Sparks flew as Aurora pounced forward, Chrysalis blocking her hoof blade with her horn. The two tensed their muscles, struggling for control, Chrysalis raising one hoof to block Aurora’s other blade.
“That’s uncalled for,” hissed Chrysalis, baring her teeth angrily.
“Aurora glared at her. “Is it? You’re a changeling. You killed Bling, and sacrificed Cadence for your schemes. We’re no friends, or allies. At best we have a common enemy. We can continue this talk with my blade on your throat.”
She pulled back to strike again, but Chrysalis twisted her body at an odd angle, catching the blade in the groove of her horn. She turned her head around, pulling Aurora off balance.
“Know your limits,” she hissed, and then her horn exploded with green light, launching Aurora across the cavern.
As she hit the wall, two protruding pieces of rock at her sides flashed green, turning into changelings. They grabbed Aurora’s wings, pinning her to the floor before she could get up.
There were more flashes of green. All three guards transformed, while their companions emerged from the walls and the ceiling. A dozen changelings stood in the cave, surrounding the Elements.
“Does anypony else want to fight?” asked queen Chrysalis. “Because we have more important matters at hoof. Starting with getting out of here before Arrogance decides to do something drastic, like collapsing all the tunnels.”
“Not before you tell us what happened to Bling!” shouted Applejack.
“Did you really kill him?” asked Rarity.
Chrysalis looked at the ceiling with a groan. “Agent Prism? Yes I did. That’s the reason why Shining Armor could prepare any city defense at all.”
“Agent Prism!?” said all the Elements together.
“Yes,” replied Chrysalis, “Agent Prism. After what happened to your little assistant,” she said to Twilight, “You must have realised that the Shattered like to plan their moves way ahead. So it was with the Crystal Empire. Cadence was the one destined to save and rule it, but she needed a mate skilled in defensive magic, so Celestia picked Shining Armor and did some subtle prodding. But she needed to have a way to control them both, just in case, and she couldn’t just make Shining her agent; she needed the whole true love thing. Enter ‘Bling’, a good, dependable friend, always there to help, but never in the spotlight, always watching from the sidelines. I suspect Deception must have changed his appearance to make him look younger. I got fooled too. He almost foiled our plans during the wedding. That’s how I knew to target him first this time. So much delicious love for his princess… and thanks to me taking over writing his reports to Celestia, Shining Armor was able to prepare his army undisturbed.”
She looked at her audience. “Now, can we get back to the issue of our escape, or do you want me to keep monologuing until it fails?”
“I’d say, we can continue this stand-off in a safer place,” said Obsidian. “What do you think?”
“As much as I hate it,” said Twilight, “we do need to get out of here. Aurora, please don’t start another fight right now.”
“Very well,” said Chrysalis. “Since Arrogance can track us by smell, I’ve taught my soldiers how to hide theirs. But as for you, the best way to lose her is -” Her horn lit up, and a circle of green flame appeared before her, “Straight through the floor. After you.”
Twilight glared at the spell, than at Chrysalis.
The queen raised her eyes to the ceiling again. “If I wanted you dead, I would’ve killed you all already. Except him, perhaps. I don’t even know what he is,” she added, nodding towards Obsidian.
“Then I’ll go first,” said Obsidian. “Less glaring, more walking. And don’t forget to pick up Dash.” He jumped over the flames into the circle, and fell through the floor as if it were liquid.
Twilight looked down at the place where he had disappeared, then turned around, picking Dash off the floor with her telekinesis.
Fluttershy walked up to Scootaloo, who was standing with her rump to the wall, her eyes darting left and right, trying to keep all the changelings in her field of vision.
“It’s okay, Scootaloo,” she said softly, “I will take care of you.” She opened her wings, and after a moment of hesitation, the filly relaxed a bit, melting into her embrace.
The changelings holding onto Aurora let go, skittering up the wall as she sprang back to her feet. She gave them a dirty look, and walked towards the circle.
“Pinkie, darling,” whispered Rarity as she watched Aurora disappear, “didn’t your Pinkie sense use to warn you whenever there was a ‘doozy’ coming?”
Pinkie Pie considered the question. “After last week? This barely counts as weird.”
***
Luna walked into her tent. A gesture of a wing kept her adjutants outside. Inside the tent there was a map table covered in miniatures; Luna intended the place to be her mobile command center, not her bedroom. She looked at the table, and moved the tokens around, putting most of them back in the box. She made sure the anti-spying spells were in place.
