Chapter 22

Confrontation

Preston Paper couldn’t believe his eyes. There, in a heap on the dusty floor, was one of the ponies responsible for the disappearance of his friends. No, Caesura wasn’t a pony. She was a monster, just like the other changelings in this forgotten city.

Regardless of what she was, Caesura was covered in splinters of wood, crumpled right in front of a lifelike statue of an earth pony. The statue didn’t look familiar. The rest of the room was in shambles, like a wild tornado had ripped through.

Preston, Nightowl, and Red had been on their way to the spire when they saw a familiar figure darting through the crowd. Caesura, looking as ragged as ever, had rushed inside of this garage and started howling like a wild animal. By the time they got inside, the unicorn was passed out on the floor.

Red, visibly struggling to remain standing, stumbled towards the motionless unicorn. The truth spell was still in effect, turning her every step into a trial perseverance. She stretched her lips apart to say something, but the words wouldn’t surface.

Preston’s heart ached at the sight, but he was too late to help. Nightowl, the real one, quickly came to her aid, lending her a shoulder. “Red, take it easy. Look, Preston’s gonna get Caesura out of here, but right now we need to get you some rest.”

Forcing himself to look away from Red’s pitiful form, Preston averted his gaze. “No,” he stated firmly, turning back towards the open doorway. “I’m not helping her.”

“Preston, this isn’t the time to argue. We’ll set her up in my bed if we need to, but we need to make our way up to the spire and find Page!”

“I’m not arguing with you about Red, but why should I help Chess? She foalnapped nearly every single one of my friends, not to mention she’s been lying to us this whole time! Let’s just leave and find some way to get Red back to normal and forget her!”

“Look,” Nightowl sighed, shifting his bulk to support Red a little more efficiently. “I haven’t had the time to tell you anything yet, but she’s not as bad as you’re making her out to be. I’ve lived here for the past six years, so if anypony knows her, it’s me.”

Preston blinked. “Six years? You’ve been here for six years? Then who in the hay has been on guard duty that whole time?”

“That was a changeling! Look, I’ll tell you everything as quickly as I can. Six years ago, a filly went missing. The mother was on her way here, but her daughter ran off into the forest. Page did a quick flyover, leaving me there with the mother, but we were suddenly attacked by changelings. Of course, they were all disguised, but I fought them off while the mother escaped. That’s when they took me and put a changeling in my place.”

Preston stood with his jaw hanging open. He remembered writing an article on the case of the missing filly, but he had been told that everything was resolved. To think that a changeling had fooled all of them for such a long time….

“But that’s not all. They took me here and fed off of me for a while. It… wasn’t pleasant. B-but still, they’re not all bad here! I learned about this whole society, and it’s absolutely fascinating! I tried to talk them into letting me go back to Everdale, and after about a year, they finally agreed. Every once in a while, they would let me switch with my imposter for a day, but only if I agreed to keep their secret.

“But that’s not the important part. The filly that Page went searching after, that was Caesura. Apparently she had run away from her mother and found this place. The ruler here – they call her Princess Chrysalis – took a real liking to her, apparently, and all but adopted her. But after a while, she got restless and wanted to go back to the outside world again. Princess Chrysalis wouldn’t allow it, so in the end, Caesura ran away. I actually got to talk to her a few times, when I switched with my double, and she seemed pretty happy out there.

“I’d say more, but you need to listen to me. Caesura isn’t evil or anything. She’s just had a rough life. I’ve seen it all from in here.”

It took a few moments to digest all of that information. A fake Nightowl. Caesura being a runaway. Switching places. “Hold on a tick, you mean... she’s not a changeling?”

“Of course not! She’s the reason this city is still alive! Her music, the stuff you hear playing in the streets, that’s one of the only things that kept the changelings here from starving. Okay, I’ve blabbed on enough! Just pick her up and let’s get moving!”

Speechless, Preston did as he was told. These monsters had taken his friends away, so how could he sympathize with them? But on the other side of the coin, how could he hate them? There didn’t seem to be any blatant antagonist in this struggle.

Nightowl, still shouldering Red, let out a startled breath. “That statue….”

Preston, frozen at Caesura’s side, gave him a wary glance. He didn’t much feel like talking, but the look on Nightowl’s face goaded him on. “What about it?”

“That’s the mare that came to the shack that night. Six years ago. This… is Caesura’s mother.”

Nopony spoke for a moment. Preston had no idea what that meant. Why would there be a statue of Caesura’s mother in this city? Had she made it herself? Did she miss her mother? Was that why she had destroyed everything else in the room? There were so many mysteries that he feared he would never solve.

“Forget it, we need to get moving,” Nightowl urged, trotting briskly towards the door. “First, we need to get Red fixed up somehow, then we’ll find Page. I can’t believe she just flew off like that!”

Begrudgingly, Preston leaned down and hefted Caesura onto his back. This was a mess. He’d only come down here to get some photographic evidence so that he could bring down the royal sisters on this hidden city. Now, it felt like he had to take everything into his own hooves. Red was in horrible shape, hexed by some sadistic spell, and he had to find a cure amongst a city of restless changelings. This would make an amazing article, assuming he made it out alive.

“Hurry up!” Nightowl called from the doorway, rocking back and forth on his hooves.

“Coming!”

As soon as he set hoof outside, he froze. What appeared to be nearly twenty ponies all stared at him, eyes wide and jaws agape. No, they weren’t ponies. They were changelings. They were monsters.

