//------------------------------// // 45: Together, facing ancient demigods. // Story: An Exercise In Management // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// Four pulls at a wooden stick put in place of a long-rotten torch into a holder on the wall, and a section of the wall slides away. Scorch marks of wild magic line the walls, the floor is covered in changeling goo, and in the middle of the small room lies the happiest pink unicorn Four has ever seen, huge-ass, likely literally considering Celestia’s proportions, grin lining her muzzle sticky with green goo and white fur. Four can sense that One sucked Twilight dry in more sense than one, so she’s not worried the unicorn will wake up. She pokes her just in case with no reaction whatsoever. “See? We can make you this happy all the time, even if it won’t be super real. YOU couldn’t tell the difference, and I know for sure you’d come do this daily if you could. But nooooo, you have to be MAD at us, because we’re EVIL and SCARY and HAVE HUGE SHARP TEETH! PFFBFBFT!” sulking Four sticks her tongue out at Twilight, slings her over her back, and hauls her off to the dungeons. One floor higher, Celestia and Luna stop in front of a double door slightly ajar behind which they heard shuffling a moment ago. “Did it go this way?” asks Celestia, sweat now mixing with changeling goo in her coat. “I don’t know,” Luna frowns, examining the door, “I don’t hear anything further down the hall, so this is the only way, I think.” “No bucket above the door this time?” asks Celestia. She turns her head to Shining and Eight, “Golden Ba- ugh, nevermind,” she rolls her eyes as she hears something along the lines of ‘No, I love you more’, and gives up. “Definitely not,” Luna nods. Celestia charges inside, immediately kicking over a bucket, slipping on its green contents, and sliding forward while leaving a goo trail behind her. “Luuunaaaa...” she growls, trying to stand back up. “Hey, don’t break character,” Luna’s giggling fit eventually ends, “Besides, you said ‘above the door’, not directly in front of it. Yarrr,” she adds, realizing she hasn’t done much character development recently. “I wonder how the moon looks at this time of the year...” grumbles Celestia, finally regaining some footing on the sticky floor. “Now now, let’s not be hasty,” Luna, casually floating above Celestia, points somewhere where Celestia can see only after wiping the gunk from her eyes, “Look, an enemy who isn’t running.” Luna recognizes the castle armory, although for some reason all the ponnequins are stuck looking into one corner, and have smiles painted on. Just like in the old days, the balcony from which ponies could observe the training Nightguards, a raised dais underneath where instructors used to watch. “Ahhh… it’s all coming back.” She stops admiring the familiar yet ancient scenery, and looks directly at the enemy. It’s a bulky equine as tall as Celestia wearing what looks like a dented and damaged platemail of griffon Imperial Guard. He grasps the handle of a greatsword with the claws of one foreleg, and against all odds he unsheathes it as easily as if it was a normal weapon. Narrowing her eyes, she notices the single bright teal eye watching their group through the helmet’s visor, the scales covering the top of his muzzle, and has to correct herself. No, not a normal pony, a dragonpony. That would explain the strength and size. “A dracon? Looks like our castle is indeed a place of evil these days,” with a click of Luna’s fetlocks, twin curved blades slide out of her horseshoes. The dragonpony clears his throat when it looks like his opposition is finally ready for him. “I am… inquisitor Vindictus,” he says in deep, calm voice, “If you are here for the Holy Blade, then you have to prove your worth first.” “Ha! And if we beat thee, thee shall tell us where our captive companion is now!” Luna lands victoriously, giving Vindictus a bloodthirsty grin. “Alright, alright,” Celestia facehoofs like the responsible pony she is, “So what now? Do we go one by one, or as a group? Wouldn’t that be too easy?” “Oooh oooh oooh!” bouncing on the spot, Luna raises her hoof like an overeager schoolfilly, “Wait, haven’t you read revised rulebook Twi- Sunrise gave use beforehoof?” “I got to the character creation...” Celestia whistles innocently. This time it’s Luna’s turn to roll her eyes. “We fight as a group. This is obviously a mini boss,” she points at Vindictus calmly watching them while giving his sword a practice swing here and there. Catching Luna’s stare, he nods, “See, he doesn’t attack us until we get ready. HE knows the rules, sister, and he’s the bad guy! ” Celestia sighs, examining her now more green than white coat. “Fine, can we beat him up, grab Sunrise, and then find the nearest shower? I feel dirty in more ways than one.” “Hmmm,” Luna rubs her chin, “we could