Chapter 18

Arranging the Board

It was too late. Twilight could only watch as the black heart lazily drifted out of her vision and towards the other cell. By the time she blinked, everything was over. The green aura around Chrysalis’ horn was gone, the heart had disappeared, and the only thing that remained was a gentle sobbing from the only other occupant in the room.

“Why did you do that?!” Twilight cried, pounding against the bars of her cell..

“Twilight Sparkle, would you have believed me without proof?” the changeling queen countered. “No, I don’t think that you would. Also, it would be quite inconvenient for the both of us if he suddenly got the urge to ruin our little game.”

“But—”

“All it would have taken was a little slip of the tongue. In a single instant, the deal would be off, and you’d be left here to rot. Surely you wouldn’t want that.”

Giving the rock wall a nasty kick, Twilight tried to think of something to say. Chrysalis had probably done the same thing that Cadance had done to Nightowl, leaving the spell to run its course and forcing the victim to see what they kept hidden in their hearts. It was a terrifying thought.

Blinking, Twilight remembered that the changeling in the cell next to her was Nightowl. The poor creature had been through this ordeal before, if Applejack had been telling the truth, but now he was experiencing the other side of it. Did that mean that Cadance had been lying about requiring the consent of the target, or was Chrysalis’ power different?

“Speechless, hm?” the changeling queen taunted.

“There should’ve been another way,” Twilight growled, backing away from the cell door. “You could have simply mind controlled him like you did to my brother.”

At the mention of mind control, the changeling queen once again burst into maniacal laughter, a habit of hers that was almost as prevalent as her monologuing. “Oh, you don’t know anything, do you? If I could mind control somepony, I would have done so to Princess Celestia from the very beginning! Honestly, I thought you would recognize some complex levitation when you saw it.”

“Wait, you were just—”

“Of course I was using levitation! I can’t believe that you didn’t notice. It took me weeks to drain all of his energy, but once I was finished, he could barely stand! At the wedding, I was simply moving him around like an adorable little puppet, not mind controlling him like you seem to think. Maybe cutting this deal with you was the wrong idea, hm?”

“W-wait!” Twilight stammered, desperate to take whatever deal she could get her hooves on. “Okay, I’ll play along with your little bargain, just answer my question first. If you’d drained all of the magic from Shining Armor, how did he have enough left over to blast you and your changelings away? Making a selective barrier of that size and extending it to the size of Canterlot would have been a feat, even for Princess Celestia herself!”

Chrysalis’ giddy mood immediately crashed and burned, the fire from the wreckage burning in her sickly green eyes. Baring her fangs, the changeling queen stomped at the floor and shoved her head up against the cell bars hard enough to make Twilight wince. “It was that little pink princess of yours and her truth spell,” she seethed. “Once he knew I was a fake, all of my work went to waste and he got back everything I’d taken from him in an instant! Trust me, the power of love is something you’ll probably never live to experience if you don’t learn to keep your mouth shut.”

Twilight instinctively backed away until she bumped into the cold wall of her cell. Chrysalis’ defeat in Canterlot was obviously a touchy subject, but it didn’t make any sense when Twilight compared it against what Skylight had told her. Then again, Chrysalis’ actions weren’t making any sense either.

When she remembered the other captive, she became aware of him sniffling faintly in the distance. “I’m Nightowl. My name is Nightowl. I’m a night guard. I’m a normal pony, living a normal life....”

Shuddering, Twilight tried to tune him out. Those were all blatant lies, but he was able to speak them clearly. What terrified her was that he sounded like he genuinely believed them.

“Let him go,” she ordered calmly, creeping forward to meet Chrysalis face to face. “If you undo your spell, I’ll play your game with whatever rules you want. I’m not afraid of you. You won’t be able to deceive me in the end, not when it’s about my friends.”

Chrysalis didn’t back away, keeping her unnaturally dark face flush against the cell bars, but her expression underwent a jarring shift from murderous to playful. “So demanding! It baffles me how little miss pink put up with you for so long. But, in my infinite generosity, I shall grant your wish and release the spell after we leave. That is fair, is it not?”

Blocking out the sobbing that echoed through the cave, Twilight nodded. Nightowl — no, Skylight Dreamer — had been through enough already. This was her way of thanking him for telling her so much about changeling society. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be put through any other hardships once this was over. Maybe he’d be able to live a normal life, just like the one he wanted.

