//------------------------------// // Consequences // Story: Fed up // by Billblok //------------------------------// Under most circumstances, Princess Celestia del Sol of the immortal empire of the solar diarchy Lady of dawn etcetera etcetera would have been calm and collected, the only sign of anger written upon her face being the particular way she spoke the thing of her concerns; a stern voice with a slight scowl. It was the kind of anger that was not anger, but a disappointment. All the same, anypony who was faced with that disappointment quaked in their horseshoes, scared to death of what could possibly happen if they were faced with true anger. This was, in fact, one of those cases. At least for the time being. How she had managed to keep calm so far could boggle the heads of many a monk who had sought after the ever elusive inner peace. How could anypony stay calm when a grand dictator of a land of deceitful beings--who looked so much like ponies, yet not at all-- continuously attempted to take your kingdom by force? The answer to that which applied to most situations, save for those where her friends, family or beloved students had messed up, was a truly dark secret. Celestia’s rage was only barely controlled by the weakest element that she represented, that being kindness. It was no surprise that this kindness was being tested. Celestia clenched her teeth as she prepared once again for facing one who seemed to be the most irritating creature on the planet. Chrysalis didn’t seem too happy to see her either. “Okay, seriously how do you keep on popping up?!” Scratch that, Chrysalis was truly irate to see the pink alicorn once more. Just who was this pony that insisted on butting her nose in her business of taking over Equestria so that she can increase her power and influence at the expense of them?! Granted, the pink haired pony had a perfectly legitimate reason to butt her nose in on her business, but that wasn’t not the point! The point was that the pink hair pony was here, and she didn’t want her to be here. Celestia eyed the changeling queen standing in the way of her and the imprisoned class of ponies (all the while holding back the changeling children, who sweet as they may be, were bothering her severely.) “...Really?” Chrysalis stared blankly. “What?” “Did you think it would be so easy to get rid of me?” “Well yeah, you’re not the aurora-maned one.” Celestia stomped a hoof. “My name is Celestia. Princess Celestia to you.” “Oh, really?” she rolled her eyes, brushing a lock of her mane aside. “And I’m a bug-pony.” A smug grin tugged at her mouth “Exactly.” Okay, now she was mad. “You...” she hissed. “I am not--” “Touch a nerve?” Celestia was not sure why she was intentionally agitating her adversary. Perhaps she was slowly cracking under the pressure of dealing with her sudden discovery of the way her subjects treated her or the fact that she was currently under the risk of losing her country to the rule of Chrysalis, the bug-queen. Didn’t matter anyways; Chrysalis was indeed agitated. “Touched a nerve?!? What do you think?!” “I think you have no idea who you’re talking to.” Chrysalis snarled. “I know that you’re just an impersonator! And a terrible one at that!” “If that were the case, How does that make you any different from me?” While most ponies would think that since she was a princess she never really got in trouble. Celestia was actually quite familiar with being in trouble. For instance, there was one particular time when she had said something in court in front of a foreign dignitary which in hindsight was quite offensive; but that never ended in a swift strike in the nose. Of course, she also never had the privilege of having a spat with a pony intent on being one of her worst enemies. “Ouch, Dat hurd.” Yes, that nose-- muzzle and all-- was broken in two. Only to be expected as part of the career of being a ruler and a diplomat. “How dare you,” Chrysalis hissed, seething with anger. “How. Dare. You! Who are you to criticize me?? To get on my back and hinder me from my goal?? Who are you?!” By this point, several young changelings either crept back, leaving Celestia alone, eyed her broken nose with concern, or went around the long way to behind Chrysalis’ back. “Ib sibly doing by job; preventig invasiod ob by country,” Celestia calmly said through her broken muzzle. A smug smile crossed the changeling queen’s lips. “Oh really now? How are you planning on stopping my invasion… without hurting their mother?” Celestia was shocked. “You… You’re deir budder?” “Of course I’m their mother! What did you expect me to be, royalty?” “Childred… you’re usig childred.” Another smug grin. “Does that bother you, little pink-haired pony?” She sighed, simply resorting to sitting on her haunches and eyeing Chrysalis with a glare. “Yes, yes id does.” “Too bad.” She turned to the nymphs. “Well, this has gotten pretty boring pretty fast. Perhaps we can find some other source of fu--” Chrysalis never finished her suggestion, as all the sudden, an incredibly loud SNAP echoed across the clearing between her and the pony. Said pony’s muzzle was no longer broken, and she was taking a few experimental sniffs just to make sure it was clear. “Uhh… how’d you do that?” Celestia smiled. However, that smile had no sincerity in it. “Bone setting spell. So, care to tell me why you’re using children?” “No, I don’t.” So now that the queen was caught red-handed, she appeared to be completely avoiding the subject. But who could blame her for trying to avoid trouble? She didn’t know who she was talking to, and neither did the nymphs, but rest assured, they would. Celestia was not keen on letting go of this. Now what exactly was