//------------------------------// // 8: Mothers // Story: For the Hive // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// The tension in the archmage’s study was oppressive. Velvet and her minions tried to split up between Rainbow Dash and Twilight, who was trying to pry the bangle off her horn. However, the lightning enveloping Rainbow Dash’s wings had been replaced by a faint lavender-orange glow that gave Velvet pause. Damn it! Of course she’d be a practitioner of Arcane Wing. “I’ll handle my daughter, take care of the Wonderbolt!” Three earth ponies charged Rainbow to buy their unicorn brethren time to weave spells. A snide grin crossed Rainbow’s face as she jumped over the first, sidestepped a buck from the second, and slid under the third’s high swing to place herself in front of Velvet who skidded to a halt. “You dun goofed, lady.” “Out of my way!” Velvet raged as she fired an energy bolt at point blank range. Rainbow barely ducked underneath it in time, giving the attack a clear line of sight for Aged Page. The elderly stallion was too slow to react as the bolt slammed into Page’s chest, knocking him to the ground. “Page!” Twilight called out while scrambling over to him. Rainbow growled and lashed out with a fiery wing, scorching Velvet before she could shield herself and bounce back. Rainbow’s advance was checked by one of the unicorns latching onto her with his magic and hoisting her into the air. “That was easy enough.” The trio of earth ponies bolted over to strike the helpless pegasus, only for Velvet to yell at the unicorn. “Stop, don’t hold her!” With a savage grin, Rainbow’s wings started glowing pale lavender with erratic orange streaks coursing through them. The altered wing magic generated massive feedback that caused an explosion at the tip of the unicorn’s horn. The concussion wave cracked his horn, and knocked the other spellcasters off their hooves. “Stop her!” Two pegasi came in from the northern hallway to keep Rainbow occupied. Velvet left them to it so she could refocus on Twilight who had finally pried the bangle off her horn with Page’s help. Velvet weaved a powerful sleep spell over her daughter before she could regain even a shadow of her normal power. Twilight barely caught it in time as drowsy tendrils ensnared her mind, but it wasn’t enough. Her eyes felt heavy, her head stared to droop while her legs collapsed. “Enough of this,” Aged Page grunted through the pain of burnt flesh as he forcibly countered Velvet’s spell, and conjured a pressure wave to blast her back and into the air. One of the pegasi saw the flying unicorn and caught her. The act gave the archmage enough time to speak as Twilight shook off her fatigue. “Vindicate my trust in you, Twilight. Spare your mother.” Twilight deflected a series of firebolts from an opportunistic unicorn, and absorbed an electric jolt from Velvet. Why should- A particularly large chunk of arcane energy exploded on her shield. I even bother? She telekinetically latched onto one of the unicorns’ head and smashed him against the floor, stilling him for good. “I’ll try,” she grunted unenthusiastically while pulling the air out of the lungs of a second unicorn. Page found himself bodily lifted and tossed behind a table with Twilight right behind him as the floor exploded out from under them. He shielded his face as splinters flew everywhere. “I know that tone, young filly, spare your mother or you’ll never forgive yourself!” An unconscious pink pegasus sailed overhead, courtesy of Rainbow Dash. Twilight ducked under the flying mare before letting a series of arcane lances keep Velvet and the last unicorn back. “Page, she’s trying to kill me!” A violet beam carved a burning line through the table. “In case you hadn’t noticed!” “That’s not an excuse, Twilight!” he barked scornfully. Velvet grimaced at Rainbow Dash punching the last earth pony to the ground, his fur smoking from several different places. “That’s it, everything dies!” She launched a blob of raw, condensed mana into the center of the ceiling before bolting for the west door. Those ponies who were still conscious fled with her. Rainbow Dash was about to go in pursuit when a loud cracking noise from above stopped her in her tracks. Twilight yanked her saddlebags over and charged a teleport spell as hundreds of spider webbing cracks ran along the ceiling. The whole room began collapsing a thunderous groan of stone and wood. Twilight snap-teleported all three of them through the hole in the floor right as fifty tons of stone buried the study. All three of them tumbled out of the teleport across a dusty old carpet in an unlit hallway. None of them were given a chance to catch their breath once they heard the ceiling beginning to groan under the weight. Twilight was the first on her hooves with the saddlebags hovering in her magic. "This hall’s going to collapse too, we need to get out from under the study!” Aged Page pushed back the darkness with an orb of light and shot it down the passage ahead of them. “Go, that way is your safest bet.” Rainbow