//------------------------------// // The Animus Imperative // Story: Piece of Parchment // by Metemponychosis //------------------------------// Away from the commotion, in a grassy field crossed by a small stream of water some distance from Ponyville, Princess Cadance could mentally prepare for the task ahead. Teleportation magic was difficult and if Princess Celestia was around she would notice her. In fact, Cadance could feel her presence around. She wasn’t close enough to exactly pinpoint where she was, but she definitively was within Ponyville. Probably looking for Twilight and it almost offended Cadance that she didn’t try to apprehend her. Maybe the other princess thought that Twilight would be an easier target, or something. She didn’t know… She was distracting herself and should worry about not screwing up her teleportation to the Crystal Empire right now. While her magical reflexes should keep her from teleporting into the terrain or an object and she knew the area well enough to avoid any danger, there was still the problem that teleportation magic was complex and required a monumental amount of energy to succeed. If she failed all that power would blow on her face and her horn would explode with an amount of spectacle relative to the amount of recruited magical energy. Trying to teleport that far it would be weeks before she could feel comfortable enough to cast anything more complex than a telekinetic grasp. Considering the way their little adventure was going the risk of her being stuck in a bed with a blown horn was prohibitive. Still, she had to do it. Things were getting serious, she had no time to travel by non-magical means, and Twilight wasn’t experienced enough to deal with the potential snowball this whole mess could become. She thought back to past days when Princess Celestia taught her magic. The problem with teleportation magic (almost all magic) is the distance. That much was obvious and the study of such magic was governed by a thaumatological equation: energy required equals Blink’s Constant multiplied by mass divided by two, multiplied by the distance to the power of two, all multiplied by magical attrition, divided by the added magical coefficient of initial and final locations. Not only that, but all those variables must be included in the final formula that should be cast properly, without interruption. She grunted. No wonder ponies invented the teleporters. This thing was like playing the piano, without a sheet and correcting the song for the taste of the listener, depending on the place you’re playing it! It was possible that she simply couldn’t do it, but all her life she’s been urged to try. To reach out and to accomplish her goals. First by her matron in the orphanage, then by Princess Celestia, by her friends, and finally, by Shining Armor and even her little baby. Finally convinced she decided that her instincts would guide her. They always did. She quickly ran the calculations in her head and remembered the details of her destination, took note of the place she stood and how it felt to her magical senses. She took a deep breath and her horn ignited with magic, coming alive inside her head with a melody like an anthem for a beloved, distant place: her brain played the magical notes that channeled magic towards her will. She could feel it flowing in her whole body and in the air around her, a feeling that can only be described as anticipation. The world seemed brighter. More real. The magic which permeated all made itself evident, shining as though things had a life of their own. It responded to her with a melody of its own. Her mental melody reached a crescendo like an uncontainable euphoria and, in her mind’s eye two coordinates approached each other exponentially faster. Her horn burned with raw power until finally a threshold was broken. For a mere instant, the spatial component of the space-time mesh of the world bent to her will and distances meant nothing to her. The world returned to normal around her and reality conformed to the fact that the pink alicorn now stood in another location. Air moved in where she was before and submitted to the might of her magic where she stood, destroyed and recombined in ozone with a single flash and bang. The simple connection she felt to everything was exhilarating for a few seconds before magic returned to normal. It did so in the same way molecules reorganized, and the violation of relativity was forgotten without hard feelings from the magical reality of her world. That was why magic existed, after all. To break from the mundane and to reach for the outstanding. And that was how she felt. Most importantly, the vast majority of ponies simply couldn’t do it: what she had just done was a privilege of few. It was so different from artificial magic too... Her whole body tingled while the euphoria washed over, past the surge of magic, and now everything returned to normal. Her horn was a bit sore and a small headache threatened. It was an effort. But now she couldn’t worry about that. She was before the entrance to the Crystal Empire, and the cold air reminded her of that. Suddenly she became very aware of the magic that permeated her home. It was like the city welcomed her, but there was something wrong. That was something Cadance wasn’t entirely familiar with, but she had experienced it a few times before, so she knew what was it that she felt. It was the innate magic of her realm, warning her: someone was there, uninvited by her. Intruding upon her realm. It was familiar too. It was the powerful and ancient magic that washed over her every evening when day changed to night, and right there in the cold of the Crystal Empire, it made her tremble a little. Suddenly, her hurt feelings of the princesses not hunting her were a happy memory and the thought of falling on Luna’s ill side made her tremble more than the cold did. She had hoped the Night Princess would be at Ponyville and that her magic was simply masked by Celestia’s, but she was instead waiting for her in her home. The princess frowned a little, cursed her stupidity, and prepared for a possible conflict, quickly recalling all the defensive spells she would need and prepared to cast them, despite her sore horn. Her first reaction included all sorts of concealing spells, and she thought of letting go of her royal regalia, but then grunted at herself... She probably lighted up like fireworks when she arrived, and Luna certainly knew she was there. All she could do now was prepare for when Luna teleported from Tartarus knew where and attacked. But it never happened and Cadance realized that all Luna had to do was wait for Cadance at her own palace, the only place she would have anything to do upon arriving because, certainly Luna already had made sure nopony would be in condition to help Cadance. The pink alicorn hadn’t felt that stupid in quite some time, walking right into a trap like that. All she could really do was hope her personal guards had remembered all the times they trained for an emergency because Cadance was sure that her Royal Guards were already done for under Luna’s command. That and spring the trap, hoping to come up on top. Fortunately, it seemed like she had time to prepare since Luna wasn’t coming after her. Her royal regalia contained