(Ponyville, Minuette's House, Morning)
It was the morning after Trixie and Isaac pulled off their big heist. The two of them were eating breakfast at the table, the latter as Blue Lily to fit in the chair. Minuette had left early for work again, promising to spend the weekend with her 'cousin'. Her invitation had been kept from her as well. It was stealing, but at least she wouldn't be replaced with a changeling.The showmare had been forced to sleep in the basement to avoid being seen, much to her annoyance. The mirrors had been hidden under sheets, and pushed into a dark corner of the room.
"So how do you intend to get to this 'Sunset Shimmer', if the mirror only opens every thirty moons?" the blue unicorn asked, putting a spoonful of cereal in her mouth.
"Meh, I'll probably try and force it open for a little while with chaos magic. If that doesn't work then I'll just wait." Lily shrugged.
"Wouldn't using chaos magic on an interdimensional portal be a really bad idea?"
"Not if you know what you're doing."
Trixie looked confused, "If you've opened portals before, why do you need the mirrors?"
"Trust me, I've tried to leave this world dozens of times once I figured out how. I can send objects and other living things through just fine. Some invisible force always kept pulling me back in whenever I got halfway through. I think whatever brought me here is also keeping me here." the disguised angel replied.
"What makes you think the mirrors will be any different?"
"It's just a hunch." Blue Lily replied.
"What if it doesn't work?"
"I'll just send someone else through in my stead."
The showmare looked amused, "Strange how your plans revolve around other dimensions, yet there's a chance that you yourself can't go to them."
Cadence glared at them from the jar on top of the table, nibbling on the cheese they had given her.
"I wonder if Aunt Celestia would be willing to un-abolish capital punishment?" she thought angrily. Seriously, this was getting old really fast
"Feeling a little down, Princess?" Blue Lily asked, feeling their captive's negativity. The pink mouse just hissed at him.
"Want me to turn you back into a pony?"
The princess of love stopped at that and looked up at her captor, confused.
"You do know she'll make a run for it the moment you give her a chance to?" Trixie said.
"Of course, but we don't want to be worse kidnappers than Chrysalis do we? I'll just turn her into an earth pony, but keep her at her current size."
The former alicorn sighed, "It was too good to be true." she thought.
"Hey, at least you'll be able to talk again. Besides, I think Minuette has an old dollhouse somewhere around here I can put you in."
Blue Lily opened the cap, and put a hoof in, tapping Cadence on the head. The golden flames spread out from that point, the pink mouse squeaking in surprise. As the flames covered her body, the squeaks gradually turned into screams. When they receded, a wingless and hornless Cadence stood on shaky hooves. She looked much less raggedy due to the magic improving her appearance, but she still looked rather exhausted.
"All of my hate!" she managed to get out before falling over unconscious. The unicorn responsible just chuckled, while the other shook her head.
"Like Trixie said before, you're getting therapy."
"It's not like those flames hurt them or anything! They're meant for shapeshifting, not for burning!"
"Trixie repeats: you're getting therapy."
Blue Lily grumbled, "So what do you wanna do today?"
The other unicorn blinked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean that we're not doing the mirror thing today. We're doing it early tomorrow morning to match up with the school's schedule. Today is a day to relax and have fun."
"Trixie still finds it rather hard to believe that on the other side of that mirror, there are 'hugh-man' counterparts to everypony in Equestria, and that most of them work at or attend this 'Canterlot High School' place?"
"Its pronounced human. No one said the multiverse had to make absolute sense. Just enough that it doesn't make me want to pull my hair out."
The showmare smiled, "Funny. How does a movie sound?"
"I saw one yesterday, but another won't hurt!" Blue Lily replied with a grin.
(Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library)
"Dear Twilight Sparkle, I believe that the upcoming Royal Wedding is going to be invaded by shapeshifting, parasitic creatures called changelings. Three have already been discovered pretending to be Royal Guards, but all of them have gotten away before they could be captured. Two of them even managed to steal priceless magical artifacts. The ceremony will still be happening on the planned date, but we've increased security ten fold. In addition, Isaac has reappeared. He turned your brother into an alicorn and fused Nightmare Moon and Luna back together. Please come quickly! She isn't listening to reason. Sincerely, Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia." the purple alicorn read aloud, groaning at the end of it all. Her friends stood around her, called over again for important news.
"Seriously! This letter comes right when I was about to go chew him out for not telling me he and Cadence were getting married! Then for inviting Minuette before me!" she grumbled.
"I think there are more important things happening right now, darling." Rarity commented, resting a hoof on her friend's shoulders.
"Yeah! Like finally blasting that jerk Isaac back to stone where he belongs." Rainbow Dash said, looking ready for action as always.
"Ah doubt he's still at the castle, Rainbow Dash. Though why would he turn Twilight's brother into an alicorn and then fuse Princess Luna with Nightmare Moon?"
Celestia's pupil sighed, "That's what we're going to find out!"
