“Have you ever had your wings preened by someone you loved?” asked Twilight as she bent to do the very task. It was hardly a chore; Princess Celestia’s wings were breathtaking just to look at. She would wet a feather, then tenderly run her hoof along it until it ran straight, slowly but surely transforming the two delicate limbs into a bounty of perfect symmetry.

The princess purred at the attention. “You must understand,” she breathed in between her hisses of encouragement, “I am old, my faithful student. All that a mortal may experience, I have. I have loved and lost, Twilight Sparkle. Time and time again, without ever having let the pain sour me to the pleasure.”

Twilight nodded and leaned forward from her position atop the princess, kissing the base of her swan-like neck. “That doesn’t bother me. I mean... no one’s ever heard of you with anypony, but once I got old enough to think about it, I thought for sure you would have a well... y’know, history.”

“Hmm,” Celestia purred. “Still, perhaps not the most comfortable subject in our young relationship?”

As Twilight worked to straighten a stubborn secondary, it broke off and fluttered to the ground. Twilight tensed, but Celestia hadn’t even appeared to notice.

“No! I mean... I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I understand that, as the ruler of our nation, some things will only come out with time, and others might not come out at all. But... it wouldn’t bother me to hear about the... others.” She was gushing at this point. “I just... I just want to know everything there is to know about you!”

Celestia arched her neck to the side to meet Twilight’s eye. “It’s rare to find a young pony so open-minded. I must admit that I’m pleased to hear this. Very well... the first was Carnation, and I will say she was the first I tucked away in my memory, the first worth remembering. I was very young then, and that earth pony would put a flower in my mane and then kiss me on the cheek or lips. It was a simple gesture, one since repeated by many lovers.” Celestia sighed. “But on those sunny days, in the fields where we met, she made me feel like the only mare in the world.

“And then there was Stormy Night...”

“A stallion?”

Celestia grinned. “Yes Twilight, a stallion. When you live as long as I have... certain things begin to fade. I discovered that one’s sexual preference is one of the first things to go. He was... not a guardspony, that would not have been proper, but those were the days before guardsponies, and he filled the role of their predecessors. This was before I had established my... before I had established Equestria. He had lost somepony very precious to him, and even now I’m not sure I truly filled the void in his heart. But I thought I did at the time.

“Silver Belle... I remember her most for having such an exquisite taste... velvety and innocent...”

“Sorry to interrupt but...”

“Hmm?”

“You’re breaking character again.”

Celestia let out a groan. “No I’m not!”

“Yes you are, you were just talking about your own romantic history.”

“How would you even know?”

Twilight leaned over and knocked a strain of drool hanging from Celestia’s mouth. “Somehow I just can’t imagine Princess Celestia talking about the taste of her past lover’s emotions and drooling about it.”

“Well it’s not like I actually know these details about her... I just... I just figured it would be more convincing if I drew on my own experiences instead of making up random facts. Sorry if it’s not perfect!”

“So... did any of them preen your feathers?” asked Twilight, shameful of Celestia’s hurt look and wanting to return to the original subject.

“Huh? Oh yes, my paramours. A few I think. It’s a good feeling, that touch. I have the servants tend to my wings of course, but it’s not the same.”

“She knew their names,” Twilight blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Excuse me?”

“Princess Celestia... never referred to her employees like that. There were well over one-thousand ponies working in the palace and she knew each one of them by name.”

Chrysalis’s flesh seemed to cool beneath Twilight’s hooves. The monarch rolled to the side, sending Twilight tumbling off of her back and into a nest of pillows. As she picked herself up, her eyes met the unfeeling stare of her teacher, and she knew she had hurt the changeling once again.

“Perhaps you could give me a few names,” said Chrysalis softly. “I could make it more realistic for you.”

Twilight had no response. She was denied the chance to extricate herself from that situation when the door burst open.

“Twilight!” shouted Rarity, stumbling in.

The white unicorn looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken pits, her mouth half-open and chattering. Her legs still supported her firmly, but there was every hint that they couldn’t stay firm for long.

And that wasn’t the worst by half.

“Your coat!” cried Twilight in despair, leaving Chrysalis to tend to her friend. “It’s... it’s dirty!” It was unthinkable for Rarity to let dirt remain in her coat for even a second. No matter the gravity of the errand or the distance from her home, she would always abandon her current task just to ensure she remained spotless.

Rarity’s mane was even more important to her than her coat, and if anything it was in even worse condition. Stringy and covered with dirt, it was neither groomed nor pretty. Its radiant purple hue could not be made out, and through its dread tangles, it was only barely possible to see the dull glint of—

Twilight might have let her heart stop beating, if it were up to her.

“Where did you teleport her,” she said, her whisper liquid and tranquil. “How far did you teleport her?” Though Twilight’s eyes belonged only to Rarity, there could be no doubt who she addressed.

“Twilight,” said Rarity panting. “Sorry I’m in... such disrepair. Had to borrow... your element... there was no other pony to...”

“Help us,” said Twilight, feeling the guilt burning down her throat.

“Twilight,” said Chrysalis, her voice a perfect match for Celestia’s. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions here. Yes she may have had to march quite a ways, and I’m not quite sure how she made it here this fast, but I assure you the damage isn’t beyond repair.”

“This is... I don’t think this is going to work, Queen Chrysalis.”

Queen Chrysalis lowered her voice. “I am the only way you can have her.”

Twilight Sparkle shook her head. “On the day she left me in Ponyville, my mentor told me that I should always be there for my friends. She told me it was my job to look out for them. To protect them. And you're just keeping me from doing that.”

“Look,” said Queen Chrysalis, melding back into her natural form and approaching Twilight from behind. “These changeling-pony relationships are always rocky for the first week or two, we just need—”

“WE JUST NEED SOME SPACE!”

Spinning her neck around, Twilight let out a rapid-fire spell that struck Chrysalis directly in the chest, afflicting her with a forced teleportation that would land her... Twilight hadn’t specified where. She had only made sure that it would be far away.

When Twilight turned back to tend to Rarity, she found that her friend had closed ten feet between them, bloodshot eyes pressed almost against Twilight’s face.

“Gotcha!” cried Rarity triumphantly as she fired off her own spell, pulling both of them deep into the recesses of Twilight Sparkles mind.

The crowd of ponies buzzed with excitement. The street was sprawling with unicorns and earth ponies as far as the eye could see, most smiling, a few frowning, and all raptly staring at the steps leading up to the makeshift platform.

Overlooking the stage was the Hoofington Monument, a towering mountain that had long ago been commissioned to show the faces of the four most important ponies in Equestrian history, as identified by the scholar Ciphered Note.

The first face could easily be recognized by anypony; Princess Celestia had been the sovereign since the dawn of time, some claimed.

The other three faces were also Princess Celestia.