“Then how about a change of scenery, hm?” Chrysalis sung, stepping back from the cell doors. “A dull place like this is hardly a fitting backdrop for our long-awaited battle.”

Once again becoming hesitant, Twilight backed up as the door to her cell glowed a bright green, emitting a click and swinging open. Why did they need to go elsewhere? Was this a trap? Had Cadance’s deal never existed in the first place?

“Come, Twilight Sparkle,” Chrysalis demanded. “If you do not leave your cell in ten seconds, the deal is off. I will count nice and slow for you, but you know what will happen if you remain there. Do not make me wait.”

Shuddering, Twilight weighed her options. This supposed deal was almost certainly a trap, seeing how Cadance had no leverage to negotiate with the changelings. There was always the possibility that Cadance had somehow managed to threaten her captor, but it was highly unlikely.

“One thousand and one. One thousand and two. One thousand and three.”

Even if it was a trap, there was no other option. If she could find some room to move around, she could still try and make a break for it without her magic. But what about Skylight? If Twilight didn’t play along, he would remain under that insipid spell for the rest of his life.

“One thousand and four. One thousand and five. One thousand and six.”

There was also the fact that she would be leaving Cadance and Shining Armor behind, something she could never bring herself to do. Maybe her friends were captive as well, since that had never been clarified. All things considered, there were too many variables to consider running away a valid option.

“One thousand and seven. One thousand and eight. One thousand and nine....”

Something clicked in Twilight’s busy thoughts. Chrysalis’ counting had brought her attention to a certain observation, one that she had nearly overlooked. With that sudden realization, Twilight knew how Cadance had managed to strike a deal with Chrysalis, one that would put the pressure on the changeling queen to agree to such a pointless competition. Twilight chastised herself for not seeing this sooner.

“One thousand and—”

“That’s enough!” Twilight shouted, bounding out of her cell before the door slammed violently shut behind her. “I’ll play along. You didn’t want this deal to go through in the first place, did you? I guess Cadance really managed to pile on the pressure.”

Chrysalis visibly winced, confirming Twilight’s suspicions. For a creature with the power to control lies, she was horrible at covering her own. “Whatever do you mean? She has nothing—”

“Nice try, Chrysalis, but I’ve already proven that the culprit behind the Everdale disappearances fears the direct involvement of the royal sisters. You may have been able to stop Luna from visiting my dreams, but you didn’t have time to keep her from visiting Cadance’s!”

Once again, the intimidating creature lost her composure, unable to keep eye contact with Twilight. “You can’t—”

“I can. I already know what you did, after all. You’re a master at imitating ponies, aren’t you? You already knew about Luna’s powers, so once you realized we were going to find the city, you were cornered. Your only option was to somehow keep her from contacting me, otherwise I would reveal your location! And to do that, you imitated my dream, didn’t you?”

“Wh-what?!” the queen huffed, baring her fangs. “You’re absolutely mad! When would I have time to do that? I couldn’t possibly—”

“Don’t sell yourself short, oh magnificent queen. First off, I have no way of telling how long I was out from your sleep spell. It would be easy of you to put me into a deep sleep, so deep that I wouldn’t be able to dream for a while, which would allow you to take my form, fall asleep, and assure Princess Luna that everything was fine. Actually, no. You didn’t do that did you? I imagine that you offended her in some way so that she would never speak to me again. After all, she tried to apologize to you. Twice!”

The words had a physical effect on Chrysalis, causing her to back up against the exit, eyes wide like grimy dinner plates. It was entertaining to watch such a feared creature reduced to such a pitiful state.

“It’s a good thing Luna counts her apologies, otherwise I wouldn’t have noticed that she skipped numbers six and seven, going straight to one thousand and eight. Based on that, I know that I can trust this deal, since Cadance must have threatened to bring down the wrath of the royal sisters on you. You didn’t know that she was coming, so you didn’t have the opportunity to imitate her dream. So please, lead the way, oh generous queen. I heartily await your challenge!”

Twilight hadn’t intended to be so theatrical about it, but she couldn’t keep her detective’s dramatic flair from acting up again. If the Heart of Equestria was real, it was probably affecting her right now, making her act just as dramatic as her foe.

With a feral growl, Chrysalis righted her posture again, throwing the door open with a fierce burst of magic. It was odd, but the queen appeared impressed, rather than upset, with Twilight’s deductions. Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she tried not to look too far into it, seeing as it could easily be another one of Chrysalis’ mind games, after all.

