"Sister, we would have words with thee."
Celestia sighed, looking up from her papers. "Luna, I thought you had gotten out of the habit of using such old language."
"We still find use for it when we grow miffed," the night princess growled. "And most assuredly we are miffed at thou."
"You do realize that the word thou is only meant to be directed as social inferiors, not at peers?"
"We are most assuredly miffed. With. Thou."
The princess of the sun shut her eyes, finishing off her latest signature and placing it in the hooves of a nearby clerk. "Please leave us for now." The clerk bowed and trotted out, flicking her tail in annoyance; unscheduled breaks like this were never factored into her pay.
The door shut with a click.
"The last time I ignored you, I ended up having to... separate us for an uncomfortable amount of time. So this time, I think I'll try to do things right." Celestia took a breath, pulling her ears to attention. "What, exactly, is going on this time?"
Luna snorted. "Your student has suffered most grievous abuse, and fears to acknowledge it."
Celestia's wings flared. "What?! Who? How? If it's that changeling--"
"Her tormentor is in this room right now!" Luna snarled. Her hoof shot up, pointing to one of the stained glass windows. "Look upon her!"
"....Luna... that's an image of me."
"Yes. It is."
The elder sister took a moment to process the claim. "I... am afraid I do not understand."
"Dost thou not recall the words thy spoke to Twilight Sparkle? At the very moment she revealed treachery to thou and her brother, you rebuked her." Luna's wings drooped, her eyes falling shut. "It is mine duty to tend to the slumbers of all our citizens, and these past few days hath caused much busyness on my part. Yet I failed to see the dreams of the very one who prevented our conquest, so foalish was I in comforting the young and the frightened that I did not even realize Twilight had been more grievously injured. Only when the graceful bearer of Kindness arranged a... forced period of rest upon her, only then did I even think to enter her nightmares. Only then... only then did I see what she has been subjected to."
Celestia sighed. "And what? What's done is done, Luna. My mistakes are made.... I have nothing I can do."
"At the very least you can apologize."
"For what? From my viewpoint at the time, she had just torn into an innocent mare for no other reason than sheer hatred. Maybe I operated off incomplete information, but my actions were justified."
"No!" Luna stomped her hoof, edging forward as she spoke. "Shining Armor was hypnotized by the changeling queen, Twilight's friends had never met Cadance before, even I had no idea if these actions were normal, but YOU! You watched her grow up! You watched Twilight grow up with her! Her bosom companion came to you firm in the belief that she had become consumed by a great evil, and you dusted her off." The princess of the night narrowed her eyes. "At the very least, you should have mediated. Instead you struck her down, and an unknown enemy slipped in behind while you looked away. Twilight Sparkle could have been killed that second and you would never have known it. She could have ended her own LIFE without you even realizing it."
The sister were nose to nose now, their eyes locked in a battle of wills.
"What do you want me to say, Luna? I made a mistake? I know that, Twilight knows that... All of Canterlot knows."
"The mistake thou made is irrelevant. It is the fact thou hast not truly made reparations that enrages me." Luna's face softened. "Have you truly become so distant from your subjects that you feel they should bear guilt for being in the right?"
"That's not it at all!"
"Then why does Twilight Sparkle still believe her actions were unjustified? Why do her friends agree with her? Why do you sit on this throne while she has nightmares over your rejection?"
"DO YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID WRONG?!"
Celestia and Luna stared at each other, wings flared.
"...do you think," the elder finally continued, "I don't know that I was wrong? That I am still... in the wrong... I don't deserve her forgiveness, not after this. If I go to apologize, she'll still trail after me. She'll put me back on the pedestal she's made over the years, let herself be broken for me. I can't... I can't let that happen to her. I can't."
Celestia folded her wings with a sigh. "She's become too dependent on my infallibility. She's hurting now, but I can't be the one to heal her. I would... set the bone wrong, so to speak." She took a slow breath. "It has to be Cadance, and Shining Armor, and her friends. It can't be me. Not anymore."
Luna stared at her for a moment.
And then she slapped her. "That is not your choice to make!"