hefted the aging unicorn on her back, much to his protests. “Sorry gramps, I don’t trust your legs for this.” “Humph,” he grunted before teleporting to the far end of the passageway. “You best hurry young ladies," he yelled over the buckling walls. Both mares went into a dead sprint across the fifty meter hallway right as the walls gave way. The crashing stone raining down behind them brushed the edges of their tails the whole way. Rainbow made the mistake to look up to find boulders floating above her head. Page leveraged his magic to keep the path clear until both mares skidded to a halt at his side. “As soon as you two are done catching your breath, we should be leaving. Velvet has a small army here, and we need the assistance of the Royal Guard if we plan to make it out of here alive." “A small army!?” Twilight half shrieked. “Do so many ponies fear changelings that she could raise an army?” “Well no,” Page replied half worriedly as he led them down a fork in the tunnels. “Most are mercenaries. Their pay depends on you getting captured and changed back.” Twilight gritted her teeth and her wings buzzed angrily. “Not going to happen!” Aged Page paused. “We can catch our breath here for the moment.” Rainbow Dash scanned the high class décor of the new hallway that was cast in the pale light of a solitary mote of mana. The walls had maroon velvet wallpaper with ivory sconces holding unlit lamps at regular intervals. Page took one of them off the wall and brought it over before lighting it, casting the group into deep shadow. Despite her novice experience with the hive mind, not even Rainbow Dash could miss the boiling fury wafting off of the lavender queen. “Twi, when you said ‘don’t hold back’, did—” “What do you think I meant?!” She retorted harshly. “She’s a traitor!” “Velvet is your mother, Twilight Sparkle.” Aged Page stood up to give his old apprentice a stern gaze, only to find that Twilight was more than capable of leveraging her regal bearing to rebuke him. “Is she? I’ve tried diplomacy, I’ve tried reconciling with her, bonding, ignoring, silent treatment, everything!” Rainbow stepped back from the heated mare while the archmage stood his ground, letting the wounded mare vent. “She doesn’t care how many hoops I jump through to win her back over, all because I won’t jump the one she wants.” “Twilight,” he began calmly, “she wouldn’t be doing all of this if she didn’t love you.” “But she doesn’t LOVE ME!” She screamed with all her might. Despite the rage across her visage, several tears betrayed her. “Y-you don’t know what it’s like, Page. I c-couldn’t feel any love from her… Not even a speck.” “Then why is she doing all of this?” Rainbow asked incredulously. Hot tears flowed freely, creating dark lines down Twilight’s face. “She can’t love who I am, only who I used to be.” Rainbow was partially affected by the sorrow via the link, but she didn’t let that stop her from comforting her friend with a hug. Aged Page laid a wrinkly hoof on the weeping mare’s withers. “Twilight, I know this is difficult for you, and if Velvet was anypony else I’d say you were right to do so; but I’m begging you, don’t kill your mother.” Twilight breathed heavily to get her composure under control. She cast her red puffy eyes at the old stallion with more steel than he’s ever seen her carry. “I’d never do that to daddy or Shiny, but I refuse to call that witch my mother anymore.” Rainbow Dash took the hint and backed up to let Twilight stand up while she rummaged through her saddlebags. “We’re going to need help if we hope to go up against these guys.” “I agree,” Aged Page commented dryly, thankful Twilight had been talked down. “I trust that ‘hive mind’ of yours allows communication, but you have no idea where we are.” “That was the point, wasn’t it?” Rainbow rebuked curtly. “That whole room you guys were in was a fake.” How do you know that? He discarded the question for the time being. “Look, it won’t be long before Velvet’s search through the rubble reveals we’re not dead. We’re in the old Celvard cliffside monastery on the far side of Canterlot Mountain.” “I thought these walls felt familiar,” Twilight nodded in thanks to Rainbow and took the offered orb into her magic along with a canteen of water. “I’ll send word to Celestia, but we need reinforcements now!” Knowing his former student, he waited expectantly for whatever plan she had to unfold. Rainbow Dash on the other hand was debating with herself for a solid minute before speaking. “Twi, I want you to let me link with the troops when they come through.” I wish this salve would melt faster. She turned to her friend with a mildly perplexed look, one that was shared to a greater extent by Aged Page. “Sorry, I can’t let that happen.” The stallion’s confusion only doubled at that, while Rainbow stood her ground. “Come on Twi! I’ve seen how the drones coordinate themselves. They do it all over the hive mind. How am I going to be able to fight alongside them without having that connection?” “I understand, Dash, but it’s just not a good idea.” “What? You