She had just finished, when Spitfire and Dr Stone entered the tent.
“The Elements escaped,” started Spitfire. “I found their trail at the stadium, but then they went underground, collapsing the tunnels behind them. It’s a maze down there, and they’ll be long gone by the time I find and clear the right path.”
“But where would they escape to?” asked Dr Stone, looking pensively at the map.
“Obsidian doesn’t seem to have any more allies,” said Luna.
“Obsidian is far more than he seems,” said Spitfire. “It’s time we stopped underestimating him. What about the city?”
“It is taken,” replied Luna. “The battle is over. We have the remaining crystal ponies rounded up.”
“And the commanders?” asked Spitfire.
“I killed Shining Armor and Glitterdust, and captured Cadence,” said Luna. “She’s contained, though the emotional feedback from the tower damaged her mind. I don’t know how useful she will be. Prism is still unaccounted for. The enemy has also managed to take the Crystal Heart, but since the barrier still protects the city against the eternal winter, the Heart must still be somewhere within.”
“So, the Empire is contained, and our enemy is on the run again,” said Spitfire. She looked at Luna, who was staring at her oddly. Her features relaxed, and she smiled at the princess. “We’ve made a lot of progress today. This crisis may yet be averted. And it’s all thanks to you breaking their defenses.”
Luna returned the smile. “All the pieces were already in place. It was just a matter of making them come together.”
“This leaves the problem of what to do with the city,” said Dr Stone.
“It would be easiest if we could find and destroy the Heart,” mused princess Luna. “Relocate the remaining ponies, and let the cold of the north finally claim the place.”
“It is obvious that they need to be contained,” said Spitfire. “It is regrettable, but we cannot afford to let any of them go free ever again; there is no foolproof way of weeding out all those that Honesty affected.”
“Speaking of which,” she said, turning towards Dr Stone. “I’ve talked with Dr Bluebonnet on my way here. She shouldn’t be able to process speech yet.”
“She’s engineering support,” replied Dr Stone. “An engineer is useless without proper communication. I ordered her to stay away from the frontline unless told otherwise. Besides, she knows enough about our workings already, that there is little Honesty could say to sway her. I’m more concerned with Enigma’s influence. That’s why I assigned one of your agents to keep an eye on her.”
“Yes,” said Spitfire, “Pierce will do. Although… we still don’t know what caused Prism to go rogue. Perhaps you should keep an eye on them both."
“So,” said Luna, “is the city to remain contained as it is? This will require some measures to protect the guards from any insidious ideas from within.”
“Do you have a better idea?” asked Spitfire.
Luna looked down on her. “Truly, any disaster that couldn’t be blamed on us. A regrettable loss of pony life, to be sure. But our family has already sacrificed enough for this city. Ponies come and go. We, who are destined to live so much longer, must learn to look at the bigger picture.”
Dr Stone and Spitfire stared at Princess Luna.
“I didn’t expect to hear that from you,” said Spitfire finally. “I remember you being shocked at such ‘regrettable losses.’ ”
“You know well, we have done worse than that, sister,” said Luna.
“But then we changed,” replied Spitfire. “We were supposed to build a bright future together, What happened to you?”
Luna flashed her a crooked smile, her regal demeanor dropping for a moment. “A thousand years swallowed by the Moon will do that to you,” she said.
Spitfire gritted her teeth, averting her gaze. “I will make it up to you somehow,” she said, “And to Lightbringer. The city… will stay contained for now.”
“As you wish,” replied Luna slowly. “I am sure this will blow up sooner or later, but… I’ll find somepony competent and expendable for the job. You can focus all your attention on finding the Elements of Harmony.
***
“What!?” shouted Rainbow Dash. Her voice reverberated across the vast cavern.
Pinkie Pie took a deep breath. “We were losing the battle, so queen Chrysalis decided to save us, and tricked us into running away. We’re deep underground in the old diamond dog tunnels now. Also the real Bling was Celestia’s spy, so she ate him. Chrysalis, not Celestia. Obsidian knocked you out so you wouldn’t hurt yourself.”
“That’s pretty much it, sugarcube,” agreed Applejack.
Rainbow Dash rose to her feet, and flapped her wings several times. She then looked up at a looming dog statue standing by the side of a tunnel entrance. “So, once again, where are we?”