Before Preston and Nightowl could react, the creatures all cried out.

“Put her down!”

“He’s trying to take her hostage!”

“Stop him!”

Within seconds, the crowd descended on them. Preston was about to toss Caesura and fly off, but a sudden shout stopped him.

“Hey, cut it out!” came a familiar voice from one of the rooftops.

Immediately, the crowd of changelings froze, some of them tripping over their own hooves in an attempt to stop themselves. Breathless, Preston craned his neck to find the owner of the voice.

On the rooftop, a rainbow-maned pegasus puffed her chest out. “C’mon, guys, they’re on our side! They’re not foalnapping anypony!”

Preston blinked. If he hadn’t been hopelessly confused before, this tipped the scale. “Rainbow Dash?!” he yelped. Was this a changeling? The real one? Why were they listening to her?

“I finally found ya!” the pegasus exclaimed, leaping down from her perch. “Jeez, you guys hide really well, I’ll give you that.”

Neither Nightowl nor Preston could say a word.

After deftly leaping down, Rainbow trotted through the crowd of perplexed changelings and glanced back and forth between the two stallions. “Woah, you guys look worse for wear. Were you the ones causing that racket? Or better yet, are those two okay?”

It took a moment for Preston to realize that Rainbow was referring to Caesura and Red, who were still unresponsive. “I-I think–“

“Woah!” Rainbow shouted, leaping back when she saw Red’s glowing eyes. “What the hay is up with her? It’s like she’s possessed or something!”

Nightowl finally recovered, nodding. “I don’t know, but Page mentioned some sort of spell, and that some princess was the only pony who could get rid of it!”

“Princess? That’s gotta be Cadance.” Rainbow took a deep breath. “Alright, you heard them! Let’s meet up with the others and head to the castle! C’mon, look alive!”

Miraculously, the changelings did as they were told, scrambling to attention like soldiers. Preston couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation, but somehow Rainbow Dash had recruited a whole group of changelings to her side. Was this the magic of the Elements of Harmony?

“Oh, yeah, about these guys,” Rainbow chuckled secretively. “Let’s walk and talk. C’mon.”

Still in shock, Preston adjusted Caesura’s sleeping form so that she wouldn’t fall. He quickly caught up.

“Okay, start talking,” Preston hissed quietly, trying to forget that they were apparently leading around a small militia of changelings. “I’m glad you stepped in, but this is just crazy.”

Nightowl nodded in agreement. “Hey, I live here and I’m lost. I mean, I think I understand what’s going on, but–“

“Okay, fine. I guess it’s storytime for the two of ya. Let me give you the short version, since we’re a little short on time. Apparently these guys really like the Elements of Harmony, so I’m some kind of hero here. I don’t really get it, but you can ask Fluttershy about it. She seems to know these guys like the back of her hoof. It’s kinda creepy.”

Preston pursed his lips. “That still doesn’t explain anything. I saw the parade with the Elements of Harmony, but I didn’t think they were serious.”

“Hey, I wasn’t finished! Anyway, when me and Fluttershy ran into these guys, they were freaking out about the fact that the Elements of Harmony were going to wipe them out. I mean, I would love to do just that, but little-miss-kindness started talking to them. Yeah, you heard me. Fluttershy talking to a bunch of strangers! Anyway, after she assured them that we weren’t going to kick their flanks into next week, they started asking for our help. They thought that, since the Elements of Harmony weren’t here to destroy them, that Twilight Sparkle shouldn’t be held prisoner. Now we’re just going house to house to gather up as many changelings as we can for some kind of mamby-pamby march.”

“Um,” came a quiet voice from above them. Preston jerked his head up in surprise, finding a yellow pegasus hovering a few feet above them. “A-actually, Rainbow Dash, it’s called a peaceful protest. You see, we’re going to march up to that big, scary spire and try to talk to…. T-to–”

“Yeah, whatever Fluttershy,” Rainbow groaned, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, we found everypony but Twilight and Rarity, so they’re helping out with the whole door-to-door thing. I’m sure that Twilight’s busy blasting that bug to oblivion, but Rarity’s probably fussing over her mane for all I know. I still say we should storm the gates.”

“No way,” Fluttershy gasped, landing beside them and trotting to keep pace. “Th-that big queen meanie is… well, she’s just so scary! I’m sure we can talk things over. I-I mean, she’ll surrender, right?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow grumbled, sounding none too happy about this peaceful protest. “But yeah, that’s the big picture. I doubt you’d be able to climb out of here with a pony on your back, so your best bet is to come along with me. For all I know, Princess Cadance might be down here too. Some of the changelings back there were gossiping about how she and Shining Armor were being held captive as well, but I’m not sure I believe them.”

A spark of hope burst to life in Preston’s thoughts. The sooner they could remove Red’s hex, the better. Silently, he bit his lip to keep himself from getting distracted. He would deal with everything else after they escaped.

“Hey, there y’all are!” came another familiar voice from down the street.

Rainbow perked up. “AJ! Right on time!”

Preston snapped to attention, only then noticing the large group of changelings rounding the corner ahead of them. At their head, trotting with a little limp, was a distinctively orange earth pony with her signature hat.

“Glad I finally found y’all,” Applejack sighed as she trotted ahead. Some of the changelings from one group ran over to the other, exchanging hugs and relieved assurances. “Goodness, there really aren’t many of them left, are there? Between the three of us, we’ve barely got 60.”

