//------------------------------// // 28: The Age of Twidash Has Begun // Story: Reformation of the Hives // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// Chrysalis materialized within a dark expanse illuminated by a dim red glow in front of her. She took stock of herself by looking at an upraised foreleg. Instead of a slightly glossy black shine, her carapace was silver and partially transparent. “Such a shame my time here is so limited.” She put her leg down as her sister, Jstrul materialized beside her. Here though, the green queen still had her eyes. She too gave herself a once over with Chrysalis waiting a moment before cantering forward towards the red light. “Come, sister, our time is precious.” “It has been a long time coming,” Jstrul replied with no lack of dark glee. The black expanse seemed unending as the pair closed in on the red glow. However, Chrysalis spotted distant faint reflections of the red light. So this prison is a giant sphere, or we’ve been shrunk down. Best not dwell on it. Focusing ahead, a structure started to come into focus as if a camera lens was correcting itself. Black stone provided a base for steel beams and rattling chains that formed an enclosure. Fiery red and orange runes were placed sporadically on everything. The last thing to come into focus was the guest of honor: Polybia. The two sisters stopped in their tracks once the object of their hatred came fully into view. Polybia was mostly silver, but had streaks of blood red coursing through her. In addition to the steel chains binding her struggling form were silver chains weighed down by ebony black locks. Although neither queen was all that familiar with demonic magic, let alone Grogar’s signature, the second set of chains that wrapped around Polybia’s fetlocks and wings gave both of them a vindictive smirk. As for Polybia herself, she was pulling hard on the chains gripping her left foreleg, the one facing away from her visitors, in a vain effort to free herself. That allowed the sisters to walk almost right up to her before Polybia noticed she was no longer alone. “Well isn’t this a fitting end,” Chrysalis sneered, jarring Polybia out of her efforts. “The self-proclaimed most sanctimonious of us all will be reduced to a succubus, a slave of lust willing to debase yourself at a moment’s notice.” Polybia tried to spit a glob of salve in her face, but none was forthcoming in this realm. “A pity we won’t be able to see just how low you can sink in the process,” Jstrul said mockingly without even acknowledging Polybia’s wordless reply. She walked up and struck Polybia across the chin. The impact stung, but only produced a breathy groan out of Polybia. Even so, the strike produced a satisfied grin on Jstrul’s hard face. “Is that the best you have?” The red streaks in Polybia flared, dancing around behind her eyes in a tight bundle. “Come on, Jstrul you can hit me better than that.” She turned to give Chrysalis a ‘come hither’ look. “You can join in too.” Chrysalis scowled deeply and shoved her way in between Jstrul and Polybia, “Are you really broken that quickly?” While her power here was gravely limited and did not come easily, Chrysalis managed to summon a bit of holy magic from the Silver City and shot it in Polybia’s face. The red tangle writhed in pain before fleeing to her extremities. The look on Polybia’s face went from sultry to shocked before settling on a hate filled snarl. “What are you doing here you miserable pus filled kelja?!” Now that she had Polybia’s undivided attention, Chrysalis circled in front of her, purring at the sight of Polybia’s situation. “Just thought I’d see you off to Tartarus with my best wishes.” Jstrul grabbed Polybia’s face with both hooves and shoved her muzzle in her face. “We get to have front row seats to your final damnation. Yeelindrus sends her regards.” Polybia had enough freedom to at least wrench her head out of Jstrul’s grip and snapped at one of the hooves, forcing Jstrul to pull back. “I did them all a favor and gave them honor they’d never hope to reach otherwise.” Chrysalis originally was going to snap at her, but then realized there was a madness in Polybia’s eyes that was much deeper than it had been in the hive, and by far more than what the mad queen possessed the last time she saw her before Grogar’s capture. Polybia continued ranting like a frothing lunatic, the red streaks worming around in her spirit flaring like fires ripping through dry grass. Her wild eyes were overly wide with an insanity that could only truly manifest in this spirit prison. Not that Jstrul let that dissuade her from venting her heartache and rage against Polybia. At each slung insult, every excuse, and the last condemnation only disturbed her further. Polybia’s words were spewing forth so rapidly now that it was becoming unintelligible. Jstrul was unwilling to listen to a second longer of it and screamed wordless vengeance and pummeled Polybia’s face in with a barrage of flying hooves. Had it been the physical world, Polybia’s head would have been reduced to a red smear. Yet in this prison, no real harm was possible, allowing Polybia to rattle on her tirade of nonsensical venom, only serving to infuriate Jstrul even further. Slowly, the red streaks returned to coil behind Polybia’s eyes, causing her hate filled growls to shift into one of pained pleasure. Every beating produced an excited moan, every kick was rewarded with a heated sigh, and Polybia drank in Jstrul’s cries of rage as if it were a song for her basest lust. At that point, Chrysalis tried to pull her sister off Polybia with a telekinetic shove, only to have her magic fizzle. Assuming it was the prison’s doing, Chrysalis resorted to physically pulling her sister back. Jstrul whirled around at the restraint, ready to kick Chrysalis away for interfering. “Enough, sister! Look at her,” Chrysalis commanded, forcing Jstrul to refocus on who she had been hitting. Polybia was writhing in pleasure in her chains. She was pulling on her leg bands to cause herself pain, only to fawn over the bondage like a masochist. “You’re only pleasuring her at this point.” Polybia started cat calling Jstrul, begging her to keep hitting her over and over, eliciting a shudder of disgust out of the sisters. The revelation did little to give Jstrul any measure of peace. “Does demonic influence really taint one so deeply with so little?” “...It would seem so. Either that, or she just gave in after being so thoroughly trounced by Luna.” “Or the prison itself,” Jstrul added with anger laced pain. She kicked at the ground, wishing there was a rock to punt. “Perhaps. In either case, we’re wasting our time here.” “…She cheated us,” Jstrul fumed as she walked away from Polybia so the future succubus queen’s catcalling would be out of earshot. Chrysalis followed soon after, and was soon taking the lead back towards the entry point. “She’s given into her corruption just so we can’t pry some vengeance out of her for our sister.” “In her state, I wouldn’t think it impossible now that she no longer has undeath to keep it in check.” Keeping her exterior rigidly stoic, Chrysalis walked back to the entry point with her sister in tow. No words passed between them. Jstrul seethed, vibrating her wings irritably yet silently since there was no actual air. Polybia’s sultry smutty grin taunted her mind’s eye. As for Chrysalis, Polybia frightened her more than anything else. She sarificed everything… everything to win, and just look at her now. More troubling fears sprouted up like weeds. Could that have been me, if I had found Grogar first? Dozens of close calls and near death experiences during the course of the war jumbled their way past her mind. Polybia used to be among the best of us. Admittedly the most devoted to the First Mother of us all. Ultimately there was only one fate she could truthfully see her following had Grogar landed in her lap first. She turned back towards Polybia, and for the briefest of moments, saw herself locked in those chains. She stopped frozen in her tracks, and blinked her eyes hard. When she opened them, it was Polybia in those chains. Yet that instant was enough to send her heart hammering in her chest. At that moment, a far more grim