//------------------------------// // Chapter 116 - Interrogation // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// Night was beginning to take its place in the sky as things settled down in Canterlot. The changelings had followed Queen Chrysalis’ orders and surrendered. However, even hours after the battle had ended, a tense atmosphere hung over the city. There were still many who doubted the armistice, suspecting friends and family alike. Looking over the ponies stood within the palace hallway, Barrier could see that nearly everypony was still on edge. However, the two princesses seemed to be the most affected. Cadance stood close to Shining Armor where she looked somewhat jumpy. Meanwhile, Barrier observed that Celestia looked ill over everything that transpired. “—firmed fatalities, Raven?” Barrier heard Starshine’s voice in the distance as she entered the hallway with a bespectacled white unicorn with a brown mane in a bun. “So far, we haven’t had any reported deaths in either guard or changeling forces,” the mare said as she looked down at a clipboard. “There was apparently a civilian death, but it seems this pony, a unicorn identified as Miss O. Arcana, was trampled by a stampede of panicked civilians during the attack.” “Hopefully those numbers don’t shoot up,” Starshine sighed before turning to face Raven once more. “Keep me posted, Raven. I want to be alerted when we have any news.” With a nod, Raven headed off as the guard captain approached Princess Celestia. “Your highness, the doctors have confirmed Queen Chrysalis is in stable condition and we are free to begin the interrogation.” “Thank you, Captain,” Celestia quietly said as she looked down at the golden coated mare. “I’d like to speak to her alone.” “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Princess,” Starshine firmly replied. “It’s my job to ensure your safety and won’t risk anything happening with you being alone with her.” “I…” Celestia took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right, Captain.” “I’m coming with you,” Cadance sternly said as she stepped up to Celestia’s side. “Cadance…” Shining Armor was cut off as Cadance raised her wing to his mouth. “Queen Chrysalis attacked me, transformed me with poison joke and planned to kill me. I should be there to get answers out of her.” Barrier could see a fire in the pink princess’s eyes as she spoke. He’d never seen such anger in the princess of love before. “I think Barrier and I should be there as well,” Twilight Sparkle added as she came up to Celestia’s side. “It’s clear that we were also targets. We should know why and what she was planning.” After a moment, Celestia nodded silently and headed down the hallway with Starshine, Cadance, Twilight and Barrier following shortly behind her. Shortly after, the five ponies arrived outside the private chamber where Chrysalis was being held. Over a dozen guards were standing outside the door, all armed with spears and standing at attention. “Open the door,” Starshine barked, and the guards moved quickly. Two guards pulled the door open while the rest kept their eyes locked on the entrance with their spears at the ready. The five stepped inside, seeing four more guards stationed around a bed where Queen Chrysalis laid, covered in many bandages wrapped tightly around her body as another set seemed to be holding her reattached horn in place. A mare in a doctor’s coat quickly gave the princess a nod and moved out of the way. Looking over to the side, Barrier spotted a large window with another dozen pegasus guards hovering outside.Half were looking out at the night sky while the rest kept their eyes on the chamber. “Queen Chrysalis…” Princess Celestia started, garnering a sharp look from Barrier. “We have much we need to talk about.” “Clearly,” Chrysalis weakly said as she watched the five carefully. “I’ve no doubt you all have questions.” “I’ll start with the most important one,” Cadance nearly growled as she approached the bed. “Why? Why did you do all this? Why’d you attack and impersonate me?” Queen Chrysalis let out a tired sigh as she looked over to the glaring empress. “My people, the changelings, need love. It’s our food source. We gain far more nourishment from love than we ever could be subsisting on your diet. We were beginning to starve. Over the years, it’s become harder and harder for our infiltrators to gather the love we need for the hives to thrive. “Then one day, we received word that not only had the Crystal Empire returned, but King Sombra had been slain, the Princess of Love had become the new empress, and she was now engaged to the captain of the guard. “That was when I had an idea,” Queen Chrysalis said as she closed her eyes. “Cadance was now isolated from Equestria, engaged to marry a high ranking pony whom she loved, and restoring the empire. This made her ideal for replacement. By taking Cadance’s place, we’d be able to gather vast amounts of love to feed upon.” Barrier saw Cadance tense up, only for Twilight