Rainbow gave a guilty sigh. “Yeah, I know. I hope Pinkie had more luck than we did. But hey, more importantly, how’s the leg?”

“Just dandy, actually! Kicks McGee is making a speedy recovery!”

Preston was about to ask who she was talking about, but Rainbow silenced her with a shake of the head, the kind that said “don’t ask”.

“Anyway, one of them critters was actually a doctor down here. Crazy, huh? But yeah, he fixed me up right as rain, and I’ll be back to normal in a few days!”

Preston, still desperate to understand everything, had to ask. “What happened to your leg?”

“Oh, this little thing? Well, I was in that cart with Page when it started to go off of the rails. If it kept goin’ the way it was, we were gonna crash into a wall, so I just barely managed to kick Page out of the way before I went for a nasty tumble. I’m just lucky these little critters aren’t as nasty as I thought they were, otherwise I’d be bug chow right now.”

The story matched up with what Page had told him before darting off. Granted, the other thing Page had said was wholly inappropriate, but Preston was trying his best to forget that.

“Alrighty now!” Applejack called out, getting everypony’s attention. Ponies and changelings alike all stopped whatever they were doing to stare. “Pinkie’s gonna meet us up by that stalagma-whatsit, and she’ll hopefully have everypony else there! Now let’s shake a leg and get movin’!”

A cheer rose from the numerous changelings, catching Preston off guard. Despite their unnatural colors and wild mane-styles, they acted just like normal ponies. It was slightly disconcerting. Some of them, with the way they embraced and cried, appeared like families reuniting after some kind of disaster.

As their march continued, Fluttershy began to hover anxiously above the group again. “U-um, I know we’re in a hurry, but these kinds of protests usually have signs, so if we have time, I think it would be a good idea to–“

“No way, Fluttershy!” Rainbow groaned. “We don’t have time for that! I mean, what kind of pony would take the time right now to make some stupid signs?”

“Now Rainbow,” Applejack said, “don’t call Fluttershy’s ideas stupid. Making signs may not be the best use of our time, but it’s not stupid.”

In the blink of an eye, a pink pony appeared right in front of them. “Aw, we’re not making signs? But I already made a whole bunch of them!”

“Pinkie?!” Rainbow exclaimed, leaping into the air to join Fluttershy. “Stop doing that! That whole sneaky thing!”

Pinkie Pie, trotting backwards, let out a playful giggle. “You just need to stop making it so easy to sneak up on you! But anyway, I found everypony else and they’re all waiting outside of the front gate with signs and pickets and everything you could ever want for a protest! So we’re ready to go!”

“Wait a cotton-pickin’ minute,” Applejack said, “what about Rarity? Did ya find her yet?”

“Psh, of course not! I really don’t get why you’re looking for her out here, anyway.”

Rainbow bristled, masking her anxiety. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Duh! I mean, the Rarity with us the whole time was big queen meanie, so I really doubt that we’re gonna find the real one out here!”

“What?!”

Every single pony, outside of the militia of changelings, cried out in unison. Pinkie, never breaking her backwards stride, gave them each a quizzical frown. “What, you didn’t notice? I mean, I wasn’t super-duper sure about it until recently, but I had a few hunches from the beginning. And, c’mon, how rude would it have been if I was wrong? Rarity would’ve been all ‘Oh my stars, deary, how could you say such a dreadful thing?’ and fainted, and I didn’t really want to carry her around. Not to mention, I didn’t even know that changelings were mixed up in this at the time, so I would have been calling my friend a liar! I mean, I tried to tell you guys about it, but you didn’t say anything, so I just assumed that we were setting up some kind of super-secret sting operation.”

Pinkie’s explanation was greeted with dumbstruck silence.

“Wait,” Pinkie gasped, “you really didn’t notice? Oh my gosh, did nopony actually read all of my crazy-elaborate charts and graphs? If any of you bothered to read past the first twenty pages, I had the whole thing spelled out for you! Jeez, what did you think I spent all of my time taking notes on? I mean, Twilight totally miscounted the shapes in her barrier. It was totally rude of her to forget about the desk clerk, but I never forget anypony that I’ve invited to my party! But then, Twilight’s a whole lot smarter than me, so I figured that I was the one that counted wrong, since she’s the one with the crazy barrier thing in her head. Either way, I figured she would read through everything, but I guess she didn’t. Bummer.”

Rainbow, eyes wide, shook her head. “W-wait, you’re serious?! Then that whole thing where she levitated me back in the lobby…. Oh, I am gonna squash that little bug! But wait, why didn’t you say anything, Pinkie?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes, still keeping stride. “Well, I wanted to be completely, totally sure before I said something. That’s why I was always hanging out with Rarity the whole time! I mean, I went with when we split up in the forest, and then when we went on the minecarts, just to make sure she didn’t do anything suspicious. But then, when our minecart crashed, I played dead in the rubble for a while. Just as I suspected, Rarity poked me to see if I was awake, and then did that whole green-flame-morphing thingy, and boom! That big meanie queenie was standing right there!”

To Preston, the whole story sounded absolutely ludicrous. Either this pink pony was a genius or she had completely lost her marbles.

Before anypony could make a response, Pinkie whipped around, facing forward again. “Oh hey, we’re here! C’mon guys, let’s get this protest-party started!”

