//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Hatred is Magic // by smirker //------------------------------// The next morning came and Twilight Sparkle headed to the train station and met up with her friends, "Oh, you five are already here." Twilight Sparkle said with surprise, "Of course, no way can we rest when we got a case to investigate on our hoofs." Applejack answered, "Okay, Princess Cadence will be with us today, let's go." Twilight Sparkle stated, and they all got on the train and went to Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle and her friends arrived in Canterlot and went to the interrogation room where Lemon Lime was already cuffed to the chair, "Okay, Lemon Lime, we're going to sense your magic today to see if there's any hatred in it." Twilight Sparkle explained, "Don't get mad if you don't find anything." Lemon Lime replied, and they waited until Princess Cadence arrived. She walked into the room a few minutes later and looked at Lemon Lime, "Is this him, Twilight?" Princess Cadence asked, Twilight Sparkle nodded, "Okay, Lemon Lime, I'm going to need you to cast a basic spell." Princess Cadence instructed, and he shot a beam out of his horn and at the wall. A magic aura appeared on Princess Cadence's horn and she sensed the hatred in his magic with her love, the area of the wall that got hit by Lemon Lime's beam glowed a faint light blue, "Hmm, I am sensing some hatred in his magic, but it's not enough to paralyze or kill a changeling, the amount is enough to make them feel nauseous for only a few hours." Princess Cadence explained, "Did you intentionally suppress your hatred, Lemon Lime?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "No." Lemon Lime replied, Rarity examined him, "Hmm, no sweat, muscles relaxed, facial expressions calm, he doesn't seem to be lying." Rarity commented, "Yeah, I'm not gettin' the feelin' he's lyin', either." Applejack added, "I would like to examine Chrysalis' body now." Princess Cadence said, and the royal guards left and came back with Chrysalis' corpse several minutes later. She sensed Chrysalis' body and began grunting a little as she became almost overloaded by the amount of hatred that was shot into Chrysalis' body, "Cadence!" Twilight Sparkle hollered, "I'm fine, Twilight." Princess Cadence responded, and she finished sensing Chrysalis' body, "There's a tremendous amount of hatred in her body, both from the blast and the energy that were on the swords, this amount of hatred is enough to kill any changeling, probably several at once." Princess Cadence explained, "What do you all think?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Well, I mean, it's hatred right, maybe Lemon Lime's hatred of changelings went up when he saw Chrysalis in his sight." Rainbow Dash deduced, "Even if it did, I wouldn't kill her with swords, I would've blasted her right there." Lemon Lime responded, "Actually, Lemon Lime, I learned through Starlight Glimmer that if one is angry enough and has a lot of hatred, their magic can be extremely powerful, there was one time when she got so mad, she shot a beam and obliterated Discord's body." Twilight Sparkle explained, "Well, I'm not as powerful as her naturally, so I doubt my magic can achieve that." Lemon Lime stated, "Anyway, the amount of hatred in Lemon Lime's magic and Chrysalis' body is different by a wide margin, it's almost like she was killed by a different person." Princess Cadence stated, "You mean... Lemon Lime has an accomplice?!" Pinkie Pie inquired, "I doubt it, Pinkie, he, Green Magician, Absinthe, and Ginger Ale are the only other unicorns in Equestria that have dark green magic." Twilight Sparkle reminded, "You think another changeling who has gone rogue could've done it?" Fluttershy suggested, "No, that's out of the question, too, changeling magic is bright green, not dark green." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Argh, something's not adding up here!" Rainbow Dash fumed, "Can't you all admit you made a mistake?" Lemon Lime suggested, "Hold on, Lemon Lime, you ain't off the hook, yet, we still don't know who killed Chrysalis, so if changelings get killed while you're here, we'll know you're innocent." Applejack replied, "That actually sounds like a good idea." Lemon Lime said, "I hate to say this, but the more we look into this, the less likely Lemon Lime is to be the culprit." Twilight Sparkle said, "Then who could it be? There are no other unicorns in Equestria with dark green magic besides him and those other three." Rainbow Dash responded, "Maybe the culprit used an artifact?" Fluttershy brought up, "I don't know what kind of artifact would shoot out a beam of hatred." Twilight Sparkle replied, "The facts still stand, Lemon Lime's hatred doesn't seem to be powerful enough to kill a changeling, and he doesn't seem to have any artifacts to increase