Chapter Three
“Good morning, Spike.”
Spike looked up from the stove. “Good morning, Twilight,” he said, flipping a pancake. “You’re up later than usual.”
“I was up late reading,” explained Twilight Sparkle, taking a seat at the table. It was a simple oval table, made from good, sturdy wood. Whenever her friends visited, they would take meals together in the ornate dining hall of the Castle of Friendship. But when it was only herself, Spike, and Starlight, breakfast took place in a cozy kitchenette.
This room was not as ostentatious as the main kitchen. It was smaller, with lavender crystal counters spanning the whole length of one side, and cabinets spanning another. The counter sat beneath tall, narrow windows; these were closed, so as to keep out the cold. There was also a great fireplace, near which the table had been set. Twilight had seated herself closest to the fire, basking in its warmth. Castle Friendship maintained room temperature throughout the year, but nothing was better than a hot fire on a cold morning in January.
Twilight sniffed the air graciously.
“Smells pretty good, Spike. But I don’t think that’s your usual recipe?”
Spike sighed and held up an empty bag of white flour, a small hole visible in the bottom.
“The mice again. This is the third time this week! I had to use hayseed flour for the pancakes. I hope that’s okay with you?”
“It’s fine. But I’m going to have to talk to Fluttershy about this. Maybe she can talk them into leaving.”
“Yeah, like that ever works,” said Spike, rolling his eyes. He stacked five pancakes onto a plate. “Berries and cream?”
“Sure. Add some syrup, please?”
“You got it.” Spike opened a cabinet and pulled down a tall glass bottle of maple syrup. He continued ranting as he unstopped the cork. “I mean, it’s ridiculous! A magical castle gifted to us by the Tree of Harmony itself, and we have mice?”
Twilight smiled. “Little creatures can get into almost anyplace. We have several repel charms in effect, and I still find the occasional roach.”
“Yeah, well, it’s really annoying,” Spike grumbled. He came over to the table and set the warm, syrup-soaked pancakes before Twilight. Spike prepared a stack for himself, coating it with gems as well as syrup. He joined Twilight at the table.
“You didn’t make any pancakes for Starlight,” Twilight observed. “Has she left already?”
“Yup. Trixie picked her up early. Said she needed to get to the hamlet of Shake’s Spear to set up for her performance today.”
“I see,” said Twilight evenly. She did not get on very well with Trixie; Twilight considered the show-pony terribly obnoxious. Yet Starlight had bonded with her almost instantly. Twilight had come to accept the friendship between the show-pony and her pupil, but she wished her student would find a friend who was not so egotistical. One whom she could present to Princess Celestia as a sign that Twilight’s teachings were taking effect. “Well, it’s nice to see Starlight putting herself out there again.”
“Yeah,” said Spike. “Here’s hoping she doesn’t freak out again like last time.”
Several months before, Starlight’s old village invited her to celebrate a festival with them. Starlight had been reluctant to go, but finally went with Trixie coming along to provide moral support. The trip was a disaster. When Starlight arrived, she discovered that the ponies of the village wanted her to help plan some of the festivities. The idea of taking on any sort of leadership position terrified Starlight so much, that she fled the village and came right back to Ponyville. Twilight had done her best to comfort her, but Starlight had not gone on any trips since then.
“It won’t be this time,” replied Twilight. “I know Starlight can handle it. She has made a lot of progress since her trip to her old village. In fact,” she added brightly. “I’m almost ready to graduate her!”
Spike paused, a bit of pancake hanging off his fork. “Really? Do you think she’s ready?”
Twilight frowned. “I think so. She may need one last test before she’s ready.”
“What kind of test?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to think of something.”
Spike shrugged and resumed eating. “You’ll figure something out, Twilight. It’s what you’re best at!”
“Thanks, Spike.” Twilight tried her pancakes. Her face lit up at once. “You know, these hayseed pancakes aren’t bad at all!”
“Cool. I’ll see about logging that one later. What do you want to call them?”
But before Twilight could answer, there was a knock upon the great door of the castle.
“Now who could that be?” wondered Twilight.
“I have no idea,” Spike replied. “I wasn’t expecting any-pony.”
“Perhaps it’s Starlight. Maybe she forgot something—or had another problem.”
Twilight and Spike stood up and made their way out of the kitchen, down the great lavender-crystal corridors, and into the foyer. Spike opened the door.
On the steps stood three of Twilight’s closest friends: Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. All three looked very disheveled.
“What happened to you all?” asked Twilight, alarmed.
Applejack, an orange Earth pony with a blonde mane and a cutie mark consisting of three red apples, stepped forward. She lowered her Stetson over her eyes.
“Twilight, you gotta help us!” Applejack said, in a deep, rural voice. “Somethin’ mighty big just happened, and we gotta talk!”
“Big?” Twilight repeated. “What happened?”
“There’s no time to explain!” cried Rainbow Dash, in a loud, raspy voice. Dash, as her friends called her, was a light blue Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and a thundercloud cutie mark. “We gotta get inside and strategize, stat!”
“But what’s going on?” Twilight asked. She was beginning to feel a little scared.
“We can’t tell you out here, darling,” said Rarity, in her posh accent. She was a white unicorn with a coiffured violet mane and a cutie mark consisting of three diamond-shaped gems. “It might cause a panic,” she whispered conspiratorially.
Twilight looked around. Several ponies were starting to look curiously in their direction. It was also very cold. Twilight wondered why her friends were not wearing any winter clothes.
“All right,” said Twilight. “Let’s go to the map room.”
“Right you are, Sugarcube,” said Applejack. “Lead the way!”
Twilight turned and trotted down to the map room, Spike following close behind her. Neither of them noticed the smug grins her friends exchanged with each other, or the green lights that flashed across their eyes.
They followed Twilight down the corridors and into the map room. This room contained a great table, upon which sat a three-dimensional map of Equestria and many surrounding lands. Around this table sat six stone thrones. On the heads of these thrones were engraved the Cutie Marks of Twilight and her friends. Overhead hung the roots of a great oak tree—the roots of the Golden Oak Library, which had been destroyed in a battle against the centaur Lord Tirek, the magic-devourer.
Twilight seated herself on her throne and faced her friends. They remained standing, looking curiously around the room as though they had never seen it before.
“Okay, what’s the situation?” asked Twilight. She looked at Applejack expectantly.
“It’s the Changelings!” said Applejack. “They’ve overrun my farm!”
Twilight gasped. “The Changelings? They’re back?”
“Yup, that’s the truth! I was out in the orchards tendin’ my apple trees, because I love apples o so much…”
Spike raised a brow. “Yeah, we know you do.”
“Anyhoo,” continued Applejack. “I was out tendin’ to my orchard, and Rainbow Dash and Rarity was helpin’ me out.”
“Helping you?” inquired Twilight. “How? It’s the middle of winter!”
“And this early in the morning?” asked Spike. “Dash, don’t you normally get up way later than this?”
Dash stiffened. “Uh, usually? But Applejack needed me because…because…”
“Because I needed you to move some snow clouds,” growled Applejack.
“O, yeah! That’s why I was there! I can do that! Because I’m a completely real Pegasus!” said Dash brightly.
Applejack face-hoofed. “They was helpin’ me bundle up my apple trees so they’d stay warm,” she explained irritably. “Don’t want no frost killin’ my trees, now do we?”
“No, of course not,” replied Twilight. She turned to Rarity. “But why were you there?”
“Me?” asked Rarity, startled. “O, right. I was there to, like, make sure the wrappings were fashionable. It simply would not do for all those trees to wear autumn colors, because…those are so last season?” She smiled winningly. “Darling?”
Spike shrugged. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Twilight nodded, but she felt uneasy. “Right, so you were all on Applejack’s farm. And then Changelings just…appeared?”
Applejack nodded. “Yup, right out o’ nowhere! One moment, everything was just peachy; the next, we were surrounded by Changelings! And you won’t believe who was leadin’ them: Queen Chrysalis!”
Twilight’s eyes rounded. “Chrysalis was there?”
“Queen Chrysalis, sure ‘nough,” said Applejack.
Spike swallowed. “That’s awful! Was…was Nightmare Moon with her?”
Applejack stiffened. Rarity and Rainbow Dash suddenly looked anxious.
“I should think not,” snapped Applejack. “Why would any-pony bring a child to an invasion?”
“Whoa!” said Spike, holding his hands up defensively. “No need to be so harsh, Applejack! I was just asking.”
“Very well,” replied Applejack, calming down. “I reckon I’m just feelin’ mighty stressed about this whole invasion thing. Seems mighty fishy, you know?”
Twilight nodded and looked down at the table, perplexed. Why had the Changelings started their invasion with Sweet Apple Acres? Twilight could see no strategic advantage in taking over a farm. The back of Twilight’s neck prickled. Something felt off. Her friends were acting…odd. Had Queen Chrysalis done something to them? Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were talking about invading Changelings. Something about this scenario seemed very familiar…
“I don’t understand,” said Twilight, frowning. “You said you were surrounded. How did you escape?”
“They didn’t,” said Applejack. But that was not Applejack’s voice. Instead of her folksy accent, Twilight heard a low, smooth voice. A dark voice she knew better than she wished.
Twilight looked up. Applejack was gone, and in her place stood Queen Chrysalis.
“You!” exclaimed Twilight. She lit her horn. But Chrysalis spat green ooze onto Twilight’s horn before she could activate a single spell. “Rarity” and “Rainbow Dash” dispensed with their disguises, and promptly spat ooze onto Twilight’s wings and body, gluing her to the throne.
“Twilight!” shouted Spike. He charged Chrysalis from the side. She caught him full in the face with the back of her hoof, without sparing him a single glance. He flew across the room, hit the wall, and fell to the floor. He did not get back up.
“Spike!” shrieked Twilight. Chrysalis shot more ooze onto Twilight’s mouth, sealing it shut. All Twilight could do now was glare as Chrysalis loomed overhead, refusing to let on how frightened she actually was. If Chrysalis wanted to see Twilight tremble, she was going to be disappointed. But she looked amused instead.
She raised her hoof and grinned. “Light’s out, little Twilight.” Queen Chrysalis slammed her hoof down on Twilight’s head, and everything went black.