fate danced across her mind. That she was not alone in that prison, but her sisters too. All three either locked in this cage or victorious in the war yet driven insane by the cocktail of undead and demonic power. Would I have damned my sisters? Turned on them if they didn’t fall in line? What if they- “Sister?” Jstrul called while briefly jostling Chrysalis’ shoulder. “Are you coming or not?” Chrysalis jolted back to the present and recoiled from her sister’s touch, catching a flash of a necrotic lich with burning demonic eyes as her sister. Jstrul took the recoil in stride, but was giving Chrysalis a concerned frown. “Forgive me, but our magic doesn’t work very well in here so I had to touch you directly. Are you alright?” Shaking herself out of it, Chrysalis saw her sister was normal again. With a wave of her hoof she dismissed the apology. “Well enough,” Chrysalis replied with a tone that brooked no investigation. She composed herself and spoke evenly. “Just giving Polybia one last look to see if it was all an act,” Chrysalis lied smoothly. She marched forward to the exit, passing her sister by in the process. Jstrul knew her sister enough to know a lie when she heard one, but was unwilling to call her on it. Upon arriving, the black floor opened up on them. They fell through the hole and suddenly snapped awake in their bodies inside Chrysalis’ throne room. The two queens needed a moment to gather their wits. “Just as well my focus is out of that puppet,” Jstrul fumed now that she was blind again. “I’ll leave speaking with those Equestrians to you while I handle local matters.” Chrysalis was actually going to suggest something similar. This works out nicely. I’d rather her not eavesdropping on me. “I’ll leave you to it then. I will be along later after I finish things with them.” She watched Jstrul leave the room, guided by a pair of attending seeing-eye drones. There’s more going on with Polybia than simple madness. There just has to be! A queen of her age should have resisted better than that. It doesn’t make sense otherwise. Chrysalis knew she was grasping at straws, but her shaken pride goaded her along this line of thought. Casting her consciousness across thousands of miles, Chrysalis slid back inside her puppet at the Equestrian border. The land she left her puppet at was a one hundred foot island nestled in the middle of a vastly larger lake. It was close to a break in the Macintosh Mountains where northern rivers fed the lake, and the lake fed smaller rivers going into the southern jungle. A pair of changeling shuttles were parked right above the water with ropes staked into the grass covered ground. The vehicles were providing the only real source of illumination via four floodlights. The moon was full and the stars seemed impossibly dim for being so far away from civilization. Twilight, Rainbow, Luna, and a few pony paladins stood near the shuttles muttering to themselves, their conversation lost to the gentle lapping of flowing water and the hum of the array. Chrysalis and Jstrul’s puppets were standing inside a blood red demonic array that had dashes of black that ran the length and breadth of the pattern that dominated the island. It was a squarish pattern that had sigils of power floating in midair that seemed to taunt Chrysalis to delve into their secrets. For now, with little power flowing through it, the array was, in essence, idling. Grogar stood in the center of the array with the bell containing Polybia’s prison floating ten feet above him. Standing in stark contrast to the rest of the demonic array, was a patch of golden light off to the side where a single blue egg would be placed upon a white blanket when midnight arrived. Chrysalis turned to her sister’s former puppet. She hasn’t ordered this thing back yet? “Drone, go home.” Without a word or gesture of acknowledgement, the green drone immediately took to the air and flew south. Its ultimate fate of returning alive was of no concern to her. Upon seeing the puppets moving once again, Grogar halted his efforts in perfecting the minute details of the array to address Chrysalis. “I take it you’ve had your fill.” Chrysalis glanced at the Equestrians. They were watching both Grogar and her puppet, but none of them were within earshot thanks to the ambient noise. “Hardly.” She turned back towards Grogar who watched her passively. “I am no expert on matters of soul magic, but something about Polybia felt…” Chrysalis fidgeted with her real forelegs trying to phrase it properly. “Incomplete. Like she wasn’t all there.” Grogar grunted in approval. “So you noticed that did you? Most wouldn’t.” Quickly assuming what her follow up question would be, he continued. “What you likely saw was an old scar upon her spirit. My guess is right around the time she decided to steal my power. It has healed poorly.” “Taking in your magic is that damaging?” Chrysalis asked with a growing concern that she should be much more thorough in cleansing the lands of necrotic taint, just to be on the safe side. “Not in that respect.” Grogar waved a hoof in the air, forming a new sigil. “Something or someone ripped a large piece out of her soul sometime after I was captured. Probably a month or so ago at the very least.” Chrysalis narrowed her eyes out of interest. “And that loss weakened her resolve or sanity, I take it?” “Someone’s personality is shaped equally by brain and soul alike.” “She did it to herself, didn’t she?” Chrysalis stated as if there was no question. “That means she is still alive somewhere else.” “Possibly.” Grogar finished the sigil which floated away to take its place. “The fragment was torn away by a poor novice. The fragment could not survive on its own; it would need a host body and soul to latch on to. Not even a phylactery could sustain it after that kind of haphazard surgery.” Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re being quite generous with information.” Ever without emotion, Grogar forced a shrug of indifference. “And what use would keeping that knowledge serve me when I am mere moments away from being reborn?” “Point taken.” Chrysalis fumed, but let the slight go. “But who would she trust with a fragment of her soul? She didn’t exactly have any real allies-“ Just then, a flash of numerous quasi soared through Chrysalis’ mind. No… She wouldn’t actually do that, would she? Sure she was desperate back then but- A coy grin found its way on Chrysalis’ muzzle. “I must thank you for this information. For what it’s worth to you, I’ll consider this a favor towards your new self.” “I would…” was all he would say. Grogar turned away to finish his work, wordlessly dismissing Chrysalis. “Not that I’ll remember,” he deadpanned. The last comment actually made Chrysalis turn around and give him a puzzling look. “And here I thought you lacked a sense of humor.” He lowered his gaze to a section of the array, and started weaving a hoof over it to fix an error that he missed earlier. “Faking one is easy enough, I’ve found.” Chrysalis hummed approvingly, yet before she could fly away, Grogar gestured for her to wait with a hoof. “Now that I think about it… The scar on Polybia’s spirit is jagged and deep. Likely created in haste.” Chrysalis hesitated to respond for a moment. “Are you saying it wasn’t self-inflicted?” “Maybe yes, maybe no.” Grogar studied the array with utmost care, and found a sigil was slightly out of place. “I’ve not the time nor inclination to find out since it does not interfere with my plan. The only thing I am sure of is that the fragment was never restored to her spirit.” “Is that a fact?