“Wait,” Twilight ordered as she slipped through the doorway behind Chrysalis, closing it. “Remove the spell from Skylight. That was part of the deal.”

Looking back over her shoulder, the changeling queen quirked a brow. “Skylight Dreamer was a silly foal, one who refused to accept reality for what it was. The fact that he told you his name is proof enough of that. I will remove the spell from that nameless creature once we are out of earshot.”

“And how can I trust you?” Twilight demanded. She wanted to defend the poor changeling, but she knew that she was on thin ice already.

Instead of a cryptic answer, like Twilight expected, Chrysalis turned around to face her, horn glowing. Just like before, the jagged spire erupted into a flash of sickly green light, materializing a familiar black heart between them.

Instinctively, Twilight leapt backwards against the door and reached inside of herself to draw upon her magic, once again remembering how powerless she was. Helpless, she stared as the black heart floated menacingly in the air. It had been a trap all along!

But instead of targeting Twilight, the heart remained in front of Chrysalis and the changeling’s eyes faded into an inky shade of black, making the rest of her body appear bright by comparison.

“I will not remove my spell once we have walked 50 steps from this place.”

Chrysalis words boomed in the echoing hallway, causing Twilight’s ears to ring. It was almost identical to the way that Cadance’s spell worked, but this monster had managed to use it on herself without thinking twice. What drew Twilight’s attention was how she had used it, making it function as a truth spell instead of one that caused lies. By telling a lie about how she would not remove the hex at a specific time, she had made a promise. Twilight wondered what would happen if Chrysalis broke her word.

“Are you satisfied?” Chrysalis grumbled, her eyes fading back to their usual eerie green.

“Actually, yes,” Twilight answered hesitantly. “I can kind of see how using that would be a handicap for you.”

“Good,” the changeling queen spat, not making any effort to hide her bitterness.

Their trek continued as Twilight counted her steps to ensure that Chrysalis kept her word. At each turn, she cautiously peeked around the corner to be sure that nopony was following them, but the entire cave system appeared to be surprisingly empty. They were the only two creatures in the torch-lit passageways, a scene right out of the Daring Do novel with the hidden Paleopony Period ruins. It was rather spacious, but Twilight had the feeling that a creature of Chrysalis’ size would started to feel cramped after a few hours.

On the 50th step, Chrysalis halted, exactly like she had promised. Just like before, magic surged through her horn, illuminating the dim passageway in an unsettling shade of green.

Without a word, the sickening light faded and Chrysalis continued walking as if nothing had happened, but Twilight had a few questions for her. “Hey, what would have happened if you didn’t complete the lie?” she asked, trying to remain respectful towards her captor. The last thing she needed was to be thrown back into her holding cell.

“That’s not possible,” Chrysalis stated plainly, refusing to break her stride to turn around. “I assume that Cadance never told you, then? Her power can serve as a pact, making an unbreakable promise. The spell remains active, keeping the pact fresh in the target’s mind until the time comes when the promise must be fulfilled. At that point, the target can think of nothing else but that promise, and they are forced to stay true to their word. Or in my case, to break it.”

Twilight was speechless, trying to wrap her mind around the concept of a civil conversation with Chrysalis. The changeling queen was being remarkably cooperative, despite her deadpan tone of voice. "But how did you dispell it so easily?" Twilight asked. She was about to mention that Cadance had experienced some difficulty with dispelling hers, but she stopped herself. The changeling queen had a habit of accidentally revealing information, after all.

"Why would it be difficult?" Chrysalis asked, answering Twilight question with another question. "All I did was set up the spell so that it would remain there until I sent the signal. For such a powerful unicorn, you truly have no concept of how spells work."

Pensive, Twilight continued on in silence, wondering if the lying spell had the same effect on Chrysalis as the truth spell did to other ponies. If Chrysalis had any lies that she held close to her heart, would it force them to the surface? That would explain her unprecedented somber mood. Chrysalis didn’t seem like herself when she wasn’t cackling or going off on a pointless monologue.

“You’re taking this remarkably well,” Chrysalis mentioned as they continued their journey through the claustrophobic cave system. “I was expecting you to be a bit more inquisitive, or at the very least, spouting some nonsense about the power of friendship. I can’t say that I am upset about this, but I am pleasantly surprised.”

