//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: A Guardian's Hope // by Last Satisfaction //------------------------------// It had been almost an hour since Princess Luna had raised the sun. At Donut Joe's, business was in full swing. The active team of Wonderbolts besieged the place. Two tables had been moved together so that the six members could sit down, only for a third to be added when Sunset, Rainbow, Twilight, and Spike joined the breakfast. Dirty secrets flowed, causing a cascade of embarrassed blushing as everypony's secrets were revealed. No one was spared, and every creature was laughing—that is, until a customer opened the door of the shop, allowing a pink and white rocket with a message tied to it to blast past them and finish its flight in Rainbow Dash's oatmeal bowl. There was mockery over who the recipient of the projectile-based communiqué was. Rainbow Dash untied it and began to read, only for the smile on her face to disappear, and in a sudden gust of wind, she departed the shop and Canterlot with a sonic rainboom, leaving the message behind. The atmosphere fell flat, and anxiously, Sunset caught the note. She was appalled; all the time that she'd kept an eye on the tracker had been for nothing. This entire time, the human had remained undetected. She turned to Twilight. "Pepper came back. We have to get back to Ponyville now." "Are you kidding? Even with Rainbow Dash, it would take us twenty minutes to get back to Ponyville, and she just left without us!" Sunset didn't need to look far for the solution. "The portals—there's one in the armoury of the castle. If we open it in front of Fluttershy’s cottage, we can be there in less than ten minutes." With those words, Twilight—with Spike on her back—Sunset, and the Wonderbolts stormed out of Donut Joe's shop, heading towards the castle. "Do you have a plan?" Sunset asked. "Not really, usually I come up with a plan once I’m on the spot," Twilight admitted. "If you don't mind, we should start by dismissing all the non-combatants. They would only get in the way—no offence," she explained while looking at the Wonderbolt leader. Spitfire reacted within a split second. "You heard the royal meanie, go back to the academy. We'll take care of the target." With a collective nod, the Wonderbolts obeyed the order and slanted toward the sky. It didn't take long for the remaining group to reach the castle armoury. Sunset opened the gate, letting Twilight through, and then signalled Spitfire to stop while casting a sound barrier spell to conceal the coming conversation. "I have a job for you. Go into the castle and tell the first royal guard you come across that you've passed Bitter Truth and that the oracle just told you that Pepper is about to attack Ponyville." Spitfire couldn't figure out why, but there wasn't enough time. "I don't know what's on your mind, but I trust you," she said, turning back. Sunset burst the bubble of silence, passed through the gate, closed it behind her, and teleported to catch up to Twilight. "Where's Spitfire?" the unicorn asked. "She doubts she'll be of any use against somepony like Pepper, so she'd rather not get in our way." Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Pepper had just used her magic to draw a line between herself and the trio that had just arrived. "Do not cross that line. I am only here to say goodbye to Handsome. After that, I will leave." Applejack came to the forefront of the group, being the only one who had both the physical strength and the fighting spirit to deal with the threat posed by Pepper. "I can say for once you're being pretty honest, but if you think Rainbow wants to talk to you, you're wrong, Pepper." "You are not the first to tell me this, but seriously, I do not care what you think. What are your options? You could try your luck like Pinkie Pie did, armed with your Elements of Harmony, which could lead to the devastation of this town. Or we can sit quietly and wait for Handsome to arrive." "Now that you mention her, where's Pinkie Pie?” Pepper shrugged. "She must be recovering from her attempt to give me a bad time." A hint of movement behind Applejack caught her attention. "Apparently, she is not finished with me yet." Applejack turned around. “Blooming Apples!” she cried, her eyes widening in shock. Pinkie was standing about ten metres away from them, still in her blue hoodie and black trousers. She was holding a two-and-a-half-metre high candy cane between her forelegs, on top of which a pinata which resembled Princess Celestia's head was mounted. Roughly ten firework rockets were attached to the rear of the pinata’s head. Rarity took some uncertain steps towards her. "Pinkie, dear, are you all right?" Fluttershy hid between Applejack and Rarity, just as scared of Pinkie as Pepper. Pinkie's face was unbelievably grotesque, wavering between a smile that pushed the limits of the zygomatic muscles and crocodile tears that streamed continuously down her face. Her left eye stared at Pepper as if Equestria depended on it. Gamine watched in silence as the situation worsened. Pepper prepared to react. She intended to keep her word—the first blow would not come from her. Pinkie Pie ignited the rockets, adding their thrust to her strength. The improvised rocket hammer began to shatter the ground in its path, spitting out rays of blue energy every time the mouth of the pinata touched the ground. She had drunk the potion earlier to protect her friends' smiles, but she failed to realise how much of a danger she would become instead as she charged directly at her target without considering the lives of her friends who were in the way. Rarity ran for her life, letting loose a high-pitched scream. Applejack was about to do the same, but she realised that Fluttershy was frozen in terror. It was too late to pull her away, so she tried to kick her way through the pinata to protect the pegasus. Gamine couldn't remain passive in the face of the situation; seizing control of the body, she used her magic to lock the weapon in a bubble before pulling it out of Pinkie's hooves. "Give me back my body! The day is not over yet," Pepper grunted. Applejack stared at the giant weapon in disbelief and then turned to