//------------------------------// // Setting the Stage // Story: A Jewel of a Problem // by Rainbow Sparkle //------------------------------// -*-Princess Luna-*- Luna sighed as she brought the moon out to shine upon all of Equestria, gazing out at the city of Canterlot below as she allowed her mind to wander idly. She could see the tiny pinpricks of light that belonged to the establishments that stayed open through her night; mostly clubs and gaming halls and the like. Not exactly the sort of places she would have liked to have operating during her glorious night, but it did at least mean somepony was awake to see the stars and moon in all their splendor. She drew her eyes to the heavens, a thin smile forming as she looked at all the twinkling stars that she had set perfectly in place. Such thoughts were nothing more than distractions, she knew, but with all that had happened today, even short lived ones such as this quiet moment to admire her hard work were deeply appreciated. They hadn’t found a single trace of Discord anywhere in Canterlot, and with his magic he could be anywhere in the whole of Equestria… for all she and her sister knew, he could have even left the continent, traveling south, west, or east to the more chaotic lands of Equus. There was no sign of any chaos being created either, so that only made herself and her dear sister more worried about what Discord might be up to. Until they could find some way to track him down, the Bearers of the Elements had been asked to remain in Canterlot, for several reasons. The first being of course Celestia’s continued desire to test her students abilities. Both she and Celestia were going to set out in the morning to continue the search beyond the walls of Canterlot, and in the meantime were leaving both Princess Cadence and Twilight in charge of things. Personally, Luna was not sure if Twilight was ready for such a responsibility...and was somewhat annoyed at her sister’s insistence to not inform the young Element of Magic about such until they were about to leave. But Celestia insisted, saying it would allow Twilight to get a full nights rest. The second reason was that Celestia believed it would be best to keep the Elements, and their bearers, close at hand, rather than returning home to Ponyville where it would be easier for Discord to potentially divide them once again. And then… there were two final reasons… one of which was the source of most of her sour mood. Down in the palace dungeons were two prisoners who needed to be kept under close watch. The first was Queen Chrysalis, who had only just this evening stopped making demands to be released. Her swarm had been, for the moment, put into a deep sleep and left in the crystal caverns below the city, but there was always the possibility she could cause trouble somehow… especially with Discord free. The other prisoner though… was Cain… and her darker half, Strife. Princess Luna was quite displeased with herself. Everything had been going well enough… she’d even felt that she was close to getting the three of them to get along, or so it had seemed. She had hoped that, if the three of them could be friends, then if, or perhaps when the merge occurred, they would be able to function as a single entity, just as she did now. But her effort to save Diamond Tiara, Cain and Strife… it had failed. Derailed by her own dark counterparts insensitivity to their feelings...and her own underestimation of just how strongly both of them felt about their home. And considering how their attempts thus far had gone... Knowing this, it really shouldn’t have been such a big surprise the two of them had gone for the only one that seemed capable of helping them. Even if it was the biggest monster Equestria had ever known...  Did she even have the right to judge them for the choice they had made? What would she have done, if she was dying and a villain waved the cure in front of her? Would she be willing to do anything to avoid disappearing and being replaced? She fell into darkness once because she believed no pony loved her, how much further would she have fallen if it was to protect her own existence? This was neither some warlock selling his soul for power, nor getting corrupted by dark magic in search of immortality. This was just three fillies, no matter how old their memories made two of them feel, who had resisted Discord’s attacks and temptation several times, until in the end, they could do so no more. Because it was too much to ask for ones so young, to give up on what they were, to possibly die, just to keep a monster at bay. So she was trying to tell herself anyways, as she tore her gaze from the stars and headed inside, looking over a map and trying to think of where Discord might have gone off to. Celestia had several guesses, none of which Luna was certain would lead them to that clown of a ‘god’ as he had once considered himself. Luna simply hoped they weren’t making yet another mistake. -*-Cain & Strife-*- Crying.... I… I was crying. It wasn’t out of hunger, even though no guards had been down to feed me yet. Thanks to the delicious cake and apples that Pinkie Pie and Applejack had left, I was good for at least a few more hours. No... it was because despite my betrayal, or I suppose I should say our betrayal, they still showed us kindness. I was the idiot that let Discord free, giving him another chance to try and take over Equestria and bring eternal chaos to the land. Granted,  it was either that or ceasing to exist, but it was still wrong. Had I really been so consumed in my emotions to join Strife in releasing him from his prison? Shouldn’t I have tried to convince Strife doing so wasn’t the right way, or at least stopped her from going any further? In a way, I was surprised we hadn’t snapped sooner. Discord must have been laughing his ass off from the very beginning, watching everything we had to go through in a vain effort to save ourselves. “You’re right knucklehead, he was doing just that. All the while waiting for his chance to strike and get exactly what he wanted.” It was at this point that I realized I had slipped back into the mindscape, where the couch and flat-screen TV was. Sitting upside down at the other end of said couch was Strife, who was busy filing her claws and talons. This gave me a chance to get a better look at our new body, and my assessment of being a Discord Copy was almost spot on. Every part of our mismatched body was like Discord’s, save for our muzzle, which had a more feminine shape to it, and our mane, which, rather than being black and resting on the back of our necks, was a messy tuft of white situated around our horns. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we looked like a teenage version of Eris, the gender-flipped version of Discord. All the mis-matched parts were in the exact same spots, and it seemed that the only difference between us was in our eyes. Strife’s were the same red and gold of Discord’s, but mine were my normal steel blue. “I was wondering when you were going to pop up.” I mumbled, turning my eyes away from her and slumping back into the couch. Covering my eyes with my claws as I grumbled “Come to rub my face in the fact that we’ve screwed all of Equestria over?” "Honestly, I am kind of surprised we lasted this long."  