The changelings that Rainbow and Applejack had gathered quickly rushed ahead to join the hundreds of others marching around the spire. The ones that Pinkie had gathered all had poorly drawn signs with “Free Twilight Sparkle” written on them in permanent marker.

Preston, his mind reeling, could only stare at the mind-numbing sight in front of him. Changelings, all of them disguised as wildly colorful ponies, were putting up a protest to try and free Twilight Sparkle. The mere prospect of it sounded utterly ludicrous. Then, top all of that off with the fact that Rarity had apparently been a changeling the whole time, and Preston had a story that he couldn’t even begin to imagine reporting on.

As the rally continued, Preston watched as the remaining Elements of Harmony began to argue amongst each other. From what he could hear, they were all trying to figure out if Pinkie was telling the truth. It did make sense, despite how unlikely it seemed. Back in the lobby, Rarity could have easily knocked them out with her magic.

Remembering the lobby, Preston turned to see Nightowl shift Red again, who was mumbling something under her breath. The poor mare was delirious, thanks to the hex she was under. It was difficult to see Red Tape, the most rambunctious mare he’d ever met, reduced to a glowy-eyed zombie.

Wait, Red was in pain! Why were they wasting time with this pointless protest?

“Hey, Nightowl. Hold Caesura for me, I’m gonna go find Princess Cadance.”

“H-hey, wait a minute. You–“

“Don’t argue with me. I already told you: I’m gonna go find Princess Cadance.”

“Then you would not know where she is, would you?”

The voice that answered didn’t belong to Nightowl. It was female, and much too regal. As Preston slowly turned around, he was met with the most majestic and terrifying sight of his life.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood side by side, massive forms dwarfing all other ponies around the spire. Celestia’s intense eyes burrowed into Preston, sending electricity down his spine.

“Princess?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the other ponies began to notice the royal sisters’ arrival. “Wait a minute… this can’t be the real deal, can it? I mean, we’re in a city of changelings, after all.”

Rainbow Dash’s doubt was instantly rebuked by the ring of changelings around the spire. Every single one of them froze, eyes locked on the regal alicorns that now stood before them. The only sound in the entire city was the sound of clattering wood as some of the changelings dropped their signs in shock.

The silence only lasted a brief moment before chaos erupted. Screams resounded through the underground city as changelings scattered. Some of them darted back towards their homes, but others remained and stood their ground, protecting their loved ones. Preston could tell which ones were families, since there were small packs of them that stuck together. The mother and father stood trembling in front of their children, doing their best to appear strong in the face of their aggressors.

Rainbow, completely ignoring the chaos, quickly flew over to the alicorn’s side. “Boy, are we glad to see you! How’d you even find us, anyway?”

Celestia gave her a skeptic frown, as if trying to figure out if this pegasus really was the Element of Loyalty. “It does not matter,” she stated, eyes scanning the terrified crowd. “Where is Twilight Sparkle? And Rarity? And Princess Cadance? And Shining Armor?”

Pinkie quickly hopped into the conversation. “Oh, Rarity and Twilight are being held captive, but I haven’t seen the two lovebirds for a while. You know, it’s kinda funny, but–“

Before Pinkie could continue, a burst of wind nearly knocked her off of her hooves. Princess Celestia, with her powerful wings, had taken to the air without a single word. In a sudden burst of radiant magic, the alicorn blew a sizable hole in the side of the earthy spire, sending debris hurtling down on the group of cowering changelings below.

Preston, in spite of his ambivalence towards the creatures, instinctively cried out to warn them.

As if by a miracle, the rocks never hit the ground. There was no deafening crash, no screams of agony. Nothing but the sound of magic.

Luna stood calmly amongst the changelings, her massive horn alight with a dark aura. All around her, that same aura encapsulated countless chunks of solid rock, floating a few mere feet above the ground. The levitation spell seemed to put no strain on the graceful alicorn, whose eyes were locked on something far above them.

“Sister!” she called out, but the other alicorn appeared not to hear. The faraway form of Princess Celestia immediately dove into the hole she had created in the spire, disappearing from view.

The cowering changelings finally began to move, having realized that their untimely demise had not come to be. The suspended debris slowly floated off to the side before harmlessly crashing to the ground with immeasurable weight.

After a few moments of stunned silence, a cheer erupted from the crowd. Luna started, her eyes widening as the colorful forms swarmed around her. Heads poked out of their homes, hesitantly seeing what the cheering was about.

Preston could hardly believe his eyes. Changelings, cheering for Princess Luna like she was some kind of hero. This was absolutely insane.

Without thinking, Preston shrugged Caesura off of his shoulders and let her fall to the ground in a heap. Nightowl, stunned, didn’t have time to react before Preston snatched Red off of his back and darted into the throng of changelings that surrounded Princess Luna. Most of them didn’t even notice as he pushed his way past.

“Princess!” he called out, finally grabbing her shocked attention. “Please! Can you help her? It’s Red, she–“

“Red Tape?” the princess whispered. “Yes, it is! It appears I made it in time. She asked for my assistance, and I feared that I was too late.”

Taken aback, Preston shook his head. He was about to say something, but he felt the weight on his back shift a little bit.

“You…. You were in m-my dream. Princess….” Red’s voice rung clear through the din. Her voice was strained, but her message was clear. It was the truth.

Luna gasped, leaning down to examine Red’s body. Preston, in a hurry, gently let the weary pegasus roll down on the ground between them.

“This spell, this belongs to Cadenza! Give me one moment, I shall fix this immediately! How long has she been like this?”