Pepper. Gamine stood there with her eyes closed. "I’m sorry, but I had to. Kyndal wanted me to be a full-fledged guardian. I’m not sure if I will ever manage to empathise with the weak, but at least it’s easy for me to protect them. And if you don’t protect anyone in danger, I will have to do it myself again, Pepper.” With that cleared up, Pepper was back in control. She reopened her eyes, her attention briefly drawn by a faint presence which wasn’t there a moment ago, localised in a nearby bush. Keeping this fact in mind, she looked at Applejack as the rockets burst into a myriad of colours. "What?" she asked the earth pony as she shrunk the bubble to crush the patchwork weapon. She then dumped the debris in front of her hooves, looking for something among the scraps. Pinkie sat there, laughing crazily at her failure. Fluttershy was as silent and immobile as a statue, watching the situation with her big, frightened eyes. Rarity came back, pretending she hadn't run away screaming like a scared filly. "Did you just help us? Why?" Applejack finally asked. Pepper ignored the question at first, having quickly located the inert Element of Laughter. "I am only here to say goodbye. That is all I am here for." At these words, she used her telekinesis to toss the Element to Applejack, who caught it with a hoof against her chest.  Trixie took this as her cue. After throwing smoke bombs to obscure her entrance, she jumped from the bush and galloped closer to the four friends, tossing large coloured sheets matching her cape over them. Pepper watched without moving. There was no aura of bloodlust from this stranger, and she was not the intended target. Trixie, now standing in front of Pepper, took off her hat to curtsy. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has come to the rescue!" she said, pulling away the sheets to reveal that the four unwilling volunteers of her magic trick were now bound and gagged with countless coloured scarves. Both Gamine and Pepper were speechless in the face of this magic that could stop four ponies at once. Pepper glanced at Trixie. "Why are you helping me?" "The Great and Powerful Trixie has dealt with Twilight Sparkle and her friends in the past. Trixie has recently been reduced to stealing to survive. Being able to get back at them by getting in their way is a bonus, especially after the meagre loot Trixie found at Twilight's house." Reaching into her hat, she took out the blue barrette, two phoenix feathers and a horn ring. “Mother’s gift!” shouted Gamine. "That barrette and the feathers most definitely belong to me," said Pepper, frowning at the light headache caused by the shout. "Really? Well, Trixie only steals from wealthy ponies. If those belong to you, Trixie will gladly give it all back. You can even take the ring, which is not to Trixie's liking." With these words, she hoofed Pepper the items. With her telekinesis, Pepper grasped the barrette, first making sure that there were no new enchantments added to it. However, a smell called out to her. In her haste, Trixie hadn't completely cleaned the ornament, and the smell of blood was still perceptible. She kept this in a corner of her mind as she finished checking for any enchantments before putting the complete ornament back at the base of her mane halfway between her horn and her ears. "Examine the ring," suggested Gamine with a tone that dripped with childish curiosity. On guard, Pepper first made sure the situation remained under control before inspecting the signet ring. The accessory was beautifully crafted, carved from a brass alloy. The ring’s head depicted a phoenix embracing a heart-shaped ruby with its wings. After checking, the ring too had no enchantment. "Put it on," ordered Gamine covetously, like a thieving magpie unable to stand still in front of such a beautiful object. Pepper had seen it coming as soon as she noticed the protective phoenix. "First your ornament, now this? Why not make me shapeshift an orange coat while you are at it?" Gamine squinted her eyes, her whole face wrinkled. She wouldn't give up this new whim of hers. Pepper sighed as she rolled her eyes, placing the signet ring at the base of her horn. "You are just a parasite. My body is not your property; sooner or later, I will find a way to dislodge you." "Wait till you sleep to dream," replied Gamine in a whisper. Pepper was about to reply when she heard a familiar noise. She barely had time to take a few steps back before Rainbow smashed into the ground between Pepper and the four mares laying on the grass. Standing tall, Rainbow had a sword in her mouth, having taken a quick detour to her house. The weapon had no physical blade; instead, a ruby-colored aura formed an unusually long thirty-centimetre magical edge. The hilt was rudimentary, small, and round, chiselled from a white crystal and holding the Element of Loyalty. Trixie stood silently next to Pepper, following Bitter's guidelines, and gulped at the sight of the crater Pepper observed the new weapon. In her eyes, it was a formidable weapon, like one she used to wield a long time ago, and facing somepony wielding such a weapon made her even more wary. "Handsome! I am so happy to see you again," she said with a big euphoric smile on her lips. But Rainbow didn't care; the whole situation seemed bleak. The way her friends were tied up, she was sure they were about to be kidnapped. She stood up like a shield, wings spread across Pepper's path. Pepper couldn't miss the fury that emanated from the pegasus, but she decided to overlook it, adopting a meek demeanour. "I am just here to say goodbye. There is nothing to fight about," she said softly, still smiling. From Rainbow's point of view, it sounded very different. For her, the last time Pepper had left, Princess Celestia had paid the price. And that, along with the sight of her bound friends, gave a different meaning to the goodbye. "Oh yeah? Well, go then," she said, sword still in her mouth. Pepper was taken aback, her smile fading as she witnessed her friend's curtness. "I did not even make it to Twilight’s library when Pinkie blocked my way, drank something and then jumped on me armed to the teeth as if her life depended on it. She even almost hurt Fluttershy. If