I harrumphed, mumbling “What do you mean we? You were the one who started smashing that statue in...wherever it was.” “And you joined in not long after. You wanted to be free just as much as I did.” Strife replied evenly. “You can’t weasel out of this one anymore than I can, not that I would. I don’t really care if that bastard of a father is free, we won’t get absorbed into that spoiled brat.” I had to nod my head at that after a moment. As much as I hated to admit it, it was nice to know neither of us were going to get merged together with Diamond’s soul. The prospect had not been an attractive one. Strife then sat up, pulling out a pipe and blowing on it, sending little pink bubbles into the air as she said "Now stop feeling sorry for yourself. We’ve got some important business to discuss with each other." "Oh? What business could we possibly talk about, besides the current lack of cliche rodents in our little cell?" I asked, feeling some of my anger and self-pity float off. It was still there, but at the moment, I was willing to think of just about anything else besides what we had done. "That’s scheduled for tomorrow. As for today, we need to figure out how we’re gonna share this body of ours!” Strife exclaimed, smirking as she waved her hand at everything around us. “Now, Daddy dearest left me as the main personality here, which technically makes you my slave to do with as I please.” I growled at this, but she held up a hand to silence me as she continued. “However, you still have enough influence and willpower to cause me a good deal of trouble if I do this, and frankly I don’t feel like having to deal with such an annoyance. I am, however, not willing to let you be the one walking around free to do as you so choose. Thus, we need to come to an agreement.” This really wasn’t something, that should have been our top priority, in my mind at least, but with nothing else that we could actively do... However… “Just who says you’re the one in control here?” I asked angrily, trying to reassert control of our body, only to get a splitting headache that had me writhing in pain on the couch. Strife’s mocking laughter only made it worse. "That’s what you get for not believing me. Well, that and this." Strife then snapped her claws, and in a flash I was wearing a cute pink princess dress, with a matching plastic crown and royal scepter. I was thankful Diamond Tiara no longer shared our head so she couldn't see this… or anypony in fact. "Fine… so you run the roost.” For now, I thought to myself, “So how are we gonna do it? Flip a coin? Draw straws? Eenie meanie miny moe?" It was better to just go along with Strife whims for the time being. If I caused too much trouble, she could get angry and start doing who knew what to me. Amazingly, Strife didn’t have an immediate answer to that. "Uh… that's a good question. Hadn’t really gotten that far.” Strife rubbed her chin with her dragon claw and assumed a ‘Thinker’ pose, floating in the air. I waited for Strife to make a choice… or hell, a suggestion, but she simply sat there, contemplating the ceiling as far as I could tell. It was both utterly boring, and more than a little creepy. Strife being this quiet and thoughtful couldn’t be a good thing.   Too bad DT is not here, we could talk, have tea together, she could braid my mane... I found myself thinking as I lounged on the couch, waiting for something to happen. It took me a moment to realize I had been thinking such things, but at this point I was too mentally and emotionally tired to bother getting upset about it. Besides, that would have been better than the silence. With nothing else to do, I explored the mindscape to find what, if anything, had changed. Unlike the last time we’d had a mental episode, the damage seemed to be repairing itself, but now there was a new door labeled "Do not enter, that means you Cain and Strife!" So of course, being the bored draconequus I was, I let curiosity take the lead. "Hey Strife, what's behind that door?" Strife let out an irritated grunt, then looked at what I was asking about and said "You don't really want to know." I quirked an eyebrow up at that. "Is it really that bad?" "Enter that door and you’ll find out. Don’t come crying to me if you don’t like what's in there." Despite Strife’s words, I found myself drawing closer to the door, before I was standing right in front of it, my claw reaching out towards it. It was then that I felt an aura of despair and sorrow seeming to pervade the area around it. Sensing this, I started to force myself away from the door, suddenly having no desire to find out what was behind it… But then... I heard a filly crying on the other side. And the voice was very familiar. "Diamond?” I squeaked out, ignoring for a moment the emotions I felt coming from beyond it. “H-How? We’re supposed to have our own body now!" "That might be true, but that door leads to a copy of the memories she had while she still shared her mind with us. Beware, the last ones are not happy." Strife idly remarked, blowing bubbles out of her pipe as she looked over a few pieces of paper. “You can of course thank our dear father for the joy of having such memories be stuck with us.” "Discord…" it all came back to him, the reason we were in Equestria, the reason Diamond Tiara was tortured, the reason we were in such pain, the reason we betrayed everypony. It was all because of him! Just thinking about him sent my emotions in a tizzy, anger and rage surfacing back up for a moment. "So what do you say, princess? Do you want to know?" Strife called in a mocking tone, reminding me where I was and that, at the moment, I couldn’t do anything with said anger. This caused me to deflate a bit as I looked up at the door hesitantly. Did I really want to know what Discord had done to her? Why should I even care? We were already in jail and probably would be here for life. Why make myself feel more guilty about things than I already did? Then I thought about all that we had gone through. After all we had done… she had seen us as friends… I needed to know, I had to know! It might not change anything, but I needed to know if she still felt such, even with how we had acted recently. "Do it or don’t, but at least stop stalling!" Strife shouted, interrupting my thoughts and shaking me out of my stupor. "Fine!" I sent a glare in Strife’s direction before turning my attention back to the door, steadying myself as I reached out and turned the knob. A slight pull later, and I was greeted with a wall of black. Without a second thought, I stepped in. -*-Twilight and Company-*- This morning was turning out to be even more stressful and trying than the previous few had. Celestia and Luna had awakened her this morning to inform her of their plans to begin personally scouring the lands of Equestria for any sign of Discord. Twilight hadn’t had any problem with that until she found out that she and Cadence were being left to tend to affairs of state in their absence. Cadence she understood, her being a Princess now and heir to a royal title, but why she was being asked to do so had left her flabbergasted. Sure, she knew HOW everything functioned, (how could she not when she was the star pupil of the ruler of Equestria), but she wasn’t at all prepared for such a huge responsibility. Especially on such short notice. “Ugh… this is going to be a long day.” she moaned, moving her hooves away from her eyes as she watched her friends digging into the scrumptious breakfast that had been brought out for all of them. “Don’t let it get to you Twilight.” Cadence said as she took a bite out of a blueberry muffin. “I’ve been taught by Auntie Celestia to handle Royal Court, so you won’t have to listen or deal with any of the problems of the nobility.” “I know that…” Twilight groaned, looking at her bowl of daisy and raisin oatmeal, not feeling all that hungry right now. “I just don’t want to disappoint her… or make things worse than they already are.” Rarity shook her head at this, looking up from her tea to say “Darling, we have every confidence in you, just as the Princesses do. You need to relax.” “Yeah, and its not like things can get all that much worse.” Rainbow Dash commented, leaning back in her chair and patting her stomach, the three plates in front of her completely devoid of the food that had been sitting on them. “If Discord starts turning the trees into inflatables and makes it rain jelly beans we’ll know he’s in the area.” "About that: what happens if he’s causing trouble elsewhere and we can't go because Twilight here is busy with paperwork?" Applejack asked. "Oh! I know this one!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, appearing in front of the orange earth mare "We just have to put a trap Discord couldn’t possibly resist so we lure him here instead!" Fluttershy raised her hoof "Uh… and why didn't you say this when… uh… Princess Luna and Celestia were still here?" Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders in response. "Oh, because nopony asked, Shy. Also I came up with it just now.” She giggled a bit, and then added “Kinda hard to tell the Princesses when it hadn’t even popped into my head." Everypony present just shook their heads at that. Princess Cadence then asked, "Well, don’t leave us in suspense Pinkie. Tell us your plan." A wide, conspiratorial smile spread across her face as she pulled everypony into a tight hug, a rather startling feat given that they were all scattered about the table, and started to whisper into their ears. -*-Shining Armor-*- With the Princesses gone, Shining had been called back to duty in the palace proper, leaving the search of the city for any remaining changelings that might be hiding amongst the populace to his third in command. That left his second in command to keep on top of things in the palace while he took a much needed nap. Ugh… almost twenty four hours now since I last had some sleep… it’s been a while since I’ve done that. He thought to himself as he rounded a corner, eyelids beginning to droop as he felt a distinct desire to just plop down on the floor and get some z’s. The universe seemed to have other plans, when he tripped over something laying haphazardly in the middle of the hallway. “Ummphf! Hey!” He shouted after having his muzzle smash into the floor, his nose smarting a fair bit as he tried to get himself back together. “Great, too tired to see what's right in front of me… probably just tripped over a bucket…” Then he heard movement behind him, tired groans and some shifting. Suddenly, he was wide awake, and as he snapped his head around, the only thing he could think off was Oh buck, I just tripped over someone, and called them a bucket! He had been expecting to find one of the many servants who did have a tendency to blend into the surroundings if one wasn’t paying enough attention. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d accidentally bumped into one. Instead, he found to his complete surprise that there was not one, but FOUR little fillies all sleeping in the middle of the hallway, huddled together for warmth. Sweet Celestia! What are these foals doing here in the palace? And why are they SLEEPING in the middle of a hallway? Such questions would have to wait… especially when he took a closer look, beginning to recognize the foals. He’d seen them in person once, when a school from Ponyville had come to the Royal Palace for a field trip… though that had been a while ago, so obviously they hadn’t been lost in the palace for all that time. He rubbed a hoof to his forehead, muttering to himself as he reprimanded his tired head for even thinking of such a silly thing. He knew that three of them were rather familiar, having seen them in a picture before… Realization dawned on him. These foals… they must be those girls from that cutie mark club Twily told me about in her letters. I think the yellow one is… Applesmack’s sister? No no, its Applejack, by Luna I need some rest. Letting out a tired sigh, he carefully untangled the four foals, lifting them up one by one, before depositing them on his back and heading back the way he’d come. His sister, wife, and their friends were probably eating breakfast by now… might as well deliver the foals to them before he collapsed from exhaustion. -*-Diamond Tiara-*- She woke up with a start, finding herself in a bed inside a room that was not immediately familiar to her. She shook her head, rousing the last vestiges of the sleep from her head as she tried to take stock of herself. At first, she couldn’t remember much, wondering how she had even gotten back in the bed. Or if this was even supposed to be her bed. Thinking about it gave her an odd feeling, which took a moment to describe to herself. I feel… numb… and empty… and alone. Like… like somepony should be here with me… or… or inside me… But instead… she just felt like there was a hole inside of her. As if a piece of her was missing. "I am sorry…" She nearly jumped when she heard the soft whisper, looking about the room as she tried to find the source of it. Without even thinking about it though, she found herself thinking Saying sorry is not enough, it’ll never be enough. Why had she thought that? And where did that voice come from? "Diamond Tiara you… you became my friend after everything he did to you, even though I didn’t deserve it. You forgave me when I couldn’t forgive myself… even you didn’t deserve such treatment.” The filly, who now remembered her name was Diamond Tiara,  looked around for the pony that was speaking, but couldn’t find one. The voice was strangely familiar to her…   "I know… that saying sorry isn’t enough. I know that no number of apologies will ever fix what I have done. But whatever happens, you were willing to be there to try and help me… us. You had every reason to hate both of us and... urg, just say it! You were my friend, and I yours. I would like to make things right… so that we can become friends again.” Just ignore it, you will just get hurt again. She thought to herself, closing her eyes and letting out a hmph as she imagined herself giving this voice the cold shoulder. But…the voice sounded very sorry, almost desperate for forgiveness. Pleading even. Could she really ignore it? "Please… please tell me what I have to do so we can be friends again! I… I honestly don't know!" A part of her wanted to try and say something, but another thought came unbidden to her mind. Not worth it, already betrayed once. No matter what you did, you have no real friends, remember? No pony was there to save you when you needed them.  "I… please answer me, say something! Even if its insults, even if you curse my soul to Tartarus or some other demonic plane! I need to know you are there! Please!" That voice… It was somepony who hurt her. Somepony who was rude, and insulting, somepony who… who gave up her most valuable possession to heal another friendship. Somepony she had played with, somepony who had lived a mostly isolated and lonely life until she became her friend. Diamond Tiara touched around her neck, expecting something to be around it. There was nothing… Why… why had she forgiven those ponies? Why had they become friends? It made no sense! They’d both hurt her! Those ponies… why couldn't she remember their names? Its better to forget, memories just give you pain and suffering, and if you can't remember them, memories cannot hurt you. That’s what something in her head was trying to tell her... But that wasn’t right. Not all memories are painful, some are beautiful. Some memories warm your heart, while others make it feel like its breaking in two. But life was full of such moments… and focusing solely on them, letting them hold you down. She had learnt that clinging to such pain only caused more pain. Here she was listening to somepony who wanted to apologize, and she was refusing to do so. How much pain was it causing this pony who seemed so familiar to her? "Who… who are you?" Diamond Tara finally asked, pushing behind the voice inside her heart that told her it was better to just forget. "Diamond...did you forget? I’m the friend who helped mend the fence with your best friend, Silver Spoon, and helped get the CMC to not see you as the spoiled rotten brat they saw you to be.” Diamond Tiara ignored the ache on her heart at hearing about Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Yes… but who are you? What's your name? Do I know you?" "Yes Diamond Tiara...you do know me. My…. my name is… Cain." The memories came flooding in, of how one moment she had been having a pleasant dream about a trip to the beach with her entire family, and the next where a strange towering creature from the shadows with eyes of red had cast a shadow upon her and her dream scape, transforming it into the halls of the school she had come to hate. Conjuring forth those vile foals who had tormented her and subjected her to an endless barrage of their insults and poisonous