Chapter 20

Absolute Truth

Chrysalis’ question hung in the air, as if it was taunting Twilight to answer it before it dissolved into the heavy silence. Even though the unicorn had every reason to answer that question as quickly as she could, she took a brief moment to take notice of everything she had looked over in the past few days. Now that she knew the answers, everything seemed so obvious.

“Well, Twilight Sparkle?” Chrysalis asked stoically. “I’m waiting for your answer. Don’t tell me you’re second guessing yourself again.”

“I’m not,” Twilight answered, taking a deep breath and steeling herself. There was no room for hesitation, not when the truth was right in front of her. “You asked me a simple question, so it would only be polite for me to give a simple answer. No pretense. No drama. After all, you’re a much better actor than I am.”

Chrysalis didn’t respond.

While Twilight had expected some kind of retort, she didn’t let the lack of one phase her. Purging whatever anxiety she had within her, she took a deep breath, locked eyes with her opponent, and gave her answer.

“The friend that you replaced... was Rarity.”

The name resounded clearly through the hall like the chime of a bell. If Twilight’s friends were listening in, they were probably smiling at her.

After letting the echo fade, Chrysalis nodded, her expression finally morphing back to the deriding sneer she always wore. “What a shame. You defaulted and picked the most obvious one, didn’t you? I can’t believe you fell for it!”

“Fool me once, shame on me, but you won’t have a chance to fool me twice.”

“Oh? Well then, why Rarity? Why the most obvious one? Did you think I picked her just so I would be able to use my magic without question? Or was it because you wanted an easy answer to the mystery of the lobby? I hope you realize that you’ve forgotten a rather blatant contradiction of facts.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” assured Twilight as she gave Chrysalis a knowing smile. “I’m not forgetting anything. For a while, I hardly considered Rarity an option, seeing as she wouldn’t give me any help when accounting for the shapes in my barrier. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I realized my mistake, and once I found what I had forgotten, Rarity became the only possible answer.”

For a brief moment, Twilight swore that Chrysalis let out a sigh of relief, but it was expertly covered with the villainous facade she always wore. “I’m not satisfied yet,” the changeling queen stated. “Before I humiliate you, I will thoroughly enjoy watching you humiliate yourself with your own defective reasoning. So please, Twilight Sparkle, why don’t you explain a few things to me. For instance, what happened inside of the Everfree Forest?”

“Oh, we’re starting there?” asked Twilight with a hint of mock confusion. “I guess that makes sense. After all, this one has nothing to do with who you replaced.”

“Good!” Chrysalis shouted, rearing her head back and sneering. “It seems you are at least on the right track! What gave it away, hm?”

“Your truths and lies weren’t much help for this one,” Twilight answered, feeling her competitive spirit return. “All it told me was that a cockatrice was involved, something I had already thought of. Every other option was ruled out. No teleportation, no petrification spell, and no other method for committing the crime. For a while, I’ve been pretty sure that the key to this mystery lies within the identity of our mystery mare, Dolce. When I look back on it, I’m amazed that I didn’t notice it before, not when she was right under my nose this whole time.

“Dolce, in fact, is none other than the unicorn named Caesura, the one who put the ransom note on the fountain.”

For a moment, Chrysalis stood there, still leering over Twilight. It was like she was trying to figure out how to respond, it was too late to hide the truth.

Smirking, Twilight continued. “You want to know how I figured that out? It’s obvious. Dolce, Mezza, and Caesura are all musical terms, and there was only one musical mare among us that fit the bill. Also, I believe that Mezza would have recognized her own daughter if she saw her, so assuming that she wasn’t some unrelated third party, I could easily narrow down the suspects to the only three ponies who didn’t know of her arrival: the three ponies in jail.

“Out of the three, only Caesura stood out, having an unknown past and being musically inclined. But could Dolce be some unknown party in Eccondale? I knew that Dolce was still alive, a fact that you made sure to tell me about, so I assumed that her identity was important. I also have to assume that Dolce was somepony we had met, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to know where we were, where Mezza was going to be, and quite a few other facts that made this crime possible.”

“Thus, Twilight, you’ve driven yourself into a corner,” Chrysalis sneered. “Caesura has a perfect alibi for Mezza’s petrification! She was with Cadenza, Shining Armor, and the other prisoners the entire time!”