Trixie here had not intervened she would probably be still going on right now. All I want is to talk with you, nothing else." Rainbow moved her head slightly to the left. She took a quick look at Trixie. She wanted to look at her friends, but she couldn't take her eyes off Pepper. Her glare hardened as her iris shrunk. "You're lying." "The Great and Powerful Trixie can confirm what Pepper just said. Pepper really helped Applejack protect Fluttershy, stopping that giant hammer before breaking it into a thousand pieces with her magic alone. Trixie can testify to that." Rainbow quickly observed Trixie without taking her eyes off Pepper. She didn't know what to think. "Handsome, if it helps, I drew a line in the ground a few steps behind you. I promise you I will not cross it, no matter what. Go free Applejack, she will tell you herself. I am staying right here." She hesitated for a moment and then turned her back on Pepper to go and free Applejack. "Are you all right, AJ?" she asked, turning her eyes back to Pepper and Trixie. "I'm fine, sugarcube," she reassured as she stood up on her hooves. "It's just as she said." Rainbow then freed Fluttershy and Rarity. When it was time to untie Pinkie Pie, she stopped a few hooves away from the earth pony. “What happened to your eye, Pinkie?” she asked, concerned. The still-gagged mare watched with a speck of madness in her azure eye, bigger than usual. "Not smiling, not smiling! Must protect their smiles! Must make them smile! They must smile! They must! At any cost I must make them smile!" The first of the six watches began to ring, covering the music coming from her headphones. The sound of galloping hooves beating the ground drew Pepper’s attention behind her as Twilight and Sunset finally arrived on the scene. Turning her eyes to the newcomers, Trixie was shocked and at the same time moved. She had moved to Pepper's side as the situation was souring and it was best to stay in the target's hooves as she had been instructed. At the same time she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Sunset Shimmer? Is that really you?" Pepper was watching the stranger who had just arrived with Twilight, and the unicorn was staring right back. Pepper felt studied from every angle. Sunset was split. On the one hoof she was happy to see Trixie after so many years. On the other hoof, she couldn’t help but glare at the white-coated mare standing beside Trixie who matched the description of Pepper provided by Twilight and her friends. She needed an opportunity to strike but Trixie was in the way. "Yes, Trixie. Listen to me, I want you to step aside, you don't know who you're standing next to." The second watch on Pinkie's foreleg began to ring alongside the first. "Trixie knows exactly who she's standing next to and what her crime is," she boasted. Pepper dropped the meek attitude at these words and locked her now icy glare on Trixie,  surprised and suspicious after such words. As a magical aura igniting her horn, she put her left hoof on the illusionist.  Trixie had barely enough time to turn her gaze to Pepper before they both disappeared. Sunset’s eyebrows rose in surprise and she immediately activated her tracker to collect the residue of Pepper’s magical imprint from the teleportation. It was with delight that she noted that the artefact finally located the destination south-east of here. "Are you all right, girls?" Twilight asked. "Well, yes and no, sugarcube," Applejack said, turning to Pinkie Pie along with the others. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked, looking at her. "Why is she the only one still tied up?" Sunset added, starting to walk closer to Pinkie Pie. Rarity spoke. "Sunset dear, it seems that Pinkie Pie is not in her normal state. According to Pepper, she's been like this ever since they met." Sunset watched Pinkie warily. The third watch began to ring, which startled the unicorn. She looked at the watches. "You made six watches ring at one minute intervals? Why?" she asked, taking off the gag. "Smile! Smile! Smile! Smile! Smile! Smile! Smile! Smile!" was all the crazy mare had for an answer. Sunset put the gag back in her mouth, quickly stopping the music and the alarms. She tried to remember everything about Pinkie Pie that had to do with time. Only one thing came to her mind as the fourth watch rang. "Pinkie, did you drink the potion that your friend Lazy told you not to?" she asked, freeing her mouth again. "Smile!" Pinkie replied continuously. "Pepper mentioned a soda," Rainbow said grumpily. Sunset stood Pinkie up on her hind hooves with her telekinesis and went behind her to keep her that way. "Applejack, she's poisoned herself. Kick her in the stomach to make her vomit. We have two minutes before it becomes permanent!" It didn't take much more explanation for Applejack to buck so hard that Pinkie and Sunset flew for several metres, the pink-haired mare vomiting a reddish liquid before falling unconscious. Immediately they all came together to make sure Pinkie and Sunset were all right. The fifth watch started ringing. "Sunset, are you all right?" Twilight asked. "Yes, a little bruised, but I'm fine." She turned off the last alarm, then she did a quick diagnostic, making sure Pinkie's vital signs were stable. Looking closely at Pinkie’s empty eye socket, Twilight noticed a strange detail. Using her magic, she removed a meticulously decorated eyepatch that perfectly blended into Pinkie's fur. The work had been so detailed the illusion of the empty socket was virtually unbreakable without this close of an inspection. Immediately after their disappearance, Pepper and Trixie found themselves in front of the ruins of the two sisters' castle. For Pepper, during her first two months in Equestria, this was the best place to retreat away from everything, no matter what reason or situation caused her to isolate herself. The illusionist was disconcerted to see the scenery change from one second to the next. "What? How?" She looked around her, trying to figure out what had just happened. Without warning, Pepper's hoof, which had been on her shoulder, slipped under her leg to come to rest on her chest and knocked the unicorn over onto her back.  