“Right now, I’m just trying to get my thoughts in order,” Twilight grumbled, ignoring Chrysalis’ passive-aggressive tone. “But now that you mention it, I’ve got a few choice words for you.”

“Oh goody,” the creature spat.

Before Twilight began to her endless stream of questions, she wondered why Chrysalis was upset about this, since she was the one who had brought it up. “Well, what about the nine ponies that were found wandering the forest?” she began, not expecting a serious answer. “That wasn’t normal changeling feeding, was it? And why did you let them out like that? If I were you, I would—”

“You’re not me,” Chrysalis quipped sharply, silencing Twilight. “But you are correct about our feeding habits. It is by no means permanent, especially when we are near the Heart of Equestria. But thanks to a rather recent discovery, we have found a more humane method to feed off of emotions, one that provides us with one of the greatest instances of poetic justice I can imagine. You see, thanks to a combination of my magic and the Heart of Equestria, we’ve managed to permanently capture a pony’s emotions in the form of music. As long as the piece exists in written form, it will keep our hapless victim in a completely apathetic state, allowing the captured emotions to be released indefinitely by playing that pony’s song.”

As disturbing as the process was, it was an interesting concept. Giving somepony’s emotions a constant state and preserving them in the form of sound was a topic that Twilight would have loved to research, but the spell’s cruelty quickly turned her away. Thankfully, Chrysalis’ answer provided Twilight with a possible reason for what Caesura’s link to the changelings was, considering her talent with playing so many instruments at once.

Still, Twilight wasn’t going to let a few details slide past her. “You call that humane?” she huffed. “That sounds worse than the symptoms of normal feeding if you ask me. Also I fail to see what kind of poetic justice you’re getting out of this.”

Indignant, the changeling growled. “Twilight Sparkle, if anypony understands poetic justice, it’s me. You never knew who those nine were, or why there were only nine of them, did you? To think that such an astute detective overlooked such an important fact! If you had cared enough to ask around, you would have realized that one of those nine was a certain earth pony by the name of Dotted Line. The other eight were his biggest supporters, excluding little Red of course, since somepony had to stay around and be my puppet once all was said and done. As for Dotted Line, it’s a shame he can’t appreciate the irony of his situation, but I find it beautiful how the one who deprived us of our only source of food is now providing us with an endless supply!”

Twilight could understand the irony of it, but that didn’t justify it or make it humane by any stretch of the word. Regardless, she wanted to press the issue about Red, but she had a feeling that her time was limited, so she streamlined her thoughts in an attempt to focus on the most important issues.

“Okay, I’ve got another question for you,” Twilight announced, ignoring Chrysalis’ patronizing smirk. “Why were you so surprised to see me in that parade? After all, you keep mocking me by insinuating that you replaced one of my friends, but if you had, you would have known we were coming. Based on that, I’m starting to think you’re bluffing.”

The question stopped Chrysalis in her tracks, finally provoking a serious reaction. “I was not surprised that you were there, Twilight Sparkle,” the creature seethed, exhaling hotly. “I was just astounded that you were stupid enough to show yourself in front of me! Not to mention the fact that you interrupted an extremely important ceremony and nearly gave my entire city a collective heart attack! Do you know how difficult it was to keep my subjects from barricading themselves in their homes?!”

Twilight was unaware that she had struck such a touchy subject, but things were starting to make sense. After the defeat in Canterlot, Skylight had mentioned how most of the changelings never made it back home. Were the ones watching the parade the only ones that had survived? There had been a myriad of ponies lining the street back then, but when compared to the daunting size of the city, Twilight guessed that only one eighth of its original population remained.

When she approached the situation from Chrysalis’ point of view, it was humbling. With so few of her subjects remaining, morale in the city had to be extremely low, especially if their queen was not there to be the political figurehead. When she returned, Chrysalis must have thought that the ceremony was important enough to forego any other plans she had, only interested in keeping her subjects appeased. Twilight had ruined all of that, revealing herself in front of the entire crowd and starting a mass panic. While they may have revered the Elements of Harmony, a concept that still sounded silly, they would probably fear for their lives if they actually showed up.

Swallowing, Twilight tried to ignore the guilt she felt. Why should she feel bad about the changelings after they had attacked an entire city full of innocent ponies? She wasn’t sure whether to pity or fear them.