“Chrysalis, you know better than I do that Caesura had no part in this. Did you think that I’ve forgotten that changelings can imitate forms and voices?”

When Chrysalis gave no answer, Twilight continued with confidence. “You also told me that Mezza was petrified instantly, so how did she have time to cry out? It’s simple. I have to assume that you took the form of Mezza and used her voice. At this point, you had to be very careful when telling me how many forms you used inside of the barrier. If you had answered correctly by telling me that you used only two, you would have given me the only answer I needed. Instead, you said it was no more than three. That was a nasty trick, you know.”

Slowly, Chrysalis’ caustic demeanor softened to a knowing smile. “Are you sure it was only two?”

“I only knew it after I solved the other mysteries. After all, Mezza was an earth pony. You needed to take the form of a unicorn in order to commit this crime, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to levitate the cockatrice that was on the other side of the barrier. Levitation was the only reliable way that you could have done this. If you were in the form of Rarity, you would have only needed two forms, Mezza and Rarity, but if you were somepony else, you would have needed three. When you said you used no more than three, you were just making sure you didn’t give me the answer right away.”

Once again, the queen of the changelings remained quiet, allowing Twilight to continue her explanation. “It had to have been done with a cockatrice. There was no petrification spell, Mezza was petrified instantly, she wasn’t a changeling, and the statue of her was real. These four facts leave out any other options. The only possible weapon was a cockatrice, the cry of which was heard when I expanded my barrier. This made it possible for one to be outside. You heard that sound and knew that you absolutely had to take this opportunity to silence Mezza before she could tell us more about her daughter!”

“Did I? How did I know where she would be? How did I know where to find her?”

“Simple. You talked to her before we entered the forest, probably baiting her by saying that you knew where her daughter was. You got her to split everypony up and meet with you at a designated spot by the edge of the barrier. Once Mezza got you away from Pinkie, you tried to trace the cockatrice’s first cry and found it stunned out in the woods. As you waited for your prey to arrive, you must have levitated it inside of some kind of bush to hide it, but that’s hardly important. Then, once you were sure it was safe, you tricked Mezza into staring at it, whereupon she was instantly turned to stone.

“But what did you do then? Well, you had to make it seem like it had been done from the outside, drawing attention away from yourself. You couldn’t risk teleporting, thanks to the sound and flash of light, so your options were limited. I imagine that you carefully moved away from the statue, waiting by another spot in the barrier before taking Mezza’s form and crying out Dolce’s name, once again making it seem like it had been done by somepony outside of the barrier. When I heard her voice, I followed it and ended up finding an imprint in the grass, indicating that something, or somepony, had been standing there for a while. This imprint was where you stood when you made the cry in Mezza’s form before changing back to Rarity, whereupon you waited in the bushes for others to arrive so that you wouldn’t be the first one to appear at the crime scene.”

Twilight awaited a frustrated surrender, but Chrysalis remained impassive, her confident smile refusing to falter. “Mia, if you please, I would like to borrow your truth spell.”

Once her eyes were bathed in a familiar glow, Chrysalis spoke. “I tricked Mezza into meeting me by the barrier, where I levitated the cockatrice from outside and petrified her. I also imitated her voice to cry out and make it seem like the culprit was outside of the barrier.”

Heaving a sigh of relief, the unicorn let herself relax for a moment. That had been the easiest one, but she was confident that her reasoning for the other two mysteries was flawless.

“Then you just admitted that you were Rarity.”

The glow fading from her eyes, Chrysalis smirked. “Did I? The truth is quite a slippery quarry to catch. I have only admitted one more defeat, that’s all. You still have two more to prove.”

“You’re right,” Twilight conceded, “but the two of them should be linked together. They’re both confined by my barrier spell, after all. If you want an explanation, I’ll give the answer to both mysteries at once.

“Because you replaced Rarity, my earlier theory about the lobby still stands. You turned out the lights and levitated some objects in the lobby to knock both Red and Preston unconscious.You then signaled your changelings to start a stampede.”

“I thought you’d learned your lesson,” Chrysalis cackled excitedly, hiding behind her villainous facade again. “That raises far too many questions! First off, why were Red and Preston not taken with the rest if they were unconscious? Second, I used my spell to prove to you that all three ponies in the lobby were unconscious, therefore I could not have been Rarity! In case you have forgotten, I already told you that I had not been knocked unconscious in any way, shape, or form. How are you going to explain that, hm?”

