//------------------------------//
// Chapter 43 - Checkmate 
// Story: Second Chances, Many Changes 
// by ASGeek2012 
//------------------------------//

All that disturbed the uneasy calm were the chirping of the birds, my own thundering heart, and the raspy breathing of Wuntusix. Michelle walked in eerie silence as she ventured ahead. I held my breath when she stopped, looking off towards the north. "That way," she said in a hushed voice. "Not very far."

I flinched when I heard Wuntusix's voice, as she had not spoken a word since we left the castle. "I-I can sense Sev. Just barely."

Michelle stepped over to me. "I believe I know the answer, but I must ask: dost thou wish to reconsider? I can project myself from this distance."

"No," I said as firmly as my growing fear would let me. "We have to stick with my plan. I love you too much to do anything else."

Michelle nodded and slowly smiled. "I never stopped loving thee, Candy, please know that."

Her smile became bittersweet, and doubt threatened to cloud my thoughts, yet I knew how to dispel it. I had to say the hardest words of my life. "Cherry ... I ... i-if Twilight can't figure out how to let you live again, I promise I won't let you endure this existence. I'll find a way you can p-pass on peacefully."

Michelle uttered a heartfelt sigh. "I so hope that doth not come to pass, but I am immensely grateful for thine understanding."

Despite my efforts, a few tears trickled down my face.

"C-Candy," Wuntusix said in a shaky voice. "Sev is moving."

I wiped my eyes. "Where?"

"East. Towards Ponyville."

"Dispel me for now," said Michelle in an urgent voice. "And please be careful."

I nodded, and she vanished. "Wuntusix, I need to intercept her. Where do I go?"

Wuntusix lifted a trembling fore-hoof and pointed.

I glanced down at my pendant. It lay against my chest in vulnerable gleaming gold splendor. I had Starswirl's avatar break the privacy shield at the edge of the White Tail Woods so he and Michelle could react faster.

I cantered forward, Wuntusix's legs tightening around me. I had no use for stealth now. If anything, I wanted Sevfivtoo to hear me. The sooner I had this confrontation over with, the better.

I touched the chess piece again, but it remained a question mark. Who was my supposed savior? Twilight had spoken of breaking off the battle with the bugbear. Wouldn't her wards have picked up some of the magic the avatar did? Perhaps I had hoped that Twilight would have teleported in at that moment and spared me from having to carry out this insane plan.

Wuntusix gasped. "Sev changed direction. She's coming t-towards us."

I stopped. Only in the ensuing silence did I hear how hard I was breathing. My gaze darted about until I found a small clearing. I stepped into it as I heard a rustling in the underbrush. I had only just positioned myself and turned around when Wuntusix whimpered and shivered hard.

Despite steeling myself to the sight, I still flinched and fought the urge to bolt. The creature entering the clearing looked even larger than it had at the summit. It stood more like Chrysalis, with a pronounced chitin coating on its barrel. It had started to grow a mane and tail. Defined pupils and irises filled its once evenly green eyes. Its horn projected further, the pattern of holes making the tip look disconcertingly like a knife blade.

Despite my heart still pounding, my rage far eclipsed my fear. I scraped a fore-hoof on the ground as if to charge, lowering my head slightly as if to impale it on my horn. Seeing it again, knowing what it had put me through, crystallized all my hate until I could mentally eviscerate Sevfivtoo with it. I almost wished I could translate that thought exercise into actual magic.

"The little not-pony and the little not-changeling," Sevfivtoo said in shockingly dulcet tones. "It should be no surprise to me that I find you two together. Useless attracts useless."

"Not-changeling?" I said, surprising myself at how steady my voice was.

Sevfivtoo stepped towards me, and some of my resolve wavered. "She ceased to be one of my kind when she failed me for the last time. But, then again, I knew she would."

"Wh-what?" Wuntusix said in a tiny voice. "But y-you said it was important that I succeed! That all your plans hinged on it!"

Sevfivtoo sneered. "You idiot. You ceased to be useful when you dispelled the illusion on the camp. Did you seriously think I believed your story about it being an accident? I sent you into Ponyville as Sweetie Belle expecting you to fail. All I wanted was to gauge Princess Twilight's strength and tactics. You were nothing but a tool to me."