to put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Once the plan was decided, I made my way to the Crystal Empire where I took the place of a pony killed in Sombra’s attack named Beryl Roll,” Chrysalis continued as she looked Cadance in her glaring eyes. “This allowed me to gain a position as one of the palace staff, granting me the opportunities I needed to watch Cadance and study her mannerisms, and learn her history. All to sell the illusion. “When the time came, I replaced her escort and infiltrated the train. Her tea was drugged. Once she passed out... You know the rest. After that, it was a simple matter to get Shining Armor alone to place a charm on him, just in case I needed to lock down the city.” “And then you’d have me killed and served to the griffin guests while running off with him at your side as a perpetual love factory,” Cadance said in the most venomous tone Barrier had ever heard from the pink princess. “Yes. My intention was to slay one pony and pull the grandest deception ever so that my changelings would have all the food they could ever wish for.” There was a hint of shame in Chrysalis’ eye Barrier spotted as she looked away from Cadance. “The death of one enemy for a lifetime of sustenance. It seemed like our best chance of survival.” “Why didn’t you simply ask for help?” Twilight asked as she stepped closer to the changeling’s bed. “I’m sure that the princesses would have gladly helped if you asked them.” While Celestia nodded, Chrysalis scoffed in response. “Long ago, before the pony tribes united, my people attempted to reach out to the unicorns. Those changelings were all slain on sight.” Chrysalis slowly turned to glare at the alabaster princess. “From what I’ve seen of ponies, you tend to treat other species poorly compared to your own, and play favorites as well.” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked, utterly perplexed by the changeling queen’s words. ““What do you mean?”” Chrysalis mocked and rolled her eyes as she looked down at the violet unicorn. “You have a dragon child that you subject to an amount of work that goes far beyond household chores and into what should be paid work tending to the library. Based on what my spies have told me, that should be your job.” “But Spike is…” The words died in Twilight’s throat as she seemed to become lost in thought, a look of shame spreading across her face. “Another example comes with how you handle threats to your land,” Chrysalis said as she shifted her gaze towards Celestia. “Nightmare Moon nearly destroyed the world, but she was basically sent to her room and reinstated without so much as a lecture. King Sombra slaughtered hundreds, if not thousands after he was consumed by dark magic, and yet he was granted a quick death to end his pain after the elements cleansed him of his dark magic.. Meanwhile, Discord, while far less directly malicious than either of them, was essentially sentenced to locked in syndrome for eternity. “That is what petrification is like, isn’t it, Twilight?” Chrysalis asked as her eyes fell upon the unicorn mare once more. “I was informed there was a time a cockatrice turned you stone. Is that true?” Twilight swallowed as she looked Chrysalis in the eye. “Yes… That did happen to me once and it was really terrifying. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything but stare forward, trapped in my own body.” “If I could be certain that smashing his statue would have killed Discord instead of freeing him, I would have done so a long time ago… However, that was long ago and now…” Celestia paused. Barrier briefly saw her eyes dart about. “I’m honestly not sure what would be the best course of action with him. “At any rate, there’s still the issue of you ‘playing favorites’,” Queen Chrysalis said as she weakly gestured her foreleg towards Twilight and Cadance. “Especially with these two. “Cadance has used her “love magic” to influence the minds of others with no permission whatsoever…” Chrysalis glared at the rosy alicorn, making her take a step back. “While I was in the empire, I only witnessed her do this magic on those who requested it, but this doesn’t change the fact she used her powers to silence the arguing of a couple without any sort of punishment for it.” “Princess Celestia actually gave me an earful for that later that day,” Cadance interjected. “She taught me how unethical it was and I broke the spell the very next day when I saw them again. Thankfully, it seems even without my magic, the two managed to resolve their problems. Now, I see that as one of my poorest choices and I still regret it. I thought I was helping, but I was actually hurting them.” “Meanwhile, there’s Twilight Sparkle,” Chrysalis turned to the violet pony. “You mind controlled an entire town for fear of a poor grade and didn’t get so much as a slap on the wrist for it, despite what you did being a major crime. It fell to the townsfolk to voice their disgust over what you’d done. “And then came your little