don’t think I can handle it?” she fumed quietly. Some of the glass was finally visible under the melting salve. “No, quite the opposite.” Twilight saw the unasked questions in both their eyes. “Okay, look, once you’re a part of a hive mind, you’ll never want to leave it. That’s why I’ve limited you to only me until I can fix everything.” “Forget it, I know how 'Lings fight! The only way to keep all of us from crashing into each other is with the hive mind. Come on, Twi, I think I can handle an hour or two,” she pleaded with clasped hooves. Twilight glanced at her old mentor, only to receive a reserved shrug in reply. The glass orb filled with her magic while floating over to an empty section of the hallway. “…This is a fine line you’re walking, RD. Trust me, I know. Once I was fully integrated into Cadista’s hive mind, I never wanted to leave.” “Is it really so addictive?” Page asked with a mix of curiosity and condescension. The lavender queen gave him a hard look. “It’s mostly out of convenience than anything else. Remember all the times you sent me out to fetch reagents for your work back in the day?” He arched a bemused eyebrow. “Yes, what of it?” “Well consider how much faster it would have been if you could mentally talk to the various herbalists the moment you needed something, and they could send a delivery out to you scant seconds later?” The wheels in Page’s old but sharp mind chugged along as other possibilities jumped to the forefront. “Yes, now I see what you mean. The applications for such a communication method are endless. It would be difficult to give that up. But what if I don’t want to talk to a particular—” Rainbow butted back into the conversation. “We don’t have time to argue about this, Old Guy. Twilight, I can take care of myself, please let me help.” Twilight wrestled with herself and turned to Aged Page for guidance, only to receive another shrug in response. “…Alright, Rainbow, but I’m cutting you off from them the moment we’re finished here. Prepare yourself.” A dozen incoherent voices suddenly entered Rainbow Dash’s mind. They were quiet at first, barely a whisper tickling the back of her skull. The sound rose sharply up to the point where it felt like she was in the middle of a small chatty diner. Now that she knew what to expect, the noise did little to frighten her. This is nowhere near as bad as the academy’s mess hall was. With only a dozen minds to sift through, the unintelligible conversations quickly organized themselves into the background. Right as Rainbow Dash was on the cusp of understanding them, Twilight finished energizing the orb and fourteen figures materialized in a blinding flash of lavender light, drenching the hallway in a star’s radiance. The glass orb was pulverized by the magic coursing through it, but it had served its purpose. Aegis and her full squad took up position at far ends of the hallway with a pair of heavy Clockwerks. Page couldn’t help but give his old student a nod of respect. I had my suspicions, but I was right. Twilight did know it was all a trap. Let’s see how you play your cards from here. Aged Page pressed himself against the wall at the sight of the mechanical changelings, but was able to pass off his fear for curiosity. There’s strange magic within those golems. Something wholly unnatural. Rainbow Dash shook her head to try and separate her thoughts from the new arrivals. Four faces in particular caught her eye. “Aegis, Intel, Ferrum, ah Riposte! Finally out of bed, eh?” “With a new sword to boot,” the swordling replied with a flourish of his skysteel weapon. The rest of them shared a perplexed look once they realized they could hear Rainbow’s passive voice over the hive mind. Aegis spoke for the group. “I would ask why I can hear you over the Link, Aunty, but we have bigger issues.” “Indeed,” Twilight started, “no doubt the garrison will have noticed I’m still alive after your entrance. We need to find a way to extract ourselves and Twilight Velvet so she can stand trial.” She turned to Page to take the lead. The old stallion was visibly put off being crowded by so many changelings, even if they did possess fur. I never did like leaps of faith “Your m – target would likely be tending to your father.” Cold fear crept into every changeling’s heart, Twilight’s most of all. Her voice carried more fear than anything else. “Why is he here? I thought he had to work today.” “To keep him away from the Royal Guard. All I know is that he found out what she’s been doing for the past few years, and she had to detain him up in the main cathedral, two floors up.” A single thought hammered itself into the focus of her mind. I have to save daddy! Before she could voice that one driving directive, a war cry resounded from the north end of the hallway, followed by a trio of gunshots. Given Twilight’s familiarity with the place, she shared that knowledge with her defenders. Aegis looked to her queen for permission, which was given with a quick nod. Ferrum glanced at Riposte with a toothy grin before facing all three of them. the