Twilight did not know how long she had been out, but she sensed a long time had passed. She was floating in a warm, thick liquid. She should have been alarmed by this, but instead she felt strangely tranquil. She felt like going back to sleep. But Twilight knew something was very wrong, and she needed to know what. She opened her eyes.
Green. Twilight was floating in green fluid. It was in her nose, in her mouth, and even in her lungs—yet she was not drowning. She was enveloped in the liquid by a semitransparent green membrane, wrapped so tightly around her that she could not move any of her limbs. Groggily, Twilight reached out with her magic, but felt nothing. She realized it was being suppressed somehow.
Twilight looked around. This was difficult, as the green fluid was warm and viscous. It took effort merely to keep her eyes open. The first thing she understood was that she was upside-down. The second was that she was in a cocoon, and, looking through its semitransparent walls, she saw other cocoons as well.
The third was that her friends were inside them.
Not just her friends. Twilight could see Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Flurry Heart cocooned as well. And Princess Luna. And Princess Celestia.
They were in deep trouble. And as she sluggishly recalled the events proceeding her imprisonment, she knew exactly whom was responsible for all of this.
Twilight looked down (or from her perspective, up). Below was an atrium, the centerpiece being a wide dais upon which sat a large throne. Like a distant dream, Twilight remembered talking with the changeling Thorax. He had mentioned a throne that had the ability to nullify magic. And if that throne was down there, then that meant that Twilight and her friends were captives in the Changeling Hive itself!
Twilight lowered her head. Even if some-pony knew where to look, there was no way they could infiltrate without magic. Even Discord, who had become their friend, would find his chaos magic blocked. They were truly trapped.
She felt sudden pressure on the cocoon, as though something heavy had landed on it. Twilight looked over and found herself staring into a pair of green serpentine eyes. The owner of those eyes grinned triumphantly, her sharp fangs gleaming in the dim light. Queen Chrysalis spoke, but Twilight could not hear what she was saying, given that her ears were filled with the green viscous liquid. It was just as well—Twilight did not want to hear Chrysalis gloat.
The Changeling Queen opened her mouth. Twilight felt the love for her friends and family drain off as pink energy, and enter the mouth of Queen Chrysalis. She then cut off the energy, closed her mouth, and swallowed. Chrysalis smirked, licking her lips with her long, forked tongue. She said something else. Twilight was able to lip-read “That was delicious,” but she could not make out the rest. Then Chrysalis flew to the cocoon containing Princess Celestia, and repeated the process.
Twilight looked away, her head aching. Chrysalis had not absorbed much of Twilight’s love, but the little she had taken had felt excruciating to lose. Twilight felt hollow, as though she had lost part of her soul. What love Chrysalis had taken was replaced by despair, as Twilight accepted the reality of her situation. Chrysalis had won. She had taken all of Equestria’s alicorns, Twilight’s friends, Shining Armor, and even poor Spike. They were all cocooned upside-down in the fortress of the Changeling Hive, their magic nullified. Twilight tried to think how they could escape, but she found thinking difficult. The gel dulled her senses.
For once, some-pony was going to have to rescue them. Perhaps Starlight? Twilight did not see her cocooned with the others. But what could Starlight accomplish? Even if she were able to find them, how could she hope to win? Queen Chrysalis was a powerful, vicious war-pony. She was backed by a Hive full of scary Changelings, who were also tough fighters. And all this was before taking into account their innate ability to transform!
The heavy green fluid became too much. Twilight closed her eyes and did not try to open them again. She embraced the closing darkness willingly…
*
Twilight woke up. She was aware of a great deal of activity around her.
She looked below her and saw numerous drones frantically flying in and out through yawning tunnels in the walls. She spotted Queen Chrysalis standing on Princess Celestia’s cocoon, gesturing wildly and shouting orders. Twilight could not hear what she was saying, but she could feel the air vibrations from Chrysalis’ powerful voice.
Twilight did not understand what was happening. Perhaps Chrysalis was getting ready to drain them? Knowing her vanity, she was likely to make a show out of it. She was going to drain alicorns, after all.
The fluid weighed down on Twilight, and she closed her eyes again. She wondered if there were something in the fluid that acted as a kind of tranquilizer, she kept nodding off…
More time passed. Twilight awoke again and saw that the Atrium had cleared. But she could still sense Chrysalis lurking among the cocoons; her dark, powerful presence was inescapable. But Twilight sensed some-pony else enter the Atrium. Queen Chrysalis spoke, her smooth, dark voice filling the chamber. Even with her ears filled with fluid, Twilight could understand her words:
“Well, well. A little pony, all by herself. However shall I stop this daring rescue?”
Twilight’s mind was sluggish. A long moment elapsed before she registered what Chrysalis had just said. Rescue? Some-pony had come to rescue them? She looked to the floor below her. The room was filled with drones, some of whom stood circled around a single drone with teal fins. Queen Chrysalis herself was on the ground, prowling among the alcoves. She was hunting.
Twilight shut her eyes again. She did not want to see what Chrysalis would do to whomever had come to the rescue. But she could sense a struggle happening. She hoped whomever had come to save them would not suffer too much at the Queen’s hooves.
There was a flash of light. That was probably Chrysalis draining her latest victim…
And then there was a brighter flash of light, followed by a tremendous shockwave. Twilight tried to open her eyes to see what was happening, but the green fluid had sealed her eyes shut.
Even more flashing happened. And then there was a great tremor, and Twilight felt herself falling through space. She had no time to register this change before she hit the ground and her cocoon burst open.
Twilight Sparkle lay on a stone floor. The cold air made her shiver. She was covered in green ooze—the green fluid had congealed upon exposure to air—and felt disoriented. Around her, she could hear her friends moaning as they disentangled themselves from their cocoons. She heard Discord the draconequus call anxiously for Fluttershy, and she heard his joy when Fluttershy answered him. She also heard the buzzing of countless wings.
A pink hoof helped Twilight to her feet.
“Starlight?” asked Twilight blearily. She looked around. The Atrium was gone; now she was standing outside in the middle of a plateau, surrounded by ruins. Her friends and family were covered in slime, but none the worse for wear.
But what grabbed Twilight’s attention were the dozens of beautiful insect ponies hovering above them. Their bodies were in every color of the rainbow, with lovely compound eyes like gems, and a collar of crystals around their throats. They were the size of ponies, save for one that stood before her. This creature was taller, with a lemon-colored carapace, tangerine antlers, and a lime midsection. Its wings and tail were a semi-transparent violet.
“What happened?” Twilight asked.
Starlight stiffened awkwardly. “We defeated the Changelings—with no magic at all! …They found a new leader…and they’re all kinda good now?” Starlight smiled anxiously. She sounded like even she did not quite believe what she had said.
The tall changeling came up behind Starlight and nodded. Twilight suddenly recognized him: Thorax!
Princess Luna stepped forward. “Well done, Starlight Glimmer!” she said proudly. “It seems as though you learned a great deal since we last spoke—”
She was cut off by the sound of falling rubble. Every-pony turned and saw two very large oblong boulders, close to a sort of cliff, explode. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat as the furious form of Queen Chrysalis emerged from the rubble. She most definitely had not reformed. She hissed furiously at them, her horn glowing green.
Twilight spread her wings and powered her own horn. Her friends readied to fight. Spike put up his fists. Shining Armor stood ready to charge. The Sisters, Princess Cadance, and Discord took on defensive positions. Even Flurry Heart angrily readied her tiny horn. Thorax lit his antlers. And the reformed Changelings glowered at their old Queen.
Chrysalis froze upon seeing this great opposition. She un-lit her horn and looked away. She fumbled around the debris for a bit before pulling out her tiara. It was covered in dust and missing a nodule.
Twilight steeled herself. What were they going to do with her? But before Twilight could say anything, Starlight approached Chrysalis.
“When Twilight and her friends defeated me, I chose to run away and seek revenge,” she began. “You don’t have to! You can be the leader your subjects deserve!” She held out her hoof.
And for a moment, something about Chrysalis seemed to change. The fury passed, and something like vulnerability came into her eyes. She looked away from Starlight, towards Twilight and her friends. Twilight’s anger at Chrysalis mixed with hope. Was this it? Was Chrysalis going to become another former villain turned friend?
Chrysalis’ gaze fell on something behind Twilight. Her eyes widened and her body tensed before she turned her attention back to Starlight. She extended her hoof toward Starlight’s outstretched one, and for a moment, Twilight was sure she would take it. Suddenly, Starlight gasped as Chrysalis pinned her hoof to the ground. She brought her gaunt face close to Starlight’s.
“How dare you invade my Hive, corrupt my subjects, and then offer me my own throne!” fumed Chrysalis. “There is no revenge that you could ever conceive of that will come close to what I will exact upon you one day! All of you!” Her eyes danced madly as she turned her hateful face to the other ponies. “I’ll cut your throats and drink your blood!”
Twilight gasped. She had never heard any-pony make such a violent threat before.
Chrysalis was not finished. She glowered furiously at Thorax. “And I’ll be back for you too, grub! I’ll have your head for this!”
Princess Celestia slammed her hoof down. “That’s quite enough! Have it your way, then!”
“Let’s get her!” roared Shining Armor.
Every-pony charged. But Chrysalis hoisted Starlight up with one hoof and tossed her into them, and they stumbled while Chrysalis cartwheeled off the cliff and took flight. By the time Twilight and her friends untangled themselves, Chrysalis was well out of range, a black dot disappearing into the horizon.
And just like that, it was over. Every-pony breathed a sigh of relief. Twilight was glad they did not have to fight Chrysalis; her time in the cocoon had left Twilight feeling a little languid. But she had enough clarity to wrap a hoof around Starlight’s shoulders and smile encouragingly. Starlight was obviously shaken, but brightened after seeing her mentor’s face. Twilight was very proud of her student, and Starlight knew it.
Princess Celestia approached Thorax.
“Thorax, as the new leader of the Changelings, I look forward to discussing how we can improve our relationship in the future. However,” she added, turning to Twilight, “For the moment, perhaps it is best that we leave…”
Princess Celestia trailed off. Her eyes widened as she stared incredulously at something behind Twilight. Twilight turned around.