time loop.” Chrysalis’ words made Barrier’s ears perk up and an eyebrow rise in confusion. “You created a temporal paradox that frightened the entirety of the town thanks to a message from your future self. You broke into a forbidden archive, and created the time loop in a poorly done attempt to tell your past self “not to worry”.” “Those were both things I deeply regret.” A heavy sense of shame was clear in Twilight’s voice. “The townsfolk would do stuff like egg or TP the the library for weeks after what I’d done and many shops refused my business afterwards. And when it comes to the time loop, I fully admit that in my panic, I ended up making a predestination paradox that caused my worry in the first place.” “Tell me, did you know that since the assassination of Prince Palladium, firstborn of Queen Platinum, temporal magics of all kinds have been illegal under pain of life without trial or chance of parole?” Chrysalis asked as she looked down at the ashamed unicorn. “Meanwhile, there’s a young mare named Tick-Tock, ten years imprisoned for using time magic to fix her dropped ice cream when she was eight. Her childhood was wasted away in a maximum security prison under constant watch. Now, does that seem fair to you?” “No… No, it’s not,” Celestia said in sadness and shame. “I had never heard of this mare before, but I will see to it this gets rectified.” “Back to the matter at hoof,” Barrier said as he limped closer to the injured changeling’s bed. “What you’ve said makes it clear that Princess Cadance wasn’t the only one you were monitoring. You were watching Twilight as well, weren’t you?” “You are correct,” Chrysalis replied as she looked down on the charcoal stallion. “The Element Bearers were all ponies I had watched, but amongst them, I considered Twilight Sparkle the most dangerous of them all. However, I also believed her to be the least stable, so I decided to have my changelings exploit that. After the incident with that doll she enchanted, some of my spies were able to nudge her in such a way to negatively affect her mental state and sow distrust amongst her and her friends.” “Does that mean those times I thought I saw Sombra, it was some of your changelings trying to gaslight me?” Twilight glared as she rared up and leaned against the bed’s railing. “Indeed, though I mostly left those spying on you to their own devices. Some of the few direct orders I gave were to occasionally slip aggression-causing drugs into your food and to dump a large amount of ladybugs into your bedroom,” Chrysalis answered, making the smaller mare’s glare intensify. “It’s amazing what one hears when one has spies listening to your family tell childhood stories.” Barrier sighed as he put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and gently pulled her way. “Was my household one of your targets as well?” “Yes. I believed a group of ponies who were trained to function as both guards and assassins would be a threat as well. Especially since it seems some of them kept up with their training.” Barrier felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristling as Chrysalis spoke. “While I knew that there was no way the Element Bearers would miss the royal wedding, I knew I could arrange things to minimize how many of your soldiers would be here for the wedding.” The obsidian unicorn fought back the urge to gasp as he felt like a dozen pieces to a puzzle had fallen into place. “That’s it… that explains so much.” “Beg pardon?” Twilight asked as she turned to face him. “By the time we received the wedding invitations, almost everypony had prior plans,” Barrier stated as he glared at Chrysalis. “Forge and Snow Sweeper just happened to win tickets for hockey playoffs in Baltimare. Gem and Hatty got tickets to a Las Pegasus vacation. Wind Whistler and Fleet had a school trip in Manehattan. Verdant got sudden news about the Equestria Games that would take him to Rainbow Falls, and Daring got a message about the discovery of Dazzleglow’s tomb and the magic coins somewhere in the badlands… And you were behind all of that.” “A few false notifications by a changeling here, a few bits there, and you can pull all sorts of strings,” Chrysalis answered, clearly fighting off the urge to smirk. “And when that didn’t stop Swiftsword from coming along, you had her and many others poisoned in an attempt to keep her away!” Barrier barked as he pointed an accusatory hoof at her. “...Actually, it was just good fortune on my end that she got food poisoning from that restaurant.” Chrysalis replied. “Not enough to keep them away from the wedding entirely, but it did help further destabilize your mind.” Chrysalis’ words gave Barrier pause. After briefly considering what she said, he reared up and leaned on her bed. “Were you the one who caused me to see Grimhilde these past few months?” “I ordered it, but I was only in Vanhoover once, and never in the Grimhilde disguise.” Chrysalis said as Barrier stared into her harlequin eyes. “The spies I assigned discovered