“Easy. You never proved that all three of the ponies left in the lobby were unconscious. That was another nasty trick, by the way. When you lied and said that ‘The three ponies that were left behind in the lobby were conscious’, I immediately assumed that the opposite was true, that the three ponies left behind in the lobby were unconscious. There was a good reason you lied at that point, because if you had told the truth, it would have given you away.

“You see, I kept thinking of lies as opposite truths. That’s not right at all! All it means is that the statement is false, not that the opposite is true. You see, if only one of the three ponies left in the lobby was conscious, that statement still counts as a lie!”

Trying to keep her momentum, Twilight slammed a hoof on the ground, the resulting report echoing through the chamber. “That’s right! You were pretending to be unconscious in the lobby, still disguised as Rarity! You had planned on levitating Red and Preston, taking them out and disappearing with the group, but I came down more quickly than you thought I would. You heard me coming downstairs and had no choice but to give up and play dead for a while.”

Twilight’s string of accusations should have elicited at least some kind of response, but just like before, she was met with an unreadable smile. It was unnerving, making her wonder if she was being led into some sort of trap. Was it possible that Chrysalis had purposefully left out information in order to watch her flounder around?

“Twilight Sparkle, you said that you would solve both mysteries at once. I am still waiting for your answer to Page’s disappearance.”

In her excitement, Twilight had forgotten about her earlier statement. The answer to both was hidden within a single clue, one that she had overlooked from the very beginning of their fight. She had been saving it for last, hoping for some dramatic reveal, but Chrysalis seemed to have lost her antagonistic vigor.

“You’re right,” Twilight sighed, wondering where all of the energy in the room had gone. It was like the Heart of Equestria was now bolstering their confusion instead of their excitement. “I won’t waste your time, then. The answer to how Page left the room is quite simple. Based on the results I got from my spell, I couldn’t think of any explanation for how Page could have gone through the outer barrier. Thanks to your truths and lies, I came to an obvious conclusion.

“Page never left through the outer barrier at all.”

With a stoic frown, Chrysalis furrowed her brow. “Did you forget what I told you? Page passed through three barriers. One for when she entered the hotel, one for when she entered room 201, and one for when she exited through the outer barrier.”

“You’re wrong,” Twilight stated firmly, taking all too much pleasure in explaining away the fact that had troubled her from the very beginning. “You said she passed through three barriers, but I assumed it to be those three. I had completely forgotten about another barrier she had passed through, one that didn’t have anything to do with the hotel.

“The third barrier was the one I set up in front of the minecart.”

Upon hearing this the changeling queen closed her eyes, remaining still.

“You know what that means, don’t you? If that’s the third barrier, then that 18th blurry shape couldn’t belong to Page at all!

“You see, that leftover shape in the outer barrier troubled me this whole time. I thought that there was only one shape that couldn’t be accounted for, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. My math was incorrect. Once I realized that the last shape didn’t belong to Page, I knew that I must have forgotten to count somepony. The total number of shapes was right, but I was wrong about who they all belonged to. Because of my mistake, every single one of my deductions was thrown off. You see, I forgot about one of the ponies in the lobby, one that had been there from the very start. After realizing that the remaining shape didn’t belong to Page, I had to figure out who it belonged to.

“It was the desk clerk. She’d been there when I set up the outer barrier, and I originally counted her as such. The first time I counted the shapes, I stated that the desk clerk was in there when I set up the barrier, but when counting the exits, I accidentally included Preston in his group of friends, counting them as six instead of five. Because Luna hadn’t seen everything at the hotel, she didn’t notice my mistake when I explained the situation to her. I feel like such a foal! If it wasn’t for this grave miscalculation on my part, I could have solved this from the very beginning!”

“Twilight...” Cadance whispered unsteadily. Twilight had nearly forgotten that the alicorn was still there, standing quietly beside the heart with strong, shimmering eyes.

“Let her finish, Mia,” Chrysalis stated quietly, not even sparing a glance for Cadance.

Nodding to her old foalsitter, Twilight prepared herself to finish up her deductions. “Chrysalis, you used my own mistakes against me, but you didn’t plan to. When I explained about my barrier in the lobby, I imagine that you were starting to get worried.

