//------------------------------// // Ch. 12: All Eyes on the Prize // Story: History Reimagined // by Pun System //------------------------------//      The remainder of Starlight’s stay in the Crystal Empire was comparably uneventful, save for a long afternoon conversation with her old friend Sunburst. Starlight felt out of place in the specially-prepared room at the restaurant Sunburst had chosen, but he reminded her that he was the royal crystaller now, and that his position came with a high social standing. With a dismissive wave of his hoof, he stated that the accommodations were only there so they could catch a moment of quiet away from the adoring public eye.      They discussed just about everything together. The royal baby, the Empire, Starlight’s mission, and her friends in that other world. And, of course, Thorax the changeling. Which led Starlight straight into the topic of another changeling, one from the other timeline, whom she tried not to describe in too much detail (as Princess Cadance would have liked).      Though, perhaps caught up in the excitement of the night, they had neglected to talk about one thing: themselves. When they rose from the table after their meal, Sunburst surprised her with a hug, and Starlight found herself unsure what to do in response. She hesitantly hugged him back, but hoped he didn’t notice her laid-back ears or tense chest. She was just glad he wasn’t able to see her face, which displayed a swirling mix of emotions too complex to understand in the moment.      But all that was a memory now as she stood beside Twilight’s throne, holding Twilight’s journal in her magic. Sitting back down to write, the pleasant memories of the day before stuck with her, more shadows of feelings than feelings themselves.      When Starlight held her own journal—which was now with the other Starlight—she felt a connection to Twilight; holding Twilight’s journal was akin to looking into a mirror while her horn was lit—she could feel not Twilight on the other side, but herself. However, the magic reflected from the journal was far more concentrated than the magic from any mirror she’d ever felt.      Trying her best to ignore these feelings, she laid the journal on the table and began to write.      Dear Starlight Glimmer, she wrote,      My time in my home world is almost up. I’ve been reminded that an ally a friend can come from anywhere, and that even the ones most resistant to change can be worn down. I've also come to better understand my own method of problem-solving, both its benefits and its drawbacks, and I've seen my world take its first step towards accepting good changelings.      That said, it's time for me to go back. Being home with friends has helped me refocus, but my assignment is in your world, and I’ve hardly scratched the surface of my task. I want to be back there as soon as possible. There’s so much I still have to do.      Tell Rainbow Dash I’m ready to return. If she can arrange transportation, we can schedule a time that works for both of us. If not, I’ll head out as soon as I can on hoof.      Your friend,      Starlight began to sign the letter, then sighed and crossed out what she had written. She then wrote a different name—the name she’d used in the fallen timeline.      Starlig Time Skipper      She felt somehow different once she had written that name. The feelings of contentment and security that she had previously felt like a blanket around her were replaced with a generalized gravity and urgency. But even those feelings yielded to the mild frustration that arose as she realized the saddlebags she’d just unpacked from her trip south would have to be packed again.      The open door to Rainbow’s office creaked open a little further. “Hey uh, Rainbow? Do you have a moment?” a familiar voice called out.      Rainbow looked up from her notes for the upcoming Council meeting to see an undisguised Blue Changeling standing over the threshold. “What's up, Bon Bon?” she asked in a cheerful tone.      Without a word, Bon Bon made her way into the office, crossed the room, and stepped into a chair. She laid down, crossed her front hooves, then laid her head down on them. The lightest part of her otherwise solid blue eyes came to rest at the bottom of her eyes—an indication to Rainbow that Bon Bon was staring at the floor.      “You ok?” Rainbow asked.      She hesitated before replying. “It—it's Lyra.”      “What about her?”      “I know she's changed. And she’s moved on. But—I still can't help feeling things for her. Changelings are conduits for love, accepting and reflecting it with ease, but we still form close bonds with those we gain love from.”      Rainbow's gaze dropped to her desk where her nearly-completed notes still sat. She ignored them, instead putting her front hooves together and leaning slightly forward. As her eyes rose to meet Bon Bon’s, she shifted a little in her seat.      Bon Bon continued once Rainbow had settled into her new position. “It's hard adapting to life without her. We've been apart for months, but we were together before that for years. When she broke up with me—” she sighed, “—it was just… so sudden. I thought I’d made sure this wouldn’t happen.”      “Bon Bon, you know I'm here for you.”      “Of course you are, but—I’m still torn. If Lyra came back into my life today, part of me would want to accept her back and pick back up right where we left off.”      “And the other part?” Rainbow asked.      “Lyra—isn't my marefriend anymore. You are.” She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t even know why I’m still using terms like ‘marefriend.’ Maybe because I used to be a pony.” She paused briefly before raising her head and looking back at Rainbow. “I don't want you to feel like I'm holding out. For changelings, hoarding love is frowned upon. Well, unless your name is Chrysalis. And even she knows it's wrong because she's the only one allowed to do it. Radiating out love in the absence of a target is wasteful besides.”      Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “You have to be near Lyra to give her love?”      “Not give. Changelings can't do that. We can only dissipate our excess.” Bon Bon shook her head. “Rainbow…”      “Right. Sorry.” She squirmed in her seat. “Bon Bon, I don't feel cheated that you still feel stuff for Lyra. These things can be...” she fumbled for the right word, “...long. Long and drawn out and—I understand wanting to be with somepony you can’t be with. Maybe not exactly in the same way, but I do understand.” Rainbow pushed her chair back, rose from her seat, and approached Bon Bon. “We’re in this together.”      Rainbow put a foreleg around Bon Bon’s shoulder, prompting Bon Bon to smile and do the same. She then looked up behind Bon Bon at the clock on the wall. “Ready for the meeting?”      Bon Bon drew out of the embrace. “Of course. Got some important news to share with the Council.”      “What’s up?” She walked back over to the desk and collected her notes. They weren’t completely finished, but they were close enough that she could improvise the rest on the spot.      “You’ll have to wait until the meeting,” she replied with a smile.      Rainbow chuckled as she looked away. She closed the folder that contained her notes, then slid it into the saddlebags next to the desk. Before she could pick up her bags, she felt something smooth brush up against her side. She turned her head to see Bon Bon right beside her.      Bon Bon laid a wing over Rainbow’s back and pulled her close with a strength that seemed impossible for her small, thin wings. “Thank you,” she said in a low voice, “for understanding. And—for loving.” She gave Rainbow a peck on the lips, and Rainbow reciprocated.      Rainbow freed her wing from being pinned against Bon Bon, and then hugged her with it. Bon Bon slid her head under Rainbow’s neck and began rubbing up and down. Her one free wing began vibrating, producing an almost inaudible hum, and she began producing a low, growl-like noise in her throat.      “Are you—purring?” Rainbow closed one eye as the spines on the back of Bon Bon’s neck brushed up against her face, yet she couldn’t help but smile. Then she noticed they were faintly glowing again, and this time, it looked as if Bon Bon’s wings were glowing brighter than the rest of her body.      Bon Bon sighed contentedly. “Oh Rainbow, I haven’t had this much love since I was with—well, in a long time.” She stopped moving her neck and withdrew her wing, prompting Rainbow to do the same. Rainbow turned around to face her. It had taken her some time to recognize changeling facial expressions. Changeling eyes closed sideways, which initially threw her off. Bon Bon's changeling eyes—which were not the compound eyes of the flies in her science books in school—were surprisingly similar to pony eyes. The highlights of light were like pupils, and the sideways lids were less foreign now that she was more familiar with them. Standing face to face with Bon Bon, she saw happiness in her smile, but tiredness in her eyes.      “Someday, this war’s gonna end. It’ll just be me and you then. We could—get serious. If—that’s you want.”      Bon Bon hesitated briefly before responding. “I—think I’d like that.” She turned and used her magic to open the door, holding it open for Rainbow as she walked through.      Rainbow was surprised to see a Blue Changeling waiting outside her door. The two made eye contact, and the changeling nodded politely. Rainbow repeated the gesture and continued walking. Must have followed Bon Bon to my office.      “vzz/kk-zt/chk!” the changeling said once Rainbow had passed.      Bon Bon gasped, prompting Rainbow to turn her head. “By the King! Bogong! vzz/kk-zt/chk!” she repeated the phrase back. She embraced him with a foreleg, then pressed her head against the other changeling’s, their horns crossing near the base. “We lost contact just before our operation at Cloudsdale. We thought you'd been captured by Chrysalis!” She drew her head away from the other changeling.      “I was,” he said. “But I found someone. Or, someone found me, actually.” He produced a sealed letter and hoofed it over to Bon Bon. Rainbow went and stood beside her as she opened the envelope and pulled out a letter.      Rainbow squinted at the paper. The writing wasn't just an ugly display of penponyship; it didn't even look like it was written in Ponish. Each line of characters sat just underneath either straight, curved, or squiggly lines that stretched across entire words, while the characters themselves were from an unknown alphabet. “What am I looking at?” she asked.      “It's Hive Script,” Bon Bon explained. “Written language of the changelings. The lines are spoken with the wings, and the characters are spoken with the voice. Even the few ponies who can read it can't speak it.”      “It's a perfect code,” Rainbow said in wonder.      “Well, it would be, if half the creatures trying to kill us couldn't speak and read it fluently.” Bon Bon fell into silence as she read the letter.      At last, she raised her eyes to meet the other changeling’s. “No way! You mean you met—”      The other changeling nodded.      “And he's—”      Another nod, this time with a smile.      His smile soon reflected on Bon Bon’s face. “Finally, some good news!”      “What’s the news?” asked Rainbow.      “We've found one of my colleagues from my time back in the agency. A changeling.” Bon Bon was brimming with excitement. “I’ll tell you on the way to the meeting. They’ve got to hear this!”      The aft quarters of Chrysalis’s stolen airship afforded a breathtaking view of the sky all around in three directions. Yet had Chrysalis needed to know the color of the sky at that exact moment, she couldn’t have said. However, if someone had asked about the current state of her daughter, she could have described that in great detail.      The queen sat behind her desk, propping her head on her hooves as she watched Princess Pupa at play on the floor below. The changeling larva levitated a number of brightly colored animal toys in her turquoise magic, making with her voice a perfect imitation of each animal.      But it wasn't long before Pupa seemed to tire of imitation, and began to control the animals herself. She levitated above the rest a green parrot and an eagle whose brown feathers transitioned to red near the wings, and made them fight. She squawked for the parrot and shrieked for the eagle, and made the two birds clash dramatically as they flew towards one another.      Then, something on the floor caught her attention, and her magic leapt to envelop a blue jay, which she threw into the fray. She seemed to favor the eagle and the blue jay over the parrot, which squawked one last time before “flying” away.      As she followed the toy with her eyes, Pupa’s gaze crossed her mother's. She lowered the toy and giggled sheepishly. “Go on,” Chrysalis gently urged. “What happens next?”      Pupa glanced back at the other two birds. After a moment of thought, she made two piles of the other toys and set each remaining bird atop one of the piles. The two sat facing each other, each guarding its hoard against the other.      “And to the victors go the spoils!” Chrysalis said with a chuckle. She lowered her head a little as a smile crept onto her face. “You are cunning and wise, my daughter. You’re going to make a wonderful queen one day,” she said as she picked up her daughter in her magic and tapped her muzzle with a hoof. Pupa giggled with delight as she cradled her in her hooves.      