In sobering silence, their march began anew, the queen and her captive coming to a silent understanding that there would be no more questions. After a few more twists and turns down the eerily empty system of caves, Twilight saw a mysterious blue glow from around the next corner. The sight made her apprehensive, still worried about wandering into some sort of trap, but there was no point in turning back, not after she had come so far. Chrysalis didn’t falter at the glow, approaching it with an aloof air about her.

Before Twilight could speak up, the changeling queen stopped in front of the corner, still refusing to turn around and acknowledge her captive. “This shall be our battlefield, Twilight Sparkle,” she announced, a hint of her theatrical flair returning and shattering the somber atmosphere. “Are you prepared?”

Twilight’s confidence was shaken by the lack of antagonism in Chrysalis’ speech, but she had no intention of turning back, not when her big brother and Cadance were in danger. “Bring it on, cheeselegs,” Twilight taunted. “If you think I can’t tell one of my best friends from an imposter, you’re wrong! You got taken down by the power of love last time, so I hope you’re ready to taste the power of friendship!”

“If your brilliant plan includes making me want to gag, it’s working beautifully,” the queen hissed, sounding much more like she had back in the holding cells. “I’d better hurry and get things started, otherwise you’ll talk me to an untimely demise.”

It was odd, but Twilight much preferred Chrysalis when she was actively making snarky comments. It was much easier to fight back when her opponent was doing the same. “Looks like I’ve already got the upper hoof,” Twilight teased, following the creature around the corner and towards the ephemeral blue glow.

As she rounded the last corner, Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, her competitive spirit flagging. The cavernous expanse trapped her breath deep down in her gummy throat, shock overriding any other reaction that Twilight might have felt. The hallway abruptly opened into an intimidatingly spacious chamber, one that made the royal hall in Canterlot look like a closet. On all sides, the roof and walls must have been miles away, raising the question of how a place like this could have been excavated.

As impressive as the daunting chamber was, it was the centerpiece that drew Twilight’s rapt attention. In the middle of the vast, gaping expanse, a humongous heart-shaped gem shone brilliantly like a star, bathing the entire cavern in its ephemeral blue light. Actually, massive was an understatement for the gem. The glowing heart was large enough to make Twilight’s library look like less like a tree and more like a sapling. Despite its size, it was held in place by two rocky spires, one jutting from the ceiling and one from the floor, making it appear completely weightless. It didn’t look natural at all.

The luminous gem reminded Twilight of Cadance’s cutie mark, only enlarged 100 times and without the intricate decorations around it. Twilight had never understood what the alicorn’s cutie mark had meant, or what had happened with the fiasco surrounding the crystal heart, but upon seeing this giant replica of it, it somehow made even less sense than it did before. In fact, this looked almost exactly like the crystal heart she had seen at the top of King Sombra’s tower, only significantly larger.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Chrysalis remarked, stopping and turning to the side to give Twilight an impressive view of her profile. The intense backlight behind her gave her an ethereal presence, making an incomplete shadow as some of the light passed through the holes in her legs. “This is the Heart of Equestria. Can you feel it, Twilight Sparkle? Your curiosity, your determination, your love for your parents... it’s all flaring up, isn’t it?”

Now that Chrysalis mentioned it, Twilight had to wonder how much of her awe was caused by the Heart itself, but there was something strange about Chrysalis’ word choice, snapping her out of her stupor. “My parents?” Twilight asked, doing her best to keep her emotions under control. “What do they have to do with this?”

Chrysalis smirked knowingly. “Oh, them? I had two ponies take their forms so that they could drain you of your magic. It’s rather simple, to be perfectly honest. Even if you know they’re fake, you still love your parents, don’t you?”

Wincing, Twilight wondered if she could use that as the key to getting her magic back. Could she possibly stop loving her parents, even for a single day? Sure, she had fought against them when they had grounded her for staying up all night reading, but she had nothing but respect for the ponies that had raised her.

“Of course you do,” Chrysalis cackled, the otherwordly, sea-blue aura of the room arousing a fear that Twilight didn’t know she had. “But that hardly matters right now. What does matter is that you and I have a little grudge match to play out.”

Twilight didn’t respond, fearing that the Heart of Equestria might be affecting her emotional state. She likened it to the world of dreams, where her subconscious ran rampant and unfiltered. This wasn’t nearly as wild as she had felt during her argument with Luna.