Preston shook his head. “A few hours, at least.”

Luna gave a visible start, her horn’s glow fading. “How can she still speak?” she whispered as she lit up her horn and closed her eyes.

“Then you can–“

“I shall fix this. I know not your name, but this mare asked me to save her. I shall do what I can. Once I am done, there are many questions I mean to ask you. But first, we must evacuate this city.”

Suddenly, the crowd around her froze. Murmurs arose. Evacuate? Eccondale?

“Changelings!” Luna announced, her bellowing voice echoing throughout the city. “Let it be known! I am not here to destroy you! We simply ask for your surrender, that we may exchange information and know the truth! My sister has gone to speak to your queen to facilitate her surrender, and in the occasion that negotiations do not go well, I suggest that you evacuate the city!”

Preston blinked. “Princess Celestia is asking for surrender?”

Quietly, Luna leaned down, her voice brimming with worry. “I pray so. If Chrysalis does not comply, I fear for the inhabitants here.”

“Then why don’t you go and help her?”

“I will be useless in the face of my sister’s righteous fury. The only thing I can do is spare as many of these poor creatures as possible.”

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“I refuse.”

“What?” gasped Chrysalis.

Twilight nodded firmly. “You heard me. I refuse to take this trial.”

Cadance, bewildered, shook her head. “No, Twilight, you have to–“

“No, Cadance, I don’t. You both seem to think that Princess Celestia won’t listen to me, but I think you’re wrong. I trust her.”

Page, who had been sitting quietly to the side, finally spoke up. “Twilight, I’m a little lost, but from what they’re saying, I think they’re right. Look, I mean, you’re the Element of Magic, a little trial like this should be a breeze!”

“This isn’t about whether I can pass it or not. I don’t think I’d want all of that power anyway. I mean, Princess Celestia would lose her mind if she figured out that I took that test! If she feels guilty already, she’d feel even worse if she knew that I undertook some dangerous trial for her sake, especially if she thought that we were scared of her!”

The simple point silenced all opposition in the room. This whole time, they had been treating Princess Celestia like an enemy. They didn’t seem to remember that this was their old friend, one from one thousand years ago. One that, deep down, still cared.

Chrysalis silently rose to her hooves, giving Twilight a stern glare. “You are sure about this? You are sure that Celestia will see reason?”

“I trust her. I have not known her as long as you, but I’m positive that she’ll listen to me.”

In truth, Twilight wasn’t as sure as she sounded. Deep down, she was terrified of the possibility that Celestia would attack her for defending Chrysalis, but she couldn’t imagine what would happen if she took that trial. She had seen her worst fears back in Sombra’s dark castle, and she didn’t want to see them ever again. In fact, she was about to face her worst fear in real life. Princess Celestia, if she couldn’t be reasoned with, would turn on her. The thought sent chills down her spine.

Solemnly, Chrysalis nodded. “Then I leave my fate in your hooves. I have always been a fan of bitter irony, but I believe that this is stretching it to the limit.”

“Sister,” Cadance urged, “you can still escape. You can–“

“No, Cadenza. I’m not going to leave my subjects to face Celestia’s wrath in my stead. I have run away for one thousand years. It is time I faced Celestia.”

“But you won’t be alone,” Twilight said, forcing herself to sound courageous. “Let Rarity and Shining Armor out. Bring them here. We’re just going to talk to her. That’s all.”

Page, annoyed at being left out of the conversation, started scuffing her hoof against the ground. “And what about me? Am I supposed to just sit around and do nothing? I flew all of the way up here, past a whole bunch of guards, just to tell you something you already knew!”

“Page,” Twilight said, taking a deep breath. “I’m grateful for your help. Really. But right now, you need to go back down there and let everypony know what’s about to happen. I also want you to go and find my friends, if that’s not too much to ask.”

“Too much to ask?” Page scoffed playfully. “C’mon, next to you, I feel like an earth pony on a weather team. I’ll be back in a flash!”

Eager to get moving, Page shot out of the cavern as quickly as she could.

With Page on her way, Twilight put her plan into action. “Cadance, you go get my brother, and Chrysalis, go get Rarity. We’re going to gather everypony up here, but then we’re going outside. We won’t be able to talk to her if the Heart of Equestria is making her even more emotional than she already is! So–“

Before Twilight could finish her orders, an explosion rocked the entire cavern. Chunks of earth came crashing down from the ceiling, narrowly missing the three ponies that rested within.

Twilight knew what that meant. A burst of magic that large could only mean one thing. Princess Celestia had arrived.

Wasting no time, Twilight barked out orders. “Hurry! Get Shining and Rarity and bring them back up here!”

In a flash, the two sisters galloped off in opposite directions. Twilight had no time to reflect on the fact that she had just ordered two powerful alicorns around, since another explosion rocked the entire spire. More rubble came crashing down from the dark ceiling, making it rain a mixture of dirt and pebbles.

Before Twilight could do anything else, another explosion occurred, but this one was accompanied by a brilliant flash. One of the walls of the cavern collapsed inward, letting the radiant glow behind it spill into the vast space. The glow from the massive gem in the center was immediately dwarfed by a light so bright it was like staring directly at the sun.

There, in the center of the brilliant shine, stood the Princess of the Sun herself: Celestia. Despite the beauty of the display, Twilight found herself unconsciously backing away from her mentor. Her entire being radiated a sense of power, the likes of which Twilight had never experienced before. This was the power of one thousand years of guilt, waiting to be given closure.