words. Memories of Princess Celestia, and of someone who seemed to almost be a lighter opposite, though as she came to know him she had learned he had his own flaws and demons haunting him. Of the darker twin, Strife, bowing down before the might of the Princess and the threats of Cain’s will. Of those dreams with Luna, in which the three of them had forged the first bonds of friendship and camaraderie, where she learned that Strife wasn’t just some malevolent being who enjoyed torturing her, but a complex entity that was born from Cain’s own hard life. And so much more… including those final moments before darkness had taken her, and before that strange tearing feeling that had left her numb. “C-Cain? W-Where are you? W-Where’s Strife?” The voice was silent for a moment… it almost seemed as if it was having trouble reaching out to her. “Well, we’re in the Palace dungeon… but specifically, I’m in the mindscape...I… I just finished watching how Discord… broke you.” He paused for a moment, and then added “Strife is enjoying her new freedom, despite how limited it is right now.” She recalled all the hurtful things that she had heard her friends say, including everything that Discord had whispered to her afterwards. It still hurt… as did the things she had overheard Cain and Strife saying. “W-Why did you say all those things? I-I thought… I…” This time, the silence was longer, and she could barely hear what he said in reply. It seemed they were losing the ability to communicate like this with each other. “W-Wait Cain! I-I couldn’t hear you! P-Please!” She shouted, getting no response from him… but drawing the attention of somepony else. “Darling? Princess? Are you alright?” the voice of her mother called as she peeked through the door, her face showing a few worried creases as she slowly opened the door. “I… I don’t know Mamma…” Diamond said, pulling the pillow nearby to her chest as she hugged it for a moment, staring down at the floor as she imagined herself gazing all the way down into the dungeons where Cain and Strife were. “I… I think Cain was trying to r-reach out to me?” Silver Tongue’s face didn’t show what she thought about that, but she slowly trotted in, climbing into the bed and settling in next to her as she wrapped a loving hoof around her. “Do you know why?” “I… I think he wanted to apologize for what happened… h-how he hurt me before he and Strife were freed.” This got a frown from Silver Tongue, who asked “What do you mean he hurt you? Did they do something before they helped free Discord?” Diamond Tiara shifted about uncomfortably, feeling a bit guilty about that herself. If she had resisted what Discord had told her, she might have been able to stop them… assuming of course they would have listened to her at that point. “D-Discord showed me how they really felt… o-or at least the feelings they weren’t willing to share with me.” She replied, telling her all the things they’d shouted at her that had made her believe she had no friends… she didn’t fail to notice her mothers surprise at the brief mention of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but was too busy thinking about everything else to ask about it. For a moment, Diamond simply felt her mother pull her closer, holding onto her tight and offering a comforting anchor to hold onto amidst all these conflicting feelings now rolling within her. “Diamond… do you remember how you’ve always felt when I had to go away for a while, to do my job for Princess Celestia and Luna?” Was this a trick question? “Of course I do… I always count the number of days you’ve been gone, wondering how soon we’ll get a letter and when you’ll come home so we can all be together again.” Silver Tongue nodded and hummed to herself, Diamond seeming to have answered properly as she went on. “Now Diamond, how might you feel if you, or your father and I, was to go someplace where you would never be able to see me, to talk to me, to hear me or feel my hooves holding you tight…” At first, Diamond’s heart nearly stopped, suddenly fearing that perhaps her mother was intending to leave her. But then her mind caught up… and she saw where she was beginning to go. “I’d… I’d be really upset. No… upset’s not strong enough. I’d be heartbroken… I’d feel like a part of me had been ripped out and thrown beyond my reach.” Which she already felt had happened, though understood it was different. “Mmhmm. At least with me, you can write to me, and eventually I’ll come home. But for Cain… and Strife… they weren’t from here. They’re home is another world… with their own family. One that it seems they cannot get to even after being pulled out from you by the very being who brought them here.” Silver Tongue said, rubbing at Diamonds back as she added “The pain they feel from not being able to see their own loved ones, to let them know where they are or to even see them… it must be incredibly painful to them both.” “I do not think either of them meant to harm you princess… I think they were just letting out the pain they have been holding back since they got here. I think they still care about you… and Cain reaching out to you is proof of that.” Diamond took a moment to mull over everything her mother had said, trying to imagine what she might have done in Cain’s and Strife’s place. It didn’t take her long to realize that she would probably… no, she would have done the same if she was in there hooves. “I... guess I shouldn’t judge them then… should I?” She asked, looking up to her mother and hoping she could point her in the right direction, since she hadn’t had much luck on her own. Silver Tongue nodded her head, though she did say “What it means is you should understand why they did what they did, before you get angry at them. To judge before understanding is always a mistake, whether its between friends or nations.” Diamond Tiara thought about that, just as her mother was getting called by her father. “Be there in a moment sweetie.” She shouted back, turning and giving Diamond a soft nuzzle as she said “I hope I helped dearie… and I’m sure the Princesses and the Elements will be able to fix anything. You just rest and get to feeling better… you’ve been through an awful lot.” She nodded, watching as Silver Tongue walked out of the room. She slowly hopped off the bed, walking over to a nearby vanity and gazing into the mirror for a moment and studying her reflection. For a brief moment, she saw the faces of Strife and Cain beside her, but then they vanished. Again, she felt that strange sense of loss, like a part of her was missing… “Cain… Strife… I… y-you both hurt me…” She softly said as she rested her hooves on the counter before her, her head soon lying atop them as she continued looking into the mirror. “All those things you said… I… I wouldn’t have thought they’d have hurt so much… but they did. And even if you meant every word of it… y-you could have told me i-instead of holding it in…” With a sigh, she closed her eyes, picturing them both in her mind for a moment as she murmured “I’m still mad at you… but… but…” For a brief moment, she thought she could hear an echo of their voice, their thoughts. And for a moment, she felt whole again. “I… I think, I can forgive you… both of you.” -*-Strife-*- Strife was bored, really bored, with Cain busy seeing those memories, she was alone. "What to do? What to do?" She thought to herself, tapping her claws on the floor beneath her as she waited for Cain to return, having finally figured out how they were going to share this body of theirs. 'Mmm… do I really want to go back home? Sure it’s Cain's home, but the thing is.. they are his family and friends… they’re only mine by association.' Truth be told, Strife’s main motivation to free Discord was not to be destroyed by the mind fusion. She actually liked Equestria, in no small part because she actually had her own body, of a sort, and was free to do as she pleased once she got out of this cell. Plus it was the place where she finally got a friend that she could say was actually hers. A friend... that she had betrayed. Or had she? Had the whole mind fusion deal happened, not only she and Cain would be gone, but also Diamond Tiara, what would be left is a new filly that combined the three of them. She did miss Cain's friends and family, but they were friends and family she had never interacted with, save when Cain let his temper get the better of him, and those weren't happy memories. So by betraying the filly, she had also saved her. Yeah, definitely not the land of happiness and rainbows seen in a cartoon for kids, as weird as it sounded, this was real life. 