…” Chrysalis trailed off. She gave the necromancer time to work as she mulled over the information. “It seems you have given me something to distract myself with. For that, I thank you.” When Grogar only gave a curt nod in reply, Chrysalis had the puppet fly away before departing its mind. After I stabilize the hive and my daughters, I’ll get to have some entertainment in this little hunt. The hour approached midnight when a dark inky black portal appeared in front of the array. Everyone’s eyes turned to see not a demon, but an earth pony with drab grey coloration from his eyes to his fur. His form was mostly covered in a flowy royal red cloak that spoke of immense wealth. With a toothy grin he gave a flourishing wave towards the undead ram. “Grogar, my longtime friend and ally, you’re looking a little worse for wear.” The newcomer made a point of looking up at the lich’s missing horns. “Schadenfreude,” Grogar growled lowly. “I should have your head after the information you gave Polybia.” With a chuckle, Schadenfreude stepped away from the closing portal to briefly survey the diagram. “It all worked out in the end, did it not?” He turned back to Grogar, “That’s why I’m standing here after all.” With a flat scowl, Grogar stomped on the ground and pulled the tome out of the ground. “It’s all here. Now do your part.” Blood red magic formed around an invisible horn on Schadenfreude’s head. He plucked the book away from Grogar and slid it inside his cloak without checking it. “Then this is goodbye. I will miss our long talks over coffee.” Grogar said nothing further and stood at the center of the array patiently. Schadenfreude pulled a hoof up to his face to read the changeling-made wrist watch he had, indicating it was a minute to midnight. Both demonologist and demon looked to Rainbow Dash who was on time. She placed a single blue egg on the sanctified ground without a word and moved away from the array. Satisfied everything was lining up, Grogar nodded to Schadenfreude. “I suppose I will miss them too. I will say that you were the only one worthy of any worthwhile conversation.” “Perhaps we will again someday,” Schadenfreude smirked as he summoned his magic, only to get a warning glare from Grogar. “Provided your new self seeks me out first of course.” More or less satisfied, Grogar said nothing further. Upon the stroke of midnight, Schadenfreude had enough power gathered and slammed his hooves into the edge of the array. Dark magic surged throughout the lines and sigils. Grogar pulled one last thing out of the ground: his phylactery. With a hoof glowing in demonic magic, he held the thing close to his face and whispered words of power into the decanter shaped phylactery. With the words spoken, he smashed the phylactery with his other hoof, shattering it like brittle glass. A fully dark red mass of soul popped out and sank into Grogar’s body. “Now, Fel-weaver!” Schadenfreude flared his magic, causing tentacles of black mana to burst forth from the sigils. Each sigil bore two tentacles, one latched onto Grogar while the other adhered itself to the bell. The tentacles pulled taut and started pulling away at Grogar’s soul. He quickly collapsed to the ground as pain seared every dead vein and artery. Scrap by horrendous scrap, the demonic taint of his soul was ripped away and sank into the prison bell. The changelings and ponies watched in morbid fascination. Twilight was trying to understand the spell she was witnessing while Rainbow Dash could only now start believing Grogar was honest. Luna and the paladins remained unmoving though. Rainbow queried only half seriously. Twilight replied absently. She was too engrossed in the spell to do more. The array was aggressive and thorough, ripping away whole chunks of demonic essence at a time like a butcher. One particularly bright piece of red soul fragments tried to cling back into Grogar, yet that only made the tentacle grow thicker and beefier to redouble its efforts. With a meaty thwack that sent a wave of nausea across the group, the piece of demon soul was snapped off and deposited into the bell. After a long and grueling half hour, the last scraps of red taint were dredged from Grogar’s limp form. Luna barely caught the sight of dead milky eyes when the red glow burned out. The bell by contrast was a beacon of demonic energy, radiating power like an angry sun. Without missing a beat, Schadenfreude ripped at the ground under his hooves and heaved it at Grogar’s body. The impact broke the tentacles away. Stepping up to his old friend, Schadenfreude took a porcelain bowl and acted as if he was going to scoop ice cream out of Grogar’s body. The bowl passed through him as if he wasn’t real. Yet what he scooped out was very real: a soul. It was a tiny thing, barely enough to hold itself together outside of a vessel. Yet that would not last long if a new one wasn’t found soon. “So this is what you’ve reduced yourself to. A few motes of light.” With the bowl carefully kept upright, Schadenfreude walked over to the egg. He had to squint to keep the gentle golden light from blinding him. Refraining from using any magic of his own, Schadenfreude picked up the egg and carefully laid it to rest inside the bowl. He placed it back down into the patch of holy ground and backed off towards the center of the array. From there he thrust a hoof towards the bell. The object raced towards him and vanished inside his cloak. With his task complete, he pulled some herbs out of his cloak and threw them across the ground. The traces of demonic magic in the array were sucked into the herbs until there was little more than dried flaking blood on the ground. Once he was satisfied, he departed the array to join the witnesses. He bowed at the royalty before speaking. “Your highnesses, the deed is done. Give it a minute or two and what’s left of Grogar will be fused with the egg.” Luna gestured at the paladins who moved to start purging the remains of the demonic array and sanctifying the island. Just in case. “Did he survive the process?” “Oh yes, I was quite meticulous.” Schadenfreude flicked a grin and a spark in his eyes. “Any flicker of demon essence thin enough to escape me will soon be expunged by the patch of holy dirt back there.” “Very well,” Luna suppressed a sigh. “You may take your leave.” “As you wish, Princess. But I have to ask,” Schadenfreude added right as he bowed out of respect. He faced Rainbow Dash in particular. “I’m very curious about what you will do with that egg. From what I understand, none of you are bound by any contract to keep it alive… aside from that Kreesus character I’ve heard so much about.” Twilight shared a brief conversation with her sister over the Link before addressing the demonologist. “Information like that doesn’t come for free.” Schadenfreude belted out a hearty laugh that did little to provoke humor in the others around him. “Good to see you are a mare of understanding. How about I consider it a small favor? As far as I’m concerned, Grogar is dead, so any of his enemies will be told the same thing should they come asking.” Satisfied with his answer, Rainbow Dash heaved a heavy sigh and looked at her distant egg. Uncertainty creased her brow, trepidation formed a slight frown, and no small amount of fear held her tongue for a few moments. “I think we’re going to leave the egg in stasis for a bit. Can’t do it for more than a week or she’ll end up with birth defects, but that should buy us time to get her a counterpart before hatching.” “And think of a new name,” Twilight added cryptically. Along with putting the egg into a royal incubator, she mused to herself, not willing to offer that information. “I see,” Schadenfreude replied with a little disappointment. “Well, this is when I must bid you adieu. I have work to do and a schedule to keep.” He bowed once more as the ground beneath him became inky black in a circle around him. Everyone shifted away a couple of steps as the grinning demonologist sank into the portal. “I do enjoy our little chats. Don’t be a stranger, your highnesses.” As quickly as it had appeared, the black portal closed behind him. A whiff of black magic danced upon the wind before being extinguished by Luna. “If it is all the same to you, I’m up for going home.” In the middle of Canterlot, Pear Butter and Paintbrush were in a panic. The room above the brothel was dimmed, save for the fading sunlight peeking from behind the curtains. Stopwatch was still in a cocoon under the bed. Paintbrush was holding onto a shaking water mug trying to get his thoughts straight while Pear was pacing back and forth speaking rapidly and couldn’t stop her tail and wings from twitching on their own accord. “What are we going to do!? If Night Light takes the princess to Ponyville that means Twilight Sparkle is going to discover what she is!” Pear stopped pacing as it was not helping