Standing before them was a little dark alicorn filly, with a violet mane and large cyan cat-slit eyes. She wore a silver peytral with a piece of chatoyant black wood set as a gem, and her slender body was surprisingly toned for a filly of her apparent age. Her eyes were very wide, the pupils shrunk to thin slits, and she was shaking very hard.
“That’s her,” whispered Starlight, awed. “Nightmare Moon.”
Twilight nodded, captivated. Although she had seen Thorax change into this filly four moons prior, it did not compare with the reality.
Every-pony else noticed the filly. There were gasps of surprise, especially from Trixie (what was she doing here?) and Discord. Trixie’s eyes shrank to tiny pinpricks. She pointed stupidly at the filly and sputtered a succession of sounds that failed to become words. Discord’s jaw literally hit the ground. He popped out his manic yellow eyes, rubbed them several times on his scarf, and then stuck them back into their sockets.
For a moment, it felt as though they were frozen in time. Then, Princess Celestia cautiously approached the filly. Nightmare Moon looked away and stared straight at the ground. She stiffened as Princess Celestia knelt down beside her.
“Hello, little one,” she said warmly. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”
The filly made no reply. She did not seem to hear Princess Celestia at all.
A voice hissed into Twilight’s ear: “Who is that?” It was Trixie.
“Her?” replied Twilight nervously. “Well, that…that’s kind of a long story.”
“O ho, I think I should like to hear this one!” said Discord. He was a dragonequus, a curious creature that had a long body like a snake and limbs from numerous other creatures. His face reminded Twilight of a goat. “Has little Twilight kept a little secret from us little folk?” Discord made himself smaller each time he said “little,” until he was the size of a parasprite.
“It was kind of a need-to-know sort of thing,” said Starlight. “If you’ll step over here, I’ll try to explain.”
“Yeah, please?” squeaked Trixie, eyeing Nightmare Moon nervously. The three stepped aside, and Twilight turned her attention back to Princess Celestia and the filly.
“I know this is all very sudden,” Princess Celestia was saying. “A lot of big changes are going to happen. But I don’t want you to worry! I promise everything is going to be alright.”
Princess Celestia draped a wing over the filly. She stiffened as the wing touched her. Twilight felt a pang of pity wring her heart. Poor filly, not able to respond properly to Princess Celestia! Chrysalis must have traumatized her!
Applejack—the real one--came up behind Twilight. “That’s her, huh?” she asked. “She’s sure littler than I was expectin’.”
“Little?” exclaimed Dash. “Look at those muscles! Twilight, you didn’t tell me she was so jacked!”
“But she’s so young!” exclaimed Rarity. “She looks younger than Sweetie Belle!”
Twilight took stock of the filly. Nightmare Moon was indeed very young; she looked hardly older than five, perhaps six. But, as Dash had pointed out, she also displayed a surprising amount of muscle tone for a filly her age. Just how hard was life in the Hive?
“She looks so scared!” said Fluttershy, a skittish pale-yellow Pegasus with a light rose-colored mane. Her cutie mark consisted of several butterflies, with wings the same color as her mane. “Poor thing! Is she going to be okay?”
“I don’t know, Fluttershy,” replied Twilight. “She looks really shaken.”
“Well, who can blame her?” interjected Rarity. “I can’t imagine how awful her imprisonment by Chrysalis was. The poor little dear!”
“Well, she’s free now,” said Princess Cadance, Flurry Heart in hoof. “But what are we going to do with her?”
Princess Celestia looked up. “I’m not certain. Perhaps we should ask the Changelings what they think?”
The Changelings became very anxious all of a sudden. None of them spoke. Gradually, every-ling began to look to Thorax, as though expecting him to tell them what to do. Understanding this, Thorax—King Thorax! —stepped forward.
“Perhaps Princess Nightmare should go with you?” he suggested. Despite his change in stature, he sounded the same. He was nervous, unused to giving instructions rather than receiving them. “I mean, she is an alicorn. It makes sense she should be with her own tribe, right?”
“Yes,” replied Princess Celestia. “Yes, I think that would be the best course of action.” Neither she nor any-pony else noticed the brief scowl that flew across Nightmare Moon’s face. “But we need to discuss where she will be going.”
Twilight tilted her head, confused. “We do? Don’t you want to take her in?”
“I’m not so sure that would be a good idea, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said carefully. “I have a very busy schedule. I don’t believe I will be able to provide her with the kind of close attention she will no doubt require.”
“Well, what about you, Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, turning to the blue alicorn behind her. “She did technically come from you. Perhaps you could take her in?”
She stopped. Princess Luna had frozen; she stared dazedly at the little filly. Twilight wondered if she had even heard her.
“Okay, maybe not,” said Twilight, exchanging a worried glance with Princess Celestia.
“I was afraid of this,” sighed Princess Celestia. “We can’t take her in, Twilight. Our history with the original Nightmare Moon will cast a pallor over us should we try to raise her. That would prove disastrous for her as well as ourselves.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” said Starlight, re-joining them. She had finished talking with Discord and Trixie, who were now listening to the conversation the princesses were having. Discord seemed particularly interested. “How about Princess Cadance? She already has an alicorn foal, and she foal-sat before that! She’d know how to take care of Nightmare, right?”
Princess Cadance considered this, bobbing Flurry Heart up and down in her hooves. “I guess. But Flurry Heart takes up a lot of our time, and that’s on top of running the Crystal Empire. I don’t think we could dedicate a lot of time to her.” She turned to her husband. “What do you think, Shiny?”
Shining Armor studied the filly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said at last. “In fact, I think it would be best if we placed her under observation.”
“Observation?” Princess Cadance repeated, frowning. “Shining, she’s a foal.”
“A foal Nightmare Moon,” Shining argued. “Who has spent the last twenty-two moons with Queen Chrysalis.” His gaze became hard. “We need to be sure she isn’t dangerous before we decide what to do with her!”
“Shining Armor, I can’t believe you!” scolded Princess Cadance. “We just freed that filly from Chrysalis, and now you want to put her inside another prison? What is wrong with you?”
Shining faltered. “I didn’t mean it like that! But you remember what Flurry Heart was like before we got her magic under control! I can only imagine what kind of harm Nightmare Moon can do after spending nearly two years with Chrysalis!”
Princess Celestia spoke up.
“I understand your concerns, Prince Shining. However, I do think your family would be the best place to send her. She is an alicorn, so she is a princess according to Equestrian tradition. As such, I quite agree with Thorax—this filly would be best fostered among ponies of her own tribe.” She nodded at Princess Cadance. “Princess Cadance is an alicorn, and so too is your daughter. Don’t you think it would be best if Nightmare Moon were raised around other two alicorns, who could set an example for her to follow?”
Shining Armor was unconvinced.
“I get it, your Highness, I really do! But we don’t know a lot about her! She might be dangerous, and I don’t want to risk my daughter’s safety. Besides,” he added. “I’m not sure how the Crystal Ponies would react to that creat—pony. After Sombra, I think they’d be suspicious of a dark-colored pony with weird eyes!”
“O, how indeed!” laughed Discord, coming up suddenly behind Shining Armor. “Funny how you know what they’ll think!” He pressed his grinning face closer to Shining’s. “Is it really the Crystal Ponies you’re speaking for? Or some-pony else?”
Shining Armor bit his lower lip, avoiding Discord’s eyes. Twilight felt disappointed in her brother. Little Nightmare Moon needed their help, but Shining Armor was treating her with mistrust and resentment? What sort of impression would that make? She glanced around at the Changelings around her. They no longer looked cheerful; a few of them even looked a little offended. Thorax was frowning. And from the tunnels, more drones were coming up, many of them still un-Reformed. Twilight was not a politically savvy pony, but even she realized that this was not a good look.
Twilight turned her attention back to the filly. She was a dead ringer for the original Nightmare Moon, there was no denying that. But she had not done anything wrong as far as Twilight could see. She looked helpless and sad, staring at the ground and shivering in the cold January air. It made Twilight want to give her a hug.
But Thorax was right: this filly should be fostered by an alicorn. Cadance would be a good choice, but Shining’s behavior removed her from the list of eligible candidates. And since the Sisters could not take her in either, Twilight’s course became very clear.
“I’ll take her in.”
Every-pony looked at Twilight incredulously. “Are you sure, Twilight?” Princess Celestia asked. “Taking care of a filly is very difficult. And I have a hunch that this filly is more of a hoof-ful than she appears.”
“I’m sure,” replied Twilight confidently.
Her friends exchanged worried glances. Even Discord arched a brow.
“But is this really a good idea?” asked Starlight. “I mean, you’re you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight demanded.
Discord smirked. “She means you’ll have another of your famous freak outs!”
“What? No!” sputtered Twilight.
Princess Cadance grimaced. “Well, you have had moments with Flurry. Remember that time you foal-sat her? You were ready to tear your mane out by the time we came to pick her up!”
Twilight’s ears flattened, but she took a deep breath and strengthened her resolve. “I know this is a huge responsibility. And I know that I don’t always handle stress well…” Discord snorted. “But I know that with the help of my friends, we can overcome any challenge together. That is,” she added. “If you’ll help me?”
Twilight’s friends looked at each other briefly. Then they smiled.
“Well, shucks, Sugarcube,” said Applejack. “When ya’ put it like that, I reckon we can help ya’ out with her!”
“You can count on me!” said Dash. “This will be so cool! She has wings, so we can totally race! I bet she’s fast!”
“O, that poor dear looks so scared!” said Fluttershy. “I’ll do whatever I can to help!”
“She looks dreadfully grungy!” said Rarity. “We must have her cleaned up at once!”
“And I have to throw her a super-duper triple birthday party to make up for all the birthdays I missed!” squeaked Pinkie Pie, a hyper pink Earth pony with a fluffy, cerise-colored mane and a cutie mark of three balloons.
“Thank you,” said Twilight. “All of you!”
“This is a huge responsibility, Twilight,” said Princess Cadance. “Believe me, I know! But you have my support. If you have any questions or need any help, we’re only a dragon-letter away.”
Shining Armor stepped forward. “I can’t say I approve of Nightmare Moon staying with you,” he said sheepishly. “But if you’re really serious about this, then I’ve got your back. If any-pony can handle her, it’s you, Twily.”