your fear of that dead hen and used that to their advantage. I believe one of them used the chaos caused by Discord’s escape to steal her skull from a museum and make you believe she was somehow resurrected.” “Tell me…” A growl emanated from Barrier’s throat as glared at the changeling queen. “Did you order them to kill Spectral Image?” “Spectral Image?” Chrysalis tilted her head in confusion. “Spectral Image… Spectral... Image... Ah, now I remember her.” Chrysalis leaned closer to the charcoal stallion. “I and my changelings had nothing to do with that mare’s death.” “...What?” A quietly stunned Barrier said as he nearly stumbled back away from her bed. “While my changelings did discover she was getting dangerously close to discovering us, they informed me they were working on a plan to nonlethally eliminate her as a threat. However, they were never able to implement those plans because she slipped on some stairs and died.” “...Are… Are you serious?” Barrier was in utter disbelief by what Chrysalis had just said. “All this time, I’ve been hunting down the stallion with the lemon mark, thinking he was a murderer… but Spectral’s death was truly an accident?” “Though one that benefitted us greatly,” Chrysalis replied before she leaned back into the bed and sighed. “Had everything gone to plan, you and Twilight would have been drugged through the entire wedding with your lack of memories blamed on being heavily hung-over. Twilight would’ve woken up in her bed chamber while you would have woken up in an alleyway.” “And I would have been killed.” Cadance glared daggers at Chrysalis, who merely sighed. “If your options were, ‘let your children starve to death’ or ‘kill a single creature you consider an enemy in exchange for years worth of food’, you’d understand what my choices were,” Chrysalis weakly replied. A shocked look quickly washed over the pink pony’s face. “Your… Your children?” Cadance’s quiet voice managed to echo in the spacious chamber. “Every single changeling that you’ve seen or interacted with are my own children,” Chrysalis said as she tried to force herself up in the bed. “I couldn’t find any better options to feed them without losing our greatest weapon, our secrecy. Being hidden has kept our race safe for millennia. It was our most precious treasure. “When Twilight exposed me earlier, it was my worst nightmare. I panicked, believing it to be the absolute worst case scenario and that the only option was to eliminate all witnesses before the knowledge could spread.” Chrysalis sighed as her gaze weakly turned to her cracked and bandaged forelegs. “Of course, now that I’ve had time to think, that likely wouldn’t have worked out. Far too many variables to keep Luna and the rest of Equestria from discovering what had happened.” “So, what now?” Twilight asked as she looked up to her former mentor. “That is for you to decide,” Chrysalis said as she lowered her tired and beaten form in her bed. Cadance stepped up to the changeling’s bed. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she gently placed a hoof on Chrysalis’ foreleg. “Make no mistake, I am furious at what you’ve done… but I understand your motivations. I can’t condone your actions, but I understand why you’d do this for your people… your children.” Chrysalis gave a sigh of what sounded like relief as a small amount of cracks on her face caught aflame before they sealed shut. “Thank you,” Chrysalis said with a tiny more energy than she did before. “In the meantime,” Celestia said as she stepped up to Chrysalis’ bed. “We have much to discuss about the future of our peoples. Barrier, Twilight, could you please step outside? Cadance, my captain and I have much to discuss with the queen.” “Of course, your highness,” Barrier said before he turned about and hobbled towards the door. “Is your leg okay?” Twilight asked as she used her magic to push the doors open. Sighing, Barrier turned to the violet unicorn. “I had one of the doctors look at it and they said it looks like the changeling’s horn caused some nerve damage. I’ll probably have a limp for the rest of my life.” “Oh, Barrier, I’m so sorry,” Twilight responded as she gave him a quick hug. “It’s okay, kiddo,” Barrier replied as he gave Twilight a quick nuzzle. “I figure it’s not to be a big deal since I don’t picture myself going into battle again. I’m getting on in years.” “You’re not even forty,” Twilight shot back. “And in my day, that was considered a retirement age for a guard, if you even lived that long.” Barrier sighed as he pulled his flask from his saddlebags. “Right now, I’m just tired and want to get home to see Fleet and—” “Barrier!” A mare’s voice shouted from a nearby hallway before a gold and gray blur rushed up to him and swept him into a bone crushing embrace. When the grip that threatened to crush his lungs finally loosened, he found himself staring into a pair of tired and worried magenta eyes. “Speak of the Daring Do,” Barrier said before he returned the pegasus’ embrace as a pair of guards rushed up to where the three ponies were. “Sir, stand back from her! We haven’t been able to confirm if she’s a changeling or not!” One of the guards barked.  “A whatling?” Daring asked as she broke away from Barrier and looked at the winded looking guards. “We had to deal with a race of shapeshifters earlier. They’ve been behind a lot of the things going on with the house recently,” Barrier answered as he looked over the golden coated mare, seeing that her clothes were rather dirty and she looked very tired. “Ah, so they were the ones behind the fake tomb,” Daring said as she rubbed her chin before looking at the glaring guards. “And now you need to prove I’m not one of them.” “That’s right!” One of the guards said before taking a cautious step closer. “Now, give us some proof of who you are!” “Alright,” Daring said before moving up to Barrier’s ear and whispering. “When we first met, it was in the Palace of Two Sisters, I called you Captain Super Soaker after our first time and I stunned you once by quickly spelling the alphabet backwards.” “She’s her.” A small smile graced Barrier’s features before he gave her a nuzzle. “She told me some things only she would know.” “...Very well, sir,” The guards slowly fell out of their aggressive stance and departed, likely to return to their stations. “So, what happened to you, Daring? You said something about a fake tomb,” Barrier asked as he trotted closer to Daring’s side. “Yeah. It was a pretty bad fake tomb,” Daring said as she stretched a wing out and put it over Barrier’s back. “Sure, it looked authentic, but I noticed some imperfections that set off some alarm bells in my mind. The biggest giveaway was the scent of tea coming off some scrolls. I know some ponies use that on paper and other stuff to give it a more aged appearance. When I tried to leave, some goons tried to stop me, but I was able to out maneuver them.” The three rounded a corner, where they spotted the element bearers, Verdant and Swift at the end of the hall. “I realized that someone had access to the letters that could be sent to me by magic, so those were compromised. When I spotted some of those goons at the train station, I had to walk all the way from the badlands to Canterlot, hoping no one spotted me. I hadn’t had to be that sneaky in forever.” Daring’s eyes drifted down to the bandage on Barrier’s leg. “Faust, are you okay?” “Other than limping, tired and sore, I’m fine.” Barrier offered her a reassuring smile. “We’re all pretty tired after everything that happened. Princess Celestia and Empress Cadance are speaking with the changeling queen now to figure out where we’re going to go from here.” “Well, at least we’re all in one piece,” Daring said as she and Barrier arrived at the windowsill where two of her housemates were gazing out at the stars. “I’m surprised to see you here, Verdant. Weren’t you supposed to be in Rainbow Falls?” “When we got there, there wasn’t anyone from the Equestria Games there at all. Just a prepaid hotel stay,” Verdant said as he looked over his shoulder. “That, along with so many of us being away from the wedding made me worried, so I hightailed it over here.” “Still, after a long and hard battle, we are now able to rest and enjoy this brief moment of peace,” Swiftsword said before letting out a sigh of relief. “Aren’t the stars beautiful tonight, Verdant? They look just like the stars we saw the day Sombra fell.” “They sure are,” Verdant replied with a soft smile. “That was quite the intense night too.” Without any warning, Verdant was blasted away from the window by a sudden volley from Swift’s horn, knocking him to the floor. Before anyone could let out a startled shout at Swift’s actions, she had drawn her swords and was holding both of them over the fallen stallion’s throat. “Swiftsword!” Barrier roared as his and Twilight’s horns ignited while several guards rushed to the scene. “What the Tartarus are you doing?!” “He’s not Verdant!” Swift exclaimed as she stared down at the vest wearing stallion. “He’s a changeling imposter!” “That’s… that’s ridiculous!” Verdant responded as his eyes darted around the room. “I helped you fight off the changelings and I… I…” The shamrock stallion sighed before giving Swift a defeated half-lidded look. “So, what gave me away?” “I’ve been suspicious of you since I encountered you in the hallway,” Swiftsword said as she glared down at the imposter. “You said you saw Queen Chrysalis battling Celestia, calling her by name, something I learned only seconds before thanks to Barrier. There’s no way the real Verdant would have known it. “However, what truly confirmed my suspicions was my agreeing that we watched stars in the Crystal Empire the night Sombra was slain.” Swift leaned closer as she spoke with gritted teeth. “The real Verdant was with me when I fell asleep that day, long before the stars came out. “Now, answer my question, changeling! Where is the real Verdant Range?!” Swift nearly roared in the disguised changeling’s