a plethora of defensive and supporting enchantments meant to protect her from any assailants, even if she would not be aware of them, and also meant to assist her if she needed to actively defend herself. These include different kinds of warding enchantments such as different kinds of magical shields for starters, and if something was to happen, she should be ready for it. The problem was that Luna had one set like hers, that she must have personalized to her tastes. For now, though, she would try to mask her presence and enter the city in the most secretive way possible while keeping her regalia. That should prove enough of a challenge and she may have to rely on luck but in the end, she just hoped she wouldn’t have to fight Luna. At least until she got her barding and weapons. *** Things had barely started, and Grape Donut was already having second thoughts about this whole idea of apprehending the Princess and her friends. And sister-in-law… Another Princess. Also, her brother, his technical superior. What a mess. Maybe, to be very honest the only real reason he had agreed to getting involved was because that would keep Semolina’s mouth shut. Therefore, he felt cheated as he had agreed to capturing the Princess and her friends, but Semolina still wouldn’t shut her mouth. “Well, of course you would come here. It’s not like you could even try to catch somepony like Rainbow Dash anyway. Well, it’s not like you could keep up to Pinkie Pie either.” She said, walking besides him, by the small houses of Ponyville. “You better hope that Princess Celestia’s guards will catch those ponies because you and that bunch of losers you call militiaponies couldn’t catch a cold to save your lives. And it’s all your fault, you know? You’re their boss.” Inside his head, the Lord Protector of Ponyville reminded himself to be mature and just let her talk. As much as he disliked it, he couldn’t say that she was wrong. There was also the fact that he was having trouble breathing inside his barding, but he liked to think that he would still not have made a scene if he could walk and talk at the same time. Fortunately, Sugarcube Corner wasn’t very far from the militia headquarters and they soon arrived. Summoning up his favorite comic series from his childhood, he kicked the door open, and spoke with his most serious and commanding tone. “Pinkie Pie. Come quietly, or there will be trouble.” That earned him surprised and curious stares from all the costumers: harmless fillies and colts enjoying ice creams and all sorts of sweets while his companion rolled her eyes behind him. Miss Cake greeted him with a friendly smile and a waving hoof from behind the counter. “Oh. Hello, Grape Donut! Pinkie isn’t here, but I have your daily order ready.” “Oh! Great!” He grinned excitedly, but immediately caught himself and shook his head, back to his serious demeanor. “I mean… That is good, ma’am, but I need to talk to her. Official business.” “Official business?” Miss Cake recoiled, a little surprised. “What kind of business? What is Pinkie involved in?” “Princess Celestia has requested that we apprehend Princess Twilight Sparkle and all of her friends.” He said. “Which includes Pinkie Pie.” The mare stared at him with nothing but confusion in her face. “Why would she ask you to do that?” He deadpanned. “We’re the local militia… It’s our job to arrest ponies.” “Oooh.” She seemed surprised. A little too much for Grape’s tastes. “That is right. Ponyville does have a militia force… I had forgotten. I’m sorry… Well, Pinkie isn’t here.” “Did she say where she would go?” He still kept his poise professional. It was easy for him because his callousness towards ponyvillians simply not knowing he even existed would require additional energy. And he could feel Semolina judging him from behind. “Pinkie said she’d go to the teleporter to meet her friends and that she would be away a few days. But I couldn’t say where exactly they’ll be going.” “I see…” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What now, Shirelock?” His wife reminded him that he hated his life. “You already have some of your losers waiting for them in there. Are you going to pretend they’re going to do their job right this time?” Miss Cake stared at one pony and then at the other, smiling awkwardly, doing her best to pretend she didn’t feel somewhat distressed at the way she talked to him. “I suppose we should go to the teleporter and make sure that the others have things under control. Thank you, Miss Cake.” He said, finally and turned to leave followed by his wife. Then he came back inside, picked up the box with the donuts and left the bakery again, followed by his wife. She stared hard at him. “You couldn’t leave those things there, could you?” He stared back at her, both walking casually while he had the box on his back. “I don’t see the benefit of leaving behind perfectly fine donuts.” “You are pathetic.” She said with her most venomous stare. ‘And you’re a bitch’, he thought, while he also couldn’t see how some ponies could marry more than one mate, but he thought it a better idea not to say anything. At least the donuts would be delicious, and he could distract himself thinking about them while she kept on telling him all the ways she thought him a loser. Surrounded by losers, that would never be anything in his life, like all the other losers he had surrounded himself with. Amid her onslaught, he decided that it would be better if he, indeed went to the teleporter. Despite Semolina’s opinion, that was where they stood the biggest chance of capturing the princesses and their friends. But he’d leave the donuts sitting safely in his desk first. *** Cadance quickly skipped across the streets of her town, sneaking from corner to corner like a fugitive. She hated it and thanked Harmony her subjects were tucked away inside their homes, no doubt following martial law summoned by Luna. Weirdly enough, she hadn’t seen any of the town’s local militia, or the Royal Guard, much less her own personal guards. It was odd. If ponies had been directed to stay inside, there ought to be patrols. Nevertheless, she pushed on towards the center of the town and her palace and her mind wandered while she carefully watched the streets and windows for patrols or observers. She had grown used to the cold in the Crystal Empire. Some ‘shrink ponies’ said that the ‘feel-good magic’ from the Crystal Heart helped a lot with that, as ponies weren’t supposed to live in the cold because they became sad, or something like that, or even away from the sun. They had a much lower incidence of sunlight in the Crystal Empire and that was also something that supposedly made ponies sad. It was a bit strange that ponies would come to a place like that to begin with, considering they fled from the wendigos and their winter. There was some study Twilight had once shared with her that said crystal ponies may have changed to live in the cold: some smart ponies had figured out though archeological studies that they migrated from Central Equestria some thousands of years ago to settle in and as the time went on, their magic adapted to the cold, making them ‘crystal-y’ and cold-resistant. More importantly, they were the ones that brought the Crystal Heart, but where it had come from was a big mystery