Spike was half certain that a class taught by Ocellus wasn’t going to teach much. Given what he had seen of the young changeling, he half expected her to stumble her way through a hesitant and overly cautious explanation on how Thorax was trying to reform the changeling hive.
So, he was more than a little surprised when, on the day everyone agreed Changeling culture would be covered, Ocellus shapeshifted into an almost perfect copy of Twilight, and immediately began explaining - with pure confidence - that Chrysalis’ Hive had been one of several different hives, each of which mostly operated independently of the others and utilized different methods of obtaining love.
“Thorax has been considering whether or not to try and get back in touch with some of the other Hives,” Ocellus said, perfectly replicating Twilight’s lecture voice. “But after some of the things Chrysalis did to the likes of Nebula and Vespin Hive, as well as the tragedy that befell Antenna Hive… we’ve feared that Chrysalis may have burned bridges with her sister hives for good.”
“Incredible…” Twilight mumbled.
Ocellus heard her. “Not really,” she said sadly. “We got the chance to help Equestria, but I don’t know if we can ever do anything for the other Hives that…”
“Oh, no, not that,” Twilight clarified quickly. “I just meant… your shapeshifting.”
Ocellus glanced down at her form. “W-What about it?”
“It’s really incredible,” Twilight insisted. “How you manage to replicate someone. From their appearance to their voice…”
“Right down to some of their tics,” Spike agreed.
Gabby gasped. “Twilight has ticks?”
“I got a lotion for that,” Diamondback offered.
“No!” Twilight sighed and tried to clarify what Spike meant, while Ocellus blushed.
“It was how we stayed alive,” Ocellus replied. “Being able to blend perfectly into any sort of society? It was important, so we had to make sure we did it right.”
“How’d you practice?” Spike asked.
Ocellus looked down. “Chrysalis would often throw us into areas with wild animals, where we’d either learn how to shift, or get eaten.” She looked up more hopefully. “Thorax’s way is much kinder; he has us do games like charades or even put on plays.”
Twilight paused in her explanations to Gabby and DB. “You guys… do plays?”
“Oh yes,” Ocellus said happily, shifting into - Star gave a gasp of delight - Shakespeare. “Tis a marvelous method to learning the art of becoming someone new.”
Star exchanged a gleeful look with Twilight, who rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “You know,” Twilight commented, “The Summer Sun Celebration is coming soon. Ocellus, do you think you could show us just how well you can do plays?”
Ocellus tilted her head. “How so?”
Twilight’s eyes sparkled. “We put on a play depicting how Celestia first raised the sun!”
##
At first, things went so smoothly, Spike felt assured there was going to be trouble.
While Ocellus revealed she could pull off a scarily perfect imitation of Celestia, Star revealed an uncanny knack for stage building and acting direction.
“During my exile,” Star said as she helped Rarity fit Sandbar with a costume resembling Starswirl the Bearded, “I met up with a group of traveling bards.” She smiled wistfully. “They were some of the bestest friends I ever had. They taught me everything I know about stage and theater.”
“Well, where are they now?” Swift asked curiously.
“Yeah, we could probably use their help,” Spike noted.
Star’s eyes cast downward. She gave a sad chuckle. “Yeah, thing is… a thousand years may not be a long time for an alicorn, but… it’s pretty long for other mortals. And, I, uh… met the bards eight hundred years ago.”
Spike and Swift flinched. “Oh.” They lowered their heads in understanding. Rarity’s own eyes filled with tears.
“I’m so sorry, Star,” she said gently.
Star shrugged, turning back to the costume. “Well,” she said, her confident tone trying for a return. “It’s not like I ever forgot them, right? And by doing something like this…” she looked up hopefully. “I’m making sure their memory lives on.”
Rarity nodded, gaining a determined look of her own. “Then let’s show that their teachings weren’t in vain. This will be the most fabulous play; so fabulous, your friends will see it from the afterlife and express pride in our talents!”
Star laughed. “You bet, Rares.”