face. “To be honest, I don’t know,” the changeling replied. “I figure he’s either in Rainbow Falls, unaware something’s wrong, in Vanhoover after figuring out something is wrong, or on the way here.” “Tell us…” Barrier sternly said as he made his way over to the changeling’s side. “Why did you do this? You disguised yourself as our friend and instead of using this to attack us, you aided us in fighting off your brethren and helping ponies get out of the city.” “Well… it’s because I didn’t agree with my queen’s plan,” he said as he looked upon the element bearers as they drew closer to him. “I just couldn’t stomach what was going to happen, so I tried to think of something I could do. “Barrier…” the changeling said as he turned his head from his spot on the floor. “Remember that message you saw on the mirror in your room? The one that read, ‘The stars are silent, the vulture is headless’? That was me! I wrote that to tell you those visions you had of Grimhilde and Starscream were all fake, that they were really dead!” “Visions?” Swift’s eyebrow quirked before glancing at Barrier for an instant. “If you’re the one that wrote the message, why’d it disappear by the time I got back to my room with the princesses?” Barrier asked, taking a step closer to the changeling. “I didn’t think you’d rush out and raise an alarm like you did,” the changeling replied as a wave of green flames suddenly washed over them, replacing the visage of Verdant with that of the blue coated pegasus Barrier had seen outside his door. “I thought you would keep it under wraps or maybe rush to Swift’s room. When I saw you didn’t, I was worried this would reach Queen Chrysalis, so I quickly wiped the mirror clean in a panic. There’s probably a reason I was assigned to espionage and not tactics.” “What’s going on here?” Starshine’s voice barked from the far end of the hallway before she appeared beside Barrier in an emerald flash and saw one of her guards pinned under Swiftsword. “Not much. Just that I blew my cover, revealing that I’m a changeling and now Swift’s got her swords at my throat,” the imposter said as they rolled their eyes and looked at the now stunned captain. “How’s your day going?” “What… I just…” Starshine stood gobsmacked at what the pinned changeling had said. “You said you helped us fight off your kind because you didn’t agree with what your queen was planning,” Barrier said as he glared down at the changeling. “I want you to elaborate.” “And I will…” The false guard said before swallowing nervously. “If you let me go.” “What?!” Starshine barked as her horn was alight with burning green energy. “You infiltrated my guards, doing Faust knows what to Aqua Shine to replace her, and now you want us to just let you go?!” “One: My kind infiltrated your guards a long time ago.Two: Aqua Shine, never really existed. She was an identity shared among…” The imposter paused to click their tongue. “I think four changelings, but I can’t swear by that. And lastly, I helped you fight off my siblings, some of them were permanently maimed while I helped your kind evacuate. Not to mention I tried to help Barrier even before the attacks actually happened. Please…I’m on your side.” Starshine growled as she stomped close to the changeling just as Princess Celestia and Empress Cadance approached. “If you let me go, I’ll tell Barrier and his housemates everything after he returns to Vanhoover. After that, I’ll submit to whatever justice you see fit. I just need time to get my affairs in order to fix what I’ve done” the changeling said as she looked up into the captain’s glaring eyes. “Captain…” Princess Celestia spoke, drawing Starshine’s attention away from the prisoner. “I am willing to extend the olive branch… I know how hard it can be to bring harm to one’s siblings… Let them go.” “...Against my better judgment, I will follow my orders,” Starshine spoke sternly through gritted teeth before slowly turning her attention to Swiftsword. “Let them go, Swiftsword.” “...As you wish, Captain,” Swiftsword said as she stepped off the changeling and sheathed her swords. “Thanks for the trust, your highness,” the changeling said as they rose up and sat on the edge of a window sill and turned their attention to Barrier. “Once you’re back home, I’ll tell you everything we’ve done to you once I take care of everything.” “I’d better stop seeing that damned hen,” Barrier said as kept his eyes firmly on the changeling. “I swear, you’ll never be haunted by me as Grimhilde again,” the changeling replied before turning to look at the small collection of glaring guards. “C’mon, Sis. Let’s go home.” The guards gasped as an ivory coated unicorn in their ranks moved to the changeling’s side and was engulfed in emerald flames, revealing their black chitinous true form as they stood on the window sill. “See you all later,” the disguised changeling said before letting herself fall back and disappear from sight. An instant later, a changeling was seen taking off into the night sky, followed