his magic, so at this point, he's more than likely innocent of this crime." Princess Cadence said, "Let's keep him here a little longer and see if any more changelings get killed or not." Twilight Sparkle suggested, "Sounds good to me." Lemon Lime responded, "Guards, escort him back to his holding cell, and watch Equestria, report to me or the princesses at once if you find any more changelings killed." Twilight Sparkle ordered, and the royal guards standing outside the room entered and led Lemon Lime back to his holding cell, "What do we do now, Twilight?" Applejack asked, "We wait, if any changelings get murdered, Lemon Lime's off the hook for killing changelings, if nothing happens, he'll be suspected of lying." Twilight Sparkle explained, "So, um..., do we go home now?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Pretty much, Princess Celestia should be visiting the Hive soon to assure Thorax and the changelings that us ponies don't approve of what this pony did, and we still wish to make amends and be friends despite what has happened." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Well, let's go home, y'all, we're just gonna have to wait and see what happens, but in the meantime, let's make sure Ocellus is okay." Applejack remarked, "Indeed, Ocellus must be very uncomfortable, we have to let her feel safe and welcome despite what has been happening recently." Rarity added, "I'll contact Sunset Shimmer and let her know what's going on, I hope her powers to look into peoples' pasts can help us, but otherwise, let's go." Twilight Sparkle said, and they all left the room and went to the School of Friendship after getting off the train. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in class and they noticed Ornamental Jewelry and Starburn staring out the window and at Ocellus, "Ornamental Jewelry, Starburn, pay attention." Cheerilee instructed, and they did, they almost fell asleep while the others focused just fine. Scootaloo doodled while bored in the classroom, she noticed Tulip, Ornamental Jewelry, Blueberry, Monochrome, and Banker looking uncomfortable in their seats, she wondered what was wrong with them, "Um, Tulip, Ornamental Jewelry, Blueberry, Monochrome, and Banker, are you five alright?" Cheerilee asked, "Uh... can we explain after class?" Tulip requested, Ornamental Jewelry, Blueberry, Monochrome, and Banker nodded, "Very well, but until then, focus." Cheerilee commanded, and they worked. Time went by slowly and the foals worked while bored in the classroom, Cheerilee continued teaching until the bell to go home rung, "See you tomorrow, class." Cheerilee said, and everypony except Tulip, Ornamental Jewelry, Blueberry, Monochrome, and Banker left the classroom. The foals stood outside and listened while Tulip, Ornamental Jewelry, Blueberry, Monochrome, and Banker walked to Cheerilee, "Well, what's on your minds?" Cheerilee asked, "Well... Princess Luna visited us in our dreams last night and wants us to try to have a better relationship with changelings, and she said while Princess Twilight and the others are friendly with them, they're still mad about what they did deep down and sometimes have trouble hiding it." Tulip explained, "I'll be honest with you five, I'm having trouble with that, too, I may be friendly with changelings on the surface, but deep down, I'm still mad about what they did, I may be cheerful here, but when I'm alone, I'm letting my anger out." Cheerilee explained, "Do you hate changelings, Cheerilee?" Blueberry asked, "On a level of their race, yes, but individuals, no, Ocellus and I get along great." Cheerilee replied, "What do you feel when you're around her?" Blueberry questioned, "I'm happy, but it wasn't like that at first, I was uncomfortable and nervous over the fact there's a changeling in Ponyville, but after getting to know her, it all went away, and I'm comfortable and happy to see her whenever I do." Cheerilee explained, "What about other changelings?" Banker asked, "They make me nervous." Cheerilee replied, "Wow, I thought we were the only ones." Monochrome said, "No, of course not, all of us are struggling to accept them, some are just better at hiding it than others." Cheerilee responded, "Wow, well, thanks for clearing that up with us, Cheerilee, I kind of feel better now." Tulip stated, "Me too, it's nice to know we're not the only ones, and Princess Luna wants us to make a change." Monochrome added, "Go on then, and good luck on trying to establish a good relationship with them." Cheerilee replied while smiling, and the five foals left her room. They stepped outside and saw their classmates watching, "You guys having the same trouble, too?" Banker asked, "Kind of, yeah." Snips replied, "I'm not comfortable around changelings, either." Snails added, "It's definitely hard getting used to changelings being around." Diamond Tiara spoke, "It really is, it always feels like they're spying on us." Silver Spoon stated, the others nodded while Cheerilee stepped outside her classroom, "I know you all are uncomfortable, I am too, but we have to get used to it, everypony, the changelings aren't going to be leaving." Cheerilee spoke, "Are they going to be attending this school?