“Ancient diamond dog tunnels,” explained Obsidian. “Back in the day, they used to be a glorious underground civilisation spanning the continent, the finest miners and gem cutters in the world. But during the great war they sided with the Alliance against the Alicorn Empire. So the emperor asked Deception to neutralize their threat, and she created a new species of cave mould that the diamond dogs were violently allergic to. Soon they found out that the safest of their tunnels became deathtraps to them. A lot of them died, and the rest were forced to flee their ancestral homes. Their race survived, but their civilisation did not, turning them into the barbarians you know now. Their oldest and wisest had been the first to go.”
He then flew off his feet as Rainbow’s hoof connected with his jaw, sending him flying through the group and into the opposite wall. Some dust fell off the ceiling of the cave. Everypony turned, ready for a fight.
Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, closed it with a huff, then let her power spread, washing over everyone present.
Obsidian picked himself from the ground, moving his jaw left and right. “That’s a drawback of being super tough,” he said. “Nopony pulls their punches with you. That’s also all the gratitude I expected.”
Rainbow Dash glared at Obsidian in silence. Then she looked at Fluttershy, and her expression softened. “Thank you, Fluttershy,” she said.
“I hope nopony plans to do that to me next,” said Chrysalis from the front of the group. “I do have your families, you know.”
Twilight teleported, popping up in front of Chrysalis. “And that’s far enough,” she said sternly. “We’re away from the Empire, Dash has woken up, and can listen with us. I’ve… lost loved ones today, and I’m not in the mood for riddles. So tell me, what in Tartarus is going on?”
“High time you did, cheeselegs,” said Applejack. Her necklace lit up in a way that clearly showed it was no longer used as just a light source.
“Very well,” said Chrysalis. “Chair.”
One of her guards fell off the wall, and transformed, becoming an elaborate chitinous armchair. Chrysalis sat in it upright.
“Let’s start with your families then. They are safe, for now. As you’ve learned, our pods can be quite comfortable if you need to sleep for a long time. And surely you can appreciate the benefits of sleeping through this whole mess. All things considered, they are safer under my protection than they were under yours.”
“But you won’t let us see them,” said Applejack.
“Of course not,” replied Chrysalis. “I don’t trust you.”
“You don’t trust us?” said Rainbow Dash in disbelief.
“Yes,” replied Chrysalis. “You’re soft. Your love is your strength, but also your weakness, and I need your power to take down the Shattered for good. I can’t afford you hesitating at the last moment, or not sticking to the plan.”
“Back in my time,” said Aurora,”the changelings used to serve the Shattered. What’s changed?”
Chrysalis turned her head towards her with deliberate slowness. “Queen Protea died.”
“Changelings are highly hierarchical creatures. To defy the will of the queen is unthinkable. Back when the Shattered ruled the world, the changelings all answered to one queen. And her will was not her own, but Deception’s. The fleshcrafting Shattered had used her powers to put manacles inside her head, forcing her obedience. And through her, put her entire race in her thrall.”
The cave was silent. Twilight realized that the changelings had frozen, sitting in circles around their queen, listening reverently to every word.
“But the queen was old and cunning,” continued Chrysalis, “Even locked in the cage of her own mind, she never ceased looking for a way to set her kind free, and when she saw the chance, she seized it - arranging her own death, and setting up a new queen, one that would be free from Deception’s control. The very night the Shattered faked their defeat, we escaped from them, laying low as the world took a new shape around us.”
“For centuries we hid; acting too soon could mean our extinction, or return to slavery. We wanted revenge, but we knew we needed the Elements to achieve final victory. The Elements which, it seemed, were now bound to our foes. And so we waited, all the while learning what we could, trying to piece together what exactly had happened.”
“We discovered the Crystal Tree, and learned its purpose. We also learned that It was already threatened by a scheme of another. Rather than risk tampering with its defenses, we decided to wait for it to die, and then claim the Elements. Imagine our surprise when Celestia herself arranged for a new team of bearers.”
“This changed the whole situation. The tools of victory were suddenly within our reach. Now we just had to wait for the right moment. Of course, we also needed to find out why Celestia needed you. We figured out it was Discord. Then we found out about the Crystal Empire’s approaching return. For some reason Celestia couldn’t use the Elements herself anymore.”
“She wouldn’t risk me breaking free again,” added Aurora.