“Obviously, the desk clerk ran away with the other ponies, leaving a blurry imprint, but because she began inside of the barrier with me and my friends, she didn’t leave a clear one. That extra shape that I was worrying so much about belonged to the desk clerk, not Page. But that’s not all! With the extra shape accounted for, we have an equal amount of shapes in the outer barrier: 17 of each. What does that mean? If we count the 11 changelings and Preston’s five friends, we only have 16, not 17.

“Here’s where your truth helped me, Chrysalis. You told me that, after the ponies in the lobby left and before my barrier fell, the number of ponies in the hotel never exceeded 11. If you include my friends and I, along with Red, Preston, Caesura, and Nightowl, you get 10. The reason that you didn’t say 10 was that the 11th was actually Page, who was still up in the closet of room 201. Herein lies the problem.

“We can only account for 17 blurry shapes and 16 clear shapes. Because of the tight restrictions on the number of ponies in the hotel, our options are limited. With 11 ponies already inside, nopony entered, meaning that the first of the two shapes would have belonged to somepony leaving. But if somepony left, we would have noticed their absence. We also can’t assume that the shape belongs to Page, thanks to the limit on the number of barriers she passed through. Therefore, we have to assume that somepony left the hotel for only a brief moment, only to come right back in while the barrier was still up! There’s no other explanation!”

Finally, Chrysalis reacted, giving a small wince. She knew that there was no escape, now that she didn’t have the results of the barrier to hide behind. Twilight found it rather ironic that Chrysalis had originally used the barrier to obscure the truth, only to have it trap her in the end. It was beautifully poetic.

“Chrysalis, you know what this means. On the night of the disappearances, there was a nasty storm outside, meaning that it was raining between when the ponies in the lobby left and when my barrier went down. Based on the missing shapes, we have to assume that somepony left the hotel and came back in, leaving only one option. Anypony that went outside would have gotten soaking wet, but when I woke up from my daze, only one of my friends looked like they had been out in the rain. Only one pony could have gone outside and come back in... and that mare is the one you replaced. The one who complained about having her mane ruined.

“Rarity.”

Just like before, the name bounced around the chamber. Chrysalis, with her statue-esque posture, didn’t appear to hear it. The only motion in the room came from Princess Cadance, whose eyes darted back and forth between the two with an expression bordering on hysteria.

Finally, the changeling queen spoke, sounding much more regal than she ever had before. “So, Twilight Sparkle... what gave me away? Why didn’t you pick one of your other friends?”

Twilight had never been more excited to hear Chrysalis speak.

Heart soaring, the unicorn barely managed to breathe. “Applejack was out from the start, actually. She and Page were the only ones who went behind me in the minecarts, and I didn’t see or hear them come in my direction after mine crashed. Based on how quickly I saw you in that parade, Applejack would have had to go to another entrance, split up with Page, and get in the parade before I even showed up. It’s just not possible.

“Since Applejack is in the clear, so is Fluttershy. During our panic about room 201, the two of them were together on the fourth floor, eliminating the possibility that one of them was involved. Applejack also said that she and Fluttershy went down together to check on me on the second floor, so the two of them create alibis for each other the whole time. So who do we have left?

“Rainbow Dash was extremely suspicious at first, but she didn’t provide any answer to the mystery of the lobby. I had wondered if, while on the fourth floor, she had flown outside to assist with the stampede in the lobby, but she would have gotten soaking wet in the process. She could have gone down to the second floor to do something with Page, but even then, your lies ruled that out.

“By the end, the second most suspicious was actually Pinkie Pie. She could have helped place the note, for one, but a bit of wordplay got me suspicious. All of your truths about Caesura and Pinkie on the third floor could have been easily nullified by claiming that her real name was Dolce. After all, you could probably prove that ‘Caesura’ doesn’t exist. This line of reasoning was cut off because one of your truths didn’t allow that. After all, you lied and said that Caesura didn’t attend the party, confirming that the name Caesura applies to her, assuming that none of the ponies in the lobby shared the same name. Outside of that, Pinkie had the opportunity to concoct a massive plan while she was out delivering invitations to everypony, so I was almost positive that it had been her. She also could have assisted in foalnapping and replacing the 11 accomplices for Caesura. The only things that kept her from being able to spirit Page out of room 201 and help with the stampede in the lobby were the truths and lies about Caesura.”

As Twilight paused to breathe, she tried to read Chrysalis’ blank expression. It was like staring at a wall and waiting for it to move.

