Her eyes darted towards the motion.

“Princess Cadence,” said the guard on the other side, “Her Highness, the Princess Flurry Heart, requires your presence in the war room immediately.”

“Mmm?” Cadence cracked an eye. “Tell her I’m with Cheval and she can wait.”

“I believe it is Cheval’s fate she wishes to discuss, Princess.” The guard let a note of doubt enter his tone. “Shall I tell her you are unavailable?”

Cadence hesitated, then rose. “No. But… stay in the room with her. At least four guards in the room with her at all times. She’s on a suicide watch, you understand? And I don’t trust Twilight’s spell. Cheval is too clever.”

Cheval said nothing. Cadence kissed her goodbye, and promised to return soon. Four guards piled into the room in her absence. They lit her firefly lanterns. “Hello, Princess.”

Cheval looked at the one who had spoken. Her eyes flicked over him. Then, she sneered. “Aren’t you a little short to be a stormtrooper?”

“Well, I—”

“Also,” she forcefully spoke over him. “Your camoflauge is the wrong shade of green. That’s a private’s uniform and you look at least thirty. Too old. Your boot-cuffs are done up tight to conceal that the uniform legs are a part of your body. You look like a crystal pony, but you’ve done that saddle up in the unicorn style. Oh, and your eyes aren’t the same color. Heterochromia exists but that’s just sloppy. Nymphs have done better. I knew you’d come, but I am disappointed.”

“Well, hello to you too,” the first guard said. He took a breath, and green fire surrounded him. Changeling magic dispersed out into the air, and before Cheval’s eyes, he assumed his true form.

An elderly earth pony, with greying hair and a bald spot.

“My name’s Gallant. I’m Light Step’s son. And it’s been a long time since I was an adventuring pony, but princess, I’m here to rescue you.”