Good morning. This is the Voice of Equestria, with your regular host Rainy Meadow. This last week has been a tumultuous time for Equestria, but fortunately, Princess Celestia herself has come here today to answer our questions. Welcome, Your Majesty.
Thank you for that kind introduction, Mrs. Meadow. It has been a while since I last made an address on the radio, so I hope you will forgive me if I have much to discuss?
Take all the time you need, Your Majesty. I, for one, would love to listen to all you have to say. Shall we begin with the events in the Crystal Empire last night?
Well, as has already been reported, Prince Shining Armor did indeed recover the Crystal Heart from mercenaries hired by the Patriotic Order of the Nation of Equestria. It appears, however, that the founder of the Order, a mare by the name of Bella Donna, was only using her followers to steal the Crystal Heart for her own ends.
At some point, she was in the Crystal Empire and came across a fragment of Sombra's horn, which convinced her to graft it in place of her own. We do believe that the spirit of King Sombra attempted to possess her through it, and carry on his old agenda of enslaving the Crystal Empire.
It sounds as if we owe Prince Armor a great debt once again; I would hate to imagine what the Crystal Heart would do in Sombra's grasp.
We must thank more than Prince Armor. The Royal Guards who risked life and limb to stop Sombra's plans should also be recognized, along with Ace Gambit, a changeling who volunteered to help our official investigation. In fact, I believe it was he who remove Sombra's horn from Bella Donna's head.
What an outstanding act of bravery! I can't imagine what it must have been like for him! Are they all well?
I am happy to say that this incident was resolved with no casualties; even Bella Donna is expected to make a full recovery in time, though her memories may never be what they once were.
What will become of Bella Donna and the ponies who funded the Order?
Well, Bella Donna will reside in a mental institution for now. Any discussion of her culpability will have to wait until we can determine the extent of Sombra's influence on her actions. Her fellow conspirators will be charged as accessories to various crimes, to say the least.
That seems a bit too lenient, Your Majesty; rumor has it that you are going easy on the conspirators because your nephew was caught amongst them
I assure you, Prince Blueblood's involvement has nothing to do with the sentencing decisions; Equestria values mercy and reform over punishment. Besides I had an extensive discussion with him, and am convinced that he merely thought he had been invited to a fancy dinner party.
Somehow, that does not surprise me in the least.
Skeleton Key sat at the Ponyville train station watching the sun peek out over the treetops. The Friendship Express would be arriving from the Crystal Empire any second now, and she wanted to be there when it did. The train soon rolled into the station, and Ace stepped onto the platform, with Stiletto leaning heavily against him. Deadwood followed them out with a collapsible wheelchair, which she quickly unfolded for Stiletto.
"Well, there you go, partner." Deadwood gave each of them a pat on the back. "You two kids take care now, ya' hear?"
Stiletto placed a hoof over Deadwood's forearm. "Are you sure we couldn't convince you to stay, Deadwood?"
"Naw, I've got business to attend out west. But I'll let you know if I drop by." Deadwood shook their hooves and walked back towards the train.
Ace wheeled Stiletto away and sighed in contentment. "I, for one, look forward to a nice, relaxing day at work today."
"Don't celebrate just yet," Skeleton Key smirked, as she walked up to them. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders signed up for your book club yesterday."
"Celestia have mercy," Ace whimpered. "Haven't I been through enough?"
Stiletto raised an eyebrow. "I don't see what the problem is, dear. Aren't they just fillies?"
Ace shook his head as he pushed her towards her shop. "You have no idea…"
Deadwood chuckled as the trio walked off into the distance and fished a cigarette out of her duster, only to drop it as a red draft horse pulled a cart full of apples past her. She fixed her gaze hungrily on the green apple on his flank and whistled.
"Well hello there," she grinned, sliding up next to him. "I don't suppose I could trouble a stallion like yourself to show a newcomer around these parts?"
He considered her for a moment. "Eeyup."
Thunderball poured out two glasses of whiskey and handed one to Life Preserver. She took it in her good foreleg; her other one was wrapped in a cast.
"You know, I didn't ask you to come to Ponyville to race Rainbow Dash."
Life Preserver blushed. "I don't know what came over me, dude. One moment, she was causing a disturbance at the pool, and the next, I was trying to catch up with her in the skies."
