Chapter 58
There were some things that every new parent needed to know. One of them was that you should never try to burn baby poop off your claws with dragon fire. Cliff learned that the hard way.
“Oh, Stars.” He covered his nose and rushed to the window.
“Thank you for changing Miracle’s diaper,” Fluttershy said, looking a little green, “but please don’t do that again.”
Silver Lining was already at the other set of windows. “I believe you may have discovered one of the single worst smells in existence.” She gagged. “Perhaps you should weaponize it.”
“Sorry,” Cliff pulled the windows open, “I didn’t think-”
“That much is obvious,” Silver Lining cut in.
“It’s okay.” Fluttershy started flapping her wings, creating a breeze to push out the nearly toxic air.
Fluttershy’s father alternated between coughing and gagging. “Well,” another cough, “at least Miracle is getting used to you, Cliff.”
“There is that.” Cliff leaned out the window and took a breath of fresh air. The city of Canterlot spread out before him, a shockingly un-crystalline sight after more than seven months in the Empire.
Miracle, seemingly unaware of the smell pollution, just giggled.
Cliff braved the stench and started putting on her new diaper. “I hope you don’t get your true name for stinking up houses, or your cutie mark. Whichever you’re going to get.”
“Zeph said she’ll get a mark,” Fluttershy said, still flapping her wings.
“I wonder what it will be.” Cliff tried to tickle Miracle, but apparently she wasn’t feeling very ticklish.
Her coat was a lot harder than the coat of a normal pony, and the skin beneath was likewise extremely tough. It was nowhere near as strong as the row of belly scales that ran the length of her underside, but her coat and skin would easily be enough to stop a knife or a claw. She had pony bones and joints, though, which were significantly more durable than dragon ones. An impact that would break Cliff’s arm would probably only bruise Miracle.
Cliff shook his head. He really needed to stop evaluating how well his daughter would do in a battle. She’d never be in one if he had anything to say about it. He finished with her new diaper and threw the old one away. “Should we feed her again?”
“She should be okay.” Fluttershy lifted Miracle up and nuzzled her. “Good job, Miracle, you didn’t even cry.”
Miracle nuzzled her back, but then she looked toward Silver Lining and held out her stubby claws. “Ga?”
“I played with you enough today,” Silver Lining said, returning to her seat and opening a book. “Play with your parents for a change.”
Miracle started to cry at the same time that someone knocked at the door.
“Cliff, get that,” Silver Lining said. “Fluttershy, don’t let go of her. She needs to learn that crying won’t let her have her way.”
“I could play with her,” Sunrise said, “if she really wants.”
“No,” Silver Lining said firmly.
Cliff opened the door. “Yes?”
Genesis stood on the other side. He made a face and covered his nose. “Oh Stars, what happened in here?”
“Mistakes were made,” Cliff said. “What’s up?”
“Discord sent me to get you all. Celestia wants the Element Bearers and everydragon from Everfree Village to meet her in the throne room.”
“Okay.” Cliff turned halfway around before he paused. “Wait, everydragon or everyone?”
“Everyone, sorry.” Genesis sighed. “I’ll get used to saying it eventually.”
“Don’t worry, it took me a while too.” Cliff turned and relayed the message, speaking loudly so that he could be heard over Miracle’s cries.
Miracle did calm down as they walked to the throne room, but she never stopped trying to wriggle out of Fluttershy’s hooves.
Discord was waiting for them. He immediately snatched up Miracle and blew a loud raspberry into her stomach. Literally. There was a raspberry on her stomach when he pulled back, which he gave her to nibble on. “And how’s my cute little chaos kirin?”
Miracle made a raspberry noise of her own.
“Discord,” Silver Lining said firmly. “We talked about giving Fluttershy and Cliff Runner time to bond with Miracle.”
“So we did,” Discord said. “Try to make her smile, Cliff. I haven’t had my morning laugh yet.” He handed her over.
“Don’t be mean,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sure she’ll smile for him soon.”
“I hope so.” Cliff smiled awkwardly at his daughter. “Hey there, Miracle. Can you smile for daddy?”
She just tilted her head to the side a little.
“Come on, you can do it.” Cliff made the biggest smile he could, then he alternated through a couple of silly faces.
Miracle’s brow furrowed and she twisted to look at Discord. “Kuh?”
