The More Things Change

by The Crane

Arrival in Canterlot

The trip to Canterlot went remarkably well. Bobbi and her friends spoke at lengths with Twilight and her friends. Tonya offered to help Fluttershy at home. Pinkie and Casie talked about things that would normally defy the age rating. Rainbow Dash tried to impress Kat with her stories, but was repeatedly shot down by her own friends.

And just as the group of eleven stepped off the train they had been riding for hours... Nine of them face-hoofed. A wonderful trip thus far stained by Kat and Tonya's antics. One is invisible, so damage is unknown. The other has a black eye.

"Are you sure you're sober?" Rarity asks flatly. "That was an important bit of the message..."

Normally, Tonya would have shapeshifted the damage away, but she can't right now. Her powers are to be kept quiet. But, despite how she looks, she carves a smile on her face. "I'm fine!!"

"Dammit, Tonya," Amanda groans. "We have to be 100% presentable!!!"

"One day?" Casie wonders. "You couldn't keep it together for one day?!"

"Alright!!" Bobbi shouts. "Step back. Tonya, come with me. Twilight? Is there anywhere the two of us can get some privacy?"

"Yes. I'll show you."

"Rest of you," Bobbi adds. "Stay here a few. We'll be right back."

==-==-==

The trio find a restroom off to the side of the train station. While Bobbi and Tonya enter, Twilight is left outside to wait for them with a promise that this wouldn't take long.

Bobbi and Tonya trot into the facility. Bobbi quickly looks around for anypony else that might be listening in. When she finds that they are relatively safe, Bobbi looks at Tonya's bruised face. She raises a hoof to it and turns it to either side. "Really?" she sighs.

"Sorry..." Tonya mumbles quietly. "I screwed up again...."

"We can fix this, though." She leans in close to Tonya's face and quietly tells her "fix it quick."

"Huh?"

"Powers. Use 'em. Quick." And, moments after, the bruising around Tonya's eye slips back into a natural color with no indication that anything ever happened.

"But..."

"Trust me."

==-==-==

A little while later, the pair exit the restroom with a fully restored Tonya. Twilight looks at her and swears nothing happened. "How did you do that?"

"I got a seven year old," Bobbi says pridefully. "He's always getting into trouble. I know a few makeup tricks, and nopony is the wiser. Now, shall we go?"

==-==-==

And before long, the group of eleven is restored and walking back towards the castle. There were a few sighs of relief as they realized their image had been restored. While the three were gone, Pinkie ran to retrieve her cake. A rather large cake. It has its own cart that the Pink Wonder pulls happily. It is much larger than her previous endeavor and is covered with a cloth to conceal its appearance.

"Are you okay?" Kat asks Tonya. "I'm sorry, you just startled me!!"

"Just hurt my pride," Tonya grumbles a bit. Amazingly, she pulls up her back half and walks on her front hooves alone. Her legs hang helplessly and her tail flops forward. "Kiss it make it better?" Despite the invitation, Tonya returns to a four-legged canter.

"When are we expected?" Bobbi asks.

Twilight looks over. "I'm sure Princess Celestia knows we're here by now. We just get there as quick as we can."

"What, no schedule?"

"She IS the ruler of Equestria," Twilight grins. "She can clear her calendar with the wave of a single hoof," which Twilight simulates with her own.

"And nopony would dare defy her," Rarity adds.

"I know that feeling," Amanda grins. "But I also know that whatever I put off will bite me in the flank tomorrow."

"Uh huh!!" Rarity and Applejack say together. Rarity has been under scheduling stress since before she can remember. Applejack never runs out of work to do on the farm.

"Bite me in the flank," Kat repeats groaningly. "Ha ha ha," she says flatly.

While they walk, they pass a few shops that are open on the street. Tonya raises her nose in the air and trails off to follow some alluring aroma. She quickly finds a bakery with a window display loaded with goodies. She sees pies, donuts, and other treats. But, as the group passes, Amanda uses her horn's magic to drag Tonya away from it. Despite a few groans of protest, she eventually gets in line with the others.