Celestia rubbed at her face, not comprehending.
A blue wing flicked out, halting the approaching guards. "I will not harm her, soldiers, that was never my intention."
They halted, still wary, but lifted their halberds.
Luna nodded before turning back to the other princess in the room. "Listen to me, sister. You want Twilight to fly on her own power, but all you are truly doing with your distance is setting her adrift. Yes, amends must be made by her family and her friends and you are in that group. She cannot fly if she is hurt, and she will never fly on your command; it must be of her own design, not your manipulations. The fact remains, she needs you, even if you think she needs you too much. You made a mistake, and she was hurt. Please, don't make her suffer more for it."
Celestia blinked.
Then she blinked again.
"...but... how can I? I can't... after all that... she... I am not worth--"
"Excuse me, which one of us was locked on the moon for a thousand years instead of being executed? Right. If I'm still around after what I did, you can go to a mortal unicorn and apologize for not believing her about a previously unknown threat. Really, Tia, I thought I was the younger sister, I shouldn't have to be telling you to clean up your mess!"
Celestia winced.
After a moment, she sighed, her head falling forward. "Why is it that I always fail ponies when they need me the most? Is something wrong with me Luna? I don't know why I do this to ponies I love... I try to shelter them, but when they're truly hurt, I don't know what to do. I never even realize..."
"The sun provideth life, but burns those that rise too close, and to look upon it is to risk blindness. Icarus, of the pegasi." Luna bowed her own head. "You do not know how to heal, sister, because you cannot deliver any but the greatest of pains. Let me guide your steps in this. Let me help you redeem yourself."
The alicorn of the sun gave her a tired look. "I wish I could deny your words. I wish... very well. I will... apologize for my folly the very next time I see Twilight."
"That... is a start." Luna nodded, turning away. "I do not doubt that this will be a long and delicate process--"
"PRINCESS!"
Both alicorns looked to the main entryway as a wild-eyed, frazzle-maned Twilight Sparkle galloped through and levitated a stack of papers toward them at alarming speed. "I've got a lead--oh hey Luna--on the Rainbow Dash thing but I need to run an expedition to a certain place to confirm that it's accurate and I need to bring both the changelings in the dungeons so I was wondering if you could just sign this soldier requisition form and this transport of prisoners form and stamp here okay that should be it I'll get this all delivered thanks!"
"Twilight I--!" Celestia's hoof lowered as the unicorn sped out the door. "And she's gone."
Luna raised an eyebrow.
"...I should go after her, shouldn't I?"
Luna nodded.
The alicorn of the sun took a breath. "Well... technically speaking, she did request soldiers. And, technically, I never actually removed myself from the military ranks."
The alicorn of the moon blinked. "Wait, you can remove yourself from military ranks? I didn't know that was possible!"
***
"Oy! You! We're going on a little trip!"
The changeling lifted her head wearily as the guard stepped into the cell, absently noting his magic detaching her leash chain from the wall. "Who in the world thought this was a smart idea? I'm dangerous."
"Twilight Sparkle," one of the guards deadpanned. "Apparently she needs you for something. Come on, stay in front of me and behind him at all times."
She nodded, taking up position between the two guards. They walked down the hallway and out of the dungeon, then through a few more corridors which all looked the same to her. Occasionally they passed other ponies...
Let them glare.
She deserved it.
And then she was led outside, which seriously confused her. And then she spotted Twilight and her friends.... well, Twilight's friends anyway, all gathered around a royal chariot. Pinkie and Applejack were talking to the chariot's occupant, blocking the changeling's view of whoever was in there. Rarity and Fluttershy were awkwardly listening to the ramblings of... Lyra? What was Lyra doing here?
That question, however, was quickly overwhelmed with another: Why was an armored Celestia saluting to Twilight?
Apparently, Twilight herself had the same question, judging from her flabergasted expression. "But princess, this really isn't necessary!"