Trixie felt the pressure pinning her in this uncomfortable position, and cautiously turned her attention to Pepper. Pepper was looking back at Trixie with narrowed eyes. She seemed calm on the outside but inside she was like a volcano about to erupt. Gamine was on the lookout, ready to steal control of her body if things got out of control. Pepper jumped straight into interrogation mode, casting a spell upon Trixie. "Would you kindly not lie to me for an hour?" Under the influence of the spell, Trixie blinked in surprise. "Trixie has no reason to lie to you." "Oh, really? Why did you help me back then?" "Trixie has been hired to help you for three days," she said without blinking before trying to gag herself with her hoof, realising she had just blundered. The information left Pepper perplexed. "Who hired you? The mercenary tried to answer wrongly, but it was a waste of time. "Trixie doesn't know his name." That line of questioning didn’t appear to be leading to an imminent breakthrough, so Pepper picked a new angle of attack. "Why three days?" "Trixie doesn't know," she readily admitted. "All Trixie knows is that you made Princess Celestia disappear, and that Trixie will be paid a small fortune to follow you wherever you go for those three days." Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Unlike the others, you are taking the news pretty well, and you are even willing to help me for a bundle of money. Amoral and venal. In the past, I fought alongside comrades-in-arms, so I do not mind you sticking next to me, but as you seem to be willing to do anything for gold, consider this a warning: I killed Celestia. I can kill again.” Trixie’s eyes grew round. "What?! She's dea..." The shock of the revelation overcame her, and she fainted on the spot. "Oh, she didn't actually know," Gamine said, relieved to see that Pepper was no longer nervous about the truth behind Trixie’s boast. Pepper laid Trixie on her stomach, only to start rummaging through her saddlebags to make sure nothing could be used against her. She found nothing dangerous at all, but a familiar smell made her dig deeper. Tucked into a food pocket were braised slices of pork; a tempting snack, if not for their unknown provenance and accompanying poisoning risk. "Why three days?" Gamine whispered. After mulling over the question, Pepper sighed. "It does not make sense. Equestria's ponies have a ‘carpe diem’ style of life so to speak. Even after the return of Luna, Discord, and the invasion of the Changelings, and … uh, I forgot the name of the tyrant king—they never prepared for the next problem. But one of them, obviously aware of what I did whereas the royal guards are not, ended up helping me in such a way..." she said as she turned to Trixie. "This is not a question for me. You are going to be back in control at the end of today, so what are you going to do in the next two days?" Gamine thought for a moment. "I don't know. Go home, go to my mother's grave. I..." She paused, the vision of it and the feeling of the dirt that accumulated under her nails invading her mind. "At least she has a grave. Celestia will probably never have that privilege," Pepper nonchalantly pointed out. The sadness that had overwhelmed the young guardian as she thought about the last day in the place she could call home was instantly crushed by her rage. Her mind pounced on Pepper's, as if grabbing her by the throat, as her hatred towards Pepper grew. The body, no longer under their control, collapsed to the ground while the spirits opposed each other. Pepper smiled in response, not afraid for a moment. "Go for it! Surrender to your primal instincts! I know that underneath your guardian's appearance is a Dis Astro! Do not lie to me; I have noticed the ease with which you used our skills on the bat pony called Swift and the spell of obedience upon the bat pony named Antarès! Go ahead, do it, reduce all the efforts of your mother to nothing! Kill me! CONSUME ME!" The cruel truth that Gamine was trying to obliterate and Pepper's confidence in the face of death gnawed at her strength like an acid. The weight of her duty crushed her little by little, and without the ritual that gave her the higher ground, she was no match for the monster. She fled, retreating away from the creature, folding back in on herself. Pepper regained control of the body, both satisfied and disappointed by the conclusion. "You have been trained well, but sooner or later, I am going to make you succumb." "What's wrong with you?!" yelled Gamine defensively. "Oh, do not get me wrong, I will do my best to survive as long as I can, but I am under no illusions that sooner or later I am going to die, one way or another. But if you, the immaculate young Guardian that you are, corrupt yourself by killing me, you will succumb to the lure of my power. And for me it will be one last victory." Gamine was terrified. She had no regrets about sacrificing her future to lock up the monster, but she never thought she would be harmed in any way given the level of control the ritual gave her over Pepper’s body.  In the end, if all the lessons her mother had tried to teach her were lost in a moment of forgetfulness, was it worth imprisoning one monster at the risk of creating another? “Azari was wrong, I am not the last one,” whispered Pepper to herself. “Who’s Azari?” asked Gamine, trying to change the topic. Pepper, with her eyes closed, enjoyed the silence and the rays of the sun that warmed her coat. “A planeswalker like me. The first entity I talked to once I became one myself.”  “I see,” muttered Gamine. Pepper turned her gaze to the walnut doors sitting on the ground, her eyes focusing on the blackened remains of a magical attack designed to destroy a bowl of soup that had just been offered to her. Next to them were the footprints of Luna's royal sabatons. The marks were the result of the righteous anger of the Princess of the Night following Pepper’s mockery. With these words Pepper warped to the marker just outside and hid in the ravine. Luna broke down the doors with a kick of her hoof and set off in pursuit. Pepper chased the memory from her mind as she opened a portal to the hideout below her hooves. The lair was just below where she arrived, dug into the bottom of the ravine with dimensional magic. The entrance was hidden by rocks, allowing air to circulate, but also blocking light. Pepper illuminated the small room with her magic, a square room that was just big enough to hold six adult ponies. This secret place was mainly used as a safe shelter for sleeping. In one corner of the room was her pallet: a vaguely rectangular bale of straw with an old sheet and pillow borrowed from one of the rooms in the ruined castle. The hideout was also used to store everything she could not afford to carry with her during her stay in Equestria—more specifically, mint & liquorice sweets. These sweets, which she loved so much, were scattered on a table dug into the rock. "Barely nine left," she thought after a quick count as she chewed the tenth. Pepper didn't pay the slightest attention to the toothbrush and the tube of toothpaste that Pinkie Pie had given her along with the candies, nor to the last item on the table—Gamine's bundle, still wrapped in white silk. Turning away from the table, Pepper summoned her weapon and waited for the dozen seconds it took for it to appear from the dimension she had left it in. She then left it to rest in its sheath against the wall; if an unexpected fight arose, she would be able to summon it in a split second now it was in the same dimension. Cowering over herself, Gamine remained silent, thinking back to all the moments when her mother brought her happiness. Pepper paused for a moment, looking at this cold and empty room, with its narrow opening to the outside. It brought a smile to her face, how much it reminded her of her current situation: imprisoned in a small box with a beautiful window to the outside world. In a more nuanced manner, this shelter summed up her life and what she would leave behind the day she would be killed. As she remembered with a faint smile on her lips one of the duels of insults she had lost, Gamine suddenly raised her head, looking up through the monster's eyes. "Pepper!" "I know," she said, her gaze filled by the orange wisps. "I can feel it through the marker I created this morning."  She was already channelling the magic needed, and moved there the next moment. In the badlands, the young Cæsar was facing the marker, sitting a few steps away from the rocky cavity. She had her head down, a grimace of pain on her face, tears in the corner of her eyes. Pepper arrived, quickly coming out of the bubble that protected the marker to come to the child's side. "What is going on, FaceHugger?" she asked, alert. Aglowing reopened her eyes, and when she saw that Pepper was really there, as she had promised, she stopped concentrating on those sinister feelings, so much so that the orange mist disappeared entirely from the eyes of the white-coated mare. "I'm bored," she chirped, wiping tears from the back of her hoof. Pepper was dumbfounded for a moment. In contrast, Gamine understood the situation and had to put her hands over her mouth so she wouldn't start laughing out loud. Pepper had the unpleasant feeling of being deceived and approached the child with a cold look in her eyes. "Did you deliberately have bad feelings just to get me to come back here because you are bored?" Scared by Pepper's attitude, the child leaned back and looked away. "Maybe?" Pepper watched the child for a moment with her stern glare. She lowered her head, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. "You are lucky you had no ill intent."  She reopened the gate to the ruins of the sisters' castle. "Stay still," she commanded as she went to fetch Trixie, carrying her with a magic hand on the end of her left foreleg before dropping Trixie unceremoniously in front of Aglowing. The young guardian worried about seeing a pony in the territory of the changelings. "Pepper-" "Nothing bad will happen to Trixie," the monster cut in. The landing shook Trixie to the point where she regained consciousness in a jolt. "What?" She straightened up, looking around her. "Where am I?" She asked drowsily. Pepper was there, and that reassured Trixie somehow, even though she didn't remember losing consciousness. And on the other side was this strange child. At first Trixie thought it was a bat pony because of those big eyes with cat-like pupils. But immediately afterwards she noticed the horn on her forehead, similar to hers, but with holes here and there. And what finally shook her sense of security was the insect wings on her back. "W-who are you?" The child stood up before taking a step backwards to curtsy as Nightmare Moon had taught her. "I am Cæsar Aglowing Shell, daughter of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings." Trixie widened her eyes. Now she knew where she had seen monsters like her before. The love-eaters were no strangers to her, as she was performing in the streets of Canterlot on the day they tried to invade the capital. "C-C-Changeling," she stammered feverishly, before fleeing northwards, her mission completely forgotten, screaming at the top of her lungs the terror that fuelled her legs. Pepper and Aglowing observed unfazed. The child did not understand what she had done wrong, even though she had made and repeated these gestures under the uncompromising gaze of her friend, who taught her the rudiments of the etiquette that would suit the one who presented herself as a Cæsar. She then turned to Pepper. "Did I say something wrong?" "No, it was not you personally. But ponies like Trixie will always be naturally afraid of the predators we are." She thought about the situation for a while. "I am going to catch up with her and talk to her. Wait here, FaceHugger." Trixie was galloping away breathlessly. Her eyes filled with a faint hope of reaching those mountains she was staring at over on the horizon. When Pepper judged that there was enough distance to give Trixie a false sense of security, she used her magic to ensnare her hind legs before dragging Trixie to her hooves. Without a glance back, terrified of coming face to face with a changeling, Trixie began to scream as her hooves searched for every last pebble to hold on to. Pepper used her telekinesis in the form of a hand to close Trixie’s mouth before forcing her to look at her. “Cease