“All this time, you kept mocking me about not noticing that one of my friends was acting weird, but there were quite a few things that I had ignored. When Cadance arrived, ‘Rarity’ kept joking about how happy she were that Cadance had had shown up, not to mentioning how Caesura laughed as well. Also, on the way here, Rarity could barely levitate Pinkie’s suitcase, but Rainbow Dash told me about how she had been levitated and dragged her across the floor while I was unconscious. ‘Rarity’ also spoke to Mezza on the way to the Everfree Forest, which must have been where you told her to split everypony up and meet you by the barrier. Not only that, but when ‘Rarity’ arrived at the mare’s statue, she had a stick in her mane, something that the real Rarity would have avoided at all costs.”

Lowering her head, Chrysalis let out a heavy sigh, her posture slackening. Without the pretense of villainy surrounding her, she appeared exhausted, like a heavy weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. “Twilight... you have good friends. And your friends are lucky to have you. Mia, if you’re not too tired yet, I’d like to make use of your spell one last time.”

The alicorn’s face brightened, her once anxious eyes brimming with a strange concoction of excitement and sorrow. Twilight couldn’t imagine what was going on in the princess’s head, but as a familiar pink heart appeared between the other two ponies, Twilight knew that this was the end. She had solved the most mind-bending mystery she’d ever encountered, either in fiction or in real life.

Chrysalis, eyes flashing white again, stared at Twilight with what could almost be described as a motherly smile. It was somewhat disconcerting, but the words she spoke dispelled all fear from the room.

“Twilight Sparkle, I replaced your friend, Rarity, on the first night that you arrived in Everdale. You have my sincerest gratitude for finding the truth.”

Whatever reverie Twilight had expected from the big reveal was quickly dwarfed by confusion. Gratitude? What did Chrysalis had to be grateful for? Twilight Sparkle had found her, ruined her schemes, and exposed her kingdom to the entirety of Equestria! Within days, Celestia, Luna, and their respective armies would be marching on this city to rid the world of changelings forever, so what did Chrysalis have to be thankful for?

“But, Aria!” Cadance gasped, breathing heavily as she released the spell. “How did Page get out? You already talked about the forest, the note, and even the lobby, but how in Equestria did you get Page out of that room?”

Chrysalis simply shook her head and let out yet another sigh. “I never intended to make things so complicated,” the queen laughed, but it was nothing like her maniacal cackling from before. It sounded... remorseful. “All I wanted to do was to make my way to Celestia and Luna. I should have known that a ridiculous ransom note wouldn’t be enough to convince the Elements of Harmony to leave. Believe me, I tried to convince you to give up once Red banished you, but I had no choice but to play along and come back. I had even released those nine ponies a few days ago as a warning, a desperate gambit to convince somepony to send for help so I could infiltrate their ranks and return to Canterlot.”

Breathless, Twilight did her best to put the pieces together. It made sense that Chrysalis would want to infiltrate the Elements of Harmony and go back to Canterlot, but how had she put together such a wild scheme so quickly? All things considered, her plan was absolutely brilliant, even if it fell short in a few places.

“Mia, I panicked, that’s all,” Chrysalis chuckled, expression brightening. “I had concocted a plan to carry through with my threat, the one about making the whole town disappear, and even had 11 ponies replaced before the Elements of Harmony had arrived. While you were arguing with Red all that time, I was speaking to Caesura about what to do in case you five snuck back in. Preston kept trying to butt in, but I shooed him away and pretended to be offended by his hat.

“But that ridiculously idea... that party! I was helpless, unable to contact anypony and formulate a plan once I was in the hotel. In fact, I only helped to enact the plan, improvising on the fly once a few complications arose. The one mainly responsible for the schemes at the hotel was Caesura, who conveyed everything to Skylight, who then quoted everything to me once he got inside.”

Cadance, flustered, shook her head, making her already disheveled mane even worse. “But how did Page—”

“Mia, can’t you allow me my theatrics for a while?” Chrysalis grumbled. “You see, once I felt the barrier around room 201, I knew we were in trouble. I alarmed Skylight of its presence and improvised a plan to leave her in there and hide her in the closet. But, of course, while we were discussing this, Page stirred, since Skylight had been hesitant to knock her out. In fact, I wish that we hadn’t had to take her in the first place. Caesura, she.... Well, it wasn’t the best option, but it was our only one.