Atop the stage, a large white banner with ornate letters had been draped for all to see, reading:

PRINCESS CELESTIA HATES FAGS

Soon the princess of the hour herself arrived, trotting calmly on the stage with a guard trailing alongside either of her sculpted hips. She paused, turning her back on the crowd to regard the monument.

“You know,” she said after she turned to face the crowd. “I never really wanted all four of those faces to be mine, or even one of them. I believe it was two centuries ago that somepony decided the first of April would be ‘Princess Celestia’ day. Most of the statues and portraits had already been built before anypony thought to consult me about it.”

She nodded up toward the banner. “But that isn’t why we’re here today, is it? Let’s start with the questions.”

The press ponies near the front all began shouting at once. Princess Celestia lifted a hoof and selected one.

“Thank you princess,” said a white-speckled young pony with serious eyes. “This is intrepid reporter Breaking News, with the question that I believe is on everypony’s mind. Why exactly do you hate fags so much?”

“Because it has been scientifically proven that they cause heart disease, lung cancer, and ultimately death! Even ponies breathing in second-hand smoke can suffer these terrible health effects. Many athlete ponies have been promoting the supposed positive effects of smoking, and now I fear for their credibility, their health, and their ability to continue performing.

“I did not want to act until I was certain my researchers were correct, but the data can no longer be disputed. And so, after crying many beautiful princess tears, I used the Elements of Harmony to banish fags from the land forever.”

“Yay!” cried a pair of colts in the front row, before embracing each other and passionately locking lips.

Princess Celestia spared a moment to smile at the lovers before turning back to the anxious newscasters. “Third row, green coat?”

“Thank you Princess,” said an obese pony. “While your judgement does seem sound, I think the ponies of Equestria are concerned about the long-term economic effects of your decision, compounded with the cost of treating nicotine addicts...”

Deep within the throngs, Twilight Sparkle sat through the press interview with her governess Obstructive Justice. Twilight couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old, while her guardian was aged well over ten times that number.

“Aren’t you lucky my little Twilight?” asked the old mare with a twinkling smile. “You get to watch the princess protect everypony from those smelly old cigarettes. Most girls your age would sure be jealous that you get to be here! Isn’t she pretty?” Justice turned her gaze on the monarch with a wistful sigh.

“Yep!” said Twilight eagerly. “She’s very pretty, and she’s the best pony ever!” The filly frowned pensively. “I think she mispronounced athlete though, there isn’t a third syllable.”

Twilight never saw the hoof until after it had slammed into her face. One moment she couldn’t be happier, enjoying a fine summer day and the hypnotically attractive words of Equestria’s monarch, the next her snout was numb with excruciating pain.

“Wh-why did you...” Twilight was still too shocked to cry, but only for the moment it took for her brain to process events and send her bawling like an infant.

On the stage, Celestia stopped talking and looked directly at the two. “Excuse me,” she said abruptly, hopping down and pushing the closest ponies aside without a second thought. “Press Release will answer your remaining questions.”

As Celestia made her way through the crowd, her guards forcing aside anypony too slow to duck out of her way, a sunglassed mare in a sharp suit took her place and began calling on the jabbering press.

“Ya wanna know why you little brat?!” spat Justice, oblivious to the princess’s advance. “Because I’m tired of your generation picking apart everything the princess does! Back in my day, ponies knew their place. We knew everything the princess does is right. She’s the only thing keeping this great country from getting picked apart by the griffons and the dogs. She’s perfect. Do you hear that, you ungrateful little horseapple? Perfect!”

“I’m sorry!” wailed Twilight, failing to control the torrent of tears. “I’ll never say she made a mistake again, she’s perfect!”

As Twilight opened her eyes, she became aware of a warm weight on her hip, and her own hoof gently massaging Rarity’s troubled and sweat-damp brow.

Rarity’s eyes were closed and her breath came slow and steady; Twilight was certain she was asleep until she spoke up.

“Your memory ended rather abruptly. What happened next?”

“You know,” said Twilight, scooping up the Element of Magic and absently turning it with her mind, “I have no idea. I remember going with Princess Celestia on many trips like that; and I remember Obstructive Justice taking care of me the first few months under the princess’s tutelage. I liked her well enough, but one day she disappeared and Princess Celestia started looking after me herself. She never gave me an answer when I asked what happened to my old governess.”

“I can’t believe that brute would lay a hoof on you!”

Twilight squeezed the relaxed unicorn’s shoulder. “Don’t raise your voice Rarity, you’re in a very fragile state right now and I don’t want you excited. You know though... it doesn’t even matter to me anymore. I hope the princess wasn’t too hard on her.”

“That’s generous of you, Twilight.”

As Twilight concentrated on ministering to Rarity’s forehead, she recognized her technique from a medical textbook describing how to treat a unicorn drained of magic.

“What were you thinking? Don’t you realize that putting that on without the proper training exposes you to some very serious risks?”

“I had an idea I suppose.”

“How long did you have it on?”

“I put it on shortly after I last saw you. Why?”

Twilight’s eyes widened in concern. “Rarity that... that was nearly an hour ago. With that much exposure I’m surprised you’re conscious at all!”

“I didn’t really think it would work when I tried it.”

“Why not?”

“Well... magic is your element, isn’t it? I don’t see how I could have used it.”

“Rarity... you aren’t just connected to one element. You’re connected to all of the elements.”

“How do you mean, dearest?”

“Can you really say that your entire life you’ve never performed an act of kindness? Stayed true to a friend? How about laughed? You don’t have to answer that Rarity, I’ve seen you do all of those things. Generosity isn’t your only virtue. It just happens to be the amulet you’re best suited for. There’s not really any good reason to mix things up... and a lot of reasons not to, as I’m sure you realize now. But it is possible.”

Rarity turned so that she was looking up at Twilight. “Did it help you?”

“Hmm?”

“I cast that spell so we could learn why you chose Chrysalis. But truth be told, I’m still a teensy bit lost here. How do you feel about your mentor?”

Twilight briefly paused in her massage to give a shrug that Rarity couldn’t see.

“It’s like a weight off my shoulder.”

“Is that so dear?”

“Yes! Do you know how long I’ve put myself through misery over this? I thought she was unapproachable! I thought I would never be good enough! I wanted Chrysalis to make an imperfect copy just so I could feel comfortable with her! But she pronounced athlete wrong! She does make mistakes! Maybe I’m not out of her league!”

“I’m happy for you, darling.”

“Thank you.”

Rarity began struggling to her feet. “We really should go find Applejack and the others, you know. I think... I think I’m ready to go.”

Placing her hooves on her friend’s back, Twilight guided her back down. “Rarity... no. I don’t want you injuring yourself further.”

“You don’t understand, I’ve come so far. I’ve already met with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. They’re all ready to end this.”

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

“No, I got Fluttershy.”

“Really,” said Twilight with a smirk. “And during all that time, you never realized how much danger you were in?”

“Actually the danger was revealed to me early on.”