shortly by their ‘sister’. “Well, this day just keeps getting better,” Starshine said before rubbing her tired eyes and turning to face the alabaster alicorn behind her. “Princess—” “Forgive me, but I currently don’t wish to discuss this further, Captain Dazzle,” Celestia interjected. “I believe that we’re all extremely tired from everything that’s transpired today. I suggest we all retire for the night.” “Very well, your highness,” Starshine bowed to the alicorn before abruptly turning to her guards. “Alright, night shift. Return to your patrols. I want a report every hour, nothing in or out. Understood?” “Yes, ma’am!” the guards barked before they and Princess Celestia departed down the halls. “Shining,” Cadance softly said as she marched up to the alabaster stallion and placed a wing on his back. “Let’s get some sleep. We both need it.” “Agreed,” Shining replied before placing a kiss on her cheek. “Goodnight, everypony.” “The cappin’s got the right idea,” Applejack said before she yawned so loudly, it could be mistaken for a lion’s roar. The royal couple departed. The element bearers, Spike and Swiftsword started to pull away, Applejack saw Twilight staring out the window as she rested forelegs on the sill. “Y’coming, Twi?” Applejack asked. “Not quite yet,” the violet unicorn replied as her friends looked at her with some concern. “Getting drugged earlier and being out for so long has got me wide awake. I’ll catch up with you later.” “Alright, but don’t wear yourself out, dearie,” Rarity said, turning back down the hallway. “We all need our beauty sleep.” “Some more than others,” Dash playfully snarked as flew above her friends. “Says the pony that spends most of the day napping on clouds or in trees.” Spike’s reply drew a light chorus of chuckles as they fell out of earshot. “Well, back to the salt mines,” Starshine said as she began to pull away, only to feel a foreleg on her shoulder. Looking back, she was surprised to see it was Barrier holding her back. “Is something amiss, Barrier?” “There’s just a few questions I wanted to ask,” the obsidian unicorn said as Starshine turned around. “First off, is there a reason Princess Celestia called you Captain Dazzle and not Captain Starshine?” With a sigh, Starshine looked past Barrier and straight at Daring Do. “Around when I was going to enroll in the guard, I had a cousin who was going on some rather important assignments for the princess. She planned to start a book series based on her escapades, and so long as she didn’t break her contract to reveal anything classified, she was free to do so. “However, I didn’t want said book series to possibly put our family members at risk or cause accusations of nepotism with my career, so I politely asked her to refrain from using her full name in her books while I asked I mostly be referred to by my given name.” “I’d say the deal worked out pretty well for us, Cuz,” Daring said before she came up to Starshine with a small smile. “And look where we are now. Captain of the Equestrian guard and a well known author. I’d say we did pretty good.” “Truly. My first day as captain, the kingdom gets invaded by shapeshifters,” Starshine sarcastically said as she rolled her eyes before she took on a more playful tone. “Meanwhile, I finally get to see my cousin for the first time in years, only to find out my cousin's got terrible taste in stallions.” Barrier remained silent as he could see from her tone and the look on her face that she was merely joking. “Hey, Barrier’s a great boyfriend,” Daring shot back more seriously than Starshine. “Your letters described him as, ‘tall, dark and handsome’. He’s clearly only two out of three,” Starshine said before childishly sticking out her tongue at Daring, making the pegasus’ face scrunch up. “As entertaining it is as watching you two bicker, I have a more serious question,” Barrier said as he stood between the two mares. “Earlier, way before we found out she was Chrysalis, you seemed to really dislike Empress Cadance. Might I ask what that’s all about?” The charcoal stallion’s question drew Twilight’s attention, letting her see a stunned look and blush upon Starshine’s face. “You saw that?” She hoarsely croaked out. “It was somewhat hard not for me to notice. You were practically glaring daggers at her,” Barrier responded. “Might I ask why?” Starshine let out an embarrassed groan as she leaned up against the windowsill, trying not to let the others see her face. “There is a reason… but it’s really stupid.” “I’ve had to deal with cadets that set a fountain on fire, tried to use a brick as a pillow, been swallowed whole and tried to fornicate in the princess’s personal bathroom,” Barrier said as he pulled out his flask. “I doubt your reason could top that kind of stupid crap.” “Alright,” Starshine said before swallowing. Her blush grew harder as she hefted herself up on the windowsill to lean against it. “Back when I was in high school, I had a crush on this one stallion. He was a bit on the nerdy