“Speechless already?” Chrysalis taunted, craning her neck so she could loom over her opponent. “I thought it would take more than that to stump you. It seems you need yet another advantage. Luckily for you, I figured that you would spend most of your time stumbling around in the dark, so I had something else prepared, just in case.”

Twilight hadn’t noticed it before, thanks to her fascination with the beautiful gem, but a black cloth sat draped over a pedestal, covering some sort of object right next to where Chrysalis was standing. With a dramatic flourish, the changeling queen flung the cloth off with her hoof, revealing what appeared to be a surprisingly ordinary crystal ball beneath it.

“Am I supposed to be impressed by that?” Twilight groaned, starting to grow tired of Chrysalis overdone way of doing everything. How was a crystal ball going to help her?

“Of course!” she announced, cradling it in her hooves. “You see, this is one of my most prized possessions! It’s a crystal ball, one that is absolutely perfect for spying on future targets, but I believe you will be more interested in one of its other uses. In my boundless mercy, I will allow you to use this crystal ball, but once, and only once. You may use it to look back through your memories and re-experience a specific moment in time.”

Gasping, Twilight immediately began to imagine how such a magical device would work. Was it powered by the Heart of Equestria, somehow trapping a pony within their subconscious for a limited amount of time? Was it like a dream? The possibilities were endless!

Once again, she had to calm herself, remembering that the Heart might be manipulating her curiosity. “Okay then,” the unicorn agreed, nodding warily. Chrysalis was giving her way too many advantages, seeing as their duel hadn’t even begun. “Will I get to choose which memory I revisit?”

“Why, of course you’ll get to choose!” Chrysalis cackled, looking sickeningly smug. “But remember, you only get one chance. Inside of that memory, you can look around and pick out details you may have overlooked before, but I doubt that somepony as astute as you would ever miss a vital clue. In fact, this little jog down memory lane won’t actually present any new evidence for you, it will only serve as a reminder of what you already know.”

This didn’t make any sense at all. Sure, it would be nice to refresh her memory, but the events at the Everdale Hotel were still fresh in her thoughts, so fresh that she was confident in her ability to replicate every single scene verbatim. “I’m thankful for the help, but how is something like this supposed to help me?”

“Oh, it’s just to refresh your memory,” Chrysalis explained, sounding much too kind for her usual demeanor. “I’m also using it to gauge where you’re at. Depending on which memory you choose to revisit, I’ll know where your train of thought is going. I’ll also be able to tell how much you’ve been able to figure out so far.”

Grimacing, Twilight knew that this was important somehow. Chrysalis wouldn’t set this up if she didn’t intend to use it to her advantage. There was the possibility that it was intended to provide Chrysalis with an opportunity to gloat over how much of a thespian she was, but that hardly seemed like a wise strategy on her part. The changeling queen wouldn’t give out opportunities like this without a catch.

“One last clarification,” Twilight demanded, regarding her foe with a quizzical frown. “Is there a length to how long the memory can be?”

“Obviously,” Chrysalis groaned, rolling her eyes. “I may be merciful, but I am not dumb. If I gave you the option, you would relive every single memory from your first arrival, which would be unsportsmarelike if you ask me, but because time is rather relative in your memories, I shall instead limit you to one event. How does that sound?”

It sounded suspicious, but Twilight didn’t have much room to disagree at this point. What if she picked the wrong one? Would Chrysalis make things easier on her, or would she cancel their challenge altogether? If Twilight was right, Chrysalis was being threatened by the royal sisters’ intervention, but how would that make a difference?

“So, which memory would you like to revisit?” Chrysalis inquired, tapping her hoof on the ground.

Hesitant, Twilight collected her thoughts. The note on the fountain was placed by Caesura, so going back there wouldn’t be helpful. The disappearances in the lobby would be pointless as well, since it happened while Twilight was investigating Page’s disappearance. There was also the incident in the forest, but that was so recent that Twilight could still remember every detail, down to the little imprint on the grass by the barrier. She could either choose her investigation of the room with Nightowl or pick some other event, but the investigation was starting to seem like the best option. Actually, with Cadance’s truth spell, Twilight could check all of the facts about the room, which would be more reliable than her memory.

“Clock’s ticking, Twilight Sparkle,” Chrysalis lilted, tapping her hoof more quickly than before. “My guards should be arriving with your pretty pink princess in tow, and you wouldn’t want to make her wait, would you?”