“I see... and you still didn’t quit? You never thought you might need to stop and let some other pony handle it?”

“There was no one else Twilight... I was alone!”

“And I’m very sorry for that. I should never have let things go that far. But all the same... I need to know what drove you so far. What gave you such little value for yourself.” Twilight concentrated on a spell and brought out the glow in her horn.

“Twilight,” pleaded Rarity, crawling weakly away. “A lady needs her secrets.”

Twilight stood and caught her easily. “I’d feel guilty about this, if you hadn’t done the same thing to me.”

The element of Magic was lying on the pillowed floor. Twilight left it there for the moment. For something as simple as a memory search spell, it would have been overkill.

The decorations of Daisy Doo’s Cafe in Canterlot were exactly how Rarity professed to have liked them: gleaming. Crystal chandeliers caught and reflected the sunlight of the warm summer, while the polished tables and countertop did no less.

“Oh please, you’re making me blush!” cried Rarity, emitting that high-class noble laugh that came as naturally to her as breathing.

“But it is the truth,” said Fancypants, keeping his cool. “You are a talent seen but once in a century. Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, Sapphire Shores, all recognized this in one manner or another, and went far out of their way to visit you in Ponyville.”

“Stop,” said Rarity, batting her lashes and flailing a hoof.

“But for each of those celebrities, with the time and money to go out of their way just to visit you, there are a thousand or more ponies with no such means. Rarity, you could pave your way to greatness in any city in Equestria. Los Pegasus, Trottingham, Neighpon, even Saddle Arabia if you’ve the taste for the exotic. If you were however, to choose to set up a second shop in my home city of Canterlot, I would be willing to fund you with a start-up loan of no less than one-hundred thousand bits, and my own business expertise should you require it.”

“Canterlot!” cried Rarity, and then, when it had processed, “One-hundred thousand bits!” she put a forearm up to her hoof and swooned.

“Think about it,” said Fancypants, reflecting only genteel calm back at Rarity’s dramatics.

“Oh no,” said Rarity sitting up. “Thank you so much for the offer! But there’s nothing to think about, I could never repay such a loan! My special talent is finding gemstones and then finding works of art to insert them into— my own, namely. Some of these gems are priceless, it’s true. But every one I find sooner or later finds a place in my work. There has never been an exception. I don’t sell them... it would be a betrayal of their fabulous potential!”

Fancypants inclined his head. “I understand completely. Rarity, a year in Canterlot and you’ll have made three, four, even five times that loan in gross profit. My instincts tell me so, and I am a wealthy pony because my instincts are never wrong. So if by some unforeseeable tragedy you should lose that money without recouping it in profits, you will owe me nothing. You can go the rest of your life without that debt ever being collected.

“If I am right, which I am, I only ask for a return of my loan plus fifteen percent within one year of your arrival in Canterlot.”

“You’re... you’re too generous.”

Fancypants lowered his gaze, smiling widely. “High praise coming from you, my lady.”

“You know...” said Rarity, looking away. “Ever since I was a little filly, I’ve been envious of Canterlot. The glamour. The sophistication. I have always dreamed of living there.”

“Yet you don’t seem so excited.”

Remembering her lonely smoothie, Rarity stirred it with her straw. “Some dreams we give up for a reason. I have a family in Ponyville. And there are of course my friends.”

Fancypants tapped the table, frowning. “You mentioned a sister and parents, if I recall correctly? Do they depend on you financially?”

“No.”

“Rarity... I’m not sensing that this is a dream you’ve given up. Something tells me that you’re looking for a reason to say yes.”

Rarity took a sip of her drink and looked away.

Fancypants peered closer at her, then blinked.

“Ah hah. A matter of the heart, I can see it as plain as day. May I ask...?”

Rarity paused. “Her name is Applejack.”

“Well, could you not bring her with you?”

Rarity closed her eyes and opened them. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

Fancypants nodded. “Alright. I understand. Why don’t you give me your answer at the soiree I’m having next month?”

Rarity began to nod her head, but shook it instead. “No I... have an answer now.”

Fancypants raised a brow.

“Even though I would dearly love for her to come... even if she doesn’t, I still want this. A mare must do some things for herself. The answer is yes, my friend.”

Reeling from the shock, Rarity sat up under her own strength now, though still leaning against cushions.

“I just wanted everyone to have a gift to remember me by. If I were to leave—when I leave—then I needed some appropriate way to say farewell.”

“Rarity...”

“I’m sorry!”

“Why?”

“We won’t be such close friends anymore, Twilight. We can’t, not with the distance.”

Twilight closed the distance to Rarity, pulled by her own heart. Feeling that desperate chill within her chest, she wrapped her forearms around the despondent unicorn, filling herself with the heat of the mare’s body.

“Don’t be so stupid,” she whispered.

“Manners!”

“I’m sorry, but that’s just ridiculous. I’m so happy for the opportunity that you’ve been given. And Canterlot is only a few hours away by train. I’m going to visit you. A lot.”

“You... you mean it?”

Twilight could feel Rarity’s warm tears dripping onto her shoulder. “Of course silly.”

“Twilight... what I said about wanting to leave a gift... that was a lie! Those weren’t my thoughts... even when death faced me, all I could think about was myself. How grateful everyone would be, how much attention I would get. How if I died, no one would ever forgot me for as long as they lived.”

Twilight leaned back to stare into Rarity’s tearful eyes. Her friend’s lips quivered. She bopped her on the snout with a hoof.

“I don’t believe that for a minute Rarity.”

Rarity offered no resistance when Twilight tugged her saddlebag off from around her shoulder. On the way to the door, she plucked up the Element of Magic and placed it on her head.

That familiar power tried to surge within her, but Twilight expected it. She forbade it from overwhelming and obliterating her, and instead diverted its magic to five gold chokers and their bearers. Through space she sensed them and with Magic she could reunite them.

“Just Applejack then, right? I’ll go find her and then round everyone up. You stay here where it’s safe, and just take it easy.”

Rarity followed her to the door. “I’m coming with you,” she declared.

Twilight shook her head. “You’re a lot weaker than you think and you need attention I’m not qualified to give you. You’re sitting this one out.”

“You need me if we’re going to defeat Chrysalis anywaaay!” Rarity looked like she would whine if the point was forced.

“She’s not more important than your safety Rarity. If we have to let her go, I can accept that.”

Rarity looked like she would throw a fit, but instead she swallowed. Her eyes gained an earnest and determined quality that Twilight found impossible to resist.

“Twilight... I have to see her. I have to see what images she asked Chrysalis for. I saved her for last because I couldn’t bear to know, but now... please Twilight. Please.”

Twilight sighed and approached Rarity, giving her shoulder a squeeze. She focused her horn and raised the other unicorn off the ground, laying her friend upon her own lavender back. The unicorn was too heavy for her to carry without exhausting herself, so she kept her telekinesis active and her load light.