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Most likely yes, but it's probably going to be after you all become adults and I'm an old mare." Cheerilee responded, the foals sweated nervously, "Go on home now, everypony, I have to head home now, too." Cheerilee said, and they left together. The foals arrived outside and Tulip, Ornamental Jewelry, Blueberry, Monochrome, and Banker called out to Ocellus while trotting to her, she turned around and faced them, "Princess Luna came to our dreams last night and wanted us to try to establish a friendly relationship with you, but before we can do that, we wish to show you why we have a hard time trusting your kind." Tulip explained, "Please do, I've been trying to make amends for my own kind's actions as well." Ocellus replied, "Come on then, we'll take you to our homes and the hospital, our families are waiting for you." Ornamental Jewelry remarked, "Wait, Ocellus is our friend, we go with her, if you guys try anything funny, you'll answer to us." Sandbar warned, "No funny business, we promise." Banker responded, "Can we come along, too?" Apple Bloom requested as she walked to them with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, "Oh, right, I did say I'd show you three my family's destroyed shops." Blueberry said, "Let's go, our families are waiting for us." Monochrome instructed, "You coming along, Starburn?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Nah, you guys go on without me, I don't have anything in particular that made me hate changelings, my uncle's gone and doing a job right now, too, so I have to watch over the house." Starburn answered as he walked home, "Well, come on, this way." Tulip instructed, and they went to the train station and saw Rose, Vine, Anvil Striker, Strawberry, Haute Cuisine, and Bit Counter waiting for them. Ocellus' eyes widened and got defensive, "Relax, we're paid for our tickets to board, come on, we don't have all day." Vine stated, and they all boarded the train. Everybody rode the train as it passed through Equestria and they looked out the window, "Are you going to take us to all of your family shops, Blueberry?" Scootaloo asked, "No, only the main one." Blueberry replied, "Yeah, it'd take all day to visit every shop." Strawberry added, "Same with me and my aunt, we're just going to show our main bank." Banker stated, "You might see our stuff outside the windows during our travel." Bit Counter said, and they watched. They looked out the windows while Blueberry, Strawberry, Banker, and Bit Counter pointed out their destroyed shops and banks, "Did my kind really cause all of this destruction?" Ocellus questioned, "Yes, your kind killed several ponies, too." Blueberry responded, Ocellus looked down while her friends comforted her, the train soon came to a stop, "This way." Rose instructed, and they got off the train and followed her. The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked with the others and arrived at a destroyed flower shop, "This is our old shop right here, it was a thriving store until you changelings destroyed it." Vine explained, "My kind did this?" Ocellus asked, "Yes, they also took all of our money, we opened shop in Ponyville because it seemed to be the safest place from you destructive changelings in Equestria." Tulip answered, Rose and Vine used their telekinesis to move the rubble and they showed the others all of their destroyed flowers and plants, their destroyed saddlebags, their smashed flower pots, and all of their destroyed pot making tools, "We had a bag of soil, too, but you changelings stole it." Rose stated, "Oh, wow, I didn't think it was this bad." Ocellus replied, "Well, it is, because of you guys, we have to start over, our usual customers have to travel farther, too, and have to pay bits to use the train." Tulip responded, "When did this happen?" Sandbar asked, "When Chrysalis invaded Canterlot." Rose revealed, "Mmm, that would be... about seven or eight years ago." Ocellus remembered, "This was a home our family has used for generations, too, centuries old pots were destroyed by you guys." Vine said, "Oh." Ocellus said slowly as she realized how valuable the items were, "Well, that's everything for us." Tulip stated, "Can I buy flowers from you three to bring to Mount Aris?" Silverstream asked, "Sure, but we're not done setting up our shop in Ponyville yet." Rose responded, "Was this shop the only place here that got destroyed?" Sweetie Belle inquired, "No, look around you." Tulip responded, and