make make a bit or two on the side if we let you join a wet mane contest.” Celestia, immediately ready to end any discussion about her sister possibly pimping her out, turns to Shining Armor- “So, you two- ughh… nevermind.” -who is now nibbling on Eight’s ear, much to her pleased cooing. “Mmmm, go oooon...” Eight moans, eliciting a long lick from Shining, his tongue going from her cheek to the ear tip. “GAAAAAAH!” Celestia swings her halberd, “Alright, Moonshine, let’s introduce this minion or whatever to the business end of our weapons.” “Mini-boss, Supernova, boss.” Incoherent grumbling aside, Celestia’s pounce forward and overhead halberd swing is met with Vindictus’ greatsword. Sparks fly, and as soon as she lands, the dragonpony charges at her with his shoulder, making her bounce off of his armor. Thankfully, as Celestia lands on her back, Luna is there to cover her, and attacks Vindictus from the air with a flurry of rapier stabs he can’t block due to his heavy weapon and has to back off. On the floors deep down underneath the combatants, a small, black and grey-streaked changeling stops in front of Three’s “thing with black and white teeth”, gasping for breath. “Oof,” Four waits for her breathing to calm down. Burning love running around the castle at unnatural speed, hauling big ponies across multiple floors, and planning the majority of what’s currently going on, is taking a toll on her, and I can’t afford to siphon love off of anyone else right now, “I never thought this knowledge would be useful, but good job packing this into the shared memories, Ten,” she sits down on a piece of rubble Three had apparently moved in front of the organ, positions her forelegs above the keys, and takes a deep breath. *DUUUUUNNNNN!* The rumbling tones resonate through the entire castle. I feel them shake the floor under my hooves. After the original burst of noise, a gradually building, energetic melody starts playing. Through Nine’s eyes, I see Luna’s smile grow wider and wider. “HAHAAAA!” Luna vigorously bumps her hoof in the air, “ The old organ still works! Crafted back when ‘Made in Equestria’ meant something. Now THIS melody gets the blood pumping, like the battle bards from my days!” She dashes towards Vindictus so fast that even he can barely follow her. To his absolute shock, Luna’s rapier finds every hole in his armor, every niche, and every vulnerable spot. The much slower changeling-turned-dragonpony can only back off and swing his oversized sword in a body he hasn’t used much before. Fortunately for him, the scales underneath his armor are providing enough protection for Luna’s strikes to be fairly ineffective, if terrifyingly precise. Nine knows he’s outmatched even without Celestia in range, but thanks to Eight’s training, he’s holding his own. At least few more seconds. The butt of Celestia’s halberd gets between his hind legs during his slow retreat, forcing him to sit down. In the next moment, Luna’s horseshoe blades barely miss his neck, instead knocking his helmet off. Vindictus looks at the blue princess first, but his eyes go wide when the sharp edge of Celestia’s weapon presses against his neck. Unlike Luna beaming with excitement from beating an opponent, Celestia is deadly serious when she asks: “Where is Sunrise?” Behind them, Eight gives Shining Armor a deep kiss before pushing him off, and standing up. “Oh dear, oh dear. Perhaps we underestimated you...” her voice turns from Cadance’s into a deeper, sultry tone. Green fire begins burning around her fetlocks, gradually moving through her coat, incinerating Cotton Candy’s fragile form, and leaving behind a much stronger, fit, and deadlier form of the pegasus knight Black Rose clad in a revealing yet protective scale mail. A feminine screech previously thought incompatible with the heavily armored stallion next to Eight pierces the air, and Shining Armor collapses on the floor into fetal position, covering his head, and mumbling over and over: “Green fire, green goo everywhere, my wife isn’t real, changelings everywhere, nothing is real, we’re still in Canterlot, all of us in cocoons, Chrysalis, Chrysalis, Chrysalis...” Eight raises an eyebrow, and curiously gives Shining a soft kick which he doesn’t seem to register at all. “Weird...” “A changeling?” Celestia turns away from Nine, swinging the butt of her halberd against his temple. He goes down like a log. When he hears Celestia’s hoofsteps move a little away, he cracks his working eye open, and starts shuffling away. “Step away from him, monster!” Luna lands in front of Black Rose. “Monster?” I feel red hot fire bubbling inside Eight. ”Eight?” Suddenly growling, she looks as if she’s about to rip Luna in half. However, when she moves, it’s not forward but to the side, carefully dodging between the ponnequins silently staring into the corner. Green glow appears where