and the reason ponies moved in was forgotten. Peeking into a narrow alley it seemed to Cadance that as of lately everything happened thousands of years ago and was a mystery. How did nopony notice these things before? Sneaking between the crystal-y homes of her subjects these thoughts did little to improve on Cadance’s mood. The more she thought about the whole mess she had uncovered with that stupid letter the more she convinced herself that it should be Luna and Celestia that were in trouble, not her, and that she ought to be pressing Luna for some answers rather than hiding from her. She cringed a little though. In reality, if she tried that, she’d probably end up locked in a cell with more than a few singed feathers. While Cadance’s combat expertise lent itself to fighting monsters and the occasional evil overlord, Princess Luna supposedly had fought in wars. More than that… Luna had killed ponies. Intentionally. The thought of fighting someone until they couldn’t anymore and then intentionally taking their lives was a foreign concept to Cadance. She thought back to Shining’s words in Chrysalis’ chambers about how they had never been actually shot at or attacked with murderous intent. She tried to think of Princess Luna, the awkward princess who could barely stand sitting on her own throne and have everypony staring at her actually fighting somepony to the death. Cadance didn’t know for sure, but she was pretty convinced by reading historical accounts and martial manuals that one simply didn’t fight in an open combat in the same way they fought in a duel, like their sparring sessions. Luna certainly fought in the First Griffon War, but ponies don’t like wars and they did a poor job of recording the details of the battles. At best, what survived the passage of time were the general happenings of the war, such as specific sieges and battles, but with little to no detail. Not a single one about The Sisters fighting in the war, too… Odd, at best; discrepant, at the least. Cadance frowned… Or maybe the Sisters pushed it all under the rugs too. Then voices caught her attention and she quickly hid behind the next corner. She could see the street where three thestral members of Luna’s Royal guard stood with three of the creepy tall changelings. They stood by a barricade of sandbags that closed most of the street. The three thestrals wore Lunar Royal Guard barding and had magic shock batons strapped to their armors, while one of them had a squad leader insignia, Luna’s cutie mark and the two-and-three chevron insignia, on his shoulder. The changelings wore their own armor and had their double-bladed swords secured on their sides. It was a bit odd that they had no rank markings. Maybe they did so in a different way Cadance wasn’t aware. “Changelings… Just great…” Cadance murmured angrily to herself though, before making sure she remained hidden behind the corner and that they hadn’t seen her, before peeking out again. One of the changelings had the attention of the others while he showed them his right forward hoof which looked limp while he held it from the ground. “Blimey. There it goes again. It’s all tingly and limp.” He even let it sway a little from side to side to make a point while another changeling stared at it. “You should get that looked at, mate.” The second one said grumply. “No. Really?” The limp one answered sarcastically. “Any more brilliant advice?” Cadance just stared at their whole interaction. It was like staring at a train wreck… You know it is terrible, but you can’t tear your eyes from it. “Well, he’s right.” The leading thestral intervened. “It doesn’t look like you’re fit for duty.” The third changeling, a female, trotted next to them. “Well, you better not. If they notice there’s something wrong with you, the eggmaidens will put you down and you’ll be recycled!” “Queen almighty!” The second changeling looked at her. “You’re still going on about that hogwash? How would that even work? You’d think they’d cut you up and serve to the Queen in a platter with bloody side of lettuce and sliced tomatoes!” “Not me!” The female took a step back and reached for something inside the chest of her barding, producing a lock of green hair bond together by a wire. “Mother’s protecting me!” The thestral stared confusingly. “Is that… Is that from Chrysalis’ mane?” “It absolutely is!” She held it triumphantly in her magical telekinesis. “It holds the Queen’s magic! She gave it to me!” “You mean you cut it while she slept, and King Thorax shrieked like a kindergartener when he woke up and saw you holding a pair of scissors next to them…” The other changeling still looked grumpy, and now bored. “Well, she could have stopped me…” She deflated a little, only to sound grandiose again. “But didn’t! She just went back to sleep! So, she completely gave it to me!” “You’re madder than a sack of ferrets.” The grumpy changeling complained while the female still showed the others her prize. “There ain’t one of us that ain’t properly fucked, mate.” The limp one said a little distressed with his still unmoving hoof. “What, with you and your conked humor.” “Seriously…” The grumpy one stared. “Get one of the docs to see that.” “Ah, it will be back to normal right quick.” “Well, I think that having a lock of the queen’s mane is pretty normal” Said one of the thestrals. And then he proceeded to bring out a small glass vial from his saddlebag. Inside, it held a couple of blue, fluffy, feathers. The others stared at it, but it was the thestral squad leader that had his mouth agape in shock. “Are those… What in the actual… Are those Princess Luna’s down feathers?” “They are my lucky charm!” The owner said excitedly. “And they smell like blueberries!” “Soldier, that is legit messed up.” The lead said with a wrinkled muzzle. “I’ll have you appointed with the shrink as soon as this mission is over.” Finally, the third thestral, the one that was actually paying attention to the street spoke in a calm voice. “Princess Luna hates this sort of thing. She’s gonna make you swallow that thing if she catches you with it.” With that the thestral stared sadly at his charm, but the female changeling came up to him and happily put a leg over his armored back. “Leave the bloke alone! You’re all just jealous you don’t have their protection!” Then she smiled at him. “Say, how ‘bout we date after our shift is over?” While the squad leader stared at the pair, with mild amusement at his blushing face, and the limp changeling stared angrily at his heel as though he could command it to work properly already, the others looked bored. Cadance, while she thought that the couple was somewhat cute, tried to reassure herself that none of her guards would harvest her feathers from her bedding, and she also worried for these changelings. Something about them still didn’t seem quite… Okay. She was about to double back and leave them, taking another path, when the bored thestral perked his ears. “Heads up guys! Contact!” All six of them stared at an approaching crystal pony. Green and rosé, he pulled a cart hitched to him. It was covered with a blue cloth and whatever he was carrying inside tinkled like glass at every unevenness of the road. The princess recognized the pony, he was dating one of her own personal guards. The pony kept