“But because of that, Page woke up while we were talking. Red wasn’t lying when she said that she saw Page in the window, because she was arguing with us. She heard the two of us talk about hiding her in the closet, so she began to spout off a stream of questions, still disoriented from the blow. We both panicked, but eventually, I put her under a sleep spell, one deep enough that she wouldn’t wake for a long, long time. Luckily, Skylight’s blow had knocked her memory loose as well, and my sleep spell’s grogginess only made that worse.

“From there, I had Skylight place her in the closet. Then we both left and hurried downstairs, worried that something might be happening without us. Thankfully, we were quick enough, and almost immediately after we went down to the lobby, everypony ran back upstairs. We had planned on using the last game on the invitation to take the ponies in the lobby and vanish, but when I was left alone down there, I knew I had to act quickly. After all, if Skylight failed, my cover would have been blown. So I did as you proposed, Twilight: I turned out the lights, started the game, knocked out Red and Preston, and commanded my changelings to stampede out of the door. I had intended to take the two pegasi with me, since Red might have seen more than she thought. I was going to take them into the forest with the rest, but as I levitated their bodies and stepped outside, I felt the barrier.”

With a pitiful smirk, Chrysalis looked askance, quietly laughing at herself. “At that point, I thought for sure you had won. As soon as I heard you tumble down the stairs, I leapt back inside and dropped Red and Preston on the ground, pretending to be a victim as well. Since I was soaking wet, I had to stay in the doorway, where you found me, otherwise it would have been too suspicious. If Skylight had failed, and you had figured out that Rarity was replaced, I would have played along, pretending that I was the real Rarity and that Chrysalis had escaped with the others.

“After that, I simply played along with everything, doing my best to remain inconspicuous. I shared everything with Skylight and Caesura, hoping to frame Red and Preston, but Skylight knew that he was going to have to take the blame if Twilight figured out what happened in that room. I did feel rather guilty about giving him up like that, though. When you accused Caesura and Skylight, or Nightowl, as he was, they weren’t trying to cover for Red. They were trying to cover for me.”

Nodding, Twilight payed close attention. She had gotten everything correct so far, minus most of the tiny details, but that wasn’t the most interesting part of this. There was something going on between Cadance and Chrysalis, something that hopefully explained why this duel existed in the first place. How could a pair as powerful as Cadance and Shining Armor be threatened by Chrysalis? Hadn’t they defeated her before?

Without pause, Chrysalis continued. “But before that, I still had to get Page out of there. Thankfully, while turning out the lights in the lobby, I ordered one of my changelings to grab her out of the window once we gave the signal, since Page might have remembered our encounter. The barriers prevented us from doing anything drastic, but my changeling listened well, knowing he had plenty of time to act. He waited for the signal, which was why Skylight kept sitting in front of the open door while we waited for you to awaken. We couldn’t do anything risky, so I just had him sit there and nod to give the signal. Once the coast was clear, and the barrier was down, my subject, one of the changelings from the lobby, flew up, grabbed Page out of the closet, threw her out of the window to his accomplice, and escaped. Thankfully, my subject had also enlisted another changeling to help carry her off into the forest, where Mia and Shining Armor found her. It was as simple as that.”

Blinking, Twilight processed the new information. She hadn’t expected that Nightowl, or Skylight, had been the signal, sitting in front of the open doorway like Dash had said. The whole plan, even the improvised parts, ended up being remarkably effective.

“You know the rest,” Chrysalis sighed, hanging her head. For the first time since Twilight had seen her, Chrysalis lowered herself and sat down on the rocky floor, appearing remarkably similar to an actual pony once her hole-covered legs were hidden. “Mezza appeared, looking for her daughter, Caesura....” The name lingered in the air as Chrysalis closed her eyes, listening to her own echo.

The way she spoke begged some kind of response, since Twilight couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “And what is Caesura to you?” she asked, doing her best to sound confident. “A subject? A minion?”

“My daughter,” the queen responded heavily. “She was taken on that stormy night, all of those years ago, and we planned to feed on the love she had for her mother. I shall admit, it was one of the lower points in my reign, but we were already starting to worry about Dotted Line at this point. That was also the night when Nightowl was replaced. He went out to look for her and, once he saw what had happened, we knew he couldn’t escape, so we took the chance to replace him and also get a spy within the guard.