Black Rose’s horn would be if she had one, and to my surprise she levitates Three’s body up. Celestia, walking decisively towards her, stops when she notices that the drone definitely isn’t sleeping. “I am a monster?” Eight hisses, “I didn’t send assassins for anyone! When I face my enemy, I do it one on one,” she bares her teeth, “This is- WAS Three, and since he can’t rest surrounded by the ponies he liked, we did the best we could in this cold hole,” with utmost care, she puts Three back down, “The most innocent victim of the murderers you sent for us, Celestia!” Eight blurs. I have to switch to Nine’s eye, because I can’t make anything out of what I’m seeing. The halberd gets pried out of Celestia’s forelegs in an instant before a burning hoofprint appears on her side. Like a rocket, the white amazon crashes into the armory wall, cracking her head against the stones. In a tornado of emerald flames, Eight in her changeling form appears under Celestia even before she hits the floor, green glow intensifying around the mare’s neck. She bares her fangs: “Despite what many might say, I am not a killer,” she growls at the concussed princess, “But you are tempting me.” Celestia flies in a fluid arc straight against the opposite wall, this time face first. Luna materializes from a cloud of shadows behind Eight, swiping at her with the hoof blades and receiving a rib-cracking kick immediately. She gathers herself, looks down at the droplets of blood on the floor, and touches her bleeding mouth. Faced with Eight’s murderous scowl, she closes her eyes. “You will regret touching my sister, changeling, and I will have to apologize to Twilight later.” A shockwave of divine power tosses Eight away like a doll, and knocks down all ponnequins. Where Moonshine has been standing before now towers a dark blue alicorn with starry mane and the cutie mark of the moon. Her eyes are glowing pools of white as she glares at Eight... ...who looks at Luna, then at the pile of ponnequins covering Three’s body, then back at Luna. “The only thing I regret is my own weakness,” curved blades grow around Eight’s fetlocks, and roaring emerald flames cover her whole body, not heralding a transformation but a perpetual aura searing the stones underneath her and making the air hiss. The strongest surviving changeling warrior filled to the brim with Shining Armor’s true love for Cadance charges at the alicorn of the Moon. ”One, I need you to help Eight. She’s fighting-” “I know,” is One’s answer, “and I’m not going to. Thanks to the hothead revealing herself, we’ll soon have to deal with two pissed off alicorns, and her love won’t last long against that. Four’s plan has gone crotchtits up, time for mommy One to save the day.” To my surprise, from her eyes I see the armory and Ten standing next to her, visible unlike her. She’s able to process the hectic battle between Luna and Eight as well as send me the information via her own link. “Ten, drag him to the closest guest room,” she points at mumbling and catatonic Shining Armor before walking over and knocking him unconscious with a smack against his neck. The infiltrator looks up at her with question in his eyes. She only replies, “No venom. Reasons.” She continues with orders via the mind link. “Nine, stop pretending and get out. If Celestia breaks her seal too, you will be even more useless than now. You, Four, and Ten after he gets Shining Armor out find the King in the throne room and wait for me.” “What about Eight?” “She’ll have to reap what she sowed.” ”One, she’s just furious about Three’s death. I can relate in case you haven’t noticed.” “Yet you weren’t the one to order her to punch Celestia’s head off. She did it entirely of her own free will. Overrated concept for weak changelings, if you ask me, which you don’t.” ”Come on, One. I thought you two sorted things out.” “Well sorrr-yyy if I don’t just wave off the fact that she’s likely just got us if not killed then at least evicted from this castle, and just risk my life helping her dumb ass. Now shut up and let me work! I know you trust me enough to argue but not order me around, so let’s pretend we’ve had the usual argument and you lost.” With one last look around the armory, she leaves for the guest room where Ten dragged Shining Armor to and marked on the map. It’s not far, and when One closes the door, she gives the unconscious stallion a quick look. “Heh, considering how much you overcharged Eight with love for your wife, I’m beginning to see why you were the original target,” mutters One, sits down, and closes her eyes. Flames of transformation take her, but this process is slow, as if gradually sculpting perfection itself, chipping away at any impurities one by one. The new reflection in the large mirror on the wall horrifies me. Standing in the guest room with Shining Armor, her perfectly fitting segmented