All the changelings had disappeared by the time they returned to the main room of the recreation center. The only sign that they had been present was the jostled furniture and a few abandoned board games.

Stepping outside into the night, Twilight felt the cool air on her coat and realized just how stifling the warmth of Queen Chrysalis’s white wings had been.

Finding Applejack took nothing more than allowing Harmony to work. The elements wanted to be together, and naturally sought each other out. Through practice and mastery of the subtle cues of magic, Twilight Sparkle could find Honesty and the last pony who had wielded it as easily as she felt the midnight winds brushing against her fur.

Twilight had expected to find Applejack in the presence of changelings, and indeed there were two ponies with her. Twilight hesitated in order to better make them out.

They were earth ponies, a male and a female, much older than Twilight. The mare had strong, taut muscles running cross her jawline and grey coat, proudly wearing Applejack’s cowpony hat while the younger mare sat complacently beside her, bareheaded. The stallion had a yellowish coat and an unruly mane, and occasionally knelt down to chew at the grass.

In the dim light Twilight could make out apple cutie marks. As far as she knew, Applejack already had an excellent relationship with all her family members. Had she fought with these relatives recently?

Feeling Rarity stirring on her back, Twilight stopped trotting.

“Who are they?” she asked her prone friend.

There was no reply, and Twilight for a moment thought that Rarity had no answer. And when the reply did come, Twilight couldn’t make sense of it at first.

“They’re her parents,” Rarity whispered.

Twilight had visited Sweet Apple Acres on countless occasions. She had never met Applejack’s parents or heard anyone mention them. So why would Applejack suddenly want them to show up—

Twilight rarely prevented her mouth from getting ahead of her thoughts. She was intensely grateful that this time she had.

Anxiety made her hooves quiver as she approached. She no longer knew that she was doing the right thing. A hurried, panicked voice inside her told her to leave and not return.

“Hey there Twi...” said Applejack as she gazed up at the night sky. “That you?” She peeked back over her blonde mane and met Twilight’s eye, before nodding to herself.

“And you too Rare. Was worried about you after ya ran off like that.”

“Applejack...” Applejack silenced Twilight with a hoof.

“Now I don’t wanna hear it, Alright? Every day, I gotta find somethin’ new in order to keep goin’. Yesterday it was makin’ sandwiches for y’all, just like ma did for me an’ ‘Bloom. And tonight well... tonight was unusual so it ended up bein’ this.”

Twilight sat down. She felt like she should say something. She couldn’t.

“It’s kind of a relief really. I always knew nothin’ could bring ‘em back. But sittin’ here like this, like the three of us used ta on beautiful nights, with two strangers... it really makes it sink in. Nothin’ll ever be the same again.”

She looked back at Twilight. “Is Rarity awake? What happened t’her?”

“Mm, I’m awake.” Twilight felt Rarity’s vocal cords vibrating against her spine.

Twilight made sure Rarity was secure on her back before leaning in to Applejack’s ear. “She’s been running around all night with the Element of Magic, trying to convince everyone to fight. Don’t stress her out too much it... it almost cost her her life.”

“What?! Rarity! What have you been playin’ at?”

“Just trying to help, darling.”

“S’that so.” Applejack walked around Twilight to look Rarity in the eye. Twilight tried to turn her head to watch, but her vision was blocked by Rarity’s dangling forelimb.

“Before you go pullin’ a stunt like that again,” Applejack hissed, “You take a second and you think about who yer leavin’ behind!”

Rarity began crying. “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad.”

“Dangit, I ain’t mad at ya! I’m just scared! Shucks, gimme that varmint Twilight.”

Before Twilight could help in the transition, Applejack dragged Rarity off of her back and laid her down on broad earth pony shoulders. Twilight released her telekinesis, and Applejack didn’t so much as shift her weight.

Applejack took one last look at her parents. “Ever since that day, I’ve been in charge of holdin’ everything together in the family. Ah don’t know how it got decided it ought to be me, or why, and some days I don’ particularly like it. But the thing I got to say to you Rarity, ain’t about complainin’.”

Applejack took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Ah didn’ know how to carry on. Ah still don’t know how to carry on. Ah thought in four years it wouldn’ hurt so much, but it never gets easier. The pain gets duller, but the wound’s still deep as it ever were. So I just tried to remember everythin’ they taught me... and when it comes to things they didn’t teach, ah just have to improvise.”

She waved a hoof over the pony couple silently watching her. “Like gettin’ married and startin’ a family. They never talked t’me about that... not once. So ah just thought ah’d do like they did, find some sturdy stallion like mah father, and have a colt and a filly or two. Even when I realized I was different, ah just lied and said I was straight... cause I wanted ta be like them... have a piece of them.

“But I learned somethin’ tonight Rarity, somethin’ I didn’ know the last time you saw me. Watching these two wearin’ faces that ain’t theirs, that hurts. Not even bein’ able to buck ‘em for it because they didn’ do anything except what I asked ‘em to, that hurts even more. It probably feels kinda like bein’ kissed by another mare and then hearin’ her tell ya she’s straight.”

The changelings glanced at each other, forelegs fidgeting uneasily.

“Ah’m sorry Rarity. Ah’m sorry I hurt you. Ah’m sorry ah left you fightin’ alone even though ah knew ya were countin’ on me to stick with ya to the end. But that’s all finished.”

Rarity only clung tighter to Applejack’s strong back.

Applejack reached up and plucked her hat off of the grey mare. “This is mah hat. And those aren’t yer faces.”

The changelings blinked, glanced at each other uneasily, and then hesitated.

“AH SAID GIT YA LOUSY CURS! AH DON’T NEED TA LOOK AT YA ANYMORE!”

They didn’t need to be told again. The now-shed disguises unveiled raw terror on their insect faces, as one the two changelings skittered into the darkness.

Applejack looked aside to Twilight. “Ya got somethin’ of mine too Twi’.”

Stunned into inaction, Twilight could only gape at Applejack until the earth pony spoke again.

“The Element? So we can close this business up?”

“Oh! Sorry I was just...”

“It’s okay,” said Applejack gently. Twilight fished Honesty out of her saddlebags and levitated it around her friend’s neck.

“Hey, there you guys are!” Twilight looked up with a start. It was Rainbow Dash’s voice.

The pegasus came into sight and landed on the hill before them. “Pinkie and Fluttershy are back at the center. All the changelings are gone. What are you three doing out here?”

Applejack shrugged, causing Rarity to rise and fall on her back. “Jus’ enjoyin’ a starry night.”

“Well there’s no time for that, let’s meet up so we can finally lick Chrysalis!”

“Of course,” said Twilight, feeling her spirit rise. “Lead the way Rainbow Dash.”

When Twilight and the others returned, Pinkie Pie had to hug everyone, including Rainbow Dash who had only been gone briefly, and Fluttershy who hadn’t even left.