"You need guards, and I am a guard. A very experienced one, at that. If this expedition is as important as you claim, I feel there should be no expense spared--"
"But you're the princess!" Twilight blurted out. "You're needed here, you need to present a unified front so that Canterlot can recover--"
"Canterlot is perfectly fine in the hooves of my sister. Aside from which, I feel that--"
"You could have assigned Shining Armor or, or somepony else if you needed to--"
"Shining Armor is currently commanding the guards keeping Spike safe," Celestia explained.
"What? Spike? Why does Spike need protecting?"
The alicorn of the sun took a breath and released it. "I... it is a sensitive and classified matter. Suffice it to say that Luna found who made the threat against Canterlot... or at least who the changelings pinned it on, and that she could not attend the wedding because of her discovery."
"Um..." The changeling held up a hoof. "Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but... why am I here?"
Twilight blinked and turned to her. "Oh! Um. Okay, this is going to be awkward. Uh... there's a slight possibility that you are, in fact, the actual Rainbow Dash."
"...what."
"See, the other changeling--"
"What?!" The changeling snapped her gaze up. "Twilight, changelings are dangerous! You can't trust them they, they wrecked your brother's wedding for crying out loud!"
"I'm not taking her word for it! That's what this whole expedition is about! Her story requires a piece of evidence, and we're going to go... find it." The unicorn shrugged. "That's all."
"It... it has to be an ambush, or some kind of trick or something!" She couldn't let Twilight fall for this, not before they found out where the real Rainbow Dash was. "Who is this changeling, anyway? It could be any one of the Queen's drones!"
"Hey!" Lyra pushed past Rarity and Fluttershy. "Bonbon's no drone! She's as Independence as they come!"
A voice from the chariot buzzed in annoyance. "Lyra...."
"She's an entrepreneur, and, and a free thinker and--"
"Lyra. She meant drone in the biological sense." The speaker stepped out of the chariot, rolling her eyes. "Which, strictly speaking, I technically am."
The blue-eyed changeling stared at the pink-eyed one.
Pinkie Pie leaned in toward Rarity. "I thought blue eyes meant connected to the hive mind?"
"Glowing blue eyes." The fashionista shook her head. "That's a natural blue. Try to keep up, dear."
****
"Now now now, I can't have you starving. And you must admit, not many people in my position would even care enough to ensure you had a tasty and balanced diet." Chrysalis grinned, pushing the plates forward. "Come on, my little ponies, eat up."
The three fillies glowered at her.
"Are you expecting me to beat you into submission?" The changeling queen tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, now, there's a horrible idea. I'm not pointlessly cruel, after all."
"You don't think invading Canterlot counts as cruel?" the pegasus growled. "Or replacing Shining Armor's wife? Or ruining his relationship with his sister? Or using your crazy changeling powers to tie us to the ground?!"
Chrysalis smiled, leaning down. "I said I am not pointlessly cruel. Consider that very carefully." She rose up again. "Now then, a lesson in tactics. An advantage that does not impact is no advantage at all. I have you as hostages, but only I know this. Nopony is coming to rescue you, nopony is going to negotiate for your release, and even assuming, somehow, that you are the princess's daughters it will certainly take a while for anypony to realize you're missing. Therefore, I must turn you into an advantage. Which means sending a message out."
Without any warning she lunged and sank her fangs into the unicorn's leg. There were screams, of course, from all three fillies, but by that point she was already back out of their range.
"OH SWEET CELESTIA!" cried the earth pony. "SWEETIE BELLE ARE YOU OKAY?!"
"I... I feel.... purple..." The unicorn dozed off.
Chrysalis sighed. "She's not dead. She's not even seriously injured, just asleep for the moment. Killing anypony would be a disadvantage at the moment; I can't afford a trail of bodies when I'm in hiding." She reached out with her magic, levitating the filly out of reach of her companions.
"Why the HAY would ya do that?!" the earth pony shouted, tears in her eyes. "What has she ever done to ya?!"
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." The changeling queen lowered her horn. "It's what she's going to do that interests me. I had to put her to sleep, the quick version of this spell can be rather painful."
"Quick version--?" The pegasus blinked. "You're going to do what you did to Shining! You're going to--"
"Integrate her forcefully into the hive mind, where her own thoughts will be drowned out by my commands. And I'm not going to do it. I already have done it." Chrysalis smiled and stood back.