Chrysalis perked up when she heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” she called. Pharynx, in full armor, opened the door and entered the room.      “We’re almost at our destination, your Majesty. What are your plans for the attack?”      Chrysalis returned her left front hoof to the ground as she shifted Pupa to her right front leg. “The armored vehicles will be at the head of the column as we make our advance. Once they make contact, the ground troops behind will fan out to cover our right and left flanks.”      Pharynx gestured towards Pupa. “What about the princess? If the battle turns against us, will you use her magic to end the fight?”      Pupa squirmed and reached for her toys on the floor. Chrysalis smiled and levitated her down towards the deck. “My daughter and I will remain here aboard the command vessel unless the situation is truly dire. I have total faith in my troops, and in our new weapon. Your orders are to keep this airship out of the fight unless absolutely necessary. Protect me and especially protect Princess Pupa.”      “Yes, my Queen,” he said with a salute. “I will tell the other guards.”      Pharynx departed, leaving Chrysalis with her foal, Pupa now holding the parrot gently as it to console it after its loss.      With her notes spread out in front of her, Rainbow nodded at the royal guards by the door. They left their posts just inside the door and exited the Council room, closing the doors after them. “If everypony would find their seats,” Rainbow said over the room's current conversations, “we’ll get started.”      The room's conversations quickly gave way to the sounds of rustling papers and sliding chairs as the ponies and changelings took their places. The room looked to be not quite twice as full as normal, and those who did not have seats stood next to the others.      Shining Armor began. “Welcome, non Council members, to our monthly Doubles Meeting.” His glanced quickly around the room. Rainbow followed his eyes, stopping at each standing figure around the room. Next to Spitfire stood Soarin. Bon Bon had brought along Bogong. Shining Armor had with him a royal guard. Next to Sunburst stood Starlight, and next to Big Macintosh stood Flam.      “First off,” Shining continued, “reporting for me will be Spearhead.” He turned and nodded to the royal guard beside him.      “Recruitment is proceeding ahead of schedule. More and more ponies are signing up to do their part. Even if it means taking a pay cut for a few weeks.”      “A pay cut?” asked Rainbow.      “Yes, ma’am. Even with the taxes from Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and the surrounding areas at our hooves, There still isn’t enough to go around.”      “I’ve started up a voluntary program for officers to accept a lower pay rate,” Shining Armor said. “It’s had limited success, but it hasn’t been particularly popular.”      “You can say that again,” Pinkamena added.      Limestone uncrossed her forelegs and put her hooves on the table. “Some households are being asked to slash two or three paychecks every other week.”      “We’re keeping a record of every bit that isn’t being paid out,” Shining Armor said, “and we will repay what we’re short once we have the funds to do so.”      “With what money?” asked Big Macintosh. “I have to agree with the Pies. Every pony we take on as a soldier, that’s one more mouth we gotta feed. It's too late in the year to grow any more food, so either we ain’t gonna have enough food for everypony, or we’re gonna have to buy more in bulk from somewhere, with money we ain’t got. We didn’t plan for this many soldiers at the beginning of the growin’ season!”      While Applejack smiled and mumbled something about fancy mathematics, Sunburst began stroking his goatee. “We could levy another war tax, but I don’t think the economy can handle much more. I’d advise against war bonds too, as those will have to be paid back with interest. And if we’re still recovering from the war, that debt could stall out our economy for years to come.”      Limestone leaned back and crossed her forelegs again. “You could cut back on spending for your pet projects. That’d be a start.”      Sunburst looked personally attacked by Limestone’s remark. “The alchemic horn is a weapon that has tremendous potential! And Project Phoenix will give us a decisive advantage against Chrysalis!”      “None of us even know what Project Phoenix is!” she fired back.      