entire squad cheered, sending a thrill down everyone’s spine. As one, the groups split off in both directions with Twilight, Page, and both Clockwerks going with Aegis. Rainbow Dash stayed close behind her, finding it strange how she always seemed to have some indication of where the drone would turn next, when she stopped to scout a bend in the corridor or at the foot of the stairs when they came to it. Even above the heavy steps of the clockwerks, hooffalls could be heard coming from above. Aegis readied two pistols in her magic, with the rest of the group doing the same. “Got it!” With a flick of her wings, lightning crackled over her feathers and Rainbow surged up the stairs with a smug lopsided grin. She barely made it up a single flight before the first unicorn came into view. He fired a panicked magic bolt that Rainbow easily dodged by pushing off the wall. She sailed up and over him to slam down on the earth stallion behind him. The unicorn never got a chance to take revenge when Aegis followed up and shot him between the eyes. Rainbow gritted her teeth as she sidestepped an earth pony’s spear, but the tight quarters of the stairs worked against her. She tried rushing him, but the stallion backed off and kept her at bay with the point of his spear. That was until Aegis poked her head out from behind the bend in the stairs, along with her pistol, and planted a bullet in his chest. With the last hostile down, Rainbow was free to race up the last flight of stairs to find herself in a wide grain silo. She crept over to the door and carefully peeked outside to find the mountain complex to be much like Canterlot, hanging off an artificial ledge, but on a much smaller scale. Five structures were within her immediate line of sight, with a cathedral dominating the center of the narrow shelf. A bell tower stood on the far end of the chapel. The entirety of the monastery was crumbling stone and eroded walls having long since been abandoned after the arrival of the alicorns. However, ancient décor was the last thing on Rainbow’s mind. A cloud of pegasi watched over the skies while their ground bound brethren poured out of the chapel towards the side buildings where the other changeling squads were making a show of it to draw attention onto themselves. Twilight and Aged Page joined her at the top. “When you said a small army, I was hoping you were exaggerating a little,” she whispered with a frown. “Well, half of them are mercenaries, the Headhunters if I’m not mistaken.” Page rattled on as the radicals and soldiers of fortune organized themselves. “No idea where they’re from though.” “We can figure that out later,” Twilight whispered back. “They look like they’re just trying to contain us.” “Yes, teleports can come in, but the void crystals running along the rooftops and carried by the pegasi will keep us here.” Page replied irritability. “I hope you have a better plan then this, oh queen.” “I do actually.” Celestia tapped an irritated hoof as Twilight’s first diplomat into her court, Rolled Scroll, gave her a play-by-play recount of everything that passed through his queen’s ears. Her trust in her student was absolute, but what she was hearing only made her wish that was not the case. “Sister, you know what the law demands,” Luna said with grim stoicism. “Velvet raised an army within Equestria’s borders without our consent. Not to mention the rest of her crimes if she truly has been leading the PCE all this time.” The solar diarch’s tapping slowed. In her mind’s eye, she vividly remembered the day Twilight Sparkle was selected to be her personal student. She inwardly smiled at the little purple filly bouncing around out of pure joy, and the filly’s mother wiping away tears of pride. Celestia recalled days later, how Velvet bit back a mother’s anxiety as Twilight entered the castle for the first time, how she was there at every graduation, award ceremony, every birthday. Every single event Celestia had been able to attend, Velvet had been there too, along with Night Light, Shining Armor, and even Cadance. All of them showered Twilight with affection and praise, Velvet chief among them. In all her years, so had never seen a parent so proud of their child. How has it come to this? Celestia, ever the regal princess on the outside, was emotionally devastated. I’ve failed you both. I saw the signs, but I failed to act. I should have— “Princess?” Celestia’s musings were derailed at her Guard Captain’s query. “Glinting Lance, tell the Guard to expect casualties, and inform the press of my decision.” She looked to her sister. The alicorns shared a look that communicated on a level only siblings could fully understand before addressing Rolled Scroll. “Tell Captain Veselov that he may proceed.” Aegis winced as a crossbow bolt dug into the stone wall next to her face, showering her eyes in gravel. She leaned out and took aim at the arbalist pegasi perched on the roof of the chapel and fired. The shot went so far wide that the pegasi didn’t even bother to duck as they reloaded their weapons. She