Chrysalis nodded towards her, and continued. “She needed the real Elements as backup. Now armed with that knowledge, we were ready to strike. The wedding provided a perfect opportunity. Though the plan didn’t go off without a hitch, I managed to complete step one; challenge Celestia where she was the most vulnerable, surrounded by loving subjects she wouldn’t catch in her attacks, limiting her to her solar-themed magic, which I had prepared a perfect counterspell for, then let you fight my soldiers until you pointed them to the location of the Elements. I had arranged a proper distraction for Guilt beforehoof - all that remained were Envy and Deception.”
“That’s not the story you told me back then,” said Twilight Sparkle.
Chrysalis shrugged. “And would you believe me, had I told you the truth? EIther way I needed to maintain the facade long enough for Envy to reveal herself - I didn’t want to face her at her full power, and for that I needed her to think it was an invasion of hungry monsters, not an act of revenge by enemies knowing her secret. I would have explained things to you in detail once we’ve won - I still needed you to seal the Shattered for good, and to handle Sombra when he returned.”
“But you went full villain there!” interrupted Pinkie Pie. “You had a song, and everything!”
“Are you familiar with the idea of method acting?” asked Chrysalis. “It has a long and proud tradition amongst my kind. And besides, my servants really were hungry.”
“And then you lost,” said Obsidian.
Chrysalis’ features hardened. “I did,” she admitted. “Between maintaining the facade, and staying on the lookout for Envy and Deception, I let Twilight slip my attention. I also underestimated Cadence. I thought she was just another alicorn body, grown to eventually serve as a shell for one of the Shattered.”
“That oversight costed me dearly. Being able to fly does little to let one survive being flung by an explosion. I was strong enough. I lived. But almost a hundred of my soldiers did not. It was our most horrible defeat for centuries. But I wasn’t about to give up.”
“So then you sent us into the Void Passage,” said Twilight.
“No, I didn’t,” replied Chrysalis. “I didn’t even know it existed until you arrived here last week. It was already forgotten history in my time.”
“But we ended up in your hive,” said Applejack.
Chrysalis nodded. “You did. We had established that hive to keep an eye on you, and infiltrate Ponyville. I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t there at the time. I only know that my scouts felt powerful magic, and then you were all unconscious. Fortunately, my changelings acted immediately. Celestia’s agents contacted her for orders first, and that was all the advantage we needed. Later, I tried to figure out what had happened to you, but nothing I tried would wake you up. So, having the current bearers of the Elements in my hive had to suffice for the moment. I left you under careful care, and then focused on matters at hoof, all the while looking for any clues of what had happened.”
“Which brings us to the here and now,” finished Obsidian. “One has to wonder, how did you manage to conceal yourself in Shining Armor’s palace. He must have been quite wary of changelings.”
“There is no way to hide from proper detection spells,” said Chrysalis. “Unless the pony doing the detecting is on your side,” she finished with a smug smile.
“He was?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Well, if he wanted to see his family again…” started Chrysalis.
She looked at the faces of the ponies facing her. The temperature in the cave seemed to drop a couple degrees.
“What? I’ve kept my side of the deal. They’re safe in the pods, sleeping like foals. Meanwhile, he probably died defending the palace. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll include their safety in your deal.”
“What deal?” asked Applejack, her eyes narrowing. “We haven’t agreed to anything-”
“-Yet,” finished Chrysalis. “But I have something you need, and you have something you can give me.”
“You’re despicable.”
Everypony turned in surprise. It was Fluttershy who said it.
The yellow pegasus was trembling with anger. “How could you… use our loved ones like that… after all… everypony’s been through?”
“I’m just playing it safe,” replied Chrysalis. “I have my subjects to consider.”
“You’re using one as a chair,” grumbled Rainbow Dash.
“And he’s very good at his job,” replied Chrysalis. “Back to our topic. You want your families safe. And I can keep them safe, as long as you don’t do anything stupid. But I wasn’t talking about what you want.” She looked disdainfully at Fluttershy. “I was talking about what you need.”
“And what do you think we need?” asked Aurora.
Chrysalis cocked her head. “Right now? A safe place to recover from your losses. Ideally one where you can practice your magic without revealing your location. You also need information, so that you don’t act blindly. Some sealing gems to trap the Shattered in so you don’t have to haul heavy stone statues around? Any of these I can supply.“
“And in return?” asked Twilight Sparkle. “What do you want from us?”
Chrysalis stepped off her chair, which immediately transformed and skittered up the wall.
“What I want? I want peace. A place where my swarm could live openly. Our hunger makes us predators, hunters of ponies, but there are many ways of sating it, were we given a chance - If we could openly live with other species. That is simply not possible while our former masters rule ponykind.”