they did, there were destroyed homes everywhere, "Wow, this place is wrecked." Scootaloo stated, "See, there you go, that's all there is for us." Tulip responded, "Come on, we'll go see my mom in the hospital next." Ornamental Jewelry said, and they went to the train station and waited for the train, it arrived and they boarded it. The train rode around Equestria while Rose, Vine, Tulip, Strawberry, and Blueberry pointed out their shops that have been destroyed by the changelings, "Guys, I think Ocellus has seen enough." Smolder stated, "No, it's alright, keep showing." Ocellus replied, "You sure?" Gallus questioned, "Hmm-mm." Ocellus said while nodding and the train continued going to its destination. The train continued and everybody looked out the window, "Ooh, Yona like flowers outside." Yona spoke, "Well, it is spring, my family and I grew them at our old shop, too." Tulip responded, "Did you guys have a specialty in flowers or plants?" Sandbar asked, "It's our names, I was an expert in growing roses, Tulip's great at growing tulips, and Vine is good at growing vine plants." Rose answered, "Same with me and Blueberry when it comes to making pastries with fruits, our names are the fruits we specialize in." Strawberry stated, "Oh, wow, I'm sure y'all make some yummy treats." Apple Bloom responded, "We do, we were popular back at home." Blueberry said, "Maybe y'all would like the stuff mah family makes." Apple Bloom stated, "We'll think about visiting you guys." Strawberry responded, "Okay, we're here, this way." Ornamental Jewelry said, and they got off the train. Everybody arrived into a town and walked to the hospital, "Oh, Ornamental Jewelry, Anvil Striker, good to see you two again, who are these people?" the mare at the receptionist desk asked, "They're visitors we invited, we have something to show them." Anvil Striker answered, "Okay, but be careful you don't get caught by the staff." the receptionist stated, "This way, guys." Anvil Striker instructed, and they followed him. Everybody went through the halls and arrived at the room, they saw the patient's name next to the door, it was Alloy Smelter, "This is the room my mom's in." Ornamental Jewelry said, and they entered. They walked into the room and saw Alloy Smelter in the bed, she had a bright purple coat, long bright yellow mane, and orange eyes, the lower-half of her body was covered by her blanket. She and the other mare with her looked and saw them, "Mom?" Ornamental Jewelry spoke as she saw her, "Hey, how's my baby been, come here." Alloy Smelter responded, and Ornamental Jewelry trotted to her and got kissed on her forehead, "How have you been, darling?" Anvil Striker asked, "Great, I might be able to leave soon." Alloy Smelter responded, "Wait, is that...?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at the other mare in the room and realized it was Green Magician, "It is her! It's Green Magician, your and mah sisters interrogated her in Canterlot." Apple Bloom replied, "Hello, Cutie Mark Crusaders, it's a surprise to see you three here, things have already died down for me since I was proven to be completely innocent." Green Magician remarked, "What are you doing here?" Scootaloo inquired, "My troupe and I are performing for the patients, this mare here requested me specifically." Green Magician explained, "Is everything alright?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Yeah, I'm fine, but I was a bit worried, if I was accused of being Chrysalis' killer, my career would've ended in no time." Green Magician stated; Alloy Smelter's wife looked and saw Ocellus, "Is that... a changeling?!" Alloy Smelter thundered, she tried to get up while growling while the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Ocellus' five friends got around her. Alloy Smelter threw her blanket off and everybody saw she had scars all over her body, she tried to stand up but grunted and fell onto the floor. Green Magician quickly used her telekinesis to put Alloy Smelter back in bed, "Hold on, let me try something." Green Magician stated, and she used her magic to project an image of Chrysalis and her changelings invading and destroying Equestria, Ocellus looked down and away while covering her face with hoofs, "Okay, she's one of the ones who wishes to put the past behind and is ashamed of what her kind did." Green Magician explained, "I don't care if she's ashamed, it's her kind's fault why I'm like this." Alloy Smelter responded, "Can you at least give me and my kind a chance?" Ocellus asked, "No." Alloy Smelter responded firmly, "Alloy Smelter, please, we don't want another war with the changelings." Sweetie Belle pleaded, "War would actually be beneficial for our family business." Alloy Smelter replied, "As in?" Scootaloo questioned, "We'd be selling our weapons and armor, there would be high demand for our stuff, too, so a