walking towards them, despite looking a little insecure and Cadance felt he could be in danger, so she decided she’d watch over him until they let him go. As he approached, one of the thestrals flared his leathery black wings and raised a hoof. “Greetings citizen. You have to stop.” “Uh…” The pony hesitated and trembled a little. “Hi… I… Uh…” “It’s alright, sir.” The thestral leader tried to calm the pony down with a relaxed voice and demeanor. “Nopony is going to hurt you, but you shouldn’t be out. Also step away from the cart, please.” With that the other two thestrals unhitched and herded the pony away from the cart while the female changeling approached it, doing her best to sound cheerful and friendly while she lifted the cloth over it. “Hello there!” She told him before looking inside. “It’s just a bunch of bottles.” She said, letting go of the cloth and turning to the crystal pony. “What’s in the bottles, mate?” “It’s a special drink!” The pony said too quickly for their tastes, but their leader figured he was just nervous. “It… I went to the distillery. And I was just coming back.” “Well, there is a curfew, sir. Under Princess Luna’s authority.” Another thestral, the one that had the charm stood next to his superior. “You’re not supposed to get out of your house unless it’s an emergency.” “Well…” The pony looked slightly offended and frowned. “This is an emergency! This stuff is done, and I had to store it! I mean… I was in the distillery, not at home.” The lunar Royal Guard sergeant wasn’t amused, but Cadance, in her hiding place, smiled broadly. “Sir, this is not an emergency, under the present circumstances. I’ll kindly ask that you leave your cart here and let one of us escort you home.” “What?!” The pony reeled in shock. “I can’t leave this here!” The thestral was beginning to lose his patience. “I’m sorry sir, but you don’t have a choice.” “No, no! You don’t understand!” The crystal pony shrieked and waved his hooves frantically before letting pure, unadultered bliss into his voice. “It is a malt made from genuine mountain ice and moonrye! It’s the purest water, combined with the purest moonlight absorbed by the wild iced rye that grows at the base of the Everwinter Mountain! You have no idea how valuable this is! The rye only grows once per year and matures from absorbing moonlight, exactly on the longest night: Nightmare Night!” The changelings were completely lost, but the ponies froze. He couldn’t be talking about… IT! The pony made a serious expression. “I harvest it and then climb the mountain during the day so that I can get the best light from the moon. Then I spend months at the peak, slowly malting and mashing the rye, showering it in moonlight every night until it is ready to be cooked, distilled and bottled.” Finally, he grinned radiantly. “It only lasts for three days and is so strong it was forbidden for one thousand years and the only one who can down a whole glass, not a bottle, mind you, of it is the moon princess herself. This, kind gentleponies and changelings, is legitimate Everwinter Moonshine!” The squad leader’s eyes almost jumped out of his skull. That thing was legendary. Nopony even knew where it was made. Until then… “Ooooh!” The thestral next to his commander grinned. “I heard of it! They say you can hear Nightmare Moon howling when you drink it.” “Actually, it’s a few seconds after, sir.” The crystal pony corrected him with a raised hoof. “It needs to get to your head, you know!” “Everypony’s heard of it!” The previously bored thestral was now as excited as the rest of them. The sergeant had heard of it too, of course. That thing was so rare it’s said that it’s sold out in the same day it’s put on the only store that sells it, a stand in the Crystal Empire’s market. That thing really was legendary, even more so between the Lunar Royal Guards, with their love to anything related to the Moon Princess. But also, whose salary couldn’t reasonably afford one tenth of one single bottle. “That sounds dynamite!” The cheery changeling said next to the cart. “I want one!” “Well, this thing is confiscated property.” The leader finally said, forcing his mind into professional mode, which drew disappointed looks from his subordinates and the weird changeling. The grumpy one still looked grumpy and the third one was still worried about his hoof and uninterested. “It will be returned to you as soon as the whole situation is resolved, sir.” “But… But!” His subordinate indecorously grabbed his barding, frantically shaking him. “It’s gonna go bad!” “Well…” The green crystal pony started. “I’m sure nopony is going to mind if I give you guys a bottle…” “Are you trying to bribe us?” The leader asked with a hint of anger while he adjusted his helmet and stared daggers at the crystal pony. “No!” The crystal pony promptly defended himself. “It’s just that… It really will go bad. So, you guys, at least, could have one. On the house… You are Lunar Guards, after all. You guys gotta taste this! Not to mention, Princess Luna always gets one gift bottle ever since her return, anyways. You can take another to her.” “Alright. Fine!” The squad leader finally agreed to the delight of his subordinates and the excited changeling. “Only one bottle.” Squeeing excitedly, the changeling lifted the cloth again and grabbed one of the bottles from under it and then stared curiously at it. It was filled with lightly shinny clear liquid and the bottle itself was covered in a thin sheet of ice. Additionally, it didn’t have a cork or cap. It was simply a closed glass bottle with a neck next to the rounded top. “Ooooh. How do you open this thing?” She asked, mystified by it. “Do I need to break it? Snap the top?” “Yep. That is it!” The crystal pony said. “It’s kinda like sabering a champagne, though. Gotta do it properly. Shake it some and then tap it above the neck on a surface.” Like a child with a new toy, the changeling did exactly that while the others watched and the drink became a fizzling white mixture, like the thing contained a blizzard contained inside. And, as soon as the thing so much as tapped the edge of the cart, it exploded with the howl of a windy blizzard and chilling white powder showered in every direction, covering the present ponies and changelings, as well as the whole street in a fine sheet of shinny white. They screamed and tried to cover their faces, only to realize they couldn’t move… The thing literally crystalized around them, entombing them from the neck down in a chunk of cold ice. Partly distressed, partly angry, and also worried, the squad leader looked around for the crystal pony only to find him casually brushing the sparkly powder from his crystal coat and smiling triumphantly. “It also…” The pony said grinning. “Is a powerful ‘Diamond Dust’ spell if you shake it too much.” “You dodgy bugger!” The female changeling yelled angrily and charged up her horn with green changeling magic, ready to zap him into oblivion when she heard a sharp female voice ordering her to stop. “Quit it, cockroach.” On top the nearby homes, the ceilings were littered with ponies from all tribes, wearing pastel colored robes and armed with bows. A dozen crystallized metal arrows pointed down at them, while one particular unicorn pony with a creamy white coat and blonde mane pointed