She walked forward, and towered over Twilight. “I need you to grow stronger. Strong enough to win this war once and for all.”
“That’s what we’ve been doing all along,” replied Applejack.
“And today’s shown you’re not there yet,” replied Chrysalis. She wasn’t smiling anymore.
“So you will help us?” asked Rarity.
“I will provide support, yes,” replied Chrysalis.
“But not fight on our side?” asked Obsidian.
“Of course not,” said Chrysalis. “I told you how important it is for us to stay out of sight. Do you want us to just swarm and go to battle? After all those centuries of careful planning? After the battle in Everfree, Celestia already suspects us of being your tools. If she saw a single changeling in the Empire, she’d have no doubts anymore. I’ve already had to evacuate all the hives she might be able to find. I’ve seen Elements of Harmony before, and these mares… are not ready yet. As they are now, I will not wager my entire species on them.”
“How can we trust you, if you leave all the fighting to us?” asked Twilight.
“I did fight at your side today,” said Chrysalis, “didn’t I?” She then addressed the whole group. “Until you can make me believe in you, my soldiers will not join you in battle. You have heard my proposal. Now, the decision is up to you.”
Silence fell at the declaration. The Elements kept looking at each other, unsure what to do, waiting for somepony to speak first. Even Obsidian kept silent, waiting for their response. When they finally did decide to speak, they did it all at once, interrupting each other before falling back into awkward silence.
Finally, it was Applejack who made a move. “Let me speak first, okay?” she said.
As her friends nodded in agreement, she walked to the front of the group, taking Twilight’s place in front of Chrysalis. Her Element brightened so much, that it caused the changeling queen to squint.
“I need ya to answer a question before we agree to anything, cheeselegs,” she said sternly. “Do ya know what happened to my sister?”
Behind her, Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but the closed it, letting her friend handle the situation.
All the changelings turned towards Applejack, some baring their sharp teeth threateningly. Chrysalis calmed them with a wave of her wing.
“I don’t know where she is,” she said. “Either of them,” she added, looking towards Rarity. “From what I’ve managed to learn, somepony took them out of the palace in the confusion you caused. A blue unicorn that matches the description of Guilt’s current body.”
“Not him,” replied Applejack. “I asked him.”
“Curious,” replied Chrysalis. “None of mine either. I have no idea who it was, or where he took them, but this game obviously has another player we don’t know about.”
“This is not a game,” said Rarity, giving her a dirty look.
Chrysalis snorted derisively. “A figure of speech. This war has more than two sides, perhaps? Either way…”
She turned back to Applejack. “Is that all you wanted to know?”
“No,” replied Applejack. “That’s not all. It looks to me like we have a common enemy, but we’re not really on the same side. You’re keeping our families hostage.”
“And safely out of the way, so you could focus on your job,” replied queen Chrysalis.
“Point is,” continued Applejack. “I don’t trust ya one bit.” She turned around, and looked at her friends. “If the situation were any less desperate, I’d just blast you with the Elements, go save Granny and the others, and then figured out what to do about the Shattered.”
There were silent nods of approval, Aurora’s and Dash’s being the most pronounced.
“But we can’t afford that now. We have all of Equestria to save, not just the ponies we love.”
This time the nods were much slower, much more hesitant.
“You make a good point,” said Twilight, “But we still can’t trust her.”
“Yea, she’ll be no help if she’s not really on our side,” said Dash.
“Oh, it just comes with the territory, I guess,” said Chrysalis. “What can I do to ease your fears?”
“Besides not behaving like an evil changeling queen?” asked Rarity.
Applejack looked Chrysalis straight in the eyes, pushing into her personal space.
“Swear to me.” Her eyes glowed soft orange.
“What?” asked Chrysalis.
“The ponies you’ve captured,” explained Applejack. “Swear to me that you will keep them safe. And that you will let them go safely even if we lose. You will not feed on them.”
“Or that family you mentioned before,” added Rarity.
Chrysalis looked into the glowing eyes, and her mouth stretched into a toothy smile. “You sly, little… Have it your way.”
She looked around, straightened herself, and cleared her throat. “For all the friends and family members of yours that I’m keeping captured right now, as well as the family of Keen Eye, the unicorn, I will take good care of them. I will do all in my power to make sure they come to no harm, and will give them back their freedom after your war with the Shattered is over, regardless of the result, as long as you do all in your power to defeat the Shattered once and for all. So swear I, Chrysalis, the queen of changelings.”