lot of bits for us." Anvil Striker explained, "Well, we don't want that, we both want a truce so we can stop fightin'." Apple Bloom reminded, "Pony citizens still won't accept them." Ornamental Jewelry said, "Well, maybe not yet, but I'm sure they will eventually." Scootaloo responded, "Even if it does happen, us adult ponies probably won't be alive to see it." Green Magician stated, "But maybe your spirits will be around and watch us." Sweetie Belle suggested, "Probably." Green Magician replied, "You all should go, visiting hour's almost over." Alloy Smelter said, and Anvil Striker kissed her and she and Ornamental Jewelry then hugged one another, "See you at our new home, mom." Ornamental Jewelry stated, "I'll be looking forward to it." Alloy Smelter responded, and they all left the room. Everybody walked carefully and avoided the hospital staff, they all arrived outside and waited for the train, they boarded it when it came. The train rode around Equestria while Rose, Vine, Tulip, Strawberry, and Blueberry pointed out more of their destroyed shops and Banker and Bit Counter pointed out one of their destroyed banks, "Our hometown is close to here, get ready to expect a lot of backlash, Ocellus." Blueberry stated, "You were that popular back at home?" Ocellus asked, "Yes, but you changelings destroyed pretty much every business establishment in our hometown, we're still mad about that because some ponies made a living with them." Strawberry explained, "Oh. What are they doing now?" Ocellus inquired, "The other ponies whose businesses weren't destroyed were kind enough to hire them and let them make a living, our family's been thinking about trying to do the same thing." Strawberry answered, "That's really nice of you guys." Sandbar stated, "Well, Equestria does teach us to look after one another." Blueberry responded, the train soon stopped, "Okay, we're here, let's go." Blueberry said, and they got off the train. Everybody walked together and the ponies of Strawberry's and Blueberry's hometown began insulting and jeering at Ocellus, some of them began throwing trash at her. She screamed as she covered her own head with her front hoofs, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Sandbar, Gallus, Yona, Smolder, and Silverstream quickly got around her to protect her from the trash being thrown at her, "See, told you guys, this way." Strawberry said, and they walked while the townsponies continued throwing trash at Ocellus. They walked together and Strawberry and Blueberry led them to a destroyed shop while they saw destroyed businesses everywhere, "This is our main shop here, our family is opening small shops throughout Equestria in hopes of earning enough money to rebuild our old shop." Blueberry explained, Ocellus looked through her friends and saw the entire shop was destroyed and its stove and oven were smashed to pieces, so were their plates, pans, pots, cast irons, and baking tools, "Wow, I didn't know my kind could do this much destruction." Ocellus remarked, "Well, you did, your kind burned all of our cookbooks, too." Blueberry responded, the townsponies soon ran out of trash to throw and began throwing rocks at Ocellus, "Can we leave now?" Ocellus begged, "Yeah, we should." Smolder responded, and the five foals and their relatives walked back to the train. Ocellus and her five friends and Cutie Mark Crusaders walked together and Sweetie Belle created a shield with her magic to block the rocks being thrown at Ocellus, "Come on, guys, I won't be able to hold the shield up for long." Sweetie Belle said while straining her voice, and they walked quickly and got on the train while everypony in the town threw rocks at them. Sweetie Belle put her shield down and sighed with relief, "Don't expect things to warm up for your kind soon in our town, as of now, no changelings are allowed to set foot in our home." Blueberry stated, Ocellus looked down a little while the train continued to its next destination, "We're going to be visiting my father's grave next." Monochrome said, "Be careful when we get there, our home doesn't welcome changelings, either." Haute Cuisine warned, "How bad is it?" Ocellus asked, "Might be the same as that town we just left." Haute Cuisine answered, "I hope not." Ocellus groaned, and the train continued moving and Banker and Bit Counter pointed out another one of their family's destroyed banks, the train soon came to a stop, "Okay, we're here, this way." Haute Cuisine instructed, and they followed her. Everybody got off the train and everypony in the town glared at Ocellus as they got on with their days, "Come on, my dad's grave is this way." Monochrome stated, and they followed him. They arrived at the cemetery and an elderly stallion with a gray coat, purple eyes, short gray mane and tail, and a gray rock as his cutie mark quickly turned to them, "What is that