one arrow at her. “We’ll turn your face into a porcupine.” The changeling shrieked and the aura around her horn collapsed. If she could, she would have dropped to the ground and covered her head. “Please don’t! I don’t want to die virgin!” The pony stared weirdly at the changeling and lowered her bow, and her friend next to her shrugged and did the same. The situation under control the ponies got on their four legs, with their bows secured on their backs, and dropped to the street level. “Great job, Verdite!” The milky white mare cheered, bumping her hoof with his. It was in that moment that Cadance decided she should show herself, and did so walking out of her hiding place, smiling as her ponies recognized her, starting with an aquamarine crystal pony that drew attention to her. “Great job, everypony!” The princess greeted them, and all the robed ponies cheered happily while their leader, the white unicorn, bowed before the princess. “Great job Milky White!” “Princess Cadance! I'm so glad you’re alright!” She said with a huge smile, grabbing Cadance’s leg. “We didn’t know if something had happened and the dummies in the Royal Guard did everything Princess Luna told them! So, we decided to capture a few of them to get some answers. These changelings drew our attention… They seem to have more personality than the others.” Cadance stared at he the group and one of the changelings perked his ears. “Good news guys! My hoof is working again! Oh… Wait… It's numb because of the cold now. Nevermind.” “Bloody moron…” The grumpy one said to himself. Cadance stared at her personal guard for a second and then walked towards their captives, stopping before the Royal Guard sergeant who stared stoically at them. “Hello?” She tried. “My name is Zephir Wings.” He said in such a completely robotic tone Cadance might’ve thought she was talking to a golem. “Staff Sergeant with the Lunar Branch of the Royal Guard. Eighty five years. Identification zero, forty-seven.” Cadance recoiled a step with a weirded out expression and her companion facehoofed. “She just wants to know if you're hurt, you bozo.” “I'm not hurt, princess. Just my pride” He said, talking like a normal pony again. “You're supposed to tell me you mission, too.” Cadance said. “That is if I fear for my well-being or that of my squadmates, Princess.” The pony soldier replied stoically. “Hello?” Cadance insisted. “I get laid with your boss.” The pony stared at her for a second. “Fair point Princess.” “Don’t tell her mate!” The changeling with the lame hoof struggled in his ice casing. “We were made to endure yak musical torture! She's nothing to us! Nothing!” “Oh, for crying out loud!” The third thestral cried. “This bunch of idiots here present was supposed to inform the Princess if you showed up. We were supposed to guard this place and these nutjobs were supposed to alert the queen when you showed up. Can you take me in now, please? My balls are freezing!” Cadance nodded to her white companion, who hoofed at the ground a couple of times. “C'mon ladies! Let’s get them ready to move. A patrol is bound to show up eventually anyway.” With that, ponies quickly started chipping at the base of the ice mounds with ice picks and Cadance went to the female changeling. She smiled friendly at her, despite how uncomfortable the changeling looked. “Hi?” “Hum… Hi…” The big changeling said. She didn’t seem so threatening as they were in the hive a few days ago. This one looked like she would be more at place in a… Cadance didn’t know. There was something deeply disconcerting about this changeling, despite her looking so similar to the “commander” they met in the Rock. This one too seemed formidable, but her eyes were so unsettling. Maybe it’s because she’s scared she was captured? She meant to talk to the changeling, but Milky was right… A patrol was bound to show up soon, and that was if these guys weren’t supposed to report periodically. Vanishing quickly was probably a good idea. *** Luna walked briskly next to Chrysalis and they both could hear the angry shouting in the next room. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told them not to do this.” The queen complained, more to herself than to Luna, though the princess paid attention. Cadance’s palace was too big in Luna’s opinion. It’s crystal walls created too much of a racket every time somepony spoke too loudly and they reflected too much of the bright light that was everywhere because of the white clouds and snow that seemed perpetual. But if Cadance liked it, she was fine with it. She could also remember Celestia saying it had an important function, when she sent off the ponies to colonize this place, but she couldn’t remember. She was too young at the time and the shouting was driving her to anger. Chrysalis’ magic opened the door and they were greeted by the sight of one of the changeling queen’s Praetorians laying in a couch with a pillow over her head and her superior shouting at her like she was an angry mother. Meanwhile, the changeling head doctor used her magic to examine the laying soldier, covering her in its glow. “Brilliant! Our first operation outside the Rock and you’re acting up like a bloody child! You’re embarrassing me in front of the Queen!” The angry officer yelled at the other, much to the doctor’s annoyance. “Will you stop yelling at her? It’s not helping and it’s not her fault!” She stared with hard eyes and flat ears at the other, who huffed angrily and looked the other way. Where she suddenly was scared at the sight of the open doors and the queen, followed by the princess. “How many times do I need to tell you snowflakes not to yell at your subordinates.” The queen stared down the angry one, causing her to sit on her haunches and let her ears fall. “I’m the only one that yells in this nuthouse.” Then the queen turned to the doctor, while Luna still looked curiously at the dejected big changeling. “What is wrong with her?” “She’s inherited Bossy’s archetype is what’s wrong with her.” The medical changeling complained rubbing her temples. “Not her…” Chrysalis kept her own temper in check this time and indicated the changeling in the couch with a nod. “Her.” The doctor sighed. “We thought she had Grumpy’s archetype, but she actually inherited Laggy’s.” Luna walked next to Chrysalis and listened in curiously while the doctor went on with frustration. “Her H.H.T. axis is borked. I don’t think she’s fit for field duty.” “Can’t you help her?” Luna looked worriedly at the three of them. Even if she didn’t fully understand what they were talking about, it seemed bad. “Give her a healing potion or something?” “We can deal with messed up genetics, but there’s no healing potion that can fix messed up psychematics…” The small changeling sighed. “What?” Luna recoiled a bit and the queen sighed. “The things that make heredity work, Luna.” Knowing she was going to ask, the queen went on. “Apparently, I’m all kinds of messed up so my children earn that from me. Simply put, most changelings develop into reasonably healthy adults because they found a mostly healthy environment that counteracts it. But the Praetorians are made with a modified version of the process, and that really messes things up.” Luna wasn’t convinced. “Chrysalis, Chocolate Velvet told us how these things work. That