I heard a sniffle and felt something wet drip against the fur of my neck. Was Wuntusix crying? I knew she had been on the wrong side, but to have Sevfivtoo express such callous disregard for her sickened me. The guilt I still felt for taking Wuntusix from the castle at least showed I was not so heartless.

It helped me regain some of my emotional strength, and my voice remained steady. "So Twilight was right: you set the bugbear on the train, and then on Ponyville."

Sevfivtoo gave me a contemptuous look. "So you do have a brain after all. I had wondered. Even I cannot control that beast, only direct it. It is looking for the ponies responsible for its incarceration. I convinced it first that its quarry was on the train, and then later in town. I have no idea if that is even true, but, well, the creature is rather dumb. Dumb, but occasionally useful." Her gaze flicked down to the pendant, her lips curling into a predatory smile. "Sort of like you."

My hoof flew to my pendant and pressed it hard to my chest, my heart hammering beneath it.

"I have no idea what prompted you to confront me," said Sevfivtoo. "Nor do I care. You will give me the pendant regardless."

"P-please, Sev," Wuntusix rasped. "Don't do this."

"Do not call me Sev!" Sevfivtoo shouted. "Or Sevfivtoo. Those are names of a lackey, a drone expected to grovel before the great and wise Queen Chrysalis who has done nothing but lead our hive to ruin. If you wish to address me properly, use my new name: Queen Equus Wrath!"

I lowered my hoof and took a step back. "I didn't come here to just give you the pendant!"

"Oh, but you did." Sevfivtoo's horn started to glow, and a chill wracked my body as my eyes became fixated on that sickly green light, the horror of the apartment playing out in my head. "You just don't realize it yet."

The flashback had conditioned me to feel my mind slipping away as the changeling's magic wreaked havoc in my head. I whimpered and nearly toppled off my hooves when reality shattered the illusion with pain and white-hot power blasting through my horn. The changeling's magic flared in hard brilliance, the energies scattered such that they outlined the hemisphere of energy that was my shield.

"Thou shalt not possess this instrument of power, nor what lies within!" Starswirl's avatar thundered.

The attack stopped, and the shield flickered out a moment later. I swayed, Wuntusix's legs tightening their already feeble grip around me. I stumbled and splayed my hooves to steady myself, the pain in my horn fading only slowly.

"Interesting," said Sevfivtoo with a sly smile. "You are to be commended, little not-pony, for getting the avatar to do your bidding."

"I do nopony's bidding," the avatar snarled. "But I am not going to allow thee to have what thou hast no right to possess!"

"Th-that ... that attack ..." I panted, my voice almost as raspy as Wuntusix's. "S-stronger than I expected ..."

The avatar scowled. "Her magic is powerful enough to completely wipe thy mind. Thou wouldst be little more than her puppet."

My heart fell into my stomach. What had I gotten myself into? My gaze darted left and right. Surely this had at least triggered Twilight's wards! The intensity of the mind magic would have been like a damn supernova to anypony looking for it! And yet that infernal chess piece had not changed.

Sevfivtoo's gaze flicked between the avatar and myself. "One wonders, though, where she is getting all this power." She focused on the avatar. "You, obviously, are providing the spell. Shall we go again?"

Her horn started to glow, and I braced myself.

Power surged and pain seared through my horn, and I clenched my teeth to hold back a scream. Sevfivtoo's magic slammed into the shield barely a hoof-span from my head, the shield having closed more tightly around me. Wuntusix yelped and fell off my back with a thud, but I could do nothing to help her.

Candy, stop! Michelle cried out from the pendant.

I whimpered and fell to my knees. "No, I can't ... n-need more time ... we still h-have energy ..."

Thy horn will burn out before it is expended!

Tears welled up and flowed freely to the ground.

I-I am sorry, Candy. Thou hast to let me go.

The ache in my heart eclipsed the pain in my horn. I lowered my head and sobbed. I could not choke out the words, but somehow the message got through. I kept my end of the Pinkie Promise.

Goodbye, Candy. I love thee, always.

The power vanished. I collapsed, shaking so hard that drawing breath became a challenge for a few moments. A thin wisp of smoke trailed from my horn, and I winced at the lingering pain that was slow to abate. I caught ethereal movement out of the corner of my eye, and all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball when I heard Michelle's voice. "Cease thy attack, and I will give myself willingly to thee."