'My only happy memories that are truly mine are with… these ponies.' As much as it disgusted her, making her want to gag just as much as their beloved father no doubt would. She would feel a fair bit better, if she could know for certain that her actions hadn’t destroyed the friendships they’d built… however short lived they may have been. “Ugh, at this rate I’d be happier to even have any of them down here yelling at me… at least I wouldn’t be alone…” Silence… and then… she heard something else stirring. Her red eyes shot up, gazing past the iron bars of her cell and searching for the source of the noise. It would seem she wasn’t the only one down here. “Hmm… what a delightful bit of fortune...hmm… and here I thought the Princesses didn’t even use these cells.” That voice… it was familiar. It had a faint buzz to it, as if it was coming from an insect… but few insects could hope to be as dangerous as the source of that voice could be. “Queen Chrysalis…” She said, mentally cursing herself for forgetting that Princess Celestia had mentioned the capture of the Changeling Queen. A hissing chuckle floated through the air from the cell across from her, and soon a pair of green eyes were gazing cooly in her direction. “My reputation precedes me… a pity it seems. Perhaps had I known they were aware of my kind… I could have been better prepared.” Strife didn’t say anything immediately, considering the fact that she knew how it was that Chrysalis’ plans had failed. This didn’t seem to bother the Changeling Queen, who appeared to be sitting on all four legs, wings buzzing every so often and adding a soft hum to the air. “So friend… what is it that brought such an interesting specimen such as yourself down here to share these fine dungeons with yours truly?” Not having anything better to do right now, Strife simply shrugged, leaning back against the wall of her cell and giving Chrysalis an even stare. “Oh, the usual. Just breaking free the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony so that he could be free to roam the land turning the skies perriwinkle, the tree’s into sponges, and filling cream-puffs with poison joke.” That got an interested buzz from the Changeling Queen. “Well well, aren’t we the ambitious one? I take it you had something to gain from all of that, considering Discord is not known for being the charitable sort?” She nodded her head. “Oh of course we did. He promised us our own bodies… though he seems to have found it more interesting to leave us glued to one another.” “Perhaps I am missing something… I see only one person in that cell of yours.” She replied, her expression clearly implying how she thought her a tad mad. Not that that was all that far off the mark. “One body, two souls. Or, if you want to get technical, I’m suffering from a VERY extreme case of split personality disorder.” Strife chuckled, which soon became a mad cackle as she went on to say “Considering that I’m the spawn of Discord, I shouldn’t be that surprised he decided to keep things this way.” That seemed to pique Chrysalis’ curiosity, as she got up and drew closer to the bars of her own cell, sitting back on her hind quarters as she said “Oh my… now that is something I must simply know more about. At the very least, it will be better than trying to count each particle of dust gathered on the walls of my prison.” “Hmph...why should I tell you anything?” Strife asked, frowning at the sudden curiosity Chrysalis seemed to be showing in her. “Its not like either of us have anything better to do… unless of course you’d prefer the silence?” Chrysalis asked, giving Strife a coy, almost knowing smile. Unfortunately, Chrysalis was right. Neither her nor Cain had ever been very good at dealing with silence, and since Cain still seemed to be busy elsewhere in their mind, she did need something to do to keep her mind occupied and away from the fact that, until she could find some way out of here, or the Princesses decided to show some mercy, she was stuck down here. Rolling her eyes and shrugging, Strife said, “Fine, but you’ll need to make it up to me with those freaky changeling powers of yours somehow.” Strife felt a small smirk tugging at her lips, a few ideas already filling her mind. Chrysalis seemed to consider the offer, then likewise shrugged as she said “Very well. Now, please enlighten me as to what you meant when you said you were the ‘spawn of Discord’.” Strife took a moment to stretch, then explained “It’s a bit of a story, and to be honest, I don’t think I know every bit… but I can tell you what I know for certain, and give you my theories…” Settling into the bench she sat upon, Strife closed her eyes and began to weave the tale for her captive audience… -*-Twilight and Company-*- Twilight and her friends had just been about to head off to do their own things, Twilight speaking with some of the Royal Council while Cadence went off to begin the Day Court, when somepony that Twilight hadn’t seen in a long time walked into the room. Her delight at seeing her brother, tired though he was, was quickly tempered when she saw that he was coming into the room bearing some unexpected guests. “What in tarnation? Apple Bloom? What is she doing here?” Applejack asked as she, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash quickly galloped over, pulling a foal each off his back, and leaving Twilight to grab hold of Silver Spoon. “I don’t know… I found them all asleep in the hallway, just passed out on the floor. They didn’t even budge when I tripped over them…” Shining Armor replied as he collapsed to the floor, letting out a long yawn as he looked up to his sister. “Hey Twily, long time no see.” “Shining! Have you been overworking yourself again?!” Twilight berated, even as Princess Cadence snickered quietly to herself, lifting a cup of coffee over to him. “Don’t be so hard on him Twilight, he takes his job seriously, just as you do your own studies. It seems to be a family trait to go the extra mile when an important task needs done.” Fluttershy came over and nudged Twilight, whispering to her that she could take Silver Spoon so she could confer with her brother. Giving her an appreciative nod, she allowed the filly to be taken away, settling herself next to her older brother and shaking her head at him. “I was hoping that the next time I saw you you’d be awake enough for a hug.” He chuckled weakly, pulling his head up enough to sip from the offered coffee. “Don’t worry, your BBBFF will make sure to give you all the hugs you could want… right after I take a twelve hour power nap.” “I’ll hold you to that.” Twilight said as Cadence trotted over, giving him a rather affectionate nuzzle, that Twilight didn’t miss as she began speaking softly to him. “Come on now Shining… I’ll help escort you to your quarters, and then you can get some well deserved rest. Twilight can handle things from here, and you’ve more than done your part in protecting the palace and the city.” He nodded, not having the strength to currently resist much, even if he really wanted to. Twilight quirked an eyebrow up as she watched the pair depart, making a mental note to inquire at the rather intimate way Cadence was touching her brother. Shining had mentioned finding a special somepony in his last letter, but he’d kept it secret so as to both tease her, and keep her from playing the role of protective younger sibling. But that was neither here nor there. She shook her head, turning her attention back to matters of greater importance. Such as why the Crusaders and