"A lot?" Rarity asks.

"Every day!" Amanda smiles.

==-==-==

The small parade of ponies reach the main gate of the castle. They see a rose-pink alicorn standing nearby with a hoof waving in the air. There are many guards near her, both seen and unseen. A small gold crown sits behind her horn, a golden collar around her neck and golden shoes on her hooves. A mane of purple, pink, and cream hangs from her head with a gentle curl at the end. When she sees her friends come near, her purple eyes widen a bit and a smile grows. Her wings flare a little with glee, revealing a crystal heart and gold trim on her flank. "Twilight!!"

As addressed, she pops forward and starts a strange little dance with the princess. "Sunshine, sunshine lady bugs awake!! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" After their hoof-clapping and butt wiggling, they start to giggle happily. Amanda and Tonya, and the others to an extent watch with strange looks. On the other hoof, Twilight's friends seem used to it. "Princess Cadance! It's good to see you again!"

"Princess Celestia summoned me." She nods as Twilight's close friends bow and urges them to rise. The other group bows moments later, not realizing fully what is going on. Again, Cadance wants them to their hooves. "These are your new friends?"

"Yes. These are Bobbi, Amanda, Casie, Kat, and Tonya."

"Five?" Cadance wonders. "I only see four... You didn't lose one, did you?"

"Actually, it's hard for me to tell," Twilight snickers.

"Yes!" Kat says loudly. "I can hear you talking about me, thank you!!"

"Yeah. She's here."

"Invisible?" Cadance asks. "That could lead to trouble."

"UH HUH!!!" a collection agrees.

"I am Princess Cadance," she tells the extended group. "I rule the Crystal Empire north of here. I am delighted to meet you all. I'm sure you all have interesting stories to share. Princess Celestia asked me to escort you all in."

There's a short pause among the new guests, but the realization sinks in as they remember Twilight mentioning her before. There's an odd smile that spreads between them, but it doesn't seem harmful. Twilight's senses pick up on something and turns towards them with a slight glare to remind them of their place.

==-==-==

The trip has had one interesting effect. During their time in Ponyville, the group of five had been running around almost entirely on soil and grass. The sounds of their hooves running around there had been a series of thumping. When they entered the train, their new 'feet' made a bit more of a clattering noise, yet softened by the carpeting. When they reached the city, there were paved streets and a more solid noise. And now, they enter the castle's interior with fine marble floors.

Tonya had noted the echoed tapping noise her hooves made against the floor. It was an interesting set of noises. As she continued on, Tonya's aloof nature started to get her to run in place to create a cacophony of these sounds.

"Would you stop that?" Amanda asks quietly.

But Pinkie runs up alongside Tonya as a disappointed frown weighs her down. "Don't worry," she tells her. "I did the same thing when I first came here!"

"You STILL do that!!" Rainbow Dash yells down from above.

"Well, it's FUN!!!" she shouts back as she rhythmically dances her hooves across the floor. She dislodges her cart and Tonya watches as Pinkie dances around the entire group and weaves between them all. She occcasionally dips her head towards a pony or two.

"She's not gonna start singing, is she?" Rainbow groans.

"I JUST MI--IGHT!!" She returns to her cart and continues on happily.

Amanda tries to ignore all of this and looks up at the high ceilings with a bit of reverance. The arches reach really high, much further than anyone would need room for. And all the way up are intricate carvings.

Casie notes some of the stained glass windows depicting history. Some present a white alicorn. Others alongside a dark alicorn partner. Some depict their new group of friends.

Bobbi looks all about and sees a number of art pieces all through the hall. Aside from the stained glass, there are portraits of various ponies. There are empty vases on stands. The collumns they sit on also have a little bit of artistic flair.

Tonya just looks up. "I'd hate to change a lightbulb up there."