going on in all their heads? To see the look on Chrysalis face, Celestia had made the most reasonable guess that she was feeling defiant. It helped that she was actually defying her, but Celestia took pride in being able to guess how ponies (or not ponies) felt. The changeling nymphs on the other hand had mixed feelings. Some were nervous, some confused, but most were generally cautious. That was nothing new to her. The most important thing however was a particular pink pony who-- now that the children had stopped playing with her and her friends-- was making her way to Celestia’s position, and the face she wore… was concerning. She seemed to know what was going on, despite being on the other side of the garden. Despite all this, perhaps against her better judgement, Celestia continued. “Ah, so you don’t want to explain why you’ve got children with you? I suppose I’ll just assume the worst, that you’re using them to assist in your invasion of Equestria.” Chrysalis flinched. “That’s not the reason.” “Well then why not give me your reason? A master of deception you are, I’m sure you could come up with an answer if you don’t have one already.” “...” “So… Nothing then?” “Integration...” “I see… Integrating who?” “Ponies into changeling society...” Celestia was not buying it. “By what means…?” “Peaceful...negotiation…?” “Well...” Celestia sat on her haunches, choosing her next words carefully in hopes to turn this in her favor. She could very easily change herself back to her brilliant self, but she’d rather avoid the intimidation technique. Given who she was dealing with, that seemed like it would be rather difficult, even borderline impossible… “Sorry, I don’t buy it.” “Of course not. So is that it? You fixed your nose, are you just going to sit there?” “Hmmm… Yes, I think I will.” “Okay, I’ll just walk around you--” A golden magic stopped her in her tracks. “What are you doing?!?” “You’re not going anywhere, Chrysalis.” Chrysalis fussed in the golden aura, which refused to budge. “Unhand me!! Do you have any idea who I am?! I am Chrysalis, queen of the changelings, and I demand that you leave me be!” “Demand?” Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “What gives you the right to demand of me?” “I broke your nose, imagine what I could do to your skull, little pony!!” Gasps sounded from the many little changelings. So they didn’t know? There was trouble now. Judging by the way Chrysalis clamped her hooves on her mouth and how her ears folded back, it was something she didn’t want to tell them either. “...And here I thought your kids were in on this. Chrysalis, I’m honestly rather disappointed in you. Are you that much of a liar that you would manipulate your own children into your dirty work?” “It--” the pink-haired pony with a familiar cutie mark glared at her in a very familiar fashion. “It’s not manipulation,” Chrysalis shot back with spite. “It’s for a good cause that they don’t understand! Who are you to get in the way of the queen of changelings!?” Welp, that was it. The straw that broke the camel’s back, and Celestia really loved that camel. This called for blind, unbridled rage. Chrysalis anger paled to that of Celestia’s infuriation. those eyes that were usually ever-so-gentle had narrowed tightly, holding the very fire of her own sun within those pupils. Was it just her, or did it seem to be getting warm around Chrysalis? “Choose your next words carefully…” Chrysalis actually halted for a second, before very much not choosing her words carefully. “...I’m sorry, but why should I?” Celestia immediately took action, and in this brought up the beginning of the end. Sun, I’m going to want a full connection. “YES! OUR MISTRESS REMEMBERS US! SHE ACKNOWLEDGES OUR PRESENCE AND-- Wait, what?” Sun. Right now, please. In the short seconds of Celestia’s full connection to the sun, several things happened. Pinkie Pie, being close by and deeply concerned with Celestia’s growing anger, had walked closer in an attempt to get the Princess to calm down. This was a grave mistake, as the changelings had already backed up considerably, and Pinkie had to take cover behind Chrysalis. Chrysalis had shrank considerably, literally and figuratively. The Sun, with its perpetual fear of being put out, maximized its connection to Celesta as quickly as possible. This resulted in an explosive blast that could be heard for miles. “THIS IS WHY, CHRYSALIS!!” Fire roared from Celestia’s mane as her beautiful, terrible self was made known to all. In all her long, long years, Queen Chrysalis had never seen such fury, such wrath as this from ponies. No, nothing had ever come even close to this. What was once snowy white fur had now become black as charcoal, and those eyes… those eyes stared into her, demanding the right to see her transgressions, to peer into her soul and demand penance.         Chrysalis shrank back further than she possibly thought she could shrink back. Celestia was still looming over her.         “WELL? HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY, OH MISTRESS OF LIES AND DECIET?!”         “H-help--”         “NO HELP WILL COME TO YOU NOW! DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?? YOU HAVE INCURRED THE WRATH OF THE PRINCESS OF THE BURNING SUN!!”         “I-I didn’t know--”         “I HAVE A PICTURE OF THE SUN EMBLAZONED ON MY BUTT!! DO YOU SEE ANYPONY ELSE WITH A SUN ON THEIR BUTT?!” Chrysalis was utterly terrified. She shook her head frantically. Celestia growled, and the flames billowing from her mane flared up briefly. “TELL ME, LITTLE QUEEN. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I AM? OR THE EXACT MEASURE OF MY POWER??”         