is not how it’s supposed to be.” Chrysalis didn’t let that upset her, though. “He only understands the physical part of it, Luna. Souls, as we know them don’t exist in his original world. Whatever happened to my mother really messed up hers and I inherited it. And my changelings inherit it from me. But because it’s magical in origin, it can work out in the normal ones. But not in the Praetorians.” Chrysalis sat by the one in the couch. “With the samples I got from Celestia I realized that I’m what would pass for an ‘alicorn changeling’. Probably all the brood mothers were… But, because the curse messed up our souls, hers is purer. So, I figured I could use it to mess around with our biology and psychematics… Our souls. To create more ‘alicorn changelings’.” “The result were the Praetorians…” Luna said. “But something didn’t work as you planned.” “I didn’t want other queens that I couldn’t boss around… I wanted loyal super-soldiers, so I made several modifications and made them psychologically dependent on me. But they kept developing seven different flaws that always repeated themselves. We called them Archetypes. They’re parts of me that kept showing up in them and overpowered their entire expression of their own souls. They turned insane and their mind collapsed.” Luna kept listening to Chrysalis, keeping quiet and letting the queen tell her all she wanted. “Eventually I decided that instead of disposing of them, I should study them and that worked. I figured out how to suppress my own instability in them and I finally managed to make Praetorians that worked. They still inherit the Archetypes, but they were under control.” She put a hoof on the laying changeling’s back. “This one is as normal as she’ll ever be… But she’s inherited the archetype that messes up her hormonal system… ‘Laggy’. She needs medication to fix that and soon she’ll be fine and won’t ever be overpowered by her Archetype. Unless the original one dies.” “How, exactly?” “Well, I thought I was done with it, and disposed of the overpowered ones, but the original Archetypes kept showing up as the Praetorians grew up and overpowered them… Always seven at a time. So, I studied them some more and figured out that their souls lacked the mechanism that allowed them to go to wherever souls are supposed to go when they leave their dead body.” “They can’t die.” Luna gasped quietly and was going to say more, but instead kept her mouth shut and let Chrysalis continue. “They dislodge the souls of the heathy ones of the right Archetype and simply take their place… Letting them live fixed the problem on the Praetorians, but since they’re dependent on me, if I rejected them, their mind would collapse and they would go insane in the worst ways possible. So, I got them a place with my soldiers, close to me. And now, we got seven broken ‘Chrysalises’ running around, unstable as Pinkie Pie in a bad day. Drawn to each other and to me, like a splintered soul seeking to be reunited. I even grew to like them.” “Chrysalis, this is horrifying.” Luna shook her head. “What have you done?” “Ah… Now, here’s the kicker…” The queen stared so harshly at Luna, from her higher stature, that the princess recoiled a bit. Not so much her poise, but the shift in tone surprised Luna in a second moment. “I thought it was curious… Because my mother died alright. And so, did my sisters…” The queen saw understanding in the cyan eyes. “They can’t have inherited that eldritch piece of madness from me. So, I looked further into it…” Luna’s jaw dropped a bit. “Your adored old sister is the fucked-up abomination that lacks the mechanism to go to wherever disembodied souls are supposed to.” Grimacing like a demonic beast about to pounce, she grabbed Luna by her peytral. “Isn’t it funny? She can’t generate children and she can’t die, which is exactly what every single soul in this fucking insane asylum of a world is supposed to do.” Her face approached Luna’s. “Care to explain, dear little Moonie? Because I don’t think that a glorified sex-toy is all you and Celestia wanted from me…” Luna’s eyes hardened though, and she projected her magic forward, pushing away the queen. Chrysalis pushed back in a display of her own strength and immediately regretted. She might as well have tried to push a mountain. “Choose your words carefully when you refer to my sister, Chrysalis.” Luna imposed forward with her wings flared. “Friendship is a two-way road.” The queen smiled mockingly, not intimidated. “So are favors, Moonie.” “We have told you what you needed to know, Chrysalis.” Luna managed to look down at Chrysalis, despite being shorter. “When we trust you enough, we may choose to tell you more.” The two stared at each other while the doctor by the couch seemed worried, but the changeling laying in the couch didn’t worry at all. Suddenly the sound of someone obnoxiously clearing their throat attracted their attentions. Myrmirex stood by the door with a large looking thestral. The first wearing his robes and the other in his Lunar Guard barding. “Are we interrupting something, my queen?” The creepy changeling said. “We have news of our little trap. It seems a little fly may have landed, despite us doubting Princess Luna that she had arrived.” The two of them kept their eyes locked for another second before Chrysalis finally looked at her servant. “Where is she?” It was the thestral who answered with a grave voice. “Princess Cadance’s personal guards seem to have attacked one of our checkpoints with a sort of blizzard spell. Three lunar guards and three praetorians are missing.” “I’m surprised Celestia let Cadance simply have an additional guard.” Chrysalis mused. “They’re not guards.” Luna said and showed a small blush in her face. “They’re harlots she employs at the Bordello of Candy. They just dress ceremoniously to accompany her around.” Chrysalis grinned mischievously. “Resourceful little courtesans these, that can take on three Lunar Guards and three Praetorian changelings.” Luna simply blinked twice, unable to find the words to reply to that. “Now, that ‘Bordello of Candy’ sounds like the kind of place that would come out of Cadance’s perverted little mind.” She grinned some more. “I think we ought to see it.” “Fine!” Luna huffed a little flustered. “Get your changelings to watch the palace. We’re going with my guards at the place.” The queen agreed with a grin and looked at her assistant. “Get Bossy to bring back all the Praetorians and keep the palace locked down. The princess and I are going on a date.” *** Twilight left her home with the entirety of her Royal Guard: all two of them. But still, they were a sight to behold! The princess wore her magus barding and her focus scepter stood securely strapped to her side. It was lightly armored, made of purple magically tinted gold and fit her body over a silken white and purple robe. Long and flowing, along with a white cape marked with her royal seal: a winged oval which contained her cutie mark, all in her colors. Atop her head she wore her biggest badge of office, as it was known by the ponies around her, the Big Crown Thingy. Well, Twilight didn’t like that name! Ponies who called it that were the same ones that would call the Alicorn Concordat as the ‘Princess Meddling Accord’. It wasn’t that big, it wasn’t a