“But, even at such a young age, Caesura showed little fear of us, and, once she learned what we were, even encouraged us to feed from her. It was merely a filly’s curiosity at that point, but I was stunned. Back then, her name was Dolce, which means ‘sweet’. It was, and still is, quite fitting. She had wanted to stay with us, live among us, and start a new life. Her courage and kindness gave me pause, which was why I chose her current name. Caesura.”

“Caesura,” sighed Twilight, closing her eyes. Why did this have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t she despise the monstrous queen like she wanted to, even after all of this? “I remember that book I read before going to the Canterlot Symphony. A caesura is a grand pause, where the music suddenly stops. I think I get it. She made you pause. You gave her a new life and even allowed her to go to the outside world, where she lived in Everdale for a while. She’s the one that created that enchanted music, isn’t she?”

“It was my idea,” Chrysalis answered, earning a confused look from Cadance. “I wanted revenge, obviously. Who wouldn’t? If I could sacrifice ponies like Dotted Line and provide my remaining subjects with an endless supply of food, I would do it in a heartbeat. Caesura, once she was old enough to understand, agreed, so we combined my magic, her music, and the Heart of Equestria in order to create an endless supply of food. Just believe me when I say that Caesura isn’t as cold as you think, Twilight.”

While Twilight found that hard to believe, she withheld her skepticism, simply frowning at her defeated opponent. The way that Caesura had acted during the accusations in the hotel had been downright despicable.

“When we went to Canterlot, we used the underground mining caverns, the ones that you two were trapped in during the wedding. You’d be surprised how far those reach. I would have used that path to get to Celestia and Luna again, but ever since the invasion, the royal guard caved it in to prevent anything from happening again.”

It made sense, once Twilight thought about it. With the mineshafts, Chrysalis could sneak into Canterlot overnight, and, without that option, she couldn’t afford to leave her subjects alone for too long, especially considering the state of the city after the failed invasion. But how had this plan been any better? She would have been gone for days, but was it possible that she could convince the changelings to stay calm by telling them she was joining with the Elements of Harmony? Had Chrysalis set them up as heroes just so she could use them as an excuse to keep the city calm?

Before Chrysalis could continue monologuing, a trait of hers that even carried over into defeat, Twilight shook her head. “Look,” she mumbled, “whatever you planned, it didn’t work out, but you were close. A creature as smart as you wouldn’t set herself up to fail, not when she had a better option. Everything you’ve told me so far has impressed me, you know. You’re too smart to get caught like this.”

Chrysalis, raising her head to glare through her mess of a mane, didn’t answer.

“There’s something going on here, and I’m not going to ignore it. Chrysalis, there’s more holes in your story than in all four of your legs combined. First, why did you lie about the Canterlot invasion? You told me that, once Shining knew you were a fake, all of his power returned, but that’s not possible. After all, I know that the changelings imitating my parents are fakes, but I still can’t use any magic. So, unless you’re weaker than your subjects, that’s a blatant lie.”

“Chastising me for lying?” Chrysalis sighed, rolling her eyes. “Really, I enjoy sarcasm as much as anypony, but that’s just tasteless.”

Grimacing, Twilight got back to the point. “What happened back in Canterlot? You had complete control of the city once Celestia had been subdued, so how did you lose? How did the power of love hold any sway when you were the one manipulating it? And that lying spell, too! I was suspicious about how you could steal powers, but then you said that you had plenty of practice with it, which doesn’t make sense if you just recently stole it! Even your name raises questions! Cadance called you Aria, and you called her Mia! You’re both keeping something from me, and I don’t appreciate being left in the dark. I’ve had enough of that in the past few days.”

Tilting her head, the creature turned her gaze to rest on Cadance. The two powerful beings shared a meaningful silence.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Cadance said, her eyes shining in the radiant light from the gem behind her. “I’d like you to meet somepony. I know it sounds sudden... maybe even a little cliche, but I pray that you will lend us your ears.

“Twilight Sparkle, allow me to introduce you to Il Tuo Aria, the Princess of Lies.”

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As Princess Luna gave a parting glance back towards Canterlot, she wondered whether or not she had made the right decision. For her sister, ruling was second nature, but Luna had been disconnected from society for too long to understand the way that modern Equestria worked.

“Sister,” Celestia urged, drawing Luna’s attention away from her musings as the two sliced through the clouds. “If what you said is true, we have little time to act. You said that Twilight’s dream was hazy, correct? Like something was wrong with it?”