Chrysalis whimpered. “I-I thought you were a princess-- Just a powerful alicorn-- What are you, a goddess??”         “A LITTLE WORD OF NOTE, CHANGELING QUEEN, THERE WAS A TIME IN THE HISTORY OF OUR KINGDOMS THAT IN THE EQUESTRIAN TONGUE, ‘PRINCESS’ AND ‘GODDESS’ WERE EXACTLY THE SAME THING.” Their noses almost touched, and Chrysalis could have sworn that her chitin was melting. “If this thrashing shows you anything at all, let it be this: Childeren. Are NOT. Your toys.”         Yep, Chrysalis was in trouble. Silently, she prayed to whatever god or goddess that wasn’t celestia to send forth some divine intervention to save her poor tail, because while Pinkie Pie was warm and fuzzy, she was not exactly going to be anymore fireproof than she was.(1)         Celestia’s horn lit up blindingly bright. “PREPARE FOR A ROYAL SPANKING OF A SORT THAT YOU’LL NEVER FORG--” Out of seemingly nowhere, Celestia suddenly winced in pain, whipping her head around to her back leg. “WHO DARES?!”         “Don’ hurt muh mummy!!” Lepidos, do you have adeath wish?! No, she did not in fact have a death wish, but the little nymph in question knew that what exactly she was doing was in fact something that would be a sign of a pony--or changeling-- having a death wish. In a wild attempt to save her mother, Lepidos intended to offer herself up as a distraction, long enough for Chrysalis to get away properly. "Kid, stop!! Do you have a death wish or something?!" Well at least the pegsus following really close behind her agreed she was doing something that someone with a death wish would do. However, it was all far, far too late to think about that anymore. It wasn't that Lepidos was faster than Rainbow Dash, it was just that she was considerably more dodgy and squirmy than your typical pony.(2) Rainbow Dash was right behind her, but she didn't actually manage to get a grip on her either. Something that irritated the prismatic pony to no end. "Kid. Stop. Dodging. And. Let. Me. Save. Your. Life!!" Of course, nothing ever managed to out fly Rainbow Dash, and she finally got her jaws around the changeling's tail. But only after Lepidos got her jaws around Ms. Fiery Death's ankle. *CHOMP*. Celestia's head whipped around, snarling at Lepidos. "WHO DARES?!" "Oh Hay," Rainbow squeaked out through her mouthful of changeling tail. She cringed, squeezing her eyes shut and backing away. There was just no conceivable way that this would end without a melted changeling filly or a cooked, plucked and marinated pegasus. She pitied that little changeling if only a small amount, but there was no way she was going to become the element of fried chicken. One second passed. There was no puddle of molten chitin. Two seconds passed. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. Three seconds passed. Lepidos was still biting into the princess' ankle. A long five seconds later, and Rainbow dared speak up. "Kid!" she hissed. "Clearly she's not upset at you right now, maybe you should do her a favor and--" Lepidos bit down harder. "Oh, hay!" Celestia stared long and hard at this little nymph that had insisted on biting down on her leg. Clearly she was very distressed, if the tears welling up from her eyes were anything to go by. Still, she had other things to deal with. "...Little one?" "Kid, quit it!" Rainbow hissed, wildly gesturing a sort of "get out of here" motion. Celestia took to wiggling her ankle, trying to coax her off. "Little one, I have no quarrel with you." "Don't hurt muh mummy!!" she yelled around the hoof in her mouth. Celestia shook her leg. Why was this changeling biting her ankle? She darn well wasn't going to kill her mother; that was out of the question! So why was she biting her? "Little one, please refrain from biting my leg..." "Noh!" "Little one, please--" "Noh!" "Please--" The nymph bit harder. "OUCH!!" Celestia winced painfully, hissing through her teeth. “Irritating little changeling; let go!” Her horn flashed, and she relieved the pain of being bitten by teleporting the little nuisance away a good distance. “Of all the things to happen… I was wasted a perfectly good thrashing...” Chrysalis, stunned, wondered quietly about what wonderful little thing just happened. It seemed to her that her own dear daughter had shot in behind the monstrous princess, and allowed her to live a little bit longer! She would have to remember to properly reward her if she made it out of this alive. she also recalled that she should probably take advantage of the goddess’ brief distraction and hightail it out of there. Should be simple, she thought, inching her way around Pinkie Pie so that she would have a clear path. Then again this pony can turn into living fire in an instant, who’s to say that I shouldn’t tack on omniscience to her repertoire of skills? She dearly hoped that Celestia would not notice. Chrysalis had yet to understand that one should not tempt fate as her little “friend” took notice of her sneaking around her, completely turning the odds against her when she protested: “W-wait! Where’re you going, chryssy!?” Oh, if only she had simply stayed put. Because now that Celestia had lost her anger, she was competent. And competent ponies were entirely unable to be tricked, or evaded. Celestia knew this, and she was not intent on letting her catch go. Celestia turned to Chrysalis, shaking her head in disappointment. “Um--” Chrysalis whimpered. “...Sorry?”         “Sorry, but just because your little child distracted me momentarily, that doesn’t mean you can simply sneak off.” She flicked her horn, and immediately, Chrysalis felt her wings become restrained.         “No! No no no no no!” Chrysalis panicked, trying to find a way to get out of the trap that was being set upon her. There was little she could do to escape, and the options were dwindling quickly. But before she could get out of the way, a golden orb grew around her almost instantaneously, blocking out sound and light. Wildly she bashed at the walls with magic and her hooves, shouting “No, not like this!!” Celestia smirked at the opaque golden orb. “Well then, I don’t think she’s going to go anywhere anytime soon.”         “Anypony can see that, Tia,” Celestia’s little sister came up behind her in a cool, steady gait, three other ponies nervously following behind, faces to the ground as close as possible. “You always seem to use such overkill when detaining a pony.”         Celestia--despite her imposing figure, terrifyingly fiery mane and ash black fur--managed to flash a surprisingly friendly smile. “Ah, Luna! How nice to see you join me with the prisoner.” She tapped the shield. “This little changeling queen has had a punishment coming for a long time.” “Y-you mean she’s in there for sure?” Fluttershy whimpered, head bowed low. “That’d be relieving…!”                 “Indeed! Took a little moment of clarity, and now I’ve got her where I want her, so she’ll finally face her judgement.”         “Well… Congratulations, dear sister!” Luna exclaimed in approval. “I may not approve of the freak-out beforehand, but it certainly yielded results! Quickly sister, let us lock her up in a cell!” Luna held out a gleaming blue chain with the intent to use it against Chrysalis, but her sister stopped her.         “No, this is not over. I want to take care of her punishment personally. She’s going to pay dearly for what she’s done to all of us.”         Luna protested. “I-- Surely you jest! Punishment is one thing, but vengeance is completely another!”         “But this isn’t vengeance!” Celestia said, defending her reasoning. “I mean, what did she do to me, defeat me in battle? That’s hardly enough to warrant vengeance.”         Luna sighed in irritation. “Celestia, I know you better than that. You never avenge yourself, because that’s too selfish; only others.”         Things were winding up again it appeared; and just when it calmed back down too. “I’m sorry Luna, but I still don’t see why I should refrain from punishing her myself.”         “Because, sister, you failed to keep a level head when confronting Chrysalis, Did not back down when the changeling child begged you not to hurt her mother, And now you’re claiming your own judgement in the wake of your stress is superior to anypony-else’s. Now Please step aside!” Luna made another attempt at getting past her sister, but was gently held back.         “No, Luna, This is between me and her.”         “Oh so that’s how it is; it is personal!” She growled in frustration. “See, when you actually get mad it’s so hard to actually reason with-- You know what? Fine. Excuse me for a moment?” “Sure, take your time.” Resigning to Celestia’s stubbornness, she turned to the other ponies, pulling them up from their prostrate positions and underneath her wings for a huddle. Those five ponies were doing rather well, considering Celestia’s freak out; and Twilight was blissfully unaware, still yet to wake up from her unconsciousness as she lay across Luna’s back. Twilight’s going to be pretty upset after all this, she thought as she gave the ponies a gentle squeeze before she started talking. “Girls, I’ll be honest here… Celestia’s lost it.” “Ag-greed,” Pinkie mumbled. “And if I’m being just as honest as before… I really don’t have a clue how to stop her from getting revenge against Chrysalis.” “Um…” Fluttershy raised a hoof. “Isn’t that a good thing?” “Not when it’s personal. There has to be a better option… I just have no idea what.” “Well what is there to do when words don’t work to make a pony step down?” Applejack fussed at the rim of her hat. “You gotta use force, but… against her? Ah don’t wanna do that. Nopony does.” Luna nodded. “I suppose that’s how she felt when she had to stop me. But there aren’t any other options.” “What if we just...” “Yes, Pinkie?” “...Hugged her?” Luna tilted her head. “I’m not sure how that’ll help the situation.” “With a bunch of other ponies?” “So...” “And we did it all at once!” “So we simply dogpile her?” Luna cracked a smile. “That might work if we can get close enough to her, I suppose. So… What say you, Rainbow Dash? Given the circumstances, how do we get some extra ponies?” “Well… given the circum-whatsits, we’d have to use changelings…” Rainbow humphed. “Darn it, we’re gonna have to free the bug-queen, aren’t we?” “Not just the bug-queen...” Luna eyed the cocoons, weaving another plan in her head. “Girls, Operation: Princess Pounded by Pouncing Ponies is go.” Pinkie scratched her head, trying to recite the acronym which though it was unpronounceable, she pronounced like “Pthbpp??”. “Is everypony in on this?” Luna annoyedly spoke over pinkie’s spitting. Five hooves shot up, the sixth one unable to be raised because its occupant was, again, still unconscious. When she got the yes from all the ponies still awake, she broke away the huddle and walked back towards the shield and the pony powering it. “Well? Are you going to let me do what needs to be done?” Luna smiled sympathetically. “Oh sister… Some ponies want justice… others revenge...” Her horn glowed softly, slowly shining brighter till it gleamed its bright blue color. “As for me sister...” Luna flared her horn, shooting a beam of pure blue energy at the shield surrounding Chrysalis. “What?? No!!” Crack! great fractures ruptured the perfectly smooth surface of the shield, and in moments, it shattered, the spell entirely neutralized. “Huzzah!” The changeling queen within cheered. “Now I can finally teleport out of this