the pounding migraine causing the spots in her eyes to worsen. “W-well what do you want me to do about it!?” Paint Brush cried in frustration. “Ah don’t know anything about disguise magic, Ah just do it!” He tried to stomp his hoof, only for him to lose his balance and topple over. Pear Butter was sluggish to try and help him back up as she struggled to maintain balance with her tail acting erratically. He managed to get up without her. “What is wrong with us?” he groaned through clenched teeth as as spike of pain lanced through his already bad migraine. For a few moments, Pear Butter felt her thoughts grind to a halt and stood there in a sort of limbo before the world started moving again. Her thoughts turned to anger, “I bet it was our oh so beloved queen!” She cast a spiteful eye at the cocoon. “She wanted us to die after we secured the princess’ safety. We’re loose ends.” “Ah don’t believe that,” Paint Brush growled while giving her a stink eye of his own. “We’re her guardians, remember?” “We’re not needed anymore,” Pear countered heatedly. “She has the Sparkle family now!” “And what if something happens to them before she’s grown?” Paint Brush shot back defensively. “Well why don’t we let Stopwatch settle the matter?” Pear jabbed a hoof at the cocoon with gritted teeth. “Oh wait, she’s safe and sound in her little shell until we end up dying. The princess only needs one outsider for protection and it won’t be us!” “Y-you’re wrong!” Paint Brush cried with mounting desperation at his failing body. “She - she needs us…” Both quasi sank to a sitting position as fatigue drained away at them. Pear Butter could do little outside of cursing Polybia’s name. As if to mock her, a loud crack resounded from the cocoon. Both quasi turned to see a jagged horn briefly poke out of the waxy shell followed by a hoof. “Well now here wakes up our replacement.” “Maybe she can help us,” Paint Brush replied with forced optimism. Both of them summoned the strength to walk over and lend feeble aid to free Stopwatch of her cocoon. She was in the middle of hacking up cocoon fluid as the others plopped back down and short of breath. Paint Brush sighed in overt relief while Pear Butter was far more distrusting. “Finally you’re awake. I half expected ta have ta move yur egg before somepony came look’n,” he said with a chuckle. Pear Butter studied Stopwatch for any changes, and was confused when she saw no noticeable changes from a standard drone. “Any idea why you were in there to begin with?” she started, not wanting to tip her hoof just yet. That filly would be better off without SW watching over. Ah think I can still kill her with what magic Ah have left. Stopwatch finished clearing her lungs and gulped air down while holding up a hoof to stop any more questions. She finally opened her eyes to reveal the normal blue glow was gone, with normal round pupils staring back at the two quasi. “The queen’s last will was to give us independence.” Her breathing started to normalize, allowing her to stumble onto the bed to recover. “At least that was the last thing I think she told me before forcing me into a cocoon.” In a mechanical, almost preprogrammed in her movement, Stopwatch climbed to her hooves and tapped the side of her horn on both quasi’s foreheads. Neither of them had the wits to question or stop her. It was like a switch being flipped, the two quasi felt strength returning to their bodies, the migraines let up and the pain was receding. Pear Butter took the first deep breath she had all day. It was invigorating how nice it felt. Paint Brush’s hope and good cheer surged right along side his recovering health. He pounded his chest and relished the pow that was restored to him. “Like an ox!” He tipped his painter’s hat at Stopwatch. “Thank ye kindly for that.” He shot a smug look at Pear Butter who pointedly avoided his gaze. As soon as it had happened, Stopwatch’s personality reactivated and she blinked away the stupor she found herself in. “W-what just happened?” With her thoughts returning, she could hear two voices in her head, one male, the other female. Their words were as quiet as a whisper and were unintelligible. Bewilderment struck home as she knew what those voices meant, It’s Pear and Paint’s voices! But that would mean- By contrast, neither quasi could hear any voice inside their head except for their own. With Paint Brush lording over Pear Butter with a mountain of smug satisfaction, the mare pouted in silence, freeing Paintbrush up to speak with Stopwatch. “Much obliged, ma’am. Ah knew the queen wouldn’t abandon us. She used you to reconnect us to her, I take it.” “No… you’re only connected to me.” That put a halt to both quasi’s mood. “Our queen is - is dead.” The enormity of what she just said struck Stopwatch like a freight train. Her whole life, her world, her existence had been for her queen. And now Polybia was gone. Feared as she might have been, the hole in Stopwatch’s heart made her clam up. Tears flooded her eyes, her lips quivered terribly, and her wings vibrated in a pallor hum. It was all she could do to keep from wailing her heartache in front of the two quasi. “P-please, leave me. I need to be alone.” The realization that she was now truly without a queen nearly sent Stopwatch over the emotional edge. It was only the quasi’s presence that made her keep some measure of composure. Paint Brush couldn’t help but to get caught up in mutual grief, but Pear Butter felt nothing but satisfaction in the news that all of them were freed from Polybia’s influence once and for all. “You can grieve all you need later. Right now the princess is in danger.” Had Pear given any other reason for her curt, if hollow-ringing sympathetic tone, Stopwatch would have screamed at her to leave. So instead, she allowed her voice to be colored by shaky emotion. “How?” Pear Butter’s own fully sized insectoid wings buzzed irritably. “Word has it that Grogar’s been killed and that Twilight is set to return to Phoenix Roost within the hour. Right as I was goin’ off the clock for the night, I saw Night Light was packing a suitcase, and planning on takin’ the princess to meet her new sister. He’s only waiting for Azure Sky to get off work to take the next train together. Which means-“ Pear Butter lifted up a hoof to glance at her wristwatch. “Just to make thin’s worse, he’s insistin’ that Ah meet with Queen Twilight herself. Saying ‘she’ll want to know who Stellar’s foalsitter is’. Ah’ve got two hours before I’m expected back at the manor.” Paint Brush leaned on the situation like a crutch to keep himself emotionally steady. “We think Twilight or at least one of the other changelings might see past PB and the princess’ disguise and discover what they truly are.” It took Stopwatch a moment to remember casting the original disguise spell on the princess. “But the queen specially crafted it to be subtle enough to fool someone of Twilight Sparkle’s caliber.” Paint Brush shook his head. “Last Ah checked, that spell was only meant for a foal that Twilight might have seen in passin’, not remain close to her for hours or days on end as a family member. Ah ain’t will’n to risk that.” “And Ah don’t think Ah could fool her either,” Pear added with heavy concern of her own. “What with bein’ the foalsitter ‘n all. She’d splat me like a bug and then might double check on the princess.” The risk to the princess gave Stopwatch enough motivation to swallow her grief, but not all that effectively. “I’m just an infiltrator posing as a prostitute,” she hissed in a sorrowful rage, “what would I know about-“ Stopwatch blinked as information she never had before raced across her mind in flashes. Details on changeling magic, quasi creation, and many others that were far above her pay grade. The pain of having so much information so quickly was mitigated by integrating it into the molting phase. “I - wait. I think I can help with that.” Mitigated or not, the new information was in a jumble that nauseated her to sift through. “G-give me one of those necklaces on the desk over there.” Paint Brush was quick to do as requested while Pear Butter grew suspicious of the sudden seemingly unrelated request. She decided to keep her peace due to curiosity and being in