Slowly, the unicorn got to her hooves, opening her eyes and turning around. She nibbled quietly at her plate.
"Now look. Your friend is eating her vegetables." The changeling queen smiled warmly. "I think you should too."
Gotta say, I love how you wrote Luna here, and what she did. It was certainly needed.
Also, like the way the rest of this is going.
Also, really want to kill Chrysalis right now.
FUCK, I WANTED ADVANCEMENT NOT MORE PROBLEMS!
CURSE YOU CHRISSY!
Independence? INDEPENDENCE DAY! RAAAAH!
I was just thinking about this story and wondering if it would update soon
Yeah, a 'good mommy'.
Somepony call FPS...
Hmm... Celestia is still a guard... this gives me ideas.
I'm pretty sure you mean "independent"
Alrigh', goin' highlander on a bugs arse. Point me tae Chrissy, Ah'ma take care o' this one!
Great chapter, and I like the Celestia fixing her eff up.
Well...that was dark.
And yet, kinda funny.
Oooh! New Chapter!
Battle armor Celestia...
Luna being awesome...
Mind control of helpless children...
Waitwat.
...
That's okay, sleep is overrated.
3191832
It sounds like that might be the name of some sort of underground Changeling social movement.
You are a horrible person. Please continue.
It's great that Chrysalis has hostages and all, but... why does she need hostages, exactly? I know there are scores of things she could possibly negotiate for, but this plan still seems flawed on a fundamental level.
3191882
hey! chrysalis makes the best mommy
Maybe not in this Universe, but in the Comics...
Oh god, Chrysalis is terrifying. D: The thought of her smiling warmly and gently after brutally mind-controlling Sweetie Belle is just... eep.
And thank God that Luna is finally knocking some sense into Celestia. The fact that she never actually apologized to Twilight always rankled me. Yes, Twilight didn't handle her pressing of Cadence well, but she did turn out to be absolutely correct in the end, and all of her close friends utterly rejected her after that.
... You chose Sweetie Belle on purpose because you knew she would get the biggest reaction. So therefore, I refuse to give you that satisfaction of a reaction.
*Keeps calm and flutters on*
I normally would say I love how you wrote Luna but I'm gonna be honest... I did not understand her that much I had to look up words, no fun. Anyway good chapter and holy hell the CMC are screwed heh... maybe.
3192190 ... No. WE writers. I am ASHAMED that you used that incorrectly. For SHAME. Now go sit in that corner and think about what you've done!
I absolutely loved how Luna tore into her sister, and assigning Celestia as a guard under Twilight's command is hilarious.
Also, I am very curious where Chrysalis is going with the CMC. She did say they were hostages so she is clearly planning on doing something with them, but I have no idea what her plans are at this point.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw619_130512621668.gif
Oh boy, Rainbow's corpse. I wonder how that would go over.
Also, eff Chrissy, or at least this version.
Moar?
Okay, not sure what would be more epic: Sweetie Belle completely destroying the Hive Mind connection alone, or Chrysalis using her to manipulate coming events...
Either way, Sweetie Belle has been best pony for a long time!
3191906
So did her plan in A Canterlot Wedding. This, if anything, is sticking close to canon.
Also, these changelings need names. I couldn't tell who was who at all in this chapter. Well, the wait also contributed to that, since I didn't remember what happened last chapter.
See, this is why "Last Time On" is a thing.
Oi. That argument between Luna and Celestia suuuuucked. For one Celestia was a pretty blatant strawpony and the sole purpose for it was wangst. Basically needless drama. Yes, Celestia screwed up, not trusting Twilight, but Twilight fucked up as well. Her argument would have been a lot more sound if she hadn't acted like a petty mad mare. Of course this is completely overlooked as Twilight can do no wrong and it's all Celestia's fault.
So basically, a blatant set up to put Celestia as a guard under Twilight's command (because the freaking librarian with anxiety issues is the go to leader of a military excursion. ) You could have done that without dragging Celestia out of character for a snit with her sister.