I forced myself to my hooves and stumbled. Wuntusix steadied me, her wings buzzing erratically. I blinked rapidly in a vain attempt to clear my vision, but the tears would not stop.

Michelle stepped between us, her back to me. The avatar drew to my side, and for the first time, he gave me a look of genuine sympathy. My horn was slow to respond, and it ached when it did. I could conduct no more than a trickle of magic through it, insufficient to feel for the chess piece. Did it even matter? The winning move was about to be made, just as had been predicted.

"Do not use thy magic," the avatar said softly. "Thy horn suffereth mana burn. Let it rest for now."

I barely heard him. I lifted a shaking fore-hoof towards Michelle, as if to touch her for one last time, only to whimper in despair when I realized what a futile gesture it was in her spirit state.

"Do you realize what you are doing?" Sevfivtoo said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "You will be completely consumed."

"Yes, I know," said Michelle with a calm that tore my heart. I shivered as the cold certainty settled over me that I was about to watch my friend die a second time. That it would lead to Sevfivtoo's defeat almost didn't matter anymore.

"And why do you simply wish to give yourself to me in this manner?"

The avatar frowned, but did not move from where he stood. I bit my lip hard to suppress a sob as the pendant started to glow, blocked from Sevfivtoo's view by Michelle.

"Because I do not wish my friend to be hurt," said Michelle. "That is something thou wilt likely never understand."

"Oh, I know all about friendship, my dear," Sevfivtoo said. "It is extremely useful to my kind."

The glow of the pendant brightened, and I alternately wanted to tell Michelle goodbye and scream for her to stop. Fear, guilt, and anguish dredged up thoughts I had believed banished, like the wish that I had never come to Equestria, that it would have been better to let me die in the alleyway.

Wuntusix drew herself forward. She looked up at me with what I wanted to believe was sorrow or sympathy. She glanced at the pendant, then at Michelle. She swallowed hard, uttering a soft whimper as she pressed her back against my fore-legs, quaking as if chilled to the bone.

"But enough of this," Sevfivtoo declared. "Have your little not-pony friend release the pendant to me now."

Several things happened at once.

The pendant burst into blinding golden light.

A green glow suffused Sevfivtoo's horn.

Michelle dissolved into a diffuse blob of sparkling light.

I felt a tingling along my fore-legs, and Wuntusix was no longer there.

And when it was over, spirit and matter had collided in a mass of coruscating magic and shrill screams.

"CHERRY, NO!!" I cried.

The avatar gasped, and the glow of the pendant abruptly died, its hoarded energies never released.

The writhing form of Wuntusix, surrounded by both a pale white light and the green glow of Sevfivtoo's levitation magic hung suspended between us. Its shape became a diffuse blob with ill-defined legs, neck, and head. Sevfivtoo threw it to the side, and it crashed to the ground, the white energy still enveloping it.

My mind reeled as I looked on in horror. The body writhed and twitched as if it were straining to become one thing or another and succeeding at nothing. "What happened?!" I turned to the avatar. "What happened?!"

The avatar paled. "I believe ... Cherry's spirit was projected into Wuntusix instead."

I recoiled and galloped to the fallen body. I stumbled, and something clattered to the ground. I fell to my knees beside the body. "D-did Cherry ... is she ...?"

"I do not know what is happening," the avatar said. "It is almost as if the transformation is stalled. I have not seen something like this before."

"Well, well," Sevfivtoo said in dulcet tones. "It appears Wuntusix served a purpose after all. So much for whatever it was you were planning."

"Thou art an idiot to use Wuntusix as thy shield," the avatar growled. "Cherry's spirit is no longer useful to thee."

"Stop talking nonsense." Sevfivtoo started towards us. "Once I have the pendant, I can retrieve her spirit from this body. And as for blaming me for this turn of--"

She stopped when her fore-hoof knocked into something lying on the ground. She looked down and raised an eyebrow. Behind her, a form moved silently in the thick of the trees. I rose to my hooves, my heart racing.

Sevfivtoo frowned. She levitated the object until it hovered before her eyes. It was the chess piece. It must have come loose from my mane when I had stumbled.

It was shaped like Queen Chrysalis.

"What is this?" Sevfivtoo demanded.

I clenched my teeth. "Checkmate, you bitch."