"Yes, she can have that effect on others." Thunderball sipped his whiskey. "But you've done a good job keeping an eye on Ponyville. I wish I could say the same about Stiletto, though; Princess Twilight's due to give me an earful about her in ten minutes."
"Is everything cool?"
Thunderball shrugged. "I've been through worse. You just take care of that foreleg and watching out for trouble."
"Aye aye, dude." Life Preserver downed her glass in one swift gulp and saluted him on her way out.
Thunderball savored the rich oak flavor of his whiskey in the little time he had left. A familiar flash of magic filled Thunderball's office at precisely 7:21. He had become so accustomed to Princess Twilight's visits that the spell barely disturbed the tumbler of whiskey in his hoof.
"You're 'security measures' ended up causing quite a lot of havoc, you know," Twilight grumbled as she took her usual spot on his couch.
"Your Highness, I assure you that Stiletto's presence in Ponyville was not part of my plan. I asked her to relocate to Ponyville in case any of our enemies thought now would be a good time to strike at our house. I did not intend for her to go on a misadventure with Ace, and certainly not Deadwood."
"And she just happened to set up shop directly across from Ace?"
"It was the cheapest property that suited her needs."
Twilight cocked her head. "Awfully convenient that the right ponies were at the right place at the right time."
"Stranger things have happened, Your Highness," Thunderball shrugged. "The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony being in Ponyville the night of Nightmare Moon's return, for one."
"So, you're saying that it was destiny which brought them together? That her being there was ordained by fate itself?"
"Yes," he answered, without any sign of hesitation or doubt.
Twilight stared into his deep green eyes for an agonizingly long minute. "Well, that's certainly a bold claim," she said slowly, "But I see no reason to dispute it."
She jostled the contents of her saddlebags and brought out a small bottle of silvery liquid. "By the way, Princess Luna's happy at the resolution of the Crystal Heart Theft and has sent you a congratulatory batch of her special moonshine."
Thunderball's eyes widened as he held the precious liquor in his hooves. "This is...amazing. Are you sure you wouldn't care for a celebratory drink, Your Highness?"
"I'm afraid I'm not in the mood. This whole affair has really given me second thoughts on Equestria. I thought Ponyville, of all places, would have handled changelings better, seeing as we already have three types of ponies living here, and went through the whole 'getting to know strangers' bit with Zecora. But I'm wondering if there's just something inherently wrong with us." She shook her head and sighed. "Well, it's not something I'd care to burden you with at any rate; we've both got a lot of work to do. I'll see you around, Thunderball."
Twilight's horn glowed purple as she prepared a teleportation spell. Thunderball quickly put a hoof on her shoulder. "Your Highness, you always teleport in and out of my office."
"Well, it's more efficient than walking."
"True," Thunderball smiled, "But I really think you should take the scenic route this time."
The aura of magic died down, and Twilight walked out of his office. She had to admit, the castle was looking better than it had in the past thousand years — the hallways were clean, the suits of armor gleaming, tapestries restored, and even the walls had been mended. But surely the successful renovation was not what Thunderball wanted her to see?
As she walked into the castle courtyard, she could see a few changeling nymphs and fauns clustering around the fountain, along with the House Argent foals.
Twilight paused a cardboard box shuffled into view. It was quite an ordinary box that contained oranges in a previous life. Now, it concealed a changeling, whose black hooves peeked out from under it every time it moved. Twilight watched it slowly moved towards her, with the group at the fountain giggled as it made progress.
A lasso whistled through the air and wrapped around the box just before it could reach the fountain. The changeling underneath squeaked in surprise as Apple Bloom galloped into view and tackled her.
"Gotcha, you no good cheatin' varmint!" She declared proudly. "And that's a wrap!"
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo instantly appeared at her side. "Cutie Mark Crusader Assassins, yay!"
Twilight was very confused. "Hey girls. What's going on?"
"We're playing Hide and Go Eek," Apple Bloom declared proudly.
"Don't you mean 'Hide and Go Seek'?
"Nope!" The little pupa stood up and smiled. "You go 'eek' when you're found!"
"Why would…"
One of the House Argent fillies — Foxtrot, if Twilight remembered correctly — stepped forward. "Because you've been killed, duh!"
Twilight stared at the little earth pony. She did not know if it was the absurdity or morbidity of the situation, but she found herself laughing. All her doubts about the future were washed away as she looked at the mixed group of children.
Her eyes sparkled as they looked over the group. "Is there room for one more?"