A few minutes later, Twilight arrived with scripts and bags under her eyes. “I got the scripts ready,” she called out.
As Star grabbed the papers from her, Spike tilted his head. “Twi, you okay?”
Twilight gave him a rather crabby looking glare. Her fur color looked darker than usual, and her eyes had an odd reddish tinge to them. “Just…” she rubbed her eyes. “Just been working hard, y’know? Lots to do. Speaking of which…” she turned and raced away.
Spike and Swift exchanged a glance. “That was… weird,” Spike noted.
“You don’t think that was Ocellus, do you?” Swift noted.
“Impossible,” Rarity said. “Ocellus is always sweet and kind.”
Spike paused. “Unless it was Pharynx or someone watching over her.”
“Pardon?” Rarity asked.
“When Twilight and I first went to the changelings,” Spike explained. “They admitted to spying on us. Maybe they’re still doing it now as a way to make sure Ocellus is safe.”
“Well, that’s creepy,” Swift said. “They don’t need to do that.”
“I don’t know,” Spike replied. “Considering what Ocellus said about what happened to Antenna Hive, I’d say that being cautious is an old habit that they won’t break easily.”
“Were the outskirts truly that bad?” Rarity asked, turning to Star. “Star Wing?”
But Star didn’t respond; she was flipping through the pages with a look of confusion. Though the confusion quickly turned to anger.
“Star?” Spike asked.
But Star didn’t look at him. She instead ran after Twilight - or at least, the pony pretending to be Twilight.
Spike quickly followed after her, just as she reached what looked like the reall Twilight.
“I got permission from Princess Celestia to do this,” Twilight said. “She’s…” she paused, seeing Star Wing’s frustrated expression. “Star?”
Star handed the script over. “Where’s my mom’s role in this?”
Twilight blinked, before looking the script over. “What do you mean?”
“My mom,” Star repeated. “Princess Luna. The one who raised the moon after Princess Celestia raised the sun. It’s an important part of the story!”
“It… is?” Twilight asked, looking through the script in confusion.
“Yes!” Star insisted. “After Celestia figured out how to raise the sun, she still had to lower it again in order to keep the land from burning. But without the sun’s rays, creatures of the dark came out. So my mom used her own magic to raise the moon and provide some light to protect against the dark! She’d tell me the story every night before…” she paused and looked away. “B-Before bed.”
Spike got the sense she had almost said ‘Before Nightmare Moon.’ He already shifted cautiously between Twilight and Star, hoping Twilight saw the dangerous territory they were entering.
“W-Well,” Twilight stuttered. “C-Princess Celestia… never… mentioned that part.”
Star stared at her for a solid minute. Spike fully put himself between the two princesses.
“Star, take it easy…” he started to say.
But then a scream ripped the air. All three spun as Swift bolted away.
“IT’S THE SECOND COMING OF NIGHTMARE MOON!” he wailed. “RUN FOR COVER!”
“Swift!” Spike cried out in horror, but the damage was done.
For a moment, Star stood there, looking like she had been stabbed in the heart. Then her wings flared, and she vanished in a burst of starlight.
“Star!” Twilight and Spike cried out, before looking to each other in fear.
##
As Spike and Twilight teleported away, they failed to see Swift shivering behind a rock.
Or at least… what looked like Swift. He had the feathers and the dragon back half. But his feathers were a darker shade of gold, and his blue eyes an odd icy shade. He shivered in the shadows, his ice blue eyes darting around for threats.
“Well done,” a voice noted.
“AGH!” the false Swift yelped, only for Cozy Glow to snatch at his beak.
“Will you keep it down!” she hissed. “King Sombra is counting on us.” She lifted up a white scale. “Tell me you got the pony fur.”
Hesitantly, the false Swift lifted a shivering talon, in which clutched a handful of purple mane hair.
“Good,” Cozy said. “Let’s get this back to King Sombra.” She paused to point at the false Swift. “And quietly!”
Wincing under her glare, the false Swift cautiously snuck after her, his eyes still darting around like he was expecting a stab in the back.