grumbled at herself. Twilight yanked a void crystal tipped bolt out of the carpet under her hooves and tossed it out into the sun baked walkway. Aegis bit back a curse and silently glanced at the small pile of bodies littered around the silo’s exterior. The mercenaries had learned quickly about the limited range of the changelings’ firearms, and were keeping them locked down. Her first instinct was to double back through the underground passageways to find another route, but all it took was the sound of gunfire and the clack of steel to know they were trapped in the silo. Or at least, that’s what Aegis wanted the mercenaries to think. Rainbow Dash stood over the prone form of an earth stallion, a snarl remained on his dying lips. Taking lives, even for the veteran soldier that she was, was never easy. No matter how evil or demented her opponents might be, they still had someone who cared for them. And there she was, taking that husband, son, daughter, or friend away from someone else. But this is where her chosen path had taken her. When diplomacy and harmony was not enough for some people, she along with every other Wonderbolt both past and present stood vigilant. Rainbow looked up, scanning the eyes of the four ponies who pressed forward. All of them bore seething rage at their comrade’s fate. But Rainbow’s mana coated wings gave the mercenaries pause. She was a Wonderbolt, a demon in the air. She should be grossly handicapped in the height confines of the narrow hallways, barely three ponies abreast. Unfortunately for them that couldn’t be further from the truth. Rainbow Dash gave a short warning shake with her head, but it went unheeded as the first grey earth pony charged in, her sword carving a lethal arc. The unicorn behind her cursed her recklessness and started weaving a spell to support her. Rainbow flicked her wings, instantly changing the mana from an amorphous mist to tight banding ribbons, giving her wings a hard edge. She slipped under blade and moved to slam her left wing into the mare’s skull, but a warning over the Link made her fall flat on her belly as a scything wave of burning magic passed through the mare and singed the top of Rainbow’s ears. The Link told her the mare had been unharmed by the spell, and rolled left to avoid a vicious downward slash. The moment the blade dug into the carpet, Rainbow kicked the blade out of the earth mare’s mouth and brought a wing up on her neck, collapsing her trachea. With Rainbow still low to the ground, the changelings behind her fired upon the remaining mercenaries, downing two with the fourth barely managing to slip inside a broken door. she called back as she ran to the grain silo’s doorway. She ducked behind a narrow corner where she slumped to the ground to level out her breathing. A nearby drone turned to the clockwerk. “Clockwerk unit Resolute: instructions, barricade the doorway.” “Complying.” The Clockwerk stepped forward and took a heavy pill shaped grenade off its back and threw it a few meters down the hall. With a massive *phoomph* two meters of corridor was crammed with quick drying foam akin to porous stone. “That’ll hold them for a while,” the queen’s guard announced with a smug grin. Aegis took another potshot at the arbalists, if for nothing else than to keep from feeling impotent. This is not how I expected to be fighting ponies for the first time. She turned to find a grim face upon her queen. It was hardly a surprise, given the circumstances. A few moments later, the arrows stopped coming. Aegis and the rest shared quizzical glances before poking their heads out. The sight drew Twilight's ire in an instant, which only caused every changeling in the area to feel it as well. The chapel’s main doors yawned open after silence fell over the monastery. Three unicorns escorted Velvet as she marched over towards Twilight’s position. The queen stood in the doorway, but made no move to leave it, having lost trust in her first mother. Velvet stopped several meters away, sighing at the dead and dying. “I want this bloodshed to stop, Twilight. If there is even a single trace of equinity left in you, surrender now.” “You speak of equinity, Velvet, but you seem to have forgotten about what it means to be a good mother.” Velvet bristled at Twilight’s chiding tone, but the queen brooked no interruption. “You would have me condemn my hive to death? Not a chance!” “You know nothing about being a mother!” Velvet raged to the point of scratching her throat. “I’ve seen enough changelings behind bars and on the dissection table to know there is no way they could ever be worthy of the term: child. How far has your mind been twisted to see these tools as children?” “Who are you calling a tool, bitch!” Ferrum shouted, drawing attention and a hoof across the back of the head, for a moment before Twilight spoke again. “Were you blind the day of the Phoenix’s arrival, or when I introduced my drones to you and father?” Velvet slammed her hoof down. “I did not come out here to debate! You will surrender here and now, or more ponies