"Can't you alter gravity?" Kat wonders.

"Oh yeah. I forgot."

Cadance leads the group through the castle with Twilight at her side. "I'm sorry that Shining Armor couldn't be here," she says a little somberly. "But, I needed him to stay home to keep the Crystal Empire in one piece."

"I understand. These days you never know what's going to pop up."

"Hey, Twilight?" Tonya asks quietly.

For a moment, Twilight fears what she might have to say. Something askew always seems to be waiting behind that muzzle. Still... "Yes, Tonya?"

"What was with that butt wiggling thing earlier?"

And there it is. Both Twilight and Cadance look a little embarrassed, but trot on nonetheless. Meanwhile, Tonya's own friends manage to walk on three hooves while one is planted on their faces. "It was... identity verification!!"

"Yes!!" Cadance says a little sheepishly. "An impostor would never know about it."

Casie smiles a little. "Sounds like you've had some trouble with that. Those shapeshifter thingies?"

And for a moment, Tonya literally shrinks in size. Not enough for most to notice, but her close friends will see it. They'll also understand why.

"We call them Changelings," Cadance answers. "And yes. A little trouble."

"Yeah!" Rainbow chimes in. "If there WERE changelings, we'd know how to deal with them!!" She punctuates this by devilishly pounding her hooves together.

And Tonya shrinks a little more. Rarity notices and looks Tonya over a little. She says nothing and passes it off as seeing things. Yet she can easily see that Tonya is distressed about something. "Are you alright, darling?" she asks.

"Yeh," she gasps. "Fine."

"So," Kat wonders, "are you and the other princess gonna do that wiggly thing too?"

"NOO!!" the two princesses spout quickly.

"I mean..." Cadance adds, "she doesn't need such things."

"Princess Celestia is pretty complex," Twilight notes. "I don't think anypony could easily pull that off."

"I hope," Cadance tells her quietly, and a little worriedly "that you don't think I'm too simple?"

"Um, well..." Twilight sweats. "Queen Chrysalis did have everypony fooled. But, I knew there was something up the moment I saw you--her--I mean--"

"I know what you mean, sweetheart," Cadance says with a smile. "I was just teasing you..."

Twilight sighs heavily and walks a short distance with her head dipped. "I think you've been hanging around your aunt too much."

Down the hall, the group can see an oversized set of doors. By this point, it is the only destination left in their travels. Many of the windows have stained glass images depicting history, but many more are plain as history is still being written. Every few windows had a vase of flowers. Many of these boquets are specifically arranged so that the light from the window will give the flowers a unique appearance.

There is a unicorn stallion that walks towards them. He has a navy-blue coat as well as slicked back dark mane that blends in eerily. His red eyes look ahead with fiery intrigue. His muzzle has a slight sneer on it. His cutie mark is a lance piercing through a shield.

As he passes the group, he catches sight of them. Princesses Twilight and Cadance give him a brief salutation as they pass. As he continues to walk along, he notes the five visitors. In particular, his sneer triples in intensity when he sees a blue unicorn pony with black mane and blue wrap-around.

Amanda notices his gaze and looks at him with a skeptical twitch of her eyebrow. Something is not right. Something familiarly not right. "Princess Cadance, do you know who that was?"

"Not really," she replies. "He appeared before Princess Celestia a few moons ago. He predicted a few things that happened. At first, the princess was skeptical about his rantings. But, after the first came to pass, she took note of what he had to say. The second time he appeared, she sent some of her forces to investigate the incident he had predicted. By the third, he had her ear." Cadance shivers a little as she walks. "I don't like him. Despite the fact that he's useful, he always gives me the creeps."

"What's his name?" Twilight asks.

"His name is Rudan Nolan Katanos."

"SAY WHAT?!" Amanda roars. "THAT--!! THAT--!!" But, before she can be stopped, Amanda swings around to chase him down. "SON OF A BITCH!!!!"