a hurry. Once Paint Brush handed over a cheap gold colored necklace, Stopwatch’s horn lit up with a shaky green light. The necklace started to shine in a mirrored green light, and it took over ten minutes for the enchantment to solidify. At the end, Stopwatch was shuddering from both her emotional control fraying at the edges, and the spellwork being heavily taxing. “There. That, that should keep her disguise from being sniffed out. Put it on her for ten minutes and it should last a few days. I’ll have to make a more permanent one later.” “Will it work for me too?” Pear asked with lessened hostility while accepting the jewelry. “Ah’m probably goin’ ta have to follow the family down to Ponyville.” “It should, I think. Just keep the necklace on you at all times.” Stopwatch laid down on the bed and covered her head with the pillow. “Can you two leave me alone now? I really need to be-” she didn’t finish as the emotional warble in her voice threatened to break out into a full out sob. When neither farmer didn’t jump to leave, she curled up into a fetal position. “Just get out of here!” Paintbrush was quick to tug Pear Butter’s foreleg and try to gently direct her to the door. “Sure thin’, Stop. You just get yourself sorted out, and we’ll take care of the princess.” Two days after Grogar’s ritual, Phoenix Roost was abuzz with the return of their queens. As the Long Shot pulled into dock, Twilight and Rainbow waved at the changelings crowding every square inch of the dockyard and many more in the air. The flight deck had every available crewmember standing at attention. Luna received equal praise from her perch atop the Steamrunner as it pulled into an adjacent dock, although it was largely from the resident imperial thestrals over the changelings. Mostly because the changelings were too busy going after their mothers first. As soon as the docking clamps secured the carrier in place, the civilian changelings swarmed over the ship to bear hug their reunited siblings. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were spared the brunt of the swarm only because they were glomped by Aegis and Blitz respectively before anyone else could reach them. Aegis was covered in eight nymphs clinging to her mane and tail. Aegis full on knocked Twilight down in her mad rush to be first and all but choked her with a crushing bear hug. “You’re finally back! I missed you so freak’n much you like, can’t believe!” “Maybe, but I can imagine,” Twilight giggled as she hugged Aegis right back. The nymphs swarmed over both purple queens, giggling and laughing the whole time. Twilight pulled her head away from Aegis’ side to look at one of the nymphs trying to grab onto her snout. It took her a brief moment to realize the nymph was not linked directly to her, but to Aegis instead. “These wouldn’t happen to be grandkids now would they?” Twilight snatched the nymph up and let it join in the hug on the floor with many others trying to join in. Many of them had clumsy hands grabbing and pulling on hair and fur alike. “That they would!” Aegis squealed with unbridled glee and pride. Aegis climbed off of Twilight and scooped up as many nymphs as she could hold in her arms and nuzzled all of them, making the kids giggle madly. Aegis relished the unique flavor of a child’s love for their mother that was only ever matched by Twilight’s love for her. It was enough to bring Aegis to tears. Twilight didn’t need her empathy to see how utterly content Aegis was, for she was all too familiar with that particular feeling. By now, quite the number of drones had reached them and started dog piling into a massive hug of purple, all but pushing Aegis out of the way to squash their queen. Aegis had to gingerly pull the remaining nymphs out from under the pile with her magic. “Guuys! Watch the nymphs!” Barely ten feet away, Rainbow Dash and Blitz were being squashed in a dog pile of their own that was getting rather cramped thanks to the wall and railing of the Long Shot’s balcony. However much she wanted to bask in the love of her brood, Rainbow Dash kept her tone somber. The tone of her announcement caused all of the jubilant changelings to take a step back. Blitz and the other royals stayed on the balcony while the others took to the air. Rainbow Dash sent word down to the crew of both ships. The finality and dour tone of the command sent most of the drones away while others helped the crew remove the coffins. Content to leave that effort in Rainbow’s hooves, Twilight waved Blitz to come over and join both her and Aegis. “I hope you two have been good while we’ve been gone.” “I’ve managed to keep Miss Burnanator here in check,” she deadpanned getting an eye roll out of Aegis. “But I’ve been working on some big projects.” Blitz hopped up onto her back legs and shifted her front hooves into hands to start counting off points with each finger. “I requisitioned Engineering Team Fowler to start working on a larger deforestation machine to make clearing land for Tradewinds quicker, I got together with a few prominent business ponies and surveyors to see how we can get water based shipping along the rivers started almost as soon as the hive is ready for manufacturing, and then there-“ Aegis stood up and leaned heavily onto Blitz, interrupting her and distracting her with the nymphs playing at their hooves. “Long story short, we haven’t been sitting on our duffs twiddling our thumbs.” “Twiddling your thumbs?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. “It’s a sphinx saying,” Blitz explained while waggling her thumbs to draw Twilight’s attention to them. “It means what you think it means.” “Ah. Well, okay. At any rate, I look forward to going over everything with you both. Now that this nasty business in the jungle is calming down, we can focus on breaking ground for Tradewinds.” Twilight was about to elaborate on that when a call came in. Twilight made a cutting gesture at Aegis and Blitz to let them know she was distracted. It also gave her time to place the voice as one of the guards she had tactfully stationed at her father’s manor in Canterlot. The guard had a muffled giggle in his voice as if he was trying to conceal a secret. he stressed heavily. Twilight projected her humored bemusement over the link. The guard tried to clamp his mind shut to keep her from sifting through the memories, not that he could stop her, only delay her for a few minutes. Twilight couldn’t help but to give off a snorting snicker. That’ll keep Luna from having to take a carriage back to the castle. Twilight went on to tell Rainbow the short version of her conversation with the guard. Twilight refocused on the two freshly minted full queens in front of her. “Sorry, girls, it looks like I’m needed at Canterlot for a bit. We’ll go over the details of your plan in a Linkscape, deal?” Blitz nodded with a surge of giddiness. “That’s perfect! I’ll be able to better visualize all the plans!” She was quick to thrust her face into Aegis’ own. “You’re coming with me. We need a quiet place to start forming the Linkscape.” “Why me? It’s your plans.” Blitz pecked a kiss on Aegis’ snout. “Because, silly, just because you’re military that doesn’t mean you get to pass on civic planning. Now let’s tally ho!” With a cheer, Blitz leapt into the air to fly to her favorite quiet place: the library. “Gauuh, you always do this!” Aegis gathered up all her nymphs and had the perfect excuse to make a detour to the nursery. That left Twilight standing there alone after Rainbow flew off to personally oversee the care of the coffins. Now what exactly would daddy be able to keep secret? A warm yet highly intrigued smile crossed her lips. I do love a good mystery. It was only now that the jubilant crowds cleared away after Rainbow’s announcement had time to filter through when Twilight noticed Cadista standing on the flight deck near the conning tower. Movement further astern drew Twilight’s attention to Thunderfury and Rasua chatting away. Refocusing on her mother, Twilight floated down to greet her. “I have to say, momma, I don’t know how you survived down south for so long.” “A stiff upper lip, and no small amount of grit.” Cadista gave a stiff hug due to the public setting and ended it quickly. “I’m