side, but there were so many great things about him. He was brave, he was caring, he was dedicated, he’d do anything for those he cared about. I wanted to ask him out so many times, but I had butterflies in my stomach and I was worried that I’d be shot down, no matter how much my friends said that was unlikely. “So eventually, I finally worked up the courage to ask him out… but I was too late.” Starshine sighed as she stared out to the inky black void of the night sky. “Another girl had asked him out, and there was no way a mere cheerleader could compete with a princess.” “Wait, you had a crush on my brother?” Twilight’s stunned remark made Starshine look away from her, though Barrier could see the blush on her face grew even deeper. “Yes,” Starshine said with what Twilight presumed was shame and sadness in her voice. “Even after all these years, trying to find somepony else, I still have feelings for him. Hearing that he and Empress Cadance were engaged was one of the saddest days of my life. The whole reason I couldn’t stomach spending a single second with Empress Cadance was the fact I was petty and jealous.” “Well, you weren’t jealous, you were envious,” Twilight interjected. “Envy is wanting what somepony else has while jealousy is worrying somepony will take what you have, and that would imply he was ever… yours… to… begin… with…” The violet mare trailed off as she saw Starshine turning her neck towards her with a half-lidded glare. She could practically hear her neck turning like a rusty torture device as her eyes clearly tried to burn through her skull. “...Sorry.” With a deep sigh, Starshine slumped down and rested her chin on the windowsill. “It’s okay. I know I’m the one being stupid here, nursing some schoolgirl crush. Still, I do wish him all the happiness in the world.” “If it makes you feel better, that’s not even in the top ten stupidest things I’ve seen from my time in the guard,” Barrier said, trying to be comforting to the golden coated unicorn. “Or after, for that matter.” “Well, thanks.” Starshine still sounded glum as she lifted herself off the windowsill to face Barrier. “Do you have any other questions? ‘Cause if not, I’ve likely got a mountain of paperwork to deal with.” “Well, there was one other thing that I am somewhat curious about,” Barrier said as he stroked his chin. “When I was recruiting ponies for the journey to the Crystal Empire, where were you?” “Oh, that…” A soft chuckle came from Starshine. “Well, the reason why was because my sister had an accident and some broken bones. I used up a bunch of personal days to help her when she was recovering, staying at her place in Baltimare.” “Wait, Molly got hurt?” Daring asked in surprise, to which Starshine affirmatively nodded. “Crap. I should write you more often,” she said with a wince. “Is that it?” Barrier asked as he tilted his head. “I don’t see how your sister’s accident could be so bad.” “Believe me, it’s a lot more complicated than that,” Starshine replied with a sigh. “Y’see, Molly Cule, my twin, has a medical condition that causes rather fragile bones. I forget the name of it, but it’s often called GPS for short. It’s a problem that seems to run in parts of my family. While Daring and I managed to dodge that bolt, Molly’s got it, so she’s been really fragile all her life… and I was scared that if somepony found out my twin sister had this condition, then my own health would be called into question, with ponies thinking I’d be a liability to the guard.” “Now, that explains a few things,” Barrier said with a nod. “Y’know, with the way you acted when I first asked you this, along with seeming to only run into Grimhilde in places where you were, a small part of me thought it was you taking on her appearance.” “Well, at least the truth is aired out and we can get some peace of mind,” Starshine said as she hopped away from the windowsill. “I really should get back to work. Barrier, Twilight, I hope you have a good night’s rest. And Daring,” Starshine said as she gave the pegasus a smirk. “Try not to be a stranger. Maybe pay me a visit sometime. I finally managed to master Dad’s potato salad recipe.” “Heh, I’ll believe it when I taste it, Goldielocks,” Daring said as she held a hoof out to the unicorn, who smiled before bumping it back. As Starshine trotted down the hall, eventually disappearing from view, Daring trotted up to Barrier’s side and placed a wing on his back. “Come on, Big Guy. my hooves are killing me and all of us could use some rest.” “You’re right,” Barrier replied before nuzzling her. “Come on, Twilight. Let’s get some sleep.” *** In the darkness of the ruins of her royal bedchambers, Princess Celestia looked down at some of the many glass shards that were scattered about the floor. Her horn glowed with golden light, cutting through the darkness as she picked up one of the larger shards, holding it so that only her eyes were visible in her reflection. “Sunset…” The princess hoarsely said as a single tear rolled down her face.