Discord chuckled. “Sorry, but I won’t rescue you this time. You’re stuck there until you smile for the doofus.”
A few minutes ticked by as the rest of Everfree Village poured in. Cliff did his best to ignore the growing crowd while he tried to coax a smile out of his daughter. First he made a bunch of funny noises, earning another of those furrowed-brow looks from Miracle. After that he tried tickling again. No luck. She seemed to like it when he bounced her up and down, but then he tossed her into the air a little, and she promptly flew onto Silver Lining’s back.
Discord suddenly looked like a reporter checking a notebook. “Aaand, that makes it Cliff zero, Miracle fifteen.”
“Thank you all for coming,” Celestia said, cutting off Cliff’s response. She stood at the far end of the room, next to her throne. “Some of you may already have heard about the incident last night. All of you should know about it, especially the Element Bearers, as this will affect them specifically.”
“Do any of you know what she’s talking about?” Genesis asked.
Cliff shook his head.
The story that unfolded was … not really that bad. Cliff had been expecting news of a major battle up in the Crystal Empire, or a natural disaster hitting Everfree Village while they were all here, or the assassination of someone important. Rarity having a run-in with an Alliance spy was fairly tame by comparison. Guard escorts for the Element Bearers made sense. He was even okay with giving a medal to the changeling that saved her. Celestia wouldn’t have decided to do it unless it would benefit Equestria somehow.
One thing did bug Cliff, though. No matter how many times he looked around the room, he couldn’t see Rarity, Spirit, or Autumn anywhere.
-_-_-_-_-_-
“You’re sure that nopony will be able to recognize us?” Rarity asked nervously.
“Of course I’m sure,” Spirit said. “Illusions are kind of my thing, remember?”
“They do seem to be working,” Autumn said. “No one has felt even the slightest hint of recognition toward us.”
On the outside, they were just three nondescript unicorns walking through the streets of Canterlot. Even their voices were modified to sound incredibly average. No one would pay any attention to them, which was for the best, considering their destination.
The three of them ducked down a side street, passing through dim alleyways before emerging in front of a huge building. It was two stories tall, a block long, and had recently been painted dark green. A neon sign over the door read, ‘The Queen’s Palace.’
“Thank you both so much for accompanying me,” Rarity said. “I can’t even imagine the media circus if the newspapers found out that I came here.”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Spirit said. “I wanted to come anyway.”
Rarity looked over at him, raising her eyebrow. “Why on earth would you want to come here?”
“I want to hire a changeling for a while,” Spirit said with a perfectly straight face. “It could take most of the day, so you might have to wait in the lobby for a while.”
Autumn slapped him with her tail. “Stop teasing her.”
Of course, she had no way of knowing that he was serious. All three of them were masking their emotions with the Stillness, just in case a changeling was spying on them.
“Fine, I’ll stop joking.” Spirit touched the dimensional pocket hidden under his illusion. It held enough bits to cover an eight-hour session, in case Autumn needed that long.
They walked inside and were immediately assaulted by photos of ponies in all kinds of provocative poses. They covered the walls, giving Spirit nowhere safe to look except for the front desk, which had a single changeling with a small stack of papers in front of him … or her. Spirit couldn’t tell when they were in their natural form.
“Welcome to the Queen’s Palace,” the changeling said in a distinctly female voice. “What can we do for the three of you today?”
Rarity pulled her eyes away from the walls with a shudder and approached the desk. “Yes, I am looking for one of your, uh, employees, Nymph.”
The changeling looked down at the papers on her desk. “Let me see … ah, Nymph is with a client at the moment, but he will be free in another forty minutes if you would be willing to wait.”
“If I must.”
“The waiting room is this way.” The changeling got up and opened a door into a dark room full of secluded booths that were barely visible in the dimness. “Just find an unoccupied booth and we’ll be with you as soon as possible.”
Rarity looked around. “Do you have any magazines or other reading materials?”
“We have copies of our catalog at each table,” the changeling said, “and lanterns to provide reading light. Take your time while perusing them. They may give you some ideas.”
Rarity turned a little green. “Lovely.” She looked back at Spirit and Autumn. “Shall we?”
“One second.” Spirit approached the desk and took a deep breath. “I need to rent a changeling for my marefriend and me.”
“What?” Autumn gaped at him. “I thought you were joking!”
“Oh Celestia,” Rarity said, “please tell me that you aren’t serious.”