screaming or I shall give you a true reason to," she whispered, her face so close to Trixie's that their horns crossed. Trixie could only whimper in response. Pepper released the mare. "I have seen monsters in the Everfree Forest. Next to them, changelings are not a great threat. At most, they are big insects in need of affection." The adrenaline wore off and Trixie started shaking in spite of herself. "Trixie heard that they ponynap foals by night to devour their hearts." "The Queen's daughter told me they do not kill, otherwise they would soon be left without a single prey to hunt. That same child you ran away from devoured my love. It was painful, but I did not die from it." Pepper looked around her as she thought. Remembering a particular fact, she turned to Trixie and began to rub her cheeks then her flanks on the illusionist's coat. "What are you doing?" Trixie asked with a blush of embarrassment. "I am putting my scent on you," Pepper replied after she had finished. "Changelings have a good sense of smell and if I mark you like this they shall hesitate before they try anything. In that time you give them a cuddle, and they will leave you alone." "How could Trixie be affectionate? They're monsters!" "I am a monster too, yet you do not seem to mind. Is it because of how I look? Maybe they became these love-eating monsters because they never had any friends, just like your Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon because no one appreciated the beauty of the night a thousand years ago." Trixie wanted to argue, but when presented with this, nothing came to mind. "I am facing a dilemma: a child is bored, but I do not know what to do to entertain her. What is your special talent?" Trixie dug through her bag of stage magic items. "Trixie's an illusionist." She pulled out a red silk scarf with her magic, then presented her right hoof, proving there was nothing in the sole of it before covering it with the scarf. The unicorn then pretended to concentrate, making some gesture with her left hoof over the scarf. Then, with a sharp jerk, she pulled the scarf from her right hoof, revealing a red apple. "This is prestidigitation. Trixie performed all over Equestria. Then the Great Wonder Trixie met ... " She sighed, her mood soured. "...Twilight Sparkle." Pepper kept a close eye on Trixie, having faced so many magic traps in the past that she found it hard to believe that the purpose of the magic was to make a simple apple appear. But hearing Gamine's awe, she knew Aglowing would like it. "Ready to do a performance for the pleasure of a child?" she asked, turning her back to the sun. Trixie didn't answer, her gaze wandering from Pepper to the south, slowly eating the apple in an attempt to buy time. Despite the words of the one she was ordered to follow, and even though she was hoping that the smell of her would be enough to deter the changelings, the mare was reluctant to retrace her footsteps. Trixie's hesitancy was clearly obvious to Pepper. She could have forced Trixie, but it was more judicious to incite her to do it on her own. And this mare obviously had an ego that was easy to exploit. It was easy for Pepper to figure out how to handle her. "Do you know who Twilight's friend Fluttershy is? Fluttershy is a shy mare who is afraid of her own shadow. I am sure she can be convinced to hug a changeling. And yet the Great and Powerful Trixie could not do the same?" she asked with a mischievous smile. Pepper's bait was too obvious to bite; instead, Trixie decided to bite her apple to buy some time. Since the magic duel with Twilight, she started to think twice about the situations she was involved in. She was hired to follow the unicorn, and was promised total protection during this journey, but she would have refused the offer if she knew she would have to approach the Changelings. In the end, these three days were really comparable to the moonshot manticore mouth dive she had always dreamed of performing. She had to light the fuse of the cannon and trust Pepper. She got up and walked towards the hive. "With you as her assistant, the Great and Powerful Trixie will give a performance the Changelings won't forget anytime soon." Pepper was surprised. Surprised that her attempt to manipulate Trixie's ego had worked so easily. Surprised to see such courage now animating this mare who a few minutes before was running away like a coward in the face of non-existent danger. She shrugged it off, setting off again towards the hive. A dozen steps further on, the magician could not contain her disbelief about what she had just been told any longer. "Trixie can't believe that these monsters will settle for a hug as a meal," she confessed after turning her eyes to Pepper. The regicide looked back out of the corner of her left eye. "If you keep thinking of them as the monsters they are, they are bound to act like monsters and syphon your heart out." Gamine, having been silent for a while, shivered as the memory of this scene made her feel again the sensation of those predators devouring her love. "I admit that they do have an aggressive attitude and that they hiss at the slightest opportunity. But that is just to intimidate. They will never hurt you; they can not afford to, as your life is far too precious for their own survival,” continued Pepper. "When you know that Twilight is using her friendship to wipe out all of Equestria's problems, it would not surprise me if a friendship could fill a void where all the love in this kingdom has failed miserably for years." The mare remained incredulous at what she had just heard. "Even if she did, the Great and Powerful Trixie will have a hard time offering her friendship to an army of changelings." "Good thing that will not be necessary, following the genocide for which I am indirectly responsible. I have not seen more than five of them in total," she said coldly. Trixie remained frozen in the moment, wary. "What’s genocide?" Gamine frowned. "Bat ponies know the term but not ponies?" Pepper stopped walking. She barely turned her face towards Trixie, her attention fixed on where they were going. "An act of mass murder, the victims being of the same race or living in the same kingdom. In this case, incomplete