crown, but a diadem and it wasn’t a thing. It was one of the most important things… Artifacts in Equestria: the Element of Magic. She was flanked by her two guards, both of which carried their purple tinted muskets and halberds on their backs. Ponies moved out of the way and stared in wonder as if something in them drew them to reverence. When the Princess wore that thing… Artifact, she meant business. For some it was the simple display of wealth and position. Ponies were drawn to follow authority figures. Especially those with enchanted armor. They made things easier and took care of the big problems like monsters and evil overlords. They allowed ponies to focus on the simple things like caring for their flowers, tending to their little shop or whatever their job was. For the younger, it was the jovial beauty and radiant celebrity. A pony that drew their eyes and hearts. She inspired them to be better. To reach higher. This was one of those ponies that, by the simple virtue of existing compelled them to be the best they could, and then go beyond. A Bearer of an Element of Harmony, she didn’t get there by being born into a caste. The pony that wanted nothing more than to take care of the library but answered to the call and got there because she made do. For others, it was the combination of wings and horn. They saw her as the continuation of the ultimate authority in their entire existence. She seemed to shine under the sunlight with a special glint of how much she existed to show ponies the way. The youngest generation of the ponies that made things work and made Equestria into a utopia. And finally, for those that were attuned to it, the magic she radiated hit them like a grape-scented wind and made them think of the amazing power that moved reality and that she commanded with her will like it was hers to play with. But, for certain ponies she was all that and more. She was a beloved friend, with all her shortcomings, but that still managed to break through Discord’s confounding magic. The one that brought them together as a single unified force that thwarted the evil of the heartbroken princess of the night. The one that stood against the dark magic of King Sombra and of Lord Tyrek. The one that taught, learned and lent strength and wisdom. The shinning beacon in the fog of animosity. The heir to the Sun and Moon. The one they would follow to the depths of Tartarus or against the godlike power of the Matriarch of Equestria. The annoying smartypants little sister. The aunt that gave the second-best toys… Suddenly Flurry Heart looked around at the armored ponies, none of which capable of giving her milk or was the head honcho. She realized she was on the wrong side of this whole mess. Fortunately, nopony could understand what the baby said to herself. Twilight wished they wouldn’t do that. It drew a lot more attention than she needed, and it made her remember Archduke Blueblood. She only wore that whole paraphernalia because it was her due and it made her better at her job. Still, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity stood with Shining Armor, the baby, Starlight Glimmer, the maid and the dragon. They looked like they were posing for a photo shoot, with Pinkie wearing that festive gambeson of hers and Applejack with her Stetson and brown leather barding, next to Rarity and her stylish gambeson. Not to mention Shining Armor next to Starlight and Miss Calcite holding a grumpy baby. What were they thinking? They were staring at her in the middle of the road! “How come I don’t have a fancy jewel to wear?” Starlight asked nopony in particular. “Get used to it.” Spike chuckled next to her. “Girls, Shinny.” Twilight grinned through her annoyance, trotting next to them. It was impossible to not get excited next to them. Before a big mission. Even if it was that particular mission. “We’re missing Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Cadance, right?” “Cadie went to the Crystal Empire to fetch our things.” Shinning said. “She can teleport to the ship.” Cadance’s raw power never ceased to amaze Twilight. She teleported all the way to the Crystal Empire! Wow! “Well, let’s get to the airship and prepare to defend her until we can leave. “Twilight, what do we do if Princess Celestia is waiting for us at the hangar?” Pinkie didn’t sound so sure, suddenly. Twilight steeled her resolve. This time she would have her friends and all her assisting regalia. She could even stand to hope the ponies of Ponyville would side with her. Her diadem weighted ever so slightly heavier in her head. She was doing what she was meant to do. Couldn’t hold back a smile. “We’ll confront her. And we will succeed… We are doing what is right.” Spike pointed behind her. “What about angry looking ponies in barding and with guns?!” She turned around to see a group of twelve ponies. They were all earth ponies and one unicorn. One female. They wore a particular leather barding that Twilight wasn’t used to seeing often. They were led by a breathless obese pony and a resentful looking mare. She flared her wings. “Lord Protector Grape Donut. I thought I would eventually meet you.” He just blinked a couple of times, completely flabbergasted to the point of forgetting all his resentment and dyspnea. “You know who I am?” “Of course, I do! You are the appointed head of Ponyville’s Local Militia!” Twilight put herself in a fighting stance. “You are certainly here because Princess Celestia ordered me arrested! You must know that I am well within my rights… Neigh… Duty to investigate and prosecute as a Princess of Equestria! And I will fight for it, if I must!” “Did she just say ‘neigh’?” Applejack looked like she’d eaten something past due. But Rarity shushed her and flashed a grin like she was watching the best drama since the Tale of Nightmare Moon in theaters. But the target of Twilght’s words didn’t react so well... The fat earth pony grimaced and fought back his tears before hitting the dirt with a strong hoof. “Stop mocking me!” Twilight took a step back, half surprised, half confused. “I am not… What?” “This is all your fault!” The pony accused her and to Twilight’s greater confusion, she watched as the ponies next to him agreed and nodded with hard expressions. Some of them pawed at the packed dirt road as though they were ready to charge. Ponies on both sides, the same ones that recognized her majesty, watched as confused as she was. “If it wasn’t for you, it would be me these ponies would cheer for!” He accused with a step towards her, actually looking intimidating, despite the distance. “I was the one that was supposed to protect the town!” Ponies reacted with shocked surprise at his statement and a few of them started booing and raising accusatory hooves, taking sides with their princess. But the fat pony never relented, despite being called jealous and loser. He had endured worse. His dulled grape-colored coat didn’t shine in the sun and his leather barding had seen better days, but he stood his ground. “I’ll arrest your purple flank and drag you to a cell if it is the last thing I do!” More booing and angry shouts, but he still stood his ground. He would not give up. And for the first time, something different happened: his ponies stood with him. Then, he finally said it. “By the authority of her