black chitin, green belly plating, and teal mane swaying in the draft coming from the broken window is queen Chrysalis, as gorgeous as she is terrifying. Through the new eyes, much older ones, I see Shining Armor as a glowing sun of swirling love and lust in perfectly identified amounts, and realize that maybe aside from our first encounter in Canterlot where Eight threatened this changeling’s horn I was never in control. The amount of knowledge and power she possesses is beyond my understanding. Green glow envelops Shining’s armor, taking off piece by piece, as Chrysalis walks over to the bed and straddles the now naked pony’s barrel. Licking the inner side of Shining’s ear, Chrysalis smiles as the still magically shapeshifted unicorn looks at her with absolute horror in his eyes. However, that expression doesn’t match what I see through Chrysalis’ eyes. There is pure, undiluted lust. “I know she must have implanted something LASTING into you, triggers, needs, and I also know she didn’t always look like your wife in the bedroom. Now give me all you’ve got, Shining Armor. Show me what form, what body you really want to breed deep down. Prove your devotion to your one true Queen. Let your addiction to her loose, your wife will never know.” ”O-One? Chrysalis…?” “Oh, fooled you as well, did I? No no, it’s just me, the good old One. Now let me work. If I’m to save you from two alicorns without killing them, I’m going to need to be FINALLY full for once.” With those words, I find myself kicked out of One’s head and back into my body. It’s One, not Chrysalis. Chrysalis wouldn’t care, she wouldn’t help us. She would eat us and simply make more changelings. It’s One. But she knew everything about the queen. The buzzing voice, the demeanor, the echo of her words inside my head. If I didn’t know there was someone as One, I wouldn’t have doubted for a second that I was locked inside Chrysalis’s mind. Well, since One’s link is locked for me, I focus on Eight’s. My perfect warrior roundhouse kicks Luna into the air so hard she breaks the stone railing on the balcony overlooking the armory. “Enough is enough,” I hear Celestia’s calm voice. The ‘earthpony’ is striding towards Eight, her entire body glowing, “I don’t know what assassins you were talking about, but I will not allow this violence to continue.” “YOU STARTED ALL THIS!” screams Eight, and blinks towards Celestia, about to flatten her muzzle. All of sudden, she’s struggling against impossibly powerful telekinesis rivaling her own strength, and looking into sad, amethyst eyes not belonging to Supernova, but to the alicorn of the Sun herself. Eight has managed to force both princesses to break Twilight’s seals. Unfortunately, just like One said, she’s now about to face two alicorns at once, and the stolen love won’t last forever. I feel Eight’s battle trance waver under the onslaught of doubts as Luna teleports behind her, her rapier flying in the air. A quick buck with both hind legs backwards disrupts the alicorn’s attack as well as allows Eight to propel herself straight at Celestia, the two landing in a ball on the floor. To my surprise, Eight disappears and reappears several steps away, and same goes for Celestia. They both look at each other, then at Luna whose smile is borderline insane. “Now now, sister. Don’t be greedy,” she says, “Changelings are involved, and obviously they managed to split us from Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armor. You should go look for them, and let me deal with this,” Luna cracks her neck, “After all, I haven’t had a proper workout like this in a thousand years.” “Be careful, sister, she is powerful,” Celestia doesn’t let her eyes wander away from Eight as she back out of the armory. Celestia’s halberd glows blue, and flies over to Luna. “Finally, a properly meaty weapon. We enjoy good subterfuge and stealth, but a proper brawl is unmatched! I will show you true power from when Equestria was far from peace, changeling.” The flames surrounding Eight go away, instead seeping into her chitin, reinforcing an upgrading her armor based on previous combat experience with Luna. “We are the reason Equestria still exists, alicorn, your sister’s guilt and curse. We will not be forgotten, and we will NEVER be destroyed!” she hisses. This time, though, she doesn’t attack immediately, circling around Luna instead. “We’ll see about that,” Luna attacks, quickly punching Eight’s throat. That is only a distraction, though, as when the unharmed changeling jumps backwards, a crushing overhead swing from Luna’s floating halberd stops only when meeting Eight’s crossed forelegs, the impact sending sparks everywhere, and forcing Eight to sit on her haunches. In one quick spin, Luna smashes the butt of the halberd into Eight’s chest, sending her flying away. Eight recovers quickly enough to avoid being cleaved in