Twilight turned to Princess Luna. “What about you?”
Princess Luna blinked. “Sorry, what?”
“Do you have any problem with this filly coming to live with me?”
Princess Luna seemed to come back to herself. Her voice regained its regal composure. “No, Twilight Sparkle. No problem. But my Sister and I shall check in as much as we can.”
Princess Celestia stood. “That settles it, then. We shall send Princess Nightmare Moon to stay with Princess Twilight in Ponyville.”
“Ponyville,” mused Thorax. “With all those forests surrounding it? Yes, I think she would like that. There’s more to offer her in Ponyville than in the Badlands.”
“Thank you,” said Twilight. “I shall do my best to take care of her properly.” She turned to the little filly. “Did you hear that?” Twilight asked, in the warmest voice she could muster. “You’re coming to live with me!”
The filly made no response. She stared at the ground and said nothing.
“So, she’s coming to stay with us,” said Starlight uneasily. “That’s…certainly going to be a change of pace!”
“Well, the more the merrier!” said Spike, with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.
“O ho! Isn’t this going to be fun!” exclaimed Discord. “Imagine! Nightmare Moon, coming to live with Princess Twilight in the Castle of Friendship!”
“No, we’re not going to keep calling her “Nightmare Moon,”” said Twilight, frowning. “We should change it.”
“You’re going to change her name?” asked Thorax uneasily.
“Of course,” replied Twilight. ““Nightmare Moon” has too much of a stigma attached to it in Equestria. She needs a new name.”
“That’s sensible,” said Rarity. “What shall we call her then?”
Pinkie Pie raised an excitable hoof. “O, I know! I know! Black Snooty! No, that’s not nice at all, is it? O! O! How about “Black Beauty?” That’s way better than “Black Snooty”, right?”
Rarity face-hooved. “No, Pinkie, that is the absolutely most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard of! She’s an alicorn—a princess! She simply couldn’t show her face in public with a name like that! She needs a name more proper for her station, a name with class! A name that is unique and magnifique!”
“Like what?” asked Pinkie Pie, tilting her head.
“Perhaps Selena?” offered Princess Luna.
“That’s a pretty name, Aunty,” said Princess Cadance, as she cradled Flurry Heart in her forehooves. Flurry had noticed Nightmare Moon now, and looked unsure whether to be afraid of her or not.
“Selena?” mused Twilight. “I don’t know. That might be a little too fancy. Something simpler, perhaps.”
“Ooh, I have an idea!” Discord said, leaning in so that he and the filly were nearly nose to nose. “Why don’t we ask her what she wants to be called?”
The filly’s eyes widened. She shrank back from Discord.
“Discord!” scolded Fluttershy. She brushed past him and Princess Celestia, and placed a wing over the filly’s shoulder. “You’re scaring her! O, you poor thing,” she added soothingly. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be scared anymore!”
The filly did not reply. She went back to staring at the ground.
Twilight pondered a moment. “How about…Nyx?”
“Nyx?” Princess Cadance asked, smiling. “You mean, like the old stories? I remember reading those to you when you were small.”
“Yeah, figures you’d pick a name out of a book,” chuckled Dash. “Hey, sounds good to me! Its fast and, like, has an X in it! That makes it X-tremely awesome!”
“I suppose, if you think that works,” sighed Rarity. “O dear. I liked Selena better…”
“Nyx?” asked Thorax. “I think I’ve heard that name before…was that some-pony important?”
Princess Celestia smiled. “Nyx is a mare from pony folklore. She had a black coat and protected her village from fearsome monsters.”
Some of the Changelings exchanged knowing glances.
“I guess that works,” said one.
“Suits her,” said another.
“I guess that sounds alright,” said Thorax. He still sounded uncertain.
“I think it is a wonderful name,” said Princess Celestia. “Luna?”
Princess Luna nodded. “I have no objections.”
“Nyx it is then,” said Twilight. She smiled at her new ward. “How do you like your new name, Nyx?”
The newly-christened “Nyx” made no comment on her new name. But she was shaking, hard. Twilight suddenly realized how cold it was.
“O, you must be freezing!” exclaimed Twilight. “Thorax, does Nyx have a coat?”
“She does,” replied Thorax. “It’s probably in the Queen’s chambers—along with her other belongings.”
“Nyx has belongings?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Chrysalis gave her things?”
“Um, yeah? Not a lot of stuff, I guess. We—we don’t value things the way ponies do.”
“I guess we’re going to have to go and get it,” huffed Starlight.
“I don’t know if she would even want any of that, after all she has been through,” mused Twilight. She turned her attention back to Nyx. “Do you want to go and fetch your belongings?”
Nyx nodded slowly, without looking up from the floor.
Twilight turned to her friends. “We’re going to collect Nyx’s things and grab her coat.”
Princess Celestia suddenly looked anxious. “That sounds like a good idea,” she said quickly. “I think I shall accompany you…Chrysalis may have had her hooves on some dangerous artifacts. If so, I can help identify them. Luna? I need you to return to Canterlot. We need to assess the situation there.”
Princess Luna nodded. “Of course, Sister. Discord? Could you snap us home?”
“Puh-lease, Lu-Lu! Easier done than said! Any-pony else want to take the Discord express?” Discord suddenly wore a train conductors’ uniform, and sported a ridiculously large moustache. He checked a pocket watch, and then pulled Princess Luna’s tale, which caused her to make a sound like a steam-whistle. She pulled her tail out of Discord’s grip and glared at him.
“Us, please,” said Princess Cadance. “We need to return to the Crystal Empire before any-pony realizes we’re gone.”
“Gone?” repeated Thorax. “That reminds me…we should probably send a message to the drones posing as you…tell them to return to the Hive…”
A couple of reformed drones exchanged glances, and then flew down a nearby tunnel.
“Will you be alright here, Twily?” Shining asked.
“I’ll be fine,” Twilight replied, curtly. She still felt irritated with Shining for his earlier behavior.
Shining’s face fell. “Okay, then. Cadance and I will get things straightened out in the Crystal Empire. Then, we’ll come down to see how you and your new…charge are coming along.”
“Good idea. I’ll see you all in a couple of days.” Shining made his way over to his wife, who arched a brow and frowned at him as he approached her. Cadance was not happy with him either.
“So, we have four royals leaving to try and keep order in their houses,” Discord said. He yawned. “How droll. Any other takers?”
“Not me,” said Starlight. “I think I’ll go down with Princess Twilight to help Princess Night—Nyx pack.”
“I reckon we’ll come along, too,” said Applejack.
“Yeah, I want to see what kind of stuff Chrysalis was hiding!” exclaimed Dash. “I bet she has, like, super-secret treasure hidden in there!”
“I want to inspect this coat of Nyx’s,” sniffed Rarity. “I do hope it isn’t too drab looking.”
“I better come too,” said Spike. “In case we need to make an inventory or something.”
“You can count me out!” said Trixie. “Trixie has had more than enough excitement for one day! Trixie just wants to go home and recover from this terrible ordeal! I’m very delicate!” She leaned in close to Starlight. “You’ll be alright? Going down there with…her?” She pointed a hoof at Nyx.
“I’ll be fine, Trixie,” said Starlight, rolling her eyes and smiling. “Really. She’s only a little filly. She doesn’t go around gobbling ponies up, that’s just a story.”
None of the ponies noticed the uneasy glances the drones gave each other, or the worried look Princess Celestia exchanged with Thorax.
“Right, a little filly...who happens to be Nightmare Moon.” Her voice was very shrill. “You have fun with that! Just do me one favor: could you let Trixie know what kind of candy she likes?”
Starlight arched a brow. “And why do you need to know that?”
“No reason,” laughed Trixie nervously. “Just asking.”
Starlight rolled her eyes and smiled. “Alright, I’ll tell you when I find out.” Trixie nodded and trotted over to where the Crystal Royal Family and Princess Luna stood. Discord snapped his talons, and they were gone in a flash.
“Well, that was fun,” drawled Discord. “I guess now it’s time to go have a look at Queen Meanie’s private chambers. O look, little Nyx is already off!”
Twilight turned around. Nyx was prowling toward the same tunnel she had come in from. Twilight had not heard her leave.
“O, Nyx! Wait up!” Twilight hurried after her, her friends following in her wake.
They made their way inside the Hive. Twilight Sparkle was fascinated by all that she saw. She had seen many strange things in her lifetime, but the architecture of the Hive was totally alien to her. The walls were solid like stone, yet somehow organic at the same time. The entrances to the many tunnels opened and closed like yawning mouths, branching off into every conceivable direction. The Hive was dimly lit, the only illumination coming from strange glowing crystals embedded in the walls, ground, and ceiling. The fortress felt less like it had been built so much as grown. If geometry had been used to build this place, it was with a kind of geometry Twilight had never seen before.
The Hive was occupied by hundreds of Changeling drones, and most of them had not Reformed yet. They stood and watched curiously, not only on the ground, but also on the walls and ceilings. None of them made a move to stop them. Occasionally, Twilight spotted a Reformed drone speaking with some un-Reformed ones. Twilight guessed they were discussing the events of the Atrium. The un-Reformed drones seemed to be listening carefully. Many of them gave Thorax considerable interest.
Twilight turned her attention back to Nyx, her mind bursting with questions. The scientist in her found the filly’s unique attributes intriguing. Her cyan cat-slit eyes attracted the most attention. They glowed in the darkness, illuminating the way before her. No surprise there, but Twilight found herself puzzled by some of her other characteristics. Nyx moved silently and with a strange gait; she did not trot so much as creep, her shoulders rising at the withers every time she took a step. She walked one side at a time, left side, right side. It was not a pony-like walk; ponies walked with a diagonal gate, front left and back right, front right and back left. Twilight remembered her previous encounters with Nightmare Moon, and could not recall her ever moving in such fashion. Was this the result of living around Chrysalis? Having to creep around Chrysalis, lest Nyx set the Changeling Queen off?
But Nyx was not the only pony walking strangely.
“Starlight? Are you okay? You’re walking kind of weird.”
Starlight grimaced. “I’m fine. But my flank is sore from when Chrysalis bit my tail and threw me against the wall!”
“Gracious me! I did not realize Chrysalis had brutalized you so!” exclaimed Rarity, shocked.