##
Meanwhile, Spike and Twilight found Star with Luna. Both of whom were glaring down Princess Celestia.
“Oh, no,” Twilight whimpered, shrinking back. But Spike couldn’t stay on the sidelines. He marched forward.
“Star!” he called.
“Not now, Spike,” Star said. “Mother and I need to know why ‘Sweet Aunt Tia’ wrote us out of the story of her first sunrise.”
Celestia drew herself up to her full height. “I did not ‘write you out’. The details were simply lost to time.”
“Lost?” Luna demanded. “Were it not for the moon’s soothing light, the sun would have burned the land to ash! You know this, and yet I have to hear from my daughter that the ponies of Equestria have forgotten it. That they still see her as a monster in the making!”
“That is not true!” Celestia said, though her voice grew colder than Spike had ever heard it before. “I have always appreciated your efforts, sister. I thank those more powerful than us every day that you both have returned to me.”
“Not enough to ensure that history remembers our good deeds just as much as our mistakes!” Luna snapped angrily.
“Yeah,” Star agreed. “We have freaking Nightmare Night reminding both of us of the worst day of our lives, but we can’t be a part of a celebration depicting one of the greatest revolutionary changes in Equestrian history? I thought after a thousand years, things would change around here!”
“And they have!” Celestia insisted.
“Have they?” Luna asked, and Spike noticed unshed tears in her eyes. “It’s hard to tell sometimes. You still get to be adored by every pony!”
“While you what?” Celestia demanded, stepping down from her throne. “Flit around the dream realm, giving ponies lovely dreams?” Her voice gained a shockingly sarcastic edge. “Oh, it sounds just awful!”
“Guys…” Spike tried to interject.
“Spike, don’t!” Twilight pleaded, but an ominous chill and warmth began to battle through the room as Luna and Celestia’s magic began to go haywire from emotion.
Spike had to stop this. He had to take control. He forced himself to remember: “This is my home. My treasure. My kingdom.”
As he felt power build in his gut, the arguing words of the princesses washed over him.
“Don’t presume to know what it’s like to govern the dream realm,” Luna growled.
“Don’t presume to know exactly what it’s like to be ME!” Celestia boomed back.
“DON’T YELL AT MY MOTHER!” Star roared, her dragon form coming back out.
“ENOUGH!” Spike roared, managing to burst into his bigger dragon form before Star.
The princesses all leaped back, gazing up at him in shock. Spike forced himself to breathe. “Don’t take it too far,” he reminded himself. “Your job is to protect, not to conquer.”
He breathed, and returned to his normal form. He gazed up at the three of them.
“Now,” he said carefully. “It sounds like every pony has had their own hardships to deal with.” He turned to Luna. “Princess Luna, what you do in the Dream Realm is important.”
“You’re darn straight it is,” Star insisted. “Just the other night, she was there for me during a really bad nightmare.”
“And it was her dream visions that told Trixie that we were in danger from the changelings,” Spike added. He bowed to Luna. “Thank you for that.”
Luna nodded, but Twilight cleared her throat worriedly. Celestia was gazing at Spike with a look of increased hurt.
Spike quickly turned to her. “And Princess Celestia; you’ve helped maintain Canterlot. You manage to keep all these nobles in line, not through fear or intimidation, but through kindness and compassion.”
Celestia nodded solemnly. “And it hasn’t been easy,” she admitted. She looked at Star. “After you left, Star… I… lost control.”
Star and Luna blinked. “What?”
Celestia settled on her haunches, the fight leaving her. “I just had to banish my own sister… and my niece was missing. One of the nobles…” she seethed in fury. “He dared to say you leaving was a good thing. He called you Moon Spawn, and… I finally saw him the way you did. All that time, I let their adoration of me blind me.”
“Sometimes, I fear you still let it blind you,” Luna replied, but Star hushed her, having eyes only for Celestia.