because there are still survivors," she whispered bluntly before resuming her walk. Trixie was frozen in horror, her face decaying as her mind pondered the horrible meaning of the word. What had started out as a simple escort mission became a winding walk through a much darker part of Equestria than she was accustomed to. As she caught up with Pepper, a question arose as to how far the walk would go over the three days. When the two unicorns arrived near the rock where Pepper placed the marker, Chrysalis and Chitin were now there, conversing with the little Cæsar. The queen's eyes lit up at the sight of Trixie. "Just in time for the end of brunch," Chrysalis said, licking her lips in advance at the thought of the meal as she walked towards the duo. Trixie was terrified, her shaking limbs refusing to budge. Pepper took a step to the left, cutting across Chrysalis’s path. She lowered her head in challenge, ready to strike if the Queen got too close. She didn't utter a single word, content to stare at the queen with her icy glare. Neither moved, unwilling to show weakness to the other and refusing to back down first; like statues, they watched each other, emitting an oppressive tension of which Trixie was the main victim, being the prize of this staring contest. Aglowing Shell butted in, running between the two predators. "If you don't stop now, I'll... I'll..." She trailed off, her lack of ideas draining her otherwise unfailing confidence. Chrysalis was the first to react to this ultimatum, turning her eyes to her daughter. "If not, you'll hit one of us with the other ?" she asked, amused. Pepper was not to be outdone, seeing that the atmosphere was taking on the tone of one of those days at Ponyville. "Otherwise you'll give us Fluttershy’s stare?" she said in the same tone. Looking at them one after the other, the child did not expect this turnaround, convinced that both sides would stand their ground. She regained a certain amount of self-confidence to finish her threat. "Exactly! If you don't stop immediately, I'll hit one of you with the other while giving both of you Fluttershy’s stare!" "All right, all right, I will stop. Here, Chrysalis, you can eat her, I do not want any trouble with a Cæsar," Pepper said, using her magic to push Trixie in front of her. Trixie stood there with her eyes wide open, clinging to the slim hope that Pepper would protect her at the last moment. "Too late, brunch time is over, and since she carries your scent, I assume that you have eaten her soul as well. I've never tested it, but I’d imagine that a body without a soul wouldn't contain much love." Trixie was shocked by these words, and it didn't take her long to put the pieces together. She turned to Pepper. "You had eaten Princess Celestia's soul... ah." She collapsed again, her mind not able to handle the shock of learning the real truth under those conditions. "Oh? She didn't actually know?" Chrysalis asked, grinning. Meanwhile in Ponyville, Sunset hid her tracking artefact behind some large books on the shelf to the left of the stairs, then left Twilight's bedroom. Rainbow remained at Pinkie's bedside, the latter lying unconscious on the extra bed, still tied up and gagged as a precaution. At the bottom of the stairs Applejack and Twilight were waiting for her. Not far behind them, Fluttershy was reporting back to Angel, the rabbit watching her sternly with his front legs crossed as he tapped his hind leg on the floor. Spike was taking care of Rarity, who was still recovering from the scare.  "Still unconscious?" Twilight asked. "Yes," Sunset sighed thoughtfully as she walked down the last steps. "She's just exhausted. Rainbow wanted to be alone; she'll stay up there and keep an eye on Pinkie." "I still can't believe Trixie has joined forces with Pepper. I went to look in the lab and she actually broke in to steal the mane clip while we were away. I don't understand how she knew about the ornament and where she found the ring. Luckily, she didn't take anything else," Twilight said, looking at the display case where the six Elements of Harmony were. "Pepper obviously didn't like hearing Trixie saying she knew the truth. Do you think Trixie is in danger, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "I'd be inclined to think Trixie's safe," Sunset said. "She knows who Pepper is, her crime, where the item was, and she appears just in time to help her. I have a feeling she was approached by Bitter Truth. It’s the only thing I can think of, but I can't understand why." Twilight smiled, half worried and half relieved. "Let's hope you're right." Outside, the sound of a wagon landing could be heard, and the next second, Princess Luna, with her wings spread out imposingly, entered the library. Everyone turned to greet Luna as she made her way towards Twilight. "Princess Luna, what are you doing here?" "Twilight Sparkle. One of my guards came to tell me that he heard from the oracle that Pepper had destroyed half of Ponyville. Imagine my surprise halfway through my trip here when I saw that everything was peaceful as usual. Having trouble believing that Bitter Truth could be mistaken, I came to you as a precaution." Twilight was perplexed by the announcement. If Sunset was right, Bitter Truth helped Pepper through Trixie's assistance, and now Princess Luna said that she had received information from the oracle through a guard? What was his motivation? It seemed as if he was trying to help both sides. But such a theory didn't make sense. Sunset smiled inwardly. Her plan had worked—the guards, being tied to their posts, had to resort to passing her message by word of mouth from one guard to another until they reached the throne room, and the expected chaos was now here. Nightmare Moon chose this moment to make her unannounced appearance, her anxiety over her need to protect the changelings having gotten the better of her. This caused an uproar, but having been warned beforehand by Twilight, almost all of them managed to keep calm, except for Fluttershy who hid behind Applejack. Luna did not appreciate the initiative. "What do you think you're doing? Get back inside me immediately." "I'm sick and tired of being there all day long, and as far as all the