blasted--” She paused, looking around. “Oh, I’m free? Oh no… There’s nothing between me and her!” Celestia stared, dumbfounded at her sister’s betrayal. “Lulu...Why?” “Because, sister, this is hardly what I had in mind when I wanted to deal with our troublesome queen.” The eldest of the two sisters pulled the biggest, saddest pout she possibly could, which might have worked if she didn’t look like a monster from the depths of some inferno. “But...But Justice, Lulu!” “I don’t want justice, Celestia; I want quiet.” “Are we really going to do this?? I don’t want to do this!” “Yes, we’re going to do this; and We...” She emphasized by pulling the terrified changeling queen close to her, “We are going to do this right now!” “You’re not seriously planning on getting me involved, are you??” Chrysalis hissed at Luna. “Chrysalis, you were involved from the very beginning of this,” Luna hissed back. “Now shut up and help me; or I’ll simply let you end up in a volcano like the last time she caught you!” Chrysalis mouth opened briefly in retort-- then it closed again. “There had better be something that I get out of this...” “We could always use somepony else helping around the castle...” The queen’s ears perked at this. “You mean you’d willingly give me a throne to rule Equestira with? That seems like a bad idea for you, but I’m not complaining!” “Yeah sure, I guess.” “Done.” With this, the two turned their attention back on Celestia, gathering close ponies and changelings alike. A great many took position around the queen, forming a protective circle, and Celestia on the other end dug her hoof into the dirt. Luna gave out commands. “Girls, make sure she doesn’t approach until we’re ready. We need some sort of projectile.” Pinkie Pie raised a hoof. “How about my party cannon?” “If it shoots projectiles, Then that’ll be sufficient, Pinkie.” “Right!” Pinkie called back. From out of her mane, Pinkie pulled out her comically pink and baby blue weapon of party power, setting it down in front of her. “Pony princess, identify yourself or I will shoot!” “I--What?? Pinkie, I’m--” “Wrong answer!” Pinkie pressed a little button on the cannon, and pastry death exploded from the barrel. Celestia only barely had enough time to dodge the flying pie, grazing her left ear and splatting on the ground behind her. It was a good thing too, because that one was cherry. Celestia liked any sort of cake offered to--or thrown at her, but she did not like cherry pies. At any rate, that wasn’t important. What was important was the fact that Celestia was slightly miffed at this.                  She glared at pinkie. “Don’t make me hurt you.”         “You won’t!” Pinkie called her bluff, firing off another shot. Chocolate cake flew at her, and just in time, she caught the pastry in her magic, relieved that the tasty treat did not burn up upon contact with her scorching body. It was a shame that she wouldn’t be able to eat it yet--No, not while somepony so foul as to use children as war tools was still free to roam the lands. With the dignity required for something as nice as cake, she teleported her prize away to the nearest convenient fridge in the palace, bracing for whatever else was coming at her next. Pinkie’s cannon shot a series of attacks this time. Several cupcakes in rapid fire succession flew at her, impossible for her to simply dodge out of the way. So she teleported blindly up above the projectiles, diving straight down on top of the pink pony. “Oh no! She’s onto me!!” Pinkie cried as the air heated up around her. Pinkie sweat fiercely. Celestia had considered melting the darned thing, but there was probably a simpler solution. with one hoof, Celestia grabbed the of the cannon, flipped the barrel around along the wheels and smashed her hoof into the trigger. “Girls! Avenge--” The rest of Pinkie Pie’s sentence was cut off by the thunderous boom of her party cannon firing at least a hundred pastries into her face and burying her in frosting and other baking matter. Pinkie was no longer able to fight. “This is not good,” Fluttershy whispered, barely audibly. “Fret not Fluttershy,” Luna soothed. “Pinkie is not so easily stopped by cakes; just a little dramatic about them.”(3) She smiled. “Besides, we’ve still got more ponies between her and Chrysalis.” Celestia in the mean time smiled with her small victory. With the little pink nuisance out of the way, she stepped around the pile of baked goods and back to her target to deliver her-- “NOT SO FAST!!” Rainbow dash hollered. Celestia stopped, ears falling flat. “Oh no… Rainbow, if you’re going to try to tackle me, at least be careful-- Holy hay!!” She had little time to react before the prismatic pegasus charged at her. But when she did, a teleportation was plenty enough to make her eat dirt. Rainbow banked around the other way--spitting soil-- and came back for another shot. This one being far more easily predicted, was swiftly and gracefully dodged, making rainbow have to bank around again for a third shot. This time she flew up into the air, and sped at her from the skies. “Why. Can’t. I. Tackle. You?!” Celestia sidestepped, and Rainbow hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her. “You’re a little too predictable. Are you okay, by the way?” Rainbow panted, trying to get her breath back in spite of the immense heat that was radiating off her adversary’s form. “Better than...huff… you’re going to be!” Celestia rolled her eyes, pressing a hoof down on Rainbow and watching her flail around underneath it. “Really Rainbow, why’re you so mad at me?” “You’ve went nuts! Celestia does justice, not vengeance!” Celestia, tired of her bickering, simply sat down on top of the pony, pinning her