The piece shattered into a thousand shards as violent green fire enveloped the would-be Queen Equus Wrath, who uttered a scream that echoed through the forest and sent birds scattering.

Sevfivtoo was lifted into the air and hurtled into the nearest tree, sundering the trunk to an almost deafening crack. She was back on her hooves almost as soon as she hit the ground, but a snarling Queen Chrysalis strode forward, another blast of brilliant light erupting from her horn and bathing the wayward changeling in more burning green hell.

"You traitor!" Chrysalis roared. "You insolent--" She lifted Sevfivtoo and slammed her into the ground. "--disloyal--" And again. "--murderous--" And again. "--useless little worm! How DARE you try to usurp my rule!"

The avatar stepped up to me. "This was thy plan??" he said in an incredulous voice.

I didn't answer, as I was staring at Sevfivtoo. She was shrinking. Only then did I see that the magical energy was now flowing into Chrysalis rather than from her. "Well, well, Sevfivtoo," said Chrysalis in a sweet voice and a sly smile. "To use your own words, I guess you served a purpose after all. All this additional energy you collected will be quite useful back at the hive."

She stopped, and the changeling that fell limp to the ground was no bigger than Wuntusix had been. The creature shivered and panted, struggling to rise to its hooves.

I turned towards Chrysalis. "Wait a minute! You heard her say that?"

Chrysalis turned to me, even as she picked up Sevfivtoo in her magic and slammed her into the tree again, far harder than I had ever done to Wuntusix. Sevfivtoo fell to the ground in a heap, out cold, or perhaps dead. I could only hope for the latter.

Chrysalis smiled. "Of course I did. I was here soon after I sensed Sevfivtoo using her mind magic on you."

"And you didn't do anything?!"

Chrysalis stepped towards me. "I had to see how your little battle played out first. After all, I had to know when a good opportunity arose to both punish my drone and get the pendant for myself."

My eyes widened, and I stumbled back a step. "I'm not giving it to you!"

Chrysalis threw her head back and laughed. "As if you have a choice this time!"

I looked back towards the fallen form of Wuntusix. Or Michelle. I had no idea of either of their fates. The body still glowed, still writhed, still distorted and distended as if in debate about what to become. I pointed a hoof at it. "Look, there's something wrong with the pendant! It doesn't work right after all. Even Starswirl said--"

Chrysalis chuckled. "Nice try, little not-pony. Even I can sense chaos magic at work."

"Wh-what??" I whirled around to face the avatar.

The image of Starswirl scowled. "It is unfortunately true. I sense chaos magic as well. I do not know to what end."

Chrysalis suddenly loomed over me. "Now, give the pendant to me. With this new infusion of energy my wayward drone has so graciously provided, my hive is ready to rise again! And with this pendant, finally, nothing will stop me! Soon, all of Equestria will be under my control, and its little ponies will provide enough energy to last my hive until the end of time itself!"

In a single flash of light, the other half of the clearing was suddenly occupied by a large stage.

A podium rose from the center, and Discord stood behind it. A gold statuette of a pony sat atop it to one side. Discord lifted an envelope. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the Academy Award for the Largest Ham Among Recurring Villains! And the winner is ..." He opened the envelope and pulled a card from it. "Queen Chrysalis!" Applause roared through the clearing. He snapped his talons, and Chrysalis suddenly appeared on stage next to him. "Say a few words for us, Chryssie!"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Chrysalis cried.

Discord rolled his eyes. "Really, what's with villains who insist on saying that? Even I never said that. Who writes your lines, anyway? Some weird fan-fic author, I'll bet."

"I do not have time for this nonsense," Chrysalis snarled. She flew from the stage and landed with a ground-shaking thud right before me, my heart leaping into my throat. "I want that pendant!"

Discord waved his paw. He and the stage disappeared. He reappeared standing next to Chrysalis. He slapped her on the back of her neck, laughing, sparks flying from where he touched her. "Oh, Chryssie, you little scamp! You're always so predictable." His mouth twisted into a frown. "Which means you're dreadfully boring. What say you do something totally off-the-wall and utterly random, like, oh, not taking the pendant?"

"You would deny me when it was you who told me about my disloyal drone's intent to Ascend? Have you not interfered enough with my plans?!"