Her friends quickly follow and try to stop her. Bobbi runs hard and tries to use her horn's magic to slow her down. But, despite her efforts, Amanda is still in motion. A yellow aura is wrapped around her tail, but it doesn't stop her. In fact, it pulls Bobbi along.

Casie takes advantage of Amanda's issue and catches up quickly. She runs ahead of her to stop her. "Hang on, Amanda! We can't!!"

Finally, Tonya tackles her. But, she finds an invisible body between herself and Amanda. With everypony finally grinding her to a halt, Amanda's quarry disappears from sight.

"Why did you all stop me?! Don't you know who that is?!"

"I know who he is," Bobbi grits. "But, that's not the problem."

"We're on foreign soil," Casie adds. "REALLY foreign soil. We all know what he did. But, if you just run off half cocked, you're going to cause an incident that we may NEVER live down...."

The rest of the group catches up quickly, but are at odds with understanding. Cadance looks at Amanda, and then to Twilight who merely shrugs.

Amanda finally cools down and her friends release their holds. "I'm sorry... You're right, Casie."

"What was that about?" Cadance asks.

Amanda looks up at the princess with a sullen look. Her eyebrows curl uncomfortably, her muzzle hangs down, and her ears flatten. "Back where we're from, Nolan was a menace. We took him down before coming here. None of us saw his final fate, but we were told that business was done. We weren't sure if he was killed or imprisoned. Just that he was no longer a threat."

"And," Casie adds, "if he said he was taken care of, then he was."

"Doesn't look that way to me," Amanda replies.

"Maybe it's just coincidence," Rainbow Dash pipes in. "Maybe they just look the same."

"With the same name?" Applejack wonders.

"If he poses a threat," Cadance notes, "then we'll deal with it at the time it happens. But, until then, I'm afraid all we have is speculation. Now, let's move on. Princess Celestia is waiting."

==-==-==

The group reaches large double doors with a guard on either side. Both guards have golden armor and spears as well as stone faced appearances. One of them has a dark coat while the other a white coat. As Princess Cadance nears, they open the doors for the entire group.

"Presenting!!" a pony calls from within the chamber, "Princess Cadance, Princess Twilight Sparkle, The Elements of Harmony, and company."

"Twilight!" Princess Celestia says happily from the throne. As she steps down the short walkway to greet her guests, Cadance uses her wings to float up to the left side of the throne where a cushion awaits.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight greets with a smile. "I have brought our visitors as requested." After the comment, her own five friends part to either side to allow the others to gather in a line. "May I present a SOBER Bobbi Lee, Amanda Silver, Casie Fadro, Tonya Garrett, and Kat Stewart."

"Welcome all to Canterlot," Celestia greets. Her wings flare up as her excitement builds. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. I sincerely hope that your stay is a pleasant one. I am hoping to get to know each and every one of you." However, her gaze turns to Tonya. "Are you... smaller than last time? Oh, well. Must be my old age catching up to me."

"She'll never let that go?" Tonya wonders to herself.

"Nope," five others say behind her.

"I assume," Twilight wonders, "that Princess Luna is sleeping right now?" Despite the fact that she is not present, it is a well known fact that Luna watches over the night. As such, (and this is not as well known) she sleeps during the day.

By this point, Celestia folds in her wings again. "Yes. I was hoping that the four princesses could all meet our visitors together. But, it seems that my sister, Princess Luna, is not feeling well."

"Is she alright?" Fluttershy asks. "Is there anything we can do for her?"

Celestia just shakes her head softly. "She'll be fine. She just needs rest. It seems that on one of her dreamwalking adventures she came across a scene made entirely of cake. When she awoke, she had eaten a large hole in her mattress. She'll be fine. She just needs to recover."

"NAY!!" a voice shouts from the doorway which instantly gathers everypony's attention. "We are here, my Sister." A darker alicorn walks through the throneroom towards the group. Her steps are careful and her wings are folded at her sides. However, one might also think that they are supporting her belly a little.