changeling doing here?" the elderly stallion inquired, "She's here trying to make up for what her kind did, so we're showing her the damages the changelings did." Monochrome explained, "You know full well changelings aren't allowed in our cemetery, Monochrome." the elderly stallion stated sternly, "Funeral Director, please, just this one time, this changeling doesn't know how much damage her kind has done." Monochrome responded, "Oh, I see, fine, just this once, I hope these graves here will educate her on how many lives those changelings have taken and destroyed." Funeral Director sneered, and he left. Monochrome and Haute Cuisine led the others to a grave, the name on the grave was Workhorse, "Hey, dad, it's me, your son, I've been working hard on trying to achieve my dream as a professional track runner, and mom's working hard to support me, it's definitely different without you, both at home and in town, everything you did to help us and this town is greatly appreciated, work is harder now, work has slowed down, and we're all getting less done, I wish you were here, dad, here to see me grow and pursue my dream." Monochrome grieved and soon began crying softly. Haute Cuisine walked to him and comforted by touching his back, she began crying as well, "Go on back without us, we'll catch up soon." Haute Cuisine spoke, and they left. Everybody walked back and the ponies began throwing papers and fruits at Ocellus, she covered herself while she and the others quickly boarded the train, the ponies in the town threw the papers at the train's window where they saw Ocellus, Monochrome and Haute Cuisine soon arrived back and the train left a few minutes afterwards. The train went around and Equestria and the Cutie Mark Crusaders noticed a familiar looking mare sitting close to them, she noticed and looked at them, "Hi, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, I met Applejack and Rarity back in Canterlot a few days ago." the mare spoke, they realized it was Absinthe, "What are you doing here?" Sweetie Belle asked, "I was just visiting family and I'm returning home now, what about you three?" Absinthe responded, "Well, we're traveling with those five families there and they're showin' us the damages the changelings did when Chrysalis still ruled them." Apple Bloom explained, "Oh, I see, I'm sorry to say this, but a lot of my problem customers at the bar I work at tend to be changelings." Absinthe stated, "What kind of problems?" Sandbar questioned, "Trying to get drinks without paying and flirting with me." Absinthe answered, "What about problem pony customers?" Silverstream asked, "I get them sometimes, but problem changeling customers are more common for me." Absinthe replied, "Wow, Yona surprised." Yona remarked, "It's not surprising for me." Absinthe replied, and the train soon stopped, "Our main bank is in this town." Bit Counter said, and they got off while Absinthe waved bye at them. Everybody got off the train and walked to the town, "Halt! You know the rules, Banker and Bit Counter, no changelings in our town." a stallion with a blue coat, short yellow mane and tail, green eyes, and a six-star badge as his cutie mark reminded, "Town Sheriff, please, just this one time, this changeling wishes to see the damages her kind has done." Banker pleaded, "Why?" Town Sheriff inquired, "So I can try to fix the damages they caused." Ocellus answered, "Fix the damages? Are you stupid? There is no undoing the deaths you changelings have caused." Town Sheriff snapped, "I wish to see what they did so I can have an idea on how bad the damages are." Ocellus explained, "...Very well, but any funny business, and you're dead." Town Sheriff warned and walked away. Everybody walked forward while the ponies in the town glared and turned away from Ocellus, "This is my home right here." Banker said, and they saw a big hole in the front wall and almost everything inside the home was destroyed, they also saw an empty room in the back, "What's that empty room back there?" Scootaloo asked, "That's where we stored our bits when we were running a banking business here, the changelings stole all of the money." Bit Counter revealed, "Guys, can we leave?" Ocellus begged, they listened and heard the townsponies whispering about hanging Ocellus' body on a noose and setting her on fire, "Take a look around the town at how much damage your kind has did first." Banker instructed, and she did. Ocellus saw a lot of destroyed homes and businesses and a big graveyard in the back of the town, "Now you see why you're not welcome here, let's go now." Bit Counter remarked, and Rose, Vine, Tulip, Anvil Striker, Ornamental Jewelry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Haute Cuisine, Monochrome, Bit Counter, and Banker walked back to the train, "Well, that's all of them." Sandbar remarked, "You alright, Ocellus?" Sweetie