“Are you going to be alright?” Fluttershy asked, concerned. “She also threw you at us before she flew away. That must have hurt a lot!”
Starlight nodded. “It did! But I’ll be fine.”
No-pony noticed Nyx smirk upon hearing this exchange. It was very brief, and when Twilight looked down at her, her expression had once more become blank.
The party soon found themselves in a more ornate corridor. Twilight could see a large door, which seemed entirely out of place compared to the rest of the Hive. In front of the doors stood a quartet of guards. Three of them were normal un-Reformed changelings. A fourth, wearing armor that Twilight had come to recognized as those of an officer, was a little larger, with purple fins and eyes.
They hissed at them, and then the purple-eyed drone stepped forward. “Who are you?” he growled, in a deep, harsh voice. He peered up at Thorax. “What are you?”
“It’s me, Pharynx,” said Thorax. “It’s Thorax.”
“Thorax?” said Pharynx, amazed. He looked his brother up and down. “What happened to you? What happened up there?” he added, pointing at the ceiling. “We heard an explosion, and then rubble fell. Where is The Queen? Is she alright?”
“Chrysalis is gone,” said Thorax. “I…I’m in charge now.”
Pharynx raised an eyebrow. “You? Don’t be ridiculous. You couldn’t lead yourself to water standing next to a lake, never mind the Hive!” He looked Thorax up and down. “You look like a moose wrestled a can of paint and lost. No Changeling with eyes would want to follow you! I am going to ask again, and this time I expect an answer: where is the Queen?”
“I…we chased her away.”
Pharynx and the other drones gasped.
“You…helped chase the Queen away?” Pharynx cried. “Thorax, what were you thinking? We need The Queen to protect the Hive!” He pointed at the ponies. “You helped them chase her away? You expect us to call you our new leader, after treason such as this?” He was shaking. “What about Princess Nightmare? Did you chase her away too?”
Nyx stepped forward. Pharynx gasped, and he and the other drones bowed reverently. Nyx did not acknowledge this, but instead strode toward the chamber door. The drones stepped aside, and one of them opened the door with his magic. Nyx disappeared inside, and the drone closed the door behind her. Twilight made to follow Nyx, but Pharynx blocked her path.
“And just where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.
“Inside to help Nyx,” explained Twilight. “We’re here to help her pack.”
“Nyx? Who in blazes is that?”
Twilight pointed towards the door. Pharynx’s eyes widened, but then he spread his wings defensively.
“Princess Nightmare isn’t going anywhere,” snarled Pharynx. “She’s our princess, and I have no intention of hoofing her over to the likes of you!”
Dash darted close to his face. “Just a moment, buster! Nyx is coming with us, and if you think you’re going to stop that, you’re—whoa!”
Pharynx grabbed Dash with his forehooves and slammed her into the ground. He held back her forehooves, and pinned her right wing to the ground.
Every-pony gasped. Dash was stupefied. “What?” she asked, dazed. “What just happened?”
“You Pegasus ponies are all alike,” sneered Pharynx. “You think because you control the weather, it makes you tough stuff! Then you act so lost when you get your flanks handed to you by true warriors!”
Princess Celestia was indignant. “Un-hoof Rainbow Dash at once!”
Pharynx’s lip curled. “Why don’t you come make me, your Highness? You’ll have to try harder than last night—they tell me you and your Sister were the easiest to take!”
Princess Celestia’s nostrils flared. Twilight was amazed. Did he understand whom he was speaking to?”
Thorax stepped forward. “Pharynx, would you let Rainbow Dash go? Please?”
“Please?” repeated Pharynx incredulously.
“Yes,” said Thorax. “The—the ponies aren’t our enemies anymore. And since Princess Nyx is an alicorn, I thought it would be best if she went to live among her own kind.”
Pharynx released Dash and marched right up to Thorax. “So, not only have you chased the Queen away from the Hive, you’re also hoofing Princess Nightmare over to the ponies? Are you insane?” He pointed at the door. “You do realize that she’s supposed to be in command now, right?”
Twilight blinked. Nyx was supposed to be in charge?
“Well, she isn’t old enough to rule any-pony right now,” countered Thorax. “She’s only a nymph—sorry, I mean filly. And since I have made this transformation, and learned to share love, it has been decided that I shall lead the Changelings from now on.”
Pharynx snorted. “You? A leader? Who decided that? What, you think because you had a few tea parties with the fancy princess ponies, you’re suddenly fit to run this entire Hive? You? The weak, cowardly traitor who ran away?”
Thorax flinched. Pharynx began to circle him.
“Did you honestly think we would forget? While you were off gorging yourself on love and teacakes, the rest of us went right on starving! And the Queen was furious! It’s a miracle she didn’t send a death squad after you! Want to know why I have guard duty? BECAUSE THE QUEEN WAS SUSPICIOUS OF ME AFTER YOU RAN AWAY!” Pharynx was shouting now. “AND IT WASN’T JUST HER! FOR FOUR MOONS, I HAD TO DEAL WITH EVERY-LING WHISPERING BEHIND MY BACK, TELLING EACH OTHER TO STAY AWAY FROM THE TRAITOR’S BROTHER!”
Pharynx pointed wildly at the ponies. “I AM ONE OF THE STRONGEST WARRIORS IN THE ENTIRE HIVE! I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO HELP CAPTURE OUR ENEMIES! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE ATRIUM TO PROTECT THE QUEEN! INSTEAD, I WAS FORCED TO GUARD A DOOR, AND IT IS ALL! YOUR! FAULT!”
“I—I’m sorry, Pharynx,” said Thorax. His ears had drooped.
“Yeah,” huffed Pharynx, shaking. “You are.”
The ponies held their collective breaths, unsure whether to intervene or not.
Pharynx pointed accusingly at Thorax. “And now that we Changelings have finally achieved victory over the ponies, you come back here, with more ponies and the Daemon”—he pointed at Discord, who was watching the entire exchange with amusement—“and then you blow out part of the Hive, betray the Queen, and surrender the Princess to the ponies. And after all of that, you think that makes you our leader? You’re crazier than I thought!”
Princess Celestia cautiously approached Pharynx. “I know that these changes are sudden, and may seem frightening to you,” she began. “But Thorax has demonstrated exceptional courage in returning here. I am quite pleased to say that—”
“O, shut up, you old nag!” Pharynx snapped.
Every-pony gasped. Twilight’s mouth dropped in shock. Princess Celestia looked stunned. “What?” she asked blankly.
“Pharynx!” exclaimed Thorax, mortified.
But Pharynx refused to stand down. He glowered contemptuously up at Princess Celestia.
“Don’t try to be all high and mighty with us, Your Highness,” he spat. “Don’t even pretend to care. You knew about our plight for an entire millennium, and never once did you lift a fancy, gild-shod hoof to help us! All you’ve ever done was imprison us inside volcanoes, or seal us inside our own fortresses!” He laughed suddenly, a dark snicker without any mirth. “You know something? Our nymphs are still traumatized by our last imprisonment. They sob themselves to sleep, and our broodmares spend hours reassuring them that the ponies aren’t going to come and trap us again. They would probably have nightmares—but they can’t, because you and your darling sister break into our dreams to spy on us! The only reason you couldn’t before was because our Queen’s throne blocked you out! And then there was Trot. Every-ling remembers Trot—you made sure we couldn’t!”
Pharynx held up his hooves so that the holes were clearly visible. “I was not born when Trot happened. Nor was my father, his father, and his father before that. But we’re not allowed to forget! You shot up every-ling there, even after we had given up, and then sealed us up inside a volcano as punishment for our “crime” of trying to survive! The Queen told us all about that day…she said it was the day she truly understood how the world worked! There is no good or evil; only the weak and the strong! You were stronger than us, so you sealed us away inside a volcano for years, and pretended we didn’t exist! You didn’t even lend a hoof to help us when a dragon tried to eat us all!
“But we beat you!” he added triumphantly. “We beat you. We captured your Sister, your Student, every-pony! We won. And now, only now, having seen our might, do you decide you want to be friends. Friends! Sure, only as long as your little puppet gets to be in charge!
“We see through you, pony. Don’t try to act all nice and benevolent now!” He held up his hooves again. “We never forget. It isn’t allowed!”
And with that, Pharynx spat at Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia looked as though a close friend had slapped her. Twilight was stunned and furious that any-pony could say such horrible things about her mentor. Starlight’s jaw hung open. Thorax was horrified. And Discord chuckled, drawing another claw-full of hot, extra-butter popcorn from a red bag he had summoned from nowhere.
“Okay,” whispered Pinkie Pie, backing away slowly. “This just got really intense.”
Dash stood up, shaking in rage. “How—how dare you!” she sputtered. “I—I oughta’ clean your clock for that!”
“Do it!” snarled Pharynx. “Name a time and a place, pony! I’ll be there. I’ll beat you again! I’ll make you taste the earth! You’ll learn what it means to battle a true Changeling warrior!”
Twilight finally found her voice. “But this is Princess Celestia!” she sputtered. “The pony who raises the sun. Do you really want to insult her like that?”
Pharynx sneered. “What’s she gonna do? Give me more holes? Kill me?” He turned his attention back to Princess Celestia. “Go ahead, then! Kill Me! Vaporize me with your magic! I’m not afraid! I’ll show you how a true Changeling warrior dies!” He snorted and stamped his hoof, readying for battle. But Princess Celestia did not respond in kind. She looked upon him pityingly.
“I am sorry, Captain Pharynx,” she said softly. “But protecting my little ponies is my first priority. My duty is very clear.”
“As is mine,” growled Pharynx. “To serve, to kill, to die. That has always been our way.”
Thorax stepped forward. “That’s enough, Pharynx. No-pony is killing any-ling, and no-ling is killing any-pony. That—that way is done.
“Listen to me, all of you,” Thorax continued, addressing the other drones as well. “I know that we have been stealing love from ponies for centuries now. That we have only seen ponies as our enemies…as our prey.” He swallowed nervously. “But…I have found a new way. A better way. I have learned that it is better to share love instead of taking it. In order to receive love, we have to give love. That is how I was able to achieve this form. It’s how we were able to chase away the wicked old Queen. No longer do we have to starve for love—now we can make our own!”