3192438
You could just skim the previous chapter. "LastTime On..." makes sense in a weekly series or the like, since I may not have had a way to refresh the story, but here there's nothing stopping you from glancing at the last chapter. I've read stories that did do the "Previously, On..." segments and just found it distracting or annoying.
I actually found it really easy to keep track of which changeling was which. If it knows anything about changeling biology or society, it's Bon-Bon, if it seems to have unresolved identity issues it's Rainbow Dash. If the narrator refers to it entirely as "the changeling," that's usually Rainbow Dash because it emphasizes her identity troubles.
3191832 No, I'm pretty sure the author meant 'independence' and Lyra meant 'independent'... Bon Bon did say she was an idiot.
Daaaaamn. That was some awesome stuff there at the end! I really do enjoy this fanfic, and I hope you produce some more stirring content soon!
imgs.xkcd.com/comics/hallucinations.png
3191882Lol
The alicorn of the sun gave her a tiered look.
She's as Independence as they come!"
*independent?
3192515
Except it's not really a military excursion they're going on. It's like, 5 ponies and two changelings going out near Cloudsdale to verify a story, with some guards going along because, hey, they were just attacked, and there might still be enemy combatants out there.
Celestia being one of those guards and being under Twilight's apparent command is a somewhat elaborate and convoluted way to she that she actually trusts Twilight; at least enough to let her be the boss for a little while.
The argument was a little weak, I felt, but regardless, Twilight is still more in the right than Celestia is. Her presentation was a bit flawed, sure, but the fact is she saw things which appeared to be, if not evil, then at least not on the up-and-up, Cadance was behaving strangely, didn't remember who Twilight was (which should have been an automatic red flag for everyone, because if she really did love foalsitting her that much, and was romantically involved with her brother, Cadance had absolutely no excuse for not recognizing Twilight after a couple seconds), not to mention that whenever the Element Bearers go to big events (the Summer Sun Celebration, Nightmare Night, Appleoosa, the Grand Galloping Gala, the Best Young Fliers Competition, the opening of cider season, any event where Twilight tries to dance), shit always goes down.
Always.
The immediate reaction of everybody should have been, "Hey, this is strange behavior, even for Twilight. We should probably investigate this to make sure she's okay," rather than, "Twilight, quit being such a whiny, jealous bitch. We want to be a part of this event and you are ruining everything, despite you being totally right about Nightmare Moon even though everyone else thought that could never happen."
Past experience suggests that when Twilight makes claims that are contrary to everyone else's, she is right at least 50% of the time. And if there is a 1-in-2 chance that the princess about to be married is totally freaking evil, that is really something that warrants investigation.
3193108 Except basically spouting "You're evil!" at the Bride until she runs away is in no way conducive to making her point. That's all that Celestia saw. Twilight never went to her and tried to explain that Cadance was acting off, she showed up at the practice and basically started acting crazy. Of course noone is going to believe her. As for the dance, Cadance and Twilight haven't seen each other for at least several years. Expecting the bride to do that stupid little dance on top of all the other worries of taking care of the wedding after several years of not seeing each other is kind of unreasonable. True a lot of evidence points towards something being off, but Twilight doesn't present her evidence in a good way. She comes off more as the overly protective sister than anything else.
Also Twilight caused a huge scene with her mucking about with time travel, needlessly scaring the town. As far as the ponies were concerned, Twilight was 50/50 with her first call being a long shot at an ancient legend being true.
Even if it's not a militery excursion, you do not put military personal under the command of a civilian who does not know how to use them, especially when one of the guards is very important and the commander has fucking anxiety issues, many stemming from that one guard.
On top of that mess, they know they are dealing with Changelings, but they expose one of the most important ponies in the entire world, one who was defeated in battle very recently, to risk of capture by sending her as a guard when you have an entire army of shapeshifters at large.
The chapter is basically one giant contrivance. There are much better ways to get Celestia to go along with Twilight than dragging OOC in a wangst-tastic manner complete with a very weak argument against Luna.
And so this awesome story continue.
I must give autor a big credits as he didn't just kick Celestia and Luna off like every autors do.