against the ground. Rainbow yelped at the sudden weight, struggling in a vain attempt to release herself. Then a gentle touch on the head with her horn was enough to put her to sleep. Two down, three to go… But Rarity was not right there with Luna anymore. Only moments earlier, Luna had motioned for Rarity to make a run for it to the pony cocoons to get some more mare-power. In her light footing and extremely nervous-of-the-goddess-incarnate emotional state, she snuck off around Celestia and Rainbow Dash while they were still fighting, found the cocoon housing the ponyville schoolteacher, and was currently in the process of breaking its membrane. Things were looking bleak. The last time she had to break anypony out of a changeling cocoon, the material had hardened enough that a strike to a particularly thin part of the membrane could break it. This stuff was almost like rubber with the way it sprung back. If she were honest with herself, she had no clue how to actually go about breaking the soft membrane. Time was running short. She had tried a great many things: Clawing at it (it made a strange squeaky noise like thinly stretched plastic), punching it (it bounced back, bringing her hoof into her eye), making it float (it just kinda wiggled there) and flat out zapping it with magic (It just kinda got slurped up). There was only one option, and that option was one she didn’t really like. She swallowed hard, shuddering at the idea. At least let it not taste awful, Rarity thought to herself as she finally reached down and bit hard on the membrane. Surprisingly enough, her teeth sank into it just fine, and with enough force, she tore the darned thing clean in half. That said, it was sickeningly sweet, and Rarity was still trying to get the flavor out of her mouth when the ponyville school teacher climbed out from the cocoon and stretched her legs. “Rarity!” Cheerilee beamed. “I hardly thought you were the savior type; but thanks a bunch! I suppose that the crisis has been taken care of?” Rarity spat out the last bit of sweet bile from her mouth. “I only wish that were the case dear...” She pointed to the changelings and ponies engaged in a battle against Celestia. “Celestia caught the changeling queen in a jam, and wants to deliver a punishment personally.” “...Isn’t that a good thing?” “Not with such a barbaric thing as vengeance. I shudder to imagine what disproportionate punishment she’d deal because of personal matters.” “But the Princess still has a point… Didn’t the changeling queen invade equestria twice?” “Yes, and nopony was hurt, it took ten minutes for every loveless pony to recover when with their loved ones, and that little village full of kitties still stands.” She shrugged. “My friends and I were told to read the damage reports written by Twilight. Surprisingly little, save for property damage.” Cheerilee sighed, shaking off what was left of the pod gunk off her fur, much to Rarity’s chagrin. “That’d be nice to hear, if it weren’t for the fact that I had to personally console three little fillies over the death of one of those little villagers… I’m sorry Rarity, but I still don’t see why I should help her.” Rarity paused in thought, hoof to her head and other hoof shaking off slimy gunk. “You do know that Queen Chrysalis is the mother of those little changeling children, yes?” “Oh! Well that changes everything,” Cheerilee exclaimed in her epiphany. “I’m sold! What do we have to do next?” Rarity gaped in shock. “Really? Just like that?” “Not ‘just like that’! I’m simply putting the interests of children in front of everything else.” “Very well, I’m not one to argue… Help me out with the rest of these cocoons, yes?” They each walked over to a nearby cocoon. “Oh, and… you might have to use your teeth.” Meanwhile, the fight was as strong as ever. As soon as Celestia had stood up to try to find Rarity, Fluttershy was sent on her light footing to retrieve the napping Rainbow Dash from underneath the princess. As quietly as she snuck up, she pulled her oldest friend back to safety once more. Then as Luna took care to undo the sleeping spell cast on Rainbow, Applejack darted into the fray, wielding Luna’s blue chains which were so generously offered in replacement for her own rope. The chains were heavy and awkward, so she had to put considerable effort into actually utilizing them effectively. “Tie her wings so she can’t fly!” Luna ordered. “Easier said than done, yer highness!” Applejack said through the chains in her mouth. She took another shot, using too little force, and missed by about three feet. Chrysalis, though she knew better, was giggling plenty at Applejack’s poor aim. “Come now farmer, you couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with that kind of throw!” “You do remember what’s at stake here if we fail, do you not?” Luna warned. “Uh-- I-I mean ‘Go Apple-pony!’ You can do it!” Applejack chuckled at the queen’s expense reeling in the chain once more. She had undershot this time, but her aim was right. Now she only had to hitch it around her neck as she flew at her, then it would be as easy as apple-pie to hogtie her once she got out of the way of her horn. Celestia approached for another magical, sleep-dart, and she threw the chain again, making sure it hit its mark. Sure enough, the chain flew in the air, and just before the slack ran out, her makeshift lasso slipped around her neck, and then her barrel. “Yee-haw!” She whooped, pulling the lasso tightly. “Was that a throw, or what?” “Applejack--” Fluttershy squeaked. “You didn’t get her wings!” “What-- Of course I got her wings!” She scoffed. “Princess Luna told me to tie up her wings, I tied up her wings!” She grinned through the chain in her mouth, crossing her legs. “Y’all can always count on your faithful earth pony friend Appleja--UhoooaaAAAAAAAHH!!” Applejack’s boasting was cut off when it was clear to her that she did not in fact tie her wings, but merely wrapped the chains around the base of her wings. This was made quickly clear by the sudden pull of an alicorn princess taking off into the air and pulling her along by the very chains intended to bind her up. Air rushed by her head pulling tears from her eyes. Before her hat which had fell off during her reverse bungee jump could even hit the ground, Celestia had stopped flying up, and Applejack kept going in an arc, gracefully caught by the princess herself in her forehooves. The earth pony had completely forgot why she was facing against the princess in the first place, and promptly wrapped her hooves around Celestia’s barrel, shaking like a leaf despite the heat radiating from her. Celestia felt awful.What sort of way was that to treat an earth pony? They liked to have the ground beneath their hooves, not to be tumbling in the air like debris caught in the wind. Celestia tenderly hugged the pony back as they came in for another landing. “I’m so sorry Applejack… It’s just...You all have been an awful lot of trouble to deal with… I’m starting to think that it may not even be worth it to try to get past all of you.” “It’s not,” Luna replied bluntly. “Sister,” Celestia glared. “I have been princess for over three thousand years, and I know full well when to stop fighting.” She loosened the chain around her barrel, using it instead to wrap poor Applejack up, lashing her to her back. The pony barely even reacted. “I don’t fight battles I like them… I do not fight them in such a way that I’m less a pacifist and more a coward… I fight battles as quickly and efficiently as possible so that the fewest ponies get hurt.” “Finally something we can agree on,” Luna muttered. “Which is why I believe that my course of action would be far better, so we do not hurt a mother.” “Queen Chrysalis is hardly a pony, Luna!” Celestia argued. “She may be able to disguise as one, but--” “THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!!” “Ouch… Sister, I know you like the canterlot voice, but please don’t shout right at me!” Luna’s ears fell flat. “That...Wasn’t me.” Celestia gasped. Where there was once an unconscious Twilight sparkle on her sister’s back, Luna’s back was now completely devoid of purple pony princesses. Instead, all six of those ponies that had saved equestria were awake completely, and only Applejack was incapacitated, still tightly pressing herself to her barrel. Twilight was awake, nursing a headache, and ticked. “Oh Twilight,” Luna smiled, nervous and relieved at the same time. “Thank the stars you’re alright! I was worried that we might have put you in a--” “Not a word of that,” Twilight cut her off. “What was your plan?” “Um...” Luna struggled to find her words. She looked at the ponies sitting behind Celestia. Rarity shrugged unhelpfully. “We were going to dogpile her…?” “Yeah, okay.” Twilight nodded. “With everypony else?” “That was the idea...” “Sure… if you can get somepony fast enough to knock her off her feet.” Celestia for her part felt an immense level of betrayal. Her heart broke. “Twilight… You too?!” “You’re being quite selfish, Celestia; of course I’d side with them.” She held a hoof out. “But Twilight… Don’t you--” “No.” “Twilight, I’m your tea--” “No.” “Twilight, please just listen to me for half a second--” “No.” There it happened again. As soon as the clarity had come, Celestia’s clarity was replace once again by a slowly building anger, which eventually burned hotter and hotter and hotter until she was seeing red. It was only Applejack who was spared of this anger, being seen but as her own little bear cub, to scared to be with her friends and too scared to be with Celestia. “YOU WRETCHED, INSOLENT CHILDREN!!” She roared, hurt and enraged. “WHO ARE YOU TO SAY ‘NO’ TO ME?! YOUR OWN TEACHER, WHO HAS LIVED WITH HER LITTLE PONIES FOR TENS OF MILLENNIA! WHO ARE YOU TO SAY NO!?” While everypony else cowered, Twilight simply looked at her like a child having a temper tantrum. She gave a subtle motion to Fluttershy, who very nervously made her way to the group of changelings. “Celestia, you’re making a scene.” “Twilight sparkle, I am not to be scolded, like some colt who got caught with her hoof in the cookie jar! I am far older than that; there is no pony who is above me or older!! My wisdom exceeds yours by centuries, and it tells me that I am perfectly fine in what I am doing! You however, need a change in your attitude!!” “Really?? Because what I am hearing is ‘I am not getting my way, so I’ll blame everypony else for it!’” Celestia growled, hurtling a searing flame at Twilight, which she jumped out of the way of. “What the hay?!” “DON’T TALK BACK TO ME, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!! I raised you! Just like your own parents did, I nurtured you and taught you everything you know! You do not have the right!!” “Great, so shouldn’t you be listening to me??” “I have no idea what got into your head, Twilight Sparkle. But let it be clear that it is nothing of the sort that I taught you!” Celestia continued on with her furious words, but Twilight had stopped listening, instead opting to watch Fluttershy’s progress, and everything else going on around her. Most of the ponies had fallen flat on their faces, were in tears, or were staring in absolute shock at Twilight’s rebellion. It wasn’t that shocking in Twilight’s head, she had a special talent for magic and Celestia only had the sun and other minor spells. She didn’t have to bow, or cry, or shake