will die to end your threat to Equestria, one way or another.” “I’m not the one sending them to die, Velvet. Their blood is on your hooves!” Twilight shot back. A few of the mercenaries felt the queen won that little shouting match, but the bits were too good to pass up, and they had the changelings cornered. Velvet stared into Twilight’s face. She no longer saw a changeling wearing her daughter’s skin. She’s faded away completely. I should have done this long ago. “So be it, Queen Twilight Sparkle. Then I will carry that blood willingly.” She turned to the mercenary lieutenant at her side. “End this. Release my daughter’s soul from this living hell.” “As long as you got the bits, lady.” A distant shadow passed over the sun baked marble stones between the chapel and Twilight’s position. Velvet didn’t need a telescope to know what it was. “It’s the Phoenix, she means to send her entire swarm down on top of us!” High above the monastery, the hive ship descended at a seemingly lethargic pace. Its biggest guns remained unmoving, but the dozens of smaller turrets readied themselves and aimed at the structure below. Despite the danger, numerous pegasi from Canterlot followed the airship at a distance, baffled by its sudden departure from the city’s airspace. Captain Veselov’s eyes bored into the ceiling mounted clock hanging above the ship’s wheel. Each second was too long in his book. He stood up to join the younger drone at her station. Twilight ducked back inside the small grain room and threw up an atmospheric barrier around the interior of the silo as moments later, well over a hundred shells in the first volley exploded all around them. Instead of the fire and shrapnel that Velvet and the mercenaries expected, whitish smoke filled the air. The entire monastery and a twenty meter radius around it was smothered in the clinging opaque gas. The mercenary lieutenant’s first thought was a smokescreen, and blew the whistle around his neck. “Move it lads, get in there and squash those bugs!” Most never got the chance to comply as the smoke revealed itself to be a choking cloud that burned their eyes and noses. All but a handful of pegasi dropped to the ground as the gas sent everyone into a coughing and sneezing fit. “Why aren’t the void stones working?” One called out between sneezes. If any answer was forthcoming, he never got to hear it as the changelings surged out of their positions and waded through the crippled mercenaries and purist fanatics. The lieutenant tried to cover his eyes with one leg while pushing Velvet back towards the chapel. “Rally inside! Move it, move it!” Velvet barely got inside when the lieutenant saw past his watering eyes to witness a prismatic blur racing through the gas with a glass helmet on. He tried to weave a fireball into being, only for his mana to immediately drain into the dozens of void crystals the pegasi had dropped. Ah bloody 'ell, was all he could think before Rainbow Dash planted a hoof across his jaw. With a quick one-two punch, he went down like a sack of potatoes. The cyan pegasus didn’t linger as there were still plenty more mercenaries and fanatic heads to crack. Night Light had gone through a range of emotions ever since waking up in a bell tower, chained to the railing with a warded lock. Disbelief and confusion were chief among them before settling into depression. Velvet… What have you done? It had been two hours since his wife left him there with lunch and a promise to heal their family. “Heal the family indeed,” he fumed. “Twilight’s perfectly happy how she is; you’re the only one who needs healing.” His anger fizzled out at the sight of the meal. Cucumber Gratin and truffled potatoes… our favorite. Oh Velvet, I hope our daughter can keep you from doing something we’ll all regret. With all the recent commotion outside, Night Light was torn between trying to find a way to remove the chain around his right hind leg and getting the mana locking bangle off his horn. He noticed the white smoke crawling its way inside almost too late to react, and finally recognized the cause of all the coughing and sneezing outside. The wooden slats covering the exterior of the tower snapped with a massive *crrrrack* and a controlled gust of wind blew the gas back out of the tower as Twilight Sparkle landed next to her father. She ripped off her gas mask and squashed her father in a crushing hug. “Daddy! Thank the First Mother you’re alright!” A massive smile crossed his lips and he hugged her back with all the strength his aging bones could muster. “Twilight! I was so worried your mother was going to do something we’d all regret.” Her smile fell. “She did. We’ll talk about it later, right now I need to get you out of here.” A hatch off to the side burst open to reveal a coughing and hacking Velvet stumbling out. Twilight immediately let go of her father to storm up to the helpless mare. “If we were back in the jungle, Velvet, nopony would bat an eye if I killed you right here and now.” Velvet kept trying to rub her eyes clear, but the gas had clung to her