Mustering whatever courage she could, Luna beat her wings faster to keep pace. “It is true. Twilight was not acting like herself at all. Indeed, even the books on her shelves had lost their clarity somehow. Either she had received a staggering blow to the head or that was not Twilight Sparkle. I think we already know which.”

“Chrysalis.” Celestia’s tone darkened. “She has done something similar countless times already. But, even if Twilight only suffered a nasty fall, we need to investigate. The reports of those other ponies’ dreams is quite alarming, too.”

“Yes,” Luna sighed, hiding her unease. With the setting sun behind them, the night would take care of itself. The noble classes could squabble for hours and hours about who would be in control until the two sisters returned, just like always. Would the city be alright without them for a night?

“Luna,” Celestia urged, furrowing her brow. “Do no doubt yourself. Trust your intuition. If two of the ponies in Everdale know about your powers, I suspect that there is much more at play than we first thought. I made the mistake of thinking that Sombra may have been involved, but now there is no doubt that Chrysalis is preparing some kind of trap for us. If that was her dream, not Twilight’s, I expect that she will have a few hostages.”

“I know. I have seen her but once, yet I should have known she was capable of such villainy. But Celestia, listen to me. Inside of that dream, I felt nothing but fear and apprehension. If I truly was inside of Chrysalis’ dream, we may not have to resort to violence.”

“It’s possible,” Celestia murmured. “She is the only nemesis of ours that we know nothing about. Even I have no knowledge of how changelings came to be. It was painful reuniting with Discord, and the news of Sombra’s death was troubling, but if Chrysalis truly is involved with this, we have no reason to hold back.”

Luna didn’t respond, instead choosing to ruminate over the curious existence of the town called Everdale. She had managed to find yet another pony that was connected to the town, an earth pony named Mezza, but ever since their initial contact Luna hadn’t been able to find her dreams again. She would not have been able to stay awake for such a long period, would she? Cadance and Shining Armor had also remained remarkably silent, adding more fuel to the slow-burning flame of worry. Had Chrysalis...?

“Luna!” Celestia called out, drawing her out of her trance. “You know what we must do. Twilight Sparkle and her friends could be in grave danger, so their safety is the first priority. If Chrysalis is involved, our next objective is to capture and subdue her. She has much to answer for.”

“I understand,” Luna called out, but her mind had already wandered elsewhere. There was no doubt that they could overpower Chrysalis together, but there were too many questions left unanswered. How had those two ponies known of her power? Why would Chrysalis make her presence known by abducting ponies from a small town in the middle of nowhere?

“Good,” Celestia said, frowning as the town came into view beneath the sparse cloud-cover. “We’ll make no effort of covering our approach. I have more experience with changelings than you, so I shall take the lead. Be wary of everypony you see.”

“I understand.”

“If we get split up, we must reintroduce ourselves. The codeword is Aria.”

Wincing, Luna looked away. Why did she have to choose that name? “Sister, remember. Our first priority is to save Twilight Sparkle and her friends. You need not bother yourself with a grudge that is over a millennia old. She shall answer to her crimes in due time.”

“You know as well as I do what Chrysalis is capable of. She has successfully defeated three alicorns already, myself included. This is not about what she did one thousand years ago, this is about what she may to do you. I’ll not lose you as well. I already lost you once to my negligence.”

Any chance at a response was silenced when Celestia dove down beneath the brightly colored clouds, leaving Luna to stew. The changelings had first appeared after the incident at the Heart of Equestria, that sinister something that neither sister wanted to remember.

Even after all of this time, Celestia was still the same. Stalwart, bottling up the emotions she tried her best to hide. The world on her shoulders. Ever since the incident, Celestia had become so protective of her loved ones, even to the point where it drove them away... or worse. Luna winced at the memory. If Chrysalis truly held Twilight Sparkle as a hostage, there would be no stopping Celestia’s righteous fury. A millenia of bottled, fermented loathing could not be pushed aside so easily.

As the Princess of the Night descended to Everdale, she began to understand the fear she felt in that dream. Tartarus held no fury like that of Celestia, especially when her loved ones were threatened. Is Chrysalis knew that Celestia was coming, fear was the only logical response. No, it was the only response.

Silently, Luna prayed that she would be able to keep her sister’s wrath under control.