Pharynx scoffed. “Seriously, Thorax? That is the prissiest fluff I have ever heard in my life! Cute speech, lots of pretty little words, but it doesn’t mean a thing to—huh?”
Two bright flashes of light burst out from two guard drones as they levitated into the air. The flashing pulsated for a moment, and then the two guards descended. The light faded away, and there now stood two beautiful Reformed Changelings. One had turned lime-green, while the other had become turquoise, with magenta eyes and wings.
Twilight was mesmerized. So that was how that transformation worked! How beautiful! They had been ugly and scary before; now, they were beautiful and friendly! Truly a victory for friendship! She whooped and cheered with her friends. Thorax beamed. Pharynx was stunned. “You have got to be kidding,” he said.
“Yeah!” cheered Dash. She grinned at Pharynx. “Well! What’d’ya gotta say about that, Pharynx?”
“They look pathetic,” replied Pharynx, glaring disdainfully at them. “Weak. They are no longer of any use to our army.”
Twilight’s smiled faded. Pharynx had just seen the benefit of reforming! Why was he still so surly?
“We aren’t an army anymore,” said Thorax gently. “We no longer need conquest to feed ourselves. Chrysalis is gone now. We’re free.”
“Free?” spat Pharynx. “Free to do what? Free to roll over and let our enemies take away our only remaining weapon?” He moved closer to Thorax, almost nose to nose. “I know you, brother. You haven’t any guts at all. The minute a bugbear or a dragon shows up, you’ll flee in an instant! Or curl up and beg them not to eat you.” He pointed at the ponies again. “You are a fool if you think the ponies will stay friendly towards us! They’ll only tolerate us while they find us useful. The minute we have a disagreement, they’ll come and stamp us out! And they won’t have to try very hard, because you ran off our Queen and surrendered our Princess!
“I bet they’ll kill her! As soon as they get the Princess out of our sight, they’ll vaporize her so she won’t be a threat!”
Twilight had enough. “HOW DARE YOU!” she shouted furiously, slamming her hoof down on the stone floor. Both Changelings jumped. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU THINK WE WOULD HURT A CHILD!” Every-pony stepped back in amazement. Discord let out a low whistle. Twilight took a few breathes to calm herself before continuing on.
“I understand if you believe you have grievances, Captain Pharynx. But you don’t know anything about ponies if you think we intend to harm Nyx! I’m taking her in because she is a pony, and she belongs with us!”
Pharynx’s lip curled. “You think she’s a pony?”
“Of course!” replied Twilight. “A very special pony, but a pony nonetheless!”
“Yeah!” said Pinkie Pie cheerfully. “Can’t get any more special than her, no—sir—ee!”
“She’ll be safe with us,” continued Twilight. “And happy, now that she’s free from Chrysalis! All of you are free from her! Thorax told us how cruelly she has treated all of you. Now that she’s gone, you don’t have to suffer in fear any longer!”
A voice spoke up. “And what does a pampered little brat like you know about suffering?” It was the un-Reformed drone by the door.
“What?” asked Twilight, faltering. The drone stepped forward and Twilight got a better look at him. She saw that it was an old changeling. His face was wrinkled, and the blue of his wings and fins had faded to a dark silver. He took careful steps, yet in spite of his age he seemed robust. And when he spoke, his voice was strong, yet carried the unmistakable warbling fry of a stallion advanced in years.
But the most distinctive feature of this drone was his left compound eye. It was milky white, with a long white scar running across it, from his left ear down to his left cheek. His other eye was sharp and clear, the only part of his body that still retained any vibrancy.
“Our Queen knew all about suffering,” the old Changeling spat. “She suffered with us. She starved with us. She was always scheming on our behalf, planning how best to keep us all fed. Her will is not to be questioned. She is to always be obeyed. And if she saw fit to hoof out harsh punishments for our indiscretions, so be it! That is her right as Queen! Serves us right too, I reckon!”
His body shook with dogmatic intensity. “Hail Chrysalis!” he shouted, spittle raining from his mouth. “Queen of Changelings!”
“All hail,” murmured Pharynx.
“All hail the Scourge of the Sun! May the rivers of Equus run red with the blood of her enemies! Hail!”
Twilight stepped back in horror. She had encountered talk like this before. She had heard something like it back when she had first met Starlight Glimmer, from the adherents of Starlight’s cult. And she had heard it a time before that. She had heard it on a dark night in the middle of the Everfree Forest, from a soft-spoken but cruel stallion, just before she felt the icy prick of his knife...
Twilight rubbed her right shin with her left hoof. She did not register doing it.
Thorax frowned. “That is quite enough, Mandible. No matter how you may feel about it, Chrysalis is gone. We’re going to have to go on without her.”
“Don’t talk to me like that, young grub!” snarled Mandible. Twilight noticed he was missing a lot of teeth. “I’ve stood guard over proper royalty for fifty-seven years! I have served a true Queen, and for nearly two years now I have stood guard over a Princess! She’s twice the Changeling you’ll ever be, grub!”
“That’s quite enough of that!” said the turquoise drone. Twilight realized it was a mare. “The old Queen is gone, and no-pony knows where she is! Until we find her and settle things, we are going to need a new leader! Thorax will have to do, and he has decided to send the Princess to live with the alicorns! And he’s right to do so! You know none of us can take of her the way the Queen could! At least in Equestria, there will be lots of woods and forests! You know how she loves them!”
Nyx liked forests? She must be a nature lover! Twilight decided to arrange a hiking trip in White Tail Woods, after winter wrapped up.
The old changeling grumbled. “I suppose there’s more for her there than here in the Badlands. But I don’t like it.” He pointed at the ponies. “I don’t trust any of ‘em one bit! They’re our enemies, always have been. I reckon they’re just biding their time before they destroy us all.” He shot the ponies a final glare before taking wing and flying back up the hall, vanishing through a hole in the ceiling.
“I am very sorry about Mandible,” said the turquoise drone, bowing to the ponies apologetically. “He’s very old, and all of this is very new.” She opened the doors with her magic, before turning to Thorax and asking, “Now, Thorax: could you tell us a little more about what happened?” You can go on ahead,” she added shyly, nodding at Twilight. Twilight smiled back at her and stepped inside the Queen’s Chambers. She gasped when she saw the interior.
It was a wreck. Large pieces of ceiling lay scattered around the room. Half of a peach-colored futon lay crushed beneath a large boulder. A tea set spread out on a coffee table had been knocked over. Grotesque knick-knacks, display cases, and furniture lay smashed on their sides. Dust and debris filled a large fireplace near the futon.
Nyx stood by an antique writing desk. She wore an eggplant-colored coat, made from a thick, sturdy, pebbled material that Twilight did not recognize. Its collar fit perfectly beneath Nyx’s silver peytral. She also had on a set of large saddlebags, which Twilight recognized at once.
“Those are my old saddlebags!” Twilight exclaimed. “I wondered where those had gotten to!”
She darted forward excitedly. Nyx’s eyes widened and she stepped back against the desk. Twilight froze, realizing she had frightened the filly. Nyx must be very timid.
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” said Twilight. “But those used to be my bags. See? My name is engraved right here.”
She pointed at her nameplate. Nyx glanced at it, then turned her face to the floor. Twilight frowned, but brightened as she remembered something.
“Say, I had some books in there! Do you know where…aha!” She recognized one of the books in question lying on the desk, and picked it up with her magic. She frowned; the book felt lighter than it should have. Opening it, Twilight gasped: half of the pages were missing!
“This book is ruined!” cried Twilight despairingly. She looked at the cover. “O no! It’s the Starswirl!” She started hyperventilating.
“It will be alright, Twilight,” said Princess Celestia, carefully stepping through the debris. “I have several copies of that book in a secure location.” She took the book from Twilight and examined it carefully.
“This is normal for Chrysalis,” she said, after a moment. “Whenever she comes across a book that interests her, she destroys it after she has read it. She has been known to destroy books without even opening them, if the subject provides no interest for her.”
“She destroys books?” gasped Twilight, mortified.
“Yes. When she conquered Timbucktu, she seized all the books in the Royal Library concerning the magical sciences, tactics, weapons and barding, and herbology. But the songs and poems, epics and folklore, histories and arts…she had those piled up and burned without a second thought.”
“That—that’s terrible!” wheezed Twilight. Her head was spinning. Chrysalis burnt an entire library! This was wickedness beyond redemption! Twilight’s left ear twitched. Her lower right eyelid quivered.
“Breathe, Twilight,” instructed Princess Celestia. She lowered her voice. “Remember, you need to set an example for your new charge.”
Twilight glanced at Nyx. The filly stared back, looking Twilight in the eye for the first time. Twilight suddenly felt very uncomfortable; like she was being studied. It occurred to her that she had never seen Nyx blink. She did not have long to think about this, for Nyx looked away and went back to staring at the floor.
Remembering the breathing exercises Princess Cadance had shown her, Twilight began to breathe deeply. As she did so, she glanced at the desk. A ceramic bottle of ink had rolled off of it and smashed open upon the floor, and a cup of quills had tipped over. The quills were different colors, including several black ones Twilight suspected had come from Nyx’s own wings. And there were other books on the desk as well, lying on their sides after being knocked over by the blast. Twilight saw at once that pages were missing from these books as well. They covered many topics, such as basic mathematics, spelling, potions, herbal remedies, and elementary magic. There were also several books in foreign languages, such as Prench and Maredrish, as well as a few others she did not recognize. Twilight wondered why an ancient being like Chrysalis would have such rudimentary books.
“Gracious me, what an absolutely atrocious décor!”
Rarity was taking in the room’s furnishings with dismay. She and the rest of Twilight’s friends—and also Pharynx—had made their way inside the room.
“It used to look nicer than this,” grumbled Pharynx. “But that explosion upstairs ruined everything! This room is a safety hazard now.”
“O no. This room was a disaster before that. Look at these furnishings! Not a one of them match! And these knick-knacks! They’re so revolting!”
“Yes, Chrysalis has always had very morbid tastes,” agreed Princess Celestia, frowning at an overturned display case. It contained an enormous stuffed spider.
“O, this is such a scary room!” whispered Fluttershy anxiously. She noticed the stuffed spider and shuddered.