glad you took my advice in physically removing yourselves from combat. I fear it was a lesson your daughter had to learn firsthoof.” Ah, she means that skirmish from the Steamrunner’s maiden voyage. “It was eye opening for Rainbow in particular, not that she’ll admit it.” “Admission is not required, only taking the lesson to heart.” Cadista nodded her head towards the distant lights of Ponyville and took to the air. “Given my… retirement, I wanted to attend a spa in Ponyville. Would you care to join me tomorrow after things settle down?” “I’d love to, but my father wants me to personally come up to Canterlot right away.” Cadista tilted her head and paused in her flight. Since she hadn’t gone far, Twilight simply walked over instead of flying up. “Judging by your tone, it doesn’t sound disastrous.” “I certainly don’t think so,” Twilight replied with a thinly veiled smirk. “Given how my father talked Hidden Blade, the guard I assigned to him, into keeping me in the dark, I’d wager it is rather good news.” Cadista brushed the underside of her chin with her eyes going out of focus as she thought. “That mare, Azure Sky, was it? You think it might have something to do with her then?” “Oh I have no doubt she’s involved. A little fast for a marriage proposal though,” Twilight commented with mounting interest in the exact news. “Well, whatever the case may be, I look forward from hearing about it from you later. We can share the news over one of those mud baths I’ve heard so much about.” Twilight had the mental image of Cadista laying in a mud bath with oversized cucumber slices and started snickering behind a hoof. All the while having the spa twins filing her hooves and horn. she said over the Link since she couldn’t trust her voice at the moment. No amount of polite hiding behind a hoof could stop Cadista from reading Twilight’s emotional aura, but it was the thought that counted. As such, Cadista took a more inquisitive than offended posure. “You can’t see me… How did she put it? ‘put a whole new luster in my coat’?” “I took you for more of a sauna person myself,” Twilight chuckled and tried to wave off her growing laughter. “Yes, well a few lifetimes of work and rulership, some respite in these twilight years is called for. Don’t you think?” Twilight Sparkle’s good mood fell rapidly, but she kept it buoyed for Cadista’s sake. “I certainly believe so.” It was midafternoon when Twilight glided down in front of the Sparkle Manor. There was a ceremony scheduled to honor the fallen ponies in the next two days, so she arrived alone at the gates. Standing at the marble colored guard shack behind the gate was a unicorn royal guard stallion in a private security uniform. However, it was his holstered pistol and jubilant emotional aura that gave him away as one of Twilight’s sons in disguise. “Queen Twilight Sparkle, good to see you again!” he said cheerfully as the false-unicorn pressed a button to slide the gate open. “Word has it the war went poorly for the Royal Navy. Went worse for the baddies.” Without needing to turn around, Twilight could sense several nobles walking along the streets, with many well within earshot. Playing her part, Twilight nodded in gratitude. “It could have been better, yes. But at least the worst part is over.” “Glad to hear it.” The guard swept a hoof towards the manor. “The master is expecting you.” “So I hear,” Twilight quipped with an intrigued grin. It was not long before Twilight made her way past the yard and knocked on the front door. After a minute or so, the large mahogany doors yawned open to reveal an old brown earth stallion who had a growing number of grey hairs in his mane and several more on his face. “Mister Pranceston,” Twilight said with a friendly grin, “have I ever told you that you age well?” “Flattery will get you nowhere, young miss,” he sighed like a tired old stallion. “You cannot know how stressed your father gets every time you go off to fight some threat to the world.” He waved her inside, allowing Twilight to cross the threshold. “I’m barely an inch from convincing him to take up yoga lessons.” The idea caused Twilight to halt a step. “Not a bad idea, Mister Pranceston, I could use a destresser often enough myself. Where’s daddy and this surprise he has for me?” “In the lounge with Miss Azure Skies.” Twilight put two and two together and replied in a sing song voice, “Looks like somepony’s getting marrrried!” She trotted off towards the lounge leaving Pranceston behind her. She never had a chance to witness the mild grin he allowed himself. Truly a worthy sight lost to the history books. The bright hallways were awash with natural light. Twilight cantered through the halls to find the lounge doors wide open. At the end of her travel, she stopped at the last corner at the unmistakable sound of a foal squealing with laughter. Taking the final steps, Twilight emerged into the lounge to find quite the fascinating discovery waiting for her. Her father was lying on the floor with a little purplish blue giggling filly in a diaper balanced on his hooves as the aging stallion bounced her up and down like a pogo stick. Azure Sky was sitting close by ready to catch the filly in her magic if Night Light slipped. “Ready? One, two, three!” Night Light yelled before he thrust all four legs up, sending the squealing filly three feet into the air, laughing maniacally all the while. She flailed her little legs and flipped around. Azure Sky caught her in her magic and spun her back around and placed the filly back on Night Light’s hooves for another round. The filly babbled in her happy high pitched voice, squirming for him to do it again. “Hello, everypony,” Twilight announced as she walked in. Night Light cradled the happily giggling filly in his magic before depositing her on his back. “Who’s this little ball of fun?” Twilight cooed as she strutted inside with bounce in her step. With no care to play the part of the regal mother, Twilight indulged herself in a little childishness. “Is she your daughter, Azure Sky?” “I can’t claim that honor,” Azure Skies replied with a friendly wave of her hoof. With a ‘here goes nothing’ forcibly wide smile, Night Light trotted up to meet Twilight halfway. “I adopted her just two weeks ago.” Twilight’s eyes dilated as far as they could go, making Night Light try to hurry his next words out. “And being the family mare you are, I figured you’d want to adopt little Stellar Drift here as a new little sister.” He presented the dark furred and bright amber eyed filly up to Twilight’s face. Stellar Drift’s giggle died away into a state of stark awe as the little faux-unicorn was utterly mesmerized by Twilight’s reptilian eyes. Stellar was completely silent as she drank in the sight of the comparatively massive queen’s face. Twilight was too busy getting so caught up in cuteness-induced diabetes to realize how peculiar the filly’s behavior was. “Awww, she’s adorable!” With the practice of thousands of nymphs beforehand, Twilight gracefully snatched the little filly out of the air and cradled her in a hoof. “You weren’t having empty nest problems were you, daddy? All you had to do was ask and I’d have sent some nymphs over to live with you.” The dotting and cooing from Twilight, who was already producing minute bits of love for Stellar Drift caused the filly to snap back to the present and start babbling and clinging on her new older sister with an enthusiasm that surpassed the clinginess Night Light expected of her. Night Light sighed in relief at how quickly Twilight and Stellar were talking to each other. You old fool, worrying like that. Thinking Twilly would actually get mad at having more family. “Wellll, I know you would,” Night chuckled as Azure Sky slipped in for a light hug on him. “But my grandkids grow up a bit too fast if you ask me. Although. Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on adoption originally.” Twilight twisted both ears his way to show she was listening even as she blew on Stellar’s belly. “But poor Lady Ginger Slice suffered a horrible miscarriage recently.” Both Azure Sky and Twilight’s good humor died in an instant as he continued the tale. “Her husband wanted to have a friendly get together to cheer her up as it usually would, but Ginger got into the wine a bit too early.” “I have to give her credit,” Azure Sky added in while Night Light took a breath. “She’s not the worst drunk I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I’d be any better in her shoes at a time like that.” “How terrible,” Twilight offered morosely. Mother of thousands that she was, the occasional failed egg happened on from time to time. “Please give her my condolences.” Night Light bowed his head with a thin smile. “She’ll appreciate that I’m sure. As for the get together, Ginger took a turn for the worse when little Stellar here,” he said while caressing the filly’s cheek. The dark maned foal cooed softly. “Appeared on the manor’s doorstep with a note effectively saying the foal’s mother couldn’t support her any more.” Azure Sky shook her head at the memory of it all. “Ginger snapped like a dried twig in a drought. She started carrying on accusing changelings of poisoning her unborn child and trying to push Stellar Drift as a replacement.” The middle aged unicorn mare placed a light kiss on Night’s cheek. “Not your brood of course, but the other queens out there. Ginger lost her faculties enough to the point where she told us all to cast the pony imposter to the street. That’s when your father stepped up and claimed the filly as his own.” “Admittedly after we did the appropriate scans to make sure she was in fact a unicorn,” Night commented with a wave of a hoof. “Otherwise we’d have passed her along to you sooner.” Twilight’s ears flattened out of sympathy. “In that case I wonder if condolences might be taken the wrong way coming from me.” The tale made Twilight look at Stellar Drift in a new light. “Are you a changeling, little one?” Twilight asked in baby talk, producing even more squealing out of the rambunctious little unicorn. Twilight placed Stellar Drift on her back, to which the filly proceeded to run up into Twilight’s mane and nestled into the hair. “Well let me see if you are.” “Just be careful with her, Twilly,” Night Light cautioned. “The doctor at the get-together warned us that anti-disguise magic could be very harmful to children.” That was the first Twilight had ever heard of that being an issue, and forced her to give pause to what she was about to do. “That’s right… All unmasking spells are based off the one I used during the Invasion of Canterlot, and it did cause those changelings to become highly disoriented. Probably in more pain than I cared to notice at the time.” Azure Sky hummed in dour agreement. “The doctor tried his hardest to remind everypony of that.” She gave Stellar Drift a concerned frown. “The poor dear started crying from the pain after Lady Ginger got too aggressive with her spellwork. Took ten minutes to calm her down after we stopped Ginger.” Night Light placed a hoof on Azure’s shoulder with a silent frown that begged her to not speak ill of others. Not that it worked. Twilight hummed in contemplation after pointedly removing her attention from the couple’s silent argument, and refocused on Stellar Drift. The purplish blue furred filly had wrapped herself in Twilight’s mane and was taking a nap. Her little chest rising and falling only served to make Twilight’s heart melt like chocolate on a blistering summer day. Yet more importantly to her, she could feel the filly’s love radiating out like a little sun lamp. Amazing. We’ve only just met and she loves me that quickly? And here I thought only nymphs did that. But then again… if Pinkie Pie and my other friends have shown me anything, it's that pony foals can come in all shapes and sizes. The line of thought gave Twilight enough incentive to scan the filly ever so gently. The spell couldn’t unmask anything, but she was looking for any subtle telltale signs of disguise magic that would give her away. A charm here, discrete suggestion, tactile force fields that felt like fur, and a myriad of other small cogs that went into a disguise. However, due to Stellar’s age, Twilight checked herself by using only passive observation rather than direct scanning. A minute or so of searching revealed many leaking strands of mana. Well that at least is normal for unicorn foals before they learn mana control. All the disguises I’ve seen so far make it a point to avoid leaking of any kind. Nothing feels like changeling magic, just normal pony magic. Above it all though, it was the free flowing love gave Twilight more information, but not quite enough to silence her nagging inquisitiveness. She gave one last check to sense any psionic activity from the foal, but felt nothing beyond what was normal for foals. Now I’m just being paranoid. I’m not going to turn into my mother over an innocent foal. Especially one as sweet as this one. Sighing deeply to purge herself of that dark thought, Twilight imagined she was restarting her mind like she would an engine and made sure to shift the transmission far away from suspicion. “I wouldn’t worry so much, daddy.” She turned to the side and carefully laid down on her belly so they could see Stellar Drift sleeping. “As far as I can tell, Little Stellar here is a cute as a button unicorn.” Night Light had a fatherly grin cleave his face as he knelt down to nuzzle her adopted daughter. “Well there’s a stamp of approval you can bank on.” Stellar Drift fidgeted in her sleep at her father’s touch before circling deeper into Twilight’s mane. “I think Aegis has competition for your number one fan.” Giggling bubbled out among the group with Twilight wondering what sort of person her new sister would turn out to be. An archmage, a researcher, or maybe even an engineer if I can spark that fire in her. “You have to let me bring her down to PR some time.” “Sounds like a good plan to me,” Azure Sky agreed with a giddy smile. “Oh how I’ve been wanting to visit that city of yours for months, but work and life always kept me too busy to go.” “Well first she needs to visit the pediatrician,” Night Light cautioned before either mare could get too excited. “We don’t know what her original parents could give her or if she might have some childhood disease we don’t know about yet. Not to mention she needs her immunization shots. So until the appointment this coming Saturday, she’s better off staying here for now.” Twilight was about to offer the services of one of her hive’s doctors, but she held her tongue. No, I should let daddy take care of things. He knows a thing or two about raising a good kid, she mused with no small amount of pride in her pony family. “Alright, daddy, you win. Just let me know when you want to travel down. I have got to see Stellar’s face when she rides an airship for the first time.” She could already picture the look of abject wonder on the filly’s face. Oh I am going to spoil the ever living daylights out of you! Visions of books, engineering schematics, scientific journals, math equations upon miles of chalk boards, and magic study all danced inside her head. Those daydreams found Twilight teaching Stellar Drift all she knew and a filly eager to consume vast quantities of knowledge so large that the royal archives would be but a pittance. Oh I can’t wait!! Outside in the hallway and looking into the lounge, Pear Butter was sweating bullets at the sight of Twilight Sparkle. She was nervously grinding her teeth with her ears splayed flat. Okay, so it worked for the princess. But Ah’m an adult. She ain’t goin’ ta have such reservations probin’ me willy nilly. Pear Butter started backing away. Like they always say, ‘discretion is the better part of valor.’ With that, Pear Butter turned around to make herself scarce when Murphy’s Law came knocking. “There you are, Miss Pear Butter, come here!” Night Light called out before she could slip out of sight. “You have to meet my eldest daughter.” Giving the biggest scared grin that could possibly fit on a pony’s mouth, Pear Butter turned about face. “Be right there!” she sing songed. Trying to force her faux-grin into a more normal appearance, Pear Butter at least managed to canter forward without raising some eyebrows. As she approached, Twilight stood up to her full height with Stellar Drift snug as a bug on her back. “H-hello your majesty. As - uh - as ya might’ve heard, Ah’m Pear Butter. Ah’ll be little Stellar’s foalsitter.” Twilight quickly caught on to Pear’s intensely nervous aura, and gave a sidelong smile while offering a hoof. “No need to be so formal, especially since you’re practically family. Call me whatever you like.” “Ah thank ya,” Pear replied with venting relief that she wasn’t under a magical microscope yet. “B-but Ah…” “-don’t deal with royalty very often?” Twilight offered with a knowing smirk. Pear Butter clamped her mouth shut and nodded briskly, and shook the offered hoof as delicately as she could for fear of causing insult. Twilight let go of the shake so she could giggle politely behind the same hoof. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Miss Butter. I assume my father’s already cleared you,” she asked while turning towards Night Light. “When the old stallion nodded, it was all Twilight needed to see. At that, Twilight could sense Pear’s emotional aura shift to express gratitude and hope that the trembling mare hid behind a curtain of uncertain fear. “Your accent though-” Twilight started, jarring Pear out of a mental stupor, “I’ve heard that a lot from the Apple family. You wouldn’t happen to be related by chance, would you?” “The Apples?” Pear half-asked. “Ah’ve heard of them, but not much else Ah’m afraid.” Twilight hummed casually to keep the tension low. As far as I know, the Apples have family in just about every town that sports that kind of accent. I suppose it’s possible she’s from some other town… “So what brought you to Canterlot?” Pear Butter’s teeth started chittering. “Ahh, well, ya see, Ah needed a new place to live. Living out in the boonies wasn’t sitten with me anymore.” Pear started to gain a little more confidence in her half-truth. “So mah momma told me Canterlot was the place ta be.” That produced an interested eyebrow lift out of Twilight and she scrunched her mouth to one side. “That reminds me a lot about how my friend Applejack got her cutie mark-” The instant the name ‘Applejack’ left her lips, Pear Butter went stock still as if the world was stretching out into infinity. Twilight noticed the mare went comatose almost immediately. Yet before she could press another question, Night Light stepped forward and placed a hoof on his daughter’s shoulder, an act he had to rear up to accomplish. “Let’s not grill the mare on the spot, Twilly, that’s hardly good manners.” The use of the words ‘grill’’ and ‘hardly good manners’ set off alarm bells in Twilight’s head. He said the same thing when I used to ask Pranceston about his time before being our butler. Seeing that inquiring further without getting to know Pear Butter further would only upset both her and Night Light, Twilight waved her hoof. “My apologies. Sometimes I get too inquisitive for my own good.” I can always ask later. Seeing that Twilight understood his meaning, Night light watched Pear Butter visibly calm down with a few deep breaths. “Why don’t the five of us go out for dinner? Get to know each other in a better setting?” Staying a whole dinner right next to the one mare that could unmask me with a thought!? Pear Butter gulped hard and let off a shaky laugh. “Sounds great, Ah was just about to suggest gettin’ the little filly some dinner any how.” Azure Sky stepped past the group at a slow canter. “Then it’s settled. I could die for some curry right now.” Twilight snickered at being reminded of her sister. “You wouldn’t be the only one.” Right as Twilight turned around to discuss details about selecting a restaurant, Pear Butter gingerly sidestepped so she would slip back into Twilight’s peripheral vision. “Begging your pardon, your highness, but when we’re there, could you tell me more about this Applejack friend a’ yours? Ah feel like it’s familiar, but Ah can’t place it.” “I would be happy to,” Twilight replied with a friendly tone. And that might let me find out more about my sister’s foalsitter. High up in the wintery peaks of northern Equestria, a solitary gothic styled structure clung to the mountain side. Snow caked everything, save for the windows. By all appearances, the hundred meter long facility looked at peace, with only a few chimneys giving any constant clue that life stirred within. A heavy metal door overseeing a somewhat narrow plaza groaned open. A single unicorn mare stood at the lip of the doorway. Despite the frigid climate, she wore only threadbare boots. Her hooves trembled from more than just the cold. The morning light spilling over the feral clouds casting shafts of light that illuminated the catwalk leading towards an open air train station. Those light shafts seemed to beckon to the off-white furred mare, calling her away from this place. With a nervous first step, Velvet Sparkle left Arkmare Asylum and walked back into the world. Held tightly in her magic and against her chest was an oak scroll case. Once fully outside, a gust of wind tore through the air, threatening to snatch the case from her, yet Velvet redoubled her grip with a terrified zeal. When the wind died down again, she blinked away the frost on her face and finally took the yawning landscape below in for the first time. Winter was harsh, yet stunningly beautiful with untouched snow as far as the eye could see. A single plume of smoke revealed the existence of a train headed up the side of the mountain. “Glad to see you take your first steps back into the light,” sad an elderly yet strong voice behind her. Velvet turn back to see her savior: Doctor Arvatus. The grecian sphinx had a heavy winter coat wrapped snuggly around him. “You should really put on a coat.” Velvet gave a thread thin smile, yet her sullen face bore a deep scar of forlornness. “No thank you, doctor. I need to feel this cold unfiltered. This is but a fraction of what I did to Twill-” Velvet stopped herself with a hitch. I don’t have the right to use that pet name anymore. Blinking back frozen tears, Velvet shivered where she stood. “Of what I did to Twilight for so long.” Even with her reasoning, it went against Arvatus’ honor to stand idle. “Be that as it may,” He pulled the spare jacket she had forsaken off his back and presented it to her. “But penance comes in many forms. Try to at least keep yourself from catching a cold.” Velvet’s gaze lowered out of guilt. A guilt that she had locked away behind madness and mental gymnastics. “I - I’ll put it on once I get on the train. Would that be acceptable?” Giving a half smile, Arvatus nodded in wordless response. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you’ve crested the hill, Velvet Sparkle. The worst is over for you.” Velvet wanted to look south towards Equestria, but the mountain was in the way, so she had to pretend the panoramic permafrost plains in front of her was the right direction. “I have to face my family, my princesses, and the public. How is that not harder?” Since Velvet was reluctant to take the coat and coin pouch, Arvatus padded over and draped them over her snow covered back. “Because we are always our own worst enemies. I can not say the path before you will be a smooth one, if anything it will be rougher than you can imagine.” He patted the jacket just to make sure it wouldn’t slide off. “But I believe in you, Miss Velvet.” She shared a look with him, searching for comfort in his old eyes to which he was glad to share. “You can do what you need to do, once you set your mind to it.” I can at least try. The train whistle howled over the wind, signaling it was nearly at the station. Velvet breathed deeply and let off a long shuddering sigh. “Twilight, my dear,” she said for the world to hear, “I may never redeem myself in your eyes, but I will try until my last breath.” Steeling herself and feeling a burst of warmth against the snow, Twilight Velvet stormed across the catwalk towards the train. She ignored the cold, fought the wind trying to blow her off the catwalk, and more or less kept the ice from making her slip. Staying near the warm promise of the door, Arvatus watched her leave with hope bringing a tear to his craggy eyes. “Oh Great and Welcoming Queen Twilight Sparkle,” his whispered almost in prayer, “This humble servant wishes you well, and I hope my efforts will bring you comfort, or at least some… closure.”