Rainbow glanced to Spitfire, then to Shining Armor. Both were already giving her a knowing glance.      “That’s not true!” Sunburst shouted back. “Several of us do! It’s just—it’s top secret right now!”      After Sunburst had finished, Flam cleared his throat. “If I may?” He paused rhetorically, but never actually waited for permission to continue. “What you need is a new source of income. One that’s been previously untapped and unrealized! One that will draw in revenue long after the war ends so that you can rebuild. But of course, it also needs to be viable during the war. But! What if I told you I know just the source?”      He smiled slyly before ushering in another long pause. Applejack and Big Macintosh exchanged worried glances. Bon Bon shifted in her seat.      “Well?” Spitfire finally asked.      “I propose that we set up government-run gaming establishments here in Manehattan to draw in crowds of tourists! I have—something of a history with such establishments in the past. I could supervise the day-to-day operations. Why, I’d build us a gaming empire the likes of which would rival Las Pegasus! All our money problems would be over!”      Though Rainbow’s attention was directed at Flam, Applejack’s slow reaction caught her eye. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open as she leaned her head back, giving the impression of a slow-motion gasp. “You can’t do that.” She looked to the others for approval. “W—we can’t do that!” she repeated, more emphatically this time.      “Why not?” asked Flam, turning to face Applejack.      “You—you’re wantin’ to build a casino?”      Flam’s only reply was a smile.      “That’s your plan? Robbin’ ponies blind through gamblin’?”      “Robbing?” Flam asked, indignant. “Gaming is a perfectly legitimate industry.”      “Gamblin’ destroys homes!” Applejack shouted. She turned to the rest of the Council and hunched her neck as if she were telling a ghost story. “Once a pony starts to gamble, it ain’t long before they’re runnin’ out to the casino and blowin’ their entire paycheck in a single night, leavin’ nothin’ for their family!”      “Did that old hag back on your farm scare you into believing that, hmm, country girl?”      Applejack whirled to face Flam. Her tone was deep and low. “You take that back this instant. I ain’t gonna hear you talkin’ ‘bout my granny like that ever again. Clear as mud?”      Flam leaned away from the changeling and shifted his gaze towards the others. “Regardless, there are other sources of income than gaming in a casino. Restaurants, hotels, game tournaments, clubs with membership fees—”      “—drinks, ponies of ill repute,” interrupted Bon Bon.      For a moment, a look of shock flashed across Flam’s face.      “I've been out to Las Pegasus a few times before on—business,” she continued. “It's a completely different atmosphere at night than during the daytime. Drinking makes you stupid, especially when money is involved. Or, in my case, sensitive information. And the pretty fillies—they cheapen love into a product to be bought and sold. Which, for a changeling, is sickening.”      “That—may be true,” Flam began, “but the benefits outweigh all the drawbacks!”      “A tiny compromise is still a compromise,” Applejack said. “And it’s that much bigger when it’s your morals that you’re compromisin’.”      “You think we’ll be lying to these ponies?” Flam asked. “Not every patron will win big at the gaming table. But, we never promised them big wins, only chances,” he said, a smirk creeping onto his face.      “I just want you to know,” Bon Bon said, “you won’t be tricking us into this. You will set this plan into motion only with our approval.”      Applejack blubbered in shock. “Wha—You’re actually entertainin’ this ridiculous scheme?” Her expression shifted from one of indignation to one of betrayal as she softened her tone. “I ain't gonna have this on my conscience.”      Flam rolled his eyes, but Spitfire spoke up first. “You don’t have to. You’re still only the former Element of Honesty. If you wish to abstain from voting, then you’re free to do so.”      “You know I’d rather vote nay than sit silent and let this go through.”      “We all agree that something has to be done,” said Flam.      “And most of us agree that turnin’ Manehattan into another Las Pegasus ain't it,” Applejack added. A pause followed as the two stared each other down.      “Speaking of Las Pegasus,” Bon Bon said, “reports have started coming in saying Chrysalis is moving on the city with an army—and her foal.”      “Her foal?” asked Rainbow. “Last time she went to a city with her foal—”      “I know. We have to intervene. Luckily, I have an agent already tracking Chrysalis’s movements,” she said, growing excited. “He goes by the name ‘The Giver,’ and he has been a long time supporter of King Chitin. He’s been out of contact since the agency was disbanded years back by Celestia, but he resurfaced when he passed a letter along through Bogong, who he rescued.”      “You finally found him?” asked Rainbow.      “I know. I couldn’t believe it either.”      “But yes, it’s true about Las Pegasus,” said the second changeling, Bogong. “Chrysalis is planning to strike very soon. I tried to get an exact date, but my questioning only raised suspicions and lost me my cover. I was lucky to get out alive.” The changeling hung his head.      “It’s ok,” said Bon Bon, raising his head with her magic. “The information you brought us is invaluable.” She turned to the rest of the table. “We must do something quickly if we want to use Las Pegasus in our future plans. Chrysalis has been inactive ever since the attack on Cloudsdale. She’s probably been planning this for some time.” She glanced over to Bogong, who nodded.      “Speaking of Cloudsdale,” Shining Armor asked, “How’s the investigation going on that destroyed changeling airship?”      “The joint Wonderbolt-Blue Changeling investigation of the crashed airship is complete,” Soarin said.      “And?” asked Rainbow Dash.      “It wasn’t scuttled from the inside by the changelings,” Soarin said. “It was—” he paused and glanced at Spitfire, who had given him her full attention. “It was shot through on the bottom of the balloon. The Blue Changelings buried the changeling corpses, but there was—a pegasus corpse as well. We believe it to be Lightning Dust’s remains.”      Rainbow was close enough to Spitfire to hear her swear under her breath. She paused and gave her a moment before addressing her. “Spitfire? This—may seem like a lot coming from me, but I think it would be good if you buried her with honor.”      Spitfire closed her eyes as her ears fell back. “I—would do nothing less.” Spitfire’s eyes opened again, though she didn’t look up from the table. “We will spare no expense to honor her, and her sacrifice.”      Rainbow exhaled deeply, relieved that no tension came of her suggestion. “Zecora, you have anything to report?” she asked.      “Nothing new,” she said.     “How ‘bout you?”      “Shining Armor and Soarin already covered my points.”      “If Las Pegasus really is in that much danger,” Pinkamena said during the pause, “then we should do something.”      “And I do have rich and well-connected friends there,” said Flam. Applejack groaned.      “Then it would seem that our pathway is clear.     We must to Las Pegasus draw near,” said Zecora.      “It would appear that way,” seconded Shining Armor. “Now we just have to figure out how much of our resources and how many specialists to send.”      An air of dread radiated from the carriage in front of the Crystal Empire’s command post. Even though he had yet to disembark, Imperial Topaz felt his presence as keenly as if he stood before her. She felt his aura of power and intimidation, strength and control. And when the door to the carriage opened, her very breath caught in her throat.      For a moment, the King locked eyes with her, and for the first time since the war’s start, she stood face to face with that pony—more a shadow of a unicorn than an actual one. He was so like a unicorn in many ways, yet so unlike. His eyes, his horn, and his projected aura which drowned all hope in an inescapable fear of his wrath all clued her in to the fact that this was no mere unicorn. Out of equal parts conditioning and fear, she bowed to her king.      Standing beside her, Trixie bowed too. Topaz stole a glance at her, and the poise with which she bowed displayed an uncharacteristic calmness for the situation. It was as ominous as it was unnatural. How similar to him must she have become?      As Trixie began to rise, so too did Imperial Topaz. “Long live the King,” Topaz said.      “And short live the queen of the changelings,” said Trixie.      Imperial Topaz’s heart jumped up into her throat. Surely she’s not going to get away with saying that! It’s always “Long live the King!”      But Sombra smiled. “If the troops are in order as I commanded, then when Chrysalis attacks, she will meet a swift end.”      