Fluttershy noticed Rarity’s state of recovery and had to find her a blanket, which turned into a petty squabble when Rarity insisted that a tan and grey blanket wouldn’t match her mane.

Everything felt absurdly normal. It took Twilight a second to remember that the tingling warmth in her heart only meant that everything would be alright.

Twilight took that feeling and let it fuel her magic. She sought out Chrysalis not with hatred in her heart, but full of love for the princess that counted on her for this duty, and her friends who would not let her do it alone.

A shimmering mirror appeared in the air before her as her horn glowed. It showed an image of the changeling swarm in mid-flight, Queen Chrysalis in the center of the mass. Her friends gathered around her to watch.

“What are they doing?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“It looks like they’re... leaving,” said Twilight with a frown.

“Should we just let them go? They didn’t hurt anyone,” said Fluttershy.

“We really can’t, unfortunately. Chrysalis will just show up later to cause more trouble.”

Pinkie stood on her hind legs. “We’re gonna have to run really fast if we want to catch up to them!”

“No need,” said Twilight with a humble smile. “I’ll just bring them here. Let’s form up in front of the exit so they can’t get away again.”

No one hesitated at her instructions. Twilight looked over her friends to make certain the Elements were on their breasts and the spirit of Harmony was strong. Then she cast a powerful reverse teleportation spell made possible only by the Elements, reaching far into the night to where Chrysalis and her minions fled.

The magic latched tightly on to Twilight’s many targets. She felt brief resistance from Chrysalis, and then nothing as the large room filled with sparkling purple energy, out of which nearly one hundred confused changelings popped out.

Unlike her minions, Chrysalis wasted no time in a daze. She spun furiously on Twilight and her five friends.

“What is the meaning of this?” the queen demanded. “You’ve already given my people adequate love to survive, for which I am grateful. But you have each foolishly chosen to reject your own happiness, and I have no more time for you.”

“You’re wrong Chrysalis!” cried Twilight, floating into the air as the power of Harmony awoke. “We will find happiness through reality! All that we reject are your lies!”

“We’ll get there no matter how painful it gets!” said Applejack, rising up to Twilight’s left.

“We’ll discover ourselves!” said Rainbow Dash, floating on Twilight’s right.

“We’ll do it with friends!” said Pinkie Pie, also rising behind Twilight.

“And no matter what—”

Twilight would never learn how Fluttershy intended to finish her sentence, for at that exact moment the door behind them disintegrated into a thousand splinters, and the sheer kinetic energy behind the destruction tumbled over countless desks, bookshelves, and flung hundreds of loose filing papers into the air, slamming into every corner and furniture. 

Twilight and her five friends went flying with the debris. 

Mid-flight, Twilight’s tiara flew off her head and disappeared in the mass of changeling flesh. The mighty spell that had been near completion fizzled and died with an undignified pop.

Looking up in a stupor, Twilight squirmed halfway out of the mass of changelings she had been flung into as she tried to see what in Equestria had happened.

Beyond the ruined doorframe stood a horned and musclebound apparition. Its feral eyes gleamed in the night. A reptilian menace lay coiled atop its shoulder, tasting the air with a forked tongue. With a start, Twilight realized she was looking at Spike.

“When somepony kidnaps your mare...

“IT’S TIME TO GROW A PAIR!”

“Of horns!” added Spike cheerfully. He was wearing a plastic viking helmet. The minotaur did not need a helmet since he was already equipped with a pair.

“What... what’s going on?” mumbled Twilight.

“Is that... Iron Will?” Fluttershy asked from somewhere beneath a pile of changelings.

Without further ado, Iron Will charged into the room, blazing away with a pair of fully automatic machine pistols that spewed multi-colored globules onto the changeling swarm. Hanging on to the dubious safety of two massive shoulders, Spike reached into a bag and began chucking balloons into the crowd, where they exploded in more paint, like grenades.

Trailing behind that unstoppable duo, Shining Armor, Big Macintosh, and Soarin filed into the room and began firing at will, clearing out stragglers that Iron Will left in his devastating wake. Each were wearing horned helmets just like Spike.

Big Mac wielded a double barrel paint shotgun. Two wide blasts collided into the tightly packed changelings, and then he was left with the lengthy process of reloading with his hooves. While the mighty stallion fiddled with the gun, three changelings cautiously approached him, muscles tensing.

Big Mac looked up and frowned. “Eenope.”

The changelings exchanged glances and then backed away from their opponent, patiently waiting to be shot in the head.

As Soarin wildly fired his assault paint rifle, he flipped through the air and strafed the crowd. After emptying his clip, he landed beside Rainbow Dash and pulled her free from a pile of changelings he had tagged with his gun.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, cheeks turning red.

The crackle of his earpiece could be heard by the entire room. “Pardon me, Soarin? Could you open the leftmost window on the north wall?”

Soarin turned his gaze away from Rainbow, clearly annoyed. “Can this wait? I’m kind of in the middle of something here Fancypants.”

“Oh no doubt. But as remarkable as this scoped paint rifle is, I simply can’t contribute to this battle until I have an open window. I believe this duty was assigned to you in our strategy brief.”

Soarin rolled his eyes and then flew over the mob of changelings to open up a window. No sooner did he clear it than a high velocity round of paint fly through and explode into a hapless changeling, coating it entirely in paint.

“Happy now?”

“Quite.”

“Radio silence!” cried Iron Will as changelings sailed away from his rampage.

In the rear, Shining Armor fired off a rifle similar to Soarin’s, clearing a path toward Twilight. As he drew closer, one of the changelings that he had blasted simply stared blinking at him.

Shining Armor stopped and gave the changeling a petulant look.

“Err... I shot you?”

“Yeah, I know,” said the changeling, looking confused. “Why did you do that?”

“It doesn’t matter why, I shot you okay? You’re out.”

“Oh, sorry.” The changeling carefully lay down and put its limbs up in the air. Shining Armor nodded his approval and finished his journey to Twilight Sparkle.

“You alright Twiley?” he flashed that winning smile and helped her to her feet.

“What’s going on?!”

“We’re rescuing you of course!”

“No you don’t—”

“ARMOR!” bellowed Iron Will. “It’s time, get over here!”

“One sec!” said Shining Armor, galloping over to close ranks with the minotaur.

Iron Will set down Spike, who waddled over to Twilight and her gathering group of friends. Then he and Shining Armor charged into the thick of the crowd, heading straight toward Queen Chrysalis.

“Stop them!” cried the changeling monarch. Her shapeshifter loyalists recovered from their shock and scrambled to defend Chrysalis, but not even an organized defense could slow them down for long. As the minotaur and the guardsmen drew nearer, Chrysalis grew desperate enough to attack them with her own magic. Bolts of sickly green energy shaped like spear-points headed straight toward Iron Will, but Shining Armor had prepared for this and erected a purple shield that harmlessly deflected the blasts.