Diamond Tiara’s friend were doing in the palace, not to mention how they’d even gotten INSIDE it. She’d have to check with Shining’s second in command. Applejack and the others were in the process of waking the four foals up, but Rarity had stepped away and was now heading towards her, a very concerned look on her face. “Twilight dear, I think we may have a bit more of a situation on hand then their presence alone might imply.” “What do you mean Rarity? Beside the fact that your sister and her friends somehow managed to slip through what is supposed to be one of the most highly guarded places in Equestria?” “I believe Discord might have had something of a role to play, actually.” She replied, turning and leading Twilight over to the four, who were now looking nervously up at the older foals around them. “Uh… Hiya Twilight… n-nice day ain’t it?” Apple Bloom began, but a stern glare from AJ sealed her lips. “Twilight,” Rarity began, looking at all four fillies for a moment before returning her gaze to Twilight, “Can you tell me if you see anything ‘off’ about these four fillies?” Twilight looked down at them, first noting that they weren’t all that keen to be the center of attention now… but more importantly, there seemed to be something rather odd about their colors. Twilight didn’t recall their coats or manes being so… brightly hued. One might not notice it if one didn’t have a good eye for detail… but now that Rarity had pointed it out, it was noticeable. “Rarity, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Twilight asked, her tone implying it was more of a rhetorical question than an honest one. “I believe so Twilight my dear. Shall we?” Before anyone else, who might not have exactly understood where this line of conversation was going, could do anything, Twilight and Rarity’s horns lit up, their magical aura’s wrapping around the fillies for but a moment, glowing brighter even as the magically applied coloring began to fade from each of their coats, mane, and tail. Soon enough, the magic had faded, leaving four grey-scaled foals looking rather confused at what had just happened. “What the hay?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, picking up Scootaloo and turning her over this way and that, much to said fillies annoyance. “They look all grey and dull like we did when Discord did his magic mumbo jumbo on us!” “See girls!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, glaring weakly at the others as she crossed her hooves over her chest. “I told you something funny was going on, but you were all too busy thinking about getting back at Diamond and Cain to notice!” “Woah there, slow down a minute. Ya’ll might want to explain why exactly you’re all here in the first place, and how you ended up all greyed out.” Applejack said, to which Scootaloo harrumphed. “We came here to tell Diamond and Cain how we REALLY felt about them. And I don’t know what all of you are talking about, we’re fine.” “Scoots, I don’t need to be the element of Honesty to know your lying through your teeth.” Rainbow Dash shook her head as she used her hoof to rub little circles into her head. “Come on now, Sweetie there seems to know that something is up with all of you, why can’t you see it?” “Sweetie is just worried we’ll get in trouble.” Silver Spoon replied, looking rather bored now with the conversation. “We didn’t do anything wrong.” “Yes we did! Don’t you remember how we said all those mean things to Diamond Tiara, how she broke down crying and curled up?” Exclaimed Sweetie Belle, looking to the others and finding that they were either ignoring her or shaking their heads. “I think I know how to solve this girls.” Twilight said, her horn beginning to glow as she recalled every bit of the memory restore spell she had used previously. The fillies, save Sweetie Belle, seemed to recoil at the light, trying to back away from her even as the others blocked their routes of escape. “Sorry dearies, but none of you are going anywhere until we get to the bottom of this.” Rarity said as Twilight leaped forward, pressing her horn to the tip of Apple Bloom’s, than Scootaloo’s, and finally Silver Spoon’s heads. They struggled against her efforts until the spell managed to take hold, and as they were recovering from the rush of memories, Twilight cast the spell upon Sweetie as well. “Thanks Twilight… everything’s a whole lot clearer now.” Sweetie said, gently shaking her head before turning her head to see how the others were faring. Other than a few groans of discomfort and a lot of blinking, they seemed fine… until Apple Bloom exclaimed “Sweet holy horse apples, what have we done?” “I think that’s what everypony here would like to know.” Pinkie piped up as she bounced over, finally joining the rest of them in their little circle of ponies. She licked the whipped topping from a tart off her nose and giggled “In fact, you could say it’s the One Million Bit question!” "We… ah darn, we… we said a lot of means things to Diamond Tiara and Cain." Applebloom said looking down at the ground bleakly, lower lip beginning to tremble as she recalled every last word. "Yeah, sorry Sweetie Belle, you were right… we should’ve listened." Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck, avoiding the eyes of Sweetie Belle and the rest of the Element bearers. Silver Spoon shook her head, tears beginning to form at the edge of her eyes as she admitted, "I.... I badmouthed my best friend, even after all I know she’s been through… even Cain, after he had tried to help us mend our friendship..." Sweetie Belle was roughly in a similar state of guilt. “I knew what was happening was wrong… but somehow I couldn’t get my lips to say it. I tried to stop it… but I couldn’t.” A moment of silence followed this, broken only when Fluttershy asked “C-Could this have anything to do with what happened yesterday? With Cain and Strife freeing Discord?” "Woah woah, timeout.” Rainbow Dash interrupted, just as Twilight was about to offer her thoughts on said theory. “How is it that Sweetie Belle was able to resist some of Discord’s influence, but the others couldn’t? That makes no sense!" “Considering that this is Discord we’re talking about darling, it actually makes perfect sense.” Rarity chimed in, earning a dirty look from the cyan pegasus. "I was able to resist him when he first appeared… but I don’t know if that was because of anything special. Maybe he didn’t have enough powers to do it properly with all four of them?" Fluttershy queried, before glancing down and ruffling Sweetie’s mane. "You’re a very kind hearted pony, aren’t you?” "Maybe?” She replied, tilting her head briefly in confusion… before going “Ohhh… maybe because I’m such a nice pony, his spell couldn’t fully affect me.” “That’s certainly one theory, and its the only one I got right now.” Twilight Sparkle murmured. “So… what happened with Diamond Tiara and Cain'" Apple Bloom asked, looking about for a moment in confusion. “In fact… where are the Princesses. This is the Palace after all, shouldn’t they be here?” “The Princesses are out looking for Discord.” Twilight said, again ready to continue, but stopped as Rainbow Dash let out an angry growl. “Yeah, cause those two knuckleheads decided in a fit of insanity to break Discord’s statue, freeing him and getting their own body in exchange.” "What? Ya mean Discord is loose?" "He got free?" Scootaloo asked, looking rather worried by such a prospect. "I… I think we had something to do with that. We messed up big time." Silver Spoon declared, sniffing a bit and wiping away the tears that had been slowly making their way down her muzzle. Sweetie Belle approached Rarity, nudging her hooves slightly as she asked "Uh… big sis… is there anything we can do to help? We’ve just got to make up for what we did.” "Well darling, I’m quite sure Diamond Tiara would like to hear all of you apologizing for what you said to her, even if it was under Discord’s Control. That’s a start at least.” Scootaloo let out a grunt, rolling her eyes and saying, “Duh, we kind of figured that one out.” "Hold on a minute, so are Cain and Strife helpin Discord now?" Applebloom asked, seeming to be bothered by the idea of the seemingly nice Cain helping that dastardly Discord. "No, the coward ran away like a fox with its tail between his legs, and left those two to take the blame. So the princesses threw them in a special cell that blocks magic." Applejack sounded really annoyed, showing it when she stomped a hoof onto the floor and asking "What kind of father just leaves their daughters hanging up dry like that?” "My parents may travel around and leave Sweetie Belle with me a lot, but at least they do care about Sweetie Belle when they are at home. Discord just dropped Cain and Strife off to face the fury of the Royal Sisters.” Rarity commented, shaking her head at the sad state of affairs. "Wait, wait a minute, I’m really lost now..." Scootaloo said, scratching her head for a moment as she asked “Are you guys saying that Discord is Cain and Strife’s dad?” She had a hard time believing it.   "Yeperroni!" Pinkie Pie said. "Discord is a really big mean mean meanie pants." "Anyway, we need to prioritize. We can explain everything while we move ahead with trying to get things under control.” Twilight said, taking charge as she drew herself up and turned her attention to the resident party pony. “Pinkie Pie, could you take the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Silver Spoon to see Diamond Tiara? She should be up by now as well, and I’m sure she could use some cheering up. But NO parties.” "Oki Doki Twilight, I’ll just-" "And no singing! We’re in the middle of a crisis." "Ahh… alright. I can still throw a party later, right?" "Once we’ve dealt with Discord, you most certainly can." Twilight Sparkle knew she had to agree to that or Pinkie Pie would get sad. "Well, you heard her girls, let’s go and see your friend." Pinkie Pie got the fillies together and bounded out, leaving Twilight and the others to themselves for a moment. Watching her friend go, Rainbow Dash shook her head and turned back to Twilight. “So Twi, how exactly are we gonna use Pinkie’s idea to ‘get things under control’?” “I’m thinking about it Rainbow Dash… I know the Princesses went out to find Discord, but I think he hasn’t left the city, or even the Palace. He could be anywhere.” “Or anything…” Fluttershy murmured softly, looking about fearfully for a moment. Applejack looked around as well, before shaking her head and saying “Ah horse apples Fluttershy, if Discord was hangin’ about somewhere nearby, he would have done somethin’ by now. Doesn’t mean the varmint isn’t lurking about though.” “Exactly. And he might strike soon, especially with the Princesses gone. I’m just glad that Celestia left Cadence here… she still hasn’t taught me the spell to get back into the vault. We’ll need her to help us get the Elements out.” “I still don’t understand why we didn’t keep the Elements out… what if he shows up and we can’t get to them in time?” Rainbow Dash asked, sending a glance towards one of the nearby windows, which offered a good view of the tower holding the Elements of Harmony. “For one, that’s part of Pinkie’s plan, if you recall.” Rarity grumbled, adding “Which is such a pity… we all look so magnificent when they adorn our necks.” “And for another, Discord might be able to use his own magic to try and vanish them away. Celestia has taken special precautions this time, with the help of Luna even, to ensure that he can’t get to them when they’re inside the vault. Princess Celestia didn’t want our only true defense against him to be pulled out from under us again.” Twilight explained, starting to pace as her mind raced through the details Pinkie had shared. Applejack stepped forward, eyes creased in worry. “But are we all sure that Discord will really come out for this? Discord’s proved to be a pretty slick one before. He might see right through it.” “And should we really do it without letting anyone else know? We haven’t even told Cadence… I don’t think the Princesses would be happy with what Pinkie has in mind.” Rarity added, getting nods of agreement from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "True, but Discord is also egocentric, it’s what got him defeated in the past. Plus we are also the only challenge that he has left to his rule. Leaving the Elements out and within his reach would be a really bad idea.” "Uh… Twi… I just thought of this… but what if he is listening in right now?" Rainbow Dash asked raising a hoof and gesturing at, well, everything in the room. Rarity let out a groan, shuddering as she said “At this point, I think I’d take those Changelings. At least they can’t alter reality with a clap of their hooves.” "There is nothing we can really do if he is. And Rarity, please don't give Discord ideas. We really don’t need him releasing all the Changelings the Royal Guard found." "Oh please, those bug faces?" Discord's voice echoed in the hall, earning gasps from the assembled Ponies as they looked about for its source. The twitchiness they exhibited resulted in a dark, annoying cackle. "My, Twilight Sparkle, what would be the fun in that? Anypony could use an army, but how many can use this?" There was a sound of snapping claws, followed by tremble that shook the whole room... yet nothing seemed to have happened. This didn’t help anypony’s nerves. "What did you do, Discord?!" Twilight Sparkle shouted, running multiplication problems through her head to help keep calm. "Oh, that's for me to know and for your silly ponies to find out!" He said, his laughter slowly fading away. Then the five mares promptly got a pie to the face. "Mmm, not bad, Pinkie had a point." Applejack said licking her face, while everypony looked at her. "What? Just because he’s a bad guy doesn’t mean Ah can’t appreciate the pie.” Shaking her head, Twilight said "Quick everypony, let’s see if anything is different. Even the slightest thing could be important." Twilight Sparkle said and everypony looked over themselves and everything around them, but nothing seemed different. The earth trembled again and a giant mole appeared from a giant hole in the ground. The beast was wearing a top hat and a monocle, even as it let out a mighty roar that shook the room to its foundations, breaking some of the windows. "Okay… now I wish Pinkie Pie was here to make the appropriate commentary about this thing." Applejack muttered, before letting out a rather dainty sneeze and adding "Oh my word, a giant mole? That will just not do, it clashes with absolutely everything in this room. And its going to cost a fortune to fix the floor, tsk tsk, the Princesses aren’t going to be happy about that.” "Applejack?" Twilight Sparkle asked, suddenly worried, only for the Earth pony to sneeze again shaking her head as she seemed to return to normal. "What? Did Ah say something?" "You kinda… turned back into fancy Applejack who loves oranges for a moment." Rainbow Dash said sounding freaked, only for her to sneeze herself and her wings turned into butterfly like wings, looking VERY reminiscent of the gossamer wings Rarity had for a short time. Fluttershy let out an eep, stuttering as she looked up. "Uh…oh dear...  Rainbow Dash? Don't look now but your wings look a tad... well I think they look beautiful." Rainbow Dash looked herself over "What the hay? My wings! He’s turned them into bug wings! These’ll snap off if I get hit by a light gust of wind.” "Actually, I think he turned you into a Flutterpony, your wings are not frail, but your body must now be lighter and weaker than that of a pegasus. Flutterponies wings are actually as hard as unicorn horns, since they are the focus of their magic… just… try to not crash… I’m not quite sure since they are supposed to be a legend." “Come on girls, lets get this plan of Pinkie’s rolling before anything else weird happens.” Twilight said, turning about and making a mad dash for the door even as the Mole pulled out a giant edition of the Canterlot Times, humming pleasantly to himself and began reading. -*-Strife, Cain, & Queeny-*- "And that's about it, everything that matters anyways." Strife said, letting out a tired sigh.  