I really like how Luna convince Celestia to apologise to Twilight and redeem herself.
It is so cool that Celestia is actually going to cooperate and protect mane 6 for once and participate in the action directly, how long I have waited for an autor who actually got a GUTS to do it ( I understand that it is hard to let a powerful character do something useful in the story without destroying the conflict, but it just make me respect autors who give Celestia and Luna chance to help mane 6, and if this autor manage to let princesses be useful and while keeping the conflict intact, the better ( I hope that it wont end up with Chrysalis using 3 fillies to force Celestia to surrender, it would kind of destroy her chance of redemption and being useful what I so much hope to see ).
Whats more, Celestia is protecting mane 6, because none autors even care about mane 6 importance, I mean, they are the only ponies who can use elements, if one of them is out, the elements become useless, and yet in countless stories they face armies and monsters and no princess or guard even consider to help them ( not caring that if someone from mane 6 die or will be captured, the biggest means of defense will be out ), furthermore in so many stories mane 6 does not even use elements against villains, and yet they are always the one fighting it instead of guards or prinesses who are so much more powerful than them.
Long story short, I love this chapter, I love how Luna bash on Celestia to apologise, I love how Celestia is going to team up with mane 6 and for once be useful and take direct action in the conflict, and I cannot wait to see her redeeming herself and have interaction with Twilight, I cannot wait for next chapter, keep up the good work.
Dang. Cliffhanger central. What just happened to Sweetie is actually kind of terrifying.
D: Good Mommies do not use mind control to make the young ones eat their veggies.
Damnit Chrysalis what in the name of flying fuck did the CMC do to you?
*Taunts Chrysalis*
Bring it on bitch.
3193481
Only because they can't do it as swiftly as Chrysallis.
Most mommies have to do it with sweetcoating or plain lying.
She could have been much more cruel.
Hopefully, there will be good things occurring for both sides.
The truth shall be revealed! But will this truly bring joy?
Awaiting further releases.
Celestia is a guard...
Guards must guard Celestia's life with their own...
So , Celestia must guard her own life even if it means dying...
Anyway , good chapter and glad to see this update.
Why is angry Luna so amazing?
Also, word repeat here.
awesome
I think that's one "they" too many.
3193951 Would she jump in front of herself to take an arrow meant for her?
I love this line... except for one thing. It should be "miffed at thee." Direct object, not subject. As a rule of thumb, try writing the sentence so that a first-person pronoun takes the place of the archaic second-person. If the resulting pronoun is an "I," use a "thou." If "me," as is the case here, use "thee."
I quite liked this chapter, especially the sisters' conversation. It's nice to see Celestia show some vulnerability from time to time, and I do like how Luna's comments about Twilight flying can be taken in several senses, including literally.
Definitely looking forward to more, especially if/when the group finds the skeleton of the original Dash. And whatever political fallout seems to be raining down on the dragons.
3193049
Hey, there were a lot of layers to that look.
Am I the only one who thinks Chrysalis may have made a huge mistake here? "I didn't even know changeling jelly could burn!"
Finally! No offense here intended but I was beginning to wonder when things were starting to move forward story wise.
Rainbow Dashling, Bon Changebon, and everyone else is starting to head out to finally figure out what the hay is going on.
As irked as I am at Chrysalis right now for what she did to Sweetie Bell, I'm just hoping noting else bad happens to CMC.
Oh snap, I just thought of a serious "Fridge Horror" while at work today. The invasion was preceded with the Changelings replacing foals with sleeper agents. Sleeper agents who would go through their whole lives thinking that they were Ponies. Sleeper agents who suddenly had their minds switched off and were being remote controlled by Queen Cheese Legs.
To put it another way, nearly her entire army came from Equestria, have friends and "Family" who have no doubt reported them missing by now, and who will no doubt be shocked and traumatized by this whole ordeal once Rainbow Dash smashes Chrysalis's head in and frees them from the Hive Mind. A few of them might even commit suicide. Even if the good guys win a clean victory, dealing with a few thousand Changelings with PTSD and other psychological issues will not be pretty.