“I don’t think she’d mind,” Twilight huffed, finally making her decision. If she was going to pick a memory, she would pick one that contained information that Cadance’s truth spell couldn’t confirm. “I’m going to go back and take another look at everypony’s arrival to the party. I can check facts with you and Cadance, but I can use this memory to try and remember what the individual ponies looked like. Would it be okay to begin at the point where I set the barrier up?”

The suggestion must have aroused Chrysalis’ interest, as her eyes widened with what could only be explained as pleasant surprise. “Absolutely,” she acquiesced, “and I must say that you have chosen well. I’m beginning to think that you may have solved this already.”

Once again, Twilight regarded Chrysalis warily. Was the changeling queen giving her all of these hints on purpose, or was she simply that dense? She had just told Twilight that she had chosen the correct memory, or at least one that would provide a significant hint. There was still the possibility that it was nothing but misdirection, but there was no way to tell.

Twilight, nodding, tried to pry more information out of her opponent. “So how long would that scene last? Where’s the stopping point?”

Oddly enough, Chrysalis was delighted to answer. “It stops when you run upstairs, obviously.”

“I assumed so,” Twilight mumbled to herself as she cautiously approached the pedestal, eyes trained on her foe. “Let’s get this over with. You’ll have to give me some magic back to work this, won’t you?”

Chrysalis stifled a laughed as she slithered up to Twilight’s side. “Nice try, Twilight, but I’ll be activating it. I’ve learned that I can’t afford to take risks around you.”

Twilight wanted to challenge Chrysalis about taking risks, since she’d been taking a multitude of them recently, but the unicorn didn’t want to lose whatever ground she had gained. “Fine,” she sighed, closing her eyes. “Get this dumb thing fired up already.”

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind. You seem to be doing well enough, so I don’t think you need this silly crystal ball anymore.”

“Hey!” Twilight barked as Chrysalis brushed Twilight aside, levitating the black cloth back over the pedestal. “You can’t do that!”

“Do what?” Chrysalis asked, feigning ignorance. “All I did was put a cover back onto a completely ordinary crystal ball. Did this little filly want to play with it?”

“You!” Twilight snapped, unable to come up with anything insulting enough to say.

“Twilight Sparkle, did you really think that a simple crystal ball could be enchanted to scry on other ponies and let them relive their memories? Honestly, if I had something like that, I would have taken over Equestria a long time ago.”

“Then what was the point of that?!”

Chrysalis, hardly able to control herself, gave Twilight a coy smile. “Just to see your train of thought, like I already told you. You really are gullible, you know.”

“Ha, the joke’s on you, cheeselegs!” Twilight laughed, thinking quickly. “You just told me that one of the keys to solving this mystery comes from that memory, even giving me a starting and stopping point!”

Twilight had been bluffing, since there was a high likelihood that Chrysalis had lied about it, but it worked flawlessly. The changeling queen’s smug grin shattered so quickly that Twilight swore she heard the sound of glass breaking in the distance.

Before Twilight could capitalize on her success, Chrysalis’ anger faded into a disarmingly calm expression. “It seems I may have made the right decision,” she mumbled, not appearing to be talking to anypony in particular. “Now, if you would kindly—”

Chrysalis stopped in mid sentence, her attention shifting somewhere behind Twilight. Anxious, the unicorn turned around to see what was was so important.

Back by the entrance, a row of royal guards entered the chamber, each of them holding a captive at spearpoint.

“Girls! Cadance!” Twilight yelled, instinctively galloping over to meet them. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I should’ve figured this out sooner! Then we....”

Twilight trailed off, slowing down her gallop until she had stopped completely. What if the six in front of her were changelings as well, trying to manipulate her into accepting this deal? Would she really know if her friends were replaced?

“Looks like the peanut gallery has arrived,” Chrysalis announced from behind. “I invited your friends to watch, just so they could see how terrible of a friend you are. I hope you don’t mind.”

Cadance, her eyes narrowed in Chrysalis’ direction, flared her wings outward, stepping away from the guards and the other Elements of Harmony. “This is completely unnecessary,” she scolded, ignoring the spears pointed in her direction. “There’s no need to go this far.”

“Cadance, it’s fine,” Twilight responded, beating Chrysalis to the punch. “I’ve seen through it anyway. Cadance, you’re the genuine article, but those aren’t my friends.”