half by the alicorn rapidly flying towards her, telekinetically grabbing Luna’s wing, and twisting. Leading Luna’s unwanted dive into the wall, Eight follows her immediately, and runs a blade quickly growing from her foreleg through Luna’s heart. The alicorn distorts like a bad projection. Eight instantly turns around, only to face bleeding Luna’s halberd swinging her way. To my surprise, Eight fluidly avoids the blade, but instead of attacking Luna, she kicks to the side. Her leg impacts against something, the air shimmers, and reveals Luna spinning in the air, blood streaming from her muzzle. Even before the alicorn hits the floor, Eight is above her. A mistake. Bloody and bruised, Luna grabs Eight’s neck, and with a quick flap of her wings reverses the position of the two right before they land. The fraction of a second of Eight’s surprise gives her enough time to cock her glowing foreleg back, the horseshoe blades to extend, and to descend. My link to Eight disappears. I open my eyes, gasping for breath. “No...” I shake my head, trying to blink any incoming tears away, “This isn’t happening. First Three, now Eight? This can’t be real.” ”Four, get to the armory right the hole now, and BE CAREFUL!” “Will do,” she answers. I feel her creeping exhaustion, but there’s not time to argue now. ”One, Eight’s… Eight is… Eight...” To my surprise, One answers: “Yeah, that’s why you don’t mess with Luna. The really old hive memories are good for something at least.” ”Can’t you be comforting for once?” “Not my job, definitely not my job. Now, Celestia will be on your way. Now that she can use her magic fully, she’ll track you down soon. You have to distract her.” ”HOW?! I’m not going to throw others at her anymore.” “Then I suggest you try juggling. Maybe that will help.” ”One? ONE!” Nothing. “HOLES DAMN IT!” I curse so loud it makes Ten and Nine twitch. ”Meeep! Meeep meep meep meep!” Why is Four whimpering in panic through the mind link? One look through her eyes sends a chill down my spine. The two alicorn sisters are facing one another only a short distance away from Four, divine power swirling around them. “Luna...” “Ehm, Celestia… if thou are who thou make thyself to be.” “A castle full of changelings, and every member of our group gets gradually dragged off,” Celestia raises an eyebrow, “Yet, you are here and victorious… sister.” “What is thine favourite cake?” “Quadruple-layered chocolate and strawberry.” “HA!” Luna points her hoof accusingly, “My sister would NEVER touch a strawberry cake unless it was the last confectionery on Equus!” “Oh you know me so well, Luna,” smiles Celestia, “You are correct, it’s chocolate and banana, with the little added spiciness of eggnog. And this way I can be sure you really are you.” Luna gives her sister a hug, slipping back into speaking like a normal pony. “I’m glad you’re okay, sister.” “What happened with the changeling?” “I cast an isolation spell while I questioned her so that nopony would spy on us. I didn’t get anything other than her trying to stop me from getting into my old throne room. She didn’t say anything about Twilight and the others, though.” Celestia frowns. “Then we’ll have to ask whoever is in charge of this. Let’s go!” The two alicorns rush off, leaving invisible and trembling Four behind. “B-B-Boss?” she mumbles, not caring that she’s talking to herself, “S-S-Speak t-to m-m-me, p-please.” ”You’ve done great, Four. Not even two alicorns could find you. One would be proud.” “R-Really?” she asks. “Sure I am, Four. Cool head counts for far more than sheer power,” we both hear One’s voice, “Now go do your King’s bidding while he’s busy dealing with the two sisters.” “MORE CHANGELINGS!” I hear, and this time I mean hear hear with my own ears. Sadly, I have to also open my own eyes and face this with my real body. I step off of the throne, hopefully trembling far less than I feel like I am. “Ten, get behind me,” I lower my voice. “No, King,” he takes a deep breath, and with determined look steps between me and the approaching princesses who stop when Ten moves, “I would make a pathetic creature out of myself in front of both you and her.” “Ten, life is worth more than dignity, honor, and all that nonsense.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “We are more than bugs, parasites intent on survival at any cost. Funny, I never thought I’d say that under Chrysalis.” “Alright, let’s cut to the chase,” Luna flaps her wings, levitating her halberd, “What did you do to the others, insect?!” INSECT! PARASITE! WHAT DO THESE MURDERERS THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES?- “-you killed us by millions,” my mouth opens, hissing, “You broke us, used us, discarded us, but you could NOT bury us,” I regain control, but for once I agree with the fury of voices howling inside my head, ”Your murderers, your paladins hunted us down in Canterlot, and then here again. We did NOTHING to you. Even the single pony Four killed was a sheer accident while we wanted to rescue those of us starving to death in your dungeons. But no, your hunters found most of them in the end, didn’t they?” I shake my head, “We could have forgiven the slaughter you caused in Canterlot, but then you just had to come here and kill Three. THREE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND, FOAL MURDERER CELESTIA?” and then I laugh as tears stream down my muzzle, “But that wasn’t enough for you, RIGHT? THAT BLUE BITCH KILLED EIGHT AND ALL WE WANTED WAS A PEACEFUL PLACE TO LIVE! So here you are, two alicorns with bloodstained hooves, and here I am, the worthless leader who couldn’t save a single simple drone and a warrior loyal to the ends of Equus. If you want everything, then-” TAKE IT! Whatever love I have ignites as I shoulder charge Luna who dodges, tripping me up. Rolling on the floor, I shoot a blast of fire at her which she disperses with a mere flap of her wing. “What did you do with the others?” she repeats, jabbing my chest with the butt of her halberd. “Nothing, compared to yo-” Sharp pain shoots from my muzzle. Luna’s weapon flies up, ready to strike me again. “Leave him be,” several green bolts hit Luna from behind doing nothing other than making her turn her head towards the offender, Ten. His eyes go wide when Celestia steps towards him. Nine is in no shape to fight after the original clash with the two, but does what he can to hobble next to Ten and look menacing in his griffon armor. “You… I remember you,” Celestia tilts her head, “You are the one from my bedroom. After the invasion.” It’s time for Ten’s jaw to drop. “Y-You can tell us apart… princess?” he shakes his head, “Look, I apologize for what happened, but I had no intention of ever harming you or anypony close to you. What the King said was true, we weren’t part of the invasion, well, some of us were, but we really just want peace. I’ve been working with local Mayor and I think she knows who I am and she’s alright with it. Ponies can live with us-” his accelerating speech unfortunately gets interrupted as soon as I feel a familiar pressure in my head again. “GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” *Thud!* *Thud!* *THUD!* With an earth shattering rumble, Eight crashes through a wall and rams into Luna before the alicorn can open her mouth. A set of holes in the walls lets me see all the way to the stairs leading into the upper floors where a small black and grey head is peeking through. Four notices me trying to get up, and waves at me. “Found miss Eight, boss!” I hear her cheerful voice in my head. Luna takes flight to avoid the changeling furiously pummeling her. That proves to be a mistake, as Eight, her eyes bloodshot, looks for something to reach her that isn’t her wings. “Oh holes...” my eyes go wide as she kicks a thick stone pillar propping the side balcony, then breaks it off completely and swings it at completely stunned Luna, swatting her from the air. Her sister’s scream of pain breaks Celestia’s stupor, and as soon as her horn lights up, Eight reacts by grabbing the nearest piece of rubble from the previous fight with the paladins, and lobs it like a comet at the white princess. It shatters as Celestia blasts it with her magic, and lowers her horn to shoot again. The light intensifies, and a golden flare flies at Eight. Another link disappears. Celestia looks at smoldering Ten, his chitin burned and cracked all over, standing between her and Eight. He slowly keels over. The pillar previously breaking Luna’s ribs flies through the air, hitting stunned Celestia from the front, and shattering along with what have to be some alicorn bones against the wall. Celestia coughs blood, crawling out of the pile of rubble, panically looking around for another attack… ...which isn’t coming. Eight is barely standing, her love reserves and adrenaline finally depleted from the prolonged battle. The alicorns’ worst wounds, however, are regenerating in front of our eyes. Slowly but surely. As Luna’s broken bones crack and reset under the power of healing magic, Celestia finds her way out of the rubble, wincing with every breath. “You killed Ten,” my voice is flat and dead as I stumble towards the scorched changeling, “You were his idol and hero...” I trip, fall, and stand up again, “They were right… the hive memories were absolutely right about you...” Luna’s magic fixes the worst wounds, and she starts advancing at me, halberd ready. “Wha-” her eyes go wide as blood suddenly squirts from the side of her neck, and trickles down something that the alicorn can’t sense by any means. She struggles only for few seconds before her eyes take on green hue, and she calms down. As light of Luna’s horn reflects off of the wobbling air next to her, One appears, licking