“Because the first time I woke up,” Celestia replied. “The first time I truly understood… I was possessed by a fury that even I feared.” She looked at her hooves, and Spike stepped back as fire briefly blazed across them. “Generations of ponies after that feared what I became. The rage I let loose on those who had abused you. The grief I had of letting politics and public relations get between me and my family. It…” The fire faded, and tears fell from Celestia’s eyes. “It left me alone… so alone.”
Luna could only gaze at her older sister in shock - not at anger, but at the sadness now permeating her form. “Tia…” she whispered. “I didn’t know…”
Celestia shook her head. “And I didn’t know either,” she whispered, looking up at Luna with regret. “I told myself I’d be better. When I got you back… when I got Star Wing back… I wanted to believe I had changed. That I could be a better sister.” She laughed hollowly. “But I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Focusing so hard on keeping this nation afloat; keeping it from tearing apart at the seams… that I didn’t have time for my own family anymore.”
Star looked down in shame. She was still holding the script. “Maybe…” she offered hesitantly. “Maybe we can fix it,” she offered.
Celestia and Luna gazed at her. “How?” Celestia asked.
Star looked down again. “It’s… kinda stupid…” she admitted.
“Star,” Celestia said gently, walking over to her and touching her face. “Nothing you can think of would ever be stupid to me. You're my niece. My beloved Niece Of Night. And I love you.” She looked at Luna. “I love you both.” Tears fell from her eyes. “And I’m sorry I don’t show it more often.”
Luna’s own eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Tia…” she whispered, before she and Star embraced Celestia. “I love you too.”
Twilight’s hooves covered her mouth, shock and confusion ebbing away to heartwarming relief. Spike himself backed up, wiping away some tears of his own at this family reunion.
After the three alicorns cried themselves out, Celestia took a breath and composed herself.
“So, Star,” she said, “What was your idea?”
Star wiped away her own tears and breathed. “Well,” she said. “This whole thing started because I was worried everyone forgot about Luna’s role in raising the moon.” She turned to Twilight. “If we can just adjust this so that Luna’s role is clear…” She grinned. “I got a lot of acting experience. Ocellus is going to play Celestia in this play, so… I’d love to be able to show you guys what I can do in the role of…” She looked to Luna. “Well, you.”
Celestia smiled. “Star Wing, it would give me great pride to see you performing on stage.”
“I can think of no better pony to play me,” Luna agreed, before glancing at Twilight. “As long as my part is included, of course.”
“B-But of course,” Twilight said, taking the script. “If anything, this was an incomplete draft. You shouldn’t have gotten this so soon.”
Spike gasped and snapped his fingers. “I knew it!” he said, drawing the alicorn’s attention. “Someone that looked like Twilight and claimed to be her gave us these scripts. We thought that it was a changeling guarding Ocellus.”
Celestia hummed with a grimace. “I don’t suppose this changeling was merely trying to be helpful.”
“I’d like to believe that,” Twilight admitted. “Ocellus still carries a lot of guilt about what she and the other changelings had to do under Chrysalis’ rule. It doesn’t feel right to suspect them.”
“And, I guess, in a way,” Star noted. “She did help us clear some tension with each other.”
Celestia and Luna glanced at each other and smiled. “That she did,” Celestia admitted.
Luna laughed and hugged her sister. “Indeed. If there truly was a villainous plan, then it hasn’t worked out very well.”
Spike smiled at her attempt at a joke, though he still couldn’t help but gaze out towards the United Species Academy - as they had begun calling Twilight’s School of Friendship - visible over the horizon.
Could it be possible that the Twilight imposter was just a changeling trying to be helpful? He wanted to believe that, almost as much as Twilight.
But Spike had too much experience with good things turning out bad. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was fouler plays at hand.
“If that’s the case,” he decided, “I’m going to need to keep an eye out.” He glanced at Star, Twilight, Luna and Celestia as they laughed and discussed plans for the play. He managed a smile when Twilight glanced at him. “Don’t you guys worry, though,” he promised. “I’ll do my best to be ready.” He felt a surge of pride. “I mean, if I can talk down the two rulers of Equestria and get them to see reason… surely I can handle some rogue changelings… right?”