When the light subsided, the brilliant alicorn stepped into the blue chamber, her flowing mane glowing in the dull light.

“Chrysalis!” she called out, projecting her voice as far as she could. “I’ll not fall for such an obvious trap! Come and face me!”

Nearly blown away by Celestia’s royal voice, Twilight barely managed to stand her ground. “Princess! Please, calm down! We need to talk!”

Celestia’s eyes hardened as her gaze locked on Twilight. “Hm. So you’ve replaced Twilight Sparkle, haven’t you? Your cruelty knows no bounds.”

Celestia may have been looking at her, but those words weren’t for her. “Princess, it’s me!” she pleaded, staying where she was. Her hooves trembled despite her faith. What could she say? If she tried to tell her that Chrysalis was really Princess Aria, it might end violently. “Please, just listen to me! Cadance and Shining are on their way here right now! Just wait!”

“Wait?” Celestia hissed. This didn’t seem like her at all. The Heart of Equestria must have been affecting her emotions. “You expect me to wait? The last time I waited, sitting around to see what happened, I lost my only sister. And I shall not lose my only student. Not to you.”

“No!” Twilight blurted out. Did Celestia think that…? “A-ask me anything! Ask me something only I would know!”

“You mean things only Twilight would know,” Celestia corrected, never once losing her regal posture. There was fire in her eyes. “I’ll play your games, Chrysalis. You mocked Luna for years with your false dreams, and now it is my turn to mock you. And do not forget, my sister is out there with all of your subjects, should you choose to try anything. I will not hesitate to do to your kingdom what you did to Cadenza’s.”

Despite Celestia’s threatening tone, Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Luna wouldn’t attack all of those changelings, would she?

“First question. What is the square root of _?”

Twilight’s heart leapt. Of course she knew that! Back when she had first begun learning under Princess Celestia, she had latched onto that obscure fact to show off how smart she was. Dhe had wandered around the castle, quizzing the guards with that exact question.

“Well?” Celestia huffed, narrowing her sharp gaze.

Twilight sat down and traced her hoof in the air. “The square root of _ is _.”

Celestia’s unwavering gaze finally broke. “A simple fact,” she scoffed, but it was obvious that she was taken aback. “Anypony could know that. In fact, she may have given you the answer herself. I would not put it past you to resort to torture to get what you want. You’ve done worse before.”

Twilight had never heard Celestia speak so frankly before. “Princess, please! Just ask me anything! It’s the real me!”

“If you were the real Twilight, Chrysalis would not let you roam free. To her, Twilight Sparkle is dangerous, and if she is allowed to reunite with her friends, the results would be devastating. No, I do not believe that you are the real Twilight Sparkle. My student would have more sense than to defend a monster.”

The words cut deep, but Twilight held her ground. She had worked so hard to get here, solving mystery upon mystery and nearly giving up halfway. All of that had led up to this moment. The entire race of changelings rested in the middle of her hooves. She couldn’t do this alone. She needed her friends. She needed everypony.

“Twilight!”

The familiar, proper-sounding voice reached Twilight’s ears, ringing like a bell. She knew who it belonged to without even looking.

“Rarity!” she cried out, nearly forgetting that a furious alicorn was standing right in front of her. She turned to face her friend and was met with one of the most pitiful sights she’d ever seen. Rarity’s mane flopped lifelessly to her side, coated in some kind of sticky, green slime, and her tail was covered similarly. She looked even worse than that time she had been caught out in the rain during their first sleepover. Even her usually brilliant coat, which rivaled Celestia’s, was filthy and sticky.

Despite all of that, Rarity ran headlong and caught Twilight in a nasty, sticky hug. The two unicorns held each other close, friends reuniting after what must have been a terrible ordeal.

“Oh my stars, Twilight! She told me everything, and I must say, you have read far too much detective fiction! Still, you were right on the money! While her impression of me was rather lacking, I can find it in myself to forgive you for this. After all, she had me fooled back at your brother’s wedding! But still, to think that she’s not so blatantly evil, it came as quite a shock. And those pods, those were quite the pleasant surprise!”

The conversational tone of their conversation caught Twilight off guard as she let their disgusting hug end. She had been planning on making a heartfelt apology, but it had already been accepted.

“And what is Princess Celestia doing here? Don’t tell me you called in the cavalry for little old me! Ha, Twilight, I thought you had learned your lesson about that. I’m no damsel in distress, not when I don’t want to be! I’m quite sure that I could’ve escaped whenever I wanted, considering that the guards around this place are entirely third rate. Nothing but a poor imitation of the royal guards, if you ask me!”

Twilight wanted to giggle, but managed to keep her serious composure. Rarity always had a way of lightening up a bad situation with her prim and proper attitude.

Celestia, however, would have no part in it. “If you are changelings, you are better actors than I gave you credit for. But it doesn’t matter. Where is Chrysalis?”

Rarity quirked her brow, appearing quite offended by the notion that she was not the genuine article. “Now see here, you may be a princess, but–“

“I’m right here, Celestia.”

From the back of the cavern, where Rarity had come from, a dark form approached. There was no mistaking that unique voice.

“Chrysalis!” Celestia barked, immediately forgetting the two unicorns in front of her. She turned to face her foe, snarling. “You finally show yourself. It is about time that you pay for your crimes. Do not think that I will show you any mercy! I held back in Canterlot so that I would not inadvertently harm my subjects, but now there is nothing to keep me from bringing you to justice.”