Sombra turned and strode past them. Trixie scowled at Topaz before she turned as well. “The defence of the city would fall on the shoulders of the Imperial Governor, Your Highness.”      Topaz gulped as she cantered to catch up with the King, eventually settling into a more measured stride on the opposite side from him as Trixie. “The—defences are exactly as you ordered, my lord.”      “Excellent,” he replied. “The attack will come by land, and their heaviest armor will be spearheading the attack.” Then he took his eyes off the command post ahead, and locked eyes with her. Topaz expected another shock to take hold of her, but this time she felt nothing. “I have total faith in your abilities to hold this position.”      Topaz was caught off her guard. To be complemented after her failure at Fillydelphia by the fearsome king himself… “I—am honored, my lord. We shall fight as hard as we can.”      The rest of the way to the door of the command post, they said nothing. They entered without word, but before the door was even closed, Trixie spoke up. “My King, may I have a word with you?"      “You may.” He nodded to Topaz as he continued into the next room, Trixie trailing behind him. Their conversation was carried out in hushed tones, but from the few things Topaz heard, they were hotly disagreeing about something.      Finally, they grew silent, and Sombra came back into sight, a slight smirk on his face. Trixie followed him, her eyebrows low and her ears laid back. She glared at Topaz, and the hate she had expected from the King’s gaze was delivered to her by his acolyte.      “Imperial Topaz,” Sombra called.      “Yes, my king?”      “Come. We have a battle to plan for.”      “Yes, my lord,” she called back. As Sombra turned and walked farther into the command post, Topaz trotted after him. Trixie glared at her the whole way.      When she got close enough, Trixie reached out with her magic and pulled her close. “Watch your step, crystal pony,” she spat. “Your next misstep will be your last.”      With that, Trixie stormed off in Sombra’s direction, leaving Topaz standing there stunned. She waited a few moments, then followed after the King.      Starlight stepped off the train and onto the platform. It was well into the night, and the station was abandoned. Through the gloomy darkness, she could make out a figure lying on a bench beside the building. She approached and the pony moved, rolling over and off onto the ground, grunting when she hit the ground. Starlight galloped over to the pony as she struggled to right herself. “Rainbow Dash?”      Rainbow blinked up at her, then rubbed one eye with a hoof. “Starlight?” she asked. “Er, no. Time Skipper, right?”      Time almost corrected her, then sighed. “Right.”      Rainbow rose to her hooves, then a look of sudden realization came onto her face. “Hold on.” She fumbled around in her saddlebags for a bit and drew out a jar of changeling paint.      Oh! That's right! I almost forgot! Time Skipper levitated her own jar of paint out of her bags and dipped her right hoof in. “Oh,” said Rainbow. “We normally use each other's paint.”      “Huh?”      Rainbow reached her right hoof into her jar. “You have to force the other pony into using your paint. Here.” She held out her paint for Time as she reached for Time’s paint with a wing. “Your own face,” she said, demonstrating with her painted wing. Time copied with her hoof. “Then the other pony’s,” she said, brushing her feathers against the unpainted side of Time’s face. Time reached out with a hoof and painted the other side of Rainbow’s face.      “Isn’t that a little excessive?” asked Time.      “Four-point check,” Rainbow replied. “Checks for fake ponies and fake paint. If they have to use your paint, then even if they bring fake paint we’ll still catch ‘em.” Time Skipper blinked. “It’s just what we do any more,” Rainbow said with a shrug.      Time started to glow. “Well I’m glad to be back. This has been a long time coming. It’s been good to get away, sort of recenter myself, but—” she sighed, “—this is where I belong. At least for now.”      Rainbow put a hoof on Time’s shoulder and smiled. “We’re glad to have you back.” Rainbow turned to leave, and Starlight followed. “Get a good night’s sleep. We’re leaving for Las Pegasus in a few days.”      “Ok,” said Time.      “It’s not safe to walk around alone with Chrysalis's spies on the loose. I’ll get you caught up on the way to your house.”       “Sounds like a plan.”