//------------------------------// // 28 Memoria Amissa // Story: Trials of A Princess // by Rose Quill //------------------------------// We didn’t have to wait long before a rush of air and a loud snapping announced the appearance of both Diarchs. They had a few guards with them and they stared at us imperiously. I was sure that we were about to be arrested. “Wait,” Luna said, tilting her head. “You, the one who wrested the moon from my grasp. I know this power…” Luna’s horn glimmered with werelight, and she closed her eyes. After a moment, they shot open with amazement. “Twilight Sparkle.” she breathed. “How could I have forgotten you?” “Luna?” Celestia interjected. “You know these ponies?” “I do, Sister, as do you. Some spell has blocked my memories. Surely you recognize your two brightest students?” Celestia’s face screwed up in thought, and I caught myself holding my breath for a moment. “Twilight, and,” her eyes flew open. “Sunset. Where have you two gone to, what happened to blanket you from even our minds?” I sighed with relief. “I’ll be glad to tell you, but there is something I must do first.” I closed my eyes, took a small bit of ley line energy, and sought in my mind the speck of light that was the link I held with my Twilight, my Sunshine, and plucked it. Sunshine was lounging in her rooms, chatting with Fluttershy and Starlight. She had often wondered about how she was pregnant, and who the father had been. Why she was a pony here when she thought she should be something else. But every time a thought like that arose something inside her made her thoughts drift toward other topics. She was about to pick up her tea when she felt a blazing light touch her mind, and a soft voice whispered to her as though right next to her. Twilight, it said, feminine and soothing. We’re back. I’m back, my love. And the floodgates opened, memories rushing back to her. The shimmering form of her Daydream state at the Friendship games, her proposal, the fight against Acerak, and the invasion of the Crystal Empire… The feel of her hands. The brush of her lips. The warmth of her body. “Sunny,” she whispered to herself, gaze flying towards the north. I heard her reply and a small sob slipped free from my throat. A few tears leaked down my muzzle as I smiled and let out a short laugh. Twilight looked at me in concern. I looked at my friend. “She remembered. I haven’t lost her.” Celestia cleared her throat and I realized I had forgotten she was there. “Sorry,” I said, suddenly blushing. “It is ok, Sunset. You had to let your wife know you were fine.” Her motherly smile warmed my soul. “If I had been in your place, I would have as well. Now, about what happened?” Twilight and I took turns explaining what had transpired after we had left for the Glen. Luna’s face grew grim as the story continued. “To think that Chrysalis was able to free herself and ally herself with the Umbrum!” she growled. She turned to her guard. “Send word to the EUP, tell them to initiate the old search protocols for Changeling infiltrators.” The Thestral gave a smart salute and turned to take off. “Wait,” Twilight said, making everyone turn toward her. She had a devilish smile on her face. “I have a better idea,” she said before explaining it. I felt my smile match hers. She never really thought about how odd it felt walking in another’s skin. True, her magic allowed her to take the appearance of anypony she wished, but instead of transforming her body, it was more a combination of glamour and illusion that allowed this change. But she was also hosting another presence in her mind, which only added to the odd sensation. I don’t care what you do after this, she told the presence. As long as I get to exact revenge on Starlight Glimmer. And you shall, a low voice purred. And then our partnership will be concluded. Chrysalis smiled as she walked down the corridor, the image of a Royal Guard draped around her like a warm cloak. Ahead was the door that led to the residence wing. She remembered the layout of the palace from her time impersonating Princess Cadenza in her plot to take over by marrying Shining Armor. She grit her teeth. What a fiasco that had become. The Changeling queen had to fight to keep her wings from buzzing in annoyance. That had been the beginning of her downfall, the impetus that had led to her having her kingdom destroyed and her people turned from her. And while it was ultimately Starlight’s fault for the latter, the former was caused by Twilight Sparkle. She deserved a bit of retribution on her as well. The grin returned as she thought about Twilight and Sunset trapped in a parallel world, stripped of their power and their wings, unable to stop her. True, they had broken the glamour over their power as Alicorns, but they were still trapped. A door with a glimmering star on it stood before her now. She pushed it open and moved inside, shutting the door behind her. There was a sleeping form on the bed, a blanket pulled up over her head as she let out small snores in her sleep. Chrysalis smiled as she dropped her glamour and began to siphon power to her horn. Her magic was augmented by the Umbrum she shared a mind with, her eyes glimmering with purple wisps of magic.  But before she could do anything else, golden chains erupted out of the ground and wrapped themselves around her.  “What?!” she exclaimed, struggling. The form on the bed threw the blanket aside, revealing a wild mane of red and gold. “Hi. How are ya?” Sunset said. The Umbrum abandoned Chrysalis and tried to flee, only to rebound off a panel of glittering crystal. Twilight stepped forward, a saccharine smile on her face. “Leaving so soon?” she asked. Chrysalis growled, trying to wrest free of her binding. “How did you get here?” she snarled. “She’s going to go after Starlight,” Twilight had said earlier as we had made our way into Canterlot Castle. “She hates her with a passion. Everything she did to you and me was just to keep us out of the way.” This led us to meet with Starlight and after using a bit of ley line magic to break the geas over their memories - and a deep kiss with my wife - we explained what had happened to us. I had a feeling we were going to be relating this story a few times unless we could completely erase this geas. Would the effects kick back in if we weren’t in sight? After talking and debating, we settled on this trap. It had seemed so simple… but simple often worked. And after some planning, that led us to this point; me pretending to be Starlight asleep in bed before springing the trap. “How did you get here?” the Changeling hissed. “Hitched a ride on a Royal Chariot,” I said, feeding a little more power into the chains that bound her. “Thought we’d catch up. Have a little talk.” “Like we would tell you anything,” Chrysalis huffed. She rose up as high as her bindings would allow. “You ponies are weak and don’t have what it takes to make me afraid.” “While ordinarily, I would agree,” Twilight said from the other side of the room. “Sunset here is a bit more irrational and prone to anger than your average pony. And your spell, whatever it is, made her wife forget about her.” “That was a bad move,” I said, deathly calm. “Last pony that harmed her, Sunset reduced to ashes.” Twilight looked at her hoof. “I wouldn’t antagonize her at the moment.” “You wouldn’t daURK!” Chrysalis began but choked off as I wrapped another chain around her neck to make her stoop. “Don’t tempt me,” I warned. I brought a bag out from behind me, withdrawing a peytral with a tiger’s eye gem inlaid, cut into the shape of a blazing sun. I passed a crown to Twilight. “You see, not only did you lay a geas over ponies that encounter us,” I said, settling the peytral on my neck. “You also nearly destroyed two worlds with your scheme last time. We have decided that you are too dangerous to allow to be simply imprisoned.” A hint of fear was working its way onto Chrysalis’ face. “But we couldn’t agree on what to do, since we’d need all the Elements to banish you to the moon or the like. Which is why I asked for their help.” Three deer walked in; a Vitrung, a Nordeer, and a Peryton. Pine and Cersi were the same as ever, though Ganymede had a grim look on her face. She carried a box the size of a small jewelry box. Thea was perched on Pine’s antlers. “They have some slightly more permanent answers than I do, with less burning.” Ganymede stepped up beside me, looking me in the eye.  “Are you certain this is what you wish to do?” She asked, box shifting in her grip. I gazed at the Changeling struggling against the chains of mana I had trapped her in. “I believe it’s for the best,” I said.  With a sigh, the Nordeer began walking around Chrysalis, placing silver tiles with various runes on them As each tile was placed, she would whisper a word and the rune would flare briefly with light. Soon, she had three rings of runes surrounding her, shimmering with coruscating light, though the outermost held a gap in its circumference. The door opened and Starlight entered, another silvery tile in her magic. “It works as well as can be expected,” she explained as she passed it to Ganymede. “I’m not overly familiar with Rune Writing.” As the final tile settled into place, the entire ring flashed gold and slowly settled to a slow pulsing. “Pine,” I said into the silence broken only by the sounds of chains rattling. The Vitrung stepped forward, reaching into the satchel that hung over his withers. From within, he pulled an oblong stone. A carving of an eye adorned it with several swirls underneath. When Chrysalis saw it, she began thrashing even harder against her bindings. I added a little ley energy to reinforce them. “I ask that you all step behind me, save Starlight.” He raised the stone and light began to trickle around his legs, the vine tracery shining a vibrant blue as the Memory Stone began to hover in the air. Starlight stood slightly behind him and began casting a spell, holding it in reserve as Twilight and I bolstered her power with our own. This was a big gamble, and I didn’t know if it would work, but the only other option was brutal and unyielding. I wasn’t willing to use those methods. Not when there was a possibility of a better outcome. “Now,” I whispered, as Twilight and I tapped the leylines and tied it into Starlight’s spell. Pine’s eyes began to glow, and the stone flared to light, ribbons of magic beginning to flow out from Chrysalis. Images began to appear on the streamers, brief moments of time appearing on them as they were pulled back into the stone. At the same time, a vortex appeared above her. I recognized it from the stories Twilight had told me about her battle through time with Starlight. Before our eyes, the Changeling began to shrink, regressing in age until she was little more than a grub. Once the final streamer sank into the stone, the spells stopped. Each of the tiles on the floor were blackened and cracked. “It’s finished,” I said, turning my eye to the Umbrum still trapped, horn blazing. It gave a final shriek as I sank ley energy into it, dispelling it from this world. Silence descended on the room and we dispersed the various spells that had been present. The grub that had been Chrysalis gave a gurgle and tried to crawl, but couldn’t get the motions down. Though the features on her face were small, her eyes were filled with curiosity. “Thea,” I said, causing my phoenix to straighten up. “Go find Thorax and tell him what happened.” I looked at the tiny baby Changeling and lifted it in my aura. “He has a new member to his hive.”