"Oh, but my dear Chryssie--"

"And don't call me Chryssie!"

Discord sighed. "And here I thought you would be far more fun." He snapped his talons, and the still unconscious Sevfivtoo appeared draped over Chrysalis' barrel. He reached behind him and pulled out a large can labeled "BUG SPRAY." He squirted it at Chrysalis, enveloping her and Sevfivtoo in a large poofy cloud of white. When the cloud dissipated, both changelings were gone. Discord tossed the can behind him and folded his arms. "Probably won't even thank me for the free trip back to their hive. I am so unappreciated."

I marched up to him. "You want to be appreciated?! Fine!" I thrust a hoof at Wuntusix's body. "Tell me what's going on!"

The avatar stepped up. "Yes, o foul Lord of Chaos, tell us what evil thou hast wielded here!"

Discord smirked. "Starswirl, you were a no-fun fuddy-duddy back then and you're still one now." He gestured at the body. "I simply gave them a third option."

I stared at the fallen changeling. The random morphing slowed, settling into a more definite pony-shape.

"There should be no option!" the avatar roared. "Using this pendant can come only to a bad end! Wuntusix may have been a changeling, but she deserveth better to have her spirit ejected from her body simply because Sevfivtoo used her as a shield!"

My eyes remained riveted to the now still form on the ground. The white energy that had cloaked it like a diffuse cocoon now swirled and undulated around its form as if refining it.

"Except she didn't," said Discord.

I wrenched my gaze from the body as the avatar said, "What nonsense is this? We all saw for ourselves what happened!"

"Shall we look at the instant replay?" Discord conjured a glowing square in the air, inside which the events in the clearing spun backwards at high speed, audio squealing like a tape being played in reverse.

I flinched as I saw myself in freeze-frame, tears flowing down my face, Wuntusix cowering before me. Discord waved a paw, and the scene advanced in slow motion. My eyes widened as I saw Wuntusix leap into the air, her face a mask of pain, fear, and determination as she struggled to pump her wings.

I watched Michelle prepare to project herself.

I saw Wuntusix twist herself around, turning as if to face Michelle.

I witnessed Michelle project herself into Wuntusix.

And only then did Sevfivtoo's levitation magic take hold. The tingling against my legs that I had mistaken for Sevfivtoo's magic had been Wuntusix madly fluttering her wings.

I stared at that same spot in the air long after Discord had dispelled the replay. "W-wuntusix ... sh-she ... she sacrificed herself ..."

"Not quite," said Discord. "While that was her intent, Cherry is as stubborn as you, and that's saying a lot. She refused to be responsible for destroying Wuntusix's spirit, and Wuntusix refused to let Cherry destroy herself."

"H-how is that even possible?!" I turned to the avatar. "Twilight never said that the spirit had any say in what happened!"

The avatar frowned. "Normally, she would not. Yet Cherry hath utilized magic in the pendant before. Witness how she alerted Discord to the pendant's presence against my wishes. It is possible she learned more than she let on."

"But what does it ... d-does it mean she's ..."

I trailed off when the last of white energy dissipated. An earth pony with peach-colored fur and a bright, wavy red mane and tail lay motionless upon the grass. I stared until I saw her sides rise and fall in slow, steady breaths.

"What was this 'third option' of yours?" the avatar asked in a suspicious voice.

"I gave them the chance to merge their spirits how they saw fit," said Discord.

"What?!"

"Oh, did the great and powerful Stardolt the Bleary never think of that?"

"That is utter madness!"

"What's a little madness between friends?"

I stepped up to the peach-and-red mare, my heart hammering. I bent down and nearly fell with as hard as I was shaking. Was it her, or had Discord created some sort of patchwork creature that I would never recognize as having ever been my friend? I reached a trembling hoof to her and touched her shoulder. "Ch-cherry?"

An ear twitched. A fore-hoof wiggled. Her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened, revealing two beautiful green eyes. She drew a deep breath and let it go.

"Cherry, is that you??"

"Candy," she whispered. Her lips curled slowly into a smile. "Yes, it is me." She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "I had almost forgotten what it was like to breathe again."

My heart soared, and tears streamed down my face. It was her voice, just like I always remembered it. She opened her eyes, and I looked deeply into them. It was her. It was her. "C-can you stand? Do you need help?"