(Canterlot Castle, Cadence's Private Chambers)
"Well didn't you have a lot of energy?" 'Cadence' commented, lazily getting up out of bed. Shining lay sleeping, a satisfied smile on his face even now. She sat on the edge of the bed, sipping the wine she had poured last night. Warm or cold, it still tasted good. Her lower body was sore from their activities. Her socks and his armor had long since been discarded on the floor.
"I've avoided sleeping with him as not to sully my body with his, but now that he's an alicorn..."she thought, staring back at her 'fiance'. No changeling queen could claim to have slept with an alicorn except her, mainly because until now all of them were female.
"Perhaps I'll keep you alive as a consort instead of just killing you when I conquer Equestria." she mused, running a hoof through his mane idly. His smile seemed to widen.
Deciding it was time to start the day, the fake alicorn hopped out of bed. Only to notice that she was having trouble walking as well.
"Yep, definitely not killing this one." Chrysalis said, with a satisfied smile of her own. It's good to be the Queen.
(Canterlot Castle, Throne Room, 1:51 PM)
The Element bearers walked into the room, bowing deeply at the hooves of a tired-looking Celestia.
"Your student and her friends, as requested your majesty." a guard said, bowing as well.
"Thank you, that will be all." the white alicorn replied.
The guard saluted, and left the room.
"What can we do to help?" Twilight asked.
"Do we need to do anything to help?" Rarity countered.
"What?!" the purple alicorn replied.
"With the way Princess Celestia made it sound in letter, I expected to see her and Princess Luna fighting in the skies and the entire city in ruins. Yet everything looks normal! No offense, Your Highness."
"None taken, but there is something wrong with my sister, and I think the Elements of Harmony might be necessary to fix it." Celestia said.
"What exactly is wrong with her?" Applejack asked.
"Follow me." the Solar Princess said, stepping off her throne and walking forward. Twilight and friends followed behind her nervously.
(Ponyville Movie Theater, Same Time)
"I thought you loved me!"
"Darling, it's not what you think!"
"No! Nothing will ever be the same again!"
Blue Lily rolled her eyes at the cheesy romantic drama she was watching, idly munching on some popcorn. Trixie, and many other mares in the audience, were tearing up. Some were flat out crying, blowing their noses and everything. The stallions who had been forced to attend due to their marefriends, were in the same bored boat as the disguised angel.
"I had to let her choose the movie! We've seen this two times in a row already. At least movies like this back home tried to make it seem like they were mixing up the formula." she thought, taking a sip of her soda. She never would have taken Trixie as the type of mare interested in movies like this, but then again the cartoon was limited in scope. Plus the Equestria she was in seemed to be an alternate universe anyway, even without her changes.
"Now if only there was a way to make this interesting." her monologue continued, then she facehoofed, "Oh wait, I have chaos magic. Duh."
Blue Lily got out of her seat, prompting her partner's attention.
"Where are you going?" Trixie asked, momentarily stopping her sniffling.
"Bathroom." she replied.
The showmare just nodded and went back to watching the movie. The disguised angel walked out as if she was going to leave the theater, but in a flash of golden flames she was a spider. He climbed up on the walls, making it into the projector, making sure not to let it's light hit him. Inside the projector room was a pimpled, teenage colt sleeping on the job. Isaac rolled his eyes as best he could while being a spider and transformed back into Blue Lily. The blue unicorn touched a hoof to the projector, channeling reality-warping chaos magic into the machine. It started glowing red, and started making sparking sounds.
"Please don't leave me!"
"Why? So you can cheat on me agai-"
The picture changed to crackling snow for a moment, provoking cries of outrage from the mares in the audience, and more than a few sighs of relief from the stallions.
Then, it returned.
"Why? So you can cheat on me again?"
"So I can do this!"
The audience gasped as the cheating stallion suddenly stabbed his wife through the neck, killing her almost instantly.
"Why watch a boring romantic drama when instead you can watch an interesting tragedy?" Blue Lily chuckled.
(Canterlot Castle, Dungeons)
The seven of them walked down the steps of the castle's prison section, guards in the front and back of them. They walked through the hallway, more then a few of them nervous at the looks the inmates were giving them.
"It's not much farther, my little ponies." Celestia said, noticing her subjects' fear.
Eventually, they came across a lone door at the edge of the hallway. Even while not entirely used to their new bodies, the Element Bearers could feel the presence of another alicorn on the other side. There were guards on both sides of the door now, saluting when the Solar Princess walked up to them.
"Here to visit, Your Majesty?" one of them asked.
The white alicorn merely nodded, and the guards opened the door. They walked through.
On the other side was a lone cell, a sleeping black mass inside of it.
"Luna, I've brought visitors?" Celestia said,
There was some grumbling, but the mass now identified as Luna craned her head up to look it them. The princess of the night had certainly changed in appearance. She was about the same size as her sister for one. Her coat was black, her mane was darker, and the black area around the crescent moon of her cutie mark had turned purple. All in all, she looked like a less evil version of Nightmare Moon. Any armor or royal regalia had been tossed in a corner. She was wearing an anti-magic cone and her wings were bound, of course.