Chrysalis entered the blue glow of the dim room, head held high. “I surrender, Princess Celestia, to your punishment. I invaded and attacked your home, Canterlot, in an attempt to feed my subjects. There is no excuse for what I have done. But–“

“Do not play games with me!” the alicorn boomed, launching herself up and landing directly in front of her enemy with a sudden blast of wind. “Do not think I have forgotten what you have done to my friend! To Il Tuo Aria!”

Rarity glanced at Twilight, expecting an answer. Instead of giving one, Twilight shook her head and motioned for Rarity to wait. This was something that had to play itself out, but Twilight was ready to leap in at any moment. Celestia would see the truth. She would.

Chrysalis stood her ground, remaining neutral. “Celestia, you must believe me. It is not what you think it is. You have it wrong. Il Tuo Aria is alive. Celestia, I am–“

Before Chrysalis could finish, her entire body was enveloped in a brilliant, golden aura. In the blink of an eye, she was sent hurtling against the nearest wall, as if she weighed nothing at all. Twilight instinctively rushed forward, but Chrysalis raised a solemn hoof to stop her.

Celestia, her horn glowing brilliantly, gave a vicious snarl. “Liar!” she hissed, eyes wide. “Do you honestly think I’d believe you?! Aria never would have abducted and attacked Cadenza! Attacked her sister! I have lost nearly everypony I could call family, and you have the nerve to include yourself among them?! I attempt to treat you with civility, and this is how you repay me? By mocking me?!”

Two bright orbs radiated from the other side of the cavern. There, standing at the other end, were Cadance and Shining Armor. Cadance’s eyes were an empty, glowing white, and a small pink heart floated in front of her.

Celestia’s attention shifted. “Cadenza, what are you–“

“She is telling the truth. The pony in front of you is my sister, Il Tuo Aria.”

“You’re lying!” Celestia shrieked, losing whatever composure she had maintained thus far. Her constricting magic faded, allowing Chrysalis to breathe once again. “You’re a fake! This is just an illusion!”

“Sister, may I?”

“Of course, Mia.”

Chrysalis’ eyes burst to life with a familiar light, causing Celestia to shrink back. “My name… is Il Tuo Aria. I am the sister of Mi Amore Cadenza.”

As Chrysalis’ eyes returned to normal, Celestia backed away. One step at a time, she began to retreat from the onslaught of truth. “An illusion! You can’t trick me, not again! I saw what happened to her! You were there, draining her life away! I saw it!”

Her desperate denial made Twilight’s chest ache.

Rarity shifted around uncomfortably. “I feel… as if I shouldn’t be watching this.”

Indeed, the three alicorns in the room seemed to have forgotten that the others existed at all. Shining Armor remained at his wife’s side, standing proudly despite the fact that he was just as confused as Rarity. His roaming gaze met Twilight’s, and his expression brightened.

As the light faded from Chrysalis’ eyes, their argument began anew. Shouts and desperate cries filled the air, reverberating around the chamber. Celestia showed no sign of backing down, but neither did Chrysalis.

Another voice cut through the air, joining the fray.

“Sister!” Luna cried as she burst through the hole in the wall that Celestia had created. “Is everypony alright?”

“They’re not real, Luna!” Celestia shouted. “Do not be fooled! Remember our codeword!”

“Aria,” Luna gasped. The words accompanied some kind of epiphany, one that her sister had yet to understand. “Aria…?”

Chaos broke out in the massive chamber. Celestia was trying to convince her sister that this was a trap while Twilight and the others kept insisting that everything was fine. it was a miracle that anypony could even remotely understand what was going on. Luna appeared conflicted, absolutely bewildered by the constant din.

“Sister,” Luna cautioned, furrowing her brow. “She poses no threat to us now. Those creatures outside, those changelings­­, they have already surrendered. They are not hostile, sister. They are afraid.”

“As they should be. Luna, I fully intended to accept her surrender, but she refuses! “

Chrysalis, resolute, shook her head. “I have surrendered, but Celestia–“

“She will not own up to what she did! Instead, she puts on this parade of falsehoods, insisting that–“

“Celestia, they are your friends! You family! Cadenza already lent me her truth spell, and I–“

“Don’t you dare say it again! You–“

“Luna, you must believe me! My name is Il Tuo Aria, and–“

Just like before, the changeling was suspended in a golden light and thrown against the cavern wall. Luna winced, but she made no motion to stop her sister.

“Twilight! Rarity!” A chorus of shouts resounded from the entrance. In a flurry of activity, her remaining friends rushed in, but their heartfelt reunion was immediately put on hold when they saw what was happening. Rainbow and Applejack immediately leapt to join in the fighting, but Rarity managed to stop the both of them before they caused anymore trouble.

Once again, the shouting match continued. Twilight lost track of the insults tossed back and forth, but it eventually devolved into mindless drivel. Celestia, all royal bearing thrown aside, was acting like a spoiled filly, one that didn’t want to admit she was wrong, but when Twilight thought about it, imagining this from her mentor’s perspective, the pieces fell into place.

Celestia, after everything had happened, obviously felt some measure of responsibility. After all, if she hadn’t talked them into going through the Heart of Equestria’s trials, Discord and Sombra would have never existed. Equestria would have been a much more peaceful place. Changelings wouldn’t exist, meaning that Canterlot wouldn’t have been invaded. What about Nightmare Moon? Luna had passed, but had that incident somehow influenced her decision to bring about eternal night?