Spirit cupped Autumn’s face in one hand, staring deeply into her eyes. “Just trust me, please. It isn’t what you think.”
“It had better not be.” Autumn let go.
The changeling seemed unaffected by the little outbursts. “Actually, our workers are called escorts, and there is an increased charge for a second customer in the room. Will that be okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Spirit said. He leaned closer. “Could we go somewhere private while I explain what I need?”
“Certainly, sir.” She stepped through into the dark room. “Please follow me. We only want the best for a prince of Equestria.”
What? Spirit looked down at himself. His illusion was still active. How had they known it was him?
“Your illusions won’t be necessary here,” the changeling continued. “Each booth is magically insulated against both sound and light. No one will be able to see or hear you.”
Spirit dropped their illusions and turned to Autumn. “I’ll be right back.”
Autumn gave him a flat look. “I hope you appreciate how much I’m trusting you right now, Spirit Shield.”
Wow, full name. She really is ticked. “I appreciate it.” Spirit turned and followed the changeling through a different door and down a flight of stairs.
They wound up in front of an ornate black door with colored patterns that shifted between blue and green, depending on the angle that Spirit looked at them.
The door opened and Queen Chrysalis stepped through, grinning widely. “Well, well, well, this is a wonderful surprise, Prince Spirit.”
Oh. Crap. “Chrysalis, how nice to see you.”
“I imagine it is.” Chrysalis motioned for him to follow her into her frankly massive office. There was a desk, but also a bed, a dinner table, a fridge, and even a hot tub. She sat down at the desk. “What can we do for you today? Or rather,” her grin turned feral, “what can we do to you?”
Spirit shuddered. “I’m actually just here to help my marefriend with something that isn’t the least bit sexual. Do you have any escorts that are especially talented at impersonations?”
“Not sexual,” Chrysalis said. “Now I’m curious, and I happen to be our best impersonator. It would be my pleasure to help.”
There isn’t enough ‘no’ in the solar system. Spirit kept his face impassive. “Well I was hoping for a specialist, and I would hate to bother you.”
“What’s the matter?” Chrysalis asked. “Don’t you think I’m good enough?”
Captain, the enemy has painted a target on her face and is requesting that we take a potshot immediately. “Well, your impression of Princess Cadance was somewhat less than perfect.” Shots fired! Shots fired!
Chrysalis laughed, leaning back in her chair. “Aw, you actually believe that, don’t you?” She patted his head spikes. “The first rule for any long-term impersonator is that it’s impossible to act exactly like your disguise at all times. You need to gradually introduce your own traits and mannerisms to keep the disguise believable over time. Did you ever wonder why Celestia, Luna, and even Shining Armor believed that I was Cadance right up until I revealed myself? Twilight didn’t even see through my disguise, she just thought I wasn’t good enough for her dear brother.”
It’s no good, Captain, everything’s deflecting off her ego. Spirit sighed. There was no diplomatic way to turn her down. “In that case, let me thank you for your kind offer. I will need something very specific from you.”
“Go on,” Chrysalis said with a smile.
And so he explained what he had in mind, in exhaustive detail, even showing her pictures, recordings, and journal entries.
Chrysalis remained surprisingly calm and businesslike the whole time, only interrupting to ask a few questions. “Interesting,” she said once he finished. “I’m certain that I’ll be able to help. Oh, and don’t worry about anyone finding out. We’d have to pay a large fee if we broke customer confidentiality.” She leaned forward across the desk. “So I wouldn’t think of doing it unless there was something that I really wanted.”
Spirit forced himself to look back steadily. “That’s about what I figured.”
“How wonderful that we understand each other.” Chrysalis turned to the other changeling. “Prepare a room for us, and make sure the noise suppressors are at full power.”
“Yes, my queen.” She hurried away.
“You can pay in the lobby,” Chrysalis said to Spirit. “A worker will collect you from the waiting room once everything is ready.”
Spirit just nodded before starting back. He sure wasn’t going to thank her.
A new receptionist was sitting at the front desk when he got there. “Welcome back, Prince Spirit Shield. I can take your payment now.”
Spirit sighed and started counting out the bits.
“We only require payment for the first hour up front,” she said. “You can make up any difference when you’ve finished.” She reached under the desk and pulled up a staff of some kind. “Also, would you prefer to pay the emotion fee now or later?”