Twilight and friends gasped, Pinkie Pie being the loudest of them.
"Holy Moley! You look almost exactly like Nightmare Mo-" the party pony's statement was cut off by Fluttershy quickly putting a hoof over her mouth.
Luna rolled her eyes, "I am aware of my changed appearance, Miss Pie." then her gazed settled on Celestia with a glare, "Tell me, sister, for what reason have you brought them here?"
"I brought them here to talk to you Luna! I'm not going to let you spend decades in here!"
"What? Princess Celestia, what's happened to her?" Twilight asked.
The white alicorn made to explain, but her sister interrupted her, "I was made whole again."
"I'm still not getting it." Rainbow Dash said.
"Isaac came to my good half in her previous cell, and used his magic to fuse her with Nightmare Moon, making us whole again."
"That entire statement is why I don't think you should be in here! You know as well as I do that he is not to be trusted! He's done something to you and you need help."
"Do not mistake my words, Celestia. I still wish to see his head mounted on a pike, but I do owe him for this." the changed alicorn stood up on all fours.
"For fusing you back with your dark side?!"
"For making me sane."
Everypony just looked confused at that statement.
"If I had been made whole again without any changes to Nightmare Moon, I would have gone crazy and tried to blanket Equestria in eternal night once again. I can see that now. But Isaac forced his way into my dark half's mind, on the threat of letting the polar griffons rightfully kill her. I believe he wanted to erase my memories of.... something, or was it somepony? In addition to that, he introduced hard logic into my mind."
Fluttershy's eyes widened in understanding, "Y-You mean?"
Luna nodded, "The reason I became Nightmare Moon 1000 years ago was pure jealousy. I wanted my subjects to love my night as they did your day, sister. I went insane and started believing that I could make my subjects love me by getting rid of the sun permanently. I didn't care that they would all die of the cold eventually."
"You've changed Luna! You aren't that pony anymore." Celestia pleaded.
"Have I really changed? The Elements of Harmony just split me into two and weakened my halves. You would have been unaware of my dark half's continued existence had it not been for Isaac. She had plans, Celestia. After she finished conquering the South Pole, she was going to lead an attack on Equestria that would have doubtlessly killed hundreds. Even my new state of clarity is the result of magical intervention."
The Solar Princess continued, "That's no reason to let the court convict you of her crimes."
"My good half could have avoided the dungeons by virtue of being separate from Nightmare Moon, but now that we are truly one and the same, there is no reason I shouldn't be held accountable."
"You'll be in prison! Your royal title will be revoked!"
Luna rolled her eyes again, "I'm immortal, a century of imprisonment means nothing to me. As far as I'm concerned, I was undeserving of being a princess the moment I tried to create an eternal night."
As the two sisters bickered, Twilight and friends felt rather awkward. They seemed to just be extra wheels to this conversation.
"Twilight dear, does Princess Luna actually have a hope of avoiding prison time other than a Royal Pardon?" Rarity asked quietly.
"I'm not sure, considering her arguments against it." the purple alicorn whispered back.
"Ah think ah have an idea." Applejack said.
The farm pony cleared her throat, "Your Highnesses?"
"What?!" they shouted in frustration, causing the Element Bearers to huddle into a corner in fear. Their eyes softened upon seeing this.
"I'm sorry Applejack, please continue." Celestia said.
The orange mare bravely stood forward again, "U-Um, what if yer literally not the same pony as the one who committed the crimes?"
"I doubt you'll convince me, but elaborate." the moon princess said.
"Ah mean just think about it. The pony who actually terrorized the polar griffons was Nightmare Moon, who was a separate entity from Princess Luna at the time. Now that you're one pony again, it could be argued that you're literally not the same pony as Nightmare Moon, even though she's a part of you. Add in the fact that Isaac messed with Nightmare Moon somehow before fusing her back with yer good half, and you have a reason why you shouldn't be guilty of her shenanigans." Applejack complied.
Luna was silent for a few minutes. Celestia took this as a good sign, "Please, listen to her sister. Even if you're declared guilty, let me pardon you."
The night alicorn sighed, "No. I appreciate your efforts, but no. Even if what you say is true..." she gained a haunted look on her face, "I still have memories of torturing innocents for power and my own sick satisfaction. Adults and children alike. Bodies, dead or alive, piled in the center of town and burned while I laughed. I want to suffer for the atrocities I have committed."
"Luna...." the Sun Princess said.
Her sister's gaze turned to her coldly, "If you pardon me after I am proven guilty, I will lose all respect for you."
Celestia cringed at those words, "I..."
"Leave, sister. Monsters don't deserve visitors."
The solar diarch's head lowered, "I will respect your wishes, Luna." She turned and left the room, the Element Bearers. More than a few of them looked back at the Princess of the Night worriedly. The black alicorn had curled back up on the floor of her cell, turning her face away from them.
When all of them had gone, only then did Luna drop her guard.
She started to softly cry, tears streaming down her face and teeth gritted in frustration.