In just a few seconds, Iron Will loomed over the queen. The mighty twin pistols tried to fire one last time, but two empty clicks signaled that the clips had finally run dry. Improvising at break-neck speed, the rampaging beast hurled the weapons through the air where they smacked solidly against the last two changeling guards standing, bowling both of them over. With raptor-like speed, he then pulled a sawed off paint shotgun with pistol grip from a sheath at his belt, aiming the harmless weapon scant inches from Queen Chrysalis’s fanged face.

“Please don’t,” cried Chrysalis, sobbing in terror. “You’ll mess up my hair! And my poor people... there could be lead in that paint!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” roared Iron Will. “I’m not a barbarian!”

“Still, it’s going to be so much work to clean everyone up,” said Chrysalis as she surveyed the moaning wreckage of her paint-splattered horde. “They’re going to expect me to do it you know, I swear these drones are like five year olds.”

The pair descended into heavy bickering, with Iron Will at one point shouting and pointing to his now empty plastic gun. Neither of them noticed Twilight and her friends shambling to their feet.

“You know,” said Twilight as the last of her friends had picked themselves up, “we could probably blast her right now while they’re bickering.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head, chin lifted. “Sorry Twilight, but no. I’m willing to be the Element of Loyalty again, but there’s no way I’m going to defeat a villain this pathetic with so many ponies watching. I’d never live it down!”

“I’m with Rainbow Dash,” added Fluttershy. “I’d feel bad about defeating her when she’s having such a hard time. I might umm... help her clean up though? That’s kind of like a victory for us?”

Twilight sighed and nodded, sitting back to watch the queen quivering under minotaur gunpoint. “Alright. Point well-taken.” She gestured to the scene with a hoof. “This... this is our victory. I’m just going to do my best to appreciate it.”

“You brought this on yourself Chrysalis!” Iron Will was saying. “Let those mares go right now, or face the consequences!”

“They’ve always been free to go,” protested Chrysalis. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Iron Will raised a brow but lowered his gun. “Really? Well, Iron Will would hate to think this whole thing was a misunderstanding...”

Shining Armor ducked in between the changeling monarch and Iron Will, looking fervently up at the hulking beast. “Hey! Wait a minute, this isn’t what we agreed on! This is the best opportunity I’ve ever had to capture Chrysalis, but I need your help Iron Will! You can’t listen to her lies!”

Iron Will pursed his lip, stalking back and forth. “Armor. What did Iron Will tell everypony when we first repurposed our therapy group into a vigilante hit squad?”

“That doesn’t matter! Don’t you understand—”

“WHAT DID IRON WILL SAY, ARMOR?”

Shining Armor sighed and took a deep breath. “Before you kick down the door...”

“MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT FLOOR!” finished Iron Will. “Look Armor, you’re not thinking clearly. All you’ve got on your mind is vengeance, and until you’ve paid your debt in blood, you won’t stop and think about who else might get hurt. You were just like me, ten years ago, when my wife was killed...”

Shining Armor’s jaw dropped. “Your wife was killed?! I... I had no idea... I’m so...”

Iron Will blinked in confusion. “Wife? Uhh... no... I never had a wife. Sorry, it’s just that our conversation started to remind me of this old cop movie I saw. Got me confused for a second.”

Shining Armor’s eyes rolled upward in annoyance, an expression that Twilight had copied from a young age.

“Alright Iron Will, you can talk to her. I still have to bring her in when you’re done, so just watch her closely.”

Iron Will nodded briskly to Chrysalis. “Alright, you were claiming to be innocent?”

“Yes,” said Chrysalis sadly. “I didn’t want to hurt anypony, I just needed to feed my children.”

“And what does this involve?”

“We feed off the love emotions of thinking creatures, usually ponies. But it doesn’t hurt them! Do you think you can run out of anger, or happiness? Of course you can’t, you draw on more whenever the need arises. Sure we can put our subjects in a fog if we’re feeling nasty, but it’s strictly optional and even then the effects are temporary.”

Iron Will glanced back at Twilight and the others. “Is this true? You were willing participants in this?”

“It’s true,” said Twilight with a dismissive shrug. “We tried it out and well... we decided it’s not for us.”

“No way!” said Soarin, approaching Iron Will. “I scouted ahead just like you told me, and I saw all sorts of freaky magic going on in this building.”

“That was us,” said Twilight in annoyance. “We were just about to use the Elements of Harmony before SOMEPONY burst in and knocked us all over the room!”

“The Elements?!” Shining Armor’s eyes light up. “Oh, right, right. You can still do that! We’ll get out of your way!”

“No can do, big bro,” said Twilight. “You ruined our buzz.”

“Yep,” said Rainbow Dash, looking away. “Buzz is officially killed.”

“So tell me more about this feeding,” continued Iron Will after shooting a glare at the interrupting ponies.

“It’s an ancient changeling tradition. We appear before a pony as the creature they desire most, and offer to take their place and bond with them for life. As their queen, it’s my duty to ensure that my children find these bonds and don’t go hungry. I thought for sure these six miserable mares would be a perfect fit... but I was rejected!”

Iron Will nodded slowly. “Your majesty, Iron Will thinks you have a completely viable product to sell here. The only thing standing in your way is the delivery. You can’t just stalk ponies in the night in the hopes that they’re your customers.”

Chrysalis tilted her head. “We... can’t?”

“Before I continue, on a scale of one to ten, how well stocked is the changeling treasury?”

Chrysalis scoffed. “Are you kidding?! Our pony lovers constantly shower us with bits and valuables. We don’t even have any use for it as a collectivist society, so we just keep it all in a gigantic heap of treasure back at the nest. I don’t know what to do about it, we’re running out of room!”

Iron Will inclined his head, completely calm. “Queen Chrysalis, Iron Will would be honored to be your head marketing agent.”

Chrysalis stared at the minotaur wide-eyed. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“I mean advertisement, customer support, slogans! I’ve got one already.” Iron Will cleared his throat. “When life’s hung you to dry... GIVE A CHANGELING A TRY!”

Chrysalis gasped. “That’s amazing!”

Iron Will grinned and chuckled. “I get that reaction a lot.”

Queen Chrysalis laughed and batted a hoof in the minotaur’s direction. “Oh you!”

Twilight Sparkle was beside the two at this point. “Excuse me,” she said nervously.

Iron Will looked down at her with a frown. “What is it, tiny mare?”

Twilight stood up straighter. “You guys... you guys can’t do that!”

Chrysalis raised a brow. “Twilight, it was fun for all of an hour, but I think we both need to move on.” Her green eyes appraised Iron Will. “Apparently I’m dating minotaurs now.”

Iron Will blinked, did a double take, and subtly stepped away from Queen Chrysalis.

“That’s not what I meant,” said Twilight with a scowl. She turned to Iron Will. “That’s the changeling queen you’re addressing. She’s royalty! You can’t just... walk up to her and offer to form an intimate business relationship!”

“Err... intimate?” Iron Will peered down at Chrysalis, nose wrinkling.