“Let’s get it over with now.” Spirit pushed the bits over to her.
“Understood. Just hold still for a moment and focus on a positive emotion. This won’t hurt at all.” She touched the staff to his outstretched arm, and a faint glow surrounded the area.
Spirit didn’t know what he was expecting, but he was strangely disappointed that he didn’t feel anything other than a faint sense of weakness.
The changeling pulled the staff back. “Thank you, Prince Spirit Shield, and we hope you enjoy your visit to the Queen’s Palace.”
Spirit bit down a sarcastic comment and walked back into the waiting room, which was almost empty. Some kind of curtain covered the entrance to each booth. It was thin enough to see if anyone was inside but thick enough to blur any details. Spirit found Autumn and Rarity’s booth on the second one he checked. Rarity herself was sputtering incoherently and making gestures at the open catalog on the table in front of her.
“What’s going on?” Spirit asked.
Autumn looked up at him, her expression unreadable. “She just found out that they have a sale; buy one Element Bearer, get a second one free.”
Spirit facepalmed. “And here I thought Chrysalis couldn’t sink any lower.” He sat down.
“I do not look like that,” Rarity almost shouted. “That pony’s flanks are far too large to be mine!”
“You won’t tell me what you have planned,” Autumn said.
Spirit shook his head.
“And they call that a sexy fashionista outfit? How dare they? It’s completely out of style!”
Autumn didn’t even look at the indignant unicorn. “If this is your attempt to have a threesome, so help me I’m kicking you in the groin and leaving.”
“Understandable.”
“Why would they even have me kissing poor Fluttershy?” Rarity continued. “She would be mortified if she ever saw this!”
“You don’t want to know what they had you and Twilight doing,” Autumn said.
“Wait, I’m in this?” Spirit reached for a catalog, but Autumn grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Trust me when I say that you really do not want to know.”
Spirit pulled his arm back. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“What makes stallions even think that two mares kissing is attractive?” Rarity continued with no sign of stopping.
A few minutes later, a changeling entered the booth. “Prince Spirit, your room is ready. Please follow me.” It’s voice was hard to pin down, somewhere between a masculine girl and a feminine guy.
Spirit got up. “Thank you.” He turned to Rarity, who was still ranting. “Good luck.” Then he followed the changeling out, through a new door, and down a flight of stairs before reaching a simple wooden door.
Autumn didn’t say a word the whole time.
“Please wait inside,” the changeling said, opening the door for them. “Your guest will arrive momentarily.”
The inside was pretty boring. It was kind of like a generic living room with two chairs and a couch. A landscape painting adorned one wall, and there was a window opposite the door, but it was made of that bathroom kind of glass that was impossible to see through. There was also a large closet, but frankly, Spirit was afraid to look inside.
Autumn waited until the door shut behind her before speaking up, “Okay, I’ve been patient long enough. What’s going on here, Spirit?”
Spirit sighed. “There’s something that you need to get out of your system.”
Someone knocked at the door. Perfect timing.
“It’s for you,” Spirit said.
Autumn looked at him suspiciously before opening the door. She stumbled back with a gasp as soon as she saw who was on the other side.
Liberty Valiant stepped in, closing the door behind him. “I hear you have some strong opinions about me, Autumn,” he said, “start talking.”
Spirit had to admit that he was impressed. He knew it was just Chrysalis in disguise, but she looked, sounded, and acted exactly like Autumn’s deceased father.
Autumn’s coat went metallic and her mane and tail faded almost to black. “Spirit,” she spoke slowly, pronouncing his name one syllable at a time, “what in the name of Celestia do you think you’re doing?”
“Stop blaming others for the fact that you have a problem,” Liberty said harshly, his own coat went metallic as well, but his mane and tail grew brighter, a sign of condescension among crystal ponies. “You never worked up the guts to tell me how you actually feel. You never even admitted it to yourself. So here I am.” He patted himself on the chest. “Go ahead, let loose. The next time you spit on my grave, I want you to be doing it honestly.”
“Would you shut up!” Autumn roared. “I didn’t come here to get insulted by some changeling impersonating my father!”
“I’m a reflection, Autumn,” Liberty said. “Everything you think about me, everything you feel about me, that’s what I am. Now you have the rare opportunity to make me sit down, shut up, and listen as you shout everything you hate about me right in my face. Are you going to take advantage of that or are you going to storm off and yell at your stallionfriend instead?”