Twilight mentally notes that Princess Luna's mane is much different than usual. Instead of the usually translucent starscape, it is a light azure and her coat is much lighter than normal. The immediate diagnosis is that Luna has been weakened. The only other time that she's seen her like this was when they first met--right after Twilight and friends blasted a harmful personality out of her.

At the sight of her, Tonya reaches for her wrap and manages to pull it up and over her head. She remembers Luna from the dream and also the last few seconds that transpired there. Maybe she'll forget?

"Luna," Celestia says quietly. "You should be resting." As Luna sits next to her elder sister, Cadance again floats through the air and lands on Celestia's left while Luna parks herself on her right. Celestia's golden aura slips around Luna's crown and straightens it as well as a little of her mane. A wave of gold runs down her body and even tidies up her tail.

"We are alright," Luna replies with a shake of her head. "My friends, We are Princess Luna. We rule Equestria at night while our sister slumbers. We are responsible for raising the Moon on a nightly basis, just as our sister raises the Sun in the morn."

And with that announcement, the group bows to yet another princess in their midst. And, just as before the group rises.

"They do that a lot, do they not?" Luna asks.

"We ARE royalty," Celestia reminds her.

"Yes. Quite." And for a moment, Luna's gaze turns on Tonya. Her eyelids narrow as she tries to get a better look at her. "YO--" she starts, but stops herself at Celestia's wonder. "ooouu all look well. We are happy to see Equestria has treated you fairly thus far."

"Tell me," Celestia asks. "How did you all land in Equestria?"

"Bumpy," the group replies together. A minor giggling fit starts up among the friends.

"Truth be told," Bobbi tells her, "we weren't expecting any of this. One day, we're home, and the next we all start waking up here in yours. We never meant to intrude."

"Oh, that is far from an issue," Celestia says happily with a flailing hoof. "I would never want any of you to think you were unwelcome in any way."

"Speaking of welcome," Pinkie pops up from the back. "I got the cake you wanted!!" She teeth-yanks the cloth off the cake-cart and reveals her monstrous masterpiece. Rising from the wooden cart is a 14-layer cake. From the top to bottom, each layer of the cake represents a different pony with their colors represented in frosting:

Casie Fadro (Red/Brown)
Amanda Silver (Blue/Black)
Tonya Garrett (Tan/Brown)
Kat Stewart (Clear)
Bobbi Lee (Mute gold/blonde)
Fluttershy (Yellow/Pink)
Rarity (White/Purple)
Rainbow Dash (Blue/Rainbow streaks)
Applejack (Orange/Blonde)
Pinkie Pie (Pink/Darker Pink)
Twilight Sparkle (Purple/Darker Purple/pink slash)
Cadance (Rose-Pink/Pink-purple-cream streaks)
Luna (Dark gray/White spotted dark blue)
Celestia (White/Aurora Borealis)

And to top it off, every layer also has the respective cutie mark frosted on multiple times around their layer.

"By the gods..." Celestia comments. She has to raise a hoof to her forehead to see the top. If it looks like she's saluting, she probably is. "Pinkie Pie, you have definitely outdone yourself this time."

"Awwww.... Thanks...."

Cadance looks at the titanic pastry and wonders how in Equestria Pinkie has kept it so stable. Between the train ride, walking through town and the castle... (In truth there are 14 skewers equidistantly placed towards the edge.) "A marvelous display," she says quietly.

Luna, however, seems to have a troubled look on her face. She loves cake as much (alright, far more!!) than the average pony, but she looks at this feat with a twitching eye and a fake smile. "Cake..." she babbles out. Perhaps she is thinking of awakening with half of her mattress inside her tummy. Or maybe she remembers a long visit to the hospital to remove said padding. (The springs were especially problematic.)

"Cake?" Celestia wonders.

But, Luna says nothing else and faints. There is a loud thump as she hits the floor and all four hooves flail through the air.