“Mmm-hmm,” said Chrysalis with a contented little purr. “I think intimate is the perfect word here.”

Twilight spun to Chrysalis. “And you! You’re a Queen for goodness’ sake! Where’s your sense of dignity?!”

Chrysalis sighed and knelt down to look Twilight in the eye. “Twilight Sparkle. I would usually never do this, since it’s just going to make it harder for me to manipulate you in the future. But given how soundly you rejected me, I don’t think that matters anymore.

“The truth is, I don’t see myself as a changeling queen. I see myself as a pony.”

“Huh?”

“Is it really so shocking?”

“No I mean... I’ve read up on your species, and you’re definitely not a pony.” Twilight cleared her throat and recited. “Despite their standard quadruped bearing, the Morphos Decepticus shares more in common with the humble insect. Possessing a rugged chitinous exoskeleton, the species perpetrates themselves by relying on the queen, who can lay an average of ten-thousand eggs every—”

“Hey!” cried Queen Chrysalis. “That’s personal information!”

“Sorry,” said Twilight, blushing and clamming up.

“Don’t confuse the matter with your fancy biology. I’ve got four hooves and I trot, so as far as I can see I’m some kind of pony. But that’s not the point. The point is I have feelings Twilight. I have failings. And I even have desire. Sometimes being at the top of the social ladder makes all of that harder. But it doesn’t make it go away.”

“Wow...” said Twilight quietly. “I never thought of you that way.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think of me you dolt!” cried Chrysalis. “Your issue is that you’ve never thought of Princess Celestia that way. That’s why you don’t have her. That’s why you’re lonely.”

“Yep,” said Shining Armor. “That’s what I was kind of trying to tell you yesterday Twiley. Maybe I should have just come out and said it.”

He shot a glare at Queen Chrysalis. “You’re still an evil witch.”

“Yeah?” said Queen Chrysalis, feigning indifference. “What are you gonna do about it?”

“Take you in,” said Shining Armor as his horn lit up. With a magenta glow, a set of shackles clamped around Chrysalis’s legs. She tested them with a grunt, but the bindings held.

Shining Armor began marching Queen Chrysalis to the door.

Iron Will followed. “It’ll be alright Chrysalis. My brother’s a lawyer, he can help you.”

“Not against war crimes,” said Shining Armor, a touch smug. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to have your marketing meetings in the Canterlot dungeons. And don’t try anything, I’ve already summoned the rest of the guard, they shouldn’t be far away at this point.”

Chrysalis cooperated sullenly, slowly moving to the doorway as the conjured chains dragged on the ground. The few drones left standing and free of paint moved to help her, but she waved them away.

“You can’t possibly comprehend what a huge mistake you’re making, guardspony,” she hissed. “If you had any sense, you’d release me right now while you still have that shiny little uniform of yours.”

“Don’t think threats are going to sway me Chrysalis,” said Shining Armor sternly. “You can’t possibly understand how much I’ve burned for this moment. My nights have been haunted with visions of changelings. My days blurred by your sneering face. Where is she? What is she doing? Will my wife and sister be safe as long as she’s free? And now you’re under my power. You get to see what it’s like to be scared and helpless. And this long nightmare has finally come to—”

The entire north wall disintegrated into splinters as Princesses Celestia and Luna smashed through it. The force of their arrival sent both Shining Armor and Iron Will tumbling into the throngs of changelings, but Queen Chrysalis had chosen just that moment to crouch down and brace herself for the overpowering impact.

“Good morning everypony!” cried Princess Celestia joyously, a sliver of sunlight following her through the massive hole she and her sister had left in the wall. “I hope nopony has been picking on Queen Chrysalis while I was gone!” Her long white horn activated, and Celestia dismissed Queen Chrysalis’s manacles.

Luna, for her part, said nothing; after breaching the wall she had gone directly to Rarity, casting several spells and fussing over the unicorn.

Shining Armor picked himself up immediately and galloped back to Celestia’s side. “I’m so glad you’re here, princess,” he said, ignoring everything he had just seen and heard. “I’ve just successfully taken Queen Chrysalis into custody. I was going to bring her back to Canterlot, and I could certainly use your assistance!”

“No,” said Celestia.

“I managed to get into contact with my guards,” Shining Armor continued. “They’re en route to our location as we speak.”

“I know,” said Princess Celestia. “I noticed them on my way and sent them back.”

Shining Armor took a step back. He looked at the now free Chrysalis for the first time. “Your Majesty,” he whispered. “What’s going on?”

“Luna and I have just finished ratifying a peace treaty between Equestria and the Changeling Hive. It took a long time and Queen Chrysalis told me she had to take care of her people, so I let her go do that. I didn’t realize it would bring her here of all places!”

She studied Queen Chrysalis’s form. “Of course I intended to announce this, but I felt like it could wait. They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Queen Chrysalis sulked. “They were going to use the Elements of Harmony on me!”

Princess Celestia raised a brow crossly and turned to Twilight Sparkle. “Is this true? Were you girls using the Elements of Harmony without my permission?”

Recovering from the shock of Princess Celestia’s arrival, Twilight looked at the mare she thought she loved. She remembered that little filly cowering and stammering in front of the most powerful being in the kingdom, living in fear of disappointment. And now, even with Celestia’s disapproving eyes, that filly was gone. Twilight couldn’t find her anywhere.

“Princess,” said Twilight Sparkle quietly. “You told us to use the Elements of Harmony on Chrysalis.”

Celestia blinked. “I did?”

“If I remember correctly,” said Twilight pointedly. “Your words were: ‘When Chrysalis pops up again, and it could be any day now, I’d really, really like there to be a great, big, heterosexual beam of magical rainbow power with which to hit her in the face.’ Sound familiar?”

“Hmm.” Celestia finally nodded. “Alright. I suppose given that I did say that, I can see how you might have mistakenly come to the conclusion that I wanted you to use the Elements of Harmony on Queen Chrysalis.”

“Well how else were we supposed to interpret that?!”

“That’s not the point. The point is this is clearly Shining Armor’s fault.”

Shining Armor raised his neck in surprise. “What? Hey! You ordered me to take Queen Chrysalis into captivity the day after the wedding!”

Celestia turned to the guardpony, staring imperiously down at him. “That’s true Shining Armor. And I also rescinded that order tonight. The letter is on your desk.”

“And I never got a chance to read it, since you ponynapped me!”

Celestia sighed wearily and rolled her eyes. “Shining Armor, I’ve been ponynapping you on the first of every month for the last three years. If you haven’t developed a forwarding system for your mail in all this time, then I think your competence needs to be called into question.”

Shining Armor squinted and lowered his gaze. “The first of every month? Let’s see... April... June... no, hold on! You ponynapped me on October 31st too!”

Luna looked up from Rarity. “That was us. You know how much we like to celebrate Nightmare Night.”