The avatar stepped over to us. "Candy, I warn thee, we do not yet know what chaos magic hath wrought here."

"Well, it wrought pretty well for me when it saved my life and made me into a pony!" I snapped at him before turning back to Michelle. No, Cherry. She was a pony now, same as me.

Cherry slowly rose on shaking legs. I caught her when she stumbled. One of my fore-legs had wrapped around her chest, and I felt her heart beating strong and sure. "Sorry," Cherry said sheepishly. "I am not used to this form."

I smiled. "Just take it easy. You'll get the hang of it soon."

"Thou art very kind." Cherry blinked, then frowned at Discord. "Discord! I had asked thee if thou couldst correct my diction into something more colloquial!"

Discord grinned and shrugged. "Could. Didn't. You sound more amusing this way."

I giggled. "It's okay, you can learn."

"What of the spirit of Wuntusix?" the avatar asked. "How hath she merged with thee?"

"It is difficult to explain," said Cherry as she balanced herself properly on her hooves. "I had much trouble convincing her not to let her spirit simply depart. She liveth on in me like a voice in the back of my mind. She can see and experience life through me, and I have access to her memories. I believe I could channel her if she truly wished to speak herself."

"She doth not feel imprisoned?"

"She hath been a follower all her life," said Cherry. "She knoweth no other existence. To her, this is the same. This is what she wanted. She is ... happy, perhaps for the first time in a long while."

I knew exactly how that felt. I was smiling so hard my muzzle ached. I drew Cherry into a hug, not just to show my love for her, but to convince myself she was real. Fresh tears welled up in my eyes as she hugged me back. Despite her new form, her touch felt so wonderfully familiar, as if we had both been ponies all along.

"I am so sorry I doubted thee, Candy," Cherry said softly.

I sniffled as I drew back. "No, don't be. I had no idea this would work, and I never expected Wuntusix would do what she did. Or that Discord would help."

"You're welcome!" Discord called out.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Thank you. Though I could've done without how insanely obtuse your clues were."

"Thou needest to answer one more question, o Lord of Chaos," said Starswirl's avatar. "Why?"

Discord raised an eyebrow. "Why what?"

"Why didst thou assist at all? What ends doth this spectacle achieve for thee?"

Discord spread his arms. "Why must everypony insist I have ulterior motives?"

"Because you always do," I said.

Before Discord could reply, a flash of teleportation magic illuminated the trees. Twilight took but a single step before she stared in utter shock. "What in--?! Candy?? What are you doing here? And ... Discord?!"

I rushed up to her. "Twilight, what about the bugbear?! Is everything all right in Ponyville?"

Twilight hesitated in what I hoped was just lingering shock. "Oh, um, yes, we were just wrapping up, and I took a chance Sevfivtoo might still be where I last detected her." She gasped as her gaze fell on my horn. "Candy, why do you have mana burn?!"

The avatar stepped over to us. "Because thy friend here did something either very brave or very foolish. I have yet to decide which."

Cherry stepped carefully towards us. "Does it matter, Starswirl? Everything came out right in the end."

Twilight turned her gaze towards Cherry. "Who are you?"

I smiled. "Twilight, this is Cherry. My friend is alive again!"

Twilight's pupils shrank to points before she lifted her head and shouted, "Will somepony please tell me what in Equestria is going on?!"

Discord grinned and ticked off points on his talons as he spoke. "Sevfivtoo was defeated by Queen Chryssie, who won an Academy Award for her performance, Wuntusix decided not to be a pawn anymore, and Cherry is alive again thanks to a little help from the most handsome and dashing draconequus in Equestria."

The avatar narrowed his eyes and snorted.

Discord waved his paw. "Oh, and Barswirl the Seedy here stood around and harrumphed a lot."

Twilight stared. "Chrysalis was here?! This is making no sense!"

"Do try to keep up, Twilight," said Discord in a silky voice. "Even though you're rather--" A party hat appeared on Twilight's head. "--late for the party."

Twilight frowned and knocked the hat off her head with a hoof.

I turned to Discord. "But was Sevfivtoo really defeated? Was she still alive when--"

Discord sighed. "Really, you worry too much."

Cherry touched my shoulder. "Candy, I can answer that."

Twilight blinked. "You can?"

"Remember, I have Wuntusix's memories."