Despite Twilight’s confidence, Chrysalis’ sudden cackle worried her. “Twilight Sparkle, you truly are a horrible friend!” the queen taunted. “Celestia chose wrong when she took you on as her personal protege, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask you, Chrysalis,” Twilight insisted, shaking her head. “These aren’t my friends. First off, if you really had replaced one of them, that one would be here right now. If you couldn’t risk having Skylight tell me the truth, you definitely wouldn’t risk letting anypony else do the same. And even if you managed to replace that one with another changeling, I would be able to tell that one apart from my friends without even trying. After all, this new changeling wouldn’t have been with us the whole time, so it would be easy to pick them out of a lineup based on what they knew. So let me repeat myself, Chrysalis. These are not my friends.”

Twilight turned her head to lock eyes with her opponent. Chrysalis stared right back, betraying her surprise. “Well done, Twilight Sparkle,” she stated, nodding to the guards. “You may go. Leave us be. Oh, and ensure that everypony knows that I am not to be disturbed.”

There were a few flashes of green light from somewhere behind Twilight, confirming her suspicions. “Yes, princess!” came a myriad of voices from the entrance, each of them surprisingly unique.

After a fading clatter of hooves against stone, Twilight was alone with Cadance and Chrysalis in the humungous chamber. Her first instinct was to team up with Cadance and take Chrysalis down, since it was two against one, but a few questions caused her to hesitate. The one that puzzled Twilight the most was about why Chrysalis didn’t put Cadance under a sleep spell, like she had done to Twilight, and then imitate her dream to keep Luna from interfering. Were alicorn dreams different somehow?

The other thing that drew Twilight’s attention was how Cadance was acting. If Skylight was correct, changelings considered it blasphemy for anypony but the queen to take an alicorn’s form, so it was reasonable to assume that this was the real one, but Cadance was acting much too calmly, considering their situation. In fact, she hardly seemed to notice the massive, heart-shaped gem hanging in the center of the room, suspended to the ceiling and floor by thick, earthy spires. Did Cadance already know about the Heart of Equestria somehow? It would explain her cutie mark, but it would also raise thousands of other questions.

“Now then,” Chrysalis started, pacing back and forth while backlit by the luminous heart, “let us begin our battle of wits, Twilight Sparkle. Cadance has been instructed to only speak if I allow her to, otherwise her husband may find himself in a rather unfortunate position.”

Twilight winced, glancing over at Cadance. The alicorn was staring daggers at Chrysalis with an unreadable, steely glare, one that hardly seemed to belong to the Cadance that Twilight knew. As Twilight regarded her old foalsitter, another realization popped into her head. If Chrysalis was holding Shining Armor captive, how had Cadance been able to get any leverage at all to negotiate this competition? Twilight nearly slapped herself for not thinking of it before, but now that she thought about it, this deal made absolutely no sense. Chrysalis could have easily held Shining Armor as a hostage just in case Cadance decided to try something.

“Pay attention, Twilight Sparkle,” Chrysalis warned, looming over the small unicorn. Chrysalis may have been theatrical with everything she did, but for once, her attitude fit her intimidating image, especially with the Heart of Equestria casting its ethereal glow around her. “Your task is simple. You are to solve the mysteries that you’ve encountered since your arrival.”

“You already told me,” Twilight sighed. There was something so undeniably wrong about this situation, but Twilight was in no position to challenge it, not when Chrysalis was giving her this chance.

“Then let me tell you how this will play out. You have both Cadance’s truth spell and my lying spell at your disposal, but I get to decide how to use them. All you have to do is propose a possibility. That’s all. Of course, once you do so, I will respond with a truth or a lie to prove you wrong. It’s as simple as that.”

Feeling her excitement flare up, Twilight did her best to control herself. It was a good thing she had gotten so much practice controlling her emotions in the world of dreams, otherwise this would have been difficult. Despite that excitement, Twilight still felt hesitant about this deal, finding it hard to play along with a plan that shouldn’t exist.

Regardless, Twilight nodded. “Then this will be over before you know it,” she challenged, forcing herself to ignore the confusion surrounding this situation. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Sensing Twilight’s excitement, Chrysalis grinned, baring her fangs with a wicked, predatory grin. “Yes,” she responded with a delighted cackle, her villainous facade appearing more pronounced by the eerie, azure glow. “We shall.”