“Oh yeah... so I guess... I should have gotten your order.”

Princess Celestia nodded. “You should have. I can forgive you for your lapse this time, though of course I will have to dock your pay.”

Shining Armor sighed and bit his lip. “It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t have followed your order even if I had gotten it.”

Celestia watched him in silence, letting him continue.

“Princess. I don’t think I could dream up a more difficult pony to work for than you. And now that your sister’s in the mix, it’s only gotten harder. But never once have I regretted my decision to serve you. Until now anyway.”

Shining Armor motioned to Queen Chrysalis. “She tried to kill my wife and sister. She brainwashed me and turned me into a drooling idiot. I realize that you’re doing what you think is best but... I can’t forgive her for that, and I can’t go on working for you.”

Queen Chrysalis huffed. “You’ve got me all wrong, Shining Armor. I wasn’t going to kill either of them.”

Shining Armor frowned. “You weren’t?”

“Of course not! They were two juicy sacks of love waiting for my people to sinks their fangs into, I’m not just going to let that go to waste! And the boost of power I could get from absorbing Cadence’s emotions? Yes please!”

Shining Armor looked away. “Yeah, that uhh... that really doesn’t help at all.”

“Wasn’t supposed to,” said Queen Chrysalis, smirking.

“Shining Armor,” said Princess Celestia with all the weight of her formal bearing. “You may leave my service if you so choose.”

“Thank you, your majesty.”

“Or...” said Princess Celestia, reaching into her mane with twinkling eyes. “You could follow my next order and set up a system to monitor the movements and activities of Queen Chrysalis and every changeling in her power.” She nodded to the wreckage of the recreation center. “We wouldn’t want something like this happening again, would we?”

Shining Armor stepped forward, and the princess gave him a glowing orb and a scroll. He levitated the objects before him and examined them, eyes slowly widening.

“Is this...?”

“The descriptions and magical signatures of every changeling in existence? Yes it is.”

Shining Armor looked over the orb and scroll one last time, before his gaze fell on Queen Chrysalis. The steel in his eyes must have pierced the changeling, because she flinched.

Shining Armor tucked the objects away. “My proposal will be on your desk in three days, your majesty.”

Celestia turned away with a nod. “With that settled, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t continue—”

“Excuse me princess?” asked Twilight, raising her head to bring her voice closer to Celestia.

“Yes Twilight?”

Twilight cleared her throat and hesitated. She had questioned the lessons of her teacher many times in the past, but always with the underlying assumption that Celestia would be proven right, and whatever questions she had would only lay the framework of her next lesson. What if the princess was embarrassed by her challenge? How would it change their relationship?

She was standing on a solid wooden floor, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it might collapse from under her at any moment.

“If Queen Chrysalis is surrendering, shouldn’t she be forced to give up her power? She tried to conquer Canterlot after all.”

Celestia nodded easily. “That was one of our key demands during the opening negotiations, but as we grew to understand the political realities of the changelings, we realized that what we were asking was impossible.”

“Why?”

“It’s very simple,” interjected Queen Chrysalis. “I have to be in charge because I’m the biggest changeling.”

Twilight stammered, eyes twitching with rage at the illogical statement. She opened her mouth, struggling to find words for just the right censure.

Princess Celestia leaned down and smiled widely at Twilight Sparkle. “Was there something you wanted to say, my faithful student?”

Twilight Sparkle looked up at Princess Celestia, the largest pony in Equestria.

“No,” said Twilight, face deflating into a sheepish smile. “That seems like a perfectly fine explanation to me.”

“Good. Now, we’ve all had a pretty exciting night, so I’d like everyone to go to bed and we’ll resume our therapy—”

“There’s more though!” said Twilight. “She snuck into camp and attacked us!”

“That wasn’t an attack! I merely offered a mutually beneficial arrangement, as the treaty I signed fully supports.”

“True,” said Princess Celestia, gaze locking on Chrysalis. “Though I’m sure Queen Chrysalis will refrain from making this offer on these six mares again, as a personal favor to me.”

Chrysalis gulped.

“There’s more to it,” said Twilight, pacing and dragging her hoof once across the ground. “She drugged us and brought us to the recreation center!”

Princess Celestia sighed. “Look Twilight, if I punished ponies every time they drugged you and your friends, it wouldn’t look very good when I did it myself, now would it?”

“Well, what about how she disguised herself as you?”

Princess Celestia raised a brow in response, and turned back to Chrysalis. “Did she now?”

Chrysalis shook her head hastily. “It wasn’t like that Princess! I only took the form your disciple desired, there was no deception involved!”

“That’s not true! You were in her form from the very beginning, before we knew it was you!”

The mood in the air seemed to change as Celestia and Luna’s eyes narrowed.

“Mmm,” said Princess Celestia humorlessly, stalking over to Chrysalis. “That’s really funny to hear. You’re the only changeling powerful enough to take the form of me or my sister, yes?”

“Indeed,” said Luna, patting Rarity on the shoulder and then moving in. “We were quite adamant that the understanding between our people would be null and void were you to ever disguise yourself as royalty.”

Chrysalis cowered, backing up. “My children were nearly dead, I was desperate!”

Celestia and Luna’s eyes met, and the latter nodded. Celestia raised a hoof.

Chrysalis closed her eyes, whimpering. “Please great princess, spare me!”

The hoof came down on flesh, cracking like the roar of thunder. It detonated on Queen Chrysalis’s bony flank, immediately leaving a large welt.

Chrysalis’s eyes flew open. A tear ran down them. “That... hurt...” she gasped.

“I know it did,” Princess Celestia said soothingly, smoothing out the changeling monarch’s stringy hair. “But if it makes you feel any better, I really, really enjoyed that.”

“That doesn’t help,” sulked Queen Chrysalis.

“It wasn’t supposed to,” said Celestia.

“ARE YOU GOING TO ASK US TO KISS IT, OR WILL YOU PERHAPS REMEMBER YOUR QUEENLY DIGNITY?”

“No, that’s alright.” Queen Chrysalis limped away, and her drones immediately rushed to tend to her.

“If she had asked I would have...” said Celestia, before shrugging and turning back to Twilight and her friends. “Bed time then?”

“Actually,” said Twilight as her friends began to gather around her. “There’s something I have to tell you, princess. And everyone really.”

She took a deep breath, feeling her heart flutter. “I just need a few minutes to prepare.”

Princess Celestia tilted her head, but at last nodded. “If you feel it’s important, Twilight Sparkle, then I trust you.” The great white diarch trotted away, Luna following after sparing a glance at Rarity.

Rarity was at Twilight’s side, looking healthy as ever. “Are you sure you want to do this in front of everyone?” she whispered.

“I’m going to do what I should have done when we first came here. I’m going to put an end to this Straight Camp.”

Rarity glanced toward the retreating princess, then back at Twilight. “I meant... you and her...?”

Twilight sighed. “Yeah. I know what you meant.”