Luna’s neck and then her lips. “A real demigod completely in my power. Imagine all the fun I could have right now with any of you,” she laughs, “Finally, a queen with an iron hoof, obedient princesses underneath her, and a soft king by her side,” she winks at me, “What do you say, King of Hearts, do we leave this silly castle and go rule the world with our new toys?” she slaps Luna’s butt. In a flash of magic, Celestia’s visage changes back to her pristine white self, and the tip of her horn lights up brighter. The glow dies down when Luna steps up, her face completely serious. “Nu uh,” One grins at Celestia. “What I’ll inflict on you if you dare harm my sister will go down in history, bug,” growls Celestia. One laughs again, but this time there’s a surprising touch of hysteria in it. “Worse than torture? Worse than starvation-induced insanity? Worse than the pain I still feel from my King after what the murderers you sent did to the most innocent one of us? Worse than death?” her voice turns into a deadly hiss, ”Don’t you dare move, whorse, or I’ll make HER kill you. She’s a better fighter than anyone here and you know it. I also KNOW she kicked your ass before you sent her to the moon with the Elements.” “So what now? Do you make us fight for your sadistic amusement?” “As much as you deserve to either kill your sister or die by her hoof, I’m far too practical for that, and I assume my King has other plans for you,” One clears her throat, “Orders, everyone! Nine, grab Ten and get out right now. King, you too. Eight, you lazy ass, stop passing out and help your King move-” I’m suddenly being propped up by one exhausted changeling definitely not using me as a crutch. “-Four-” “I’ll catch up with you later, miss One.” One raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t object. “-Now, Celestia. We are going to leave, and you aren’t going to follow us. We will leave Luna standing somewhere in Ponyville. Of course, if someone does follow us, I might just stick to my original world domination plan. Any questions?” “How can I trust you?” Celestia narrows her eyes. “Go take a look at what your paladins did to the dead drone in the armory who foolishly asked my King to try to be friends with them. Four and Eight even painted smiles on the damn ponnequins around him so that he wouldn’t be here forgotten, sad, and alone. Pointless, if you ask me, due to the dead part. Do I need to say more?” Celestia bites her lip. “Go… just please don’t hurt my sister.” One flicks Luna’s ear. “You heard the war criminal lady, everyone, we’re leaving.” We shuffle and limp away, having once again to flee a place we wanted to call home. This time, however, we’ve likely started a war. As One and Luna pass by Celestia watching them like a hawk, One stick her tongue out at her. “Seriously, it’s like broken glass passing through my veins. Don’t give my King more reasons to be depressed, I’m bad at comforting others. My way of solving problems is to make them disappear forever.” One and Luna wait in the throne room until I signal that we’re all outside. Well, aside from Four. Experimentally, I look out of her eyes. I know she knows I’m there, but she doesn’t react to my intrusion. Finally alone, Celestia sighs and hangs her head. “E-hm,” Four clears her throat, peeking out of the hallway through which we all left, “miss princess?” The white alicorn furrows her brows as she spots the changeling positively tiny in comparison to her. “Your- Your friends are okay. They and the paladins who survived are locked in the old cells downstairs. I left the keys in the mouth of a scary pony with sharp teeth and bat wings near the entrance.” Four’s foreleg glows golden. She squeaks, and fights against it. The telekinesis isn’t strong or harmful, and after few attempts Four frees herself. She gives Celestia one final pout before going invisible and trotting off. She catches up with us as we’re outside the castle. “Hop on,” says One, and Four jump on her back. So, with Ten on Nine’s back, Four on One’s, and Eight and myself propping against each other for support, we’re once again on the road. I look one final time at the castle which was the home we hoped to build new life in. Late afternoon sun is bathing our surroundings in warm light, and the peaceful aura of the abandoned castle almost makes me forget what just happened. The good thing is that we’re all still alive. Ten is badly hurt, but he’ll live. The bad thing... will this keep happening? More paladins, more attacks, more mistrust. Now that I’ve seen with my own eyes how little Celestia and Luna are open to talking, I understand how foolish I was. On top of everything, attacking the royals like we pulled off likely means war. Hive mind, hunger, the royals, and paladins. I sigh, and look forward towards the forest, and the uncertain future. “Rest in peace, Three.”