ponies here know, why deprive me of the opportunity to greet them," she said, before dipping into a meek curtsy. "Hello to you Twilight Sparkle, and I salute each and every one of your companions here." Luna rolled her eyes, far from suspecting her alter ego's true intentions. Twilight's group was confused to see Nightmare Moon behave with such humility. It suddenly made her less terrifying, in stark contrast to their first meeting in the castle ruins and the thunderous laughter she had then. "I think I can locate her," Sunset suddenly said, going into the basement laboratory to get what she needed. Even though the blood had dried, that was all it took for a simple locating spell. She took a map of the continent, of which Equestria was a part, and returned to the main room of the library. Once the spell was cast, the magic reduced the blood to carmine dust, which immediately surrounded a specific area of the Badlands. "She was in the Badlands from the beginning," said Luna, who then cast a murderous glance at Twilight. "Why didn't you warn me sooner?!" Sunset stepped in, directing a stare harder than steel at Luna. "As the stars bear witness to my words, we couldn't locate her until today." Her whole body was tense; the slightest wrong move on Luna's part, and she would use her body to defend her sister in heart. From this duel of glances, only Nightmare Moon dared to step into the staredown, inciting Luna to step back literally and figuratively with a hoof on her shoulder. "As she travels through dimensions, it simply means that she was away all that time, and that she has returned for the third time. Now that we know where she is, let's go and flush that rat out of its lair." She couldn't suggest returning to the castle; the thirst for blood that animated Luna's heart left her no room for any other suggestion. Unbeknownst to all, she hid a clone in the shadow of the central table, then went back to hide in Luna. "You're right." Without any consideration for the assembly, the Princess of the Night left without any farewells. After Luna and her retinue flew away, the clone came out of hiding and took physical form, to the surprise of the ponies who were still emotionally recovering. "How is that possible? I saw you leave with Princess Luna," Twilight said, taken aback. The clone, that part of the Tantabus that was not connected to Luna, was the concentrate of the Moon Queen's feelings that had been repressed during the earlier conversation. She was furious. Not only had Sunset directed Luna exactly where she should not go, but of all the places at the regicide’s disposal, Pepper had to hide there. Finally, it was proof that Chrysalis had manipulated her by making her believe that there was nothing left of Pepper. The clone exhaled, exasperated. "We don't have time for this. The one standing in front of you is only a part of Nightmare Moon, and our physical form is limited by the magic that animates this fragment of the Tantabus. This body will disintegrate if we don't return to the dream plane soon enough. So let's give the reason for our presence: do we have your consent to possess Princess Luna?" “What? I mean, why?” “We've already explained why Luna should be kept in the dark. But now, thanks to the help of this mare’s initiative", she said, casting a brief glare at Sunset, “the changelings won't survive another day, especially if they have to face Luna. Even the bat ponies would not be a sufficient bulwark against Luna . And I doubt Pepper will raise an eyebrow at the sight of the ensuing bloodbath.” Twilight understood that she had to make a choice. Despite the attempted invasion, the life of the changelings was no less important than that of a pony—or at least she imagined this was something Princess Celestia would say. But Sunset didn't hear it that way. "So you are asking Princess Twilight to make a choice between you and Princess Luna? But in the end we'll be facing a Nightmare, and you've already tried twice to impose eternal night. Why should we rely on your good words to choose you over Princess Luna?" "We've changed!" replied Nightmare Moon. "Another fine word," replied Sunset. "I believe her," Applejack said. "Her words don't sound hollow." Sunset turned, looking sternly at her. "Just as you thought Pepper had good intentions?"  Those words spoiled the atmosphere.  "What were your words about her, Twilight? ‘Singular, but not malevolent?’" The air was heavy enough to cut with a knife as Sunset turned towards the clone. "That seems like a good enough description for you. So no, you won't force Twilight to make a choice, but whenever Nightmare comes back from the badlands, she will end up imprisoned in stone just like Discord. So if you were to take possession of Princess Luna's body, don't come back to Equestria. No ponies will ever consider you a legitimate princess of Equestria." Nightmare Moon remained still in front of such vehemence. She could not blame her for thinking like that; she had no proof beyond her word, which had no value. "If this is your decision, we accept it, and we'll act accordingly." Emitting magic from her horn, she cut through the fabric of reality to open a precarious portal to the plane of dreams, which she immediately closed behind her. Silence reigned in the room for a while. Sunset realised that in her outburst, her words had hurt her friends. "I am-" The door to the room opened, "Girls! Pinkie's awake!" Rainbow said. Everypony galloped upstairs to gather around the bed, but were taken aback by Pinkie's face. Twilight soon noticed the instrument of the crime – a red marker half hidden under Rainbow Dash's rump and she was doing her best not to laugh while biting her lips. "Seriously, Rainbow? We leave you alone with Pinkie for five minutes and you put a red marker smile on her face?" "Oh come on! She was like " replied the pegasus, imitating Pinkie back then. After taking some precautions, Sunset removed the gag, thinking she'd be the quickest to react if Pinkie was still under the effect of the potion. Pinkie, who had been watching them all, still and quiet yet at the same time worried to see them like this, asked them with a warm smile like only she knew a secret: "Girls! Why so serious?"