fur, making it even worse. *hack* “So, are you *cough* finally going to reveal that *sniff* corruption for all to see?” Night Light rushed over to restrain his daughter, but hesitated to do more than laying a hoof on her withers. “Twily, please, don’t do this. Let your mother stand trial.” “Raaa!!” Velvet shot an energy bolt blindly in Twilight’s direction, but the shot went wide and carried past Twilight and straight for her husband. Night flinched at the oncoming bolt, but it never reached him thanks to a last minute shield from Twilight. Growling, Twilight grabbed Velvet in her magic and yanked her over so she could speak directly in her ear. Night Light was dumbstruck by how low his wife had sunk. “I am a daughter of Equestria, Velvet, I won’t harm you. The whole nation will hear of what you’ve done in court, I can assure you of that.” *wheeze* “Bah. *hack* The battlefield may change, but I will never give up the fight to free my daughter’s soul! Sooner or later, monster, somepony will kill you, and free her from your grasp.” Shame burned in Night Light’s gut. For his wife, his lack of foresight, for his inability to protect his only daughter, and now that his family name would get dragged through the mud. “Velvet, you need help. No matter what the princesses’ decision will be, I’ll make sure you get it.” “I’m not the one who needs help, Night, Twilight is—” “Enough!” Twilight roared as she suffocated her mother with a sleep spell so strong it would keep her in a coma for a week. She let her mother drop to the floor while taking several long deep breaths to cool down. Only, she cooled too quickly as all of her anger, hate, and everything else she had bottled up for the past few years broke through. Twilight Sparkle’s lip quivered at the sight of her mother. After inadvertently inducing a dreaming sleep, it was the first time since she had awakened from the chrysalis that she saw a truly peaceful look on Velvet’s face. Night Light instantly switched to supportive father at the sound of his daughter’s sniffles and pulled her into a deep hug. “Why can’t she love me, Daddy?” Their position allowed him to look upon his wife and her euphoric expression. “I don’t know, Twilight… I honestly don’t know.” The main audience chamber of the chapel was clear of smoke, thanks to several pegasi pushing it back, giving the rest of the fanatics some breathing room. Not that they had to worry too much about it. The Phoenix stopped firing after the second volley and the high winds were already dispersing the gas. Rainbow Dash stood at the head of a dozen changelings who emerged from the fading gasses. Aimed at the fanatics were and an equal number of pistols, two Clockwerks, and one blood-soaked skysteel sword. Most of the surrounded ponies kept giving the Clockwerks and their blood covered hooves fearful glances. Rainbow briefly glanced at Riposte, who was quite happy to have an opportunity to wield his new sword before fixating on the trapped ponies. “Stand down,” she barked loudly enough to focus all attention on her, “and you’ll not be harmed.” A bronze coated unicorn pushed past his weary comrades. “Never trust a changeling. They’ll kill us or corrupt us, and you’re proof of that, Dame Rainbow Dash!” Aegis couldn’t help but send her apologies over the Link, but Rainbow ignored it. A trio of dark contrails roared in from one of the broken windows and stopped abruptly between both groups. It was a Wonderbolt strike team led by none other than Spitfire herself. “By royal decree, everypony stand down!” Both sides held fast. The fanatics were unwilling to yield against the perceived changeling threat, and the drones only unquestioningly obeyed the voice of their queen. Despite Spitfire’s proximity, some of the fanatics tried to get a clear line of sight on Rainbow Dash, while the drones’ pistols shifted targets. Rainbow stared the fanatics down, daring them to try. When she saw their hesitation, she glanced at the drones at her back. “Do as she says, everypony, fight’s over.” Without hesitation, the changelings holstered their pistols. Some of the younger fanatical unicorns saw the opportunity and began weaving spells at Rainbow. Before they could execute any of them however, a lightning bolt in the form of Spitfire came down on the lead unicorn’s head like a ton of bricks. Her wings crackled with electrical power before she brought them down on the other two, dropping them as well. Several more Wonderbolts moved in to surround the mercenaries and fanatics. “Anypony else want to test me?” Shaking heads and reluctant ‘noes’ answered her. “Good. Now all of you against the wall.” It did not take long for the Royal Guard and Spitfire’s squadron to lock down the rest of the monastery. The mercenaries were not paid enough to go up against Celestia directly, and surrendered en masse. The fanatics tried to flee through various means, but most were rounded up within an hour. Spitfire watched a handful of chariots arrive from the city to escort the prisoners away while barking orders to a few Royal Guardponies as