Silence fell. Applejack’s necklace flashed brightly, and a moment later, the same orange glow flashed briefly in Chrysalis’ eyes.
“It is done,” said Chrysalis. “Now can we finally get moving? The Queen’s Gate is not far away.”
She turned away, and started walking, followed by her changelings. Reluctantly, the Elements followed as well.
Obsidian looked at Applejack with a smile. “A geass? You really are learning.”
“What exactly did you do?” asked Twilight Sparkle.
“She made an honest promise here,” said Applejack. “I just left a bit of my magic with her, to make sure she stays honest.”
Twilight looked at Chrysalis’ back. “So if she tried to break it now…”
“It would be like trying to lie to Honesty,” explained Obsidian, “with every breath. It would drive her insane.”
He looked at Applejack. “And to think you said I was making Honesty creepy.”
“It’s not creepy,” shot back Applejack. “It only worked because she agreed to swear. She knew it would happen.”
She continued forward, grumbling under her breath. “And what does it have to do with geese?”
***
It took them less than 20 minutes to descend through the ancient ruins. The portal stood at the back of a huge cavern that must have once been the central plaza of an underground city. Compared to the crumbling wonders of architecture that surrounded it, it was deceptively simple, an unadorned arch carved from a single, rectangular slab of stone, just wide enough for two ponies to walk through side by side. And yet, at the slightest touch of Chrysalis’ magic, it sprung to life, a sheet of pulsing purple light filling the space inside it.
“It’s ready,” said Chrysalis simply, the first two changelings of her retinue walking through the portal and disappearing.
As before, Obsidian was the first of the group to go, followed by the Elements, with Scootaloo clinging to Dash for protection.
Aurora was the last to go. She stood at the threshold, then turned her head towards Chrysalis.
“You could’ve just told them, you know,” she said.
Chrysalis returned her gaze. “What do you mean?”
Aurora turned away, looking at the portal again. “You look different. But I’ve only ever seen one changeling with slitted pupils.”
Chrysalis snorted. “You’re wrong with this one. It is normal for changeling queens to be different.”
“It would’ve helped your case,” said Aurora.
“Not at all,” replied Chrysalis. “It would just muddle the issue, make all the explanations longer. I don't just look different. I am different. She’s dead. She’s been for centuries, and the Elements… their day had been confusing enough as it was. They needed something simple for a change. Let them see in black and white for a while.”
***
Captain North Star was sitting in the empty throne room. It was a chilly night, wind whistling through the broken windows. The captain rested on the cold, stone floor. The Sun would not rise again, and it was his fault.
A part of him understood that it was a dream - the same dream as every night, over and over. It didn’t make things any better though. For him, this was his reality now. The short breaks in the waking world were no less cold and dark, despite the Sun in the sky. It was not Her Sun, not anymore. It did not shine for him.
Suddenly, the stone floor echoed with the sound of approaching hooves. This hadn’t happened before.
Captain North Star rose from the ground, ears perking up.
Princess Luna emerged from behind the throne, looking at him sadly.
“Your Majesty...”
The captain’s face became a mask of terror, before fading to resignation. He just stood there, all the will gone from him, not even slumping back onto the floor. “So, it is time,” he whispered under his breath.
Princess Luna approached him, growing as she walked, towering over him.
“No, it is not,” she said sternly.
Captain North Star looked up at her, a silent question in his eyes.
“Yes, I know everything about what you did, captain North Star,” said Luna. She didn’t raise her voice. It was stern, angry even, but all the same, almost motherly in how it sounded.
“I know your heart too.”
She stared into his eyes. For a moment he felt a stab of fear pierce through his resigned numbness.
“But I also know you were a brave soldier once,” said Luna. “The weight of your mistakes broke you, but surely you are no coward, who would welcome oblivion before making an effort to atone.”
“Your Majesty…” whispered North Star, “There is nothing I could do, that could-”
Lune spread her wings, filling his entire world.
“EQUESTRIA STILL STANDS. EQUESTRIA STILL NEEDS EVERY PONY WILLING TO FIGHT FOR ITS FUTURE, NO MATTER HOW UNWORTHY. WILL YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO WALLOW IN DESPAIR, OR WILL YOU DO YOUR DUTY ONE LAST TIME?”
Captain North Star’s eyes widened.
“Your Majesty… tell me what I must do.”