at the knees. Her courage just kinda happened. Speaking of what just happened, Fluttershy was now right next to the Changeling queen, who was also in tears. When Fluttershy had politely asked her to let her on her back, Twilight hissed out two very meaningful words: “Fastball special”. “(Blah blah discracefull blah)-- Twilight Sparkle, are you even listening to me??” Twilight turned her head back as the changeling and pegasus flew off. “Sorry, but no I wasn’t. Kind of hard to concentrate when you’re claiming to the whole of Canterlot and anypony down the mountain how much of a goddess you are.” “You did WHAT?!” “Oh no, not me; you did that just fine on your own.” “I DID NO SUCH THING!!” “Just take a look at everypony else around us.” “Hah! The only pony that is doing anything wrong right now is--Oh…” Celestia looked, and she saw the ponies and changelings were absolutely terrified. “No...” Her lips quivered. “No… I--It can’t be...”         “Yeah, it happened.”         “I just-- It can’t-- No… No, it isn’t… It’s just a trick...”         “There are no tricks happening here Celestia, you’re just feeling the weight of--”         “This is entirely a trick, Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia shouted. “There is nothing this can be but a trick!!”         Twilight nervously glanced at Chrysalis and Fluttershy, worried that they may not have been far away enough yet. “Celestia, this is just ridiculous--”         “No, Twilight Sparkle, I will end this trickery! And I will do so by nipping your little plan in the bud!” Celestia had heard perfectly find what Twilight had whispered to Fluttershy, and when she had found the two off in the distance, she charged her horn… Just as Chrysalis held her charge above her, throwing poor Fluttershy right in the direction of Celestia’s blast.         “CELESTIA, NO!!”         Fluttershy screamed in terror at the ludicrous speed of her enhanced flight. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” The wind resisted so forcefully against her, but she flapped even more forcefully with her own wings, even as she felt the wind like a cone, even as the cone bent and flexed. Even as the cone almost shook like weak arms trying to lift something too heavy. She flapped harder and looked ahead at her target.         A golden beam of pure plasma was sailing right at her. “NOOO-”         The beam struck, and Twilight died a little on the inside.         The beam shrank in length slowly. Twilight was confused.         The beam shrank considerably back over time. Twilight could have sworn that that there was a ring of fire behind it.         Suddenly there was a thunderous explosion of collapsing air. Everypony present save for Celestia jammed their hooves in their ears. If she squinted, Twilight could see… flaming butterflies?         As quick as it came, the fire dissipated, and something very yellow smashed into Celestia, and she and it fell over, rolling several feet before they came to a stop. Twilight stared at the yellow thing. It lifted it’s head, blinking with it’s green eyes and brushing its pink hair away from its face. “Fluttershy??”         “No time!” She shouted, squeezing tightly against Celestia’s head. “Dogpile her now!!”         Wasting no time, Twilight leapt upon her mentor, hugging her legs tightly together. It was now or never! The changelings were quick to follow suit, pouncing on her wings and rear legs. “Unhand me!!” Celestia shouted, fighting furiously. She tried to cast more magic to teleport, but Pinkie Pie was quick to pin her horn to the ground, forcing her to stay there. The ponies came scrambling in, wrapping their forelegs around each of her wings. “I am a princess of equestria!! I am not to be pony-handled like this!! Do you hear me!! I will not be pinned! I demand...”         Cheerilee ran up, pinning her body against her back after having untied Applejack from the chains. The fiery heat radiating off Celestia cooled, but she still struggled.         “I want you...to...” Rarity and Rainbow Dash came up, sitting right up against her belly, heads on her side. Tears slipped from her eyes. It was working. “I… I j-just...”  Finally Luna, with Chrysalis in tow, nudged a few ponies and changelings aside, lay down and spread a wing over most of the prone princess. “It’s all over Celestia,” She gently urged. “Time to let go.” Celestia did not hold back on the waterworks, bawling her eyes out. Twilight smiled, sympathetically nuzzling her for every little “I’m sorry” and every sentence that she couldn’t complete. Over time, her coat faded back to its normal white color, and with enough strength, she sat up, giving each and every pony and nymph present that she wronged a heartfelt hug. Even Chrysalis got one, despite how awkward it was for both parties. But when it was all done, Celestia felt that all the anger completely faded, and she felt so much better. “Thank you… Thank you all, my little ponies.” They all seemed to feel so much happier. But there was still so much to fix; it was for this reason that Twilight dropped her little bombshell. “Everypony?” Around fifty faces turned towards her. “I’m afraid that we have another problem, particularly Celestia, Luna and Chrysalis.” Celestia whimpered. Her sister draped a wing around her once more. “What we had here was the most dreadful breach of conduct I have ever experienced.” She glared at the two princesses. “This loss of control to such a point like that cannot be tolerated. So...” Twilight tapped a hoof, looking at all of them. “Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis and everypony else… Meet me in the library. You all have ten minutes.” Then with a flash of her horn, she was gone.