Twilight gaped. "You do??"

"Chrysalis is not ... very kind to drones who act in this manner," said Cherry. "She will likely wipe Sevfivtoo's mind and re-purpose her as a menial drone, the lowest she can go in their hierarchy."

"And what of the energy Chrysalis extracteth from her wayward changeling?" the avatar asked. "Have we substituted one enemy for another?"

Discord raised his claw. Green flames danced upon it. "Chryssie doesn't have quite as much energy as she thinks she does." He smirked and let the flames turn different colors before he waved them away. "That's what she gets for being such a crashing bore."

Twilight marched up to Discord. "I want to know exactly what your role was in all this!"

Discord reached behind him and pulled out a pocket-watch. "My, look how late it is!" The watch sprouted wings and flew away. "Time just flies when you're having fun!"

"Discord!" Twilight growled. "So help me, if you purposely put Candy in danger--!"

A window shade popped into existence above Discord's head. "Now, now, Twilight, why can't you just bask in the glow of a happy ending for a bit before you get all riled up for answers?" He grabbed the pull cord of the shade. "Toodles!"

He pulled the shade down. It immediately snapped back up, Discord having vanished. The shade spun a few times before it disappeared as well.

Twilight sighed and shook her head.

I stepped up to her. "Twilight, all I care about right now is that this is finally over."

"Not quite," said the avatar in a low voice. "There is still the matter of the final disposition of this infernal artifact." His gaze flicked over to Cherry and I, and his face became subdued. "But I feel I have worn out my welcome for now."

"Starswirl, please, wait," Cherry said.

The avatar closed his eyes and disappeared.

Cherry sighed. "As much as we were at odds with one another, I hope he is all right."

"We'll deal with that later," said Twilight. "Candy is right. What matters now is that you're both safe."

"But what about my horn?" I asked. "Did I injure it permanently?"

Twilight stepped closer to me. "Are you in pain?"

"Not anymore. Just aches when I try to use it, and I can't get much magic through it."

"You really ought to have a doctor check it to be safe, but I can look." Her horn glowed, and I felt a tingle in my own. "I think you did the equivalent of giving yourself a nasty sprain. I don't sense any permanent damage, but your magic may be weak for a while until you recover. Most cases like this take about a week or two to fully heal. There's no specific treatment other than resting your horn."

I uttered a sigh of relief. Cherry smiled as she drew alongside me.

Twilight turned to her. "Cherry, I don't exactly know what happened yet, but ... I-I ..." She took a deep breath as her voice caught. "I'm very happy you're alive again. I'm so sorry I couldn't do it myself. I really wanted to. I knew how much you mean to Candy and--"

Cherry drew Twilight into a hug. "Please, Princess, do not despair. Thine intent was never in doubt."

Twilight's smile widened. When she drew back, she wiped a tear from her eye. "Candy, if I teleport all of us back to Ponyville now, I think we'll have just enough time to make the wedding."

I exchanged a look with Cherry. She gave me a soft smile and said, "It is up to thee."

"If it's all the same to you, Twilight," I said. "I think we'll walk back to Ponyville. She needs to get used to her new body and ... well ... we kinda have a lot of catching up to do."

"I understand," said Twilight. "Please, both of you come to the castle when you get back into town so I can learn exactly what happened."

"We will, I promise."

Twilight gave us both another quick hug before she stepped back and disappeared in a flicker of magic.

Cherry and I turned to each other and spoke at once.

"Cherry, I'm really sorry for anything I said that--"

"Candy, I wish to express my sincere apologies to thee for--"

We stared at each other for a few seconds and laughed. "Let's just assume everything is forgiven and go from there." I said.

Cherry giggled. It was the most beautiful sound in the universe. She ducked her head, letting a bang of red hair drop over one eye. "I still feel I need to make it up to thee."

"Oh, that's easy. Just let me introduce you to the Crusaders."

Cherry blinked. "Um ... ah ..."

I smirked. "Yes?"

"It that really necessary?"

"Oh, you think you're going to get off that easy, fellow blank-flank?" I chuckled. "I'm just teasing you. But don't be surprised if they find you."

Cherry smiled. "We should start back towards Ponyville. It will likely take me awhile as I get used to walking on hooves."

"We have all the time in the world now, Cherry," I said softly. "Finally."