“Chrysalis kept Nyx locked in here?” asked Starlight incredulously. “This is hardly a place to keep a foal!”
“Yeah!” squeaked Pinkie Pie. She was examining a cabinet. “There aren’t any toys in here! No balls, no yo-yos, not even little dollies!” She brightened as she happened upon some boxes. “Ooh, here are some games!”
She lifted the boxes out of the cabinet. The designs were faded, but the titles were still legible. “Chess…Go…Warboat? These are all war games!” Pinkie frowned at one particular game. ““Imperil?” That’s funny, I’ve never heard of this game, and I know lots of games!”
“I have,” sighed Princess Celestia. “It’s a military conquest game. The first pony to conquer Equus wins. It is not a popular game in Equestria.”
Pinkie Pie grimaced and returned the boxes to the cabinet.
Rarity, meanwhile, was still examining the room. “Now, where is the bed? If this is a Queen’s chambers, one should think there would be a bed in here.”
Pharynx pointed at the futon. “There. That was her bed.”
“A futon?” asked Rarity, startled. “Chrysalis slept on that?”
“Yeah,” grunted Pharynx. “The old Queen preferred futons to beds, because they were easy to move during evacs. And easy to climb off of,” he added. “That way she could be ready at a moment’s notice when our hive was threatened. She was a true warrior.”
Twilight stared at the futon, bewildered. It was just big enough to fit Chrysalis. But if that was where Chrysalis slept, where had Nyx? Twilight did not see any other futons in the room. There were a few old wooden chairs, and an overturned rocking chair of recent vintage, but aside from those there was nothing that could conceivably serve as a bed. Had Nyx slept on the floor?
Applejack trotted over to the fireplace. “Well, let’s see if we can’t get a fire goin’. It’s gettin’ right chilly in here.” She pushed aside a large cauldron and looked inside of the grate. She let out a tremendous cry, backing away from the fireplace and falling against the futon.
“Applejack! What’s wrong?” cried Dash, flying to her friend’s side.
Applejack shakily pointed at the fireplace. “There…there are bones in there!”
“What!” cried Twilight. She made her way to the fireplace.
Sure enough, bones lay scattered in the grate. They were the bones of a boar. Twilight could tell by the skull lying haphazardly on its side, the skullcap smashed open. There were still bits of brain left inside. There was also a large roast ham sitting on the mantlepiece, the calve and hock still attached.
“O. O my stars!” groaned Rarity, her face turning green. “How…how barbaric!” She gagged and held her hoof to her mouth, fleeing into the bathroom. Fluttershy bent over the fireplace, tears streaming down her face. “That poor thing! Look, there are toothmarks all over these bones!”
This was the truth. All of the bones had toothmarks. Some bones had the ends bitten off. The limb bones had been split apart, stripped of the marrow. There were tooth marks all over the skull.
Twilight’s blood ran cold. What horrors had poor little Nyx been exposed to?
“What…what is this?” she asked, stunned.
“That’s the Queen’s roasting fireplace,” said Pharynx. His lip curled. “That’s where she roasts her prey for dinner.”
“Her prey?” asked Twilight nervously. “Is…is this what she was going to do to us after she took our love?”
Pharynx grinned. His fangs were long and sharp. “Yes,” he hissed. Twilight backed away from him. He laughed uproariously. “The Queen told us we’d have a banquet after we had our fill of love! Guess who she wanted to eat personally?” He leered wickedly at Twilight. Her blood went from cold to icy.
“That is quite enough, Pharynx!”
It was Thorax, flanked by the two Reformed drones. He sounded exasperated. “No-pony is getting eaten. Not anymore. Since the Changelings share love instead of taking it, there is no more need to eat ponies!”
“No more need?” asked Dash. “Hold up! I thought you guys only ate love from ponies, not…ponies.” She shuddered.
“Love is important for our metabolism,” replied Thorax. “We’d starve without it! But we do eat solid food. Including,” he added guiltily. “Meat.”
“Yeah,” snickered Pharynx. “It puts the emotionless husks of our prey to some practical use.” He proudly bared his fangs. “What do you think these are for?”
Twilight swallowed. A horrible thought occurred to her. “Has…has Chrysalis ever roasted…ponies in that fireplace?” Twilight pointed at Nyx. “Since she found her?”
“No, not in that fireplace,” replied the turquoise drone. “It’s a recent addition, too. It was only installed a year and a half ago.
Twilight felt slightly relieved to hear that. Only slightly. She could not bear to think what else had been roasted in that fireplace. She glanced back at it, and was astonished when Starlight approached the grate and picked up a femur with her magic. She inspected it carefully, her brow furrowed. The bone had long, wide toothmarks all over it. Starlight frowned, and then picked up a rib. The marks on it were thinner and shorter than the marks on the femur, and the marks of each tooth were closer together.
“Ugh, I can’t believe you’re picking those up, Starlight!” said Twilight. “Are you alright?”
“Sure, I’m fine! Fine!” replied Starlight. “I just…thought of something.”
“Really?” asked Twilight. “What?”
“It’s just…never mind. It’s a funny little idea. Don’t mind me!” she flashed Twilight a nervous smile as she tossed the bones back into the fireplace. But then she looked askance at Nyx, Starlight’s face a mixture of puzzlement and concern. Twilight nodded internally. Poor Starlight must have reached the same conclusion as Twilight: Chrysalis roasted and ate meat with Nyx watching! That poor little filly must be beyond traumatized!
Rarity came out of the bathroom. She seemed better, although she still looked a little green.
“I am terribly sorry, I had to freshen up after…after seeing that,” she said, waving at the fireplace. “I must say, Chrysalis has some fine pieces in here, regardless of how motley her collection is. Especially her”—she lowered her voice conspiratorially, her eye on Princess Celestia, and pointed at the bathroom door— “loo. Why, it’s sterling silver! Wherever did she find it?”
“That toilet used to belong to some pony duchess or whatever,” Pharynx explained, chuckling nastily. “She drowned in it after generously bequeathing it to our Queen. Somehow, the pony’s head got shoved down the basin, and somehow the toilet flushed her face. Thirty-seven times.” Pharynx grinned wickedly. “It was so sad!”
Rarity gaped at him. “O my stars, how horrid!” she cried. “Dear me, I could use a drink right now. Is there anything to drink in here?”
“Do I look like a butler?” snarled Pharynx.
“Ooh, here’s something!” interrupted Pinkie Pie. She had rifled through another cabinet and found a large ceramic pitcher, glazed a solid crimson. She shook it, and a thick liquid could be heard swishing around inside.
Applejack arched a brow. “Now, you be careful ‘bout drinkin’ in here. We don’t know what kind of stuff that nasty ol’ nag has in here. That there stuff sounds too thick to be cider.”
“Whatever it is, I hope it’s a good vintage,” said Rarity wearily. Pinkie Pie smiled and pulled out a goblet made of a dark polished wood. She set it and the pitcher on the coffee table.
Pharynx glanced at the jug and grinned. “O, yes. It’s a…very recent brew. The Queen liked to drink it at her leisure.”
Thorax suddenly tensed. “Um, I don’t think you should open that,” he began, but Pinkie Pie had already begun pouring.
It was a thick, deep-crimson liquid with a sharp, metallic odor.
Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened. Twilight shuddered. She knew at once what the liquid was, and it certainly was not a drink fit for ponies!
Rarity spoke at last. “Is that…blood?”
Pharynx howled with laughter. “Yup! It’s the Queen’s favorite drink!” He pointed at the fireplace. “That particular “vintage” is fresh boar’s blood! Go ahead, little pony! Have a taste!”
Rarity pushed the goblet away, looking green again. Pinkie Pie looked mortified, her fuzzy hair straightening a little. Twilight was aghast. Chrysalis had sat in this room and drank blood with Nyx watching? She looked down at the filly. Nyx had brought her head up and was staring at the wooden goblet with great interest.
Twilight was done with this awful room. The last ten minutes had been a waking nightmare. She could not imagine what it must have been like for Nyx, who had spent twenty-two moons alone in this room with Chrysalis. “We should go.”
Thorax’s ears wilted. “Already? If it’s because of the blood, we do have water in here.” He pulled a blue ceramic pitcher from the cabinet.
“Thank you, Thorax,” Twilight replied. “But I really think we need to get Nyx settled into her new surroundings as quickly as possible.”
“Really?” asked Discord sweetly. He had been watching the expressions on Twilight’s face with much amusement. “And here I thought you wanted to sort through all these wonderful things first.” He snapped his claw lazily. Several other Discords materialized and began rifling through some of the cabinets. Each of them wore tuxedos and top hats, and one even wore a monocle. This last one picked up a jade clock with praying mantis claws for hands, and examined it through the wrong end of a brass loupe. “Hm, yes, fascinating,” he said, in a theatrically pompous voice.
Princess Celestia face-hoofed. Thorax shook his head and studied Twilight carefully. Her emphasis had not been lost on him. “I see,” he said. “In that case, why don’t I send this other stuff to you later? You could shift through it then.”
“Are you sure that’s alright?” asked Princess Celestia. “There isn’t anything here you would like to keep? Relics of your people, perhaps?”
“Not really,” said Thorax. “We don’t have very many relics like that, aside from an artifact known as “The Talisman of Mirage.”” He glanced around the ruined room. “But who knows where the Queen stuck that.”
“Alright then,” said Starlight. “What does it look like?”
“It’s a kind of rod, with a bronze scarab-beetle on the top, with an amber-colored focusing gem.”
Every-pony looked around. Discord pulled out a magnifying glass and studied the stuffed spider with it. Pinkie put on a detective hat and stuck her head inside a teapot. No-pony noticed Nyx smirk and pat her saddlebags.
Thorax shrugged after a few minutes. “It’ll turn up, I guess. To be honest, I really don’t want anything to do with the old Queen around. I want the Changelings to have a fresh start.”
“Yeah, good luck selling that,” growled Pharynx. Thorax ignored him.
“Give us a few days,” he went on. “We’ll have these rooms cleared out quickly.”
Rarity perked up at once. “O, you simply must let me come and decorate! These rooms aren’t so bad; without all of these ghastly knick-knacks, these rooms have potential! I can make them fit for a king!”