'Damn I really talked a lot, wonder if it’s because the old man likes to brag… ' Then Strife could finally sense Cain back in her head “Ugh, finally. What took you so blasted long.” Their eyes shifted for a moment, going from red to blue as I said “Hey, don’t blame me. I had contact with Diamond Tiara for a moment, and then lost it. I thought I heard something but then I got booted out of the room. Door’s not even there anymore.” "I might be a shape-changing ‘evil’ monster that feeds on love to survive, and I do not see family the same way ponies do, but even Changelings do not abandon their young. At least, not unless there is no chance of their survival.” Chrysalis muttered darkly, frowning as she pondered everything she had heard. “What is going on?”  I asked, rather confused as to why Queen Swiss Cheese was beginning to hiss and chirp in a rather insulting tone. Strife retook control, shrugging as she thought 'I just told her the summarized version about Discord being our dad, abandoning us to take the blame, without letting her know that it was us who told Celestia and Luna about the changeling invasion. Indirectly at least.’ 'I see. Well, I guess that since she is basically like an insect queen, only smarter, she would see what Discord did in a bad light. Heck, what race out there just throws a newborn away like that?' 'I am not a newborn!' Strife said and started to suck her tail in mock protest. And then a moment later added ‘And you know the answer to that mister history buff.’ 'Dude, we just got a body like, a few hours ago, technically we are.' I muttered, shaking my own head as Strife retreated inside our head, both of us appearing to be younger versions of our new form, with only a few minor differences between us to tell the each other apart. ‘And don’t remind me about that.’ "Right, nevermind, so were you able to make peace with Diamond Tiara? That took way too long to be a trip down memory lane." Letting out a tired sigh, I shook my head "I tried, but it was very hard and I don't know if she believed me." I started walking around nervously, not happy with the results and what they meant. "So… what's next?" "Why are you asking me?" "Because I’m not asking her highness across the street, and because I figure if anyone has any idea about what’s going on, it’s you." "Well, he’ll probably get the princesses out of the way somehow. Then he’ll get bored and start messing with things... other than that though, I got nothing. Despite what I look like, I am not a jerkass chaos god who only thinks about himself. I mean yeah, I am a jerkass, but not to his level. Not yet anyways, and at least when I was a jerk it wasn't because I found it amusing! Well… not most of the time."   "So, the Great and Powerful Strife has no master plan?" "First of all, I am not Trixie. She’s just a hack who probably ran home to cry to her Mamma. Second, my master plan is to hope that by the time dear old dad has been turned into Discord the Lawn Ornament the Third, that the Princesses will have calmed down enough to let us out. That and see if I can make Queen Cheese copy Celestia to mock her." "Sooo… you’re just going to sit here and wait it out, hope everything ends up like it does in the show?” I asked, feeling a tad incredulous. I would have thought by now it’d be easy to know that this world wasn’t like the show. "Why not? Without magic there’s nothing else either of us can do, and he seems to have learned from his mistakes. How should I know what he will and won’t do. He’s got knowledge about our home, or Earth anyways, so who knows what he might do. Better for both of us to sit it out and hope for the best. Not that we have much choice.” "Now that's a scary thought." I said, shuddering as the possibilities flitted through my head. "Yeah, no kidding dude, all this time the ponies thought the power of friendship and all that jazz could save us, but in the end, it didn’t work like that." Strife then turned on the huge flatscreen TV "So… care to watch some cartoons we watched as kids? They’re burned into our memory and since I can grab anything and pull it up on here…” "I’d personally prefer to try and find some way for us to escape.” I muttered, earning an indifferent shrug from Strife as I took control, thankful she wasn’t in a mood to argue about it. “I believe she is having a conversation with herself- Ah, you’re back.” Chrysalis said, smirking as she looked my way, though that wasn’t what had my attention right now. “You seem to have attracted some rather interesting visitors.” Four of the Mane six were standing in front of me… in various states of transformation. AJ was back to being Orangejack, Rainbow Dash looked like she had been crossed with a Butterfree, Rarity was a full fledged Diamond Dog, and not looking at all excited about it, while Fluttershy seemed to have been transformed into a cactus of all things. There wasn’t any sign of Twilight or Pinkie Pie. “What in the name of all the gods above and below has happened to you guys?" “Do you really need to ask?” Rainbow Dash asked rather bluntly, making me cringe a bit before smacking my head. Of course the answer was obvious. “So, I take it that Discord is now Emperor of the World or some sort, and you’re his playthings?” "No, he’s just playing his vile tricks without showing that ugly face of his." Orangejack said, quickly shaking her head though as she continued “Right now darling, that isn’t important. We need to get you out of here so you can help us with Cadence.” "What did he do? Turn her into a dragon?" Strife asked, shunting me partially out as one eye shifted in color… and a moment later Strife was rolling with laughter, not doing anything to help convince them to let us out. "Yes, and it’s not funny."  Rainbow Dash protested… only to let out a few snickers a moment later as she recanted. "Okay… it’s a little funny. Just don't tell Twilight I said that." “I won’t… but where is Twilight? Heck, where is Pinkie Pie?” "Pinkie Pie is cheering up Diamond Tiara, and Twilight… uh… you better go and see for yourself." Rarity grunted, her voice having gotten a bit more… gravelly and deeper than it normally was. "Fine, if you’re going to let us out, let’s get it over with. You gals got the keys?" Strife interrupted again, only to watch in a fair bit of amazement as Fluttercactus of all things tried to use the keys and open the lock. This didn’t seem to get very far, until Rarity lifted the potted desert plant up and turned it and the key into the lock. With a click and a clack, the lock was taken care of and they pulled the door open. We took several steps forward and into the freedom beyond it. Instantly both of us felt a rush of energy flood into it. I’ll just say it was something else, and leave it at that, but Strife seemed to be dealing with it better than I had. "Finally!" Strife snapped her claws, with me fearfully wondering what might happen… only for lollipops to appear in all of their mouths. That… was certainly not what I or any of us were expecting. And apparently, it wasn’t what Strife was expecting either. “Well, so much for giving us all plenty of firepower to blast anything Daddy Discord throws our way. Guess it’ll be a while before I have any control over this magic stuff.” Shrugging her shoulders, she looked to Orangejack and RD, waving her arm ahead as she said “Lead the way folks, I’ll be right beside you.” Nodding, everypony ran down the hallway and up the stairs, quickly leaving the cell and the dungeon behind. And, incidentally, the only other occupant of the steel prisons. “So… I guess that’s a no on letting me out?” Chrysalis asked, letting out a long hissing sigh as she looked down at a small rat that was making its way into her cell. She let out a tired groan as she murmured “Well, at least I’m not entirely alone.” The rat looked up at her, crawling over to her hooves and sniffing at her curiously for a moment… before promptly biting her. One loud stomp and a bloodstain later, and the Queen of the Changelings was back to being all alone.