they arrived. Rainbow Dash zipped down from above and snapped a crisp salute. “Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, reporting as ordered, ma’am.” Spitfire returned it. “At ease.” Rainbow could tell her commanding officer was put off by her altered appearance, even if Spitfire was good at hiding it. “Just finished sweeping the lower levels, the non-combative criminals destroyed a lot of equipment once our reinforcements arrived. There’s barely anything left to retrieve for evidence.” “Typical. This group did the same thing to their last base of operations we raided.” Spitfire took her goggles off her eyes. “It’s disgraceful to think ponies have come to this.” The thought of it disturbed Rainbow greatly, but her military bearing kept the sentiment mostly out of her tone. “I hear you on that, Commander.” “Walk with me, Lieutenant,” Spitfire ordered curtly before finding an eroding grain silo for some moderate privacy. She scanned the immediate area to make sure they weren’t being watched before speaking in a lower-than-normal tone. “The princess said something had happened to you, but I didn’t think it was this.” Rainbow’s ears fell flat at Spitfire waving a hoof at her face. “Yeah, well, when you mess with old artifacts without thinking, you can get into some real trouble.” She resisted the urge to nervously scuff the ground. “This isn’t good, Dash. If the PCE were able to fund a small army right under our noses, then we’re in even worse shape than I thought. The military has to take steps to demonstrate we're not slipping under changeling infiltration, no matter how unfounded such talk may be.” Rainbow was taken aback. “Wait a minute, you’re not actually going to kick me out of the Bolts are you!?” “Not quite,” Spitfire replied with curt reassurance. She sighed while resting a hoof on her subordinate. “Look, Dash, you’ve earned a place in the Wonderbolts fifty times over. Hay, you would be my XO if it wasn’t for the damned nobility raising a stink. But if the PCE already knows about what’s happened to you, then you can expect all of their sympathizers to know as well. The climate’s too volatile right now.” Rainbow had to leverage a monumental amount of self-control to keep from bucking the wall. Damn all those bigots to Tartarus! “So if you’re not kicking me out, what are you doing?” “Until you’re cured, or ponies calm down about changelings, which ever happens first, I’m taking you off rotation into the chaos lands. I’ll see about making your liaison assignment to Twilight permanent.” She could see Rainbow’s temper flare under her professional exterior. “It’s still prestigious enough to keep you on the career track.” Barely. The one place Rainbow Dash did not want to be right now, was standing out in public with her CO. Her blood boiled and she ground her teeth together. “You know what really sucks? It’s that I know you’re putting yourself on the line just to do that much…” “Sorry, Lieutenant, but that’s how we’re going to have to play this out. I’ll send the necessary paperwork to your quarters.” “Yeah…” Rainbow muttered to keep her anger in check. “Thanks.” She flew off into the blue to blow off some steam before it could boil over. Later that night, Pinkie Pie was laughing maniacally as she bounced on her hooves while circling Applejack and Fluttershy as the group exited the train at Canterlot Station. She was wearing a foal harness with her little colt, Pie Slice, giggling at his mother’s antics. “I can’t believe it girls, Twilight’s finally back in Equestria! I have to prepare the biggest Hive Warming party for her.” She bent her head around to gaze upon the teal coated foal on her back with a huge grin. “You’re going to help, right Slice?” “Ya momma!” Applejack let off a warm-hearted chuckle. “Ah remember when Apple Bloom was his age. Cutest filly Ah ever did see.” Fluttershy kept pace with her friends while flying just above the ground. “Speaking of foals, I can’t wait to see Twilight’s nursery. All those cute little drones scampering around,” she added wistfully. “I’m still in shock that Canterlot Regional Medical Center asked me of all ponies to do it!” She hid behind her mane to conceal her bashful excitement. “Well of course they’d ask you, Fluttershy. Ah ain’t seen no pony as good with critters and trusted by Twilight enough to do all that.” Pinkie Pie settled her bouncing path to be between her friends. “And critter foals are the best critters!” She turned around to nuzzle her son. “Isn’t that right Slicy Whicy, you’re a silly willy critter witter!” Pie Slice giggled madly as he brushed his mother’s snout. Pinkie’s right ear started flopping. “Oop, I think somepony’s getting hungry!” As Pinkie tended to her foal, Applejack noticed an older pegasus colt standing on the street corner ringing a loud bell as ponies all around gathered around him. “Extra, extra, read all about it! Noblemare Twilight Velvet arrested for treason against the crowns! Trial to be held this Friday!” Applejack stopped dead in her tracks when the announcement fully registered. Oh no.