A ripple of some kind started at Autumn’s nose and passed back along her body until it reached her tail.
Spirit didn’t know what it meant, but it was probably something to do with snapping her anger back under control.
“I’m sorry,” Autumn said in that frighteningly chilly voice of hers, “I can’t express how much I actually hate you without a whip and something to tie you to.”
“Check the closet,” Liberty said, smiling like this was a victory for him somehow. “You can whip, kick, or stab me to your black little heart’s content.”
Autumn took a step back.
Liberty took a step forward. “I could always whip you again. How expensive was it to get those scars removed?”
Autumn’s hoof came up, slamming into the side of Liberty’s head.
Liberty barely moved. “Is that the best you can do? I thought you wanted to hurt me for all the times I hurt you.”
“I do.” Autumn grit her teeth. “I really do.”
“Then do it.” Liberty pushed his face right into Autumn’s. “Do you think I’ll scream like you did?”
“Uh,” Spirit said, “I was more thinking that you could just yell at him for a while to clear the air before really saying goodbye.”
“Shut up, Spirit.” Autumn pushed past him and opened the closet. She came back with two sets of hoofcuffs and some kind of a wooden frame on wheels. “This will do.”
Liberty stepped onto the frame without being asked and lifted his forelegs toward Autumn.
She cuffed each foreleg to the frame, holding Liberty in place, before diving back into the closet and emerging with a whip. It wasn’t a toy whip either.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Spirit said. “Stop and think about thi-”
CRACK.
Liberty gasped in pain as a line of red appeared across his back, spreading across his white coat.
“Autumn!” Spirit shouted.
She pulled back for another swing, still holding the whip in her mouth.
CRACK.
“Stop it!”
CRACK.
Spirit grabbed the whip. “This is not what I had in mind! You need to stop.”
“He never stopped,” Autumn said, speaking around the whip’s handle. Tears filled her eyes and coursed down her cheeks. “Ten lashes.” She pulled away and swung again.
CRACK.
“Every day.”
CRACK.
“For months!”
Two more swings, and two more gashes across Liberty’s back.
“I deserve this much, at least.”
Spirit could only stare in horror as she delivered three more lashes, splattering blood across the wooden frame.
“I-I deserve this …” Autumn collapsed, crying uncontrollably.
“Does it f-feel good?” Liberty asked between gasps.
Autumn covered her eyes and pulled herself into a tight ball as sobs rocked her. “N-no.”
“Th-then yell at m-me instead.”
“No.”
“Don’t you hate me?”
“No.” She hit the ground beneath her before covering her eyes again. “I don’t.”
Spirit’s breath caught. How in the world did Chrysalis do that? He was afraid to move, or even breathe, like it would somehow break the changeling queen’s spell.
Meanwhile, Autumn slowly cried herself out. “I don’t want to hate you,” she said quietly, “but whenever I saw you, I just couldn’t help it. I know I put you in an impossible situation. I know I would have kept defying Sombra if you hadn’t sent me to jail. I know you probably saved my life. But I can’t change how I feel.”
“S-so you h-hate yourself?” Liberty asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Autumn shouted, pulling her hooves more tightly around her. “My friends died because of me! You and Mom got divorced because of me! I ran away from the Crystal Empire because I was a coward and couldn’t face my mistakes! I stole Spirit from Rarity, and she just forgave me for it! I couldn’t even marry Spirit because I knew that one day he’d realize what a terrible pony I am, and he’d be disgusted by it!” A shudder passed through her. “And today is that day.”
Spirit realized that he’d let the Stillness slip away in all the chaos, revealing his emotions for Autumn to see, and, well, disgust had been among the feelings raging through his heart. In his defense, she’d just whipped someone right in front of him. “I’m not disgusted by you,” he said quickly.
Autumn shook her head. “Just … leave.”
Spirit didn’t respond for a moment, then he sat down next to Autumn and wrapped his arms around her. “I love you.”
“How?” she demanded. “You saw what I did to that poor changeling-” She gasped. “Spirit, heal him, please!”
“Oh, crap.” Spirit jumped to his feet and cast a healing spell. Not even Chrysalis deserved to hang there and bleed.
Liberty’s lips twitched in a weak smile. “I love you, Autumn. I’m sorry I wasn’t better at showing it.”