Royal Highness, the Solar Diarch of Equestria Princess Celestia, I order you and your cohorts to stand down and surrender your weapons! You are under arrest!” Ponies gasped at the mention of Celestia’s name. Suddenly, the whole town wasn’t so sure. A rift seemed to form, and ponies began arguing among themselves. “Wow. He’s kinda good.” Shinning said next to Twilight, but she stared downward, still somewhat confused until she finally understood what was happening there. Besides the pony trying to arrest her, that is. “Oh no…” She whispered to herself and a sense of guilty grasped her stomach, one very similar to when the Changeling Queen and her lackey interrogated her. Then Rarity stepped next to her, looking serious and holding her wheellock pistols in her magic. “What a loser. Let’s do this, Twilight.” “Rarity! Wait!” The princess shrieked and her magic forced Rarity’s weapons down. Her white friend and others stared at her. “These ponies are sick!” “Indeed, they are!” Rarity agreed with an aggravated tone. “You wouldn’t believe the way they treated me!” “No!” Twilight shook her head in distress. “Really, really sick!” When they stared at her again, this time with confusion, she explained. “They are suffering from PISD!” “Pissed?” Pinkie frowned confused. “No! Psychic Imperative Stress Disorder!” She looked at the militiaponies, still waiting for them to surrender, and then back to her friends. “Ponies are born with talents and destinies to guide them and will seek to fulfill them subconsciously. But if they can’t… They’ll become restless, aggressive and unpleasant! Eventually their talents become corrupted and they will devolve into malcontent evil creatures that want nothing more than to disrupt other ponies’ happiness until they can’t even be called sentient anymore!” Wait.” Applejack stuck out behind Rarity. “You mean… Cutie Mark Failure Insanity? That is a thing? I thought Applebloom was trying to wrangle me!” “She probably was.” Starlight stood next to Twilight. “But it is a real thing! It’s the psychological mechanism that makes ponies seek their cutie marks and look for roles to fill in the community where they can share their talents with others. I tried to exploit that.” “Discord abused this mechanism to turn you girls against me when he escaped!” She turned to the ponies opposing them. “These ponies need help! It’s my fault they’re like this!” “Oh, come on, Twilight…” Starlight rolled her eyes, a little disappointed since she was agreeing with Twilight until then. “It’s not your fault.” “If we didn’t live here, they would be the ones to protect Ponyville! Because we live here, they can’t fulfill their destinies!” Twilight sounded frantic. “It is my fault! I need to help them!” *** Not far from there another crowd had formed. A group of ponies tripped over themselves to serve the big white alicorn sitting in a pillow next to a coffee table. Next to her was her loyal guard, dressed in gold and looking like the image of serenity at his post. They made a point of ignoring the kerfuffle not far from them. The Princess was in their establishment and they would serve her! She would have her tea and pie even if Ponyville was about to turn into a battlefield! They noticed the brown alicorn that arrived too, and they would assist the Prince-Consort however way he would need too. Even if the blanket over his back looked like it belonged in a pile of rags and his mane was a mess. They started by taking away the pony-sized chair and providing a pillow. “Celestia! I came as fast as I could! Twilight escaped!” He said as he sat and put his hooves on the table. “I know.” She said calmly and smiled at him. “What happened to you?” “Twilight banished me… It took me a while to escape…” He said. “She locked you in the library and you crawled out a window.” She concluded with an amused smile and he grunted. “Yes.” She giggled while he stared at what she was watching beyond the crowd and other angry crowd full of angry ponies shouting at each other, to see Twilight exchanging words with her friends and shouts with some armored ponies. He looked at Celestia. She was still watching the scene. “She’s right there. What are you doing sitting here?” “I am watching Twilight do her thing.” The princess grinned brightly. “It’s awe inspiring.” Chocolate looked at Twilight flapping her wings and shouting at the armored ponies. He couldn’t hear what she was saying but rallied the crowd. Then, the pony leading the others said something else and he too drew cheers from the crowd. Ponies shouted and pointed hooves the same as Twilight and the other pony. “I think there is a civil war ready to break out there, Celestia.” He sounded worried, but she simply kept smiling. “Of course, there is… I thought you would be used to it already. They make they make drama for the noblest of causes and silliest of mistakes. They discover things and they explore their knowledge. They find secrets and do all they can to unravel them. They make mistakes and they comprehend. They are alive.” He stared at her, drooping his head in curiosity, and she went on. “I make mistakes too. Sometimes.” “Huh?” “I sent Twilight here to find her friends and to distance her from the canterlotian nobility. She was too naïve. Too well intentioned.” Her face turned sour. “You have no idea how unbearable Cadance was as a teenage little rising noble.” He let out an unintentional chuckle. “In doing that, I put Twilight at odds with some ponies and they became incapable of fulfilling their Animus Imperative.” “Their what?” He looked “Their Animus Imperative…” She mused. “Ponies today call it their ‘destinies’. If Equestria was a song, ponies would be the melody, and their Animus Imperatives would be their instruments. Like a song, it ebbs and flows. It changes. It grows and diminishes. If a wrong note is played, others react, and the song is healed.” He couldn’t keep from staring at her. She spoke with such wonder. A sense of bewilderment. “If there was a war to be fought, brave ponies would be born. If famine would strike… Farmer and merchant ponies would answer to the call and fix the problem. One way or another.” She smiled at him. “When an old queen lost her little sister because she failed her Animus Imperative, six wonderful ponies were born and brought forth the Elements of Harmony to mend her soul.” “Balance was restored, and Harmony prevailed.” She looked at the crowd again. “So…” He started carefully. “Twilight being here was a problem. How do things fix themselves?” “Well, we’ve found ourselves here, right now, haven’t we?” She looked at him, letting him process what she had said until he nodded, but them looked at her. “What is my Animus Imperative?” He asked curiously. “Why, it is to please me.” She gave him a mock superior smile. “Isn’t it obvious?” He deadpanned and she gave him the final forkful of her pie, putting it in his mouth before standing up. “Come on. Time to take our places to fix the problem I’ve unwittingly created.” He stood too. “I don’t think it can be called your mistake, Celestia. If you hadn’t sent Twilight, bad things would’ve happened, right?” “Correct.” She smiled cheerfully. “But bad rulers concentrate power and cast blame. Good ones delegate power and take responsibility. Come on, Sir Velvet. It is time to shine!”