Belle asked, "I'm fine." Ocellus replied, "Let's go, y'all, Ah wonder how Starburn's been." Apple Bloom commented, and they all walked to the train while the townsponies told Ocellus to leave and not come back. The train headed back to Ponyville and a stallion sat in front of them, "Is that Ginger Ale?" Apple Bloom asked, he looked at her, "Hey, Cutie Mark Crusaders, I'm just traveling around Equestria and sightseeing since I'm off today." Ginger Ale stated, "We heard from Apple Bloom's and Sweetie Belle's sisters about you having violent changeling customers at your workplace." Scootaloo said, "I do, almost on a daily basis, they're also trying to steal from the store I work at; me, my coworkers, and our regular customers are tired of it." Ginger Ale responded, "How have things been for you after you were done being interrogated by our sisters?" Sweetie Belle questioned, "Well, I've been appreciated a bit by ponies and changelings alike for trying to find out who Chrysalis' killer is, but for different reasons, for the ponies, it's bringing her killer to justice, for the changelings, it's either they're happy because their tyrant of a queen is gone or they're mad since some changelings are still loyal to her." Ginger Ale answered, "Wait, what?" Apple Bloom blurted, "It's true, shortly after Thorax became the new king, not all changelings supported him, some still remained loyal to Chrysalis because they didn't like his ruling style, so they left the Hive to live elsewhere throughout the world, most of them resided in Equestria." Ocellus explained, "See, there you go, and now, we know someone's killing them, Lemon Lime might be the culprit, but we're still not sure." Ginger Ale stated, "We'll know when my and Apple Bloom's sisters come home today." Sweetie Belle remarked, "Well, let's hope he is so this case can be closed quickly." Ginger Ale responded, and the train continued heading to Ponyville. Princess Luna was watching and flying in the air from afar and watching the train while smiling, she flew back to Canterlot's castle and walked into the throne room and saw Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence there, "It's a bit rough right now, but I think those new foals in Ponyville are on the path to forgiving the changelings." Princess Luna spoke, "That's wonderful, that means our citizens are on the way to forgiving, and speaking of changelings, we got a gift from the Crystal Empire to give to them for our trip to their hive tomorrow." Princess Celestia responded, "This was made with Sunburst's help, this will help the changelings defend their home if anyone attacks, it's powered by love, so when love is a high level in the hive, this crystal will activate an invisible barrier around their home." Princess Cadence explained, "Ah, 'tis wonderful, I think we are ready for tomorrow." Princess Luna commented, "I agree, we'll also use that visit to ask Thorax about the other changeling victims and where they were spotted." Princess Celestia responded, "Sounds good, I'll be going back to the Crystal Empire now, I won't be able to attend since I have to look after Flurry Heart, good luck on your visit." Princess Cadence said, and she flew away, "I'll be going to bed now, Luna, see you in the morning." Princess Celestia stated, "Goodnight, Tia." Princess Luna responded, and Princess Celestia walked to her bed while Princess Luna got ready to enter the dream realm. The train arrived back in Ponyville and everybody got off and went their separate ways, "Come on, let's see if Starburn's alright." Apple Bloom said, and they walked to his home, they looked through a window and saw him doing push-ups in his home, he did them quickly and flawlessly, "What are you three doing?" Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle jumped while Daylight Dimmer asked them from behind, "We were making sure Starburn was okay living by himself." Sweetie Belle explained, "Thanks, but Starburn can hold his own, you three should head home, it's a bit late." Daylight Dimmer spoke, and he entered his home, "Oh, shoot, we have homework today." Scootaloo blurted, "You're right, come on, we have to head home and start." Sweetie Belle replied, and they ran to their homes and started their homework. Twilight Sparkle stood in her castle and walked back and forth in front of the mirror, "Come on, Sunset Shimmer, what's taking you so long?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "You think we should wait until tomorrow?" Spike suggested, "Wait until tomorrow, there's a killer out there, I need Sunset Shimmer's powers now!" Twilight Sparkle fumed, "Twilight, Sunset Shimmer probably has homework to do, so she's not going to have time to come today, let's try again tomorrow, get some rest, okay?" Starlight Glimmer said, "Ugh, fine." Twilight Sparkle responded, and they all went to bed and slept.