Autumn undid the hoofcuffs and guided Liberty to the couch. “I’m sorry too. I …” She wiped away a fresh set of tears. “I will visit your grave with Mom as soon as we return to the Empire.”
“Good.” Liberty’s eyes closed, but his smile remained. “I’ll see you there …”
Autumn stared down at his apparently sleeping face for a long time. “How can you still love me, Spirit? I’m worse than he ever was.” She lightly traced Liberty’s back with her hoof.
Spirit put his hand over her hoof. “There’s nothing you could do that’s so bad that it would change how I feel about you. This,” he gestured at Liberty, “was a mistake on my part, and whipping him was definitely crossing a line, but I know the two of us can work through it.”
“And what happens the next time my anger gets control of me?” Autumn asked, her voice breaking.
“Well I’m not going to let you hit me,” Spirit said, “but as long as you’re willing to keep working at it, I’ll never give up on you.” He pulled her into a hug. “Ever.”
Autumn hugged him back fiercely, not saying anything, just holding him so tight that it was hard to breathe.
Minutes ticked by, and Spirit was starting to get really uncomfortable when Autumn finally let go.
“My new answer is yes,” she said quietly.
Spirit stared at her for a moment. “What?”
“Let’s go back to Rarity and let him sleep.” Autumn got up and hurried to the door.
“Spirit,” Liberty groaned, opening his eyes, “stay for a moment.”
Spirit turned to Autumn. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up.”
Autumn was surprisingly willing to oblige.
“Well then,” Liberty disappeared in a ball of green flame, revealing Chrysalis in his place, “did my performance leave something to be desired?” She propped her head up with her hooves and grinned smugly.
“Okay,” Spirit said, “I was wrong. Your performance was perfect.”
“Of course it was. Mind reading happens to be one of my little tricks.” Chrysalis chuckled. “I gave her exactly what she wouldn’t admit to herself that she wanted.”
Spirit shuddered. “I can’t believe that you let her whip you.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “I thought a fellow illusionist would recognize a simple trick when he saw it.” She point to the wooden frame, which was mysteriously unstained by blood. “As if I would let a pony actually injure me.”
He probably should have seen that coming. “Well, thank you anyway.” Spirit walked to the door.
“Oh, and Prince Spirit?”
“Yes?”
“Whatever she said yes to, it was extremely important to her.” Chrysalis rolled onto the side. “You should figure it out as quickly as possible.”
Good advice, probably, but why would Chrysalis of all creatures be acting so helpful?
She must have sensed his suspicion, because she grinned and said, “Satisfied customers are more likely to return. We offer some very fun options for couple’s counseling, if you ever need it.”
Spirit could imagine, and once again, imagination was enough to make him feel sick. “I’ll … remember that.”
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You know, this whole "Prince Spike" thing really bugs me for some reason. Moreso since it's not even Spike, it's Spirit Shield. I have trouble seeing Spike in him. Am I the only one who feels that way? He just seems to far removed he might as well be an OC, you know?
Well, either way. I wonder if Chrysalis is a little stupid. If she can read minds, how in the world did she not notice Cadance pumping Shining Armor full of love energy? They were right behind her. They even announced they were going to do it.
welp, that went better than planned.
Despite Chrysalis still being a rude bitch, she did that well.
7762768 Oh, my mistake. I thought you were calling the other reader the moron, not the character in the story. Sorry, what you said is fine. If a character is acting like a moron, feel free to call them out on it.
7763999 Typos are sneaky little things, aren't they? Thanks for helping me weed out another one.
7765680 It's a power that Chrysalis has to activate, and it takes up a fair amount of energy, so she doesn't have it on unless she feels like she needs it. During A Canterlot Wedding, she figured she'd already won, so she let her guard down.
Spike, you need to figure this out quick. I know what her answer was for, as well as the audience. Put 2 and 2 together man. This should be a day to celebrate!
Wow Cliff did not know how ponies raise young, also I'm sad that Miracle sees her father as a stranger. I really does hurt me because Cliff fought the good fight only for this to happen, not world ending but it still pains me. Oh look it is the *insert your own clop fic here* store. Thronax we really need you here, solve all this but then it might not have caused other actions.
7765961
Makes sense. And, well, arrogance and stupidity tend to go hand in hand, when you let your ego get the best of you and stop paying attention to what's really happening.