Regardless, Celestia had spent the last one thousand years shouldering this guilt by herself. The only one who she could share it with, Cadance, had disappeared, choosing to escape from the truth rather than face it. If Celestia were to accept that Chrysalis was actually her long lost friend, how would that affect her?

Twilight understood why Celestia refused to believe. By accepting that Il Tuo Aria was still alive, she would be denying one thousand years of suffering, rendering it completely meaningless. All of that pain for nothing. After bearing that weight for such a long time, it would be unbelievably cruel to tell her that none of it had mattered. So unbelievably cruel.

That understanding, however, meant nothing. Even though Twilight knew why something was happening, she couldn’t do anything to fix it. It was similar to the way that she had been playing detective back in Everdale. Back then, she only tried to understand everything, even though it wouldn’t change the events that had taken place. What good was knowledge when it couldn’t be put into action?

By the time Twilight tried to focus on the scene again, things had changed. Luna stood in between Chrysalis and her sister, doing her best to keep things from getting out of hoof. Celestia, in all of her sound and fury, could not bring herself to harm her sister, not even to clear her thousand year grudge.

Twilight had never felt more helpless.

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Queen Chrysalis stood her ground, refusing to back down from Celestia’s threats. Or was it Aria who refused to budge? Were they truly different ponies, or were they one in the same? Had one become the other over the course of one thousand years?

Instead of struggling with her own identity crisis, the queen of the changelings focused her attentions outwards, towards the unrelenting fury that threatened to smother her. Celestia had stopped listening a long time ago.

Deep down, despite Chrysalis’ desire to be accepted and forgiven, she knew that she deserved neither. Had it not been for Cadenza, the entire city of Canterlot would be overrun with changelings. As much as Chrysalis knew that her subjects needed food, she also knew that preying upon innocent ponies was not the right way to obtain it.

That was why she had given all of Shining Armor’s power back to him at once after the invasion, completely flooding him with energy. When she had looked out at the chaos and destruction she had caused, something reminded her of who she really was, piercing the savage starvation that had blinded her. After seeing that, and returning all of the energy she had stolen from Shining Armor, she had silently surrendered. Losing over half of her subjects to starvation was punishment in and of itself, but Celestia would not settle for just that.

No, she could tell from the look in Celestia’s fiery eyes that there would be no peaceful resolution. The only things keeping her from attacking were the other ponies in the cavern. If she struck out blindly, she would injure all of them in the process. It was the same thing that kept her from using her full strength during the Canterlot invasion.

Shouts and accusations continued to fly about. Chrysalis could only wait for it to end, since speaking would only make the situation worse. If this kept up, Celestia would not hesitate to strike her down.

Silently, Chrysalis considered surrendering. It would be easy to wear the villainous façade again, pretend that she had fooled them all, and walk her merry way to the gallows with her head held high. If she did, Celestia would have a clear conscience and everypony would come out of this conflict alive. In fact, surrendering sounded like the most realistic option.  Twilight and the others might take some time to believe that it had all been an act, but in the end, they would fall for her lies. Everypony fell for her lies.

“Celestia, don’t you dare harm my sister again!” Cadenza cried, standing in between the two foes.

Hearing her sister’s voice sent a stab of guilt through her chest. No, Cadenza would never believe that this had all been an act. That truth spell had sealed her fate from the very beginning. Not even the Princess of Lies could escape the truth.

Was it selfish to want to live? To want her old life back? These were questions she had pondered when hatching her plan to infiltrate Canterlot again. Even if Celestia believed her, it would be difficult for her to deny one thousand years of guilt and pretend that it had never happened. No matter what, Chrysalis found herself at the center of all of these problems. If she didn’t exist, everything would be fine. Everypony’s problems would be solved.

Luna, still bewildered, kept her distance. “Sister, calm yourself! We shall take her back to Canterlot, where we can–“

“No, we can’t afford to let her escape! You don’t understand how dangerous she is! We won’t have another chance like this!”

Changelings were unnatural creatures. Chrysalis herself knew this. They had been created by that insipid gem, the one that had caused all of this in the first place. It was a selfish thought, but she silently wished that she could destroy that gem and end all of this.

Actually… why couldn’t she? It was just an enchanted gem. None of them knew where it came from, but there was nothing to say that it couldn’t be destroyed. Without the gem, she wouldn’t be able to feed her subjects with Caesura’s music, but it was a small price to pay. The gem was rioting everypony’s emotions. In fact, with the gem gone, Celestia might–

“Celestia,” Chrysalis said clearly. “You think that I am the guardian of this gem, don’t you?”

Celestia started, furrowing her brow. “And what does that prove? You could be anything!”

“Then you would have no problem if I destroyed it.”

The din receded. Nopony seemed to understand what she was doing, so they simply stared. It may have been selfish, but Chrysalis didn’t want to die. She had done some terrible things, but she didn’t want to die for her mistakes. She had a sister. She had ponies that believed in her. In time, she may even have friends. The thought both amused and terrified her. A normal life after all of this? It seemed too good to be true.

Ignoring the silence, Chrysalis ignited a spark of magic in her jagged horn. The Heart of Equestria, the source of all of their problems, would soon be gone. Chrysalis herself didn’t know what would happen to her without it, but it didn’t matter. This wasn’t to save her own life.

This was to save Celestia from herself.