“Thank you for the offer,” said Thorax. “But I have no intention of using these rooms. In fact, I think I’ll have them sealed off.”
“Sealed off? Whatever for?” asked Rarity.
“Chrysalis always held herself apart from the rest of the Hive,” explained Thorax. “She gave herself all of these privileges, and then treated us like we were her own possessions. No more. Now that I’m in charge, I’m going to live among my brethren, as I did when I was still a drone.”
“That is very noble of you, Thorax,” said Princess Celestia warmly. “I see that you are wasting no time bringing about sweeping changes to your new hive.” No-pony noticed Nyx glowering murderously at Thorax, her eyes dancing furiously.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Thorax was saying. “I hope we can create a bright new future. A future without Chrysalis to darken it.” He did not notice Nyx trembling, her glare fiercer than the wildest of tigers. He turned his attention to Twilight. “You can sort through this stuff when it arrives. Maybe you’ll find something worth keeping.”
“What about the rest of it?” asked Twilight. “The stuff we don’t want?”
Thorax shrugged. “Burn it, I guess.”
“Burn it?”
Thorax nodded. “I don’t want anything belonging to Chrysalis left here. We have had quite enough of her.”
Twilight nodded. “That makes sense. After what I’ve seen in here, I wouldn’t want any mementos of her either. I doubt we’ll keep very much of this stuff.”
Princess Celestia stepped forward. “And you need never fear Chrysalis. If she tries to come back here, let us know. We shall do all that we can to support you against her. May your reign be long and glorious, King Thorax!”
Thorax blushed a little. Twilight, her friends, and even Discord assented cheerfully. No-pony noticed Nyx’s face. Her fury would have frightened actual Furies. Her lips parted back, revealing long sharp fangs. Her pupils shrank to the thinnest of slivers. Her eyes darted around, eyeing Twilight and her friends with utter loathing.
Her attention shifted to the nearest wall, a wall covered floor to ceiling with weapons of every conceivable kind. Her gaze settled upon a worn, wooden javelin that was mounted towards the bottom. Silently, Nyx crept over to the weapon wall. She reached out and took the javelin into her hooves.
Then Twilight saw her. “Nyx! Put that down!”
Twilight pulled the javelin out of Nyx’s hooves and put it back on the wall. “That isn’t a toy for you to play with,” she said gently. “When we get back to my castle, there will be plenty of toys and games for you to play with! And lots and lots of books!” she added enthusiastically. “Won’t that be fun?”
Nyx said nothing. She went back to looking at the ground. How timid she seemed! The poor girl was still shaking. Twilight looked pityingly at her for a moment before turning her attention to the wall. It was covered with all sorts of weapons. None of them looked like they belonged to the same set or maker. All of them looked as though they had been used at some point—Twilight tried not to think too hard about that.
“Wow. Chrysalis had a lot of weapons. I can’t believe she kept a foal in here with all of this—Nyx could have hurt herself!”
Dash was immediately interested. “Wow, look at this stuff!” she exclaimed. “Swords, maces, spears…I don’t know the names of half this stuff! Bows, crossbows, daggers…hedge clippers?”
A pair of red-handled hedge clippers sat prominently at the top. Thorax saw them and shuddered.
“The hedge clippers. They’re a lot cleaner than I expected.”
“The Queen keeps them in good repair,” said Pharynx gravely, dropping his flippant tone. The other drones stared at the hedge clippers in a sort of awed reverence.
Twilight was confused. “I’m sorry, but what’s so important about a set of hedge clippers?”
Thorax grimaced. “They’re…they’re what Chrysalis pruned us with.”
“Pruned?”
“Sterilized. If she thought a male drone was weak, she would take down the hedge clippers and…” Thorax stopped. He did not need to say anything more. Every-pony understood at once.
“No way!” whispered Dash, horrified. “She took those hedge clippers and cut off—”
“Yeah,” interrupted Thorax. “Yeah, she did.”
“That’s horrible!” said Fluttershy.
Even Discord was taken aback. “What?” he asked, dazed. “Seriously, what?”
“I can’t believe this!” Twilight angrily exclaimed. “That’s completely insane!”
“Outrageous!” spat Princess Celestia, in a hushed, angry tone. “Such wickedness! I did not realize what depths of depravity she sank to!”
Thorax sighed. “I know. This is one tradition I’m ending as of now.” He shook his head. “I’ll be honest: I would be more than happy if I never had to see Chrysalis ever again.”
Twilight nodded. After what she had seen and heard, she hoped Chrysalis kept as far away as possible.
“What if she reforms?” asked Starlight. “Would you be willing to take her back then?”
Every-pony exchanged glances.
“Well, I think that’s really unlikely,” said Fluttershy tactfully.
“No way that’ll ever happen,” growled Spike. He gestured at the room around them. “I mean, look at this stuff! No sane pony would ever want to live with stuff like this!”
“She’s a monster!” exclaimed Rarity. “And those threats she made at you, darling! I’ve never heard the like!”
“I have to concur,” said Princess Celestia. Her voice had become very cold. “Chrysalis is a ruthless, evil creature. Even if through some miracle she decides to reform like the other Changelings, it’s going to take more than an apology to make up for the things she has done to the ponies of Equestria…and her own people.”
Starlight frowned and turned her attention to Twilight. “What about you? If she wanted to try friendship, would you help her?”
Twilight bit her lower lip. In all honesty, she agreed with Princess Celestia. Any-pony who abused her own subjects, terrorized an innocent filly, and burned books was pretty far gone. But Starlight had also been pretty bad as well, and Twilight had gotten through to her. Now that Starlight was finally coming to understand friendship, Twilight did not want to say it was impossible. She decided to be tactful.
“I…I guess I would,” said Twilight carefully. “But I would not want her to stay anywhere near Nyx. I consider it a duty to keep them as far apart as possible. It’s for her own good.”
Princess Celestia nodded. “Yes, Twilight. Chrysalis should have no more to do with Nyx. That filly has gone through enough as is.” She looked at Thorax. “I think it’s time we took our leave.”
Thorax nodded. “Yes. Get Princess Nyx away from here.”
“Do let us know how she fares!” said the turquoise drone. “We are all fond of her! Make sure she gets plenty to eat!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure she’s well fed!” said Twilight brightly. She did not notice Princess Celestia stiffen, or Thorax suddenly looking more uncomfortable than usual. She turned her attention to Nyx. “Are you ready to go?”
Nyx had been looking up, but snapped her head back down as soon as Twilight looked in her direction. Twilight’s smile faded a little. She could have sworn Nyx had been glaring at her, but that had to be her imagination…a trick of the light…
“Do you have everything you need? Are your bags packed?” Twilight thought of something. “What do you have in here, anyway?” She opened a flap on one of the saddlebags and saw a kind of furry material inside. Blankets? Were these all Nyx had to her name?
Nyx started backing away, her eyes very wide. “O, it’s okay!” Twilight said reassuringly. “I’m just making sure you’re packed up tight! Now, come along with me!” Deciding to inspect the bags later, Twilight led Nyx over to Discord.
“This is our friend, Mr. Discord!” Twilight said, introducing the draconequus to Nyx.
“Mister Discord?” he sputtered, in feigned indignance. “No, that won’t do at all! I will accept nothing less than Uncle Discord!”
Twilight scowled. “How about no.”
“No? Well, fine. Knowing you ponies, you’ll probably have her call your friends “Aunty” by the end of the week,” replied Discord, rolling his eyes. He held his claw in position for a snap. “If we’re all ready, shall we get away?”
Every-pony gave their assent. Twilight turned to Thorax. “We’ll be talking to you soon, Thorax. You helped us, and we can’t thank you enough.”
“That is absolutely right,” said Princess Celestia. “We shall have to have some kind of ceremony! It is the least we can do!”
Thorax blushed. “You don’t have to go to all that trouble…”
“We insist! We’ll send a letter as soon as possible!” exclaimed Spike. “Until then, farewell!”
Every-pony except Nyx said their farewells. Thorax and the reformed Changelings waved goodbye. The turquoise drone even blew Princess Nyx a kiss.
Discord snapped his fingers. And in a flash of light, they were gone.
The turquoise drone looked up at Thorax. “She will be okay with the ponies, won’t she?”
Thorax smiled. “Sure! The ponies are very kind and generous! They love children. They’ll take good care of her, I know it!”
The green drone shuffled nervously. “Are you sure about that? I mean, Princess Night…Nyx is really different from them.” He pointed at the fireplace. “And they were pretty freaked out when they saw her supper in the fireplace! Do they know she eats meat?”
Thorax faltered. “Yeah. I mean, they should…I did sort of mention it to Princess Celestia once.”
“And did Princess Celestia mention if to any-pony else?”
“I think so,” said Thorax, frowning. “Why would Princess Celestia keep something like that a secret?”
The green drone shrugged. “I do not know. You know her better than we do.”
“But are you sure she’s going to be okay? The Princess was…unusually quiet,” said the turquoise drone. “She didn’t even say goodbye to me!”
“Yeah,” agreed the other. “She’s usually a lot…noisier.”
“Well, this has been a lot to take in,” said Thorax. He looked nervous again. But before he could discuss the matter further, two more Reformed drones entered the room. They bowed.
“The drones that had been impersonating the ponies have returned,” one said. He arched a brow wryly. “As you can imagine, they have questions.”
Thorax brightened. “I can imagine! I will go and talk with them. Once they hear about our new way, they’ll join us in a heartbeat! A new day had dawned on our Hive!”
He left the room, the four reformed drones following behind in his wake. But Pharynx stayed behind.
““A new day has dawned?”” he sneered. “What a load of sentimental garbage! I’m not falling for that, Brother.” He spat out the last word as though it were something poisonous. “The Queen will come back; you can be sure of that. She’ll put you in your place! And when she does, I’ll be standing by her side.”
He spotted the javelin Twilight had taken from Nyx and grinned. “And if she doesn’t, I know some-pony who will! O, she’s real royalty, sure enough: I’ve seen what she can do! Those ponies don’t know what they’ve got! Heh heh heh!”
Pharynx spotted the goblet filled with blood and picked it up. He raised it in a toast: “To the Hive!”
He emptied it in one gulp.